It has been a while since the last report – the Geckos have been busy wargaming and hobbying! Today Matty is sharing with us his battle report from a facedown between the rotting horde of Death Guard and the heroic Deathwatch!

The air was thick with the smell of the warp, almost so thick one could taste it. There was no sound aside from the wail of the wind, like a banshee it howled; almost as if the air itself was dying from the plague. Beatriz knew the enemy would not be far away, and the objective seemed close. Kill Teams Graemond and Darius readied Frag Cannons, checked suit ventilation systems and boarded the Blackstar. They were the recon team, sent in to scout the area; Auspex scans had identified a small rigging platform, with fuel reserves and thermal output still showing as active.

As soon as the corvus entered the area of operation (AO) the pilots screen howled in warning as the auspex screen lit up with a horde of contacts. “Initiate Assault Drop and secure the LZ” voxed Beatriz. The machine spirit within the blackstar surged as the pilot urged it onwards, perhaps feeling the thrill of an oncoming battle. The Kill Teams were silent, they were already prepared for war, nothing left to do now but pray the combat would be substantial. The Watch Captain dropped the teams into the middle of the semi ruined installation in a daring flyby maneuver and then proceeded to engage the enemy, a sweeping gun run with autocannons booming and bolters shaking as they emptied their drum magazines. From his position, he could see the putrid and diseased forms, the shambling undead huddled around a foul monstrosity that once was a machine. However the auspex relayed a more sinister force behind this, “Master, immediate forces are small, Graemond and Darius will dispatch easily, however the Emperor demands more of us this day, sizable enemy contact will be in the installation within minutes”.

The Disciples of Nurgle were if nothing, resilient. Graemond and Darius unleashed volley after volley of bolter shots with air superiority thinning the herd, but wounds that would put down mortal men, even Astartes, simply slowed the horde down. They needed to hold out until reinforcements could arrive. Then they would show these traitors what the price of straying from the Emperor’s light would be. The Shambling mass had no end, the more they killed, the more strode over their pus ridden, decaying corpses towards them. Giant demon machines that spewed filth and fired explosive rounds were detected entering the AO.

“We, We are here soldiers. The might of the Emperor. Stand firm”, the sombre voice of vetern Warrior and elite Librarian M’Batu could be heard over the vox channels. And arrive he did, along with him a sizable chunk of the deathwatch forces. M’batu appeared on a rooftop, alone, unaided and began firing his bolt pistol down into the hordes, drawing their attention away from the kill teams. The undead saw an easy kill, a single marine, no matter how skilled, that was a dead marine. “Come Forth and face judgement, be put down in the holy light of the Emperor’s wrath!” his battle cry revealed his trap. The hum in the air rose to a fever pitch and then with a flash, Mbatu was surrounded by Kill Team Thracymachus, their bolters raised and spewing death. The horde was thinned, the battle cried loud.

However, the Plague Father also sent reinforcements the poxwalkers used their own dead as steps. Clawing and moaning, they rose the building until they surrounded the Warriors, forcing them to fight off clammy hands ridden with disease, the slime beginning to corrode the ceramite of their armour.

It was late in the day, the bodies of Nurgle coating the installation in a green ooze, the smell rancid, even the super human organs of the Astartes were now no match for the infection seeping into reality. The Deathwatch held, but it was costing them dearly, and Papa Nurgle had not yet thrown his most powerful tool into the fray. With lightning bolts of green and joyous singing from the plague warriors, the warp spewed two warriors forth. Typhus, lord of contagion and bringer of despair. And Putrificus, Demon Prince of Nurgle, 749th favoured of the grandfather. The strike was co ordinated, Putrificus struck for the throat, seeking the head of the Watch Master, whilst Typhus rallied the horde and sought to dismantle the front line. Neither were prepared for the wrath to come.

With Kill Team Darius being besieged by a demonic Plague Burst Crawler, along with the Horder of Poxwalkers, the Deathwatch surged with new confidence, inspired the Watch Captain, whose battle howl could be heard even among the roar of engines, and the banging of boltguns. He charged the Crawler, wielding his thunder hammer with precision swings. Then, his greatest challenge, Typhus.

All the while, Purtificus was busy with Watch Master Beatriz. The stoic leader showed no emotion through his death mask. His eyes simply stared the foul beast back, his spear coming into guard position, with no fuss or glory, no warriors to witness the deed, He charged the creature. The Guardian Spear wielded with the grace of centuries of service, limbs moving in a ballet of cuts and thrusts. Trusting in his ancient ceramite to protect against the cursed and diseased talons that struck out to wound him, and they tried. But the 749th favoured of Nurgle would not be favoured this day, Beatriz struck truly and sent the demon back to the warp.

The Man Reaper cut the reality of fabric as it was, but the Light of the Emperor gave the old wolf Captain courage, and the pair duelled. The thunder hammer cracking as it surged with power striking the warp cursed terminator plate that Typhus wore. Again and again the pair fought, when finally and heroically, the captain struck home, a concussive strike with the Thunder hammer threw Typhus back 15 feet and knocked him on his back, looking up and seeing the wolf charge toward him, the 2nd favoured of Nurgle called the warp, and slunk away, letting the warp feed him and regain his strength. But it was enough, just.

The raging battle had seen the medivac of a number of soldiers, the few still fighting, Graemond of the Templars, Kill Team Tzuka were making headway. And the retreat of the General and the ‘slaying’ of the Demon Prince was enough. Beatriz rallied the remaining forces and sought to put down the reaming plague marines. Crucially however, they controlled enough of the facility to warrant the damned and diseased to withdraw, as traitorous and plagued as they were, tactically lacking they were not. If only for a moment on the besieged planet, The Deathwatch had won a narrow victory.

Excellent report Matty – A close victory for the Emperors servants today!