Incident at Red Hills

I know that I am breaking protocol by sending a runner back to you with this, but I think that it is important. There has been a very unexpected development at the Red Hills mining site, one that could either be very useful for us or have severe consequences.

To quickly fill you in, since their recent security problems, the Wolves had chosen to take up a more visible presence on the site. The Wolves had five BattleMechs present, all of them old Marik models they had salvaged. I had found out that all five of them were manned by Lowlander converts, rather than real Wolf warriors. They were clearly on alert, given our recent incursions into the area and sabotage of their mines. However, they weren’t ready for what happened next.

The Red Hills mine

A quartet of blue-painted BattleMechs came out of the jungle; Stalker, Carronade, Uziel and one that I couldn’t identify; it looked a bit like a Vulture from one of the old guidebooks, but a lot fatter. While I do not know who sent them, it is clear that they were unexpected but also hostile. As soon as the Wolves moved to react to them, the four opened fire. Despite being outnumbered, the four attackers pressed forwards to the edge of the mine itself.

The Wolves did concentrate their weapons on the Carronade, destroying one of its arms and taking most of its armour. As it pulled back, though, the Wolves found themselves in close quarters with the others and clearly outmatched. The Orion’s cannon exploded, tearing apart its entire right side. The Guillotine was hit in the face with a number of missiles and had its chest torn open. The Wolverine and Griffin tried to harry the Carronade, but instead both of them lost arms and were forced back. The only one of them to hang back, the Rifleman, went down when the Uzel jumped behind it and destroyed one of its cannons.

Even though the attackers then pulled back, it’s clear that they were the winners of the battle. One of their BattleMechs was badly damaged, while all five of the Wolves will need extensive repairs. I also found out that all five of the Lowlander pilots were injured in the battle with the Guillotine pilot hospitalised.

I think that we need to find out who these blue attackers are and what they want. I sent another runner to follow them while I watched the wolves and the mine, and hopefully he will be able to find out some more. They could be of great benefit to us, but at the same time, they could be a big risk if they accidentally stumble into our lands.