TURN ONE- Imperial Guard: The main part of the armored column rolled in behind a long line of trees that seemed custom made to screen Brian's troops. The Command Chimera deployed first, followed by first one Demolisher and then another. Unfortunately, the last Russ to roll into position was greeted with a sickening crunch as the drive axle ground to a halt in the underbrush. The Hellhound pulled up alongside to cover the flank of the immobilized vehicle, while the mortar crews stationed themselves behind the wall of armor.
The Basilisk made an odd detour down the opposite flank, while an Armored Fist squad made a bold move to capture the objective, striking deep into the table and firing off its chaff.
The Vindicare's orders were to protect the mortar crews from the Whirlwind, so he loaded up his Turbo Penetrator and took careful aim at the exposed side. The bullet penetrated the hull quite easily and ricocheted around the inside of the crew compartment, but failed to kill either driver or gunner. It did, however, cause them to pause long enough to frantically transmit his position to the Predator, so the Whirlwind would not fire next turn.
TURN ONE- Space Marines: The fanatic Penitents never heard the term "overkill." The Predator Annihilator quickly trundled around to fire one of its Heavy Bolter sponsons at the hapless Ratlings, killing one of them, while the gunner on the Storm Bolter chuckled with glee as his shots claimed another. The remaining Ratlings stared through the trees at several tons of death-dealing steel and realized they had once again pulled duty as a living screen for the Vindicare. The whole think stunk and gave new meaning to the term "Turbo Penetrator."
Meanwhile, back where the real action was taking place, the Tactical Squad rolled forward in their Razorback and fired a "welcome" shot with the hastily-mounted multimelta. The surprise shot overheated the targeting systems of the Command Chimera, preventing it from firing for a moment.
The Devastators, warm and snug in their own Razorback, brought the twin-linked lascannon to bear, while two more faithful brothers raised their own lascannons to the firing ports. Ignoring the immobilized Russ and chanting litanies of praise to the Emperor, four bright lances cut through the trees. When the flash passed all that was left of the Russ was a smoking hull. A stroke of luck, or the hand of the Emperor?
