A recording of this battle report is available at: https://youtu.be/s5jJGK3n03k
Wolf Lord
Rikkhard gestured towards the landing pad. “Olve, my old friend, what can you
tell me about their forces?”
Rune master
Olve Hrafnmadr turned and held his hand skywards. The psyber raven took off,
circling the industrial complex. Olve closed his eyes and the raven’s opened.
“The
landing facility is at the centre of their base. The Ultramarines Thunderhawk is
serviced and ready. I do not deem it quite flightworthy, but its armaments are
activated. To the East, a corrupted Predator lurks behind a bunker. Foul chaos
spawn dwell within, brandishing heavy weapons. To the west, another bunker,
occupied by Terminators, though few in number. A Dreadnought stands behind. The
lord of this foul host commands the centre, with a further bodyguard of Terminators.”
Olve opened
his eyes. “That is all I can tell. They have a sorcerer amongst them, and he
has sensed my presence. We must be prepared for witchcraft”
On Rikkhard’s
word, the Space Wolves began to deploy. Grey Hunters held the central ground,
near the entrance to a refinery complex. They were flanked by Asgeirr the
Stout, a venerable brother entombed within a formidable Dreadnought. Behind,
the Land Speeder Jarngandr hovered in the jungle, ready to speed forwards and
attack the bunkers.
Besides the
Grey Hunters, Rikkhard led half of his Blood Claws. The Sun Swallowers were
brash, and filled with confidence, ready to ignite their jump packs. On the
Eastern flank, the bikers of Pack Howling Storm revved their engines and
started to advance, flanked by the Attack Bike Atfaradyr.
Before
Rikkhard could order the advance, a superheated bolt of blue plasma burst from
the Chaos lines and roiled across Asgeirr’s sarcophagus. The veteran within
screamed as he was boiled alive within the suit, and the Dreadnought stumbled,
collapsing into a nearby cactus.
Simultaneously,
on the other flank, the Chaos Predator had drawn a bead on the lead bike, and its
autocannon rang out. A hail of high caliber shells struck the bike, damaging
its wheel mounting.
Unperturbed,
the Grey Hunters advanced through the refinery, Olve accompanying them to
ensure psychic protection. The Sun Swallowers and Rikkhard ignited their flight
packs, and sailed across the refinery, as a shell from the Thunderhawk’s battle
cannon blasted apart 3 Grey Hunters caught in the open, with another brother
falling to the shells from the Thunderhawk’s auxiliary armaments.
The Land Speeder
Jarngandr lifted over the jungle, and sailed towards the eastern bunker, it’s
multimelta glowing. An incandescent burst of heat washed over the bunker,
causing the Terminators within to duck. On the other flank, the Long Fang Pack
“Eyes of the World Wolf” strode form the jungle and climbed a rocky outcrop,
having been delayed by diminutive greenskins swarming amongst the plants. As
the bikers in front of them accelerated towards the bunker, the Chaos Veterans
of Squad Havoc within let loose with their weapons, blasting one biker out of
the saddle with a heavy bolter burst and damaging the controls of another. A
lucky bolt round flipped the riderless bike into a rock. The Biker’s returned
fire, but their rounds spattered against the rockcrete walls of the
bunker. Atfaradyr’s multimelta roared,
knocking the veterans from their feet. Within the bunker, Clavius the Mind
Fondler had been in the processes as casting Displacement, teleporting
himself towards the landing pad just as the burst hit, and he was sent
sprawling to the floor as he emerged in the open.
On the
landing pad, Lord Kruult Lewdmaimer directed his terminator bodyguard to ascend
the tower, and fired down on the Space Wolves advancing towards his base. To
the east, the Predator Hecatomb swung round to take aim at the attack bike, its
autocannon smashing the multimelta from the bike’s chassis, then setting the
bike’s fuel ablaze. The terminators on the landing pad took aim at the grey
hunters advancing through the refinery and riddled one of their number with
bolts. The reaper autocannon blasted the Land Speeder from the air, sending it
crashing into a cactus, while an autocannon on the Thunderhawk flipped a bike
into a stand of trees. The battle cannon missed, obliterating a flock of squawking
bird-like creatures nesting nearby. Rising to his feet, Clavius once again cast
Displacement, warping forwards into the jungle, then summoned the power
of the Machine Curse to crackle amongst the Long Fangs, arcs of
lightning flaring across their weapons.
The burning
attack bike swerved violently into another biker, killing him instantly and
sending his metal steed out of control. The remaining bikers swerved past the
wreckage, and zoned in on Clavius amongst the trees, but the inch think plate
of his terminator exo-skeleton proved too formidable. On the hill, the Long
Fangs strode out of the flaring machine curse and recalibrated their weapons.
The Sun
Swallowers ignited their jump packs once more, and sailed into the west most
bunker, unclipping meltbombs from their belts and clamping them to the bunker
walls. One of their number, brandishing a mighty gauntlet wreathed in blue
lightning charged into the Chaos Dreadnought Xuvis, while the last deviated
onto the refinery, and could only cry in frustration as Xuvis casually sliced
the Blood Claw sergeant in two with his power claw. The meltabombs detonated,
and the bunker came crashing down. All three Terminators of Squad Slaughter
rose from the ruins, rockcrete and rebars cascading from their tactical
dreadnought armour.
The Grey Hunters
continued to advance through the refinery, and Olve summoned a shimmering warp
portal before them, intending that they be able to use it to step directly onto
the landing pad itself. His timing, however, was off, and Kruult seized the
opportunity to throw himself through the gate on the landing pad, smashing into
a grey hunter at the foot of the refinery. Clavius summoned his powers, and
once more cast Displacement, emerging in combat with another grey
hunter. The terminator armoured champions proved too much for the loyalists,
and they were quickly dispatched, with Kruult barreling into the remaining Grey
Hunters, and Clavius once more using his powers to transport himself to the
gantry next to Olve.
Xuvis bellowed
with rage and charged into a Blood Claw near the shattered bunker, while the
Terminator’s reaper autocannon blasted another pack member apart. The Veterans
of Squad Havoc riddled the lascannon armed Long Fang with shells, but their
krak missile glanced off the armour of another Long Fang with no effect. The
predator smashed another bike into glowing fragments with a lascannon, but it’s
autocannon jammed, clearly overheating from the furious exchange of fire.
Fragments from a battle cannon round from the Thunderhawk shredded the bolters
on the remaining bike, so the final rider gunned his engine, and sent his mount
screaming towards the landing pad. At the last moment, he skidded the bike
sideways into the lift, and cooly fired a round from his bolt pistol which
struck the controls, sending the lift skyward.
Xuvis
stomped down hard on the blood claw, crushing him underfoot. Wolf Lord Rikkhard
sensed he would have to take control, and hurled himself at the Chaos Dreadnought,
while the last Blood Claw, finally catching up with the now fallen remains of
his pack let loose a howl and rocketed towards Xuvis. The Chaos Dreadnought
caught the marine in his claw, and slowly and cruelly crushed the life from
him. Rikkhard took advantage, attaching meltabombs around Xuvis’ legs, and then
jumping back as the super-heated charges seared through the dreadnoughts ankles
and sending it crashing to the ground.
To the
east, the Long Fangs desperately fired on the Predator, but their missiles
bounced off its skull shaped turret. The heavy bolter armed Long Fang was more
fortunately, smashing apart two Chaos Veterans in the bunker in a welter of
gore.
On the
landing pad, the Terminators of Squad Carnage descended the tower towards the
sound of revving bike engines. Kruult quickly dispatched the Grey Hunters at
the base of the refinery, while Clavius and Olve battled in a mental dual. Olve
got the better of the ancient sorcerer and drove the knowledge of
Displacement
from his mind. Clavius cried out in a mix of anger and exhilaration at the new
sensation, before engaging the Runepriest in close quarter combat. The two
traded blows, but neither could gain an advantage.
To the
east, the Predator cored the space marine with the missile launcher with a
flaring burst from its lascannon, the Veteran’s heavy bolter blasted the Long Fang
sergeant from his feet, and a krak missile obliterated the heavy plasma gunner,
leaving a lone Long Fang with heavy bolter standing on the hill.
The landing pad lift finished it’s rise, and the lone biker revved his engine, screeching
his bike round the Thunderhawk, and lobbing a krak grenade into its engine
manifold, starting a coolant leak. Rikkhard ignited his jump pack once more,
and landed on the landing pad, his eyes on the next bunker to the east.
The
terminators of Squad Slaughter, finally free from the ruins of the west bunker,
strode towards the remaining Grey Hunter who had taken cover under the
refinery. As they advanced, they were caught in a series of explosions as
hidden booby traps were triggered around them. Their armour held firm, and they
roasted the last Grey Hunter alive with their heavy flamer.
While
Clavius was distracted by the mental dual, Olve cast a Hellfire at the
landing pad, melting a terminator from Squad Carnage into a pile of goo. Clavius
retaliated with an Acquiescence, but it was reflected back on him. He was,
however, used to Slaanesh’s seductive promises, and brushed the glamour aside.
Rikkhard
launched himself off the landing pad, landing near the final bunker, and
quickly attached a series of meltabombs to it. Back on the landing pad, the
biker spun his mount around and attached another krak grenade to the engines.
The explosion tore through the Thunderhawk’s hull, igniting its fuel reserves,
and a massive sheet of flame blasted out, cooking a terminator, and sending the
biker tumbling to his death.
Rikkhard
detonated the meltabombs, obliterating the final bunker. A lone Chaos Veteran struggled
out of the collapsed building, and was quickly decapitated by the Wolf Lord,
who launched himself towards the Chaos Predator, clamping a further meltabomb
to its hull which ripped off the track and sent it spinning out of control, before he ignited his jump
pack once more and launched away from the base, his mission complete.
In the
refinery, Olve attempted to summon another Hellfire, but the flaring
psychic energies had attracted the attention of the denizens of the warp. The
air was torn asunder, and a claw reached down, dragging Olve screaming through
a crack between realities.
In the
aftermath of the battle, Kruult climbed the landing pad. The Space Wolves had
been driven off, but at what cost… His forward base and the prized Thunderhawk
had been obliterated, and the gains he had made on Krypt were for nought.
Growling in rage, Kruult began to gather his forces once more. There was no
sense in trying to repair the damage. He would need to fall back to a new
position and regroup his strength.
Somewhere,
deep in the warp, an entity made of swirling emotions and chaos curled up to
sleep as it digested its meal…
