Though he takes a couple of solid hits, Kersin's armor and superior training protect him from the worst of the blows. As the wounded sergeant desperately presses the attack, the howling of his chainsword sounds for a moment like the baritone section in an Ecclisiarch's choir and caught up in the moment and the sound of the chainsword, Kersin's shout sounds clearly over the sounds of the battle, "Oh God Emperor, Overseer who makes all things right. Whose power none can resist. Grant me the strength to defeat thine enemies. Grant me the will to defeat the beast. From your grace, I shall know no fear."
Kersin responsd as is the Commissar's voice played directly on his nervous system, spinning up and out of his cover as though he were not badly injured, "You heard the Commissar! Maintain fire to the front!" Kerin's chainsword growls hungrily as he joins the Commissar to face the onrushing berzerkers.
With a grim smile, he holsters his bolt pistol and pulls a grenade off his belt as he adressess the Commissar, "I'll just welcome them to the party, then, shall I Sir? I have just the thing for them." Timing carefully, he presses the activation stud and lobs this much smaller explosive in the wake of Lugga's much larger shell.
After throwing the grenade, Kersin re-draws he bolt pistol and takes his position beside the Commissar.
Cinema: 1d100 ⇒ 69. Bonus good stuff for rolling 69? ;)
Taking a position toward the front of the squad, Kersin loads a new magazine into his bolt pistol and revs his chain sword. Looking back at the others he draws a breath to speak. Just before he does his eyes flick across the Commissar, then his voice comes quietly over the vox, just loud enough to be heard over the sounds of impending battle, "It is our Honor to serve the Emperor. It is our Duty to keep ourselves alive so that we may kill many of the enemies of Man. You have all done well in your Duty. Now, we have the opportunity to fulfill our other Duty; to kill more of the enemies of the Imperium. It has been my Honor and Pleasure to stand and fight with you all. For the Emperor."
Kersin turns back to the onrushing horde and waits, moving to intercept those that come within the reach of the whirring teeth of his chainsword and making occasional, carefully aimed shots with his bolt pistol.
Kersin looks over the remnants of the squad, assessing their injuries and the level of morale. As he visits each member he checks that each person is in a good covered position and speaks a few words of encouragement to each.
Kersin takes a moment to roll over behind the wreckage of the doorway to the bunker, taking cover behind some of the rubble. So protected, he aims his bolt pistol quite carefully at the abomination.
9 Damage, Pen 3 vs Armor 4, TB 4. 4 Wounds sustained. 3 critical damage to left leg.
A solid blow to the leg sends agony coursing through the target. The target suffers 1 level of fatigue and reduces his movement by half (rounding up) for 1d10 ⇒ 7 rounds. The target is knocked prone.
Kersin has seen so many other Guardsment die in his lifetime, the losses they have suffered so far do not seem to faze the Sergeant and his bolt pistol never wavers from its target. Until a searing-bright las-beam scorches its way past his armor and burns into his left leg. The afflicted limb buckles and Kersin is once more knocked to the floor with a bitten-off cry of agony.
Though the losses do not touch his resolve, Kersin knows that newer Guardsmen can be badly shaken by the deaths of their comrades and his pain-laced voice comes through clenched teeth to rally their spirits, "What a time to be alive! We have torn down countless enemies of the Imperium, and this one will be no better! For the Emperor!"
Command vs 48: 1d100 ⇒ 78.
Perhaps it is the obvious pain in his voice, perhaps it is the cacophany drowning out his words, but Kersin can see that he has had little effect on the morale of the squad. If you cannot lead with words, lead by example. Rising to his feet once more, leaning against the wall of the bunker to steady himself, Kersin levels his bolt pistol once more and sends two shells into the creature.
BS 40 +10(close range), +10(hulking), -20(firing into melee). Semi-auto Burst vs 45: 1d100 ⇒ 85. Fate point re-roll. Semi-auto Burst vs 45: 1d100 ⇒ 18, 3 DoS. Damage for #1: 2d10 ⇒ (6, 8) = 14, 8 + 5 = 13X, Pen 4. Damage for #2: 2d10 ⇒ (3, 8) = 11, 8 + 5 = 13X, Pen 4.
Kersin slaps out the last few smoldering patches, muttering angrily with each impact, "Hideous. Emperor. Damned. Abomination." Still smoking slightly as he rises to his feet, Kersin stares in dismay at the smoldering and writhing remains of the Guardsmen around him before deciding that the pragmatism of the Imperial Guard will serve them better this day than attempting triage on (most likely) dead men. Turning back to the monstrosity, Kersin levels his bolt pistol and sends two mass-reactive shells streaking in towards the bug-machine-evil, "Purge the unclean. Kill the heretic."
BS 40 +10(close range), +10(hulking), -20(firing into melee), 2 DoS. Semi-auto Burst vs 40: 1d100 ⇒ 25, 2 DoS.
If I am close enough to get point blank range, I will get a second hit.
Shield for shot #1: 1d100 ⇒ 3. Damage for #1: 2d10 ⇒ (5, 8) = 13, 8 + 5 = 13X, Pen 4. Shield for shot #2 (if it happens): 1d100 ⇒ 12. Damage for #2: 2d10 ⇒ (4, 2) = 6, 4 + 5 = 9X, Pen 4.
Kersin rushes into the unknown interior of the bunker, pistol and chainsword at the ready.
Lore(Imperial Guard) vs 50: 1d100 ⇒ 51.
As he rushes in, Kersin tries to flog some valid knowledge about what to find inside the bunker from his combat-drunk brain. Though the bunker is definitely of a familiar design, he simply cannot dredge the information back out of his memory.
For a moment, Kersin feels the icy hand of terror settle over him. But years of seeing the horrors of the galaxy are bolstered by the Commissar's words and his resolve hardens once more. "In His name, no, I will NOT falter!"
Kersin charges the fiend that seeks to interrupt the Commissar's attack on the altar, swinging his howling chainsword with muderous intent.
"Has the distraction assault started yet, Sir? It will not help us to let them know we are serious about this approach if the distraction has yet to kick off."
Kersin pauses at the intersection of the trenches and speaks calmly over the combead to the entire squad. He faces the newcomer so she will hear him directly, The enemy is entrenched ahead of us in both directions. They are closer stright ahead, but that is close to our distraction and will therefore draw more enemy troops as the first wave tries to create a hole for us. This other branch will take us a little longer to reach the enemy lines, but that will give us time for the distraction to have its effect.
Kersin pauses for a moment, wincing a little in pain, then turns to face each of the troopers in turn as he continues, "They are entrenched. They have already killed many of our fellows. They are expecting us. And all of their preparation will add up to nothing because we fight for Him on the Golden Throne of Terra. We, and our brothers and sisters coming behind us, will wipe these foul traitors from the face of His galaxy."
He raises his voice a little as he continues, "Some of us will die in this duty; the enemy is as treacherous as they are foul. But we WILL do our Duty this day. We WILL capture that heavy weapon. And we WILL. NOT. FAIL. And at the end of it, come what may, I am honored to lead you all in service to Him." Kersin pauses for a heartbeat for dramatic effect, "Quickly now, and quietly as we can. Forward my brothers and sisters! Forward for Serenus! Forward for Terra! Forward for the Emperor!"
Command vs 48: 1d100 ⇒ 9.
Kersin nods in a brief salute to the Commissar and the Lieutenant and turns quickly toward the longer route, leading the others down it with only a slight hitch in his motions to betray the pain he is feeling. He turns quickly enough that he could probably have simply missed the LT's gesture. Possibly.
Did the medic manage to restore any wounds? I missed it if he did and I am not great shape to lead the charge.
16 damage. Gonna spend a FP to mitigate that one. Bloody OUCH! 13 damage, (4-2) armor, 4 TB. 7 damage. 4 wounds remaining.
As if protected by the hand of the Emperor, Himself, the shot that knocks Kersin's leg out from under him glances off the armored plate over his thigh. The second shot, however, hits the same weakened spot where he had been hit before. Already starting to stuggle to right himself, Kersin accepts the Commissar's help in standing and running on to the dubious safety of the trench, "Right you are, sir." Kersin slides into the trench with another grunt of pain and immediately begins checking over the squad, "Everyone here? Sound off and identify if you were hit."
Kersin keeps his reaction to this latest order off his face as the Commissar pronounces his sentence, "No, sir, no experience with artillery. I was in a battle tank squadron prior to this assignment. The meaning of some of the artillery commands were just drilled into my thick skull."
Glancing over at the prone form of the LT, Kersin grimaces, "Emperor willing, the stimms will bring him around, Sir. I will go see about getting the mortar as dug in as we can make it."
"It means to fire three rounds in rapid succession traversing along the enemy line. It does not say whether to bracket the coordinates or start from them and go either to the right or left. I suppose that is left up to either you or the Lieutenant."Emperor send that I am remembering this correctly and we are not about to drop ordinance where other guardsmen are about to be.
The last time I knew what to do, they promoted me. I wonder what catastrophe will come from knowing this? Kersin steps forward to draw the Commissar's eye, "Sir, I think I know what they mean by three rounds rapid, x-zero spread."
By the by, Kersin has the Combat Formation talent, so everyone can add 1 to their intiative checks if he is involved, and if you have less, you can use his Int Bonus of 4 instead of your own agi bonus.
Yeah, sorry bout the other intro post, I got ahead of GoW...
Soak of 8, 5 damage sustained.
Kersin grunts in pain as the las bolt drills into his chest armor, than again as the blast knocks him from his feet. A veteran of too many battlefields to miss the implications of still being alive, Kersin realizes that the shell must have fallen into the trench. That is the only explanation. The trench that was until a few seconds ago, full of the first wave of the assault. As the realization sinks in, a combat blade clatters to the ground beside him.
An idea crystallizes in his mind with the ringing of the slightly scorched blade. There is no way I want to wade through what must be in that trench! Kersin scoops up the other combat blade, draws his own in the other hand and sprints for the edge of the trench. As he reaches the edge, Kersin leaps into the air with all his might and both combat blades held in a downward grip ready to stab into the opposite wall of the trench, "YAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!"
Agility vs 31: 1d100 ⇒ 18, 2 DoS. 3.5m cleared in a running long jump.
As he reaches the peak of his jump, sailing over the heads of the climbing and wading guardsmen, Kersin sees the abbatoir that is all that remains of the first wave. Despite his natural strength of mind and general immunity to things that others find to be scary, Kersin feels his mind crack a little at the sight of so many shattered bodies.
Fearless, no check required. First insanity gain doubled to 2 points.
Crashing against the trench wall with another grunt of pain, Kersin stabs the combat blades into it. He looks down at the others starting their climb amd shouts down at them that phrase that has been shouted in situations like this since one Man first tried to lead another, "Come on, you apes! D'ya want to live forever?!"
As the last of the squad makes it into the trenches, the sound of heavy bootsteps sounds behind them through a lull in the incoming fire. A few seconds later, a tall and heavily muscled guardsman sporting Sergeant's stripes drops into the trench nearby. After a brief survey of the squad he trots up to LT ThunderBlossom and snaps a crisp salute, "Sir. A lovely day in the Guard, Sir. Sergeant Walkover reporting for duty. Apologies for the delay in joining you, Sir; last minute orders as the landers were loading, and finding you all in this was nothing short of guided by Him."
Passing nearby, Kersin pauses for a moment near the befuddled messenger and speaks softly, his words covered by Thudd's hymn, "No, he is for real, son. I seen him escorted around by the priests back before we lifted for space. You want to not really question those wearing the robes, it pretty much always never ends well."
Nodding respectfully to Thudd, or at least to the marks of the Ecclesiarchy that the Ogryn wears, Kersin continues on his way out of the Tank to find some of those on duty elsewhere.
I am enjoying Kersin and his surly almost-sergeant mannerisms. The squad is a lot of fun, but I agree that it sometimes feels like I am reaching to create roleplaying when Kersin is super focused on aiming, re-charging, and shooting.
I would honestly be okay with any of the options...
Though his head feels rung like a bell, Kersin shakes it off and brings the main turret back in line with his target, one of the strange cylinders in the tank barriers.
Fear vs 42: 1d100 ⇒ 15, 3 DoS. So will this use normal "snap out of it" rules on subsequent turns?
Kersin feels the cold wash of fear slide down his spine and clench muscles all over his body. When the tower fires and none of the shots hit his squad, Kersin breathes a quick prayer of thanks to the Emperor as he double checks the exciter coil charging meters.
When the first few mines shake requiem, Kersin runs a quick system check on the main turret's weapons and targeting systems.
Can I use BS to run a standard operation type of systems check on the main turret? It seems like a really routine type of task, and my tech-use is positively abysmal. BS (hopefully) vs. 42: 1d100 ⇒ 4.
As they approach the double turn, Kersin opens the main hatch on the turret, poking his head just above the rim to get a better field of view, and pre-charges the lascannon's exciter coils to 60% charge. He keeps the barrels aimed forward to provide the best response time to an attack from any approach.
Kersin concentrates everything he has into using the main turret of Requiem, the Emperor-blessed twin-linked lascannon, like a scalpel to cut the trukk-tumor free from the Salvus. Hopefully without striking anything that would cause the trukk to explode and do further damage to the Salvus. His voice is quiet as he mutters a short prayer before pressing the firing stud, "Master of Mankind, I seek to guard Your warriors. If this is your will, guide my hand. Omnissiah, be with your sacred Machine now as we work together to free one of yours from this unholy joining."
BS 42 +15 Braced -20 Called-Shot +20 Twin-Linked +10 Short Range +10 Half-action Aim +30 Size +30 Unaware = 95 -?? BS 42 + 60 max bonus = 102
okay. since I was not tracking it (i thought that since they were powered by a tank's power plant that they had all the energy they could ever need) I will assume that I am currently recharging, and can you tell me how many shots the vehicle lascannons can make before needing to recharge?
"Sir. I am having trouble implementing your instructions. Beacon strength is ranged from 0 to 255. Default strength ranges, depending on unit, between 120 and 195. We are currently set at 143. Instruction clearly states to 'turn it up' to 11, yet setting it to specficied integer would not be setting it 'up' but down."
Kersin simply blinks for a moment, nonplussed by the enginseer's response. Then he begins to chuckle. He laughs harder the more he thinks about Psi's response. He might have devolved into uncontrollable laughter if not for the sight of the milling mass of machines out the sight glass of the lascannon turret. Instead his laughter fades away as the seriousness of their situation asserts itself once more.
A quick check of the weapon systems reassures Kersin that the lascannon is still ready to share the Light of the Emperor with the xenos filth. About to depress the firing stud, Kersin hears the command from Mac and delays slightly to time his shots with the others.
BS 42 +15 Braced +10 Standard Attack +20 Twin-Linked +10 Short Range +30 Size +15 Coordinated Fire = max bonus of +60 Lascannon Turret vs 102: 1d100 ⇒ 27, 8 DoS.
Kersin keeps the barrels of his lascannon trained on the Xenos abomination, listening to the rising tone that informs him of the charge level of the weapon's exciter coils. He is unaware that he is muttering to himself as the hideous walker follows them up and out of the ravine, "Charge. Come on, baby. Charge. Come on. Char-YEAH!" And then the walker is destroyed by fate; as if by the Emperor's own will. Kersin takes a moment to breathe a deep sigh of relief before returning to scanning for targets.
Kersin's eyes bulge as the turret swivels around and his sights fill with WAY TOO MUCH ORKY-NESS! The instant the barrels bear properly on the Deff Dread, Kersin attempts to obliterate the offense to the Emperor from His galaxy.
BS 42 +15 Braced +10 Standard Attack +20 Twin-Linked +10 Short Range +?? Size Twin-Linked Lascannon vs 97: 1d100 ⇒ 43, 6 DoS.
Since I cannot remember if my gunners have names, I am gonna give them some...
"Keep those sponsons clear of the walls, the Emperor's light blind you! Pvt. Jaspen see if you can get that Auspex to give us anything useful!" Teeth clenched in apprehension, Kersin focuses his efforts on trying to predict how the tank will shift and to keep the barrels of the precious lascannons clear of any outcroppings or rock walls that might damage them. Otherwise, they are aimed behind the tank to cover the direction that the hull mounted weapons cannot cover and to further mitigate any bumping into the ravine walls that might happen.
NPC Auspex vs 45: 1d100 ⇒ 99. That can't be too bad .. right?
Not phased at all by the insignificant patter of small arms fire, Kersin growls, "Get me some clear target data, soldier!"
NPC Auspex vs 45: 1d100 ⇒ 18.
Kersin's eyes widen and then narrow as the targeting plot clears and suddenly he has a target-rich environment. "YES! Well done!" His voice is triumphant as he zeroes in on a the largest enemy target in range and activates the lascannons' firing coils.
BS 42 -30 Auspex +30 DoS +15 Braced +10 Standard Attack +20 Twin-Linked Twin-Linked Lascannon vs 87: 1d100 ⇒ 15, 8 DoS!
Two beams of the Emperor's Fury made manifest lance straight at Kersin's target...
Using an NPC for Auspex since 45 is better than 13...Need to train in this... NCP Auspex vs 45: 1d100 ⇒ 70. Yeah, that.
Kersin scans the Auspex readout and the targeting cogitator, hoping for a clear return to shoot at. But the mighty lascannons on Requiem are rendered as impotent in this fight as Kersin's pocket flashlight without a good Auspex return to shoot at.
Grumbling slightly at having to aim at a sensor ghost, Kersin lines up the lascannon and squeezes the firing stud. Sulfurous cursing follows the clean miss that is the result.
Kersin keys the squad vox, <<Sir, the xenos are about to break the cover of the hilltop. Transmitting Auspex data now!>>
Kersin taps a few keys into the vox unit and the Auspex, sending information back the other way over Valens' temporarily stronger link, hopefully to the entire squad.
Please love me.... Tech-Use vs 3: 1d100 ⇒ 4. Maybe I can have a tiny bonus for Valens' tinkering?
As soon as he sends the Auspex data, or not, he turns the turret to bear on where the next group of xenos will break cover, <<Contact will break cover bearing 265, targets range 600 to 1500 meters.>>
Against all odds, and though it takes him precious time, Kersin stares in bewilderment as the nearly incomprehensible machine confirms that it is now configured to track aerial data, "Well, I am not sure what I did, but I will take it! Let me see if the Emperor's hand is still upon me. Come on Requiem, help me keep you safe..."
Was only fleshed out your failed awareness, so you're good to go this round.
Ah. I assumed that it was extra repercussions from the magnitude of the failure.
As the world stops spinning and his ears stop ringing, Kersin finds himself sitting in the gunner's chair once more. Flipping a couple of switches, he accesses the auspex controls, "I can try, Elofsson, but you can't get mad at me if I break it again."
Tech-Use vs 03: 1d100 ⇒ 4. Really?! 1 point on an 03! :(
Dammit, can't concentrate on both things at the same time. wish I had a co-pilot to man the auspex
"Anybody got a free hand to work the auspex? I can't seem to manage both that and driving at the moment."
Kersin can hear that Elofsson is yelling, but right now Kersin is trying to figure out if he is inside the tank or still hanging partway outside of it.
Kersin mutters under his breath, "Predict the flight path? With what? My high-tech, Omnissiah-blessed, ballistic, ordinance tracking cogitator? Nope. She means, 'Kersin, stick your head out the hatch and look for the artillery shells. Oh, and don't die, because the Emperor needs your death to count for something.' Yes, maam. By your command. This is what comes of wanting to man the twin-lascannon." while he stands in the gunner's position and opens the hatch so he can look out to find the incoming tank killers.
