"Captain have you received any reports from the blockade in the outer Mara system? Has there been any disturbance in the area since we began our trip?"
"We won't have contact until we leave the warp which shall be any minute."
"Captain, will the guncutter be loitering on-station after we arrive, or will it be returning to the ship?"
Sister Revanche stood resplendent in her power armor, her helmet under her arm as she looked up at the command throne.
"Captain, have the Astropaths not attempted to communicate or has there simply been no response?"
"The guncutter will be waiting for you on planet side. As for the blockade they are already expecting us. Please prepare for translation."
Auraxis nods to the Captain slightly perturbed by his lack of care in keeping in contact with the blockade.
Auraxis turns to the Sister and whispers,
Graki grunts as he is summoned to the bridge just to be told we are entering real space in 10 mins and it's clearly shown on his face but the sight of everyone gearing up for battle readiness has his interest stirring
"couldn't this announcement have been voxed"
he mentions to samiel
Samiel to Graki
"Ey, you know these fancy captains always wanting to show off their ships and crew and how they are in command and stuff."
"mm'hmm, better to be on the planet, I don't understand this metal bird."
Graki folds his arm watching the ship crew scurry about to meet the demands of their captin.
"do you feel up to this challenge, the warp isn't too kind on "thinkers"
"I have met his kind before. He is an Untouchable. An anathema to all those who are touched by the warp, and a number of us who are not. We have dealings with his kind in the Sisterhood. They have their... uses... in the service of the Emperor of Mankind. I suspect that his powers will be extremely useful here, even as they limit our own abilities. He bears watching, however. His dampening effects are not selective. He could do as much harm as good if left unchecked."
Sister Revanche braces herself for the jostling that always accompanies a ship returning to the materium.
"The air is suddenly thick with a sickening greasy feeling, alarms sound and lights flicker, and flight servitors intone ritual prayers of safe passage from their vox-grills. The ship shudders as if it were a creature suddenly plunged into cold water, and then there is a moment of calm as the clammy feeling of translating from the Warp to the physical realm passes. An officer turns from the glowing readouts on his lectern and begins to apprise the captain of the ship’s post-translation status in rapid void-cant.
Without warning the deck bucks beneath you, and the entire ship shudders as if it were a bell struck by a god. Sirens scream, the servitors begin a frantic chattering of data, and the incense filled air turns red with the glow of warning lights as officers shout demands for information and bark out orders. The deck shakes again and the cacophony rises in intensity like rain falling harder and harder beneath the oncoming storm. A voice clear and firm rises above the chaos of noise:
"Raise Void Shields! Show me!" booms the voice of captain Xail, and a sheet of colour and light opens on the vast screen hung in the arches of the bridge’s ceiling. It shows a magnified image of fire and debris blooming around a pale orb hanging in the darkness like a blind eye. Icons and fast scrolling data in red, green and blue spring up, overlaying the shifting images of streaking weapon discharge and the dagger-like forms of starships. Xail blinks at the tactical data for a second and rattles off a stream of orders. Pausing, he glances down at you and then back at the display. "It appears we are late for this particular feast, but fear not, I will get you down to Mara safely though all the Traitors of the Eye were to block our path!"
Sister Revanche calmly places her helmet on her head, intoning the ritual of activation that locks it into place before activating the commlink and dialing in the command channel. She observed the readout to get an idea of who the attackers were. If it were the forces of Chaos, life would get very exciting indeed.
"We should assemble on the gun-cutter. It looks like we'll be going in hot. Captain, if you would be so kind as to clear us a path, you may be in time to join your comrades for dessert."
Auraxis chuckles, "Yes. It is as I suspected. The Enemy is once again a step ahead of us".
Auraxis checks his gear and heads towards the flight deck.
Graki slaps samiel on the back hard enough to make him launch forward a step and runs towards the flight deck howling ... running hacking and slashing the air with a phantom blade preparing mentally for combat
" the time for action is now
Looking through the view panels it's hard to tell which ships are on your side and which aren't as it's a giant free for all out there. Some of them are very obvious which are the blockade ships but the others are mix match of possibly many different factions but it's hard to tell.
The captain turns back to you group.
"We will try to punch through the ships embroiled in battle above Mara, and hold off whatever enemies turn their attention toward us while you make your descent to the ice station on the surface. Once your safe we will circle back and finish off any remaining vessels and extract you later."
"Then by all means, Captain, gorge yourselves to your hearts' content. In the Name of The Emperor!"
She turned and strode from the bridge, movingly confidently, yet with purpose, heading for the docking bay and the awaiting craft.
On the way, she signaled the awaiting Guardsmen to prepare for immediate launch, quickly bringing the sergeants up to speed as far as the attack on the blockade and the quickly-changing mission plan.
rolling untrained
(I was just looking for if they were Xenos, Chaos, or Imperial ships. If we can't tell which is which, then all the ships are from the Imperium.)
(Pretty sure I made the roll, no matter what the skill.)
You realize that the captains plain is extremely risky to the survival of the ship. He will be close to the planet to get you down and then trapped between it and the enemies
The captain insist you stay on the the bridge until it's time to disembark for safety reasons. It doesn't take long at full speed to close with Mara and the heart of the battle.
"The ship is being rocked and buffeted by the blast waves and weapon impacts all around it, and the main pict-viewer is now filled with the pale face of Mara, crossed with bright slashes of fire and the looming shapes of warring space craft.
"All batteries, independent fire! Rig for planetary approach! Put us in geostationary orbit above the Ice Station!"
Without warning you feel bile rise in your throats, the bridge flickers impossibly between light and darkness for a long second, and you stagger as if physically struck. The servitors, in their instrument niches, fall silent one after another and then speak as one in a choir of cracked voices: ‘The Traveller shall return and the stars shall die. His servants come. The key turns."
You all feel a massive disturbance in the warp (except for Graki), and after a moment the servitors return to function and begin spewing out clamourous streams of data.
Graki pans around over head As the lights flicker and witnessing everyone looking as if they will loose their lunch. When the people start staggering like they are being struck by unseen foe graki mind beings to race and confirmed by unison of servitors
in one deft move left hand reaches at his needle dispenser holstered at his left thigh and with his right hand clutches his beloved blade which has freed the souls of many enemies, graki brings the weapon to combat readiness
"Malificarus!"
graki fangs bared with a low snarl, eyes focused searching for the abominations of the ether
"By the Emperor! It has begun. Captain, we need to leave now!"
Sister Revanche had kept her opinion of the Captain's orders to herself. She would not undermine his authority in the heat of battle by questioning his orders in front of his crew. But she knew full well that if he continued on this course, they were all dead. Geostationary orbit? Was he mad? Even the lowest rating knew that a still ship was a dead ship. She issued a silent prayer that the Emperor would grant the captain a clarity of vision and make possible whatever plan he had in mind. Perhaps this battle-barge had capabilities of which even she was unaware?
Auraxis does not react to the situation as he was well aware what the Acolytes would be getting into.
"Something both dark and yet pale as a corpse passes across the view screen; a warship, Imperial in aspect but seemingly fashioned from cracked bone and granite-grey stone, iron-hard but at the same time insubstantial, like a reflection cast in dark water. Data begins to scroll frantically across the view screen in livid red runes. The captain gazes at it, his jaw open, until he looks at you and says as if he cannot believe his own words:
"It is The Spear of Destiny! It is Haarlock’s ship!"
Sickly lightning stabs out from the ghost ship and touches one of the warring vessels, which detonates in a massive explosion. The Sigillite’s Word is rocked by the blast. In the void beyond, gun-tracers and missiles home in on the fearful interloper, which sails through them unscathed, lashing out and dealing destruction on every side.
Standing before his command throne, Captain Xail looks down at you and shouts, "Go! Get to the guncutter. We will get you as close to the planet as we can. Go! Do not argue! I will see my duty done!"
Auraxis nods to the Captain making the sign of the Aquila to give the aid of the God Emperor to him.
He then turns to hurry from the bridge and get to the guncutter pausing to make sure the rest of his group is with him.
"May the Emperor welcome you to his side with a smile, Captain Xal. Your courage will not be forgotten."
She turns and runs from the bridge, informing the gun-cutter to prepare for immediate launch if it has not already done so.
The Janisaries also get orders to head to the hanger as well.
Your headlong rush through the ship to the hanger decks is a terrifying journey through a ship that is ripping itself apart with every passing minute. Bulkheads are slamming shut as you pass, frantic crewmen block corridors in frenzied and panicked packs. The air is filled with shouts, the grinding scream of tortured metal and the terrifying sound of burning.
It's not a pleasant trip and things are NOT looking good!
Graki keeps running, ducking, dodging and jumping over debris.
"@$!# We will make it, keep on"
graki swares in a foreign language a dialect of his home world
Sister Revanche keeps a steady pace, continuously intoning prayers for the safety of ship and crew.
You finally make it to the hangar.
"The vast metal chamber of the hanger deck is filled with noise and fire. Smoke is pouring up to the ceiling and spreading across it in a thick black pall. Everywhere are knots of panic as crew try to load and launch craft into the vain safety of the void. Only one craft remains devoid of the chaos, its blunt, hunched form ringed by silver masked Maccabian Janissaries, their guns leveled.
As soon as you emerge onto the deck, one of them turns and signals to four more, who run to you ring you in a close guard and hurry you towards the lowered rear hatch of the guncutter, the engines of which are flaring with restrained power. As you reach the ramp the Janissaries are already boarding at a run. The deck lurches and you can hear the conflagration bells begin to sound as a howling roar of fire rises and heat washes the backs of your necks. Before the hatch is closed or the last trooper on board, the guncutter is already rising from the deck, the blast doors to the void in front of it opening with a thunder of rushing air vented into the cold black. You can feel the power of the engines building, ready to push it into the void.
As the last trooper jumps onto the ramp, you can see fire falling in sheets beyond the closing hatch and just beyond that, the figure of Samiel is standing upright and still, his robes covered in a spreading layer of frost his eyes rolled back into his head, white and sightless.
"The key turns. The traveller returns. Lest all be lost" he intones in a cracked voice that is not his own.
The hatch slams shut and with a roar the engines fire the guncutter forwards towards the void. The last thing you glimpse through the viewport is Samiel standing amidst a sea of fire and howling air, his hand raised as if in farewell."
Auraxis says a prayer for the God Emperor to save Samiel's soul.
He turns to his fellow Acolytes. "As I said earlier, we step into the mouth of hell. Let us show this Rogue Heretic that the fires of the Emperor's wrath burn hotter than all of the fires of Chaos!"
Auraxis finds his seat in the guncutter as he knows the trip to the surface will be a bumpy ride.
Sister Revanche straps herself in while keying in the command channel for the gun-cutter on her armor's commlink.
"Status report requested."
She considered making her way to the bridge, but instead turned and made a final head count of their remaining forces.
Graki Laments the turn of events regarding Samiel. He didnt know him well but the exchanging of fists with him in combat made him the closest one he knew of this makeshift group. He felt as though he could rely on his strength but his mind was not as strong as his physical prowess
"May your mind be at ease brother" he whispers to him self while strapping into an empty seat.
"You there Sister, it seems you have a authoritative demeanor I will pledge my blade to your command. I am not so good with people, or understanding machines"
"Aid us in slaying the heretics responsible for this, and you will serve Him well, Graki Ulthra. I welcome both the blade and the arm that swings it in this cause."
The Sigillite’s Word is completely consumed by fires within minutes of
the guncutter departing and explodes in a star-bright ball of plasma. The guncutter begins the descent through Mara’s atmosphere towards the location of the Ice Station and the fi nal act of the Haarlock Legacy.
Those who escape the ship should include the Maccabian Janissaries, the Astropath Silinus, and the two navy crewmen piloting the guncutter.
Graki closes his eyes, head bowed as his body rocks back and forth from the turbulence.
"@$!# guide my bullets to my enemies face *&^/ *&^/ point my swords into the heart of thy foes, allow me to avenge the fallen @$!!# $!#/, Kill Kill Kill them all dead."
[I] Graki bites his thumb drawing a well of blood and smears it along the edge of his blade and etch a few symbols along the width of the blade and lets it sit for a momment and wipes it off among his garments.... ¤~<>}{¿◆◇
if you want to mark off a wound for my sacrificial blood offering to the sword
Auraxis turns to Rha,
|
The Centurias offered a curt bow of his head to the most senior member of the group, a single blurt of disturbing vox static escaping his hidden grill. "Compliance."
Without a second thought, the hulking tech priest moved towards the bridge of the gun cutter, standing directly behind the Astropath as he towered over the small man. Subtlety was not exactly his strong suit.
The Astropath seemed a bit unease with the giant tech-priest behind him but he doesn't do anything out of holding onto his seat tight as you plunge into the atmosphere of the planet Mara.
"Through the armoured glass of the guncutter’s small view ports, you can see the sky burning behind you with plasma explosions and vaporizing debris. The fires of the ships’ deaths burn so bright that the stars seem swallowed up by the fury of the inferno.
The guncutter begins to shudder as it descends through Mara’s Atmosphere. The temperature within is oven hot and all around comets are falling, trailing plumes of greasy flame through the thin skin of air around the ice world.
"Ice station Mara arrival in sixty seconds!" the co-pilot shouts over the comms system, and even as he finishes, you can hear the insistent chimes of targeting alerts.
The pilot does not have enough time to produce an oath before an explosion blows fire and debris through the interior of the guncutter and the outside air howls in, bringing with it an instant shrieking cold. Looking forward helplessly from your crash-frames, you can see that the co-pilot and the cockpit canopy glass have both disappeared in a mist of blood, splinters and bone fragments and the craft begins to spin as if hurled like a discus."
"Rha! Are you programed to Pilot a ship?!" asks Auraxis with a look of dismay on his face quite evident.
|
|
The Techpriest seems unphased by the turn of events, his bulky frame shifting only slightly even while standing with his boots mag-locked firmly into place. Two of the many optical lenses hidden beneath his crimson hood whirred into focus, curiously examining the Arbite's look of dismay.
"Negative."