MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries/Newsfeeds

Newsfeeds

The following Newsfeeds are not tied to any of the missions.

WOLF AND THE DRAGON

In other news, Draconis Combine Coordinator Takashi Kurita continues his campaign against Wolf’s Dragoons. An anonymous source close to the Coordinator called his hatred for the mercenary group “obsessive.” He is largely ignoring the conflict with the Federated Commonwealth, apparently content to leave such matters in the hands of his son, Theodore, heir to House Kurita.

HWANG RETIRES

On a lighter note, a celebration was held on Outreach last week to celebrate the fiftieth birthday of Colonel Martin Hwang, leader of the Burning Rain mercenaries. Few mercenaries survive continual combat for as long as Hwang has, but he told reporters that he’s had enough. “My nerves are shot,” said the haggard MechWarrior. “I’ve got to get some rest.” Hwang will be retiring to a small, unnamed planet in the Periphery where he can enjoy the vast wealth he has hoarded in thirty-three years of continual combat.  

PIRATE ATTACKS

On the other side of the Inner Sphere, shipping lines between Coventry and Alarion continue to be plagued by pirate attacks. In the past eight months, 27 freighters have been hijacked and looted despite Commonwealth efforts to tighten security. Victims attribute the attacks to a team of rogue mercenaries who have, so far, refused shippers’ offers of money. “If you can’t buy off a mercenary, who can you trust?” asked one confused trader.

GOLIATH DELAYED

In economic news, representatives of Duron Armaments announced today that their newest heavy tank design, the Goliath, will not be produced for the fall as originally planned. The Heavy Machine Guns designed for the Goliath have already been produced, but Duron will not take a loss. Quick-thinking Techs refitted the machine guns for use with ‘Mechs, and the first shipments are already arriving at arms trading outposts.

KURITA CHALLENGES FEDERATED COMMONWEALTH

In our top story, political analysts predict that the hostility between the Federated Commonwealth and the Draconis Combine will turn openly violent in the months ahead.

JANDEX EXPANDS

In economic news, the Jandex Corporation, the galaxy’s largest producer of personal sanitary products, has announced plans to expand, opening a number of new plants on various planets throughout the Federated Commonwealth. Jandex was among last year’s ten highest grossing corporations.

HIJACKING

A Federated Commonwealth JumpShip convoy transporting a large arms shipment to New Avalon was hijacked yesterday by the Hell’s Horsemen. The Horsemen, mercenaries recently turned pirates, quickly dumped the weapons with several arms dealers, who are selling them at significant discounts.

SUPER-ENGINE?

Dr. Luther M. Jackson, a Rasalhague scientist, today announced his invention of a new ‘Mech engine, called the “XL.” The new engine takes up twice as much space as a standard one, but weighs half as much. Dr. Jackson mysteriously disappeared hours after his announcement. He had told reporters that the engine would not be ready for mass production for a number of months, but some XL engines are already on the market.

TRAINER KILLS SIX

On Sinope, Sergeant "Deadeye" Unther of Hansen’s Roughriders is being sought in relation to the death of six inexperienced MechWarrior cadets in heavy combat. A representative of the academy told reporters that they had been unaware that Sinope was in the midst of a six-month skirmish with pirates when they dropped Unther and the cadets on-planet for training maneuvers.

When faced by heavy artillery, Sergeant Unther abandoned his ‘Mech and rejoined the Roughrider DropShip. As he had not yet taught the cadets how to eject, they all died.

DONAL PPCS HOTTER THAN HOT

Donal Weapons Manufacturers Ltd. recalled nearly 5,000 PPCs last week due to a faulty firing mechanism that can flood a BattleMech with nearly twice the normal amount of heat. Other DWM PPCs have fallen under suspicion, and the PPCs have all been pulled off the market.

DONAL INTRODUCES MISSILE-TECH

Donal Weapons Manufacturers Ltd. announced three new products today bound to have a significant effect on ‘Mech warfare. Streak SRMs, the Narc system, and AMS. Once a targeting computer locks onto a target, Streak SRMs automatically home in on it without further action by the MechWarrior. The Narc missile has a similar effect; once a Narc strikes an opponent, it sends out a beacon that all missiles home in on automatically. As a defense against these new superweapons, the new anti-missile system (AMS) tracks incoming missiles and shoots them out of the sky. DWM stock has already skyrocketed, and its huge rise is expected to continue.

GET ‘EM WHILE THEY LAST

Several advances in ‘Mech warfare have been reached in the past month at the WarGames research laboratory. They release onto the open market this week: XL engines, which take up more space than their standard counterparts, but weigh half as much. Double Heat Sinks, which reduce heat twice as quickly, but take up twice the space; rapid-fire pulse lasers, and the Arrow IV, a long-range, high impact missile that takes up space in a ‘Mech’s arm and torso.

SUPER LASERS

More advances were announced yesterday by WarGames, a ‘Mech warfare research laboratory. They have developed long range ER energy weapons, and new armor and internal structure alloys which are lighter, but bigger than the originals. WarGames also introduced several new ‘Mech designs, which were quickly purchased by buyers from the Successor States. There is already huge demand for the new ‘Mechs on the black market.

AMMO RUNNING LOW

Weapons manufacturers are feeling the effects of the continuing war. There has been a shortage of weapons and ammunition that is expected to continue until manufacturers can catch up with the increased demand.