They just wanted a hug

The URFKD office workers in the buildings across the way from the Colonial Prefab Fabrication Works stood in silence.  The terrified screams from the C.P.F.W. had pulled the office workers from their offices, most halted in the street, a few had run into the works to render assistance for what sounded like a terrible accident.  Their screams were now silent.

Colonial civilians and police watch the C.P.F.W. building as aliens explode from its innards.

The police and medics arrived, the first to arrive were the first to die.  The last to arrive took up a position across the road from the C.P.F.W.  After a strange robot was seen lurking in the the dark doorway of the C.P.F.W. they called the local Colonial Legionaries.  

When the Legionaries were in sight of the C.P.F.W. dozen of "robots" streamed from the doors.  The police sergeant quickly contacted the Legionary Captain, "We have dozens of loping robots."

The captain felt his blood run cold, he had been privy to Top Secret documents which described, these were not robots, these were Xenomorphs.  Creatures bio-engineered millennia ago for some forgotten war between two forgotten races.

He shouted into his komzband, "Get your people out of there, those are not robots those are the the Demons you have heard rumour of, get your people to the space port.  We will cover you."

We played the mission from the Tomorrow Wars book, the alien scenario.

Mark vs. Mark.  Mark took the aliens, and Mark took the humans.

The mission is straightforward: The human player must get the humans off the one side of the board before they are eaten.  The alien player has to eat.

Civilians (A and B) and police (A), and a dozer armed with Fab-Laser watch on as xenomorphs disgorge from the warehouse across the road.

The police officers and Legionaries moved quickly to evacuate as many of the colonists as they could.  On seeing the xenomorphs they knew they would not save everyone.  Some of the Legionaries ran to help the police direct the colonists to safety, others moved to take up positions to cover them (Overwatch was to be of prime importance, the aliens also reacted with movement and assault.  The aliens needed to run, but this was risky as it made them more vulnerable).

The aliens move out running towards the colonists (A) and also start to flank the humans (B).  Aliens who B-lined towards the colonists were shot down by the legionaries (C).  At D the police start to herd the survivors towards F.  The colonists at E were about to come face to face with the Demons

With the arrival  of the soldiers the xenomorphs poured over the C.P.F.W.'s fences.  Some colonists stood mesmerized, others took images for their Social Posts.  A reporter stood filming.

Two groups of aliens started to "mop up"  stray colonists while a group of police officers and colonists were set on by a small group of aliens.  The police very unheroically threw the civilians on the aliens claws as they opened fire, five civilians died, as did the aliens.  Not the greatest moment for the Colonial Law and Order.

Aliens swarm forward again, blocked by friendlies the overatch team (blue disk) us unable to bring fire to bear.  The overwatch teams all soon climbed up the buildings to gain better line of sight.

The legionaries hit the Queen four times, but she shrugged it off (Hard to Kill), but who luck ran out later going down.  Overwatch teams start to have an impact, mowing down aliens by the droves.

The race is on, humans rushing to the right, aliens trying to catch and outflank them.  The humans fire is telling, in this final image on three aliens are left alive, one in the Prefab, one in the fields to the top and one on the road.

Though lots of colonists died, 17 in all.  More colonists made it to safety.  A human victory.  The King alien ran off into the outback,  s/he hermaphoditised (new word?) into a queen and start laying the next wave.

The government preacher told the press at the orbital station, "I think they wanted to make contact, all they wanted to do was hug, then someone opened fire."  He stopped the interview with heartburn...

A fun game, Mark Junior had amazing dice rolls, shrugging off fusillade after fusillade.  His Queen surviving a wall of bullets was just the start.  Mark Junior picked up the game very quickly (though I think he may have his pocket money docked for uncanny dice rolling!).  Overwatch was at its best through the game, though many units fell off overwatch in the end victory went to the humans due to lots of their units getting into good overwatch positions.

I hope everyone had fun.

Next time - A few heavily armoured marines take on a horde of light infantry on a nameless hill in a forsaken forest.  Force on Force in 28mm.