Turn 8 Results - Solaris VII - 3 Lakes Valley

Critical hits are all the rage this turn, as body parts & weapons fall off to the left & centre (the right field is still stripping armour).
Jesse wins the initiative to shoot at Big Joe Duke first, & proceeds to hit with every weapon fired. Karl Grimm punches through the left torso, but fails to hit anything vital, followed by Jade Scott tearing the Orion's left foot off. This is enough damage to topple the 'mech causing additional armour damage.
Odeen Tihald then proceeds with his normal (by this stage) misses, except for 1 Md laser, which manages to destroy the Orion's AC10. Hondo Ash inflicts major internal damage, but misses all the vital systems & fails to destroy the torso by 1 point.
In response, Big Joe unleashes his entire arsenal at Karl Grimm, hoping for a lucky strike & risking immediate meltdown. But with his current heat affecting the targetting systems, all shots miss.

Sean O'Mally mauls Little Joe Duke with a nasty Lg Laser shot to the centre torso, damaging the engine twice & sending his heat level soaring. The rest of the shooting is an anticlimax with mostly armour damage.

During the Physical Attack phase, Maxwell Drake form's his 'mechs fingers in an obscene gesture towards Karl Grimm.

Big Joe's luck finally comes to an end in the heat phase as the overstressed heatsinks succumb. First the engine shuts down to prevent a runaway reaction, then all the missile ammo proceeds to cook off, blowing out the entire torso section (for 347 points of damage). The autoejection system works, but due to being prone, slams him into a tree, knocking him unconscious with a nasty headache.

Graham Paddock also fails to regain consciousness, which is unfortunate, as both of wayne's 'mechs maneuver for optimum shots. Felicity Bowain regains a partial LOS, while Maxwell Drake jumps within physical attack range for the coup-de-grace. I hope Graham has a good life insurance policy...

Joe Duke is currently leading on 112 points, followed by Wayne Pollerd (77) & Paul Frigo (28).
Realistically, only Wayne can catch Joe, unless Brian, Larry & Jesse manage to waste each other completely in 2 turns.

Due to the late results, turn 9 orders are due Monday 29 June 1998.

Wayne#3 fires at Daniel#1
PPC - miss 3 linked
Md Lasers - hit (RA 5, RT 10)
SRM 6 - hit (RL 4, RT 2, LT 2) - pilot roll successful (20+ damage)
Flamer - miss

Wayne#4 fires at Daniel#1
Md Laser (LA) - miss

Jesse#5 fires at Joe#9 (wins initiative)
PPC - hit (RT 10)
PPC - hit (RL 10) - fails pilot roll (20+ damage) (RS - RL 5, RA 3), fails pilot damage, makes consciousness

Jesse#6 fires at Joe#9 (wins initiative)
Lg Laser - hit (RL 8, crit - foot actuator)

Larry#7 fires at Joe#9
LRM5 - miss
Lg Laser - miss
Md Laser - hit (RT 5, crit - AC10 damaged)
Md Laser - miss
Md Laser - miss

Larry#8 fires at Joe#9
Lg Laser - hit (RT 8)
AC10 - hit (RA 10)

Joe#9 fires at Jesse#5
LRM 15 - miss
AC10 - miss
Md Laser - miss
Md Laser - miss
SRM4 - miss

Joe#10 fires at Brian#13
PPC - miss
Md Laser - not fired (14+ to hit)

Brian#13 fires at Joe#10
Lg Laser - miss

Brian#14 fires at Joe#10
Lg Laser - hit (CT 8, crit - engine, engine)

Physical Attacks:
Wayne#4 gives the 'Bird' to Daniel#1

Heat Phase:
Wayne#3 - +1 to fire, -2 movement.
Joe#9 - ammo explosion (8+) - failed. LRM15,SRM4 ammo detonates (LTi 16, CTi 347, crit - engine. - 2 pilot hits, fails consciousness, fails ejection - pilot hit.
MECH Destroyed. VP: Ben 5, Joe 10, Jesse 20, Larry 20. (on internal damage)
Joe#10 - +1 to fire, -2 movement.

End Phase:
Daniel#2 is unconscious (failed consciousness - 7+)
Joe#9 is unconscious
Paul#11 is unconscious (failed consciousness - 11+)
Brian#13; sensor damage, +2 to firecombat

Movement Phase Notes:
None

***
Turn 9 orders due 29th June 1998.