Brandt’s Minis, Lore And What Have You

The death of Aun’Shar spurred the greater Tau fleet into immediate action. Seven separate invasion forces were deployed to different areas on Maynos, with what remains of the May’nar sept sending a desperate spearhead deep into enemy territory, exploring a set of coordinates gained from deep within the vault.

1. Commander Shadowsun has been woken from cryosleep to lead the vanguard, equipped with her new slave arm system designed by the May’nar septs earth caste. Though the May’nar sept has been whipped into a blind rage from the death of an ethereal, Shadowsuns arrival has caused them to hone and focus that rage into making his death count.

2. Shas’Vre Steelsong in his XV104 Riptide battlesuit. While Riptide pilots are normally essential to the Tau war machine, Steelsong was grounded for the early portion of the Maynos conflict due to his battlesuit being retrofitted with Votaan technology acquired by the late Aun’Shar. Now equipped with an experimental Shatterpoint vibration system designed to melt incoming ballistics at a molecular level, he has never been more ready to take the field, and to exact vengeance on his foes.

3. The Hakrak hunting pack makes planetfall in a Tidewall Gunrig. Pivoting from a scouting mission to a full planetary occupation, the fleet has dropped mobile fortifications in key locations. Not yet trusted to be in a proper dropship with firewarriors, the volatile Hakrak tribe strapped themselves to the gunrig before it was dropped. To the indignation of the Earth caste scientists, the Carnivores had consumed the remains of Votaan berserkers that were marked for study, which, to the surprise of the same scientists, had altered the Kroot’s skin to withstand the heat and pressures of planetfall. Thus the hunting pack’s descent had a 0% casualty rate leaving them free to continue their desecration of the dead, causing wild and random evolutions unchecked by a shaper.

4. The full contingent of Fogbreaker squadron has joined the main force. It was originally Fogbreakers Tetra pilots that activated the vault, which caused the planet to shift and spike in energy at a single point. The remaining members of the squadron now feel obligated to see their mission through to the end, swapping their usual harassment tactics for a more direct approach, joining the vanguard led by Shadowsun.

5. The shadowy Aun’Vec oversees the assault from the back line. An ethereal from the Sa’cea sept, Aun’Vec is shunned from the council due to using the remains of fire warriors in his experimental weapon development programs. Although another ethereal has taken charge of this theatre of battle from orbit, Aun’Vec insisted on his own deployment to the surface, under the pretense that someone should monitor Shadowsun for signs of cryosickness. In truth the mysterious ethereal has been poring over seismic scans of the planet, looking for the easiest route to Aun’Shar’s last known location for some yet unknown purpose. In lieu of a honor blade, Aun’Vec is armed with an Eldar Ghostsword he claimed from a Wraithblade in combat. It is rumored that it was after this battle that his experiments took a dark turn, where he would attempt to plant Tau souls into drones as a way of resurrection.

D’tano’s coughs jolt him awake. Blinking away the dancing lights in his eyes, he feels the three fingered hand of a fellow Tau help him into a seat. Taking a breath, and steadying himself against the rocking caused by nearby explosions, he looks around the devilfish he had hastily boarded before the earthquake. The hold of the vehicle was packed with black armored fire warriors, the one who helped him gives D’tano a firm nod before returning to the others gathered around a bonding knife. He had entered Death Company’s devilfish, and the full significance of the situation he was in was beginning to sink in. He needed Death Company to find Aun’Shar, but there was only one way to take command of such a unit, joining them in their fatal Ta’liserra.

Protecting this ethereal has already killed me 3 times over this week, what’s one more death?

D’tano rises to his feet and pushes to the center of the throng, grabbing the ritual blade from the Shas’ui. The leader says nothing, solemnly watching the Fireblade test his palm on the tip.

“Tau’va or death!” he shouts as he presses his palm through the blade. D’tano grunts as another hand impacts with his, hitting it further down. One by one each member stacks their hand upon the bloody stack, saying the same words. The devilfish lights turn green, and D’tano pulls the blade free. Raising it high as he moves to the opening hatch.

“Find the Ethereal Aun’Shar, our life for his!”

The cadre lets out a single HAH as the hatch slams open, and rushes out into the raging battlefield.

1. The May’nar sept remnants clash with the reinforced Grey Knights once again, Commander Novastorm leads the charge in a Ghostkeel, engaging the closest dreadknight.

2. his bodyguards decimated in the initial clash, the leader of the Grey Knights, Kaldor Drago, takes to the field. Sending psychic blasts into a pair of crisis suits, he rushes them with his legendary Titansword.

3. Fireblade D’tano leads Death Company out of their transport. the fearless breacher team unloads their pulse blasters into the grey knights, who conjure a barrier of warp energy, absorbing the assault.

4. The scattered Tau forces attempt to rally in the chaos. Firewarriors gather around Aun’Shar as a crisis suit fired suppressive fire at the advancing Kaldor Drago. The ethereal grabs a fire warriors comm suite to send out a transmission to nearby forces. “All units, the statue is what they’re guarding here! Someone scan it, it may be the key to the Calamity Equation!”

5. D’tano receives the transmission too late, as he stands alone among the melted corpses of death company. The nearby dreadknight slices cleanly through the devilfish with its nemesis greatsword, considers the lone tau for a moment, then vanishes in a ripple of warp energy. D’tano draws his ritual blade, still dripping with the blood of Death Company, and shouts a battle cry as he tackles the nearest soldier.

6. Two tetras hurtle towards the statue, the copilots beam a high powered marker light at the monument and begin a scan. “This is Fogbreaker, the statue is part of of a larger mechanism spanning the rest of the planet. According to the readings a control panel at the base is connected to energy signatures spanning the surface and interior of the planet!”

Aun’Shar wastes no time, “activate it!”

7. The tetra pilot jumps out of his vehicle as the air starts to shimmer nearby and a dreadknight rips through reality. The ancient war machine fires warp energy into the tetras, melting them into transfigured heaps. A railgun slug from the nearby hammer head pierces the stainless metal, causing the dreadknight to rush the gunship. The disembarked tetra pilot reaches the a panel at the base of the statue, and without thinking, slams his hand down on it. The ground begins to vibrate.

8. Drago and Aun’Shar exchange blows as dust kicks up and chokes the air around them.

“Impetuous child!” Kaldor spits as he swipes his sword horizontally, the roar of the warp following in its wake “do you even understand the gravity of your actions?”

Aun’Shar ducks under the rippling blade, “I don’t need to” he thrusts his spear towards the knights abdomen “but I know it’s waking something that scares even you” the tip of his spear makes a skkkkkrrrrt as it scrapes across the surface of Kaldors shield instead of finding its mark.

“To covet the Calamity Equation is to invite heresy!” Kaldors blade narrowly misses Aun’Shar’s leg “to use its power is to question the Emperors will!” With a shove from Kaldor’s shield, the ethereal is sent scrambling into the gravel.

“Sounds useful!” Aun’Shar shouts as he glances up and sees the flash of a blue search light

Authors note: I recommend listening to To the Stars by Max Richter while reading the following section

A recovery drone!

Kaldor’s eyes begin to glow as he charges warp energies

Pranng!

He stumbles back from the impact of a pulse blast. Aun’Shar whips around to see D’tano crawling forward, pulse pistol glowing hot in his hand. Aun’Shar leaps to his feet,

“My friend! You’ve survived!”

D’tano reloads his pulse pistol and takes aim, “Together, ethereal. Together we dove in to hell and together we will fight our way back.” The ethereal manages a wry smile:

Only the drone will prioritize my survival over yours…

Aun’Shar considered his opponent, then his dying comrade who would sacrifice all for him. There was what the greater good demanded, then there was what his friend needed.

Dropping his spear he turns towards Drago “not this time, my friend” dashing towards the towering foe.

Thnk!

Drago’s sword finds purchase deep in the ethereal’s chest as he’s lifted off the ground, impaled on a blade crackling with energy. Aun’Shar smiles as he begins to cough up blood

Live D’tano! Live in my place!

“NOOOOO” screams D’tano, firing his pulse pistol as the recovery drone picks him off the ground, dragging him into the air.

D’tano can do nothing but watch the ethereal begins to fall limp, as a chaotic swirl of energy swallows both combatants, which then shrinks into nothing, leaving naught but a few scorch marks in the gravel. In mere moments, it’s as if the ethereal Aun’Shar of May’nar sept never existed.

TO BE CONCLUDED

Authors note: sorry this is such a long read, I really was getting invested in the narrative. I didn’t want Aun’Shar to die, but it’s how the dice were rolled and fit the narrative pretty well!

How do you treat your characters that have died in your narrative? I want to keep using the ethereal model but I want to canonize this story somehow.

The calm ride of the elevator is interrupted by the clamour of gunfire coming from the surface. Aun’Shar was well enough to stand now and began to hoarsely cough out a few words. “D’tano, the statues…”

“They weren’t mere statues, and right now we have more immediate issues, ethereal” D’tano interjects as the door rasps open into a full scale battlefield. Mortars whistle through the air over the screams of battle, punctuated by the thrumming crack of railgun fire. Bo’ran and D’tano support the ethereal into the open field around the vault. A nearby Ghostkeel decloaks and stoops, the pilot jumping out of the open chest cavity. He grabs the ethereal and shouts to Bo’ran “this armor is put to better use at your control, commander!” The commander nods and climbs into the suit. Looking past Bo’ran, D’tano is able to make out the shapes of their would-be aggressors, the Votaan must have found what was left of their failed diplomatic mission, and they want Tau blood.

1. The Votaan sends a vanguard of vehicles rumbling towards the vault. Bo’Ran uses the Ghostkeel’s comm suite to order the Tau forces in the area to fall back, preparing a Kauyon lure. Medics hastily inject stimms into Aun’Shar, getting him on his feet while they inspect his wound further.

2. Tetras beam markerlights onto the first few vehicles, and the Crimson Order relies on its auto targeting. The Votaans’ rovers are no match for the hail of ion fire, and in an instant, the first wave of their charge becomes a burning hulk of metal.

3. Dwarves take cover at the steps of the vault, and prepare a different approach. One produces a mortar, punching stabilizers into the soft gravel at the base of the vault. Another laboriously loads a torpedo like device into the mortar, and with a muffled *thump* the torpedo hisses through the earth. A strike team member notices the gravel unsettling in a direct line towards her, but before she can warn her team an explosion erupts beneath her, showering the strike team members with the once proud warriors remains.

3. Before they can recover, the strike team is beset upon by a heavily armored squadron emerging from the ground, revving up plasma weapons. Fire warriors dive in front of Aun’Shar, trading their lives for his.

3. Locked on to a stealth teams beacon, the Red Tri-Wings careen through the atmosphere, using what’s left of their thruster’s fuel reserves to soften their impact with the planet surface. Quickly assessing the situation around them, they turn their attention to the Votaan threatening Aun’Shar.

4. Berserkers have reached the first line of defense, hammering the hull of the Tetras, but the armor holds. One tetra copilot jumps out of his seat, and slowly draws his knife, staying crouched as he sneaks around his vehicle. A Berserker catches a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye, but as he turns the Tau lunges, thrusting his knife into the dwarfs exposed side. The berserker drops his hammer and flails backward, trying to grab his aggressor, but the fire warrior pulls his knife out, and quickly stabs directly into the dwarf’s head. The dwarf relaxes, and the fire warrior pushes him to the ground before running back into his vehicle.

5. On the other side of the battlefield, the heavy armor of the dwarves melts under the hail of the Red Tri-Wings ion rifles, only their leader stands strong, screaming of revenge. The leader of The Tri-Wings diverts the power of his weapons into his thrusters and rushes the Votaan warlord. With a thud they collide, the dwarf tries to shout an insult, but the crisis suit grabs the warlord’s head and pushes him into the earth, dragging him through gravel and stone at a frightening speed. The rocks rip away his armor and tear his flesh, leaving naught but a mangled corpse for the battlesuit to hold aloft at the remaining opposing force.

6. Commander Novastorm fires the Ghostkeel’s Cyclic Ion Raker at the Hekaton Land fortress, but finds the battlesuits fire power to be lacking. Behind him emits a flash of light as a Hammerhead propels a railgun shot that cuts directly through the thick plating of the Votaan’s vehicle. The Heckaton erupts into a brilliant explosion, vaporizing the dwarves amassed around it.

A hush falls across the battlefield, Novastorm holds up his hand, ordering a ceasefire. Burning dwarves writhe on the ground, while the few that can still stand sprint for any form of cover in a retreat. Aun’Shar steps down from his hover drone, feeling better after being flooded with combat stims and his wound sealed with medigel. He moves to look for D’tano, but freezes when a rumble seems to shake the earth around him. Over by what once was the Hekaton, the ground begins to crack. Then suddenly, like a web, cracks form all around the area. Aun’Shar runs for his hover drone but the entire earth falls out from under him.

No! Not back down in that hell! He thinks, as his shoulder impacts with the ground, which now has formed a sharp slant into the darkness under the vault.

No, no, no! As he slides down the improvised ramp, rocks cutting into his skin, a devilfish scrapes past him, caught in an uncontrollable spin as it bounces off a tetra, sending the smaller crews craft flying.

The ethereal quickly fumbles with his armor’s controls, trying to send another distress pulse when a dwarf collides with him. The two tumble down the hill, the dwarf balls a fist, but relaxes as the ethereal deftly pinches a nerve at his neck. Aun’Shar moves the body under him, and prepares for the upcoming impact, having found a new resolve as he opens his comm channel.

“Warriors! The Votaan have been slain! Now we descend to hell to ensure they stay there and seize the Calamity Equation from the hands of the devils that guard it!”

The Ethereal Aun’Shar’s vitals are critical, and an emergency pulse from his armor has reached the fleet in orbit. The forces closest to the surface have been redirected to the vaults entrance, to combat the enemy signatures closing in on his last known position.

1. An infamous breacher team composed entirely of veterans who are wholly devoted to the greater good, all from different septs. Every member dons black armor, with a single color marking of the sept they originally hail from on their pauldron. When a fire warrior joins Death Company, they relinquish their name, instead only answering to the serial number given to them. Their serial numbers are given in the order members join, starting at DC-1, the current newest recruit was assigned DC-107. Before entering combat, the members of the company all perform a unique Ta’lissera ritual, all impaling their non-dominant hands upon the ritual blade. With Tau physiology, one can survive such a wound for 7 hours before dying of blood loss if not treated by a medic. In essence, by joining Death Company, its members are already considered dead, and have nothing holding them back from sacrificing all for the greater good. Many members are the sole survivors of a squad registered as KIA, some just have nothing left to lose, and some see joining as a way of becoming a part of something greater. The mortality rate of Death Company averages at 92% over their 20 missions, but they rarely fail their objectives, and fight with a ferocity not even seen in the Vior’la. The members of Death Company are known to be silent and focused, having already made their peace with their fate, all that is left for them is a glorious death for the cause.

The Red Tri-Wings are a crisis team comprised of three renegade Air Caste pilots who were wounded after their aircraft were destroyed in the battle raging above Maynos. While their injuries rendered them unable to effectively pilot an aircraft, they found that controlling an XV8 battlesuit requires less manual dexterity thanks to the neuralink connection the machinery uses. Not waiting for an official transfer, the pilots attached the battlesuits to the top of an Orca dropship and provided fire support in order to allow it to break through the blockade forming around Maynos. In the 3 hours that they have been in service as a crisis team, the Red Tri-Wings already have 7 confirmed kills, all before making planetfall. Current radar scans indicate that they are now free falling through the atmosphere of Maynos, using their battlesuit’s thrusters to perform mid-air jinking maneuvers in their descent, returning fire on enemy aircraft who think they’ve found an easy target.

The interior of the vault is massive! As the Hammerhead and battlesuit escort glide down to the surface of the vault, Aun’Shar stares out the viewport to see what looks like the surface of another planet spanning all the way to a new horizon. D’tano squints at the onboard computer, “this cavern goes on for at least as far as the Hammerhead’s scanners, could cover the whole planet.” Aun’Shar marvels at the fast approaching ground, dotted with old dilapidated skyscrapers and crumbling statues, “a planet within a a planet, the Calamity Equation could be anywhere!” The door of the gunship hisses open.

1. The statues in the distance crack and come to life, four Nemesis Dreadknights flourish their swords. Ancient gears clatter against each other as the Grey Knights resume their watch, rushing the Cadre

2. A hail of psionically propelled shells pepper the Hammerhead from a distance. Then suddenly lightning arcs through the cloud of dust the gunfire created. Pieces of the gunship explode off it’s chassis, and it’s engines darken, gravity causes it to slam into the gravel beneath it . Everyone jolts into action, the new Ghostkeel pilot charges the nearest dreadknight, restraining the manipulator arms. The Crimson Order fires a volley at another, ion smokes from holes in a Grey Knight bedecked in archaic heraldry as his whole suit teeters over, kicking up a churning cloud of dust with the impact.

3. Walking through the wall of a building emerges another colossus, lightning flashes from the pilot, detonating two of the Crimson Order’s battlesuits. Commander Novastorm overcharges his weapons, diverting all the power in the thrusters into the mounted rifles energy output. All that’s left of the Dreadknight’s operator is a hole in the middle of the suit, which crumbles to the ground.

4. The Dreadknight in the center breaks free of the ghostkeels grasp and swings his arm cannon towards Commander Novastorm, recklessly carving a trench into the backdrop with the hot beam of light screaming out of it. Novastorm rockets into the air just in time to dodge the laser, but is unable to avoid the portal suddenly ripped into the folds of reality above him. Unable to adjust his course due to the lack of power in his thrusters, all the commander can do is pull the emergency eject lever. As he is flung out of the battlesuit’s chassis he watches the rift pull it closer, the suit caving in on itself as it’s enveloped by the impossible phenomenon. The Grey Knight then swipes with his Nemesis Greatsword at the Ghostkeel, who flickers out of existence as the stealth drone projecting the hologram crashes to the ground. The real Ghostkeel fires his Cyclic Ion Raker at the Dreadknight, destroying its Psi-Cannon before getting sheared in half by its greatsword.

5. The dreadknight turns towards the stealth suits and begins chanting endlessly about purification as purple flame bursts from him, swallowing and vaporizing stealth team Obscuro

6. D’tano had taken cover in the second floor of a nearby building, only to realize the rest of his fireteam didn’t follow him. Stray bullets burst through the dilapidated wall as the Fireblade takes aim with his pulse rifle, lining up a shot with the dreadknights’ pilot. Before he can properly get a shot, his wrist mounted tacpad beeps in alarm, the Ethereal Aun’Shar’s vitals are dropping! Grimacing at the exposed enemy, he swings his pulse rifle to the floor of the building and fires a few bursts of energy, damaging it enough for the section he stands on to crumble to ground level. Falling into the ruin, D’tano manages to land on his feet as he rushes into the open to support the ethereal.

——————————————————————————

Lighting and hellfire screams over Bo’ran (Commander Novastorm) as he stumbles towards the burning hulk that was once their gunship. A Crisis suit of the Crimson Order, Shas’Vre Nyk’thos of sub-team Crimson Dawn (judging by the markings on its side), rockets by Bo’ran, charging headlong into the raging goliath of a bygone era. Bo’rans’ legs ache from the impact of his ejection system as he breaks into a sprint, but is flung towards the Hammerheads wreckage as Nyk’thos’s suit erupts in a brilliant explosion. Ears ringing, Bo’ran smacks into the hull of the gunship. He wipes the soot from his eyes and rolls off the fusillade, the impact of hitting the ground sends a sharp pain through his ribs. He manages to push him self off the ground, taking stock of the situation around him. Drones whizz around in a panic, intercepting incoming fire. A handful of Fire warriors attempt to establish a firing line before a white hot laser vaporizes two of them instantly. And behind the smoldering wreck is Fireblade D’tano dragging the limp ethereal — Aun…. Char? We never got a proper introduction, Bo’ran muses to himself as he limps in their direction either way, what’s left of his honor guard will not last long against this foe, and I’ve learned the best chances of survival are always right next to an ethereal.

Screams echo across the landscape punctuated by thunderous lightning and wailing laserbeams as Bo’ran grabs hold of the ethereal and helps pull him away from the conflict. A bolt has punctured the ethereals’ chestplate, and as Bo’ran takes a closer look, he sees in place of a wound is a churning rift of psychedelic colors. The ethereal seems insensate, mumbling something about statues.

“He needs more than a doctor!” He shouts as the hammerheads chassis suffers one final explosion, shattering.

“He needs to get out of here first!” Grunts D’tano as a shower of bullets whizz by them and thud into the dirt.

“The only true way out is up, we’re stuck in this hell!” Bo’ran catches a glimpse of a battlesuit in the distance, through all the dust, the familiar glow of plasma flashing towards a large menacing silhouette.

“An elevator. In the building. Found it when we landed!” D’tano forces out between strained pulls. Bo’ran focuses on this new objective.

Almost there! Another explosion lights up the dust cloud in the distance

A few more steps! The screaming in the distance has stopped.

One more push! A hulking figure emerges from the dust, raising its sword, then slices downwards, creating a black rift in front of it. D’tano drops the ethereal and grabs the crank handle of the door, furiously spinning it.

“Inside!!” D’tano wrests the door open, while another rift roars a few meters away from the trio and out steps the hulking dreadknight, but by the time the foul contraption scans the area the Tau had all but vanished.

——————————————————————————

The response team lead by Commander Novastorm was intended to be the tip of the spear in the battle for Maynos. After his Orca dropship broke through the space marine fleet in orbit, however, he intercepted a distress signal coming from Tau forces already on the surface of the planet.

1. The Orcas’ security team has been reassigned to Strike Team Burning Ember, to replenish their ranks after most of the lighter armored members met their demise at the hand of the Necrons. Trained to clear and secure the drop zone, as well as defend within the confines of their dropship, they will be an invaluable addition to the Protectors infantry.

2. The Crimson Order crisis team is comprised of two iridium reinforced battlesuits, and four standard XV8 suits ,two of which are piloted by Shas’Vre rank veterans. The Order operates like a single organism, creating a strong phalanx with their shield generators around the Commander in one instant, then in the next scattering into two smaller teams led by the two Veterans, splitting the enemies’ attention as their Commander takes to the sky for a devastating aerial bombardment. Both of the veterans have equipped their suits with ritual blades, as they have each joined in a separate Ta’liserra, forming the sub-teams Crimson Dusk and Crimson Dawn, which, under the command of Commander Novastorm forms the Crimson Order.

3. Shas’O May’nar Bo’ran, AKA Commander Novastorm, piloting his custom XV-85 Coldstar Commander battlesuit. Despite the warnings of Earth Caste engineers, Bo’ran has removed almost all of the safeties and fine tuned the tolerances on his controls to react to the slightest twitch of his finger. Compared to other Coldstars, his current battlesuit moves three times faster, and can preform VTOL almost instantaneously, at the cost of the thrusters requiring constant maintenance to function. Bo’ran has encouraged the pilots under his command to perform similar modifications to their suits, breaking the limit of what the common XV8 crisis team can be capable of. Beyond the Coldstar thrusters and high-output burst cannon typically seen on a XV-85, Bo’rans’ suit is had been outfitted with an ejection system, shoulder mounted fusion blasters, a multi tracker targeting system, and the prototype Supernova Launcher, a modified grenade launcher that can hurl plasma grenades great distances, setting fire to organics and melting metals.

4. The Hammerhead gunship was intended to be used as a deterrent for enemies that would try to come close to the Orcas’ drop zone. Crewed by 3 skilled pilots, all work in tandem to fire pinpoint railgun slugs, decimating enemy armor from an incredible distance. The communication relay that was kept in its hull has been removed and left within the Orca, giving room for Aun’Shar and his infantry to board.

.5. The Orcas’ drone bays have been emptied for the greater good and support the expeditionary force. The presence of drones were sorely missed by the survivors of Aun’Shars’ honor guard, who were not requisitioned drones with the assumption that they would not ever be under heavy fire. With the last of the Orcas’ cargo unloaded, it will be at greater risk on its journey back to the fleet, but if the life of an ethereal hangs in the balance, such risk becomes almost necessary to ensure his safety.

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THE MAYNOS GAMBIT | 3

The Vault was in sight! Aun’Shar begins to power on his drone until he feels a hand on his shoulder. D’tano shakes his head and hands his superior a handheld radar scanner. A host of hostiles have already approached the vault, rushing in would be unwise.

D’tano squints past the vault, grimacing at the glint of metal flashing in his eyes from the slow marching figures in the distance.

“They are slow, and have little cover between here and the vault, I recommend entrenching here. They cannot hope to win a battle of attrition”

Aun’Shar smiles at his friend’s tactical intuition. “We have tried my Mont’ka and almost lost everything. I think it’s about time I heed the advice of my tactical advisor.”

D’tano shrugs and walks toward his team, who jolt to attention and begin hastily assembling a DS-8 turret.

Far across the field, metal skeletal figures march as they have for eons, traveling the breadth of the planet millions of times. The undying Necrons have arrived.

1. A Doomstalker Engine towers over the Necrons parade, its cannon fires balls of plasma into the fire warriors, who dash for cover at the steps of the vault.

2. On the other side of the vault Kas’Mi and team Obscuro trade volleys of fire with the bulk of the Necrons march. Three warriors fall to Kas’Mis’ first shot. His victory is short lived as two of them laboriously push themselves off the ground and rejoin the march. It looks like attrition is no longer an option.

3. Aun’Shar spots a sea of scarabs swarming through the trees, “they mean to encircle us!” He bellows. The fire warriors peek out of their meager cover and fire into the swarms, as the Shas’ui uses his scanner to tag them. The DS-8 turret whirs as it turns, and it’s payload of missiles rocket into the air, spiraling into their marked targets, causing a brilliant explosion that leaves naught but ash and scorch marks in the scarabs place.

4. The leader of the Necrons snaps his metal fingers, conjuring a glowing green arrow in his hand. The device on his wrist slides open, he clicks the arrow into place and takes aim as it clangs shut. With a twitch of his finger the arrow whistles through the air over the heads of his warriors, through the trees, between two members of team Obscuro, into the chest of the Ghostkeel leaving a smoking hole in its wake. The battle suit stopped suddenly, then shudders and hisses as it lowers itself and the center panel of its chest swings open, revealing its pilot Kas’Mi staring glassy eyed into the distance, the arrow piercing his eye pins his head to the seat behind him as its green glow fades. Both Kas’Mi and the suit are motionless as the battle continues to rage around them.

5. With their path clear the Necrons quicken their march, making directly for the vault.

6. Aun’Shar takes stock of the battle around him. The strike team is pinned from the doomsday engines fire, the Warriors are coming around their flank. Stealth Team Obscuro screams over the comms as they fall in battle. All hope seems lost. Then suddenly a shadow is cast over the Necrons forces. A cloud? Aun’Shar looks up to see a Tau Orca dropship hail down pulse fire on the warriors below. The Doomstalker aims its cannon and blasts the dropship, momentarily unsteadying it. Missles hiss from the orca and collide with the Doomstalker sending it careening into the ground. Reinforcements had finally arrived

7. With the battle won Aun’Shar moves to place the cog into the vault, when a fire warrior from the Orca stops him.

“High Command ordered us to wait for the full landing party before attempting to open the vault. We are to hold the area until then.”

Aun’Shar looks at his beleaguered men and considers what they have already been through. Hold the area? For how long? a landing party could take days to prep. There’s an entire planet of enemies who would love to see the contents of this vault. The Votaan would find it to be the perfect revenge, the Imperium would covet anything that would grant them power, and the Tau have only seen the scouts of the Necrons march. Another gamble, with unlimited risk and unknown reward, but the ethereal has already made his bet.

“As a member of the Ethereal Council my orders supercede High Command. Stand aside, Shas’saal.”

The cadet sheepishly steps back. Aun’Shar glances at the Orca. D’tano is already guiding a squad of battlesuits out, shouting orders about being combat ready within the hour, as if he somehow had a premonition that his leader intended to jump right into the fire once again, and he would have to dive in after him.

Aun’Shar smiles at the thought, then frowns as he watches a fire warrior pull Kas’Mis’ corpse out of his ghostkeel and crawl into the cockpit, checking its systems. His actions have consequences, and he fully intends to pay for all of them, but right now he’s the only one who has the power to change the fate of Maynos. The Ethereal steps off his hover drone and kneels at the door to the vault, pushes the cog into place and watches as the door twists and turns, rings squealing and clanging into place.

THE MAYNOS GAMBIT | 2

The remains of the department of records hold little of value. Aun’Shar begins to search the rubble in hopes the key may still be buried within. Pebbles nearby begin to vibrate, floating off the ground as static electricity crackles in the air. Suddenly six pillars of light beam down from the clouds, then quickly dissipate to reveal smoking armored figures standing where there once was nothing. The Imperium of Mankind has made planetfall.

1. The Terminators need no time to shake off the Teleportarium sickness, upon seeing the Tau, the heavily armored unit moves uncharacteristically fast, rushing Kas’Mis ghostkeel. Aun’Shar finds a brass cog in the rubble, seemingly innocuous except for a serial number carved into the face, it’s the key! He takes it and orders a retreat, but it’s already too late, the Terminators have crippled the ghostkeel and turn towards the shouting Ethereal.

2. D’tano orders a firing line be made to cover the Ethereals retreat. Though the hail of pulse fire manages to pierce the armor of a few Terminators, three of them seem unfazed as they plunge into the torrent.

3. The Terminators approach whats left of the defensive line, each fire warrior prepares to give all they have for the greater good.

4. As the Terminator captain shreds through the armor and flesh of a fire warrior with his chainsword, the Sha’sui of the strike team gets a transmission on his helmet comms, the ethereal and retinue has safely gotten away. He relaxes, turns towards his remaining soldier and nods. Drawing his ritual blade, he rushes the captain, dodging a slash as the revving chainsword roars over him. He thrusts the sword with all his might, hoping to find purchase between two joins of the Captain’s armor. Blood drips down the hilt of the blade, “it bleeds!” Thinks the Shas’ui as a shadow of a hand glides over him. Suddenly his vision goes black as a power fist grips his head, compacting his helmet with a *crack* as his skull shatters, letting his body limply crumple to the ground. The final soldier had charged behind his Shas’ui but now found himself lifted a foot off the ground as the Terminator captain grips his neck. Gurgling under the pressure, he fumbles at his belt, finding a smooth round disc. Pressing the button at the center of the disc, he holds it out in front of the Terminators’ expressionless helmet, gasping for a breath that can’t reach further than the fingers at his throat.

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The Terminator captain throws his helmet into the rubble, blinking furiously as his vision slowly returns to him. The fire warriors’ photon grenade was an insult to the glorious slaughter he and his brothers had preformed. Brother Jeremiah lays his power fist on his captains shoulder, shards of metal mixed with blood and brain still drip off of his fingers as he shakes the captain to attention.

“Lord Balthasar, the Xenos leader left no trail, and there is not a living breath among the rabble that remains”

The features of Jeremiah’s helmet begin to form in Balthasars vision. His prey has escaped, he frowns.

“Those xenos insult us with dishonor, we will continue with our purge of the city, soon all on this planet will be brought to heel. For the emperor.”

THE MAYNOS GAMBIT

The ethereal Aun’Shar makes planetfall on Maynos to negotiate an arms trade with the League of Votaan. The meeting was to take place at the ruins of the Armillarum. A dilapidated observatory containing a still functioning map of the entire planet. Negotiations… were short.

1. Upon arriving at the Armillarum, nothing but dust and wind greeted Aun’Shar’s escort. Something was amiss, cloaking devices hissing awake, Stealth team Obscurus took point, but as soon as they approached the Sphere, war cries echoed through ruins, as if the ghosts of long dead Maynosi manifested in protest of their trespass.

2. Screaming of ancient battles and unpaid debts, dwarves explode from the ruins. Three hover bikes rush the Tau patrol, Shas’nel Kas’Mi engages his targeting system and his cyclic ion raker flashes plasma across the field, sending 2 bikes rolling into balls of flame. Before they can react, Fireblade D’tano hears the whistle of a mortar, and his strike team desperately scrambles to a dilapidated wall while the terrain explodes around them.

3. A team of berserkers spit insults towards Kas’Mi’s ghostkeel, breaking into a full sprint. Kas’Mi doesn’t notice the quickly encroaching danger as he vaporizes the last bike, leaving only a scorch mark in the sand. Aun’Shar rallies his team and orders volley fire on the rampaging dwarves, but every shot that pierces their skin seems to only enrage them further. It wasn’t until the holes left by the pulse rifles were large enough to separate their legs from their bodies that they started to fall.

4. Only one berserker reached the ghostkeel, the snap of his bones could be heard from across the battlefield as his power fists propelled what was left of his arms into the Ghostkeel’s leg. Kas’Mi noticed the sudden balance shift on his instruments, turned and corrected the balancing error, by crushing the berserker beneath the battlesuits’ hoof. The Leagues’ firing line then fell promptly to the combined fire of Aun’Shar’s patrol. The perfect Kauyon lure.

Why would the Votaan breach their trade contract with the Empire? Why were they screaming of prophecies and history in lieu of their usual war hymns? The answers to these questions died as the last dwarf’s face smacked into the the slurry of blood, sand and leaked plasma coolant that pooled beneath their remains.

THE PROTECTORS OF AUN’SHAR

While still a member of the ethereal council, Aun’Shar is known to take his personal retinue to planets in an attempt to take direct action before the Empire can issue an official fleet movement. Every member of his honor guard is fiercely loyal, regularly putting themselves in the line of fire for Aun’Shar, who they consider the true arm of the greater good.

1. Aun’Shar atop an experimental DS13 stealth field drone, which renders him invisible on the battle field and causes his surroundings to look like a shimmering mirage from a distance. Aun’Shar is rarely seen without his chestplate, equipped with a sensor vane to broadcast his biometric data to his cadre. Should his vitals flatline, the vane with send a single data pulse that can span whole systems, alerting the Empire one of their leaders has fallen, and their remains need an immediate retrieval.

2. Shas’nel Kas’mi pilots the largest suit in the retinue, an XV95 Ghostkeel. The Ghostkeel comes equipped with an AI Electrowarfare suite and holophoton countermeasures, both used to scramble enemy sensors to mask their position, while pinging fake signals in other locations, keeping the bulk of ground forces away from the cadre.

3. Stealth team Obscuro acts as the pathfinders of the force, using their heavy armor and cloaking devices to ensure the path ahead is secure before radioing the all clear signal.

4. Even with the bulk of enemy forces being lead away from Aun’Shar, the occasional patrol will still stumble upon his men. The steadfast strike team is there to engage in a defensive line. With the range of their pulse rifles and their portable turrets and barricades, these riflemen can construct a battlefield command center within minutes.

5. Unfortunately because they are designated as an honor guard and not expected to face frontline combat, not all of the Protectors are given a full suit of armor. These more lightly armored troopers favor the closer range of the pulse carbine, hoping their lighter load grants them the speed to close in on their foes.

6. Shas’nel D’tano is the marshal of the cadre and has the final say on all wartime decisions. Bearing the honor blade to remind the cadre of the Ta’lissera (bonding knife ritual) they all participated in when forming the unit, he does not take losses in his team lightly. While not the usual post for a Cadre Fireblade, Aun’Shar had personally requested he lead his honor guard after D’tano saved his life from an assasination attempt in the middle of negotiating a ceasefire with the Skittari. The battle with the Skittari lasted for months after that, during that time the two became close friends.

The Confederacy of Independent Systems marches on Crait.