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Post by nicholasakira on Jul 13, 2009 23:18:54 GMT -5
Fenera stepped calmly out onto the sand s the truck ground to a halt. Stepping softly out, she floated over to Jara'naxifus, who was only one of two rangers shooting. The others were distracted. Flames leapt up from the fort, thrown by Imperial artillery. Fenera's stern face was lit up by each orange strike. Her sharp ears could hear the whispers from her kinsmen's rifles.
"Nineteen," Fenera heard Lynx whisper to Mhaldin. "They're swarming atop the ramparts. But the Imperials shoot too many shells and the orks number too high a number." Mhaldin fired.
"One," was his whispered reply as the other rangers found a place to fire from.
"I didn't know there'd be so many."
"They swarm like crystal beetles."
"Jara'naxifus?" whispered Fenera sternly as, sixty meters in front of them, a spray of orkish shoota rounds thudded against the sand in answer to the eldar's murderous shots. "What do you believe you're doing? You did not receive my blessing or Mhaldin's blessing for this."
"I could not sit in sleep with this going on." More flames leapt up from the fort. The distant, exploding rainfall of gunfire rocked the air. "Fenera, Saldella's been struck. She may be lost soon." Those words fell onto Fenera's mind like an avalanche. The farseer knelt down and realized why three of the rangers were distracted. Through the orange light of an explosion, Fenera saw crimson.
"Khaine's bloody hand!" Svva'cke cursed. "How could an ork shoot so well? Only humans shoot like that!"
"A lucky hit from the orks I believe," replied Jara'naxifus. Through the darkness, Fenera could now hear Saldella's shy, painful whimpering.
"If she passes, and it was a human bullet that murdered her..." Svva'cke voice shook. "Ten, no, fifty humans! Fifty humans for her life if it is a human wound in her!" Fenera could feel death in the air and realized the weight of their problem. She prayed to Isha, for the sake of their human allies, that Saldella had been shot by an ork.
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Post by Melissia on Jul 13, 2009 23:27:57 GMT -5
Focusing, the Psyker talked to the farseer. Eldar had particularly strong emotions, and these emotions could be felt as ripples in the warp by powerful and experienced psykers-- such as Kelai.
Calm your people down. I can feel their anger and panick from here, and by the Emperor if they begin to attack my fellow humans, I will personally tear their souls from their bodies and send them straight to accursed Slaanesh.
A ripple of psychic power directed at the Eldar farseer let her know just how powerful she is when not holding back as she normally is-- indeed, such a show of power was likely frightening to the young farseer, although subtle enough that Dremmond wouold likely barely notice, just a strengthening of the tingling sensation on his skin from his hairs standing up... which he'd likely correlate with her earlier divinations of something underneath the keep.
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Post by RedsandRoyals on Jul 13, 2009 23:30:20 GMT -5
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Morain's laughter, almost psychotic, rang throughout the tank, only to be drowned out by the roar of the Demolisher cannon as another shell smashed into the advancing Orks. The tank's flamers whined and hissed, creating a crescent of fire around the Demolisher that burned any Ork who tried to rush through it to a crisp.
---------------------------------------------------
Van Dremmond nodded "Will do. If anything, and I mean anything starts to feel weird, let us know, and we'll pull back and lance the place from orbit.
The Chimera's ramp dropped, and the troopers rushed out. Pausing in the doorway, Van Dremmond turned, back lit by the rising sun. "Stay here, and don't die." he disappeared into the outside world. The hatch clanged shut, and the Chimera began to back away from the fort.
Reds
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Post by The Envoy (AWOL) on Jul 13, 2009 23:35:07 GMT -5
From over one of the dunes appeared the barrel of a Leman Russ Battle Tank. This was swiftly followed by another, and another. Following them came the roar of engines, and the three trim barrels of Chimera Multi-Lasers crested the hill. These were not the last things to appear, as three more Chimera's followed.
Over the comm, Major Kerth opened a line, "Lifeguard, this is Wolf Pack and the Negotiator's. We're coming up on your six, where would you like us to go from here?"
Sergeant Addalia sat on top of the Leman Russ aptly named, "Diplomat" by its crew. The Negotiator's were made up of ace crewmen, and each tank had seen service on a half a dozen worlds.
Next to her, Trooper Tauron sat, lasgun in his lap. Leaning over him, she yelled into her bead, "Not quite what we were hoping for was it Trooper?"
Tauron looked over at her, his goggled eyes seemed insect like, and his face was covered in a handkerchief to keep the sand out of his nose and mouth as they rode. Looking closely, she noticed the covering bunch up slightly in the corners, indicating a smile.
Over her own bead, she heard him reply, "Nope. I was hoping for a little break. Maybe even have us get shipped to 3. I hear it's much nicer there."
Addalia smirked under her own face covering. This was going to be a very interesting campaign.
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Post by nicholasakira on Jul 13, 2009 23:37:54 GMT -5
" fear not psyker, if they spill human blood, I shall beat you to their execution. One of our sisters is on her way to the afterlife. Svva'cke is taking is hard " Fenera thought back. She said the words thought to her aloud.
Mhaldin sighted a large ork atop the wall. From here he noticed only one of the gates was breached. He sighted an ork firing wildly down on the humans and fired, then watched it drop.
"Eight," he said proudly. He looked to Fenera. "Ask that psyker where she would wish us to stand, who she would wish us to kill?" Before Fenera did this, she regarded Saldella, now still and silent.
"Svva'cke," she said first, "go to the waveserpent and prepare it for a nighttime flight, and recover our spare gear and supplies." She gave him as many tasks as she could, and felt better when she saw him drop his rifle and mutely comply. "Why am I doing this?" she asked herself.
Psyker, where would our part of the attack be most effective? Fenera thought.
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Post by Melissia on Jul 13, 2009 23:43:26 GMT -5
You may refer to me as Kelai.
Deploy anywhere outside the fortress itself... anything that is not wearing an Imperial Guard uniform is going to be terminated.
Unlike before, her "mental voice", so to speak, is calm and level, with no emotion showing-- almost robotic at that. Regardless of the Eldar opinion of humans, this powerful psyker was most assuredly in control of her considerable powers, and one wonders if she could have single-handedly cleared out this fortress single-handedly if she dared to risk herself in doing so...
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Post by RedsandRoyals on Jul 13, 2009 23:57:19 GMT -5
"Wolf Pack, welcome to the war. Move in to support the Astartes. I can't get in touch of Madison, so you have to take the fort." Dunbar switched vox channels. "Thrasher, have your cans stay on station to support the advance and pin the walls. Linebacker, Joker, move in with he infantry and give them support. Hoplite, your armour with me. Let's set up a screen."
Lifeguard lurched out from behind it's dune and rolled forward, three Russes following behind it.
Reds
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Post by nicholasakira on Jul 13, 2009 23:57:52 GMT -5
" They're all callous fools. Fenera trusts them, but Fenera has never been strapped down to a table and subject to those ape's every torturous whim " spat Svva'cke to himself as he got what Fenera asked for from the inside of the waveserpent. " Fifty is too few. By Khaine, it will be one hundred "
Suddenly, at the ramp, he spotted Fenera.
"I am sorry," she said as she pushed a button with her powers and locked its function.
"NO!" Svva'cke yelled as the ramp closed and locked him inside. Fenera wondered if it would be best if they kept him there.
Mhaldin ducked behind a rock as a string of shoota rounds slashed his way. They'd been slowly moving around the fortress, to better face the southern gate. No piece of cover was wide enough to hide the orks from the rangers. This came with its risks though, as they exposed themselves to new orkish guns. Though most were shooting elsewhere, those bullets that came their way could each reduce their delicate number. Already, Engeeyel had been put out of action by a heavy shot that had thudded into his forearm. He sent a bullet across the great distance and into the brain of a greenskin upon the ramparts. But, as it was with orks, yet more came.
"They will not grow thin," cursed Jara'naxifus.
"Then there will be no shortage of targets whose lives can be taken to avenge Saldella," replied Mhaldin as Fenera came back over to him. They'd moved quite a distance from the cave by now: many scores of meters.
"Fifty," counted Jara'naxifus as he reloaded.
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Post by Helmian (M.I.A) on Jul 14, 2009 1:52:59 GMT -5
The rhinos speeded up trough the gate and disembarked 20 space marines. Sergeant Armand was carrying the company banner.
''Primarch-Progenitor, to your glory and the glory of him on earth!'' Chaplain Aulus shouted as they charged into the fray.
''Capture the gate house brothers!'' He shouted.
The marines battled their way trough orks and gretchins as they made their way up in the gate house. Aulus decapitated a ork with his crozius arcanum. When they'd reached the top, his black Armour was sprayed with the xenos blood.
''Armand! Signal to the other forces that we have captured the gate house!'' Aulus said.
Armand stepped up and planted the chapter banner where the fortress's flag pole used to be.
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Post by The Envoy (AWOL) on Jul 14, 2009 9:03:52 GMT -5
Upon seeing the Astartes banner raised over the gatehouse, all the members of Wolf Pack heard a quick message over their comms, "strap in boys and girls," the Chimera's and Russes gunned their engines as best they could in the sand. Arriving at a point just beyond the gatehouse, the 30 Veterans, the last remaining remnants of troops from first platoon, dropped off the Russes they had hitched on. Weapons raised, they advanced to the gatehouse on foot, the armored vehicles coming up behind.
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Post by Rolling Thunder on Jul 14, 2009 14:30:03 GMT -5
"Thunder Three inbound. Keep your heads down people" Jail said, as she felt the great, screaming bulk of her Valkyrie pick up speed, the featureless scenery dissolving into a tan blur as the vast iron raven streaked through the sky. A brief moment of weightlessness, and suddenly they were flying low, kicking up a massive trail of dust that trailed in their wake like a robe of state. Whoops and howls echoed across the vox-net, and, at that moment, Jail experienced what could only be termed an epiphant.
So this is the reason men make war she thought, the same, savage delight rising in her chest as filled and animated every man in her platoon, the bloody, raw exhileration at standing on the razor's edge between life and fiery, sudden death, mocking the Reaper's skull-masked face with every breath taken. No mere drug, no faith, no love, no other sensation could possibly compare to it - a sweeping, all-consuming passion that swept away all humanity and replaced it with so much fire and flames.
The Valkyrie jarred, and, over the screaming, booming howl of the still-accelerating engines, she heard the rockets go shrieking into the distance, the report of their detonations mingling together in a symphony of crashes, cries and eruptions that sounded like so much hellish thunder, even as the Valkyries swept overhead, fire blazing from every point as if these monstrous, black-winged predators were filled with so much hellfire. Caught between laughter and a murderous, visceral warcry, Jail leant from her carrier and fired round after round into the swarming Xenos that spread before her.
The orks scattered, their formations beginning to break apart under the sheer weight of fire being poured into them. From one of the Vendettas, a Hellfury missile streaked across the dust-choked sky and plowed through the opening of the gatehouse, engulfing the Xenos occupiers in a gout of incandescent flame. The purging of the fortress had begun.
But not for Jail was the role of the too-patient field commander, leading from the rear, calmly directing and movement from atop his iron steed circling above. Oh, no. She was a Lucan, and it would be her priviledge to lead the charge.
Her Valkyrie lowered itself, coming in to hover just above the walls, and her retinue began disembarked, charging from the rear ramp directly onto the walls. Another pair of Valkyries had already positioned themselves above and to the left of the gatehouse, the infantry inside rapelling to the ground with a practiced, almost contemptuous ease, charging the gatehouse under a hail of shotgun fire.
She ducked behind a wall, and, though no fire was coming from the Orks within, so did her guard. Nodding to her flamer man, she and he stood, and, layind down a blaze of bolter fire, she covered him for the brief moment it took until the brief, delicously tense moment it took to bring his weapon to bear had finished. The pilot light winked on, and, as she watched, a wide, exhultant smile carved it's way across his mangled features, the flesh rippling around the scar as he took a single, deep lungful of air. And unleashed what could only have been the fury of Emperor upon the foul Xenos. The Second Squad added their opinion, another torrent of hellfire pouring into the control room from the other side, and savage whoops could be heard from fifth squad, sitting on the rooftop and firing into the orks with a practiced, contemptuous ease born of long practice.
After what seemed an eternity, the fire wilted, dying slowly away into small, miniature infernos that trembled at their passing, as both squads entered the building, guns at the ready....
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Post by Ignatius on Jul 14, 2009 15:44:04 GMT -5
Forward you dogs! Forward to Victory!" Madison urged.
A loud yell was the only reply by the Mordians as they charged through the gates of the fortress, ready to finish the fight they hadnt been able to start.
Recieving confirmation from his vox operator, Madison quickly dialed in Dunbar's frequency.
"Dunbar, this is General Madison. We had a breakdown of communications, and for that we apologize. But my men are fresh and eager. Im moving them straight to the front, ready to replace the men already fighting there. Madison out."
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Post by Kaikelx on Jul 14, 2009 15:59:05 GMT -5
Asis grinned as she followed up behind the Air Cav's assault.
"Heh....They're even better than Ria....And don't anyone tell her I said that."
She watched as her platoon moved onto the walls, taking up sniper positions. The steady crack of rifles and lasguns could be heard, bringing off the heads of the unlucky Orks to be their target. An Ork plasma gunner grinned, missing some teeth, as it raised it's deadly weapon. One distinct crack later, the Ork was still there. Only, it was missing it's head.
"This is Royals, we've taken up sniper positions."
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Post by Helmian (M.I.A) on Jul 14, 2009 16:05:19 GMT -5
''Into the fort brothers! To glory! Armand! Bring the banner!''
The marines started to move down from the tower. When they got down they united with the demolisher that had blown in the door.
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Post by RedsandRoyals on Jul 14, 2009 16:28:54 GMT -5
"Roger that Madison, have your men enter the fort and clear the left. Linebacker and Joker will support."
"Wolfpack, once you're inside, swing around and clear the right.
"Hoplite, you're done. Rally on my position."
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Gate Crasher pressed forward at the head of the Astartes, it's Flamer sponsons washing across the Ork buildings. Occasionally, small arms fire would spray from a building and ping against the tank's hull. Gate Crasher would respond with a Demolisher shell, annihilating the building and those in it that had been foolish enough to fire on the Demolisher.
The Keep loomed ahead of them.
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"Royals, hold the gate. Our Chimeras and Badger Troop will support. Thunder 3, you can either camp here or move with us. Your call."
The two Conquerers, Stormfront and Grinder, moved into the Fortress, blasting away at fleeing Grots. Grendel Troop, now dismounted, followed the armour on foot. Van Dremmond sprayed the door of an Ork hut with his Ventro, then kicked open the door. A Plasma blast sizzled over his head and splashed against the Fortress wall. Van Dremmond threw himself to he ground and let out a quick burst from his drum fed SMG, sending the Ork Mek who had fired at him slamming into the wall.
Van stood, and let loose another quick bust into the Orks head, before touching his commbead. "Move up, move up! Clear these buildings or burn them down, I don't care which!"
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Fox Troop sprinted through the rolling dunes. Behind them, the occasional flicker and flash of artillery lit the horizon. Miras sighed a bit. The whole damn war was happening only a few clicks behind him, and he gets sent to go poke around, looking for what Eagle Eye had described as "A major engagement to the East".
Ah well, such is life
Reds
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Post by The Envoy (AWOL) on Jul 14, 2009 16:49:20 GMT -5
Wolf Pack plowed through with such speed, that the Orks inside were taken completely by surprise. With a thump, a grenade launcher to the left of Addalia fired it's explosive ammunition, turning a couple Ork heads into paper thin strips. Lasfire burst out from among the Veteran troops, Orks falling to it like wheat to a scythe.
Inside his Chimera Cpt. Kerth opened a link to his driver, "Driver, I think this is far enough, we'll continue on foot."
With a screech, the Captain and his command team prepped to disembark from the vehicle. As the ramp dropped into the sand, a mob of Orks spotted the 5 men inside. With a roar of glee, they rushed the open Chimera, but what hit them was something they never suspected. With a rush as the air was sucked into the roaring inferno, the four men who were accompanying Kerth opened up on the Orks with their flamers. The flames turned the Greenskins into scorched skeletons within seconds, and Kerth, with a nod, led the men out of the Chimera.
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Post by Melissia on Jul 14, 2009 19:26:10 GMT -5
As the last of the orks are cleaned up, and the Ork buildings litering the fortress demolished, the true size of the fortress is revealed-- there's a LOT of open space, as if it were designed to hold a mechanized regiment, or even a full armoured regiment.
And as soldiers began approaching the keep, they notiecd that not all of it was defiled by Orks... on the first floor, an elevator door seemed to have taken tons of abuse as Orks tried to open it, but it stayed shut to anyone who wasn't human...
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Post by RedsandRoyals on Jul 14, 2009 19:41:01 GMT -5
Dunbar keyed his vox "Royals, set up pickets around the main gate. Thunder 3, sit tight on the second one until we get reinforcements to relieve you. Madison, have your guys weep up the fort. Wolf Pack, clean out the keep. Grendel, mount up again and set up pickets around the Keep. Make sure nothing gets in or out until we get the all clear. Have Badger go pull Recon with Fox."
He switched over to his company net "All right, good job guys. Resupply should be here soon. After that, link up with me. We're going to screen the place from Ork support until our people can get settled in.
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Miras frowned. "Lifeguard, this is Fox. We're picking up signs of battle the closer we get to the city. Looks like the Greenies started shooting each other..."
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Van Dremmond smiled at the Psyker as he ducked into the Command Chimera, followed by his squad. "Not too bad. One dead, three wounded. Those Conquerers really tore the Orks up. You doing okay?"
Reds
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Post by The Envoy (AWOL) on Jul 14, 2009 19:49:34 GMT -5
Dismounting from their Chimera's, the 55 men of Adorea's famed Wolf Pack gathered up their gear, moving toward the keep. Addalia followed with her Veterans, and took up a place next to Kerth.
"You want in first?" she smirked at him.
"Oh no Sergeant, I would never dream of leaving you to clean up my mess," he replied, motioning with his hand for the Sergeant to be the first to enter the keep.
"Well how kind of you sir. I'll make sure to leave a little something for you as a thank you," she said to him, the smirk still on her face. Looking back toward the Vets, "Alright boys, it's time to play janitor!" she yelled and her and the 30 men and women under her command took up position outside the doorway...
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Post by Melissia on Jul 14, 2009 20:25:12 GMT -5
"I am... doing okay. Let's head into the bastion... and see what awaits us there. Be aware that we may be entering a warzone... I detect humans and.... mutated humans down below. It is hard to breach though, the lower levels of the fortress seem to be made of several feet of solid, Imperial Forged Steel... the kind that wouldn't be out of place on the grandest of Titans... whatever's in there is trapped with the untainted humans... so we had best hurry and save them."
Moving to the elevator, she shuddered... but fought the feeling as well as she could. "Let's go... I do not savor having to use my powers... but I will if I must."
THe Elevator was large enough to fit a cargo 8 in it and have room for people to walk around and load the truck, so fitting a platoon in there was anything but hard. As they descended down the elevator, which had been closed off from the Orks, the sound of fighting grew more and more apparent... and then the platoon saw it-- genestealers, attacking a group of fifty human survivors, being repelled by lasgun fire. "N...noo... a blank... Give me a moment to... to gather myself..." She was eyeing one citizen in particular, who was with the Guard, with her own lasgun firing into the now-retreating gene-stealers...
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Post by RedsandRoyals on Jul 14, 2009 20:33:47 GMT -5
"Support, support!" Van Dremmond shouted shouted at the Adorean Infantry with him. He turned to his squad medic. "Stay with the psyker, keep her alive. The rest of you, with me." He then sprinted forward toward the survivors, sending bursts from his Ventro into the Genestealers. The rest of his squad followed.
Reds
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Post by The Envoy (AWOL) on Jul 14, 2009 20:37:11 GMT -5
Addalia was up and ready to go. Next to her Trooper Tauron shouldered his lasgun, and with concentrated fire, put down a Genestealer about to pounce one of the survivors. Moving forward, the Adorean Vets spread out into the room as the massive elevator made its way back to the surface.
Lasfire creased the air around Addalia's head, and then a hiss of a flamer being fired.
With a short gasp, she yelled at the Flamer's user, "Not in these close quarters!" and he quickly stopped and took up cover.
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Post by RedsandRoyals on Jul 14, 2009 20:41:12 GMT -5
As the Genestealers pulled back, Van Dremmond strode forward and planted his boot on the chest of a wounded 'Stealer. He loosed a sustained burst of fire from his Ventro into the creature, turning it's head into a bloody pulp.
He turned to the survivors.
"So, who's in charge here?" he asked, casually.
Reds
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Post by Melissia on Jul 14, 2009 20:46:29 GMT -5
"Cleanse... the entire damned place with purging fire! Send in the Holy Sisters if you must, I will check all of the survivors... to see if they have the taint... except her..." She pointed tot he blank, who blinked a few times, surprised. "Send her up and keep her away from me... I don't have time to explain why-- she's not tainted, it's something else..." she seemed physically sick from looking at the teen-aged woman, who was completely in the dark as for what was happening.
One by one, the psyker checked each of the survivors for taint, and separated them into two groups... one rether small group of eight, and another group of around fourty. The larger group was sent up with the strange teen, and the smaller group began to panic... "Fear not... you are only tainted in body, not in spirit. You continue to fight against the Genestealers, and for that you must be commended... you will go to meet the Emperor, and I will ensur that your deaths are painless..."
One by one... they dropped dead, without any pain at all, as the psyker's eyes glowed much stronger, illuminating the darkened underground...
Looking to the soldier, as her glow diminished: "You are. Or whoever is the highest ranking Guard down here."
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Post by Kaikelx on Jul 14, 2009 20:51:09 GMT -5
"This is Royals, everything okay down there? We've picked up quite a racket."
Asis continued walking back and forth across the gate. Nothing was out there except for more sand.
"All units, just keep watching. I see one of you dozing off, I'm sending you to go....do whatever the hell they're doing down there. And it ain't pleasant."
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