The onset of winter has plunged the surface temperatures on Megiddo Prime to sub-freezing numbers, the holy oils of the Adeptus Mechanicus barely able to keep the mechanized forces of the Imperial Guard at fighting strength. Scores of Tech Priests work round the chronometer to keep the armored divisions fighting, for it has become folly to fight with infantry as the death world-like environment has forced most of the armies underground to wait out the season long winter threat. The air has become thick with ammonia, making the use of rebreathers the only viable way to conduct any sort of infantry sweep. The Adeptus Astartes forces are not so hindered, their blessed armored suits providing ample protection from the elements. 

Thus, the main thrust of war has come from the forces of the Space Marines. Elements of Ultramarines and Blood Angels have fought a yearlong campaign of surgical strikes on key positions occupied by the Traitor Legions. McCready Airbase has been purged of the heretic menace by Captain Pejarium and his Ultramarine brethren, while forces of Blood Angels continue to fight in the mountain range near Zebra Station. The Night Lords continue to fortify their base of operations high in the peaks surrounding Zebra Station, the massive planet pounding guns of the station systematically leveling defenses being erected by the forward elements of the Imperial Guard. The Blood Angels succeeded in destroying several resupply convoys bound for the station, the discovery and summary execution of several score chaos Machine Adepts leading many among the Mechanicus cult to summarize that the guns need repairs and the time to strike might be at hand. Praying to the God-Emperor for better weather, his prayers were seen to be answered. Six hours after instructing Brother Chaplain Xerkes of the Blood Angels to pray to the Emperor for good weather, the clouds parted, and the snows ceased. Lord General Isen was overheard telling his subordinates “That man has a direct line to the Emperor! I plan to decorate him after this action!” 

Using this newly garnered intel, Lord General Isen has ordered the long-awaited attack up Zebra Station. Using the cover of darkness and a mysterious break in the weather, elements of the 34th Elysian Drop Regiments began the assault on Zebra Station at 0:1700, via Valkeries incursion. They soon fell under attack from the traitor legions, led by squads of nearly arrived Black Legionnaires! As the combat raged, armored elements of the Reiksverld 27th moved Baneblades and other artillery elements into position and began pounding the mountain fortress containing the Macro Cannons. Even as the base shook and small avalanches of ice and snow cascaded down the mountainous slopes, Hades Breaching Drills emerged into the icy caverns beneath the gun emplacements. Swiftly following regiments of Imperial Guard and Blood Angels swept into the gaps, the frozen hallways echoing with las gun and bolter fire as they meant the enemy head on! The icy hallways soon became thick with blood as the Night Lords and Angels of Rapture fought back. Mighty Demon Princes were loosed upon the attackers, driving them back to the breached tunnels with claw, horn, and demonic steel! As the forces of the Imperium were forced to fall back, the Demon Princes assailed the roofs of the tunnels, collapsing them upon themselves and their enemies, burying all in tombs of ice. 

At 0: 2100 hours Lord General Isen ordered the withdrawal of forces, weather conditions worsening and the loss of the tunnels making the assault on Zebra Station unwinnable at this point. His advisors were of the mind that a more direct approach would be needed to take the battle zone and so the armored regiments withdrew from the front, leaving behind a sizeable contingent of guardsmen to keep the traitors hemmed in while their commanders sought newer ways of taking down the enemy. Word has reached Lord General Isen that a sizable force of Black Legion marines has arrived from off world, while all contact with the Imperial Fleet is still impossible due to the asteroid belt around the planet and worsening weather conditions. Several Valkeries dispatched to bring news to the fleet have been systematically shot down by Ork Bommas. The greenskins continue to be a thorn in both sides of the war, striking at random from a hidden airfield and launching full blown attacks in crude armored formations. The Virgrid Plains are overrun with the green skinned aliens, and reports coming in from scouts detail a large action between the Black Legion and Ork tribes. Intel is sketchy at this point and Lord General Isen is awaiting further details. A scout force of Salamanders has been dispatched to the region, under the command of Captain Patton. A skilled military lifer, Patton has been ordered to map the region, record troop numbers and formations, and take any prisoners for interrogation. The force was dispatched over a fortnight ago, and no communications have been forthcoming since that time. The war in the ruined Artemis Hive has reached greater heights as the workers have joined the forces of the Imperial Guard and Adeptus Arbites to wage a running gun battle with the sinister forces of the Dark Eldar. Using load lifters, earth movers and ore smelters, the workmen have taken the battle home to the Dark Eldar, driving them out of the Hab Blocks and back into the outer sectors of the ruins. The Dark Eldar skimmers, their mainstay weapons and key to their lighting raids, have been all but useless as the weather conditions have caused them to be grounded time and again. Many of the Kabal warriors have died in crashes as snow and ice stall engines and they fall like stones to the debris below.

When news reached them that the Dark Eldar had overrun and captured the Arbites Precinct, the Imperial forces moved in haste, surrounding the fortress, and laying siege with the earth movers. The fortress withstood three sorties aimed at gaining purchase of the inner sanctum, but each time the forces were repulsed by scores of Wyches and withering splinter gun fire. Squadrons of Medusa siege guns were moved into position and began bombarding the outer walls of the fortress before the onset of bad weather forced them to withdrawal. As the forces withdrew, their rearguard fell under attack from Zebra Station! For their own unknown reasons, the Night Lords were aiding the Dark Eldar! Defense lines soon crumbled under the impact; the Medusas blasted apart as they sought to find cover. The bombardment lasted long into the night, forcing the infantry to seek shelter while hell rained down upon them from above. The constant pounding took its toll on men and machine, the icy cold of night further undermining morale. During the chaos, the Dark Eldar had moved out of the fortress, slaughtering whole regiments of guard during the night, the darkness and noise keeping their movements secret. As dawn broke upon the precinct house, the flag of the Kabal still flew from the battlements. All across the square surrounding the fortress were the burning remains of the Medusas, huge, blackened craters and the frozen corpses of scores of Imperial Guard, their blood frozen in crimson icicles, the looks of horror frozen upon their faces……

As the war of attrition continues, the beleaguered forces of the Imperium have come under attack from all venues. The war in the mountains of Hoarfrost Ridge has taken a greater toll on men and resources than previously thought. The hit and run ambushes of the Night Lords and Angels of Rapture have forced the Reiksverld 27th C.A.D into a type of warfare they are not used to. Unable to simply blast the renegades with the might of their Leman Russ, Lord-General Isen has turned to the newly acquired commanders of the Valhallan Cold Bloods. The 27th has been training hard in the cold heights under their tutelage, learning survival skills, ambushing skills, camouflage, and winter combat. Great metal enclosures have been erected in the ruins of the Vigilus Colony, barracks, motor pools and supply dumps as well. Adept techs, with the help of hundreds of Servitors, have levelled the ruins and replaced them with the Hab Blocks needed to provide shelter for vanguard of the advancing 27th. The Tank Companies have been refitted with winter terrain gear, each vehicle in turn bathed in sacred oils and new blessings to protect them from the rapidly degrading elements. The mighty Laser silos on Hoarfrost Ridge have been retaken from the elements, the Tech Priests laboring night and day to repair and bless them back into the Emperor's grace. All the ceremony needed to complete the repairs is impairing the 27ths ability to use them against the Night Lords. 

Lord-General Isen being aware of the Priests rituals, still grinds his teeth in frustration at the delay on getting these weapons operational! Meantime forces were being moved into place to assault the gun emplacements of Zebra Station, still firmly in the grip of the Night Lords. All was proceeding according to the battleplan when the Orks struck. Roaring out of the morning sky, a horde of crude Fighta Bommas strafed the newly built base, detonating supply dumps while dropping bombs on the scrambling troops below! As flak guns lit up the predawn sky, the Speed Freak pilots dodged and weaved among the peaks, circling around in wild patterns, and unleashing payload after payload of bombs. The ground crews soon started taking their toll back, as the flak gunners tracked the crude aircraft, depressing triggers and cheering as one after another of the Ork planes blossomed into great orange explosions that lit the predawn, followed by ground explosions as the craft fell to earth. Less than 15 minutes after the attack had started, it was over, the remaining Ork planes heading back over the mountains to the west.

The forces of Chaos meanwhile have spent the years digging in their defenses and securing their lines. Hit and run attacks on the Imperial guard regiments were more of an excuse to relieve their troops of boredom than any real threat of doing serious damage. The warmasters had a long-lasting war of attrition in mind when they came to Megiddo Prime, knowing full well that they could not afford to fight a quick hit battle. They were here to recover something from the planet and could ill afford to lose their troops in failed attacks, their resources limited. They have been focusing their attacks and advances towards the ruins of Hive Artemis, crude energy readings giving the warmasters a measure of hope that they could complete their task and get off this forsaken planet.... Not all the Imperium forces fighting on Megiddo Prime are Imperial Guard. The Space Marines of the Ultramarine and Blood Angel chapters continue to fight alongside their counterparts, aiding in the raids against the Orks and Chaos marines. Forces of Ultramarines have succeeded in securing the Yarrick Pipeline to the south. A daring early morning surgical strike on McCready airfield caught the small force of Worldeaters based there in a deadly crossfire, elements of the 34th Tank Company "Thor's Hammer" hitting the traitors drop ships with battle cannon, ensuring they could not flee. 

Meantime assault companies under Captain Pejarium of the Ultramarine 7th took the fight to the traitors of Khorne, the Captain himself felling a mighty traitor Lord in single combat, chaos blade against thunder hammer, in a duel that lasted for over 20 minutes while the battle raged around them. By midafternoon, McCready Airfield was in the hands of the Imperium once more.

As the war enters its 4th year, the forces of the Imperium are digging in and taking back the surface one battle at a time. Fearsome snowstorms are grounding most of the aircraft on both sides, though the Orks continue to send up suicide Bommas that crash more often than doing any damage! Tech Priests are close to re-activating the laser silos on Hoarfrost Ridge. And the forces of Chaos seem to be getting closer to their true objective. And the war rages on..........

With the full onslaught of winter lashing the surface of Megiddo Prime, the war effort on most fronts has come to a virtual standstill. As the snows pile up, it is increasingly difficult to coordinate troop and artillery movements, many platoons getting stranded and unable to offer any sort of coordinated support. As a result, many of the warring factions are fighting hit and run battles with what they have, even as the weather turns even worst. Lord General Isen, of the 27th Reiksverld C.A.D, has requested additional troops and artillery to aid in his push through the towering peaks of Hoarfrost ridge, where his men are under constant bombardment from Zebra Station, still in the vile hands of the Night Lords. Pinpoint shelling has collapsed many of the passable routes under an avalanche of snow and ice. A full squadron of Hellhound tanks has been allocated to General Isen to help melt a path through the mountains through which armored divisions can be brought to bear on the Night Lords position.

In addition, the General has requested, and been given command of, regiments of the Valhallan 1212 “Cold Bloods”. These troops specialize in arctic warfare and their counsel has been of great aid to the 27th’s war effort. Upon entering the valley housing the ruins of the Vigilus Penal colony, the 27th came under attack by a horde of savage Orks! Where the Orks came from is a manner of speculation, but the Xenos scientists attached to Isen’s command believe the Orks arrived on the hulk decades ago and were all but destroyed. Upon death all Orks release a cloud of spores that, given enough time, can gestate into full Ork warriors. The spores were likely hermetically frozen in the global catastrophe that doomed Megiddo Prime, waiting for the return of heat, water, and air. As the planet-wide thaw began two decades ago, it is likely the spores grew new Orks, and these creatures now roam the surface of the planet. Scavenged weapons and the like were noted on the corpses slain by the 27th, who were well prepared when the Orks attacked and repulsed the alien menace with precision firing and faith in the God Emperor himself! Be what it may, there is a definite Ork presence on the planet and Xenos hunters have been requested. 

Reports still continue to trickle in from the western front of massacres of civilians. Discovery of the Orks had many believing that a face had been laced on the perpetrators, but the savagery of the attacks is brutal even by Ork standards and the discovery of strange weapons and armor have left the Xenos advisors shaking their heads. Several Xenos hunter teams have been dispatched to the region with orders to find and root out the source of these attacks, even as more workers flee their Hab blocks. The situation in orbit above the planet has rapidly deteriorated. Little contact with transport ships has been had in the past few months, the Imperial supply lines have been cut off, and garbled communications have been picked up via surface vox casters but of little or no value. It is assumed by ground commanders that the ships were destroyed in low orbit by the asteroid fields. 

These self-same commanders know now that their survival depends on using what ground forces they have until such a time as communications can be re-established and fresh troops brought into the theater of battle. Year Two of the war slowly grinds to a halt in the grasp of winter, even as the war rages on…

The invasion of Megiddo Prime has begun! Planetary assaults have begun in earnest, the forces of Imperium and Chaos dueling it out in the stars above the planet while contrails of landing craft and assault boats litter the skies above the stark white world. The atmosphere above Megiddo Prime is now a graveyard of ruined ships and asteroids, the Explorator Fleet no match for the Chaos cruisers that prowl the space lanes. Space Marine Battlebarges still duel with their twisted brethren, lending even more wreckage to the growing flotsam in orbit, many plummeting into the atmosphere, to burn up as if falling stars. The war on the surface rages on as well, the snowy plains shaking under the tramp of feet and the rumble of tanks. The Virgrid Plains, and the remains of Hive Artemis, are even now under siege. Forces of the Night Lords, World Eaters and more Traitor Marines have landed in force. The World Eaters, under a daring Deathclaw night assault, overran regiments of the 46th Valhallan IG and have gained possession of McCready Airfield. Using the only operational airfield, the Blood God's warriors are now in position to threaten the flanks of the beleaguered Ultramarines to the north.

Meanwhile under a coordinated battleplan, forces of the demon prince Slaneesh, the Angels of Rapture, overwhelmed a garrison of Blood Angel Marines as they sought to fortify the ruined Ironfist Marine Bastion squatting the shadow of Hoarfrost Ridge. Elements of the Night Lords, again under the cover of darkness, seized Hoarfrost Ridge itself, bringing online the massive ordinance batteries bastioned there. Soon enough the guns were trained on the Imperial forces to the south and the night skies were lit up with massive bombardments. The forces of the Imperium have been forced to dig in as their positions continue to be shelled by the massive weapons of Hoarfrost Ridge. Commanders even now are organizing commando teams to lead a coordinated land & airborne assault to retake the Ridge. Regiments of the 304th Cadian Rough Raiders, Chausers Chosen, under the command of Commissar Alexander (The Hammer) Micah are gathering for an all-out cavalry assault on the entrenched Traitor Legions even as swarms of Valkeries make ready to assault the peaks. The war for the Imperium grinds on into its third month now, the reclamation of Megiddo Prime now an afterthought in the face of the Traitor Legions assault. Companies of Ultramarines, Blood Ravens and Blood Angels are now reverting to Thunder Hawk assaults and hit & run tactics against the Traitor Legions, as the tide of Chaos grows larger. Imperial Guard regiments, including the Valhallan 46th, have seized several Morpheus factories complexes and drilling platforms, as well as curing the listening arrays of the Emperor's Peak. Using the massive auspex arrays there the Imperial commanders now have a much better picture of the traitor forces. Most of the Chaos forces have massed to the north of Artemis Hive where they are even now fortifying their hold on Hoarfrost Ridge. 

While the surprise attack of the World Eaters took them by surprise, the IG was quick to respond. A company of Leman Russ, under the command of Captain Orpheus “The Fury” Bane, has been dispatched to McCready Airfield with orders to root out the World Eaters and retake the airbase. Day in and day out now, their ground forces are being pounded by a constant bombardment from Hoarfrost Ridge and the battle plan to retake the airfields now hinges heavily on the Loyalists retaking the gun emplacements from the Traitor Legions. The forces of Chaos seem motivated, ready to sell their lives dearly. What is driving this fervor is only speculation at this time… Disturbing reports have begun trickling in from the fringes as well. Reports of slain patrols, ruined settlements and atrocities committed upon settlers are reaching the ears of the Imperial commanders. 

Short on manpower Lord Marshal Londras Cantrell, leader of the Explorator forces, has placed the Adeptus Arbites patrols on high alert, the grim judges tasked with finding the source of these attacks and hunting down the perpetrators. The black armored forces have taken to the streets, martial law in effect and the Arbitrators dispensing summary justice upon the streets of the temporary Hab Blocks. As the first year of the war for Megiddo Prime comes to an end, the forces of Chaos seem to have the upper hand as they stretch the forces of the Space Marines to the limit. Imperial Guard regiments continue to fight the bulk of the traitor armies, the mutants, and renegade guardsmen. In space, the depleted forces of both the Imperium and Traitor Legions have come under attack from unknown forces, the pirates playing a game of hit and run, using the asteroids to mask their approach. And the war grinds on......

 

Megiddo Prime

A History of Megiddo Prime

Settled in the early years of the 38th millennium, Megiddo Prime has enjoyed a relatively peaceful history and only recently, in the past century, descended into turmoil. Upon its discovery in 949.M38 by Explorator Bureaus Sheckle, Skeckle’s System (named after her discoverer) pulses on the Western Fringe of the Imperium. Amid a glowing whirlpool of mineral rich asteroids that span light years, rests a system of 6 planets and several moons. The only habitable world upon discovery was Megiddo Prime, a mineral ripe planet with a single moon. An Explorator Fleet, under the protection of a Clan Company of the Ironfist Space marines, began the processing of settling the new world. Acting under the doctrines of the Adeptus Pacificus the Ironfist Space Marines began bringing the indigenous population to heel, the Explorator Fleet descending afterwards in force. Masters of the art of planetary occupation, the Ironfists and Explorator swiftly brought Megiddo Prime under the Emperor’s rule. Great hive cities, sprawling conglomerations of metal, were erected within a few short years. Huge settlement craft, heaving with civilians drawn from hive worlds across the Imperium, brought settlers both willing and reluctant to their new home.

Despite the obvious advantages, its mineral wealth and prime location along space routes, the Megiddo system had one serious flaw. Widespread asteroid belts made travel to and fro treacherous at best. Only experienced pilots and Rogue Traders with tried-and-true skills could navigate the immense bulk freighters and ore ships through the sea of fast-moving rock. The mineral rich asteroids were a deterrent to communications as well, radio and com signals dampened by the dense minerals they contain, the Emperor’s Beacon the only source of communication unfettered thru the sea of rock. Still the population of Megiddo Prime swelled each year. House Artemis, a well-known mining cartel, was given charge of the world and tasked with meeting the Emperor’s tithe. Artemis Hive was built to house the clan leaders, guards and major domos needed to run day to day operations. All was well for decades, numerous other cartel houses joining Artemis and forging a mineral wealth-based conglomerate. But the original denizens of the feral world were forced into servitude by the Adeptus Arbites and Planetary Defense forces, terrorized by the Ironfists as well. Stripped of their world and personal freedoms, the original populace of Megiddo Prime was cobbled into a docile workforce. But this workforce harbored a deep-seated hatred, they did not view their conquerors as saviors but as enemies that needed to be destroyed. Thus, the seed of rebellion was planted, taking centuries until that seed bore fruit. When fate took a hand…

During the year of 957.M72 an immense space hulk came hurtling into the region, spit forth from the Warp. The hulk was traveling at such speed that when it hit the asteroid belt near Megiddo Prime, it exploded with a force of such magnitude that it burned out all sensor auspex on the orbiting star bases. Planet sized chunks of rock were flung in all directions, Megiddo Prime right in their path. The skies were filled with fiery visions, the impossible mass of burning rocks hurtling towards the planet, clear for all to see day or night. While it would take several weeks for the planet killing mass of rocks to descend on the doomed planet, all knew their fates were sealed. The leaders among the enslaved population viewed the coming apocalypse as a sign and they rose up in arms, nests of infiltrators striking without warning as Planetary forces strove to keep peace as a mass exodus was underway. Several days of fighting resulted in the rebels overrunning Artemis Hive, sacking the Palace, and putting the leaders to the torch and blade. Adeptus Arbites forces clashed with the rebels, the streets becoming killing grounds as the populace tried to get off world while the rebels slew all they came across, centuries of hatred boiling over into an orgy of killing. And all the while the asteroid cloud drew closer to the planet.

Worst still, the attendant Tech Priests who operate the vast auspex arrays in the space docks above the planet began to detect shifts in the tectonic plates of Megiddo Prime. The energy signatures revealed volcanic eruptions were a certainty. To further add to the chaos, initial chunks of the shattered hulk began to shower the atmosphere of Megiddo Prime, destroying array stations and evacuation craft that were in orbit and dropping off the passengers that were originally board the hulk, Orks! Many of the greenskins survived the impact of the hulk fragments upon the surface and began to muster their kind, determined to bring yet another world under their green heel. But their attack would be short lived. Looking skyward the green skinned monsters saw their fate as well, their brutal cries hurling skywards, directed at the rocks that doomed the planet.

Three weeks and a day after the hulk arrived in system, Megiddo Prime died. The asteroids hit the planet in her north oceans, spinning the planet on its axis and moving it out of orbit. Water was vaporized in an instant, the resulting burst of steam boiling millions in an instant. The atmosphere was ripped asunder; cosmic rays bathing the planet in hellish heat, all vegetation burned, the atmosphere igniting as if under the holy fires of the Exterminous. Clouds of ash and steam were hurled skyward, blocking out the sun and dropping the world into sub arctic death. The planet froze, many of the survivors frozen on the spot as the temperatures plummeted overnight.

And so, Megiddo Prime became a Ghost World, her population gone, her proud hive cities and all their wealth and technology buried under a crust of snow and ice. It had remained thus for centuries. But now the time to reclaim the world draws near. The asteroid storms have abated. The atmosphere has stabilized, and the draw of the planet’s wealth cannot be ignored. While the Imperium musters an army to reclaim their lost jewel, other eyes gaze upon Megiddo Prime. Hungry eyes...

 

 

 Old School Ork terrain: KillTeam