Chapter 3: Rumble in The Jungle
Imperial Guard, Catachan Jungle Fighters (The Eye Pokers) vs Chaos Cultists (Nurgle)

It was to the makeshift Command Tent that Lieutenant Barrent was summoned. The Captain stood shirtless with his back to the entrance. His Bolter was carefully placed on the floor, over an Imperial Flag, just behind him.

- Servo-Skull Scribe activate. For the Record, this is Wilford Lance. Rank; Captain. Serial Designation; 978-1844162314. Purpose of this record; confirm field promotion. Commence recording.
Without turning, the Captain continued.

- Lieutenant Barrent. Under the presence and witness of Sergeant Salt and Sergeant Pepper, I had promoted you to Lieutenant First Class and had relinquished command of Outpost XXXII. Unfortunately, my witnesses are now dead. Thus I'm invoking my honor as an Officer. If you know of this to be untrue, please speak your mind.

Barrel knew that it was a lie. There was no such field promotion, but he knew something was on the Captain's mind.

- Sir, yes the account in accurate, Sir. Your direct orders were for me to take over strategic operations as I saw fit, while you retained full command of The Eye Pokers.

The Captain turned and looked at his First Lieutenant with an angry scowl. Even in the minimal light, Barrel could see the scars that covered the left side of his face, shoulder and chest. The injury from the accursed demonic ammunition was brutal, but the permanent damage was even worse. Barrel would have sworn under oath that they moved with an unholy intent, as if they were alive. The Captain's anger faded away.

- Imperial Regulation 5468/34bj, Article Dark Forces and Warp Magic. Any soldier who, through his own will or no, becomes touched by the warp in any way and becomes impure and a danger to security, will be the beneficiary of the Emperor's Mercy. I have become impure... it is your duty to terminate my life. May the Emperor have mercy on my tainted soul.[i]

It was clear now to Barrel what the Captain wanted.

- [i]Indeed is my prerogative to dispatch you as I see fit... you filthy scum. I plan to do this, in presence of The Eye Pokers HQ. This means that your execution will have to wait.
The Lieutenant grinned, while the Captain gasped in shock.

- I... I'm serious! I can't take my own life. YOU have to do it. NOW!

- I'm in charge. Remember? I have sentenced you to suffer, and as a servant of the Holy Emperor of Mankind, you shall suffer on His service. No more excuses... or I will postpone your execution until the High Lords can witness themselves. Servo-Skull Scribe stop record and deactivate.
After a short pause, to insure that the recorder was indeed off, Barrel continued.

- Calm down, son. We are short handed, and you you are worth more alive than dead. I shot you, and the men will feel the despair and hopelessness of defeat. You remain alive, fighting the heretics, the men will understand that the Emperor indeed protects. After this thing is over, if you wish... I will grant you His Excellency's Mercy. For now, no self-piety. We got us some eyes to poke.

The Captain nodded and started to get dressed. Soon, he was out of the command post, all eyes on him... more specifically on his demonically possessed scars.

- Yes it is true. I'm tainted with the stain of the warp. It is clear to me, as well as to the Medic, that I should be dead. The demon in me fights to crawl out, kidnapping my soul. It is only by the grace of His Holiness that I remain alive. My faith, our faith... is our keeper and our strength. What happens to me later is not important. What happens to us, The Eye Pokers, right here and right now is what matters. The servants of Chaos want this moon. For what reason, I'm am not sure. What I can only guarantee is that none of them will remain alive and that this system will remain under the vigilance of the Mighty Emperor as long as any loyal man, woman and children across the galaxy draws breath! Let's Sergeant Salt & Sergeant Pepper's sacrifice not be in vain. For each one of us that dies, a hundred of them shall perish! So commands our faith and so shall be done. They may take our lives, but they never take our souls!

The men seemed with renewed spirits, as things promised to change for the better. Intelligence reports came through the Vox-Caster secure channel.

- Sir, we have managed to track enemy movement deep on The Green, Sector 32-Gamma. Based on planetary records, it seems to be an abandoned Xeno-Biology observatory post. Records indicate that it was stripped bare, so there should be nothing but ruins... yet hostiles seemed to be actively use it as a centralized command post.

- Roger that, Base. We will need two Sergeants and provisions to rendezvous with us. We are to investigate and secure the area.
Directing his gaze to Lieutenant Marsellas, he committed to action ordering his men to prepare for battle. This time, confident that he would get the upper hand... or die on the attempt.



After the two new Sergeants (Herbert & Erwin) arrived, the Eye Poker's Squad left for Sector 32-Gamma. As the jungle became more dense, the Catachans felt more in their element. Soon they manage to see the ruins; a small post... full of heretical scum. The plan was simple, send a diversionary force by the west, while the main force sneaked from the south-east. With extreme care, everyone moved to position.


Breaking radio silence, Sergeant Herbert ordered the Eye Poker's Banner to be raised. Although it was hard to pin-point the exact location, the followers of the Lord of Pestilence got wind of the invaders. Three of their numbers moved awkwardly through the thicket, barely getting a glimpse of the True Warriors of the Illustrious Emperor. The enemy moved forward, only to find that the Catachans moved with ease through the thick vegetation. They started firing few shots, missing them all. The jungle proved to be a Guardian to the loyalists.


Meanwhile, Lieutenant Marsellas moved close along with Demolition Expert Specialist Dlown Tobits. He had already infiltrated possible enemy paths, and smiled when one of his booby traps exploded on the far west. Alarms sounded, and they could see the confused heretics moving towards defensive positions.


They could see Captain Lance, Lieutenant Barrent and the rest of the Eye Pokers moving closing to their prey. At times they would blend with the vegetation, becoming virtually invisible by all but the most trained Catachan eye. They have managed to move and counter-move and counter-counter move the followers of Nurgle, in a deadly game of chess. The enemy started to notice the Catachans, as they became really close to their positions, and started firing. Dlown Tobits got a flesh wound, and was forced to retreat back to the jungle.


Fed up with the waiting, the Plague Marine ordered the Flame Thrower to move to the east bank and burn the jungle. Let's see how the jungle boys would hide. The heretic moved into position, when he hear a very loud click under his feet. Directly back of him a spring launched a very fake Venus Mantrap towards him. The non-believer saw the explosive giving away a bright light. He had barely any time to turn away to avoid his promethium tank to explode. He got the full impact, and was sent flying several meters up in the air. His Flamer obviously mangled, the heretic played possum between his few moments of consciousness. The Chaos Lord knew he was surrounded, but could not figure out where he could do more damage. He ordered his men to a more aggressive positions.


On the west, the Sergeants declared charge, and moved towards the enemy. Three Catachans versus two heretics; it was going to be an easy victory... or so they thought. The followers of the Dark Gods were expecting such attacks and deflected the charge effectively. One of them, a Fallen Dark Angel renegade Space Marine Scout, took matters on his own hands... or better stated, his own blade. He cut Sergeant Herbert down, as if he was not there and deflected all the attacks Sergeants Erwin unleashed at him. A Cultists struggled to finish the Eye Poker's Standard Bearer, but the Emperor laid his holy intervention to safe him from the brutal attacks. The Lord of Decay would not be denied, so the Plague Marine charged violently into the melee. To a casual observer, it seemed as if the pustulent warrior was fighting his shadows. Effortlessly he terminated both Sergeant Erwin and the Standard Bearer.

Unknown to him, the main Catachan force was assaulting the ruins from the east. Armed with Catachan Fangs, the Officers took the weakest members of the Chaos Cultists, so they could concentrate on the Officers. Captain Lance jumped towards the ruins to dispatch a Cultist guard, when a slug shot the man dead. Exposed, the Captain brace for an incoming attack. Cultists moved from the north, and started shooting at the melee in complete disregard of their comrades. The Ogryn, due to his size, offered a living shield to everyone... but even then one of the Cultists fell due to enemy fire. With an almost unfair numerical advantage, several Cultists paid the price of their heresy. A Chaos Aspiring Champion saw the Captain exposed right side and charged. He managed to his several times, but the Captain's recently blessed armor deflected the blows. While Lance counter attacked, he could see the Plague Marine dispatching his comrades on the distance. So it is the duty of the faithful, to die for the Glory of the Emperor. The Captain's scars burned intensely, as he approached the followers of the Dark Gods, but nothing was stopping him. Something, or someone, was driving him forward. Marsellas and his team rushed to the building, taking defensive positions. Other Cultists tried to move in, but their bullets could not find the mark as if the Emperor himself had deflected the shots.



The Chaos Lord stood motionless at a distance, understanding that he had been tricked and it was time to move in an tactical retreat. Scratching an itchy eye, he vowed vengeance another time.


EPILOGUE
After the battle zone was secured, the injured were brought for aid. One of the recruits had bleed to death, Sergeant Herbert had a cracked rib which would chain him to a resting post for a week. While in pain, he counted himself lucky... Sergeant Erwin was dead. Unlike the clean death of the infantryman, he was the recipient of the Plague Marine full assault. His chest wound was the size of a fist, perforating right right lung. Maggots already eat at his flesh, and attempts to remove them only made more come out of different orifices. Virulent puss oozed from his mouth as he mumbled almost incoherently the Litanies of Faith. The corrupt weapon apparently did more than damaged Erwin's body; his mind seemed to be gone. As flies surrounded his body, he could only scream for the death of his hatred enemies. Nurgle was attempting to send a clear message that he was aware of his defeated children and was not pleased. Yet the indominatible spirit of the Faithful persevered over the temptetions and corruptions of the weak-minded. Sergeant Erwin would live, but his days were numbered. Captain Lance would had to grant him the Emperor's Mercy soon... but now, he would serve the Emperor as a living weapon. He ordered the bodies of the dead burned, along with all their gear.


After the deed was done, George made a discovery. For once, the Ogryn's tiny brain was useful. He had stumbled on a small Warp Gate, and thinking it was a hula-hoop, he kicked it broken. If he had read the inscriptions (not that he could) only the Emperor knows what kind of horrors would had been unleashed. While it was obvious that the Eye Pokers had dealt a devastating blow to the Followers of Nurgle, the death of their comrades made the event a bitter sweet ordeal.



VICTORY FOR THE EYE POKERS!!!! (Finally...)

Brutal game! The game went well... VERY difficult; it was a 'chess game'! I did my best tactical moves only to be masterfully countered by Dozer. I tried to play like Catachans (sneaky, trying to get close to the enemy)... which looked like I was afraid (too much hiding). Well, I guess it looked like the truth! That maggot-philic Space Marine may as well be an Angry Marine! DAMN! He was kicking my guys DEAD like nothing! Holy Emperor's lint! Lucky me, he was on the WRONG side of the board! The dice-gods decided to mess with us... all night; it was either 1's or 6's. I started with lots of 1's to-hit, and Tim with 6's. Then on the to-wound roll (if I managed to hit before) I would get 6's, and Tim 1's! We were toe-to-toe all the time. At the end... I managed to get my two NEW Sergeants OOA again!!! One will miss a game due to an arm wound, and the other rolled a Chest Injury (now would had Toughness 2)... so I decided to use my Medic's re-roll... only to get him MULTIPLE WOUNDED! Insanity follows me! I rolled Hardened (Immune to Fear), Madness (Frenzy), Horrible Scars (Fear), Bitter Enemy (Hates Chaos Cultists) and Smashed Leg (miss next game.) Now I'm without the TWO Sergeants! AHHHH! Besides that, I think I'm starting to play Catachans to exploit their advantages. I really like that the Cover Save is not over-powered and their weapons not abusively effective (at least not yet!)

On the play-testing area, we were confronted for the very first time with "Area Terrain". Before, the terrain was a very defined feature (a wall, a barrier, a hole, etc)... the "Area Terrain" is a whole new beast. By experience and instinct we could manage to play, but we needed to define the area terrain. It took us ~10 mins to figure out stuff and 10 more mins to simplify it. I think we managed to do it with 2 sentences; one to define area terrain and 1 for the rule on its use. We used the same rule to define around 7 or 8 in game situations, plus 5 to 6 examples. I think that we will be OK. I will sit down and write all the stuff and post it on the forums for your revision's pleasure... it will be a page or two to explain the stuff. More on that, later.

WOW! I say it again that scuks! Well your Nurgle's Rot Stg is haveing a bad day I can tell, I only hope that you do better later, us ImpDuard have to stick together you know! As for your captain do you have a plot twist planed for him?

Oh and two pukes to you

dwi

Hehehehe... the nature of the game man! That is what I love about the game... so many evil twists! I rolled a TLGT, so I have 6 Officers, but I can only use 4 on the next game! Poor Sgt Erwin... he is a Close Combat freak now! He Hates Chaos Cultists, suffers Frenzy, causes Fear and is Immune to Fear. This translates to:

• He causes Fear.
  
• He has to Declare Charge to the closest enemy in LoS, regardless of distance and odds of success. If the enemy is too far away, the movement is treated as a Failed Charge.
  
• His base Attacks in Close Combat are doubled while Frenzied.
  
• His Hate allows him to re-roll any failed to-hit rolls on the 1st round of Close Combat. MAYBE NOT... see this thread on the Official Rules section!
  
• Immune to all Psychology while Frenzied.
  
• If he becomes Knocked Down or Stunned, then he returns to normal (no longer Frenzied.)
  
• He continues causing Fear.
  
• He continues to be Immune to Fear.

The only way we have theorized that we could forced a Frenzied guy to not Charge (suicide-style) to the enemy is to move him from Cover to Cover (in hopes that there is no LoS)... one failure (enemy is in LoS) means the guys goes crazy and runs directly to combat (Charges). This will be tough... I think I better get him some armor! Once in CC it will be nice to see him in action. Right now, he has one Attack, but it would increase over time. Armed with a Catachan Fang means he would be re-rolling those failed to-wound rolls! OUCH!

Regarding plot twists for Captain Lance... if I tell you, then they would not be any twists!

Oh man oh man what a GAME!!!

It came down to a complete thinking mans game. The strategy employed by the both of us was just mind numbing. It was all move, counter-move, and counter his counter move........it went on and on and ON!!! At some point I felt like I was playing against Jd3 and his god d*$^ eldar.

My CSM did some pretty good damage, he knocked out a sergeant (who had no arms, no wonder he couldn't fight back), and stunned a couple of recruits with his boltgun. Primarily though I had totaly forgot that he has a Power Armor helmet with Infra-Red Goggles built into it, and forgot to use the goggles to spot his hidden fighters......that was mistake #1 for me (He also has a 3+ save now......which I never had a chance to use. Basically I again did not use him to his fullest potential).

I had a Chosen Sergeant and a recruit flank one of his groups of guys, and the Chosen took out another sergeant (who also didn't have any arms) and Mord's banner bearer!!! Although he did some pretty good damage, it left him so far out on the flank that he couldn't support the rest of my squad. Thats mistake #2.

Mistake #3 was that I got impatient and went in way to aggressive. I was in an EXCELLENT defensive position, and had the perfect spots to force Mordheimer out into the open and get picked apart piecemeal. I had seen a potential gap in his line, and went uber aggressive to exploit it, and ended up stretching my defensive line so thin and exploding a booby trap which took my flame thrower OOA (he would have been in a position to literally hit his Captain, Leautenent, Ogryn, and 2 recruits with 1 flame template). In the end hepunched through the gap that my Flame thrower left and got his nasties into hand-to-hand with all my recruits.

In the end I had 5 guys OOA (1 Officer and 4 recruits). 1 recruit died, and my officer got some scars so now he causes fear.

In all it wasn't a bad game for me. Great game Mordheimer!!

I just noticed... I think my Catachans are getting infected by Chaos... GULP! Two of my guys cause Fear because of scars! HA!

"GASP" Hes right! Quick! Somebody get Commissar Fuklaw!
What do you think of my new avatar btw?

dwi

Commissar Fuklaw... he is awesome! (I better say that or BOOM!)

You know, I was thinking about your Avatar from another post and was about to PM you... Looks really cool. Can you make a new thread and post a larger image? I kindda like it!