Hold the Line! - Five Parsecs from Home Solo Campaign - Turn 2 Working for the Man
Welcome back to Hold the Line! My Five Parsecs from Home Solo campaign. It has been a little while since the last turn but I'm glad to get back into it!
In the last turn the True League won their first fight on Etera. Now with some experience under their belt, they have the luxury of picking their next job.
To see how the crew was created and the first Turn, check out the list of Hold the Line! posts here.
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Vinon rubs his forehead. He didn't expect a crew to cost so much money. Wasn't the point of having an operation to make money? The ship needs to be paid off and interest continues to accrue (interest increases by 1, pays off 3 credits, loan now 20 credits). And the crew needs to be paid.
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| Maybe Vinon isn't ready for the stresses of running a Mercenary Crew. |
There are just 14 credits left in the accounts. Vinon thinks this isn't the way to get rich. He will need a well-paying job if he isn't going to start watching that account shrink.
So off he goes to the Independent Guild to see what they have on offer. Fenris greets him warmly. "Vinon, great to see you! You all did a great job out there and the Guild is very happy with your progress. Now we have another job for you, or you can take a commission from the local Etera Government. Seems they are having problems with another local Merc operation, not one of us. They are blockading a government building, demanding protection money. The Etera government wants you to break the blockade, and then hopefully the baddies will go away. Think you could do that?"
Vinon considers this job. It sounds like meddling in local political stuff, but a job is a job and it seems to be paying well enough. "Ok Fenris, I'll do the job. I'm sure it's straightforward and easy, right?"
Fenris laughs at the joke, "C'mon Vinon, you know nothing is easy in this line of work. Well, grab your crew. I'll give you the address."
"Sure thing, most of them are training. We did well last job, but we have a lot left to learn before we join the ranks of the elite Merc crews."
Henna, Sone, Ukan, and Txewi are training and receive +1 XP each. Pair has been exploring the city.
Vinon gathers the crew on the Thrust and explains the job.
"I don't know boss. Seems a bit fishy. Going up against another Merc operation, even if they are unaffiliated, is still risky," Henna says.
"I know, but we are here to make money, not sit around. This is a job, it pays well, and that is pretty much it."
Pair speaks up, "Captain Vinon, I have received intelligence that these Mercs may have a valuable item with them. If we can grab it, we may be able to sell it."
"Great, thanks Pair. Everyone keep an eye out for anything valuable. Ok, so gear up, we are moving out soon.
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Battle
Objective - Move Through. Get past the enemy to a location across the map.
Conditions - Gloomy. Visibility is minimized.
Pay - +2 for danger pay, +2 if the crew can grab the package, + loot received.
Battle Location - A dark parking garage.
Battle Maps from Frag Maps: https://www.patreon.com/fragmaps/posts
Tokens for the crew and a lot of the combatants are from: https://janloos.com/
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| The enemy Merc crew. |
Vinon and the True League slowly make their way up the stairs into the parking garage. Intel states the Merc band is set up to block the elevator that leads to the government office. All they need to do is reach the elevator, and they can get paid.
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| The True League as they enter the garage. |
The first thing Vinon notices is the parking garage is dark, but not pitch black. Getting accurate ranged shots will be difficult in this environment. Although he can't see the enemy crew clearly, Vinon can make out shapes across the parking garage. They seem to all be behind cover.
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| The enemy set up with cover. |
Vinon tells the League to fan out and grab some cover.
Vinon hears a crack, and Pair announces in its robotic voice, "Scratch one enemy, Captain." A good start for the League, Vinon thinks.
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| Pair gets the first kill and knocks out a Specialist. |
The parking garage erupts as the True League and Mercs both advance, fire, and seek better cover. Henna screams out in pain as she goes down wounded. Vinon sees it but isn't able to help out.
Then Ukan goes down. The Feral is roaring in pain and anger as it falls to the ground. Vinon surveys the battlefield, two crew down for just one of the enemy. Those aren't good odds. The True League has to make some hits soon, or this fight will end badly.
Txewi announces over the comms, "Just got another one, Captain!" At the same time, Pair lines up and knocks down another Merc.
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| Twexi draws blood. |
Vinon looks down his Laser rifle at a Merc as it is running for cover. He gently pulls the trigger, just as he was taught those many years ago. The rifle erupts with a red glow as a beam cuts through the air perfectly and into the running Merc. Scratch another one, Vinon thinks.
Sone is hit and goes down, but the Mercs are starting to run! Txewi drills a running Merc.
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| Sone goes down under a hail of bullets. |
Vinon shouts, "Cease fire! Cease Fire! Check on casualties, and Pair, make sure those Mercs are dead for good."
They have the field today and have broken the barricade, but at what cost to the crew?
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Post Battle
After looting the bodies of the Mercs, danger pay, and the money from the package they found after the fight, the True League pockets 10 credits. Not a bad haul for a single job, Vinon thinks.
They even find some usable loot, a Hazard suit, and a Military Rifle.
Ukan is seriously injured and will need to sit out the next few fights as he recovers (out for 3 turns). But Sone is much worse. The wound he received would be fatal if they didn't pay for expensive emergency surgery. As it is, Sone won't be back for a while also (out for 3 turns, Surgeon cost 4 credits). It pains Vinon to hand over the credits to the surgeon, not because he doesn't think Sone is worth it, but because what are they risking their lives for if they aren't even making money?
The doctor is kind and free of charge gives Sone and Ukan some medicine that will allow them to get back into the fight a bit quicker.
Henna, luckily, will be back next fight.
Vinon has been pleased with Txewi's fighting abilities and is happy to see the alien improve from fight to fight (Txewi spends 7 XP for a +1 Combat).
Sitting back in the Thrush, Vinon sits alone with a bottle of cheap Etera whiskey. Thoughts rush through his head. Is this worth it? Is he cut out to run a crew? He doesn't know; he has no answers. (Vinon feels melancholy and won't gain XP next round).
Still, there is tomorrow and more work to do. Right now, Vinon turns on the local newsfeed.
This is Etera News 5, your vid-station for planet-wide news. Tonight on News 5, the new Mercenary crew in town, the True League, makes a name for itself by defeating a rival Merc band and rescuing an Etera government building. What else will this exciting new band do?
The Independent Guild of Mercenaries makes huge gains in cleaning up lawless parts of Etera. Crime rates are way down. But there is trouble in paradise as a rival criminal organization The Space Dogs ambushes a Guild Patrol.
Meanwhile, the Unity Naval Detachment completes Etera-wide defenses against a potential Swarm invasion. Unity spokesperson says the defense commitment to Etera means additional autonomy for the planet cannot come yet.
In good news, there are no further sightings of Swarm ships in the outer Etera system. Has the Swarm moved on? Stay tuned after a word from our sponsors.
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Thanks for reading! I'm hoping to do about one turn every month or two until the end of the year and then maybe switch to a different narrative skirmish game. Either way, I'm having a blast!
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i saw this bundle over on humblebundle and i was debating on getting it tho i'm not the biggest fan of space games, but man did i enjoy your write up of this ! i esp love the news report at the end detailing what happened along with the development of the other factions !
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