Ambush!

Tonight's Battlefield

 Somewhere on Phalona

Dawn bled pale light across the ridgeline as the column of soldiers moved through the valley. From the treeline above, two figures crawled through pine needles and damp soil, a rifle dragging behind them like a second shadow. They had no orders to fire, not yet. There mission was simpler: watch, follow, and wait until waiting became death, they stopped the leader raised a pair of magnoculars to there face and carefully looked down at the valley, the column was just getting moving again, the troops forming up looked ragged and when the image zoomed in on the first armoured vehicle in line, a Leman Russ, the cogitator in the magnoculars picked out scarred hull plates indicating battle damage, the observer pressed a button on the side of the magnoculars and the images were beamed away to a nearby receiver, a few seconds later a voice sounded in the scout snipers ear "Data received, unit approaching strike point, maintain stealth observation, do not acknowledge this transmission"
As the transmission ended a small smile tugged at the corner of the scouts mouth, soon now, soon, as they watched the column unknowingly marching to it's doom.......

The column of troops trudged on through the valley.  2 Leman Russ tanks headed the column, the commander of the lead vehicle stood tall in his turret and watched the route ahead. Some younger soldiers in the column looked enviously at the tankers as fatigue made their feet feel like lead with each step. The veteran soldiers however knew the potential of tanks to turn into metal coffins in the blink of an eye.  They would take their chances outside where they can dive for cover.  

In a wooded area along the valley side a lone figure rested against a fallen log watching the column go past.  

“That idiot tank commander,  there's something out there watching us. Why won't he believe me? “ Dutch checked his pistol's action and started to shadow the Phalonian forces as they moved on.

Tonight's battle was an ambush Scenario. 

Ambush

2pts - Unit Destroyed

3pts - Character destroyed

2pts - Defender unit off board

3pts - Defender Character off board

The battle started with the Sisters of Battle launching the ambush with an Ultramarine orbital strike thanks to their victory in space.

The weary column of troops heading back from battle

The sisters of battle waiting for the right time to strike

Dutch is scouting ahead and he knows something isn't right

The forces engage. Sisters of Battle tanks move out of the tree line to block the way forward.  The armoured vehicles and walkers pounded each other. Dutch the hero of Phalona was spotted and blasted by melta guns, taken out the battle early on.

Ambush!

A Leman Russ tank succumbed to fire and was knocked out but the infantry pressed forward. Paragon war suits and Sisters of battle infantry made the battle close work.

Paragon Walkers get up close and personnel

Shooting raged between the two sides, the Paragon walkers charged the command squad. The command squad held up longer than I thought they would but they eventually fell to the sisters. 

Last stand of the command squad!

Sisters of battle infantry advance towards an infantry squad shooting. They return fire holding their ground.

The Phalona infantry go tank hunting

The Sisters of Battle Immolator has grenades thrown at it by the infantry and blows up. Celebrations were short lived as the paragon war suits have closed the distance.

The squad crumbles under the attack

The Phalona forces are under immense pressure and are taking heavy casualties. The Sisters infantry are dropping from sustained las fire though. Another infantry squad makes off into the woods away from the fighting. A Leman Russ Demolisher held out  as long as it could. Pulling forces towards it while the infantry tried to get away. The sisters of Battle lost their armoured vehicles and a Paragon war suit. 

  

A lone Phalonian trooper fights to the last

Infantry try to fall back from the unstoppable war suits.

The Paragon war suits finish off the infantry that had tried to fall back.  The Sisters of Battle are killed by the guns of the demolisher tank at close range. Which in turn dies to the war suits melta guns and that was the end of the game.

On the face of it the ambush was a success but at what cost? We counted this as a victory to the Phalonian Forces due to the casualties the ambush force took. The demolisher tank was the star holding the forces up so the infantry could escape. 

Phalona Reach VP total for Victory: 1000

Phalona Reach Defence Forces: 96

Ultramarines :161

“Get out of here! I will hold them here!”Davrio, the commander of Wrath of Phalona, the Leman Russ demolisher, shouted into the vox net. The inside of the tank was filled with smoke and noise. The crew shouting out targets, bullets clanging off the armour. 

“Received,  Phalona protect you” 

A sergeant took his finger of his ear and pointed to the North for his squad. They all looked relieved that they would not have to go back to the battle. The squad slipped away into the woods as the lone tank fought on.

Warning lights blinked and alarms sounded, Commander Davrio looked around the inside of the tank, the Demolishers driver lay dead in his seat, the loader clutched a stomach wound desperately trying to keep his insides in. Through the tanks' periscopes he could see the corpses and burning tanks. They had felt the wrath of Phalona! He spotted the walkers turning towards him and a bright flash of light. Suddenly the tank erupted in flames, Davrio scrambled for the handle of the hatch as the flames licked at his clothes and then bright light as the tank blew up sending the turret flying high into the sky.

Battle Barge Resilient

The darkness was absolute, formless, silent. She felt nothing suspended in this void unaware of how long she had been here, time was meaningless, she tried to recall how she arrived here but the more she tried to seek the memories the more they slipped from her grasp, eventually she became aware of movement in the pervasive darkness and a gentle pressure against her form, this triggered a sudden image to appear before her mind a young blonde girl, little more than a child sat cross legged upon the cold ground her hands preesed together in prayer prayer papers inscribed in both high gothic and phalonan script affixed to her crimson and black robes rustled gently as a breeze brushed her lithe form, the girls face was familiar but her identity remained frustratingly out of reach. An unknown amount of time later she became aware again of the movement the pressure returned, greater this time less a breeze than a gust of sudden wind and again a memory surfaced, the same blonde girl, now older in her late teens early twenties, her now athletic but voluptous form clad in dark armour with gold and silver ornament, high gothic script accros the pauldrons, frustratingly she knew she should be able to easily read the words but the meaning escaped her in her current state, she saw the armoured woman begin a series of exercises using both bolter and sword while watched by another before the image fades. Again an unknown time passed, again the movement in the void but this time was different, the wind hit her with a ferocity unknown before and was accompanied by a blazing golden light that banished the darkness in a single blazing instant at the centre of the light stood a single figure clad in

beautiful golden armour his elegant face framed by long dark hair his eyes blazed with golden light, but she knew though without doubt that he was gazing upon her when the figure spoke she felt his rich voice at the very core of her suddenly aching form "My child, your work is not yet done, go back, your sisters need you yet" the voice echoed, it was the voice of her father, her brother, her first lover, her teacher Cort all the voices taken from her past, tears streaked her face as she nodded her suddenly heavy head at the words a small smile twitches the corner of the golden mans mouth as the light begins to fade.

     With a gasp Canoness Angelica bolts upright in bed the lights in the Resilients apothacarium dimmed by the ships night cycle, the beeps of the health monitors attached to her becoming almost a continous tone before dropping back to there more normal rhythm she turned her head, her aching neck protesting, to see Sister Superior Khalan in her robes clutching her aquila amulet as she sleeps in a chair next to her bed, her full lips moving silently as she recites a prayer in her sleep, she looks around and sees sister Liliana sat in a chair, still in her armour undersuit her right arm in a heavy cast a medicae surf finishes giving her an injection and moves off down to another bed in the ward, Liliana rose in rush and stepped up beside her bed gasping out "Emperor be praised!!" clutching her aquila with her good hand "Canoness, we feared you would never wake" Khalan's eyes opened as she woke a smile formed on her lips before shifting to astonishment "Sister, your hair!!" Her hand reached out and touched Angelica's previously shining blonde hair which had miraculously to white. Khalan gathered herself and reached into a pocket in her robes and withdrew a set of blooded militarium holotags which she set in Angelica's open palm, she read the name upon them, Lieutenant Kranor "It cost us more than we would have liked but we exacted The Emperor's justice upon the traitors that destroyed our home and murdered our sisters" Angelica turned the tags over in her palm, her vision rose in her minds eye momentarily before she closed her fist on the blooded tags, her purpose renewed before she spoke "Tell me all that has happened while I was absent, omit nothing" so Khalan began to talk.......