A Grim Prophecy - Round 2 Update

After the Slaanesh Marines had fled, Tassius scoured the battlefield surrounding him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw one traitor marine attempting to slowly slither away.

Tassius walked over to the wounded heretic. He spun him over onto his back, and stamped on the marine’s chestplate, holding him in place. He was about to draw his bolt pistol to put an end to the traitor’s wretched existence, when the heretic began to chuckle.

“You servants of the false emperor have again done our Gods a wonderful favour!”

The marine’s jovial statement angered Tassius.

“You are beaten heretic. The Wolves began your demise, we have overcome you here and your retreating brethren are about to get a surprise from the Inquisition.”

“Don’t you see? Your faith in the emperor blinds you. This is EXACTLY what we want! Do you really think it’s a coincidence that we were discovered here shortly after the Hive Fleets arrived? Do you honestly believe the Wolves stopped our ritual? Who do you think told the Greenskins to come to Varlislia?”   

“Silence!” scream Tassius. He reached for his pistol, and shot the heretic. All fell silent. Tassius turned and began to walk back towards the rest of the Imperial Fists.

Suddenly, the sky darkened and the air grew cold. Tassius heard a deep voice laughing behind him. It was not human. Turning around, he saw the traitor marine sat up. The marine’s black and pink helmet had been replaced with a pale face, distorted and stretched. It writhed with energy.

“Tassius. Tell this to your Inquisitor. You have walked into our trap. All of you. When the body count is high enough, the warp shall open up on Varlislia. There is no escape. If you throw down your weapons, the Tyranids alone will cause the suffering required for us to complete our goal. If you continue to fight, well, you will receive your release sooner. There is NO ESCAPE.”

The body jerked, and fell to the floor. Tassius called back to his brothers

“Jorn, get your men to burn this entire battlefield. Make sure nothing remains.”

Round 2 Update

Quite an even run of results between Imperial and Non-Imperial factions - the overall position on Varlislia has not changed greatly this round...

A Costly Victory

Captain Tassius watched the command console as reports flooded in from across the planet; everywhere war waged as the Tyranids fell upon the prepared defences of Varlislia while the forces of Chaos assaulted it from within. The Orks had not yet made their presence felt but Tassius knew that this would not last.

One report stood out amongst the others, a warband of Slaanesh had revealed itself led by a perversion known as ‘Doomrider’ and was advancing on one of Varlislia oldest Imperial Temple and reliquaries. Clearly his plan would be to capture and defile some of the systems most ancient and revered items for his nefarious ends.

Tassius knew that the temple guard would prove no match for the oncoming warband and only through the direct intervention of the Imperial Fists would the relics be saved.

Sallying forth with his advanced guard at the dawn of battle to secure the three reliquaries, Tassius and half of Squad Gorfast arrived to find the vanguard of the chaos warband had also arrived but neither could do damage to the other within their armoured vehicles.

The Imperial fists reinforcements soon arrived, two predators led by the Land Raider Redeemer ‘Angels Bane’ carrying the terminator assault squad ‘Shield Guard’ advanced to support Captain Tassius in the centre of the battlefield. The ancient Dreadnought Argus strode forth alongside the other half of Squad Gorfast on the left flank while more marines from Squad Valor advanced on the far right.

The forces of chaos responded in kind, Slaanesh allowed a favoured greater demon to enter the field through an unfortunate champion with a host of demonettes. A possessed Vindicator escorted two rhinos onto the right of the battlefield and its chaos possessed weapon destroyed the Rhino and two of squad Gorfast were lost in the resulting explosion. Of the warbands heavy support there was no sign as they remained within the warp subject to the whims of Slaanesh.

To oppose this mobile threat on the right flank, Captain Tassius deployed two landspeeders which with the lascannon of squad Valor immobilised both Rhinos. While the Predators took up over watch positions the landraider advanced to collect Captain Tassius and ready for a counter attack. Together they unleashed a volley of fire which wounded the greater demon and killed several demonettes while Squad Gorfast prepared to face down the approaching demonettes.

The attack was not long coming as the demonettes charged the three remaining marines of combat squad Gorfast. Their attacks felled one marine but First Sergeant Gorfast killed two with a mighty swing of his powerfist and his brother held fast beside him.

Slaanesh, tired of playing with her warband for its small amusement, finally released the Chaos Terminators and Obliterator from the Warp and they appeared behind the Landraider Angels Bane. Their melta guns wrecked its tracks and left it immobilised but did no more damage.
With his command vehicle immobilised, Captain Tassius led his Shield Guard towards the greater demon seeking to end its threat to the nearest reliquary. While the remaining marines of Squad Gorfast both stood fast and killed several more demonettes, the Shield Guard and Tassius smited the demon with their thunderhammers yet Tassius took a mighty blow while doing so.

With the threat of the Chaos Terminators and Obliterators finally exposed, Ancient Argus turned his autocannons upon them and with the fire of both Squads Gorfast and Valor they brought all but one terminator down.

As both chaos rhinos were now immobilised, the landspeeders took their time to finish them off with their multi meltas and then moved to support their brethren in the centre of the battlefield.

The Demon Prince Doomrider called upon Slaanesh to aid him in clouding the minds of Captain Tassius and his brethren to draw them away from the battle but they shrugged off such sirens calls and continued forward. The Slaanesh Noise marines from the two wrecked rhinos moved to support the vinidcator and push towards and contest the reliquaries while the third squad ran towards the unclaimed one far to the left of the battlefield.

The last Chaos terminator charged combat squad valor and felled two of them with its chain Axe, the return blows could not pierce its chaos armoured hide.

Squad Valor raced in their rhino to secure the right flanks Reliquary while Gorfast killed the last demonette and closed on the other central objective. Tassius and his terminators charged and destroyed the demon possessed vindicator and readied themselves to block the advancing noise Marines.

Ancient Dreadnought Argus smashed the last chaos terminator to the ground and stamped on him to end his vile days. The two combat squads of Squad Gorfast looked to regroup together on the middle reliquary but fell just short of securing it.

The Third Noise marine squad arrived at the left objective and begun to ransack the relics there while the two other squads opened fire on Tassius and felled a terminator before charging to bring down another. Tassius, enraged at the loss of his brethren crushed two with his hammer in return.

As the battle was almost concluded, Tassius called upon his forces for one final effort

With Doomrider closing upon the central Reliquary, both predators and Ancient Argus turned their guns upon him and the wounds he took were grievous enough to force him back to the Warp. As Tassius finished off the last noise marines and closed on the last squad his surviving brother’s secured two of the three Reliquaries. With Doomrider gone, the last Chaos champion called upon his brethren to flee with the few items they had secured and fell back from the field as Slaanesh reclaimed the bodies of many of those who had fallen to the Warp.

Assault Sergeant Jorn impaled the last Noise marine upon his lightening claw, distaste evident on his face as he slung the dying warrior away whose face even in death betrayed agony and ecstasy in equal measures. As the Shield Guard finished the few survivors, Tassius turned to First Sergeant Gorfast and his approaching squad.
“Report First Sergeant”

Gorfast flexed his powerfist and the demon blood upon it smoked as the energy given off by his glove burned it away, his anger contained upon a short leash as he spoke

“Captain. We have secured the reliquaries, one was ransacked by those abominations we once called brothers. They were unable to take much, the rest are being loaded within our rhinos for transportation back to a suitable location in the Hive spires.”

“And our losses” Tassius asked

“Several brothers have gone to the emperor’s side; Apothecary Tillis says more will need his ministrations aboard the Shield maiden”
Tassius nodded at the news, speaking clearly to all his warriors around him.

“A victory that has cost us dear brothers, yet we remain victorious. Signal the Imperial Governor that we have driven off the chaos interlopers and stand ready for battle.”


(provided by Major Tom)

The Battle of Alarc Minorius

There was a settlement up ahead. On the view screen, the grey slabs that represented low-grade Imperial manufactora were clearly distinguishable amongst the small groups of trees. Cassius looked at the adjacent screen on the wall of the Land Raider to a reconstruction of the best map they had for the area. Alarc Minorius was the name of this settlement. On the outskirts of a larger population centre, this and its larger twin had been responsible for producing many of the basic products consumed in the hives and by the tourists who visited the more beautiful parts of Varlislia. If the other settlements they had driven through were a guide, however, it would now be deserted. With the Tyrannid invasion in full swing, and rumours of insurrection, traitor astartes or worse, the population of Varlialia seemed to either be fleeing to the defences of the larger cities and hives, or dispersing up into the deserted mountains.  

Cassius didn’t really care about the locals, once on campaign, the intense fire that had drawn him to the chaplincary in his youth returned to his aged frame. But he was no son of Fenris, driven berserk by this rage against the enemies of the Emperor, he was still an Ultramarine, and was surrounded by Ultramarines. He could lean on them to remind him that for an Ultramarine, simple destruction of their enemies was unworthy of the Astartes. They were much more than that, and should seek to always follow in their Primarch’s footsteps. That meant building up the Imperium to be as strong once again as it was in the Great Crusade. That meant having to care about protecting the civilians and infrastructure of Imperial worlds so they could more quickly return to being valuable components of the Emperor’s Design. 

Still, Cassius rankled for the intensity of combat. Since arriving on Varlislia, his force had only fought in one serious encounter. The fight to secure a decent landing ground had been hard won. The Ultramarines had worked hard to restore their injured brothers to health, and to fortify their position. Their reinforcements were still delayed. The 3rd company and its Titan support could still be weeks from Varlislia. Therefore, Cassius had acted. Leaving the Tallarns to guard the dropsite in preparation for landing the Titans and supplies they would need to complete this campaign, his force had driven out in strength as an armoured strike force to push back the growing waves of Tyrannids infesting the planet. 

Scout reports from the Navy frigates patrolling the sector indicated that two separate hive fleets were attacking Varlislia. The one Cassius had already encountered seemed to be the weaker, its main fleet were probably lurking near some of the asteroid fields, avoiding combat and seeding the planet with scouting vessels. However, the second hive appeared in no way weakened. It had already deployed several sizable hordes to the planet, and was likely responsible for putting that Inquisitor in a med bay. The thought brought a rare smile to Cassius’ wizened face.  

It was these xenos that Cassius was hunting. Orbital scans indicated that the Tyrannids were fanning out and were likely to be in this area, seeking to extend their dominance on Varlislia. Before any of the major attacks on the hives began in earnest, control of the outlying areas would be important in deciding the balance of the campaign. The Tyrannids would need all the biomass they could get in order to produce the endless stream of attack organisms that would be required to overwhelm the major defences. 

Watching his forces encroach on the outskirts of the settlement, Cassius ordered the Land Speeder forwards to scout the way. A predator and vindicator rolled up on the left, followed by some tactical squads who were protecting the flanks of the column. Ahead of his Land Raider, attack bikes moved forwards while a dreadnought walked alongside. To the right, another tactical squad advanced, with a combat squad getting out ready to scout a nearby building as the rhino moved up. 

As the ‘Speeder neared a copse on the edge of Alarc Minorius, Cassius began to get dishearted. Would this be another day without contacting the enemy?  

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Lorium peered over the trees from his cockpit. A tumbleweed moved through the centre of the settlement, next to a large logic core. He banked to the right towards a large garage for excavation vehicles. He was sure he could see shapes moving in the woods beyond, but there was nothing confirmed on the scanner.  Dogurim, his gunner, sensed his frustration, “Probably just the wind, we’ve been out for too long, i’m sure the tech-priest needs to check my helmet again”. But, Lorium wasn’t listening. He was looking across the settlement to the left side where he saw trees being thrown into the air. The ‘Speeder jerked back towards the approaching column, just as Dogurim could see what had caught the pilot’s eye. A giant Tyrannid creature, surrounded by a horde of smaller organisms came crashing through the woods toward the settlement. 

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The inside of the Land Raider was full of movement. The Terminators were lumbering their weapons while Cassius looked at the pict feed from the ‘Speeder. Three waves of Tyrannids were approaching Alarc Minorius. Their markings probably meant they were from the hive he had been looking for. He ordered his tanks forward, and into battle. 

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Lorium jinked the ‘Speeder to dodge the Tyrannid fire, using its speed to avoid their unnervingly accurate shots. It was unclear how the battle was going. Around the Land Raider, the Ultramarines were pouring disciplined fire into the giant worm-like creatures slithering towards them. It didn’t seem to matter how much they fired, those beasts just came on and on towards them. To their left, the Ultramarine tanks were shooting into the swarm of termegants coming out of the woods. His concentration was broken by a deafening roar and a wave of flame lashed against the ‘Speeder. Below, where the Vindicator had been was just a scared crater, the enemy having finally found their mark and detonated the ammo. In the same instant, the ‘Speeder was hit by a rain of asidic larve from the right. As Dogurim used his knife to clear them from his flamer and the cockpit, they burrowed into the engines and grav plates. There was nothing they could do. The ‘Speeder glided to the ground, its propulsion gone. Lorium grabbed his pistol. The xenos coming towards them looked alot larger from the ground.... 

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Cassius too had seen the explosion on his screens. It was time to strike. He had watched the swarms move forwards and link up near the centre of the settlement. If they waited any longer the whole place would be overrun. The squad monitors showed injury lights on another combat squad as the supporting troops struggled to bring down the tyrgons assaulting the front of the column. But the other tactical squads had moved up from the flanks, and the tactical terminators had lumbered into position on the left. With a single thought, Cassius executed his command signal to the whole force and put his plan in motion. Like an unstoppable wall, the Land Raider began its advance.  

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With tremendous waves of energy from their hammers, the terminators despatched the still writhing remains of the Trygon. Cassius used his boot to clear the corpse of a termagant from his crozius and then checked his internal comms feed to assess the battle. It seemed like his plan was working. The Tyrannid swarm had been cut in two by his strike to capture the central logic core of Alarc Minorius. On the right flank by the garage, survivors of a combat squad were firing from the hatch of their rhino into the swarm of Tryannids that surrounded them, when giant spiked barbs glanced off the slides, forcing them to dive inside to take cover. To the left, the swarm around the hab block was weakening and the Ultramarine tanks were advancing well. Just one threat remained. One of the leader organisms was leading his bodyguard in pursuit of a combat squad. Cassius hefted his crozius and called to his bodyguard to give chase. 

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With their backs to the wall of the hab, and covered in the slime of the tyrannid guns, Cassius and his surviving squad were trying to hold back the warriors from the combat squad who were busy despatching the remaining termegants. Cassius had to leap backwards to avoid another thrust from the Prime. This creature was just too quick. As Cassius parried another swipe from another limb, he saw, in sickening slowness, one of the creature’s swords carve into Ephestus’ breastplate. The junior librarian sank to his knees and collapsed into the mud, as his life indicator blinked out on Cassius display. But before Cassius could avenge Ephestus, the Prime swung around, the force of the blow knocked the crozius out of his hand and the return slice of the blade forced through the rosarius, overloading it and cut deep into Cassius’ hip. He sank to the floor as the Prime reared up over him, preparing to finish its kill. Cassius always knew his end would come in the service of the Emperor and he was glad that it would be against the Tyrannids, the Ultramarines’ most hated foe. The Prime swung his blade down, and Cassius whispered a prayer to the Emperor.  

The blade sliced down, but as it neared Cassius it seemed to slow, as if something was impeding its progress. A look of confusion crossed the creatures face as its blade struggled against the force field. With a mighty roar, the last terminator of Cassius’ bodyguard still standing, threw his sizable mass in between the Prime and Cassius, the energy from its storm shield protecting both from the frenzied attacks from the Prime, enraged that it had been denied its final prize. The terminator swung his hammer, reducing one of the Prime’s limbs to a fine mist of ichor. The blow forced the Prime backwards, and seemed to give it time to evaluate its situation. It prepared to charge again when a shriek pierced the air. With his vision fading, Cassius saw the dreadnought rip the head clean off the other Tyrannid Prime. The remaining Prime seemed to recalculate its charge, and without a sound, the remaining Tyrannids headed out of Alarc Minorius to the cover of the trees. Content that the battle had been won, Cassius put his body into a restorative coma. You could never be too careful with injuries at his age....

(provided by Dr Weir)

Clash at Middenpoint

The Hive Mind was relieved – Coteaz’s daring mission had failed and Hive Fleet Mothra’s Swarmlord had escaped, and whilst dozens of bugs had died standing between the Grey Knights and the Swarmlord, the toll on the Inquisitors supporters had been greater.

The nature of the invasion had suddenly changed. Hive Fleet Mothra had been gearing up for devouring a large number of humans, with limited armour, supported by a small band of Imperial Fists which had been strengthening fortifications. The Inquisitor’s arrival had brought with it Space Marines from three further chapters, who were well armed and armoured; stopping these would be key to the successful consumption of Varlislia.

Mothra was presented with a big challenge; it had little experience and expertise in overcoming Astartes. A contingent of Space Wolves had made planetfall and had a strong position – the Hive Mind needed to deal with this threat before it build upon the platform it had made for itself.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

An element of the Swarm met some of the Wolves head on in a small outpost filled with ruined bunkers. The Wolves were well prepared – within seconds of meeting their Priests saw past the shadow in the warp to remove half of the swarm’s Hive Guard – dealing with the vehicles they had brought with them had become an increasingly big challenge. Missiles from the Long Fangs rained down upon one of the swarm’s Tervigons – the Wolves wanted to cut off the chance for any reinforcements to outnumber them. The swarm was taking a lot of damage; the Hive Mind shuddered with the screeches of pain it felt.

Then something happened. The swarm’s three Trygons had moved around the side of the armies, and one met with the Wolf Guard terminators. After a few minutes of intense fighting, the Wolf Guard had been overcome, despite the first Trygon being severely wounded. It carried on nevertheless, attacking Grey Hunters, whilst its two kin dispatched of the Wolve’s APCs and Dreadnought.

There was one pocket of resistance from a second wolf priest; who had dug in with his Grey Hunters. Despite this, Hive Fleet Mothra had managed a slight victory, the two remaining Trygons eating the Wolve’s rearguard.

Mothra had bought itself time – it now had to deal with Cassius and the Ultramarines...