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_ArthurDallas_
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Frontier War - Mission 5 Operation Dreamcatcher

Mon 06 Jun 2022, 00:08

Frontier War Campaign
MISSION 5
Operation Dreamcatcher

The USCMC 2nd platoon (kilo company) alpha section is composed of :

-Lieutenant Hope (Platoon commander)
-Sergeant Matthews (section sergeant)
-Synthetic Lance (scientific advisor and medic)
1ST SQUAD
-Corporal Biehn (1st squad leader)
-PFC Jenette (1st squad smartgunner)
-PFC Paxton (1st squad comtech)
-Private Ricco (1st squad sniper)
2ND SQUAD
-Lance Corporal Wright (2nd squad leader)
-Major Davydovich (2nd squad smartgunner)
-Private Lees (2nd squad comtech)
-Botos (2nd squad sniper)

The UAS El Diablo
Mantis Multimission Transport
support crew
-Captain Wincott
-Pilot Flowers
-Mercenary Perlman
-Synthetic Winona
-Tanya Lebedev (advisor)
-Arietta Pichilemu (advisor)


What's the situation Mother

USS Tambitam positions herself in the NN-4274 O'Bannon's World system and enters further in the Bordeline sector. PCs are gathered in the hangar bay for a quick briefing with CO Lieutenant Hope. "For the past 2 months, anyone entering this sector of space has had vivid nightmares causing daily violence. Scientists on an asteroid in the GL-884 (Solano System) vented their dome and blew themselves into space. The crew of the USCSS Dahlia murdered each other in horrific ways. This isn't a case of one maniac against the crew. Intel has triangulated a central point to all the incidents, where a decommissioned W-Y Network station sits. It's station Talos number 4. A UPP defector contacted us, it's chief engineer Maslov. His family was killed and he wants to come work for us. He gave us a valid access code. You're going to use the SSV Tapakah (cockroach), a UPP Norcomm-Liu G-Class Mantis resupply ship that we kept in reserve. You're going to retake the station. R&D wants to know what the fuck they are doing down there and how the fuck it works. Bring back engineer Maslov, collect data and lock down the station. You are supposed to be a resupply ship. The Tambitam will be on station in-system and come to your aid in case you need it", (says Lieutenant Hope).

Insertion

The Tambitam drops the PCs beyond the system's asteroid belt to avoid detection. As the PCs approach the station Talos 4 with the SSV Tapakah, PCs are asked for an access code. "We'll see if it works", (says Captain Wincott). "Your approach vector is confirmed, please join the auxiliary docking umbilical Deck A", (says Comtech Leon on Station Talos 4).

Boarding the Station (Deck-A)

The SSV Tapakah docks. PCs get off the ship. The airlock pressurizes and PCs enter the Com Relay Operations Hub main room. Comtech Leon stands in front of them. 2 UPP guards armed with AK-4047 stare at them. Tanya Lebedev walks towards them. She speaks Russian very well. PCs have UPP uniforms. "We are the resupply mission. We were unable to bring you the AK-4047 ammunition. Production is slow. I'll show you the manifest", (says Tanya). She approaches Leon. Paxton and Ricco fire non-lethal tranquilizer guns to put the 2 guards to sleep. They fall to the ground. Tanya plunges a tranquilizer syringe into Leon's neck. He falls to the ground too.

"Okay sweethearts we have to secure the place. Lance get to work. I thought our contact Maslov would be here to greet us", (says Sergeant Matthews). Lance gets to work on the consoles. Jenette, Paxton and Ricco tie up the 3 UPP men and hide them in the locker. Wright, Davydovich, Lees and Botos watch the hallways. Wincott, Flowers, Perlman and Winona remain aboard the SSV Tapakah. Tanya and Arietta analyze the databases. Biehn and Matthews are with them.

Tanya finds some information. 14 Weyland-Yutani's Talos stations are situated in remote out-of-the-way places in the Bordeline Region. Talos were retired about a decade ago. A UPP freighter stumbled into station number 4. UPP were able to use its old access codes to reestablish the network. Talos was used as a simple electronic surveillance platform monitoring UA frontier. It's also used for a project called MORANA. Most information is classified.

Lance finds more information. Talos broadcasts frequencies across the region. Any network satellite, ship, receptor arrays with open comm channels within a two-parsec radius will be affected. It's a psychological warfare engine. "We can stop the broadcast from this console. No one will know. I found the station maps too. There are 4 political prisoners on Deck-C Rec-Room. They are the first test-subjects of the frequencies experiment. There is a server room too on Deck-C. There is a thing called KOROLEVA on Deck-B", (says Lance). "KOROLEVA means QUEEN in Russian", (says Tanya). "Shit. We have to get rid of her too. And free the prisoners. Can we download server room data from here Lance", (says Biehn). "No, we need to go to Deck-C", (says Lance). The group decided that Lance would stay at Deck A to shut down the transmissions. Perlman will come to join him to check the UPP prisoners.

Deck-B

The group decides to take the service stairs to get to Deck-B. PCs arrive in a central area. Cabins are located on the left and a mess hall is located forward with a large viewing ports out into space. There is no one in the galley. They inspect the cabins on the left. The first 2 cabins are empty. PCs find no information. In the third cabin, a man (Comtech Kiev) is sleeping peacefully. Tanya plunges a tranquilizer syringe into his neck to keep him asleep.

Advancing towards the cabins on the right side, PCs notice a UPP guard in front of a special hatch in the back. Tanya and Arietta walk towards him. "We have to go to the command center. We are the resupply team. We got lost", (says Tanya in perfect Russian). "Come, I'll show you the way", (says the UPP guard). Paxton fires his non-lethal tranquilizer gun. The guard falls to the ground. PCs put him in an empty cabin. They inspect the last 3 cabins. They are empty.

PCs return to see the special hatch with a viewport in the door. It looks like a coolant tank. The tank has been drained, fitted with an access port. An immature xenomorph Queen is in there. The beast is asleep, hibernating with a crown of electrodes drilled into her head. Next to the hatch, there is a control panel with a red button that indicates (module ejection). "We have a way to get rid of the Queen. Good news", (says Caporal Biehn).

A series of cables runs along the ceiling to a central room (Power control room) with access next to the stairs. They enter. The fusion reactor is monitored from here. PCs discover that this is where the self-destruct procedure can be activated. The group decides what actions to take.

PCs decide that Ricco and Arietta are going to stay near the Queen's hatch. The group will be able to give the signal for the ejection of the module in case of a problem. The rest of the group will go to Deck-C to get more information and find Chief engineer Maslov.

Deck-C

PCs arrive on Deck-C. They are looking for the Rec-Room to free the prisoners. The room is on the left at the end. The room has been converted into a chamber for observing the effects of the frequencies on tests subjects. They open the door. Furniture inside is smashed. The walls have bloodstains. There are 5 prisoners here with strange helmets on their ears. 4 are dead. Unfortunately the 5th looks like Chief engineer Maslov. He manages to speak.

"You came, that's good. You must destroy this place. They were all political prisoners that government wanted to get rid of, including me. They killed my wife and sent me here to punish me. Watch out there is a xenomorph Queen here on Deck-B. Everyone listens to her dreams. that's the project MORANA. They collect the maddening dreams of a sleeping xenomorph Queen. It drives people mad. You have to stop the broadcasts. Controller Acosta must be in the server room. Go see him, he will help you. Then go to the control center, the android Sergei is an ally. He can help you destroy the station. He has all the access codes", (says Chief engineer Maslov). He takes a last breath and dies.

Data Servers

The group heads to the server room. There are a lot of noises coming from there. They open the door. Several huge servers are in operation. A man and a woman are in the room. They approach the PCs. "Controller Acosta, we're USCMC Marines. Maslov contacted us to pick him up but he's dead now. He told us that you are an ally", (says Corporal Biehn).

"Yes. Here is Mechanic First-Class Sal. She's with us too. We are asking for asylum and we want to come with you. I was downloading the data from the servers to give it to you. Let's join Sergei in the control center. He can trigger the self-destruct", (says Controller Acosta). PCs tell Controller Acosta that they have a ship. Acosta tells them it would be best if the ship docked on main docking umbilical Deck-C. Biehn asks Lance and Perlman to return to the ship and dock to Deck-C. Biehn asks Arietta and Ricco to join them on Deck-C.

Control Center

PCs enter the Control Center. A large open operations room, the room is filled with computer terminals, wall monitors and 6 holotab viewing tables. A large picture window gives a view of outer space. Mesmerizing holograms are projected from 4 of the holotabs. 4 androids (David 5) were on duty here. 3 androids are inactive, circuits have been torn in their open heads. A female doctor (Dr.Savina) stands in front of the holographic images. It's a strange symphony of colors. Her gaze is lost into it.

"Hello I'm Sergei. It's Dr.Savina. Head of this station and head of the project MORANA. She's lost in the Queen's dreams. Be careful not to look at the holograms. They will drive you mad", (says android Sergei). "Sergei, we have to go. They are USCMC marines and they have a ship. Our friend Maslov died unfortunately. You have to engage the self-destruct", (says Acosta). "We are docked at Deck-C and we are waiting for you", (says Captain Wincott).

Poking the Bear

Dr.Savina speaks, "Release me, release me now". Dr.Savina turns to the group. Her gaze goes towards Acosta. She pushes a keyboard and enters a quick code. The station makes a dull noise. The lights cut off. Emergency lights activate. We hear the sound of pounding on a metalic door on Deck-B. Sergei grabs Dr.Savina to stop her from moving and doing more damage.

"Dr.Savina has just cut off the station's power supply. The Queen is awake. Quick, leave before it gets complicated. I will blow up the station", (says android Sergei). He holds Dr.Savina with one hand and with the other, he programs the auto-destruct with a terminal.

PCs are ready to go but the control center door does not open (the electrical systems are down). Paxton takes his cutting torch to cut the lock. We hear the Queen twisting metal through the intercom. She's free. She jumps in the stairs of the mess hall (Deck-B). Paxton finally opens the door. They all get out and run towards the airlock. Wincott and Lance are waiting in the docking bay.

The Queen arrives on Deck-C. Biehn, Ricco, Jenette and Major Davidovich fire their guns. PCs hit the beast with their shots. She becomes fiercer. Wright, Lees, Botos, Matthews, Tanya, Arietta and Paxton enter the El Diablo (Mantis).

Controller Acosta pushes Mechanic Sal into Biehn's arms. Take care of her and go. He rushes towards the beast to block her way. Biehn, Ricco, Jenette, Davidovich and Sal take the opportunity to enter the ship. The door closes. The Mantis moves away from the station. After a moment, we hear an immense noise. The station has just exploded. The Mantis joins the Tambitam. Biehn has Acosta's data backups.

This is Game Mother signing OFF.
 
 
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Angelman
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Joined: Sun 11 Apr 2021, 12:46

Re: Frontier War - Mission 5 Operation Dreamcatcher

Tue 28 Jun 2022, 09:31

Another great write-up, _ArthurDallas_. These game play reports are such a great help when preparing for FW missions, truly invaluable.

In my game, we've just finished Mission 1 - Blaze of Glory, so we're quite a bit behind y'all, but it's also helpful to see how future misions ran with other groups, to plan and foreshadow what's to come.

Thanks, mate. Can't wait to see how your gang will fare in the Deep Shaft :D

Say, just out of curiosity: How are your players and PCs dealing with the entire General Vaughn and the Deep Void thing. Have they begun to suspect their boss' nefarious plans, and if so, how are they dealing with it? Will they mutiny against her at some point, you think, and throw their lot in with Secretary of Defense De La Cruz, or are they happy with Vaughn and her road to victory?
"And the rain sets in,
it's the Angelman.
I'm deranged".
--David Bowie, I'm Deranged
 
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_ArthurDallas_
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Posts: 505
Joined: Wed 04 Mar 2020, 03:22

Re: Frontier War - Mission 5 Operation Dreamcatcher

Wed 29 Jun 2022, 15:51

I'm changing mission 6 Deep shaft for an Atmosperic Processor Plant with interior designs (map) as in ALIENS ...
This shoud be much more interesting than a mine.

My players deals with the main plot (Deep Void from General Vaughn) with not much interest. They know that a bunch of big corporate are taking all the big decisions but they don't suspect General Vaughn is in it. They know that special commandos are probably part of Deep Void and that's it. I'm dealing with each story like "a monster of the week" and I don't focus a lot on the main plot (yet).

Everything will fall down in the last episode (mission 7) I think. Maybe General Vaughn won't be the main vilain. I'm thinking of someone else. You'll see.
 
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Angelman
Posts: 358
Joined: Sun 11 Apr 2021, 12:46

Re: Frontier War - Mission 5 Operation Dreamcatcher

Mon 08 Aug 2022, 16:33

I'm changing mission 6 Deep shaft for an Atmosperic Processor Plant with interior designs (map) as in ALIENS ...
This shoud be much more interesting than a mine.
Are you doing full maps for the Atmospheric Processor Plant, _ArthurDallas_? I will probably use the mines as written for Operation: Deep Shaft, but a map of an atmos processor should be very useful to have! I'm planning to design some additional missions for my marines, and it would be great to have a professional-looking big map for something like that :)

Also, any ETA on your Op. Deep Shaft resources? :D
"And the rain sets in,
it's the Angelman.
I'm deranged".
--David Bowie, I'm Deranged
 
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_ArthurDallas_
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Posts: 505
Joined: Wed 04 Mar 2020, 03:22

Re: Frontier War - Mission 5 Operation Dreamcatcher

Thu 11 Aug 2022, 15:37

I was planning to release the (atmospheric processor plant) maps with the play report of mission 6 but with the holidays the game is not over yet. I will release the maps this week (just for you man).
 
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Angelman
Posts: 358
Joined: Sun 11 Apr 2021, 12:46

Re: Frontier War - Mission 5 Operation Dreamcatcher

Thu 11 Aug 2022, 17:23

I was planning to release the (atmospheric processor plant) maps with the play report of mission 6 but with the holidays the game is not over yet. I will release the maps this week (just for you man).
Thanks, mate! No real rush, to be honest, but I am looking forward to seeing what you came up with there :D
"And the rain sets in,
it's the Angelman.
I'm deranged".
--David Bowie, I'm Deranged

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