BattleTech: Royal Guard

[Part of the BattleTech Story.]

When Lady Kamea contacted the Argo for their next job, her voice sounded far more urgent than usual. A personal friend of hers who had been sent to collect data on the Directorate on a remote planet had been captured - and due to the positioning of her forces only her own ship and the Argo could mount a rescue mission. Gabriel explained that while the mechs were ready to go they were a number of pilots down due to the viral attack. Kamea's solution was simple: she brought her own.

With Gabriel in the Highlander, Charybdis in the Battlemaster, Reynard supporting in the Kintaro LRM platform, and Lady Kamea in her Atlas the team made planet fall and began wrecking the prison transport convoy, only to find it to be a decoy. Lady Victoria's voice came over the comms laughing at her cousin. This was a trap for her! Soon Directorate forces were dropping in almost as fast as they could destroy them.

Getting punched by a 100 ton mech has got to hurt!

It wasn't all for nothing however, as the spy left his intel at a nearby mountain outpost. The four of them made their way there quickly and held position under fire while the data downloaded. During this, Reynard suffered an internal explosion when he was flanked and he and the Kintaro exploded magnificently, what with all the tons of missiles still in their racks. The rest weren't doing that great either with Charybdis being saved at the last minute from flankers by Gabriel. Finally the download completed and the extract ship whisked them away before the Directorate forces overran the base. The data recovered was proof of just how much of a scum Kamea's evil uncle really is.

Lady Kamea returned to her main force afterwards to plan the next move, but Charybdis opted to stay with the Marauders as she now held a life debt to their commander.

BattleTech: Ostergaard's Rage

[Part of the BattleTech Story.]

"Kamea, you're about to have company," warned Gabriel over the comms as he watched the large red blip on the radar get closer. While his own people had already pulled out from Castle Nautilus, Kamea's support crafts were still loading the precious cargo that they found. "Let them come," replied Kamea defiantly. "My uncle doesn't have the resources to match these war machines."

"I don't think that's from Directorate ... it... it's a Taurian Fortress Class dropship! Get out of there!"

"Lady Kamea," boomed a new voice through the speakers as the ground began to quake with the . "I am Samuel Ostergaard, a new ally to the Directorate and I have come for your head!"

Knowing there was no time to waste, Kamea ordered a full evacuation and boarded the nearest Atlas mech while her body guards Charybdis, Reynard and Kanalon boarded other types of Starleague design as the rear guard. By the time the elevator returned them to the surface, light lances of Taurian mechs were already charging the castle but were easily wiped out by Starleague weaponry.

One of the smallest mechs punching the largest.

This didn't deter Samuel though, who simply sent waves of his own assault mechs in coordination with artillery strikes. It was a tough fight, with Kanalon being shredded limb from limb much like his Black Knight. Kamea's Atlas was also in bad shape towards the end, but her martial arts skills ended Ostergaard's final pursuer who blocked the way to the extraction point.

"I will find you Kamea," he promised on an open channel as she escaped. "I will avenge my son!"

Only when she was back in the safety of space did they realize Ostergaard's son was the pilot of the Newgrange, and because of that one death the Restoration had an entirely new and more powerful enemy house to deal with.

Dragon's Dogma: Audience Gathering

Adventures of Skyrim - spoilers ahead! You can follow the rest of the story here!

I've finally gained enough fame to get an audience with the Duke it seems, who invites me to his castle where I meet all the other Wyrm hunt knights which include Ser Fedel the investigator, Ser Julien the "you have no proof I am a traitor" and the now recovered Captain Mercedes. The Duke himself seems a bit crazy, and I suspect it is his dwarf jester that driving him insane. Highlight of the evening is meeting the Duchess Aelinore though who seems to fall in love with me at first sight? That can't end well.

The duke's steward gives me more things to do such as hunt a Griffon, slay another Salvation necromancer in the catacombs, and aid in the trial of rich, bald-guy Fournival. Supposedly he's doing shady stuff so we go about finding proof of his innocence and or guilt which is as easy as talking to people in town, or more challenging - escorting eye witnesses from other forts as suggested by Ingvard.

Griffons look awesome by the way.

I am disappointed that the wandering merchant Reynard who I had saved so long ago from goblins actually sells falsified testimonies of all sorts, as he feels it should be allowed to manipulate the law into how one sees fit. Someone like that who only is after profit is a person who doesn't deserve to exist in the world, so I joyously finish what I interrupted those goblins from doing long ago, and kill the bastard.

Dragon's Dogma: Heart Eater

Adventures of Skyrim - spoilers ahead! You can follow the rest of the story here!

After a strange dream where a knight named Savan hunted down a dragon... I inexplicably awoke in the small, peaceful fishing village of Cassardis which is clearly not part of Tamriel. It was also under attack be the very same dragon from the dream! With heroic instincts kicking in, I grabbed the nearest sword and attacked the beast only to be easily overpowered. It then proceeded to eat my heart. Somehow I still survived this. What!?

Mmm, tasty.

The dragon's voice was now in my head, asking me for a challenge - one I wouldn't decline. Grabbing the nearest rusty sword I headed out only to be stopped by a healer who wanted curative flowers to heal others injured in the attack. Because that's more important than going after the world-threatening dragon. Is this some sort of island in Guild wars? Who knows.

At the town gate I am joined by a magician named Rook who helps me save the traveling merchant Reynard from goblins and brings me to a small outpost called the encampment which is under attack by more goblins and a towering cyclops. With our assistance the monsters are beaten, and I am recognized as an "Arisen", which apparently translates to "someone who has had their heart eaten by the dragon" in this land.

I'm just going to go ahead and blame Sheogorath for this mess. :P