:
Julius snarls as he takes cover from the spray of bullets, attempting to return fire upon the mercenary.
He misses his target by a wide margin.
Gunther WP
Gunther BS
Gunther is unaffected by the bullets flying past him and takes a shot at the offending man. His shot flies past and impacts the ground harmlessly.
Burgos lets off a final burst of automatic fire into the doorway before his pistol's slide locks itself open, the magazine now empty.
Burgos BS
Merc WP
Again, all but one are forced into the little cover that the doorway provides. The man brave enough to enter however bursts through the smoke, shotgun in hand, and begins charging up the stairway. He now stands halfway to the second floor.
You retreat unimpeded down the hallway, ducking into a room about two doors down from the back door. The room has no windows and appears to be some sort of study, with a fine wooden desk sitting in the centre of the room and the walls lined with lithography. The men you've been fighting make no appearance for now.
As you run down the hallway you pass a staircase leading to the first floor. You believe it exits partway down the main corridor of the floor bellow you.
Uriel slides to a stop, and turns about, trotting as fast as she can down the steps to the main corridor below.
Hopefully this will get me to Vesta faster . . .
Torald finishes reloading his shotgun.
Finishing aiming, Havelock fires another bullet towards the mercenary he previously attacked.
Sadly, the attack is quite off target.
Frowning in irritation, Havelock begins to aim again.
Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Cerelia remembers her training, tuning out the cacophony of shots and explosions from below.
Once again leaning out of her window, Cerelia focuses on a soldier below. Drawing upon the Warp, her perception once again narrows until he is all she sees.
Unnatural Aim (Threshold:8)
Unfortunately her concentration falters and her vision returns to normal. Nonplussed, she attempts the shot.
Las-pistol (BS:36)
As expected her attack missed by a wide margin.
Ducking back into the window, Cerelia growls with frustration.
No longer suppressed, Julius pokes out of cover and aims at the merc ascending the stairs and opens fire upon him.
Sister Vesta will maintain her position. If she hears the attackers move past her position she will pop out of the room and attack them. I have fallen back into a room. I am holding position. She says into the microbead updating her comrades on her position.
In an awe inspiring explosion of blood, bone and muscle fibre, Julius' shot severs the leg of the merc in the stairway. He immediately faceplants upon the staircase, and writhing in agony begins rolling down violently. He is dead and motionless by the time he reaches the ground.
Gunther makes a shot at the man hovering next to Torald.
His shot strikes true, finishing the man in a hole right through his head. He topples over, violently smashing the remnants of his face against the marble floor.
Unmolested by streams of lead, the mercs are now able to act freely. The smoke once clouding the doorway has mostly cleared, leaving a clean enough line of sight outside. Of the four men remaining past the destroyed double doors, two surge foreward inside, taking up positions where the last man lost his life. The others take cover in the doorway. Three are armed with shotguns, while one is armed with an autogun.
One rushes at Burgos, attempting to strike him with the butt of his rifle.
His attempt ends in failure however, as Burgos deftly avoids the blow.
The two men hovering by the doorway each take shots into the room, one at Burgos, the other at Torald.
Burgos Dodge:
Both shots miss, impacting naught but marble pillar and thin air.
Burgos draws his hammer and assumes a defensive stance.
Whatever's coming, Uriel doesn't see it.
Having finished to reload, Torald cycles around the pillar and fires at point blank against his attacker.
Each 2 degrees of success give one additional hit. Location is given in Table 7-6 page 190
Back against the wall, Cerelia closes her eyes and concentrates. Allowing her training to take over, she rises once more over the windowsill and targets one of the soldiers on the stairs.
Unnatural Aim (threshold:8)
Las-Pistol
attack (BS36+30=66):
damage
Lunging back down under cover, Cerelia is relieved that she was successful, even if she only grazed the soldier.
Smirking at his successful kill, Julius shifts his sights and aims at the mercenary that attempted to attack Burgos before firing.
Havelock, his aim not wavering, fires a bullet at one one of the mercs in the stairs, hoping to meet with more success this time around.
Missed again...half my ammunition used to no effect.
The skirmish is marked with more death as two more of the mercenaries go down. One goes down slowly, blood spirting from an artery in his leg cleanly severed by a bullet from Julius. The other taking a point blank shotgun blast that tears off an arm and a leg and sends him flying.
Gunther Stands up, taking a point blank shot at one of the mercs advancing up the stairs.
Gunther BS
Against all odds however, he misses, his shot landing harmlessly somewhere in the front yard.
Three men remain, two in the stairs, one in the doorway. The two in the stairs each make a full auto burst against Gunther and Julius. The third takes an aimed shot at Torald.
Merc BS
Gunther DMG:
Merc BS
Merc DMG
As you lie in wait Vesta, you notice your companion techpriest exit a stairway into the hallway about 20 meters further down from you. However as she proceeds down the hallway towards you, you notice the two men taking up positions by the rear door. You get the impression that she has yet to notice you or them.
I doubt they will go for it...
"You are outnumbered and outgunned, surrender now or be shot down like your comrades!"
Julius screams in pain as he is pelted by bullets.
Sister Vesta will warn the Tech-priest on the microbead
Behind you and fire at the men positioning in the rear
Torald moans loudly as the bullet hists him. Then he faces his attacker, making an step forward and unloads his second barrel at him in point blank range.
Vesta doesn't even know my name. Sigh
On hearing the warning over the microbead, Uriel dives for any cover available, snapping off a shot with her las carbine as she does so.
Still reeling from the pain, Julius aims and fires at the merc who shot him.
Havelock's demands of surrender come just in time for the remaining men to fall like wheat before a scythe. The two remaining men in the stairway, already wounded by fire from Cerelia, are finished off with a swift volley from Julius and Gunther. The final remaining man meet his end from the muzzle of Torald's shotgun, as buckshot and pieces of wall tear through all parts of him.
A silence falls upon the house, punctuated only by the heavy breathing of the survivors and slowly building footsteps echoing down the corridor.
At the other end of the manor, Uriel and Vesta wait in cover. However, as seconds pass you realise the two men do not appear to be making any move to enter the building. In fact you can't even tell if they're still there.
Peeking over the window sill, Cerelia activates her micro-bead "Sitrep everyone. Are we all still in one piece?"
Uriel scans the corridor cautiously, her golden chin resting atop her las carbine as she pans it left and right, trying to make out where her attackers have gone.
"Sitrep everyone. Are we all still in one piece?"
"Erm, sitrep . . . not sure what that means. We're okay over here, but we're not sure if we've been left alone or not."
Glancing over to Sister Vesta, Uriel calls "Have they gone? What should we do?"
Torald here, front door secured.
Torald reloads his shotgun while he keeps the front door under surveillance.
All gone? I am gratified...
Taking a few moments to reload, Havelock secures his revolver away.
Slowly his normal shy personality begins to reassess itself, along with his verbal tick.
"I...I...I...wonder if this was a diversion? Charging the front door seems like a tactically unsound idea.
And an attack just as we arrive..."
Julius sags against the railing he took cover behind, before collapsing .
He groans and replies as he reloads his gun.
"Julius here. Took a few hits, but I'm alive."
The source of the footsteps becomes apparent as your host comes barrelling around a corner, nearly loosing his footing. Each hand grasps an antique looking revolver of fine craftsmanship.
"Is everyone alright?" he calls. "Gunther, is everyone unharmed?" Harlus is quite obviously very flustered, his face having turned a bright red. Despite this however, his voice is incredibly calm, yet authoritative. For a man so apparently soft, he keeps bis wits bout him remarkably well. "Gunther! I asked if-" his voice trails off as he nears the scene and finds himself standing over Burgos, slumped in his own pooling blood, his throat torn open by a stray bullet.
On the other side of the house, Uriel and Vesta continue to see no signs of activity. You suspect that they've either retreated, or are possibly looking for a less exposed point of entry.
I'm fine.
Torald slowly leaves his guard post and examines the attackers, searching for hints of their origin.
Hearing their host's voice, Cerelia checks the scene outside the manor once more then moves to the top of the stairs.
Uriel is fairly certain the attackers have gone, but she's not about to leap out into the line of fire. She stays in cover, her las carbine in her hands, waiting for Sister Vesta to take the lead, or for the other acolytes to back up their position.
Over the microbead: "Looks like the hostiles are gone, but wouldn't want to ruin another outfit with some bullet holes. Any back-up available?"
Additionally, you find a good quality pump action shotgun. It features a pistol grip and no stock, as well as a foreword grip on the pump. It appears to have a fairly standard 7 round tube magazine, meaning with one in the chamber it holds 8 shells. The weapon also has a skull etched on the left side with the words "Peace Through Buckshot" written beneath it.
Several moments pass in silence as you await to see if things have finally calmed down. In the meantime Harlus collapses against a nearby wall next to a severed arm and begins rubbing his temples. He appears rather annoyed by this turn of events.
It isn't long before the calm is once again broken as more men appear at the gate. It quickly becomes apparent however, if their uniforms and level of armaments are of any indication, that these men are of the same outfit you saw patrolling the streets of the town earlier. This a fact confirmed by your host as he gets up from his seat and greets the men halfway down the walkway.
"Throne damn it! What took you so long? Hurry up and do your damned jobs!"
Wordlessly the men filter through the house, and after a few minutes and a short confrontation with the two women by the back entrance, a militiaman approaches your host and declares the immediate area safe.
"I'm sorry me'lord, but apparently two attackers have escaped. I can leave a guard detachment behind to bolster your security should you so wish sir."
"I...I...I did not see anyone leaving by the front, what exit did they use?
I...I...I am only asking because there is a small possibility that they left WITH something..."
Torald takes the pump action and reloads it. Then he returns to his fellow Acolytes.
They show no signs of origin. But all of them look like mercenaries. All of them have tatoos associated to the imperial army or feral worlds. But one is special. It's an imperial aquila whose left wing is clipped off and is falling to the wayside.
After seeing Julius collapse:
Do we have anyone here, who is trained in treating wounds?
Turning to Havelock:
Good question, Havelock. We should try to find that out. I'll go and look around in the backyard.
Torald leaves in the direction of the backyard.
After a tense stand-off, Uriel works out Harlus' men are not the ones she was just fighting for her life against, and slings her las carbine. Before returning to her comrades, she investigates the corridor and rear entrance of the manor, looking for any clues as to the identity of their attackers.
She then returns to the main entrance of the manor, raising the hem of her battered outfit over the blood, bullet casings and scattered fragments of mortar spilt over the floor.
Uriel has no skill in treating wounds, but can't help loitering close to Julius, fascinated by his wound without obviously trying to stare at it. The mechanics of the flesh share some fascinating similarities with those of the machine, yet again and again, they're proved inferior. Just look at that poor, taciturn novice Burgos, lying there with his throat shot out.
Eventually, she can't hold her thoughts in any longer.
"I've not skill in medicine, she confides, "But perhaps you should consider your arm a dead loss. That wound looks grave to me. I'd recommend we ask Harlus to find a surgeon who can amputate it posthaste, then find a nice bionic replacement. Oh just think the benefits. Stronger, more reliable, and of course, eminently more beautiful."
Even the hard cadences of her vox-box can't conceal her joy at Julius' lucky turn of fortune.
"I've not skill in medicine, she confides, "But perhaps you should consider your arm a dead loss. That wound looks grave to me. I'd recommend we ask Harlus to find a surgeon who can amputate it posthaste, then find a nice bionic replacement. Oh just think the benefits. Stronger, more reliable, and of course, eminently more beautiful."Even the hard cadences of her vox-box can't conceal her joy at Julius' lucky turn of fortune.
Julius contemplates her words before scowling.
"While a bionic replacement would certainly be a boon, it would also mean a host of other problems. First is payment. Our noble inquisitor wouldn't sink good money on an unproven agent like me just yet. Likely, if anyone is to pay for the bionics and the expertise to install it, it'd be me. While my family does have the resources to pay for it, that would mean taking money out of the pittance we collectively possess. It would also mean a huge amount of downtime, which if I believe correctly, we don't have much of."
Julius winces as he tries to shift around and avoid exacerbating his wound.
"Believe me, as of right now, I'd love to get an bionic, but our limited resources puts it right out of our means."
We have to treat that wound before it gets worse. It wouldn't harm to look after mine too.
Harlus do you know an thrustworthy medic?
Havelock kneels down near one of the downed mercenaries and retrieves one of the weapons.
Fine armaments...
He then spends a little time looking over the care and maintenance of the gun, looking for sign of wear, stamps of manufacorium and any other distinguishing marks.
I wonder if I can keep it?
Following the example set by her companions, Uriel will also investigate the bodies, looking particularly for grenades, las-packs or items of technological interest.
Havelock, you find that you have a small assortment of firearms to choose from. They all wielded either a pump action shotgun or a dual barrelled sub machinegun you do not recognize. Additionally they all carried a stub automatic. Ammunition for each weapon is in abundance, more than you could possibly carry by yourself.
Uriel, you find two frag grenades.
"I spare no expense Torald, all my estates have the best in medical technologies. A prosthetic is out of the question given the time constraints, however a night's rest in the medical ward will leave you and Julius in top form. As for theft, I doubt it. I am not so thick as to leave anything of true value around for a thug to nick. No, these men are assassins. Poor ones at that, though I don't believe they were expecting the likes of you. I'm quite surprised actually, subtlety has been lost on whoever sent these hounds after me."
Harlus then instructs the guardsman to leave a detachment at the perimeter, making a quip that they should at least be able to make some noise before they die. With that the vast majority of the militiamen depart, moving to cart the corpses away as they do so.
"Unless you wish to claim some of your companion's possessions, we shall be removing these for proper investigation and burial."
Flicking the safety on, Julius stows away his rifle and pulls himself up.
"Lead the way. Although, I believe I'll need someone to help me there in this state."
Fondling the two frag grenades with affection, Uriel looks over to Burgos' corpse. Well, it's not like we were ever friends . . .
Uriel strolls over to the body to see what can be salvaged.
A little ammunition, to replenish what I lost, a shotgun for a little added punch, a stub automatic in case I misplace my sidearm and one of those submachine guns because they intrigue me...
Having spent some time examining and fiddling with the weapons, Havelock then stands up, with an armfull of plundered weapons.
"I...I...I...wonder, is it possible that this was not an isolated incident? Might there have been similar attacks on other key individuals?"
Torald then takes a stub automatic too.