In the pre-dawn hours the remnants of the Blood Angels 8th Company and their
Ultramarines 3rd Company allies completed preparations for the return to the
surface of ES-THEA. The Blood Angels Chaplain completed the rites of battle and
looked for any evidence of the red thirst. Although grim and determined, none
of the marines under his charge showed any signs of the rage and descent to
darkness. The Ultramarines Librarian and his battlegroup also completed
preparations, but their focus seemed more concerning checking the sights on
their bolters and power levels of their lascannons.
Planetfall was fairly uneventful, but the combined force chose to land some
distance from the Necron pyramid. None of the bright energy lances greeted the
blue and red colored marines as they landed off in the desert. However, some
distance from the pyramid, evidence of a new threat emerged. The remains of
several Eldar vehicles were found, but scorchmarks were indicative of other
Eldar weaponry, not Necron Gausfire.
The battleforce moved on, and towards dusk the pyramid was reached. As the
Battleforce arrayed itself overlooking the field below, it was observed that
Eldar units were seemingly interacting with the Necrons. The Chaplain and
Librarian communicated over the comm-net. It was likely that the Necrons were
controlling the Eldar. Almost as soon as that communication was held, the
Necrons and Eldar began mobilizing and heading towards their forms of vehicles.
It was going to be an armored clash in the waning daylight. Ultramarine and
Blood Angel units mounted up, leaving two Ultramarine squads on overwatch while
the tanks of the battleforce moved in on the center and right of the Necron
line.
The Blood Angel chaplain headed directly towards the Necron center while the
Librarian headed to hook around to the right. The real reason for this was
clear – the Necron Overlord needed to be drawn away from the battle, while the
Blood Angels attacked the center to do what they did best. The Chaplain would
assault with his ultramarine-equipped assault terminators. The Librarian was
accompanied by thunderhammer assault terminators as well. Both commanders rode
in Landraiders to the assault.
As the clash began with both sides firing lances and multi-meltas and
lascannons, it was clear that the fight would be grim and fierce. But as the
Tarot had predicted to the Librarian, the Necron Overlord soon determined to
take his chariot to the Imperial right. What the Marines did not count on
though was the tremendous firepower that a combined Necron army would have with
the addition of the firepower of the Eldar and their shackled warlock.
Soon the battlefield was full of haze and flames from exploding and damaged
imperial vehicles, and shimmering dust from Necron and Eldar skimmers. The
battle was not going well for the Imperium. Time and again the Librarian
reached out with his mind to try and aid the Marines, but he was thwarted time
and again by the Warlock. And then out of the dust advanced the Necron
Overlord, riding on his metallic chariot of death. The Landraider servitors
targeted the chariot and brought it down. But the grim overlord rose from its
debris and advanced on the landraider. Thunderhammer-armed assault marines
charged down the ramp to meet their foe – the Librarian stayed behind full
knowing he was the target and he had no desire to find himself shackled like the
hapless Eldar Warlock.
Soon the air outside the landraider was humming with scything green energies and
swinging hammers. More than once the Overlord was brought low, but he self
repaired and battled anew. Ultramarine terminators were turned on each other by
the Necon’s shackling mind control abilities, and the battle continued.
Eventually a combat squad of additional marines arrived and the squad’s added
assault power phased the Necron Overlord from the field of battle.
On the center of the battlefield wreckage was everywhere. Vehicle crews on both
sided fired until their weapons systems were down or the vehicles wrecked. The
Chaplain and terminators fought grimly on foot, spending time between assaults
hiding behind vehicle wreckage. Their Landraider had been exploded earlier by
combined fire from Stalkers and Wave Serpents, even after a damaged Ultramarine
Razorback, its weapons gone and marines dismounted has zoomed to the front to
try and shield the Landraider from the tremendous fire. The Chaplain and
entourage now crouched behind the remains of the Razorback.
On the Marine left, the Necrons and Eldar forces also attacked, tring to
outflank the marine’s overwatch units, but their assault was repelled with heavy
losses on both sides.
Now, as the sun set, the Necrons focused their energies on the marine center,
sending forward their Stalkers, a Monolith, and Eldar slaves to try and
overpower the marines. Marine fire and meltagun toting Blood Angel assault
teams thwarted this assault but again with losses. Just as the Marine line
began to bend, the Librarian and his terminators arrived, sweeping in from the
right to recover the line and break the back of the Necron assault.
As the night deepened, the Blood Angels Chaplain and Ultramarines Librarian met
on the battlefield, their armor lit from the fires of burning vehicles. The
Eldar warlock and units were nowhere to be seen – apparently sometime after the
Overlord was dispatched, the mindlock on the Eldar was broken and they fled.
Messages were already sent by fleet communications to call forward techmagos and
others with greater expertise in handling Necron tomb-worlds. Servitors were
already working to recover and repair vehicles, while apothecaries recovered
geneseed from the fallen. The Necontyr of course, had also disappeared, having
been phased away from the field of battle, leaving behind little more than
scorched sand and their warm, humming pyramid.
The plans for the next day were for the two Chapters to get together, honor the
fallen, and make arrangements for return of the Terminator Armor once the Blood
Angel force reached their armories at Baal. Soon 8th Company Blood Angels and
3rd Company Ultramarines would part, knowing that they shared more in common
than the red that decorated their armor.
