Thread: In the Emperor's service [Ghostwolf and Dionysius]

Ghostwolf said Verena followed the Captain as he began to lead her back to his command tent, buttoning up her greatcoat and putting the collar up to protect her from the chill wind that began to blow. The Captain and the rest of the Draconians seemed somewhat unaware, or impervious to the increasingly unpleasant weather. The men had gone back to work, continuing their duties as they did before they had been assembled before their new Commissar. The 13th seemed very capable, experienced, from what she had seen so far, and that reassured her somewhat while also making her job harder. It would be easier to mold a fresh new regiment, as opposed to trying to fix an old one, but there seemed to be little to fix with the Draconians so far. As the Captain began to speak, Verena increased her pace to walk beside him so she could hear him easily over the blowing wind, the snow falling heavier. It would get worse over the next few days, the temperatures dropping. The Tau in their battlesuits and advanced body armour would not be affected by it as much as those within the 13th, and that is something she would have to keep an eye on. She was thankful to hear there wasnt too much of a discipline problem it seemed to her that it most likely occurred when they were tensed, stressed, or inactive. Unsure of what would happen next, whether they would survive the next encounter with the enemy. Nothing unusual there. The Commissar would simply have to make sure to keep them busy, to keep them motivated and their spirits up. That should solve it somewhat. Of course, she nodded, There always is, its unavoidable. Its not something Im particularly concerned with at the moment. If it affects their performance, then that may change. The Commissar laughed softly as he reminded her, a sweet musical noise slipping from her lips. Ahah, yes, I did. I wasnt too harsh on him, just gave him a warning and said that I did not want to catch him with it again. Ill have to keep him in mind if I have any problems, save me from having to deal with the Techpriests and the Enginseers. Praxians? I see looking over to where he had indicated they were camped. Perhaps she should meet with their Commissar, to possibly find out the cause and make sure it didnt happen again. And of course it would give her the opportunity to see how another Commissar worked. Verena followed the Captain into the tent, smiling and nodding politely to the officers in the room as way of introduction, before standing off to the side with her hands clasped behind her back as she listened. She like the way Blake worked, he seemed to know what he was doing. It was probably wise to try and learn as much as she could from the man, befriend him if she could. She listened carefully as the Lieutenants went through the information and intelligence they had gathered, one of her hands moving to support her chin as she thought. Invited to speak, she nodded and then spoke after a moment. So it is clear then that an attack on the western flank would be unwise. Are there any gaps or weaknesses in their line that we would do well take advantage of? Likewise, are there any weaknesses in our own line they may assault? she asked, looking at the Captain and the officers. Captain, you also mentioned previously that so far it seemed the Tau forces were comprised mainly of Auxiliaries, are there any notable races amongst them? What she was really asking was if there were Kroot on the planet, she had read and heard about their prowess in combat, especially if things got up close, and they were especially good at setting ambushes. She did not want the 13th to fall into one. If the Tau mobilise armour and their battlesuits against us, what is the plan of action? What weapons can we bring to bear? It would not do if the 13th were left fighting gravtanks with lasrifles. Click to expand... He smiled Yes, Praxians. A difficult bunch, very self-important. You'll notice them by all the tanks, and the red and blue uniforms. And green, and gold, and white, and every other colour under the sun Marcus laughed, to the Draconians the amount of effort which the Praxians put into their appearance as soldiers was ridiculous, their garish and pompous uniforms clashed with the dull grey of the Draconians flak just as starkly as the infantryman had clashed with eachother. No doubt though they would need that support when it came to the real fighting, so he was as keen as any to make sure that the relationship didn't get out of hand. Whilst they progressed through the debriefing Marcus kept an eye on Verena, she seemed eager to learn what the situation was, intently listening and taking in whatever she could. He hoped that it would help when it came to fighting, which would doubtless come any day now. It is true, that most of the western flank looked unwise to make a direct assault upon, but given that it's the nearest to our own position here High Command wants a way through if at all possible. They've got a significant number of what we believe to be anti-air batteries located along the line, which makes a drop assault nearly impossible as well. Fitzwilliam, tell her about the drainage tubes The Lieutenant, who looked like a slightly younger and generally less scarred than the Captain, nodded and drew their attention to a central part of the battlelines on the fieldmap they had with them, spreading it out on the table and indicating a spot. Right here some of my men found a series of tunnels and pipes which we suspect exist as an emergency runoff for water which collects seasonally around the flatlands at the base of the Hive. They look disused, and it's the wrong time of year for them to be needed anyway. We need to get a better picture of how far they might go, and what we would encounter at the other end of them, but whilst they won't get us into the Hive itself there's a possibility that it could get us under the line The Captain interjected But it could also be a great place to set a trap. We're still trying to figure that out He added, cautioning them all on getting their hopes up too much. Marcus continued to answer her questions. We aren't maintaining a permanent line near the Hive, and different regiments are responsible for the perimiter which we've already established. But they don't seem to be going anywhere for the time being. The forces largely seem to be Kroot, we've seen a few squadrons of those insectoid bastards with the wings, along with some... human auxilliaries. But Tau infantry are still strongly in force. What's concerning us is why they haven't attacked. The Tau don't play defensive, it isn't in their nature, they alwasy prefer to be on the front foot. Holding the Hive seems worryingly important to them Her last question made him smile We've got a pretty heavy artillery package on standby, and so long as we aren't too close to the Hive itself there's a degree of air cover we can call in. I don't expect that anyone is going to try and put our guys up against them in a head-to-head conflict, we'll likely get something much worse than that2