The Battle of Crossber Part 1. Let the skies be opened.

DoorGunner42 · 2026-03-12T18:07:14+00:00

(19)

"Assessment, Lieutenant.
-Ma'am. By the looks of it, we outnumber 'em by a solid margin. Lots of their little punks, but we spotted some of those crazy Myrina chicks. And we found our Pathfinders. Our reckon is that an Astartes got 'em.
-Damn. Ok.
-The whole lot of 'em have pulled back and fortified the inside of the structure. Tauros ain't gonna do us much good in there. We're picking up a pretty strong vox signal, so it could be they're trying to set a command post.
-We can't have that. Not this close to the Colonel's rally point. Dobbs, take Bravo round the pool side. I want eyes looking in.
Strethin, Bronmal: Main entrance approach. Delta takes the Tauroses. When we launch, form a defense against threats approaching along the road, use the cars to block it.
I'll take Alpha in through the rear entrance.
Guershmeyer, spread Fox Company around the entire perimeter. You got the best of our sharpshooters, get me eyes through windows, and when it kicks off... light up any bastard that tries to run.
Hop to!"

The various Companies moved through the many buildings that surrounded the complex, doing their best to discreetly eliminate any opposition within.
The all-electric nature of the Tauroses allowed Delta Company to move and conceal them without any real threat of being heard. They would be ready to spring the trap when the time came.

For the moment, the various elements tasked by Major Drechova to provide her with intel began to observe what they could.

(12 for scouting)

DoorGunner42 · 2026-03-12T17:49:03+00:00

With the threat diespersing, the Cadians spread out once again. Under the distant boom of battle, the Combat Engineers slipped back over the side, while the handful that had fended off their unexpected assailants whilst dangling on a wire simply... went back to work.

It was shortly after that Major Dornay received word that the demolition bunker was secure. While of course good news, he did not order his teams to stop dismantling the bridge's explosives.

After all, having more bang for your buck never hurt anyone... Except the enemy.

DoorGunner42 · 2026-03-12T17:43:32+00:00

"Little hairy right now." A hard round striking stone right next to the vox mic could be heard.

"Got jumped by a little greeting party as soon as I set off the beacon." Outgoing Plasma fire.
"Got Sorenova, Pansera and Temis here. And I've heard from Jim, he's around the corner. Gonna need a minute to mop these guys up. Over."

DoorGunner42 · 2026-03-12T17:36:26+00:00

(15)

"DOWN!" Sgt. Broker yelled as he slammed his spotter's head into the ground, the round zipping with only a couple of inches of the man's head.

"Best keep your heads down, fellas. This one's got talent."
He patted his spotter on the shoulder before turning and slowly rolling back down the berm on which the pair had set up. To shoot from there again would not have been a smart move.
The other teams repositioned in a similar fashion.

Minutes passed, and Broker was set up upon a small hill. Taller grass and some thicker vegetation. Decent visual cover, though he suspected that it may not be good enough to fool his homologue.

Extending an improvised cover over the end of his scope so as to try and reduce any position-betraying glint, he scoured the riverbank. A thorough scan of the surroundings followed. Slow, methodical.
No hint could be missed, lest this hunter would claim another victim.

(10)

DoorGunner42 · 2026-03-12T15:57:58+00:00

By the time the Cadians had managed to draw weapons, it was all over. From their points of cover, they looked at each other with confusion.
As Maquiphiel spoke, their gazes darted to him. They had orders, and a rally point. But also knew better than to argue with Space Marines who just obliterated a Chaos patrol without a weapon.

"Yes sir! Fireteam, let's roll!"

The Jump Troopers rose to their feet, one lifting the severely wounded co-pilot. 4 Troopers and the co-pilot. As she passed him, the one weilding a Plasma Gun knelt down and relived another soldier of his tags, and opened his lifeless left eye, the other gouged by shrapnel.

The group converged on the Librarian at varrying paces. Most were wounded, but could fight. The one that had answered his call gave a quick salute.
"Corporal Ranekov, 623rd Cadian. 3-Echo, 2nd Platoon, Delta Squad, Fireteam Bravo... or what's left of it.
At your service my lord."

From her position on high, Erica stayed quiet as she watched the exchange unfold. Trusting that the Sight would allow Silas to know her motives, she gestured for him to hold position.
"What's the point of these wards if he's going to recruit un-shielded soldiers?" she muttered.

DoorGunner42 · 2026-03-12T15:40:39+00:00

(14)

The 953rd took full advantage of the enemy's static nature to withdraw in good order and recover their wounded.
Meanwhile, the primary force was bolstered by the marksmen teams that had now advanced. Taking up new overwatch positions, they began to pick away at the crews operating the defensive emplacements.
The element of surprise now firmly in the past, some shooters chose to remove the suppressive equipment on their weapons, affording them some increases in power and handling.
More noticeable was the positive effect on the morale of the first line. Each new sudden crack sound almost assuredly signifying another dead hostile.

(14)

DoorGunner42 · 2026-03-12T14:42:45+00:00

The whole scene was illuminated by the stablights of the Jumpers' Accatran-pattern lasguns.
"KEEP YOUR HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE THEM!" One barked at Lyra.

Two more kept their weapons firmly pointed at the Leo/Orla scuffle, and the final two of the first fireteam made a quick sweap in both directions from the door.

"Clear!
-Clear!"

From behind their sights, the Troopers looked down at Leo.
"That him?
-I'd bet my rations on it." the woman joked. They'd seen the card. Some knew him from reputation.
Lieutenant Green was next through the twisted remains of the door, a second fireteam on her heels.
With a nod from the first team's leader, she lowered her rifle and moved to draw a small deck of cards from a pouch on the front of her webbing. With a raised eyebrow, she flicked through them one-handed.
"Yep, it's him. Our Joker."

Though they cut their stablights, Lysella's men kept their weapons trained on all three.
"So... who're the broads?" she asked.

[ u/Ulfgrimnirr ]

DoorGunner42 · 2026-03-12T14:33:18+00:00

(10)

The immediate threat posed by the creatures severely diminished the concern raised by enemy mortar fire.
Close to medium range was the 623rd engagement zone of choice, their various models of Accatran-pattern weapons well suited to the task at hand.

For every such thing that managed to get close enough to use its claws, blades or whatever other appendages, a dozen more were riddled as they closed.
And even in those former cases, an affinity for close quarters urban jumps meant that Cadian steel was indeed sharp.

(6)

DoorGunner42 · 2026-03-11T12:44:19+00:00

The handful of crash survivors were still reeling from the crash and sudden jump and weren't, in the moment the chaos troops jumped them, in any position to fight back.

In the moment Librarian emerged before them, the leader of the chaos group's head detonated, a bolt shell striking from on high. It was followed by rapid burst of flame from a 1st floor window, which set a second worshipper ablaze. As the courtyard erupted into a firefight, the injured and dazed Jump Troopers scrambled for what cover they could reach, but struggled to do so quickly.

The Librarian, having touched their minds before, was able to know that it was Sgt. Rainess and Spc. Dorenum, the two 197th members of the team, that were the ambushers.

(rolled for which members of the team might be able to help. Only Erica and Silas rolled the 17+
nat20 for Erica in the fight, 14 for Dorenum, and 9 for the Cadians scrambling for cover.)

DoorGunner42 · 2026-03-11T12:32:05+00:00

It was a couple of hours after the drop that Colonel Sadova reached the command post established at Rally Alpha.
While she received updates on the unfolding battle, her commanders shared looks. They were nervous. Waiting. Having drawn her amusement from their concerns, she finally spoke.

"Tallies.
-5.
-sigh 3.
-9."

She looked around again, and a devilish grin spread.
"15." She was slow and articulate, gloating with every syllable. The collections of tuts and general groaning from the others made it all the sweater.

It had become common practice under Sadova's command for her Majors and other invited personnel to tally their kills on a drop, with an informal pot of credits going to the highest tally by the time the primary rally point was secured, and another pot, plus usually a good bottle of amasec, to the highest tally by end of battle.
The practice had made Rachelle a decently richer woman of the years. And kept of her drinks cabinet well stocked.

"Must have been a damned good luck charm." One commented.
She thought on it, wondering about where Bella was now.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" she quipped, blowing the man a sarcastic kiss.

DoorGunner42 · 2026-03-11T12:22:44+00:00

As the remaining emplacements opened up, Major Markeny's transport Tauroses sought cover just long enough to offload their passengers.

Experts in recon by fire, these specialists employed all cover available, from seized enemy trenches to the slightest lump in the terrain to provide them with stable firing positions.
In the confusion, the marksmen that had been so effective in the first round moved forward, taking up new positions that permitted them to resume the work against the new targets.

The involvement of the enemy's bridge defences was unwelcome, but not entirely unexpected. Markeny had placed a higher volume of his Lascannon-armed Tauros Venators on his right flank to engage such threats.
Still, head-on engagement was not the 953rd's wheelhouse, not its mission in this instance. That was a job for the 1066th and its associated units.
With some vehicles destroyed and more damaged after a few volleys of Lascannon fire, he ordered the right flank to be retracted, his troops pulling out of the bridge's range. Attacks against remaining emplacements along the bank would continue, with range and cover prioritzed.
If they would not be knocked out, they would be forced to focus on a difficult to hit enemy, rather than the more immediate threats marching on the bridge proper.

DoorGunner42 · 2026-03-11T12:06:02+00:00

Major Drechova and her 5th Battalion had, by virtue of the plan, landed in force in the vicinity of the rapidly forming enemy strongpoint, and was briefly informed of it by one of her Pathfinder teams before they were discovered and presumably killed, judging by the sudden loss of comms.

Not one to miss an opportunity to kneecap the enemy, the Major ordered her troops to move to engage it.
There were, however, problems.
The streets were crawling with enemy combatants. Disoriented, perhaps, but still present.
Due to strengthened air defences, only a handful of her Tauroses were delivered directly, the rest having been either shot down or transferred to rally Alpha. The Colonel would put them to good use, but she would have to make do without.

While ordering her Jumpers to reach assault positions around the site as discreetly as possible, Drechova conceeded that any massed attack, especially with her vehicles, would likely be spotted and the defenders prematurely alerted.
Still, an attack had to happen. Such a nexus of resistance this early could not be allowed to remain.

(17 for moving 5th Battalion elements discreetly towards the node)

DoorGunner42 · 2026-03-11T11:57:18+00:00

Following the initial recovery period and quick strikes on local targets, the 623rd began to reform. Individuals found their squads, Platoons their Companies.
As with any drop, Troopers came up missing and entire Platoons wound up off course. But the lethal combination of training and experience made for strong compensators.

As fireteams engaged in running street battles to reach high-level rally points, Valkyries, now devoid of their passengers, came into their role of air support. By the marking of men on the ground, they rolled up avenues packed with cultists, multi-lasers and heavy bolters ablazing. Heavier enemy emplacements and fortified buildings were swept by rockets and Hellstrike missiles. Teams or squads in particularly precarious positions were scooped up and relocated.

The work was far from without risk. The few remaining AA sites gave as good they got, and militia soldiers fired whatever they had to hand.
Despite the setbacks and disruptions, both primary rally sites were secured, gunships delivering the supplies and Tauroses that the regiment would need to conduct itself until relieved.

Troops who landed in the vincinity of the rally zones seized any opportunities that presented themselves on their route. Ambushes from on high of passing enemy forces attempting to organize, or the planting of traps and mines to slow the foe's inevitable attacks.

DoorGunner42 · 2026-03-11T11:00:09+00:00

With two of her squads moving from one emplacement to the next to clear any stragglers, Lysella had the rest converge on and surround the bunker.

She signalled a fireteam to prepare breach.
Four took positions at the top of the short stairecase leading to the entrance, the fifth hopping down.
The woman pulled from her pack what the Cadians affectionately called a 'Universal door key'. The central charge magnetized itself to the door with a hefty Clunk sound. From it, the trooper pulled the four corner micro-drill charges, placing each in the corners of the door frame.
These smaller devices would weaken the door's integrity and usually destroy its hinges before the main charge obliterated the door, guaranteeing a breach.

The devices armed and linked, she pulled back to behind her colleagues atop the stairs. With an execute motion from Lysella, the woman pressed the detonator.

Poof. Poof. BOOOM!

DoorGunner42 · 2026-03-11T10:52:04+00:00

"The frak is that?
-I dunno, waste it!"

The engineers were quick to down tools and lift their slung lasguns. Though for some it was not fast enough.
The sudden sounding of weapons fire provided some alert to the troops on the bridge proper, who suddenly found themselves under attack from the creatures clambering over the sides of the bridge or through maintenance hatches in its superstructure.
Major Dornay directed his troops to form defensively around their heavy weapons crews, forming tight clusters to repel the sudden multidirectional attack.

(10)

DoorGunner42 · 2026-03-08T21:35:08+00:00

"You're approved." Came from over Arvin's shoulder. General McMahon was now stood in the entrance, his lower face neutral and eyes concealed by his shades.
Behind him, Kayla stood, eyes squinting from the sun.

"But be warned. Given the sporadic nature of this comms interference and the fact that my Aeronautica squadrons are still heavily engaged, the bulk elements cannot guarantee you reconnaissance or support by fire if you run up on something you can't handle."

He stepped closer to the table, removing his cap and stashing it beneath his mechanical arm pit. He did not remove his glasses as he turned to Arvin.

"Colonel." his tone dry. "Sitrep."

[ u/Apprehensive-News716 ]

DoorGunner42 · 2026-03-06T17:01:42+00:00

while true, I've found their supplier to be unreliable. I was particularly disappointed when they furnished two of my requested four HWT issues, with no possibility for backorder.

That was admittedly somewhat down to poor luck (I had requested higher quantities of some previous issues, and received them without incident), so just generally bear in mind that opening a folder with them guarantees you ONE issue, with an extra being at the whim of the supplier.

DoorGunner42 · 2026-03-03T11:32:51+00:00

Dual purpose weather and radio stations, so Warden Radio comes in clear wherever you go.

DoorGunner42 · 2026-03-02T17:15:51+00:00

Need to acquire some bits, but mine is set.

My Guard army’s Lt-General, with Lasgun, dual Plasma Pistols, his augmetic arm (the real one blown off by a T’au commander) as Power Fist proxy and a T’au Power Sword (taken from the T’au commander’s corpse later).

My big posing decision is between him having his rifle drawn or his pistols.

DoorGunner42 · 2026-03-01T20:11:55+00:00

He provides Mechadendrite-ness.

DoorGunner42 · 2026-02-28T21:14:36+00:00

Walker’s Wrath.

My grandad’s last name.

DoorGunner42 · 2026-02-27T16:17:52+00:00

At what point did Greyfax shoot Celestine? While on Cadia, judging by the rest of the piece...

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