MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries/First Strike

Draconis Combine Campaign – Planetary Defense[edit]

The Draconis Combine needs experienced mercenaries to defend the world of Wolcott against Periphery aggressors. The Combine's need is immediate. The contract is for three months, and the unit should have several Heavy 'Mechs and possibly an Assault 'Mech. The contract pays 8,000,000 C-Bills, already on deposit with ComStar. ALL PREVIOUS LEGAL DISAGREEMENTS WILL BE FORGOTTEN. NO MATTER WHAT YOUR HISTORY WITH THE COMBINE, WE CAN ACCOMMODATE YOU.

ComStar Contract Evaluation[edit]

  • World: Wolcott
  • Duty: Garrison
  • Begin Date: October 1, 3050
  • End Date: December 31, 3050
  • Maximum Pay: 8,000,000 C-Bills plus bounty and bonus
  • Minimum Pay: Bounty
  • Salvage Rights: Good

First Strike[edit]

MechWarrior's Campaign Journal[edit]

September 12, 3050[edit]

The Draconis Combine Commander on Wolcott is Hohiro Kurita, son of Theodore Kurita, heir to the Draconis Combine. If Theodore Kurita is willing to send his own son to this battle, he must have committed good troops to the field. I know that many of the units, like my own, are here under assumed names. This is for Clan Smoke Jaguar's benefit. When they issue their batchall, a challenge for the world, they demand to know who is defending it. The Clan commanders then bid with each other for the honor of taking the world. Whoever agrees to take the planet with the fewest number of troops gets to attack. By faking our records, we have made the Jaguar commanders underestimate our strength, and commit too few forces to the field. We are arriving on Wolcott early to we can fully prepare for the Smoke Jaguars.

October 8, 3050[edit]

The Smoke Jaguars have arrived. I was in the command center when Hohiro answered the Jaguar batchall. Hohiro convinced the Jaguars that we have nothing but green troops, and convinced Jaguar Commander Dietr Osis to give us four OmniMechs, two dozen suits of Elemental armor, and the Jaguars' sworn oath never to attack Wolcott again if we win. "If" we win. The Combine has shut down all of our communications systems so that the mission stays secure.

Briefing[edit]

Hohiro Kurita, Draconis Combine High Command: I will be personally leading the Draconis forces in the approaching battle. You have been selected from among the finest MechWarriors of the Inner Sphere. Do not let me down.

Kurita: We know that the Jaguar DropShips intend to land on the few dry hills in a nearby salt-water swamp. I am sending a group of Draconis engineers in a mine-laying helicopter to drop heavy landmines around the expected Jaguar landing zones.

Kurita: The entire region has been covered with ECM pods. While this will be a disadvantage for all of us, it will be far more confusing to the Smoke Jaguars.

  • Codename: First Strike
  • Planet: Wolcott
  • Terrain: Salt Marsh
  • Mean Temperature: 20 Celsius
  • Mission Pay: Bounty plus Bonus
  • Time: Afternoon
  • Expected Resistance: Smoke Jaguar Mistweavers
  • Your Call-Sign: Sentinel-1

Kurita: Follow the NAV POINTS to find the Smoke Jaguar landing zones. Defend the helicopter while it lays mines on the landing zones. Make sure that you destroy all enemy DropShips.

Objectives[edit]

  • Target: Destroy all Smoke Jaguar DropShips
  • Bonus: Defend the Draconis helicopter

Aftermath[edit]

Debriefing[edit]

Hohiro Kurita, Draconis Combine High Command: Your mission was an outstanding success. You will receive a substantial bonus for your efforts today. Who knows how many Draconis warriors will owe their lives to you because those Clan 'Mechs never made it onto Wolcott.

Brockton's Complete History of the Inner Sphere, p. 217[edit]

As the Clan Smoke Jaguar force headed toward Wolcott, Hohiro Kurita had already laid his plans well. Hohiro had encountered the Smoke Jaguars and their form of "honor" months before, on Turtle Bay, where he had been serving with the 14th Legion of Vega. After retreating from the battle on Turtle Bay, the Smoke Jaguars destroyed the city of Edo from space, reducing the once-proud capital to rubble and slaughtering its residents while Hohiro and the 14th Legion's survivors watched helplessly.

Hohiro was not the only Turtle Bay veteran prepared to fight the battle for Wolcott. A Clan Smoke Jaguar Star Commander at the time of the Edo massacre, Dietr Osis had since become Galaxy Commander, leader of the Mistweavers, who would fight for Wolcott.

In the battle that was to come, Hohiro Kurita was not only defending the Draconis Combine, but was also avenging the slaughtered innocents whom he had failed to protect on Turtle Bay. While the future of the Inner Sphere rested on his shoulders, Edo's vengeful ghosts whispered in his ears.