[General Action + 20 Post Charge: Alpha Strike]
The Assassin was not quite dead. Dying, yes, but even those damned for sure could have a last laugh. The Daemonette appeared beside her, from the perspective of the alien's wavering vision out of thin air. Her mouth moved, but no words seemed to come for a moment, brain refusing to function sufficiently. After a moment, she refocused, and was able to listen.
"-nothing even I can do that wouldn't be equal to bringing you back from the dead, I'm afraid."
"As I expected, of course." She murmured. "Just open a channel to the fleet, I want..." She retched, the sudden, involuntary jerking motion taking away more of her last few minutes on the material plane. "I want... vengeance."
Fortunately, the Warp-creature had just the thing. Pooling the power seeping out of the summoner's corpse, she raised her hands to the sky, wincing as she concentrated. Using the immense reality warping capability the power had, even after the user's death, the barriers between universes could be rent asunder. The portal seemed to be located high in the sky on the other side, as a fleet could be seen in clear orbiting formation, and the night sky with all its stars was visible without obstruction, bar the aforementioned warships.
The hole was wide, wide enough to cover the entirety of the present battlefield with ease, where two sides clashed against each other in a furious maelstrom of conflict. Maybe a momentary pause fell as all looked up to see the distortion in space and perhaps time, or maybe this was ignored in favor of them continuing the fight. It did not matter either way.
Through this rent in reality, a communications link could be established. Allowing an assassin one lust muttering before she was claimed by eternal sleep.
"General... if you can hear this, I need fire support. I've been defeated by a dangerous foe, and am requesting an Alpha Strike on my position. If this war is a success, then help has been promised in tracking down the Tasen and finishing that war once and for all. Moreover, the enemy is some kind of terrible warlord, and has in effect declared war on the Empire by causing my own demise. That is... all... I can say." And with that, she breathed her last.
"Avheshi?" The very confused General Relion asked. "Avheshi, what are you on about?" He watched with distress as her vitals went red on his monitor. He took a deep breath. Now he knew what had happened to the missing Assassin, that had vanished without a trace one day before a squad reported seeing her recently through a dimensional portal. It might have been dismissed as obvious insanity, but they had anomalous readings on sensors and security footage to back it up. They were prepared to leave, but he had stalled since he wanted to investigate this mystery.
Still, answering one question had opened many more. What had her final words meant, exactly? Allies from, what, another universe? Any help in tracking down the Tasen would be appreciated by the Komato people, and as a general of the Komato Empire it was his duty to investigate such claims, especially when the message came as the dying words of one of his top Assassins. Still, mourning could come later. For now, he had to consider the facts of the situation.
Was this warlord a threat to the Empire? If this conflict was restricted to a single planet, which seemed possible from the context of the message, than the enemy could surely be dealt with by the Komato Imperial Army if it came down to it. But if he could move between realities, did that not mean he could potentially be an issue? Would he be aiding his nation by securing them future assistance in the long war, allowing them to finally end the bloody and pointless fight against the Tasen, or would he drag himself and his fellows in High Command into yet another eternal conflict? The pressure of command weighed heavily on him in that moment of thought. In the end, he made his decision. Considering the uncertain circumstances, it was the only one he could reasonably make.
He decided to trust Avheshi. "This is General Relion to the fleet. You heard the message, it's time to exact revenge on the enemy below. I want three full battle squadrons above that portal, Phantom Hammers at maximum charge."
If any had stopped to look up at the portal in the sky, they would now see an alarming sight. The vessels in the void had large point of light on the underside of their hulls, glowing brighter by the second. A bright, blinding light if one was closer. They were clearly preparing for an Alpha Strike, orbital bombardment of the highest degree.
Still, they would not die here. With another exertion of the leftover reality twisting power, the Daemonette shunted all but the Terror Troll into the Warp. The PG Entities could resist if they wished, but considering the coming event that would be unwise in the extreme. Now floating in the formless mass of shapes, colors, emotions and
potential of that alternate realm, they watched as a particular section of the impossible unreality around twisted into a misty window back into existence, and the Troll. This would be a shown demonstration.
First Squadron, weapon systems nominal.
Second Squadron, we are able to engage.
Third Squadron, locked and loaded.
The brightness of the spots had reached a peak, each weapon of the warships humming with barely contained power. Three squadrons of concentrated fire at full power would be more than enough to turn the land into a burnt husk, a slagged wasteland. Orbital bombardment had been used before, the Tyrant's vessels firing, but that was limited and contained in the extreme. This would be far more devastating still, not only turning the entire area into ashen ruins but leveling it as well. The area would be neither forested nor hilly after this.
"Strike Command."
Ready.
Ready.
Ready.
"You have authorization to fire."
The Terror Troll had certainly looked up by now, if for no other reason than those it was sent to smash had disappeared. It was puzzled and looked up, dumb confusion visible on its features as it saw the warships, all points directed on its location. At its feet lay a dead alien, and more importantly her locator beacon.
The orbiting attack ships unleashed their wrath as one, Phantom Hammer primary cannons firing in a coordinated salvo.
Everything went white.
Utter obliteration had come to the area. Even the hardiest defenses would fall, crumble, evaporate before such a barrage. Only those with outright impenetrable defenses could hope to survive, and the Terror Troll was not such a beast. Still, it endured somewhat. Foul infusion of a Godmodder's power allowed it to withstand even the most powerful of attacks. Yet this by no means meant the beast emerged unscathed. Far from it.
Slowly, slowly, shadow began to return to the light. Then detail, then color, before the true extent of the destruction was revealed.
The Troll's weapon was as enchanted as it, and so had survived. However, the wood was clearly charred as black as possible without turning into ash outright. The beast's flesh was not in much better of a state, and it had been burnt almost to the bone in several places, including part of its skull. Still, even these parts where muscle had been vaporized moved still with a fluid a motion as always, the unsettling result of the ability of such beings to fight to the end with full efficiency. Still, the damage showed why the Phantom Hammer should never be underestimated, especially many such devices.
Mission accomplished, the fleet began to pull away, and the portal closed behind them. The beast staggered as feeling began to return, allowing it to make out more of a gradient of pain as opposed to a general intense burning situation, although that could still roughly describe its entire body seeing as the scalding steam of the vaporized dirt and trees plagued it still. But of course all things cool eventually, and after the ground had returned to a state where those empowered by the seemingly magical abilities of the summoners could fight here without issue, the Warp shunt ended and all the Entities and players returned, seeing the devastation wrought on the greatest of those summoned in the field.
Yet there was one final part of this immense assault that the Troll would have to deal with. A purple mist remained on the battlefield after the others returned, and it soon gathered up into a bright sphere of energy. If one looked, it would be clear that the sorceress Daemonette was manipulating the residual energy into a powerful finale attack. The Purple Sun overlaid itself on the Terror Troll, doing more damage with harmful magical energy, before exploding violently, turning some areas where flesh remained as opposed to bleached bone into a sort of purple glass, doing yet more damage to finish off the grand assault.
"Half dead already, but still a threat." The Daemon said, mostly to herself. "Well, we'll see how long that lasts."
Charges:
Alpha Strike: 20/20,
used.
Gunnership: 13/20.
+2
@I just write
