As new members of the deathwatch you are welcomed individually to Watch Fortress Enoch by Watch Commander Mordigael, once of the Blood Angels. one of his underlings assigns you a set of rooms and informs you that you have a few (depending on the character up to a week as you don't all arrive together) days. If you so choose there are training cages for close combat practice and vast indoor ranges for all manner of ranged weapons.
Mission Briefing.
After several days have past a servitor arrives at your door at 0500 with a dataslate. It contains a brief message informing you that your first briefing will be at 0630 at Strategium Gamma with Watch Captain Tizoc, once of the Eagle Warriors.
0630 Strategium Gamma
"Welcome Brothers to Watch Fortress Enoch and the deathwatch," says Watch Captain Tizoc after you have all arrived. You can see that he is of average height for a marine, with a slightly stockier build than most, his black hair is cropped close to his skull. he is dressed in simple black robes. But there is a Macuahuitl that appears to be made of wood and obsidian. To your trained eyes it looks to be a well used weapon, that is probably much more effective than its primitive construction would first imply.
"The foul Tau forces have made first contact with a minor xenos race, the Xyclorians, on the west side of the Black Reef. While these aliens appear to only control a pair of systems, our agents with the Gue'Vesa tell us that the Tau are more interested in gaining examples of their technology. It would seem that the Xyclorians have advanced shielding technology and some skill with geno manipulation.
Our sources tell us that the Tau have dispatched a Water Caste Envoy to meet with a Xyclorian Ambassador on a Xyclorian ship in an uninhabited system near the Xyclorian worlds. Both sides are said to be slightly wary of each other.
Your mission is to turn this meeting into a disaster. With little trust currently between them hopefully both sides will blame the other and sour further negotiations."
At this point he hands out dataslates with the mission parameters on them.
Primary Mission: Assassinate the Water Caste envoy.
Secondary Mission Alpha: Assassinate Xyclorian Ambassador.
Secondary Mission Beta: Destroy the Tau ship.
Tertiary Mission: Recover samples from a Xyclorian geno warrior and an example of their shielding technology for study.
"Stealth is a priority as none can know you were there, if it becomes known that the Imperium was responsible for the deaths; it will likely drive the Xyclorians straight into the Tau fold.
Questions?"
Vittore squints at the text before saying, "Is there a set time frame in which these missions are to be done? I would imagine that the longer we give the xenos to negotiate, the chances of them joining forces would increase."
"Our intelligence shows that your mission should arrive in system around 2 days after the Tau vessel. It will take approximately 2 weeks for your warp journey, subject to normal fluctuations. Due to warp translation locations and ship speeds you could arrive at the Xenos outpost up to 6 hours before the Tau vessel."
Is the Xeno Warrior wanted alive or will a corpse do? The Storm Warden Apothecary asks from the back of the group. It is the most words any of you have heard him speak in the entire time any of you have known him. He is not much different from many battle brothers. Average height and weight for an Adeptus Astartes. His choice to wear his hair long in a a manner that can only be assumed to be related to what ever culture his chapter recruits from sets him apart from the others int he room except for maybe the battle brother from the Space Wolves.
"Alive would be better, but a corpse is acceptable, and calling a Water Caste member a warrior is an insult to warriors, most of them can barely avoid hurting themselves with a pistol."
Brother Argus watches amused, an Assassination, hardly glorious work for a marine, still it's little different from hunting a quarry.
Vittore grimaces at the information. "Lovely," he mutters, before asking the captain, "Does the Inquisition have any intelligence about the xenos, these...Xyclorians? Such as biology? Preferred combat tactics? Weaknesses? Weapon strength? Also, what matter of security will be escorting the Water Caste envoy to the meeting place?"
"May the Emperor bless us and allow us to enact his will."
Brother Vultur holds his steely gaze at the watch captain, seeming not to blink. His voice is a cool baritone, quiet yet forceful.
Once he's heard the other's questions he asks his rapid-fire, waiting for a response to each before moving on to the next. "What intelligence do we have on the dimensions and structure of the Xyclorian ship? How large will the ship be and what kind of armaments will it possess? I'm assuming we'll use transport to infiltrate under the xenos' noses. Will we be infiltration through a jump onto the ship's hull? If so then using scout armor will be out of the question. Will we need to drill through the outer hull or will we need to find a landing pad within the ship to enter through? Finally, how will our exfiltration be handled?"
When all his questions have been answered, Vultur leans back in his seat, speaking no more and maintaining his unerring gaze.
"We have limited intelligence on the Xyclorian threat. We do know that they are insectoid, bipedal, and smaller than a human. This leads us to believe that they have good eyesight and agility. Their weapons are thought to be less advanced than Tau weapons, but their geno and shield tech has impressed the Tau. Your report will be the first direct accounts we will have of their capabilities.
As for the Tau, a small fire warrior group is expected as his close protection. Standard protocol calls for stealth suits to be deployed on all ships living tau space. I realize the situation is not ideal Blood Angel."
The watch captain then turns towards Vultur. "Brother Vultur, we believe the Xyclorians are using a destroyer class vessel. What little we know of their void craft suggests that it will have powerful shielding but relatively weak firepower. We believe that they have limited internal security, but they use a double hull with no atmosphere between hulls. Where exactly the meeting will be held we do not know.
The Tau will be using a small vessel to appease Xyclorian security concerns. But overall their security will be better. We expect the Tau ship to dock with the Xyclorian vessel. Fire warrior patrols are to be expected and if they raise the alarm stealth suits will likely be deployed.
Your insertion into the system will be via a modified escort ship that has been stripped of all none essential equipment. You really only have speed and difficulty of detection protecting you. Finial insertion will be through the use of a cold inertia assault pod, which contains a lascutter for getting through the inner hull. Exfiltration will be through the same method."
"We will follow standard procedures. The Emperor will smile upon us, Brothers"
I will have to leave my claymore behind. There will be no room to wield it effectively onboard a ship. Morgan thinks to himself as the briefing continues. I will likely need to take charge of securing the Xeno. Deadlock toxin may be effective, and I am sure the inquisition wouldn't mind a live specimen to interogate. He makes several notes on his dataslate and transmits them to the Armory. With luck the things he has requested will be ready for him to pick up by the time the briefing is over.
I am thinking the telescopic sight is not appropriate for this mission, being in spaceships... What do my battle brothers think?
Seems legit to me.
45 "usable" requisition so far.
Corbyn can carry another Demolition charge if required.
Alternatively I could drop the Melta Bomb for Hellfire Rounds for the Heavy Bolter, but I'm not sure they'd see much use in Ship-Corridors?
5 remaining
NB: Power armour generally have integrated Mag-Boots, I only mention because both Morgan and Corbulo have requisitioned them?
Brother Corbulo raises a quick litany, and proceed to read from the Codex Astartes.
He says another little prayer and closes it. He addresses Captain Tizoc.
"Brother, is the assignment of a Monotask Servitor with Demolitions capacity out of the question for this mission? The Codex Astartes indicates demolitions as the correct way of dispose of the Xenos vessels. "
You can trigger the demeanor, make a tactics check with the normal bonus for using a demeanor. Success will get you the servitor.
[dice = Tactics (Defensive Doctrine) ]1d100
Yes you can, a servitor with the demolition skill will be sent with you. It has an effective demolition skill of 45.
Having a servitor around for a specialized task is both a blessing and a curse, mono task servitors can do really stupid things and can get hurt if you have to fight.
"If we do not wish our involvement in the deaths of the Xyclorian and Tau envoys to be known. Then limiting the Xeno ships ability to communicate with anyone outside the immediate area, and making it impossible for them to flee must take priority. It may be wise for us to wait to strike until the ships docked together. If we can then arrange several explosions on the Tau vessel it may be possible to decompress both vessels which will through our enemies into a state of panic and confusion thereby increasing the chance of our successfully completing our misson. If possible destroying the Tau vessel with planted explosives would enable us avoid having to fight the Fire Warrior security force during the boarding action." Morgan says thoughtfully. "The Tau are likely to send an "Emissary" class cruiser to transport the envoy. I wonder if it would be possible to cut through the hull and plant explosives on their drive with out being detected?" The apothecary is focused on the dataslate containing the mission briefing and could be talking to himself.
"It is believed that the Tau are sending a "Messenger" Class Escort. Cruisers are a commodity that cannot be spared for what they consider a simple contact mission."
Vittore suddenly interjects:
"The standardized Tau infantry weapon uses plasma as a byproduct of their ammunition. We could use either plasma mines or the Tau's own weaponry to destroy key locations on the Xyclorian ships to implicate that the Tau plan to take the Xyclorians by surprise, steal their shield and geno technology and leave them with nothing...
"Once we infiltrate the xeno vessel, we can use Brother Corbulo's requisitioned servitor to place the charges on the ship. If we time it right, there is a possibility to kill both xeno representatives and have enough time to swipe the required tech and escape during the confusion. That's what I recommend."
"It is believed that the Tau are sending a "Messenger" Class Escort. Cruisers are a commodity that cannot be spared for what they consider a simple contact mission."
At this Morgan looks up from the Dataslate. [b]"Really? just an Escort class ship. They either do not think much of this envoy or they are unsure of how they will be recieved by the Xyclorians and do not want to risk a larger ship. It does make our job simpler though. Patrolling Baracuda fighters would have made the insertion interesting."[b]
"It is believed that the Tau are sending a "Messenger" Class Escort. Cruisers are a commodity that cannot be spared for what they consider a simple contact mission."At this Morgan looks up from the Dataslate. [b]"Really? just an Escort class ship. They either do not think much of this envoy or they are unsure of how they will be recieved by the Xyclorians and do not want to risk a larger ship. It does make our job simpler though. Patrolling Baracuda fighters would have made the insertion interesting."[b]
Vittore decides to speak his mind. "Brothers, how shall we decide who will lead this kill-team? A decision must be made quickly before we make the appropriate preparations and requisitions for the mission."
"The Codex Astartes mandates the most veteran warrior should lead. I have been blessed with the Emperor's Blessing for XXX years. If no one else has been doing the Emperor's will for a longer time, I will do it. I also think this would be a good mission to make an Oath for Glory."
Vultur sits quietly throught he discussions, keeping a stern eye on the proceedings. He seems to bristle at his fellow Astartes's lack of a complete understanding of proper stealth-work, but he says nothing. It's only when the oath of glory is mentioned he seems unnerved enough to speak up.
"Glory? You speak of glory, Ultramarine? This is not some common parade drill; it's an assassination. We are meant to sow discord, plant the seeds of dissolution in the enemy and quickly and efficiently remove high-profile targets from the broad picture of the crusade front, and yet you speak of glory. I might be willing to participate in a stealth mission wherein parameters may have us compromising our cover for certain objectives, and even to conduct the mission with my fellow brothers whose stealth capabilities might just need some work, but if we all go into this spouting our hymns of glory there might just be a rude wake-up call right around the time we're sticking a knife in a defenseless worthless xeno scum's neck."
Brother Argus watches the exchange with amusement.