Temple Complex 23

Temple Complex 23 (665.M41)

"Our forebears were savages- trapped in the jungles and trapped in the worship of equally savage gods. We have The Emperor and The Imperium- they had nothing…"

- is it any wonder they destroyed themselves?

These survey teams, while tasked with exploring the ruins left behind by Yaelea III’s distant, all but forgotten Pre-Imperial past, did their work poorly.-instead of accurate reports, they acted on misplaced religious fervor and declared the large structures at their centers Temple Complexes, dedicated to the worship of forgotten gods. The truth was more complex- information gathered by spies inside Rebel operations- suggested that at least one,  site 23 was in fact an ancient factory, now producing simple, but effective small arms for the Rebels.

Tasked by Imperial High Command to venture into the jungle and secure it the 7th Doritan Mountaineers Light Infantry Regiment did so post haste. However they fared poorly in the jungle struggling to deal with the overgrown vegetation, heat, humidity, and dangerous fauna. By the time they reached the enemy position, they were exhausted and the Rebels were ready for them. Jadovich Beol, the “Boris” or Colonel of the 7th, ordered his regiment to fan out and surround the factory, but the Rebels launched punitive attacks against Mountaineers advance forces. Hard fighting ensued around the perimeter for days but eventually the 7th Light Infantry pushed the Rebels back into their factory but the Doritan Mountaineers were unable to break the enemy’s line.

The jungle was cleared 100 yards around the factory itself and this, to the dismay of Jadovich’s men, was a minefield watched over by enemy machine guns and sharpshooters. The light mortars and missile launchers they brought were of little use to the Mountaineers and so they resorted to whittling down the Rebels with sniper fire from their Janissary Cadres. the Rebels and Imperial troops exchanged sniper fire for a week but the Rebels fared far worse than their Imperial counterparts.

Jadovich knew his men could outgun any of these Rebels, but he was running out of supplies and news of an army coming to relieve the beleaguered defenders reached him the same time he received his report on his troops dwindling supplies Jadovich sent out a call for aid from any Imperial forces in the area whilst preparing his regiment for a full scale assault upon the factory, acting on the advice from the Tech-Priest Ezaria Axos.

On the eleventh day of fighting, the Doritan Mountaineers launched an all out assault on the factory. They day started with the drummers of the 7th Light Infantry setting a war cadence, the deep banging of their drums, made from empty oil barrels, signalling to the regiment that their assault was about to begin. It started with all the emptied supply trucks being sent into the minefield to clear a path,destroying most of them. They were followed by hundreds of Doritan Mountaineers who charged up screaming and cursing at the Rebels, taking potshots from behind their ruined trucks and falling upon the Rebel defenders with righteous fury. Many fell to machine gun fire along the way but many more reached the Rebel line, fighting furiously with bayonet, knife, and axe. Jadovich looked on with a grin, it appeared as if the first wave was going to breach the enemy line until, moments later, the thunder of artillery in the distance rang out. Many of the Mountaineers paused in their tracks in confusion until artillery shells screamed down onto their position.

In an instant, the Imperial assault turned into an utter rout as dozens of men simply ceased to exist while many more burned alive from green fire. The Tech-Priest Ezaria Axos, who led the first wave personally, screamed out in horror, “Phosphex!” and a moment later his body was consumed by the green flame. Jadovich was horror struck by the sight and ordered a full scale retreat, the artillery was not only hammering the first wave of attackers but the rest of the regiment within the dense jungles around the factory.

The 7th regiment routed, fleeing the outskirts of the factory and deep into the jungle from whence they came. Boris Jadovich tried to keep his men retreating in an orderly fashion before he was wounded by shrapnel and carried off by his honor guard. The 7th Regiment suffered 47% casualties in the fighting around the factory and were stuck in the middle of the jungle with few supplies. Jadovich ordered the regiment to fall back to send a report back to command. The Rebels had access to Phosphex weapons and that they could not take the factory he was surprised at the reply, an order to hold his position.

He was notified that the 5th Company of the Artemisia Armored was to support them and that a strike force of Explorator Fleet VX-7743.II was in system and now enroute to deploy Mechanicum forces in the theater. In the meantime, Jadovich had his men forage for food in the jungle, hunker down and wait for reinforcements. He also dispatched scouts to secure a perimeter. They ran into Rebel hunting parties and brief but fierce skirmishing broke out. Luckily for the Imperial troops, The Rebels were uncertain of their position and they were well outside the range of enemy artillery. Another week passed and finally the Mechanicum under command of Secutor Viktor Mikael and the 5th Company of the Artemisia Armored, under command of Százados Gulyás Kajzima arrived with fresh troops and supplies.

The three formations fell under the command of Secutor Viktor, Jadovich offered his regiment to the Secutor’s command for the duration of the campaign. The Mechanicum’s Battle Automata marched along with the Doritan Mountaineers while the 5th Company brought up the rear. The Rebels did not expect such a force to be mobilized so quickly and were caught off guard when the Battle Robots burst forth from the tree line flanked by Doritan Mountaineers and Battle Servitors. Heavy Bolters, Plasma Cannons, Heavy Flamers, combined with lasrifle and lasgun fire pounded enemy positions into oblivion. Rebels fled in terror whilst others held out in vain as they were obliterated by the Battle Automata’s heavy weapons. In one fell swoop, the outer defenses of the factory fell to Imperial Forces, for the minefields were spent and the Rebel outer defenses lacked the firepower to seriously threaten the Mechanicum’s Robots.

There was a different scenario within the factory. Traps, kill-zones, and Rebel ambushes were spread throughout the factory grounds and it tooks a week to drive out the last Rebel defenders from the factory complex. A number of Battle Automata fell to improvised explosive devices while Battle Servitors and Guardsmen were cut down by machine guns. However, after fierce fighting, the Imperium secured the factory complex and found that the Rebels had moved the artillery into the factory grounds so that they could bombard incoming loyalist forces from a safe position. They also discovered something far more interesting- the entire complex dated from the Dark Age of Technology, and was capable of far more than the crude weapons and vehicles The Rebels were using against them. The Techpriests scattered to explore their new discovery and the Imperial Guard forces learned that a Rebel relief army would arrive in less than a day.

Elements of each unit dispersed across the factory complex, fending off furious assaults as the first Rebel units began to arrive. Jadovich tried to convince Viktor that they should counter attack with the Battle Automata leading the vanguard but the Secutor was nowhere to be found. When trying to question the other Tech-Priests about his whereabouts, he was met with simply “He is otherwise engaged.” much to the Boris’ distress and anger. nHe then went to Kajzima to coordinate the defense together and after a few moments of discussion put their plans into action.

The Artemisia aided in repositioning artillery, dragging the fallen Battle Automata to be salvaged or scrapped, and helped the Doritan Mountaineers secure the factory defenses, towing burned out Rebel vehicles into place as makeshift barricades and helping repair damaged structures, Doritan Sentinels and Chimeras.

Initially, the two units found little to bond over, their cultures were quite different and the Mountaineers felt the Artemisia were not real soldiers- due to being a supporting element rather than an actual fighting company of their regiment. However, this animosity did not have time to grow because shortly after the defenses of the factory were prepared, the Rebel relief army arrived, giving their enemies an overwhelming numerical advantage. But their defenses held, despite days of constant fighting, driving away attack after attack and even neutralizing the enemy artillery.

In rare moments of peace they shared music, stories and liquors from their own worlds, celebrating their continued survival. The Artemisia drank to the exotic beauty of the Doritan women fighting beside them and showed off their Atlas vehicles to the impressed Mountaineers.

These simple things brought the two relatively new and inexperienced armies together, building a friendship based on mutual respect and dislike of the jungle around them but also good natured mockery of each other's traditions and cultures. This friendship was further deepened when they learned that many of their tanks were built on Doritan itself, while the cannons aboard their Vanquishers were supplied by the Explorator Fleet.

They held the ancient factory complex for a further sixteen days before The Rebel army was finally defeated. The exhausted Imperial Guard did not pursue them but the Adeptus Mechanicus sent them away so they could study their hard earned prize in peace. Their new found friendship endured long beyond the battle itself, soon spreading beyond the 5th Company to the Artemisia Armored as a whole.