[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/sqSMrSc.png[/img][/center]

Minutes passed as the Green Knights dug into their positions. With the [i]Raven's[/i] ECM bubble operating, their prey wouldn't be able to detect them on sensors, and with the thick snow, even visuals would be difficult until the Mechs began moving. A cold wind began to howl through the Hiyan-Chia Mountain Pass, a wail that sounded almost mournful as it carried sheets of sleet across the treacherous cliffs. Below them, the heights gave way to a near 50-meter drop, with only a pair of narrow rock bridges connecting the rises between peaks. Above them, hundreds of tons of packed snow and ice sat precariously on the mountaintops, threatening to crush the unwary or the unfortunate.

Long after the intel had predicted the Crimson Fists would be entering the area, that sad wailing wind was the only sound that echoed through the pass. For a time, it seemed that the Green Knights' quarry wouldn't be coming this way after all, that they had taken a different route or turned around altogether.

Eventually, however, the rhythmic thudding of heavy footfalls began to echo through the mountains. Even with the snow muffling it somewhat, the tread of a lance of Battlemechs was unmistakable. One by one, they entered the valley, four Mechs falsely bearing the colors of Gawain's Green Knights.

Leading the column was their primary target, the [i][url=https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Firestarter_(BattleMech)]Firestarter[/url][/i]. While most Mechs tended to move with a lumbering, plodding gait, the 35-ton Mech was surprisingly light on its feet, its pilot maneuvering the machine with a spring in its step that made it almost appear as if it were skipping along playfully. It was said that some Mechwarriors were so in-tune with their Mechs that they could almost inject their own personality into the way the machine moved. If the [i]Firestarter[/i]'s swinging, almost carefree posture was any indication, then its pilot seemed to be quite pleased with himself- a disturbing notion, considering what the Fists had just done.

To the surprise of the Knights, the [i]Firestarter[/i] was paired with a second thirty-five tonner, a Kurita-made [i][url=https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Panther]Panther[/url][/i]. Unlike most light Mechs which carried short-range weapons, the [i]Panther[/i] was a light and mobile sniper, mounting a Particle Projector Cannon as its main weapon. While it didn't have much by way of armor, that PPC had the potential to do serious damage if left unchecked.

Just behind the two lights was the third Mech, the fifty-ton [i][url=https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Hunchback]Hunchback[/url][/i]. With its arms swinging wide from its broad chest and a bow-legged stride, the Mech seemed to strut its way into the mountain pass as if it owned the place. And with a massive Class-20 Autocannon that could cripple or destroy most Mechs in a single shot, the [i]Hunchback[/i]'s pilot had little reason to doubt that he did own the place indeed.

The fourth Mech was one of the two spotted Heavy mechs, the [i][url=https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Crusader]Crusader[/url][/i]. While its LRM-15 racks didn't have quite the same output as Marit's [i]Archer[/i], it could still put a significant amount of damage down-field, and the footage from the massacre showed its leg-mounted SRM launchers were loaded with Inferno warheads.

Seismic sensors indicated a fifth contact, also a 65-tonner like the [i]Crusader[/i], was bringing up the rear.

Either unaware of the possibility of enemy presence or unconcerned, the Crimson Fists strode into the Hiyan-Chia Mountain Pass, walking right into the Green Knights' trap.

[hider=Situation]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/ZHEuc1h.png[/img]

[color=Green][b]Green Knights Locations:[/b][/color]
Raven (Shadow Hawk): C-9
Marit (Archer): H-10
Tarak (Phoenix Hawk): J-12
Ziska (Raven): L-8
Aroxy (Von Luckner): L-6
Ingrid (Ostroc): T-4 (Hidden, will require Piloting check [4+] to move)

[color=Red][b]Crimson Fists Locations:[/b][/color]
Yellow Jester (Firestarter): CC9, TMM=2
Honk-Honk (Panther): AA9, TMM=2
Bing-Bong (Hunchback): BB10, TMM=1
Mister Dimples (Crusader): FF12, TMM=1
Captain Waffles (Unknown): off-map, will enter map at top of Round 2
[/hider]