The Invasion of Scipio - Epilogue - the Bug Hunt

Three months after the final battles of the invasion...

http://micromegasatwar.blogspot.ca/2017/10/invasion-of-scipio-chapter-5-second-wave.html 

 

http://micromegasatwar.blogspot.ca/2017/11/the-invasion-of-scipio-chapter-6-battle.html

 

Much of the valley is ruined but the rebuilding process has begun as remediation teams and scientists move in to clear out the infested zones. Even though the invasion was repulsed there are still reports of bug siting and activity, particular in the city of Flavius where the final ground assault took place. Elements of the bug forces fled and hid underground after their armies were broken and destroyed.

 

The hero of the battle for the Eastern Valley, Leeroy, has been given the assignment of leading a special task force to hunt down and clear bugs from the industrial complexes remaining in tact in Flavius. There have been reports of a possible Alpha bug lurking in the ruins that has killed some field crews working in the area.

 

Leeroy's squad is tasked with clearing the area and reporting back, they will deploy in the blue area shown below. Central intel has pointed out possible spawn points where sitings have occurred, they are identified on the map in red.

 

Having learned from previous fights with the bugs; Leeroy's squad has been heavily armed with carapace armour, a meltagun, a plasma rifle, a heavy flamer and the omnipresent lasgun. Leeroys troops deploy behind cover expecting an attack from any angle.

 

Upon detecting the intruders, the hive mind springs into action and a bug warrior immediately engages the Imperial squad with its venom cannon.

 

The venom cannon downs the Meltagun trooper, James, with a serious injury, the plasma gunner, Tim, steps up and gives two wounds in response to the bug.

 

Meanwhile, the alpha bug and other xenos activate and move towards the intruders.

 

The Imperial troops on the far flank are staring down a ravener bug coming straight for them, luckily, Bob, is armed with a heavy flamethrower.

 

Another warrior steps up to fire upon the Imperial troops as it advances.

 

Both sides exchange inconclusive fire, the venom bug takes its third wound and becomes splatter.

 

The action gets hot and heavy as Leeroy uses his time-honoured tactic of throwing krak grenades at the bugs, his first throw misses but does enough to pin it. James is still down with his serious injuries and he can't be reached because he's out in the open.

The ravener peaks its head around the corner to chew on some Imperial trooper.

 

And takes a mouthful of flames instead from Bob's mobile BBQ maker.

 

Meanwhile Leeroy's loads up another krak grenade, taking advantage of the bug being temporarily stunned.

The bug eats the grenade, taking a serious injury in the process, unfortunately it wasn't fatal.

 

Meanwhile the heavy flamethrower is making some bug roast on the other side and Bob is helped by a veteran guardsman, Neal, who finishes off the downed bug with his combat blade. Neal takes the head as a trophy.

 



All of this distraction has given the Alpha bug enough time to sneak up and unload a barrage on the Leeroy's troopers. Concentrated return fire manages to stun it temporarily. Poor James had succumb to his wounds.

In the last turn of the game, the Alpha charged at Leeroy but not before he had a chance to throw his final Krak grenade at point blank range. The lucky grenade must've found a weak spot in the armour because it took down the big bug in one shot. The last remaining bug fled before the other troopers had a chance to respond.

The work to rebuild Flavius would continue but no one knows what kind of horrors are still hiding in the dark corners of the crowded industrial hive.

 Final Thoughts on the campaign:
- I really enjoyed running and playing this campaign. I've had various inspirations from popular sci-fi movies and shows but my primary motive was to add narrative and story to my tabletop gaming, breathing life into the battles.
- I am going to start another campaign later this year (as soon as the miniatures are painted). The next one will have more structure to it and will be fought over three maps rather than one.
- Thank you all for the likes and comments on various forums and Facebook.

The Invasion of Scipio - Chapter 4 - Escape from the Power Plant

The battle for the Eastern Delta Valley is over for now and the Imperial troops have retreated to their perimeter. Their first attempt to liberate the valley was unsuccessful but they still surround the area and have the superiority in air and space. You can read more about the battle here:

http://micromegasatwar.blogspot.ca/2017/08/the-invasion-of-scipio-chapter-3a.html  and here:

http://micromegasatwar.blogspot.ca/2017/09/the-invasion-of-scipio-chapter-3b.html

The campaign narrative begins here:

http://micromegasatwar.blogspot.ca/2017/07/the-invasion-of-scipio-chapter-1-intro.html

The last stage of the battle saw the heroic stormtroopers retreat to the power plant while surrounded by enemies on all sides. Captain McDermitt, platoon leader of the stormtroopers, took the remainder of his squad inside the power plant to hide and await evacuation orders from HQ.

Stormtroopers at the end of the battle for the Eastern Valley

Captain McDermitt leading his squad to safety while surrounded

Reports from HQ indicate that the xenos have learned to use the energy generated by the power plant for their own activities. There is no detail on what these activities could be, but speculation from intelligence includes: spawning more troops, xenoforming the planet or powering their defensive batteries. Firing on the power plant from orbit could cause a chain reaction that would result in a nuclear fallout with devastating consequences for the entire planet, therefore this was not an option. Joint army and space command have thus decided to evacuate the squad and while tasking them with the mission of disabling the power plant.

Space Command relaying intelligence to the stranded stormtrooper platoon.

Captain McDermitt received a transmission from army command with his special assignment; firstly he is tasked with disabling the power plant by destroying the generators that power the electrical control systems leaving the nuclear core in tact but useless. Secondly he is to get his squad safely to the evacuation pod that has been dropped by space command. It is expected that he will encounter many xenos along the way, using rapid movement, firepower and stealth will therefore be key to his success.



Stormtroopers taking refuge in the power plant ready to get to evacuation site.

This scenario is played out using Shadow War Armageddon rules with a modification for random activation to facilitate solo play. The stormtrooper squad is tasked with blowing up each of the generators A and B with demolition charges and then getting to the evacuation pod. The xenos will appear randomly from the spots marked in a red circle based on a random die roll.

 

The squads were composed of the following:

Veteran Sergeant [265pts]: +1 Toughness, Boltgun [35pts], Carapace armour [20pts], Flak armour, Krak grenades [40pts], Power sword [50pts]
Veteran Guardsman [170pts]: Camo gear [5pts], Carapace armour [20pts], Flak armour, Frag grenades [25pts]
. Lasgun [60pts]: Hotshot laser power pack [15pts], Red-dot laser sight [20pts]
Veteran Guardsman [145pts]: Carapace armour [20pts], Chainsword [25pts], Flak armour, Frag grenades [25pts], Laspistol [15pts]
Special Weapons Operative [185pts]: Camo gear [5pts], Carapace armour [20pts], Demolition charge [50pts], Flak armour, Flamer [40pts]
Special Weapons Operative [210pts]: Carapace armour [20pts], Combat blade [5pts], Demolition charge [50pts], Flak armour, Flamer [40pts], Frag grenades [25pts]
Special Weapons Operative [245pts]: Carapace armour [20pts], Demolition charge [50pts], Flak armour, Frag grenades [25pts], Plasma gun [80pts]
Militarum Tempestus Scion: Lasgun, Krag Grenades

Total: [1220pts]

Tyranid Alpha [340pts]: Acid blood [20pts], Adrenal glands [10pts], Chitin carapace, Deathspitter [45pts], Extended chitin carapace [15pts], Pair of scything talons
Tyranid Warrior [290pts]: Acid blood [20pts], Adrenal glands [10pts], Chitin carapace, Deathspitter [45pts], Extended chitin carapace [15pts], Pair of scything talons
Tyranid Warrior [255pts]: Acid blood [20pts], Adrenal glands [10pts], Chitin carapace, Extended chitin carapace [15pts], Pair of scything talons, Pair of scything talons [10pts]
Total: [885pts]

 

Captain McDermitt's squad deploy in cover, they have no idea where the xenos will arrive from but know that they will have a fight on their hands.

The xeno alpha warrior and trooper, on the opposite side of the platform at generator A, ready to do some hunting.

Another xeno warrior arrives just next to generator B within line of sight of the stormtroopers.

Leeroy, the special operative tempestus scion, advances to investigate just as the xeno warrior advances and fires on the stormtroopers from behind cover.

The Captain orders the flamethrower specialist, Doug, to torch the bug. Doug duly steps forward and gives 'em hell. The xeno takes damage from the flames but it's chithin armour prevented it from becoming bug roast.

The damaged xeno is enraged and charges Doug with his scything talons. impaling and tearing apart the doomed trooper. Doug lets out one last scream before he becomes bug food.

Meanwhile, the two other xenos sneak up on the troopers from the other side.

Leeroy, seeking revenge for Doug's bloody demise throws a krak grenade at the xeno from behind. The grenade was faulty and bounces off the enemy harmlessly. Further shots from the plasma gun and sniper rifle fail to take it down.

The xeno leader appears around the corner and exchanges fire with Hassan, the second in command. The initial exchange was inconclusive and Hassan heads for cover.

It was now Captain McDermitt's turn to step up, he fires at point blank range while the xeno charges him with his talons. A ferocious melee ensues as the Captain himself.

The Captain falls in combat heroically, as he takes a fatal blow his power sword manages to cause more damage to the bug but not enough to quite stop it.

Frank, the trooper standing next to the doomed Captain looked at his bloody mess of a body and the xeno, he couldn't take it any longer and loses his nerve. He runs away back toward the entrance, the stormtroopers are in disarray.

Leeroy, however, didn't lose his nerve, this is what he has been training for his whole life. He steps up grabs another krak grenade and this time knocks the xeno down with it's impact.

The xeno was down but not quite dead, Hassan, now the leader of the squad, personally avenges the Captain and chops off the bugs head to complete the job.

While the attention was on the Captain and the recently dead xeno, another bug charges specialist plasma gunner, Charlie, from behind. A scythe right through Charlie's chest turns him into a martyr and robs the team of another heavy weapon.

Leeroy is not perturbed, the mission comes first and stormtroopers are not meant to grow old. He runs to generator B and places the demolition charge.

As the rest of the xenos overwhelm the remaining troopers, Hassan orders Leeroy to get to blow the demo charge and get to the evacuation site. There was no time to blow the second generator and someone has to get back to HQ to report on the heroic sacrifice of the stormtroopers.

Leeroy makes a mad dash for the evacuation pod, behind him he hears gunfire and the screams of his fellow troopers as more xenos surround them. There is no doubt about their fate.

As the pod takes off, Leeroy sets off the demo charge destroying generator B. Smoke from the power plant indicates that part of it has been taken offline, albeit generator A is still in tact leaving the power 50% operational.

This mission was only a partial success, hopefully the damage will slow down the activities of the xenos. The sacrifice of the stormtroopers was only a small part of this ongoing conflict, a hope for a quick victory and repulse of the invasion is now lost , certainly the civilian casualties are immense and beyond measure. The Imperium makes it plans for a final push to liberate the remaining cities before the xeno threat can expand further.