Deathwatch: Sons of Jericho IC

Game Master Rookseye

For untold centuries the Deathwatch have stood vigil over the Jericho Reach. Now, the disparate Astartes of Kill-team Umbra must vanquish a threat and unravel a mystery which portends to place the entirety of the Achilus Crusade in jeopardy.


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Black Templar Techmarine

The interface appears old, very old. How many millennia has this chamber stood? For how long has it paid homage to the Thrice-Martyred? Does time even have meaning here?

Forbidden Lore, Adeptus Mechanicus (50), Roll: 1d100 ⇒ 93

This technology is not familiar to me. I try to find a tech-port that might allow electro-graft use. Perhaps if I directly interface with the ancient cogitator, I will learn its functions.


Brother Quintus wrote:
"...Or maybe both?"

Brother Syne, who thus far has remained silent, chooses this moment to cut into the conversation.

"Midnight is coming, that is why we are here."

With that, he turns away from Brothers Quintus and Vex, leaving them to consider his words.


My PC died on me sorry to be "out" but I'm back in a borrowed pooptop while I get my PC back. Will post soon.


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To call the interface panel archeotech would be an exercise in understatement. It is clear from appearances that it is quite unlike anything that Brother Emeric has ever seen, and there is no question that it predates even the era of Saint Enoch's vigil in the Jericho Reach. The panel face is a smooth, malleable liquid-crystaline matrix that at first glance appears to be a blank gray slate, but as the techmarine draws closer, it ripples and shimmers with a dull iridescence that portends that it may be sensing his presence. The smooth, gleaming adamantine curves of the ancient cogitator contained in the strangely intimidating housing of the ancient wooden clock have no visible dials or buttons and it stands in stark contrast to the darkly lacquered wood of the timepiece.

Forbidden Lore (Adeptus Mechanicus) unsuccessful.

Brother Emeric flinches slightly as the screen flashes white for a moment, followed by the sudden activation of extremely sophisticated hololithic rendering machine spirits that combine their individual luminous output to produce a virtually life-like three-dimensional depiction of a strange device, suspended in midair before the clock.

It is nearly impossible to say precisely what it is, but the image seems to represent an intricate, rounded amalgamation of weathered and warped gears, cogs, and flywheels, so corroded and rusted, that it seems almost green in tincture, or partially fossilized. It gradually transforms until it appears how it must have looked when it was new; a compact bronze box containing countless clockwork parts of varying dimensions, all moving in perfect coordination. The image, rotating as if held in a gyroscopic display by the hololith projectors, remains visible for almost a minute before transforming again into a series of ancient clocks of increasing complexity before the last of these changes into a far larger device comprised largely of burnished wood with a primitive metallic cabinet. Oddly fluted glass tubes protrude from the rear of the device. As you watch, a small placard of tan paper falls out of a slot in the face of the metal portion, punched through with countless holes. This image resolves and disappears soon after, and is replaced sequentially at far quicker intervals of time with great metal housings of spinning reel to reel plas, and then increasingly smaller devices with inset glass pict-screens and keypads. These decrement in size until they are the barest slivers of gleaming silica, and then increase in proportions again, and Emeric recognizes flash-images of proscribed thinking machines from the late Dark Age of Technology, antiquated data-looms from the Age of Strife, and more familiar, though dated cogitation engines and devices from the near-past.

The pace of the three-dimensional images slow and end with the shining bronze box of gears and cogs again, which gradually fades into its crumbling, rust-caked remnant that began the cycle.

Even this eventually fades, replaced with High Gothic words suspended in mid-air that read:

'Antikythera Tempus Aeternus'

This is then replaced by a meter-high depiction of the Omega rune in gleaming gold.

While all this happens, Brother Vex cannot help but hear Brother Syne's ominous words echoing in his mind, and he watches, his eyes riveted to the face of the clock, as the once-still minute hand twitches, and then inexorably lurches into motion, counting down another minute before stopping again. The tick-tock sound that filled the room abruptly ceases.

The Omega rune continues to rotate in the air before Kill-team Umbra, but it is a long while before Brother Emeric and the others can tear their eyes away from what they have just witnessed and speak again.

Brother Emeric:
Emeric, you are unsure of just how to interface with this cogitator, there does not appear to be visible MIU or electro-graft input.


This is the first time Decius is struck with awe and is not sure what to do now, since it seems the only thing he can do is let the Emperor guide him and do his bidding.


Black Templar Techmarine

What does the Vault tell us? Is the spirit of Saint Enoch also speaking?

'Antikythera Tempus Aeternus'

Eternal time is easy enough to sort out but what of 'Antikythera'? The prefix 'anti'--against--Is something against time? Is the Vault standing athwart it?

Perhaps it is a place. Filing through my data-banks, retrieving information from my earliest training on Mars...

Data Recall:

<<QUERY: ANTIKYTHERA>>
.
.
.
<<ACCESSING..........>>
.
.
.
<<ACCESSING..........>>
.
.
.
<<ACCESSING... DATA DISCOVERY COMPLETE: DATAFILE 45838JK4>>
<<WARNING: SECURITY CLEARANCE ORANGE>>
<<WARNING: SECURITY CLEARANCE ORANGE>>
<<WARNING: SECURITY CLEARANCE ORANGE>>
<<DO YOU WISH TO CONTINUE?>>
.
.
.
<<AFFIRMATIVE/(CLEARANCE SUBMITTED)>>
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<<CLEARANCE ACCEPTED/ASTARTES/TEMPLAR, BLACK/TECHMARINE DESIGNATE EMERIC>>
<<OMNISSIAH BE PRAISED/DIRECT OUR STEPS ALONG THE PATH OF KNOWLEDGE>>
.
.
<<OPENING DATAFILE 45838JK4...>>
<<ANTIKYTHERA: ISLAND/LOCATION/ANCIENT TERRA/MEDITERRANEAN BASIN/WATER BODY DESIGNATE AEGEAN>>
<<HABITATION: HUMAN/TRIBAL DESIGNATE HELLENES>>
<<HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE: DESIGNATE LOCATION/DISCOVERY/ANTIKYTHERION DEVICE>>
.
.
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<<ANTIKYTHERION DEVICE/IMAGE DATAFILE AVAILABLE>>
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<<IMAGE DATAFILE DOWNLOADING...>>
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.
.
<<IMAGE DOWNLOAD COMPLETE>>
<<END DATAFILE 45838JK4>>

"My Brothers, the imagery we witnessed dates back to the earliest days of the Dark Age of Technology. It revealed the history of cogitation, of thinking machines, much of which is forbidden. I am unsure of the import of such a message. However, I conjecture the spirit of The Vault may be nearly as old as mankind itself."

"This archeo-tech is beyond me. I know not the operation protocols of the device."

Rook:
Hope it was OK to take liberty with this post. Thank you, Wikipedia! :)


"Have faith in the Emperor Brother Emeric listen to him and he will guide your hand, now just do what you would instinctively would do to operate such device." as he walks close to brother Emeric "Never doubt the Emperor will guide you when you most need it, have faith in your skills as a marine and you shall be fine."


The Orpheus Salient
Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 7 System Sidereal Time

Brother Bjorn crouches along the cliff-edge, staring out over the expansive, shining plains, watching as a bounding pack of reptilian theratryx run through the golden grasses, parting the thick vegetation as they hunt through the high golden sea of vegetation. Staying upwind of them was a sound bit of reasoning, as he can see their numbers are perhaps double what he first suspected from their tracks, the smaller of the raptor-like saurians well-concealed on the flanks of the pack, their heads just below the taller sheafs of wheat.

Cunning beasts, they are.

The war party from Haistand certainly came this way as well, the fierce warriors of Aurum were moving with haste, too, making no effort to hide their trail. Rubbing his dirty fingers through the disturbed topsoil, the Space Wolf wonders what manner of calamity could make the normally cautious hunters of the Caele forgo such basic precautions. Things would not have fared well if they had stumbled upon this pack, a pack that in crossing this vast stretch of veldt now delays the Lone Wolf from his intended surveillance. On the cusp of the post-dawn horizon, in the middle distance lie the thin tendrils of the Espri River, now a trickle in drought season. It seems the warriors were headed in that direction, perhaps with the intention of following the bed of the glorified stream.

Fearful that he may lose the trail if the war-party decides to resume a more cautious posture, he internally debates the merits of attempting to sneak past the pack of theratryx, now loitering about the middle of the rolling vale in the expansive plain ahead. He has counted thirteen of their number, more than enough to tear him to pieces if they detect his scent or note his passage with their keen vision.

Brother Bjorn, you are following the orders of the Deathwatch on the Planet of Aurum, monitoring and protecting the Imperium's small garrison and embassy in the main 'city' of Haistand from afar, your presence here not even known by the majority of the folk you keep watch over. While the departure of such a large warband of the mighty feral-worlders is not unprecedented, you felt something was amiss from the moment they set out, their haste and concern evident by the timing of their departure before dawn, and the blatant recklessness of their movement toward whatever their destination is. The people of Aurum are savage but masterful warriors, and never have you seen them disregard such basic tenets of survival in the wild or their customary fieldcraft when outside the safety of their settlements. You felt it wise to follow to see what threat they thought was so grave that they would abandon such measures so ingrained in their culture.

Of course, now you are at an impasse. If you wait for the theratryx to pass, the trail might go cold. However, if you attempt to cross the plain while they are still mingling among the tall grass, you take your life, and more importantly your oathbound duty to protect the Imperium's garrison in Haistand at risk. What will you do, wait out the pack, or forge on ahead with stealth?"

Welcome to the game Retias, sorry about the wait!


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Eradico:
No worries at all, Eradico, the hope was that someone would indeed take the liberty.

The hololithic depiction of the Omega rune continues to revolve slowly in the air before the clock and the towering statue of Saint Enoch the Thrice-Martyred. Bright golden light from an image so starkly clear it could be mistaken for a real physical object shines upon the matte black armor of the battle-brothers, bathing the area around the projection in a shimmering cascade of aureate light. The marines of Kill-team Umbra cannot help but feel that there is something tangible, a presence of some kind sharing the shrine with them, but what it is precisely, none can say.

Brother Vex feels the tingling of some faint recollection reaching out within his disciplined and lore-steeped memory at Brother Emeric's mention of the proscribed thinking machines and their place in the history of the Imperium. There is something naggingly familiar about the object depicted at both the beginning and end of the sequence.

Brother Vex, please attempt a Difficult [-10] Scholastic Lore: Archaic skill test.

Brother Emeric:
Brother Emeric, were you sharing your insight into the Antikythera Device with the others?


Dark Angel Librarian

Skill Archaic (1d100=97)

Sigh. Well I at least I know where Sav is getting all his luck from.


Black Templar Techmarine

"To the best of my limited knowledge, this machine reveals to us the earliest know cogitator made by humans--The Antikythera Device."

After a pause, "The phrase reads, 'Antikythera Time Eternal.' Might that machine's spirit live on, here, in the Omega Vault?"


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Brother Vex:
I agree Bal, your luck seems to be a pendulum that swings between the two campaigns!.

For the majority of the Battle-Brothers, the reference to the Antikythera Device is lost on them, simply unknown, and not altogether surprising, considering it is considered nigh-mythical apocrypha to even the most obsessed and learned of the Mechanicus' historians. Brother Emeric would not have known of it himself had it not been for his time on Mars, specifically his directed studies of the origin of cogitators during the Dark Age of Technology.

Even so, the techmarine notices Brother Vex's brow furrow slightly at its mention, and the Dark Angel looks away toward the huge glowing rune suspended before them, as if trying to recollect something that somehow eludes his finely-honed archivist's mind.

Brother Vex, you may make an additional attempt at the skill test, now at Challenging [+0] difficulty, with Emeric's mention of the Antikythera Device.


Dark Angel Librarian

Skill Archaic (1d100=21)

FINALLY!


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Brother Vex, Scholastic Lore (Archaic) successful.

The Dark Angel Librarian listens intently to the techmarine's words as he tries to recollect the teasingly close fragment of esoteric knowledge, and it is with the mention of the name 'Antikythera' that it all falls into place in his mind.

As a young Lexicanium, one of Brother Vex's more onerous duties consisted of meticulously cataloging the unsealed, emptied vaults in the deepest bowels of the Rock, taking picts of their crumbling masonry, and rubbings of the ancient engravings adorning their stonework. It was at one such abandoned vault, in the deepest levels of the ancient asteroid, that the young Librarian came across a small, morticed altar stone, whose heavy lid was inscribed with this strange word, 'Antikythera'. The contents, whatever they might have been, were carried away thousands of years in the past. If he remembers correctly, the artifact contained therein had been placed in the safekeeping of the Dark Angels...

Brother Vex, please attempt a Challenging [+0] Forbidden Lore (Adeptus Astartes/Chapter:Dark Angels) skill test to recollect more.


Dark Angel Librarian

Forbidden Lore: Adeptus Astrates/Dark Angels (1d100=53)

Using a Fate Point on this.

Forbidden Lore: Adeptus Astrates/Dark Angels (1d100=5)


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Initial roll unsuccessful, second roll following Fate Point expenditure is successful by four degrees (and definitely a case where spending the point truly makes a big difference in the narrative Brother Vex, good call).

Brother Vex recalls something, a seemingly unrelated bit of lore dredged up from his perusing of the miscellanea of an ancient account of the post-Crusade era, rumored to have been penned by the mysterious Watchers in the Dark themselves, known as the Caliban Exodus. It was posited in this work that the legendary chapter-hero and Librarian of the Dark Angels, Zahariel El'Zurias, was once charged with the keeping of a potent artifact of mankind's early history at the behest of the God Emperor himself. Though the tattered leaves in the tome are apocryphal at best, it was said this happened when He On Terra was a living man during the time of the Great Crusade. The account went on to say that Zahariel was specifically chosen for this honor for some great deed he had performed on the Emperor of Man's behalf prior to his ascension as a Dark Angel. This item was said to have been the most ancient of archeotech, imbued somehow with the Emperor's super-science, and sealed away in a deep vault within the fledgling chapter's fortress-monastery on Caliban, prior to world's destruction. It was surmised in the account that the artifact was lost during the betrayal of the Fallen and the fall of their world, but marginalia written in the text by an alleged sect of Librarians loyal to Brother Zahariel's memory and sacred duty to the Emperor were said to have spirited the artifact away just after the formation of the Rock.

The empty vault he had found as a young Lexicanum, and his study of this ancient tome over a century later had never seemingly had any connection to one another...

But, the antiquity of the vault, its location within the deepest strata of the Rock, the relevance of the passages he recollects---could this Antikythera Device be one in the same with what the Omega Vault has revealed to them?

Everything seems to align like the hands of a clock striking the hour for Brother-Librarian Vex, and he looks at the shimmering golden rune with new-found understanding and purpose. He knows full-well the perils to one's soul that are risked by trafficking with the forbidden tech of sentient machines, but he cannot help but wonder...

...perhaps there is a more simple reason there is no obvious interface on the device. He closes his eyes, reaching out with his mind.

Brother Vex, the above is an internal dialogue, the memories are your own, but cannot fully be relied upon. It is up to you how much of what you recall you wish to share with the others.

Please attempt a Psyniscience test.


Dark Angel Librarian

Psyniscience test (1d100=41)

Being mindful of the coincidence of imagery, and memory. And yet cautious as a Dark Angel ever is. I approach slowly. My mind reaching out before my hand.

If this is what I think it is. The significance and importance can not be lost. An old wound can be healed.


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Routine [+20] Psyniscience test is successful by 1 degree, Brother Vex.

For the first time since he entered the psychic vacuum of the Omega Vault, Brother Vex feels a stirring, albeit faint, in the whispers of the Immaterium, as if the weft of the Warp is bleeding out of a metaphorical pinhole somewhere within the chamber in the vicinity of the glowing Omega rune.

The moment he extends the faintest of psychic feelers, he is met with a response, an awakening of sorts, a bizarre manifestation of a psychic imprint long left dormant, that communes with his mind in an effortless and non-confrontational manner.

When the connection is mutually granted, a calm, emotionless human voice, somehow distinctly different in inflection and tonality from a servitor, tech-priest, or automated cogitator, speaks in his mind. It is a passive and uncaring automaton in one sense, but there is something greater at work behind it, like a realistic marionette being manipulated by a masterful puppeteer. The sonorous and genderless voice seems as if it would speak an impassioned plea and a sad lament with identical cadence and intonation; emotionless and distant.

Initiating Contingency Protocol 'Enoch'
Welcome Dark Angel...Welcome Childe of Zahariel...
The Seals Remain Unbroken...
Do You Wish To Access The Vaults At This Time?


Dark Angel Librarian

Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock. All my training has taught me that everything has a reason. A purpose. Tick, opportunity is placed before you. Tock, time pass's you by. Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock.

Tick, how long has the Omega Vault waiting for this time? Tock, there may never be another time.

Using my Telepathy. "Yes, I Codificer Llyriel Vex, wish to Access The Vaults."

Childe of Zahariel... I must contact The Rock and speak to the Inner Circle. Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock. Events have been set in motion. One must do there duty...

Outloud. "I have access."


Not in use
The Omega Vault wrote:

The Orpheus Salient

Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 7 System Sidereal Time

Bjorn considers the choice before him with stoic countenance and eyes narrowed in thought. After but a few moments to weigh the options he is decided and nods slightly to himself... The pack will die if it's hunters fall... I cannot risk losing the scent. Eyes remaining forward, he touches hands to both the bolt pistol and combat knife at his waist by means of reassuring himself that they are there as he leaves his place of oversight and begins to stalk across the veldt...

Silent-Move (55 Base Number): 1d100 ⇒ 14 - not sure if you'd like a Concealment or Shadowing as well?


Black Templar Techmarine
Lyriel Vex wrote:
Outloud. "I have access."

Intriguing. I take an auspex reading to detect anomalous activity from the statue, data-panel, or anything else.

Auspex Use (50), roll: 1d100 ⇒ 55


Brother Decius looks at Brother Emeric and Vex awaiting for whatever they need to help them solve the puzzle that this vault has proven to be.


The Orpheus Salient
Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 7 System Sidereal Time

Silent Move test is successful, Brother Bjorn.

Keeping to a circuitous path that wends down the gently descending slope from his higher vantage, Brother Bjorn makes the most of what little cover is available. Keeping low to the ground, he skulks through the thorny outgrowths of sedge that flank the river, noting how the plants become more green and succulent the closer he draws to the trickle of the Espri.

Soon the high grasses arc over his head, further concealing his movement, simultaneously posing another risk as his vision becomes occluded by the tunnel-like bower of tall golden plants. He moves in utter silence, sniffing the air occasionally like an animal, noting the pungent overlay of scents; the dry-smelling grains, the vaguely sulfurous smell of the muddy water ahead, and the gamey spoor of the theratryx that have recently passed this way.

Reaching the river that is now a stream, he pans his vision across the mucky earth from his bank, gauging the approximate distance to the far side, eyes tracing the silvery, slow-moving flow of the drought-starved river. His mouth waters, wanting to slake his thirst now that he is almost under the oppressive sun again.

Ten meters.

Looking both ways along the broad stretches of open ground that skirt either side of the river, he takes a deep breath, meaning to make his way swiftly across and be done with it.

Please attempt a Concealment test as well, a Shadowing test will follow if this second test succeeds.


Not in use

Aurum, The Shining Plains:

Concealment (TN 55): 1d100 ⇒ 46
Shadowing (TN 55): 1d100 ⇒ 16

Hands free and eyes active, Brother Björn crouches to pause before traversing the open gap. Ignoring the thirst growing within him and heat of the sun he nods slightly before he attempts to bridge the waters. Feet light despite his bulk and weight of his scout armor, Björn dances through the water and out again into the protection of the long grasses on the other side.

Once he makes safety he freezes in place, focusing on what is heard and smelt to determine if his crossing was noted... before continuing to follow the trail of the hunters.


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The strange machine-voice is silent for a long moment in Lyriel's mind following his own sending, prompting Brother Decius to move closer, and the techmarine, Emeric, to draw nearer as well, activating his auspex again, as if sensing something has changed even before the Librarian mutters that he has access.

Brother Vex's assumption seems to be premature.

Designated Interlocutor Verified, Brother-Librarian Lyriel Vex.
The Seal Remains Unbroken.
Request For Access Verified.
Please Submit Cipher [88TK-366]; Aural Resonancy Receptors Are Online For Verification.
The Hour Fast Approaches...

Brother Emeric, Tech-Use test is unsuccessful.

The Black Templar feels the prickling of his electromagnetic receptors, but he doubts he would need such analyses from his sensoria; the feeling is so visceral the others have sensed it as well. Brother Decius anxiously draws nearer to the psyker, as if sensing something is amiss. With Vex's eyes tightly closed and head bowed in the traditional posture of witches engaged in meditation, the growing unease is palpable. Time seems at a standstill here. The expression holds a far more ominous import when considered in the light that it may well in fact be true.


Male Space Marine Devastator Rank 1

"Brothers be ready. Brother Vex, do you know what we should expect?"


Black Templar Techmarine

Peculiar. I extend my hand and wiggle my fingers as if feeling some sort of electro-magnetic mist.

Slowly I tilt my head towards the Librarian, awaiting further word regarding his data-commune with the archeotech device.


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As Brother Quintus edges closer to him, the voice repeats itself with more urgency in the Librarian's mind:

The Seal Remains Unbroken.
Request For Access Verified.
Please Submit Cipher [88TK-366]; Aural Resonancy Receptors Are Online For Verification.
The Hour Fast Approaches...

Brother Emeric and the others sense something has changed as well, a growing tingling in the air, and the faint smell of ozone.

Brother Vex:
Brother Vex, are you going to relay to any of the others what the machine has psychically communicated to you?


The Orpheus Salient
Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 7 System Sidereal Time

Concealment test is successful, Brother Björn.

The Wolf Scout crosses the sluggish river in ten quick strides, nary a ripple left to mark his passage despite the weight of his armor and equipment. Crouching in the tall grass, he refrains from exhaling, some preternatural sense telling him to remain perfectly still.

It is with good reason. A pair of juvenile bull theratryx soon lope out into view, prancing lithely down the center of the slow-moving watercourse, their heads swiveling to and fro as they trail the main pack in the manner of human outriders. Their baleful, raptor-like saurian eyes scan the shore to either side, searching for something.

Brother Björn cannot help but feel an admiration for the savage warriors of Aurum, as they have somehow learned to tame these fierce beasts as mounts, not unlike how those of his chapter have befriended the wolves of Fenris. Still, it would be pure folly to believe that the wild theratryx stalking him would behave like one of their barely domesticated cousins. Were they to see or sense him, the saurians would fall upon him, and summon their entire pack with their distinctive screeching calls.

He waits in shadow, concealed, as the pair slow and halt, sniffing the air in deep hooting whistles of indrawn breath. The beasts almost seem to confer, tilting their sleek, fang-filled heads toward one another, their glistening black skin shining where it is wet, the purplish ring patterns adorning their flanks creating an almost hypnotic motion as they breathe in and out.

After a nearly interminable wait, they move on, striding effortlessly up the river bed in the direction of their pack.

Finally allowing himself to exhale, Brother Björn leaves the riverbank, quietly traversing the thick reeds, quickly picking up the trail and renewing his pursuit of the Caele's warriors.


Dark Angel Librarian

"A seal is being opened. What's inside will be my responsibility."

Rook

Spoiler:
Only partially.


Black Templar Techmarine
Lyriel Vex wrote:
"A seal is being opened. What's inside will be my responsibility."

"Acknowledged. Standing by."

I focus upon the clock, looking to see if it has changed--even by a micron--since we arrived.


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Although the hands on the clock have yet to move any further, all of the Battle-Brothers present in the chamber can feel the pressing weight of the moment, and a deep foreboding.

Brother Vex, puzzled, notices that none of the vaults are opening...

The voice drones on in his mind as the great Omega glyph gleams still brighter:

The Seal Remains Unbroken.
Request For Access Verified.
Please Submit Cipher [88TK-366]; Aural Resonancy Receptors Are Online For Verification.
The Hour Fast Approaches...

...Awaiting Transmission of Cipher [86TK-366]; Please Verify Or Countermeasures Will Be Engaged.

There is no question the genderless voice is speaking more urgently now.


Not in use

Aurum, The Shining Plains

Watching the creatures fade into the distance, Bjorn considers for a moment changing his quarry and tracking the beasts... but duty wins over and he resumes tracking the hunters that faded through this land earlier.

Shadowing roll was above in previous post - I assume that's all that is needed right now?


Dark Angel Librarian

I shake my head in confusion and defeat. I know I am missing something. It is not pride, but my failure in my duty that I find lacking. What could is a Dark Angel Librarian who can not solve a cipher?

"Brother Emeric I need your assistance."

I retell what the voice is asking for.


Black Templar Techmarine

Noting the sense of dejection in the Librarian, I wonder why he felt the need to try and bear this burden by himself. Perhaps he sought to shield me from another epiphany from The Vault? No matter. The Dark Angel acted as my intercessor with the Tyranids and the Inquisitor. It is my turn to assist him.

"Request acknowledged. By the Omnissiah, Brother Lyriel, data-transfer acknowledged and understood."

The file given to me by Magos Vyakai, still in my cogitator banks. The Emperor's hand is in this.

<<COMMENCE DATA-COMMUNE. CIPHER [88TK-366], TRANSMITTING>>

Via binary bit-stream, I upload the requested information.


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Relaying the message, the Dark Angel senses the sudden recognition in the techmarine's response, and it all comes clear to him---the encrypted vox message they secured on Tantalus, that vital missive that Magos Vyakai had intended to transmit to the Inquisition---coded under cipher [88TK-366]!

But how is this possible? How could such a message, barely over a sidereal month old, be known to the machine spirit of this ancient vault?

As the message is uploaded by Brother Emeric, there comes the familiar squeal of broadcast binary, and the Battle-Brothers witness a cascade of glimmering ones and zeroes pass across the golden surface of the hovering Omega rune, reflecting strangely upon the glass face of the ancient granpater clock behind it.

In his mind, the strange voice speaks again:

Cipher [88TK-366] Is Acknowledged.
Countermeasures Are Now Disabled.
Request For Access Is Authorized.
The First Seal Is Broken.

Know Ye, Aurum The Golden.

As if emphasizing the ominous statement it has thus far oft-repeated, the psychic thinking machine again utters,

...The Hour Fast Approaches.

Brother Hrothgar and Brother Caledonii are both near enough to the western vault door, the one whose skull relief contained the stylized, golden sun encircling its right eye, to hear the low hum that abruptly sounds from it. This noise is soon followed by a hollow CHU-KUNGG! of some mechanism or lock disengaging from deep within its adamantine core. The latter sound is audible to everyone in the room.

The golden rune continues to flicker above the ancient clock at the feet of Saint Enoch's statue, adding an aureate luminescence to the room, however the parade of binary coursing across its surface is now gone.

As the dancing light of the binary signal finally fades from the rune, the marines of Kill-team Umbra can now see that resting within the once empty lock of the ancient clock is a golden key that was not there moments before. Even from where they stand they can see that the portion one would hold in hand is shaped like a circular, curving-edged sunburst.


Black Templar Techmarine

Turning at the sound of the door opening, "The Vault grants us a boon! Praise the Golden Throne!"

To Hrothgar and Caledonii who are nearer the door, "Take it, Battle-Brothers. With this gift we will serve the Emperor."


Male Space Marine Devastator Rank 1

"Hold, Let Brother Vex retrieve the key. It was his information that allowed Brother Emeric to reveal it."


Dark Angel Librarian

"Acknowledged."

I move forward to retrieve the key.


?????? ??????
????? 23?????? ???:??, ??? ????? ?????
???.???.???
???? ? ?????? ??52???? Time

At Brother Quintus' words, Brother-Librarian Vex strides slowly forward until he is within arms-length of the ancient clock, the others watching the glowing Omega glyph and the doorways to the chamber warily.

The voice speaks again in the Dark Angel's mind, its intonation measured, calm, and only vaguely machine-like, the disturbing humanity of the psychic presence belying its artificial origin.

Brother-Librarian Lyriel Vex, Childe Of Zahariel, Receive Unto You The Key, And Know Ye Aurum The Golden!

...The Hour Fast Approaches.

With that the voice is silent. Lyriel Vex's eyes are drawn first to the tall, imposing statue of Saint Enoch the Thrice-Martyred, then to the slowly revolving golden rune, and finally to the antiquated wooden clock, so fragile in outward appearance yet so intimidating by its very presence. The sleek, gleaming metal of the cogitation engine housed within it is utterly unfamiliar to the Dark Angel, either very ancient, or impossibly advanced in design. The glass-fronted door seems to look back at him like an omnipresent eye as he reaches for the slender golden key that was not there moments ago, and now protrudes from the brass keyhole in its face.

Nothing untoward happens when Brother Vex takes the key in hand, and his eyes then turn to the left in the direction of the vault door with the matching golden sunburst circumscribing the eye of the skull relief upon it.

Just let me know what you intend to do now, Brother Vex.


Dark Angel Librarian

I feel the weight of the key's responsibility in my hand. I study it immediately for symbology as the words of the voice ring in my head.

And Know Ye Aurum The Golden!

Everything happens for a reason.

"Emeric, please go over the detail's of Magos Zardos Vyakai report about Aurum. I now believe it has direct relevance to all of us."

I walk toward the matching golden sunburst and see if it looks like if the key will fit inside.

"I am planning on inserting the key here, as the symbology matches the clock. If you have a counter argument to stop me from this action; voice it now."


Male Space Marine Devastator Rank 1

"Go ahead Brother Vex, It makes sense that the key and lock has the same symbols."


Dark Angel Librarian

I nod in acknowledgement, and insert the key.


Black Templar Techmarine

OK, I'm finally back online. Maybe we can retcon this post before Vex turns the key?

Lyriel Vex wrote:
"Emeric, please go over the detail's of Magos Zardos Vyakai report about Aurum. I now believe it has direct relevance to all of us."

"Acknowledged Lyriel."

I look around at the entire Kill-Team. Although we have been together briefly we are bound by shed blood as Battle-Brothers. A second time I break with protocol.

"My Brothers, the Inquisition and Adeptus Mechanicus would have me keep this information from you. Yet despite my three decades on Mars and service to Ordo Xenos, my first allegiance is to the Astartes. Therefore I once more divulge the contents of data-file [88TK-366] which was intended for conveyance to Inquisitor Carmillus only.

"Relevant specifics: the Magos analyzed xenos traces discovered on an ore hauler originating from the Aurum system. The xenos' designation is genus dolinae, a reptilian subspecies native only to Aurum. The skin contained unusual crystal properties which the Magos was at a loss to explain. Vyakai asked Inquisitor Carmillus to contact a colleague on Karlack who might better decipher these properties. The Magos considered this information more important than any data gained while studying the vanguard of the Tyranid storm descending upon Tantalus. I do not know what the destination of the ore-hauler, the Shoulder of Stepatikos, was.

"Additional: Someone else, someone unknown to me, investigates these same matters. While in Erioch's librarium I discovered a datafax which I now share."

I hand forth the Aurum Planetary Datafax

"Please note the reference to Decavane crystals and their military utility.

"Use the key, Brother Librarian. The Emperor's hand guides the sentience of the Vault."

Rook, attempting to gain additional information relating to crystals, Decavane or otherwise.
Mechanicus Common Lore (25) or Forbidden Lore (50), rolling,
1d100 ⇒ 100
Yeesh! I hope I didn't fry my internal cogitator!


ΩΩΩΩΩ ΩΩΩΩΩΩ
ΩΩΩΩΩ 23ΩΩΩΩΩΩ ΩΩΩ:ΩΩ ΩΩΩ ΩΩΩΩΩ ΩΩΩΩΩ
ΩΩΩ.ΩΩΩ.ΩΩΩ
ΩΩΩΩ Ω ΩΩΩΩΩΩ ΩΩ52ΩΩΩΩ Time

Brother Emeric:
Brother Emeric, Forbidden Lore (Adeptus Mechanicus) is unsuccessful. While the critical failure won't damage your internal cogitator in any way (the Vault's meddling has muddled your thinking enough, I think, to this point) it does suggest that Brother Emeric will be incorrect in some way about the nature of the Decavane crystals. For the purposes of this roll, we'll assume that the techmarine incorrectly assumes that the crystals are used in construction of powerful harmonics amplifiers for sonic weaponry. Roleplaying this misconception properly will make you eligible for an opportunity to correct your mistake at a later time.

Despite the Black Templar's breach of protocol, his brethren in Kill-team Umbra show no outward indication that they think any less of him, and Brother Emeric feels a great burden has been lifted from his shoulders; a sense of relief filling him, that he has not dishonored himself in their eyes.

At the urging of the other members of the Kill-team, Brother-Librarian Vex advances toward the sealed vault on what his senses perceive as the 'westernmost' edge of the chamber, although with the enigmatic nature of the Omega Vault, judging any cardinal direction is a fool's errand. Arriving at the portal, he examines the intricately graven sunburst overlaying and circumscribing the right eye of the Inquisitorial skull relief. It is a clear match to the sigil that comprises the handle of the long-stemmed key.

Inserting the key into the eye, it fits perfectly, locking into the door with a magnetic K-THUNKKK. The Librarian turns the key to the right, more by intuition than anything else, and something cycles within the massive adamantine door, the reverberations of gears, cogs, and counterweights followed by a low, sibilant hiss, like the last, labored respiration of a dying man.

The door slowly swings open a meter, a bright, golden light, like natural sunlight, shining outward from the seam, suffusing the threshold of the vault.

Brother Hrothgar sniffs the hermetically sealed air of the Vault as it escapes and is surprised to detect the scent of sun-seared grass and fresh air emanating from somewhere within.

Please indicate what you intend to do next, prior to entry.


The Orpheus Salient
Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 7 System Sidereal Time

As he lopes across the sun-drenched plains in pursuit of the Caele's men, his quarry, Brother Bjorn abruptly stops in his tracks, his senses detecting something untoward, but impossible to pinpoint.

Surveying his surroundings as the ghost of a low, hollow sound, like a great door opening somewhere nearby echoes in his ears, he finds his sight momentarily obscured as if a looming shadow has passed before the sun, while the distinct smell of something sterile, metallic, and mechanical simultaneously wafts into his nostrils.

After a time, satisfied his surroundings have not changed, but greatly unnerved by the experience, he snorts air through his nose, shakes his head like a disoriented canid, and continues on.


I wasn't getting updates in this game for some reason, it made it look like it was no new post lol, will catch up


Dark Angel Librarian

"Interesting."

I open the door the rest of the way, and take a step back. Waiting for Brother Quintus to bark out commands.

I wonder if this place is Aurum, or an illusion...

Not taking my eyes off of the opened portal.

"Do you wish for me to attempt astropathic communication at this time?"


Male Space Marine Devastator Rank 1

"Go ahead, Brother Vex. That would expedient."


Not in use

The Shining Plains:

Brother Bjorn crouches close to the ground when his scent is crossed by the alien scent, baring teeth and growling at a low pitch. Xenos... not prey... caution. He then draws his combat knife in a reverse grip, feeling it's balanced weight and taking comfort from knowing it is ready for use. Only then does he turn his attention back to the hunt.

Let me know if you need any more rolls - Bjorn is still following the tracks of the hunters.

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