You cautiously move into the bunker with Jacques, Julian and Nebdel leading, Occux in the middle and Octus watching the rear. The corridor is simple reinforced plastcrete and leads downward at a slight angle. The only illumination is given off by faltering emergency lighting and your own light sources. Fifty meters inside you have to climb over a barricade, made in part by pop up defenses and reinforced with apparently whatever else its builders could find. As the last of you clamber over the pile one of you slips a bit on a semi slippery liquid. Looking down to see what it is you spot the remains of a soldier, melted by something so much that you can barely recognise what is the the soldier and what is his gear. The substance you slipped on is the the liquid that is oozing out of the remains.
Fear check (WP:34)
WP 36
The siege would not break. The armored divisions had not been able to push through. They had held out in the trenches for weeks, his fallen companions had been added to the earthworks like bricks held together with mortar of bloody mud and spent shell casings. The frozen winter was giving way to spring, the pain of frostbite was finally leaving his toes and fingers. Now his hell was the stink, the sheets of flies and the melting bio fluids seeping down the trench walls. There was no where left to put the bodies, nothing to burn them with, no way to escape the smell and the mess . . .
"Well his suffering is over. I don't think Xenos would use imperial equipment to breech a place. Right?"
Skrate is cautiously advancing with the silenced hand cannon in his right hand and his sword in his left hand.
Jacques moves forward with his laspistol drawn, hoping against hope he wont have to see an enemy barricade. He gets more than he bargained for with this sick display. "Oh... oh that's putrid.
Occux' human side takes over as he panics and flees back outside until he can reasonably control himself a few minutes later.
Visions and memories of battlefieds assault him, causing him to shake involuntarily enough to rattle the components of his gun audibly.
Nebdel joins Occux outside, unable to confront the interior for a few minutes.
Jacques is right on Occux and Nebdel's heels fleeing to the exterior.
It takes several moments before the rest of you realise that Octus has passed out at the sight of the remains.
Shaking it off, Julian recovers first and moved to check on Octus who is definately unconscious but not overly injured from his fall.
Once the rest manage to come to grips with the shock they re enter cautiously, far more alert for threats. The remains of the solider are almost unrecogniseable aside from the matte black and yellow armour plating which is obviously imperial guard issue or based off of it. Still gripped in his hands is the soldiers lasgun although the charge pack is empty. Nearby you can see spattering the walls and several points in the floor sections that were eatn away by some form of fast acting acid or caustic material.
You can see from your current location that there are two doorways a little farther down the hall and a ladder recessed into the wall leading down.
"Jeez, you guys its just a dead guy! Octus buddy come on wake up man, snap out of it. Occux, Skrate . . . Judge? Oh seriously you guys?"
JT looks down the hallway then talks to the fallen soldier.
"Well looks like you and your buddies put up a fight. Pop up defenses and a barricade. Shot up your laspak too brother. If today is my day then hopefully I go out like you did pal, gun in my hand and burried in my own hot brass, Emporer willing.
When the group returns JT will have tried to move something to cover the body if he could do so quiet like.
To the group he says, "Ok, this looks like chemical weapons work, acid or something. I am guessing that guardsman was on our side. That barricade took time to build and I am assuming means that there was either time to prepare, a drawn out fight or overwhelming forces here, because in a bunker system like this you would not build something like that. If they needed compartmentalization they would have built it in. I didn't know that GREL troops would use chemicals, but then again I wasn't a spec ops golden boy. . . . Do you think there are Xenos or native species involved here?"
Tracking Int 27
Awareness Per 31
This is bad... this is very very very bad.
Octus does his very best to keep his eyes away from the corpse, instead focusing on keeping his weapon up and ready, "By the Emperor... I've seen some s+*! down in the underhive, but a gas that melts people? I ain't even HEARD of that. I can't even begin to wonder what in the thunderin' f$&@ went down here."
Octus' eyes dart around the room, searching for danger and clues to as what's gone down here. Also, is there anything of note further down the hall? How far till we see an actual turn or something?
Perception: 29
Disconcerted by the unexpected surge of organic flight response, Occux attempts to return to the cold cool reassuring world of logic and technology.
Forcing the scared animal inside down, Occux investigates the remains of the soldier and armor to see if he can glean any insights.
Perception (35)
Common Lore : Technology (int:45)
Forbidden Lore : Xenos (int:45)
After poking about in the ruins of the soldier, Occux straightens and says "This substance was organic, possibly a mutant or an indigenous life-form.". He then salvages what armor parts remain useful.
Collecting the useable portions and slipping them away in his robe Occux gets up.
Examining the surroundings you can see the ladder heading down seems to go for two stories before opening into a flooded level, your too far away to tell if its a few centimeters or a few meters of water though.
The door on the left appears unlocked, with only a spin latch like a ship's door while the second has a blinking red light above a console. Continuing to the end of the hall there is a slightly smaller bulkhead door similar to the bunker entrance with bright yellow CAUTION written across it and a small console on the side.
JT listens at the simple latch lock door for a moment then opens it to clear the room behind it if he doesn't hear any disturbance.
Perception 31
Julien hears nothing through the door so he spins the latch and the door opens with a hiss and a small groan. Behind are a set of metal grill stairs leading up. Cautiously advancing forward, up the stairs, he finds himself looking at a security checkpoint. A similar blinking mechanism adorns a door at the top of the stairs but beside the door is a large plated glass reinforced window that has been shattered. Inside the room is a bank of terminals and view screens flickering between different views of hall ways very similar to the one you just exited. On one of the screens Julien can see for a few seconds the rest of the group milling about outside the door in the hallway until it switches to another view, this time showing the large bulkhead door.
Are you climbing through the window to check out the room?
Jacques enters behind Julian, sweeping the room with his laspistol held in both hands.
As he sees the screens flash with the image of their current position, Jacques beckons Occux over. "Occus, this must be a security terminal. Think you could try and see if there was a recording of whatever it was that demolished these checkpoints?"
He then moves over to the window and glances through into the unlit exterior. He whistles to JT and beckons Octus over as well. "Think you can cover me while Octus and I check out the room beyond?"
"I'm sure he's more than capable. Let's go boss, before I change me feckin' mind." When Julien is ready, Octus steps through the window. If the room is small, Octus will look for a doorway and see if a light switch is near it.
Per: 29
Perception:
Awareness +10:
[b]Anything coming through here will get at least one good slice in it. [/ooc]
Skrate takes up position by the door to hit anything following them in and readies the sword.
Occux enters the room and walks over to the security console. Attempting to interface with the console's cogitator, he accesses any memory stores for a historical assay..
Tech Use (int:45)
Logic (int45+10:55)
"Yeah I've gotcha covered sarge! Uh, I mean Judge. Hey are we supposed to use our call signs all the time or just on the cogitators when auto scribing?"
JT checked his angles and kept his suppressored muzzle high ready in case a threat presented itself.
"So we got this up here and then we got the door with the red light and the hatch with the caution sign on it. Any idea what the hatch would go to?."
Climbing over the shattered glass reveals another body lying on the floor. This one has obviously been partially eaten by something small, like rats or something similar. Attempting to access the system only allows you to switch the screens. As the system cycles through cameras you notice that many of the cameras are not working or have been bent out of place. Inside the room is also a locked closet and an electronic switch to unlock the door.
Searching the body you find a bloodstained keycard hanging from his vest.
The keycard will probably work on the two doors in the hallway. The small one nearby and the large one at the end of the hall.
"Well, which door we gonna hit next?"
No this is just a security guard not a soldier
Occux investigates the locked closet, determining if the machine spirits withing the locking mechanism are willing to reset for him and open the door.
tech Use (int:45)
Manipulating the security pad on the locker appeased the machine spirit within and the door pops open with a click. Inside standing up on racks are four combat shotguns with built in flash lights and forty shot rounds.
The guard inside the room is only wearing a uniform.
With nothing else keeping you all in the security room you head down and try the small locked door nearby. The door opens to reveal another set of stairs going up. Working your way up and clearing the stairway as you go you find yourselves in a large command room with several terminals surrounding a large round holographic display table. Of the four terminals in the room only one appears to have power and is covered with many flashing red lights. As you move to investigate the terminal you notice a very large amount of blood and smear marks as if something bleeding was dragged around behind one of the terminals.
Skrate will take one of the combat shotguns. But since everyone else has out their primary firearms. He keeps the sword in his right hand in case anything gets past the others firepower.
In the command chamber he quietly makes his way counter clockwise around the edge of the room trying to stay well away from the terminal in question until he can get a good view behind it.
"Ah hell yes!" Rack! Rack! "Combat shotguns for everyone and ammo to boot! I'm takin one too." JT slings a combat shot gun and stuffs extra rounds in his pocket offering to split up the 40 with whomever is also grabbing one. He sticks with his suppressed gun for now however, because the shotgun only has one mode, LOUD!
Huh, this guy is a security guard. JT rolls him to try to see what injuries he has before moving on to the next room with the group.
Jacques ditches his old standard issue double barreled in exchange for the cleaner, and, by far, soldier issue pattern. He slides the shotgun around his shoulder on its strap and continues forward with his laspistol held out.
Looking at Nebdel, Jacques points to him and nods, moving his index finger in the air in a circle pattern. He points to himself and points again to the holographic display table. He mouths the word, "q-u-i-e-t-l-y."
"Um, Occux, Octus you need a shotgun?"
As you slip around the perimiter of the room in a pincer move you hear a scrape sound coming from behind the same terminal. Seconds later as you carefully peer around cover you see another soldier, this one horribly wounded an unconscious, leaning against a military sealed crate. His left leg is gone just above his knee and a tournekit has been made out of his gun's shoulder strap. His right shoulder plate has been torn off and his shoulder is covered in a large slap patch. He also appears to be bleeding from several gun shot wounds in his lower abdomen. The scrape sound most likely came from him losing his grip on his rifle and it sliding out of his hands to the floor.
Octus takes a shotgun and two magazines worth of ammo.
Occux also takes one of the shotguns and ammunition; secreting it somewhere within his voluminous red robes.
Ignoring the others maneuvering around the downed soldier, Occux approaches the operational terminal. Whispering quietly to the obviously disturbed spirits with the machine, Occux attempts to prompt it to display the recent events that transpired within this room
Tech Use (int:45)
JT gives up his shotgun and hands over the shells he stuffed in his pockets. "You know what, I got Charline here all gussied up for the big show you should have something with a light on it down here Octus."
The unconscious soldier is indeed one of the members of the G.R.E.L. unit that were sent to secure the sight for you.
The terminal comes alive as soon as Occux links with it, sending vast quantities of useless data regarding energy consumption, ventilation vent fan speeds, temperatures reading from throughout the facility and countless more bits of even more useless data. The only bit of useful data you can wring out of the terminal at this point is that the reaction has been shut down and furthermore locked down.
There is a prompt asking whether you wish to cycle the system and restart the reactor core.
Allowing his cybernetic implants to take over, Occux's eyes glaze over as he attempts to mine the extraordinary volume of data to determine the effects of restarting the reactor core
Logic (int:45+10:55)
"Judge bring your kit over here! This guy is G.R.E.L., we've got to try and save him."
JT begins treating for shock. He moves the man's weapons away from him in case the trooper wakes up in a panic.
Damn! All pumped up and nothing to kill.
Since there doesn't appear to be any immediate combat likely, Skrate goes back to hiding by the door ready to slash anything that burst through.
Jacques hurries over to the fallen soldier. Kneeling down, Jacques produces the first-aid kit, but winces at the sight of the soldier's wounds, looking back with dismay at the paltry medicinal supplies they brought. He does the best he can.
"I'm no battlefield medic, but I'm positive this man won't last much longer. We need him awake. If he can give us any clue as to what did this to him, his death may not have been in vain."
"You know, I got few good things to say about the lower hive, but I'd be a liar if I told ya' it didn't teach me a few things. Lemme see what I can do Jacques. Worst comes to worst I can always make his passin' less painfull... I think." Octus says the last part with an almost disturbing smile.
Octus approaches the unconcious man, "Now, let's see what Dr. Cammilus can do for ya."
MEDICAE TIME!
Int:26 + 20 from medkit
DOH! Bloody whiff.
Octus takes the time to plug his various holes before chemically inducing consciousness in the soldier.
With a jarring spasm he tries to bolt upright coughing up blood and tissue. "Huh, what?" the chemicals used to dull the pain are also causing slowed reactions, "Who are you? Where's everyone?"
The soldier is dying and without a full blown triage center won't survive for more than a few minutes and will likely only be able to remain conscious to answer two or three questions at best.
The terminal indicates that the reactor is safe and restarting it will not cause any damage. To restart it though requires cycling the entire facilities power distribution system which may cause short losses of power in various locations of the facility.
"If there are no objections, I will return power to the facility" Occux intones.
Occux, maybe we should maybe ask sojier buy why they shut the power down to begin with. Maybe the bad guys were using the power for something and shutting it down was an atempt to stop them.
JT steps into the view of the man. "I'm Corporal JT Treadwell, we were sent in here as reinforcements when the brass lost contact with your unit. What did you encounter down here? Give us a quick sitrep (jargon for situation report)."
Octus places a hand on the man's soldier, "Listen bud, I did my best but I ain't no doctor. You ain't got long, so we don't have time to answer many questions, even if we did have the answers. We don't know where your buddies are, but if you want us to have any chance at savin' em, you're going to have to tell us exactly what happened down here."
"Its a little fuzzy. We dropped in under cover of darkness. The front door wouldn't open so we forced it. The whole place was dark. The cap split us up into three fire teams and my team was responsible for guarding the exit, no one in and no one out kinda thing while the rest took the platform down. Coms couldn't penetrate the levels so we were trying to link up to the bunkers internal system. A little while later we heard the lift coming up and figured it was one of the teams but when it opened these tiny football shaped bugs poured out. We fired and fired at them and whenever they burst the area just melted like butter, They got Simms, they just crawled right over him and blew themselves up it was crazy so Blakey slid down the ladder and they followed, i booked it up here and as soon as I closed the door one of our grendades went off outside so I waited for Blakely to come back. After a while i don't remember how long but i went looking for him. Something had hit some water pipes or coolant lines because the floor was covered in an inch of water. I don't think i found him though. But there was someone... I... someone shot me, I remember he was big and had a deep gravely voice and some kinda lisp or accent. I ran back here and something followed me. It was big and red and full of teeth. Oh Emperor it took my leg!" he looks down at the stump and starts convulsing and showing signs that he is going into shock as his eyes roll back into his head and he slumps back down, his breathing erratic and slowing.
"What channel were you operating on!?" JT asks hopefully, but seeing the man go adds, "You served our emporer well, you made your 15 hours, go join him."
JT gets up and is on point. How long could a man last like he did with his leg off. The threat of the creatures and the mysterious gunmen must still be in the area.
I don't think I want to let those bugs get close enough to slice open. But they shouldn't have an armored body.
Skrate sheaths the sword and pulls out the hand cannon loaded with dumdum rounds.
Occux looks up from the console and listens to the soldier's tale. Head cocked to one side, he initiates a query to the data stream for any correlations with the soldier's description of the football shaped creatures.
Logic {int:45+10)
Unfortunately the one active terminal only controls the reactor. You'd have to either turn on the power and try a different terminal or investigate the labs for documents.
"Great, swarms of football sized explosive acid bugs, stocky mysterious lisping gunmen, and a big red leg eating thing running around in an underground complex. It sounds like a freaking B rated holovid plot! . . . Better keep those shotguns handy boys, they'll be good for the swarms of bugs."
"We need some direction here judge, did the loyalists cut the power to slow down or prevent something? Or did the enemy shut it down to disable the pop up defenses and the like? What benefit is it to us to have the reactor on, or off? And I would point out someone still had control of the anti-aircraft defenses, they tried to lock on us. If we turn on the power to they gain other capabilities as well?"
Jacques sighs and shuts the solider's eyes as his breathing finally stops.
"Those are good points, J.T. We have to assume the enemy, whoever they are, now have control of the facility. There must be additional reactors somewhere. Those anti-air guns are a testament to that. Still, we can't assume the bastards don't already know we're here. We can't know if their auspecs have already picked us up and that their waiting around the corner for another assault.
We need to check what kind of facilities and defenses will come on if we turn on the power. We must be sure the defenses don't mistake us for anything unfamiliar."