10th Cypharal Aftermath

The story of the men of the 10th Cypharal Combat Sapper Regiment after the Battle of Centlandengte is an incomplete one. Even after the front stabilized and cooled while both sides regrouped, the 10th would remain deployed at the front and see further action throughout the crusade. In the first few weeks immediately after the battle, which we can recount, the 10th faired well.

H Company under Captain Cadwgan would be given missions that matched the expertise they developed prior to the deployment of Accipiter: destruction of enemy weapon installations.

Hafgufa would have its “Cable-Triggered Improvised Lasgun Emplacement for the Purpose of Misleading The Enemy With Gunfire” (commonly called ‘Octo-Las’ by the troops), removed when returning behind lines and reinstalled on deployments. It continued to avoid the definitions of tech-heresy despite the best attempts of enginseers.

Åbiörn continued to command and repair Hafgufa effectively. Excelling at making things ‘not his problem’ he would do the bare minimum to survive outside of combat and utilize the Testudo to keep the squad alive in combat. The ‘improper’ storage of piss bottles continued to be an occasional problem in Hafgufa and the delineation of where one can/cannot smoke in the vehicle remained an issue.

“Dummy” continued to do what he did best: mercilessly club enemies to death until no enemies remain. While his tactical acumen remained at levels expected of an Ogryn, he works with the squad to decrease the number of hostiles in any given area he occupies. His durability allowed him to survive the bad situations he continued to charge into.

Madoc continued to dart around the battlefield, utilizing his Ddraig meltagun to devastating effect. He was widely regarded (though actual numbers are not confirmed) to have taken down the most drones in the regiment. However, Madoc is confirmed to be the fastest member of H Company on foot.

“Noggin” Kain was field promoted to the rank of Sergeant due to his leadership during the Battle of Centlandengte. Technically temporary, this depended on completion of a leadership course once the 10th was rotated off the front. H Company had concerns on “Noggin”s ability to pass the required exams and were looking into “alternative avenues of success” (getting the answers for him ahead of time).

Commissar Varius developed a mixed reputation. Despite his strict adherence to regulation, he had become a vital member to the success of permanent members of H-3.3 in the field. On the other hand, those soldiers assigned to accompany him directly (often after minor infractions) tended to die with startling speed: presumably due to enemy fire but that has not been confirmed.

Godwinne was able to coast through most of the fighting but continued to provide accurate fire from his tread-fether when needed. Some debate would develop within H company on if using a missile to delete a single Tau Pathfinder was cost effective. This debate was settled when Godwinne pointed out Hafgufa had never been hit by the Pathfinders’ rail rifles.

Under Captain Merwyn, J Company spent the next few weeks pursuing the enemy formation known by the Tau word for it: the “Kinukar”. A regiment sized formation, primarily consisting of breachers, the Kinukar specialized in urban combat. This pursuit occurred for two reasons: to avenge the death of Commissar Kain, and because it provided administrative cover for J Company to drive around aimlessly whenever they chose to “chasing down leads”.

Jigl Jagl managed to roll back and get repaired. It continued to collect painted murals on its armor plates which at this point included:
-Thump blocking an anti-tank seeker missile with a shield
-Memorial to Michael Penance
-A toothy, obese, slimy harvest-mare seahorse
-An inspiring mural-relic of Commissar Kain

Commissar Kain was heroically slain in the closing actions of the Battle for Centlandengte but his legacy lived on. Among the men of the 10th he has the budding status of a regimental saint, his signed Uplifting Primer copies becoming good luck charms among the men. The commissariat has been forced to grapple with his legacy: commissars that conform to his leadership style (allowing questionable activities outside their immediate purview, providing administrative cover to make the lives of their men easier, and engaging the enemy to tie them down in combat) quickly find themselves fully accepted by the unorthodox men of the 10th. However on several occasions, commissars with ‘different leadership styles’ found themselves told “You’re not fit to wear Kain’s uniform” before being ‘mistakenly’ fired upon by a Testudo’s autocannon. While Kain’s body was lost, the Mechanicus has recovered his skull intent on turning it into a servo skull to honor his sacrifice protecting the wounded warhound titan of Accipiter Maniple. This veneration has done wonders to smooth tensions between the tech-unorthodox 10th and Accipiter Maniple’s techpriests.

Vinny was unfortunately killed in action some time around week 6 of the 10th’s deployment to Centlandengte. Despite this inconvenience he continued to expertly operate his Ddraig meltagun under the stolen nom de guerre “Oscar B.” (later found to be Oscar Bennion). His feared Contingency Plan TRYCHINE never came to pass as the Imperium successfully took Centlandengte and began moving their valuable infrastructure into the area.

Thump continued to spread fear among enemy and ally alike with his tooth-related stagings. Alongside his new comrade, Ron DeSaintus, he seeks to avenge the death of Kain and spread his battlesuit takedown techniques to other Ogryn of the 10th. The increase in his macabre stagings has led the Tau to stop purposely targeting commissars as it seems the “Space Marines” really don’t like that.

Llywarch mastered the driving of a Testudo (especially one with a dozer blade) to previously unseen levels of expertise. During the aftermath of the Battle of Centlandengte Captain Merwyn tasked him with teaching the drivers of J Company both defensive and offensive driving. Despite the skill of his pupils (including Vinny), Llywarch remains the only man in recorded history to successfully turn a Testudo a full 720 degrees on only 3 wheels.