Battle for Xilos

So, as a quick prelude we had initially set up and determined I would play attacker but after playing the drop pod mini game I hit the table with an x-launcher and a defence pod, with 1 other x-launcher overshot and due to come on turn 2. We decided there wasn’t much point in playing that one out for a report, so labeled it drop site alpha and shifted focus to site beta where the glorious Algoryn armoured infantry had captured the site from ghar empire troops to almost immediately be hit by a splinter force of fartoks rebels.

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Commander Ta’rack had begun to worry, the signal flare from drop site alpha was well past due. While his smaller force had managed to take the 3rd divisions secondary target it wouldn’t mean much if his flank was left open to the east, even worse if the Ghar troops garrisoning the other quantum generator had manged to preserve its own strength and would now be on high alert.
However, he thought with some pride, we are Algoryn and we will hold this site against any aggressors until a relief force arrives to establish a beachhead. He called over his squad mates, veterans he had fought with since the training camps on algor and proceeded to inspect the perimeter defences and entrenched weapon posistions. He was on edge as he had dispatched his assault squad, trained and inveterate jungle fighters, to link up with his troops who had been dispersed during the drop to regroup them here, sending them had left him vulnerable for the short term, but he wouldn’t leave good Algoryn to fester and die. He did however have a plasma support weapon and an x-launcher situated in some central ruins, and whilst he couldn’t see them his combat shard reported the movement of his infiltration team laying solar charges in the tree line, he was confident they could put up a decent stand.

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An alarm signal was raised, heightened distortion readings – could mean a variety of things but nothing so likely as Ghar on approach, he rushed towards the east of his compound convinced it would be a counter attack from the Ghar empire striking from alpha site. However, he soon realised his mistake as he saw an all too familiar sight, drop pods in the air, Ghar drop pods. He opened his comm link to his weapon teams “Those orbital defences weapons we knocked out, going to need them operational and pointed skywards, double time”.
The Algoryn techs in his group operated with commendable alacrity to get the orbital defences online but between that delay and the lack of any early warning the Ghar pods remained unscathed for the opening part of their descent, but the intensive fire as they got closer to the surface ripped the majority of the attackers force to shreds with only 2 of the capsules making groundfall in the immediate area and 1 each overshooting north and south respectively.
After a shuddering impact a “pod”, if the reclaimed metal storage crate could be called such, thudded into the earth near the ruined grav tower, disgorging a quartet of Ghar scutter suits who immediately blasted reality distorting bolts into the plasma support crew, heedless of the damage caused to the space time continuum in the process, and destroying the weapon and crew making a mockery of both the thick stone walls and stout Algor armour. with slightly less certainty a mob of shifty looking ghar tumbled from the other container, brandishing Algoryn mag rifles. This was surprising to Ta’rack as he had never seen Ghar outside of combat suits being used as anything more than a distraction and cannon fodder.
As they advanced around the treeline they spotted his squad and opened fire, but he and his combat veterans had enough initiative to return fire, switching their plasma carbines to burst mode for weight of fire, the commander was again shocked when it became apparent that these ghar were wearing armour of sorts and all his squads shots were dissipated harmlessly.
Assisted by the combat shard he was aware of the entrenched x-launcher firing specialised “net” ammunition into the Ghar scutters to some effectiveness, this joined by a couple of volleys from the infiltration unit caused the cowardly Ghar in the scutters to hit the ground and shortly after to flee the battlefield. Whilst he and his men continued trading shots with the skulking Ghar in front of them, he saw a unit of the troublesome flitters approach from the north, and reports from the infiltrators in the southern woodlands indicated another squad of Ghar brandishing looted weapons had moved up behind them and killed a squad member.
At this point the com shard was expanded as the assault squad returned from the denser foliage bringing with them an AI squad, targetter probes and a second x-launcher team who were reporting difficulty with Ghar distortion anomalies as they approached the clearing and were held up, however the assault squad managed to draw an open line of fire to the second strange Ghar mob, and with the aid of the probes painting the targets, dispatched them quickly with bursts of mag repeater fire, meanwhile the AI squad moved up and annihilated the remaining Ghar that had engaged the commander.

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After the battle commander Ta’rack was studying the strange Ghar troops, he wasn’t sure what these oddities meant, but was convinced he didn’t like it. However he had been in contact with HQ and his relief force was on approach, he sadly mourned the lost of his brothers from 3rd division killed almost to a man in their drop at site alpha, but resolved to kill 2 Ghar for each Algoryn loss before this conflict was over.