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Strategos (A Great Captain Roberts Tale!!) - Part 4 -
Chapter 34 - Do you Know Me?[]
Wet Ops Against the Vulnerable[]
Six Months ago.
“The mission is simple, but that does not make it easy. We have successfully identified our priority target, received supplemental psychological profile analysis, and where she is thus weakest.”
A projector displayed a picture of Amanda Roberts on the wall of the briefing room.
“You all know who this is by now. Conventional traps haven’t been able to secure or eliminate her. So we’re trying a different way. This is her brother, Daryl Roberts. Latest information has him taking a political office for Sevon V. So we should expect him to have some sort of security detail, and spending much of his time on Alpheratz. These are his children, his mother, and his wife. Amanda Roberts has another brother, but we do not believe Jeffrey to be on Sevon V in a realistic time frame.” The projector switched images with each prompt.
The image changed again to a satellite view of the Roberts family farm.
“This is the family’s primary residence. As you can see, it’s quite close to an enemy militia base. We will be stealth inserting Alpha and Beta teams. Alpha team, your mission is simple. Secure as much of the Roberts family as you can, emphasis on Daryl’s children. They’ll be our bait, and leverage to draw Amanda Roberts into a trap that will finally capture or kill her. Let me be clear: while it’s preferable to capture Amanda Roberts to prevent her becoming a martyr, the only people considered critical to keep alive in this operation is Daryl Roberts’ children, and only until the Roberts girl has been captured or killed. After that, if possible, their inclusion into a proper training program and gifting to a suitable house is considered sufficiently desirable to not kill them needlessly. If Daryl Roberts or Jeffery Roberts happen to appear for a visit home, secure them as well. Your hostages should ensure you have a clear ride out, and the trap for Amanda Roberts will be set.”
The image switched to the militia base.
“Beta team, you know what is being asked of you, and thus why you’ve been supplemented with carefully selected members from other Commando teams. When the time comes, you’ll launch a diversionary raid on the militia base to ensure they cannot respond to Alpha team’s operation and departure. With the reallocation of the M5s to different areas of operation, we’re confident there will be a more than sufficient window where major naval opposition will not be present, and thus all that is needed is delaying the garrison for as long as possible.”
The projector switched to the Cameron Star and Sons of Plunder logo with crossed black tridents added behind it.
“Alpha team, we’re giving you the best stealth suits we can. Surprise and speed will be essential to your mission, so full Battle Armor would be ill-advised. Beta team, we cannot equip you with more than a Lance of mechs and still achieve stealth insertion, so to supplement your forces we are also allocating some of our limited supply of Purifier battle armor adapted for these sorts of missions. Gentlemen and ladies, give ‘em hell, and good hunting.”
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Operation: Cross Guard
Maps: Something that has an airstrip and Dropship landing ports and nearby buildings in one corner (recommended a 2x2 setup) with the other three maps should be fairly open with very little if any terrain at all(it is a militia airbase)
Attacker: Beta Team, Special Operations Command Commando Team
x4 - EXT-6CS Exterminator Heavy BattleMechs - Elite/Fanatical
x4 - squads of 6 Purifier Battle Armor (24 total) modified with magnetic clamps for mechanization-Elite Fanatical
Objectives:
Get to enemy hangers and grounded Dropships, disable or destroy as many Aerospace fighters, Small Craft, and Dropships as possible
Keep the fight going as long as possible to give Alpha team the best chance of getting away with their hostages
Defenders:
Mixed Trinary
1 Star mechs
-MLN-1C Merlin-Veteran / Fanatical
-Shadow Hawk C Medium BattleMech -Regular / Reliable
-Clint IIC Medium BattleMech -Regular / Reliable
-Dasher II Medium BattleMech -Regular / Reliable
-Goshawk 3 Medium Battlemech -Regular / Reliable
x1 Star Elemental Battle Armor-Veteran Fanatical
x1 Aerospace Fighter Star (10 Tyre ASFs)-Veteran Fanatical
x1 Mixed Vehicle Star(6 Hachiman AAA, 4 Ares)-Regular Reliable
x2 Sassinid Dropships
Objectives:
Destroy Beta team in as few turns as possible
Special rules:
Defender must designate 1 hanger each for Aerospace and Battlearmor and an additional 5 hangers for the Small Craft, all Aerospace(including Small Craft) units and Battle Armor deploy adjacent to their hangers. Aerospace hangers should be adjacent to the designated airstrip, or reasonably close by. Defender vehicles are deployed around the air strip.
The Aero star starts the scenario grounded and can be made ready for take off and combat operations starting turn 6 Beta team will not withdraw under any circumstances and will fight to the last unit
Dropships should be placed/marked around the airfield and will be in a semi-ready state. Weapons will come online after turn 6, engines for Small Craft after turn 12 but Dropships will be grounded for the duration of the fight
Attacker may not deploy on the same map as the militia base/airfield but has first choice of deployment edge, defender automatically deploys their mechs to the opposite edge(this is to represent the surprise advantage that the Chameleon LPS, NullSig, and Mimetic armor give Beta team)
Defender may deploy their Elementals at the start of their turn on any turn starting in the second round.
Defender is operating under standard forced withdrawal rules.
Optional:
- Reinforcements!
Starting turn 12 defender may deploy an additional Elemental Battle Armor point from the designated hanger, and do so again turn 36 and one more time on turn 60 if the game goes on that long
- Night attack!
Apply the rules for fighting at night from Tac Ops.
Commandos on the Move[]
Present day
The targets had moved to another Roberts house and it was difficult to get close enough to observe without being detected. And based off the luggage they carried inside they were intending to stay a few days.
“Warrant Officer Nune, that ground vehicle of theirs… You think you could hotwire it?” Captain Michael Skorzeny said quietly to the woman on his left in a stealth suit.
“Should be no problem, sir.”
“Then the recon is a wrap. Time to plan this thing.” He was keeping something else he’d observed underwraps that he knew Nune hadn’t put together yet.
The two carefully stalked back to their base. There had been no signs of particularly sophisticated detection devices. But on an operation such as this, it was really the less sophisticated ones that were the main worry.
Keeping such a large force concealed from the local garrison and their patrol flights was no easy task these past few days either. But they needed those couple of days to recover from coasting in as long as they had for their stealth insertion.
“Confirmed we have the mother, the father, sister-in-law, the children, and two guests at the in laws. Not where we studied but this should make it a little easier. No intel on one of the guests.” He produced a ComPad with a picture of Maori he’d taken earlier in the day.
“She’s not on our list, so she goes in the ground. We’re already going to be crowding the ground vehicle we observed.”
He flicked the ComPad to another picture.
“This one is another target of opportunity. That’s right, history majors, we got a real bonus prize. If we can nab her too, we’ll be getting all sorts of shinies and landholds. Not to mention never paying for our drinks ever again.”
He let the laughter of his Commandos settle down.
“For the non-history majors, that’s Elizabeth Cameron.”
He saw the recognition wash over the faces of a few of his Commandos.
“With this many people to secure, we’ll time our attack on the house for shortly after dusk tomorrow night so we can also have the cover of night on our extract.”
Home Invasion[]
Natalie…
…was working in the kitchen humming quietly.
The children were playing with Jane as Samantha was taking her evening bath.
Maori was monitoring Amanda’s father, checking his vitals.
He was gently rocking in his chair staring off into nothingness.
Maori suddenly stood up.
“Jane, take the kids to the cellar. Natalie, dinner is going to have to wait.” Maori started moving her head back and forth.
“What’s going on, Maori?” Natalie asked.
“The proximity sensors I placed outside are sending contact reports.” Maori answered.
Samantha came out of the bathroom fully clothed but with wet hair, sensing the commotion.
“Sure it isn’t a wild animal?” Natalie pleaded.
“Definitely not.” Maori said as a grenade came in through the front window.
Instead of shrapnel and explosives the grenade emitted a loud noise and a bright flash.
Four figures stormed into the main room, weapons leveled.
Maori was already down on the ground behind the couch.
Natalie shrieked as she collapsed.
<Alert condition one. Roberts homestead under attack by stealth suit equipped commandos. Count 4 for sure.> Maori sent to the nearby militia base.
<We’re under attack as well. Help is at best 5 minutes away.>
<Acknowledged. I’ll buy you as much time as possible, then.>
One of the attackers was over Natalie, another moving toward Samantha as she was still recovering, and one was moving to her.
Samantha started struggling with her attacker as they were trying to secure her.
“Children?” A male voice demanded of Natalie.
“B..b..ba…base…basement…” Natalie panted out.
The Commando standing over Maori clearly bought Maori’s playing opossum.
She snapped their shin with a short sharp kick.
Bounding up on her feet, Maori crossed the main room and smashed the commando standing over Natalie into the refrigerator, the door bending in ever so slightly under the impact of their combined body weights.
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Human-Like Robotic remote of the AI, Maori
Maori moved to help Samantha when a fifth attacker entered the main room. As Maori pulled the Commando off Samantha, tossing him across the room the new attacker leveled their weapon not at Maori but at Samantha.
Maori had no choice but to put her remote between the new attacker and Samantha.
Her remote was tough, but not tough enough to withstand a launched micro grenade with a burst of laser fire.
Samantha took only minor cuts from splinters.
“My earring. Take it.” Maori said as her remote collapsed.
Samantha grabbed Maori’s earring and hid it before the Commando crossed the room.
“Get up, Bushavov. You’re a smart woman, Samantha Roberts. Your protector is well dead. Huh. Machine person. Should’ve figured. Your guest and your children are cornered, we can just roll down some flashbangs and tear gas and secure them at our leisure. So time to stop resisting.” The commando standing over her was clearly their leader.
A sixth commando came into the main room and began checking the two downed Commandos, then Natalie and Amanda’s father.
“The parents are dead, sir. Hong has some busted ribs. Massa has a shattered shin. They’re ****** and not going anywhere fast.” the feminine voice from the new arrival said.
“Make them functional. They can hold here to further delay militia response. Call in Nune as well. We need to roll some flashbangs and tear gas into the basement.”
The one identified as Bushavov staggered over and bound Samantha who just stared at the leader silently, eyes full of rage.