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Final Briefing (Pregame 2 LM Briefing Room)

Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2021 9:43 pm
by GM Yuusha
(This is a mandatory large thread for Mechwarriors. Non-combat characters can attend if they wish. Please reply to this thread. You'll be able to ask questions in character after the briefing part.)

Image

Bright line shone in the briefing room making it easy to find a seat. The mechwarriors and a handful of other personnel had been invited to a final briefing ahead of meeting up with the AFFC's invasion fleet. Exact details on the upcoming action had been sparse, but this promised to be candid. There would be a briefing and a Q&A session was then promised.

Eric stood at the front chatting to one of the strategists as a tech checked over the sound system. The screens were on, but nothing was visible yet. Soon there would be some more information.

Re: Final Briefing (Pregame 2 LM Briefing Room)

Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2021 9:54 pm
by Klaus von Zinzer
Klaus always makes a point of attending these. After all, how can people entrust their lives to his direction if he doesn't at least show up to essential briefings.

Re: Final Briefing (Pregame 2 LM Briefing Room)

Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2021 10:12 pm
by Catherine Maia Hayes
Catherine is punctual, as usual, which a year ago nobody would have ever expected from her. Wearing her simple combat uniform and snapping a quick the salute, the young Sergeant then settles down into her preferred seat to wait for the briefing to begin. A small benefit of being right on time.

Fortunately it is in the Late Morning, rather than the early one, so she is not really struggling to stay awake for this.

Re: Final Briefing (Pregame 2 LM Briefing Room)

Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 4:16 pm
by Alex Kovac
Alex came to the briefing, coffee in hand and a piece of toast. The Penguin lead yawned and waved to the present people taking a seat on the back.

Re: Final Briefing (Pregame 2 LM Briefing Room)

Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 4:35 pm
by Catherine Maia Hayes
Catherine, who is sitting nearer to the front, gives Alex a little wave in return.

Re: Final Briefing (Pregame 2 LM Briefing Room)

Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 5:29 pm
by John Slaktare
Butcher moved to a seat next to Alex and dropped into it lazily. Not out of a particular interest in Alex, but it just happened to be near the back which was his own preference.

"Morning," he says, mostly under his breath. He drank from his water bottle.

Re: Final Briefing (Pregame 2 LM Briefing Room)

Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 5:37 pm
by Ezmeralda
Ezmeralda took a seat, sipped some water, and braced for the meeting.

Re: Final Briefing (Pregame 2 LM Briefing Room)

Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 5:43 pm
by Aleksandr Korolov
Alek wasn't a huge morning person but at least the meeting wasn't first thing.

He had his personal mug which was about the size of most people's head and it was full of warm coffee. The large man sat at the table with a thud and took a long drink.

Re: Final Briefing (Pregame 2 LM Briefing Room)

Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 6:00 pm
by Richard Winter
Richard entered the room, armed with a notepad and a cup of coffee, and looked for an empty seat somewhere. "Good morning, everyone," he said to the group.

Re: Final Briefing (Pregame 2 LM Briefing Room)

Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 6:20 pm
by Alex Kovac
John Slaktare wrote:
Tue Dec 28, 2021 5:29 pm
Butcher moved to a seat next to Alex and dropped into it lazily. Not out of a particular interest in Alex, but it just happened to be near the back which was his own preference.

"Morning," he says, mostly under his breath. He drank from his water bottle.
Alex nodded. "Morning...John." Alex smiled and nodded. The Penguin knew John is not the talkative type so kept quiet as the young warrior ate the toast.

Re: Final Briefing (Pregame 2 LM Briefing Room)

Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 7:06 pm
by Mei-Ling Zhou
Slowly, painfully, Mei dragged herself into the room and sat in the first available seat she could find; large dark sunglasses covering her face.

"Morning" She yawn-groaned.

Re: Final Briefing (Pregame 2 LM Briefing Room)

Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 7:08 pm
by Eric Voelker
Eric approached the front after receiving a thumbs up. The tech was working.

A large holovision monitor flickered on. It displayed a static 3D image of a planet. The Major waited for a moment before giving everyone a stiff salute. Naturally, he expected everyone to stand and return it. Once that was over he gestured for the assembled personnel to take their seats once more.

"At ease and listen up. This is Csesztreg. Csesztreg Three to be precise." Off to the side Iria seemed pleased for some reason.

"As you all know, it's our target alongside the Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth. The AFFC if you're new to this. We'll be landing in the next forty eight hours. I'm going to go over our objectives, the expected level of resistance, our timelines and more about our landing site. Now, there will be plenty of time at the end for questions, but I myself don't like to wait so..."

He shrugged his shoulders.

"If it's important or you're going to forget, ask then and there. I'll pause and respond." His eyes scanned across those present, left to right and back. "This will be information that you will find useful and that might keep you alive, so I don't expect any funny business. Verstanden? Ja, if anyone is that way inclined, get it out of your system now." He smiled warmly. "I know some of you are excited."

Re: Final Briefing (Pregame 2 LM Briefing Room)

Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 7:13 pm
by John Slaktare
John went through the expected formal steps and returned to his seat, pulling out his own small holomap. He'd gotten the data synced pre-briefing and followed along, moving the map around and inspecting the sites he was given access to.

He listened intently so that he'd be able to repeat anything he needed to back to his lance, but he didn't have any questions or curiosity at the moment. Just expectation and anticipation. He wanted a fight.

Re: Final Briefing (Pregame 2 LM Briefing Room)

Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 8:20 pm
by Mei-Ling Zhou
Mei stood and saluted sharply but then returned to her seat in a slump.

(Muttered Chinese) "Come on Mei, you can do this, information saves lives."

Re: Final Briefing (Pregame 2 LM Briefing Room)

Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 10:23 pm
by Yori Hakamada
Yori appeared to materialise into a seat..had...had she been sitting under a table screen this entire time?

Re: Final Briefing (Pregame 2 LM Briefing Room)

Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 10:25 pm
by Aleksandr Korolov
Alek stood with everyone and offered a snappy salute, despite his formerly bedraggled state he seemed sharp and at attention now.

He relaxed a bit and sat down looking at the map taking drinks from his mug as gears turned. He sat back again and looked to the Major ready to listen to what information he had to share.

Re: Final Briefing (Pregame 2 LM Briefing Room)

Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 10:28 pm
by Klaus von Zinzer
Klaus nods

Plenty of questions. But I can wait for the end

It wouldn't do for a strategic officer to be constantly asking things, making it seem as if he was cluelessly sending people in to fight.

Re: Final Briefing (Pregame 2 LM Briefing Room)

Posted: Wed Dec 29, 2021 12:09 am
by GM Yuusha
When everyone was listening Eric started to share the more pertinent information. Much of it would already be familiar to the officers.

Image

They'd be landing on Akos, which was a lesser continent known more for its tourism and fishing than for its rare metals - not that it didn't have those too. It'd be early spring there and that meant some snow was expected, as the planet was cold, but the temperature could be beneficial for some mechs. The enemy outnumbered them, but they would be stuck on defence while the Angels just needed to keep them pinned. It was all about enabling the AFFC to take the main continent as quickly as possible, which meant denying Akos Militia reinforcements.

Soon more details about the contract would be shared...
• 50% battlefield salvage. Half the stuff we blow up or take in combat is ours.
• 25% other salvage. Anything that we find that isn't from a battlefield we can only claim a quarter of. This doesn't apply to buildings. Only supplies, military equipment, weapons systems, vehicles, etc.
• Salvage could be even more financially rewarding than contract pay. If the operation went well there would be bonuses. However, if the salvage went well, there could be mech upgrades. Enemy armoured vehicles could be handed over to the AFFC while the Angels kept all the mechs they took for themselves, for example.
• All salvage must be reported back. We have 'first dibs' on what we'd like, which is a big bonus, but there are severe penalties for not reporting any findings and these later being exposed. We can always take the value of findings in currency or in supplies rather than in salvage.
• Likewise, all intelligence should be shared with the AFFC.
• Liaison Command Rights - Any allied units in an engagement on Akos alongside us will fall under Angels' command. They otherwise operate independently. We are independent and can make our own command decisions. There will be an AFFC Liaison Officer assigned to us.
• There are multiple informants and other intelligence assets on world. Most of these are on the main continent, but there is one on Akos that will rendezvous with the unit ASAP after touchdown.
• Expected arrival time in system is March 19th. The 3 months of the contract begins then.
• The AFFC contingent will be approximately 5 regiments strong. It's primarily Battlemechs, Armour and Aerospace. Units are motivated veteran and regular forces with approximately 20% upgraded units. They plan to establish aerial superiority, drop onto the main continent, hit major military sites and to then besiege the Capital while AFFC assault dropships ensure no enemy reinforcements are forthcoming. Currently our employers estimate it'll take less than two months to gain control of the planet. Some estimates suggest less than a month, but frankly these seem optimistic.
• There is a KungsArmé force on planet. In other words, a professional military. Dangerous. Estimates are that it is just over a regiment in strength, but in a defensive position. It is primarily Battlemechs. It is rated veteran with approximately 10% upgraded units. These are nearly all on Somogy, which meant encounters with them were unlikely for the Angels.
• There are also 3 regiments of Militia. Two of them are on Somogy, the mainland, and one is on Akos. The two on Somogy almost certainly will be reinforcing the KungsArmé. Both are rated green. The one on Akos, the Akos Militia (also known as the 2nd Planetary Militia of Csesztreg, the Guardians of Akos), is our main target. It is rated green. The intelligence on all 3 Militia regiments is much more limited than what we have on the KungsArmé, who we hopefully will not be directly fighting. Latest intelligence suggests a great deal of cheap conventional armour - tanks and vehicles, some infantry, VTOLs and static defences.
• The Akos Militia is approximately five times our fighting strength. Even though we believe they only have a minority of Battlemech assets and green pilots, a head on engagement would likely be suicidal. However, their forces are spread across a large island continent where they must guard multiple locations. We'll therefore be striking isolated forces and seeking to keep the enemy pinned and confused. Our main objective is to prevent them reinforcing the mainland as much as possible and to cause as much damage as we can.
• The AFFC have promised to engage and distract the enemy during our combined descent and landfall. When the AFFC touch down on the mainland we'll separate and divert to Akos across the ocean at low altitude to minimalize our electronic signature, touching down hopefully with little or no detection in the South West of the island, where it is least populated. We'll figure out the exact details in orbit and agree them with the AFFC.
• Once touched down, we'll immediately ascertain nearby targets and prepare a strike. A new briefing and discussion will be arranged just for that. The CO makes the final decision, but opinions will be most welcome. We have to make the enemy concerned and anxious, so they will be drawn to protect their holdings, but we don't want to provoke them so much they all mobilise to attack us. Keeping our exact numbers and location secret will be important. Once the first strike is over we will have to be fluid based on what is happening.
• Further pertinent information will be shared with us by the AFFC as it becomes available.
(Questions now welcome)

Re: Final Briefing (Pregame 2 LM Briefing Room)

Posted: Wed Dec 29, 2021 1:39 pm
by Alex Kovac
Alex followed protocol. Taking notes in a noteputer and stating to memory the orders given. The young man rose a hand and asked. "Is it our duty to take out the bridge or AFFC? Also Do we know what it is in Vilmos? Should we be warry of reinforcements from there?"

Re: Final Briefing (Pregame 2 LM Briefing Room)

Posted: Wed Dec 29, 2021 4:46 pm
by Klaus von Zinzer
Alex Kovac wrote:
Wed Dec 29, 2021 1:39 pm
Alex followed protocol. Taking notes in a noteputer and stating to memory the orders given. The young man rose a hand and asked. "Is it our duty to take out the bridge or AFFC? Also Do we know what it is in Vilmos? Should we be warry of reinforcements from there?"
Klaus coughs and leans in for a whisper "The AFFC is the ones paying the bills on this operation Sargeant Kovac"

He sends a look back over and Eric and nods. There was no need to embarrass the pilot over that. "With your permission sir"

He clears his throat

"To my knowledge, there have been no instructions instructions from the client about the bridge. It could be a target of operations if we are desperate and need to cut off transportation to the mainland. But there are considerations that make that impractical for now. "

"You asked about reinforcements Sargeant. There is currently no sign of a significant risk of reinforcement from Vilmos. The bridge to the mainland could be use to bring in reinforcements against us, but of they are doing so, it makes for a desperate gamble by leaving our employers with the chance to obliterate their veterans. It also" Klaus quirks his lips "is the easiest way for us to be reinforced as well. Unless I have missed something sir"