"We should leave promptly. Keep your shotgun handy but stay behind me. My naval boarding shield can take a few more hits hopefully before it becomes more trouble than it's worth."
Score.
"I'll cover your backs. Guardsman here covers the front. Techpriest and you in the centre. Let's find the way."
The man nodded, clicking some buttons on the bomb and detatching it from the door and moving it over to the correct location. "It's a shaped charge," he explained as he switched the timer to two minutes, "So this will hopefully not scrap the room."
Once the timer started clicking down the man grabbed his shotgun and headed out, pointing the way to the service hatch. The door closed behind the acolytes shortly before a low, muffled thump! that made the deck vibrate for a moment.
Heading down the service corridor is quieter, as the more difficult access made the walk to the next area quiet. "Machine shop is the next area, it has all the power breakers running through it. Can't imagine it's gonna be clear. You all ready?"
"Everyone double check your magazines and charge packs loaded are clear." Lothar nodded he was ready as he said it, quickly checking this himself though he already knew it was true.
The man with you nodded, checking the large bore gun and his ammo before typing in the code and opening the door. "What in the Emperor's name..."
The machine shop is...missing. The cavernous space is still cavernous, but the vast majority of the machinery and tools are missing, having been ripped from there locations. Several power cables litter the floor, sparking, or hang from the walls and ceiling.
The wall had even been ripped away, revealing part of a smaller side docking bay. What might have been a shuttle, once, now lay in parts in the middle of the bay.
Thankfully there seemed to be a lack of the arms...
Lothar does his best to try to find some way to track where the machinery was hauled. "They might be redeploying the tools once they realised what we were doing. Even with large numbers it shouldn't be easy to move all this gear."
Frack. Failure could look bad. Or get us killed.
"Frack! Let's hunt them down!"
It was quite clear after a few moments of searching that the materials here weren't being used to construct things themselves, but were serving as raw material. Like the shuttle it was being torn apart to serve as materials.
This was not a better option, by any stretch. There were many tons of material missing. That would make a lot of arms. Of course, you'd already seen what resulted in mass production of the machines...
"Think it's clear enough to set the bomb and go?" The crewman looked around nervously.
"Very well, these blighted abominations vex me."
While the crewman is setting up the trap Lothar keeps his voice low. "I think we should send a signal, if we can not contain or cleanse this threat then the ship will have to be destroyed. It will be a loss but these things are increasing numbers, if they dock with a station, another ship or crash into a planet things could get much worse."
To the crewman Heironymous snaps "Set the explosive man, we must be swift."
To his companions he says more calmly "Very well, vox out a contingency."
Sending a message to the bridge to vox out the contingency warning to the Inquisitor is simple enough, thankfully. Hopefully, the destruction of the facilities will at least stem the tide.
Setting the bomb is also a simple enough process. As it's being wired into position, however, a problem occurs.
The pile of scrap that used to be a shuttle begins to shift and move. Something within it starts to rise. Something...far too large. "I need another minute," the crewman muttered.
"Kill it!", shouts Vasyl, drawing autogun.
Lothar takes out and throws a stun grenade at the pile. "We'll deal with this.
As more of the ruined vehicle collapses, it becomes clear that this enemy might be a little...unpleasant. The crewman looked over and his eyes widened. "You might need more than a flash bang for that thing!"
Indeed, the daemon engine was larger than a Sentinel by quite a margin. Six long, spindly unfold around it, and two more with massive pincers reach out from the front. What might be a turret sits on the top, but it's not complete.
One claw reaches out...and gets yanked back as the thing starts smoking. The whole section of armour plating bearing Aquila from the shuttle is blocking the floor, the eagle's wings stretching across the gap.
"Fighting withdrawl, hit it with your best shot and keep it focused on us. Use it's size against it by withdrawing to the corridor." Lothar called out to the others before drawing a krak grenade, pulling the pin and throwing it at the monstrosity.
Heironymous opens fire with his lascarbine of full auto at the monstrosity as he follows Lothar's advice.
Vasyl tries to spot a weak point on the monstrosity.
There must be a way to kill it.
Regardless, he finds a spot to fire bullets at before withdrawing.
Vasyl was able to determine the massive machine was incomplete. Most of its armour plating and its long ranged weaponry wasn't mounted yet. This was probably a good thing. Small arms still can't do much to annoy it - there are simply too many wires, cables and motors to do anything much. It'll require something rather more impressive.
"I need- oh, OK, we're going. No need to tell me twice." The armsman reaches into a bag and slaps a demo charge on the wall. "OK, no finesse with this. I have no idea what's gonna happen as collateral when this goes off." He grabs his gun and bag and starts following.
Lothar starts pulling back... both wary of the demo charges explosion and not wanting to get cut off from the group against this monstrosity.
"I suggest we follow the armsman. This is beyond us."
Heionymous follows the retreating man, hoping that he knew what he was doing with those explosives.
"Nonsense Techpriest Bahrenfahrer prodigious use of munitions and righteous zeal have slain bigger than him... but no reason to be careless. Remind me to tell you about the time I saw a xenos the size of a titan."
Exaggeration? No, I don't think so. Lothar is optimistic, but doesn't seem prone to exaggeration. Interesting.
"How about we lure it to a section we then blow into the void? It doesn't look finished either."
Withdrawing was probably wise, and as you got to the corridor the explosives went off with a heavy crump that shook the hallways and set the lights flickering.
The monstrous machine was in the docking bay where the shuttle it had been built from had resided. If you can access the door controls it might be possible to blow it off the ship.
Heironymous searches for the door controls, looking to release the airlock from the previous bay.
Lothar keeps his focus and stays alert for any hordes of limbs looking to ambush them.
Get it out. Let it perish in the void.
Vasyl focuses intently, eager to help find and activate the appropriate controls.
The crewman looks at the schematics. "OK, so, good news. We can get to the control room for the bay without any problems, and the missing wall will actually increase the volume of air we want to suck it out. Downside is that the last charge needs to be placed in the back with that...spider...thing. I don't suppose any of you have a void suit?"
"Afraid not, I'm not used to fighting on a void ship. Can you set a timer or remote detonator with the equipment you have?"
"Sure, but if you want it set up while there's still an atmosphere we'll need to deal with that...thing." He shrugged. "We can hope there's a void suit or two on site, or we can try dodging. Probably easiest to close the doors again, if we can."
"We have a moments reprieve. I have a plan though it is very much not without risk. Tell us of the lay out of this place. I enter by another door and attack it's attention with weapons fire. I'll do my best to distract it. If it's looking like it's getting the upper hand or the charge is set someone else let me know and I'll stop attacking so you can draw it's attention with weapons' fire. I need not slay the beast directly but hold it's attention so the Emperor's work can be done."
Lothar seems hardly pleased by his own plan but somewhat resigned. "Once everything is ready we withdraw and send this thing back to the void."
"I concur with the plan. Omnissiah's blessing on you Corporal."
At the crewman's question, Vasyl is quiet for a moment.
No point in mentioning our void suits back at the shuttles. It would only confuse the issue and not help us.
********************************************************************
Hearing out Lothar's plan, Vasyl nods, and reloads his Armageddon.
Better him than me. But he is damn helpful. I hope he doesn't get splattered.
"Emperor watch your back, Lothar. We'll be ready."
Studying the data slate, the crewman suggested, "Alright, this looks like the best way to do this. If we take this corridor, it'll split and take us to the East or West doors. The point we want will be on the East side. If you wanna take the West and draw its attention, you should be able to hide in the passage when you need to. there should also be a data entry point to override the doors, letting you suck it into space. Although I'd suggest the countdown last."
"If it looks like the abomination is getting the upper hand and I can't extract contact me on the microbead and set a short timer. I'll try to get it to choke on me for good measure." Lothar adds a little black humour to proceedings.
Splitting the group at the crossroads, Lothar went about his business and the other group went about there's. The door was not sealed - you simply needed to wait for Lothar to begin.
Vasyl waits, weapons and mind at the ready.
As Lothar moved in first he surveyed the area as it now stood, he'd need to use what passed for terrain to his advantage if he were to survive against the thing.
As the thing began to take notice of him he had to make sure it would pay attention to him... a lone krak grenade would not fell it but perhaps he could overwhelm it's infernal senses. Pulling the pin on his photo flash grenade he rolled it towards the monstrosity. It might disorient the creature... but even if it didn't it would surely draw it's attention...
Now he just had to use the lay out of the make shift battlefield to his advantage and stay one step ahead of it... if the creature got it's claws on him he knew his flak armour would offer little protection.
As Lothar entered the cargo bay he engaged the massive machine in a one on one fight. It takes some time for the thing to even notice his presence, as the Flashbang seems to confuse it more than anything else, but once it does it crosses the ground to attack Lothar with shock, brutal speed.
Somehow, Lothat is able to keep away from the massive machine, which seems to be struggling to hit the smaller, agile acolyte. It was up to the others to make use of the time he had bought.
At the bang the crewman dashed in, heading for a pile of conduits running along the walls. "I'll set the charge, you two get the doors."
Vasyl works furiously, but he has little experience with voidship technology.
Heironymous jacks himself into the console, working furiously, chanting in binharic in a low monotone voice..."01010000 01110010 01100001 01101001 01110011 01100101 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01101111 01101101 01101110 01101001 01110011 01110011 01101001 01100001 01101000..."
The doors - ancient and complex enough that they do not require teams of crew or servitors - are not feeling placated. They refuse to open to the rushed prodding, demanding to be supplicated as is there ancient right.
The crewman looked over as he finished arming the bomb. Swearing a curse he passed the detonator to Vasyl. "First rune arms, second run triggers. I'll try and buy some time with your pal. Don't blow me up unless you're really sure I'm dead!"
The man fired his gun off wildly at the mechanical creature, trying to draw it's attention from Lothar.
The monster swung one leg towards the crewman, but it wasn't terribly accurate. In response, it got a list of famous Saints...
Which didn't get much more response than another kick. A recitation of a hymn to the Emperor, however, draws its attention rather effectively...
Heironymous continues to chant, working through subroutines and supplications.
"The doors are opening. Retreat!" he shouts and vox-casts back to Lothar and the armsman.
Vasyl continues to be frustrated by the stubborn machine spirits, but then the tech-priest succeeds!
"LEG IT!"
Lothar fires off a few shots to distract the thing from the crewman before moving very quickly towards an exit.
The acolytes flee the cargo bay as the massive machine lurches about, trying to catch one of them. Unfortunately for it, it was too slow, too cumbersome and too incomplete to do so, and as the doors opened everyone was able to flee the area, leaving the huge machine alone.
As the air flowed past it the chaotic creation was unmoved, at first - it weighed hundreds of tons, after all - but less heavy pieces of debris and machinery slammed into, staggering it back. As the flow of air and metal increased it was pulled into the gap with a massive clang!, limbs thrashing in vain as the pressure increased. Whatever dark forces had compelled the possessed augmetics to build the thing had not taught them how to assemble it well. As the doors slowly opened chunks were torn off the thrashing machine as the air ripped past it until it was finally small enough to fit through the widening gap, and was hurled into space.
With the bay open detonating the explosive was simple enough, and the section went dark. Power drained from the possessed machinery, which could no longer sustain itself aboard the blessed vessel without power. The demonic spirt driving the carnage returned to the warp with a scream.
That left only one problem - the countdown until the ship's destruction.
"So, let's get back to that damn countdown before all this is for null!"
Move it. Don't want to die. Not like this. Not at all.