Victory Pointless

“I was dispatched on a reconnaissance mission, to the east…”

“Alone?”

“That is how I operate.”  Vitrani came to a blackened archway, glanced swiftly around the corner, then beckoned Artonius forwards.  “I lost contact with Gorio.  Not unusual – these warp anomalies play merry hell with long-range vox, and we suspect Alpha Legion operatives may be intercepting our comms so we keep chatter to a minimum anyway.  But I never re-established contact, even when I returned here to the agreed meeting location.”

Artorius swung his bolter left and right, methodically eliminating blindspots as they traversed through the ruins.  His own long-range vox had similarly failed to raise Captain Gorio.  Nor, it seemed, could he reach any other Blood Angels force on the planet or in orbit.  For now they were on their own.  “So, the situation changed and they were forced to move on without you.”

“Perhaps.”  Vitrani stopped next to an oddly-shaped pile of rubble.  “What’s strange is what they left behind.”  He tugged at what turned out to be a cameoline tarpaulin, uncovering a section of red armoured hull.  A Land Raider.  “There’s some other vehicles; artillery, outrider bikes.  Hidden over there.  I covered these myself to prevent the enemy discovering them –  when I came across them they were sitting in the open, abandoned.”

“Damaged?”  Artonius signalled a halt to the ragged column behind him.  With a flick of a hand signal he dispatched squads to guard positions on their flanks.

“I’m no Techmarine, but so far as I can tell they’re in perfect working order.”

“Signs of battle?”

“No.  Well…” Vitrani gave a humourless chuckle and gestured to the blasted hellscape around them.  “No more than usual.  But in any case the main threats in this region are heretic astartes and Orks.  If either one of those had driven off our brothers they would surely have looted the vehicles.  Best guess; they left them behind intentionally to move more stealthily.  But if so I’d expect them to take measures to deny these war machines to the enemy.”

“That is what the codex would demand,” Artonius agreed.  There was no obvious scenario that fit the available facts.  “If they did move off, do you know where they might have gone?”

“I can make an… educated guess.  But before we attempt to follow, there is a more pressing matter.  I must make to you the report I intended to make to Captain Gorio.”  He passed over a tactical hololith.  Artonius scanned it.

“Orks?”

“Yes – a large force, headed this direction.  Heavy mechanisation, including this.” He indicated a part of the hololith that showed a blurry scan of a colossal metal figure.  “Heavy walker, lesser titan class.”

Artonius nodded.  “A Morkanaut.”

“Ah, you know your Orks.”  Vitrani traced a path with his finger across a map of the region. “I believe their intent is to intercept this Steel Legion supply column.  The column has an escort, of course, but nothing that could deal with something that size.  This section of the defensive line is running on fumes already – if the supplies don’t get through the mortals will crumble.”

Artonius skimmed through the supporting data.  “I concur.  You propose we intercept the Orks first?”

“Precisely.  I was hoping we’d have a force large enough to destroy the Orks utterly, but…” Vitrani cast a meaningful glance towards the already depleted marine forces.  “We may have to settle for delaying them long enough for the convoy to reach safety.”

Artonius considered this.  His mission was to reinforce Task Force Gorio.  To do that he would first need to locate them, but until that time and based on current information Vitrani was Task Force Gorio.  He nodded.  “It is a worthy goal.  I swear my life and the lives of my men to this purpose.  But…” He took a deep breath.  “You are the more senior Lieutenant here.  You are more familiar with the situation on the ground.  You should take command.”

Vitrani paused.  “No,” he said eventually.  “I do not lust after command and… I know my reputation.  You must know it too.  I think your men would prefer you remain their leader.  I work better alone.”

Artonius stepped closer, lowered his voice.  “You don’t understand, brother.  In the few hours I have lead these men… half of them are dead!  All I have achieved is to lead them in retreat.  I am dishonoured and not worthy to command.”

“I…” Vitrani seemed lost for words for a few moments, then started to laugh.  It was a laugh far more genuine than any which had come before.  “You have lost half your force, brother…  I have lost all of mine!  You speak to me of dishonour…”  His face suddenly darkened.  He gripped the edge of Artonius’s pauldron and pulled him in close, to hiss into his ear.  “Listen to me, golden boy.  You might have gotten your shine a little tarnished, but that’s the price we sometimes have to pay.” His bared fangs hung inches from Artonius’s throat.  “With me, it’s not just tarnish – it’s black all the way down, you understand?  I am the one who does what must be done.  Whatever must be done.  Some of our brothers have the sense to respect that, but none love me for it.  Few will follow the path I walk.”

He stepped back.  “These are your men.  They follow you.  I will of course advise where I can, but like it or not, you have command, brother.  Think of it as a chance to win back some of your precious honour… before it is too late.”

Artonius regarded him carefully for a moment.  “There… may be some wisdom in what you say, brother.  Very well.  I retain the burden of command.” His face regained a studied composure, doubts pushed to the background for now, and he turned away to begin issuing orders.  “We will reclaim these vehicles.  Brother Galeno – load the wounded onto the Land Raider for transport.  Sergeant Imarro – reassign our depleted squads into full units.  We’ll need some to act as drivers and gunners.  We head out in twenty minutes.  Let us go kill some Orks, in the Emperor’s name!”

***

The Blood Angels advanced cautiously.  This area was infested by daemonic beasts and horrific mutant abominations, and the Orks were close.  The ground vibrated to the steps of the huge Ork walker – heard and felt long before its misshapen metal head loomed over the jagged crest of the intervening ruins.

“Contact!” Artonius yelled.  “Assault formation Beta Traxis!  They do not pass!”

With a hideous chorus of howls and gurgles, a pack of mutant beasts sprang out of cover, perhaps roused from stupor by the sudden noise or simply recognising an opportunity with whatever remained of their reason.  They rushed the great armoured form of the dreadnought Old Faerel, who had been guarding the left flank.  Claws, tentacles and other misshapen appendages flailed uselessly against the thick plate, but the revenant war machine was pinned in place by a wall of misshapen flesh.

The uneven rattle and thump of Ork munitions sounded in the distance, suggesting that the greenskins were suffering their own daemonic ambush.  But, auspex scans showed the bulk of the Ork forces still pressing forwards and soon enough crude projectiles and energy streams started to split the air around the marines.

The astartes advanced into the shadows of the two great towers that dominated this zone of the city.  The Land Raider took the lead, albeit unsteadily, jerking and growling as the injured marine assigned as its driver struggled with the unfamiliar gearing system.  Its gunners fared better, casting sheets of flame into the Ork lines that incinerated the advancing Boyz and Flash Gitz and blasting a chunk out of the side of the Morkanaut with its hunter-killer missile.

This made it a priority target for the Orks, however.  Waves of Rokkits and more exotic munitions crashed against the hull.  Eventually  one or the other punctured the thick armour and found something vital.  The venerable vehicle slowed to a halt, power supply cut.  The hatches popped open, disgorging plumes of smoke and the Eradicators and Bladeguard who had been riding within.  They sprinted for the cover of nearby buildings but the volume of fire was such that it was like trying to dodge through a rainstorm. Several were cut down before they managed to reach shelter.

Artonius lead the Hellblasters forwards, sending forth streams of plasma that destroyed an incoming trukk and damaged an Ork dreadnought that lurched away into the shelter of a ruin only to come smashing through a wall moments later, bearing down on the astartes lines.

At the same time a hail of rokkits burst among the marine ranks, but the Hellblasters kept focus and melted the Ork walker to slag even as flames and shrapnel enveloped them.

The ground shook to the footsteps of the Morkanaut, exchanging fire with Old Faerel as the smaller war machine struggled to cast off the last of the mutated abominations that clung and gnawed at it.

Chunks of melted metal peeled off the giant Ork mech but it kept coming, pelting an incoming Outrider squadron with fire.

The great metal beast seemed invulnerable until a single Eradicator – the sole survivor of his squad – stepped out from behind a ruined wall and fired.  His melta beam cut through the armoured plating of the monster with ease and struck the core, sending it crashing down to the ground.

Vitrani watched the titan collapse and checked his chrono.  “Artonius,” he voxxed.  “That’s it.  We’ve done enough.” The Ork advance had stalled, and they would doubtless need quite some time to get the Morkanaut back on its giant feet.  The supply convoy would be safe.

There was no reply on the vox.  “Artonius, come in!  We can withdraw!” He peered through the drifting black rokkit smoke that shrouded the battlefield and caught sight of Artonius, alone, still advancing towards the enemy with power sword drawn.

“Damn fool, he’s going to get himself killed…” Vitrani muttered, then launched himself out of hiding and pelted after his fellow Lieutenant.

Artonius was already in the midst of the enemy, hacking away at a unit of Burna Boyz with abandon.

“Artonius!  Brother!  The Morkanaut is down!  We can fall back!  We can…” Vitrani had meant to simply catch up and lead Artonius away from the fighting, but as he drew closer the sight and smell of blood filled his senses and his hands found the hilts of his combat blades almost by themselves.

Seconds later the xenos lay dead at his feet and he and Artonius stood back to back.

“Vitrani,” Artonius said, blinking away the bloodlust.  “I…”

A shot rang out; several shots, in fact.  Without the dubious shelter of the Burna Boyz the astartes stood exposed and the Ork gunline had resumed its chatter.

An energy beam struck Artonius in the chest and the comander dropped.

Vitrani ducked down beside him and conducted a quick assessment, using a mound of Ork dead as a shield.  The wound was incapacitating, but should not be fatal to an astartes.

Standing again, Vitrani flicked a sardonic salute towards the Ork lines, hoisted his unconscious brother over one shoulder and ran back towards the Imperial lines.

+++Armageddon Crusade Battle (1500 points)+++

Mission: Veil Between Worlds

Forces: Space Marines (Gladius Task Force) vs Orks (Dread Mob)

Result: Space Marine victory, 54-20

Tactical Analysis: The Ork gunline was devastating, but not particularly mobile, allowing the marines to keep the Orks back and off the key objectives long enough to ensure an Imperial victory despite heavy losses.