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Can't believe you could complicate Fire at will... Felix comments.
"...told you so." Bekka will mutter to herself as she wait for the lascannons capacitor light to go from red to green.
"I mean, Felix, if ya want, we could trade tanks. Lemmy tell ya, Psi's a good fixer but he's...he's got some quirks."
The buggy Bekka was targeting performs a sharp left turn just at the moment she presses the firing stud after having aligned the tank perfectly for the shot.
The lasbeam clips the rear armour of the buggy and melts some metal off, but this was clearly a 'miss' - damn those unpredictable Orks!
Your exhaustive scans reveal several more buggies behind the hilltop, following the others swiftly.
They seem to be arranged in two separate groups, each consisting of 8 buggie-sized contacts.
One is moving south-east, the other straight east.
You struggle with the idea of Orks using tactics beyond straight-charge like the mindless brutes they are, so you cannot discern any deeper tactics in this reading.
The chatter calms down at the clear orders from Mac.
The unordered heap of vehicles are trying to change their course ...
about half of them succeeding, while the other half of the formation is actually worsening as vehicles interlock and come to a grinding halt to prevent accidents...
Another salvo of lasbeams slice into the Ork's 'formation', two find their mark, disabling one and badly damaging another. A third should have been hit by any normal rules, but performs a crazy-unnatural turn, causing the fist-sized lasbeam to pass through two open windows of the vehicle - without causing any harm.
Command Channel:
A high voice with a horrible uncomfortable accent speaks up.
"Mejer, cen yer peple dispetch de Orks elone?
So we cen press on?
The generels plen hes strict timin.
We should not let us become distrected."
"Confirming order to fire at will.
Leutenant, the abundant data hidden between the incoherent meatbag screams
reveals to me there are two more groups of enemy vehicles beyond the hilltops.
Eight vehicles each. Size close to the one we are seeing.
One is moving east, the other south-east.
I am unable to see the logic in their behaviour, most likely because there is none.
Miss Tark, there is not complication in waiting for clear and definite order.
Miss Buck, yes you have in fact told me, what you have told me however remains untrue
as it is Leutenant Mac who has the authority to order fire, which he only just now has."
Valens takes his time to line up a shot with the main gun.
The lasbeam bursts from the barrel in an odd angle, causing the beam go miss by several meter despite accurate aiming on Felix' side.
A red indicator warns you promptly, that something in the gun gave way.
A quick diagnostic check reveals a problem with the focus-lenses that direct the beam on target.
It is still functional, but aiming it accurately will be a problem until fixed.
Check out a few posts back, there was a spoiler for you that was probably overlooked due to page-break.
You will be required to do a riving check to drive through the cluttering pdf chimeras without crashing into someone...
Soon after the second imperial volley, the buggies open fire as well.
Heat-Sensorics are blinking rapidly as multi-barreled automatic guns open up (and fall short over such distances in virtually every case) and long streaks of fast-moving fire light up the night-sky as rokkitz are speeding from fragile-looking launcher pods mounted to some of the bikkez.
The fast explosives spin on fully uncontrolled trajectories and either fall very short or speed up into the night sky harmlessly.
Only one comes so much as 'close' to a collection of interlocked Chimeras and explodes in a bright red fireball.
Through your targeting-periscopes / armorclass view slid you detect a strange behavior of one of the rokkitz that fell short:
Instead of going up in a bright fireball, it simply emits a very brief green light upon impact and then produces a thin orange smoke that rises up to the sky.
Kersin grins as he fires once more, the weapon feeling alive in his hands, eager to snuff the life of the xenos filth from the Emperor's universe.
Can you send Psi over right now Bekka? Need a focus lens reset in Salvus. Felix radios as she continues moving forward carefully.
Too much is going on and Felix "Solo Badass" Tark missed the omnious shadow to the right while asking for the Enginseers support.
With a sudden screech of grinding metal Salvus crashes into a crossing NPC Chimera and comes to a very abrupt halt.
Felix is able to brace herself in the last second, heavily leaning against her console for support.
A resounding clonk from somewhere behind you indicates that not all of your crew where as quick to react.
After the first shock subsided, a half-panicked voice (you identify as belonging to Sevran your port gunner) shouting:
"Turja! Turja, you're good?!
By the Emperor answer me!"
Quickly followed by the sound of someone hastily clambering around the crowded interior of the tank.
Salvus, Report! Mac barks.
”Only once we’re clear ov all these orks!” she responds.
Failed by literally 1 due to the -10 from being in a tank :<
"For Pete's sake! Sunday drivers! Like we haven't got enough issues already.
Everything ok Lt?"
Bekka has to make a stunt-like half-turn-stop to prevent crashing into the steadily growing heap of intermingled tanks but kills the engine in the process.
While rebooting the main drive systems (and probably getting a less than helpful lecture of a certain techpriest) the Invincible is sitting ducks for arduously long seconds .
Sir, no sir. We have a man not responsive from the sideswipe. Holding and checking status of Salvus now. Felix radios before yelling inside the tank.
One of you check on Turja, the other get me a damage report on the tank!
The Lt finally reveals that he did, in fact, take the requisite officer class Chew out 101
Invictus, specifically Psi, fall back with Salvus and assist. Both of you get up to that line ASAP or by the Enperor's Glorious A** I will shove my boot so far up your a** you'll taste leather!
Dies Irae and Requium will proceed to the line. Out.
"Sir yes sir!" replies Bekka as she frantically goes through the not-quite-mechanicus-sanctioned 'Leman Russ Quick Start" procedures to get them rolling once more.
A horrible metal screeching emits from Bekkas' and Felix' Voxbead, somehow bypassing the other peoples pickups.
It vaguely sounds like "What are you meatbags doing to my precious machines?!?"
While a little confirmation click answers Macs shouted command.
Having lost his aim from the driving Valens instead gets right to the new order by getting the Invictus back online throught the MIU
Soothing octets of binary float around the engine and appease its burning up anger at its blatant abuse. Switching tune Valens sings hymns of binary praise and awakening for the venerable machine, reawakening it in the softest of ways, yet taking no more than the few miliseconds it takes to transfer his hymns to its machine core.
"Proceeding to the line, yes sir. They will taste the fury of our las cannons sir!"
As he manoeuvres to get into position, Asbjörn does his best to lock on to a new target, eager to cause a big explosion.
Felix attempts to extract Salvus from the Chimera at the very least.
*** Invictus ***
The soothing touch of a follower of the Creed of the Omnissiah calms the upset machine spirits of the Invincible and causes the reboot process the succeed without a hiccup and faster than usual.
*** Salvus ***
Felix makes slow progress in unwinding Salvus from the mangled crash site, but it is millimeter-work and she is more than busy with switching between forward in reverse for what feels like the 1000th time.
Behind her, Jamis-1 is checking on Jamis-2 (call names due to the fact that there is virtually no other way to distinguish the twin sisters) and calls out.
"Oh Emperor, she's bleeding!
Ma'am, I think she broke her nose - and she's blacked out.
Come on sis, wake up!"
Leaving behind two of their number in the mangles mass of vehicles, Requiem and Dies Irae are pressing on.
Having a freed up firing line, Kersin draws upon another buggy with the annihilator turret as soon as the capacitors show green and fire.
Despite the evasive zick-zack course of the buggy, the lasbeams rip into the small vehicle.
Again, the first shot melts away just enough armour so that the follow up shot can sear through the interior of the vehicle with lethal force.
Thick black smoke billows from within and the vehicle is slowing down, quickly to be passed by its kin.
Orks can be seen jumping off and running towards the imperials on foot.
+++ Negative-Negative-Negative.
Turn round, Alerians and assist.
We have auspex readings about two more groups behind the hills.+++
Major MacKenzies voice sounds short-tempered and interleaved with the busy sound from her battletank.
Mac gets on the Alerian net just to make things perfectly clear.
+++ To all local Alerian forces. Form up on major MacKenzie in defensive positions. Incoming vehicles from the hills on bearing <insert here>. All crews are ordered to keep your heads and shut up unless it's important. Disciplined fire, choose your targets well. This is just the beginning so don't go wasting your ammo. Out.
He switches to the squad channel.
Squad, three total contact groups reported. Keeps your eyes open for flankers.
Felix grits her teeth as she continues to work her way clear of the morass. This was not her happy place.
Remember your first aid training Jamis Felix calls back inside Salvus Check if she's breathing, check if she's got anything broken, and then slap a medpatch on her nose, strap her secure and then get back to your station! We'll get her proper medicae care once we survive this Emperor damned mess.
To Mac she radios Tell me a flank to support and I'll make my way there sir. Going as fast as I can.
Negative, Felix. You and the Invictus are part of the center battle line with me. Now stop making love to that Chimera and get your a** up here!
Gladly sir, the relationship just ain't working out, trying to let him down gentle.
"You know those Chimeras, they just don't have enough turret to handle a real woman.
don't feel bad Felix, he wouldn't know what to do with you anyway."
Hmm, let's see if we can't take one of those buggies out while we get into formation...
Pointedly ignoring Psi as he shouts at her for something, really, wasn't her fault, Bekka does what she can finally get into proper position.
3 DoS
Backing away from Felix' tank, Bekka then slowly brings hers around, weaves in an out of the mess of PDF Tanks to get into position.
As the enemy begins to close, Kersin tries to eliminate another of the fast moving buggys, choosing as his target one that has been launching the rockets at them.
As the sides close in on each other, the attacks are getting more precise, causing more damage to either side.
In exchange for the loss of over half their strength, the ork buggies let loose another volley of rokkiz ...
... most of them missing pathetically, but one buries itself just underneath the track of a PDF Chimera.
The massive detonation throws the massive tank over, pulping its turret, antennae, search light and pintle mounted gun to flat metal.
Thick black smoke is billowing from the toppled chimera as Requiem and Dies Irae pass by, followed by Invictus and Salvus 100 meters behind.
In retaliation, Kersin leads the Imperial Counter-Attack with a ...
... well placed shot of the Annihilator turret lighting another Ork buggy up.
This time, the shot clearly hit a fuel or ammo supply and the ramshackle vehicle explodes in a violent fireball.
The explosion of it has not yet echoed over all imperial vehicles, as another series of banging thunderclaps ripp apart the air over the battlefield.
A single, massed salvo of the main guns of the leading formation of Alerian tanks blast apart the remainders of the first group of ork vehicles.
An eerie silence (as far as the rumbling of over a score of heavy tanks can be considered silence) settles over the battlefield.
You know that there are more buggies behind that hill, but you cannot see one of them.
Sir, I was led to believe Orks just charge in. Felix radios Mac as she finally gets into position. Why aren't they charging?
"I was under the impression the Leutenant wanted me to fix things with those tanks here, but I'll gladly take this chance to get rid of some of those beasts.
Thought I do have the feeling that we are looking at an equation with a key variable missing. Logical extrapolation of the current situation presents the following hypothesis:
If it was the Orks coming at us with a line of vehicles similar to the one we are approaching with then the Omnissiah decrees to first thin their rank with artillery fire. In this case we would send out a forward scouting troop with small use of personel to mark the coordinates and stay out of the designated target zone with everything else but hold it in close proximity to strike once the artillery barage has ceased.
Now taking into account that we have been dispatched towards the hive to silence the orks artillery I believe it unwise to stay in this large bunched up heap of vehicles."
Your guess is as good as mine, Felix. Let's see what type Major orders. Keep your eyes open and spread out a bit, everyone. The enemy has artillery too.
Psi, I take your chatter to mean that your work is complete?
"I would have prefered the interpretation: 'I think we're about to get nuked by artillery', Leutenant Sir. But I will get on with the Omnissiash holy work now that you have deemed this conclusion to be irrelevant."
He extracts himself from the Gunner position and gets to work on the other vehicles
"Huh, that almost sounded like a joke. A bit mechanical and stiff, but a joke nonetheless."
Felix shifts Salvus as best she can given the crowded front line.
Sir, I'll need a medic too. For one of the Jamises.
"No, Trooper Elofson. If I had wanted to engage in humour then I would have entertained you with the tale of the mad Magos Van der Screwton who thought he could understand the Omnissiahs will by observation of the entropic behaviour of dead rats. Alas my hypothesis is as founded on facts as such things can be."
Mac puts out the call, +++To any medics within range of the Salvus, Medic needed. Report ASAP.
”I know some first aid but ain’t no medic; also not keen on leaving Invictus undermanned and without a driver. Will hop on over if absolutely required.”
Humming a hymn in binary to himself - or maybe the tank? Valens works his way along the exterior of the tanks first. As if in thought he notices he's close to the lascanon and his head jerks up to look at its lense hard.
Shaking his head he switches tunes and recites the suprisingly short litany of percusive maintenance "By the Omnissiahs will, work!" before striking it with at a percicely calculated angle to reset the lenses angle
Taking a closer look he scowls "And THAT is why you never let menials do anything important." before getting out his combi-tool and adjusting the calibration once more. Tightening a screw here, readjusting a holder by a milimeter there. After a few moments of work he sactifies the machinery with a single drop of his sacred unguents.
*** Salvus ***
A weak, quivering voice answers the call for a medic.
"I ... I'm good Ma'am.
Broke my nose ... ouch ... and passed out for a bit...
That's all.
I can deal with ... ouch ... it."
At about the same time, the tunes and litany echoes from the outside as Valens performs his percussive maintenance on the lascannon.
He is merely done, when a bright flash lits the still dark western horizon in sudden brightness that blinds the unprotected eye for several seconds - but most of you are protected by filters of targeting devices and auto-darkening armorclass.
You remember this effect from reports and previous encounters - it is the massive Ork artillery they built into the conquered Hive and that is the main target of the Imperial counter offensive.
And you know full well, what usually follows:
A massive rolling concussion soon followed by solid rocks the size of small meteors - some of them containing a payload of Ork walkers.
+++SCATTER, SCATTER, SCATTER!
Drivers, keep your distance to one another.
Gunners, try to predict the fly path and evade.
The Emperor protects!+++
The Major's voice is rapid and strong, easily overcoming the chatter that broke the short silence on the vox channels.
"And that is why the Omnissiahs holy logic is so rightfully venerated." says the Tech Priest as the clamps down the las canons casing. As he does this his Manipulator Mechadendrite already extends back to the Invicus, securing him to the hull.
"Miss Buck you may start manouvering. I will use my true limbs strength to return to the safety of the venerable machine's interiour"
You heard the major, GO GO GO! echoes the Lt.
Kersin's voice growls from the gunner's seat, "And this is why they were not closing..."
"If you say so Psi!"
1 DoF
But the mass of panicking tanks trying to scatter as the orkoid artillery causes her some issues as she tries to do as shes ordered.
"OH FOR FETHS SAKE!" she will swear as she attempts to not get blown to bits by ork artillery.
"Well, Psi, in the interest a' safety an' keeping one've our only tech-priests alive, Imma wait 'till you've buckled up before I put pedal to the metal."
Glad to have you still alive Jamis. Your reward is you get to peek out and try to tell where the hell the orks are going to hit so we can be not there. Felix grins, grateful that she hasn't lost anyone but also aware that it won't matter if they suffer a direct hit.
Belay the call for Medic and thank you sir. We still got two Jamis.
Thanks for fixing my shooter Psi. I owe you a can of machine oil or something. Felix radios as she smoothly reverses away from the other tanks and swerves to break Salvus free of the jam. I am scattering.
"Yes sir, moving now! Outta the way you sunday drivers, ace pilot coming through!"
Kersin mutters under his breath, "Predict the flight path? With what? My high-tech, Omnissiah-blessed, ballistic, ordinance tracking cogitator? Nope. She means, 'Kersin, stick your head out the hatch and look for the artillery shells. Oh, and don't die, because the Emperor needs your death to count for something.' Yes, maam. By your command. This is what comes of wanting to man the twin-lascannon." while he stands in the gunner's position and opens the hatch so he can look out to find the incoming tank killers.
Requiem and Salvus make for open ground to the north, having enough room to maneuver around without having to pay attention to other tanks.
Invictus manages to leave thick of the PDF tanks (all while a certain tech priests performs an impressive climb show over-and-into the rocking and swaying tank) but the sheer number of allied vehicles all trying to reach open area, prevents Bekka to get clear fully.
As Mac finds a few seconds to check the disposition of 'his' tanks, he notices that Dies Irae has choosen a very bad direction and has headed back in the same direction as most of the Alerians and is currently feverishly trying to set back and turn around to get free of a near-crash with one of them.
Kersin opens the top hatch to watch for the closing artillery barrage he knows will come ...
... just in time to get caught by the massive concussive sound blast that follows the muzzle flash and predates the actual impact.
Being much closer to the Hive and without the sound breaking Greenskin Hills between you and the origin, the sound wave is a very physical force not unlike a bash from a full-metal blast shield.
Ears ringing and clinging onto the hatch railing for dear life, Kersin is well occupied and has no time to watch for falling artillery rocks.
A young and frightened (but not yet? panicked) voice calls a sighting over the braodcast emergency vox channel.
"Incoming! Low trajectory closing in fast! Full ahead!"
While this is not the most precise report you ever heard, it certainly helps.
Jamis! What do you see? Felix calls in the tank as she prepares to evade whatever the heck is happening.