TERRA

DECEMBER 3035

His dad's Excalibur was the first 'Mech Dan Kenner ever saw, and for a long, idyllic time it was the only 'Mech in his world, like Earth was the only planet.  Dad would be gone for months at a time. Mom would be a little snippy and sad for those months, and she'd always say he was out in the Excalibur, on some other planet.  Then when he came back, she was happy.

Dan told him one day, "The kids at school pretend to be 'Mechs sometimes. We stomp around and punch each other."

"Oh yeah?" he said.  He was laughing, but Dan didn't pick up on such things at that age.

"You ever punch a 'Mech for real, Dad?"

"That wouldn't be a good idea.  The Excalibur's not built for punching.  It's not for fighting up close.  I have to stand back and shoot from a distance."

So from then on, when Dan pretended to be the Excalibur, he stood back and threw snowballs.

When he was five, Dad took him for a ride.  That was when he first saw the 'Mech.  It did look like a knight.  "Is that a sword?" Dan said.  "I thought it wasn't for fighting up close."

"Not a sword," said Dad.  "That's the most powerful gun in the Inner Sphere.  A Gauss cannon."

A tall woman in a Com Guard uniform came up behind him.  "Your dad's a dead shot with that gun."

"Dan, this is Nini Khumalo," said Dad.  "I've told you about Nini, right?"

Dan remembered.  "You're the Adept.  Dad's second in command."

She nodded.  "You taking the kid out for a spin, Geoff?" said Nini.

"You let Jake ride in the Black Knight all the time," he said.  "I figured why not."

The two of them went out on the training ground.  It was mostly empty, a Chameleon or two jumping around, but not much activity.  Dad crouched the 'Mech behind a barrier and drew a bead on a target.  "Want to shoot the gun?"  He showed Dan which trigger to press.  At Dan's touch, the rifle blew the target apart.

He'd thought about growing up to be a MechWarrior before then, but after that day he never wanted any other life.

Mom got more sad as that year went on.  One night he heard her and Dad talking quietly, intensely, when they thought he was asleep.  At first it sounded like a fight, but then he realized they were scared.

He asked her later about one of the things he overheard.  "I thought ComStar was the good guys?"

"There are a lot of good people in ComStar.  Dad works with good people.  But the ones I work for, some of them can be bad.  I'm trying to figure out how I can be good and--" she hesitated.  "And still keep my job."

"But you're a doctor, right, mom?  How can your job be bad?"

"It's hard to explain, honey.  But it turns out doctors can be as bad as anyone."

MARCH 3036

The night it all happened, he thought he was alone in the house with Mom--Dad had been out in the Excalibur for a couple of days.  But when someone shook him awake, it was Dad.

"We've got to go, Dan.  No time to get dressed."  There was no time for anything, it sounded like.  All Dan's things would have to stay behind.

"We're going into space," Dad said when he asked.

When he asked about mom, Dad took a while to answer, and even when he did Dan could tell the next thing he said was a lie.  "She should be on the DropShip with us." There was a car outside, its engine already going.  Dad introduced the driver.  "Ben's one of my MechWarriors." That was exciting.  "What do you pilot?"  By then Dan had broadened his horizons a bit, beyond just the Excalibur. "A Griffin," Ben said. Dan wanted to ask more about the Griffin, but Dad told him to stay quiet.  The car seemed to be going pretty fast.  After a little while a call came in for Dad.  He listened for a while, then just hung up.  "God damn it."  Bad language meant he was mad, Dan knew. "What?" said Ben.

"They know what we're up to.  Firefight's already started.  We're holding the port, but they won't take long breaking through."

"We'll have to just gun it, then."

"I know."

Ben, the MechWarrior in the driver seat, turned back to Dan.  "Buckle up, Dan.  You're going to be real brave and real quiet, aren't you?"

Dan nodded.

Ben turned back to the wheel.  "After we get out of here, you get a ride in the Griffin."

SCENARIO 1: ESCAPE FROM EARTH

PLAYER: Purists

ENEMY: Com Guards

Geoffrey Kenner's wife has been arrested, and he knows he's next.  So he moves to escape Terra with his son and his loyal soldiers.  Purity of Vision III-Alpha is attempting to escape Terra in their DropShips as Com Guard attackers close in, but Kenner has not yet reached them.

OBJECTIVE: Move the Ground Car adjacent to the Overlord DropShip. Load Khumalo's Black Knight and as many other Purist 'Mechs as possible onto the DropShip and leave the map with it to secure victory.  If either the Black Knight or the DropShip is destroyed, or if the Ground Car is destroyed before reaching the DropShip, the mission ends in defeat.  If no Purist 'Mechs are lost, the mission will be a flawless victory.

(Note that MegaMek does not have the ability to enforce these victory conditions; you'll have to just mentally "declare victory" once you've accomplished them.)

SPECIAL RULES: Khumalo has the Melee Specialist ability (her physical attacks have a bonus to hit).