Restless Sun is my model vs model skirmish using the general rules of the "Restless" series of games. They are designed so each each model is an individual combatant. Therefore, results are determined on a model-by-model basis.
Submarine insertions were exactly what they had been trained for. Lt. Meyers watched with a diligent eye as his North Ammoriss Naval PDF Commandoes prepared. Unlike most of the North Ammoriss PDF, his men weren't a bunch of conscripts. They had been recruited and chosen from some of the best soldier in the PDF and were considered to be the best native troops on Ammoriss. A raid on a drill rig from a submarine deployment was exactly the type of mission his troops had been trained for.
Taskforce: Thorn under Vice-Admiral Travers had done their job and mostly wiped the Ork forces from the sea lanes, and put in a over-the-horizon blockade of the Deff Islands. However, despite the set back in the Approaches, they didn't know how to quit. They counter-attacked with a series of air assaults that managed to re-take several of the Drill Rigs in the Approaches. Using these stations as staging points they had successfully managed to harass the supply lines the Imperial forces were sending from North Ammoriss to the Warzone. That put the entire campaign in jeopardy.
It was up to Lt. Meyers, and similar troops across the Approaches to put an end to these staging points. Their mission was to re-take the Drill Rig Oscar678-H. It was a simple mission to sweep the target, kill any greenskin that gets in the way, and re-take the control room of the drill rig. From there the commandoes could de-activate the power plant running the Ork defenses and allow follow-on troops to take the rig. Simple, but not easy.
Forces:
North Ammoriss Naval Commando
Lt. Meyers - Trained Infantry
- Combat Weapons, Commander, Enhanced Senses
1 Specialist - Trained Infantry
- Indirect Fire, Blast, Enhanced Senses
1 Specialist- Trained Infantry
- Squad Support Weapon, Blast, Enhanced Senses
5 Commandoes- Trained Infantry
- Enhanced Senses
Ork Mob
1 Nob- Regular Infantry
-- Combat Weapon, Fierce, Armored, Commander
4 Boyz-- Irregular Infantry
-- Fierce, Combat Weapons
2 Boyz- Irregular Infantry
-- Fierce,
5 Grotz- Irregular Infantry
Mission:
We are using the Forced Entry scenario from the main rulebook. The objective is a control room for the drill rig. The Commandoes have 8 turns to get a single unshaken model into the control room for the Rig.
As a complication, this battle is taking place at night. However, the North Ammoriss Naval Commandoes came prepared with some Enhanced Senses. They are immune to the darkness, but the Orks are not.
Set-up:
This battle is being played out on a 36x36 MU board to represent the drill rig's main command platform. 1MU with equal 1 inch. The terrain is being placed by the defender, but the attacker gets to choose the board edge to deploy from. Therefore, it is in the defenders best interest to make it work. Once the terrain and sides are picked, the objective is placed and the terrain adjusted as needed.
The Orks are placed within 6 MU of their board edge. The Commandoes are placed anywhere, but must be at least 12 MU away from any defender.
You can see the Orks using their Gretchin to pushback the attackers by deploying as far away from the objective as they can. They are then using the Combat oriented Boyz and Nob as a reserve force behind the objective. Meanwhile, the Imperial Attackers seem like they are stacking up to go down the center, with the Flamer leading the way, and the Grenade Launcher as support on the North edge of the board.
For this battle, I won't be going over it turn-by-turn. I have found this method to be too time consuming and difficult to play and record. Instead, I will break it down into three sections; the Maneuvers, the Battle, and the End Game. The Maneuver section is the opening parts of the battle, the Battle phase is when the main engagement is taking place, the End Game is the final key parts of the game. I will wrap up the game with a conclusion and some thoughts on how the game went. Let me know what you think of this approach. I know it is easier on me! :)
Maneuver Phase:
The battle opens with a volley of aimed fire coming from the darkness and blasting the Gretchin in front of the main building in the head. This catches the Orks off guard, and they mostly fail to respond to the attack! Lt. Meyers makes for the objective in the confusion.
An Ork and a Gretchin round a corner and come face-to-face with a Commando, but they are all too stunned to act. The Ork Nob comes running out from his position bellowing orders, but aimed fire from Lt. Meyers sends him scurrying back into cover. 
The Orks are starting to shake off their surprise and respond. However, their shooting and the Imperial shooting is largely ineffective this turn. However, Lt. Meyers assaults and kills a Gretchin up-close and personal. 
Battle Phase:
We are entering Turn 4, and half-way to the end of the battle. Lt. Meyers is attacked by a Choppa Boy, and barely manages to fend him off. A nearby trooper than blasts into pushed back Ork and causes him to rout from the battle. Lt. Meyers than assaults and Ork near the entrance to the control building, and forces him back with close range pistol fire and wildly swinging his chainsword. This victory is short lived, as a slugga boy pops out from behind the bunker and the shooting forces Lt. Meyers back. The Ork Nob gets himself in front of the control building.
Lt. Meyers shakes off being shot at, just in time for the Ork Nob to charge into him swinging his choppa and shooting. However, the impetuous charge causes the Ork to lodge his Choppa into some machinery, leaving him wide open for the Lt. This forces the Ork back away from Lt. Meyers.
A Commando gets the doorway to the Control Center amidst a hail of enemy shooting. However, he stays in place and ready to go in next turn. A precise shot from a commando kills another Gretchin.
A Commando makes it into the control center, but an Ork boy chases him inside and kills him with a choppa swing. Seeing his trooper go down, Lt. Meyers rushes in and finishes the Ork that killed his friend. Another nearby Ork rushes in, and the Lt. and the Ork come tumbling out in a rolling, spitting fight. An Ork Shoota boy manages to gun down one of the flanking commandoes. Finally, the Grenadier gets his gun going, and an indirect shot forces a Gretchin and an Ork Shoota boy into the drink with its blast wave.
The Commandoes are down 2, and the Orks have lost 4 Gretchin, 2 Slugga boys, and a shoota boy.
The End Game:
The Ork Nob picks up a Choppa from a fallen boy, and rushes the shaken Lt. Meyers. This time, his aim is true and the Commando officer is killed. The death of their leader stuns the Commandoes, and they seem unable to respond. 
A Flamer blast forces back the Ork Nob, and a trooper runs for the Control Room, however he is flying tackled by an Ork Slugga boy and the two bash each others brains out. The Grenadier forces the Ork Nob off the side of the rig (Forced a retreat off the board edge) with a well placed grenade shot.
With that, the automated defenses open fire in the approaching Imperial aircraft, and they are forced to abort from their attack runs. The Commandoes failed to secure the objective in time.
Conclusion:
Orks win in a squeaker.
The Imperials managed to get into the control room but they couldn't stay in it. Then, after the death of Lt. Meyer, they had a tough time activating on their own. This was late in the game, so that left that too far away to get there in the end. Of course, the Orks only had an Ork and 2 Grots left to oppose them.
Vice Admiral Travers saluted General Kurtz as the Cadian marched into the command center on Admiral Traver's flagship. He and several aides marched crisply in behind him. The off-worlder looked comfortable onboard ship, even though he was an Imperial Guardsmen. General Kurtz returned the salute with the precision that Vice-Admiral Travers had learned to expect.
"Our Naval Commandoes were unable to secure the defense, so the follow-on attacks were aborted General," Vice-Admiral Travers reported matter-of-factly. The commander of Taskforce: Thorn was pretty sure that the General was well aware of what had happened. "Perhaps, if your connections in the Panther's Claws Space Marine Chapter would have better luck?"
The General waved off the suggestion, "No need for that. The Drill Rigs are just a diversion from the main theatre. The challenge is the Ork air assets. Therefore, if Battlegroup Hemlock is going to succeed we will need to put a dent in their air power."
Vice-admiral Travers nodded, "I see. Well, I am sure Commodore Miles has a plan of action."
"You have read the reports. Taskforce: Chalice is struggling and the air crews are reaching a breaking point. The pilots are not the issue, but I have doubts that the mainline PDF aircraft are a match for the Ork Fighta, and there are not enough Imperial Navy can't be everywhere.
Taskforce: Thorn has been successful in sweeping the seas clear of the Ork fleets. They have been bottled up and pose little threat. Therefore, if we want to make a dent in the Ork air power we need to leverage the successes you have had Vice-admiral Travers."
Vice-admiral Travers kept a stern military face on the outside, but on the inside he was reeling, "I will do what is necessary, General Kurtz."
Before playing this game, My skumgrod and I had a long talk about which game system we wanted to use. We had been playing a lot of Kill Team and this seemed like a perfect mission for the system. However, we ultimately dismissed it because we had been playing it a lot at the club so decided to try something different. We also considered Black Ops but ultimately decided that the board space might not work out for this mission. We also dismissed Stargrave and Rogue Stars quickly. The first was ill-suited for what we wanted, and the second took too long to stat up the models.
We settled on Restless Suns because my Skumgrod was confident that there would be no rules questions, or if their were, we could at least comfortably make them up on the fly. Overall, I think it worked well enough BUT the arbitrary time limit ended up with a bit of an abrupt ending. Secondly, Ork ferociousness in hand-to-hand does not translate 1:1 in the system. The game also introduces a lot of friction for a commander, as troops often do not do what they are supposed to be doing. It can also be tough to outright kill a foe, and indeed about 4 of the casualties in this game were due to retreat moves. Still, quick fun with plenty of killy-ness and some a lot of surprises during game play!
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