Red Hunt

Commander! I'm glad I was able to reach you. I have an opportunity for your company that pays extremely well. The only drawback is that it's located as far from civilization as it's possible to get without a JumpShip accident.

## Arrival

A Draconis Combine noble (Reynauld Yamaguchi) is requesting that the player's company perform a fairly standard "Defend Base" mission in a Martian environment (3.5 skulls, no tonnage restrictions). The attacking mercenary company (the Gray Death Legion) is speculated to have been hired by the Free Worlds League to disrupt the base's research. In exchange, a substantial payment of one and a half million C-bills will be rendered afterward.

## First mission - Defend the Draconis Combine Research Base

Seven buildings must be defended, with a minimum of five buildings surviving, against two lances from the Gray Death Legion.

The first lance will arrive from the west, using three heavy mechs (typically Thunderbolt and Catapult models) accompanied by one medium mech (usually a Shadow Hawk).

The second lance will arrive from the northeast. It will be composed of two heavy mechs (typically Black Knight and Jagermech models) accompanied by two medium mechs (usually Shadow Hawk and Wolverine models). Left unchallenged they can quickly level the base on their own, so it may be prudent to leave one of your mechs close to the base so it can immediately fire on the newcomers and draw their aggression away from the buildings.

The Gray Death Legion's commander (Grayson Carlyle) is surprisingly calm about the loss of two lances, but his attempts to talk the player out of defending the base are interrupted by DEST (the Draconis Combine's special forces) announcing an interdiction of the planet in pursuit of Carlyle. With the company not being able to leave the planet for fear of being fired upon, and their Draconis Combine contact no longer reachable, the player is immediately forced into a consecutive deployment to pursue Carlyle and try to figure out what's going on.

## Second mission - Defend Grayson Carlyle's Forces

This mission requires the player's lance to fight alongside Carlyle's lance so that both lances can break through DEST lines and reach an evacuation zone. As with typical "Evac" missions, only one mech from Carlyle's lance has to survive, but a bonus is offered if all of them make it. Carlyle's lance will typically contain two heavies (Black Knight and Jagermech) with two mediums (Shadow Hawk and Wolverine), so they will need support to punch through the numerous enemies ahead. They will also stop fighting and begin sprinting for the evac zone after several enemies have gone down, requiring the player to keep up the fire needed to suppress or destroy the remaining enemies.

Three lances will oppose the combined forces of the player and Carlyle. The first enemy lance typically has two heavies (Rifleman and Dragon) alongside two mediums (both Centurions). A second enemy lance will drop fairly quickly to reinforce them with a more broad range of firepower - one light (Jenner), one medium (Hatchetman), one heavy (Marauder), and one assault (King Crab) mech. The second lance will also mention a "Duke Ricol" as they land, a name Carlyle will be annoyed to hear. A third enemy lance will eventually drop close to the evacuation zones, with two medium (Vindicator and Assassin) and two heavy (both Marauders) mechs.

After the mission, Carlyle will confirm he was hired by the Free Worlds league to raid the research base, which he was told is a joint Draconis Combine - Capellan Confederation facility. Although DEST has seized all jumpships that could carry the player's company away, Carlyle does have a contract with a privately-owned jumpship that could allow them to leave. Two different options are then available to the player: destroy the DEST base coordinating local forces, or capture a decommissioned ComStar facility in order to contact the jumpship. Carlyle's forces will take care of whichever objective the player does not choose.

## Third mission - player chose Destroy The DEST Base

Four heavy turrets defend the facility, along with a lance composed of one medium (Blackjack) and three heavy (Jagermech, Warhammer, Catapult) mechs. Reinforcements will be called in as soon as the player approaches the base but will take some time to arrive. Eventually four more heavy mechs (Warhammer, Marauder, and two Thunderbolts) will try to stop the player from destroying the facility and/or evacuating afterward.

## Aftermath

Once the player and Carlyle have gone their separate ways, Reynauld Yamaguchi will finally make contact again. It appears that a powerful Draconis Combine figure (Duke Ricol) manipulated both Reynauld and the player in an attempt to take down Carlyle due to a longstanding grudge. Fortunately even though the reason for the original deployment was a ruse, Reynauld is still able to arrange for the promised payment of 1,500,000 C-bills. The player will also receive some rare equipment, possibly including assault mech pieces or a gauss rifle.