Yes we are!
You've trained your entire life to be the finest fighter of your family, you've attended the finest military academy of Franc, and you're commanding some damn fine troops. You feel the restraint harness of the shuttle shudder as it approaches the dock. It is an ancient habitat orbiting Neptune's moon of Triton, designated for capture and re-use by the Imperium.
Our troops might not respect us at first, but in this engagement we shall show that we are as brave and dashing as we are handsome and debonair!
An ancient relic reclaimed by humanity? A fitting first mission for one of your calibre.
Gods the ego is going to be so much fucking fun.
Soldiers of the Franks! Defenders of the Imperium." The voice of Tercio Lieutenant Richelle resounds in your helmet, her soft but hard-edged tones briefly distracting you. "Our ancestors endured Old Night, so that we could be here today. We shall spread enlightenment and reason to mankind as our ancestors did to the savages of Jermani in millenia past. Ready yourselves, children of the republic! Vive L'Empereur!"
How does the saying go? "The Germans and Jews can eventually become friends, but the Germans and French never shall." So good to see that rivalry survived the end of days...triple edition.
I love the feeling of the Napoleonic fervency as well. This is gon be fun.
The shuttle lands. You immediately get to your feet and get into position to charge down the ramp.
You thank the void seal of your armour as the sight before you reached you. The ancient space station's halls are caked with filth and grime, nearly completely concealing the white panelling beneath. Your armour warns you of the toxins in the air and the ambient radiation. Your suit can process the tainted air, but you'll stick to internal recycling for as long as possible.
I wonder how much of that is simple filth and lack of maintenance...and how much of that is what the mutants and other monsters need to breathe to survive...ew.
The hangar bay's deck is littered with corpses that bear the tell-tale wounds of bolter impacts. A bloody trail starting around a boarding pod, but of the Astartes there is no sign. Confusion clouds your thoughts for but a moment. You were supposed to be received by a squad of fifteen Astartes who'd inserted onto the habitat via a boarding pod, aid them in fortifying the bay, then let the Astartes go on their way into the interior while you held their artery of escape or reinforcement open.
Gee, I wonder where the blood thirsty savage legion of space marines went instead of sticking around waiting for their section of the wall of guns? -_- We're going to be spending a LOT of time pulling their rumps out of the roast I imagine.
Also I do have to say, as much as I wish we went with the Scandic fighters with the Iron Warriors, the foppy french with the savage pre sangy blood angles is a nice contrast.
You blink-click to vox the Astartes squad you are supposedly meant to cooperate with. Close=ranged, you do not require the aid of your Vox operator. "Sergeant Khorban, where are your marines?" You vox.
A gruff voice devoid of mirth suddenly broke into the comm with a squeal of static. You can hear bolters, the grind of chainswords, and horrific screaming that you can't be sure aren't Astartes battle cries. "We're not babysitters, mortal. Wait there as we do the real work." A bark of laughter and then the vox dies down.
I wonder...
Sigh. Cue the impending rush into danger when they get overwhelmed in 3...
You inwardly curse the uncouth animals and get about securing the hangar. "Second section, stay in reserve on the left. First and third, target the main access corridor. Rapier section, set up facing the entry."
A Rapier followed by a crew of engineers and a dozen servitors rolls down the lander, accompanied by cargo palettes holding their ammunition and a single levitating stasis casket containing far deadlier payloads. Void-Sergeant Philip signals that the weapon is ready.
Alright, our 'allies' have gone ahead, time to show why Francish discipline shall be the anvil to their gore caked hammer.
As the Auxilia move into position and make ready to sweep the hangar, the deck suddenly starts to shake. Distant roars and screaming fills the air. Distant lights are visible at the other end of the hangar, from the main access corridor.
"Merde!" A trooper shouts as an arm like a support pillar erupts from a deck plate and coils around his feet. The formation wavers for a moment as the massive mutant forces itself up through the deck, smashing the trooper against the ground with a sickening smack.
Yuup, the joys of facing mutants, for all that people try to sermonize on how they are just 'misunderstood'...they can do and become some VERY nasty shit. Living siege weapons at times...but they wouldn't send a biggun like this on its own. I have a bad feeling about this.
The troopers around the beast react on instinct, opening fire on the mutant, tearing large chunks from the beast, even as it reaches out for another human.
You take aim with your Volkite and pull the trigger. A beam of concentrated heat impacts its head and quickly burns through, flash-combusting the liquid in its upper torso in an explosion of red steam.
I'm pretty sure that Volkite were lightning weapons not heat weapons, unless the zappy IS the heat here.
Either way, glad we went with the arms merchant, cause our sidearm was able to blast this fucko into the warpy afterlife.
But the distraction nearly spells doom for the section, as more mutants swarm up through the entrance the lead creature made. You whistle a command and your sections form a double line, the first crouching and the second standing behind. Fifty-nine lasrifles charge at the exact same time. A volley of las beams scythes through the mass of attackers, rupturing flesh, searing off chitin, and turning limbs to meat stumps. The attack stumbles for but a moment before the next of the attackers reaches you.
I knew it! It was a trap!
Line fire, it went out of style but hey, end of the galaxy can bring out some classics, especially for lasguns when you just want to make a deadly wall of 'fuck you die'.
And yet, when facing outright inhuman monsters that care less for their own lives than the price of butter, even that isn't enough to keep you out of the scrum.
You've never seen such a mass of twisted tainted flesh before, not even in the ruins of Antwer or the Uxemburg charnel pits. Your training kicks in and you perish the thought.
"Elan!" You shout the ancient command. Immediately, each able-bodied soldier mounts their bayonets, forming a wall of steel. You blow your helmet's integrated whistle. The section charges forward, monomolecular spikes thrusting through tainted flesh and firing their weapons just before pulling back.
Yessss, a bayonet charge against a monstrous foe in the name of the Emperor! I love it!
"Vive L'Empereur!" You fire your volkite pistol as your Sub-Tercio echoes the war cry. The beam turns a mutant into an expanding red mist. With the flat of your power blade you stop a blow from a boarding axe, the disruptor field sparking partially against the axe. You slide your blade upwards, cutting through the metal haft. You kick the mutant back, feel your pistol chime to signal its recharge, and fire it at close range.
Very nice, good imagery on Napoleonic tactics and methods making a comeback due to the setting and how crazy it is.
The melee is brutal, but the second and third sections, led by Void Sergeants Amelié and Jeanne, have repositioned and are now firing into the melee, concentrating fire on the hole in the floor, unleashing a crossfire into the mass that breaks the charge. The wave breaks and the last mutant is shot as it peeks its head out over the lip.
Ah yes, flanking fire, anyone who's played a total war game knows just how devastating it can be, let alone anyone who's seen the records of battles IRL. Even with muskets, you'd have lines
melting because they're getting pounded front and back.
"Fortify. Secure for advance." You repeat the objective, whistling the commands while making hand gestures and moving behind the line, keeping your soldiers moving. Just as the École spéciale militaire de Imperialis taught you. You can hear your Void Sergeants conveying your commands to the other sections.
Yup, this is going to be a battle of inches that's for sure.
You frown at one of the sergeants under Void Sergeant Jeanne's usage of Imperial Gothic in giving commands to his troops instead of Française. The gutter-snipe Jeanne should be teacher her men better. You make a note to report the sergean to the Academie Franç and have him caned once for each word as the Code Militaire dictates.
He
dares not to use the greatest language in the world?! The Language that uses sevel vowels to say "Egg" And all of them WRONG!? Sacrilege!
[] Have the man shot on the spot
Nu, that's a great way to get your men to hate you and kill you.
[] Have him flogged as well for good measure.
Second verse, same as the first. Flogging is very much a shot punishment for the men watching it. If you're going to use it for an example, it needs to fit the crime.
[] Withhold his wine ration for three days. One for each word.
Fitting, although withholding a Franc's wine ration is asking for madness...might make him more effective in battle if we point him at the enemy while doing it though...
[] Downgrade his rations to nutrient paste for three days. One for each word.
Also a good balance, having to eat that...*sludge* would certainly be a memorable moment for any self respecting Franc.
Five minutes later, the full layout of the hangar becomes clear. The hangar is accessible through a main access corridor down which the Astartes disappeared. The first and second sections have the hallway under crossfire, while the Rapier is loaded with frag shells, even as the Phosphex pod is set down and kept at the ready.
Good, good, this should be doable for us to hold with our equipment with minimal troubles.
You glance to the far left, taking in the possible threat to your defence, The starboard wall is torn in a dozen places, patched up with sheet metal, dodgy welds, and glued with blobs of hardened mucus. Your combat engineers believe they can secure the side passages, but can make no guarantees.
Ew, definitely mutant patchwork, not sure we can or should rely on this being secure.
"Raise the Argent Heart" You command your Vox officer. He nods, adjusting the bulky equipment attached to his void armour, he makes a hand signal to confirm the signal is coming through. "Hangar Beta-Twenty is secure. Requesting reinforcements to secure the beachhead."
There is an audible click as the return signal is received. The Vox Officer's helmet betrays no emotion as he ensures your message is transmitted. "Acknowledged. Be advised. Sub-Cohort Gamma, Tercio Delta, has secured all sub-tercio objectives, and is the target of the primary landing. Reinforcements will arrive with the next available shuttle."
Ah futz, so we are behind. Not good. If we are to earn our way to
Nobility then we need to do better and be faster, more efficient!
You nod in approval. The attack is proceeding well if the primary landing is already happening. Although a part of you is disappointed that you were unable to secure the honour of securing a landing space for the main assault.
"This is Squad Tertius. We require reinforcements. The mutant overseers have brought up heavy weapons and aberrant beasts. I am down three marines. Transmitting my coordinates."
Indeed, tis most sadge, but hey, looks like the Marines got in a pickle, losing...
EIGHTY PERCENT?! They lost EIGHTY PERCENT of their squad, holy fuck on a stained glass window...okay we got shit to do.
Your helmet's heads up display shows a hololith of the station. The marines are far ahead of your positions, down labyrinthine passageways and forced into what looks like a dead end. Your orders are to hold the landing zone, but if the marines perish, it will look very badly on your record, and you will be the next target. Cogs turn as you calculate how fast you can get to the marines, and if you should just let them all get eaten or not.
Fuuuugh, so we can let them die but that would just hurt our relations in the future as well as leave us without any space marines in case we need someone big and stompy for big threats. Ngl, I'm for going after them because leaving them to die just feels like planting the seeds of them returning the favor.
If you are to aid the marines, then you'll need to leave before the reinforcements arrive. You glance at the starboard wall which is still being closed off further. The work looks solid. But you can't be completely sure it won't be breached. The surest path would be to send a section in and hold it at the point the side tunnels originate from.
So yeah, we're going to have to divide our forces and take risks unless we want to play it completely safe.
7th Verdyn Chemical engineers Cohort
Sub-Cohort Quintus
Tercio Primaris
Sub-Tercio Delta.
-First Lasrifle Section. You are in command of this Section.
-Second Lasrifle Section. Led by Void Sergeant Amélie Beaufort
-Third Lasrifle Section. Led by Void Sergeant Jeanne
-First Rapier Destroyer section. Led by Sergeant Philip "Pip" Bernadotte
*Equipped with a quad mortar that can fire either frag shells or Destroyer Weaponry. Will use Frag Shells unless ordered to use Destroyer Weaponry. Uses the Destroyer Weapons trait.*
So this is our army, such as it is, four units one one of which is designed to say "To whom it may concern." with Phosphex love letters, noted!
Orders:Your orders are to hold the Hangar so it can be used as a landing site for troops moving into the habitat. Launching a pre-emptive attack on the mutants attacking the marines falls within those orders.
Okay, so at least we're not disobeying orders to do this. That's good.
[]Main Access:
You are defending a long hallway and numerous vents and other passages from the riled mutant population inhabiting the habitat. The firing lanes are good, but enough mutants can pass through that a single Section might not be able to hold the enemy at range alone.
-Write in which Sections you will deploy.
I'm thinking we leave the destroyers here so that way they can leverage their long ranged Phosphex cuddle bombs.
[]Starboard wall:
The starboard wall is littered with holes and passages, but these all originate from a central corridor. If you do not guard it, you will have to hope and trust in the barricades and barriers put up by your troops to keep the mutants out.
-Write in IF you will deploy troops and if so, how many.
Hmmm, i think leaving one group here just in case works, because if there is someone that comes out, we'll need to have them fall back to the destroyer section so that they can keep the vital location clear.
[]The Depths:
The Revenant Legion squads at the heart of the station have called for assistance, mentioning mutants with relic weapons capable of killing Astartes. A force sent to assist will not be able to aid in holding the main access corridor.
-Write in IF you will deploy sections if so, how many.
We go here with our troops and one other section, maybe Jeanne's section. This would be, functionally speaking, splitting our force into 2: Two sections holding the general area of the landing, 2 pulling the monster bois out of the fire.
