Horde Part 2
The adventurers continue to help a low tech world defend against an alien invasion.
This writeup is mostly based on Carl's notes, most of the unbolded text below is his.
Part one is here.
This was played on Sunday the 29th of April 2012 .
Location: Rachev, a planet in the Reidain Subsector
Imperial Date: 350-1100
It seems just a blink of an eye since we landed on this #$(*)@# planet and delivered the ambassador from Alenzar, and the video game that, if history is accurately written, launched the move toward freedom and self-determination by the people who live here.
However, many a blink has passed us by, and looking back more that a month gives us cause to reflect on the wonderfulness of helping others, even for money. Of course that is better than helping others when no money is changing hands.
After the initial arrival of the Chamax ship, and our strategic retreat northward back to Loka Down spaceport, we tried to pass on our information and recommendations to the powers that be, but like most places, Raschev is run by more than one group, with more than one opinion to share and promote.
We had learned that at least two primary factions are present, one who thinks the game should be played to see if it sheds any light on how to deal with an invasion of bugs, and one that wants it kept unused lest it show something that disagrees with the way things are being run. Fanatics of any flavor are still fanatics, but for now they are our fanatics. We will never leave this place unless we can get a part for the ship, and they can stop it if they choose to, so we play nice for now. Plus, we don't want to get Chamaxified * either.
* To be digested and eaten by giant bugs, in that order.
Initial plans, as we understood them, were to isolate the southern land mass by making a canal, and to set up a coastal watch on the southern shore of the northern land mass to watch for fliers or any other arrivals.
SITUATION TWO: REFUGE
The breakout of the bugs from the alien craft was a blow that no one on Raschev was prepared for. It resulted in days of disorganization and total confusion. Raschev's ruling council declared the situation to be a military emergency and called for martial law.
By the fifth day, reports from throughout the peninsula began to show a pattern. Refugees were fleeing into villages along the coast, and north across the Jourin Isthmus, running from an ever-increasing tide of Chamax bugs which were stripping the countryside of everything living. Every attempt to organize local defenses failed; the routed militia remained scattered, and efforts to reform units seemed to invite overwhelming attacks by roving hordes of bugs. Worst of all, General Varnikov, one of the few people on Raschev with the military experience to set up a defense and the ability to handle the shaky militia, was missing somewhere in the Jourin wilderness.
A single radio transmission has been received from General Varnikov:
FORCE V TO LOKACOM. UNIT TRAPPED BY INVADERS NEAR SWITCHBACK GORGE. WARNING: ENEMY ATTRACTED BY RADIO TRANSMISSION. MAINTAIN RADIO SILENCE. AM LEAVING TRANSMITTER AS DECOY AND BREAKING OUT TOWARD HIGH GROUND. MESSAGE ENDS.
The message, apparently taped, was repeated 18 times and then cut off. The party is asked to take their air/raft into the Jourin Peninsula, locate the general, and get him back to take charge of the defense.
Kipenzi, Medicus and a local marksman, Lance Corporal Leon Khromoi, took off on 350-1100 with biosensors, radio scanners and some supplies to try and find the general, while the remaining folks on the crew tried to cobble together some small radio transmitters that might be used to distract or lure a wave of bugs to a kill zone. It had taken us most of the five days to get enough parts to start the fabrication, more pluses for bureaucracy.
As the raft passed onto the Jourin Peninsula, the northern part of which was comprised largely of jagged lava cliffs and roads/trails with lots of switchbacks, they saw that the northbound road was completely impacted with people fleeing the south, by whatever means they could. The trail of refugees stretched out almost 1/4 of the way down the peninsula.
Some ways past the end of the line of people, they spotted some small groups of Chamax, and dispatched them (who needs scouts wandering about) from the air. The team, was aware of fliers, but none were sighted and the air raft did not come under any attack. Guess even Murphy takes a lunch break. The static overlaying the radio became more intense after the first kill in each group, but dissipated after all were dead. As before, when they died the Chamax exploded and left basically nothing but a big mess behind.
Flying to the area of Switchback Gorge, the crew searched around for a while, and about 4 hours into the trip they sighted a large grouping of Chamax trying to filter into a small pass. This turned out to be the refugee and defensive area that General Varnikov had retreated to, with some troops keeping the narrow entry protected against incursion by the bugs.
The General did not want to leave his people and civilians behind, and only agreed to go after helicopter evacuation was arranged, and some silver-tongued action from Medicus. Corporal Khromoi and Medicus stayed behind to shoot bugs and treat the wounded, respectively, and Kipenzi flew the General and as many refugees as would fit back to the spaceport.
By midnight the final evacuation had been affected, made easier by some explosives delivered on the first helicopter round trip and the blowing down of a lot of lava rock into the pass the Chamax were attacking.
Not a lot of note happened in the intervening weeks, much babbling from political leaders, and notably no appearance of the (I wonder at times, mythical) video game. We kept ready for action, kept the ship as ready to depart as we could, and offered advice to anyone who would listen.
Within three weeks of the bug breakout from the ship, all of the Jourin Peninsula south of Traitor's Pass was overrun by Chamax hordes. Government forces finally succeeded in establishing a dug-in battle line across the north end of the pass and, supplied by road convoys from Loka, have been killing bugs as quickly as they advance through the pass. The terrain, fortunately, is such that the bug hunters are unable to cross the mountains at any point except the pass.
A new phenomenon has been observed: vast columns of bugs moving in formations several miles long, with the grossly distended and oversized bodies of adult maternals borne upon the backs of hunters. Apparently, as long as food remains available at a fairly close range (within 50 km or so) the bugs do not go into starvation-induced hibernation but migrate to find additional food. Until recently, bugs have only been approaching Traitor's Pass in comparatively small groups. Now, however, a massive column with a maternal has been observed approaching slowly, blackening the countryside over several square kilometers.
The militia has some long-range artillery on hand which is being assembled behind the front lines. A forward observer must be sent south of the pass to call in artillery fire to break up the approaching column before it gets too close and the weight of numbers outweighs the strengths of the barrage. The adventurers are asked to provide air/raft transport for a forward observer, plus protection while he performs the job.
The leadership came to us again with another request for help. There was a huge wave of Chamax flowing northward, approaching Trader's Pass. Vast (miles and miles) columns of bugs with one or possibly more much larger apparently being carried along. Everyone figured these are queens, and they became high priority targets for the artillery fire. We were asked to take a forward observer down and get the artillery vectored in on the proper target(s)
Kipenzi, Sam, Fig and the forward observer, Lt Kyznetsov flew down on 364-1100 (Happy New Year coming soon). We took some explosives to drop as well as a backup for the artillery, particularly if the targets were in narrow gullies or passes and could easily be hit from the air, but the observer was able to get the artillery on target in short order, and for the moment the waves sweeping north were disrupted.
Power One, the Imperial fusion power plant on a rocky island off the Jourin Peninsula, was powered down and evacuated by sea as the horde approached. The Southeast region of the continent is now experiencing brown outs as the region runs dangerously low on power.
The ruling council wants to find out if restarting Power One will be feasible. The steel transmission towers are still up and there is a good chance that the bugs have not overrun the station. The adventurers are requested to investigate the island and the expertise of the player’s engineer may come in handy. If possible, they are to blow up the bridge leading to the mainland in order to isolate and secure the position. Then they will power up the plant and turn the station over to militia forces.
Happy new year, a lot of ice dust behind the comet since we began.
The activities in defense and buildup were draining the power grid, producing recurring brownouts, and they wanted a power station just off the south east of the southern land mass to be reactivated. It had, we learned, been shut down in the evacuation, but was again needed. Blow the access bridge, start the power flowing, got it.
This time we smartened up and took a sufficient backup group for additional safety, plus a couple that we were certain we could outrun in the direst times. Loading the air/raft onto a patrol boat, along with several marksmen and a demolitions expert, a power plant technician familiar with the setup (she worked there, good choice) and all of us but Leon (someone had to stay back at the ship).
The boat crew got us down to the power plant area, and after a reconnaissance flight revealed only a few Chamax on the bridge and island, and a few inside the station, we began our task by killing the few on the bridge, setting a radio beacon with an explosive charge outside the plant (hoping to lure those inside out, we DID NOT intend to risk damaging the station itself if there was any way to avoid it)
Bridge down - CHECK
Chamax lured out and killed - CHECK
Power Plant activated - CHECK - That task took several hours and some engineering supplement to the power technician's skill set also.
A room by room sweep of the facility was done before we started powering up, and it seems the Chamax can eat plastics and rubber as well as organics, but they draw the line at metals.
By late afternoon, 003-1101, the power was up and flowing. We left the technician and two troopers plus supplies, and flew back. The barge followed at its own speed, and we chalked up another successful tasking for the anti-bug group.
Good thing we got back when we did, because the weather started getting rough.
Continued in Horde - Conclusion
See Also: Dramatis Personæ, Campaign Starts, The 2nd Adventure, The Chamax Plague.
Comments
Post a Comment