A lance of Capellan 'Mechs moved slowly through the thick forest, their Davion prey moving unknowingly into position. The objective was a small supply base, but a mistake in the higher offices had led to the attack being held at dusk. In the dark, the Capellans had to use infantry to spot for their BattleMechs. An infantry picket called in, "Sir, I see them! Grid 4-3-3, saturation LRM fire!"
At that, an Archer and an oldtech Catapult opened up on the hex, showering an Enfield with explosives. The medium 'Mech jerked as the missiles plowed into it, armor spraying away into the trees. It fired its pulse lasers blindly, illuminating the Catapult for its lancemates. Immediately, a Jagermech III opened up on the machine with its autocannon and PPCs. The blasts tore into the heavy BattleMech's side, slagging armor and piercing to its insides. A small explosion erupted from the machine, then a larger secondary explosion twisted the 'Mech into a burning pile of scrap as the LRMs and fusion engine detonated.
As a large spike of hardened steel slammed into a tree, a Capellan Cataphract fired its autocannon and PPC at the offending Jagermech III. The shots tore at the Davion 'Mech's armor and toppled the machine on its back, though nothing else seemed to have been damaged. A Valkyrie fired its LRM pack and pulse laser at the Archer, spraying energy and explosives over the 'Mech. Blasts dotted the machine, which took a step back and returned fire, a savage volley of forty LRMs amputating the light 'Mech's leg. The last machine, a medium-weight Enforcer III, launched a volley of autocannon fire at the untouched Capellan 'Mech, a Jackal. The light 'Mech reeled, then returned a PPC blast to the Davion BattleMech. The shot chewed into the torso just below the 'Mech's head, and the pilot was obviously unnerved as the 'Mech spun and crashed to the ground.
The Enfield moved up and slammed blasts of pulse laser fire into the Jackal. The machine's left arm ripped away, falling to the dark ground. The azure blast from the 'Mech's PPC illuminated the night as it chewed into the damaged Enfield. Two short-range missiles followed, punching holes in the medium 'Mech's armor. It reeled back, crashing to the ground with a large gash ripped in its center. The pilot punched out as the gyro went offline, the 'Mech smashing armor on the ground, bending it into the right-rear side. Support structures ruptured and the bin containing LB X autocannon ammo was punctured, sending a blast into the guts of the BattleMech. The machine's guts blew outward as the explosion consumed its insides.
With two 'Mechs down, as opposed to one for the Capellans, the remaining Davion machines began to pull back, harassing the Liaos with energy fire. When the Jagermech III targeted the Archer, it loosed twin PPC beams, which chewed at its armor. One shot slammed directly into its cockpit, rendering the pilot nonexistant. With that, the Davions re-entered the battle, the Enforcer III scouring the Jackal clean of torso armor with autocannon and laser fire. The heavily damaged Jackal launched a wild PPC shot at the Enforcer, scoring a glancing shot off its leg, then fell and rolled down an incline. SRMs began to spill from the ruptured bin, one exploded, and a chain of explosions followed the 'Mech as it fell. When one reached the 'Mech, the rest of the missiles detonated, consuming the insides of the BattleMech and its AMS ammo. The gutted wreck rolled to a stop, smoking and burning.
The Cataphract revenged its lancemate, PPC and autocannon fire ravaging the Enforcer. Both blasts found the hole in its center, gutting the engine and rendering it useless. The Jagermech's PPC blasts flew high, and the heavy 'Mechs began a dance of death. Over the next two minutes, shots were exchanged, PPC beams lighting the night and autocannon explosions lighting small fires in the woods. When a PPC beam torched the ground near the Jagermech III, it provided plenty of heat for the Liao pilot. Lining her crosshairs up with the Davion 'Mech, she fired a full blast of laser, PPC and autocannon fire. The damaged 'Mech stumbled, then fell to its knees and flat out on its face as the gyro ripped itself apart. Pumping a final blast of PPC fire into its spine, the Liao pilot turned and began removing crates from the supply base, the forgotten infantry reappearing to remove them. The chronometer read 0213 as the Cataphract began to walk through the woods back to its base.