Asteroid Blues

Initiative: Qapu Khalqi won the roll (6 vs 4), and picked the deployment zone. Japanese Secessionist Army decided to take the alpha strike for the Decapitation.

Fireteam, JSA: 2 Karakuris + Domaru (Harris). 4 Keisotsu + Kempeitai (Core).
Fireteam, QK: Djanbazan + Leila + Odalique + Hafza (FO, as Odalisque) + Hafza (as Odalisque) (Core).
Datatracker, JSA: Domaru
Datatracker, QK: Odalisque
Fat Yuan Yuan Booty: +4 ARM
Yuan Yuan, Female: +1 ARM
Yuan Yuan, Male: Combi Rifle
Each of us took a free Wild Bill.

For a detailed and non-narrative battle report, please refer to El_Gran_Capitan_G's Bat Rep.

"Have you ever questioned the nature of your reality?" A voice whispered in Wild Bill's mind as he saw the shadow of his doppelganger disappeared on the other side of the street. He smiled, knowing too well that he was but just another clone with the AI set-up of the legendary Wild Bill. He had seen other lesser shadowshooters broke down when they realized their existences were but an entertainment of the human race. Not him. He already comprehended and accepted the cold, hard truth.

He was awakened.

He took a deep breath, let the smoke from the nearby explosion filled his lungs.

The smell of gunpowder. The screaming from the crowds like the cheering around the arena. The dazzling neon lights of the Vice Hub like the spot light and flash lights in Aristeia! Everything seemed so familiar...... yet so different.

He knew it was from the memories not of his own. He had the fragments of the memories, he had basic programming of the skills, yet he was not Wild Bill.

So who am I? He thought. What is my purpose of existence now, that I am not the legendary Wild Bill?

He lit a cigarette and took another deep breath. A firefight between the Japanese Secessionist Army and the Qapu Khalqi? It's none of his business. He just wanted to enjoy this madness before his maker showed up and attempted to hunt him down.

---

"Sir! We are under attack!" Haura shouted as she saw the Azra'il hit the ground. His once mighty armor now filled with MK12 bullets, yet she could not see where the attacker hid. She had to admit that the attacker was really good, as both the Shaytaniyah with missile launcher and the Azra'il with Armor-Piercing heavy machine gun were both taken down in a split of a second.

"Hold your position! And where's that Al Hawwa'?" The lieutenant shouted, perhaps it was his first time in Janissary's armor, he seemed a bit nervous with his boarding shotgun.

"Reporting, sir. And codename's Ehwaz, please do remember that." A cold, toneless voice whispered through the lieutenant's earpiece. The lieutenant can tell Ehwaz's annoyance, perhaps it was because of his lack in experience, or perhaps it was because of his decision to patrol this area.

Although the direct order from the High Commander was to defend the Pakngein NBIS, the Hangars area, he did not hesitate when he received a coded mission briefing to patrol and investigate the area where a fat Yuan Yuan accidentally crashed in and discovered a base of Combined Army's secret operation. Now that he thought about it, maybe he was tricked into this mess? Or perhaps, someone wanted him to lead this team and extracted whatever information the JSA was guarding here?*

"Give me a visual, and stop whatever is advancing." The lieutenant cursed as he saw the video feed directly from the Al Hawwa's visor. "What the......"

"The Karakuri, or the robot geisha as my love likes to call them." Ehwaz chuckled, "I've stopped one of them with Basilisk already, but they're......"

The lieutenant never got to hear the rest of the sentence, as the roaring from a chain rifle followed by static filled his earpiece.

"Ehwaz's down, sir." Leila, the killer hacker, checked her feed and reported, "And we're tied down here. Two missile launchers and an HMG are staring at us."

"Pfff, it's just 2 ML and an HMG. Don't make me laugh." The fat Yuan Yuan nearby burst out a laughter, "Wanna call in my team?"

"I hate to say, but......" The lieutenant hesitated, and the space pirate cut him off.

"Unleash the hounds! Ha-ha!" The fat Yuan Yuan charged forward as 2 other space pirates dropped from the night sky.

The lieutenant could see one with very exposed attire spinning out of control, and landed in some dark alley.** Fortunately, the other one landed right behind the building where the Keisotsu team fortified.

He attention was immediately taken back to the fat Yuan Yuan, though, as he saw him deflected four missiles and couple HMG bullets with his single smoke grenade at the same time.

Now, if everything went according to plan...... Maybe the one crashed right into their fortification could take out their lieutenant...... Just maybe......

But his hope was diminished when he heard the screaming and shouting from both Yuan Yuan. One killed by a Keisotsu's combi rifle, the other killed by the MK12 of the Katakuri.***

"Ha, just as planned." The Fat Yuan Yuan laughed.

"Wha......"

"I jammed that asshole's chain rifle." The Fat Yuan Yuan answered the lieutenant's question, "That'll teach him a lesson not to sleep with my girl."

So that's the reason for the green hat, I see.**** The Djanbazan sniper thought, while moving along the edge of his sniper nest, gunning down all three Keisotsu that posed a threat before the smoke was up. He got to admit that the pirate was quite good, putting the smoke screen right between him and the Keisotsu Butai. Thanks to his multi-spectral visor II, he had no problem eliminating them.

"So the threat is cleared, now go finish those freak geisha!" The lieutenant shouted while rushing forward to cover a corner, "And Farah, go get that Azra'il up!"

"No, hold it right there!" The sniper yelled as the Gulam doctor rushing downstairs. She turned and looked at him quizzically. "The Kempeitai has MSV2, you'll get shot if you just rushed like that." He explained and climbed down the building and moved to cover the alley where the Karakuri would appear, "Take care."

Farah nodded, and proceed with caution.

---

A bloodbath.

There's no way to describe it better. Haura the Odalisque thought.

Letting the sniper leaving his nest was a bad decision, now he just lay there with bullet holes all over him, like a beehive.

All she knew was that the Karakuri started to advanced once the Basilisk from Ehwaz wore off. And an optical-disrupted figured from far away kept shifting back and forth, each time with a short burst of the submachine gun. The Hafza who took the lead did take a shot but claimed it was a flesh wound, nothing to worry. But soon, when the duo of geisha show up, everyone lose their composure.

She was lucky enough not so see how they look, but judging from the expression of her already-dead companions, she hesitated to dive into the battlefield.

It was an expression mixed with fear, horror and despair. An expression that would give her nightmare for the rest of her life, if she survived.

"You shouldn't space out like that, sexy." The coarse voice from the fat Yuan Yuan brought Haura's attention back. She looked around, only to find him still alive around her. Both Hafza, Leila and the Djanbazan sniper were put down, either by the Karakuri or the ODD figure.

"The Major" was what the Djanbazan said before he hit the ground.

"You go out there, you'll end up like them." It's not death that she feared, it was the being that cause such a horror that frightened her.

"Hold my beer, sexy." The pirate laughed and ran out with his beer can.

The Karakuri that guarded the alley started to fire its MK12 at the pirate. But just like the dazzling performance he displayed not long ago, he did it again. It was just like he already predicted the bullet trajectories, the smoke grenade disguised as beer can he threw deflected one of the bullet, which bounced and hit the other bullet and shattered it.

"See? Not so hard." The Fat Yuan Yuan smirked when he saw the astonishment from Haura's face. "I'll deal with whatever's behind that smoke. You, remember me." He laughed again, and then charged into the smoke with chain rifle blazing.

---

"Have you ever questioned the nature of your reality?" The voice whispered again in his mind.

He had seen enough of this madness. Watching how helpless the Hafzas, Djanbazan and Leila in front of the Karakuri and the Ryuken was entertaining. But seeing how the pirate and the Odalisque charged into the Karakuri, and both killed by the Chain Rifle was disheartening.

What made him even more depressed, was the scene when Farah got shot in the head when she tried to get to the Azra'il for the aid.

Why? Why was she doing that?

Because her lieutenant told her so? To place her life in front of the others?

He could not comprehend.

He liked to gamble, with money, and with life...... No, it was Wild Bill who liked to gamble. He was just......

He was just......

"You can sit there all day long, or you can try to change the situation." The voice appeared again.

"What do you know?" He spat, realizing that the voice was not from his imagination.

"When in doubt, do something you're good at. That's what I know." The voice said coldly, "You know why I didn't clone Bill's personality back when I re-program you?"

"......Why?"

"As cliche as it might sound, you are who you are." The voice said, "so go and do something that you want. If you don't know what you want, do something that you're good at. Shooting, for example."

"To get myself killed for Qapu Khalqi, you mean?" He smiled bitterly and walked out from the cover. The Karakuri who killed both the Odalisque and the Yuan Yuan fired at him immediately, but his contender was faster. With one shot, he blew the robot geisha's head.

"To find out who you are, even it costs your life." He can sense the smile behind the voice, "Just like what our lieutenant found out who he was. A rookie, heh."

He did not need to ask to know that Hafza that disguised as a Janissary was killed, most likely brutally and in surprised.

Needless to say, he knew the hunters will be after him soon enough. "I won't find it out in this life, but next time, we talk face to face."

He fired his contender when the Karakuri and the Major jumped out from the cover, but his aim went wild. In that split of second, his body was covered by bullets.

As he fell to the ground, he saw the Kameel remote hiding not too far away. He wanted to say more, but his consciousness started to fade.

"Oh...... But we have......"

And then, everything went dark.

*The lieutenant never found out it was the Fat Yuan Yuan who got into a fight with the JSA that called his team there.

**Failed the Inferior Combat Jump and landed outside the table. She was placed next to Wild Bill, who was still contemplating about the meaning of his life. She, of course, immediately started to flirt with Wild Bill.

***The yuan yuan did pass an ARM roll against the flamethrower from the Kuroshi Rider, though. Only died because the Keisotsu crit'ed him.

**** 'Wearing a green hat' or 'green head' is a Chinese expression about the significant other having an affair.

---

The game ended at the top half of the Third Round. Score was JSA 8 vs QK 0.

Overall it was a fun game, and it's my first game in my first campaign.

The 2 ML and the HMG did misdirect my attention instead of focusing more on the Karakuri. It's also my first time fighting them. Next time I'll know better to apply more bullets.