Preface
Writing the last two batreps I found that following all the action in a 300 pts game can be rather dispersive, as the narration jumps between many characters and situations of notable importance. I will try a different approach on this one, following more closely one of the characters.
This means that the dynamics of the game itself won't be as clear, so I'll briefly go over lists and what happened during the match in the last section.
Things that lurk in the dark
The night was slowly trickling forward as the Nomads soldiers passed the last of many identical docks, the rhythmic sound of the undertow counting down the peaceful hours that preceded down.
They moved silently, even Simon, who had just been patched up by Mother Agatha, didn't make any noise other than that of his slightly labored breath.
Asunción, cautiously advancing with her sisters in the dimly lit alleyways, was still thinking about the shootout in front of the Data Center. As soon as White Banner soldiers had retreated, she had ran to Nico's body to see if there was anything to be done, finding only a mass of charred flesh and bone, the Prowler suit horridly fused with skin and muscle. She had thanked the Lady of Mercy for the air filtration of her mask, as the gruesome view was already turning her stomach enough. She was about to call for Cube extraction, when Anna had appeared by her side
"I'm afraid there's nothing we can do, Lieutenant."
She looked quizzically at the inexpressive mask of the Zero, and she had immediately explained
"All Prowlers have a fast download port instead of a normal Cube. His backup is in Bear's secure hold."
She nodded, even though the thought didn't bring her any comfort, as it clearly wasn't bringing any to the girl in front of her. She had placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"Do not weep for his mortal form, dear. By the Grace of Mary his soul is saved, and, once the Mysteries of Rebirth are administered, he shall breathe again."
"Amen, Reverend Mother. But..." she hesitated "Nico jumped in front of that flamethrower to save me. And, even if he'll be resurrected, he won't be the same, won't he?" she paused, trying to find words for something that wasn't clear even in her mind. After a moment, she gave up, her shoulders slumped "I don't know... this just feels so wrong."
Her voice was so full of pain, and doubt... and so young. Guilt weighted on Asunción, just as it had on Raveneye Station every time one of her subordinates didn't come back from a mission. Veterans in her platoon were painfully few, and many of 404's soldiers had never seen real war.
A sudden noise brought her back to the present: a droning wail of alarm was rising from somewhere in front of them. They were practically out of the city, and, beyond the blocky forms of the buildings, the grass on the hills shimmered softly in the dim light of the stars. A small, lone ship slowly rocked back and forth in one last dock to her left. The local network was instead feverishly activating emergency protocols, and, as she gave the order to duck and cover over comms, two automatic gun emplacements emerged from hatches in the road, pointing at the sea.
This looked like some anti-intrusion security measure; had they tripped a sensor of some kind on their way back? Then, an incoming message in a military encrypted channel started blinking on her interface.
"Didn't know the Jurisdictional Command sent more people here. What's your ID?" Addressed her a coarse, male voice.
"Independent Platoon 404, we are retreating from our AO. Who are you? What's going on here?"
"Kaj, Prowler unit. Solo recog mission. You chose quite the time to arrive, four-o'-four."
"Well, I don't think my men were the ones to trigger this security system."
"And you're correct. Small Combined Army force just emerged from the sea like fishmen from an old horror holomovie, network lighted up like a Christmas tree soon after. I already called Command, but these slimy bastards are gonna be long gone before anyone has time to arrive."
"Combined Army? What are they even doing here?" After a moment of disbelief, she managed to regain her composure "Well, our mission objective hasn't changed. We need to disable the security systems to get back to base camp; let's make sure to kick some aliens back into the depths while we are at it. Kaj, you'll be under my command for the time being."
"Yes ma'am. I located the security control node, fifteen meters ahead of you. I'm there, but for now I can't put my nose out of active camo, turrets and a nasty looking drone are looking this way."
"Roger. We'll clear you a path." She opened up her tactical display, signalling the other units the presence of alien forces, and marking their objective. Emily, the blonde morlock with deep brown skin, took position ahead of them, covering the first turret's line of fire with a smoke grenade.
The three Reverends of the Observance, Asunción, Horqueta and Adeline, advanced under the cover of the cloud, dark and ominous looking in the almost complete darkness of the street. In the distance, explosions and gunshots started to resonate from their right, where the rest of the Nomad force started to engage with the enemy. The Moira peeked from the smoke, getting sights on the crooked form of a bio-mechanical remote surveying the area. Before the unsightly thing could spot her, she squeezed the trigger, filling the air with the bright lines of tracer rounds. When the roar of the machine gun stopped, the alien construct was reduced to a collection of scattered pieces and organic matter.
Satisfied, she gave the team the green light to advance further, and they lined up against the perimeter of the dock, a simple but sturdy concrete wall where the scientist from the Data Center, Amber, had run to hide as soon as the alarm started blaring. From there, Asunción fired forward two repeaters from her pitcher; despite the poor visibility, they both stuck the landing and activated, their little green lights barely visible across the street. She started fiddling with her hacking device to scan their surroundings, while Horqueta rested her still smoking HMG on a shoulder.
"Combined Army, seriously?" she muttered "The random yujingese patrol wasn't enough for an evening? No, let's find ourselves some aliens, sure."
Asunciòn didn't answer, her mind lost in the task at hand.
"Such is the will of our Lady, dear sister." replied instead the thin voice of Adeline. Her lips, the only feature of her face visible from under the Cenobite helmet, almost appeared to tremble, she didn't know whether in fear or anticipation.
Then, two access points blinked on her screen: one security turret, and one alien signature. From her experience on the front on Paradiso, she recognized the data structure to be that of an Umbra Operative. She shivered from half buried memories, while her fingers assembled a Carbonite routine almost on reflex. She uploaded it just as the enemy became aware of her presence, and, before he could ready an offensive of his own, he was contending with the aggressive shutdown of all his hardware interfaces. While the alien was busy, she turned her attention to the turret, trying to corrupt its IFF targeting matrix.
She quickly realized that the system had been co-opted by Brutus, and that the AI was actively opposing her efforts. Not even five seconds had passed before the Umbra had regained control of his network, while she was still struggling for control of the defensive battery. A part of her mind marvelled at the speed at which the other hacker had re-established his defences; could it be that he was...? No, impossible, the Kai'l rank Samaritan, Nourkias, was fighting on Paradiso, right?
"Looked like you needed a hand there, ma'am. Go ahead with the turret, I'll keep an eye out for any more creeps on the local net."
"Thanks Kaj, Brutus is really making things difficult on this end."
"I think I have a good shot on that drone you were talking about." Intervened Anna on the audio channel. Her position was marked beside the keel of the boat, where she laid prone on the low surface of the wharf, with her legs still floating in the dark water.
"Negative, Anna, turret has visual on you, don't drop camouflage." Quickly responded Asunción
"I'll fire a quick burst and dive back underwater, don't worry Lt."
"Wait...!" The sound of gunshots echoed in the darkness, and immediately the automatic battery rotated in place, acquiring a target. The Q-Drone also reacted fast, dashing away from danger on its arachnoid legs, while the Zero stood in place for a moment too long, the streak of high calibre bullets catching her while she slid backwards. She screamed, flailing her arms when the momentum of the shots pushed her away, and weakly tried to dive down, blood clouding the water around her. Vitals immediately began dropping, with water filling the punctured suit and increasing the bleeding rate.
"We need to get to her at once! We'll have to turn this thing off the old fashioned way." The Custodier closed all the programs on her interface with a slightly shaking hand, signalling the PanOceanian scientist that they were about to move. The woman was coming with them to base camp, no matter how many aliens they had to fight to get there. Horqueta nodded, and rushed past the corner of the wall, where the turret had come alive once again, shooting something moving near a building on their right. The mangled body of a shasvastii laid in a pool of ichor near a detonated mine, and the Moira, loudly thanking the alien for the diversion, fired the electromagnetic pulse of her zapper right into the machinery. The thing started vibrating and sparking, and a wisp of smoke rose from the base, where all circuitry had fried.
"Let's move! Adeline get Anna, Horqueta suppress that drone!"
They dashed out of cover, the deafening roar of the HMG once again filling the night. The Q-Drone was nestled behind a food stall, and immediately started returning fire, but the Moira's cloaking systems proved to be effective: all the shots bounced harmlessly on the nearby containers, while one of her bullets found purchase, smashing the faceplate of the remote, that immediately collapsed to the ground.
"And that makes five in a night! I'm the bane of all REMs in the galaxy!" she laughed, pouring more bullets into the broken form on the ground. A worm-like creature scuttled away, scared, and another shadow moved behind a nearby building. Without releasing the trigger, Horqueta directed there the stream of fire, but the dark form of the Umbra disappeared before the corner exploded in a cloud of rubble.
Adeline, that had briefly waded into the water, emerged then with Anna's body on her broad shoulder, and she carefully placed it behind a container, where they regrouped. While Horqueta was disabling an alien antenna that Kaj had signalled landing near his hiding position, Asunción quickly examined the Zero's wounds, administering emergency care. She would live, barely.
"Path is clear, I'm moving on the objective." Drily informed them the Prowler "Glad to hear you ladies are having fun." He immediately started working on the console, trying to purge Brutus from the local network. Just a few seconds had passed when, without warning, something rained down at his feet: a small metal sphere, no bigger than a tennis ball, unfurled before him in what looked like some sort of artificial alien flower. Or antenna.
"Shit, repeater!" he managed to shout, desperately raising his quantronic shields. One moment later, like a puppet with its strings cut, the Prowler suddenly dropped to the ground. On a roof in the distance, the air shimmered, revealing an imposing form with long, lashing tendrils. Asunción tumbled back, covered in cold sweat, the estimated threat range of the repeater projected on her retina arriving just a few centimetres short of her feet.
An Anathematic, a monstrous and cunning shard of the EI. What were they supposed to do against that?
Running out from the building on their right with a scream, Emily broke them out of their horrified shock, jumping violently on top of the antenna and smashing it to the ground. Horqueta gave a nervous laugh, and looked out from behind the container to see the Aspect in the distance. Its form was broken and confused, as if the light around him had been churning and twisting. She fired a long burst into the roof of the building, but, with an almost bored motion, the monster nimbly jumped down and out of sight before the tiled ceiling was reduced to shreds.
More sounds of gunfight came from the streets ahead, their forces advancing on the Aspect from the opposite flank. Asunción signalled them caution, as some casualties had begun scrolling on her feed: Freya, their Chimera, was badly wounded, and her pupniks were wandering about, lost and confused, while Clara's vitals had just suddenly dropped, her last known position dangerously near to the Anathematic's.
"We have to advance past them, to get out as soon as we get a hold of the defensive systems. I need someone on that control panel, while we escort the Patricius scientist."
"Oh, I can do it!" answered her the joyful voice of Robin Hook, her lithe l-host jumping down from a roof on their right. She moved with cheerful, prancing pace, despite the blackened scorch marks on her artificial skin and the huge YuJingese machine gun slung across her back - clearly a souvenir of their last battle. She quickly reached the console, just stopping to place a mine with a smiley face drawn on top, and to crush a squirming seed embryo under her heel, where the Caliban had fallen some minutes earlier. She gave a wide smile to the few Nomads assembled there, and connected one of her data links to the screen.
"Very well" continued Asunción "Adeline and Emily, cover Robin. Horqueta and I will advance to free up an exit route when the security is down."
Adeline nodded solemnly, and the three Reverends split up. The Custodier and the Moira ran down the now empty street, closely followed by miss Hawkins that clumsily tried to keep their pace. The road, covered by the scattered remains of Combined Army remotes, ran parallel to the pier up to a long, flat storage building, beyond which more automated security measures had been deployed.
On the side of the road, hidden from their view up to that point, a woman in blue work overalls stood motionless, apparently unfazed from the destruction around her. She looked like a docks technician, but it was clear something was wrong. When they came closer, her vacant and empty stare confirmed their worst suspicions.
Shaking her head, Horqueta gently took the Sepsitor victim by the arm, and they moved to the corner of the construction, hiding in the shadows. Soon the mind-altering effects of the alien weapon would fully kick in, and she would become a true enemy of humanity, but for now she was catatonic and unresponsive. They would get her to Bureau Aegis, to be interned in one of their structures, waiting for a cure to be found, if such a thing even existed.
Now, it was all in Robin's hands.
Emily, that was watching down the street to the right, shouted a cry of alarm, lobbing a smoke grenade to cover the road. Before the blinding curtain could rise fully, scorching blasts of plasma from the Anathematic's gun rained on them, catching Robin by surprise. Her green cape caught fire in the dreadful heat, and her skin seethed and smoked, but the android stood her ground, never interrupting the connection with the control panel. Then, a dark form rushed out of the smoke: red, burning eyes fixed on them and blade drawn, Nourkias leapt on the Morlock. The close quarters fight was short and brutal, and, despite Emily managing to parry the first lunge, soon the vicious blade found her leg, and, in the brief moment when pain staggered her, the Umbra slashed her throat with his left claw.
However, the surrounding troops didn't just stand there and watch: with a prayer on her lips, Adeline pointed her chain rifle and blasted the alien as he was closing the distance, and from inside the building Simon, that had stayed put for the duration of the battle due to his wound, let loose a shot with his combi rifle. Both impacted on the dark form, apparently doing nothing more than slowing his momentum.
His hand dripping with blood, Nourkias raised his head.
And, aiming over the console with her crossbow, Robin shot him between the eyes.
Just as he fell backwards, the security system finally rebooted, momentarily freed from Brutus. Turrets, cameras and remotes suddenly started transmitting friendly IFFs, while continuing to regard the alien soldiers as hostile. Behind the smokescreen, they heard more shooting, while the Combined Army forces began their retreat. Mother Wabara immediately ran to Emily's side, medikit in hand.
However, where the body of Nourkias had fallen, they found only a trail of ichor leading to a manhole nearby.
Short Version
- Mission is Blockade Runner, CA wins the initiative roll and chooses deployment, Bakunin takes first turn. Notably, Robin Hook rolls an HMG on booty. Master Breachers are Nourkias and Robin Hook.
- Bakunin Deployment: Zeroes cordon off the middle line with mines, and the prowler hides on the left side of the console. Wabara - HRL Cenobite - Orphan Haris goes on the right, with Assault Pistol Morlock, Chimera and Robin Hook. Custodier - Moira - Cenobite Core goes on the left with the other Morlock and the Warcor.
- CA Deployment: Anathematic is prone on a roof on the left, behind him are hidden the Missile Drone and Doctor Worm. Further ahead, the area is guarded by a Q-drone, Nourkias hidden on a roof, a R-Drone and a slave drone. Right flank is held by Bit&Kiss, a Thaiga, Ikadron and the other R-Drone. The Caliban is near the console, and the Liberto is forward on the left. Imetrons both fail the landing, and get tucked on the left edge.
- Top of turn 1: Impetuous troops move forward laying smoke, and the chimera hides on a rooftop. One of the R-Drones tanks a salvo from Cenobite's HRL and robin's HMG, while the Moira downs the other Flash Pulse remote. Pitchers are thrown forward, and Nourkias is immobilized, but manages to reset while the Custodier fails her Total Control on the turret. Nourkias then takes a wound from the KHD prowler, and gutses out of the repeater. Prowlers re-camouflages, and another Total Control on the turret fails. A zero tries to surprise shot the Q-Drone with his last order, but fails to kill it and dies to the turret.
- Bottom of turn 1: Kiss launches pitchers forward, chimera is targeted, resets and tanks the missile, is targeted again, resets again but the missile takes her to unconscious. Nourkias is then healed by a slave drone and Total Controls the second turret. The Liberto triggers a mine, and dies to the ARO of the Cenobite trying to dodge. Similarly, the Caliban encounters the other mine, dodges the Moira's ARO, but dies to the turret. Anathematic re-camos, and the Q-drone shoots at a repeater and the Warcor, but fails against both. Kiss reloads from the Ikadron, that later moves forward. The Thaiga charges ahead, dodging the first round of AROs, but then dies to Robin's tac bow and rockets on the final approach.
- Top of turn 2: All impetuous orders are cancelled because of the turrets. Total Control fails again, so the Custodier gives up and syncs the friendly HVT, while the Moira zappers the first turret; the second one is taken on by Robin's ParaCCW(-9) inside a smoke grenade. Finally free to advance, the Moira HMG kills the Q-Drone, and then tries a discover against the Anathematic, but fails. Nourkias is the next target, but he manages to dodge out of sight. Robin flanks him from the opposite side, but misses all shots in his back except one, and he goes in NWI. The prowler moves on the console, after the Moira and the Assault Pistol Morlock wreck both repeaters.
- Bottom of turn 2: Kiss tosses pitchers again, and one misses, but is then replaced by Bit's. Quadrinity from the Anathematic puts the prowler unconscious, then spotlight fails on Robin twice. Nourkias is again healed, and goes into Cybermask (we forgot the Master Breacher exception). The Ikadron advances to threaten with its flamethrowers, and the Anathematic re-camouflages.
- Top of turn 3: Assault Pistol Morlock kills the Ikadron in his impetuos activation and tanks the LFT save, he then advances to kill Kiss and template Doctor Worm and the Missile Bot. Nearby Nourkias stays in marker state, while both targets shoot back. The Chain Rifle kills the doctor, and the Morlock survives. The other Morlock destroys the repeater near the console, and Robin shows up to coup de grace the Caliban, and then place a mine while reaching the console. The Cenobite joins her on the objective, while the Moira discover+shoots the Anathematic, that manages to dodge and then guts out of sight unharmed. The Moira-Custodier duo then brings both HVTs in a hidden nook of CA's deployment zone.
- Bottom of turn 3: Nourkias moves forward, but gets discovered in the middle of a road, in sight of four models. The Anathematic comes to his help, killing the Assault Pistol Morlock in two orders, and then moving to shoot the enemies near the console. His roll however is beaten by a smoke grenade, and Robin, splashed by the plasma template, tanks all 4 saves without suffering wounds. Nourkias is now free to move, and eats the last Morlock, but dies to the Cenobite's Chain Rifle, a combi shot from a Zero and Robin's bow.
- Conclusion: Bakunin scores 3 turns of Console control +4 for HVT in deployment +1 for Extreme Prejudice +1 for HVT Kidnapping = 9 to CA's 1 for the Spotlight classified.
Thanks for reading!
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