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Incursion - Epilogue
? ?Colonel Smyke wiped the sweat and blood from his brow. ?The horror that had befallen the vast farm was almost beyond imagining, not Ork raiders, but something far worse. ?His soldiers had investigated the ruins of the outpost, but no signs of the former occupants could be found, not a single survivor. ?As well, he had been forced to have his men put the silos to the flame, as a feathery grey fungus had seemed to have contaminated all the storage bins. ?He knew they had been lucky to survive the encounter with these bizarre creatures, rolling up the road as if he'd been out for a holiday drive: he would not make that mistake again; Rothschild was right about the need for eternal vigilance.
? ?The death of the great winged beast had thrown some confusion into the creatures, though they had still put up a half-hearted resistance. ?A few were still out there, lurking in the fields or hiding in the tree line, though they seemed disorganized and more animalistic than when they had first attacked. ?Some of the smaller flying ones had even ignored the approach of his men, blindly feeding on the massive corpse of what must have been their twisted mother. ?Even as his soldiers lasgunned them down, survivors would shift to better feeding positions until they too were killed. ?Perhaps their apparent stupidity would mean the eventual death of the scattered alien survivors and the Colonel hoped this was the end of the matter, a greater tragedy averted.
? ?"Colonel, I think you'd better see this," one of the locally raised Rough Riders called out, his arm was wrapped in bandages and his wyrhorse bore nasty scratches on its scaled flank. "Something's happening over the Ridge!" His face was noticeably pale.
? ?Smyke invited the wounded Guardsman to mount up in his command Chimera, along with Commissar Rothschild and the rest of his staff. ?Well, aside from Sergeant Vilstev, critically injured saving the Colonel from the razored claws of one of those skittering monsters, it was unlikely he'd live through the night.
? ?The Chimera climbed the rugged ridge, angling for the gap called the Eye. ?The armoured vehicle made its way through to see the twisted, tree filled valleys beyond. ?The Colonel motioned for his aide to open the top hatch so they could all get a better view. ?What lay before them stunned them all into silence, even the Commissar's face held a look of stark disbelief.
? ?Contemptuous of danger, last to leave a fight, Rothschild was the first to speak: "We had best return to the garrison Colonel, we must report this. ?It is far more than we can hope to fight alone."
? ?The grand valleys beyond were filled with trees, trees that swayed and pitched with a vigorous life, a horrid life, an alien life?
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"EPIC: Total War" Lead Developer
Now living in Boston... any EPIC players want to meet up?
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