Intelligence Summary #14: Alderaan's Vengeance, Mercenary Cruiser Profile

Stardate: Sixday, 098-130 ABY/Tarsan Intelligence Service (TIS)

Subsector: Shannekam

Profile of the Mercenary Cruiser Alderaan's Vengeance

The starship, Alderaan's Vengeance, has been a fixture in the Tarsus System for several years now.  During this time, the "Aldi Vee" provided escort to merchant vessels and security to planetary facilities, on a contractual basis. 

Two days ago, the Aldi Vee departed for Ku Crassus and according to Captain Robert Ulgo, accepted "...a long term contract outside the Tarsan system."

At the moment, it is doubtful that Captain Ulgo will do business with any Imperial-based employer.  Ulgo and a large portion of the crew are descendants of Alderaan's expatriate community, people who happened to be away when their world was destroyed by Palpatine's first Death Star.  As a whole then, the crew of the Aldi Vee bear a deeply-rooted hatred towards the Galactic Empire and its subsequent variations.

Another point to consider is that despite the ship's departure, family members of the crew have remained on Tarsus. 

Despite these apparent assurances, the current political-military situation remains uncertain and there are dozens similarly outfitted vessels operating within this subsector, which our ships may encounter as either friendly--or hostile.

Ship Capability:

While classified as a "mercenary cruiser," in reality, Alderaan's Vengeance is a modified CR90 Corvette.  The specific modifications include:

--Moving the two laser batteries to midships

--Removing one blaster battery and moving the remaining blaster forward

--Replacing the point defense (PD) battery with an Area Defense Anti-Fighter (ADAF) system

--Adding a hangar bay

--As a consequence to adding the hangar, the vessel's thrust is reduced to 5

(GM's NOTE:  Ship statistics are based on Star Wars Full Thrust Rules). 

The ship's hangar currently holds 4 X-Wing fighters and 2 assault shuttles. 

For Full Thrust, use a 4-ship counter/stand to represent the X-Wing fighter group.  More detailed specifications can be found in the Star Wars RPG supplement Starships of the Galaxy. 

Note of caution:  The actual book, by Wizards of the Coast, is out of print, but according to Google, is available for as a free PDF download.  I own the hardcopy, so I can't vouch for the validity and safety of the download sites listed in the Google hyperlink above.

Fighter-to-fighter combat can also be conducted, if you can find a copy of Star Wars--Star Warriors.

 The shuttles are capable of transporting 2 x 8-man squads/2 x recon speeders/one of each.  Various types of shuttles are available, the most generic consisting of one support weapon.

The Aldi Vee has a complement of 184, consisting of the following positions: 

The ship's captain

3 x Doctors

37 x Emergency Crew

3 x Engineers

12 x Medics

9 x Officers

3 x Intelligence Officers

18 x Pilots

24 x Ship Gunners

100 x Technicians

1 x Mercenary Captain

8 x Mercenary Scouts

42 x Mercenaries

(GM's NOTE:  The NPC stats for these individuals can be found in the Star Wars RPG supplement, Threats of the Galaxy).

The ship's troops, the "Alderaan Avengers," are divided into the following:

5 x 8-man squads

4 x 2-man scout teams (on foot or operating the recon speeders)

1x 3-man command team

The ship's troops are known to wear a variety of armor; short of power, or battle armor, while armed with standard blaster weapons. 

The scouts, on the other hand, prefer to wear light armor, for swift movement and concealability. 

The ship's "Dust Devil" recon speeders can be outfitted with enhanced sensors, or blaster cannons. 

While highly trained and motivated, the total strength of the Alderaan's Avengers, equates to a reinforced platoon.  Of the 5 squads on board, a maximum of 4 will be deployed off-ship during any given operation.  One squad provides shipboard security at all times.  The entire force is capable of the following missions:  starship escort, shipboard assaults, raids, personal or facility security and training cadre. 

GM's Notes on Possible Squad Capabilities and Stats:

Our gaming group has utilized, or experimented, with the following rules for sci-fi wargaming:

Fubar, Stargrunt II  and Future War Commander.

Squad Data using Fubar:

Mercenary Infantry
Veteran
Activation: 3+
Expertise: 4+
Suppress:  3
Armor:  Medium-5+, or Heavy-4+
Possible weapons:
Blaster Rifle--2 Firepower Points (FPs)
Blaster Pistols--1 FP
Grenades--3 FP
Heavy Blaster--3 FP

Mercenary Scout Team
Veteran
Activate: 3+
Expertise:  4+
Suppress:  3
Armor:  Light-6+, or Medium-5+
Possible weapons:
Same as mercenary infantry, but substitute a sniper weapon for the heavy blaster.
Special abilities:  "Chameleon Power"

Squad Data using Stargrunt II:

Squad Type:  Infantry
Unit Quality & Leadership:  Veteran (orange counters)
Full Strength:  8
Armor:  Full Suit (light)--D8/Scouts, partial suit (light)--D6
Sensors:  Standard--D6/Scouts use Enhanced--D8
Small Arms Types:
Blaster Rifles*:  Firepower--2, Impact--D10
Possible Support Weapons:
Heavy Blaster (infantry):  Support Firepower--D6, Impact--D12
Sniping Blaster (scout):  Firepower--D12, Impact--D8

If the entire platoon is involved in a large-scale operation, then the following stats from Future War Commander may be used:

HQ (CV8)
Move: 40F
Attack: 2/30
Assault: --
Hits:  6L
Save:  6
Cost:  130

Recce Team
Move:  10F
Attack:  1/30
Assault:  --
Hits:  3L
Save:  6
Cost:  40

Recce (Dust Devil landspeeder)
Move:  30 G
Attack: 2/30
Assault:  2
Hits:  3L
Save:  5
Cost:  50

Infantry
Move:  10F
Attack: 3/30
Assault:  3
Hits:  4L
Save:  6
Cost:  70

Other sci-fi rules are available for conducting battles involving the Alderaan Avengers, such as:

Tomorrow's War, Gruntz, 5150 and Blasters and Bulkheads.

News Brief #16: Carnage in Cortona Park

Stardate: Sixday, 098-130 ABY/Fringe Info Network (FIN)--Tarsus Bureau

Subsector: Shannekam

"All the news that's fit to transmit."

Tarsan Security Detail Involved in City Park Gun Battle

Two days ago, members of Diplomatic Security Team Three (DST-3) were involved in a firefight in the middle of Cortona Park on Ku Crassus.  The team happened upon a meeting between an apparent Sith Lord and the Bongolaanian delegate, after the Tarsan-Bongolaan negotiations ended for the evening.  After the meeting, the team attempted to follow the Sith, but were ambushed by a strike team of rifle-armed Sith Mutants.

The blaster fire alerted the Crassian police, who dispatched a squad to the scene.  All five of the Sith Mutants were killed, along with one Crassian police officer, in the ensuing battle. 

However, these were not the only casualties.  Several gang-members and a couple of homeless beings were reported killed while DST-3 was in hot pursuit of the Sith Lord.  Currently, there are conflicting reports on the causes of death among the park-dwellers.  An investigation is now underway to determine if DST-3 employed indiscriminate blaster fire during the chase.

One homeless man did survive, despite suffering from cardiac arrest.  The individual, who bears some resemblance to Janos Gazdag, Professor of Economics at the University of Shanneka, was escorted into a police land speeder by DST-3.  The professor has been missing for several days now.  (See the bottom story of News Brief #13).  The identity of the survivor taken out of the park has not yet been released.

 

The Sith Mutants sacrificed themselves to allow their leader to evade DST-3's pursuit and the subsequent search by Crassian authorities.  An anonymous source in the Crassian System Defense Force told FIN, it is possible this being is off-planet by now.  If he has access to Sith Infiltrator starships, like the type spotted landing on Gadnek Island in the Zenya System.  Such vessels are equipped with cloaking devices and can easily evade military-grade sensors and scanners. 

If this is so, then it is anyones guess where this Sith Lord and his mutant strike teams will turn up next. 

Webcomic Chapter 4 Posted

Breakout from Bongolaan's Chapter 4 has been posted and can be found on pages 85-123. 

The soundtrack interlude to this chapter is:  When the Levee Breaks, by the ladies of Zepparella.  I thought this tune evoke the sense of danger and despair in the face of an approaching storm. 

I've made a couple of changes to help streamline the process of posting my graphic novels.  The nature of the modifications can be found in the Webcomic Link Page on the Stern Rake Studio site. 

Now that Chapter 4 is available for viewing, it's time for me to add some news briefs and intel summaries on what's transpired recently in the Redshift...