Turn Three:  It seemed for a moment that dawn might be coming to the battlefield. However, the skies only turned to a light gray color, hanging at a pre-dawn moment.  A shrieking, demonic wind began, growing in strength until gale force wind batted men and vehicle alike around, making movement near impossible. The worst was that this storm picked up the heavy ash that carpeted these simulacrum wastes.  With the gray skies and the gray ash, vision was as obscured as though it were the dead of night.

Three great funnels of wind slammed down into the Imperial line.  Green Three was plucked from the eastern flank and deposited on the western flank beside Blue One.  The Guardians of Al Vayle were knocked aside as the General and the men of his HQ were plucked from melee and dropped north of the sludge river.  The third funnel grabbed the Leman Russ.  Screeching under the strain, the tank was slowly dragged into the sky before it was dropped unceremoniously at the bend in the sludge river, between the Shadow Weavers and the War Walkers.  The fall rattled the crew inside the Russ and destroyed some of the targeting optics.  The crew scrambled to recover, but it would take some time before the machine would be back in the fight.

The worst had yet to come for the poor Leman Russ. Firing into the wind, the Basilisk hoped to annihilate both the Shadow Weavers and the Farseer with one shot. However, the wind blew the shot off course, the explosion clipping both a War Walker and the Leman Russ. The shock wave rattled the Walker but did little more.  However, the Leman Russ bore the full brunt of the blast. Battle Cannon ammunition, already knocked loose from it’s turbulent ride, were detonated by the shock wave. The exploding ammo set off a catastrophic chain reaction in the engine compartment and the Leman Russ detonated, spraying debris over the entire battlefield. (Corey handled this rather well, considering--Mer)

Shaking off the confusion, the General ordered his squad to fire at the War Walkers on the opposite side of the river.  However, the shock of seeing a mighty Leman Russ destroyed right before them rattled the squad and all their shots went wide.  The General’s first shot with his plasma gun went wide as well.  His second shot aborted with the angry buzzing of warning from the pistol.  Plasma vented but did little more than scorch the General’s carapace armor.  Across the river, the Chimera swiveled its multilaser and fired at the War Walkers, but to no avail.

The entirety of Green Platoon, scattered though it was, fired everything it had at the Wave Serpent that had taken up position directly in front of the IG center.  The transport’s energy field protected it from all but one hit.  The one glancing blow that shorted out the gunner’s fire control interface was negated when the ages dead Eldar inhabiting the skimmer’s spirit stone took over as gunner.   Finally, it was Blue One that knocked the vehicle from the sky.  With autocannon rounds bouncing off the hull, the squad’s grenade launcher managed to slam a Krak grenade through the pilot’s cockpit, killing him and sending the vehicle gliding into the ground.  Only five Guardians of Al Vala managed to escape out the back hatch before the vehicle crashed.  Pinned between the central ash dune, a rocky outcropping, and the wrecked transport, Al Vala would have a long trek before it could be a threat again.

Blue Two and Blue Command zeroed in on the Striking Scorpions, who were pinned to the wreckage of their transport by the buffeting winds.  However, these winds served to send lasgun bolts and autocannon shells aside while cooling the discharge of Blue Command’s plasma gun so that it could not wound.  Only the meltagunner of Blue Two claimed a kill, incinerating a poor Aspect Warrior.

In the melee in the center, Al Vayle managed blacken the eye of one of the Ogryns, but the Highlanders swung their huge weapons in wide arcs that pulverized three Guardians.  Their numbers halved in a single moment, the Guardians of Al Vayle fell back with the Ogryns lumbering after them.

Three cones of solid wind descended again from the infernal heavens.  The first descended onto the War Walkers but did not rise.  After shifting laterally back and forth for a few moments as if indecisive, the funnel rose back in the sky, having moved the Walkers only a few scant meters, something the War Walkers had expected thanks to a telepathic message from Farseer Meési.  The other two, however, were much more dynamic.  In a short whipping motion, one snatched up Al Vayle and leapfrogged them over their crashed vehicles into the midst of the Imperial Guardsmen.  Similarly, the final typhoon bulldozed the Striking Scorpions forward, sending the Aspect Warriors tumbling towards the IG lines.  Both the Striking Scorpions and the Guardians recovered from their bullying to take advantage of their situation and moved closer to the IG.

On the opposite side of the table Al Vayle, the wind in their face, fled from the Imperial Lines.  Farseer Meési, having aided the War Walkers glided over the sludge river towards the General and his HQ.

The Shadow Weavers opened fire and the wind seemed to cease for their shots.  It soon became apparent why:  they were short.  Only one Guardsmen from Green Three was slain by the deadly nets.  With a mental command, Meési’s jetbike fired at the Guardsmen but, despite hitting twice, failed to do any harm.  On the east flank, the only War Walker able to fire took aim at the Chimera that had plagued the gun platforms.  Despite a barrage of shots, the Walker succeeded only in blowing off a track and killing the gunner who was firing from the hatch.  Since the vehicle already had a broken axle and the driver was quickly clambering to replace the gunner, even though the vehicle wouldn’t be able to fire for a time, this was a less than perfect result.

The fleeing Al Vayle opened fire with its Shuriken Catapults at Green Three, but with less than impressive results:  only one Guardsmen was killed.  On the other side of the battlefield, Al Vala opened fire on Blue Command.  Despite the presence of 5 Shuriken Catapults at point blank range, only one guardsmen from Blue Command was killed.  However, it was Sgt. Parsons.  With him dead, the morale of the entire platoon collapsed and the men of Blue Command fled from the death they knew was awaiting them.  The Striking Scorpions, at long range, managed to pick off a single soldier from Blue Two.

Across the battlefield, Farseer Meési yanked her Witchblade from it’s scabbard, something she hadn’t done in decades, and sent her jetbike crashing into the General’s HQ.  Seeing the standard bearer, in her mind a foolish icon that had caused these mon-keigh to hold fast in the face of death numerous times, Meési quickly cut him down.  Despite this loss, the General and his men held.  Swearing revenge, the General locked swords with Meési.

On the western flank, things were much more bloody.  The Striking Scorpions crashed into Blue Two and in a blur of whirling blades, flaring mandiblasters, and men’s screams, Blue Two was cut down to a man.  Al Vala had much less success.  The depleted squad did not cause a single casualty while Blue One impaled three Guardians on their bayonets.  Al Vala tried to flee, but they were trampled under heavy IG boots.  Having wiped out their enemies, Blue One and the Striking Scorpions lunged at each other.

BACK / NEXT / HOME