So, that little rat Jason Cho's miscalculations have screwed up your beautiful campaign and lost the better part of his forces, upsetting his Mom and forcing her to ally with House Steiner to repel the Davion forces. And it's your job to escort the little slug to the rendezvous. Something tells me this ain't gonna be no simple babysitting job... good thing you have at least one Sharpshooter and a bitchin' mech bay. If you don't, uh... take some big mechs and make out your will.

This mission is a doozy. First, you find out your mission is accomplished; you've made it to the rendezvous. You'll hear Rice Boy make his deal with Colonel Re-tard... who then demands your head as the price! (boy, can that guy hold a grudge) You are betrayed!

You'll hear TacOps frantically telling you that there is an abandoned Steiner base North of your position and urging you to take it. If you have a strong team with at least one Sharpshooter, you are bitchin', man. If you have a weak team... go back to the vats, freebirth scum! Ah haha no; ok. Here are several possible opening gambits:

Lame Freebirth Toad Approaches

Fat Chance #1 - Right behind you, down at the bottom of the hill, is a small city and... several large fuel tanks. Run down and into the tree cover behind the city. Most of the mechs will follow you. Use the fuel tanks to destroy or damage them severely, then finish them off. Be aware that some mechs will split off and try to take the Steiner base ahead of you, which wouldn't be at all good. But if your team is weak or you have no Sharpshooters, the fuel tanks are your best choice. The city can also help you tangle the mechs up and slow down their approach. You'll still have to race a mech or two to the base, however. Good luck!

Fat Chance #2 - ok, go ahead and run for the Steiner base and dig in.

Skip to "Steiner Base"

Bitchin' Mac Daddy Approach

Ok, your team is boss, and you have nerves of steel. You'll need them here. Do not think: RUN into position thus:

Just to your right is the beginning of the tree cover. Position your Sharpshooter just beside the lead tree. Position your second-best Shooter right next to her. Curve the rest of the team around these shooters. Put everyone on Hold Position (H). Here's who comes up the hill at you: 2 Zeuses, 3 Highlanders and a Bushwacker, pretty much all at once. If your shooters are good, you can take the entire wave of attackers one by one as they come up the hill by going for quick head shots (hold down Numpad 8 + click). Keep your Sharpshooters on these mechs!

 

A small auxiliary force of Razorbacks and Hollanders will come at you from the Southeast side of the hill; swing the whole team around to meet them. Keep aiming those Sharpshooters! When it gets quiet, sometimes the last two Highlanders won't come down off the hill fast enough for me, so I send a mech forward to goad them into giving chase. When the Highlanders are dead and you hear Fanboy whining to Reynard about more troops, then turn around and make tracks North for the Steiner base.

 

Steiner Base

If you took a Lame Toad approach:

#1 - You will be trailed by several tough mechs in varying conditions of health and will probably die trying to kill them because you are so torn up from your futile tricks at the fuel tanks that the Base's LRMs will probably wound you severely before you can capture them. We have no sympathy for you.

#2 - You will now be assaulted by a mass force of 10-12 mechs, several of them very mean, who will be surrounding you and jumping into your fortress and destroying the turrets you'll need later and hurting you, probably extremely, and you won't have any time to repair before you are crushed. You foolish person.

 

If you took the Mac Daddy approach: you should be in pretty good shape and may chuckle gleefully all the way about your awesome skill. Just don't tie up the comm channels.

Jump in, grab both sets of turret controls and those two blessed Repair Bays. Keep your speed up; repair anyone who needs it quickly, double-teaming on the Bays. Study this hilltop fortress and the land outside of the Southern point carefully.

 

You should have just enough time to repair before you get a sensor contact - it's Jason Cho following you in his Cyclops from the river ford (South). He's slow, and he can't shoot well, so you have plenty of time to artistically arrange your team to best destroy him with proper humiliation and pain. After all, he did betray you... afterwards from the same direction come a couple of Heavy Choppers (medium mechs; tough & chewy) and several Attack Choppers. I guess Colonel Renard didn't want to throw good after bad...

[Too bad that nice Mandrissa lady didn't give you time to explain... but probably she wouldn't believe you anyway; she's crazy. Must be all that oxy-sucking... she sends a revenge force after you. Baxter breaks in and tells you he's organizing a Resistance force to help you... don't hold your breath. Stay put.]

 

From the South come 3 Catapults, escorted by a pair of Sha Yu, a pair of Anubii and a hard-to-see Men Shen pair. No doubt about it, this wave is brutal. Beware that the Anubii, Sha Yu and Catapults may try to jump up into the fortress and disable or capture the turret controls (ouch!) so keep someone locked down next to them all the time. They'll try for the right-hand (southwest) ones first.

When you make it through this hairball, repair up quickly. You'll hear Baxter again, urging you to move North towards the Resistance and they'll help you. Don't do this! You should have learned by now that the Resistance is... a bunch of rilly nice guys who unfortunately are more hindrance than help. Ahem. Also, if you leave the base you'll be exposed on flat land with no cover. Stay put. Rally 'round your remaining turret controls (if you have any).

 

Next, from the same direction, come two Starslayers and two Ravens, which are very hard to track (grrr). Watch out for them. While they keep you distracted, the last team comes; another pair of Starslayers and a pair of Lao Hu. These bad boys will take it right to you, jumping en masse into the fortress. It gets hot and hairy here, so be cool as a cucumber. Take out enemies one by one; start with the 'Hus and then the Starslayers. Watch again for a sneaky Raven trying to get to the turret controls through a pre-opened breach in the base's west wall while you are distracted.

 

What can I say? This mission will surely test your chutzpah. If you come through it, and have been following the Company B Plan, you should easily have enough C-bills to purchase every mech that opposed you: 3 Highlanders, 2 Zeuses, 2 Lao Hu, 1 Cyclops, 3 Catapults, 4 Starslayers, 2 Men Shen, 1 Bushwacker, 2 Sha Yu, 2 Ravens, 2 Anubii, 2 Razorbacks and 2 Hollanders. Ca-ching!!!

You turn a tidy profit on this loathsome betrayal and finally have a good reason to terminate this contract. You've had enough of deception and House Liao.

I'm ready for my headshot now, Mr Demille!