The Ikaran Chronicles: April 2022

For the rules minded...

Mission: The Hit (Necromunda N18) - This is an arbitrators scenario from the mainrule book. Defender deploys in the middle, Attacker deploys 2" any board edge. The only objective is to eliminate the Defenders leader.

Ordo Desolatus Roster
Disciples of Izula Roster

...

The intelligence dossier and sanctioned orders had reached Inquisitor Lukor under the highest encryption auspices available. He remembered the subject from decades prior; the Genetor Corruptus, Izula. A secret lab complex on the industrial moon of Vakus was the destination. He assembled his kill team and dispatched with all haste aboard the fastest Guild freighter.

They had located the complex on the outskirts of the Via Narcopa starport, the Mercatur Guild agents had proven reliable informants. Over a week was spent in the cramped confines of the nearby safehouse, a small unit of an abandoned hab-block when the quarry was finally spotted on a routine visit to his chem still. After a short field briefing the Inquisitor and his Desolatus agents assembled for the fateful attack...

Above: The main Desolatus warband approached from the east through the chem processors.
Below: Suphera-892 & Kaust flanked south through the hab-block alleyways.

Izula and his retinue had just exited the chem still when the raid began. Acolyte Caspiel fired from the east chem gantry, his high energy lasrifle beam toppling a mutant at the Arch-heretics side. The response was immediate as he was blown clear off the gantry by a frag round blast from the mutant grenadier on the chem still second floor.

More danger sounded from the rooftops as autogun fire rained down on Lukor and Varian from a lone sentry, narrowly missing the agents as they darted through a derelict chem processor. Terrelion and his automata Rho-91 advanced under the gantry girders, spraying bolts and las fire down the alley at the Hetmen.

From the south hab-blocks Kaust and Suphera-892 sprung their flank attack (Group activation). Kaust scrambled into close range of the Hetman Sindisi, gunning down the mutant champion with a shotgun slug. Suphera felled another of the mutants. They would pay for their cunning as Kaust was cut down by Izulas own bolter. Before she could come to his aid Suphera herself was blown several feet down the alley by another frag grenade from the chem still, wounded but alive.

Inquisitor Lukor and his remaining agents had reached the edge of the chem processors, autogun fire still hammering off the gantries above them. Acolyte Wrax delved into his torn cloak and primed a stun grenade, hurling the small canister at the Hetmen. The blast sent both giant warriors reeling.

Terrelion was shot through by an auto round from the rooftops. Cursing in binaric, his servo-rig still steadied him and his archaic-pattern boltgun. Short thunderous bursts pinned the mutant rifleman long enough for him and Rho-92 to escape the vertical kill zone.

To the Ordos agents horror Izulas Disciples continued to rise up from grievous wounds that would have been mortal on normal men. They had to get past these bio-engineered scum or Izula would slip the net.

Into the blood-streaked chem still alley Acolyte Varian broke from cover. twisting the ignition chamber on his flamer unit to life. "Burn heretics!" he snarled as he unleashed a sweeping gout of fire into their ranks.

The Desolatus agents were swarming into the chem still complex now, dodging the scattering flaming bodies of Izulas henchmen. Terrelion among them did not see Izula in the chaos until it was too late. The Combi-melta blast vaporized the Tech Adept into ashen wind instantly. Lukor howled with rage as a bolt salvo ricocheted off the girders around him, nearly decapitating the Inquisitor.

Another grenade launcher blast from the mutant Ghazi caught Wrax, blasting him to shreds before Lukors eyes. In desperation he reached into his minds eye seeking the accursed grenadier. The warp surge came on strong, too strong. Ignoring the screaming visions clawing at his mind he pushed through the veil of reality, hurling a stunned Ghazi from the rooftop to the ground below. The Inquisitors mind was scorched but luckily intact. (*Telekinesis Assail: From Perils to Warp Surge to Success).

In the southern hab-blocks, a bleeding Suphura-892 limped down the alleyway. She spied the lumbering giant Sindisi swatting away the worst of the flames engulfing him and sliding a fresh magazine into his boltgun. Suphura capitalized on the distraction and charged. The Hetman had no chance as the Adept Assassins stiletto sword lashed out in a whirlwind. The exotic neuro-toxins released by the blades edge staggered the giant champion. Bleeding from scores of wounds, burnt and now poisoned the brute collapsed with a massive thud and did not rise again.

Cornered and seeing his numbers waning, Izula charged Varian with a savage guttural war-cry. The old grizzled veteran had no chance as the large rusted chainaxe tore him in half. It was to be the Arch-heretics final triumph however, as the gore spray cleared the last vision Izula would have was of Inquisitor Lukor and the muzzle of his smoking combi-plasma. The remaining scum fled into the shadows.

The attack had been costly but the Genetor Corruptus fiend - Izula was finally dead, as were the five honored martyrs whose names were committed for inscription in the holy Ordos records. For Lukor it was bittersweet, he had lost the counsel of two veteran specialists; Terrelion and Varian. They would be difficult to replace.

The Arch-heretic Dominae Izula was a notorious renegade who tormented the outer colonies of the Nibaru Belt. His practice of forbidden gene-sorcery was responsible for the abhorrent contamination of the populations of at least twenty confirmed settlements on five worlds.

The ravening bands of new generation mutants that soon followed Izula's heresies would plague the frontier systems for decades. Vat cloned from the modified gene-stock of Izula himself, his chosen Disciples are his ruthless personal bodyguard. The Izula Genome, while compromised by unstable mutagens resulted in unnatural physical resilience and unchecked psychosis.

The first generational clones - the Hetmen were subject to further modification via chem harness devices feeding a litany of combat drugs, stimms and growth hormones.

Second and third generation clones often featured more extensive mutation.

The origins of Izula himself are largely unknown. Subtractus file indicates his first presence in the hive wars of Sybaris, after which he vanished only to reappear decades later on the frontier systems.