Mission Size: Combat Patrol
Mission Type: Assassinate
Attackers: Death Guard (750pts)/Daemons (750pts)
Defenders: Imperial Knights(750pts)/Sisters of Battle (750pts)
Wildcard: Genestealer Cult (750pts)
Outcome: Imperial Victory
A strong scent of uncorrupted flesh and machines was on the air as Aegis 114 stalked through the trees, his slender figure causing him to appear as a shadow of one tree or another. The fleshmetal shifted on his body as he strode, letting him move with almost a fluidic appearance. His Death Guard “allies” had sent a communication of an Imperial rendezvous occurring not more than a few kilometers from his current position. Aegis 114 was to bring his forces to bear, alongside the Death Guard in an attempt to cutoff the head of the Imperial forces before they could get a foothold on the planet.
His head buzzed and clicked over and over with a sickening sound that was barely audible without vox communication equipment, but he could hear it and understand it like the spoken tongue. His forward scouts had reached out to indicate that they were in position to allow his forces to commit to the battle. The Death Guard were a couple Kilometers out, but surprisingly, making good time despite their gifts from Grandfather Nurgle.
The thunderous impacts on the ground signaled to his daemonic kin that it was time for the battle to be joined. Several large beastial machines broke the treeline and headed towards the Imperial position, flanked by Plague Marines and a peculiar daemon engine. At all once, several pools of metallic fluid that lay quietly for many moments, began to take shape, and from them arose his tentacled daemon brethren. The shape solidified in moments and what was left was a creature of rust and spare parts that wore no discernable face, but whose flimsy arms took on the appearance of serrated cabling. Combined with a trio of daemon enhanced Skitarii riding discs of fleshmetal and carrying powerful flame weapons, the horde of daemons had come to claim their prize.
Aegis 114 sighted Rho-Ares-21, known only as Ares among his Skitarii brethren, he supported a squad of his flying warriors as they darted through the lines of the slower and more deliberate Plague Marines to strike at the Imperial lines before they could react.
Shots rang out from both sides lines and secondary explosions tore through his daemonic brethren and flesh alike. The titanic Imperial Knight that has come to meet with the Canoness of the Order of the Sacred Rose was occupied by the Death Guard heavy terminators, but Aegis’s army was having trouble pushing through the Imperial lines and the smaller Armigers were proving to be more trouble than anticipated. His flank was suddenly threatened by a heavily armed force of scavengers that appeared to be overgrown rodents. Their firepower was enough to draw his attention for a moment, but the slower Plague Marines had turned to the new foe and had begun exterminating them.
Taking matters into his own hands, Aegis 114 signaled Ares to engage the Imperial artillery and remove a psychic presence he detected in the vicinity. The Armiger engaging Ares went for a swing against the half daemon creature, but it vanished just as Aegis 114 cam crashing down on top of it and tore into the machine, destroying its inner workings and infecting it with the precious scrap code. He looked up long enough to see the second Armiger come crashing into him much the same way and its chainblade tore through Aegis 114, reducing him to a pool of scrap and fleshmetal at its feet.
Rho-Ares-21 appeared only meters from the presence he had detected earlier, and just out of range of the Exorcist artillery tank that was tearing into his daemonic brethren. Reaching out with the scrap code, he infused the creature with his highly corrosive life force, causing it to shriek and collapse in on itself, its body turning to fleshmetal and pooling where it once stood.
Turning to the Canoness, he could sense her conviction, even in the face of such horrifying creatures, she held herself strong and showed no fear. With a muttering of scrap code again, he caused the three Sisters that stood in front of her to explode into globs of fleshmetal that littered the area around her.
Seizing the moment, he pushed his disc into a charge and attempted to decapitate the Order of the Sacred Rose. His weapons were met blow for blow, unable to penetrate the mighty warrior’s defense. Though A flurry of blows came back at him, his quick reactions allowed him to dodge and weave out of the way of the attacks. His second push allowed him to bury his blade into the Hospitaler, which he siphoned her life energy to his own, but his efforts were in vain as he was still not able to injure the mighty Canoness.
Seeing an opportunity to fell her counterpart among the Imperial Knights, Ares dipped out of the melee and came in behind the titanic shadow of the Imperial Knight. Bellowing commands in scrap code, the monstrous machine immediately reacted to the caustic language and shuddered before it collapsed where it stood. Ares could see the inner workings of the Knight collapsing in on themselves as the infection continued to tear through the down machine.
Turning back towards the Canoness, Ares was about to make another push at her position, but a pair of bolts struck him in the chest and tear through his fleshmetal like it was water. In a moment, he lost his connection to the scrap code and his body collapsed on itself in a spray of metallic liquid and metal scraps. It was a good fight.
On the far side of the conflict, a loose collection of fleshmetal and spare parts traded blows with a squad of rodent scavengers, each side appearing to be slowly wearing the other down. The spare parts abruptly stopped moving as the flashmetal withdrew from the form and appeared to be absorbed into the ground. Nothing but rusted parts and blood from the rodents as evidence of their conflict.
The battle had been lost, but the enemy knew to respect and fear the forces they came to exterminate.
143rd Expeditionary Fleet 