Inquisitor Athena and the Loganite Rebellion: Episode Four – Hammer of the Emperor

Sadly life has recently got in the way of hobby time and so the Rogue Trader Campaign that I have been running for my girlfriend has stalled slightly for the past couple of months. Really this hiatus has been inevitable with numerous job changes and family circumstances coming to the fore.

However this weekend we were finally able to put some time aside to continue the narrative of the campaign. In her last mission (Aquila Down Bat Rep) the noble Athena was rescued from the wreckage of her downed shuttle by a large force of Sisters of Battle and rapidly evacuated back to their preceptory. Now fully recovered and with a large force of Imperial soldiery at her command she has decided to take the fight back to this insidious xenos foe.

Athena was given a number of options to progress the story arc, but in the end she decided to take around half her force (leaving the remainder to garrison her new HQ) to assault a nearby PDF facility that has been overtaken by the cultists. If she can succeed in driving out the aliens from this location then her forces will have access to the landing pad and advanced communications equipment housed within the facility.

Inquisitor Athena musters her force on the outskirts of the City. With a formidable mix of characters, Battle Sisters and Storm Troopers to command she should be able to handle anything that the cult throws at her...hopefully!

As an aside I was particularly looking forward to playing this battle as it would give me a chance to roll out the rather lovely 'cityscape' battle mat that I bought from URBANMATZ...and I have to say that it didn't disappoint.

Athena was given the following briefing a few days before the game so that she could prepare her strategy and develop a plan prior to arrival....

Introduction:

Following her recent rescue at the hands of Sister Kardashian’s force of Battle Sisters Inquisitor Athena is now keen to increase the tempo of her ongoing battle against the filthy genestealer cult infesting the world of Logan’s Bluff.

This is goal is likely to be a lot easier with the additional manpower and materiel now available to her. The Inquisitor quickly sets about drawing up her battle plans and dividing her forces in order to prosecute the coming war.

The Situation:

Athena’s extensive network of spies and informants has been busy gathering intelligence and have established that a nearby Planetary Defence Force facility has been subverted to the genestealer cause. As such this stronghold must be purged as soon as practicable if the Imperial Forces are going to be in any real position to mount long term operations against the alien foe. With this in mind Athena swiftly assembles a force of warriors to assault the PDF base with maximum prejudice… however being a trained military tactician the Inquisitor also takes steps to ensure that her own base has sufficient forces available should it too be assaulted in her absence.

For her mission against the enemy compound the Inquisitor as ever leads from the front and so personally commands a combined force of Sororitas warriors and her own Imperial Storm Troopers; individually these are some of the finest troops in the galaxy, but combined they should be all but unstoppable.

Her initial assault force will consist of two Rhino APC’s containing 10 battle sisters and 10 Storm Troopers; this spearhead will be supported by a cohort of jump pack equipped Seraphim whose close assault prowess should test even the most stalwart enemies.

Given the gravitas of this operation she will also be joined by her trusted agent, Operative XV 98 and Prioress Kardashian; defacto leader of the Sororitas on the planet.

Mission:

The Inquisitor smiled as she ran her finger over the arming mechanism of her baroque plasma pistol, currently its power coils were cool to the touch but she knew that when she armed the device they would burn with the intensity of a sun. She was joined in the Rhino by Prioress Kardashian who was listening intently to her vox-bead that fed her constant updates on the battlefield as they swiftly closed the distance to their target. Suddenly the veteran sister turned her head to face Athena and spoke, ‘We are nearly there milady; our scouts report that we will be on station in less than two minutes.’

The Inquisitor nodded her thanks to Kardashian before slipping her plasma pistol into its holster and activating her own communications transmitter. There was a moment of static as the device activated, she paused and then spoke. ‘Strike Force Epsilon, this is your commander speaking. Today marks a new day in our operations on this world, for today is the day we finally take the war to the alien and show the xenos filth that only humanity has a place in this galaxy. In the name of the Immortal Emperor of Mankind….Kill them all!.’

 Inquisitorial Forces:

These consist of Inquisitor Athena, Operative XV 98, Prioress Kardashian, 10 Storm Troopers 10 Battle Sisters, 5 Seraphim and 2 Rhino APC’s. 

Dispositions:

At the start of the game Inquisitor Athena and her troops are arriving in the vicinity of the enemy stronghold and are taking up assault formations nearby.

The enemy have just become aware of the approaching column and are adopting a defensive stance within the compound.

Objectives:

There can be no mercy or no quarter for none can stay the wrath of the Emperor. In this battle the mission of the Imperial Forces is simple, no alien, traitor or sympathiser can be left standing, kill them all!

To Arms.....

The cult start the game in a strong position with brood brother sentries pushed forward to provide something of  a meat wall to protect the purestrains.

Each brood brother squad is led by an exalted hybrid to add some staying power to the formation.

The Imperial attackers enter the battlefield, whilst they have a lot of ground to cover in order to reach the PDF facility they are luckily protected by a large amount of hard cover from the ruined cityscape.

Deciding that the best defence is a strong offence small groups of cultists and their hybrid overseers skulk through the ruins, waiting to ambush any enemy infantry they encounter.

The Imperials use the mobility provided by their Rhino APC's to punch through the city and take the fight directly to the filthy heretics.

Once close enough to their final objective squads of Storm Troopers and Battle Sisters pour out of the vehicles in order to bring their weapons to bear on the foe.

Meanwhile the jump pack equipped Seraphim smash down nearby and shred a group of cultists with the massed fire power provided by their twin bolt pistols.

More cultists fall victim to the lasguns of the Storm Troopers who are creeping around the right flank.

Alas, even the mighty powered armour of the Sororitas isn't inviolate and soon a sister falls to autogun rounds shredding through the ceramite of her suit.

Even with its cargo of warriors long since dismounted the Rhino APC proves it is still a formidable unit and its twin-linked boltgun reaps a heavy toll on the xenos-lovers nearby.

With a squad of Battle Sisters approaching their location the ambushers finally spring their deadly trap and pour a volley of shotgun and autogun rounds into the religious warriors.

However when the smoke clears only one of the Sororitas lies dead.

Enraged by the death of their sister the survivors pull out their combat blades and sarissas and charge into the alien filth whilst singing hymns to Him on Earth

Fire is always a handy tool for purging the Emperor's enemies and this Storm Trooper is quick to emphasise the point by flame-grilling a few cultists.

The melee on the left flank is decidedly brutal and whilst the Sisters manage to secure victory this is only achieved at a great cost with Prioress Kardashian succumbing to the terrible wounds inflicted by the claws of the hybrid.

Long will her glorious sacrifice be mourned...Ave Imperator.

Full of confidence after wiping out a whole unit of cultists with their first round of shooting the mighty Serpahim jump forwards landing directly in the centre of the PDF compound.

As the dust kicked up by their landing slowly dissipates these veteran sisters level their bolt pistols at a nearby brood of hybrids.

Their aim is guided by the Emperor and volleys of mass-reactive rounds shred the aliens into bloody pulp.

Unfortunately the genestealers don't take kindly to the Patriarch's favoured being butchered and so turn their weapons on the angelic sisters...sadly it seems that fiery death is not the sole province of the Imperium's finest...

...and all three surviving sisters are cooked alive in their suits of armour. Their prayers to the God-Emperor swiftly turning to pained screams as their blood boils and skin blisters under the heat of the burning fuel. 

Meanwhile the foot-slogging sisters finish their fight with the lone surviving hybrid and then head back towards the PDF camp.

The Storm Troopers and the Inquisitorial Operative on the left flank continue to press their assault, however their resolve begins to shake when the unmistakable forms of purestrain genestealers start to appear out of the smoke.

These vicious monsters are far more dangerous than the cultists who came before...

Before the Storm Troopers can react the swift aliens are upon them and all three of the soldiers are cut down by the razor sharp claws of the 'stealer brood.

Simultaneously the cultists on the other side of the battlefield redouble their efforts to try and repel the red and black clad forces that are threatening to swarm their positions.

The Inquisitorial Operative decides discretion is the better part of valour and runs away from the victorious purestrains that are busy dissecting his squad. Inquisitor Athena has her own team form a firing line in order to help cover his retreat...
And the focussed volleys of laser fire cuts down two of the xenos bioforms.

The Sisters prove that few things in the forty-first millennium are more terrifying than focused volleys of bolter fire, and so the deafening booms of their mighty guns act as precursor to the brutal deaths of numerous cultists scum.

The 'stealer magus on the landing pad can see the tide of battle is no longer in his favour and so decides to pop a smoke grenade that will signal his personal shuttle to come and retrieve him before the last of his forces succumb to the might of the Imperial dogs.

Sadly it seems that the Inquisitorial Operative may have finally run out of luck as the lone surviving genestealer manages to catch up with him.

However, in her most impressive display of psionic powers to date Athena summons a mental bolt and obliterates the screeching genestealer with the power of the warp....Phew, that was close.

The defending cultists try to bring the sites auto-turrets to bear on the encroaching forces... but a mishap results in the turret detonating from within. Damn

Always a fan of irony I smiled as the cultist flame trooper who had roasted the three Seraphim alive was also set alight along with his surviving cohort.

At the conclusion of the battle the PDF Garrison that had previously been teeming with cultists was now a much more desolate and quiet place.

The Magus shakes his head in disgust as the last dregs of his force are butchered. He is well aware that his cult can ill-afford any more losses on this scale for their forces are sadly not infinite.

He turns and exits the battlefield on his shuttle, leaving the remainder of his fanatical devotees to cover his ignominious retreat. 

And so the surviving forces of the Inquisitor are able to enter the PDF facility unopposed having killed all of the defenders to a man/alien. Athena smiles to herself knowing that possession of this site and its extensive military assets may well be enough to tip the balance of the war in her favour.

What an absolutely great game that was! It had everything we could have hoped for...and there were so many close calls that I think I may have bitten all of my nails to the quick in anticipation of each dice roll! 

We both had a great time and this has thoroughly reignited my passion to get this campaign underway again!! 

With Athena now in possession of the PDF trasnmitter might it be possible for her indentured tech-adepts to summon further reinforcements from off-planet in order to support her war against the aliens....who knows???