Thursday, December 12, 2013

Part II: Government Forces



Major Christensen kept a close eye on the split screen of the holo-tank as he barked out orders to his company, all the while grimacing each time the tank cycled and ‘fired’. The accelerator magnets of the railgun played havoc with one poorly done filling, twisting it slightly each time one of the ‘silver bullets’ ripped down the barrel. And he wasn’t keen on that part of the accompanying sonic boom that made it past his noise cancelling headgear.

No matter, this was nothing compared to what his infantry were dealing with as they sprinted from their APCs and hit the buildings where the off worlders were dug in. Cyan power gun bolts mixed with the shrieks of his troops’ 10mm sabot rounds, the hard bright flashes of the demo grenades silhouetting the torn bodies as they arced away from the detonations. He turned his concentration to the hostile’s armor; those energy discharges were daunting even in the display, he cursed the corrupt Terran Authority apparatchik who sold top line equipment to a band of freebooters and he cursed those freebooters for coming to his planet. Though he was aware of the hypocrisy or maybe just irony of that emotion as he watched the tri-barrels of “his” freebooters tear into the line of New Israeli positions and the death dance they executed in the real time screen.

A cheer went through his command push as one New Israeli MBT caved in on itself from a Clibanarius strike and another gelded as its main guns were silenced.  Yet another strike destroyed one of their very lethal IFVs while the lasers of the Cataphracts and Peltasts struck another Sabre, taking out its main drives and sending it bow first into a stonewall.

Then a double tap of cyan lightning struck a Clibanarius as it approached the Helstrom and Sons main VTOL pad. The vehicle slammed to a halt and Christensen could see the railgun mount blown free of the vehicle, a series of explosions fountaining from the rent hull top as the fuel cell and HE rounds went up.

The vehicle carat went black, followed by one for a Peltast, the Major cursing and shouting for his troops to widen the angle of attack and cursing again when his Clib’ hit the rocket rail tracks at 80 KPH, knocking him back in his couch as they jumped the line and began to make a run down it. A glance at the screen showed his roller commander taking out another of the NI Sabres; then it felt like they slammed into a granite mountain, the world went white, then tinder night black as the AI triggered the crew pods just before his Clibanarius vanished in one bright flash.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Rumor Control.




Chalanek Station News and Entertainment: Port Morgen, Morgen, Morgenrot System

Embed Reporter Darius Pauwels on the ground in Rebel held Mazzengaville.

NI Uhlans.
Rebel blockade-runners have delivered a shipment of the Uhlan grav tank destroyer to the New Israeli mercenary units stationed here. 

“This brings an added dimension to our forces firepower along with the Uhlan’s proven ability to absorb incredible amounts of damage.”, said Major Mordecai Bajak in an exclusive interview with CSNE.

There have been several escalations of both sides’ forces as the conflict for this small but now strategically important town continues.

Further updates on this will follow but for now, this is Darius Pauwels signing off…




Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Second Battle for Mazzengaville: Government Forces



D for Dog Company deployed off the Via Rinaldo and hit the west edge of the ‘ville at speed.

Which only aggravated Major Rodrigo Christensen’s already aching kidneys and backside further.

His shock couch had gone soft side up a hundred klicks ago, there had been no time to repair it and the Major was not the kind of officer who would then swap places with an unlucky sub.

The six wheeled, high riding suspension of the Fed standard tank made for a stable firing platform and was stellar as far as mines and IEDs but the ride could be murder if you weren’t strapped in nice and snug. And the slightly heavier turret of the Clibanarius version made the ride all that much more…exciting.

He ignored the background inter-vehicle chatter, watching his HUD for the carats of the ‘friendlies’ to his twelve; the carats flashed blue and the ID tagged them as combat cars ( a silly name in the Major’s opinion) of The Slammers. He addressed his troop, “Combat front. Maneuver Nine through the off-worlders, engage the New Israelis and secure this flank.”

Government forces, supported by Slammer's combat cars, advance into the settlement.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

First Sat Images from the Second Battle of Mazzengaville

Quiet...too quiet.

New Israeli tanks dig in and wait.

Ophelia's Outriders demonstrate the power of their fully operational super-heavy grav tank.

Blower? I don't even know her.

Mercenaries. A questionable lot, to be sure.

Endgame at Mazzengaville.

Friday, October 18, 2013

Mercenary Profiles: Ophelia's Outriders

As hostilities heat up across Morgen's World, we take this opportunity to introduce you to a few of the mercenary regiments and free companies engaged by the warring factions. This first installment takes a closer look at one of the rebel's hired forces: Ophelia's Outriders. Known for their ruthlessness, this company was once part of the regular Cthonian military, before that world's cataclysmic demise in 2890. Finding a kindred spirit in their patroness, the exiled sovereign of Nightfall, the Outriders have earned a reputation for brutal efficiency.

Ophelia’s Outriders, the 8th Cthonian Dragoons

Veteran Mercenary Company
 
Ophelia Caligo, Pacification of Tanit III.

The Caligo family ruled the Rim world of Nightfall for 100 generations. A planet of long nights and little in the way of illumination from its distant sun, Nightfall was a harsh, but prosperous world. Some 50 standard years ago, Ventiss Caligo, a brutal tyrant and last King of Nightfall, was overthrown by his own people, with help from his once‐loyal Palace Guard. Ventiss and his wife were killed in the bloody, year-long revolution. Their son, Argos III, escaped into exile with his own family, though an assassin’s blade found the young heir not long after. His only child, Ophelia, survived and was hidden by the few loyal retainers House Caligo had left.

Instead of living a comfortable, if secluded, life in exile, a young Ophelia took the family’s considerable off‐world fortune and purchased a renowned mercenary company, the Cthonian 8th Dragoons, known more colloquially as the Outriders. A battle-hardened group of veteran mercs, the Outriders had seen action during the Rim Wars and the various corporate brushfire conflicts of the Second and Third Cola Wars. Though skeptical of their new patroness, Ophelia quickly gained the company’s respect when she personally took command of a heavy Minotaur‐class grav tank during the Siege of Draconis IV. A skilled tactician, Ophelia Caligo now commands the loyalty of the Outriders to the last man and the group’s reputation has flourished, their contract fees rising.

Ophelia hasn’t hidden her ultimate intention to take back her family’s throne on Nightfall and spies from that world anxiously watch the Outrider’s progress. There are even rumors that an organized, royalist underground has taken root on Nightfall, eagerly waiting the return of their Princess.