Battle for Xilos

Commander Togrul Ayback was cursing his fortunes as his men slowly advanced through the jungles of Xilos. 3 weeks of transit with engineering problem after problem and finally they had landed.

The Algoryn losses being reported in the first week were galling. The shame he and his men felt not being there fighting beside their comrades burned deeply as they landed in a newly built landing platform, their shame evident as they were unable to meet the eyes of the wounded being ferried off world to medical frigates.

No sooner had his men set foot on Xilos then they went on patrol to ensure the reinforcement of Dropzone Kronos could proceed unhindered.

Reports had come in of Concord movements to the east and sure enough as his men cleared the heaviest of jungle into a more open valley they sighted a Concord force marching directly towards them. The shocked reaction of the Concord Commander showed he wasn’t expecting a patrol to arrive so quickly and for a few heartbeats both forces seemed to freeze and watch each other.

It was the roar of the mag light support gun that broke the quiet, it’s metal spikes shredding a hapless Interceptor Biker scouting ahead and pinning their unit in place.

Movement erupted across the valley with Armoured Infantry and Armoured Assault Infantry squads on the left flank running into the jungle in front of them.

On the right flank Togrul ordered his men forwards into the jungle in front of them with his unit supporting their advance. In front of them the Concord forces spread out in front of them. Two strike squads sprinted to the jungle opposite Togrul’s position. To his shock both groups fell to the ground when the finished their sprint for cover exhausted and appearing completely out of shape.

Shaking his head he ordered all of his troops to focus all their fire on both of these squads sensing they were composed of green soldiers. The fire between both forces increased with the supporting Concord units wiping out the AI Squad in front of Togrul.

Snarling, Togrul advanced and raked the position in front of him with plasma fire, the troopers suddenly breaking and running due to the volume of fire coming from three different positions.

Sensing the tide turning in his favour, he signalled for SlingNets to be used against the remaining force opposing his right flank. The firing escalated and as the dust settled fleeing Concord troops could be seen disappearing back up the valley and into the safety of the thick jungle beyond.

The remaining Concord support troops fought a desperate rearguard, they flowed behind a downed container lost during the horrific battles during initial drops. Shouting curses at the advancing Assault Infantry they poured all of their fire into them only to see their armour absorbing every shot.

With a quick nod, Assault Leader Nir Marak signalled his squad to finish it. Their mag repeaters cutting down the remaining Interceptors and breaking the back of final stand of the Concord forces.

Victorious, the Algoryn troops chased the remaining Concord troops from the valley while Togrul signalled for medical support to be brought up for his wounded troops.

With his troops blooded, Togrul considered all that had gone wrong on his journey to Xilos and most importantly of all the advice of his engineer. One fault on a voyage happens, two is bad luck. Three however, three is sabotage. Someone from within the Algoryn forces wanted to stop him from reaching Xilos and he was going to find out and make them pay for playing political games while others died in the jungles wondering where their comrades were.

Post Battle Thoughts:
This was my first ever game of Beyond the Gates of Antares and to say I am hooked is an understatement. It was the first game for my opponent Andrew and we had to pause at times to work out certain rules but it was an extremely enjoyable game.

The opening turn was a brutal one for my opponent with both squads on his left flank choosing to sprint only to roll a 10 for each unit. Those pins they gained from the sprint would prove to be costly as I focused all of my fire on them. Their armour did well to hold out and avoid casualties but the sheer number of shots hitting these two squads was enough to turn the battle.

I literally finished gluing my army together about five minutes before my opponent arrived and I cannot wait to paint these amazing figures.