Blitz (Space Marines, Imperial Guard, Knight v. Orks & Dark Eldar) PICS

Marshall Melthas had been expecting Orks, their fleet had entered the Talf asteroid belt and now drips and drabs of it kept appearing in the skies over Pingtass and launching haphazard and awkward attacks on the planet. Thankfully, thus far, the warbands had been small, and he and his men had managed to isolate and burn them out before they had reached any true numerical threat. So it had been that he had positioned himself in the wilderness near one of the Hive cities, which, doubtless, the Orks would head for from the nearby crash site of their awkward spacecraft. Thus it came as a surprise to him that the first approaching battle force he encountered was of the Immortal Host, multiple squads mounted on bikes.

He didn’t recognize the officers who climbed off their bikes and approached him, but the Immortal Host often sought secrecy in their dealings, and it came as little surprise to him that he had yet to meet them, or even be informed they were stationed in this battle theatre.

“Well met Templar.” One of the bikers, bearing the markings of a Captain spoke, he removed his helmet, revealing a haggard and wildly bearded face, and bowed in greetings, while the even more decorated figure standing beside him kept his face hidden and said nothing. Marshall Melthas grimaced slightly but still nodded his head in greeting.

“Brother Captain, what brings you and this detachment here? Have you come to aid us with the Orks?”

“Not…exactly. Are you in contact with the Golden Tor?”

“I have not bothered to inform the Imperial Governor of my every move, though made clear to him I was protecting his citizens and planet from the Ork.”

“Then I suppose you have not heard about the…incident…ah…,” the Captain shrugged slightly, “well, if you had not much communication with the Governor then it is just as well. Let us just clarify that no one will be having many dealings with him now. Not unless they can commune with a plasmic soup.”

“Assassination?”

“Interrogation, we believe,” offered a nearby Librarian. “And if our analysis is correct, the escape route of the perpetrators should pass through this valley on the way to…their exit strategy.”

“What do you know of them?” Even as Marshall Melthas asked the question there was a distant rumble of thunder. He turned to look down the valley and could see billowing black clouds rolling forward, actinic flashes of lightning burst amongst them. He frowned as the sight. “Odd, the augers predicted no storms.”

“No,” the Librarian shook his head as he glanced at the quiet officer meaningfully. The officer nodded and motioned back to the bikes. “No, they would not have,” the Librarian agreed. “Ready your men, please, Marshall. We shall fight with you, and more reserves are on the way. We need to hold them here.”

“My defenses are prepared,” noted Melthas as a fresh burst of lightning rippled through the clouds, they rolled forward with almost unnatural speed, darkening the valley as they came, “and no storm concerns me.”

“Not the storm, the contents,” offered the Captain as he reattached his helmet. “Fight well, Marshall.”

=====================================

Three women stood on the deck of the Raider as it cut through the skies, flashes of lightning snarling in the dark clouds, and icy bursts of cold rain slashing against their bodies. One was a muscular warrior woman, towering over the others, her half naked body splattered still with blood and water. Next to her stood a severe figure of icy beauty in elegant robes and wearing a crown. The last was slimmer and shorter, her head shaved of all traces of hair, her shoulders hunched slightly as she played around with a bit of viscera in her hands.

“The prison planet, the ice world known as Avita.” The muscular female, Brizelya, second daughter and Thunderhead of the Cerulean Storm, spoke eagerly, “that is where they hold the Farseer.”

“Then that is where we must go,” agreed the regal one, Ghul’katcha, eldest of the daughters of House Maerret. “This has been a quite profitable raid, Father will be pleased with me.”

“With us, you mean,” snarled Brizelya as she stepped forward menacingly.

Ghul’katcha smiled, as one might to a child, “but of course, Brizelya, ‘us’, how could you ever imagine I meant otherwise?” Brizelya stepped forward menacingly, the second daughter was not known for her rapier wit nor her clever plans, but she had a low animal cunning and a fearsome reputation in battle near unmatched in the Kabal. Ghul’katcha took hold of a thin poisoned dagger, the motion of her hand hidden underneath her robes, if her sister was foolish enough to make this matter physical…

“Look, new toys.” The voice had an odd timbre, a detached air as though the speaker was only marginally interested in the goings on of the material world. Such was often the way when Kirst’takiss spoke, the fifth daughter being a bit of an unusual creature even in the opinion of the other daughters. Brizelya and Ghul’katcha forgot their squabble, for the moment, and stepped forward, looking up the valley. At the far end, between them and their escape webway portal location, was a full armed array of mon’keigh astartes and their war vehicles.

“Fools,” sneered Ghul’katcha, “such a static defense, we’ll circle around them with ease.”

“Circle? CIRCLE!?!” Brizelya laughed. “Where’s the fun in that?” So speaking she turned, springing from the deck of one Raider to another as she started motioning to the other vehicles in the splinter raid. “To arms! Blood, pain, and pleasure await!” As usual, the Thunderhead of the Cerulean Storm was ever eager for battle.

“The Dunderhead speaks,” sighed Ghul’katcha, “well, I suppose we have the time for the distraction. You can arrange some of your creations for my use?”

“I like the smell of blood in the rain,” offered Kirst’takiss. Which may have been agreement, or may have simply been a thought flitting through her maddened mind. It was hard to tell the difference, usually. She turned and wandered off, and not for the first time in her life Ghul’katcha found herself wishing she’d been an only daughter, or had at least been more prompt in arranging the exsanguination of Father’s various mistresses.

BLITZ MISSION


3500 per side

6x4 table.

The board is to be divided into thirds lengthwise. One end is the attacker's end, the other end is the defender's end.

The attacker's end is 'No Man's Land' and is set up normally.
The middle section is the 'Fortification Zone' and is set up with defensive fortifications (trenches, barb wire, tank traps, bunkers, et al)
The final section, the defender's section, represents the secondary line and should represent a 'Behind The Lines' area, a command station, ammo dumps, ect.

Defender deploys first using the Hidden Setup rules (will explain below) he can deploy anything from HQ, Troop, and Heavy slots - no Elites or Fast allowed.

The Attacker deploys all forces in No Man's Land in a 6" deployment zone from his board edge. Deep Strikers and Fliers may be held in reserve - nothing else.

Defender will then reveal his hidden deployment.

Infiltrators for the Attackers (if any) will be deployed, and Scout moves (if any) made - Defender does not get either.

Attacker gets a Preliminary Bombardment.

Attacker gets first turn.

Victory is decided by VPs (yes, VPs, not KPs).
Attacker gets +300 VPs for every unit of theirs in the 'Behind The Lines' part of the board.
Defender gets +150 VPs for every attacker unit in the 'No Man's Land' part of the board. (this was modified during gameplay to +150 for every unit in No Man’s Land and also any units that had died there)


Special Rules
HIDDEN SETUP - The way this works is you will place down numbered markers to represent your troops in secure and hidden defensive positions. Each unit should be noted as to its number when placing the markers. Since they are 'hidden' you do need to place them in such a way that it is reasonable they could be hidden (Troops could hide behind a hedge, but a Land Raider could not - however a nearby building may be enough to hide it from view)

When you reveal your deployment flip the marker, show which unit it is, and deploy it. Vehicles must be centered on the marker - infantry and other squads have one model put on the marker location and the others in normal coherency.

You are allowed to declare a unit to be in reserve instead of deploying it. If you do so roll a d6. On a 4+ the location of that unit's marker may become a booby trap or a minefield.

BOOBY TRAP - You may choose to detonate this at any point, targeting an enemy unit within 6" of the marker. It will be a Str 8 AP 2 hit. Allocation from the direction of th emarker. Vehicles are hit on the appropriate armor facing. This is a one use weapon and is gone after it is used.

MINEFIELD - an 8" x 4" area centered on the marker becomes a minefield. Any enemy model moving over it (including skimmers, jetbikes, and Jump Infantry, but not swooping FMCs or flyers not in hover mode) will trigger the minefield on a 4+ d6 roll. If triggered, the unit suffers a Str 6 AP - hit. Vehicles are always hit on their rear armor, but all penetrating results are counted as a glancing hit instead.

PRELIMINARY BOMBARDMENT - Roll a d6 for each Defending unit on the table and for each section of barb wire or tank traps. On a roll of 6 they are hit. If hit they take d6 wounds at AP - and must also pass a pinning test or forefit their actions on Turn 1.

Vehicles, bunkers, and similar are totally immune to the bombardment. That said, any units inside them can still be affected (they were caught outside or unprepared when the firing started).

Tank Traps or barb wire that are hit are instantly destroyed and removed from the table.

The Immortal Host (Space marines w. Space Wolf Allies)


Chapter Master on Bike
Kor’sarro Khan
Command Squad on Bikes
Wolf Lord on Bike
Rune Priest on Bike
2x Bike Squads w. flamers and Attack Bike w. Melta
Techmarine w. Thunderfire Cannon
2x Stormtalon Gunships w. Typhoons
1x Wolf Scouts


Defensive deployment? Bah! We’re going to ride by on bikes and stab them to death!

The Black Templar (Space Marines w. Imperial Guard Allies and Imperial Knight)



Chapter Master
Assault Terminator Squad
2x Tac Squads
Lord Commisar
2x Priests
10 Imperial Guardsmen
Leman Russ
Imperial Knight (melta cannon)


Waaagh! Da Ork! Da Orks! (Orks…no Allies, because they’re Orks )




Big Mek
3x Battlewagons w. Deff rollas
2x Tankbustas
20 Shoota Boyz
3x Trukk Boyz
Snikkrot and Kommandos.


We came up wiv a kunnin’ plan! We’z gonna sneak round and then charge them from not the front side, see? Less shooty bitz over dere, it’s ruddy tactiks, is whot it iz! Call me un-Orky and I’ll krump ya!

The Cerulean Storm (Dark Eldar allied with…More Dark Eldar!)



Archon
3x Haemonculi
Baron Sathypants
Beastmasters (5 dogs and 4 birds)
Grotesques
9 Wracks
2x 7 Wyches w. power lance
3x Ravager
4x 5 Warriors w. Blaster


Yeah, so the first huge debauched party summoned She Who Thirsts to consume us and our entire empire…but that doesn’t mean we need to stop debauched parties! I mean, what are the odds that happens twice?

Our conflict will take place in this narrow valley.


A look from the starting line to the end zone – looks like an easy stroll, I foresee no issues at all!


Big overview shot – ignore the craters and explosions, they’re just there for show.


The Imperial forces knock heads together and lay out their hidden deployment. Lots of dice, all potentially meaning horrid things.


The Ork and Dark Eldar deployment is…a bit simpler.


The basic strategy? Go fast, smash what’s in front of you, get into the scoring zone.


The deployment is revealed, and the buddy bike star lurks behind one hill.


Imperial Guard soldiers and their Lord Commissar take up position at one of the lascannon emplacements, The Imperial Knight is hidden behind the other hill, the Leman Russ is emplaced on the front of the hill, and Marshall Melthas and his Assault Terminators…well, do what Templars do, and go front, center, and as far forward as possible!


A view of the battle lines.

The dice mark out where 3 of 6 hidden deployments held in reserve became minefields (incidentally, MarcusScipio rolled the first three, all failed to become traps/mines – he then passed the duty to Jake who passed all the remaining three. ) They chose Minefields each and every time.

The Immortal Host are the Warlord for their side – they had re-roll failed reserves.
The Dark Eldar are the Disorder Team’s Warlord – they rolled Night Attacker, making it Night Fight Turn 1.

The Dark Eldar Drug Roll was +1 Str.

Marshall Melthas frowned as an inky darkness roiled across the battlefield, the snapping winds and slashes of icy rain would make it hard for his units to support each other with fire support. That was when the lightning started crashing down from the sky. Huge flares of actinic lightning that almost seemed to be aiming for he and his men…

The Initial Bombardment begins. Thor, being the “lucky” one of his team manfully steps forward to roll – targeting every single non-vehicle enemy unit, and also every piece of tank trap and barb wire on the board.

He rolls…not even one hit.

Well…poot.


“Come at me, Xenos!”
Marshall Melthas stands up, challenging the onrushing xenos forces to deal with him and his Terminators.


The Dark Eldar primarily head towards the hill hiding the bikes. We do not like opponents who are remotely as fast as us.


A torrential wave of firepower is unleashed against Melthas, but he and the Templar stand firm. Still, he loses many noble battle brothers, and is even wounded himself.

Not pictured, but the Dark Eldar lances claim the Leman Russ, and also damage the Imperial Knight.


The Imperium responds! The Immortal Host Chapter Master calls in an Orbital Bombardment, the directed blasts destroying one of the hulking Ork battlewagons in a flash of fire.


“Charge!”
Templar do what Templar do, and move towards the Dark Eldar.


The Immortal Host bikes also rush forward, circling around the hill to launch a brutal assault upon the two lead Dark Eldar craft.


The vehicles explode, but the Eldarith Ynneas rise up from the crater, cackling happily as they ready their weapons.


The Templar have a bit more luck, almost wiping out a squad to the last man. Still, the Blaster still stands, and that’s all that matters…right?


The Imperium is trying to lock down the Xenos forces in the first table third for maximum bonus points.


The bike squad is punished by extensive shooting, Liquifiers flare, sending out poisonous clouds of strange xenos design, and poisoned bullets cut deep into the Astartes in ways that confound the Apothecary. Then, the Wyches, laughing with glee and calling out their kills, assault!


The Rune Priest had joined up with some Imperial Guard and had fired upon and downed an Eldar Ravager. In response, a mob of Wracks lead by Kirst’takiss stormed forward, one of the Liquifiers only managing AP 6, but the other AP 1 – and the Rune Priest and most of the Imperial Guard fell under the onslaught.


The Bikers fell under the flashing power lance and fearsome acrobatics of the Wyches, and the squad continues forward around the hill, looking for new playthings.


“WAAAAAAAAGH! STEALTH ATTACK!” Ork Kommandos rush onto the field, but find only minimal targets of opportunity.


Lay of the field near the end of Xenos Turn 2 – the Ravager was a reserve that showed up after, well, not having enough space in our deployment zone to put everything. You can see the Beasts on the right side of the picture – the Grot Raider has already moved to the other side of the hill.


In not much of a surprise – all of the Immortal Host reserves arrive. These bikes sweep out, unleashing firepower into one of the remaining Battlewagons, eager to continue to dismantle Xenos maneuverability.


Another bike squad decides that Snikrot and his Kommandos look like optimal Victory Point value.


Black Templar squads trot onto the field, moving to reinforce the line.


Ghul’katcha winces as she spots the Imperial air support arrive, but then realizes they’re more focused on targets other than her, and then just smirks.


The Imperial Knight decides it’s sick and tired of Dark Lances picking it apart and storms forward to make its mark.


“I deliver Vengeance in The Emperor’s Name!”


Marshall Melthas, splits off from his Terminator ally, leaving behind a lone lightning claw Terminator intent on killing every last Ork on the battlefield.


The Knight will fire, destroying one of the Trukks and seeking to lock up the entire Xenos advance on the right flank.


In the assault, even the nimble Venom proves no match, and is smashed from the air, much to the chagrin of its passengers.


“Forward, We Are Unforgiven!”
The Chapter Master rallies the Imperial forces, they are quite close to locking the Xenos upand preventing their escape.


“Die Xenos!”
Marshall Melthas smashes a second battlewagon to pieces.


“We must reposition to face the rear armor,” ordered the Dark Eldar Warrior as he and his men tried to slip around the Knight Titan, “only a madman or a fool would dare face such a war machine head on!”

Meanwhile – in Ork land; “Lookit dat, it’s super stompy and shooty! Let’s go krump it! WAAAAGH!”


Orks use deff’rolla…it’s Super Effective!


The Dark Eldar standing nearby kind of sigh and prepare their paper t-shirt saves.
Oh Orks…


The first victim of the titanic blast is ol’ lucky blue battlewagon, consumed in a flash of fire and flame!


The exploding battlewagon goes ahead and kills off easily a dozen or so Orks around it.


Venoms are hit, DE Warriors, Orks, Tankbustas, the battlewagon – the Orks have just arranged for one of the Imperium’s most devastating attacks!


The right flank is no longer locked down, but there is some question about how much of it is even a threat anymore…


The quick moving Raiders continue to sneak up the board, this one had belonged to the Wracks before being requisitioned by some Wyches for a joy ride.


Other Wyches go for a Hail Mary assault on some bikes…but…well, let’s just say this is all that’s left of the squad after overwatch.


They then fail the needed 11 to get in at that stage.


Ork Tankbustas mill around in fear in No Man’s Land, still being hunted by troublesome Templar.


Immortal Host attack bikes are battered by some Ork shooting, but continue ripping apart isolated squads.


The Lord Commissar and the Imperial Guard had been torn apart at the gun position by Wracks – solution? Thunderfire cannon!


Kirst’takiss and her precious creations are torn up, but hold firm.


“I will be by to collect your eyes later as payment for that,” she promises.


Imperial shooting manages to down the Wych’s new ride, and they again suffer the indignity of an explosion. They ready their blades and jeer at the Templar.


Even more shooting downs the bulk of the Wrack squad, but a lone Wrack maintains hold of the gun.

I get a little sketchy even for me in taking these last few pictures. But the Wrack turned the gun on the Imperial flyer and blasted it from the sky.
He has a weapon that destroys suns, he doesn’t use it because it wouldn’t be ‘fun’
He functionally took his Bugatti, put a gun on it and brings it to battle.
When he kills you, he takes your soul, puts it in a box, and uses your strength to punch holes in tanks.

He is…the most interesting Archon in the world.


Stay raiding my friends…


Ghul’katcha finally decides to bother helping someone, and she leaps out of her Raider with the Grots in tow to deal with the Imperial reserves.


The Grotesques snarl in glee as they storm towards the nearby Wolf Scouts.


The Wyches catch the bikes and cut down a few of them, but the bikes flee using hit and run.


The other Wych squad leaps into the Black Templar lines, the Hexatrix nearly downing all of the Templar herself, they then withdraw into some cover.


Bad touch!
Bad touch!
The Grots and Archon dual assault the Techmarine and the Wolf Scouts, only one scout survives, but his odds look poor.


The battle is called at the end of Turn 4 – with devastation all around.


No Man’s Land is a practical graveyard.


Not many Orks made it even into the middle part of the board.


A view of the long walk.


The winning points can be seen here – A loaded Warrior Venom, the Wyches and Haem, the Beasts and Baron, an Ork Trukk and Boyz, and the Archon, Grots, and their Raider all live and occupy the scoring table third.

You also get a sense of how little Imperium are left on the board, the one weakened bike squad, a near dead Templar Tac squad, the Immortal Host Chapter Master on bike, and I believe another partial Immortal Host bike squad are all that still stands.

The Xenos Win!

The game had an odd pace to it, because, really, for about the first turn or two it felt like that though things were going okay for the DE/Orks at the same time it felt like we were kind of losing as the Imperials kept racking up +150 point bonuses and shutting down our momentum. I think a lot of this was because a lot of the DE firepower (the Grots and the Beasts) spent most of the game just kind of trotting up one side of the board and contributing nothing to the war effort.

Then, on Turn 4, pretty much everything went the DE/Orks way as the two DE deathstars rolled into the scoring zone and just tore apart a few things and along with some Orks, Warriors and Wyches suddenly it was +2700 points to our side (which…y’know, needless to say, was a bit of a point swing in a 3500 point game).

Imperium MVP

The Imperial Knight’s explosion? ;)Seriously though, that did…a lot of damage.
The other option might be the lone lightning claw Templar Termie who wandered around beating up and spooking Orks while making (and I kid not at all) around 30+ armor saves in a row. The IH Chapter Master on bike also pulled his weight quite well, destroying a Battlewagon, a Ravager, a Venom, and absorbing a solid amount of shooting in the process.

Imperium WTF

Maybe the poor buddy bikestar. Khan, a Wolf Lord, Honor Guard, Apothecary, a Librarian, and a Chapter Master (though the latter two split off early…and both did more solo than with the group) but…those poor sods couldn’t seem to make a save to save their lives. They rolled in and were scary and did some solid damage initially, no doubt. But then we shot at them and, with T5 models, with 3+ and 5+ FNP they…well, they just sort of died to a bit of shooting. It wasn’t like, meaningless shooting, but let me assure you it was not the type of shooting that it should have taken to wipe out that unit. By the time a squad of six wyches are rolling in and finishing it off? Not a good sign.

There was even a point where a Venom fired, and there was debate about whether I could see the third man back, and I ixnayed it saying ‘I only did five wounds, this won’t even matter, why argue?’ Then saves were rolled…and then suddenly it *exactly* mattered whether I could see that third bike or not!

Dark Orkdar  MVP

To a certain extent…well, anything that made it across the board. I do think the snapfire Hail Mary Raider might be the one (on a whim I fired at an Imperial flyer with the Grot Raider, rolled 6, 6, and 5(+1 for 6) to just end one of the enemy fliers super quick, or maybe the Ork Battlewagon that krumped the Knight Titan for us. Both were fairly pivotal and useful moments in removing potent threats.

Dark Orkdar  WTF

There were definitely a handful of Ork squads that failed to accomplish much. Also, frankly, my Beast unit – it was a potent unit, and at the end of the day all it really did for us was go and score points. I mean, points that helped seal the game, sure, but…y’know, when you have a bunch of beasts you kind of expect them to rip something up in the course of the game. Especially led by Brizelya – her entire character is about doing that, instead Kirst’takiss of all people was getting all stuck in. No one even bothered to shoot at it. :?

Tech Adept Milivin Derentium of the Order of Cloistered Listeners sighed as the armed troopers stormed down the ramp of the armored transport vehicle. The prison guards here on Avita were all professional soldiers, but doubtless felt wasted not being able to use their skills in the ongoing war. After all, who would bother to attack a frozen prison world with not even any strategic location value? The soldiers growled out terse commands to each other, their tinny shoulder illuminators casting small beams of light into the darkness around them as their lasrifles searched through the perimeter of Listening Station #039.

The station had been experiencing non-standard deviations from its normal operating parameters for the last 32 hours. All attempts to reach the station had met with static until, finally, only a single message had come through.

‘…the laughter…’

Tech Adept Milivin had performed the clarifying protocols on the message himself, and was quite certain that the background noises had not been laughter…at least not fully.

Inquisitor Luthor had taken a dim view of the message, and had ordered an armed detachment to accompany the repair operation. Adept Milivin was not overly pleased, certain that the lumbering brutes would slow down his operations, but begrudgingly willing to put up with the encumbrance if so ordered, and he was forced to admit it appeared to be a reasonable precaution since they were still unsure what had happened here. He levered himself out of his seat and stepped out into the bracingly chill winds of Avita’s surface. The soldiers were all wearing thermal gear, but Milivin took a certain amount of pleasure in walking about only in his red Adept robes, protected from the cold by his internal power source and subdermal heating elements.

The listening station was a simple squat structure, the radial arrays above it easily twice the size of the small monitoring station attached to it. Milivin typed in the entry code and stepped back obediently as the troops muscled forward. The door hissed open and the soldiers rushed in, sweeping through the rooms in a practiced dance of movement and hand motions as they secured each section. Milivin walked in after them, gazing about curiously at the empty rooms. There should be a staff of ten menials operating the station at all times. Their personal belongings were here. Beds had been neatly made. An evening meal had been prepared, the plates and eating utensils neatly set out on the dining bench. A comfortable chair in the corner had a small table with a pipe and a well dog-eared book set upon it, as though just waiting for the owner to return.

The soldiers reported that all was clear, and as they began to debate the fate of the menials Milivin moved to the control room, intent to get the communications rig back up and operational. It was a vital part of the defense network for the entire prison structure, and he knew his duty. Something was wrong in here though, something had disabled the electronic systems. Issuing a soft prayer to the Ommnisiah Milivin opened up the access plate, and then recoiled in horror.

The innards of the system bled. Someone had sliced up a body and neatly and perfectly placed it within the bowels of the comms relay system. Blood gushed out in a stream, splattering down around his ankles as a face half slid out, the torn remains of its neck catching on the latch. Milivin recognized the face as one of the missing menials.

The lights flickered and he heard the unmistakable sound of lasrifle fire. Only a few pulses, and then…silence.

Milivin spun around, opening the door up. Walking down the hall towards him was a single figure. Completely hairless, wrapped in luxurious robes and armored in ancient pieces of armor that appeared to be part of her flesh, the female walked like a noble on parade, with style and a sense of infinite ease. Behind her figures in spiked armor moved in the darkness, inspecting slumped shapes upon the ground.

“Do not scream, do not be afraid, be calm.” The female’s voice had an odd distant quality to it, as though she were already bored with whatever she was doing. She was shorter than he was, slim of build, yet somehow her presence terrified him into immobility. She walked up, pressing her inquisitive face towards his. Eyes hidden in shadows considered him carefully, an odd little smirk twitched at her lips. “Ah, one of the mechanical men, you are so interesting, so stoic, and yet so soft at the same time, it will be easy.”

“What will be easy?”

“We are drawing you away. My sister, she likes the combat, the killing, the noise, but she must operate carefully to get what we want. What we want? What did I want from this? The pain I suppose, there is always that, and the eyes, I like eyes. You have such pretty eyes.” She stared at him for an uncomfortable moment, pressing her face even closer to his, so close he could smell the oddly sweet and delicate perfumes she wore. Then she drew back and kept talking as if nothing had happened. “Therefore we act in secret, we act with a plan, and the plan is one of drawing. Drawing, sketching, painting, I paint such beautiful and funny pictures, but no one ever laughs…” She tilted her head to the side slightly, an odd expression on her face as a third arm unfurled from her lower back, a strange mixture of flesh and metal, it was an abomination of xenos science. “Drawing, drawing forth, like drawing water, water is a liquid and fills its container, Container? Contain her? My sister is possible to be contained, but not the Seer I fear, and this will end messily for most, but not for me, of this I am sure. Though I mean that mess in a figurative sense, it will also be messy in a literal one for me, so I suppose I will get messy, but that is okay.”

“I…I don’t understand.” Milivin realized he’d been left alive for some purpose, perhaps they wished to negotiate? This woman did not appear sane, or perhaps her grasp of Gothic was poor, and that was why her speech seemed so strange and idiosyncratic. But, perhaps, if he could just figure out what she wanted and give it to her he could get away.

Her odd third arm reached past him and into the open comms relay panel, delicate fingers clicked together a few wires and the system suddenly hummed to life, albeit with an odd roasting smell from the carcasses filling its innards. Her arm took up a commlink and she smiled at him as she dialed it to the Prison’s primary frequency. If she broadcast, it would reach every listening station in this hemisphere.

“You have such…pretty eyes.” She smiled as she lifted up one of her other hands, revealing she held a gleaming scalpel. She clicked on the commlink. “You may scream now.”

She laughed.

Milivin screamed.


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