Battle Report Two
The Thunderhawk came through the upper atmosphere with the sound of thunder. Hurtling towards the
surface, many kilometres below, Marxus studied the topographical charts carefully, picking the place to engage the enemy.
His Master had lectured him and the other leaders repeatedly about the way to defeat the Tau. The key to this, Ciaphas claimed,
was to pick the location, and force the enemy to do battle on unfavourable terms. That was exactly what Marxus intended to
do…
As the Thunderhawk commenced its run to the deployment zone chosen by the Codicier, it passed over
the divisional HQ where panic reigned, as various staff officers desperately tried to pack the compound together, and organise
a withdrawal, before the Tau caught up with them, and ensured the collapse of the frontline.
Opening the hatches, the Dark Angels rapidly, and with practiced ease disembarked, and assumed
their positions. As the first of the Tau showed up on their auspexes, Marxus voxed one last order to his warriors: “We
fight for the Emperor, and we fight for the Lion. We fear no evil, fore we are fear incarnate. Destroy these aliens, but I
want their leader alive!” As all squads checked in, Marxus drew his bolt pistol and pressed the safety button off…
Force Dispositions:
Detachment Alpha: Codicier Librarian Marxus, Deathwing Terminator
Squad Valerian, 4th & 5th Tactical Combat Squad, Scout Recon Team, Ravenwing Attack Bike Squadron
Beta, Ravenwing Landspeeder Tornado “Scythe”.
Tau Spearhead: Shas’o, Ethereal, 3 Stealth Suits, 3 Teams
of 6 Fire Warriors, Broadside, Hammerhead.
Turn 1:
Dark Angels:
With the Dark Angels in position, the Tau slowed their advance, knowing that they had to push through
so as to exploit their advantage. Several large hills dominated the centre of Marxus’ chosen field of battle, thus severely
limiting the Tau advantage in superior range. Immediately behind the hill two squads of Fire Warriors had deployed. On the
Dark Angels right flank, there was a Broadside, joined by the Ethereal, and one of the Tau skimmer tanks, classified by Imperial
Tacticae as “Hammerheads”. On the Dark Angel left flank, the Tau Commander himself, along with a single squad
of Fire Warriors and the Stealth Suits, had deployed.
Moving to the foot of the nearest centre hill, Squad Valerian assumed a covering position, whilst
5th Squad moved into the cover provided by an old derelict building. The scout squad advanced into a forest covering
the left, followed in so far as possible by 4th squad, who were slowed by the thick vegetation, and the lascannon,
which proved unwieldy in the verdant growth. Marxus himself advanced along this route, desiring to close with the Tau leader.
Squadron Beta and Scythe swung left round the forest, detecting a plethora of targets.
Unleashing their tremendous firepower at the Shas’o and a squad of Fire Warriors, they managed
to remove the drones hovering around the Commander, and brought down four of the six Fire Warriors as well as their gun drones,
leaving just two standing. Despite having his squad nearly destroyed, the guiding presence of the Ethereal steadied the nerve
of the Shas’ui, who convinced his last remaining trooper to stay.
Tau:
In response, the Hammerhead lumbered down the right flank, whilst the Stealth Team moved towards
the scouts. The Commander likewise moved towards the Dark Angels, though his attention was fixed on Squadron Alpha. In the
centre of the field, a single squad of Fire Warriors moved up on the centre hill, hoping to prevent the Dark Angels from breaching
their centre.
Opening up with their impressive firepower, the Stealth Suits managed to kill three scouts, who
had advanced a little too far. Aiming at the Land Speeder, the Shas’ui pressed a button on his markerlight, and from
the Hammerhead a single missile flew, knocking off an aerial, shaking the machine. The Broadside, lacking a viable and worthy
target, aimed, along with the Commander at the Ravenwing Attack Bikes. Rapid firing his weapons at them, a hail of munitions
enveloped the bikers. As the storm of death lifted, the squadron emerged unscathed, having successfully jinked both railcannon
shots and plasma munitions. Seeing this, the Commander of the Tau could only groan.
Turn 2:
Dark Angels:
With the initial Tau response having proved to be feeble, Marxus ordered Squad Valerian to advance
over the hilltop. Simultaneously, the Squadron Beta sped towards the Commander, determined to prevent him from escaping. 4th
Squad was again entangled in the thick growth of the forest, and thus hardly covered any distance. Shaken by the Tau firepower,
Scythe sped back into cover, so that its gunner could get a little breathing space.
The scouts aimed at the Stealth Suit, and despite unleashing a considerable amount of fire, they
only managed to bring down the two gun drones circling around them. Having crossed over the hilltop, Squad Valerian drew a
bead on the Fire Warriors who thought they could prevent the passing of the Emperor’s Finest. In a blaze of fire, the
Deathwing smote 4 of the Tau and their gun drones, leaving the remainder to run for their lives.
Knowing that they were in a fortuitous position, Squadron Beta assaulted the Tau commander. Despite
having the advantage, they failed to inflict any damage to him, and in return, he proved to be an extraordinarily good fighter,
incapacitating one of them.
Tau:
On the Tau left flank, the Hammerhead advanced still further, claiming that quadrant of the field,
whilst the third Fire Warrior squad advanced sufficiently far to be able to target the Terminators. On the right flank, the
Stealth Team also moved sufficiently far to be able to target the Land Speeder. Also, the fleeing Fire Warrior squad caught
sight of their Ethereal, and remembered that even if they should die, if would be for the Greater Good, and therefore not
in vain.
The redeployed Fire Warriors fired everything they could at the Terminators, and kept firing until
the rifles glowed white-hot. When the torrent of fire ceased, and the smoke cleared, only one Deathwing had fallen, as a lucky
shot had penetrated his visor. The Hammerhead fired an almost impossible shot, which defied imagination and struck the Landspeeder
which had thought itself safe. This time the impact severely rattled the machine, and the pilot lost temporary control over
it. Not pleased with this, the Stealth Team made sure to bring it down with a volley from their burst cannons, and it duly
crashed.
Still fighting desperately against the Bikes, the Commander managed yet again to knock one of them
down, and seeing this, the other promptly turned and sped away through the forest.
Turn 3:
Dark Angels:
Upon entering the forest, the lone Ravenwing Attack Bike saw Marxus grimly advancing towards the
Commander, and the sight rallied him. The Terminators advanced yet again, and seeing that the Hammerhead was within range,
aimed their guns at the skimmer tank. The scouts stayed where they were, and 4th Squad attempted to exit the forest,
finally succeeding in finding a path forward. The Attack Bike advanced towards the Stealth Suits, who had finally been cornered
by the Dark Angels advance.
Having drawn a target lock on the skimmer, Squad Valerian unleashed everything, and the Assault
Cannons tore through the fins and engines of the Hammerhead, rending and tearing it apart. The devastation brought it down,
and the speed at which it had been moving ensured that it was utterly destroyed by the impact.
Having advanced as far as was necessary, Marxus uttered a cry to the Lion and the Emperor and assaulted
his opponent and target objective. Weary from having been engaged by the Ravenwing, the Commander once again proved that he
was no recruit and fended off the librarian’s attacks, though he failed to inflict any wounds on his attacker either.
4th Squad also saw charged the Stealth Suits, with the Ravenwing Attack Bike, but the Stealth Team managed to kill
two Marines before they could strike, and thrown off by the shimmering field surrounding their foe, the Marines failed to
inflict any damage, though they remained undaunted and stay in the fight.
Tau:
Seeing that the fight was starting to turn against them, the Ethereal issued orders for the Fire
Warriors to draw back and protect him from the advancing Deathwing, which the two squads naturally did.
Everything that could possibly fire at the relentless Terminators did so, but the impressive fire
saw only the demise of a single veteran, having survived even a direct hit from the Railcannon carried by the Broadside.
The unfair slugging match between the Tau Commander and Codicier Librarian Marxus finally became
evident as the Tau’s luck ran out. Striking hard and fast with his Force Sword, Marxus used his prodigal powers of the
mind to short circuit the Crisis Suit worn by the Shas’o, trapping him within it, ready to be collected later. The furious
contest between the Stealth Team and the Marines showed the superior fighting prowess of the Dark Angels as all the Tau, save
the Shas’ui, were slain. Yet, despite standing alone against overwhelming odds, the Tau remained steadfast, determined
to give his life for the Greater Good.
Turn 4:
Dark Angels:
The situation was very grim for the Tau, with most of their force killed or engaged at close range,
and their Commander captured. The Deathwing sought to press home the advantage, and moved towards the Ethereal, whilst Marxus
marched so that he could help his Marines.
Opening up with their weapons, the Deathwing firepower tore apart the sole remaining intact Fire
Warrior Squad, shredding and maiming them all. From their position in the forest, the Scouts saw off the last two Fire Warriors
who had survived the initial volley from Beta and Scythe.
On the Dark Angel left flank, the sole remaining Stealth Suit was finally overcome by the combined
efforts of the 4th Combat Squad and the Attack Bike.
Tau:
Acknowledging that his forces had been soundly defeated the Ethereal bowed his head and ordered
the retreat knowing full well that no mercy or quarter would be granted from the fierce Marines facing him.
From their positions the Dark Angels could only watch as the last survivors of the Tau vanguard
left the field as quickly as they could.
Epilogue:
As the Marines tended to their wounded, Marxus walked over to where the immobile Commander stood.
A faint banging sound could be heard, as the Commander tried in vain to batter his way out of his prison. A faint smile played
on the Codicier’s thin lips. Today had been a good day, and it had seen the defeat of the Tau, and the checking of the
Eldar. His losses had, with both fights taken into account, been light.
As a pair of Thunderhawks came screaming down from the sky, Marxus leant in close to the Tau and
whispered softly “Do not worry, Xenos, my Masters desire to speak with you, and you will tell them all that you know…”
Looking back at the landing site, he saw a pair of manual servitors come walking towards him, ready to haul the prisoner aboard
the gunships.
Now, perhaps, a few questions could finally be answered…
