Vestmarch defense squad

[battlelord]

Here I am with another challenge.
This time, instead of attempting the entire game, I decided to keep things more focused.
I started with the "Vestmarch Burns" squad in an attempt to beat the entire Vestmarch campaign.
That way, my squad would immediately get thrown into multiple hard levels without first being able to acquire some much needed xp and prestige in the easier campaigns.

Rules:
Hard difficulty*
No restarts
No mission aborting
Captain death is game over
Only do the Vestmarch campaign

Starting squad:
Vestmarch burns
Exo scout captain Vestmarch defender Rico
Hydra Hydra Maximus
Veteran Soldier Soldier Onyx
Veteran Soldier Soldier Aomar
Exo Scout Scout Menthos
Veteran Soldier Soldier Damascai
Veteran Soldier Soldier Kazian
Veteran Soldier Soldier Tolkine

Goal:
Complete the vestmarch campaign without the captain being killed
---
*I'm doing hard instead of brutal this time, because you really need a Chaplain to play brutal and I'm in the mood to play an Exo scout captain.

[battlelord]

Target:
Vestmarch Isolation*
---
*Because of a bug, starting the Vestmarch burns campaign actually starts you with Vestmarch Isolation
---

Mission:
Vestmarch Siege - East

Active squadmembers:
Vestmarch Defender Rico
Hydra Maximus
Soldier Aomar
Soldier Damascai

Report:
Vestmarch Defender Rico from Vestmarch defense squad Lamba reporting.
Vestmarch is under attack.
I was stationed here as a scout for training together with a group of other rookies.
However, after our instructor fell to the foul xeno invaders, I have to get us through this situation.
The orders that we received are clear: Move out to group up with other survivors and keep our Hydra cannon safe.
As a trained scout and newly appointed captain, I decide to stand my ground at the helm, slashing through the approaching xenos.
My fellow soldiers were too inexperienced to be able to provide much assistance, but luckily the hydra cannon was a powerful ally, capable of holding back the xeno forces in the back.
But when we reached the meeting point, it was already overrun.
Only then did it dawn on us that we were going to have to make a stand here by ourselves, despite our inexperience.
We received orders to reinforce the West Gatehouse to avoid xenos completely overrunning this fortress, so we are heading there now.
Vae Victis.

Results:
No deaths

---

Mission:
Vestmarch Storage Cavern

Active squadmembers:
Vestmarch Defender Rico
Hydra Maximus
Soldier Aomar
Soldier Damascai

Report:
Vestmarch Defender Rico from Vestmarch defense squad Lamba reporting.
With the main hallways overrun, we had to retreat to the secure inner bastion to safely move towards the Gatehouse.
Because of the large amount of xenoforms pouring in from all sides, we first had to make a move to secure the blast doors, to prevent them following us inside.
As the faster member of the team, I enabled the locks myself while the rest of the team blasted and burned a way through the invading bugs.
Maximus flames helped a lot here by burning the ground behind us and avoiding any of the xenos to reach us as we descended deeper into the building.
We might have started this mission off as rookies, but I'm feeling proud of the brave men who held off the xenos by my side.
Together we will get through this.
Vae Victis.

Results:
No deaths

---

Mission:
Stranded Brethren

Active squadmembers:
Vestmarch Defender Rico
Soldier Aomar
Scout Menthos
Soldier Damascai

Report:
Vestmarch Defender Rico from Vestmarch defense squad Lamba reporting.
Soon after we entered the safety of the inner sanctum, Damascai received a distress call from a survivors of another squad who was still out there.
Without help, the lone scout would certainly be overrun, so he made the call to go to their position to try to rescue these lost scout.
However, I did not want to risk the hydra out here any longer, so he entered the safety of the inner sanctum.
Together with Aomar I decided to create a diversion while the two of them would move towards our position.
On our front, things were going well, we easily cut and blasted down the approaching foes, not giving them the chance to gain any ground.
But the others were having more trouble, Menthos got wounded early on, leaving the two of them in a tougher situation to survive the endless incoming horde.
By the time they reached our position, they were weak and out of ammo.
Because they were in no shape to fight anymore, I ordered Aomar to cover their escape while we slowly moved back towards the blast doors.
In the end, we made a sprint out of there, and all safely reached out destination.
Vae Victis.

Results:
No deaths
Acquired Heavy Needle Gun
Acquired Heavy Leviathan

---


Surviving squad:
Vestmarch defender Rico
Hydra Maximus
Soldier Onyx
Soldier Aomar
Scout Menthos
Soldier Damascai
Soldier Kazian
Soldier Tolkine

Gear acquired:
Heavy Needle Gun
Heavy Leviathan

[battlelord]

Target:
Vestmarch Burns

---

Mission:
Vestmarch Siege - East

Active squadmembers:
Vestmarch Defender Rico
Hydra Maximus
Soldier Onyx
Soldier Aomar

Report:
Vestmarch Defender Rico from Vestmarch defense squad Lamba reporting.
Before we could reach the Gatehouse, new orders arrived.
We needed to secure this position to prevent the xenos from breaching the inner sanctum.
I took one of the rookies with me, so Damascai could help preparing the counter offensive.
Because of how critical this mission is, I was also allowed to take the hydra with me again to ensure success.
We found a secure spot and hunkered down to draw xeno attention.
Onyx and Aomar secured one side, while Maximus and me held the other two entrances.
Despite their overwhelming numbers, the xeno hordes all ended up in their fiery grave.
Vae Victis.

Results:
No deaths
Acquired Heavy Leviathan
Acquired Heavy Leviathan

---

Mission:
Tunnel Warfare

Active squadmembers:
Vestmarch Defender Rico
Soldier Aomar
Scout Menthos
Soldier Damascai

Report:
Vestmarch Defender Rico from Vestmarch defense squad Lamba reporting.
The situation was dire, with xenos finding a way through our storage chambers to invade our fortress.
If they were allowed to continue their assault, there would be no hope to hold this front for long.
So I took my most trusted allies with me in a suicide mission to detonate the tunnels and cut of the xeno forces.
Because of the danger of this mission, I left Maximus behind, it is too risky to lose a valuable hydra cannon to this.
Time was not on our side, so I went up to place the top charge alone, while the rest of the squad dealt with the other position.
It was a dangerous choice, but I knew that as the most skilled melee fighter of the squad, I was the only one with a chance of surviving such a move alone.
But when I returned after succesfully completing the mission, the rest of the team was in a much worse shape.
Both Aomar and Menthos were wounded from xeno attacks, and they barely succeeded their mission.
While we all got out alive, I wonder if I made the right call splitting up or if I should have stood tall together with my team.
Vae Victis.

Results:
No deaths

---

Mission:
Bloody Retreat

Active squadmembers:
Vestmarch Defender Rico
Soldier Aomar
Scout Menthos
Soldier Damascai

Report:
Vestmarch Defender Rico from Vestmarch defense squad Lamba reporting.
Just when we thought that we had escaped and cut off the xeno swarm, the last remnant of their forces came pouring in from all sides.
Even our secured room wasn't safe as xenos crawled out of a blown open wall into our defenses.
Ammo and morale was dropping low, but as the situation looked hopeless, the swarm started slowing down until it eventually stopped.
After we killed the last few stragglers, we had finally cut off the xeno invaders.
With this front secure, we could move out to our next mission, to reinforce the East Gatehouse.

Results:
No deaths

---

Surviving squad:
Vestmarch defender Rico
Hydra Maximus
Soldier Onyx
Soldier Aomar
Scout Menthos
Soldier Damascai
Soldier Kazian
Soldier Tolkine

Gear acquired:
Heavy Leviathan
Heavy Leviathan

[battlelord]

Target:
Vestmarch - East Gatehouse

---

Mission:
Vestmarch Siege - West

Active squadmembers:
Vestmarch Defender Rico
Hydra Maximus
Soldier Onyx
Soldier Kazlan

Report:
Vestmarch Defender Rico from Vestmarch defense squad Lamba reporting.
We reached the Gatehouse and set up position to defend it against incoming attacks.
I gave Aomar and Damascai rest after the last mission and instead took a few rookies with me.
We tried moving towards an easily secured room, but had trouble moving through the constant swarm of xenos.
Then, things went wrong as a hulking xeno managed to survive the heat of the hydra flames and crashed down on Maximus.
He barely managed to kill the flaming hulk, but he was heavily wounded from the ordeal.
While I would have liked to give him some well deserved rest, we will need his flames if we want to survive the next assault.
Vae Victis.

Results:
No deaths

---

Mission:
Rear Guard

Active squadmembers:
Vestmarch Defender Rico
Hydra Maximus
Soldier Onyx
Soldier Tolkine

Report:
Vestmarch Defender Rico from Vestmarch defense squad Lamba reporting.
While trying to move to safety, we were caught in a rear attack by xeno forces.
We were out in the open, and I knew that if we stayed here, we would have no chance of surviving this encounter.
So with Maximus keeping off the xenos with his flames, the rest of us cut and blasted us a path towards a safer position.
While we survived this onslaught, we are not out of here yet.
Luckily, a supply pod that I requested has reached our position, allowing me to make Maximus even more powerful.
Vae Victis.

Results:
No deaths
Acquired Hellfire Incinerator
Acquired Storm Fist

---

Mission:
Securing the gates

Active squadmembers:
Vestmarch Defender Rico
Hydra Maximus
Soldier Onyx
Soldier Aomar

Report:
Vestmarch Defender Rico from Vestmarch defense squad Lamba reporting.
With the gate slowly closing, we had to hold off the incoming xenos to prevent the gatehouse from getting overrun.
But because we already held a secure position, we easily were able to hold of the enemy hordes.
First Maximus sprayed down a fiery wall, and the rest of us killed any enemies that managed to slip through.
Vae Victis.

Results:
No deaths

---

Mission:
Into the Tunnels

Active squadmembers:
Vestmarch Defender Rico
Hydra Maximus
Soldier Onyx
Soldier Aomar

Report:
Vestmarch Defender Rico from Vestmarch defense squad Lamba reporting.
With the gate closed, I had hoped to escape into the nearby tunnels to get out of this position, but unfortunately we were caught right in the open during our move.
I immediately ordered Maximus to torch everything around us to allow us to reach a safer position, but it wasn't enough and he got wounded in our escape.
After that, I had no choice but to hunker down and try to survive the incoming tide.
It cost us blood and steel, but we survived the tide and reached the tunnels.
Vae Victis.

Results:
No deaths

---

Mission:
Security Tunnels

Active squadmembers:
Vestmarch Defender Rico
Hydra Maximus
Soldier Onyx
Soldier Aomar

Report:
Vestmarch Defender Rico from Vestmarch defense squad Lamba reporting.
Staying in these hallways for long was a death sentence, so we decided to push deeper into the security tunnels.
Maximus burned down every path behind us, and with the tunnel covered in flames we easily held off the bugs behind us.
I cut us a path through the foes in front of us, and even though I got a few nasty scars from it, we all got through this mostly unharmed.
Vae Victis.

Results:
No deaths

---

Mission:
Security Tunnels

Active squadmembers:
Vestmarch Defender Rico
Hydra Maximus
Soldier Onyx
Soldier Aomar

Report:
Vestmarch Defender Rico from Vestmarch defense squad Lamba reporting.
With the gate closed and the tunnels collapsed, it is time to cut through the last xenos that are still hiding inside and reach the escape point.
My squad is too exhausted and wounded to do the full sweep, we just need to get out of here and leave the full cleanup for a fresh squad.
Unfortunately, as I was cutting my way through the horde, one of the xenos managed to pierce my armor and heavily wound me.
But I did not let a single wound deter me and continued to lead the charge and bring my squad to safety.
Vae Victis.

Results:
No deaths
Acquired Leviathan Void Armor

---

Surviving squad:
Vestmarch defender Rico
Hydra Maximus
Soldier Onyx
Soldier Aomar
Scout Menthos
Soldier Damascai
Soldier Kazian
Soldier Tolkine

Gear acquired:
Hellfire Incinerator
Storm Fist
Leviathan Void Armor

[battlelord]

Target:
Vestmarch Strike Team Alpha

---

Mission:
Break Out

Active squadmembers:
Vestmarch Defender Rico
Hydra Maximus
Soldier Onyx
Soldier Aomar

Report:
Vestmarch Commander Rico from Vestmarch strike team Alpha reporting.
The siege of Vestmarch is still ongoing, with no sign of the xeno hordes decreasing in numbers.
Command has decided to move out on a frontal counter assualt that might stop the tides and save this fortress.
Three strike teams have been sent out to try and reach the xeno command ship and take out the heart of the swarm.
Because of how dangerous this mission is, I have take my most loyal squadmembers with me.
However, as soon as we stepped outside of the gate, it became clear that these foul beasts were not going to give up without giving us a hell of a fight.
We got swarmed from all sides by more xenos then I had ever seen before, and if it wasn't for Maximus holding them off with his flames, I don't think we would have been able to advance at all.
Onyx got wounded during our advance, but luckily his wounds weren't fatal.
Despite the odds, we manage to cut through the hordes, reaching a small point of respite before our next push.
Vae Victis.

Results:
No deaths

---

Mission:
Underground Corridor

Active squadmembers:
Vestmarch Defender Rico
Hydra Maximus
Soldier Onyx
Soldier Aomar

Report:
Vestmarch Commander Rico from Vestmarch strike team Alpha reporting.
We are marching upon our required position.
Unfortunately, the main hallway to our destination is completely overrun by xenoforms.
Going through the main route is complete suicide because of their overwhelming presence.
However, it is also the fastest way, and on a mission like this, where time is of the essence, we can't risk slowing down.
So instead of taking the safer, slower route, we marched forwards in to the heart of the xeno forces.
But as we fought our way to the middle, our worst problem became clear: ammo.
We had to fight our way throught the hordes with barely any bullets left, making the mission even more dangerous.
There was only one chance now, if we could cross the nest, then Maximus could torch it behind us, burning them all alive and giving us the chance to escape.
Our plan was working as we punched our way through the onslaught, as we blocked the xeno attacks from all sides.
But just after we crossed the worst part, Aomar got ripped apart by the swarm behind us.
Maximus blasted down his flamed, but as he was taking out the enemy horde, he too got ripped to shreds.
But both me and Onyx out of ammo, and the last flames from Maximus dwindling behind us, I knew that I had to make a bold move to survive.
So Onyx and I dashed towards a safe zone, and by a miracle we survived.
I can't believe that I lost Maximus because of my wrong tactical decision.
But I have no choice but to go forwards, everything is depending on this mission.
Although we are deep within enemy territory, so we'll have to get through this without the help of the rest of the squad.
Vae Victis.

Results:
Hydra Maximus kiled.
Soldier Aomar killed.

---

Mission:
Tip of the Spear

Active squadmembers:
Vestmarch Defender Rico
Soldier Onyx

Report:
Vestmarch Commander Rico from Vestmarch strike team Alpha reporting.
Even after clearing the nest from before, the amount of xenoforms in the area hasn't decreased much.
They seems to follow some form of twisted intelligence, as they are purposefully blocking our way forward.
With just Onyx and me alive, we would have a hard time breaking through.
But we had to persevere, because not just our fate depended on this mission, but the entire survival of Vestmarch.
With enemies in front and pursuing us in the back, we rushed into a side pathway, hoping that it would give us enough time to reach the next gate.
While we occasionally fought off a few xenos in our way, we hurried forward, knowing that time was not on our side.
Eventually, the path towards the gate was clear, but there was a very large xeno force pursuing right behind us.
While Onyx had been covering our rear guard, I knew that he would not be able to hold the line against such an overwhelming horde.
So I swapped places and started to cover the back instead.
Because we had to make haste, I was only able to fend off xenos with my blade, only occassionally striking back at the opportune moment.
Finally, we have reached the gate, but it will take time to open, so we have to make a stand here.
Vae Victis.

Results:
No deaths

---

Mission:
Star Dock Blast Door

Active squadmembers:
Vestmarch Defender Rico
Soldier Onyx

Report:
Vestmarch Commander Rico reporting.
The swarm fell over us.
With just the two of us, we faced more xenos than we ever faced before, in a near endless onslaught.
We stood near the gate, back to back, with the alien bugs swarming us from every side.
At first, we were able to stem the tide, but as ammo started to run out, the situation turned from dire to hopeless.
All we had left was my blade and Onyx fists.
Blows were traded with the incoming foes, as the hallway filled with both xeno and templar blood.
And then, as by a miracle from Shalun, the gate slowly opened, giving us the opportunity to retreat.
Neither of us expected to walk out of there alive, but together we somehow overcame this terrifying experience.
After a short reprieve to resupply our guns and treat our wounds, we are moving towards our final objective.
Vae Victis.

Results:
No deaths

---

Mission:
Spear Cutter Landing Bays

Active squadmembers:
Vestmarch Defender Rico
Soldier Onyx

Report:
Vestmarch Commander Rico reporting.
The target of our missions was within view.
The idle Patrol Interdictor was sitting unharmed within view.
If we could get it up and running and in the air, we could create an opening and allow Vestmarch to strike back.
Team Beta and Delta should be arriving shortly to reinforce, but before they are here we should restart the power and open the locks to allow the ship to lift off.
Unfortunately, only the two of us are remaining, so we'll have a much harder time clearing both of these points.
So, we had to make a difficult choice to split up or we wouldn't be able to clear both goals before we were overrun.
Onyx enabled the power and after I heard the familiar roar of the engines coming to life, I triggered open the locks.
However, we were both wounded and out of ammo, so our chances of survival were slim.
Onyx fought valiantly, but he got overrun by the swarm and died after taking many of them with him.
All alone, I decided to make a mad dash for the ship, and by a miracle from Shalun himself, I survived.
And even better news is that I got a message that both Strike team Beta and Delta survived and got to the meet up point.
With their help we started up the ship and escaped into orbit.
It was a dangerous missions, but we have a fighting chance now and are ready to take the fight to the xeno turf.
Vae Victis.

Results:
Soldier Onyx killed.

---

Surviving squad:
Vestmarch defender Rico
Scout Menthos
Soldier Damascai
Soldier Kazian

Soldier Tolkine

Deaths:

Hydra Maximus
Soldier Onyx
Soldier Aomar

[battlelord]

Challenge completed

Final results:
Enemies killed: 1971
Templars lost: 3
Missions completed: 17
Prestige gained: 603

Surviving Templars:
Vestmarch defender Rico: 270 kills
Scout Menthos: 20 kills
Soldier Damascai: 41 kills
Soldier Kazian: 4 kills
Soldier Tolkine: 4 kills

Fallen Templars:
Hydra Maximus: 403 kills
Soldier Onyx: 115 kills
Soldier Aomar: 107 kills

Final note:
That's unfortunately the end of this small little challenge, because the final Vestmarch campaign never got released.
But I had a lot of fun with it, it was nice to have a bit more compact challenge, compared to trying to beat the entire game like last time.
For the first few campaigns I was a bit worried that I made it too easy by only putting the difficulty on hard, but the final campaign made up for that, trying to get through with only half a team added a lot to the challenge.
Thank you for reading and I'll maybe see you in my next challenge if I ever do another one.