As Blood Wolves attempt to load an Imperial spy satellite onto their Rhino, the Knights of Altair rush the armored transport with krak grenades.

“The Blood Wolves have come to the Corvus Cluster. They seek to invoke fear, ruin, and heresy. They have sealed their fate. We shall hunt them down. We shall bring them the Emperor’s Justice. We will wipe them from the face of the galaxy.“—Captain Alaric Galba, 3rd Company, Knights of Altair.

Background

For more than two years, the industrial world of Dozaria has been the scene of a horrific war launched by the Death Guard.

After making impressive against the planet’s Planetary Defense Force (PDF) in the early months of the war, the Death Guard now struggle as the Imperium rushes reinforcements to the beleaguered world. A network of surveillance satellites have been deployed in orbit to provide Imperial High Command with invaluable intelligence on enemy troop movements.

Traitor Astartes known as “Blood Wolves” advance through the ruins of Dozaria in hopes of seizing the fallen surveillance satellite.

On 6 186 740.M41, an Imperial surveillance satellite in orbit over the planet was damaged by traitor missile fire and began to lose altitude. Under normal circumstances, the satellite would have burned up during re-entry, but this was no typical satellite. It was a nexus hub, with cogitators that allowed it to collate the surveillance data of other satellites and transmit it to the Imperial High Command.

Due to its importance, the satellite’s shielding was impressive, and thus it survived its fiery descent to the planet’s surface. Alas, it did not fall inside of Imperial-held territory.

Given the redundant storage capacity of the satellite, it was possible that strategically important data—as well as Imperial security codes—could have survived the crash. This data could not be allowed to fall into the traitors’ hands.

Elements of the 3rd Company, Knights of Altair, were dispatched to recover—or, if necessary, destroy—the satellite and its data. Under no circumstances could Imperial security protocols be compromised.

For reasons not yet clear, it was not the Death Guard that confronted this noble Space Marine force. Instead, it was a warband of the Blood Wolves, another heretical group of Astartes that have made their appearance on Dozaria.

Advancing on the target

The leader of the Knights of Altair detachment, Brother-Chaplain Yves Tauran, led a small tactical squad and two fire teams of scouts through the ruins of a bombed-out city and directly toward the downed satellite.

The tactical squad and bolt-gun-armed scouts followed Tauran directly toward the objective, although the chaplain made maximum use of available cover. The second scout team, armed with sniper rifles, advanced to the right to circle around and flank the objective.

Scout snipers take up position to bring the Blood Wolves under fire. Over the course of the battle, the snipers picked off several traitors.

Advancing toward them were two five-man squads of Blood Wolves. A squad with heavy weapons took position in a tall building that gave the traitors a clear line of sight to the objective—and allowed them to provide fire support for the other squad.

That second squad, supported by a Rhino, advanced directly toward the satellite. They reached it first and attempted to load it into the Rhino.

Although the Blood Wolves managed to best the Knights’ tactical squad, Brother-Chaplain Tauran and a fire team of scouts avenged their fallen brothers. With the death of these traitors, as well as their leader, the surviving Wolves fled.

The Knights attack

The sniper scouts began to pepper the traitor Astartes in the tall ruins, pinning them down and causing casualties.

The traitor squad loading the satellite were screened by their Rhino and could not be brought under fire. But Tauran saw an opportunity. Without the Rhino, the traitors would be unable to race off with the satellite—and they would lose the armored transport’s heavy bolter as a support weapon.

This would leave his squad vulnerable to a  charge by the traitors, but Tauran knew, with his scouts nearby, he had a reserve that could provide a devastating counterattack.

Armed with krak grenades, the tactical squad attacked the traitors’ Rhino and put it out of action.

The traitor warlord is surrounded and slain.

Traitors brought low

Finding themselves under attack, the traitors responded immediately by charging the Knights. First firing their bolt pistols, then closing with combat blades and power swords, the Blood Wolves brought down the five Space Marines in the tactical squad—although Tauran remained standing.

But then the scout fire team joined the fray and quickly whittled down the traitors. Finally, only the warlord remained standing, and he was brought down by a vicious blow by Tauran’s crozius.

With the scout snipers still whittling down the traitors in the building, and the wrecked Rhino providing cover for the chaplain and his scouts, the surviving three Blood Wolves saw no chance of completing their mission. They were outnumbered almost four to one.

They withdrew like the cowards they were. For the Knights, mission accomplished.

Scenario: The Relic

Imperial Victory Points: Objective held (3 v.p.), Slay the Warlord (1 v.p.), First Blood (1 v.p.)

Chaos Victory Points: None

IMPERIAL VICTORY!

Knights of Altair

• Brother-Chaplain Yves Tauran
• Tactical Squad (5 Brothers with boltguns)
• Scout Fire Team (5 Scouts with boltguns)
• Scout Fire Team (5 Scouts with Sniper Rifles)

Blood Wolves

• Traitor Warlord (treat as Space Wolves Wolf Lord)
• Five-man tactical squad x 2 (treat one as Blood Claws, the other as Long Fangs)
• Rhino with heavy bolter

Note: Under Games Workshop canon, the Blood Wolves are a rogue warband of the Space Wolves that turned to Chaos. So, The Gaffer uses the Space Wolves Codex for his warband. Also, his warband is still on the painting table, so The Gaffer used some older Chaos figures as stand-ins.

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TheGM: This 250-point-a-side mini-game certainly went well for me. I can’t say I planned it. It was just that, when it was my turn, I saw the Blood Wolves hiding behind their Rhino, ready to pick up the Relic and start running to victory. So, what could I do?

Well, it hit me. I’d take out the Rhino. If that worked, the Blood Wolves would have to attack me. If they ran, I’d just chase them, shoot them, and charge. So, they had to attack me. But I had my chaplain, as an Independent character, and they’d want to hit the tactical squad as it was the bigger threat.

That would allow me to charge with the scouts and chaplain. It just “saw it.” The dice were average, but not cruel, and although I lost the tactical squad, I ended the melee with the Relic in loyalist hands. With a few dead Long Fangs caused by my snipers, the Blood Wolves had to flee.

Sometimes things just come together.

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