Chaos Marine

All seems quiet in the aftermath of the Piratical Eldar raid in 0430, but two months later, another enemy strikes - Chaos Marines appears as if out of nowhere, assaulting the already-shattered refinery for unfathomable reasons of their own.

There were no sightings of Chaos spacecraft in the system prior to the attack - so either the renegades possess superior cloaking, or they arrived by the same paths as the Dark Eldar raiders.

Commander Artos is still monitoring the situation on Tunguska, and reacts quickly with a fast-response force. 

In addition to two small tactical squads, he has at his disposal a jump-pack equipped assault squad, led by the veteran sergeant Loki, and a single Land Speeder that had been pressed into service as a scout and patrol vehicle.

The Chaos force consists of a full squad of Khorne Berzerkers, a Havoc squad, and a small Chaos marine squad, all lead by an as yet unidentified Chaos Lord.

Their objective remains unknown, and clearly not of vital interest - as soon as they spot the Space Marine forces, they launch into an immediate assault, no doubt fueled by the bloodlust of their mad god.

The forces clash near nightfall in the ruins of the old refinery, not far from where the Dark Eldar appeared earlier made their appearance.

The Chaos Marines arrives from the south, in a massed formation in the centre of the field, while the Space Marines splits their forces, positioning a squad at each flank in good cover (or, at the right flank, ready to enter good cover in an old bunker).

The fast strikers deploys in the center, out of sight behind some high ruins, ready to descend on whatever is left out in the open and vulnerable.

The Chaos Berzerkers spots the squad positioned on the left flank and charges with a blood-curdling shriek, fueled by their mad Blood Frenzy.  The remaining Chaos forces advances in a more cautious manner, closing on the central ruins and lining up to fire at the bunker.

The Frozen Wasters take position in the bunker to the right, advances, still in cover, in the center, and opens fire on the left.  Only one kill - those power armours are tough, and it's really unpleasant to meet foes at least as well protected than ones own troops!

On the left flank, things fall apart completely - the Berzerkers, still in their mad Blood Frenzy, charges the Marine position, and in an orgy of destruction the Chaos Lord almost singlehandedly annihilates an entire squad of Space Marines! The Berzerker Aspiring Champion finishes off the squad sergeant, leaving only the Marine Commander Artos standing, feeling decidedly alone.

In the center, the Assault squad and the Land Speeder jumps over the intervening cover and attacks the two chaos squads in the center, with a particular eye to silencing the big guns of the Havocs.  Unfortunately, the firing is abysmal, the land speeder completely failing to score a hit on the Chaos Marines (they all save the wounds inflicted by the heavy flamer, and the Multi-Melta fails to hit at all!).

This just gets worse as the charging Assault squad completely fails to dent their targets - as a small solace, the Havocs don't hit anything either.

On the left flank, Artos is rushed by the entire Berzerker squad, and dies in a whirlwind of chopping chainswords.

Things go a bit better for the Assault squad this turn - it finshes off the Havocs with only a single casualty of their own, and moves to engage the remaining chaos squad.

The Berzerkers approach, more slowly now - their bloodlust momentarily slaked, or perhaps due to their enemies being out of sight.

The four chaos marines in the center fight bravely, but are no match for Sergeant Loki's Power Axe.  The fight is bloody, but in the end only one Assault marine is lost - leaving Squad Loki as a scoring unit.

Squad Heimdall leaves the bunker, and moves to split the attention of the remaining Chaos forces - unfortunately, there is little on the marine arsenal at this point that has any real chance against the Berzerkers, so the current goal is to inflict whatever damage possible at long range, without exposing the troops to an assault.

The Berzerkers moves as quickly as possible to close the distance to the remaining marines, but are stumped by the wall of the factorium.

They do eventually clear the wall,  just in time to take a missile hit from the rapidly departing squad Heimdall - and the Space Marines fall back under cover of darkness, leaving the field (and the Battle) to the mysterious purpose that brought the Chaos Lord here in the first place.

Thought for the Day: Purity Conquers All.


Combat results: Chaos Wins (Seek And Destroy Gamma level, 721 to 523 points). 

Victory point score:
Chaos: Destroy Squad Thor 149, Destroy Land Speeder 75, Kill Commander Artos 142, Khorne Berserkers survive 185, Chaos Lord survives: 170, total 721 points.
Marines: Destroy Chaos marine squad 81, Destroy Havoc squad: 187, Squad Loki survives 150, Squad Heimdall survives 106, total 523 points.
Difference 32% of 620 points - Solid Chaos Marine Victory.