Combat wasn't something new to Por'Ui Elsy'eir Zimo'yi. He hated conflict, more than that he hated fearing for his life. This was supposed to be secret negotiations! We can't let any of them escape and expose us. They'd surely take revenge upon the innocent septs of Tau controlled space. There was only one way left to them, to fight. Since the third sphere expansion, the Tau have been at constant war. Water castes from all Septs of the Tau Empire have seen it first hand. Life expectancy wasn't much better than anyone else's, but those that rose higher in rank the greater their chances. Right now, Zimo was only worth a single fire team of pathfinders. 'I wonder if Fian'Dee and Aure'Qu were still aboard the transport... Don't throw up, the Shas'Ui is present.' Zimo thought as he hid behind the pathfinder cover. Crouched low, with his hand on his ears. The explosions only sounding closer. Turning to look at her, incredulously. "There are enemies still attacking us, yes? Shas'Ui I would request that we end this conflict sooner, rather than later! We cannot afford to end negotiations. I request Fio and the rebel Gue'la be pulled back from the front. Nothing like fighting a common enemy to found alliances upon. There may still be time to salvage this. As for protection, I am capable." Zimo'Yi responded harshly, also pressing a button on his drone control band. The Escort drone rose up quickly, beeping as it began to emit a charging sound. Then, a translucent hexagonal patterned shield appeared above the cover. Proving extra protection to the pathfinder. "In this state it cannot attack, but that's where you come in. I'll stay here and not die. Sound good?" Once again said with attitude, only for a sudden explosion to cause a quick yelp of fear from Zimo'Yi. Rendering the Water Caste Envoy a shivering mess. His hands back over his ears, his eyes closed tight. 'I hate conflict. It's so loud and terrifying. I just want it to stop... Deep breaths. Remember your training. Remain focused. Keep breathing. First lesson of field diplomacy; Don't ever look over cover when someone else can do it for you.' He thinks to himself, it helps but not much.
Erron- Erron kept himself down reloading his Hand cannon as he wen't Everyone seemed to be hitting everything else today besides each other. Erron Took quick shots from cover trying to get them when they popped out of cover to fire at them to bring down a few imperials. Morelth- Ducked as he began Trying to figure out how he could charge without getting dropped by that tank. "Gonna have to make my odds a bit better." He said as he got back into cover and began firing back upon the Imperials.
< @MetalDog4 > [Jimel] Unsure at what his last shot had done, Jimel reevaluates his aim, and fires again at the chimera. [Mar] Damn these Gue'la! Mar waited patiently for another break in fire before firing again at the sergeant.
( @MetalDog4 @Casavay @BadDo9 ) Falling into a kneeling position as las-bolts flashed past Aloh paused when he noticed a shield appear around his shas'ui and the ambassadors. Carefully watching for where the packets of energy burst through the flames Aloh fired at those points, hoping to hit the gue'la shooting at him.
@PorOborosCain @Avenging-Angel @BadDo9 "I don't take orders from you, Por'Ui", Se'hen replied, her smile gone behind her visor as she risked a look at the battlefield. Still, she appreciated his efforts. It was shortly thereafter that she heard the vox message. She didn't like the fact that the Shas'Vre was not responding - that usually meant bad things. "Combat is going well. Two enemy tanks are out of commission. Local Gue'vesa fight well against enemy Gue'la forces. No casualties reported yet, some minor injuries but nothing the Fire Caste can't handle. Water Caste envoys are fine. We need no support right now - but something to keep our rear a bit clearer or to clear the streets would be appreciated if it could be spared." "Push forward, men! Apply pressure!", she shouted at her squad afterwards. "They think we're cowardly little aliens! Show them we aren't!"
"Merely suggestions and requests, nothing more, my Shas'ui. Keep in mind, my safety is your top priority. Everything else is secondary until specified otherwise by those of the higher castes. I only have our best interests at heart, I swear. The Shas'vre is capable and wise, he will not fall to such rabble as this... surly?" Zimo said with more concern that he meant to. The silence of such a capable warrior would be a damaging blow to the Greater Good's work here. With that thought to steal himself, Zimo'yi activated his personal communicator. A small circular device he kept in a pocket. Doubling as a location beacon in case of emergencies. @MetalDog4 +"Ethereal Aun'Zil, Envoy Zimo'yi reporting. Contact has been successfully made. The current situation is escalating. I have a request, has any information from the Imperial radio or subband streams been intercepted? The Shas'vre would surly be a topic of gossiped among the Imperials. I would however recommend we minimize our appeared presence. The longer continue this battle continues the larger the Imperial's responds will be. Just a few considerations for your review noble one, nothing more."+ If they could make it appears as though the rebels won, it would help in their cause. The fire caste only knew war and action, where the water caste only knew patience and the game.
OOC: Update!! @DeranVendar Suve's wound slows him down as he traverses the wreckage, allowing the Gue'la guardsmen to hone in on him. Las-rounds slam into the solid parts of his armor, leaving scorch marks but dealing no permanent damage to the lucky Fire Warrior. Suve proves to be the better shot, as his pulse rounds blow the head off of one Guardsman and hit another in the gut, causing him to scream out in pain as he curled up in a ball on the ground. @IyandenCorsair The new recruit, perhaps nervous at the sight of the onrushing Guardsmen, misses all of his shots, but the Gue'la fare no better, their accuracy thrown off by the need to dodge incoming fire and scrabble around wreckage. @Vulpas Erron's psyker abilities appeared to come with a measure of foresight, as he managed to pop up in between every break in the oncoming fire. His hand cannon, not suited at longer ranges, took aim at another Gue'la platoon that had managed to get around the fireball that used to be a hellhound, and was now aiming for the center of the rebel formation. Perhaps it was the Terellion's unusual form that drew the attention of the xeno-hating Imperials, but nevertheless an unusual amount of las-fire seemed to pour into his position, and another one hit him in the leg, giving him a light wound. He returned fire, and his shots seemed to hit their mark, but for once the Guard armor held true, and managed to deflect the wound. @BadDo9 Jirel's shot would not go unnoticed by the Chimera, as its multi-laser turned around to fire at the Pathfinders. Its laser missed Jirel, but incinerated a pathfinder in front of him, who screamed with agony as the scorching hole appeared in his torso. Jirel's shot hit the fuel tanks on the Chimera, causing the whole thing to erupt in a fireball... Once again the Sergeant Mar aimed at was able to avoid the incoming fire, and his squad continued to push forward...until they were consumed in the chimera's fireball. @Avenging-Angel Aloh had more luck now, as he fired one by one the flashes through the smoke stopped appearing, until they were altogether silenced. @Casavay Aun'Zil's voice came through the sounds of the raging gunfight. "Hold your position Shas'Ui, the Shas'Vre will be presumed MIA until otherwise stated. Secure the landing zone as originally discussed, we will land reinforcements for you once that..." A massive explosion cuts the transmission... @PorOborosCain He could hear the transmission as well, but the shimmering shield drew the attention of the remaining two Leman Russes, and battle cannons rounds began to slowly walk their way up the battlefield, dealing more damage to their own troops then to the allies. The rounds would have slammed into the shield except for one thing... Everyone: The explosion from the Chimera set off a chain reaction across the battlefield as the explosion ignited the remaining fuel in the destroyed lander. This explosion was even larger then the first and knocked everyone down, sending debris and shrapnel every where. As the smoke clears, massive cracks have appeared in the road. The entirety of the second Fire Warrior squad had ceased to exist, as they had taken cover inside the wreckage of the transport. The other fire warrior squad escaped relatively unscathed, being the furthest from the explosion at the time. As Se'hen's HUD recalibrated, it showed her that 2 more of her squad were dead, and 3 more heavily wounded. The mercenaries, forward of the explosion when it occured, took a fair number of casualties as well, 3/4 of them lying dead or wounded in the rubble. Several nearby buildings, already weakened by the fighting, collapsed, and screams of the dead could be heard echoing from inside the collapsed ruins. OOC: All the PC's survived relatively unscathed, though the pathfinders will all take light wounds. The explosion has temporarily halted the fighting, but we will keep up with the combat style posting as not all of the Imperials are dead yet.
OOC: Might wanna watch that Everyone tag, you kinda tagged a random forum goer it seems! <Su've> Dust rolled over his position and even his helmet struggled to filter out the deafening sound of collapsing buildings. Hunkered down in cover the Fire Warrior kept his head down and body sheltered as best he could to ride out the storm. There were casualties of course but such was to be expected and the warrior had his duties to up hold. A piece of lander plating that had been twisted into a torso sized piece of shrapnel scythed above his head, taking off part of his protective shoulder guard but leaving him intact. It wasn't the first close call of his life nor would it be the last. As soon as the initial rumbling began to clear and collapsing buildings were but rubble the Fire caste activated his communications unit. "Status of Non-combatants? " Looking out to the dust choked killing fields Su've begins to patrol along the length of their chosen battle line, pulse rifle lifting for snap shots at any enemy guard still shambling through the mess, taking careful consideration to make sure they are the enemy and not one of the rebels.
@MetalDog4 <Draal> He was able to stagger the charge in his naiive/nervous excitement and grinned to himself but all that would change when a sudden explosion made him drop back down into his cover and suddenly new sounds filled his headset, screaming and moaning of the dying. The combined sounds making him shudder for a moment before the voice in his head kicked in for him to calm himself down, the fight wasn't over just yet, he needed to secure himself before he could worry about the others. With one last exhale he looked back over the top of his rubble pile to check for any open imperials and if he could, take them out while they're still dazed and confused.
( @MetalDog4 @Casavay @BadDo9 ) Sighing in relief when the volleys of las-fire gradually came to a end, Aloh moved to rise to his full height. He was still in a crouch though when the lander really and conclusively exploded. The blast hurled the Pathfinder from his feet, throwing him through the air to land at the feet of his shas'ui. Static filled his HUD and Aloh smiled as the display finally stabilized, eyes widening when he noticed where he was. "Apologies, Shas'Ui. I appear to have travelled in the wrong direction."
