Fate of Ganthi: Patrol

 

Biel Tan. They just had to butt their noses in, didn't they? They just had to contribute their two cents to this conflict that didn't even involve them. The Jade Emperor didn't have time for grudges right now, though. The Biel Tan had scored their victory, and they moved on. The Hive Fleet in the area posed a more immediate threat, and since the Biel Tan had a sudden inexplicable streak of self-righteousness, it was obvious that the tyranids were their next target. As the remnants of his army came back to Comorragh and licked their wounds, the Imperial Guard were rebuilding that which was taken from them by the Liquid Sword, just like the Jade Emperor knew they would. While Archon Shaka was reorganizing (putting new troops into place to replace the ones lost or too injured to fight), Jade Emperor would allow the Imperial Guard to continue to set up shop on Preo. Then, the Liquid Sword could raid them again. Sometimes, a bird in the hand is not worth two in the bush. Sometimes, one should go into the bushes and just get both birds. The time had soon come for the Liquid Sword to Patrol the surface of Preo again and search for colonies to raid. After the embarrassing defeat of the Liquid Sword by the Biel Tan, most would think that the Kabal would stay away from the area from now on. Most are wrong.

These sad, predictable mon-kei set up a new colony exactly where the old one was. Archon Shaka told the entire army to hold steady, even though they had every reason to simply charge and kill. Shaka wanted to see if he could lure them closer first with his Dark Lancers as snipers. He also wanted to wait for the Leopard Squad to swoop in. It turned out to be a bad idea, as the Imps all gathered in large clusters and decided to shoot from afar. After all, it was what they were good at. The Liquid Sword was just out of range with their 'lances. The Imps fired upon the Emerald Squad first, killing a couple of grotesques and 3 Emerald Knights. The Monster Horns were then sniped at and pinned, as they had a hard time determining where the bullets came from. And as always, the Talos took a missile shot but maintained itself. The Leopards didn't show up again. What the f*ck was up with them? Shaka then gave the command for everyone to swarm forward. They had obviously learned some things about Dark Eldar from the first encounter, but apparently not enough. If the Imps weren't going to be creative, then neither was Shaka.

The Talos moved first, literally cutting through a patch of woods as it moved. It then let off a bunch of shots at the mesa where the Imp Snipers were and shot down one of them. Only 2 more to go, thought J.E. Then, the Zulu Raider zoomed in from the flank to the focal point of their army (to the far west). The Zulu Knights immediately dismounted and unloaded into a unit of troops, and 6 of the humans went down. The spray of blood was magnificent. The gunner on the Zulu Raider then used the disintegrator and decimated another five troops; only one remained. This guy either thought he was really tough, or he was really stupid, because he stood alone, cursed aloud at the Liquid Sword, and maintained his position. These guys were weak but they were really, really brave. Meanwile, J.E. shifted to the Reaver Horrn cam. As they sped towards the Imps, they took fire on 6 different occasions and shook it off, but the next hail of fire that came wiped out 4 of them. There were bullets everywhere. The sounds of the missile explosions were phenomenal. Then the Chimera that held the Captain fired upon the Monster Horns, and Imhotep took a wound. J.E. hoped that he could make it to the enemy on time. One group that did make it on time was the Zulu Knights. They were so eager to get into battle that some of the Incubi actually beat Shaka into close combat! They wanted blood, and they wanted it bad.

The Leopard Squad FINALLY showed up [turn 4]. J.E. thought to himself, those bastards better do magnificent today! However, he couldn't pay attention to that for the moment. He saw massive cheering in the Emerald cam. Apparently, the Imperial Captain's Chimera took a 'lance shot and an explosion [of Death Star proportions] was the result. It was utterly, utterly horrific. It was utterly, utterly amusing. By the time the smoke, debris, and flames cleared, there were bodies everywhere. Now this was what war was all about: moments like this [28 troops, 2 Incubi, and 1 D.E. warrior caught in the blast. 21 of those troops died]. That's what those idiots get for setting up formations so close together. It just made them easier to shoot. Since the entire unit of troops that the Zulu Knights assaulted were killed in blast, the Zulu Knights consolidated into yet another unit that was close by. The Obsidian Knights decided to join in the fun by shooting the Captain with a dark lance shot. It had to hurt, one could see him stumble and curse aloud even from that grand distance. Imhotep, who was close to the tank blast, swooped in on his jetbike and let loose with his destructor on the Captain's crew. The medic was trying desperately to save lives and never saw it coming. The corrosive spray eliminated the medic and 3 of the Captains personal troops. Their screams were utterly exquisite. Things were really getting bad for the Imperial Guard.

The Zulu Raider's gunner fired the disintegrator at the Captain and completely missed. He didn't even come close. Succubus Mali swooped towards the Captain to finish him off with his agoniser. As the Captain finally went down, his body twitched as if it was attempting to get back up in spite of its death. These puny guys were very dramatic about death. It amused the Jade Emperor to no end. He saw this battle as a show, as a performance. With that in mind, he made a mental note that the Harlequins have more of an influence on him than he originally thought. Meanwhile, the Talos cam showed the Talos continuing its chaotic barrage of fire. It shot a bunch of Imps but only 2 of them went down. It mattered not; for it was 2 less Imps to worry about. The Leopard Squad let off their usual package of splinter cannon death and took out an entire unit of troops at one time. The Zulu Knights continued to plow through units of troops, who were incredibly brave in spite of their friends being cut down to ribbons and shot up with tormentor helms. Perhaps they already knew and understood that death was a preferable alternative to being captured and brought to Comorragh. Perhaps they were too stupid to see that they were outmatched and outclassed. Perhaps they really didn't care either way, who knows how these primitives think.

J.E. snapped out of his reverie when he saw the Lehman Russ fire at the Raider. The Raider shook off most of the blast, but the crew was still shaken. The Demolisher, taking note of the devastation caused by the Leopard Squad, lit up the entire unit. Only one of them survived, and he began to fall back towards the Knights [an eye popping 17 inches! was he trying to get the f*ck away or what?]. Then the Imps did something phenomenal: They took very carefully aimed heavy bolter shots at the Talos [rolled three 6's] and weakened not only some of its foundations, but they actually shot the Space Marine attached to it. The marine was hurt bad, but not quite dead yet. Space Nazis go down hard and slow, which is why they make great pain batteries for the Talos. This Talos wasn't going to last much longer though. To the west, Succubus Mali and Imhotep continued to assault troops. Mali wasn't doing a good job, but Imhotep killed 3 more troops. Apparently, the hell masks weren't working like they were supposed to. These Imps were unreasonably bold. Were they lobotomized before the battle or something?

The Emerald Squad continued to fire 'lance shots but the curse of the lance must've regained its grip on them. It was no matter though, because Imhotep and Mali banded together and took out the last of the Imp troops in the west that the Zulu Knights didn't slaughter. They then went after the Sentinels, who had moved toward the rubble that was their army looking for some action. Archon Shaka decided to try to take out the Sentinels out instead of going for the Lehman Russ. That was a bold move, but he had support. The Raider crew had regained their senses, and they took a shot at the 'Russ. The 'Russ shook it off. The Talos had finally made its way across the field and went after the Sentinels in close combat. The Space Marine's pain must've really kicked in, because the Talos became a maniac [made 7 attacks!] and damaged one of the Sentinels. The Sentinels tried to counter attack in vain, as they weren't really built for close combat. The Lehman Russ finally destroyed the Zulu Raider, and Imhotep was bludgeoned to a pulp by one of the Sentinels. What was left of the Imperial Guard decided to retreat permanently from the area.

 

WIN: Slaves Captured - 1 Lieutenant, 10 Troops.