Asteroid Blues

Dr Mustafa approached General Mursuli from the bottom of the bluff. He was cautious, not wanting to disturb the general’s repass. Mursuli was sitting on a concrete slab, still, her face to the fathomless void beyond one of the station’s few glass viewports. The doctor cleared his throat to alert her to his presence.

“Yes, Doctor?,” she said without averting her gaze.

Mustafa stood straight and said, “We’ve heard word of successes across the asteroid, general. Our presence has been requested to muster 2 click from Xarak’s Battery.”

“We go no where, Doctor. We are needed here,” she said.

Mustafa looked about the still quiet, emulating the space beyond.

“What is it, General?” he asked. “What are you looking at?” Mustafa tried to see if there was something out there that she was studying but saw nothing but stars.

“They’re watching,” she said.

“Who?”

Mursuli stood up and straightened out her uniform.

“Doctor, mobilize Muazaf and Alththani. PanO has detected our presence,” she calmly commanded.

“What’s our orders, General? We’ve been skulking here for weeks, bleeding resources. Help us understand.” The Doctor thought his pleas fell on deaf ears but she stopped and half turned.

She explained, “that’s it, exactly, Doctor. Make them bleed. We just need to make them fight so hard for every inch they decide it not worth the effort.”

“But what will it cost us?” asked Mustafa.

She finally looked him in the eye. He was young, just out from University, no doubt.

“My people know the costs, trust my decisions, will die at my word if need be.” Her voice hadn’t wavered from a cool contemplative song. “I am the Old Man. This asteroid is important and we will see humanity healed, one way or another.”

Mustafa lowered his eyes in respect as she turned and walked out”

Frontline
PanO Cross-Docking and Storage Area

Varuna vs Haqqislam

Turn One
A fireteam of Kamau sniper, ORC HMG, and Fusiliers moved forward behind a two story building. Scaling the wall, the Kamau and ORC positioned themselves on a roof overlooking half of the battlefield.
They have two Daylami with Panzerfausts to deal with first. In only a handful of orders the fireteam took out the opposition.
The Kamau shot down the battlefield at a prone Asawira, which reveal to be a Hafza rifleman. The Hafza dodged the shot and dove out of the Kamau’s view.
After getting into position and killing the Daylami, Varuna finds himself low on orders, and fortifies his position.
Kamau murders a defenseless Warcor.

Haqq ran the Muhktar Red Fury up the board.
It removed a Bulleteer Spirfire.
It took a few shots at the Sierra HMG and fell.
The Lasiq Viral Sniper came out of his nest and tried clearing a few orders, only to be foiled by a flashpulse bot.
Mutt’s moved forward and a camo’d

Turn Two
PanO mobilized a Zulu Cobra and cleared out a Fanous and the Lasiq.
The Zulu cobra overstretched a little jumping up onto a rook, only to be shot by the Hafza.
PanO coordinated some bots up the field to counteract the points of the Fiday, prone on a building on the extreme right flank.
Another Bulleteer went onto another building at the center of the board to take out a Farzan.
Another ZuluCobra tries to advance on the Hunzkut FO.
Haqq moved a few pieces around, prone crawling camo markers up the board, closer to the center.
Two baggage bots advanced into the zone nearest their DZ.
Mutt’s advanced, one rushed forward to take out a baggage bot and was shot by the fireteam.
Hafza shot the Bulleteer into unconscious.
Al’Hawa revealed to WIP the unconscious REM for a Classified.
A Libertos manages to kill the Zulu Cobra.

Turn Three
PanO moved a couple orders into the main pool.
PanO fireteam came down from their perch and advanced on the Mutt, Al’Hawa position.
Wasn’t long before the Kamau team entered the central zone.
The ORC skirted the Al’Hawa due to Stealth.
The Mutt tries to jam Bipandra as an ARO.
The ORC finally came around the corner and the Mutt tries to jam him in a face-to-face and wins the roll. The ORC tanks the jammer.
In an attempt to push further up the board the they face off with the Mutt again as the Kamau sneaks up the side of the building to take a shot at the Al’Hawa. The Mutt tried to jam him again and the ORC tries to shoot the Mutt and a baggage bot. The Mutt wins the face to face again and finally isolates the ORC, breaking the fireteam.
The Kamau tries to climb to the second story to tag the Al’Hawa , shoots the Al’hawa but gets dropped by the Hafza.
A fusilier advances and goes into suppressive fire.

Haqq does what it can to clean up. The doctor moves forward to remove the ORC, wounds him but can’t kill him.
Al’Djabel moves to secure the center zone, leaving PanO’s nearest zone to them.
Naffatun moves forward into the zone.
Haqq easily takes the center zone with the Al’Djabel, Libertos, and Hunzakut FO (Liaison Officer).
Haqq barely maintains the nearest zone with Naffatun, Baggage bot, Ghulam Doctor, and Hafza vs the ORC
Final score
6 to 1