Fluff:
"We can't let them remain there! If the legions have them, we are not going to fare well. We must retrieve them, with all due haste!" Valerie was not even pretending to hold her emotions check.
"I concur, Major. However, we haven't much at our disposal. I have Schmidt and his Jaegers, a depleted squad of militia, Hussars and Vulkans. If you take them into the caves, they won't come out." Luczsyski tried to reason with the major.
"Give me equipment, and those troops, and I will retrieve what remains. The legions shall not prevail. I will personally guarantee it."
"Major, if you fail, we may as well vacate Mercury."
"I will not fail, Herr Luczsyski."
Combatants: DMcGee1 vs PhillySniper
PC: 1250
Environment : Subterranean 8
Duration : 6 Turns
Victory Conditions: Retreival (6 random markers of which three are real with 3 decoys). Each real marker is worth three points if gotten off a friendly deployment zone board edge.
Special Rules: (Units that go off board with a package are not considered lost. Units that retreat from the board after turn 5 are not considered lost.
Date and Time of Battle: 10/13/16 AM
Setup/b]: 48"x48" board with lots of corridors and a few chambers. Some ceilings only high enough for SZ 2 models without having to crawl. Roll randomly for terrain level and side of board on which to deploy.
"Their cursed stench fills this place, Major. Our comms are useless, and most of the men are scared. Some of these boys have seen the legion, and have reason to fear it. The others have heard their stories, and tremble at those thoughts, alone."
"Keep it together, Kaptain. I will not tolerate failure, today. We must prevail, as to not would mean having to explain to High Command why we no longer have Mercurian interests. Do you get me, Kaptain?"
"Yes, Major."
"Good. Position your men at the choke points, and decoy the flanks. Our mission is not eradication. Get in, get out. Do not hunt stragglers. Do not linger longer than absolutely necessary. I will have the Vulkans cover your rear. The Hussars and militia will pull flank duty. Do not hesitate to leave without me, as I won't without you."
"Yes, Major."
TURN 1
The militia went up the left falnk, covering the intersection of corridors, there. The unmistakeable cackle of karnophages echoed with every step further into the caverns. Valerie kept the militia to her left, following a lava tube through its course. Something glinted. She readied. The cacaphony of evil laughter seemed everywhere. Hussars pressed the darkness. Shadows played with their fears - and their eyes. The Vulkans tried, in vain, to maneuver for position while allowing egress for the other troops.
"Soulslayers!" The Jaegers sprang into action form their advanced position. The HMG's barked, mowing down karnophages like a scythe through fall harvest. The dank environmant played hell with the shells, forcing the troopers to waste effort clearing jammed weapons. The 'phages took no pity, delighting in the misfortune of the Jaegers. What they did not immediately rend, the Soulslayers were only too happy to pounce and slash, like cats with mice. The Jaegers stood their ground. Spooked and confused by not only the environment, but the visages of their nightmares personified, they refused to yield. They bought valuable time. Shadows danced. Out of the corners of their eyes, figures moved. A necromancer appeared, immediately letting slip his monstocity in the form of a Razide. The Razide howled, firing its cannon into what was left. Still, the Jaegers held. The real leader of the force, Bhalaeron, hinself, took charge. Advancing, he took to the shadows, looking for opportunity to wreak havoc.
TURN 2
"Sarge, I got one - sending it down the line, now!" A package had been found! The gunfire was enough to all but drown out the private's discovery.
The necromagus ordered the troops to the front to confront and eliminate the Jeager stand. The 'phages, mindless, stood confused. Half of them nothing more than puddles of oozing "flesh," they were happy playing with the remains of their trophies. Initiates advanced through a corridor, unaware. Without warning the trailing initiate was snared and eaten by a Mercurian Komodo. Apparently, it cared not whether it was evil - only that it was in its lair, and it was food. The initiates froze. Another became nutrient before the Sacristan snapped his troops back to the battle. The Komodo disappeared as quickly as it had struck.
"Stay tight, Hussars. You're getting out of cohesion. Get back!" The Hussars had no real choice. The corridors were impossibly narrow. The Vulkan suits were blocking passage. Some took it upon themselves to travers by other means. On the left, Valerie investigated the glint, praying that it was what she dared to hope that it was. "Yes!" She grabbed the package, and headed to support the militia. Schmidt had the same idea, and beat her to them.
TURN 3
"They'll be here any moment, Sergeant. Prepare your men." Schmidt barked orders, trying to give the sergeant something other than his fears on which to focus. The insane cackling drew closer. Then, they were upon them. The 'phages swarmed, devouring militia, snapping, clawing, laughing. Like rabid monkeys, they tore through the militia. Schmidt found himself overwhelmed. His pistol spoke. A karnophage smiled in the release of death. Again, he fired, and another fell, only to be beset upon by his brethren. He squeezed the trigger, but heard no report. The 'phages knew that sound. It was like a shark sensing blood in the water. Kill. Do nothing else. Kill.
Without warning, a scythe reached out of the shadows and cut the HMG gunner in two. The militia sergeant ran. The remainig militia followed. Private Lerner stumbled. He spun to fire, but saw no target. A package! He grabbed it, righted himself, and ran for the entrance.
Bhalaeron filled the Jaegers minds with visions of their deepest fears. The Jaeger line could stand no longer. Karnos and Soulslayers blanketed their carcasses, rolling over them onto the next targets. Bhalaeron was pleased. He was awash in the glory of the hunt and in the chaos he so loved. The shadows moved, and an Angel appeared - a dark angel. Cleaving through soldiers who, a moment ago, were sure there was nothing there, were stunned into believing that shadows could, indeed, come alive. Bodies of the fallen littered the floor. They'd soon be recycled - by necrovats, not Mother Nature.
TURN 4
The ground heaved. Forces beneath the caverns would be held no longer. Ash and steam filled the corridor. Blinded the Hussars and the Vulkans could only crouch, waitng the inevitable. A Soulslayer reached out of the cloud. The Vulkan sergeant threw up his gun arm in a vain attmept to deflect the slash. Dails pegged into the red. Lights flashed. He swung wildly with the powerfist, and connected. He squeezed the Slayer, continuing even after the beast went limp. He felt a sense of satisfaction and accomplishmnet - for as long as it took for the second Slayer to extend a claw from the haze and decapitate the sergeant.
TURN 5
"We have what we came for! Get out, now, while you are able!" Valerie sprinted for the entrance, followed by two militiamen and two Hussars.
The Vulkans, blocked by debris and bodies, and filled with vengeance, unleashed a torrent of lead, bringing down two Karnophages, two more Soulslayers, all while taking fire from farther down the corridors. It was too much, versus too little. The caverns were not ideal for weapons such as the Vulkans. Their weapons jammed, fighting in close confines, they succumbed to the legions.
"Major, we did it!"
"Hold your tongue, private, we are not home, yet."
Luckily, I was able to snag all three real markers. It was the only thing that kept this game competitive. The tally (using the Tournament Point System) was 5.18 to PhillySniper's 14.82. Adding in the three packages at three points each, the final score was 14.18 to 14.82 - a draw!
