Fallen Sister of Battle, Victoria It had taken nearly half an hour for Castus to convince her to be the one to retrieve the Sisters waiting for them. She had no desire to stand before the very order that had exiled her, and it was a mixture of both shame and anger that plagued her heart. Sure enough, he had convinced her that "it would be good" for her. Had it of been any other human being, she would had responded by breaking their skull. The rain had became lighter, which was good as she had failed to be provided with anything to shield her from it. She was still drenched by the time she reached the two sisters waiting outside the palace, both of which had not dropped their gaze on her as soon as she had entered their vision. Upon reaching them she nodded sarcastically towards them both. With contempt in her voice, she introduced herself, "Celestian superior. I am one of the agents that our Lord requested you meet with." Both of the Sisters she had addressed now stood, giving her their full attention. "My name is Victoria, you may know my partner as Castus. Follow me and I shall introduce you too him." She showed little sign of respect in her speech and cared little for what the two sisters had to say. After finishing her dictation, she immediately turned and heading out of the palace. Keeping an uncomfortable distance between the two Sisters following her. She lead them past the upper district and into the slums of the Lorias City. Eventually the group found themselves inside of an empty tavern. The Tavern was well-lit and the barkeep was at his counter, however there was only one customer in the establishment. The man was sitting alone and seemed to be studying maps of the city. As they approached him, Victoria let out a loud cough, which immediately caused the man to turn his head to investigate. Vindicare assassin, Castus Bones It was seldom that Castus would be seen in what he considered "casual" attire. He was still in the armor accustomed to the Vindicare order of assassins, but draped over it he bore his Inquisition coat from his days as an acolyte. He rose from his seat at the table and shook his head, attempting to lob his lengthy black hair out of his face. He took a moment to get a clear look of his Lord's celebrated second in command, and he also took note of the Sororitas accompanying her. It was the first time either of the women had met him, and he was keen on setting a suitable first impression. He spat on the floor before them, "Neither of you will ever be half the Sister my partner is. However it would seem by our Lord's will, I am too be your guide for the time to come, so I'm going to have to pretend you both are." While he was feigning his contempt entirely, he wanted to be sure that the Celestian understood how little he cared for her rank. He turned and faced the map of the city he had been studying. With his finger he began to explain their objectives. "We're going to be learning the land tonight. We'll be conducting an investigation on the nightlife of the lower slums and terminus centers throughout the city. We are looking for anything, heretic graffiti, drug deals, suspicious personnel. If we're lucky we may actually learn something.. if not, we'll likely head to the eastern city the next day. As much as we'd like hunt the Tau ground forces, it's best that we clan house first." He stared at the faces of the sisters before him. To him, they seemed overwhelmed by this foreign duty, however he cared very little in regards to their feelings on the assignment. He pushed his arms through his black coat, parted his hair once more, and began to leave the Tavern. With the party formed, they began their patrol.
The Confessor listened to the governor speak for a moment before a series of loud booms shook the room, in the commotion that followed the confessor remained calm, standing and looking around the room, wondering jsut what in the Emperors name was going on, amongst the commotion he heard one word uttered repeatedly "tau! tau!" The Confessor clutched his decorative staff at the implications, Enraged that xenos filth would desecrate this world. Just as he began to think of what he should do the governor called for him, offering his hand in alliance, and this was just something Zeb couldn't refuse at the moment. "I would be honored my lord, the tau are a sly species, and I swear I will do all I can to remove their soulless forms from this world!" With that the Confessor gave the Governor a firm handshake to solidify this agreement. "I think I should return to the Basilica now lord, The sisters standing guard there will need to know of this so that we may prepare the defenses, and unlock our armory and rouse the machine spirits of our ancient war machines, oh how they shall revel in their renewed service, oh but of course first I shall need to make contact with the Lord inquisitor, Did you happen to see where he went in the commotion?"
A shadowed figure, surprisingly quiet and lithe for someone so tall, hopped over a rock and hid behind a boulder, his chamoliene cloak hiding him from all eyes, friendly or not. There were five others with him, slowly making their way closer and closer to their target. So many weaknesses to exploit, so many places to break into. It would be more difficult to decide which route to use than using one. They slipped closer and closer to the city, always careful not to move too quickly or sharply. Even so, the ground between them and Ora was eaten up at an incredible pace. The reached the perimeter and entered in moments. They were in. Now the terror began.
Mallar’s Strike Team 4:35 PM Local Time (OOC this is a Flashback since I got confused about when to post this) Mallar looked around the Freighter, the eagerness of the strike force made him smile. He looked at all of his fellow warriors and smiled, except when his gaze fell upon Steelfang he glared behind his helmet. Even the Thousand Sons and the two Aspiring Sorcerers had a certain ‘look’ that symbolized that they were eager to shed blood. As the freighter shook from the heavy rain and storm as it descended toward the Spaceport Mallar couldn’t help but grin behind his helmet, so far everything was fine, no anti-air fire, and the pilot seemed to be playing his part just fine. Mallar however was concerned if the two Sorcerer’s power would work, their plan to ‘disguise’ or rather create an illusion around the small team to hide in plain sight was a long shot, nevertheless Mallar was determined to carry out Fang’s orders to the letter, all Mallar had to do was wait until the time war right. The pilot spoke over loud speaker “We are about to land, stay hidden on the freighter and we should be fine” Mallar didn’t respond but rather nodded then he spoke “Alright Brothers you heard him, soon we can get off this rust bucket and do what we came here to do, patience Brothers for the Dark Gods watch over us!” Mallar looked to Steelfang “Alright ‘Brother’ when the time comes I hope you do not do anything stupid or step out of line” Mallar said with a growl.
OOC: no problem you can use the eraser in top-left corner if you want to get rid of bold. Just mark the text you want normal then click on the eraser in editor the first symbol. it's tooltip is "Remove formatting" on hovering over the icon
OOC: Just to clear up we are all waiting for Mechaius' next post ^^ Eldar and Tau are on pause right now, Inquisition can do their stuff in meanwhile, same for Chaos.
HDMS Magnificent – Command Bridge High Orbit over Lorias “Why do these Xenos’ refuse to die” Klaudis asked of no one in particular. “They rush headlong into the maw of death, my barrage rends their vessels apart, but they press on regardless, the fools!” “Captain” Tactical interrupted. “Shields are down to less than 30%! Our sustained fire has reduced their shields substantially, but their focused fire is tearing us apart! We must pull back and regroup” “Your thoughts are duly noted, Tactical, and subsequently ignored” Klaudius spat. “I will not sacrifice even an inch of the Emperor’s Holy domain to these Xenos. They have signed their own death warrants by choosing to challenge the might of the Imperial Navy! “As you say, Sir, but I must object . . .” Tactical began but his words were drowned out by the violent series of tremors rocking the ship. “We’ve taken a direct hit to the forward shield projector! The field will need thirty seconds to reconfigure” an Enginerium Adept reported in a dull machine voice. “Additional power re-directed from non-critical systems” “Intensify fire!” Klaudius bellowed, unwilling to let anything distract him from his impending victory. ~ The combined barrage of the Magnificent, the Eternal Vigilance, and the two Star Forts supporting them, took its devastating toll on the enemy fleet. The shields of the Kir’Qath escort, to the starboard beam of the Lar’Shi'Vre flagship, buckled under the sustained barrage. The ship was subsequently taken apart by a well-placed shot from the Eternal Vigilance. The shot punched through the vessel’s hull like a battering ram, cutting the ship in half. The following secondary explosions ended the ship’s short lived torment. Its destruction also consumed a nearby Manta, who had attempted to support the Kir’Qath. The Imperials cheered triumphantly! Alas, their cheers died as swiftly as they came, for the Eternal Vigilance met its own fate. An overcharged Ion Cannon beam from the Tau Lar’Shi'Vre sliced through her shields, and carved deep into her rear engine casing; detonating her plasma reactor. The vessel vanished from existence in a supernova of light and superheated gas. The Adamant Resolve and Argent Wrath scored a swift revenge for the Eternal Vigilance. Their combined firepower tore the remaining Tau Kir’Qath escort to shreds, reducing it to a debris field in seconds. Their barrage also tallied a few kills amongst the Tau fleet's Barracudas, but not enough to thin their numbers significantly. The Adamant Resolve paid dearly for that victory, as a mass reactive projectile from the nearest Lar’Shi’s prow Gravitic Launcher, punched a gaping wound into her port side. The concussive force tore through the Resolve’s gun decks and caused her munitions magazines to cook off in spectacular fashion. She died slowly, in agony, as secondary explosions gradually broke her apart. The silent screams of her crew going unnoticed, as their lifeless corpses were hurtled out into the cold, airless void. The Argent Wrath found she was alone. Facing off against the Lar’Shi, she poured all she had to her Lance Batteries, hammering the Lar’Shi’s prow and silencing the deadly Gravitic Launcher. Maimed, but undaunted, the Lar’Shi replied with a deadly salvo of Ion Cannon fire and a scathing Railgun barrage. The two ships dueling to the death, pummeling each other like boxers in a ring. The Wrath, defiant to the end, at last succumbed. Though defeated, the Wrath struck the final blow and crippled the Lar’Shi’s void shields and silenced its engines; leaving it dead in the void. The Argent Wrath lurched away from her opponent, bleeding thick ribbons of plasma into the void. She exploded with all the violence of a super nova, albeit a short lived one. ~ The bold Undaunted Will and Praetorius Exemplar pressed on with their pursuit of the Tau Il’Porrui cruiser. It did not shy away from their advances, instead turning to face them. They lashed out with their lances and torpedoes in eagerness. The Il’Porrui welcomed their assault, absorbing their lance strikes with its enhanced prow deflector shield and countering their petty torpedoes with its Railguns. Then, to the Cruiser Captains’ horror, the vessel launched its Barracuda fighter craft. Though the Barracudas were outmatched by the speed of Imperial Lightning fighters, the Endeavour-Class Light Cruisers were helpless without fighter support of their own. While their weapons batteries did score hits amongst the Barracuda ranks, the Imperial gunners could not maintain a solid track on the maneuverable craft. The overwhelming assault of the Il’Porrui and her support craft took their toll, and the Imperial Light Cruisers could not hold back the inevitable. Their fates sealed the Undaunted Will and Praetorius Exemplar made the Il’Porrui pay none the less. They levied every last drop of ordnance they could muster against the massive Tau craft until their own shields buckled and their venerable hulls were broken. It’s assailants no more; the Il’Porrui turned its attentions back to the remaining squadrons of Imperial Lightning Fighters and Marauder Bombers. Left to fend for themselves, the brave Imperial pilots sold their lives dearly. The Lightnings managing to destroy several Orca dropships before being wiped out by the malevolent Barracudas. The Marauders fared no better, but managed to cripple the Il’Porrui’s engines, slowing it to a crawl, before the last man was blasted to atoms. ~ His fleet shattered, Captain Klaudius Mannhiem resigned himself, and that of his crew, to their fate. He hastily tapped at his comms panel, opening a channel to the Inquisitorial Blackship Deimos. “Deimos. This is Captain Mannhiem of the Magnificent. We have done all we can to hold back the Tau. The final task lies with you. Warn Sector Command and reach out to the Lords of Macragge. Ask for their aid, for they will not forsake us. Do this, and our lives will have counted for something. Now fall back, and do not endanger yourself to aid us, for we are already dead” He cut the channel and settled himself into the command throne. He had done all that he could do. The rest was in the Emperor’s hands. Despite his brave words, tears rolled down his cheeks, his vision blurring. “Forgive the brave souls under my Command, my Emperor, for this failure is mine, and mine alone. They did all and everything asked of them. They did not shrink from their duties and gave themselves willingly in the defense of your realm. Welcome their souls at your side. Ave Imperator” Klaudius prayed silently. It was the last thoughts he ever had. Despite grievous losses, the Tau Lar’Shi’Vre, and her remaining Lar’Shi cruiser escort, fired their Gravitic Launchers in unison, backed up by a barrage of Ion Cannon and Railgun fire. The first mass reactive projectile collapsed the Magnificent’s shields, her venerable Machine Spirit wailing in agony. The second projectile annihilated her bridge entirely, separating the entire section from the rest of the hull. Magnificent's entire bridge crew, and her ancient Navigator, were atomized in an eye blink. The severing of the MUI link between Captain and ships’ Machine Spirit was so painful, it caused the Ship to go into catastrophic death spasms. In her death throes, unneeded power surged to all systems that were still connected to the plasma reactor. This included the port engines and thrusters. This overcharge of power caused the dying Magnificent to lurch hard to starboard, into a direct collision course with the rightmost Star Fort. The officers and crew of the doomed Star Fort, still gripped by the paralyzing fear of bearing witness to the death of so august a vessel as the Magnificent, could only watch helplessly, as the headless warship collided with them, consuming both in the process. Their joint destruction was so bright, that it could be seen from the surface, akin to a brief solar flare of Lorias’ distant star. The remaining Star Fort resigned itself to a slow death at the hands of the remaining Tau forces, but steeling themselves, the were prepared to sacrifice themselves without hesitation, if it meant even a moments respite for their loved ones on the surface below.
OOC: Epic fight, thanks for posting it like that. I think it went fair, though some destruction went faster than expected but it was a good decision to get it down instead of having 10 more posts of how the fight goes. Whenever we have a next Scenario / RP you should be one of the judges for balance Also for your convenience, what is left of the Tau: 1 Heavy damaged Il'Porrui Cruiser 1 Lar'Shi'Vre Battleship, severe damaged but most intact of all ships as shields and engines are working 100% but many weapons had been disabled, also all Gravitic Launcher ammo being depleted. 1 Lar'Shi Cruiser - engines disabled, shields somewhere working on 20% efficiency, but only on 1 side at the time as not enough energy is being created. Weapons are disabled except Railguns, only 1 Salvo of Gravitic Launchers left. 1 Barracuda left 3 Mantas left 16 Orcas with the ground deployment troops left 6 Orcas with Spare Parts, Ammo and Engineering crews arriving in ~12 hours (were sent along with the fleet but with a big difference to not arrive during the fight) 4 Orcas that had been destroyed during Space Fight carried: - 120 Fire Warriors (40 each ; 40 from Shas'Vre Ja'Ra force, 80 from Doran'Ro Force) - 1 Drone Harbinger + 1 Squad Fire Warriors (10) from Doran'Ro Force PS: details like weapons, engines, etc. Imagine they come from the damage report which is later in my post beneath IC: The Tau did not celebrate their victory, as they knew this was just the start. The Fleet Admiral who was talking as usual as always already started to give the next orders to his men. There was no spare second in his mind that he feared they would not be able to complete their mission. Yet he was in his very inner a bit melancholic that it cost so many lives just to accomplish a small victory in comparison to what is to come. But it was for the Greater Good and therefore acceptable, as long as the rest of their mission would be successful. "Retreat out of enemy range, our mission is completed. We have to stay alive to retrieve our brave Warriors when their missions are complete. Also we can most likely anticipate that reinforcements are coming... Our supply Orca's with several Earth caste engineers and supplies should be here within the next 12 hours." The Il'Porrui, heavily damaged, but luckily out of range from any enemy started to regroup behind the Lar'shi'vre, while the engineers on-board did all they could to get the Engines back on at least 50% efficiency, as they are barely on 15% working after the heavy fire from the Imperial Cruisers and Fighters. The crew members were following the orders of their Admiral, but they were significantly more affected by the death of their allies, friends or whatever kind of relation they had to the Individuals aboard the other ships. The Navigator, Ho'Sui knew the Navigator among the first Escort Ship that was victim to the Imperial Fire, they knew each other from Academy on and were enthusiastic when they were both going to be in the same campaign, to add Lorias into their Tau Empire. But now there was nothing left of that enthusiastic man, Ho'Sui just began to understand why the Admiral was as cold and calculating as he is, because otherwise you will do nothing but burden yourself with the death of your allies. This is when the young Navigator started to truly understand The Greater Good. "Send 1 Manta after Shas'Vre Ja'Ra troops to give him cover from the skies if required and one to Shas'O Doran'Ro. The last Manta is to be send to our immobilized Lar'shi cruiser along with half of our engineers, get their engines back online so we can retreat into safer areas, before Imperial Reinforcements will arrive. Put us in position next to it, so the Black Strike Cruiser does not get any idea of risking an attack. Our single Barracuda which is left, send it to the Lar'Shi in case they need an evacuation. Damage report also!" Before Ho'Sui completed his thoughts, the next orders came around already and he made sure to fulfill his part in this and all following campaigns, no matter what. ~ The Orcas descended through the sky and landed abruptly in a vast open zone, north-east from Lorias City. The Troops formed up under Ja'Ra's command quickly as planned and he walked along their rows to count his troops. He was the first to be out in the wide area, with not exactly green but also not dead earth. His XV-8 Crisis Suit towered over the most of his strike force, only the XV-88 and his XV-8 Bodyguards were on his height or higher, besides the Devilfish Transports of course. "160 Fire Warriors, 1 Stealth Team, 1 Pathfinder Team, 1 XV-88 Team, 1 XV-8 Crisis Team, 2 Devilfish." He said out loud as he was calculating the losses through the Orcas which were shot down before they landed, he figured that only 1 Orca of his strike force has been shot down and therefore the other 3 Orca's must inflict Doran'Ro's forces more dramatically. "Okay you know the plan, Pathfinder team take a Devilfish and get into the mountains, give us information and view on Dretia, also prepare Operation Erosion, we want to be prepared for the worst-cases." They simply nodded and went into the closest Devilfish which directly started to move towards the mountains, it's technology allowing to move quickly over the mountains without much delays or problems. "Stealth Team, move to position delta-04-28 and prepare Operation Stalker, our drone should be already there waiting cloaked, it will give you a signal once you should be close on position. After that move to our contacts in Koroa and unite with the forces there, find out whatever you can, let us know and then we will decide how to proceed with Koroa." The Stealth team in similar fashion as the Pathfinder team from earlier directly went to make their move, the stealth technology and jetpacks allowing them to move quickly without the need of a Devilfish transport. "My XV-8 guard will leave us to sabotage the Train Network between Dretia and Koroa, do not destroy it just damage it so they cannot bring reinforcements in. Aim on the power connections, that should be enough." The XV-8 Suits immediately dispatched via Jetpacks, infront of Ja'Ra now standing his 160 Fire Warriors, 1 XV-88 Team and a devilfish. "The XV-88 Team gets back in an Orca, along with the Squad of Shas'ui Q'wre. You will deploy when called, for now hide behind the Mountains where the Imperium cannot reach, our Manta will keep the sky clear in case they try to shoot you down with a small force." The XV-88 Team slowly started to make their way back into the only Orca that is left as the others after deployment moved back into the Orbit, preparing for whenever a transport should be required again. The Fire Team under Q'Wre moved slowly behind them. "Fire Teams 1 and 2 take the last devilfish and follow the Pathfinder Team, make sure if they hit on resistance to give them fire support, do not bring any unneeded attention to our operation." They understood and the last vehicle under Shas'Vre Ja'Ra's command took off with it's valuable soldiers. Now only him in his XV-8 Crisis Suit and 130 Firewarriors were left. "Let us depart to Dretia, Operation True Sight has begun." And the remaining troops started to march, it would be a relatively long march, but it was a safe march as the Crisis Team would be soon done with their task already and then give the convoy of Fire Warriors Fire Cover against any vehicles with their Rocket Launchers and Railguns, while Infantry would be obliterated by the Fire Warriors. Furthermore, why should the Imperium even care for such a little Strike Force if the true danger, Doran'Ro was on the other side of the planet?
