So Green It Hurts - By John Ringo #899287

Sometimes life just gives you a poo pie and it hits the fan.

I was sitting in my favorite Dilo “Ace In The Hole” all kitted up for combat waiting for the drop door to open and release my mech into the cold embrace of space. The status light on the countdown status display changed from red to green as the number hit 0. All around me doors quickly cycled open and compressed air pushed out my teammates mechs out of our ship. They fired their attitude control thrusters and aligned themselves for a hot combat drop onto the planetoid below and get the drop on the enemy we were tasked to fight for this round of the war. Everything was looking good on my screens. Their spacing was just right and they wasted no time in firing the main thrusters and start their screaming descent towards the ground below. The only thing that was wrong at this point was the simple fact my drop door was still closed and my computer was giving a general fault code on my mechs status readout. Grinding my teeth together in frustration all I could do is wait for the techs to reach me and pull my mech back into the service bay to find and repair the damage.

My frustration was not helped by the fact that I was assigned a group of techs so new and shiny it hurt to look at them with your eyes. You could see that they meant well and were eager to get started so I disembarked from my mech and let them get to work. They attacked my mech with the fervor of young men with something to prove. Diagnostic equipment was plugged into any free diagnostic port they could find. Access panels were pulled open all over my mech. Much time went by and more tools were brought into the fray. Sweat was beading up on their foreheads in frustration and concentration while they hunted this elusive “General Fault”.

Radio calls for help started to pour in on the loud speakers in the service bay. My team was finding out we had some bad intel and instead of getting the drop on our enemies they had been waiting in ambush for us. Chaos was breaking loose down there and I was sorely needed to join in the fight if we were going to have a chance to turn things around and save the mission. The techs started to get panicked looks on their faces as they tried to tune out those cries for help and focus on their jobs. This is hardest thing for a green recruit to do. Try and focus on the job and tune out the cries of the dead and dying. Soon the radio traffic stopped and all that was left was random bursts of static from the dead and dying mechs down below. The techs started to stop and go into shock from the knowledge they failed and others have died as a result.

“COMPUTER. END SIMULATION!”

I have had enough. “Gentlemen, you have let me down. You have let the squad down. If this had been real we would all soon be dead or on the run. Hit the showers and grab a hot meal. I expect you all to review this simulation tonight and tomorrow when we do this again I expect a better result. DISSMISSED!”

They shuffled out of the training room looking a little less shiny and a little more worn. Tomorrow will be a better day.

Post Clan War Interview - By David McCallum #701548 w/ Jasmine Cait Sidhe Carter #32890

Now it's not as if I didn't have troubles of my own, what with just coming off a particularly intense war only to be confronted by yet another Xenomorph incursion, when a whole heap more landed on my plate.

I refer to a comm call from 'Her Indoors"...

"Get over here now!" says she.

I use the word 'says' advisedly, because my ears were still ringing a good hour afterwards.

I of course mount up and head for her clan's war zone post haste, after all my C.O. can only shoot me for abandoning my position. 

Her Indoors can do far worse if I fail to respond appropriately to one of her summons.

And so, I arrive to find that particular merry band of cut-throats lounging about while the techs hammer the latest set of dents from their erstwhile steeds. I'm introduced to a new friend my wife has made, a lady that I haven't made the acquaintance of before.

I am a tad surprised when Her Indoors hustles us both into a secluded foxhole and even more taken aback when I'm told to "do that thing"... such instructions are open to all sorts of misinterpretation and besides, said new female pilot looks less like she would drive a mech into battle as she would stride there herself with a Red Ant tucked under each arm...

Thankfully it was clarified that I was to do an interview with her.

G.G. - Erm, OK, now I know whats happening, let's have name, affiliation and serial number for the record.

Jas. - Jasmine Cait Sidhe Carter fighting for the Ranger Raccoons this time, license number #32890

G.G. - So, You were fighting as part of the Heroes Ranger Raccoons this war... is it your first dance with that clan or have you been with them a while?

Jas. - This is the first clan war that I have participated in but I have been with the group some months. They are a decent bunch and I am glad they have accepted me in to their ranks.

G.G. - Glad to have you on board... but popular gossip has it that this isn't your first clan. In fact, you've been around a little while?

Jas. - That is correct. I have been in several clans starting with the Murder Bots.

I started with the Murder Bots in 3260 then went over to the Karanian Empire in 3265 and stayed with them until 3273 when I went on a long journey beyond.

I came back to fight with clan Overlords in February of the year 3296 and stayed with the Overlords until 3305 when I went to the nameless clan in April 3306 until September 3307 until I again heeded the call to adventure beyond the galaxy we know and disappeared.

I reappeared again for the strangest time of all, Porktober 3324 and have been here since then with the Racoons.

G.G. - So hang on, the first time you hung up your spurs so to speak, I hadn't even put my posterior in a pilots chair... are you one of those early jocks who were fighting before we had even worked out how to fit modular equipment into the mechs???

Jas. - Affirmative, that is correct.

G.G. - Woah... OK then, for the benefit of some of the younger pilots out there, what was the transition like moving into the hardware age? Was there a big difference when you suddenly had all this gear available for enhancements?

Jas. - Aye it was difficult at first but being one of the first we learned to adapt relatively quickly. We had to or we died, it was that simple.

G.G. - So what was it that tempted you back from your travels to climb in the cockpit and have large scale munitions flung at you again?

Jas. - I never stopped having "large scale munitions flung at me." I came back for a break from the REAL WARS...

You children have no idea what is waiting for us out there but it is too soon.. the one you called 'Baby Elephant' knew and he sadly takes that secret to the grave.

These "xenos" we fight they are just the scouts for an even larger force beyond.

It is our loss that 'Baby Elephant' passed when he did, he had good insight into tactics and clan personnel that he passed on to me in the times we talked.

G.G. - Alright, moving on to more modern times, the viewers are probably going to want to know how things went for you this war...

Jas. - How things went.. well things could have gone better. I am a bit ashamed about my performance but as time progresses i will get better

G.G. - Ashamed in what way?

Jas. - well in the beginning my performance was as a cold-blooded killer. I could take human life with the best of them and my record stated that... then I went to the wars and fought the xenos to save humans and now I'm back.. to KILL humans. Something I'm not used to doing again... yet.

But I will get back into the groove. I have to.. to survive.

Me and the Ghostriders will have to become the coldblooded killers we once were to survive in these backwards worlds .. that is.. until the xenos REALLY arrive and then all of us who have been out there fighting... well hopefully we all will return and things will change yet again.

G.G. - I've seen some of the mission tapes and in a lot of cases you looked quite out-massed by a lot of the opposition... did any of the medal prizes help towards offsetting any of that?

Jas. - Not at all. It was my pilots skill that helped turn the tide of combat. They should be commended. The equipment only enhanced their skills.

G.G. - The quality of the meat, not the metal eh?

Jas. - Affirmative, that is correct. The medal prize mecha will help but not the equipment. I mean come on, who in their right mind arms a mech with GARLIC?!?!?!?!

G.G. - Hey, you never know when vampire Xenos will arrive..

Jas. - They already have and it don't work on them because it cant get through the armor.

G.G. - That’s why you use solid shot or lasers in your first burst, then follow it up with the stinky stuff...

Jas. - No that’s when you use sunspo-- oh wait.. never mind.

Strike that from the recording please.

G.G. - Hmmm... sounds like I need to do some digging into what you may have brought back from your travels....

<At this point she unholsters a Starleague issue pulse laser>

Jas. - I wouldn’t recommend it.

G.G. - But I digress... there's another wave of Xenomorphs coming in at the moment so we probably need to wrap up shortly...

<She holsters her weapon with a wry smirk and a nod>

G.G. - anything you are hoping to scavenge from the battlefield at the end of this?

Jas. - Any intel on the main force that I can send back to the front and whatever materiel I can to use in the efforts back here.

Maybe some heavier mechs to field to replace some of my more aging units.

G.G. - c'mon... there must be something specific you are keeping your scanners peeled for...

Jas. - Hmmm.. Jadoon, Jottun or Harrel since I run very lean on Noides. That Nanite Swarm looks tasty too.

G.G. - Oh, you mean the Repair Swarm... yes very useful kit that, has pulled my buttocks out of the high temperature situations on more than one occasion. You just need to make sure they don't try to strip your body for raw materials

Jas. - Indeed.

G.G. - Anyway, incoming, we need to close this off and suit up... been a pleasure talking to you Jasmine.

Jas. - You as well. Sorry for pulling the hardware on a fellow Hero.

Back to the raid!

GHOSTRIDERS TO THE ADVANCE!!!!!

Shrapnel Blaster - By Joshua Bourne #702128

"Repurposes salvaged metals into projectiles."

Hot off the presses, we've received a new weapon from our Factories called the "Shrapnel Blaster". 

However this is a limited item, so get it while it's still here.

The Shrapnel Blaster is a Niode weapon with the following stats and costing:

Damage: 121
Speed: 105
3X Damage 12%
Trample 12%
Min Level: 71
Ferrite: 2001
Bioptics: 1200
Niodes: 60

Or buy in bulk for:

Niodes: 240

This new weapon is a devastating gun for any Projectile wielding mecha, giving it serious punching power with absolute ease.

The speed of the weapon is very good, allowing it to loose off its salvo before a lot of other high powered weapons in the Galaxy. And when you combine it's damage and speed, along with a 12% innate triple damage AND trample damage, it's going to devastate multiple mechas at once.

All in all, I think this weapon's a must have for those that can afford it. But don't miss out! They are in limited supply!

Nebula Drive - By Joshua Bourne #702128

"Fueled by a micro-nebula"

Not too long ago, we were introduced to the new 105 Ton behemoths that are the Guardian mechas, and their intense weight and gear requirements meant that the Gear suppliers had to work tirelessly to provide Pilots that own these mechas the required gear to equip them with.

This is one of the new pieces..

The Nebula Drive is a Niode Engine piece that's available to 100-105T mechas with the following stats:

Speed + 4
Fire Damage + 5%
Proj. Vulnerable 5%
2X Damage 4%

This item first made a lot of pilots happy to see, that they'd be able to purchase items to slot onto their new mecha and take out into the field effectively, but it soon sunk in that the gear was not too good against the competition 5 tonnage lower. Of course, these are the "test models" for future Equipment types, but for now we're stuck with relatively "weak" items. However I digress...

It has an okay speed buff to it of 4, which when stacked will provide the joints with enough speed to get out of a pinch, and get those devastating salvos of shots off in quick succession.

If you're partial to using Fire type weapons, this Engine'll be for you, as you get a decent 5% increase to their effectiveness, but watch out for it's innate 5% Projectile vulnerability as a result of using one (or more) of these items.

Finally, this gear also grants the mecha with an increased chance of scoring double it's intended damage, making it a very deadly weapon indeed.

My overall outcome of this gear: Mediocre. I'd wait till they get the kinks and work out the issues of the gear before beginning to purchase the Niode variants, but that's just me