He points at the wrist of the statue, where something like a prayer bead is dangling.
"Father Vasco... I feel like something is missing here. Any idea what it might be?"
The father studies the statue for a moment, rubbing his chin as he considers the prayer beads.
"I have an idea...but I think we would need to search around some more.
I think we require more light."
Solonius gives the order and the squad spreads out in twos to explore the area. Carefully.
Archibald approaches the figure as close as he's allowed to see if there is any response, and to get a better look.
Despite searching the room slowly and methodically, you find preciously little in it.
All signs points toward it being a fairly spartan shrine of sorts.
There is what seems to be a generator of some sort, long out of commission.
It looks like it is detached from the power lines of the ship proper, so functioning as some sort of backup power source.
Despite the unfamiliar technology, Iota quickly deduces that it is simply out of fuel.
More importantly, it looks like it would run on...water...
Iotas eyes light up as he finds out what the generator actually does. Water is of course a precious resource in its own right but the simple fact that it runs on water opens a lot of possibilities. Splitting water into its component parts should be an endthermic reaction - requiring energy to perform, more precicely electric current. And more importantly: "burning" the resulting hydrogen returns it to water.
He turns to the rest of the expedition:
"I am aware that we are in a dangerous position while the hangar is closed but this generator is an absolute treasure. It seems to consume water to produce its effect. I will take a moment to assess if we have a chance to take it with us"
"Magos, do you have any inkling of how much power it would provide.
Or rather, can we just bring in a power line connected to one of our shuttles to provide however much energy this device was capable of?
If not, then maybe we should, for now, keep it in place and use it to discover the secrets of this place?"
Having determined that it WIL be possible (if difficult and time consuming) to remove the reactor from it's place, Iota decides that an empirical test is necessary to ascertain the full capacity of it before proceeding further.
The water in your possession isn't quite distilled to a percentage that is required for full effect, but it should still be possible to establish a baseline to judge from.
Eight full canteens emptied into the reactor core later, with some anticipation the equivalent of the power rune is activated.
At first the reactor is quite violent, shaking and making some truly awful noses, then it suddenly stops and begins to hum remarkably quietly.
Above you, the lights comes on, somewhat irregularly.
Clearly, some of the light fixtures have deteriorated more than others, as some turns on right away, some splutters before lighting, and some either do not function at all, or only cast a dim light.
Following it, you spot, halfways under a column, what you suspect is the item in question.
Archibald is thankful for the additional light. He watches the figure to see if the power does anything. If not, as there's no other thing of interest, he'll investigate.
Iota is quite focused on the workings of the generator and concerned with the rumbling in the beginning but with the generator setting into a comfortable humming operation Iota takes a look around the now lit room and spots an out of place item.
Iota walks over to the statue and points out its chain "This should probably connect to something"
He then points down, where a small dent is visible then towards the back of the room, under a column. "And I believe that might be what that something is". Then goes over there to take a look.
To (at this point) no-ones great surprise (most likely), the item Iota finds, slightly stuk under a column, is in fact a rosary, attached to a broken chain.
And, equally unsurprising, it is in the form of the now familiar arrow/cross shape.
Upon closer examination, Iota notices a curious effect.
It would appear that the chain is slightly magnetised.
In fact, a magnetic current appears to run all through the length of the chain.
If the broken chain is brought together with the part still on the statue, it should in fact basically "heal" the break.
Iota also believes that with a little bit of time and experiment, he could most likely learn to duplicate the effect.
"Fascinating! This should be close to self healing technology! If we could replicate this we could cut down on the necessary maintenance and repair shifts of basically any technology and use the freed up tech personel for research! But first - to test the hypothesis"
Iota goes to work getting the rosary out from under the broken column and reverently attaching it to the statue.
"All analysis tools on full read. Record everything we can. Archibald - there is a terrible presence on this ship but it contains technology from back when the dark age of technology was still called the golden age of humanity. I propose we cleanse this presence and establish a full research station on the ship."
As the broken halves of the Rosary is brought into contact, there is a slight metallic Tink, a single very pure tone, and the crack disappears from any but the most accurate examining tools.
To an unaugmented eye, there is no longer a crack to discern at all.
What happens next is perhaps more unexpected.
The arm holding the rosary suddenly rises, until it points towards the ceiling, and you swear the eyes of the statue also gaze upwards now, almost reverently.
That is secondary however to the sudden spiritual change in the room.
it's like a wave of peace suddenly emanates from the statue, until it fills the whole room.
Somehow you know, that whatever malevolent force haunts the ship, can no longer touch this room, at least for now.
The one most affected by it all seems to be Father Vasco, who takes to one knee, praying silently, while tears of joy streaks down his worn face.
Archibald is awestruck. Being a rather spiritual man himself, the sense of peace is unique in his experience. All his life he has feared and fought and hid and resisted and prayed when it came to spiritual masters. The Emperor protects, of course, but to a man the imperium must fight. Now he relaxes for the first time since retrieving his family heritage from that Warp-Blasted hell hole of a wreck with Iota. The release is euphoric.
He laughs lightly. I believe you have your cleansing, Magos. Wow...
He is speechless for a moment.
Heinrich was providing basic support (which is a nice way to say, he was holding tools) as the magos was working on the statue and got caught off-guard as the arm of the statue begins to move.
His hands immediately go to his weapon, eyes flying around expecting some kind of trap being activated...
... but instead of an attack, he alongside everyone else, is hit with this very strong aura of calm and spiritual peace.
For a brief moment, his mind is resisting. Several decades of strictly regimented warfare in an unforgiving, careless universe manifesting themselves in a momentarily inability to embrace the sudden, deep calm radiating from this marvel.
But only for a moment, then his conflicting mind is overruled by the deeply touched soul and he falls to his knees beside father Vasco, whispering into the silence filling the room:
"We must prevent this marvel from getting lost with the hulk. Every soul in the Imperium would want to set out on a pilgrimage to a shrine world build around it. It could end raging civil wars and disputes with its aura. It might cleanse ships thought lost to the great enemy and its corruption. It ..."
Heinrich trails off as more and more implications dawn on him.
The one least affected by what feels like a miracle is probably Solonius, who seems to sneer slightly and mutter something about "distractions" before taking up guard at the entrance to the room.
"Right, Lord captain Militant...if we make this room our forward outpost, we can continue our search further in and fall back here if possible.
I'd like to send a runner back to the hangar and order them to move some more troops forward and fortify this room while we continue."
Archibald snaps back to the present and nods, Yes. We will develop this as our first forward base. Let's refocus on what is disrupting the vox. That has to be our first priority for now.
The runner is dispatched, and you settle in to wait.
And wait.
...
And wait...
It feels like hours, but your mind tells you it cannot have been that long.
Eventually, the runner does return, leading reinforcements to your location.
Your rational mind tells you it has not been a particularly long time, but it FEELS like it has been a truly massive wait.
What is worse, when you check your chronos, it tells you that the runner has in fact returned one minute BEFORE he left.
The reinforcements are a squad of twenty soldiers, two gun servitors, as well as a junior explorator, leading a further two work servitors that are dragging two large carriages behind them.
On the carriages are a large number of sandbags as well as two heavy stubbers.
The soldiers quickly begin to set up a fortification of three walls facing the entrance to the room.
In the corners, the gun servitors are stationed, and in the middle of the front wall, about three meters apart are the heavy stubbers, with nice overlapping fields of fire to cover the doorway.
Solonius nods and seems satisfied with the work done.
"Adequate, this will do.
On your command lord captain militant."
As soon as they enter the room however, they seem to...reboot and function within acceptable parameters.
Your junior reports that she too experienced this, and is equally unsure of the cause.
------------------------------------------------------
You set out again
------------------------------------------------------
Once more you move down the darkened corridors.
And as the comfortable light of the shrine is left behind, your nerves are once again on edge.
It doesn't take long until the weird noises begin again, the flashes of light and more.
and just like before, not everyone notices the same things, or at the same times.
In fact, you get so used to it, that when you hear a scraping noise ahead, it takes you a moment to realise that THIS time, you can ALL hear it.
Heinrich, after the previous experience, had come up with a schedule for the scouting screen.
Two groups of two make up the screening force, keeping a good twenty to fifty meters ahead of the main force.
They would advance in tandem, one group of two keeping in cover and listening hard, while the other is advancing. Rinse and repeat.
Each two troopers are instructed to compare their perceptions.
Seeing this is pretty hard on the scouting troopers, one group would rotate out after fiteen minutes for a fresh group, meaning a total scouting duty time of thirty minutes for every given group of two, followed by a half hour period of relative rest with the main group.
Heinrich will be partaking in this schedule himself.
Archibald approves this procedure, but is vetoed by the Master at Arms when he tries to join the rotation. So Archibald concedes to Solonius and stays with the main group.
The scraping sound comes ever closer.
Eventually, you catch up to the scouts up ahead.
In the darkened corridor, they've taken up position, one kneeling and one standing behind them, one group on each side of the corridors.
"Sir, lord captain, we don't know what it is yet, but it's close now, and we're...well...assuming it's not likely to be friendly until proven otherwise."
Heinrich pulls one of the troopers to his side, talking into his ear.
"Runner duty. Get to the main group asap. Tell them danger close and that we will hail it. We might need to retreat in a hurry if it's something really bad. Run, man!"
And right into the clattering footfalls, Heinrich shouts at top parade voice that sounds dangerously close to mimicking Solonius:
The scraping noise seems to pause for a moment.
A pregnant pause that stretches into long seconds.
Then it's back, and now it seems to come towards you with some sense of urgency.
No other noise comes however.
Archibald arrives exciting calm authority. Firing line, everyone. But hold to your discipline! Faith and a steady hand will win against chaos and corruption! The Emperor protects!
To the darkness he commands, This is the Rogue Trader! Identify yourself or you will be removed from my domain!
As Archibald speaks up, Heinrich flicks on his lumenator, motioning for the other troopers to follow suite.
Into the now better lit corridor, a gaggle of horror stumbles into view.
Skin blotchy, green and stretched thin over desiccated face, empty eye sockets that still seem to stare straight into your soul.
Patchwork armor, some of it looking like standard guard issue, others more exotic, but all worn, broken and at best semi functional.
A smell, the sweet smell of putrefaction and decay fills the air.
Weapons, many of them rifles with rusted bayonets, the tips scraping against the floor as they are being dragged behind by hands frozen in rigor mortis.
What you face now shouldn't be, because these creatures are surely dead, corpses come to unnatural life and stumbling towards you.
And yet, here they are, and you can all but sense the terrible purpose they have been imbued with.
Death, YOUR death in particular.
They have no desires, except to end you...
Archibald wastes no time. FIRE! he roars, followed immediately by the report of his own plasma pistol launching two of its tiny suns down the hall.
Iota follows the thirteenth rule of command of the tech guard: One more gun will rarely make the difference. Use your time to direct and observe instead.
He takes a good look at the current "battleground": are we close to an intersection where a sudden attack could come from? Could enemies outflank us in the pipework of the corridor? Is there a hint of something more dangerous lurking behind the corpses?
Despite his multi-decade service record, Heinrich has never before come face-to-face with the arch enemy before. His typical engagement distance was measured in hundreds of kilometers and "point-blank" still was hundreds of meters and the "enemy" was just an angry red blib on the auspex or a flash of light.
But this, this was too close.
He actually takes a step back and mutters a prayer to the Emperor before snapping back to focus and bringing the lengthy bolt gun to his shoulder, taking aim.
The alpha strike from the officers is quickly joined in by the steady sounds of the single fire bolters that your crew is packing.
While the corridor is not exactly narrow, it does funnel the enemies into a nice bottleneck, and the way they crowd together means that it's virtually impossible to miss.
One thing however is readily apparent.
Being walking corpses, these enemies are perhaps less durable than normal human enemies in the sense they tear open easily, but much more in the sense that grievous wounds inflicted does not affect them nearly as badly as it would the living.
Arms amputated by bolter shells? Trivial.
Legs mangled? Slow them down, but as long as the leg remains they keep coming.
Body shots? Doesn't seem to even slow them down.
More worryingly, some of them are raising their guns, apparently still capable of using them as intended.
Aim for the heads! Shooter's first! Archibald roars. He picks a more heavily armored target for himself and take a second to aim before firing his plasma.
Since no ambushes or flanking manouvers are expected Iota switches to his bolter and takes a moment to aim for the center of the mass before he can start blasting away
Half Action - Switch weapon from Power Axe to Boltgun
Half Action - Aim +10 on the next shot
- Full Auto is a full action so he can't do that this round
"My friends I suggest considering Frak grenades. They are lightly armored and this is an enclosed space. If we use them we need to do so while they are still far enough out."
In a moment of introspection, Heinrich realizes that this is the first time he came into actual, face-to-face contact with the minions of the arch-enemy.
In his heart, he always feared this moment.
Or more precisely, he feared his response and mental fortitude in that moment.
A tiny, treacherous voice in his mind mocking him for waging a faceless war, far removed from the actual horror.
And here he was, facing down the barrel of a rifle at the scuddling horrors of Chaos.
And he felt nothing but disgust and righteous anger at the sight.
No fear.
Just steely resolve to see this through, just like during the thousands of void engagements he had fought.
His mind calming around the remembered calm and sanctity of the statue they left well defended behind them.
To then be replaced with the calculating thoughts of an experienced fighter in HIS military.
We need heavy weapons for this or they will simply overwhelm us...
"Grenades on my mark!
Remember your group designation and make ready to fall back by ranks and repeat.
Do not allow this filth to touch the Emperors subjects!"
He fires an aimed shot against the would-be shooter with the most dangerous looking gun (any heavy or special weapon if any).
=> 2 DoS
=> (drop 1)
Between Heinrich's encouragement and Soloniuses castigating, the men open fire to join in.
It is the definition of "mixed results" to be sure.
On the one hand, knowing where to aim for best effect proves effective, as shown by Heinrich's shot not only felling one of the creatures, but over penetrating well enough to blow the jaw of the one right behind it.
On the other hand, the sheer number of creatures makes you realise that you'd probably have been better served by using weapons with a higher rate of fire.
Still, as about half the men fire, and the other half makes ready to chuck 'nades, you do make some headway in putting the first rank down.
And then, they fire back.
It's a mix of energy beams and small calibre rounds.
For the most part, it doesn't do much damage, either missing, being dodged, or failing to penetrate armour.
Still, there are some grunts of pain, indicating it's having some effect.
Then, suddenly, a mass of the creatures all seem to focus on one point, which conveniently enough seems to be the lord captain.
Instead of a swarm of bullets, Archibald suddenly hears a cry of Look out sir! before being sprayed with blood.
One man had stepped in front of the captain and paid the ultimate price for his loyalty.
Archibald protects his face from the spray instinctively and stares the mass down like an unruly rating has just spilled tea on him. There is no time for shock, woe, uncertainty, or anything of the sort. Now was time for action! His time with Iota on that hell of a mission to retrieve his Writ was lesson enough in that regard.
KILL THEM ALL! FIGHT! FOR YOUR SOULS DEPEND ON IT. THE EMPEROR PROTECTS! he bellows.
He fires pulses of plasma into the horde, aiming for armor where his plasma might punch through where bolters may not.
Iota finally opens up with his bolter. It' been a while and it kicks worse than he remembered which throws off his aim a good bit but still - a pair of shots hit and do some work
Between the bolters used by Iota, Heinrich and Solonius, the plasma wielded by the lord captain, and a couple of grenades, you reap a terrible harvest of the already dead.
But the going is slow, and it seems that now, the competence of the enemy is growing.
The return fire seems more accurate, and also more deadly.
Two more of your men are lost under a hail of mixed fire (though mostly small calibre rounds it seems).
And yet more of them seems to pour in from outside the range of your illuminators.
Then, from further behind them, you can hear a strange, warbling roar, and something large and heavy coming your way.
No way we can stem this tide here...
"Captain, we should fall back and lure them into the cross-fire of the defenses we set up at the shrine!"
Iota continues to fire his bolter on full auto to thin the incoming mob
And as it turns out the first burst was enough to get back a feeling for how the gun handles and it reaps quite the bloody tally in undead ranks
Archibald calls over to the Master at Arms. Solonius, your call!
Over the din of weapon's fire, Solonius gives the order, Tactical Retreat, covering fire in 3...2...1...! Go. Go. Go!
Having drilled this maneuver, everyone knows what to do, but doing it is harder when live fire is involved. One group lays down fire while another retreats. The trick is not to hit your own troops.
Archibald retreats first, running their pre-drilled distance and spinning around to provide cover fire for the second group.
Heinrich rushes back alongside Archibald at a dead sprint, counting to six in his head, then slams himself flat against the narrow corridor, catching his breath and readying his weapon to give covering fire for the remaining group, so that they can catch up and overtake.
At first, your tactics work as well as can be expected.
Moving in alternating groups, you make your way down the corridor, under constant fire.
Sadly, the universe is not often merciful, and the fact that the hostile fire never seems to abate, the fact that you are facing a seemingly tireless enemy that can just move and fire freely, and the fact that your sense of distance and time is completely out of touch with reality starts to take it's toll.
You can clearly see that the men are suffering, physically and mentally, despite Solonius attempts to keep morale up and cohesion strict.
And then something else happens.
Making it's way through the ranks of the shambling dead, a new figure appears.
It's truly a fearsome thing indeed.
It's humanoid, though it's proportions are wrong, with long arms and shorter legs, reminding you a bit of a massive Jokeero.
This one though is easily more than twice the height of a man...
And it looks like it's more or less nothing but bulging muscles.
It's easy to see as it doesn't appear to have a single strip of skin on it's body.
Nothing but naked muscles, glistening in the dim light.
It doesn't really have a neck, it's lumpy head is simply stuck on it's shoulders.
It also lacks all facial features, except a pair of large, all black eyes.
The only two non-organic things about it are a pair of tubes, extending from where it's nose should be, and disappearing over it's shoulders.
And also, it's spectacular gun...
Consider it's size, and then consider the fact that the gun looks oversized for it.
And yet it hefts it easily in one hand.
Oh, my Emperor, have mercy on us!
Heinrich, currently providing cover for the other half of the force, closes his eyes for a whispered, desperate prayer.
He then reaches to his neck and jerks out the neck socket connector of his MIU implant.
"Excuse this unsanctioned connection, oh Omnissiah, but there are mutants in urgent need of purging before us...", he mutters to the gun as he jams in the connector to the boltgun.
A flash of angry runes and a flurry of unfocused targeting crosshairs swirls all over his vision.
Nothing new to someone having spent several years of his lifetime MIU connected to various imperial vehicles however - all of which with much stronger machine spirits than that of a mere handgun.
He forces through the initial connection backlash and force-calms his breathing, mind-forcing the targeting of the gun towards the unusual connector tubes of the towering mutant. To him, those look a lot like some kind of power or fuel pipe running over the outside of an enemy vessel - in short: just the kind of target he would usually target first during a strafing run.
Archibald takes aim at the huge weapon. His pistol whines as he puts the last of his power cell into the weapon, causing it to whine dangerously. He whispers a quiet prayer, hoping to fry the weapon before it can be brought to bear...
Iota drops into a crouch and leans against the well as much as possible - sure the shambling mass will roll closer but if he doesn't get out of the way of that overly massive gun then he won't even get to worry about that. Having gotten out of the way as much as possible he fires another salvo, most of them fly wide but probably end up somewhere in the zombie crowd anyway - but the first shot he fires is on point, sneaking past the things massive gun and arms, finding the head and exploding in a sattisfying bolt crack. A shot which would've put pretty much anything down that's still alive - but will it help here?
You make a valiant effort, pouring fire into the opponents, and you notice that despite the appears of the beast, your men are not faltering noticeably.
The lord Captain plasma pistol leaves a nasty mark on the gun, perhaps it's enough to destroy it's firing mechanics?
And then Iota opens up to and score a devastating hit right to the "face" of the thing.
Maybe something happens and time truly does slow down, or maybe it's only your perceptions, but for a moment, everything seems to stop.
The glowing eyes blinks, and despite lack any facial features, you get the impression the thing is momentarily stunned and shocked.
The eyes seems to almost try to look at the crater in it's face, impossible as it would be.
Then it's overcome with rage, and it's brutal warbling cry washes over you.
The sound hits like a Shockwave, like a punch right in the face.
Several of your soldiers cry out in pain, and more than a few of them now have blood pouring from their ears.
It doesn't leave the enemies unscathed either.
The closest enemies have one dead thing losing it's lower jaw, another one has all the teeth in its mouth explode, and one suddenly has it's head blown clean off.
Then the beast lowers it's gun, and you get the feeling (somehow) that before, it was willing to make it quick for you, just gun you down and be done with it.
Now?
Now it intends to make it hurt...
Iota takes the sonic shockwave to the face but having been present several times when large machinery finally gave up and exploded has made him rather hardy when it comes to such explosive violence
Archibald grunts and immediately thinks of his rememberance implant. He'll never forget that roar, and he almost regrets the enhancement. Liquid dribbles down his neck. A quick touch reveals blood. So, that's why everything suddenly sounds like it's under water...