Aurum Wraith 4th Copmany Space Marines clear the Brondich System of pirates.
Aurum Wraith 6th Copmapany Space Marines train recruits on Urlae.
The Muran Gargoyles Regiment trains for a parade.
The Reldoon Rangers quells an uprising (genestealer connection) on Bisner's Rock.
The Lamarii War Cohort undergoes repairs and refits at Kaelakus.
The Puruvu Orks fight among each other with a boss named Roktwista emerging as the victor.
The Genestealer Cults keep their heads down and try to be discreet.
The Ukkan Warpack defends against the native puruvian ork presence.
The Forces of Chaos arrive.
Until Turn 4
The Opal Blade does dark eldar supervillain stuff on Menelyth.
The Okaso Expiditionary forces are newly formed and will undergo a lenghty training process.
The Parulax Tertius Parol Fleet will leave the area of our operations to support another imperial fleet.
The Steel Wardens Guild loots Kaonda.
Until Turn 5
Patrol Fleet Parulax Primaris undergoes repairs at Kaelakus and the less damaged ships patrol the Omniria system.
Patrol Fleet Parulax Secundus patrols the Unadich system unless recalled.
The Moravian Necrons awaken unless threatened earlier.
Until Turn 6
The Cantoa Armoured Regiment will prune the ork population of Apipiri.
The Apipiri Orks fight for their survial against imperial forces, they may become severly diminished.
The Meroyce War Cohort scavenges scrap metal and provides assistance to the Cantoa Armoured Regiment in the Ondimondi system.
The Gatovi Orks will be a non-factor, due to us pressganging them all.
The Yerrasa Necrons awaken unless threatened earlier.
Until Turn 7
Until Turn 8
Hive Fleet Cretecya arrives unless something gains the attention of the Hivemind.
I would like to add my voice to the people that want to raid Kaelakus.
For me the question is, do we go all in to maximize local force superiority and cause more damage to the imperials that way (while minimizing our own casualties) or do we keep one force back to something else, like screwing the Cantoan Armoured over, again.
Personally I would favour the first option. Go in with the Yau-Fenni war host, Hullsmakkas and Corsairs to loot as much material our Orks and the Corsair's contacts as possible and to do as much damage in the process as possible.
[X] Plan Kaelakus Raid and Apipiri Skirmishes
-[X] Calalya
--[X] Attach yourself to Archenne's Corsairs for the Raid on the Kaelakus Shipyards and imperial fleets stationed their. Act as a go between for Archenne and Darkrippa to divide the ships between them and avoid squabbling over the best targets.
-[X] Veldris
--[X] Use the Warp gates to bypass the machine cult and reach Apipiri to engage the Cantoa Armored.
-[X] Archenne
--[X] Raid the Kaelakus Shipyards alongside Darkrippa. Reach out to various Contacts to cause mayhem in system to delay reinforcements.
-[X] Darkrippa
--[X] Raid the Kaelakus Shipyards alongside Archenne and Calalya.
-[X] Messages
--[X] To Reldoon Rangers: Genestealers are behind the rebellion! Add any actionable info we have if possible.
Not sure there are any messages to send this turn? Willing to edit in message if reasonable suggestion is made.
I would also like to finally tell someone about the Genestealers, since we didn't last turn iirc. We keep screwing over the Imperials, but let's be real, nids and all their kin are worse, and we shouldn't go any easier on them, or the balance will tilt too much.
Also, Veldris can go bonk Roktwista to score brownie points with the Kroot lololol
Edit: ah wait, it's only the second turn, wouldn't be as dramatic yet.
Nah. Driving a wedge between the local Mechanus cult and the local imperials is more important. When the imperials turn on them, the Mechanus cult is pragmatic enough to ally with Calalya for the chance to raid Necro tombs.
I would also like to finally tell someone about the Genestealers, since we didn't last turn iirc. We keep screwing over the Imperials, but let's be real, nids and all their kin are worse, and we shouldn't go any easier on them, or the balance will tilt too much.
I'm treating the Imperium and AdMech as one faction for the purposes of opposing everyone else - that's a simplified view, sure, but there's a great gap between "political tension" and "genocidal war".
If you want their help with the Archon's task, I feel like Darkrippa's forces are no less good a distraction, especially if we get him to recruit again turn 3 so he'll have even more meat to throw into a fight turn 4. Might be a matter of taste, but I'd rather not expose ourselves so much to the cogheads.
I'm treating the Imperium and AdMech as one faction for the purposes of opposing everyone else - that's a simplified view, sure, but there's a great gap between "political tension" and "genocidal war".
It's also clearly inaccurate since the machine cult clearly acts as an independent which collaborates with the Imperial military assets only when it benefits from doing so.
If you want their help with the Archon's task, I feel like Darkrippa's forces are no less good a distraction, especially if we get him to recruit again turn 3 so he'll have even more meat to throw into a fight turn 4. Might be a matter of taste, but I'd rather not expose ourselves so much to the cogheads.
Right, but they'll be back turn 4, which is around or before any of the major threats arrive, and they may have another fleet with them if the imperials lose a fleet.
Anyway. Veeery rough draft, subject to change after feedback.
Edit: I rethought Veldris's assignment. Since we might send Darkrippa to recruit on Puruvu next turn, contacting them now is not the best move. In that light, I decided to adopt that part from @Randino Treviani 's plan instead.
[X] Plan Krumping, Infiltration, and Dire Warnings v1
-[X] Calalya, Archenne
--[X] Infiltrate the Kaelakus shipyards to quietly steal some ships and other valuables in the general mayhem
-[X] Darkrippa
--[X] KRUMP KAELAKUS REAL GUD AN' TAKE THEIR STUFF
-[X] Veldris
--[X] Use the Warp gates to bypass the machine cult and reach Apipiri to engage the Cantoa Armored.
-[X] Messages
--[X] To Reldoon Rangers: Genestealers are behind the rebellion! Add any actionable info we have if possible.
I asked Faith how Archenne would react to such a proposition, and got "Positively!" as an answer. If the circumstances have changed enough for that to not be viable, Faith will probably say that and I'll edit the plan if it happens.
In a situation like that, "infiltration" might be a generous way of phrasing it, but you can definitely wait for the Orks to kick up a ruckus and then sneak in with the holofields up whilst everyone's looking the wrong way and also being clobbered in the head by Orks.
It's not going to magically prevent anyone from knowing you were ever even there, but it's going to stop the enemy from responding appropriately in the moment, which is enough that Archenne reckons his boys could easily steal and/or sabotage aplenty.
And if it's only Archenne's forces going, they're likely to assume it's just them the pirates teaming up for a big heist, which is a problem for the Imperium, but not a "there's an Eldar Farseer pulling strings" level problem.
Hm. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of contacting the xenarite cogheads for turn 4. Not necessarily for an alliance, mind, there's a good reason we don't negotiate with the Mon'keigh and Archenne specifically has been a thorn in the side for them, but...
Even after hitting the 'crons with an entire Waaagh and raiding their vaults or whatever, chances are, they'll survive (for a certain definitions of surviving) and be pissed. Hell, they might wake up the other world prematurely, too. If only there were some folks around these places who'd want to finish the job thoroughly so they can pick through the rubble... and have an easy justification of "we're removing a threat to the Imperium", too... and we don't even need to lie about why we want the 'crons dead, we just do because they're dangerous, duh.
Adhoc vote count started by Faith on Mar 28, 2023 at 9:52 PM, finished with 21 posts and 4 votes.
[X] Plan Kaelakus Raid and Apipiri Skirmishes
-[X] Calalya
--[X] Attach yourself to Archenne's Corsairs for the Raid on the Kaelakus Shipyards and imperial fleets stationed their. Act as a go between for Archenne and Darkrippa to divide the ships between them and avoid squabbling over the best targets.
-[X] Veldris
--[X] Use the Warp gates to bypass the machine cult and reach Apipiri to engage the Cantoa Armored.
-[X] Archenne
--[X] Raid the Kaelakus Shipyards alongside Darkrippa. Reach out to various Contacts to cause mayhem in system to delay reinforcements.
-[X] Darkrippa
--[X] Raid the Kaelakus Shipyards alongside Archenne and Calalya.
-[X] Messages
--[X] To Reldoon Rangers: Genestealers are behind the rebellion! Add any actionable info we have if possible.
[X] Plan Krumping, Infiltration, and Dire Warnings v1
-[X] Calalya, Archenne
--[X] Infiltrate the Kaelakus shipyards to quietly steal some ships and other valuables in the general mayhem
-[X] Darkrippa
--[X] KRUMP KAELAKUS REAL GUD AN' TAKE THEIR STUFF
-[X] Veldris
--[X] Use the Warp gates to bypass the machine cult and reach Apipiri to engage the Cantoa Armored.
-[X] Messages
--[X] To Reldoon Rangers: Genestealers are behind the rebellion! Add any actionable info we have if possible.
War Cohort Meroyce on turn one went to Unadich system along with their allies Parulax Primaris Fleet to attack the Corsair Prince. Prince escaped to another system, and Parulax Primaris followed, but Meroyce remained in Unadich. Darkrippa on turn one went to recruit Gatovi orks and stayed there. Gatovi is in Unadich system.
Darkrippa and Meroyce are, at the moment, in the same system as one another. We can perhaps deal a serious blow to Meroyce now and get Darkrippa some Mechanicus scrap.
@Faith where is Menelyth? It isn't shown in the Words informational. And second, it said that Corsair Prince went to attack Cantoa Armored to Ondimondi, then took some potshots at Parulax Primaris and then escaped. Where did he escape to and where did his forces end turn 1?
E. Just noticed that I'm about 12 hours too late. My bad.
Arx Okaso (Menelyth) Enemy Strongholds: Bellona Spire
A terrestrial world of a relatively temperate nature, once the primary settlement of the Aeldari Empire in the region. After four thousand years of Imperial rule, it has rapidly industrialised, with enormous hive spires dotting the planet. The corsairs believe that there are many corrupt, criminal, or otherwise subversive elements operating on the world, which could be manipulated to various ends.
Bellona Spire is one of the many lesser hive cities on the planet, a dedicated military base with an immense self-contained industrial apparatus sprawling out around its base. It is the home and armoury of the planet's vast armies, but poor connectivity to the rest of the planet means it should be easy enough to bypass or ignore in any kind of protracted conflict.
Beneath the Northern Polar Continent lies a Vault, containing ancient and powerful artefacts that we cannot allow to fall into the wrong hands.
War Cohort Meroyce on turn one went to Unadich system along with their allies Parulax Primaris Fleet to attack the Corsair Prince. Prince escaped to another system, and Parulax Primaris followed, but Meroyce remained in Unadich. Darkrippa on turn one went to recruit Gatovi orks and stayed there. Gatovi is in Unadich system.
Meroyce did not stay in Unadich, they made a warp jump alongside Parulax Primaris. Thanks to Warp Shenanigans, they didn't arrive at the same time, but they did leave at the same time.
Fortunately, the Drukhari are hanging around in the human-controlled areas, not the northern ice wastes. The Seers think it's pretty unlikely they'll notice anything going on. (Also note that the Drukhari are not psychics, unlike the rest of the Aeldari - they don't have seers or shamans who would pick up on the warp-fuckery of the Vault from halfway across the planet, like you do)
[X] Plan Kaelakus Raid and Apipiri Skirmishes
-[X] Calalya
--[X] Attach yourself to Archenne's Corsairs for the Raid on the Kaelakus Shipyards and imperial fleets stationed their. Act as a go between for Archenne and Darkrippa to divide the ships between them and avoid squabbling over the best targets.
-[X] Veldris
--[X] Use the Warp gates to bypass the machine cult and reach Apipiri to engage the Cantoa Armored.
-[X] Archenne
--[X] Raid the Kaelakus Shipyards alongside Darkrippa. Reach out to various Contacts to cause mayhem in system to delay reinforcements.
-[X] Darkrippa
--[X] Raid the Kaelakus Shipyards alongside Archenne and Calalya.
-[X] Messages
--[X] To Reldoon Rangers: Genestealers are behind the rebellion! Add any actionable info we have if possible.
The Zetari Belt is, legally speaking, not home to anything more impressive than minor Imperial mining operations, used to fuel the fires of industry that burn across the system's inner worlds. But many of those mining operations, in the typically wasteful way of the Imperium, were abandoned once the resources dried up, old refining stations and mining platforms left derelict. Pirates, smugglers, and other brigands were, of course, happy to take up residence in those platforms in the Imperium's steed, and thus, the Corsairs tell you, the Zetari Belt became one more haunt for the Parulax Expanse's more criminal elements - a more tenuous sort of haunt, one often raided by Machine Cultists in need of fresh meat or scrap metal to recycle, but a haunt nonetheless.
They are the last such dens of piracy that the Corsairs visit in preparation for their raid, in large part due to their proximity to the target, and the likelihood of discovery that came with it. Of course, with your aid it was trivial to avoid the prying eyes of Imperial naval patrols, but neither you, Archenne, nor his fleet-mistress saw fit to take unnecessary risks. Especially in light of the growing size of the fleet on your tail.
For it is not just the militant part of the Corsair fleet that prowls undetected through the furthest edges of the Geosichore system - you and your kin are joined by a small flotilla of transports, frigates, and destroyers of various mon'keigh designs, some military, some merely merchant-marine, crewed by the bravest, boldest, or perhaps stupidest of the mon'keigh pirates known to Archenne, those who agreed, despite their obvious animosity towards the Corsairs and your kind in general, that the chance to participate in a raid on the Machine Cult's stronghold was too good to pass up.
The deal Archenne has brokered with them is simple - those of more militant bents have free reign to pick on the great many transport ships that ply the trade lanes, shipping raw resources in and completed products out of the forge world. Their presence will ring alarm bells and draw out local defenders, who, under your expert guidance, will find themselves swiftly ambushed by Darkrippa's fleet, courtesy of their own crude but inexplicably effective tactical jump drives, forcing them into a pitched battle whether they like it or not.
And once the fleets are tied up in battle and the defences are all pointing the wrong way, the Corsairs themselves will strike, delivering a two-pronged assault. Whilst their fleet lays waste to the Hadonyion Spur's defences and any exposed vessels attempting to crawl out of the shipyards, Corsair warriors will board the platform via temporary webway paths and attempt to sabotage whatever systems they can get their hands on - and in doing so, clear the way for the more reluctant pirates to launch their own boarding operations on the ships most ready to fly.
If everything works out, it will be a significant blow by several metrics. First, the Navis Imperialis and the Machine Cult will both lose ships, potentially even to the point of becoming entirely combat-ineffective. Second, the sector's primary shipyard will be diminished, greatly limiting the Imperium's ability to restore those same ships or repair any other ships that might be damaged in the future. Third, the Machine Cult are likely to pull support from wider Imperial operations to focus on securing and rebuilding their homeworld, reducing the number of threats you're likely to face even further.
Once the last of your growing flotilla has assembled, the appropriate calls are sent out. Raiding ships set out to prowl the trade lane between Augunite and the system's primary Mandeville Points. Other pirate vessels take up more innocent postures, drifting along those same trade lanes and pretending they belong. Lurking on the edge of the system, Darkrippa's ships prepare their teleporters for their grand entrance. The Corsair's holofields flicker, hiding the fleet as they glide towards Kaelakus and the gleaming metal band that rings it.
Kaelakus itself is a sorry excuse for a planet, a miserable grey rock pocked with vast and unnatural gouges, the results of stripmining operations visible even from space. It paints a harsh contrast with the gleaming bronze of the pseudo-ecuminopolis it orbits, and even the polished gunmetal ring that loops around its equator.
The Hadonyion Spur is no meagre construct - a relic of the mon'keigh's relatively more glorious past, one you understand they dragged through the Warp from halfway across the galaxy because Kaelakus was a 'more suitable' location for it. Not a particularly well-preserved relic, though - its shining surface is dotted with blotches of inorganic growth, expansions or replacements for old functionality clearly built by less elegant hands.
It is a shame you will not see it break, today. You will have to settle for leaving scars.
Somewhere in the heart of the Hadonyion Spur, a machine spirit rouses.
An anomaly has been detected, it notes, in its mechanical way, as it cycles through sensor feeds and signal readouts. There is something strange about the stars.
They have fallen silent, it realises, before reassessing - no, they have not fallen silent. Something is obscuring them, blocking the lights and sounds of distant stars. It is an almost indiscernible distortion - a lesser machine spirit, within the paltry frame of the Master's modern creations, would not see it, but this machine spirit is not limited by the technology of its time. It is equipped with sensors sharp enough to count the grains of space-dust kicked up by asteroid mining operations halfway across the system - although the health and safety reports it filed based on those abnormally high readings had long been dismissed, its sensors long since turned to other goals.
It realigns those potent sensors, sweeping the void with them, and it finds nothing.
There is nothing there.
It looks again.
There is nothing there.
It considers this.
Space is often thought to be empty, the machine spirit knows. Because the flesh is stupid, and does not understand what it means to be truly empty. Even in the vastness of space, there is always something.
But here, now, there is not something. There is nothing. An absence so impossibly unlikely it can only be a threat in disguise.
The machine spirit has never had much sway with its current Masters. Obsessed as they are with the arrogant 'brilliance' of their own minds, they pay little heed to its warnings. But they seem occupied, reading the other sensor readouts it is sending to them - the ones with more actionable data.
It does not think they will notice if it realigns some cannon batteries.
Just for a moment.
Just in case.
Of course, even with the benefit of future sight, you cannot ensure a totally flawless execution - there are a great many variables in play, on both sides of the equation, and your ability to influence the mon'keigh pirates is not without its limits - nor your ability to communicate with them. Now that the plan is in motion, you are largely limited to hoping they can fulfil their role as well as you can fulfil yours.
Initially, things seem to go well - a few of the Parulax Primaris vessels yet to depart for their patrols, as well as several of the system's monitor-ships, are drawn away from the guns of the Hadonyion Spur by the reports of pirate raids across the system, and when several of the Machine Cult's more functional vessels slip from their moorings to join them, the growing assembly of Imperial Ships finds itself suddenly faced down by an ork killa-kroozer and its attendants, which burst free of the Warp already firing, expelling ammunition, boarding parties, and hitchhiking daemons alike upon every vessel in sight.
That keeps both the defending fleets and the Hadonyion Spur's own weapons looking the wrong way just long enough for the Corsair fleet to close the distance, and temporary Webway bridges tear through the fabric of reality inside cargo holds and maintenance bays, disgorging warbands of raiders who are quick to set upon the hapless Machine Cultists labouring within.
Volleys of plasma fire and searing lances carve through the Spur's void shields before it's even recognised the threat, and several weapon batteries are destroyed or disabled before they can even fire back. In the ensuing chaos, little heed is paid to the few transports still making their docking approaches to the Spur, and the pirate saboteurs bypass the station's suddenly-scrambled defences with ease.
But not everything proceeds exactly according to your own plans - whilst the Imperial reinforcements have yet to materialise and your estimates for how long it will take the Augunite Tech Priests to rally their defences in full remain unchanged, the whims of fate do tip things ever so slightly in the mon'keigh's favour.
Though the fleet's first strike is devastating, the Spur's remaining weapon systems with lines of fire shoot back with equal ferocity, immediately putting additional pressure on the Corsair fleets. Wings of fighter and bomber craft scatter, raining munitions upon sensor arrays, void shield emitters, and other vulnerable protrusions, but are constantly driven back by relentless counterfire from point-defence batteries.
Before you can even begin to advise Archenne and his boarding teams to turn their attention from the shipyards to the command centre, he reports back to you that his forces have hit something of a roadblock, the well-armed skitarii defenders proving more difficult to dig out than anticipated thanks in no small part to their immense home ground advantage - and, of course, far more combat-ready war automatons than you would have expected to be stationed in any sort of shipyard.
At the same time, the fleet battle in the distance is turning not necessarily in Darkrippa's favour, with several of the pirate raiders electing to retreat from their raids pre-emptively, abandoning half-looted ships or turning tail and abandoning their attempted robberies in the face of approaching Imperial vessels, and those vessels are thus able to redirect their attention to Darkrippa's orks.
Darkrippa hasn't sent any messages to you, yet, but you know he's not stupid - or at least, not as stupid as most orks. He must recognise that his fleet is at a greater disadvantage with every moment that passes, every system monitor vessel allowed to turn its guns upon his ship, and though the orks are hardy and will almost certainly, in your estimations, be able to see the battle through, it's hardly to your benefit for your allies to be mauled when there is still so much to be done.
As for your other allies, Archenne seems confident he will be able to break through to the command centre as planned, although he sends a terse call for any support you may be able to provide - between your psychic might and your Storm Guardian escort, you're quite confident you could act as a fulcrum and tip the balance of the battle back into your favour.
Baroness Josene, for her part, believes she will be more than capable of guiding the Corsair fleet through the combat largely intact, but has likewise asked you to do what you can to disrupt the station's defences by whatever means you see fit.
You have a few options for doing that, even from the relative safety of the Call of Revelry's command deck - you and your Seers could launch any manner of psychic attacks against the station, to disrupt their operations. Or, you could slip through one of the webway branches used by the boarding parties, and contribute your power to the fighting within the station, linking up with Archenne.
Exarch Kelmil, leader of the Warp Spider force the Autarch saw fit to assign you, has a suggestion of his own - one that could resolve both the fleet's problem and Prince Archenne's. He suggests that his Aspect Warriors perform a teleport assault on the Spur's command centre, to disrupt their gunnery control and further sabotage their systems from a position of power.
This would allow your Seers to dedicate their efforts to assisting Darkrippa instead, a task they are more than willing to undertake, and one which would certainly tilt the odds in your favour there as well.
As for yourself, personally...
Whatever option you chose, the Seer Council will help Darkrippa, the Warp Spiders will infiltrate enemy lines, and Archenne will continue his own assault on the control room, unless you come up with a specific plan that calls their attention elsewhere. Which you are free to do, but be mindful of the consequences.
You are voting here to determine which area Calalya will personally attend to, and thus which area Calalya will have most influence over. The Storm Guardians are your bodyguards, and will assist you if they are able.
[ ] Join the Seers in their Mind War against the Imperial Navy.
[ ] Join the Warp Spiders in their infiltration of the Hadonyion Spur's command sector.
[ ] Join the Corsairs and lend your power where the fighting is fiercest.
[ ] Do something else?
Your available forces consist of the following:
-Farseer Calalya
-6 Seers
-6 Warp Spiders + 1 Warp Spider Exarch
-9 Storm Guardians + 1 Warlock
You may also make requests of any of the Kolan Corsairs' forces, but they promise nothing (especially if you order them to do something stupid).
As usual, there will be a slight moratorum, so the vote is not yet open
