Levi Haynes

Levi Haynes
Personal
Affiliation	Starlight Stables
Profile
Profession	Arena Gladiator

History

Levi Haynes was a MechWarrior from Starlight Stables who participated in the 3135 Grand Tournament.

He passed the first round without incident, and was matched in the second round with Michael Tate, a fan favorite. The fight was a short one where he made short work of his Tate's Goshawk

In the quarterfinals of the Grand Tournament, he was matched with William Chase. The combat was a one-sided match, with Levi's Marauder IIC 2 nearly annihilating William Chase's Black Knight; Chase barely managed to eject before his 'Mech collapsed under the weight of Levi's fire.

In the semifinals he was paired against Horace Wolfe. The match, defined as The Battle of the Titans, turned out to be an outright slugging match, with both 'Mechs advancing on their opponent apparently unsure of their ability to win a long-range sniping match. As the 'Mechs drew nearer, it became clear that Levi Haynes' fire was more accurate, and the weight of disciplined, well-aimed fire began to take its toll on Horace Wolfe's assault-class Zeus. After losing his right arm to a volley of ATMs, and with his left leg shattered by repeated PPC strikes, Wolfe conceded the match, and a place in the finals, to Levi Haynes.

In the final, he faced Trisha Swanson. Though Trisha had beaten several assault 'Mechs over the course of the tournament, the betting odds were heavily against her in this matchup. With both 'Mechs equipped with jump jets, much of Swanson's advantage from her earlier matches was negated, and if her 'Mech was faster, it was also seriously outgunned. Given a day and two nights to make good the damage from previous combats, both 'Mechs were in good condition when they entered the championship arena, although they both still bore the scars of five long days of fighting.

From the beginning of the battle, it was obvious that Swanson intended to make Haynes chase her, using the available cover to the best of her ability and using her superior speed to keep out from under the Marauder IIC's weapons. Although he had to be careful of his heat, Haynes could afford to be liberal with his PPC fire, while Swanson had to take care not to waste shots with her Scourge's Gauss rifle. This allowed Haynes to keep Swanson on the run for the first four minutes of the match.

It was a testament to Trisha Swanson's skill that she managed to keep her Scourge relatively undamaged during these intense four minutes, though her machine lost a significant amount of armor to repeated PPC strikes. At four minutes and 36 seconds into the battle, Trisha fired her Gauss rifle for the first time, skipping a shot off the sloped armor of the Marauder IIC's torso as Haynes desperately twisted away.

This single shot changed the initiative of the match, as it put Haynes on the defensive, allowing Swanson to stop dodging and attack. Two more Gauss rounds followed the first in quick succession, the first missing completely as Levi hit his jump jets in a desperate bid to escape, and the second striking the Marauder IIC in the right rear just as it was landing, destroying one of the jump jet units and effectively grounding the assault 'Mech.

From this point on, Swanson used her red and white Scourge like a light 'Mech, circling around the beleaguered Marauder IIC and firing on Haynes with her quartet of medium lasers and her Medium Pulse Laser, keeping him on his toes while she set up for the kill with her Gauss rifle. Haynes, however, proved that he deserved his spot in this championship match, luring Swanson into overcommitting herself to get off a Gauss shot. When she popped out from behind cover at close range, Levi was waiting, and fired a point-blank salvo of ATMs at the Scourge, staggering the smaller 'Mech with missile impacts.

Trisha was able to keep her 'Mech standing, however, and got in the Gauss attack despite the fearsome missile assault, disabling one of Levi's ER PPCs even as her medium lasers scored on the blue and silver 'Mech's ATM launcher, causing a series of minor explosions. The significance of this strike didn't become evident for some time, as Swanson ducked her Scourge out of the Marauder IIC's line of fire before Haynes could fire another volley of ATMs.

Swanson returned to her light-'Mech tactics, demonstrating the exceptional training provided by Cenotaph Stables, wrenching her damaged heavy 'Mech around in maneuvers that would challenge a light 'Mech. It was almost not enough, however, as Haynes was able to set up a missile shot on Trisha's Scourge while the Scourge was in mid-jump, soaring over one of the obstacles scattered about the arena. It quickly became evident that Swanson's laser hit on the launcher had caused more damage than was initially apparent, however, as only three missiles actually launched, the others detonating in their tubes and causing a massive explosion that nearly gutted the 'Mech of the Starlight Stables champion. Haynes attempted to fight on, however, until Swanson darted around his flank, taking out his second PPC with a pinpoint gauss strike and leaving him nearly defenseless. Not willing to fight on with only his two small lasers, Levi Haynes broadcast his surrender, leaving Trisha Swanson the 3135 Solaris VII Grand Tournament Champion.

Tactics

Unknown.

Mech

He piloted a Marauder IIC 2.

Bibliography

• Dark Age: LinkNet Articles (3136)