MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries/Blood Cauldron

Blood Cauldron

MechWarrior’s Campaign Journal

July 15, 3048

We’re low on water again. The Drevenshire water tanks took more damage than we had thought. Two have suffered a serious leak, and the intense water pressure means that we can’t patch them until they’re almost empty. The locals have been trying to find replacement containers, but most of the water will be lost.

August 31, 3048

Search teams have been out hunting for the Dread Legion. The Kuritans estimate that at least 60% of the Dread Legion forces are still in the field, but I think it’s more like 80%. I still haven’t figured out what the hell the Dread Legion was doing here in the first place. They couldn’t have seriously thought they would survive on this stinking planet. It’s hot, uncomfortable, and useless. Why anyone would want to be here is a mystery to me. I suppose poverty doesn’t give the civilians a choice, but the Dread Legion has never had money problems.

September 20, 3048

We have found a whole nest of Dread Legion ‘Mechs. They are hidden in the hull of a wrecked ocean liner, from back when this sea actually had water in it. The Draconis ‘Mechs are going to wait for me to “flush them out.” Fortunately, this will be my last mission. The Kuritans are tired of paying me, and have already sent for a DropShip. I can’t wait to get back to Outreach and have a bath.

Draconis Combine – Mercenary Briefing

Kobo Fukuzawa, DC Mercenary Liaison Officer: Now we prepare for our final triumph. The remaining Dread Legion ‘Mechs are hiding in the rusted hull of a huge ocean liner high on the former shoreline. Go into the ship and destroy the disloyal mercenaries.

• Codename: Blood Cauldron
• Planet: Gravenhage
• Terrain: Ocean Liner Hull
• Time: Day
• Mean Temperature: 34 Celsius
• Mission Pay: 1,000,000 plus bounty
• Expected Resistance: Dread Legion
• Your Call-Sign: Rattler

Fukuzawa: Enter the hull and destroy the Dread Legion. Your own DropShip has already landed to take you off Gravenhage. Return to your DropShip at NAV ALPHA when the Dread Legion is destroyed.

Objectives

• Target: Destroy All Enemies
• Target: Dustoff at NAV ALPHA

[Should you destroy one of the Friendly Kurita Mechs]

• Target: Destroy Draconis Support
• Target: Dustoff at NAV ALPHA

[Divergent objectives ends]

Aftermath

Debriefing

Kobo Fukuzawa, DC Mercenary Liaison Officer: I congratulate you on your bold victory. The Draconis High Command, which, as you may know, does not smile on the use of mercenaries, is very pleased with your performance. They have assured me that your services will be used in the future, and I, too, will be rewarded for employing you. When you return to Outreach, tell your mercenary friends what has transpired here. There are consequences for mercs who trifle with the Draconis Combine.

[Should you take the Dread Legion's offer]

Kobo Fukuzawa, DC Mercenary Liaison Officer: As you have failed to meet the terms of your contract, you have been terminated. You have allowed the Dread Legion to escape without retribution for their faithlessness. In fact you actions today are another example of a mercenary's treacherous nature. We intercepted the Dread Legion's transmitted bribe attempt, but our radio equipment failed to pick up your reply. We have no proof that you allowed the Legion to escape, but I suggested that you watch yourself, merc.

[Divergent text ends]

ComStar News Service – October 4, 3048

The battle for Gravenhage is over. The Dread Legion has finally abandoned their position on the heights and may have managed to escape in DropShips that landed on the continent. Over half of the Legion is believed to have escaped, although Draconis Combine representatives vow that they will be stopped at the Gravenhage JumpPoint.

Now that the Dread Legion has abandoned Gravenhage, their reason for taking the insignificant world has become clear. Residents of Drevenshire, the town most damaged by the battle on Gravenhage, discovered an ancient Star League technology cache under the wreckage of the recent combat. Apparently, the Dread Legion took Gravenhage to track down the cache, but was defeated by Draconis Combine forces before they could move it off-planet.

Koki Hussein, Mayor of Drevenshire, told reporters today that the cache contains several extremely advanced computers and a large data store. The Combine has announced its intentions to appropriate the technology, as Gravenhage is within Draconis territory, but Mayor Hussein has already entered negotiations to sell the cache to the Federated Commonwealth for several hundred million C-Bills. “We’re sick of being pawns,” Hussein said. “Now we can afford our own ‘Mechs to keep people off our planet.”

Blood Cauldron (Alternative)

This version of the mission occurs if the player failed the primary version of the previous mission.

MechWarrior’s Campaign Journal

July 3, 3048

At last this fiasco makes sense. Why did the Dread Legion seize this rotten little husk of a world? Why did they suddenly try to abandon it once the Draconis Combine predictably attacked? Simple. The Legion had found a Star League technology cache. It's got to be worth millions to any Successor State. The cache was apparently uncovered after the oceans burned away, located in an old Star League underwater research facility. At one point the Star League was experimenting with a variety of weapons to determine how to best arm their underwater combat vehicles. The Dread Legion discovered several crates filled with these weapons and data stores complete with technical and engineering specs on a variety of weapons and 'Mechs.

July 10, 3048

The Legion has the tech cache hidden in the hull of a wrecked ocean liner from back when this sea had water in it, not more than five klicks south of Drevenshire. This is worth more than my entire Draconis contract, not to mention the possibility of capturing some extremely advanced weapons and equipment.

DropShip Captain Sean Kelly

The DC went off-planet today, saying they'd be back with 'Mechs and more water, but don't wait for them. Just as I was about to contact you to arrange a landing site, the computer cracked the Legion's communication codes and I found out what they've been fighting for. There's a Star League cache, tech and weapons, on Gravenhague! It's gotta be worth millions! The Dread Legion found it, and they've been keeping it inside the rusted hull of an old ocean liner. Get in there and steal that cache! I'll pick you up when you're done.

• Codename: Glittering Gold
• Planet: Gravenhague
• Terrain: Ocean Liner Hull
• Time: Day
• Mean Temperature: 35 Celsius.
• Mission Pay: None.
• Expected Resistance: Dread Legion
• Your Call-Sign: RATTLER

ENTER the SHIP and DESTROY any DREAD LEGION 'MECHS. FIND and DEFEND the STAR LEAGUE TECHNOLOGY CACHE.

Objectives

• Target: IDENTIFY THE STAR LEAGUE CACHE
• Target: SECURE THE CACHE

Aftermath

MISSION SUCCESSFUL

DropShip Captain Sean Kelly

Well done! I just looked through the cache, and it's a good one. It's got computers, software, and some of the best weapons I've seen. We already have a Fed. Comm. offer of 5,000,000 C-Bills for the machines and data, so I set up the deal. What about the weapons? We can use them ourselves, or sell them off. It's up to you, <PLAYER NAME>.

ComStar News Service - October 4, 3048

The Draconis Combine was routed from Gravenhague today, chased off by less than two companies of the Dread Legion. Military analysts are calling the entire campaign a "fiasco" and a "comedy of errors." This comes as another embarrassment to the already damaged reputation of the DCMS (Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery).

Combine officers place the blame not on their own troops but instead on the Combine's recent heavy use of mercenaries. One Combine officer, who prefered to remain unnamed, claims that several mercenary units on Gravenhague failed to fulfill their mission orders, costing the Combine men, time and material to make up the lost objectives. This internal Draconis source also hinted that the Combine will rely on mercenaries less in the future.

In a related story, a small mercenary unit working for the Combine on Gravenhague apparently beat the Dread Legion to a Star League technology cache which contained several computers and ancient Star League software. The cache was immediately sold to the Federated Commonwealth for an undisclosed sum.

Aftermath (failure)

MISSION FAILED

DropShip Captain Sean Kelly

Well, you didn't get the cache. At least the Dread Legion let you jump off-planet without any hassle once they had control of the cache. The Fed. Comm. offered a huge amount of money for it, but Brenner's already got a better offer from a research company on New Avalon. Would have been nice.

ComStar News Service - October 4, 3048

The battle for Gravenhague is over. The Dread Legion has finally abandoned their positions on the heights and a good many have managed to escape in DropShips that landed on the continent. Over half the Dread Legion is believed to have escaped, although Draconis representatives vow that they will be stopped at the Gravenhague JumpPoint.

Now that the Dread Legion has abandoned Gravenhague, their reason for taking the insignificant world has become clear. Colonel Daniel "Jungle Tiger" Brenner, the wily and dangerous leader of the Dread Legion, captured Gravenhague to hide the Dread Legion's search for an ancient Star League technology cache. This search was apparently successful two weeks ago, which coincides the Dread Legion's early attempts to withdraw from Gravenhague.

According to one Dread Legion officer, the Star League cache contains several extremely advanced computers and a large software data store. While the Combine prepared for a major battle with the Legion, the Legion was looking for this cache. Once they found it, they fled Gravenhague.

The Combine has refused to make any offers for the technology, but rumors suggest that the Federated Commonwealth has already offered the Dread Legion several hundred million C-Bills for the computers found under the dusty ocean floor of Gravenhague's evaporated seas.

In a radio interview with a CNS reporter, Colonel Brenner stated that the Federated Commonwealth's offer for the Star League cache more than covered the Legion's costs on Gravenhague. According to Colonel Brenner, the Dread Legion can now "buy a new company of BattleMechs, pass the entire Legion on to our sons and daughters, and retire in style. We're even thinking of starting a Dread Legion franchise!"