PDF convoy advances through isolated ruins on the outskirts of the ruined hive city of Pyros.

“Mutant scum. Just like them to try a trick like this. It won’t help them, though . . . not against the 23rd Desert Boys.”—Captain Raeja Khayat, 23rd PDF Regiment (Mechanized), encouraging his men during an ambush near the ruined hive city of Pyros

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IMPERIAL VOXCAST—A convoy of Planetary Defense Force (PDF) troops was ambushed two days ago as it approached the ruined hive city of Pyros. The attackers are believed to have been  mutant rebels.

On 6 995 744.M41, elements of the 3rd Battalion of the 23th PDF Regiment, nicknamed the “23rd Desert Boys,” were on the outskirts of Pyros when they came under fire from autoguns and several heavy weapons.

An early casualty of the ambush was this Armored Sentinel. The driver survived with minor injuries.

“The troops quickly took up a defensive position, brought the mutants under fire, and then launched a counterattack that sent the mutants fleeing for their lives,” announced Major Vilt Brennus, public information officer for the Myopolis military command. “PDF casualties were minimal.”

It’s unclear why PDF troops were on the outskirts of Pyros, a hive city abandoned centuries ago. The location of the ambush, on the outskirts of the city, is an area dotted with ruined hab blocks and manufactorums. The hive city itself has partially collapsed and has been ignored by planetary officials since the its fall.

According to Brennus, the military convoy was approximately 30 kilometers southeast of Pyros when it was attacked. The mutants, hiding in the ruins and under sand-covered tarps, rose up and fired upon the front of the convoy at 09:37 local time.

The convoy was small, consisting of three transports, two armored Sentinels, and four squads of infantry, two marching on foot.

Opening fire

Mutant rebels fire from the safety of a building’s ruins.

The first shots were fired by a mob of mutants in a building in front of the convoy, and heavy weapons fire came from a ramshackle truck, equipped with an autocannon, as well as three armored walkers that appeared on the right flank of the beleaguered troopers.

Two PDF troopers were wounded in the initial fire, Brennus said, and a lascannon shot from one of the walkers disabled one of the PDF Sentinels.

The commanding officer of the convoy responded quickly and competently to the attack, Brennus added.

“The infantry on foot were ordered immediately into a defensive posture, and the heavy weapons of the transports began targeting the enemy vehicles.”

After an autocannon shell damaged the lead Chimera, its passengers—the command squad of the convoy—used the transport as cover as they moved to the safety of a nearby ruin.

Seeking the cover of nearby ruins, the command squad of the convoy are ambushed. With reinforcements nearby, the PDF counterattack, and its volleys of lasgun fire and the inferno of flamers devastate the rebels.

Close-in fight

As soon as the command squad entered the ruins, Brennus reported, they were attacked by a hidden mob of hideously mutated rebels.

“These mutants were a blasphemy to the genetic purity of the human race,” the major emphasized. “There were reports of elongated skulls, purplish skin, extended claws, and three arms.”

The mutants opened fire from only meters away, but the command squad reached cover and returned fire. Soon after, the squad was reinforced by a 10-man squad, which opened fire with a flamer and a lasgun volley.

Most of the mutants were killed, although a few managed to flee into the surrounding sand dunes.

Click here to read the conclusion of this battle.

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