Brother Juden: My faith is my shield, my fury is my sword!
The Predator grumbles as we leave it behind, entering the cave-like fortress past the gate.
The shield generator is past this entrance hall, and accessible via the left or right wing.
Our first priority is to dig in with the heavy weapons (two heavy bolters were brought, while Storyfag of Squad Corinth holds a plasma gun) and establish control of the hall before us.
While the Devastators overwatched the hall, Tactical Squad heads into the left tunnel. Half of Assault Squad peels off to provide Close-Quarters-Combat support for the Tacticals, while the other half provides counterattack protection for the Devastators. Assault Brother Helly attacks a Traitor Marine in the southwest while
Brother Toastboy coils his power fist
And launches his enemy into the Warp.
And all seems well.
Suddenly, in the right wing, Toastboy ducks his head as bolts spin at him from the darkness.
As if on cue, the west wing is explodes with light and sound and smoke.
And Berzerkers rush the center line of Devastators.
Brace, brothers!
Brother Helly! He has fallen during the chaos of battle!
But the Ultramarines fight on. The forward assault of Berzerkers has failed.
And their fire support with it.
More Berzerkers rush 3rd Squad's position.
But they are easily defeated this time,
And in order not to repeat past mistakes, they dig into cover and pop smoke grenades.
From a more secure, entrenched position, it is much easier to handle this watchful Word Bearer.
The battlefield as of now.
The west division of units advances further under cover.
We must proceed up this stairway,
Across this upper room and down the opposite stairs,
Through the tunnel-like hallway to another room, with another staircase
That more or less leads to the room with the shield generator Brother Juden must deactivate.
Draco quickens Sergeant Timoleon, who is eager to be first into the room ahead.
He sees two enemies
Then snickers as his super-superhuman speed carries him around the corner to safe cover.
Meanwhile two Ultramarines take up firing position, using the lip of the stairway for cover.
Their shots are off the mark. Sergeant Timoleon is impatient, and an idea pops into his head.
He uses his enhanced quickness again, dashing behind the Word Bearer
The Traitor Marine admires his opponent's combat intuition for the two milliseconds the bolt takes to enter his helmet and explode inside his brain.
The forward defender down, the Ultramarines swarm into the room, assault units pressuring the defenders of the rear stairway.
In a spontaneous yet coordinated maneuver, Brother Slaughter ducks out of vision
As Brother Slips slams bolts into the enemy's eyes.
Only one defender in the next hallway after the stairs
Hellraiser gives this new student an introductory lesson from his power axe.
There are still a number of enemies left before the generator.
We enter the next room, keeping a close eye on the fire lanes.
Again only one defender,
Who falls to coordinated fire.
This bolter - It looks as if crafted by the 10th or the 18th Legion! Timoleon replaces his bolter with the golden one.
And a unique power axe. Sergeant Hellraiser wields it gladly.
Gannicus scouts above the stairs
But suddenly red flames coat his visor, coming from seemingly every direction
He breaks rank, and then the fire consumes him.
Draco and Janus attempt an impromptu firebase, combining heavy bolter and Hellfire.
Sergeant Timoleon runs to join the duo, but he is immolated by flamer as well
And a veteran Space Marine falls...
Draco and Janus send furious bolts that down the Chaos Marines in the closest doorway.
But there are too many to handle for two, and no secure position for additional support.
Way too much opposition. Time to back out.
Now we wait for the enemy to come into our kill zone.
The stairs quickly pile with red-clad corpses. After some time, the Word Bearers realize their tactical mistake, and start lobbing frag grenades in frustration.
A shard of debris stabs into Draco, pinning him to the ground. The icon for his vitals fades from the visions of the other Marines...
But it was no victory for our enemies. Only one enemy was left by the end of the barrage.
The reward for treachery... Retribution.
Not many Traitors left between us and the generator. Half of the red dots are enemy positions we have bypassed.
The squads file into the hallway, assault units ducked in cover while the rest have guns out.
Brother Toastboy: This berk is mine.
Now, we methodically take position with fire support at the room's ports.
I think this one has a plasma cannon.
This one, a missile launcher.
We use smoke to cover our movements
Guilliman would be proud.
With no opposition when the Marines dug in at the entrances to the room, they proceed to fan out into hard cover behind the pillars. By spreading the Marines, the renegades have to contend from every direction, and cannot predict where the concentration of force will occur.
This guy looks like a lord, with a fancy robe.
With our heavy weapons outmatched by the enemy's, the focus instead swings to the assault squads. Goku and Toastboy run up the right flank while Hellraiser and Slaughter take the left. There is enough soft cover to cover their advance.
Or so they think.
A searing blue globe simultaneously burns and slams Goku to the ground. Both his hearts drum wildly, almost erratically, and tendrils of black threaten to rob his vision.
With a groan - a noise not unlike a dying elephant's last angry effort - Goku stabs a pack of emergency stims through the soft armor close to his groin.
Goku, you see, is unique among the extraordinary. Every time he falls, he returns stronger.
And so, he batters back the blackness in his vision. Then he snarls, replying as if he had simply been backhanded, and launches himself at the Traitor Marine.
Toastboy joins the fray.
Brother Awesome
Purges this heretic.
Goku, still red with rage, flies at the last Chaos Marine - the one with the missile launcher.
Explosions of sparks echo each impact of the power fist.
The Chaos Marine looks confused as Goku suddenly drops from his vision.
Then a krak grenade fills his right eyeport.
All clear, Brother Tech-Marine.
After a few rolls...
...
The shield is down.
Promotions and awards:
And deaths:
Dayyālu Helly Commissar Draco