Daedalus Campaign
Summary
The Daedalus Campaign was a conflict fought between the Epsilon Battalion and the Worldsplodaz who fought for control over Daedalus IV, an agri-world of the Sanctus sub-sector.
The conflict lasted for months before concluding with the demise of Dakkamog Worldsploda.
See Daedalus Campaign timeline.
In Real Life
Daedalus Campaign: In Real Life
The Daedalus Campaign was ELWP's 2nd foray into a fully-fledged Arma 3 narrative campaign, that spanned over many weeks of deployment events. The campaign was structured around the complete conquest of a planetary battle map, which aimed to convey the idea of a persistent planetary campaign that changed over time as ELWP conquered more territories from the Orks.
Key Events
Act I
By the time the Epsilon fleet had arrived within the Daedalus star system, the Ork invasion was already well underway. Nothing less than a full re-conquest of Daedalus-IV was required if the Epsilon battalion were to be successful in securing the planet's food supplies for the Imperium. A planetary invasion could not begin however until the skies above the planet were secure; the first objective of the Epsilon fleet would be securing Daedalus-IV's primary space port, Mercatus Primus; its considerable orbital defence capabilities would ward off Ork reinforcements and clear out any aliens lurking in orbit, once repaired. With the space port secured, the battalion could then focus on relieving the overwhelmed planetary defence forces still alive in pockets on the planet's surface - one such bastion of last resistance was the planet's primary hab city, Constantia. Clearing Constantia city and retaking its bastions would allow the legion to establish a forward operating base on the world's surface.
Void Assault on Mercatus Primus
In orbit, the Epsilon battalion took the fight to the greenskins in a brutal close-quarters assault aboard Mercatus Primus, the planet’s primary space port, whereby the legionaries regained control of the port’s defence batteries and safely extracted the planetary governor. In Real LifeMercatus Primus: In Real Life
Mercatus Primus was an ambitious, fully Eden-designed VR map level with significant use of the object scaling feature in Eden Editor. The players were tasked with deploying from their battle barge hanger to the space port via assault rams. A hard lesson was learned for the zeus team - object scaling does not globally apply across all multiplayer clients; as a result, much of the hand-crafted corridoors of the space port were broken and could not be traversed. Upon a recheduled second attempt of the deployment, these issues were fixed.Breaking the Siege of Constantia
With control of the skies restored, a devastating drop pod assault of the planet itself followed, with the 2nd and 3rd battle companies deploying to Constantia city in an attempt to save the last bastion of imperial resistance on Daedalus IV. The shock of the strike was absolute, allowing the legionaries to wipe out the Orks besieging Constantia. In Real LifeConstantia: In Real Life
The breaking of the siege of Constantia was ELWP's first Arma 3 droppod assault into a densely populated urban environment that surrounded the hill fortress of Constantia. On initial deployment, a lack of AI optimisation by the zeus team made for a very poor-peformance operation, with low framerates and eventually a general server crash. This crash was so severe that the operation had to be canceled and rescheduled, eventually being completed on its second attempt. For ELWP's zeus team, the operation was yet another hard lesson in Eden Editor optimisation for operations.
Act II
After the retaking of Constantia, the Ork Warboss, Dakkamog Worldploda, revealed himself to the last wall protocol in a hacked vox transmission. If the sons of Dorn were to drive the warboss out of hiding, they would first need to goad him into direct battle by killing his trusted command nobz... nevertheless, other objectives remained, and the two regions ahead required immidiate attention. Daedalus IV’s food production was still in Ork hands - this had to be remedied soon, lest the entire sub-sector suffer shortages.Liberation of Prassus
The battalion struck in full strength across multiple objectives within the region of Prassus. The 2nd company launched a bike-assault of the east, while the 3rd company devastated key Ork positions with lightning-fast raids. Conflict for the region culminated with the re-taking of Prassus hab city, whereby the 2nd and 3rd battle companies launched a full-scale assault to wipe out its ork occupants.
Operation 'Dark Cost'
The 2nd company successfully extracted Prime-Biologis Altman and his bio-weapon research at the behest of Inqusitor Beauregard. Chief Apothecary Lysander Manius and Altman nearly came to blows when discussing the ethical cost of the research, but ultimately this was put aside and the inquisitor's orders were carried out to the letter.
Operation Dark Cost: In Real Life
Operation Dark Cost was a scripted, more narrative and RP-heavy operation held in Arma 3 during the Daedalus campaign. The second company deployed to a remote island where they met Altman who presented a moral dilemma for the players to deal with; Altman had been conducting research at the cost of many innocent civilian lives. The scenario had been catered for two possible outcomes - the first being that the players would spare altman and carry out their mission, and the second being that they execute Altman for his crimes and subseqently attempt a break out from his highly secure research complex with Altman's personal security forces engaging them.
The Purging of Alexia
The Epsilon battalion engaged in several skirmishes across the region of Alexia on Daedalus IV, culminating in the battle for New Alexia, where the legionaries swept through the city and killed the local Ork war chief - Nob Tanksmasha. Notably, librarian epistolary Roeneth was responsible for the defeat of Nob Tanksmasha, reportedly using an impressive feat of psychic might to smight the ork's looted Baneblade tank, which had inflicted tremendous casualties on the planet's PDF forces in weeks prior.Act III
With Alexia and Prassus secure, the Epsilon battalion continues its attack into further regions. The Epsilon auxiliary force is becoming well-established and better prepared for Ork counter-attacks as the weeks roll on, and the war for Daedalus IV is in full swing. Oppidum, Ebonos and Asturica are next - regions containing yet more vital food supplies, as well as geo-arrays that would be critical for accurate fire missions, deep strike deployments, and planetary scanning data.
Butchery at Oppidum
During initial deployments to the region of Oppidum, evidence of mass slaughter and experimentation were found in villages surrounding the region. The ominous Ork figure known as 'Da Butcha' revealed himself to the battalion through a grizzly paper trail of evidence he left behind. More disturbing were the butcher's close ties to Altman's mysterious research - the Ork had been tampering with the bioweapon previously used against his kind and was working to weaponise it against humans. Regardless, the region's primary hab centre was raided, and its Ork occupants cleared out within the week. The combat for Primus oppidum was a bloody one - proving to inflict notable losses among the ranks of the legionaries during the conquest of the region. Despite the battalion's best efforts, Da Butcha managed to escape.
The Purging of Ebonos
The 2nd and 3rd battle companies rebuffed countless Ork raiding parties, including Ork kommandos, that flooded into the region of Ebonos, most notably during the defence of Mina's Rise geo array close to Prassus. Disturbingly, signs of Da Butcha's fungal-rot infection had appeared throughout the settlements of Ebonos - leading to some civilian populations requiring the Emperor's mercy. The last of signficant Ork control in the region was wiped out during the assault of Janus airbase, where the Ork hordes were driven from the strategically vital location by the combined might of the battalion.
Assault on Asturica & The Ork Threat Renewed
Act IV
The Ork threat on Daedalus IV has been renewed despite the battalion's success - the battle companies now look to securing victory on the planet as quickly as possible by killing the Ork behind it all: Dakkamog Worldsploda. The exact location of the warboss is still unknown - but hope remains, for Da Butcha is running out of places to hide and will have information to share.Investigations at Quintora
Inquisitor Beauregard and his retinue landed on Daedalus IV to oversee an investigation into Altman and Da Butcha, uncovering some form of pact between the two. The Astartes of the last wall protocol escorted the inquisition through the region of Quintora to ensure that their investigation would proceed unmolested. It was revealed that Altman had been leaking convoy routes to Da Butcha, specifically the transport of his mysterious bio weapon, which in recent weeks had been used by the pain dok to produce the highly infectious 'Fungal Rot' plague. Intel discovered in the city of Quintora pointed to Da Butcha's final-remaining hiding place, located in the barracks-fort of the Mala region.Apprehending Da Butcha in Mala
Undaunted by the hordes of fungal-mutants let loose by Da Butcha, the Epsilon battalion struck at the heart of the plague that tormented Daedalus IV's returning human population; Da Chop Shop, the base of Da Butcha's operations. There the legionaries successfully broke through, and captured the mad ork scientist. With the aid of interrogation by Inquisitor Beauregard, Da Butcha revealed the location of Dakkamog Worldsploda before being escorted away in the Inquisitor's custody.Act V
Thanks to the interrogations of Da Butcha, the Ork Warboss' location was revealed to be somewhere in the Northern Dockyards of Daedalus IV. The area was a mighty port, responsible for a significant portion of Daedalus IV's food export transportation. Now home to the Ork warboss of Waaaagh Worldsploda, the port had been converted into a maze of twisted Ork bastions and mekk-boy shops. If Dakkamog Worldsploda could be defeated here, the war for Daedalus IV would surely be won for the Imperium of Man.Assault on Martyr's Gorge
Though the Orks had heavily fortified the narrow passage that lead into the Northern regions of Daedalus IV, they were ill-prepared for the heavy artillery bombardment that covered the Epsilon battalion's inexorable advance. The legionaries employed shield wall tactics to approach the plunging fire of Martyr's Gorge, releasing torrents of mass-reactive bolt rounds into overwatch positions as they swept inward. Slowly but surely, the gorge was taken and surviving Orks were scattered Northwards back to the relative safety of the Ork-controlled dockyards.
Dakkamog Worldsploda's Defeat
The final assault upon Dakkamog Worldsploda's last hold-out began. With the aid of other imperial ground forces, the 2nd and 3rd battle company attacked the dockyards from multiple directions; The 2nd battle company made a frontal assault of the Ork mek shops, targeting the enemy's vehicle production capabilites while the 3rd company assailed the aliens from the West, navigating through valleys to strike the dockyards from the rear lines. The battle for the Northern Dockyards reached its climax as the warboss himself took to the field, emerging from a large, crudely constructed hangar along with a host of his personal bodyguards. The Ork warboss had constructed a titanic 'kustom' Ork warmachine unlike anything seen by the Imperial forces below, who were promptly subjected to a barrage of explosive weaponry both from the warboss himself and his gargant-guard. Chaos errupted as auxiliaries were killed in droves, and legion vehicle losses were sustained - but the two forces exchanged firepower with equal ferocity until only the warboss remained. Several assault marines clambered up upon the Ork titan's hull, wrecking several vital componants, all while venerable dreadnought British vented his fury upon the machine's damaged legs - it is thanks to their efforts that the warboss was brought low and eventually destroyed in the fire of its reactor's meltdown. Dakkamog Worldsploda had been killed, and victory was assured. |
This article is a work in progress. |
Daedalus-IV
Imperial Agri-World
Conflict Type
Military Campaign
Battlefield Type
Planetary
Conflict Result
Imperial victory. Ork forces scattered and declining.
Location
Belligerents
Strength
Full battalion deployed.
Sizable ork war host.
Casualties
Light.
Great.
Objectives
Secure Daedalus IV.
Overrun Daedalus IV, looting its food supplies for further invasions in the sector.