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The Lost Primarch Quest

Flagship Name

  • Spirit of Fire

    Votes: 21 47.7%

  • Vigilance

    Votes: 23 52.3%
  • Total voters
    44
  • Poll closed .
Reader mode
Daemon Hunter said:
Sorry, I meant the first dice was for the Raven Guard, second dice was for the Hitchlock, and last dice was for your Legion.

Edit. Each set was for a different combat stage.
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Corax did great then. He got the best dice of all stages. Our Legion petered out in the end while the Forge World seems to have stabilized.

Sneaky Justice Primarch will show us how it's done.
 
Chief18753 said:
Corax did great then. He got the best dice of all stages. Our Legion petered out in the end while the Forge World seems to have stabilized.

Sneaky Justice Primarch will show us how it's done.
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I randomized the dice rolls for the one you rolled. I couldn't tell if they were sorted or not. So that order became 100, 17, 77. So Corax did fantastic and you did pretty good.
 
SleepMode said:
True true, hope it contributes to Warptech studies, even if a little.
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To be honest, it probably won't because these aliens specialize in cybernetics. Although it is a very grotesque form of it.

In the meantime, I should get the next update out in 12 hours. Also, college is resuming for me tomorrow, so I am going to be more sporadic with my replies. However, I should still be able to update daily. I'll let everyone know if I can't update because of projects/midterms.
 
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Fall of the Hitchlock
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Go with Corax's plan

    AN: So, I started writing, and I just had so much fun that I couldn't find a place to stop. As a result, it's a fair bit longer than other updates. The price of great rolls.

    After a few hours of discussion, Kesar eventually agreed to Corax's plan. While massed fire could cause a catastrophic change in orbits resulting in massed devastation, this was not as useful as it sounded. While some bases would be destroyed, space is large. The distance between asteroids would make it far less effective than expected. Additionally, the added randomness in the orbits would result in major issues with coordinating ship movements. Therefore, Kesar decided that Corax had a good plan, but it would necessitate some further refinement.

    The plan was as such. There would be three waves, each with a different goal. The first would secure landing zones on the asteroid bases and eliminate the main defensive systems. The second wave would go after major hardpoints, and the last wave would clear the leftover military holdouts. During the ground assault, the Eternal Wardens would conduct deep strikes and capture key areas. Then, when they were attacked, the Raven Guard would cripple the resulting counterattacks and then crush the remnants with a hammer and anvil strategy.

    Of course, this would be aided with a good approach strategy. To this end, Corax had several stealth vessels capable of transporting the Astartes forces. They would make time the orbital patterns and transition during this phase, with the engines on standby to prevent emissions and ensure that maneuvering was possible in an emergency. With this, the three waves were loaded with 70,000 Astartes on each, with a slight majority being Eternal Wardens. Then, the pacification of the Hitchlock began.

    Kesar and Corax stood on the Shadow of the Emperor. While they would like to be in the first wave, they understood that they would be better off attached to the third wave where they could coordinate their forces throughout the battle. Currently, they were tracking the fleet of stealth vessels as they drifted towards their intended destination. During this, Corax spoke, "projected velocities look good. The first wave is maintaining cohesion and they are projected to arrive within 5000km before burning."

    "We have blind spots around asteroid 589 and 352. No detectable sensor grid elsewhere."

    The holographic interface displaying the movements of the fleet and asteroids lay in the center of the bridge, with the two Primarchs looking over different sections. As the first wave passed between asteroid 589 and 352, dozens of mobile platforms swarmed from the blindspots into the fleet's rear.

    Corax grabbed the vox and spoke, "4 dozen mobile platforms. 6 O'clock, same plane. You're blown! Go loud! Go loud!"

    As Corax warned the first wave, Kesar was already drawing up orders to the first wave to minimize damage, but even a Primarch is limited. Even the best plan cannot succeed if you had received it.

    The Primarchs watched as the mobile defenses of the Hitchlock fired in unison. The drifting vessels of the first wave were easy targets and their engines were crippled. The Hitchlock were quick to seize advantage of the Ravens and Wardens plight. The platforms activated their engines and strafed the crippled fleet. In a dizzying pattern, the Hitchlock zigzagged through the fleet inflicting massive casualties. In the span of minutes, 14000 Astartes had died, the remaining 56000 in the first wave were stuck in crippled ships, surrounded by hostile enemies with the initiative.

    Then, it got worse. With the fleet finally able to react, the few remaining Astartes ships with functioning engines burned to interpose themselves between their crippled brethren and the hostile forces. With the aid of Kesar's and Corax's attention, surely, they could prevail. Perhaps the Hitchlock knew this, as what they did next would destroy the first wave. They deployed vox broadcasters en masse, and the resulting interference cut contact with the two Primarchs.

    "Second-wave move in! New mission parameters rescue the first-wave! Secondary objective destroy Hitchlock fleet elements! Tertiary objective seize landing zones! All ships activate sublight engines!" Kesar thundered into the vox as Corax prepared firing vectors for the second and third waves. A sense of dread hung in the bridge. Kesar's and Corax's sons were isolated, crippled, and surrounded. Already, they could see the few remaining functioning ships were being destroyed by the Hitchlock fleet. Still, they were 2 hours out from the battle. Both Primarchs desperately hoped that their children would survive because in the few minutes since losing contact, another 14,000 Astartes had died.

    Solaro An was not having a good day. In the span of 20 minutes, 14000 of his brothers in the Raven Guard and 14000 of his cousins in the Eternal Wardens had died. Their fleet was crippled, they were surrounded, they were stuck in a kill zone, and reinforcements were 2 hours out. However, the Hitchlock forgot something. Just because their engines were nonfunctional, doesn't mean they were toothless. "Marines! To the Thunderhawks! Gunners! Target those ships. Doesn't matter if you hit, just keep them off us." Instantly, the Ravens acted to follow his orders with the Wardens only a moment behind them. An frowned at this. This was the Warden's first major engagement, he would have to amend his plans to ensure their inexperience wouldn't impact the Ravens.

    Surrounded on all sides, the first wave conducted a heroic operation. Boarding the Hitchlock ships en masse. The Ravens and Wardens waited for the opportune moment. While the Hitchlock movement patterns were complicated, they could be predicted. Now, they struck. Every thunderhawk and boarding torpedo and remaining weapon fired as one. Forced to dodge the fury of the Imperial vessels, the Hitchlock were unable to deal with Astartes boarders. Here, the Ravens showed how dangerous they could be.

    Wardens rapidly fortified key positions on the Hitchlock vessels. As the Ravens set up ambushes, the Wardens prepared to meet the enemy. They did not disappoint. When the Hitchlock attacked, they did not do so with soldiers. Instead, they did so with the remains of those they had enslaved. What were once human were now far less so. Their bodies were replaced with metallic legs ideal for tunnel movement, their minds shackled to complete obedience to their Xeno masters, they were repugnant and lesser men would have vomited. Not Astartes.

    While the Wardens struggled in their first major engagement, the Ravens were there to assist. Whenever a Warden was in danger, a Raven was there. Whenever a defensive measure was about to fall, a Raven was there. When the Wardens were about to be flanked, the Ravens were there.

    Still, this was simply a delaying tactic. Forced to decide between risking their fleet or letting the first wave go, the Hitchlock withdrew and prepared for the second wave.

    Without the assistance of their gene-fathers, the second wave made do under the command of Maticus. With the first wave out of danger, Maticus was free to concentrate his efforts on destroying the Hitchlock. "Ravens, disrupt their formation. I want their fleets distracted. Warden vessels prepare a salve along these vectors."

    With their orders, the Ravens swiftly dispersed into small wolf packs. Each one vectored in on a different approach. Once in position, they opened fire. As a distraction, it would have done its job and more easily. However, there was one complication. The Hitchlock had an ace that they deployed. Their singular battleship dawned on the field. What was believed to be a cluster of cruisers was in actuality, a battleship bristling with guns. It lined up a targeting solution on multiple Raven vessels and prepared to fire.

    At which point, half of the Warden vessels fired at the Xeno vessel, and the remaining forced the other Xeno vessels to break off their attack runs on the Ravens. Eager to repay their cousins for their protection in the first wave, the Wardens fired in volleys. With each volley, a Hitchlock vessel died and the Wardens advanced. While the Ravens darted in on distracted vessels, the Wardens advanced. Ship by ship, the Hitchlock were destroyed, before finally, they arrived at the asteroid bases.

    Thunderhawks deployed Astartes onto the Xeno bases and landing sites were quickly secured. Throughout it all, Astartes casualties were minimized, with just 2000 dying during the rest of the advance. Now, the third wave had arrived, and the Hitchlock's days were numbered.

    In the confines of the asteroids, the Hitchlock eagerly awaited the arrival of the Imperials. This, this was their home turf. In the tunnels of their asteroids, they would tear the humans limb from limb. There were just a few major issues with this. Two of which were the Primarchs themselves. Now, they were onboard, and they had tactical command.

    Now, Corax's plan was finally put in action. Under the expert guidance from the Ravens, the Wardens traveled to key areas. The life support, hydroponics bays, weapons control, void shields, power sources, each of these locations was found before a devastating assault was launched. Kesar and Corax traded positions repeatedly. One would coordinate forces, while the other devastated Hitchlock positions. The Xeno never stood a chance. Under the watchful eyes of the Ravens, the Wardens captured the positions that were identified and prepared to meet the Hitchlock. Millions of the foul Xenos rose up to attack. And millions died. In the closed confines of the asteroid tunnels, the Ravens had free reign to tear apart Hitchlock forces.

    Thousands of ambushes occurred on the Hitchlock bases. Throughout it all, the Ravens decimated Hitchlock forces even before they attacked the Wardens. In desperation, they did so in the hopes the Wardens would make an easier foe. They were wrong. With a fortified position, the beleaguered Hitchlock had no hope of taking the Wardens positions. With overlapping fields of fire, heavy weapons emplacements, and positions of cover, the Wardens slaughtered the Xeno. When the Xenos finally retreated, the Ravens made sure that not one survived.

    Yet still, the Ravens continued their duty. Fall back positions were set up with Wardens securing the sites. Any defensive measures the Hitchlock had were destroyed. And throughout it all, not one Astartes had died. There were wounds, some of them would take years to heal. Some brothers would be interred in dreadnoughts, but they were alive.

    With the Hitchlock broken, all that remained was the mop up, a boring but necessary process. While the Hitchlock military had been destroyed, stragglers had remained. So far, not a single Hitchlock had surrendered or broken, which confused the Primarchs. There were a few options for this process.

    The first was a slow methodical breach and clear of every room. This would be exceptionally thorough, but it would be slow, meaning that the Hitchlock would likely deny many assets. However, the Ravens had confirmed that there were no self-destruct mechanisms, so safety was mostly assured.

    The second was possible because the Wardens had retained control of the life support systems. Corax did have a bioweapon that targeted the Hitchlock, and it could be distributed throughout the various asteroid bases. This would be extremely easy to do and minimize loss of life. However, it would cede the initiative to the Hitchlock in case they had an ace in the hole to deploy.

    Lastly, they could simply leave and destroy the bases. This would have no danger at all but would mean the asteroid bases would be of no use to the Imperium. Corax was against this plan because while he hated having to use Xenotech, it would save Imperium engineers centuries to make use of the existing infrastructure.

    In the end, the two Primarchs chose to

    [] Sweep and clear
    [] Deploy bioweapons
    [] Withdraw and bombard
    [] Write-in

    Afterwards, the two Primarchs had some free time. To this end, Kesar decided to approach Corax to

    [] Write-in
    -Basically, just say what you want to do with Corax.

    Battle Report:
    -15000 Raven Guard
    -15000 Eternal Wardens

    Initial Approach: 1 + 40 (Primarchs) + 20 (Stealth Ships) = 61
    Counter Ambush: 11 + 20 (Asartes) + 40 (Primarch) – 20 (Surrounded) = 51
    Raven Guard First Wave Survival: 96 + 20 (Astartes) – 20 (Surrounded) – 20 (Crippled Ships) + 10 (Sabotage) = 86
    Hitchlock: 37 + 20 (Prepared killzone) = 57
    Eternal Wardens Survival: 62 + 20 (Astartes) – 20 (Surrounded) – 20 (Crippled Ships) + 5 (Defending) – 5 (inexperience) = 42
    Second Wave Ravens: 53 + 20 (Astartes) + 5 (Experience) = 78
    Hitchlock Killzone: 33 + 20 (Prepared killzone) + 20 (Anti-capital defenses) = 73
    Eternal Wardens Second Wave: 96 + 20 (Astartes) – 5 (inexperience) = 121
    Assault Force Ravens: 100 + 20 (Astartes) + 40 (Primarch) + 10 (Breach and Clear) = 170
    Hitchlock Ground Forces: 17 + 10 (Homeground) + 20 (tunnels) + 20 (Biomechanical creatures) + 20 (numbers) = 87
    Eternal Wardens Assault Force: 77 + 20 (Astartes) + 40 (Primarch) – 5 (inexperience) + 5 (Blitz) = 137
     
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Deploy bioweapons

    [X] Talk about battle (mistakes , things that could have been improved , etc)
     
    [X] Deploy bioweapons

    [X] Talk about battle (mistakes , things that could have been improved , etc)

    Poor Xenos.
     
    [X] Deploy bioweapons

    [X] Talk about battle (mistakes , things that could have been improved , etc)
     
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