Zedkiel hands Elyas one of his blind grenades. "You will be exposed, conceal yourself while you work. I would prefer to forgo needing to heal you and hearing your protests."
"Do you have any specific ideas for the distraction, brother-commander? I have two more of those, we can use the thermal smoke for cover and to confuse the heretics."
After arriving Castil tries to discover any further information about the Pskyer that he can but is unable to.
Psyniscience test +10, Per 45 vs
Sorry Commander, I can not tell you anything more than before. As he awaits orders and then finally hears Varta's suggestion and question, he responds with his current grenade count.I have Krak and frag grenades left. Then seeing Zedkiels grenade he comms his team.
A blind grenade? Castil says as he's about to head out with Zedkiel. Vartas, if you can cover our approach, my Iron Hand brother and I can advance more quickly and be upon them before they can react he says to his battle brothers over vox comms.
Even if we stay in the trenches, we should be able to move more easily if they enemy is blind. I suggest suppression too, in case they can see through the smoke or accidentally fire a good shot.
Castil then takes a moment to consider if there might be stealthier approach, maybe they could somehow flank them and surprise them as his brothers are suppressing them. Maybe they could still salvage the tank instead of destroying it.
Tactics Recon and Stealth: INT 55, vs 2 DOS
With the tank and weapons teams currently preoccupied with blasting the Stormtroopers there is a reasonable opportunity to slip past their gaze and into the trenches. The only issue would be finding (or making) another suitable entrance. These trenches are enclosed by a thin metal roof to protect the occupants from shrapnel or artillery.
Accepting the gift and fastening the grenade to his hip Elyas replies: "Thank you brother."
If Castil can sense nothing further, then that pysker must have gone to ground. We should make our way into that trench system as quickly as possible. We cannot waste time taking on that Leman Russ or those missile launchers, but if we can disable them to enable our entry into the fortifications then we will do so.
I suspect that Elder Brother Gazerich will struggle to make a stealth approach, but smoke or blind grenades may assist with that. We will move together towards the trench system, trying to keep out of line of sight of those heavy weapons. If we are spotted Castil, Elyas and Elder Brother Gazerich will move towards the trench system at speed, while Zedkiel and I provide suppressive fire. Understood?
Copy that Commander, ready to move.
What do we have avilable to us to provide cover? Brother Zedkiel had the foresight to obtain a blind grenade, is anyone carrying smoke?
Hearing no reply from his brothers, Lucian decides to commit to his plan.
We move for the trench system. We will try to stay out of sight if possible. If not, Elyas will deploy the blind grenade to provide cover so that we can move at minimal risk. If necessary, Zedkiel and I will provide supporting fire while the rest of you move at speed towards the trench system. Once there, we hunt this psyker filth and destroy him.
The suspensors on his heavy bolter whine as Lucian thumbs the activation rune, and he prepares to move.
Zedkiel readies his bolter and moves out.
Before following Elyas remarks: "Brother allow me a jump instead."
The sparse cover means that the assault would have to be conducted slowly, but without any clear evidence of psyker activity Lucian had no problem with a considered approach. Having reviewed the available cover and hearing Elyas' request, Lucian refines the plan via the squad vox.
Elyas, jump towards the trench lines and see if you can spot an entryway from the air. If you are engaged by heretic forces, keep them occupied, but do not become isolated.
Castil and Zedkiel will move up as a pair, while I keep overwatch. We will bound from cover to cover towards the trench line.
If we are spotted, Elyas will deploy the blind grenade and we will assualt the trench line at speed to minimise our exposure.
Castil acknowledges the order with little more than his movement. He rises and swiftly moves into the trenches, keeping as low as possible, so that they could move up as far as possible before engaging.
The rebels seem to preoccupied with asailing the Stormtroopers to notice your advance Brother Castil. You swiftly move from cover to cover, staying low to the ground. You make it to a portion of the trenches that have been blown open and drop down inside. You are about 30m away from the leman russ and the weapons teams but you don't have a clean line of fire from here on account of the trenches twists and turns.
In the darkness of the trenchwork you spot a piece of flooring that has been knocked ajar. Pulling it further aside you see a hatch of some sort that is just barely big enough for a marine to squeeze through. The hatch has the words Auxiliary Cooling Shaft D-369. Authorized Personnel Only written on it, though they are worn with age.
Checking your cartograph you learn that the Manufactorum's has maintenance shafts like this one that worm their way throughout the entire facility. This one particularly will carry you further into the bunker without having to use the main entrance.
The jump pack roars to life once again carrying the Dark Angel fast and high into the air. From this high vantage point he quickly surveys what part of the trenches he can see.
Brother Zedkiel follows Castil as he moves out.
The preysight in his helm clearly marks the hatch in the trench. Zedkiel investigates it briefly, and points it out silently to Castil.
Taking up a firing position in a blast crater, Lucian activates his targetting scanners and levels his heavy bolter towards the Leman Russ and missile teams, ready to lay down suppressive fire in the event that his Brothers are spotted.
Zedkiel, let me know when you are clear and I will start my advance.
Brother Castil nearly leaves Zedkiel behind accidentally until he turns around to catch him looking at a hidden entrance. Castil satisfied with the option, but having prepared himself for battle, he didn't like running away from it. Regardless, he had a mission and that was the elimination of a rebel psyker. The faster he could find it, the better.
Castil returns to the entrance and comms his brothers: Commander, we have found another possible entrance into the facility, a cooling shaft. Moving into now to investigate.
Castil moves into the entrance, barely able to fit, and moves quickly. The men were buying time and Castil had no intention of letting them complete whatever is the rebels had planned.
Understood Castil. Secure a staging area, and stay alert.
Zedkiel readies his flamer and voxes Castil. ::Brother, let me take point.:: He turns on preysight as he moves into the darkness.
Once through the cooling shaft you find yourself in something more akin to an actual bunker. Only your enhanced senses let you pierce the inky darkness around you. Currently you're in a hall that leads off on both your left and right hand side. Based on your current orientation the left hand route would lead towards the regular trench entrance.
You pick up a low, throaty chanting echoing around the halls. It sounds like it's coming from the left hand tunnel.
You can sense the Psyker now. He's using his powers, calling upon the powers of the warp for some nefarious purpose. Whether or not he has sensed you in turn is yet to be seen.
Hearing the discovery of his brethern Elyas rejoices. "Brother Lucian, shall I move to aid Brothers Castiel and Zedkiel?" he inquires.
Move in Elyas. I am approaching now.
Seeing his Brothers move into the trench system, Lucian follows them slowly, keeping a wary eye on the tank and heavy weapon teams. With no clear evidence that he has been spotted, Lucian arrives at the ingress point discovered by Castil.
Pausing to ensure that his Kill-Team was all in position, Lucian descends the shaft and closes the hatch behind him.
::Brothers, there is chanting, and I suspect the witch. I will investigate and, if so, try to disrupt any ritual or sorcery before it is complete:: He heads off towards that tunnel, not checking if Castil follows.
Castil senses the Psyker's presence and knows it is meddling in the warp.
Careful brother, that Psyker is active, if something goes wrong, the Psyker himself will most likely be the center of a warp rift. Keep your distance, you are the only medic capable of treating Astartes.
Castil considers using the warp to shield them, but he knows that would only give away his position and he wasn't sure how the Black Templar would react. Instead, Castil follows, storm bolter in one hand, force sword in another.
Taking up a rearguard position in the cramped confines of the tunnel, Lucian's helmet autosenses pick up nothing of the chanting his brothers report. Checking the rear of the formation as he goes, Lucian urges calm.
Cool yourself Zedkiel, we cannot afford to blunder into some kind of heretical psychic ritual, or we risk destroying us all. Castil, keep your senses open, but do not betray our presence. The element of surprise will be vital in these close quarters.
::We should engage with all haste, before it completes whatever it is doing. The witch must burn.::. Zedkiel does pause and wait, discipline and obedience overcoming hatred and zeal.
Castil peers into the unseen warp tides, trying to trace the ripples the rebel psyker is causing, trying to pinpoint his exact location so they could engage with speed. While unsure if he could mask his own presence, he takes care not to come close to its mind.
Psyniscience test +10, Per 45 vs 2.9 DOS.
The Psyker is close, withing twenty meters. You also sense a few other budding warp presences, all within the vicinity of the psyker.
Castil's fury begins to build, he didn't like others playing in his warp sandbox and the other presences only made it worse. He motions to his brothers with hand signals, tapping Zedkiel in front of him as to emphasize his warning.
Enemy psyker 20m ahead, other unknown warp presences. Hit them hard and quick, I have no idea what they are doing but it will end now. For your own safety try not to get between my psychic attacks and the enemy, there is no such thing as friendly fire.
With no more to say he continues forward as fast as his brothers can move, readying himself for the moment he could punish those who meddle in the warp unsanctioned. He tightens the grip of his force sword, his mechanical flesh yearning for melee combat.
Understood Castil. That psyker is to be taken down as fast as possible. Trust in the Emperor to guide your hands and protect your soul.
::In His name.:: Zedkiel hustles onward.
You round the corner Brother Zedkiel and are immediately struck by what you see. This hallway opens up into a large chamber, rough 40x40. Near the center is a man dressed in the defiled robes of a sanctioned psyker. He has his eyes closed and is chanting vigorously. There is a faint, almost imperceptible shimmer in the air immediately surrounding him.
Surrounding him are a mob of men and women scattered around the room. They have various weapons and a variety of clothing, suggesting that they have come from all walks of life. Each of them has a horrifying look of awareness on their face but are otherwise unmoving at this moment. As you round the corner into this chamber there is one within arms reach that immediately takes notice of your presence and begins to reach out towards you Brother Zedkiel.
These men and women have likely been forcefully dominated by the psyker, something that is normally outlawed in the Imperium making it common among rogue psykers. As long as they are in this state they will act without hesitation or fear at the will of their master. Beyond that they still possess their normal mortal capacities.
Zedkiel looks at the fell witch and his debased cultists, and does what he was trained to do, what he was made to do: bathes them in cleansing promethium.
Forbidden lore psyker 55 vs 5DOS.
initiative +7=15
Sorry for poor format, on phone. [/OOC]
Castil rounds the corner and instantly recognizes the work of the rogue psyker. They are but pawns under the control of the psyker, target the witch.
The sight of the heretical psyker disgusts Lucian, and he feels his gorge rise as he sees the crowd of civilians who seem to be enthralled by the witch. He moves forward with his Battle-Brothers.
We need to clear a path to the psyker. Elyas, descend on him with your jump pack. Castil and Zedkiel, clear a path through these damned souls.
Activating his helmet's speakers, Lucian turns them up to maximum volume and brings the full force of his authority to bear on the psyker.
Witchmind, submit yourself to the Emperor's authority! Your warp-spawned filth will not be allowed to pollute this world any longer! We are agents of the Holy Ordos of the Inquisition, and we will destroy you if you attempt to resist!
Zedkiel screams in rage and frustration at the warning of his librarian brother, and pulls out his bolter and sends a storm of steel at the witch.
Having landed after the rest entered Elyas makes his way to the rear of their squad. Quickly surveying the scene before him he acknowledges Brother Lucian's command with a simple click over the vox. While his brothers speak and fires he plans his angel of attack and ones opens up he lets the jump pack roar into life and hurl him towards his target.
At Brother Vartas' words the Psyker immediately ends his chanting and opens his bloodshot eyes. For a mere second his face is neutral as he gazes upon you all but it quickly becomes a visage of pure contempt.
"You dare speak out against my kin, tyrant? They share in my enlightenment, something that you choose to deny." he spits, shooting a gaze at Brother Castil. "I am Olid, and I-" but he has no time to continue his monologue as Brother Zedkiel steps forward with his bolter leveled at the Psyker:
Olid throws himself to the side with surprising agility as the bolts scream towards him. The blessed rounds are deflected slightly by the shimmering field of Psychic power, giving the rogue psyker the chance he needs to avoid the attack. "KILL THEM!" he screeches as he recovers. In response the thralls around the room begin to rise up and move towards you, their eyes still glassy and lifeless.
Round 1
Brother Castil (15):
Brother Vartas (14): Attempts to bring the Psyker in without conflict, but Olid seems to have other ideas.
Brother Zedkiel (11): Unleashes a hail of bolter fire but is foiled somewhat by the semi-real wall of force protecting the psyker.
Olid the Enlightened (10): Haphazardly calls upon the powers of the Warp in an attempt to strike out against the Kill-Team. He points his outstretched palm at Brother Zedkiel. Seconds later a torrent of Warp fire manifests and comes screaming across the room towards him. It smashes into the Templars breastplate, reducing layers of plating into slag and dealing points of energy damage.
But Olid was too greedy, and the Warp punished him for it. The channel of energy erupting from his hand trails back up his arm and starts to feed back into him. The power continues to build up until finally the unfortunate man cannot contain it any longer. He erupts in a brilliant explosion of energy, shattering his psychic field and consuming all of his slaves in the ensuing explosion.
Brothers within meters take points of energy damage.
Olid the Enlightened lays in a crumpled pile on the ground, barely on the verge of consciousness, his flesh charred by his arrogant interactions with the Immaterium. Many thralls escaped the blast and have fallen into a comatose state as well.
Zedkiel's superhuman reflexes save him, and the blast of warp flame melts deep into the wall. He is filled with satisfaction as the witch is consumed by his hubris. "Such is the price of arrogance."
He looks over the fallen thralls, and says, "Brother-commander, we cannot let the survivors walk freely. They have been exposed to the warp, and they must be tested lest they bear a taint that could undo everything we worked for here. They must be given to the Holy Inquisition."
Castil moves swiftly to the Psyker and ends his suffering earlier than he had wished. He could not let Olid linger and risk him doing something stupid through the warp, something a caged animal would do. No quarter would be given, all would know that Olid has fallen. His troops morale will be crushed.
As for the people tainted by the warp, Castil opens himself to the warp and attempts to detect any remaining warp residue or taint.
Psyniscience test +10, Per 45 vs
FP to re-roll that.
5 DOS
The great force of the Immaterium is suddenly unleashed in the confined quarters, and Lucian feels the warp scratching at the edge of his psyche. The sensation suddenly ends as the psyker succumbs to his own hubris, and is brought down by the powers he thought he could control.
Before Lucian can stop him, Castil summarily executes the man. Looking around, it seems that some of the witchmind's thralls survived the feedback blast.
Castil, Zedkiel. Round those accursed souls up, we will have them transported to the Pious Immolation for interrogation. Elyas and I will begin searching the area for any other evidence of rebel activity.
Lucian moves towards the opposite end of the chamber, looking for alternative exits, and for evidence of further rebel forces in this trench network.
Among the mess of gore and ashes leftover from the battle you find a dataslate. At first glance it contains a good deal of information on the rebel's organization, structure, and defenses along with several deranged political rants likely penned by Olid himself.
As for the people tainted by the warp, Castil opens himself to the warp and attempts to detect any remaining warp residue or taint.
Their warp presence is incredibly weak, even below that of a normal human. You'd guess that Olid's meddling and the ensuing psychic backlash has caused irreparable damage to their minds. You'd be surprised if any of them every woke from their catatonic state.
One does catch your attention though. A young woman, still breathing like the others, but with no discernable warp presence at all. In fact, as you try to search for her essence you find some unseen presence pushing back against your own mind. It's incredibly irritating, as if the Warp somehow becomes thinner the closer you are to the woman.
While the psychic tsunami washes over the room Elyas manages to keeps himself on course and quickly close the distance to the psyker. Slamming into the ground he chants the combat hymns of his chapter ready for combat, but none is to be found. When the order is given Elyas follows his team-leader and covers the devastator while he searches.
Wait brothers, something is not right with that woman as he points his sword towards a woman on the ground.
Something is pushing my mind away from her body, I can't feel her warp presence like the others.