At the club our Crusade campaign has rolled along nicely, but people have been hankering for some proper narrative missions as well. While reading old White Dwarfs, I was inspired by a four scenario mini-campaign from 2011 where Black Templars were raiding a Necron tomb, intending to destroy the nexus keeping it operational (a free, immobile Monolith with power fields). This struck me as a rather fitting chassis for a battle in the narrative that had developed over our games thus far: my Echoes had stolen reactor technology, supplies and seized ground in order to fix their Falchion, Fourth Horseman, into operational condition. Naturally, our regular Tau enemies would see this not happening and soon, Commander Shadowsun would be leading a raid to stop such nonsense. There is no time limit in the mission, it depends solely on the fate of the fully armed and operational battle sta... tank! Called Operation Halifax by the attackers, it was time to embark. Death or glory!
It was also a wonderful excuse to use these beautiful Necromunda boards at the club! The
WD mission was played on a 2' x 8' board, a perfect fit for the four 2' x 2' pieces we had.
Welcome to Under-Kontula, where the XIV operate their secret garage deep in the heart of the artificial mountain that hive cities are. No tanks or drop troop reinforcements would make it in these depths without full-blown operational war raging outside.
As the first klaxons started ringing, Magister Hektor quickly deployed the proper defences into place.
Soon after, the Tau burst in through the front doors and overwhelm the outer patrols.
Squad Knutzen puts up a valiant fight, taking down one Broadside, but the numbers are too much and they fall under the weight of fire.
While the Horseman isn't moving yet, it's cannons are fully operational and the attackers are soon forced to duck for cover in the abundant nooks and corridors of the complex as a roaring beam of blinding light blasts through the main causeways with the fury of a thousand suns.
Spearheaded by the Riptide, the Tau remind the defenders of their long range capabilities and seriously dent the front armour of the Falchion. Galvanized by this realization, Magister Hektor leads the second line into a counter attack in force. The Riptide must fall and so it shall, eventually punctured by Hertz' Contemptor's lascannons after the drone swarm around it had been torn apart by his Leviathan brother Gödel.
By this point, Captain-Commander Erasmus has snorted his coffee up the wrong way in his office and quickly teleported in with his bodyguard, massively pissed off by this ruckus. As he appears next to the enemy firebase, he is greeted by the enemy suit commander and a faceful of fusion guns. Seemingly fuelled by pure anger, his force fields deflect all of the deathly rays harmlessly.
In return, Erasmus' melta finds it mark and he charges forwards over the smoking ruin of the Tau suit.
Mighty as he is, the Captain-Commander is but one man and the reinforcements are still far behind. Along with his bodyguard he is felled to Shadowsun's double Kay'on, soon followed by Gödel's massive form lit up by big guns.
The Tau force has however been somewhat depleted by this point, dealing with the headlong charge and being raked from afar by Hertz' long range support. Seeing their captain fall, Eberhard's veteran terminators surge forth under Hektor's protective spells and spell doom for the static firebase opposite. Mind-bullets and bolter rounds meet missiles and pulse fire as the terminators push through.
Arendt's linemen are too far to join the assault in time, but their support finds purchase in the Broadsides as they rush through the decrepid corridors.
While Hertz is sweeping the remaining Fire Warriors from the upper platforms, Eberhard's men show once again how the Wall of Stone denies death at every opportunity. Losing three men as they walk through fire, it is still over for the Tau when they get their claws on the suits. While the terminators rip Shadowsun and the last Broadside to pieces, Hektor is psionically throwing bodies around and smearing brains over the walls in contempt.
Though many have fallen and Erasmus needs new bionic organs (again), the Horseman is safe and the enemy threat neutralized.
A victory for the Echoes of Eisenstein!