You take a piece of white cloth from your belt and offer it to the Astartes. "There's some brain left on your lips." You state matter of factly.
Khorban examines the piece of white cloth you offer him. He follows your motions and wipes his mouth with it, cleaning off the brain remnants. He then eats the handkerchief and puts his helmet back on.
HAH! It actually happened, oh this is great. Fits the Francs AND the 9th legion so well.
There is a brief chuckle, before you quickly get everybody focused on the task at hand, trying not to feel either too amused or embarrassed about what you just did.
A brief moment of levity before things get extremely ugly. Necessary, in the grim stress of battle.
"Pip" stands next to you, his eyes fixed on Sergeant Khorban as the Astartes outlines his plan. The air is tense and thick with anticipation as Khorban speaks of using the Void-Sergeant's Destroyer Munitions. 'Pip' grimaces at the thought, but you can almost sense a mischievous grin beneath his mask. "Pumping the contents of Phosphex Shells through an Atmospherics station? That's quite intense, boss." The man is from the same social circles as you, although without your aspirations. You like his attitude, but not in the presence of the Astartes.
It is indeed 'intense' but it will make a difference I hope, depending on how widespread it is.
Also time and place man! Not in front of they with no table manners!
"Yes or No, Void-Sergeant?" You say in your most commanding tone. You can feel the judging eyes of the Astartes peering down at you.
Pip rubbed his chin, his brow furrowed in concentration. After a moment, he nods. "We'll put the shells on timed fuses and drop them down the vents. Simple enough. Like tossing firecrackers"
Ah yes, firecrackers. Simple as even
The soft drone of your vox system breaks the quiet, and Void-Sergeant Amélie Beaufort's voice reverberates in your helmet, bouncing off the icy steel. "Forces are set," she announces, a trace of eagerness lacing her words. "It's time to show these renegades some true Age of Strife weaponry." Born to Franc diplomats who negotiated our nation's surrender during the Unification Wars, Amélie was shunned from climbing the military ladder and left with no other option had to join your regiment. You trust in her dedication to the task at hand. Her ambition is a reflection of yours, a thirst for advancement that teeters on the brink of rashness.
Indeed, time to show these mutants the might and power of the Francish military!
Void Sergeant Jeanne makes her way towards you. Despite her diligent efforts, stubborn traces of dried blood remain lodged in her armour's nooks and crannies. "I am confident we can achieve this," she asserts with assurance. "The consolidated First and Third Section stands ready." Her helmet hides her face, but you believe that she'd be skeptical but trusting. "No wounded, but only because those enemy weapons don't leave anyone alive." Born in the gutter, Jeanne cares for her troops, perhaps too much to have serious hopes of advancing through the ranks. Although you are certainly trusting in her valour.
Yeah, the gene patriarchs were fuggin brutal to face, if we have to face more, then best we be ready for a bloody exchange.
Khorban grumbles, "Be prepared for more of them. We're dealing with type-4 Mutant Techno-Warlords." There was no attempt to comfort Jeanne or offer reassurance; just blunt realism.
Well oof. Also for some reason the mundane classification just tickles and amused me.
"Fall in. We'll burn out this den and be back aboard the Argent Heart by supper.
Ah, that Francish optimism, when was the last time we saw it and chemical weapons together....ohno
Despite the small forces of mutants attempting to block your path, each more twisted and mutated than the last, you press on, pushing through the narrow corridors of the ancient Neptunian orbital habitat. The dimly lit halls are lined with faded metal walls, occasionally interrupted by sparking wires and remnants of old technology peeking through the cracks. Moving in a wide formation to accommodate the cramped space, you make your way steadily forward.
Okay, so this is about what we expected to face but I'm guessing in the station there's going to be a much rougher fight. Very good job bringing the immersion to how much this station has fallen into decay and rust.
You approach the Atmospherics Station. You would not have been able to recognize it from any of the other doors, were it not for Khorban leading you there. You hear massive air-cyclers, the sound of large fans, and chemical processes whose working is beyond your ken.
You are quickly impressed by the sheer scale of the installation. The chamber stretches far and wide, with towering machines whirring and humming in a symphony of regulated chaos. The air is cool and crisp, filtered through techno-arcane systems that must cycle the oxygen for a sizeable part of the continent-sized orbital habitat.
Yeah, if we hadn't rescued the space marines and gotten the info out of the gene patriarchs, then we'd have missed this entirely...I imagine some of our troops might well wish we had by the end of this.
With how big this station is and the fact that the habitat is continent sized, even if it is 'just' Europe sized, that's still an immeasurable amount of mutants and worse that will be buried in its depths...and we are going to burn...them...
all.
Your eyes scan the vast expanse, taking in the intricate network of pipes and tanks that make up the heart of this crucial facility. The soft glow of control panels illuminates the chamber, casting shadows that dance across the metallic walls.
Your eyes dart to the sound of metal screeching and ripping. Doors burst open along the walls, vent covers pop off with a clang, and panels crash to the floor as a horde of mutants flood into the room from every single angle. Behind them come the taskmasters, those more humanoid mutants that wear something that might almost be called a uniform, as they drive their sub-sapient kin out before them.
Oh goodie, the hosts are here. Time to show the party favors we brought with us.
Also, with the addition of the taskmasters, I'm glad we came with as the Space marines would have been IMMENSELY outnumbered if we didn't go with them.
The Gene-Patriarchs lumber into view, these ones carrying what look to be Volkite weapons. The baleful eyes of their helmets glaring menacingly at you.
And then they'd get picked off like this.
"Widen formation! Firing line. Fire at will!" Your command echoes through the battlefield, repeated with blasts of your helmet's integrated whistle. On your knees behind the cover, you examine the battlefield and give commands, even as with every calculated pop-up, you unleash a volkite potshot upon the grotesque mutants. The din of battle surrounds you, the screams of both allies and enemies blending together into a chaotic symphony. But you remain focused, determined to lead your soldiers to victory.
This is the moment where you will shine.
We have committed to victory or death, now we must see which it shall be...
The crackle of the vox line breaks through your focus, Amélie's voice determined yet cool. "Flanking right to form a killzone." she reports, having drawn her sword and leading her men to the right, taking cover behind barrels and heavy machinery as they advance.
Good good, we want to ensure that the enemy is under maximum fire and pressed as hard as possible.
You work in tandem with the move. "Philip, covering fire!" 'Pip' takes control of his Rapier's weapons system, his assertive command going out over the Vox. "Rapier, engage targets! Fire at will!" His order reverberates through the radio frequency as a symphony of destruction begins to play out in the formation ahead.
Unleash the skadoosh! There is going to be no shortage of targets today. Also plenty of room for them to fire cleanly without risk of friendly fire.
You grit your teeth, feeling the weight of command pressing down upon you. The battle rages on, each shot fired, each order given bringing you closer to victory or defeat. Adrenaline courses through your veins as you lead your unit with precision and determination. The mutants may be numerous, but they are no match for the disciplined firepower of your forces.
Indeed! And that isn't even including the hammer that is the 9th legion, to strike at where they are most strong and shatter it into gorey snackables, I mean, pieces.
As the mutants continue their relentless charge, You make your next order. "Jeane, take Third Section left behind those vats. Lay down fire upon the taskmasters. They're firing freely right now!" Without hesitation, her troops move swiftly.
Yup, you never want to give the enemy the ability to fire on you freely, that's just asking to be bled slowly
The storm of lasbolts, frag shells, and bolters slams into and through the mutants, the sheer mass of firepower obliterating much of the mutant horde and throwing up such a spray of blood and gorey mist, that when the Volkites are fired in retaliation, your troops have already spread out and repositioned and when three soldiers are struck, they take none of their comrades with them.
Damn, so we're doing heavy damage to the enemy through our massed firepower as I expected, but even with that, volkites are such deadly weapons that they can still grind us down.
And yet, we end up providing our own fog of war...fitting
Within the cramped chamber, it is difficult to find adequate cover and your fellow soldiers make use of whatever objects or structures they can find to shield themselves from enemy fire.
That is unfortunate but rarely is the battlefield to one's liking.
"Elan!" Amélie shouts the ancient war cry over the Vox, as the Taskmasters push forward, each of these mutants bulked out and lupine, firing heavy combat shotguns with bayonets at the end. Their speed caught you by surprise, and quickly, The right flank devolves into a brutal close range firefight that sees the Second Section driven back even as bolt shells rip into the taskmasters.
Yikes, they're definitely a cut above the chaff mutants, kinda glad we ended up not needing 2nd section to fight and take casualties, as they'd probably be in a rougher point for keeping the taskmasters busy...especially with supersized trench sweepers and bayonets.
Your troops, now pressed into the very confines of the Atmospherics Station, can barely move without triggering a hail of metal and fire from the Gene-Patriarchs' Volkite weapons and the shotguns of their Taskmaster subordinates. The station's control panels, once soft and comforting in their glow, now cast an ominous and flickering shadow-dance across the walls. Second Section pulls back to a corner of the room, making a stand behind reinforced atmospheric pipes.
Yup, if this were just us, we'd probably get worn down through attrition...but we are not alone!
I really like the way you use the ambiance to change the mood to align with the more pressed and stressed flow of the battle.
The Astartes, however, remain firm and resolute, their bolters crackling and firing at will as they slowly work their way towards the remaining Patriarchs. The fire of the Taskmasters does not even scratch their armour, and their bolters blast apart the fodder protecting the Gene-Patriarchs.
"Focus on the leaders!" your voice echoes.
In response, your section sends out a withering volley of concentrated lasbolts as the Rapier unleashes a hail of frag shells towards the Patriarchs, their protective barriers lighting up from the lasbolts, and then bursting in a symphony of resounding blasts upon the impact of the grenade shrapnel.
The Space Marines stand with us, they are I think tanking enough enemy fire that we are able to survive as long as we have.
Yup, using the lasbolts to force the shields to their limits and then the frag grenades to break them
Three Volkite beams shoot out, each sweeping through the First and Third consolidated, turning scores of men to ash. You immediately pull Jean your vox-trooper and Jeanne down to where Primevere is already in cover, as three sustained Volkite beams wash over the First and third consolidated.
The heated Volkite beams are such a bright orange they turn white in their cores. They sweep through the ranks of soldiers, their bodies burning into dust, leaving behind only blackened fragments of armor.
The Astartes rush forward, opening fire on fully automatic, bolt rounds ripping through and blowing apart the Gene-Patriarchs.
Redundant part underlined, unless they got to fire twice.
Our troops, either way, are getting ravaged by the volkite weapons...but the Gene-Patriarchs are also getting savaged by the space marines...and thus the battle is won.
The remnants of your forces are holed up inside the control station for Atmospherics, the scarce dozen of soldiers of the Three sections that survived the fighting.
A tense silence reigns as everyone clutches their weapons, the Astartes guarding the doors while the surviving Auxilia help Philip and his Rapier crew prepare the ordnance. Focus upon their task superceding any anger towards you.
You ignore the occasional caustic glare you receive. War is costly.
Ouch, yeah our force got devastated, and I cannot blame our troops for being angry...yet we shall see if this was worth it.
War is indeed costly, but is what we did and what we accomplished worth the cost?
As Sergeant Khorban adjusts the controls on the large Cogitator station. You can see a complex network of tubes and abstract squares representing the atmospheric cyclers and the rest of the ventilation system, and you realize he is redirecting them for optimal dispersion.
You nod in approval at the ingenuity. "You're changing the direction of these air currents." You say, more as a statement than a question.
"For maximum effect." Khorban responds through his helmet.
He points to a large valve on the wall, immediately one of his Astartes starts opening it. The valve begins to suck in air. "This station was designed to disperse aerosolized chemicals for control, now it will be used to unleash destruction across the station. Observe"
Oooh, nice, want to make sure there is nowhere for them to escape or safe spots for them to congregate from the flames.
Heh, they designed this for keeping their mutants subservient, and now we are using their own system against them. Feels very poetic.
You flinch and squeak out an undignified noise as the legionnaire slams the shell's base on the floor to activate the impact fuse, then pushes it into the sucking vents. There is a grating mechanical noise from the marine that you need a few moments to recognize for laughter. The marine then shoves it into the vents,
Khorban looks up at your mortar crew and their servitor assistants. "Impact fuses first. I am closing the grills on the vents our payloads are heading, so the impacts will set off the shells"
The Rapier's crew are hesitant at first but then with greater purpose, get to work, following the Marines in preparing their phosphex shells to be inserted. They work like an artillery crew, with the valve as their breach.
Ah, two for flinching. And another redundant part underlined
Makes sense, we do not want to risk the phosphex not being set off.
The Habitat, which would one day be known as Neptune Orbital 12, trembled as ventilation vents exploded open, each of them unleashing a torrent of The Fire of Old Night. In a matter of minutes, the insatiable Phosphex fires would rage through the station, each of the motion-attracted masses of white flame raging through the hallways, dozens of separate infernos each raging out from where they had been unleashed, consuming whatever they touched.
Oh, we get to see the effects, here's hoping we did a lot of damage, our men paid a heavy price after all.
Really solid and vivid imager here too, really helps in imagining the conflagration that has been set loose on the enemy.
For the Imperial Strategos leading the assault, the first indication something had changed was the abrupt halt of enemy reinforcements from within the habitat's core. It was clear that -something- had happened.
Yes! We did make a difference! Even just no more reinforcements on the front line will save so many lives.
I also think it's pretty funny that the troops on the front lines were confused on the level of "Where is the earth shattering Kaboom?" only they were expecting much more mutants.
It was a status report from a Sub-Tercio commander, backed by the word of an Astartes Squad Leader, that explained what had happened. The three-month long campaign would be reduced to a week-long mopup, and the survivors of the expedition were each commended for their actions. From the lowest surviving trooper to their Ensign, all received promotions and were put in a new sub Tercio for the next assault upon [REDACTED]
-The Purgation of Neptune: Submitted to the Imperial Court. 793M30
Oh wow...so it went from 12 weeks to 1 and change? With all the casualties that would have been afflicted being averted?
This was definitely worth it, as rough as it was.
We just saved sooo many lives on our side, at least outside of our own sections. Not only that, but this allows for a massive upping of the pace of the overall campaign and the use of the outer shell of the habitat for Imperial needs all the sooner. Maybe its docks can be used more quickly for logistics/shipbuilding.
And everyone of our men that survived got a promotion.
Apothecary running at full capacity.
Induction vat throughput.l: 89% failure rate
Intake pens capacity: 121% safe capacity. Cull in progress.
Additional prison barges requested.
Expected casualty rate of the first year of Neptunian Compliance.
1253 Marines.
Expected recruitment for the first year of Neptunian Compliance.
11 Dreadnoughts.
1373 Marines.
189278 failed implantations.
-Chapter intake report: Neptunian Orbital Twelve.
Oh we're getting to see the 9th legion's growth rates? This is...well it illustrates just how hard the 9th legion leans into being a bio weapon as mayto said.
They got a net growth of 120 space marines when accounting for losses...and the only reason it is so low is the immense rate of failure for their implantation
The Marines were right about the hidden hangar and led you and the surviving members of the Sub-Tercio there. It was a simple matter of using the access codes the sergeant had provided you with. (His fingers were too big for the keypad.) and taking cover inside. Primevére voxed in your situation, much to the loud congratulations and excitement from the commanders on the other end. Dropships were quickly dispatched to fortify your position and prepare to shuttle you back to the Argent Heart.
I have to admit, I giggled at the space marine fingers being too big for the buttons.
But it's good to see that we were able to use the hidden hanger to rest and call in a rescue/evac for our forces.
A second shuttle in the markings of the First Legion arrived alongside the one for you, servitors emerging alongside a group of menials and armed voidmen, they would proceed to gather up the guns used by the Gene-Patriarchs, sealing them in stasis caskets for transfer to their masters, the weapons destined for soldiers far above you.
Welp, the first legion is getting some new toys, hope they are used and used well. Those weapons took a lot of our men with them..
As the ramp of the single Arvus Lighter that now carries what remains of your Sub-Tercio heads through the void, you can't help but consider the looks from your soldiers. Many of them are angry, although most just look Tired. Jeanne and Amélie sit next to each other, sipping their wine rations as they grumble about the losses they took. 'Pip' Meanwhile fusses over his Rapier, loudly lamenting the damage the chassis has taken.
Ah yup, our troops aren't happy, and hopefully we won't have to take such risks in the future...but this is the Great Crusade, it's only going to get harder from here. Our sacrifice here made a huge difference, and that
matters.
You ignore them for now. You won, and if even half of what you have overheard is true, delivered a brutal blow to the enemy. You are certain that this will be the beginning of your rise up the ranks of the Solar Auxilia. A victory of this scale is something that will mark you out for greatness.
The losses were regrettable but necessary.
A brutal blow indeed, when you can massively cut the speed of a campaign from months to a week and change? That is the sort of shift that changes wars due to the ripple effects. How many troops lived that otherwise might have died? And how many future enemies will those troops kill in turn that would have had to be killed by fresh troops and so on.
In the end, there was little room for celebration, and the campaign against Neptune's many moons was set to continue. Your Legate Marshal congratulated each of you, shook your hands, before apologising about being needed in the war room for additional planning. Commendations would wait until the end of the campaign.
Hey, personal hand shaking, least he bothers to show a little in person appreciation.
I can empathize with the need to rush off to planning, with this change in the situation, I can see sooo much being turned on its head.
From the remnants of other formations, and reserves spread throughout the fleet, the strategic savants of the Saturnyne Ordos were already aiding the Verdyn Chemical Engineers in reconstituting themselves for a massed combined deployment. Your excellent service and loyalty had marked you out, and you were put in command of an enlarged Sub-Tercio as part of this massive deployment.
Nice, so as rough as this fight was, taking the risk has ensured we will not only be reinforced to our old numbers but also be given more troops. This is veddy important as the more troops we get, the better our odds of surviving and doing well.
[]Triton, the den:
The moon of Triton is a blasted expanse of cryovolcanoes and a seemingly endless expanse of ice. Deep within its heart, in the infamous slaughter-tunnels, lie vast breeding dens where the Gene-Patriarchs are preparing an army to fight back against the Revenant Legion. Additionally, the Gene-Patriarchs have begun to implant their armies with integrated cybernetic weapons to render them more effective in ranged combat.
Oh goodie...so this is their main hive world as it were for these particular mutants...
So not only will we be dealing with what we faced already, chaff mutant swarms, wolfy taskmasters with shotguns, and gene patriarchs with volkite weapons...but they're integrating the mutants with cybernetic weapons for better ranged combat so we will have added firepower being thrown at us.
The world is a two-fronted engagement. Mutants in pressure suits and with firearms upon the blasted surface, and great swarms of them in the great tunnels and underground networks that sprawl beneath the surface of the world, filled with gene labs and other esoteric techno-arcane machinery used by the Gene-Patriarchs.
So we either fight a EVA battle on the surface...or we fight them in their home environment of nasty skaven level tunnels and caverns.
The amount of Mutants Swarms are expected to be double or even triple what you experienced before, and there will be more formations of Gene-Patriarchs. However, the Astartes will deploy in force and you will be expected to merely provide mopup operations.
Gene-Matriarch presence suspected.
On the other hand apparently this is where the 9th legion is going to be deployed en masse so even if we have to face more of the same gene patriarchs, it won't be that much more and we'll have more troops to face them with.
Your mission: Hold the Triton Nexus, a spaceport that serves as the entrance to a grand underground network of tunnels while the Astartes continue their underground offensive, all the while fighting an offensive campaign on the surface against enemy reinforcements.
Expected enemies: Regular deployments of 5+ Mutant Swarms.
So in this case it'd be mostly swarms with more of the same and some of those swarms are going to have cybernetic weapons...doable but not fun and might traumatize our surviving veterans.
[]Nereid, the fallen paradise:
The moon of Nereid is a monument to hubris. Surrounded by an atmospheric shell, an artificial core, and surrounded by satellites that illuminated the world until the surface was akin to a tropical beach paradise, keeping an ocean of liquid water at an optimal temperature. Nereid was a resort, a moon-sized beach resort where one could sunbathe and swim during the Dark Age of Technology.
It was a fanceh place...but of course we can't have anything nice sooooo...
Although the exotic outside of the world has remained the same, something stews within its depths. Generations of humans live and die as extensions of the cybernetic constructs that Nereid's central controlling computer uses to stay in operation, a remnant of the Men of Iron that is to be expunged.
Huh, evil super AI, didn't see that coming tbh, i was expecting more biostuff to play into the eldritch nature of deep sea creatures.
Still equipped with frightening levels of technology, the only reason the Nereid AI has not expanded is the utter absence of materials to build a spacecraft.
Your mission: Hold the spaceport while the Revenant Legion purge the moon of cybernetic constructs.
Expected enemies: Low numbers of high quality units.
If we thought the Gene Patriarchs were bad, this is going to be waaaay worse. Ngl, least fav option, we will get blended and turned into chutney.
[]Proteus, the living moon:
Once just another world, Proteus has grown to twice its original size, becoming a swollen orb of cancerous void-resistant biomass, with only half the original surface of Proteus sticking out of this mass like the pus tip of a great boil. Proteus is occupied by a xenos invasion force that has tormented the Solar System for nearly a millennium.
Wow, the imagery is clear and easy to imagine.
Thanks, i hate it.
This is absolutely revolting, a cancerplanet and a xenos induced one at that.
The mass of Proteus is its own massive organism, which absorbs energy from the electromagnetic spectrum to grow and swell, forming a hard outer layer inside of which a mass of energy-rich liquid coagulates. Upon reaching critical mass, it will burst and send out a spread of seeds.
Oh...joy...yeah this is so bad on so many levels. We do not need this spreading again.
Due to the danger of destroying the mass causing a dispersion event, a slower operation has been organized. The world is to be burned, inch by inch, to ensure that the mass is unable to spread.
So we gotta lance this boil lest the infection spread, got it.
The official designation of the xenos species is the Cymoeba, and whether they are an extension of Proteus, a thrall-species, or are in fact the controllers of this beast, is still unknown. They are a plasmic race, each akin to a giant cell, housed in protective cybernetic layers that come in humanoid light and arachnoid heavy variants. Where the Cymoeba ends and the cybernetics begin is still unknown, as is the capacity for independent thought of each Cymoeba.
Oh, goodie, so they're evil unholy spez amoebas that come in terminator battle sits. I hate them even more...ick.
Pre-Old Night records mention a history of conflict with this species, including a surrender treaty forced upon their state. For their perfidious use of humanity's weakness during Old Night, the Emperor of Mankind has signed a writ of extermination against the Cymoeba.
Your mission: Hold the Imperial Fortress established upon Proteus so the Revenant Legion can use it as a base from which to launch their purgation operations.
Expected enemies: Xenos military of equivalent makeup to the Solar Auxilia
So they thought they could kick humanity when it was down after we let them live? Okay, they've made this personal.
PURGE THEM ALL!
Sub-Tercio Delta:
First Lasrifle Section has been upgraded to a Veteran Lasrifle Section:
Second Lasrifle Section has been replenished
Third Lasrifle Section has been replenished
First Rapier Destroyer Support Section is still fully operational.
Ay, our personal section has gotten even tougher, nice.
At least our 2nd and 3rd sections were recovered and rapier is perfectly fine.
Sub-Tercio Delta is to be expanded. It will be supplemented with the following sections.
(You have 5 reinforcement points)
(Only add the Section's name to your plans. Votes with the full length description will not be counted to avoid cluttering.)
Okay, so gonna come up with plans in a separate piece as otherwise they're likely to get buried, but going to go over the various sections and how useful/important I think they'll be.
-Solar Auxilia Lasrifle Section:
A force of void-armoured well-trained well-drilled troops equipped with the finest lasrifles that the early Imperium can source.
Shooting 4+
Armour save: 5+
Combat effectiveness: 2d6 + 0
Wounds: 1
Trait:
Light weaponry: Can not damage Heavy armour.
Defender: Automatically moves into Engagment Melee to match enemy melee units
Costs: 1
Max: 2
The meat and potatoes of our army, can't hurt to get more, and can get up to five of them if we really want to be a wall of guns.
-Solar Auxilia Flamer Section:
The purifying effects of fire have long proven themselves against the Psyker and the Alien, and the Saturnyne Ordos have developed flamethrowers able to either use promethium or hydrazine based gels depending on if an engagement is expected to take place in vacuum.
Shooting 5+
Shots: 3
Armour save: 5+
Combat effectiveness: 2d6 - 2
Wounds: 1
Trait:
Fire-Purgation: When General Melee ensues, the Flamer Section makes a full shooting attack.
Costs: 2
Max 1
And here is the heavy flamers, we're likely going to need at least one of them regardless of what we go for, especially as my preferences are Triton or Proteus, both of which are likely to have large numbers of troops that will be bogging us down.
-Solar Auxilia Rapier Support Section:
Modified cargo-palettes equipped with heavy weapons are the inspiration of these weapons systems, their design so durable and reliable that the Astartes have begun to use them.
Shooting 3+
Armour save: None
Combat effectiveness: 2d6 - 3
Wounds: 1
Trait:
Fire Support: When Attacking: If the enemy has no Fire Support in the engagement, the attacker shoots fist.
Costs: 2
Max: 1
We already got one and while they are indeed useful, we have more gaps in our line and need more tools before we can afford to double down on the artillery. We are still too squishy right now.
-Veletaris Volkite Support Section: Elite Solar Auxilia in heavy Void Armour, equipped with the best weapons baseline humanity can expect to wield.
Shooting 3+
Armour save: 4+
Combat effectiveness: 2d6 + 0
Wounds: 1
Trait:
Light Weaponry: Can not damage Heavy armour.
Deflagrate: If an enemy unit is killed by this unit, immediately apply another wound to an enemy unit during shooting resolution, one more if a unit of Chaff is killed.
Costs: 2
Max: 1
These guys are our version of the gene patriarchs and will be very useful against both massed enemies AND specialized units. I mean, look how effective our friggin pistol was against the various tough and big units we had to face. on the other hand, the downside is they cannot handle heavy armor so they're best for clearing the chaff which is also what the flamers are good for.
-Veletaris Storm-Axe Support Section: Elite Solar Auxilia in heavy Void Armour, equipped with storm axes to cut through obstacles both object and person.
Armour save: 4+
Combat effectiveness: 2d6 + 1
Wounds: 2
Trait:
Guardian: If General Melee ensues, roll for Support Sections as normal. When a Support Section is to take a wound, instead roll again for the Storm-axe Section and have it take the place of the support section. It can both take wounds for the Support Section, or attack for them. This effect can happen once per Guardian.
Melee combatant: Will immediately enter engagement Melee if possible.
Power Weaponry: Can damage Heavy armour in Melee
Costs: 2
Max: 1
These are the guys we're going to want to send against the heavys like the cymoebeans in their spider suits or the gene patriarchs. They are also the first unit we've seen that can take more than one hit before going squish.
-Veletaris Rotor-Cannon Support Section: Elite Solar Auxilia in heavy Void Armour, equipped with rotary autocannons for laying down suppressing fire upon the enemy.
Shooting 3+
Shots: 2
Armour save: 4+
Combat effectiveness: 2d6 -3
Wounds: 1
Light Weaponry: Can not damage Heavy armour.
Corpsegrinder: Double damage when hitting chaff.
Costs: 2
Max: 1
These are the epitome of the chaff clearing, so if we're going to triton, I can see these being something to bring along. They seem very much a 'spray and pray' unit so we shouldn't rely on them for anything but chaff clearing and we already have the artillery for that imo.
Solar Auxilia Charonite Ogryn Section:
Imported to the Solar System from gene-patterns imported from a trader from Pavonis, the Saturnyne Ordos have grown specially gene-bulked abhumans implanted with cybernetics that keep them quiescent, but also ready to be sent into a murderous kill-frenzy at the flip of a switch.
Armour save: 4+
Combat effectiveness 2d6 + 3
Wounds: 3
Trait:
Meat Shield: Before General Melee can start, this unit must be destroyed. All excess melee wounds are concentrated upon this unit.
It will not die: After being removed, and after the conclusion of the current melee round, roll a d6, on a 4 or up, the Charonite revives with one wound.
Melee combatant: Will immediately enter engagement Melee if possible.
Costs: 3
Max: 1
I want the best bois and gorls, I know, they're expensive, but they're such gud bois.
They are also
incredibly tough and will tank everything the enemy throws at us before we are forced into melee, which as we saw with the atmo station, is something we really need. In both triton and proteus, we have enemies that are going to need something that can stand up to them and let us use our superior firepower to finish them off.
Costly, extremely so, but very worth it. Speeding up a campaign by months is no small feat. We might have most the majority of our troops but we saved far more people by completing the objective.
That's my belief as well, and we have been reinforced and given clearance to get more troops as well which we might have gotten less of without the risk we took.
