Ready player one! (D2 EE Simulators - Simulation Battle)

[Catherine Maia Hayes]

"I'll go in hot alongside you, Laks. Let's cover each other's backs." Catherine replies.

[Lakshmi Kaala]

"Okay. We'll get their attention Cat, do some damage and pull back to draw them toward you Ez. Close in using cover. We'll take the fire until they're right in front of you before we pounce back in. Put them between a rock and a hard place. Hopefully get vehicles in the sides and mechs in the rear. How's that-"

Laks stops as the simulation loads. They were in forests atop a green hill, a valley down below with a shallow stream and an old road on the other side. They were operating in covert conditions to reduce their mech signatures. Chatter had to be kept to a minimum.

Just passing into the valley were six vehicles and four mechs. A Vedette medium tank and a tracked APC, an SRM carrier, a Bulldog and two Scorpion tanks. Those last two were now especially familiar to them all. A Jenner and a Panther were on the closer side of the tank convoy, nearest the stream, while an Ostsol and a Blackjack were on the other side.

[GM Yuusha]

(Let's make this interesting. To see how you do, please roll the following:)

Rolls:
Tactics [Perception]
Comms [Awareness]
Mech Piloting [Reflexes]
Gunnery [Dexterity]

[Catherine Maia Hayes]

Tactics [Perception]: 15
Comms [Awareness]: 14
Mech Piloting [Reflexes]: 30
Gunnery [Dexterity]: 26

[Ezmeralda]

Tactics [Perception]: 20
Comms [Awareness]: 17
Mech Piloting [Reflexes]: 23
Gunnery [Dexterity]: 58

[Lakshmi Kaala]

Cat sticks with Laks, focusing on the closest enemies. Simple tactics, but effective. However, the fast pace was impeding her ability to relay information. Keeping up otherwise wasn't a problem for her however. Her Wolverine nimbly kept pace with Lak's. Her shooting was also solidly contributing.

Both Wolverines pull back past the stream after taking out three vehicles and damaging the Blackjack. The other mechs gave chase while the surviving vehicles moved to give fire support.

Using this opportunity, Ez pressed forward to blast the enemy from close range. They had moved right in front of her. It was the least she could do to give each mech with a nice AC/20 greeting. Her approach was clever, as she'd used the terrain well, and she'd communicated her intention to attack at the right moment. She was also managing to move around the trees downhill just fine.

Laks and Cat return to the fight a few seconds after Ez's Hunchback blows through the head of the Jenner. All three mechs surround and destroy the Ostsol. The Panther is kicked to the ground by the faster Laks where it becomes an easy target. By this point the three vehicles and damaged Blackjack are starting to withdraw.

"I've got armour to space. Ready to finish them off? Watch your step through that stream Easy."

Laks jumps after the enemy, firing her large laser.

[Catherine Maia Hayes]

"Ready, Kestrel." Catherine confirms.

The young Mechwarrior follows suit and jumps to cut the fleeing enemy off with her own Large Laser. There won't be an easy escape route for them with two mobile Battlemechs hot on their heels, or tracks.

[Lakshmi Kaala]

The remaining Scorpion explodes with Cat's shot.

"Hit that APC Hellcat. I've got the Bulldog. Easy, Blackjack's all yours."

[Catherine Maia Hayes]

"On it!"

Following Lakshmi's order, Catherine immediately jumps after her simulated target to shoot and kick it into the computer generated ground.

[Ezmeralda]

The Hunchback's legs became shrouded in steam as it stomped into the water. "A little something to cool things down and..." she habitually released her comms as the massive main gun let a shot loose, once again decapitating a mech, "Boom~! There's the love. Still got rounds if you need that Bulldog put down."

[Lakshmi Kaala]

"I'll manage. Have a break because..." She punctured the side of it and finished it with SRMs. "We're done here."

The simulation lasted a few seconds longer. Victory text followed. They'd won the day.

"Stellar shooting Ez. You made up for the first sim. Cat, nice piloting. Both of you could be faster on the comms to report information. It's enough for a lance, but you would struggle with a company." Laks gives her assessment. "Ja, all that said, you've both done really well tonight. I'm sure you'll do great tomorrow."

[Catherine Maia Hayes]

"Thanks, Laks. Tomorrow is a big day for us." Catherine exits her pod once again drenched in sweat from the simulated heat of a hot running mech. "Haaah ... so hot."

"Hey, Laks?" She suddenly asks when the Captain comes out of her own pod. "I've been thinking about a shooting range for longer ranged weapons. Our dropship practice room is just too small. Do you think I can put in a request for that?"

[Ezmeralda]

"Like a gunnery live fire range? I'd assume that is too much like money for the brass. Well, maybe less so for lasers..." she crossed her arms across her chest thoughtfully.

[Catherine Maia Hayes]

"Not a mech sized one, much as I would love it. Our sims will have to do for that." Catherine corrects. "But one for long range infantry weapons, like soldier rifles or my laser pistol."

[Lakshmi Kaala]

Lakshmi exits her pod and immediately stretches. She fans herself with one hand as she makes a beeline for something to drink.

"Eh, maybe." She makes a thoughtful noise as she considers it. Opening the lid of the energy drink, she has a joyful glug. "Pwaah. Better. Okay, so, a shooting range. You could definitely put in a proposal. Think about manpower needed and resources, as well as how this may only be a temporary site. If it's just clearing some snow outside the perimeter with some scrap as targets then I don't see why not. If you want more than that, well, it's going to need to come out of someone's budget. Let's discuss it over dinner."

She turns to Ez, giving her a smile. "Is there anything you want?"

[Catherine Maia Hayes]

Catherine follows suit and also takes an energy drink as well, drinking the cold nectar eagerly.

"Yeah. I think it should be enough to just clear some space, set up a few cheap targets and let people know where not to go, lest they want to get some new extra large body piercings. No need to make it fancy." The small Sergeant explains.

"Dinner sounds great! Let's go Laks."

[Ezmeralda]

"I'll take a drink," she smiled back, "But I don't have some big ass gun riding along with me in the cockpit, so I'm fine."

"Yeah, put up some signs and such. Warning : Shooting Range ahead," she paused, "Probably in English, Japanese and... Swedish? I think that's the big ones in Rasalhague."

[Lakshmi Kaala]

"Hungarian and Greek seem common on this planet, but you're right. We should put up a warning. Ano, let's not worry about it now." Laks pats her stomach. "I'm hungry~~~!" She says in a purposefully whiny voice. "Come. On."

Collecting her things, she takes light steps over toward the hallway.

"I can't wait until we can get some fresh ingredients again."

[Catherine Maia Hayes]

"I can do the Greek signs." Catherine offers and quickly shoots Laks a grin. "But dinner first. I'm super hungry too."

She quickly follows after her Captain with a skip in her step.

"Fresh fruit! I hope this planet has some real strawberries."

[Ezmeralda]

"Sure, sure, dinner sounds good," Ezmeralda said falling in behind the other two, "So long as the supply of rice and noodles holds out I can survive a lack of fresh ingredients."

/scene