Kyle Katarn's Tale, Mission 1

Mission 1: Assault on AX-456

By Abel G. Peña and Jason Fry

Beginning in this article, we present a series of connected scenarios for the Star Wars Miniatures Game. To play these scenarios, you must have the Star Wars Miniatures Rebel Storm starter set, Ultimate Missions: Rebel Storm, and possibly one or more Rebel Storm booster packs.

These missions recreate incidents from Kyle Katarn's journey from Imperial cadet to Rebel roughneck to Jedi Knight poised between the light and dark sides of the Force, a wrenching personal drama that played out against the backdrop of the Galactic Civil War and its aftermath.

Mission 1: Assault on AX-456

With the fires of rebellion licking across the galaxy, not every Imperial operation was led by grizzled stormtrooper officers -- and not every stormtrooper was a clone. In a bid to win his commission from the Imperial Military Academy on Carida, the young cadet Kyle Katarn found himself leading three squads of stormtroopers during a lightning raid on the asteroid AX-456, a Rebel comm center established to blast psyprop at the other citizens of the Colonies' Barma sector and link up with similar comm centers in the adjacent Haldeen and Kliap sectors.

"Assault on AX-456" recreates part of the Imperial mission that won Kyle his commission and the coveted Medal of Honor -- and saw him encounter Jan Ors, the Rebel operative who would change his life. Use the Death Star map from Rebel Storm as a stand-in for the Rebel base, eliminating the Flight Control Center and Hangar Bay and considering the Turbolifts nonoperational for the purposes of this scenario.

Imperial Setup

The Imperial force consists of Cadet Leader Katarn's stormtroopers, totaling 88 points. If the Imperial player chooses not to use the suggested forces listed below, he can build an 88-point force of his own, but it must include the Stormtrooper Officer (Kyle Katarn).

The Imperial player can set up Kyle's forces anywhere in the north-south hallway to the west of the Tractor Beam Reactor Coupling.

Imperial Victory Conditions

The Imperial player wins by accomplishing the goal below.

Disable the Comm Center: A single Imperial unit must spend 2 entire rounds occupying either of the two spaces marked with a chair behind the northern desk in the Security Sector. This unit may not move or attack during these 2 rounds.

Rebel Setup

The Rebel force consists of troops, totaling 73 points, supporting the psyprop team against the Imperial raid. If the Rebel player chooses not to use the suggested forces listed below, he can build a 73-point force of his own, but it must include a character with a Commander Effect.

The Rebel player can set up his characters anywhere east of the Tractor Beam Reactor Coupling, but not in the Security Sector.

As a last-ditch defense, the Rebels have built barricades against the stormtrooper squad. The Rebel player may place four destroyed tiles anywhere in his setup area. These tiles (which represent scrounged mining equipment and computer gear) are low objects that provide cover.

Rebel Victory Conditions

The Rebel player wins by accomplishing the goal below:

Repel the Invaders: If the Rebel player defeats all the Imperial units, he wins the scenario.

Special Scenario Rules

The following special rules are in effect for this mission:

It's a Trap!: The Tractor Beam Reactor Coupling is trapped with hidden blasters. When any unit reaches the easternmost square of the circular walkway around the pit, blaster fire rakes the entire reactor coupling area, making an attack against any units in the area with an attack bonus of +4. If the blaster fire hits any unit in the area, it deals 10 damage. Kyle Katarn has untapped Force abilities that allow him to sense the trap and warn his troops: If Kyle is within 6 squares of any unit successfully hit by blaster fire, the attack against that unit is rerolled. If it misses, the unit takes no damage.

Knights of the Keyboard: 17 Rebel psyprop operatives are holed up inside the Security Sector. These Rebels are noncombatants (they cannot move or attack) and may not leave the Security Sector.

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