Defense Smithon

 is a storyline mission given by the Arano Restoration as part of the campaign in Battletech, available after completing a couple of contracts after Escape.

Synopsis
In the wake of Commodore Ostergaard's initial attack, Taurian BattleMechs have continued to wreak havoc on the general population. The Restoration DropShips en route to evacuate as many refugees as they can carry, but the Taurians will target them if they get the chance. Lady Arano needs you to deny them that opportunity and punish the Taurians for their war crimes - which are likely to go unnoticed in the Inner Sphere, as they happen in the middle of a frontier civil war.

Your goal is to protect a spaceport full of civilians, targeted by the Concordat forces as enemy combatants, until they can be evacuated by the DropShips.

Walkthrough

 * This is a base defense mission in a desert setting, with the opposition consisting of a variety of mechs. Bring a lance with good firepower and heat management, since you need to swiftly take out the opposition. If you have heavy mechs, field them here.
 * The majority of the enemy mechs fielded will be decently fast and will be sprinting. Make sure to field your most accurate pilots as these mechs can be difficult to hit after they sprint.
 * Your goal is to protect the dropship landing zone, including the incoming dropships and the fuel tanks. A dropship requires two turns to load civilians and take off. You will have friendly turrets and vehicles to assist you in this task.
 * The enemies will come in waves of fully armored mechs. The first wave comes in down the main entrance to the starport and consists of a Thunderbolt TDR-5S and a BattleMaster BLR-1G supported by two Jenner JR7-Ds, and a Panther PNT-9L. At Rounds two and three the enemy will try flanking and attacking the fuel depots with two lances consisting of a pair of mechs each: Spider SDR-5V and Commando COM-1B. The good news is, if you attack the enemy mechs, they will prioritize hitting you, so you can easily draw their fire. Engaging lighter mechs at range is a good way to avoid having to split your attention up too much between the entrances.
 * Don't worry about overheating mechs when push comes to shove. The +50% payout bonus for protecting all three dropships is more than enough to cover expenses for reconstructing structure and the light mechs are unlikely to have weapons capable of punching through your armor.
 * Mech pilots with the multi-target perk will perform exceedingly well here as each pilot with such skill can distract up to 3 enemy mechs. A full lance with this perk can distract all 10 enemy mechs if you position yourself well and use LRM's to shoot over the walls.
 * Mechs shot with LRM's from behind cover will still retaliate against the nearest visible hostile instead of attacking the objective. This includes vehicles, turrets, and other mechs you have if the mech can't retaliate against its aggressor.
 * Reserving until the end of every turn is wise as the turrets and vehicles will shoot at the enemy mechs and reduce their evasion so that your attacks will be more impactful.
 * Enemy mechs will aggressively advance on the objective. They will not factor in your position and may provide you attacks of opportunity to the flanks and rear of their mechs. Make use of these BUT do not lose sight of the goal of creating a diversion for all opfor mechs.

Outcome

 * The defense of Smithon is a glimmer of hope in the generally bleak war fought against the Directorate. As the dropships carry refugees away, deeper into Restoration space, Lady Centrella brings news: Her agents got in touch with House Gallas of Itrom, who served the Espinosas in the early months of the directorate, but have fallen out of favor. Lady Gallas promises to exchange intel on Espinosa that could destroy his alliance with the Concordat, but to reach her and acquire said information will require travelling to Itrom and liberating it - no small feat, as it sits in the heart of Directorate space.