No Room for a Wallflower – Operation Blazing Wire After-Action Report (#3)

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Alt text for the image is located at the bottom of the post.

Hey folks, I'm in a bi-weekly Lancer game of No Room for a Wallflower. I write after-action reports from the perspective of my character, MSMC Pilot Colt Walker, callsign Roughneck. You can check out the AAR for the first session here or the second one here.

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Since Druid was part of a Union Liberation Team in the past, it was only natural he'd gradually form a team of militia fighters and train them up. Led by Sgt. Stephan Garrett, the Sand Hoppers are a platoon of airmobile infantry troops. Well, they were notionally airmobile. Patience was unwilling to approve the conversion of one of the suborbital shuttles into a combat craft, so we hatched a plan (while at the bar) to steal it, fly it to the wreckage sight of our last battle, and retrofit it into a combat transport. Walker's an expert in Tape, Spit, and Percussive Maintenance (the name of one of his triggers), so modifying the shuttle was the easy part. Of course, that part doesn't go in the official report.

Walker's GMS Everest has a custom paint job featuring one of his ex-wives, Lailah, on the side. So he continued the tradition when decorating the shuttle and dubbed it Aisha after one of the more eligible bachelorettes in Evergreen the Sand Hoppers often discuss.

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Alt text for the image (spoilers for No Room for a Wallflower below):

!...SESSION INITIATED!<

!...WELCOME USER — //C. WALKER// //ROUGHNECK//!<

!...CREATE RECORD //OPERATION BLAZING WIRE//!<

!...OPERATIONAL PROFILE //HOLDOUT//!<

!...MSMC PERSONNEL //ROUGHNECK...ZEPHYR...DRUID// !<

!...HOSTILE FORCES //HERCYNIAN ARMED FORCES// !<

!...OPERATIONAL REPORT — !<

!...I AIN’T FUCKIN’ SURPRISED, BUT //LANDMARK COLONIAL// AIN’T GONNA DO SHIT ABOUT THE //AUTONOMOUS UNION FORCES// ON PLANET. THEY ACT LIKE I’M A FUCKIN’ NUTTER, SPOUTIN’ OFF CONSPIRACY THEORIES. //PATIENCE// DECLINED EVERY OPERATIONAL PLAN I PUT TOGETHER TO //INVESTIGATE// THOSE //SUBALTERNS’ TRAVEL DIRECTION//. SIGNAL WENT //DARK// OUT IN THE //EAST//, AND WE NEED TRANSPORT TO TAKE A LOOK. ONE OF THE //ORBITAL SHUTTLES// REPURPOSED AS A //DROPSHIP// WOULD DO IT; OTHERWISE, WE’D LEAVE //EVERGREEN// TOO //VULNERABLE// TO //ATTACK// WITH AN OVERLAND ROUTE. //HERCYNIANS// AIN’T BEEN ACTIVE FOR A WHILE, SO I BEEN FIGHTIN’ THE BUREAUCRATS. !<

!...AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT, SOME //HERCYNIAN SPECIAL FORCES SNUCK// INTO THE //HANGAR// WHERE THE //COLONISTS STORED// ONE OF THE //SHUTTLES// AN’ //STOLE// IT. OF COURSE, WE SET OFF IMMEDIATELY TO //RECLAIM// THE //STOLEN SHUTTLE//. TOOK A FEW DAYS TO FIND IT, AND BY THE TIME WE GOT THERE, THE BASTARDS HAD REPURPOSED IT INTO A //DROPSHIP//. I FIXED UP SOME OF THEIR SHODDY WORK, AND WE //BROUGHT IT BACK// TO THE //COLONY//. OF COURSE, I ALSO SPRAYED ON SOME NOSE ART AND DUBBED THE SHUTTLE //AISHA//. //HADURA// GAVE THE //GREEN LIGHT// FOR A TEAM //DRUID// TRAINED UP, //SAND HOPPER PLATOON//, TO //DEPLOY// AS A //QRF// USING THE //NEW DROPSHIP//.!<

!...FEW DAYS LATER, THE FUCKIN’ //HERCYNIANS ATTACKED// IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. BASTARDS MUST HAVE GONE DARK TO PREPARE A //BIG OFFENSIVE//. WE RUSHED TO OUR //MECHS// AND //DEFENDED// THE //MAIN ROAD// INTO //EVERGREEN//. WE SET UP ON //THE WALL//; //IDENT// CALLED OUT THE FIRST CONTACT AS A //STRIDER//, THEN A //BOMBARD//, AND //TWO ARCHERS//. //DRUID// AN’ //ZEPHYR FLANKED// TO EITHER SIDE, KEEPIN’ LOW TO AVOID CONTACT. //DRUID// ENDED UP IN SOME ROCKS WHILE //ZEPHYR// MOVED BEHIND A TWO-STORY BUILDIN’. I PUSHED UP THE MIDDLE AND //DREW FIRE//, THOUGH I RETURNED IN KIND.!<

!...//DRUID’S// FIRST //SHOT// DROPPED AN //ARCHER// LIKE A FLY. THE //BOMBARD// TRIED TO FLUSH //DRUID// FROM HIS COVER, BUT THAT GUY KNOWS HOW TO MAKE HIMSELF SMALL AND AVOID //INDIRECT FIRE//. //ZEPHYR// PUSHED UP AND ROUNDED THE CORNER ON THE SECOND //ARCHER//, TAKIN’ COVER BEHIND THE BUILDIN’. ONCE THE //ARCHER// WAS WITHIN //ZEYPHR’S CUTTIN’ RANGE//, HE WAS DONE FOR. THE //STRIDER// TOOK OFFENSE AND //BLASTED ZEPHR’S MECH// INTO THE BUILDING, BUT THEY BUILT //EVERGREEN// TOUGH. THEY DIDN’T DO MORE THAN CRACK THE FACADE. !<

!...ABOUT THAT TIME, I’D HAD ENOUGH OF THESE //HERCYNIAN’S BULLSHIT//. I ACTIVATED MY //JUMP JETS// AND FLEW OVER THEIR COVER TO OPEN UP ON THE //BOMBARD// WITH MY //RIFLE//. I PREPPED SOMETHING SPECIAL FOR THE //MISSILE TUBES//: A //DIRECTIONAL CHARGE// PACKED FOR EXTRA //CONCUSSIVE FORCE//. BLASTED THE //STRIDER// CLEAR OF //ZEPHYR// AND RIGHT NEXT TO THE //BOMBARD//. CAUGHT BOTH OF THE BASTARDS WITH MY //MISSILE BARRAGE//, AND THAT ENDED THE FIGHT. !<

!...THEN, WE GOT A //PRIORITY TRANSMISSION//: !<

! >//PRIORITY:::STABLE REACTORS REPORTING MULTIPLE UNKNOWN CONTACTS:::WATCHPOINT 1 BREACHED:::WATCHPOINT 2 BREACHED:::EMERGENCY EMERGENCY EMERGENCY:::ALL MILFORCE DIVERT ASSETS TO HOLD+SECURE ACTION IMMEDIATELY:::PUSH CONFIRM!<

!...WE HAD TO //TRAVEL DOWN RIVER//, SO //COMMAND// ROUTED A //HEAVY-LIFT TRANSPORT// TO GET US THERE. I’VE PATCHED THE //HOLES// IN OUR //ARMOR//, AND WE’RE READY TO //ENGAGE// THESE FUCKERS AND PUSH THEM OFF THE //OBJECTIVE//.!<

!...ERROR...AUTO–ENCRYPTION 31% CONFIDENCE...PLEASE MANUALLY REVIEW ENCRYPTED CONTENTS !<