Asteroid Blues

Infinity

hostile environments

300 POINTS
Yu Jing
JJ.konko
VS Ariadna
felixlahio

Prologue

Over the past few days since the discovery at Harry's bar Hsien Yu-Wen had been given command of the local I.S.S forces and had started to trace leads from two directions.

The first was to have agents look infiltrate the Novy Bangkok complex and start following leads and collecting information in a subtle way before the clumsy actions of larger forces got involved. They had found interesting things as smugglers mercs and suspected Shavastii had scrambled to move, hide or finish up their operations.

The other side had been trying the glean information from the speculo killer. After her capture, it had been kept on a plethora of psychotropic drugs and with the additional help of VR implants they had been able to keep it confused for a number of days. They had been able to identify a few locations of interest as well as the existence of some greater plan. A name had also come up more than once, ‘Aida Swanson.'

After those first few days the speculo appeared to remain under the influence but Yu-Wen’s experience allowed him to see the gradual change in direction of the information she was ‘letting slip.’ The slight increased in reaction times, the extra tension in its neck and other things all showed she was building an immunity to the drugs.

She was now playing them. Yu-wen was going along with it. For now she was revealing shit via her lies but it was a dangerous dual. He knew the longer it went on the more likely it was that she would catch on and flip the switch again.

Progress, for the first time in a long time, was moving fast. It could have been better however if it was not for the witch hunt going on across the region. As more and more forces from various factions arrived, the situation was becoming more complex.

Whether due to zeal in hunting down the threat to humanity or clandestine objectives, more and more forces we’re finding their way into the Jiyang mining facilities.

To many forces we’re currently having to go on defensive duty for Yu-Wen’s plans to move as efficiently as he would like.

Celestial Guard An-wen had proven calm in a crisis but had only just passed her psych evaluation after the events in the habitat. For now she was leading a team patrolling the perimeter to see if she would be ready for more offensive operations.

Out on the asteroid surface

Weighted boots helped, but moving in 0-G was still challenging. You body was still being anchored down through you feet but leaning forward added no moment and getting used to your upper limbs moving effortlessly while you legs did not was jarring.

It had been a day or two since the last action at the pit had gone down, but that was nowhere near An-wen's section. Of fact she had not seen action since the Aleph assault.

She was trying to forget the sight of Lees face splitting but it still lay in wait on the dark side of her eyelids. She had never liked him much. Something about him when they were first assigned here did not gel with her.

He seemed to fucking happy. Happy to be on the edge of space playing security guard to a second rate mine. That was not something to smile about. After that she had never given him a chance to get close. She had ignored him at social occasions and meals, even mocked him for this and that, but in that moment of panic on the edge of death, that happiness, the smile that was in his eyes as well as on his face, had connected her to him and it was beautiful. Till it wasn’t.

She had watched the helmet cam footage. she knew it was a not smart. That it would help nothing, but she felt like she owed him that connection they shared like an apology for past wrongs.

The pain and guilt had evolved into her current internal crisis when she was informed that the strike through the head had also destroyed his cube. He was gone and she was not. He had swapped everything to give her that gift and yet all she had felt since was pain.

It was getting cold. Their patrols had to pause at way stations to warm up and get their vacuum suits recharged every 6 hours or you risked death from exposure. The Wu-Ming team were the back up as their HI suits could go for days without needing a recharge and their role was to hold the lines while lighter troops withdrew and switched out.

There were emergency wireless recharge stations that could be activated in emergencies, but they were not 100% reliable.
They were currently 45 minutes from the next way station and had 90 minutes of power.

“Lt An-Wen, we have movement”

Signalling for her forces to take defensive positions. She headed for higher ground. From her vantage point she could over the rocks and bits of mining infrastructure the distant movements of what she could only assume was some military team.

Sorry for the makeshift table. My opponent forgot to ask me to bring some.

Yu-Jing turn one

They were still a way off so An-Wen decided that due to the time restraints the first and most import action would be to activate one of the charge points to insure they did not freeze to death if they ended up pinned down.

The Kuang-shi team advanced towards a massive venting system and provided cover for the sophotect to reach and activate the hidden controls. To the east of the battlefield.

The Wu Ming team in the centre started to report “shimmers” or movement in their periphery.
Camo troopers. An-Wen assessed her lines.

She could see they needed something to plug a gap to prevent an ambush attack on the west flank and she identified the perfect spot for a bao sniper to the job as well as cover part of the east flank if something crept into their lines.

She sent a ping of the kanren and the text command ‘Eagle eye.' And he knew what to do.
With everything in position An-Wen called the sophotect back. And watched as it climbed quickly down the access ladder and passed two of the Kuang-shi team as the moved forward to act as scouts.

It was like the weight and smell in the air just before the storm. a calm could note last.

The sophotect and the Kuang-shi team advance first.
While the Wu-Ming set up a defensive line and try to identify the enemy.
The "Bao" sniper locks down the west flank.
Lt An-Wen commands the battle from her vantage point.

Tartary corps Turn One

The sound of vibrations crackled across the com link with the Wu Ming as rockets streaked silently across the battlefield from the fire team.

Some hit nothing but Phantoms while one hit something before smoke exploded in the centre of the battlefield and swirled as unseen bodies dashed through it.

In the same instant, chain rifle blasts filled the east flank, sending the Sophotect diving out the way as two Kuang-shi were totally consumed and the controller was left on the brink. When the blasts fell slowly to the asteroid floor a dog warrior lay dead.

The enemy had an identity. What were these Ariadnin’s chasing? Those were questions with no time to answer.

Somewhere in the chaos, another charging point was fired up but the people of dawn and an antipode was identified by the Wu-Ming

Yu-Jing turn 2
The sophotect scrambled to stabilize the Kuang shi controller before heading towards the west flank in hopes of locking down the final control panel. An-Wen called on the Ruishi, hacker, controller and herself to lay down suppression fire in anticipation of an antipode charge.
To the east the remaining two Kuang-shi continued to advance in order to provide notice of any more assaults.

The dog warrior charges in.
leaving death and destruction in his wake.
While a Strelok sneaks his way to the central control panel.

Yu-Jing turn Two

The sophotect scrambled to stabilize the Kuang shi controller before heading towards the west flank in hopes of locking down the final control panel.

An-Wen called on the Ruishi, hacker, controller and herself to lay down suppressive fire in anticipation of an antipode charge. The wu-Ming were tense as they waited with weapons ready.

To the east the remaining two Kuang-shi continued to advance in order to provide notice of any more assaults.

The Wu-Ming wait for the assault.

Tartary corps Turn Two

While the Yu Jing forces were waiting for the inevitable Antipode attack a Spetsnazs assaulted the already hard hit Yu Jing east flank.

Before An-Wen could react the the AD trooper killed the Kuang-Shi controller, one of the Kuang-Shi and then made a charge on the Wu Mingand the hacker.

An-Wen was able to warn the backer and she had suppressive fire layed down in the hopes of warding off the assault but to no avail.

The Spetsnazs stood atop her body as he opened up a fierce firefight with the Wu-Ming using his boarding shotgun. By the time the HI team was able to put him down one of their number was in a critical condition and only the suits auto repairs were keeping him alive.

The rest of the Ariadnan forces had wasted no time and as the Wu Ming and the rest of the gun line turned their attention back to the center of the battle three antipodes burst out of the smoke and charged.

The Wu-Ming team managed to kill one of their pack before it could get close but they were able to dodge and weave their way to their intended target. The Bao sniper.

With his ruese now useless the Bao transformed into a Kanren as he drew his monofiliment blade and met the assault head on. His form good but the speed of the Antipodes and being outnumbered proved too much and he was almost eviscerated by a powerful set of claws.

In the end they swept across his upper chest and shoulder, cracking ribs and ripping flesh. He dropped to the floor as a hail of bullets shredded the antipodes.

The Spetsnazs Arrives and goes to work on the Kuang-Shi team.
The celestial Guards heavy fire does not phase him.
After killing the hacker he exchanges fire with the Wu-Ming.

Yu-Jing Turn Three

An-Wen calmed her team down. And ordered the Wu-Ming team to start moving forward to secure the center of the battlefield and keep the Ariadnan forces away from the vulnerable ventilation systems for the mine.

As they advanced she gave the green light for the sophotect to send a Yudbot to the Wounded Wu Ming and patch up his systems.

As the helper bot approached, something compelled An-Wen to tap into it`s visual sensors and offered calming words over the Wounded HI`s personal com link. Seeing that face struggling to breath struck her. Was this what I looked like?

The bot tried to work quickly to patch up one large tear in the Wu-Ming`shoulder armour that the suits self sealing systems were proving unable to deal with.

It quickly became apparent that it was not working. And An-Wen turned off the visual link as she had flashbacks of Lee and her own near death experience.

She was snapped out of the trance as the ruishi opened fire on a previously hidden sniper as it moved up to finish off the enemy as they moved in the open.

She watched as it hit but failed to down the sharp shooter. And then as a bullet hit and distorted part if its plating, creating a visual obstruction that rendered the REM useless.

Shit. She needed the REM take the chance to ambush the rest of the Ariandnan forces.
She could see the Ruishi could be fixed quickly if the sophotect could get to it.

A mix of guilt, frustration and a death wish made filled her with determination. she breathed deep, raised her combi and turned the corner of the wall that was between her and the sniper. She centered him in her cross-hairs but just as she stated to apply pressure to her trigger she was blasted backwards off her vantage point as a sniper shell ripped through the right side of her abdomen.

As she slowly fell through the low G void the stars blurred as the blood poring from her side froze as it flowed outward like a red seedling stretching towards the sky.

The Ruishi advances in the hopes of flanking the Tartary forces but is stopped by Vassily, who also does not survive.

Tartary Corps Turn Three

With the west flank now clear the dogged sniper collapsed as a strelok moved up and tried to access the the last control console. After a number of attempts he continued before fishing off the Ruishi.

Seeing that they were still outgunned and outmatched by the Wu Ming the Ariadnans cut their losses and ended their incursion.

Epilogue

The Sophotect rushed to An-Wen and her body reached the floor.
An injection of nanobots into the damaged tissue stated the rebuilding process while she opened a pack expanding putty that her helper bot had lacked.

It covered the side of her unconscious body and kept her alive till an extraction team arrived to take her and the Kanren back to HQ or emergency surgery.

Wu-Ming KG-3347B1 was not so lucky.

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Yu Jing
JJ.konko
Wins

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