Demon Hunters vs. Daleks

The battlecarrier Black Moab is currently in orbit around the planet Tyllis. While there are no major Demonic threats reported on the planet, it is thought the planet’s libraries might contain valuable information.  So while the scholars hunt through dusty shelves, the ship’s military compliment is mostly engaged in refits, repairs, and training. However, occasional patrols are sent out to investigate strange or anomalous sensor readings...

Chronon energy is one of the rarest and least understood forms of energy known to science.  While it is sometimes found in nature, no human technology has ever been known to produce it. Thus, when the science team aboard the Black Moab detected chronon emissions from an abandoned village, deep in the marshes, they quickly requested a patrol be despatched.

The patrol consisted of two squads mounted in Rhino APCs. Squad one, led by Sgt. Corvex, contained 8 members of the elite 109^th ‘Demon Blade’ Inquisitorial Regiment and an attached Psyker. Squad two, under the command of Sgt. Kadarian, was made up of ten men from the 66^th Tagovian High Guard.  As the detachment approached the village, the muddy road gave out, and Sgt. Corvex decided to proceed into the village on foot.

  

Not expecting trouble, but always alert, the two squads divided into four fire teams. Three would advance into the village, while half of the High Guard remained to protect the vehicles and act as a reserve.

The village was eerily quiet. There was no sign that anyone had visited the place for years.  Then, on the left flank, in front of the High Guard, a figure emerged from one of the huts.  Sgt. Kadarian ordered his men to hold fire, unsure if what he was seeing was a creature or some form of robot.  The thing turned towards Kadarian, a light glowing from a single eye-stalk.  It spoke one word in a grating, high-pitched voice. ‘Exterminate’.

The creature fired a built in laser weapon, which caught one of Kadarian’s men in the chest and flung him backwards.  Kadarian ordered his men to open fire, then watched in dismay as their lasfire bounced harmlessly off the creature’s tough armour. More creatures came into view.  On the right flank, Sgt. Corvex also ordered his men to engage the enemy.

In a manner of seconds, four men were down, killed or badly wounded, while only one of the armoured creatures had been destroyed, that by a direct hit from a meltagun.  The Psyker, attempting to probe the mind of the creatures managed to confuse one and sent it trundling off in the wrong direction.

With the laser fire shredding  through the soft wood of the abandoned huts, Sgt. Corvex ordered everyone to fall back.  More men died, their bodies flung backwards like rag dolls when struck by the powerful enemy weapons.  Another of the monsters exploded under the combined fire of Demon Blade hellguns, and a third detonated when struck by a shell from the High Guard rocket team.

Unsure of enemy numbers, and seeing his men in danger of being overrun, Corvex ordered his Rhino forward.  Its hull mounted gun added to the fire as it charged in to pick up the Demon Blade. Although the men managed to make it onboard, an enemy weapon struck the vehicle, blowing off its left tread.

Thankfully, the surviving High Guard had made it back to their Rhino.  Their vehicle charged over behind its stricken counterpart, and the Demon Blade made a successful transfer under fire.  Enemy weapons continued to strike the fleeing Rhino as it sped off down the old marsh road.

Later that day, a flight of strike-bombers was detached from the Black Moab, and the abandoned village was fire bombed into oblivion.  When damage assessment crews later visited the site, they found no trace of the aliens...

Losses among the Demon Hunters were heavy.  Five of the High Guard had been left for dead on the battlefield, along with four of the Demon Blade.  Each squad also had one man badly wounded, who managed to survive.  They also lost one of their Rhinos.  From footage pieced together from helmet cameras, it is estimated that five of the alien creatures were destroyed in the fire fight.