Chapter Two of the Query Into Mr. Quasar

The Dale-Con Battle Reports

It is recommended that the reader also references my opponent's report found here:

http://apostlesofcontagion.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-battle-of-bastion-451-on-planet-of.html

It contains much more detail of the battle, and is a nice companion to this one, which is decidedly one-sided and fragmentary.

++Excerpts taken from the log of Epistolary Lidicker follow.

++Our mission was simple enough.  The images included in this report have been uploaded from vid-serv skulls hovering above the conflict zone.  We arrived before dawn (ref. 4579.4b) at Bastion 451, which had been previously abandoned by Imperial Guard forces two weeks earlier in an effort to support a front against an Ork Waaagh conducted on another hemisphere of the planet.  It has been noted to the proper authorities that this bastion was abandoned under direct orders from the Senior Officers in the Waaagh zone.

Company Commander Creed and his cohort of Sergeant Kell and several bodyguards carrying an autocannon tripod arrived at the bastion and found that the comms array was still in perfect working order.  This would allow the command to communicate effectively with all guardsmen on the field (ed- apoc formation allowed Creed to give commands to any unit on the table.  Combined with Kell and Vox Casters, this made orders succeed on a re-rollable Ld10, as well the Warlord trait for Kell gave units within 12" of him Relentless). 

Chimeras flanked to the left and right.  To the left were multiple squads of guardsmen carrying special weapons.   To the right, Marneus Guardgar's Platoon Command Squad would follow a team of Veterans and Miguel Quasar's Platoon Command Squad.  All were mounted in transports, and advanced quickly on the Right flank.  To the center, a Lascannon Heavy Weapons Team took stance at the base of the bastion to await the inevitable thrust of the enemy tanks toward the bastion.  These were the Iron Warriors, after all.

I, and several Marines Errant, accompanied a Leman Russ Battle Tank to the center support position, directly behind the bastion (shown in the above photo.)  Advancing on the Left Flank, yet not yet arriving and held in reserve were Thad Allen's Reactionary Marine Team, also accompanying a Leman Russ Battle Tank, this one the reliably unreliable Punisher variant, piloted by Tank Ace Pask.

It was to the loyalist's surpise that there were tunnels that had been dug, apparently hastily, in a cobweb of patterns underneath this battlefield!  Surely the enemy were sending in teams covertly but had pulled back.  Two squads of guardsmen entered of the discovered tunnels beneath the bastion in order to secure them.  Upon exiting, found themselves directly in front of the enemy, and quickly took the front lines of the traitorous rebels by unawares.

Guardsmen break from the tunnels at dawn, taking the advancing rebels by surprise.

First Rank, Second Rank, Fire!  Scores of mutant zombies perish to the fusillade of lasgun fire.

Chimeras peel around the left flank, heading for the far objective waypoint.

++Immediately after the Chimeras crossed the Left Flank, Veteran Sergeant Thad Allen arrived from Reserves.  Behind him, a rumbling sound tolled the arrival of the Punisher Battle Tank.  Veteran Allen stepped up to a ruined bunker, and spotted a Chaos Champion- a plague-weeping monstrosity named Necrosius-  leading a large hoard of abominations to mankind across the battlefield.  While the Guardsmen cut the zombies down with fusillades of lasgun fire, Allen issued his challenge in a bellowing howl: "Fiend, you shall not breach these lines, with the Emperor's righteousness at my side I shall smite thee down!"  With that, he began to advance across the field.

Veteran Sergeant Thad Allen issues a challenge.

In the center of the field, three Chaos Vindicator Siege tanks advanced toward a firing position, a threat to the Bastion.  On the Right Flank, Hounds of Xaphan advanced through the ruins straight toward Marneus Guardgar.  On the far right, Veterans had disembarked from their Chimera, and started destroying advancing Chaos Rhino transports.  On the left, one can see Veteran Sergeant Thad Allen charging forth from the bunker.  Almost all the guardsmen and the zombies from the initial engagement (turn one) were lost.  The tunnel warfare made for a truly bloody engagement in midfield.

An overhead shot of the next few moments (turn two). 

Imperial Guard Veterans advanced into oncoming Chaos Rhinos on the Right Flank.  Behind them, Miguel Quasar's Platoon Command Squad offered fire support with an autocannon team.  Melta Guns flared as two Chaos Rhinos were destroyed, and about 16 Chaos Marines emerge, some Chosen among them, led by a mighty Warpsmith.

To the left of those veterans and Miguel Quasar hid the Platoon Commander Marneus Guardgar, his autocannon team, his trusty vox-caster expert, and a Ministorium Priest named Tallyard, wielding an enormous eviscerator.  If they had not been torn to pieces by the Hounds of Xaphan, they would be charged with heresy for their cowardice.

Meanwhile, on the Left Flank...

Treachery is afoot.  Eldar support forces, reacting to the battle at the plateau, had made their way to this flank.  Sneaking through Chaos defenders, they swarmed in a sneak attack and assaulted the Left Flank Waypoint.  A mighty firefight broke out, and guardsmen did their best possible to defend against oncoming waves of Dire Avengers, Howling Banshees, and Harlequins.

As the Eldar Ambush turns into a firefight, the Punisher enters into "weapons free" mode and begins leveling combatant and plant-life alike.

Thad Allen's Reactionary Team ignores the Eldar to their left, and advances to engage Necrosius.

The Imperial Guard have their own surprises as well.  Two Bane Wolf tanks and a Hellhound arrive on the same flank as the Eldar.  They tank-shock their way to the objective and wipe out an entire autocannon Havoc squad on the hill.  They wouldn't last long in the enemy back-field, but they did a good job of shaking things up back there.  Here we can see their Chem-Cannons in full effect.

The Eldar surround the Left Flank Waypoint Objective.  All is lost on this side.

In the center of the field,

the fury of the Chaos Vindicators was unleashed upon the Bastion.

Yet the Bastion held.  Fared much better than the Leman Russ Battle Tank nearby, destroyed by the scattering shell fragements.

Meanwhile on the Right Flank, the veterans had engaged and put a good dent in  all of the Chosen Chaos Space Marines except for one:  The Warpsmith.  Miguel Quasar advances, and a brave guardsman sprays a gout of flame across the Warpsmith in vain.  In the background, we can see a Chaos Exterminator Battle Tank.

The hounds of Xaphan run past and into the building.  Miguel Quasar probably never heard the screams coming from inside.

After a  grueling combat, the Necrosius finally defeats Thad Allen.  The rest of his Marines would still follow suit.  However, their sacrifice kept the Champion of Chaos at bay, preventing him from diving into Imperial Guard back lines.

The Warpsmith opens up with the Firebrand of Skalathrax.  Miguel's team is burnt to ashes, and the Platoon Commander is last seen writhing upon the ground, flames licking at his sides. 

These final two events spell the end for the left and right flanks for the Imperial Guard.  While the center bastion was held, both flanks folded upon the Eldar flank and the Warpsmith's impenetrable armor.  Reinforcements of Marines Errant arrived, but not soon enough to win the day. 

The battle is declared a loss for the Imperium.  However, the secondary mission- to keep the Bastion and the escape route for the Marines Errant viable- was a success.  The details of the Marines Errant mission, which happened simultaneously to this one, follows in the next post.

The Query Into Mr. Quasar, Chapter Two.

ATTENTION READER:  Many appy-polly-logies.  I'm posting these pictures without the text because I wish a friend of mine to complete his battle report.  Easiest way?  Post these now and add the text later.  Please be patient and check back for the battle reports that follow these very exciting pictures.

Kiss kiss.

-Mark

The Query into Mr. Quasar

This is the intro to a battle report for a battle that has yet to happen.  The following transcript is to be found after the battle.


++Transmission begins++
Among the detritus of the planet's surface were found several datafile cartridges.  While most of them had been damaged beyond recover from repeated exposure to plasma radiation and virus-bomb corrosive compounds, one particular cartridge had been found beneath a large slab of ceramite left over from the detonation of what looks like a melta-bomb upon a blast-door.  The information has been mostly recovered, filtered for heresy, and released to the proper authorities.  An example of the information is presented below, for your perusal.
Excerpt from the transcriptions of the Vox Journal of Imperial Guardsman Private Weil Stryker, stationed in Quad 33 in Beltos, JLYN-55:

ORIGINAL ENTRY. +00136747

++The bug infestation landed three weeks ago.  Our platoon was assigned to the 731st and deployed along the southern banks of the Velta district, just east of the Jordaan slums.  The result was a massacre, but we held them to some degree, wiping out most of the smaller creatures both with wings and on clawed feet, leaving behind several larger beasts.  Our brothers died admirably, only a few in the beginning of the battle took flight and ran; our Veterans scored large prizes of monster bugs.  In the end, our deployment zone was a wasteland, littered with alien gore covering smoldering hulks of our destroyed transports.


++See Ref. 1.1.0.  File: http://excursionsbeyondthecall.blogspot.com/2013/08/tyranid-thumper-battle-report.html

++A meeting has been arranged.  After being dragged from the battlefield rather badly wounded, it was discovered that one of our Junior officers was none other than the former Rogue Trader that went by the name Miguel Quasar.  After this information was revealed to the Inquisitorial panels aboard the orbiting Entract, an entire shuttle full of power-armored advisors were sent to the surface.  As it turns out, Mr. Quasar was not to be removed from his post for failures in the battle, but rather would be reinstated.  I was most likely derelict in my duty by doing so, but I remained in the WC and eventually hid within the holding tank in order to hear the following details of our upcoming mission.

++Mr. Quasar, now Sergeant Quasar, has had repeated contact with the Eldar in outer regions in the past.  He had eventually helped Eldar forces to some degree during the Corriba Incident a mere 12 years ago.  For this, he was given access to certain information that led, in a confusing circle, to the recovery of the Threshold Pearl.  The Threshold Pearl could hold the forces of Slaneesh at bay, and it allowed decadent Eldar to venture beyond the confines of Commoragh enclaves and with him into deep space.  It was this way that Mr. Quasar became a Rogue Trader backed up by a gang of some of the most sinister of corrupted Eldar: the feared Death Seer Yog Sothoth, the Bounty Hunter Hiro Protagonist, and others named Ver Dante, Shub-Iftael, Jess Las, possibly others.  At some point on Cassius they had met their match fighting some renegades led by a retired Guardsman named Sergeant Hulka.  He was captured by them during an incident with a crashed alien vessel and was sold in slavery to the militia forces of JYLN-55.  

++See Ref. 92.7. File: http://excursionsbeyondthecall.blogspot.com/2012/04/cassius-chapter-three.html

++File: http://apostlesofcontagion.blogspot.com/2011/12/campaign-game-4-battle-report.html 

Since then, using cunning and bravery, Quasar has worked his way into a semi-leadership role within the Guard of JYLN-55, and this is how he was discovered after the horrible battle against the bug-bomb sent to us by Orkish sabotage.

++See Ref. 97.5. File: http://excursionsbeyondthecall.blogspot.com/2013/06/ork-insurgency-on-jyln-55.html

++Mr. Quasar has been sent to the Entract, and there he has communicated with some of the most powerful Eldar Farseers in the sector.  He has fooled them into thinking that he is behind the meeting on EnFuego, where the Eldar are preparing to retrieve the Infinity Relic, which by my guess is a sort-of warp enhancement crystal.  With it, it is rumored, our forces may be able to draw away the bugs plaguing our planet much in the same way the Orks have attracted them here.  However foolish this may seem, it is even more foolhardy that in stead of Mr. Quasar  the Warlord and Chapter Master of the Marines Errant will be the one that arrives at the meeting.  Surely, knowing the temperament of Chapter Master Malgar, this meeting is doomed from the start. 

++We are to fly tomorrow.  In 48 hours or less we will be arriving upon the surface of EnFuego, in a secure landing zone.  It has been noticed that in the Great Uprising, an abandoned Imperial Bastion known only as Bastion #451 has been left unguarded.  If we move swiftly we will capture the outpost ahead of the advancing Chaos forces, a group of traitorous renegades led by the Iron Warriors that has been regrouping after a vicious planetary Rokk Bombardment.  Company A will advance north to knock out their weakest flank, while our Company will drive north behind them and secure the Outpost and Bastion #451.  Here we will hold the line while the Marines Errant will perform a quick advance down the canyon to our east- this will lead them to the plateau where the Eldar-held landing zone, the Relic, and the Eldar host themselves lie in wait.  I will update when we arrive upon the surface of the planet.  I have illustrated this manuver using the crude tools of my datapack and recorder-screen applications. -+-


  

ADDENDUM. +00156748

++We have been quickly assembled and have secured Bastion 451.  Company A has sent good news, they have found the north flank to be disorganized and may be able to send reinforcements.   The Marines Errant have passed behind us silently in the night, and have made it to the plateau.  The Iron Warriors have detected our presence, and are flooding our vox channels with threats, taunts and promises of treasure upon our surrender.  Fear has gripped all of us, but we stand ready to resist their advance.  We have just heard word that talks with the Eldar have quickly fallen apart.  We are bracing for the worst.  Sensors in the Bastion have detected Eldar moving in from the northwest.  Company A has promised to send any remaining reinforcements from their Chem Squadrons and with heavy ordinance support.

++I can see the lights of the renegades shining in the distance as dusk falls.  Our las-packs are charged and we are advancing into position.  The ground shakes as their machines advance, and acrid smoke has begun to drift across the charred remains of this outpost.  Emperor have mercy upon our souls. -+-

END OF ENTRY.

++Transmission ended.++
++Whereabouts of Subject Miguel Quasar unknown.  If found please report to Inquisitorial Officer 697.89.++