Asteroid Blues

This one was dead short and entirely one sided, entirely due to mistakes on my part.

Orph won initiative as Ikari company and picked first turn with a twenty order list (350 points, with Wild Bill and Ikari Advantage! He actually won with 339 remaining here). I got deployment with an LI list. I went with a pretty exposed deployment with lots of overwatching snipers and TR bots, stripped two orders, and we began.

A Desperado died on Impetuous, two Yuan Yuan's walked on where I couldn't see them, they dropped smoke, and then a Rui Shi killed....basically everything it could see. It got two TR bots, a Zhayedan sniper, and a 5 link Hortlak sniper, while tanking some unopposed assault hacks that might've isolated it, at which point I figured I had no way to meaningfully contest objectives and surrendered.

Fundamentally I lost in deployment. I had no way to contest a smoke trick in ARO, got unlucky with hacking rolls that might've handled the issue, and was too aggressive with ARO placement. I had a risky and aggressive deployment option that might've worked out more effectively, but I had chosen against it as I figured the option I took was safer.

(It was not)

In addition my deployment was far too aggressive for an LI list facing 20 orders.

I think I learned a lot about reactive LI deployment but fundamentally botched the game.

"I'd love an explanation for what you just dragged my men into," said Omar Mukhtar.

The man across from him was a tall, hulking Khawarij. A budget Tarik, perhaps, and would have been more imposing by half if the Emir had not made a personal appearance after the diplomatic incident with the Tohaa. "Recon mission," he said curtly.

"You got slaughtered," said Mukhtar, "Attacking friendly territory!"

"You saw my orders. The Hachib wanted a man dead," replied the Khawarij.

"Those orders were wholly unfalsifiable," replied Mukhtar, "You could have made them up for all I know."

"It was wholly justifiable-"

"You dragged them into a meatgrinder!" yelled Mukhtar, he is leaning over the table, yelling himself hoarse, wholly unwilling to listen to a word out of the Khawarij's mouth, "You took a combat patrol and slammed it into half the fucking Ikari company! Wholly justifiable? Wholly justifiable my ass! You'll be lucky if you just get desked you utter piece of shit!"

The khawarij stood from his chair, doing his best to loom over Mukhtar but finding himself simply being stared right back down into the chair in response.

"I want an actual goddamn explanation and I want it-"

A corporal opened the door behind Mukhtar, apologizing profusely as she did.

"I'm busy, Noor," said Mukhtar.

"It's a man with the Hachib," said Noor apologetically, "They want Lieutenant Yazid remanded into the custody of the next transport off the rock."

Omar gave Noor a truly murderous glare. "Did they say why?" he asked. Behind him, the Khawarij Yazid smiled a sly, self-satisfied smile.

"They wish to court martial him for yesterday's mission."

And, at once, Yazid's smile disappeared.