“You can’t hit what you can’t see” is put to the test when the stealth force of N’lan cadre encounters the tanks of the Medvedican 1-15th.
Commander Longford Advances
Fresh from his victory against the Land Train of the Kin, Commander Longford moved swiftly to advance his tanks into the outer districts of Helios Spire. This rapid advance risked flanking the bulk of the combined Votann and T’au forces, and so an equally rapid response was necessary. The N’lan cadre was dispatched - equipped with cutting edge stealth technology, large numbers of Ghostkeel and XV-25 Stealth battlesuits entrenched themselves in the city and waited for the steel tide to roll onto them.
Ghosts in the Ruins
As the main tank line moved into the kill-zone created by N’lan, a withering hail of fire erupted onto them. Ghostkeels appeared from nowhere, unleashed torrents of ultra-heated fusion attacks, and melted back into the shadows, their drones intercepting any return fire that was able to track them. Stealth suits lining the walls acted as advanced spotters for Riptides, focussing their fire down the long, open streets.
The Wave Crashes
However, despite the surprise assault, the main advance was undeterred. The tanks of the Astra Militarum were able to shrug off the worst of the fire, and as they learned the tricks of the stealth cadre, the return fire became more and more punishing. Chimera transports were able to advance through and drop their infantry into the emplacements that the T’au had begun their ambush from, denying them valuble objectives. Reserves of Sunforge battlesuits were airdropped in, their fusion guns punishing any tanks still out in the open, but they were unable to blunt the offensive and they in turn were cut down.
Charmed Life
Commander Longford, now a talisman to his troops after his miraculous survival during the battle with the Land Train, had led from the front throughout. Personally leading a push into the enemy lines, attempting to break what little coordination the enemy had remaining, he was briefly stopped by the actions of a single valiant Ghostkeel. The cloaking devices of the battlesuit almost allowed it to get the drop on the Commander, but one lone T’au was never going to be enough to stop the guns of a Punisher.
Exorcism
The armoured tide of the Astra Militarum continued to roll through Helios Spire, the ghosts of the T’au laying broken in its wake, unable to stop the relentless assault. Ettok was faced with a difficult decisions ahead - Longford could not be allowed to advance unopposed, but the bulk of his forces were already committed to the main road into the Spire. It was looking more and more likely that Ettok himself would be required to attempt to break the seemingly unbreakable wave of steel.