Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Force Roster Deployment

Strikeforce Praetoria

-Tactical Squads Vorolanus, Solinus and Octavian
-Assault Squad Ixion
-Devastator Squad Tirian (mounted in Centurion warsuits)
-Terminator Squad Vitruvilus
-Sternguard Veteran Squad Dramorian
-Aurelius' Honour Guard, led by Legate Hyperion.

Commanded by Acting-Captain Aurelius, acting as general HQ.
Deployed above Sandfall.

Allied forces

-Cadian 13th Remnants Regiment, roughly 2 Infantry companies, 1 Tank company, 1 Artillery Company and attached Tempestus Scions platoon. Led by Colonel Halter. Deployed on Trisburgh.

-Deathwatch Taskforce, exact composition unknown and restricted by the Inquisition. Led by Watch-Captain Titus, operating outside of normal command. Unknown deployments.

-Krieg 22nd Brigade, on loan from the Black Templars, heavily depleted. Deployed on Trisburgh.

-Elements of the Forsian 7th and 11th Infantry and Cavalry Regiments. Occupying Chormi.

-20th Kasrkin Regiment, under Colonel Veck, attached to the Cadian 13th. Deployed on Chormi.

Fleet

Valin's Revenge, Ultramarine Strike Cruiser.
Imperative Decree, Imperial Navy Cetaceus class Transport, carrying the Cadian 13th.
Unknown fleet dispositions of Deathwatch fleet, save for Luna Class Cruiser named Herald of Fire. Most Deathwatch personnel unaccounted for.
Portion of Sector fleet, consisting of 3 Battle Cruisers, 9 Destroyer-class Frigates and assorted attack craft.

Worlds discovered

Western Front

Grimdi - Claimed. Death Ravens in charge of occupation efforts.
Chormi - Claimed after much bloodshed, partially secure, but disrupted greatly by a band of Kommandos. Spec-Ops forces in pursuit. Forsian Regiments in occupation.
Mogrok - Destroyed by Deathwatch Exterminatus action.

Central Front

Sandfall - Ultramarines currently in orbit, Waaagh! Skulkrusha deployed unaware on world.
Trisburgh - Cadian 13th deployed in trench warfare against greenskin occupants.
Gallor Prime - Rumoured Deathwatch presence, but unconfirmed.

Relics Discovered

Litura, an ornate graviton pistol gifted to Aurelius.
The head of the fake staff on Mogrok, in Imperial possession.
Seven artefacts on the other worlds forming a Chaos sigil, obtained and transported back to the Watch Fortress on Talasa Prime.

maybe this will help you out Sgt Smudge

and from this chaos force coming, i need more ships?

they have 11 capital class incoming on traitor side, 3 of them fairly big hitters n some powerful cruisers.

I have a battebarge, and 2 solid cruisers....

 jhe90 wrote:


and from this chaos force coming, i need more ships?

It would certainly seem like the Loyalists could use them in the near future

On the other hand, we *do* have the entire Deathwatch fleet currently in the system...

...anyone up for writing amazing apocalyptic space battles?

I really should try to figure out the fleet that my guys came with.

well i have already placed some reserves in the story, guess i can summon them

Maybe a few ships under a junior Marshall, least add a few ships in the system anyway.

Maybe they hitched a ride with one of the supply carriers going towards the system?

rouge Trader? the general has a few floating about trying to form alliances with orks etc?

 jhe90 wrote:

Spoiler:

how about i help your marines out seeing as my marshal has caused you do much bother this past page or two.

Battered ultramarine successor chapter that happens to be passing, lost captain and most senior leaders, currently under command by a Liberian, headed to regroup but on seeing there brothers in trouble decide to join alongside there founders?

reinforces you, lets your acting captain keep seniority to boot
plus a second ship, strike cruiser but it bolsters your fleet somewhat

maybe this will help you out Sgt Smudge

and from this chaos force coming, i need more ships?

they have 11 capital class incoming on traitor side, 3 of them fairly big hitters n some powerful cruisers.

I have a battebarge, and 2 solid cruisers....

Aha, it's fine on the Ultramarine front, just bad luck! Add them if you like, but I don't need to command them, to be honest. All hate on the Templars is purely IC, I'm glad one of us is succeeding in this crusade!

And damn, the Glacier Serpents are pretty much a whole Chapter in their own right! In the paraphrased words of Brody:

We're going to need a bigger army.

 Ezra Tyrius wrote:

On the other hand, we *do* have the entire Deathwatch fleet currently in the system...

...anyone up for writing amazing apocalyptic space battles?

Spoiler:

Also, I may or may not be president of the Acting-Captain Aurelius' Fanclub

All hail the Deathwatch! My mysterious answer to all of life's problems! Realistically, they probably won't take part in a fleet battle unless the Imperium needs them, but who knows?
I could write a space battle once one comes, provided no one else does!

Glad to see he's appreciated, nice job on the italics.

i know, its been fun writing, and i will add em, probably this weekend, thats partly why i added them! they outnumber even my colossal force. eeek ;lol

il park em at the HQ starfort/planet. if you want em to use for some extra support on your end just call em up

Though your ultramarine might hit the roof if more templers come lol, could be fun

I could try to segue in my Ultramarines 3rd company, although I doubt Aurelius would be happy about it.

By the way, how would people (especially OP) feel if someone created a visual map of the crusade as it stands? I think it would be a lot easier to envisage the fronts and warzones if they were physically represented. As for who can do it, I could, but I'm under no doubt someone can do it better!

War Kitten wrote:
I could try to segue in my Ultramarines 3rd company, although I doubt Aurelius would be happy about it.

Hey, it's your guys, I'm not stopping you! I'll consider throwing in the rest of my Ultramarines (the other half of the 2nd Company) once I get them painted.

Go for it, but as it stands OP probably has the larger voice on this. if you don't mind that is

Yeah, I was going to wait for OP for final verdict anyways, but if anyone wants to, it could help out!

Sgt_Smudge wrote:

All hate on the Templars is purely IC, I'm glad one of us is succeeding in this crusade!

Oi! The Death Ravens are being very successful as well! I mean, we've totally captured this one planet... well, almost... erm.... *awkward cough*

And damn, the Glacier Serpents are pretty much a whole Chapter in their own right! In the paraphrased words of Brody:

We're going to need a bigger army.

Seconded!

All hail the Deathwatch! My mysterious answer to all of life's problems! Realistically, they probably won't take part in a fleet battle unless the Imperium needs them, but who knows?
I could write a space battle once one comes, provided no one else does!

And now I'm having an image of the Deathwatch fleet just sitting around somewhere, distractedly swatting away Ork fleets like flies in a tropical country. While looking angry.

In reality, the Deathwatch is probably already sick of our gak and has returned home

Glad to see he's appreciated, nice job on the italics.

Hehehe


As for the map idea, I'd say go for it! It would be a great addition to the story in my opinion

I would love to see a map, it would certainly help me remember just where my guys are.

I am not in favor of anyone stealing my spot light and making a map...ahahahah just kidding!! I have tried and failed horribly at it, if you know how please please please do it. Sorry I havent added a ton of my own fluff(trying to keep this organized and random numbers is a blast)

Sorry but the Ultramarines have litterly picked a bad number every time. And nice job taking the relic, when you drew the good number I thought you would shame the black templars...not me lol! Good change of pace.

Now lets see what kind of forces I have here:

Wolverines Valiant
1st company----Full Strength
2nd company---50% on western front
3rd company ---50% on western front
4th company ---100% moving west to reinforce
5th company----75% fought chaos, possible corruption?
6th-10th company---Full strength and deploy-able

Fleet
Battle Barge-Shield of Anarbor
10th company Strike cruiser--Death's Silence
5th company Lunar cruiser---Righteous Fury
8 other lunar cruisers not yet named

Various Guard Regiments/some already listed
Forsian 11th cav
Forsian 7th Infantry
Amvet 68th-not used currently
Cadian 121st---crippled and needing a new leader

 Sgt_Smudge wrote:
And damn, the Glacier Serpents are pretty much a whole Chapter in their own right! In the paraphrased words of Brody:

We're going to need a bigger army.

You guys are quite right - the Glacier Serpents are roughly equivalent to a Chapter in force strength. Stronger, in fact, since they are not bound by the Codex Astartes.

They are far from unbeatable, however. Aside from their cult horde (which is basically just insane fruitshop owners and clerks whipped into a frenzy and hoarded into massive storage rooms), they don't even have 2,000 warriors, which is not a lot in the grand scale of things - Astartes can break any line, but 2,000 warriors can't hold much territory on a planetary scale.

So, you should be able to tell most of the icons, but in case it's a wee bit confusing:
Orks with green trim: Mostly Waaagh! Grinbad
Orks with golden trim: Waaagh! Skulkrusha
Cadian logo with green trim: Strikeforce Fury
Cadian logo with white trim: Cadian 13th Regiment
Raven on purple field: Death Ravens Chapter
Claw marks with blue trim: Wolverines Valiant (I didn't know the Chapter sigil, sorry!)
Chaos icon with red trim: The Remnants
Red Chaos icon with red trim: Glacier Serpents

Worlds with an Aquila are Imperial controlled.
Worlds with red checkers are active warzones.
Worlds with red stripes are destroyed.
The green bent line is the Imperium's border of (relative) safety.

Hope this made it a bit clearer!

i like it, lots more orks to kill

though at my present axis of advance il hit chaos/edge of tau space in the end.

Though the border near chomni is rather exposed.

I'd say that most of the orks are fleeing from Mogrok. The Templars really did a number on their fleet, after all.

Dude! That is awesome, makes my life so much easier too! Makes seem like we have some edges to clean up.

You'll never get through Archarus' lines! Unless his own men do it for you. Great job on the map, too Smudge

That's an extremely good map. I applaud you.

That map is awesome

Awesome work Sgt Smudge!

Aboard the vast battle barge Emperors Vengeance the lord general waited in a small dimly lit silent chapel, small for this ship, everything was large to him, a ship built for giants, 7km long, it was over 2km longer than his own flagship, a massive black angular warship clad in massively thick Armour plates, cannons the size of buildings studded its hull and great spires covering its bridge had section cast his approach in shadow.

Stood at the end of this room was a silent grim faced chaplain, skull helm striking fear into all, the figure known as the emperors Champion clad in what looked like a MK 3 suit, ancient beyond imagining with a great black matt two handed sword still as a statue, a very dangerous one.
He waited alongside a junior officer helping him, he was still recovering from the explosion, one eye was covered with a large patch of healing systems, preparing it for a augmentic replacement, several bandages stiff under his uniform.

The sounds of boots rang down the corridor, Lord Marshall Karak came first, no helmet this time, his face was like stone, hard, unforgiving and scarred from battle. behind him came the traitors, bent double, hooded with thick chains at both there arms behind there backs and legs shackled, holding the chains was a brutal looking man in carpice Armour, a nastly looking stun weapon in one hand, and a hevey hell pistol on his belt. behind came 2 others equiped the same and a stoic marine ensuring no chance of escape was possible, four others similarly equipped and chained followed and where knelt subserviently in the center of the room with hoods removed, all looked beaten. broken, subservient.

"Lord Karak, what of the 6th traitor?" asked the general, forcing his voice as cold as he could.
"the scum died under interrogation, he resisted and the torture broke him but not before his body was broken beyond repair general"

"very well, i shall hold you up no longer Lord Karak"

"you have been condemned by your own confession, for treason, heresy. consorting with xeno's and betrayal of your Lord, i send your souls for judgement, you have been found wanting in this life. " the chaplains voice was cold, menacing and all humans present felt a involuntary shiver as the judgement was issued.

"Lord general, do you wish to execute the ring leader? " asked the brutal looking leader of the human jailors as two others came forward one with a reversed pistol, the other a human scaled power sword.
not to show weakness the General silently took the hell pistol, it felt solid, raising it to the mans head he fired,shaking slightly but still killing the man in one shot, slumping to the ground his blood flowed into the gutter.

handing the pistol back the Brutal looking man nodded respectfully before turning to his men. "AIM............Fire." the noise was loud in such small space as all four fell, cold, brutal, but he could not have shown weakness before lord karak who gave him a nod, he had regained his respect.

********************

TO ALL FLEET CAPTAINS
FROM LORD KARAK ON BEHALF OF THE LORD GENERAL

After a recent attack by ork Komando's it would be advisable for all ships to increase there alert status, also given suspected presence of Dark Eldar, such measures are wise.
the traitors have been caught and executed,

Such stealth attacks seem to be on the rise, Orks included are finding brute numbers ineffective and adapting.

Lord Karak, Strike force Hammer.
To Victory and Honour be to the Defenders of the Imprium,

**************

On the bridge of the Dark Eldar raider of the cabal of the Burned flesh

My Lord archeon, we are in firing range of the human ships, they have not detected our approach, primitives.

"No, that ship is Gorilla, they are slower, dumber but they make up in endurance and brute strength, , any attempt to board them would be our death. those ships are primitive but the weapons would only take single hit to cripple or destroy this ship, " The archeon was cold, his voice like ice, cruelty and malice oozing from every syllable.

"they are primetives, give me the honor of bringing back a mighty prize. a gorilla would make a good price in the arenas. "

"NO, you are young, and foolish like those monkeys, The Gorilla is different, they are tough, i have not lived 1000 of there years for no reason. i fought them, one took dozens of hits that would have slain dozens of there lesser kind, even dying it killed the arrogant true born before it finally died, they under estimated the toughness of these beasts, this group are some of the most zelous of there kind, do not underestimate them, or she who thirsts will have your soul very quickly. "

The message was clear, the Dark eldar raider ghosted away form the fleet, it had been never seen, they would choose the time of attack carefully, such Gorillas where dangerous enemies, his young true born where arrogant, too long fighting weaklings, they had never faced one such as this, they would soon learn, or die even quicker.


************

TO IMPERIAL HEADQUARTERS
FROM NOVA MARINE STRIKE CRUISER HONOUR OF CALPITH

We have sustained serious damage, Attacked by Iron Warriors, Captain dead, all but one chaplain, My name is Liberian Romulous, reports suggest that my Founding chapter has a ship in this sector and come to seek our Brothers for aid.

Request repair dock clearance and safe passage to Starfort to Rearm, repair and return to combat readiness.

Romulous out

Message closed.

The ship was badly damaged, dozens injured, many had been killed, out of 90 Marines only 45 where combat ready, a further 30 where injured in the boarding action, 15 had died, He hoped the report was true, The 2nd company where ment to be in this sector, Praying that that was true.

To Lord General Kruger Zonad

From Lord Governor Hannibal Pavus overlord of Faust and its vassal planets. It has come to our attention that the infamous Ork Freebooter “Kaptin Grinbad”, is operating somewhere in the domain of your crusade. As you may know this particular ork refers to itself as the scourge of the Faustian system, a few decades ago it had been terrorizing our trade and industry, the brutes had even enslaved our citizens. We would have met the foul xenos with a strong military reprisal however the large bulk of our forces were requisitioned in a crusade for the Caleb Sector. However now our forces have returned from their decades of crusading and have returned home to pillaged homes and dead families, This disgusting green skin has defiled our home this I personally can not abide so with the blessing of the High Lords of terra I have personally secured leave for not only the Faustian legions to join in your campaign but received permission to join them. We will fight alongside you so long as these simple conditions are met.

I will have full command of all Faustian forces.

This Kaptin Grinbad will die by my hand alone.

I will retain the ork’s head as a trophy to return home to Faust with.

I when available will sit on your war council. If I am not available my youngest brother Markus Pavus will.

Failure to comply with any of this will be met with the withdrawal of my forces. As I can Imagine my assistance would be much needed as my men are experienced fighters of both Ork and arch traitor forces. We are currently on route to Trisburg to reinforce your men there, once we have driven off the filthy green skins I expect an audience with you. A detailed list of my forces follow.

Faustian Navy
The Wrath of Faust (Cruiser class)

The Imperial Mariner (Cruiser Class)

The Faustian Legions

The 1st Faustian Fusiliers "Faust's Finest" Under My personal command, fielded Captain Sandor Braddock "The Hound" (6,000 of Faust's most elite troops)

The 7th Faustian Fusiliers. “The Paragons” under the command of Lord Commissar Jack Sheppard (12,000 men, experienced city fighters)

The 8th Faustian Fusiliers “The Mud Dogs” under the command of Commissar Dorian Gavor. (14,000 men, stealth and recon specialist)

The 11th Faustian Fusiliers “The Ruffians” more commonly known as (Renier’s Ruffians) as they are headed by captain Tom Reiner, (9,000 men, renown ork fighters)

The 4th Faustian Mounted Calvary division “The Light Brigade” (Do not be fooled by the seemingly dated method of combat they abide, they hail from an ancient order of Faustian knights and are devastating close combat fighters. Their armor is made of Faustian Black Steel, strong as the carapace worn by our veterans, and I do not know of a stronger more loyal mount than a Faustian bronco.) headed by Knight Captain Petra Zorah, (5,000 knights)

The 9th Faustian Mounted Calvary division “The Black Riders” lead by Knight Captain Garrod Vakarius (3,000 Knights)

The Faustian Tank division (104 Leman Russ Battle Tanks, and 63 Chimeras)

We will be in the sector in 123 hours we expect you to contact us upon arrival.

Glory To the Emperor and Glory to Faust.

----Connacting Wrath of Fraust----Contact Made----Alpha Class
“Governor Hannibal Pavus, it is great to have you and your men join our glorious crusade. I ask how did your defense of Loidiaol IV end? Were you able to salvage the forges? It seems you and your brother are late to the party, but help is welcome in this crusade. You or your brother shall sit on my council. I command you and your forces deploy to the Eastern flank. If successful here you shall loop back through to the center and can battle the Orks you wish to face. I leave you to command your forces as you see fit and deploy as optimal. For your aid I grant you the first world you conquer to become your vassal to serve as you see fit, within Imperial guidance of course. If you are able to help bolster and accomplish these goals you shall bring on honor upon your family.”

===End Signal===

Lord Karak stepped away from the computer and sent the message on its way. His optical eye whirred in place, taking in his surrounding and bringing more clarity than his organic eye ever could. A blessing in disguise from the vile Orks when they humiliated him on his own ship. He despised the Pavus family, always looking for glory on the coat tails of others. Here he had opened a front and was waging war and here the Pavus family was looking for glory already half won by he, his Asartes and Imperial blood. Sadly he couldn’t deny he needed all the help he could get on this crusade and would deal with their issues as they arose. For now he needed more bodies to press the Orks.

"General follow me to my private office, there are matters i must discuss with you, This new fleet has brought them forward somewhat but the preparations have already been made. "

The General followed the Marshall back to a smaller chamber behind the central throne on the massive bridge, "take a seat general, i know your injuries have not fully healed"

"thank you Lord Karak, what is this matter that is so important." the general questioned, reinforcements could be too much to hope for?

"it is your security, in light of this attack its fair to say that your security is need of reinforcement, preliminary search have been made and 50 have been found with potential for Honour guards, of those, i suggest you take 25 of the best. "

The Marine leaned back in his massive throne, no one could call it a chair, "now onto the more interesting part, i have seen fit to assign 2 Marines of the Templers to your Bodyguard for duration of crusade or need within the chapter, also they might ensure a little more respect from this peacock who comes to join this crusade, such a show of force will make this Pavus relise his place. 2 ships, even Armored Knights, he seems to think this crusade is a game, you priced that planet rather cheap General"

"My lord, you are most generous, This honour will not be forgotten, may i ask what is the price for this service?"

"ha, i did not know you better i would of classed that a insult, but yes when the time comes and it will, i will ask for your support in certain matters, those i will not mention now but you will in time. "

"of course, now with your leave i will return to my ship, it is fully secured and i will take your advice to heart. Crusade command would look ill if its chair was empty too long"
The General gave a shallow bow to the Marshall and left the bridge to the vast hanger where his shuttle was waiting, on arrivial he found to grim black clad marines stood waiting for him, "My Lord Karak has asigned us to your security, If you agree we will arive at your ship with in the hour"

"yes i consent, your prescience is welcome, and i am humbled by the Honour your Lord has given me "
Walking up the ramp he looked back, this ship, the Templers, had he made a mistake, now he was bound to them by oath and enforced, such now he would have to be very careful in his dealings with the traders. Bodyguards, Formidable, but lest he forget, watchdogs, watchdogs he could not afford to notice his shadow operations.

Back in his Chambers Lord Karak lent forward to a control box built into the desk, pressing the intercomm, "SGT Tangir, inform Inquisitor Drax i would like him to see me in my Chambers, i have matters to discuss concerning new arivials in this Crusade and what they might mean. Also send a seperate message to Eternal Crusader, tell them that if reports are true, we will need reinforcements, a large traitor war band of a Chapter Strong suspected to have arrived in the sector and we will need every ship we can get to defeat them. "

Things where going well in center, several dozen planets had been purged and occupied, one destroyed, and a Ork Fleet they had scattered much earlier near magok, still this new development was a cause for concern, strong as his fleet was, they would not be a match for this new force, 11 ships, 3 under his command, the ultramarine was not one he would trust to come to his aid, and anyway one ship, under 50 Marines, futile. No it was time to call forth the full strengh of the sons of Dorn. News that Ultramarines where coming he did not trust, would they be so foolish as to try and take the relic by force, a relic he now examined in his hand, a master work, a masterwork they would pay handsomely to recover. He rather liked the sword, its balance was perfect, light, potent, a fine weapon indeed. Though the acting captain would try and kill him most likely before letting him keep it. Pitty it would be his last duel, the young blood was no match for the veteran, hundreds of years of warfare, decades sparring with Vargos, not many could claim to be his equal, and even fewer his better.