@Kalle Without turning he spoke as he watched the winter lands ahead. "Both statements are true. But if our last raid has taught us anything... nothing goes exactly as planned. Not every side needs to be hit, but knocking out their relay will hinder any reinforcements they may have. As well as spreading their forces thinner." @Draconion @bossaroo Finally turning to face the group, "What is the plan for your 'help' Thû and Ave'ras?" He turned to each of them in turn. "Unless you think the new 'pups' need to be supervised we can send them to take out the relay and retreat to the webway gate while the rest of us make the journey through the outpost and tram to the dig site." As they were mulling over their options he addressed the rest of the team. "Whatever path lay before us there is no option of failure. Prepare for a bloody fight ahead of the readings are to be correct. We don't have the ability to take slaves on this run, but take whatever isn't bolted down!"
Standing at the rail of the Raider, Thû gazes out over the gloomy surface of the ice world. Behind his oily black maak of a face, he is very pleased at the current theatre of operations - a shadowed place such as this will be a playground for him. As for the killing cold itself, he feels it on his skin, a mere abstraction for one in whose veins runs Neverborn blood. Listening with one ear to the murmurs of tactical discussion and jockeying for position, he turns when Aesra addresses him and Ave'ras. @kanila @bossaroo "The pups do indeed need their hands held for the time being. Here's what we can do - i will take all of them to take out the relay and any forces there. An isolated target will make a good training exercise for them. Once we're done, we will close on the objective separately under stealth and form a hidden reserve for the main attack."
Kaesar admired the view, arms crossed, or rather what view was there to be admired through the blizzard. Traveling to realspace always did make him excited. Usually there was killing to do and he got to see and kill something new every time. He leaned on the raiders wall silent mostly, humming a lovely tune to himself quietly as plans were made. Whatever the decision was he wanted it to come quick. Itch to murder something was rising.
When they arrived on the world, Heltherith decided to not go running for the cold weather clothes just yet despite her exposed attire, given that it was a welcome change of pace to have something else to feel other than the usual atmosphere of deceit, murder and torture back in the Dark City. Still, odds were that someone was going to rock the boat this mission, even if she'd admit that person was likely her. Still, with the current discussion of tactics, the Wych said "Well, if you're that sure about knocking out the relay, it could also be an idea to investigate the machinery signature to the south, just in case it happens something that would prove.... Problematic for our attack on the outpost." Likewise, she was also looking at the views and taking them in, as something to keep herself occupied with physically.
After a brief discussion, the Crimson Moon's forces split into three parts, each going towards a different objective but the result intending to be the same - destruction of Mon-keight metal lovers and getting some loot during the process. <Forest relay team> @Draconion @bossaroo Taking the six Enforcers with them, Thû and Ave'ras headed north towards the supposed relay beacon or whatever their scanners picked up. The blizzard eased up the pressure and didn't do much to hinder their advance through the thick forest, the terrain perfect for the group of infiltrators such as them. It wouldn't be long till they found what they were looking for, the Mechanicus forces not really trying to hide their presence on Kelih since there was no one who would actually see them and interrupt their holy work. First they found signs of a large vehicle passing through - destroyed trees, burned out snow, wide tracks in the dirt beneath and signs of fire in the nearby foliage. Wherever nature stood to try and defend itself, the Adeptus Mechanicus purged such barriers without prejudice. Since they acted like an elephant in a glass shop, it was a simple task to follow the signs towards the eventual goal. Half an hour later they finally caught up and, from the cover of the trees, watched the advance of the machines. A vehicle, a heavily modified Chimera transport moved in front, using a dozer blade to clear the way. It had lots of extra systems on it which the Scions could only start guessing what they were used for, but on top of everything it had a relay beacon mounted onto its hull, the signal most likely broadcasted from there. However besides the modifications, it didn't look like it was armed for war, quite the contrary, it seemed to be some sort of a science vessel. Of course, it didn't move without protection as two strange walkers hopped around it, Ironstriders Ballistarii was their name, which kept the Chimera's flank secure. Behind the vehicle moved ten mechanized soldiers hefting long rifles and looking quite disinterested in anything that was happening around them - probably because they were half-machines anyway. In any case, the team remained hidden, watching the "convoy" making progress through the forest to whoever knows what goal, the perfect time to ambush them could be...pretty much whenever. <Outpost> @kanila @Grall_Stonefist @Kalle @Vlayden @Wata @Skarboy While Thû and Ave'ras were left fiddling around the forest, the biggest part of the team headed straight towards their objective, using their Raider as transport. The sleek craft cut through the blizzard without much effort, the snow flakes not even managing to catch the dark vessel as it speared through the air. After couple of uneventful minutes they spent traveling, they finally reached the outskirts of the enemy's outpost. In lack of better words, the place looked like a village made of steel. Stocky buildings, pretty much every single one looking more or less the same, were arrayed in a perfect square in the base of a small hill. There was no snow around them as the heat from the buildings prevented it from forming up. It was definitely a facility of sorts, but what it exactly did was anyone's guess. Many servitors walked around the buildings, going about their tasks while a number of combat-modified servitos, carrying lasguns, stubbers and all sorts of other weapons were patrolling around the perimeter, given the fact there were no walls or bunkers around the outpost's defenses were looking quite basic. But then again, so was their team. As for the transport tram or anything of the sorts there was no sight of however on many places throughout the compound they could see underground entrances, so the thing they were looking for was probably there. <Crystal lake> @Maleth @Vulpas Finally, Heltherith, Yrara and couple of his Wracks headed southwards to check out the signal coming from that side. As they walked, the blizzard in this part of the world slowly started easing up, giving them a nice view of the surrounding nature. Forest covered in snow was indeed breathtaking, however it became even better once they reached a clearing nearby. In front of them, the trees gave way for a beautiful crystal lake stretching as far as the eye could see. Of course, the lake was frozen however the color of the water below the surface was a mix of purple and pink, giving the ice a nice color. It was easy to see how ancient Eldar could call this place their home and how they built a winter palace here. It was indeed a place to come and rest, do some introspection and relax from the stress of thinking about galaxy's problems. Those ancient ones, if they weren't so brutally obliterated by Slaanesh's birth, would now be turning in their grave if they saw what was happening. Mon'keigh machine, quite a big one actually (the size of two Raiders at least) was slowly throttling down the edge of the lake. It used great tracks to move and it pretty much looked like an oversized box, looking as ugly as possible and completely ruining the sight. What was even worse, couple of clamps were dislodged from it and they drilled into the lake, destroying the ice and dropping into water below. Couple of tech-adepts, supported by servitors, were standing around those holes made in ice, waiting for the drills to finish before they would throw tubes into the water and start sucking it into large canisters located on top of the stocky machine. However as they pulled the water out, both Heltherith and Yrara could see small specks of pink, some sort of crystals maybe, being harvested by the Mechanicus alongside the water, probably the thing they came here for in the first place. Besides the workers, there was a large group of Skitarii armed with lasguns (two dozen of them at least) moving besides the machine as well as a large combat servitor, possibly a Praetorian, and armed with a mix of twin-linked heavy bolters and heavy flamer, probably here to protect the work and make sure nothing happened to the Tech-Priests overseeing the operation.
The Incubus looked over the base from her railing upon the Raider, a small hum coming through her helmet. "...Stealth, or assault?" She asked the others in the group - she knew all too well that Kaesar would want to tear through anything, but she was more asking what the others' opinions would be.
@bossaroo Signalling to his companions to maintain concealment, Thû stares hard at the Mechanicus exploration vehicle. Whatever they were looking for, it must have been important to them, and it may well be important to the Commorrites as well, Eldar arrogance be damned. Ignorance and overconfidence had killed more than one unwary Eldar over the millennia, and Thû didn't intend for that fate to overtake the entire op. Turning to Ave'ras, he says, "We could do with finding out exactly what the metal-worshippers are out here looking for. If it's something dangerous, the sooner we learn about it, the better. I'll go on ahead to disable the vehicle from the inside, then I'll pop back out to help the rest of you take out the escorts. Thoughts?"
"Hit them hard, hit them fast, no survivors. Give them no chance to retaliate." Kaesar purred in response to Venessia as the moment closed in. He unsheathed his beloved klaive relishing the feel of his weapon. He did the usual routine check of his klaive's cutting edge, running an armored finger over it. Then he noticed the servitors moving about. That immediately soured his mood a little. There was no real fear to be struck into these mindless drones, no cries of pain to draw out from his victims. "Pfeh, how boring..." He glanced at Venessia and leaned on the railing next to her. "Let's just get it over with and kill them all."
She just gave a scoff at his response now, shrugging her shoulders. "Hm; may as well. If the others wish to sneak, we'll be distractions." Venessia spoke up, casually reaching over to grab Kaesar's rump; almost as though as a mini form of revenge for his doing that to her. She lifted the weapon from her shoulder and raised her grip on the Punisher halberd closer to the blade, easing its weight in her grasp as she pulled up her Splinter pistol. Might be of some use, even against these; they were still at least somewhat organic!
<Forest Relay> @Draconion "They're probably just looking for some artifacts like for instance ancient toilets or whatever," Ave'ras replied, "Lets just get on with it. The faster we do this, the sooner we can return to our real objective. I don't like this by the way, two of us going here alone and putting our trust in the Beastmaster to follow up with the plan," he added, obviously not counting the nearby enforcers. "The others might need a slight push in the right direction and who is going to do it if the two of us are busy chasing metal men around the forest and playing hide and seek?" OOC make your way towards the chimera as you please, they won't be able to spot you Enemies: - Explorator chimera - 2 Ironstriders Ballistarii (Elite) - 10 Skitarii rangers Thû:11 HP, Ave'ras:11 HP, Enforcers: 6 HP <Outpost> @kanila @Grall_Stonefist @Kalle @Vlayden @Wata @Skarboy "I suggest you two go first and cause a distraction," Hetax chimed in, pointing at the two Incubi and then towards the nearest combat servitors, "We'll use the commotion and swoop from above, sniping them as we pass through. Then we'll drop and start collecting heads. Sounds like a plan?" As for the Adepts and their creations, pretty much nobody saw the incoming Dark Eldar force, giving them freedom of the first move and allowing them to strike as they pleased. OOC You are free to make the first move. Due to the surprise, each of you can emote killing 4-6 combat servitors before they even see you coming. When you do your kill posts, I'll respond with the proper enemy defense. Currently, there are only combat servitors patrolling around 6 buildings in total + a small group of Skitarii standing in front of one building next to a Tech-Adept. Alongside all of them, there's a lot of normal servitors moving around the place. Enemies: - 30 Combat servitors (mix of lasguns, stubbers, chain weapons) - 6 Skitarii (lasguns) - 40 servitors (unequipped for combat) - 1 Tech-Adept (officer of the outpost) Aesra:11HP (Helspider:2HP, Razorwings:2HP), Kaesar:11HP, Kadara:11HP, Venessia:11HP, Hetax:11HP, Kholivaz:11HP
