The Battle of Bezpyn - AAR

Three tiny specks descend into the turbulent atmosphere of Bezpyn, engines hum as the craft level out and make for the only man-made feature on the planet, Outpost CCCIX. Each ship is as vastly different as the crew it carries, from the sleek, blade-like flyer carrying Monodominant Inquistor Karl Rezniq and his loyal death cultists to the rickety hover-barge commandeered by Horusian Inquisitor Verhoeven and his mercenaries. The utilitarian form of a mining craft would seem at home if not for the alien technology bristling from the hull, inside sat the impassive form of Dauntless and several soldiers of the feared Heretek, Kadmos. Even in the vast skies of the gas giant, each craft soon becomes aware of each others' presence, Rezniq tries to spur his lighter craft ahead, but the Battle of Bezpyn has already begun. 

Rockets, bolter fire and gauss blasts cut through the orange-hued cloud as the three craft exchange fire, none coming off unscathed, but the lighter Death Cult craft suffers the most. Towering funnels and antennae reach up through the clouds from the cyclopean mining instillation below as the interlopers close in on the major landing platform, Inquisitor Rezniq's Death Cultists barely ahead of Inquisitor Verhoeven's junker. Verhoeven's craft is the first to make the landing platform, he leaps from the deck, quickly followed by Interrogator McTeirnan, Guard Veteran Dutch, Cyborg Assassin Jeunet, Quinn the Archer and Grimm the Ogryn. Wasting little time, the party decamps for the nearest lift shaft. 

Horusian Inquisitor Verhoeven and his retinue take the freight lift down into the complex. 

The Death Cultist flyer sloughs off speed circling the platform, only for the Heretek mining craft to bear down on them and initiate a head-on ram. Although both craft are damaged, the heavier miner shrugs off the hit whilst the Death Cult find themselves bailing out as their flyer begins to spiral. Each of the cultists make the jump safely, excepting Inquisitor Rezniq himself, who plummets into the rusty clouds, a scream issuing from behind his metal mask. Clambering for cover, the orange-hooded fanatics follow their rivals into the facility, leaving Incinerator Glazius behind to cover their escape. The Heretek vehicle lands after completing one last lap of the platform, dropping off Dauntless, two Merchant Marines and two Heretek Narcoflagellants. The Marines loose off a few shots at Glazius before everyone at last moves down into the abandoned mining facility. 

The once-thriving facility has become a haunting labyrinth, littered with spent weapon casings and bodies mummified in the dry air. Having lost their leader, the Death Cultists find themselves split up throughout the complex, with enemies on all sides; Verhoeven's and the Heretek forces were luckier and remained together. All is not lost however, as Inquistor Rezniq has survived his fall and clambers out of an air vent, battered and filthy, but otherwise unharmed. With so many trigger-happy warriors in the mine, it is but a matter of seconds before muzzle flashes light the darkened corridors. Incinerator Glazius finds himself facing down Jeunet, keeping katana blows at bay with the butt of his cyber-blunderbuss. Death Cult riflemen, Blake Dolan and Aimon Vell, along with hammer-wielding fanatic Malek Tolmin quickly find themselves in a firefight, with Inquistor Verhoeven and Quinn ahead of them and Heretek Merchant Marines behind. 

Heretek Narcoflagellant Logan 10 is the first casualty, but is quickly followed by both Death Cult riflemen. Radium fire scatters around Interrogator Felixus Poe, but his supernatural luck keeps the hooded creep alive. Malek makes a charge for the Horusian Inquistor, who levels his shotgun in defense, but the antique weapon backfires, blowing up in Verhoeven's hand and removing him from the fight. Just as the Death Cult begin to cheer, Felixus' luck runs out thanks to a well-placed Psycannon round from Dauntless. Such is the loyalty of Verhoeven's men, however, that McTeirnan and Grimm the Orgyn have reached the centre of the facility and are preparing to move the C'Tan shard. 

Now it is the Horusian warband that find themselves surrounded, with the returning Rezniq soon joined by Malek and the Hereteks not far behind. With unerring accuracy, Rezniq brings down Dutch with a plasma blast and wounds Grimm as he closes in, seemingly immune to the shotgun and Ripper Gun fire filling the corridor around him. Unable to injure Malek with their Radium Rifles, the Mercant Marines opt to send in their last Narcoflagellant, which last only seconds under the fanatic's massive hammer blows. Screaming divine war-chants, Inquisitor Rezniq charges straight at Grimm, dashing aside the chain-bayonet and plunging his power sword deep into the Orgyn's chest. Given the choice to taste Rezniq's steel or help the fanatic escape with the C'Tan shard, McTeirnan agrees to push the dolly ahead of Rezniq. 

Seeing their prize escaping in the hands of the enemy, a flicker of dying human intellect lights inside Dauntless' Wraithbone skull. Wasting no time, the tech-abomination kicks through the wall panels of the mine and tears through the very guts of the facility. Just as Inquisitor Rezniq is wondering what craft he can commandeer, he is confronted by the towering form of Dauntless raising its massive Psycannon and depressing the firing stud. McTeirnan hits the deck as etched, silver-tipped bolt rounds shred through Rezniq's armour and he flops over like a sack of meat. With both Inquisitorial teams fleeing for safety, Dauntless is able to grasp the C'Tan Shard's tube in his massive fist and drag it away for his master. 

What grim portents await in the future of the Sectorum Ludud Bellorum? How long will Interrogator McTeirnan last in the hands of the Death Cult? What will become of the abandoned Bezpyn mining facility? What killed the entire workforce and left no trace? What plans has the Heretek Kadmos for the C'Tan Shard? Only time will tell...