Crew Action Report
This report is submitted to the order by Drein, J. codename CQ, Captain of the Gae Bulg. Detailed below are the actions taken by the crew, Cu Chulainn’s Lance upon witnessing a space battle.
Location
The skies above Axlos, then the surface of the planet Axlos.
Circumstance
The Gae Bulg was headed to Axlos to resupply and prepare for further missions when we picked up distress transmissions from a cargo ship. We were on the far side of Axlos’ single moon when the transmission came in. As the Gae Bulg is a recent acquisition it is still lightly armed and armoured, as such diving into an affray did not seem to be an option. It should also be noted that her crew, Cu Chulainn’s Lance, has recently formed and is unprepared for a space battle at this time.
With myself piloting the helm and True Ways, our Pathfinder, at navigation, we were able to witness the destruction of the cargo ship. Staying in the moon’s scan shadow we saw a splinter fleet of pirate fighters rake the cargo vessel from stern to bow. After 3 passes the cargo vessel was destined to crash on the planet. It had yet to break Axlos’ gravity and was pulled down swiftly.
The pirates seemed uninterested in pursing the cargo ship. They broke off their attack and returned to their carrier which immediately headed out into the stars.
We tracked the trajectory of the cargo vessel onto Axlos. There were unlikely to be any survivors from such a crash, but the oaths must be honoured. We headed to the crash site to see if there were any survivors to rescue, and if not, to salvage any cargo that could fund The Order and The Cause.
Crew Attending
Captain: CQ – myself, a Paladin of The Order.
First Mate: Spindrift – a Fatewinder of unusual talent.
Crew 1: Tiny – an ironically named Striker that favours dual hand axes known as Magno Phosphos Blades. One edged with magnesium, the other phosphorous, they not only burn they can also blind.
Crew 2: Waves – a Gunfighter of impeccable accuracy. Carries twin pistols she calls ’Sun and Moon’.
Crew 3: Ghost – Terrain Expert that is near impossible to target.
Crew 4: True Ways – a Pathfinder that always seems to find usable salvage.
Crew 5: Chipset – a robotic Hacker that can open most physical systems.
Crew 6: Tweak – Chisler, she possesses exceptional skill with digital locks.
Crew 7: Rascal – Guard Dog, runs close to CQ providing extra strength in combat.
Crew 8: Brutus – Guard Dog, runs close to CQ providing extra strength in combat.
Details
Arrival:
On our way to the crash site I handed the helm over to Chipset so that I could enter a Mystic Trance. Deep into my flow state I was able to layer a Void Blade over my hand weapon, a Lightening Spear.
We set the Gae Bulg down on the planet Axlos, 2 kilometres south of the crash site. It was the only clearing large enough for the ship that was close enough for us to reach the cargo vessel in good time. The other options were simply too small. The forest around us was not the densest I have ever seen, but it was still hard work to manoeuvre through it. True Ways was able to speed our journey to the crash site but we weren’t fast enough. As we approached the downed vessel from the south another crew came into our scan range.
First Action:
With another crew in the area, I activated my Energy Shield and Spindrift began paying attention to the possibilities to come. A scientist once claimed that a Fatewinder’s ability to read the Probability Curve is nothing but inherent mathematics. I still don’t believe him.
As we closed in we could see the damage left by the crashing ship. It had carved a channel through the trees and come to an inglorious halt in a ruined half wall. It was clear to everyone that nothing could have survived the crash. The damage was too extensive. With no hope of rescuing survivors we adjusted our priority to securing any salvageable materials. Several items had been scattered in the wreckage and some may be usable or sellable.
Although we knew their location we could not yet see the opposing crew. I split my crew into 2 squads, half with Spindrift, and half with me.
Squad 1 (S1): CQ, Tiny, Chipset, Rascal, Brutus
Squad 2 (S2): Spindrift, Waves, True Ways, Ghost, Tweak
I sent Spindrift to the west side. There was some cargo there to check out, but importantly it would allow him to flank the opposing crew as we pressed forward. With my squad pressing directly towards the ship we would engage the enemy at close quarters and provide Spindrift with the flanking opportunity.
Second Action:
S1
As we moved through the undergrowth I powered up my Lightening Spear further by activating its Thunderstrike circuitry. Combined with the Void Blade I had layered on it the spear was at maximum power and a truly formidable weapon.
Brutus and Rascal provided cover for me by ranging ahead and to the sides, Tiny and Chipset moved further to the east towards some loot. Tiny stayed closer in though. We would be unable to support each other in combat if he was too far away. This formation allowed us to provide a screen for Chipset as he headed towards what appeared to be some salvageable data consoles.
The enemy crew came into view and it seemed there was no possibility of an amicable solution. One of their crew rounded a tree beside Rascal and immediately drew his hand weapon, a long sword. Rascal, trained for this, dived directly into combat with the crewman. It was short and brutal, as Rascal’s teeth sank into the swordsman’s leg, the point of the blade drove into the space between Rascal’s shoulders. With a whimper and a spray of blood Rascal collapsed to the leaf strewn ground. He would not be in this fight anymore.
S2
Spindrift’s crew began moving into position to provide covering fire. Like Chipset, Tweak moved further away to check out some cargo crates to the west. With minimal effort she was able to unlock that cargo crate and start dragging it back towards our position.
Enemy:
Strangely, most of the enemy crew had also moved to the west. Several of them were directly in front of Spindrift’s squad, but the fallen trees prevented any aggression by either side. A couple of them had broken off even further to the west and had pinned Tweak down behind the root bundle of a fallen tree. About half the crew had advanced towards my position.
Third Action:
S1
With combat being joined, I drove forwards into the fray, Brutus right by my side. Tiny, being slightly further away ran towards us but would not enter the battle at the same time. It was time for these Scavengers to learn what a fully trained Paladin of The Order can do in a melee.
Chipset was not the only one to head towards the data consoles. A burner in the other crew was also heading there. He did not get far, before he could even bring his flamethrower into range Chipset dropped him with his pistol. Chipset swears it was straight through the Burner’s eye. He may be right, we didn’t stop to check.
S2
Moving further into flanking positions, Spindrift, Waves and Ghost took up positions around the stricken craft. True Ways headed west to support Tweak and try to relieve the weight of fire coming her way.
Enemy:
Realising they had been outmanoeuvred they began to reposition. The crew in front of Spindrift moved to the east, directly into Spindrifts line of fire I would note. The two to the west kept Tweak pinned down, though she was in excellent cover and near impossible to hit. The remainder dashed forward to engage Brutus and me in combat. Fools!
Fourth Action:
S1
The first of the enemy to reach my squad was the Captain for the opposing crew, a cyborg judging by his visible robotics. As he reached me Brutus and Tiny also entered the fray. They provided enough of a distraction that the cyborg’s first swing of his Shock Whip tangled on a tree and exposed his torso to a thrust from my Lightening Spear. I drove it hard towards his heart, the cyborg realising too late that he was doomed. The Thunderstrike circuits discharged on impact with devastating results. The man literally exploded.
I can only assume the massive damage was a combination of the weaponry upgrades and electrical discharge into some form of cybernetic around the point of impact. Regardless, we turned our blood drenched visages upon the remainder of the enemy and let out a battle cry. As they looked at us, bellowing our defiance and dripping with the blood and entrails of their captain, they began to tremble. Most of them anyway, their First Mate, a Tekker by the look of him, steadied them and drove forward to attack me.
The angle of attack meant that Brutus and Tiny were too far away to provide immediate support. The Tekker swung his sword and I deflected the blow with my shield, thrusting back with my spear. He spun to his left, away from shield and towards the open side. His sword cut down towards my head and I raised the spear haft to deflect the blow. Even as I did I realised my novice error. As I committed to the defence he rolled his wrist turning his cut to an arc. The sword slid easily past my spear and landed cleanly between my armour joints. It drove hard into my side knocking me back a step. Involuntarily, I dropped to one knee to recover my strength. Brutus growled, lunging forward with Tiny, and the Tekker dropped back behind the cover of his crew.
S2
With my squad clear of the melee combat, Spindrift opened fire on the visible enemy pressing in on us. They were only able to make minor injuries, with armour saving most of the damage.
Tweak, far to the west of all this, popped out of cover just long enough to drop a Commando with her pistol. Now only one of the enemy crew stood between her and leaving with the salvage.
Enemy
Several of them moved forward with their Captain to engage in close combat with my Squad. This brought them into the open and under fire from Spindrift’s well placed squad. One of them was able to reach me and engage in combat.
A few of their crew moved West to circle behind the downed ship and approach Spindrift from the rear. It would seem they had some sense after all.
Fifth Action:
S1
With the opposing crew under fire and in disarray, their leaders dead or running, we clearly had the advantage. I deflected a clumsy blow from the Medic that had attacked me and dispatched him with a spear thrust to the belly.
As he fell I saw Tiny swing one of his burning axes into the head of an enemy crew. I saw a Deck fall from their gear and smash on the ground so can only assume it was a Hacker of some sort.
S2
Things were not going well for Spindrift’s squad. One of the enemy crew lobbed a grenade over the top of the downed cargo ship and it landed right between Spindrift and Waves. Spindrift dropped, wounded by the blast, Waves, though, did not rise again. She lay there, at best unconscious and bleeding out.
With all the commotion we had been drawing the attention of local fauna. True Ways spun and took out a Ryakan that had drifted onto the field of battle. It was an impressive shot at that range through the terrain.
Remarkably, Ghost had been moving to the west and discovered a cargo crate we had not seen before. He managed to unlock it and take a strange object from inside it before coming under fire.
Enemy
In full disarray, some were pushing forward while others fell back. The First Mate Tekker had abandoned his crew and seemed to be calling them back. Those that could still move started crawling towards him. Out on the west side of the battle the remaining commando fell back allowing Tweak to retreat towards the Gae Bulg.
Sixth Action:
S1
Still bleeding heavily from my wound I activated my Energy Shield to try and prevent any further damage in the coming moments. While I did this Tiny and Brutus engaged the First Mate. That Tekker has been trained well in his use of that sword. Not only did he manage to land a blow on me with that feint, he was holding his own against Tiny. If I were to bet, I would say that dual axes vs a single sword will always end with the axe wielders victory. I saw it happen.
Tiny struck high to chop the top of the head with the Magno axe, while the Phosphos drove in towards the stomach. The Tekker, amazingly, blocked the Magno axe with his sword, then spun inside the reach of the Phosphos axe. As he did so, causing both axes to miss, he bumped Tiny back a fraction, continued his spin bringing the sword down and across Tiny’s chest in a vicious diagonal cut. Blood erupted from Tiny as he fell back and collapsed in a heap from the deep sword cut.
All this was to no avail, however, his brief dual with Tiny left him open to the impending attack from Brutus, who lunged in and tore out the Tekker’s throat.
Unfortunately, this left Brutus in range of an enemy. It would seem that not all the Pirates in the area had left, at least one had come to check out the cargo. Brutus went down to a carbine shot from this unwanted attention we had drawn.
S2
Spindrift’s squad continued to bring fire to bear on the remaining enemy crew. Despite our losses theirs were worse. Although his squad caused no damage they pinned the opposition down under an impressive weight of fire.
Enemy
It was all over for them. Their leaders downed, half their crew gone, they began to fall back. They dragged their fallen comrades away from the battle in, I assume, the direction of their ship. Conveniently for us, this was in the direction of the Pirate. Let them deal with that rabble.
Aftermath:
We had four downed crewmen, and some usable salvage. Clear of the enemy and the firefight we decided to return to the Gae Bulg and get the wounded, myself included, into the medbay. The Autodoc was able to completely heal Waves, Tiny and Brutus in no time. Rascal though, needed some rest and was still badly wounded. Time would fix that though.
We had some interesting salvage. The first was a heavy weight shotgun that would deliver more damage per shot than a standard shotgun. The second thing we found was a Micro Transporter. An alien artefact that was, ultimately, quite useless to us. As such we sold the tech for a tidy profit of 300 credits.
The Gae Bulg’s log showed that the other crew landed shortly after us in a smaller ship. That is how they were able to arrive at the same time, they could take advantage of a smaller, closer clearing. The ship was registered as the Dune Surfer, carrying a crew that call themselves Red Wind. In command is the Cyborg known as Warhound, assuming they were able to weld him back together.
This concludes the action report of the crew Cu Chulainn’s Lance. I have forwarded 10% of our earnings from the sale of the Micro Transporter as our tithe to the order.
We fight for the Righteous Cause.
Stargrave is published by Osprey Games and was created by Jospeh A. McCullough