THE BATTLE FOR MOON BASE ALPHA

THE BATTLE FOR MOON BASE ALPHA

INTRODUCTION

The Tao, having lost their beach-head in New Boston, retreated in well order to their expeditionary ships which had been deftly dodging the Imperial naval forces in the system, refusing to engage their foe until the bulk of the Tao fleet arrived. Unfortunately, the Tao vanguard now found themselves in a rather more difficult situation. Without a secure landing zone the Tao could not execute an invasion without risk of significant losses; however, their Ethereal leader did not lack foresight and had a contingency plan. The Imperials, on the other hand, having won the battle for New Boston were still largely unprepared for the alien assault, as reinforcements were not due for several months, long after the anticipated Tao main force was expected to arrive. Although Inquisitor Lord Dolgath, the de-facto Imperial commander of the Trachis defense, had expended the majority of his resources in the battle for New Boston, his ally Inquisitor Nelthas of the Ordo Xenos, had only begun to reveal the resources at her command. Furthermore, Arch Confessor Sylax and his Dark Eldar allies still lurked in the system, capable of attacking anywhere at anytime… Indeed, the succulent Dark Eldar Witch Queen who had taken Archon Actev Nu’s place whispered the secrets of an ancient warp gate, hidden on the nearby Trachis moon, into the Tao Ethereal’s ear (among other things…). And Inquisitor Nelthas revealed to Dolgath the presence of the Horrus-era emplacements held in stasis concealed on the Trachis moon of Alpha Prime. The second great battle for the control of the Trachis system would be fought for Moon Base Alpha.

CAMPAIGN RULES

1. Limited Resources
1. Each force has a pool of 5000 points for their core army.
1. The points for any destroyed vehicles or troop units taking 75% casualties are lost.
2. Each force can call upon 2000 points of allies made up of units from a codex other than that of the core army.
1. The points lost for destroyed allied units or vehicles cannot be recovered.
2. Space Superiority
1. Each force has a 2000 point BFG fleet.
1. Half the points for destroyed ships are recovered.
2. Any force wishing to assault the moon base must fight a BFG battle.
3. The winner of a BFG battle has the choice of hexes to attack as well as deployment zones for the subsequent 40k battle.
4. Once a force has control of a moon hex they no longer need to fight a BFG battle if assaulting an adjacent hex although they have the option to do so.
3. Escalation
1. The campaign lasts 5 turns plus a D3 turns rolled at the end of turn 5.
2. The first 40k battle starts at 1500 points. Each subsequent battle increases by 500 points.

4. Assets
1. Each force starts with 4+D3 stratagems for the campaign.
2. Each hex has a specific stratagem associated with it that can be utilized for any battle by the force controlling that hex.
3. Each hex controlled by a force generates a 2D6X10 point resource bonus per turn (not to exceed 5000 points).

5. Missions
1. Each hex has a specific mission associated with it. (See the Territories section).

6. Victory Conditions
1. Each hex controlled by a player is worth 1 VP.
2. Hidden Garrison/Warp Gate
1. The locations of the hidden Imperial Garrison and Warp Gate are unknown. At the end of each battle for control of a hex, a D6 is rolled, on a 1 the hex contains the hidden Garrison and on a 6 the hex contains the Warp Gate.
2. The Garrison is worth 3 VP if controlled by the Imperial forces, but only 1 if controlled by Xenos.
3. The Warp Gate is worth 3 VP is controlled by Xenos forces, but only 1 if controlled by Imperials.

TERATORIES

1. Refinery – This facility tapped subterranean pools of liquid methane as a hydrocarbon source for producing promethium. Some of the rusting storage tanks still contain small quantities of usable fuel.
1. This area has numerous active gas geyser wellheads erupting from the liquid methane pools deep underground. Although an important source of fuel, these wellheads often spontaneously erupt in flame, or smolder with noxious fumes. Forces wishing to control this hex must fight the Scorched Earth Mission.
2. The force controlling this hex gains the Fuel Dump Stratagem.

2. Power Station – The power for Moon Base Alpha was provided by a simple yet reliable thermo-core reactor. However, many of the remote outposts were not connected to central grid and utilized portable micro-fusion generators for their power. Some of those generators are stored here and are still in working condition.
1. Fuel components for the micro-fusion generators lay scattered throughout this area. Forces wishing to control this hex must fight the Pillage Mission.
2. The force controlling this hex gains the Power Generator Stratagem.

3. Manufactorum – One of the key industries for Moon Base Alpha was weapon production. The weapon production machinery was long ago decommissioned, yet a few small stockpiles of ammunition remain in dusty storerooms.
1. The manufactorum complex was built with defense in mind. Forces wishing to control this hex must first fight the Trench Warfare Mission.
2. The force controlling this hex gains the Ammunition Store Stratagem.

4. Com-tower – The central command station for Moon Base Alpha was long ago stripped of its cogitators and auspex engines, but a redundant automated monitoring system was left in place. Those with knowledge of such systems may tap into the semi-functioning sensor-net allowing them to anticipate and prepare for enemy attacks.
1. The Com-tower is a soaring reinforced adamantine structure that dominates the landscape. The force wishing to control this hex must fight the All-round Defense Mission.
2. The force controlling this hex gains the Fortifications Stratagem.

5. Research Facility – Reports deny that certain restricted biological experiments may have been conducted on Moon Base Alpha long ago. What is certain is that a triple-airlock clean-room laboratory still exists stocked with dormant surgical servitors.
1. The surgical servitors of facility require wounded, but living, subjects to dissect. No moral leader would subject one of his own troops for such a grisly duty, thus the force wishing to control this hex must fight the Slave Raid Mission.
2. The force controlling this hex gains the Medicae Facility Stratagem.

6. Defense Silo – Although the larger and more lethal defense laser and macro canon batteries were long ago destroyed or removed, a single sub-orbital weapons emplacement is known to still exists on Moon Base Alpha.
1. The automated tactical systems of the defense Silo sense the presence of enemies and launch strikes against them; unfortunately the cogitator systems have grown unstable. Forces wishing to control this hex must fight the Prepared Assault Mission.
2. The force controlling this hex gains the Preliminary Bombardment Stratagem.

7. Warehouse – Damaged by tectonic instability this old warehouse was abandoned long ago. It contains an assortment of expired dry goods, miscellaneous mechanical parts and random electronic components that never-the-less may prove useful.
1. This region is tectonically unstable making any terrain hazardous. Forces wishing to control this hex must fight the Infestation Mission.
2. The force controlling this hex gains the Booby Traps Stratagem.