A Can of Worms

by Tom Stephens

These Knight Hawks Encounters were inspired by some of the articles in this issue and provide an opportunity to play with the new ships introduced in this issue of the Frontier Explorer and play out parts of some of the suggested adventures.

Trial Run

A new ship design runs into some sathar on its maiden voyage.

Background

The CPFS Battleaxe, a new Corvette design built for the Truane’s Star Militia (See the Truane’s Star system brief, p 5) is out on its maiden voyage and shakedown cruise with two of the militia’s Assault Scouts.  In the outer reaches of the system, they stumble across two sathar destroyers that have jumped into the system.  The militia is going to get a fuller test of their new ship design than they were expecting.  With no help nearby can the militia ships hold out against the larger sathar vessels?

Order of Battle

Militia Ships

• CPFS Battleaxe – Truane’s Star Militia Corvette
• CPFS Cerval – Assault Scout
• CPFS Mako – Assault Scout

Sathar ships

• 2 Sathar Destroyers

Setup

The militia ships set up first on one of the short sides of the map.  They may have any speed up to 15 hexes per turn but all ships must have the same speed.

After the militia ships are set up, the sathar ships are placed on the opposite side of the board.  Their initial speed must be 10-15 hexes per turn faster than the militia ships and both ships must be moving at the same speed.

Special Rules

Running Battle

This fight could turn into a running chase depending on how the militia ships react.  Use the rules for extending and shifting the map in the UPF Tactical Operations Manual (KH boardgame rules) on page 10.

Escaping the Fight

The militia ships can escape the fight if they remain out of weapons range of the sathar ships for a full turn and have a higher speed than the sathar ships.

Victory Conditions

Sathar Victory

The sathar do not want their presence known and seek to destroy the militia ships.  A minor victory is achieved if the CPFS Battleaxe is destroyed.  A major victory is achieved if all three militia ships are destroyed.

Militia Victory

The militia’s goal is to get the CPFS Battleaxe home safely and report the sathar incursion.  The militia scores a minor victory if the CPFS Battleaxe escapes the battle.  A major victory is achieved if both sathar ships are destroyed.

Running the Worms

A UPF Stealth Scout needs to escape with a defecting Sathar on-board.

Background

This scenario is from the Extending the Line article (p 19).  UPF Star Law Rangers, flying a new Stealth Scout have made contact with a defecting sathar at a sathar listening post in an asteroid belt.  Just as they are about to make their getaway, a pair of sathar destroyers show up.  Help should arrive at any moment but the destroyers are coming in to orbit at the asteroid base.  Hopelessly outgunned, their only chance is to make a run for it.

Waiting until the destroyers have shed their velocity to allow maximum use of the Stealth Scout’s and sathar Scout ship’s higher ADF, the Star Law ships blast off from the asteroid base at maximum acceleration.  Can they evade the destroyers?  Can they hold out until the cavalry arrives?

Order of Battle

Star Law

• Stealth Scout
• Sathar Scout ship

UPF Ships

• 2 Assault Scouts
• Frigate

Sathar ships

• 2 Destroyers

Setup

Place 60 upside down counters in a band 16 to 20 hexes wide across the center of the map to represent the asteroid field.  Each counter should be placed on the intersections of three hexes as described in the Knight Hawks Campaign Book p 34.  The rules from the Campaign Book covering movement through asteroid fields apply to this scenario.  [Author’s Note:  This level of asteroid density is completely unrealistic but it makes the play much more interesting.]

The sathar base should be marked with a UPF or pirate station marker to designate its location.  There should be several paths through the asteroid field from the base to open space but they don’t have to be straight.

The Star Law ships should be placed on the map on top of the station.  The Sathar ships are placed on the map in a hex adjacent to the station.  All these ships have a starting speed of zero.

The UPF ships do not enter the fight until round 7.  At which point they enter the map with a speed of 10 from either of the two short sides of the map.  All three ships must enter from the same side.

Special Rules

Defector’s Location

Before play begins, the Star Law player should secretly record which ship, the Stealth Scout or the Sathar Scout, the defecting sathar agent is on.  This choice is revealed when that ship is destroyed or leaves the game.

Hitting the Stealth Scout

The Stealth Scout has technology that makes it hard to track.  In order for the sathar ships to fire on the Stealth Scout, they must have a successful radar lock.  Follow the rule for detecting the Stealth Scout as described on page NN of this issue in the Sharpening Stone article.  The Sathar Scout has no such protection.

Escaping the Battle

Any ship that makes it off either of the short edges of the board, with no other ship in weapon’s range, or with a higher speed and ADF than any pursuer, is considered to have escaped the battle.

Victory Conditions

The sathar achieve a minor victory if they destroy the ship with the sathar defector.  They achieve a major victory if they destroy both the Stealth Scout and the Sathar Scout ship.  They achieve an overwhelming victory if all UPF ships are also destroyed.

The Star Law/UPF teams achieve a minor victory if the ship with the sathar defector escapes the battle.  They achieve a major victory if both the Stealth Scout and Sathar Scout ship escape the battle.  They achieve an overwhelming victory if both sathar destroyers are eliminated or all surviving Star Law/UPF ships escape the battle (including both the Stealth and Sathar Scout ships) and no more than 40 HP of UPF ships were lost.