Post by Newter on May 12, 2016 16:16:00 GMT -6
Captain Sylvanus had recovered from their recent devastating loss of men and materiel to the Marines Errant. More devastating was the loss of their prisoner. After debriefing him, the Marines Errant would have little doubt of the intentions of Inquisitor Doyen and the Harkorn 88th. There could be no more dancing around the truth where they were concerned, they would need to be eliminated at every encounter.
The greatest loss however was that of Inquisitor Doyen. He had disappeared after the battle. His men had set out to look for him, scouting the Marines Errant encampment as the most likely location, preparing for a rescue should they locate him. Meanwhile Sylvanus’ crew had reinvigorated Fulta’s Bane. It was clearly still unstable and its spirit temperamental, but it was fully functional once more. A new unit of Harkorn veterans had made their way to his location, and his command unit had been tended to. Somewhat unsettling to Sylvanus was a group of slavering mutants which had appeared out of the woods one day, drawn to their location, and clearly offering their assistance. Sylvanus had little to offer them. There were no spare rations, but they seemed to subsist on, something, on their own. He did his level best to pay them no mind as he continued to reach out to other forces in the area and gather them together.
As Sylvanus was reviewing location maps on his dataslate, a spotter called out that the enemy was approaching. A small Marines Errant expeditionary force had entered the square. A Razorback led by an ancient dreadnought bearing a multi-melta. He alerted his men and ordered them forward immediately. Fulta’s Bane and the Chimera ‘Fool’s Gold’ lurched forward, stopped, and set off smoke charges at his command. From the corner of his eye he noticed the mutants loping forward as well, closing with the enemy from behind the Chimera. Unsure if it was from mimicry or mockery, the marine vehicles did the same. Sylvanus also spotted a small unit of scouts stealthily working their way forward. He didn’t know what the marines had been looking for initially, but they would not take this location, and Sylvanus would exact some revenge.
The two forces edged forward cautiously, exchanging ineffective fire. A Landspeeder streaked in towards Fulta’s Bane, but was moving too fast to train its multi-melta properly and missed. As they closed in, Fool’s Gold let loose its cargo, and the veterans took aim at the enemy Dreadnought. The Chimera’s multilaser fired upon the Rhino, damaging it. The mutated savages made for the nearest objective which brought them closer to the Razorback. The choler was up for Fulta’s Bane, and it let loose a fusillade of plasma, but it had been pent up too long and overheated, doing more damage to itself than to the enemy. Another landspeeder appeared to drop from the sky, and fired upon the Russ to no effect.
The Marines Errant disembarked from their Razorback and a furious close range firefight erupted, but little damage was being done. Sylvanus’ squad hit one of the Landspeeders with a lascannon and ripped the multi-melta from its moorings. A mutant was dropped by bolter fire, which seemed to do nothing but enrage the rest of them. With a terrifying scream they charged into the Marines, and hit them like a wave of teeth and claws, ripping through power armour like paper, killing the entire squad. Three of the mutants lay dead as well, but as the rest turned on the marine psyker, he retreated to a better firing position.
Captain Sylvanus’ jaw dropped. He had seen a lot during his years of battle, but that was clearly a first. He was suddenly glad to have these, things, on his side. His excitement was short lived however as three more of them were lost to gunfire from the psyker and a unit of scout snipers in the distance. The ancient Dreadnought also waded into his veteran squad. They were brave and held their ground to the bitter end, but were no match for the mountain of adamantium.
As the Dreadnought turned towards Captain Sylvanus, the remnants of the mutants fired their autoguns at the marine scouts, with the expected results. Fool’s Gold however fired everything it had at the psyker, and put him on the ground. Sylvanus’ lascannon team again made their presence known and destroyed one of the Landspeeders. The other was engulfed in plasma fire from Fulta’s Bane, however, so was the Russ itself.
At this the Marines appeared to call a retreat and left the battlefield. Sylvanus wanted to pursue and finish them before they could report the encounter, but there was really no one left to do so. Both Fulta’s Bane and Fool’s Gold would need many repairs before they would see the battlefield again. And he would have to wait for more men to report to his command. Hopefully it wouldn’t take long, as he expected the marines to return soon, and in far greater numbers.
The greatest loss however was that of Inquisitor Doyen. He had disappeared after the battle. His men had set out to look for him, scouting the Marines Errant encampment as the most likely location, preparing for a rescue should they locate him. Meanwhile Sylvanus’ crew had reinvigorated Fulta’s Bane. It was clearly still unstable and its spirit temperamental, but it was fully functional once more. A new unit of Harkorn veterans had made their way to his location, and his command unit had been tended to. Somewhat unsettling to Sylvanus was a group of slavering mutants which had appeared out of the woods one day, drawn to their location, and clearly offering their assistance. Sylvanus had little to offer them. There were no spare rations, but they seemed to subsist on, something, on their own. He did his level best to pay them no mind as he continued to reach out to other forces in the area and gather them together.
As Sylvanus was reviewing location maps on his dataslate, a spotter called out that the enemy was approaching. A small Marines Errant expeditionary force had entered the square. A Razorback led by an ancient dreadnought bearing a multi-melta. He alerted his men and ordered them forward immediately. Fulta’s Bane and the Chimera ‘Fool’s Gold’ lurched forward, stopped, and set off smoke charges at his command. From the corner of his eye he noticed the mutants loping forward as well, closing with the enemy from behind the Chimera. Unsure if it was from mimicry or mockery, the marine vehicles did the same. Sylvanus also spotted a small unit of scouts stealthily working their way forward. He didn’t know what the marines had been looking for initially, but they would not take this location, and Sylvanus would exact some revenge.
The two forces edged forward cautiously, exchanging ineffective fire. A Landspeeder streaked in towards Fulta’s Bane, but was moving too fast to train its multi-melta properly and missed. As they closed in, Fool’s Gold let loose its cargo, and the veterans took aim at the enemy Dreadnought. The Chimera’s multilaser fired upon the Rhino, damaging it. The mutated savages made for the nearest objective which brought them closer to the Razorback. The choler was up for Fulta’s Bane, and it let loose a fusillade of plasma, but it had been pent up too long and overheated, doing more damage to itself than to the enemy. Another landspeeder appeared to drop from the sky, and fired upon the Russ to no effect.
The Marines Errant disembarked from their Razorback and a furious close range firefight erupted, but little damage was being done. Sylvanus’ squad hit one of the Landspeeders with a lascannon and ripped the multi-melta from its moorings. A mutant was dropped by bolter fire, which seemed to do nothing but enrage the rest of them. With a terrifying scream they charged into the Marines, and hit them like a wave of teeth and claws, ripping through power armour like paper, killing the entire squad. Three of the mutants lay dead as well, but as the rest turned on the marine psyker, he retreated to a better firing position.
Captain Sylvanus’ jaw dropped. He had seen a lot during his years of battle, but that was clearly a first. He was suddenly glad to have these, things, on his side. His excitement was short lived however as three more of them were lost to gunfire from the psyker and a unit of scout snipers in the distance. The ancient Dreadnought also waded into his veteran squad. They were brave and held their ground to the bitter end, but were no match for the mountain of adamantium.
As the Dreadnought turned towards Captain Sylvanus, the remnants of the mutants fired their autoguns at the marine scouts, with the expected results. Fool’s Gold however fired everything it had at the psyker, and put him on the ground. Sylvanus’ lascannon team again made their presence known and destroyed one of the Landspeeders. The other was engulfed in plasma fire from Fulta’s Bane, however, so was the Russ itself.
At this the Marines appeared to call a retreat and left the battlefield. Sylvanus wanted to pursue and finish them before they could report the encounter, but there was really no one left to do so. Both Fulta’s Bane and Fool’s Gold would need many repairs before they would see the battlefield again. And he would have to wait for more men to report to his command. Hopefully it wouldn’t take long, as he expected the marines to return soon, and in far greater numbers.