Five Parsecs from Home: Campaign Turn 4

    A new planet and a new crew member for the Inconceivable - my Five Parsecs from Home force

Captain's Log

Ship's Log, Interstellar Yacht Inconceivable, Capt. Alistair Valentine recording. On some flights, the asteroids and space junk keep showing up in your path. Every space pilot knows how it is. I knew when I received the urgent call from the Varx Ambassador, it wasn't good news. Apparently, for his role in our probe of the Planetary Militia base, his diplomatic credentials had been revoked by Taxore. When Gunny walked in on the call, with his communicator in his hand and shaking his head, I had a feeling it was going to be one of those "flights." Apparently, the commander of the Galactic Marines on the planet said he would no longer use us for jobs. More space junk. Doc buzzed at the door, and I called for him to enter. He asked if we'd seen the local town's news broadcast. The Planetary Militia were calling for our arrest and trial for murder. All members of the militia were advised to apprehend or shoot us on sight. Another asteroid in our path!

"Gentlemen," I told them. "It's time for us to leave this planet. Gunny, call the capital's spaceport. Tell them we are returning there to protest our treatment. If they want to arrest us, they can do it when we touch down." Both Gunny and Doc remained standing. Gunny coughed, and asked if we were just giving up. "Doc - prepare the Inconceivable for interstellar flight.  We're leaving this town's spaceport all right, but we are NOT going to the capital. We're leaving the planet!" Gunny grinned and left, followed by Doc. The ambassador's voice came through, apologizing for not protecting us like he'd promised. "My friend," I replied, "I am so sorry for what happened to you and your posting here. We will meet again. Stay safe..."

Gunny's message to the Taxorean officials must have been convincing. They were caught flat-footed when, after lift-off and turning in the direction of the capital, we instead accelerated upwards, and out of the atmosphere. The planetary defenses had been given no directions and thought we were just another ship leaving the spaceport. Once out of range of their weapons, I throttled up. "Let's see what the Inconceivable can do!" I shouted to my crew. Of course, SAS B61 replied, "It will be hard to imagine or conceive of this vessel's capabilities..." Zorina chuckled, while Gunny buried his face in his palm. I called out to Doc. "You okay, leaving Taxore? I know how much you loved the people." Doc turned and replied that, apparently, the feelings were not mutual. He would remain with the crew where he knew his service was valued.

I set course for the Dichelles system. Doc noticed and said, "Have we begun the quest, then? For the lost treasure of Amazonas Galacticus?" All the crew turned to face me. I explained that of the many accounts I had read, the data stick purporting to show the treasure ship's route, and the tablet that Gunny had picked up in the market on Taxore, all agree on one thing. The treasure ship AirHart stopped in the Dichelles system sometime before disappearing. We'd begin there. Someone on the planet had to know something. Doc replied, "It's been 20 years since its disappearance, though..." I nodded and said it was the best place to start.

A few days later, Doc was at the Engineering Console when he swiveled his chair to face me. "Captain, I am detecting a strange object 33 degrees to our port. It's trajectory is unusual - it is not part of this system, not in any kind of orbit around the major masses." I called Gunny to the deck, and Cephvarx Hul, too. Doc continued, "It is on a straight course out of the system and appears to be metallic in nature. There are no transmissions, so it is not a probe. There is a faint energy signature, though."

 

Gunny was strapping himself in, "Could it be a projectile -- a weapon -- fired by a ship that missed its target?"

Doc examined the readouts he was receiving. "It could be, but it would be a very large one. More likely a piece of debris from a destroyed vessel with some latent energy or battery source."

"An escape pod?" Zorina asked. Doc nodded and said that was his best guess, too. Perhaps the transmission array had been damaged. The energy signature meant there could be life aboard. Gunny called over that it could be a trap. Doc said if it was a trap, the transmissions would be repeating to encourage us to investigate. Had he not been actively scanning the unfamiliar system and its objects, the Inconceivable would never have detected it. 

Doc proved to be right. It was an escape pod, damaged, but operating on minimal power. As I maneuvered the ship to capture the pod and dock with it, Gunny called to the security droid to accompany him "Low velocity pellets," he ordered. The droid replied that compared to beam weapons, weren't all pellets are low velocity? Gunny growled, "I guess that's what I get for reminding you about your job...!" A short time later, Gunny's voice called over the intercom. "One survivor - he is in some sort of escape pod-induced hibernation. According to the log, he's been out here a loooong time. 20 years.

Doc's head swiveled towards me. "Twenty? Well, I'll be damned," I chuckled. "Finally, something in our path that's not space junk!"

 

    The newest crew member of the Inconceivable from a Stargrave Mercenaries plastic kit

Security Officer's Log

Ship's log, supplemental entry, Security Officer Gunny McBride recording. Our rescued passenger's name is Seon Vogalia, and boy does he have a story to tell! He is an Engineering Crewman from the Starship Bellerophon...or was, I should say. According to his tale, he was awoken from sleep by the ship's alarms. By the time he was dressed and in the corridor, his captain's voice came over the intercom advising all crew to report to an escape pod immediately. When Mr. Vogalia arrived, he was the first to enter. He waited, but no one else came -- the corridors were empty. He claims the escape pod was remotely closed up and ejected just as the ship exploded. 

That part seems to check out. Our passenger did seem surprised when he got a good look at his escape pod in the cargo bay. "Tanj," he shouted, "How did...?" You survive? I finished for him. Yep, the pod was extensively damaged, and Vogalia did some impressive work to reroute power systems and get one hibernation capsule working. He added, "I didn't know if the ship was destroyed by something hostile, so I shut off all of the transmissions. I set the capsule to wake me in 6 months," he said. I laughed. His confusion seemed honest, so I took pity on the castaway.

"You set it for six hundred months, Mr. Vogalia." His red-skinned face registered shock and disbelief. I could see him making the calculations. "No, you have not been asleep for 50 years. It has been 20, though." The bewildered castaway ran his hands through his white hair. I gave him a few minutes to process the news. I had done by background research before the interview. The Bellerophon had indeed been destroyed 20 years ago.

"Tanj...Tanj..."he muttered. He was either a good actor, or his shock fit for someone who just realized he'd overslept by 20 years.

"You would still be sleeping if our engineer hadn't spotted the pod's trajectory and felt it was unusual for an object in this stellar system. He's examined your escape pod and said you did a good job reconfiguring its systems. It might have lasted those 50 years you programmed despite its damage and minimal power." His eyes locked on Gunny's, sensing whatever was said next would likely decide his fate. "We are on our way to the Dichelles system. The Bellerophon was there before your final voyage. Do you have friends or family there...?" His face sank and his shoulders slumped. He shook his head negative. "Our engineer and captain seem impressed with your skills. They want me to offer you a spot on the crew of our ship, Inconceivable." He sat up straighter in response, his face hopeful. "However....I'm the security officer and second in command. If I say 'No,' the captain will back me. We'll deposit you at the spaceport. So, tell me, what should I know about you? We've done all the computer searches on every star crew database. If you leave anything out, I'm going to lock you back in your pod and you can ride in there until we reach Dichelles." 

Seon was truthful, if a tad defensive about his history. He had been brought up on the isolationist star base Dizabos Alpha. That's where he learned his engineering and systems skills. He was a bit of a rebel, though. Constantly questioning the administrators of the starbase. Eventually, he was told to get lost and took passage on a resupply ship. He worked his way up on various planets, eventually qualifying as engineering crew on a starliner. He kept jumping planets because he had a knack for getting in trouble with local authorities. Believe me, I've known many a Galactic Marine with a similar story. So, I'll cut him some slack. I just hope he doesn't have any enemies on Dichelles. He actually did part of his training on there, and it was a coincidence, I suppose, that it was also on of his last stops on the Bellerophon before it was destroyed. That, incidentally, still remains a mystery. Alistair thinks its fate is somehow tied up with the treasure ship AirHart. He's champing at the bit to pick Seon's brain.

So, concluding this log entry security officer Gunny McBridge recommends that Seon Vogalia be herewith added to the Inconceivable's crew. McBride out... 

    I dug out my snow ground cloth to set up the terrain for my 4th mission in Five Parsecs from Home

The Game

"It's freezing out here," Gunny griped as he trudged through the snow, "maybe we should have stayed on Taxore!" The six regular crew of the Inconceivable made non-committal sounds through the layers of clothing they had wrapped around themselves to protect their skin from the bitter wind. Only Doc Mecrocius in his sealed environmental suit and SAS B61 seemed unaffected. The security droid chirped that Gunny was correct. The temperature inside the prison cells on Taxore would have been much more comfortable than the snow-blasted plains of Dichelles 4! 

    The enemy I rolled to face in my 4th mission - Criminal "Gangers" (using post-apocalyptic raiders)

The crew were out in the winter weather doing a favor for the exasperated spaceport administrator. After Alistair had complained about the three hours it had to wait for a shuttle to bring them from their ship to the spaceport's main buildings, the administrator admitted most of his drivers were on strike. Several shuttles had been ambushed and robbed in the last few months by local criminals. Finding a driver willing to risk crossing the spaceport's sprawling and isolated, snow-covered grounds was becoming more and more difficult.

    Capt. Alistair leads his fire team, Zorina and SAS B61, onto the snow-covered fields of Dichelles 4

"We can take care of that problem for you...for the proper compensation," Alistair suggested. The administrator let out a huge sigh, shuffling through mounds of paperwork on his desk. He muttered it violated union contracts, was highly irregular, would likely get him in trouble on his tri-annual inspection, but if they would investigate the shuttle route, how much would they charge him for it? After some haggling, a price was agreed upon. The administrator gave them a map of the shuttle route, ambush spots, and places were the security cameras had been disabled by the criminals. If the crew would install new cameras or fix the old ones, and patrol the entire route, he would see that they would be paid. And the docking charges for the Inconceivable maybe could be waived if they apprehended or otherwise got rid of the criminals responsible. The crew returned to their ship to gear up and find winter clothing for their patrol across the spaceport's grounds.

    Gunny McBride, right, leads Cephvarx Hul and Doc Mercrosus as his fire team in this mission

Later, after hours of trudging through the snow, Gunny barked, "Look sharp. We are approaching where most of the ambushes happened. Hopefully, us being on foot and not in a shuttle will catch them napping." The shuttle route looped around three patches of woods, where the enemy might be hiding if they were anywhere along the route. At each big curve, barricades protecting the small monitor towers that watched the route (and whose cameras they had been fixing or replacing). Piles of rock or boulders peeked out of the snow here and there. Gunny motioned Doc and Cephvarx Hul with him to the right of the road, while Alistair led Zorina and SAS B61 to the left. The plan was to probe through the woods. If they came in sight of the enemy, the crew would attempt to engage them at as long of range as possible. With Gunny's military rifle and Alistair and Doc's colony rifles, they could hopefully stay out of enemy range.

    Zorina & SAS B61 probe ahead into the wintry woods while Alistair follows up behind

When I rolled up this encounter, the enemy was Criminal Elements: Gangers. Even with their bonuses to numbers, I ended up facing only four against my crew's six. They were armed with scrap pistols and one specialist had a shotgun. They were supposed to be "Aggressive" A.I., but I knew that would lead to a slaughter. According to the rules, they would charge across the table and be gunned down at range by my crew. Plus, I'd rolled up "slippery" (thus, my snow game cloth), so they'd be slowed down 1" per move. Instead, I decided to give the poor criminals a chance and change the deployment. I would roll randomly to see where the enemy figures were located once I had a crew member within 12" of an entire a woods area. A "1" would in the woods closest to where we deployed, "2-3" in woods on our right, and "4-6" in far woods on the left. They ended up in the furthest woods.

    Gunny's team moves to the trees, searching for the criminals who have been ambushing shuttles

Once the crew came within 12" and "spotted" them, according to my modifications, the Gangers would move to within their 12" range if they needed to and begin firing from cover. I felt having them dashing out into the snow would be suicide, so I modified their A.I. to give them a fighting a chance. I used my post-apocalyptic raiders gang as the enemy figures ("Space Cannibals" from Battle Valor Games).

    The gangers are revealed as Alistair and his crew reach the edge of the woods and enters within 12"

Still, my crew did not "know" the new A.I. or their location, so hugged the cover as we advanced onto the board. Alistair's fire team on the left dashed through the snow to a rocky outcrop, then into the woods. Gunny's fire team split themselves between the barricades another rocky outcrop. When no enemy appeared, they dashed forward, careful of their footing in the snow, until they reached the beginning of the woods on the right.  Meanwhile, Alistair's crew was making their way through the woods. The captain called to Zorina to slow her pace, so that the security bot (with its armored metal hull) could take the lead. 

    SAS B61 & Zorina reach the edge of the treeline - the woods opposite erupts in gunfire -- all missing

As the bot reached the edge of the trees, gunfire erupted from the last woods opposite them. Bullets whizzed by, striking branches or tree trunks, but B61 was left untouched. He raised his pellet gun and sighted at the closest ambusher. As he fired off two blasts, B61 quipped, "Gunny would recommend high velocity pellets, I believe..." One of the enemy was pitched backwards by the force of the blast and slumped motionless against a tree. First blood to the Inconceivable crew!

    The security bot fires back at the enemy, booming two shots with his pellet gun

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the crew, the criminal gang's boss entered the board as a reinforcement on the board edge behind the tree line. Zorina moved to the last tree between her and the enemy, took cover, and fired a blast from her beam pistol. The bright scarlet line brought flames to some of the bare branches, but missed the enemy. Behind her, she heard the footsteps of the captain moving up, as well. 

    SAS B61 hits one of the criminals square in the chest and the man is pitched over backwards

Over on the right, Cephvarx Hul estimated the distance and sprinted for the final barricade, his boots slipping in the snow as he hurried towards the cover. He saw one of the ambushers move forward to outflank the cover of the barricade and fire at him with his pistol. Thankfully, the bullet whizzed by him and missed. Behind him, both Doc and Gunny were hurrying through the woods to get into the fight and cover him.

    Next turn, both Zorina and the bot get to fire first and two more of the criminals slump to the ground

I rolled decently the next turn on "Activations," and both Zorina and B61 got to fire before the enemy. Zorina practiced the breathing trick Gunny had taught her and took careful aim with her beam pistol. The flash of the bright red beam stabbed into woods. She heard one of the enemy cry out and crash to the ground. Got him! Beside her, the security bot blasted away twice with his pellet gun, lifting another of the enemy off of his feet and sprawling him motionless beneath the trees. Alistair arrived, kneeled between the two, and sighted with his rifle at the criminal who'd taken a shot at Cephvarx Hul. He squeezed the trigger and yet another gang member pitched backwards.

    Mid-turn 'Battlefield Events' roll sees the boss of the gang arrives to reinforce the ambushers

The only one left was the newly-arrived boss. He saw Cephvarx Hul's huge form crouched behind the barricade and fired at him, also missing. Cephvarx raised his large caliber pistol -- he and Gunny had decided to make the weapon trade permanent -- and BOOM! The sound echoed through the trees and the gang boss fell to the ground. Actually, I used the Gang Boss's one point of luck to make Cephvarx roll again, but he was successful both times in knocking the final enemy out of action.

    Cephvarx Hul dashes forward to the barricade in an attempt to get closer to the enemy

Soon, the crew could hear only the howl of the bitter wind across the snow-covered plain. They waited for a few moments for signs of any other enemy to appear. When they did not, they moved forward to search the bodies, which they dragged to the side of the road so they could be picked up by a shuttle. The searched the enemy's campsite and found some likely stolen loot. Alistair instructed them to pocket it. There would be no way to know which of the people that the gang had robbed that it belonged to, anyway. There was also some damaged equipment in sacks that might prove useful. Meanwhile, Doc repaired the last of the monitor cameras. Once they were done, Alistair called the Spaceport Administrator for him to send a shuttle to recover them and the criminal's bodies for identification.

    Only two of the enemy are left, both of whom take shots at the Varx crewman and miss

So, my fourth mission in my Five Parsecs from Home campaign was another walkover. Maybe I am just getting lucky? The enemy did miss every single shot. However, I am playing my best tactically against them, and not giving them any shots at my crew in the open. However, the criminal's +0 Combat Skill stats meant they hit my guys (or gal) only on a "6" on 1d6. Whereas, after this mission, I have all of my original crew at +1 combat skills (Gunny at +2 with the bipod). So, we should hit them at twice the rate. Then again, maybe I should take Han Solo's advice and not "get cocky, kid!"...ha, ha!

   Alistair guns down one more of the criminals and Cephvarx Hul takes out the last one - victory!

I did do my best to improve the enemy's chance by adapting what I had rolled. Maybe I should re-roll if I come up with another foe that appears too easy? Or add more figures to their force? We'll see. The crew is now onto their Quest missions. Maybe those will be more difficult? Stay tuned and find out!

Miniature Painting & Purchasing Tally for 2024 (Next year, I want to tally terrain and scatter, too. If anyone has any ideas how to do that, I'd love to hear!)

• Miniatures acquired in 2024: 170
• Miniatures painted in 2024: 171 (the figure for Seon Vogalia)
  

    Taking down these criminals was the crew's first mission on a new planet, icy Dichelles 4