We all have made mistakes... some of them being such massive howlers that you could put a tail on them and call them a primate.
Mine would have been back when I was in my level 40 odds and strapped for funds. A lot of stuff got sold off back then that I have had to subsequently replace anew at not inconsiderable cost.
Happily one of the things I purchased as a replacement didn't cost a huge amount, has seen an awful lot of action and definitely done me proud.
Purchased is June of 3286, Heroes mech provisional number RRA-1 (standing for Replacement Red Ant #1) was bought with a single purpose in mind... this was the mech that would be my command mech for Clan War XVII, also know as the Rise of the Specialists.
Re-designated as Red October, this mech and the rest of the RRAs were an educated gamble... half our squad had just jumped 3 divisions and were facing the Torrent walls of higher level clans. If you can't beat 'em, take 'em off 'em... it's surprising how many big clans disdained the use of Red Ants back then.
As far as the October goes, while weapons have been chopped and changed over the years as soon as I had access to better ones, the equipment load out has remained the same... and my word is it spartan.
A set of Reinforced Joints in the chassis. Two Ferrite/Bioptic shields on the off chance somebody uses a light weapon, augmented by what was at the time my only Alpha Niode shield, purchased when I didn't know what I was really doing and it seemed like a good idea at the time.
And as befits its namesake, a FOF targeting array to go with the twin cup holders. After all, you may as well get some clout out of those scavenged missiles and there's always the chance that fork is going to take out more than one of the enemy blighters.
It's a matter of record that the Red October's first battle honours were gold. While it's not a bad start, there have been others of perhaps greater note on a personal level for my Ant squadron.
Against an Exiles clan a few years later it would be from this cockpit that I ran against my old mate Randy Taylor to break the tie in a bitterly fought match for silver. It was the last attack of the battle, and none more nerve wracking... but it was only the second sweetest victory.
The highest accolade on record was a personal duel victory against somebody who was at the time a clan mate but would go on to become a member of Zeon and a Legendary Pilot in his own right. The fact that there was a perfect storm of circumstance that involved potatoes, alcohol and somebody having a complete brain fart does not take away from the fact that somewhere in a deep dusty records office, there is a note that says... I won.
Submitted by David McCallum #701548