Black Sky Chapter, 3rd Company

10th October 2011

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The 3rd Company is “almost” finished

1 Captain

1 Librarian

1 Chaplain

1 Command Squad

6 Tactical Squads with Rhino/Razorback

2 Assault Squads

2 Devastator Squads

2 Scout Suads

1 Terminator Squad

1 Terminator Assault Squad

7 Bikes and 1 Attack Bike

2 Dreadnoughts

3 Speeders

3 Whirlwinds

3 Land Raiders (1 Land Raider, 1 Crusader, 1 Terminus Ultra)

1 Thunderfire Cannon

4 Drop Pods

3 Stormravens

_____________________________________________

Is that enough? I hope so, I am running out of paint again! As well as brushes and patience.

Tagged: space marines3rd CompanyBlack Sky Chapterwarhammer 40k

16th June 2010

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Future additions to 3rd Company

There is one big addition soon to come, it will be big and will bring 3rd Company to a whole new level.

But I also am planning to round out 3rd Company with three more Tactical squads. And if I get my $$ situation straightened out, maybe another Assault squad. This will also mean I have to add two more rhinos too.

So, I do need five more Tactical marines to round out a ten man squad.

More to come!

Tagged: 3rd CompanyBlack Sky CompanySpace MarinesWarhammer 40K

13th April 2010

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A big game day

This coming Sunday, the 18th, I will play my Space Marines for the first time. It will be a 1,000 point game against Mark.

Now all I have to do is figure out what I want to take to take out his Eldar.

Should be a good game.

Tagged: spacespace marinesEldarWarhammer 40K

23rd March 2010

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Vogsel IV

The life of a Space Marine is to fight. Whether that enemy is human, Xenos or even his own Brother, matters not. To fight is the only life they know. And to die in that service is the only rest he will ever know.

Riding in a Thunderhawk during a combat insertion has only one comparison. It is a little like standing in front of a fifty foot tall gear as it turns, with each one of its gigantic teeth slamming into to your head as it passes, while at the same time having the rest of your body pummeled with rockcrete sledgehammers. Only one other event is worse, and it is insertion by drop pod, but that is too obscene for description.

Once the decent leveled off it would only be moments before the red light above the hatch would turn green, and that would be their time to move. The chatter on the command net was calm as usual. The landing zone was marked and clear. His scouts had been planet side for almost a day, checking enemy defenses, observing and reporting enemy strengths and possible weaknesses in defenses.

The light turned green just as he felt the Thunderhawk touchdown. Instantly all were on their feet and disembarking. The landing zone was being buffeted by other Thunderhawks landing nearby, and no sooner had the last marine set foot on Vogsel IV the rear hatch opens and the Thunderhawk begins to climb. Out the back containers begin to slide out. This was a practice that is frowned upon by the leadership. But Captain Mara preferred this method because it minimized the time the Thunderhawks were on the ground, and that is when they are most vulnerable.

Squads of laborers and techs began to unpack the containers to set up the HQ. From the time they set foot on a planet, even under fire, an armored and armed HQ can be set up in less than a half hour. Huge multipurpose machines first dig down into the surface, even the hardest rock proves no hinderance. Next the machine begins to construct the walls of the HQ. Most times the material that is excavated is used to build the walls. The machine grinds the material into graduals, then chemicals are added, it is then extruded to form the floor, walls and ceiling of the HQ. The noise produced by these machines is quite remarkable. While it is not extremely loud, it is high pitched which is good. The high pitched sounds don’t travel as far, so some degree of secrecy can be maintained.

While this was happening, the Scouts set out to secure the perimeter, set up defensible positions, lay out mine fields and detector nets. Also during this time, portable anti aircraft batteries are set up, power generating systems and command and control systems are brought online.

By the time the last Marine squad reports the perimeter is clear and secure, the finishing touches on the HQ is being performed.

“Squad sergeants, report to the HQ”

Captain Mara sat reviewing reports of enemy movements and troop disposition when the Sgts arrived.

All marched in step before where the Captain sat and saluted. The captain returned the salute crisply, setting the reports down and motioning for them to sit.

“Here is the situation.” Captain Mara stood and walked over and picked up a map and laid it out on the table.
“In the valleys to the west of here there is a huge massing of Orks. The reports I have been reading says this bunch arrived on this rock about two months ago and made quick work of the paltry defensive force on the surface. But this rock has a secret, which is why the Orks are here. Deep underground is an Imperial research facility, biological weapons mostly, but there is one weapon the Orks must have found out about. It is a weapon designed to target Orks. The pointy heads have been working on a virus that targets Orks specifically, breaking down the bonds between the fungi and animal matter in their bodies. That is why they are here, to destroy the weapon before is finished. How they found out about the weapon, is a problem, and another is how they located the facitilty is another, but those ore problems for others to work out. Our job is to go kill some Orks. “

Captain Mara showed the latest disposition of the Orks and continued.

“We are going to launch two separate attacks against the Orks. The first is going to be a full frontal assault, led by you Sgt Cano. Your Marines will be suited up with Terminator armor along with 5th Squad, supported by Brothers Avior and Marius. Your job will be to hit them as hard as possible, and get them to away from the facility. Once they are drawn away, the rest of our force, except the 10th will be laying in wait to hit the flanks of the Orks and encircle and wipe them out. Meanwhile, the 10th will get in and evacuate the facility staff and destroy the facility. We have two objectives here. The first and most important is the facility staff. Their skills and knowledge is irreplaceable, another facility can be built, the staff cannot. The second is to kill as many of the green skins as possible, all if at all possible.”

Mara stood back and looked at the Marines, “Any questions?”

After a few moments more of observing the maps, all stood and saluted, Sgt Cano spoke for all, “Lets go kill some Ork!”

Mara returned the salutes, “Dismissed.”

_________________

A Month Later

_________________

Intelligence reports of the Prymar System turned out to be sadly incomplete. The reports only dealt with the Ork incursions, with a few foot notes about Tau influence on the fringes. Nothing out of the ordinary, it was a straight up rescue operation

The 3rd Company had been in the Prymar System for the better part of three months, fighting the Ork incursion. While the 3rd Company is not alone in fighting the Orks, the 3rd Company has been at the forefront of every battle. The Orks have not shown themselves to be as interested in fighting the Imperial forces. They had another more interesting foe to battle.

The truth of what was happening became clear.

Captain Mara looked over the no mans land perimeter surrounding Camp Penzias. The past month was one of the most unpleasant of his career. In that time he had seen Ork  tactics change. Normally Orks would attack his position en masse, now they simply run, or drive past, without even a sideways glance. They seemed to be more focused on other targets. This mildly annoyed Mara. He had fought Orks many times, and he knew they would always attack the most difficult and dangerous foe. So having the Orks simply ignore him and his Marines was a not an unsubstantial insult! But at the same time, what was out there worth fighting more?

At first he had sent out patrols to gather information, the first of which returned reporting a huge gathering of Orks preparing for battle. The patrols were always intercepted and bloodied upon their return. This should have been a warning but there was no reason to suspect their reports.

It was not long before those from the patrols fell ill with a strange ailment. This was very troubling for all, but this was only the beginning.

Those who fell ill, all suffered identical symptoms. Strange rashes appeared on their arms and legs, small red and blue blotches. This followed closely by a fever and diarrhea and vomiting. But strangest of all was with in less than two days the symptoms would pass, leaving only small patches of red and blue marks on the affected. The Marines would appear to be fine, all tests showed them to be fine, even the Company Librarian investigated and found nothing. More and more of the Marines would fall ill, but with each wave of the illness, it became more and more serious. After two weeks fully a third of Captain Mara’s command had fallen ill or were currently ill.

A disturbing trend to the illness was that it seemed to have no trend. Not everyone on a patrol would fall ill, and it seemed to spread at random to other squads. This situation was getting worse and nothing could be done to stop this mysterious illness. Captain Mara made a fateful decision. No more patrols would be sent out. All squads would be isolated from each other, and those who had been ill would be isolated further. Captain Mara had a bad feeling about this illness, though he could not be specific as to why. But given the luck of the Black Sky, he wasn’t going to take any chances.

It was a month after the first infections the first hints as to the cause became clear. One of the Marines of 4th Tactical began acting irrationally. He stopped speaking, he would not make any sounds as he scraped his finger nails across the bare floor of the bunker. It was with in hours the strange red and blue markings began to blend together and grow, turning into purple markings which grew quickly. . The Marine then became listless when left alone. But upon seeing another Marine or human, would launch into the most terrifying rage. The first of which resulted in the dismemberment of a half dozen Marines before the stricken Marine was subdued by being riddled with bolter fire.

The body of the stricken Marine was taken by the medical staff for an autopsy. It was then the true horror of the situation was made clear. Even though the body of the Marine was pierced by dozens of rounds, on the autopsy table it still managed to strangle one of the Med staff before being dismembered with what ever medical tools were on hand. But more horrifying was the discovery that the gene seed of the infected Marine had been corrupted by alien DNA. This was thought to be impossible. All of the implants and genetic engineering performed was thought to protect the gene seed from biological corruption, but that appears to be in error.

With in hours of the first violence, dozens of previously infected Marines went berserk, killing anyone except others who had been infected. They launched a well orchestrated attack on the camp from with in. The camp would have fallen was it not for the heroic actions of 1st Tactical backed up by Dreadnought Brother Avior. They held the ground surrounding the HQ and most of the supply and weapon bunkers, preventing the full scale slaughter of the rest of 3rd Company. Then without so much as a word, they fled.

Fully a quarter of 3rd Company was lost in the matter of an hour. Almost five squads of Marines had fled into the wastes. Losses to the remaining Marines was light, only twenty Marines and a handful of support personnel.

Over the next few hours every single person in the camp was evaluated to see if they carried the infection. The medical staff performed tirelessly and only five staff and one Marine were found to be infected. They were isolated in reinforced shipping containers under heavy guard. It was then that Captain Mara decided to abandon the camp and to bombard the planet from orbit, to hell with the research facility and to hell with his orders.

The medical reports Captain Mara in the last Thunderhawk lifted off chilled him. A previously unknown strain of Xenos infection was found in the dead Marine. While more study was needed, one aspect was certain. The infection was Tryranid. Somehow the Tryranid had adapted to infect the gene seed of Space Marines. Captain Mara sat quietly staring at the report in his hands. Questions filled his mind, none of which he had answers for, but a rage grew inside him. He would find answers to this infection, and he suspected the research facility may be the key.

Tagged: space marinesOrkBlack Sky Companywarhammer 40k