Majestic 13: Operation Smash & Grab

 "Alright kids, we've got an easy one today. We've got to clean out a green box hidden in a trailer park scheduled for demolition, but a big ugly's been spotted in the vicinity. Good- Yeah, Beck, what is it?"

Becky put her hand down. "What's a green box?" She asked.

The Lieutenant stubbed out his cigarette and shook his head. "Guess you don't get a 'welcome to the conspiracy' orientation session. Green boxes are caches of supplies for us to use against FORCE, hidden in plain sight. Storage units, bus depot lockers, even the trunk of a car in long-term storage. Something nobody's gonna think to look at too closely. Anyways, good news is the big ugly's what the boys upstairs calls a 'Jel Brute' - hits like a bus and about as smart. No energy weapons, just fists the size of engine blocks. Keep out of its reach and you'll be just fine."

***

Another standard mission for the Last Liners today - facing a Jel Brute, with "Gear Retrieval" as the secondary mission. Two gear markers are placed in the centers of the two quadrants making up the enemy side of the board, and my agents have to touch both to complete the secondary mission. The "Bureaucracy" complication though, is "Mission Intel Understated" - the Jel Brute's stats are all raised by 3 from the standard profile. It's also a "Wilderness" mission, which means the Last Liners don't get the bonus to initiative that they get in "Urban" missions and get a penalty to calling for aid. 

Gear cache #1

Gear cache #2

As the Last Liners deployed, the Jel Brute raised its eyeless head, fleshy tendrils waving as it sniffed the air. With a belching bellow, it leapt down off the trailer porch and barreled at Maria at top speed, slamming into her with both fists, leaving her stunned.

The Lieutenant cursed. This thing was even bigger than the mission briefing had suggested; easily two tons of muscle and fangs. He fired a shot into it, but the bullet barely penetrated the Brute's thick hide. Hank darted to a more advantageous firing position and unloaded into the creature, scoring a critical hit.

Sprayed with lead from the LMG, the Brute squealed and screeched - and brought its supersized fists down on Maria again and again, beating the woman into the ground. Bringing her pistol up, Maria put a round in the creature's gut before rolling out of the way and to her feet, and darting away from the monster's grasping hands. She knew she couldn't take another hit like that.

Ignoring the monster for the moment, Becky made a mad dash for the nearest supply cache. 

Sarah-Jane snapped off a shot at the monster, and got rewarded by it charging towards her, leaping over a wrecked car and bringing its massive fists down on her.

The second turn began with a FUBAR event - "Errant Drone Strike." Munitions fire rained down on Becky's location. "Ah! Ahh! Motherfu- DO I LOOK LIKE THE MONSTER?" She screamed at the sky. Undeterred by what was happening across the trailer park, the Jel Brute activated again, leaping high into the air and slamming both fists into the ground, producing a rippling shockwave; the Lieutenant managed to brace against it, but Sarah-Jane succumbed to the punishing strikes.

The Lieutenant darted inside the trailer, taking cover behind a window before sniping the monster and rolling a critical hit. The round creased the Brute's skull, sending shards of chitin flying. Screeching, the creature spun, trying to determine where the shot came from, but unable to spot the Lieutenant.

Enraged, the creature spotted Hank and charged him. Hank tried to brace himself, but the beast slammed him into the side of the trailer, almost putting him through the wall. With a gasp, Hank's vision went dark.

Hearing the slamming of monstrous fists against aluminum siding, Maria dashed wildly for the last supply cache. "Air support! For the love of god, air support!" She screamed into the burner phone. A message of acknowledgement crackled, and a drone streaked across the sky, blazing away at the Jel Brute.

Becky rounded the trailer, moving towards cover and squeezing off a shot at the monster - and missing. The shot drew the creature's attention, and the Jel Brute charged, trampling her into the dirt.

For those keeping track at home, it's the end of turn 2 and the monster has put three of my five agents Out of Action. 

Sniffing the air, the Jel Brute locked on to the Lieutenant, forcing its enormous bulk into the trailer to attack. The gray-bearded agent stood firm against the creature's slamming fists, then fired a shot from the hip before throwing himself out the window and making a run across the park.

I don't use the interiors of my buildings enough in games.

Unfortunately, the creature followed, squeezing its body out the window and half-running, half-rolling after him. Catching him, the creature rolled over the Lieutenant, crushing him. 

"Hey, you fat piece of shit!" Maria barked, rounding the trailer. Leveling her pistol, she fired at the Brute. It turned, snarling, and thundered towards her. The last thought she had before blackness overtook her was, "Fuck it, what's getting cloned again?"

***

MAJ. 13 EXTRACTION NOTICE

At approximately 1430 hours, team code-named "Last Liners" experienced catastrophic failure in dealing with entity code-named "Jel Brute." All agents incapacitated. Clean-up team dispatched. Upon arrival entity was nowhere to be seen. Agents retrieved and taken to [REDACTED] for medical examination. All agents survived encounter with entity, however some cause for concern remains. 

Agent known as "The Lieutenant" determined to be suffering from lingering wounds likely related to organ trauma sustained when attacked by entity. Recommended for continued observation and recovery. Agent Rebecca [REDACTED] experienced neurological trauma; further testing suggests minor cognitive and reflex deterioration. Independent examination by Dr. [REDACTED] clears her for continued field-work. Agent Maria [REDACTED], second iteration, shows sign of post-traumatic stress disorder. Psychological testing suggests she may also be experiencing Clone Identity Dysphoria and questioning her sense of self. Cleared for field-work, but continued observation recommended in case condition worsens. Agents Henry "Hank" [REDACTED], second iteration, and Sarah-Jane [REDACTED] are considered to be recovering well and cleared to return to field-work with no reservations. 

***

Ouch! I knew I'd been really lucky with the Last Liners in previous games and that that luck couldn't last forever. I also knew, once I'd rolled up this mission, that the odds were slightly stacked against me; a Wilderness mission took away the initiative bonus I got in Urban missions, and the Jel Brute was bigger and tougher than normal. 

While the Team Rating did not increase, because my entire team was put Out of Action, I did get some XP and I did get the opportunity to requisition some additional gear. 

The Lieutenant had enough XP to boost his Acuity stat for when he returns to play; he has to miss the next mission while under observation for those questionable wounds. Sarah-Jane and Maria both boosted their Dexterity stat by 1. Becky's injury reduced her Combat skill by 1, but she was able to use the XP she'd accumulated to negate the reduction, so her Combat score remains 14. 

The Last Liners have successfully requisitioned a case of flashbang grenades and syringes of adrenaline for battlefield use. They've also successfully connected their base to a human resources database; this means, if one of the Last Liners dies and cannot be cloned, any new recruits they bring on start at a higher level than they would normally. 

So the Last Liners will have at least one more mission (and I'm anticipating it being a particularly challenging one with the Lieutenant sidelined) before they once again face the soldiers of FORCE in a special mission. What they're fighting next remains to be determined. 

Modern Civilian, Vehicle, and... Dear God what is that?

 A few odds and ends I've painted this week; I've slowed down a bit on the painting because I'm hitting the limits of my ability to store painted figures, which isn't the worst problem to have, but I really need to invest in some more storage. However, I have finished a few things.

Two things I want more of on my modern, urban skirmish tables are civilians and vehicles, and to start on both, I've painted "3 Card Monte Guy," a resin 3D print from Miniature Building Authority, and a 1980 Volkswagen Vanagon from Miniature Tanks, a company that offers an amazingly wide array of 3D printed vehicles in a variety of scales.

3 Card Monte Guy arrived in four pieces - a body, two arms (attaching at the sleeves) and the stack of boxes. I kept things fairly simple - blue shirt, white slacks, alligator leather shoes. His face is expressive and took a wash really nicely, and I'm pleased I got the ace of spades painted on the card in his right hand.

The Vanagon was a single-piece FDM print; there's some visible print lines, but for the price point and my needs it works just fine. I copied the burnt orange color scheme with the white roof off a photo found on a Google Image Search, and I added white trim around the windows to add a little extra pop. 

Next up, the first of the "Zombicide: Invader" monsters I bought off a guy on Bluesky last month. This is the "Babyface Abomination," painted up as the threat for my next game of Majestic 13. I used spot washes and contrast paint over white primer to get most of the colors down, then drybrushed to smooth out some blotchiness and went back for tidying and detailing. The blue spikes/shell and the teeth and nails were the only things done entirely without contrast paints. 

"Hey pal, them's the breaks. Wanna try again?"

He's a pretty hefty beast, standing on a 50mm base. And with that, let's update the tracker:

Miniatures Acquired: 52

Miniatures Painted: 76

Terrain Acquired: 0

Terrain Painted: 2

Scatter Acquired: 0

Scatter Painted: 1

Hot Dog!

 A little bit of terrain today - not totally done, but as done as it's going to get until the guy I get 3D printed stuff from comes home from vacation. 

This is a "Whataburger" stand from Things From The Basement, part of their new "Americana" range of 20th century American buildings. It's a beautifully engineered kit, everything fit perfectly with minimal sanding, and frankly it's got the best door hinge I've yet encountered on any MDF kit. Joerg at TFTB really designs wonderful kits. 

I went with a dark brown exterior with red trim, based on the aesthetic of a hot dog place I worked at when I was 17-18 years old. We've got a local chain and I still go in pretty regularly for a dog and a milkshake. The sign over the front window is one that Joerg provided for the kit. 

On the inside, I glued down some printed paper with a tile floor design I got from Sarissa Precision.

I printed handwashing and exit signs and glued those to the wall, and painted a 3D printed fire extinguisher I had left over from another kit before gluing it to the wall. 

The windows are plastic acetate sheet, cut to fit and glued to the walls with PVA glue prior to varnishing. The varnish gives it a cloudy, dirty look, which helps show off that I cut it to leave the window people would pay and receive their food through open. 

The kit does come with two picnic tables, which I have yet to paint.

Once Dave gets back from vacation, I've got STLs of a grill, fryer, industrial refrigerator and outdoor trash can to print. I think that'll give me the perfect balance between a detailed and a playable interior. 

And that gives me another piece of terrain for the tracker:

Miniatures Acquired: 52

Miniatures Painted: 74

Terrain Acquired: 0

Terrain Painted: 2

Scatter Acquired: 0

Scatter Painted: 0

Majestic 13: Operation Hot Flash

Hot town, summer in the city

Back of my neck gettin' dirty and gritty

Been down, isn't it a pity?

Doesn't seem to be a shadow in the city

All around, people lookin' half dead

Walkin' on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head...

"Will you turn that crap off? I hated that song in '66, and I hate it now. And given what we're up against, I don't think it's very funny, either!" The Lieutenant reached forward between the front seats and snapped the car radio off. 

"Bullshit," Becky rebutted. "What were you in '66, like two years old? No way you were old enough to complain about the music. Besides, it's my car, I'm driving, I call dibs on music." She went to switch the radio back on. The Lieutenant swatted at her hand.

"Sidewalk's not gonna be the only thing hotter than a match head if we don't take this Helion Beam-Chaser down and fast. This thing carries heat around it like Maria here carries Chanel No. 5!"

Maria glared at the older man. "Listen here, old man, you got me killed last time, you can sit and breathe my Chanel. And it's No. 18, puto!"

As the argument grew heated, Hank thumped his fist against the headrest in front of him. "Eyes on the road, people!" He barked. Becky's eyes snapped forward and she spun the wheel hard. The car jumped the curb and slammed into the side of a pawn shop.

"Roll out, Last Liners!" The Lieutenant snapped. Sarah-Jane struggled against the airbag, grateful for her medical kit.

***

In under the wire with my second game for February! The Last Liners are back, with the first mission post-run in with the soldiers of FORCE. We're back to a standard mission this time around, facing off against a Helion Beam-Chaser; a physically frail (by M13 monster standards) creature that can fire blasts of superheated energy that potentially blind its targets, and radiates enough heat that anyone ending their turn too close to it takes damage. For their secondary mission, there's a pair of alien tech tokens on the table; I needed to move figures into contact with both of them. And complicating matters, the Last Liners had a "Rough Landing" - everyone started the game already injured. 

The batlike creature screeched and flapped from its perch atop the Chinese restaurant, coming to rest atop the pawn shop; it had spotted the Lieutenant, and spat two quick bursts of plasma at him. The Lieutenant cursed, ducking and rolling behind the ramen shop's sign to avoid the fiery blast. Chambering a round, he sighted down the barrel and squeezed the trigger; ichor spurted as bullets raked the creature's thin frame.

With the creature distracted and out of cover, Hank II darted forward, not bothering with his folding tripod and giving the beast a burst of machine-gun fire. As he did so, Becky and Maria II made contact with the alien tech remnants left behind by the creature's delivery.

the blood splatter marks potentially dangerous terrain; Maria was fine!

Screeching, the Beam-Chaser caught sight of Maria II and belched forth more boiling energy, fusing bricks into glass where the bolts impacted.

Flapping awkwardly away from the pawn shop, the Beam-Chaser landed on the pizza parlor and bathed Hank II in great gouts of alien fire; the firefighter's coat he habitually wore shielded him from some of the blast, his eyes tightly shut against the dazzling white energy.

Hank II stopped, dropped and rolled towards cover before springing to his feet. "I shoot back, motherfucker!" He yelled, blazing away at the monster. Round after round buried itself in the beast's flesh.

Now that's a nice damage roll!

The Lieutenant, Becky, Maria II and Sarah-Jane kept up the fire on the beast, moving across the table and even jumping rooftop to rooftop to get a better bead on the Beam-Chaser. Its glittering yellow eyes narrowed and an indescribably cruel smile writhed across its fang-lined muzzle. Launching itself into the air, it landed next to Maria II on the roof of the pawn shop. The reddish fur on its body bristled as the air around it began to shimmer. An intense wave of heat rippled outwards from its body, catching four of the Last-Liners within it; only Hank II was effected, stunned by the suffocatingly hot air.

"I got ya, kid!" The Lieutenant yelled, jumping down off the electronics store and darting towards the dazed firefighter, medical kit at the ready. While unable to assist in shaking off the Stun, the Lieutenant patched up Hank II enough for him to recover his senses on his own and move out to line up another shot. 

Becky called in a drone strike on the creature, while Maria dove for safety, eager to get away from the monster's incredible body temperature.

Scrambling to the top of the gas station, Sarah-Jane lined up a tricky shot; the creature was in cover (meaning she'd be rolling twice and taking the worse result), and she held her breath as she pulled the trigger...

The creature wailed, its blood steaming and evaporating as fast as it could ooze from its wounds. "It's entering Extremis! Come on, we can finish it off!" The Lieutenant called out. 

Precisely as he said this, the skies opened up, a torrential rainstorm beginning. 

Rain steamed and sizzled around the creature as it flapped off, landing awkwardly and crouching behind the sign on the fireworks stand. It yelped, unexploded fireworks on the roof bursting from the heat of its body, peppering it with explosive material. It opened its mouth wide, and sprayed Becky with superheated plasma, the actinic glare blinding her.

The Lieutenant moved forward, throwing his rifle to his shoulder. Between the pouring rain and the sign blocking the shot, he missed; the Beam-Chaser hissed and attempted to crawl over the sign - only to suddenly screech, back arching in agony as it vomited boiling blood. The Extremis damage finished the creature off, and it crashed heavily to the wet pavement. 

An INCREDIBLY good roll for Extremis damage!

As Becky blinked her vision back, the Last Liners converged, watching the Beam-Chaser self-immolate. The Lieutenant clapped her on the shoulder. "Listen, soldier...Becky...I'm sorry about what I said earlier. You were right, driver chooses the music. Play whatever you want on the ride to debriefing."

Becky glared at him, spots still dancing in her vision. "Ride? Old man, in case you missed it, my car's totaled! You're paying for the Uber! And beer!"

***

I think this is the smoothest game the Last Liners have had yet; nobody put out of action, so no rolls on the injury and survival charts, and we killed the monster at the start of turn 4! 

Rolling into the post-game, everyone got a boost; the Lieutenant, Becky and Sarah-Jane all raised their Fortitude, while Maria boosted her Dexterity and Hank II had some XP banked from the previous game, meaning he was able to boost his Combat ability twice. 

Attempts to requisition stimulant shots and flashbang grenades failed, but I did get my base upgraded with a Spy Satellite Link; now, when I roll Bureaucracy as part of mission generation, I can reroll after I get my first result if I don't like it. 

The team's rating has risen to 5. 

What's next for the Last Liners? We'll find out in March.