In preparation for their attack on the ork camp, Inquisitor Serillian and her entourage huddle in the shadows of a ruin.

One failing in the ongoing defense of Hegira is the paucity of disruptive raids aimed at the ork leadership and the xenos’ logistic capacity. If more attention had been paid to this years ago, perhaps the greenskin threat would not now include an industrial base that can produce Stompas and Battlewagons. — Inquisitor Georgene Serillian, Ordo Xenos.

(The following is an Inquisitorial report concerning a Shadow Wars: Armageddon mission recently undertaken by TheGM against The Gaffer’s ork force.)

+ + Mission Report, Ordo Xenos  + +

AUTHOR: Her Lordship, Inquisitor Georgene Serillian, Ordo Xenos
MISSION: Disruption of ork industrial capacity
LOCATION: Coordinates 87.28.4b-278 (Outside Barad Mine, Moon of Hegira, Sculptor System)
DATE of MISSION: 3 550 738.M41
SECURITY CLEARANCE: Sigma Beta
THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Carry the Emperor’s will as a torch; It will light the way.

+ + Report Begins + +

Lady Serillian stands ready, accompanied by two Inquisitorial Stormtroopers.

Background

The recent military successes of the greenskin menace on Hegira is, in part, due to the ability of the ork invaders to convert captured Imperial industrial centers into production sites for the xeno’s own use.

This reality is emphasized in the most alarming way by the appearance of giant walkers [Classification: Stompers) and heavily armored transports {Classification: Battlewagons] that recently played a major role in the loss of the strategic Barad Mine (see Knights of Altair driven from Barad Mine).

Patrolling Boyz were a frustration for Lady Serillian, as they always seemed to be looking her way when she wanted to move.

To determine the feasibility of strategically targeted raids—and, quite frankly, to convince overly conservative military leaders of the value of such special operations—I recently conducted such a mission with a small team of Inquisitorial Stormtroopers, supported by my assistant, Adonai Drusus, Crusader Titus, and Deathwatch Veteran Brother Delassio.

Mission Objectives

Several possible missions were considered for this demonstration. They included an assassination attempt against the ork warlord, Rumlar; a sabotage mission to destroy the lone Stompa deployed in the Barad Mine region; and an attempt to close the recently discovered Warp Rift with a Vortex Grenade.

In the end, it was decided to conduct a mission suitable to a small, eight-member team—and one that could temporarily disrupt an ork exploitation of their recent victory at the Barad Mine.

As it turned out, a small maintenance camp was identified not too deep behind enemy lines. The camp was led by the greenskin version of a Tech Priest {Classification: Mek), and I decided that my Inquisitorial team wouldattempt to kill the Mek, obtain intelligence, and destroy as many war vehicles as feasible to delay an ork advance toward Sulsa City, the capital city of Hegira.

Mission Operation

After a five-hour march through the desert, the Inquisitorial team under my command reached the edge of the ork maintenance camp. We quickly took up a position in a ruined building that would serve as the launching point for our attack.

The primary target of the mission was the assassination of the ork Mek in charge of the xeno maintenance camp.

For some time, we were stymied by patrolling orks. We hoped to slip quietly into the camp before being discovered. So, despite much frustration, my team remained hidden in the shadows of some ruins, waiting very impatiently for the ork guards to turn and move away from us.

Alas, it was not to be. One of my Stormtroopers did not give adequate attention to a very narrow window in the ruin’s wall, and a keen-eyed ork spotted movement. The alarm was raised, and we were forced to prematurely act. [Note: Discplinary measures were taking against the Stormtrooper, and the incident will be included in future training for Special Op missions.)

With no other recourse, my team rushed forward and fanned out. Our only hope was to kill the Mek quickly before significant ork reinforcments arrived.

Thankfully, the ork response was disorganized and slow. Firing his jetpack, Brother Delassio of the Deathwatch soared over the ruins and slammed into the observant ork guard that had spotted us. The guard fired his Shoota at the Astartes but failed to do any harm.

I advanced to the Space Marine’s left, firing my plasma pistol as I advanced, forcing one ork to throw himself behind some rock cover.

Meanwhile, my Stormtroopers rushed down the center of our line, while Crusader Titus covered the far flank. Only a few random enemy shots were directed oru way. We still had the element of surprise.

Inquisitorial agent Adonai Drusus strikes down the Mek, although he is later wounded by counterattacking orks.

I commend the actions of Approbator Drusus, who led the Stormtroopers’ charge. Catching sight of a large shadow moving aside a ranshackle shanty, Drusus rushed forward, heedless of the risk, in hopes that a large ork could well be the Mek. (The ork leadership tends to be larger than the average greenskin.)

The Emperor’s blessings clearly were with us. The ork, indeed, was the Mek, and despite the bulk of the beast, Drusus drew his power sword and engaged. With a skill achieved through years of practice, Drusus’ swordsmanship easily overwhelmed the clumsy strength of the ork, and the Mek was struck down.

Thankfully, the ork response was disorganized and slow. My team raced forward, engaging several orks in the first few minutes of our charge.

Such easy success was not achieved by myself and Brother Delassio. We attempted to silence the ork guard that had spotted us, but the xeno proved a ferocious fighter. Although we managed to evade his slow but powerful attacks, he was not easy to kill. We were seriously delayed in our advance by this wretched creature, who was eventually reinforced by a second beast that cost us precious seconds to kill.

Naturally we overcame this obstacle, although it galls me to admit we required the assistance of a Stormtrooper to finally outlfank the two orks and cut them down. Brother Delassio struck the final blow that secured our right flank.

Lady Serillian and Brother Delassio are delayed by the ferocious defense of the orks.

I did not witness the fighting along the rest of our line. A post-mission briefing revealed that my Stormtroopers suffered several wounds—and one fatality—when ork reinforcements appeared to the south of us. Moving quickly under the cover of rusted and barely standing storage sheds, several orks reached our lines without being fired upon.

The hand-to-hand fighting that resulted would have crushed a line of regular troops. The orks are sizable creatures, of immense strength and animalistic ferocity. It was only because of their significant training and equipment that the Stormtroopers eventually repulsed the ork attack.

Crusader Titus would meet his match in hand-to-hand combat with this ork.

On the far flank, Crusader Titus, with the firing support of a Stormtrooper left in the ruins, managed at some cost to hold the line. Fired upon by an ork with a Shoota, Titus charged into melee.

The holy warrior was overcome in this fight. Apparently Titus and the greenskin traded blows for several minutes, neither one able to strike a killing blow. Ultimately, however, the ork managed to slip his combat blade past the Crusader’s defenses and wound him.

All of this happened within the span of five minutes. Given our casualties and the successful assassination of the Mek, I was about to order a withdrawal when the ork resistance suddenly disappeared. Apparently, we had managed to kill sufficient numbers of the greenskins that their morale broke and they fled.

AFTERMATH

We did not linger in the camp. With the withdrawal of the orks, my team hastily placed demolition charges on at least a dozen vehicles under various stages of repair.

Falling back as a new wave of ork reinforcements arrived, we stopped 200 meters from the maintenance camp—and, when we could observe that the xeno reinforcements were in the midst of our demolition charges, we detonated everything. I estimate that at least 100 orks died in the explosions.

Our return to Imperial lines was marked by a number of close calls, but we managed to reach safety by dawn.

INQUISITORIAL TEAM:

• Inquisitor Georgene Serillian
• Approbator Adonai Drusus (wounded)
• Brother Delassio, Deathwatch
• Crusader Titus (wounded)
• Five Inquisitorial Stormtroopers (one dead, one wounded)

ORK FORCES

• Mek (dead)
• Nob
• Spanner Boy (with Rocket Launcha)
• Orks (eight) (two dead, two wounded)

Primary Objective: Capture or kill the ork Mek (successful)

Secondary Objective: Destroy ork vehicles (successful)

+ Mission Report Complete +

++ Violation of the security protocols surrounding this report is punishment by summary execution or interrogation by the Ordo Xenos. ++

A giant feline xeno, an indigenous species on Hegira, disrupted the battle. No doubt the creature’s immense size is due to the nearby Warp Rift . . . or possibly too many treats.

TheGM: The Gaffer and I had a lazy afternoon to kill, and a full-scale battle didn’t suit our temperament. But, as the Gaffer had little experience with Shadow Wars, a small narrative mission was just the ticket. It added to the “history” of the Corvus Cluster and gave us a digestible wargaming experience.

I admit I was lucky. My favorite Inquisitorial agent, Adonai Drusus, had very good die rolls in his melee with the Mek. He struck the Mek down just in time to be swamped by several orks, so if he hadn’t beaten the Mek right away, things might have gone differently.

Of course, it helped that The Gaffer misunderstood the Mek’s capabilities. He expected the Mek, as a character, to be a lot tougher than it really was, or he would have withdrawn the Mek to safety, making my job a lot harder.

In the end, I thought I would need to withdraw without blowing up any vehicles. But high morale was the key factor in my victory. I had to roll a Bottle Test first and rolled a 10, just barely matching Serillian’s Leadership. The orks, thankfully, failed their 7 Leadership roll the first time out, and, with their retreat, they handed me the victory as more ork reinforcements were joining the battle.

Go, Inquisition!

—

The Corvus Cluster is a Warhammer 40K blog documenting our gaming adventures in the fantastical sci-fi universe of Games Workshop.