Jaenera Targaryen
Well-known member
Not to mention it doesn't actually specify ethnic or racial qualifications, so long as you have 500 years of experience
He kinda already has, ish?
Warhammer Death in the East
- Thread starter Jaenera Targaryen
- Start date
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- eldar imperium tau warhammer 40k
Not to mention it doesn't actually specify ethnic or racial qualifications, so long as you have 500 years of experience
So,Father is in Navy? well,i wish them well.Not to mention it doesn't actually specify ethnic or racial qualifications, so long as you have 500 years of experience
He kinda already has, ish?
Good story,but - why on QQ Eleria do not get half naked during making Tarot?
And Risha should be undressed by Tau guns,too !
QQ version always should undress at least some of attractive females !
Jaenera Targaryen
Well-known member
1.Dunno,but on QQ womens should become naked for no reasons !
2.I knew that,you knew that,but - on QQ it is still possible! and Risha love Emprah,so she would gladly undress for him,right ?
3.Yoda say - do that !
And,i once watched some anime where womans get undressed when hit by lasers - but forget title,as usual.
P.S Jokes aside - did Tau had there some WARP resarch facility?
i remember some story/forget title,again/ where they used human psyker child as support for battlesuits,which of course invevted demons.
They were stupid like that,and if it is the case there,then even if IoM murder everybody there,their fate would be still better then in Chaos unloving hands.
Jaenera Targaryen
Well-known member
Humans are psychic race,Tau are not.So,what is working for Tau,would bring Chaos to their human allies.
But,that is,at least partially,bullshit.
Federation technology worked without making demons,the same goes for Tau and human cyvilizations genocided by Emprah in WH30.
Mechanicus is no needed to schield from demons,proper science is enough for that.
Jaenera Targaryen
Well-known member
Psykers were rare during the Golden Age, and the Warp was much calmer back then too. Now, the birth rate of psykers has only gone up in the millennia since, and in fact, will soon experience a massive spike once the Great Rift triggers Humanity's psychic awakening within the next few years.
This story will not change the canon storyline, at least not up to the opening of the Great Rift, as well as the return of Robby G. I might write the family getting involved with the Ynnari, maybe even branch off to full AU status past that point, but only past that point. And it's a big if my muse keeps me inspired.
Actually, no. We have several canon stories that show that outside of the Necrons - and even they have limitations - advanced technology is no guarantee against Chaos corrupting your technology. Also, purely material technology is still vulnerable to C'tan subversion, hence the need for psi-tech, even ones as crude as depending on cloned/harvested brains and nerve tissue (in comparison to Eldar psi-tech, which use materialized psychic energy and/or crystallized Warp energy).
1.True,maybe Eleria daughter can get Astarte husband here !
2.All human cyvilizations genocided by Emprah was fine without Mechanicus.If all they could deliver for human army is stuff worst then that made now,then they are liability.
Let be frank - Mechanicus is pretext why IoM must use melee weapons.And they must use melee weapons,becouse WH40 is tabletop game turned into more complicated story.
There is no need to defend their stupidity - they must be stupid,becouse creators first made game when dudes fought in melee in far future,and later must explain,why anybody use sword in world where lasers exist.
But,i do not blame them,becouse not all writers could be Tolkien.
Jaenera Targaryen
Well-known member
No, I have no plans for her to romance anyone.
On Terra alone, just about every untainted techno-barbarian state either allied with Emps from the start (the Achaemenid Empire) or joined in after diplomatic overtures (the Albans). Everyone else - the Ethnarchy, the Pan-Pacific, Ursh - that got wiped out was tainted by Chaos.
Outside of Terra, the Interex were a ticking bomb, considering they left a fucking Daemon Weapon lying around as part of a museum exhibit. The Olaemic Quietude? They made the Mechanicum look like progressives. The Diasporex were the exception to the rule, but even if they were the standard for pre-Imperial Human star polities, considering their small size and combat capability, then they wouldn't have been able to do more than be but a speedbump for the likes of the Beasts of Ullanor or the Rangdan. Hell, the Rangdan nearly defeated the Imperium, it's pretty much all but outright stated the Emperor had to unseal the Void Dragon and throw it at the Rangdan just to turn the tide. And even mop-up alone crippled the Dark Angels and decimated the Space Wolves.
In-universe? No, it's because the most prolific alien species out there, the Orks (and the Tyranids), love melee combat, and since a) they don't fear death, and b) they literally do have the number to get slaughtered by the thousands while rushing towards your lines, if you can't fight in melee, then once the Orks do close in, you'll get slaughtered in your turn.
Daemons also prefer to fight in melee, and seeing as they have the ability to literally just pop into reality right next to you, melee combat is also a must.
Less so for the Eldar, but the Eldar love for holo-fields and other means of visual and non-visual interference actually means massed fire and, of course, melee attacks, do better than precision shots.
Humanity simply adapted to their enemies. Remember that for all the Imperial codices hype, Humans are still the underdogs in the galaxy. Even Space Marines barely reach the average when up against other Imperial powers, while the Guard have to bleed heavily to win even fair fights.
The Tau...there's a reason Farsight and his followers are the most effective combatants they have, because they've recognized and adapted to the galactic paradigm. Contrast to Shadowsun, who despite her quick initial gains, quickly crumbled when the Imperium refused to simply give up, and just fed more men into the grinder. If Farsight hadn't intervened as he did during the Fifth Sphere of Expansion, Shadowsun would have been overwhelmed. As it is, the Ethereals' obstinacy with regard to Farsight and insistence on their orthodox doctrines, leaves the Tau struggling in a war of attrition against Chaos and the Imperium (and the Orks and the Tyranids plus a dash of Necrons and Dark Eldar for good measure), a war whose butcher bill they simply cannot afford.
Meta-wise, this is fair.
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1.OK,she is your girl.Besides,one Astarte for Macha is enough!
2.So,40% on Earth and 66% later was fine without Mechanicus.Becouse Interrex made everybody aware of Chaos so they could schield themselves from it - hence Chaos sword in museum - which was stolen by Astartes,not normal citizens.
Not mention,100% of Eldar,who are psychic race,too.
Which mean,that nobody need Mechanicus except Mechanicus.
3.Demons - you have a point,but Federation technology could deal with it.
And orcs - they love melee and do not fear death,so what? modern army with drones to coordinate fire would wipe them out with 155mm guns and HIMARS.Even soviet 152mm guns and Grad missile launchers would be enough for that.
AS long as our armies have enough ammo,they would not even see one orcs,except dead ones.
To be honest,WW2 technology with 122mm guns and Katiusha would be probably enough.
Eldar and halo fields - use HIMARS,too.
IG is shitty,true - but only becouse they used artillery,missiles and tanks worst then our best armies now.All thanks to Mechanicum.
And using numbers against orcs and tyranids is kicking with the mule.Damn animal would always win.
Tau- they are capable of wiping out IG,but coul;d not win,becouse it is GW work,and melee must win.
There is no other reason for melee in WH40,then that it is made by GW as tabletop game with cool figurines.
And cool figurines must have spears,swords and axes,so they must fight in melee.
And GW authors must explain now,why it is logical to fight in melee.
There is really no reasons to defend that madness.
Jaenera Targaryen
Well-known member
Sure, but once they needed to go interstellar, they needed the Mechanicus.
Bullshit. That's just asking for trouble. It's like putting a nuke in a museum that just about anyone can arm and then set to explode when and where they wanted it to.
Eldar tech actually operates on similar principles as the Mechanicus, i.e. treating machines as alive with spirits of their own that need to be placated. It's just much more advanced, because no shit, Eldar civilization is over 60 million years old.
That only proves how ignorant you are.
No, it can't. STCs and Dark Age tech can and have been shown to have been corrupted by Chaos before. Gaunt and his men found the STC for the Men of Iron during the Sabbat Worlds Crusade, and destroyed it on discovering it corrupted by Chaos. Likewise for the Dark Age Castigator Titan, which was even trying to strike a deal with Abaddon the Despoiler.
So what happens when you run out of ammo?
Except we don't fight like that anymore? Or at least, Westerners don't.
Trying to use precision weapons against Eldar? Don't make me laugh.
Why? Because Earthshakers are smaller than 21st Century 155 mm guns? Well, by that logic, 21st Century 155 mm guns are smaller than WWI siege artillery, so we must use worse artillery than back in WWI, right?
The Mechanicum knows what it's doing. Earthshakers might be smaller, but they almost certainly use better explosives and propellant. Likewise for tanks and the like.
Considering the Imperium beat the Beasts of Ullanor not once, but twice, I say you're wrong. And while the Tyranids are an ongoing issue, they haven't won yet.
No, it's because they don't have the numbers, much less the logistics. What they consider as decisive and strategic victories are annoyances to the Adeptus Terra, which are responded to out of principle.
Meta-wise, that is true, but in-universe, that's just how everybody has rolled for tens of millions of years, and no one has ever succeeded in changing it, and never will.
Rule of cool is reason enough.
PsihoKekec
Swashbuckling Accountant
In any fictional universe, rule of cool trumps all other rules, good luck explaining this to our resident schizo.
Chapter 4
Jaenera Targaryen
Well-known member
Disclaimer: I do not own Warhammer 40,000 it is owned by Games Workshop.
Man-made thunder rumbled across the valley as Imperial artillery pummeled Tau positions upriver in the direction of Grand Balor. More, and lower, rumbling echoed across the valley as the Rough Riders of the 955th Ostmark Cavalry Regiment rode fast and hard up the valley, along both banks of the Susanna River. They formed part of a general offensive, with the Balor Liberators 1st, 2nd, 7th, and 8th Shock Armies spearheading multiple thrusts against the Tau defenses around Balor Prime. The Balor Liberators 1st through 6th Guards Armies would follow through, with the 955th’s own sortie in the Susanna River valley part of supporting actions by the Balor Liberators 4th Guards Army.
Both SIGINT and HUMINT indicated that the Tau had depleted their forces in the valley to reinforce the defenses facing the main Imperial attacks. That was not to say it was undefended, with SIGINT and HUMINT both indicating Kroot forces with light Tau support still being present in the valley. But with the bulk of the alien forces in the valley being composed of Kroot, it was deemed suitable for the 955th to deal with.
The first sign of resistance was picked up by servo-skulls floating above and ahead of the advancing Imperial Guard cavalry units, which spotted Kroot lookouts signaling the rest of the forces and marking the Imperial attack. Bugles sounded and the Rough Riders adjusted their formation while maintaining speed. They were in the middle of doing just that when the ground literally caved in under the first three of ranks of Rough Riders, dumping over half a hundred men into a hidden trench several meters deep, with sharpened stakes at the bottom. Unable to respond quickly, two more ranks followed the rest into the trench, and while their fall was broken by the dead and dying, they still suffered various injuries, especially among the horses, rendering them unable to fight, bringing the 955th’s casualties up to well over a hundred.
A flare went up, and Tau Pathfinders ignited the trenchline. The moans and cries of injured men and the whinnies of injured horses turned to agonized screams, while behind the line, the remaining Rough Riders fell back, their formation collapsing as men and horses turned in every direction, panic setting in wildly. Then with sharp howls, Kroot Carnivores leapt out of hidden pits and into the ranks of the Rough Riders. Red blood, both Human and equine, flew in the wake of flashing Kroot blades, heads falling and bodies crumpling as the Kroot attacked wildly. There were more Humans than Kroot, but by throwing the battlefield into chaos, the Imperial Guard’s numerical advantage was turned against it. The Kroot flashed through the lines, cutting down everything in reach, their howls and the flashing of blood and metal and flying heads and falling bodies spreading panic even further, until at last the Rough Riders broke and fled.
Another flare went up, and Kroot Shapers struggled to keep their fellows from pursuing, as Imperial reinforcements closed in. Three full squadrons of Valkyries, thus far unable to fire for risk of friendly fire, but that wouldn’t last long. In response, the Tau dropped their stealth fields, revealing Tau Pathfinders commanding firing positions on the low hills along both sides of the valley, backed by XV88 Broadside Battlesuits. Railguns whined as they charged up and aimed at the Imperial flyers, then with the crack of displaced air, launched hypersonic projectiles with lethal intent.
Engines burned hot as the Valkyries banked and jinked wildly to avoid the incoming shots, before launching flares to throw off Tau missiles following through. One Valkyrie flew low, its chin-mounted multilaser turning to aim, and then fired a blazing volley of yellow across the ground just in front of the retreating Rough Riders who skid inelegantly to a halt.
Flying even lower to hover just above the ground, a side door opened up, allowing Commissar Risha Singh of the 5051st Autonomous Stormtrooper Battalion to haul herself partly out of the craft, held in place only by a safety harness. With a contemptuous look on her face, she sighted a random Rough Rider, and blew him apart with a single shot from her plasma pistol.
“COWARDS!” she roared. “NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER!”
“They’re killing us!” another Rough Rider shouted back, to the jeering agreement of his squadmates.
Risha killed him too with another shot from her plasma pistol. “THEN KILL THEM BACK!” she roared before glancing in the direction of an explosion, as a Valkyrie was shot down. With a hateful snarl, she barked orders at the pilot, before turning back to the Rough Riders. “FOR THE EMPEROR, FIGHT! OR RUN IN SHAME, YOUR CHOICE!”
That it would end in mass executions went unsaid, much to the uneasy shared glances of the Rough Riders. The Commissar was leaving, though, her Valkyrie joining the others in flying towards the Tau lines. Railguns continued firing, but the Tau battlesuits failed to shoot more Valkyries down, which opened fire with rocket pods on the Kroot scattering across the ground.
As explosions went up across the battlefield, surviving cavalry officers steeled themselves, then began forming up the lines. “REFORM THE LINE!” one captain shouted. “REFORM THE LINE!”
“FORM LINES, YOU MAGGOTS!” another captain shouted, lance raised and wildly waving into the air as he rode before the other horsemen. “FORM LINES!”
“SOUND THE CHARGE!” a third captain shouted, taking the lead before his company. “FOR OSTMARK! FOR THE EMPEROR! GOTTEN-KAISER MITT UNS!”
Bugles sounded the charge, and with a loud roar, the Rough Riders charged forward, a massive wave of men and horses that ate up the distance between them and the reeling Kroot, forming up into massive wedges before they made contact. Some of the Kroot fell back, shooting their Kroot Rifles to no effect against Imperial Guard flak armor, but most snarled in defiance, ignoring their Shapers and charging to meet the Imperial charge.
The two lines met…
…and the Imperial Guard swept the Kroot away. Most of the aliens were impaled on Imperial lances, while others were torn apart by the force of impact. A few Kroot managed to jump to avoid getting impaled or trampled by the front rank of Rough Riders, and down into the middle of their lines to wreak havoc, but it didn’t last. Most were quickly and bloodily trampled underfoot, while at least one was impaled and torn apart by three different lances.
As for Risha and the 5051st…
“Emperor, see me this day,” Risha prayed as she drew her power sword, and with a deep breath, jumped from her Valkyrie. “Guide my hand, and let my blade strike true! URAAA-!”
“URAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-!” the Stormtroopers roared as they followed after her, and echoed by the Stormtroopers in other Valkyries. They fell on the Tau positions in a rain of ceramite, yellow laser beams and blazing bursts of plasma raining down on the Tau Pathfinders. The aliens returned fire, burst carbines blazing with plasma aimed skyward, taking a toll on the Stormtroopers, before the latter landed and the battle degenerated into a brutal melee.
Bayonets, rifle butts, knives, and even simple fists were used. The Tau fought back as well as they could, but for once, the Humans weren’t physically weaker or slower than their enemies, and the aliens were brutally beaten, cut up, stabbed, choked, and even bludgeoned to death. One XV88 was literally bowled over by a whole squad of Stormtroopers jumping on it, throwing it off-balance and forcing it to the ground, where it was all but literally torn apart by point-blank hellgun fire.
Meanwhile, it seemed as though the Emperor listened to Risha’s prayer, because she dropped where she wanted to: on top of a XV88, her power sword stabbing through its chest armor and impaling the alien pilot inside. “FIGHT…FIGHT FOR YOUR LIVES…FOR YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN ARMS…VICTORY OR DEATH, FOR THE EMPEROR!” she shouted as she kicked off the dead battlesuit, and landing hard, opened fire with her plasma pistol at another battlesuit nearby. “URAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-!”
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Five long rifles fired simultaneously, cutting down a trio of Tau Pathfinders and a pair of Tau Recon Drones guarding a hidden guard station in the wilds of Balor. The Shas’Ui in charge jolted up from his seat inside the station as the sight of his men and machines getting gunned down, his eyes barely having the time to widen as what looked like a blurry shimmer flashed through the door and towards him.
Then he barely had the time to cry out in pain, as monomolecular blades cut the tendons behind his knees, then his flanks, then his shoulders, and finally, sent his head and body tumbling separately to the ground. “And I thought the mon’keigh were slow.” Kyrla dryly thought to herself as she sheathed her blades. “This is pathetic.”
Glancing at the nearby security terminal, Kyrla sighed and tapped tentatively at the control panel. It was a crude machine, simple and primitive, not to mention purely mechanical in nature, much to her disgust. Even Human technology, which depended on cloned or harvested brains and nerves to work, was less…repulsive, in comparison, if only because there was an actual spirit behind it.
Still, it would suffice, Kyrla only needing a few moments to understand how to work it. “The first guard station is under our control.” she telepathically signaled.
“The second guard station is also under our control.” a reply quickly came from another team of rangers.
“Likewise for the third guard station.” another reply followed.
“The fourth station is also under control…” the final reply came, but there was an undercurrent to the thought that caught Kyrla’s attention.
“Has something gone wrong?” she asked.
“It’s been dealt with.”
“But…?”
A mental sigh echoed through the ether. “We were nearly discovered.” the other Ranger elaborated. “Simple ill fortune, one of these Tau vermin looked in our direction and was astute enough to pick up the visual distortion of our cloaks. They nearly managed to sound the alarm, but it was quite a fight.”
“I see.” Kyrla said with a nod. “Is that all?”
“...there’s blood and guts everywhere in here.” the other Ranger admitted after a moment.
“Well, we are at war.” Kyrla pointed out. “These things happen.”
“Perhaps…but I’d have preferred to get things done cleaner and much more quietly.” the other Ranger said.
“As would I.” Kyrla agreed. “But we do not always have the luxury of getting what we want…now then, with the guard stations under control, we can move onto the next part of the plan.”
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
This involved killing all the Tau Air Castes present in the evacuation station, thus ensuring even if they failed to destroy the Orca hidden here, the Tau couldn’t fly it out either. Also, while some Rangers did just that, others deployed small and innocuous devices with which to open Webway Portals for quick evacuation.
Those Air Caste standing by on duty were the first to die. They were gathered in three ready rooms, from where they could get to their stations aboard the Orca in a matter of minutes should the need occur. Infiltrating the ship was done easily enough, with the guard stations silenced, and getting to their quarries, the Rangers simply lobbed gas grenades into the ready rooms and sealed the doors before shorting out the controls.
A simple stab with a monomolecular blade was enough to do that. Afterward, all they had to do was listen to the frantic shouting and screaming as well the pounding on the doors that slowly but steadily grew weaker and softer, until at last silence.
Then there was the ship’s captain. The Tau was receiving a report from a subordinate when the Rangers caught up to him in his office, and killed him by stabbing him from the back and through the heart. The captain’s subordinate barely had the time to scream before a shot from a shuriken pistol painted the floor and far wall behind her with blood and viscera.
“These vermin think they can bring order to the galaxy?” the Ranger who killed both Tau telepathically asked his partner.
The other Ranger shrugged. “They believe in something called the Greater Good,” he replied. “And apparently, it’s exactly what it sounds like.”
“Khaine’s blood,” the first Ranger swore. “They’re worse than the mon’keigh.”
“Maybe they are, maybe they aren’t,” his partner said with another shrug. “Come, we must deploy Webway Beacons while the others hunt for other targets.”
The first Ranger grunted, before slipping out of the bloody office and back into the labyrinth of the Orca’s interior. Across the ship, similar events played out, while Kyrla and another team of Rangers cleared out the ship’s engineering space. Unlike their fellow Rangers’ targets, the Tau here were of the Earth Caste, not that it changed the outcome.
“Took them long enough.” one Ranger quipped as alarms began to sound, causing two other Rangers to close the engineering doors followed by the blast doors. For good measure, they collapsed the catwalks above, blocking the exit with wreckage.
Kyrla grunted while tapping at a control panel, before nodding in satisfaction. “There,” she said. “I’ve disabled main and auxiliary power, these vermin won’t be able to send a signal, all while powering up its reactors.”
“This will destroy the ship.” a Ranger said as he planted a melta bomb on top of a reactor’s outer casing.
“Just as the Honored Farseer foresaw.” Kyrla said while jumping up several levels to land on the highest catwalk with barely any effort. Heading to a nearby landing at an unhurried pace, she pressed a gem on her bracer, tuning in on the various Webway Beacons across the ship before sending telepathic messages to the rest of the Rangers. “Evacuate the ship. Our task here is done.”
Then she blinked, as she sensed Webway Portals opening one after the other, allowing the other Rangers to depart, the portals closing in their wake. Soon, only she and her team were left, the latter joining her at the landing. Below, the sound of Tau security trying to breach the engineering doors could be heard, and while they probably could do it given time, they wouldn’t have it.
“Vermin burn.” Kyrla thought as she opened a portal, letting her team leave before her, the portal closing behind her as she entered the glowing tunnels of the Webway. Then, with no Eldar left inside the Orca, the melta bombs placed around its reactors exploded, compromising the volatile machines and triggering runaway chain reactions that ended with the ship exploding with a flare of light and heat visible from orbit.
There would be no escape for the Tau’s leaders on this world.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Eleria stood on the Immortal’s Blade’s observation deck, unlit except for the system’s star and the countless stars of the galaxy beyond. Runes floated around her, while a trio of tarot cards were held loosely in one hand. Those tarot cards disappeared into her sleeve as the doors opened behind her, allowing a warlock to enter.
“There is news.” she said, turning to face the warlock who sank to one knee before her, head bowed.
“As you say, Honored Farseer.” the warlock said, raising his head. “The Tau escape vessel has been destroyed, along with the latest selection of hidden supply stashes and military outposts.”
“Hmm…” Eleria mused before looking up as though in thought. “...all that’s left then is my daughter’s mission.”
“Yes, Honored Farseer.”
Eleria nodded slowly while heading back towards the window that looked out into space. “Mira has never failed me before.” she said. “She will succeed again, here and now. In any case, considering how important her quarry is compared to those of her fellow outcasts, it is no surprise she is taking her time with the hunt.”
“As you say, Honored Farseer.” the warlock said, and he was completely genuine. “Your daughter’s skills are commendable…were she to take to the Path, or rather, the Path of Warrior, she would make a fine Striking Scorpion.”
Eleria laughed. “I agree.” she said. “But that is her choice to make, and not for us to make for her.”
Besides…I am uncertain if she is capable of walking the Path…she has bonded to a spirit stone well enough, and her powers are certainly not any weaker than those of her peers…
…but even so…
…she is not a full Eldar…
Eleria took a deep breath, looking out towards the distant stars to ease her worries. “No.” she thought. “I must have faith in my daughter. She certainly did not seem any different from the other children on Biel-Tan when she was growing up, and was more at home among them than among the Human children on my love’s ship. Perhaps…just perhaps…when her wanderlust runs its course, she can find peace for herself on the Path…”
“We must be patient.” Eleria finally said. “Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen.”
“Yes, Honored Farseer.” the warlock said, bowing his head, before departing at a gesture from the Farseer.
Alone once again, Eleria pulled out the hidden tarot cards, and regarded them with narrowed eyes. The inverted Lost Child, the Lightning Tower, and the Magus. Psychic power from Eleria flickered through the psycho-reactive crystal of the cards, and new visions entered her mind.
*alien children accompany their instructors to a new world*
*the aged children cower in safety from the distant sounds of war*
*terror fill the children’s eyes as a familiar machine-man towers over them*
“Victory is already assured.” Eleria thought to herself, pouring herself a drink at a nearby table. “Even so, I pray that the Bloody-Handed God and the Golden King will be with my people and that of my love’s on this battlefield.”
As she drank, more visions flashed through her mind.
*crude vessels shaped like mechanical fishes skipped on the veil between the real and the unreal*
*dragons leap from the Webway, striking true and delivering death with every blow*
*Human soldiers stand atop a burning palace, raising a crimson banner trimmed in gold, bearing a double-headed eagle with lightning bolts in its talons*
Eleria smiled and toasted the stars.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A/N
And the war continues, but turning in the Imperium’s favor, as sheer weight of numbers and overwhelming firepower push the Tau to the breaking point.
That, and the Eldar dancing just out of sight, landing quick and painful blows that leave the Tau bleeding their strength away, making them increasingly vulnerable to the Imperium’s hammer blows.
Death in the East
Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Man-made thunder rumbled across the valley as Imperial artillery pummeled Tau positions upriver in the direction of Grand Balor. More, and lower, rumbling echoed across the valley as the Rough Riders of the 955th Ostmark Cavalry Regiment rode fast and hard up the valley, along both banks of the Susanna River. They formed part of a general offensive, with the Balor Liberators 1st, 2nd, 7th, and 8th Shock Armies spearheading multiple thrusts against the Tau defenses around Balor Prime. The Balor Liberators 1st through 6th Guards Armies would follow through, with the 955th’s own sortie in the Susanna River valley part of supporting actions by the Balor Liberators 4th Guards Army.
Both SIGINT and HUMINT indicated that the Tau had depleted their forces in the valley to reinforce the defenses facing the main Imperial attacks. That was not to say it was undefended, with SIGINT and HUMINT both indicating Kroot forces with light Tau support still being present in the valley. But with the bulk of the alien forces in the valley being composed of Kroot, it was deemed suitable for the 955th to deal with.
The first sign of resistance was picked up by servo-skulls floating above and ahead of the advancing Imperial Guard cavalry units, which spotted Kroot lookouts signaling the rest of the forces and marking the Imperial attack. Bugles sounded and the Rough Riders adjusted their formation while maintaining speed. They were in the middle of doing just that when the ground literally caved in under the first three of ranks of Rough Riders, dumping over half a hundred men into a hidden trench several meters deep, with sharpened stakes at the bottom. Unable to respond quickly, two more ranks followed the rest into the trench, and while their fall was broken by the dead and dying, they still suffered various injuries, especially among the horses, rendering them unable to fight, bringing the 955th’s casualties up to well over a hundred.
A flare went up, and Tau Pathfinders ignited the trenchline. The moans and cries of injured men and the whinnies of injured horses turned to agonized screams, while behind the line, the remaining Rough Riders fell back, their formation collapsing as men and horses turned in every direction, panic setting in wildly. Then with sharp howls, Kroot Carnivores leapt out of hidden pits and into the ranks of the Rough Riders. Red blood, both Human and equine, flew in the wake of flashing Kroot blades, heads falling and bodies crumpling as the Kroot attacked wildly. There were more Humans than Kroot, but by throwing the battlefield into chaos, the Imperial Guard’s numerical advantage was turned against it. The Kroot flashed through the lines, cutting down everything in reach, their howls and the flashing of blood and metal and flying heads and falling bodies spreading panic even further, until at last the Rough Riders broke and fled.
Another flare went up, and Kroot Shapers struggled to keep their fellows from pursuing, as Imperial reinforcements closed in. Three full squadrons of Valkyries, thus far unable to fire for risk of friendly fire, but that wouldn’t last long. In response, the Tau dropped their stealth fields, revealing Tau Pathfinders commanding firing positions on the low hills along both sides of the valley, backed by XV88 Broadside Battlesuits. Railguns whined as they charged up and aimed at the Imperial flyers, then with the crack of displaced air, launched hypersonic projectiles with lethal intent.
Engines burned hot as the Valkyries banked and jinked wildly to avoid the incoming shots, before launching flares to throw off Tau missiles following through. One Valkyrie flew low, its chin-mounted multilaser turning to aim, and then fired a blazing volley of yellow across the ground just in front of the retreating Rough Riders who skid inelegantly to a halt.
Flying even lower to hover just above the ground, a side door opened up, allowing Commissar Risha Singh of the 5051st Autonomous Stormtrooper Battalion to haul herself partly out of the craft, held in place only by a safety harness. With a contemptuous look on her face, she sighted a random Rough Rider, and blew him apart with a single shot from her plasma pistol.
“COWARDS!” she roared. “NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER!”
“They’re killing us!” another Rough Rider shouted back, to the jeering agreement of his squadmates.
Risha killed him too with another shot from her plasma pistol. “THEN KILL THEM BACK!” she roared before glancing in the direction of an explosion, as a Valkyrie was shot down. With a hateful snarl, she barked orders at the pilot, before turning back to the Rough Riders. “FOR THE EMPEROR, FIGHT! OR RUN IN SHAME, YOUR CHOICE!”
That it would end in mass executions went unsaid, much to the uneasy shared glances of the Rough Riders. The Commissar was leaving, though, her Valkyrie joining the others in flying towards the Tau lines. Railguns continued firing, but the Tau battlesuits failed to shoot more Valkyries down, which opened fire with rocket pods on the Kroot scattering across the ground.
As explosions went up across the battlefield, surviving cavalry officers steeled themselves, then began forming up the lines. “REFORM THE LINE!” one captain shouted. “REFORM THE LINE!”
“FORM LINES, YOU MAGGOTS!” another captain shouted, lance raised and wildly waving into the air as he rode before the other horsemen. “FORM LINES!”
“SOUND THE CHARGE!” a third captain shouted, taking the lead before his company. “FOR OSTMARK! FOR THE EMPEROR! GOTTEN-KAISER MITT UNS!”
Bugles sounded the charge, and with a loud roar, the Rough Riders charged forward, a massive wave of men and horses that ate up the distance between them and the reeling Kroot, forming up into massive wedges before they made contact. Some of the Kroot fell back, shooting their Kroot Rifles to no effect against Imperial Guard flak armor, but most snarled in defiance, ignoring their Shapers and charging to meet the Imperial charge.
The two lines met…
…and the Imperial Guard swept the Kroot away. Most of the aliens were impaled on Imperial lances, while others were torn apart by the force of impact. A few Kroot managed to jump to avoid getting impaled or trampled by the front rank of Rough Riders, and down into the middle of their lines to wreak havoc, but it didn’t last. Most were quickly and bloodily trampled underfoot, while at least one was impaled and torn apart by three different lances.
As for Risha and the 5051st…
“Emperor, see me this day,” Risha prayed as she drew her power sword, and with a deep breath, jumped from her Valkyrie. “Guide my hand, and let my blade strike true! URAAA-!”
“URAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-!” the Stormtroopers roared as they followed after her, and echoed by the Stormtroopers in other Valkyries. They fell on the Tau positions in a rain of ceramite, yellow laser beams and blazing bursts of plasma raining down on the Tau Pathfinders. The aliens returned fire, burst carbines blazing with plasma aimed skyward, taking a toll on the Stormtroopers, before the latter landed and the battle degenerated into a brutal melee.
Bayonets, rifle butts, knives, and even simple fists were used. The Tau fought back as well as they could, but for once, the Humans weren’t physically weaker or slower than their enemies, and the aliens were brutally beaten, cut up, stabbed, choked, and even bludgeoned to death. One XV88 was literally bowled over by a whole squad of Stormtroopers jumping on it, throwing it off-balance and forcing it to the ground, where it was all but literally torn apart by point-blank hellgun fire.
Meanwhile, it seemed as though the Emperor listened to Risha’s prayer, because she dropped where she wanted to: on top of a XV88, her power sword stabbing through its chest armor and impaling the alien pilot inside. “FIGHT…FIGHT FOR YOUR LIVES…FOR YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN ARMS…VICTORY OR DEATH, FOR THE EMPEROR!” she shouted as she kicked off the dead battlesuit, and landing hard, opened fire with her plasma pistol at another battlesuit nearby. “URAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-!”
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Five long rifles fired simultaneously, cutting down a trio of Tau Pathfinders and a pair of Tau Recon Drones guarding a hidden guard station in the wilds of Balor. The Shas’Ui in charge jolted up from his seat inside the station as the sight of his men and machines getting gunned down, his eyes barely having the time to widen as what looked like a blurry shimmer flashed through the door and towards him.
Then he barely had the time to cry out in pain, as monomolecular blades cut the tendons behind his knees, then his flanks, then his shoulders, and finally, sent his head and body tumbling separately to the ground. “And I thought the mon’keigh were slow.” Kyrla dryly thought to herself as she sheathed her blades. “This is pathetic.”
Glancing at the nearby security terminal, Kyrla sighed and tapped tentatively at the control panel. It was a crude machine, simple and primitive, not to mention purely mechanical in nature, much to her disgust. Even Human technology, which depended on cloned or harvested brains and nerves to work, was less…repulsive, in comparison, if only because there was an actual spirit behind it.
Still, it would suffice, Kyrla only needing a few moments to understand how to work it. “The first guard station is under our control.” she telepathically signaled.
“The second guard station is also under our control.” a reply quickly came from another team of rangers.
“Likewise for the third guard station.” another reply followed.
“The fourth station is also under control…” the final reply came, but there was an undercurrent to the thought that caught Kyrla’s attention.
“Has something gone wrong?” she asked.
“It’s been dealt with.”
“But…?”
A mental sigh echoed through the ether. “We were nearly discovered.” the other Ranger elaborated. “Simple ill fortune, one of these Tau vermin looked in our direction and was astute enough to pick up the visual distortion of our cloaks. They nearly managed to sound the alarm, but it was quite a fight.”
“I see.” Kyrla said with a nod. “Is that all?”
“...there’s blood and guts everywhere in here.” the other Ranger admitted after a moment.
“Well, we are at war.” Kyrla pointed out. “These things happen.”
“Perhaps…but I’d have preferred to get things done cleaner and much more quietly.” the other Ranger said.
“As would I.” Kyrla agreed. “But we do not always have the luxury of getting what we want…now then, with the guard stations under control, we can move onto the next part of the plan.”
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
This involved killing all the Tau Air Castes present in the evacuation station, thus ensuring even if they failed to destroy the Orca hidden here, the Tau couldn’t fly it out either. Also, while some Rangers did just that, others deployed small and innocuous devices with which to open Webway Portals for quick evacuation.
Those Air Caste standing by on duty were the first to die. They were gathered in three ready rooms, from where they could get to their stations aboard the Orca in a matter of minutes should the need occur. Infiltrating the ship was done easily enough, with the guard stations silenced, and getting to their quarries, the Rangers simply lobbed gas grenades into the ready rooms and sealed the doors before shorting out the controls.
A simple stab with a monomolecular blade was enough to do that. Afterward, all they had to do was listen to the frantic shouting and screaming as well the pounding on the doors that slowly but steadily grew weaker and softer, until at last silence.
Then there was the ship’s captain. The Tau was receiving a report from a subordinate when the Rangers caught up to him in his office, and killed him by stabbing him from the back and through the heart. The captain’s subordinate barely had the time to scream before a shot from a shuriken pistol painted the floor and far wall behind her with blood and viscera.
“These vermin think they can bring order to the galaxy?” the Ranger who killed both Tau telepathically asked his partner.
The other Ranger shrugged. “They believe in something called the Greater Good,” he replied. “And apparently, it’s exactly what it sounds like.”
“Khaine’s blood,” the first Ranger swore. “They’re worse than the mon’keigh.”
“Maybe they are, maybe they aren’t,” his partner said with another shrug. “Come, we must deploy Webway Beacons while the others hunt for other targets.”
The first Ranger grunted, before slipping out of the bloody office and back into the labyrinth of the Orca’s interior. Across the ship, similar events played out, while Kyrla and another team of Rangers cleared out the ship’s engineering space. Unlike their fellow Rangers’ targets, the Tau here were of the Earth Caste, not that it changed the outcome.
“Took them long enough.” one Ranger quipped as alarms began to sound, causing two other Rangers to close the engineering doors followed by the blast doors. For good measure, they collapsed the catwalks above, blocking the exit with wreckage.
Kyrla grunted while tapping at a control panel, before nodding in satisfaction. “There,” she said. “I’ve disabled main and auxiliary power, these vermin won’t be able to send a signal, all while powering up its reactors.”
“This will destroy the ship.” a Ranger said as he planted a melta bomb on top of a reactor’s outer casing.
“Just as the Honored Farseer foresaw.” Kyrla said while jumping up several levels to land on the highest catwalk with barely any effort. Heading to a nearby landing at an unhurried pace, she pressed a gem on her bracer, tuning in on the various Webway Beacons across the ship before sending telepathic messages to the rest of the Rangers. “Evacuate the ship. Our task here is done.”
Then she blinked, as she sensed Webway Portals opening one after the other, allowing the other Rangers to depart, the portals closing in their wake. Soon, only she and her team were left, the latter joining her at the landing. Below, the sound of Tau security trying to breach the engineering doors could be heard, and while they probably could do it given time, they wouldn’t have it.
“Vermin burn.” Kyrla thought as she opened a portal, letting her team leave before her, the portal closing behind her as she entered the glowing tunnels of the Webway. Then, with no Eldar left inside the Orca, the melta bombs placed around its reactors exploded, compromising the volatile machines and triggering runaway chain reactions that ended with the ship exploding with a flare of light and heat visible from orbit.
There would be no escape for the Tau’s leaders on this world.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Eleria stood on the Immortal’s Blade’s observation deck, unlit except for the system’s star and the countless stars of the galaxy beyond. Runes floated around her, while a trio of tarot cards were held loosely in one hand. Those tarot cards disappeared into her sleeve as the doors opened behind her, allowing a warlock to enter.
“There is news.” she said, turning to face the warlock who sank to one knee before her, head bowed.
“As you say, Honored Farseer.” the warlock said, raising his head. “The Tau escape vessel has been destroyed, along with the latest selection of hidden supply stashes and military outposts.”
“Hmm…” Eleria mused before looking up as though in thought. “...all that’s left then is my daughter’s mission.”
“Yes, Honored Farseer.”
Eleria nodded slowly while heading back towards the window that looked out into space. “Mira has never failed me before.” she said. “She will succeed again, here and now. In any case, considering how important her quarry is compared to those of her fellow outcasts, it is no surprise she is taking her time with the hunt.”
“As you say, Honored Farseer.” the warlock said, and he was completely genuine. “Your daughter’s skills are commendable…were she to take to the Path, or rather, the Path of Warrior, she would make a fine Striking Scorpion.”
Eleria laughed. “I agree.” she said. “But that is her choice to make, and not for us to make for her.”
Besides…I am uncertain if she is capable of walking the Path…she has bonded to a spirit stone well enough, and her powers are certainly not any weaker than those of her peers…
…but even so…
…she is not a full Eldar…
Eleria took a deep breath, looking out towards the distant stars to ease her worries. “No.” she thought. “I must have faith in my daughter. She certainly did not seem any different from the other children on Biel-Tan when she was growing up, and was more at home among them than among the Human children on my love’s ship. Perhaps…just perhaps…when her wanderlust runs its course, she can find peace for herself on the Path…”
“We must be patient.” Eleria finally said. “Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen.”
“Yes, Honored Farseer.” the warlock said, bowing his head, before departing at a gesture from the Farseer.
Alone once again, Eleria pulled out the hidden tarot cards, and regarded them with narrowed eyes. The inverted Lost Child, the Lightning Tower, and the Magus. Psychic power from Eleria flickered through the psycho-reactive crystal of the cards, and new visions entered her mind.
*alien children accompany their instructors to a new world*
*the aged children cower in safety from the distant sounds of war*
*terror fill the children’s eyes as a familiar machine-man towers over them*
“Victory is already assured.” Eleria thought to herself, pouring herself a drink at a nearby table. “Even so, I pray that the Bloody-Handed God and the Golden King will be with my people and that of my love’s on this battlefield.”
As she drank, more visions flashed through her mind.
*crude vessels shaped like mechanical fishes skipped on the veil between the real and the unreal*
*dragons leap from the Webway, striking true and delivering death with every blow*
*Human soldiers stand atop a burning palace, raising a crimson banner trimmed in gold, bearing a double-headed eagle with lightning bolts in its talons*
Eleria smiled and toasted the stars.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A/N
And the war continues, but turning in the Imperium’s favor, as sheer weight of numbers and overwhelming firepower push the Tau to the breaking point.
That, and the Eldar dancing just out of sight, landing quick and painful blows that leave the Tau bleeding their strength away, making them increasingly vulnerable to the Imperium’s hammer blows.
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PsihoKekec
Swashbuckling Accountant
Necrons joining the fray?
Jaenera Targaryen
Well-known member
No, but you will see.
Why defend WH40 so much ? it is only tabletop game with cool figurines,which unfortunatelly GW decided to turn into logical world.
Which is impossible,if we have starships and lasers then we could not have melee.
GW tried and failed to explain it,becouse even Tolkien would not manage to do so.
Rule of cool - soviet style calvary charges and uraa nonsense are cool - in games.
In RL,IG acting like that would be wiped out by current polish army with little or no loses.
So,as long as you remember that it is game IG could win,but in RL somebody smarter would massacre them long ago.
They are lucky,that all their enemies are idiots - and that is only reason why they could fight.
One normal faction which do not pray to computers,only made new better ones, and keep praing to Real God,would win over Galaxy with such weak stupid enemies.
Some space spanish Conquistadors could do so.
P.S i hope,that in QQ version Risha would be undressed by Tau railgun before destroing it !
Jaenera Targaryen
Well-known member
So what? it would be QQ logic.Besides,if WH40 could made people with lasers fight in melee,it could made them undress with railguns,too.
In illogical settling,like WH40,you do not need to care about logic,as long as :
1.There is a lot of melee there
2.It is grim
3.Dudes with bigger swords win.
Chapter 5
Jaenera Targaryen
Well-known member
Disclaimer: I do not own Warhammer 40,000 it is owned by Games Workshop.
Humming echoed through the forest at night in the wilds of Balor, all but inaudible over the sound of water flowing over rocks. Starlight shimmered in the dark, holo-fields masking a Vampire Raider as it brought its passengers as close as it could to their target. Sliding over water and rocks, the Vampire Raider quietly slid to a halt in a clearing by the river, holo-fields disengaging with a flicker of rainbow light a moment before the passenger compartment slid open.
Lyla was the first out, the gyrinx lithely springing out of the transport before briefly halting to sniff at the air and take in their surroundings. Then she was gone, prowling ahead of her companion and her companion's companions. Behind the gyrinx, more Eldar emerged from the Vampire Raider, cloaked and hooded with weapons held low and relaxed. The Rangers silently took in their surroundings, and as one, prowled forward, seemingly melting into the shadows under the trees with not a sound.
"We will continue as planned." Mira telepathically communicated with the Vampire Raider's pilots. "Khaine guide our blades, Cegorach blind our enemies, and Asuryan smile on us all."
"See you at the rendezvous, Mira." the pilot replied in kind, the Vampire Raider's holo-fields coming back to life as the transport quietly vanished and moved to leave.
Mira took the lead, her fellow Rangers moving along her flanks and to her rear. Up ahead, Lyla scouted forward, sharing her senses with Mira through their bond. From the sense of things, it seemed the forest was empty, at least of sentient life. Birds of dozens of species slept in their nests up above, while nocturnal predators lurked or prowled in the shadows.
The Eldar avoided the latter, having no reason to tangle with the beasts of the woods, their eyes set on other prey. "How far away is our destination?" a Ranger asked telepathically.
"From here it should take us six turns to reach a Human ruin which sits along an abandoned route up the nearby mountain." Mira replied. "Then another two turns up the mountain, to a point from where we have a clear line of sight to our target when it arrives."
"And when will it arrive?" the Ranger asked.
"In just over a solar cycle of this world." Mira replied. "We should have the time to have a meal, then…but only after we reach our destination."
"Of course."
Mira slowly nodded, focusing once more on making her way through the woods with no hint of her presence to be seen or heard by anyone who might be present. With only Humans or Tau potentially present, that shouldn't be too hard.
The ruins were…strange.
No…not strange. Familiar.
Mira had heard the stories, read the legends, the musings and imaginings of what her father's people called the Dark Age of Technology. When the Children of Terra had reached the apex of their power and achievement, such that the Imperium of a Million Worlds of this day and age paled in comparison to. And, much like her and her mother's people, was brought down by their own hubris, the soulless machines they had crafted to serve and fight for them turning against them.
Still, it was a part of their history. Humanity's legacy. And…for one such as her, a Child of Isha with a few stanzas of Terran gene-song in her blood…her heritage as well.
The architectural styles were different, functional and idealized in a way that Imperial architecture was not, but it was still clearly of Human design and make. And some things had never changed at all, not in the tens of thousands of years between then and now, as shown by the broken statue of a nude Human female standing at what might have been a fountain once. Or the ruined temple near the center of the town, just a shattered husk of a building around a pair of idols, a long-haired Human male and an equally long-haired Human female seated cross-legged next to each other.
It was also crawling with Kroot, and from the look of things, the Tau had once been excavating here, and almost certainly had ransacked the ruins for any tech relics that might be of use to them.
Rage exploded then, deep within Mira, only the discipline drilled into her by her mother ever since she could walk and talk keeping it under control. Even then, she felt her Spirit Stone burn cold against her chest.
This was her heritage.
Her legacy by dint of descent from House von Drachenfels.
And these…vermin dare despoil it with their filthy hands? Desecrate the lost glories of her father's people's ancestors?
They would pay.
Their blood would soak the ground, and be as a funerary offering to all those that had died here to their own creations' betrayal. Only then would they sleep once more in peace.
Mira gestured sharply with her fingers, the other Rangers understanding without anything needing to be said. "Keep it quiet." Mira pulsed, and the others pulsed wordless understanding. If they felt her anger, they said nothing about it, perhaps interpreting it as typical Biel-Tan contempt for lesser species.
Well, it was close enough to the truth, she supposed.
Slinging her long rifle behind her back, Mira reached down, and drew a Huskblade, the Commorite weapon a gift from her mother. A relic of a time from before she walked the Path, and had secretly kept even after she had left the Dark City.
Moving soundlessly from shadow to shadow, the Rangers slipped unnoticed from the forest and into the ruins. There were a dozen Kroot guarding the ruins, led by a single Shaper. Mira went after them, slipping past guards blinking and turning watchful eyes along possible lines of approach, but never looking up, and never into shadowed corners, always expecting the obvious and straightforward, and not the dagger in the darkness, waiting to strike at a turned back or exposed side.
Well, perhaps that was a little unfair, she admitted while looking down through a hole in a ceiling, as the Shaper pored over a map on a table, guarded by a trio of Kroot Carnivores. Slipping back over the roof, Mira quietly dropped down to the ground, and creeping over to a window, slipped through to crouch down against the ground.
Breath held and muscles tensed like a gyrinx, she pounced, a Kroot Carnivore barely having the time to widen its eyes as her hands grabbed its head and jerked sharply, breaking the creature's neck. By now, the other Kroot in the room had noticed, but it wouldn't save them.
Wraithbone flashed and another Carnivore went down, a monomolecular-edged blade flashing from Mira's sleeve and into its head. Bone crunched and the third Carnivore collapsed, gasping for breath as a punch from Mira collapsed its throat.
Snarling in fury, the Shaper lashed out at Mira, who dodged the clumsy swing of the creature's blade, before blocking the follow-through with an arm against its arm, while her free hand stabbed her Huskblade into the creature's chest. The Commorite weapon punched through the primitive leather armor the Kroot favored, and cutting into flesh, sucked the creature dry in an instant.
Mira sniffed as she slipped back into the shadows, leaving the Shaper a mummified corpse on the ground. Across the ruins, it was more of the same.
Elsewhere, a Kroot Carnivore stood proudly on guard, never noticing the Eldar hanging down by his legs behind it, not until the Ranger had snapped its neck.
Another Ranger plunged a monomolecular blade into a Carnivore's eye from behind, and when its partner turned in the Ranger's direction, another Ranger threw a blade from the shadows behind it, and into the back of the second Carnivore's head.
A Carnivore fell as a poisoned dart struck its neck, causing the creature to fall, foaming and twitching. Snarling, its partner hurled itself over the wall, only to promptly meet a monomolecular-edged sword rising in its direction and bisected itself into bloody halves.
A pair of Carnivores chasing after a noise ran into a trap, monofilament winding around them and reducing them to bloody chunks of meat and offal.
The last Carnivore broke and fled, only to die with poisoned darts in its back, the creature falling forward foaming from the eyes and mouth.
Looking out from an upper floor window, Mira nodded in satisfaction at the sight. It was the smallest vengeance yet for the desecration of these ruins, but the rest was up to the Imperium in the days or weeks to come. Once this world was fully in its grasp, any Tau or Kroot left on this world would only have a mass grave or two to look forward to.
For now, though, Mira had more important things to do.
"What did the Humans carve these stairs for?" one of the Rangers grumbled as they made their way up the mountainside.
"...religious reasons, perhaps." Mira mused before gesturing at one of the time-worn statues of women on plinths by the stairs carved into the mountain. The women were all but nude, wearing only clothing that could pass for Commorite wychsuits, along with what could probably have passed for ornate crowns of some sort. "These statues resemble those in the temple in the ruins."
"I see…so the Humans have never always worshiped that seer of theirs?" the other Ranger asked.
"No, at least from what I gathered in my wanderings." Mira replied. "That seer of theirs as you call him, the Emperor, only took up the reigns of power after the Humans' first civilization fell to the betrayal of soulless machines…not helped by our own folly."
"...I'm not comfortable with the notion that we had anything to do with the Humans' fall." the other Ranger dryly remarked. "They need no help to ruin themselves."
"Perhaps," Mira admitted. "But we need not be blind to our own flaws, lest we repeat the mistakes of the past. Especially outcasts such as ourselves, who dance in the shadows between the Path and the darkness that reigns in the heart of the Webway."
"Even so…"
"No." Mira interrupted firmly. "This is something my mother made sure I understood early in my youth. We are the Children of Isha. Heirs of the Old Ones' legacy, victors of the War in Heaven, the Lords of All Creation. It is only meet that we think so highly of ourselves…but it was also the belief born of that, that we could do as we please, and take all that we desire without consequence, that brought us low. Or do you think we wear Spirit Stones and willfully shun our gifts for no good reason?"
There was silence, and Mira nodded. "Just as our achievements, successes, and greatness elevate us above others in this galaxy," she continued. "Our failures and damnation cast us down lower than anyone else. The Humans' fall is nothing compared to ours, when our ancestors' hubris cost us our ancient crownworlds forever, and birthed the most twisted of the gods of the Great Enemy into existence."
"...I understand, Mira." the other Ranger admitted with a sigh. "It is difficult to admit, but I understand."
"I know." Mira said with another nod. "It was difficult for me as well, but my mother would not relent, and in hindsight, she cannot be faulted for that. It is an important lesson to learn, a piece of wisdom to be held in our hearts."
"Your mother is wise." the other Ranger said, and Mira smiled fondly.
"She is."
The vantage point from where they would assassinate one of the Tau's pretender-sages was high up on the mountainside, a short stretch of cliff clear of vegetation along the edge. Getting there wasn't particularly difficult, but not without challenge.
The roaring of crude rockets tipped the Eldar off, the Rangers scattering as a Tau XV25 Stealthsuit dropped down in front of them, accompanied by a pair of gun drones. External speakers blared out something in the Tau's uncouth tongue, but the Eldar weren't listening.
Mira's long rifle cracked off a shot while two other Rangers opened fire with shuriken pistols. Mira's shot blew off the battlesuit's right arm, and depriving it of its only weapon. The other Rangers' shots took out the gun drones, and then a thrown monomolecular blade punched into the battlesuit's head, taking out its sensor cluster.
In the next instant, a trio of Rangers had closed in, and stabbed the battlesuit with monomolecular-edged swords from three directions. Gurgles could be heard from its speakers, while blue blood dripped down the Eldar's swords and down to the ground. Then they withdrew their swords, the battlesuit lifelessly collapsing to the ground.
Wordlessly, the Eldar dragged it off and out of sight, before scattering across the clearing. In the distance, the hidden Tau base could be seen, camouflaged enough to mask it from orbital sensors, but this close and against Eldar eyes, it was obvious. In any case, they still had some time before their prey arrived, more than enough time for a quick meal. Afterwards, the Eldar spent the following turns in various ways.
While some were always on watch duty, others slept, meditated, and played simple mind games with each other to pass the time. Day passed into night, and night began giving way to the day, then finally, their prey arrived.
Crude plasma engines burned white-hot as a heavy Tau transport arrived, veiled from Imperial sensors by Tau disruption tech. The Eldar watched in silence as it flew over the mountains, and then hovering over the base in the distance, slowly descended to land. Already, the Tau in the base had turned out to greet their pretender-sage, assembled in neat squares and lines on the ground below.
Wordlessly, Mira shifted into a prone position, her long rifle braced on a bipod and its scope lined up with her eye. She quickly swept the target zone for potential complications, before zeroing in on the transport. For several minutes, nothing happened, and then with the whining of primitive machinery and the hissing of equalizing pressure, a hatch opened.
Painfully-slow, but it opened, and in moments, the pretender-sage emerged, a wizened creature practically buried in gaudy robes dripping with equally-gaudy jewelry. So much so, that the creature couldn't stand on its own legs, the pretender-sage needing a grav-platform of its own to move. In its hands, the creature held a staff of office, while to its sides, a pair of Tau warriors walked just a step behind, an honor guard of sorts for the pretender-sage.
There were no cheers from the assembled Tau, just shows of reverence and murmurs of awe and anticipation. Slowly and with affected gravitas, the pretender-sage and its honor guards proceeded down an aisle formed between the assembled Tau, drones flying around and overhead on the lookout for any sign of danger.
Mira breathed in, steadying her aim, and then pulled the trigger. Air cracked as a beam of blinding white split its way towards the target, and punching into the pretender-sage's chest, reduced the creature's torso to bloody chunks and hot mist.
There was a moment of silence.
Then the Tau screamed, most of them clutching their heads in shock and terror at the sight of their pretender-sage's death, many collapsing to their knees in despair. The honor guards even went so far as to draw their sidearms and putting them against their heads, committed suicide.
Most of the Tau wept or wailed or even both, while some beat their heads against the ground or nearby walls. A few clawed at their eyes and faces, leaving bloody marks in their wake, screams and alarms echoing across the wilds as anarchy consumed the Tau base.
Mira just snorted at the sight. "What a pathetic sight." she sneered, while crawling back and away. "Let us depart, we are finished here."
Several turns later, and the Eldar were piling back inside the Vampire Raider. As the hatch sealed and the transport went on its merry way, a display lit up and displayed the image of Farseer Eleria.
"Is it done?" she asked.
"The pretender-sage is dead," Mira began. "And the vermin tear at themselves in despair. Pathetic…"
"Of course they are." Eleria agreed. "They are vermin."
"What must be done next, mother?" Mira asked.
"Proceed to the capital city," Eleria replied to Mira's surprise. "And infiltrate it before awaiting further instructions."
"It's almost over, then." Mira said.
"Yes," Eleria said with a nod. "But remember, vermin are most dangerous when backed into a corner. We must prepare for that eventuality, such that when it occurs, we can force them into the open, and allow the Humans to hammer them freely."
"As you say."
"Still," Eleria continued. "We must not forget that this world, and the events that even now take place, form only part of a greater tapestry that must be woven to ensure the security of our worlds and loved ones. The Imperium's victory here will not be enough, and the next step must be of a subtle nature. Prepare yourself."
"I understand, mother." Mira said with a nod. "At times, a sword or a hidden dagger is needed, but at other times, a scalpel would be more appropriate."
"Or a net, as it were." Eleria said, and causing Mira to tilt her head in surprise. "Patience, my dear. You will know soon enough. For now, rendezvous with the other Rangers, and proceed to the capital. When the events of this world reach their climax, you will be needed there, this much is certain among the ever-shifting paths of the future-present."
"It will be done." Mira said with another nod, and then Eleria ended the communication. Mira said nothing more, trusting in the Vampire Raider's pilots to know where they needed to go. That said…
"...a net…" one Ranger muttered. "...is the Honored Farseer after something or someone?"
"Our mission here is to prevent the Great Enemy from threatening the Maiden Worlds in this part of the galaxy." Mira pointed out. "As we are all aware, it only takes one to sow the seeds of the Great Enemy's corruption. Perhaps that is what my mother intends to catch?"
"It would seem so." the other Ranger said, but Mira said nothing, already suspecting her mother intended something else, but what?
We will know soon enough, I'm sure.
A/N
And it's assassination time, with a lot of gratuitous violence on the side. Plus Mira getting very unhappy at Tau poking around Golden Age ruins on Balor, although there really isn't anything left there. Still, watching upstarts like the Tau trespassing on her father's people's ancient heritage (and hers as well, as she describes herself as a Terran-blooded Child of Isha) really pisses her off.
Death in the East
Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Humming echoed through the forest at night in the wilds of Balor, all but inaudible over the sound of water flowing over rocks. Starlight shimmered in the dark, holo-fields masking a Vampire Raider as it brought its passengers as close as it could to their target. Sliding over water and rocks, the Vampire Raider quietly slid to a halt in a clearing by the river, holo-fields disengaging with a flicker of rainbow light a moment before the passenger compartment slid open.
Lyla was the first out, the gyrinx lithely springing out of the transport before briefly halting to sniff at the air and take in their surroundings. Then she was gone, prowling ahead of her companion and her companion's companions. Behind the gyrinx, more Eldar emerged from the Vampire Raider, cloaked and hooded with weapons held low and relaxed. The Rangers silently took in their surroundings, and as one, prowled forward, seemingly melting into the shadows under the trees with not a sound.
"We will continue as planned." Mira telepathically communicated with the Vampire Raider's pilots. "Khaine guide our blades, Cegorach blind our enemies, and Asuryan smile on us all."
"See you at the rendezvous, Mira." the pilot replied in kind, the Vampire Raider's holo-fields coming back to life as the transport quietly vanished and moved to leave.
Mira took the lead, her fellow Rangers moving along her flanks and to her rear. Up ahead, Lyla scouted forward, sharing her senses with Mira through their bond. From the sense of things, it seemed the forest was empty, at least of sentient life. Birds of dozens of species slept in their nests up above, while nocturnal predators lurked or prowled in the shadows.
The Eldar avoided the latter, having no reason to tangle with the beasts of the woods, their eyes set on other prey. "How far away is our destination?" a Ranger asked telepathically.
"From here it should take us six turns to reach a Human ruin which sits along an abandoned route up the nearby mountain." Mira replied. "Then another two turns up the mountain, to a point from where we have a clear line of sight to our target when it arrives."
"And when will it arrive?" the Ranger asked.
"In just over a solar cycle of this world." Mira replied. "We should have the time to have a meal, then…but only after we reach our destination."
"Of course."
Mira slowly nodded, focusing once more on making her way through the woods with no hint of her presence to be seen or heard by anyone who might be present. With only Humans or Tau potentially present, that shouldn't be too hard.
The ruins were…strange.
No…not strange. Familiar.
Mira had heard the stories, read the legends, the musings and imaginings of what her father's people called the Dark Age of Technology. When the Children of Terra had reached the apex of their power and achievement, such that the Imperium of a Million Worlds of this day and age paled in comparison to. And, much like her and her mother's people, was brought down by their own hubris, the soulless machines they had crafted to serve and fight for them turning against them.
Still, it was a part of their history. Humanity's legacy. And…for one such as her, a Child of Isha with a few stanzas of Terran gene-song in her blood…her heritage as well.
The architectural styles were different, functional and idealized in a way that Imperial architecture was not, but it was still clearly of Human design and make. And some things had never changed at all, not in the tens of thousands of years between then and now, as shown by the broken statue of a nude Human female standing at what might have been a fountain once. Or the ruined temple near the center of the town, just a shattered husk of a building around a pair of idols, a long-haired Human male and an equally long-haired Human female seated cross-legged next to each other.
It was also crawling with Kroot, and from the look of things, the Tau had once been excavating here, and almost certainly had ransacked the ruins for any tech relics that might be of use to them.
Rage exploded then, deep within Mira, only the discipline drilled into her by her mother ever since she could walk and talk keeping it under control. Even then, she felt her Spirit Stone burn cold against her chest.
This was her heritage.
Her legacy by dint of descent from House von Drachenfels.
And these…vermin dare despoil it with their filthy hands? Desecrate the lost glories of her father's people's ancestors?
They would pay.
Their blood would soak the ground, and be as a funerary offering to all those that had died here to their own creations' betrayal. Only then would they sleep once more in peace.
Mira gestured sharply with her fingers, the other Rangers understanding without anything needing to be said. "Keep it quiet." Mira pulsed, and the others pulsed wordless understanding. If they felt her anger, they said nothing about it, perhaps interpreting it as typical Biel-Tan contempt for lesser species.
Well, it was close enough to the truth, she supposed.
Slinging her long rifle behind her back, Mira reached down, and drew a Huskblade, the Commorite weapon a gift from her mother. A relic of a time from before she walked the Path, and had secretly kept even after she had left the Dark City.
Moving soundlessly from shadow to shadow, the Rangers slipped unnoticed from the forest and into the ruins. There were a dozen Kroot guarding the ruins, led by a single Shaper. Mira went after them, slipping past guards blinking and turning watchful eyes along possible lines of approach, but never looking up, and never into shadowed corners, always expecting the obvious and straightforward, and not the dagger in the darkness, waiting to strike at a turned back or exposed side.
Well, perhaps that was a little unfair, she admitted while looking down through a hole in a ceiling, as the Shaper pored over a map on a table, guarded by a trio of Kroot Carnivores. Slipping back over the roof, Mira quietly dropped down to the ground, and creeping over to a window, slipped through to crouch down against the ground.
Breath held and muscles tensed like a gyrinx, she pounced, a Kroot Carnivore barely having the time to widen its eyes as her hands grabbed its head and jerked sharply, breaking the creature's neck. By now, the other Kroot in the room had noticed, but it wouldn't save them.
Wraithbone flashed and another Carnivore went down, a monomolecular-edged blade flashing from Mira's sleeve and into its head. Bone crunched and the third Carnivore collapsed, gasping for breath as a punch from Mira collapsed its throat.
Snarling in fury, the Shaper lashed out at Mira, who dodged the clumsy swing of the creature's blade, before blocking the follow-through with an arm against its arm, while her free hand stabbed her Huskblade into the creature's chest. The Commorite weapon punched through the primitive leather armor the Kroot favored, and cutting into flesh, sucked the creature dry in an instant.
Mira sniffed as she slipped back into the shadows, leaving the Shaper a mummified corpse on the ground. Across the ruins, it was more of the same.
Elsewhere, a Kroot Carnivore stood proudly on guard, never noticing the Eldar hanging down by his legs behind it, not until the Ranger had snapped its neck.
Another Ranger plunged a monomolecular blade into a Carnivore's eye from behind, and when its partner turned in the Ranger's direction, another Ranger threw a blade from the shadows behind it, and into the back of the second Carnivore's head.
A Carnivore fell as a poisoned dart struck its neck, causing the creature to fall, foaming and twitching. Snarling, its partner hurled itself over the wall, only to promptly meet a monomolecular-edged sword rising in its direction and bisected itself into bloody halves.
A pair of Carnivores chasing after a noise ran into a trap, monofilament winding around them and reducing them to bloody chunks of meat and offal.
The last Carnivore broke and fled, only to die with poisoned darts in its back, the creature falling forward foaming from the eyes and mouth.
Looking out from an upper floor window, Mira nodded in satisfaction at the sight. It was the smallest vengeance yet for the desecration of these ruins, but the rest was up to the Imperium in the days or weeks to come. Once this world was fully in its grasp, any Tau or Kroot left on this world would only have a mass grave or two to look forward to.
For now, though, Mira had more important things to do.
"What did the Humans carve these stairs for?" one of the Rangers grumbled as they made their way up the mountainside.
"...religious reasons, perhaps." Mira mused before gesturing at one of the time-worn statues of women on plinths by the stairs carved into the mountain. The women were all but nude, wearing only clothing that could pass for Commorite wychsuits, along with what could probably have passed for ornate crowns of some sort. "These statues resemble those in the temple in the ruins."
"I see…so the Humans have never always worshiped that seer of theirs?" the other Ranger asked.
"No, at least from what I gathered in my wanderings." Mira replied. "That seer of theirs as you call him, the Emperor, only took up the reigns of power after the Humans' first civilization fell to the betrayal of soulless machines…not helped by our own folly."
"...I'm not comfortable with the notion that we had anything to do with the Humans' fall." the other Ranger dryly remarked. "They need no help to ruin themselves."
"Perhaps," Mira admitted. "But we need not be blind to our own flaws, lest we repeat the mistakes of the past. Especially outcasts such as ourselves, who dance in the shadows between the Path and the darkness that reigns in the heart of the Webway."
"Even so…"
"No." Mira interrupted firmly. "This is something my mother made sure I understood early in my youth. We are the Children of Isha. Heirs of the Old Ones' legacy, victors of the War in Heaven, the Lords of All Creation. It is only meet that we think so highly of ourselves…but it was also the belief born of that, that we could do as we please, and take all that we desire without consequence, that brought us low. Or do you think we wear Spirit Stones and willfully shun our gifts for no good reason?"
There was silence, and Mira nodded. "Just as our achievements, successes, and greatness elevate us above others in this galaxy," she continued. "Our failures and damnation cast us down lower than anyone else. The Humans' fall is nothing compared to ours, when our ancestors' hubris cost us our ancient crownworlds forever, and birthed the most twisted of the gods of the Great Enemy into existence."
"...I understand, Mira." the other Ranger admitted with a sigh. "It is difficult to admit, but I understand."
"I know." Mira said with another nod. "It was difficult for me as well, but my mother would not relent, and in hindsight, she cannot be faulted for that. It is an important lesson to learn, a piece of wisdom to be held in our hearts."
"Your mother is wise." the other Ranger said, and Mira smiled fondly.
"She is."
The vantage point from where they would assassinate one of the Tau's pretender-sages was high up on the mountainside, a short stretch of cliff clear of vegetation along the edge. Getting there wasn't particularly difficult, but not without challenge.
The roaring of crude rockets tipped the Eldar off, the Rangers scattering as a Tau XV25 Stealthsuit dropped down in front of them, accompanied by a pair of gun drones. External speakers blared out something in the Tau's uncouth tongue, but the Eldar weren't listening.
Mira's long rifle cracked off a shot while two other Rangers opened fire with shuriken pistols. Mira's shot blew off the battlesuit's right arm, and depriving it of its only weapon. The other Rangers' shots took out the gun drones, and then a thrown monomolecular blade punched into the battlesuit's head, taking out its sensor cluster.
In the next instant, a trio of Rangers had closed in, and stabbed the battlesuit with monomolecular-edged swords from three directions. Gurgles could be heard from its speakers, while blue blood dripped down the Eldar's swords and down to the ground. Then they withdrew their swords, the battlesuit lifelessly collapsing to the ground.
Wordlessly, the Eldar dragged it off and out of sight, before scattering across the clearing. In the distance, the hidden Tau base could be seen, camouflaged enough to mask it from orbital sensors, but this close and against Eldar eyes, it was obvious. In any case, they still had some time before their prey arrived, more than enough time for a quick meal. Afterwards, the Eldar spent the following turns in various ways.
While some were always on watch duty, others slept, meditated, and played simple mind games with each other to pass the time. Day passed into night, and night began giving way to the day, then finally, their prey arrived.
Crude plasma engines burned white-hot as a heavy Tau transport arrived, veiled from Imperial sensors by Tau disruption tech. The Eldar watched in silence as it flew over the mountains, and then hovering over the base in the distance, slowly descended to land. Already, the Tau in the base had turned out to greet their pretender-sage, assembled in neat squares and lines on the ground below.
Wordlessly, Mira shifted into a prone position, her long rifle braced on a bipod and its scope lined up with her eye. She quickly swept the target zone for potential complications, before zeroing in on the transport. For several minutes, nothing happened, and then with the whining of primitive machinery and the hissing of equalizing pressure, a hatch opened.
Painfully-slow, but it opened, and in moments, the pretender-sage emerged, a wizened creature practically buried in gaudy robes dripping with equally-gaudy jewelry. So much so, that the creature couldn't stand on its own legs, the pretender-sage needing a grav-platform of its own to move. In its hands, the creature held a staff of office, while to its sides, a pair of Tau warriors walked just a step behind, an honor guard of sorts for the pretender-sage.
There were no cheers from the assembled Tau, just shows of reverence and murmurs of awe and anticipation. Slowly and with affected gravitas, the pretender-sage and its honor guards proceeded down an aisle formed between the assembled Tau, drones flying around and overhead on the lookout for any sign of danger.
Mira breathed in, steadying her aim, and then pulled the trigger. Air cracked as a beam of blinding white split its way towards the target, and punching into the pretender-sage's chest, reduced the creature's torso to bloody chunks and hot mist.
There was a moment of silence.
Then the Tau screamed, most of them clutching their heads in shock and terror at the sight of their pretender-sage's death, many collapsing to their knees in despair. The honor guards even went so far as to draw their sidearms and putting them against their heads, committed suicide.
Most of the Tau wept or wailed or even both, while some beat their heads against the ground or nearby walls. A few clawed at their eyes and faces, leaving bloody marks in their wake, screams and alarms echoing across the wilds as anarchy consumed the Tau base.
Mira just snorted at the sight. "What a pathetic sight." she sneered, while crawling back and away. "Let us depart, we are finished here."
Several turns later, and the Eldar were piling back inside the Vampire Raider. As the hatch sealed and the transport went on its merry way, a display lit up and displayed the image of Farseer Eleria.
"Is it done?" she asked.
"The pretender-sage is dead," Mira began. "And the vermin tear at themselves in despair. Pathetic…"
"Of course they are." Eleria agreed. "They are vermin."
"What must be done next, mother?" Mira asked.
"Proceed to the capital city," Eleria replied to Mira's surprise. "And infiltrate it before awaiting further instructions."
"It's almost over, then." Mira said.
"Yes," Eleria said with a nod. "But remember, vermin are most dangerous when backed into a corner. We must prepare for that eventuality, such that when it occurs, we can force them into the open, and allow the Humans to hammer them freely."
"As you say."
"Still," Eleria continued. "We must not forget that this world, and the events that even now take place, form only part of a greater tapestry that must be woven to ensure the security of our worlds and loved ones. The Imperium's victory here will not be enough, and the next step must be of a subtle nature. Prepare yourself."
"I understand, mother." Mira said with a nod. "At times, a sword or a hidden dagger is needed, but at other times, a scalpel would be more appropriate."
"Or a net, as it were." Eleria said, and causing Mira to tilt her head in surprise. "Patience, my dear. You will know soon enough. For now, rendezvous with the other Rangers, and proceed to the capital. When the events of this world reach their climax, you will be needed there, this much is certain among the ever-shifting paths of the future-present."
"It will be done." Mira said with another nod, and then Eleria ended the communication. Mira said nothing more, trusting in the Vampire Raider's pilots to know where they needed to go. That said…
"...a net…" one Ranger muttered. "...is the Honored Farseer after something or someone?"
"Our mission here is to prevent the Great Enemy from threatening the Maiden Worlds in this part of the galaxy." Mira pointed out. "As we are all aware, it only takes one to sow the seeds of the Great Enemy's corruption. Perhaps that is what my mother intends to catch?"
"It would seem so." the other Ranger said, but Mira said nothing, already suspecting her mother intended something else, but what?
We will know soon enough, I'm sure.
A/N
And it's assassination time, with a lot of gratuitous violence on the side. Plus Mira getting very unhappy at Tau poking around Golden Age ruins on Balor, although there really isn't anything left there. Still, watching upstarts like the Tau trespassing on her father's people's ancient heritage (and hers as well, as she describes herself as a Terran-blooded Child of Isha) really pisses her off.
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PsihoKekec
Swashbuckling Accountant
The statues of gods is some new religion that cropped up sometime after humanity reached for the stars?