BATTLE FOR

PROTEUS PRIME

FIRESTORM: PLANETFALL
CAMPAIGN GUIDE
2
 3

BATTLE FOR
PROTEUS PRIME
CONTENTS
Introduction: The Dead Planet�������������������������������������������������������������� 4
Mission 1 – Perfect Recon��������������������������������������������������������������������� 18
Mission 2 – Operation Whisper����������������������������������������������������������� 22
Mission 3 – Dawn Assault���������������������������������������������������������������������� 26
Mission 4 – Battle for Artemis�������������������������������������������������������������30
Mission 5 – Air Strike!������������������������������������������������������������������������������34
Mission 6 – Sigma Recall������������������������������������������������������������������������38
Statistics – Aquan Prime and Terquai���������������������������������������������� 44
Statistics – Directorate and Works Raptor������������������������������������� 55

Writers: Derek Sinclair, Giles Pritchard and Sam Bevan

Artwork: Jeff Porter and Chris Peacey
Design & Layout: Richard Gale

The contents of this book are Copyright © Spartan

Games 2014-2017. All rights reserved.
4

THE DEAD PLANET

E
xaminer Jung Wen glanced down at idly tried to make sense of the readings,
the scanner once again, his eyes glazed the other as he lunged a clawed hand for
with boredom as he idly processed the proximity alarm button.
the latest readouts from the advance Captain Po’fa Zhin was not a woman
probes. It had been nearly six standard to cross. A veteran of the Terquai Navy
weeks since their last unidentified signal and a seasoned Commander, control of
source, and in his mind the TEV Hidden the TEV Hidden Knowledge had been her
Knowledge had far outstayed its welcome idea of a steady retirement after a lifetime
in this desolate region of space. of action and excitement. She had not
The faint clicking sound of taloned reckoned with the reality of babysitting
feet on the steel surface of the command so many eager scientists and would-be
deck made him glance up to see Jo’afa’kar adventurers.
striding over to join him. For a Hub Terran, Now into her seventh voyage with the
the male’s appearance would have been vessel, Zhin wondered whether combat
disconcerting to say the least. Jo’afa’kar would not have been preferable, as the
stood nearly seven feet tall, yet was small meeting once again descended
for his sub-species. into uproar.
For Jung, however, the sight was so
common as to be an every day occur-
rence. The Terquai Empire, whilst majori-
ty-Human, had more than its fair share of
alien inhabitants.
‘Anything?’ he rumbled, easily under-
stood in the multi-tone language of the
Empire.
‘Nothing, Jo... a whole lot of noth-
ing.’ Wen ran a hand through his spiky
hair with a grimace and a sigh of frus-
tration. ‘I think we should tell the
Captain.’
The words were hardly out of
his mouth when the display sud-
denly lit up. A solid tone began
all at once, and several lights
rapidly flashed on.
‘Kagafutar!’ Jo and Wen
swore at once, one as he rap-

‘We must land and explore the planet!
I insist!’ cried the lab-coated Doctor Be’zo,
the onboard specialist in planetary geog-
raphy and co-funder of the Hidden Knowl-
edge expedition. His four eyes glinted
with barely suppressed excitement, and
his facial fronds rippled as he spoke, heav-
ily accenting his sing-song voice.
‘No,’ said Kel Tor, shaking his dark-
skinned shaven head angrily, ‘I keep tell-
ing you and the Captain! We’re too far
out for this kind of expedition. We should
return later – it’s not as if this planet is
going anywhere.’
Other voices joined in, shouting their
preferences from their cross-legged posi-
tions within the conference chamber. Zhin
suppressed a sigh, and glanced across at
the still shape of her executive officer, the
unflappable Gr’aa’fo’Ty. He stood still,
eyes closed, unmoving save for the slight
ripple of his vestigial gills; a sure sign
of his inner frustration.
5
‘We must land and
explore the planet! I insist!’
cried the lab-coated
Doctor Be’zo. His four
eyes glinted with barely
suppressed excitement
Zhin raised a single elegant hand, and
the entire room swiftly fell silent. Soon
the only sound was the faint babbling of
the artificial brook that wound its way
amongst the cushions on which the occu-
pants sat. The mood-sensitive lighting
swiftly faded into a more neutral shade,
although Zhin once again felt that she
missed much of the subtlety that alien
eyes would have picked out in the hues.
‘I fear that this discussion has gone too
far off course for my liking.’ She raised a
hand to forestall Dr. Be’zo from interrupt-
ing. ‘I think we should focus on the facts.’
She steepled her fingers beneath her chin
and, with a flick of her eyes, triggered the
holographic display modules hidden
behind the scaled walls.
‘According to our charts and
records, this sector should be
devoid of all life or objects. As
you can see on the map, this area
of space has long been termed
the Panthalassa Gulf due to
its sheer emptiness. Frequent
scans have returned nothing
of note... and until six hours
ago our probes were report-
ing much the same thing.’
6
As she spoke, the holo changed
to match her descriptions, automati-
cally displaying the information in a mul-
titude of different outputs to allow all the
species present to understand. Whilst a
little fuzzy around the edges compared
to the stark lines of a mono-language dis-
play, all present could easily understand
what they were being shown.
‘In effect, our probes are telling us that
we were alone.’ Zhin made eye contact
with all those around her. ‘In an area of
space with no major celestial bodies, no
stars, no nothing. In fact, I was soon to
recommend that we engage our drives
and simply move elsewhere... until this
happened.’
The image changed, feeding the
probes surprising report straight into the
conference chamber. Displayed before
them was an average looking planet-
oid, with a breathable atmosphere and
several continental landmasses. There
were no polar caps, although many large
mountain ranges indicated past geolog-
ical activity. Zhin gestured to Examiner
Wen, inviting him to elaborate.
Terquai Assault Cruiser
‘Er... yes. Right.’ he cleared his throat
audibly, causing a few noises of humour
to ripple around the room. ‘The planet-
oid is, for want of a better word, ‘Terran’
standard with no strange features or con-
fused readouts. Detailed sensor sweeps
have, however, been frustrated by a curi-
ous phenomena that I believe explains,
or at least illustrates, the surprise we
recently had.’
He pulled out a handheld control panel
and began tapping rapidly on the keys,
continuing to speak as he did so. ‘The
feed you see before you is a composite
of the information coming from all of our
probes currently in place. If I change their
pattern slightly and filter the image to a
single device only...’ he flicked pressed
a button, and the image became fuzzier
and less distinct. ‘This is our own sensor
reading from orbit, and this is from probes
1... 2... 3.’ Each image was much the same
as the last, and Wen paused now for dra-

matic effect, a small smile playing on his
lips. ‘And this is a composite of 4 through
to 7.’
The effect on his audience was imme-
diate. There were gasps of surprise, and
even Gr’aa’fo’Ty sat up in shock. The holo
was now blank, displaying a void of space
and with no readouts to indicate any body
of mass in the vicinity beyond the TEV Hid-
den Knowledge herself. ‘This is why we
had such a shock... there is a little corridor
through which the planet becomes visi-
ble. My current readings indicate that it is
only a few hundred kilometres across. As
luck would have it we managed to inter-
sect with that opening six hours ago, and
only our relatively low speed prevented a
fatal collision.’
The subsequent silence was deafening,
and the reactive light began to change
again. Zhin remained quiet, gauging the
mood of the conference, and allowing
everything to sink in. Unsurprisingly, it
was Dr Be’zo who spoke-sang up.
‘In my mind that settles it,’ he trilled.
‘We must explore the planet, but take
more precautions than ever before! I
do not wish to lose this exit channel, or
be stranded on a planet that no-one can
find.’ He turned to regard Zhin. ‘With your
permission Captain, we will establish a
research facility on the surface!’
•• •••
Wen and Jo’afa’kar climbed the last few
feet on the mountain path to reach the
small landing pad outside the secondary
research facility. The warm light of the
planet’s surface, in all defiance of the
apparent lack of a local star, bathed the
white stone of their surroundings with a
cool yellow glow. Below them stretched
7
There were gasps of
surprise... the holo was now
blank, displaying a void of
space with no readouts to
indicate any body of mass in
the vicinity
the wide grass plains of what had come
to be known as Proteus Prime, and above
loomed the forbidding peaks of the Illumi-
nus Mountains.
Wen was busy chatting away through
an earpiece. ‘Are you sure it’s another
one? Remember last week?’ He paused for
an answer. ‘I know it’s been six months
since the last discovery, but all this
excitement has led to far too many false
reports.... Fine. We’ll be there shortly.’
He cut the link and shook his head.
‘Amateurs.... see the pictures of one
apparent city and the next thing you
know everyone’s finding signs of civiliza-
tion here, there and everywhere.’
Jo rumbled a laugh as they continued
towards the awaiting shuttle. ‘True, but
it is still incredibly exciting!’ A comment
which Wen found it impossible to disa-
gree with.
•• •••
Four research stations established and
more findings than their already bol-
stered research teams could handle.
It was astounding, what 5 months of
intense exploration and examination
had uncovered. Wen’s mind raced with
8
the tumult of discovery and revelation, so
much had been found and so much was
still a mystery.
This race, whoever they were, had
mastered technology that utilised physics
top quantum theorists back on Heshyna
were only just starting to guess at, and
yet there was so little cultural identifiers
to draw on. No writing, no imagery… just
the ancient artefacts of a complex civilisa-
tion washed clean by time of the culture
that spawned them.
Who were they? What did they look
like, think like, dream like? What would
you have seen standing atop the moun-
tains and gazing down upon the work
their civilisation had produced? Radiomet-
ric dating had been difficult to accom-
plish due to the paucity of rock contain-
ing usable isotopes, much of the material
the planet was made up of seemed to
have been engineered. It was exhilarat-
ing, and yet so damnably alien it seemed
disjointed from everything else Wen had
ever encountered… from the rest of the
universe.
He gazed idly at his pad, he was meant
to be using this time to record field notes
and compile reports from the various
teams to be sent back to Heshyna. Already
he had been told that the reports from
the TEV Hidden Knowledge, and the four
research stations it supported, were being
widely read at home, even by the Cserani.
So much had been found, and so much
seemed yet to be found that his mind was
a swirl, mixed thoughts of what had been
discovered, and imaginings of what could
yet to be unearthed.
They had received word from Captain
Po’fa Zhin, that highly detailed scans of
some of the artefacts had already been
reverse engineered on Heshyna, and that
they promised to revolutionise technol-
ogy. Advanced prototypes were due for
arrival with the next shipment of supplies
and personnel. A salute to the discoverers.
It was astounding…
•• •••
The shuttle set Wen and Jo down on the
imaginatively named ‘Third Spur’ of the
Illuminus Mountains, a towering range
that split the primary continent almost
in twain. The spur tapered off into the
‘Marshlands’ a relatively unexplored patch
of ground that had merely been aerial sur-
veyed until four months ago, when a sur-
vey team searching for indigenous life
stumbled upon the stone ruins of what
could only be described as a city.
Since that date, nearly every team
and facility had been retasked with find-
ing more about the ancient civilization.
Weekly reports now flowed to the Ter-
quai Empire, along with requests for more
funds and scientists. Dr Be’zo referred to
it already as the ‘greatest discovery of this
century!’
Wen and Jo found themselves enter-
ing a small cleft in the mountainside, beck-
oned in by one of the advance scouts. The
walls were sheer and smooth, and the
interior clean and ordered. One of the
scientists brandished a spear-like weapon
triumphantly as Wen passed, only the sev-
enth such discovered.
The two clambered up some roughly
hewn stone steps, almost slipping on a
number of smooth metal rods that had
been piled haphazardly on one, before
arriving in a large circular chamber.
‘We’re quite far into the mountain.’
remarked Jo, scanning the whole cham-
ber curiously.

‘Sensor readings for
Proteus Prime are showing
alarming and erratic results
Captain... a sudden and
significant shift in the shape
of the planet’s gravity well.’
Wen nodded, too absorbed by the
sight that greeted him on the far side. He
strode over to the team of researchers
huddled around a stone dais, covered in
strange markings.
‘Is that writing?’ he whispered, barely
daring to hope that the first holy grail of
their search had just been unveiled.
‘Not sure.’ replied one of the scien-
tists, running a camera over the images
to record as many as possible. Another
reached out to brush dust from the dais....
And then all hell broke loose.
•• •••
Glass, water, fruit and bowl, along with
everything not attached to the hull sud-
denly lurched into the air, the water pool-
ing out of the glass in beautiful spheres,
before seconds later being thrown back
into the floor. The smashing of the glass
and bowl, and the sharp pain that lanced
through Captain Po’fa Zhin’s spine as she
hit the floor coincided with a burst of
alarms throughout the ship.
Struggling to stand, screens around
the room exploded into activity. ‘What
just happened?’ She gasped, nausea rising
9
in her stomach suddenly and roiling
through her gut. With an iron will she
forced her sensory input to the side and
steadied herself.
‘We were in freefall Captain.’ Hurdu, the
chief engineer, responded to her question
through one of the screens. His voice was
filled with panic. ‘I don’t know, but for a
moment we were in freefall.’
A burst of messages from around the
ship were scrolling through her mind.
‘Sensor readings for the Planet Proteus
Prime are showing alarming and erratic
results Captain,’ came the clipped and level
toned voice of her Lieutenant.
‘What results?’ She asked back, through
gritted teeth, the room felt like it was
slowly revolving and her lower back was
on fire.
‘Gravitational anomalies. Several of our
microsats at the L points have been pulled
from position. Unfortunately we won’t be
able to get them back, but before they
moved out of array they recorded a sud-
den and significant shift in the shape of the
planet’s gravity well, it has now reverted.’
The Lieutenant’s chitenous face and even
voice betrayed little emotion. ‘We will need
to run more data to get a clearer picture.’
‘Move the ship a safe distance and
assess for damage. Does the planet look
to be unstable? What in the void could have
caused it?’ Captain Po’fa leant forward,
steadying herself on the table in front of
her. A fragment of glass pricked into her
palm, but she hardly noticed.
‘Send an urgent message to Heshyna,
and… contact planetside.’ Staring blankly
into the smoky transparent surface of
the table, she wondered: if they’d felt it
here, what had happened down on the
surface...?
•• •••
10
Consciousness hit Wen like a club to the
face, contorting in agony, he rolled over
and vomited uncontrollably. His mind was
spinning as was the world around him.
His body shuddered, muscles cramping,
bones lancing with pain. He tried climb-
ing to his hands and knees but fell back,
vomiting again, he blacked out.
Jo’s face grew into focus through
the haze, his friend was talking; yelling.
Wen rolled his head from side to side, he
couldn’t hear anything but a brain spear-
ing roar. Jo was dragging him slowly. Dust,
noise and pain were choking Wen. Violent
lurches in the ground threw Jo down, yet
up he got and dragged Wen a little fur-
ther again. There were others down, other
bodies on the floor. Darkness took Wen
once more.
Jo wiped the stinging dust and debris
from his face and eyes, then gripped
Wen’s collar and dragged as best he could,
on his knees, through the biting rain and
flying fragments. The ground was rippling
beneath them. There were others down,
Jo had seen one fall and smash his skull
on the dais. Another had just crumpled,
blood flowing from mouth, ears, nose and
eyes. Breathing haggard, choking on the
swirling maelstrom of particulate in the air
and near blind, knee by knee, inch by inch,
Jo dragged his fallen friend.
Wen woke. It was dark, with a fainter
than usual phosphorescent glow that they
had grown accustomed to. Sheer walls on
either side. They had been… Wen strug-
gled to recall as his body was gripped in
agony… a room? Something terrible had
happened, a thunder clap that felt like
the world was breaking, then pain and
darkness. Jo had been dragging him. Jo?
Struggling to all fours Wen cast about for
his friend. In the faint glow he saw a large
In the sky high above them
both hung a dark shape,
malevolent it seemed;
giant; timeless; other.
folded shape leant up against one of the
walls. Wen slowly pulled himself closer.
He could hear the ragged breathing. ‘Jo?’
Jo’s head lolled up slowly, one of his
large multifaceted eyes torn and shred-
ded, his clothes ripped, his breathing
laboured and faint. There was foam leak-
ing from his mouth, and his mandibles
twitched in pain. ‘Wen?’ He breathed.
Wen lurched into the wall beside his
friend and embraced him.
The ground shook in aftershocks as the
two of them, sometimes walking, leaning
into the wall, and sometimes crawling,
slowly made their way along.
The strange glow of the planet threw
eerie shadows, and grew slowly in
strength as the approached the opening
of the cleft. Out of the oppressive stone
city they lay on the mountainside path
they had followed so many hours before.
How many others had been down there?
What had happened? They had energy
enough to think, but were silent: there
was pain enough already without inviting
more by talking.
Jo’s body went suddenly rigid, he
raised himself partly from the ground.
Wen, fear clenching his throat, spun to
follow his friends gaze, up.
In the sky high above them both hung
a dark shape, malevolent it seemed; giant;

timeless; other. It hung in the heavens like
an obsidian spearhead, and the trembling
tips of the mountains below rained their
matter into it, and it grew as it spun slowly
in the sky…
•• •••
This is the TEV Hidden Knowledge
requesting immediate assistance from
any and all allied vessels. Planetside
teams in great danger from regular
occurrence of massive natural
disasters. Magnetic fluctuations and
expanded radiation belts make orbital
approach dangerous and unwise without
further fleet assets. Details appended in
encrypted data packet. Please respond
swiftly to the galactic co-ordinates at...
Agent 04209144 was almost impossible
to distinguish from those around it in the
Terquai primary research base, mainly
because its consciousness was actually
loaded onto a cybernetic chip installed
into the central nervous system of what
had once been a Terquai naval engineer.
It could not remember who or what it
had been prior to the operation, nor could
it remember what the operation itself had
entailed. All it knew were the pre-pro-
grammed personality traits it exhibited,
and the hidden agendas locked within
its digital memory banks. There was no
awareness, either of its hosts past, or its
own prior to digitisation.
It was, however, aware that such
knowledge was irrelevant. What was rel-
evant was the information that even now
11
scrolled across the message screen. With-
out any real understanding, it continued
to follow station procedure whilst simul-
taneously inserting a pre-made subroutine
to send a carbon copy of the signal in a
very different direction indeed.
•• •••
It had been four days since the upheavals
had began and no one, scientist or mili-
tary personnel, knew the reason why. So
far 19 souls had perished, and a further 6
more were missing. Dr Be’zo stared at his
computer screen.
‘You must have some ideas,’ came a
calm voice. ‘Planets don’t just tear them-
selves apart. Not without our instru-
ments having warned us first.’ The voice
belonged to Captain Po’fa, her calm exte-
rior a mask barely covering the fear and
worry that wracked her, that wracked
them all.
‘You are correct,’ trilled Dr Be’zo. ‘We
detected massive gravitational fluctu-
ations alongside the seismic activities.
It was as if five gravity wells opened up
within the planet and began tearing pieces
away. We’re awaiting validation from a
variety of other sources, but if they fol-
low their current trajectory and speed, our
probes are indicating that the pieces will
converge on a single point in space, the L2
point to be precise.’
‘We are launching more microsats Dr
Be’zo, with their network of sensors feed-
ing back to you will there be any way to
ascertain whether this was… is… a ran-
dom local phenomenon?’ The Captain
leaned into the holoscreen as she spoke,
her voice earnest.
‘It would seem not Captain,’ Be’zo
replied. ‘Our initial analysis indicated
12
that Proteus Prime was a dead planet, a
small still molten core, but that any tec-
tonic activity had ceased millions of years
ago. What we have seen…’ he paused.
‘What we have seen is anomalous, and I
might add not just to this planet. There
is no occurrence, as far as I can ascertain,
of similar phenomenon taking place any-
where else on record.’
The Captain moved off-screen, though
her cursing was audible. As she reap-
peared Be’zo chose not to indicate he had
noticed. ‘Be’zo, did we… did any of our
teams cause this?’
Be’zo glanced down momentarily, his
thoughts suddenly on Officer Wen and
Jo’afa’kar, both still in convalescence,
and the testimony they had brought with
them. ‘It is too early to know with any
certainty Ma’am.’ Adjusting his insignia
he continued, ‘But I am concerned that
we did.’
‘It can’t be stopped, can it.’ The Cap-
tain’s voice was fatalistic, it wasn’t a ques-
tion.
‘No Ma’am. No. I don’t believe it can.’
•• •••
So far down beneath the roiling sur-
face of the ocean world of Csera that the
only light was artificial and the pressures
unbelievable, Anthar barely moved, hold-
ing position with the faintest kicking of
his feet, nervously waiting for what only
a handful of the trillions of inhabitants of
the Aquan Prime had ever been allowed
to experience. Clinging to his holo-display
he could barely control his excitement
and fear, ripples of colour growing, mov-
ing and pulsing in his skin as he fought to
control the energised mixture of emotions
coursing through him.
Anthar’s heart nearly burst
in his chest as the burden
of a millennia old terror
flushed through him, he
gasped, almost in pain.
Then the fear was gone. A
pall of sickening horror like
leaden poison in the pit of
his stomach remained.
Silent guardians moved to unbar the
great double doors, beyond them was a
simple tube-like corridor which ended in
a transparent bubble, and beyond that…
Anthar felt rooted to the spot, mus-
cles refusing to follow the scattered
commands of his mind. Eventually he
pulled himself together enough to kick
himself forward, twining down the corri-
dor toward the Room of Consultation at
the end. Kicking himself forward again
he moved into the bubble shaped room,
close enough to the transparent wall that
his finger-tips were almost touching it,
almost... A strange and exhilarating cock-
tail of emotions washed through his nerv-
ous system as he gazed beyond, colour
rippling across him made his inner mind
open to any Aquan who was watching…
not that there was a need, not here.
Beyond the glass was The Mind, an
undulating biomass: Cserani, but so much
more. The Mind was picked from the wis-
est and deepest Cserani, whose conscious-

ness would ingest the massed conscious-
nesses of all the Minds who had come
before.
‘Anthar from Ibsadyr.’ The voice ech-
oed in the inner parts of his brain, sending
shivers through his body. ‘You have con-
cerns for our distant brothers. A distress
call. Yes? Is this not a matter for Admi-
ralty?’
‘They are aware already, and only just
permitted my visit here,’ Anthar replied,
unconsciously edging his thoughts with
bitterness and frustration he felt at that
meeting.
‘What do you seek to ask from us,
Anthar?’ Beyond the transparent walls of
the Consultation Room the biomass rose
slowly, twisting in the dark waters as it
did. A giant eye flickered open and con-
sidered him.
‘I… the planet, named Proteus
Prime by our Terquai brothers, comes
under our records too, as planet
N56W6P91D. It is numbered in the old
catalogue, and marked. I… I wondered
if you Delved in the Minds past, whether
this might have any significance?’
13
‘I will ask,’ was the thought reply.
The eye beyond lost focus as the Mind
Delved, it’s pupil dilating and a huge lid
half closing. Anthar felt a stately wash of
encounters, flashes of faces and beings
from centuries past. ‘It is not a number
that has significance to us yet.’ A faint
voice echoed in his head. Still the Delve
went deeper, millennia seemed to glide
by like dreamed fragments just beyond
arms reach…
The eye burst open, a wash of bright
hues scintillating across the form of the
Mind: Fear. Fear. Fear. Anthar’s heart
nearly burst in his chest as the burden of
a millennia old terror flushed through him.
He gasped, almost in pain. Then the fear
was gone. A pall of sickening horror like
leaden poison in the stomach remained.
‘N56W6P91D… What have they done?
We must respond. Immediately.’
•• •••
Aquan ‘Heavy’ Carrier
14
As the Works Raptor Battlec-
ruiser Slayer of Souls approached Proteus
Prime its Sub-Commander, Saul Manius,
regarded himself in the mirrored holo-dis-
play on his desk.
His face, a pale metallic sheen,
moulded to look neither wholly like a face,
nor wholly like a skull, but some strange
and uncomfortable mixture of the two,
gazed back. This was the face he chose
to wear on deployment, though in recent
years had taken to wearing it even when
not deployed. He had chosen it for the
unsettling effect it had on his men, though
some part of him wondered silently on the
question of whether he was becoming the
face he had chosen.
Enough. He had let his more junior
officers sit in uncomfortable silence, wait-
ing for him. He flicked the display off with
a thought and rotated his chair to stare
down the length of the table.
‘You have read the reports.’ He spoke
coolly, his voice projector cold and even.
‘The Terquai Empire are excited it would
seem. The Universities on Heshyna abuzz
over their discoveries.’
‘Technologies, colleagues, that could
change the face of war. That is what they
are communicating about and we have
Works Raptor Battlecruiser
been tasked with its procurement.’
The assembled men and women
shifted uncomfortably in their seats.
‘Now it seems we have the final piece of
the puzzle. Just where did these break-
throughs come from?’
With a thought he switched the wall
display behind him to show the distress
call from the research station on planet
Proteus Prime.
‘This was received from an embedded
agent with the Terqai research vessel the
TEV Hidden Knowledge. The Terquai have
been digging, and this time it seems they
have found something.’ Manius leant for-
ward in his seat. ‘To the strongest goes
the prize, colleagues. And the prize makes
them stronger still. The Terquai are fragile,
and unsupported, the bulk of their per-
sonnel weak scientists. Whatever they
have found we need to ensure ends up in
the R & D laboratories of the Corporation.
This is an opportunity, colleagues, that we
cannot pass up. This will elevate all of us
to the ranks of heroes. But hear me well.
Failure will see me personally terminate
each and every one of you.’

•• •••
Examiner Wen leant against an out-
cropping of rock beside the seated form
of his friend Jo’afa’kar, and the two sat
and stared at the technology, quietly wait-
ing for something to happen.
The device had been deposited into the
valley below by an Iophon Heavy Gunship
that had been refitted to not only carry
the technology, but equipped with a signal
enhancer that could fine tune the accuracy
of the device.
As they sat, they watched with fasci-
nation as the device lit up, cracking with
energy, and a swirling whirlpool of energy
generated in its centre.
‘What now?’ asked Jo’afa’kar.
‘Just watch, came an almost excited
reply.
Suddenly, a metallic figure walked
through the vortex. ‘What in jovi’s name
is that,’ exclaimed Jo’afa’kar.
There was a pause as Wen collected his
thoughts. ‘It’s the future. That is called a
Nabis drone and it has been transported
from orbit. On the supply vessel that
arrived recently is the Master Control
Unit which can connect with the Tempo-
ral Portals.’
They both watched as nine more Nabis
Drones apppeared and formed them-
selves into two perfectly formed lines.
How many steps had the Drones taken to
traverse the hundred miles between the
Portal and the Master Control Unit? Three?
Five? It was mind boggling.
Jo’afa’kar needed to know more. ‘Wen,
how is this possible. Could we use these
Portals to go home?’
‘No,’ came the simple answer. ‘Our sci-
entists have worked quckly to take what
we have discovered on this world, but one
15
Suddenly, a metallic figure
walked through the vortex.
“What in jovi’s name is
that,” exclaimed Jo’afa’kar.
thing we cannot do is pass living matter
though a Portal. The result is, shall we say,
unpleasant.’
Jo’afa’kar collected his thoughts. While
the chaos on the surface had settled, mag-
netic and radiation belts surrounding the
planet were still unpredictable. A supply
ship, sent before the events, had recently
arrived, carrying with it the first proto-
types of the Portals for testing
This, just this, was amazing: it could
revolutionise communication and trade,
the spread of ideas and resources.
Jo’afa’kar turned to his friend, ‘What
more is there to be found Wen? We hav-
en’t scratched the surface.’
Wen laughed, ‘We have scratched the
surface plenty,’ he responded.
Looking up into the darkness of the
skies above Proteus Prime and into the
distance, Wen could see the giant black
shapes hanging there like fragments of
black broken glass in the sky.
‘What are they?’ he asked quietly,
ignoring the excitement of the science
team that was now busily examining the
Nabis Drones. ‘And what are they doing?’
But no answer came…
16
17
18
1 PERFECT RECON
T
he drop-ship hurtled through the
upper atmosphere, the friction of
re-entry bathing the outer hull in a
bright orange glow, but inside the opu-
lent interior one could hardly even tell
that the craft was moving.
Team Manager Lucius Pellar reclined
slightly in his chair, sipping lightly at the
iced water he always sampled prior to an
insertion mission. What was the point in
having managerial privileges and a plati-
num fleet membership if you didn’t sam-
ple the delights of the Prospero Class
assault shuttle?
His cybernetic face split with a grin as
he settled into the plush cushions of his
seat, and allowed his augmented eyes to
sweep over the chromed interior. Two of
his team members were currently enjoy-
ing a virtual reality training game, another
four were hunched over a tense game of
holo-cards.
Ever since their last contract Team
Omega had been able to live in nothing
short of luxury, and Pellar savoured a thrill
of drug induced happiness at this tangi-
ble proof of the benefits of a corporate
military career.
A tone sounded in his head, his net-
worked implants indicating that the drone
pilot of the shuttle had now passed the
point of no return. Dimming the sound
with a thought, he swigged down the last
of the cool water and stood up.
The movement was automatically
registered by his team members, who
all paused in their activities to hear
his words. Unlike many soldiers in the
enforcement fleets, Lucius had not had
his voicebox replaced with an augmented
alternative, and relied instead on his nat-
ural equivalent.
‘Alright, people,’ his accent was pure
Zvezda, home planet of Krasnye and
General, although Lucius himself had not
served with his home corporation for
more than the minimum contract since
the age of eighteen.
‘We’re shortly going to land on the
planet known as Proteus Prime. Condi-
tions are temperate with Terran Stand-
ard gravity. Make sure you adjust your
battlesuit compensators this time Ivan.’
There was a ripple of laughter. The
man in question barely acknowledged
the joke, his metallic face incapable
of expressing emotion even if he had
wanted to.
‘Our mission, as per contractual rules,
is to retrieve a re-usable intelligence
asset, RIA, from their location in this lis-
tening post, ten kilometres from our drop
site. As far as scans indicate, the area is
clear of hostile forces, and the Turkeys
don’t even know we’re here.’
He smiled wolfishly, and savoured the
response of the other team members.
‘Turkey’ was corporate slang for the Ter-
quai, apparently a word of Terran origin
that indicated something easy to elim-
inate. Lucius doubted its truthfulness,
having faced them in battle before, but
the value of insults could never be under-
estimated.

‘We will have recon support from the
machines of ‘Black Shadow’’ he said with
great sarcasm, eliciting further laughter
from the soldiers.
Whilst perfectly happy to take battle-
field information from recon tanks, they
were often less than impressed with the
hotshot maverick culture that many of the
reconnaissance regiments cultivated. Cor-
porate philosophy be damned.
‘And our battle bus is operating within
optimum range, particularly since we over-
clocked the weapon system processor.’
Lucius flicked a finger and triggered a
hologram counter. ‘Alright, we have ten
minutes until planetfall. Suit up!’
19
She checked her wrist mounted data-
pad, searching for the RIA’s beacon sig-
nal. ‘Gotcha!’ she whooped as the tight-
band frequency appeared on her plotter,
in exactly the direction she anticipated.
She keyed into the comm-net, ‘All units
this is Black Widow. We have confirmation
of the RIA’s location and are proceeding
for extraction mission. Engage infiltration
mufflers; let’s not give them any warning.’
The woman climbed back into her vehi-
cle and led the recon squadron off, its high
torque engine growling as it revved. From
the bowels of the shuttle now came a
Breacher Combat Carrier and team Omega
followed the recon buggies.

•• ••• Planetfall had initiated.

The Prospero Class Assault Shuttle landed

on Proteus Prime with a thud and a dimin-
ishing roar that faded into a whine and
then silence. At first nothing disturbed the
scene, the shuttle merely standing where
once had been an empty field; then the
ramp fell down and the roar of Directorate
vehicle engines broke the silence.
The first two vehicles out were the lead
‘Black Shadow’ light recon tanks, their
four-wheeled drive engines revving loudly
as they bounced down the ramp onto the
surface of Proteus Prime. They were fol-
lowed by four others, all painted in the
black and grey dagger pattern favoured
by the unit commander.
Slewing to a halt in the grass, the lead
vehicle paused and a lithe figure climbed
out, dressed in black coveralls, osten-
tatiously decorated with stylized silver
markings. The woman gazed out over the
grasslands and rolling hills and nodded in
approval. The terrain was just her kind of
playground.
20
MISSION 1: PERFECT RECON

Agent
∑-1

Directorate
Directorate Intruder
Directorate Light Transport
Infantry
Recon Buggies
(Embarked)

This simple training mission will allow a player to learn how to Move, Take and
Hold Objectives using Light Tanks and then Occupy Buildings using Infantry.

Table Size 2’ x 2’

Objectives Aquan Prime None

Directorate Take and Hold the Building containing Agent Sigma-1 using the
Recon Buggies before capturing the building with the Infantry
Team.

Forces Aquan Prime None

Directorate 1 x Intruder (+ 5 x Shock Infantry, Embarked) As Map
5 x Informer Light Recon Buggies As Map

21
22
2 OPERATION WHISPER
‘F
old space drive spooling down Shoal
Leader.’
‘Excellent. Status report?’
‘All ships have emerged in the specified
access tunnel. Planet has been plotted.’
‘Contacts!’ exclaimed the STAPaT
officer.
The order cut through the normal
chatter of an in system arrival, and Shoal
Leader Kothis turned his head in surprise,
boosting himself through the water to
float above his Space Target Acquisition,
Plotting and Tracking officer.
‘Report!’ Kothis snapped as he arrived.
‘Sixteen contacts Shoal Leader... trace
indicates...’ There was a pause. ‘Directo-
rate vessels leader, with Works Raptor
planetory assault craft in attendance.’
Kothis’ fins changed colour almost at
once, as his aggression crest folded out
on the top of his head and he bared his
teeth. The reaction was repeated amongst
many of the crew of the vessel ASV Waves.
‘Surface analysis indicates Directorate
ground forces have already made Planet-
fall shoal leader. I am picking up distress
signals now.’
Kothis waved a dismissive fin. ‘Never
mind that. All shoal vessels will adopt
War Pattern Omnicron... dispatch an
alert probe to the Sebrutan and inform
Wave Leader Olomi that his tanks should
prepare for an immediate orbital-drop. It
would appear that we will only have one
chance to get this right.’
Kothis swam to his command station
and extended to his full height. ‘For Csera!’
•• •••
Lucius grinned wickedly as he pulled the
shaking Terquai technician to his feet. The
drive to the relay station had been une-
ventful, and the assault itself deliciously
enjoyable. The place had no defences of
any kind, and the opening barrage of rock-
ets from his APC had been a sweet sight
indeed. And when the flamethrowers had
licked greedily over the walls! Ah, the pure
exhileration of vicious warfare made him
feel alive...
The man, for man he was, was as white
a sheet; the latest to stumble out of the
smoke choked corridor into the waiting
arms of Team Omega. Lucius expression
didn’t change as his optical augments
quickly scanned the wretch, returning an
immediate negative return. The cyber-
netic soldier levelled his pistol smoothly
and shot the technician through the eye.
‘Asset terminated.’ A computerised
voice buzzed inside his head. ‘Total asset
termination stands within target param-
eters. Over-destruction not yet reached.’
Another voice replaced the other, a
communication from that woman... the
‘Black Widow’ and her hotshot crew called
themselves. ‘Team Omega, I have a good
news and bad news.’
‘Get on with it.’ Lucius growled.
‘Good news is that the RIA you’re
looking for has made it out alive. We’ve
secured him aboard your transport now.’
Lucius’ HUD updated automatically to
indicate primary objective complete. ‘Bad
 23
news is that the situation has changed. ‘Instruct all Tide Leaders to proceed
I’ve lost contact with the fleet thanks to to their objectives. Use the cover of the
this freak storm, and the local net’s gone storms to mask our movements, and
haywire with reports of hostile contact. strike when targets of opportunity pres-
Looks like the fish have come out to play.’ ent themselves.’ A further click and Olomi
Lucius cut the link without deigning to keyed his microphone off as he once again
reply. New orders would automatically be regarded the information before him.
patched through to his HUD when they The Directorate foe had rapidly esca-
were needed.... until then? lated from a simple raid to full scale paci-
‘Asset secure Omega. All remaining life- fication in the time it had taken for the
forms are considered used assets. Com- Aquans to arrive and land. What had once
plete termination is authorised. Weapons been a few hostile contacts had blos-
free.’ somed into a rash of ever-shifting read-
And with that he thumbed the full-auto ings, and the massive storm cycles had not
stub on his plasma rifle, and set to glori- helped the defenders. He had it on good
ous, sweet work. authority that such weather was new and
unusual, a further sign that all was not
•• ••• well with this bizarre planet.
Nonetheless, the Wave was on the
Wave Leader Olomi sat comfortably in ground now, and Olomi shifted his gaze
his fully immersed command capsule, all to watch as one of his Tide Leaders pre-
outside distractions eliminated by the liv- pared to engage the very first Directorate
ing metal of the pod. The inside was, as forces to land on Proteus Prime.
usual, filled with the purest of homeworld
water, with three dimensional holos pro-
jected into the fluid around Olomi’s kneel-
ing form. The headset he wore allowed
him to ‘see’ through the eyes of several
of his Tide Leaders, and linked him to the
twenty other officers that formed his com-
mand staff.
‘Inform Shoal Leader Kothis that we
have made Planetfall and are proceeding
to relieve our Terquai brethren. Wish him
good hunting above.’ A small click on the
headset was all the affirmative he needed.
Olomi preferred the silence of the com-
mand capsule to any less controlled envi-
ronment.... it allowed him to think, and
his personnel kept their interruptions as
low-key as possible too; a trait for which
he valued them.
24
MISSION 2: OPERATION WHISPER
Aquan Aquan Heavy Skimmer
Sky Drop Assets Medium
Support

Aquan Medium
Skimmer
TV = 3
Enter Turn 2
Drop Site Drop Site
Directorate
Infantry
Directorate
(Embarked)
Directorate Heavy Crawler
Intruder Directorate
Light Recon Buggies

This scenario is a simple engage and destroy engagement that will allow players
to learn how to use Drop Sites and activate multiple units.

Table Size 2’ x 2’
Objectives Aquan Prime Zero-Hour Tracker set at 12. Eliminate all Resistance until the
ZHT reaches 0.
Directorate Zero-Hour Tracker set at 12. Eliminate all Resistance until the
ZHT reaches 0.

Forces Aquan Prime 1 x Sedna Heavy Skimmer As Map

1 x Sirsir Medium Support As Map
3 x Lamana Medium Skimmers Enter Turn 2
2 x Drop Site Markers As Map
2 x Crystal Nodes Sky Drop
Directorate 5 x Informer Light Recon Buggies As Map
1 x Intruder (+ 5 x Shock Infantry, Embarked) As Map
1 x Desolator Heavy Crawler As Map

25
26
3 DAWN ASSAULT
‘B
lack Widow’ and the rest of her
squadron raced away from the
encounter with the Aquan force. She
could barely suppress her curses as she
led the battered convoy away. The hover
tanks had appeared from nowhere, and
whilst the strike force had put up a good
fight, their exposed position had become
untenable shortly into the skirmish.
The weather didn’t help, and by all
accounts it was getting worse all the time.
Brief snatches of comms traffic indicated
that the Aquan counter-attack was rapidly
developing, and the Directorate forces
lacked any surface-to-orbit countermeas-
ures to prevent them from sky-dropping
to any point they chose.
‘This shaz is way messed up!’ she
swore, furiously clicking on her squad-
ron’s tac-net, and jumping straight into
an argument between Black Dragon and
Black Hornet, two rookie commanders in
the unit.
‘I swear, my Damage Per Salvo was
way more than yours! It’s the new loadout
I’ve got on these closure flamethrowers...’
‘Oh can it Hornet... there’s no way you
can log that kind of DPS! Besides, I need to
talk to maintenance, I keep having a prob-
lem with my Low Acceleration Gears. It’s
killing my rig’s performance.’
‘Shut the hell up!’ Widow cut across the
bickering commanders, her frayed nerves
once again translating into short tem-
pered outbursts. ‘Both of you managed to
royally screw up in that last skirmish, and if
you think we’re doing anything other than
running away from the enemy then you’ve
got another thing coming.’
There was a stunned silence from the
other vehicles, which Widow took to
be assent. ‘Good, now let’s get our shaz
together. Keep your eyes on the sky and
your vehicles close to the transport... we
have to get this RIA to a safe spot and
await extraction. Let’s hope it’s worth it.’
•• •••
Wave Leader Olomi watched the readouts
before him take shape, and trilled a soft
sound of appreciation. The Battle for Pro-
teus Prime was proceeding just as antici-
pated; given the haste with which it had
been planned, that was saying something.
The Directorate forces, strung out in
their mad dash to conquer the planet, had
been stretched too thin to face the might
of the Wave Battle Groups. As far as Olomi
could tell, the corporate foe had attempted
to seize the major research colony stations
and encountered a spirited guerrilla-style
resistance. The belief they were alone
against the Terquai research security forces
had led them to disperse their forces, many
of which were destroyed.
The battle would now change, how-
ever. Either the foe lacked the convic-
tion to secure Proteus Prime and would
attempt to withdraw; or, more likely, con-
centrate their forces again to force a deci-
sive battle. The trick would be in anticipat-
ing where the blow would land...
And striking first.
 27

•• ••• He clicked SEND, hoping that the relay

Superintendant of Armoured Forces
Hieronymus Palx found himself sweating
in the command seat of his heavy battle
crawler, tensely analyzing the day’s per-
formance review. It was not good. And he
did not enjoy reading performance reports
that would be viewed by corporate mas-
ters as a filure.
Of his combat effective forces he was
already down to only 67%, and many areas
were cut off thanks to the insane weather
and the brewing battle in orbit. In his
defence, there had been no signs of an
Aquan counter-attack, and the fleet had
issued no approach warning. To all intents
and purposes the ease of capturing the
planet had lulled the forces of ZX-1313
into a false sense of security. Some were
already wondering if the whole impossible
planet was some kind of elaborate trap.
But excuses weren’t what the exec-
utives were interested in. To them, the
only things that mattered were results.
This performance review was the worst
in Palx’s career as a Superintendant, and
his only hope was to ensure it improved.
He plugged a cable into his throat out-
put and began reeling off orders in the dry
monotone voice he had chosen. ‘
satellites installed as part of the inva-
sion would be able to transmit the data
through the unnatural weather. Those
units that failed to receive the order
would likely be destroyed, but Palx felt
concern only for his reports rather than
the men, women and machines under his
command.
Consolidation, that was the key! At
present he and his command helix rested
in the centre of the largest concentration
of ZX-1313 forces, and if he could bring the
other units across....
An alarm sounded in the crawler, and a
green screen flashed with words Palx cer-
tainly did not want to see.
‘Enemy offensive in force commenced.
Location: 30km away at co-ordinates
167/45.09.’

‘All units will cease operations against

guerrilla elements and concentrate
at the nearest structures to ease
consolidation. When the storms abate
in your localities, signal the shuttles for
evac. Eliminate opfor units as and when
the opportunity presents itself.’
28
MISSION 3: DAWN ASSAULT
Sky Drop
Assets DEPLOYMENT ZONE A 8”

TV = 3 Drop Site
Drop Site

DEPLOYMENT ZONE B 8”

This scenario should teach players how to Take and Hold Objectives, calculate
AD, manage casualty distribution and use the Zero-Hour Tracker.

Table Size 3’ x 3’
Objectives Aquan Prime Zero-Hour Tracker set at 10. Eliminate all Resistance until the
ZHT reaches 0.
Directorate Zero-Hour Tracker set to 12. Take and Hold the research station
(scoring 3 TV per turn) until the ZHT reaches 0.

Forces Aquan Prime 4 x Imzani Light Recon Skimmer

Deployment
1 x Sirsir Medium Support
Zone A
3 x Lamana Medium Skimmers
2 x Drop Site Markers As Map
2 x Stingray Anti-Air Batteries Sky Drop
Directorate 3 x Retaliator Medium Crawlers
Deployment
1 x Intruder (+ 5 x Shock Infantry, Embarked)
Zone B
2 x Trojan Cyber Warfare Tanks
29
30
4 BATTLE FOR ARTEMIS
S
uperintendant Palx tried to ignore
the rising roar of his command vehi-
cle’s engine as the massive crawler
began to laboriously relocate to a safer
location. He dreaded the upcoming per-
formance review even more than the
last; the defence against the Aquan dawn
attack had been hasty and ill-prepared to
say the least, and despite sterling work
from some of his better team managers
his whole position risked absolute disaster.
‘All units will consolidate’
He repeated the command unneces-
sarily through the wide-band tac-net, his
augmented voice showing no signs of the
strain that he himself was feeling. He once
again cursed the over-ambitious objec-
tives set by the security fleet board. How
was ZX-1313 supposed to conquer a planet
this far into the Gulf?
Admittedly that question should have
been asked sooner... and by people higher
up the command chain than Palx. This kind
of long range op should have been limited
to raiding, and the plan of attack had been
over-ambitious anyway given the strange
weather conditions. Rumours were circu-
lating of mountains forming in the sky and
the weather was deteriorating rapidly.
With an effort of will, Palx crushed the
emotional train of thought that was dis-
rupting his logical command of the bat-
tle. Hindsight could be a crippling thing,
and right now, he needed to salvage some
kind of last ditch defence from the units
available to him.
•• •••
Squall Leader Sha’Yi’Wexu carefully manip-
ulated the controls of her heavy skimmer
tank, adjusting for the ever growing cross-
wind that threatened to disrupt the cush-
ion of air the craft relied on for mobility.
‘It’s getting worse out there Squall
Leader.’ said Squall Co-ordinator Ta’raal,
her voice sounding tinny over the comm-
net even at this short distance.
‘Acknowledged. We may have to slow
the rate of advance to compensate.’
‘Tide Leader Au’rishi won’t be happy.
We have these oq’at on the run!’
‘Well Au’rishi will have to deal with
it.’ Sha’Yi’Wexu smirked. ‘As much as he
thinks the sun shines out of the Wave
Leader’s tailfins, not even Olomi can con-
trol the weather.’
There came the sound of laughter at
the other end. ‘I don’t think anyone could
control the weather on this cursed planet!’
Sha’Yi’Wexu didn’t say anything to
that, she didn’t need to. It went without
saying that Proteus Prime was proving
to be a very strange place indeed. The
untraceable sunlight, the mysterious
continental shifting, these freak weather
storms.... not to mention the fact that it
was slap bang in the middle of the Pan-
thalassa Gulf!
‘All units of Tide Sylvas-8 this is Cor-
al-Prime.’ Sha’Yi’Wexu hurriedly keyed
the volume control. Coral-Prime was Au’ri-
shi’s call sign. ‘Adverse weather conditions
are having a detrimental effect on offen-

sive co-ordination. Readjust formation to
Undertow, repeat, Undertow; and adopt
echelon advance speed. Acknowledge
receipt using tight-band pulses only. Cor-
al-Prime out.’
Sha’Yi’Wexu did as she was bid,
relieved that Au’rishi had spotted the need
to slow without having to be told. The
Tide Leader sometimes let his aggressive
nature get the better of him, but the unu-
sual conditions seemed to have ensured
he kept his headfins straight. Sha’Yi’Wexu
could only hope that the Directorate were
as inconvenienced as they were.
•• •••
‘Superintendant Palx... do you read us?
I say again, Superintendant Palx, are we
coming through?’
‘Message input received. Identify.’
Palx adjusted the volume on his audio
feed, relieved to have such a clean trans-
mission arrive at last.
‘This is transport and logistics sub-de-
partment, Flight Director Stibbart sir.
We’ve got a clean flight path to your loca-
tion, designate Artemis Landing zone. I’ve
got several line teams I can reassign to
your area of responsibility.’
‘That would be appreciated, Stibbart.
Please inform your line manager of your
sterling performance. A 5% pay bonus
if I receive those units within the
planetary hour.’
‘Understood Superintendant. Perform
well sir.’ Palx cut the feed, and felt a close
approximation to elation. For once, the
weather appeared to be on his side.
31
‘All units: consolidate on Artemis landing.
We will force an engagement there.’
•• •••
Black Widow ran final diagnostics on her
Informer, checking that all was ready for
what was already her sixth combat oper-
ation on Proteus Prime. After several
hours of driving, the Black Widow had
parted ways with Team Omega and her
precious RIA, swinging to the planetary
North to aid a Splinter from the Works
Raptor forces that was engaging Terquai
guerrillas.
Then it had been combat drop after
combat drop, shuttled here and there in
the few places of clear sky to break Aquan
attacks and reinforce desperate line
teams. As far as she could tell, the Combat
Executive Officer had let the entire acqui-
sition get fried; the only person trying to
keep it together was Superintendant Palx.
Fitting then that she was currently rid-
ing the storm to Artemis Landing. ‘Alright
hotshots! I know you’re probably all run-
ning on stims and caffeine, but this one
ain’t gonna be easy. We keep Palx fight-
ing, and we keep the acquisition within its
target window. Let’s go cook some fish!’
32
MISSION 4: BATTLE FOR ARTEMIS
DEPLOYMENT ZONE A DEPLOYMENT ZONE B
8”
TV = 6/1
Sky Drop
Assets

Drop Site Drop Site

TV = 3

TV = 6/1
8”
DEPLOYMENT ZONE C DEPLOYMENT ZONE D

This scenario offers players a set-up-and-bash scenario focusing on capturing

and holding key battlefield Objectives.

Table Size 4’ x 4’
Objectives Aquan Prime Zero-Hour Tracker set to 15. Battle until the ZHT reaches 0.
Directorate Zero-Hour Tracker set at 15. Battle until the ZHT reaches 0.

Forces Aquan Prime 1 x Heavy Skimmer (+ 5 x Infantry, Embarked)

Deployment
1 x Sirsir Medium Support
Zone A
3 x Lamana Medium Skimmers
4 x Imzani Light Recon Skimmers Deployment Zone B
2 x Drop Site Markers As Map
2 x Stingray Anti-Air Batteries
Sky Drop Assets
2 x Crystal Node
Directorate 5 x Informer Light Recon Buggies
Deployment
1 x Desolator Heavy Crawler
Zone C
2 x Trojan Cyber Warfare Tanks
3 x Retaliator Medium Crawlers
Deployment Zone D
1 x Intruder (+ 5 x Shock Infantry, Embarked)
33
34
5 AIR STRIKE!
To all directorate forces in the ‘artemis
landing’ area. Your performance has
now met targets, and you have qualified
for a combat related bonus. Now to
exceed targets! All team managers will
receive updated operational parameters.
Perform well! Palx out.
•• •••
E
xaminer Jung Wen wiped the sweat
from his brow and tried to ignore the
stink of the cave in which he currently
sat. It had taken several days to dig him-
self out relatively unscathed, saved by
the reinforced arch that had sat over the
strange ‘dais’. Jo had not been so lucky,
but the medical personnel can work won-
ders and he would live.
Wen spat into the dust... he had come
to hate Proteus Prime with a vengeance.
All those lives from the TEV Hidden Knowl-
edge, all those friends. No archaeolog-
ical discovery was worth this, however
groundbreaking and no matter how key
to the war effort it could be.
He refocused on the task at hand,
trying to break the latest Directorate
transmission codes. ‘Come on, think!’
he cried, staring in stumped frustration
at the incomprehensible sigils that
scrolled across his screen. He missed his
comfortable desk, he missed his equip-
ment, but more importantly he missed
Jo’afa’kar, Dr Be’zo and the rest.
With a groan he slapped his hands
down on the old fashioned input key-
board, and was shocked when a loud
acceptance tone pinged back at him.
His eyes focused on the screen.... and
widened in horrified understanding.
•• •••
‘There was a traitor!’
Zhin looked up from the heavy rifle she
was cleaning to see Examiner Wen burst
out of the inner chamber. The man was
covered in the cloying greyish dust of the
caves, and was clutching a data-slate cov-
ered in close-placed text.
‘There was a traitor!’ he cried again,
seemingly addressing no-one in particular,
and with the wild unfocused eyes of some-
one pushed almost to the limit of endur-
ance. ‘This is a coded signal I’ve been try-
ing to crack. It’s the only constant source
I’ve picked up, all the rest of the traffic is
incidental, presumably military. This one
caught my eye, and you can see why.’
Zhin scanned down the read-out.
Her eyes widened with each line, but
she didn’t speak until she had read it all.
‘Kagafutar!’ she swore, tossing the heavy
rifle down ‘how could someone do this!’
•• •••
Olomi digested the information calmly,
and made no immediate comment. This
was the final piece of the puzzle then, and

whilst he could recognize how alarming
it would be for his Honoured Allies of
the Terquai, it was a fact that had to be
accounted for.
He activated a feed to the capsule of
Le’zhar’po, Tide Co-ordinator and second
in command. ‘Have you received the latest
information Le?’
‘I have Olomi.’ replied his old friend.
‘The Terquai are understandably furious.
To have a traitor lead the Directorate
straight to them like this is truly sad, and
much anger will follow..’
Olomi trilled his agreement. ‘True, but
that is not the question.’
‘Indeed. The question is whether we
make securing this agent a priority.’
The two fell into a companionable
silence, both weighing the options that lay
before them. The assault on the Directo-
rate forces had unfortunately stalled, first
by bad weather and then by stiffer resist-
ance from the opposing forces than he
had anticipated.
On the other hand, the weather was
now vastly improved, although the eerie
calmness of the atmosphere had an fright-
ening quality about it that was almost as
unsettling as the rain, hail, snow, thunder,
lightning, dust and wind of before. It had
become almost cloudless, with the day sky
a bright blue and the night a deep pitch
black lit only by the discharge of weapons.
Olomi made a decision. ‘We move to
support our Honoured Allies. The Terquai
have some light forces at their disposal,
apparently utilising a new technology,
and if we can eliminate this traitor we may
even frustrate the Directorate’s war aims.’
‘Agreed Wave Leader. Should I pass on
orders to available units?’
‘Please do so.’
35
•• •••
Black Box cockpit recorder; re-purposed
shuttle from TEV HIDDEN KNOWLEDGE des-
ignate Shuttle-Military.
Record Begins.
~This is TEV Shuttle-M going in for our
first attack run on Bolthole.
~We have multiple hostiles in the area...
receiving fire.
~Ordnance away!
~HIT! I HAVE A CONFIRMED HIT! Bolthole
is on fire.
~Hope we plastered the traitor
~Shuttle is holding up. We are realigning
for second run.
~Eyes on target. Ordnance prepared.
~What’s that?
~Hey, careful with the controls
~I’m not doing anything Captain
~Shuttle-M controls are unresponsive.
~We have aerial targets! Works Raptor
interceptors... receiving fire.
~ Kagafutar!
~Minor exterior damage.
~Controls still unresponsive.
~My screens are down!
~All systems appear to have failed.... I
have no control at all.
~Auxiliary back-up has failed, we’re glid-
ing!
~Confirmed, we have a cyber-warfare
virus eating at our systems. Kaga this thing
is good.
~Trying to hard reset
~Futar! The door’s locked!
~MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY Shuttle-M
is going down.
~BRACE! BRACE! BRACE!
Record Ends.
36
MISSION 5: AIR STRIKE!

DEPLOYMENT ZONE A 8”
TV = 6/2
Sky Drop Assets

TV = 3

TV = 3

TV = 6/2
DEPLOYMENT ZONE B 8”

A full on engagement on a good sized gaming table that will allow players to
stretch their forces, capture key Objectives and manage/activate multiple units.

Table Size 6’ x 4’
Objectives Aquan Prime Zero-Hour Tracker set to 20. Battle until the ZHT reaches 0.
Directorate Zero-Hour Tracker set to 20. Battle until the ZHT reaches 0.

Forces Aquan Prime 1 x Heavy Skimmer (+ 5 x Infantry, Embarked)

1 x Sirsir Medium Support Deployment
3 x Lamana Medium Skimmers Zone A
4 x Imzani Light Recon Skimmers
Anywhere except
2 x Drop Site Markers
Deployment Zone B
2 x Stingray Anti-Air Batteries
Sky Drop Assets
2 x Crystal Node
Directorate 1 x Heavy Crawler, 2 x Cyber Warfare Tanks,
Deployment
3 x Medium Crawlers, 5 x Recon Buggies
Zone B
1 x Intruder (+ 5 x Shock Infantry, Embarked)
37
38
6 SIGMA RECALL
L
ucius staggered through the smoke and
fire, his left leg’s servos shot to hell and
his optical enhancements pixelating the
scene with possibly fatal consequences.
All around him the battle raged... with
Directorate crawlers surging over the field
to engage the gracefully skimming Aquan
counterparts.
‘Team Omega,’ he rasped into the tac-
net, trying to establish where his troops
were. Several he knew had been crushed
in the early bombing raid on the safe-
house. ‘Team Omega report.’
‘Line manager, this is fireteam beta. We
have the package and are exiting by the
maintenance stair-well. We’ll be outside
in five minutes.’
‘Received. I’m on my way.’
Lucius dropped to the ground as soon
as the conversation finished, hugging the
earth as he fiddled with the controls on
his battlesuit. Suddenly his optical input
darkened, before flickering back in aching
clarity. He looked down and saw that his
leg was bathed in the orange glow of the
repair nanites. Standing, with his plasma
rifle held in a loose grip, he began to make
his way around to the rear entrance.
•• •••
The journey was relatively short, involving
scrambling over the tumbled ruins of the
structure. All around the battle still raged,
but the smoke was starting to clear as the
Directorate forces once again pushed the
Aquans back. This was the third assault
the fish had launched, not counting the
Turkey bombing run, and no-one har-
boured any illusions as to why: the RIA
had to be retrieved.
He found the rest of Team Omega
where he expected, sheltering in the lee
of a piece of shuttle wreckage, the grey
clad asset simply standing there with a
vacant look in the eyes that reminded
Lucius of the drone-slaves back in Corpo-
rate space.
‘SitRep’ he asked, as he clambered
down to join the team.
‘Extraction is en route team manager.
Works Raptor shuttle is inbound to get the
asset up to the fleet.’
‘Better be here soon.’
‘Shaz!’
Lucius turned, and stared in surprise
at the surge of energy that had appeared
next to their position. A vortex seemed to
hover in mid-air, a bizarre phenomena that
spiked with heat and energy on his HUD.
Then a shape materialised within, and a
Terquai Heavy trooper stormed out, flame
weapons blazing straight at Team Omega.
•• •••
‘Captain Zhin, Kel reports that the Nabis
Heavy Suits team has failed to interdict the
intelligence asset... they were destroyed
by Works Raptor light recon forces.’
Zhin banged a fist against her com-
mand chair, cursing. ‘Well, at least we
know that teleport technology works
when we want it to’

‘No matter, it appears we’ll have to do
this the hard way.’ Zhin turned to regard
the bridge crew of the TEV Hidden Knowl-
edge. ‘The Battle for Proteus Prime is
entering its final stages! We have a duty to
the Empire to see it through to the finish!
Launch all available weaponised support
craft, and light up the drives.... I want that
shuttle destroyed... and the vessel Reduc-
tor atomised.’
•• •••
The drone piloting software aboard
Works Raptor shuttle AL-07198e had very
basic parameters that lacked any of the
advanced combat packages installed on its
interceptor cousins. It had an awareness
of its destination, and available manoeu-
vres and responses to a variety of threats.
What it lacked was a response to the
current situation.
Its passive sensors were swamped with
returns from a dozen hostile aerospace
assets, many defying all known specifica-
tions for military vessels, although they
did mount dangerous weapons. The lat-
ter had been filed away for later analysis
by an end user, but the more pressing con-
cern for the processor was that they also
behaved in an unexpected way.
None had been deterred by the deploy-
ment of active countermeasures, and
all were ignoring the carefully devised
point-defence fire plans; furthermore,
the intervention of interceptors 12409f
and 114158k had negligible impact on their
apparent aim of destroying the shuttle.
In the end the enigma was solved for
the computer. It’s sensors indicated that
the final destination, the Reductor, was
no longer a viable route. Then it received
input that engine four had suffered criti-
39
cal damage. The processor’s final act was
to announce a general evacuation before
it was destroyed when one of the assault
craft deliberately rammed straight into
the shuttle’s cockpit area.
•• •••
‘Mother of god!’ Lucius cried, as the shut-
tle shuddered in the air and the klaxons
wailed. ‘Get to the escape pods or we’ll
all be fried!’ He grabbed the RIA with one
metal hand and sprinted down the already
tilting corridors.
•• •••
‘Wave Leader Olomi?’ the voice was hag-
gard and drawn, and he could hear the
sounds of explosions in the background.
‘Receiving.’
‘This is Captain Zhin of the TEV Hidden
Knowledge.... I have some important co-or-
dinates for you.’
•• •••
This following scenario steps away from
the contents of the Battle for Proteus
Prime Two Player Set in that it allows
players to include models and terrain
from the folowing three expansion boxes:
Works Raptor Recon Helix
Terquai Recon Helix
Terrain Box One
However, should players not have
these expansions they can still play the
scenario without additional models and
terrain, with the building at the centre of
the table becoming the TV=6 Objective,
and Zero-Hour Trackers set to 20.
40
MISSION 6: SIGMA RECALL
DEPLOYMENT ZONE A DEPLOYMENT ZONE B 8”
TV = 8/2
Sky Drop Assets

Agent
∑-1
TV = 6
Reserves

DEPLOYMENT ZONE C TV = 8/2 DEPLOYMENT ZONE D 8”

Mujltiple activations, numerous units, flyers, plenty of terrain, key Objectives to

capture and hold - this exciting Scenario has it all to offer!

Table Size 6’ x 4’
Objectives Aquan Prime Zero-Hour Tracker set to 30. Battle until the ZHT reaches 0.
Directorate Zero-Hour Tracker set to 30. Battle until the ZHT reaches 0.

Forces Aquan Prime 1 x Heavy Skimmer (+ 5 x Infantry, Embarked)

Deployment
1 x Medium Support, 3 x Medium Skimmers,
Zone A
4 x Light Recon Skimmers
Anywhere except
2 x Drop Site Markers
Zones C and D
2 x Stingray Anti-Air Batteries
Sky Drop Assets
2 x Crystal Node
Terquai 1 x Terquai Heavy Gunship
Deployment Zone B
1 x Terquai Portal
5 x Terquai Heavy Infantry In Reserve
Directorate 1 x Heavy Crawler, 2 x Cyber Warfare Tanks, Deployment
3 x Medium Crawlers, 5 x Light Recon Buggies
Zone C
1 x Breacher (+ 5 x Shock Infantry, Embarked)
Works Raptor 3 x Works Raptor Heavy Interceptor Deployment Zone D
5 x Works Raptor Recon Tanks
41
42
43
44

AQUAN PRIME
AQUAN PRIME / TERQUAI EMPIRE WEAPONS TABLE
Weapons Model Assigned Rule
Corona Heavy Laser Pinpoint (2) 2

Sunburst Laser Pinpoint (1) 1

Sun Flare Burst Laser Pinpoint (1), Scatter 1

Stingray Missiles Corrosive & Interceptor

Maelstrom Pulse Cannons Anti-Personnel
Nuravi Missiles Anti-Personnel & Terror Weapon

AQUAN PRIME / TERQUAI EMPIRE RULES

Aquan Prime / Terquai Empire Tactical Bonus

❯ The Forces of the Aquan Prime / Terquai Empire have a Tactics Bonus of +2.

Aquan Prime / Terquai Empire Logistical Strength

❯ The Aquan Prime / Terquai Forces may purchase Logistics Points for +25
points.
❯ The Aquan Prime / Terquai Forces may spend up to 4
Logistics Points in any bid.

Aquan Prime / Terquai Empire Sky Drop Capability

❯ Aquan Prime / Terquai set their initial Drop Site
Markers to 4.
❯ The Aquan Prime / Terquai Forces set their initial
Artillery Drop Site Markers to a 6.

Aquan Prime / Terquai Empire Special Rules

❯ The Aquan Prime / Terquai Empire Forces use
Artillery with 4D6 Attack Dice.
❯ All Aquan Prime / Terquai Empire Artillery Attacks
use the Barrage and Scatter MARs.
 45

Sedna
HEAVY SKIMMER
AQUAN PRIME

AQUAN HEAVY SKIMMER – SEDNA 230 Points

WEAPONS Mv DR SH CQB

HEAVY LASER
2
Sq-Size LoS Class Quality TV

Model Assigned Rules

Additional Rules
46

Lamana
MEDIUM SKIMMER
AQUAN PRIME

AQUAN MEDIUM SKIMMER – LAMANA 120 Points

WEAPONS Mv DR SH CQB

LASER 1
Sq-Size LoS Class Quality TV

Model Assigned Rules

Additional Rules
 47

Sirsir
MEDIUM SUPPORT
AQUAN PRIME

AQUAN MEDIUM SUPPORT – SIRSIR 110 Points

WEAPONS Mv DR SH CQB

Nexus EF 30 4
AR
DESIGNATOR LR - - Sq-Size LoS Class Quality TV

Model Assigned Rules Sky Drop Nexus (2)

Additional Rules
48

Imzani
LIGHT RECON SKIMMER
AQUAN PRIME

AQUAN LIGHT RECON SKMMER – IMZANI 60 Points

WEAPONS Mv DR SH CQB

PULSE CANNONS Sq-Size LoS Class Quality TV

Model Assigned Rules

Additional Rules
 49

Votari
CRYSTAL NODE
AQUAN PRIME

AQUAN CRYSTAL NODE – VOTARI 40 Points

WEAPONS Mv DR SH CQB

*
CRYSTAL Sq-Size LoS Class Quality TV

Model Assigned Rules

Additional Rules
50

Stingray
ANTI-AIR BATTERY
AQUAN PRIME

AQUAN ANTI-AIR BATTERY – STINGRAY 90 Points

WEAPONS Mv DR SH CQB

MISSILES Sq-Size LoS Class Quality TV

Model Assigned Rules

Additional Rules
 51
Khitari
INFANTRY
AQUAN PRIME

AQUAN INFANTRY – KHITARI 30 Points

WEAPONS Mv DR SH CQB

Sq-Size LoS Class Quality TV

Model Assigned Rules

Additional Rules
52

Iophon
HEAVY GUNSHIP
TERQUAI EMPIRE

Terquai Empire
TERQUAI HEAVY GUNSHIP – IOPHON 215 Points

WEAPONS Mv Works Raptor

DR Ba’ Kash
SH CQB
Terquai Empire

MISSILES Sq-Size LoS Class Quality TV

Hawker Industries Rense System Navy Veydreth

EF 30 4
AR
DESIGNATOR LR - -

Model Assigned Rules

Sky Drop Nexus (Temporal Portals Only, 2)
Additional Rules
 53

Nabis
HEAVY INFANTRY
TERQUAI EMPIRE

TERQUAI EMPIRE Terquai Empire

HEAVY INFANTRY – NABIS 40 Points

WEAPONS Mv Works Raptor

DR Ba’ Kash
SH CQB
Terquai Empire

Sq-Size LoS Class Quality TV

Hawker Industries Rense System Navy Veydreth

Model Assigned Rules

Additional Rules
54

TEMPORAL PORTAL
TERQUAI EMPIRE

Terquai Empire
TERQUAI TEMPORAL PORTAL 60 Points

WEAPONS Mv Works Raptor

DR Ba’ Kash
SH CQB
Terquai Empire

Sq-Size LoS Class Quality TV

Hawker Industries Rense System Navy Veydreth

Model Assigned Rules

Additional Rules
 55

DIRECTORATE
DIRECTORATE / WORKS RAPTOR WEAPONS TABLE
Weapons Model Assigned Rule
Pacifier Plasma Cannon Corrosive
Verdict Plasma Surge Corrosive & Terror Weapon
Judgement Plasma Cannon Corrosive
Diligence Plasma Cannon Corrosive
Peacemaker Missiles Interceptor
TS-118 Scrambler Cyber Weapon
Closure Flamethrowers Anti-Personnel & Terror Weapon
Liquidation Missiles Corrosive & Interceptor
Buy-Out Concussion Blasters Anti-Personnel

DIRECTORATE/WORKS RAPTOR RULES

Directorate / Works Raptor Tactical Bonus

❯ The Forces of the Directorate / Works Raptor have a Tactics Bonus of +1

Directorate / Works Raptor Logistical Strength

❯ The Directorate / Works Raptor Forces may
purchase Logistics Points for +20 points.
❯ The Directorate / Works Raptor Forces may
spend up to 5 Logistics Points in any bid.

Directorate / Works Raptor Sky Drop Capability

❯ The Directorate / Works Raptor Forces set their
initial Drop Site Markers to 6.
❯ The Directorate / Works Raptor Forces set their
initial Artillery Markers to 4.

Directorate / Works Raptor Special Rules

❯ The Directorate / Works Raptor Forces use Artillery with 5D6 Attack Dice.
❯ All Directorate Artillery / Works Raptor Artillery Attacks use the Barrage, Scatter
and Terror Weapon MARs.
56

Desolator
HEAVY CRAWLER
DIRECTORATE

DIRECTORATE HEAVY CRAWLER – DESOLATOR 230 Points

WEAPONS Mv DR SH CQB

PLASMA CANNONS Sq-Size LoS Class Quality TV

PLASMA SURGE

Model Assigned Rules

Additional Rules
 57

Retaliator
MEDIUM CRAWLER
DIRECTORATE

DIRECTORATE MEDIUM CRAWLER – RETALIATOR 110 Points

WEAPONS Mv DR SH CQB

PLASMA CANNON Sq-Size LoS Class Quality TV

Model Assigned Rules

Additional Rules
58

Intruder
COMBAT CARRIER
DIRECTORATE

DIRECTORATE COMBAT CARRIER – INTRUDER 120 Points

WEAPONS Mv DR SH CQB

MISSILES Sq-Size LoS Class Quality TV

Model Assigned Rules

Additional Rules
 59

Trojan
CYBER WARFARE TANK
DIRECTORATE

DIRECTORATE CYBER WARFARE TANK – TROJAN 100 Points

WEAPONS Mv DR SH CQB

SCRAMBLER Sq-Size LoS Class Quality TV

Model Assigned Rules

Additional Rules
60

Informer
LIGHT RECON BUGGY
DIRECTORATE

DIRECTORATE LIGHT RECON BUGGY – INFORMER 45 Points

WEAPONS Mv DR SH CQB

FLAMETHROWERS Sq-Size LoS Class Quality TV

Model Assigned Rules

Additional Rules
 61

Patriot
SHOCK INFANTRY
DIRECTORATE

DIRECTORATE SHOCK INFANTRY – PATRIOT 30 Points

WEAPONS Mv DR SH CQB

Sq-Size LoS Class Quality TV

Model Assigned Rules

Additional Rules
62

GX-74 Witch
HEAVY INTERCEPTOR
WORKS RAPTOR

WORKS RAPTOR HEAVY INTERCEPTOR – GX-74 ‘WITCH’ 125 Points

WEAPONS Mv DR SH CQB
Works Raptor Ba’

MISSILES
Works Raptor Sq-Size LoS Class Quality TV

Hawker Industries Rense Sy

Model Assigned Rules

Additional Rules
 63

LS-6 Crone
RECON TANK
WORKS RAPTOR

WORKS RAPTOR RECON TANK – LS-6 ‘CRONE’ 70 Points

WEAPONS Mv DR SH CQB
Works Raptor Ba’ K

Works Raptor
CONCUSSION BLASTERS Sq-Size LoS Class Quality TV

Hawker Industries Rense Sy

Model Assigned Rules

Additional Rules
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