Sergeant Dender was not at all pleased. Half of his platoon was held up in the companionway, waiting while Private Montrose struggled to get his gear through the exit. Normally, the sergeant would have merely stayed where he was and shouted at Montrose until the boy got motivated enough to extricate himself, but today he had no time. The Retaal was on the horizon and Dender's marines had to get into the launch quickly - the Leige, one of Belgium's newest sky galleons, would catch up to the Retaal rapidly, and the marines had to be ready. To make matters worse, the lieutenant looked to be on the verge of intervening himself.

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Dender hustled down the companionway. Marines flattened against the wall to give him room; none of them wanted to draw attention to themselves. Montrose didn't see him coming. Jaw clenched to keep from exploding, the sergeant greabbed the stock of the private's slung rifle, pulled it back to disengage the bayonet from the doorjamb, planted a boot in the boy's posterior, and shoved him through into the launch. Montrose landed across the turncrank with a clatter, then righted himself and slid along the port bench to the launch's bow.

"Now move it you motherless screwups!" Dender's anger found release with the breaking of the logjam. Marines hurried through the doorway and found their places in the launch. Dender waited for the lieutenant to position himself at the tiller, then dogged the door shut and dropped into the seat reserved for him in the port stern quarter.

In the cramped quarters, the lieutenant's gaze met Dender's, as if to say, that boy will never amount to anything.

"He'll be fine, sir," Dender said, but he doubted whether he really believed it himself.

Sitting in the launch tunnel, sweating, the sergeant wondered if any of them would "be fine." Half of the platoon consisted of green replacements for men lost in earlier conflicts, and none of them had ever before been involved in the use of the steam launch. In theory, the steam piston behind them would propel the boat from inside the hull of the Liege and out into the atmosphere. From there, his men would turn the crank that ran the launch's propeller, keeping the vessel moving until it reached its target. After that, the mission should proceed as a normal boarding action.

But Dender had heard stories of the system's trial runs, in which tha launches had cleared the mother ship only to tip and spill their contents out into the open air. The thought of falling all of that distance to his death did nothing for the sergeant's nerves.

"Stand by to launch!" The command echoed down the launch tube. Dender grabbed a handhold and tensed himself. "Launch!" Acceleration tipped him towards the ster; the boat rushed down the dark tube, then launched into the sunny Martian sky. The stale air of the launch tunnel was replaced by the chill winds of Mars.

The lieutenant gave Dender a nod. "Alright you misbegotten whelps, row!" the sergeant shouted. Marines on both sides grebbed the crank shaft and began to turn it; the launch picked up speed. The lieutenant kept the tiller steady, and the Retaal seemed to rush towards them.

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The lieutenant gave another nod. "Prepare grapnes!" Dender commanded. Montrose and his opposite on the starboard side stood and prepared to cast. "Toss!" Montrose's grapnel caught; the other missed. Montrose and the marine to his right rapidly reeled in the line until the launch was secure against the Retaal's side. A Martian deckhand appeared at the rail with an axe, and for the moment Dender thought the line was going to be cut, but the lieutenant fired his pistol and the deckhand fell backwards dead or wounded.

The lieutenant gave a loud shout, and the marines went over the Retaal's rail. A squad of Martians with muskets came running across the deck to repel the boarders. Shots began to fly, and in the air, powder and smoke mingled with the cries of the wounded. Dender counted three Belgian marines downed by musket fire, to eight Martian marines lost to fire from the Belgians' arms. Then the fight was reduced to blades and cudgels.

Sergeant Dender took up a position guarding the lieutenant's back. Within moments, blades were clashing all around them as martians and Belgians battled to the death, but Dender's attention was centered on two Martians who assaulted him, trying to worth their way through to the lieutenant. The pair worked well together. As one attacked, the other would wait and then attack as the first recovered. Dender's cutlass rang as he parried stroke after stroke, never able to mount ana ttack of his own. The Martians split the locations of their attacks as well -- one would make a low thrust, the next would swing high. Dender's parries were broad and fatiguing, as a consequence.

Under the continual strain, Dender could feel himself slowing down. His eyes stung from sweat, and he was breathing hard. He promised himself that if he ever got out of this battle alive, he would retire from the military. The muscles in his sword arm burned with fatigue, and his wrist felt bruised from the ceaseless pounding on his blade.

The Martian to the sergeant's left made a wicked swipe at his head. Dender blocked it, barely, but saw that he would never recover in time to block the other Martian's thrust at his legs. Frantic, Dender cut desperately at the first Martian and saw his cutlass bite into the Martian's neck. With a look of surprise, the Martian fell backward.

But Dender felt the second Martian's blade drive deep into his right thigh, rasping across the bone. The edges of his vision blackened as he fell to the deck, gasping with pain. As he watched, helpless, his attacker raised his sword for a final vcious stroke. Sergeant Dender knew that he was about to die.

Suddenly, the Martian jerked upright, then fell. Private Montrose stood over him with a bloody blade. He swung his cutlass twice to finish the job, then stooped by the sergeant and began to tear his blouse in strips to bind the wound in Dender's thigh.

"Good work, Montrose," Sergeant Dender gasped, somewhat abashed at having doubted the boy earlier.

You're gonna be alright, Sergeant," Montrose responded. "We beat 'em -- beat 'em good."

Dender gazed around the deck. The fighting was largely finished. The lieutenant was assigning marines to the lines and controls of the ship. Two pairs of Belgian marines were searching among the bodies on the deck to identify the wounded. Over the rail, Dender could see the Liege approaching. He felt weak as relief suddenly flooded through him. Maybe, just maybe, he thought, my decision to retire was premature.

HISTORY

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Late in 1887, as the Belgians tightened their control of the Corporates Valley on mars, Tabelbala, the last of the Iltasi princes, decided that it was better to flee the valley, and be free to direct a rebellion from a neighboring nation, than to remain and be captured and executed, a fate that would end his royal line.

Outfitting his personal barge, the Retaal, for the journey, and preparing a pair of warships to guard it, Tabelbala prepared to leave his homeland.

A Martian turncoat told the Belgians of the prince's plans. With all due speed they sent a trio of warships t prevent his escape.

SETUP

Map: Use either map. The city is not present and all terrain is considered to be ground level.

Ships: The Begians have the Leopold, Duc de Brabrant, and the Liege. The Martians have the Retaal and two Swift-Air screw galleys.

Special Rules: The Leige has two steam-launched marine assault boats. These boats may be launched during any turn when she could fire her weapons. The steam catapults are angled about 20 degrees off a forward facing; thus, when the assault boats are launched, they enter hexes on either side of the hex directly in front of the Liege. Both assault boats may be launched at the same time, or they maybe launched one at a time in consecutive fire phases. On the turn the assault boats are launched they move four hexes; the next turn the marines must begin the power to the screws for the assault boats to continue movement. Any time an assault boat enters the same hex as another ship, it will grapple on any die roll other than a six. All fire directed at an assault boat suffers a -1 die roll modifier in addition to other modifiers. A hit on an assault boat by a weapon with a damage value greater than one destroys the boat (the assault boats are not represented by any ships; use a flying Martian stand to represent them).

The Prince may not be on the Retaal. whenever the Belgian marines board the Retaal, two dice are rolled. On a dice roll of 10 or 11, the Prince is on one of the escort ships; on a dice roll of 12 the Prince did not even make the journey.

Victory: The Belgians win by capturing the Prince Iltasi; the Belgians may also win by destroying all the Martian ships. The Martians win by avoiding the Belgian victory conditions and destroying at least one Belgian ship.

MARTIAN SHIPS

The following is a description of Martian ships.

The Retaal

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Named after the Prince who commissioned her, the Retaal is the Royal vessel of the Iltasi family and has served the Iltasi for several generations. Because the Retaal is a ceremonial and diplomatic vessel, she was left unarmed, but she carries 12 of the Royal Guard whenever any of the Royal family is on board. The Retaal is a large vessel, nearly 200 feet and fully rigged in the Martian tradition. An ornate vessel, as befits a Royal family, the Retaal has been meticulously cared for, and the carvings and inlaid stone and metal work make the vessel priceless.

The crew of the Retaal numbers a full complement of topmen and deckhands (12) and an officer staff of four. All the crewmembers are hand-picked, with military experience and devotion to the Royal family being two of the highest criteria. When the Retaal puts to the sky, she is accompanied by escorts.

Swift-Air Type Screw Galley

The Iltasi constructed two of the Swift-Air type screw galleys specifically as escorts for the Retaal not long after the British established themselves on Mars.

About 180 feet long, the Swift-Air galleys are powered by 32 turncranks, who can drive the vessels at respectable speeds. Swift-Air vessels mount the ubiquitous lob gun, which has proven effective against the armoured warships of the Earthmen. Two heavy guns are pivot mounted on the foredeck, and two sweepers are mounted on each side of the ships. A pair of liquid fire dispensers round out the weaponry of the Swift-Air galleys.

Swift-Air galleys are manned by 32 turncranks, 11 gunners, eight deckhands, and a bridge crew of four for a total crew of 55. A Swift-Air costs £58,400.

BELGIAN SHIPS

The Belgians have little ship-building capabilities within their enclave. They are capable of outfitting hulls. The three vessels in the scenario were all purchased through agents. The two armoured gunboat hulls were bought from the British, and the marine launch was purchased from a Martian yard.

The Leopold and Duc de Brabant

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The two Belgian gunboats the Duc de Brabant and the Leopold, were both outfitted in 1887. While the hulls and the propulsion systems are the same on both ships, they have been armed very differently. Both vessels have been fitted with forced draught steam engines, which give the ships excellent speed and maneuverability. Both of the hulls are lightly armoured.

The Leopold is about 150 feet long and 40 feet across. It is armed with a pair of pivot-mounted four-inch, long guns, one foring to the forward 180 degrees, and one firing to the rear 180 degrees. Each wing has a pivot-mounted 6-pounder, and each broadside has a Nordenfelt mounted slightly forward of the center.

The crew consists of eight gunners, four engineers, six deckhands, two deck officers, and a standard bridge crew of four, for a total of 24. The Leopold does not carry marines.

The Duc de Brabant is the same size as the Leopold but it is much differently armed. She carries a pivot-mounted six-inch gun on the rear platform. The forward armament consists of a pair of 90-degree pivot-mounted four-inch long guns. The port and starboard sides each have a Nordenfeldt.

The Duc de Brabant is crewed by 10 gunners, four engineers, six deckhands, four bridge crew and two deck officers for a total crew complement of 26. Like the Leopold, she does not carry marines.

The Liege

The Belgians have constructed the only example of a marine assault craft currently in service on Mars. The Leige is a large unarmoured ship designed to carry marines, both for boarding other ships and to be used as landing parties during ground actions. A pair of marine assault boats can be launched from the steam powered catapults (very similar to Smutts Dischargers, only on a larger scale) mounbted on either side of the ship. This allows the Liege to maintain a standoff distance and still project a boarding party or landing capability.

A large forced-draught steam engine provides power for the catapults, as well as driving the ship. The Liege is armed with a forward-firing, pivot-mounted six-inch gun. Each broadside has a four-inch, long weapon mounted just behind the catapults. A Nordenfelt mounted to each side rounds out the armament of the vessel. The Liege is not intended to engage enemy ships in anything resembling a sustained engagement, and she always travels with escorts.

The marine launches are small screw galleys designed to give the marines a marginal degree of motive power. Each launch carries 12 marines, and has a Nordenfelt mounted on the bow providing limited firepower.

The Liege carries 24 marines in addition to the normal crew of eight gunners, four launch operators, 10 engineers, 12 deckhands, four bridge crew, and three deck officers. At full complement, the Liege carries 65 people.