Asteroid Blues

OOC: I had a chance to get a game in with Imp! from Sweden! We played countermeasures in preparation for Arizona Armageddon IV and had a great time.

With the amount of in system traffic around Novvy Bangkok, patrols on the surface are generally limited for safety’s sake; however, we were nevertheless sent to examine a Liberty Cargo exterior storage location in search of further evidence of Shasvastii infiltration of PanO facilities and organizations. We encountered opposition just as rare as our tasking: The Merovingian Rapid Response Force.

Snooping for unknown reasons, we decided to engage the MRRF before their blundering could destroy vital intelligence that might lead to further understanding of the ongoing conflict. Al Djabel attempted to engage along our right flank, but all he really managed was to deploy a smoke screen an fight two rounds of inconclusive combat with a surprisingly resilient Moblot.

However, our Rafiq was able to scan one of the MRRF analysis through a sensor placed by a sacrificed Fanous, and our Farzan forward observer managed to forward observe the Loup Garou sniper. The sniper was promptly shot down by a pair of missiles from the Ghulam team, but the Ghulam missile launcher was in turn downed by an overwatching Zouave.

With little achieved in our initial strike, the Frenchmen struck back with a vengeance.

The fight continued tooth and nail, with no quarter asked or given. Our forces reacted with deadly fire, downing multiple enemy troops and taking minimal but still costly casualties in return. The lieutenant went down early, but I quickly jumped in and assumed command with a minimum of fuss.

Despite being broken, the Ghulam team fought on as individuals, and an enemy Loup Garou went down to a single well placed burst of HMG fire. On the left flank, our last remaining daylami recruit took out an entrenched Moblot with a panzerfaust round that must have been guided by the heavens to find its mark against such intense fire.

The center of the field remained covered by a Zouave sniper, but careful maneuvering allowed is to move around the edges of the fight to accomplish our objectives. I ordered our Ragik hacker to drop in on the right flank, where he mapped out one of the surface antennas and then scanned one of the MRRF civilian attachés for Shasvastii DNA (result: negative).

The battle ended with a surprising amount of mobility. Al Djabel finally managed to eliminate a member of the MRRF link team, allowing it to be further whittled down by the rest of our forces. On the right flank, the Ghulam team charged forward in support of the mission and the recently downed Ragik.

One of my fellow Farzan cleared the way by eliminating the finals Loup Garou with his boarding shotgun, while the Ghulams moved up under cover. The team’s HMG then eliminated the Zouave sniper, allowing the doctor to revive the Ragik with a shot from her medkit, while Husam Operative Leila Sharif managed to detonate a suspicious cluster of purple chemical pods.

With the MRRF badly mauled, they contacted us and requested that they be allowed to withdraw with their wounded. We granted their request and cautioned them against interfering with our investigation. Our dead were collected, and we departed for the somewhat safer interior of Novvy Bangkok with our intelligence in tow. Perhaps the Ariadnans were not the bumbling fools we thought; the data-slates we recovered indicate a disturbing connection between Liberty Cargo and the so-called Shasworth Corporation. This will require further investigation; perhaps collaboration with Ariadna is more appropriate, given our shared opposition to these hideous aliens. Time is sure to tell.

Farzan Rubie
Humans Edge — Novvy Bangkok detachment