Met up with 'TauTseTung' for a game - first chance to use a few unit's i'd been furiously painting in what spare time i have - here's how it went down...
After Isstvan3 and the subsequent questioning about the event, Calleb Decima was contacted for aid by a civilian fabrication sector on a remote outpost of the ultramar system he had once completed successful resource trades with in his distant past. Not one to let good workers go to waste, Calleb made all haste to get there; but all that was left on arrival at the co-ordinates of the signal were the shattered remains of the sector. Although Calleb preferred traversing bedrock, it concerned him that the flora had almost completely taken over again despite his expedient arrival.
Upon making planetfall another strange effect was noted - the ground appeared to the eye to be covered in soil and plants apart from the area where personnel were stood. An area which looked lush with plants appeared to be dust and rocks when stood on by any member of the scouting party. The same effect was not seen when the same area was traversed by tracked or wheeled vehicles.
Current theories suggest that the effect is linked to sentient thought - our land raider for example, does not cause this effect but our vehicles which use electro-amniotic tanks for control interface
do cause the effect.
After setting up a temporary orbital comms relay mast; contact was made with an unknown force which appered to be human - IFF units stated 'Astra Militarum' on the identifier readout.
This is obviously some kind of rend in reality as a result of forbidden/xeno technology and would adequetly explain the strange effects.
Cyber occularis were sent to ascertain if this unkown force can be harmed with weaponry and this was confirmed along with the knowlege that they can affect other entities around them also.
Visual data also revealed that they were also experiencing a different ground beneath thier feet to the one they see elsewhere - thiers was also different to ours, thiers being 'snow and ice' in extreme contrast to our 'rock strewn desert'
There was no xeno-tech present in the oncoming force, all the technology in use appeared to be fairly common among PDF's thoughout the imperium but call-signs and encryption standards were almost unrecognisable and referenced places of origin which do not show up in known imperial records.
The opposing force may well be using imperial protocols for contact and a small task force was sent forward to gain new visual on target - assumptions turned out to be correct and contact was made with a corresponding task force from the enemy.
Intercepted and decoded vox signals from that team revealed that the enemy intended to fire upon contact; the order to engage was issued and contact began at dawn.
Game: 6th edition Mission: crusade (5 objectives) Deployment: vanguard strike
Ordo Reductor:
HQ: Calleb Decima with abeyant, cyber familiar and 2 servitors with flamers
DT: Mechanicum Landraider with 2
TL lascannon, graviton cannon, flare shield, armoured ceramite and an
HK
Troop 1: Thallax +3guys, 2 phased plasma fusil and icarian upgrade
Troop 2: Thallax +3guys, 2 phased plasma fusil and icarian upgrade
Elite: Legion techmarine with conversion beamer,
MC bolter, augury scanner, nuncio-vox and 2 servitors with flamers
Fast Attack: Mars Universal Land Engine with havoc launcher
Heavy Support: Legion Medusa
Heavy Support: Thanatar-Calix with enhanced targeting array and paragon of metal
I'll put his list here when i get it. I know it includes...
Elites: Scion squad
DT: Taurox
?: Chimera
?: Chimera
?: Valkyrie
Fast Attack: Valkyrie vendetta gunship
Heavy Support: Wyvern with camo netting
Heavy Support: Basilisk with camo netting
Heavy Support: Deathstrike missile launcher with camo netting
Never done a batrep before and totally appreciating how much b|%dy hard work goes into typing one up now!!
Five points of interest were also noted nearby the relay mast which may be linked to the ongoing effects being experienced as initial scans indicate non-metallic technological items of unknown providence in wooden crates apart from a curious laser-type sentry weapon which was not operating at the time of discovery. Sadly contact was made before a recovery team could be dispatched and it is known that the enemy forces know of and indeed seek to secure these items.
Opposition deploy and go first.
The unexpected nature of the enemy forces advance caught us in a state of pre-preparedness and we were unable to sieze the initiative on contact.
IG turn 1
As the enemy moved into range, two vehicles (later shown to be a chimera and a taurox) broke ranks and raced forward - the former moving flat out behined a bizzarely decorated structure and the latter into what appears to be a graveyard (anomaly ref:4539s5845tX38) Incoming artillery fire initiated damage limitation protocols in thallax cohort alpha and it was thought at the time that our medusa siege gun had taken damage too but this was soon confimed as a false reading. Our legion tech-adept was narrowly missed by autocannon fire from the enemy ranks and our MK2B 'lands raider' recieved lascannon fire from a similar source without taking damage. Thankfully, none of our assets had been destroyed and the enemy was counter-engaged at full strength.
OR turn 1
Our MK2B moved forwards and engaged the source of the lascannon shot with it's newly fitted graviton device and fired all other weapons at a newly revealed chimera to no effect. The legion tech-adept managed to get the taurox fixed in his targeting reticule and confimed that it genuinely was of imperial origin as the beam stripped it's matter layer by layer..
First blood
The source of the artillery fire was found to be tightly packed formation comprising a basilisk, a wyvern and a deathstrike missile launcher.
Quite how this weapon had been missed by by our cyber-occularis is a marvel of weakness which will have to be studied by the tactica division, as will the manner of the enemy 'camo-netting' - many vehicles which register on our targeting reticules have turned out to be merely replicas of the vehicle behined them.
Our thanatar-Calix moved toward this group of artillery vehicles and gassified a rpelica of a basilisk, under covering fire from the medusa siege gun which itself caused damage to both the real basilisk and the deathstrike missile launcher next to it.
Thallax cohort alpha experienced some difficulties with thier jetpacks and ended up in an open area as thier 'skyfire' module began registering incoming enemy aircraft..
IG turn 2
It was a trap. As we were tracking the incoming aircraft the artillery unit split up and the deathstrike missile fired upon the location of our medusa siege gun.
The damage to the nearby Thallax cohort was catastrophic; only one survived by having two other thallax between it and the detonation - the explosion tore through the ruin that was hiding our medusa. The armour of the siege gun took the blast but the crew were still shaken by the experience. Data later revealed that this had bent it's heavy bolter's barrel rendering it inoperable.
The autocannon from the enemy troops hit one of the legion tech-adept's servitors and rendered it's parts un-useable.
Sadly the enemy flyers had outflanked us and among their number was a vendetta gunship which knew about our MK2B's flare shields and positioned itself to bypass them and target it's exhast stack and reactor area - it's lascannons puched a hole in the reactor containment field and it suffered a catastrophic detonation.
All other enemy fire, including an orbital strike was then aimed at our Thanatar and Mule causing exterior damage to both units.
OR turn 2
Thallax cohort beta arrived via teleportation next to the enemy artillery position and slagged the basilisk. Our luck didn't last as the thanatar attempted to hit the escaping wyvern but burned a hole in it's camo-netting instead. The legion tech-adept also had similar luck, burning the netting off a portion of a chimera while vaporising a scion hidden next to it and The survivor from thallax cohort alpha achived lock-on to the valkyrie zooming overhead but it's plasma shots didn't cause any damage.
The Mule's ancillary havoc launcher worked perfectly, locking on to a neaby squad, initiating fire and caused enemy casualties.
Calleb decima was able to perform atomic deposition on the mule's chassis on damage recieved from an enemy multilaser while the thanatar's self-repair systems worked it's frame to full strength again. There appeared to be no problem at all with cohort beta's jetpacks and they were able to take cover behined the ruined basilisk from the infantry the other side; never underestimate the humble lasgun.
IG turn 3
The enemy flyers enjoyed our lack of air support and the vendetta targeted the amunition stacks of our medusa siege gun which detonated and destroyed it. The enemy deathstrike missile launcher attempted to run down thallax cohort beta who simply moved out of the way. This put them in the firing line of the wyvern which caused irrepairable damage to the support systems of one automata and damaged the armour of a second. Our mule recieved repeat fire from the multilaser on a suspiciously new chimera which destroyed it's havoc launcher. Another orbital strike scattered nearby but did not damage any of our assets in the field.
OR turn 3
New missiion protocol recived; transport any assets siezed via teleport transponders in thallax units - all other assets seek and destroy enemy fortifications and ground armour and artillery - priority targets; environmentally sealed troop transports and facilities - anti-infantry units and anti-air support units inbound and prepared for planetfall in T+00:10:00:000
In firing upon the thallax the wyvern had revealed it's true position - cohort beta are well drilled in firing while hovering and their weaponry caused it to explode - fragments were later found stuck to the hull of our mule as the combination of lighning arc beams, plasma bolts and noted 'envimonmental' effects caused the flying peices to magnetize with a flux density output of 1.5 tesla per kg/m^3.
Our mule with calleb decima on board and thanatar chose to ignore the now harmless deathstrike missile launcher platform and focus on the chimera and building - the troops inside would be easy pickings without them. Calleb Decima took this moment to align and activate his 'omnissiah's curse' unit at the chimera - it powered down it's life support systems and overloaded it's capacitor arrays - the sollex pattern lascannon found it's target through the capacitor smoke from the deactivated chimera, but experienced a drop in power during firing - the building sustained moderate damage anyway, and a single life-sign was seen to fail on our scanners.
The last automata of cohort alpha took a final shot at the vendetta gunship passing overhead before attaching it's teleport transponder-tether to the artifact it was gaurding.
In absence of an artifact in their vicinity, cohort beta moved to target the missile launcher vehicle after asset extraction was complete.
(And that was when we ran out of time)
Thank you very much to ATLANTIC GAMES in stroud for having us round, shame about those bothersome 'magic the gathering' players for cutting our game short.
Still, t'was a good laugh - i lost 4-2, i got first blood and a single objective at the finish while Tau Tse Tung was holding three objectives and had a flyer just inside my deployment zone.
Note to self: bring some cheap fearless troops to guard objectives next time...
Last edit: A friend has just pointed out that in the mission the primary objectives were worth three VP's each so i actuyally lost 10-4.
3000 - 天空人民军队
1500
2000+ - The Sun'zu Cadre.
2000 Pt of Genestealers
1500 Pt of Sisters
)
