Asteroid Blues

Acting on information that the Combined Army had infected the computer systems of the Nomad branch office at the Gorge, Joan of Arc led a team to access the system and determine the threat to the Sphere. She had hoped that the Nomads would volunteer the information, but as her team approached, it was assailed by a team of hostile mutants and had to defeat them to carry out her mission.

Quickly reconnoitring the area, she saw that at least 10 Morlocks were spread out near the front of the Bakunin position. Any advance towards the consoles on her right flank was covered by a sniper that was part of a Moderator Fire team. She ordered her HMG armed Nisse forward. He eliminated the sniper and then advanced far enough to engage and eliminate three Morlocks before returning to a defensive position. On the left flank, a forward observer advanced and killed another Morlock, before connecting the nearest Console. Unfortunately, he lost his Auxbot in the process. The Knight of Santiago also advanced and killed another Morlock. Joan then set most of her troops on suppressive fire awaiting the Nomad onslaught.

More Morlocks fell as they charged madly forward into a mine, HMG shots, a Helot and Joan herself, but more came on, and smoke clouds were billowing up. The Nisse became a prime target for Nomad aggression and he successfully traded shots for some time. A Riot Grrl eventually managed to get forward and kill him with her Spitfire, but not before he wounded her. A Zero appeared and connected the left console closest to their lines. A second Zero tried to connect the central console, failed and ended up isolated.

Several of the Morlocks had been shrugging off wounds that would have laid low a normal man, but one was moving like the wind. It threw out vast clouds of smoke and then charged through them, killing the Auxilia on the left flank, then bursting out to knock down the Helot, fortunately, being gunned down as he did so.

An infiltrated Crocman surprised the Zero on the left flank who coolly laid a mine and survived the shots without injury. The Santiago advanced steadily, killing another Morlock and the Riot Grrl. This cleared the way for the liaison officer (another Auxilia Forward Observer) to connect the nearest right hand console. The Trauma Doctor moved her Palbot and healed the Helot. The troops then took up defensive positions against the next Nomad attack.

Yet more Morlocks moved up from deeper positions swathing more areas in smoke. One came down the right flank and attacked the Trauma Doc, and although she survived, her suppressive fire wasn’t enough to bring him down. The Nomads disbanded their original Moderator fire team and formed a new one on the left flank. The Spitfire armed team leader tried to kill the Crocman, but he successfully dodged her shots and the Zeros mine, falling back to a safer position. The Zero next to the console in the Objective room again failed to connect it, but a third Zero was able to connect the console on the right and move into cover.

Joan now advanced and killed the Zero on the left flank. This allowed an Order Sergeant Forward Observer to emerge from her hiding place and kill the Zero on the right flank, though not before he laid a mine. Taking her life in her hands, she edged forward, and just managed to dodge the mine. Advancing further, she wounded the Zero behind the objective room, and then connected the furthest right hand console. The Santiago advanced to take control of the Objective room, and most of the rest of the force started suppressive fire.

The Morlock on the right flank, charged and knocked out the Trauma doctor, but was too far away to influence access to the consoles. Moderators succeeded in killing the Order Sergeant, but two that shot at the Santiago fell wounded. The second surviving Morlock threw vast numbers of smoke grenades which allowed a Moderator Paramedic to run from the far left and contest the Objective room, but Joan’s team had connected three consoles, gaining the victory!