Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Chapter Three: The Continued Query in Mr. Quasar

A voice transmission has been intercepted and decoded.

++ intercepted transmission translated as follows:

Sirs.

++An investigation has been launched into possibly treacherous activity surrounding the activities of the Rogue Miguel Quasar,  previously of JLYN-55 Defense Regiments and before that a renegade Rogue Trader and Eldar consultant.

--garbled static

++The Errants, led by Master Malgar had been informed of the position of the Infinity Relic upon En Fuego Prime.  The large detachment of Errants took the rear flank behind the JYLN Regiments and proceeded to the rendezvous with the Grand Farseer Eldrad.

++Only three other currently undisclosed Imperial officials know of this meeting.  This is of the greatest security to everyone involved, it goes without saying.  

 --long pause, static 

++The tacticals held back in a covering fire formation, while the Errant Honor Guard swept to the right flank.

+May the demons who haunt the victims of the Eldar have mercy upon their wretched souls.

+Malgar and Eldrad met face-to-face around the Infinity Relic.  There are those that doubt the power of the Infinity's ability to enhance warp travel, and those that claim it actually destroys the minds of Librarians, wild psykers, even Eldar Warlocks if you are to believe them.   Whatever it does, the Errants wanted it, and the Eldar were prepared to deliver.

++Something fell through with the negotiations, and ah...

--static

Marines deployed to the left, Eldar to the right.  The relic sat in the middle of the board.  We had played a custom scenario where Eldrad and Marneus Calgar (Malgar in this report) met in a classic "Battle of the Big Camp" style fight.  Rules were somewhat added on as we went. 




++Everything was all set for the meeting.  Marneus approached Infinity, which stood between him and Eldrad.  This was in an open area of the small ruin at the top of the plateau.  Almost immediately the Errants spotted a large section of Eldar breaking off from the plateau, using grav-tanks to quickly flank to the north of them.  This splinter of Eldar raiders headed straight across the ridge to assault the defense forces of JYLN to the southwest of where they were now.

--garbled static

Malgar (left) and Eldrad (right) meet around the Relic (center).


Things go south.  Malgar goes first, charges Eldrad.  Their forces activate and begin their approach.



Eldar on the scene!  A waveserpent with Dire Avengers deploys to the south.  The Avatar stalks behind them.


Marines scramble through the ruins, trying to grab ground.



The Eldar arrive.  Wraithlord and Dire avengers slip into building cover to the north, a bright-lance guardian defender squad approaches the middle and gets some easy cover.

Malgar eventually gives Eldrad a body-slam and takes him out of the contest.  Eldrad, gasping for air, retreats into the shadows.  Malgar waves his landraider Redeemer forward and charges the building full of Dire avengers ahead.


++They fought for a while.  Almost seemed like they were, um, toying with one another, if you could say that.  Malgar seemed to eventually get a hold of Eldrad and wouldn't let go, eventually Eldrad just disappeared into the darkness.  Malgar ran into the Eldar troops and their blazing shurikens.  The battlefield erupted into chaos.


The landraider redeemer lays some firepower into the building, roasting the Dire Avengers that just shot Malgar down to the ground.  The landraider becomes immobilized by the Fire Prism, and was eventually torn apart by the wraithlord.


Marines on the hill.  These guys launched missiles where they could, and would wait for the end to rush to the objective.

Honor Guard flanks to the south, gets obliterated by dire avengers, avatar, and warp spiders.  Marine advance is stopped by a rhino running into a small hill with a plant.  Eldar wave serpent flies to just past the Relic and provides cover.



The Eldar close in on the relic, impervious to the fire from the marines.  The relic is near the smoke, now surrounded by Eldar forces.


Night-vision view of the Eldar advance.  Probably an external security camera.


Dire Avengers wade through the wreckage of the Redeemer, picking off anyone who might have survived, and laying claim to the Infinity Relic.

At the end of battle, the Marines couldn't muster up enough of the charge to get the Relic back, too little too late.  They'd have to fight their way through a Wave Serpent, an Avatar, and then actually capture the Relic, and had run out of time and range.  The battle was called.



++They didn't even have a chance at capturing the Infinity Relic at this point, and a general withdrawal was declared.  Their chance of escape back to the drop zone- this was Alpha Charlie 10- you know, it was being cut off, and AC10 was quickly becoming threatened by an ork advance from the south.  

++I think if they had captured the Infinity Relic it might have been used to deactivate the warp signal planted by the Orks on JYLN that's been sending bugs here for the past year, or who knows.  They'll have to find another way to repel this new ork form of weaponry without the help from Infinity.  As for the investigation...  hang on...

++garbled static

++Mr. Quasar is suspected of willingly leading the Marines into a trap.  I believe it has something to do with the Infinity Relic or more likely that actually the Relic that was at the meeting was not actually the Infinity Relic.  He survived his encounter with the Warpsmith and has not been found. However,  if they every find him he'll be executed on the spot.  This I now know for sure.  Much more effort is being put into finding out exactly where Infinity is right now than the search for Mr. Quasar.

++Anyways.  There's a file on this on your deck.  You can check out the specifics.  We will keep comms open for a while, but then we'll be silent for a bit.  You'll be on your own.

++Out.









Transmission ends.





Friday, January 10, 2014

The game against Iyanden.

Local store just started a new league-hopeful Wednesday night.  While I can't make it every night, at least I did last night and it was a hoot.  I fought Eldar with my 1850 marine list.  I felt like a fish-out-of-water again, but did some things right.  Some things wrong.

He had two Wraithknights and four (or was it five?) wave serpents.  His troops were fragile (5-man dire avengers) but the rest of his army was solid, and hinged greatly upon the shots of the serpents.  Still, I had a great time losing to him 3-1 (or something like that).

Toward the end of the game, a five-man combat squad and dreadnaught threaten one of the wave serpents, while Thad Allen and his two tacticals charge another, and there's still one marine left from a squad back there somewhere...

Dire avengers land upon my objective, I shot them down to one man at the end of the game, but they held it still.

The board toward the beginning.  The second wraithknight is behind the building.



Highlights for me included killing both the wraithknights by the end of the game, one of them was in assault with my master of the forge.  His army was really well painted and a joy to look at, and his wraithknight stands on a single toe-  he said theres a wire running all the way up the leg into the hip.