Star Wars Mission #3: Save the Captives!

    Stormtroopers & Corporate Security escort three captured rebel hackers through Mos Eisley

The third mission in our continuing Star Wars campaign using Space Weirdos rules was played last Sunday evening. We had a seventh player show up -- Andy, who joins us from time to time when he doesn't have to be at work really early on Monday. I decided he would play the part of the armed and dangerous citizens of Mos Eisley, who are upset about the Empire's takeover of their city. So far, the rebels had won both scenarios, so this one would see if the Empire could "Strike Back," so to speak. 

So, listen to the Star Wars musical score and imagine the following paragraphs in a pyramid shape, receding into the distance...

    The players gather around the tabletop depicting the main square and alley ways of Mos Eisley

Stung by the raid on the TIE fighter base, the Empire has ramped up efforts to find the rebels responsible for hacking their defense systems. Darth Pylor and his imperial agents have tracked the transmissions down to a house on a narrow street in Mos Eisley. Mobilizing a force including Stormtroopers, Corporate Security, and the redoubtable Bronze Legion mercenaries, they have raided the house and captured three rebel technicians. Taking a few moments to download data from the rebels' systems and to secure the technicians with Taze Cuffs, the force exits the Rebel hideout. Stormtroopers toss incendiary grenades behind them into the house, and Darth Pylor's force begins its march back to the main square.

The time taken and the large imperial presence in town has alerted both the Rebel Alliance and their local Tatooine allies. Desperately, the rebels have mobilized a force to try to rescue the captives. If nothing else, they will make the Empire fight its way out of Mos Eisley. Back in the main square, the Bronze Legion calls in to report they have spotted members of Foxhurst’s Criminal Syndicate operating in town. Are they going to help the Rebels in the rescue attempt? Or do they have some other nefarious plans afoot...?

 

    Column of Stormtroopers & Corporate Security outside the rebel hideout begin to move out

The imperial side deployed first, their forces augmented with two large Imperial City Walkers (to counter-balance the Mos Eisley force, and incidentally, the walkers were the Criminal Syndicate's objective). The Bronze Legion stayed in the square to guard the people mover vehicles, which they planned to depart on. The City Walkers also stayed behind in the main square, as both they and the vehicles were too large for the narrow alleys. Figures from the other four factions would move onto the board with their first action. They were not permitted to deploy within 2 stick lengths of an Empire or Corporate Security figure, though. Space Weirdos uses 5" movement sticks, so the rebels and their allies would enter at least 10" away from imperial figures.

 

    A citizen's eye view of the people mover vehicles parked in the square before the shooting breaks out

When Keith, playing the Bronze Legion, saw the setup and heard the deployment rules, he knew his forces would be going through the wringer early on. On their first action, the Mos Eisley figures could deploy in any of the buildings surrounding the main square, which meant they'd likely be targeting Bronze Legion troopers. Tom's Local Rebels showed up in a far corner of the board, in what I assumed would be an attempt to cut off the Stormtroopers escorting the captives. Initially, they were too far from the captives and captors to see them, so they also immediately started shooting at Bronze Legion troopers. The situation got worse for the Legion when the Criminal Syndicate arrived in the main square, half of its force driving on in a truck and the others coming in on foot. Before long, blasters were zipping back and forth across the plaza, sending citizens scattering for cover.

 

    Two rebels move past some droids wandering the streets & close in on the Stormtroopers

Mike W's Rebel Alliance arrived behind the captors and began sniping at the trailing Stormtroopers immediately. However, the rebels hung back a bit, staying in cover, and did not press too closely. Their plan was to shoot down the Stormtroopers and corporate security agents from a distance, and then dash in to rescue the captives. As Corporate Security, Joel heard the blaster fire from Tom's forces ahead. So, he detached two men from their column to block off the Local Rebels. They blasted away at them, forcing Tom's figures to take cover and engage in a firefight. This allowed the captors to continue moving slowly with their three captives towards the main square. Darth Pylor tried to keep the force moving briskly, although he was also targeted by blaster fire from angry citizens, as well.

 

    One Stormtrooper goes down (green sticker on bottom) & the column reacts to fire from their rear

Beset on all sides, the Bronze Legion held off their adversaries as best as they could. However, once the Criminal Syndicate's truck pulled into the main square, the mercenaries when on the attack. The mercenaries had been frustrated by Foxhurst's enforcers the last several games, and wanted payback. Keith switched to targeting the criminals with most of his force. The first imperial casualties began to fall, though -- the heavily armored City Walkers. One went down to the persistent and repeated blaster fire from Tom's troopers firing from across the square. A cheer went up when the first, towering warbot fell with a crash. 

 

    A Mon Calamari rebel snipes at the captors' column, hanging back in case "it's a trap!"

As the other walker advanced on the rebels, Foxhurst suddenly darted forward. The syndicate leader sprinted up to the walker and slapped a briefcase-sized metallic device onto its leg. It stuck with a magnetic clank. Immediately, electrical sparks flew from the device, running along every limb, shutting it down in midstride. Foxhurst waved frantically to the truck, signalling it to back up next to the disabled walker. The criminals planned to steal one of the imperial walkers!

 

    Criminal leader Foxhurst takes advantage of the chaos in the square to rush up & disable a walker

However, it was not to be. Bronze legion troopers poured fire into the truck, first knocking out Quiddo who was riding in the truck bed. Next, another mercenary charged the truck, ripped open the passenger door, and dove across the cab and began pummeling the driver, Sluggr. Initially, the slug-like Hutt slumped over the wheel, the truck coasting to a stop. He recovered quickly, though, and shoved the trooper away with his massive tail. He looked out the window to Foxhurst, only to see his leader dodging intense fire from the mercenaries, and sprinting towards him and leaping into the back of the truck. Blaster fire followed Foxhurst, though, and he too was soon slumped in the truck bed next to Quiddo. Seeing this, Sluggr threw the truck into reverse and began heading towards the square's exit. Things were not going as planned for the criminals, again! The Hutt decided it would be best to get his comrades off the table.

 

    One of the Bronze Legion mercenaries exchanges fire with an angry (& armed) Mos Eisley citizen

Sluggr's plans were dashed when the Bronze Legion trooper still inside the truck's cab fired several times. Howling in pain, the Hutt opened the door and rolled out, slithering away into a nearby open garage. The armed Mos Eisley citizen in the garage watched him go past, then darted out the back of the building, not wanting to mix it up with the infamous syndicate. Chuckling, trooper slid over, took the controls of the truck, and sped off with the two unconscious criminals in the back of the cab. The remaining criminal, Trumonkar, continued to fire away at the Bronze Legion troopers, but was unable to change his syndicate's fortune.

 

    With Corporate Security providing flank protection, the imperial column gets closer to the square

Between the Corporate Security officers holding off the local rebels, and the Stormtroopers fighting a rearguard action against the Alliance, the captors steadily progressed towards the main square. Both people movers waited on them there, engines idling. Soon, the captors had bundled all three captives into the closest vehicle and climbed aboard themselves. Both the Local Rebels and the Alliance were simply too far away and their fire was too ineffective to stop the progress of the captors. Once the captives were secure inside the mover, the vehicle began accelerating. It weaved between the combatants still struggling in the square. Then, reaching an open street, the vehicle went to full power and disappeared from the square.

 

    The unfortunate rebel hackers & their guards are whizzed off-board in an imperial people mover

The departure of the captives did not lessen the intensity of the fighting, though. One of the Bronze Legion troopers was down, victim of fire from angry citizens. Another was engaged in a furious gunfight with Mira, the owner of the shawarma shop on the square. Angry at the departure of the captives, the Local Rebels blazed away at any imperial targets they could get in their sights. The disabled walker had been rebooted back to life when Darth Pylor used the Force to yank the disabling device off of its leg. Rebel fire poured into it, though, and soon it crashed to the ground next to the other smoking city walker. 

 

    Bronze Legion mercenary reverses the truck off-board with 2 unconscious criminals in the bed

Darth Pylor shouted to the remaining Stormtroopers, corporate security agents, and Bronze Legion troopers to get aboard the remaining people mover. Fire in the main square was slackening, as first the Rebel Alliance, and then next the Mos Eisley citizens, took cover and withdrew from the fight. This allowed the remaining imperial forces to leap aboard the mover and soon they were speeding out of the square, as well. The citizens still around jeered at them as they left, but the rebels were in no mood for celebrating. Their hackers had been taken prisoner and spirited off the board in imperial custody. Many of their secrets might be uncovered. It was time to head back to their hideouts and try to minimize the damage done to their cause this day. 

 

    Enraged by the capture of its technicians, rebels pour fire into the square, downing the last walker

So, the Empire's "strike back" ended in triumph, just as in the original movies. The three imperial factions scored a total of 20 victory points, doubling the other four factions. The Mos Eisley citizens acquitted themselves well, tying for second with 7 VP. However, the two rebel factions managed only 3 VP combined, while the Criminal Syndicate scored 0 VP. If their fortunes continue to fail, how long will it be before a new criminal syndicate emerges to replace them? With Foxhurst and Quiddo captured by the Bronze Legion, what will the other members of the syndicate have to pay the mercenaries to get their leaders back? Plenty of fodder for new scenarios was harvested in this game!

 

    Victory point totals for Mission #03 - Save the Captives! - a comfortable imperial victory

In the campaign standings, the Local Rebels played by Tom are still in the lead -- barely! Behind them (by one point) are the Bronze Legion mercenaries. The Empire (played by Mike S) are also close behind at two off the lead. Only the Criminal Syndicate is having a truly lackluster campaign. Otherwise, the Empire vs. Rebels total victory points are fairly close, by my count.

 

    Campaign standings by victory points after 3 turns -- Local Rebels (Tom) are winning!

I think the campaign itself is going well, and the Space Weirdos rules are definitely a success. They're easy to learn, and create wild and woolly action on the tabletop with sometimes unexpected results. I haven't noticed our games being as lethal as some other Space Weirdos players online say their matches are, but I don't mind. As long as the players are having fun, it doesn't matter if the body count is lower than anticipated. I hope you enjoyed the reading the battle report, though. If you're interested in checking out Space Weirdos, they're available for download inexpensively on Wargame Vault!

 

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Miniatures acquired in 2025: 288
  
• Miniatures painted in 2025: 180

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Terrain acquired in 2025: 36
  
• Terrain painted in 2025: 61

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025

• Scatter acquired in 2025: 115
  
• Scatter painted in 2025: 159