Inquisitio, Pars Duorum

+++ GURIJA HIVE, HOJJA JOROGALNA +++

+++ Command Post, B Company, 377 Krieg Siege Regiment +++

She heard the 'Incoming' call from the sentries on the high ground. Still alert. That was promising.

The Cadian column, such as it was, marched into the Krieg encampment around the Astropathic Choir buildings and stomped to a well-drilled halt. Under her broad brimmed hat, Inquistor Miranda al-Ghraile of the Ordo Xenos let her lips curl into a small smile. She enjoyed being in the company of Cadian troopers. Their determination and drill showed how good they were as soldiers and their discipline left them unusually resistant to corruption for regular mortals.

Their Colonel spoke surprisingly softly to a junior officer who promptly set about dispersing the Cadian forces into defensive positions alongside the troopers of Krieg.

From their midst, the Inquistor strode into the Krieg CP. She grabbed the first officer she saw by the lapels "where is he?" she demanded. He stammered and and gestured to the rear.She heard him shouting something about power packs before she saw him. "Aldo! Stop brutalising that man. Ammunition is in short supply planet-wide."

After a moments silence he responded. "Inquisitor al-Ghraile. I thought I sensed your black mood on this world. Why are you here?"

"Show some respect, Aldo. YOU asked for MY Ordo's help. We're here."

He sneered. "You are here, Miranda, and that is not much use to me when we are beset on all sides by the perfidious Xenos and the ancient enemy." Her vox-link chimed, as if on cue, as a jet black Thunderhawk Gunship circled around the Krieg encampment before landing on the boulevard alongside the CP.

"No. Aldo. We are here..."

...
...
...

The stench of putrefaction rolled over the lines. The Kriegsmen, in their gasmasks, appeared not to notice too much but the Cadian sergeants began giving orders to their men. Vox units across the lines began to chatter as sentries spotted a wall of walking corpses, shambling alongside a wall of jerkily animated silvered warriors. Inquisitor al-Ghraile conferred briefly with Sergeant Androkles of the Deathwatch. "Options, Sergeant?" she asked. "We will attack, Inquisitor. There are no other options."

"Are the Astartes...advancing?" Signifer Welham seemed utterly confused as Kill Team Androkles  stepped out of it's prepared positions and advanced on the enemy, bolt rifles blazing. Next to him, Aldo tore the vox from the hands of the Cadian Colonel. "MEN OF CADIA AND OF KRIEG. THE ENEMY IS UPON US." he bellowed. "IN THE NAME OF THE ALMIGHTY GOD EMPEROR OF MANKIND YOU WILL HOLD THIS LINE!" Heavy weapon fire erupted along the Imperial Guard line and the troopers cheered as the Corrupted Knight was felled by concentrated fire from the House Hawkshroud knight, Arcus, and lascannon and missile fire from the Guard lines.

As if from nowhere, a Valkyrie transport whizzed overhead, it's rocket pods strafing the ground ahead of it, as a platoon of Tempestus Scions leapt from it's rear door. They dropped on grav chutes, firing into the Necron rear as they descended. No sooner had they touched down and taken cover in a nearby shell crater then a scream rent the air.

With almost pinpoint precision, a red and white drop pod hit the ground and disgorged a squad of Adeptus Astartes from the Storm Lords, led by an Epistolary of their chapter. The Librarian saluted the Tempestus Sergeant with his Force Stave as his battle brothers gunned down the first of the Necron's overseers and turned their fire on a second.

The Necrons slowed as their leaders were slaughtered by the combined might of the Storm Lords and the Militarum Tempestus while the Cadians blazed away at their front lines with accurate and effective lasgun fire, blunting their forward advance. On the Imperial left, the plague-ridden zombie swarm continued their shambling and to their rear the gross and distended forms of a platoon of Death Guard Heretics and the hulking mass and wings of a mighty daemon.

As the zombies closed on the Imperial lines, Krieg assault Sentinels and Kill Team Androkles turned their fire on the putrescence, hoping to hold it back. The Deathwatch could only look on as the Daemon Prince thumped it's enormous wings, leapt through the air and fell upon the Krieg lines with an unnatural rage. The troopers held, thanks only to the exhortations of Commissar Vhen, who found himself the unfortunate target of the daemon's wrath. Vhen fended off the beast with some skillful swordplay and leapt clear as the Hawkshroud Knight turned it's mighty autocannons on the daemon prince and turned the beast into a disgusting pool of filth.

Darkness fell over the Storm Lords and Scions as another fallen Knight stepped onto the boulevard over their heads. Shouts went up across the Imperial lines as heavy weapon fire turned on the knight. Inquisitor Aldo directed the Guard autocannons to fire on the Necron flier, recalling his experience days earlier on the Imperial Cathedral forecourt. The fallen Knight turned it's wrath on the Scions while the Necron leader's foul technologies brought down many of the Storm Lords. As the befouled knight turned back to the Imperial lines, almost as one, the three Imperial psykers turned their minds to the task and felled it with their combined mental fortitude, before Epistolary Camedes and his remaining battle brothers were taken by floating Necron horrors.

Inquisitor al-Ghraile watched in horror as the foul pestilent zombies pulled down another Sentinel and tore open it's cabin to get to the pilot. She drew her sword and looked around. "Commissar Krause? Shall we?" Krause answered by drawing her own blade and the two  charged into the morass of plague-ridden foulness. Hacking about left and right the zombies fell under the swords of the two black-clad heroes. Suddenly, the ground shook as another corpulent daemon prince dropped from the skies and began laying about itself with an enormous rusty sword...

...
...
...

As dusk settled on Gurija Hive, Gnaeus Aldo looked up as he heard the roar of Thunderhawk engines for the second time that day. From it's rear door stepped a single Primaris Space Marine, clad in jet black armour, offset by the white shoulder pauldron that marked him out as an Apothecary. The Marine walked slowly and carefully among the dead, occasionally kneeling for a time, before storing a small vial on his belt and moving on.

The Apothecary stood for a final time, cradling something small and broken. Aldo realised he was carrying the body of Inquisitor al-Ghraile. He lifted his aching body and limped over to where the Marine was standing. "She fought with honour this day, Brother Apothecary, and will be celebrated in the annals of the Ordo Malleus." The Primaris looked down. "Thank you Inquisitor. Her loss will be felt at Pykman. Now, where are my brother Storm Lords?"

Aldo gestured off into the darkness. The Apothecary stared for a while, then turned on his heel and strode off without another word, presumably to perform the last rites of the Adeptus Astartes on those brave brothers of the Storm Lords chapter. As he watched the Deathwatch Marine's armour merge with the darkness, the Inquisitor realised what this victory had wrought.

+++ BLESSED IS THE MIND TOO SMALL FOR DOUBT +++

+++ THE GOD EMPEROR PROTECTS +++

Narrative Campaigns? 
Amen to these. Scotty ran a slick campaign with some great custom missions and some excellent little add ins. Everyone who played it enjoyed it and it was a pleasure to play some really casual and fun games against a variety of lists and opponents. When playing casually, 40K plays really well at low points values.

I think our club will be seeing a few more of these in the new year. Goodness knows, there are enough games we can play that allow for campaigns and pretty much every skirmish game on the block has all the necessary bits. So Necromunda, Frostgrave, Dracula's America and probably another 40K one could all easily find their way to the calendar.

Next time
Some classic, early 2000s GW metals for 40K are currently on the painting desk and I'm hoping I'll have my first ever 3D printed model to paint!