A Pirating Problem

[Bretharr Bargall]

"Pirates weren't the nicest people in the galaxy. Unfortunately nowadays there are so many of them it's almost impossible to deal with them all. You just had to take down the ones you could and hope other pirates don't charge in" thought Bretharr, as he was on a shuttle with his squad of marines , 6 of them, armoured and armed with the standard issue armour and weaponry, as well as a flashbang each. He didn't like armour or heavy weapons, so he just wore his naval uniform and used his trusty blaster pistol. Or so far at least. They had received a distress call from a vessel nearby that they were being attacked by pirates. So Bretharr had been ordered by the captain of the ship he was assigned to, to rescue the ship, force a surrender or just kill all pirates, before they did too much damage. It was to his understanding that the ship being boarded was an Outrigger class Transport, with no weapons. So he wouldn't be shot down. That would be a sordid way to die indeed. He could hear a space battle rage around him. He had been assigned 2 fighters as escort, so they were now doing their job. Or dying fiery deaths to pirates. But he hadn't been shot down yet so that was good. However, this was not his concern. He began briefing his marines.
"Gentlemen, pirates have boarded a civilian vessel. Our job, obvious it may be, to rescue said civilian vessel, smash the pirates back to their own vessel, and either force a surrender or capture the pirate ship with all pirates killed. Understood?" And all his marines responded to the affirmative. They landed in a hangar unopposed from space, and the door began to come down...

@Nefieslab

 

[The Storyteller]

The pirates were focused on boarding attempts as they knew that the escorts they had were not going to last long against the Republic starfighters. Instead, they positioned themselves to better hold the hostages, which would be their leverage should this end up going poorly for them.

If the hostages survived they could escape to hyperspace with them as the Republic shouldn't risk blowing the ship up with them still on board... at least that was the belief.

The Republic forces didn't have hull breaching equipment so they had to come in through the airlock and that meant the pirates knew where they were going to be coming from. As such they had positioned two of their number with a diagonal line of sight on the airlock door, both behind the cover of walls, and a third pirate who didn't currently have line of sight but would be in a perfect position to open fire.

With the distance between the airlock door and the first wall being just under 10m away, the pulse wave weapons of the pirates were going to be devastatingly effective.

As soon as the airlock began to open, regardless of what happened, the two pirates opposite would fire two shots each into the doorway at chest height.

Spoiler: Placement Map

Blue = Republic
Yellow = Hostage
Red = Standard Pirate
Red&Black = Captain Pirate

Spoiler: Standard Pirate Equipment

Armour
Melee Weapon
Blaster

Spoiler: Captain Pirate Equipment

Armour
Melee Weapon
Blaster Rifle
Blaster Pistol

 

[Bretharr Bargall]

Bretharr as the door began coming down began barking orders.
"2 of you marines prepare to throw flashbangs, the rest of you prepare to give covering fire!" He ordered. The marines rushed to their positions. The majority of the marines knelt in a relatively loose line, whilst the 2 marines throwing the flashbangs stood behind. As the door came fully down, the marines in the front rank began firing at will, spraying the area leading to the rest of the ship with blaster fire, whilst the 2 marines threw their flashbangs. They both aimed for the right side of the wall, and threw, before taking out their blasters, and preparing to fire after the rest had to reload. Bretharr was on the left side of the line, firing his pistol

 

[The Storyteller]

The pirates didn't have flashbangs or the advantage of numbers in this small area but what they did have was the recklessness to fire wildly even as the doors were opening - this meant that they were firing before the Republic marines got a chance to do so.

With four shots having been fired, and the Republic forces in such an enclosed space, two of the shots made it through. One of the kneeling marines screamed as he fell backwards, his helmet having taken a direct hit - the armour of the helmet had saved his life but with the pulse wave pistol being the attacking weapon, it still did quite a number on his face, breaking his nose quite thoroughly. One of the marines standing to throw his grenade also took a hit, this time to the chest armour. The armour cracked, deforming to become useless, and it staggered him back but he was able to remain standing, though had not thrown his grenade.

One flashbang grenade made it out into the corridor and both of the two shooters were leaning out of cover to take more shots when it detonated, leaving one of them with his head still hanging out of cover and the other hiding behind cover. The pirate on the right side of the doorway took a shot to the head, which cracked his armoured helmet and sent him sprawling behind cover, with the one of the left just hung behind cover in an attempt to recover from the effects of the flashbang.

The third pirate, hiding behind the crates at the end of the hall, had spotted the flashbang easily and ducked behind his cover to avoid being effected before popping back up so that he was still half in cover with his blaster firing three shots at chest height as soon as the Republic troopers made to advance.

@Great Jamie

 

[Bretharr Bargall]

Bretharr watched as 2 of his marines took shots. Thankfully, the armour saved them, something which was a clear advantage over his uniform. However, 1 flashbang had made it through, and a marine had landed a hit on a pirate helmet. The pirate on the right had his head sticking out, and a cracked helmet, so Bretharr took a few shots at his head, as well as 2 marines. After he did that, he ordered the 3 other marines to charge the pirate on the left, and kill him. They began rushing out of cover, shooting at the pirate on the left at first. However, the pirate without a direct line of fire would shoot 3 shots at the marines charging. 3 of the shots would hit the marine at the back, causing him to bleed substantially. Bretharr would soon realise in horror that the marine might die, so he ordered the 2 marines with him to begin shooting at the pirate without a direct line of fire with him. Meanwhile, the 2 others would charge in, and shoot the pirate on the left at point blank range.

 

[The Storyteller]

Bretharr's and the two marines caught the disorientated pirate off guard, hitting him hard. Bratharr's second shot connected with the damaged helmet, killing the man even as the marines' shots impacted his chest hard. The other pirate on that side of the doorway was behind cover but with the fire from the Republic forces he was suppressed - forced to stay in cover.

As the Republic forces rushed out of the cover of the air lock, the third pirate, unseen before this, opened first with the three shots he had planned to fire. The Republic forces had no cover to take and no awareness of his position ahead of time so all three of his shots impacted heavily.

One hit the front armour of a trooper rushing forwards, staggering him and giving him a very bad case of bruising in the stomach area but not killing him.

This was repeated with a second, lucky, trooper.

The third shot, however, impacted the armoured front of the Trooper who's armour was already damaged and thus the armour did nothing. Screaming for only a few short seconds, the man fell to the ground dead with his chest having been exploded by the pulse wave blaster.

The pirate was able to see the republic forces aiming him way however and ducked back down behind the crate to avoid their fire, though he too was now suppressed.

Spoiler: Republic Casualties

1 Dead Marine
2 Marines with compromised front armour
1 Marine with no helmet

5 Marines remain combat ready in total
2 Marines remain undamaged​

Spoiler: Pirate Casualties

1 Dead Pirate
1 Disorientated Pirate (to wear off after 1 more round)

8 Pirates remain in total
7 Pirates remain combat ready​

@Great Jamie

 

[Bretharr Bargall]

Bretharr watched in horror as he saw a marine get killed by the pirate who he was now suppressing. However, this only hardened his resolve, and he ordered the 2 marines to keep firing. Meanwhile, the 2 marines still alive turned round the corner at the pirate on the left side of the wall and blasted several rounds at him at point blank range. Bretharr dashed across to meet with the 2 marines, whilst the 2 still in the shuttle continued to suppress the pirate. When Bretharr got there, he told them to get back into cover, and they rushed back, whilst Bretharr also got behind cover. The 2 marines suppressing the pirate also walked slowly back so their left flank wasn’t exposed to any potential danger. He ordered one marine to throw a flashbang at the pirate suppressed, and so he threw it.

 

[The Storyteller]

The two marines who had killed the still disorientated pirates were quick to get into cover and that saved them from taking shots from the pirates in cover further into the main area of the ship, who both loosed off a shot that helped the urge the marines to stay in cover but little else.

The pirate behind the crate in the same area however was still suppressed so his options were limited. He blind fired over the top of the crate twice before the flashbang landed in front of him and he took the full effect right to the face. Screaming in pain as his eyes were harmed by the grenade, the pirate would be unable to respond to further attacks.

The two pirates in the main hold of the ship would keep an eye on the entrance however and the first sign they saw of any movement down range they would fire three times each to put six shots down range at the Republic forces as quickly as possible.

Spoiler: Current Situation Map

Blue = Republic
Yellow = Hostage
Red = Standard Pirate
Red&Black = Captain Pirate
White Cross = Dead
White Line Over = Suppressed
Coloured Lines = Direction of Fire

Spoiler: Republic Casualties

1 Dead Marine
2 Marines with compromised front armour
1 Marine with no helmet

5 Marines remain combat ready in total
2 Marines remain undamaged​

Spoiler: Pirate Casualties

2 Dead Pirates
1 Disorientated Pirate

7 Pirates remain in total
6 Pirates remain combat ready​

@Great Jamie

 

[Bretharr Bargall]

So they had cleared this section. Good. However, he soon realised that there would still be challenges ahead when 2 shots came down the hallway, narrowly missing the marines who had scrambled back into cover. He had 1 final marine with a flashbang, and the majority of his soldiers had sustained damage. Hmm. First he had to finish off the man who had just been severely stunned. He first called up the marine who had his nose bleeding, and asked him whether he could fight on. The marine nodded in eagerness, and so he ordered him to cover, next to the marines who weren’t suppressed. He told him, and the other marines who weren’t suppressed to supress the 2 pirate in the main room as Bretharr and the only undamaged marine began to fire who had their armour damaged to fire whilst the marine with the one remaining flashbang and only one undamaged would charge off to kill that pirate. The marines soon poked out and began firing dozens of bolts down into the main room, trying to pick out the pirates whilst Bretharr and the undamaged Marine charged over to the pirate’s position, which had killed a marine, Bretharr to the right of the armoured marine

 

[The Storyteller]

The final pirate in the first corridor went down easily considering he was unable to see or hear anything because of the flashbang, meaning that the Republic had no secured it's exit and it's flank. This left only the pirates in the main area as threats to the Republic forces, standing between them and the hostages.

The pirates went to continue laying down suppressing fire when the fire from the assembled Republic forces actually forced them to stick to their cover instead.

With that, the Republic forces had managed to kill the only pirate who would have had a clear shot on them and begin to suppress the only other two in a position to engage them directly at this time.

Spoiler: Republic Casualties

1 Dead Marine
2 Marines with compromised front armour
1 Marine with no helmet

5 Marines remain combat ready in total
2 Marines remain undamaged​

Spoiler: Pirate Casualties

3 Dead Pirates

6 Pirates remain in total
6 Pirates remain combat ready​

@Great Jamie

 

[Bretharr Bargall]

Now things had begun to clear up a little. The exit and the room which they were in had been secured and they weren’t in any immediate danger. Good. Now the next part of the plan could proceed. Bretharr and the undamaged marine approached the cover on the right next to the marine who had formerly been suppressed. He ordered the 2 marines who had formerly been suppressed to try and kill the 2 pirates now suppressed, whilst Bretharr and the undamaged marine would try and approach them from close range. The 2 formerly suppressed marines would begin taking a few shots at head height at both pirates, the marine on the right trying to kill the pirate on the left and the marine on the left trying to kill the pirate on the right whilst Bretharr and the undamaged marine began to approach quickly but quietly.

 

[The Storyteller]

The two pirates in the main cargo hold found themselves under withering fire which stopped them from getting a look out at the Republic forces. One of them tried to pop his head out to see but took a shot to the helmet that disorientated him but thankfully he was behind cover so he wasn't within sight to be shot again.

This meant that the two within the hold itself were not in a position to challenge the advance of Bretharr and the marine who were charging into the hold.

Unfortunately for the Republic forces - the ones in the cargo hold were not the only ones who had a line of sight on anyone trying to move into the cargo hold. Instead, the two stationed in the cover of the cockpit's doorway were able to see them moving and leaned out of cover to lay down fire of their own as they were not suppressed in any way and the other marines were all focused on the other two pirates in the hold.

Bretharr would have three pulse wave shots coming for him at chest height, all of the shots leading so they would hit if he continued on his current trajectory.

The marine charging had the exact same situation from the other pirate.

Spoiler: Current Situation Map

Spoiler: Republic Casualties

1 Dead Marine
2 Marines with compromised front armour
1 Marine with no helmet

5 Marines remain combat ready in total
2 Marines remain undamaged​

Spoiler: Pirate Casualties

3 Dead Pirates

6 Pirates remain in total
6 Pirates remain combat ready​

@Great Jamie

 

[Bretharr Bargall]

“DIVE!!! Bretharr roared and so both he and the marine beside him dived in opposite directions into cover, Bretharr diving quickly to the left and the marine diving to the right. They began to return fire at the pirates which had fired upon them, whilst the rest of the marines continuing to suppress the 2 pirates closest to Bretharr. He would have to judge exactly where these pirates were, before making any rash decisions, so he merely continued to give fire, firing a few shots before rushing back into cover, whilst the marine did the same.

 

[The Storyteller]

The shots from the pirates at the edge of the cockpit were rather rushed and so didn't actually work as they had intended, giving both the advancing marine and Bretharr himself room to get behind cover... which, strangely enough, was the opposite side of the same cover that the pirates within the cargo hold were using.

Thankfully for both parties, the crates being used as cover were rather thick, so neither Bretharr and his marine nor the two pirates in the cargo hold were actually capable of reaching over the cover to grab or otherwise immediately attack each other. In fact, the pirates behind the crates didn't even know they had neighbours!

The pirates at the door to the cockpit carried on firing around their cover with just their blasters exposed, much in the same way that the marine and Bretharr were attempting to do. This meant that while they were suppressed, so were Bretharr and his forward-most marine.

Spoiler: Current Situation Map

Spoiler: Republic Casualties

1 Dead Marine
2 Marines with compromised front armour
1 Marine with no helmet

5 Marines remain combat ready in total
2 Marines remain undamaged​

Spoiler: Pirate Casualties

3 Dead Pirates

6 Pirates remain in total
6 Pirates remain combat ready​

@Great Jamie

 

[Bretharr Bargall]

So he had engaged the pirates in the cockpit fully. Good. Because perhaps unknown to them, he still had 2 Final marines in reserve. He would now engage them into combat. He turned round, and gestured for the marines to charge at the pirates closest to him, so the 2 marines sprinted forward, towards the pirates closest to Bretharr and the undamaged marine, one marine for one pirate. The rest of the marines, plus Bretharr would continue to suppress the pirates they already had suppressed. The marines which had been ordered to advance then turned the corner, and blasted the pirates in their aim at point blank range, the marine which had advanced on the left shooting many shots at the pirate to the left, the marine which had advanced on the right shooting the pirate on the right, both at point blank range.

 

[The Storyteller]

The two marines currently not suppressing anyone charged upwards across the cargo hold, dashing forwards through the fire from all angles on Bretharr's orders to get round the side of the cover and gun down the pirates. The blaster fire throughout the cargo hold was heavy enough that both men had to keep their heads down to make sure that they weren't gunned down by their own allies as they made the charge.

Naturally, the two suppressed pirates in the cargo hold weren't just sitting there karking their pants and had been preparing themselves for the inevitable charge.

In the end though, they had 'been ready' for too long so their reaction times weren't as good as they could have been - though both of them still managed to fire off a couple of rounds each. The marine on the left was lucky and managed to gun down the pirate on the left without issue.

The marine on the right took a pulse wave shot to the chest and one to the head at the same time he shot the pirate three times in the chest - both men died instantly.

Spoiler: Current Situation Map

Spoiler: Republic Casualties

2 Dead Marine
1 Marines with compromised front armour
1 Marine with no helmet

4 Marines remain combat ready in total​

​

Spoiler: Pirate Casualties

5 Dead Pirates

4 Pirates remain in total
4 Pirates remain combat ready​

@Great Jamie

 

[Bretharr Bargall]

The situation... Wasn’t too brilliant yet. When he saw one of his marines die, he lowered his head in despair. The pirates had been killed sure, but it was costly. 2 marines dead. He would look to his right, and notice a staircase, and... Was that a doorway? He wasn’t sure. He ordered the 2 marines at the back and not doing anything to get up those stairs and search that part of the ship, whilst he ordered the undamaged marine to throw the final flashbang at the 2 pirates, whilst the marine closest to the pirates and had been involved in killing the pirate to the left very recently to once again approach. The flashbang was thrown, before the undamaged marine and Bretharr continued to put on suppressing fire.

 

[The Storyteller]

The two marines from the first doorway nodded and went right, down the stairs, to the side cargo hold. They would have to immediately move to find cover however, as the lone pirate was well dug in with cover and he fired upon them as soon as they were within sight. As he was ready, he would be able to shoot at them before they were able to get a clear shot on him. One of the hostages was actually pulled right up close to the corner he was hiding behind so he was able to lean out from behind the corner to fire over the hostage's shoulder while providing no clear shot for the Marines that didn't involve gunning down a hostage.

In plain view of the hostages still standing behind the man - the marines would need to watch their shots as any stray shots would hit hostages in the back.

The flashbang was thrown into the cockpit but one of the pirates was ready.

"Look away!" The captain barked as he did the same, hiding his head behind one of the hostages to keep the flashbang from effecting him, throwing the hostage out into the cargo hold quickly while Bretharr and the marines were still putting down suppressing fire - to force them to stop firing so as to not hit the hostage.

The captain and one of the pirates had managed to avoid the flashbang but one is disorientated. The captain holds one of the hostages in front of him as a body-shield as he calls out,

"Lay down your weapons or I start killing hostages!"

The other pirate is still ready to lay down fire if needs be.

Spoiler: Republic Casualties

2 Dead Marine
1 Marines with compromised front armour
1 Marine with no helmet

4 Marines remain combat ready in total​

Spoiler: Pirate Casualties

5 Dead Pirates

4 Pirates remain in total
3 Pirates remain combat ready
1 Pirate flashbanged​

@Great Jamie

 

[Bretharr Bargall]

“CEASE FIRE!!!!!!!!” Bretharr roared and the marines stood down. However, in the process, he gestured for the undamaged marine who was formerly suppressed to move slightly back so he was hidden.
“SURRENDER!! You are outnumbered, outgunned and out... Moralled” he said the last thing with slight sarcasm, though it was true!
Meanwhile, as the 2 marines approached the sole pirate in the cargo hold, a blaster bolt came at them. The marine behind waited back in cover, whilst the marine at the front rushed back.

 

[The Storyteller]

The Captain grinned when the order came down from the Republic commander to cease fire... these heroic types were so karking predictable that it almost made him sad that he was going to have to kill them. The heroic types were always so much fun. He chuckled a little bit,

"Aye, you might have more guns and more guys but guess what I have?" he called back, shaking the prisoner he was using as a meat shield slightly, "I have leverage! You've got nothing."

He fired a shot off at Bretharr from around the side of his hostage,

"And there's not a damn thing you can do about it!"

Back in the side cargo hold, the sole pirated grabbed his hostage and held them in front of his body as he walked forwards, firing at the marine who had remained to keep him in cover until he was able to get a clear shot, when he would then shoot him at point blank range.

Spoiler: Republic Casualties

2 Dead Marine
1 Marines with compromised front armour
1 Marine with no helmet

4 Marines remain combat ready in total​

Spoiler: Pirate Casualties

5 Dead Pirates

4 Pirates remain in total
3 Pirates remain combat ready
1 Pirate flashbanged​

@Great Jamie