5150 Gaea Prime - First Defense: Enemy Within

Having the Hishen Morale Campaign dropped in the last mission I had the opportunity to locate and strike a hidden base on Gaea Prime. This is one of the Special Missions in Gaea Prime - First Defense, Enemy Within.

This time I deployed 1st and 3rd squads on both flanks as sector 7 in the middle did not have direct access to the Hishen Command Center. As the fight was going to be in closed spaces I chose not to equip the specialists with Inferno Grenade Launchers but with SAWs.

Turn 1. Gaea Prime 4 - Hishen 6.

Hishen didn't activate. I fast moved forward my squads on both flanks.

3rd squad on the left resolved first PEF which turned into nothing.

1st squad took positions on both doors. The left one leading to the Command Center and the top right one to a PEF.

Turn 2. GP 5 - Hishen 3.

I opened both doors from the Command Center. First the 3rd squad on the left flank. 3rd squad engaged half of the Hishen squad and in the firefight they killed one Grath and a couple of Hishen. The Razor Psy blasted one section and made it to duck back.

On the right flank the 1st squad had bad luck with Hishen scoring many sixes and later one PEF showing up. They exterminated the PEF who turned to be a crew, but the other half of the Hishen reinforced squad in the Command Center decimated them, only surviving Sgt. Blacksmith and one grunt who ducked back and after that left the battlefield. 1st squad disappeared and now 3rd squad was on its own.

Turn 3. GP 2 - Hishen 3.

Hishen moved first. The last PEF entered the room and turned into a full squad. Half of it fell down but only Sgt. Gorman and one grunt survived in the end. The corporal crouching behind some crates stood heroically against a crossfire from the Command Center and the last PEF and he even killed the charging Razor, but he didn't make it.

Hishen survivors from the Command Center surrendered to the last standing Star Army trooper.

Sgt. Gorman broke into the room and put down two Hishen. The last one fled the battlefield. Mission over.

After the mission.

Well, it was a bloody assault and I almost failed it. One wounded soldier from 1st squad didn't recover but the squad received two new grunts as replacements, one Rep 4 and one Rep 3. The squad was now at five members strength.

Three men from 3rd squad were KIA and one wounded and he never recovered. Fortunately the squad received replacements up to paper strength. 3 Rep 4 and 2 Rep 3. Sgt. Gorman raised his Rep to 6.

Hishen Campaign Morale dropped again and now is at level 1. One more drop and the campaign is over with the Hishen being kicked out of the planet.

I got two rolls on the Research and Resources Table for winning this Special Mission so I chose and successfully researched Plasma Gun and Battle Tactical Armor (BTA)!

Watch out Hishen scum!

5150 Gaea Prime - First Defense. Presssing forward

The Hishen Morale Campaign have dropped to 3 and now I was on the counter offensive. This battle is a normal Attack Mission and battle number 9 since the start of the campaign, and I'm under the second stage of the Hishen invasion.

As usual the battlefield is divided into nine equal sections and terrain and PEFs (Possible Enemy Forces) are generated with dice rolls. For this mission I deployed 1st and 2nd squads.

Turn 1. Gaea Prime 4 - Hishen 5.

Hishen didn't activate and I fast moved forward my two squads.

Turn 2. GP 3 - Hishen 4.

Hishen received some reinforcements on sector 1 in the form of a spaceship crew. PEF on sector 6 fell back and the other two didn't move.

Then I moved the 1st squad who spotted and resolved two PEFs but both were a false alarm. That meant that the last PEF was going to be enemy troops for sure.

Without hesitation I advanced my 2nd squad and resolved the last PEF. It was a Hishen squad led by a Razor! My squad won the Reaction Test but failed some shots. The Razor "bullet moved", charged and killed one of my troopers in hand-to-hand combat; some Hishen saved their lives by duckig back on time.

The Hishen passed the Will to Fight Test thanks to their Razor leader but the Star Army didn't and most of them resulted suppressed and Hunkered Down.

 Turn 3. GP 2 - Hishen 4. 

Hishen activated first; bad news. The Razor mind controlled one Gaea Prime soldier who shot to his comrades and then was shot down by them when they returned fire. All surviving members of the squad except Cpl. Hill surrendered to the Aliens! Seeing that, Hill run for the hills (Fled the Battlefield).

 On Gaea Prime's activation the 1st squad took revenge by shooting down the Razor monster. The Hishen squad without their leader fled the battlefield and abandoned their prisoners.

Turn 4. GP 4 - Hishen 6.

One section of 1st squad went to rally 2nd squad on the left flank while Sgt. Blacksmith (my Star) with the other section rushed forward to assault the last Hishen.

They won the Reaction Test but Hishen crew valiantly returned fire putting one of my men to sleep and making another one to take cover. Then Sgt. Blacksmith threw an Inferno grenade. Game over.

 After the Mission.

Razors are nasty. Rookies say there is nothing worse than a full squad of Grath, but veterans know there is something worse, a Grath squad led by a Razor!

There weren't any replacements and Cpl. Hill was never to be seen again, but one of the troopers from 2nd squad could recover from his wounds and go back to fight.

ASI finished researching Star Navigation. Soon Gaea Prime will be able to build a star ship and kick out the Hishen from the system.

The Hishen Campaign Morale fell down again to two. Their end was near!

Until then.

Phoenix Ark part two, conclusion.

The surviving troopers of the last mission finally reached the Hishen ship, a G'narr class. They have to take it intact so the guys from ASI can put their hands on the engines and energy system that allow warp navigation.

I normally play on a 4x3 feet table but this time I played on a 3x3, and folded the rest of the mat to give room to set the interior of the spaceship, so I could play both outside and inside the ship on the same table. I used my old Space Hulk tiles to represent the Hishen spaceship, but the rulebook will contain tiles of a specific spaceship to use for this mission.

As usual I rolled for terrain, deployed my troops and rolled for PEFs, one on sector 2 and two on sector 3.

Turn 1. Gaea Prime 1 - Hishen 2.

Hishen moved first and one PEF in sector 2 moved behind the spaceship and out of sight whereas another from sector 3 advanced and turned into a reinforced squadron.

In the firefight that followed two men from 1st squad hit the dirt and the Hishen suffered several casualties that made the rest put their heads down.

Turn 2. GP 2 - Hishen 4.

Ducked Back Hishen recovered and and popped out to fire but they were intercepted by 1st squad who fired first. I decided to fire with the Inferno grenade launcher first to kill them all quickly, but I failed miserably and then the specialist was shot down when the Hishen returned fire.

The last PEF advanced and it was a spaceship crew, but I couldn't fire at them as they crossed to the next forest and got out of sight before my troops could pull the trigger.

Now my boys activated. They suppressed the Hishen squad and run to the ship.

3rd squad run forward and took position on the ridge of the hill on the left to watch for enemies...

From there they could spot the PEF that was hiding behind the ship but it was a false alarm.

The last PEF crossing to the other forest near the spaceship.

Turn 3. GP 3 - Hishen 1.

1st squad accessed to the ship through the crew section and stumbled upon a Hishen reinforced squad. Star Army reacted first, killing one Grath and one Hishen, and putting the rest on the run.

The Hishen squad duck for the closest cover and split in two, with some fleeing to the bridge and some to the firing room.

I decided to send a section of the 3rd squad into the ship to back up 1st squad, and left Cpl. Rousie (Quick Reflexes and Rep 6) and the specialist with an IGL on the hill to watch their backs. Now there was combat in and out of the ship.

Turn 4. GP 5 - Hishen 1.

1st squad proceeded to the firing room and clean it from enemies.

Sgt. Corben and his section from 3rd squad got into the ship.

Outside the Hishen leader was rallying his troops in the wood while the spaceship crew waited for them in the other forest.

Turn 5. GP 4 - Hishen 5.

Hishen did not activate.

Corben's section assaulted the bridge and exterminated one full squad of Hishen plus the fugitives from the other one. One of Corben's men was hit but his armor (Exo!) resisted and he ducked back.

1st squad entered in one of the cargo sections of the ship and found more rats hidden there. This time Hishen shot first. Sgt. Blacksmith and one grunt could take cover behind some barrels and crates, but Cpl. Hill and another guy didn't make it.

Turn 6. GP 4 - Hishen 3.

A seven! I rolled hoping to receive some reinforcements after having two casualties but they didn't show up.

I regrouped the two sections from 1st and 3rd squad and assaulted the last section of the ship, the thrusters, I finished the last Hishen. The spaceship was mine!

Outside, the Hishen leader ended rallying all his grunts and as they had superiority in numbers, they switched to Attack and then advanced with both squads outside the woods.

Then Rousie and the specialist reacted and burned first one squad...

And then the other one.

After the mission:

Now that my troops are wearing Exo-armor there are no more Out of the Fight soldiers to recover but there were some KIA, so I rolled for Replacements and my two squads returned to paper strength, but all of them Rep 3 rookies!

After that I rolled for the Morale Campaign and I went up to 5 whereas Hishen went down to 3.

The research for laser weapons was finished and then I rolled twice on the R&R table for winning this mission, and successfully researched Starship building and now that I got a spaceship, Alien Energy Source as well.

Soon I will be able to fully build the first Gaea Prime spaceship, to board the Hishen command ship and cut the head of the snake and so win the campaign, but there are still some bitter fights ahead.

Until then.

Phoenix Ark 1st part.

Well, it's not exactly the first part, but to play Phoenix Ark first you have to win an attack mission with a second objective; so this is the attacking mission in which I have to exit through enemy lines with 3/4 of my forces intact. If I win, then I will be able to play Phoenix Ark.

So as usual I divide the table into nine sectors, generate terrain, deploy up to two squads and then roll for PEFs. I got two on sector 3 and one on sector 6. This was the first mission from the Hishen second invading wave, but my troops were now wearing Exo-armor for the first time and were reinforced with Inferno grenade launchers. I felt invulnerable.

Turn 1. Gaea Prime 5 - Hishen 3.

I didn't want to fight through sectors six and three so I moved fast my 1st squad to the left flank. 3rd squad rushed forward towards the hills.

Hishen activated and the PEF on sector six advanced and it turned into a squad. They got me in the open.

1st squad was giving their backs and couldn't react. The last man went down, and the specialist with the Inferno turned around when he was shot and fired, but missed and wen out of ammo!

Fortunately, one section of 3rd squad was covering them from the hill and could open fire on the Hishen in the building, frying most of them. The rest fled the battlefield.

Turn 2. GP 6 - Hishen 2.

Hishen activated first and one PEF from sector three advanced and turned into another squad who engaged with my section on the hill.

Half of the Hishen squad was Out of the Fight and the other half Hunkered Down and without leader to rally and completely suppressed. The other PEF did not move.

Turn 3. GP 3 - Hishen 1.

3rd squad gave cover while 1st squad kept running to the hills. Hishen's last PEF advanced out of sight.

Turn 4. GP 5 - Hishen 5.

Doubles and Shadow Corp appeared but as I had taken their base I ignored this and roll again for activation.

Turn 4. GP 1- Hishen 3.

Hishen did not move. I moved fast all my troops towards the border of sector one, with half of the 1st squad already leaving the table.

Turn 5. GP 2 - Hishen 6.

I moved the rest of my troops out of the battlefield and won the mission.

After the mission.

I cannot roll for replacements or Research as I didn't go back to the base but kept advancing to cross Hishen lines and try to take a landed Hishen spaceship intact. That's is the Special Mission Phoenix Ark!

Until then.

Shadow Hour, a Special Mission for 5150 Gaea Prime - First Defense

Interrogation on some captured Shadow Corp mercenaries have finally shown results as now you know where their headquarters are. Assault the base and let no one escape unpunished.

This is how it starts another Special Missions in 5150 Gaea Prime - First Defense. Assault the Shadow Corporation headquarters and get rid off those pesky mercs once and for all. Kill'em all!

I set up the map with the walls of the base dividing the map into nine sections. The map was 2x2 feet instead the standard 3x3 but it played equally well.

I deployed 1st and 3rd squads and then three PEFs plus one squad in section five, the command center.

Turn 1. Gaea Prime 1 - Hishen 3.

No PEFs moved. Star Army squads moved fast to the left, center and right to try to break into the command center on three different ways at the same time.

3rd Squad to Left.

Center.

1st Squad to Center and Right.

Turn 2. GP 6 - Hishen 4.

The PEF in the command center moved forwards but turned into nothing, phew!

A second PEF moved from section three to six and it also turned into nothing. But when the door was opened, 1st Squad could see the third PEF on section three which turned into a Base Crew Squad. Basically guys in Soft Body armor armed with pistols.

In the fire exchange two grunts went down. Those crewmen sure did a lot of shooting practice! Sargent Blacksmith (my Star) Duck Backed out of sight and then Hunkered Down when failing the Will Test.

Turn 3. GP4 - Hishen 3.

2nd Squad came as reinforcements on sector nine.

2nd Squad moved fast forward and engaged the rest of the Base Crew, who fled the battle after taking one casualty.

3rd Squad opened the door to the command center, won the initiative in the Reaction Test and threw a couple of Inferno hand grenades, killing all occupants in one go. Mission over.

After mission.

The grunt Out of the Fight recovered from his wounds but there were no replacement for the KIA in 1st Squad.

Corporal Artois from 1st Squad developed Quick Reflexes.

The Shadow Corporation headquarters was covered in looted alien technology as well as many investigation projects that could be recycled for Gaea Prime, that allow me to roll twice on the Research and Resources Table. I researched Exo-armor and started researching Laser weapons (it will be ready after next mission).

The mission went really fast with two PEFs turning into nothing and me receiving reinforces on the third turn; and those Inferno grenades are something!

But this was the sixth mission and the end of first wave of the Hishen Invasion. In the second wave, they will be more dangerous and will use Inferno weapons as well. Thank to the Goddess that I have already developed Exo-armor for my troops!

5150 Gaea Prime - First Defense "Saving Citizens" special mission 5

The Special Missions are optional and an exception to the Next Mission Table during your campaign. In this Mission the enemy is assaulting a city in full force for a massive slave capture. Several squads are dispatched to different sectors in the city to try to stop capturing Gaea Prime Citizens. You are responsible of one of these sectors. This time retrieving alien technology is not the priority but to save Gaea Prime citizens!

To be a success you must prevent any enemy transport fro leaving the table. The Mission is over when you have stopped all enemy transports on the table. If two or more transports exit the table or they are destroyed with citizens inside, the mission is a failure.

After dividing the map in nine equal sectors as usual, I rolled to deploy PEFs and got one on sector 1 and 2 on sector two. Also, for this special mission there are three Hishen transports (G'raar) centered on the border of sectors 1, 2 and 3. They must exit through sectors 7, 8 and 9 (opposite border) and your Star Army troopers must stop them.

I deployed 1st squad with one less man on sector 7 and 3rd squad on the road on sector 8. finally I rolled for activation to start the game.

Turn 1. Gaea Prime 6 - Hishen 2.

That was a bad start as Star Army couldn't activate. One PEF was resolved and it turned into nothing. The other two didn't move, but the G'sharr transports did and reached the highway.

Turn 2. Gaea Prime 1 - Hishen 6.

Hishen received a reinforced squad.

Things started to getting worse with Hishen reinforcements appearing on sector 2, but at least Hishen didn't activate and I could move my troops.

My soldiers fast moved and took positions on the buildings next to the highway.

Turn 3. Gaea Prime 6 - Hishen 3.

Again my troops stayed idle but they could react when the Hishen transports rushed through their positions.

The one on the left was shot in crossfire by 3rd squad. One section fired against the vehicle and damaged it, making it to stop. The other section fired against its crew and killed the turret gunner. The rest of the crew bailed out, leaving the prisioners to their fate. One less transport to worry about!

It didn't go so well with the other two G'sharrs. The transport in the middle reacted first and fired at my Star who saved his life thanks to his Star powers but had to duck back due to the suppressing firepower of the machine gun on the turret.

The last transport, the one on the left was hit by 1st squad section and the driver reacted turning away to try to escape from danger.

The Hishen reinforcements advanced and took cover in the vehicles pile on the crossroad.

Turn 4. GP 4 - Hishen 4.

Doubles and a squad of Xeog appeared on sector two!

They resolved one PEF that turned into nothing and then the Hishen reacted and fired to stun.

Three Xeog were put to sleep. The leader took one of his women and duck back behind the building. The other standing Xeog returned fire with her laser rifle and killed one Hishen.

I rolled again for activation of turn 4. GP 5 - Hishen 2.

I received 2nd squad as reinforcement on sector 9 and activated first.

The two G'sharrs reacted and opened fire against the 2nd squad who hit the dirt.

Third squad engaged Hishen on the road and eliminated most of them but suffered one casualty. After that the Hishen squad broke and fled the battlefield.

My star fired at the transport in the middle but couldn't damage it and then the vehicle reacted moving away and exited the table! If the last transport also exited the mission would be a failure.

But then the trooper standing next to my Star fired at the last transport killing its driver but the commander took its place and controlled the vehicle. Luckily, the crew couldn't take the beating and bailed out so the prisioners could escape unscathed. Now the mission was a success and I could leave but I wanted to capture those Xeog alive so I kept playing.

Turn 5. GP 2 - Hishen 4 - Xeog 2.

The last Hishen PEF activated and moved forward. 1st squad section on the hill resolved it, it was a spaceship crew, but couldn't fire in reaction as the Hishen kept moving and got out of sight in the cover of the building.

Xeog on Raid mission and outnumbered turned into Defense mission and they stayed put in their place, firing at anything in their line of sight and taking one man from 2nd squad down with a very long range shot. Now my three squads have five men each.

Turn 6. GP 1 - Hishen 3 - Xeog 5.

Hishen took the building in front of them. I re-deployed my troops. Xeog did nothing. A lull in the action.

Turn 7. GP 1 - Hishen 3 - Xeog 6.

My 3rd squad in the middle shot down one standing Xeog but the leader managed to escape again and took cover in the ruined building. Out of the picture the 2nd squad is running towards that last Xeog to capture it and revenge their fallen comrade.

Sargent Blacksmith and one grunt poked out from the building and engaged the last Hishen squad, killing three of them and suppressing the rest...

Then the 1st squad section on the hill in sector 1 charged the building and took all the Hishen prisioners!

Second squad was getting close to the last Xeog.

Turn 8. GP 4 - Hishen 5 - Xeog 2.

Second squad assaulted Xeog position with hand grenades and put her out of the fight. Game over.

After the mission.

I rolled for my two casualties and both recovered. Then I rolled for Replacements for my first squad and it returned to paper strength. Finally I rolled in the Research & Resources Table, counting +2d6 bonus for retrieving a new alien specie alive and I successfully investigated Inferno explosives.

This was a successful Defense Mission so the next one would be a Raid.

This new mission was very tense with those transports trying to escape. They are harder to stop than you may think and I guess I was lucky avoiding the last one to exit the table. Great fun.