Five Parsecs from Home: Turn 21 - Nova Cartel Underbelly

I wanted to use my magnetic, modular interior terrain. I feel a little like this quest will end on a whimper. I hope that this battle will result in some missing people being found, but I don't really know.

The entrance was unguarded. The door was easy to bypass. This would prove simple it would seem. 

Holmes led the way with Ulrich bringing up the rear. This underground facility was hopefully going to be a small one. There was, however, no useful map on the wall. 

Close range small arms fire sparked against the walls and floor. Two figures were crouching behind crates. Brenko took some fire and hit the ground while Carrick charged one of the men down, slicing him open. 

The rest of the team opened up, taking the two remaining figures down in a hail of fire.

Upon entering the next chamber two pathways opened up before the team. They decided to separate. More desperate fire came their way, but concentrated returned fire from our heroes killed and pinned down the new gunmen.

A grenade was launched, exploding close behind the crew, Ulrich and Mao dove for cover while the others felt shrapnel bounce off of their vests. 

Recovering, the crew began shooting again, taking out the two Nova Cartel men.

Taking the tab off of a corpse it became clear that there were multiple rooms where people were being kept in containers modified as cells. The team split up.

Carrick and Phillips paired up to cover one side of the complex. They would watch the backs of the others and only explore if they could. Carrick opened fire on another Nova Cartel thug, taking him down.

His fire attracted the attention of another squad who charged out of one cell area gunning Carrick down in a hail of bullets. He fell, behind cover and stayed there for the remainder.

Meanwhile Mao took point when entering another cell area. Poking his head around the corner drew fire from the guards so he ducked back into relative safety.

He and Brenko then laid down fire on the guards, killing one and sending another behind cover.

Phillips, unable to advance further, laid down some heavy defensive fire, knocking down another guard, but she still needed to remain in cover as the other guards were very much active.

Peeking round for another exchange of fire, Mao felt a very heavy hit and was knocked back, unconscious. 

Phillips was keeping her head down, while trying to delay the advance of the other thugs. It was looking dicey at times. Heavily pinned, she was going to get out flanked at some point. 

Desperate to find the missing colonists, Ulrich ran around the corner, pinning down one of the thugs.

He and Holmes then took one of the guards down and kept the other's head down. 

Brenko then stormed up to the other, cutting him in two with some close range fire. 

Breaking the containers open, a couple of bedraggled looking women stepped out. Ulrich shared a look at one and he looked back. They embraced. 

"Took your time, Ulrich" she said. 

"You have been hard to find, Tonia" Ulrich shot back with a grin. Turning to Holmes and Brenko he said "This is Tonia Wildner, we have found them.

Within a few minutes the facility had been cleared of Nova Cartel personnel and all of the missing colonists had been located. 

Mao and Carrick looked like their frag vests had saved them and would wake up with some sore ribs later, but could be carried back to The Pelican. It was time to go and reunite the colonists with Sara at Leyte Logistics, then perhaps get them off world. 

Modular Sci Fi interior part. 2

Tonight I finally got off my butt and made something. I used some green stuff and bits from my box of terrain making crap to give some character to my Hexbug stuff.

The thing, however,  is that once added, I can't un-add them. Thus I intend to leave the majority blank and just paint some details into the walls. I want them as generic as can be.

Rubble and junk in a corridor. Aliens was my inspiration but I want more scatter terrain perhaps. I am dreaming up solid pieces that I could hook onto the edges to keep in place.

 A few bits. Nothing fancy.  A ship could still land here.

Modular Sci Fi Interior pt 1.

It has finally happened. The universe has come together, the planets have aligned, and I have managed to stumble across a godsend. While browsing Facebook Marketplace at unwanted Christmas gifts and former toys who have been assigned the role of "making way for new presents" I came across a listing for Hexbugs toys for £10. Hexbugs? What the hell are those? I had never heard of them. But the image got me excited. I searched for them and found more locally and cheaper. Tonight I went over and picked up a set. £10. Take a look at my initial setup:

Those are all the hexagons. I do, however, have a bunch a corridors and other little extra bits that require further investigation. But I mean seriously?! £10 for this setup? Sign me up for more. My only problem will be finding a place to store it all.

 These miniatures are based on 1 Euro cent coins. Not ideal, but you will see my smaller bases later on. Still, Xenomorphs charging down a narrow hallway. Fetch me my brown trousers.

So here we go. I am not sure about the scale of the Falcon with these 6mm figures. But with a different sized craft these sections could reasonably double up as a landing pad. I didn't even think about checking out how they look upside-down. What isn't clear is that there are hexagon shapes on the floor which will help it look sci-fi.

Here we have the main complex that is on two levels. This is the section that made me think of the Planetside 2 Biolab, and there is a multiplayer map in Mass Effect 3 that it reminded me of also. Those small holes can be filled with those little black pegs. Those black pegs can be attached to those orange looking walls. So I feel that there could be room for this to be semi-modular in itself. The walls could also be doors. 

 The upper deck. Those orange parts open up. Functioning doors. Win.

Waiting for his quarry. The small bases look much better. Time to order another packet of teeny tiny washers.

I think this scales better, the single seater fighter craft. However, I don't know if I want the concept of single seater fighter in my universe.

A Nubian. Too small. 

My questions are, am I even going to bother painting it all up? Where am I going to keep it? Will I ever even play a game on it? Should I buy up a whole bunch more?

Starport Scum: Rhoro Tharik's first bounty.

Rhoro Tharik had had enough. Scraping a living smuggling, getting just enough to keep his ship in the sky was not how he imagined life after the corps. When approached by an old friend about collecting a bounty he jumped at the chance. Life as a bounty hunter could be a lot more dangerous than life as a smuggler, but the job seemed simple enough. A Collective sniper had been found attempting to infiltrate a Quansec mining operation and was being held on the orbital platform above the 3rd planet of the Helveka system, awaiting transport.

The Helveka system is not the most important of places and the orbital platform likely only had a basic group of security operatives, although they would probably be well armed. Rhoro and his two partners Jarek O'Neil and Flint Church (both long time smugglers) arrive at the orbital platform.

For this first game I put together my characters:

Rhoro Tharik

Traits: Lucky: 3+ to succeed on special actions.

           Veteran: +1D6 on ranged attacks.

Weapon: Raptor Pistol: +1D6  under 12 inches.

Body Armour: 2D6 saving roll.

Jarek O'Neil

Traits: Brawler, +1D6 on brawls

           Never Back Down, Does not back off in brawls.

Weapon: Shotgun/Rifle combi: +1D6 under 12 inches, knock targets back 2 inches if within 12 inches

Body Armour: 2D6 saving roll.

Flint Church

Traits: Tough SOB, ignore the first hit of the turn.

            Fast, add 1 inch to all movement.

Weapon: Assault Shotgun, -1D6 over 12 inches, +1D6 under 12 inches, roll hits for all enemy within 2 inches of target.

Body Armour: 2D6 saving roll.

They would be up against a squad of goons each with a 2D6 body armour saving roll. They are led by their sergeant, and Ace.

Trait: Inspiring Leader: -1 to fear score.

Weapon: Assault Shotgun: +1D6 under 12 inches, -1D6 over 12 inches, roll hits for all enemy within 2 inches of target.

Rhoro in his blue armour, flanked by Jarek on his right and Flint on his left (red rim).

The Quansec security forces guarding their prisoner.

The Orbital Platform, or the level that matters. It was obvious the prisoner would be kept here as this level was pretty deserted.

The Quansec guards hear the arrival and move out to check on what is happening. The random 1D6 of movement was interesting and meant that some moved further than I needed and others moved very cautiously. Unfortunately for them Rhoro and Jarek came out guns blazing, immediately dispatching one of the hapless guards.

Not wanting to be out-done, Flint runs out into the open firing his shotgun with the skill he often shows. Unscathed, the leading guard looks at his armour, wondering how he got so lucky, turning around to the sergeant he stops dead. He had never seen so many holes in a person before...

The horrible death would count against a morale roll next turn.

The Quansec guards just pass the morale test, but are now rattled. One more fail and they will give up the fight and scatter if possible. This isn't helped by Flint getting the initiative and charging in firing. Miraculously the guard who survived his last assault survives unscathed again. Not such good luck for his partner who goes down in a pool of blood, wondering how this day had turned out so bad.

Rhoro runs up behind, firing his Raptor at the guard, pinning him.

One of the Quansec guards manages to pin Jarek down from across the platform. Jarek, embarrassed scampers into cover and keeps his head down.

Quansec guards manage to pass their morale check this round, but only to get unloaded on by Rhoro, who pins the sneaky guard who was trying to flank them.

Always one to want to get close and personal, Flint charges into that guard who had escaped his shells and dispatches him with a point blank shot (brawling, but the shot seems cooler). This horrible death would be the undoing of the Quansec forces.

Hoping to play an important part, Jarek runs up and shoots the last guard out in the open, killing him. There were just two guards left, and they were at breaking point. The turn ended and the guards broke, fleeing.

With the sniper rescued, their mission was over. Now to collect the bounty.

"Wait, I don't want to return to my unit. I have...seen things...things that need to be reported", said the Sniper.

"What kind of things?" asked Rhoro.

"I will fill you in on the way out of this system."

I found these rules to be fast (40 minute game) and have a good narrative way about them. I was never worried for my heroes, but there is enough danger to make it interesting. The Goons went down very quickly, although they did have some survivability because they were wearing body armour.

Stay tuned for part 2 of Rhoro's story.

Cheap, easy terrain

Having primed the packaging, I just thought I would see what happens if I just apply my Army Painter Quickshade straight to it. I am pleased with the results. It was an experiment, that in my opinion has totally paid off. I can still highlight them with some dry brushing, and could still add some little bits and pieces. I have numbers to add, but want to include doors, ideas for which have been posted on TWW. I am also tempted to print out pictures of doors and see what happens?

 
Inspired by the Planet Ares 6 blog, I also created a modular interior. This is a 12 inch by 12 inch floor tile. I chopped it into 9 4x4 squares, reversed them and stuck card walls onto them. The walls are card folded in half to give it a bit more substance. I also used some of my 1000 tile spacers to make it a bit more interesting. Since taking these pictures they have been primed and are drying down by the front door. I hope to do some work on them tonight.