Insurrectionists' Strategium

[Chief Captain Redd]

Thank you, yes he's a thousand son, I haven't thought a specific for his survival, but I figured I'd keep it simple and say he was off world most likely.

 

And yeah Wendigo legends are all sorts of brutal, in my tribe's language it effectively means flesh eater as in cannibals, but the tales make them WAY more terrifying mixed beasts/daemon/people things.

[Hesh Kadesh]

I always liked them even in D&D way back when. They were flying dudes without their feet (legs looking like burned stalks) who had an eternal hunger for Cannibalism of their original race.

 

They were an awesome threat. "I turn Undead. *No effect*..."

 

Uh oh.

[Chief Captain Redd]

Haha, yeah. I hope they instill fear like that in the Insurrection. I kind of want to see/write them absolutely devastating a couple of planets and leaving nothing but scorched earth and fear.

[Big Bad Squig]

- Void Eagles 8^th Flotilla, Distress Call Response, Nemurtivius IV. Date 113007.M31

 

>>Collected vox transmissions to orbiting fleets, Legion Apothecary Gurvarev, 113007.M31. Recovered from wreckage 967007.M31

 

***Recording begins.

 

Transmission 1 – “Small detatchment of marines, including myself made planetfall on Nemurtivius IV after intercepting a distress call from local colonists, reporting sporadic attacks by a relentless, never-before-seen xenos race – the last thing we need at this point.  Landing party was led by Captain Kisakey.  We made our way towards the largest settlement, finding only 76 survivors of a population reported to be in the thousands.  Many of the dead seemed to have been killed using stolen bolt weaponry, most likely taken from the planet’s armouries.  Some, however, had been clawed and bitten apart.  The bite marks were incredibly large, suggesting perhaps a creature that could distend its jaw at will, with a mouth easily the size of an Astartes.  Out.”

 

Transmission 2 – “We waited for dawn before following in the direction the locals pointed us in, into a large sunken, wooded area from where the xenos supposedly attacked.  Not far in we found bodies hung from trees with stakes driven through their eyes.  Perhaps part of some primitive victory ritual?  We also found footprints, all large, but varying in size from those of an Astartes to that of a greenskin squiggoth.  Prints were bare and humanoid, but many were misshapen, as if broken or otherwise changed.  Out”

 

Transmission 3 – “We have now been searching the forest for three days.  No further breakthroughs in classifying the xenos.  Out.”

 

Transmission 4 – “Three men went missing last night while taking patrols around the encampment.  Reports are in that they have been found with bite marks and stakes through their eyes.  Only one survived, and he is being returned to the encampment for treatment by myself.  Out.”

 

Transmission 5 – “Patient is in a stable condition, and looks set to recover, unless the infection the bite mark has acquired him worsens.  At the moment he has a light fever, which is being easily treated.  In the meantime, patrols have been tripled, with reinforcements arriving from the ship to continue scouring the woodland for more clues.  Out.”

 

Transmission 6 – “Fever has worsened tenfold, with not even the combined efforts of all present apothecaries being able to lower the temperature within 20 degrees of normal.  Another patrol has reported men killed, with survivors claiming being attacked by an enormous figure possessing heavy armour.  It is thought to be the one coordinating the attacks.  We recovered bodies of the marines slain in the encounter.  They had been stabbed through the eyes with wooden stakes, and, on one of the trees the message ‘Now may you see’ had been written.  Other fleet elements should be notified.   Out.”

 

Transmission 7 – “A possible xenos encampment has been sighted.  Captain Kisakey has requested me to accompany the assault force, and to acquire specimens for research.  Out.” 

 

Transmission 8 – “We are currently approaching xenos positions.  They appear to have fortified a large hollow in the earth, approachable from all sides.  Preliminary scouting has revealed very few buildings and defences.  *voice lowers* *recording adjusts to compensate* We have visual.  Loading weaponry.  Preparing for assault.  *inaudible discussion* *loading of bolter weaponry* Moving in.  *twig snaps*.

 

-Silence for 395.7 seconds

 

*voice raises* *recording adjusts to compensate* Forward, brothers!  *chainsword activation* *narthecium activation*

 

-Sustained bolter fire for 67.3 seconds

 

*growls*

*voice pattern – match – Elaban Kisakey* Reload, reload! 

*unidentified voice* Bolters are useless!

*voice pattern – match – Elaban Kisakey* Keep firing!

*unidentified voice* There are more coming, captain.

*unidentified voice* One down!

*clash of blades* *growl*

*scream*

*voice pattern – match – Apothecary Gurvarev* Captain! *narthecium activation*

 

-Sustained bolter fire and screams for 35.4 seconds

 

*voice pattern – match – Apothecary Gurvarev* Fall back!

*power fist impact*

*voice pattern – match – Apothecary Gurvarev* It can’t be…

*power fist impact* *scream – voice pattern Gurvarev*

 

Heart rate slowed.

Heart rate stop.

Apothecary Gurvarev deceased. ”

 

Transmission 9 – “*voice pattern… analysing* If you’re listening, Yucahu...  *data banks compromised* I hope you are.  I hope you all are.  We ate your legionnaires.  We tore off their flesh with our teeth.  And we will find all of you, and we will do even worse.  We came to Him for help, and He took everything from us.  And now all we have left is to take everything from you *voice pattern – match – Koschei Kharkovic*.  You will know my pain.”

 

Transmission 10 – “

Heart rate speeding up

Heart rate stable

Apothecary Gurvarev - - - records corrupted?

 

Bug fix?

 

No bugs detected.

Apothecary Gurvarev alive”

 

 

 

***Recording ends.

Edited September 22, 2015 by Big Bad Squig

[MikhalLeNoir]

Yikes. Alien meets Walking dead. Great short

[Raktra]

Absolutely loved that. Nice and chilling.

[Hesh Kadesh]

Oh yes. That I like. That I like a lot.

[Chief Captain Redd]

That's a great little creepy tale, brings the dark back into grim dark.

[Skalpynock]

 Loyalists? Who are you calling 'loyalists'? Are you implying we are not?  We are the loyalists here, sworn to the rightful rule of the Heir Apparent Icarion Anasem as First among equals, and to the status of all Primarchs as lords of this Imperium. At best, they are misguided; at worst, bastard followers of an illegitimate warmaster, and the plebeian Council of Terra. To these they are loyal, to the Emperor's word rather than to what is right, as happened at Baal so many years ago. We are the loyalists, men of right. They are radicals, men of the word, unquestioning of the Emperor's will.

–Darzalas' address to his legion, concerning anti-imperial war cries in battle.

Edited March 21, 2016 by Skalpynock

[AlphariusOmegon108]

Hmm... I am considering creating a Dark Mechanicus tread on this forum part, because 1. I am working on starting a dark mech force. 2. To kinda be the counter to the mech Abysii guys here... sound like a plan?

[simison]

It sounds like a plan. Perhaps I'm ignorant, but I don't recall the Dark Mech getting a lot of coverage in the novels. 

[Slips]

It sounds like a plan. Perhaps I'm ignorant, but I don't recall the Dark Mech getting a lot of coverage in the novels. 

Its mostly because they havent gone off the rails or Diverged strongly enough yet to have a real marked difference between AdMech and Dark Mech.

 

By the Siege, they probably had some early Daemon Engines but, most likely just had Daemons Used as a Fuel Source in standard Equipment than the Cyclopean Horrors that we have now in 40k.

[Doctor Perils]

We'll be having some rules for the Dark Mech with the next FW HH book, and from what I'd gathered there'd already be Daemon Engines (though possibly not the largest ones yet), so this could help

[Raktra]

 

It sounds like a plan. Perhaps I'm ignorant, but I don't recall the Dark Mech getting a lot of coverage in the novels. 

Its mostly because they havent gone off the rails or Diverged strongly enough yet to have a real marked difference between AdMech and Dark Mech.

 

By the Siege, they probably had some early Daemon Engines but, most likely just had Daemons Used as a Fuel Source in standard Equipment than the Cyclopean Horrors that we have now in 40k.

 

There's a Reaver in Vengeful Spirit that is implied to be Warp-possessed, but that's as far as it goes, still looks normal.

[depthcharge12]

I'm currently battling the Fire Bringers, where else do the Ghost Walkers come into play? :)

[simison]

I'm currently battling the Fire Bringers, where else do the Ghost Walkers come into play? :)

Since the Ghosts are an excellent recon force, it'd be easy to insert small units of them in other battles.

[simison]

As the Stormborn entered the chamber, the Jade General bowed before him. Some of his brothers were arrogant, believing they were second only to the Emperor. He was wiser. Even among brothers, some were better than others, and Icarion was truly a first among equals, regardless of who was Warmaster. "I welcome you to my sanctum, honorable lord."

 

Icarion bowed in return, though not as deeply. "I am honored to be welcomed here."

 

With duty satisfied, the Jade General gestured to a small table in the center of the room. Made from antique mahogany and carved with intricacies symbols of Han's history, the table stood less than a meter off the floor and no chairs attended to it. Instead, two cushions waited for them to sit, while a tea set occupied the table's surface. The Primarch's took their seats, Icarion first as custom demanded.

 

To the Han, tea was not only a source of nourishment, but an avenue of honor as long as one could observe the ancient rites. After learning theme rituals once, the Jade General had never made a mistake. Moving with graceful precision, he poured two cups. Icarion waited for both to be filled. In unison, they drank.

 

Icarion released a satisfied sigh. "An exquisite taste, brother. Do I sense sansuo leaves?"

 

The Jade General offered a rare small smile. "Fresh from the homeworld."

 

For the next hour, they spent the time catching up, speaking of recent victories, glory earned by their sons, and of disappointments.

 

"...you understand?" Icarion finished.

 

"Of course, brother," the Jade General nodded as he stroked his pointed beard.

 

"Ambition is useful to a degree, but it is important to understand one's limits and the limits of their charges. A soldier's failure is a reflection on his officer."

 

The Jade General nodded again, but he wondered if he detected a change in Icarion's tone.

 

"It is also the same in the case of assigning responsibility to one who is not prepared for promotion. Especially in the manner of war. A poor choice can cost untold blood. This is true of anyone. From the lowliest sergeant to the Emperor himself. Do you not agree, General?"

 

The shift in tone was unmistakable now.

[Skalpynock]

Got inspired by the talk on the Prosecution, and extrapolated its consequences a few years into the Insurrection.

 

 

 

“Keep them clean.” Kelasor had voxed them, and they had upheld that order. There began their grim duty. Astan unlocked his stalker bolter from his backpack, and signalled his squad to take place on the edge of the hill. They wore bastard plate, a base of Han-produced variant Mark IV fitted with the higher responsive Mark VI helms and gauntlets, their right arms painted black, betraying a major misdeed. Their left ones were clad in narthecia, yet they were no apothecaries. They were here to kill, not to heal or even take this world. The battle wasn't theirs. They were thieves, grave-robbers of the living. The Void Eagles had eluded them, as they had eluded the whole Imperium for decades. Data on their genetic makeup had been sparse, and insufficient for the extrapolation to continue. Their destructive approach at warfare was a pain to get intact corpses, these madmen burning their own dead as they fought. This battle would be easier: these Eagles were Terran renegades, bearing the Morning Star emblem, who had engaged the ever-accurate Serpents. If everything happened as expected, not a single shot would have to be fired by the disciples of Asklepias and Vizenko, save for a mercy-bolt to disfigure their targets. No trace of Warbringer presence would be written in official records, save for potential mentions of “unknown apothecaries”. The Blood Takers were ghosts born of necessity, no squad would ever be recognized for their deeds, not even those who would murder Custodians or scour the ruins of Fenris. Nor would those humans stationed on Luna or Terra, uncovering the archives behind the Primarchs and the Labryk Polaris project.

Edited January 15, 2016 by Skalpynock

[simison]

So, thanks to Skal, I was thinking of the shattered legions, which led to thinking about the Black Shields and the Knights Errant. Now, obviously, we'll have our own KE equivalent, but I was thinking of Icarion's empire. Unlike Horus' mad dash towards Terra, Icarion has enough of an advantage to spare time to solidifying his territory. So, I was thinking that he instituted a marine enforcer force or specialists to ensure loyalty to Madrigal. Thoughts?

[Slips]

A Legion Military Police could be something cool to explore for some who have less coherent loyalties.

[Skalpynock]

Well, Guilliman's Imperium Secundus had the Vigil Operatii secret police, made of failed aspirants, so I guess Icarion, who has more resources at hand, could mobilise actual Astartes for the task.

[Nomus Sardauk]

Mmhmm, would they be drawn from Icarion's own Lightning Bearers or would one of his allies' Legions be better suited to the task? Or perhaps from all the Insurrectionist Legion? Like a sneaky Astartes Inquisitor/Chaplain hybrid?

[MikhalLeNoir]

Some kind of insurrectionists GESTAPO. Great material for stories beyind The marine wars

[Athrawes]

I think a cool blurb from the Horus Heresy Book 6 on the Blackshield astartes would be a cool place to start for this.

 

http://image.bolterandchainsword.com/uploads/gallery/album_10492/gallery_79873_10492_16419.png

 

"Rapidly indoctrinated initiates thrust into battle for a cause the barely understood" has me thinking.

 

Because of the genetic meddling we have in our universe, it could be rapid-growth 'proto-astartes' specifically bread by the traitors to deal with these tasks which would be deemed 'beneath' normal full astartes of the Legions. The sphere is a pretty sizable domain and with the traitor Legions and Traitor mechanicum it wouldn't be too hard to imagine them producing these type of Black shields quickly and quietly.

[Athrawes]

Not sure if Everyone caught it from the book 1 thread, but this is the general overarching timeline we're going with for the new length of the Insurrection (25-30years long)

 

• It begins with the Day of Revelation, with the ambushes of the Legions Icarion believes will never join him and death of Daer'ed. This is intended to cripple the Loyalist forces to make the reconquest of the Imperium easier for the Insurrectionists.
• the next ten years see the Insurrections slowly expand their imperium into the vacuum of the Loyalist withdrawal towards terra. The staged withdrawal is kept from being a route by Alexandros' brilliance and is intended as a delaying action, buying the loyalists time to fortify their core holdings and stall the Insurrectionists advance. At this point the Insurrectionist outnumber the loyalists handily, so they have the initiative and can invade, capture, consolidate worlds and move on, slowly expanding the power base, as the shattered legions and loyalist strike forces send in desperate sortiees to delay their advance.
• The next ten years See Icarion's grip on his new imperium tighten, as large confrontations erupt between the reconstituted/reinvigorated  loyaists. At the end of this period, Icarion counter-imperium is at it's strongest, but the growingly brutal confrontations with the desperate loyalists forces Icarion to adopt a vindictive strategy of destruction. It is around this point that Chaos and 'Taint' beging to play a much more profound roll in the traitors war effort. I imagine that there  is some polarizing campaign which icarions launches that many of the revolutionary insurrectionists view as "ruthless" and "too-far" sacrificing of entire star systems to spite the loyalists and the like. This is the point after 20 years where Icarion has degraded to a "Let the galaxy burn" mindset.
• Due to the events above, the Revolutionaries leave a side they view to be spiraling out of control.
• The next 10 years see Icarion and his corrupted Traitors pushing relentlessly towards Terra. This is bloody, and apocalyptic, as the Loyalists while still battered, have had decades to try and shore up their lines and defenses, after being pushed back again and again. This period of Traitor advance is also stalled by revolutionary raids and stalling actions against them.
• The 10 year period ends with Icarion's Legions reachingTerra at last at the same moment that the revolutionaries begin the Siege of Madrigal, to try and destabilize and cripple the Traitor war effort. 
• Icarion Leads the Defense of Madrigal, which ends in terrible bloodshed and defeat. At the same time, the Lions share of his legion and the rest of the traitors are rushing to end the war on terra, or risk losing everything they have fought for. When Madrigal falls, Icarion flees through the webway, to the aperture on Terra. He fights Alexandros in the Throne Room, and slays him. Then confronts the Emperor over body of his brother. Icarion dies and the Lightning Bearers exit the war, much in the same way the sons of Horus do. The Traitors are fractured, which gives the loyalists their chance to push them off Terra, and ends the Insurrection.
• We enter the scouring, which will be the re reconquest of the imperium for the Loyalists, pushing the traitors back.

 

 

++++++

 

There is plenty of room here for other agendas by the various groups with agency, but the initial theme of the Insurrection from Icarion's view isn't to destroy the loyal Legion. It is to overthrow the Emperor, and attempt to bring our misguided loyal brothers to our banner as we slowly expand our Counter-Imperium.

Edited March 12, 2016 by Athrawes