Asteroid Blues

I had my full Ghulam link on my right flank, my Djan/Oda/Leila- Haris on the other. In between was my Lt. an Engineer and some Drones (see List), the right side was further supported by a BS Jannissary. My Fat Yuan jumped, right next to something that appeared to be a Baggage Drone, but turned out to be a dangerous Combat Remote (Lu Dan). I botched the roll with a 16 and scattered wildly to the middle of his deployment zone. Funny enough to a place where ABSOLUTELY NO ONE WAS ABLE TO SEE ME. And on top that Fat Yuan Yuan drew a Monofilament Weapon...Fun times. I even climbed up a building to use that damn weapon on a lonely Ghulam Doc. First brainfart for the day: Ghulam Docs cannot be Lt., but that Zuyong directly below would have been the prize... I did not manage to kill the Ghulam in the first turn anyway, but well.

As I knew from his Reserve, that somewhere on the table had to be a TO Camo Unit, and there was another Camo Trooper on a rooftop, I decided first to do a sensor sweep. Second Combat group got reduced to 3 regular orders, but that was no problem. Coordinated my three drones two times to get into the middle and drop sweepers. One Sensor Scan later and both the Zhencha and Saito Togan stood in the open, not really touchable, but at least visible, with no chance of recloaking.
I moved the Haris Link up the board, securing the way towards an antenna, and locking down a second for the moment.

After that I tried to nibble away on his Zuyong link team with the Ghulam Sniper. However I only caused one wound and the others went into hiding. Pretty damn resilient those guys. But this opened the way for my Al’Hawwa to activate the first Antenna and then another Brainfart happened... I had misread the Mapping Secret Objective, and had mistaken the requirements (Target in the enemy DZ) for the same as Sabotage (Building entirely in the enemy half of the table)...so I lost my order there. This was stupid in two ways, as now the Al’hawwa stood idly there and since the Deployment Zone was only 8 inches wide... Well I wasn’t going to achieve it after that point. Everything that was left for me was recloak the Al’Hawwa and hope for the best.

He was still on ten orders, as I had not been able to cause any serious harm. 8Bit threw Smoke to block my Link Team’s sight. and moved up. However he left the killing for the Lu Dan, which first teared apart a Fanous on the other side of the board before hitting the Al’Hawwa outside of 8 inches. But you know...bad Rolls happen, and he rolled exactly one below my BS Return Fire...No more Lu Dan for now.

The Al’Hawwa however did not escape 8bits wrath, as one of the Zuyongs shot him with his Combi. There was not so much to do for them at the moment, so 8bit decided to get into cover behind a high building.
He tried shooting the Haris Team with Saito, but this only resulted in them getting better cover, as both made all of their armor saves.

This was where the killing started. The Yuan Yuans moved up. Fat Yuan Yuan killed the Ghulam Doc, without any more problems, while my big sword girl threw smoke between the Djanbazan and Saito Togan. Afterwards I went for the all-time-favorite Smoke Trick, killing Saito without further due.

Leila climbed on top of the building to get to an antenna and activated it. Afterwards I send those guys into another building where a third antenna had been installed. I made the mistake however, to not specify their whereabouts, as I was playing quite leisurely. This mistake was later paid in blood.

However I was not done with killing. I sent over the BS Jannissary to the backyard with all those Zuyongs. He promptly made friends, critting on guy and putting two templates on another killing the later one directly. Thus ensued the great BS-Breaker Pistol battle. I shot my remaining second group orders into those Zhuyongs. In the end my Janny was still standing and two Zuyongs and Valeria Gromoz still remained.

Now there had been some change. 8 Bit had 5 Orders left + Lt + Tac. Awareness. First he used his Zhenchas Climbing Plus (which I had not realized he was capable of) and went down to the door of the building my Haris was at. He proceeded to plant a mine and relentlessy slaughter every last unit in the room, however losing one wound in the process. Poor Leila, Oda and Djan. There were not many orders left, so that was the end of it.

By now I had two antennas, and I was quickly able to dominate the Area around the Central objective. I could also safely secure HVT. The Yuan Yuans did what they were supposed to and ran towards the Zhencha, killing a helper bot on the way. Sword lady Chain Rifled the Heavy Infiltrator and took out the second to last specialist with that. My Jannissary jumped around the corner up a stairway. While performing a Lean out he attacked Valeria Gromoz to take out the last Specialist and tanked the shots of the Zuyong. Valeria had tried to hack, but shooting 2 shots at 19, was a bit much for her. Putting insult to injury: I killed the Zuyong (Lt.) who had shot the Jannissary directly with the next order. All that was left for me was putting forward some units into the Domination Zone.

Loss of Lieutnant and every Specialist on the board was dead. 8 Bit tried to move his last forward Zuyong, who was actually Lucien Sforza to the central domination Zone, but as expected He was torn apart by the still operational Link Team. Thus the game ended with me scoring 9-0.

With their transports now not appearing on the defense grid. Lt. Halifa finally got to decorate her command center a bit more. Now the smell of the old air filters was mixed with some typical green tea with mint. The leaves were synthetic of course, but at least the aroma did work pretty well. Not to mention the merit of having some warm tea before hitting up an informant.

In a luxurios armchair before her sat a young man. Bound to the chair by silken ropes. He had a few bruises and a black eye. His Blue and white uniform marked from sweat and other fluids. Halifa opened a small wooden chest and produced a strange fork, with sharp silver metal prongs, that ended in a charred black handle furbished with something like a trigger.

“Now listen here, boy, this is a little shocker from Corregidor, they use it on Pupniks and Morlocks with very strong....”physics”. It has quite a high voltage, so it may damage a cube if the assailant is hit near the insertion spot.”
She sat down before him, looking lascivious up into his beaten up face. "Now tell me, and this time please don’t lie, where did you take the crates."
The young man responded: “I told you, we were paid by the Ikari to get all the ille.... I mean all the tax-free goods to their office in the main strip.”
Halifa let her fingers walk slowly up the mans thigh, “It is so nice, you do not make me ask twice.” Suddenly she pushed the metal fork right between the man’s legs and activated the circuit. The boy twitched and screamed in agony. It seemed like his voice got a lot higher within a mere brink of a second. Halifa took away the shocker, grabbed the boy’s chin and set the prongs right next to his neck.
Halifa got up close to the man and looked him straight into the eye: “Listen up you little shit, I tried to be nice, but this is your last chance: I know you are working for Liberty Cargo, and I know what organization is behind that. Now, get me the correct details, or I’ll roast your cube and throw you out of the airlock.”
The young man’s eyes were wide open, and as he felt the sharp tip of the fork slowly penetrating his skin, he began to stutter: Alright, al...alright it is, in... oh please don’t kill me!”
Halifa lessened the pressure on the shocker, “Talk!”
– “There is a derelict Mag-Lev, just outside of Liberty Cargo, it is on an old rail that has not been used in years. But since about a month, a team of Kamau is guarding the service way, which is odd. Maybe, maybe your goods are there?”
Halifa relaxed, and her mean grimace vanished. Then she kissed the young man on the mouth, extensively. “Now, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” She let go of him and put away the shocker, sliding the small wodden chest into a dark hardwood cupboard. “Nazim?” she shouted, and a bear of man wearing a old and rugged uniform entered. Halifa turned to face him and smiled: “Take this good friend of mine to the Bars on the Main Strip, show him our hospitality and pay for his drinks. Maybe give him something from our special liquor.” She winked. Nazim grinned, and walked up to the chair. The boy whinced again as Nazim removed the ropes and dragged him out of the room.
“Now I only have to get rid of this smell of sweat and fear” Halifa said more to herself...

“Okay here goes nothing, people” Halifa was in good mood as she entered the repurposed storage room they now used for briefings. “We need to hijack a Mag-Lev and it is a Liberty Cargo one!” The crew looked at her puzzled, then L1ZT cautiously asked her: “Did you maybe take some of the special snow, that was meant for Harry’s Bar?” Halifa laughed, the crew was shocked even more. “No, I’m fine in his name. We are going to destroy the rail, distract the guards, go in and back out before you can say Hexahedron.” – “While I am always down for destruction,” Jamal the Jannissary, asked, “how do you plan on destroying a Mag-Lev rail? Those things are sturdy!” – “Well since the Haqqislam investigation is ongoing, we will hop on to that crew, and make use of these idle batteries on the surface. L1ZT, I need some calculations on trajectory, that can be fed directly into the targeting computer. And guys, I want you to be ready in three hours.”

The Corsairs had luck. Following the ongoing Investigation of Haqqislam Doctors in the Xaracs Batteries, their crew was able to hop on, to an ongoing Operation. Lt. Halifa was contend to see Husam Operative Leila Sharif in the group, while the Operative did not seem to share her view. All the way, through the dimly lit supply tunnels below the surface of Novyy Bangkok, Leila eyed Halifa, as if she knew, that behind that mask of a smile lay a cunning plan. It did not matter, as a retired Senior officer, drafted in for security measures, Halifa was selected as commanding officer. Which in her case explained her devious smirk towards Leila Sharif. The transports rattled to their location, and the troops disembarked. The habitat was very tidy, as if somebody had sweeped it before. It seemed almost like a...

A Missile exploded directly next to their ride, sending a storm of shrapnell toward the team. The Ghulams quickly formed a fireteam, Samira, the Headhuntress and Gunner of the Saif was hastely returned fire on to the enemy. “Zuyong spotted, flying Uigur IFFs. Those are Dashat Mercs!” She quickly ducked under another incoming missile and forced the Heavy Soldier into cover. Halifa cursed, she had expected O-12, she had expected rogue Ariadnans, but the Dashat Company? Someone must have known of their plan, which could only mean treachery. But for the moment, she had to concentrate on getting her team out of here alive and continue with their mission. “Keep them busy will’ya?” she shouted to Samira – “What does it look like I am doing, Inshallah!” the Headhuntress replied, wounding a Zuyong Machine Gunner and forcing him into cover.

Suddenly the fire from the Zuyong was halted, as a bright flare raced over the buildings, and landed directly behind a small shed. Judging by the numbing smell of fried chicken, it had to be Lurch, a really obese Yuan Yuan. Somehow he had managed to land in the only spot, the Mercs had not suspected, and he promptly spotted someone with more gear, that he could sell for even more Chicken Filets! He climbed up the Shed and found a lonely Dashat Doctor, jumping to the farthest corner of the balustrade. Lurch pointed his horribly sharp blade at the man: I need your money, and your lunch!

India reached Halifa via Comlog: “I am here Lt. What is going on?” – “Stay low for the moment,” Halifa replied, “Operator, I need a full sensor sweep, something is not right here.” A green light in her left eye confirmed the order. The Remotes sprung to life and dashed forward, getting cover from all sides. Halifas Ghost provided her with a rough mapping of their location. As they were halfway between the enemy forces and the Corsairs, she made the Remotes stop. In the same movement, they deployed their sensor Equipment. “I knew I’d find you there,” Leila grinned. A heavy Zhencha Infiltrator and a Man-without-a-Name appeared on her log, as well as a full telemetry of the battlefield. Both were out of reach for now, but at least she could prepare the team for them first.

Leila and her Djanbazan comrad Silas looked at their third team member. the young Odalisque Binthu, and they nodded in accord. Without waiting for orders from their dubious commander, they sprinted forth and secured the left flank. If one of the Infiltrators would only dare move an inch out of their cover, they would face the wrath of at least two guns at the same time.

Halifa did not bother, she would have ordered Leila and her pets to do the same anyway. “L1ZT, get your move on,” she ordered the Al’Hawwa. The masked figure did not hesitate and activated the first Transmitter right next to him. “The way is open, see that you get near those Heavy Infanterists and try to slow them down,” Halifa added, being impressed by the effectiveness of her hacker.

L1ZT was less amused. “It is always, go there, hack this, but never: Good job mate! Well done. Only if I screw up, then hell breaks loose.” The Hacker turned of his radio, for a minute of silence. Then he decided to activate his camouflage again, as he began to hear clicking noises from the left. A Lu Dan Combat Remote crawled around the corner and began scanning the area. Although L1ZT had pressed herself against the wall, she could make out the whirling of the Remotes Sensors, as it fired up the MK 12. ‘There is no way to hide, only one way out’ L1ZTpanicked. The bullets hit the dirt around him, as he unslung his Boarding Shotgun, jumped out of cover and pulled the trigger. Allah must have guided his hand, the Al’Hawwa thought as the split second stretched into eternity while his tracer shot raced towards the central optics unit of the Combat Remote. Like a flirr of stars the processing unit burst into thousand pieces.

L1ZT was still perplexed by him surviving against the remote, he did not even realize the Smoke Grenade being tossed from above him, depriving him from the covering fire of Samira. He only briefly came back to his senses as a dark voice behind him shouted: “You, stop right there, you are trespassing on private property!” The Hacker tried to turn on the heel, but the breaker round had already rendered him unconcious.

Halifa had to watch everything from her hub, as she had not been able to warn L1ZT. ‘Why had that guy (or girl?) switched off the comms?’ The Commander recognized the Zuyongs gathering behind a tall building. But on the other flank gunfire emerged.

Silas and Binthu showered the Disgraced Ninja without a name in Bullets, but the cloaked figure was fast. Bullets hit the reinforced skin of the Odalisque and the Carpace armor of the Djanbazan. They decided, that it was not wise to engage such a figure in the open and dashed behind cover. From the front a friendly IFF neared. “Lt. Halifa sends her regards. She said you might need one of these.” With these words India threw her Smoke Grenade directly in between the Djanbazan and his fickle opponent. Blinded by the Smoke, the Ninja failed to anticipate the skillfull shot of Silas. He stumbled back and fell over the balustrade, his IFF vanished. Leila took the initiative again. She climbed up the side of the building, sliced the Transmitter and ran back down the stairs to Silas. “See that building over there? That is our next target. Move Silas, Binthu, Inshallah!” They stormed away, and broke the door. Inside was a heavy and sweet smell, that numbed their senses. They decided to analyse the remains before going on with the mission. They were so focussed on their findings of poppy and Silk, that they did not notice the door on the other side sliding open. Only as a explosion knocked them to the ground, did they realise the danger they were in. Binthu managed to get one shot of, before getting knocked out. The Zhencha held his arm, as the Bullet had penetrated his lower armor. He cursed and was about to turn around when he heard another female voice: “Where do you think you are going, dear? India in her white armor stood in the middle of the room brandishing her Chain Rifle. The Zhencha whirled around shooting wildly at the YuanYuan, but the blast of her Chain Rifle threw him through the air and to the wall of the adjacent building putting him out of comission. India was delighted. But moments after she noticed red marks on her pristine white armor ‘Oh damn’, she thought, falling to her knee and finally kissing the dirt as the world went dark around her.

Halifas Team of Misfits however were more focused on their objective. They could not allow a highly skilled armored team in their right flank. Not if this first of three operations ought to prove successful. Roman, the close combat Specialist, a Jannissary known for his bloodthirst was the right person to do the job. Halifa prayed to Allah, that he would make it, as his “Skills” were particular useful in the thickness of the Gorge. On a seconds notice, Roman confirmed visual on two Zuyong and began firing his Shotgun. The Zuyong returned fire, but the bullets seemed to only barely touch the Jannissary. One by one the heavy infanterists fell to the Boarding Shotgun. Roman left no one standing, not even the young woman, frantically trying to hack his power armor. In the end he stood on the balcony of the building, yelling “IS THERE NO ONE ELSE” like he had seen in a classical movie.

“Honorable Haqqislamites,” A voice shouted from behind a container the whole Ghulam Team looked at, “my Name is Sforza, you have definitly heard about me. ‘Of course, it had to be him’ Halifa thought. “I am only here for a individual named Halifa Sarwatar, she is wanted by different organizations. We could all benefit from this.” Before Halifa could even say something, Samira answered the Authorized Bounty Hunter: “Come forth, noble man. Maybe we can come to an agreement.” Puzzled the Bounty Hunter set one step out from the cover of the Container, and was greeted by a hail of Missiles, and Bullets, sending him flying. “He should have known to insult us. Calling us honorable like some lapdog. We are Corsairs after all.” Samira turned around to look at Halifas face and winked at her.

Halifa had ordered her group to gather the others. The Doc was already patching up their wounds. Lurch had found a disgustingly greasy Sandwich on the way, and India was trying to stop him from looting the wounded, as well as dropping mayonaise on their wounds. “This was our first strike, the Battery will fire at the Mag-Lev Rail in about 30 Minutes. They will dispatch the Security Team right after, to stop this firing. We will intercept them, bind them and then we infiltrate the facility. Doc, is Leila awake already? I want to see her face once she realizes I rescued her sweet butt this time.”

Well Halifa and her team managed to get to those Kamau in the Gorge, but there something did not go right. You can read that in this BR:
https://asteroidblues.warconsole.com/battles/tristan228-vs-durian-khaar-1569790200#comment-36183