Also, because so many Magi were whining about the Skitarii becoming a "horde army" or losing their "flavor" or whatever, the Omnissiah had put new doctrinas into place. The Fabricator-General of Mars, Ou Raskian, had sent a decree to enhance the Imperative Doctrinas and grant it to the Tech-priests and Electro-priests as well, not just the Skitarii and Kataphron battle-servitors. Not only that, their weapons, walkers, vehicles and equipment had received upgrades. The Skorpius Dunerider now had a firing deck, the Onager Dunecrawlers packed more firepower than before, the Skorpius Disintegrator did more damage, and the Ironstrider Ballistarii could shoot twice as much as before. The Sicarian Ruststalkers and Sicarian Infiltrators had received improved transonic and taser weapons to along with their new Imperative Doctrinas.
Of course, these enhancements meant that the costs and resources of manufacturing their weapons and training new Skitarii soldiers had gone up, which technically made them less of a "horde army," but the Adeptus Mechanicus could finally deploy more firepower than before. 44-Kariya thanked the Omnissiah for the new "balance dataslate."
<It's time to exterminate those filthy xenos,> he blurted in binharic. 428-Sigma Skitarii Hunter Cohort descended upon Kuroishi, determined to enact vengeance for 29-Tataki's demise, as well as the destruction of his maniple.
Unfortunately, during the time it took for 428-Sigma Cohort to reach Kuroishi, a misama had developed and enveloped the area. The Skitarii Ranger squads of Alpha-1 and Beta-2 scouted forward, securing objectives and returning the excavation site back to Mechanicus control. Servitors trundled forward to resume extraction activity, harvesting blackstone from the formerly abandoned site.
As 44-Kariya predicted, the Corsairs showed up not long after the stealthy Skitarii made their appearance. The sleek, spiky shapes of a Raider and a Ravager glided out of the webway, accompanied by Venoms. Scourges dropped out from the skies, spreading their wings and opening fire with dark lances. Onager Dunecrawler Beta-2 took a few hits, but his emanatus forcefield held strong, allowing him to survive. On the other side, Onager Dunecrawler Alpha-1 suffered a volley of dark lances from the Ravager, with a single beam shearing the walker open and leaving a smoldering crater across its ravaged hull.
Kabalite Warriors dropped out of the Venoms to hold positions, firing at Skitarii Ranger squad Beta-2. Fortunately, the emanatus force field protected them from the worst of the splinter rifles, but the combined firepower from the Venoms, Reavers and a couple of Kabalite Warriors saw at least half of the squad decimated.
<Time to hit them back!> 44-Kariya ordered.
<I see them,> 28-Tetsuo said. His squadron of 2 Ironstrider Ballistarii loped forward, their twin lascannons blazing. A Venom was blown apart by the ruby beams, spilling its passengers out into the open. Meanwhile, Onager Dunecrawler Alpha-1 finished it off with his neutron laser. His cognis heavy stubbers peppered the Kabalite Warriors that had fallen out of the Venom, decimating them.
Sato pushed his Armiger Warglaive forward, taking a potshot with his thermal spear, and despite the Cronos enduring the deadly blast, it staggered, maimed and almost falling. Onager Dunecrawler Beta-2 destroyed the Raider with his Icarus Array, forcing the Archon and his Incubi retinue to conduct an emergency disembark from the plummeting transport. The Scourges remained out of range, but Kaji in his Armiger Moirax unleashed his volkite veuglaire, taking out a bunch of Incubi that had just leaped off the wrecked Raider.
"What the hell?!" The Archon screamed. "That's like the majority of our firepower obliterated in the very first battle round! How is this fair?!"
The speeding Reavers blasted apart more Skitarii Rangers from squad Alpha-1, while focusing their melta lance on Onager Dunecrawler Alpha-1 and melting him to slag. The surviving Kabalite Warriors and their Venom charged the beleaguered survivors, attempting to drown them in melee. On the other side, Mandrakes emerged from the shadows to hunt the Skitarii Rangers from Beta-2, only to fail their charge.
<Eradicate them,> 44-Kariya instructed, turning around to assess the new threat. His Beta-2 Ranger squad whirled around and proceeded to pummel the vulnerable Mandrakes with galvanic, plasma, arc and transuranic rounds.
They never stood a chance.
Between the firepower of the Ironstrider Ballistarii and Onager Dunecrawler Beta-2, they took out a Venom, while Sato vaporized the Cronos with a well-placed melta shot. He then charged the Incubi and their Archon, running them over with tank shock and killing all but the Archon.
"Damn it!" The Archon howled. "This can't be happening!"
Meanwhile, Kaji had turned his Armiger Moirax around to help the swarmed Skitarii Rangers, who were all but wiped out by the Kabalite Warriors and Reavers. With a combination of volkite, rad-cleanser and siege claw, he was able to chew through the Reavers before turning his attention to the Venom. The Kabalite Warriors were thrown into disarray, scattering before the relatively small Knight suit.
The Archon retreated, allowing the Scourges to open fire on Sato's Armiger Warglaive, but thankfully, he was able to survive. They continued to dance away, not willing to engage Sato in combat. The Archon, though, wasn't as lucky. Sato hunted him down doggedly, and despite failing to do much with his melta against the Scourges, he did pulverize the fleeing Archon under his foot.
"That should do it," he said triumphantly.
By then, the Scourges were the only survivors. Upon realizing that they couldn't win, they fled.
<Whoa, the new Imperative Doctrinas and improved datasheets...ahem, I mean firepower of the maniples really helped out,> Sigma 44-Kariya remarked in amazement. <They made all the difference against the same Corsair force that annihilated Rho 29-Tataki's maniple.>
"But they'll be back," Sato warned, watching the fleeing Scourges. "And with a much larger force this time."
<If they do,> 44-Kariya replied. <Then we'll be ready for them.>
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