(SHX1.0) GOOD OL' BOYS

by Andrea Costa <blaufeld@grifonline.it>
Y163

An independent Crime Lord has seized the opportunity of looting a lone Federation Base Station of his scientific cargo, for selling it to the Romulan Star Empire. Crippling it before it had the chance to transmit a distress call, he scored another major hit: the capture of a Federation Galactic Survey Cruiser stationed in the system!

Returning to his home base on a route divergent to that of the main pirate convoy (to minimize the chances of interception) throught a local nebula, he found himself stumbling on an unsuspecting Federation Command Cruiser on peacetime patrol duty.

Reasoning that no Captain would fire on sight on a ship of his same Navy ("We are a big, friendly Federation, aren't we?"), he closed to attack.

(SP?.2) INITIAL SET-UP TERRAIN: The entire map is a Nebula (P6.0).

(SP?.3) LENGTH OF SCENARIO: The scenario continues until the all forces belonging to one side have been destroyed, captured or disengaged.

(SP?.4) SPECIAL RULES

(SHX1.41) MAP: Use a floating map. The Pirate unit can only disengage in directions A or B. The Federation unit can only disengage in directions D or E. Units wich disengage in unauthorized directions are considered destroyed.

(SHX1.42) SHUTTLES AND PFs: These units cannot be used in this scenario.

(SP?.43) COMMANDER'S OPTION ITEMS

(SHX1.431) Each ship can purchase additional or special equipment as Commander's Option Items (e.g. T-bombs, extra Marines, etc.) up to 20% of his Combat BPV. See (S3.2) for details and exceptions. Note that whatever is spent here counts in the Modified Victory Conditions (S2.2) as victory points for the enemy.

(SHX1.44) REFITS: There are no refits in this scenario.

(SHX1.45) SPECIAL RULES: The Federation player cannot fire on the Pirate until the Impulse after the one in which he has positively identified the GSC as an enemy ship.

(SHX1.451) The GSC is identified as an enemy ship the Impulse in which it is at 10 (ten) or less hexes from the Federation CC, or the Impulse in wich it fires on the CC.
EXAMPLES:

The GSC moves at 10 hexes of the CC in Impulse 15 of Turn X. The CC can fire on the GSC in Impulse 16 of the same Turn.
The GSC fires at the CC from a distance of 20 hexes in Impulse 26 of Turn X. The CC can fire on the GSC in Impulse 27 of the same turn.

(SHX1.5) VICTORY CONDITIONS: Use the Modified Victory Conditions (S2.201).

(SH?.8) TACTICS:

(SH?.81)PIRATE:

(SH?.82) FEDERATION:

HISTORICAL OUTCOME: The Federation Captain was fooled into believing that the GSC was suffering communications and main controls failures, and approached unsuspecting with shields still at minimum levels. The subsequent Alpha Strike by the enemy nearly gutted the Tirpitz, that managed to evade his pursuer plumging more deeply into the nebula.

A deadly game of cat-and-mouse followed, but the CC skillfully bided enough time to perform some significant repairs, and, with his more experienced crew (and the singular "lack of three-dimensional tactical toughts" on part of the Crime Lord, as later remarked the Federation Scientific Officer of the Tirpitz), outmaneuvered the Valiant and scored an overloaded photon salvo into the rear shield ov the GSC, destroying the bridge and killing the officiers. The GSC surrendered and was later towed to a nearby Federation Base.