Five Parsecs From Home: The Millennium Chicken - Battle 2 - Starship Wreck

Number 1 son's crew continue their adventures on Coldwater...

  Pre-battle:

The crew pay 1 credit for their upkeep and once again put all their remaining cash into paying off some of the ship debt.  12 credits - 9 payment = 3 +2 interest = 5 credits debt remaining.

As on the previous turn, James Bond will explore, taking Destructionator with him.  James Bond knows a good deal when he sees one and ends up bartering to obtain a camo cloak for a knock-down price.  Destructionator accepts some cargo that can be delivered off-world for 3 credits - assuming he's still with the crew at that time.

Blaze Westerfied and Lifter decide to trade.  Blaze spots something interesting ("don't usually see these for sale") but isn't going to spend any money on it.  Lifter locates a ship part worth 1 credit, bringing their total value of ship parts to 5 credits.

Frost and Flame set out to look for a patron.  They are successful, finding a Private Organisation, not linked with any of Coldwater's factions.  Danger pay is +1 credit, and the mission needs to be completed this or one of the following 2 turns.  There is a connection to their quest (+1 rumour if mission successful).  There are no hazards or conditions.

The newest faction on Coldwater, Nelor Brand the Charismatic Individual also makes contact with an offer of employment.  There is no danger pay and there are no benefits, hazards or conditions either.  The job needs to be completed this turn.  There's a starship that has crashed, Brand requires someone to get to the crash site ASAP and hold it until loyal forces can move in and secure the area.

 Nelor Brand's offer piques the crew's interest.  They're feeling nosy about the starship, so agree to secure the crash site.

None of the crew's rivals track them down this turn, so they set off to the crash site.  This time it's in the uplands, not slippery like the shore and there are no deployment conditions or notable sights.  The mission will be a fight off.  But who is the enemy? 

The crew and their transport.

A roving threat - Giant Bugs!

There are 6 +2 = 8 bugs.  As luck would have it, I had just about finished repainting some GW Tyranid Ripper Swarms, which I had split up and based individually.  I found 8 that were finished apart from the edges of their bases and quickly broke out the Humbrol 33 matt black to complete them.  

Bugs!

All 8 bugs have an identical profile: 

Giant Bug: Panic 1; Speed 5"; Combat skill +1; Toughness 5; AI Rampage; Mandibles (damage +1).  They are Easy Targets (+1 to hit) and Stubborn (ignore first casualty of battle when taking morale check)

 The battlefield: Nelor Brand provides an all-terrain transport vehicle to get the crew to the crash site.  Despite the hydropneumatic suspension, the journey cross-country is rough, and the crew are glad when they are finally able to debus and view their destination.  A ruined building occupies the centre of the battlefield, with a large piece of wreckage nearby.  Scattered around are 4 areas of smaller wreckage, some craters, clouds of smoke, and a few open areas with scattered crates and other detritus that has been thrown from the crash. [We rolled a D8 clockface, starting from 1 centre bottom, round to 8 bottom right.  6 = top right for the crew, with the bugs starting opposite them in the bottom left corner.]

The crash site: bugs in red, crew in blue.

Captain Bond gives a brief pep talk and issues instructions to the crew.  They'll need to walk from here, so that they can search the wreckage properly as they go.  Hopefully no-one was in that building that was demolished by the starship crash.  They check their gear, frakk grenades are issued one each to Destructionator, Blaze and Flame.  James Bond hopes that his nerve adjuster will work this time.  Flame and Frost make sure their stimpacks are easily accessible.

Captain briefs the crew.

The Battle:

Concealed by smoke from burning wreckage, and unseen by the crew, a swarm of giant bugs is bounding towards them.

The bugs approach...

 
 The crew move cautiously past some of the cargo tossed clear on impact, towards the main body of the wreckage.  Whatever Nelor Brands wants from the crashed starship, it will be a surprise if it's intact.  

The crew move warily towards the wreckage.

Suddenly, purple-blue forms burst through the smoke on the far side of the ruined building, heading directly for the crew, accompanied by the sound of skittering claws and gnashing mandibles... 

Bugs appear through the smoke.

 The bugs bound rapidly across the ground, slowed only slightly by the craters. [We assumed these were difficult terrain, reducing the bugs' move from 5" to 3.5".  The smoke clouds would reduce weapon ranges, but this never arose because the fignting took place well clear of them]

Bungs come bounding over the craters.

 The crew move on, keeping to single file as they wind their way between spilled cargo and craters.

The crew march forward in single file.

At the end of turn 2 we roll a Battle Event.  94: Looks valuable!  Frost (3rd in line) spots something glinting in the light, off to the right.  Something is partly buried under churned up gravel and fragments of wreckage.

What's that gold counter over there?

The captain moves forward, Lifter close behind.  The others are falling slightly behind due to the rough ground.

The crew start to spread out.

 Clear of the craters, the bugs surge forwards, now nearly at the ruins.  Their initial compact swarm has spread out slightly, will the crew be able to pick them off one at a time?

Bugs approaching the ruins in the centre of the table.

Frost carefully picks his way between smashed cargo pallets to a broken crate.  Inside are some small ingots of gold and some rare earth metals, which will fetch a tidy sum!  They'll be worth 3 credits.

Frost picks up the goodies - worth 3 credits!

 Flame and Blaze cut across the far side of a crater, ensuring they maintain overlapping lines of fire towards the bugs that they can hear approaching.

The crew spread out through the craters.

Destructionator is going to move to cover the crew's left flank.

Destructionator gets to move first.

The bugs come thundering into the ruins, bounding over the low walls and making eerie screeching sounds as they close with the crew. 

Bugs flow through the ruins.

The crew ready their weapons - this is it!

Firing positions!

We roll for the second battle event.  53 - The clock is running out!  Nelor Brand's people are arriving sooner than expected to take over the crash site.  We roll a D6 at the end of every turn, and on a 6, the game ends immediately.  STORY POINT! The crew haven't even made contact with the bugs yet, and it's unlikely they'll kill them all before the end of the game, so we spend a story point to re-roll the battle event.  45 - a cunning plan.  Turns out there was confusion, Nelor Brand's team are arriving at their jumping-off point, but they won't be here for some while yet.  Instead, the crew can all choose to act in the quick phase if they want - a much better result for them!

The captain scores a hit with his beam pistol, but just stuns the lead bug. 

Captain James Bond fires the first shot of the game.

The others will have to move forward if they want to get a good chance of taking out any of those bugs.

Not a brilliant line of fire for the rest of the crew.

Destructionator moves forward and launches its grenade.  The explosion is quite literally bang on target, the explosion blowing two bugs over the wall and knocking another sideways.  Thanks to their tough carapace, none of the bugs are killed, but all are stunned, which will delay them and buy the crew some time.

Grenade!

The stunned bug still in sight is hit by another shot and crashes back against a freight container before collapsing to the ground, leaking sticky ichor into the charred ground..

First casualty.

Despite the damage caused, the bugs surge forwards.

Here they come!

Bad rolls the next turn mean that none of the crew get to act in the quick phase - and the bugs are on them!

Aaaaaagh!

One attacks the captain, but he thrusts his beam pistol into its slavering jaws and blows the back of its head off.  [First casualty caused by the crew = +1XP for the captain!]  Another is thrown back by Destructionator, though stunned rather than dead.  Lifter isn't as fortunate with his bug.  As its freight claws crush and splinter the creature's carapace, its death throes knock the cargo bot to the ground.

Casualties on both sides.

Frost hurls his grenade, but alas!  It bounces off the rearmost bug, landing on one of the lead bugs and lodging in its carapace.  The explosion tears the bug to pieces, but both Destructionator and the captain are caught in the blast, knocking them backwards.  James Bond's nerve adjuster fails once again, and he is stunned.  Destructionator's sensors are temporarily knocked out of alignment and need a few seconds to recalibrate.

Grenade.... oops!

Dropping her military rifle on its sling, Flame smoothly draws her scrap pistol and puts a hole through the nearest bug before it can shake off the stun from its fight with Destructionator.

Bugs are going down.

Blaze levels his colony rifle at another bug.  The bullet ricochets off the tough chitin, but the impact is enough to stun the creature.  Destructionator fires an autorifle burst, but fails to hit any targets, his sensors still misaligned.

Keep shooting!

Flame throws her grenade at the remaining cluster of bugs, but with similar results to Frost - hers also bounces off them and lands right between the bug, Destructionator and Blaze.

Another grenade mishap.

Both Blaze and one of the bugs are stunned by the explosion, though Destructionator is unscathed on this occasion.

Don't stop shooting!

The other bug has recovered from the previous attack and lunges back towards the captain.  They crash against each other, and both reel back from the impact, stunned again.  Flame's scrap pistol barks again and another bug goes down.

Frost leaps in to protect the captain.

Frost charges the bug, hoping to eliminate it and save the captain.

Take THAT you nasty bug!

Unfortunately, despite the bug being stunned, Frost's clumsy attack is totally ineffective and he is knocked to the ground.

Aaaargh!

The remaining 2 bugs aren't running away yet, but they dart back out of sight of the crew to shake off ther stuns.

Bugs regroup in cover.

Destructionator climbs the wall and fires down on the bugs, but the angle is wrond and his aim is way, way off.

Poor shooting from Destructionator.

The bot is rather exposed now... could do with some backup!

Destructionator goes for a climb.

Frost's shaking fingers manage to find his stimpack and the rush of drugs steadies him and give him the strength to climb back to his feet. [We originally planned to use a story point for him to reroll the earlier injury, but then remembered that we had forgotten about the stimpacks!].  He's still stunned, but at least he's mobile.

Frost recovers thanks to the stimpack.

The crew start to close in.  Blaze clambers up the wall alongside Destructionator, and his colony rifle finds the weak spot in a bugs carapace, knocking it sprawling on the ground.

Only one bug left.

James Bond gets to go first in the quick phase of the next turn.  He's going to be in charge range now.

The captain will go first.

He rushes in and strikes a mighty series of blows and beam pistol shots against the bug, which is unable to resist the furious onslaught.

Chaaaaarge!

At last, the bugs are defeated. [A critical hit with another two stuns, but on top of the stun already received, enough to take the bug out of the fight.] 

Critical hits!

And so ends the Millennium Chicken crew's second battle.  Smashed and broken bug carcasses dot the crash site, but several of the crew are nursing new cuts and bruises from the battering they've received, and now they need to check on Lifter.  The crew discuss the fight - there are no large predators on the surface of Coldwater, which means that those creatures arrived with the ship.  Did they cause it to crash, or were they released when it crashed - and what is Nelor Brand's connection to it all?

Victory!

Post-battle:

 Rivals: Bugs are just bugs, and don't hold a grudge.

Patron: +1 Loyalty to Nelor Brand for the succesful mission.

Quest progress: None

Get paid: The crew are paid 3 Credits + the 3 Credits worth of valuable metals that Frost found = 6 Credits total.

Battlefield Finds: A quest rumour.  As the dust settles and the crew recover, they intercept a transmission.

Faction Activities: Day to day operation: Charismatic Leader Khorekk Tao has a job offer for the crew.  He must have heard that Nelor Brand was pleased with their work and has a similar task for them, if they'll take it... 

Loot: damaged weapons: Sifting through the starship wreckage, the crew uncover a broken Ripper Sword and a crushed crate containing 3 Frakk Grenades.  They'll need to check over those grenades before they can be certain that they're safe to use, and the ripper sword obiovously needs repair.

Injuries: Fortunately, Lifter was just knocked over and has a few dents.  No repairs are needed apart from a touch of paint.

Experience:

Once again, James Bond claimed the first casualty (+1XP) and survived on the winning side (+3XP).  He gains 4XP in total.  He spends all these plus 1XP saved from the previous turn to exercise, improving his speed to 6".  He has no XP left to carry over.

Destructionator and Lifter, being bots, don't earn any XP. 

Blaze survived on the winning side, gaining 3XP.  Combined with 3XP saved from last turn, he's also able to improve his speed, in this case to 5".  He carries over 1XP to turn 3.

Frost survived on the winning side, gaining 3XP.  Combined with 5XP saved from last turn, he studies hard and improves his Savvy to +1.  He carries over 3 XP to turn 3.

Flame survived on the winning side, gaining 3XP.  Combined with 5XP saved from last turn, she trains in hand to hand combat with Frost and on the range with her military rifle and scrap pistol, improving her combat skill to +1.  She carries over 1XP to turn 3.

Campaign event: A chance meeting turns into a new ally.  The crew consider adding a third robot to the crew, but eventually decide not to.  They receive one additional story point instead.

Character event: Lifter makes use of its powerful freight claws to help out on a few odd jobs transferring cargo around the starport and earns an additional 2 Credits, bringing their total stash to 8 Credits.

Faction Event: The merchant cartel has an internal struggle.  Thalassa Diversified and Marine Biosystems disagree over enforcement of fishing quotas.  Marine Biosystems withdraws some of its enforcers from the operations, resulting in the faction's power dropping to 1. 

3D printed APC

 Number 1 son's starship crew need transport.  Because Coldwater is a fairly inhospitable world, they need something chunky and tough, so I printed one of Smight's 6mm APCs at 285%.  It looks like it can travel over Coldwater's rough surface, be big enough to travel in relative comfort, plus handle storms.

Considering this is supposed to be printed at 6mm scale rather than 15mm, the detail is excellent.  The only problem was that it was a real fiddle removing the supports from around the wheels, but a scalpel, a pair of thin tweezers and some small pliers eventually got most of it out.  The chunky details suit FDM printing.

The base colour is Humbrol 24 matt blue, as per Number 2 son's request.  I added a few drops of 1980's Citadel Colour enchanted blue (light blue) to the Humbrol to lighten it for drybrushing the highlights, then thinned some black paint 50/50 with matt varnish and some water to outline the panels, hatches etc.

Wheels were painted Humbrol 29 dark earth, then drybrushed with Humbrol 33 matt black to leave the recesses dusty.  Lights were painted in with silver.

 Decals were added (from 1:144 Apache gunship, Airfix CVR(T) Scorpion, WWII German panzer numbers), then burnt umber and burnt sienna rust patches sponged on, followed by some silver sponge chipping. Finally, a Humbrol 29 dark earth drybrush up the sides and rear of the vehicle finished it off.

Now that the crew have their transport, they're safe to drive off to battle 2 of their adventures. 

Five Parsecs From Home: The Millennium Chicken - Battle 1

Pre-battle:

The crew pay 1 credit for their upkeep and decide to put all their remaining cash into paying off some of the ship debt.  16 credits - 6 payment =10 +2 interest = 12 credits debt remaining.

Blaze Westerfied takes Lifter the bot with him to try and decoy their various rivals.

James Bond explores, taking Destructionator with him for protection.  He finds a promising lead that could earn them an extra 3 credits this turn.  The assault bot is approached by a shifty looking character who offers an extra 2 credits if a certain enemy is eliminated. "The specialist guy, the one carrying a shell gun.  That's the guy I need gone, and I can make it worth your while.  WELL worth your while..."

The religious punk Frost trades a useless trinket.  He likes it, but it's worthless really.  Flame spends her time trading more productively, procuring 2 stim-packs and 2 med-patches to add to their medical reserves.

Mustering back at the Millennium Chicken, the crew sit down together and compare notes.  Reviewing the rumours they have gathered, they start to join the dots and make a breakthrough. Their quest begins!

• The data file that hacker Blaze obtained whilst searching for the truth appears to be part of a series of messages from initials "TA", providing details for the attack on Flame's isolationist enclave.
• At one of Frost's religious meetings, a fellow Nagrican passed him a notebook.  The Nagrican knows that Frost has had his difficulties in the past, perhaps he can advise how to help her son?  The Nagrican is concerned that her wayward son has fallen into bad company.  She found the notebook, fallen from her son's bag or pocket.  The notebook contains records of payments, mostly in code - but several are listed as coming from "TA", the most recent of which was only a couple of days before the attack on Flame's isolationist enclave.
• Flame received a notebook from mortally wounded isolationist Enkara, shortly before she died, detailing links to various events on Coldwater.  Enkara revealed that she had worked within the Coldwater government, but after discovering information about a mysterious individual or group operating behind the scenes, received threats and fled in fear for her life.  The isolationist enclave appeared to be as safe a place to live as any, but her past has caught up with her.  Enkara died before she could pass on any other information.
• Flame received a tip from another dying isolationist known as Harran.  "They know what we've discovered... they know that we know.  Ochveri told them exactly where to find us... and they will be coming for you, too, if they find out you've survived!"
• Finally, since setting out for revenge, Flame's own research has produced a datafile that includes the dates of numerous attacks by the Nagrica outlaws. Comparing with clues from the others, these dates are all within a day or two of the payment dates in the notebook that Frost received.  The attacks often seem to be against those who are least likely to be missed - those that have been abandoned by society, or live on the edges.

Who or what is TA?  Is the bad company the son has fallen in with those same Nagrican outlaws that attacked the enclave?  Were they hired to do it?  How did they know where to find the isolationists ship?  Who is Ochveri?  What was the purpose of those other attacks?

Although the idea of an opportunity mission following the promising lead that James Bond discovered is tempting, the crew settle on a Quest mission.  Taking stock of their equipment, they re-arm Destructionator with an autorifle, plus a blast pistol for close-in work.  The autorifle is a poor substitute for Destructionator's original weaponry but it's better than nothing.  Lifter is equipped with a colony rifle.  Blaze Westerley retains his trusty colony rifle.  Flame passes her beam pistol to James Bond, taking a military rifle as replacement, along with a scrap pistol as a backup weapon.  She keeps one of the stimpacks she purchased.  As well as the beam pistol, James Bond has a concealed blade and a nerve adjuster.  Frost takes a shotgun from the stores and grabs the other stimpack.

Unfortunately, as the crew set out to find some transport, they are attacked by a salvage team - enemies of James Bond, whom they accuse of stealing their ship.  Looks like Blaze and Lifter's decoy attempt failed!

The battle takes place near the shore, where the wet mud and algae from the recent high tide make the conditions slippery (-1" movement penalty for everyone).

There is a peculiar item worth +2XP to the crew member who moves into contact with it.  We decided on a mobile item (converted Star Wars Gonk power droid) to add some interest.  At the end of every turn, it moves D3" in a random direction (using scatter die), having started in the centre of the game area.

A peculiar item indeed!

 

The salvage crew have brought friends (+1 enemy).  Fortunately, they start from a low initial number - roll 2D6 and choose the higher... they rolled a 1 and a 2!  With 1 additional starting enemy plus the +1 "brought friends" enemy, the crew will be facing only 4 enemies, ideal for their first encounter.

Salvage Team

L-R: Hand laser, shell gun, lieutenant with hand laser, military rifle.

The salvage team are a tough bunch, but quite cautious.  They won't be rushing in with guns blazing.  The shell gun could be a problem, but the hand lasers mean they will have to close to fairly short range to be able to use their weapons effectively.

Team member 1: Panic 1-3; Speed 4"; Combat skill +0; Toughness 4; AI cautious; Hand laser

Team member 2: Panic 1-3; Speed 4"; Combat skill +0; Toughness 4; AI cautious; Military rifle

Specialist: Panic 1-3; Speed 4"; Combat skill +0; Toughness 4; AI cautious; Shell gun

Lieutenant: Panic 1-3; Speed 4"; Combat skill +0; Toughness 4; AI cautious; Hand laser, blade

 Cautious AI.

 

The Battle:

The sea borders the game area on one side.  A partially unloaded cargo ship is moored, and a small transport crawler stands ready to move some of the items inland.

A view from the seaward side.

A small submersible pod can be reached by a short jetty. Fuel and transport trucks are parked nearby.  Unloaded cargo is scattered across the muddy ground.

A small complex lies near the centre of the game area.  Due to Coldwater's poor atmosphere and also the high tides which will submerge the complex, the prefab pods are equipped with an airlock.

The complex.

The crew roll randomly for their starting location.  They were obviously coming along the beach and start behind some of the piles of cargo.

Crew starting positions.

A communications antenna is positioned on the grandly named "Comms Hill", a small hummock on the landward side of the game area.

The view from landward.

 The crew start in the positions marked in blue.  The green marked item is the peculiar item.  The enemy salvage team are split into 2 pairs, marked in red. 

Overview of starting positions.

 The crew move forwards into the scattered cargo.  Destructionator uses its 6 legs to clamber directly over the small orange comfort pod used by visiting workers and ship crew.  James Bond, being fleeter of foot than the others, edges slightly ahead of them.

Turn 1 crew positions.

 With neither side able to see the other, the salvage team make a dash across the open ground to see if they can get into safe firing positions from which to spot the crew.

Turn 1 salvage team positions.

 The crew continue their advance through the cargo area.  The 2 humans head landward, uphill around the cargo crawler, thinking perhaps they can flank the enemy.  The Nagricans move up the centre and the bots choose a route closer to the sea.  To help remember the "slippery conditions" move penalty, I cut a little cardboard movement template with 3" normal move and 4" for James Bond marked into it.  This also reduced the chance of a tape measure being waved around with the accompanying risk of scenery or figures being knocked over!

Turn 2 crew positions.

The salvage team continue their move forwards.  2 of them reach the cover of some cargo pods.  The team leader and shell gun-toting specialist are heading for the complex.  We rolled for a battle event: 71 - fumbled grenade.  None of the enemy salvage team have grenades, so this has no effect on them.

Turn 2 salvage team positions.

Destructionator's autogun tracks back and forth as it scuttles between the cargo piles.  Lifter clumps along behind, colony rifle clutched slightly awkwardly in its cargo claws.

Destructionator and Lifter advance.

The salvage team continue to work their way forwards, edging around freight storage and the complex.  They know the crew are ahead somewhere.  Weapons are readied, muscles tense, breathing quickens...

Salvage Team edge closer...

Flame and Blaze Westerley continue their long flanking move around the rear of the cargo crawler.  The treacherous footing is really slowing their progress, Flame swears under her breath as she repeatedly loses her footing when they ascend the shallow slope.

Blaze and Flame skirt the cargo hauler.

The Nagricans approach the complex.  They can hear the squelch of cautious footsteps in the mud ahead, the enemy must be near.

Approaching the complex.

 The robots and the Nagricans should be in position for mutual support fairly soon, but the humans' slow progress means they are getting left far behind.

Turn 3 crew positions.

 Destructionator moves up, autorifle seeking a target but a power droid blocks the line of fire.  The salvage team edge around the sides of the storage pod.  One spies Lifter in the distances and chances a shot with her military rifle, but the bullet ricochets off the pipes nearby.

Poised for action.

 The Nagricans take cover between the quad bike and the side of the complex airlock.  James Bond calls to the humans to join them.  They're too slow, flanking just isn't going to work this time.

Flankers move to rejoin the others.

Hearing the rifle shot, but unable to see anything, the salvage team leader and specialist crouch against the front of the tracked vehicle and chance a quick look over the bonnet.  The specialist fires his shell gun at the only crew member he can see, Lifter.  Nerves must have affected his aim, the shell explodes harmlessly in the ground nearby, showering Lifter with mud but causing no damage.

Turn 4 positions.

In the distance, possible reinforcements appear (Battle event: 50).  3 markers are added to the enemy board edge.  One random marker is checked on each of the next 3 turns by rolling a D6.  On a 5-6, an additional enemy will appear.

Enemy reinforcements?

As the power droid shuffles away, Destructionator scuttles swiftly across the slippery ground and opens fire.  Autorifle rounds tear into the unlucky salvage team member.

Destructionator lets rip.

The stricken human slumps against the storage container and collapses to the ground, clearly out of the fight.  Her military rifle splats into the mud. 

First casualty.

The two Nagricans dart round into the cover of the airlock.  James Bond chances a shot with his beam pistol at the suddenly exposed salvage team member by the storage container, and luck is with him.

James Bond and Frost score a hit on another enemy.

The second enemy goes down.  The remaining 2 exchange worried glances.  They heard a lot of shooting somewhere out of sight towards the sea, but this time they've personally witnessed a team-member fall.  Nevertheless, their nerve holds and they prepare for action.

Second casualty.

Rolling for the possible reinfircements, the first turns out to be additional salvage team member armed with a military rifle.

Team member 5: Panic 1-3; Speed 4"; Combat skill +0; Toughness 4; AI cautious; Military rifle 

Salvage Team reinforcement.

He appears at the landward edge of the battle area and wastes no time moving forwards towards the complex to assist his team members.  He's late, but hopes he can get there in time to teach that Nagrican and his crew a lesson.

The reinforcement approaches the sounds of battle.

Back in the battle, the specialist sweeps round into the shelter of the vehicles tracks and fires at near point-blank range with his shell gun, but again the shot goes wide and the 2 Nagricans are unharmed.

Shell gunner once again fails to hit.

The leader, approaching from the other side of the vehicle, is more careful with his aim.

Salvage team leader takes aim...

His hand laser scores a direct hit on the captain, but the tough Nagrican remains standing, albeit stunned by the sudden pain - something that his nerve adjuster fails to counteract.

The captain is hit!

Stomping slowly but steadily up the muddy slope from the cargo area comes Lifter.  Raising its colony rifle, the robot draws a bead on the only human it can see, the shell-gunner.  The shot flies true and the human stumbles with the impact, but stays on his feet, stunned.

Lifter scores a hit on the specialist.

James Bond, still stunned, and with the smell of singed fur in his nostrils, returns fire against the enemy leader.  The human cries out and staggers back...

Captain and enemy leader exchange shots.

... before keeling over into the mud with a heavy squelch. 

Enemy leader succumbs.

Frost pushes past his captain and heads for the shell-gunner.  His shotgun blast flies wide.

Frost misses with his shotgun at close range.

This is the team's chance - if they can act quickly, they can finish things.  Sadly, fate has other ideas and the reaction rolls are a five and five sixes, so no-one can act before the enemy!

Not a good reaction roll.

The specialist shakes his head to clear it, then brings his shell gun up for another shot.  The shell gun thumps for a third time... and misses a third time.  The shell flies between Frost and Destructionator, shattering a cargo case.  Debris rains down, spattering the mud behind them with tiny, sticky craters.  

The end is nigh!

Destructionator doesn't take kindly to this and stiches a line of bullets across the specialist's chest.  The human proves astoundingly resilient, staggering back several feet under the impacts as bloodstains blossom through his clothing, but still struggling to raise his shell gun again.

Destructionator's revenge.

Frost wants to end things now.  He darts forward and strikes a blow, but poorly in his haste.  It is clumsy - normally it would merely stun the human, but with the injuries already sustained, he falls at last.

Frost finishes the job.

All 4 of the salvage team have been defeated, and James Bond walks across to the power droid to investigate it (peculiar item +2XP).  But what of the salvage team's companion, late to the fight but still a threat?

James Bond moves to contact the power droid.

 The gunfire and explosions have ceased.  An ominious quiet hangs over the shore.  Despite the distance, the approaching survivor of the Salvage Team can see one or two bodies - and they're probably his team mates, judging by the Nagrican and assault bot that he can see moving around nearby.  The reality of the situation suddenly hit home, and he turns and runs, slithering and sliding back down the slope and away from the fight. (Both of the other possible reinforcement counters turned out to be nothing when revealed during the previous 2 turns.)

Discretion is the better part of valour!

Post-battle:

The salvage team are no longer a threat.  The survivor has made it back to whatever was left of their team with the bad news.  With so many of them either dead or badly wounded, there is no chance of them coming after the crew again, so they are removed from the list of rivals.

Checking over the bodies, the crew gather 3 credits.  Because they eliminated the shell-gunner, they earn an extra 2 credits from the shifty looking character they met earlier, for a total of 5 credits.  They also gain some useful ship parts from the salvage team, worth another 4 credits of ship upgrades.

Faction activity:  The factions lay low for now, with nothing happening.

Fringe World Strife: Existing instability 1, plus 1D6 = 2, plus number of rivals = 3, totalling 6.  No roll on the chart this turn.

Loot: The crew recover 3 Frakk grenades after the battle.  Looks like that Salvage Team did have grenades after all!

Experience:

All of the non-robotic crew earn 3XP for surviving the batle on the winning side, bringing Blaze to 3XP, Frost to 5XP and Flame to 5XP.  They all save their XP for the next game turn.

James Bond earns his 3XP for surviving, plus 1XP for being the first character to cause a casualty (bots can't earn XP so I'm assuming they dont count as "characters" for the purpose of registering the first casualty.  Hey, this is our game, so we get to choose!) and another 2XP for investigating the peculiar item power droid, bringing his total to 8XP.  He takes some time on weapons training and boosts his combat skill to +1, leaving him with 1XP remaining.

Campaign event: The crew sell cargo worth 5 credits, boosting their total funds to 10 credits.

Character event: Frost and Flame have a heart to heart chat.  The crew want to help hunt down the Nagrican outlaws who wiped out Flame's isolationist enclave.  Frost feels shamed by the deeds of these other Nagricans and wants to make amends for their crimes, but is conflicted because he knows that some may have been drawn in unwittingly, such as the son of the Nagrican from his religious group.  Flame understands, and can see that he wants to help her cause.  Both earn 1XP, bringing their respective totals to 6XP.

 Faction Event: A new faction arises!  Charismatic leader Nelor Brand, has emerged.  Brand has little influence at this time but benefits from a strong following right from the start (Influence 1, Power 3).  What's more, Brand has a job offer for the crew next turn...

 

 That was a good first game!  Number 1 son enjoyed himself, and I only occassionally had to reign him in ("No, your crew can't go driving the cargo crawler round, sorry.").  There was some jeopardy, but very bad rolling by the salvage team kept the crew safe, particularly the shell gun which missed 3 shots, the last 2 of which were at almost point-blank range!  If those had hit, they could have wiped out more than half the crew.  Thinking about it again now, I should probably have played the salvage team as being more cautious, lying in wait for the crew instead of trying to close with them. A good start though, and hopefully one that will encourage a second game.  I wonder what Nelor Brand has in mind for them?