STAR WARS: RETROSPECTION- Cold War

Wraith leaps into action! As he descends, he puts a laser right into the face of an Arnian, then slams into it and falls on his back. He sits up and guns down another three. Good shooting!

Ker'Raos has dropped his kinetic rifle and gone for his lightsaber, snapping out the blue-bladed weapon quickly. Instead of flaying the last soldier, he attacks one of the cannons! Despite not being quite the swordsman that you are, he manages to sever a power feed and shut down the gun. He takes cover behind the cut tubing.

As this is happening, your militia shuffles haphazardly over the grappling lines onto the train. Covering fire peels off some of the soldiers and destroys a cannon! The soldier left standing near you is blasted apart.

A speeder is destroyed in return, along with everyone aboard. A scant few soldiers left by the second set of cannons fire at you and Ker'Raos. 3 damage to you, and Ker'Raos is protected by the dense tubing. More reinforcements come out of the barracks car.

---

TRAIN ASSAULT (Second Skirmish), Start of Turn 3

Barracks Car- 1st Half

Soldiers x5 (G6): 0 (1A) (inside)

Barracks Car- 2nd Half

Soldiers x10 (G6): 0 (1A) (inside)

Gunnery Car- 1st Half

Soldier x5 (G6): 0 (1A)

Wraith (G8) 1/10 [CC OGu CL] [FcGu RF] (7F)

Ker'Raos (LS9): 1(2A)/6 [CQG CH BGu] [CC] (4F) (in cover)

Militiamen x5 (G5): 0

Gunnery Car- 2nd Half

Cannons x2 (HW6): 0 (5A)

Soldiers x3 (G6): 0 (1A)

Militiamen x10 (G5): 0

Alongside Train

Attack Speeders x2 (HW6): 4 (5A)

Militiamen x5 (G5): 0

Militiamen x5 (G5): 0

---

(Dak, you should go after a tank and then take cover again, maybe even direct your attack speeders to blow up the soldiers for a turn.)

Wraith swaps CC out for Reflection as he puts his pistol away and snaps out the orange lightsaber at his side. Following Ker'Raos example, Wraith moves to help the militiamen on the second half of the gunnery car, getting into position and slicing into a cannon with his wonderful armor-splitting lightsaber.

Dak will indeed attack one of the tanks firing at him before diving back into cover. He commands the speeders to focus on the royal soldiers.

Initiative goes to... Dak and Wraith again! The Force is with you in this fight.

Dak turns his attention a tank this time. Seven successes does the trick as Dak maneuvers his way around the tank and smacks his lightsaber through the gasline. It explodes a moment later and he moves against it, taking cover. His remaining forces plow into the soldiers, backed up by the speeders. Between them, they score over twenty kills.

Dak's display brings the wrath of three tanks this time, after ten soldiers fail to inflict more than a point of damage. His cover is blown away by the first two tanks and the third rolls a 1, so Dak gets +3 Armor against it despite failing the Agility roll. Four damage overall.

Two of your speeders get blasted apart, and you take some casualties.

---

SECOND BATTLE OF MEJA'TSID (Second Skirmish), Start of Turn 4

Rear of Column

Mercenaries x2 (G6): 0

Militiamen x12 (G5): 0

Attack Speeder x1 (HW6): 3 (5A)
Attack Speeder x1 (HW6): 1 (5A)

Center of Column

Dak (LS11) 1(2A)/28 [BGu CL CH] [FwGu] (5F)

Soldiers x30 (G6): 0 (1A)

Armored Speeders x3 (HW6): 0
Armored Speeder x1 (HW6): 3
Armored Speeder x1 (HW6): 2

Front of Column

Clear

---

Wraith runs in! The soldiers standing in his way are blasted down by his miltiamen. He follows Ker's example and severs a power feed with six successes, and Ker does the same. The cannons are down! The speeders, their passengers delivered, drive off.

Wraith gets a Reflection kill as a soldier tries shooting at him, but they're mostly caught up with your militiamen.

---

TRAIN ASSAULT (Second Skirmish), Start of Turn 4

Barracks Car- 1st Half

Clear

Barracks Car- 2nd Half

Soldiers x10 (G6): 0 (1A) (inside)

Gunnery Car- 1st Half

Soldier x8 (G6): 0 (1A)

Militiamen x9 (G5): 0

Gunnery Car- 2nd Half

Militiamen x15 (G5): 0

Wraith (G8) 1/10 [RF OGu CL] [FcGu CC] (7F)

Ker'Raos (LS9): 1(2A)/6 [CQG CH BGu] [CC EE] (4F)

---

"They're faltering! Continue the decimation!" Dak again attacks and takes cover behind a tank.

Swap Focused Guard in for Orthodox Guard, tap it and Reflection.

Satisfied that he's gotten his soldiers onboard, Wraith knows that he needs to preserve them as long as he can so that they can overtake the whole train. The Royalty can't have an entire army on this train but no doubt it is well protected and won't go easily.

Wraith draws the attention of as many soldiers as he can as he takes a pair of them, moving back toward the barracks car. He cuts them down with pair of swirling blows, then reflects incoming fire back at the attackers as they come out of the barracks.

Initiative goes to you both one last time.

Dak makes short work of a tank. He saws off its main cannon, and its rocket gets stuck in the heated barrel and blows the front of the speeder wide open. Between the clearly lethal Dark Jedi on the field, the militiamen and speeders backing him up, and the reinforcements that are starting to arrive, the Royal soldiers have clearly been trumped in their pincer effort! Congratulations on your victory, General.

You can take a moment to rest and patch up by the trenches. The Medic will double your Medicine rating, so you can heal 10 damage in your brief respite. Further rest heals further damage.

-

Wraith's assault does the trick as he takes out a full five soldiers before they can fight back! With Ker'Raos and the militiamen following his example, the soldiers are massacred before they can truly mount a defensive. This section of the train is yours.

"We need to push forward and take the engine," Ker'Raos says. "We're about halfway through the train at this point. We'd better hurry."

The cold, dark horizon whisks by at high speed, frigid wind stinging your face. The snowspeeders are making passes at the rear of the train, keeping the soldiers there occupied.

Wraith can take a moment to rest if he wants, but time is pressing.

Wraith can keep going. Ten damage is nothing.

"I agree," Wraith says, the vocal implant speaking for him. "Let's move."

Take the rest to heal 10.

The medic helps treat Dak's burns and gets him down to 18 damage.

You are now getting word from the frontline. Reynal has reached the central mineshaft discretely and is planning on making his assault from the mouth of the mines, but your forces pushing toward him are being held back. Someone is directing the soldiers there well and their defense is sturdy.

In the mean time, Pade has moved up and is holding back the pincer movement, hoping to discourage them further so that they retreat into the city.

Give some orders and choose where to go.

-

Wraith- how do you want to do this? Despite the train being loaded with a heavy arsenal, it is narrow. Five men at a time can move up the enclosed cars (i.e. barracks) or ten men at a time (i.e. gunnery).

Ker'Raos expresses concerns about being flanked. The snowspeeders can only hold their attention for so long.

Wraith will take point. He wants Ker'Raos covering him with the kinetic rifle from the halfway point, so he can watch back and front.

We must push through the frontlines so that Reynal's forces aren't crushed. Every man that can be spared forward.

Pade wants to know if that includes him and his forces, Dak.

"Not everyone has made it into the city for our assault," Pade says, his hologram flickering on the tiny communicator the medic keeps with him, doubling as your comms officer.

-

Ker'Raos won't be able to do much good inside the enclosed cars with his kinetic gun. High risk of friendly fire.

Pade should remain where he is, pushing the pincer effort back. "Once everyone is inside the city, join the main force. We will crush them with all our might."

Could Ker'Raos go on top of the train? He's pretty agile, right? He'd be able to maneuver wherever the problem is.

"Righteo," Pade says. "Morning in three hours, I'll remind you. The train comes at dawn."

You call a speeder to take you into Meja'Tsid, to link up with your forces that have gotten the farthest into the city. It is as you remember it when you first came here, simply following the will of the Force. Arnian buildings are mainly metal structures with sharp edges, steaming gently in the night air due to powerful internal heating systems. No windows to let the warm out and the cold in. Several of these structures have been damaged in the fighting and the steam of warmed atmosphere pours out of cracks and holes caused by rockets and blasters.

Blasters pulse clearly in the night ahead of you, and you drive by squads of your men piling their dead and tending the wounded in alleyways and on street corners. You pass and they cheer at your arrival.

-

Ker'Raos thinks that is a delightful plan. He retrieves his kinetic rifle and gets to frog-leaping.

Wraith- onwards to the engine of the train takes you into the barracks car that you landed atop when you jumped from your fighter. It can hold about twenty men comfortably... but you killed all of them, so it is empty.

A comm unit warbles in one corner at a desk. A miniature cloaked figure flickers on the hologram projector, speaking rapidly in Arnian.

Wraith looks for a flunky and grabs him.

"You. What is it saying?" Wraith asks. "Who is that?"

Dak grins and gestures to the crowd. These people respect him as he should be. This is what the Force called him back for. "Slower," he tells the driver, before standing and raising his arms. "Victory over, and freedom from, the tyranny of the Royals!" he shouts in Arnian. "These comrades have given life and limb for our glorious cause! Their sacrifices shall not be in vain! Finish here, and then join me at the front lines, as we crush our opponents and take this city once and for all! From here, the rest of the planet! End the Royals!" he roars, raising a clenched fist in the air.

There are cheers of approval and support all about you, Dak. Arnians pump their claws and blasters in the air, chanting your name. These people see you as their savoir and their liberator! Ironic, considering what you really are...

Your speeder arrives close to the 'frontlines,' where your men have hunkered down to combat the Royals that dug in before your arrival. Volleys are being tossed back and forth, claiming lives on both sides, but the Royals are not giving ground.

An officer there hails you.

"General! We're at a standstill!" he says. "The Royals have set up barriers in the roads, and they're equipment is allowing them to thwart our numbers! We need to make a break in their lines!"

Something you could do easily, Dak. Your men are taking a direct route and smashing themselves against the Royals' barriers.

-

"I don't know," the militiaman says. "But they're giving orders for everyone at the rear of the train to flank and for those at the front to take cover and prepare to ambush."