As the last Ork falls, Ashora merely continues to fire--until the power cell runs dry, and she realizes she'd forgotten to switch her rifle back to standard fire mode against the grots! Grumbling to herself, she switches out the for a new cell and replaces the spent pack in its pocket. By this point, the xenos are well and truly routed, so she stands a bit to peer over the edge of the trenchworks.
"How bad is it down there? Who'd we lose?"
The result of the first attack (imperial side):
- 2 medium injured squadmates from the 1st (were inside the bunker)
- 3 light wounded from the 3rd
- a wounded medic with assistant - easily treated by herself
- 1 Thud'dr down to his last stubber mag
- 2 Ogryn down to their last ripper mags
- several dozen burned out Las packs
- 1 Doombringer with noticeable frontal damage (bulldozer blade currently out of order)
- friendly chimera with considerable frontal damage from multiple rocket hits. Still operational but repairs will be tough without heavy equipment and supplies
- northern bunker severely damaged - featuring a 2m hole
- southern second trench line severely damaged by enemy fire - currently providing no cover and impassable
Xeno side (reported to HQ):
- over a dozen heavy weapon teams
- multiple squads worth of Ork boys
- hundreds of gretchins including several slavers (codename: Runtherd)
Leni gets to work on everyones injuries, making them stand in line while waiting for treatment just to remind them that they depend on her. She'll try to get a pack of cards while she's on it - trading for one or two of the coffein pills while both the treated fellows sergeant and the commissar are far far away and making sure to tell them to only use them in the most dire situations - they WILL get knocked out like a sack full of s!+$ once they wear off.
Still vs 88
-> 7DoS +12hp
-> 2DoS +7hp
-> 8DoS +13hp
-> 2DoS +7hp
-> 2Dos +7hp
With permission, Thud'dr will help clear the southern trenches. When the towing detail is called again he will join that and try to get the other ogryn to go with him. With for ogryn the task of getting the wreck back should be relatively easy.
With the immediate threat over Celephix swaps out her charge pack, making a mental note to get the near empty pack recharged.
"Priorities sergeant? The soldiers seem to be suffering from onset of exhaustion, presume injured and longest continually running will have priority for restoration cycle?"
"Alright, everyone take a minute to relax for a bit but we need to re-secure the perimeter and make sure no other Greenskins are in the area. 'Phix, if you can do anything to patch up the bunker, maybe with some vehicle scrap we can get from the field, that'd be great. Otherwise, high alert for the next bit."
You are able to find a trooper who makes the exchange. Two pills for his set of cards.
While Leni holds triage and patches everyone back up over the next few hours, the stress of the battle takes its toll. Everyone not on guard as the attack started has one level of fatigue until his/her next rest.
The Ogryns start to dig out the collapsed trenches of the southern second line under the observation of the Commissar. A activity that will take at least three hours to complete.
No surviving Orks are left in sight. The sky is clear and the distant white sun stands high.
With four Ogryns working three hours is probably a world record for about of material moved per hour without heavy machinery. While they work they fall into a song in their steady, harsh native language. Their work shifts to match the rhythm and soon all four are working as one and making tremendous progress.
If the commissar asks what they are singing, Notch will explain that it is an Ogryn song to the gory of the Emperor. If anyone else asks out of earshot of said commissar, he will translate,
Cut the snow
Lay the snow
Make your snowy bed
Shape the snow
Freeze the snow
Snow Tigers won't be fed
With the comment that Ogryn have over 50 words for snow so something is lost in translation.
Celephix assesses the bunker, is it near totalled or can it be patched?
It's integrity is still stable, so it is patchable with the right material.
vs Per 41(paranoia) for 3 DoS
Faye will patrol and scan the area around the trench lines and bunker(s) to make sure that it's all clear.
Unless anything comes up, she'll give the all clear for those not on watch to relax and recoup unless they have any specific tasks they wish to accomplish/need aid with.
"Alright, everyone who's not on watch, at ease. Get some rest in. We don't know if or when they'll be back and I want everyone in top shape in that scenario."
Faye detects no trace of danger and gives the rest signal to her (extended) squad.
Thud'dr obeys and gets his rest. Once that's done he gets back to work.
-Posted with Wayfinder
With a relieved sigh, Ashora & Malchior go to their rest. Some hours later, they arise & set to work helping with the trenchworks--repairing berms, hauling dirt, scooping out firing slits, whatever is required.
They work quietly, the heady rush of battle having now faded, and try not to think about the dozens of corpses now littering the no-man's land.
"I hope they don't stink too badly. What do you think got into their heads, to just rush at us pell-mell like that?" Malchior remarks during one brief rest, to no one in particular.
Ren begins to work on Doombringer. He works on her till he was sure she is fixed and ready to go. Grumbling sometimes about orks and rockets. Not quite sure exactly what. But you get a feeling not to interrupt him
-Posted with Wayfinder
-Posted with Wayfinder
"As far as I know? They're fungus so should be pretty compost-y if they bake in the sun a bit. Otherwise, s'like I said when I gave y'all a brief description: They're stupid and they like a good fight. Nothing more to it." Faye shrugs.
"So long as they don't ever get too close to us, I'm a happy camper." she continues over the coms as she heads to her sleeping area to get out of the sun while not on watch and calm down a bit, her nerves having been on edge ever since they arrived at the front.
"Anyways, for the most part we should hear or see them comin' a mile away though I have read reports that they have their own version of commandos...Now, if y'all don't mind, I'm goin' ta go take a breather before my watch starts. Ya know where to find me if things go sideways." And with that, she just *plops* onto her folded up bedroll, sighs heavily, then gets as comfortable as she can.
With a somewhat apprehensive look out at the hills, Ashora spits out a piece of grit and ventures, "Not that I'm volunteering, but has anyone scouted out those hills? Do we have any idea what's out there? Artillery, heavy armor, field fortifications? Can't see crap from here."
The day passes by with recuperation time, repairs and first aid for the few wounded. Slowly the guard cycle comes back online and the nerves cool down again.
With the singing of the Ogryns the sound of repairs from Doombringer and the Bunker, the prayers from the priest of the 4th and the bellows of the Commissar you can feel the routine coming back again.
As the evening approaches you feel the cold creeping in the trenches. Now that the clouds and sun are gone, the temperature drops deep - below 0 degree mark and still dropping as the night gets old - and it is getting really uncomfortable. To make things worse, a harsh wind approaches from the south and your home world instincts tell you that bad weather is coming - fast.
Thud'dr knows on instinct that cold is not something to mess around with, even if you're naturally resistant like him. He pulls out native furrs that cover him from head to toe.
In spite of his natural resistance to the cold Thud'dr wakes up groggy and grumpy.
Her moma and papa not having raised no fool, Faye quickly puts on her bad weather gear once her breath starts condensing in the air.
Despite being a tough lady, Faye lived in the more temperate regions of their Homeworld and wasn't acclimatized to being in such cold, despite her gear keeping her relatively fine.
Still, she sucks it up and does her best while she on watch to make sure that none of the Orks sneak up on them. Hopefully, in their stupidity, a whole lot of them froze to death.
Breath frosting in the air as the sun sets, Ashora shivers and fishes out the cold weather gear from her rucksack. As night fell, she and Malchior took shelter in the bunker, emerging in the grey light of predawn to start her shift.
Fail +4DoF
Fail
Pass +2DoS
Fail +5DoF
Pass +1DoS
Pass +2DoS
Fail +2DoF
Fail +4DoF
Celephix wraps up as warmly as she can... but still Celephix feels the chill of cold, the little heat generated from her internal coils doing little to guard against the chill through the tendrils of metal running through her.
After patching everyone up Leni jawns and heads back to her blanket fortress in the bunker - which includes - as mentioned before - any blankets left unattended for long enough for her to appropriate them.
Starting with Celephix' shift, the temperature really becomes a problem and forces her and the other guards back into the idling vehicles or the heated bunkers, only to take periodic guard walks which became less frequent the longer the night gets as the temperature drops even lower. All men retreat to either the bunker or the Chimera, even the tough Ogryn leaves his hole behind, after the snow started to fall at about 1 o'clock in the night. With the Ogryn in the bunker, it now is really crowded inside, but its also reasonably warm that way, after Celephix fixed the hole in the bunker with a layer of salvaged armor plating from the walker.
South:
Your first part of the night shift is over and everything is fine - beside curses from all the sleepers in the chimera every time you leave for a short walk.
As your shift is nearly over (so about 3 o'clock in the morning) your goggles show you three big heat signatures right above the trench line, slowly climbing down. The blobs cover a wide area with 10 or 20m between each of them and seem slightly larger than a human - although you were warned that heat signatures gets bigger the colder the surrounding is. The signatures are also somewhat in a flow, getting bigger, smaller, nearly disappearing just to pop up again. Its like the goggle's machine spirit are struggling with some interference or simply are about to cease to function.
You know that all men of the 1st and all your comrades are ether inside the vehicle or in the bunker with you - nether was left in the frozen trenches as far as you know.
Celephix calls out on the radio to anyone who's awake and paying attention.
[b]"Three heat signatures at approximately [co-ordinates], possibly orc by the size. My goggles do not appear to be functioning effectively - can anyone confirm?"[/ooc]
If anyone is either awake or seems to be sleeping lightly in the bunker she'll say the same to them and get them to take a look.
Blinking awake from her doze, Ashora shakes her head to clear it, then clicks her micro-bead on. "Uh, come again, I didn't catch those coordinates. Let me take a look..."
Climbing out of Doombringer's hatch, she and Malchior make their way to the lip of the first trench network, carefully scanning the area.
"Hold a sec, not picking anything up, going to grab a better overwatch" So saying, she and Malchior make their way towards the second trench network, where the lay themselves prone & continue checking for signs of movement.
Standing atop the Chimera in the middle of the snowy winds shows you nothing but swirling white and darkness. But after walking the few meters towards the second line you can make out two large heat signatures now inside the trenches en route to the bunker. You too get problems with your goggle as the heat signatures seem to get larger, shrink then pop up again as you follow their way. The two you can see are apx 10-20m from the bunker entry.
The two remaining Storm Troopers of the 1st are up in the bunker with you but are checking towards north and west. They report no additional contacts.
Nothing else beside Ashoras response.
Eyes snapping open at the vox convo with a brief mention of "Orks", Faye immediately grabs her lasgun before speaking:
"Come again, 'Phix? Confirm unknown presence in the trenches?"
And she cautiously walks over to the bunker door and takes cover to the side of the entry while waiting for a reply.
Thud'dr sits up, a hand already on his gun. He doesn't like the tones going around, so he and Notch make their way toward the trouble just in case. They take up positions next to Faye.
"Sighting confirmed, I've got two heat sigs headed towards the bunker. Heads up in there guys, my visor's acting up and I can't get a clear read on them. Malchior and I are moving to follow, weapons cold for now."
Don't want to kill another friendly she thinks with a guilty lurch in her guts. Waving Malchior ahead of her, the two of them pick their way towards the bunker, the sniper keeping about five meters behind her spotter. Nervously she flicks her longlas to its max setting.
"Roger that, Kail. Thud, unless they're green, no kill. Got it?"
As she waits for the intruders to make the first move.
Thud nods and braces his Shredder.
Ini:
Pen2, Blast (2)
Despite them coming within earshot of the bunker, no one of the three guarding the door are able to get a clear glimpse on the approaching contacts before the situation escalates really fast.
Within one blink of an eye, two large wooden sticks with big cylindrical heads fly through the door of the bunker, one coming down near the door, the other sailing well past you, right in the middle of the bunker and sleeping men! At the very same moment, several loud explosions are coming from the south and you hear the distinctive from way too close!
Everyone standing at the door may dodge the grenade that just landed at your feet and goes the moment its head hits the floor!
Behind you a distinctive 'zssssst' sound becomes audible and the bunker starts to fill with a green vapor that bites in the eyes and make you gag.
Start of Combat! Round One incoming ...
Kommando 1
Kommando 2 (rotated up for easier rounds)
Celephix
Thud'dr
Ashora
Faye
In the light of the sudden explosion, anyone with the time to look, can see two crouched figures in the process of standing up and charging the door of the bunker, wielding excessively large axe-like weapons wearing weird purple capes that you are unable to look at for more than a few moments.
The two Orks reach the door of the bunker in their turn, but only one can pass the door at a time.
"How in the hell..." Malchior breathes, bringing his lasrifle to bear even as Ashora takes aim at the xeno by the bunker door. With a wordless scream she fires.
6 DoS replace the 5 with a 6 for 28E Pen2 (Body) + forcing a Pinning Test
Kommando: 4 critical, body
pinned
-10 on all actions, only half action next round
The laser energy of the high power longlas hits the Ork square on, cooking the foul skin away leaving horrible burns. The Ork howls in pain, looking around in utter surprise and drops to a crouch.
= 1DoS
The grenade goes off at Thud'dr's feet. He notices, and chooses to ignore it. His prodigious bulk simply absorbs the damage.
= 1DoS
The gas has some unavoidable effects. Those orks were about to have slightly more unpleasant "unavoidable effects".
= hit
The ogryn uses his braced position and fires his brutal Ripper directly into the face of the Ork outside who just got zapped by the Snipergirl.
EVERYBODY OUT! he bellows, the first clearly ineligible words he's said since you meet him. He then roars at the orcs and beats his chest. His hulking frame makes the ceiling look short, like a giant standing in a dollhouse.
Having been explosively knocked off her feet - but still thankfully attached to them - once the gas begins to flood the room, Faye take a deep breath and crawls to her supplies to get her respirator on.
"Get the Orks Thud, I'll follow you out soon!" she groans and coughs
Celephix's respirator is semi-permanently attached, so keeping that factored , but the mask, it does nothing!
You too wake up due to the booming sound of several close by explosions that echo over the trenches.
Your sleepiness and missing line of sight makes it impossible to determine the origin of the explosions. In the back of Doombringer you hear several men waking up the hard way just like yourself, scrambling for their weapons.
-> 9 DoF
Leni wakes up to the explosion and immediately starts coughing her lungs out from the gas. Instead of grabbing her respirator right away she flees under her blanket fort, breathing the stale but breathable air for a few moments. She takes a few moments to breath before she starts to fumble for her filtration plugs from her bag without sticking her head out of the blankets
End of Round 1:
The bunker fills with screams and gagging sounds as the soldiers wake up in hell. Only one of the grumpy old Storm Troopers is able to shake of the effects and open up with semi auto fire on the charging kommando, but the weird Ork manages to dodge both shots in a weird sidestep. Celephixs body shakes under the malfunction of her rebreather and all her implants fire up under the stress. Her palms emit electricity from her electoos, her utility arm swings around spitting clouds of holy invent and machine oil over everyone standing near her.
Then the ripper gun of Thud'dr is spewing massive rounds at the cowering, badly wounded Xeno Ashora gad sniper from behind-above. The impact of the first round throwing the Xeno three meters away, dropping the totally stunned body in a bloody heap down in the trench.
Start of Round 2:
The fun of shooting downed Orks is of short duration for Thud'dr as the second Ork who sidestepped the attack of the veteran so expertly moments before, charges him with his heavy axe-like weapon the creature wields with one arm. The speed of the creature is surprising as well as frightening.
R, Pen:2, Tearing -> 16R
The crude blade hits the broad chest of Thud'dr square on, leaving a huge cut in the Ogryn.
Leni is still busy with the suddenly arduous process of simply catching her breath under the blankets.