Asteroid Blues

A Chance Encounter

The Caledonian Force
• William Wallace
• Tearlach “Dearg” McMurrogh
• Cpl. Uxia McNeill (covert action)
• SAS (FO) – Lt. Archibald Pennyworth
• Highlander Grey – Sgt. Arthur McPhee
• 112 (motorized) – Sgt. Maxwell McArthur
• Wulver T2 (female) – Sgt. Rosie McCallum
• Wulver Mk12 (male) – Cpl. Henry McKay
• Volunteer (paramedic) – Lance-Corporal Cooper Clarke
• Volunteer (chain) (female) – Pvt. Riley O’Neill
• Volunteer (chain) (male) – Pvt. Brodie Ferguson
• Volunteer (chain) (male) – Pvt. Arthur McGregor
• Highlander – Pvt. Duncan Shaw
• Highlander – Pvt. Declan Galloway
• Highlander (twin 1) – Pvt. Niall MacLean
• Highlander (twin 2) – Pvt. Kieran MacLean
• Warcor – Alfred “Alfie” Hicox

The Tohaa Force:
• Neema Saatar (Spitfire, Lt)
• Draal Saboteur (Dazers)
• Ectros (HMG)
• Kaeltar Specialist (COC)
• Kaeltar Specialist (COC)
• Chaksa Auxiliar (HMG)
• Kiel-San (Mk12)
• Kiutan Impersonator
• Makaul
• Makaul

Location: Jīyuán Open-Pit Site – Jīyuán Quarry

Prologue:
“I thought we were supposed to be guarding the batteries, where are we even going?” Pvt. McGregor grumbled under his breath. He felt like they’d been travelling forever, and the pace was unrelenting.

“Should I tell the Chieftain you don’t approve of his order recruit?” snapped Sgt. McPhee. The Grey was getting sick of being stuck with fresh volunteers, always worrying and questioning, especially when the Chieftan chose to go “off book”. It’s as though they didn’t appreciate the honour it was to serve directly under Wallace himself. Heck their strike squad was full of famous and infamous heroes of Caledonia. There was of course the legend made real himself, William Wallace, but apparently the troublemaker Uxia McNeill was along too. She was off scouting ahead with that Lt. Pennyworth. McPhee’s blood went a bit red thinking about that pretentious Brit, but he was good at what he did, he couldn’t argue about that. And of course there was Tearlach McMurrogh, or Dearg McMurrogh as some called him. Sgt. McPheel wasn’t sure if they called him the red because of the shade of his fur or because of the red gore he was usually covered with by then end of a battle.

McPheel looked forward toward the great beast, striding along at the front of their formation, alongside Wallace. The two keeping stride as if the pace was nothing while everyone else was at a near run. Even the two wulvers, Wallace kept alongside him seemed to be having trouble maintaining the pace. Sgt. McPheel didn’t trust the creatures. Sure they may talk and almost look like men, but their kind were not true men but rather abominations. But he couldn’t argue that they were effective, and atleast as far as he could tell unflinchingly loyal to Wallace. McPheel laughed as he saw Alfie Hicox running alongside Wallace, nearly at a full sprint. The warcor was anything if not persistent and continued to try and get heroic sound bites from the famous champion. All the while that drone of his buzzed around taking pics and vids, in the hopes that part of it would make for good propaganda.
Suddenly McMurrogh stopped sniffing the air, followed almost immediately by the wulvers. The whole group came to a stop.

“What do you sense?” Wallace asked McMurrogh.

“Aliens…Tohaa” McMurrogh growled back. A moment later a quick radio burst came back through their comms.

“We have contact. Looks like some Tohaa are trying to infiltrate the quarry. Looks like there are some heaters nearby to help fight of this blasted cold. I’ll see about getting them on” Lt. Pennyworth reported.

“Where is Uxia?” Wallace questioned? “She’s…well she was right here. She must have gone off again, probably trying to get closer to the enemy position”.

“Stay where you are and get those heaters going, we’ll be right there” Wallace said before cutting off the comms. He turned to the rest of the force. “Looks like the Yu-Jing have a plant problem, why don’t we help them with a little pruning!” A cheer went out from the troops. It was time for battle. Pvt. McGregor could feel the fear in his heart being swept away as he ran along with the other volunteers and Sgt. McPheel. With Wallace beside them they could not fail, for they were the Caledonian Highlander Army.

Mission Objectives:
3 points – killing more army points
2 points – kill enemy datatracker
3 points – secure the exclsion zone
1 point – activate atleast one heater
1 point – classified objective

Caledonian Classified Objective: Predator – Kill 2 enemies in CC, +1 point if you kill 3
Tohaa Classified Objective: Net-Undermine – Vet, Elite, or Chain of Command make a WIP roll while inside the enemy half of the table.

Pre-game:
The table was set up for Frostbyte with the modified rules from the Astroid Blues campaign. The board had two infinitely tall buildings, creating 3 fire lanes down the battlefield. Tohaa won the role and chose to pick table sides and to have Caledonia deploy first. Caledonia chose to take first turn.

Caledonian Deployment:
The Grey/Volunteer link was deployed in the centre to push up and control the central fire lane. Wallace and the Wulver Harris deployed on the Caledonian right flank intending to push up the right. SAS was deployed at the edge of the exclusion zone on the right flank ready to move up to activate the consoles (the mission special rules gave the SAS a speed boost from having multiterrain). The Motorized 112 was deployed hiding in the back of the right flank, and was selected as datatracker. The warcor was deployed prone on a building on the left flank to hide. McMurorgh was deployed prone in the centre, and the Galwegians were deployed spread along the line.

Tohaa Deployment:
Ectros HMG and Chaksa HMG counter deploy on a building opposite the Grey AP HMG. Kiel-San deployed behind building on Tohaa right flank. Kiel-San is made datatracker and rolls regeneration on metachemistry. Behind the building with the Ectros a Makaul and Kaeltar are deployed (they form a triad with the Ectros). Draal Saboteur forward deploys on the Tohaa left flank. Among the buildings of the right flank another Makaul, and Kaeltar deploy with Neema. The symbiomates are put on the Ectros, Neema, the Kiel-San, and the Draal.

Counter Drops:
Uxia passes her superior infiltration and deploys near the Ectros and Chaksa’s building, out of line of site. The Kiiutan Imposter deployed prone in a tower near the Caledonian deployment.

Caledonia Turn 1: A Tale of Crits
The Galwegians and McMurrogh activate using their impetuous orders and advance up the table. One Galwegian is able to throw smoke to obscure the AP HMG Grey that had been counter deployed by the Tohaa, as well as McMurrogh’s advance.

Uxia skirts around left of the Tohaa HMG perch and reveals to shoot the Chaksa HMG. She hits 4 times but is crit by the Chaksa.

The Volunteer link activates and repositions, moving the AP HMG Grey to the corner of a building where he can face one of the defence Tohaa HMGs at a time. The Grey is able to take a wound off the Ectros and kill his symbiomate before the Ectros drops prone. The Grey is eventually able to take down the Chaksa HMG after bouncing crits/ the Chaksa making saves for about 4 orders.

McMurrogh begins his now unimpeded advance up the board, but having spent too many orders trying to kill the Chaksa is only able to destroy the front most Tohaa heater.

The SAS hiding on the right flanks moves up to the right terminal and activates the front Caledonian heater. Using his increased movement from the mission special rules and multi terrain he hurries to the central terminal and activated the second Caledonian heater.

The Harris advances slightly up the board keeping an eye on the tower, preparing for the impersonator’s possible attack run in the Tohaa turn.

Tohaa Turn 1: The Unkillable Wolf
Recognizing the threat that McMurrogh posed the Kiel-San advances around the corner of his building and fires on McMurrogh. McMurrogh suffers a wound. The Kiel-San attacks again, and McMurrogh successfully throws smoke to obscure that attack vector. The Tohaa respond by moving up a triad with a Viral CCW Makaul. Approaching through McMurrogh’s smoke the Makaul reaches McMurrogh. McMurrogh responds by soundly cutting the Makaul in half.
Neema then takes the opportunity to move up with her triad. Neema is able to successfully land 3 hits on McMurrogh who promptly saves them all. McMurrogh falls back to get out of line of sight. Neema’s link moves up, ordering the Draal to drop dazers to slow McMurrogh in the next turn.

Neema sets up on suppression down the Caledonian right flank alley.

Caledonia Turn 2: McMurrogh’s Rampage
McMurrogh hampered by the dazer moves to the window of the building containing it and blasts it and the Draal through the window. The Draal fails to dodge and loses his symbiomate. The 1st dazer is destroyed. McMurrogh spec fires some smoke to mask his advance on Neema. McMurrogh moves up to the edge of the next dazer.

The Wulver link moves out with the Mk12 engaging Neema in the alley. After many orders Neema takes a wound and loses her symbiomate. Neema retreats to cover. The T2 Wulver moves around the building and takes out the 2nd dazer.

McMurrogh moves into engagement with one of the Kaeltar on his way to Neema, decapitating her with a single swing. McMurrogh then engages Neema with his last order. Not wanting to risk failing to kill her McMurrogh berserks. McMurrogh kills Neema (achieving the 3rd kill for Predator) but dies to her viral pistol.

The Wulvers reposition and enter Suppressive, again watching the tower.

Tohaa Turn 2: Last Effort
The Draal moves up using cautious movement and cover from the remaining Makaul’s eclipse grenade. The Draal wants to get to the Caledonian datatracker (the Motorized 112) who is hiding in the back but does not have enough orders. The now Lt Kaeltar retreats away from the fighting.
Using his bonus order the Kiel-San advances up the Caledonian left and into the centre of the board in order to hold the exclusion zone. The Impersonator stands and prepares to shoot the bike when it advances to the middle.

Caledonia Turn 3: The Noble Sacrifice of the Volunteers
The Galwegian on the left flank moves up and kills the Kaeltar that is now the Lt. One of the Galwegians from the centre hunts down the Draal, while the other meets the Makaul in mutually assured destruction.

Recognizing that they are all that remains on the left flank the volunteer link moves out of the safety of the heaters to hunt down the Kiel-San. It goes to the last order in the pool, but the volunteers are able to hit the Kiel-San with enough shotgun and chain rifle rounds to remove him from the board.
Meanwhile the Wulver harris is reformed and Wallace discover shoots the Impersonator on the roof. The Impersonator passes all of his saves and drops prone. Seeing this the 112 takes his chance to motor into the centre of the board. Fearing his execution he dismounts and hided beneath the tower the Impersonator is hiding.

Tohaa Turn 3: A Leap of Faith
Now in loss of lieutenant and with only 2 orders the Tohaa have one last chance to score some points. The Ectros’s order is converted using one of the last command tokens, and the Impersonator leaps from the tower. Given the height of the tower he must survive a hit against DMG 20, and has two attempts thanks to his symbioarmour.

Unfortunately the fall kills the Impersonator.

The Cold rolls in killing all but Wallace, the Grey, a Wulver, a Galwegian, the Warcor, and the Ectros.

Final Result:
Objective Points – 10-0 for Caledonia
Victory Points – Caledonia 132, Tohaa 45

Epilogue:
“What a bloody mess” McPhee thought to himself. They so many killed or atleast out of commission for the time being, and what did they have to show for it? Nothing! The report had come in as they were rounding up the survivors. A major offensive had been launched against Xaraxs Battery. The forces of Haqqislam had swept in and almost completely taken control of the Battery Field itself, and the Tohaa were assaulting the ammunition and supply module. They were to return as fast as possible and help with the defence.

“Don’t look so glum” McPhee jolted out of his thoughts and looked up to see McMurrogh standing over him grinning. In the aftermath of the battle Wallace had found the McMurrogh clinging to life, his spirit unwilling to give in.

“Didn’t you hear the good news? There are more of those bloody creatures to kill, and this time they’re on our turf” McMurrogh gave McPhee a wide smile, his huge fangs glistening and coated in what seemed to be blood. “Who knows, maybe you’ll even get to use that big sword of your Sgt”.