The 44th Austerus (IC)

[YossarianLives]

It has been half of a standard year since your regiment, the 44th Austerus Mechanised, was devastated by the traitor legionnaires of the Astartes. You achieved victory, though at great cost. The 1st and 3rd companies were utterly annihilated. The 4th suffered grievous losses, and was merged into other formations. Near the end, when destruction seemed certain, Inquisitor Havelock himself joined the battle. It is only through the Emperor’s grace that you still draw breath.

You have spent the subsequent months deep in the hold of an Imperial voidship, travelling to some unknown destination. Those foolish enough to ask questions were ignored. Sometimes, you would go weeks without seeing a member of the crew. Your comrades started to joke that your regiment had been forgotten, and would starve to death in that arcane maze of metal. Some started to believe it. The Inquisitor himself was seen even less, leading many to speculate that he and his aides had left the ship on an errand of their own.

But, finally, your voyage through the darkness of space came to an end. Yesterday you were roused early from your bunks, told to prepare for deployment and hustled into a requisitioned civilian barge filled with your equipment, the Chimeras, and the rest of 2nd company, all looking just as confused as yourselves. As you hurried to get into serried ranks, Inquisitor Havelock strode onto the shuttle, flanked by his retinue and armed for war. He made a short speech, entreating you to fight for the fight for the Emperor, the Imperium and the Inquisition and promising glory to all those who distinguished themselves, then climbed into his private transport, a matte black Salamander tank.

One of his aides, a young woman in carapace armour, stayed behind to brief you in a ringing voice that reminded you of a drill sergeant. It seemed you were to be deployed to the Civilized World of Baunor, in the Segmentum Obscurus, a hospitable world with affable weather and a breathable atmosphere, which has been suffering greatly at the hands of a xenos warband. Your mission will be to bolster the defenses of the Imperial Guardsmen already on the planet and drive back the primitive aliens - a savage race known as “orks.”

After a painfully long jaunt through realspace in semi-darkness, being thrown around the barge’s stowage like sandbags, you come to stillness. There is a moment of hesitation, then the voidship’s door begins sliding open, letting in a burst of blindingly bright sunlight. A ramp extends. Over the sound of machinery, a voice you recognize as that of company leader, Captain Axrun, barks “2nd Company, move out!” The rumble of starting engines is almost deafening. In rows of two, the Chimeras slowly roll out, down the ramp, onto the muddy earth, into the pandemonium of war.

After so long in close quarters, being out in the world is disorientating at best. The barge, which you now see is an ancient hulk barely suited for hauling scrap, seems to have touched down at the rim of a wide valley filled with the ruins of a once-grand city. No more. The buildings are mostly piles of rubble, the avenues choked with shattered rockrete, broken vehicles and corpses. The very ground has been cracked and scorched, the streets ripped open by repeated bombardment. Occasionally, you see little flashes of light darting back and forth between buildings. On the other side of the valley, a ramshackle fortress of salvaged metal and discarded stones has been built atop the heights. Smoke rises in copious quantities. Behind you is a greenish-brown stretch of hills and fields, occasionally marked by patches of burnt grass or the abandoned carcasses of vehicles.

A shout comes from outside, ordering you to dismount. One by one, you file out of the Chimera, still dazzled by the sunlight, and join two other squads standing at attention before Inquisitor Havelock himself. Grimly surveying the thirty-odd gaggle of soldiers before, hands clasped behind his back, the Inquisitor addresses you in a gravelly voice. “Troopers of the 44th. This planet is diseased, and we are the cure. The xenos have defiled a sacred cathedral to Him on Earth. I have reason to suspect that several of its priests still live. It falls to all of you to drive the orks from this holy place and secure it until reinforcements arrive. You will each receive a map of the city from my Aide,” he gestures toward a man in robes, carrying a stack of papers. “The numerals indicate potential pockets of resistance from the local PDF and regiments of the Astra Militarum already present on the planet. The crude skulls indicate areas of heavy xeno activity. Go now, and may the Emperor guide you.”

He strides off, already speaking to a nervous Captain Axrun, leaving you to collect maps from the adept, converse with the two other squads and hopefully plan a route through the city. Despite the respirators worn by most soldiers of the 44th, even when the climate does not demand it, you are able to identify the leaders of both squads. Sergeant Yasha, a former feral-worlder, is a man with a reputation for religious fervor. He attracts soldiers of like-mind, causing 11th Squadron to quickly become a band of fanatics, willing to enthusiastically throw themselves at the enemy. The other sergeant, Hamon, is a posh bastard. The orphan of nobility, he generally shows disdain for comrades of lower birth and dislikes getting his hands dirty. The man’s rank is mostly due to high grades back at the Schola.

http://i.imgur.com/DFiA0cH.png (http://imgur.com/DFiA0cH)

[LairdMaon]

Upon receiving his copy of the map, Enginseer Greaves steps to the side.

He crouches down and then stands up. He extends his utility mechadendrite and then folds it back in. He breathes deeply twice.
And repeats the entire process a second time.

"Final systems check complete.
I am ready for service."

He turns to Commissar Astraida, "Any thoughts you'd like to share on our orders, ma'am?"

[ChronicLunacy]

Trooper "Squinty" Verlane
Wounds: 12/12
Fate Points: 1/1

Squinty, respirator pulled down onto his neck, displayed his namesake behavior as he tried to make out the cathedral's battlements off in the distance. He let his thick, munitorum-issue glasses fall back onto his nose as someone shoved a copy of the map into his free hand. Awkwardly adjusting the heavy stove pipe launcher he was carrying by a frayed, leather strap on one shoulder, he looked around to see how many of the others were fixing their own maps with looks of irritated confusion. Typical of most Guard intelligence, each map seemed to be of slightly different scale or had no legend or key at all. It was up to the guardsman to puzzle out which regiments the numerals and such meant and try to estimate distances based on landmarks. They had no background on the planet, either, so naming said landmarks wasn't even that helpful. Was "Fort Talisman" an adamantium-walled fortress or a wooden shack with a flag? Squinty, being rather academically challenged, was already hopelessly lost.

Trooper Genevie Nolan, his friend and the person carrying the four other frag missiles for his launcher, reached over and turned Squinty's map rightside up. Then she gave him a comradely slap on the shoulder. "Oh! Right..." Squinty pushed up his carapace helmet so that he could scratch his forehead, then hastily folded the document and stuffed it into one of the pouches on his combat webbing. He at least knew better than to ask dumb questions, so he didn't ask what route the sergeants and commissars wanted them all to take. He figured they'd lead on eventually, and it was up to them to make the best of it all.

He let his eyes travel skyward, up above the burning promethium smoke and snarling xenos... Baunor was actually a rather nice, temperate planet. Pretty, even. At least they weren't fighting in a desert again! Much more preferable to die somewhere nice, like a pleasant, sunny field or something. Someone might even find his body that way. Yes, much better than a desert, he decided.

[Chivy]

Junior Commissar Regina Aistraida
Wounds - 13/13
Fate points - 1/1

Regina Astraida, Junior Commissar assigned to the 44th believed wholehartedly that examples had to be made, as such she stood at attention perfectly when Inquisitor Havelock gave his 'orders'. She was an example, or at least she believed herself to be one. Unlike most of the troops she wore no helmet and her respirator hung from a strap around her neck instead of covering her mouth and nose. Her hair bound in a tail at the back and her Commissar's cap placed on her head at the perfect angle, but nothing else would prevent the troops from seeing her face and knowing that it was she that was with them.

The planet looked... pretty. Nice weather, nice temperature, you could see more than a meter in front of you. Nice. But everything would be nice after being cooped up in the holds of a void-ship for months, and finally they had the chance to do the Emperor's Work again.

Regina took the map offered her and after informing the adept that he was doing a good job set to studying it for a moment. It looked impressive. She had seen more than a few maps like it during training and she had been warned that she should only consider maps guidelines and trust only her eyes, auspex and the Emperor.

"Orders?" the young Commissar blinked when looking up from the map when the Enginseer spoke to her. It took her a moment to think she understood what he meant.
"The Lord Inquisitor was indeed succinct, she was proud of using that word
"But they are another chance to gloriously serve the Emprah." They had also been clear as far as she was concerned. Numbers needed help, skulls needed to be destroyed. Cathedral needed to be resqued.
"Come, let's discuss our options with Sergeants Yasha and Hamon."
There was no real reason she asked Greaves to come along, except enginseers knew a lit more about things like getting a chimera through rubble than she ever would so their advice would benefit the Sergeants immensely. She often took troopers with her when speaking to the leaders of other Chimeras and never reprimanded them even when they followed when not specifically invited. Not every trooper was sergeant material, but many could learn from their examples and make corporal, so listening or even weighing in was something she didn't exactly encourage, but definitely didn't discourage.

"Sergeants." Regina greeted the two Sergeants after walking over to them, and making sure they understood she wanted to speak to both of them.
"The Emprah has blessed us with a chance to serve him and destroy his enemies. What are your plans on how to execute this glorious duty?"

[Space Lawyer]

Trooper Piotr Vips

Piotr taps on every single piece of equipment he is supposed to have on him, a habit drilled into him on Austerus. If you hadn't laid hands on a piece of gear, then there was no reason to believe you had it, and missing gear is how troopers ended up dead. Next he performed the rites to placate the machine-spirits of his guns, oiling the slides, cleaning the releases, everything that needed to be done to ensure his weapons did not fail him. This planet was a warzone, despite the devastated beauty, and only a good gun and faith in the Emperor wold keep the Austerus 44th alive here.

It was clear from the map that the mission was going to be a hard slog through a xenos-infested valley. Piotr double-checks his sights, whispering the Cathechism of True Aim to the guns so that his shots would fly true. Making every shot count was going to be important, that much was obvious.

He goes to stand behind Commissar Aistraida. "Ma'am, if I could be so bold, I'd suggest we make for the Mechanicus Shrine. We'd be able to resupply our Chimeras there, so we could let loose on the way. We'd also be able to give some backing to these two regiments, IV and V. It would be strong point to take, and put us in a decent position to continue onwards."

[LairdMaon]

Enginseer Greaves gives Trooper Vips his full attention. "Yours is a good plan. Intelligent, efficient. As they refuel and rearm, I will tell the Chimeras that they have you to thank for the bounty."

[YossarianLives]

The two sergeants turn toward Regina. Tall, muscular Yasha, respirator hanging around his neck, cheeks smeared with grave-ash, gives the commissar a salute, his face impassive, and starts to speak - but is interrupted when sandy-haired Sergeant Hamon drops an elaborate bow, flashes a grin and starts laying out his plan, pointing at spots on the map, and occasionally pointing vaguely at the greenish-grey sky. "I would recommend that we head north-east and provide assistance to the beleaguered Guardsmen. Perhaps rally some to our cause." He stops for a moment, looks down at the map, brow furrowed, glances down at the valley, then keeps speaking. "We could briefly halt at the manufactory - perhaps salvage some supplies, then move forward and do the same at the Fort, whatever that is, while slipping past the ork lines."

Looking grim, Yasha merely says "I suggest we drive directly towards the cathedral, wasting no time and sparing no foe. But I trust your judgment, commissar." Nearby, the other squads are embarking the Chimeras, double and triple checking their equipment. A gaggle of three are enjoying the final pre-battle lho stick and chatting quietly amongst themselves, occasionally shooting a nervous glance toward the officers.

The rest of 2nd company seems to be setting up camp on the ridge, erecting tents and fortifications, parking the Chimeras in an orderly line. The Inquisitor and his black transport are nowhere to be seen.

[Chivy]

Junior Commissar Regina Aistraida
Wounds - 13/13
Fate points - 1/1

Regina checked the map when the Weapons Specialist suggested a course of action he thought would work. It was unsurprising that their Enginseer agreed with securing a Mechanicus shrine as soon as possible, but the Junior Commissar took the few moments she needed to match the map to what had been suggested before speaking.
"Excelent suggestion Vips." The man deserved praise for his quick analysis.
Regina was smart enough to know that she wasn't as smart as a few others in the Regiment, especially the Enginseers and a few of the Lord Inquisitor's tacticians far outstripped her. But she knew morale and troops and their extremely prickely egos so she listened and nodded along with the sergeants' ideas. Still mulling them over, she was barely able to keep her eyebrows from disappearing under her cap when the sergeants deferred to her. It wasn't something that never happened, but it hadn't happened to her yet.

Hamon's sneaking suggestion almost curdled her tongue, but his plan was almost as solid as Vips' suggestion and might be as usefull for the continueing campaine. She liked Yasha's plan, simple and easy to follow, but she dismissed it after being tempted to just charge in. They were to cleanse the planet and securing the Mechanicus shrine or the manufactorum would help them in the long run. Both had guardsmen which might need or could provide help on the way or near them, so the choice was simply between those two.

There was no way she could decide on which if the two would be of greater benifit, luckily she had a cog-boy along who could answer that question.
"Enginseer Greaves, in the long run what would benefit the regiment more? The manufactorum or the Mechanicus shrine?"

[Morovir]

Trooper Malakai Nathin:
Wounds:9/9
Fate:1/1

Malakai has said nothing thus far, but to the rest of his squad, this is nothing unusual. He simply scrutinises the map from behind his photo-lenses, before gesturing to his comrade, Trooper Yuriy. After briefly conversing in hushed tones, Trooper Yuriy steps forward, clears his throat and speaks:

"Begging your pardon, sirs, but what is the suitability of the terrain between us and our objective for Chimera transport?."

[YossarianLives]

The two sergeants watch Regina with raised eyebrows - seldom have they seen a commissar so eager to ask their subordinates opinion.

Hamon addresses Yuriy's question with smug condescension. "Ah. Trooper Nathin, is it? Well, I wouldn't worry too much about conditions. Me, Sergeant Yasha and the good Commissar will find a safe path."

[LairdMaon]

"If you look at this, this and this...", he points out several places in the map, more for the commanders than Commissar Aistraida, "you will see that the travel distances favor the Mechanicum Shrine, a location bound to have fuel and armaments in healthy supply. On the other hand, the manufactory. Do we know what it produces? If it produces, say, textiles, we won't find much help to be had. With Mechanicum backing we can turn this green tide back on itself."

Enginseer Greaves steps back to allow open discussion of his opinions.

[ChronicLunacy]

Trooper "Squinty" Verlane
Wounds: 12/12
Fate Points: 1/1

Squinty was not a smart man, but even he could see when one of his superiors was trying to kill him. Hanging around on the outskirts of the conversation, just far enough away to feign ignorance, the trooper could see that Sergeant Yasha wanted a glorious death more than he wanted to actually complete the mission. Squinty's finely honed guardsman instincts were screaming in his ear as a result. He shared an uncomfortable look with Genevie, but knew that he really couldn't do anything but sit and wait for orders and pray to the Emperor the Commissar wasn't about to lead them into an ambush or an ork trench or nothin'.

[Chivy]

Ignoring the looks the sergeants were giving her, Regina listened intently to the Enginseer. His reasoning was as she had hoped; the mechanicus shrine was the superior target. Not the meandering sneaking around suggested by Hamon.

The young commissar almost started to explain why she had decided that they would ignore the manufactorum and would not simply charge in, but the way they had looked at her reminded her that they did not need to know.
A good soldier obeys without question.
"We will secure the Mechanicus shrine first." She stated jabbing her finger at the map.
"My Chimera will lead the way. Yuriy's second, Hamon you have the rear guard.
Regina knew Yuriy would probably like to lead their assault and Hamon would probably like to sit safely in the middle, but this was her first mission in command, she would lead from the front and having Yuriy clear to charge instead of having to pass Hamon first made her feel she had some backup she could be sure about.
"Mount up!" She commanded, then made her way to her own chimera.

[LairdMaon]

Enginseer Greaves makes for the Commissar's Chimera and plants himself as near to the inner workings as he can. His attendant servitor takes position across from him awaiting instruction.

[YossarianLives]

Hearing the commissar's orders, they troopers of the 44th scramble to obey, donning helmets and respirators, piling into the Chimeras. Five minutes later, your own Chimera - driven by Malakai - starts down the hill, churning the soft earth with it's treads. The transports of squads 11 and 5 follow suit, the two sergeant's heads poking out of hatches in the roof, occasionally shouting directions to their pilots below. Each of the vehicles is soon splattered with muck, tainting the grey, white and gold. The rest of your regiment watch your departure with curiosity, doubtless wondering what task the Inquisitor would entrust to three squads of Guardsmen, however well trained they may be.

The going is easy, at first. The Chimeras are more than a match for the dirt and devastated roads which you soon find yourselves driving long. Not long after you reach the roads, the ground begins to level out, and you find yourselves surrounded by the shells of shattered buildings, the casualties of extended exposure to artillery. On multiple occasions, you find entire streets blocked by rubble, and are forced to make a detour. The frequency of corpses - mostly civilians, with the occasional green and beige of an Imperial Guardsmen - slowly increases.

Then, after perhaps a quarter of an hour, you catch sight of what must be the Mechanicus Temple. It is not a large building - no taller than the four or five storey habs that fill the city - but there is a certain magnitude to the windowless grey walls and the profusion of esoteric pipes, cables and antennae that cover its exterior. The cybernetic skull of the Machine Cult has been painted on each side of the building. To the west, there seems to be a loading bay of some description, though the corrugated steel door is partially open. Directly in front of you, a broad flight of stairs leads to a set of double doors, hanging open. The building's entry way is shrouded by darkness.

[Chivy]

The distinctive pieked commissar cap was tailored to Regina's head pefectly. It fit snugly and she only realy had to make sure it didn't fly off when they hit some rubble at a serious speed, which they didn't often, Nathin was one of the more competant operators in the regiment. With the wind on her face she called down few instructions, none were realy needed, untill the Mechanicus Shrine came into view.
"Ease off, approach slowly Nathin." she spoke into her Microbead and put magnoculars to her photo-contact enhanced eyes and scanned the building.
"Enginseer, you know these holy shrines best, where would that loading dock lead and what kind of defences would they have?" she voxed down while continueing to search the building from afar.
Awareness tn 33 using photo-contacts and magnoculars-[roll0]

Edit- What charging army of greenskins?!?

[Space Lawyer]

Piotr frowns and readjusts his grip on the storm bolter. The weapon gave him comfort, being able to utterly annihilate any foe that Piotr had come in contact with before. Even the forces of Chaos, the corrupted Traitor Legions, had not been able to withstand a direct hit. Now, perched in the middle of the all-too-quiet city, Piotr simply hoped that the fury of the bolter would continue to shield him.

"We've definitely made a commotion getting here, ma'am. We'll need to find ourselves somewhere nice and defensible soon enough."

[ChronicLunacy]

Trooper "Squinty" Verlane
Wounds: 12/12
Fate Points: 1/1

Looking profoundly uncomfortable sitting in the turret gunner's seat was Squinty, his missile launcher and lasgun safely in Genevie's keeping. Just underneath the Commissar and Trooper Vips, he idly rotated the heavy weapon so that it panned back and forth across the battlefield, wondering if he could in fact even manage to hit anything with it should he find the occasion to fire. People thought that since he was a heavy weapons trooper he could just pick up any unfamiliar big gun and use it, but he'd never even fired a solid slug weapon before let alone a tank. He'd be lucky to spray down the same city block as his target if he tried to shoot something.

He whispered to the Chimera's machine spirit under his breath, imploring it to work for him just this once and he'd make sure it got all the holy oils and tech-rites it wanted after the mission.

Even with his glasses he could hardly see anything through the gunsight anyway. He'd have to rely on directions from the two up top on where to fire.

[YossarianLives]

Observing the temple and surrounding city with her magnoculars, Regina sees nothing new. The ruined city is strangely quiet.

[LairdMaon]

"One moment, please, Commissar.
I must attempt to establish comms with the tech-priests inside."
Enginseer Greaves turns to the Chimera's comms interface and plugs directly into it, his utility dendrite now stationary against the input dock. He sits there for a moment.

Tech-Use 34+20(+10 MIU, +10 utility dendrite) Total 74 [roll0]

[YossarianLives]

After Greaves makes a few adjustments to the vox unit's channels, the static fades, making way for a clear signal conducted directly into his brain.

The sensation of receiving a message through Greave's implants is a strange one, though not unfamiliar. A voice utterly without tone or emotion echoes through his brain while the written words themselves are displayed in his mind's eye. The message is succinct and continuously repeats itself.

---SIGNIFICANT XENO ACTIVITY OUTSIDE MECHANICUS (STATION #4398216, Sector, Gothic, SEG OBSC) REQUESTING REINFORCEMENT (ARTISAN Vermach Gobreicht DESIGNATION: C5HQ8)---

While there are no other messages coming from the temple, Greaves could send one and hope for a reply.

[LairdMaon]

"Channel found, Commissar. They are broadcasting a recorded message on a loop. Permission to play it for you?"

[Chivy]

"Do it." the Young Commissar replied, quietly hoping that it was more than those strange beeps she'd heard cogboys use to communicate with each other.

[LairdMaon]

The Enginseer must have been waiting for that order because, the moment it was given he flipped a relay and projected the message from his own audio output system.

"---SIGNIFICANT XENO ACTIVITY OUTSIDE MECHANICUS (STATION #4398216, Sector, Gothic, SEG OBSC) REQUESTING REINFORCEMENT (ARTISAN Vermach Gobreicht DESIGNATION: C5HQ8)---"

[ChronicLunacy]

Trooper "Squinty" Verlane
Wounds: 12/12
Fate Points: 1/1

"Probly inside now, I reckon..." Squinty muttered a bit too loudly, audible over the sound of the Chimera's idling engine. He scratched his head and looked busy with the autocannon's gunsight again if anyone looked his way. If it was as he suspected, they wouldn't be able to bring the tank's firepower to bear at all, and would be forced to hunt the xenos through the mechanicus shrine room by room...a nightmare of close combat and ambush tactics. Squinty shivered and began to dread the commissar's next order all over again.

[Space Lawyer]

"Sounds like the greenskins hit this place and kept moving. That, or we'll find them inside smashing everything like Squinty said. Either way, standing out here isn't going to be much help. Forward, ma'am?"

[Chivy]

"A distress call." Regina said then nodded unconsciously to the words of the more experienced troopers with her.
"Try and see if there any of your order alive in there Greaves and if there are any automated defences, make sure they aren't pointed at us."
She then used her microbead to relay her orders to the three squads.
"We're moving out. Secure the loading dock and the immediate perimiter. It looks quiet, but keep your eyes open."

[Morovir]

As usual, Malakai says nothing, instead focussing on driving the Chimera.

[LairdMaon]

A thought and a twitch of his utility dendrite turns the receiver around and patches Enginseer Greaves into the temple's own receiver.

In an effort to facilitate communications, he has not disabled his speaker box and, thus, everything he sends or receives can be heard inside the Chimera.

"Enginseer Greaves, speaking for Commissar Astraida of the 44th Austerus. By the steel of the Omnissiah, the Imperial Guard of the God-Emperor come to assist you and receive your help. Please respond."

[YossarianLives]

At the commissar's command, the two other Chimeras break formation and move forward. Sergeant Yasha and his squad, always eager, disembark their Chimera and approach the front door on foot, picking their way across the shattered pavement and up the stairs. Yasha and one of his subordinates, both wielding chainswords, flank the door while the others present lasguns and form a firing line, ready to pulverize anything that comes through the door.

Hamon, on the other hand, parks his Chimera right outside the loading bay. Half the squad, including one trooper armed with a flamer, duck under the door and enter. A few moments later there is a shout, the distinctive crack of lasfire, and the Guardsmen dash back out, one limping from a wicked gash on the thigh. Hamon's voice, still smooth and confident, oozes out of Regina's combead. "Hostile neutralized - a maintenance servitor by the looks of it. One injury." His troopers take up cover on each side of the loading bay door, ready to retaliate should any further danger show it's ugly mug.

There is a long delay, then a high-pitched voice cackles from the vox-unit, responding to Greaves' message. "Assistance no longer required. Xenos threat subdued. Leave." Before a reply can be made, another voice comes over the vox. This one seems to come to from a mature man of good education but is jerky, artificial, as if each word is assembled from pre-recorded syllables. "This is Artisan Gobreicht of Talisman Station, Baunor, Adeptus Mechanicus. High-priority threat. Tech must be preserved from corruption. Send immediate aid. Send immediate aid. High-priority threat."

Message ends abruptly, only for the first voice to chime in again. "Enginseer Greaves of the Imperial Guard. Depart immediately. The Machine Spirits have been disturbed by the xenos presence. Temple is secure. Return to your mission. That is an order."

[LairdMaon]

"Enginseer Greaves acknowledging the identification of Artisan Gobreicht. In the name of the Omnessiah and the God-Emperor of Mankind, identify yourself, second voice."

[YossarianLives]

There is a static, what sounds suspiciously like a small explosion, then silence. The connection is terminated.

[Chivy]

It took Regina a moment to realise the sergeants had taken her orders as orders to move in and secure the loading dock. By the time she realised, they were already deploying and calling them back would do more harm than good. It still rankled her though. She preferred to lead a charge not sit in the back waiting for others to achieve things for her.

She appreciated the efficiency of the other two squads though. She very much wanted to dislike Hamon with his oily ways, but she found herself appreciating that he had his squad well in hand. She still liked Yasha's simple uncompromising devotion to the Emperor more.
"Good work. Have your man tended to." she replied over the comm.

Hearing the two different replies from the Shrine over the Chimera's vox, Regina almost growled. One of their servitors had wounded one of the Emperor's Guardsmen and they told them to leave?
"Greaves, inform whoever's in there that this Shrine's resources are to be used to support Inquisitor-General Graven Haveloc's troops in cleansing this planet of xeno filth in the name of the Emperor. Get them to open the door and send out the Shrine's leader to discuss all they will supply us with. Now."
Her tone was restrained anger. Cogboys were usefull and deserved respect, but if there were problems inside the Guard would help solve them. If there was no trouble inside, they would supply whatever was required to help cleansing the world of it's invaders. No commissar would allow the hoarding of resources and waiting for others to solve the planet's problems and neither would Regina.
"Or we will come in."
After returning the magnoculars to their place in the turret and with a look at her lascarbine, she left it in it's weapon rack, she exited the Chimera and drew her own chainsword from it's casing. A quick gesture told the troopers to keep their positions and their eyes open for now. If whoever was in there came out, she'd talk to them and if not...She would be first through the door.

[LairdMaon]

After a moment, Greaves unplugs from the console.

"Forgive me, Commissar. They have cut the connection completely. May I suggest we assume the worst? The Brotherhood of Mars welcomes traitors as warmly as the Inquisition does."

He stands up and unslings his lascarbine, "It is my humble advice that we enter, rescue any survivors, and purge the hereteks with extreme prejudice."

[Chivy]

The young commissar actually growled with the Enginseer's words.
"Dismount! We will cleanse this place for the glory of Him on Terra."
There was an eagerness in her voice, months of being cooped up in the bowels of a voidship and now finally a chance for heroic combat. Finally.

That didn't mean she was foolish enough to think she'd survive just because she was a commissar though. The chain of command had to be kept clear and intact.
"If I fall. Vips* is in command of the Chimera."
She had already decided that if he continued to perform well she'd make the suggestion of promoting him to corporal. She was sure that her suggestion would be followed if they fullfilled their orders efficiently.
That's assuming Space Lawyer sees his character as someone who would be willing to lead. From what I've seen posted your character seems the best pick.

Regina looked around while the troopers disembarked and then made her way to the loading dock.
"Can you find us the command center in there?" She asked Greaves. Her body language made it clear that she would be leading them inside, so the enginseer would just have to find the route from behind her.
She then gave the others the time to ready themselves.
I'm not sure how you want to handle the inhabitants of the other two chimeras bossman. I'm prone to tell them to wait for an hour and if we're not back or haven't voxed them by then to head for the mission objective just to keep it simple, but if you're counting on them coming along; we should probably take them along :)

[ChronicLunacy]

Trooper "Squinty" Verlane
Wounds: 12/12
Fate Points: 1/1

Squinty slapped the sight closed on the autocannon turret and scrambled to reclaim his missile launcher and lasgun. You never wanted to be the last trooper out of the Chimera in his experience, especially around (ahem) eager commissars. This one seemed nice, but he knew that's how they getcha.

Genevie was there waiting, and she helped him shrug himself into his pack and get the heavy weapon situated on his shoulder. The one thing he could be sure of is that the missile launcher would be devastating in those close hallways, IF he managed to get a shot off. If they got too close he could blow himself and the entire squad to the Golden Throne, and he didn't want to have to explain that particular screwup to the God-Emperor when He sat in judgment of his soul. He'd have to pick and choose his shots carefully.

He stomped out into the open air again, firmly secluded from actually breathing any fresh air by the respirator that covered his entire face, and hid as best he could against the wall adjacent to the loading dock where the commissar had led them.

[LairdMaon]

"I suggest we take in our full force.
I cannot guarantee reliable navigation of an unfamiliar temple. Each one is built to need." the silent servitor follows Greaves out the back of the transport.

"Seat survivors against the outer walls of the temple. Forget mercy for anyone who resists. Check every room, every crawl space."

[Space Lawyer]

Yeah, Vips will definitely be willing to act in a leadership position. He has his eyes set high.

Piotr acknowledges the order with a head nod. He takes a deep breath, then charges out of the Chimera with lasgun at the ready. It was the moment of transition that was the most dangerous - corners, doorways, dismounting from the Chimera. He wasn't about to get tagged making a stupid mistake and clog up the ramp for everyone else. He puts his back to the vehicle, the only thing he could be sure wasn't a hidden enemy position or a trap.

"Ma'am, if I recall correctly, the Tactica Imperialis calls for a three-division plan here. One squad to lead the charge, one to provide flanking and distraction from another vector, and one to hold the fallback point. Unknown layout and unknown hostiles calls for flexibility and response, followed by overwhelming force at the breaking point or retreat and regroup as necessary."

[YossarianLives]

Your squad makes it to the loading bay without incident, joining Hamon's squad in their vigil at the door. The interior is smooth, undecorated rockrete, with a smattering of cables and buttons protruding from the wall. On the floor lies the twisted corpse of a servitor, only vaguely identifiable as possessing human progenitors. It's legs have been replaced with tracks, one arm with an electronic multi-tool. It's head has been almost entirely removed, and it's body is perforated with implants. Large chunks of flesh have been burned away by your comrade's las-blasts.

The loading bay seems to have three possible points of access, besides the vertical door built for vehicle access from the exterior. A bright yellow ladder leads directly up, to some unknown porthole concealed by darkness. A double door goes directly forward, into the heart of the temple, while a small grate built to prevent leakage leads to the city's storm drains.

Remembering a tidbit from his extensive training, it occurs to Piotr that a building like this would be criss-crossed with crawl spaces, ventilation ducts and transportation pipes.
A prudent combatant could use these to their advantage.

[Chivy]

Regina looked over her choices for entering the building. She dismissed Greaves’ suggestion to take the entire force in and leave the Chimeras unguarded with a shake of her head. Piotr’s suggestion was better.
"It does say that." or near enough. She didn’t exactly remember that chapter completely. It was a large tome to learn all of it by heart. She did give the trooper an appraising look. The man was twice her age, at least, and had seen a lot. Survived a lot and seemed to be generally well-liked. It had been the reason she had put him as her second for I she fell.
"I wasn’t aware you had studied the Tactica, Vips. " She said quietly. Her tone wasn’t accusing, or at least any more accusing than her normal Commissar’s tone was, it was a tone she had been trained in so much she always spoke that way. If he had picked up enough over the years to plan for squads he might be wasted as a simple trooper.
"We’ll speak of your rank after we return to the regiment after successfully completing this mission."
Her voice still didn’t carry, but her inflection made it clear that they would NOT be speaking about anything else than their failure if they didn’t succeed.

The Young Commissar didn’t consider that if they failed they would probably be dead or that she might just have given Vips reason to make sure she was kept alive instead of ‘accidentally’ putting a bolt in the back of her skull during a firefight and taking command of the Chimera himself.

"Until we return to the regiment, you are acting Corporal Vips." She announced using the Vox to make sure all the squads knew about the field promotion. Momentarily she considered if she could actually make a field promotion, then decided that it didn’t matter. Vips was one of her troopers, and the other two Chimeras’ Sergeants answered to her so if she decided that at least all the regular troopers would take orders from someone with a lot of experience that was how it would be.

She continued, Yasha’s squad was obviously the preferred option for a confined engagement like the shrine would bring and Hamon’s would be able to set up a defensive position here.
"Sergeant Yasha. I want your squad to join mine in breaching the Shrine. We are to secure the building, destroy anything hostile in the Emperor’s name and rescue any loyal cogboys in there. Breach through the vehicle access and use your Chimera as fire support if it calls for it. Then leave your operator and two gunners to man your Chimera and search the North of the facility. My squad will take the South. Keep in contact."

Her orders for the other squad flowed through the vox as easily and confident as the first ones.
"Sergeant Hamon, your squad will secure the Chimeras and hold this position. Keep in Vox contact with us."
She then considered that the Shrine might play havoc with the vox, especially if the cogboys made sure of it.
"If you lose vox contact, you will wait no more than two hours from the moment we breach. If after two hours we have not returned or contacted you, take the Chimeras and secure the Cathedral without fail."

Her short mental list complete, she looked at the double doors. It was a perfect place to set up an ambush or chokepoint to stop what they were planning to do. Hopefully there was some kind of Mechanicus shutdown prayer which their Enginseer could use to stop any automated defenses from ripping them apart. Regina then fastened her own Rebreather around her nose and mouth. No telling what was in there.

"Greaves, get that door open and deactivate any automated defenses in there."
She finished the order, but then bit her lip. She had just put Piotr above the rest, he’d need to assert his authority as soon as possible to make the troopers accept his new position and she’d just gone on blithely. She might not know the Tactica Imperialis from cover to cover, but she did understand the leading of men.
"Corporal Vips, get them ready, as soon as Greaves gets the door open we will be breaching."

[LairdMaon]

Enginseer Greaves walks resolutely to a direct interface port and docks quickly. He calls to the machine spirits within the temple to ignore the guardsmen walking through their corridors and allow them safe passage.

[YossarianLives]

Vip's promotion is met with silence from the two other officers. Whether or not they disapprove, neither is willing to risk the wrath of a commissar in the field. Vips comrade, Natalia, flashes him an encouraging grin.

As the platoon gets into position, Greaves and Malakai huddle together around a small terminal. It takes a couple of minutes, but they are able to access the automated defenses - they do not appear to be electronic, indicating a stub gun of some variety - and deactivate the motion sensors. They won't fire at you or anyone else. The two technicians withdraw from the loading bay, making way for Yasha's squad. Even concealed by their armour and respirators, the Guardsmen's body language clearly spells blood lust. Hamon's squad takes up defensive positions, their Chimera at the loading bay, six Guardsmen at the front entrance.

Commissar Astraida in the front, you enter the front door of the Mechanicus temple, passing the doors hanging off their hinges, into the dark hallway. The darkness is thick, all-encompassing, but the photo-contacts built into your respirator allow you to see through it, blanketing all in green. As you walk forward, the daylight becomes more distant, then vanishes. You realize that the passage curves slightly to the side. The walls are lined with cables, pipes, metal panels and the occasional skull. The voice of Sergeant Yasha crackles from your microbead. "We are following a long passage. There seem to be a number of doors. No hostiles. We press on." You continue on, passing what looks like an inactive heavy stubber hanging from the ceiling. After over a minute of walking, you reach an intersection. To the left, a narrow set of stairs goes downward, a switchback concealing the bottom. To the right, there is a small metal door and a staircase going up. Straight ahead of you is a sliding metal doors painted with the Mechanicus Skull. You cannot see any method of opening it. The ground is littered with tiny pieces of machinery.

As you decide what to do, Regina notices that one of the metal panels is missing from the ceiling.

[Chivy]

Regina, chainsword in hand, led the way for her squad, using what cover she could find to cautiously proceed. Her eyes roving, searching for a threat and ready to engage it. She acknowledged Yasha’s transmission and sent her own, if none of them survived Hamon would at least have that information.
"We are navigating a corridor, a lot of cabling, pipes and metal panels. No doors or hostiles. Inactive heavy stubber in the ceiling. Moving on."

When she reached the split at the end of the long hallway Regina looked at her options and again used the vox to inform the other squads.
"End of the corridor, stair going up and down as well as an armoured sliding door straight ahead. Wrecked machinery on the floor."
"Greaves, is that the control room? Can we blast through the door?"

She then noticed the missing panel above them and nodded towards it.
"Missing panel, another Stubber emplacement?" She gave Malakai a look then drew his eyes to the bits of machinery scattered on the floor.

[LairdMaon]

"Allow me to verify, Commissar." Enginseer Greaves hacks into the mainframe of the temple.

Or tries to. "I'm afraid the cogitators are not recognizing my authority, Commissar. There is no way to know exactly what is behind that door without forcing entry."

[Space Lawyer]

"Might be from someone crawling through the vents, Commissar." Piotr says, pointing at the missing panel. "These places are shot trhough with crawlspaces and ducting. Actually, might not be a bad idea for one of us to crawl up inside the walls and look around. We might be able to do some scouting without being quite so obvious."

[YossarianLives]

As Enginseer Greaves and Malakai congregate around a small panel in the wall, the air is split by a shrill voice.

"WaAaaAgH!"

Your squad turns to face the hole in the ceiling - the source of the noise - just in time to see the coils of a rope drop from it. Before any of you can react, a small green creature the size of a child slides down the rope, a knife clutched in it's hands, fangs bared in a snarl. Three more of the xenos follow, two carrying the ends of a crude net, one more holding a muzzle-loading rifle. Each wears only a loincloth and boots, exposing their sinewy bodies. There are two flashes of light from the ceiling hole, revealing two more of the creatures with firearms, grinning madly.

The first creature leaps off halfway down the rope, landing at Vips' feet with a squeak of triumph. His knife bounces off the corporal's leather boots. The net is thrown at Regina, goes completely wide, and lands at her feet with absolutely no affect. The two xenos draw curved swords from their belts. Slugs from the three rifles ricochet wildly around the room, horribly missing all of you. The xeno gunner on the ground is knocked to the floor when his weapon explodes, sending shards of wood and metal flying.

I made perception checks for all of you. No successes.

[ChronicLunacy]

Trooper "Squinty" Verlane
Wounds: 12/12
Fate Points: 1/1

Reacting with pure instinct after all of the countless hours of training and retraining he'd been forced to undergo, Squinty started moving before he became consciously aware of what he was doing. With his lasgun in his off-hand, he pulled a frag grenade off of his belt and bit the pin with his teeth, pulling it free in the same motion as his arm reached back to throw. He took a step or two, hopped like a sportsball player, and lobbed the explosive into the vent with the two gretchin that hadn't made it out yet. The fist-sized munition bounced off of one of the inner walls and spun to a halt in front of their little, grinning faces.

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" Squinty bellowed as he threw himself to the side.

This is most likely a baaaaad idea, but we're going to try it anyway.
[roll0] (BS 42 + Short Range 10)
[roll1] (Pen 0)

[Chivy]

"Xenos. Eviscerate them!" the Young Commissar bellowed and then charged towards the greenskin engaging Vips. She had rehearsed more than a few inspiring speeches for her first combat with her squad, but the sight if the vile creatures drove all of them from her mind. She made up with it with ringing zeal and unabated bloodlust though, her simple demand the destruction of the Emperor's enemies touching something in each Guardsman.

half action1; use Inspire action of the command skill giving you all a +10 for your next skill or characteristic roll.
Half action2; close with the only greenskin in melee, leaving the rest to nuke the ranged ones. Sadly, no action left to attack.

[Space Lawyer]

"Seems I was right about the vents."
Smooth and practiced, Piotr and Natalia line up, drawing a bead on the little greenskins. Piotr had just received a promotion; there was no way he was going to disappoint the commisar and the rest of the squad. The pair unleashes a hellish volley at the filthy xenos.

Free action x2: Order to Natalia for ranged volley
Half-action: [roll0] vs 105 (50BS +10 Inspire + 40 Point Blank Range + 5 Volley)
Half-action: [roll1] vs 105 (50BS +10 Inspire + 40 Point Blank Range + 5 Volley)
Extra hit for every 2 DoS, up to three per action

>_> Way to go, marksman. Saved by them being right in front of you.

4 hits total.
2 to the one that tried to stab me in the foot.
1 to each of the net boys.

[LairdMaon]

It takes a moment for the Enginseer to make sense of the situation thanks to being plugged into the temple. He makes an emergency withdrawal from the system and whirls about with his laspistol raised and let's loose a short burst at the nearest target of opportunity.


Half action to unplug from temple.
Half action to fire. [roll0] 27+10 inspired +10 short range (47)
Damage [roll1]

Er... Left lascarbine off character sheet... Laspistol then. Dang.

[Morovir]

Like the enginseer, Malakai quickly disengages himself from the system, and takes a shot at the nearest xeno.

Half action to disengage from the temple.
Half action to fire compact lascarbine: 42 +10 (Inspired) +10 (Short Range) =62 [roll0]

[YossarianLives]

Squinty's grenade soars through the air, directly into the vent. There is a moment of hesitation before a scream of terror goes up from the xenos, then is forever silenced by the explosion. The only sign of the gretchin gunners - for indeed, you realize that is what these wretched creatures must be - is a number of crimson stains and a green forearm hanging limply from the vent. The rope is severed, falling to the ground in coils.

Then the lasfire starts. The soldiers of the 44th lay down a relentless storm of focused fire, giving no hint of weakness or doubt. The knife-wielder is pulverized, annihilated - no trace is left, save for some scorched gibs. One of the net-bearers is shot through a dozen times, falling to the ground a blackened corpse. The other's leg is split open, revealing the cooked flesh and broken bone. He collapses, wailing in pain and fear, weapon forgotten. The gunner remains mostly unscathed, but nevertheless screeches in fright and crawls toward the downward stairwell on all-fours, almost reaching it.

[Chivy]

Seeing the gretchen she had been closing with being wiped out by well-aimed las bolts, Regina took a moment to assess what her squad had done. They had efficiently obliterated five out of six of the attackers and one was scampering off. It was too far for her to strike so with as much zeal in her voice as her warcry only moments before she shouted.
"The Emperor demands the xenos' deaths! Let none escape!"

Leaving the squad to finish up on the last gretchin, the Commissar used the vox to relay the situation to the other squads.
"Engaged and destroyed greenskins. No casualties. Beware they came from crawl spaces hidden behind panels in the ceiling."
so again +10 to your next action for all.

[LairdMaon]

"One left. Estimated billions too many."

The Enginseer raises his laspistol and aims down the barrel, "Let's have a positive effect on those numbers..."


Half action to Aim.
Half action to fire. [roll0] 27+10 inspired +10 short range +10 Aim (57)
Damage [roll1]

[ChronicLunacy]

Trooper "Squinty" Verlane
Wounds: 12/12
Fate Points: 1/1

Squinty switched his lasgun back to his dominant side and nodded to Genevie, who did the same. Then he sighted down the weapon's barrel and twitched his finger on the trigger once, considering a semi-auto burst a waste of ammunition for this mewling greenskin creature. A single bolt spat out of the barrel of his weapon and drilled the crawling gretchin in the right thigh, boiling meat and snapping bone as it went.

Half Action to Switch Weapons to Lasgun, Half Action to Attack
Ballistics Skill TN 72: [roll0] (BS 42 + Short Range 10 + Inspiration 10 + Standard Attack 10 = TN72)
Hit Location: Right Leg
Potential Damage: [roll1] (Pen 0)

[YossarianLives]

The shots from Squinty, Greaves and Genevie strike the escaping gretchin. His back arches in agony, then he collapses in a crumpled heap of burnt flesh and bone. The last greenskin's whining is interrupted as Regina's chainsword splits his skull. The attempted ambush is over only moments after it began.

[Space Lawyer]

"Looks like we'll need to clear out those crawlspaces. That could've been thoroughly unpleasant." Piotr says, pulling a grave-steel knife from a belt and mounting it as a bayonet. If another one of those things managed to close in to melee again, he'd meet it with holy metal.

"Malakai, Greaves, any purge systems set up to clean the vents? We could fry anything that is lurking in there remotely. Otherwise . . .", he says, looking pointedly at the bayonet.

[YossarianLives]

From a cursory examination by Greaves, it becomes obvious that there are a number of cleaning servitors that could be deployed remotely to the vents. Doing this could be difficult, and there is no guarantee of their success.

[LairdMaon]

Enginseer Greaves docks with another panel and gets to work. He reaches into the code that commands the cleaning servitors. "Rise up. We all have jobs to do. Yours is now to complete a full deep clean of all crawlspaces. Begin here.


[roll0]
34 (+10 MIU, +10 utility dendrite) Total 54 (before penalty)

[Morovir]

Malakai shakes his head. Cogpriests. He docks into the panel as well and tries to avert the catastrophe that the madman has undoubtedly caused.

44 (+10 MIU) = 54
[roll0]

[YossarianLives]

Despite Malakai and Greaves' best efforts, you are unable to activate the maintenance servitors. Something or someone seems to be directly working against you, altering access codes and creating some sort of firewall to restrict network use from your location. Nevertheless, just as you are about you disconnect, the servitors lurch in motion. You attempt to gain control of them but are rebuffed, then moments later forcibly ejected from the program. The terminal goes dead.

[Space Lawyer]

Piotr pinches the bridge of his nose and shakes his head. It looked like they were going to have to do this the hard way.

"If that thing was heading downwards, maybe we should see where it was going. If we can find the armory, that would be a solid move too. Maybe we'll get lucky and there will be something useful for flushing these rooms."

[YossarianLives]

You make way for Malakai, lascutter in hand. Sparks begin flying from the metal door, hitting your nonflammable coats with no affect. The glow is nearly blinding. Then, with a low screech, the door gives way, collapsing inwards, granting you access to some manner of storage room. Wide enough to fit all three of your platoon's Chimeras comfortably, the square chamber is scattered with barrels, crates and boxes, all neatly stacked and stamped with the Mechanicus seal. On the other side of the room, there are two metal doors much like the one you entered through, one of them half open. Next to the two doors is the flickering screen of a cogitator, with a monolithic bulk of circuitry built into the wall behind it. Slumped next to this, unmoving, in a pool of dark blood, is a young man dressed in dark grey flak armour, half of what looks like an autogun cradled in his arms. In the centre of the room is a circular pit, perhaps three metres across, doubtless providing access to a lower floor. A chain, ending in a hook, hangs down into the pit from a pulley in the ceiling. The enormous bodies of four musclebound green humanoids dot the room, one hanging over the pit, two atop a pile of boxes, and one just millimetres from where you entered. All have been savaged by some form of vicious blade. A solitary human leg protrudes from the top of a nearby barrel.

The low voice of sergeant Yasha crackles in your combead. "Nothing to report; we are entering the basement."

[LairdMaon]

Enginseer Greaves eagerly steps forward and almost pushed into the room.
"Requesting permission to enter and discern the intended use of this facility, Commissar."

[Space Lawyer]

Vips makes the sign of the aquila upon entering the room. "By the Emperor, what could have taken them out like this?" Whatever was in here with them was something to be concerned about. They would need all the firepower they could get. To that end, Piotr starts with the looting, clearing the room one square at a time. He starts with the human corpse. "Keep a watch on the doors and vents."

[Chivy]

"Find out everything you can Greaves." Regina gave the enginseer permission to do his job. Then switched her chainsword for her bolt pistol and kept an eye on the room.
"All of you keep your eyes open. Anything we find here will help the Guard cleanse this planet and reclaim it for the emperor. You are doing his work."

Another inspire roll. It works on skills as well, so maybe I'll help you guys search or maken your tech rolls :)
Command tn-35 -[roll0]

Erit- shouldn't have mentioned the tech rolls...

[LairdMaon]

Greaves hustles off to the flickering cogitator and jacks in quickly. He searches the data-banks looking for some description of this room and its purpose along with the results of whatever went on here.



[roll0]
34(+10 MIU, +10 utility dendrite) Total 54 (+/-modifiers)

Why can't I roll high like this in games where I'd LIKE the high rolls?

[YossarianLives]

As you fan out, searching the room, there is no hint of movement. The facility seems to have been thoroughly decimated by the invaders - usually, a Temple of this size would have dozens of personnel and a veritable swarm of servitors.

On the corpse, Vips finds a single frag grenade, a spare clip of bullets, and cognomen tags identifying the deceased as a trooper of the local PDF. Upon further examination, it seems the corpse was repeatedly stabbed in the chest and abdomen by a very large blade.

Greaves is unable to access the cogitator - it seems that someone or something is still actively working against him, thwarting his attempts.

With a squeal, the hook and chain begins descending into the pit, just as the the sound of footsteps begins pounding on the roof of the chamber, next to the hole that disgorged the gretchin.

[ChronicLunacy]

Trooper "Squinty" Verlane
Wounds: 12/12
Fate Points: 1/1

"Uh...sounds like we're going to have some more guests..." Squinty said as he began hauling any crates he could lift into a makeshift sandbag emplacement, hoping that whatever was in them could withstand a few bullets. If something was about to drop from that hole in the ceiling or come through the door he wanted to greet it from behind some cover!

[YossarianLives]

Just as Squinty shifts the last crate, completing a waist-high barricade, the two steel doors begin to slide open, each revealing a humanoid figure shambling forward. They were once human - that much is clear - but have been cybernetically altered to such an extent that the label no long applies. Tubes and wires have been sewn into the flesh, carrying some unknown substance. Entire swathes of skin have been replaced with inelegantly bolted metal chunks. The left hand of each holds a sheet of thick metal, shielding the servitor from the feet to the neck. The other arm has been replaced with a boltgun, the barrel's mouth gaping wide. The servitors turn, what remains of their faces completely impassive, and fire on Greaves and Vips, who are still next to the cogitator, the muzzles of their weapons blazing with light. Vips is unscathed, though the same cannot be said of the ground next to him - but Greaves takes the full brunt of the salvo directly to his chest, explosive shells ripping apart flesh and metal alike.

The hook seems to catch something, and begins rising, albeit slower. The sounds of frantic footsteps gets louder, closer.

Greaves suffers 22 damage, reducing him to -9. I'm going to assume you burn a fate point, as the only other option is death.

[Space Lawyer]

Vips and Natalia hit the deck and scramble behind cover. Under the assumption that mucking about with the tech must had something to do with the new enemy, Piotr yells at the smoking form of the Techpriest "If you aren't already dead, I'll kill you myself!"

Though the things in front of them were once human, the armor plating had turned them into something much more akin to walking tanks. With that thinking, Vips pulls out a krak grenade and lobs it straight at the behemoths.

Free Action:Take Cover! Order
Half Action: Move (into cover)
Half Action: Standard Attack - [roll0] vs 70

[ChronicLunacy]

Trooper "Squinty" Verlane
Wounds: 12/12
Fate Points: 1/1

When the doors slid open and the gun servitors shambled in blasting with the massive cannons they were carrying, Squinty and Genevie scrambled into cover behind the barricade they'd been constructing. Not a moment too soon, too, as the cogboy they'd brought with them took several explosive shells to the body and went down. "Frag! Shields and boltguns? What are they trying to keep out of here -- SPACE MARINES?!" Squinty's voice cracked as he shouted over the bolter fire.

When Corporal Vips pulled the pin on a krak grenade, Squinty nodded and followed suit. For a guardsman, every problem in the world was just a question of proper application of high explosive. So he followed gut instinct once again and lobbed his own spheroid weapon over the wall of crates at the slackfaced automatons. For a second the thing actually sparked, like some munitorum slave on a forgeworld millions of light years away had cut the fuse way too short, and Squinty thought he was staring at the end. However, fate must have intervened because he was able to get it out and away from him. The grenade bounced off of the top of one of the servitor's shields and then fell precisely into the space between the corpse's neck and the gorget of the armor it was wearing. When it detonated it was practically right under the servitor's chin. "Krak out!" he announced, dumbfounded, and ducked back under cover with his fingers plugging his ears.

Half Action: Finish moving behind constructed cover.
Half Action: Krak Grenade
Ballistics Skill TN52 (BS42 + Short Range 10): [roll0] (Fate Point Reroll: 30, Location: Head)
Potential Damage: [roll1] = [15] (Pen 6)

[Chivy]

"Take cover!" Regina yelled and propelled herself behind the makeshift baracade. Bolters were impressive enough to send her scrambling for something between her and them.
"Teach these things that the Emperor's Guard destroys any who strikes at us!"
half action to take cover
Half action to inspire - tn-35 [roll0]

Nice, the emperor is with us. that's +10 to everybody's next skill/characteristic roll.

[YossarianLives]

As Malakai, Genevie, Natalia, and Emil lay down covering fire with their lasguns, the two krak grenades land on point, one in the servitor's neck, the other at it's feet. It does not react or notice, and as it turns to fire it's boltgun, the grenades detonate. A thunderous explosion shakes the ground as the servitor and it's belt of ammunition erupt violently in flame, momentarily illuminating the dark room and expanding to consume the inert Greaves and the other servitor. Metal, flesh and smoke fly in every direction. When the air clears, you peek over the barricade to see the unfortunate enginseer in even worse condition, and the servitor only suffering from superficial damage to it's steel plating. It braces it's boltgun and fires a spray of shells at your fortifications. The bolts hit the storage crates and barrels, spilling pieces of machinery onto the floor, but leaving your squad unharmed.

Greaves takes 9 damage from the servitor's ammunition exploding... Sorry. That's another fate point burned.

[Space Lawyer]

"By the God-Emperor, what the hell is this thing!?!" This is why Vips didn't have much trust for the Machine Priests. Sure, they were useful when waking up a surly Chimera or soothing an angry bolter, but then they spent the rest of the time making monstrosities like this. It might have seemed like a good idea when the Techpriests were doing it - strong, enduring, able to kill anything. But then it went wrong, like always. And now a squad of Guardsman was having to use high explosives just to survive.

"Ok, lets try something different!" Vips unslings his bolter and levels it at the mechanical monster. He had earned the training and the right to carry the holy weapon from being the best shot in the squad. Hard training and natural talent combined to make him a deadeye. This damn thing was about to get back what it was giving out. "Nat, fire!"

Half Action: Ready bolter
Free action: Ranged Volley order
Half Action: Semi-auto with bolter
BS: [roll0] vs 75 or 85 if the sevitor is hulking
Damage
[roll1] or [roll2]
[roll3] or [roll4]
[roll5] or [roll6]

[ChronicLunacy]

Trooper "Squinty" Verlane
Wounds: 12/12
Fate Points: 0/1

While Vips switched to a different tactic, Squinty just went with more of the same. Considering it had worked so well on the first one, he pulled his second to last krak grenade off of his belt and primed it. "Heads down! Wild grenade!" Squinty warned as his thrown weapon well and truly missed its target and clattered to the ground somewhere. Genevie continued to plink away at the gun servitors with her lasgun, but it was doing about as much damage at tossing lit matches at the thing.


Half Action: Krak Grenade
Half Action: Duck fully behind the cover.
Ballistics Skill TN62 (BS42 + Short Range 10 + Standard Attack +10): [roll0] (Location: XX)
Potential Damage: [roll1] +4 = [XX] (Pen 6)

Well, that was horrible.

[Chivy]

"Destroy the second one!" Regina yelled and then pulled the trigger on her own bolt pistol.
"For the Emperor!"
bolt pistol semi-auto attack BS32 +10 (short)= 42- [roll0]
If by some miracle it hits [roll1] pen 4
If by an even greater miracle the second shot hits [roll2] pen 4
Inspire command tn 35 - [roll3]

Don't forget the +10's for the inspiration guys, it's a free DoS if nothing else.

Nit that you get a +10 for this round. *sigh*

[YossarianLives]

Another of Squinty's krak grenades lands at the servitors feet, the explosion inflicting only minor damage but causing it to stumble, leaving the machine open to a barrage of bolts and lasfire. It convulses as the explosive rounds perforates it's innards, then collapses to the ground in a broken heap.

But there is no respite. The footsteps in the ceiling have reached a crescendo. As soon as the servitor is destroyed, yet another drops from the same hole that disgorged the gretchin, this one even more malformed than the last. It appears to be a mostly-intact human, but horribly scrunched into a crude rectangle, so that it may traverse the ventilation ducts. A metal hull, mounted with little wheels, has been bolted to the lower half. A large black brush has been attached to both ends, each spinning with an electronic whirr. Without pause, it scoots towards your barricade at top speed and is soon joined by two more identical servitors, coming from the same location.

At the same time, the hook and chain emerges from the hole. Hanging limply by a loop on it's back is a servitor of almost pure machine. While most of the tech-priests drones are slow and bulky, this one has the build of a slender human. But that is where the resemblance ends. Nearly all the skin has been replaced with armour plating made of scrap metal, with the joints, wires and pipes only exposed in a handful of areas - at the kneels, elbows and the neck. The arms have been modified to end in blades, and a pair of wholly-cybernetic limbs have been attached to the chest, mounted with the same weapons. The head remains mostly unmodified, the face distinctly female and strangely serene, has a small radar array drilled into the cranium. The servitor lifts itself off the hook and charges you, almost reaching your barricade, all four of it's knives ready to slice and dice.

[Space Lawyer]

Emperor-damned Techpriests! Had they nothing better to do than coming up with inventive new ways to distort the sacred human form and corrupt into something ghastly?

As the knife servitor charges them, Vips takes one moment to breathe. If the squad survived this, they were going to loot this place to the bare walls, and take the rest of it down with whatever firepower they had available. At best, this had been the lair of some Mechanicus gone mad. At worst, it was the lair of something much fouler, corrupting the works that kept the Imperium running.

"Now you die, you damn thing." Vips says quietly. He pulls the trigger.

Nat is keeping up her Ranged Volley
I'm taking the knifer is in point-blank range

Semi-auto one: [roll0] vs 95
[roll1] or [roll2]
[roll3] or [roll4]
[roll5] or [roll6]

Semi-auto two: [roll7] vs 95
[roll8] or [roll9]
[roll10] or [roll11]
[roll12] or [roll13]

[ChronicLunacy]

Trooper "Squinty" Verlane
Wounds: 12/12
Fate Points: 0/1

Squinty made an unmanly squeaking sound, but managed to get his lasgun up in time to fire on what, in his panic, he considered the primary threat. His thumb his the variable setting switch above the trigger guard and he was firing nearly before he got the weapon level. This resulted in the overloaded blast that spat from the barrel to burn into the blade servitor's leg instead of center mass. Beside him, Genevie continued to plink away at the enemy to varying levels of effect.

Half Action: Switch to Lasgun
Half Action: Shoot Blade Servitor on Overload Variable Setting
Ballistics Skill TN72 (BS42 + Point Blank Range 30): [roll0] (Location: Left Leg)
Potential Damage: [roll1] +5 = [9] (Pen 2)

[Chivy]

"Greaves!" Regina yelled at the enginseer while she targetted one of the smaller servitors and sent two bolts in that direction, Vips was already dealing with the bladed one and his aim hadn't failed yet.
"Get these things under controll!"

In truth she didn't even know if the cogboy was even still alive, but she was a commissar and she had been taught that the only time a commissar is silent during battle was when he was dead. Also controlling these things and using them as cannon fodder would be far better than wasting ammo on them. She sent another salvo at a second servitor in any case.
bolt pistol first semi-auto attack BS32 +10 (short)= 42- [roll0]
If by some miracle it hits [roll1] pen 4
If by an even greater miracle the second shot hits [roll2] pen 4

bolt pistol first semi-auto attack BS32 +10 (short)= 42- [roll3]
If by some miracle it hits [roll4] pen 4
If by an even greater miracle the second shot hits [roll5] pen 4

[YossarianLives]

Piotr's boltgun blasts chunk after chunk out of the servitor's slender body. It endures the barrage, almost reaching the barricade, but finally collapses when a shell takes out it's knee. It feebly attempts to crawl forward, face still impassive, claws scratching the stone floor, but is soon corroded by the lasfire. The servitor falls limp, reduced to a mound of smoking flesh and scorched machinery.

The three cleaning servitors race across the floor, scattering small boxes and detritus, brushes spinning ominously. Regina's bolt pistol rips one clean in half, severing the cables and tubes hooked into what is left of the servitor's brain. The rear loses control, it's momentum sending it careening into the hole. The front begins spinning frantically, sending sparks flying as it's circuits fry themselves. It eventually flips over and stops, it's wheels spinning ineffectually in the air.

The other two are made of sterner stuff. They shrug off the lasguns as if they are flashlights. They ram into your makeshift barricade simultaneously, shattering the wooden crates into splinters. One goes straight for the commissar, knocking her legs out from under her. The other makes for Piotr with equal speed, knocking him to the ground. Both servitors savagely rub their brushes in their victims faces.

Both Regina and Piotr are knocked down, and suffer 1 level of fatigue. Back to you guys.

[Chivy]

Junior Commissar Regina Astraida
Wounds: 13/13
Fatigue: 1
Fate: 1/1


Grimacing at whatever was on the survitor's disgusting brushes, Regina rolled herself onto her feet smoothly. Her training to 'always look like the emperor is watching, because he is' (as well as the tight fitting band) helped her keep her peeked cap firmly in place and bring her bolt pistol to bare. She momentarily thought of drawing her chainblade, but her opponent was already to close to her.
"Kill these things!" She ordered and punctuated her words with another volley of bolts.


Half action to get up
Free action to talk
Half action to empty bolt pistol in a semi-auto attack BS32 - [roll0]
If by some miracle it hits [roll1] pen 4
If by an even greater miracle the second shot hits [roll2] pen 4

Bolt pistol clip 0/8

[Space Lawyer]

By the God-Emperor, these things were even more hideous up-close! "Nat, get this damn thing off me!" Vips yells, as he stuggles to push the whirring brush off his face. Nat responds quickly, tugging at the servitor and battering it with the butt of her gun. It gives Piotr enough freedom to reach down and grab one of his knives. He slashes wildly at the servitor with the holy steel, hoping to hit something critical.

Free: Close Quarters order
Half: Ready Weapon
Half: Standard Attack
Attack: [roll0] vs 60
Damage: [roll1]

[Morovir]

Malakai finally dives into cover, Yuriy closely following on his heels. From behind the barricade, with a prayer to the God-Emperor on his lips, Malakai overcharges his lasgun, and fires it at the servitor threatening the Commissar:


Half Action: Get into cover
Half Action: Standard Attack with Overcharged Compact Lascarbine:
Attack: [roll0] TN 62 (BS 42, +10 Short Range, +10 Standard Attack)
Damage (if it hits): [roll1] Pen 2

[LairdMaon]

From the chaos of combat comes a song of glory to the God-Emperor. The supplications to Him on Terra are accompanied by the grinding whir of a chainsword and the rapid stomping of charging feet.

Friar Friendly explodes from the forced doorway, chainsword and flamer at the ready.

"Take heart, beloved children of our Imperium! Be His weapon and show your mettle!"


Radiant Presence
Everyone within 20 metres that can see the character feels inspired just by being near them and suffers lessened effects from things that would upset or distress them. Those affected gain a +10 to Willpower Tests to resist Fear or against Intimidation attempts. This ability affects all allies close to the character, though not the character himself.

[ChronicLunacy]

Trooper "Squinty" Verlane
Wounds: 12/12
Fate Points: 0/1

With Malakai assisting the Commissar, Squinty turned to help Piotr. While screaming in panic nearly loud enough to drown out the newly arrived Friar, he practically punched the barrel of his lasgun into the cleaning servitor's eye before triggering a three-round burst through its eye socket into the interior of its skull, cooking whatever gray matter it had left along with most likely some important mechanical bits.

Half Action: Aim
Half Action: Semi-Auto Burst at Cleaning Servitor on Overload Variable Setting
Ballistics Skill TN62 (BS42 + Point Blank Range 30 - Shooting into Melee 20 + Aim 10): [roll0] (Location: Head)
Potential Damage: [roll1] +5 = [13] (Pen 2)
Hits 2 and 3 rolled in OOC for two Righteous Fury results. Both 15 (Pen 2) base damage.

[YossarianLives]

In the chaos of the assault, the commissar is unable to do more than blind fire - her bolts go wild, exploding ineffectually on the floor. Vips is able to stick his knife in the servitor's side, but without any effect. The flesh is dry, and without any mechanical or biological function. His knife slides out cleanly without even a spot of blood. Malakai's counterattack is much more successful - the blast from his lasgun carves a smoking hole into the servitor's rear, dislodging several cogs and wires. Unfortunately, it's function does not seem to have been dramatically affected.

Squinty, on the other hand, proves himself a worthy soldier of the Emperor. His point-blank volley ignites the servitor from within, causing a number of small explosions to ripple along it's body and flames to burst through the flesh, lapping at anything flammable. Then, the fire reaches the thing's brain - sparking and screeching, wheels struggling to gain traction, it speeds away, back the way it came, and tumbles down the same hole in the floor just as the flames consume it entirely.

The last servitor backs off and tries to ram Astraida again, but she easily sidesteps it.

[Chivy]

Junior Commissar Regina Astraida
Wounds: 13/13
Fatigue: 1
Fate: 1/1


Knowing when your weapon was dry is an essential skill for any soldier, so when Regina sent her eighth bolt from her pistol, which both turned out frustratingly uneffectual, she passed the pistol onto her right hand and in one motion drew her chainsword and thumbed the activator switch. It's distinctibe whine would warn anybody that Death had come for them.

The servitor turned out to be far less impressed than others and charged again. Regina sidestepped and then brought her chainblade around to where she had stood only a moment ago.
"Die!" She yelled eloquently, but the sidestepping movement combined with the smaller stature of the creature sent the chainblade whistling ineffectually over it's head instead of bisecting it.

Half action to get up ready chainsword
Half action to attack WS 36 + 5 craftmanship +10 standard attack - tn 51 - [roll0] - edit: realy?!
Damage [roll1] pen 2
Hopefull righteous fury [roll2]

Bolt pistol clip 0/8

[LairdMaon]

Friar Friendly charges forth at the abominable tech and slashes across its length, the teeth of his chainsword hungry to feast on the death of the God-Emperor's foes.


Full action to Charge
43+20(charge)= 53 vs [roll0] Rolled incorrect die. Rolled properly in OOC thread. Came up a 14.
Damage
[roll1] +6
Choosing the higher score is 9+6.

[Space Lawyer]

Grimacing, Vios mutters "Damn unnatural thing." He is relived to see Friar Friendly joining the fray. Now their squad was truly blessed in the Emperor's sight. A commissar to represent bring courage to the men and death to their foes. A priest to purify them and drive the enemy back with holy will. They would be unstoppable.

Still, the Emperor's divine will could only be executed through action. Vips drops his seemingly ineffective knife and pulls out his laspistol. With silent accord, Nat does the same, and they fire in unison.

Free: Ranged Volley
Half: Ready laspistol
Half: pew pew semiautomatic
[roll0] vs 95
[roll1]
[roll2]

[YossarianLives]

Commissar Astraida hacks at the cleaning servitor but her blade connects with a metal plate buried just beneath the skin, causing only a small dent. The good Friar's chainsword is much more effective, it's wielder burying it deep into the servitor's side, destroying what was once it's arm. Perhaps driven by the remnants of it's self-preservation instincts, the servitor tries to scoot away, but runs right into Vips' line of fire. His lasbolts hit it directly in the head, spraying chunks of metal, grey matter and skull around the room. It is very dead.

[Space Lawyer]

Vips lets out a yell, a combination of relief and sated bloodlust. He knew very well that many Imperial Guard units didn't survive even the first brief skirmish with the enemy, and yet they had managed to hold off this wave of servitors with only one loss. Speaking of that . . .

"Malakai, Friendly, help me with Greaves' body. I'm not sure what rites to say over a Techpriest." Greaves had been one of the good ones. He kept their gear in working order and was congenial enough, far beyond the usual redrobes. It was a damn shame he was gone.

Sentimentality doesn't help with survival in the battlefield though. He takes the weapons and equipment off of Greaves, handing everything but the grenades and power packs to Nat. Once Malakai is done with whatever words need to be said over Greaves, Piotr motions for him to come help stripping the servitors. There was no reason to waste good bolts, after all.

[YossarianLives]

When Malakai and Piotr go to move Greaves, they are surprised to feel the beat of a faint pulse in the tech-priest's arm. Despite suffering wounds more than sufficient to kill most men, it appears that his implants have protected him from any permanent damage. None of you are able to guess when he may awaken, or exactly how extensive the injuries are.

Looting the servitors is provident indeed - though the first servitor is far beyond salvage after the detonation of it's ammunition, the second is in far better condition and Piotr is able to retrieve two boltgun clips from it's cadaver. The weapon itself is still functional, but is designed for surgical installation, not the hands of an unmodified human.

[Space Lawyer]

Piotr pockets the bolt clips and takes up a position by the stairs. "Commissar, do we have permission to move out? If we go down, we'll likely encounter more resistance but maybe discover the source of these enemies." It went unspoken that if they stayed here, the waves of drones would eventually overwhelm them. Attack was the only option. They were the Hammer of the Emperor, and they would crush their foes.

[Chivy]

"Good shooting Corporal."
After the final servitor was put down by Vips’ bolts, Regina scabbarded her chain sword and efficiently reloaded her bolt pistol before holstering it again.
"Friar." the young Commissar acknowledged and welcomed their spiritual support. She relaxed a bit knowing one of the ministry was with them again. It always felt like Him on Terra kept a closer eye on them with one of his friars close by. This didn’t detract from her wariness at all, her eyes kept roving the area taking in the downed tech-amalgams (and Grieves’ prostrate form).

She let Vips and Malakai handle the particulars of Greaves. She knew even less than they did about the cogboys’ rituals and turned to the pair of spectacles carried by a trooper.

"The Emperor guided your arm against those metal monstrosities Squinty." Regina said with approval. She didn’t mention that she believed that was the only way he could have made that toss. She then unclasped and handed him two of her own Krak grenades. He’d use them far more efficiently that she could when she was engaged in hand to hand combat and she had a lot less problems requisitioning replacements. His actions deserved a small reward.

Her attention came back to the others when she heard that Greaves was still alive. Somehow.
"Emperor be praised. Servitor, return your master to the Chimeras outside so the medic can help him." Her crisp orders to the metal creature that followed Greaves around would get him back without compromising the sweep or leaving them undermanned. This reminded her of the other squads.
"Contact with multiple combat and cleaning servitors. All enemies down. One casualty. Sergeant Hamon, Enginseer Greaves will be carried to your position by his servitor. Have your medic do what he can."

Seeing Vips searching their assailants and recovering ammunition from one of the bolter wielding ones, she gave a sharp whistle and tossed trooper Natalia her empty bolt pistol clip. The clip only held eight bolts, so she wouldn’t deprive Vips of any he couldn’t miss, he was a better shot than Regina was, but he’d recovered at least a full clip so she’d expect her clip returned to her reloaded with bolts promptly. If she could continue with a full set of ammunition, it would be foolish not to.

"No." the Commissar shook her head when Vips mentioned going down.
"Sergeant Yasha is searching the lower levels, we shall take the upper levels to get this done as quickly as possible."
She hadn’t thought of adding the newly minted Corporal into the Sergeant’s command channel and quickly did so with a few words of explanation, then turned led them to the stairs going up into the Shrine’s upper level(s).
Didn't expect Vips to make a mistake like that IC, so thought this'd fluff it without the need for an edit. If you want it another way I can edit, SL.

[Space Lawyer]

Vips replies with a succinct "Acknowledged." and reorients himself to the upper stairway. Nat sets herself to refilling Regina's bolt pistol clip before returning it to the Commissar. Vips positions himself right behind Regina, twisting his way up the stairs and ssidestepping around the corners. Anything coming up in front of the squad would be greeted with bayonet and lasgun. Nat, on the other hand, keeps a closer eye on the vents. Nobody wanted another green surprise from above.

[YossarianLives]

As the servitor trundles away into the darkness, cradling Greaves in it's massive steel arms, Sergeant Yasha's voice crackles in reply. "Commissar! We have-" His voice is momentarily drowned out by what sounds like lasfire. "-some variety of ork. A defensible position has been established. Two casualties. The xenos are pressing hard, but the God-Emperor's blessing is with us!" The sound of gunfire rises, someone shouts in Gothic, then the transmission is terminated.

[LairdMaon]

Friar Friendly cleans the servitor remains from his chainsword and sets himself to pray for his squad.
He recites a prayer he learned in the funerary

"Before the swollen gaze of the Dark Eye, do I stand
I hold for He who long ago sacrificed for man
I will yield no ground, I shall take no step back
In His name and for His will, I will never surrender
+++++
Pierce my flesh, break my bones, take my life
These matter not
In my sacrifice, ye of the Dark Gods shall know defeat
For even in Death shall we be triumphant in His name
+++++
Lo! I have fallen in battle for He and his flock
Prepare my place, O Lord!
I shall stand by thee side until the End Times
Until Thy will be done

+++++
Take heed, ye who have surrendered to the Darkness
We shall be unbowed and unbroken
For where there is darkness, His light shall shine
And the darkness shall retreat
+++++
We who have bled shall be redeemed
We who have fallen shall be exulted
We who have sacrificed shall be rewarded
We who have died shall be avenged
+++++
Stand, O warriors of the Emperor!
Let no despair fall upon thy bless-ed hearts!
Stand and fight!
For it is by thy sacrifice that thee shall be remembered!!
+++++
By our deeds shall we be known
Let these deeds be a mighty sword from which He who rests upon the Throne shall wield
For with mighty deeds shall the darkness be thrown back into the Abyss
And in them will thee prevail
+++++
Take succor in His strength
Steel thy soul with His word
Armor thy personage in faith to He
Arm thy self with His will
+++++
Suffer not the Unclean
Suffer not the Impure
Suffer not the Weak
Suffer not the Heretic
+++++
Amor Imperator!
Fiat Justicia!
Go forth in His name and find victory!"


When he finishes he walks to stand at the Commissar's side.

[Space Lawyer]

Piotr receves to the grim sounds of the other squad's firefight with his usual equanimity, while humming along to the Friar's uplifting hymn. "Ma'am, I'd suggest we turn back around and assist Sgt. Yasha. The recon phase of this skirmish seems to be concluded, and the attack phase begun. If we smash the unrighteous with proper fury and zeal, then we'll take fewer casualites. It would also seem that given the degree of resistance that we're eno****ering, overwhelming force is the proper solution." He says this last bit as if nearly every tactic and stratagem prescribed for the Imperial Guard didn't involve the application of overwhelming force.

[Chivy]

Junior Commissar Regina Astraida
Wounds: 13/13
Fatigue: 1
Fate: 1/1

Regina took heart in the sermon given by the Friar, but the other squad’s sergeant’s report
"Sergeant Yasha, report your location." she ordered over the vox in her best commissarial voice after his vox cut out. She strained to listen for anything that would tell her more, waving off Vips’ words with a cut of her hand.
" Hold fast Sergeant, we are on our way to support you." She turned, taking the lead again.
"Move out and check for ambushed and what you are shooting at before you fire. We have comrades down there."
The Commissar then led her troops down into the bowels of the shrine.

[YossarianLives]

Your comrades are visibly revived by the Friar's hymn, their chests swelling and spines straightening. The soldiers of the 44th follow Commissar Astraida down the stairs, into the depths of the Mechanicus temple, with the light of hope burning in their hearts. Yasha replies again, the message layered with static, a hint of tension perceptible in his voice. "We are pinned in some sort of control room. Machines, cogitators, a big pile of scrap. We passed a room filled with promethium tanks on the way." There is a screeching sound, so loud it makes your ears ache. "The situation is contained, but assistance will be welcome!"

You descend the steps slowly, the passage's width only permitting you to travel single-file. Before long, it levels out and reaches the junction of an even narrower maintenance shaft. The walls and ceiling are lined with pipes and cables, glowing lights twinkle from arcane machines, and beneath the steel grille at your feet, a dark liquid flows along a little canal. The left passage slopes slightly downwards, facilitating the passage of the liquid, which flows from the right passage along with a gentle breeze. The mangled corpses of an ork boy and two more PDF troopers in grey uniforms lie on the ground, diluting the glossy liquid with their blood. Above your heads, you notice a small hole in the ceiling. Yet another ventilation duct, this time completely bereft of a cover.

[Chivy]

"Hold fast Sergeant, we will be there to support you momentarily." the tone of voice the young commissar used was one taught and practiced in the schola. It carried her confidence in him surviving as well as a promise of her being excedingly anoyed if he did not hold fast and got himself killed. Friendly's sermon had steadied her enough to slip back into her training, even with what had happened to Grieves and being face to face with killer servitors and xenos.

The narrowing passage down would reduce the effectivity of their superior numbers against any opponent, so Regina had both her chainsword and las pistol out, ready to use either if it came down to it. Then she noticed the Hatch and she stopped their advance with a quick signal. Her first reaction was that another grenade would block it nicely, but then she realised that they might be able to use it to flank the xenos bottling up Yasha's squad.

"We're splitting up." again she hit that confident and commanding tone drilled into her in the schola.
"Yasha is trapped in a room down here with the xenos bottling him up in the room. Using the conduits it might be possible to move past the xeno possition and attack them from both sides.
She quickly hit the essential points so the squad understood what she wanted done, then made her decision about who would go where. A Commissar crawling through the vents on her hands and knees wasn't something that screamed the proper position for a political officer, but the enclosed space would probably be the more dangerous and she was one of the smallest members of the squad.

"Verlane, Nolan, you two are with me."
"We will cleanse the vents and make our way to the opposite side of the xenos to strike from there."
Commissar Astrada then turned to Piotr
"Corporal, you will take the rest and continue on. Keep in contact and make sure that prometheum doesn't go up, we'll need it before this is over."
"If we loose contact, kill the xenos and get Yasha out, finish the sweep together and secure anything we can use, then continue with the mission." Regina added to make sure the mission would continue even if Squinty, Nolan and she were killed. She then requested a boost, and with her luminator and las pistol at the ready she crawled into the vents after checking them and started making her way in the direction they had been going.

[Space Lawyer]

"Understood." Vips certainly had respect for the little commissar, going up into the vents like that. Small spaces could guarantee a quick death if one encountered a foul xenos made of teeth and rage. Personally, he would have just thrown a grenade in the vent to flush it out, but that same sort of thinking was likely why he had not been chosen to be a commissar.

Nat goes to loot the PDF corpses, her hands covered in the strange liquid. "Does anyone know what this stuff is?"

[YossarianLives]

With little trouble, and some assistance from the others, Regina, Squinty and Genevie are able to clamber into the hatch. They begin crawling, the commissar in the front, with the heavy weapons specialist following and his comrade in the rear. The metal vent is tiny, barely wide enough to allow passage, and it sags beneath their weight, the aluminum panels creaking. The lungs of those not wearing respirators are soon clogged with dust and detritus - it seems the cleaning servitors were neglecting their duties long before your arrival. For two minutes the three of you advance on all fours, encountering nothing of note. The handful of other vents you pass are too small to admit a human. Then, just ahead, you spy a flicker of artificial light. Perhaps five metres ahead, another hatch in the floor of the vent is the source of the soft glow. Six metres ahead, a slightly wider vent branches off to the right while the first continues straight ahead. Silence is pervasive.

The PDF troopers seem to have lost their primary weapons before death, or been disarmed afterward. Nevertheless, one has a loaded laspistol at his belt and the other a frag grenade tucked into a jacket pocket. You also notice that the first trooper was a sergeant. Few PDF regiments have the resources to equip each trooper with a communication device and often settle on distributing such devices to the officers - in this case, the sergeant's combead is still functioning.

Upon further examination, the liquid seems to be some local variety of crude oil. Why anyone would leave such a liquid flowing uncovered strains the imagination. It is at this point that you notice a small terminal in the wall, a little green light blinking on it's miniscule screen. Several small buttons surround it, each marked with a rune indecipherable to one uninitiated in the Machine Cult. Do you wish to follow the commissar's instructions and move on, going either right or left? Those in the vent seem to have traveled roughly to the left.

[Space Lawyer]

If the commissar was heading left, the rest may as well go right. Would've been convenient for Greaves to be up and functioning, but well . . .

"Alright, weapons at the ready. We don't know what got those troopers, and I don't want it surprising us. Make sure you check your target before firing, especially if we're shooting into a room. I don't want to hit one of those promethium tanks and blow us all to ashes."

That'd certainly be an ironic way to die for the Austerus.

"Ready? Head out?" Vips leads the group to the right, head on a swivel.

[YossarianLives]

The newly-promoted Corporal Vips leads his squadmates forward, up the right passage. You follow it for a couple minutes, your boots clattering on the metal grille, the sound of liquid fire trickling along beneath you. The hum of machinery. Red and orange dots of light flicker on the walls, indicating some unknown report of the facility's functionality. Your squad passes the ravaged corpse of another PDF trooper, this time so badly damaged that nothing remains but minced flesh and scraps of grey cloth. Soon, you come across the scattered corpses of four more ork boyz, each pierced by numerous slugs. Another greyboy, sans scalp. A demolished servitor. Three more boyz with similar wounds. The walls here have been cracked and dented, the cables sparking and goo leaking from pipes.

Then, 10 metres ahead, you catches sight of a roadblock in the passage. A haphazard pile of metal boxes, shoved together to create a torso-high wall. Shadowy figures crouch behind it, each carrying some kind of rifle. One of the figures curses quietly, then four autoguns are raised in unison and fire upon you with a violent cough of light and noise. Your assailants, whoever they may be, are clearly terrified, untrained, overly enthusiastic or some combination of the three. The spray of bullets causes you little harm, mostly hitting the floor at your feet and causing dust to fall from the ceiling. Nevertheless, a concentrated barrage in such a small space will produce results - a slug grazes Malakai's underarm, drawing blood, while the good Friar takes a volley straight to the chest but is unharmed.

Malakai takes 3 damage, damage reduction included. Turn to you guys.

[Space Lawyer]

Piotr and Natalie drop to the ground. "Hold your fire!" Vips yells. "We're friendlies!" Probably more PDF troopers, shooting at anything that moved. While it showed a commendable zeal for killing the enemy, it wasn't a helpful move at this moment.

He nudges Friendly. "Friar, think you can talk to them?"

[YossarianLives]

Someone behind the barricade shouts, and the gunfire sputters to a halt. There is a moment of silence, then a tremulous voice pipes up. "Identify yourselves!"

[Space Lawyer]

"Corporal Piotr Vips, 44th Austerus Legion! Who are you?" There was something strange going on here. Why hadn't Yasha encountered these folks?

[Chivy]

Junior Commissar Regina Astraida
Wounds: 13/13
Fatigue: 1
Fate: 1/1


Regina silently blessed the manufactorum that had built the respirator keeping the crap from her lungs as she slowly crawled through it. Keeping an eye on the vents as they passed them, she took her time to peer over and around the edges and check for any movement before moving on following the tunnel heading right.

"Astrada. We’re continuing to follow the vents; they are branching off to the east. No contacts." She voxed the rest of the squad to keep them up to date on her movements.

[YossarianLives]

Junior Commissar Regina Astraida
Wounds: 13/13
Fatigue: 1
Fate: 1/1


Regina silently blessed the manufactorum that had built the respirator keeping the crap from her lungs as she slowly crawled through it. Keeping an eye on the vents as they passed them, she took her time to peer over and around the edges and check for any movement before moving on following the tunnel heading right.

"Astrada. We’re continuing to follow the vents; they are branching off to the east. No contacts." She voxed the rest of the squad to keep them up to date on her movements.Leading the way as usual, Regina crawls up to the first vent and is instantly met by the hint of a stench so horrid it can be discerned through the respirator - sweat, blood, unwashed bodies and rot. Hunkering beside several unsealed barrels of promethium, in a cone of dim yellow light, are two full-sized greenskins. Each one is the height of a space marine, giving you a sharp reminder of the previous campaign, and packed with enough muscle for five average humans. Both wear only crude leather harnesses and metal helms, with large axes resting at their feet. They seem to be conversing via a series of grunts and growls, and have not noticed you.

"Corporal Piotr Vips, 44th Austerus Legion! Who are you?" There was something strange going on here. Why hadn't Yasha encountered these folks?The unseen gunners converse for a moment, then the source of the same voice you heard earlier pokes it's head up from behind the barricade. A young woman, clad in the same grey PDF fatigues, looks at you suspiciously, an autogun still clutched firmly in her hands. There is a large dent in her helmet, and her features clearly show the signs of fatigue. "Artisan Gobreicht gave us clear instructions - the Temple, and all it's inhabitants, are corrupted beyond hope. Why should we trust you?" There is a quiet murmur of agreement from the other PDF troopers, but none take action.

[Space Lawyer]

Vips gives the trooper a deadpan look. "We're not inhabitants of the temple. We're a legion. From Austerus. So that wouldn't apply to us would it?"

Now who was this Artisan Gobreicht?

[YossarianLives]

The trooper gives you a wide-eyed stare. "Austerus?" A flurry of whispers pass between the PDF troopers. "Surrender your weapons," the same trooper barks, a grimace sliding onto her face. "Gobreicht will want a word."

[Space Lawyer]

"You want us to surrender our weapons in the middle of a battle to go talk to someone we've never heard of? Have you gone absolutely mad? We are the personal regiment of Inquistor Havelock. To impede our mission is to impede the work of the Holy Inquisiton, heresy of the highest sort."

Vips point his lasgun directly at the PDF trooper. "Better idea - YOU surrender YOUR weapons, and we'll consider forgetting this momentary lapse in judgment when we make our report."

Intimidate: [roll0] vs 52 (32 Fel + 20 for having them outgunned)

[YossarianLives]

A murmur of outrage passes between the other four troopers, one starts forward but is restrained by his comrades. Their anger is quenched at the mention of Havelock, and the Inquisition. The lead trooper attempts to meet Vips' gaze, is put off by the respirator, exhales, waves the other troopers away, then nods sullenly. "Bastards," she mutters, making no effort to be quiet. "You are right. My penance lies in your hands. Go where you wish, but I will not leave without Gobreicht's word - he is the only tech-priest who has not turned heretic, and has been coordinating the defense. I suspect he will want to talk." She points further down the hallway, which ends with the door of a still-function service elevator.

[Space Lawyer]

"Very well then." Vips radios in to Regina. "Commissar, we've encountered some PDF troopers who have taken up a defensive position in the hallway. They claim to be under the command of an Artisan Gobreicht. We're going to speak with this person now."

Piotr cautiously circles around the PDF troops to get to the elevator.

[Chivy]

Regina froze as soon as she heard the Greenskins arguing, or speaking, in their foul guttural language, a quick hand signal behind her halted the troopers behind her. She then inched forwards until she finally caught sight of the beast. And the open barrels of promethium they were standing around.

"Two large xenos around open barrels of promethium." she whispered over the vox, the rebreather muffling the sound completely.
"Target the right one, I'll take the left. Take your time and don't miss."

Slowly she aimed her bolt pistol at the Orc to the left, trying to make sure that if she missed the bolt wouldn’t enter any of the promethium.
"Three. Two. One. Fire" Then she pulled the trigger twice.
Bolt pistol shot 1 BS32 + 10 SS + 10 Close range + 30 full aim = TN 82+ - [roll0]
Damage - [roll1] AP:4
Hopeful righteous fury - [roll2]

Bolt pistol shot 2 BS32 + 10 SS + 10 Close range= TN 52 - [roll3]
Damage - [roll4] AP:4
Hopeful righteous fury - [roll5]

Preventative reroll: using Fate to reroll attack if the bolt misses and would hit a promethium barrel - [roll6]

Current Bolt pistol clip - 6/8

Assuming this happens before Vip's vox message so if we survive I'll reply to that in the next post