Asteroid Blues

Sorry for the interruption but we've received a report from the field. The Bandits say there are Shasvastii heading for Gorge.

Is that it? What are their number? What weapons are they carrying? Damn those bandits and their incomplete reports!

Apologies ma’am but the report also says they are using heavy amounts of stealth and camouflage technology so we’re lucky to know that their coming at all.

Very well. S.T.L.K.R. deploy troops to defend the Node immediately. Blast the usually array of jamming and infiltration programs. I want to have real-time data on the whereabouts of every bastard alien that thinks they can sabotage Arachne.

Understood.... Orders have been issued. Also, that report about the two new recruits has finished compiling. Would you like to view it now?

Mission: Unmasking

Deployment

Shas won initiative and choose to go first. Visible units deployed were 2 Ikadrons in the back line and Sheskin prone on a building to avoid any ARO pieces I might deploy. The rest consisted of 1 relatively obvious Noctifer ML prone on a roof and then 4 more marker state objective runners along the edge of his deployment zone (2 TO and 2 Regular). Finally, there was a Speculo minelayer deployed on the edge of my left side deployment zone. His reserve was another Speculo minelayer that got placed behind my Sin-Eater ready for future murder

Seeing the number of camo-tokens I decided to hold my Intruder HMG in reserve and deployed my Sin-Eater on the right side covering the Noctifer and Sheskin is she stood up. Then my 3 Puppets went on the left side blocking any easy exit for the Speculo deployed there. Then my Moira hacker went center-right covering two consoles and Ida went on the left closest to the HVT I expected to be the target. Last but not least BOTH Bandits passed their Infiltration rolls with one staring at Sheskin and the other staring at the Noctifer.

Shasvastii Turn 1

The first thing my opponent did was very clever and by spending only two order and two command tokens he was able to move his 4 camo tokens into the center of the table and into contact with all three consoles with only 1 getting discovered along the way. Then he managed to immediately discover and guess my Designated Target on the first try. Then attempting to get his Datatracker Sheskin over to it he engaged in a duel with my Bandit on the Bridge. This went very poorly for him here as 4 orders later the Bandit was finally dead but Sheskin had taken a wound in the process. With not enough orders to kill the Target he switched gears and sacrificed his right side Speculo to kill my Sin-Eater and then safely recamo all of his troops deftly securing the center of the board.

Nomads Turn 1

Needing to deal with his Noctifer that is covering most of the table I apply my Bandit in an attempt to fix the problem. However, 3 orders later and no one was any more dead or wounded. Running out of orders I needed to do something limit my opponents next turn so I decide to drop my Hellcat in behind Sheskin and attempt to put my opponent in LoL. My Hellcat managed to land safely but 2 orders later Sheskin was still alive and now facing a coverless drop troop. Really gunning (and needing) to kill Sheskin I stand up and sacrifice my last Bandit and manage to shoot Sheskin in her recently exposed back and finally put her down. My last order is used to shot both Ikadrons in the back but both manage to make their ARM saves.

Shasvastii Turn 2

Being in LoL seriously hampered my opponents second turn but he did still manage to clear off my Hellcat from his back line with his Ikadrons. Kill my Designated Target with his FO Shrouded. Then he proceeded to discover a Target Decoy and attempted to kill it with his Noctifer but my HVT managed to dodge out of the way and hid behind the wall.

Nomads Turn 2

With Sheskin down I needed to clear off some of these pesky camo tokens. Luckily, I know just the man for the job. My Intruder descends from his perch on high and pays back the Shrouded for his hubris of killing my Designated Target. Proceeding along his bridge of death he cleans up the Noctifer ML that has been giving me so much trouble. I then move my Puppets up the left side failing to discover the Speculo over there and getting ready to grab the console on Turn 3. Then with only 1 order left and 3 potential targets I decided to attempt to kill the Malignos KHD that was sitting on the center console. One order later and the Malignos and my opponents newly designated LT was dead on arrival.

Shasvastii Turn 3

Being in LoL for the second turn really left my opponent limited with what he could do. Having only a few models left and seeing my Puppets as the biggest threat he had his second Malignos drop a dazer near the console while the surviving Speculo dropped a mine to cover the approach. This left only a single Shrouded and mine to cover the center console.

Nomads Turn 3

Having only 6 orders left, 2 consoles to activate, and 2 HVT to kill I had to be very order efficient. I spent one order to attack the Shrouded and though he failed to die he did fail guts and end up hiding behind total cover. I then spent 2 coordinated orders to run my Moira Hacker and Intervenor to the right and center consoles respectively. Activating the right console and guessing the nearest HVT I managed to also find the Designated Target. One order later and my Moira had killed them as well. With one order left I spend my LT order on the Interventor to activate the center console and discover on of my opponents Target Decoys. Then with my last order and command token my Intruder and Moira killed them together.

Final Score

Shasvastii: 3

Nomads: 6

Shasvastii communications indicate that they are in full retreat. Would you like to continue pursuit ma’am?

Negative. S.T.K.L.R. Tag their systems and trace where they were getting their orders. I want to know who is behind all of this.

You got it boss.

Oh. Also, order an autopsy on that Speculo and generate a report on how they were able to infiltrate so deeply before we got wind of them.