[BatRep] Apoc - The Defense of CH22 - Chapter 2

Raptors Inbound!
The left flank of CH22 was nothing but a charnel house. Guardsman were falling, either dying at the hands of the Berserkers, or retreating towards the bastion in a futile effort to separate themselves from the invaders. But this is exactly what the renegades wanted, they needed to clear space, for the next several moments would break the morale and fighting spirit of both humans and the lapdogs of the corpse emperor. Amongst the sound of lasguns, chainaxes, and frenzied screaming of the renegades, a new sound began to manifest. A throaty hum that that at its finale, tore a hole in reality itself and through stepped a creature of

The True Face of Chaos
pure terror. Flexing his mighty wings and arcing his arms backwards, as if coming from an eternity of slumber, the demon prince strode forwards, having materialised directly in the centre of the left flank. "DOOM COMES FOR YOU LAPDOGS!!!" And as if to punctuate that statement, renegade shock troops descended from the sky on trails of fire and smoke. The renegade assault had begun in earnest.

On the right flank, the Night Lord Sorcerer had felt the demon prince's arrival through the warp, as he continued to pull enemy forces towards


The Ork Carrier goes unchecked
his Berserkers. His Terminators laying down swathes of bolter and Reaper fire. "The trap is sprung. Havoc squad report position." "Havoc squad is in position and awaiting primary targets. So far the only one of any consequence is still the auxiliary target my Lord." "Affirmative. Remain vigilant and do not miss your opportunity should it arrive." With that he cut the vox link. There were other matters to attend to. His Berserkers and their champion were heavily engaged with the Loyalist Marine Assault Squads, but there could be only one outcome and his point was proven, moments later, when the last of the Raven Guard fell to the Berserker squad. All was going according to plan and soon it looked as though the right flank would be theirs.
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Death Incarnate

"Sir!! Left flank reports casualties over 65% including wounded. It will not hold." Xiev looked to the officer with grim determination. "It must hold, we cannot allow the enemy into the bastion or all is lost. We were not prepared for both the Orks and the Chaos forces. What is the status from the Motor Pool?" "We should have armoured relief within the hour." "Make that 40 minutes sergeant." With that Xiev crossed to the left border of the bastion. "Report, left flank." "This is heavy weapon platoon commander Pious. Casualties are heavy and the enemy is working their way toward with no end in sight to their massacre, we will fall, we cannot....wait....the sky....there are comets or meteors..." The sergeant trailed off, Xiev threw his eyes to the sky and he was correct. There were many streaking lines of fire and heat making their way towards them.

"Drop Pods Captain, impossible to ascertain markings from this distance but they are most assuredly Astartes in design. They will be landing any moment." The Drop Pods screaming from the heavens, struck the surface with a force that caused the very ground to shake. As the hatches blew open, bobbing green lenses were the only thing coming from the darkness. Suddenly, Storm bolter fire began heralding the arrival of the newcomers. Grey Terminators, clad in wolf pelts and teeth, slowly and relentlessly made their way down the hatches. The hatch blew from the third drop pod, and out stepped a giant Dreadnought and as if to ensure that all forces recognised this new threat his built-in vox caster boomed a hearty greeting. "IN THE NAME OF RUSS, I. WILL. END YOU!!" as he swung his giant hammer downwards and the resulting shock wave threw several ork bikers from their machines and sent them sprawling towards his terminator brethren. Standing above the orks, they quickly dispatched them with a short blast of their storm bolters or swings from their power axes.



We come for your head Beast!
"Yes, YES!! More sacrifices for the Blood God!" If the Warbands were surprised by the arrival of the Wolves, they did not show it. "Ever do the sons of Russ lope among the stars, only to find their meagre death at the end of our axes!! Divert strike teams to destroy them and then re-join us for the culmination of the battle!" The Chosen nodded and relayed the information to several roving bands of Berserkers nearby who eagerly went whooping in the direction of the Wolves.


"Dis jus gitz betta an betta! More things ta stomp inta the dirt!!." The Ork warboss and his nobs were weaving and ducking their way past the outward defences with ease, cutting down guardsman and Astartes alike. They had finally made it to the wall and were beginning to breach. Soon the Orks would be inside, and impossible to contain. "Fire da big gun agin. I wanna see dem bodies flyin BWAHAHAAH!!!! The Warboss slew dozens of guardsmen, he loved to hear the sound the bones made when he squeezed them his claw. Like squeezing a grape until it became a fleshy pink raisin.


Salvation from the Wolves
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"Captain, reinforcements have arrived, the day may not be lost!!" The Logisitician looked to the Raven Guard for reply, but the one he received was one of mixed emotions. "The day is never lost human. It saddens me to see you are so easily broken in spirit. Trust to the Emperor and he will see that you are given a place at his side in the end. There is a saying on Deliverance, The First Step in Avoiding a Trap, is Knowing of it's Existence." With that he blinked a lone rune in the corner of his display. "Confirmed Captain, Deliverance trains the faithful." With this simple code exchanged, the Raven Guard Captain
Defend the Gatehouse
looked to the East, the right flank.

The right flank was now firmly in the control of the Night Lords, only several small contingents of guard squads and Heavy Weapons teams remained, led by the lone Techmarine Gudrun. Gudrun however had managed to rally the Guard behind him, as he smote Ork and Night Lord with mighty swings of his Thunderhammer while his servo-arm tore limbs from bodies like some appendage with a mind of it's own. The Night Lords however pressed their advantage and closed in for the kill. Then, he saw him. The sorcerer who had been moving men against their will, effortlessly cutting down his enemies with his force weapon. It glowed and sang as it tore through the air, then through meaty sacks that were once Guardsmen. Before he could move to the next squad however, a roiling ball of plasma detonated in his proximity, felling one of his elite guard. Gudrun looked to the south and there was what they had been waiting for.


A Close Quarters Massacre Ensues
"Right flank reporting in. Sir, more elements of the Raven Guard have arrived. They knew sir. They knew all along." Xiev was furious, but he knew better than to publicly cry out at the Captain. "Captain this is Xiev, what is the meaning of this?! You knew there were more here than just the Orks?" "Yes Colonel. Regrettably I could not divulge the information reasons which are twofold. First, we did not know their numbers, readying a force to intercept or defend against them would have tipped them off that our numbers were not what they thought they were. Second, this is our trap, and they have fallen into it nicely.


The Night Lord Zerker is unstoppable
The Night Lord way of war is very similar to our own, and they struck you just how we would have, Precision over Power Colonel, and Strength through Secrecy. That is our way." The colonel stood there, realising that this battle was now far from over."Colonel, the Armour stands ready!!" The Colonel looked to his sergeant and gave his order, which brought approval from the Raven Guard Captain. "Unleash Hell."

The right flank was now a hurricane of activity. The Raven Guard had sprung their trap, led by their Venerable Brother, interred within the holy sarcophagus, and their Librarian, safely housed within the Crusader Pattern Land Raider. The latter of which opened fire on the Berserkers, their close proximity shredding all but their most determined to pieces. The assault cannon tearing through their worn power Armour with ease. But they did not fall as easily as they hoped. The Land Raiders machine spirit sensing the danger felt in the direction of the Night Lord Dreadnought. A crazed eternal warrior, the dreadnought had all but destroyed the southern section of the flank, its Lascannon barrel glowing from the heat of discharge and its chained fist still had the corpses of Guardsmen hanging from it. It came time to end this foe, and with a blast of super heated energy, the Multi-Melta tore through the sarcophagus to the power plant, detonating the entire hellish nightmare creature.


I live to Serve

"KILL THE ALL!!!" The Berserkers charged into the Space Wolves, all the while bodies fell around them as Storm Bolters unleashed a hail of shells towards them. But their thirst could not be slaked and they crashed into the Wolves with a fearsome determination. What ensued was a bloody, swirling death. As sheer numbers of Berserkers descended upon the small but well disciplined ranks of the Terminators and their Dreadnought. Strike after strike, either a heretic or loyalist fell.
Power axes gleaming, the Sons of Russ took a bloody toll on the Warband, but this just seemed to force them into an even larger frenzy, as Brothers were being endlessly cut down in front of them. A large group of berserkers made for the final group of Terminators when suddenly a great hole was rent in the earth, its source stemming from a powerful psyker. The Runepriest had opened the very jaws of the world to swallow them whole. Before the Berserkers had time to react, the Dreadnought swung his mighty hammer, causing bodies to simple melt into oblivion with the force of its blow. "AT LAST....BACK TO WAR!!!" boomed the vox caster.



Hold the Line!!
The Power of Demons
"Move fasta ya gits!! We needz to git the wall down so's we can get the squishies inside!!" The Warboss was directing his nobs to the walls, and they tore forward with relentless speed. Caring not for their own safety the smashed into walls and began tearing into the defenses, all the while lasgun fire and bolter rounds harmlessly detonating against their bikes. They were simply to large and to strong to be felled so easily. Without warning a wash of heat and flame came down around them and impact shock waves that caused them to take a step backwards. Straining to see into the dust cloud, they were rewarded at the sight of five Astartes running towards them. "Leave deez gits ta me boyz. You just get the wallz down!!", snarled the Warboss and he gunned his engine towards the Raven Guard Vanguard. "Time to be squished inta itty bitty pieces ya Squig slag!!" The Raven Guard stood their ground, and flexed their arms to their sides, as lighting claws snapped from their gauntlets. Forward strode their sergeant, big even for a space marine, he hefted his thunderhammer and placed his shield in front of him bracing for impact. But at the last second he turned outward and spun the shield to slam straight into the warboss's face, unmounting him. The warboss however was unfazed and immediately came to grips with his enemies. Hurling spittle into their visors, he screamed a horrendous shout of defiance. "I think you made it angry sergeant." "Good. Come beast, this will be your last moments of pathetic life in this world. KILL THE MUTANT!" The warboss and the veterans struck and struck out again, lightning claws burying themselves deep in his flesh, he could not stand against such numbers, striding forwards and with one clean swing, the Sergeant caved in the side of its head with his Thunderhammer."



The Orks will soon breach


"My Lord, the Orks are broken. The lapdogs have cut the head from the body and infighting has begun in the Orks. They are fighting for control of the mob." "Just like our dear brothers of the Raven. Ever striking from the shadows, applying pressure exactly where needed and nothing more, while glory passes them by. A foe does not remember such a trick. But fear and terror, that was the way of Konrad Kurze and we will show them what it means to be remembered. Signal our allies to begin flaming the guard from their positions, collapsing them inwards, when the Orks regain control, that will huddle them closer to the bastion and hopefully bring out some choice targets for the Havocs. We must be in the exact position of the resulting carnage, timing will be everything." The Sorcerer lashed out at another group of guardsmen. "Ensure that the Berserkers destroy that Raven Guard force lest we be bothered with it ourselves.

The battle was now fully joined, with little reinforcements remaining. The guard had brought their armor to bear and it was taking its toll on all enemy forces. The thunderous cavalcade of cannons, lasguns, bolters, plasma, and of course the screams of battle and of pain lent purchase to the battlefield. The Big Mek had managed to rally the Orks to his command, and the Space Wolves were fighting hard to maintain control of the left flank against the unstoppable tide of Berserkers and their Demon Prince. Time would tell what the outcome of the defense of CH22 would be.
This is part 2 to an apocalypse game played between 6 players, written as a narrative to both make it easier to document and enhance the overall feel of the battle. The rest will be broken into 5 chapters, 1 per game turn and will include all the pictures of the battle as well. Enjoy it, we certainly did. - Scribed, written and embelished by my friend dmielken and posted originally on his blog Stalking Among Shadows

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