Scenario 1:
Admiral Braso’s Last Transmission
SLS Walt Whitman, Zenith Jump Point
Epsilon Indi System, July 1, 2767
th
“This is Admiral Amanda Braso, commander of the 568 Armed
Transport Flotilla. I’m hoping that someone friendly to the Star League
might be listening in and relay my message to the General. He has to
know what has happened.
We materialized into the Epsilon Indi system on July 1 at
0900 hours at both the zenith and nadir jump points. No resistance.
We high-geed it to Epsilon Indi in two groups, I in my
flagship and Vice Admiral Mitchell Justin in his cruiser, the E. Presley.
A day from Indi, we picked up a challenge from a drone warship. We
gave the proper response. To no one’s surprise, it refused our ID code.
Our computer programmers took over at that point and attempted to
worm their way into the controls of the Space Defense System. They
tried everything but were rebuked by the computer’s security system
each time. My hat’s off to whoever built the SDS; they built quality stuff,
damn them.
As we drew nearer, more Caspars left their posts on the far
side of the planet until all 56 were ready and waiting for us. There was
no way to avoid a fight. I ordered Justin and his ships to change course
and try to make it to the far side of the planet while my group would
bear the brunt of the fighting. I was hoping that he might have a
chance to unload his troops unopposed.
The Caspars, looking for all the world like warships from hell, are
incredible to watch. They took the initiative, which surprised me, and
performed an incredibly swift raking pass at my ships. Our gunners found
it difficult to aim at the drone ships because of their speed and
maneuverability. After they passed my ship, they concentrated on the Rex,
a destroyer. Her commander made a fatal error and tried to run away. Like
sharks around a whale, the drones encircled the Rex and sliced her to
pieces. They went after the transports next. We managed to scatter the
drones by diving into the middle of the fray, but not before they had gotten
two troop transports. The gunners on my ship, bless their hearts, managed
to get two of them by aiming at their tails. There seems to be an unusual
weakness there that might be exploited by whoever follows us.
I ordered the remaining transports to launch their Dropships and
‘Mechs, hoping that so many targets would confuse the SDS and that
some would get through. The Caspars split into two groups, one to engage
us and the other to slice through the cloud of Dropships and ‘Mechs, their
weapons firing at even the smallest tank-carrier. Many ‘Mechs were lost,
but some survived.
Then without warning, one of the drone ships rammed the
Huston, an Aegis Class cruiser. I was horrified to see both ships explode. I
then watched helplessly the ground-based SDS lasers and missiles picked
off our remaining ‘Mechs and Dropships like so many kernels of corn
thrown into a fire. One by one, ‘Mechs and Dropships were singled out and
destroyed. I estimated that of all the Dropships and ‘Mechs I had in my
group, maybe 10 percent actually reached the ground. Justin’s last report
said that his group fared a little better, but not much. I do not hold out
much hope for those that did reach the surface.
I don’t know how we are going to overcome these SDSes. The
only way I can see to combat them is just hunting its warships down and
destroying them all, the bombarding the hell out of the planet in hopes of
destroying the laser and missile batteries on the planet’s surface. I…
What? Evasive action to port! Gunners fire, maximum spread.
Prepare for collision.” (Sounds of explosions)
End of transmission.
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 Jumping the Gun
Immediately following word of the Coup some SLDF units, mostly of their own accord, attempted to retake Hegemony
worlds from their Republican occupiers. Working on poor intelligence and an almost hysterical attitude in an effort to save
their family’s and homes, these returning Star League units were decimated, mostly by the now Republican controlled
SDS. By far the largest of these units were the 34th Royal BattleMech Division and the 568th Armed Transport Flotilla.
The Thirty-fourth Royal BattleMech Division was aided in its attempt to win back the Hegemony by the 568th Armed
Transport Flotilla. The flotilla consisted of a single Black Lion Class battlecruiser, two Aegis Class cruisers, four Lola III
Class destroyers, one Potemkin Class cruiser/transport, and 20 transports and service vessels. Commanding the 568th
was Admiral Amanda Braso, a 30-year veteran of the Star League Navy and recipient of the Naval Medal of Valor, for her
action during the Battle of D’Van’s Star. Stationed just outside the border of the Terran Hegemony when hostilities broke
out, the Royal BattleMech Division and its escorts attempted to retake the occupied Hegemony world of Epsilon Endi. The
resulting assault, which saw the annihilation of both the Thirty-fourth Royal BattleMech Division and the 568th Armed
Transport Flotilla put an end to Star League units independently attempting to retake former Hegemony worlds. Above is
Admiral Braso’s last transmission. The message was received and recorded by a small trading vessel that was watching
the battle from a jump point. The message was then forwarded to the Periphery. After receiving news of the fate of the
Thirty-fourth and the 569th, General Kerensky was quickly able to rein in the remainder of the SLDF and begin the long
process of Liberation.

Like warships from hell...

The SDS system was a terribly effective tool.

Although originally designed strictly with defense in
mind, the system grew to massive proportions.
Centerpiece to the Space Defense System (SDS)
was the M5 Drones, or Caspars. Based on the hull
of the old Lola destroyer first manufactured by the
Terran Hegemony. These small ships, without the
facilities necessary to sustain a living crew were
able to mount an array of weapons equal to most
destroyers. The real danger in the SDS was in its
simplistic command structure. The original Star
League programmers installed into the command
protocols of the Space Defense System hundred of
thousands of battle proven tactics and situations.
The central encrypted core of each Hegemony
world’s SDS was the second most sophisticated
artificial intelligence computer ever created, next to
the one installed in the Reagan Defense system of
Terra. Each core was fully capable of instantly
accessing and assessing, almost instantaneously,
an almost infinite number of solutions for any given
combat situation. Coupled with a simple human-
interface capable of controlling the whole network
and any SDS-installed star systems were virtually
impregnable. Only an enemy willing to sustain vast
losses in both men and material would be able to
even gain a toe hold within the contested system.
It was through sheer guts, skill, size and luck that
the SLDF was able to defeat the deadly network.

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 My kingdom for a warship
In the 2690s, First Lord Jonathan Cameron led the SLDF in a massive and unexpected buildup that would have
disastrous consequences almost a century later. Among his military innovations was the Space Defense System (SDS), a
series of free-roving drone Warships known as Caspars that were deployed to defend Hegemony worlds. A devastating
defensive weapon for the Terran Hegemony, the deployment of the SDS virtually ensured the safety of a Hegemony world,
or so it was thought.

Before 2765, there were 25 divisions in the Terran Hegemony. These included fleets, supplies, and planetary militia
units. By December 2766, all but eight divisions, only two of them BattleMech divisions, had been sent to the Periphery.
Reinforcing these divisions were a handful of independent SLDF regiments and planetary garrisons made up of aging
veterans with Reserve status and young men and women hoping to get into a military academy.
Arrayed against the Regular Army in the Hegemony were Republican regiments and brigades with a total strength of 16
divisions. Even on Terra, Republican troops outnumbered the SLDF. Even as Stefan Amaris was murdering Richard
Cameron, his regiments were pouncing on Regular Army units throughout the Hegemony. Republican troops used surprise
to devastating advantage with such tactics as destroying Regular Army barracks filled with sleeping soldiers and flooding
troopships with poisonous gas.
Regular Army forces stationed further from Republican forces fared little better. Amaris had made a point of having
adequate air support for his strike. Among the weapons used by the Republican Aerospace Fighters were nuclear bombs,
which they used enthusiastically on the SLDF units untouched by opening moves of the coup.

However, chief among all of the targets of the attacking Republican forces were the invaluable command and control
centers of the Terran Hegemony’s vaunted Space Defense System. With the seizure of these C&C centers, the usurping
Rim Worlds forces assured any enemy that reclamation of the newly conquered worlds would be a deadly proposition.
Within days of the Coup, Stefan Amaris gained control over 95% of all Terran Hegemony worlds.

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 Game Setup
The Void Stalkers is a BattleSpace Scenario. Lay out the BattleSpace mapsheets as shown. Use the two standard
BattleSpace maps from the boxed set. Lay the two BattleSpace maps lengthwise end to end, so that hex numbers 1501 &
1517 touch. The leftmost edge of map 1 is the Rim Worlds Republics’ home edge and the rightmost edge of map 2 is the
SLDFs’ home edge. Each side may position 10 asteroid counters on the mapsheets. See Asteroids, p.35 of the Optional
Rules section of the BattleSpace Rulebook.

The attacker consists of the 568th Armed Flotilla and the Thirty-fourth Royal BattleMech Division
Draconis Combine Army Command, XI Corps,
568th Armed Flotilla
Admiral Amanda Braso (Elite Crew), Black Lion class battlecruiser, SLS Walt Whitman
Vice Admiral Mitchell Justin (Veteran Crew), Aegis class cruiser, SLS E. Presley
Commodore Sara Whitecell (Veteran Crew), Aegis class cruiser, SLS Huston
Commodore Kevin Russell (Veteran Crew), Lola III class destroyer, SLS Rex
Commodore Emily DeJonge (Veteran Crew), Lola III class destroyer, SLS Valentino
Commodore Michael DeBurke (Veteran Crew), Lola III class destroyer, SLS Monte Carlo
Commodore Danielle Kochanko (Veteran Crew), Lola III class destroyer, SLS Scorpion
Admiral Constance Rizzari (Veteran Crew), Potemkin class troop cruiser, SLS Franklin Harbor
Draconis Combine Army Command, XI Corps,
756th Transport Flotilla, 34th Royal BattleMech Division (Epsilon Indi Division)
Captain Justin Alamar (Veteran Crew), Monolith class Jumpship
(3x) Dictator class dropship Group (Veteran Crew)
Captain Gerald O’Grady (Veteran Crew), Monolith class Jumpship
(3x) Dictator class dropship Group (Veteran Crew)
Captain Harold Bernstein (Regular Crew), Monolith class Jumpship
(3x) Union class dropship Group (Veteran Crew)
Captain Karen Pfeiffer (Regular Crew), Monolith class Jumpship
(3x) Union class dropship Group (Regular Crew)
Captain Richard Himmler (Regular Crew), Monolith class Jumpship
(3x) Union class dropship Group (Regular Crew)

See the Crew section p.62 of Campaign Operations in the BattleSpace Rulebook for information regarding ship crews.

(Continued)
Game pieces for the attacker are standard per unit with the exception of the flotilla’s dropships. Each dropship
counter placed upon the board is representative of three such dropships instead of merely one. (3x) States that the attack
will place three counters on the board representing nine individual dropships. Standard Record sheets will be necessary
for each ship.

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 The defender consists of elements from of the Epsilon Indi Space Defense System (SDS)

Epsilon Indi M5 Drone Alpha Squadron
(8x) M5 Caspar Drone Warships (Regular Crew)
Epsilon Indi M5 Drone Beta Squadron
(8x) M5 Caspar Drone Warships (Regular Crew)
Epsilon Indi M5 Drone Charlie Squadron
(8x) M5 Caspar Drone Warships (Regular Crew)
Epsilon Indi M5 Drone Delta Squadron
(8x) M5 Caspar Drone Warships (Regular Crew)
Epsilon Indi M5 Drone Epsilon Squadron
(8x) M5 Caspar Drone Warships (Regular Crew)
Epsilon Indi M5 Drone Gamma Squadron
(8x) M5 Caspar Drone Warships (Regular Crew)
Epsilon Indi M5 Drone Sigma Squadron
(8x) M5 Caspar Drone Warships (Regular Crew)

(Continued)
Games pieces for the Drone Warships are represented on the board by Aerospace Fighter counters. For every
four drone warships a counter is to be placed on the board. These drones work in tandem with each other as part of a
collective group. The 56 drones will have 14 different counters on the BattleSpace Mapsheets.

Victory conditions

Rim Worlds Forces:

Total Victory ………..Destroys more than
80% of the Attacker’s Dropships, Jumpships,
and Warships.
Marginal Victory ……..Destroys 50% of the
Attacker’s Dropships, Jumpships, and
Warships.
Pyrrhic Victory ………Destroys 30% of the
Attacker’s Dropships, Jumpships, and
Warships.
Marginal Defeat …….More than 30% of the
Star League’s Dropships and Jumpships
survive.
Total Defeat ………More than 50% or more
of the Star League’s Dropships and
Jumpships survive.

Star League Forces:

Total Victory ………..80% or more of the
Dropships and Jumpships survive.
Marginal Victory ……..50% or more of the
Dropships and Jumpships survive.
Pyrrhic Victory ………30% or more of the
Dropships and Jumpships survive.
Marginal Defeat …….Less than 30% of the
Dropships and Jumpships survive.
Total Defeat ………Less than 10% of the
Dropships and Jumpships survive.

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 Special Rules
The following special rules apply during this scenario.

Deployment
The Attacker’s Dropships are considered attached to their respective Jumpships when the Scenario begins. This
should be represented by placing the Dropship counters either within the same hex as the Jumpship. This denotes that
the Dropships are docked. At the beginning of every movement phase Dropships may disembark from their parent
Jumpship. This is done by rolling a 2d6 for each Jumpship wishing to release its compliment of Dropships. On a roll of 10
or higher, one Dropship counter is released from its parent Jumpship and allowed to move under its own power.

Jumping
Once a Jumpship has released its entire Dropship compliment it will be able to Jump. At the beginning of every
Movement Phase the Attacker may declare that he is going to attempt a jump. Successfully rolling 10 or higher with 2d6
begins the jump sequence. On the following turn during the Movement Phase the Jumpship “jumps” and is removed from
play. A failed roll during the Movement Phase means that the Jumpship’s crew failed in its jump preparations. The
Jumpship must wait one additional turn before attempting another jump.

The Dash
The object of the Attacker is to save as many of his Dropships and Jumpships as possible from destruction. This is
accomplished in two fashions. One is by “jumping” his Jumpships off the board once they have released their compliment
of Dropships. The second is to have the Dropships make it from one side of the dual mapsheets to the other without being
destroyed. Beginning with their release, any Dropship that travels the distance to the Defender’s side is considered “safe”
for game purposes and counted as a surviving Dropship for victory purposes. This rule only counts if the Dropship makes
it off the edge under its own power. Dropships that leave the map out-of-control are considered destroyed for determining
victory.

Dropship and Caspar Squadrons

Attacker Dropships and Defender Caspars are deployed in squadrons of three or more vessels. While operating in
these squadrons these ships have similar speeds and headings. Movement is the same for all vessels while in the group.
With the following exceptions:
1. Dropships within a squadron may individually target different vessels.
2. Caspars from the same squadron may only target the same vessel.
3. Dropships and Caspars within a squadron sustain damage individually.
4. Out-of-Control Dropships and Caspars may be removed from a squadron and placed on the board marked with
either an extra counter piece, or as a missile piece if one is available. Be sure to mark the new counter
accordingly.

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 Special units
The following special units should be played with this scenario.

Caspar M5 Drone Warships were terrible to behold in combat. Swift machines packed with death, the M5 Drone
was originally based upon the hull structure of the old Lola I class Destroyer. Star League engineers and designers
lightened the super structure of the Lola I significantly, removing unnecessary features such as crew facilities and the
delicate Jump Core. M5 Drone warships were created to remain in the system of their installation and so did not require
the mammoth jump engines of human crewed warships. By removing these features from the original Lola I the M5 was
considerably smaller. Freed from the constraints of a human crew, these now-Corvette sized warships could mount a
blistering array of weapons found on chassis twice their weight. Capable of a mind numbing 4Gs of acceleration thanks
to the installation of powerful Regulis-XIIc engines and unparallel maneuverability, it was easy to recognize the power of
the Caspar Drone. If the Space Defense System (SDS) had a weakness it was in its complicated Command & Control
functions. As history would later show, once the C&C channels of the SDS were blocked the M5 Drones became
incapacitated and incapable of a coordinated assault.

Caspar drone special equipment and rules

The following special unit equipment and rules should be played with this scenario.

Caspar M5 Drone Warships Bays: Critical hits rolled against the equipment found in the Caspar’s Cargo Bays are to
be ignored. The M5 Drone Warships for game purposes has no Cargo Bay.

SDS Command & Control System: This valuable piece of equipment replaces the Caspar’s Main Bridge Auxiliary
Bridge and CIC. When a Critical hit is applied to any of those areas, all penalties apply. The Caspar utilized an
integrated system any Critical Damage to one section affects every other. Refer to the BattleSpace Rulebook p.22
for more information on Critical Hit Penalties. If any one section is completely destroyed during combat the affected
Drone becomes “Lost” and is removed from play.

Automatic Crew Functions: Replaces the Crew Quarters and Life Support sections of the Critical Hit Chart. All
Penalties and Rules Apply.

Automatic Maintenance System: The Star League answer to the Caspar’s general maintenance problem. The
Automatic Maintenance System confers no advantages or disadvantages towards this scenario.

Historical outcome
The space battle for Epsilon Indi was both brutal and unsurprising. The Republican-controlled Caspars followed
their programming to the letter; separating and destroying the most dangerous opponents first while cutting swaths
through the Star League troop transports. Even before the Thirty-fourth Royal BattleMech Division made planetfall, it
was over seventy-five percent ineffective. An additional five percent of the Division was annihilated during landing by
Epsilon Indi’s ground based Space Defense System weapon batteries. Less than two regiments of the Thirty-fourth
Division made it to the ground. These soldiers were disorganized and bereft of leadership and were wiped out by Rim
Worlds ground forces. When Epsilon Indi was finally liberated in late 2775, General Kerensky and the remainder of the
Star League Defense Force learned with great sorrow that there were no survivors from either the Thirty-fourth Division
or the 568th Armed Flotilla.

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