Ingredior: Where Silence Stops

This is the second battle in the ongoing Ingredior campaign. Click [HERE] to read the previous part, 'The Sally At Ferroc Castle'

After the resolution of the first battle, I presented Chris and his command of Sons of Medusa with the choice found below... 

After careful consideration, the Sons of Medusa opted for a cautious approach toward Ingredior Magnifica's Astropathic Relay.  The area near Ferroc Castle had been cleared of the immediate threat of the Necron Assault.  But the areas stretching out from it, former Mechanicus Serf habitats and a lattice of now battle-worn city districts, were haunted by all manner of Canoptek horrors or Necron kill teams.  It would take careful planning and hard fighting to slowly retake the area and begin to build a sufficiently capable force of mortal men and women to bolster a large scale counter assault against the Xenos. In the outlands, beyond the city stretching out from Ferroc Castle, stand towering Necron constructions of engraved black stone, restricting and dampening the Astropathic Choir. 

The constructions are heavily guarded; legions of Necrons stalk the outlands, probing constantly into the city by the hour to determine the nature of their recent defeat. Speed and Stealth are the watchwords of the day. The psychic dampening pylons must be deactivated quickly and without alerting the wider Necron armies to a significant breakout attempt.  Once deactivated, an elite force of Astartes and Kingsguard must blitz through the gap in the psychic field to re-capture the Astropathic Choir, and orient it through the newly created breach.  

Lt. Laird, would lead a small strike team into the Outlands ahead of the Assault Force led by Captain Corporis and Galkraan, Eternal King of Iron. 

We would be using my 'Force Reconnaissance' Rules for Warhammer 40,000 9th Edition, the following will be a recounting recorded live as the battle was played on the club's discord channel. 

There are 3 pylons representing the network of dampeners outside the relay. There are Patrols of scarabs maintaining the pylons and a guardian canoptek wraith in the center. The Marines start out undetected. Canoptek units have a 10" detection range, and their likely movement direction is indicated by the models' facing. If they are obscured from sight by terrain, the model is removed, and a die is placed indicating their last known location.

There are three alert levels indicating the growing awareness of the necrons to the intrusion. With increasing damage to the pylons and detections, also increasing the alert level.

The Marine Infiltration force is led by Lt. Laird, a Primaris Lt. In Phobos armor, he leads 4 infiltrators and 3 reivers who have been heavily upgraded. The infiltrators and Laird advance past a few Scarab patrols up toward the northeastern pylon

Once there, the reivers arrive via deep strike with grab chutes. The force eliminates two scarab bases, and the wraith begins reacting, moving up to investigate the loss of the scarabs

After a fairly intensive battle, the wraith is defeated, and the first pylon is destroyed, raising the alert to level 1, warriors and directed scarabs enter play.

The marines continue a merciless advance, gunning down three warriors and forcing their way into the vicinity of the second pylon. The Alert level is raised to 2. A tomb blade enters play along the line of pylons from the southwest. As more warriors arrive in larger squads

With a single shot, Lt. Laird slays the Tomb Blade, the metal xenos toppling dead from its mount, which pinwheels into the dry surface of Ingredior Magnifica, shearing off metal in a great plume of dust and sparking energies.

The Infiltration force advances, as the charges on the second pylon erupt. The marines have completed their primary objective; 2 of 3 pylons have been eliminated, though who knows what benefit the aliens might derive from these structures in a pitched battle. Laird pushes his men onward to the third and final pylon. The alert is now at level 3, and sizeable Necron assets are beginning to arrive.

The Sons of Medusa are undaunted; they break through several Necron skirmish lines to secure the objective. Planning charges on the final pylon as dozens of warriors begin to arrive. As the final pylon topples, the Infiltration team goes to ground in a nearby ruin, snapping off shots at their pursuers. Laird fires a green flare into the air above their position to mark their success. A signal seen by Captain Corporis and the Mortal Hosts of Galkraan, the Eternal King of Iron, who begin to move to their aid

Notable Deeds:

Lt. Laird personally killed 2 tomb blades, a death mark, and nearly a dozen scarab swarms.

The Reivers, though losing two of their number, slew triple their number in Necron warriors and a canoptek wraith

The Infiltrators destroyed all three pylons and killed several Necrons

We will join Lieutenant Laird and his men, as well as the rolling spearhead of the Sons of Medusa in Part 3.

I hope you enjoyed! 

-Your Favorite Madman-

Hobby: Salamanders Combat Patrol

 

In keeping with the theme of small thematic armies or warbands, I present here my small force of Salamanders Space Marines.  This force was made from leftover 'firstborn' Space Marine models donated by Grey Mountain Gaming club members and a few models from my own collection that were made to create different factions of Marines for people to use in the club's different narratives and games days.  I'm pretty fond of this force. It reminds me of the type of army you might have seen in Codex: Armageddon or a White Dwarf from the early 2000's. It's probably the attack bike and combat squad that does it.  From a composition and development standpoint, I wanted to give some of the flavor of the Salamanders as a chapter (ie., flame weapons) and construct the force as a small rapid reaction unit or rapid incursion strike force.  I picture them being in Vahland Sector to pursue the traitors of the Centurions of Innocence [LINK] a former Successor chapter of the Salamanders turned traitor, and of course helping to contain the many flashpoints in Vahland that threaten to destabilize Southern Ultramar and the Charadon Sector.

Captain Nehr Fal'yn is the esteemed leader of this strike force. As evidenced by the fact he has traded in his helmet for a glowy sword, the mark of any true hero of the Imperium. I've never been a fan of the lore that Salamanders have black skin and red eyes. My first introduction to the chapter portrayed them with African skin tones, and I've always preferred that to the more sci-fi approach. 

The force was really rapidly painted using Vallejo's Intermediate Green thinned down for use in an airbrush.  Which made short work of the force and applied a nice even green across the full force. I added in small flame details here and there, and I had a small amount of Salamanders shoulder pads and upgrades from Forge World which were donated to the club by one of its members.  

All in all, the force is appealing to me, and its always a great feeling to have a painted force on the table. I've got a few posts queued up to show you these guys on the field working to keep Vahland Sector safe from the Mutant, Xenos and Heretic very soon. So stay tuned! 

Thank you for reading! 

-Your Favorite Madman-

Unit Profile: The Sages of Enmity

 

Born of the Ultima Founding the Sages of Enmity Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes began life as members of the Unnumbered Sons of Guilliman, known also as the Grey Shields. Drawn from the genetic progeny of Ferrus Manus these men fought within the mighty armada of the Indomitus Crusade, plying the stars to arrest mankind's headlong plunge into ruin. When the devastation of the Praeses Vahlandia was discovered by the Crusade upon their arrival in the Sector, the sanction was given to form a new chapter to stand sentinel in Vahland. 

The Sages' Chapter Master, Zhong Kui. was chosen for his even-handed temperament and capable mind for political maneuvering, a useful skill in the often tumultuous political, religious, and military organizations that make up the Vahland Sector. Master Kui, after much discussion with his new Chaplains, based the Chapter's heraldry on the tragedy of their Primarch, The helm and arms of each brother would bear a blood-red pigment, symbolic of their father's sacrifice, and referencing the chapter's teachings where the origins of a warriors power lie in the mind and are channeled outward through the arms. In contrast to the fiery red, the core of their armor would be a slate gray showing their immovable resolve and acting as a symbolic metaphor for their role as the bedrock of humanity, for without the constant sacrifice and strife of the Astartes, the dominion of Mankind would surely topple.

The Chapter's Organization follows the Codex standard as laid down by Primarch Guilliman but has the quirk of the Order Youxia [You-She-Ha], which is a variation on the Crux Terminatus Honorific within other chapters, it essentially signals personal veterancy, meritorious adherence to the cult and creed of the chapter, and highlights the Brothers aptitude in combat. The Youxia, make up all manner of ranks throughout the Chapter, and each bear specially forged power blades and a ritual plumed helmet as a signifier of the honor they bear. 

The Liberation of Haspis Marina was the first conflict that the Chapter took part in, Vahland Sector's capital world, it was paramount that the new stewards of the region take part in freeing its highest offices of the taint of Chaos. A brutally hard-fought campaign, which lasted for 7 Months, the action saw the Sages of Enmity and hundreds of other Imperial formations sweep through a Chaos Tainted Coalition led by major elements of the Word Bearers. The aftermath of this action would have deeply resonating aftershocks, with many of the traitor coalition fracturing across the Sector and going on to launch their own campaigns in the years that followed, some of the Sector's most notorious villains and most glorious heroes fought at Haspis Marina, such as Galgathrax the Unwholesome, and Captain Corporis of the Sons of Medusa. The Campaign is memorialized on the Chapter Standard with a flaming sword plunging through 9 spheres wrapped with a twisting serpent, noting the Emperor's Sword wielded by Robute Guilliman, the nine worlds of the Haspian system, and its occupation by traitors.

Following the victory at Haspis Marina, the Sages of Enmity journeyed to the nearby system of Iocles, where the Chapter founded its homeworld, in the high altitude mountain ranges of the systems prime world, adopting its barely industrialized society as theirs. Master Kui, favored the world for its similarity to Medusa, the world of their gene line's progeny, and for its supposed "Sage Kings" who operate fledgling client states amidst the bones of a once ascendant Dark Age of Technology civilization. 

When the 1st Jornathii Ork War began, some 93 years following the Liberation of Haspis Marina, the Sages of Enmity had several smaller campaigns throughout the Sector under their proverbial belts. The Orks of the Skinner Worlds had been a spot of anxiety for the Chapter, Ork Empires are notoriously volatile, and prone to violent land grabs. The Sages were scattered throughout the Vahland Sector, when the initial Ork landings occurred on Jornath, dealing with threats from a number of great and lesser Xenos and Heretic forces. It was hoped that the Jornath system, being the seat of some of the Urient Sub-Sectors most prolific trade guilds, and noble families would be able to bring to bear such overwhelming manpower and equipment that a landing by Orks in such numbers as were present on the world in the Early War period would not greatly threaten regional stability. When the Emerald Scream incident occurred, triggering a major fleet deployment of Orks from the Skinner Worlds, it became clear to the Sages of Enmity that they would be required to aid in the defense alongside those Astartes and Imperial Guard Armies already present in the system. 

The Sages of Enmity arrived shortly after the Fall of Ankou, in fact, their 2nd, 4th, and 6th Companies arrived in the system during the final hours of the Battle for the High Civitans Palace, during which they joined forces with the withdrawing portions of Battlegroup Ankou, and took positions with the Jornathii System Defense Fleet and Battlefleet Vahland where the took part in what is still the largest orbital fleet action in the Sub-Sectors history.  When the Orks broke through and began landing forces in the Writt Expanse, near Hive Oakenzid, the Sages of Enmity took to the ground alongside thousands of other Astartes and millions of PDF and Guard troops. In that time many great actions occurred, with members of 4th Company neutralizing a formation of Xenos Gargants under Traggazog Metalcap, and the 2nd leading the push of 10th KCC, the 7th Chonn Heavy Infantry, 32nd Antinar Deepers and the 12/16th Oakenzid Conscripted Levy in the jaws of Ur Bloodstamp, one of the Starflaya's prime lieutenants, resulting in the death of that great foe at the hands of Color Sgt. Felica Janol of the 32nd Antinar Deepers, earning the respect of Captain Hóng tāo. The 32nd to this day bear the Sages Chapter marking on their regimental banner, alongside the mummified skull of Ur Bloodstamp, which hangs from the banner pole. 

In the years following the 1st Jornathii Ork War, the Sages have been active in advocating for a number of significant military expeditions in the Sink of Erasmus, and the Skinner Worlds to neutralize the significant threat posed by these dens of the aliens and heretics before they can again sally out to sew havoc through the sub-sector.  As the Chapter ages, they have continued to refine their Cult and Creed, focusing on a methodical and dispassionate response to threats, and placing special credence to rapid ruthless strikes to eliminate their targets.