Gilded Sands 05 — Lunar Conjunction

LUNAR CONJUNCTION was the fifth session of Gilded Sands, played on 24 September 2020. It was Dodeka's third mission in the Gilded Sands campaign. The squad took on an emergency mission to aid Two Moon Cry, and were introduced to Dunyasha Sand's hope for the future, Vedro.

Cast

 * Iskra Garomedon, a principled leader. (she/her)
 * Skoryy Feldspar, a fiercely protective ace. (she/her)
 * Nandi Tin, a misfortunate sniper. (she/her)
 * Zoya Gabbro, a resourceful infiltrator. (she/her)
 * Kaleidos Green, a vengeful ace. (he/they)
 * Branka (she/her) and Eik (she/her), dedicated revolutionaries.
 * Ashaya Azul, an outmatched spiritual leader. (she/her)
 * Misha Steel, a tired mercenary. (he/him)
 * Kelp Idrotas, a hapless bargaining chip. (he/him)
 * Tmesthes "Fastball" Issos, a bold fool. (he/him)
 * Asterope "Centaur" Yehedarhed, a former comrade. (she/her)
 * Ganymede Silver, a violent infantry leader. (he/him)
 * Dorus Midnight, an elusive sniper. (he/him)
 * Dora Tourmaline, a boat-captain and old friend. (she/her)

Briefing
An emergency briefing is called in the early hours, where TT introduces another mission from Dunyasha Sand. Several members of Two Moon Cry are holed up in an abandoned hospital in Qaibo, with the Argent Canopy researcher Kelp Idrotas as their hostage. They want to use him as a political bargaining chip with the Dodonan Tribunal. However, rather than bargain, Dodonan military forces in the form of Dipsos Root—Nandi's old squad—have been sent to respond with force. Dodeka are to extract to the docks with the TMC leadership, as well as Idrotas if possible.

Their rules of engagement are to prevent any damage to the village of Qaibo and avoid civilian casualties, and, as last time, to avoid being identified as working for Sand or Pesok Line.

Legwork
Dodeka are in a hurry to get to Qaibo as soon as possible, rallying some allies on the way and scouting on site. Nandi scouts ahead, identifying major landmarks, though she's unable to tell what forces Dipsos Root have brought on short notice. She sets herself up in sniping position on a radio tower opposite the hospital, with Mama parked underneath. Meanwhile, Iskra calls in Branka and Eik from the Broken Crown, and Skoryy offers Kaleidos Green a chance to help them strike back at Dodona. Zoya, meanwhile, submerges the Mimic in the Maengse River, ready to infiltrate as soon as everything pops off.

Assault
With the rising sun at their back, Dodeka approaches from the main road—Skoryy in the Ripshaw, Iskra in the One-Winged Hussar, Branka and Eik in their new Alexei, and Kaleidos Green in the Kappadokkios. They come to face off against a fireteam comprised of an Alaris command unit and a handful of Psiloi skirmishers. Nandi starts off by firing an armour-penetrating Quidt round into the Alaris, piloted by her old squadmate Tmesthes "Fastball" Issos. He suffers heavy injuries, and falls back while the Psiloi units engage with Dodeka's forces, using their speed and agility to their advantage in the fight.

Iskra leads the attack with Green, Branka, and Eik, though the Hussar takes a solid hit to the legs in the ensuing skirmish. As the fight breaks out, Zoya seizes the moment to sneak the Mimic out of the river and towards the hospital. Though the Mimic is camouflaged, an eagle-eyed artillery unit in a second Dipsos team across the river spots her, and fires an artillery round in her direction. However, with her quick reflexes, Skoryy races to her position, and takes the hit in her place. While the Mimic begins to scale the wall of the hospital, Fastball taunts Skoryy, who promptly guns him down with her anti-vehicle cannon.

Nandi, now having spotted the second Dipsos fireteam, makes out that they're comprised of two Crusader units (like her own Mama). One of them is piloted by her old squadmate Asterope "Centaur" Yehedarhed, with whom Nandi opens comms—for just long enough to say a few words before shooting her with another Quidt round.

Infiltration
As the Mimic finishes scaling the hospital, Zoya uses its dextrous limbs to gingerly open the window to the room where Two Moon Cry are positioned. They are led by Ashaya Azul, a priestess, and a Nadezhdan soldier by the name of Misha Steel. With them is Kelp Idrotas as well, bound and gagged. Zoya begins to load them into the Mimic's "passenger space", an organic, fleshy pouch. However, before they're all loaded in, she receives a hasty call from Nandi—an infantry squad is approaching the barricaded room right now.

Zoya activates her pilot suit's optical camo system, and scrambles to an advantageous position with an automatic rifle, ready for the fireteam when the kick in the door seconds later. She provides a distraction by firing on them as the rest of the TMC members hurry into the Mimic. Outnumbered, however, she signals to Skoryy for help, who fires the Ripshaw's cannon into the room, eliminating the entire fireteam except for its leader, Ganymede Silver. In all this commotion, a sniper shot rings out from the radio tower, landing a critical—though not immediately fatal—hit on Idrotas.

Meanwhile, Iskra and Kaleidos race across the temporary bridge erected by Dipsos Root for this assault, to attack the Crusaders on the far hill. Iskra deals a disabling blow to the last remaining Crusader, but Kaleidos insists on destroying it and killing the pilot, earning himself a brief argument with Iskra.

Nandi tries to locate the second shooter; a figure in optical camo. The two exchange fire, causing the other shooter's camo to give out, revealing Dorus Midnight, an agent of the Iris (and sibling to Apate Midnight). Outmatched, Nandi opts to detonate some explosives she'd rigged the tower with rather than risk losing this fight, and the tower collapses. She falls into the cockpit of Mama, unconscious and heavily injured, but alive; the whereabouts of Dorus Midnight unknown.

Back in the hospital, Skoryy comes to Zoya's aid via zipline from the Ripshaw, armed with a shotgun. She is nearly shot in the head by Ganymede Silver, breaking her helmet, but it provides Zoya with the chance to shoot him in the leg. Skoryy scrambles through the hospital for medical supplies to help stabilise Idrotas, while Zoya apprehends Silver.

Exfiltration
With all Dodonan threats eliminated, the squad makes their way to the extraction point at the docks. There, they load their mechs and passengers onto a barge, which is revealed to be piloted by Dora Tourmaline, Zoya's old lover and squadmate in Peschinka Logistics. They exit out to the Mirror Sea, and after a long journey, they reach a city growing out of the water, built from desalination rigs and old Coalition sea forts. This is Vedro, the independent community that Dunyasha Sand has been building.

Post-Credits
Back at Dodeka's old FOB in the Boneyard, a Dodonan military unit comes up empty-handed in their thorough search; Kladi Demos, TT, and most of Dodeka's goods and supplies have been cleared out and moved to Vedro. The only thing they had to leave behind was the plentiful scrapyard, once stolen from the now-defunct Stervat Services.

And in a beat-up Crusader in the hills outside Qaibo, an injured Asterope Yehedarhed rises up, not quite dead yet.

Mechanical Notes

 * Centaur is declared Nandi's rival.
 * Nandi gains the scar haunted.
 * Dunyasha Sand becomes Dodeka's sponsor.
 * Dodeka rises to Tier 1.
 * Dodeka loses the Scrapyard FOB upgrade.