Topic: Guard RP, The Hunt for Barrel O'Rum...Again

[Sputnik]

Colonel Sputnik stood at his office window, staring out at a platoon of Cadians in the middle of drill. Despite his rank, he wore the same signature midnight blue PT-38 jumpsuit as his men. Elysians were not fond of pompous exhibits of authority. They were often favoured by officers with neither wit nor talent, and the Imperial Guard had no shortage of such men. They were as dangerous to the enemy as their fellow soldiers. The Colonel understood this too well.

The door chime interrupted his thoughts.

"Enter."

It was Trooper Turmel, his lanky vox operator.

"Sir, the meeting is about to begin. You should also know there's been an incident. Casualities reported in the meeting hall."

This is not how you run an army.

The Colonel holstered his laspistol.

"Well, we better not keep them waiting."

Colonel Sputnik had been ushered to the front of the security line and quickly let inside the meeting hall, the signs of violence still visable. He didn't give it a second look and made his way to the back wall, near one of the armoured officers, an Underhand. He gave the man a curt nod and prepared for the briefing.

Summary: Colonel Sputnik enters briefing room and is ready to be briefed.

[Chosen Man]

A ringing tone was announced thru the speaker system in the room to bring the briefing to order as all the Generals were present and almost all the officers of the 40th’s Command were present too. CM pressed a button on the table and the all the doors began to close, the Skitarii remained outside to guard the entrances and the Praetorian remained inside the hall to protect the officers. Several of the senior officers spoke for order in the hall as all the officers quieted down. CM stood and looked around “Over the last 2 years we have rebuilt the 40th Corps from the horrible betrayal of O’Rum and his xeno allies. Thanks to the efforts of our High Command, Segmentum Command, and our very own S3 the Corp is now back organized and ready to continue its work of defending the Imperium from its many enemies. Still there is one man that is central to bring to justice if this command is going to finally become unified in my opinion; I am talking about the Traitor O’Rum.”

CM Looked around at the assembled officers “2 Years ago with the help of General Gravis and Colonel Sputnik we chased the traitor out of our space and into Tau controlled space, but we were recalled before we had a chance to finish that job, the time for our attack has finally come and it’s time we put an end to this schism once and for all. We now have the information on where the traitor O’Rum has been hiding out with his Xeno friends, and the Corps is going to war to bring him back to face the justice of the Emperor.”

CM clicked a button his wrist comm and the Holo came to life with an image of a Gas Giant, as the screen began to zoom in the gas giant was moved aside in the image and one of the moons came into focus. “This is the Rasmus system gentlemen, it is a moon near the Damocles Gulf Corridor it’s an old world lost to the imperium during the Horus Heresy and retaken by a now dead human group called the Squats. The system is a unique world of which only a very few still exist and function in the imperium. A Brewery Class World, even rarer them our majestic Forge Worlds, the Brewery Class Systems were almost all abandoned due to the lack of Brew Masters with the knowledge to run the technology. During his career a young Major O’Rum lead the defense of a similar world during a crusade. It is believed that O’Rum was swayed by the xenos with a gift of this world; this is where we believe the traitor has been hiding.

CM examined the look on the faces of his officers and continued “What little we know of this world is that there are 3 hives located on the northern forested area. The 3 hives are now being occupied by a force of Tau ground forces. Our intelligence has informed us that the Tau are reinforcing the world and turning it into possibly a future colony world for their twisted empire. This Corps will not allow this! We will mount a full assault on the world and reclaim it in the name of the emperor gentlemen!”

CM saddens a bit “Finally it is believed that the corruption of O’Rum may be deeper than just the 40th Corps. Segmentum Command is also aware that several of the units that served with O’Rum in his old unit the 15th Expeditionary Force are also relocating to this world. Command hopes to catch all the traitors on the same world and crush this rebellion once and for all.”

CM looked at his generals then at the holo as the local area map came online and several arrows were shown, a few markers with the separate generals names were located on the map “General Kemiri Special Forces will lead an assault on the hives shields and space defenses; once this is achieved our naval support will provide us with heavy fire support that will help in bringing this world into compliance. Dr. Ruminahui’s forces will form the Forlorn Hope leading the attack on the hives; finally Generals Gravis and Henimann will make up the spearhead that will strike at the heart of the enemy defense forces, and take down O’Rum’s rebellion down finally.”

“All division commanders and their seconds will receive detailed orders from the S3 as to your objectives and where you will be deployed. Remember that the main objective of this mission is to crush O’Rum’s rebellion, never forget what he has done to this Corps! Emperor Protect!”

[The GrimSqueaker]

>>>Begin data download.... approved recipients only.... download complete. ***Thought for the day - he who smelt it, dealt it.<<< ***

Distilleri – sole habitable moon located within the Rasmus system. Distilleri has been characterised as one of the rare Brewery class worlds founded by the Imperium. Brewery Class worlds were previously the sole source of liquid courage provided to the Emperor’s Great Crusade and were highly prized. None of the opposing human and xenos forces were able withstand the Emperor’s forces when fueled by liquid courage and so the Great Crusade pushed on.

As the Imperium expanded, greater logistical pressures were put upon the Brewery worlds to maintain the demand. “The booze must flow” became the mantra for workers and a sacred order was forged to maintain discipline. This order, known as the Barmen, dressed completely in a nice black shirt and a fashionable pair of comfortable black trousers. Senior Barmen could be identified by the slightly off colour white towel hanging from their back pockets with which to spread the sacred filth upon drinking vessels. The Barmen were not alone in their rule over Distilleri, they were joined in force by their militant wing, the Doormen, unsmiling slabs of muscle who were tasked with teaching the ignorant and the unruly how to fly. Often with great force and enthusiasm. Such lessons were often repeated even though the pupils certainly never managed the hang of it other than to unerringly find the ground at some point in the lesson. Usually at the end of it.

Distilleri was recorded as lost during the open stages of the Horus Heresy. It is unknown whether the firestorms that rages across its surface were the result of enemy action or merely yet another instance where someone thought inflammable was the opposite of flammable and took their smoke break in exactly the wrong place. Distilleri went dark and the lack of liquid courage bought the Emperor’s forces to their knees when they needed it most.

>>>Playback paused.<<<

[Henimann]

Henimann chewed on his cigar as he looked over the hologram of Distilleri, the planet now being used as a stronghold by the traitor and xenos forces.   While the plan of attack seemed simple enough, the combination of Tau technology with the thorough knowledge of Guard organization brought by the traitors worried him.   

This is going to be bloody, he thought. We'll win this for sure, but what will be the cost?

He thought back to when his beloved Turadorians were accidentally slaughtered by the Corp's own guns during their last-ditch defense of the Dodecahedron, and how he swore after that day to never unnecessarily waste his men in battle again.   The cause for this campaign, eliminating a traitor and his forces, as well as denying a xenos empire  another world, was just.   But would the ends justify the means?   

Think like a general, dammit.  Stop worrying about the past and see to the task at hand.  Besides, when we take this place, think of all the booze... He snapped out of his reverie, and turned to the Princeps.

"Sir, what do we know of the enemy's armor disposition at this time?"

[Harrison]

"General Henimann, I have reports that their armor disposition is very light, do to the fact that they are large fleet resources , and see no need for heavy armor other than APC's" Harrison said, standing up to the podium.

"Our main objective on Distilleri is NOT to fight the Tau, but to close with and kill or capture the traitor O'Rum, if you all will please open your portfolios to page 5...." Harrison was saying mid-sentence when the entire bunker rumbled and shook. The Dropships were landing.

The base speaker system rang out;
All personnel please make ready for transport to orbit, All personnel please make ready for transport to orbit, All personnel please make ready for transport to orbit.

Harrison's jaw dropped, his report was cut short by the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Navy. Rage brewed in his gut as many began shuffling out of the room to their units. "Damn it..." he said as he slumped off the dais. He had taken 3 weeks, non stop to prepare that briefing.

"Wilhelm, lets go" He said as he walked toward the one of the dropships.

Gentlemen,

Make way to the dropships, those that missed the briefing must go without knowing. Vox Harrison with any questions about the tau threat if needed. Thanks.

Round One ends;
All Officers reported to the briefing given by Chosen Man.
Commissar ShoutY and his private are to show penitence for his privates egregious action against Mechanicus personnel.
Dropships land to take troops to the orbiting fleet for transport to Distilleri

Harrison, 40th Corps

[Commissar ShoutY]

shouty moved through the officer's filing out towards the podium, many officers followed the commissar's movements
"My lord CM, may i formally apologise for the actions of my aid? i will suitably punish him later as the situation allows and observe any censure the mechanicum my require. i regret the out come of the action and ask that we move forward from this, right now the only action we should be focused on is the destruction of the Traitor" the commissar's voice carried through the room to all present as he made a formal bow the the commander, "if you'll now excuse me my lord, i need a moment with the S3"
walking to Harrison's side he saluted
"Major, have we an idea the scale of ground forces in terms of Tau front line infantry, Traitor units and planetry auxiliaries? and what is there disposition across the northern continant?"
................... ................... ..........
talk to Harrison and call for my aid.

[Tuesday]

Major Tuesday listened intently to the presentation given by the Princeps. As he took notes, he spoke to himself quietly;

"Rasmus system....... Damocles Gulf Corridor........Bre wery Class world...... 3 hives........Tau defenses, traitor forces........ General Kehmri's forces assault on the shields and space defences....."

This got his attention. It seemed to the Major that they were going to be depending a lot on the expertise of Colonel Sputnik's and his own drop troops to attack and disable some hard to reach objectives.

As Major Harrison was ordering everyone to open their portfolios, a low growl was starting the become audible, then the whole base started to rumble,

All personnel please make ready for transport to orbit, All personnel please make ready for transport to orbit, All personnel please make ready for transport to orbit.

Everyone started to get up and shuffle around, and the S3 was visibly pissed off.

As Major Tuesday got up, he made his way down to the General's table...

"Sir, General Kehmeri, I think we should have a Brigade meeting to discuss our objectives and deployment...."

Summary: Major Tuesday takes notes during the briefing and approached General Khemri as the dropships land.

[Harrison]

"Commissar, sorry for my outburst my friend, I have a lot on my mind" Harrison said patting him on the shoulder.

"My...our scouts in the area state that their are roving patrols of Fire Caste warriors mounted in APCs, but not much. Many Menadian's died to give us this information" Harrison said solemnly. "Commissar, remember our conversation, the time will come, please stay close and safe. Try to keep low, to much in the lime light can bring unwanted attention to us, aye?"

"You should get your trooper from the stockades, we will be leaving soon..."

[Henimann]

Henimann grunted thanks to Harrison's quick response.   He turned to the assembled officers and found those from his own division.

"Officers of the Treads of Fury Division, go prepare your regiments for embarkation.   I shall contact you for a division staff meeting before departure."

[Heretek]

General Khemri glared at the Major for a moment. He took a deep breath, reminded himself that they were all idiots who couldn't pronounce a perfectly common Cadian name and began collecting data slates from the table in front of him.

"Indeed, Major. I'm considering committing the entire Drop Infantry Brigade to the assault on the shield generators while the I lead the Shock Brigade in an attack on the orbital defences. We'll thrash the details out en route."

[CFirpi]

PVT Firpi looked over at the cell door being opened. He stood up from the  burlap "cot"  and snapped to parade rest. The SGT looked him up and down and tossed the rucksack in from of him.
"Suit up, I'm escorting you back to your boss."
PVT Firpi picked up the bag " So I am not being punished?"
The SGT did not even pay attention if the kriegsman was following;
"Nah, CM said you will make proper reparations in the future. Looking at him and his guards, I don't wanna think what's gonna happen to ya."

He pondered on the strangeness of this but was taken from his musing by the finger snaps of the SGT. They were back at the meeting hall.
"Wait here till your boss picks you up. I wouldnt go getting high and mighty again." With that finished he pointed at the mass of leaving officers and soldiers meeting said officers.

The kriegsman reequipped and waited beside the door at parade rest for Commissar Shouty to exit.


SUMMARY: PVT Firpi was escorted to the meeting hall and is awaiting his boss.

[Andro Ist Keine Schwedischen]

"Distilleri, eh?" Andross murmered to himself, the comm-bead feeding him the classified information.  "Rasmus system...  We have some intell on that part of space, do we not?"

"Yes sir," Fartherson replied.  "Though I'm unsure if giving them information would be the best idea..."

"Hrmm.  That's for me to decide, isn't it?  Besides, we're part of this task force and have our part to play.  Once we're informed of the mission officially, I'll offer our services as 'guides', and give tactical information.  I'm sure they'll overlook any suspitions, considering we are mercenaries and do trade news with Rogue Traders and the like."

"Yes sir.  I'll gather the men and get them to move out."

"And arrange for our dropship to be loaded into the cargo bay, never know when it'll be useful."

[*Striker*]

Striker looked at Talon  "Well this got cut short.  At least it looks like both of us are fighting in the main thrust to capture O'Rum.  Won't mind seeing your boys back up mine, last one to O'Rum buys the drinks!" Striker ended as he stood up, not realizing the irony of the statement with concern to the mission.   

Striker saw Gurney and Lockz in the audience.  He nodded in their direction and held one finger up communicating I'll be with you in a minute as he made his way to catch "General Colonel" Gravis.  Who he seemed to remember dieing heroically but that obviously couldn't be right, as he was right here.

"General!" he called out as Gravis left the briefing table.  "The 24th Brigade will be ready, once we know our role in this battle.  Will we have the convenience of being in the same transport for an on route briefing?"

Striker continued "I also have a request sir.  I hear Praetorians know a thing or two about honor.  O'Rum stained mine when he escaped that day even though I had him in spitting distance at one point.  My attacks on his forces will be fierce, and I'd be grateful if I could be present and see the traitor when he meets his end."  Striker thought anything but execution on the spot was out of the question.  He also knew many wanted "the honor" but he had to express his concern anyway.   He was hoping that his brigade would not be be stuck on some far flank or rear guard duty when the climatic moment happened.

---------------------------------------------
Striker talks to General Gravis to discuss his brigade's role.

[Black Hawk]

"O beslubber!" Haller cursed. The officer remembered something was to happen earlier, but he forgot. It seemed as if a armed action was to take place. He heard murmurs of the entire unit shipping out. Reports of movement toward the Tau stronghold of Distilleri. He voxed Harrison,"Sir! My humblest apologies for the briefing. What are my orders?"

[Harrison]

Harrison's vox bead rangout, Sir! My humblest apologies for the briefing. What are my orders?

Harrison sighed "Get on the Dropship, Captain and await orders from your CO"

[Paraplegic]

"O'Rum and Tau. Now that is a recipe for a killer hangover. Now that everyone is clearing out, I can look for the rest of the 86th."
Paraplegic scanned for fellow officers in the 76 Armored Brigade. "Damn them, the 89th managed to find their way here without a problem. Time to talk to General Henimann privately before that staff meaning and hopefully get point duty assigned to some other poor bastards. Or at very least requisition additional aquilas for our Chimeras. Some seals with the Litany of Protection might go a long way as well." mused Paraplegic as he maneuvered his way through the departing officers to Henimann and the officers of the 89th.



-------------------------
Cozying up to the Boss in hopes of not being railbait. Or getting additional attention from the Emperor if the 86th gets assigned "point" duty.

[The GrimSqueaker]

“This is the Rasmus system gentlemen, it is a moon near the Damocles Gulf Corridor it’s an old world lost to the imperium during the Horus Heresy and retaken by a now dead human group called the Squats.

>>>Begin slate data search……… search term ”Squat”….

<<<No results.

>>>Repeat search…. Search terms “Squats” “space dwarf”

<<<No results.

>>>Seriously?

<<< ….

>>>Oh come on. Look it up already.

<<< ….

>>>Hey, there’s a $20 on the ground, is that yours? I’m sure that’s yours…. How about you keep it.

<<< …  … Look man! They’ve got my wife and kids. I can’t tell you anything! It’s like Malal. They just don’t exist.

>>>Malal? Begin slate data search… search term “Malal” …

<<< Oh amphetamine parrot…::face palm::

[Andro Ist Keine Schwedischen]

Andross pushed his way through the crowd of officers as they filed out of the briefing until he found the one he was looking for.  Captain Paraplegic.

"So, Captain, since I'm supposed to report to you here I am.  My troops are embarking on the transport vessel.  Are the rumours true, we're bound for Distilleri?  If so, I have some information on that planet that I aquired from a Rogue Trader last month.  Reliable source, used him before."

He offered a data slate to the Captain.

"With your permission, I'll upload this to the mainframe for all officers to review."

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

Offered tactical information on the target world, aquired from a Rogue Trader.  Troops embarking on the transport, ready to be shipped out.

[The GrimSqueaker]

Preliminary Threat Assessment: Distilleri

Summary
>>> Permanent on-site intelligence assets – zero.
>>> Threat assessment – moderate to severe.
>>> Information reliability – low to medium.
>>> Subject (O’Rum – see attached file) directly observed on surface. Role unknown. Xeno bodyguard (1) confirmed.

Expansion
>>> Transient intelligence assets indicated a mechanised Tau cadre of moderate size. Numerous Devilfish classed IFVs working in close relationship with Tetra classed scout vehicles and Piranha classed rapid response vehicles. Unknown number of heavier assets armoured. Assumed to be low.

>>>Other xenos on-location includes nomadic Kroot presence (see attached file), heretical human PDF elements, and increasing numbers of abhuman advisors (most certainly not Squats as they don’t exist).

>>>Naval elements confirmed as Explorer class vessels observed in material unloading and colony support role. Sustained Manta operations observed from low orbit to surface indicate transshipment of supplies and construction material. Configuration did not resemble majority armoured unit deployment. Number of Explorer class vessels decreased during observation period. Auxiliary naval unit numbers remained constant. Orbital defence structures appear minimal in number. Orbital mining operations have commenced and include significant outer system to target world traffic.

>>>Logistical support appears to be increasing for in theatre xeno forces. Increased number and quality energy of signatures indicate native support structures are coming on-site and are increasingly active. Energy signatures primary Imperial in origin.

>>>Analysis suggests the Brewery world is being returned to operation.

Recommendations
>>>Further assessment.
>>>Prompt relocation of Imperial assets for recapture of world.
>>>Expand intelligence budget.
>>>Better snack bar for analytical agents.

[Parak]

Things just didnt add up. Parak sat and watched the other officers file out. Maybe it was just the over suspicious Vastadtian in him, but he didnt like this much. With the restructure of the 40th Corps so recent, many of the CoC wanted glory, that was a sure way of getting good men killed in the cross fire.

Parak Looked across at the officers who had yet to leave. His own men, Harrison and Fugitive still lingured, he would have to make catch up with them before they shipped out. He had two effective officers one of which was the Corps S3, it would be an interesting first blooding for the 88th Brigade

Parak also noticed Colonel Sputnik, who looked as unhappy about the whole affair as Parak felt, although, perhaps he was always that stoney faced, he was an elysian after all. The Drop troopers had always proven themselves excellent soldiers, and Sputnik was no exception. Parak gave a nod in his direction.

Parak knew he could trust his brigade officers, but had not had as much time to talk to the 88th Divisions other brigade commander. He had come across well in dispatches. Perhaps it was time to get the true measure of him. Striker was in conversation with General Gravis. Parak knew both men had been involved personally in the previous encounters with O'Rum. He went down to join the two officers.

He could hear striker talking.
"...and I'd be grateful if I could be present and see the traitor when he meets his end."


"Sorry for the interuption Colonel, General, but as Im sure you are aware time is short. Im just about to grab my officers for a quick catch up whilst my men prep for embarkation. Excuse my candidness, but I know this is a lot more personal to both of you than it is for me, however I believe we can do a better job together and I would like us to be open and direct about our strategy in this deployment, no point in stepping on eachothers toes, I fear there may be enough 'snags' out there for us anyway." Parak could barely read the faces of the two officers in front of him. 

                                                                                                                                                 

Parak Joins the conversation with his commander and fellow brigade commander.