Classic Battletech - Battlecorps - Castor's Last Stand (Ben Rome & Geoff Swift).pdf

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CASTOR’S LAST STAND
by Ben Rome & Geoff Swift
“Situation, Charlie Platoon.”
“Sir, we believe there’s elements of the militia holed up in the Geoffrey Nature Preserve. Our scouts have spotted some tracks leading
into the valley and are confident that there is at least a lance of ’Mechs located in the woods.”
“Copy that. We’ll be breaking camp in five. Keep tabs on that area, let me know if anything changes.”
“Roger, Lieutenant. It’d be nice to finish this snipe hunt soon.”
“Understandable, Sarge. I think we’re all itching to get off this bitch of a rock and get moving to Procyon.”
“Agreed, sir. Can’t wait to get home.”
SITUATION
Northwest corner of Geoffrey Nature Preserve
Castor
Federated Commonwealth
16 Sept 3057
The Sirian Lancers have been pushing the FWLM for the liberation of the Concordance worlds since their fall to the Lyrans in 3028. With the execu-
tion of Operation Guerrero, that time seemed to be at hand. They were assigned to hit the “lesser worlds” of Van Diemen IV and Castor before they
could look towards liberating their lost homeworlds of Sirius and Procyon of the Concordance.
Determined to finish their mission quickly, the Third Sirian Lancers hit Castor in three areas, one for each battalion. Third Battalion had no trouble
eliminating the small militia contingent situated near the coast and proceeded to the capital area to assist the First Battalion.
The Second Battalion, under Force Commander Ormonde, was assigned the vast hills and forest areas that supplied Castor with its large timber
exports to other FedCom worlds. Because Castor was considered not as important as other nearby worlds, the Federated Commonwealth had only
assigned several officers from its military liaison offices to help organize and form the planetary militia. Partly by luck, the bulk of the militia forces
had been on maneuvers in the Geoffrey Nature Preserve when the Lancers had struck. Quickly going to ground, the militia began a deadly game of
hide and seek with the Second Battalion.
Attrition took its toll, however. After only a week of quick strike-and-fades, half of the liaison officers were either killed or captured by the invading
League forces. The remaining FedCom officers decided to delay the inevitable as much as possible and attempted to lure the Third Lancer’s command
lance into an ambush in the thicker part of the Preserve’s woodlands.
GAME SET-UP
Lay the Heavy Forest #1 (from
BattleTech Map Set 4,
or
Classic BattleTech
Map Set Compilation 1)
and Rolling Hills
#2 (from
BattleTech Map Set 3,
or
Classic
BattleTech Map Set Compilation 1)
maps
as shown.
ATTACKER
The Attacker consists of elements of the Second Battalion of the Third
Sirian Lancers on hunter-killer duty.
Command Lance, First Company, Second Battalion, Third Sirian Lancers
OTL-5M
Ostsol
(Captain Charles Weston; Piloting 4, Gunnery 3)
TR1
Wraith
(Lieutenant Maggie O’Reilly; Piloting 4, Gunnery 4)
CDA-3F
Cicada
(Staff Sgt Hugh Franks; Piloting 5, Gunnery 3)
NTK-2Q
Night Hawk
(Staff Sgt Jess Wellsey; Piloting 4, Gunnery 4)
Strike Lance, First Company, Second Battalion, Third Sirian Lancers
ZPH-1A
Tarantula
(Lieutenant Carl Tippery; Piloting 5, Gunnery 4)
CDA-3F
Cicada
(Staff Sgt Gerald Ulson; Piloting 4, Gunnery 4)
SDR-8M
Spider
(Sgt Enrique Garcia; Piloting 5, Gunnery 4)
HMR-3M
Hammer
(Sgt David Legido; Piloting 5, Gunnery 3)
Charlie Platoon, Ninth Sirian Pioneers
Mechanized Infantry, Rifle (Gunnery 5)
Deployment
The Attacker enters from the east edge of the Rolling Hills #2 map dur-
ing the Movement Phase of turn 1.
In addition, the Attacker also has a LT-MOB-25 Long Tom Artillery ve-
hicle located 1,000 meters south, off-board (see p. 73,
BMR).
DEFENDER
The Defender consists of the remnants of a FedCom-trained plane-
tary militia. These militiamen are attempting an ambush on the pursuing
Lancers and are commanded by two “detached” FedCom officers.
In addition, all ballistic and missile ammunition loads are reduced by
half.
Federated Commonwealth Liaison Team
WTH-2
Whitworth
(Lieutenant Bernardo Lopez-Cintrano; Piloting 3,
Gunnery 3)
HCT-5S
Hatchetman
(Major Richard Torthwait; Piloting 3, Gunnery 3)
Elements of Castor Planetary Militia
SDR-9KA
Venom
(Corporal Melissa Eggerts; Piloting 4, Gunnery 5)
RFL-3M
Rifleman
(Private Jose Fernandez; Piloting 5, Gunnery 5)
SRM Carrier (Piloting 5, Gunnery 5)
SRM Carrier (Piloting 5, Gunnery 5)
Goblin Medium Tank (Piloting 5, Gunnery 5)
Goblin Medium Tank (Piloting 5, Gunnery 5)
Deployment
All of the Defender’s forces begin the game as Hidden Units (see p. 83,
BMR)
and may be placed anywhere on the Heavy Forest #1 map and/or
within the first five hex rows of the Rolling Hills #2 map (01xx – 05xx).
In addition, the Defender may place up to four command-detonated
minefields and up to four conventional minefields (see p. 86,
BMR)
any-
where on the game board.
VICTORY CONDITIONS
The Attacker’s sole purpose is to locate the last vestiges of resistance on Castor and eliminate it. To that end, the Attacker gains a Total Victory by
destroying all of the Defender’s units. A Partial Victory is achieved if either of the two FedCom Liaison officers survive or exit the map board after Turn
20. A Total Defeat for the Attacker occurs if the Attacker’s on-board force is destroyed.
The Defender gains a Total Victory if the entirety of the Attacker’s on-board force is destroyed. A Partial Victory is achieved if either of the two
FedCom Liaison officers survive and is able to exit the west map edge after Turn 20. A Total Defeat occurs if the entire Defender’s force is destroyed,
captured, or crippled.
SPECIAL RULES
The following special rules apply during this scenario.
THIRD SIRIAN LANCERS
The Third Lancers receive a +1 Initiative bonus during the entire game.
FEDCOM LIAISON OFFICERS
The FedCom officers provide the backbone of the planetary militia. If a unit with a liaison officer is destroyed or captured, the planetary militia
suffers a –1 Initiative penalty for the remainder of the game. This penalty is cumulative.
AFTERMATH
The ambush ended in disaster for the planetary militia. After Major Torthwait was killed when a lucky artillery strike landed on his
Hatchetman’s
head, the militia began to fall apart. With the ambush spoiled, Lieutenant Lopez-Cintrano chose to surrender the remainder of the militia forces to the
Third Lancers rather than see the ragged unit suffer even more destruction.
Sporadic raids occurred for another four weeks as some militia members refused to cooperate and went guerrilla. With supplies dwindling to
nothing and a failed raid on the Lancer’s supply depot near the coast, the resistance movement ended with a whimper. Out of the six FedCom Liaison
officers assigned to Castor, three died in combat, two were captured by the Lancers, and one went missing shortly after the disastrous coastal raid.
The Third Lancers suffered less than ten percent casualties and were prepared to move on to the Concordance homeworlds when the Captain-
General negotiated peace with the Federated Commonwealth and halted the momentum of Operation Guerrero. Consequently, the Third Sirian
Lancers joined their brethren in demanding that the offensive continue so that the remaining worlds of the Sirian Concordance could be liberated.
By the middle of December 3057, all resistance ceased and Castor was back in League hands. With the cessation of hositilites, Operation Guerrero
came to an end for the Free Worlds League.

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