Avastan Planning & OOC

[joertexas]

Reposting this so we don't have to look for it...

Merc Company Org Chart v4.9.pptx

(48.33 KiB) Downloaded 15 times

[The Bindoner]

I'm all for this, even though as a player I'm not quite sure where to start.

It's a good job I told Jess to bring the ship seal busting explosives along, but to hide them as there not legal.

This would be an on-the-fly operation, but we have the communications to pull it off, I think. We could use the Aslan, Gaughn's squad, and Kit's squad in their IFV to hit the ships.

I don't know where the rest of Prerna's squad is, nor where Jess's IFV is at the moment, but between them and whomever Voss can round up from the HQ element, we should be able to take out some of the ships.

The two things we need to verify are 1) the location of all of the ships, including the pirated one(s), and 2) where our people are, and what equipment/vehicles they have available.

I believe all vehicles, matériel and personnel not currently in the plaza area are still in the ship.

[Tiglath]

So far just from Jess' Intel gathering you know that:

the pirates are left to their own devices (and quite possibly ignored) inside their berms. This might extend to (moderate) fire fights/explosions.

the outside security on the berms are local Avastan Light infantry see starport map (brown squares) for their strongpoints

Link: viewtopic.php?p=557010#p557010

the strength in each small strongpoint is a section [~10 men with RPGs and a support weapon usually an HMG]

if the strongpoints can see each other they will likely provide mutual support

The first step will be to determine the nature of the attack: covert - some kind of stealth / ruse de guerre or overt - kit up and drive an AFV through the front door.

Some combination of the two may be possible relying on brass neck and bluff as for the time being no one knows an active military force in hiden in the starport.

An overt attack can surely rely on some initial surprise but will soon face whatever combat reserve the garrison has in hand plus their close air support (Stag ground attack) and air superiority assets - the jets. These last two assets are less well defended (you are inside the defences) but are effectively the same tactical situation as the parked pirate ships (i.e. much better taken out on the ground).

[Tiglath]

I believe all vehicles, matériel and personnel not currently in the plaza area are still in the ship.

That's correct.

[Tiglath]

As a rough guide to the "Rock / Paper / Scissorssisms" at hand:

your AFVs will easily kill CES infantry (even in trenches) and grounded aircraft

your limited artillery (mortar section) may be very useful to either pin infantry or deny ground to unarmoured vehicle crews

strongpoint bunkers may need anything that can kill a starship to crack them at range

they can be breached / neutralised by close assault and the use of placed charges. LAW and smaller charges will breach access hatches and not do anyone inside much good either (likewise any explosive/grenades getting through weapons slits).

enemy small arms are unlikely to kill your armoured mercs - support weapons may well do so

grav transport makes you super fast and very mobile with vertical envelopment options

[joertexas]

I think our priority targets should be the pirate warships and the ship that's being held hostage. The next targets would be the other pirate ships, plus any crews we can catch in the open.

Do we have an updated map?

[shaidar]

How long will it take the pirates crews to return to the Star port?

[Tiglath]

Do we have an updated map?

This is still current: Link: viewtopic.php?p=557010#p557010

[Tiglath]

How long will it take the pirates crews to return to the Star port?

Twenty minutes or half an hour dependant on conditions and wacky races traffic.

Same for your ground car but the G Carrier could overtake.

[shaidar]

A small window to act before they get back, time to put the thinking cap on.

[The Bindoner]

G-Carrier to interfere. A fly-by to disable the pirate crew vehicle(s) would do - a large calibre round in the engine and away.

Bunkers would be easily dealt with by a grav vehicle dropping off a team behind them, or grav-belt troopers arriving, before the fun starts.

edit:

Should we order out a grav vehicle (unarmed platform or two) to collect Jess, Prerna, Kit and their troopers? Take a non-combatant to drive the ground-cars back, get the combat arm ready sooner.

[shaidar]

Grav-belts would be better for surprise. I think we have 5. The question is who is rated to use them.

Although we might have no option to use g-carriersto send in multiple teams at once.

[The Bindoner]

Should we order out a grav vehicle (unarmed platform or two) to collect Jess, Prerna, Kit and their troopers? Take a non-combatant to drive the ground-cars back, get the combat arm ready sooner.


I believe 5 is all we have. I presume anyone rated to drive grav vehicles can operate one?

[The Bindoner]

Grav-belts would be better for surprise. I think we have 5. The question is who is rated to use them.

Although we might have no option to use g-carriersto send in multiple teams at once.

Yes, we probably need to deploy on multiple targets simultaneously. Good job we have so many vehicles now, eh?

[shaidar]

I guess it depends if there is a higher priority target where a g-carrier might be more difficult to sneak up in.

[The Bindoner]

I assume the IFV and G-Carriers with PCs on are tasked to the pirate ships, Jess and the PDIFV are cover. Gaughan's G-Carrier to the tertiary target. Frank's HQ unit as QRF.

Are we hitting all three pirates? The Red Angel crew seem pretty dangerous, and seem like they're "made" with the Imperium. But they are busy...

[shaidar]

Freya's assistance proves invaluable with the unfamiliar sensor system. Using a touch of time lapse and enhancement of detected patterns she is able to determine and plot the locations where the signature of smaller power plants spend the largest amount of time. She also detects the power plants of the Vargr vessel (at B) and the traders (200t x2 400t x1 at C, E and F) lined along the adjacent stands to your merchant (at D).

Blue dots are smaller signatures, red wegdes are of the scale of star ship power plants.

Avastan Down (Aux) Aerial.jpg (172.28 KiB) Viewed 319 times

Brown dots are "strongpoints".

Those linked by black lines (Scout base) are trench systems.

Those on top of black squares (buildings) are likely Surface to Air Missile sites.

the dark/forest green dots are vegetation dense enough to give cover,

the turquoise blue/green dots are the smaller power plants in question.

The plots you have on the map are not raw data but where the tracked power plants spent the most time stationary.

Freya notes that the (further) oddity about the ("Imperial standard tech" milspec) neutrino scanner on a civilian trader is that they had the "focus" turned waaaay down.

They were looking for physically small sources of neutrinos/radiation. This setting has made the readings for the possible ship powerplants somewhat "unfocussed/fuzzy" but Freya also picked up a couple of "ghost" images indicating very low readings from the "empty" bay in the row of four.

These would be consistent with bigger sized plants appearing to be smaller than they are - maybe either masked or powered down.

A meeting is convened and information shared.

The following is revealed:

The relatively small power plants Freya has been plotting are likely powering lift/booster modules on the Pivot class fighters and also the Stag attack helicopters. The distribution matches an expected dispersal pattern for such aircraft and even in the short time elapsed Florence has mapped a visual image onto the energy scans in confirmation.

However, this does not explain the “masked/muted” power plants in the park bays north of the runway your stand is on. These four bays appear to be defended by a number of defensive earthworks and ringed by AA batteries.
...snip...

Did we ever work out which ship is the one under guard? Or is that the one in the 'empty' bay?

Surely we'd have to take out the fighters and helicopters in the top bay quickly, so they can't retaliate?

[Tiglath]

Just chipping in here - hoping to help and not hinder the creative process!

I believe 5 is all we have. I presume anyone rated to drive grav vehicles can operate one?

Anyone from Collace or a High tech world will have Grav Veh 0 and be able to operate a grav vehicle. This is as per pizza delivery - if you want a getaway driver you need da skillz...

Are we hitting all three pirates? The Red Angel crew seem pretty dangerous, and seem like they're "made" with the Imperium. But they are busy...

Red Angel isn't an official target per se of (your part of?) the operation and isn't at the downport (likewise for Storm - who only have a launch at the downport). However, both are surely pirates. Not wishing to dampen any or all conspiracy theories but bear in mind an unstreamlined vessel simply can't enter atmosphere. This likely made the appearance of Red Angel's crew all the more of a surprise! However, whatever they are up to they will now likely require transport to orbit before being a concern for yourselves.

A further point that you will have noted in study of the strongpoints/berms: the bunker garrisons seem to be billeted in the strongpoints they occupy. A chow wagon trundles around the base but, barring comm traffic(?), that's the only disruption to their day.

A consideration on a smaller scale covert option: it seems probable that a covertly boarded a ship would remain defended (and ignored) by the local troops in its berm. That's if they hadn't been alerted or otherwise molested in the process.

[The Bindoner]

All the more reason to intercept that crew transport. Back to Jess' original idea, roll in Trojan Horse stylee.

[Tiglath]

More random thoughts:

Planning this is no small undertaking so do take it piece by piece.

As an and/or to the above Frank could carve up the objectives between the PCs and assign assets to these independent commands. I'm thinking aloud here and although this last gives PCs the most freedom (or was that rope...??? ) it might play against your best military asset - the ability to rapidly focus your fighting power to one task and then swiftly redeploy it elsewhere.

Smaller ops may be more manageable (or more forgiving of the unfortunes of war) and have the option for escalation.

A further strategic point to ponder when/if "going large" is how to coordinate with (or maybe delegate tasks to) your allies. Erica is the liaison with McClellan (SuSAG), 4DC are in the mix (if currently low profile) but surely a high tech(?) recon unit might be useful for tracking vehicles through a city...

Don't forget that the merc unit also has its own special assault fire team of Aslan.

There is also that Vargr trader sat at the other end of the runway operated by Fred Karno's "Auxiliary Police" unit just in case you needed someone to drive recklessly fast all about the starport...