Deathwatch RPG - Kill Team Theta - Session Eight

The mission logs of Kill Team 'Theta' of the Deathwatch.

This sessions attendees are...
Martin - GM
----------

Matt - Black Templars Assault Marine Klaus

Tristan - White Scars Assault Marine Hakim
Matt - Space Wolves Wolf Scout Bjorn

Gareth - Imperial Fist Devastator Marine Arno Tyr
Garreth  - Iron Hands Techmarine Maakus
----------
Designated Leader - Assault Marine Hakim
Kill-Team Oath - Oath of Glory
Mission Requisition - 100

The characters current stats can be found on this page here together with a few explanations about liberties that were taken with the character creation process. Other missions from this and other campaigns can be found here.

Note - As Martin was GMing and obviously had notes and intro bits written down I've just pasted them into this article directly so they'll be in a 'reading to the group' style. This'll save me a lot of time writing out everything again and hopefully wont effect your reading enjoyment too much bouncing between the two styles of writing. Out of character notes that shed light on certain events will be in red...

Mission Eight - Spearhead
Introduction
You are to meet the Imperial commanders of outpost Theta Tercius on the outlying planet of Heldays Hope and organise the defences of the outpost with the arrival of the Tyranid landing forces. Commander Van Strauss of the 95th Flellian rifles needs time for their strategic reserve to deploy and fortify before the main wave hits. The kill squad will be deployed by Thunderhawk on Astartes Bikes to strike the Tyranids hard and withdraw in a series of feints on the far side of the swarm to draw them away from the outpost to give them more time to prepare. 

The Tyranids have three main drop sites and are marshalling their swarms ready to strike. The synapse creatures need to be killed to sow chaos and disrupt their landing. Priority organisms are Warriors, Zoanthropes and Hive Tyrants if present. Secondary targets are siege organisms such as Carnifex's.

The Kill-Team has been issued with two standard Astartes Bikes, one scout variant equipped with a Grenade Launcher and an Astartes Attack Bike reinforced and modified to enable it to be piloted by the considerable mass of the teams Techmarine with the modified Heavy Bolter of their Devastator mounted upon the sidecar. The Devastator Tyr requisitioned several clips of specialist ammunition to compliment his standard load-out, while the White Scar Hakim took a powered spear-like weapon favoured by his chapter for enhancing charges and the Space Wolf Bjorn took a Missile Launcher with a mixture of Frag and Krak Missiles. As the mission would primarily consist of surgical hit and run tactics it was decided that Hakim would be designated team leader on this occasion as his tactical experience better suited a mission of this type than the Black Templars less subtle methods....

Having little intelligence to go on the team decided to attack the most central of the three Tyranid landing sites hoping that this would prevent the groups from joining together and forming a single horde. A Thunderhawk transport allocated to the team dropped them and their bikes a relatively safe distance away in order to give them some time to formulate a plan of attack.

Target Primus
The enemy horde consisted primarily of a vast swathe of one of the smaller Tyranid Gaunt forms flanked by two midsize groups of Tyranid Warriors and led by a larger more fearsome looking Warrior that seemed to be herding the smaller forms forward. Hakim formed the team into a staggered 'finger four' formation with the intention of clearing enough of the swarm to enable them to engage the Warriors before withdrawing. Hopefully this could be achieved in a single pass though the White Scar had orientated the attack to prevent them getting bogged down should a subsequent run be required.

Editors Note - Our White Scars player basically stayed in character for pretty much the whole session...also apparently when we actually use tactics it throws our GM a bit...

Techmarine Maakus was utilising his vehicle interface implants to pilot the Attack Bike so he could still use his Storm Bolters and both he and the Devastator were using Bolt Rounds optimised for area effect in order to carve a path through the massed Gaunts. Their battle brothers accelerated through the newly created path with frag grenades launched from the inbuilt launcher on Bjorns own bike adding to the carnage despite his poor aim sending them everywhere except where he was aiming.

Maakus and Tyr decided to split their fire each aiming at a different group of Warriors. A pair of Tyranid Warriors were torn apart by the Imperial Fists Heavy Bolter rounds with a third taking severe wounds. The Techmarine switched his Storm Bolter rounds from 'blast' to 'felling' mode and the modified Rounds punched through the second Warrior groups exoskeletons killing all six in a spectacularly efficient display of shooting. The larger bioform at the rear seemingly identified the Attack Bike team as the primary threat and moved in their direction.

A significant group of Gaunts had surged forward to protect their Warrior Prime and it was into these that The White Scar, Black Templar and Space Wolf charged. The Tyranids attempted to swarm over the Astartes but their momentum carried them through their front line slicing many Guants apart as they went. Once amongst the enemy creatures the Marines were momentarily in danger of being overwhelmed before Hakim and Bjorn butchered those closest as Klaus uncharacteristically avoided being harmed at all though failed to account for a single enemy despite the target rich environment.

Editors Note - Matts Black Templar has been blown up, set on fire and suffered critical damage to virtually every limb at least once...also in one mission his kill count amounted to a single tree...

The Devastator continued pouring Heavy Bolter shells into the remaining Warriors killing another two and finishing off the wounded one as it attempted to engage the three Astartes amongst the rapidly thinning mass of Guants. Maakus targeted the Warrior Prime and in a display of overkill reduced it to paste with two full bursts of optimised Storm Bolter hits. Noting the proximity of the Attack Bike team to the surviving Warrior Hakim diverted himself and the Space Wolf to intercept it while leaving the Black Templar to prevent the Guants from reinforcing them in turn. Bjorn arrived momentarily before Hakim and collided with the remaining Warrior at full speed with the White Scar fatally spearing it on his Power Lance before it could recover. It seemed that Hakim's well organised assault tactics had worked perfectly as all their primary and secondary targets from this group were eliminated.

Unfortunately he had failed to take one thing into account...

Klaus had decided that the optimal way to clear the area of Guants while simultaneously drawing them away from the other team members was to spin his bike around in circles while attempting to bludgeon to death anything that came near with his Power Maul. However the skills necessary for this unconventional 'donut' manoeuvre were beyond his capabilities and he managed to lose control of the bike and mere moments later found himself underneath both it and several dozen opportunist Tyranid creatures. The team vox was briefly filled with some unusual noise interference uncannily similar to the sound of four Astartes sighing at the same time...

Thinking quickly Hakim distributed some new orders...

The Iron Hand banked the Assault Bike back towards the mass of Termagants as his Imperial Fist passenger raked them with Bolt Rounds before swerving aside at the last moment and scooping the battered Black Templar up with his Servo Arm as the other team members attempted to further disorientate the now leaderless creatures before they could regroup. As the bikes would be required for the other phases of the mission Hakim directed the Techmarine to drop Klaus with them and attempt a dangerous last rush through the newly massing enemy in order to retrieve the foolish would-be Chaplains abandoned bike as they gave covering fire.

Assisted by both his Servo Arms, several Manipulator Mechadendrites and a number of other implant systems capable of gripping actions Maakus managed to grasp the battered vehicle as the Attack Bike swooped passed and drag it somewhat noisily away as their retreat was covered by Bolter, Grenade and Missile fire...

Editors Note - That was a lot of extra tests using abilities that none of us were expecting to be using this session. Unsurprisingly 'Grab bike with implant system designed for something else while engaged in advanced movement manoeuvres while avoiding multiple weapons blasts from your own team as they try to keep you from being overwhelmed by Hormagants and then drag the aforementioned bike to safety' is not covered anywhere in the rule-book...

With the first target group leaderless and in disarray Hakim led the kill team in a course designed to minimise their chance of pursuit in order for them to prepare themselves for their second objective and to buy them a little time to assess the severity of the setback created by Klaus. Their Apothecary hadn't accompanied them on this mission as he had been tasked with analysing the Tyranid bio-matter recovered from an early operation in order to facilitate the development of a more deadly genophage to use against the expanding Tyranid incursion.

The Iron Hand Techmarine fortunately had both medicae knowledge and equipment though both of these were inclined towards Servitor repair where matters such as patient discomfort and cosmetics were none existent issues. Matters were further complicated by the fact that he currently (and arguably quite correctly) deemed the damaged Astartes Bike to be a more important member of the team than it's Black Templar passenger when it came to prioritising which he repaired first.

After some consideration the Iron Hand stabilised the Black Templar and stapled together the worst of his wounds before doing what he could to bring the damaged bike back to some semblance of working order. Hakim suggested that prioritising locomotion over firepower would be the best use of their time in these circumstances upon which the Techmarine agreed. He managed to get the bike itself running again though Hakim's prompting meant the time wasn't available to restore the twin-linked bolters at it's front that had suffered severely as the vehicles front had embedded itself in the ground. Klaus would just have to rely on his sidearm instead.

Target Secondus
Still lacking tactical information Hakim arbitrarily decided that they would travel East in order to assault one of the remaining two Tyranid drop sites. A large ridge overlooked this particular drop site so the team moved to this tactical vantage point in order to formulate a plan of attack. This group was significantly larger than the first and consisted mainly of Hormagaunts though something much larger could be observed moving at it's centre.

Long range observations via several of the Techmarines sensory arrays revealed this central monstrosity to be a Hive Tyrant protected by resilient looking protectors identified as Hive Guard. Given the large quantity of Hormagaunts surrounding the Synapse creature their earlier strategy of cutting a corridor through would leave them quickly overwhelmed even if they reached the primary target. Though the Astartes had no issues with sacrificing themselves to ensure victory this would leave the third drop-site free to act without any disruption. Clearly a more sophisticated set of tactics would be necessary this time. Once again the White Scar had an idea in mind which hopefully on this occasion wouldn't be disrupted by any-one falling off anything...

Hakim suggested as the Hormagaunt variant of Tyranid was adapted for close combat rather than ranged warfare that if they circled the horde making feints towards it and then pulling back that they may be able to thin the shield of lesser forms hopefully creating a pathway to the more important central target. This would of course require precise manoeuvring so as to get close enough to draw out elements of the horde without themselves been caught up by the notoriously fast moving Hormagant bioforms.


Hakim formed the team into a similar staggered formation as before and they raced down the ridge at full speed ready to implement the White Scar's daring plan. The first circumnavigation they made only partially thinned the enemy formation as they darted in and out firing their various weapons into the densely packed crowd. A second and third series of assaults began to have the desired effect as the casualties inflicted by the Kill Team rapidly began to mount and the swarm began to spread and thin in several areas. Hakim decided that a fourth series of attacks in key areas should be sufficient to create enough disruption to make a strike on the Hive Tyrant a viable proposition.

His assumption proved to be correct as he transmitted to his battle brothers a exploitable but still dangerous potential route to the Hive Tyrant. Maakus and his Devastator passenger cut through the diminished enemy with their usual efficient ranged firepower as the more assault inclined members of the team sliced and bludgeoned aside opportune targets on the way to the Marines primary goal. Letting his usual zeal yet again overtake common sense Klaus fell behind his comrades progress as he focused on enemies around him rather than their actual goal.

Editors Note - Either that or he was being terrible at his job again...I decided to be diplomatic when doing the write-up...the GM was also particularly generous in not having him overwhelmed and eaten...

Hakim showed off all the famed piloting skills of his Chapter during mounted attacks as he expertly weaved through the leaping Gaunts before driving his Power Lance into the closest of the massive monstrosities bulky defenders slicing effortlessly through it's dense exoskeleton into it's torso. Somehow it survived the incredible amount of damage caused though it was clearly wounded nearly to death. Seeing one of it's bodyguard so hideously wounded the Hive Tyrant turned it's attention on the attackers unleashing a powerful psychic attack on them that cut through even the formidable mental defences of an Astartes leaving only the bionically enhanced brain of the Techmarine unaffected.

Ignoring the pain of the psychic assault, Hakim ducked a crushing blow from the second of the Tyrants guards a moment before ending the existence of the first. Before the surviving guard had a chance to make a second attempt at tearing apart the White Scar it was slain by multiple optimised Storm Bolter rounds that made a mockery of it's natural armour before exploding within the mass of it's body destroying it from the inside out.

Several Guants attempted to protect their leader but were quickly cut down by bolter and blade as the Space Marines moved towards the only target of importance. The Hive Tyrant towered over the approaching kill-team but at least it's size allowed them all to attack it simultaneously. Multiple Bolt Rounds slammed into it but only those enhanced by the Techmarines own abilities did any damage of significance.

Doubting the ability of any of his usual weapons compliment to harm a creature of this scale and resilience the Wolf Scout Bjorn reached for his requisitioned Missile Launcher and fired a Krak Missile directly at it. The projectile was designed to be the bane of heavily armoured tanks and therefore made a mockery of the Hive Tyrants defensive adaptations tearing a huge chunk from it's torso. As it staggered backwards a burst of Heavy Bolter fire targeted the exact spot rendered vulnerable by the aforementioned Krak Missile tearing the monstrosity into bloody chunks.

Noting the futility of attempting to also eliminate the hundreds of remaining Guants, Hakim ordered the teams withdrawal before they became bogged down in a prolonged and wasteful engagement. Once they were safely away from the now confused mass of lesser forms the wounded were treated to another session with Maakus's flesh stapler and a cocktail of stimulants from the primitive but still effective medicae mechadendrites injectors. Half empty magazines of ammunition were then replaced with full ones before the bikers moved to their third and final objective.

Target Tertius
The final target area was surrounded by a strange distortion which at first the team took as dust thrown into the air by the enemies movement or as some form of heat haze. As they drew even closer it became evident that some unnatural atmospheric disruption was shielding the advancing enemy.

The Techmarines sensors and Auspex arrays once again proved their worth as they penetrated the protective shield and detected a trio of Tyranid Zoanthropes. No doubt these floating creatures were moving to support their fellows in both a defensive and offensive role. Given the destructive capabilities attributed to these psychic aberrations it was vital that they be destroyed before they could bring their abilities to bear against the walls of the fortress the team had been sent to defend.

As soon as the enemy was identified the Black Templar immediately charged forwards given his Chapters feelings about psykers. Realising that their own comrade was about to get in the way both the Iron Fist and Imperial Fist unleashed vast amounts of firepower into the enemy trio but many of the rounds were deflected by the psychic shield surrounding their foe and two of them survived the onslaught.

As Klaus neared the remaining pair of enemies he suddenly fell to the floor as his body was wracked with spasms, victim of an insidious psychic assault. The Templars potential target began to glow with energy but inexplicably exploded before the psionic energy could be focused towards the approaching Marines. Praising the Emperor for this stroke of good luck Hakim once again readied his his Power Lance and charged forward. Their good fortune continued as the White Scars powerful strike slipped past the final levitating monsters defences and skewered it neatly through the centre of it's body. With the death of the last strange bioform the surrounding miasma faded into nothing. The final objective had been successfully neutralised.

Epilogue
The triumphant team circled back past the previous pair of drop sites making several additional ranged strikes upon the now chaotic deployment zones in order to further sow chaos and disruption amongst the enemy. Satisfied that they'd done all they could and conscious that their services would be needed to help organise the fortresses outposts defences they began the long and necessarily circuitous journey back to base.

Back to Reality
Lucky dice rolls are the bane of many a GM and I have the feeling that some fortunate rolls on our part combined with some new abilities we'd acquired caught Martin a little by surprise. The Power Lance taken by Tristan's character stacked with both innate White Scar abilities and a heavy bias in Strength and Weapon Skill gave him horrendous damage output on the charge. My own characters 'Master of Arms' Deed adding 'Felling' (which reduced the enemies Toughness considerably) to my Storm Bolters meant that the enemies damage reduction was largely bypassed.

Additionally both my ability to add Blasts to Bolt rounds and the same effect being provided by the Devastators 'Metal Storm' rounds caused massive casualties amongst the Tyranids meat shields. I have a feeling that our enemies will be far more numerous and accompanied by much tougher allies in our next mission...

We all got the full compliment of Renown thanks to achieving all our objectives and some extra due to our choice of Oath. We were given 250XP across the board with the bulk of the bonus experience (500 in fact) going to Tristans White Scar for some excellent in character battle plans and assaults. Most of the rest of us also benefited from some bonus XP (between 250 and 300) though any-one whose read the above will be unsurprised to discover that Matt's Black Templar didn't get any...

Thoughts and comments are (as usual) most welcome.

Deathwatch RPG - Kill Team Theta - Session Seven

The mission logs of Kill Team 'Theta' of the Deathwatch.

This sessions attendees are...
Martin - GM
----------

Matt - Black Templars Assault Marine Klaus

Tristan - White Scars Assault Marine Hakim
Matt - Space Wolves Wolf Scout Bjorn

Gareth - Imperial Fist Devastator Marine Arno Tyr
Jon - Raven Guard Apothecary Validus
Garreth  - Iron Hands Techmarine Maakus
----------
Designated Leader - Assault Marine Hakim
Kill-Team Oath - Oath of Glory
Mission Requisition - N/A

The characters current stats can be found on this page here together with a few explanations about liberties that were taken with the character creation process. Other missions from this and other campaigns can be found here.

Note - As Martin was GMing and obviously had notes and intro bits written down I've just pasted them into this article directly so they'll be in a 'reading to the group' style. This'll save me a lot of time writing out everything again and hopefully wont effect your reading enjoyment too much bouncing between the two styles of writing. Out of character notes that shed light on certain events will be in red...

Mission Seven - Flamewing
Introduction

Intelligence has been received that a noted Tau Commander designated 'Flamewing' has set up a base of operations on a planet in the Borkan sector defended by significant numbers of the Fire Caste and supported by representatives of all the remaining Tau Castes. Unconfirmed information has also reached the Inquisition that one of the elusive Ethereal Caste is also on route to the location and may already have arrived.

Initial surveillance has revealed a facility consisting of four large compounds tentatively identified as corresponding to each of the four Tau Castes with a large command facility at it's centre as well as a large landing pad. This is in turn surrounded by a heavily reinforced perimeter wall manned by a significant number of Tau troops supplemented by a large number of the automated Drones favoured by the Tau for a number of roles. Given the limited Imperial resources in the area a full scale military strike is out of the question so instead the Deathwatch has been tasked with the assassination of both the Tau Commander and if present the member of the Ethereal Caste.

This surveillance has also noted deliveries of vast quantities of weaponry that are currently been stored in the facilities armouries awaiting shipment to Tau forces throughout the sector. The destruction of these stockpiles before they can be used to reinforce the Tau forces has also been designated as a priority.

Death From Above
Given the exterior defences of the facility compared to it's relatively light anti-aircraft emplacements it has been decided that the kill team will be deployed by Drop Pod and after insertion will split into a pair of smaller teams in order to maximise the chances of achieving all three primary mission goals. The Black Templar and White Scar Marines will assault the central facility as this is deemed the most likely location of the Xenos commanders and they will be accompanied by the teams Apothecary given the likelihood of injury due to the high chance of Crisis Suit bodyguards being deployed there. The remaining team members will go after the armouries located beneath the Fire and Earth Caste compounds. Given that the Fire Caste building will more than likely be the most heavily defended due to the high number of Fire Warriors stationed as the compound it will be the first building attacked by the second team where hopefully surprise will go someway to evening the overwhelming odds...

The teams Devastator supplemented his usual armament with an Astartes Missile Launcher loaded with Krak Missiles while the entire assault element equipped themselves with Jump Packs. A number of demolition charges and other explosives were also requisitioned and distributed amongst the team. A pair of Teleport Homers were issued to the team one of which was taken by the Techmarine and another by the Apothecary.

Editors Note - Those of you who have read our previous missions may be somewhat surprised to find that we actually made a plan this on this occasion. This is primarily due to the fact that making it up as we went along nearly got us all eaten by Tyranids last time...

The Drop Pod landed approximately in the designated area between the Earth and Fire Caste compounds though was closer to the central command facility than either of the other targets. The assault team immediately moved to the command facility while the fire team moved at a somewhat steadier pace towards the Fire Caste's base with the Wolf Scout ranging ahead noting a number of heavily armed drones along the walls and several guarding the Earth Caste facility. It seemed that the unexpected nature of the attack had granted them some time to act before the Tau realised what was occurring.

A few small groups of very surprised Tau Fire Warriors fell to controlled bursts of Heavy Bolter fire and somewhat less precise hails of Storm Bolter rounds as the three Astartes made their way across the open terrain. As they drew closer some more unfortunate warriors lives were claimed by blasts from Heavy Bolter, Storm Bolter and Assault Shotgun as the xenos were still in a confused state and had yet to organise themselves to deal with the threat in their midst. This was however to be a temporary advantage.

As the assault team approached the main door of the command centre they found it to be firmly sealed. After several unsuccessful attempts by both the White Scar and Black Templar to batter the door down with their armoured forms they communicated with their Techmarine and transmitted a pict feed of the controls to him who after a momentary pause which to the untrained observer might have sounded like the usually taciturn Iron Hand chuckling to himself pointed them at the necessary combination needed to allow them access.

Editors Note - Speak Language (Tau) might well have been the most useful upgrade I ever purchased for my Techmarine. The amusement came from the fact that apparently the door controls mainly consisted of buttons labelled in the Tau equivalent of 'Open' and 'Close'...

By now realising that something was seriously amiss two full squads of Fire Warriors had deployed behind barriers outside their compounds main entrance and opened fire upon the approaching armoured figures though they caused only minor superficial damage. Their protective barrier proved ineffective against the Imperial Fists counter-attack which tore the majority of one squad into pieces as the Wolf Scout Bjorn's shotgun accounted for two more. The few remaining enemies fell to an indiscriminate hail of Storm Bolter rounds from the Techmarines paired weapons.

Utilising what was left of the barrier as a shield the Devastator scanned the area for any approaching targets while the Techmarine went to work on the now locked doors. Bjorn spent the time observing the Earth Caste building that was to be their next target making note of the positions of it's defences for future reference.

The Astartes making up the assault team worked their way up through the building where they had so far encountered minimal resistance, stopping only to transmit pict feeds of the various signs in the well ordered facility to Maakus in order to verify that they were heading in the correct direction. Though currently occupied working on bypassing the Fire Caste's security system it was only a moments work to translate the information from them and transmit it back in a readable form. As they followed the signs guiding them to the 'Main Control Centre' they emerged into a central open area surrounded by balconies and it was from one of these higher levels that a number of Tau Battlesuits suddenly emerged.

Tau Crisis Suit Missile Pods unleashed their payload towards the Marines fortunately only causing minor damage before they activated their Jump Packs and launched themselves at this new threat. The Raven Guard reacted first and unleashed his Assault Shotgun into the closest of the advancing Crisis Suits as the White Scar and Black Templar moved into melee range as their previous experiences with such opponents had revealed that they were far less effective in close combat than at range.

Editors Note - It's sometimes difficult when you have to separate what you as a player knows from what your actual character would know.

Their combined onslaught quickly took care of the damaged suit though Hakim was struck in return. The second of the XV8's was pulverised by the Power Maul of Klaus a moment before the White Scar's Power Weapon bisected the third. Several unfortunate units of Tau who had entered the building to aid their comrades were pulverised by the remains of the suits as they plummeted downwards towards the ground.

Meanwhile the Iron Hand finally bypassed the doors sophisticated locking mechanism and warned his fellow warriors to ready themselves before opening the doors. Inside the Fire Caste base were ranks of Fire Warriors behind a number of barriers and though some were improvised many were obviously permanent defensive fixtures. The enemy numbers were to prove somewhat of an advantage to the attackers as it was almost impossible for them to miss as Astartes Frag Grenades landed in the enemies midst followed by a hail of shot and shell. Techmarine Maakus configured his weapons to fire rounds that would explode in bursts of fragments rather than explode within the enemies and these overlapping blasts were almost as devastating as the Heavy Bolter rounds that tore through the only semi-prepared defenders. Faced with such overwhelming firepower the surviving warriors decided to withdraw further into the complex leaving behind some thirty of their dead behind.

Editors Note - My Techmarine took a 'Deed' at character creation that allows him to add a number of effects to Bolt Rounds. In my case I picked Felling (1) and Blast (2) both of which were to prove useful this mission...though when it came to raw destructive power I only beat the Devastator once and that was mainly due to overlapping Blasts and closely packed Tau, lol.

Having dealt with the Crisis Suits the assault team continued their progress through the levels of the complex and having located the main control centre at the buildings top burst through the entrance ready to engage the forces Commanders within...and were somewhat surprised to find the entire room devoid of life. Briefly thrown by this unexpected turn of events they began to examine the area and while searching for clues one of the team observed through one of the clear domed windows at the buildings pinnacle a couple of figures rapidly departing the area in a compact anti-grav vehicle. The passenger was unmistakably of the Ethereal Caste.

With a target now firmly in their sights the team engaged their Jump Packs and immediately moved to follow.

The second team meanwhile were in a pursuit of their own as they fought their way deeper into the Fire Caste facility in search of the armoury that was one of the missions primary targets. Several of the survivors fleeing them were moving in the same direction and the team concluded that they were falling back to a place of some importance. Their navigation of the facility was somewhat assisted by it's well organised layout and the fact that Maakus could read the signs in the Tau language that appeared to be at virtually every intersection they reached.

Editors Note - Most...useful...skill...purchase...ever...

Target Acquired

As they burst into the next section of the complex they reached a defensive checkpoint manned by the survivors of their first attack supplemented by several fresh units guarding the armoury entrance (including several Crisis Suits) and led by the Tau Commander himself. It seemed that they had significantly erred in their assessment of where he had decided to base himself. Instead of the expected onslaught of weapons fire Commander Flamewing encased in an advanced variant of XV8 armour stepped forward and in near perfect High Gothic issued a challenge of honourable combat to the interlopers. His fellow team members were somewhat surprised when their Techmarine stepped forward and excepted the challenge.

Assessing the situation logically the Iron Hand had came to several conclusions. Firstly it should be far easier to defeat the commander separate from his troops and out from behind the defensive positions, secondly it would give his comrades time to move to better positions themselves and thirdly it would allow him to gain valuable data on how Imperial weaponry fared against some of the enemies most advanced weaponry...as long as he survived that is...

Having no real idea or particular interest in what the Tau classed as 'Honourable' Maakus opened fire with both his Storm Bolters as soon as the enemy commander emerged from cover having this time modified the rounds within to maximise their effect against armour rather than massed infantry. Disappointingly a number of the shells detonated prematurely against an energy shield of unknown type generated from within the suit though even such an advanced defensive system couldn't stop at least some of the many bolt rounds aimed at it from getting through.

From it's airborne position the Tau Commander countered with missiles and plasma fire causing superficial damage to the Techmarines heavily armoured form. After a second exchange of weapons fire it became obvious that the Astartes was outclassed with regards to ranged weapon capabilities and if the current situation continued he would be irreparably damaged significantly before his enemy would be and so instead closed to melee range.

While this duel was underway the Imperial Fist moved into a better firing position so regardless of the outcome he would have the best chance of removing the remaining defenders from this important mission objective. Noting the Devastators tactical move the Wolf Scout also relocated to a tactically superior location and additionally readied his payload of explosives as he estimated that he could get them dangerously close to the armoury with a decent throw.

To his surprise rather than attempting to maintain the distance the Xenos instead closed the gap between the two warriors and so the Techmarine activated his Breaching Augur and attempted to drill through the crisis suits armoured shell to the Tau within while his self-repair systems managed to restore some of his own structural integrity. The reason for this atypical Tau tactic soon became apparent as the suit shunted additional energy through the weapons contact point further damaging the Astartes though this was relatively inconsequential when compared to the horrendous carnage caused by the Augurs super-dense adamantine alloys and matter-wave generator.

Seeing the danger he was in and aware that his ploy had failed Flamewing attempted to kick the Techmarine out of the way and create some distance between them so he could once again bring his superior firepower to bear but even enhanced by his armour he could do little to move the Marines bionically rebuilt form. Seeing a chance to finish the battle there and then the Iron Hand gripped his opponent with as many of his Manipulator equipped mechadendrites and limbs as possible and continued to tear through the unfortunate Commanders form until the drill finally ripped into the helpless pilots body killing him instantly. As the foe became still the Iron Hand swiftly removed an unusual pod from the exterior of the vanquished enemies armour that was similar to the drone control devices he'd observed utilised by other Tau of rank.

The removal of this device seemed to spur the deceased Commanders troops into action and they began to sporadically return fire. Seizing the opportunity Bjorn hurled the explosive bundle towards the Tau armoury on a ten second delay and signalled his comrades in arms that now was a good time for them to be leaving as he ran for the doorway. Tyr laid down several bursts of Heavy Bolter fire before following him towards the exit as Maakus diverted power to his bionic legs and then sprinted after them.

The team emerged from the building just as the explosives detonated the Tau's stockpile and a chain reaction of explosions ripped the facility to pieces. Unable to move immediately due to the Devastators initial fire covering their withdrawal the majority of the Tau within were caught in the explosion. Realising they had little time to enjoy their victory they immediately moved towards the other armoury just as a single surviving armoured suit emerged from the wreckage and targeted the Techmarines rear presumably in an attempt to avenge his leader. Severely damaged as he was this sneak attack would almost certainly have been the end of Maakus had the Imperial Fist not been sensibly watching for just such an eventuality. Half a dozen Heavy Bolter Rounds struck the bodyguard dead centre and tore the ambusher to pieces before he could fire a single shot.

Editors Note - Really need to find an in character way for my Techmarine to thank the Devastator for that as it was very nearly a 'Burn a Fate Point or die' moment...

While scanning the area for other threats Tyr observed the assault team emerging from the central towers dome in pursuit of a small anti-grav vehicle and quickly switched to his requisitioned Missile Launcher for a long-range shot . Unfortunately the vehicle was equipped with a defensive shield and the Krak Missiles destructive energies were harmless expended so with little else he could do to help his comrades he followed his reckless fellow Marines towards their new target.

The fleeing Ethereals vehicle was heading towards a landing pad between two of the large outpost's Caste buildings where a much larger tau vehicle was waiting. An honour guard of some nature was awaiting his arrival in a state of high alert and though there was no way of taking these guards by surprise the White Scar had a surprise in store nonetheless...

While the Black Templar and Raven Guard moved towards the Honour Guard, Hakim diverted all the power he could to his Jump Pack and possessing strength considerable even for an Astartes attempted to use this combination to gain entry to the Barracuda transport via the cockpit. Though designed to withstand a variety of stresses apparently plummeting, armoured, Power Sword wielding, jump pack enhanced space marines was not one of them and the pilot compartment exploded open as Hakims ferocious impact destroyed both the protective dome, both the pilots and much of the internal compartments floor and amazingly he himself survived the experience completely unharmed.

Editors Note - No I haven't dramatised that at all...that's exactly how it happened...apparently there's no escaping Kill Team Theta...even if you have a space-ship and they don't...


While Hakim was digging himself from the shattered remnants of what was once the underside of a Tau Barracuda, Klaus of the Black Templars assaulted the awaiting Tau guards but by a strange twist of fate managed to miss with every attack. The Tau selected to guard the Ethereal were obviously the pick of their warriors as despite having a Marine in their midst they still were collected enough to concentrate their firepower and the mass of energy weapons at close range tore through the Templars armour inflicting horrific burns upon the Marine within. In an impressively precise piece of flying the Raven Guard managed to use the exhaust blast from his own Jump Pack to extinguish the flames engulfing his battle brother while simultaneously unleashing a torrent of Shotgun Rounds into the retreating Honour Guard now protecting the stranded Ethereal.

From his position beneath the crippled escape vessel Hakim could see the surviving Honour Guard unleashing their weapons at the Apothecary as he attempted to stabilise the critically wounded Klaus. Once again showing his mastery of lightning assaults utilising his favoured Jump Pack he charged into the closely packed guards butchering many of them with his sword in a display of brutal yet controlled violence which when finished left seven of them dead. The Ethereal himself was utilising a personal defensive field that had protected him from the majority of the melee and ranged attacks focused upon himself and his guards but unfortunately this was only to protect them for a brief time as the last of the honour guard fell to the marines onslaught.

Rather than make any attempt to defend himself the Ethereal began to speak to his attackers, extolling the virtues of the Tau Empire, the inherent value in the philosophy of the Greater Good and for unexplained reasons his voice began to worm it's way into the thoughts of Hakim and Validus delaying their finishing of him. While making this impassioned speech he slowly moved back making some distance between himself and his potential executioners...

Editors Note - Several important Willpower tests had been failed and Fate Points for re-rolls were unfortunately in short supply...

Through an act of astonishing willpower somewhat assisted by the plethora of stimulants now flooding his system the Black Templar once again entered the combat. The Ethereal was now undefended and the enraged Black Templar grabbed hold of him and ended his existence with a brutal headbutt that shattered his skull breaking the strange spell that had overcome his comrades. A few approaching defenders were quickly mopped up by Hakim and Validus. The complex around them was now however completely focused upon the eradication of the trespassers within their midst and it looked like they would be unable to gain the brief respite needed to contact their base and activate their teleport homer.

Maakus's grasp of the Tau language and his familiarity with their technology gained upon many of their recent missions had enabled him to both discern the purpose of the piece of technology he'd taken from the Tau Commander and to interface some of his own systems with it and he suddenly found himself able to control several of the nearby Tau Drones defending the closest facility. He used several of the larger models outside the Earth Caste base to massacre the surprised defenders and utilised one of these to detonate their armoury while the others continued their killing spree. As he gained confidence with the devices interface he found that more of the machines fell under his influence. The demoralised Tau soon found their own weapons turning upon them and despite valiant attempts to regain control were unable to do so. Showing no mercy to the Xenos the Techmarine systematically used them to slaughter the bases entire population.....

Epilogue
With the facility knee deep in corpses, destroyed technology and burning buildings Kill-Team Theta gathered what intelligence they could salvage, several of the drones and the body of the slain Ethereal before activating their homing devices and teleporting back to the ship that had brought them there and rushing the severely burned Templar to the Apothecarium.

Klaus lay on a biobed in the Apothecarium connected to its monitors via the sockets in his Black Carapace and with many tubes feeding sacred nutrients into his body to enhance it's own regenerative properties. Though the damage to bone and flesh was well on the way to repair his skin however was beyond the ability of grafts and healing slaves to rectify and he now had a visage which was truly terrifying.

Klaus was somewhat surprised to note the Iron Hand Maakus had entered the room. Even without his Power Armour, Servo arms and Mechadendrites the wounded Templar could see very little flesh remaining on the Techmarine though he could see what may have been a flash of disappointment cross his face as he realised that Klaus had all his limbs intact.

"I hear..." stated Maakus in his usual monotone "...that you plan on utilising that new visage of yours to strike fear into the enemies of the Imperium". Klaus confirmed the rumour that had been circulating and the Techmarine continued. "There is a basic technique amongst those familiar with such procedures that we refer to as 'Cranial Armour' that will go some way to increasing your survive-ability if you plan on eschewing the use of a helm" The Iron Hand paused briefly to tap his own reinforced head with a bulky metallic finger "It needn't look like this though, plates and reinforcement can be added internally should aesthetics be of importance to you." Klaus paused as he considered the idea before replying "Externally will be fine...how are you skills as an artificer?...I have something particular in mind..."

The Imperial Fist's Heavy Bolter was dismantled down to the last tiny bolt and laid out systematically across Maakus's own workbench in the Deathwatch's forge facility. In honour of the fact that Tyr had prevented his destruction at the hands of that last surviving Crisis Suit he was servicing the weapon personally rather than allow a serf to perform the work. He had already modified several of the internal components and altered the ammunition feed to greatly decrease the chance of the rapid firing weapon from jamming and was now adding a few minor tweaks that should marginally increase it's damage output before carefully reassembling it. The work was somewhat more satisfying than that performed upon the Black Templar earlier as Klaus's insistence upon unnecessary aesthetic alterations was alien to the Iron Hands emphasis on function...still...if he wanted to walk around with a skull mask instead of a face who was he to argue...

Back to Reality
I'm not sure whether the massacre of the facility was part of our GM's original intention but this is now the 2nd time that the Techmarine has been responsible for unspeakable amounts of mass murder...

After some discussion with the GM it was decided to allow the Chaplain in training to have the Cranial Armour bionic upgrade and for the Devastators Heavy Bolter to be upgraded one level in craftsmanship to 'Exceptional' as free rewards based on roleplaying.

Every-one was given 750XP for this mission as we achieved all the mission objectives and most of the players got bonus experience points for roleplaying their characters successes...and failures...so the session was immediately followed by a bit of an XP spending spree. Several of the players (myself included) are now Rank 2 so have access to a whole new set of GM frustrating Skills and Talents...

As expected most of the experience was spent on upgrades to basic characteristics that effected Skills that the players had failed rolls attempting and upgrades to those Skills themselves. A number of Talents were also purchased that players thought might come in useful.

Thoughts and comments are (as usual) most welcome.