An Alliance Forms

Although he was nervous, Steadstrike dared not show it to anyone except Lightstar. Sat in the comms room on his own, he drummed his fingers on the table nervously as the Ethereal tried to reassure him.

"All you have ~bzzz~ is be patient and calm with them. We've fought alongsi- ~bzzz~ before, against ~bzzz~ -anis Aureus nonetheless."

"I know, but what if it is a trap? You saw what the Mechanicum did to that planet, what if this is just some ruse?"

The Commander stood up and paced for a few steps. The hologram flickered and buzzed for a second.

"Besides", he said finally. "You're back in Vu'est and I'm the one flying out here."

"I know O'Lynu'Ka. I'm not ~bzzz~ the idea either, but if we show willingness then we'll have ~bzzz~ powerful ally this day, perhaps one that could turn the tide of this war. Now, I have things to attend to. Stay vigilant. ~bzzz~ Greater Good."

Steadstrike didn't reply and simply switched the holo-communicator off. He sat down and crossed his arms, so deep in thought that he flinched when a voice came over the intercom a few minutes later.

"We're entering the planet's atmosphere now Commander."

Steadstrike sighed and made his way to the front of the small ship, strapping himself in to the co-pilots seat.

"We were lucky to make it this far without being detected.." he thought to himself, growing more nervous as the seconds passed.

The ship then flew beneath the cloud cover, the sun glaring through the windshield. A deep reddish sky and a vast green and purple forest were all that laid before them, permeated by lavish, ancient stone ruins, clearly built by the Eldar many years ago. In the distance, a few miles off, a small, grey military installation loomed in the middle of a clearing. The planet was undeniably beautiful, almost a true paradise, but it did little to calm the T'au Commander.

Suddenly, a voice buzzed over the radio.

"This is Kin's Ruin Control. Begin your approach."

"Understood", the pilot replied simply and began to flick a variety of switches. The engines began to slow as the ship descended down towards the large landing pad in the centre of the installation.

As they flew closer, Steadstrike could see several Guardians, all armed with deadly Shuriken Catapults, on guard and presumably ready for anyone, or anything.

A greeting party stood a few feet back from the pad. Steadstrike recognised the garb of two Farseers, having fought alongside their kind before. The group were flanked by a squad of Dire Avengers, their armour glistening in the low evening sunlight. The one in the centre was different however. A female Eldar, clearly the Commander of these forces. It was plain to see she had absolute authority - it almost exuded from her, even at this distance.

The ship landed smoothly and the pilot began to switch off the systems and power down the engines before Steadstrike put a hand on his shoulder.

"Keep the engines running. We may need to get out of here quickly."

The pilot nodded and complied, keeping the engines primed. Steadstrike headed back and into the hold where a small team of Fire Warriors were preparing to escort him outside.

"Listen up. I'll be honest with you all. I don't know what the intentions of these Eldar are. If anything goes awry, I want you back on the ship and preparing to leave immediately. You will not engage in combat, no matter what, understood?"

The squad saluted in agreement and stood ready to leave. Hitting a switch, Steadstrike moved to the loading ramp as it lowered down, the lush, warm air hitting him as it rushed into the hold.

The T'au Commander marched forwards and around to where the greeting party was, stopping a few feet away from them.

The female in the centre took a step forward and spoke in a soft voice, surprisingly gentle for a woman of war.

"Greetings O'Lynu'Ka. I am Miranel of Nai'Tzeleth. I trust your journey here was.. uneventful?"

"I am Commander Steadstrike of the Pax'nera Sept. I thank you for your hospitality and yes, our journey was pleasant enough."

She smiled knowingly, putting Steadstrike on edge a little.

"Come, we have much to discuss."

Abandoning Ash'hon

After our visit to Warhammer World on Saturday, I played a large scale game against Jack and Lewis. 3000 points of T'au versus Death Guard. It was an extremely tough and brutal game and I lost, although I had already resigned myself to that fate. Despite that, it was a great and really enjoyable game!

Lewis got to field a Typhon for the first time and I managed to try out a few new things, including a dedicated anti-tank Commander, fitted with Fusion Blasters, using Shadowun and Aun'shi for the first time as well as getting to field the Stormsurge once more! Aun'shi was great; a dedicated close combat unit, as well as being able to provide Invocation of the Elements, was absolutely brilliant and managed to lay waste to a fair few Seekers and Daemonettes!

Some fluff from the battle follows the photos. Beware, this one is an essay!

Just before the destruction...

Crisis Suits fighting off a Plague Crawler

Breachers fight off Plaguebearers while the Riptide holds out

"Target acquired. Lighting it up."

Ghostkeel coming out of Stealth

Abandoning Ash'hon

Steadstrike knew the impending battle wasn't a scenario he could win. The Death Guard are too powerful, especially now. Scouts reported an ancient war machine had been dug up several days ago and was being put to use, scorching the earth wherever it went. The time had come to abandon this moon, but not without putting up a fight.

All of the Earth and Water Caste had been evacuated, leaving only a skeleton crew of Earth Caste Engineers and the Firestorm Cadre, ready to lay down their lives. Steadstrike addressed them sincerely, telling them that the battle was not one they could win. However, the Death Guard were going to have to go through Hell and back before laying claim to the land here.

Farshot and Twinsun, Pax'nera Sept's own Hammerhead and Stealth Suit aces, were to finally take part as well as unleashing the might of the KV128, the Stormsurge. With everyone in position and raring to fight, they waited with bated breath, fingers on triggers, hearts in mouths.

The stench hit first, then the greenish brown miasma that seems to follow them everywhere. Several large war machines crested the hill, somehow their rotten and rusted shells still holding together. Steadstrike frowned, looking through his binoculars.

"Ka'mais. Look to the left hand side just outside the city."

The Fireblade raised his own eye piece and sighed heavily.

"Canis Aureus. Looks like they're piloting that ancient machine too.. Looks like a.. Typhon."

The Commander took one last look and swore under his breath.

"They always have to put a spanner in the works.

With a concerned look on his face, he immediately began barking orders over the comms. The Surge was to target the Typhon, with Farshot and the Riptide punching a hole through the centre. Twinsun was to lead her Stealth team around to the right, hoping to catch a few of the larger targets off guard.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The fight did not go in Steadstrike's favour, but alas he knew that was to be the case. The Stormsurge barely managed to glance the Typhon, even though the ancient machine itself didn't manage to put more than a dent in the titanic battlesuit. Rog, the large demonic entity they had fought, and killed, before, charged through the ranks, smashing the Riptide to pieces while a hulking mess of a demon, oozing guts and viscera, lumbered across the field of battle, destroying near everything in it's path. A team of Breachers put up a good fight, their Pulseblasters putting several holes in the beast, but they were soon beaten down by the entity as well.

Steadstrike launched himself headfirst into the fray, cutting down Plaguebearers. A lucky shot from an Aureus cultist punched a hole through one of the systems in his Coldstar suit and it began to malfunction. In those few precious seconds, the remaining Plaguebearers and Cultists rushed forwards, slashing and bludgeoning the battlesuit. Ordering a retreat, Steadstrike immediately pulled the ejector switch and was launched in to the air, barely seconds before the suit was torn apart and overrun by the hungry Chaos below.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Steadstrike and the other members of his command arrived back on board their Manta ship, a vigil was held for those fallen.

"They died with honor and with dignity. They fought bravely in the face of extreme odds and we will remember their sacrifice. For the Greater Good."

"For the Greater Good!", the rest of the Cadre shouted back, saluting their Commander.

"Now, we will press on with our efforts in the Charadon sector. Our allies in the Bay'be Sept have requested assistance dealing with a certain greenskinned threat that has invaded their foothold planet. How about we hunt us some Ork?"

Jewel of Nem'myr

On Sunday, our campaign, Battle for the Charadon Sector, kicked off! All 8 of us gathered at our local Scout Hut for a day of hobbying and gaming. Several games were played, not all of them went the way we wanted them to and a lot has already changed in the campaign within the first week!

I played my first solo game against Richard, who was playing Orks. He decimated me in the first 2 turns, but somehow I managed to just steal it back through sheer luck by eliminating his squad of Boyz. That allowed me to focus on his remaining characters and Grots and ultimately I won by the skin of my teeth.

I then assisted Mia's Tau force against Richard refreshed Ork force by sending a squad of Pathfinders. However, they weren't as effective as I'd hoped and Richard had certainly learnt the lessons of the previous game, completely obliterating us by the third turn for his first 40k victory!

Here are some photos from the event and below is some fluff from the first game.

From the Tau perspective

From the Ork perspective

Kroot are wonderful in large numbers!

Jewel of Nem'myr

You could almost taste the bloodlust in the air. The Tau of Pax'nera Sept had not fought Ork forces for a very long time, but their hatred of them never faltered once. So when reports of an Ork patrol on the nearby moon Tinek came through, it was all Steadstrike could do to keep his forces under control.

The Commander immediately ordered a small patrol of Fire Warriors, Pathfinders and Stealth Suits, lead by his trusted Fireblade, Shas'el Ka'mais Tsua'kran, to intercept them. Reports of a meteor shower overheard concerned him little, but he knew that's what the Ork forces had come for.

They soon came face to face with the green skins, already eager to open fire, but Tsua'kran urged caution as he knew they would charge at a moments notice. Without warning however, the Weirdboy unleashed a mighty arcane storm as the group of Boyz phased out of reality, only to reappear mere feet in front of the firing line. Without a word, the pulse fire opened up upon the Orks, but only a few fell as they charged directly into the first squad of Fire Warriors, taking nearly all of them out in the bloody melee that ensued. Tsua'kran ordered the Stealth team to flank, taking their Drone support with them as the Fire Warrior squads pulled back, managing to put the rest of the Boyz down in a hail of pulse fire. The Ork truck was split in two under the power of Fusion Blasters and the Grots were mowed down effortlessly by Burst Cannon fire.

Suddenly, the ground shook as a large chunk of meteorite slammed into the ground, rupturing the dry earth beneath their feet. The Weirdboy and Big Mek darted for it, clearly their goal in this battle, but both soon met their end under the fury of pulse fire.

Tsua'kran called in his transport as the rest of the patrol unit ensured there were no enemy survivors. Turning to Steadstrike as the meteorite was carried aboard, he sounded glum. "What even is that thing? Why did they want it so badly?"

Steadstrike stared at the strange glowing rock, deep in thought, eyes unblinking. He shook his head and looked away. "I don't know, but I imagine whatever they were planning wasn't good. Good job Shas'El. Whatever it is, we've kept it out of their hands. For the Greater Good."

"For the Greater Good."

Tsua'kran saluted but his heart wasn't in it. He'd lost a lot of good warriors for something completely foreign even to the Commander himself.

How much more blood was to be shed in the name of this expansion?