Shattergrounds

It had been only a handful of days since Haqqislam High Command was given permission to establish command and control of the Terraforming Environmental Studies Campus at Bhai. In short order they enforced a perimeter around the campus and surrounding urban centers, and created a waystation of humanitarian aid and a refugee center. Shipments of desperately needed supplies and material flooded into the Haqqislam-controlled zone nearly every hour by dropship and cargo caravan, more often than not escorted by O-12 protection details and groups of frightened refugees. This was the way of warfare for Haqqislam; to shield and provide panacea to humanity, but also to remain poised to strike down their enemies with merciless fury when called upon to do so.
‘Say again? This is RTF Avenger 7, we are en route. Bhai LZ one six west, please say again?’ The copilot of the Alsaqr gunship switched comms to an open channel that could be heard by the whole of the strike team over the whine of the twin turbines.
‘—peat, security detail under fire. One six we—romised, O-12 Betatroo—ggressors—’ The staccato of high-powered automatic suddenly drowned out the voice of the security officer. The copilot turned to the team of grim-faced soldiers, hitting the switch to open the door to either side of the agile gunship. ‘Drop in sixty seconds, did you get all that captain?’
Tarik Mansuri met the smaller man’s gaze and simply nodded as the gunship banked into a wide arc around the approaching landing zone. His attention quickly turned to the figure of a massive Zeta TAG taking up overwatch position atop a squat two-story building. ‘Avenger 7 ready for drop.’

PRE-GAME
Haqqislam wins the lieutenant roll, and will be going first. Yara Hadad and my Ghulam NCO end up with Symbiocuirass, and I nominate my Namurr in the core team as my Key Ops. All eligible O-12 troops save for a Varangian receive Symbiocuirass, and he nominates the Nyoka HMG as Key Ops. I deploy with an aggressive first turn push in mind, having my core take up the left side o the table while my haris takes center or right as needed. O-12 chooses a more dug in approach, having his fireteam of Betatroopers hole up at the table center and most of the rest dug in on the left flank. Rahman Rouhani is my last troop and gets deployed far to the back with the Nasmat waiting between the two fireteams to respond as needed. O-12 deploys his Zeta TAG on top of a building on the left flank overlooking the entire field, his Kappa HMG pulling overwatch on the right. Tarik Mansuri is my lieutenant and Katherine Cho is his. He burns a command token to put the Zeta in suppressive fire and we are a go.
HAQQISLAM TURN 1
That Zeta is my number one priority to deal with, but with the Kappa HMG watching the other side I have to be careful not to get caught in a crossfire. Thankfully my Ghulam NCO was tucked far enough back I could get a couple smoke grenade shots off and advance into the smoke with my core team. My haris team advances, the Namurr with breaker rifle leading the way to engage and kill the Kappa HMG. After some careful maneuvering, my Key Ops Namurr climbs up a building mid table and drops an E/Marat shot just close enough to catch the Zeta. The TAG drops suppression and dodges miraculously, but it can’t get far enough away to skirt the second shot. My Namurr shuts down the Zeta, allowing Tarik to take the lead and drop a dozen AP rifle shots into it and finally bringing the beast down. My core and haris teams regroup a bit and dig in for the coming O-12 turn, Rahman heads a bit up the board toward the center while the nasmat creeps up the left in case of emergency.
O-12 TURN 1
Not too happy with a downed TAG and all the overwatch removed from his side of the table, O-12 climbs his Betatrooper fireteam into the center and takes shots at my Key Ops Namurr. She dodges back and out of line of fire, goading the Betas to advance and dig her out only to take an E/Marat shot for their trouble. Only the lead Beta is affected, but it gives the team pause before trying her again. Varangian duo comes up along the left, getting off a smoke grenade before Tarik can snipe at them. A Bluecoat joins the Varangians and sets off a riotstopper, catching Tarik and gluing him in place. His Nyokka Key Ops joins the group on the left flank. One of the Varangians berserks around the corner, catching my Khawarij off guard and killing him in the process with a trench hammer. The same Varangian goes for Tarik, but gets killed by the Amir for his trouble.
HAQQISLAM TURN 2
Ghulam NCO attempts to drop a smoke grenade in front of Tarik to screen him from the Varangian, Bluecoat, and Nyokka staring him down; but the attempt fails and Tarik barely survives the ARO barrage. Deciding to not simply stare death in the face, Tarik drops two nanopluser shots onto the trio, killing the Varangian and Bluecoat but the Nyokka survives. Tarik survives ARO once again and I decide to push my luck elsewhere. The Key Ops Namurr breaks from the core team and advances on the Betatroopers once again, dropping another circuit-frying template on the group and shutting them all down. My haris team comes up the middle to try and support, taking a few quick shots at the Betatroopers but not scoring much for the effort except getting two to reset by end of the turn.
O-12 TURN 2
The Nyokka HMG comes back with a vengeance, gunning down both Tarik and Yara in quick succession. He advances on my Ghulam NCO intending to mop up the remains of the core team, but catches a critical hit from the Ghulam’s pistol and botches the save. At this point, the Betatroopers and Katherine Cho are the only ones in the fight for O-12. A close quarters firefight ensues between the Betatroopers and the pair of Namurr, who close and eventually drop another electromagnetic blast on the squad.
HAQQISLAM TURN 3
Rahman Rouhani takes control as lieutenant, and orders his Nasmat to Tarik’s side, quickly getting the super soldier conscious. My Key Ops Namurr charges into the trio of Betatroopers, engaging one then another in close combat and setting them with D-Charges. My second Namurr guns the third Betatrooper down with her breaker rifle. Finally, the Key Ops Namurr pops over the ledge to blow away Katherine Cho with a heavy pistol.
GAME END
Haqqislam wins, 10-0.