The Alexandretta

## Background

A mercenary group affiliated with Saeder-Krupp was in possession of a battleship and planned to sell it to a notorious Mediterranean pirate Nathaniel Hope. The Schachtplan required that this be disrupted by sinking or crippling the warship.

## The Meet

The runners met with Hilda Schneider and her associate, Symeon 'Sixes' Dimetriu, in a very up-scale restaurant ~~coincidentially~~ also named Dimetriu's. Over assorted Greek-Turkish fusion cuisine, Schneider explained that the ship in question would be sailing from its current harbor in Turkey to Hope's fortress on Cyprus. It was up to the runners when to assault the ship, but it would be most vulnerable in open waters between the two ports. She shared pictures of the vessel and described its armament, including both artillery and anti-aircraft defensive turrets.

## Legwork

Sadu was confident in her ability to bomb the ship from the air, but only if the anti-air defenses were disabled first. The primary pieces of information the runners needed to acquire was how heavily crewed the ship would be and how much of an escort Hope would send to guard it. Sadu knew an officer in the UCAS Navy and called her up for a professional consultation on the matter - Kerrigan estimated the ship would be lightly staffed during its journey - too numerous to fight directly, but thin enough to avoid if they were stealthy. Through their mutual fixer of Hackmaster Ullo, Squint and Ventilator purchased a generous supply of thermite bombs and grenades to wreck the guns. With no other way to get onboard and judging a mid-air insertion to be excessively risky, the team pooled funds to purchase a semi-rigid inflatable boat and brought it with them in Sadu's plane to Turkey.

## Run

When a destroyer from Hope's fleet was seen entering the harbor, the team boarded the plane and flew out to drop the Zodiac off in the middle of the ocean ahead of the battleship's path. Luckily the waters were calm, and the Zodiac's radar profile was low enough to allow Ventillator to pilot it up to the battleship without being spotted. Boarding via grappling hooks, they quickly and silently dispatched two guards before rigging explosives to the aft AA guns. Moving forward, they evaded the sentries and were only forced to kill one more pirate who stepped outside for a smoke break at the worst possible time. At the bow of the ship were five more pirates, including a burly ork who was probably an officer of some kind. The team decided to pause to line up their shots, but the delay gave the pirate group a chance to spot them and fighting broke out. Between Squint's knives and Ventillator's javelins, the four humans were wiped out quickly even though one sounded the alarm first but the ork proved more competent. He retreated into cover, avoiding projectiles while crippling Tresser with a burst of rifle fire. Concentrated attention from the Throw Bros took him down eventually, but now it was a race against time to sabotage the guns and exfiltrate before being overwhelmed by angry pirates. Tresser was barely mobile, but laid down an effective curtain of suppressing fire that held the pirates back long enough for the trolls to dismantle the guns with brute strength and very large swords. Fleeing under fire, they got back to the Zodiac and drove away even as Sadu began her bombing run. Again, Ventillator's skill at ship-handling was sufficient to keep them afloat in the face of the shockwaves, which landed dead-on and doomed the defenseless battleship to a slow sinking demise.

## Aftermath

Sadu and Tresser were well-paid in Nuyen for the job. Squint and Ventillator, both being temporarily homeless, were instead compensated with shared occupancy of a duplex owned by Dimetriu and nine months of pre-paid rent.

## Rewards

Tresser + Sadu:

* 26,000 Nuyen (+3K for Sadu)
* 5 Karma
* 2 CDP For Ventillator and Squint:
* 2,000 Nuyen
* 2 Karma
* 9 pre-paid months of Medium lifestyle (Renton Duplex condo), with an option to extend at 4,000/month
* 2 CDP

## Player After-Action Reports

*In Character* accounts of events, general impressions, or memorable moments