The Quiet Before the Storm
With the Mac-Guphin Engine hidden among the abandoned farm buildings, the Crimson Fists established a small security detachment while the remainder of the patrol continued their rounds elsewhere in the valley.
Veteran
Sergeant Diego Navarro stood watch over the experimental generator with
four Scout Marines. Three of the Scouts occupied the second floor of the old
farmhouse, giving them commanding views across the surrounding fields. Another
Scout remained at ground level with Navarro, guarding the generator itself.
Elsewhere, Veteran Sergeant Luis Ortega continued his patrol with the
remaining Scouts and the force's Chaplain, ready to respond if the alarm should
ever sound.
Across the
valley, unseen in the darkness, the Blood Axes were already moving.
Fifteen Orks emerged silently from the northern edge of the battlefield, spreading out in an extended skirmish line before slipping into the orchard. Taking full advantage of the darkness, the greenskins advanced beneath the trees while a lone Ork lugging a heavy stubber climbed the nearby hill. Finding an excellent firing position, he settled into concealment and patiently waited for the signal to open fire.
The rest of the Kommandos crept steadily toward the farmhouse.
Thanks to the Raid scenario's sentry rules, the Scouts were blissfully unaware of the approaching danger. Instead of acting normally, each Marine wandered according to random movement and facing rolls, producing one of the funniest sequences either of us has ever seen on a tabletop.
The three Scouts assigned to the second floor abandoned their carefully prepared firing positions and wandered into the middle of the room, where they formed a neat little circle facing one another.
Apparently,
the tactical discussion of the evening had become considerably more interesting
than guard duty.
Meanwhile,
Veteran Sergeant Navarro abandoned his position in the farmhouse doorway and
stepped back inside. After a few purposeful strides, he came to a halt...
facing a completely blank wall.
Whether he
was contemplating the teachings of Rogal Dorn, reviewing tomorrow's patrol
schedule, or simply questioning every decision that had led him to this lonely
farm on Rynn's World, no one can say.
Perhaps he
was wondering why the Chapter never issued coffee.
We'll
never know.
The final
Scout decided the open field looked far more interesting than the carefully
defended objective and casually wandered out into the night.
The Blood
Axes, hardly believing their luck, continued their advance.
With not a
single Scout actually watching the approaches, the Orks reached the farmhouse
completely undetected. The Blood Axe Nob and one particularly enthusiastic
Kommando carrying a plasma pistol peeled off toward the Mac-Guphin Engine,
clearly intending to reduce the priceless Imperial device to molten scrap. The
remaining Kommandos slipped around the side of the farmhouse while the heavy
stubber gunner settled into overwatch from his hillside position.
At this
point, the Scouts finally began behaving... slightly more professionally.
The three
Marines upstairs drifted back toward their original positions.
Unfortunately,
the scatter dice had one last joke to play.
All three
ended their movement facing the wrong direction.
Outside,
Veteran Sergeant Navarro stepped through the farmhouse doorway, produced what
we can only assume was a well-earned lho-stick, and gazed peacefully across the
silent countryside. The random facing roll left his back toward an entire mob
of Blood Axe Kommandos now only a few yards away around the corner of the
building.
Fortunately
for the defenders, the sentry rules state that enemy models ending their
movement within a sentry's Initiative distance are automatically detected at
the end of the turn.
Navarro
finally noticed.
Somewhere
in the darkness, a challenge was shouted.
Klaxons
began to wail.
Floodlights
snapped to life.
Signal
flares streaked into the night sky.
The
peaceful silence of the abandoned farm vanished in an instant.
The Second
Battle at the Farm had begun...
