Brother-Sergeant Henri Gallois attempts to punch a hole in a work shed to allow trapped civilians to escape being captured by xenos.

IMPERIAL VOXCAST (6 563 747.M41)—A Necron raiding party attacked the ice world of Saphion today and abducted at least 17 agricultural laborers from an isolated algae-factory farm.

At least five laborers were saved from xeno abduction, however, by a detachment of the Knights of Altair Space Marine Chapter, whose strike cruiser was traversing the star system as part of a semi-regular patrol of the void surrounding the Dryillian Quarantine Zone.

The xeno attack began at dawn with the sudden appearance of a Necron warship in orbit over Saphion, planetary authorities said. It was a shocking development given the planet’s long-range sensors should have detected any voidcraft long before it could approach the planet.

Almost immediately, the cruiser-sized xeno ship launched several small aircraft [Classification: Night Scythes] that entered the planet’s atmosphere and descended toward the lightly populated region known as the Tumoro Valley.

Upon receiving a distress signal from the planetary government, authorities said, the Astartes’ warship immediately changed course toward Saphion, arriving in orbit within two hours.

The Astartes’ arrival apparently intimidated the xeno warship, which left orbit and fled. The Space Marines subsequently launched a Thunderhawk gunship and two Stormhawk Interceptors to the surface.

The first Imperial survivor rescued was a young female menial found hiding behind a pile of trash in a vehicle garage.

When the Space Marines arrived at the farmstead, they found numerous buildings afire, and weapons auspexes revealed nearly a dozen xenos scattered among the agricultural buildings.

Disembarking from their aircraft, the Marines quickly advanced through the settlement, gathering up farm menials still alive and uncaptured and ordering them aboard the Thunderhawk.

According to reports, a five-man team of Knights engaged one body of xenos in a prolonged firefight, slowly forcing the xenos to withdraw under Imperial fire.

The commander of the Astartes detachment, Brother-Sergeant Henri Gallois, led another team that moved deep into the farmstead and charged a small body of xenos that were seen chasing several panicked menials into a work shed.

The subsequent melee lasted only seconds, authorities say, as the Necrons quickly were overwhelmed in hand-to-hand combat.

Two Space Marines attempt to rescue a captive from the Necrons. Alas, a xeno aircraft arrived overhead and teleported the Necron warriors and captive to safety.

Forced to withdraw under heavy xeno fire, however, Gallois sought to rescue the trapped menials by seeking cover behind the shed and punching a hole in its rear wall to create an escape route.

Alas, the menials panicked at the sergeant’s blows, fled out the front door, and unintentionally ran right into another group of advancing xenos—and were taken captive.

At this point, the Necrons began to retreat and, although Gallois attempted to give chase, the xenos and their captives were spirited away by the arrival of a xeno Night Scythe that hovered overhead and used heretical technology to teleport the xenos and the captives into the aircraft’s hold.

The aircraft then sped away, accelerated into orbit, and disappeared from Imperial sensors.

All told, the corpses of six Imperial citizens were found, five survived by hiding amidst the farm’s agricultural equipment, and 17 are missing and believed captured.

With the disappearance of the Night Scythe, as well as the Necrons’ void craft, it was impossible for the Knights of Altair to give chase. Planetary authorities say the fate of the captives is hopeless, but planet defenses will be strengthened to deter further xeno raids.

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Brother-Sergeant Henri Galloi prepares to use his power fist to punch a hole through the wall of a work shed and rescue several menials. Alas, the simple laborers panicked at the sound the sergeant’s punches and fled—right into the arms of the xenos.

TheGM: This tiny skirmish was a hastily organized for my eight-year-old neighbor and his friend, who knocked on my door and asked to “play with soldiers.” (With parents’ permission.)

Both youths proved to be thoughtful generals. It took a few turns for the two lads to grasp my simplified version of the rules (the now-out-of-print Shadow War: Armageddon), but eventually they were busy rolling die and seeking the other’s destruction.

In the end, one lad was a bit more aggressive and understood his role was to “hit and run.” The other focused on killing enemy combatants, and he did a pretty good job of it. We called the battle a tie.

Still, the xenos got enough captives to accomplish their mysterious and perfidious plans. The narrative of the Corvus Cluster continues.

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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.