Heresy28 Part Two: Scorn of the Emperor

Horus' rebellion rages across the galaxy, crushing the dreams of a united and hopeful Imperium beneath the boot of traitors. Razed in this conflict is the ancient world of Nammu IV--initially repopulated during the Great Crusade and subsequently brought to ruin during the early days of the Shadow Crusades by the Sons of Horus, mysterious Blackshield Operatives have renewed interest in the secrets of this strange planet's past.

    Before most of us arrived at Warhammer World, @k0rdhal's Blackshields had already made planetfall, striking against @marshal.werhner's Mechanicum...

The conflict was brief as the Blackshield operatives infiltrated the labyrinthine gene vaults beneath the surface, engaging in a bloody shootout with the Mechanicum defenders. Thallax powered across railings on their jet packs, their lightning guns reaping a bloody toll on the invaders, but even their firepower wasn't enough to stave off the sudden assault. The Blackshields held back the Mechanicum, extracting valuable biotech material in a desperate effort to fix their corrupted genetic material.

The Mechanicum, aiming to use this material as a bargaining chip with both sides of the war, deemed this loss unacceptable and proceeded to diplomatic algorithms with the Blackshield invaders. While the Blackshields were keen to meticulously destroy any remnants of the defenders, astropaths and spies signalled in that a team of the Emperor's Talons were on their way, and a truce was struck. The Magos decided they would much rather see the Blackshields fight them, rather than be caught by the Imperium's Justice.

Unbeknownst to the Mechanicum however, the Blackshields escaped to the surface not just with gene material, but with relics of Nammu IV's past hidden within an array of strange alien cubes.

@marshal_werhner created us each these beautiful cards for use in our games, ft. the most baroque of tape measures.

    The first round of games began on the fallen Titan table. One between myself and @k0rdhal, and another between @lunax7070 and @toki.paints.

Around the corpse of Thalia Oblivita, Warlord Class Titan, the Blackshields gathered on the scorched planet's capital city, Nammu Prime, and erected a perimeter to safely study their findings within.

Quickly, however, the Talons of the Emperor made planetfall to investigate the remains of the planet, headed by two Custodian Guard and five Sisters of Silence, aiming to starve out and execute any corruption left in Horus' wake. While the Talons approached the Blackshields with an initial attempt to form an alliance, rumours of the Blackshields' tampering with the Xenos cubes leaked, and the Talons found themselves in a brutal, open firefight, outmatched and outgunned.

Both the Blackshields and the Talons of the Emperor formed defensive positions around the Titan's foot, the Blackshield warding off signs of advancement from the Custodians by laying down bolter and plasma fire. No man's land quickly erupted with flame as crossing it became a death sentence.

Taking advantage of a brief lull in the bombardment, Witchseeker Theadia Yelsliyth crossed to interrogate one of the Blackshields, only to be met with fierce combat. 

As the Blackshields resumed their volley of firepower, a Custodian Guard joined the fray, fending off wave after wave of the Space Marines.

Despite gaining some ground against the Blackshields and taking a number of their defenders out of action, the Talons of the Emperor were quickly overwhelmed, caught out in the open and unable to reach the Xenos cubes.

Her allies pinned, wounded and regrouping, Vigilator Raseelie Bea made a last-ditch attempt to win the day, vaulting a barricade to engage the enemy.

Despite her success in combat, sundering a Blackshield Sergeant, Bea was overwhelmed by the ambush.

Vastly outnumbered and nursing their wounds, the Talons were pushed back by the Blackshields. However, after recovering an enemy servitor during their regrouping, they caught on to their enemy's dealing with the Mechanicum in the gene vaults beneath the city, intending to learn more about their foes' intentions underground.

Across the city, a regiment of Traitor Auxilia left behind after the Warmaster's invasion was joined by reinforcements from the Sons of Horus as they returned to exact a tithe on the surviving citizens of Nammu.

The traitors were quickly ambushed, however, as a small formation of Blood Angels rushed to confront them, having been summoned by Mechanicum still stalwartly loyal to the Emperor.

Despite digging themselves into defensive positions, the Blood Angels wasted no time covering the length of the streets with their jump packs, engaging the traitors' front lines while the Mechanicum watched on, opening fire on the Sons of Horus.

Between their devastating assaults on the Traitor Auxilia and their heroic duels with fellow Astartes, the Blood Angels allowed their enemies no quarter, reaping violent justice for the Mechanicum left behind in the wake of Horus' rebellion.

Forced to flee from Nammu Prime, the Sons of Horus retreated to the planet's shipyards in search of more allies to combat the Blood Angels...

Thank you for reading. Continued in part 3.