Denatus had kept silent during the hectic decent, something he had picked up while serving with the raven guard. the deployment was hectic and as far as he could understand the casualities where already heavy, but they had been told it would be so, the Laer are to be a dangerous and hard foe, and a truly ugly one too, a foe Denatus would happily destroy. "Orders confirmed Extrovious" Denatus said as he leveled his missile launcher at the lightning casters, then firering a rad missile aimed right at it. Denatus before the missile even had time to connect pulled out his volkite serpenta to fire at the crew manning the weapon, to either pick them off once the missile hit or just leave the gun crewless. OOC: All out attack on lightning casters
First blood to Laer Like many times before Extrovious barked his orders as he rose to the skies like some vengeful angel, ready to serve retribution in the name of the Phoenician. This time around the skies where he launched himself at were quite clogged with enemies and they seemed to almost wait for him to activate his jump pack before making their move. Like a bunch of small insects the moment Sergeant was airborne was the moment they were on him, Laer Flyers closing in and unleashing a fusillade into his chest and the Aquila he so proudly showed. There was no sense of honor with them, their intent pure and simple - kill the invaders as fast and as efficient as possible. With couple of new holes in his chest Extrovious landed hard on the ground, the energy-based weapons these aliens carried at least cauterized the wounds instantly and more of the damage was prevented by his armor holding up. Foot soldiers were on him tho, their slithering bodies moving way faster than expected. Child of the Emperor barely got the chance to bring his powered claws to deflect a series of quick thrusts before one of the swords passed through the guard, the whipcord blade slashing into the side of his neck and taking a piece of flesh with it on its way out (OOC @DeranVendar you can kill 2-3 Laerans with your next post). This particular alien didn't live for long to give Extrovious a chance to retaliate as its chest was blown apart, the kraken bolts from Elymas' pistol enough to pass the light armor this creature wore and kill it on the spot. Former Librarian was struggling to get close to his Sergeant as the Laerans were much faster than he was - and then they fought back. Couple of them came at him, shooting as they slithered, and the energy beams struck Elymas in his lower torso, forcing him to take a step aside in order not to get executed right then and there. Perhaps he should've asked for a jump pack but it was too late to contemplate about such things as the aliens were on him. His new inferno pistol unleashed a gout of super-heated air but as quickly as they came the Laeran infantry warriors dispersed, each moving into different direction so that the blast from the pistol annihilated empty piece of pier, nothing more. Coming into melee range, despite his new acquisition Elymas understood immediately that he was horribly outmatched when it came to melee combat, these aliens were simply too fast and the reach of their weapons was too long for him to meet with twin bayonets. He defended himself as best as he could but with each sword parried another slashed past and soon, the legionary was bleeding from two dozen different cuts, his armor proving to be not much of a defense against these monsters. The leader of these things was close by as well and it moved towards Elymas with blurring speed, carried by a pair of wings and made in such way that this type of combat was its specialty, the Whirling Dervish was indeed a sight to behold. But for all of its alien might he was not about to put fear into the hearts of those immune to such mortal trivialities, not to mention that he was about to meet its match. Dashing like quicksilver, Aleph crossed the distance in the heartbeat and the pincer that headed for Audiomancer's neck was deflected. Palatine Blade's new Charnabal Sabre whooshed through the air however the alien leader used his wings to jump away from it, the ancient sword tasting nothing but the creature's shadow. Night's Edge was there the moment the Whirling Dervish struck back, however Aleph failed to find the weak spot as its tip merely nicked alien armor. The momentary lapse was so tiny that was almost irrelevant, but the Laer didn't need anything else. Both the pincer and his second sword came and the legionary was suddenly on the defense, Daith'wyn catching and pushing the crab-like limb aside but the sword sailed through and cut through Aleph's vambrace, blood streaming from the wound in the forearm now as whatever coating the thing used for its blade slowed down the coagulation. Tasting the victory but knowing better than to just throw itself in, the alien leader circled the Palatine Blade, using its wings to both move in and out of combat as its melee-oriented limbs sought to find another opening, this time lethal in nature. Behind the raging melee, both Pholax and Jendon tried to prevent the air superiority the Laer currently had over them with good old-fashioned heavy fire. As it was proper, the Devastator was first in such endeavors and once he found cover behind a piece of fallen Thunderhawk, he began pumping shells into the sky. Autocannon was made for such engagements but the initial salvo failed to hit anything as the aliens saw it coming and spread out, the explosive shells flying past them and into the sky above. One thing was certain, this particular group of combatants that the 4th Squad met down here in the naval base, which was perhaps true for the Laer race as a whole, was that it adjusted its tactics on the fly and was really good at understanding the threat and evading it entirely. Or so they thought. Being a superlative marksman on his own, Pholax wasn't about to be fooled by such showoff and when his next salvo came, it was a massacre. One by one the aliens fell from the sky, their bodies shattered once connecting with large caliber shells that could stop a light tank dead in its tracks. Simple chitin armor was hardly a match for this and before long, Pholax killed six flyers all by himself before the rest finally managed to fire back, however the laser beams that punched through his cover merely grazed him, causing a mild irritation as small parts of his skin burned but nothing much else. Jendon was firing now as well, the Senior Apothecary not about to be stopped from causing equal damage to the aliens. The scanner from his helmet intertwined with the Augur Array activated by his Techmarine brother and the scans went both ways. The advanced Diagnostic tool fed the data into Jendon's hud and with each death he caused, with each bolt hitting a different spot on alien body more and more info flood in. Blasts opened up the insides of these creatures and at first, Apothecary mapped only one organ or one bone structure but as more of them died more organs revealed itself to Jendon and they told a story of their own. This would definitely require more investigation during the downtime and with proper equipment but what Jendon could tell from what he got now and his own experience, these aliens were highly modified creatures, each of them made to fill a different role. Since nature loves imperfections, it was safe to say that they were genetically engineered to fit combat tasks, not unlike Space Marines themselves, so perhaps we aren't so much different after all. Wherever this heretical thought came from Jendon couldn't say but the effect was subtle, poisonous enough to make him lose his focus for a split second and it was then that the aliens struck back. Two of them came down low and opened fire with their energy rifles, blasting pieces of Apothecary's armor apart before they swooped in and prepared their stingers. Jendon barely managed to roll in time before they came down, the sharpened limbs both hitting his shoulder guards and cleaving the right one in two, the High Gothic designation of his Legion no more. He was missing some pieces of flesh from underneath as the stingers managed to cut deep and release a toxin of their own, however Jendon's metabolism fought it away with ease, the substance simply too weak to do him any harm (@Vulpas you can emote killing 1-2 Laer flyers with your next post). On the other side of the battlefield, Arnock took it upon himself to shatter the alien line and open the path towards the carrier itself and its occupants. Four big monsters stood in his way but interestingly enough, they held ground as he charged, locking shields together and creating a wall of blue energy. Four against one - they should've brought more men for the Master of Rites wasn't just about any legionary. Inferno pistol barked and the gout of heat struck the shield wall, from close range the blast was strong enough to make two of these Myrmidons to slightly lower them, unable to withstand the energy backlash. Arnock saw this and his sword came next, slicing into alien's upper chest before ripping the blade around and striking the other one on his helmet, breaking the armor and making its face even uglier. They retaliated but not quickly enough. First one swung its halberd around but Arnock was already moving, forcing the second one to throw a simple stab that he riposted, the power sword slicing couple of fingers away and causing the Myrmidon Guard to nearly lose the grip on his weapon. Third one moved in next but his attack was similarly deflected however then the fourth and final one came and Arnock saw that he was led into a trap. Overcommitting he opened himself and the alien used it deviously, halberd coming in low to pierce through Master of Rite's left thigh before the shield struck him straight in face, the energy discharge rattling his armor's system and causing one of his eye lenses to burst, the hot shards embedding into his face but thankfully sparing his eye. Another issue was the fact he could easily be targeted by heavy weapon specialists back behind these big protector-oriented serpent-like monsters, but thankfully Denatus was there to cover him. Destroyer had his sights on his Laer-equivalent soldiers and he decided to start the duel the best way he knew - with a rad missile streaking straight towards them. Unlike their more agile compatriots, these Lightning Casters were made to self-load and energize their strange weapons meaning that they were somewhat slower than expected, making them an easier target. Missile exploded in the middle of their formation and the volatile substance spread out, causing high degree burns to all three of them as the unsubtle weaponry wielded by the Legion's Destroyers manifested itself. It was both horrible and beautiful thing, depending on the view and for one of them, it was soon to be its last. Denatus, knowing that it was better to exploit the confusion instantly then waste time reloading his launcher, pulled out his volkite serpenta and fired. Beam of thermal energy speared through the field and it hit one of the aliens straight in its chest, burning through armor and flesh with equal ease. It nearly killed the creature on the spot but such was its resilience that it had strength for one more attack. Both it and two of its comrades that moved away from the blast area hefted their strange weapons and aimed towards Denatus. Sound akin to a grumbling thunder fled its barrels as the blue lightning fled the containment, hitting Destroyer and launching him into the air. He fell dozen meters away from where he was standing just moments ago, his chest fried beyond recognition and the ceramite on his left arm was completely annihilated that it melted away, leaving only charred skin beneath. Thankfully he was a Space Marine of the Emperor's Children and little bit of pain was nothing compared to the opportunity of purging some Xenos, especially when he saw the one he wounded earlier still struggling to find its bearing, a perfect target to start with his retaliation (@Grall_Stonefist you can kill the Lighting Caster with 2 HP with your next post). This left Vitaly to deal with the Anti-Air threat on his own, a task the Techmarine was well-suited for. Due to his brothers' actions, both the skies and ground around him were at the moment clear of immediate threats so he had plenty of time to set down his gamma cannon, calculate the distance for his micro missiles, and fire. Gamma ray built up and unleashed its fury at the same time as the hail of missiles escaped his shoulder mount and both payloads struck in unison. Energy from the Mars-made advanced weapon would not be denied as it cleaved straight through the structure holding the first AA gun and simply put, it sliced it in two. Having no housing to stand on, the big gun with all of its many barrels fell into the ocean below as if some vengeful god pushed it off the table, in this case it being the surface of the carrier-ship. Second AA gun somehow remained standing as most of the missiles struck home and blew chunks of it away while the thermobaric charges did the extra effort of crushing even more of it, but this time around the alien material held, at least for a moment, and allowed its, albeit stricken, gun to keep on firing although at much slower rate now. However Vitaly would find himself in danger once again as whatever mastermind behind the Laer defensive effort seemed to have caught his scent. From the belly of the carrier vessel came forth one of its aircraft and instead of it heading off to join the aerial dogfight, it hovered for a moment above the ship before turning towards the Techmarine. It was of a strange oval design with a seat in its center protected by thick layer of glass-like material while its weapons were held within the craft itself, however once activated they would come out from the mounts below close to its singular anti-grav engine that allowed the craft to float, unleash the deadly payload and retreat back. Payload itself was in form of two energy guns and a set of electro-warheads that came streaking straight towards Vitaly. His position was carpeted with these rockets which were in similar size to his own micro missiles, only the aircraft had much more of them in store and thankfully, they weren't guided, probably due to Techmarine being too small of an energy source for them to track, but it didn't mean they didn't pack a punch. Pier errupted in bright explosions as Vitaly was thrown off his feet, chunks of his armor blown to hell and his systems undergoing a proper shock as the electricity in the aftermath of the explosions was enough to threaten his Augur Array shutting down alongside most of his armor. Only one energy beam hit him and it nearly cut his left leg in half, but while he could see the bone beneath where the armor was blasted off, Vitaly knew the limb would still serve him good, unless he suffers similar hit again as the floating vessel prepared for another go (OOC I'm kinda playing into Vitaly's talent strengths but oh well, it fits the theme ). All around them the battle kept on, although now that more and more Emperor's Children deployed on the ground the fighting wasn't as one-sided like before. Laerans were fighting with tooth and nail but the advance of the Third Legion left no one to wonder which Legion was actually the greatest one when it came to shows of martial dominance. The new cadre of officers introduced into the millennial by Arnock himself fought hard to prove their worth to both him and Sidon who became sort of a legendary figure due to his age and earlier exploits. This all meant that despite the casualties, the aliens will be purged from this base in quick fashion. Laer defenders: Laer infantry:28, Laer Flyers:10, Myrmidon Guard:6/7/10/10, Lightning Casters: 2/10/10 AA Guns: [2], Whirling Dervish:20, Laer Hovercraft: [15] Arnock:12 Elymas:11 Extrovious:13 Vitaly:11 Aleph:14 Jendon:13 Denatus:10 [1/4] Pholax:14 Combat advantage: Minor Emperor's Children advantage. OOC you as a squad can call up for Storm Eagle bombardment once during this deployment however as long as the AA guns are standing, the impact of this action will be highly lowered. Presence of the carrier ship gives Laer side a bonus in advantage roll and it cannot be destroyed by conventional weapons. Augur Array link is active. @Jorimel @matt23 @Draconion @Grall_Stonefist @Uriel1339 @dx144 @DeranVendar @Vulpas
"By the sewage swamps of Chemos, stand still!" Elymas roared in frustration as these mutated aliens slithered around him, playing with him as if he was a mouse surrounded by a pack of cats scratching at him to watch how much he would bleed before being ultimately dead. If he had the time to think about it, he would surprise himself to not find him wishing to utilize his psychic powers. Maybe it was the rush of adrenaline that blocked any such thought when Alephorous saved his life with fine swordsmanship. The former librarians eyes widened under the helmet as he had gazed into deaths visage. There was shock, even if just for a moment. It swiftly turned into awe. "If I just could move that fast..." He muttered softly under his breath, watching Alephs foot and handwork. No wonder he had become a Palatine Blade. "I must do better! Death to all of you mutant aliens! Come and get your fair share of death!" The line brother shouted, reloading his bolt pistol with a normal bolt ammo clip before engaging his surrounding foes - the faster they would be gone, the faster he would be able to aid Extrovious once more. Until then he would also try to keep Aleph safe just as he had protected him. Elymas would prove to all of them that he was no lesser of them. Even though they might have thought of him as such while he was a witch - but no more. OOC: 1 Attack on surrounding Laer 1 Defense on Aleph
There it is, my blood, and no where near enough of theirs. There it is, the thought that sets off volatile reaction within Extrovious' heart and mind. Jump pack activates again, warrior fearless in spite of his wounds. One of the xeno rises with him, hook through its chest on blades sunk in to the guard; power fields off to make sure it does not simply slide off. Chain blades' muffled scream heralds the shredding of the beast, body shuddering and starting to sag off Extro's arm before he whips it into the infantry below. Body crashes among the rest of the defenders, flattening several to Elymas's left. When Extrovious returns to the fray he arrives with vengeance, putting down those Laer bowled over by their disemboweled comrade with a broad sweep of his claws after having put a boot down on flailing tails. Arcs of blood rise in each gauntlets passing. Sergeant's face is a cracked reflection of the supposedly flawless sons of Fulgrim, veined with rage and bloodgreed alike. Again he finds himself silencing the words that first come into his mind, the battle yet demanded he be in command. But a few objectives, then I shall be free to purge. "Alpeh, we shame the legion and waste time! Redouble your efforts with me or else this planet will not fall near as fast as it deserves, as it must!" Exhorting himself towards slaughter as much as Aleph, Extro hurls himself into the densest knot of the Laer. Their blades may scar flesh and ceramite, their guns may burn him to the very core, but they would not deter him from fighting as anything less than the perfect exemplar of murder Arnock had convinced him to be. "Jendon, finish up enemy flyers and move to support the Master of Rites." That sent a pang of pride through his chest, muddying up the vitriolic bile that otherwise flooded his person: they counted Arnock among their squad number, and Extrovious was the one to lead them. They were among the best their force had to offer, and he refused to believe they could perform as anything lesser than their titles implied. "Vitaly, good work on the first emplacement, finish the job and work with our heavy weapons to ensure air superiority becomes and remains ours!" OOC: All Out Attack on Laer Infantry Orders: Jendon - Finish the Flyers and then support Arnock Vitaly - Keep doing you bud. Also kill the aircraft and lightning gun after the AA gun is down.
Jendo could hear his voice. So perhaps we arent so much differnt after all. Jendon thought the idea of these beings gene forged came to him, Gentically augmented to fit war better like them except with a more harder augmentation to certian rolls, Jendon's head shook at the heretical thought that the xenos were like them, No they were not like them they did not have the brother hood, nor leader nor father that lead him, nor the were they forged like twenty others. The thoughts disturbed Jendon as they entered his mind suddenly a ping of pame as his body began to move, attempting to dodge a Laer blow that found itself within his shoulder blades. Jendon spat back as suddenly a wave of missles came towards him the apothcary taking cover as debris and shrapnel came at him and vitaily, Seeing his brother thrown back he was about to go to aid him when he heard Extro's orders. "Affirmitive." Jendon said, With one hand he went to help Vitaily onto his feet the other held his combi bolter and with one hand and his eyes on the targets he began firing. his diagnosterfidning a lock on vital spots that showed the highest results of of killing the laer outright, Firing in burst still the first spot found home another Flying Laer eliminated, Jendon mentally noting where the body fell for later examination. another burst fired out finding itself home taking out the secound Laer falling like his bolt shells fell to the ground. As soon as Vitaily was back on his feet the apothcary, Jendon began snaping to the rest of the flying Laer Aiming to finsh them off then to begin giving Arnock covering fire as fast as he could to compelte the objective and aid his brother. OOC Activating plans within plans, One attack on Flying laer, If Laer is finished off change Target to Arnocks next target, If not Both attacks go to flying Laer.
The sting of pain that came from the shards embedding into Arnock's face were much less than the sting that hit his pride as he was brought to knee by xeno scum. Arnock was far more than just himself, even more so now than before as the standard bearer. If Arnock were to fall would not the moral of the recruits fall with him? Would not they question their own skills if the one who taught and trained them was found lacking? These were things that the Master of Rights could never allow to happen, especially in full view of the Third Millennial. Arnock looked up at the standard hanging above him, letting its weight sink into his soul and drive him once more into battle. Coming off his knee, Arnock would come with pointed sword directly at the one which had broken part of his helmet. The attack would be aimed to drive the sword through the neck of the snake-line xeno to finish him quickly. Hearing the order from Extrovious for Jendon to assist him, Arnock knew he could push the attack further and hope for his brother to watch his back. So, after the first attack was through, the Master of Rites then drew his Inferno Pistol and unloaded a fiery blast a close range to the next closest Laer defender. OOC: All out attack. One against the Laer that score the hit on his helmet with the power sword. Second against the next closest enemy with inferno pistol.
Committed as he was to laying fire on the primary target, Vitaly found himself flatfooted by the Laeran flyer. Too late, his sensors return data on the missile payloads, and he finds himself staring straight at a pair of HE warheads with secondary haywire effects. Oh, poo. +++WARNING. WARNING. ANBARIC CASCADE IN EFFECT. CACHE CORRUPTION DETECTED. RUNNING PROCESSES DISRUPTED.+++ +++ATTEMPTING TO RESUME AND NORMALISE FUNCTION. PLEASE STAND BY.+++ +++WARNING. WARNING. ANBARIC C-@#!$/%@#5831...ATTEMPTING TO REBOOT AND RESTORE FUNC!#$!%0010101011!@#%...ATTEMPTING TO R-00101100011101!@#!%...ATTEMPTING TO REBOOT AND RESTORE FUNCTION FROM LATEST SECURE BACKUPXxXxXx!@#!%%!!...PLEASE STAND BY.+++ Battered and lacerated by the explosions, Vitaly dances a brief but unpleasant jig of the jitters as the haywire effect earths itself in him, causing his systems to freeze and glitch ferociously. His enhanced brain multitasks furiously to effect damage control, slamming down microscopic circuit breakers in his cogitational and functionary systems to limit and compartmentalise the damage, then flushing his cache and RAM, rebooting his running processes from EM-hardened backups to limit how many steps he falls behind in the tactical loop. +++FUNCTION NORMALISED. DAMAGE ASSESSMENT YELLOW - MODERATE STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL COMPROMISE. COMBAT-WORTHY, WITH INCREASED VULNERABILITY TO FURTHER DAMAGE.+++ Right. My turn now, he thinks to himself as he repositions to address the situation, even as Extrovious' orders ring in his ears. Gunning his grav-engine, he begins to circle the flyer while remaining on the ground, forcing the pilot/gunner to constantly reorient on him. At the same time, he directs energy from his Potentia Coil to accumulate in the anbaric capacitors and focusing coils of his Lightning Array. Hairs stand on end and mouths taste of ozone nearby as his electrogradience generator alters the energetic relationship between the Tesla emitters and the surface of the Laeran flyer. With a mental twitch, he triggers the electrial weapon via MIU, and lashes the flyer with crackling bolts of lightning, draining the weapon's capacitors into a fully-committed counterattack. Almost as an afterthought, he snaps off a shot from his gamma cannon as the surviving AA gun crosses his sights, trusting to his prognosticative subroutines to optimise the firing vectors for best effect. Action Summary 1.) Standard Action: Attack @ surviving AA Gun w/Gamma Cannon 2.) All-Out Action: Attack @ Laeran Hovercraft w/ Lightning Array (3 shots) 3.) Action: @ w/ Threat Assessment Matrix: Attack @ surviving AA Gun w/Gamma Cannon Augur Array: Squad Targeting Mode Active Special ammo: 1 x Kraken, 1 x Dragonfire, 1 x Tempest (bolt pistol) Explosives: 3 x plasma grenades Micro-Missile ammo Standard Charges: 20/30 Special Warheads: Stasis x 2, Cryo x 2, EMP x 1 Other Gear: Combat Shield
Watching the flyers break apart with their apart less than useless was enough to bring a smile to Pholax's face. The burning more a sign to say he was doing well, they were shooting was sloppy and they faltered like any Xeno, the pain from it nothing more than a hindrance that urged him to press on his assault. "These Xenos are hardly what I expected to find..." Pholax muttered seeing how shameful their display so far had been. "Since you have the orders to take them out, Jendon, I'll leave it to you. It appears some of our brothers aren't as well able as you or I." Pholax smirked and moved up towards Vitaly's position to provide whatever assistance he could knowing the priority targets were, or at least one of them was still standing. Preparing his Thunder Hammer and Bolt Pistol, Pholax moved to give the Tech Marine some protection and cover if possible from any of the Xenos that notice he is highly likely their priority target if they intend to survive this day. OOC: Defence on Vitaly Defence on Self.
He bled. Bright Astartes blood sprayed out from a wound in a way Alephoros had not seen since he was a boy. and the sight was curiously affecting - a reminder not of fragility, but of how far he'd come. And he would not suffer himself, or any of his Brothers, to go back down the path of weakness and vulnerability! If the xenos had the field after this then his own personal survival would be immaterial, for his shame would forfeit his life. Did he strive to be chosen by the Phoenician's own hand for this to be his end? No! They must end the threat of the Laer here and he must show them that to face a Palatine Blade was to court only death! Extrovious' orders did not pass Aleph by. But now - more than ever - he already had his mind set on proving himself worthy of the honours given to him. No Sergeant could be as exacting as he was on himself. Driving Daith'wyn up in a blocking arc that also sought the xenos' eyes, he brought Night's Edge down in the same moment, covering the same ground in an opposing angle. A cross-hatch pattern of strokes designed to keep the asir around him - and in front of Elymas - effectively full of steel. He was aware that the former Librarian had his flank, and was pleased to note it even as he leaped upwards, using his momentum to bring one blade across a wing while the other sought the underside of one of the Laer's too many arms. It could take to the skies, and so could he. Not as high, not as far - but if it wanted to hit him, it'd still have to get close to do it. This was a threat that needed ending quickly. The snake-alien was fast, moving as its namesake might, striking and darting. But he had something the Laer would never have: true brotherhood, forged in fire with the gift of the Phoenix. OOC: All-out Attack on Laer, plus, Offensive stance: Aleph gains a bonus attack and -2 on all of his defensive rolls. Time for a whirlwind of his own.
"Damned xenos" Denatus cursed to himself as he picked himself up from the ground, his arm spiked with searing pain, but nothing he couldent push through. As the static faded away from his lences he saw that the the one Lightning caster he had hit before was on its last legs, surely still dangerous given the their great resilience. As he quickly got up Denatus got his serpenta back up again and fired, the deadly beam once again speared through the battlefield and annihilated the bulbous head of the Laer. "One heavy weapons down" he reported over the vox as he holstered his pistol so he could ready his missile launcher once more, he couldent have the lightning casters put more pressure on his squad, so for now he had to do his role of destruction as he aimed to hit another lightning caster with a rad missile. OOC: executed one and rad missile at the 2 remaining ones.
