As the "Domination" and "The Crusader's Sword" make their journey towards Iaeid, they receive an unexpected Vox transmission. It comes from the Mechanicus Research Center slightly off their flight path. The Captain of the Strike Cruiser decides the Martian personnel must be rescued. They won't have much time as the Hive Fleet follows not to far behind.
As they close in on the Station, word reaches them that Tyranid Vengeance Drones are approaching and it appears that some have veered on towards the Station! A race against time...
The Mechanicus Station with the hangar deck seen at top right. The ascending decks go counterclock-wise. The top deck has already been pierced by Tyranid Boarding Spores and is not shown. The two Imperial ships are shown on the left (and if you look very carefully you can just make out the Station just above the Strike Cruiser), while the Tyranids are to the right. We used this to keep track of race against time...
The two Navy Breaching Squads arrive by Arcus Lighters and are greeted by the silent Kastelan Robot. Note, please ignore the green masses on the deck. These tiles were used for an earlier Space Hulk game and I didn't have material to recast, so...)
On Deck Five (just below the Tyranid breach, the first Hormagaunt appear in the elevator shaft while a Skitarii is on overwatch. The green die seen on the lab deck refer to the number of game turns the lab needs to download their vital information form the Main Frame...
The Skitarii slays two of the Tyranids, but more arrive and he is charged...
The unfortunate Skitarii are not good melee fighters, and he is soon butchered by the Hormaguant. A second Skitarii fails to drop even one, before he too is taken down (right side). A Genestealer joins them as they assault the bulkhead doors leading to the research labs. The Servitors are taking position at the doors to buy time...
Green Die seen on the blue cover represent the hit points remaining on the doors, which had 4 to begin with. The first door (on left) goes down very quickly, but the Servitor drops the first Hormagaunt!
And then the first Terminators arrive. Their commander had the quick thinking idea to use their own boarding torpedoes on Deck 4 to make a more rapid appearance! It turns out to be an excellent choice as the two Hormagaunts assaulting this particular door were crushed by the arriving elevator from below! Note that this particular door had only one hit left; very fortunate timing!
The Servitor is overwhelmed by Hormagaunts. The Skitarii prepares to defend his Mechanicus breathen downloading the vital information...
The Genestealer seems incredibly inept assaulting his door, while the Terminators are cleaving their way through the Hormagaunts. You can make out the Elevator tiles, seen with the yellow/black markings on the floor...
The Terminators make their presence felt as they take down the Tyranids...
With the labs on Level 5 successfully downloaded their data, evacuation may begin. The Terminators continue to mop up even as more Genestealers drop down from above through the elevator shaft...
But the Tyranids are not done yet, as some begin to infiltrate onto Deck 4, surprising a Skitarrii...
Back on Deck 5, the terminators hold off the Tyranids, as the Mechanicus personnel are evacuated...
The Skitarrii is overwhelmed by Hormagaunts on Deck 4...
A Servitor sacrifices itself as another Skitarrii and Terminator arrive to seal off this latest Tyranid infestation...
Tyranid Warriors now appear on Deck 5, wounding a Terminator before it puts down not one but two Warriors!..
As yet another Warrior appears, the Terminators now begin to evacuate Deck 5...
On Deck 4, Skitarrii and Terminators hold off the Tyranids as the personnel continute to evacuate the deck...
Up on Deck 5, Tyranid Warrior with Bio-Ranged Weapons approach the central lab, as the last Terminator Rear Guard is preparing to drop down to Deck 4...
A Skitarrii. and their Marshal attempt to stop the Tyrnaids but a Genestealer kills one and wounds the Marshal...
The Marshal wounds the Genestealer but then is cut down...
The Skitarrii may have been wiped out, but the Terminators still rule the Station, and with the staunch defense, the personnel have all been evacuated to the Landing Bay...
Unfortunately, on Deck 2, 8 of 10 armsmen of a Boarding section have been cut off, and are soon losing members...
Tyranid Warriors are making short work of the armsmen...
The last of the armsmen are lost, but the Mechanicus personnel have all been loaded onto transports to be moved to the waiting "The Crusader's Sword"...
As the last Imperials launch away from the Station, the lone Kastelan, takes down several Warriors and receives one wound. Amazingly, only a few Servitors were lost from the Stations' personnel, although the ten Skitarrii and the Magos were lost along with 8 Naval Armsmen. The Tyranid fleet arrived about two turns late in its attempt to cut off the Imperials. It turned out to be a enjoyable adventure. Now the Imperials must continue their voyage to Iaeid to spread the warning of the coming Tyranids.
