Campaign I: Saduk - Fifth TurnAshley Malkus and Konstanz Scriptor"Yes sir. Won't talk to anyone."
Hurry to the roofside landing pad, eyes kept on the ground. Don't attract attention.
Ashley makes her report "Saun and I engaged an enemy witch, probably a warlock, we had it on the run, but when I tried to ensare him I momentarily drew too much, and was forced to return to my body. I am worried about Saun now that I am not able to hold the shield"
While Konstanz Scriptor disappears out of the Sanctum doors, Malkus gathers her wits for a report to Coazan. The dark Overseer listens to her brief explanation intently, interrupting a few times to ask her to elaborate. The Lord-Commander stays silent, but the glint in his eyes is enough to reveal his thoughts. When Ashley finishes, he places a heavy, gauntleted hand on her shoulder, a collective gasp going through his entourage at the sight of their leader touching the witch.
[6] 'Praise the Emperor! He has sent fine tools for us to use. Overseer Coazan, can they bring the witch here for the interrogation?' he proclaims, his grip tight on her shoulder. Coazan seems almost as surprised as Malkus for the praise. This could mean good things for both of them, perhaps even a permanent position at Alkanius' side.
'I, umm, am not sure, my lord. The Eldar... is not in its body, if I understood correctly. I do not know if we could even hear it.' he admits.
'Do it in any case. Psyker! Bring this xenos witch to me!'
Transferring the prison and the Eldar inside it should be easy enough - as long as Saun has managed to keep him there. Malkus is feeling strong enough to return now.
[6] Konstanz Scriptor makes his way through the twisting corridors and myriad rooms of Calhose Manor without any trouble. The Manor, a sprawling building complex with a foundation much, much older than the planet's reclamation in the Great Crusade. Constructed out of heavy stone like much of the city around it, it has stood the test of time and the Astartes Legions of the Crusades. When the Planetary Governor left for an orbital station, the Manor was turned into an administrative center and was thus an ideal location for organizing the parades and exercises, if not the defense against this Eldar attack.
The further away he goes from the Inner Sanctum, the less Guardsmen and officers he sees. The locals eye him suspiciously, their servo-skulls and servitors coming uncomfortably close to scan or question him. The layout of the building proves somewhat confusing, but he finds himself on the roof access stairs in a surprisingly short amount of time.
Beyond lays the flattened roof and the landing pad. Scriptor sees several luxurious shuttles and aircars scattered around the area, dwarfed by the 320th Valkyrie squadron. The heavy assault carriers stand ready on their pads, their engines already warming up. The crewmen still running around show him the preparations for lift-off are still under way. The aircraft are decorated in various ways, some painted to look like ferocious animals, others with intimidating symbols meant to strike fear into the hearts of their enemies. If an enemy is close enough to see the Valkyrie this clearly, though, something's definitely gone wrong.
Konstanz isn't exactly sure what the Overseer expected him to do here. He could ask the crewmen if they know anything about it, but doubts they'd talk to him. He shouldn't have rushed, now there's nothing else to do than wait. He could use his powers in some way. Konstanz doubts Coazan would know if he did.
Enemies1 Eldar Warlock at 43/50 HP,
psychic form probably trapped inside a field of raw Warp-energy in the air above the exercise fields[/]. Eldar Psyker
Allies
Saun at 5/5 HP (15/15), psychic form probably in the air above the exercise fields. Imperial Psyker
On the roof of Calhose ManorKonstanz ScriptorHP: 15/15
Equipment: Force Weapon, Laspistol
[3/3]Known Perks: Imperial PsykerFaction: Imperial Guard
In the inner sanctum of Calhose ManorAshley MalkusHP: 15/15
Equipment: Force Weapon, Laspistol
[3/3]Known Perks: Imperial PsykerFaction: Imperial Guard
Sergeant Grygur Urugur"Come on lads, HQ says to regroup and dig in until we see what's going on here. We're gonna pull back on the farm house and defend our position until Abbar's squad reaches us or command says different. I'm guessing those dead Xenos were just scouts of some kind, so we've got to get moving quickly. Get to it, come on."
Loot recovered body, hide enemy bodies/weapons, Hellhound to hide [1/3] canister in the cover to the front of the farmhouse, sniper, sgt and 1 guardsman to make sure they have a good shot at it, sniper to take a highpoint in the farmhouse covering road direction if available, squad to spread out inside covering all angles but most cover to front (where Eldar last came from) ready for ambush. Reinforce / barricade building if time. Hellhound to park at rear of farmhouse with engine off (presuming there is no silent mode...) and crew ready, guns aimed at the direction we expect Abbar. Sergeant Urugur to look for some kind of plaster for his gaping chest wound...
Sergeant Grygur considers his options for a while. It seems the farmstead is their best bet right now. There might be more xenos up ahead, and he doesn't want to lose any more men. He calls up Abbar on the vox and gives him a few quick directions and orders his men to put the Eldar bodies out of sight.
[3] He begins to go through the fallen Englass' belongings, taking the full power pack in his weapon and another off his belt. It feels wrong to loot the body of their comrade this way, but Grygur tells himself it's just war and he needs to get used to it.
The squad soon return from their work and Grygur orders them back to the farmhouse, explaining the situation with a few sentences. It's not too far from the location of their firefight, and as they slip back past the hedge, Grygur begins thinking about how to best defend the place. The hedges hide the road away from view, but burning them now would cost them any advantage of surprise they might have. He decides on a compromise - setting the mostly-empty Inferno Cannon canister at the bottom of the hedge, ready to be blown to hell if the Eldar come up the road.
[2] The Hellhound crew begin yanking the canister ouf the cannon, ignoring all Mechanicum regulations and without doubt angering the machine spirit of the thing in the process. Unfortunately, no matter how hard they pull, the canister doesn't seem to be moving. They've somehow managed to get it stuck.
While the crew struggles with the canister, Grygur spreads his squad around the L-shaped farmstead. Trooper Vas, with his Longlas, is put to sit in the upper floor of the main building, allowing him good visibility up the road into the forest where the firefight happened and to the right and the road beside them. If any Eldar attempt to flank him, one Guardsman is put to watch their left side as well. The main bulk of troopers goes to the bottom of the building, where they can watch both the forest and the right side, including the sergeant himself. The Hellhound drives behind the building and shuts down its engines to not give their position away for the second time.
Grygur also looks for any positions on the other side of the road for Abbar's men to use. [1] There is no cover in the sparse woods. Looks like they'll have to stick near the farmstead as well when they arrive, or just stay mobile.
While he's still on the road, Trooper Vas voxes in. 'I've got xenos in the forest, staying away from the road. Looks like more scouts. They're heading our way. Want me to take the shot? It's tricky, but I think I could pull it off.'
There's a hedge covering the top edge of the farmstead as well. If the xenos are coming straight at them, the canister could be used there as well. While he's still thinking, he hears a rumble behind him and sees a Chimera appear in the horizon. Abbar contacts him on the vox.
Enemies5 Eldar Guardians with Shuriken Catapults and Combat Blades,
heading towards the farmstead in the forest, Long Range.
DisciplinedOn the lower west road, near the farmsteadSergeant Grygur UrugurHP: 11/25
Equipment: Lasgun
[6/6], Laspistol
[3/3], Chainsword
Known Perks: DisciplinedFaction: Imperial Guard
Deathspear Squad1 Guardsman with Lasgun [6/6] and Combat Knife,
watching the left side.
Disciplined4 Guardsmen with Lasguns [6/6] and Combat Knives,
in the lower part of the farmhouse, In Cover.
Disciplined1 Guardsman with Longlas [6/6] and Combat Knife,
in the top corner of the second floor.
Disciplined1 Hellhound at HP 550/650 with Inferno Cannon
[1/3] and Heavy Bolter
[6/8],
hidden behind the lower part of the building.
Sergeant Micelus Abbar"Damn. Hostiles nearby men,."
"Imane, keep driving. We need to support our brothers. As much as I would like to avenge these people, we have our orders. Men, on guard."
Continue to Urugur. The Xenos who did this are probably attacking him right now.
Abbar decides to ignore the bodies and tells his driver to press on. Sergeant Urugur soon comes on the vox, giving him vague directions. [5] His driver has no trouble understanding and the Chimera begins rolling quickly towards this farmstead.
[4] A humanoid form is soon spotted on the road ahead of them. On a closer look, it's revealed as Sergeant Grygur. The overgrown hedges on his left must be the ones that are hiding this farmstead of theirs.
Abbar contacts the other sergeant on the vox. There doesn't seem to be much cover in the sparse woods around them, so hopefully this farmstead doesn't get overrun.
In the ChimeraSergeant Micelus AbbarHP: 25/25
Equipment: Lasgun
[6/6], Laspistol
[3/3], Chainsword
Known Perks: DisciplinedFaction: Imperial Guard
Talons of Bryndis Squad6 Guardsmen with Lasguns and Combat Knives,
in the Chimera.
Disciplined1 Guardsman with Melta Gun and Combat Knife,
in the Chimera.
Disciplined1 Chimera with Multi-laser
[6/6] and Heavy Bolter
[8/8],
on the start of the west road.
Laric and Markon Joanos"Keep firing the bolters on the Fire Prism, men! Let's bring it down! Fire the battle cannon at the Wave Serpent. That's a troop carrier. With any luck, it'll lack the armour to survive a direct strike!"
[Focus Fire] Hot Battlecannon on Wave Serpent action.
Damn, dont let them flank us ! Selop, try to get us little closer for better shot !Shoot at the Falcon flanking left with Plasmacannons and the falcon falking flanking right with Autocannon
The armoured battle rages on, and Markon Joanos continues his [Tactic: Focus Fire][Leadership:2-1=1] mostly effective leadership. Though Sallin never hears the order to fire, [6/3/4] the Heavy Bolters continue spewing high-power rounds into the xenos lines. [Dodges:4+1=5/6+1=6/2+1=3] The Fire Prism's driver zig-zags past the slowly-moving guns, skipping through detonating shells with only a few glancing hits. [Damage:66-42=24] The damage is mostly superficial, but the weakened grav-tank can't really afford any more hits.
[Eldar Targeting:2/5/2][6] It returns fire, the Prism Cannon heating up for another destructive beam. The turret spins around lazily to point at the heart of the Leman Russ [Dodge:6-1=5] but the weapon's targeting systems seem to be malfunctioning, and for the second time, the beam disappears into the sky. Markon breathes a sigh of relief. No matter how powerful these Eldar cannons are supposed to be, they're not worth anything if their crews can't hit the broad side of a barn.
[4] Abruptly, a Vyper drops low from the sky and opens up with its Shuriken Cannons. [Dodge:5-1+1=5] The incompetence of the Eldar race continues with the Vyper missing by a mile. Markon's tank hasn't gotten hit once, and he wonders how the
Old Hound managed to get immobilized by these xenos.
[2/5] Laric's Plasma Cannons are told to fire, but once again Selop forgets to turn the tank so the second Cannon can get a clear shot. The first fires alone, [Dodge:3+1=4] the bolt of glowing plasma detonating against the earth behind the Eldar grav-tank. The gunner begins reloading his weapon as fast as he can. [3] The Autocannons track the right-side Falcon and open fire [Dodge:6+1=6] long after its safely out of reach. It's not Laric's day today.
Enemies (Markon Joanos)1 Eldar Fire Prism,
facing the Destructum, Close Range. Mobile Skimmer1 Eldar Fire Prism at 129/600 HP with Prism Cannon [0/1],
heading to the right, Close Range. Mobile Skimmer1 Eldar Wave Serpent,
heading onwards behind the Destructum, Long Range. Mobile Skimmer3 Eldar Vypers,
circling in the sky, Close Range.
Fast Speeder1 Eldar Wraithlord,
moving towards the battle, Long Range.
Wraithsight,
Heavy StructureEnemies (Laric)1 Eldar Falcon at 410/600 HP,
facing the Iron Cobra, Close Range. Mobile Skimmer1 Eldar Falcon at 600/600 HP with 2 Scatter Lasers [9/10] and Pulse Laser [5/5],
beside the Iron Cobra on the right, Close Range. Mobile Skimmer1 Eldar Falcon at 316/600 HP with 2 Starcannons [1/2] and Pulse Laser [5/5],
beside the Iron Cobra on the left, Close Range. Mobile Skimmer2 Eldar Vypers,
circling in the sky, Close Range.
Fast Speeder1 Eldar Vyper with Bright Lance [0/2] at 80/80 HP,
circling in the sky, Close Range.
Fast Speeder1 Eldar Wave Serpent,
flanking right, Close Range.
Mobile SkimmerOn the west edge of the fieldIron CobraHP: 1139/1400
Equipment: 2 Exterminator Autocannons
[6/8], Plasma Cannon
[3/3], Plasma Cannon
[0/3]Known Perks: Lumbering Behemoth,
Incompetent DriverFaction: Imperial Guard
On the west edge of the fieldDestructum PeccansHP: 1300/1300
Equipment: Battle Cannon
[1/1], Heavy Bolter
[4/8], Heavy Bolter
[5/8], Heavy Bolter
[6/8]Known Perks: Lumbering Behemoth, Piece of JunkFaction: Imperial Guard
---
The Inferno Cannon canister can still be removed with a good roll next turn, so better hurry up. And I should make a map in AsciiDraw or similar because my descriptions don't really help visualizing the place.