NPC"Lord Captain, the Astropathic Choir has caught glimpses of horrifying visions coming from Vheabos VI. Something has breached the colony — from underground. Soon after a new sector of deep tunnels had been put into operation, it was overrun by monsters. They lurk in the darkness, swarm in the shadows, attack quietly, and leave nothing in their wake, consuming flesh, plasteel, and rockcrete. The chirring of a thousand claws heralds their approach, and desperate cries can be heard in the silence of the tunnels. Praise be to the Golden Throne, these creatures do not seem to be interested in getting to the surface. However, they have seized several active mines and are doing Emperor only knows what to them."
YOU"What are those creatures?"
NPC(sequence)
NPC"Few who have faced them have survived to tell the tale, so the information is scarce and hardly reliable — their accounts, if you will, are a jumble of facts mixed with wild speculation. The frightened workers call these monsters a swarm because they crawl along the tunnel like a wave. They say that the enemies are vast in number and resemble insects. One of the fortunate survivors, mad from the horror, emerged from the mines holding a wrench engraved with strange markings. The pattern was exactly the same as the one the mad convicts had been etching into the walls."
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NPC"The overseers have already admitted to... somewhat bending the restrictions on digging in the vicinity of the unknown tunnels we recently discovered. New mining drifts have been placed dangerously close."
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YOU"What think my advisors?"
NPC(sequence)
NPC"The threat is unknown. Establishing the nature of the threat is the top priority. Collateral losses are insignificant. Requesting authorisation to coordinate an offensive operation to be carried out by penal battalions in order to determine the nature of the attack."
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NPC"We have to block off this threat and protect the people. To do this, we must blow up the tunnels, but... to make sure that the plan works, it has to be done in areas currently occupied by this unknown enemy. I am sure that a dozen brave souls can be found in the colony, ones willing to accept the grace of martyrdom and carry the explosives into the darkness below."
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NPC"We drive those monstrosities back underground, and use heavy drilling machines to simulate an offensive from multiple directions. Then, we block the majority of the passages, leaving only the best-defended ones open. Let's see how those miscreants enjoy being trapped."
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YOU"Pasqal, you will plan our counter-attack."
NPC"May our tactical analysis be graced by optimality."
NPCThe plan of Magos Haneumann was constructed with ruthless logical perfection, weighing efficiency against human losses. The smaller units were sacrificed without hesitation in order to preserve the larger forces.
NPCThe Vheabos VI defence squads met the swarm in the darkness: monstrous insects clad in metal carapaces and tearing everything apart with their mandibles. The carnage inside the narrow caves cost many lives, but in the end, the creatures were exterminated, and their vile lair, not unlike a metallic crypt, was ransacked and claimed as trophies.
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YOU"Arm the convicts and the overseers and have them fight the invaders."
NPC"May we triumph over our enemies!"
NPCSquad after squad was sent into the depths. The convicts and the overseers, putting their past conflicts behind them, rallied against the unknown enemy, realising that few of them would return... if any.
NPCThe Vheabos VI defence squads met the swarm in the darkness: monstrous insects clad in metal carapaces and tearing everything apart with their mandibles. The carnage inside the narrow caves cost many lives, but in the end, the creatures were exterminated, and their vile lair, not unlike a metallic crypt, was ransacked and claimed as trophies.continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Choose convicts ready to atone for their misdeeds through the honour of martyrdom. Give them explosives and send them to blow up the tunnels. We will seal our enemies underground."
NPC"Heed my words, for I ask of you to kindle the flames of faith in your chest, against which no corruption can stand."
NPCMaking the sign of the Aquila, those chosen to carry out His will descended into the darkness without a single complaint or groan.
NPCA series of tremors shook the mines, and the monstrous roars of crumbling earth filled the empty tunnels. Clouds of toxic smoke erupted from the depths of the mines. The blockage of stone and dirt has separated people from the terrible invaders... whoever they were.
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YOU"Blow up the tunnels to prevent any more casualties."
NPC"Let them rot in the darkness under the weight of the world's soil!"
NPCRemotely controlled trolleys loaded with explosives were sent into the dangerous tunnels. Many lamented that the cave-ins from the explosions would not cover enough ground, and that the enemy would be able to find their way back to the colony yet again.
NPCA series of tremors shook the mines, and the monstrous roars of crumbling earth filled the empty tunnels. Clouds of toxic smoke erupted from the depths of the mines. The blockage of stone and dirt has separated people from the terrible invaders... whoever they were.continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Let us drive the enemy back into the darkness, as Solomorne has proposed."
NPC"We may lack the forces to exterminate the invaders, but we have quite enough to drive them back and win ourselves some time for the battles to come."
NPCThe new extraction sector shook as drilling machinery tore into the rock. From the depths of the mining drifts came the sound of screeching and scraping.
NPCA hideous swarm of metal-reinforced insects charged into the defenders of Vheabos VI, but the tactic worked. The enemy was vanquished, and what remained of the swarm disappeared into the planet's bowels. One could only hope and pray that enough time had been won to prepare for their next invasion.