Game 1: Battle for the Orbital Defense Stations

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Narrative 1250 pts each
Astheneia AdMech vs Emperor's Children
for control of the Orbital Defense Stations and Beanstalk Anchor Asteroids around Astheneia Primus

9th edition matched play rules, narrative force options available (EC won't take)
But only local warlord level single WT and Relic each

"Raid" scenario from "GT2020 - Incursion level" set,
'hammer and anvil' deployment zones, 6 primary objectives and optional secondary for extra points for controlling objectives in enemy zone near forward edge.

Spacehulk style board, progressive scoring control of 6 objectives in central-ish junction rooms,
on as Symmetrical and densely hallwayed a board as possible.

I'd say we could claim light cover for being on the cardboard hallway terrain pieces (to simulate fighting around tight corners and imaginary space-station equipment, but that feels like it would work too well for me with my EC's cover-ignoring sonic weapons.

## Narrative Battle Report

Tengen was now a Chaos Lord, after having served both Lord Octavius and then Mistress Zelamine for centuries of his real time as Champion of the First Terminator Squad. He had been using the same combi-melta and chainfist since the early decades of the Long War, and having mastered them, they served him well again today. Tengen would later claim that it had mostly been his great skill, honed by killing thousands of corpse worshipping fools over his Long War,-

But he benefited greatly from the Raiment Revulsive that he wore. It was really Mistress Zelamine's Raiment, but she he loaned it to him for this critical attack he was leading, to take out the Mechanicus leadership of the orbital defense platforms. Mistress Zelamine was leading a different force elsewhere, and showed Tengen her rich favor by allowing him to wear it.

TheoTedrin (now with another capital letter in his name but still) the same old Terminator Chaos Sorceror, also now with a prettier model, was the real brains of the operation, as usual whenever Zelamine was away. TheoTedrin coordinated the simultaneous launch of the attack elements of the Crusade of Endless Joy's boarding actions against several orbital platforms around Astheneia.

Both the Terminator HQs had decided to start on the board, so they could do their critical tricks first turn, and so Tengen could give SOMEONE the reroll 1s aura (which ended up only benefiting the Sonic Dreadnought for 1 turn, and not actually yielding any rerolls).

Mechanicus moved first, in a coordinated attack to repel the Crusade's boarding parties. Tengen had left Spawn guarding the station control nodes already inside the Chaos beachhead, and they provided great cheap utility at that the whole game. Mechanicus put units on both central objectives, and the Helbrute was taken from 8 down to 4 wounds, by the power flamers on two of the robots, and no other shooting.

Tengen and the Helbrute forward stormed into the Central Movement Nexus, to kill the Sicarians and Robots who had foolishly tried to occupy the many-doorwayed junction. The Dreadnought's heavy flamer and doom siren melted some of the infantry, and then it turned to crash into the crowd of Sicarians, neatly tearing the 4 remaining 2W cyborg bodies all apart with his flat 3D Helbrute Fist!

Tengen felt invincible. It was just him, with no backup but the Suicidal Helbrute... Tengen's most trustest old friend TheoTedrin had been there to launch their charge, but they both knew that TheoTedrin had responsibilities to the mission, and could not possibly commit to follow or save Tengen... He was on his own.

And Tengen was gonna swim through those fucking slow clanking Imperium Robots across the junction! Their ridiculous 4+ invulnerable save from their aegis defensive protocol only protected them at range! Tengen charged forward, not hesitating for a single second in his run, and jumped head- and arms-first into the jam of robots, while blasting with both his chainfist and combi-melta!

As he plunged into them, Tengen saw out of the corner of his terminator's auto-enhanced senses that the bumbling column of robots was also taking sonic weapons fire from Drucius' Squad of Noise Marines on the far side of some bulkheads. Drucius had accepted sole responsibilty for taking the objective on that side of the station. But to Tengen's slight surprise, he watched as the Mechanicus Robots entirely shrugged off the Veteran'd, Endless Cacophony, of Excruciating Frequencies, Volley from Drucius' Squad... Drucius and his noise marines had advanced, and Tengen's own mission had kept him from supporting them with his reroll 1s and his leadership....which partly explained the ineffectiveness of their attack, but mostly it was down to their powerful energy field and Aegis Protocol

Tengen's chainfist passed through the Robot's energy field, and maybe it looked awesome like those vintage CG belt Fields in the 1984 Dune, And the Raiment allowed him to reroll his hits and wounds, but since Tengen wasn't used to the powers of the Raiment, he forgot that it let him reroll charges, and instead foolishly paid a CP to reroll his charge. That's why Zelamine is usually in charge.

Despite also forgetting his DttFE, 4 wounds from his chainfist, dishing out auto-3D rather than 1d3-D, because of the new chainfist rules and the Robots having the Vehicle keyword, went through the robots Aegis 2+, AP-4 to 6+, robotic armored bodies, killing first the wounded robot, smashing and scattering a whole second robot, and then taking half of the six wounds from the last remaining robot! He felt the exultation and glory of Slaanesh, and knew that he had once again overperformed despite his merely acceptable play, had sweetly pleased his Maisteresses, and wound be rewarded excruciatingly and joyously for his triumph!

Tengen regained his feet in the waist-deep hallway full of shredded machinery as the last robot stumbled away, and as his glorious nimble-master-artist-in-terminator-armor-Dance came to an end. The leaking, stumbling robot, momentarily overcome with programming errors from the damage it had taken, crashed back towards the sonic guns of Drucius' squad that Tengen could hear, quieter now. Tengen saw the two remaining skitarii vanguards, who the Helbrute had failed to kill, charge up and start to aim their plasma guns at him, but he was already reaching to activate his teleport homer stud with his tongue.

Touchdown!, and the daemonettes watching go even Wilder! Tengen will be first Master at the Victor's Orgy tonight!

Tengen's surroundings vanish in a flash of white and pink and black light, and Tengen overflows with love lust and joy, as his personal daemonette servant maistresses, and Zelamine's most fashionable facilitatrices, appear around him and rush in to get him out of his armor!

\*

TheoTedrin had figured this was how it would go: With Tengen leaving him holding the bag...again... after an admittedly beautiful and glorious play. Now while Tengen was celebrated and exulted at the Victor's Orgy, TheoTedrin would have to stay on the Orbital Station and administer it's conquest and assimilation into the Crusade's service. As often happened, TheoTedrin felt a moment of envy for Tengen's sheer martial prowess and destructive pawer. The Glory of Slaanesh was a delight and blessing to Behold!

With such a small force joining them on the attack against the orbital station leadership (Tengen had said more glory for us if we let the other attack groups take more of the troops!), the Crusade didn't have enough units units to support him, and so over the next several turns TheoTedrin's only company was Lord Octavius, now the many-clawed and gloriously-colored Chaos Spawn, but once he had been the Chaos Lord Octavius, who TheoTedrin had served back in the early years of the Long War... Back before they were all RocktStars and Slaanesh's favorites... and until Octavius' rule had ended, after Octavius had gotten lazy with great success and disappointed Slaanesh...

TheoTedrin kept his cool, and called in his reinforcements from the Teleportarium.