Asteroid Blues

The Klaxon had just sounded in the ad hoc ready room, but Corporal Chaffee was already on her feet. The Human Edge was her first theater of conflict, Defense of the Pakngein spaceport her first posting, and today’s alarm was her first enemy contact. Her time training in the Hunzakut regiment had prepared her for much, but the first transmission on her com log shocked her. “We have incoming hostiles, shoot on sight. All response, all response, be advised. This is an armed 0-12 force exiting the tram car. At least that’s how they look, but be advised: their transponder readings are pinging as hostile. That’s right, they’re using a blacklist transponder signal. These are Shasvasti troops. Keep your heads up!”

Sweat beading under her cap, Cpl. Chaffee sprinted up a walkway, hunting for a good firing position. “Do we really trust that blacklist?” she thought, practiced motions sliding grenades into the launcher tube on her rifle. “All call, all call. I have a visual,” she hushed into her mic. “A gamma unit just stepped off the tram.” Things were looking pretty interesting for a first sortie against hostiles. And just when she thought it couldn’t get any more interesting, she heard a very strange screaming sound accompanied by -was that- Wagner?

Turn 1.

Haqq crit the LT, roll and elected to strike first against the obviously fake police. Our public objectives were:
HVT Retroengineering
Telemetry
HVT Kidnapping
Predator

I drew Rescue as my classified

With a blaring PA soundtrack, and a guttural scream that reeked of cheese bread the Fat Yuan-Yuan took to the battlefield, landing on a rooftop right next to the Epsilon sniper and Knauf. He immediately chain rifled Knauf and assaulted the Epsilon, only to have the Epsilon pass two saves against the knock-off Katana that the Yuan-Yuan had just purchased.
One of the Mutts rushed towards the HVT, chain rifling the Gang-Buster to unconscious before killed by ARO fire.
The Fiday rushed out of the tram, successfully completing predator under the cover of smoke while he slaughtered the Kappa FO and a Dakini.
The Djanzaban gunned down the Kappa Hacker under cover of smoke.

Hippolyta rushed towards the Fiday, bouncing combi fire off of the Djanzaban before easily lopping the Fiday’s head off. Meanwhile, the Delta dropped right next to the downed Gangbuster, successfully healing him before eating the Hunzakut’s ARO mine.
Desperate to generate some overwatch, the Epsilon fought the mighty Yuan Yuan, losing the fight, but bouncing another dollar-store sword-strike off of his armour. A Dakini advanced, and felled a baseline Daylami with a hail mary combi rifle burst.

Turn 2.

The Yuan Yuan struck again…twice, but again could not get his Giant Tiger sword to wound the Epsilon. The Al Fasid advanced, gunning down the Sirius handler and a Dakini, and laying down smoke on the HVT to allow the Najarrun to advance, securing the retroengineering objective. The Rafiq forward observed the Sirius bot, completing another objective. (things were looking good, it was 3-0) The Hunzakut engaged the Gangbuster, killing him, but winding up glued to the gantry by his riotstopper.

Hippolyta rushed forward, eating a wound from the suppressing Djanzaban. Fusilier Angus moved to the glued Hunzakut, and forward observed her for an objective. The epsilon struck the Yuan-yuan with his rifle butt, knocking him unconscious. The cheap katana clattered to the deck as the hero’s voice was silenced forever. The Epsilon then put two rounds into the Al Fasid, who luckily passed his armour rolls. (It was now, suddenly 3-2 after the Epsilon completed Predator)
The Gamma moved to midfield, provoking an unsuccessful oblivion from the hidden Tuareg.

Turn 3.
The Djanzaban perforated Hippolyta, and rounded the corner to do the same to the pesky Epsilon. The Haqq remote ducked across the now open fire lane, and loaded the wounded Daylami onto its back, completing the Rescue Classified.
The Tuareg, locked the Gamma down with a Carbonite, but the Djanzaban was unable to capitalize on the monster, and he successfully reset. The Al Fasid broke cover, rushing for the HVT, both wounding and being wounded by the Gamma as he completed HVT Kidnapping.

Luckily, a lone Kappa fired another downtown combi shot at the Fasid, critting him and stripping the 4th Haqqislam classified. The Gamma advanced to midfield, within a hair of the HVT and looking to make this a 3-3 game. The Tuareg responded with Oblivion, and the Gamma failed his save, ending his attack run and securing the 9-2 Haqq victory.

Corporal Chaffee sat there while the Najjarun chipped away at the adhesive on her boots, the last of the 0-12 having long since bugged. The Haqq forces were jubilant, but the corporal had questions. “I’ve been thinking, Farid.” “A dangerous habit that you should have started before getting adhered to the decking,” barked the engineer. Ignoring him, she continued. “Didn’t we get that black list of fake Friend or Foe tags from that smuggler, Swanson? Can she really be trusted?” Farid paused from his work, looking up at his friend. “That, my young friend, is a very interesting question.”

Corporal Chaffee hadn’t notice the subtle way that Farid had pulled a knife from his boot as he replaced the tools in his kit.