Only War: Against the Savages

[UncleWolf]

The Hole

Parrish slides the lascutters back into the pile, keen on losing the damned things even as he picks up the data-slate and turns it on so he can fiddle with it as he listens to the inane banter. Anyone paying attention will see his puzzled look slowly fall from his face and turn into one of both worry and determination. "Sorry lads, but the game is over." He says with a growl at himself even as he pulls a few Thrones out of his pocket and sets them on the table. "Keep the lascutters, have a round on me and get to the chapel so you can pray that this doesn't get traced back to you." He says, holding up the dataslate. "Now where in The Warp did you get this blasted piece of equipment?" He asks, looking right at Kip. "I won't mention I got it from you, but I need to know."

[Murska]

Motor Pool

"I am glad to hear it, sir. You do good work."

Time to head out, then. Who knows when the next fight is going to be, and finding their barracks, leaving the unnecessary gear and taking care of personal equipment are still on the list before food, rest or relaxation.

[Gullara]

[The Hole]

Wintre chuckles. "No, not a pirate. Or a ganger for that matter. I've never cheated at cards before either, if that makes you feel better." She smiles a bit at the banter, enjoying the rare experience for her. The fun's over in no time though. She looks between Kip and Parrish uncertain what is happening.

[Darkcomet]

[Administrative Offices]

It is one thing to hear of the horror wreaked by the alien, the heretic, and the mutant.

Even for one who experienced it early in life, seeing it on this scale was another thing entirely. That made it worse, really. The paradox of a Commissar is that, buried in their pasts, there is always that same moment of loss that makes them all too capable of understanding what it means for others in situations like this, to fight on when nothing is left of their lives but to fight for the Emperor, and perhaps take vengeance on their families' and friends' killers.

A Commissar lives their early life with faith and purpose drilled into them, transforming them from broken war orphans to unyielding instruments of the Emperor's will, ready to lead and put down anyone who would get in their way, whether xenos filth or simply a cowardly Guardsman spurring others to abandon their posts. The survivors and PDF on Skrynne, though, they haven't had that kind of training and indoctrination, and that was the ultimate difference between them and someone like Victrix or Adamcik. The wounds were still relatively fresh, and they were never taught to deal with it in the same way.

The agents of the Commissariat don't have the same reaction, as a rule, but every one can remember what it was like, all those years ago. Every one that actually cares about such things at all, and hasn't had a memory wipe or something, anyway. They cannot share the pain of the loss itself, but they can remember their own all too well, see it reflected in every face, and have to make them fight on anyway when they have nothing material left to fight for. Even for one who doesn't feel the losses here so personally, dealing with so many who did under such bleak conditions could crush them with the stress and any sympathy they had left in them. It was part of what made the Astartes so potent, really, being so separated from the rest of humanity that such things are a non-concern to most of them. Even many Commissars couldn't match that, and though it might be considered a flaw by the Progenium, a lot wouldn't want to, to preserve what humanity they have left.

Sometimes, it was easy to see why it might be easier if they could.

"I can see that," she finally says, after a pause. Frankly, compared to her own experience, this probably made the Cadet here the more seasoned of the two. "Have you gotten any updates on the orbital situation since we arrived?" she asks, focusing on the strategic considerations for now. Sometimes it was easier to simply focus on the task at hand rather than look at all the blood.

[Lord Magtok]

Chapel

"Mmm," Mariya answers with a nod. Huh. The girl doesn't talk much, does she?

"I have to go speak with my sergeant," she says, rising and moving towards the door. Prayer is important, but now she's got things to do, people to see, war to wage. Things need to be done, and she should be involved in getting them done.

[blackouttwo]

[Administrative Offices]
_______________________________________________
"The greenskins appear to be willing to stand their ground." Adamcik slides a dataslate over to Victrix, containing some minor tactical updates of the situation in orbit. A lot of Naval diagrams and terminology thrown around in the picts and text on it, but they spell out the picture well enough. "Gibraltar's been wearing them down bit by bit for months in preparation for this offensive. He was willing to commit two capital ships to the liberation effort here. More than he's ever done in the past. Between that, the Navy showing up with a squadron of destroyers and frigates, and the strikecraft contingents on the troop carrier, we're looking at a clear orbit over Skrynne for the first time in ten years."

The ships involved in the fighting are a single Ork capital ship, Kill Kroozer-class, and four Ork frigate equivalents. With those kinds of numbers, the Navy will win hands-down with Gibraltar's light cruisers providing support. It's only a matter of time before the Orks are forced out of orbit entirely.

There's a knock at the door, and Adamcik immediately looks up. If Victrix looks, she'll see a Skrynne PDF trooper in his hide armor, standing at attention and looking dead on his feet. "Commissars, I'm sorry to interrupt, but Captain Fai requests Commissar Victrix's presence for a mission briefing."

"Briefing? What briefing?" Adamcik is more than a little puzzled at this.

The PDF trooper just...hesitantly shrugs. "Wouldn't know, Commissar. He just said it was urgent. He's been in a meeting with the Anto Lieutenant. Briefing room five, down in the basement."

[The Hole]
_______________________________________________
The Brontians fall silent at Parrish asking about the dataslate. The Sergeant and Germs look to Kip, who just shrugs. "Bought it off one of the PDF troopers for some rotgut booze back before our rotation outta 14-B a month ago. Said he found it out in the jungle somewhere. He was one of those First Response types. The PDF commandos. Said he couldn't crack the encryption on some of the files in it, and I needed a new dataslate anyways. I didn't look at anything in there. Just used it like I was s'posed to. No harm done."

The Sergeant just pinches the bridge of his nose and grunts in annoyance. "Kip. Where in the hell did you get rotgut?"

Kip's expression doesn't change as he looks to his sergeant. "What rotgut?"

"You just-"

"I didn't say anything about rotgut."

"Yes you-"

"You need to clean out your ears, Sarge."

There's a light slap as Germs brings his hand up to meet his face, shaking his head in silence.

Kip turns to look back at Parrish before his squad leader can keep talking. "So, what's with that thing? Always thought something was funny about some of those encrypted files but all that data-warden stuff was never my strong point when it came to tech. I just set 'em off to the side." He pauses and glances up as a shadow is cast over the table.

That's when Parrish is tapped on the shoulder. Turning around, Parrish will see a Skrynne PDF trooper in local hide armor, clumsily remembering to stand at attention as he remembers his rank. "Sergeant Parrish, I was sent by your Lieutenant to come and find you about a mission briefing. You're to report to the administrative center immediately along with Commissar Victrix. Basement level, briefing room five. She says it's urgent."

[Chapel]
_______________________________________________
"He is likely in that wretched Hole." The priest sounds about ready to spit on the ground at the very mention of the bar. "The soldiers left on this world are sinners one and all, but they are the Emperor's scum. That is more than can be said for many in His realm. You watch yourself, Anto." The priest takes the large prayer book off the podium as he prepares to leave the chapel himself. "Services are tomorrow at 0600 hours, right before the sentry shift change. Bring your squad. They might yet be saved."

(Unlikely, knowing this bunch.)

[Motor Pool]
_______________________________________________
As the techpriest turns away to oversee the task of repairing the Sentinel, Lucretia leads Gramont in the direction the rest of the platoon was going. It's relatively quick and easy to get any gear stowed before they go to relax. They get to the Hole right when Parrish is being approached by the PDF trooper. She mutters to Gramont. "'Urgent.' Never a good sign." A few missions with the PDF's elite back on Anter were 'urgent', at least with the units Lucretia ended up serving with. They rarely went well, from what Gramont and the rest of the squad had been able to gather. And on a death world under siege by Orks, with unfamiliar terrain, that's likely to get a lot worse.

[Murska]

The Hole

"Yeah. Generally means "poorly planned". We should see if we can't find the squad."

He walks into the room, approaching the table with Parrish and Wintre. A smooth smile appears on his face, as he gives a relaxed wave to the soldiers present. "Hola! We got our things stowed, I see y'all have already gotten started. Nice to see you in the middle of things for once... Wintre." The short pause before saying her name is almost unnoticeable. "So what's up?"

[UncleWolf]

The Hole => Meeting

Parrish frowns when he hears where he's to head to and just gives a nod as he stands and pockets the lighter and dataslate he's won. "Maybe I'll get a chance to tell you guys later." He says to Kip and his friends, nodding slightly towards the PDF trooper. He obviously didn't want a big crowd. The fancy knife goes onto his belt, but the psyker will see the shotgun and shells slid towards her. "Yours." He says before glancing up at Gramont. The Multitool is shoved into the Operator's arms as the pair of frag grenades finds themselves in Parrish's pockets as well. "And that is yours. See to it that the pistol is given to Goz. I'll give Mariya her cut when I see her." The Sergeant says as he heads out.

If he sees Mariya on the way to the meeting, he'll shove the two frag grenades into her hands before heading on without saying a word. He certainly didn't look pleased.

[Gullara]

[The Hole]

"Something urgent." Wintre says by way of explanation as Parrish departs, gesturing in his direction. "We were just enjoying a game. Or at least, the sergeant won us a few things. I hadn't gotten a chance to play yet. I get the feeling there's not going to be much more time for that now." She looks toward the doors that Parrish left through.

[happyturtle]

Around midnight, Goz puts both hands on his lower back and stretches. He'd been sitting at the chymistry bench too long. At least he has some good work to show for it.

He scoops up his hold-all from the corner where he'd stashed it and makes his way out of the Medicium. He doesn't know where his quarters are yet, but he's sure someone can direct him that way.

"Emperor bless, Morganna," he whispers as he walks past her cot.

[Murska]

The Hole

"Maybe. Or maybe not. No use worrying before we even got anything." Gramont dangles the multitool with two fingers for a moment, peering it over. "Huh. I get it. It's because I'm the pilot. Very funny."

He takes the seat Parrish left. "Well, I just got off talking to techpriests. I think they're pleased we're here, and hopefully my Sentinel will be ok next time we head out. But you never really know with them. You should've seen his face when I shook his hand."

Glancing at the others around the table, Gramont leans back. "From what I've gathered, things've been rough here. But now that reinforcements are arriving, we'll get to go on the offensive, clear the greenskins out. So, I'm Jeremiah Gramont, Sentinel pilot from 316th Anto Assault Recon. The beautiful lady here is my crew chief, Lucretia van Waals. Please don't be rude, I'm hoping my headache tomorrow will be alcohol-induced. Nice to meet you all."

[Lord Magtok]

Outside the Hole

"Sergeant, the priest said-" Mariya starts, only to find a pair of grenades in her arms. Oh! Is it Emperor's Day already? Well never mind whatever she was going to say, now she has a pair of fragmentation darlings to hide. Such a lovely ceramic casing, where did he ever get these, and why bless her with them? Things to consider while she's hurrying away, zipping back to her quarters to find a secure storage space where the Commissar won't go sniffing about.

[Darkcomet]

[Administrative Offices]

"Well, at least we won't be dealing with bombardment..."

Then that happens.

"I never heard anything about this either. But if duty calls, duty calls. We'll speak again soon, I'm sure," she says, mentally noting that the Cadet-Commissar here has probably had far more experience here than needed for promotion, though she'd need to watch him to make sure he's still all there in the head before sending that recommendation forward, before leaving and heading off to the basement.

[blackouttwo]

[The Hole]
_______________________________________________
Lucretia just calls over from the other side of the tent to the bar. "Barkeep! Drinks! I'll pay!"

Kip, Germs, and Sarge start to gather the cards, dealing a hand to anyone sitting at the table who might be interested in the game as they set more gear down for the opening buy-in. Sarge rolls a grenade onto the table. "'Nother frag grenade." Kip slides a charge pack across the table to the center. "Hot-shot charge pack." Germs just glances at Wintre again, and then groans and digs into his combat webbing, sliding a pair of magazines onto the table. "Two box-mags for a combat shotgun."

Germs is keeping a very close eye on the psyker.

[Administrative Offices - Briefing Room Five]
_______________________________________________
The briefing room that awaits Commissar Victrix and Sergeant Parrish is fairly spartan. One wooden table, rickety and propped up with spare copies of the Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer where one missing leg would ordinarily be, rests in a small bunker-like room, covered in maps, dataslates, and small figurines showing the disposition and location of Imperial Guard forces, and known Ork concentrations and outposts out in the jungles along the Kerak Front.

Standing over this table are Lieutenant Bennaio, along with two men, one of them with the bearing and uniform of a mid-ranking Skrynne PDF officer, the other unmistakably a common PDF trooper judging from the local skin tone, but without the characteristic hide armor you've seen on the other Skrynne troopers at Fort 17-B. Instead of hide armor, he's wearing a flak vest and standard flak helmet. Not a full suit of armor, but still much more protective than the primitive hide all of the other Skrynne troopers have been wearing.

The vest and helmet were almost certainly imported from offworld at some point, possibly by the Gibraltar trade flotilla, but they lack any discernible markings beyond being the same color as the hide armor worn by the rest of the PDF. "Commissar Victrix, Sergeant Parrish, nice to see you on short notice." She stands aside as the Skrynne officer steps forward to introduce himself.

"Captain Mortimer Thruel, Skrynne PDF. This is Corporal Jerai, from First Response, one of my finest men." Thruel nods to the Skrynne trooper standing at attention off to the side with a stance and discipline that can only be described as unusual for a death-worlder. In a stranger vein, Thruel's accent sounds...higher-class than the majority of the troopers you've overheard in your brief time at the fort. Possibly the Skrynne equivalent to nobility. Again, unusual for a death-worlder.

Thruel extends a hand to shake both Parrish and Victrix's before motioning for the two of them to join himself, Bennaio, and Jerai. "Mr. Parrish, I've been told you're the finest squad leader in Lieutenant Bennaio's platoon. Your display against the Orks earlier was something my own sentries noticed from the walls of the fort, and you did not disappoint."

Bennaio's expression promptly shifts to a very neutral one. Carefully hidden displeasure is writ across her face behind Thruel's back, like there's a point of wounded pride somewhere. The Lieutenant turns to point at specific portions of the map. The map is divided between several blocks of color representing territory held along the Kerak Front - Dark green for Ork-held territory, and then anything south of the Kerak Front in lighter green.

There are small patches and blotches of red, indicating contested territory, but these are far and few between, and several spots are marked on the map that look like fortified Imperial outposts in Ork-held territory. Some of them are clearly holding. Others are marked 'unknown status.'

"You and your squad are being sent on a detached assignment into the jungle. Now that the Guard have arrived and are making planetfall in force, we're launching counteroffensives all along the Kerak Front. We've been planning and scouting out potential targets for months in preparation for it. Something to bloody the Orks' noses now that help's arrived. Now that you're here, we can proceed without further delay, and I want you to handle what we believe to be one of the hardest targets along the Front." Thruel points at one such position marked as Ork-controlled on the map, roughly 250km into enemy territory to the northwest of the fort's position on the map. Two weeks' travel on foot, one-way, past numerous other facilities and outposts either unconfirmed, or held by the Orks.

"This promethium refinery was one of the last major installations to fall to the Orks until we solidified and consolidated our positions along the Kerak Front. Your mission is simple: Ascertain the status of the refinery and its machinery to determine whether or not it'll still be useful, either retake or destroy it to deny it to the Orks, and then vox in to confirm mission success or call for support to hold it once you've taken it. It'll be a long trek on foot, so I've assigned Corporal Jerai from First Response to be a guide through the jungle for your squad. You'll have full squad command for the mission, Sergeant. All tactical considerations will be yours. I trust you'll serve as well as you did earlier at your crash site."

"Questions before I continue?" The Captain looks expectant, but clearly has a high opinion of both Parrish and Victrix, his eyes flicking back and forth between the two. Bennaio's expression hasn't changed, and Corporal Jerai remains silent, his lips pressed together into a thin line. Whatever the Corporal's thinking, he's not saying a word.

[Barracks]
_______________________________________________
Mariya and Goz both arrive at the barracks at the same time as they head back from their respective activities.

That's when both can hear Ric cry out in surprise as sounds of a scuffle out back of the barracks can be heard. "Hey!" Aliya's voice can be heard as well. "Oi, get off 'em!"

"Took your ****ing time, offworlders! What, you thought you could just waltz in and be the big heroes?! We've been bleeding for ten years! WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?!" Each accusation is punctuated by what's unmistakably a series of blows being landed on some unfortunate Guardsman. (Probably Ric.)

[happyturtle]

Quarters

Ngozi exchanges looks with Mariya, then changes his path to head behind the barracks. He drops his hold-all and claps his hands a few times for attention.

"Where... were.... we? I have to divulge - Anter is just the rich sort of world that every pers hates. Teeming with nobility that every pers hates even moreso. So what do you envisage occurs every Imperial tithe?" He looks around, trying to make sure everyone's attention is on him. "Every and all sort of bribe, blackmail, and favor calling to try and get names pulled off the list. Mater desires me to marry some powdered debutante, so yes, she tries to pull me off. And when all sort of rumours are heard that we would be Warping to a Deathworld? The bribe costs went up. Way up. More than Mater could afford. So I beg her to sell the Forebon estate. Please Mater. I know death. I'm a medic. I don't want to die." This wasn't what Ngozi really did, though it all happened, to soldiers all over Anter, during the Tithe. He tries now to catch Ric's eye, because what follows is pure bull****. "When Ric hear what I ask of Mater, he spit on me. And he remind me of the oaths we swear as Medics and as Soldiers. He tell me to be here is the Omnissiah's will. And so we are here. I am shamed so endlessly that I volunteer to be on the earliest embarkation, with my brave friend Ric, whose loyalty has never wavered."

Goz cocks a wry grin. "Ten years late, but that's the ****ing Navy for you."

[Lord Magtok]

Quarters

"Took your ****ing time, offworlders! What, you thought you could just waltz in and be the big heroes?! We've been bleeding for ten years! WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?!"

"Want to bleed for ten more, keep punching him," Mariya quietly warns the hideous lowborn rabble, in a voice that can scarcely be heard over the chaos. She brushes past her clueless medic who foolishly seems to believe civil discussion and diplomacy can solve problems, and produces her standard infantry knife from Throne only knows where she was hiding it, turning it in her fingers until it's in the optimal thrusting-into-the-gut-of-any-furhead-that-steps-to-her position.

This totally won't exacerbate the situation at all.

[Gullara]

[The Hole]

"Um, I'll put in a charge pack?" Wintre says as she finds one and slides it into place. Maybe this wasn't the best idea, as she doesn't consider herself any good at this game, but she surely doesn't want to just back out either. Besides, what's just one charge pack? Germs can watch her all he wants. He won't find anything but a woman getting increasingly uncomfortable with the eyeballing.

[Darkcomet]

[Briefing Room Five]

Victrix eyes the improvised table leg with quiet disapproval before the actual briefing begins. That is definitely not adherent to Munitorium regulations. But there are more important things than that here, and judging by the general condition of the place, they had to use something from it.

Through the briefing, she keeps an eye on the Lieutenant. She'd already had to get her to 'adjust' her orders once, and it wasn't unheard of for officers with too much pride and thirst for personal glory to try to get rid of anyone who gets in their way or dares to make them look bad...especially when those officers are nobles.

"I'm sure the Lieutenant's recommendation for us must've been positively glowing," she deadpans, letting Bennaio know she sees what she's up to. Or what she suspects she's up to, at any rate. That done, she narrows her eyes at the map. "Those outposts...have you had any contact with them? Can we expect any additional support from them if they've held?"

[UncleWolf]

Briefing Room Five

"What we did was nothing spectacular." The Sergeant says as he looks over the plan. "We simply survived. That is all." He says, trying to brush it off. Damnation. We got too much attention. If we survive this suicide mission we'll have to keep it in mind next time. He thinks, chastising himself for doing too well. Now they had a two hundred and fifty kilometer trek ahead of them. At the end he frowns a little before pulling out the dataslate he's won. "A promethium refinery." He repeats, browsing through the files within the dataslate. "I do have one question Sir. What happened to a...Sergeant Slayder and the reporter that they were escorting to the very same promethium refinery?" The Sergeant asks with a frown, holding up a picture on the dataslate showing stormtroopers burning ork bodies while one looks directly at the pict-recorder used to take the image. "This happened just within the past month and a half or so. Is there a third party waiting for us or interfering?" As he asks the question, he activates the audio-log for it. He hasn't listened to it yet, but it might have a little surprise for them all.

Besides, if something went awry, the Commissar and Lieutenant were there to back him up if these guys decided to just try and knock them off.

[Murska]

The Hole

"Ehh, what the hell." Gramont tosses the multitool on the table after peering at it for a while. "Don't need another one. This is worse than mine anyway."

[blackouttwo]

[The Hole]
_______________________________________________
The game proceeds without much incident. Kip and Germs fold fairly quickly, and the Sergeant rolls his eyes and folds when it becomes apparent the psyker has a pretty good hand. Gramont manages to break even, getting the damn multitool back when he didn't want it.

"Toldja. Psykers cheat." Germs mutters with his arms crossed.

"Now, now, Germs. There's no way to prove she cheated."

"She's a psyker. Come on!" Germs looks at the Sergeant incredulously.

"And?" Kip gives Germs a look. "Come on, Germs, this isn't the training grounds anymore."

"I know! This is me talking after every game with a psyker ending in a psyker cheating, for years."

"I don't think she's cheating, mate." Sarge lights up a lho-stick.

"Feh. I'm done for the night anyways." Germs sets a bottle of cheap booze on the table from his rucksack, and slides it over to the psyker. "No hard feelings, eh? I'm going to bed. Enjoy the drink, mates." He rises and turns to head out of the Hole, followed by Kip, and shortly afterwards, the Sarge as well.

[Administrative Offices - Briefing Room Five]
_______________________________________________
Thruel and Bennaio both look thoroughly confused at this question as the audio log plays on the dataslate.

The man recording the audio-log on the dataslate is whispering, and sounds out of breath as jungle foliage is either pushed aside or hacked away by a large knife of some kind.

Spoiler: Recording

Show

"Adept Alaric, Day 28 of my investigation into the death of Solomon Martz, and his relation to the missing truckload of supplies."

"Sergeant Slayder upheld his end of the bargain. I'm with him and his squad into the field to investigate the group of commandos in the unmarked armor. It's along Slayder's patrol route into the jungle, so we're not expecting much deviation from his actual mission. Nothing worth reporting anyways."

"We've had a few run-ins with terror cats and Orks in the jungles already. I'm taking the time to record this log in case something happens. Death worlds are dangerous, after all, and I can't be too careful."

"Days like these, I feel I should've stayed on Landunder instead of recording and calculating Imperial tithes that aren't leaving Skrynne anytime soon. This posting was always going to be a complete disaster. Dead end for my career, at least."

"I will record additional information as I come across it, but hopefully I'll get some conclusive answers for all of this. With any luck it's just a big mistake. End of log."

The basement briefing room falls silent for a minute, Thruel simply raising an eyebrow.

"We've had no reporters here. Skrynne's far too dangerous for civilians these days. Especially for offworlders, except maybe Administratum clerks who got stuck here when the invasion hit. Let me see that dataslate, Sergeant, if you please." If Parrish is willing to hand it over, Thruel scrolls through several more images on it, his brow furrowed in unmistakable confusion. "This is...unusual. The western continent's had substantial promethium deposits for a long time. It was one of our major industries before the invasion. There's more than a few refineries and old forts out there in the jungle, and we want to retake as many as possible. I don't think his logs refer to the one we're sending you to, but it's definitely out in that general direction. Look."

One of the images on the dataslate is a data-image of the Kerak Front, dated two months ago, with a specific point in the jungle marked with a red dot. He holds it up to compare it to the map on the table. The refinery in the dataslate logs is another 50 or so kilometers northeast of the squad's actual objective.

"Most peculiar." Thruel mutters a bit as he scratches at his mustache before looking to Parrish and Lieutenant Bennaio. "Lieutenant Bennaio, would you be against sending Sergeant Parrish's team to investigate this other refinery for evidence of anything unusual regarding these unmarked Stormtroopers?"

Bennaio visibly hesitates before speaking. "That seems outside of the intended mission parameters, Captain. But, since Sergeant Parrish is heading that way, it may be prudent to investigate while his squad is out there in the jungle."

Thruel nods in agreement. "Agreed. Sergeant, if you feel inclined to do so, you have my full permission to deviate from your primary objective and investigate this other refinery for anything unusual or damaging to the planned counter-offensive. Consider it a tertiary objective. The refinery you're meant to deny to the Orks remains your top priority, so no heroics. Just...poke around and see what's going on, if you see fit." He hands the dataslate back to Parrish without further inspection. "If you find any evidence of Adept Alaric or this 'Sergeant Slayder', let us know. Slayder was never assigned here to Fort 17-B, so I don't know the man, but the name doesn't sound like a Skrynner or Brontian one. Probably one of Gibraltar's mercenaries from offworld."

Bennaio looks down at the map again, before looking back to Commissar Victrix. "Distractions and missing adepts aside, Commissar, none of these outposts can be counted on for support. Any that we've had contact with are cut off from us and being hit too hard to reliably divert assistance, and the majority have dropped out of contact already. If you draw near any of these silent outposts, assume that the Orks have taken them. Most of these are refineries of varying sizes, so we're deploying the rest of the platoon to investigate and retake some of them because of their strategic value. If we hit them all at once as a prelude to the counter-offensive, we intend to throw the Orks off-balance and drive the horde into disarray."

If it weren't for the size of the force in question being deployed against the Orks, it'd almost be a sound plan.

Almost.

"Here is a requisition form for the Quartermaster, for some necessary equipment you may need for the mission." Bennaio slides a folded Departmento Munitorum form over to Sergeant Parrish.

"Further questions?"

Spoiler: SKRYNNE CAMPAIGN, MISSION 1: AGAINST THE SAVAGES

Show

Primary Objective: Investigate the status of the refinery and clear out any hostile forces from the area.
Primary Objective: Hold the refinery until Imperial support arrives.
Secondary Objective: If the refinery's machinery has been rendered useless to humans by the Orks, destroy the refinery.
Secondary Objective: If the refinery cannot be held against an enemy counterattack, destroy the refinery.
Tertiary Objective: Investigate the refinery where Adept Alaric and Sergeant Slayder's men disappeared. Avoid enemy contact if possible, but confirm the identity of the refinery's occupants, if any.

Mission-Issue Equipment:
1 long-range vox-caster for the squad
1 week's additional field rations per squad member
6 demolition charges for the squad
1 missile launcher with 6 krak missiles for the squad
2 additional frag grenades per squad member

[Barracks]
_______________________________________________
Behind the barracks are Ric and Aliya, wrestling in a scuffle with a pair of Skrynne PDF troopers in hide armor. No weapons have been drawn.

Until Mariya draws that knife of hers.

They pause at the sight of it. Monomolecular, they can tell.

They slowly back off, rattled that someone would go this far. The dirty death-worlders turn tail and run before the situation gets any worse, leaving Ric coughing slightly as he clutches his stomach. No stab wounds or blood, so he's probably catching his breath after having the wind knocked out of him. Aliya slowly helps him to his feet, nice and easy.

The Skrynners are out of sight within seconds. Seems Mariya's bit with the knife did its job.

[Murska]

The Hole

"Well, I guess we should head out too before urgent business catches up."

Jeremy stands up, stepping to the side of the Psyker while grabbing the bottle from in front of him to slide in a pocket. He leans in with a conspiratorial grin and whispers:

"Out of curiosity, did you cheat?"

[Darkcomet]

[Briefing Room Five]

Victrix shoots Parrish a brief look that says 'we're talking about this later,' but does not comment on the strange distraction immediately, listening as the others respond.. She has other things to consider anyway, like this whole plan that's been put together. It is not, inherently, bad, but sending single squads out to take and hold these facilities against the orks is a risky maneuver, to say the least. Had they more troops available, it would practically be a masterstroke, but as it stands, it is a gamble.

Though at least they had some heavier armor and firepower than others would. Perhaps it might even help.

"I'm not sure we'll have the ability to investigate that-this plan is spreading our forces thin and if it looks risky we should stay back and focus on the primary objective."

[happyturtle]

Barracks

Goz stares icily at Mariya. "Put that away before there's a blue on blue incident." Then he goes to check on Ric.

[Gullara]

[The Hole]

"Uh, thanks." Wintre takes the drink and stands along with Jeremy. She chuckles a little. "No, but it's pretty easy to manipulate someone when they're absolutely sure you are." She says with a subdued pride.

[Murska]

The Hole

Jeremy just laughs, a short cackling sound. "That's a good one. I'll keep that in mind."

"Well, let's head on down, see if we can't spot Goz. I know he's crazy, but even he oughta have left the medbay by now."

He swirls around with a flourish, bringing his arm on Lucretia's shoulders. His other hand, about to do the same to Wintre, slows down as he glances at her, and after a short moment of hesitation he just gingerly places his fingers on her shoulder, aiming to steer them out of the bar.

[UncleWolf]

Parrish frowns at the lack of reaction over the message but stands to and salutes after he is given the requisition forms. The lieutenant and commissar probably know him well enough to know he is displeased with this entire situation, but no one in their right mind would ever want to be sent out like this. "No questions, sir. Once my squad has rested and is re-equipped, we'll be out of here as soon as possible. If we get a chance to explore the other refinery, we'll do so." He says, sounding far more formal than he usually does. "If at all possible though, Sir, I would like the dataslate back. It might offer some more insight into what was going on. I can turn it over to the Lieutenant before I depart as evidence though in case something happens."

[Lord Magtok]

Barracks

"You're welcome," Mariya answers the doc in a huffy tone, tucking her little flashy, clashy stab-and-slashy away as she does so. There's just no satisfying some people. If one of those stupid thugs decided to break his arm after that cute little speech, he would've been crying all night about how she didn't do anything to scare the locals off instead.

[blackouttwo]

Spoiler: Summary

Show

[Barracks]
_______________________________________________
Jeremiah, Lucretia, and Wintre's trip to the Barracks is brief, and they come across Goz and Mariya helping Ric and the Aliya to their feet. The Skrynners are nowhere to be found, and most of the camp has hit the hay at this point. It's likely you're going to get a similar welcome from a lot of the other Skrynners, but for now, at least they've been scared off.

It's difficult to sleep, but somehow you manage it.

Tomorrow, it's back into the field.

[Briefing Room Five]
_______________________________________________
The briefing breaks up shortly afterwards; the dataslate is turned back over to Parrish on Thruel's orders, 'pending discussion among the officers.' In other words, Parrish gets it back, but there's no telling if that'll stick after they've had time to talk about it with other officers in the 316th and the Skrynne PDF. Squad Red 19 has its objectives: Move into Ork territory, seize the refinery in question, ascertain its status, and hold it if deemed feasible.

You are dismissed from the briefing, as Sergeant Parrish goes to secure the gear.

[Quartermaster's Bunker]

A ceramite bunker with a reinforced, double width metal hatch represents the above-ground entrance to the Quartermaster’s Bunker. Parrish's first sight upon arriving is a squad of the most heavily-armed PDF First Response troopers he's seen on base since 8th Platoon landed. They allow entry upon seeing the requisition form.

Upon entry, a hydraulic lift occupies the entirety of the bunker, with a switch that allows Parrish to descend into the depths of the Quartermaster's compound.

When the lift doors re-open, Parrish finds himself in what looks like a sprawling complex that is almost certainly larger than the remainder of the above-ground base. The hum of the air circulation system, the whir of forklifts, and the clank of servitors echo constantly through spacious underground warehouses. Several servo-skulls actively patrol the row upon row of shelves filled with spare parts, weapons, and ammunition - many of the shelves are empty, but unmistakably meant for other Guard and PDF-issue weaponry no longer in circulation or storage on the Skrynne battlefronts. Black and yellow chevrons clearly delimit this area, with automated Tarantula turrets flanking the entrance to the main storehouses traversing to track and mow down would-be, unauthorized thieves.

A small side office with an open door can be seen off to the right of the entrance. Shuffling paper can be heard in the office, and the lights are on at this time of night. Encouraging.

[UncleWolf]

Quartermaster's Bunker

"Now why the frak can't the rest of the base be this well constructed and organized?" Parrish mutters under his breath when he sees all the shelves and the turrets. He'd just about bet that if there were a large scale breach in the wall the quartermaster would force everyone to fill out the paperwork in triplicate just to get heavier guns in order to defend the breach.

On the other hand he'd probably get the Orkz to sign for the damages too.

He'll head into the office and clear his throat. "I have some requisition forms, sir." He says politely no matter the man's rank. You never mess with the man who issues you your gear. It could easily spell doom the next time around if he decided to be difficult.