+++
Krosoth the Fell, Daemon Prince
10 Berserkers, Rhino
10 Chaos Space Marines, Rhino
10 Plague Marines, Rhino
2 Obliterators
+++
Morgun Barkdakka, Blood Axe High Marshall
11 Kommandos
9 Tankbustas
5 Nobs
20 Slugga Boys
11 Trukk Boys
10 Shoota Boys
3 Kannon
+++
Dawn Raid, Grimm's World
Objective: Secure three valuable artifacts
+++
“Dere’s da first arr-tee-fact boss.”
Orteez looked quite proud that he had remembered the name of the device they had been looking for. Morgun Barkdakka surveyed his scouting force through the gloom. The plan was simple, grab the two most important artifacts and get out. If these devices were important enough for the shadowy man from the Imperium to hire them it was certain that the meks could use them for something entertaining. There might be the opportunity to have a bit of a scrap with the beakies of Chaos, but he knew that there wasn’t time to get bogged down in a prolonged scrap.
“Soggit, call the boys in.”
The grot chattered excitedly into the field radio.
“Let’s move out.”
Krosoth the Fell laughed, a cruel dark bark into the cold night air. Before him was the Uluthan Monolith, a relic from a lost civilization over which blood of a thousand warriors and ten thousand innocents had been spilled. Its mirrored surface was covered with frosty ferns, wreathing Krosoth’s twisted reflection with a floral decoration. The psychic energy which could be channelled using this would allow Krosoth’s Grey Knight enemies to suffer fearsomely. Soon their hard, bright souls would nourish him.
But first there were vermin to deal with. Krosoth could smell the stench of the orks although he could not see them. That they were here to pester him at this moment of triumph was an irritation, and he wanted them eradicated as quickly and efficiently as possible. He reached into the mind of his rotten Nurgle worshiping allies and directed them to where he suspected the orks were hiding. Meanwhile his other troops advanced to set up a cordon from the ruined cathedral, taking up defensive positions behind a wall of the rhino transports.
Barkdakka instructed his cadre of lieutenants to bring heavy firepower to bear on the armoured vehicles on the right flank. The vehicles were enveloped in smoke and lightly damaged but remained as a screen.
Bolter rounds whined past Barkdakka’s head. The rapport of an autocannon chattered, throwing up dirt and taking out a couple of boys.
“Let’s get em boys!”
The boys charged towards the green marines with whoops of delight. These beakies were huge butlooked like they were close to death already. Shoota fire ricocheted off their armour or disappeared into the seeping wounds in their armour. This would be fun. The trukk boys made an outflanking manoeuvre around the ruined factorium in an attempt to catch the plague marines in a crossfire.
Suddenly Orteez’s boys where flipped of their feet and thrown to the ground. The towering creature had flung them across the battlefield using a lash of pure energy. They picked themselves up and continued their charge, now as far from their foe as ever. Griznats’ boys were pushing past, trying to get stuck in first.
“Come on lads!”
A burst of autocannon fire shredded into Orteez’s boys.
“We’re taking heavy fire!” whimpered Orteez. “Fall back!”
“Come back you zogger!” bellowed Barkdakka. “It’ll be the firing skawd for you!”
Barkdakka finally managed to lead the charge against the plague marines. The boys got chopping but even as limbs were hacked off and bloated bellies burst, the marines fought implacably on, cutting down one ork, then another. The plague rhino prevented the Zagga’s trukk boy reserves from being able to draw a bead on their quarry.
Meanwhile the kannons continued blasting at the rhinos. With a blinding flash the lead rhino exploded in a violent gout of flame, shrapnel and body parts. The Liyqt’k’s berserkers that weren’t blown apart were knocked off their feet as rokkit and shoota fire poured in.
“Geeett Theemm!” bellowed Krosoth. The berserkers leapt over the detritis of the vehicle and their fallen comrades and dashed across the open ground towards the small pack of huge orks. Krosoth ensnared the nobs and dragged them towards his berserkers. In disarray the nobs had no chance to prepare for the furious charge. And two were slaughtered on their knees. The surviving nobs fought back hacking through the shiny red power armour.
Krosoth raged that these pests had caused so much disruption and summoned his obliterator reserves.
“Finish this!” he commanded the first one to arrive. With a tearing of flesh and wrenching of metal, the creature began firing.
Jealous of the success of the grots and the impressiveness of the fireball they had created in their super good kill, the tankbustas’ eyes lit up when they spotted the daemon prince.
“Look at that!” cried Fragnob. “It’s like the squig-dragons I used to hunt as a yoof!”
The tankbustas fired rockets at the creature before charging in with glee in their eyes. Skog and Dagz had been polishing their tankhammers all night. As their comrades were dismembered they swung the hammers at the creature’s hide. The explosions were deafening, but the fused armour plates were undamaged.
Krosoth butchered the orks as they swarmed over him. The idiot creatures appeared to be attempting to manually use their crude rockets as clubs against him; the ludicrousness of the situation amused him. Did they not realize that he had lived for ten thousand years and consumed a million souls? He could make out Liyqt’k, his berserker champion, dispatching the last of the nobs and consolidating to the objective on his left, and his obliterator destroying the crude artillery on the right. The last ork filth faced him. He raised his blade to dispatch it when with animalistic speed it swung a rocket into his armpit joint. As his body disintegrated Krosoth could hear the laughter of his enemies as his soul was dragged into the warp.
Skog blinked.
“That was easy,” he thought to himself, buzzing the thrill of a really big kill. “Lets see what’s next.”
He looked up. Ten chaos space marines formed an execution squad.
“Uh oh!”
Fernz glared at his kommandos. They had been skulking at the back of the battlefield after being startled by shooting earlier.
“Now, it was lookin’ tricky for a bit there. But I’ve reviewed the taktical situation. And the situation is; that beakie is a threat to Da Plan, plus he’s on his own. We are going to sneak up on him and blast him. Any questions? No? Then let’s go!” The kommandos raced towards the isolated obliterator, sluggas blazing. A lucky shot blew his face off. The huge creature tumbled to the ground and began thrashing around wildly. Weapons appeared, fired wildly and were then reabsorbed. The kommandos looked on, impressed.
“Good work team!”
Barkdakka grunted as he pulled his chopper free from the belly of a plague marine.
“Why don’t they die?” He parried a blow as another of his comrades met a sticky end. Everything had seemed to be going well. His boys had finally managed to get to grips with these beakies, but they were even more resilient than normal. Besides, although they were green like orks, the way their rotten eyes lolled out of their sockets was… not orkish. Only a couple of the beakies had fallen, and even they seemed to be writhing and twitching. Perhaps it was time to withdraw and reconsider Da Plan. Barkdakka kicked the nearest marine over and dived behind a pile of rubble. He watched in awe as the rotten parodies of men butchered his boys. As he crawled away on his elbows and toes a kunnin plan was forming. Morgun Barkdakka would be back. And next time he’d have a trick or two up his sleeve.
Liyqt’k surveyed the battlefield. That fool Krosoth was so arrogant, his dark masters would not be pleased. Having to guard this pitiful device was demeaning. Dark thoughts raged in is crazed mind. Possibly possession of this device would save him and his masters would be merciful. The other unit was not guarding the Monolith but hunting down the remaining rocket ork. They would surely be punished fro their carelessness.
Zagga got his driver to bring the truck to a stop by the objective.
“Let’s grab the ar-tee-fact and get da zog out of here.”