Dust hung in the void, the leftovers of some asteroid shattering collision or general cosmic debris, Admiral Sabanc of the Blood Angels Strike Cruiser Angelic Blade did not know, nor care.
What he did know is that this region of the Quinrox Sound had been subjected to repeated pirate raids, rumoured to be the leftover heretics from the recent battle of Ardekka.
His squadron formed five of the Blood Angels chapters Strike Cruisers; Angelic Blade, Chalice, Encarnadine, Sanguine Victus and Flame of Baal.
His orders were to run a patrol sweep of the Sound, and then head for Savaven to reinforce the chapter led assault planetside.
*****
A recent visit to Stockport saw the partaking of a game of Battlefleet Gothic with my friend.
His full 3D printed fleets, from Scourge Scenics were brought out and with a quick bit of list building we had two 750 point forces ready to go.
What follows is the story of the Encounter at Quinrox Sound, read on...
*****
Barely visible, the distances were so vast, the auspex scanners of the Angelic Blade pinged as they picked up and registered the heretic ships.
The Acheron Heavy Cruiser 'Despicable' led a squadron of two Devastation Cruisers, registering as 'Unforgivable' and 'Heathen Promise', as well as the understrength Infidel Escort Squadron 'Fellclaws'.
Each warp tainted ship screamed it name across the vox, and Sabanc was forced to ensure that the vox officer complied with his demands to "shut the damn thing off", executing the wretch when he refused to comply and promoting a new vox officer from the bridge ratings present.
"All ships, form up and hard burn, we take the fight to the heretic's" he ordered, relayed across the squadron vox a series of acknowledges sounded as the other captains ordered their crews into action.
The beastmen of the bridge crew roared their approval and punched the drive buttons for a full burn towards the hated enemy.
Other mortal crewmen issued orders splitting the chaos flotilla to the flanks, each ordered to open fire on the nearest target.
Lance and weapons battery fire spat towards the Astartes ships as every gun which could be tracked opened fire causing a series of blossoming explosions in the void as energy shields were stripped and hull plating began to bear the brunt of the focussed fire.
Amongst the storm of weapons fire back and forth between the two fleets, blood red Thunderhawks were launched, jinking between firing patterns as they sped towards the Chaos flagship.
Over the course of thousands of kilometers of distance the two fleets closed upon one another, soon they were filling the viewports of each ship, looming large and blocking out the winking stars in the void.
Weapons fire stabbed back and forth as fires spread and explosions bloomed silently in the void.
Captain Zydea of the Unforgivable cruiser watched in frustration as the Warmaster of the fleet charged headlong at the Astartes vessels.
She knew that the master was a languid worm, more fixated on the pleasures of mistress Slaanesh, then the actual danger of void combat.
Especially, point blank ranged void combat, she sighed deeply as her occulous read that the flagship was burning furiously.
"Retrain the weaponsss, and fire again, prepare our boarding parties" she ordered.
"Give them a broadside, Encarnadine you as well, we'll bracket the heretic between our ships, Flame of Baal launch boarding sorties against those escort ships on your flank, I want them taken out of the void!".
Another series of acknowledges sounded across the vox, and within moments the ship began to vibrate with the gravitic passing of the Heavy Cruiser close enough to overwhelm the gravity systems for a moment.
Soon the ship began to vibrate with another rhythm as the gundecks found their stride and began the deadly business of launching shell after shell into the hulking heretic ship passing between them.
"Sergeant Gideon, now is the time, spring your assault!" Sabanc ordered, and the Thunderhawks sped forward through a torrent of turret defensive fire, two of the noble ships exploding as they were caught in arcing fire.
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With a series of Turbolaser blasts, the surviving Thunderhawk gunships stormed through the explosions and landed on the outer hull of Despicable and deposited their deadly cargo.
A series of Terminator led boarding parties stomped down the ramp in the mag-locked gait of one walking in zero gravity.
"Plant the breaching charges here and here" Gideon, the assault's lead Sergeant ordered and once placed everyone returned to the landing point, as the Thunderhawks lifted off silently in the void, energy beams and explosions blooming in the pitch black.
Within moments a huge rent had been torn in the hull plates and the Terminators waded through the rushing of escaping atmosphere from the stricken ship, the occasional piece of equipment or mutated crewman flying past and into the unforgiving void made for the spectacle.
Soon the bloody melee fighting had broken out and the boarding parties rampaged through the Despicable causing severe damage to the already stricken ship.
Sabanc listened with pride as the assault forces reported the capture of the escort vessels with little to no resistance overall.
Sergeant Gideon reported in that they had completed their primary objectives abord the enemy flagship and it was for all intents now out of commission.
They would remain on station until their transports could be sent to evac them, until that time, they would carve a bloody swathe through the enemy crew and head towards the bridge to disable the command staff.
*****
Watching as the Despicable flickered out of contact on the auspex, and had become a burning, drifting hulk, Zydea, leader of the Devastation squadron assumed command over her sub-servient second aboard her sister ship.
"All Lancesss, open fire on the clossessst ssship" Captain Zydea ordered, her serpentine tongue flicking through the air, "Reload everything!".
With only two cruisers left, Zydea focussed her fire upon the closest ship and launched wave after wave of her own wretched assault parties.
The Blood Angels cruiser, Chalice, bore the brunt of her Ire, stripping it's energy shields and tearing at the hull plates, she managed to force a hull breach.
Her boarding parties fought their way through the defensive fire and deposited group after group of crazed Slaaneshi Cultists and Spawn to the strike ship in an effort to destroy it.
*****
Sergeant Gideon, having been picked up by his Thunderhawk, ordered a change of course upon hearing the fighting taking place upon the Chalice.
They boarded and headed towards the worst heretic infestation upon the ship in an effort to save her from falling to enemy hands.
"Chalice to Angelic Blade, messaged received and acknowledged, good hunting Admiral" Captain Ephredes replied and moved his ship out of formation, well aware of the brutal battles still taking place within her hull, he hoped the fire would not effect the warp jump if they couldn't contain it.
The rest of the fleet swung around in formation and began to give chase to the chaos cruisers.
Zydea, having seen one of the enemy ships break off was satisfied with her small victory, but she was still outnumbered two to one.
"Heathen Promissse, I am taking command, we break off and run for SSSabathrax, repair and rearm, then we'll bring the fight back to the Falssse Angel'sss, ressspond!" She hissed into the vox as she sat in her command throne.
A crackled voice replied, "Agreed" and then shut off with a click. Cantakerous fool Zydea thought. She knew she'd have to face Old Captain Charith in the fighting pits to assert dominance over the fleet soon.
*****
Admiral Sabanc watched as the heretic's disengaged and burned hard for the systems edge, they were soon lost to auspex due to the nebulous clouds of astronomic dust and an ion storm causing static feedback.
One more patrol of the area and we'll rendezvous at Port Maw, he thought, then on to the chapter at Savaven.
*****
Well, it's been some years since I've played Battlefleet Gothic, but it's such a good game.
Not only was it nice to get over to see my friend, but just the chance to play a game and roll some bones whilst talking shit to each other was fantastic, some hobby afterwards finished the day off and made the trek worth it.
Battlefleet Gothic is a game from that golden period GW had around the turn of the 21st century, when 40k was in its prime of 3rd/4th edition, Warhammer Fantasy was in its 5th edition, and games like Battlefleet Gothic, Epic 40k, Necromunda (1st edition) and Inquisitor were all working good and offering different aspects of gameplay.
As mentioned the ships featured in this game were all 3D printed from Scourge Scenics and are lovely detailed miniatures, I am tempted by some of them.
We had no blast markers, so that's why the red D10s were used, but I think some actual modelled 3D blast Markers, maybe using the technique I used for my Stormboyz could be a good go-to for them?
As is usually the case, there was some bad luck with the dice, until I only had Zydea's two cruisers left and vegan rolling like this, stripping hull points away from the Chalice in short order!
Once we'd reached the point with just the two cruisers left for my fleet, we decided to call the game (the start of turn four!), I was outnumbered, but more importantly the rations had been delivered, so the more important task of eating was undertaken!
As I post this, I am fulfilling the monthly challenge me and Chris set each other.
This month wasn't to paint a certain amount of figure, it was to actually play a game, as neither of us have much time to do so.
I've completed my side of the challenge Chris, now it's your turn mate, I expect to see a game write up on your blog before the end of the month!
Until next time, have nice day...
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