The CSA Marines
GM reference — draft opposition and scenario-local equipment. Four marines arrive in The Second Boarding: two stealth-exo assaulters, one hacker, and one sniper. Weapon profiles, Attribute reserves, and final custom gear statistics remain to be set.
Superiority by support
The CSA sends four people with an institution behind them. Logistics, intelligence, identity records, access credentials, and equipment support arrive packaged into their gear. Quiet approach, violent entry, coordinated advance: the marines expect their equipment to settle routine questions before a human has to ask them.
They share target identities, friendly positions, cleared compartments, and assigned lanes. The hacker maintains the local combat picture; the sniper feeds observations into it. The assaulters enter with a plan and matching overlays. Their advantage is integration, not a claim that every individual weapon or frame is better than the contractors’ best hardware.
That support does not require instantaneous communication with distant headquarters. Prepared records and credentials travel with the team; the local network distributes observations during the boarding. New information from elsewhere still takes time to arrive.
Four jobs
| Marine | Equipment direction | Task |
|---|---|---|
| Assault operator ×2 | Custom CSA stealth exo and compact boarding weapons | Secure the breach and advance toward the lab using shared lanes and target information. |
| Hacker | Custom intrusion kit and defensive software | Maintain the combat picture, contest ship systems, and investigate hostile interference. |
| Sniper | Custom marksman weapon and targeting system | Observe exposed routes, feed target information to the team, and cover their movement from a suitable firing position. |
Only the two assaulters are committed to the immediate push through the interior. The hacker’s systems work consumes actions; the sniper needs a real sightline and must reposition when the crew denies it. Their roles create simultaneous pressures without giving all four an automatic shot into every compartment.
CSA assault frame — design basis
Use the catalog Wraith Infiltration Frame as the starting point for the two assault frames: stealth, EVA mobility, and electronic warfare integration. These are custom scenario variants. Their defining addition is the CSA support network described below, rather than increased armor or damage by default.
The catalog Wraith has FRM 10, SYS 14, AV 2, Ghost 4 pilot Binding, and an additional Mind 1 while its Ghostlink is active. Those are comparison values, not a finalized stat block for the CSA variant. Determine the variant’s complete load and costs alongside its weapons before running the fight.
Shared systems
IFF and identity checks. Their identification-friend-or-foe systems distinguish teammates and classify other contacts, including civilians, contractors, and protected persons. An identity is tactically relevant. Vantage’s citizenship triggers the established capture restriction: a valid identification narrows what the marines may do around him. It does not make him physically invulnerable.
Shared targeting. One marine’s observation can inform the others through the local network. A target handoff gives another operator information; it does not grant sight through a bulkhead, a free attack, or an automatic hit. Mark who has actually seen the target and who is relying on a report.
Access credentials. Military credentials and requisition authority give the hacker ways to approach compatible commercial systems. Establish whether a system recognizes that authority. Credentials can supply a legitimate access path; they are not universal control of every hatch, gun, or machine aboard the Whisper.
Equipment telemetry. The team sees reported injuries, ammunition state, and frame faults. They can change lanes, cover an affected operator, or send assistance before that marine has explained the problem over voice. Each response still takes the actions it requires.
Give the hackers something to touch
IFF combat bonuses
While a marine’s shared IFF is functioning, apply +5 to each die on their attack rolls and +5 to the TN of attacks against them. The defensive benefit raises the attacker’s TN; it is not an extra defense roll or AV. Losing IFF removes both bonuses while leaving the marine’s ordinary equipment and training intact.
Show the assistance: coordinated changes of position, matching target calls, and warnings that let a marine move before a shot. When a hack takes it away, make the loss just as apparent.
Spike or Blast the IFF
Declare the affected target or group and establish access before rolling under Hacking & Cyber Warfare. These are the scenario’s specific effects on a successful intrusion:
| Program | Effect on shared IFF |
|---|---|
| Spike | Permanently disable one target’s IFF for this encounter. Both bonuses are lost. A reboot or an action from the marine hacker cannot restore it during the fight. |
| Blast | Suppress IFF for the declared, reachable group immediately and through the end of each affected marine’s next turn. Both bonuses are absent throughout that interval, including against attacks made while the marine is not acting. IFF returns afterward unless permanently disabled or suppressed again. |
A further successful Blast renews suppression through the affected targets’ next turns; durations do not accumulate into a bank of future turns. A marine whose IFF was disabled by Spike does not recover when a Blast expires.
Repeated Blasts are a valid way to keep the team’s advantage down. BLACK adds +15 per assigned die: against TN 16 or lower every die meets the TN, while higher TNs can still produce failures. A natural 1 still compromises the software after resolution. Origin-17 can supply a fresh program for every allocated attack, including multiple attacks in the same turn. The player uses their normal Action Pool dice and pays no upfront personal software Binding, but each natural 1 permanently adds Ghost 1 Binding to The Singularity, as explained in the private handout.
That makes the choice concrete: Spike removes one target’s advantage for good; Blast suppresses several while the player keeps committing actions to it. Respect the support’s sight requirement and the declared reach of the Blast; a visible assaulter does not automatically expose an unseen sniper elsewhere. Do not invent escalating immunity or an instant hacker reset to cancel a successful intrusion.
Other interventions
These systems expose bounded functions for normal hacking resolution and the BLACK support offered by Origin-17. Declare the specific target, reachable interface, and intended effect before rolling. Possible interventions include:
- Mark a cleared corridor as uncleared, forcing the team to question its route information.
- Interrupt a target handoff so the next marine must acquire the target independently.
- Report a local frame fault, drawing attention toward a problem the operator must verify.
- Corrupt a local identity assessment, creating a conflict with another sensor or record.
Choose the program type appropriate to the effect. These are opportunities, not automatic outcomes: assess reach, scope, and defenses under Hacking & Cyber Warfare. A successful local alteration affects that function. It does not automatically rewrite every teammate’s records, make a marine shoot a friend, or disable the entire squad.
Show the consequence in play. A marine checks a doorway, requests a second identification, breaks off a handoff, or spends attention verifying their suit. A useful hack buys a concrete opening. Do not erase it immediately with a claim that the CSA has better computers.
When the picture breaks
The marines remain trained people when their network becomes unreliable. They fall back on direct observation, voice communication, and checking one another. They can challenge false information, but doing so takes attention and appropriate actions. This fallback does not restore the IFF bonuses: Spike lasts for the encounter, and Blast follows the duration above. The hacker can address other interference or pursue the source of the attacks while the assaulters adapt.
Keep the fallback visible. The crew should be able to tell that a synchronized advance has become people stopping to confirm names, positions, and orders. That is what dismantling the CSA’s advantage looks like.
Before finalizing the encounter, set the four loadouts, software defenses, Attribute reserves, and withdrawal conditions. Keep Vantage’s premium hardware and Stitch’s imposing but lightly armed Havoc relevant when choosing those values.