"The Wanderer"
6
SECOND_SON
OBJECTIVE 2: UNDERWORLD
CARLAC
ALLIES (NIO): Aemilio Valaar Konrad Harrsk Auria Blackmoore
Keilara Kala'myr Amadeus Blackwood Ranoc Sar
ENEMIES (BOTM/NSO/KOR): Halketh The Mongrel Marlon Sularen
Tegan Starfall Glossa
MICHAEL'S FORCES
THE HIGHLAND BROTHERHOOD
ARGYLL COY. - INFANTRY
LARGS COY. - INFANTRY
FARRIN COY. - ENGINEERS
ISLAY COY. - ANTI-TANK
BLUE-HEART BRIGADE
220 XT-62,"CATAPHRACT" TANKS
32 SCOUT-AFV'S
10 MLV'S (NAKAIOMA)
5 PREDATOR LAUNCH-PLATFORMS (NAKAIOMA)
1 COY. OF GUARDSMEN
1 COY. OF MEDICS
1 COY. OF QUARTERMASTERS
THE GOLIATHS OF ILUM
40 VH-140,"GOLIATH" REPULSORTANKS (NAKAIOMA)
5 SCOUT-AFV'S
MICHAEL'S LOADOUT
PRIMARY WEAPON: VIBROSWORD CAVALRY-SABRE
SECONDARY WEAPON: BLASTER-PISTOL
PROVING GROUND: THE WANDERER'S DEPLOYMENT TO CARLAC - PART TEN
Srares' Outskirts, Carlac
Michael.... Why must you persist in ignoring me this way?
After further efforts by the mountaintop Cataphracts, over half their incendiary shells had been sent down the smoothbore barrels in their opening bombardments of Srares' northern districts, with two artillery barrages sent over to break the monotony of siege-bombardment, still operating from the comfort of the White Crescent mountains' Three Munros as everyone else moved forward. This wouldn't be expedient if it had not have been for the mountains they'd been using as cover and mapping beacons, and since the command-centres were first set up, the control-rooms would change hands for the third time as the Quartermasters moved in to settle into their resting location for the rest of the op. Barran didn't like how easy it would be for the Mawite-Carlaci allies to detect the Munros' summit outposts, but was assured by Archer that they still had great capabilities in the small-arms and handheld antitank departments, being reminded of the visible approaches to each of the Three Munro mountains, going on to state intentions of making use of these inclines against any who would dare attempt actions on the Galidraani rearguard.
'Now, where are these bloody Highlanders? They should be gettin' here soo-'
<"-McBain to Cairn One! Closing in on your position, an' nae action as of yet. E-T-A's roughly.... Ten minutes tops, Milord.">
Despite everything that was going on in his mind, despite the obvious difficulty in the task that revealed itself, Lord Michael knew the Free-State's retaliation efforts could, little by little, chip away at every obstacle standing in his path to strategic victory. Little portents of auspice from the superstitious corner of the Woad's soul, brief indications of the excellence he was to expect from the men of Galidraan III that night, such were the feelings the Wanderer would draw from the timely interruption of Michael's mild complaints, and such were the feelings that kept the voice in his head from getting a meaningful word in. Barran knew the situation would improve when the Highland Brotherhood took some of their tanks father forward with them, though he couldn't help but wonder if unanticipated traps still lay in wait for them, an uncertainty of which would be left to linger unaddressed on account of his force-abilities being limited to almost-complete degrees of nullification, only serving to intensify his urge to test the so-called,"Real Effects", of Melarria's Root whilst the chance to use it was still there to be taken.
'Copy that, Cairn Two. We'll make our moves as soon as your men are ready. Cairn One out!'
I'm growing tired of your ignorance, Michael.
'I don't know about you, but I'm thinking the time for the Root is fast approaching.... Don't you-', the Novanian started, interrupted in his train of thought by his own head's evil voice, a troubling reminder (another to add to the increasing list of many already) of the predicament they shared in. Though the Novanian was handling his circumstances well, the Woad could still see the slight fearfulness in his eyes, giving Lord Michael something of a contrasting scale of scale of severity to compare with, calculating Yorunarr's odds of cracking to the horror as it continued to creep into the deepest recesses of their minds. Even though each new calculation looked less and less promising for the Arkanian-eyed sergeant, the Woad-born commander still liked the bodyguard's chances, and knowing Yorunarr could still hold his own against the tripled weight of the voices' pressure in comparison to that which would be weighing on Michael's own, well-trained mind. However, even though the young Novanian sergeant was handling his circumstances well, the Lord-Captain of the Woads was still concerned by the early request for the Root, even more so when Yorunarr persisted,'Don't you think, Milord? I only want the strength to shut them up, once and for all.', reaching into his pocket when he stopped talking.
'Not yet, Yorunarr. Soon though, I promise.... You're not alone in that urge, let that be known right off the bat - but I need you to hold on just a little longer, aw'right?'
Michael.... whatever you believe is up your sleeve, It won't ever be enough to stop me.
And besides, much worse awaits you in Srares anyway. A voice won't do much in all that, will it?
PROVING GROUND: THE WANDERER'S DEPLOYMENT TO CARLAC - PART ELEVEN
Northern Srares Mountains,
Near Srares' Outskirts, Carlac
Don't let Barran doom you all to horrible deaths, he wants you all dead.
aW nAw! dInNaE hIt uS wAe tHe sCaRy sTuFf aT tHis tImE o' NiGhT, PlEaSe!Utilising a completely different approach to everyone else, the four companies of the Highland Brotherhood battalion would treat their voices like petulant children, or in 1st-Leftenant McBain's case, treating the voices as if they were little more than some local brand of non-threatening hoodlums. It was debatable as to how counterproductive such attitudes would be for them in the long run, with some among them going as far as doubting that the voices were going to be of any help to the Maw's defensive efforts on Carlac at all, and as far as things looked to the Highlanders of Galidraan III, this particular minority of opinion was proving to be true by that point of the battle. Not that it mattered to anyone there, as their primary targets would have very little impact on the voices' ability to stubbornly gnaw away at their morale unchecked, and there was a real chance their encounters would become altogether too loud for the Highlanders to hear Halketh's voices from beyond; and so, with everything looking like matters were still going well for them, Michael's subordinates would continue on with tormenting disregard for the evils in their heads, caring little for the irony in determining to wreak havoc in a bid to drown out the noise.
This world is your snowy epitaph, your frozen mausoleum of endless suffering.
'These voices appear t'be a tad desperate, lads. Whaddya think?', McBain asked through a suppressed chuckle, to which he received laughter in answer to his astute rhetorical question. Not one shaky voice could be heard among the conferring paramilitaries, before during or after, and not one pair of shoulders were slouching either; their small efforts, for what small worth they were against celestial foes, were working enough to yield results the Leftenant could see with ease, and with enough comprehensive reasoning to (at the very least) reinforce their perceived power over the voices running rampant in their minds for the next while. Turning back to the others, Cairn Two would hold up his right hand in a signal for the four columns to halt behind him, rotating until he was facing everyone before exclaiming,'Wanty know what ah 'hink, lads? Ah reckon it wouldn't matter if we were doomed or no, makes nae difference ti what odds we often face back home, so it should make nae difference ti the odds we're facing up against the-night! We fight anywhere an' everywhere, not because it's a thrill, but because it's all we know! IT'S ALL WE'VE EVER KNOWN, BROTHERS!!!!'
*'CHA BHI SINN UILE!!!'
'CHA BHI SINN UILE!!!'
'CHA BHI SINN UILE!!!'
'CHA BHI SINN UILE!!!'
The suffering that the Highland Brotherhood had endured by then, though all would pale in comparison to what they would experience in the following hours, had been near-insurmountable at points, and fraught with every possible danger along the way. In comparison to other Galidraani paramilitary elements, the Brotherhood were not only smaller in troop-counts, but were up against larger, and more numerous organisations to add to their struggles; forging their cohesion as a highly-adaptable fighting force from within the crucible that was the Galidraani home front, and to extents that saw their exploits far exceed any other Free-State movements on Galidraan III since their Guerilla wars began. These weren't men who were handpicked for their skill or aggression, these weren't tank operators, Red-Jackals or forward-operating guardsmen, all their training was administered by the Brotherhood's enemies with the horrors of war serving as their unintended instructional doctrine. If ever Carlac had a reason to be fearful of warriors from Galidraan's second planet, their fears would have been more-accurately directed at the Highlands, for anyone who could survive perpetual war against the largest cities on Galidraan III would be a foe to take seriously.
Give it time, Galidraani scum. You'll let us have our say sooner or later, we can wait.
'When we reach Lord Michael, let me do the talking! I mean it, brothers! Silent as sleeping mice, especially if our plan keeps the others in the fight! McLennan tells it right - we can handle the streets at half-strength as he says, so that means aw the others can bolster the Cataphract line. Just leave it t'me an' ah guarantee the Lord-Captain's saying,"Yes", in the end.... Just remember,"Silent as sleeping mice.", aw'right?'
**'IT'S ALL WE KNOW!!!'
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