Wrath and Duty 9

<StaffenGM> As the smoke thins, and the debris and ash rains down, and the screams of the dying rise up,
<StaffenGM> The PDF gathers back up.
<StaffenGM> Lieutenant General Koby's lead tank chugs black smog and lurches into reverse, firing all weapons at the Castle's walls.
<StaffenGM> The main cannon punches a hole in the wall, while the vehicle's casemated demolisher cannon lobs clear past the wall and into the Castle itself, punching a hole into the structure.
Invictus leaps out of the way dodging the damage caused to the castle by the demolisher cannon.
<Herbert> "Insolent traitor!"
<StaffenGM> A laser from above strikes one of Koby's supporting vehicles. Instantly, a jet of flame shoots up out of the turret. And then, a few seconds later, the hull explodes, popping the turret off like a cork, and killing dozens of PDF troopers in the area,
<Draco> +Target destroyed, Leader Herbert.+
<Herbert> +Descending on the filth now. Mind your fire, and order the Jannissaries forward.+
Herbert launches himself over the wall, landing on a traitor PDF Chimera transport as it offloads a squad, crushing its frame. From here, the Knight drops down, shredding the mortals caught off-guard turning the inside of the transport into a gory mess
<Priad> +Attention Jannissaries, I want two squads with a rocket launcher and plasma gun each to form up in the main hall near the entrance. The Emperor has given us a mission.+
<Priad> The Apothecary starts to make his way up to the main entrance from the basement of the castle.
<StaffenGM> One of the PDF squads obliviously moves up to the wall, while one turns and fires at Herbert as the remnants of the team he butchered claw helplessly at his knees.
<StaffenGM> Some of the guardsmen firing, however, have peculiar weapons...
<StaffenGM> Koby's tank continues to cut a retreat, with two Chimeras pulling out along with her. Her vehicle lobs smoke shells forwards to cover its escape.
* Invictus tries to summon up a force dome but as he does so, his concentration slips, causing him to fail and instead causes a thin sheet of ice to form around the area within twenty meters of him.
<StaffenGM> Ice covers every surface of the surrounding area, sending troopers sliding across the unnatural frost.
<StaffenGM> The Leman Russes, however, unabashed, turn their turrets to track their next targets, chunks of ice spilling out of their gun mantlets.
<StaffenGM> The side sponsons fire of both vehicles fire at Herbert.
<StaffenGM> Meanwhile, the 4th Jannissaries successfully mobilizes the troops Priad requested. The 5th, however, lags behind.
* Herbert fires up his jump pack launching him towards one of the traitor PDF tanks, planting a krak grenade in the engine block.
<Herbert> Once in place, Herbert leaps several meters off with assistance from his jump pack.
<StaffenGM> Flames and shrapnel shoot out from the engine block of the Russ, and shortly thereafter the sponsons blow out on either side -- the ammunition cooking off.
<Priad> +Guardsmen, we are going to use the parking lot of the castle to cut around the streets and cut off the retreating commander. We're taking the traitor alive, unless we have no other choice.+ He says all this as he slowly makes his way to the parking lot, givin the squad from 5th company time to catch up. Blasted Psyker and his warp phenomona.
<Draco> +FR+
<Draco> +Firing Orbital laser from Platform GAMMA-3-A platform.+
<Herbert> +Don't miss. Invictus, ensure the Janissaries find adequate cover.+
<Invictus> +Understood.+ He then gives out orders to the Janissaries to take cover.
<StaffenGM> An arrow of blinding light drops from above -- the air in the street is sucked into the direction of the laser-fall -- and then, immediately, blasts back the way it came, launching chunks of ice at the Castle's wall in a rain of deadly, frozen shards.
* Invictus tries again to summon a force dome but is unable to do so.
* Herbert braces himself as the shockwave passes through, wasting no time to close the distance to the other tank. Reaching it, he shoves another krak grenade straight into the barrel of the weapon.
<StaffenGM> The Russ's barrel explodes, sending brittled splinters of metal everywhere -- clogging the inboard Demolisher barrel.
<Priad> Once the squads are assembled Priad leads them to the parking lot of the castle and on towards the side-streets to cut off the tank commander. The thumps of his armored feet leading a chorus of boot falls as they move off.
<Draco> +Firing secondary Lasers Platform GAMMA-3-A.+ He destroyed 1 tank and crippled the other.
<Draco> +One vehicle destroyed.+
<Herbert> +Finish off the traitor's armor, tech-marine, and provide us with active intel.+
<Invictus> Looks to the Janissaries, +Forward man, kill these traitor's.+ He then moves forward, while doing so lifts his hand, summoning the powers of the warp, he is able to vapories a squad of PDF with a single blast of lighting that shoots out from his hand as prepared to moved out from around a wall the where behind.
<StaffenGM> The Janissaries advance behind Priad.
<StaffenGM> As Priad and the Janissaries exit the Castle compound, however, yellow streaks zoom past in the sky --
<StaffenGM> -- Raining flares and explosives in their wake.
* Priad curses in his native tongue as one of the Janissary squads turns into mist, his own rolling dodge saving him from the worst of the aerial ordnance.
<StaffenGM> While the 5th Janissary fire-team goes to cover behind the wreckage of one of the Chimeras, a bomb bursts directly over the team from the 4th Company, leaving a glowing pit behind and raining bits of charred bone and boiling gore down on the survivors.
* Herbert dodges by instinct just in time, avoiding a similar blast.
<StaffenGM> Soon after the bombs fall, a trio of tall, bulky, alien machines leap into the streets from the next block over, jump jets screaming as they descend. They are massive, and horrifically armed.
<StaffenGM> In particular, the battlesuit at the front of the team is exceptionally well-armed and armored.
* Herbert tracks the descent of the new arrivals to a street running parallel to his location, and mobilizes with his jump-pack to reach a vantage point from which to strike.
<Invictus> 0.
<StaffenGM> ... But Herbert fails to see the little xeno drones, floating daintily along not far beyond the battlesuits -- peculiar machines, like overturned saucers, with menacing weapons pointing skywards.
<StaffenGM> They reflexively open fire on Herbert as he reaches the zenith of his jump.
<Priad> Despite the destruction of one of his squads Priad and his remaining guardsmen press on.
<Herbert> Warning runes in Herbert's helm flash in an instant, alerting the Astartes last-second of the threat. In a split-second, he shifts his weight, and pushes the jump-pack to burn more fiercely in a burst which alters his trajectory away from the incoming fire.
<Draco> +I have identified a Xenos aircraft. Firing.+
<StaffenGM> The PDF soldiers scatter, throwing weapons aside to hasten their retreat.
* Draco activates the orbital laser from PLATFORM DELTA-3-D and blows up the aircraft.
<Draco> +Target: Destroyed.+
<Herbert> +Understood.+
* Invictus makes his way out of the court yard to see the PDF retreating, he then summons up the powers of the warp as bolts of lightning strikes the retreating troops, vaporizing them.
<Invictus> +The remaining PDF have been dealt with.+
* Invictus_ ([email protected]) has joined
* Invictus has quit (Ping timeout)
* Invictus_ has quit (Quit: Leaving)
<StaffenGM> The lead Tau battlesuit opens fire on Priad's group, with strange plasma weapons on its wrists and with a launcher on its back.
* Invictus ([email protected]) has joined
* Priad growls in fury at the sight of the xenos technology. It's not primul tech, but it's all just as bad.
<StaffenGM> Whistling rounds descend over the Janissaries before detonating violently.
<StaffenGM> The airbursts spray unbelievably cruel cones of shrapnel directly onto the guardsmen, and onto Priad.
<StaffenGM> The guardsmen are reduced to a soup of meat, bone and singed cloth instantly.
<StaffenGM> The one supporting battlesuit splits off from its group, firing a rotary cannon from one arm at Priad.
<Priad> Warning runes explode and flash onto his helm as his armor takes a punishing amount of damage as the shrapnel rips through his armor. His systems are already working to inject and repair his body and armor. He is now quite furious.
<StaffenGM> The burst of cannon-fire chews Priad's armor apart, throwing him to the ground with a mulched breastplate.
<Priad> "Brother...I am hit."
<StaffenGM> The other suit splits in the other direction, flying at Herbert, firing its plasma weapons and one of its shoulder-mounted missile pods.
* Herbert receives the missiles on the leg, and responds by a swift charge at his enemy.
<Priad> Feeling the rush of combat-drugs administered from his power aromr, Priad rises from his prone position and seeks cover at a destroyed APC.
<StaffenGM> Two beams of light strike from the sky once more -- the command battlesuit narrowly slips aside before the beam appears, but the other suit is not so lucky. A streak of light pierces through the armor, melting a hole through its upper torso and cutting through past its leg. The machine crumples over as whatever is stored under the bulk of the leg unit detonates.
<StaffenGM> The battlesuit, however, is still functioning.
* Invictus see the xeno machines, and summons the powers of the warp, this time he is able to create a force dome to protect him and Priad who is close enough to be inside the protection of the dome.
<Priad> +Many thanks brother-Invictus.+
<Invictus> +No problem Brother....+
<StaffenGM> The commander's suit slides forwards, firing more of the airburst shells and plasma weapons, along with a constant stream of bright, crackling projectiles from another wrist-mounted weapon.
* Invictus sees the shots coming from xeno suit, he dodges out of the way.
<StaffenGM> The battlesuit tries to strike Herbert, who swats its metal fist aside.
<StaffenGM> The two drones open fire on Invictus, rounds plinking against librarian's projection -- but a red dot appears against Invictus's breastplate.
* Herbert continues to fight in melee with the xeno before him, striking multiple times with both his blades.
<Invictus> +Priad, you think you can take out those floating disks?+
<Priad> +As..+ He grunts. +The Emperor wills it brother.+
<Priad> Thankfully the pain has dribbled away enough to allow Priad to concentrate on retaliation. Using the cover of the APC he lines up a shot on one of those blaated drones and squeezes the trigger. He is rewarded with a small explosion as the drone feels the bitter vengeance of a wounded space marine.
* Draco tries to adjust and fire at the Tau Commander and hits a building accidently.
<Priad> +Draco, I would appreciate you not dropping a building on your battle brothers.+
* Invictus take a few steps back into the cover of the wall of the court, he then pushes his powers to hit the xeno commander, as he does lightning shots through the air, hitting it.
* Invictus is able to dodge out of the way of several shots from the xeno commander, but one of the show makes its way through hiting him in the body, followed by one of the other xeno suits and the last remaining drone.
<Herbert> The melee continues as Herbert presses his furious attack while parrying the xenos attempts to strike back.
<Priad> With a grunt Priad shifts his aim and fires another semi-auto burst at the other drone, watching as it explodes into tiny, xenos machine pieces. +Drones eliminated, brothers.+
* Draco fires the secondary laser from the first platform at the commander, but he dodged
* Invictus attempts to push his powers again to kill the xeno, though he is unable to cause any damage and causes more ice to form around the area.
<Herbert> Knight-brother Herbert once more parries an attempted strike by the vile alien with which he is engaged in melee. He follows this with a riposte, that opens the tau's guard, and ends its life with both blades savagely stuck into the opponent's chest, and side.
<Draco> 6d10+20
<Priad> The runes flashing on his helm are quieted as he starts to adminster first-aid to himself. Between his armor, narthecium and diagnostor helm he is able to patch up the worst of the damage. Priad will need some down time to really recover though.
<StaffenGM> A final, bitter light from above strikes the ground, lancing the Tau commander's battlesuit. After the laser dissipates, the machine begins to fall, lifted from its feet, before the contents of the interior -- ordinance, fuel, or perhaps a power plant -- detonate, launching fiery debris everywhere.
<StaffenGM> And like that, the alien threat is gone.
<StaffenGM> In the distance, another city block is evaporated -- and presumably, along with it goes the last Tau battlesuit.
<Herbert> +Remove the traitor from her vehicle.+
* Invictus looks around the corner to see what remains of the Xeno, +Good job Brother Draco.+ he then makes his way out to Priad.
<Draco> +By the Omnissiah, it is done.+