Galactic Heroes: "Labor Negotiations"

 On the planet Krankor IV, a toxic industrial hellworld, exposure to the planet's radioactive reserve of Nydynium has caused most of the (slave miner) population to develop horrible mutations. When planetary governor Baron Hadimir Vlarkonnen decides to personally inspect a minor outpost, a band of rebel ex-miners decide it's a perfect opportunity to kidnap the Baron and "negotiate" better rights for the populace. 

THE CREWS:

 

LURSA'S RAIDERS (Crew Trait: Ranger)

• Lursa (Leader; Encouraging, Impervious, Deadeye; Mutations: Life Leech), armed with a Blaster Pistol
• B'etor (Specialist; Killer, Deft; Mutations: Extra Arms), armed with Pistols
• The Maw (Regular; Bloodthirsty; Mutations: Gaping Maw), armed with an Autorifle and Chainsword
• Torso Jones (Regular; Thundering Charge; Mutations: Iron Hide), armed with a Blaster Rifle and Buzzsaw-Axe
• Manta Claws (Regular; Steady; Mutations: Fangs and Claws), armed with a Blaster Rifle

 

THE BARON'S ENTOURAGE (Crew Trait: Deadeye)

• Administrix Mugo Citlax (Leader; Slippery, Smart, Amphibious), armed with an Electro-Mace
• X-10-1 (Specialist; Ranged Fighter, Soulless), armed with an Autorifle
• Butch (Regular; Coolheaded), armed with an Autorifle
• Coop (Regular; Deft), armed with an Autorifle
• Moe (Regular; Killer), armed with an Autorifle

Special: Baron Hadimir Vlarkonnen (D8s for all rolls, Dodge), Unarmed 

The Baron's Entourage started play in the middle of the table, with Lursa's Raiders entering from a randomly-determined corner. If the Baron's entourage could escort the Baron to the landing pad and call the orbiting shuttle, it would be a win for the Baron; if Lursa could stop the Baron from going off-table, it would be a win for her and her rebel band.

Things got off to an explosive start; advancing towards the rebels, X-10-1 was charged by the Maw and promptly swallowed whole! The rest of the entourage had to save versus Shock, with almost the entire crew taking Shock tokens at the sight of the Baron's assassin droid-bodyguard being swallowed whole by this fang-faced mutant. 

Things looked like they'd end poorly for the governor, as the Maw and Torso Jones tore through his security team. Baron Vlarkonnen himself panicked and almost ran off the opposite table edge from the waiting landing pad before rallying and, with three Shock tokens on him, activating on a Queen of Spades card that removed all three of them. Newly invigorated, the Baron rejoined his administrative assistant Citlax and made his way towards the landing pad, ducking into a grove of purple flora to avoid being shot at.

With the three-armed B'etor guarding the entrance to the landing pad and Torso Jones and the Maw advancing on their position, Baron Vlarkonnen made a mad dash for the door and knocked B'etor flat with one punch from a beefy, ring-bedecked hand. Administrix Citlax was taken out the Maw and a well-aimed blaster shot from Lursa, while the Baron narrowly avoided a blaster shot from Manta Claws before making his way up the elevator to the waiting shuttle. The Baron has escaped, leaving Lursa's raiders to lick their wounds and await retaliation.

I don't have a ship model currently. Pretend it's cloaked.

This was a great game of Galactic Heroes and one that I think shows off one of the primary appeals of the game; with the card-based activation system and certain cards having special effects tied to them (such as the Queen of Spades allowing the Baron to shed a LOT of Shock tokens that were weighing him down), even when it seems like the game's a foregone conclusion - it isn't. I was fully expecting Lursa and her gang to corner the Baron on the far corner of the table from where he needed to be; instead, he made it to safety while sacrificing all of his underlings in the process, like any good self-serving galactic autocrat would.

So funny story. I had everything I needed ready to play this game last night, I unrolled my battle mat on the table, put that first piece of terrain down...and the power went out! High winds knocked out the power and took down a number of trees around our apartment complex, and we were without power for 13 hours. This evening, once my wife and I had taken care of replacing the contents of our refrigerator and the domestic stuff, I started to set up the table again. "You're tempting fate," she told me. "If the power goes out again because you started setting up a game, don't say I didn't tell you."