//------------------------------// // Crisis // Story: The Descent into Madness // by FenrisianBrony //------------------------------// Applejack CGhT-257492, more commonly known as ‘Crag’ by the Fire Caste, was hot. That was the only way Applejack could really describe it, and even that wasn’t doing it justice. The fact that they had spent so long in the cool caverns of Pa’Laa didn’t help, but even if they had been training on T’au itself, Applejack would still be struggling. Her armour’s climate control systems were working overtime, and yet she still took off her armour at the end of the day with her fur matted with sweat. “Ya sure it’s workin’ properly?” Applejack asked, looking back at Koghad as he looked over her armours systems. “What can ah tell ya, lass?” Koghad shrugged in reply. “Regular Fire Warrior armour doesn’t exactly have state of the art coolin’ systems. If you were in a battlesuit then maybe ah could do more, but ah can’t. We’re all sufferin’ from this heat.” “Will be good when we finally get off Crag,” Applejack agreed with a sigh, waiting for Koghad to close the small hatch on her back before checking her systems again. “Why do we want this planet again? Nothin’ but heat, heat, more heat and dust. So much dust.” “Yer tellin’ me,” Koghad chuckled, the sound entirely humorous. “Do you have any idea how much time ah spend these days fixin’ equipment? I’ve been pullin’ double duty on the Ethereal’s team and on the main combat line. We have another Orca that can’t fly because of dust in it’s intakes. Ya sure ya have no idea when we’ll be shippin’ out again?” “No idea, ah only listen in to the meetin’s,” Applejack admitted. “It seems like we’re pushin’ ‘em back slowly, but ah have no idea what…” Applejack was cut off as her helmet began to bleep, before the voice of Aun’Vesa came over her earpiece. “Applejack? I have completed my mornings training, if you are done with Koghad, I require you. I have an important day ahead, and I cannot afford to be late.” “Ah’m on mah way, Ethereal,” Applejack nodded, disconnecting the link and turning back to Koghad. “Got ta go, busy day ahead. Hope ya get that Orca workin’, ah have a feelin’ that they’re all gonna be needed ta finish this.” Koghad muttered something under his breath as Applejack turned away, breaking into a trot as she headed towards the training field. The majority of the camp was empty of soldiers, all of them being deployed on the front lines, the Fire Warriors being deployed in trenches just to keep them safe from the constant fire from the Canolax. The Battlesuits were still maintaining some sort of mobility, but as the Warriors were all flight capable themselves, it was not as useful as it was against the Gue’la. That being said, there were still a few guards dotted around the camp, a cluster who had been watching the training ground while the Ethereal practiced his technique even now filing out and heading to their next posts. It didn’t take long for Applejack to locate Aun’Vesa, trotting over to him and falling in on his left side, matching his pace as the pair walked. The Ethereal was dressed in his usual attire, a robe like piece enveloping his legs, while his upper half was clad in armour, the plates being made to a far higher standard than regular Fire Warrior pieces, offering him the most protection possible, short of a battlesuit. Applejack had once asked why the technology to make that level of protection was not made available to all members of the Fire Caste, the Ethereals words still fresh in her mind. This armour is not cheap, and some members of our Empire looked at the worth of our soldiers, and found the difference between the two figures too great. That had been the first time Applejack had truly heard Aun’Vesa speak a single bad word against the Empire, and even then it had been in a hushed tone, with numerous looks over his shoulder before he even attempted to vocalise his views. As strange as it sounded, Applejack thought she saw fear in the Ethereal’s eyes, not in thought of the enemy, but in thought of the Tau themselves. She hadn’t thought an Ethereal would ever fear reprisals from the Empire. Aun’Vesa had started to open her eyes. He still loved the Empire with all his heart, but there was something else as well, love tempered with caution, not the unconditional love every other Tau gave. “Good training session?” Applejack asked as they walked, pushing the thoughts of Ethereal inter-politics from her mind. “Yes, quite good,” Aun’Vesa nodded with a smile. His much more cut down attire, which Applejack had often seen as an annoyance on cooler planets, was now becoming a major asset to the Ethereal, his skin having taken on a much darker blue hue over the weeks they had been there. “Ya know the kroot are happy to oblige yer desire ta get better at close range,” Applejack began slowly, choosing her words carefully. “But if these last lot come out lookin’ like the last lot, they ain’t going to be great in the main line. And if they ever hurt you badly, goddess forgive, ah don’t know how everyone would start reactin’.” “Your concerns are noted, as always,” Aun’Vesa smiled. “The kroot know when to hold back, and all the weapons we spar with are blunted anyway. I also feel that my presence as the sole Ethereal on this world is soon going to change, so any potential incapacitation on my part would not be the end of our soldier’s moral.” “Ya mean the new Ethereal is gonna be joinin’ us?” Applejack asked in surprise. “Is he brinin’ reinforcements?” “We won’t know until we meet him, and I ask him in person,” Aun’Vesa said with a small smile. “Which should be soon, he arrived in the camp this morning, there is a meeting scheduled between myself, him and Shan’Ta in half an hour.” “Just enough time fer y’all ta get cleaned up then,” Applejack let out a smile of her own. “Just so,” Aun’Vesa let out a laugh, leading Applejack towards his quarters. It took the Ethereal precisely twenty six minutes to freshen up, exiting the building unaccompanied by the smell of sweat that had entered with him. His armour had had the dust washed from its surface, and his equalizers had been likewise cleaned and polished, both of the bladed staves hanging down from either side of his waist. The pair hurried to the central command building in silence, Aun’Vesa leading the way, while Applejack brought up the rear, her fusion gun and burst cannon tracking with her helmet reticule as best they could as she swung her head back and forth, paying particular attention to the sky. The guards outside the building did not even try and stop the pair, both standing to attention as they moved passed, the pair quickly entering the main room of the command centre, Shan’Ta standing there already, for once without his Crisis Suit, as well as a host of Fire Warriors, all wearing more traditional Honour Guard armour, and in the middle of all of them, stood an Ethereal. At first glance, he was very similar to Aun’Vesa, both of them choosing to wear pieces of heavy armour rather than simple robes, and both looking relatively young, Aun’Vesa looking ever so slightly older. Where they did differ however was their weapons choice. While Aun’Vesa used a pair of heavily modified equalizers, their usual club like ends replaced with blades of Eldar make, taken in a battle against the pirate fleets of their kind, this new ethereal carried a large honour blade, resting some of his weight against the large halberd, the sword like end extending just above his own head. “Ah, you must be this Aun’Vesa I have heard so much about,” the new Ethereal bowed deeply. “I am sorry that I could not meet with you before this meeting, my fleet was delayed in making Planetfall, and I had to hurry to avoid missing this important meeting.” “It is a thing of little consequence, Aun’Tsua’Nan,” Aun’Vesa smiled, returning the bow. “I cannot fault you for a matter outside of your control. I trust you find the planet agreeable enough?” “It’s a bit warm,” Aun’Tsua’Nan admitted. “My honour guard will attest to that. And please, call me Aun’Nan.” “Of course,” Aun’Vesa nodded, before gesturing to Shan’Ta. I am sure you have already met our esteemed Shas’O, and this is my escort, Shas’El Applejack.” “Shas’El Pa’La App'ru'jak Or’es Fio’Shas,” Aun’Nan nodded, looking at Applejack for the first time. “Your fame proceeds you, Fire Warrior. You are the source of a lot of talk back on Tau.” Applejack cringed slightly as the Ethereal used her entire, formal name and rank. The first part was simple enough, a designation of rank and Sept, but the changing of her actual name, that had taken some getting used to. Tau names were sometimes a complex affair, being a mixture of their given title, and their earnt titles. ‘App’ had remained the same, as had ‘Jack’, but she now had three new honorifics surrounding her name. ‘Or’es’, Powerful, gained during the fights against the Necrons where she had gained the right to her most recent trial by fire. ‘Fio’Shas’, Worker Warrior, given to her a lifetime ago when she joined the Fire Caste. It was originally hurled at her like an insult by the other Fire Warriors, who saw her as a dangerous break from the established tradition of the auxiliary, but over time, she had proved herself time and time again. Now the name was no more of an insult than the title of ‘El’. ‘Ru’ Tormented, the part of her title she hated the most. She had managed to avoid gaining those two letters for years, but one could only scream in the sleep and avoid the cryo tubes for so long before those around them took notice. Soon, the word was attached to her name, hanging there like a tumour that could not be cut out. “If it would please ya, mighty Ethereal, but Shas’El Applejack is more than enough,” Applejack bowed her head deeply. “Mah full name is a bit of a mouthful.” “I will keep it in mind,” Aun’Nan nodded curtly, before turning back to the main table, looking between Aun’Vesa and Shan’Ta. “Now, could I please be filled in on the state of our forces on this planet. My ships were not able to get a true fix on our units positions from orbit, and so I am at a loss as to our tactical layout.” “Of course, Ethereal,” Shan’Ta pressed a few of the holo-buttons in front of him, the table springing to life with a 3-D map of the main front, clusters of blue dots donating the positions of Fire Warrior units, while red lights showed the position of Canolax units. Symbols also appeared with the dots, donating which type of troop made up each of the units on the map, allowing the map to be used to plan attacks. “As you can see, our Fire Warriors have dug themselves in along the top of this ridgeline surrounding the Canolax’s great city,” Shan’Ta ran his finger along a crescent shaped piece of raised ground. “We have the high ground around it, and short of flying over, they are trapped between our troops and the planets own natural geography, in this case cliffs designed to protect the city from attacks from the rear.” “And what is stopping them flying out?” Aun’Nan asked. “We have numerous Razorsharks and Piranha’s flying intercept patterns above our lines,” it was Aun’Vesa who spoke this time. “They are engaging the Canolax warriors wherever they attempt to breach our airspace. Without the heavier weapons their brutes carry, they do not have much recourse against our aircraft, which is also allowing our few remaining Sunsharks to commence bombing runs against Canolax fortifications. Our Manta’s are currently lying in wait until they can strike directly at the great city itself.” “And if they try to send out a force over the cliffs to circle around?” Aun’Nan again. “That is where we are currently lacking any real staying power,” Shan’Ta admitted with a sigh. “We have five stealth teams operating up there, as well as an array of automated turrets and our last squadron of Ghostkeel’s. The Canolax have attempted to breach our ring on the cliffs on six different occasions, each time they have been driven off, but our forces stationed there are beginning to show the signs of repeated battle without support. Armour is wearing thin, morale even thinner. They need support which we simply cannot give to them at this time.” “And the endgame is to take the city, yes?” “Once we have advanced close enough, our Manta’s will begin to target the city’s towers, and our last suit of Supremacy Armour will move forward to engage the walls directly. It will keep up a bombardment on any breach it creates while our warriors get closer to ensure the Workers do not attempt to rebuild the wall before we can take the city. It will be a brutal fight, our Crisis suits cannot be everywhere, and they will likely have many Brutes and Guards within their walls.” “Then I do at least bring some good news,” Aun’Nan proclaimed. “As I am sure you are aware, Pa’Laa was training multiple battlesuit pilots when you left, as well as constructing more suits for the new pilots. Upon my arrival, I was informed they were completed, and after an inspection, I have brought them here to assist you. They are currently on their way from the fleet, I came on ahead. They should be at the base within ten minutes, and ready to march for the front within the hour.” “What numbers are we talking about?” Aun’Vesa asked, leaning forward expectantly. “I must admit; I do not remember the exact figure myself.” “Fifty XV8 Crisis suits, thirty XV88 Broadsides, thirty XV9 Hazard suits, ten XV104 Riptides, and ten KV128 Stormsurges,” Aun’Nan recited from memory. “There are also three hundred freshly trained Fire Warriors eager to prove themselves in the crucible of war, hopefully more than enough to break through the Canolax lines and bring this pacification to a close.” “That is almost a quarter of the number of Battlesuits we arrived with,” Aun’Vesa breathed out softly. “I was not aware that Pa’Laa was producing so many.” “The foundries have had to slow production,” Aun’Nan admitted. “The number of suits is now far outstripping the number of pilots. We…” Applejack never heard what Aun’Nan was going to say, her ears picking up a faint whining sound from outside the building. Before she even knew what the sound was, Applejack was diving forward, grabbing hold of Aun’Vesa and wrestling him to the floor, covering his body with her own. Aun’Nan’s bodyguards had clearly heard the sound as well, as they likewise closed ranks around their Ethereal, shielding him with their bodies just in time, as the roof of the building was enveloped in rolling plasma. Applejack, along with at least two of the five Honour Guard Aun’Nan had brought with him let out screams of pain as some of the bioplasma dripped from the ceiling, eating through their armour like it wasn’t even there. Applejack could feel a few drops sinking part way through her rear legs, before mercifully stopping. A quick glance told her that her armour was already buckling under the assault, huge amounts of the plates simply dribbling away as they liquefied. “Get up! Move, now!” Applejack roared at Aun’Vesa, dragging the Ethereal to his feet and pushing him out of the room. Normally no Tau would dare to touch an Ethereal at all, let alone in such a bodily fashion, but Honour Guard were given special dispensation to do whatever it took to keep their charges alive. “What is happening?” Aun’Vesa gasped, slightly dazed from the sudden explosion, his eyes unprotected by Blacksun Filters as Applejack’s were. “No idea!” Applejack grunted, pushing the pain in her legs aside, and silently praying that the exoskeleton mounted there didn’t fail, else she would be forced to move far slower. “Ah guessin’ it’s the Canolax! How the hell did they get here?!” “It would seem your cordon is not as good as you thought it was,” Aun’Nan called out from beside her as his Honour Guard rushed him into the small room that Applejack had taken shelter in. He looked a little dishevelled, but all in all he was no worse for wear. Applejack did notice that there were only four Honour Guard with him now though, and silently let out a curse. “We can discuss what happened after the Canolax are repulsed,” Aun’Vesa grimaced, finally coming back to his senses. “Did anyone see the attackers?” “I did, mighty Ethereal,” one of the Honour Guard began to speak. “Drop the formal tone, my name is Aun’Vesa,” Aun’Vesa snapped, slightly more harshly than he perhaps intended. “Yes, Aun’Vesa,” the Tau seemed uneasy with using the name, but continued on regardless. “I saw at least a dozen of the Warrior Canolax fly overhead, I don’t know what caused the explosion, I didn’t think their warriors carried such large scale weapons.” “Clearly we don’t know them as well as we all like ta think we do,” Applejack growled, before peering through the door to the outside. The few Tau that had been in the command centre were trying their best to mount a defence, the three Crisis Battlesuits that usually served as Shan’Ta’s personal squad forming the rocks around which the Fire Warriors were holding themselves on. They were standing firm for now, but Applejack could already see dozens of Canolax soaring overhead, strafing the Fire Warriors with impunity. “When do your reinforcements get here, Aun’Nan,” Aun’Vesa asked as Applejack assessed the situation. “Their beacon is showing them as six minutes, thirty-two seconds away,” Aun’Nan replied after briefly consulting a dataslate. Applejack nodded, setting a timer to count down in the top right of her helmet HUD, before speaking. “If the Canolax have weapons ta breach the command centre, we ain’t safe here. There’s a bunker one hundreds and twelve meters away from here, its supposed ta be used fer durin’ bombardments, should be tha safest place fer all of us. We need ta get there.” “One hundred meters is a long way to run across open ground,” one of the Honour Guard pointed out. “And sittin’ here’s a good way to get us all blown to Tartarus,” Applejack snapped back. “She’s right,” another Honour Guard nodded. “We can’t sit here, we need to make that run, and the Ethereal’s must survive.” “Ya don’t need ta tell me mah job, Sugarcube,” Applejack snorted, the feeling of adrenaline rising in her chest as she prepared for combat. “Since ah have the heaviest weapons, ah’ll go first, lay down some coverin’ fire. Two of y’all stay with Aun’Vesa, two with Aun’Nan, and make that run. Don’t stop fer anythin’, understand?” “Who put you in charge?” the Honour Guard who had disagreed with Applejack before asked, his face contorting into a scowl. “I did,” Aun’Vesa cut in, before Applejack could form her own retort. “As the senior Ethereal, I hold authority, and in times of combat, I divert my defence to Shas’El Applejack. If there are any complaints, kindly take them up with me when we are not under attack, ok?” There was a murmur of approval as the other Honour Guard moved into position around the Ethereal’s, making them duck down and protecting them as much as possible, shielding them with their own bodies. “Ok, everyone ready?” Applejack looked around, spinning up her burst cannon in preparation for the run. “We await your go,” Aun’Vesa nodded. “Here we go,” Applejack grunted, taking a deep breath, before kicking the door open and galloping into the open. The screams were louder now, handfuls of Fire Warriors lying dead and broken on the floor. Two of the Crisis suits were still fighting, albeit with heavy damage, but the third was on its back, a huge crater where its pilot was supposed to be. The defence was crumbling quickly, they would only get one shot at this. “Move, now!” she roared, before aiming both her weapons into the sky and letting loose. Plasma micro-pulses and the energy of the stars themselves poured into the swarm of Canolax above her, momentarily taking the swarm by surprise as battlesuit level weaponry suddenly appeared from seemingly nowhere. As she had hoped, the Swarm buckled slightly, giving the soldiers on the ground a momentary reprise, and giving the Honour Guard the opening they needed. Out of the corner of her eye, Applejack saw them dart out of the ruins of the command building, sprinting towards the entrance to the bunker. A group of Fire Warriors had already figured out what they were planning to doing, hauling the heavy door open and beckoning for the Ethereals to run faster. That was all Applejack had time to see, refocusing her attention on the swarm above her as they began to react to her presence, avoiding her scything lines of fire as they started to aim at her. Applejack was now forced to duck and weave as she fired, opening a link to Aun’Vesa. “Ethereal! Are y’all inside?!” she bellowed loudly. “Yes, Applejack, we await your presence,” Aun’Vesa responded, his voice coming through with a clarity that meant he must have been underground and in the main part of the bunker now. “No can do, ah’m needed out here,” Applejack shook her head. “Seal the bunker.” “Applejack…” Aun’Vesa began. “Ethereal, please, ah can’t risk y’all fer me, if ah make a run fer it ah’ll probably be shot anyway.” “I…of course. Thank you, Applejack, may the Greater Good guide your aim.” Applejack didn’t bother to reply, letting the radio link go dead as she redoubled her efforts, risking a glance back in time to see the bunker door sealing. Unfortunately, the momentary lapse in concentration allowed one of the Warriors past her field of fire, bearing with it one of the strange spherical bombs that a few of them had been carrying. Applejack turned back to the battle just in time to see the Warrior drop it, the bomb falling in slow motion, Applejack unable to do anything as it hit the floor, and detonated. Applejacks scream was drowned out by the sound of the explosion as the rolling waves of plasma enveloped her. Luckily, she was on the very edge of the blast radius, the plasma not fully covering her, which would have likely killed her instantly. Then the secondary blast erupted outwards, and she was flung from her hooves, her world going white. Applejack groaned in pain as the after-imagine of the explosion faded from her vision. Her helmet had been completed torn open in the attack, leaving her face exposed to the elements, and while her bionic eye had an inbuilt Blacksun filter, her biological eye did not. It was an odd sensation to have the image only in one eye, but Applejack shook it off, trying to regain her bearings. "That just ain't funny," she groaned in pain, struggling to her hooves and looking up at the Canolax soaring overhead. Her armour sloughed off her as the plasma melted it, turning the plates into so much slag, her burst cannon lying ruined in the puddle, while her fusion gun was only hanging on by the thinnest of threads. Firing it would be doable, aiming it would be something different entirely. Squinting through the smoke that was now filling the air, Applejack focuses on the group that had flown past her, which was even now banking round for another pass. There must have been two dozen of them easily, but only one that was different. It didn't wield a weapon like the others did, it was taller, less muscular, and while the Warriors wings were biological, this Canolax had two small turbines angled to keep it airborne. This was the Ruler leading this attack. Take him down, and they may just survive this yet. Applejack took aim into the sky, her fusion gun only barely reacting to her movements, most of the harnesses functions melted away into so much slag. He bionic eye didn't have any targeting features, and the smoke and dust were blinding her biological. Her entire body was swaying as pain and tiredness fought against adrenaline and duty. Even the range was too great for a fusion gun, the Canolax flying too high for her to even threaten anymore. In short, it would be a pointless, futile shot. Applejack let out a roar of desperation as she fired wildly into the sky, her shots going wide from even the outer edges of the Canolax swarm, who now finally seemed to see her, diving towards her, intent on finishing her off. Applejack closed her eyes, waiting for the sting of the blades that would finish her off. Or she would have waited for that, if the near deafening sound of scores of burst cannons firing didn't force her to look upwards once more. The Canolax that had been diving towards her had simply vanished in a hail of micro-pulsed plasma. A split second later, no less than six Crisis battlesuits soared passed, heading for the now retreating swarm. They didn't get far, explosions suddenly blossoming within the retreating swarm as the rest of Aun'Nan's reinforcements got within range to assist. Riptides fired high powered explosives into clusters of the fleeing insects, while Broadsides dug in, brining their heavy guns to bear on anything that looked more dangerous than the rest, those few Canolax that still carried the plasma bombs being the first targets. Somewhere in the confusion, whether it was by luck or by design, the Ruler was hit. The effect was instantaneous, Warriors letting out a scream of pain. Many simply stopped moving altogether, falling from the sky and plowing great furloughs into the dusty earth. Others managed to stay airborne, but the cohesion they had possessed during the fight was gone now, Warriors flying into each other as they sought to get away from the vengeful guns of the Tau. What had started as a fighting retreat away from overwhelming enemy resistance, had now turned into a slaughter, one which Applejack did not mind watching. She didn't get too much of a chance to watch however, as a trio of Crisis suits landed in front of her, their markings designating them as a pair of Shas'Ui and a Shas'Vre. The trio saluted as their armour recognised what was left of her own rank, before the Sha'Vre began to talk. "Shas'El, we are reporting for duty as honoured Aun'Tsua'Nan's reinforcements. I did not realise the situation was this bad." "Wasn't...meant to be...Sugarcube," Applejack smiled weakly, stooping down as she noticed her battered hat on the floor, numerous holes burnt through it. She placed it on her head as she continued. "Came out of...nowhere. Hit the command room...Aun'Vesa and Aun'Nan...in the bunker." "And Shas'O Shan'Ta?" The Shas'Vre pressed. "What of the commander?" "No...idea," Applejack shrugged truthfully. "Didn't see him...come out though. Guess...guess that makes me...actin' 'O' or somethin'." "Then we should get you some place safe," the Battlesuit proclaimed, turning to his two fellows. "You two, find this bunker and secure the Ethereal's, pull them back and protect them while we clear the remaining Canolax out of the camp." "Acting Shas'O," he turned back to face Applejack. "I ask you to accompany my men, they will keep you safe and see to it that you get medical support." Applejack let out a soft chuckle as she looked up at the Battlesuit, her vision starting to fade now the battle was over. "Afraid...ah may have ta do somethin'...quite fru-fruy...and...pass out." She barely finished the sentence, before her eyes rolled back in their sockets, and she fell into blackness.