Showdown

**Showdown** is a storyline mission in *Battletech*.

## Synopsis

Victoria has Lord Madeira, and she will never stand down. What she did on Perdition has broken her. And now you're going to end this, in the way that it so nearly began: a duel. Lady Arano will face off against her cousin in the Arano tourney grounds, and both lances will fight until one of us is dead. Victoria refuses to obey her father's order to lay down arms - and so, the only option is confrontation.

## Walkthrough

This mission is straightforward duel between two lances in a small battlefield with a lake in the center. Whichever lance dies first, loses.

The enemy lance consists of a King Crab and three heavy mechs. Your lance consists of Kamea and her Atlas II plus three other 'Mechs and MechWarriors of your choosing, with some unusual rules: any 'Mech which is functional at the end of the previous mission will be instantly fully repaired and ready to use, but any non-functional 'Mech will be unavailable; and any uninjured MechWarrior will be available. Make sure you have enough extra MechWarriors going into the previous mission or you might have to go into battle shorthanded! Victoria's lance consists of a custom King Crab with Medium Pulse Lasers, an Awesome-8T, a Cataphract, and a Jeagermech-S.

Victoria, piloting the King Crab, will go after Kamea and her Atlas II exclusively. However, while the King Crab is deadly at short range or in a melee, it is practically useless even at medium range, and so slow it can easily be outflanked. Jump-capable 'Mechs can jump into the elevated yellow areas above the floor of the arena and snipe at the enemy lance with impunity. Use the lake to keep your 'Mechs cool while focusing fire at medium or long range and you can take out Victoria's 'Mech with ease.

NOTE: As of the "Heavy Metal" DLC, Victoria and her lance have +10% damage reduction among other Smaller Buffs. Victoria's King Crab will also inflict devastating debuffs on whatever target she hits. Her AC/20s will inflict large aim debuffs, Medium Pulse Lasers will inflict movement debuffs, and Flamers will inflict more heat than usual.

## Outcome

* Lady Victoria Espinosa is felled by the Sword of Restoration, in defiance to the end. She realizes at the moment of death that all of their struggles were futile - and that, to her, the Reach never held any future but blood. Humbled by the war and the experiences she gathered while leading the Restoration, Lady Arano becomes a ruler worthy of the title - and the Reach is restored once more. Although its economy is in tatters and the military might but a shadow of its former self, Lady Arano and Lord Madeira are determined to rebuild it.

*But on Weldry, I traded that naivete for nobler purpose. Seeing my people's suffering with my own eyes… taught me **why** I must fight. On Artru I found humility. Blinded by righteousness, I was reckless in my pursuit of power… and it almost cost us the war. On Guldra I learned to steel my heart. I chose necessity over conscience. A choice… that nearly broke me.*
*Finally, on Coromodir, the world of my birth, I found resolve - and, standing over my cousin's broken body… victory. Only through these lessons, paid for in blood, did I become a ruler worthy of title. A High Lady prepared to sit the Cormorant Throne. The Protector of Coromodir. The Sword of Restoration.*
*But this question still plagues me: am I a hero? Did I sacrifice too much at the altar of victory? Do my triumphs outweigh my mistakes?*
*War is a clash between conscience and necessity, an ocean of chaos and bloody compromise. War shapes history, and history chooses its heroes.*
*As for you, mercenary… **You** made the liberation of the Aurigan Reach a reality. Every trial I faced would have been my last without your skill on the battlefield.*
*I still don't know if you fought for honor, or for the thrill of it. For belief in my cause, or just my money. But whether it was your noble heart or mercenary mind… your actions gave us hope.*
*That makes you a hero in the eyes of history.*
*And you know what?*
*It doesn't matter if **you** believe it.*
*Because others do, as I believed in the heroes of my father's stories.*
*After all, when we are gone…*
*Stories are what remain.*