Border Dispute 2025-11-04 #2

No sooner had the bullets begun to fly in Fortune’s Pendulum than another pair of gangs had squared off for their first bout. While their first inclination had been to make their way again to the local bar, the Red Heads instead decided to prioritize work over play and sauntered on down to the place they’d be most familiar with in this new city: the mines.

The squats arrived at the same time a routine patrol of the Most Honorable Sir Arthur Haselrig’s Bomb Disposal and Riot Suppression Outfit, or as the Red Heads called them, simply “the Cops”. Charter Master Alrik Firebeard marched up to the mine entrance and demanded the Cops vacate the premises, as the Red Heads had staked their claim. Sir Haselrig (the Most Honorable) scoffed and sent one of his Subjugator patrolmen, William Waller, to drive off the rabble; every inch of the hive belonged to none but House Helmawr and the God-Emperor.

The searing report of an Ironhead meltagun sent Patrolman Waller tumbling down a rocky crevice and alerted Sir Haselrig that the abhumans saw things differently; he quickly and valiantly called for the rest of his unit to reinforce their position as the other members of the Red Heads began to advance toward the mine.

What initially appeared to be an easy takeover by the Red Heads swiftly turned into a bitter stalemate at the entrance of the mine which might have broken in either gang’s favor at any moment. The squats proved their rugged tenacity on their approach to the fortified mine gate and the Cops demonstrated their tactical acuity with judiciously-placed photon flash grenades and concussion pulses. Sergeant John Pym in particular displayed deadly accuracy with his boltgun, dealing most of the Cops' lasting damage with rapid trigger pulls and snapshot aiming. When Alrik Firebeard’s younger brother took a pair of those bolter rounds and a mighty tumble, it almost seemed the squats’ momentum had broken. In the end, however, Dirk Firebeard’s only lasting injury was to his dignity, leaving him with a hatred for the Cops which burned as red-hot as his facial hair. 

After confirming his brother suffered only minor injuries, Alrik lead his fighters in one last bold charge against the gate. This brazen move would have left them vulnerable to a salvo of bolter fire from Sergeant Pym had the lights not begun to flicker rapidly as he took aim, throwing off what would otherwise have been a trio of easy shots. Having finally rubbed the glaring blindness from his eyes, Alrik stood back up and sent Subjugator Henry Wilmot diving off the wall with his meltagun, knocking the patrolman out cold. With the abhumans swarming the gates and their numbers dropping, Sir Haselrig gave the order to retreat…but not every patrolman made it out of the mines. The outfit’s rookie, Edward Walker, had sought to prove himself by valiantly dashing out from cover under the cover of smoke to try and take down Alrik Firebeard. His gambit failed, and his only reward was a fatal hard round through the skull. 

Sir Haselrig was hardly perturbed by the rookie’s untimely demise, for there was no shortage of willing cadets to take his place. But he felt the pain of his wounded pride as he cast one last glance at the Red Heads celebrating rowdily atop the rocks of the newly christened Breakskull Mine. A fluke, he told himself, and nothing more. The next mission would be the true beginning of his rise to glory.