He just grinned a bit more under his helm - being a bit glad that the man couldn't see his face. As much as he was up for some form of mischief, he was certainly intelligent enough to not try and cause any trouble just yet. Not while officials are around, anyway. He soon made his way over towards Dyzek and gave him a friendly 'punch' at his pauldron, before hefting his boltgun - his helm once more turning to eye the rest of the squad as he loaded a magazine into his weapon. Of course, he hadn't pulled the bolt yet (har har) to load a round, nor did he switch off the safety. "Unlike any 'son of Dorn', I'll be sure to keep your back covered if anything charges at us." He replied in kind, a simple nod coming through.
@Vlayden @DeranVendar Hearing the sergeant's words, Dyzek would raise his hands in submission, bowing his head. He'd admit he'd stepped out of line, albeit, he still did not quite understand why. The Imperial Fists, from what he could tell, were a perfectly honourable Legion, far better than those within the brutish ranks of the Space Wolves, or the savage bands of the White Scars. White a shrug, he'd go back to his equipment, before hearing the words of Marcus, and once more, simply replying as he would. "Hope your aim is good Brother, for you will be covering a hawk on the wind, when I get into battle." As if to accent this, he'd run a preliminary check over his jump pack, feeling it's engines warm up, cycling through, giving a brief growl. The machine, rumbling upon his armour, would be a welcomed sensation for the man, as he could already feel the rush of battle coming towards him. To be on wing, it was a great place to fight the wars of man, dropping down upon the enemy from above, the shock and fear in their eyes as he closed in for the kill. Yes, if battle was to be had with the Greenskins, then he'd enjoy the piggish fear in their gazes as he came among them.
Such a waste of their potential. After years spent training, they are forced to oversee deserters and criminals constructing fortifications. But then again, someone has to do it, and Orks would most definitely attack, sooner or later. And after the Decimation it was clear that their new leader wouldn't tolerate any disobedience. New leader... When he was chosen, Vilhelm hoped to fight under the Emperor, but now it was all a distant myth. Some of the veterans he managed to talk to told stories about the time when Emperor led his Legions personally, but now that Primarchs were being found, it was all just stories. His Legion wasn't with the Emperor anymore, and it didn't seem like it will change in the near future. Vilhelm had to get used to the idea that Perturabo will be his new leader, but it was hard. If even a fraction of the stories going around the Primarchs were true, then he was brutal and violent in his ways. He wouldn't look out of place as a tyrant of a techno-barbarian tribe from old stories his father used to tell him. And maybe he was one, just wise enough to bow before the Emperor. Can he truly be a good and loyal commander of one of the Legions if he only knew the Emperor for a few years? Shaking his head to clear it from treacherous thoughts, Vilhelm tries to focus on the task at hand. First things first, he made sure that he carried as many Frag and Krak missiles as he could. Considering that Orks had access to manufacturing facilities for a while, it was a given that there would be plenty of ramshackle vehicles that would need to be taken out. Moving forward, Vilhelm checks his Bolt Pistol and puts several spare mags into his bag, followed by careful inspection of a massive Missile Launcher. The weapon was completely fine, just how it was when he checked it a few hours ago. But it never hurt to double- and triple check it - as even a small flaw can spell death in combat. Finding his equipment to be in a satisfying shape, Vilhelm quickly looks over his squad. He met them before, but it was the first time they were deployed as a separate squad. A mixture of Terrans and Olympians, all of them look like your average young Astartes looks. In time, they would accumulate enough scars and other accolades to set them apart from the rest, but for now they looked similar. The only one that catches Vilhelm's eye is an unnaturally pale brother by the name of Grunvil. A fellow Devastator, his hands clutch a weapon identical to Vilhelm's - another standard Locke-pattern weapon, looking as generic and undistinguished as Marines around. Doing a quick salute, Vilhelm hides a smile - during his limited combat experience, he quickly learned how devastating those weapons can be, even in his relatively unskilled hands. So having two of them on a mission significantly increases their chances of success. @DeranVendar @Grall_Stonefist
"It's alright brothers, we'll make sure we'll build stong bunkers down there, because when the Greenskins start kicking you out of their airlocks, you'll need something to land on which will soak the weight of your big asses," Seth replied, laughing. In truth, he enjoyed good banter and while his squad mates didn't want to reply and maybe get into trouble, which was also a smart thing to do, Seth wasn't about to let such callout go unanswered, even if it was made with good intentions. It's better to make it clear right on the start - if you try to push the 7th, expect to be pushed back as well. Taking the grenades on him as well as fresh magazines for his bolt pistol, he took a stand near rest of his brothers, half-expecting to get smacked by his sergeant or something due to his reaction.
"If we're hitting the planet without a transport it'll be because we're dropping an entire cruiser on your thick skulls Seth. " An helmetless figure from third squad shot back at the assault marine. Tall and possessed of clean shaven features the marine carried a boarding shield and a flamer. Pale skin betrayed few scars, but a number of lesser accolades were embellished upon his armor in the form of campaign badges. One of which was a shield depicting an Eldar rune being ground into dust beneath an iron boot. "THIRD SQUAD MOVE OUT!" The Sergeant of the other squad gave the order again, the marine who had lingered behind to engage Seth booked it out of there with a frown. "That's gonna require some discipline. " Akar watched the third head out with a deadpan expression. It was quickly turned to his own lot, for a minute it seemed he might say something, but instead he looked away to finish stowing his equipment and arms on his person. Once this was done he decided to speak after all. "So we get down there and begin establishing our fortifications. We'll have several Rhinos forming temporary bunkers, and our Stormbirds void shields can provide a canopy against artillery fire in a small area. We'll presumably be landing on open ground that's been thoroughly scoured by orbital fire support. Our squad make up is three assault, three heavy weapons, and four line legionnaires. One of which is a witch blood. Assuming we have something in the range of several hundred auxiliary down there, how should we divide up construction duties? "
@DeranVendar "SERGEANT!" Dyzek would call out, slamming a armoured boot into the ground, standing at attention, holding a fist before him. His eyes would be focused forward, his back straight, as he'd reply. "Assuming we are constructing our fortifications in standard practice, then we should deploy as per the dictation of our combat roles. Devestators establish the rear, aiding in the erecting of artillery batteries and proper pill boxes to place out longer range firepower. Tactical squads work on our front, aiding in the entrenchment of soldiers, barbed wire emplacements, mines, and anything else required to hamper enemy advancement. Assaults deploy on the vanguard of our position, as our jump packs will provide greater mobility, to begin setting up forward observation points, to warn of incoming enemy attack. Furthemore, the speed of the assault will better allow for patrol and maneuver if enemy contact is established, SERGEANT!" He'd finish his explanation with a shout, keeping his eyes focused and forward. He'd answered to the best of his abilities, now he'd see just how this veteran would respond to his thoughts.
"Largely depends on ground composition - if it's soft enough we can leave auxiliaries to dig it all up by themselves. But I wouldn't trust them enough to do it all by themselves, so we need someone to keep an eye on them. I would prefer to have Astartes focus entirely on securing the site - I doubt Orks will let us dig it up peacefully. Have Assaults and Line Soldiers as the lookouts and first line of defense, while Heavy Weapons oversee the construction since they can lay down fire support if need be without directly engaging the enemy." The sergeant was mostly silent for the entire time they were together, so having him speak up was a welcome change of pace, as well as a good way to find out how much their opinion mattered to their immediate commander.
The Recruit walked towards the sergeant and held his weapon by the underside of the front grip, thinking for a moment. Unlike Dyzek, his own words would remain calm. "We should try to make sure of our surroundings, first; the Assault units can act as a vanguard, keep the greenskins from coming down on us. From there, we set up a basic trench line in the direction of where we would end up assaulting; set the basics first before anything, at a safe distance. Keep a semi-circle like formation for the trenches, and set up onwards with extended trenches; the inner system should have fortified dugouts, and if we have the time, maybe set a headquarters of sort for intelligence and planning." "If there's a hill near our destination, we should secure it and set a fortified bunker there, and a trench network to connect to near it. Emphasis on near, and not to. If the orks do rush us before we have proper defenses, we don't want to give the beasts easy access to our network." "From there, we could extend outwards and try to see what the environment is; use anything to our advantage. But this early on, I think we should try to keep the survivability of our auxiliaries as at least a secondary, not tertiary, option. Until we get actual forces, they'll be all we have - and if it's only us digging by hand, we'll be here for a long time." "Frontal trenches should have diagonal traverses - that way any frontal assault won't be able to see directly down them. Though setting additional bunkers at the rear, near our entry point, may be recommended; if they bring tanks, we can use them to set up heavy weapons and fire away. If we put them too close near the front lines, they'll continually be risking damage, and always need to be repaired. Waste of resources, when we could be using that time to push forward and construct new defenses, not rebuild old ones." "Our heavy support should remain near the rhino's - the heavy weapons would make them vital, and if they have the defense necessary, they can keep any serious threat such as ork anti-tank weapons or flamers from reaching us or our workers. The assaults will be as a front-line unit, and keep the average mobs from reaching us; a mobile defense, as it were." "Line legionnaires will remain inbetween; a static defense. We'll fire from a range at targets, whereas the heavy supports offer suppressive fire and destruction of key targets, we'll deal with what may be dealt with ourselves, and aid in both the Assault and Heavy Support units may require - aside from that, the Line units should probably see to making sure our auxiliaries aren't eating mud and making castles, but actually the work required."
Ye, keep on walking bitch, Seth grinned as the other marine followed his sergeant and walked out of the chamber, leaving him alone with the rest of his brothers. Hearing Akar's question, he stroked his beard as if deep in thought, although it was more for show because in truth, he didn't really know much about fortification or building stuff in general. Tearing them down yes, but building them up? Hardly. "Let humans start the digging while we oversee, since you are the most experienced of us Brother Sergeant, you should be the one in charge of that. First we build gun emplacements and dig trenches around the Rhinos to create fortified positions around them - turning them into real bunkers - while Devastator Brothers stay back around them and start scanning the front. Line Brothers go in front and bear the brunt of the first attack, possibly hunker in a trench or something while our Assault Brothers act as a forward scouting\vanguard element that should raise an alarm if they see Orks coming and or possibly harry them along the way." "Or basically what Brother Marcus said, he does seem to know this stuff better than me anyway," Seth finished with a smile, nodding towards his comrade. @Vlayden
Akar stood by and listened to each of them lay out their plans for tackling the construction of the forward base. Not once did he nod, hum, or betray any signs of whether he was pleased or not. Instead hooded eyes simply drifted from speaker to speaker. As Seth wrapped up his contribution to things the Sergeant spoke. "So far you've all neglected any mention of how to make use of witch blood Xerxes. If you have some form of special attachment or esoteric ability you take full advantage of it and should keep it in consideration from the very start. Our young psyker here is expected to carry out combat and construction duties like the rest of you, but should also be able to provide advanced communication and coordination abilities, along with a- " He paused a moment to address the warrior himself. " - degree of special insight into the tides of war itself. " Looking back to the greater part of the squad Akar allowed his plasma cannon's weight to sag into one hand, armored limb flexing as he adjusted to supporting all its weight on one arm. "Now for corrections. " Seth would be first. With a surprising amount of speed bolt pistol was drawn and the weapon whipped across the assault marine's head. Were he helmeted then skull would be rattling around a great deal, if face were bare than Seth would be going into combat with half his face swollen. Despite the violent display Sergeant kept a dull expression. "Legionnaire Seth I expect you to enhance your understandings of establishing a forward position and work on your comprehension. My question pertained to divvying up construction duties, not combat as you were so keen to provide. I expect you to set a better example in the future. " Head shifted almost imperceptibly to view Marcus next. "Similar issue though not as severe. Bonus points for consideration of extended terrain and resource management. Decent. " 'Decent' wasn't exactly a passing grade in the legion right now, but it might keep a man from being beaten to death by his peers. "Vilhelm. " He began, staring down the other heavy weapons trooper a moment before resuming. "I should remind you we have seven other squads deploying in our immediate vicinity with the sole intent of seeking out and destroying various xenos and their structures. Security will be of minimal concern, and it is expected we be able to dig a trench while simultaneously making it a moat filled with orkish blood. Singular duties and such limited scopes of action are for the army, not the legion. The Emperor and Perturabo both expect more out of all of us. You did touch on something I'll get to in a moment though. " Now Dyzek fell beneath the grey glare of their unit leader. "Dyzek proposes what I believe to be an appropriate action plan. Division of labor by strategic layer and effective engagement range. I heard the latter in pretty much every other plan presented, but not the former, and that is the most critical part to our job. Dyzek, keep it up. " It came with no smile and tone did not warm, but the slightest nod from Akar was as good a sign of approval as any. "We have some time yet till deployment, make ready with your weapons and we will begin marching to the hangar. Keep those suggestions coming, refine your ideas, improve. Though if you've nothing new or useful to add, keep your trap shut. I'd rather hear uselessness than parroting or stupidity. " His eyes raked over Herchel, Xerxes, Wilson, and Grunvil to make his point before he began to make for the exit.
