Issue 14,146  Publication: 3 893 744.M41

Greetings, Guardsmen!

The village of Meknes.

Anyone who tells you that an Imperial Guardsman cannot go toe-to-toe with an ork is a coward and liar. How do we know? Just look at the stellar career of a squad that serves in Hegira’s Sea of Dust.

Known as “Mal’s Malcontents,” a fond if irreverant nickname for First squad, 2nd Platoon, 3rd Company, 7th Battalion, 728th Cadian Regiment, this plucky unit of men recently clashed with a mob of ork—and gave it a bloody nose.

It happened in the abandoned village of Meknes in the middle of the Seat of Dust, a treacherous region of barren desert and infamous “lightning sand” that can suck a man or vehicle down into the bowels of the moon in seconds.

On 3 881 744. M41, the squad was on patrol and, as part of its route, stopped in Meknes to ensure that xenos weren’t using the site as a staging or observation area. The 10-man unit was searching the buildings when a guardsmen, sent to the roof of the village’s tallest building, reported seeing a mob of orks heading its way.

The commanding sergeant, Alos Mal, a 25-year veteran of the Guard, ordered his men to take up a firing position on the western side of the town’s central market.

Part of the ork mob that recklessly entered the village without any reconnaissance.

As he anticipated, the orks gave short shrift to any reconnaissance and simply loped through town and into the market square, no doubt in hopes of finding food or other supplies that could prove useful.

When the xenos reached the edge of the open square, Sgt. Mal ordered his men to fire, and they released a volley that quickly pinned down the xenos.

“The greenskins were caught by surprise and, as expected, grew excited and agitated at the sound of gunfire,” Mal wrote in an after-action report. “That quickly overcame their confusion, and they rose and charged towards us.”

That was a tragic tactical mistake, although Sgt. Mal’s squad was no doubt pleased. The orks rose as one and charged, exposing themselves fully to the firepower of 1st Squad.

Orks come under fire in an ambush in Meknes’ central market.

“We started dropping the xenos with every step,” reported Private Corvin Valgelt, who spoke to correspondents with the permission of the Commissariat. “A few solid volleys, and a handful of grenades, and two went down, then three more.”

Many of the greenskins managed to get back on their feet—their inhuman endurance clear for all to see—but their losses appeared to “take the fight out of them,” Sgt. Mal said.

“They bellowed and roared—until we put a lasgun round into the skull of their leader—and they turned and ran. Orks like a good fight, but if their casualties are high enough, they sometimes realize that getting killed with deny them another fight later on.”

Mal’s Malcontents enter the village of Meknes with no fear of the greenskin menace.

The orks fled back into the desert, and 1st Squad finished their search of the village and returned to base, according to military authorities.

Noted one officer: “We aren’t interested in defending the town, and we see no reason to endanger our men unnecessarily. We know the orks are interested in the town. We’ll keep an eye on them. If they come back, we’ll just send a few Marauder bombers to deal with them.”

Congratulations to Mal’s Malcontents. They are a proud example of the tenacity and fighting prowess of the Imperial Guard. Learn from their example.

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Thought for the Day: “A man subjected to an alien is no man at all.”

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TheGM: In our tabletop fight, I didn’t feel the victory was all that clear-cut. The orks were closing in on my position (as the Guard), but the Gaffer and I are playing a mini-skirmish campaign, and I don’t think he liked the odds.

He might have won. Getting into melee with orks is a no-win situation for guardsmen. But, of course, the Gaffer knew I’d fall back and try to draw him into a running gunfight. It would have been bloody, a Pyrrhic victory .and hurt his chances in the overall campaign. (It wouldn’t have done me any good, either.)

Yet, this small fight foreshadows bigger battles ahead. As some of you may recall, the Gaffer and I have begun a nine-or-so-battle mini=campaign where the orks will make a major effort to seize total control of Hegira. If he pulls it off, Hegira will fall. But, as Mal’s Malcontents have shown, victory is no sure thing.