Star Fleet Battles - May Edition

The Space Cadets squeezed in our May SFB game on Sunday night, since none of us had work the next day. We played the continuation of April's game in which two Orion Light Raiders got chased out of their hideout by the LDR (Lyran Democratic Republic) police, in the form of a Police Carrier and its fighters.
Part two takes place soon after, as the Arrow Poison Cartel Orions make a break for it. They're heading for the asteroid belt in the Vega system in an effort to dodge the law.

Our ships kept damage suffered in the previous game, although I was able to repair four shield boxes, having accumulated 9 repair points in the previous engagement. Cap'n Mike and myself were without shuttles, and Officer David was down to three fighters from his original six.

Cap'n Mike's Pullus Rex and my ship, the Dumpster Fire began the scenario in the same hex. The LDR Police Carrier Stray Cat was in hot pursuit. Right off the bat, I sent a drone back towards our pursuers.

Mike and I turned away from the big cat. Mike sent two additional drones back - mine had already taken a few points off the LDR's ESG. I did some quick math and because David had side-slipped at one point, he wouldn't be able to catch us with his ESG this turn. Early in turn two we'd be vulnerable but we had a little time.

The Federales get an angle on me and work on my beat-up number 5 shield. My number 6 was in much worse shape (from the previous game), so I was fortunate with how that played out.

The Stray Cat barrels down on the Pullus Rex, I turned away to get my healthy #4 shield facing the police. The drones from the fighters were also upon us. Mike tractored two and I grabbed one. I handled the final one with a drone of my own.

David made a tactical error on the next turn and kept the Dilithium pedal down hard, at speed 27. His turn mode was up around 5 and he had to make a very wide loop to avoid flying into the asteroids at Mach 5, smashing himself. Mike and I kept things sane and eased into the rocks towards the end of turn 2. 

The Pirates' goal, to simply hide and survive was facilitated by getting into the asteroids and finding a suitable landing locale. In game terms, this meant rolling 2d6 when entering an asteroid hex. On a 2 or 3 and spot had been located. The ship could hide on its next plotted move and was considered "safe." 

Then end of turn 2. I was right at the edge of the rocks, Mike was moving through them and Dave's carrier is still working on its loop. The fighters are in pursuit too, removing some movement options for the Orions.

After eight hexes of movement, I managed to find a spot for my ship!

There she is! There she is... not as wounded as we were led to believe! Who says camouflage is useless in space?

Mike cranked his speed up to 14, counting on his ship's agility to keep him safe in the asteroids. He was able to explore more hexes. The LDR Police used his ESGs as Asteroid breakers keeping himself intact.

After an astounding 24 hexes of travel (That's 24 2d6 rolls without hitting a 2 or 3), Mike finally located a hiding spot for his ship and successfully evaded the cops! Well done, sir.

That was an enjoyable game for sure! It was really two different games - the chase to start with, which was pretty dicey, then the slow cat-and-mouse game in the asteroids. it's too bad David's carrier got stuck so far behind us - it would have been a lot more tense if he'd have been blasting our ships apart while we were looking for a spot to hide.

Inspired by the Falcon chase halfway through Empire Strikes Back, the scenario worked out well - Mike thinks the "find a spot" roll is too difficult, but I got it after 8 tries, so we both hit opposite ends of the spectrum. Either way, it was a good way to kill an evening!