Durgama Takeover

It was only a few hours since the first attack, where a determined and ferocious Morat force broke themselves upon the defences at Camelaird Monastery. The price paid by the devout to hold the post was high, but never the less, more holy soldiers took up their positions manning the defences in the most heavily assaulted sector on Concillium Prima.

Despite their zeal, the defenders felt a cold chill descend over them. The stinking hot guard house on the edge of the bug infested jungle was usually a loud place, however now it had fell silent. The buzzing of insects had ceased, and where had the birds gone?

Recovered from his last encounter with the Combined Army, Gabriel DeFersen tried reaching the Raveneye, The Santiago Knights holding the Bow section had provided valuable reconnaissance information in the past, but all he received back was static.

The heavy silence was interrupted by the shouts of scouts on the perimeter.

The uncanny silence chilled DeFersen's blood, he quickly communicated with the assembled forces to take up a defensive position, the less experienced troops and armoured assets occupied the facility, whilst DeFersen took his Elite team with him into the jungle to get to a good flanking position. He radioed one of the Crusader Brethren scouts who readied himself to approach from the east of the battlefield.

The Shasvastii snuck out of the jungle and took up positions stretching across the battlefield, their mechanised units taking the facility whilst the Taigas and Camouflaged specialists hid in the jungle biding their time. The cunning Shasvastii Mentor called in an area of effect Jamming transmission triggered by alien elements still occupying the Raveneye above, disrupting the surprise manoeuvre about to take place.

The confusion spread through the ranks when Kara Humbrol, a Crozier though lost during the first battle of the Carmelaird Monastery staggered into the PanO DZ and started setting up mines. We were glad to have her back, but would have to ask where she got the equipment upgrade later.

DeFersen knew that they were underattack by the alien menace, the fact the ground wasn't shaking with the movement of heavy armour, and the trees weren't alive with the bellowing of crazed Morat shocktroopers, DeFersen knew he was against the most cunning enemy the EI had to throw at them, the Shasvastii.

Knowing the importance of operational security and intelligence gathering, he ordered the recon elements of his force into action. A pathfinder bot ran forward from the safety of the Pan-Oceanian lines to the armoury building in the centre of the facility, It opened the doors with little effort, It was, for the time being, a friendly facility after all, and continued on inside. It took up refuge in the corner and began releasing sensor pulses, its work rewarded by revealing a shrouded hacker lurking outside the armoury.

DeFersen saw it on his heads up display and ordered his team forward through the jungle, they ran as fast as they can, DeFersen using the repeater on his Pathfinder to engage in a duel of skill with the Shrouded. He barely broke stride leading his squad running over the rough ground despite the struggle and after several attempts he took up a defensive position with his team, his work done. If the pathfinder could collect chemosensory data, it would record the smell of burning as the Shrouded fell to the ground, smoke pouring out of its eyes as its neural implants overloaded.

The crusader brethren landed in the Shasvastii back line and took up a recon position scouting their deployment. He couched behind some barrels and prayed he hadn't been seen.

A bellowing high pitched scream was exactly what the Crusader scout didn't want to hear, He sprung upright and watched as a Taiga solder lunged for him. He brought his flamethrower to bear, incinerating the beast as its serrated weapons bounced off of his armour, that was a close one.

The other two Taighas having seen the door to the armoury open and sprint towards it. One runs inside, dodging a flash pulse from the pathfinder on its way in as it makes short work of the recon drone, he didn't however, notice the Sierra Dronbot providing covering fire who tore him apart with a burst of HMG fire for his efforts. The second Taiga seeing his friend fall, dodged past the doorway before the remote could see him, and entered the armoury.

Killing is a simple pleasure to a Taigah, and all it really knows, so it was no surprise it was able to carve up the pathfinder bot for its computing processor. It was little surprise however, when it was unable to open the box of equipment inside and instead set up waiting in ambush for the approach of its next meal.

The friendly face of Kara looked strange as it split into four sections as the Speculo launched its attack on the Bulleteer holding the facility. As the Bulleteer fired back, it scored a hit which didn't draw blood on the speculo, the bullet slowed by the wall it was hiding behind. The mine it placed exploded, the shrapnel bouncing off of the Bulleteers armoured carapace. The ugly beast fell to the ground and crawled to place another mine where it would trigger and hit the Bulleteer then tried engaging it again. The two gunfighters missed each other, as the mine once again detonated ineffectively, repelled by the superior manufacturing processes of the Hyperpower.

Behind enemy lines, the Crusader scout breathed a sigh of relief. It would be the last breath he would take as the optical camouflage of a notifier shimmered behind him, its spitfire ending his life in a cruel act of treachery.

DeFersen heard the spitfire rounds ahead and urged his team forward, hoping to link up with the recon element ahead. As he moved forward, A missile came out of nowhere targeting the lead Teuton, who instinctively stepped onto a rock and sprung off it to leap over the munition as it exploded harmlessly behind him. The rest of the team dove for cover, pinned down. The lead Teuton, past the killbox kept charging forwards, towards the sound of the gunshots. He watched the scout collapse forward onto a rock dead. He let out a loud OI!, causing the noctifier to turn his head to face him as it dematerialised in a load of superheated shotgun pellets.

Revenge was a common theme, the sub commander of the facility defence, the Santiago knight was furious to see the Shasvastii impersonating the glorious fallen. He strode forward in a fast and silent walk. The Speculo had no idea he was there until he walked around the corner. The alien fumbled with a smoke grenade, but was liquified by the Nanopulser carried by the veteran knight.

Our turn he thought, as he ordered the bulleteer and Order Sergent to follow him. He gestured for the bulleteer to take point as they advanced towards the west side of the armoury, the bulleteer halting before a gap in the fence. With a nod from the Santiago knight, the bulleteer slid out to see the Noctifier and started a gunfight, it was nearly impossible for the two shimmering forms to hit eachother however quantity is a quality of its own and the relentless hail of bullets knocked the Noctifier unconscious. Next the Bulleteer spun to see the Taiga in the armoury, its chaincolt bouncing harmlessly off of its shell as the bulleteer dispatched the waiting monster. The knight and the sergeant continued into the armoury building with the Bulleteer outside remaining to provide covering fire.

The shimmering forms of Shasvastii camouflage advanced towards the armoury, First came a Shrouded, discovered at the very last second before it got to the door by the sierra dronbot in the distance. Another shadow moved up to support it, this one also being spotted by the vigilant overwatch drone. This time it was a Caliban, armed with a boarding shotgun. The two shadows were stacked up either side of the armoury doorway ready to breach.

First, it was the Caliban who came, swinging into the open doorway, the Sergeant dived behind the panoply as the Santiago knight roared defiantly, copping two blasts of shrapnel directly to his breastplate as he blasted the Caliban with his nanopulsor. He smirked as the dessicated husk of the Caliban hit the deck. He felt the warmth of his blood run down his side from a small wound under his armpit, but he could still fight on.

Next the Shrouded came, trying to use its combi rifle to finish what the Caliban could not. The Santiago knight laughed as the shots bounced off of his helmet and he dispatched the Shrouded with his nanopulsor, which by now was glowing hot with use.

The Shasvastii line began to collapse, the Med-Tech Mechanoid hurried up the ladder to save the Noctifier whos heavy weapons were the only hope the aliens had to keep the knights at bay, he failed at first, the wounding was just too severe, but he tried again, drawing on some of the electrical energy of the Noctifiers cube to help restart its heart. Would the medic's sacrifice be worth it? he would never know as he was ripped apart by HMG and spitfire rounds from the Panoceanian remotes, his servant bots slumping inactive as the talented specialist died.

The Noctifier, now alive tries to trade fire with the shimmering form of the bulleteer, but neither are able to lock down the others exact position, their trading of fire echoing throughout the facility.

The Bulleteer finally draws a bead and hits the Noctifier with another Spitfire round, knowing that there was nobody left to tend to him, the Noctifier dug deep to find the energy to resist for just a little bit longer. It gave him enough time to score a lucky hit on the Bulleteer advancing on his location and knocked it out of the fight. Whilst the Bulleteer kept the enemy busy, the Sargent inside and the Santiago knight both looted the boxes, not finding anything of real value, both choosing to leave their finds behind in the container.

Meanwhile in the jungle, the fireteam pulled back towards the armoury, the Teutonic knight and Noctifier trading explosive death as they went. Neither were able to hit each other through the thick jungle canopy and the team repositioned to push up to the armoury. The Black Friar took the lead, its advanced multispectral visor and cruel heavy missile launcher cleansing the Noctifier in holy fire.

The team took up defensive positions to cover any approach to the armoury, whilst the Santiago knight walked out the front door of the armoury, took up a defensive position behind a car and data scanned the unconscious Shrouded hacker laying in the treeline nearby. This intel will prove useful for our counter attacks on the Raveneye he thought.

DeFersen said a quick prayer over the comms to steel his team's nerves against the final push of the hated enemy.

A lonely Ikadron makes a final push for the armoury, vaulting a low wall and running across the open field at the Black Friar, She fired her HRL at it but was distracted last second by the flash pulse of the Combined drone. She blinked it off and got ready to shoot again.

The remote kept coming, it was almost at the armoury, its flamethrowers beginning to pre-ignite as it drew closer. The Military orders had to stop it before it got to the building, before it could destroy the facility in a deluge of burning fuel.

The black friar fired, she missed, The vigilant TR bot rained down fire on the drone, also failing to fire for effect. All seemed lost as the Ikadron suddenly lurched forward and fell into the mud.

A perfectly placed shot by the Santiago Knight, finding a gap in its armoured carapace sent a combi rifle round spiraling through its central processing unit. Surely the shot was guided by the lord as a single shot ended the Shasvastii attack on Camelaird Monestary, at least for today.

The victorious Fist of St Peter surveyed the battlefield, collecting the bodies of the aliens to burn in a pyre in the steaming jungle. The intel gathered from the Shrouded would be useful, although it was a shame the Shasvastii commander managed to escape alive, along with the wanted fugitive Victor Messer. There would be plenty of time to rectify that later.

Gabriel and the Santiago knight leant down and inspected the busted pathfinder remote inside the armoury. They found its processing unit missing. Just like the Seraph yesterday thought Defersen. This is worrying, He did not like the idea of what the Combined Army were up to.

This battle was an 8 - 3 Victory to the Military orders.

1st Turn - Shaz dominate armoury and score in extremis recovery +3
2nd Turn - MO dominate armoury +2
3rd Turn - MO Dominate armoury and score Data scan +3
End of Game - MO dominate armoury and raided more boxes +3

Gabriel DeFersen, Father-Officer, Day 1, Wounded, Cameliard Monastery
Hanz Bedrick, Teuton Knight, Day 1, KIA, Cameliard Monastery
Robert Diedrich, Teuton Knight, Day 1, KIA, Cameliard Monastery
Sean O'Haggerty, Teuton Knight, Day 1, KIA, Cameliard Monastery
Brother Konstantinos, Indigo Operative, Day 1, MIA, Cameliard Monastery
Kara Humbrol, Crozier Paramedic, Day 1, KIA, Cameliard Monastery
Jamie Kopper, Hospitalier Knight, Day 1, KIA, Cameliard Monastery
Charlie Smith, Crusader Brethren, Day 2, KIA, Cameliard Monastery

Hardware lost by theatre
Camelaird Monastery - 1x Seraph, 1x Bulleteer, 1x Pathfinder