The Armigers' charge was one of mixed results – the most eager of them, Feral, had little in the way of success as he swung his chainsword wildly in hopes of getting a hit, only for the tanks – not only the one he sought to damage but all of them – reversed at full speed, his swings getting nothing but air and snow. A charge forth to get another got the same result, as well as the attention of the nearer tanks; three shells were fired at his own chassis, one of which being deflected by the ion shield in a flash of ionic energies, though the other two were not so fortunate as one sawed through one of the plates and exploded behind him, while another – a plain slug – rammed itself into his 'shoulder', tearing at circuitry and metal plating, sending stinging agony through his nerves as he felt the damage done to his Armiger. Irmina had better luck on the offense, her massive melta unfortunately missing entirely, causing a four-metre spot some ways away from her target to melt into a steaming puddle onto blackened soil; though her lunge at the reversing tank managed to catch it on its tracks, tearing apart its road wheels and treads, sending scrap flying and making it accidentally turn to show its side to the group. The shot it had aimed at her pelvis had gone wide, the ion shield deflecting the already missed shot to whistle miles away. It was a decision that was well rewarded for the Aspirant going to defend the Dunecrawlers, two cannons turning their way and firing almost simultaneously; one was deflected harmlessly into the skies, the other only just managing to penetrate the ion shield – and then detonating harmlessly upon Kantor's front hull, his optics having barely more than a single scratch from the ensuing shrapnel. Gabriel's falling back was a relatively easy choice of actions, blasting another gush of promethium upon the Jarian troops before getting out of sight of the APC's who would not go over the hillside lest they be demolished; screams and shouts of panic & warning were heard plentifully out of sight from the battalion; gunfire ineffectually was thrown at the retreating armiger, the ion shield leaving little more than blue sparks appearing in the are around the mech's rear before they fell out of sight, the Skitarii continuing the pain upon the foe. Electric 'cracks' were heard from the mighty guns of the machine men, galvanic rifles shooting electric payloads into what poor men were hit by them and making others duck for their lives. The Land Raider in the rear continued to rain havoc, the heavy bolter firing heavy bolt shells downrange and causing puffs of snow & dirt to fly upwards, as well as occasionally a corpse or two, mangled from recognition. One las-sponson veered a bit to the right and shot out another beam of destruction, incinerating through the front of one tank and setting its engine ablaze and consuming its crew in the attack. The eagermost of the Knights had found themselves somewhat 'outflanked' in some sense, now having tanks all focusing upon them within the front – as Irmina had one tank now at her mercy, ready to be killed effortlessly, so came the incoming fire – one round fired into her ion shield exploded the moment it penetrated, showering her front with shrapnel and briefly disabling the optics, sending stinging static into her mind and screens within the armiger itself; as though taking advantage of this, the longbarreled tank raised its weapon and fired another dart, now aimed magnificently upon her ranged weapon's shoulder; the pain was exquisite, the Aspirant's limb feeling as though it was utterly shorn off. In truth, it was – in a manner of speaking. The multi melta itself found itself almost cleanly yanked off of the mech, the only damage being the high velocity hole that was created right at the shoulder joint, causing the entire limb to fall to the ground below, its barrel still smoking and causing the nearby snow to melt. “Fall back, Irmina – we can't afford to already lose an Aspirant today!” Leonis shouted into the Vox, scowling within his Knight. “Aspirants – someone get to her side and defend the lady, lest she kill herself with her desire for glory.” The battle cannon raised itself and fired thrice in rapid succession, aiming for the one who had damaged one of those under his protection – two missed entirely and landed in front of them, while the third and hit a tank two down and penetrated its turret front – a resounding, muffled 'boom' inside and the flash from the hole itself indicated the explosive filler, the tank now an empty wreck with little more than gore within. Sylivann's fight with the machine wasn't for nought, a 'gift' of sorts soon coming over him – fighting its will back, it hadn't taken long for the machine to be beaten into submission (however temporarily), getting even deeper into the machine-mind than before; the limbs felt more smooth, the optics clearer. He was ready – and he felt better than ever. This felt.... Wonderful, even. Soon came the air fighters – sleek, jet-propelled creations covered in silver and blue paintjobs – the long screeching of their engines announcing their presence long before they had gotten into range of the guns of the Dunecrawlers. And when they did, the Mechanicum did not give a second extra to their enemy, their variety of weapons all opening fire. Twin autocannons firing massive shells that exploded mid-air and sending shrapnel all about into their vicinity, the entire 'wing' already zooming this way and that in attempts of staying out of harm's way. Gatling flak launchers sprayed the skies with even more flak rounds, turning the air from its bright blue to a darkened black within moments as it blotted out the sun. Two, three, five jets were shot down within moments, falling to the ground in fiery explosions, a sixth crashing into another as its tail was shot off. “We thank you, Sir Aspirant, for your assistance.” Spoke the mechanized voice of the Techpriest towards Kantor, a vague sense of appreciation being able to be heard; a difficult thing to do in the midst of battle, but it was at least there. The Melta lover however, was not done with his vengeance. Nearly stumbling back, it was with quick thinking and the usage of one weapon arm – despite being told not to for risk of damaging the arm with the strain or the weapon itself – he had kept himself from falling, and then lifting himself upwards. A quick firing of the other anti-armour weapon at his attacker – it was little more than a glancing hit, but it was more than enough to still do damage as the front of the hull glowed red, parts of the sideskirts on the tracks cracking off. OOC: Jarian APC's: 26 in total Infantry level: medium, less than 110. Suppressed by Drop Pod fire and Skitarii rangers. Panicked from Gabriel's heavy flamer. Tanks: 1: 4 4:6 5:10 6:10 8:10 13:6 (longer barrel) Jarian Air support will arrive next turn. Tanks may attempt to attack the two Dunecrawlers. Jakus: 16 -- Gabriel: 25 -- Irmina:8 -- Kantor: 24-- Feral:13 -- Lotara:25 -- Sylivann:22 -- Leonis: 50 Skitarii Land Raider: 25 Skitarii Rangers: 26. Suppressing Jarian Infantrymen, shortening the distance. Onager Dune Crawlers: two have accompanied the Knight-Aspirants of House Saris. They are equipped with Anti-Air defenses, and will be used for fending off enemy air support. DC1:15 DC2:15 Sylivann has won against the machine-spirit, and for the next turn, gets Three total actions to use in combat, as well as a small buff to all rolls; this will return back to a minor debuff like everyone else, after it is finished. Jakus' motor controls are weak and sluggish, and any attempts of mobility will gain a penalty; shooting attacks will act as normal. Irmina's multi-melta limb has been shot off by a sabot round; for the battle, she may not use the weapon until it is repaired and reconnected. Irmina may also freely emote killing Tank 7, the tank that she had disabled. All Aspirants gain a minor debuff to rolls, as the Machine-spirit wrestles with them for control. @Tamu @Vulpas @Keidivh @TuskatheDaemonKilla @Vanestus @CupcaknHell @Valonox
Feral bit his teath as he felt the pain course through his back and his left arm damaging him, He had missed both of his attacks and only managed to swing, looks like he still had a bit to learn with this knights melee attack. Hearing Leonis voice he tore away from his want for kills and glory and heard the Leonis orders to assist a fellow knight in need of aid. "I hear you Leonis, I shall be on it like a Lecher on a whore." Feral said, Moving his knight forward to disengage from the tanks he bursted forward to get where Irmina was and postion his knights in front of her foes. "Come face a true threat!" Feral said aiming his multi melta at a tank he would fire to get there attention. OOC Attack at a tank targeting Irminia One defence on Irmina Free action heavy stubber against tanks targeting Irminia as well
With his machine back under his control for the moment Sylivann took this amazing feeling and focused it on destroying his enemies. Moving the machine forward and quickly so he could get into melee with the tanks, his anger demanded he hit something. He neglected to use his ranged weapon as he stomped towards the enemy, his blood lust growing. Especially so for the blood of those in the tanks who shot him earlier, the 'wound' still hurt. He wanted to show them just how much it did. OOC: Charge
A sharp cry came from Irmina as her Armigers limb was torn off. She was a warrior, accustomed to pain and anguish, but never had she endured pain like this before. Her vision became blurred, her body breaking into a heavy sweat. For a few moments she was delirious, barely able to register the words Leonis spoken to her. Had her zeal gotten the better of her? Had she not been doing her duty? Had she not cut down multiple foes? This was simply a risk that always existed, and she wouldn't apologize for bringing the fight to the enemies of the Emperor. As if to say this all, Irmina's attention focused in on the wounded tank before her. Raising her chainsword, Irmina brought it crashing down, severing the war machine down the middle. Retribution for the pain these wretches dared to cause against her and her Armiger. A part of her deeply desired to simply charge the tank that wounded her, but knew that to wade into thecenter of combat again would be folly, instead she attempted to hunker down amongst the wreckage as Feral moved in to cover her. "You have my thanks Feral, make them suffer." OOC: Hunker down, free action- Shield against Tank 13 @Vulpas
@Vlayden @Keidivh Muttering incomprehensibly under her breath lotara recited some of the machine cult prayers as she unjammed her weapon. Now weary of the machine spirit she did every action carefully on the lookout from the interference form the machine again. If the darn thing wished to hinder her again then she would fight. Even as she finished her actions she noticed that the fight had progressed on and that Irmina’s armiger had been damaged. So, she moved to both provide cover and to attempt to attack the enemy once more. OCC: Attack enemy tank 8 with Assault cannon, Defense on Irmina and Free action heavy stubber attack on APC in mid row
@Keidivh "Do not thank me yet, We still have a mission complete as well as this battle." Feral spoke his multi melta firing as he cave cover to Irmina. his multimelta charged and ready to fire once more as he provided a shot at the enemy tank brigade
After firing Jakus stood up, and intent on finishing the job he’d started, once again fired all he had into the target, tired of all the misses and glanced that hd occured. He silently repeated something he’d heard the redrobes mutter previously, hoping that the prayer would make the armiger a little more responsive to his movements.
"Think nothing of it Man of Metal, tis only right that a knight should aid his allies in battle," Kantor said in response to the Techpriest's thanks. Remaining stationed in front of the Dunecrawler in a defensive position, Kantor raised his Assault Cannon aiming towards one of the thus far undamaged enemy tanks. OOC: 1 Defensive allocated to Dunecrawlers, 1 Attack on Tank 8 with Assault Cannon
Cannons blasted shells at an alarming rate as they continued to reverse - slower than before, the snow proving far less reliable than solid roads - exploding harmlessly against ion shields or sending snow into the air. The son of Skyruss' charge being far more successful than that of his sister-in-arms, shredding the treads off of a tank and bifurcating it down the middle; a brief sight of blood spewing out and splattering the plates on his nearest leg before scorching flames came out as its ammunition cooked off, but not before a single shell was shot out, aimed at Lotarra - the AP round pierced the iron shield and exploded against the side of her hull, sending damage warnings as well as physical sensations of pain to her mind. Armour plates were shorn off and blackened, scrap falling to the snow below. "Focus down the tanks, everyone - put more power into actuators, get in close and tear the bastards in half. Gottzmann, you as well; energy to shields instead of Actuators, and repay the bastard who took your arm off." Leonis ordered through the Vox, his battle cannon sending shells left and right - two tanks he'd targetted had gone into a panic with his haphazard volleys, one falling into an invisible ditch whilst the other had its tracks blasted off; the former's lower plate was an easy target for him, though he'd focused on the other instead lest it damage one more of his pupils, tearing off its turret entirely with a battle cannon shell. His volleys unfortunately let another round be shot off instead of focusing down one tank at a time, Sylivann's ion shield cracking and - briefly - deactivating as heat sinks blew out, an AP round ricocheting off his upper armour and digging a groove into it. Both Kantor and Lotarra's assault cannons spat hundreds upon hundreds of shells at one victimized tank, its turret turning towards Lotarra and shooting one round before its turret jammed, a half dozen projectiles rammed into its turret ring; her shield held strong and sparks flew, ionized energy causing the shell to detonate harmlessly in front of her. From one side came a spray of rounds thanks to Kantor, scraping off the armour bit by bit before another volley from his companion drilled the rest of the way through, merely a handful of rounds needing to get in before a bloodbath inside occured - the controls going silent, and the brief screams stopping. Irmina's shield sparked wildly as two more shells came at her, one whizzing past Lotarra's own and ricocheting up into the sky, detonating a few hundred metres up, two others missing entirely. A vox channel opened up and the blurry vid-screen of a Techpriest's hooded face - vacant, aside from twin emerald spheres under the hood itself - was seen. His hoarse, modulated voice soon filled her cabin as he spoke. "Lady Squire; if you may, we have reason to assist you in this; allow the Land Raider & Dune Crawlers to remain near you, and upon the battle's completion, we shall see to re-applying your battle limb and mend the Machine-spirit's pain. A script shall be sent to you after our conversation. Repeat the canticles within, and put additional power to your shields. Use our Land Raider for defensive purposes; it can sustain damage quite fine, even against the Heretek's own weaponry. Pray to the Omnissiah, and He shall deliver." -- the feed cut out soon afterwards, and true to his word, text came spilling over the right side of the HUD, appearing to be prayers towards amplifying shield power: a small warning at the bottom however, indicated that usage of this should be for emergencies only, as repeated use could weaken, damage, or outright disable the shield for an unknown period of time. The long-barreled tank swiveled its turret rightwards now, taking aim to the Dunecrawlers, only to decide on the larger foe; Kantor. A degree or two of elevation later, it fired another dart-round, tearing straight through the ion shield and tearing off his right pauldron, sending it a few dozen meters behind him and cutting at some wires: his targetting system for the assault cannon had vanished in a brief spout of static, and had no sign of returning. The melta-loving Namaber however, soon found his revenge as all three melta weapons were brought to bear; he saw the vehicle start to reverse madly and almost swirve out of the way, but he was ready. His upper meltagun shot out and the front hull reddened even from the distance he fired, though it was of little note as the far larger multimeltas gave off thundering roars, their superheated blasts annihilating the tank as it reddened, whitened, and then turned to slag in less than a second, all the snow around it melting viciously into bubbling pools of steam. "...Nevermind that, Irmina. Your brother-in-arms should get a thanks instead." murmured Leonis, before a grunt of pain was heard - the other tank that he'd left had fired, a lucky penetration through the ion shields and detonating against his front plate - buckling it and making a sizable dent into the armour, his steed taking a step back. He fired off another pair of shells into the foe, sending it up in flames whilst its partner fired another - this time harmless - shot into his shields, sparking viciously. "Watch your energy levels, Brothers & sisters - if your shields take too much damage the heat sinks may blow, and that'll leave them out of commission for a few moments." The Knight said, glancing over to the others with a small sense of pride. The Skitarii continued their march for a few moments until they got to the base of the hill, now taking position and firing up at the Jarians - another dozen falling in spastic fits. Unfortunately, five of the robed figures were shot down by the Jarians' autoguns, two nearly getting into cover before being shot down, fluids escaping and darkening their cloth. Two more were killed off by the APC's brave enough to come over the ridge, poking their guns out and taking potshots, even as they themselves were dented by the galvanic return fire. The Land Raider rumbled along as it made its way towards Irmina, one lascannon aiming up at the top of the hill, spearing a pair of APC's into a ball of flame, taking another with it. Heavy bolt shells thudded into the side of one of the few remaining tanks, denting and exploding at its plate, detonating off its treads. Where once there were dozens of aerial combatants in the sky, over half of them had been killed off from the Dunecrawlers, wreckage falling almost like rain and littering the landscape around them; Kantor's duty as a guardian had certainly saved them from being overwhelmed from the air, at least. Without the vast majority of their armoured support, it was child's play for the armigers - and their Knight tutor - to march upon the infantry, weapons firing wildly and butchering dozens upon dozens. Eventually with a surrender they'd captured over a hundred and fifty of them, more if one included the APC crewmen. The pair of surviving, movable tanks made a race down the road out of most of their meltas' firing ranges and past any usefulness - a few shots fired by Leonis had been unsuccessful, craters forming near but not on the retreating enemy. Two faint 'booms' were heard coming from further west, sending two shells raining down onto the tanks - one's engine deck bursting into flames whilst the other penetrated the upper turret, silencing any activity inside. "You're welcome, Leonis - need more practice like your squires, eh?" A cocky, young voice spoke through the vox, a Knight Paladin jogging along, a massive Thunderstrike gauntlet for one limb and its battle cannon smoking from the other well over a kilometer away; even further behind him, even double that distance, was what seemed to be a dozen others with a handful of armigers under their wings. "Don't worry - I'll give you a few more practice shots the next time we find targets." "If you don't get punished for fighting like a Freeblade, Ser Jorik. You're supposed to be alongside your lance, not two kilometers ahead of them." Leonis said back, his voice stern. Soon, the Mechanicum got themselves out of their respective Dunecrawlers, machinery opening from within them as cranes, welders and other repair technologies that they hold sacred were used upon Irmina first - lifting the warblade up and reconnecting it to the shoulder, its damaged pauldron being partly repaired and set back on as well. Soon others were repaired as well, Jakus following soon afterwards and then the rest of the Aspirants. "Come now, you know that the Code states we may fight alone should the situation demand it, and there were runners within our skirmishes as well. I was simply the one to--" Leonis cut through his words almost immediately, an air of irritation. "Spare it, Jorik. We know your excuses. Let's simply wait for the rest of them to get here. Techpriest; resupply the Armigers, and my battle-cannon from the drop keep's stores. We move to our objectives within two hours. Aspirants -- take the time to relax for now. I shall speak with the other Lance on any updates." The Knight Paladin lumbered off, thudding massive footprints into the snow and kicking away wreckage. Binharic chatter was faintly heard below coming from the Techpriests themselves that tended to their steeds, and with the Lance, the Aspirants could see knight helms turning towards one another as though listening to one another, even if they themselves could not listen in to the vox channels. @TuskatheDaemonKilla @Keidivh @Taec @CupcaknHell @Vanestus @Tamu @Valonox
With the fighting taking a pause for a moment Sylivann sighed as his head throbbed from the previous rage that is now waning. His armor has taken hits and was damaged but he himself was unharmed, the wonder that is this technology amused him. Being able to stop projectiles that could rip a fully armored(conventional armor) man in half stopped by some invisible force he controlled just by thinking. The plug in the back of his skull that connected him to this machine on a level that made him feel that it was his own body. It truly was amazing there is no debating that and he could only imagine how powerful the true knights were. But now was not really the time to wonder about the armored behemoths him and his fellows control, right now they were just taking a brief respite from battle. Maybe he could attempt to talk to them, despite their training together he still didn't know too much about them. "So, seems we have all survived our first true taste of combat as Aspirants, good. Perhaps we should keep that pattern going."
