"He who seeks vengeance must dig two graves:
                                                                One for his enemy and
                                                                                                One for himself."
                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                      -Chinese proverb


April 2565-Inside the Sabaton System,several lightyears away from Sabaton 40-1X.

It's been an month since the Imperial visit on Sabaton,one light cruiser under the command of Commodore Ora'ska was hidden among the clouds high above the torn landscape,like most recon missions the cruiser surveyed the planet for signs of any of the several "Lost Frigates". At first the planet seemed of little interest to the Varanus as it was in an state of constant warfare at what the Imperial team first assumed was warring city states.....What they found and stated in their reports shocked the entire Imperial Court and even stirred concern towards the Emperor.

The humans upon Sabaton where indeed not battling each other but rather fought an deadly living weapon...An relic of an old war still remembered by elder Varanidae....

The Flickr.

The appearance of these cybernetic insectoids meant that one of the highly sought after "lost frigates" was indeed located somewhere on the planet,so without delay the War Council comprised of the highest ranking officials in the Imperium's military forces drafted an plan,raised several fleets,legions and finally petitioned the support of the Emperor to make the operation of the highest importance. Within hours they recieved the full support of the Imperial regent and began mobilizing for Operation "Skyfall"


With the approval of Emperor Sagess the Imperial War machine set to work in preparation for an invasion aimed on assisting the local forces and eradicating the Flickr threat....Then the Imperials will recover the lost frigate and the treasure trove of technology,artifacts* and information inside.


There was one problem however....Given the high rate of organized piracy across Imperial space,the Atrara Federation dilemma and the increase in security in response to the rising tide of fascist opinion,the Armada itself with it's current number ships was stretched thin. Without ships the Imperials could not transport the number of legions they believe would easily secure victory and because the Flickr were more then an worthy foe the Imperials had to rely on the added firepower that other nations could give.


So as the fleets orbited Sabaton the Imperial Communications Corps sent an galactic message across the northern sector of the galaxy hoping to attract support or at least expendable soldiers. The message would repeat for several cycles before being halted,it read.


"Attention listener this is an message from the Serpentum Imperium....To those seeking glory in combat,credits or the chance to make an hero out of themselves please make your way to the coordinates relayed at the end of the message....We are looking for men and women with medical and combat experience...If you have skill in aiding displaced citizens we are looking for you. Once you arrive to the location approach the military fleet and announce your voluntary assistance,they will direct you further....Thank you...Glory to Serpentum!."


The Imperials wished to maintain control of the operation under the strict leadership of the Grand Imperator himself,who also brought his famed 1st Legion promptly nicknamed the "Chra'Kumaktole" which translates to the "Claws of Death" to face the Flickr head-on. The Grand Imperator had an history with the Flickr and his strategies defeated them in numerous battlefields during the final Sigma War. But now the circumstances have changed...The Flickr where established on an world so torn it was an natural fortress.


Alongside the 5 Legions they brought another 8 full battalions of Duchy Regulars stood ready serving as the backbone of the human Imperial forces,the Duchy troops where commanded by an General Duclain who was already late for an meeting between the operation's leadership who convened on the Grand Imperator's flagship the "INS Ven'Tura" an modified Vu'ury Class Frigate with added length.


Power walking across the ship's halls carrying nothing but an notepad,pistol and an array of medals the General walked past the guarded door towards the large war room located in the middle of the ship,he quickly sat down on one of the open chairs placed in an half circle around the large holomap,several officers where already in discussion before Duclain arrived and they bowed their heads in an quick nod to acknowledge his arrival.


The officers discussed the battle plans with the Grand Imperator,the wingless cyborg would hiss in contempt as he looked down on the holomap taking in every detail of the holographic projection of the planet with various tactical data being streamed at the sides of the planet as it rotated on the map. The generals and ship captains argued on how to approach the battlefield. Normally the Carok or "Quick Strike" doctrine would easily shatter the Flickr to allow an quick beachhead but it would require an multiple orbital bombardments that would damage the already fragile planet,the fact that the Flickr had no surface constructions meant that their hives where deep underground making them hard targets for orbital strikes without risking chain reactions that could cause earthquakes...Simply enough the Imperial fleet had too much firepower for the precise strike needed. The terrain was littered with craters,trenches and mud that would complicate things for track-based vehicles and even if the Imperium deployed their hover tanks the threat of anti tank infantry hidden in the field was too great.


So the leaders agreed it would be an infantry battle at most with fire support and perhaps the aid of Tartan HIBS suits,alongside "Zodarrin forces".


The Grand Imperator was consumed in thought as he planned the invasion. He was unaware of the old foe commanding the Flickr horde,he believed the Flickr hive mind was under the control of an new queen evolved from their sudden awakening...He was so wrong,unaware that the Solsastian War AI controlled the Flickr once more,the very same AI that brought so much death during the Sigma Wars....The very same AI that robbed the Grand Imperator of leading an normal life....By making him an weapon.





Soon....Within four planetary cycles the Imperials and their allies would descend on the planet and fight the final battle in an old and nearly forgotten war.


*{Note artifacts are not OP equipment artifacts just relics of history.}

@Defaox
@Drake
@Mavanger
@Infested
@Degant123
@Lineak

{And whomever else wants to join.....This pre-Invasion thread will determine the forces involved and the posting order}  

---Connor---

Connor looked around as his ship lessened from warp speed. He had intercepted a message that sounded an awful lot like a job. Thus, he went to the messages source. His imps scurried around in the old frigate that he called his own. The fleet of the Serpentum looming in front of his ship. In accordance with the message's instructions Connor called out to them.

"Hello Serpentum. My name is Connor Valhalla, owner of the Daemon Mercenary Corps. I received your message some time ago and have come to offer my services." The old comma system on his frigate crackled to life, just barely able to send the message across the void.

(@Kaeda does Biamm want to get in on this action? If so then just post something from her view. She'll be with Connor of course.)

Carious Picked up a message while relaxing, trying to think of something exciting to do

"...glory in combat..."

Interesting

"...credits..."

Go on

"...a hero..."

Carious had been many things through his life, but never a hero. He liked the idea of being revered and honoured, medals, glory, who wouldn't want that?


Hmmm, this equipment isn't exactly warzone worthy. Whatever, I'm sure they have weapons of their own.


He took his old armour and gun, which up until today had only been used while he was in the sketchier parts of town, Maybe they'll have an exchange programme.


His ship was in worse shape than his armour, it was good for flying and nothing else, it could barely even maintain it's integrity at high speeds, I really need this money, this thing isn't fit for a 2-bit tourist mugger.


A long, cramped journey later he saw the fleet, a grin sneaked up his face, wow, these guys are legit. He started transmitting: "This is Carious Dallarian, I have received your message, I am a highly adept marksman and am volunteering my services to your cause. I will standby for response."

A single ship broke out of warp 10 LS away from the planet. The ship hovered there for a bit until the engines turned off or seemed to turn off. A single cannon pointed towards the planet. A tube for the Corrosive missile had been locked on to the planet. In the silent of space, the cannon fired. A single missile moved at high speeds, barreling towards the planet. A streak of blue fire emanated from the missile. After 20 minutes, it entered the planet’s atmosphere and crash landed on the ground, away from a Flickr base and away from everyone else. A single pod had smacked into the ground with such force, it left a mini creator in the ground. Small dust cloud had shot up into the sky from the collision. The smooth silver pod opened and a synthetic creature is inside. It crawled out of the pod and looked around, surveying the ground. Two small ball like droids also came out of the pod. The made a robot noise and floated off into direction directions.
               
The four legged being landed on all fours and ran at full speed. The droids had begun gathering information on the planet and transmitting that data towards the ship that sat 10 LS away from the planet. The four-legged creature finally reached an edge as it looked over the Flickr hive. It’s one eye or lens scanned over the entire hive before it. On the ship, the AI began to shift through the data and to prepare its next move. A man with a golden helmet looked over the screen of the ship. He moved the data in front of him to an adjacent screen. Placing things into three screens and looked over the live viewing of the Flickr hive. “This is something I am excited for. Though, we need to do this within alerting the other guests. The machine beings and all who they are, will be Eclipse Division property soon. Send word to the armada, set the timer for 3 hours, start it now.” Basilis said to the ship AI.

Out of the void, several dozen Vigilance cruisers, accompanied by a vast variety of other ships, escaped their lightspeed travels. They had heard the call of glory in combat, along with the fact that the Serpentum, a faction the Reich had many intentions of allying with, had sent the call, and were quick to jump to action. On the Cruiser that headed the fleet, dubbed by the Reich "The Gallus", a Grand Inquisitor had joined the fleet. Krieg stepped down to the bridge, pervading each and every one of the bridge's crewmen, before turning and starting his communications array.

"This is Grand Inquisitor Krieg, aboard the Gallus of the Inquisitorial Reich," he stated in the radio transmission, "Requesting access to assist the Serpentum in its goals. Our people will die for your cause!" He exclaimed, as each ship's transmission responded to both the Gallus and the Serpentum fleet with "We will die for the Reich!"

Krieg looked down upon Sabaton. "Those poor people," he thought, "They remind me of our homeland. Fret not, for the Reich will not stand for the monsters to feast upon the poor! Whatever it takes, Serpentum, we will assist you to our last gun! It is the Reich's sole duty! To protect the people from whatever threat opposes their survival! Glory to the Reich!"

Another round of "Glory to the Reich"s came from the other Cruisers, before they slowly began to ready for an assault onto Sabaton.

Meanwhile on planet's surface, in one of many bunkers that litter the frontline, next to a simple wooden table sat a man wearing blue Uniform coat and black Pants, at this very momment he filling some papers. This man was Colonel Degrant, though Colonel in name only because most of his douties would be more befiting of a General or Marshal, but Beauroaucracy can be a little bit of bitch during nearly 3 decade long war, not to mention that "Colonel Degrant" just kinda stuck and became something almost granted to soldiers and civillians, "It is our Colonel Degrant at the Frontlines with our boys" "Colonel Degrant will make sure that our husbands and sons will survive this year" etc. etc. etc. To be frank Colonel Degrant couldn't care less about his title, but certainly he cared about his man on the front, and the latest breach which left many dead heavliy weighed on him, the papers he is filling out are well apology letters to family, he had written many of them, to each family that had lost their son or father, but sadly duties are duties and ....... well.......
At this very momment Casper Degrant was very, very tired but he must carry on, if not he and his man, his family both at the front and in the home, would die and he cannot let that happen.




Meanwhile In space an Eagle shaped fighter approached the main ship of Serpentum, this ship belenoged to Henry the Robot, who is also an Imperial agent, he came since ehm he kind works for them now so yeah, also there was something about Cyborg Bugs that wanted to kill people which didn't sit well with our good old(Realy old) robot
- INS Ven'Tura here is Eagle, can I have premission to dock, or ehm get ship into hangar?

While the Grand Imperator schemed with his War Council visitors flocked towards the Imperial fleet hoping to claim glory and reward.Various ensigns of several destroyers relayed the orders and welcomes from their respective commodores.While the bulk of the visitors where welcomed by the destroyer named the INS "Barakstar".


---------
@Drake


This particular ship was recognized as one of the apparent "demonic ships" that Imperial forces where told to watch out for,however this aged vessel opened communications with the Imperials while aged and met with static the Imperial ship relayed an message to them.Still weary of demonic forces after their attack on Captain Williams and the orbiter unit.


"Welcome to the Sabaton system,please fly your ship into the indicated coordinates and await further instructions......" The Imperial destroyer relayed an set of coordinates that would place the demonic ship into the Imperial fleet's formation which was shaped like an large M with the "Ven'Tura" in it's centre.


"Attention Mercenary ship,set your comm signal to the following frequency..."Delta Zeta 77 8 Alpha Delta,and you will be receiving further instructions from command shortly."


-------  


@pysrilexot


An rundown ship warped in and identified itself as Carious Dallarian who claims to be an skilled marksman,his ship was aged,torn and defied the ensigns who watched the holographic projection of the ship on their screens.Then they relayed their message.


"Welcome to the Sabaton System,please fly your ship towards the coordinates given and await further instructions."


The Imperials directed his ship left of the demonic ship in the formation,and once again messaged them.


"Attention ship,set comm frequency to Delta Zeta 77 8 Alpha Delta,you will receive further instructions shortly."




--------
@Defaox


The Flickr forces seemed to patrol the small open field below the four-legged drone.Strewn across the field were decaying bodies of fallen D.K.S soldiers which the Flickr seemed to collect and pile,they remained working in unison saying nothing save an few inaudible clicks and screeches.The War AI commanded that several soldier drones carry the bodies into an tunnel that led deep underground. The plan would soon come into fruition...


Deep underground inside the ancient Imperial Frigate the War AI calculated it's objectives,it's operated only at 10% of it's total capacity primarily because of the ship's limited and damaged systems,the extensive tunnel system the AI built helped the Flickr to attack on multiple fronts without exposing them to the ruinous surface.The D.K.S where an minor threat....Yet their persistence has delayed the AI's objective of rebuilding an force to defeat the enemies of the Technocracy. The AI would speak into the minds of all the Flickr under his cold rule.


"Initiate Protocol D9,prepare cadavers for conversion.....Reroute patrol 99Dash7 to Sector 9M....Scanning tunnel statuses....Stable....Research protocol complete.....New resource required......."


The AI began to plan.....It's sights set in ending the D.K.S once and for all......


----------
@Infested


Suddenly an sizable fleet appeared identifying themselves as part of the Reich the Imperials have been hearing so much about,an human force rising in the Outer worlds considered extremists by some of the Court. Yet their eagerness to assist was not unwelcomed.


"Welcome to the Sabaton System Grand Inquisitor Krieg.....Please approach the fleet and take formation in the indicated coordinates.....Please switch communications to the following channel......Delta Zeta 77 8 Alpha Delta and await further instructions....."


The destroyer relayed the message to the Grand Imperator who ordered the ensign to direct Krieg towards the "Ven'Tura" to convene with the War council given he would require to know the Imperial operation and what entails his own army.


"Would Grand Inquisitor Krieg please head towards the central frigate branded "Ven'Tura" alongside an select group of officers of your choosing....The Grand Imperator requests your presence in the War Council."


---------
@Degant123


Soon after the Reich's appearance Henry arrived in his unique ship which the Imperial Flagship immediately recognized.


"Welcome Auxiliary to the Sabaton System,the War council is expecting you and you are already late.....Please proceed to docking bay 7,an military escort will await you there to guide you to the war room."


    

The machine continued to watch the Flickr. It had been obvious enough that the machines were communicating in a similar fashion as the Nypherians. The four legged machines peaked it’s head further over the ridge. It made its own mechanical sounds as it communicated with the probes moving around the planet. On the ship that is near Sabaton, they were going over the scans on the area that the probes have been scanning. “It is obvious these things run on a server. I am going to assume there is more than one.”  Basilis said as he crossed his arms. He tapped a single finger on the lower part of his metal mask, deep in thought. “There must be a larger machine being controlling them. An AI? Possibly. It could be what the others are after. Though, there is also a possibility these things can think for themselves and are just building a community for themselves.” Basilis turned around and walked towards the large screen of data. He knew there had to be a few server hubs that were boosting the communications and converging on one point.

More Nypherian ships broke from warp as now a 10-ship fleet now hovered within the same spot in space. More were on the way but for now, they would wait and bide their time. More pods landed near the probe currently watching the flickr. Nypherian soldiers walked out of the pods, 10 in total. They moved as they got into position. Able to see what they probe was seeing, they had no need to look over the ridge. They had to do this by stealth, they communicated with each and soon they were on the move. The four-legged machine waited until one of the Flickr had walked away from view. It stalked and moved into position. With a twitch of its body, it had jumped onto the Flickr, shoving a large needle into the neck of the creature and injected nanobots within its body.

As quickly as it had jumped onto the Flickr, it had jumped away and it had vanished. Soon, the nanobots would take over and force the creature to report all clear and walk around the Hive, looking for the Server hub nearby.

The Reich ships lethargically moved into position, as a transport split from the Gallus, fluttering off towards the Ven'Tura with haste. The ship docked, and out entered Grand Inquisitor Krieg, followed by Admiral Lon Mar of the 39th Fleet, and General Harpsbuck of the 7th Guerran Armor Legion. The three men of higher standards were followed by several armed Reich troopers, holding the latest weapons, mainly lasers. Krieg had heard of the new Slag bullets being distributed, but his fleet had not yet received them.

The Group awaited a welcome, with Krieg glaring from behind his emotionless mask at everything in the Serpentum ship. "How peculiar..." he said, looking at the Imperial Durasteel the walls were made of. "..I'm impressed. But where is this war room where we shall plan the strike upon this.. one primitive world?" Krieg now began to question why the Imperium needed support. There did not seem to be much of an issue from orbit, but Krieg did not know of the Flickr threat down below, so he was left contemplating.

Carious Obeyed the orders and retuned his comms. He didn't know much about this group or who they were fighting but it didn't matter, Carious wanted to taste the thrill of battle one more time and he would never refuse easy money. At least he thought it would be easy.
"I am in position, I look forward to assisting your cause with my abilities but I will need to be provided with adequate equipment"

- Sorry for being late, apperently the sound clip we used for my EAGLE-
(EAGLE SCREAM)
- ......are mating sounds of an real life eagle, sufice to say certain vital parts were cloged up with eagle corpses
After this explantion, EAGLE flies into capital ship's hanger area, where Henry got of his hip and went to war room

Several other ships of various merc groups and criminals would later appear and fall into the massive formation of ships the Invasion forces now consisted.


-----
@Defaox
-----


The Flickr soldier would then return to it's patrol that was heading into the tunnel the Flickr guarded,hundreds of multiple limbed cybernetic insectiods was roaming within the perfectly cut tunnel,the only light in the tunnel was that of the red optic lens of the Flickr soldiers and the reflections that shone from the metal of their weapons and armour.


The hacked Flickr soldier relayed the images to the Nypherians as it neared an opening in the tunnel that led to an great cavern filled with green mist,as the soldier entered the mist you could see inkish black biomass growing across the gravel floor up to the walls in tendrils that pulsed with liquid movement,the moist biomass kept the cavern dank as the tendrils would excrete fumes of the green mist.It was obvious that this was some sort of organic terraformer making the cave more habitable for the Flickr.In the center of the cavern was an metallic pillar slightly overgrown by the tendril biomass,the pillar shone with red energy and was guarded by much larger Flickr soldiers...The Elites who kept watch as they scanned through the cavern for threats.


Surrounding the pillar was human corpses piled neatly by the Flickr soldiers,most of the corpses were rotting and others where fresh,there was movement from one of the corpses as an D.K.S soldier tried to crawl away,only to have an Flickr soldier leap unto him and sink serrated knifes into his back as it began to cut away at his flesh in senseless brutality. The soldier screamed...but only for an brief few seconds before the Flickr soldier cut an hole through his back,the soldier now mutilated to the point that nothing but an red pool rose from his back was pushed away by the Flickr into an corner away from the rows of corpses.The pillar then hummed with energy and the Flickr in the cavern screeched as the biomass tendrils began to release hundreds of tiny swarms of insects that swarmed over the corpses and burrowed into the rotten flesh laying the eggs of the next generation of Flickr.


----------
@Infested


---------


The Reich did not have to wait long as two tall reptilians fully clad in alabaster white armour,carrying crystalline spears,one of the Zikah guards welcomed the Reich as they motioned for them to follow.


"Greetings Reich....If you follow us we will lead you to the war room." They then turned and walked further down the hallway.


The hallways were empty as most of the crew where busy on other parts of the ship,all that remained was the fluttering of the crimson red banners with black embroidery and the golden sigil of the Imperium,the hum of energy that could be heard throughout the ship and the clanking of the armour from the guard's steps.They continued along the hallways passing several locked doors before reaching an arched doorway guarded by two legionnaires clad in power-armour who opened the doors bowing their heads slightly to welcome the visitors.


Inside was the large war room filled with the officers in command of the invasion. They all sat in metallic chairs around the center of the room where an large table stood showing an hologram of the planet with with tactical details rotated around it.Next to the table stood two reptilians and an human wearing what could only be assumed as high ranking uniforms of an officer,another reptilian dwarfed everyone else in the room,clad entirely in an metallic suit the Grand Imperator hissed as his filters recycled the air.

Grand Imperator Zorbek:

The machine-like reptilian lifted his head from the holomap and welcomed the Reich bowing his head before speaking in an deep voice as he observed every detail of the Reich officer.


"Greetings Grand Inquisitor Krieg of the Reich...Welcome to the War Council of the Sabaton Campaign....I am Zorbek...Grand Imperator of the Serpentum Legion and commanding officer of this Campaign...We are pleased to hear of your assistance in this battle,please let your retinue have an seat in the War room and join me here at the Holomap,we will review our battle strategy...You can remove your masks if you wish the air in here is at an optimal level."


-------


@pysrilexot {I always have to double check this name lol}


-------


The Imperial destroyer sent it's reply.


"Very well proceed to the indicated docking bay and the armory masters will provide repairs to any of your gear and if the gear is outdated or beyond repair we will provide gear which you may keep after the operation."


An team awaited the arrival of the Zoddarin and would lead him to one of the armories aboard the destroyer where an logistics officer would welcome him.


"Ah human I see.....Can you give me your medical records...It's standard procedure."


-------


@Degant


------


Henry was welcomed into the war-room and ordered to take an seat while the high officers planned their strategy....Soon new arrivals appeared...Humans but masked and the one which could only be assumed as their leader stepped forward and joined the few at the holomap.


"I see you have found your way Auxillery..." Said an smiling yellow Varanus which Henry would recognize as Lord-General Silvaar,the same general that recruited him into the Legion as part of the first generation of Zoddarin agents despite the negative opinion the Varanus have on sentient robotics.    


-------   

They watched and listened to everything. All data had been picked and categorized by their AI. The operation now began to form as the Flickr are now a focus, along with whomever is controlling them. They needed the information along with the genetic material within the Flickr, they had plans for them as well. More Nypherian ships began to move into place. More troop and vehicle drop ships moved into place around the Flickr hive. A drop ship landed within the FOB that had been constructed.  Second Lieutenant Marcus Flynn stepped out of the dropship and walked towards the FOB, giving out terse orders as he passed by. He is the leading officer of this operation and he is going to make sure the Nypherian Empire gets what it came for. With a few hand gestures, four Nypherian ravager tanks moved towards the spy’s location. Four other squads of Nypherian soldiers also moved towards the location.
 
Nypherian Objective:

1.       Collect enough Flickr DNA as possible
2.       Burn out any that aren’t going to be taken
3.       Find and locate the Server Hubs
4.       Find the Main point and copy the data
5.       IF you come across and surviving “Humans” assist them and point them to their people’s location

“Ok boys, you know the target objectives. I want this operation done right, no fuck ups. Let’s get the show on the road.” Flynn said on the Nypherian com-network. The tanks moved into position and they soldiers did as well. Flynn held up his hand, “Boys, keep the feed live on our hacked buddy. It may give us more information.” He said as he dropped his hand. Nypherian HO1 soldiers had already placed their heavy LMG’s in pinpoint spots as they opened fire on the Flickr hive. The Nypherian tanks aim down and fired their Gauss Plasma cannons on any large structure or weapons placements the Flickr had. Nypherian soldiers fired at the chest or les of the Flickr, making the effort to keep their head intact. Nypherian snipers focused on the legs and neck of Flickr soldiers, trying to cut any possible spine they might have. The rest fire their weapons at anything else that were missed by LMG and Sniper fire.

While both Lon Mar and Harpsbuck took off their masks, Krieg did not, taking a seat as instructed. "I simply cannot. No matter how clean the air, I must wear this mask until my last breath.. but, enough with the drama. Shall we begin?" The Grand Inquisitor asked the Grand Imperator. Taking a look at the reptilian, Krieg finally began to get a good look at what he was trying to ally with. He never really looked at Ozma, the renegade Varanus who joined the Reich.

"Grand Imperator, what do you even need assistance fighting?" Krieg asked, "I am not trying to seem rude, but what cannot even the Serpentum Legion take alone? I have heard tales of its power. So what in this entire galaxy could be so difficult as to have the Legion call for assistance on a single planet?"

Carius obliged and headed to the docking bay with his records on hand. They were mostly pretty standard besides what happened because of the attack that cost him his foot and eye. Before he even gave them the records he started with his little speech

"It may seem to you that my missing eye may make me less of a marksman, but I can assure you it does not affect my accuracy in any way. Do not write me off until you know what I can do." When he was sure they had heard him he handed the records over and took out his equipment for repair and replacement.

Captain Dust approached Sabaton's orbit on board his ship, The Pristine. The ship was in bad shape, bullet holes were all over the back, fuel was running out quick, engines were turning off now and then. Landing on Sabaton was the safest bet for him. As he was entering orbit, he slowed down, barely managing to steer the ship down to a landing spot. As Dust landed the ship, he got out in a hurry to stop the fuel leak. As he exited, Dust looked around himself, and he saw the wasteland that is Sabaton - "Man.. I've gotten myself in the deeps this time.." - He completely forgot to fix his ship the moment he exited. All he had in mind was one thing... where... he could get a drink. Dust wandered around, aimlessly, it was a wasteland, deprived of all life, a harsh inhospitable place, and yet he seemed to not care in the slightest about the dangers this land may hold. All he wanted now, was a nice cold drink slipping down his throat... Dust's eyes blurred, he felt dizzy... but he knew, passing out in this wasteland was a death sentence. However, his legs couldn't support him any longer as he fell on his knees. With his last conscious breath, he uttered... - "There better be vodka in Heaven.." - Dust fell flat on his face, unconscious. It felt like the end for ol' Captain Dust.. death would have fared him better, then what fate really held for him...

Henry, when he saw three masked man, was about to comment on their nazi like looks, but then Lord-General Silvaar came into his view and greeted him
- Oh General Silvaar, nice seeing you here ehm can I get some details why I was called in? Quite frankly
the guy who called didn't realy said much except "Get here as quickly as you can"




Well it would be if it wasn't for the fact the had fallen somewhat near the first line of Roholm's Trenches, also known as "The Degrant Line", as you can imagine the defnse line which was named after the De Facto commander of all soldier at the front is pretty well defended, and it is then some soldiers, and by some I mean most of them, noticed a one guy who looks nothing like Flickr, so after consulting their officers, soldiers dispatched a small team of dudes to retrive this person, which, to suprise of everyone went falwlessly

@Defaox


------------


The quick attack by the Nypherians took the Flickr by surprise,several soldiers fell before an reaction could have been made by the AI,the remaining Flickr soldiers guarding the tunnel began to fire upon them with their machineguns {caliber around 7.62x51} hoping to slow them down as the AI tried to process an counter strategy.The Nypherian tanks took out the captured bunkers the Flickr took from the D.K.S. 


Almost without warning the Flickr would throw themselves to the Nypherians,rather then following an set strategy...They would lose unnecessary soldiers while some fled into the tunnel...The AI then realized that this was not the local D.K.S scum it was harvesting but another force entirely...It scanned it's database but couldn't find anything due to it's corrupted files.....It had little space to account for the new force's tactics so it purged all the files regarding Sigman strategies and loaded an simulation program to develop an counter attack...


.....Complete.....


The AI would wait for the Nypherian strike team to enter the tunnel,letting them enter deep enough to allow for an slow reaction......Then it called upon an nearby burrow wyrm that would eat away under the tunnel causing it to collapse under the Nypherian troops into newly burrowed chambers,it was an attempt to split their forces apart but more importantly it provided time for the AI to develop new strategies with it's limited storage.It then used the hacked Flickr soldier to walk towards an ambush the Flickr where setting up unknowning revealing the set traps of hidden Flickr soldiers,without warning the hacked Flickr began to burrow itself underground alongside several others 10 meters ahead of the ambush site probably to flank the Nypherians once they engage the trap.The biomass would hide their signals.


The AI would wait for an response....ever watchful...The hive screaming for blood.


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@Infested


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An good question....Why did the Legion need help,in truth they didn't as the primary reason was to try and lure out other powers mainly so the Legion can observe what the galaxy holds...Forces,tech....Enc.....


The other reason was to lighten the strain such an operation might have on Imperial resources....The less manpower involved the better the Imperium would be in future operations especially if they need to occupy the planet afterwards to extract the frigate.Besides the Flickr was not an easy foe.....In truth it took several other powers from the Sigma Draconus galaxy to defeat the Flickr and the War AI....The Imperium did not have that luxury...


"The Flickr are an force to be reckoned with Grand Inquisitor.....One I am quite familiar with,while I have no doubt that my legions will be able to clear the planet in an matter of hours the real problem lies with projected losses,the planet's crust is damaged and unstable.....This means that I cannot launch an attack followed by an orbital strike because the resulting earthquakes might destroy the nearby local cities which are all underground....I came here to liberate the planet from an old foe I am not willing to slaughter an entire population....just yet......I was hoping allies would come along and lighten the load of this invasion....Like you humans enjoy saying...er..More hands lighter load?".....The Grand Imperator's face was hidden under his mask but he grit his face in confusion.


"What I propose is an quick strafe by La'mek fighters on armoured Flickr positions,securing safe landing zones for our dropships,then after securing an stable foothold we will assist the nearby D.K.S in pushing back the Flickr line to this position." The Grand Imperator pointed an metallic claw on the holomap showing an transparent line nicknamed "Front Zone Alpha"


"If we push the Flickr back across this line we would be able to access several tunnels that lead to their underground hives....I need to know how many troops you have at your disposal and if you have any questions regarding the attack.....We will brief everyone involved on the Flickr variants once the council has concluded."


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@pysrilexot


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The reptilian armoury master nodded. "An foot and an eye eh....I lost an arm once...Grew back but the memory never fades away."


He then took Carius's gear and observed it,calling for some of his fellow engineers to take the weapons to the workshop for repair and replacement.


"This will only take an moment.....If you are interested we will offer you an export E.I.C...an carbine made for you humanoids for the duration of the invasion....If you survive you might even keep it alongside the equipment we are repairing for you now.....Don't worry all this is free of charge."


Whilst the engineers worked on his gear,the armoury master tried to break the silence between them...."So you an veteran of some military conflict here?"


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@Degant123


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General Silvaar whispered what he knew..."Turns out the Flickr are on Sabaton...The Flickr are an race of cybernetic insectoids...an living weapon used against our people ages ago...Now before we came to this galaxy we kept an large number of them on an separate ship among an flotilla of frigates that escorted our ark....They where lost as we entered this galaxy.....If the Flickr are here then the frigate they where upon is also here and it is our duty to reclaim the frigate before it's technology falls into the wrong hands....It's also our duty as the patrons of our galaxy to capture the Flickr in order to reverse what was done to them years ago by the War AI."


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The Nypherians would pick off Flickr, dropping the ones they intended to harvest. The tanks would focus fire on anything resembling a structure or clusters of Flickr. The sounds of bullets bouncing off the Nypherian armor echoed in the area around them. As soon as the fighting started, it stopped. More drop ships landed within the surrounding area, Eclipse Division scientists began to harvest anything of relevance from the Flickr. The lead officer, Lieutenant Marcus Flynn, had received read outs from their “spy”. He motioned guards on all of the tunnels to make sure none would take a peek at what they were doing to their fallen. Nypherian tanks stood on the ridge, looking down towards the tunnels.

“They’re waiting for us, aren’t they?” one of the lead Sergeants of the Cybernetic Division said to Flynn. Flynn only nodded his head, “Yea, dumb shits don’t know that we’re aware of what they’re doing. They’re planning a sneak attack. No worries, we have our own plan as well.” He paused and looked over. One of the Flickr survived the attack and was crawling on the ground. Flynn walked over and kicked it on its back. The Flickr being got a good look at Flynn and two other soldiers looking down at it. There, stood a Cybernetic and a AI soldier looking back at the Flickr.

“How many have we harvested, enough?” “Aye, we have enough Sir. Enough to replicate them on a large scale and build Synthetic AI.” “Good, let’s not keep them waiting. I do enjoy a good blood bath.” Flynn said as he curbed stomped the Flickr’s head into the ground. “Get the radiation. Melt them out and then send in the probes.” He said as he motioned the rest to move out. Vehicle drop ships came by and dropped off two DT7A1 Dragon Tanks. The tanks came to life as they began to communicate with the rest of the servers within the Nypherian ranks. They moved in front of the tunnels and switched to radiation cannons. They began to release large amount of Cherenkov radiation within the tunnels.

“I want only AI soldiers within these tunnels. I want this done by the books. Only HO1’s and AO1’s. Once they had a good radiation bath, send in the probes to scan these tunnels.” By the time he had finished. The tanks had unleashed a large amount of radiation within the tunnel systems. Probes were then sent through the tunnels to scan the unique network of the underground tunnels.

General Harpsbuck responded quickly to the Grand Imperator, Krieg pushing his seat back slightly.

"Our forces include, out of the eighty cruisers, two million troopers, including twenty sniper brigades, and four teams of Valkyrie Jet-troopers. Our vehicle forces include ten brigades of Vilkas Light Infantry Tanks, two brigades of Taurus anti-infantry Tanks, eighty nine Badger assault buggies, two platoons of Guerran Knights, fourteen firing lines of Kanonenhalter mobile artillery tanks, four Moloch Heavy Tanks, and two Fusil Long-Range Tanks. We also have one Dominus Assault Walker, the Dominus Eres, but seeing the planet's current state, that cannot be used. Instead, we shall use the lighter three Tyrant Assault Walkers. Anything else you would like to know, Grand Imperator? Or anything you'd like to share with us? Because I say that we use our artillery forces and, once we find the hives, bombard them into nothing. Anyone disagree with my plan?" General Harpsbuck finished his analysis of the current Reich forces orbiting Sabaton.

@Infested

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"Impressive forces...Sound strategy...But flawed.All the hives of the Flickr are buried deep underground alongside an massive maze of tunnels,artillery and orbital bombardment as I stated before....." The Grand Imperator breathed his filters bursting out gusts of steamy air. "Is out of the question this is for the sake of the local population's own future.....They have yet to see the stars for what it is on their own....It's our sacred duty as the Serpentum Legion to guard such worlds.....I have yet to see your Reich's troops in action....I have no further instructions then to prove your mettle in the fires of the battlefield,the surface is littered with trenches and the few open plains on the world is soaked deep in mud...I'd advise for you to deploy walker-based vehicles especially on these fronts." He would point his metallic claw to the north and southeastern fronts of the appointed landing zone which was outside an local fortress...We will send an radio signal to the local forces via orbital satellites announcing our arrival for assistance.......If the local forces resist...I authorize the means to pacify them only if they interfere with the operation.....Lord General Silvaar will lead the Zodarrin forces whilst I lead the vanguard.....Once an beachhead is established I expect the main forces consisting of our own ground forces alongside the Reich to deploy and carry out their objectives within one planetary hour...The Reich forces have the largest number among our own....I ask that you even out your forces into battalions to guard our rears once we secure the Flickr behind the Front Zone....Any questions among the Reich-Ka?" The Grand Imperator would say clenching his claws on the holomap table's railings.


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@Pysrilexot


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"Died for his kin? That's the greatest honour any warrior can achieve.....One must not forget the past but also not dwell in it....It's our duty to live on in their memory...." The reptilian quartermaster grinned at the mention of their foe.


"Ah yesss...The Flickr....Cybernetically and biologically enhanced insectiod killing machines....Now I might not have fought them like the elders did ages ago but I've seen what they could do...It was part of my education to know the past." The Reptilian hands Carious an file containing images of Flickr soldiers,their appearance twisted and warped by technology and their eyes replaced by an single glowing red lens.


"My advice....shoot their lens it's the easier way...unless of course you would feel safe running around with an flamethrower....They cook quickly in their exoskeletons."


The engineers return with almost pristine looking gear.


"Is this sufficient sir?" The engineer would ask politely. 


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@Degant123


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The Varanus general lifted his head with Henry's strange choice of words..... "Go ahead Auxiliary,what is this great question?"


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Flynn placed two fingers to his ears as he received updates from command. “Ok boys, we have a timer on this one. Command reports a large energy build up, they assume the Flickr are trying to kill themselves before we get what we came here for. Plans have changed, this is a purge mission now.  Since we have the DNA we need from the Flickr and the Synthetic AI are now secured, we purge everything within the marked sectors. The Data Hub is our goal and kill anything that moves down in these tunnels. I will stay here and monitor things from here and make sure the not to make too much noise, we don’t need the locals knowing we’re here. MOVE OUT!” Flynn said as he walked off towards his command post.

The Nypherians ran into the tunnels, hundreds of soldiers armed to the teeth. AO1s, HO1s, and basic Nypherian soldiers ran into the tunnels. They have 3 marked objectives to find the main hub. The Nypherians met a few defending Flickr. Most of the time, it turned into some short bursts from their weapons to drop most of the Flickr. Some of the times, it turned into hand to hand combat. It at times led to the Nypherians beating the Flickr with their own arm, teaming up 3 to 1 in a fist fight. The moved towards the first hub, securing the area. The one Nypherian soldier connected via direct connection. The AI instantly connected with the host as it began to download the data it needed. It also began to upload a Trojan Virus within the Flickr systems. The Trojan would spam systems with false signals, causing the AI to receive false information.

The Nypherians left the first hub and began to move onto the second hub.