Dominion Bryn'adûl | Dominion of Kubindi

[Tathra Khaeus]

Objective: B2
Post: One
Tags - N/A

Bolts of cobalt and crimson scattered along the edges of the Compact Shield, the Brutes of the 10th Regiment moved in flanking groups along the vertical pathways that lead toward the main gate of the Dome's sole entrance. Rhivaks crawled along the lengths of the Dome, the Brumaks making their slow approach - soon the Gate would be opened, willingly or by force.

Tathra finally closed the distance on his attackers, the great red Titan peered over the edge of his Shield - those opaque glowing eyes staring right through the thirty or so Defenders in the bunker. Two stopped firing, rifles likely overheated - then another, and another. Tathra leapt up and toward them, his dominant hand held the Long-Axe forward, swinging mid-air as the crystalline beard released a crimson wave of energised kinetic force, cutting down four as they turned to run. Finally landing among them, bashing two with his Shield as he came close - killing them both from the hard impact, turning their bones and organs into mulch. Tathra loosened his grip on the Axe ever so slightly, allowing it to slide further in his grasp, a little extra reach would be crucial.

Every combat scenario was a simple calculus, rhythmic attacks with no room for hesitation. No room for mistakes. No room for anything but discipline and unrelenting strength. Tathra saw none that matched is own among his enemies. Even their weapons did nothing to harm him, the turrets he had defender from perhaps - but the small arms fire was inconsequential. Unlike the grenades on the belt of the soldier in front of him.

Tathra looked to the man directly in front of him, eyes locking as he screamed - raising his rifle. The Titan swung upward; the Axe's beard imbedded itself in his chest - killing him instantly but intentionally holding the body upright as the red molten vapour igniting his body on fire, turning the grenades on his belt into a time-bomb. The Compact-Shield collapsed into the right gauntlet, allowing free motion of his right arm as he thrust an open palm outward - knocking the burning corpse free of the Axe and backward into his kin closest to the tunnel doors, the grenade going off and killing three of them, bits and pieces of man scattered about the tunnel entrance. He pulled the Axe back into a close guard, the red vapours keeping any particularly bold defender from getting too close.

 

[Kad]

Objective: Destroy the Dome
Ally: Fomoris | Bazh'Thu | Hrajlmak'Natok
Post: Four

The Zealot would play the opportunity of the newly created entrance to the facility to his advantage, now able to bypass the majority of the enemy forces. Gredak would leave the remainder of his squad behind, allowing them to assist the forward attack whilst he would seek out the Generator. Moving through the long corridors, it wouldn't take long for the light-footed Zealot to find himself above the Generator room.

Inside the vents, he could see the Generator below and its complement of twelve guards. Six of which were on patrol around the various levels of staircases an access panels around the massive sphere Generator. Gredak followed the vent to its opened, using a hacking tool to temporarily bypass the alert that would no doubt blare as soon as he opened the vent.

Sliding down, Gredak did his best to remain silent as he cut the throat of the first patrolling guard. Only now realising, he had plenty of engineers to deal with too. Guards first. It would take time. He slid down under the railing, climbing under the walkway to move by unnoticed - the core of the Generator was an almost blinding light, and below it - a endless pit. For some reason.

Nearly every colonised planet in this Galaxy had an endless pit, somewhere. He took the dagger from his back, finally finding another Guard, slitting his throat before pulling him over the railing and into the dark abyss below.

Four more to go.

 

[Tathra Khaeus]

Objective: B2
Post: Two
Tags - N/A

The Soldiers behind him numbered fewest, unable to push back towards the tunnel entrance with their brethren. Their blasters rounds splashed into splintered embers against his armour and skin. Tathra raised his right hand, grasping just below his dominant hand as he turned on his heel, raising the lower portion of the shaft into the air, aligned with his right elbow as he slashed down with the beard of the Axe, through the closest; using the momentum of the swing to realign the shaft - swinging low and taking the second man off his feet, snapping his knee-joint on impact as he was thrown to the ground.

The dominant hand released the Long-Axe into his right hand, spinning the entire shaft upward with ease; now pressed against the inside of his arm, the Long-Axe aimed down; thrusting it into the stomach of the fallen man. Turning to the remainder as five of them had made it to the tunnel doorway, Tathra spun on his right leg; dodging a rocket shot as it flew out through the bunker window, releasing the Long-Axe from its reversed grip in an outward spin, knocking the weapons of three soldiers aside, a fourth's skull cracked and fallen, following through the momentum of the spinning shaft with a swing of the beard; cutting down the three ahead of him. Finally, spotted the trooper loading some type of Rocket Launcher in the corner of the Bunker. There were three in between them. He released the Long-Axe into his dominant hand, dashing past those in between them, carelessly slashing at two on his way toward the rocket-trooper.

When Tathra reached the rocket-trooper, he was among the remaining seven. A moment of hesitation and he fired, Tathra used his free hand to push the rocket launcher up, aiming at the ceiling as he crushed the troopers fingers in his grasp, forcing him to fire the rocket point-blank into the ceiling.

It killed all the vicinity, bar the smouldering Titan. Tathra rose from the destroyed bunker, the M'gaelak had arrived. Raising his Gauntlet, Tathra spoke;

"Open the gate."

 

[Galak]

Objective: B2
Post: One
Tags - Tathra Khaeus

Field Marshall, strange that nearly dying gets you a promotion. Galak was still healing, but no one could stop him from being here. Wherever Tathra was, he would follow. Tathra had taken hundreds more of those tendrils than him, if he was up - so was he. Galak was on the ground alongside the rest of the 10th. They were waiting among the Rhivaks, waiting for the M'gaelak to do its work.

When Tathra decimated the last bunker, the M'gaelak's massive tendrils grasped onto the Gate; the gargantuan creature roared so powerfully that the ground shook. As if that wasn't loud enough, the bending of the metal of the massive gates was ear wrenching. But somehow, it made he and his Brutes feel more alive. Knowing that those inside would have thought themselves safe, hiding behind a big door. They'd crack it open, just like snapping a little human's ribs.

Galak beat his chest, amping up his fellow Brutes. Ready for the skirmish to come. It would be a slaughter, no doubt. Some twelve hundred-thousand Savage Drones would be the first in through the gap, flushing them out of their little holes. Then, the Rhivaks and Brutes would slaughter them in the disarray. The ground shook as the M'gaelak slowly tore back the two massive gate doors, when the gate finally came off its hinges, the creature flung the twisted slabs of metal into the city within. The best roared in satisfaction as a horn sounded, and the horde of Savage Drones darted out from the 10th Regiments lines, flooding into the city.

 

[Hrajlmak'Natok]

Objective A
Post: 4
___________________________________

"Back up!" Hrajlmak barked down the countless drone heads. "Find another route!". The drones quickly poured into an adjacent tunnel and resumed their hasty sprint along its length. Searching relentlessly for open space. Following close behind the tail end of their ranks, Hrajlmak caught sight of the end of the tunnel they had come up. It's terminus no longer visible as thick, opaque gas crept closer. The antidote for Kubindi moved along its capillaries with nothing to stop it.

Hrajlmak's force made progress without consequence. Kadesh planted themselves wherever there was space. Black cloud oozed and filled every gap. Underground villages of all sizes that were once bustling with the insectoids now lifeless, empty. Left to rot under a choking fog.

As was routine by now, Hrajlmak and his forces came upon a large village. Possibly the largest they had come across. To his disappointment, although he had come to expect it, the village was empty. Not a soul stirred among the pristine homes. Drones dispersed across the area, searching homes and setting up quick perimeter lookouts. Kadesh emerged from underground and among'st their ranks and began to find spots to entrench-

The instantly recognizable sound of a blaster bolt from within an indistinct home rung out into the cave. Hrajlmak's head spun, adrenaline spiked. Before any further movement could be made, coalition troops burst out of homes, holes and shadow. Hardly had they scrambled from hiding before their rancid firearms let loose and began immediately to cut down Hrajlmak's forces. Drones whipped up into a frenzy immediately began to fire back in retaliation. More distant lookouts hurried to the fighting. Hrajlmak was furious and fed this fury telepathically to his troops, inspiring them to fight more aggressively and take more punches. But he was not angry for their sake. He was simply irate.

 

[Tathra Khaeus]

Objective: B2
Post: Three
Tags - N/A

The gate was torn apart, but Tathra would not be entering via the underground tunnel, flanking whatever heavier defences the Drones couldn't deal with. The Titan approached the door, placing the Long-Axe on his back, prying the small door open with his hands. Rocks poured out from the gaps, they'd sealed the tunnel. No matter.

Tathra took a few steps back before breaking into a sprint, running as hard as he could for the sealed entrance. On the other side, chunks of rock and hundreds of small pebbles of granite and rock would flood across the floor as Tathra burst through - a gush of dust carried through the air would surround him as a group of Humans shouted to their compatriots, warning them - others screamed for retreat, to run. They'd seen what he did to their comrades. They knew there was no hope.

Opaque eyes scanned the area in half of a second, he was on elevated ground - he could hear combat below. There was a turret placement - no doubt a high-rise defence position that would now offer him an advantage. Snarling, the Titan dashed forward into the enemy forces.

He pulled the Long-Axe from his back, holding it at the mid-length as he swung low, slicing a man in half - realigning his wrist downward to bring the Axe upward in a slashing strike across another. Right hand shooting out and grabbing another, turning into the momentum of his upward swing as he grasped the man and threw him into the cave wall behind them - head splattering against the wall. Turning and slamming the pommel of the Long-Axe into the chest of a fourth, knocking him down before crushing his skull underfoot. The gunner had resigned his right to life, focusing on firing on as many as he could before the horned-beast behind got to him.

Tathra crushed his skull in his hand, flippantly tossing the headless corpse aside as he took his Launcher from his back - firing into the enemy defences, allowing for a breach. Once that opening was achieved, the Savage Drones began to flood into their ranks. The Rhivaks and Brutes began their forward push.

 

[Hrajlmak'Natok]

Objective A
Post 5
___________________________

His armour blasted apart on its front from their previous engagement, Hrajlmak was feeling cautious. This however did not stop him from sprinting headlong into the firefight. As was his nature, he impaled the first human he saw and hurriedly moved on to the next, and the next. He sunk his teeth into the skull of a soldier, crunched through the bone and tore a gaping chunk out of the helpless human's head. Tossing the corpse aside he proceeded to cut down the ambush. Bolts punched into his back and chest. One found its way to his uncovered upper stomach beneath his damaged cloak. The shaman grunted in pain and lurched over, almost taking a knee. He picked up a rock as he straightened back up and threw it at the source of the bolt. The rock smacked into the soldier's chest who collapsed to the floor. He gasped, and ceased to breathe.

Regardless of the ambush, the Kadesh began to pump the deadly fog into the air. Inspired by the nearby shaman, their output was visibly doubled. Coalition forces, knowing their ambush was doomed, turned their focus to the Kadesh, hoping to destroy what they could before they would inevitably be killed. Alas, their numbers dwindled rapidly and their spirits were crushed when the bolts that did make it to their targets, impacted impenetrable flesh. One quick thinking young man dropped his weapon and pulled a detonator from his belt. Activating it, he threw it toward the nearest sentry. The detonator followed its arc and looked to be right on target until a roaring Hrajlmak threw a corpse that intercepted it. The trooper's face showed pure defeat. Hrajlmak stormed up to the young soldier, wrapped his claws around his head and dragged him kicking and screaming to a Kadesh. Hrajlmak lifted him off the ground, the soldier pulled a vibroblade from his belt and sunk it into Hrajlmak's wrist. The shaman responded by shoving the soldier's head into the Kadesh's orifice and holding it there while sunquaker gas enveloped it. The screaming was muffled, the kicking soon stopped.

Once it was clear the ambush was clear Hrajlmak made quick advance to the next village. His Kadesh numbers were low. This would be the final emplacement. The end was within arms reach. Victory, yet another, to the Great Conquest was at hand.

 

[Tathra Khaeus]

Objective: B2
Post: Four
Tags - N/A

Tathra raised his Long-Axe, bellowing and slamming a fist into his chest to urge forward the Bryn'adûl forces.

"Forward warriors! And fear not pain nor death!"

The elevated platform continued to bypass several small inner-gates, Tathra would continue to assist. However, he was greeted by the presence of additional forces as he approached the doorway to the next platform. Twenty men rushed out, five of which fired rockets at him almost immediately - another five firing harpoon rifles., the rest with blasters Tathra instinctively raised his right arm, activating the Compact Shield as he ducked, dodging one of the rockets as the other four collided with his shield. The kinetic impact knocked him to the ground.

The harpoon gunners fired, Tathra responded with the release of a wave of kinetic energy from his Axe; destroying a few as he moved like a blur, dodging others. He fired with his launcher into the grouping, killing six of them almost instantly with the rapid fire explosives. Unfortunately, only three of those were the harpoon carrying soldiers. The blasters did little to deter his movements - but their other weaponry did. Tathra darted from left to right before getting close enough to deter the rocket troopers who all instinctively retreated. Tathra savagely cut through the blaster wielders, however he couldn't block everything.

One of the harpoon gunners managed to fire, the bolt shot into his waist - nuzzling deep into his body armour, but barely more than a few inches deep into his thick hide. Tathra groaned, annoyed more than hurt; throwing his Axe into the crowd, spinning with its vapour trail setting most on fire. Tathra pulled the harpoon from his side, and impaled the gunner into the ground on it. Then, with an open palm - recalled the Long-Axe to his grasp.

Continuing forward, Tathra leapt over the doorframe and into the next area - slashing the gunner in half and opening the gate. Two more gates, and they were inside.

 

[Galak]

Objective: B2
Post: Two
Tags - Tathra Khaeus

When the Drones broke through, the Brutes and Rhivaks applied further pressure on their defences. They had thought to fight and die well, but in place was a bloody massacre. Droves fell, thousands dying in seconds in a bloody catastrophe of their own making. Weakness was a cancer, they were the cure. Galak lead his forces, ordering their mortal parties to litter the city with rubble as hundreds of missiles cracked through the air, burying their forces in rock and city as buildings collapsed all around them. It didn't matter how many gates they had, how many flak turrets of brave souls.

The weak perished nonetheless. Galak was the first through the gate opened by the Chieftain, reigning down Spiker fire into their enemies; hundreds of soldiers made corpses in seconds as the Heavies of the 10th Regiment tore through their secondary lines. It was easy, with Tathra and the 10th Regiment combined - it always was. Galak might've lost an eye, nearly lost his life. But that didn't deter his confidence.

No.

It proved to him that he was meant to be here, he had survived what so many else did not. He was a Brute Field Marshall, he started off as a lowly Brute Minor, and now he had risen to the highest echelons of his prestige. Galak had never felt more alive than he did when he was half-dead. Without much effort, the Rhivaks tore down any defences as the Savage Drones climbed around the defences, the second Gate was open and they were fighting once again. They'd opened the third gate to run, to hide - but instead they simply allowed the Savage Drones to swarm into their city.

The Brute simply laughed, pathetic. The Dome City would be theirs soon enough.

 

[Kad]

Objective: Destroy the Dome
Ally: Fomoris | Bazh'Thu | Hrajlmak'Natok |
Post: Five

It took a few minutes, but Gredak got the rest of them. The Guards at least, all that remained were the six guarding the main control panel, but Gredak didn't even need to touch that. That Zealot simply climbed down deeper, placing explosives on all of the support beams that held the Generator in place. And, for good measure shoved his dagger into the one of the maintenance panels.

All he had to do now, was leave. Back into the ventilation shaft. But, that apparently wasn't going to happen. The others guards hadn't reported in, so the remaining six had fanned out to look for them. But instead they just found Gredak, opening fire on him from across a few sets of stairs. One bolt hit his chest, another hit his arm - causing him to drop his rifle as soon as he went for it. He was boxed in now, and they'd be coming for him.

In a moment of panic, the Zealot detonated the charges - that'd distract them. The entire room shook, the Generator was disabled almost instantly and was pulling all of the set up maintenance stairways down with it. Gredak leapt for the vent, barely able to grab on as the Generator descended to the depths taking the engineers and guards with it.

Panting and wounded, Gredak slowly made his way back through the ventilation shaft - the Dome's shield was gone.

 

[Tathra Khaeus]

Objective: B2
Post: Five
Tags - N/A

With the Dome's Shield destroyed, the City was defenceless. In great succession, the Destroyers above the Dome were destroyed; two of them managed to crash outside, the third spun out of control, nose-diving into the Dome. Its massive form shattered the Dome - plummeting into thousands of pieces into the mega-city. In seconds, hundreds of thousands were killed as the one-thousand metre ship tore apart all over the cities living centres.

Hopelessly demoralised and outmatched, the battle for Kubindi had became a nightmare for those within the Dome-City. Fires and smoke stretched far into the sky, every corner blackened as the Bryn'adûl spread throughout the City, culling through whatever remained. Galak and Tathra at the head of their forces.

The cleansing lasted a few more hours, luckily they didn't have to detain any for the Primarch this time - for once, he was not with them. Tathra killed thousands, it was not his greatest passion - but to see a Galaxy rebuilt through strength indeed was.

Kubindi, the entire star system was just one of many many more. The Bryn'adûl had a taste for it now, Tathra knew the only thing that could stop them was utter annihilation. But it was perhaps too late for that, they numbered in the trillions now. The Galaxy continued to ignore the darkness on its edges, continued to ignore what was uncomfortable, what turned their stomachs. Their choice of ignorance was but another show of weakness, they delighted in comforts and luxury - not sustenance and success.

They would all fall.

 

[Hrajlmak'Natok]

Objective A
Post 5
___________________________

Above ground, the battle raged to a close. The Deep Space Coalition, hopelessly defeated and all but annihilated could no longer give aid to the natives of Kubindi. The Bryn'adul had wiped out what meager resistance they faced and cleansed this world, like so many others and countless to come, of the weak and pathetic. Kubindi had faced its troubles and persevered. But today, it was given only ruination.

Below ground, Hrajlmak faced no such resistance. His operation went on unimpeded. Himself and his drone division came upon their final destination. A sprawling habitat like many others before it. Abandoned, left in perfect condition. Hrajlmak took a moment to appreciate the sight. A pristine image that represented fear. If there was art in the Bryn'adul, this would be it.

The remainder of his Kadesh sentries set themselves up and quickly got to work pumping out the sunquaker gas. This cavern like all others quickly began to fill with a black, opaque fog that would kill any who breathed it. Soon the gas began to drift down from the heights of the cavern and it was then that Hrajlmak's work was done. Gathering his drones together they made a hasty exit from the tunnels he had come to despise for their claustrophobic nature.

Hrajlmak and his small army came out into the harsh Kubindi sun just as Coalition spacecraft came crashing into the surface in the distance. They had emerged onto a landscape of victory. Frigates fell helplessly from the sky, billowing black smoke and drenched in flame. The ground shook when they finally came to rest on the ground. Victory at hand, there was only one thing for the shaman to do. Help the Kadesh.

With so many voices in his head it was often difficult to isolate just a few. But such were the challenges of his caste. He expelled the countless drone minds from his own and focused only on the Kadesh. With eyes closed and mind sharp, Hrajlmak "spoke" directly to the sentries below ground. Several groups, each spread out across the Kubindi underworld. He channeled the cosmic energy into their being and with a flex of his fingers and of his mind, the Kadesh erupted, spewing forth tremendous amounts of the purifying gas. Their output increased tenfold. Where they had emerged from now billowed with black gas much like the frigates that had fallen. But unlike them, this was an image of victory. It oozed from every crack in the ground and tunnel entry. This portion of Kubindi's surface looked as though it was boiling away but the steam was something else. Something terrible. The surface had been annihilated. The underworld now suffocated.