"Not questioning orders Sarge, but I am down to maybe one burst of my main gun, and all but out of medical equipment as well.
Still, the emperor wills it, so we go."
Sigh
Kenneth walks in front, with his hand flamer in one hand while preaching from the book in his other hand.
"Even while I walk through a dark valley, I will not be afraid, because you are with me. Your will banishes the darkness and I am the spark that carries it in this place!"
Seth nods with a grim expression at Liam's words.
"I know, Specialist McGregor.
I do not intend to do a thorough sweep and clean of that snake pit.
But do you fancy a longer hike through enemy territory while actively hunted?
I don't.
And I sure as hell won't be looked scared in front of his majesties Angels anymore than you do.
And if things get really hot, well we have powerful friends now."
Liam keeps his grumbling to a respectful absolute minimum as he begins to trudge along, carrying his heavy bolter.
You trudge along the dimly lit corridors and walkways for maybe ten minutes, encountering nothing but a bunch of boot-sized insects which scuddle away quickly.
It is quite a tiring march and for some of you, it feels like this exhausting day will never end and that you cannot take much more at this point.
You start to hear the sound of heavy footfalls coming from further back.
The sounds reminds you of the heavy treating of Sentinel walkers.
Heavy metal feet hitting the ground with quite some mass behind them.
Looking back, they originators are not yet in sight.
But that does not say much considering the regularly twisting corridors and frequency of bulkheads.
While Kenneth's preaching makes it kinda more difficult to hear anything approaching but his presence seems to lighten up the corridor just a little bit. Or maybe that's just due to the pilot flame of his handflamer...
Regardless of the origin, the effect is there and it is helping Simmins to spot a small group of hunched over creatures approaching, with a mediocrum of space (and thus time) to spare.
You'd guess they are some 20 meters out and clearly tried to lay an ambush on you.
While difficult to see any details in the light conditions, you have the impression of long fur, sharp claws and powerful, reflecting (so maybe metallic?) legs.
The creatures are also most certainly smaller than you.
Maybe the size of a gretchin or one of the smallest ratlings.
Simmins snaps his shotgun up and makes a one handed sign for a halt. Small furry mech bastards incoming for an ambush! he hisses 20 meters out and closing
"And something heavy approaching from behind, sounds like Sentinels really...couldn't be though, maybe...Astartes?"
Liam hefts his heavy bolter, getting ready to do what he can with what he has left.
The assembly ratlings and guard come to a quick halt at Simmins warning.
Simmins spots the closest group of two raise their head as if alarmed to a sudden change.
You are reminded of game animal back in the woods on distant Serenus when they hear a sound and are yet to decide whether to be alarmed and flee or calm down and stay.
From the main group, Sergeant Seth voxes in a hushed tone:
<< If we cannot bypass, engage.
The locals say we are nearly... at the... doorstep.
Everyone get ready.
I want this dealt with ASAP. >>
You feel someone shudder beside you and note that your guide, a rather tall (for their kind) but incredibly gaunt ratling, seems to be starring at the ... contact with wide eyes and shaking hands balled into fists.
Simmins voxes back At least four, cannot bypass, they got a lot of heat and no weapons that I can see.... feel like close in... bombers maybe.
Liam moves a little to the side, tog get a better angle, then he braces his heavy bolter, preparing for one last burst of fire.
<< Engage now! >>
The command echoes through the com-bead a few milliseconds after Sergeant Seth's words have traveled the short distance between main and vanguard.
At the shout, the targets all rear up and let out a squeaking, cackling cry that has more than a far-fetched resemblance of the ratlings...
<< My Lord, we engage the enemy.
Estimated strength is 5. >>
At the vox message, you suddenly hear the footfalls from behind speeding up considerably.
Whatever is coming, it just went into a run.
At the vox command, the astartes around you suddenly start running in earnest and you realize with astonishment that they must have been "casually" jogging along until now. Insofar as the Angels of Death ever do anything "casually".
They easily outpace you and the Magi within seconds and are around a corner and thus out of sight rapidly.
The tiny Magi (part?) that once was a tank, is chattering while moving.
"Routing calculation completed.
Chosen path is within acceptable error margin of the optimal route.
Servitor manufactorium ahead.
Advice: reconfigure for medium scale, confined battle conditions."
This is followed by rapid activity in the Magi around you.
Mechanisms are clicking and whirring.
Manifold Mechadendrites are folding in and out.
A trio of servo skulls with small barrels poking out of their wide open mouths appear from somewhere and hover around the large spidery Magi.
And the air fills with the smell of ozone and oil.
The word is given
"His Majesties Servants are moving through this dark place! Make way or be vanquished!"
Kenneth moves towards the enemy and into the cover of one of the doors and raises his flamer to give the ambushers a "warm" welcome if they decide to rush the squad.
-> No overwatch bonuses for the delayed shot but Kenneth gets to shoot at the end of this round if they move close enough I guess?
Simmins quick fires with his shotgun at the two clustered together and the moves to the side with cover in order to give those behind a clear line of fire! If one goes down he will switch to one other target with a -10 Bonus.
Semi Auto half action 3 shot fire
Half action take cover away from line of fire
He shakes his head and re-focuses on getting to his squad as soon as his noodle legs and burning lungs will allow. As an afterthought he keys his mic.
Your comms crack as MacGuyver keys in, Sir, [gasp] Astartes [gasp] approaching fast from [gasp] your 6. [gasp] Myself and [gasp] AdMech assets [gasp] not far behind.
[ooc]looks like the only bonus will be whatever comes from secretive which depends on if this is the surprise or first round. Second increment makes it blast (1)
Delayed initiative
Simmins first shot sends the first target staggering back a step and then drop to the ground.
Its companion is also hit by several bullets of the scattershot but remains going, dodging the worst of the follow up shots directed at it.
It and its two remaining compatriots are charging at Kenneth and are greeted by a wall of flame.
None of them can or is willing to dodge the blistering heat of burning promethium coming at them.
Which is enough to drop the already wounded creature nearly immediately but not (yet) enough to also finish off the ones rushing in from further back...
Which pounce at Kenneth from several steps away, burning from disgusting, scarred, furry head to crude augmentic legs.
Up close it becomes all to apparent that this once was a ratling, just like your loyal, faithful companions.
But change has been wrought upon them in a cruel and inhuman way.
Not only are they covered in long, filthy fur, but they are also clearly heavily mutated with visible tumors, discolored skin, visible fangs and multicolored, way-too-large eyes.
To make matters worse, they have been undergone mad surgery, replacing their legs with crude cybernetic legs ending in daemonic hooves striking sparks as they run and their fingers have been cut off at the third joint, now ending in five centimeter long metal blades.
Metal blades which just now swoosh through the air with deadly speed towards Kenneth's chest, when ....
*bang*
One of the ratling is hit mid air by the crude weapon wielded by the guide-ratling at Simmins' side and flung aside, droping barely a step before Kenneth!
Which means only one remaining attacker is flying at Kenneth claws coming for his heart...
With only a split second to decide Kenneth still realizes it is NOT a good idea to parry with a flamer. So he uses the only other thing he has available - the Book of Scripture in his other hand.
It is quite the thick book but he is not dumb enough to imagine it will shield him from 41st millenia weapons of war.
So instead of straight up blocking with the book Kenneth lets the claws burry deeply into it before shoving the book to the side, applying force at 90 degress of what the ratling is currently hurtling - thus redirecting the jumping ratling... thing without the need for overwhelming force he'd need to stop it.
Grimacing and unwilling to endanger the priest Simmins aims at the wounded monster and fires a single shot to take it down.
point blank + 30
half Aim + 10
Into Melee -20
Round 2 secretive -
Scatter Point Blank +4 Dmg/Pen, Proven (3), Bleed(2)
Single Shot
MacGuyver huffs and puffs and straigtens his back to open up his lungs and breathes deep while his legs scream and cry and he tells them to shut up and GO!
He is on a constant lookout for anything that can speed his progress. An impromptu cable-swing to get over rough terrain, a slide down a ramp instead of stairs, anything to speed him along and keep his pace with the Meca-Men.
"Thanks..."
Kenneth then tries to pick up the remains of his book before getting ready to move on.
If a murderous, mutated and disfigured creature could look surprised, then Kenneth's attacker certainly would as his potentially lethal claw swipe meets upon layer upon layer of old parchment bedecked with holy scripture instead of flesh and bones.
The book now has a finger deep quintet of deep furrows in it and is held together by only by the thick leather rear cover.
Anyway, it has very little time to be surprised though, as a point-blank shotgun blast from Simmins is taking off its entire left leg in a shower of putrid gore and sparks.
The force is enough to send it cartwheeling back a couple meters down the corridor where it came from.
Kenneth and Simmins have exactly enough time to take one deep breath, before the first fallen foe detonates with the force of a grenade and peppers the walls of the corridor with shrapnel and gore...
Targets down, Corpses explode! Simmins yelps back over the vox, grabs the poorly armored ratling and leaps backward as far away and into cover as he can angling his body to cover him whit his own flak armor.
Not enough cover... straight down is ineffective... JUMP LOW
Kenneth seems to crouch down while facing away from the rattling but he actually finishes that movement by "kicking off" from this starting position into a very low but hopefully far jump. He also wraps his arms around his head - sacrificing the fact that he WILL hit his face against the ground when he lands for more cover against flying shrapnel for his head.
A series of detonations make the corridor tremble and those further back flinch as the plinging and zipping noises of ricochets become audible.
What happened to your vanguard...?
You wrestle the ratling down and against the wall, shielding him effectively from the shower of shrapnel flying about as a hammerblow against the helmet make your head twist and bang against the wall, causing the entire world to go out of focus and spinning for a couple moments...
You fling yourself back, past Simmins and out of what the instructional video called the "danger close" zone.
You still find it remarkable dangerous outside that zone though.
You feel a hit against your hip but nothing too bad actually.
Looking down, there is a finger sized fragment sticking out of your hip armor.
Just as the detonations resound over to you, the stampeding sound of metal footfall reaches it crescendo and four massive armored figures turn a corner some twenty feet away from you.
They are in what looks to be a combat run, not even a flat out sprint.
And yet, and yet they move at an absolutely alarming speed, leaving your unconscious protesting that, "hey, they something that massive and heavy should not be moving so fast".
Which is deeply unsettling.
You of course immediately recognize them as Astartes, albeit heavily augmented ones.
They look more like a cross between ancient warrior of legends and high ranking AdMech Magi than the what you would have expected from the statues and vids you have seen before.
A booming, vox shout makes you flinch and your ears ring painfully.
"MAKE WAY IN THE NAME OF THE OMNISSIAH!"
They do not slow down as they draw ever closer...
... not in the slightest.
Hefting his gun, Liam then quickly follows his own advice, pulling Cecil along with him.
Kenneth scrambles to get up and against the wall but he can't help but speak up
"My lords Astartes! In his majesties name do not trample his loyal servants!"
Well, they wouldn't be running like that for no reason and wasn't there a report on lots of enemies following them?
"Sergeant I believe we must try to keep up with them as well as we can once they pass us!"
Armor 5 plus T 5, means takes 6 damage taken which means Wounds 8/17
Emperor burn me but I need a long nap. He groans.
Alarmed by the shout from the rearguard, everyone hurriedly makes way by literally pressing themselves flat against the walls and where possible cramming into the doorframes.
What follows feels like a narrow miss from a fully loaded, sped-up cargo train. The six astartes rush past at neckbreaking speed, their footfalls actually causing notable tremors shaking the ground. Their huge power backpacks humming at such a low, menacing frequency that your teeth start to hurt and your nerves blindfire causing some minor, unwilling muscle contractions in your face.
One of the ratlings, for reasons only known to him and the divine Emperor, throws himself to the ground before the onrushing kill kill team, arms spread wide as if in prayer. Before anyone had enough time to even fully register this, the Angels of Death had already reached, brutally trod upon and rushed past the now shattered and broken corpse.
MacGyver finds and exploits a bit of collapsed roof, using the produding metal pipes as a slide, carrying him past the assorted Magi and around a corner at neckbreaking speed, tumbling him into Liam. From behind, you two may or may not hear an exchange of chittering and blickering, as the Magi MacGyver just overtook are communing in their strange machine language.
The astartes also rush past the vanguard, stomping the metal and fleshy remains of the booby trapped mutant ratlings to glittering powered and fine red mist respectively. Then they are part the next corner and you can hear sudden, harsh bolter fire and detonations.
Having seen enough to know that going to sleep after a head wound was A Very Bad Idea, Simmins is thankfully shaken out of his stupor by the sight of Space Marines in full combat rush.
Sarge, I think we should follow them but not too close. They're fighting something.
Kenneth helps everyone who is down to get up while nagging:
"Get up and get running! They are his Angels, if you manage to catch up to them then show them your worth by adding your fire to theirs. And I doubt they will wait for us at our transport if we are too far behind!"
"If we go back the way we came down, could the astartes even FIT into those tubes?"
That's their problem, come on, let's go! MacGuyver calls as he runs toward the front of the group.
It's always someone else's problem, well, UNTIL it's your problem...
The mentioning of potentially being left behind makes everyone find a little bit of extra juice to hurry onward.
For maybe two minutes you hurry after the more and more distant heavy, mechanical footfalls of the Astartes, passing by several more destroyed bomb mutants and once an assorted heap of gore and heaps of disjoint body parts. Whatever it was, the Astartes so thoroughly destroyed it, no one is able to guess what or whom it may have been...
Finally you reach a huge evil looking bulkhead. A three times three meter hole had been cut clean through the half a meter thick plasteel door though, edges still faintly red glowing. Several automatic gun turrents, embedded into the corridor walls had been destroyed by concentrated bolter fire. All told, you get the impression that this would have been a very hard nut to crack on your own, but you are now free to just walk in. From within more and rapid bolter fire can be heard.
The ratlings have collectively stopped dead before the bulkhead, hands and legs trembling and a few even openly tearing up.
Liam glances over at the Ratlings then at the bulkhead.
"Something significant just happened, didn't it?"
And if it did, please tell use on the run. Those War Gods aren't slowing down!
Yeah... We can't slow down now... Simmins says. This place ain't right and the sooner we're through the better... Hey you rat folks going to be alright?
The ratfolk clearly are terrified to go on, eyes wide open in terror or closed shut tightly with tears streaming.
Hands and legs are trembling with sagging shoulders.
At Liam's query, one of the youngest looking ones nod mechanically, eyes wide as if about to pop out.
"This is ... were ... they change you.
Twist your body-limbs.
Break your mind-brain.
Hurt and sometimes kill you to feed their... abominations-things."
Your priest is meanwhile loudly proclaiming to NOT view and much less READ the door (???), then goes on to recount the litany of ignorance while striding towards the door.
"...
... an open mind is like a fortress with its gates unbarred and unguarded
... ignorance is bliss
... blessed is the ignorant
..."
From the back of the (by now) wild assembly of people, the Magi proceed to shove the ratlings out of their way with apparent ease and not a little distaste, rapidly moving past the door. One of the servo skulls accompanying the Magi scans the door frame with a red blinking light, then shudders and loud gibberish is unnervingly coming out of the long dead mouth - before it is casually (and terminally) squatted out of the air by another Magi's mechadendrite.
The squatter is directing a burst of undistinguisable gobbledigu at one of his companions, causing the addressed Magi to flinch and hurry onwards a little faster.
Once past the inner doors, equally brutally opened by the passing Astartes, you are faced with a rather big, rectangular room, filled with row upon row of what appears to your eyes as heavily modified medical stations, complete with life sign monitors and an assortment of dangling cable, tubes and mechadendrites, some of which still bloody and sticky with fluids of thankfully undetermined nature.
Along the walls of the room, upright, cylindrical, man-sized tubes are half embedded into the wall. You first take them to be stasis pods, but then what is with all those rusty spikes protruding from their surface...? Most are closed, but one or two towards the back of the wall are half open, not revealing much from your position.
The bolter fire is coming from the direction of the rear-left corridor leading out of this chamber.
It does sound quite a bit closer than before, but maybe this room is messing with the echo in some strange way.
It wouldn't surprise you, as you feel very, very uncomfortable in here.
Close you minds, only look where you need to go, close your ears and RUN. Unless we keep up we're going to be left behind!
"Besides, the astartes will level this place.
Believe me, this place won't be hurting anyone again once they've passed through here."
Kenneth does his best to push everyone to move forward while ignoring the whole place around them. This place is not something that should be too closely looked at let alone examined by the followers of his majesty
"The holy flame of his majesty is already poised to cleanse this den of vileness! Now close your mind to it lest you let it do one last vile deed by corrupting your soul which is on the cusp of being saved!
The mutant is twisted in body and not to be understood!
Blessed be your ignorance!
The Heretic is twisted in mind and not to be understood!
Blessed be your ignorance!
The Psyker is twisted in soul and not to be understood!
Blessed be your ignorance!
His majesty has decreed the knowledge given to you, so it shall guide you in ways you will never need to understand about the vile darkness that lurks around us!
Blessed be your ignorance!
"
The combination of fervent preaching and MacGyvers urging shakes the assembled locals out of their stupor and they start following you in.
They all make the sign of the aquila and start reciting (very simplistic) psalms under their breath once inside, bodies shaking and shivering, heads bowed looking at their feet to avoid the all too familiar horror of this hellscape.
Sgt. Seth urges the remaining troopers on, leading from the front with all outward signs of fearlessness. He is heading directly and rapidly towards the sound of bolter fire coming from ahead, picking up a rapid pace through the rows of surgery tables.
You notice his left hand is trembling badly however. He is grabbing his chainsword hilt so hard with it, that his knuckled are bone white.
He is clearly faking the confidence for the benefit of the locals and the men.
In his confident stride and determination to cross this area quickly, the Sergeant seems to forget or ignore to order someone to secure the flanks.
Kenneth continues to recite the litany of blessed ignorance to keep everyones soul save
MacGuyver sees Seth's trembling hand and how it matches his own. He moves his of hand to his pistol to hide the tremors and turns up the integrated auspex up as high as it'll go. His eyes are never still, constantly scanning as he wills the sarge to move faster.
Ugh, him as well? The Sergeants are cracking fast on this mission.
"Cecil, you cover left, ok? I don't want any surprises while we are so close to extraction."
Meanwhile, Liam covers right as he hurries after, ready to let whatever comes eat his very last boltershells.
MacGuyver whispers, Sarge, I have four contacts, two left, two right. Probably servitors of some kind as I'm getting bio and magnetic readings. Three are rat sized... one is bigger than on Ogryn. We should probably not be here asap.
At MacGyver's words, Sgt. Seth looks around while running, head rocking left and right in search of imminent danger.
He also takes in Liam's and Cecil's flank securing.
"Copy that. Keep an eye on them but keep it up."
Meanwhile, a servo skull hovers over MacGyvers shoulder, beeping and blurting away.
Then a voice is transmitted via inbuilt speakers which are as well tuned as the ratlings are well dressed.
"Where did you obtain such a peculiar weapon, Trooper?
It appears to be highly customized and modified.
In addition, you are using that auspex device with the skill of a true inductee.
Yet you do not bear the markings or iconography of an enginseer..."