Maiden voyage of the Scutum
In reply to Fate (msg # 76):
The passengers are woken before the crafts arrival and are armed by the time they begin to board.
As the forces split, Gaius waited for the others to leave, before drawing his knife. It was at the throat of the boarding officer before he even saw it, and his crew behind the backup drew their own blades across the throat of his guard.
Motioning for silence, he warned the officer of what would happen if the parent ship learn't he was a prisoner...they would fire upon them, destroying both the officer and his men alike. Using him as a shield Gaius called some of his men to him and went to board the shuttle. He was successful in subduing the pilot and communicator before word came back up that the rest of the boarding party were neutralized.
But bigger challenges lay ahead. A Shamshir typically had 56 crew aboard, of which 4 were designated troops. The shuttle had a crew of 10, now dealt with, though it could carry 48 in seats and more in the cargo hold. With the 50 mercenaries, they can easily be made to fit in, but the issue is getting back to the Shamshir. Gaius decides to use the officer with the knife at his throat, though he hands him over to one of his more threatening men while he goes over 'discussions' with him. Discussions intended to be so intense he would not notice the number of mercenaries boarding. Discussions to convince him to inform the Shamshir that they were on their way back with the crew, something that was in fact true.
The officer was convinced to comply, and in his calmest voice informed the Shamshir that they were returning with the crew. Clearance was given, and the shuttle departed. Once it landed in the vessels hanger, all hell broke loose.
Gaius urged the mercenaries forward with gusto. Their training soon showed on the Vilani spacefarers, who quickly fell before them as they gained defensive positions. 5 Mercenaries were injured as you mowed down 15 defenders who were woefully unprepared, though they managed to raise the alarm. The Vilani Commander tried to organize his troops into a counter-attack, attempting to push back into the shuttle, but the booby traps there soon made a terrible mess of the men, and the 15 man counter-attack was smashed with just a couple of injuries, leaving the Vilani commander holed up and away from the bridge, which was taken in the counter attack.
Pinned down in the cargo hold, the last remaining Vilani tried in vain to repel the attackers, but the mercenaries knew these ships as well as the defenders, and they rained fire down on them from all directions. An hour after boarding, The Vilani commander was out of men. His XO down, just a pair of scared sailors beside him, he angrily surrendered.
The mercenaries were delighted, and escort you back to Girii with your prize and a healthy reward! They are interested in doing this again some time, though for now Girii has requested something else. Planets to coreward need to be mapped to allow further pirate activities to open a second front. It is suggested taking a mercenary crew with you again in case another hostile Shamshir is encountered.
[OOC: Similar number but Good quality troops vs Average ones, so TS 1.5:1, +2. They are surprised so only start with PB of +2 and must rally on first round (-2). All out attack give a +2, but doubles casualties suffered. Risk Modifer Gaius chooses +2, Vilani commander is surprised and chooses -1, to protect his ass! So final modifers: Gaius +6, Vilani: -1. Result is a margin of victory of 7. For the second round, Gaius choose to take advantage of the losses and try an indirect attack. This reduced his bonus from 1--7, -3 for indirect attack, -1 (+1 for enemies choice of defence), to a total bonus of +4, since his win or +2 PB last round enabled him to obtains a good foothold aboard the vessel. He won the roll by three, increasing his margin of victory to 7, which is doubled to 14 due to indirect attack! It is not good to do that twice in a row, however! Having captured the bridge, he now has a maximum position bonus of +2. Things are looking very grim for the Vilani, who now have just 20 men still holding out.
The next round the Vilani Commander orders his men to defend again. This time you beat his roll by 5+13+2-1=19.]
Results Modifers for next Rnd (Risk, R)
Round Gaius Vilani Gaius Vilani Gaius Vilani
1 All out Attack Rally -10% cas, +2 PB -30% cas (R=+1) +1 (R=-1) -7
2 Indirect Attack Defence -5% cas, +3 PB -30% cas (R=+1) 0 (R=-1) -13
3 All Out Attack Defence 0 Cas, -35% cas
10 Laptops, 50 Palmtops
13.85 dTons of supplies (0.15 dTons per week)
Cargo Hold space: 76/77
Ships Cash Remaining: $500,280,000
Planet: Girii (Fueled)
Date: 27 Feb 2177