Behind Enemy Lines (RP thread)

[Narric]

"We must be blessed by the Emperor and the Omnisiah for that plan to have worked" Hertius hissed, gripping onto the interior at three points.

[Wargamer]

"That's how we do it in the corps!" McTavish laughed as the hatch closed. "One nil to the bombardiers, Guardsman!  Step your game up!"

[Mabbz]

"Hold on!" yelled Maria. Swiping at the controls, she killed one thruster causing them to veer off the the left. A moment later she fired it up again, this time pointing in the opposite direction, before repeating the action with the second thruster. There was a lot of wobbling, but pretty soon they were flying backwards with their strongest armour facing the enemy. She knew she couldn't hold it like this for too long though; their top speed had dropped and the rest of the xenos were catching up.

As Wexler shifted his weapon to fire again, he saw the alien crafts split up to flank the devilfish. As they sprayed the sides of their transport with pulse fire, he replied with his heavy bolter. He was having some difficulty hitting the mark, as his targets kept weaving around, but eventually he was rewarded. A series of shells impacted along the cockpit, killing both crew and sending the vehicle careening into the ground. As they sped away from the explosion, he tried to draw a bead on the second pirhana, but it zipped past them and loosed a torrent of plasma into the rear of the devilfish.

Back inside, Maria swore as a pulse round penetrated the armour and flew through to the cockpit, narrowly missing her. Angrily, she jabbed at the console and spun the tank back around, ignoring the curses of Wexler, as his aim was thrown off again. The pirhana was now in her way, but she would get past it. With another hand movement, the thrusters roared back to full throttle. The pirhana tried to dodge out of the way, but they weren't fast enough to avoid the devilfish that smashed into their wing, tearing it off. Suddenly spinning out of control, the pirhana clipped the ground and somersaulted, and was quickly reduced to a trail of debris.

"That's how we do it in the Guard," Maria muttered under her breath.

[Narric]

"If my memory serves me for battle reports of Tau forces, the rest of our followers will be able to keep pace, but not catch up to us." Hertius made his way to the cockpit hatchway. "One thing we can assume as well is that the Tau do not just allow their technology into anyones hands, so this transport is likely transmitting a tracer signal. I'll see if I can locate it, so we can increase our chances of evading our pursuers."

[The Man They Call Jayne]

"Right, driver, floor it! Best possible speed to the nearest Guard outpost."

The other tanks wouldn't be able to catch up, but Wexler was wary. He had seem what those Hammerhead Railguns could do. He had seen tanks explode from a single lucky shot when they couldn't even see the firing vehicle.

[Wargamer]

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm having a great time!" the stormtrooper announced. The joyful expletives he'd yelled after the last Piranha was rammed apart would have made a Navy Rating blush. "I should have hooked up with you lot sooner!"

[Mabbz]

"The nearest outpost is about a day and a half's drive southwest of us, I think," said Maria, frowning at the map as Hertius began rummaging around under the control panels. "Well, unless you include the base west of us, but we'd have to circle around the Tau to get there, so it's not really any faster."



About half an hour later, Hertius had finished his investigations. "It looks like they wired the tracer into the communication systems. I'll have to disable the whole setup to be sure."

As he spoke, the aforementioned system activated and a Tau voice emanated from the console. It was still speaking in Tau, so they couldn't understand what it said. Before anyone could react, a second voice replied, speaking quickly and briefly. They waited, but once the second voice stopped there was nothing further.

"Anyone else wish they knew their language?" asked Maria. Something caught her eye. "Hang on, our pursuers are changing course. They're heading west, towards the forward base."

[Mabbz]

After a small amount of discussion, a decision was reached. Hertius swiftly began fiddling with the communications system, and within a few minutes, he had it broadcasting a message. It was encoded before sending, but it for those with the codes it said

"All Imperial forces that can hear this! Be advised that Tau forces consisting of a Hammerhead, two Devilfish and six Crisis Suits is heading for forward staging point Gamma-Two-Six. They are currently at co-ordinates 53.003658, -1.112443, and will arrive in approximately 10 hours."

They waited for a few minutes, letting the message loop, before switching it off. Then Hertius switched the whole comm system off in a somewhat more aggressive manner (that is to say, he threw most of it outside to be safe). Only once they were sure they couldn't be tracked did they set off east, keen to put some distance between them and the Tau forces that would undoubtedly link up with more xenos before attacking a fortified position.

"Right, we should get near the city in about three hours," reported Maria.

"Anyone for cards?" asked McTavish.

[Narric]

"Why not play 'Go Fish' with the ogryn?" Hertius flatly responded to McTavish. "I shall be meditating on the wisdom of the Machine Spirit." And with that, Hertius moved from the cockpit to the most vacant floor space, and mechanically lowered himself down. His many lights dimmed, and gears whirred more quietly.

[Mabbz]

After a few hours of travelling, Maria finally put the devilfish down in a forest a mile or so north of the city of Flavingham (renamed Kau'res'p by the Tau). As soon as the hatches started to open, the mechanisms whined in protest as Steve tried to force them open faster. Everyone else was quick to vacate too; an anxious ogryn was not a fun travel companion in a confined space, and the smell had started to reach toxic levels. They left the doors open to let the 'fish air out a bit while they discussed their next move.

"We need food and information, if we are going to slip past the Tau patrols and reach friendly forces again," Wexler said.

"I do not believe we should be so hasty to retreat," replied Hertius. "We are behind the aliens main forces, and have a unique opportunity to assist the war effort through sabotage and such."

"I like the way you think, techpriest," grinned McTavish. "We'll still have to slip into the town for food and information though. I should be able to get back before nightfall." He immediately start striding in the direction of town.

"Sergeant, wait!" called Maria. Once he had looked back, she continued. "Are you really going to stroll into town in full stormtrooper armour?"

"The word is sneak, and we didn't really bring any spare clothes."

"Actually, when the transport went down I was in off duty clothes. I just put my armour over the top of it." Fumbling to remove her carapace, she pulled it off to reveal a faded red top that matched her combat trousers. She still looked somewhat like a soldier, but it wasn't as obvious at first glance.

"If you get caught, you'll have no chance of fighting them off without weapons and armour," he noted.

"I wouldn't stand a chance with them either. This way I can try to avoid trouble in the first place. I'll try and grab some spare clothes too, in case we need to sneak in again later."



A couple of hours later, Maria returned. Dropping several items of clothing and a few days worth of Tau ration packs on the floor, she held up the last item she had found. A newspaper; the headline read IMPERIAL FORCES PUSHED BACK. She began reading the article aloud

The forces of our misguided former rulers have lost nearly 60 miles of ground today, as daring attacks across the front line broke their morale and forced a mass retreat. While some of their troops were able to put up a significant level of resistance, Tau Fire Caste officials estimate the casualties to be roughly 3:1 in our favour with several key targets eliminated. Regrettably, the Fire Caste has not been able to confirm the destruction of the Baneblade stationed near Kau'res'P, but have stated that it has is no longer a threat to the city.

Por'El Or'Sia'la has praised the efforts of our own military, as well as the unwavering support of the general public. He also urged that the populace continue it's support and promises that the rationing and other measures taken to aid the war effort be followed for the time being. He added that the end could soon be in sight, and the liberation of Ferin could soon be a reality

More on page 7...

[Narric]

Hertius looked to the clothing.

"You realise that my servo-arm is grafted to my body?" He sighed out. "I will likely be the hardest to disguise, and I can only theorise what the Tau have done to the local machine cults."

[Mabbz]

"Actually, Steve would be the hardest to disguise, but I see your point. Could we disguise you as a servitor? Or come to think of it, do whatever enginseers the Tau have use servo arms?"

[Narric]

"Considering Tau design seemingly being function following form, they may still use servo-arms. Mine would likely stick out for being a more robust, form follows function design. This is what I theorise. Then there is the matter of what attire the machine cults would have been forced to wear, which would not be so easy for a civilian to acquire."

Hertius stood in thought.

"What else do we need?" He asked no one else in particular. "I may be able to find a communications tower, and acquire information from the Guard base. If not that then I could see about reviving the fallen Baneblade. Either for our own use to aide us in traversing the battlefield, or as a way of aiding our war front from behind enemy lines."

[The Man They Call Jayne]

Wexler dug through the pile to find something that would fit him well enough to be passable. He also spent a few minutes looking around nearby for something that could be used as a carry case for his Heavy Bolter. He certainly wasn't leaving it behind.

After a short time, he managed to fashion something from a couple of the Devilfishes internal storage compartments. He now had a sizable box on a strap over his shoulder, with a small carrying handle visible from the top. With a solid push however, the box would break open and fall away to reveal the fully armed and operational weapon within.

[Wargamer]

There was a set of labourer's clothes that seemed to fit McTavish well enough. He seemed reluctant to part with his weaponry though, and it took some persuading to eventually have him put his hellgun and sword into a storage box. Out of his armour, the cuts and bruises from their recent misadventures were quite alarmingly apparent. Thankfully, his face was devoid of any serious marks that might draw questions.
"I want to know what became of the authorities," he said with a bitter edge to his voice. "People turning their back on the Emperor leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and I'd like to return the favour by making a few heretics suck boot."

He glanced at the paper Maria was holding. "Don't suppose the Tau were kind enough to mention an underground pro-Imperial resistance movement we can chat with? Maybe a pamphlet on where their leadership sleeps and convenient sniping points?"