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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2015 21:37:12 GMT
the scouts reported back that above them appeared to be a ledge of some kind hold more of the strange cylindrical cans, and that around a corner they had found a massive hole of un explainable size, with its depth unknown nor explored for fear of even being able to reach it.
Four column holding up what appeared to be the machine making the humming and heat was found, but the thing was so massive and reached so far up into the darkness they could not truly understand what it was.
But then the most troubling reports came in, droppings the size of a fist, before suddenly one scout reported movement of something large, and suddenly stopped all communications. Cursing, Ivan switched his comms piece to all quickly.
"...setup for a fight lads, were no alone in here!" Ivan Reichstein yelled to his men before switching his ear piece back to scouts comms.
"scouts, head back as fast as you can, theres something big out there with you, and its best we dont lose to many men to the dark."
as men scrambled into defensive positions, Ivan slowly approached the main entrance between a can of orange long things and diced something or the others. turns out there was food in the water cans, odd, but at least rationing wouldn't be necessary just yet.
The scouts all reported back that they were on their way. One worrying report mentioned that the biker passed an abandoned bike splattered with blood.
"...shit,” Ivan cures out at the report,” MEN, CONFIRMED HOSTILES IN THE AREA. SCOUTS, DOUBLE TIME."
walking the lines as men sat ready, ivan got the salamanders SVs.
most seemed to be in working order, so he kicked what men were around to their feet. "we need you out and scouting yesterday men, tak eany spotlights from the sentinels, i want to know whats out there!"
turning to the rest of his vehicle crews he bellowed more orders. "get all vehicles ready for combat men, i want guns loaded and aimed! NOW!"
as men rushed to their battle stations, The Salamanders rushed out of the 'gates' formed form the crudely piled together cans at breakneck speed.
A minute later, one voxed back. "Sir, we found the bike. There's a blood trail leading off. Permission to dismount and investigate?"
"permission granted, keep someone on the lascannon though, scouts reported fist sized droppings, something big could be out there.:
"acknowledged. Squad dismounting”
Ivan entered his Salamander Command vehicle, the blue lights and displays surrounding him bathing the scene in an eerie glow. The pic feed from the body-camera on the squad leader showed the soldier following a trail of blood, illuminated by his lamp pack After a minute of walking, the man reached a wall, where a pile of what appeared to be large refuse was stacked up in a bowl shape. The man stepped forward for a closer look, and a huge furry mass the size of a Land Raider rose from the nest and bared it's long front teeth.
"what the fucks that thing!? men retreat to your vehicle, salamanders, form up on their position, fire at will!" bashing his fist down on his own vehicle, he pointed at two lemans and gave the motion to follow him as his own vehicle lurched forward to go aid his comrades.
As his salamander and escorts rushed into the darkness, Ivan tensely watched the pic feed. The sergeant's feed was wobbly with panic, and only snatches of coherence could be seen. The...thing had evidently extracted itself from the nest and was charging them. Lascannons screamed and lasguns cracked before the pic feed cut out abruptly.
Ivan's Salamander screeched to a halt, a bloody scene illuminated before them.
as they approached the battle, Ivan frowned. the things corps layed sprawled and dead, but his men weren't in too good of shape comparatively. One lay dead,butchered in the things mouth, two more injured, the man on their salamanders cannon scanning the darkness for more of the creatures.
"men load the wounded and strip the dead. we dont know if any more of these things are in the area." Ivan said quickly, not wishing ot know if the thing had any friends.
quickly changing channels to his scouts, he asked "men, report again, any possible methods of leaving this death cave? we need to find a less hostile place to setup base, and those strange humans we heard from earlier might be in need of assistance if such creatures are widespread."
quickly he got an anwser "We found a hole in one of the walls sir. We think the...creature used it to get in and out. It's about big enough for a man to get through if he ducks. We sent a man out and he reports that the exit is the outside sir....but...well...you better come and see for yourself sir"
"roger." Ivan dismounted his salamander, heading to the hole with an escort for guards, seeing as how the hole was reported as in walking distance.
Outside the hole was....extremely alien. Far above them was whiteness, as were clearly massive walls on every side. The ground was covered in strange, waist high...no, grass was not the right word, but the closest that fit. The stuff seemed to stretch on forever. There was a massive white column connecting to the 'sky', and an arrange of huge green 'mountains' to the left. Far in the distance to his right, the grass appeared to climb up some sort of stairlike cliffs that ascended into the unknown .
".....by the emperor men....i ..... do not know where we are......" after taking everything in for a while, several minutes actually, Ivan turned to the tunnels.
"...how....long do you think it would take to widen the tunnel enough for our vehicles? this...place, is alien, disturbingly so, but it is better then holding up in that accursed darkness."
The scout sergeant looked at the tunnel appraisingly. "Give the engineers twenty minutes with their meltas and some buzz saws and we should be good to go. Quicker if we use the Devil Dogs. Maybe two minutes."
"use the dogs, i want everyone out and packed within an hour, send the scouts to look for a way...to anywhere really. those...cliffs? are those even cliffs? might lead somewhere, but getting the vehicles up them will be a pain. and have the men pack some of those canned goods, we dont know when we will find abundant food again." Ivan ordered carefully, still taking in the strange world before him.
"We'll stick the cans on the landtrains" said the scout commander.
Some five minutes later, the Devil Dogs were pouring steams of super heated gas at the cavern wall, which slowly melted off and fell to the floor, sizzling. One engineer standing nearby happened to look down though, and noticed that the melta streams had cleared a furrow dozens of feet long in the grassland beyond, and some of the grass was smoking. "Wait a mo-" he managed, before the nearby grassland suddenly went up in flames .
Ivan stared at the flames, cleared his throat, then yelled quickly "GET THAT TUNNEL OPEN, WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE,STAT! MOVE IT YOU MAGGOTS DO YOU WANT TO BURN TO DEATH!? SCOUTS, FIND US A DAMN WAY OUT OF THIS FUCKING HELLHOLE, I DONT CARE IF WE GOTTA BLAST A HOLE OUT, WE ARE GETTING OUT.OF. HERE!" Sir!" screamed someone. "The water in the cans!"
Ivan turned quickly, having completely forgotten thawt detail in his mad rush to think of a way out. "RIGHT, THOSE THINGS. CONNECT THEM TO WHATEVER WE CAN AND TRY AND FIGHT THIS FIRE!"
For ten panicking minutes soldiers rushed about as the fire spread, until a Hellhound rolled up. The vehicle had a can of that watery substance lashed to it's back, and tubes hooked up to the can, which was dribbling steadily. the hellhound unleashed a powerful jet of water form it's re-purposed flamestorm cannon and, drove through the hole, which by now was large enough to accommodate one tank.
A few minutes later, it was all over.
"well....now that thats over.....the order to find a way out of here still stands!" Ivan yelled out after taking a moment to let the chaos die down.
as the scouts drove off and more vehicles slowly poured out of the gap, Ivan Reichstein sat down next to a vox operator.
"report to our....strange comrades we are attempting to find a rout to them, but this place is...extremely alien. give them what details you can, mention the giant beast and strange grass, and the fact our cave was inside a strange lit up large cave."
with a nod, the voxer got on, and after a few minutes, turned to Ivan.
"sir, they thank us for the info but seem panicked, they say some.....Germans people, who they are at war with, are nearby and has forced them to dig in."
"...whats a german?"
"maybe some chaos faction? rebels?"
"chaos...wait...germ....man.....damn, sounds like nurglites, we might be short on time."
"tell them to hold tight i guess, we will attempt to locate them, our scouts have been sent out."
the vox operator nodded, returning to his machine, as Ivan scanned his men as his force slowly formed upon the newly made clearing in the grass.
“this is one fucking hell of a mourning...”
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coolyo294
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Slayer of Demons
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Post by coolyo294 on Sept 1, 2015 21:43:40 GMT
The Space Marines didn't have heraldries. Odd, thought the Lieutenant. From her experience, Space Marines were intensely proud of their iconography. But she kept her mouth shut about that.
He asked her to identify herself. "First Lieutenant Anastasia Helbrek of the 3791st Tank Hunter Wing, 692nd Combined Aeronautica Operations Group. This is my gunner, Sergeant Rog Twillry." she said, indicating to the man standing behind her. "As for what we know, this is the biggest damn cavern I've ever flown in in my life. Beyond that, nothing." she was careful not to give too much away to the mysterious Astartes.
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Post by Nepty on Sept 1, 2015 22:02:24 GMT
Heynke was silent for a moment while he transmitted this on live-pict back to Gessart. "I see," he said. So you are not natives?" "Nope" "I see," he said again. "Do you have any accompanying force, or is it just you?"
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coolyo294
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Post by coolyo294 on Sept 1, 2015 22:11:32 GMT
"Just another Vulture and a few other aircraft. Plus ground crew. And what about you Mr. Space Marine?" She said. Hopefully they were loud enough for her Vulture's vox to pick up, but if not it was up to Pain-Train to call for reinforcements if shit hit the fan.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2015 22:36:24 GMT
The journey downwards was slow, the cavern was a sheer drop which ended far too far down for any of his warriors to survive. Thankfully the sides were soft and porous enough for them to climb down slowly. It was difficult for his forces to slowly lower down, but it was done, it was safely being lowered down. A few Lictor scouts had already reached to bottom of the shaft and were spreading out, the information they were sending to him was, very interesting. Suddenly one of them cried for help, through their psychic link he could sense its predicament, it seemed it had gotten stuck in some sort of sticky webbing, as it struggled to free itself a strange eight-legged creature with huge fangs appeared, it attacked the entangled Lictor biting it with it's fangs, the Lictor responded by using its Fleshhooks to tear the creature apart. A pair of warriors rushed to the assistance of the trapped Lictor, cutting it out with their Boneswords before devouring the dead creature's body, based on the feedback from the bitten Lictor the creature possessed a powerful irritating venom, a useful trait to acquire.
A few minutes later and he had arrived at the bottom of the shaft, which seemed to empty out into some sort of volcanic terrain which quickly gave way to a huge floor of solid rock. The huge cavern he found himself in seemed dominated by several massive constructs, huge artificial cliffs of some kind, he could only summarize that this was some sort strange terrain simulator for the local inhabitants. Suddenly he felt a familiar presence within the remains of the Hive Mind, The Broodlord, he could sense that him was somewhere behind him, and far away, he would have the rest of his warriors with him. "Grrrrrawwwwwrrrrr!" He thundered, and his Lictors spread out, searching for a way out of this chamber so that they may link up with the Broodlord's forces.
After some time they had finally succeeded in cutting through the wall, and they slowly made their way into a huge sea of inedible red grass, his broodlings had reported a huge fire had sprang up some distance away, and he was determined to locate the source of it. His broodlings and several Gargoyles had been dispatched to scout ahead as he led the main forces in that general direction. Suddenly, he heard the unmistakable sounds of gunfire and explosions, coming from the north. Deciding that this was the most pressing matter he redirected the majority of his scouts to investigate, allowing a trio to continue in their original mission of investigating the fire. Slowly he led his forces northwards, unsure of what to expect until his scouts could inform him of the situation.
Then he felt it, the Hive Tyrant's presence was unmistakable, too far away for proper communication, but with luck they would soon meet up.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2015 23:05:53 GMT
after a bit of scouting, it was revealed that the strange cliffs lead up to an even stranger and more expansive part of this strange network of caves and caverns.
Decidedly, it was considered the best bet for escaping, and so the valkyries were set about getting troops up while the rest of the vehicles and men piled up at the bottom of the cliffs.
“engineers, any ideas for getting the vehicles up?”
“it would seem to be in our best interest to blow these...cliffs, down into ramps, it would otherwise take days to use materials to build any sort or ramps.”
nodding, Ivan gave the order for them them to proceed.
As explosions rang and ramps were slowly made out of the strange, synthetic red “grass” over the odd, deep pits under the cliffs, Ivan asked his scouts to report in.
“hmmm....scout squad 7 isnt reporting back, send a valkyrie to check that out.”
turning around, Ivan address his men, both with him and up top the Cliffs “everyone, dig in, scouts have gone silent, more hostiles might be in the area. Itll take a few hours to get everything up the cliffs so prepare to hold. “
“sir this is valkyrie three, scouts spotted, all dead sir. Bodies scorched,scans show complete nerve damage.”
Ivan cursed, and yelled for everyone to work double time, up every ramp as it was completed.
“keep scouting Valkyrie three, the rest, keep shuttling troops up top, we need up there fortified ASAP.”
suddenly, Ivans comms went crazy.
“SIR,THIS IS FLAK SUPPORT, NECRON DOOM SCYTH SPOTTED,PERMISSION OT ENGANGE.”
“this is commander Ivan, shoot that fucker down!”
as the infernal contraption flew over head, Flak suddenly tore into it, quickly downing it, sending it into a wall, where it left a nice crater.
“good hits flak, keep your eyes open this might just be a godamned death world we've landed on.”
as his army slowly climbed the strange cliff, section by section, Ivan felt rushed, impatient, they needed to find someplace fortified and quick, to many enemies kept popping up,with the only friends in an unknown location.
“fucking hell, of a fucking mourning.....”
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Post by Darko on Sept 2, 2015 0:16:43 GMT
Overlord Korsarovekh saw what his outriders saw through his mind's eye. The Doom Scythes circled the entire cavern in just shy of fifty standard seconds, granting him a full view of the terrain. In his mind, a map formed from everything the pilots saw, and it was saved away in his memory. Meanwhile, far below, the Tomb Blades noticed a large fire raging some distance away. It grew into a terribly large blaze before it began to abate, then go out entirely. They also identified half a dozen biological life forms which Korsarovekh recognised as Tyranid Genestealers. He had encountered that particular species a few times, though the Tyranid bio-fleets always avoided his tomb worlds. He had seen them up close and personal once, on an Imperial world which he was conquering. The creatures had arrived and blackened the sky. His forces had fought them, for a time, but eventually withdrew once he calculated the influx of reinforcements would inevitably overwhelm them. He had watched out of curiosity from his silent fleet as the world was devoured in a long process. It had been fascinating and very insightful.
The fact that they were here was a fact that he found troubling. Currently, they possessed no means of leaving this world, and the Tyranids could destroy any chance of locating some form of vessel with which to repurpose for their own needs. Regardless, for now Korsarovekh was content to perform only passive reconnaissance. Evidently there was much going on here that they did not yet know, and he refused to commit to battle without knowing all of the facts. He ordered two of the Tomb Blades to follow the group of Tyranids through the red grassland, albeit from a distance. He directed them to follow a contingency should the Tyranid creatures show signs of being aware of them and move to attack. They would immediately alter course and flee in an erratic trail that would not allow any Tyranids to track them back to their main force.
He turned his mind back to the Doom Scythes. They both zoomed through the large hole in the roof of the cavern. They found themselves in a wide, open area. They quickly detected several other aircraft. A cursory scan revealed them to be Vulture-class aircraft, crude but effective vessels used by the human species. The Doom Scythes initiated stealth protocols, hiding themselves from the Imperials until they had passed. Following this, they cautiously proceeded ahead, only to find an open area with large, wooden structures housing numerous Imperial fighters and gunships. Korsarovekh knew that even with such primitive craft, they would be defeated in an open confrontation by sheer weight of numbers. Instead, he directed his two Doom Scythes to reverse their course and head for the transparent segments of the cavern wall behind them. With their heat rays they quickly melted their way through.
Finally they had reached the exterior of the cavern, now revealed to be a fully artificial complex that showed blatant signs of being designed by an intelligent mind. Their scanners were flooded with an offensive number of life signs amidst a green sea. Towering organic constructs loomed overhead, their extensions swaying in the turbulent air currents. Fortunately, Necron aircraft were too advanced to be adversely affected by such things as the mere elements. Far below the Doom Scythes a red artificial patch of ground was infested with hundreds of humans. The Overlord noted this fact before directing his Scythes to split up.
He concluded that the complex - an gargantuan fortress impressive for its size if not the crude materials with which it appeared to be constructed - was formed of multiple separate levels. The Annihilation returned to the first level that it had previously been investigating, however this time it cut its way into the opposite side. The intention was to circumnavigate the Imperial airforce entirely, allowing it to continue its reconnaissance. Almost immediately it began taking fire from below, and the pilot's sophisticated android brain identified the attackers as the genetically-enhanced human soldiers known as Space Marines in their language. Though they leveled heavy anti-infantry weaponry at the Scythe, it had no effect and the craft simply ascended out of their range, ignoring them entirely.
Meanwhile, the Oblivion entered the second level of the fortress. Far below, thousands of life signs were detected - more humans. They were different, however. Their weaponry and equipment seemed far less advanced than typical human warriors that the Dynasty had previously encountered. Their uniforms were all grey and some bore insignia on their helmets of a bird of prey with its wings spread; iconography similar to that associated with the dominant human faction known as the Imperium. The grey army was moving in columns, and had a rearguard force fending off another group of humans wearing green uniforms.
"Intriguing," commented Korsarovekh to himself quietly. If his enemies were turning on each other then it may prove most fortuitous in the future to exploit that animosity. The Doom Scythe's sensors indicated that the walls of this section were too thick to be burned through quickly, so he ordered it to exit through the way it came and search for a way to enter the highest level of the fortress.
Meanwhile, the Annihilation was searching its own segment on the ground floor of the fortress from its high altitude. It detected one of the Space Marines' aircraft, designated a Thunderhawk, was powering up, and so the Scythe activated its supersonic engines and escaped the area quickly. Better to avoid a confrontation in these early stages, especially when there was still so much to see. In the next area it immediately located a behemoth-sized computational device. It was simple, yet still an important discovery. Much could potentially be learned from its data. However, much to Korsarovekh's displeasure an entire cadre of the species known as the Tau Empire were camped out directly below the computational device. His records of them indicated they employed surprisingly powerful and long-ranged weapons. Regardless, it was useful to be aware of their existence.
Elsewhere, the Oblivion found a circular opening at the top of the fortress. It was protected by a large, swiftly rotating set of metal blades, most likely a defense mechanism. No matter. The Scythe's heat ray burned through it with ease, reducing the metal blades to non-functioning slag. It proceeded slowly inside, where it quickly detected a score of different Space Marines, who in turn looked up to see it entering. Korsarovekh was frustrated by the apparently overwhelming number of human military forces, leading him to conclude that this must be an installation of their creation. How or why him and his soldiers had been spirited here, he did not know. All that mattered was that they were vastly outnumbered, and he knew even with the advantages of their ancient technology, they could not hope to prevail against a united faction of that magnitude. It burned at his pride to admit that to himself, though he valued his own survival more than his pride.
However, his attention snapped back to his own location when he recognised Vasziron speaking to him. "Overlord, there are human scouts approaching on combustion-based vehicles. I detected five of them. They are no threat to us."
"It matters little. They are outriders for a far larger force, Vasziron. Our location and numbers must remain unknown to the enemy until we are in a position of strength. Summon the Deathmarks. Instruct them to execute those scouts immediately," Korsarovekh ordered without hesitation or remorse. "They will no doubt dispatch subsequent scouts. This warning should ensure they keep their distance, provided their commanders are wise rather than foolhardy."
"As you wish, Overlord," said Vasziron. The Deathmarks approached, aware that they had been requested already. The truth was that verbal communication was entirely unnecessary among the Necrons, but those capable of it enjoyed making use of speech. It made them feel closer to the living beings they once were and assured them of their own sanity. After all, there were those whose minds had broken down. The Destroyers were consumed by hatred for all life, while the wretched Flayed Ones who lurked a short distance away from the main Necron force were obsessed with butchering fresh meat. They knew they were unwelcome and would be destroyed on sight if they came close enough to infect the rest of them with their madness. It was odd that they were not staying in their own pocket dimension in their palaces of gore. Korsarovekh presumed that they must be unable to at this time, and stayed close to his subjects for the sake of self-preservation - if such a notion was one they still possessed.
There was a snap-crack as the Deathmarks fired their Synaptic Disintegrators. Five shots rang out, and five scouts were instantly terminated.
"A precise kill," one of the Deathmarks said quietly, indicating that what was left of its mind took some small satisfaction in its actions. The Deathmarks turned away and simply stood in a small group together. They were solitary hunters, though very much loyal to the Dynasty. They weren't unpredictable and unstable like the Flayed Ones.
A short time afterwards, a human craft was detected approaching. It was identified as a Valkyrie, and seemed to be very cautiously hovering at a high altitude. Korsarovekh briefly considered several esoteric means by which it could be destroyed, but instead decided to recall the Annihilation with all haste so that if the Valkyrie became a threat it could be destroyed without him revealing any more of his force than necessary. However, much to his dismay, when it returned through the opening in the ceiling, the rattle of a dozen heavy guns accompanied the flash of tracer rounds filling the air. The Overlord felt his connection to the Doom Scythe disappear, and heard the explosion far in the distance.
"I was wise to be cautious," he reaffirmed. He was frustrated by the loss of fully one-half of their aerial capabilities so suddenly, however it could not be changed now and so he resolved to find an advantageous position from which to base their operations. With a mental command relayed to his army, the bulk of it began to move. It turned away and concealed itself behind the oddly-shaped construct they had first awoken beneath. Only Korsarovekh, his royal court and the Deathmarks remained, for the sake of observing what happened further away. He turned his mind to the two Tomb Blades shadowing the Tyranid creatures. It appeared that for the time being they were holding their position not too far from the human soldiers. He suspected they were waiting for other creatures to bolster their numbers before attacking. The Tyranids possessed a cunning that bordered on genuine tactics, and he knew better than to underestimate them.
Nasziron spoke again, this time somewhat excitedly. "My lord, within the walls of this cavern there are numerous hidden heat signatures. I am also detecting large electrical currents along those same lines, all of which converge... There," the Cryptek indicated with his staff to the North-Eastern corner of the cavern. "I believe there is a control terminal in that location which modulates the flow of power throughout this complex."
"Then that is our objective. Excellent contribution, Cryptek Nesziron," he acknowledged. The Cryptek bowed his head slightly as he received praise. The Catacomb Command Barge and a single Ghost Ark arrived, having been summoned by the Overlord the moment Nasziron had informed him of the tactical advantage. He walked aboard his chariot while the royal court boarded the more typical transport, and both headed with full speed to rejoin the bulk of their force. It would take some time to reach the power control station, but it would be well worth it. Far behind them, multiple explosions rocked the cavern. Whatever manner of demolitions those humans were performing, it was no longer a concern of Korsarovekh's. His Tomb Blades would keep watch farther afield while he led his subjects through a great valley toward their new objective.
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Post by Nepty on Sept 2, 2015 11:47:11 GMT
After an hour or so of talking, Heynke was sure that these people weren't native. "I see," he said. Far in the distance, various imperial fightercraft were flying about. "This has been most informative. Perhaps-" he paused as something rumbled below his feet, tot eh unmistakable sound of an explosion. "What was that?" "Search me," said the Pilot. The Astartes turned around to speak to Malvo, but noticed something behind him, growing rapidly larger. Without warning he bowled Malvo over. "Contact!" he shouted. "Giant Xeno!"
Status: (White dog) charging thunderhawk & vultures
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Post by admiral9 on Sept 2, 2015 14:09:13 GMT
Tau
With the injection of the emergency stimms awakening the shas'O and the reactivation of the visual sensors returning his vision the shas’O returned to awareness. His last memory being storming the fortress followed up by an unexplainable blast he was now looking at an unknown world, one filled with massive constructions and seemingly encased in a even larger and more imposing structure. As the shas'o looked to his left and his right he saw that he was not the only one, his comrades had come with him along with their wargear, drones were already in the process of setting up the most basic of perimeters while the living beings in his cadre were waking up or in the process of waking someone.
His sight focused on his long-time friend, comrade and in some cases even mentor, the shas'O opened a comms channel. "Friend, it seems that we are in quite the predicament..." already with a lho stick lit in his mouth the old veteran responded. "Indeed... we appear to have landed on an alien world, one of which we have never seen the likes before, but comrade there is no time to rest if we do not take immediate action then we will lose the initiative!" With those words Or'es'shi sprung into action, switching his comms module to speakers for extra effect he began speaking. "All warriors of the greater good this is your commander speaking! Now I understand that this is the kind of situation none of us were prepared for or even phatomed but that does not mean anything. We are the fighters of the greater good! We will overcome all to spread the holy message of the tau empire! And even here all we should see is another world to glorious fold under the guidance of the ethereals!" After finishing his short speech in an attempt to re-establish morale the shas'O opened another comms channel to the leaders of the pathfinder squads along with the shas'el "I wish for you pathfinders to carry out an in depth reconnoitre of the area, each of you has permission to take an advanced communications drone with you for purposes of mapping out the region. Shas'el I would like you to instruct our auxiliaries upon their course of action, order the vespids to go through this cavern towards the sun, I do not know what lies beyond but their flying ability should reveal this to us, next have the kroot spread out into ambush positions in the structures to the south, have the Ves'ron along with the M'yen carry out scouting of what according to our sensors is the world at large above and below this place."
As the Shas'O took a deep breath he went to managing the setting up of the base camp, it appeared the earth caste engineers had decided that it would be best to setup over the cliff like creation that created cover from the elements and so most of the cadre had started the process of setting up in that area.
It was now up to the Shas'el to micromanage the communication with the auxiliaries, he knew that his comrade carried a dislike for those not tau which was why the task had always landed on his shoulders, as he took another puff from his lho stick he walked over to the vespid strain which had been practicing its wings to see if they were capable of flight in this atmosphere.
After greeting the strain leader he gave them their orders, to test the waters a team of three stingwings was dispatched. The air was easy to fly through and there was no turbulence so they were able to reach out to the sun with no effort, as they sped up for the last dash to leave the city sized structure the forward stingwing suddenly stopped, with an impressive splat he was plastered to an invisible wall, the stingwings panicking contacted their strain leader, with hurried buzzing sounds they informed him of the impressive wall that stopped them, further informing him that their weapons did not work. "We are… trapped." were the only words that escaped from the strain leaders mouth. The shas’el sprung into action knowing that trust in the power of the greater good was the greatest asset in controlling its warriors. "We must not stop comrade! There will be other escapes I’m sure, have your stingwings scout out the ceiling of this city and do not give up hope, the ethereals will return for us I'm sure."
Next was the kroots, under the frantic buzzing of the stingwings in their investigation into the marvels of the invisible wall the shas’el began communication with the kroot. "Shaper, this world most assuredly will carry great bounties and equally I am assured that our foes will be here too, I need you hide in the hills to the south in preparation of an enemy offensive, For the greater good!" With a similar response from the shaper the kroot packed up and moved south.
With final orders having been given to all the tau went to the work of setting up their camp.
Germans
"Oberst von Böhm get up!" with a splash of water and the waking voice of his second in command Oberstleutnant Ernst von Böhm had awoken. His eyes darting from his left to his right he was greeted a world of mystery.
"Mein gott… that is a big bed!"
Von Böhms eyes went to where the man who had spoken was looking at and he was met with another surprise, he saw a gigantic bed! "Captain... Am I drunk?" awe struck no one responded and von böhm was slowly coming to the realisation that this was both very real and that if he didn’t take command quickly all unit coherency would be lost in no time and so he wasted no time in handing out orders. After another bucket of water poured over his head he started talking. "Peiper, take your recon detachment and scout out the area, find a way out of this room!" Upon receiving confirmation the 200 or so motorcycle mounted infantrymen spread out over the area mapping out the area and exploring points of interest. Upon receiving confirmation that this was not our world but also that their worst nightmare had come true, the Russians were here! Von böhm ordered a mobilisation of all assets, mobility was our greatest strength and we could and should not become sitting ducks here, leaving a small rearguard of troops behind together with the StuG’s the german kampfgrupe moved again, with no true destination in mind they started moving towards the gigantic door.
Tau
Outside of their knowledge the motorcycle mounted troops had already been spotted and their faith was in a tenuous position, equally the rearguard was in the sights of the tau who were investigating the equipment of these soldiers from afar, although they appeared to be imperial guard similar to kriegsmen there were some distinct differences, it was decided to abstain from contact for now and only watch, merely 5 minutes after the report had been given a small firefight broke out with the faux imperials engaging another group of humans, 20 or so armored vehicles were rumbling towards the firefight which would most likely put an end to it rather swiftly.
Back at the Tau base a large stream of reports started coming in, reports from the pathfinders indicated that multiple adaptes astartes had been spotted in the cavern next to theirs another set of reports from earth caste members indicated that there were no materials to build fortifications with, the pathfinders would have to look further to find the required materials.
Tau
20 Pathfinders carrying out recon, searching for building materials
Main force digging in under 57 the computer table
Vespids trying to figure out what the invisible wall means
Kroot setting up in 56 and 61
Germans
200 germans and 20 stugs engaged in combat with Russian patrols
Main force moving towards the hall
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Post by Fauntleroy on Sept 2, 2015 14:37:31 GMT
Operatus: Omicron-IX Elapsed Time: [000-53-17]
“So, what have we got?"
By the time the legionaries tasked with performing the recon sweep had returned and delivered their report, the Alpha Legion had already sunk its fangs deep into whatever strange location it had found itself. Telok and his Mechanicum brethren had performed their duties with all the diligence that Ikros would have expected. Having made their way into the corner of the vast, dark chamber, the warriors and war machines of the last legion waited in watchful silence for…something. Anything. A curious raised platform, rectangular and with presumably-decorative iron hinges attached to the side, formed the makeshift hangar for their air vehicles. The Magos had proposed that the heavy dust quantity present in the air could perhaps interfere with the engines if left unattended, but currently there was little they could do about that but make sure the enginseers were thorough in their checks.
Telok extended a small claw-fingered limb from his back and took a moment to interface with the logistical equipment in the midst of the group. Moving it into one of the dormant land raiders had proved a small challenge, but right now security was paramount. Cloistered around the device was Harrowmaster Ikros, unhelmed once more and focusing on the holographic 3D projection of their surroundings the speeder pilots described as it was projected before them. Beside him was the company’s Centurion, clad in the unassuming armour of a line officer, and the occupied Magos. The rest of the space was taken up by several sergeants – most of whom had swapped armour, or even commands, with others in an effort to throw off whatever had sent them here if they were being watched – and a few diminutive mortal operatives. Curiosity mixed with trepidation on the faces of the humans as they took in the slowly-spinning detail. The Astartes remained impassive.
“We appear to have been deposited into an artificial cavern. Our recon sweep suggests it’s more extensive than even we first thought.” The Centurion answered, gesturing with a hand to the projection. “Currently we have no indication of who, or what, made it. The level of dust and the obvious age of some of the structures inside suggest that we’re the first to enter here for a long time.”
“Lucky us.” The Harrowmaster responded with a thin smile. It won him a chorus of low chuckles from his assembled brothers. He straightened and glanced towards the Magos, lips pursed. “Do we have any idea what this place is made out of? It seems too warm to be carved from stone.”
“That is because it is not.” Telok answered bluntly. With a twist of his mechadendrite, the green image before them was magnified to focus on the floor. “From what we can gather so far, the primary construction material has been…wood.” The Magos explained with no small amount of distaste. “There are traces of some kind of cabling behind it, but interfering with that seems rash. Furthermore, the ground appears to be predominantly covered in some kind of spongy substance. A passable means of insulation, if…crude.”
“Insulation?” The Harrowmaster inquired, tilting his head thoughtfully. His eyes narrowed somewhat as he considered that latest nugget of information. It took one of the assembled sergeants to vocalise what he was thinking.
“If there is insulation, then something was being stored here.” The cobalt-armoured Astartes mused, glancing round at his fellows. “And perhaps still is.”
“What about this?” Another asked as he pointed at the hologram. Ikros’ green eyes followed the finger to where it settled; it looked like a chamber situated towards the opposite end of the facility, albeit one that hadn’t been mapped in detail.
“Perhaps.” The Centurion confirmed with a solitary nod of the head. “Whatever is in there will require further investigation. For now it is sufficient to say that we have reason to believe that this place, wherever it is and whoever built it, forms the storage area of a potentially larger complex. The only means of exit we’ve discovered thus far is through a fan-like contraption, here; that was what provided the breeze we felt earlier.”
“Hostiles?” One of the mortals asked. It gave Ikros time to turn the mention of an exit over in his head.
“Not unless you count the local fauna.” The Centurion answered, earning another round of chuckles. “One of the speeder teams reported a nest of colossal bats up in the eaves. It’s too early to tell if it’s a feature of this world or just the species we encountered, but gargantuanism is a feature of at least some of this planet’s ecology.”
Silence fell again, leaving Ikros time to mull over all that had been said. Exiting through the blades of a fan didn’t seem like an exit at all for the moment; perhaps the smaller craft could have managed it, but until they had a way of switching it off the Stormbirds ran the risk of being shredded. Blowing it apart seemed like a waste of ammunition, not to mention potentially revealing their location. It wasn’t the worst place to set up a base of operations, though. As ever, the twentieth legion would adapt.
“Alright…we don’t know how long we’re going to be here, so let’s get this place locked down tighter than an Imperial Fist’s sense of humour.” The Harrowmaster decreed, turning to his immediate subordinate. “Dispatch a team to investigate the chamber on the other side of this facility. Get the rest of them spread out and setting up whatever monitoring equipment we have to hand as well as ambush sights. This is our lair now, let’s take adavantage of that.” The Astartes nodded, leaving Ikros to look at the expectant Telok. “See what you can do about that fan, or whatever it’s supposed to be. If we can find a way to control it then-“
“Contact!”
The word buzzed over the vox-unit mounted in his armour, coming from one of the legionaries outside. Ikros knew the others had heard it too. Telok shut down the projection as the Alpha Legionnaires rapidly opened the doors and headed outside. Ikros was sliding his helmet back into place as he watched his squads form up with trademark unity and discipline, guns pointing skyward. Their instinct to fire was curbed only by their instinct to conserve ammunition. The Harrowmaster was aware of his brothers as they waited for the order, but he kept his own eyes firmly fixed on the craft hovering above them.
Crescent-shaped, and from what he could tell the colour of dark gunmetal, the intruder hovered in the air a few metres above the camp. Even one glance told him that it was an advanced craft; its engine emitted practically no sound as it observed the Astartes, while some form of heat ray had melted through the fan-blades with ease. At least that was one problem solved. The tension hung heavy in the air until even the Ikros’ composure felt like it was about to snap. Just as he was about to issue the order to fire, however, the mysterious vessel turned and departed back the way it had come.
“…human, or Xenos?” He asked once quiet had fallen again. The words were addressed to Telok over the vox, and the incoming buzz was almost instantaneous.
“Impossible to say. Certainly worth investigating, though.” That went without saying; whether or not it belonged to whoever had built this structure, the craft’s appearance proved that the Alpha Legion was not alone.
“My orders stand.” The Harrowmaster said as he glanced round at the assembled Astartes. Most were already spreading out to begin preparing their location as he had instructed. Something told Ikros that such measures could soon prove necessary. He turned to look at one of his sergeants, letting another small grin cross his face as the other Astartes looked back. “I am going to have to ask you for a favour, brother.”
*** Swapping armour and identity with the sergeant had been easy enough. In some ways, it was almost liberating. He was no longer Volion Ikros, commander of part of the twentieth legion; he was simply One of Many, a faceless head of the Hydra. Giving up his weapons for a simple power sword and bolt pistol had proved more difficult. He consoled himself with the fact that the deception would require a certain degree of sacrifice, and it was the fact that he was willing to make it that contributed to the trust the twin Primarchs placed in him.
He and another of his brothers had taken one of the land speeders again; a storm eagle was far too valuable to risk on a mission such as this, and a storm talon only had room for a pilot. The speeder might have been only weakly protected, but it served their purposes. Ascending up through the fan and out of the chamber had been a revelation. From their vantage point he could see the fortress extend down below him; as it turned out the Alpha Legion had been deposited onto the top floor, which was a remarkable stroke of luck. The entire citadel was colossal, as big as a hive city perhaps, with what looked like a grassy area extending out behind it. Such a realisation only made the lack of any life detected except for the bats and whatever was piloting their quarry even more unnerving. He shook such thoughts off, instead aiding his brother to direct the land speeder after the other plane.
It was impossible to take everything in at once; from the towering trees to the nearby causeway that looked big enough to march an army down, even the Alpha Legionnaire found himself on the back foot for a change. There would be time to deal with it later. For now, they were simply doing their best to keep up with the crescent-shaped craft ahead; both Astartes were familiar with the art of the tail, and they were careful to never approach it at any speed that could be considered aggressive, even if they did keep the vehicle’s multi-melta armed and prepared. Still, whatever was in control of the craft was doing so with enviable precision.
It eventually reached another entrance to the fortress on its ground level, hovering in place a moment before starting to cut through the towering metal wall with its heat ray yet again. The two Astartes glanced at one another, silently weighing up the options. The conclusion seemed to be mutual; their legion might have favoured subtlety, but it wasn’t a luxury they could afford right now. Slowly, the legionary began to inch them forward, the whine of the speeder’s anti-grav systems echoing round his helmet as they gradually announced themselves to the curious craft.
Alpha Legion -Sixty Astartes and sufficient legion serfs scattering through the attic to set up logistic/surveillance equipment and create hidden supply caches and ambush zones. (3+4) -Ten Astartes, one Rhino APC and a Stormtalon Gunship dispatched to investigate the attic’s back storage room. (1) -Mechanicum detachment continuing to scout for additional suitable camp-sites/vehicle depots. (3+4) -Harrowmaster Ikros (in disguise as a sergeant) and one Astartes following Necron Doomscythe to the garage in a land speeder. (75)
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