~~ Earlier - Outskirts of Camp ~~
After his song finished, he played idly to distract his mind, conversing with the two mortals peacefully. "Thank you, for having spend time with me. But I can see and feel the camp started to stir. Survive this endeavor, slay the alien, and maybe we shall find commune once more with one another." He gave them a firm salute one of their officers would offer, and took his leave. If he only had such simple worries remaining. But a cold breeze that seemed to pierce his power armor and straight into his bone reminded him what he was and what he had to do. At least the Lord Commander could not be bothered to enjoy the scenery of a new Imperial world.


~~ Now - Purging Shadows: Final Push ~~
@Jorimel | @WanderingJester | @dx144 | @DeranVendar | @Draconion | @Vulpas | @Kalle | @Colapse

Elymas remained silent after offering the appropriate greeting, imitating Sergeant Sidon, and looked at both Captains, wondering internally how much they believed in Hephestus forecast. The Lord Commander was not particularly... Keen of those with the psychic genome. But that did not mean that the Captains had the same outlook. Nonetheless he was not going to push anything, not even amuse himself in Jendon's failure to realize what their very legion is filled with. Envy.

These younglings, that Elymas of course was very much one of too as he presented with his delicate finesse of silvery woven words spoken by a drunk hiveworlder, only to be shattered by the Lord Commander like a thunder from the sky.

Nobodies with a simple order to support the primary elements stealing the attention of the very leader, annihilating anyone's hope for acknowledgment by their superiors as the entire encampment spoke about their deed of avenging every fallen Astartes and imperial auxiliary alike. Then again, it was good that there were some like Jendon in their squad who could focus on... Smaller worries at hand, an aspect that the Velodonus never could get to. The larger situation at hand was being drilled into him since the first time Hephestus addressed him as 'student'.

While there was nothing to be done but wait for the resolution of this discussion, he started to compose a new song in his head, the melody inspired by nothing less than Hephestus demands. A title already versed. Warriors of the Third. Those outside of the Third Millenial could interpret it as a whole for the legion, while in truth it was exactly about the Third Millenial. From the pompous appearance and leadership of an iron fist of Leonis over the unity that bonds the Third Millenial under individuals like Sergeant Sidon. All the way to the glory and victory that can be achieved with conviction and swift decisiveness such as the 4th squad demonstrated.

Indeed, it would be not a mere song. But a hymn. One of anticipation into the conflict, victory and strength. Maybe... Yes... It shall be his first psychic energy woven song. The first proper attempt of following the footsteps of an Audiomancer. A lost art, only recalled in old texts or mystified in stories such as about the seafarer myth of Sirens. There was just to hope that it would not backfire. And thus, he completely shut himself into the inner walls of his mind, it must be ready before the deployment.

Like a lifeless statue his power armor stood straight, staff parallel in his left hand wrapped around the center of the weapon-instrument and his right simply hanging off of his body idle.

Martyn showed up to the briefing, happy to not have to deal with their Lord Commander. He had had a good time training with Extro and Aleph, though he had lost more than he won. Still, the young space marine felt that he had also improved the most out of the trio, and thus found himself in a good mood when called to report with the rest of his squad to Captain Apox. Hearing that the planetary operation was finally wrapping up, he both rejoiced and groaned internally: one was that the fight against these cowardly Xenos was finally coming to a close, the other because the enemy still lived and had regrouped since their last encounter.

Listening to the plan, Martyn could tell that if they joined the main force and supported the armored assault, then they would likely stay under the radar long enough for Leonis to forget about their little interactions earlier. On the other hand, if they did manage to help Captain Minteril with his little deep strike operation, it would likely piss Leonis off even more, given their success rate. While the young space marine didn't care much for the glory or the praise, he also didn't like Leonis very much.

"Caves huh? Well, at least those little buggers wouldn't be able to run with rocks hemming them in," Martyn said, half to himself. "On the other hand though, those tanks look mighty fun to play with." Scratching his chin, he thought about it for a moment, before responding. "Still, fun or not, this is war. The longer it drags out, the more legionnaires go down. My vote's for the deep strike operation. With some skill and a few mistakes on the xenos' part, we might be able to repeat our successes with their last figurehead and end this whole thing quickly."

Looking over the mission details, or what was available, Martyn grinned, his long silver hair framing his face nicely, "though, I would be much more comfortable if we have a contingency in place for when things go horrendously to pieces. Several contingencies, if possible."


OOC: Vote: Option B: Aerial Assault

"Jealousy, Jendon. So I would think. We are all here striving to emulate our Father, and glory translates to perfection in some minds. We are being offered an opportunity to once again set ourselves a step further than others, and to deny, while humble and possibly political, would be foolish. A level of trust is being placed in us that we can see a mission through, I believe we are duty bound to accept it. Besides, it will give the others something to aspire towards and drive our Millennial forward as a whole. Rivalry encourages innovation and improvement." Extrovious sounded remarkably more self-assured than on their first outing, having been baptized in battle and emerging with a major victory does that to a marine it seems. Of course at the mention of the word rivalry he looks pointedly to Aleph and Martyn, showing just how friendly his interpretation of the word was.

Vote: Gimme that glory and jet bike baaaaaaaaby.

Armoury
Having spent time with the tech priest which he didn't happen to catch the name of, Pholax had enjoyed spending time with a Martian cousin, he didn't fully understand their obsession with beliefs of a machine god but they were approved of by the Emperor, beloved by all, so who was Pholax to second guess the Emperor.

And the Tech Adept was either through a sense of duty or simple civility repaired the damaged armour, it felt right to be in his armour as it was intended again, no breaches and ready for anything a Xeno would throw at him. Pholax made a mental note to see the Mechanicus adept again if he got the chance to thank him again, he assumed it was a male, it was often hard to tell with the Mechanicus.

Such a strange breed.

Purging the Shadows

Entering into with the rest of the squad and Sidon, Pholax saluted to his superiors, fist crashing against chest.

Listening over the plans and talks. Pholax had another chuckle to himself, succeed and be disliked, do the thing expected and be overlooked, seems like as a Phoenix rises it has to burn those it passes.

"From the sounds of it to me, we have the option of a plan which will work by us grinding over the dead and dying Xenos or we can try and do something fancy which could backfire putting us on the backfoot. Also I like to have big armoured machines with me, I bet they have some powerful weapons I could use..." Pholax smiled thinking about lascannons smiting Xenos, plasma searing them apart.

"But having the wind fly through my hair... Or what remains of it I guess could be nice. As always, Sargent Sidon throw me where I'm needed and watch the Xenos fall. I've given my thoughts and prepare for your judgement." Pholax relaxed sitting back resting himself for the coming storm.

OOC
support for either idea and will side with Sidon's orders.

"Jealousy is perhaps too strong of a word for one who has ascended beyond the mortal comprehension," it was Captain Apox who replied, Sidon shooting him a glance but deciding not to interfere, "But you are very young so those emotions might still be present in the part of you that survived the grueling transition into your super-human body and mind. However you are onto something there brother. Striving for perfection is the part of our being and when there aren't other legions to compete with, then we must do so between ourselves for that is what our Father ordered us to do. So you are correct, rivalry encourages innovation and improvement, however this rivalry exists both between brothers and simple squads and both between companies and entire Millennials."

"So when you are out there fighting it doesn't matter where you personally put your Legion, yourself or your squad, what matters is that such things are looked at despite your feelings. What this means is that the glory you earn as 4th Squad Sidon is both yours, your Sergeant's and mine, as your Captain's. On the other hand, Captain Minteril here relinquished part of his glory when he asked for my help but he does it for he knows that I don't care about personal achievements and would never put my own arrogance in front of the Millennial's success. However there are seven more Captains that are part of our force that might think differently."

"But in the end, all of this shouldn't matter to you in the slightest," Apox said with a grunt, unlocking the helmet from his belt and placing it on, like every part of this Terminator armor this was also a thing of beauty with great eagle's golden wings on each side of it and a bright white jewel in the center of his forehead. "You should worry about is obeying your superiors and completing the task ahead. Trust in our Father, follow his teachings and you will succeed."

Flyboys​

Wind was howling all around the 4th Squad as all eight legionaries plus their Sergeant followed in Captain Minteril's lead, riding their purple-colored jetbikes over great jungle. View was somewhat ruined by the bad weather, the rain just kept on pouring as if the Dark Eldar themselves purposefully made it so that they could foil the Emperor's Children assault, or at least hinder it. What everyone knew about their technology, the idea didn't seem that far fetched.

But at least it wasn't that bad back in the camp, allowing the 4th to perhaps for the first time see some of the Legion's might first-hand. Around thousand Astartes prepared themselves for war and ten times that size of Archite Palatines went in as support. Various squads marched in perfect order towards the mountain, Captain Apox spearheading the assault riding in a number of Mastodon transports that were covered by a duo of Fellblades and their own 25th Company's main vehicle, mighty Falchion super heavy tank called "Sun's Wrath". Rows and rows of Imperial Army regiments came held the flanks with their own assortment of Leman Russ thanks and Chimera-based vehicles of all kinds while Valkyrie gunships stayed in reserve to bring squads of elite commandos where reinforcements was needed. Lord Commander Leonis himself went to war like before, part of the mobile detachment that rode around Stormbirds and came at the enemy from above.

The ensuing battle will indeed be glorious however the 4th squad alongside twenty more legionaries from the 31st Company under Minteril's own command wouldn't be there to witness it. But this didn't mean they wouldn't get their fair share of action - Dark Eldar were a devious race of murderous xenos that deserved nothing but destruction, but this also didn't mean they weren't prepared for such an outcome where Emperor's Children would try to flank them.

"Heads up brothers, that thing ahead of us ain't a rainy cloud," Captain spoke into the vox as they reached half-way around the jungle and were on a side approach towards the mountain when the Dark Eldar decided to pay them a visit. A huge dark shape formed ahead of them, coming down from above and heading straight for them. It was some kind of a flying fortress, looking as if dozen of those smaller Raiders were put together and made into a big monstrosity. Four tall towers on each side and bristling with guns were just one of its defenses as a squadron of xenos riding grav-boards came their way, looking wilder than usual. Another group of smaller crafts flew behind, code-name Venom, with three warriors on each of them, taking aim but keeping closer to the big carrier to act as another line of defense. But that wasn't the worst thing - from the wide deck of the carrier everyone could see many small cages holding strange avian creatures: which were just unleashed at the Emperor's Children. An entire flock of razor-sharp beaks and talons came to deliver a final blow, the birds apparently there those legionaries of the III Legion which would survive both the guns from the flying fortress and the guns from its airborne defenders.

"4th Squad, on me," everyone could hear Sidon's voice, business-like as usual, "Let's punch through their screen and board their craft. Vitaly, Pholax, Camille - stay behind and provide cover, the rest are with me. We're going straight through them. For Fulgrim," not much of a complex plan and perhaps more accustom for World Eaters, but Sidon didn't look like he cared that much as he opened fire with jetbike's inbuilt twin-linked bolters, taking out couple of incoming Hellions and blowing them from the sky.


Dark Eldar defenders:

Black Flying Arc: [10/10/10/10], crew:??? Hellions: 30 Razorwing flock: 100 Venoms: 4/4/4/4

Emperor's Children:

Captain Minteril, 20 Legionaries

Camille:12 [6] Martyn:12 [6] Jendon:12 [6] Pholax:12 [6] Vitaly:12 [6] Elymas:12 [6] Aleph:12 [6] Extrovious:12 [6] Sidon:18 [6]

Combat advantage: Neutral.

Each jetbike has twin-linked bolter that you can fire indefinitely and 2x2 sets of missiles (2 frag and 2 krak) that you can also fire but once you use them that's it. Black Arc has four towers each with Dark Lance and Splinter weapons that will fire on your force each turn. To board it you'll need to pass a successful flying test and then I'll write down the opponents there, but those who board it will be unable to be targeted by Arc's guns. Razorwings are a horde and will make one attack against each airborne char each turn, attacking the flock can prevent this.


@Jorimel @WanderingJester @dx144 @DeranVendar @Draconion @Vulpas @Kalle @Uriel1339

Every Phoenix longs to fly. When Aleph had listened to the options open to them, he paid close attention, both to the things that the two senior officers said and what they left out. Sergeant Sidon seemed to be of a mind with his squad and - though once again there wasn't a full consensus - most of them chose the same route: speed, the swift and sure attack. Grinding the enemy down with heavy vehicles was a valid tactic in Alephoros' eyes, it was useful and effective, but the Son of Chemos hadn't the same affiliation with machines that some of his brothers felt. Not that he despised them for it - far from it. The unit needed a diverse skillset in order to be tactically flexible. But - and maybe it was his Sulpha blood - Aleph wanted speed. He felt the instinctive drive to kill swiftly within him, whether brought to the fore by his Astartes training, or created by the regimen, he could not know.

He glanced to his brothers on either side - Martyn, his white hair hidden by his helm for now, and the broad figure of Extrovious crouched a little lower over his handlebars. The time they'd shared in the training cages had given him a better appreciation of his fellow soldiers' personalities. Had he made friends? Well, now that was a little early to tell. But he did respect them and found comradeship in their camaraderie.

This was well, because the three of them were tasked to follow Sidon into the jaws of the strange flying fortress. Alien architecture seemed designed to pierce and cut the very sky, all struts and spikes and blades. Impractical, but it had a certain barbarous aesthetic. But one did not need to admire a foe to see the elegance of its wargear, any more than one needs to love the symmetry of a bug crushed underfoot.

Up ahead the xenos craft was loosing warriors of its own, flimsy looking men and women on equally flimsy craft. A flock of sharp-winged birds launched up and around them as they flew, arrowing down toward the attackers. Aleph did not know what they were, but he knew well the fate of jet engines clogged by feathers and flesh. Instinctively, he aimed his twin-linked bolters at the flock, aiming to cut them down or at least scatter the birds. Seeing that the attacking xenos themselves were scarcely more armoured than their pets, he readied a frag missile to send in their direction.

After all, a frag missile, like a grenade is marked To Whom It May Concern. Swooping after Sidon in a looping arc, guns blazing, Aleph surged forward to share his gift.




OOC: Attack on flock, missile ready for Hellions/Wyches. EDIT because I thought it was grenades the first time.

Jetbikes... Flimsy and nimble. Pholax disliked the faster machines he'd be trained to use, sure they could do lightning strikes and hit targets before they were even known to be there, but come a bit of resistance and their only real option are flee or try to not get hit.

Pholax accepted only one rule of war and that was firepower, firepower and yes, even more firepower. The Jetbike might have more firepower than his single heavy bolter, but compared to those machines on the ground, The Sun's Wrath had weapons which a bike like this could only dream of firing.

Seeing the rain pour down off his Bike's eagle at the front, Pholax glanced up at the shapes descending upon them.

When it rains, it pours as they say.

"I'd kill for a Multi-Melta right about now..." Pholax voxed, flying his bike into a covering position for the charge, flying slightly above, able to see anything that would hope to intercept their strike into the heart of the fortress.

It pained Pholax to not be part of the blade that'd strike the heart, but his role was necessary, if he and his brothers, Vitaly and Camille weren't covering their charge or landing, they could easily be torn apart by the black birds that'd revealed themselves.

"Left flank, covered, Sargent." Pholax voxed as he eyed anything incoming, from either above or below.

OOC

Defensive action on boarding party and myself.

Elymas listened to the other captain well. Indeed by the end of a day, the Millenial would be judged by Fulgrim as a whole. He was not here, so all that mattered would be the stories coming from each of their campaigns. Because while Fulgrim would not care about each and every single squad, simply expecting them to do their duty... The whole deployment under Leonis would be judged. They were fighting for his glory and acceptance by their father. Them to fail, was Leonis' failure.

A smile crept under the Librarian's face as they made for the jetbikes. Even if he wounded the Librarium, he is glad that no bit of the wrath of the dead would haunt the legion. His decision would be right, and it would never be recognized. But did it matter? Like Captain Apox said. One should not put his arrogance before the Millennials' success. There was an important lesson to be learned, and something inside Elymas wished he would be serving in Apox' company.

When they arrived in the vehicle bay, he stroked along the machine and familiarized himself with it, looking it over and making sure it was in prime condition. Satisfied with his non-technical glance over, he sat down and took off along his brethren.


~~ Riders in the Storm ~~
The librarian was not used too much to flying, but he was definitely trained and capable of performing his duty. He appreciated that the squad stuck to their prior demeanor of going straight for the head of the snake. It kept them not predictable per se, but at least in the squad dynamic he started to understand better what they were about. 0

"Going for the breach." Elymas voxed purposefully, taking right behind Sidon with the Krak Missiles loaded and ready to fly with a single click on his launching runes.

OOC: Going straight for the Fortress, All-Out Attack with Krak Missiles as soon as in range to make a hole for boarding as ordered by Sidon.

Martyn's smile never faded after he boarded the jetbike. This one, unlike the xenos' version, he actually knew how to speed up and slow down, rather than just steer. Still, he couldn't help but call out to their sergeant over the vox. "So, I'm guessing the Martian Boys wouldn't be too pleased if I use this one as a missile. Right, Sarge?" When the enemy airborne carrier came into view, he whistled. "Oh, nevermind. By the Emperor, I'll have that drop on top of the enemy fortifications more so than any jetbike."

As soon as Sidon gave his orders, Martyn weaved his jetbike into formation behind their squad leader, arming both of his krak missiles. "Copy that, Sarge. I bet this thing will make the most wonderful fireball when it lands on top of their fellow filth below, don't you think so, brothers?" he called to Aleph and Extrovious, his smile almost audible. At the enemy airborne units approached, the young space marine prepared for evasive maneuvers, while still pointing his vehicle forward to that behemoth in front of them.

Martyn lined up one of the krak missiles against the closest battery of the Black Arc before loosing the projectile, letting it fly directly at the large target in front of them, even as the boarders zoomed towards it.


@DeranVendar
@Jorimel

OOC: Krak missile attack on closest Black Arc battery, boarding the Black Arc. If possible, also a defense on self.

Extrovious flattens himself to the dash and hand thrusts of the jet bike, slimming down the outline of both himself and the vehicle so the bike's armored front can take some hits rather than his helmet. Beneath rain slicked armor the warrior is all grins, finding Martyn's infectious, and his heart thundering with pride as they race towards glory. As far as he was concerned there was no guilt to be found here, no innocent lives on the line, no one to abandon except those that had not strove for victory with the same diligence they had.

"Marty, next time you're riding back-saddle with myself and I'll just pilot two bikes. Probably be more useful under split attention than being crash landed into a xeno sky fortress. Aleph, will you be our blade today? I shall be the shield, and Martyn can be the incredibly loud mouth announcing our presence. Together we shall be as one terrible warrior come to banish the xeno from the domain of Man!" Extrovious guns to the head of the pack, preparing to initiate the first exchange between themselves and their foe. Bike cycles in a frag and a krak missile, Extrovious picking his targets before letting the munitions fly. Guardian and line breaker, rolls that suited his stature. Brutish perhaps, also fitting for a legionary of his size, but not in the same way as an Iron Warrior or World Eater, he would make an art of this...somehow!

OOC: Frag grenade on the Razorwing Flock, attempting to reduce attacks against the squad rather than himself. Krak missile aimed at the nearest Venom. Boarding action is free.

@WanderingJester
@Jorimel