Friday, July 01, 2016
Saturday, June 25, 2016
FreeJumper - Ships and Stations
Some ships and stations for FreeJumper. The single rule on building: Not one penny could be spent on this, it all had to come from leftovers. Stands and bases seem stuck on backorder forever, so these are work-in-progress shots.
First up is the Space Station Maytag, a small science outpost.
Next is the Space Station Copenhagen, a much larger habitat.
My ship, working name the Flash:
Sara glommed on to this one right away, and dictated the color scheme. Working title the Belkin:
And finally, Miles' ship the Py-Rat. He wants to violate the build directive slightly by installing a robotic rat tail onto the ship. Never having heard of Skavens, he came up with the same plot line and wants his ship crewed by rat-beasts with a low grasp of technology:
First up is the Space Station Maytag, a small science outpost.
Next is the Space Station Copenhagen, a much larger habitat.
My ship, working name the Flash:
Sara glommed on to this one right away, and dictated the color scheme. Working title the Belkin:
And finally, Miles' ship the Py-Rat. He wants to violate the build directive slightly by installing a robotic rat tail onto the ship. Never having heard of Skavens, he came up with the same plot line and wants his ship crewed by rat-beasts with a low grasp of technology:
Friday, May 27, 2016
SP2 - Concord Raid Part 2
Today we learned just how quickly a stalemate can turn into an utter debacle.
Some notes from the first section: In the narrative I confused Sgt Barrett's skirmishers with Sgt. Blood's. This has been corrected in the new slides. Quite by accident, all my rebel leader names began with B. Never do this!
I also forgot to add a small hut on the board. It plays a part today as it blocks some firing.
Turn 6:
Sgt. Barrett's militia is up first. They are blocking Capt. Brooks, so he initiates a wheel to the rear. This is a tough move for militia to attempt, but they do well.
Capt. Brooks comes up next, but he is still blocked.
Sgt. Blood slowly moves up the hill.
British Lt. Barker makes a bold move, he moves from open column into line and advances towards Capt. Brown!
Tiffin card. Pitcairn's group moves forward and comes to the Present! Tension mounts even higher.
Sgt. Slaughter passes his loot test and moves out of the barn.
Turn 7:
Sgt. Barrett acts first again. He backs his men up into the cowpen, but breaks formation crossing the low fence.
Sgt. Blood finally gets a good advance and moves along the hill into a good firing position.
But 3 flags in a row pulled next! Good Lord, Major Pitcairn has been hit! He is now a status 2 leader.
(we forgot to roll on the bad things happen table, corrected later)
Lt. Barker activates next. He states he is going to begin firing, so Capt. Brown burns 2 flags and interrupts!.
22 dice, 15 hits, 1 kill, 7 shock across Lt Barker’s groups.
Lt Barker fires back. He spends a flag to boost. 13 dice, 10 hits, 3 total kills, 6 total shock. Capt. Brown is hit! Light wound, reduce status by 1. No morale loss for rebels.
And the Tiffin card!
Turn 8:
First up is Sgt. Brown, the extra leader added to Capt. Brown’s force. He rallies 1 shock.
After a couple flags, Capt Brown is up. He uses the flags to increase his command, rallies 2 shock, and activates his unit. Fire and load, boys!
19 dice, 8 hits, 1 group gets 1 kill, 2 shock. Other group 3 shock. The group Lt. Barker is attached to does an involuntary withdrawal and backs up 2”.
British force morale takes a hit. We’re falling back from rebels?
Sgt. Blood’s skirmishers are up next. Lt. Barker’s men are shielded by a small outbuilding, but Sgt. Slaughter’s group is in the open at effective range! Time for some skirmishing, with first fire bonus and good shots. 9 shots, 5 hits, 3 kills and 1 shock! Missed Sgt. Slaughter, though.
Tiffin!
1 red flag on the table. Major Pitcairn’s formation presents and fires. As they are not directed this turn, all hits will be shared among the skirmishers and Capt. Brooks’ militia.
1 kill, 2 shock on the skirmish group with Sgt. Barrett. They withdraw. 2 shock on the other skirmish group. They withdraw. Both skirmish groups are now out of the arc of fire for Pitcairn. The fire on the militia is ineffective.
Americans roll 2 times on the morale table. Both times no effect.
Turn 9:
One blue flag then Captain Brooks is up! First fire on Pitcairn’s men. 22 shots, only 6 hits! Obviously that prig spent more time drilling his troops on pretty marching than musketry.
Major Pitcairn next. He has his men load and present.
Capt Brown rallies 1 shock and keeps his men firing (oops, forgot he was reduced to status 1). Lt. Barker’s group gets 1 kill, 2 shock. The other group gets 1 kill, no shock. Lt. Barker’s group Breaks! The other group involuntarily withdraws. British morale drops 2 points. Redcoats are running from rebels!
Sgt. Barrett activates. He uses some flags to increase his status, the rallies some shock and forms his men back up.
Lt. Barker activates. He chooses to stay with his routing group, rallying shock.
Sgt. Brown rallies 1 shock.
Tiffin!
Sgt. Slaughter moves his men into the field. Sgt. Blood fires on them again. 3 hits, 1 shock.
The farmworker runs away from Sgt. Slaughter.
Turn 10:
A red flag, then Tiffin!
Major Pitcairn’s group fires a controlled volley and reloads.
1 shock, 1 kill. (This is when we realized we had been doing muskets as effective range, not long range. Hits should go down now…)
Turn 11: (in which it all goes to hell)
Sgt Brown rallies the last point of shock off his group. Already paid for himself.
Sgt. Barrett and his skirmishers go next. He still has a lot of shock on his unit, but could rally some or start firing on Pitcairn. Maybe a lucky shot would take the Major down? He skips the rally and starts shooting. Only 5 dice, but they are skirmishers at long range.
One kill on the Major’s group. The Major rolls a 1!
And then another 1! Major Pitcairn is d-e-d dead. That sure changes history!
British morale reduced to 3, command cards removed.
Sgt. Barrett’s desperate gambit paid off in spades!
Captain Brooks goes next. He rallies the last shock and his men keep firing, but only inflict 1 shock.
Captain Brown is up next. With only 2 cards on the board he can’t order a crashing volley. But he still has skirmishers at close range, so the men keep firing. Only 5 hits, but 2 kills and 1 shock. That’s now 7 shock on 3 guys, so they break and run.
Sgt. Blood continues firing on Sgt. Slaughter. 3 shock. Sgt. Slaughter is forced to withdraw, and British morale drops to 1.
Aftermath:
The British concede. They roll to see if they still win. They captured 2 sets of supplies, but roll a 2. If only Sgt. Slaughter had searched the field and found the muskets hidden there. A loss for the British!
Some notes from the first section: In the narrative I confused Sgt Barrett's skirmishers with Sgt. Blood's. This has been corrected in the new slides. Quite by accident, all my rebel leader names began with B. Never do this!
I also forgot to add a small hut on the board. It plays a part today as it blocks some firing.
Turn 6:
Sgt. Barrett's militia is up first. They are blocking Capt. Brooks, so he initiates a wheel to the rear. This is a tough move for militia to attempt, but they do well.
Capt. Brooks comes up next, but he is still blocked.
Sgt. Blood slowly moves up the hill.
British Lt. Barker makes a bold move, he moves from open column into line and advances towards Capt. Brown!
Tiffin card. Pitcairn's group moves forward and comes to the Present! Tension mounts even higher.
Sgt. Slaughter passes his loot test and moves out of the barn.
Turn 7:
Sgt. Barrett acts first again. He backs his men up into the cowpen, but breaks formation crossing the low fence.
Sgt. Blood finally gets a good advance and moves along the hill into a good firing position.
The Shot Heard Round the World
Major Pitcairn activates. Not enough command cards, so no crashing volley or thin red line. But he does spend a command flag to direct all fire on Sgt. Barrett's skirmishers, as they are the only group in close range. 19 dice, 2+ to hit. 1st group takes 2 kills, 3 shock. 2nd takes 2 kills, 4 shock. His group reloads. As he started the war, he rolls on the bad things happen table. No morale loss!
(we forgot to roll on the bad things happen table, corrected later)
Lt. Barker activates next. He states he is going to begin firing, so Capt. Brown burns 2 flags and interrupts!.
22 dice, 15 hits, 1 kill, 7 shock across Lt Barker’s groups.
Lt Barker fires back. He spends a flag to boost. 13 dice, 10 hits, 3 total kills, 6 total shock. Capt. Brown is hit! Light wound, reduce status by 1. No morale loss for rebels.
And the Tiffin card!
Turn 8:
First up is Sgt. Brown, the extra leader added to Capt. Brown’s force. He rallies 1 shock.
After a couple flags, Capt Brown is up. He uses the flags to increase his command, rallies 2 shock, and activates his unit. Fire and load, boys!
19 dice, 8 hits, 1 group gets 1 kill, 2 shock. Other group 3 shock. The group Lt. Barker is attached to does an involuntary withdrawal and backs up 2”.
British force morale takes a hit. We’re falling back from rebels?
Sgt. Blood’s skirmishers are up next. Lt. Barker’s men are shielded by a small outbuilding, but Sgt. Slaughter’s group is in the open at effective range! Time for some skirmishing, with first fire bonus and good shots. 9 shots, 5 hits, 3 kills and 1 shock! Missed Sgt. Slaughter, though.
Tiffin!
1 red flag on the table. Major Pitcairn’s formation presents and fires. As they are not directed this turn, all hits will be shared among the skirmishers and Capt. Brooks’ militia.
1 kill, 2 shock on the skirmish group with Sgt. Barrett. They withdraw. 2 shock on the other skirmish group. They withdraw. Both skirmish groups are now out of the arc of fire for Pitcairn. The fire on the militia is ineffective.
Americans roll 2 times on the morale table. Both times no effect.
Turn 9:
One blue flag then Captain Brooks is up! First fire on Pitcairn’s men. 22 shots, only 6 hits! Obviously that prig spent more time drilling his troops on pretty marching than musketry.
Major Pitcairn next. He has his men load and present.
Capt Brown rallies 1 shock and keeps his men firing (oops, forgot he was reduced to status 1). Lt. Barker’s group gets 1 kill, 2 shock. The other group gets 1 kill, no shock. Lt. Barker’s group Breaks! The other group involuntarily withdraws. British morale drops 2 points. Redcoats are running from rebels!
Sgt. Barrett activates. He uses some flags to increase his status, the rallies some shock and forms his men back up.
Lt. Barker activates. He chooses to stay with his routing group, rallying shock.
Sgt. Brown rallies 1 shock.
Tiffin!
Sgt. Slaughter moves his men into the field. Sgt. Blood fires on them again. 3 hits, 1 shock.
The farmworker runs away from Sgt. Slaughter.
Turn 10:
A red flag, then Tiffin!
Major Pitcairn’s group fires a controlled volley and reloads.
1 shock, 1 kill. (This is when we realized we had been doing muskets as effective range, not long range. Hits should go down now…)
Turn 11: (in which it all goes to hell)
Sgt Brown rallies the last point of shock off his group. Already paid for himself.
Sgt. Barrett and his skirmishers go next. He still has a lot of shock on his unit, but could rally some or start firing on Pitcairn. Maybe a lucky shot would take the Major down? He skips the rally and starts shooting. Only 5 dice, but they are skirmishers at long range.
One kill on the Major’s group. The Major rolls a 1!
And then another 1! Major Pitcairn is d-e-d dead. That sure changes history!
British morale reduced to 3, command cards removed.
Sgt. Barrett’s desperate gambit paid off in spades!
Captain Brooks goes next. He rallies the last shock and his men keep firing, but only inflict 1 shock.
Captain Brown is up next. With only 2 cards on the board he can’t order a crashing volley. But he still has skirmishers at close range, so the men keep firing. Only 5 hits, but 2 kills and 1 shock. That’s now 7 shock on 3 guys, so they break and run.
Sgt. Blood continues firing on Sgt. Slaughter. 3 shock. Sgt. Slaughter is forced to withdraw, and British morale drops to 1.
Aftermath:
The British concede. They roll to see if they still win. They captured 2 sets of supplies, but roll a 2. If only Sgt. Slaughter had searched the field and found the muskets hidden there. A loss for the British!
 |
| Rest In Peace, Major. Way to go, start a war and then get killed 5 minutes later! |
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
SP2 - Concord Raid
So, I'm writing a series of scenarios for the start of the AWI. We already did Merriam's Corner, which will be #2 in the series. Here is #1 - the raid on Concord.
The layout: This is Scenario 2 from the rulebook, Sweep the Table. The Regulars (Brits), must sweep for contraband weapons. The Orchard, Cowpen (Corral), Large House, Double Barn, Large Field, and Single Barn all have contraband. The Rebels (Americans), must try to stop them.
Special rule for this scenario: Open hostilities had not started yet, but it was close. The first unit to fire or engage in fisticuffs must immediately roll on the Force Morale table. This should encourage a lot of posturing before the shooting starts.
Each side had 4 support points, but was limited by history on what it could choose. The Brits added a spirits and a tinder box to Major Pitcairn's group, and upgraded Lt. Barker to status 3.
The Americans added a Level 1 leader to Captain Brown's militia, and a drummer to Capt. Brooks'.
(Note: not paying attention to the rules, I've been allowing Sgt Barrett's Militia Skirmishers to form line. Not going to change it now, we'll just say their the Acton Militia.)
Edit! Pay no attention to the white "turn 1" in the middle of the board. That was treachery! I didn't do that, I swear!
The rebels had to generate some numbers on dice before they could even deploy. As it happened, the very first chit drawn was the rebel leader, and he rolled a 10! The Americans would not have to wait long to deploy.
British Sgt. Slaughter was next up, his skirmishers were able to freely deploy far from the point, as they were out of view of all rebels. They headed for the single barn. Major Pitcairn deployed his main force in the orchard and they immediately began to search.
Oh no! 3 flags in a row pulled. The troops get so busy eating the spring apples the counter gets reset to zero. The brits have 3 command flags out. Should they deploy the last unit or hope for bonus activation? They hope…
Tiffin! All wasted.
Turn 2:
Pitcairn again after a red flag. He orders his men to stop stuffing their faces and get to searching. Only a 6 this time.
2 blue flags then the Tiffin again. Sgt. Slaughter uses the 2 red flags to activate his unit, they move to the single barn.
Turn 3:
Captain Brown! They roll over a 14 and can deploy. They deploy in closed column on the road.
Sgt. Blood’s rebel skirmishers deploy next, moving quickly up the board.
Pics
Major Pitcairn. His troops find powder kegs buried under the trees. Next task is to destroy them!
3 blue flags on the table. Captain Brooks deploys his men in line, moving off the hill near the house.
But, 3 flags come out. #9, where’s the map happened. But the troops deployed in line, so should be OK.
And Tiffin! - Sgt Slaughter starts his search of the single barn. 5, halfway done.
Turn 4:
Lt. Barker joins the field, deploying in open column in preparation to moving to occupy the road at center.
Major Pitcairn goes next. His men succeed (barely) with strewing the powder all through the orchard. That’s going to kill some trees! 1 supply destroyed.
Rebel Sgt. Barrett’s chit finally gets pulled. But the deployment point is pretty crowded right now, so he stays put off the board.
Captain Brown’s secondary leader has nothing to do, so stays silent.
Rebel Sgt. Blood’s skirmishers come up next. They push forward.
Sgt. Slaughter’s men find stores hidden in the barn!
One more flag then Tiffin. All brit units have activated. Both rebel militia units activate and march forward. Captain Brown ignores the farm worker at the barns, but is Captain Brooks delayed by the Lady of the House? No, she ignores him.
Turn 5
Sgt. Barrett again. His militia group deploys and heads for the high ground on the right.
…but 3 flags follow. #9 again.
Sgt. Slaughter uses 2 flags to destroy the supplies. – 2 gathered. However, when next activated they must take a looting test, as he is a rotter.
Lt. Barker moves his light infantry up the center.
Captain Brooks closes up with the skirmishers.
Sgt Blood moves his skirmishers at the oblique to open up fire lanes, using 2 command cards.
Captain Brown moves his unit into line. There is now a massed formation facing the brits.
2 red flags are out, only 3 left in the bag. Pitcairn waits.
And it’s Tiffin! Pitcairn’s group moves up to the edge of the orchard.
An incredibly tense standoff. Game called on account of school tomorrow for those damn rebels.
The layout: This is Scenario 2 from the rulebook, Sweep the Table. The Regulars (Brits), must sweep for contraband weapons. The Orchard, Cowpen (Corral), Large House, Double Barn, Large Field, and Single Barn all have contraband. The Rebels (Americans), must try to stop them.
Special rule for this scenario: Open hostilities had not started yet, but it was close. The first unit to fire or engage in fisticuffs must immediately roll on the Force Morale table. This should encourage a lot of posturing before the shooting starts.
Each side had 4 support points, but was limited by history on what it could choose. The Brits added a spirits and a tinder box to Major Pitcairn's group, and upgraded Lt. Barker to status 3.
The Americans added a Level 1 leader to Captain Brown's militia, and a drummer to Capt. Brooks'.
(Note: not paying attention to the rules, I've been allowing Sgt Barrett's Militia Skirmishers to form line. Not going to change it now, we'll just say their the Acton Militia.)
Edit! Pay no attention to the white "turn 1" in the middle of the board. That was treachery! I didn't do that, I swear!
The rebels had to generate some numbers on dice before they could even deploy. As it happened, the very first chit drawn was the rebel leader, and he rolled a 10! The Americans would not have to wait long to deploy.
British Sgt. Slaughter was next up, his skirmishers were able to freely deploy far from the point, as they were out of view of all rebels. They headed for the single barn. Major Pitcairn deployed his main force in the orchard and they immediately began to search.
Oh no! 3 flags in a row pulled. The troops get so busy eating the spring apples the counter gets reset to zero. The brits have 3 command flags out. Should they deploy the last unit or hope for bonus activation? They hope…
Tiffin! All wasted.
Turn 2:
Pitcairn again after a red flag. He orders his men to stop stuffing their faces and get to searching. Only a 6 this time.
2 blue flags then the Tiffin again. Sgt. Slaughter uses the 2 red flags to activate his unit, they move to the single barn.
Turn 3:
Captain Brown! They roll over a 14 and can deploy. They deploy in closed column on the road.
Sgt. Blood’s rebel skirmishers deploy next, moving quickly up the board.
Pics
Major Pitcairn. His troops find powder kegs buried under the trees. Next task is to destroy them!
3 blue flags on the table. Captain Brooks deploys his men in line, moving off the hill near the house.
But, 3 flags come out. #9, where’s the map happened. But the troops deployed in line, so should be OK.
And Tiffin! - Sgt Slaughter starts his search of the single barn. 5, halfway done.
Turn 4:
Lt. Barker joins the field, deploying in open column in preparation to moving to occupy the road at center.
Major Pitcairn goes next. His men succeed (barely) with strewing the powder all through the orchard. That’s going to kill some trees! 1 supply destroyed.
Rebel Sgt. Barrett’s chit finally gets pulled. But the deployment point is pretty crowded right now, so he stays put off the board.
Captain Brown’s secondary leader has nothing to do, so stays silent.
Rebel Sgt. Blood’s skirmishers come up next. They push forward.
Sgt. Slaughter’s men find stores hidden in the barn!
One more flag then Tiffin. All brit units have activated. Both rebel militia units activate and march forward. Captain Brown ignores the farm worker at the barns, but is Captain Brooks delayed by the Lady of the House? No, she ignores him.
Turn 5
Sgt. Barrett again. His militia group deploys and heads for the high ground on the right.
…but 3 flags follow. #9 again.
Sgt. Slaughter uses 2 flags to destroy the supplies. – 2 gathered. However, when next activated they must take a looting test, as he is a rotter.
Lt. Barker moves his light infantry up the center.
Captain Brooks closes up with the skirmishers.
Sgt Blood moves his skirmishers at the oblique to open up fire lanes, using 2 command cards.
Captain Brown moves his unit into line. There is now a massed formation facing the brits.
2 red flags are out, only 3 left in the bag. Pitcairn waits.
And it’s Tiffin! Pitcairn’s group moves up to the edge of the orchard.
An incredibly tense standoff. Game called on account of school tomorrow for those damn rebels.
 |
| Lt. Barker clears the orchard only to see a wide line of rebels arrayed against him.Time to make them run! |
Deployment points for Sharp Practice 2
My entries for the Sharp Practice 2 Deployment Points Contest.
Ugly, but fun.
Too Fat Lardies Competition
First, the family waves the soldiers off to war...
Next, some poor sod who drew the easy duty of guarding the bedrolls is about to have a very unpleasant interview with his Sergeant...
Ugly, but fun.
Too Fat Lardies Competition
First, the family waves the soldiers off to war...
Next, some poor sod who drew the easy duty of guarding the bedrolls is about to have a very unpleasant interview with his Sergeant...
My submission:
Friday, May 20, 2016
Round of Fire - First Contact
(An asymmetric scenario designed just to see how long it would last- it worked perfectly)
Sergeant Badger bounced along in the back of the APC, trying to stay awake on this milk run. “Escort Dr. Bean, watch out for unknowns, this planet is still largely unexplored, blah blah.” Same briefing he had heard many times on many planets. This one ranked among the worst, a hot desert wasteland. Of course, the Marine’s hand-me-down APC lacked such basic niceties as air conditioning.
He glanced over his charges. Driver and gunner were in their spots, wiping dust from their facepieces. Cpl’s Jones and Smith lined each side of the APC with their fireteam. All of them were in the lightest kit allowed, only carrying the basic load of ammo. At least they had a good scientist this time, Dr. Bean was athletic and regularly volunteered for these missions.
Just as gunner Gunnar (his name was a constant joke) called out, “Next sensor in sight”, the APC lurched sharply to the left, and the driver started cursing. “Just threw a track, Sarge!” This was bad. A slow-flight VTOL would have to be sent out to retrieve them. Of course, there was the high-orbital dustoff, but that was only for dire emergencies.
“Alright people, let’s move”, said Sgt Badger. “We’ll walk the good doctor over to the sensor mast so he can do his thing, then we’ll have to wait for extraction. Keep your eyes on those infrared hot-spots we see. Probably nothing, but you never know”.
Mission start:
Both fireteams spread out in loose order, walking normally towards the sensor mast. Suddenly, sensors scream as giant bugs seemingly appear straight out of the ground! Man-sized, they advance in several groups towards the soldiers, giant mandibles clicking.
Gunner Gunnar is the first to react, firing the vehicle-mounted machine gun at the approaching aliens. His first wild burst went high. His second punched straight into a giant bug, but it kept coming! (tough hull) The 3rd burst finally brought the bug down. Belatedly, he yells, “Contact”.
Sgt. Badger whacks Gunnar as he exited the APC. “Keep those groups tight!”. (boost). Both fireteams move forward into cover, taking advantage of some dips in the ground. There’s a quick scramble as everybody double-checks their loads and wait to see what will happen.
The bugs continue their measured advance, scuttling from cover to cover. These are not dumb aliens!
Dr. Bean jumps out and runs to Cpl. Jones’ team. “You have to get me to the sensor! It must have important data on these things!”
Gunnar, now steadied by the Sergeant, lays down 3 perfect bursts right over top of Cpl. Smith’s fireteam. 2 bugs twitch and drop. But yet another swarm appears behind the first group. There are now 2 swarms on the right, one in the center, and one sneaking up the draw from the left.
Sgt. Badger yelled to Gunnar, “Rig the APC for demo and then come join us. Don’t get too far behind, I’m going to call for a hot extraction!”, then jogs forward to control both teams.
Smith and his team open up on the bugs to their front. 2 go down. Jones on the left has her team fire, but only gets 1 bug. There is one left.
The bugs continue their slow advance. Another group boils out of the ground on the right, and start moving down the draw. The sole bug in front of Cpl. Jones finally reaches melee distance, and the true horror is revealed. Although these things have no ranged combat ability, they are deadly up close! The clicking mandibles chop one of her members down to the ground. He’s out of the fight. The Marine’s rifles are no match for the mandibles of death.
Back at the APC, the driver starts grabbing gear as Gunnar fires on another group of bugs. But they’re smarter now, and by hugging cover they only lose 1. The rest advance.
End of round 1.
Dr. Bean jumps into the depression with Jones’ team just as an entire group of bugs marches towards them. Sgt. Badger has to make a tough call. There is heavy pressure on the right, and Smith’s team is being swarmed by aliens. Time to do something he has only ever done in training before. He triggers the emergency dustoff beacon and joins Jones’ team. A blip appears on his map. 2 rounds from now a fast retrieval boat will be there. Anybody close by will survive. Luckily, the location is away from the main body of advancing bugs. Of course, it is about as far away as you can get! “Screw the data, Doc. We gotta get you to that ridge over there!”
More bugs swarm over Smith’s fireteam. It’s a bloody hand-to-mandible fight. Another marine goes down. One bug hits the point man on Jones’ team, and he is hit. Now both teams are engaged. Soon more bugs move up and another marine goes down. Over on the right, Cpl. Smith is the only one left on his team.
The driver and gunner set a demo charge on the APC. Dr. Bean takes off running. Sgt. Badger is out of options. His prime directive is to protect Dr. Bean, so he runs with the doctor, thankful that it wasn’t a pasty-faced wimp like most of the scientists. Another of Jones’ team goes down. Gunnar and the driver start running for the Sergeant.
Cpl. Smith is finally taken down by a bug, but only knocked unconscious. Smith’s fireteam is out of the fight. Jones has one member left. They desperately fight back, but to no avail. If only they had those ancient bayonet-thingies…
The various groups of bugs start shifting, some moving to chase the runners, others to finish off the fighters. They all move with a central purpose, or master design. Dr. Bean keeps running, the Sergeant keeping pace.
Cpl. Jones and her partner try again, and this time cause some serious damage! (Pulled off amazing melee rolls). Screaming like banshees, they manage to kill 2 bugs in hand-to-hand combat.
Yet another group of bugs come charging out of the ground, hot on the heels of the Scientist.
Gunnar and the driver stumble to a halt. There are now 3 full swarms of aliens between them and the extraction beacon, with the countdown timer beeping in their earpieces. “We’re not going to make it”, says Gunnar, as the camera pans in close, “Time to make the bastards pay!” They race into some nearby rocks and open up full-bore on the group chasing the Scientist (assault), smearing most of the group. Posthumous medal time.
Cpl. Jones’ luck finally runs out, and she and her team-mate fall under the swarm. In what seems a mark of honor, their heads are carefully bitten off (KIA results).
Beep! Beep! Beep! The rescue boat is closing fast. Dr. Bean sprints to the beacon. Sgt. Badger looks back, wanting to rejoin his men and fight to the end. But then he hears the sound of digging and sees more mandibles popping out of the ground in front of Dr. Bean! He races to protect him.
As bugs converge from all directions, Gunnar and the driver start picking them off. They will not die easily.
It’s a photo-finish. A new swarm erupts just a short distance from Dr. Bean as Sgt. Badger joins him. But the large feet of the landing boat squash the aliens, as Dr. Bean and the Sergeant are pulled on board.
The last sight Sgt. Badger sees as the rocket boat blasts away to safety is Gunnar and the driver, blazing away as bugs pour in from all directions…
smaller for tags:
Sergeant Badger bounced along in the back of the APC, trying to stay awake on this milk run. “Escort Dr. Bean, watch out for unknowns, this planet is still largely unexplored, blah blah.” Same briefing he had heard many times on many planets. This one ranked among the worst, a hot desert wasteland. Of course, the Marine’s hand-me-down APC lacked such basic niceties as air conditioning.
He glanced over his charges. Driver and gunner were in their spots, wiping dust from their facepieces. Cpl’s Jones and Smith lined each side of the APC with their fireteam. All of them were in the lightest kit allowed, only carrying the basic load of ammo. At least they had a good scientist this time, Dr. Bean was athletic and regularly volunteered for these missions.
Just as gunner Gunnar (his name was a constant joke) called out, “Next sensor in sight”, the APC lurched sharply to the left, and the driver started cursing. “Just threw a track, Sarge!” This was bad. A slow-flight VTOL would have to be sent out to retrieve them. Of course, there was the high-orbital dustoff, but that was only for dire emergencies.
Mission start:
The bugs continue their measured advance, scuttling from cover to cover. These are not dumb aliens!
Dr. Bean jumps out and runs to Cpl. Jones’ team. “You have to get me to the sensor! It must have important data on these things!”
Smith and his team open up on the bugs to their front. 2 go down. Jones on the left has her team fire, but only gets 1 bug. There is one left.
The bugs continue their slow advance. Another group boils out of the ground on the right, and start moving down the draw. The sole bug in front of Cpl. Jones finally reaches melee distance, and the true horror is revealed. Although these things have no ranged combat ability, they are deadly up close! The clicking mandibles chop one of her members down to the ground. He’s out of the fight. The Marine’s rifles are no match for the mandibles of death.
 |
| Now you die, Marine! |
End of round 1.
Dr. Bean jumps into the depression with Jones’ team just as an entire group of bugs marches towards them. Sgt. Badger has to make a tough call. There is heavy pressure on the right, and Smith’s team is being swarmed by aliens. Time to do something he has only ever done in training before. He triggers the emergency dustoff beacon and joins Jones’ team. A blip appears on his map. 2 rounds from now a fast retrieval boat will be there. Anybody close by will survive. Luckily, the location is away from the main body of advancing bugs. Of course, it is about as far away as you can get! “Screw the data, Doc. We gotta get you to that ridge over there!”
 |
| Way far away blinks the beacon... |
Cpl. Smith is finally taken down by a bug, but only knocked unconscious. Smith’s fireteam is out of the fight. Jones has one member left. They desperately fight back, but to no avail. If only they had those ancient bayonet-thingies…
 |
| Never mind... |
Cpl. Jones and her partner try again, and this time cause some serious damage! (Pulled off amazing melee rolls). Screaming like banshees, they manage to kill 2 bugs in hand-to-hand combat.
 |
| Just a second ago, there were 4 bugs here, honest... |
Beep! Beep! Beep! The rescue boat is closing fast. Dr. Bean sprints to the beacon. Sgt. Badger looks back, wanting to rejoin his men and fight to the end. But then he hears the sound of digging and sees more mandibles popping out of the ground in front of Dr. Bean! He races to protect him.
As bugs converge from all directions, Gunnar and the driver start picking them off. They will not die easily.
It’s a photo-finish. A new swarm erupts just a short distance from Dr. Bean as Sgt. Badger joins him. But the large feet of the landing boat squash the aliens, as Dr. Bean and the Sergeant are pulled on board.
The last sight Sgt. Badger sees as the rocket boat blasts away to safety is Gunnar and the driver, blazing away as bugs pour in from all directions…
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