Battle for Xilos

*** to read The Chronicles of Karyle, Ch. 1, please see this battle report from Week 1: http://battleforxilos.warconsole.com/battles/vs-kurar-1466969458

*** to read The Chronicles of Karyle, Ch. 2, please see this battle report from Week 2: http://battleforxilos.warconsole.com/battles/vs-kurar-1467594757

*** to read The Chronicles of Karyle, Ch. 2.1, please see this battle report from Week 2: http://battleforxilos.warconsole.com/battles/vs-kurar-1467807985

*** to read The Chronicles of Karyle, Ch. 3, please see this battle report from Week 3: http://battleforxilos.warconsole.com/battles/vs-kurar-1468169482

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The Worker Gang blasted at the dark cavern walls over and over again with their modified Mass Compactors, dust and debris falling all around for the length of nearly the entire tunnel. Karyle viewed the blinking dots on his hand-held screen again to make sure they were on course, having grown bored; no boromite is a stranger to tunneling, no matter their rank. The Mass Compactors fired again and again, in a patterned and rapid succession, making short work of the bowels of Xilos.

The Guildess had received the relics they’d returned with from their previous mission with a golden gleam in her deep-set eyes. Marveling at their intricate beauty and knowing they would be extremely valuable for the coffers of their Guild, it had shocked Karyle when she stood with her back straight and handed them immediately back to him. “These devices carry a power that will see you more capable of succeeding at your assigned tasks in the field, Overseer. I would not see you fail. Put them to good use.” Barely managing to keep his mouth closed in awe, the burly boromite took the intricate stone his engineers had called a “Stopping Stone” and attached it to his combat gear at his shoulder, ready at a moment’s notice. The other, something his engineers had called a “Crystal Lattice” and that could aid the wearer and those in his immediate vicinity against incoming projectiles, he would give to Leroy. The lavamite handler had earned it. The Guildess had smiled at him then, a rare and knowing smile, and he had felt himself blushing visibly even through the reddened tones of their Guild…

An alert from the Leader of his newly assigned Worker Gang snapped the Overseer out of his daydream. “Sir, our three tunnels are within immediate breach distance, as you ordered. What is you command?”

Pointing to the western tunnel, Karyle responded, “Leroy, take your bugs here. I’ll be right behind you. We breach first.” Pointing to his Worker Gang, he continued, “You take the middle, and await my command. Be prepared to burst through firing.” Looking finally to the Gang Fighters, he finished, “The eastern tunnel is yours. Do not falter. You’ll be on your own until we all reunite in the middle.”

Turning back to address them all together, “We are the Sons of Borom. This is OUR element. We will not let our Guildess down on this day. Let none stand before you and live. MOVE!”

The tunnel resounded with the deep thump of each boromite slamming a fist to his chest simultaneously in salute, each accompanied with a deep grunt of acknowledgement and respect.

******

SCENARIO EXPLANATION:

This scenario followed the guidelines as listed in the ‘Battle for Xilos’ supplement, with the only exception being to the facility itself. Rather than using printed cards, we were lucky enough to have access to a very nice set of tunnels/corridors from the company “Bug Hunt Corridors”, so we made a few changes to the shape of the Builder’s Facility to accommodate the terrain to the scenario. Otherwise the same rules still applied for scoring points and for digging additional tunnels throughout the game, bridging portions of the facility by breaching through walls into existing corridors or rooms.

Due to the continued delay in our new units, this game was again at a mere 500 points, with myself being a bit under because of the inability to include a weapon crew.

END SCENARIO EXPLANATION

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The facility itself was dark, and would have made it difficult for any normal human to see. The plasteel corridors were lined with runner lights, providing only enough illumination so that one couldn’t call it pitch darkness, but no more than that. The boromites felt right at home, however, the corridors being like any other mine shaft or cave they’d all found themselves in time and time again.

The darkness would provide them with little advantage, but hopefully their mining equipment frequencies would throw off the typical nano nets seeking out the frequencies for weapons. The Algoryn with their industrial, military-entrenched tech shone like a beacon on Karyle’s locator, so if their equipment gave them even a microsecond of advantage, he would gladly take it.

Leroy and Karyle’s squads broke through into what appeared to be an old airlock, probably connecting to the surface before the many years of overgrowth and erosion had hidden it deep beneath the planet’s crust. Now on radio silence in the darkness engulfed tunnels, Karyle signaled Leroy to move down the main corridor in the direction of what was likely an AI Assault team, based on their aggressive energy signature. The lavamite handler gracefully moved down the corridor, the light from the internal heat of the lavamites shining like the surface of a star in the blackness, their rocky legs pinging rapidly across the metal decking beneath them.

-= NOTE: See the picture of the overall facility, with blue and red blips on it: The blue represent the forces of the Boromites, while the red blips are the Algoryn squads =-

Meanwhile, the Gang Fighters along the eastern wing breached into what must have been an old storage bay, the ancient boxes still glowing with alien energies. They encountered no immediate threats, and hunkered down momentarily to assess the situation. Finding nothing of immediate danger, they set off towards the far east portion of the facility, maneuvering through the corridors with purpose.

Upon nearing the end of the hall, the lavamites’ not-so-stealthy approach had brought an AI Assault squad directly into them, working out better than Karyle could possibly have hoped. What began as a powerful assault by the Algoryns rapidly turned usour for them, as the cramped quarters of the corridors made the bulk of the AI D-Spinners ineffective. A single lavamite is a dangerous beast, fighting with the strength of four capable men… two of them, side-by-side, were more than the hampered Algoryns could handle. Karyle could see the silent AI Assault Leader, a man named Myrval that he’d encountered numerous times and had spent several owed favors trying to get intel about, go down at the beginning of the fight. Patching through the vidfeed of the facilities cameras, though, showed the Assault Squad members quickly pull their fallen Leader through their bulk where he was half carried in the direction they had come.

The Algoryn were no match for the bloodthirsty lavamites. The mites butchered their way through the Algoryns; the enemy’s morale broke, and they retreated through the corridors. Karyle held position, signaling the Worker Gang into the facility. They were to take and hold the storage bay the Gang Fighters had found, while Leroy and his lavamites were signaled free reign to hunt through the facility. The Overseer could see that there would be no stopping the mites on this day.

The Algoryn commander made one final attempt at stopping the lavamite menace, managing to time his attack when Leroy and the mites were in a larger room. The fighting was fierce and bloody, with only a single lavamite surviving the altercation. Standing amidst the blood and carnage streaking the walls, the remaining mite held, claiming the bulk of the facility for the boromites. The Crystal Lattice burned brightly upon his back, the gift from the Guildess having kept the mite alive.

Seeing their inevitable deaths coming as each comm feed died in rapid succession, the remaining Algoryn used their weapons to blast the opening into the facility they had created, causing a cave-in and buying them the necessary time to escape. Signaling the All-Clear back to their Overseer, the Gang Fighters reported the Algoryn retreat and their secure claim of the remainder of facility.

Looking to his bodyguard in the darkness, his pupils huge in the darkness, the Overseer smiled broadly. “The Guildess will be most pleased.”