Okay folks the trial has been concluded. Special thanks to everyone involved today in the opening of our gaming season. This was a fast mover and I hope everyone enjoys the summary. Bradshaw had a major hand in writing the blow by blow. Tomorrow I hope to have something on reorganization of the Coyotes by the end of the 3052. Please comment as you see fit!
SELECTION
Character Pick Order - Takiro (1, 8 ) - Bradshaw (2, 7) - Gus (3, 6) - Calderon (4,5)
1. Elam Tchernovkov – saKhan
2. Tomas McKibben – Khan
3. Sullivan Koga – Khan
4. Vidya Levien –Khan
5. Gregor Nash – saKhan
6. Pazi Tchernovkov – saKhan
7. Mason Jerricho – saKhan
8. Brooke Steele - Khan
THE BATTLE
Quick and bloody were the best ways to describe the battle for Coyote Khanships in 3052. These trials occurred on the barren plains of Tamaron whose vast arid reaches offered ample room for battle. The morning temperature approached fifteen degrees celsius on an otherwise clear day with few clouds in the sky. As one would expect with this conservative Clan there were no breaches in battlefield etiquette during combat. The rest of the Bloodnamed of the Clan gathered around the designated combat zone as the contestants signaled their readiness.
Mason Jerricho was the fastest to action rapidly moving along the southern edge towards Pazi Tchernovkov targeting his Summoner’s upper body with his lasers. On the Khan side of the field Sullivan Koga moved toward the center of the combat zone and declared a duel with Tomas McKibben striking him with one of her two ER PPCs in the right shoulder. Brooke Steele turned to face Vidya Levien starting what would be the engagements longest running combat. Engaging initially with a targeted strike from her ER Large Laser. Pazi Tchernovkov returned fire on Mason Jerricho tearing through the thin armor of the Fire Moth with his battery of Large Lasers annihilating the right and center torso armor. No doubt he expected to sit and wait for the winner of the Elam and Gregor battle after so swiftly disabling the smallest ‘Mech in the saKhan battle with a single volley. Tomas who had also attempted to gain control of the center of the field swiveled to return the ER PPC volley of Koga’s, proving the better of the two with a dual strike dead center on the Nova causing a heat spike with a critical hit on its engine. In the meantime, Elam ran forward in his massive Dire Wolf returning with a full volley of his long-range weaponry. Striking randomly with his first Gauss it was the deadly hit from his ER PPC that struck true decapitating the aged Loremaster of the Coyote Clan killing him instantly. Galaxy Commander Levien turned and charged at Brooke Steele returning fire with her own ER Large Laser in exchange for the first strike made by the ancient Locust.
Tomas continued to fire upon his target, engaging his full arsenal in an Alpha Strike hoping to eliminate Sullivan Koga as fast as possible. One of his PPCs and his Streak SRM-4s struck dead center upon his opponent’s Nova eliminating her from the contest as his heat spiked slightly into the red. Wasting no time Elam was already moving onto his next target turned and sprinted towards his last roadblock to becoming saKhan. The rush of victory and the sudden surge of endraline caused him to rush his shots missing with his twin Gausses, ER PPC, and ER Large Laser. Vidya still engaged with Brooke this time tried to seize the initiative and position herself in an advantageous position as she spiked her heat gauges unleashing a dual blast of ER Large Lasers to strip away additional armor and the SRM-2 from the vintage Star League era Locust of Steele. Brooke began to flank Vidya but was unable to fully do so and faulty mounting of her ER Medium Laser caused her to only successfully strike with her single ER Large once again. Pazi Tchernovkov returned fire upon his larger opponent as the former saKhan was able to hit but thanks to the new Ferro-Fibrous armor of the Great Coyote it amounted to just a drop in the bucket as the fearsome war machine was able to shrug off this damage.
Brooke attempting to regroup and utilize the mobility of the Locust to its fullest backed away from her opponent for the moment. Steele’s fears proved true as it confirmed that her ER Medium Laser was misaligned and she was again only able to strike her opponent with her ER Large. With two of the contestants for the saKhanship already dead or mechless Elam calmed his nerves and calmly advanced upon Pazi. Unleashing the full might of his improved Dire Wolf he struck fiercely into the internals of the Warlock configured Summoner. Unable to maintain control of his ‘Mech Pazi crashed to the ground stunning the warrior for a brief moment. Vidya charged the backward evading Steele striking with a single ER Large as she attempted to cool the ‘Mech to more reasonable operating temperatures. Pazi shook off the daze from his tumble to the ground and raised his OmniMech’s arms peppering the Elam’s Assault ‘Mech but was unable to penetrate the thick armor of the upgraded design. Tomas now with no available targets slowly turned his ‘Mech towards the dueling Galaxy Commanders as he returned his Timber Wolf’s heat gauges into the green zone.
Now with his target on the ground Elam took a deep breath as he ensured his aim on the downed Summoner at his feet. Pazi reached his feet quickly and charged forward hoping to throw off his aim. Exchanging full blows of their weaponry Elam was able to strip away nearly the remaining armor of his foe but not without loss to himself. Pazi utilized the precision of his Targeting Computer to target the lower half of the Dire Wolf hoping to remove its mobility. While not able to remove a leg Pazi was able to hit internally damaging both the hip and upper leg actuators of the Great Coyote’s left leg. Brook attempted to take advantage of the fierceness of Vidya’s charge sprinting forward to gain a superior position. For a split second the rear of her opponent was visible but she was unable to take advantage of this as Vidya quickly maneuvered into close range leading to another exchange of fire between the two. Tomas slowly advanced locking his weapons for a split second upon Vidya’s Adder as he believed the duel was in its final moments and wished to strike quickly against his final opponent.
With his mobility at a minimum with his leg severely damaged Elam turned to face his opponent who quickly took advantage of the Dire Wolf’s mangled limb. Pazi quickly maneuvered to the rear of the fearsome Assault OmniMech believing his position would safeguard him from his opponent’s massive arsenal. The former saKhan was dismayed to see Elam flip his arms over destroying the Summoner’s right torso and removing half of Pazi’s weaponry. While the Warlock claimed an additional two tons of armor from the Great Coyote it was still not enough to put the larger opponent away. The duel continued between Vidya and Brooke as they exchanged laser fire each realizing that the chance of becoming Khan was growing slimmer and slimmer as the fight dragged on. Tomas moved up for the final time chomping at the bit to complete on his journey to become Khan of the Coyotes.
At long last Vidya was finally able to dispatch Brooke with a fierce laser blast which annihilated much of the upper half of the ancient Locust she piloted. Steele did not survive the resulting fireball which engulfed all but the legs of the old Star League BattleMech. Meanwhile Pazi took careful aim hoping to finish off the massive Dire Wolf as Elam swiftly moved to face his opponent bringing his full arsenal to bare. The Warlock removed the Great Coyote’s right leg sending Elam crashing to backwards with only the his badly damaged left leg remaining operational. Realizing he would be unable to move Elam unleashed a final savage salvo which among other things struck the head Pazi’s Warlock with a Gauss slug killing him. The instant Levien’s opponent was destroyed McKibben pounced launching a devastating barrage that destroyed her experimental Adder ending the contest a mere six moments after it began.
Only two contestants (Tomas McKibben and Mason Jerricho) survived the brutal fighting unharmed. Three were wounded in action (Elam Tchernovkov, Sullivan Koga, Vidya Levien) although their injuries were not considered bad. Each should be able to return to duty after a week or two of limited activity. The greatest price was paid by the three Coyote warriors (Gregor Nash, Pazi Tchernovkov, Brooke Steele) who were killed during this trial for the Clan’s leadership. The death of the Loremaster herein also helped usher in a new era for the Coyotes as new Khan Tomas McKibben and saKhan Elam Tchernovkov quickly backed Sullivan Koga as the heir apparent there. Her ascension approved by the Clan Council shortly afterwards gave each of the three major factions a share in the direction of things and provided a unified front in the necessary reforms going forward. Furthermore, the Khans created a new position charged with the command of all second line forces in order to better defend the Clan’s holdings. For this post named Guardmaster they tapped Mason Jerricho who represents the last major voice in the Clan. His support insured unity going forward in spite of some tensions between the Spiritualists and Technologists.
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Topic: Elect new Coyote Khans! [POLL LINK] (Read 36083 times)