BattleTech (Video Game)/Tutorial

Tutorial

BRIEFING

Depending on the selected career options during the Commander Character creation page. Events will lead the Commander Character to cross paths with Raju "Mastiff" Montgomery again. Mastiff offered them a job in the House Arano Royal Guard. Reunited with their old mentor, preparing their ancestral Blackjack for guard duty on the coronation day of the Lady Kamea Arano...

DURING MISSION

Mastiff: Okay, {Character Callsign}... I had the Espinosa Refit Yards rush the repairs on your Blackjack. Looks like it's all in one piece, but we should run some diagnostics on it, just to be sure. Standard field tests, you know the drill.

Mastiff: More importantly, though, I wanna tell you more about the job I brought you out here to do. Now do me a favor and get that BattleMech moving–let's see if there are any kinks in the actuators.

Mastiff: I'll come right out and say it, kid: I wasn't completely honest with you the other day. There's gonna be more to this job than escort duty.

Mastiff: I brought you here because there's something wrong in the capital. It's been too quiet since High Lord Tamati's funeral, and I'm worried about Lady Kamea's safety during her coronation procession.

Mastiff: Anyway, looks like your actuators check out. Let's conduct a weapons test... target one of those burnt-out old UrbanMechs and open fire.

Mastiff: Like I was saying... I can't prove anything. But my gut tells me something's off, and a warrior trusts their instincts.

Mastiff: Good shot–your guns are in working order, at least.

Mastiff: I've been training Lady Arano since she was 14 years old. She can be naive at times, and proud, but I have no doubt that she'll be a just and effective ruler. It's on us to see her safely to Cordia City... I'll rest easier once she's in the capital, with her cousin Victoria by her side.

Mastiff: Lady Victoria... well, she's only been training under me for a single season, but she's already shaped herself into one of the strongest MechWarriors I've ever seen. Reminds me a lot of you, truth be told.

Mastiff: Anyway–we should run a check on your targeting computer. You see that drone over there, the one moving through the tree line? Put some hurt on it for me, and then when it turns, take it out with a rear-angle shot. After it's down we'll keep moving.

Mastiff: Kamea's like a daughter to me, and her late father, High Lord Tamati, was a good friend.

Mastiff: Victoria pulls no punches, but she's been a loyal companion to Kamea since they were kids. Aside from you, there's no one I'd rather have by my side in a fight.

Mastiff: Nice shot. Now, I don't know how familiar you are with Aurigan politics, but the Reach was badly shaken by High Lord Tamati's death. It needs a smooth transfer of power, and Kamea belongs on the Cormorant Throne.

Mastiff: Go ahead and fire up your jump jets, kid–I want to see you descend this cliff face. Aim for that patch of ground there, near the edge of the lake.

Mastiff: Yeah, I was afraid of that... jump jets build a lot of heat, and that was more than your engine could handle. Head on into that water–we need to get you cooled off.

Computer: Warning: plasma leak detected. Jump jet malfunction. Jump jet systems damaged. System inoperable until repaired.

Mastiff: Oh, for the love of all the gods. This is what I get for insisting on a rush job... not that I had much of a choice. The Espinosa Refit Yards were backlogged like you wouldn't believe. It looked like they were trying to process every single Royal Guard 'Mech in time for the coronation.

Mastiff: There isn't any time to get your jets replaced, so we're gonna have to make do without 'em. Go ahead and take that 'Mech down with a melee attack. I wanna be sure nothing else is gonna break down on your Blackjack before we take it out on the Cormorant Road.

Mastiff: Good hit–at least that's solid. All right, one last test. I want you to take your Blackjack up to a sprint and evade my attack.

Mastiff: Push that engine, kid–if something goes wrong today, I want to know that your 'Mech can maneuver.

Mastiff: Congratulations, {Character Callsign}. Your Blackjack's as combat-ready as it can be, given the circumstances. For what it's worth, I hope that my suspicions turn out to be unfounded, and we end the day having a good laugh about what a paranoid old man I've become. But if not... then I know that you'll be ready.

Mastiff: All right, it's time to move out. Lady Arano is waiting for us at the MechBay.

Kamea Arano: An impressive display, Sir Raju. Of course, this MechWarrior was a student of yours... I'd expect them to know their way around a cockpit.

Mastiff: {Character Callsign}, allow me to introduce Kamea Arano, the soon-to-be High Lady of the Aurigan Coalition. Is Lady Victoria on this channel?"

Victoria Espinosa: For the time being. My father has summoned me to the Pickton Docks–I have a fleet inspection and a tour of the family refit yards to preside over before the coronation. Behold, the responsibilities of a noble daughter... a fount of tedium that never runs dry.

Kamea Arano: I know the feeling, cousin–by this time tomorrow, I'll be responsible for the entire Reach. Give my best to your father, and don't be late for the tourney. The gambling dens are already taking bets on how long it'll take me to cripple that customized monstrosity you pilot.

Victoria Espinosa: [laughing] Bold words, cousin... but the only victory they'll be celebrating is mine. You may be ascending the throne today, but my Kaga is more than a match for the family heirloom that you call a BattleMech... and in the arena, I reign supreme.

Kamea Arano: [chuckling] We'll see, cousin–we'll see. At any rate, I will see you at the tourney grounds. Sir Raju, I'm ready to go when you are. Overland, along the Cormorant Road, as is the Arano tradition.

Mastiff: Aye, Kamea–we'll get you there in one piece. {Character Callsign}, fall in behind me...

Mastiff: ... And remember what I told you.