The night saints had managed to hold an objective, and kill the majority of several units, while wiping out several others. The Night Saints took heavy casualties while looking for the relic on the planet. Fighting against the Blood Angels, Tau, Witch Hunters, Space Wolves, and Black Templars, the Night Saints used the distraction of two Tyranid broods, and a band of Orks to slip onto the planet and search for their relic, with the help of a garrison of Imperial Guard.
The relic, which had been found by the Witch Hunter Inquisitor, had been taken and the Inquisitor refused to hand over the relic. This would not stand.
The Blood Angels held the main bastion on the planet, along with the Inquisitors forces. It would have been a hard pressed assault had the relic been there, but it was kept in a chapel outside the bastion itself.
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Preliminary Bombardments, crash n' burn.Before any attacking even began, hell, even before the attackers had set up their armies on the table, there were preliminary bombardments. The Orks bombardments killed several Tau Battlesuits and half a squad of Sisters of Battle from the Witch Hunters army.
Then came the suicide fliers out of the sky, throwing their already dying planes into the enemy in a Crash n Burn stratagem. The fliers coming down destroyed a Leman Russ tank, and permanently pinned those same Sisters of Battle.
Not long afterward, the Tyranids sent meteors down upon the defenders, and shut down the void shields on two out of the four bastions.
The Night Saints fired a shot or two while the orks had, but didn't hit anything valuable or worth mentioning.
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Attackers Turn 1
The Tyranids had obviously already been on the planet, as Lictors came out of the Flora to ambush and attack single defense units.
But that wasn't the only thing happening, the Tyranids had a sizeable force drop into play on the first turn. Several Carnifex's and a Hive Tyrant managed to deep-strike into battle, and immediately tore through a Vidicator, a Baal Predator of the Blood Angels, and a Heavy Weapons team with the Witch Hunters. One of the Carnifex's turned its attentions to a Blood Angels Squad in the cover of a ruined building.
And while that was going on, Gaunts attacked a Fire Warrior squad and killed it down to the last man, suffering only one loss from the frantic return fire of the Tau. Genestealers destroyed a Chimera belonging to the Witch hunters, and began wreaking havoc in the back of the defenses.
The Orks at this time had dropped in some Kommando's and began sneaking around before attacking some Vespid Stingwings attached to the Tau Army. They also managed to teleport a Deff Dread right in front of the Tau's defenses. A surveillance servitor skull managed to capture an image.
The Night Saints, meanwhile, sent a vanguard Tactical Squad to secure a nearby Chapel. They then waited for further orders.
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Defense Turn 1
The Tau immediately turned their guns on the Dread in front of them, but to little avail. It lost one of its shoota's and not much else. The Space Wolves who were behind the dread lent their firepower, but only seemed to immobilize it. It could still shoot, but it could not assault into the Tau, which would probably save them later. However, after 18 shots from high-powered weapons, it seemed the Dread was unstoppable.
The Space Wolves also sent their Scouts to help the Vespids as they were having trouble with the Ork Kommandos.
Meanwhile, the Gaunts that had killed the Tau Firewarriors came under attack by Seraphim fighters from the Sisters of Battle, who then assaulted the gaunts with the aid of the Sisters Repentia, and wiped them out. But this was only one of many more waves to come.
The Blood Angels had begun directing what firepower they could at the large Tyranid monstrosities tearing their way through the rubble and ruin of buildings.
Attackers Turn 2The Night Saints brought more units onto the field, a Predator rolled between the Chapel and the defenders line, with Assault Marines dropping in and readily setting up to protect the Chapel. Under strict orders to not engage anything until they were engaged themselves.
The Imperial Guard landed on planet and began helping fortify the Chapel area around the Night Saints, with their tanks moving up to start shooting at whatever else came their way.
The Carnifexes were still running rampant, killing off Blood Angels, and destroying one of the smaller bastions the defenders held.
Genestealers ran rampant, destroying another chimera and annihilating a Death Company assault squad and Blood Angels Scouts.
The Night Saints dropped a Dreadnought behind the Space Wolf line who took a shot at one of the Land Raiders to catch their attention, and started preparing a defense against whatever would come their way.
The Orks, however, were still wreaking havoc, and their Nobs in Mega Armour began marching on the Tau, laughing and shouting their Waaghs!
Defenders Turn 2Suddenly, the Black Templars came from the sky in all their drop pods, and landed all across the Defenders lines to reinforce them.
Immediately, a squad of assault marines and their Chaplain landed next to the Night Saints Assault Marines under Chaplain Amantes, and opened fire upon them immediately after disembarking from their drop pod. Two of Amantes Marines fell, but they still stood resolute, and prepared to counter the Black Templars.
But they were not the only unit to suffer an attack, but also the Dreadnought dropped by the Space Wolves line, Tornos, came under fire and was destroyed by the Land Raiders Lascannons.
The Genestealers were still running amok within the defenders lines, and the Gaunts were attacking the sisters again and again, with wave after wave after wave. The Blood Angels Terminators began popping off the Genestealers one at a time from their vantage point on the Bastion. But it was looking bleak for the defenders.
Even the Inquisitor and his Retinue disembarked from their Land Raider and prepared to fight off the Tyrannic horde.
Attackers Turn 3The Night Saints had been attacked, and it was time to dole out their revenge. Dreadnought Mnazdro stomped onto the field and let loose his heavy flamer onto the Black Templars Assault Marines, immolating several of them. Marine Lorenzo of Amantes Squad let loose on the Templars as well with his flamer, further killing a few more Marines.
Tactical Squad Ardus moved onto the field and began shooting at the Templars Assault Marines as well.
Amantes shouted a charge, and he and his Assault Marines attacked the Templars in hand-to-hand.
The Imperial Guard moved up to help the Night Saints, and began tracking the Carnifex still raging the midst of everything.
The Tactical Squad from earlier was still grabbing the Relic from the Chapel, while even more and more Tyranids and Orks came into the field and began attacking the Defenders.
More Orks came down near the Bastion and immediately came under fire from several Grey Knights Terminators.
But the Black Templars also had a squad of Terminators, moving on the Orks and ready to aide the Tau. If they succeeded, they would then be able to attack the other forces within the Night Saints deployment. Chaplain Bo'Mir and his Terminators Teleported to the surface and immediately engaged the Templars Terminators.
The Space Wolves were faring well, and when a two Carnifex's landed close to their bastion, they immediately disembarked from their vehicles and prepared to meet the aliens.
The Inquisitor however, came under attack by the horde of Gaunts, and was the only one left standing after a bloody battle, but he was still outnumbered fifteen to one. The Tyranids had begun to really take over the field, and time was running short. The Blood Angels Terminators rushed to the Inquisitors Aid.
Defenders Turn 3The Black Templars met both assaults from the Night Saints and metted out their own gruesome attacks. Chaplain Bo'mir and his Terminators managed to kill several of the Templars Terminators, but were forced to be pulled back to the Battle Barge when the Templars began overpowering them.
Assault Chaplain Amantes and his marines fared better, and the fight became a stalemate between Amantes and his several remaining marines and the Templars Chaplain.
The Tau came under attack by several mobs of Orks and their Killa Kan, taking losses to their battlesuits and Fire Warrior squads. Not to mention Genestealers had begun running amok among the Tau now as well, the battle was quickly degrading into chaos.
The defenders were fighting hard, but it seemed as though things were going to go badly for them.
Attackers Turn 4The Tyranids were starting to become more and more numerous, and the Space Wolves, along with everyone else, were starting to have serious problems containing them.
It was time for the Night Saints to pull out, the relic was theirs, and they needed to return it to the Chapter.
It seemed like the Black Templars Assault Chaplain was going to be able to hold his own, until one of the rampaging Carnifex's burst through one of the walls of a nearby building and bit him in half while in full stride and heading for the defenders battle line.
Amantes and his men quickly capitalized on the situation, and attacked a nearby Templar Dreadnought. A lucky shot from one of the Brother Marines Plasma Pistol hit the Dreadnoughts powerplant, and destroyed the lumbering behemoth.
Meanwhile, the Predator shot at a nearby Inquisition bunker, and destroyed it, allowing Tactical Squad Ardus to mop up the survivors of the attack.
The ensuing chaos was definitely creating a window of opportunity for the Night Saints to withdraw, but there was still the matter of a Space Wolves Land Raider that would be able to shoot down their Thunderhawks if they came in too soon. Assault Chaplain Errus and his veteran Assault Squad teleported to the surface of the world to remove the obstacle. Even though the Chaplain was the only one to make it through the warp, he did not falter. Immediately he rushed the Land Raider and slapped a Melta Charge onto its powerplant, which destroyed the tank.
Their mission done, the Night Saints withdrew, and left the defenders to the fates. If the Imperium won, so be it, but nevertheless, the Night Saints had found a relic from one of their long-lost heros. The Imperial Guard who had accompanied the Night Saints withdrew as well, happy to leave the defenders to fight the monstrous Tyranids and Orks.
The mission was a success.
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Fun times!!
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