"THOSE FAITHFUL TO THE EMPEROR WILL HAVE HIS PROTECTION" BeckonCall's 40k Imperial Guard RP!

[Pat]

"A few generations of that kind of thinking and a space marine might be born." Cyros joked to Nyota when she revealed her ulterior motives for digging shards of flak vest out of his back. But she had a point. Maybe it was time to think on starting a legacy for himself. Way he reckoned, Holt's sacrifice today wouldn't have meant anything, not like the soldier wanted it to, without that throne gelt now on the way. Cyros wouldn't pretend to know the full story, but chances were Holt's kin might say the son died with something his famed commissar father likely never had. Comrades that gave enough of a damn about his sudden demise to go out of their way to make their existence a little bit easier. That unheard of altruism and the retaliatory killing of the sniper that shot her in the shoulder might be other reasons Nyota cared enough to speak her mind, or so he hoped, but in the end it would be nice enough for him just to make the beginnings of a real home out here. This campaign could last for a lifetime after all. Nodding silently to her, he laid his hand atop Nyota's and squeezed tightly as he put on his helmet and stood. "We both manage to survive three more days, come find me. Until then, see if you and Xanatov can root around in those destroyed vehicles and artillery for salvage to repair the 1118th's very own toys or if there's any armaments that can be detached as heavy weapons for Mazer's or Kor's units."

He himself made his way to the quartermaster, figuring Arnette could on her own quite capably staff the field hospital for awhile until he returned to lend a hand. "I would like to requisition eight krak grenades and two frag grenades to resupply our stocks depleted during the defense of the spaceport." He states. "Figure the scriptorium to uncover the identity of that officer from earlier will come back with results anytime soon?" He asked the man, personally curious on how much the unimaginably vast Imperium valued the fighting here.

 

[Demonsoul]

The battle was over, how long till the next one was unknown, and so Kor immediately got to action.

"Good shooting everyone, we earned copper stars for our kills, but now its time for our time to shine. Ariela, Moran, take a look at the destroyed chimeras see if you can repurposed their guns for weapon team usage. Donavan, Hervig, check the fallen for gear, they won't be needing it in the afterlife. I will be talking to the other units and getting a full grasp of what they need."

Kor was a large man, although he wasn't unusually so, but no one has ever seen his face. Instead the face they associated with Kor was a white X across a hazard mask. This lack of face made most people uncomfortable, but the flak armor built into his hazard suit showed that he was an ally. He walked over to the soldiers of the first trench in order to ask them:

"I am Kor, leader of the las cannon team belonging to third trench, what resources are all of you survivors of first trench short on?"

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

Mazer kept looking over at his new pauldron as he helped his squad pack some sand bags. It felt pretty comfortable and didn't interfere with his mobility, but it was just so... comically big for him. It looked like something an Ogryn would use. Even worse, a servo-skull now floated around him unless he told it to go do something. He even began to ponder if the skull-servo would follow him to the bathroom and just watch. "Gillia... err, you go fly around and see what parts of the trend need some more work in." Mazer dismissed the servo-skull. He wasn't used to having a flying skull as a companion. Frankly, today was just a weird day. The purity seal that Mazer found on a well maintained lasgun confused him even more. Where in the blazes did someone find a Chaplain to bless their gun? This irregular regiment truly was irregular... Johnstonne was given the dominate scope since he had two cybernetic eyes that could connect to the scope... and Mazer would likely be busy identifying targets for the Heavy Bolter crew. The two suits of patchwork armor were... in need of some re-designation, but would be helpful. Still, in their first battle on this planet, the squad already lost a man and one of its heavy weapons.

The other squads from behind the First trench came to see if there was anything needed. What the squad needed was the same things as usual "More bodies, bigger guns, explosives and a ton of ammunition. Get me those and my boys can hold or take any position, but for now we're at roughly half strength with one of our meltaguns going nuclear along with one of my men. Oh... and other units who won't run away and leave our flank exposed would be nice, but not a necessity." Mazer replied to these other squad leaders as he spat in disgust towards the rough direction of the penal units who fled from the first trench. "Those penal units are supposed to redeem themselves by throwing themselves into the grinder. Instead, my squad ended up covering their retreat. The Commissar has a lot of work to do in the coming days."

 

[Beckoncall]

Meanwhile, On patrol... Kent ithinkcat Lord Mitmar :

Progress was slow going... Elsara, Holleski, and Oz's units kept seeing the same thing over and over at the termination points of the patrols. No bodies -- sometimes blood trails and signs of strange weaponry. Strange paths of cut trees at a couple of sites.

Holleski's Prototype centaur transport took them from one sight of mysterious bloodshed to the next until Elsara noticed almost all the recon strikepoints were equidistant from a central area that was yet to be recon'ed by the 1118th.

The units headed there immediately.

.....

And it was a trap.

Alta and Mord from Elsara's unit were cut down immediately in a hail of bloody harpoons and strange crystal shuriken after rounding out of the troop transport. Oz's squad poured out behind them and ran to cover, the jungle all around them bursting into tatters.

"XENOS!" Holleski cried out, turning the heavy stubber towards some corsair-like grav-ship bristling with weaponry, teeming with hideous depraved dark Eldar. There had been tales of these creatures, but nothing to give a human justice in truth -- they were deplorable, ravening, and altogether depraved creatures -- and they had the upper hand.

That was the last thing Holleski ever said as a Black Prism on the front of the Dark Eldar Grav ship ripped the side of the centaur open and blasted the Centaur and all of Holleski's unit to pieces. The cadets couldn't react fast enough to save their vehicle, nor even fire a shot as the grav ship continued to turn on Elsara's unit, as if the destruction of the entire cadet unit and transport was an afterthought to the barrage that cut Elsara and the rest of her comrades down.

.....
Kent :

"Just another day at the office." Rook smirked as he noted the right side of his helmet and a groove in his paultron had been sliced by some kind of hideous acidic crystal shot.

Quin broke cover from behind a ridge of rocks knowing full well it would get the attention of all the Xenos. Completely intentional.
When the Grav ship turned and started charging a ball of dark energy towards his point of cover, Aleksander leaned from behind a giant tree and POPPED the crystal, leather and chain-wearing eldar scum right off the turret at the head of the ship... his hotshot laser rifle hitting center mass causing the xeno to slump in the turret-mount and the corsair lurched forward as the turret bent downwards with the dead eldar leaning on the controls, dragging their primary weapon in the dirt and rocks and swinging it's broadside to Oz and his unit.

Teodore, who was bringing up the rear in the bush opposite the transport, saw an opportunity and arc'ed two grenades over the rails of the grav-ship and sent everyone on deck into cover.


Elsara and Holleski's units were slaughtered in seconds... now Oz, still with a full squad, had to decide what to do with the dark eldar flatfooted, if only for a moment -- He could order his men to maintain fire on the vehicle and try to win in a firefight, conceive of some wild plan to win this skirmish or somehow escape, or simply pop the entire squad's smoke grenades and fall back into the bush.... the grav vehicle couldn't chase all of them, after all, and was less agile outside of the clearing they were presently in.

Remaining in a pitched fight with the eldar was likely suicide -- but neither could he imagine his entire unit, or perhaps anyone, escaping if they ran. Decisions Decisions... Hope for the best, but plan for the worst the manual says.

Quin Flicked a half-spent Lho stick over the rocks he was behind at the eldar and threw all the grenades he had before laying on as much supressing fire as He and Aleksandr and rook could put out. It was time for Oz to make the call...

 

[Beckoncall]

That call never came.

Oz was dead in the next five seconds from a broadside blast of personal Dark Eldar weaponry.

The remainder of the recon forced died just as all the other forces had before them.

A recon team would come by this area days later and see the same thing Oz and the rest of the recon units had seen... cut trees, blood trails, and not a concrete sign of the xenos who wrought their devastation upon the brave guardsmen.

 

[Beckoncall]

Heyitsjiwon Demonsoul Pat June Verles General Deth Glitch Mirgris :

The trench system outside the starport was restored, and with the metal and materials left behind by the dominate it was reinforced all the fuller. Enginseers raced everywhere trying to bring wrecked vehicles back to life, restoring them gloriously to the Emperor's service or giving solemn prayers for the departing machine spirits before such models were stripped down for parts and materials.

A call came over the centrocomm indicating that any units at less than full strength (5 or 6 soldiers) are to report to the central barracks to get new comrades assigned. Requests for additional or special materials by well-provisioned units only would also be fielded.

Donny Patterson's Mirgris unit stepped off the deck of a landing valkyrie and started to mix with the rest of the guardsmen.

There was time to drink CaffNic and have a smoke while a giant baneblade tank was offloaded from a massive Adeptus Mechanicus carrier-bird.

Defense of the starport remained the default assignment for troops, but the assignment boards offered other missions which units could discuss forming battle groups to address:

1) Loss of large numbers of recon teams in the forests NW of the spaceport dictates reconnaissance in force. Battlegroup will be assigned a Chimera and a newly reconditioned Leman Russ.
Volunteers preferred for this mission, as this is no place for any that would waver from the emperor's faith.

2) Remote Science station near the south pole has gone dark after starting some Primaris-level experiment of classified origin. Unit will insert by valkyrie, assess and secure the research station, and eliminate any possible threat.

3) Strange signal information coming from Deep Desert hex 2375. No record of human activity in this region by imperium or severan dominate. Anomaly must be cleared of cause for concern.

4) Frontal assault on Nearest Centerpoint base of Severan Dominate forces is preparing to muster. This will be a direct assault on a fixed defensive position by dominate forces in and around the un-recon'ed territory. We cannot wait long to press the attack from the 1118th's landing zone. We must begin to take ground in the nearby forested region to reach Hive Agape by month's end, which should cut dominate forces from personnel reserves and critical supplies.

Discuss and inquire regards next assignment. The emperor Protects.

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

Mazer stared at the assignment board. Most of the missions sounded more like jobs for more mobile, light infantry type of folk. Going into a forest in force? No thanks. Mazer was more comfortable around trenches, either in them or taking them. Though, with the loss of the melta gun, they were left with just a singular heavy bolter. It seemed that they would be delegated more towards a support role where suppressing fire was needed instead of directly assaulting positions. Still, Mazer was in favor of the counter attack against the Severan Dominate. They were likely disorganized from the failed assault on the LZ and scrambling to recover and reorganize. Pushing before they have a lot of time to entrench would make this offensive a bit more favorable, shock and awe so to speak. Either way, it wasn't up to him. Mazer's squad would go where needed or ordered. Planning was for the generals, not a grunt on the field. For now, there wasn't much to do other than to meet the replacement, so Mazer made his way to the central barracks to meet the replacement... as a flying skull followed him.

"Gill... ahh, fuck it. Gilliam, do a medical scan of the new recruits that we're off to see. If I'm going to get another person in my squad, they at least better be a tough and healthy SOB. God knows where these recruits came from. Wouldn't be surprised if some of them have stunted growth from living in a Death World and barely getting enough to eat." Mazer said to his new flying assistant.

 

[Pat]

Cyros had his unit gather at the central barracks of the starport to meet their newly assigned squadmate after being denied a grenade resupply by the quartermaster. He doubted he'd ever see another imperial guardsman as resolute as Holt, but Cyros hasn't yet given up hope for a replacement who truly believed in the Emperor, commissar's son or not. After reporting in and shaking the hand of the soldier he'll soon be fighting alongside, he sent his full strength force to start digging foxholes between the trench lines with riot shield hatches that when flung open after an artillery bombardment, are easily detached by their emerging occupants to serve as mobile cover that gets them wherever they're most needed. At least this way, Cyros reasoned, the Severan grays never again would get the opportunity to utilize their earthshaker cannons to inflict heavy casualties. Once their guns go silent, infantry could rapidly move to occupy lightly held defensive positions long before the traitors could commence an assault in earnest.

Leaving for the assignment board, he waits for his peers to arrive before discussing his preference for a mission. "I'm in favor of hitting the Severan Dominate where it hurts. We've been giving them too much time, and with us losing a few reconnaissance units, a whole rescue team, and two vehicles, I'm not sure a trip to the northwest forest would be wise until we've recovered." Cyros wouldn't be missing Oz, taciturn as he was, but he felt as if Private Elsara and Cadet Holleski died too soon, though the pristine Centaur utility vehicle was evidently wasted on the latter's squad of whiteshields. Xanatov probably knelt and prayed to it's disembodied machine spirit at the despairing news of that casualty.

 

[Demonsoul]

Kor's unit didn't lose much more than a little ammo in the last battle and with the time to scavenge they over replenished that, but now it was time for him to decide on the next mission. All except one favored mobility over entrenching, and so the choice to assault the Severan Dominate was an obvious one. The lascannons will be quite helpful taking out the defenses and with the time it takes for a siege Kor's unit was perfect for the job. After signing up for the mission Kor met with his unit and addressed them.

"Our next mission will be assaulting the enemies that attempted to break our defenses. With the chaos of their failure its the perfect time to hit them hard. Be ready to move out."