Campaign Turn 8 - Hesione

 The Crew met in the lounge of the Renegade Pigeon.

"I don't think we should make waves.  Forget it happened, keep our money, and don't make waves."  Jaxx said.

"But what they did - it was terrible.  And what the Converted could have done with it..."  Kazi shuddered at the thought.

The crew all exchanged glances.  Vonthos spoke up.  "I know a contact with Associated Solutions.  I think we give them the evidence and let them deal with it.  We won't make the waves, just give them the ability to."

"Any objections?" Jaxx replied.  "This could get ugly."

"When is life in the Fringe ever not ugly?" Selene quipped.

...

"Why did your contact have us meet him here?" Jaxx asked Vonthos.  "Dunno - he felt it was out of the way.  Safe from prying eyes." 

The crew landed the Speckled Jim just outside an old mining building.  The lingering pollution had stunted and killed the local trees, and an odor of burning was in the air.  They exited the shuttle, and started to head towards the rendevous point when a shot, from a sniper rifle, struck the hull of the shuttle.

A voice rang out over a loudspeaker "You should know better than to try to betray Austol Keast, friends.  You and your 'contact' will share a shallow grave together."

Gazing around, Selene called out "Rage Lizard Mercs.  Damn it!  And is that a K'Erin with them?  They're allies now?"

"I have two words for them, and they ain't 'I surrender'" Jaxx replied.  "Blow them to hell."  In his mind, he was both glad that he had left Kazi behind, and worried that she would be a target while they were away.

Miak and Selene slipped around the front corner of the shuttle, keeping to cover, and opened fire.  Miak's Rattle Gun stunned one of the merc snipers, allowing Selen's Shell Gun to blow him off the roof, and the concussion shook the other sniper.  Vilem and Jaxx made a dash across the battlefield so they were not all bunched together, and Vilem chugged one of the vials of combat serum they had found in the outpost.

The remaining sniper, even though stunned, was able to get a shot off, ricocheting off of the hull of the Jim, debris flying into Miak's face, stunning him.  The other mercs and the K'Erin moved up - their weapons unable to target the team at range.

Ginerva and Vonthos moved up around the back of the shuttle, Ginerva getting a shot off with her fury rifle, landing a lucky shot and killing one of the mercs.

Selene and Miak swap positions, each getting their shots off.  Selene stuns the sniper again, and Miak takes a shot at one of the advancing mercs, killing them.  Villem moves up to better cover.

The sniper takes a shot at Jaxx, out in the open, but misses him.  Another merc, finally in range, gets a shot off on Selene, stunning her.  The rest of the Crew move to try to get better positions against the mercs.

And the dang K'Erin keeps advancing, waving his machine pistol and ripper sword, screaming war cries.

Miak continues his barrage, stunning one merc, and causing him to stagger into the open.  Selene follows up with a grenade, which detonated square in his chestplate, blowing him into a fine mist.  Jaxx' laser shoots true, killing another merc.

The last mercs - the remaining sniper, being a professional, refuses to flee the battlefield.  Or is he more scared of Austol than of the Crew?

Selene lobs a grenade at the last merc, solving his problems forever.  Villem, Ginerva and Vonthos move out in the open, all opening fire at the K'Erin simulaneusly.  While they will argue endlessly on who got the killing shot, based on the wounds, Ginerva's Fury Rifle was the victor.

The crew investigated the grounds, finding their contact tied up in a small room, along with shovels and body bags.  They freed him, and gave him the information.  In return, he paid them 9 Credits, and thanked them profusely, offering them the promise of future work.

Returning to the ship, the crew was met by Ginerva, white-faced, who played them a message from Austol.  "You chose poorly."  As she played that, a group of men in business suits approached, and identified themselves as agents of the planetary tax authority, demanding payment of taxes owed - a whopping 6 Credits.

If Austol was going to play those games, Jaxx thought, then it might be time to find greener pastures.

Campaign Turn Steps

Step 1

1.  Flee Invasion - No Invasion

2.  Decide whether to travel - No Travel

3.  Starship travel event - N/A

4.  New world arrival steps - N/A

Step 2

1.  Upkeep and ship repairs. 2 CR.  Decide to pay off ship in its entirety 7 CR  It's ours!

2.  Assign and resolve crew tasks

Jaxx - Attempt to fix camo cloak - fail

Kazi - Attempt to fix Hunting Rifle - success

Selene - Train

Villem - Trade - Tourist garbage, but gained story point

Miak - Explore - Met an alien merchant.  Traded a broken Rifle for a Fury Rifle.  Why would the strange alien want to make that trade?

Vonthos - Explore - I know a good deal when I see one!  Was able to trade for a Plasma Rifle

Ginerva - Trade - uses her empathic ability to realize that the merchant was trying to scam her, so she tweaked the situation and instead scored a cargo crate worth 3 CR

3.  Determine Job Offers

PATRON - Corporate - Danger Pay +3, reroll take highest.  This or next turn.  Associated Solutions

Deployment Condition - none

Notable Sight - Documentation: Gain a Quest Rumor.

FIGHT OFF

Hired Muscle - 6! Rage Lizard Mercenaries.  If within 1" of terrain, gain +1 Brawl.  Numbers +0; Panic 1-2, Mv 4"; Combat +1; Toughness 5; AI T; Weapons 3B

Blast Rifles - Range 16"; Shots 1; Damage 1

Marksman's Rifle - Range 36"; Shots 1; Damage 0; HEAVY

Specialists have Marksman's Rifle

And a freaking Unique Individual - K'Erin Warrior MV 5 Combat +2; Toughness 5; AI Aggressive; Luck 1; Machine Pistol; Ripper Sword

Machine Pistol - Range 8"; Shots 2; Damage 0; PISTOL/FOCUSED

RIpper Sword - Range B; Shots -; Damage 1; MELEE

Tactical and Defensive enemies set up divided evenly among 3 “teams”. Teams are placed 8” apart. Team members should be 1-2” apart, depending on terrain.

• Tactical enemies will advance at half speed, always retaining Cover where possible. They will cross open ground at full speed, if needed.

• They will attempt to close to within 12” of their opponents, then will move to outflank and get clear Line of Sight where possible.

• If within one move and possessing higher combat skill, they will enter a brawl; otherwise they will fire.

• If they have a clear shot and are in Cover, they will remain in place to Aim.

• Tactical enemies will attempt to remain within 3” of a friendly figure whenever possible.

Aggressive enemies with opponents in sight will advance at least half a move towards them, attempting to remain in Cover if possible.

• Enemies that are unable to see any opposition, or which are within 12”, will advance as fast as possible towards the nearest opponent, attempting to enter into a Brawl.

• They will not enter a Brawl with an opponent that has higher Combat Skill.

• Heavy weapon figures will not move if they have a Line of Sight to a target.

AIM

If a character is not Stunned and does not Move, they can Aim their shots more accurately. When using an Aimed shot, pick up any 1s on the To Hit dice and roll them again once.

4.  Assign Equipment 
5.  Resolve Rumors: N/A
6.  Choose Battle  

Readying for Battle -  

1.  Deployment Condition None
2.  Notable Sight - Documentation - Gain Quest CLue
3.  FIGHT OFF
4.  Hired Muscle - 

Rage Lizard Mercenaries.  If within 1" of terrain, gain +1 Brawl.  Numbers +0; Panic 1-2, Mv 4"; Combat +1; Toughness 5; AI T; Weapons 3B

Handguns; Auto Rifle

4.  Set up the battlefield 

 ---

Fight!

Seize The Initiative - No

Turn 1

Villem takes combat serum.

Miak moves under cover by the front of the Speckled Jim, and fires, stunning one of the snipers

Selene also moves, still under cover, and fires her Shell Gun, killing the sniper and stunning the other.

The marksman, even though stunned, gets a lucky shot off, stunning Miak.

The rest move up as they are out of range.

Ginerva moves up, gets a shot across the battlefield with her Fury Rifle, killing one of the Rage Lizards.  Villem and Jaxx dash across the open, trying to get to better cover with room to maneuver.

Turn 2

Selene hops in front of Miak, still under cover, and fires, stunning the remaining sniper

Miak gets clear, and takes shot at one of the regular Rage Lizards, killing them.

Villam moves to better cover

SNiper shoots at Jaxx, missing him.

One merc gets a shot at Selene, stunning her.

Ginerva, Vonthos and Jaxx move

Turn 3

Miak shoots and stuns one merc, knocking him into the open.

Selene fires a shell at him, killing him.

Jaxx takes careful aim, killing one of the mercs.

Turn 4

Selene fires a shell, finally taking out the other rooftop sniper

Villem, Ginerva and Vonthos move out of cover to confront the K'Erin, and blow him to pieces.  Ginny' shot was the killing blow.

We Held The Field.

Post-Battle Steps

1.  Resolve Rival Status  -  No

2.  Resolve Patron Status  -  Successful, but [story mod] gain  Rival - Austol Keast, Wealthy Individual

3.  Quest Progress  - N/A

4.  Get Paid - 9 Cr plus Quest Clue

5.  Battlefield Finds: -  Found Debris worth 3 Cr

6.  Check for Invasion: N/A 

7  Gather the Loot:   Found a stinking Scrap Pistol on the K'Erin

8.  Injuries and Recovery: -  No injuries

9.  Experience:  Selene and Ginerva gain 4 XP; others gain 3 XP

10.  Invest in Advanced Training: N/A

11.  Purchase Items:  Sell Scrap Pistol, Colony Rifle and Hunting Rifle for 3 Cr

12.  Campaign Event:  The Tax Man Cometh, collecting 6 CR.  Dang It

13.  Character Event: - Ginerva - Had a lot of time to burn.  Next turn, may perform an additional action.

14.  Galactic War Progress: N/A