Pursued Through The Sand - Vigilus Wastelands

Points: 2000.

Mission: Tear Down Their Icons.

Secondary Objectives: Behind Enemy Lines, Bring It Down and Grind Them Down.

Opponent's Secondary Objectives: Assassination, Engage On All Fronts and Retrieve Nephilim Data.

The Rift Wardens had set up a new base of operations in the wastelands following the loss of Fortress Delta. Secretly they had spend several weeks making the new fortress defensible and resupplying the chapter with fresh battle brothers and munitions. As Arthurus was attempting to rebuild the chapter's strength on Vigilus, he gave orders only to send squads out for routine patrols and occasional convoy protection operations.

However, a chaplain by name of Kahedin decided to disobey those orders and led his patrol out into the wastelands in search of enemy forces. It was said he had become frustrated with the lack of action and the frequent loses for the chapter. Kahedin's force consisted of 100 battle brothers, two dreadnoughts and accompanied by Chief Apothecary Palomeides. During a night time patrol, Kahedin informed Palomeides that he was taking the fight to the enemy, to annihilate them with faith in the Emperor. Palomeides tried to convince the chaplain but was rebuffed.

Kahedin's patrol reached the Kanza salt flats as the sun rose above the horizon and found themselves on the path of a rampaging daemon horde led by three infamous daemons; Be'lakor, Skarbrand and Rotigus. Kahedin ordered his men forward and surprisingly was able to get the drop on the enemy force. The first that the daemons knew of the attack was when heavy weapon fire began exploding among their ranks. This was followed up by an Outrider charge which ran into the rear of the enemy horde but was soon halted as multiple daemons manifested from the Warp around them.

Despite the initial success, the Rift Wardens found themselves outnumbered and underpowered, especially against the might of the three legendary daemons. Reluctantly, Kahedin ordered his battle brothers to fall back. This regroup was initially hampered by attacks by daemonic troops who were beaten off but more and more began to manifest around the space marines. Soon it was estimated that a significant number of daemons, numbering in the thousands, had assembled at Be'lakor's command. The daemonic tactics were to harass the flanks and rear of the retreating space marines. The patrol found that they could not safely move without heavy covering fire from the dreadnoughts, who had fallen in combat with Rotigus and Skarbrand.

At this point Kahedin ordered Palomeides to take the wounded and make all haste to Arthurus and warn him of the daemon presence while he remained to atone in death for his hubris. Kahedin fought hard but continued a slow withdrawal but his forces were surrounded and suffered brutal deaths. The daemons assembled on the ridges surrounding the beleaguered space marines, who had formed a defensive ring, before launching attack with their full number, now measuring several thousand screaming horrors. This attack lasted just a few minutes, and after a desperate struggle, the defensive ring was broken. Kahedin and his remaining space marines were killed. No survivors.

Palomeides and his wounded charges struggled into the Rift Wardens base of operations around noon, thankfully outrunning the daemon horde. Arthurus was furious but there was nothing that could be done now other than to shore up the defences and hope that the daemons past them by. Word was psychically sent to Hyperia Hivesprawl however, to warn them about the new threat roaming the wastelands between the Hive Cities.