Mech Quest

>>242372
I'm listening

>>242372
H Y P E
Y
P
E

>>242372
Let's do this

>>242372
ready to go

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You are seated in a lecture room along with the rest of your company, all 117 of you listening to your Seargant Major give a briefing on your mission.

Tall and dark skined, his pixelized uniform seems almost tailored to his body. He addresses the room,

"Mûmakil Company."

"Seargent Major!" the room replies in unison

"We are about to start the land invasion of Asador in a weeks time, how do you guys feel about that?"

Light laughter fills the room.

He smirks back "But don't underestimate the Asadorians. Despite their technological inferiority they are proud and tenacious fighters. Anyway, as many of you know Asador is bordering Oradania, so," The wall behind him lights up as an image of Asador is projected unto it. "We will move in here through the Doroth forest along with Meara and Kirinki Company.
Araw company's forward scouts have sighted a town 30 clicks north west from our entry point, our objective is to take it and use it as our forward operating base so that the rest of the military has easy access to the rest of Asador. This is just a general brief to let you guys know whats up, a more detailed briefing will take place before the invasion, date and time to be decided. But before that happens there are a few things we need to do before all that shit happens. I need your mechs and vehicles prepped and ready to go, fuel levels topped up, no rust no dirt, all OVM'S(On Vehicle Materials) loaded up, Hewelin anchor that for me. Roger so far?"

Various acknowledgements, "Yes SM" or "Yes Sergeant Major"

He continues, "Secondly, your individual items need to be there, fit for use i don't fucking want bullshit like torchlight not working or items missing, looking at you Saerus." Soft laughter from those around him. "Platoon seargants go and make sure. Thirdly, your drills and soldier fundamentals needs to be second nature. Guys, this isn't training anymore, we won't be using blank rounds or any of that fuck shit, this is real bullets fired by people that want you dead. I need this drilled into that thick skull of yours."

Emphasising each word, "This. Is. Not A. Fucking. Joke. Do you understand me?"

A few mumbled acknolowdgements.

"I fucking said do you understand me."

Raised voices from almost everyone this time, "Yes Seargant Major!"

"NCO'S stay back, the rest can go."

You take your leave, heading back to your office while the men head back to their bunks.

~bit of a time skip~

You sit in your chair for a while listening to some music.

"Hey Veoddyn, wanna check up on our mechs? Make sure they're ready to tear up some Asadorian ass?" Thagnir, Platoon Commander of platoon 7, A Dwarf whose braided beard puts your stubble to shame.

"Yeah sure, hope those guys in maintenance didn't mess her up."

You walk over to the hangars where your mechs are kept, hanging from metal frames. A Staff Sergeant meets you as you walk in.

"Sirs, i take it you're hear to check up on your mechs?"

You give him a nod.

"Follow me."

He leads you to Mûmakil Company's section of the hangar, the engineers and tech squads working hard on the mechs, sparks flying and drills whirring, it's actually quite loud in here.

He gestures for a private to bring Thagnir to his own mech as he leads you to yours.

"Here she is sir." You look up at your baby, she never gets old no matter how often you visit her.

"She's a real beauty all right, i worked on her myself as a matter of fact. You wanna fire her up, check her vitals and gauges?"

>>242441
yes fire her up, check her vitals and gauges

>>242441
>>242441

The suit opens up to accept you as you climb into the cockpit. Getting into positio you turn it on, various lights light up and the suit closes around you. You ignore a warning that you aren't strapped in as you look at various gauges and lights, checking that everything is working. Satisfied you let out a warning horn and start moving arms and legs, the haptic feedback providing a very effective means of control. You only manage a few small steps forward as your cockpit gets flooded with red light. You can't seem to move your right leg forward.

You jump out, barely controlled anger on your face as you demand to know what happened.

"Ah sir, we can't say for sure what went wrong right now, we'll have to take it apart and do some checks. Sorry sir, i don't know how it went wrong." He looks at you, lipse slightly pursed.

Do you wanna say anything to this guy?

>>242460
Tell him to get it done ASAP. If we end up dead because of a malfunction in the field, our father will have his head.

playing dota so slight pause in writin

>>242464
Yeah! that

>>242464
say that

>>242464
YEAH

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>>242460
yaywewon

"Fix this mess, i want it done immediately. I swear to the gods if i die because of an easily avoidable malfunction like this my father will mount your head on a plaque."

"Yes sir, i'll get it fixed and do another thorough check, sorry about this sir."

"Better not"

You wait for Thagnir before leaving, complaining to him about shoddy maintenance. He offers his sympathy.

Heading back to your company line you see that the entire company 's on the ground floor cleaning their personal arms. Althought it won't do anything against heavy armour the Asadorians don't field many mechs instead opting for armoured exo-suits that simply enhance the wearers natural ability while providing protection from small arms fire. A nice 7.62 round will punch a hole right through them.

You mingle with your men, joking with them and helping clean some of their weapons, a mix of assault rifles, light to heavy machine guns and designated marksman rifles[DMR's]. You don't get much chance to interact with them so you take the opportunity whenever it comes. You are well liked by your platoon and by extension your company, known to work hard and help others, your creativeness and unpredictability in field exercises, while annoying to high command at times, it puts you ahead of most other commanders who normally follow the book.

Your officer in command of the company [OC], a captain, has taken to giving you a fair bit of leeway in the field, provided you tell him of your often unorthodox plans before you execute them.

You hear the almost silent movement of your infantry fighting vehicles[IFV'S], the only sound coming from the tracks scraping against the bricked floor as they move park in front of your company. The men start sending their weapons back to the armoury, either sick of cleaning them or satisfied that it's clean enough.

It's a tiring few days, in between the mission briefs and preparations you manage to get things done a day before you move out. It is very tempting to stay in your bunk or office and let your men sort things out but your sense of honour doesn't let you do that, part of what makes you so well liked you guess.

The next day is spent sleeping in bunk, making sure your equipment is in order and playing some good old fashioned board games with your fellow PC's to try and relieve some of the tension in the air. It kinda works but you go to sleep with butterflies in your stomach.

>>242547
>>242547

You find yourself seated back in the lecture room again, sitting next to Thagnir.

Your SM addresses the company

"Gentlemen, this will be the last time i get to talk to you guys like this, in a nice room with chairs with everyone gathered together. Lets not waste any more time, here is the plan.

You might have noticed the map's changed slightly, thank Araw for that.

We will take the vehicles and mechs out of the camp gates and head to the section of Doroth Forest on our side of the border, we will then skirt around the left side with Meara and Kirinki go around the left. This means we will not be heading through the forest itself."

Small cheers from around the room, relief that they won't have to walk.

"Alright alright settle down. Since we have a longer route we need to move faster and leave earlier to get into position. As Meara and Kirinki assault the objective head on, our orders are to provide long range fire as they draw the attention of the defenders before moving in to flank them to seal the deal. Guys, this will be the exact same as the frontal mounted assaults we have practiced to death, we line up, fire our cannons and charge in, no difference. Keep a cool head and the invasion and takeover will be over in the blink of an eye. For now go and load your weapons and cannons. Sir?"

SM gives the stage to OC

"Ok like what SM has said this is a pretty straightforward assault nothing different than what we have already done so i don't see any reason for there to be any mis-communications or mistakes. Just do what you are trained to do, pretty simple. One more thing to add on to what SM has said, the only difference between this and the range is that the target boards are trying to kill you as well so you better shoot them first. Anything for me?"

No one says anything.

"Ok good, confident and good to go, i'm proud of you guys. But if no one has anything for me the rest can go PC's and NCO's please stay back.

You stay seated as the men stream past you, flowing out the door. As the last one leaves he shuts the door.

OC sits on down on a chair, turning it around to face the commanders. "Guys, i just need one thing from you and one thing only. I need you to motivate the troops when shit gets real. Do not be disillusioned, people will die and morale will drop. I need you to keep them fighting, we cannot afford for our troops to rout, especially in such a crucial first battle. We do this fast, we do it properly and we come back happily. Dismissed, go tell the rest to form up outside their vehicles at 0930."

>>242578


Thagnir frowns at you, "Jeez, what a downer ain't he? Talking about death and dying before we even move out." He signs, the hairs in his moustache fluttering. "I guess he's right though, dammit. Anyway, lets go get our mechs, hopefully they didn't fuck yours up this time."

You head over to the hangar, walking straight to your mech, Thrandir heads to his. No one seems to be working on it, you hope thats a sign that it's all fixed.

You signal to a techie that you're going to mount up and he gives you the greenlight. You do a routine check of everything before moving to walk again. You don't see or feel anything weird, everything seems to be in order. You place the mech back in its mounting cage, asking the techie to load up your weapons before leaving.

You talk to your men, helping them load their cannons and magazines, trying to instill some sense of patriotism or courage in them before you move out.

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now for a break ill be back in a few hours going to watch warcraft, hope you enjoyed the first few parts. Criticisms etectectectetce

I see no monster girls here.
Needs more monster girls

>>242580
YAY MERCS Back
maybe we could get a new van in enemy territory if our suit gets fucked :D

The writing has improved though

>>242580
I bet he's going to hate the movie.

>>242619
You were wrong i fucking loved it

>>242695
WOO! Congrats, man.

>>242695
nice

>>242695
Who did you watch it With?
Someone special ? xDDDDDDDD
Probs not since its warcraft

>>242718
Mother, probably.

>>242724
dats cold
xD

>>242718
He probably just brought some lotion and watched it with his significant other. It's Warcraft after all.

>>242724
>>242718
ill fug u up

Friends!

>>242750
Just so you know I was teasing you as well

>>242729
I meant your hand.

<3

Well, OP is dead.

Warcraft killed him.

>>242931
He is alive on IRC at least.

>>242953
i am?

>>242957
Unless I am mixing you up with MercCommand, which I might be

>>242969
you are

>>242975
Are you going to continue

>>242975
chill brah, spell checking and making sure its coherent.

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>>242579

Moving in a single file, your three vehicles follow you and your platoon sergeant's [PS]'s mechs as you skirt the borders of the forest.

It's a fairly uneventful journey apart from the various animals you see in the trees observing your platoon silently. They seem unimpressed.

You reach your location at 1106 hours, and give the signal for the guys to halt and dismount. You tell them not to move too far from their vehicles, lest they are spotted. Your mech suit opens up giving you a breath of fresh air, you take a few deep breaths, the pespiration on your body evaporating in waves.

You hop off and sit on the feet of your mech, leaning against the shin. Your PS moves on foot to scout ahead, returning with nothing interesting.

"Past those trees is a direct line of sight to our objective, once we get the call it's a straight line of fire. I didn't see any armed personnel or advanced fortifications, should be a fairly easy take."

You nod "Alright, cool, thanks." You take a deep breath and exhale, leaning your head back.

"We'll be fine sir, we didn't go through all that trainig for no reason." Hawkin leaves to go back to his mech, lighting up a cigarette and opening a can of coffee.

You hope he's right.

Your men seem to be in fairly high spirits, laughing and joking as they sit around their vehicles. Some already openened their rations, you aren't sure how they eat that stuff, always seems to turn your hunger off.
You check your watch, 1114. The assault should start around 1145. You set an alarm and close your eyes, trying to squeeze in a short nap before the assault.

It seems you didn't need the alarm, the radio on your chest blares to life with static, "Three Two this is Three Nine, message over."

A message from OC to you, you respond immediately. "Three Nine this is Three Two, message send over."

"Three Nine to Three Two, the assault will start momentarily, get your guys to mount up and prepare for my command, over and out."

You shout just loud enough for the last guy to hear, "Guys mount up, we're starting soon. Remember, no sweat, this is just like any training exercise at the range or out in the field, take it easy and we won't have any problems."

Those more inclined to lead repeat your command to the rest, urging them to move and mount up. You turn to get back into your mech suit, your PS gives you a nod, you respond in kind.

The suit closes around you and not long after you hear the distant booms of cannons as Kirinki and Merea soften the targets before moving in.

>>243010

You send a message over the platoon comms, "This is Three Two to all stations, message over."

You wait for their ackknowledgements before proceding, "Three Two to all stations get in position, section one on the outside, followed by two then tree all facing the village ready to fire. Hawkin, I want you at the rear with me. Over and out."

The sounds of distant gunfire makes your heart beat faster and faster as you anticipate your next command. You start getting restless in your cockpit. An eternirt later, "Three Nine to Three Two start your assault now over and out."

You manage to say the next command without rushing it or stumbling over your words, "Three Two to all stations start the assault now."

Your vehicles move out, moving away from the trees so that they can get a clear line of fire to the objective. The open fire, their high explosive rounds flying through the air, collapsing buildings and sending clouds of dust and dirt into the air as they explode. It gets hard to see the village now, there's too much dust, but your vehicles keep diring anyway.

You see the other two companies moving to the objective at highspeed, closing the distance as fast as they can to dismount their troops.

Your vehicles fire continue to fire their rounds, cannons moving back and forth in their housing to absorb the recoil. You order them to stop as Kirinki and Merea start getting close. It's your time to move now. "Three Two to all stations move out now, over and out."

Moving in unison your vehicles charge, your mech keeping pace. Using your optics you look at the other companies, their troopers already dismounting from their vehicles, taking cover behind walls and debris. One of the vehicles explodes spectacularly as the reactive armour stops a rudimentry high-explosive anti-tank [HEAT] rocket from penetrating the armour. Their vehicles fire over the walls into buildings, collapsing them, crushing anyone unfortunate enough to be inside.

You close the distance quickly, the village getting bigger and bigger. They don't seem to notice your advance, their attention focused on K and M coy. It always amazes you how silent these 25 tonne vehicles can be.

You manage to dismount your troops at their rear without taking any fire, your men getting a few easy pick offs before their detected. You move in to assist your men, jumping over a wall their bullets bounce harmlessly off your armour. You swing your hammer almost haphazardly, you send some flying and others your smash to a pulp. You demolish walls, collapsing entire buildings by yourself, burying those inside. Your unit moves through the village quickly and methodically , groups of men branching off to clear buildings before rejoining the main force.

Caught fighting 18 mechs, roughly 200 soldiers and 27 vehicles the defenders are quickly eliminated, the fight lasting no more than a ten or so minutes. Some soldiers pick off a few stragglers attempting to run away.

>>243017

All is silent in the aftermath of that attack, dust settles as soldiers take a rest, some conduct equipment checks, nurse wounds, or loot the dead. You retract the head of your mech to get some fresh air, breathing hard, beads of sweat roll down your face. You take a look at your hammer, blood and viscera coat the head and handle, splatters of blood on your arm. You grimace in disgust, half at your actions and half at the gore.

Thagnir walks towards you, his head protection retracted as well. "We sure took them by surprise didn't we? When you jumped in swinging that hammer of yours i knew the fight was over, seeing you in battle really is a marvel, how you effortlessly go from one target to the next, each swing calculated to deal as much damage as possible, really a site to behold." He takes in the battlefield, surveying the ruined buildings and dead bodies lying in the streets and limbs sticking out of collapsed houses. "Foward operating base eh? Home sweet home i guess, you know-" He's cut of by SM talking over the comms.

"All vehicles and mechs this is three eight, go and form up and report strength. PS's report to me, i want it in five minutes. Over and out."

"Euch, i guess we'll talk later."

Your company forms up in platoon level as the individual section commanders account for their strength. You didn't lose anyone and from what you can see neither did any of the other platoons. Thagnir gives you a thumbs up with his mech and a big smile, you give him one back, a genuine smile, you couldn't have hoped for a better outcome for your men.

Strength reported and all men accounted for, OC stands in front of the company,

"Mûmakil Company, congratulations on securing the objective without taking any casualties. This is what we should expect anytime we head out, a fast and lightning quick assault that leaves no time for the enemy to react, well done all of you." Applause and cheers as the company congratulates each other.

"Unfortunately it does not end here. Higher command has deemed it appropriate for us to continue moving inland, continuing the assault on Asador without waiting on the rest of the military. What this means for us is that we won't have much rest, at most an hour, before we need to move out again so eat up, rest as much as you can, it will be a tiring day. That is all, PC's gather on me."

You group around your OC,

"Higher command has given us a few choices on our next plan of attack and i was hoping to bring it to you guys for some input. They told me we could either head west further inland to take over another village much like this and secure another foothold, a munitions factory north north east to cut off some of their ammunition supply or directly to an army base to our north west. Thoughts?"

holy wall of text batman! i'm going to stop writing now, getting really tired sorry for any drop in writing quality and stuff.

obligatory gimme feedback and shit

>>243110
>>obligatory gimme feedback and shit

My only feedback is that this is a story and not a quest thread. Literally the only time in this entire thread that the players were given a chance to have any interaction beyond reading your story was when we were asked what we wanted to say to some nobody soldier.

You didn't roll a single die to determine anything. That is fine, not every quest involves dice. But you also didn't ask us anything beyond "How cranky are you at the idiot who prepped out mech?". We had literally no input on the story. The battle wasn't a battle. It was a footnote. That would have been a good chance to give us some options and give the players a chance to progress the story and shape it. What kind of fighter are we? Do we rush in to battle or take a more cautious approach? Do we risk our own lives to save one of our brothers in battle or consider him collateral?

If you are going to run a quest, run a quest, don't tell us a story.

>>243174
yeah i noticed that belatedly, i had the same issues with the before as well. i tried to remedy it with that last update but will definitely take your advice for the next battle. Part of why the battle was over so quickly was because it was kinda of a stomp for the Ordanians, basically a trained military unit, with a number and technological superiority assaults a village from two sides which did not expect it, i didn;t think it would fit if people were dying or we had to make some life or death choice. I did contemplate it but decided not to in the end.

>>243205
Yeah I figured you wanted to emphasize the superiority of our army so I understand the reasoning on that point. Even so, consider next time just throwing in a short combat sequence where we obliterate the enemy easily with a few comrades. Hopefully you can get the hang of it and make the most of your next thread.

>>243205
Basically what I am saying is that you just need to involve the people in the thread otherwise it wont thrive as a quest (because it will be a story). Look for opportunities to give the players choice and freedom to interact. Anyway, that's it from me.

>>243218
yeah i get it, i had the same issue with my previous quest to but i dont think it was too bad. It'll work out, dw bruv

>>243250
at curb stomp parts you could just let us vote on how to kill the enemy, weapon choice etc, small thing but helps making it feel more interactive

>>243322
Ill try and give more choices, for now i think just choose which area we attack and ill go from there.

>>242372

it looks like inspired by terminator armor.