Asteroid Blues

Intelligence gathering operations suggested a likely incursion by Haqqislam's Ramah Taskforce into the Operations Hub of the Jiyuan Open-Pit Site, targeting the facility’s power supply. Elements of the Hóng Biāo division were scrambled to secure the area, with orders to hold the generators at any cost. Units were instructed to restrict their fire across the area of operations, to limit any collateral damage to the Operations Hub.

The code name for this operation: “Power Pack”

Fēngzhēng reconnaissance REMs were deployed over the AO to provide command with a view of the situation as it unfolded, for later debriefing. Lieutenant Chan Qi resumed command of the Red Darts, recovered from her injuries sustained on the Main Strip, and the division was once again joined by the mercenary operator Major Lunah. The presence of this operator is theorised to have a profound psychological impact on the morale of Haqqislam forces.

Shaolin irregulars were deployed to act as a first wave while heavier elements arrived, deploying smoke grenades to cover the advance of the regular troopers. Lieutenant Qi engaged a Ramah unit, designation “Mukhtar”, taking advantage of her superior firepower and both side’s unwillingness to destroy the generators, and killed the enhanced solider outright.

Major Lunah’s talent for marksmanship, combined with the reduced incoming fire, allowed her to hunt any targets foolish enough to expose themselves on the right flank. Moving along the rooftop of a power relay, the Major first killed a Haqqislam line trooper armed with a heavy machine gun, then the mercenary biker known as “Carmen”, whose antipode companion was left without guidance for the remainder of the engagement.

Lieutenant Qi laid down supressing fire on the flank, as specialists placed code locks on the antenna arrays in the centre and left of the AO. Guilang trooper Wu moved forward and began mining the area ahead of the Ramah deployment zone. An unidentified agent, foolishly identified as a member of the non-existent Ninja, engaged the enemy hacker Leila Sharif, killing her.

Pheasant Agent Shen Shufen advanced along the right flank, securing an antenna, before falling back out of range of an enemy jammer and setting up supressing fire with her red fury. An irregular engineer of the ‘Monstruckers’ set up mines around the console in the Yu Jing controlled area, supported by a Liberto mercenary. The two were attacked by a Mukhtar specialist, who was able to kill them both and access the central antenna, but held the Haqqislam elite off long enough to prevent him from securing the console they protected.

A Mukhtar armed with viral weaponry engaged Chan Qi, and the combination of the short engagement range, cover and mimetic camouflage used by the Mukhtar allowed the Mukhtar to overcome the Invincible Lieutenant, leaving her KIA. Guilang Wu attempted to hold the console in the Haqqislam controlled section of the Hub, but was killed in action by the same Mukhtar unit that had killed Lieutenant Qi.