Part 19: Days 17 & 18, The Demes Northlands, The Pavonian Heartland, Tyrea, Attack

Yeah, that works for me.




Lukas Alexander is attempting to take the Heartland.


Defense there took longer than usual, but considering the size of the Heartland, it's to be expected.


A small Drone force attacked the north, while Kroot, supported by Fire Warriors, went to the north-east.


It took a little while, but the Guardsmen were nothing for the Drones to shred through.


Note that the Kroot had little trouble as well.


Reports say the Kroot took down their base first. Well done!






Hmm, we didn't actually need to hold for a turn to build requisition. We had enough to fully reinforce my Honour Guard!
You have little else for a Forward Base, Shas'o. Holding for a turn would have allowed you to be better prepared.
We'll chance it, though I suspect it won't be much of a risk here.












All is prepared.
Excellent.


Exarch Rakanis, take your Warp Spiders to their positions and then return to the Aspect Shrine.
We are on our way.




You have doubts, Harlequin?


I trust in your vision, Taldeer of Ulthwé, but to stand surrounded by primitives makes me uneasy.
I understand your distaste--


--but Eldar rely on speed and stealth.


We are not made for entrenched positions.




The Orkz, however, make for excellent tools.


They will keep the supply roads closed, and keep our true enemies weak.
And if these attackers defeat the Orkz?


I do not doubt they will overcome our cat's paw, but it will cost them.


And in their weakened state, they will face the Wailing Doom itself.


The Seer Council has named the Young King.


Exarch Rakanis of the Warp Spider shrine shall sacrifice himself to awaken our most powerful warrior--


--the Avatar of Khaine!




None shall escape my wrath!




Shas'o, we have located an Eldar Forward Outpost to the east, along with one of their seers.


Aun'el has often spoken of these seers. Perhaps we can convince them of the value of the Greater Good--unless it's Taldeer, in which case she'll likely shoot us on sight.


You've made a mistake in coming here, Young Ones!
Really? You're still going to play the arrogant card? Someone kill them, please.


I'll say this for the Eldar, they attack quicker and more often than the Necron did.


They taste pretty good as well.


Oi, boyz, lookit dis! Sum of dem grey-skinz!
Da Boss Hugemungus was roight to leave Gorgutz behind. We'ze gonna have a roight proppa Waaagh! roight 'ere.


The Eldar keep teleporting in as quickly as we can cut them down!


Waaaagh!!
Waaaagh!!
Waaaagh!!


Shas'o, we've triangulated the Orkz position. They're directly north of us upon a ridge. They're blocking our supply routes--Aun'el can't send us additional Honour Guard.
Good move, Taldeer, very clever.


Oi, we should release da Squiggoth's on dem!
Not a chance, yer git! They ain't been trained yet, and I ain't 'bout ter scrape yer sorry hide offa dem Squiggoth's feet whens you get stomphed.
They've also left their comm channels open and completely unencrypted. They have a couple of untrained Squiggoths in a pen below the ridge their base is on. If we sneak in and release them, they'll certainly distract the Orkz for a while.


Nice find. For now, we're going to move on this Forward Base of the Eldar's. Let's see what Taldeer has waiting for us.


Shas'o, they're attempting to teleport in Support Turrets.


Take out the Webway Gates before they fully materialize!


Too easy.


They approach, Taldeer.
Fall back. Let them fight amongst themselves.




The Forward Base is porting away, Shas'o.




They're probably consolidating their forces. Take out any Webway Gates you see!


Hope you enjoy your new friends, Shas'o.








Shas'o, we have company and it's not the Eldar.




Aha! This is where the battle is!


Go forth, my legions, and destroy! We will do what is necessary while that fool Eliphas sits around twiddling his thumbs! We must act! Go, kill, slay, REND!!!!
Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!
For Chaos!
We shall drink their blood!


Oh. It's these guys. Well, we were going to run into them sooner or later. How Taldeer managed to get them AND the Orkz over here, I'll never know.


Move up. Clear out any remaining Eldar tech and eliminate the Chaos forces. I want this strategic point for the Tau Empire.


Eh heh heh heh. Heh heh. Ahaha. AH HA. AHAHAHAHAAAA!


That's a Cultist on the left. Weak infantry, more or less a meat shield--and that's exactly what the Chaos Forces use them as. They can be upgraded with better weapons to be more dangerous, but frankly, they only ever become a concern if they are upgraded with detection. Even worse, they can be upgraded with stealth capabilities. To the right is a Chaos Raptor. It's the knock-off Chaos version of the Space Marine Raptor. It has jetpacks, is fast, has strong morale-breaking melee, and is effective at disrupting infantry. As long as we can keep them away from the Fire Warriors, they'll never be a problem.


Chaos Space Marines proper. These ones call themselves the Word Bearers, though it sounds like this particular group isn't running with Eliphas anymore. They're pretty much just uglier Space Marines, but they can also be upgraded with stealth capabilities.


Located their base, Shas'o. It's directly west of here.


They have Predator Tanks, so be careful!


Ah, a Chaos Sorcerer leads them. Take it out and these Chaos Forces will likely fall back. They are relatively fragile, but are strong spell-casters, so we mustn't underestimate it.


They have Horror Squads too. These creatures are effective anti-vehicle units, but are relatively slow and fragile. We'll have to watch out, though, as they can deep strike right next to our vehicles.


They're too distracted and disorganized. We can hold this position, Shas'o.


In that case, we'll take the slag deposit from the Eldar. The extra Power will be useful in showing off another Drone Swarm technique.


Command to Forward Base, how goes it?
The Eldar continue to send small raiding parties to probe our defenses. They are growing in strength.


And the Orkz to the east have brought out their best ranged units: Flash Gitz!


Shas'o, alert! They've sent Wraithlords into the base!
Ah, powerful siege walkers. Wraithlords are a force to be reckoned with, especially in a group. We're going to lose that Barracks at the very least. However, now is the perfect opportunity to show off the ability of the Drone Harbinger tanks I've had built.


With a small expense to Power, a Drone Harbinger can produce a battery power Drone. When the battery runs out, the Drone ceases to function, but in the meantime it more or less has the strength, speed, and defense of a standard Drone Squad. Drone Harbingers can set up rally points, so set their rally point amidst the target you want to destroy and set their Drone production to automatic. Voila! Instant (temporary) Drone Swarm! Note: two Harbingers can create a swarm in half the time.


We're overwhelming them, Shas'o.


Yeah, that did it.


No fuss, no muss.


Alright, our base is secure. Here is how our defenses stand: on the western front I lead a small Honour Guard to stem the flow of Chaos soldiers. Two Veteran Stealthsuit teams and two Fire Warrior Bodyguard teams are escorting me.


Just south of our location is our new slag deposit, which has been converted to function as a secondary Cadre Headquarters.


Our primary base is guarded by the Vespid Eldars, Kroot Alphas, and a pair of Drone Harbingers.


On the eastern front, a contingent of Fire Warriors along with some Pathfinder scouts are holding back the Orkz. We have some choices to make: 1) shall we follow the path of Mont'ka again, or do we build a Kauyon Command Post? (Reminder: we can summon Gregory with either Command Post--all we need is to capture a Relic to bring in our favourite Knarloc). 2) Our forces are stretched thin, so we will only able to focus on one target at a time. Do we strike at the Chaos Forces in the west or the Ork Horde in the east?
There is a third, riskier, option. We leave a small detachment at either front to hold off the Orkz and the Chaos Cultists and strike directly at the Eldar, prioritizing the Relic and ending any opposition from Taldeer once and for all.
Ooo, that one does sound fun, but all final decisions shall be made by the War Council.