Severus continues to dream.  Again, he is now a Chaplain with his first solo command, tasked with holding a river crossing against enemy resupply efforts.  Severus does not remember his other dreams, but the lessons from those dreams echo in his head: Use cover and terrain to your advantage, set up squads to mutually support one another, and focus on the objective, not just killing the enemy.

Setup: Chaplain Severus knew the Pirate Eldar had taken cover behind the ruined wall.  He positioned his squads in cover, but within range and line of sight of each other to provide covering fire all around.  The Landspeeder, with it’s ability to move swiftly and still fire, was positioned out of sight behind the trees the marines were in.

Turn 1: Suddenly the vicious Dark Eldar launched their attack.  The black raiders swooped over the wall, unleashing fire into Julius’ squad.  The marines lost several, but stood firm as the dark ones charged in against them.  From their concealed positions, the marines slew several of the Warriors before they were struck down.  The Dark Eldar immediately sped into the woods to take shelter after eradicating the marines.  Severus, angered at the loss of his battle brothers, ordered his men to fire at will.  The Landspeeder soared into the open, the Heavy Bolter spitting a hail of shells.  The alien skimmer lost it’s engines and crashed to the ground on fire.  Athos and the men of squad 1 held their ground and fired into the exposed Dark Eldar that had just finished off Julius and his squad, cutting down 5 more of the twisted raiders.  Severus and squad 2 also fired into the Dark Eldar, mowing down 3.

Turn 2: The Dark ones swiftly returned a flood of splinters into squad 2 and rushed in against them.  The remaining Raider withdrew across the river behind cover, sending a beam of dark energy stabbing out at the Landspeeder, igniting the Heavy Bolter ammunition, tearing the fragile speeder apart from within.  The Reaver jetbikes sped around the trees, taking Severus and Squad 2 from behind.  In the swirling melee, Severus and the 3 survivors of squad 2 quickly found themselves fighting back to back, ringed by the laughing Dark Eldar.  They lashed out, felling several, but were hard pressed on all sides.  Even as the Dracon slid fluidly toward him, Chaplain Severus contacted Sergeant Athos on the comms.  “Hold your ground.  If I fall, I fall, but we must hold this crossing!”  The Dracon moved like liquid lightning, removing Severus’ right arm at the elbow, as the other dark ones swarmed around his brother marines.  The Chaplain seized his Crozius and smote down 2 of the Reavers, as the Warriors cut down the remainder of squad 2.

Turn 3: The Dracon and the remaining jetbike and 2 Warriors surrounded Severus.  The Chaplain’s breathing was ragged and, from the numbness he felt, he knew shock was setting in.  He growled and spat his defiance, even as they closed in.  Severus was cut down before he could do more than raise his blessed Crozius again.  The Dark Eldar, in their battle-lust, immediately ran toward Athos’ squad.  The lone jetbike screamed ahead of it’s slower brethren, but swiftly disintegrated under the hail of fire Squad 1 poured into it.  Athos and his men then turned their guns on the raging Dark Eldar, cutting them down as they ran.

Turn 4: The Raider silently slid out of cover and cut one of the marines in half.  The other marines all stood their ground and emptied their clips into it.  Spent casings littered the ground as their fire shredded the prow of the Raider, knocking it off course and into the ruined wall, where it crumpled in a smoldering heap.  The marines swiftly reloaded as Sergeant Athos appraised Headquarters of their situation and took up a defensive position over the drift, ready to hold off more of the vicious Eldar.

Severus woke from his dream with a smile and, refreshed, began his daily training as a Space Marine.

Thus ends our tale of young marine Severus and his tactical dreams.  If you enjoyed this, email me and let me know, you might also like the original.  If you did not enjoy this, email me and let me know what you would have preferred.