Asteroid Blues

In an attempt to foster good Yu Jing-Aleph relations and to help in the formation of a possible alliance between the powers, Aleph arranged for a training exercise to be performed. The aim of the mission was to prepare soldiers of both the Invincible Army and Steel Phalanx for possible further mission defending the Cosmika HQ from possible rogue Nomad elements.

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Notes: We did not play the standard mission for the Cosmika HQ, electing to play Hunting Party instead. Sorry for the unpainted models. We also proxied a few models. Proxies are listed below. We also made a mistake on the Mowangs and did not realize their actual silhouette size.

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Lists:
Steel Phalanx
Profile – Name – Model
Hippolyta – Hippolyta – Hippolyta
Atalanta – Atalanta – Naga Sniper
Thrasymedes – Thrasymedes – Shukra
Thorkites (Forward Observer) – Penelope – Dart
Thorkites (Engineer) – Elena – Deva Spitfire
Thorkites (Engineer) – Ioanna – Yadu Multi
Machaon (Lieutenant) – Machaon – Machaon
Phoenix – Phoenix – Phoenix
Myrmidon (Spitfire) – Theseus – Myrmidon Spitfire
Myrmidon (Hacker) – Phaedra – Myrmidon Officer Shotgun
HVT – Thamyris – Thamyris

Invincible Army
Profile – Name – Model
Mówáng (Red Fury, Lieutenant) – Zhulie – Hsien HMG
Mówáng (Red Fury) – Chang Liu – Zuyong Multi
Mówáng (Red Fury) – Sun Jíe – Sun Tze
Hǎidào (Sniper) – Guo Li – Hǎidào Sniper
Zhànshì (Paramedic) – Fu Ren – Zhanshi Yīshēng
Zhànshì (Paramedic) – Yu Li – Zhanshi
Zhànshì – Zhao Zhēn – Zhanshi
Zhànshì – Wěi Qí – Zhanshi
Húláng – Diaochan – Daoying
Zhanshi Gōngchéng (Engineer) – Yuàn Bó – Mech-Engineer
HVT – Liaison Officer Xiao Lán – Free-lance Stringer

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Machaon was uneasy about the idea of working with Yu Jing after their recent issues all over the asteroid, but this mission would be a good olive branch at the least. Meeting before the battle, Machaon and Thamyris met with the Yu Jing team leader, Zhulie, and their liaison, Xiao Lán.

“Greetings,” Machaon said as he presented his hand for a handshake. “It seems our practice mission today is to capture each others troops. Nice and simple one.”

“Yes,” Zhulie responded, hesitantly taking Machaon’s hand. She had heard the rumors about the past battles with Aleph. Hell, her sister Zhuli had even died to a team with Machaon himself in it, twice. Still orders were orders and she would move on from the issues, especially since Zhuli had been successfully recovered when Aleph turned over the cubes.

“Hey,” Thamyris cut in. “You look familiar. I think I saw you in that bar the other day. You threw a drink in my face if I recall. Too bad.” It was true, Thamyris had no shame on his conquests. Though that night hadn’t been a total loss. He did meet a nice Ikari girl that night after the firefight ended.

“Yeah,” he said, noticing Machaon’s intense stare. “I think we killed you,” he said, as his voice faded from the withering stare.

“That was my sister,” Zhulie coldly retorted. “I think our planning is done.” She stormed out of the room.

“Can I buy you a drink?” Thamyris called out after her. “If we win.”

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Reading on the field, the various teams took position. Machaon, Phoenix, Theseus, and Phaedra would push up the right flank, while Hippolyta would use the confusion to cut off the enemies lieutenant under cover fire from Atalanta. Thrasymedes and his team would hold the center, incase either side failed and the enemy counter attacked. Thamyris, that damn Aoidos would watch from the center as the Aleph referee.

A blaring horn came on, noting the start of the operation.

“Damn he’s fast,” Phoenix said, peaking over the wall he was behind. They had positioned atop a former lobbying company and he could see some of the battlefield from behind the sign. An enemy scout was already on the antenna.

“Move up and glue him, we’ll cover incase they are in that workshop down the way,” Machaon said through their comms.

Phoenix did as requested and fired a volley from his adhesive launcher. It missed and the scout darted back behind the building the antenna was attached to. Shifting, he drew sight on him again and this time, guessed how he would dodge and caught him. The liquid instantly foaming up and sticking the scout against the wall next to him. With the scout dealt with, the team shifted again, with Theseus holding the front to cover the other.

As Machaon had predicted, the workshop was where a team of enemy soldiers hid. A heavily armored sniper popped his head out, and before Theseus could respond a taser round had him trashing against the parapet, unable to function. He slowly pulled the round out, only to have it replaced immediately. And suddenly followed by a precise rubber bullet to his head, knocking him out cold.

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On the other side of the battlefield, Hipployta hid on a catwalk, itching to charge the enemy. She was to wait for fire on the other side before charging. Suddenly a loud crack of a launcher went off and she popped up, leaping first to a nearby shipping container, then into cover on top of a medical clinic. As she did so, she glanced back to see Atalanta slide out of her hiding spot, ready to fire.

As Hippolyta landed, she noticed the enemy lieutenant, in cover behind some crates, with a pair of elite Mowang troopers. They were positioned so Atalanta couldn’t help her during the assault. It would be tough, but she could take them. She wasn’t just anyone, she was Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. She edged along trying to capture, rather than disable the lieutenant, unloading with the clunky launcher she had. The damn clunky weapon couldn’t hit a damn thing.

With it’s clip emptied, she crouched behind the parapet of the clinic to reload. She could hear the loud thudding footsteps as the Mowangs clambered under her. It was perfect. She could drop down and strike.

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It was in an instant, but Theseus was already down to a sniper. Machaon crawled over to his body. “Stay down a moment,” Machaon called to his team, as he proceeded to inject the downed Myrmidon with a stimulate to wake him.

Poking his head past the sign, Machaon could see the scout was going again. Someone must have used a solvent on the glue gun. They would need to redo their work. “Get up here and do it again Phoenix.”

Phoenix slide up slowly as the others dragged Theseus back. He popped up and the scout never saw it coming. He was plastered to the wall again.

“Forward,” Machaon called. The myrmidon team decided to seize the initiative and run across the gap between them and the workshop. They dropped down from the building fanning out. Phoenix took point and caught sight of an Engineer, catching him with a quick shot with the glue gun. Phaedra used the commotion to try and undo the scouts efforts on the antenna, before blowing a kiss to him in taunting.

Machaon and Phoenix then rushed up to cover the flank behind a shipping container, while Phaedra and Theseus poured firing into the workshop roof, where the sniper had popped out.

The sniper popped up again, this time catching Phaedra with a taser round. She began to convulse on top of a crate. The move was costly for the sniper though. Theseus had seen this trick before and clipped him with some rubber bullets.

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More fire began to erupt a few buildings down the way. Machaon’s team was providing their distraction, she just needed to get the lieutenant. “Fuck this peice of crap,” the Amazon Queen said, as she tossed her adhesive launcher aside. “I’ll just get his ass with some taser rounds, and if that fails, knock his ass out the hard way.”

She spun and expertly flipped over the side of the building. The lieutenant seemed to predict the move and dodged the barrage of shots she sent at him. His partner, ran directly for her. She was now pincered by both. As they surrounded her, the lieutenant clipped her with a shot from his pistol. But, she wasn’t about to be stopped by that. She spun dodging under the knife of the other Mowang. She swung her training blade up on the man, the blunt blade first colliding with his codpiece. The power she put behind it sent him flying.

She spun to hit the lieutenant, who immediately held a hand up. “Wait,” Zhulie said, holding her hand up. “His lifesigns are critical.”

Even in her fury, Hippolyta stopped her swing and looked. The other Mowang lay convulsing on the ground. He was having a heart attack. She immediately pulled out her real sword and opened the armor like a tin can and began using her medical training on the soldier.

As she did so, the Yu Jing Lieutenant called in an end to the exercise.

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“We have a man down,” Zhulie called out on all comms. “This exercise is ended. Get a doctor over here.”

“Shit,” Machaon said to his team. “Theseus get that silly thing out of her breast. I’m going to rescue the injured soldier.

With that Machaon took off in a sprint for Hippolyta’s location.

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After the exercise ended, the Aleph forces report noted that in a sudden death scenario, they had succeeded in the mission, and the Yu Jing forces had failed. The abrupt ending had been caused by a myocardial infarction in elderly Yu Jing soldier. Machaon’s aid helped save the man’s life. Apparently they had fielded an old man in their strike team for whatever reason. Officially, Yu Jing never acknowledged his part in the exercise and records said he was already in retirement. The Yu Jing report listed equipment failure as the reason for the cessation of the exercise.

The footage still made it into segments of Myrmidon wars, but at the request of Yu Jing high command, the incident with the soldier was left out. They felt the loss in the exercise and the humiliation from an elite Mowang actually being an elderly man, might look badly on the Party. Secretly though, clips of this found their way into the hands of the Japanese Secessionists on Novvy Bangkok, who used it as a morale booster in their fight on the Main Strip.