"Volga repeat transmission." He turns to the others, "Can anyone clear up the signal."
Vasyl starts fiddling with his microbead.
The problem is clearly on the sending end, not the receiving - without a stronger single sent or much more sensitive equipment to listen in with you can't get anything.
Time to let the others know.
Vasyl ceases adjusting his earpiece.
[b]"Signal's weak as sump spirit. Either they need more juice, or we need better listening gear."[/i]
Vasyl begins to look around for something suitable. A vox caster perhaps.
"Perhaps our enemy is trying to jam the signal, they may have a lead on the Magos or be in need of aid. It may be wise to help them... or unrelated."
Vasyl can't find anything beyond the ship's own communication system. If the tech-priests had other methods of communication, then it was on their person or located in a deeper shrine to the Omnissiah.
Need a solution.
"I say we move on now. We need to find a red priest ourselves."
Or a red priest's body.
"Yes. Let us depart. I will send my servoskull whichever way we do not go, covering ground is key."
The obvious locations were the secondary generators and the temple. Returning to the bridge was also possible, of course. As was evacuating the ship, in a pinch. The main Mechanicus shrine was likely to be very close to the Engineeium as well, although there was nothing on the plans suggesting where it might be. And there was still no sign of the Sister's main armoury.
...it was a big ship, and time was ticking.
"The secondary generators might be a place for find illumination on this subject."
Time is slipping. I wonder what the quickest way to saviour pods is from here?
"Then let's check them out!"
Heironymous detaches his mechadendrites from the console and hurls his servoskull into the air, sending it humming towards the secondary generators while following more slowly on foot.
Praetus moves quickly to follow the Floating Skull
As the servo skull and the assassin approach the corridor to the secondary Gellar Field generators. It was easy to see something had changed since you had passed this corridor previously. The lights, both leading back towards the medical deck and to the generators themselves had been smashed. Some still flickered, allowing a sort of shadow filled light to fill these areas, but there were large patches of utter darkness.
With a silent prayer to The God-Emperor Praetus pulls the Photo-Visor down and lets the machine spirits soak in all of the light clearing the darkness.
Covering the rear, Vasyl grasps his Armageddon tightly, wary of whom - or what - may be hiding in the dark.
But he advances, of course.
Advancing down the corridor was simple, if daunting. The side corridors and doors didn't seem to have been disturbed, and the lights were on in most of them - it was clear that whatever had caused this issues had followed the same path you now took.
As the group approached a door marked 'Praesidium Gellar Secundus' a long, heavy mechadendrite reached out from the farside and began to drag the heavy doors shut. The machine spirits that normally controlled the door screamed in outrage against being forced to do so without the correct interactions, but the mechandendrite was powerful enough.
"A new form of abomination or a member of the Priesthood of Mars. Either way this warrants investigation." Lothar advances with his shield raised.
Heironymous continues to advance towards the door, swinging up his lascarbine and shouting "Magos! We are servants of the Omnissiah, blessed he his oil changes!"
He directs his servo skull to zoom forward into the room beyond the closing doors.
The servo skull beeps alarmingly as another mechadendrite reaches out to grapple it.
Lothar and Hierynmous reach the door to find it mostly closed and continuing to do so - but perhaps they could assist the doors spirit in resisting the unending pull.
Heironymous rushes to the control panel, plugging himself in and coaxing the machine spirit to resist the force of the unknown mechadendrites.
"Cease your efforts Magos! We need you or this ship will be nothing but void dust!"
Lothar shows a surprising amount of raw physical strength. "We are agents of the Inquisition, you will receive us."
With attention all over the place, Vasyl seeks ways to convince -or trick- the machine spirits into complying.
With shudder the door began to open again - and suddenly flung open, revealing the room beyond as the combined brute force and technological might aided the machine spirit in overcoming its torment. Inside the owner of the mechadendrite's was no longer visible, leaving only the servoskull spinning in circles and the clang of metal striking the deck among the machinery within.
Damn. A crazy red priest. That's all we need.
"Let's get in there. Time's a-wasting."
Heironymous calls out to the retreating figure "Magos! I request your assistance under the Most Holy Instruction Manual 3773-b.48, as generated by Mars! The machine spirits of the ship are under critical load, and we need you to placate them!"
A strange noise emanates from the rear of the room, echoing in a fashion that can only be described as 'wrong'.
A strong scent lingers in this room - incense. Several shrines to the Emperor have been set up, and in such a fashion as surround the machinery that otherwise dominates the room. The machines themselves have a number of purity seals upon them, although a storage bin to one side shows a pile of others which have melted, somehow.
"SCRAP CODE! I must not be here!" Heironymous almost falls over himself in his attempt to run back up the corrider, summoning his servoskull to him as he flees the horrific noise.
Lothar keeps his lasgun and shield up. "What about the rest of us and the machine spirits of our wargear? I do not know of this scrap code." He calls out behind him as Hieronymous but keeps scanning the room.
Scrap-code? Right. I can't understand the noise, but it's definitely not normal.
"Snap decision: we either pull out right now - or we go in to silence that fracking noise. What's it to be folks?"
The Assassin feels out of his element, he stands by Lothar and watches for a threat.
Vasyl knows that the scrap code will only affect something able to hear it - your wargear can't receive it that way.
More worryingly, at least in the short term, is the equipment in the room. Normally it wouldn't be affected, it seems like some kind of comms system has been wired into the system.
Time to push them into action.
"Listen up! Our wargear is too dull to be affected. And these machines shouldn't be either, but someone has wired a comms system into it. Look for anything that's been added and get ready to smash it on sight!"
Vasyl steps forward, switching to his heavy pistol for a little more ease of movement, and begins searching.
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Heironymous, having safely gotten out of hearing range, comms the others.
"That Magos is corrupted and heretical. If you cannot incapacitate him, kill him and I will salvage what I can from his corpse. Omnissiah guide us, this is going to shit."
The answer quickly comes as a mechadendrite out of a gap between the machinery an attempt to jab at the Acolyte.
There is a sharp crack and the snap of ozone as the metallic tentacles lashes out, and then vanishes back between the machines. Vasyl glares through the gap and spots only a flicker of motion - far less than there should be. It appears the creature is using chamoline...or something similar.
That stung. Best hunt more effectively.
"FRACK! Some help here to find this fracker!"
He looks, trying to spot his enemy, pistol pointed roughly in the direction of where he saw the flicker.
Heironymous focuses his optic scanners and auspex on the room, keeping out of auditory range of the scrap code.
Heironymous comms his team mates what he sees.
Lothar moves towards the magos thing, trying to pin it down in combat. No point trying to engage it at range in a place like this, close quarters and steel were the best recourse.
Praetus will move in as well moving to mirror Lothar
The three of you manage to crowd the former priest of the Red God into a smaller area, although the cloak gives it an indistinct shape. The mechadendrite reaches out once more.
But it failed to strike Lothar.
Lothar thrusts his blade through the cloak but doesn't meet any resistance, he will need to try different locations next time.
Seeing the red priest cornered, Vasyl grins.
Time to end this mechanical freak.
"Let's get him!", Vasyl yells as he draws his trusty bolo knife and steps into the fray. The machete-like blade is aimed straight for a metal-shod kneecap.
The bolo knife veered towards the Tech-Priest, but a shockingly fast Mechadendrite shot out and countered the attack.
Hieronymus stays way back out of hearing of the accursed scrap code.
Lothar tries to strike when the creature is distracted by his allies.
Try as he might, Vasyl cannot avoid the metal tendril - and even a glancing blow stings!
Fracker is fast.
But the blow doesn't disarm Vasyl and he lashes out low again!