Yeah, I trust the QM to not give anyone the Avatar of Khaine treatment. The Genestealer Patriarch we fought on Lezo, for example, of which there are literally thousands within Imperial space, had 9 Strength and 9 Toughness. A Lord of Change would be at least equally powerful, if not moreso, and that's just in a straight fight, not taking into account the ridiculous displays of magic that one of them could pull off when given time.
Ye Yazhu Willpower Roll 6+2(Desperate Sacrifices)=8d10 (SC 5)= 1, 2, 7, 4, 10, 8, 3, 8= 4 Successes
Inquisitorial Psyker Willpower roll 3d10 (SC 2/3)= 4, 10, 1= 1 Success
Inquisitorial Psyker Fellowship roll 2d10= 4, 7= 1 Success
Durante Clerici Perception roll 5d10= 5, 8, 8, 8, 2= 3 Successes
Durante Clerici is a man that constantly deals with lies, for deceit springs in abundance when one is a member of the God-Emperor's Holy Ordos. The people that find themselves under his attention lie, at least at first. The Daemons and their servants lie, as they seek to corrupt and befoul the souls that rightfully belong to Him on Terra. His fellow members of the Inquisition lie, each seeking to advance their own causes and projects while simultaneously hiding their purpose and investigating those of the rest.
And so, Durante swore decades ago to always be honest with himself. It is with that honesty that he can admit that he has sometimes faltered in that oath, much to his regret, and that he abhors battles. Not out of cowardice, for he has endured the gaze of Daemons without flinching on many occasions, but for how out of his depth he feels in them. As a member of the Ordo Malleus, if the situation he is involved in has degenerated into open warfare it means he has failed horribly and that a Daemonic onslaught is either imminent or occurring. His previous deployment on the Vaults of Yerma Tertius had been an example of that, as he had plenty of close calls in those dark, dry tunnels, and the Crusaders under his command had been reduced greatly from the initial number he had called upon.
As such, it is in a way comforting to get into a more familiar matter, he thinks as he pulls the trigger of his flamer, the burning promethium igniting the robes of Tevurua, wrenching the psyker out of his slumber with a wailing scream of pain and panic. He falls out of his cot, and the Inquisitor takes a step back as he keeps dousing his fallen form. After a few minutes of the psyker screaming and struggling on the ground it dies, and Durante spits on his corpse. He had taken Tevurua into his retinue, granting the man a merciful chance of atone for his disgusting nature, and the filth had not only spat on it by succumbing to the lure of damnation, but had thought that he could hide it from him, as if he couldn't recognize the signs of a psyker embracing the darkest powers and didn't keep his retinue under uninterrupted surveillance.
As the fire loses strength, Durante turns away, swiftly departing the crew quarters of the Eternal Vigil in the direction of its main hangar. An hour later he arrives, beholding grimly as the force he has gathered embark in their transports, the Crusaders of House Inim-Shara with their cooper adornments glinting under the hangar's lights, the Sisters of the Hallowed Chalice singing the praises of the Master of Mankind and the Arco-Flagellants herded into their transports by their handlers. His retinue awaits him on a Valkyrie that stands apart from the others, and Durante's augmentic gaze falls upon them, searching for any sign of corruption and weakness that might present itself. To his satisfaction, the four of them meet his gaze openly and with confidence. Sister Delphine of the Order of the Hallowed Chalice makes the sign of the Aquila, the stoic Sororitas being the oldest member of his retinue ever since they had met on a mission that had taken him to the Cassoian Sector.
"Good day Inquisitor!" Greets him Guven loudly, the Banisher as lively in his daily life as he had once been on a pulpit, before Clerici had taken him under his wing when he reported his superior in the Ecclesiarchy for heresy. "Has the matter with the foul psyker been resolved?"
Durante doesn't reply with words, instead merely hefting slightly the flamer in his hands. At the side of the preacher one of the stormtroopers in his retinue, Nazeli, casts a wary glance at the weapon, although she relaxes slightly when the other one, Svana, places a hand upon her shoulder. The Inquisitor makes a mental note to speak with her after deployment, to warn her not to fraternize with the unclean. "Is there any new intel that we must know about the target?" Asks the Carolean.
"Nothing that hasn't been said in the briefing." Replies the Inquisitor. "Now let us go, the assault is about to begin." His retinue obeys with the discipline he has drilled upon them, and once they have secured their restrains he takes from his hip his well-worn copy of the Lectitio Divinitatus, an old gift from his long-dead mentor, and opens it, taking comfort in the familiar verses as the Valkyrie takes off.
Mist Shrikes:
-Master of Sanctity Falce (Prototype MK.VI "Corvus" Power Armor, Rosarius, Bolt Pistol, Relic Power Sword Fate Denied)
-10th Company Captain Secutor (Prototype MK.VI "Corvus" Power Armor, Iron Halo, Camelonine Cloak, Bolt Pistol, Power Sword)
-10th Company Command Squad (Prototype MK.VI "Corvus" Power Armor, Camelonine Cloaks, Combat Shields, Storm Bolter, Melta Gun, Plasma Gun, Flamer, Astartes Grenade Launchers, 5 Stalker Bolters, 2 Power Swords, 2 Power Axes, 1 Power Maul)
-Company Ancient Caligae (Prototype MK.VI "Corvus" Power Armor, Combat Shields, Camelonine Cloak, Company Banner, Power Fist)
-Company Champion Gnaeus (Prototype MK.VI "Corvus" Power Armor, Combat Shield, Camelonine Cloak, Plasma Pistol, Chainglaive)
-Senior Apothecary Soran. (Prototype MK.VI "Corvus" Power Armor, Combat Shield, Camelonine Cloak, Stalker Bolter, Chainsword)
-Senior Techmarine Ostia (Prototype MK.VI "Corvus" Power Armor, Combat Shield, Camelonine Cloak, Stalker Bolter, Omnissiah Axe)
-Chaplain Osinki (Prototype MK.VI "Corvus" Power Armor, Camelonine Cloak, Combat Shield, Rosarius, Stalker Bolter, Crozius Arcanum)
-Squads 10-1 and 10-2 (Prototype MK.VI "Corvus" Power Armor, Bolters, 14 Stalker Bolters)
-Squad 10-6 (Prototype MK.VI "Corvus" Power Armor, Bolt Pistol, Chainswords)
-Tomb-Master Domitian (Castaferrum-Pattern)
Angel Crusader
-Master of the Deathwing Gerard de Lusignan (Master-Crafted Indomitus-Pattern Terminator armor, Iron Halo, Relic Storm-Shield Shield of Faith, Master-Crafted Plasma Pistol, Master-Crafted Flail of the Unforgiven)
-Deathwing Knights (Master-Crafted Indomitus-Pattern Terminator Armor, Storm Shields, Storm-Bolters, Maces of Absolution)
-Deathwing Ancient Godefroy (Indomitus-Pattern Terminator Armor, Company Standard, Power Sword.)
-Deathwing Champion Berenguer de Claramunt (Indomitus-Pattern Terminator Armor, Storm Shield, Storm-Bolter, Master-Crafted Thunder Hammer)
-Interrogator-Chaplain Golphoger (Indomitus-Pattern Terminator Armor, Rosarius, Storm Bolter, Crozius Arcanum)
-Deathwing Apothecary Aimery (Indomitus-Pattern Terminator Armor, Storm Bolter, Power Fist)
–Deathwing Technmarine Berthramus de Silvester (Indomitus-Pattern Terminator Armor, Assault Cannon, Omnissiah Axe)
-Codicier Canali (MK.VII "Aquila" Power Armor, Psychic Hood, Bolt Pistol, Force Staff)
-8 Five Man Deathwing Terminators (Indomitus-Pattern Terminator Armor, Assault Cannons, Plasma Cannons, Storm Bolters, Power Fists)
-Venerable Brother Gerard De Martigues (Castaferrum-Pattern)
Angels Revenant
-7th Company Irrin Defer (Artificier MK.VII "Aquila" Power Armor, Iron Halo, Plasma Gun, Power Sword)
-7th Company Command Squad (MK.VII "Aquila" Power Armor, Combi-Meltas, Storm Bolters, Heavy Bolter, Power Swords)
-7th Company Ancient Muldes (MK.VII "Aquila" Power Armor, Company Banner, Bolt Pistol)
-7th Company Champion Arthas (MK.VII "Aquila" Power Armor, Storm Shield, Bolt Pistol, Power Sword)
-Apothecary Tirria (MK.VII "Aquila" Power Armor, Bolt Pistol, Chainsword)
-Techmarine Usmiz (MK.VII "Aquila" Power Armor, Plasma Pistol, Omnissiah Axe)
-Chaplain Poratal (MK.VII "Aquila" Power Armor, Rosarius, Bolt Pistol, Crozius Arcanum)
-Epistolary Mersaz (MK.VII "Aquila" Power Armor, Psychic Hood, Bolt Pistol, Force Staff)
-Epistolary Kirlan (MK.VII "Aquila" Power Armor, Psychic Hood, Bolt Pistol, Force Sword)
-7th Company Tacticals (MK.VII "Aquila" Power Armor, Bolters, 10 Plasma Guns, 10 Melta Guns)
-10 Land Speeders
-20 Scout Bikes
-5 Rhinos
-3 Whirlwinds
-2 Razorbacks
Order of the Thorned Spear
-Palatine Ciara Lynch (Sororitas Power Armor, Rosarius, Jump Pack, Relic Bolt Pistols Absolution and Damnation)
-2 Dogmatas (Sororitas Power Armor, Mace of the Righteous)
-2 Imagifiers (Sororitas Power Armor, Simulacrum Imperialis)
-6 Sisters Hospitaller (Sororitas Power Armor, Bolt Pistol)
-7 Sister of Battle Squads (Sororitas Power Armor, Bolter)
-3 Retributor Squads(Sororitas Power Armor, Heavy Flamers, Heavy Bolters, Missile Launchers)
-6 Dominion Squads (Sororitas Power Armor, Flamers, Meltaguns)
-3 Seraphim Squads (Sororitas Power Armor, Rosarius, Jump Pack, Bolt Pistols)
-2 Repentia Squad (Scraps of Clothing, Eviscerators)
-3 Penitent Engine
-1 Mortifier
-5 Immolators
-3 Exorcist Tanks
-95th Sebourc Royals
–Colonel Jacques D'Albret (Carapace Armor, Las Pistol, Power Sword)
–Commissar (Carapace Armor, Bolt Pistol, Chainsword)
–10 Companies of Line Infantry (Flak Armor, Lasguns, Missile Launchers)
–17 Leman Russes
–46 Chimeras
Forgeworld Smilnay:
-4 Onager Dune Crawlers
-47 Krios Battle tanks
Ordo Malleus:
-Inquisitor Durante Clerici (Carapace Armor, Rosarius, Hexagrammic Wards, Flamer, Power Maul)
-Clerici's Inquisitorial Retinue (Sororitas Power Armor, Carapace Armor, Flak Armor, Flamer, Multi-Melta, Hellgun, Hand Flamer, Eviscerator)
-Inquisitor Seble Bereket (Synskin, Digital Weaponry, Catechist-Pattern Stake Crossbow, Null Rod)
-Bereket's Inquisitorial Retinue (MK.VII "Aquila" Power Armor, Carapace Armor, Robes, Death Cult Leathers, Bomb Collars, Bolter, Hellguns, Chainsword, Poisoned Swords, Force staffs.)
-2 Squads of Arco-Flagellants
-4 Crusader Squads of House Inim-Shara (Carapace Armor, Crusader Suppression Shields, Power Spears)
-2 Retributor Squads of the Order of the Hallowed Chalice (Sororitas Power Armor, Heavy Flamers, Heavy Bolters, Missile Launchers)
-1 Stormtrooper Platoon (Carapace Armor, Hellguns, Plasma Guns, Melta Guns)
-1 Squad of Azerii Warriors (Flak Armor, Force Axes, Force Spears, Force Swords, Force Daggers)
VS
Eyes of the Mutator:
-Master of Execution Lee Kang (Mutated MK.VII "Aquila" Power Armor, Beads of Prescience, Iron Halo, Plasma Pistol, Axe of Dismemberment)
-Master of Possession Ye Yazhu (MK.VII "Aquila" Power Armor, Bolt Pistol, Force Staff)
-Chaos Sorcerer Fai Mao (MK.VII "Aquila" Power Armor, Bolt Pistol, Force Axe)
-Chaos Champion Cao Delan (Mutated MK.VII "Aquila" Power Armor, Power Swords)
-2 Squads of Possessed (Possessed MK.VII "Aquila" Power Armor, Daemonic Gifts)
-1 Squad of Obliterators (Obliterator Virus)
-1 Squad of Mutilators (Mutilator Mutations)
-3 Squads of Chaos Marines (MK.VII "Aquila" Power Armor, Bolters, 3 Plasma Guns, 3 Melta Guns)
-2 Squad of Raptors (MK.VII "Aquila" Power Armor, Jump Packs, Bolt Pistols, Chainswords)
-2 Squad of Havocs (MK.VII "Aquila" Power Armor, Heavy Bolters, Missile Launchers, Multi Melta)
-4 Chaos Spawns
-Cultist Demagogue Feng Dakai (Flak Armor, Las Pistol, Chainsword)
-Ogryn Bodyguards (Flak Armor, Slab Shields, Mauls)
-1 Company of Watchers of Yerma (Carapace Armor, Hellguns, Missile Launchers)
-Horde of Chaos Cultists (Robes, Lasguns, Close Combat Weapons)
-Horde of Tzeentchian Mutants (Robes, Mutations, Close-Combat Weapons)
-Abundance of Sorcerous Traps
-Abundance of Heavy Emplacements (Heavy Bolters, Missile Launchers)
-20 Land Speeders
-20 Scout Bikes
Successes needed for Imperial Victory: 75-7(Veteran Sergeants)+18(Chaos Elite)=86
Successes needed for Eyes of the Mutator Victory: 90+25(Enemy 1st Company)=112
Lee Kang Perception roll 5+3(Beads of Prescience)=8d10= 6, 10, 6, 3, 10, 3, 9, 4= 7 Successes
Ye Yazhu Perception roll 6d10= 7, 6, 8, 6, 8, 6= 6 Successes
Fai Mao Perception roll 6d10= 4, 6, 1, 5, 4, 4= 0 Successes
Cao Delan Perception roll 5d10= 10, 2, 9, 8, 1= 3 Successes
Secutor Weapon Skill roll 6d10= 6, 10, 10, 8, 3, 7= 7 Successes, Critical Success
Fai Mao Toughness roll 5d10 (SC 9)= 10, 2, 9, 10, 2= 5 Successes
Falce Weapon Skill roll 4+2(Fate Denied)=6d10= 6, 3, 4, 8, 3, 7= 3 Successes
Secutor Weapon Skill roll 6d10= 2, 5, 7, 8, 6, 8= 4 Successes
10th Company Weapon Skill roll 6d10= 6, 8, 5, 9, 4, 9= 4 Successes
Gnaeus Weapon Skill roll 6d10= 3, 2, 3, 6, 4, 9= 2 Successes
Vanguard Scouts Weapon Skill roll 6d10= 5, 4, 4, 2, 6, 3= 1 Success
Sharpshooter Scouts Ballistic Skill roll 6d10= 5, 7, 3, 4, 2, 5= 1 Successes
Domitian Ballistic Skill roll 4d10= 3, 1, 5, 4= 0 Successes, Critical Failure
Successes needed increased by 1 Domitian chassis Integrity roll 1d100 (DC 60)= 8
Jacques D'Albret Weapon Skill roll 2d10= 4, 10= 2 Successes
95th Seibourc Royales 1 Ballistic Skill roll 2d10= 1, 3= 0 Successes, Critical Failure
Successes needed increased by 1 95th Seibourc Royales 2 Ballistic Skill roll 2d10= 2, 5= 0 Successes
95th Seibourc Royales 3 Ballistic Skill roll 2d10= 5, 10= 2 Successes
95th Seibourc Royales 4 Ballistic Skill roll 2d10= 9, 3= 1 Successes
Seibourcian Leman Russes roll 2d10= 8, 10= 3 Successes
Successes needed reduced by 1 Seibourcian Chimeras 1 roll 2d10= 2, 2= 0 Successes
Seibourcian Chimeras 2 roll 2d10= 4, 4= 0 Successes
Onager Dunecrawlers roll 3d10= 6, 10, 9= 4 Successes, Critical Success
Successes needed reduced by 1 Krios Battle Tanks 1 roll 3d10= 4, 5, 3= 0 Successes
Krios Battle Tanks 2 roll 3d10= 6, 8, 6= 3 Successes
Durante Clerici Ballistic Skill roll 3d10= 5, 9, 4= 1 Success
Clerici's Inquisitorial Retinue Ballistic Skill roll 3d10= 1, 7, 3= 0 Successes
Arco-Flagellants Strength roll 2d10= 1, 10= 1 Success
Crusaders Weapon Skill roll 3d10= 1, 2, 9= 0 Success
Inquisitorial Retributors Ballistic Skill roll 3d10= 9, 2, 8= 2 Successes
Seble Bereket Ballistic Skill roll 3d10= 6, 2, 1= 0 Successes
Bereket's Inquisitorial Retinue Weapon Skill roll 3d10= 3, 3, 7= 1 Success
Stormtroopers Ballistic Skill roll 3d10= 5, 3, 9= 1 Success
Azerii Warriors Toughness roll 3d10 (SC 2)= 10, 3, 4= 2 Successes
Azerii Warriors Weapon Skill roll 4d10= 8, 7, 3, 3= 2 Successes
Lee Kang Weapon Skill roll 9d10= 6, 9, 10, 5, 7, 6, 8, 7, 8= 9 Successes
Ye Yazhu Willpower roll 6d10= 1, 5, 1, 2, 3, 1= 0 Successes
Successes needed increased by 3 Perils of the Warp roll 1d100(DC 15/30/50)= 6
1d4=3
Successes needed increased by 3 Cao Delan Weapon Skill roll 6d10= 10, 10, 2, 4, 9, 10= 7 Successes
Successes needed reduced by 1 Possessed Marines Strength toll 6d10= 5, 9, 9, 6, 3, 1= 2 Successes
Obliterators roll 6d10= 4, 9, 4, 10, 10, 1= 4 Successes
Mutilators roll 6d10= 10, 7, 7, 1, 4, 1= 1 Success
Chaos Marine Ballistic Skill roll 4d10= 5, 10, 9, 6= 4 Successes
Raptors Weapon Skill roll 4d10= 4, 4, 9, 10= 3 Successes
Havocs Ballistic Skill roll 4d10= 7, 7, 6, 4= 3 Successes
Chaos Spawn 1 2d10= 7, 8= 2 Successes
Chaos Spawn 2 2d10= 9, 7= 2 Successes
Chaos Spawn 3 2d10= 10, 2= 2 Successes
Chaos Spawn 4 2d10= 5, 9= 1 Success
Feng Dakai Weapon Skill roll 2d10= 1, 9= 0 Successes
Ogryn Bodyguards Strength roll 4d10= 3, 3, 8, 3= 1 Success
Watchers of Yerma Ballistic Skill roll 3d10= 8, 5, 8= 2 Successes
Chaos Cultists 1 Ballistic Skill roll 2d10= 10, 8= 3 Successes, Critical Success
Successes needed reduced by 1 Chaos Cultists 2 Ballistic Skill roll 2d10= 8, 3= 1 Success
Chaos Cultists 3 Ballistic Skill roll 2d10= 3, 8= 1 Success
Chaos Cultists 4 Ballistic Skill roll 2d10= 4, 6= 1 Success
Tzeentchian Mutants 1 Strength roll 1d10= 10= 2 Successes, Critical Success
Successes needed reduced by 1 Tzeentchian Mutants 2 Strength roll 1d10= 6= 1 Success
Tzeentchian Mutants 3 Strength roll 1d10= 4= 1 Success
Tzeentchian Mutants 4 Strength roll 1d10= 10= 2 Successes, Critical Success
Successes needed reduced by 1 Sorcerous traps 1 roll 3d10= 10, 10, 7= 5 Successes, Critical Success
Successes needed reduced by 2 Sorcerous traps 2 roll 3d10= 7, 10, 7= 4 Successes, Critical Success
Successes needed reduced by 1 Sorcerous traps 3 roll 3d10= 4, 4, 7= 1 Success
Sorcerous traps 4 roll 3d10= 3, 10, 2= 2 Successes
Heavy Emplacements 1 roll 2d10= 9, 2= 1 Success
Heavy Emplacements 2 roll 2d10= 10, 10= 4 Successes, Critical Success
Successes needed reduced by 2 Heavy Emplacements 3 roll 2d10= 9, 2= 1 Success
Heavy Emplacements 4 roll 2d10= 5, 6= 1 Success
Land Speeder roll 4d10= 9, 2, 1, 2= 0 Success
Scout Bike roll 4d10= 3, 10, 5, 9= 3 Successes
Imperials: 108/91
Eyes of the Mutator: 76/109
Imperial Victory
Contrary to the descent in Yerma Tertius, where Durante had felt the gunship shake and drift as it struggled to avoid anti-air fire, the descent onto the surface of Primus is much more calm. He doubts that the defenses of their main world are lesser than those of Primus, so the Mist Shrikes and the Yamunans must have accomplished their task and disabled them. A mark in their favour, but one that did not dissuade him from keeping an eye on them, which is the secondary purpose of his presence in this campaign. They had bonded suspiciously quickly with Harker, and the only Inquisitor in the Conclave born outside the Aetelian Sector had shown too much interest in interacting with other Imperial institutions for him to be comfortable with that.
"ETA for landing is one minute, Inquisitor!" Announces the Valkyrie pilot over the vox. "God-Emperor be with you!" Clerici closes the book and he and his retinue start undoing their restraints and readying their weapons. The Inquisitor immediately squashes the slight nerves he feels for the upcoming fray and addresses his retinue once more.
"Be ready for anything, for we march into a den of corruption." Before they can truly reply the door opens, and they all rush outside towards the madness of war. Clerici sees that the gunships have landed in one of the multiple courtyards inside the temple, whose structure is a series of buildings connected by courtyards and gardens, all of it surrounded by walls and ramparts. The whole complex is of ludicrous size, more akin to a city proper than a place of worship. Clerici barely takes a second to take in the location before he and his retinue spring into action. His forces have landed here too, together with the Seibourc Royales, and so they join their formation as they breach one of the buildings. The Arco-Flagellants lead the charge, their earlier placidity discarded after the trigger phase is uttered, lashing out with their grafted weapons and contemptuous of blade and lasbolt. The Crusaders stand in behind them, shields interlocked together as they push forward, a living wall that lashes out with crackling power spears against the mutants and cultist that had evaded the Flagellants and provides cover to the Retributors behind them who unleash bolts and melta blasts against the more distant foes. While Clerici and most of his retinue position themselves in the retinue of the formation, to add their own guns to that of the Sisters, Guven marches forth, joining the line of Crusaders with a mighty sweep of his Eviscerator that cleaves through three mutants.
Their advance is slow. The interior design of the complex is labyrinthian, with twists and turns that both hinder their ability to navigate the building and allow enemies to spring their ambushes unabated. Clerici and his group are lightly equipped, and thus forced to take their time in clearing the location, but the vox informs him that the forces with armored support, especially the tank column of the Mechanicus, have resorted to bursting through walls with their vehicles or firing into them. It is a strategy that he approves of, as it expedites the process of levelling the temple to rubble once they have slain all the traitors and heretics. Still, they have the fortune of avoiding enemy Astartes, the only foe that test their mettle being their mortal and mutant servants. Clerici is of mixed opinion about that fact, for while Traitor Space Marine can reap a fearsome toll in any mortal force that stands against them, the annihilation of the Eyes of the Mutator is the main reason for his presence in the system. The traitor sons of the Blessed Primarch Jaghatai Khan had been eager suppliers of forbidden lore and tainted trinkets in the sector, using pirates, traitor nobles and other scum to arm various cults with blasphemous incantations and ritual incantations. While not all of his investigations had uncovered ties between the cults he chased and the traitor Chapter, a significant amount had, and the Sector will be a much more secure place once they suffer the God-Emperor's wrath.
After an hour of uninterrupted combat, Clerici and his forces cleared out the building and noticed that another Imperial force had secured a garden in the opposite direction from where they had come. They rendevouz with it, a group mainly consisting of Stormtroopers, with some strange additions to it. There is a group of tribal warriors in ill-fitting flak armor, a masked couple covered in bandages and imperial iconography, two psykers with bomb-collars strapped to their necks and a Space Marine in the green and bronze of the Angels Crusader. Leading them is the robed and masked figure of Seble Bereket, her fellow Inquisitor of the Ordo Malleus. Giving his followers some time to take stock of their remaining supplies, the older Inquisitor approaches her warily. Clerici had known her former Master for decades, and yet Mesal had never spoken about her, and despite being her colleague for over 20 years, he had not learned anything new about her. Such a mysterious person, so unwilling to reveal absolutely anything about herself, warranted both distrust and a keen vigilance. "Bereket." He greets her curtly.
The woman doesn't react to her greeting, busy as she is loading a sigil-inscribed bolt into her crossbow. "Clerici" She returns once she finishes, the electronic voice that comes out of her mask as inescrutable as always. "It is good that you have arrived, we were just about to breach into that location. Your Crusaders are better suited to lead the charge."
He narrows his eyes as she suggests that, but he can't dismiss that the proposal is logical. He turns around to address the leader of the Crusaders. "Master Oormadiz, take position in front of the gate, I count on you to lead the way as before." The man's only response is to bang his shield on the ground before following his orders, shouting his brethren into position. Once they are ready, Clerici checks his flamer, placing a new promethium canister when he sees that the one he was using before is nearly empty. When he lifts his head again, his augmentic eyes glitch for a second as the Crusaders begin to push against the gate, which instead of holding seems to outright melt when they push against it. Those same molten remains fell upon his men, among which is Guven, and only centuries of bearing witness to plenty of horrors both mundane and Warp-base, prevent Durante from recoiling at what happens to them. The afflicted men stumble to the ground, screaming and crying, as their armor and flesh twists and turns, as if it is clay molded and shaped by a cruel hand. Tendrils of meat and carapace spread out of their bodies, flowers of marrow and cartilage bloom through their skin in blood, bones flowing out of their mouths, ears, eyes and nose.
And then the enemy comes out of the now molten gate. At the head of the foe's formation comes a Chaos Spawn, the huge abomination's gait unsteady as it moves with two arms, a bovine hoof and an organic version of a caterpillar thread. The blob of flesh lets out a keening wail from an orifice that is a mix of a human mouth and snout of a dog, as its appendages flail widely. Its movement is arrested by the hailstorm of munitions fired by the loyal servants of the Emperor, the firepower tearing chunks of its tainted form. The malformed thing lets out one last shuddering rasp as it dies, but it has accomplished its purpose even without striking down a single foe. Every shot aimed at it was one that ignored the forces behind it, and so they closed the distance with cries of praise to their foul god. The Stormtroopers and Sisters of Battle take cover as they come under fire by the cultist elite, the carapace-clad heretics pinning them long enough for their transhuman masters to deliver the hammer blow. With the roar of jump-packs and screeches of predatory anticipation a squad of Raptors descend amidst the troops. One of them, his beige armor decorated with rattling golden chains, lands squarely atop Nazeri, crushing the woman under his weight with the resounding cracks of bones grinded to dust and a burst of gore. Durante drops his flamer as his hand grasps his power maul, his thumb clicking the activation rune before bringing it forward to defend himself. The marine doesn't lunge towards him however, but towards Bereket. His fellow Inquisitor fires her weapon at him, and while the bolt punches through the plate and draws blood, it doesn't prevent the Raptor from striking with her chainsword and shredding both the crossbow she wields and the hands that grasp it. Bereket lets out a hoarse scream as she stumbles back, blood pouring wildly from her severed wrists. Before the fallen Astartes can finish her off, Clerici strikes, his Power Maul coming in a rising blow that the Space Marine blocks with his chainsword with insulting ease.
"Well, well, well. It seems that Great Tzeentch smiles upon me on this day." Comments the raptor with a chuckle, his voice distorted by the vox-grill of a helm covered in small feathers that grow out of the ceramite. "Eight Inquisitors in the whole sector, and a fourth of them are just about to die on my blade." He makes a flourish with his chainsword, the tip pointing at Clerici's heart by the end of it.
"A mistaken assumption, traitor." Snarls the veteran of the Ordo Malleus, his occular implants giving him a wider field of vision as he searches the battlefield for assistance. The last two members of her retinue are pinned by heretic fire, and Bereket's retinue is engaged with the other Raptors, the Angel Crusader dueling one of them, while the psykers, the Death Cult Assassins and the tribal warriors hold three of them at bay. Durante takes a small step backward, hoping to gain some distance and giving himself more time to react against the Traitor's imminent strike. "The God-Emperor condemns you and the rest of your despicable ilk, and you shall perish just as your kin in Tertius did."
"Bold words. Not that they will save you." Mocks the Raptor before striking. Durante barely brings his Maul in time to stop the whirring chain weapon from decapitating him, his arms shaking as they struggle to arrest the weapon's momentum. That's only the first of nine slashes that the Space Marine throws at him in twice as many seconds, and while his vast experience allows Durante to parry the first four, only the quality of his Rosarius and armor keep the last five from turning into a mutilated carcass. As the marine readjust his stance after unleashing his flurry, Clerici lashes out with his weapon, the crackling mace aimed at his forward knee. Quick as a viper, the Raptor grasps the wrist holding it with his off hand, and Durante feels the bones of his wrist shattering under his hold. Immediately after he feels the guard of the traitor's chainsword striking his face, his left eye shutting down with the sounds of dented metal, broken glass and sputtering sparks. Pain erupts sharp and constant on the whole left side of his face, and the Eye of the Mutator abandons his hold over his arm, allowing him to fall to the blood-stained soil of the garden. As he hits the ground, his uninjured hand blindly searches for the flamer he dropped earlier, only for the traitor to kick it away from him.
The Raptor places the deactivated tip of his chainsword in his neck, and Durante can do nothing but stare defiantly at the Space Marine, who chuckles once more. "So much spoken defiance, and yet you barely can last a minute." Durante spits bloody phlegm upon the chainsword at his neck, drawing an amused snort from his killer. "Just like that. Know that your head will hang at my belt beside the one from your fellow crawling on the gro…" The marine words are interrupted by the plasma projectile that carbonizes through his torso, leaving a hole in it that could fit the Inquisitor's head. A fusillade of bolter fire echoes through the garden as the dead Raptor topples backwards, and Clerici cranks his head to look in the direction of the sound. Like a blessing from the Master of Mankind, three squads of Space Marines in the blue and white of the Angels Revenant stride into the garden, gunning down with transhuman precision both the remaining Raptors and their cultist slaves. Once the space is secured, a Marine that Clerici recognizes as 7th Captain Defer approaches him as the Inquisitor gets back on his feet and retrieves his weapons.
"Inquisitor Clerici, Inquisitor Bereket, it seems that I arrived just in time." He comments, his cooling plasma gun held tightly in his hands. He looks at Bereket, whose wounds are being tended to by a stormtrooper of her retinue and meet Clerici one eyed stare with one of his own. "Still, I would recommend that you fallback to a more secure area in order to see to your wounds. You are not in a state fit for combat."
It burns him to admit it, but Durante must admit that the scion of the Blessed Roboute Guilliman is right. And so, after he and Bereket leave what remains of their forces under the temporary command of Space Marine Captain they depart to the backlines with their retinues. There is some shame in being unable to conclude the battle, but Durante soothes it with the reminder that he will be more useful during the aftermath, ensuring the purity of the Imperial forces.
—--
The Fate Denied sinks into the mutated warplate of the Mutilator, the Relic Blade digging past the countless edges and points that cover it and piercing what little remains of the marine that the monster in front of him once was. Falce sees the hateful features of the Eye of the Mutator slacken in death, and he kicks the standing corpse to remove the sword.
Long hours of combat had taken him here, at the entrance of the heart of the temple, to the entryway of the greatest of the ninety-nine Altars that gave the temple its name. Even if he is disgusted by the comparison, the Eyes of the Mutator had fought with the same zeal and savagery the Emperor's Faithful would present if they were defending one of His temples, and countless brave guardsmen had laid their lives down to prove it, their lives cut short by the fire of weapon emplacements and enemy guns. Both his own brothers and their cousins of the Angels Crusader and the Angels Revenant are there, alongside a sizable contingent of Zalotczony Rifles, and as they finish clearing out the last of the defenders continuous fire from missile launchers and lascannons tear the gate out of its hinges allowing them entry into the last shrine. The Angels Crusader go first, De Lusignan and his Knights at the head as their Storm Shields weather the overwatch shots of the defenders with ease, their maces and flail carving a bloody path as they advance towards the Shrine. Following suit are the Venerable Brother De Martigues and Tomb-Master Domitian, the twin Dreadnoughts unleashing devastating volleys of plasma and bolt shells that tear through the shrine pillars and the improvised cover erected by the mutants, butchering the foes that had hoped to take cover behind it. Behind them march both Falce, 10-2 squad and two Tactical Squads of the Angels Revenant, with the guardsman bringing the rear.
And yet, despite the impressive force marshalled against them, the traitor sons of the Warhawk demonstrate the skill and spite that has allowed them to endure for three millenia. Mutants charge at the guardsmen, crossing their melee weapons and mutated limbs with their bayonets. Chaos Marines and Havocs fire in retaliation to the Tactical Marines own, their bolts just as able to slay them. Mutilators roar as they force the Terminators into hand to hand combat, forcing their hands into Power Weapons to tear apart their Indomitus-pattern armor. Obliterators spring Lascannons and Multi-Meltas from their oversized bodies, firing them at the Dreadnoughts with the intent of claiming the honored warriors lives.
It is a confusing and vicious struggle, where even the prodigious mind and reflexes of a Space Marine are taxed to its limits in order to keep him alive. Shouting encouragement to the guardsman and his fellow Astartes, Falce fires his sidearm at the mortals while his blade engages the various Traitor Astartes. He slays a Chaos Marine with an upward thrust through his armpit, blocks a knife strike to his face, retaliates with a point-blank shot under his attackers chin, kicks the body to stop a lunging foe in its tracks, blows his head while he struggles with its brothers corpse, and then disembowels a fourth marine that was aiming a bolter at him at the same time he shots out the throat of a fifth. So focused he is in the threats in front of him, that he doesn't see Domitian die for a second and final time, three lascannons shots burning through the armored war-coffin and slaying the first Master of the Keep without nary a whisper, but he does hear the chassis fall with a great crash.
"Thou dare to cut short mine younger cousin's office at the beginning of his long vigil, thou heretical filth!? I shall sear thy flesh to ash, and reduce thy labors and places of blasphemous worship to nought!! Shed bitter tears of sorrow and despair, curs, for thy doom is nigh!!" The indignant efforts of the Sons of the Lion ancient are accompanied by his charge towards the Obliterators, who are unable to move aside before they are crushed and smashed by De Martigues adamantium bulk. That disruption gives the last edge that the imperial forces in the atrium needed to overcome their foes, with the rest of the Eyes of the Mutator forces falling to the furious Imperials. As the rest of the Imperial presents start to fan out to clear out the rest of the building, the Mist Shrikes Master of Sanctity notices the absence of De Lusignan and his escorts.
"Cousin." He addresses one of the lingering Angels Crusader Terminators, who is measuring with his fingers the width of a rend in his chestplate. "Do you know where your captain is?"
"Last I saw of him he had forged ahead through that gate, Master of Sanctity." Replies the veteran politely as he points to one side corridor to the right, his voice lacking the feeling of superiority that his brothers possessed in abundance. Before he can say anything else his sergeant calls upon him, leaving Falce's presence. The Terran normally would have been satisfied with that knowledge, but a gut feeling pushes him to move towards the path the leader of the sons of the Lion had taken. As expected, the floor of the corridor is littered with enemy corpses, his footsteps disrupting the puddles of blood with wet plops. After a few minutes of walking through the remains he approaches a door at its end, and the silence is disrupted by the faint sound of clashing weapons coming from the other side. Breaking into a run, Falce barges through the door, entering into a wide chamber bare of furniture or decoration except for eyes. Countless eyes, xeno, human and transhuman, adorn the walls, grouped in pairs and nailed by the optical nerve. All of them point towards the grey stone tiles on the floor, silent spectators to the happenings inside the chamber. The retinue of De Lusignan lies on the floor, their armor torn apart to shreds to reveal ghastly wounds and injuries, of the kind that require sus-a-membrane commas to survive. Of particular note are their champion Claramunt, whose chest has been sundered by his own Thunder Hammer, and their Chaplain, bisected horizontally by what must have been a brutal strike. In a far side corner, the two marines are locked in deadly combat, the only ones standing in the chamber. One of them is Gerard De Lusignan, the decorations of his armor and shield marred and broken by a vast amount of cuts that are visible in their surface, proof of both the quality of his wargear and the sheer strength of his attacker blows. He is back against the wall, struggling to fend off the ceaseless strikes of his opponent. The Eye of the Mutator wears an immaculate orange loose robe over his power armor, and a collar with small cerulean beads hangs from his neck. The warrior's lack of a helmet allows Falce to see his face, with six small eyes on his forehead being the only mutations he can discern in a broad face lined with scars. The traitor's face is a mask of serene calm, incongruous with the frenzied way in which he swings a two-handed axe of black metal.
One of those mutated eyes notices him, prompting the Traitor Astartes to relent in his assault and move back several steps in order to keep an even distance from both Falce and De Lusignan. The Master of the Deathwing doesn't attempt to strike at him, choosing instead to take a moment to recover. Falce, quickly recognizing that a foe able to defeat nine terminators in close quarters is a foe beyond his skills, discreetly opens a comm-link to the squad accompanying him. "Bring reinforcements to my location, immediately."
As the sergeant of the scouts signals his compliance the Eye of the Mutator speaks up, bowing his head in greeting. "A new foe approaches. I am Lee Kang, Master of Execution and Custodian of the Temple. May I know your name?"
"Master of Sanctity Falce of the Mist Shrikes Chapter." He replies, knowing that every second he keeps the enemy entertained is one that brings reinforcements closer.
Kang Lee looks at him approvingly. "Our mutual cousins didn't deign to give me theirs. It pleases me to know that younger chapters are more courteous." A growl comes out of Lusignan throat, but the traitor carries on. "Brace yourself, Master of Sanctity, for we fight under the gaze of the God of Tzeentch, and he demands that I pluck your eyes from your skull to attain enlightenment." Thats all the warning he receives before the Master of Execution closes the distance between them in a few quick steps, his axe blurring in an horizontal arc towards his neck. Falce moves his head away from its edge, only to bring the Fate Denied upwards to block the axe head from smashing into his faceplate. Without a second of delay Kang Lee moves his weapon downwards, seeking to carve out Falce's knee before he shifts it away at the last moment. This however, leaves the Master of Sanctity unbalanced, and the traitor moves to take advantage of it before shifting his axe to tangle the flail of the Master of the Deathwing in his haft. He lashes out with a sidekick that forces Falce backwards, before smashing his axe towards the Son of the Lion's chest, which he blocks in time with his shield. De Lusignan bashes with that same implement, but Kang Lee retains his balance as he parries aside the various heads of the flail, leaving the Angel Crusader exposed for him to hack at the man's side. De Lusignan manages to move the edge back with the border of his storm shield, turning a blow that should have carved through his warplate into one that merely digs deep into it, drawing transhuman blood. Undeterred by the pain, De Lusignan hooks his arm in the axe haft, immobilizing it long enough for Falce to swing at the Master of Execution's head, who takes a hand away from the axe to grab his wrist before he can complete the swing. Falce had expected that, and so his off-hand pulls his combat knife out of his sheath and stabs it deep into the foe's now exposed armpit piercing his primary heart. Kang Lee looks Falce in the eye lenses as the Master of Sanctity twists the knife, digging it deeper and nicking the veins that connect the secondary one to the rest of the body.
"So be it." Exhales the traitor softly before falling to the ground dead. Falce looks to the side and sees De Lusignan removing the axe head from his side, dropping the weapon to the side as the Larraman cells in his body work overtime to stem the bleeding.
"That was a close bout." He says, bringing down his foot on the traitors head to ensure his demise. "Greatest foe I've closed blades with. You did well in coming when you did."
"Wish I could have come sooner." Replies Falce as he surveys his fallen cousins. "We must press on with the cleansing. Reinforcements have been called, they will tend to your brothers."
"Good." Says De Lusignan simply as he leaves the chamber.
10th Company Toughness roll 6+1(Soran)=7d10= 5, 7, 9, 2, 8, 9, 9= 5 Successes
Durante Clerici Willpower roll 4+2(Hexagrammic Wards)=6d10 (SC 2)= 3, 7, 3, 9, 6, 4= 2 Successes
Clerici's Inquisitorial Retinue Willpower roll 4d10 (SC 2)= 9, 1, 7, 6= 2 Successes
Seble Bereket Willpower roll 4d10 (SC 2)= 1, 10, 2, 9= 2 Successes
Bereket Willpower roll 4d10 (SC 2)= 10, 4, 8, 7= 4 Successes
Ordo Malleus forces Willpower roll 3d10 (SC 2)= 3, 9, 8= 2 Successes
-Temple of the Ninety-Nine Altars secured, Eyes of the Mutator won't be able to enact any more rituals
-6 Veterans Slain, Tomb-Master Domitian Slain, 14 Progenoids recovered.
-Castaferrum-Pattern Dreadnought Destroyed, 3 Suits of Prototype MK.VI "Corvus" Power Armor Destroyed, 2 Suits of Prototype MK.VI "Corvus" Power Armor Gravely Damaged, 1 Suit of Prototype MK.VI "Corvus" Power Armor Damaged, 2 Stalker Bolters Destroyed
Eliza Sinclair Ballistic Skill roll 2d10= 9, 7= 2 Successes
Commissar Ballistic Skill roll 2d10= 9, 5= 1 Success
Yamunan Gravekeepers Ballistic Skill roll 2d10= 1, 10= 1 Successes
Chimeras roll 2d10= 4, 2= 0 Successes
Sentinels roll 2d10= 10, 9= 3 Successes, Critical Success
Successes needed reduced by 1
Qiao Dao Ballistic Skill roll 6d10= 9, 8, 8, 7, 1, 5= 3 Successes
Teng An Willpower roll 6d10= 1, 10, 2, 4, 7, 2= 2 Successes
Chaos Marine Ballistic Skill roll 4d10= 7, 10, 7, 6= 5 Successes, Critical Success
Successes needed reduced by 1 Raptor Weapon Skill roll 4d10= 9, 9, 3, 1= 1 Success
Havoc Ballistic Skill roll 4d10= 8, 6, 3, 7= 3 Successes
Chaos Spawn 1 roll 2d10= 3, 5= 0 Successes
Chaos Spawn 2 roll 2d10= 3, 6= 1 Success
Chaos Spawn 3 roll 2d10= 7, 1= 0 Successes
Zhou Jie Strength roll 2d10= 6, 1= 0 Successes
Chaos Cultist 1 Ballistic Skill roll 2d10= 7, 10= 3 Successes, Critical Successes
Successes needed reduced by 1 Chaos Cultist 2 Ballistic Skill roll 2d10= 2, 8= 1 Success
Chaos Cultist 3 Ballistic Skill roll 2d10= 8, 3= 1 Success
Chaos Cultist 4 Ballistic Skill roll 2d10= 9, 1= 0 Successes
Tzeentchian Mutants 1 Strength roll 1d10= 3= 0 Successes
Tzeentchian Mutants 2 Strength roll 1d10= 8= 1 Success
Tzeentchian Mutants 3 Strength roll 1d10= 8= 1 Success
Tzeentchian Mutants 4 Strength roll 1d10= 8= 1 Success
Tzeentchian Mutants 5 Strength roll 1d10= 8= 1 Success
Tzeentchian Mutants 6 Strength roll 1d10= 3= 0 Successes
Tzeentchian Mutants 7 Strength roll 1d10= 3= 0 Successes
Tzeentchian Mutants 8 Strength roll 1d10= 10= 2 Successes, Critical Successes
Successes needed reduced by 1 Tzeentchian Mutants 9 Strength roll 1d10= 5= 0 Successes
Tzeentchian Mutants 10 Strength roll 1d10= 4= 0 Successes
Tzeentchian Mutants 11 Strength roll 1d10= 7= 0 Successes
Tzeentchian Mutants 12 Strength roll 1d10= 3= 0 Successes
Tzeentchian Mutants 13 Strength roll 1d10= 8= 1 Success
Tzeentchian Mutants 14 Strength roll 1d10= 4= 0 Success
Tzeentchian Mutants 15 Strength roll 1d10= 3= 0 Successes
Tzeentchian Mutants 16 Strength roll 1d10= 3= 0 Successes
Chaos Leman Russ 1 roll 2d10= 9, 8= 2 Successes
Chaos Leman Russ 2 roll 2d10= 6, 1= 0 Successes
Chaos Chimeras 1 roll 2d10= 1, 9= 0 Successes
Chaos Chimeras 2 roll 2d10= 8, 6= 2 Successes
Imperials= 15/70
Eyes of the Mutator= 31/32
Objectively speaking, the view in front of him couldn't be considered beautiful in the eye of any beholder. Yerma Primus replaced the grey barren rock of Yerma Tertius with reddish-brown barren rocks, the air hot and arid. Urbanization provided no improvement there, for Nanguang was a wretched thing, a disorganized urban sprawl left bereft of care or effort where mutants and thralls dwelled in a material filth that matched the one in their souls.
And yet, after one and a half centuries of only sign dark walls and torturers, the decayed city was such a wondrous sight for Yeretai that only the plains of Chogoris would be a more uplifting sight for his spirits. He takes on it as the Storm Raven he is on lands on one of the wider rooftops in the city and lowers its ramp. As soon as he steps outside the vehicle the smog of pollution darkens the fresh white paint of his loaned armor, and yet, his mind and soul feel clean in a manner he hasn't felt since his capture. The Mist Shrikes that were embarked with him look at the sky, where the transports that carried their Guard allies are shot down by anti-air fire.
"That explains why we had such a calm descent, they weren't aiming at us." Comments darkly the leader of this detachment of Mist Shrike, a Lieutenant Iosephus. He then lowers his head to address him. "Champion Yeretai, it would be best if instead of coming with us you instead wait here for a few minutes before following us. While we don't doubt your skills," Kind words, with his imprisonment and still recovering physique. "it is risky enough to move undetected with someone who hasn't carried out an intervention since they were a scout. You have our vox-frequency in case the situation changes."
Yeretai readily acquiesced, for his cousins speak reasonably. "Understood. May fortune favour you cousins." The Mist Shrikes depart, leaving Yeretai to do as they requested, alone with his thoughts. It is a situation in which he has ample experience, even if his musings now lack the grim bitterness he once possessed, when he languished in his cell.
He had been captured in a battle against a Black Legion Warband, his small group of outriders overwhelmed as they overextended themselves chasing against the fleeing foe. What burdened his soul the most was how he had been unable to defend himself, as they had seized him after his bike had crashed from rushing over a landmine as he tried to avoid heavy bolter fire. He had spent relatively little time under their vicious ministrations, until the mongrel lapdogs of the Despoiler traded him to the Eyes of the Mutator in exchange for the supplies they needed to get to the Maelstrom. The ones who shamed the legacy of the Great Khan with their every breath had sought to break him, in body, mind and soul. They had only succeeded in the first, although he was knowledgeable enough in the healing arts to know that they had refrained from permanently maiming him into uselessness, which he suspected was do to them desiring to fall like them into worshipping the yaksha.
He barks out a short laugh as he walks in the direction of where the Mist Shrikes had gone. If that was their intent they would have kept on trying until the last star burned out. Yeretai would have never given those oathbreakers the satisfaction, although in the darkest moments of his captivity he had seriously considered stopping his own hearts. Two things have prevented him from doing so. The first was that his life wasn't his own to give, for it belonged to the Emperor and the Chapter. The second was that his whole being burned deep with the need to enact revenge upon his traitors and jailers, a vicious whirlwind inside his hearts that crashed uselessly with the reality that he could not escape his prison.
Until he had done so.
Yeretai had not expected to be rescued, and even if he had the expectation would have not matched with what had happened. With the rivalry between the Ordu of Jaghatai and the flock of the Ravenlord, there was a certain irony in their latest hatchlings giving him deliverance, alongside the cubs from the Lions pride and the wyrms of the Salamanders. Still, as thankful as he was for their assistance, they had only stoked his need to avenge himself. And so, despite the implants that had replaced his hand and foot feeling raw and unfamiliar, despite requiring for most of his wargear to be loaned to him, despite the strenuous recommendations of the healers for him to rest and recuperate, he had insisted on fighting here. Probably the sole reason for their indulgence of his petition was the reverence owed to the First Founding Chapters, even if the Chapter Master of the Mist Shrikes had shot him an unimpressed stare before smoothing his expression.
He has spent a few minutes hopping from rooftop to rooftop before he hears the sounds of war reach him. At the same time the vox-link on his helmet activates. "Champion Yeretai, this is Lieutenant Iosephus, we've been detected…aggh!" The transmission cuts off abruptly, and Yeretai rushes into the direction of the sound. He quickly reaches the area, which reveals a discouraging image. The Mist Shrikes stand in a circle, surrounded on all sides by a veritable sea of mutants. It is not uncommon for Space Marines to be vastly outnumbered, but the sheer amount of bodies presses against them and impedes their movements. The chainsword wielding marines are vastly superior in training and gear, but the mutants cling to their arms and legs, dragging them down and allowing foes with heavier arms and giving the chance for more dangerous foes to strike at them at their leisure. The Lieutenant lays onto his side on the filth-caked concrete with his right arm and leg twisted out of position, firing his stalker bolter unsteadily at one of such foes, a sorcerer who deflects his shots with a kine shield while advancing slowly towards him. The Lieutenant's subordinates are unable to stop him from advancing, busy as they are fending off the chaff and avoiding the potshots that a squad of Chaos Marine fire at them.
Yeretai makes a fast calculation to measure his vector of approach and acts. He leaps out of the roof, landing upon a cultist chimera that had just stopped to dislodge more mutants onto the fray. The cultist manning the heavy weapon atop the armored transport is crushed instantly beneath his boots, and Yeretai takes a frag grenade from his belt and drops it into the hole, leaping off the top of the vehicle after which the explosive detonates and kills the occupants. Then he cuts his way through the mutants with fast swings of his tulwar, knowing that to remain still is to be immobilized under the mob's mass as his cousins are. His approach is effective, but unsubtle, and so the Sorcerer lifts the son of Corax telekinetically with a gesture of his force staff, slamming him into the ground with bone-shattering force before turning to face Yeretai.
"We did not know that you still lived, brother." Says the Sorcerer conversationally. "Still resisting ungratefully the comfort of enlightenment. You had ample time to accept the truth and you refused, and so you can die in ignorance."
Yeretai bares his teeth in a predatory rictus beneath his helmet. "Sewage does not become clean water, no matter how long it lays stagnant. And while I may die in ignorance, your corpse will be dust long before that."
The Sorcerer taps his staff on the ground. "Killing me will be a more arduous task than you think, brother."
"Good, then I will see you struggle to delay the inevitable killing stroke." Says Yeretai as he charges him with laughter in his lips and joy in his heart.
-Brotherhood Champion Yeretai (MK.VIII "Errant" Power Armor, Iron Halo, Bolt Pistol, Master-Crafted Tulwar)
Order of the Thorned Spear:
-Acting Canoness Ríona (Artificer Sororitas Power Armor, Rosarius, Hand Flamer, Relic Power Sword Edge of Thorns)
-1 Dogmata (Sororitas Power Armor, Mace of the Righteous)
-1 Imagifier (Sororitas Power Armor, Simulacrum Imperialis)
-5 Sisters Hospitaller (Sororitas Power Armor, Bolt Pistol)
-6 Sister of Battle Squads (Sororitas Power Armor, Bolter)
-2 Retributor Squads(Sororitas Power Armor, Heavy Flamers, Heavy Bolters, Missile Launchers)
-5 Dominion Squads (Sororitas Power Armor, Flamers, Meltaguns)
-3 Penitent Engine
-4 Castigator Tanks
540th Yamunan Gravekeepers
-Colonel Eliza Sinclair (Flak Armor, Long Las, Chainsword)
-Commissar (Carapace Armor, Bolt Pistol, Chainsword)
-1 Company of Light Infantry (Flak Armor, Master-Crafted Lasguns, Meltaguns)
-5 Chimeras
-22 Sentinels
23rd Carolean Guard
–General Felix Mörner (Carapace Armor, Plasma Pistol, Power Sword)
–Commissar (Carapace Armor, Bolt Pistol, Chainsword)
–10 Companies of Heavy Infantry (Carapace Armor, Lasguns, Missile Launchers)
–18 Leman Russ Vanquishers
–46 Leman Russ tanks
–87 Chimeras
41st Durrutian Volunteers
–8 Companies of Line Infantry (Flak Armor, Lasguns, Missile Launcher)
–16 Leman Russes
–37 Chimeras
220th Boshinese Rikoguns
–Colonel Mizuno Natsuyo
–Commissar
–6 Companies of Line Infantry
–12 Leman Russes
–25 Chimeras
VS
-Qiao Dao, the All-Seing (Mutated MK.VII "Aquila" Power Armor, Storm Bolter, Power Sword)
-Chaos Sorcerer Teng An (MK.VII "Aquila" Power Armor, Bolt Pistol, Force Staff)
-4 Chaos Marine Squads (MK.VII "Aquila, Power Armor, Bolters, 4 Plasma Guns, 4 Melta Guns)
-1 Raptor Squad (MK.VII "Aquila" Power Armor, Jump Pack, Bolt Pistols, Chainswords)
-1 Havoc Squad (MK.VII "Aquila" Power Armor, Heavy Bolters, Missile Launchers, Multi Melta)
-3 Chaos Spawn
-Shi Zhihao, Chaos Demagogue (Flak Armor, Flamer)
-Bai Yaling, Chaos Psyker (Robes, Force Staff)
-Zhou Jie, Mutant Champion (Flak Armor, Mutations, Chainsword)
-Horde of Chaos Cultists (Robes, Lasguns, Close Combat Weapons)
-Flood of Tzeentchian Mutants (Robes, Mutations, Close-Combat Weapons)
-50 Leman Russes
-50 Chimeras
Successes needed for Imperial Victory= 40-4(Veteran Sergeants)= 36
Successes needed for Eyes of the Mutator Victory= 80
Severus Weapon Skill roll 7d10= 3, 6, 6, 3, 8, 4, 10= 5 Successes
Honor Guard Weapon Skill roll 6d10= 10, 10, 6, 2, 5, 4= 5 Successes
Bertrand Dupont Weapon Skill roll 7d10= 6, 5, 6, 7, 1, 10, 7= 5 Successes
Igor Blesk Willpower roll 6d10= 3, 4, 5, 8, 1, 6= 1 Success
Emilianus Pluvia Ballistic Skill roll 6d10= 1, 2, 5, 1, 5, 2= 0 Successes, Critical Failure
Successes needed reduced by 2
2nd Company Command Squad Agility roll 7d10 (SC 5)= 2, 5, 8, 5, 2, 7, 3= 2 Successes
Emilianus Pluvia Toughness roll 3d10 (SC 2)= 5, 6, 4= 1 Success
2nd Company Command Squad Ballistic Skill roll 6d10= 2, 10, 9, 2, 3, 8= 4 Successes
Raetia Weapon Skill roll 6d10= 5, 8, 9, 1, 6, 9= 3 Successes
2nd Company Tacticals Ballistic Skill roll 5d10= 8, 1, 8, 1, 10= 2 Successes
2nd Company Assault Weapon Skill roll 5d10= 3, 3, 10, 7, 1= 2 Successes
2nd Company Devastator Ballistic Skill roll 5d10= 7, 10, 1, 7, 2= 3 Successes
Gallienus Ballistic Skill roll 5d10= 9, 5, 8, 4, 8= 3 Successes
3rd Company Command Squad Ballistic Skill roll 6d10= 2, 1, 8, 5, 10, 6= 3 Successes
Squads 3-4 and 3-5 Ballistic Skill roll 5d10= 7, 8, 4, 9, 9= 4 Successes
3-8 Weapon Skill roll 5d10= 4, 6, 7, 2, 4= 2 Successes
3-10 Ballistic Skill roll 5d10= 4, 3, 8, 10, 8= 4 Successes,
Iosephus Toughness roll 4d10 (SC 3)= 7, 10, 5, 9= 4 Successes
10-3 Ballistic Skill roll 6d10= 1, 8, 1, 10, 2, 10= 3 Successes
10-7 Weapon Skill roll 6d10= 9, 7, 3, 7, 2, 5= 3 Successes
Mist Shrike Inquisitorial Retinue Ballistic Skill roll 6d10= 8, 3, 8, 8, 8, 3 = 3 Successes
Claudius Spatha Weapon Skill roll 6d10= 2, 4, 2, 4, 9, 9= 2 Successes
Dark Horizon roll 5d10= 8, 9, 1, 5, 9= 2 Successes
Rhinos roll 5d10= 10, 3, 1, 8, 4= 2 Successes
Whirlwind roll 5d10= 6, 7, 5, 5, 9= 3 Successes
Predator roll 5d10= 1, 4, 5, 3, 9= 0 Successes
Mizuno Natsuyo Weapon Skill roll 2d10= 8, 9= 2 Successes
Boshinese Rikoguns 1 Ballistic Skill roll 2d10= 8, 5= 1 Success
Boshinese Rikoguns 1 Ballistic Skill roll 2d10= 6, 9= 2 Successes
Boshinese Rikoguns 1 Ballistic Skill roll 2d10= 6, 7= 2 Successes
Boshinese Leman Russes roll 2d10= 1, 10= 1 Success
Boshinese Chimeras roll 2d10= 6, 10= 3 Successes, Critical Success
Successes needed reduced by 1
Qiao Dao Ballistic Skill roll 6d10= 7, 7, 6, 10, 8, 6= 8 Successes, Critical Success
Successes needed reduced by 1 Teng An Willpower roll 6d10= 4, 1, 10, 4, 5, 1= 0 Successes
Chaos Marine Ballistic Skill roll 4d10= 8, 7, 6, 9= 4 Successes
Raptor Weapon Skill roll 4d10= 9, 7, 1, 2= 2 Successes
Havoc Ballistic Skill roll 4d10= 6, 4, 3, 10= 3 Successes
Chaos Spawn 1 roll 2d10= 1, 5= 0 Successes, Critical Failure
Successes needed increased by 1 Chaos Spawn 2 roll 2d10= 4, 3= 0 Successes
Chaos Spawn 3 roll 2d10= 4, 4= 0 Successes
Zhou Jie Toughness roll 2d10 (SC 2)= 7, 3= 1 Success
Chaos Cultist 1 Ballistic Skill roll 2d10= 3, 7= 1 Success
Chaos Cultist 2 Ballistic Skill roll 2d10= 3, 10= 2 Successes
Chaos Cultist 3 Ballistic Skill roll 2d10= 5, 7= 1 Success
Chaos Cultist 4 Ballistic Skill roll 2d10= 1, 3= 0 Successes, Critical Failure
Successes needed increased by 1 Tzeentchian Mutants 1 Strength roll 1d10= 1= 0 Successes, Critical Failure
Successes needed increased by 1 Tzeentchian Mutants 2 Strength roll 1d10= 4= 0 Successes
Tzeentchian Mutants 3 Strength roll 1d10= 3= 0 Successes
Tzeentchian Mutants 4 Strength roll 1d10= 5= 0 Successes
Tzeentchian Mutants 5 Strength roll 1d10= 8= 1 Success
Tzeentchian Mutants 6 Strength roll 1d10= 5= 0 Successes
Tzeentchian Mutants 7 Strength roll 1d10= 2= 0 Successes
Tzeentchian Mutants 8 Strength roll 1d10= 7= 1 Success
Tzeentchian Mutants 9 Strength roll 1d10= 2= Successes
Tzeentchian Mutants 10 Strength roll 1d10= 7= 1 Success
Tzeentchian Mutants 11 Strength roll 1d10= 6= 1 Success
Tzeentchian Mutants 12 Strength roll 1d10= 4= 0 Successes
Tzeentchian Mutants 13 Strength roll 1d10= 5= 0 Successes
Tzeentchian Mutants 14 Strength roll 1d10= 9= 1 Success
Tzeentchian Mutants 15 Strength roll 1d10= 7= 1 Success
Tzeentchian Mutants 16 Strength roll 1d10= 3= 0 Successes
Chaos Leman Russ 1 roll 2d10= 9, 9= 2 Successes
Chaos Leman Russ 2 roll 2d10= 6, 1= 0 Successes
Chaos Chimeras 1 roll 2d10= 3, 7= 1 Success
Chaos Chimeras 2 roll 2d10= 7, 4= 1 Success
Imperials= 15+139=154/30
Eyes of the Mutator= 31+30=60/82
Imperial Victory
Private Yokoi Tatsuya doesn't want to be here, with here being the Valkyrie he is inside of, the system where he currently is, the 220th regiment of the Boshinese Rikoguns he belongs to and the Imperial Guard as an institution. Then again, his wishes have always mattered little. When the conscription notice arrived at his family's house demanding his brother be induced into the tithe, his father had used his position as a Administratum clerk to change the orders so that he was drafted inside, his progenitor always favouring Kenta over him.
And so he had marched to the recruiting station, only for him to be given his equipment and sent into the spaceport to join his new regiment. The 220th Boshinese Rikoguns had been gutted to give experienced troops to depleted or rebuilding regiments, and so he and countless other bastards like him were to be trained on route to their next deployment. The training was brutal, the sergeants in charge of it as ruthless and sadistic as the heretics they were supposed to face as they punished everyone harshly for the slightest mistake. Still, Tatsuya had learned to keep his mouth shut, take it and do everything they ordered as best as he could, as the one time he had asked for clarification on a order his sergeant had given him the ugly bastard had beaten him so viciously that he had spent the next four days pissing blood. And he had been lucky to never earn the wrath of Commissar "Betsu no Bokken", who is infamous across the regiment for breaking wooden training swords on the bodies of the troops he punishes, to the point that several of them had died from it. He had thought that at least being on the transport ship would give him the chance to meet with people from other planets, but that had been a disappointing experience. Of the two regiments they share a transport with, the Yamunans were a miserable lot that acted as if every day was a funeral and the Durrutians not only looked down upon him and his fellows with a infuriating mix of pity, scorn and mockery, if an officer saw you interacting with one or just to close with one of them they would beat you up once more for "fostering a lack of indiscipline."
Tatsuya had thought that things couldn't get worse, only for reality to prove that he must have done something to offend the God-Emperor when they arrived in the Yerma System and the Colonel had personally informed their whole regiment that they were going to fight fallen Angels of Death. Tatsuya had almost shat himself at the thought of seeing one face to face. The sermons in the shrine had spoken aplenty of the Fallen Angels, those damned beings that had abandoned the Legions of the Nine Sons of the Emperor to serve under the thrall of the Nine Dark Daemons, only to be cast off the God-Emperor's light for their betrayal. Sure, they had said that the loyal Angels that accompanied them would destroy them with ease, but Tatsuya had the creeping suspicion that by the time they did so he would be already dead. He had been lucky that he had not been part of the half regiment that they had sent to Tertius to assault some tower of dark witchery, but what the survivors have commented before the commissar and the company of the veterans purged half of them for heresy told him that the fighting had been worse than what his worse nightmares had told him.
But there is nothing he can do to escape this, and so he stands in the Valkyrie's cargo hold as it descends, his eyes squeezed shut as he struggles not to lose control of his bowels.
"Yokoi! Open your eyes you worthless worm! We are about to land!!" Tatsuya obeys the voice immediately, knowing better than to disobey. The mountain of muscles, malice and murderous impulses known as Lieutenant Toshinori glowers at him for a moment before addressing the rest of his platoon. "We are coming in hot and landing near the city center, so hit the ground running and kill everything that doesn't wear an Imperial Aquila!! You are here to do the God-Emperor holy work, so if any of you whoresons dies without my say so I will chase you to the foot of the Golden Throne and kill you again, God-Emperor witness. I AM CLEAR!?"
"SIR, YES SIR!!" Shouts everyone onboard, Tatsuya included. The Valkyrie shakes as it gets closer to the ground. When it stops and the ramp lowers, Tatsuya rushes out of the transport and in his haste he loses his ground and falls painfully onto the street after a few steps. That saves his life, as a shell from an heretic Leman Russ comes whistling where his head was a second ago and impacts the open cargo hold of the gunship, wrecking it and killing most of his squad. Tatsuya lies on the ground, unable to hear anything with his ringing ears, but feeling the vibrations on the ground as the tank moves forward. He watches in a daze as Lieutenant Toshinori tries to rally what remains of his squad, only for them to be immediately pumped full of bullets by the coaxial autocannon. Tatsuya closes his eyes and prepares for his imminent death, but it doesn't come. He opens his eyes when the ringing in his ears subsides, and sees the tank that almost killed him destroyed, a hole burned clean through its front. He feels huge hands hoist him to his feet and is about to protest when he sees who has done so.
An Angel of Death with a skull in his helmet looks down upon him as he removes his hands from his sides, thirty of so of his brethren clad in mighty armor and wielding weapons that make Tatsuya lasgun look puny march past him. "To your feet Guardsman, the Imperium still needs you!" Says the Space Marine before rejoining the rest of the Angels and Tatsuya, with nothing better to do other than stand there amidst the dead, follows them after retrieving his rifle from the ground.
They soon come upon more enemies as they advance and despite being as terrifying as he expected, Tatsuya finds the courage to aim his lasgun with his shaking hands and fire upon them. He can't discern who effective he is, for the Angels of Death are proving the accuracy of their sobriquet as everything that stands against them dies, whether they are monstrous mutants, wicked heretics, or even their accursed kin. They find other scattered guardsmen as they move, and soon Tatsuya is not the only one following them. He is accompanied by fellow Boshinese, bloodied and wounded Yamunans, stern and dangerous-looking Caroleans and dirty and irreverent Durrutians, all of their spirits buoyed by the presence of the Space Marines, especially by the skull-helmed one, who unlike his silent brethren addresses them mere mortals constantly as he stands near an Angel with an ornate armor of rain and thunder as it fires what must be far mightier version of a lasgun.
"Push forward, brave warriors of the God-Emperor!" He shouts. "The forces of the wicked and the impure fall before the wrath of the righteous, before your skill at arms and your unfailing devotions! For you carry within yourself the indomitable spirit of the Imperium, the one that pushes you against all that is evil and will ensure our victory!" Now, he can't speak about the rest, but Tatsuya is not the type of soldier that the Marine describes, but he still feels re-energized by the words, as if his words awaken in him a better version of him.
It is something that is proven to Tatsuya when a missile comes flying towards the position of the Skull-helmed Space Marine when they are in a firefight against a group of cultist led by Fallen Angels in a rubble-strewn plaza, forcing him and the ones near him out of cover to scatter out of the way. The Angel with the overpowered Lasguns is hit by the missile, but the explosion is stopped by a field of energy that protects him from the blast. What it doesn't stop is the burst of bolt-shells that pierce through his body soon after, accompanied soon after by holes being blown in it. The Marine falls to the ground dead, and for a moment all of the angels pause, making Tatsuya's heart drop as dread pushes into his nerves once more.
The first of them to recover is the marine with the Skull-helm, who vaults over his newfound cover and charges the foe. "VENGEANCE!!" He roars, the exhortations from before replaced by a roar of fury and hatred. "VENGEANCE FOR THE CAPTAIN!!"
"VENGEANCE!!" The cry is picked first by the Marines with the white stripped helmets, who follow with their guns replaced by axes, swords and mace.
"VENGEANCE!!" Then by the ones fully colored in blue, who also rush out of cover, firing their guns on one hand while the other unsheathes long knives.
"VENGEANCE!!!" And finally by Tatsuya and the other guardsman, who fix bayonets and run towards a foe that still fires upon them. The young Boshinese didn't even know that the slain angel was a captain, but he knows that if he doesn't rush to help the angels he won't forgive himself for it. Lasbolts and bullets fly past him, killing the men around him, but Tatsuya miraculously survives unscathed and reaches the enemy position, where the loyal and traitor Space Marines are already killing each other in melee. A mutant swings a lead pipe towards Tatsuya's head, but muscle memory and instinct help him in ducking under the swing and thrusting his bayonet into the thing's stomach. He pulls it then from the dying moment, and in the movement he sees a traitor with an armor covered in spikes and gems aim a gun with two barrels at the Skull-helmed angel. Tatsuya reacts immediately and moves towards him, thrusting with his bayonet once more. The weapon bounces off the Traitor Space Marine armor and the Fallen Angel barely spares him a glance before punching with his hand into Tatsuya torso and tearing down his heart. Tatsuya falls, his chest burning with pain as his vision goes black. The last thing he sees is another angel decapitating his killer, and his last thought is relief that the Skul-helm Angel will be alright.
2nd Company Toughness roll 5+1(Anodynon)+1(Sarjanovic)=7d10= 7, 10, 10, 8, 10, 7, 4= 9 Successes, Critical Success
3rd Company Toughness roll 5+1+1=7d10= 9, 10, 4, 10, 3, 3, 2= 5 Successes
10-7 Toughness roll 6+1+1d10=8d10= 9, 8, 1, 3, 10, 2, 10, 9= 6 Successes
Inquisitorial Retinue roll 6+1+1=8d10= 7, 8, 2, 9, 5, 10, 1, 8= 5 Successes
-The city of Naguan has been secured, a forward base of operations for the campaign has been established.
-Captain Emilianus Pluvia slain, 6 veterans slain, 4 Marines slain. 12 Progenoids recovered.
-1 Predator tank destroyed, 1 Iron Halo destroyed, 1 Suit of Prototype MK.VI "Corvus" Power Armor Gravely Damaged. 1 Rhino Damaged
Other Assaults:
Despite fierce resistance from the forces guarding the Orbital ring, the task force under the command of 2nd Captain Olin Defer managed to secure it within acceptable casualty rates. The Smilay tech-priests have located a substantial number of gunships stationed in the ring's hangar and have surely denied all their air support and obtained air superiority.
—-
General Felix Mörner leaves the field hospital that has been set up in one of the cleaner, more intact buildings in Nanguang, erected to give closer treatment to the vast amount of wounded caused by the battles, hoping that a faster access to treatment would help more soldiers avoid their deaths. Mörner had been one of those wounded, the tally for his participation on the battle for this shithole of a city being a broken arm and multiple cracked ribs from when his Valkyrie had crashed after being shot down and a punctured lung and severe internal bleeding from when a Chaos Spawn had smacked him with some ugly-looking tentacle. As he walks towards the Imperial Guard command post, he lits a cigar and brings it to his lips, the cloud of smoke that he smells giving him a momentary distraction from his darkening thoughts.
He's getting too old for this.
Now, that had been the case for a very long time, Felix has undertaken juvenant treatments after all, but he now felt as his usefulness was at its end. He has won more battles than he has years, but it never matters what you did yesterday, only what you do today. And not only did his wits not feel as razor sharp as they once did, but injuries keep piling up onto his body, first in Lezo and now here in Yerma. He knows that retirement is on the horizon, even if a part of him still balks at the thought of leaving all he has worked for ever since he departed the officer academy on Caroleus as a fresh lieutenant. Perhaps he can return there, put his hard-earned experience in teaching new generations of Imperial officers so that they can push the Carolean regiments into greater victories in the Emperor's name.
He shelves the idea for now as he reaches the command post. The troopers outside let him inside, where he meets with Jacques D'Albret, who had gone to the strategy meeting in his place while he recovered for his injuries. Now he was someone with miserable prospects once he retired. He had been to Seibourc once and most nobles there barely lived better than the underhivers they ruled over.
"D'Albret, what did I miss?"
Mist Shrikes:
–Chapter Master Severus of the Mist Shrikes
–Honor Guard
–Chapter Champion Bertrand Dupont
–Master of Sanctity Falce
–Codicier Ivan Polikhat
–2nd Company Command Squad
–2nd Company Ancient Aquilifer
–2nd Company Champion
–Senior Techmarine Noricum
–Senior Apothecary Anodynon
–Chaplain Jaronski
–2nd Company Lieutenant Ulpio
–2nd Company Lieutenant Gallo
–2nd Company Tactical Squads
–2nd Company Assault Squads
–2nd Company Devastator Squads
–3rd Company Captain Gallienus
–3rd Company Command Squad
–3rd Company Ancient Dragomir
–Apothecary Sarjanovic
–3rd Company Lieutenant Furor
–3rd Company Lieutenant Cataegis
–Tactical Squads 3-4 and 3-5
–Assault Squad 3-7 and 3-8
–Devastator Squad 3-10
–10th Company Secutor
–10th Company Command Squad
–10th Company Champion
–10th Company Ancient Caligae
–10th Company Champion Gnaeus
–Senior Techmarine Ostia
–Senior Apothecary Soran
–Chaplain Jaronski
–10th Company Lieutenant Iosephus
–10th Company Lieutenant Lanista
–Squads 10-1 through 10-3
–Squads 10-6 and 10-7
–Inquisitorial Escort of Mist Shrike Veterans
–Land Raider Dark Horizon
–5 Rhinos (2 Damaged)
–4 Whirlwinds (1 Gravely Damaged)
–1 Razorback
–Tomb-Champion Claudius Spatha
–4 Thunderhawks
–10 Storm Ravens
Angels Crusader:
–Master of the Deathwing Gerard de Lusignan
–Deathwing Knights (3/5)
–Deathwing Ancient Godefroy
–Deathwing Apothecary Aimery
–Deathwing Technmarine Berthramus de Silvester
–Codicier Canali
–13 Five Marine Squads of Deathwing Terminators
–Venerable Brother Gerard De Martigues (Castaferrum-Pattern)
–Land Raider Holy Xenocider
–10 Thunderhawks
–10 Storm Ravens
–Master of the Skitarii Samuel Omicron-Epsilon 529
–2 Fulgurite Electro-Priests
–6 Squads of Skitarii Hyspaspists
–8 Squads of Skitarii Vanguards
–2 Squads of Skitarii Rangers
–2 Squads of Skitarii Sagitarii
–14 Onager Dune Crawlers
–79 Krios Battle Tanks
–82 Skorpius Dune Crawlers
–50 Archaopters
Ordo Malleus:
–Inquisitor Durante Clerici
–Inquisitorial Retinue
–1 Squad of Arco-Flagellants
–1 Crusader Squad of House Inim-Shara
–2 Retributor Squads from the Order of the Hallowed Chalice
--Inquisitor Seble Bereket.
--Inquisitorial Retinue
--Stormtrooper Platoon
--Squad of Azerii Warriors
–19 Valkyries
-Angels Crusader demands attacking all locations with simultaneous landings. In case not all locations are attacked, they prioritize the Shifting Fortress. Want detachments in all locations that aren't the cities, and De Lusignan demands to be in command of the assault of the Shifting Fortress.
-Blazing Wardens would prefer to start with the Shifting Fortress, and the city of Dongying, with a landing in waves with equal forces. Don't care about force allocation, but if they are in a deployment with the Angels Crusader, they don't want De Lusignan in charge of any of the deployments.
-Angels Revenant want to land first in the Ninefold Forge and the city of Guiyang, they do not care about the wave allocation, but they want to take command of at least one deployment.
-Imperial Guard command wants to secure the cities first, with landings in waves with scouting elements. Don't care about force allocation.
-Forgeworld Smilnay wants to attack the Ninefold Forge with a landing in waves with heavy assets. They demand that no other force is assigned to that target.
-Order of the Thorned would prefer an assault on the Temple of the Ninety-Nine Altars and the city of Naguang, don't care about the manner of the landing. If those locations are attacked, they want a force present.
-Ordo Malleus wants an attack on the Shifting Fortress with landings in waves with equal distribution. Demand a detachment on that locations.
Choose how to distribute the available forces for your landing on Yerma Primus (If you wish to leave a location for later, do not assign any forces to it.):
-[] The Shifting Fortress: The main fortress of the Eyes of the Mutator on the planet and the closest thing they have to a Fortress-Monastery. Not only it is expected that Chaos Lord Jiaomo will be there, but that he will be commanding both the heaviest defences and the elite of the Warband –[] Write-in which forces you assign to this location:
-[] The Ninefold Forge: Contrary to initial observations, further reconnaissance has revealed that the industrial complex on site is not manned by the Chaos Marine, but by a detachment of Dark Mechanicum from…somewhere. Attackers on these locations can expect both daemon engines and other kinds of heavy armor. –[] Write-in which forces you assign to this location:
-[] Dongying: The northern city on the planet, it is also the nearest city to the shifting fortress. As such, we have intel that locates the training grounds of the Watchers of Yerma, the Warband's mortal elite, there. –[] Write-in which forces you assign to this location:
-[] Guiyang: The eastern city and the one closest to the Ninefold Forge. Most of the armor that is produced in the Dark Mechanicus enclave goes there before being redistributed elsewhere and the city holds many manofactoriums from the cultist armies of the Mutator. –[] Write-in which forces you assign to this location:
-[] Zenwhei: The southern city, and a location that is far more out of the way than the other urban centers on the planet. It is a tertiary target, but a daring recon flight from one of the Navy's Valkyries has revealed that a force of Eyes of the Mutator and Dark Mechanicum are moving towards it. –[] Write-in which forces you assign to this location:
Choose how you want to organize the landing of forces. Take into account the number of gunships (Vote only if you choose the Ninefold Forge and/or Guiyang and/or if you choose Shifting Forces WITHOUT choosing Dongying):
-[] Simultaneous: Land all forces available in the first wave. -[] Heavy Assets first: Assets such as Terminator armor, Heavy armor and Mechanized Infantry land first, followed by the rest of forces. -[] Scouting Elements and Saboteurs first: Assets such as Veteran Scouts and Light Infantry land first, followed by the rest of forces. -[] Equal Waves: Waves upon landing follow a well-balanced compositions
Choose how you want to organize the advance towards the other targets. (Vote only if you choose the Dongying and the Shifting Fortress, Dognying, and or Zenwhei):
-[] Airborne Assault:
–[] Simultaneous: Land all forces available in the first wave. –[] Heavy Assets first: Assets such as Terminator armor, Heavy armor and Mechanized Infantry land first, followed by the rest of forces. –[] Scouting Elements and Saboteurs first: Assets such as Veteran Scouts and Light Infantry land first, followed by the rest of forces. –[] Equal Waves: Waves upon landing follow a well-balanced compositions -[] Armored Spearhead: Breach enemy defenses using armor and heavy infantry, with the other forces following close behind. Aircraft assigned to this action will be used as air support. -[] Sabotage and Recon: Infiltrate using scouts and light infantry to sabotage defenses and allow the rest of the forces an easier time in. Aircraft assigned to this action will be used as air support. -[] Sweeping Advance: Move all of your forces simultaneously. Aircraft assigned to this action will be used as air support.
The forces assigned to the Orbital Ring have seized a number of transports from the Eyes of the Mutator, after destroying the most overtly corrupted ones. Choose what to do with them:
-[] Put them immediately to use: We need all the advantages we can if we are to be triumphant in this campaign. (Gain 20 Yerma Thunderhawks, 20 Yerma Storm Ravens, 50 Yerma Valkyries. Low chance of them being corruptive to the forces that use them) -[] Store them for further inspection and reconsecration: Hasty action and compromises are the first step to damnation. (Transports are left unused. Will be divided after the campaign.)
Q.M Notes: First of all, let me say that I claim no responsability for the rolls in this update.
Now seriously, apologies for the delay. My schedule was very hectic this past two weeks and I've struggled to choose the POVs for these update.
Informational will be updated after I wake up, for I am going to sleep. There will be a moratorium of seven hours and as always, feel free to point out any mistakes you might find. Have a nice night.
"Thou dare to cut short mine younger cousin's office at the beginning of his long vigil, thou heretical filth!? I shall sear thy flesh to ash, and reduce thy labors and places of blasphemous worship to nought!! Shed bitter tears of sorrow and despair, curs, for thy doom is nigh!!
Farewell Domitian and Emilianus Pluvia, you served the Imperium well
Regardless, I say we target to Forge and the city next to the Forge as well. Let Smilnay deal with the Forge since they are demanding that while we can use other forces to take the city. Any suggestions on what other locations we should attack?
Choose how you want to organize the landing of forces. Take into account the number of gunships (Vote only if you choose the Ninefold Forge and/or Guiyang and/or if you choose Shifting Forces WITHOUT choosing Dongying):
-[] Simultaneous: Land all forces available in the first wave. -[] Heavy Assets first: Assets such as Terminator armor, Heavy armor and Mechanized Infantry land first, followed by the rest of forces. -[] Scouting Elements and Saboteurs first: Assets such as Veteran Scouts and Light Infantry land first, followed by the rest of forces. -[] Equal Waves: Waves upon landing follow a well-balanced compositions
Choose how you want to organize the advance towards the other targets. (Vote only if you choose the Dongying and the Shifting Fortress, Dognying, and or Zenwhei):
-[] Airborne Assault:
–[] Simultaneous: Land all forces available in the first wave. –[] Heavy Assets first: Assets such as Terminator armor, Heavy armor and Mechanized Infantry land first, followed by the rest of forces. –[] Scouting Elements and Saboteurs first: Assets such as Veteran Scouts and Light Infantry land first, followed by the rest of forces. –[] Equal Waves: Waves upon landing follow a well-balanced compositions -[] Armored Spearhead: Breach enemy defenses using armor and heavy infantry, with the other forces following close behind. Aircraft assigned to this action will be used as air support. -[] Sabotage and Recon: Infiltrate using scouts and light infantry to sabotage defenses and allow the rest of the forces an easier time in. Aircraft assigned to this action will be used as air support. -[] Sweeping Advance: Move all of your forces simultaneously. Aircraft assigned to this action will be used as air support.
Well damm Dupont got out of the hole only for Gnaeus to get in it
And damm on the Pluvia death that is a damm shame would have loved for his moment on sanction and his long time as a prophet will miss his unic armor art
Seems the ork kaptin wont be having a 3 match with rainy drops
Another shame is our new Dread's death a much needed weapon lost we dont get many of them
For the next phase we should go for the ninefold forge and its city Guiyany
Holy shit that Naguang fight was close. Just one point away from defeat at the first wave.
Overall not as good of a run as was hoped for but still at least a success. Falce running in and saving Gerard's life like that was the highlight, I don't think that anybody will be doubting the Mist Shrikes' competence or courage after that.
I was personally a big fan of the fight with Kang Lee, Falce and Lusignan. Lee was clearly an amazing fighter, wonder if Severus could've given him a run for his money with Lusignan cuz Falce was struggling lol
Well this is a campaign, so lots of deaths are to be expected. The Dark Eldar are more of an Imperial Navy problem because they're pirates and raiders rather than a conquering force which holds territory. We will rarely be able to stop the Dark Eldar before they can escape without the Imperial Navy or the System Defense Forces intercepting them early. We just don't have the ships.
I'm going to struggle to make a plan for this because I'm babysitting a preemie, so since we have the foothold I would appreciate sending someone to check out
-[] Zenwhei
So we don't have any damn surprises. Even if it's only a squad or two of 10th company
Note that you have to airdrop to the shifting fortress only If you don't choose Dongying too. As for the why, Yerma cities are arranged roughly in a sideways rhombus pattern. You can't go to Guiyang and the Forge on land because it is the longest travel time and you would need to move pass the other two cities, which would leave you open to ambush or interception.
-[] The Ninefold Forge: Contrary to initial observations, further reconnaissance has revealed that the industrial complex on site is not manned by the Chaos Marine, but by a detachment of Dark Mechanicum from…somewhere. Attackers on these locations can expect both daemon engines and other kinds of heavy armor. –[] Write-in which forces you assign to this location:
-[] Guiyang: The eastern city and the one closest to the Ninefold Forge. Most of the armor that is produced in the Dark Mechanicus enclave goes there before being redistributed elsewhere and the city holds many manofactoriums from the cultist armies of the Mutator. –[] Write-in which forces you assign to this location:
-[] Zenwhei: The southern city, and a location that is far more out of the way than the other urban centers on the planet. It is a tertiary target, but a daring recon flight from one of the Navy's Valkyries has revealed that a force of Eyes of the Mutator and Dark Mechanicum are moving towards it. –[] Write-in which forces you assign to this location:
This is where i believe we should attack next. take out the Nine Fold Forge as well as the two cities not near the shifting fortress.
PLUVIA!!! NNOOOOOOOO!!! rest in peace. well Kaptain Goldagit wont be happy that his favorite beakie is dead. How did Pluvia die? and we lost Domition to, I really like how the Angels Crusader Dreadnaught was legitmatly pissed off that Domition was killed so early after his entombment into a dreadnaught. and Betrand got rid of his corruption thats good. Im glad the Azerii warriors are doing pretty well for themselves against the Chaos marines . after this campaign we should probably build up our relations with the other inquistors more especailly those of the Ordo Malleus.
VENGENANCE FOR THE CAPTAIN!!!!!! VENGENANCE FOR PLUVIA!!!!!
. after this campaign we should probably build up our relations with the other inquistors more especailly those of the Ordo Malleus.
