Only War - Beneath the Ice [IC]

[Retrokinesis]

Nessus III. A frozen world on the edge of the Spinward Front, known primarily for its moderate deposits of heavy metals, inhospitable climate, and enormous frost wyverns. It has long been spared any serious conflict due to its relative insignificance. Nearly every human on the planet lives in underground settlements, either carved into the earth or simply nestled among the massive natural caverns. Most are miners or otherwise involved in supporting the industry that sustains the planet's meager economy. The small planetary defense force spends most of their time culling the frost wyvern population and few have serious combat experience.

All of that has changed. A few years ago a PDF patrol found something deep under the frozen wastes. They were slaughtered to the man but not before their final signal was received, including a reference to a "city of black ice". The Inquisition placed the entire planet on lockdown and ordered it be located immediately. Unfortunately for the quiet miners of Nessus III, they weren't the only ones. The planet has become a massive warzone with eldar, tyranids, orks, heretics, and Emperor-knows what else all hunting for the location of the City.

The Nessian 3rd "Gelidites", the most experienced regiment of the PDF, is outmatched. They have the advantage of a lifetime spent fighting the cold but not the numbers to secure the planet. Hoping to avoid an Exterminatus, the planetary governor requested and received reinforcements from other worlds. They have arrived.

You are in Wyvern's Reach, a glorified cave system that serves as the planet's capital settlement. Whether you've lived here your entire life or recently arrived from offworld is irrelevant; it is to be your home until the City of Black Ice is located or you die, frozen and lost, in the service of the Emperor. Allowing one of the various armies searching for it to find it first is not an option.

But that's not your concern. You were awoken early in the morning (although offworlders have trouble noticing the difference underground) and told to grab your full kit and proceed to the briefing room. Evidently, that means a converted warehouse with a few mismatched chairs pointed at a large cogitator terminal. The hum of the caged fluorescent lights and the irregular groaning of the frozen walls are the only sounds. Others are here as well, some you recognize and some you don't, awaiting a briefing...

[Iron Warlord]

Yorke rubs his hands together and breathes on them, trying to work out some of the chill. Fighting off the cold has become a full-time job since his regiment arrived on this damn snowball, and nothing seems to work very well. Giving up on getting his hands any warmer Yorke pulls his weatherproofed greatcoat tighter around himself and stuffs his hands in the pockets as he enters the briefing room. The greatcoat isn't technically part of the Regiment's uniform, but the poor-weather coat does a passable job of keeping out the chill, and most of the 'Dire Hawks' have taken to wearing them all the time. Hopefully a little action will help keep his mind off this thrice-damned cold.

As Yorke huddles in his seat his fellow 'Dire Hawk' Jayne Pryce takes the seat next to him. "What's the word boss?" Jayne asks as she looks around the room.

"No idea kid." Yorke replies. Jayne is only a few years younger than Yorke, but she is one of the youngest members of the 17th, being only 19 at the time of her conscription. Of course Yorke doesn't actually outrank her either, but she has called him 'boss' ever since they got separated from the rest of their squad back on Reifer IV. Yorke had gotten them both out of that hell-hole, and she had been watching his back ever since.

[Unbeknownst]

"Oh C'mon Shanny, you know I would never call anyone a self righteous bitch behind their back. I wouldn't get to see the reactio- Oh. There's people here already. So who are these ****ers. They aren't from the 3rd." The loud, and somewhat infamous voice of Izzy echoed into the room shortly before she entered it. The pale blond woman entered the room, her short hair not in any particular style. She wore nothing over her armour, as she's somewhat fond of the chill air. Slung across her back along with her slingbag is a simple las carbine. Lazily resting on her shoulder however, is a meltagun.

"Dunno." Shandra replied.

"Such a help you are Shanny. I don't know what I would do without you. So, who are yourselves?"

[Col.Straken]

Twitch walked into the Warehouse with his head buried in his Dataslate flicking through pages followed by a round barrel of a man, this was Roland, Twitch's gunner, but the lack of vehicles has seen him become Twitch's mentor instead, keeping him in line when he starts to talk to much.

"Hey Iz, Shan" Twitch says as he passes without even looking up, and sits next to Yorke. "Hmm, greatcoat, Mk3 Monrass Pattern Lascarbine, your an offworlder, how long you been down here?"

Before waiting for an answer he contines "You get used to the cold, well you prolly will any who. What dya reckon this is about?"

"Give the lad a chance to breath, and you better listen up this time! I ain't repeating the briefing again for you, Sarge is on my back about it already!" Booms Roland

[Hemnon]

Lucius was smirking to himself, it was finally time for some action. Oh he was no glory hound, but having been send to this boring, frozen icecube of a planet had at first seemed like a practical joke by the Higher-ups. But that all changed recently when he found out what was really going to happen here. It was no mere crap-post, but rather the chance to go far and test the mettle of them all.

He made a Dramatic entrance, Entering from the shadows, from down the south corridor, seemingly materializing from out of thin air. He was wearing the obvious Commissar uniform and cap, along with the Carapace that was almost a must to wear if you are to survive almost anywhere on the emperor forsaken icecube.

He moved with silent steps up behind the rather talkative guardsmen that was already in the room. ''Trust me trooper, if you don't get used to the cold, then you're either a corpse and thus dead, or no longer on this planet.'' He spoke out, mostly to them all. He had a little smirk on his face that was both 'friendly' but also held something else in it, something deadly.

[TheAnnoyingNoob]

Wandering into the briefing room late and still rubing the sleep from her eyes, Richella entered the room followed closely by trooper Bess. Taking a seat next to Twitch, she sliped the eviscerator she habitually caried from her back along with its makeshift carying harness and set it in her lap then ran her hand through her tangled hair."So what'd we miss?" asked Richella. Then, noticing Lucius, "And who here needs the commissar to watch them?"

[Col.Straken]

"Hey Reach, nothing yet, got an offworlder here, dunno his name."

"Thats because you havent given him a chance to think yet" mumbles Roland

"Red sash here been giving the usual duty to Imperium, always a pleasure to see the care you give her" referring to the giant eviscerator. "Kait takes alot of looking after"

He smiles and pats the Lascarbine cradled in his lap with "Kait" lavishly engraved in the butt, and extra features added to the working mechanisms.

[mistformsquirrl]

Mika arrives to the briefing room a bit behind most of the others, obviously a bit frazzled, her aid, 'Cutter' Tern in tow. The medic tried to find an out of the way place to re-organize her kit while staying far out of everyone else's way. The loss of her original regiment was still fresh in her mind and she had definitely not assimilated with her new comrades just yet.

"A-amus, where's the injector? It's not in my medicae bag..."

Cutter digs through his own kit and brings out the injector tool after a moment. "Sorry, not sure how it wound up in my kit but here it is."

Mika shook her head and sighed, beginning to disassemble and clean the injector thoroughly so it could be used safely.

[Iron Warlord]

When the fast talking operator finally finishes talking Yorke takes one hand out of his pocket and offers it to the locals "I'm Yorke, and this is Jayne" he says, indicating his companion "We're with the Cyprian 17th. I hope your right about getting used to this cold, I haven't been this cold since survival training in basic." Yorke and Jayne both shiver a little more at the memory of nights spent high in the mountains of New Cyprus wearing nothing but shorts and a thin tunic.

[Col.Straken]

Twitch takes the offered hand after looking back round

"Good ta meet ya, names Luken, everyone calls me twitch though, not sure why, I wouldn't know bout getting used to the cold, lived here my whole life. Just a guess."

He looks behind him at the Commisar

"Red Sash here looks like an offworlder aswell though. New Cyprus eh? Sounds hot, not like this iceball, better down here that up top though. Even I might struggle to fly a shuttle through the storms up there."

He scans the room noticing the other arrivals but spots one glaring space

"Looks like we are just waiting for Sarge, old Boot Leather isn't normally late, that's Reach's job. Wonder where he is. Must be important."

[RandomLunatic]

Hearing an off-world accent complaining about the cold, Jorn decided to greet the newcomer. A friendly voice boomed from behind Yorke, "You think the cold's bad now, wait 'till you get in the mines, away from all the buildings and their heaters."

Standing over two meters tall, clad in the Gelidite's crapace armor, and with the muzzle brake of an autocannon peering over his shoulder, Jorn looked more like an Astartes Dreadnought than a Guardsman. Extending a meaty hand, he said, "The name's Jorn Ogdin. Pleased to meet you."

[mistformsquirrl]

Mika stifles a giggle, hearing Ogdin talk about the cold to someone obviously unfamiliar with it. While Kione was warmer than Nessus, it wasn't a lot warmer, particularly in the northern regions where Mika had spent much of her time.

"Back home this is T-shirt weather." she says, trying to be friendly by gently ribbing Yorke. "At least they were nice enough to give us cold weather equipment for this operation."

[RandomLunatic]

"Really?" Jorn asked. "And where's home for you?"

[mistformsquirrl]

"Kione, an iceworld kind of like this; we mostly handle Promethium refinement and a lot of cold weather Guard recruitment. My regiment came to help here but... yeah..." The medic grows silent.

[TheAnnoyingNoob]

Richella opened her mouth to ask about Mika's regiment then promptly closed it, some instinct telling her it would be best not to ask. At that point she remembered what she had decided to ask the previous day. Standing and carying her eviscerator under her arm she walked over and crouched by Mika's side, lowering her voice enough that she thought the commissar wouldn't here. "Me, Bess and some of the boys from the legion were gonna skip the next combat drill and try and find someplace fun around town, you wanna come with us?"

[Retrokinesis]

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that... "

The voice came from the door behind everyone. A rather short, thin man in sturdy work clothing enters the room. He walks past the assembled guardsmen to the cogitator at the front of the room. Fiddling with the controls for a moment, a blueprint appears on the large monitor. "I see we have some new faces here! Welcome to Wyvern's Reach! I'm Marcin Skalos, the governor of this winter wonderland". He looks around the room a bit. "Commissar, are we missing someone? No matter, we're out of time".

The governor points at the diagram on the screen. "This is Firebase Boreal. A few kilometers down the tunnels from here". The screens zooms out to show a series of long tunnels extending from the base. It appears to be next to an enormous open area, probably a cavern. "It hasn't seen much fighting yet. We built it to keep an eye on a nearby frost wyvern breeding ground but no hostile forces have been spotted nearby and it's been mostly quiet. Until now. About six hours ago we received a vox from the firebase indicating they had detected an unusual reading and were sending a patrol to investigate. We haven't heard back and they're not answering. You are all going to go there and restore communications. With any luck it's just a mechanical problem and nothing has happened. But if it's not... I want the best there. Questions?"
Gelidites: Governor Skalos was a miner appointed by the rogue traders who established the mining operation to run the colony. He is well liked by the citizens and the guardsmen alike, although Imperial administrators have been pressuring him to take a firmer stand.

[Unbeknownst]

"Well, I know why I'm going then. What about the rest of them?" Izzy asked with a lopsided grin, almost lounging in her chair.

[TheAnnoyingNoob]

A feral grin spread across Richella's face, Izzy momentarily pulling her attention away from Mika. She loved telling people about the chaos marine. "Oh? What's the biggest thing you've killed then? I once beat a chaos marine to death with his own arm!" Richella looked at Izzy expectantly, trying to guess what great feat she had managed.

[Unbeknownst]

Izzy shrugged, patting her melta, "Big things. What I do to them doesn't leave much behind. 'Course, it's not my astounding kill count that brought me here anyway."

[mistformsquirrl]

Mika frowns.

"Just, please be careful. I can put you back together up to a point; but, well... Emperor knows there's only so much I can do, and some weapons don't leave me much to work with."

[Iron Warlord]

"Sir, what friendly forces were present at the Firebase at last contact?" Yorke asks while trying to ignore the bragging of the local and the penal legionaire.

[Col.Straken]

"How old was the Comms they were using? Any other reports of it failing? Do we get transport? Do they have a standing motor pool at the fire base? Any enemy activity in the local area?"

Twitch asks as many questions as pop into his head most of little importance. He then turns to Izzy and Reach

"Izzy would fry you enforce you even got close. A Meltagun of that calibre wouldn't even need to hit to have you on the floor like a piece of toast" Twitch gives an awkward smile and tilts his head to the side in what he believes to be a friendly manner

[Hemnon]

Lucius groaned and rubbed his eyes. 'Emperor save me, these are some of the most unprofessional guardsmen that i've ever seen... perhaps i should shoot one? no, that's instantly give bad morale and even more loss of focus... hmm...' he thought to himself. ''Sir, We are missing the sergeant, May i ask why he's missing?'' He asked the Govenorcalmly, trying not to sound imposing or anything.

''Hey you guardsmen, can we get some discipline here?'' He called out the the other in a firm tone.

[Retrokinesis]

The governor sighs and shakes his head. "Thank you, Commissar. I'm afraid the Sergeant has been... relieved of duty. He was caught attempting to smuggle frost wyvern eggs to a rogue trader. We're bringing in a new Sergeant from the 2nd for you; they took heavy losses the other day so the Lord General is folding them into other regiments".

He points at the long tunnel connecting the bases. "This will be your route. You'll be provided with a transport for the journey. Try not to wreck it. Comms tend to fail due to the seismic activity in the area but not usually for this long. The entire 7th regiment was there so if they're not responding... you see why this is a concern".

[Col.Straken]

Wreck it Sir? I could drive there and back with my eyes closed!" Twitch replies with a big grin

"So no other intel on what we are expecting. Just a routine patrol..." His eyes take on a slightly glazed look and he begins shivering

"Nothing ever goes routine..."

[FlyingCheseCake]

Roland Veskas stumped his way to the briefing room, a singularly unimpressive warehouse amongst countless other unimpressive warehouses. He shrugged his shoulders, trying to get his flak vest to sit a little more comfortably over his carapace armor. He knew that it was a rather pointless gesture; anything that could pierce the carapace would be more than enough to pass right through standard issue flak. However, that vest had been with him a long time and he felt rather vulnerable without it, up-armored or not. His helmet bounced against his hip in time with his step, hanging by its chin strap from the frog that held his chainsword. In direct counter-point, his las-pistol was firmly strapped to his other thigh. A rucksack with the rest of his gear was securely cinched over his shoulders and across his chest.

In his wake scurried a young skinny guardsman, pale from his time spent growing up underground on an ice world, and now here on his first deployment under yet even more ice. The kid, 'his name is Jenkins' Veskas reminded himself yet again, struggled as he marched along; the vox-tech hadn't yet figured the trick to balancing his gear just right.

As he approached the warehouse he could hear voices alternating, one after the other, as if asking and answering questions. 'Great,' he thought 'not only have the powers that be stuck me with some abomination of a squad, a hodge-podge of pickings from various regiments, but they couldn't even do it in time for me to make it to my own briefing.' He moved through the door and, recognizing the governor speaking, stood to the side of the entrance way until the briefing concluded.

As Jenkins passed inside Veskas reached over and grabbed him by the ruck, yanking him to a halt and holding the guardsman in place next to himself.

[RandomLunatic]

Jorn lapsed into pensive silence, wondering what could have become of an entire regiment. And they were going in after them alone.

[mistformsquirrl]

Mika gulped. This assignment could be a simple mechanical repair... or something far worse, and Mika sincerely doubted it would be a mechanical issue.

[Retrokinesis]

The governor notices Roland and his vox operator hovering near the door and beckons them over. "Ah, Sergeant! I take it you have received the briefing packet already?" He doesn't wait for an answer before continuing, "Everyone, this is Sergeant Veskas, formerly of the 2nd. Now where was I... ah, yes! Your transport is fueled and waiting in the garage along with any extra gear requisitions. Good luck and may the Emperor keep you".

[FlyingCheseCake]

As the governor gave up the floor, the NCO moved to the front of the room, "Thank you, Sir. You all heard what the Lord Governor had to say, so you undoubtedly grasp that time is of the essence. The sooner we reestablish contact with the firebase, the sooner the campaign can get back on track." He referenced a dataslate strapped to his inner arm, "Ogdin, Lucien, Triten, Roland, Richella, Bess; you are now Fireteam Alpha. Ogdin, you are team leader. Odentia, Shandra, Tildor, Price, Wisniewski, Tern; you are Fireteam Bravo. Odentia is your team leader. If you have a problem you take it to your team leader, and if they still have a problem then they take it to me."

Veskas fixed the medic with a look, "Wisniewski, this is primarily administrative for you. I will attach and detach you as the mission dictates. I hope you're flexible." He then moved his eyes to the back of the group, "Commissar Dante, I wouldn't presume to order you around. You may of course go where your duty requires you. I do hope you would do me the compliment of keeping me informed. While my responsibility is to ensure the completion of the mission and yours is to ensure the proper motivation of the troopers, I like to believe that the two complement one another."

"Muster is in 50 minutes, step-off is 10 minutes following that. I suggest you use that time to requisition any additional equipment you believe you need, perform final maintenance rites over your weapons, and visit the regimental chapel for a blessing. Team leaders, take control of your units and carry on."

[mistformsquirrl]

Wow, he's definitely on the ball... good that makes me feel just a bit better about our chances out there. Mika thought to herself. With that she began to look over her kit, including once again going over the medical gear - something told her it was going to be very necessary.

[TheAnnoyingNoob]

As the briefing ended, Richella rejoined Bess. "So, are we visiting the chaplain first or grabbing some extra gear?"
"We'll see the chaplain first. Father Luprical is always on duty this time of day." Replied Bess without a moments hesitation. As the two left, Richella stopped by Twitch, vaguely remembering the plan some of her legion buddies had assembled. "Hey Twitch, me, Bess and some of our legion buddies were gonna go find a place around town to have some fun when we had free time, you wanna come?"

[Unbeknownst]

"Ahhh crap. I'm a team leader Shanny. Well. Lets go see if we can't get something useful then. You know if anyone is good at moving quietly?" Izzy asked her ever not so knowing comrade.

"Uh. No." Shandra replied.
"You are still astoundingly not helpful here."

[Hemnon]

Lucius was also mulling over, wether to go 'beg' for more gear or giving a prayer to the god emperor first... 'well, the emperor protects, and letting him know that we might be needing his divine assistance over whatever gear we might get could always work. on the plus side, that would show devotion to the group and that might help strengthen morale and lessen any oversized fears against me....' He was thinking to himself.

''Sergeant Veskas, I'll be in the Chapel for a little while to recieve the Emperor's blessing and offer up a pray of protection while I'm there. After all, I've heard of those miracles the truely pious ones can do.... surviving what should be a death sentence, hitting a target that would otherwise be impossible to hit. The emperor's aid is far more worth than any mundane gear we might be able to get our hands on, hell, maybe even a squad of Astartes might come to visit and give a helping hand, you'll never know what the emperor has in store for us after all.'' He finished off with a joke, trying to see if he might be able to warm up to everyone, even just a little bit.

[Col.Straken]

Twitch got up to go to the muster point eager to check the new gear and that te Chimera was up to standards

"I might take you up in that Reach, be good to have a drink. Just make sure ol' Red Sash there doesn't get too nosey eh. I'm gonna go check our gear at the muster, make sure that transport will get us there.

[FlyingCheseCake]

As the members of his squad dispersed, Sergeant Veskas sent the young Jenkins off to see to his own affairs, but not before admonishing him to be at the muster point on time. Once he had seen the vox-tech off, he made his own way to the chapel.

Originally just another warehouse not unlike the briefing room Veskas had just left, the regimental chapel was slowly turned into an island of contemplation and reflection between the tireless efforts of the ecclesiarchy and the votive offerings of countless troopers over the years. While the building itself was still a prefab modular warehouse, it was now filled with rows of benches and the various icons of the wonders of the Emperor and his saints.

As he took a seat at the rear of the consecrated building, Veskas briefly thought of his friends, now long dead. He said a quick prayer for their souls, and then turned his thoughts to the words of Sergeant Nayle, Veskas' last squad leader, on the eve of his promotion:

'The Emperor protects, and we are His Hammer. We destroy those that would destroy us. Like any tool, we may be over-used or broken...but whether we are carefully laid aside to rest or tossed away beyond repair, all that matters is that we did the best we could while we could. Because like those tools, we may never be remembered, but our work will. Worlds freed; lives saved; evils vanquished. That is our lot in life, and by the Throne I wouldn't have it any other way.'

With a final grin for the memory his old gruff NCO, Roland Veskas silently stood up and left the chapel for the muster point.

[Iron Warlord]

When the briefing ends Yorke and Jayne head to the barracks that have been assigned to the 17th to grab the rest of their gear. Following long-drilled procedures they gear up for their mission. First putting on their synskin suits, the skintight black material covering them from toe to chin. Then they put on their combat boots and mottled grey fatigues followed by matching flak armor, and because of the cold their greatcoats. Next comes sling bags and ammo webbing, knives in belt sheathes, las carbines on shoulder-straps and Yorke's boltgun. Finally with everything properly equipped below the neck they put on micro-beads and helmets and clip preysense goggles into place, flipped up to allow for normal vision and attach respirators to theirhelmets on one side allowing them to hang loosely for the moment. Once they are under way the goggles will be flipped down and the respirators connected to the other side of the helmet and the goggles, leaving their heads completely covered.

Fully geared up they make their way to the garage to await deployment.

[Retrokinesis]

The cavernous garage is full of sound and smoke, not unusual in that it serves primarily as the departure point for mining vehicles. A portion of it has been cleared-out for military use and an armored vehicle sits waiting in the center. The Chimera is a hybrid troop transport and light tank and this particular one is a local variant known as the "Icebreaker" armed with a hull-mounted heavy flamer (for clearing ice walls and avalanches), an autocannon (for clearing everything else), and a pintle-mounted storm bolter (for close encounters).

Surrounding the Chimera is a large stack of matte black crates, no doubt containing important mission gear and personal requisitions. A single data-slate rests on top of the crates.

[FlyingCheseCake]

After winding his way through the gaps between the numerous idle machines, Sergeant Veskas eventually found himself in front of the promised Chimera and supply crates. 'Well how about this,' he mused, 'maybe they do care enough about this mission to give us what we need to live through it.'

Eyeing the data-slate on top of the crates, he picked it up and began to scan its contents.

[Hemnon]

Lucius came marching with pride and authority, into the garage, holding himself like a true commissar. He strode over to the regular guardsmen and placed himself just off of them all, distancing himself from them, but still close enough to show that he's part of this ragtag grouping.

[Retrokinesis]

The data-slate contains an incredibly detailed topographical and geological survey of the caverns around Firebase Boreal. It must have been conducted via penetrating orbital scans for such precision. The large tunnel that leads straight from your current location (a kind of underground highway) appears to branch into countless twisted tunnels and straight maintenance hallways. The firebase itself is situated next to an enormous, open cavern as well as four smaller ones that are all interconnected.

The Chimera itself appears well-repaired and functional. It contains a full tank of fuel, some reserve ammunition for each of the mounted weapons, and an emergency survival kit.
The data-slate gives you +10 to any Navigate (Surface) checks made in the surrounding area. Remember that Gelidites get an additional bonus to those checks underground, if you're one of them. Less mechanically, you now functionally have a "map screen" if you'd like to plan alternate routes or scout.

[Col.Straken]

Upon hearing the squad beginning to arrive Twitch pulled his head out of the Chimera
"Just checking its running fine. Can never be too careful. Shame the Cog Boys won't let me look it over though, bet I could get a few extra rounds per minute out those guns, increase the range on the flsmer, make it move faster. Wouldn't be safe they say. Everything turned up Sarge? Would make a nice change."

He keeps talking as he checks the oils and fuel levels, ammo hoppers and gun breaches, making sure everything is ready for combat.

[Unbeknownst]

Izzy sauntered in, her melta held in a relaxed position, "Ah. Our stuff has arrived. What do we have this time? And Pleeeease tell me my coat came in this time."

[FlyingCheseCake]

Veskas looks up at the guardsman poking his head from the hatch of the Chimera, "Thank you, Triten, for checking over the vehicle beforehand. This machine may save our lives at some point. Good initiative." And to the few individuals that have shown up already, "As soon as the rest of the squad arrives, we can distribute this equipment, go over the mission intel one last time, and then we'll step off."

[TheAnnoyingNoob]

Arriving late as always, Richella and Bess approached the chimera, Bess still muttering prayers and fingering the various trinkets she wore around her neck. "Sorry about that boss, we were..." Richella's speech cut out as she noticed the chimera's armaments. "Well this looks like fun." she said, eyes fixated on the flamer, briefly flicking over too the autocanon.

[mistformsquirrl]

Mika jogs into the garage carrying an overstuffed medicae satchel, followed closely by Cutter.

"S-sorry for the tardiniess, the injector needed more maintenance rituals than I realized and it would have been d-dangerous to use it without them."

[Retrokinesis]

The regiment sets-out from Wyvern's Reach, packed into the Chimera like canned sardines. At least some enginseer had the decency to install a heater as the near-zero temperature would swiftly freeze anyone without a survival suit otherwise.

The road through the ice caverns is well-maintained, cleared daily by patrols with flamers to prevent it from freezing entirely. You make good time and have been driving for several hours without incident. The going is relatively smooth... until a crashing thump and a ear-splitting scream cause the squad's operator to lose control and the Chimera to swerve wildly off the road, crashing into a cavern wall. Several more thumps, not all landing on the vehicle and each accompanied by a too loud to be human wail, occur moments later.
Yes, you crashed because you failed the Operate check :smalltongue:. Still, you should probably see what's going on outside. Or not! Up to you guys!

[Iron Warlord]

Yorke is drawn out of the half-sleep he had fallen into during the monotonous drive when the Chimera loses control. At the sound of wailing outside he pops open the hatch leading to the pintle mount atop the Chimera and sticks his head out to see what is going on.

[Col.Straken]

After hitting something during a lapse of concentration, Twitch swerves hard and crashes into the wall. "What in the Golden Throne was that!" cursing to himself he activates the squad vox "Sorry ladies and gentlemen, we appear to be experiencing problem, please make your way out of the vehicle via the rear exit in an orderly fashion. Thank you for driving Twitch Land Lines."

He then tries to see out of the viewing hatches what he hit, and what the Throne is going on.

Awareness 35-10 (not easy to see things out of a vision slit) [roll0]

[RandomLunatic]

Groaning, Jorn disentangled himself from the autocannon's breech and started cranking the turret around to face the noise.

[roll0] vs 40.

[Hemnon]

Lucius was pressing a hand against his forehead, having accidently knocked his head against the chimera wall. ''argh! Report, what caused the accident?'' He called out to the driver, already prepared to draw his chainsword and boltpistol if need be.

[Retrokinesis]

Yorke and Jorn both manage to get a good look at the obstruction: a body. Several of them, in fact. They appear human at first, but closer inspection reveals no gear you've ever seen a Guardsman carry. Also, humans don't tend to have pointed ears or armor covered in blades...

Jorn pivots the turret around and notices several similar forms littering the area around the Chimera, at least a dozen.
You don't recognized the screech. You might be able to remove the storm bolter; it has the exact same stats as the one in the armory so I'd assume it's human-sized instead of Astares.

[RandomLunatic]

"Bodies, sir!" Jorn reported. He elevated the gun to its max, hoping the targeting auspex might get a glimpse of the tunnel ceiling. "Humanoid, but definitely not human. Eldar, maybe?"

[Retrokinesis]

The auspex does indeed catch a glimpse of the ceiling - and it's an abattoir. Covered in hundreds of stalactites, each with a humanoid form impaled upon it, they drip a steady torrent of extraordinarily bright, red blood down upon the snow below. It could easily be mistaken for rain - if not for the smell of flesh, rotting, burnt, frozen, and a thousand other flavors.

[TheAnnoyingNoob]

As the chimera crashed Richella was thrown from her seat. Clutching her throbbing head, she stood. "What kinda Eldar, some of the boys from the legion say there are different kinds." Almost as an afterthought she added "And are their any to fight?"

[Unbeknownst]

For some reason, nobody seemes to use their quick-release safety belts. Izzy was not entirely sure why no one else used theirs. Releasing the catch, no worse for wear, she stood up, scratching her nose. "Wan't me to check it out?" she asked.

[FlyingCheseCake]

Hearing the reports from the squad members that are able to view the scene, Sergeant Veskas turns to his vox-tech, "Jenkins, get a report of this back to Wyvern's Reach. Incude exact coordinates and describe those xenos in detail. Maybe someone back there has heard of them. Also try to contact Firebase Boreal. If their only problem is with their communications, maybe we can get through to them now that we're closer."

He looks around the passenger space as his squad begins to finger their weapons, "Steady. If you're on a weapon or auspex keep your head on a swivel and your eyes down range, otherwise keep put." Veskas then leans in to the crew compartment and growls at the the operator, "Triten, you better not have broken my Chimera because you couldn't see a Throne-forsaken squad of xenos infantry right in front of you. If we're still operational get us back on the move towards the objective. If something is keeping you from doing that tell me right now."

[RandomLunatic]

As the chimera crashed Richella was thrown from her seat. Clutching her throbbing head, she stood. "What kinda Eldar, some of the boys from the legion say there are different kinds." Almost as an afterthought she added "And are their any to fight?""Uhhh... dead ones. Best kind, right? I suppose you could go stab a few if it'll make you feel better."


Hearing the reports from the squad members that are able to view the scene, Sergeant Veskas turns to his vox-tech, "Jenkins, get a report of this back to Wyvern's Reach. Incude exact coordinates and describe those xenos in detail. Maybe someone back there has heard of them. Also try to contact Firebase Boreal. If their only problem is with their communications, maybe we can get through to them now that we're closer."

He looks around the passenger space as his squad begins to finger their weapons, "Steady. If you're on a weapon or auspex keep your head on a swivel and your eyes down range, otherwise keep put." Veskas then leans in to the crew compartment and growls at the the operator, "Triten, you better not have broken my Chimera because you couldn't see a Throne-forsaken squad of xenos infantry right in front of you. If we're still operational get us back on the move towards the objective. If something is keeping you from doing that tell me right now."

"Uh, sir? In Triten's defense, they weren't in the road-they're impaled up on the stalactites. One must've fallen, and the crash must have knocked some more loose."

[Unbeknownst]

"Right. No scouting then. Welp, I'll get back to my cozy chair here. With the strap-downs." And, as she said, Izzy sat back down and rebelted herself.

[mistformsquirrl]

Mika remained seated, having luckily managed to avoid any injury when the Chimera careened out of control. No one seemed to be calling for a medic so it was best to just stay put and wait for now... and safest she thought.

[Col.Straken]

"Sorry Sir, the dirty Xeno got the drop on me...

Twitch then tries to restart the Chimera muttering litanies of starting while his fingers dance over the drivers cabin

Not sure if its possible, or what to roll...
Operate: 48/tech use: 60 [roll0]

"Working on getting us moving again. Told you there is no such thing as routine patrols... This is insane."

[FlyingCheseCake]

Veskas sighs with frustration, "Alright, we can't risk our transportation this soon. Take the time you need to perform the proper rites and rituals of repair and reactivation, but let me know the moment we're ready to go."

He then looks back at the rest of the squad, "If you're manning a weapon and have a clear lane of fire, stay put and keep working those auspex. Everyone else clear the vehicle. I want a 30 meter perimeter around the Chimera. As you pass those bodies you are to put a round through each one's head. I don't care how dead they look; make sure yourself. Once we've done that we'll pull them out of the way of the Chimera and search them for any intel; grab any maps, documents, or data-slates that you find. Maybe we'll find something useful, but even if we can't make heads or tails of it maybe the boffins back at HQ can. Team leaders, keep positive control of your people; as soon as Triten gives us the word we are back in the Chimera and pushing on."

[RandomLunatic]

"Alright alphas, Triten and I are both stuck on the Chimera, so Lucien and Roland, you're together for the time being. Stick to your buddy and make damn sure it's dead before you start looting," Jorn said from the turret. "Roger that," Lucien said from below, smiling as his fixed bayonet to lascarbine. Between Richella and his loader, he had expected no problems on that front.

Training the autocannon to point down the road ahead, Jorn, after a moment's inspiration, started chanting the Litany Of Maintenance as he began diagnostics on the weapon.

[roll0] versus something for basic diagnostics to see if the gun is OK.

[Col.Straken]

"If you can get those damn Xeno off my bonnet I can get this girl rolling again ASAP"

Twitch starts to fiddle with controls in the attempt to get the Chimera started up

Tech Use: 60 [roll0]

If I don't pass that then I will resort to kicking

[TheAnnoyingNoob]

Taking a liking to the new sergeant, Richella left the safety of the chimera, delivering messy blows to the corpses heads and checking each for loot as she passed. Bess followed her, muttering a series of prayers, charms and simple rhymes .

Perception test? [roll0] vs 30

[Iron Warlord]

Yorke spins the pintle mount around to make sure it has a full range of movement before yanking back the charging handles to make sure there is a shell in both chambers before testing the storm bolter's functionality by squeezing off a few rounds at one of the dead xenos.

[roll0] (BS 50+10 (short range)+0 (semi-auto)+30 (Unaware Target))

[roll1]+5=13 [roll2]+5=10
[roll3]+5=12 [roll4]+5=12

[Hemnon]

Seeing that he'd be more useful outside, Lucius left the chimera as well, covered in his enviromental protective carapace armor, the regulated insignia of the commissariat blazing freely on his chest and helmet, since he had bigger problems wearing his basic uniform, hence the alternate markers.

''Alright everyone, let's do this quick and orderly. The emperor himself must have smiled upon us to make sure we remained unharmed in that crash, so in the name of our beloved emperor, work quickly and efficiently and keep an eye out for anything suspicious. The emperor do protect as we have just experienced, but being a little causious never hurt.'' He called out to raise morale a little and hopefully silence any possible groans and complains before they'd end up voiced out loudly.

[FlyingCheseCake]

Satisfied with the immediate deployment of the squad, the Sergeant reminded the vox-tech to notify him immediately if command responded to the report. He then stepped out into the grisly scene to supervise the guardsmen and to lend a hand where needed.

[roll0] vs Awareness 40 (PER 30 + 10 Underground)

[mistformsquirrl]

Mika does her best to keep up with the rest of the squad, following behind them and keeping her lascarbine at the ready in case one of the xenos should prove to still be alive... or in case whatever did this to them was still around. Cutter remained at her back, his own weapon drawn and ready as well.

[Retrokinesis]

The xenos (eldar?) corpse is torn to pieces by the test-fire of the mounted storm bolter. The autocannon, likewise, seems reluctant to move at first but some percussive maintenance unlocks it from its jammed state. The Chimera sputters a few times as the engine turns-over but eventually relents and roars to life. It doesn't appear to be permanently damaged.

The xenos aren't as lucky. They appear to be well and truly dead and none of them spring back up to attack as they are perforated. Much of their equipment (as far as you can tell, not being experts in xenos tech) appears to be heavily damaged, possibly by exposure to the elements. One of them, a male carrying a sparking, broken-off blade, does have something unusual in a belt pouch: a small tile or tablet, carved of some indeterminate stone. The engraving on it is clearly primitive but seems to depict a bright orange geometric shape radiating lines outward.

The Sergeant, overseeing the cleanup, can't help but notice something doesn't add up here... The xenos are clearly dead but bear no wounds like anything he's seen before. No ragged bullet or bolt wounds, no las or plasma burns. Just big, missing chunks of flesh and armor alike. It's as if pieces of them simply stopped existing...

[FlyingCheseCake]

As he oversees his squad, something strikes Sergeant Veskas as out of place. Off-handedly wondering at it, he moves to the next corpse and quickly and professionally checks it for anything that may prove useful. He opens the belt pouches and something falls to the ground. Veskas picks it up and turns the strange object over in his hands. It doesn't appear special, just a small stone tablet with some crude markings on it, but it's the only thing like it that has been found amongst the xenos. It's uniquness may mean something, although the NCO hadn't the slightest clue what it may be. He pockets it, thinking that maybe it'll mean something to an officer back at HQ.

Veskas' thoughts are broken by the noise of the Chimera coughing back to life. "Transport is back up! This picnic is over; we still have a mission to complete. Remount and move out!" he yells over the rumbling machine. As he turns back towards the vehicle, something in the back of his mind finally catches what was bothering him. The wounds on the bodies...they were too clean, too perfect. He'd never seen their like before. Not even a force blade cuts that cleanly, and even then it cauterizes the cut immediately upon contact. It was as if sections of flesh and gear alike were just...gone. The thought kept bothering him as he climbed back into the crew compartment of the Chimera.

[Retrokinesis]

Maybe it's the noise of the Chimera restarting or the shots exploding the xenos corpses but a mechanical whirring noise triggers. Something bursts from beneath the snow... they look like metallic skeletons, faces locked in eternal grimaces. Their eyes glow green for a few moments... but then they spark and pulse for a second and the glow dies. Before you can react, the eyes reignite as a bright orange color and they heft rifles at you.
Roll initiative! Three targets, Necron Warrior A B and C. Each one is roughly 30 meters from the Chimera in a different direction. Important things to remember: due to the snow, everyone's movement rate is halved and you have to make a -10 Agility test or fall prone if you attempt to run or charge.

[RandomLunatic]

"Frak!" Jorn spat, centering the targeting auspex on one of the figures and letting a three-round burst rip.

Comrade is mostly likely out of cohesion, so he will spend his turn trying to get in the Chimera.

Jorn takes a half action to aim and shoots one of the Necrons semi-auto. Preferably one to the side or rear of the IFV.
[roll0] vs 36 (BS) + 10 (Aim) + 10 (Short Range)=56

[roll1]+8 I, Pen 6. [roll2]
[roll3]+8 I, Pen 6. [roll4]
[roll5]+8 I, Pen 6. [roll6] (This one can be allocated to a second warrior within 5 meters of the first, should I get this lucky.

Status
Wounds: 0/16
Fatigue: 0/4
Other: None
Comrade: Uninjured

Ammo
AC: 20 [3]
Lascarbine: 60 [4]
URGL: [Frag]
Krak Grenade: 1
Frag Grenade: 1
Smokegrenade: 1
Turret AC: 17 [?]

[Iron Warlord]

With practiced efficiency Yorke brought the Storm Bolter to bear on the nearest of the mechanical enemies. As much as he wanted to swear and panic this was not the time for it. Aiming down the twin barrels Yorke unleashed a a full-auto spray of .75 caliber exploding death on the freaky skeleton.

[roll0] BS 53+10 (Aiming)-10 (Full-Auto)+10 (Short range <45 m) Pen: 4
[roll1]+5=14 [roll2]+5=15
[roll3]+5=9 [roll4]+5=14
[roll5]+5=11 [roll6]+5=15
[roll7]+5= [roll8]+5=

[Col.Straken]

As twitch kicked the engine back to life he spotted the Skeletal warriors.

"Ah Frak, people, you might want to get back in the Chimera!"

Action: Delay

[Retrokinesis]

One of the metallic skeletons is nearly shredded to pieces by the barrage from Yorke's storm bolter. It attempts to brace itself against the metal storm but even its armored skin is not enough to protect it. With limbs severed from the attack, it collapses to the ground and disappears in a flash of green light.

Jorn is not so lucky with the autocannon. The powerful shots fly past the automaton and collide with the wall of the cavern, shaking snow and icicles from the ceiling.
Necron Warrior A is down. B and C still remain. It is now Izzy's turn.

[mistformsquirrl]

Mika freezes in place seeing the Necrons emerge.

Wh-what the frak are those things?!

Rolling initiative [roll0] hope I'm doing that right.

[TheAnnoyingNoob]

Something in the pit of her stomach told Richella that her usual approach to combat wouldn't work here. Dropping into the snow, she unslung her lasgun from her shoulder and Bess followed suit.

Sorry it took so long.
Going prone and readying my lasgun, same for bess.