Garm looks as if he is about to start swearing (likely in Dark Eldar), but thinks better of it.
"My thanks, Gizzard. So we will have to use a shuttle to scout it out. I think us and perhaps a handful of armsmen, ready to strike."
With some cajoling Lax is able to persuade the crew of a ship that can carry fifty passengers that working for ye will lead to a steady supply of employment. They ask where you want them to go first?
"We just have to be faster than the news our existence got here. Say here ... we swindle a wet ship off some poor joe soap. Then pack it with supplies, to start with like. Why not though?, but that's not really the point is it. For real though. How fast could a wet ship get there and back? We go down with armsmen in a shuttle and capture all this fella's ships while our own ship sails home and drops off the supplies. We leave the armsmen to guard the boats we capture down below. Sprint back in the shuttle and sail into port here with our bought ship to collect the prize. As soon as ye are on the boat and sailing back in I'll be flying down with more men to the boats. We might need wetsmen to man the ships if that's even a word? This might be some messy meta-level s&%$ but why let any of these plant lovers know how fast we can move? Once we have a few wet ships we can be more conservative with the shuttle fuel. I just hope we don't need the entire resources of one of these primitive nations to make more."
Garm cocks his head, listening to Gizzard.
And then nods.
"I like the sound of it. Illorn, Lax, your thoughts?"
"Controlling for flow of information would give us an advantage and having a fleet would open up the possibility for naval assaults in the future"
"That might have been a bit convoluted." Gizzard will say as Garm's neck hinges to one side. He will then breath deeply and collect his thoughts.
"We should keep knowledge of how fast shuttles can move to a need to know basis. It might be even an idea to keep vox and any sufficiently advanced tech to a need to know basis. With these plant lovers that might everything with a circuit."
"So I'm asking how long it would take the ship Lax bought to get down to the southern coast?"
"If we capture this pirates ships we'll need wetsmen to float them back up. If we can't capture them but we capture loot I'd rather not be using fuel flying up and down there to bring it all back."
"We have an army on board so we can probably avoid hiring soldiers but we don't have many men who can move these wet ships. Intel on what we can do will leak over time as wetsmen come in and out of our employ."
"The reality is we need wetships to supply our own ship and to move troops. The getting of these ships is going to expose us to the natives so we need to control the message in our favour as much as possible."
"Right now if one of these native nations decided to attack us, it could set us back so far we might have to abandon ship."
"Having a fleet isn't just going to open up possibilities it will keep us and our people alive."
He breaths deeply again letting his experience working in mining logistics guide his thoughts.
"First we need food security."
"Then we need physical security. Right now the sea keeps land armies away but it won't stop a large wetship assault."
"Last we need to be able to project our army which may mean moving it onto the mainland."
"So back to my first question, how fast could the boat you bought get down there?"
"I'm not sure but I think we should go gather some intel of our own while we're here. If no-one has any objections I'm going to try to get some information on this Drek'thul, Viceroy Uthred and the Ork"
Viceroy Uthred is the Imperial Governor of Neuland originally from Middenheim. He is an experienced general and warrior. The woman is Svetlanna an old Amber Wizard from Talabheim, she has had some dealings with the Druids native to this land.
The Orcs of Trogland are one of the four factions including the Empire who came out on top in the war as the mists faded from Albion. They are not fully unified with several warlords ruling over the area each with thousands of orcish warriors and goblins beneath their banners.
"Something to work on at least. Good job, Lax. Now let us make for the shuttle and return to the Hymn to prepare."
Before too long you are back at the Hymn and Garm is able to pick up the grenades he has had the mechanicus make.
Lax will try to convince the pilots to help him make sure that Garm is wearing is armour before leaving the ship.
He will also try to get some armsmen to join them on their next outing, making sure to include a heavy stubber and a shotcannon trooper in the squad
Garm has not removed his armour since leaving the Hymn on this trip, so carapace still protects him.
"How many armsmen can we fit in the shuttle with us? Bear in mind that we may be retrieving loot also, beyond Drek'thul's head."
"We'll be leaving our men behind to guard our new ships so we can bring as many as the shuttle can hold"
"Say six armsmen, armed well."
Illorn seemed to completely tune out when Gizzard was possessed by diarrhea of the mouth. "Thou canst handle this s@+#tery. I shall prepare for the bloodletting" he declares, and heads off to prepare his equipment, including transferring his power armor to the shuttle.
"We strike for the jugular. We find the largest, most deadly looking vessel and strike it."
Gizzard will prepare the shuttle and logistics for the strike.
Lax will spend his time with the observer from the city trying to get more information from him about the raiders.
The observer doesn't have much to say beyond the target is a very dangerous warrior and in service to the forces of chaos. Mutants and witches will no doubt count amongst his crew. He uses a few terms Lax is not familiar with like beastman and ogre.
Garm
Lax
Illorn
Gizzard
Norscans
As you approach the lead ship you can see some of the crew ready and armed, not the whole number obviously the rest have spent the time of your approach getting read. One man on the deck in heavier armour lies on the ground. He has a mutation in the form of a goats head!
The crew seem to be armed with a variety of one handed melee weapons with axes being popular, but they have shields ready and are wearing studded leather armour.
How does Gizzard want to approach the enemy ship? Float above or to the side and let the characters jump? If so how far away. The closer the more difficult the check before we enter initiative. The NPC pilot can temporarily take over while Gizzard rushes out.
Gizzard will fly close to the ship allowing the strike team to step out. He will move out with his autogun in hand.
Garm is fully armed and armoured, with agoniser lash in hand.
"Mutants eh? We can take on damned mutants!"
"Easy does it lads."
By the time Gizzard gets into position the armoured warrior is standing once more.
Garm
Lax
Illorn
Gizzard
Norscans
Garm bounds forward, towards the armoured warrior, with a wordless yell and his agoniser lash crackling with exotic energies.
Lax will sigh.
"There he goes again, charging straight into the heart of them. Well at least he's wearing armour this time"
Needle Rifle- 1d10+2 Rending pen 0 clip 6 range 180m rld 2 full Accurate Felling(1) Toxic(5) Built in Silencer rof=s
Gizzard will move to the door of the shuttle on his turn and aim his autogun at the furthest enemy.
Gizzard will step out the shuttle, autogun in hand.
Illorn steps forward, drawing his flail to engage the goatman and stops briefly, looking at Lax and growling "If thou put as much effort into thine marksmanship as thine whining you may hath hit thine mark!" He then charges forward and attacks the goatman.
Garm bounds forward, towards the armoured warrior, with a wordless yell and his agoniser lash crackling with exotic energies.
Lax will sigh. "There he goes again, charging straight into the heart of them. Well at least he's wearing armour this time" His shot goes wide.
Illorn steps forward, drawing his flail to engage the goatman and stops briefly, looking at Lax and growling "If thou put as much effort into thine marksmanship as thine whining you may hath hit thine mark!" He then charges forward and attacks the goatman. The attack slices clean through the arm and into the torso, drenching the ground in blood and gore. The target is killed instantly, leaving a ruined corpse on the ground.
Gizzard will step out the shuttle, autogun in hand.
Your armsmen move onto the ship keeping the man with the naval shotcannon in their center as he readies himself for combat. Two are forced by the close confines into melee. Shotguns roar and injure two of the Norscan raiders.
The armsman fighting the sailor on the stairs dodges a swing. They quickly get embroiled as the sailors close in. One of them takes an axe blow but fortunately his flak vest absorbs some of the damage.
A large heavily armoured man moves from the room at the prow of the ship with an axe and a shield. His equipment is highly ornate with strange sigils and images upon it. It appears as if he would be as big as Illorn... if Illorn were not wearing his power armour. He swings his axe at Illorn.
Another large and heavily armour figure moves forward with his axes from the aft of the ship swinging with his axe at the armsmen but without as large a target as Illorn the men are able to avoid the blow.
The pilot of the shuttle looks back at the ramp seeing Lax and makes a decision. I'm not crashing the shuttle and I'm not letting a command crew member fall out the back. He hits the button the close the ramp as he pulls away. Perhaps Gizzard can turn this boat into a hunting yaght but I can't!
Garm
Lax
Illorn
Gizzard
Armsmen Black Shotcannon. Green -4
Norscans.Orange -4, Yellow -3
BS: 45
Custom grip: 5
Single shot: 10
Red dot: 10
Point blank: 30
Shooting into combat: -20
Total: 80
"Watchin' the rear."
"Wait what are you doing. Ah just fly me as close to the ship as you can and I'll jump out."
Lax will active his vox and vox everyone.
"Remember everyone we are rogue traders who have sailed the stars, these are only false imitations of us. For the Hymn of Battle"
Garm sees the warriors next to him and swings his lash faster and faster to strike at them.
Garm sees the warriors next to him and swings his lash faster and faster to strike at them.
"Wait what are you doing. Ah just fly me as close to the ship as you can and I'll jump out." Lax will active his vox and vox everyone.
"Remember everyone we are rogue traders who have sailed the stars, these are only false imitations of us. For the Hymn of Battle"
Illorn manages to block his targets attack and brings down his flail on the large foe. Illorn's flail sinks deep into the flesh of his attacker.
"Watchin' the rear." Gizzard shoots his shotgun at one of the norscans.
The armsmen are able to land a few blows with their knives but only flesh wounds. The pilot of the shuttle manages to get near the edge of the ship only two meters above it though it seems unlikely he'll be able to hold this position.
The armsmen avoid the worst of the damage against the pirates though one ends up with a nasty gash.
A raider charges at Illorn and swings with his axe.
The armoured warrior pulls the barbs from his flesh but although he frees himself he is quite badly injured now.
One of the warriors swings at the armsmen, though an armsman dodges the man wielding the naval shotcannon is not so lucky, losing an eye to the powerful swing.
Garm
Lax
Illorn
Gizzard
Armsmen Black Shotcannon Crit 4. Green -4, Red -8
Norscans.Orange -4, Yellow -3, Green -10 Fatigue 3 Stunned 3, Blue -7
Chaos Warrior: Orange -17 Wounds
Seeing many enemies, Garm grins, and shouts in Reikspiel as he lashes his opponent to pieces.
"I am Garm Dariyal, and I will stand over your cooling corpses!"
Lax will jump down from the shuttle, needle rifle in hand.
Gizzard followups up with another shot form his autogun on the blue norscan.
"Get in!"
Seeing many enemies, Garm grins, and shouts in Reikspiel as he lashes his opponent to pieces. "I am Garm Dariyal, and I will stand over your cooling corpses!"
The powerful blow cleaves the target from gullet to groin, revealing his internal organs and spilling them on to the ground before him. The target is now quite dead. The area and the target are awash with slippery gore.
Lax will jump down from the shuttle, needle rifle in hand.
Illorn swings his flail at one of the enemy warriors heads but his target dodges it.
Gizzard followups up with another shot form his autogun on the blue norscan. "Get in!"
A hulking figure that must be your target moves forward from below decks.
One of the pirates and a Chaos Warrior make a concerted effort to put Illorn down.
The Chaos Warrior to the south cuts down two armsmen including the man with the shotcannon.
Garm
Lax
Illorn
Gizzard
The Boss
Armsmen Red -8, Green -4, Dark Green -2
Norscans.Orange -4, Yellow -5, Blue -8, Orange Crit 1. Fatigue 1 Stunned 5
Chaos Warrior: Orange -17 Wounds, Yellow -3
Trusting to his armor to deflect the worst of the rabid chargers swing, Illorn focuses his defense against the flurry of blows from his original foe.
Letting the desperate sod wear his axe on his shield, Illorn returns the Norscan's flurry with a single measured stroke
Swap degrees for 7 extra point of damage
25 damage, Snare (2), Cripple (2), Flexible
Seeing two of his armsmen fall, Garm rushes towards their assailant.
"Are you deaf, fool?", he yells as he swings his lash at the armoured warrior.
"Wow, that guy looks big and scary. He clearly need to die."
Lax will aim and shoot the Boss.
Needle rifle accurate, toxic(5), Felling (1)
An indignant makes a final proclamation at the blue Norscan.
"GET IN THE SEA!"
And whistles in his ear.
Seeing two of his armsmen fall, Garm rushes towards their assailant. "Are you deaf, fool?", he yells as he swings his lash at the armoured warrior who nimbly steps aside.
"Wow, that guy looks big and scary. He clearly need to die." Lax will aim and shoot the Boss who fails to avoid the shot but it leaves him unharmed.
Trusting to his armor to deflect the worst of the rabid chargers swing, Illorn focuses his defense against the flurry of blows from his original foe. Letting the desperate sod wear his axe on his shield, Illorn returns the Norscan's flurry with a single measured stroke.
With a sound not unlike a wet sponge being torn in half, the target’s head flies free of its body and sails through the air, landing harmlessly metres away with a soggy thud. The target is instantly slain. The target’s neck spews blood in a torrent, drenching all those within metres
An indignant makes a final proclamation at the Norscan. "GET IN THE SEA!" And whistles in his ear.
The newly arrived figure moves towards Lax bringing his finely crafted axe to bare.
The pirate before Garm swings his axe at his neck.
The pirate facing Illorn finds it difficult to get past his defences.
The Chaos Warrior can't quite get inside the guard of the whirling xenos whip just yet.
Garm
Lax
Illorn
Gizzard
The Boss
Armsmen Red -10, Green -4, Dark Green -4
Norscans. Yellow -7, Blue -9, Orange Crit 1. Fatigue 1 Stunned 5. Red Blinded
Dodge: 1d100 ⇒ 28
Shocking: 1d100 ⇒ 86
Chaos Warrior: Yellow -3
"You had your chance.", Garm growls at the warrior, as his whip lashes faster and faster at their form.
After blocking the fussilade of ferociousness from his foolish foe, Illorn wraps the barbed flail around their neck like a noose, grins as sudden realisation dawns on his enemies face, and pulls.
The resulting spray manages to slip past his shield and cover his helmets eyes, smearing the world red momentarily.
Whipping his flail free with a sickening spatter of flesh and a fresh spurt of gore he wheels on the new arrival.
"'tis just thee and I now, knave. Let us see if thou canst stick you weapon anywhere asides my back!"
24 damage, Snare (2), Cripple (2), Flexible
Blood temporarily blinds Lax and the bosses Axe thumps into his chest, cutting deep.
There is no way I can go toe to toe with this guy, lets get out of here.
Lax will disengage and move backwards into the pool of blood.
A totally sober Gizzard takes aim at the blue Norscan once more.
9 damage with degrees of success substituted.
Gizzard in his totally sober state will refrain from commenting this once to respect the moment.