[Black Crusade] After the End IC

[Rizhail]

Aegis III: After the End

ACT I: Hope is the First Step on the Road to Disappointment



The first night in your new haven was spent licking your wounds, taking stock of your supplies, and simply trying to recover from the trials of the day. Your group had spent several hours hunting for a new haven among the surface ruins, and despite the less-than-lethal conditions you had discovered, the strange nature of the Warp-tainted world had still taken its toll. Only the inhuman abomination known as Grael was unaffected by the tainted air, ultimately standing guard as the rest of you collapsed into troubled sleep once you'd found a building that was intact.

Your new home is an old manufactorum. The top three floors of the facility appeared demolished when you first found the building, the concrete appearing as though it had ran like water before crystallizing under the unnatural effects of the Warp-powered Exterminatus. However, Darius discovered a sealed door into the underground portions of the manufactorum, where the actual work of the facility was carried out. Utilizing his implants, he was able to affect entry for the party, the door sealing behind you and the ancient ventilation system activating to carry away the tainted air.

Thus far, all save Grael have been resting, only able to put up enough energy initially to do a quick sweep for threats. A scant few systems in the facility are still working despite the abuse it has seen, though unfortunately the lights are not among them. From what little you've all seen from your resting place, you cannot determine exactly what was produced by the great forges here, nor exactly how extensive the manufactorum is.

A night's rest behind you, the four mortal members of the crew and your minions are finally well enough to explore. Outside, the barely habitable, untouched surface. Inside, the dark corners and unknown conditions of a long abandoned factory. What do you do?


As you did not require rest in the same manner as the others, it is your choice if you spent the first night exploring the facility alone or keeping an eye on your weary comrades. Let me know what your action would have been, and we'll figure out what you've learned of the facility while you were on your own.



Alright, now is the time to bring your characters to life. If you have a minion, include how they (re)act in your posts. Otherwise, the stage is set: what you do with your newfound home is up to you. IC and OoC discussion of courses of action and potential skill/ability use is highly encouraged.

[Toxic Mind]

Barriel is exhausted. Contrary to what many mortals believed, even Astartes needed rest sometime. They could keep going for a great deal, cycling through their brain, allowing parts to rest while others remained active, but that only prolonged the inevitable. Barriel found a place away from the others, not so far that they could not be heard, but enough that he had what passed as privacy on this hell-world. He did not remove his armour, rather locking the servos and sleeping within it. The armour had been with him so long it may as well have been a second skin anyways, and was little impediment to sleep. He issued a quick command to the machine spirit to awaken him should anyone be foolish enough to approach, and then he slept.

He awakens the next morning, considerably more alive than he had previously been.

As a first order of business he surveys the group he has acquired. The circumstances of their escape were more of necessity than choice, but now he began to wonder at the motley assortment. "We are alive." he says matter-of-factly. "And our new refuge seems safe enough, for now. If any of you have grievances, air them now. If we are to keep our hard-won sanctuary, we must work together - there is no other option." The timbre of his voice is deep and authoritative, a man who expects to be obeyed without question, yet his statements seem less a command, and more of a factual assessment. The leathery wings that served him so well in his escape are folded at his back, fading almost seamlessly into the deep ocher color of his armor.

[Retias]

Darius had once taken such pride in his work, in the life he bought into being with his hands and genius. Each experiment, each success, had only caused him to delve deeper into vibrant mysteries to solve. But that had shattered and been lost by the foolish arrogance that had enslaved him into joining the ill fated strike on this world.

Tied to Chaos he might be, but his legacy to them would be new, improved life, not a waste of resources and efforts. Now, at least, he had a chance to begin again.

He had spent the time after rest working on one of the more intact looking cogitator's, attempting to bring the damaged machine back to life. If this was their new home, it needed to be strong, and to function once again. His work had a halt when they gathered together, eyes focusing on one member after another.

Such a fascinating combination..

"Grievances are energy wasted, unneeded." He intoned, ignoring his own hatred of the ones who'd launched this invasion. "This has survived the war, the destruction of this world, it is the strength of the Machine Cult. It will survive any foolish enough to strike at us. Once I have restored it.

We will need supplies, a way to grow healthy food. I will make such, and a production of clean water, a priority. Life requires energy and fuel to function. Scavenging for enough biomass for me to begin is necessary."

[Checkmate-Pony]

if we are in the underground parts during the night, I would like to explore the upper parts of the manufactorium, the parts above ground and the ruined parts as well, staring with unblinking eyes at the horrizon and movements in the night. Even if all I find is a radioactive rat I would like to know, so that I might atleast snuff out it's life to feed my companions (such as Survival skill test, perhapse even Dinky Dee cans are around or Orange Tins with Ampules if you get what I mean)

[Chivy]

Reveka Abathur had woken with a start every time one of the others had made a sound beyond normal breathing, and they had made a lot of them, but even so it was the most undisturbed sleep she had had in what felt like years. She rose when the first of the others stirred and hung the camo-cloak she had been using as a blanket back around her shoulders. She then awoke the creature she had named Miria when she bound the lesser Daemon into the corpse of a Sororitas sister. The creature glared at her with undisguised hate burning in it’s bloodshot eyes. Reva psychically checked the bindings she had woven into the now-undying flesh as she did every day before she bedded down and after she awoke. Finding them as solid as the day she set them, she whispered
"You will stay silent. I will not have your tongue souring potential allies." She locked eyes with the bound Lesser Daemon, enforcing her command.
"Prepare my armour."

With a hateful look Miria walked over to the Power Armour Reveka had removed before bedding down and disarmed the surprises her mistress had left for the unwary. Then started checking the scarred armour’s functions.

The Psyker then joined the other champions who were discussing things. Initially she simply took in the others, the tentacle fingers of her left hand flowing and twisting around each other as she took in who the Dark Gods had led her to. Each of them seemed intelligent enough to not run around following their baser instincts, and each vastly different from the former Sororitas Initiate.

Reveka stood almost one meter seventy tall and was physically fit, a legacy of growing up in the Schola, even if a lack of consistent foodstuffs had taken flesh from her frame. Her shoulder length red hair was greasy and unkempt, her pale skin was dirty with the grime of weeks or even months without anything even resembling cleaning supplies. She was wearing the black and silver bodyglove common to the Sororitas, but all the Fleur the Lis sigils had been defaced with multiple Marks of Chaos, proclaiming a devout loyalty to Chaos in general and not to any particular Dark God. Of course the first of their gifts had been to change the way people saw her; she looked innocuous. Normal.

"Agreed. None of us can hold what we have been gifted without allies, so grievances are a waste of energy." Reva agreed with the two ‘men’ which had already spoken.
"We should make sure this place is secure before we attempt anything else. A safe haven is only safe if we make sure it is."

[Toxic Mind]

Barriel turns his gaze on Reveka. He is surprised somewhat, as he always is, that the human had legitimate tactical suggestions. He was so very much more used to them whining about the lack of food, or sleep, or beds. "Agreed. We should break into teams and sweep the area. We cannot assume anything upon this world, least of all safety."

[Chivy]

"As you will," the Psyker said with a deferential nod to the Marine.
Of the members of the group, Barriel seemed like a solid choice as the one to 'lead' the group. At least in military maters. He was a monster in combat with enough ceramite to shrug off a tank round, dangerous enough to scare enemies into submission before things degraded into combat and imposing enough to keep controll of the warband. Letting him give the orders was fine by her, she would simply advise him.
"if there is nothing else of immediate import, I will ready myself, while you decide the sweep team compositions."
Reveka took a moment to make sure there was nothing else, then turned towards Miria who had been preparing her power armour a dozen or so meters away. A small smile crept across her face as she walked over and with a quick gesture ordered the Undying Creature to help her don her power armour. It didn't take long to get herself equiped, all the while she made sure to listen carefully if anything else was said.

[Retias]

"Agreed, also." Darius nods himself. "We need to know this place, secure it, and ensure we can survive here." He moves over to one of the more intact looking cogitators, hooking his capacitors into it in an effort to bring it back to life, if only briefly. Resting on it as he uses his own power supply to feed it, he talks up after a moment. "I will attempt to acquire a map of the complex, and any relevant data."

[Toxic Mind]

Barriel nods his approval. In truth, he wanted nothing more than to work alone, but it was rapidly becoming clear that such a thing was not possible. He would simply have to make the best of the scenario.

Barriel waits for Darius to finish his scans and return with information before dividing up the teams.

"The psyker and her pet can pair up with the Sleepless." he says, gesturing to the amalgamation that had guarded their night. "I will explore with the technomancer." Of all the ones who had come with, to Barriel, Darius was the most valuable. He was trained in the arcane arts of the Machine Cult - an invaluable skill, particularly to one with power armor. The other three could probably handle whatever might be down there, and if they couldn't, they'd probably scream enough to warn Barriel that something fun was coming,.

[Rizhail]

Though it takes some time, Darius is able to find a cogitator that has not been damaged beyond use. It warms and activates as he supplies it power from his implants, the near-indecipherable script of the Mechanicus filling the screen and Darius' mind through his electro-graft. Sifting through the data presents several interesting data points: a map of the facility (pre-Exterminatus, of course), the last hundred cycles worth of production lists, and that the primary purpose of the manufactorum was the production of materiel for the PDF and Guard. The internal network of the facility is completely offline, however; whatever backup power system is keeping the ventilation system going has not kept anything data or communications related online, and the cogitator is unable to provide any up-to-date information on the manufactorum.

[Retias]

Returning, Darius speaks up again, intoning as he digests the information he'd gained. "I now hold a map of the facility. If we can maintain contact, I can guide you in an exploration."

He ponders. "I recommend the power generator as a priority. If it is largely intact, I may be able to reactive it and begin to restore power. However, it is emergency power only, the machine spirit is not strong enough to run the whole facility, and asking it to do so will only anger and injure it. When I am there, I will ensure it only offers strength to the immediate area. It would be a good place to hold as our central position.

For additional information, this served as a creation of material for the Imperial Guard. In time, it would serve as a source of weaponry, perhaps even vehicles."

[Ionbound]

Helene awakens a little after the others, roused from her deep rest by the discussion. She nods to Darius, saying, "Indeed. We are lucky to have you with us. We could start the revolution from here..." She pauses, then after a moment's consideration, continues, "I do believe I will be joining your exploration party. There might well be some barriers that would require a noble's access code."

[Chivy]

"Imperial Guard? That sounds promising. Some of them use microbeads as well don’t they? It would be good to rely on more than hand-signs again."
Reveka said after rejoining the group, her scarred power armour’s telltale whir of motivators muted to near inaudible levels by the judicious use of sound dampening rags at the armours joints and the eye-wrenching Chameleoline Cloak over her shoulders allowing part of her to fade into the background. Both were well worn, but also very well cared for. She armour moved smoothly despite it’s battle scars and the cloak’s slight griminess only seemed to help it take on the darkened surroundings.

"’Noble’ codes to open barriers?"The Psyker asked with a quirked eyebrow when the other female had finally awoken and joined the planning.
"Do you recognize this place?"


"Darius, could you transfer a copy of the facility map to my data slate? Thenw e can divide the area we are going to scout." She asked after turning back to him, pulling the battered slate out of it’s well worn armoured pouch. With practiced ease she flicked through the device and murmured a benediction to set the tiny cogitator to accept incoming data. It was done so casually, that one might miss the fact that she had just shown the entire group that she too knew the secrets of the machine spirits. Not to the level of Darius by any stretch of the imagination, but enough to up her usefulness another notch.
"We will also want to scout, map and secure any points of ingress on and off that map. I doubt the reactor will be silent, so making sure we are secure before turning on the lights and inadvertently inviting the locals in for a meal would be prudent."
The Psyker made sure not to directly contradict the Heretek’s proposed next action, but being careful had kept her alive for all this time.

[Rizhail]

Having split into two teams of three, and with each team containing a copy of the facility map data and a working comm bead, you set off to explore your new haven.


Based on Darius' interpretation of the map, the backup power generators are in a secure room four floors below you. There are four visible routes down on the map. Three are somewhat roundabout: one down a twisting maze of maintenance corridors that will be a tight, but doable, squeeze for Barriel; a path that meanders through the storage and bunking areas before hitting a final straight maintenance pathway to the reactor room; and the longest path, a straight shot across the facility to its metro tunnel entrance, down four stories' worth of stairs and ramps, and back across the length of the facility to the generator room. The fourth path is a straight shot, down a lift shaft. However, the lift would lack power, requiring a potentially perilous climb or a diversion to find a capacitor bank to charge via Darius' implants. It also appears to be under the same area as the melted east wall of the manufactorum, so whether or not it even still exists is up for debate.



Reveka finds herself alone with her daemonic minion and the strange revenant that watched over the party in their slumber. The stranger communicates mostly through body language, though he does say a word or two in an inhuman voice when the gestures don't work. Looking over her map, she sees a half dozen potential main entrances marked on it. One is the sealed door the crew entered through. The other five include the personnel entrance from the metro tunnels, a main entrance on the north side of the building at surface level, a loading door on the surface level on the east side, and three loading areas that lead into transit tunnels four, six, and eight floors below her current floor. It is likely the east surface entrance is destroyed, as that is the wall that had melted and crystallized, but it isn't a guarantee.



Make your choices and we'll get the exploration of your new haven started. If you get any wild hairs about skill uses, don't be afraid to make some rolls. Just make it clear why you're rolling, and please include the base value you are rolling against for easy reference (basically, treat any roll as vs. +0 difficulty and tell me what that would be for you, I'll add any modifiers or what not if I feel they're necessary).

Please post in spoilers for your group, and don't read into the other team's spoiler. You may communicate with each other outside spoilers via commbeads; I'll tell you outright if you hit a point where communication is cut off.

[Toxic Mind]

"Opinions. My discomfort is of no concern." Barriel says, all business. He did not know if his human companions would have taken such concerns into their calculations, and he did not care. He did not, however, wish to waste time explaining why squeezing through tight corridors was one of the least uncomfortable things he would ever be subjected to in his long life.

[Retias]

Having transferred the data to Raveka as requested, Darius considers the options available to his own team.



"Routes analysed." Darius tells Helena and Barriel. "One route may not exist anymore and requires us activating a long dormant lift. An element that will also trap us in a confined space if we come under attack or danger. The second means moving through narrow, cramped tunnels. Again, it represents a risk of entrapment.

The third is simply a long route, but far more practical. The fourth will take us through storage areas and is recommended."

He nods at the Chaos Marine. "While I consider myself an appropriate leader in navigating and interacting with the facility, it is best you lead should we face any hostile threat."

[Chivy]

"We will start with a cricuit at ground level, then move deeper into the facility for the other access points. Keep in contact as long as you can and update the map with everything you encounter. We shall do the same. We shall compare notes after." Reveka informed the power station group before setting out.

The place was huge. It was going to take days to scout it, weeks to secure it completely, that much was obvious as soon as she had scrolled through the plans. But it could be made safe. It could be a haven. A fortess to build up their strength and then strike out again, but this time with power at their fingertips instead of scrounging for everything they needed.
"Grael? Keep your distance. We will go slowly and methodically. I prefer to ambush, not to be ambushed."
She didn't know, or realy care, how the creature felt about ambushes instead of running in guns blazing, but Reveka had survived this long by being prepared and not taking stupid chances.

The first thing she did was open herself up to the warp and guide it's strength into an intricate spiral inside her. What it did was a slight warping of time to anything she sensed. Everything she looked, touched or heard she had already seen, felt or heard a fraction of a second before she actually saw, felt or heard it. The fraction wasn't long, but it gave her unparalelled senses which had kept her alive up untill now. As the battered las pistol comfortably readied in her left hand had done.

She then activated her auspex, pulled her camo cloak over her now-helmeted head and slowly led the other two in single file towards the closest door on the map, straining to keep herself quiet and searching for anything which might be usefull, or dangerous on the way.

have an entire set of rolls. Might as well roll them all in one single post;

Starting with activating Preternatural Awareness at fettered level (psi 3/2 round up = psi 2).
Fettered so no chance of psychic phenomina, so I'll roll to have it activated and know the initiative bonus.
Psyniscience +0 (per: 50) + psi rating 2 +10 + psychic focus +10 = tn70 - [roll0]
Reroll for if that one fails (to prevent multi-posts) - [roll1]
And knowing my luck I'll do that again - [roll2]
This'll give me unnatural perception 2 and an initiative bonus equal to the DoS. Sustaining it of course.
5 DoS give Reveka an additional +5 to initiative rolls

Using internal auspex. +20 flat awareness boost and a tech use for picking up anything not normally sensed by standard human senses
Tech use +0 (int 44): tn 44 - [roll3]

Awareness to keep my eyes open
Awareness +0 (per 50) + embedded auspex +20 = tn 70 - [roll4] - ugh, that sucks. the one I realy wanted to make. Well if she gets any bonusses and makes it anyway she gets an additional DoS because of unnatural perception 2

Stealth to keep hidden
Stealth +0 (agi 40) +chameleonline cloak +20 = tn 60 - [roll5]

Finally a psyniscience because that's her thing and it's a free action anyway
Psyniscience +0 (per 50) = tn50 - [roll6] additional degree of succes because of unnatural perception 2, assuming she makes it anyway

[Toxic Mind]

"The storage route then. I do not fear any foe among this place, but I suspect if some danger exists, it will show itself when we activate the reactor." Barriel draws the chainsword and pistol from his waist, leaving the massive chainblade across his back still. He takes point, moving quickly, but with his feet for now, rather than his wings, which remain tucked close to his back.

[Rizhail]

The initial hike across the factory floor is tense, the sound of Barriel's heavy footfalls echoing in the darkness. Numerous manufactorum systems stand silent, some with half-finished weapons, armor, or other materiel still laying on conveyors or held by machines that froze mid-cycle. Despite the time the room has stood unused, it is surprisingly clean. Only the light layer of soot from the damaged wall to the east mars the tools of the Cult Mechanicus.

The first store room is stuck closed when you first try it, but the Astartes is easily able to force it open through brute strength. Inside, the room is a jumble of crates and supplies, scattered as though searched in haste. Aegis-pattern weapons lay in some of the open crates or scattered on the floor, though it is obvious at a glance that most are broken or dismantled; whether casualties of the harsh fighting during the invasion or scavengers in the intervening years, none of you can say.

Glancing through the door linking this room to the next on your chosen path, it looks to be in similar condition.

Do you continue on to your ultimate goal, or take some time to search and scavenge?



Grael heeds Reveka's request and keeps his distance as she begins her patrol. Based on her map, the east door is closest; her current route will sweep the east and north entrances before moving down to the lower floors.

The clomping sound of Barriel striding away is audible for some time, followed eventually by the sound of a door being forced. However, the psyker does not detect any movement or reactions to the noise; it seems like the surface floor is empty for the moment. Or at the very least, any foes living here are not willing to make a move yet.

The east entrance is in the same condition as the outer wall; as best Reveka can tell, the touch of the Warp-based firestorm that had swept through the area had made the concrete and steel run like water before crystallizing into a solid surface. No holes or cracks are visible in the surface; the east entrance is truly sealed.

However, the young seer's Warp senses draw her attention to the glass-like surface of the wall. As she draws near, the material seems to catch light from somewhere, and faint images begin to appear in response to Reveka's thoughts.

The psyker is certain that with a bit of concentration and effort she could force the images to fully materialize, though the exact nature of what may appear eludes her. Such things can be useful, potentially providing clues to the future or warnings of danger; however, as with all Warp-based knowledge, they can also lie or taint the mind.

Does she attempt to test her powers against this phenomenon, or continue on her patrol path?

[Chivy]

"Bariel, Darius. Reveka." the Former Sororitas initiate spoke into her commbead, specifically calling the attention of the space marine and the one who probably knew the most about this place to what she was about to report.
"We have reached the first level eastern door. It and the walls have melted and fused into somekind of crystaline compound. There is no way through. We will be moving on to the Northern Door momentarily."

Reveka watched the images, her mind already conjuring up posibilities as to what they may be. She did know two things for certain; curiosity kills and whatever you don't know gets you killed. Those two facts might seem anathema to each other, but there was a small grey area in between where calculated risks and judicious application of skills honed by training and experience allowed one to risk a little to receive a lot. Also, if she didn't investigate, someone might someday use whatever it is against her.

"Miria, Grael, close in and be ready. There is warppower here and I need to investigate."Bariel, Darius. Reveka. I have detected some warp residue. Am investigating." Another quick report followed her descision.
The Warpwitch made herself ready, focussing her awareness first on the fluer de lis pendant which had been given to her when she first became an Initiate and she had enhanced in the years since the warpfirestorm with a blanket of imposibly small and potent symbols of warppower along with devotional sigils to the Dark Gods. It helped her focus her warpcraft to a razor's edge, which she then unleashed to pry at whatever was beckoning her from the walls.

Am assuming I'll need a psyniscience or willpower roll for this, so to keep things rolling;
[roll0]
Psyniscience (per 50) or Willpower (52), if it counts as a focus power test add +10 for psychic focus and +15 for psy rating 3.

[Toxic Mind]

"Acknowledged." Came the response over the micro-bead. "We have found a storage room. Ascertaining usefulness then continuing on."
Barriel takes a brief moment to scan the room, searching for anything that immediately stood out as useful, though he had little hope of finding anything that would serve better than his current arms and armour. [roll0] vs 17 Search

When that was done, he moves to the door, warning his comrades of his intent before forcing the door open, ready for threats. 73 vs 51 Strength

[Ionbound]

Helene nods to Barriel and replies, "Right. Let's see what we've got in here." She also takes a moment to search the room, then stands behind the traitor astartes, melta aimed at the door and ready for action, should anything be on the other side.

Search Check: [roll0] vs 19

Prepare an action to shoot anything that comes through the door. Though when Barriel fails to open it, Helene is going to try to destroy it with her Melta.

[Retias]

"Understood." Darius replies over the vox, following Barriel's own reply.

With the space marine having listed their progress, he lets him and Helena check the room for weapons or armour of use. Rather then moving through the crates himself, he raises a hand to his head, tapping his temple slightly as his internal auspex springs to life and he scans the room for any energy signatures from within any of the crates.

"May their weapons fail them, their armour abandon their safety and any vehicles they touch turn on them for this desecration." He intones, a cold fury in his voice at the harm done to the items so casually ravaged by mindless scavengers. He eyes his two comrades to ensure they take more care.

[Rizhail]

Barriel and Helene's physical search finds little that is immediately worthwhile, each open crate they examine found to contain yet more weapons in various states of disrepair. At least one crate was still sealed, however; when opened, it contains two dozen Aegis-pattern autoguns in what appears to be working condition. Only the lack of ammunition renders the weapons useless at the moment.

Darius' careful scans manage to produce results as the Astartes and noble head for the door. A small *ping* in the heretek's mind rings out, barely audible over the sound of the giant wrenching open the next door, its hinges squealing as Barriel easily forces it. Following his auspex data, the heretek discovers a barely-detectable energy signature under a pile of broken weapons and other detritus, partly blocked by haphazardly placed crates and yet more debris. Widening the spectrum of his auspex, he is able to discern that a body is buried under the debris, arms and armor indicating a fallen Imperial guardsman. The power pack in the dead man's lasgun is what pinged Darius' sensors, apparently containing just enough of a charge to be detectable at this range. It appears the man died from a trio of bone-like spikes sticking out of his torso, pinning him to the floor. Unfortunately, the time-altering and decay-nullifying effects of the post-Exterminatus world mean it is impossible to determine exactly when the man died.

The next storage room is larger than the first, containing larger examples of Aegis-pattern weaponry. It appears to have been more thoroughly picked clean at first glance, the numerous nooks in the walls that look to have once contained autocannons and similar ordnance mostly empty, with the few that remain not looking promising as working weapons. Across the hall is the open door leading into the paths to the bunking areas; several more doors on the sides of the room appear to lead to storage or maintenance areas. As the noise from the group's entry stops echoing, nothing else is heard save the faint creaking of aged metal and the gentle blowing of the ventilation system.



As Reveka focuses her will on the strange wall, the images begin to coalesce before her. The images are hard to follow, swapping rapidly between different scenes: a darkened bunkroom full of frightened civilians huddled under beds, a barely lit chamber off one of the metro tunnels as scared men fire salvaged weapons into the shadows, the crumbling ruin of a surface building as mutants flee from something. In all the dozen visions she witnesses, there is one thing that remains consistent: a massive figure in the shadows. She is unable to pick out much detail on it, only that it is easily twice as tall as a human and has faintly glowing eyes over much of its body. It is not humanoid, but its exact shape never seems clear to her.

The images suddenly dissipate, Reveka snapping back to her senses as the crystalline wall fogs over. A sudden feeling of cold draws her attention to the fact that everything in the room is now covered in a noticeable layer of frost, herself included. Her head hurts as the energies of the Warp settle in the area around her, the strange phenomena of the wall spent for the moment.


Gain 1 corruption point for successfully tapping into a Warp phenomenon.

[Chivy]

"All, Reva. Reveka's voice was brittle as well as tinny coming over the vox, sounding like she was in pain as well as winded.
"Be forewarned. I believe a warpcreature has hunted in and around this place since the Warpfirestorm. All I could see was that it is about four meters tall and has glowing eyes. It seems to be resistant to normal weaponsfire and prefers sticking to the shadows, but it is unknown if that is preference or something more vital to it."
A moment later, she continued with a sligthly less brittle voice
"Known killing grounds are a bunk room, the metro tunnels and the surface. I cannot be any more specific."

"Continuing sweep to Northern door."

Reveka took another breath, using focussed breathing to try and releave the headache which was throbbing behind her eyes. She knew the warpache would fade in time, it wasn't the first time she had one, but it wouldn't disappear untill it was done with her. The breathing exercises just gave her something to focus on which was not the hammers trying to pound her eyes out from the inside of her skull.

The former Sororitas Initiate gave herself a minute to regather her wits before she continued their sweep of the ground floor
"We're pushing on. Stay alert." She told her two inhuman companions, then draped her camo-cloak around herself and slid down the cavernous building towards the Northern entrance. Her eyes and auspex doing their best to find anything in the dark before it found her.

[Ionbound]

Helene grins as she opens the crate of Autoguns, saying, "Enough to equip a small army here..." She looks further, smile widening as she sees more and more weaponry, then nods as the initiate's broadcast comes over, saying to the rest of her squad, "You heard her. Keep your head on a swivel." That said, she continues to press forward, confident in her meltagun's ability to handle anything particularly spooky.

[Toxic Mind]

"I would not leave an enemy at our backs. If it hunts this place, we should draw it out."

[Retias]

"Acknowledged." Darius answered the hail again. "Proceeding with caution."

He fought down a stab of fear at the talk of a warp creature on the loose. In such confined quarters, his wings would offer him little mobility and he was aware he was the weakest of all those present. That said, being near to a non hostile chaos marine at this time was a blessing. Retrieving the lasgun he found, he stowed it carefully. Some might overlook it as weak, but in such a place, its ability to function for long durations might save their lives one day.

Turning to Barriel, he spoke carefully, respectfully after the marine's words.

"I recommend we avoid the bunk rooms, and seal them if we can. If this creature is currently there, it will limit its mobility to a degree. I believe I can weaken its ability to hide in darkness, once the reactor is back online."

He paused, then tapped his vox again, looking to the corpse he'd found.

Darius spoke up over the vox once more. "Does this creature demonstrate any form of spines or jagged exoskeleton?"

[Toxic Mind]

"Not too weak to offer a challenge, though?"

[Retias]

Darius' voice takes on a hint of wry amusement. "That I can't answer without studying the creature in more depth. Perhaps we can even capture it. A greater challenge, and it may prove of value in our time here."

[Ionbound]

Helene nods to Darius, then looks at Barriel and says, "Challenge? Yes, let's made things harder for ourselves for no reason at all. Sounds like a great plan."

[Toxic Mind]

"I am glad you agree. It is refreshing to see one whose bones are so very shatter-able show some spine."

[Retias]

Darius looks between them, servos whirring before he moves to the entrance leading to the bunk rooms, checking the systems there to see if the door can be sealed. "We secure this egress then, and proceed to the reactor. UIt should not be far now."

[Chivy]

Darius spoke up over the vox once more. "Does this creature demonstrate any form of spines or jagged exoskeleton?"

"I was unable to discern anything more than I have already relayed," Reveka answered the Heretek after pausing her movement and checking the area again
"but it would be one of the most common expressions in warp-creatures, especially hunter types like this seems to be. So it is a distinct posibility."

[Ionbound]

Helene rolls her eyes at Barriel and says, "You don't understand sarcasm, do you." She then nods to Darius and replies, "Good to know that we're not far."

[Retias]

"I was unable to discern anything more than I have already relayed," Reveka answered the Heretek after pausing her movement and checking the area again
"but it would be one of the most common expressions in warp-creatures, especially hunter types like this seems to be. So it is a distinct posibility."

"Acknowledged. I may have located one of its victims and will collect a sample for analysis."

Leaving the door briefly, he nodded to the other two, moving to the corpse he found earlier and working to remove one of the spines that had killed the luckless man, storing it in a small metal container once extracted.

[Rizhail]

The controls for the bunk room door are dead without power, but the manual latching mechanism still works from this side; the door is swiftly sealed shut.

Retrieving one of the spines requires a surprising amount of effort, and once it is free the heretek is able to see why: the striking tips of the spines are barbed. The material appears to be some sort of bone or horn, and the spine is roughly half a meter long, a third of which was embedded into the floor under the victim.

Avoiding the bunk rooms takes the trio through a somewhat longer path down to the reactor room, but they soon reach the main maintenance pathway leading to the reactor room.

Said maintenance way could best be described as a charnel house.

The wide tunnel is covered floor to ceiling with spattered blood, and the remains of numerous victims lay scattered across the chamber. All appear to have been torn apart and partially devoured, and barbed spines pierce the few bodies that are still mostly intact. Oddly, there is a pile of what appear to be Skitarii not far from where the trio stand, the cybernetically enhanced soldiers appearing to have simply been killed and tossed aside.

The sounds of machinery are louder here, and the red flickering lights that mark the reactor room entrance are visible a scant twenty meters down the corridor. The emergency lights in the corridor are mostly blocked by the morbid detritus, leaving the area too dark to make out clearly without lamp packs or preysense.



The northern entrance is grand, everything from the doors to the wall fixtures overwrought and oversized, as one would expect in an active temple to the Omnissiah. What furniture and other furnishings once populated the entrance are unceremoniously scattered around the entrance hall, as though tossed by a storm. The outermost set of doors appear to have melted, though not in the same manner as the eastern wall; a second, inner set of doors remains intact, keeping this portion of the building sealed against the foul air and denizens of the surface.

Reveka takes this all in quickly, her gaze soon caught by the former inhabitants of the manufactorum. The remains of a dozen Mechanicus personnel litter the floor, each torn apart; based on the equipment among the remains, most (if not all) of them were Skitarii. Their wounds bear the signature blast patterns of bolt weapons and horrible tears of chainblade strikes. Looking over the room, it occurs to Reveka that the blood patterns and shell casings on the ground would indicate more combatants for whatever forgotten battle took place here, but only the ravaged Mechanicus corpses remain.

Interestingly, the blood and oils from the dead are somewhat dried; corpses typically found since the Exterminatus lack any form of decay or signs of how long they have been deceased.

And there are dried, bloody boot prints leading from the foyer into the manufactorum proper. The size of the tread screams 'Astartes'.

[Chivy]

Cautiously Reveka circled around the open area in front of the North Gate. She would much rather have seen that this opening had been reduced to the same solid slab of fused crystaline metal the other one had been, but the Dark Gods weren't going to hand them an easily secured facility. You had to earn what you had.

A quick handsignal sent Miria to set up as overwatch with her sniper rifle and thirty seconds later Reveka motioned Greal to move towards the gate from the east, while she circled from the west her laspistol comfortably readied in her left hand.

She moved cautiously, while the metal monstrosity which used to be a guardsmen acoording to rumour made the perfect target for anybody or anything which would be watching. The place was a mess, the smell of death and oil still thick in the air, but she couldn't find any sign of active hostiles. Finally she reached the inner gate and took her time to take in what she was seeing through the armoured glass viewports.
"Darius, Bariel. Reveka. the former Sororitas Initiate whispered into her microbead after finding secure cover.
"We have arrived at the North Gate. There are signs that Astartus attacked the manufactorum through this gate and after dealing with the defending Skitarii moved deeper inside the facility. The outer gates are useless for any kind of defense, but the inner gates are holding. I will check for any usefull defenses we can get operational to protect this point of entry. I might need power to do a thorough analysis. How long before you get the power plant operational again?
Her eyes roved over the site of the fierce batt.. the slaughter, before she toggled on her microbead again. Ignorance might get her and her new companions killed, so she decided to add the strange bit of normality.
"Also be advised I am seeing signs of time passing in this area. Blood is tacky and drying instead of staying fresh forever. There are also many Skitarii, servitor and possibly techpriest corpses and pieces of corpses here. Darius, you might want to see if their cybernetics are salvageable once you get done there, they might prove usefull."
"Miria, search the area for anything usefull. Some of their weapons might still be functioning."
"Greal, could you keep watch while we search?" her tone to each of her companions was markedly different. To the corpse-bound daemon she was the powerfull mistress who could snuff the creature out in a blink of an eye, and would if it displeased her, to the former guardsmen she was almost solicitous. Miria's murderous glare at the one which held her leash showed that the daemon knew the difference in their statusses; Grael a vallued ally, she a bound slavecreature. But as she had been ordered by her mistress she held her tongue and started poking at the bits of corpses around her.

Reveka Awareness +0 (Per 50) - [roll0] (1 free dos if succesfull due to supernatural perception 2) to search the place for anything usefull.
Reveka Tech-use +0 or Security +0 (Int 44) - [roll1] to check the gate for defenses and see if it can be locked down from this side.
Miria Awareness +0 (Per 20) - [roll2] to search the place for anything usefull.

Well I balsed up that roll code. Rerolling in ooc

[Toxic Mind]

Barriel activates his Auspex. The Cybernetic is one of the few things in his possession to remain even roughly intact over his seemingly endless time in this hell-scape. He could have almost laughed at the irony as he scanned the room for life-signs: his companions had done almost everything in their power to avoid the creature, and in doing so had led them directly into its feeding ground. Barriel knew the only thing more dangerous than a hunting animal was one that thought itself cornered.

What an excellent job they had done cornering this one.

His chainsword and bolt pistol at the ready, he continues his sweep. He considers, for a brief moment, drawing the larger blade from his back, then discards the idea. He hadn't seen his foe, and without that, how could he know if they were worth drawing the blade? He could wait a little while longer.

"The beast is close" he says softly over the micro-bead. His helmet on, the sound speaking made would be little more than a whisper, but the warrior in him regretted even that much. With a team of battle-brothers... but no, those days were gone. He walked among mortals now, and had to tend to their needs, at least until they outlived their use.
[roll0] vs 67 Auspex

[Ionbound]

Helene winces when she sees the shredded Skitarii, knowing what kind of abilities they had. She shivers as she walks forwards into the charnel and says, "This seems to be the creature's home. Let us hurry, as to not find it here."

Helene then nods in affirmation of what she heard over the vox and replies, "I...Fascinating. No sign of that here, but if time is returning to normal..." She trails off, voice lost in a hope of a return to realspace.

[Retias]

About to respond on the vox, Darius stopped as the bloody scene came into view and he froze, then moved towards Barriel. Tech priest or not, he still had the instinct to seek protection from a dangerous threat. He produced the power pack from the lasgun he'd found, fingers carefully move over it. "The reactor." he stated quietly, voice hushed. "It doesn't like light. Get me to the reactor and I'll revive it if possible."

His eyes went to the fallen skitari. There was value there, for when he checked them later, but also a clear warning. If this creature could kill a squad of them, Barriel was their only hope for survival if it attacked.

[Rizhail]

The slow walk through the feeding ground grates on the trio's nerves, the mortals feeling fear while Barriel feels the tingling anxiety that precedes a fight.

A pair of bloody boots lay just within the open doors to the reactor chamber, the unlucky owner's feet still wearing them while the rest of him is missing. For once, the time of death is relatively easy to discern: the blood pool is expanding slowly, almost imperceptibly, as though spilled in the last few hours. A few bloody footprints are visible in the emergency lights, leading toward the massive reactor bank that dominates the center of the room. The prints seem to alternate between beast-like claw marks and the massive tread of an Astartes.

Barriel's gaze moves toward the ceiling above the reactor; the mortals following his gaze notice a space in which the emergency lights are blocked. The shadows there slowly writhe, twitching in a manner reminiscent of breathing.


Barriel's auspex brings the world to life as the marine stalks through the tunnel. Most of the remains are as cool as their surroudings, but the blood of the unlucky fool at the door is warmer than the ambient, giving a more precise time of death to the last hour. The reactor glows warmly in multiple parts of the spectrum, an indication that it still seems to have whatever radioactive fuel the techpriests were using.

Above the reactor, an anomaly clings to the ceiling. The auspex scan image flickers over that spot, spitting out hints of heat or life before showing nothing but shifting shadows again. Though the auspex cannot give a clear image, it is obvious to the marine from size and Reveka's description that this must be the creature she foresaw. For the moment, it does not react to the trio's presence; the slow pulsing and lack of any overt movement gives Barriel the feeling it may not even be aware of them yet.




Reveka's efforts to ascertain the functions of the remaining doors proves fruitless; she cannot even tell exactly what mechanism may be used to seal or unseal it. It is entirely possible the doors may be an emergency mechanism or remotely controlled, though at this point she will likely need the heretek's help in figuring it out. For the moment, it at least appears the doors are firmly closed and environmentally sealed.

Her careful search of the area proves far more fruitful. Among the dead skitarii she is able to recover a pair of functioning hellgun batteries, the backpack power cells glowing softly in her auspex view, though the attached guns have met the same fate as their bearers. One corpse has a belt mounted dispenser containing a trio of krak grenades that appear to be in usable condition. And perhaps the most interesting prize is a powersword, still clutched in the mechanical hand of what appears to be the skitarii leader. The blade does not activate when she tests it, but whether it is simply out of power or damaged Reveka cannot say.

[Ionbound]

Helene doesn't wait. She lifts her melta and fires at the shifting shadows, sure that this is the creature that has caused this bloodshed. Determined, she acts as swiftly as she can in an effort to end it before it's even aware that they are there.
BS: [roll0] vs 47
Meltagun Damage: [roll1] Pen 12 Energy Damage.

Also has Overheats and Noxious Discharge but hopefully those won't come into play.

[Retias]

Darius doesn't hesitate either. He starts inching carefully towards the nearest control station for the reactor, eyes fixed on that writhing darkness that Barriel has located. He fights instincts to run, he's worked with (and created) enough predatory beasts to know it'll only motivate it to pursue him.

"Wait!" He hisses at Helena as she brings her melta into play and looses a shot. "You might damage the power banks!" Wincing metalically, he reaches out, hands seeking controls.

n case he can reach a console, making a tech use check to see the status of the reactor. Specifically, dealing with the room's lighting.

[roll0]

[Toxic Mind]

Barriel almost sighs. Neither of the humans bothered to consider that the beast might be laying a trap, that the thing above them was the beasts latest kill, and not the hunter itself. But the game, as the humans were fond of remarking, was afoot. There was no possibility of avoiding a fight, now it remained to take it on their terms.

“Come, my fallen brother! You are so challenged - bring yourself to me!”

He did not know if his companions had yet realized the nature of their foe, and he did not care. There was no longer any doubt in Barriel’s mind that his foe was worthy. He sheathes his sword and pistol, finally drawing the massive blade from his back. His wings unfurl.
Intimidate to Challenge: [roll0] vs 61
Guarded Action with Chain Greatsword

[Chivy]

"I have gathered a few items of interest, but am unable to recognize the construction or function of the inner doors. They are not of a type used anywhere I have been before, but for now they are closed and seem environmentally sealed. Darius, as soon as you have finished restoring the power your expertise is required at this location to ensure it stays secure. We will continue our sweep towards the Metro Entrance." Reveka crisply informed the others about her progress over the vox.

"Miria, collect that and that Hellgun backpack. Give one to Grael to carry and carry one yourself." Reveka ordered her minion, then stripped the power blade’s scabbard from the skitarii leader and added that and the krak grenade dispenser her own belt opposite her chainsword. She then sheaved the powersword. She checked that the others carried the backpacks, then started her slow methodological sweep. This time towards the Metro Entrance.

[Rizhail]

The room becomes blindingly bright for a moment, the melta discharge spearing directly into the center of the shadowy anomaly on the ceiling. It's nearly impossible to tell if the thing was harmed, but the way the darkness seems to spasm and distort indicates the entity definitely noticed the attack.

Ignoring the flaring light, Darius is able to plug in to the reactor console and make some headway into getting things running again. However, any hopes for a quick solution to lighting are dashed as a warning pops up in his vision, indicating the system will need some time to build a charge before the main reactor in the chamber can activate.

Barriel's booming voice causes the billowing shadows to fall still for a moment, one long strand of darkness turning in the direction of the Astartes as though contemplating him. The shadows then detach from the ceiling, landing with a reverberating *boom*. The creature stretches up to its full height, standing over twice as tall as it's challenger. Though still obscured with unnatural darkness, numerous dimly glowing spots are now visible through the swirling void, slight movements suggesting eyes. What little of the creature's shape that is visible seems to indicate the creature is quadrupedal and has five elongated appendages at the top of its body, though whether they are necks or arms is impossible to tell. Despite the sudden attack from intruders and the challenge from the Astartes, the only sound the creature has made was it's impact.


Please roll for initiative! And remember to simply post your actions without worrying about order; I'll stitch it all together after everyone has posted.

For Darius: you can attempt to boost the charge on the reactor start-up through luminen capacitors if you wish, though it will be at a penalty on the toughness test due to the charge required. You can simply wait, though it will take a minute or two to come online on its own. Or you can brain storm some other options. Go nuts!




The trip to the metro entrance is quick and quiet. The entrance to the metro tunnel on the first floor is still in working order, showing no signs of collapse or damage. The powered doors that would serve to seal off the tunnels from the manufactorum in case of emergency are partially closed, though there are signs indicating manual control mechanisms; however, Reveka is sure she could not move those doors on her own even with her power armor.

There are some shell casings and a few blood spots scattered across the area, but the blood is actually dry, and there are no signs of bodies or any actual bullet holes to be found. The area is eerily quiet, even for an abandoned tunnel.

That is, until a dull thump reverberates through the floor from deeper in the facility.

[Retias]

Darius remains glad that Barriel is between him and the monstrous shadow creature. Containing that.. it would be a challenge.

He feels a stab of regret. The means to hold it are woefully lacking and their only hope for survival is to kill it. But perhaps an autopsy will still yield some useful results. For the moment though, he has a more immediate issue to handle.

Uttering an apology to the reactor's spirit for such rough handling, he connects both the power pack from the lasgun he found, and his own capacitors, to the machine. With a wince, he throws a switch to manually charge the device, a hoarse scream of pain filling the room as electricity flows through him.


Initiative: [roll0]
Toughness test: [roll1]

Using the las charge pack to try and supplement his own power supply.

[Toxic Mind]

Barriel looks at the creature before him and sees only red. A deep rage suffuses him and everything that may have once seemed human-like fades before its coming. "When it is dead, you may want to run." are the last words that his human comrades hear before an unearthly howl echoes from vox-grille. Around the collar which encircles his neck, tiny needles prick him, and the metal of his sword burns in his hands.

So great is Barriel's rage that the world fades to a single moment and place - him and the monster, and nothing else. Yet even now, his training is never forgotten. His blade stands ready to turn aside blows, his mind still his own, though altered.

His human companions could not see it, but underneath his helm, Barriel was smiling.

Initiative: [roll0]+4
Full Action: Frenzy
Barriel will Parry the First Attack
Parry:[roll1] [32] vs 52 (In OOC)
If Successful, Counter Attack:
Hit: [roll2] vs 42
Damage: [roll3]+14 Pen 4

[Ionbound]

Helena smartly takes a step back from the angry Barriel, looking to not have to use her beautiful claw just yet. Instead she fires another melta blast at the critter, hoping that between her fire and Barriel's attack, it's enough to take down the monster.

Take a step back as a free action, Aim Half Action, fire Half Action
Attack: [roll0] vs 57
Damage: [roll1] Pen 12 E damage
Clip: 3/5

[Chivy]

"Darius, Reva." the Psyker's voice crackled over the vox again.
"I have reached the metro tunnel entrance and it stands open. To seal the blast doors I require power, how long before you reach the reactor?
A moment later the vox sprang to life again
"I just heard a thump from deeper within the facility. Investigating."

With quick hand-signals Reveka signalled her two companions in the direction of where she had heard the thumping sound come from and with a close 'eye' on her auspex, she crept towards it, with the others following a few dozen meters behind.
don't know if they're needed but might as well do the set again;
Using internal auspex. +20 flat awareness boost and a tech use for picking up anything not normally sensed by standard human senses
Tech use +0 (int 44): tn 44 - [roll0]

Awareness +0 (per 50) + embedded auspex +20 = tn 70 - [roll1] - if made gets additional DoS because of unnatural perception 2

Stealth +0 (agi 40) +chameleonline cloak +20 = tn 60 - [roll2]

Psyniscience +0 (per 50) = tn50 - [roll3] if made gets additional DoS because of unnatural perception 2

[Rizhail]

The creature is slow to react at first, as though it was sleeping deeply before the trio so rudely woke it. Another bright lance of melta discharge sears into the shadows surrounding the beast, this time eliciting a deep hiss from the beast as the smell of incinerated flesh fills the air. It lashes out at Barriel, one of its shadow-shrouded limbs whipping down toward the marine while emitting a strange whirring hiss. The enraged marine manages to parry the strike, riding the momentum of the blow into a counter-attack - only to be parried in turn by another of the creature's limbs. The beast's own parry is accompanied by the ringing sound of metal on metal. A deep growl can be heard from within the writhing darkness, as though it is annoyed at the intruders' presence.

Despite his efforts, Darius' internal capacitors and the lasgun pack aren't enough to jumpstart the reactor; it does give the priming charge a boost, cutting the time from a few minutes down to one minute until primed.


Ion, don't forget to roll for initiative!




Heading down a flight of stairs to the next floor's metro entrance, Reveka and co don't hear any more noises. However, a very faint thermal signature appears for a moment on her auspex, and faint vibrations and signs of life are barely visible to her sensors after the thermal plume fades. Based on her map, it appears the activity is taking place in the reactor room the others were heading toward.

[Toxic Mind]

"Busy." Barriel says tersely over the vox. The sounds of combat ring in the background.

The creature was formidable. A lesser warrior would have already been planning an escape, or at least a means of disengaging from the fight. Barriel was no lesser warrior. "And they shall know no fear." - It was said that the Emperor of Mankind, dead and rotting, had spoken those words when the first Astartes were created. True or not, they rang clearly now. The opening maneuvers finished, Barriel begins to move in earnest, using wings and enhanced biology in concert to continue the deadly dance.
Half Action: Aim Half Action, Swift Attack Half Action
Hit: [roll0] vs 72
Damage: [roll1]+14 Total: [28] Pen 4
Damage: [roll2]+14 Pen 4
Damage: [roll3]+14 Pen 4
Reaction: Parry the First Attack
Parry:[roll4] vs 62
If Successful, Counter Attack:
Hit: [roll5] vs 42
Damage: [roll6]+14 Pen 4

[Retias]

"Reactor now powering up. Stand by." Darius' voice echoes the sound of combat, a tense, uneasy note in his metallic tone.



Staying by the reactor like he plans to hold off the monstrous enemy all by himself, Darius raises his las carbine, a flash of light impacting the shadowy enemy engaged with Barriel.

[Chivy]

"Understood. I am detecting large heat source venting from where the reactor room should be. Do you require assistance?"

Looking back at the two with her she chewed over her options. She was the carefull type, had been since the Exterminatus, and it had kept her alive all this time. If the others had gotten into trouble and reactor had been damaged by the battle, it could be going critical. A reactor explosion wouldn't be small and even running for it through the metro gate probably wouldn't save her. A mental image of the blast funneling through that open door decided it for her. She might be able to help the heretec stabalise the reactor and if there were any more of the things they fought with she could lend a hand.
"Grael, guard the metro gate. Miria, let's move. Double time."
She then quickly started making her way towards the reactor room, compromising with her usual carefull aproach by not consulting her auspex, but trying to stay as quiet as she could while running down the hallway with her bound unliving daemon following.
So Grael can do his thing and guard the door without bothering us, or get eaten if you want to drop him now seeing that he's been inactive for so long.

[Rizhail]

The dueling giants blur into motion once more, Barriel's massive chainblade and the beast's strange limbs weaving in and around each other as each sought an advantage. Fortune favored the Astartes as he managed to slide his blade through a gap in the monster's defenses, a foul stench and unnaturally smoking ichor spilling to the floor as the mutant's own strikes were thrown off by the pain and force of the hit.

Despite his best efforts, Darius' lasgun failed to produce the sort of effects his comrades' weapons had, the coherent beam striking into the shadows but appearing to accomplish nothing.


Ion, you forgot to take your turn after rolling initiative. :smalltongue:

Go ahead and roll your last turn into your next one this time. Also, I'll do another check over xp expenditures to make sure I didn't overlook anything, but if I did I can't really hold it against you at this point (though I will likely toss a slight boon to the others to make sure everyone is even).




The revenant didn't make a sound as it stepped over to the tunnel entrance, remaining behind as requested.

Taking the stairs as quickly and quietly as she could, Reveka was able to make out the sound of a chainblade repeatedly revving as she hit the bottom stair and entered the hallway leading to the reactor room. The hallway was a charnel house, the remains of humans both mundane and skitarii scattered around, and blood and other foul substances coated the walls. Her practiced eye picked out the tracks from her three compatriots among the detritus, leading toward the open door of the reactor chamber.


One more round of movement will put you into the room. Feel free to roll initiative now.

[Toxic Mind]

Barriel continues his fight against the monster, though he spares some choice words for Darius. "Focus on the lights, fool. Leave battle to the capable." His voice is deeper, and angrier, as if the violence he leveled against the monster could easily spill over onto his companions.

To the beast he faces, he asks a single question during an instant pause in battle. "How did you come to this, cousin?" Even through the haze of red, Barriel wonders if there is anything left within the creature, or if it is truly the mindless savage the others believe it to be.

Half Action: Aim Half Action, Swift Attack Half Action
Hit: [roll0] vs 72
Damage: [roll1]+14 Total: [31] Pen 4
Damage: [roll2]+14 Total: [32] Pen 4
Damage: [roll3]+14 Total: [32] Pen 4
Reaction: Parry the First Attack
Parry:[roll4] vs 62
If Successful, Counter Attack:
Hit: [roll5] vs 42
Damage: [roll6]+14 Total: Pen 4

[Chivy]

Combat. Adrenalin thrummed through Reveka when she heard the familiar whine of a chainsword. Did one of her companions have a chain weapon? She thought so, but things had been happening so fast, she hadn't actually taken not of what the others had been armed with. This might be a lot of trouble..

Still she didn't hesitate. If she was right she needed to help prevent the reactor from breaching and if she was wrong her companions might be under attack. Her chances of survival were exponentially better with the others than without, so she signaled to Miria that they were probably engaging.
Reveka Initiative [roll0] (Agility 4 + Quick and the dead 2 + Preternatural Awareness boost 5)
Miria Initiative [roll1] (Agility 3 + Unnatural agility 2)

[Retias]

"Barriel has engaged the enemy, and is matching it so far. But support would be of potential value."



Accepting that his primary weapon was ineffective at best, Darius stepped back, letting Barriel's rebuke factor into his calculations. The reactor was powering up and nothing he could do would speed the process. However, this was a room housing a temperamental reactor and so, perhaps..

He scanned the area, before finding what he sought. A coiled length of hose attached to a small tank of liquid hydrogen. Enough to defeat fires, and perhaps weaken the enemy they'd found. Manually releasing the reservoir of liquid hydrogen without power would be a challenge, however, and so he moved to begin his attempt.

[Rizhail]

The sound of armored footsteps pounding down the hall precedes the arrival of Reveka, her power armored form sprinting into view from the maintenance corridor. Not far into the room stands Barriel, massive chainblade roaring as he attempts to put down the shadowy monstrosity that looms over him. The beast is the same one Reveka saw in her vision, a massive creature shrouded in writhing shadow. Only its numerous glowing eyes and a vague silhouette of four legs and tentacle-esque limbs are visible through its shroud. The psyker's arrival manages to break the beast's singular focus on the Astartes, and Barriel manages to land multiple strikes. However, only one strike manages to spill the creature's blood, the others parting swirling shade and nothing more.

A low whine is now audible from the reactor that stands in the center of the room, the sound slowly growing louder as the device continues its slow preparation to come online.

The beast steps back a moment as its ichor once again spills to the floor, its limbs twisting around as though examining the situation. It apparently doesn't like what it sees, as it disengages from Barriel with a spiteful hiss, its form shifting and blurring around any attempt to counter it. As soon as it has an opening, it crouches and leaps, landing atop the reactor.


No more IC spoilers as the party regroups.

The monster used acrobatics to disengage as a half action and took a standing leap as a half action instead of a full action (a special ability it has; you notice as it moves that this thing is shockingly agile and sure-footed). It is now 4m off the ground, on top of the reactor.

@Ion: go ahead and run two turns' worth of actions in the next round to help make up for what you missed.

@Retias: You can power the portable fire suppression system easily, as it is intended to plug directly into a servitor or tech-priests implants for use; just spend a half action to pick it up and hook it in. Treat the device as a standard flamer, but with the flame quality replaced with primitive(7) and corrosive (as it embrittles armor and freezes/destroys exposed flesh).

[Retias]

"No beast!" Darius yells, hooking the end of the fire suppression system into his metallic carapace. "You will stay away from my reactor!" Suddenly seeming to surge with forbidden emotion the heretek spins, directing the nozzle of the system at the shadowy foe.

A blast of below freezing gases erupt, coating the creature and making sharp cracking sounds as it begins to bite into whatever armour it conceals under its shadows.



9 damage at pen 2 dealt, and armour reduced by 2.

[Toxic Mind]

Barriel sees only red. Like the massive feline predators of Death Worlds, the fact that his prey chooses to run only further fans his desire to bring it down.

"Height will not save you, beast." he says, his voice thick with the rage of battle.

The great wings at his back unfurl, their leather membranes snapping into place. It takes only a single beat of their length to propel him into the air and at his foe, smashing into the warrior who dares to turn away from combat.

The actions of his comrades are lost to him, the red battle-rage heavy on his eyes. His care is for the beast alone.

Half Action: Charge Half Action, Swift Attack Half Action
Hit: [roll0] vs 72
Damage: [roll1]+14 Total: [31] Pen 4
Damage: [roll2]+14 Total: [34] Pen 4
Damage: [roll3]+14 Total: [33] Pen 4
Reaction: Parry the First Attack
Parry:[roll4] vs 62
If Successful, Counter Attack:
Hit: [roll5] vs 42
Damage: [roll6]+14 Total: Pen 4

[Ionbound]

Helena grins with delight as she tracks the target and squeezes the trigger of her meltagun twice, sending gouts of fusion-plasma at the beast, hoping to destroy it utterly.

[roll0] vs 47
[roll1] E Damage, Pen 12

[roll2] vs 47
[roll3] E Damage, Pen 12

1/5 clip

[Chivy]

Reva slowed her dash before she entered the reactor room proper and took a moment to assess what was happening and turn her Auspex back on and extend her senses to see what this creature was doing. It was warpspawn, she was sure of that much and the things that thing had done in her vision caused goosebumps to crawl up her back.

"Line up, but don’t fire unless you’ve got a sure hit." the Psyker whispered distractedly to her bound demon and a flick of her hand sent the undying creature into cover where she started lining up her sniper rifle.

The Astartus was battling the creature on top of the reactor, she hesitated in what to do. A barrage of warp energy might destroy the creature, but it might also damage the reactor and most probably anger the Astartus. She was still mulling over her choices when a melta blast scorched itself across her retina.

"What are you doing?!" she whispered fiercely into her microbead, blinking the aftereffects away.
"That Warped melta will blow through the reactor easily and blow us all up or damage the…"
The implications of what a stray shot from a weapon created to burn through the armour of tanks could do to the reactor or the ducts and wirings around the room stopped her explanation in her tracks and she just yelled "STOP FIRING!" into the microbead.
Reveka
Using internal auspex. +20 flat awareness boost and a tech use for picking up anything not normally sensed by standard human senses
Tech use +0 (int 44): tn 44 - – [roll0]

Taking a half action to realy look at what is happening.
Awareness +0 (per 50) + embedded auspex +20 = tn 70 – [roll1] – if made gets additional DoS because of unnatural perception 2

Psyniscience +0 (per 50) = tn50 – [roll2] – if made gets additional DoS because of unnatural perception 2

Miria
Move into any cover she can find and take aim.

[Rizhail]

The battle atop the reactor is fierce and chaotic, Barriel repeatedly striking the creature as his allies pour fire upon it. Once more the Astartes finds that most of his strikes seem to find only shadow, the strange effect around the beast absorbing the force of his strikes; however, one blow manages to strike home and the beast shrieks as one of its limbs separates from its body in a rain of foul ichor. As it is reeling, the freezing spray from Darius' re-purposed fire-fighting equipment envelopes the monster's body, the shadowy void around it parting for a moment; ceramite plating and a scaly hide are visible for but a moment, their color impossible to discern under the dim emergency lighting. Helena's melta shots follow, passing near the creature's head as they scorch the ceiling; her overworked weapon groans in protest, venting smoke and steam as the metal creaks.

Though her auspex is unable to make much sense of the scene before her, Reveka's own senses prove useful: the reactor seems unharmed by the combat going on around it, the whine of the charging capacitors continuing to rise in pitch and no sign of sparks or damage to anything important. Her psyker senses are able to pick up the energies that maintain the creature's shadowy aura; it is definitely channeling the energies of the warp to protect itself. The strange power is not as bright in her warpsight as such a phenomena would normally be, as it appears to even have some dimming effect against immaterial senses, but the effect is nowhere near as potent as its protection from physical senses.

For its part, the beast is none too pleased with how the fight is progressing. With the loss of its arm, it apparently decides that discretion is the better part of valour, and attempts to make its escape. Attempts, because it loses its footing in its own spilled blood as it tries to leap to the door, managing only to make it to the floor a few meters from the reactor as it lands in a writhing, bleeding heap. It hisses in frustration as it bounds to its feet, taking a few shaky steps closer to the exit as it begins to find its stride. Reveka's minion manages to place a las shot right into the beast as it moves, but the swirling darkness absorbs the shot.


Failed jump checks are fun! :smalltongue:

Beasty is now 8m from the reactor and heading toward the door. It did not bother making a test to avoid being attacked while moving, so Barriel gets one free strike at it before his next turn proper.

@Ion: Don't forget that your melta has overheats; both of those shots were 1 point shy of blowing your own arm off. And now you know how the average plasma-gun guardsman feels. :smalltongue:

[Chivy]

Even a Sororitas initiate would falter if a writhing darkness started running towards her. Reveka had the unfortunate knowledge of what the creature had done to the luckless guards in the manufactorum to reinforce the image of the barreling darkness. But instead of paralizing fear, this knowledge came with the crystal clarity that this creature had to be destroyed if they were going to inhabit the manufactorum.
Knowing what would happen if she stayed where she was, Reveka sped from the doorway, clearing a path as quickly as she could, but als setting herself up that her shots at the creature would have no chance of hitting her comrades or the delicate machinery of the reactor behind the creature. Somewhere in there she heard Miria take another shot.

She then opened herself to the warp using her fluer-de-lis which she had covered with imposibly small warpcraft sigils and signs of all the Chaos Gods to help focus the raw warpstuff. It was a manipulation she had done many times before and with practiced ease she twisted the warpstuff into what looked like lightless lightning before unleashing it, her own writhing tentacle-fingers guiding the power towards the writhing mass of darkness.

Reveka
Doombolt: Willpower 52 + 15 (psi rating 3) + 10 (psi focus): tn 77 - [roll0]
(One bolt for a success and an additional one for every two successes)
Reroll if she rolls doubles (using infamy) - [roll1]
Bolt 1 - [roll2] - AP: 8
Bolt 2 - [roll3] - AP: 8
Bolt 3 - [roll4] - AP: 8
Bolt 4 - [roll5] - AP: 8 - rolling for Zealous Hatred in the ooc thread :)

Miria
Aim action: accurate weapon so +20
Shoot: BS35 + 20 (aim) + 10 (red dot): tn 65 - [roll6]
damage [roll7] AP 3
If 2 raises add [roll8]
If 2 more raises add [roll9] Think that totals to 31 damage ap 3

Nice! I love it when rolls come together :)

[Toxic Mind]

Barriel swipes at the beast with a backswing as it attempts to run. His wings beat again and he is off after his prey, charging directly at it. The subtleties of battle and of this combat are lost in the red haze. His chainblade has hurt the beast before, and that means it can hurt it again.

Free Action: Standard Attack
Hit: [roll0] vs 72
Damage: [roll1]+14 Total: [X] Pen 4

Half Action: Charge Half Action, Swift Attack Half Action
Hit: [roll2] vs 72
Damage: [roll3]+14 Total: [X] Pen 4
Damage: [roll4]+14 Total: [X] Pen 4
Damage: [roll5]+14 Total: [X] Pen 4
Reaction: Parry the First Attack
Parry: [roll6] vs 62
If Successful, Counter Attack:
Hit: [roll7] vs 42
Damage: [roll8]+14 Total: [X] Pen 4

[Rizhail]

Reveka's warp-powers assault the creature, passing through the beast's shroud as though it weren't even there. Her doombolts stitched their way up its back, the last wave of energy slamming into its head and sending the creature reeling. Its pained flailing prevents Barriel from landing a solid strike on the creature. In its fury, it throws out a nasty double kick with its hind legs at the marine before stumbling farther down the tunnel, a parting shot from Reveka's daemon-puppet blazing into its back through the shadows and filling the tunnel with the horrible stench of burning ichor and eliciting a howl of protest from the creature.

In the reactor chamber, the whine from the capacitors reaches a fever pitch as they near full charge.

Creature makes a knockdown action against Barriel and a half move away.

So, for Barriel: opposed strength test!
As this is a direct opposed test and Barriel is meeting this first hand, I'll let you see the roll and what you're going up against:

[roll0] - vs. 60, +2 DoS if test is successful due to unnatural strength (+4).

If it beats Barriel he'll be knocked prone, and potentially taking damage and fatigue. If Barriel wins, he stays on his feet, and if he wins by enough he could knock it down instead, cancelling its move and its turn.

[Chivy]

The Sororitas Initiate slowed her warplightning for a moment, making sure she wouldn't strike their bellowing Astartus, but instantly set in with more after the Warp Creature barreled him down. She took another few steps back, to reduce the chance the creature would strike at her if it ran past her, then unleashed more Warp Lightning at it.

Miria cursed a moment after the crack of her own weapon had been heard.

[Retias]

Darius meanwhile, ducked back towards the reactor, moving away from the fight as it headed for the corridor and working frantically at the control panels. With luck there might just be enough power for..

He connected himself again, yelling in pain as his own energy reserves were shared with the reactor, and he rapidly tapped in a sequence to close the security door of the corridor the monster was fleeing down before it could escape.


Toughness test for luminen capacitors: [roll0]

[Rizhail]

Reveka's warp powers assail the fleeing beast once more as Barriel leaps back to his feet, the Astartes immediately beginning his next charge toward his foe. The creature has other ideas, picking up speed as it flees down the maintenance corridor toward the stairs.

And rams head first into the emergency hatch that slams down at the end of the corridor, it's crash preceded by the loud *thump* of the reactor coming online. Darius slumps to the floor, his body and cybernetics feeling the aftereffects of plugging into the reactor for the second time in less than a minute. The manufactorum echoes with the sounds of the ventilation system going into full gear and the repeated thumps of breakers closing and lights powering on.

The lights in the hallway snap on last, bathing the party and their foe in bright white light, dazzling all involved. A loud sizzling noise emanates from the creature as its shadowy field burns away under the lights' glare. As the party's eyes begin to adjust to the glow, the creature can be clearly seen for the first time.

The mutant's Astartes origin is clear, the scraps of the poor bastard's power armor embedded in his Warp-twisted flesh; his legs still have the large boots (mostly) intact. The mutant's head is reptilian, and the sections of flesh that are not plated in armor are covered in blue-green scales. What were once the marine's arms have lengthened down to the floor into dexterous, clawed hands, while his neck has greatly lengthened and four tentacles have sprouted from his broadened shoulders to match it. The leftmost tentacle has a bolt pistol fused into it, the rightmost a chainsword; the inner set of tentacles have purely organic appendages that seem like mockeries of the Astartes' weaponry, a gun-like protrusion of muscle and bone on one and a section of whirling teeth and claws gracing the other.

The spawn's wounds are visible, and are just as visibly healing before the party's eyes, the burns along its neck and back slowly returning to their normal color while the chainsword wounds knit themselves shut. Only the small frostbitten section on its torso and a horrifying melta burn along its flank are unmoving.

[Chivy]

The thump followed by the lights burning off the Warpcloak brought a grim smile to the Psyker’s lips. She had been right. It had been a guess, an educated one, but it had proved correct. It would cement her usefulness at the least. She moved and positioned herself in cover inside the Reactor Room, looking down the corridor at the mutant, but held herself ready instead of blasting the beast again. His healing worried her a bit, but their own Astartus would probably have less trouble dismembering the creature now that he could see what he was striking at. Still she spoke into the comms, only one weapon had left a large mark on the mutant.
"That Melta will do little damage if you miss down that corridor."

both Miria and Reva are moving to the sides of the Corridor and placing themselves in cover there. Miria uses her second half-action to aim and Reva holds her action for if the Mutant starts shooting or charging at her.

[Retias]

Darius slumped against the reactor, but managed to run a hand down its surface, letting the hum soothe his pain. "You live still.. It is good. We will work together, spirit, to restore this place." Groaning, he shifted position to try and peer down the corridor. "I.. may be able to secure it in the corridor, if you can occupy it for a little longer." He chirped through the vox link.

[Toxic Mind]

There is very little of Barriel left. Perhaps if circumstances were different, he might have backed away, allowed more effective weapons to take their toll. Instead, he roars across the gap, the blood boiling within him, able to finally see his prey, and sensing its fear. It wished to escape; he would not allow it. There was nothing of the Astartes it once was left, all that remained was the raw force of Chaos personified. A worthy opponent. Barriel could no more disengage than he could remove the brazen collar from around his neck.

Half Action: Charge Half Action, Swift Attack Half Action
Hit: [roll0] vs 72
Damage: [roll1]+14 Total: [32] Pen 4
Damage: [roll2]+14 Total: [29] Pen 4
Damage: [roll3]+14 Total: [X] Pen 4
Reaction: Parry the First Attack
Parry: [roll4] vs 62
If Successful, Counter Attack:
Hit: [roll5] vs 42
Damage: [roll6]+14 Total: [X] Pen 4

[Rizhail]

Now deprived of its unnatural aura and covered in wounds its regenerative powers have not fully healed yet, the beast finally seems truly awake and alert. The many eyes that were barely visible through its shroud glow brightly, focusing on the charging Astartes, each eye seeming to track a different part of the marine. The mutant's chainblade limbs strike out with unnatural speed, deftly deflecting the enraged Barriel's strikes before the beast's front limbs lash out, attempting to grab hold of its foe.

For their part, the others are able to find some small cover in the hallway behind panels and pylons, and not a moment too soon: eyes open up on the beast's gun limbs, and they begin to vomit bone-like spikes down the hall in the general direction of the Reveka, Helena, and the daemon-puppet. One spike buries itself in Reveka's cover, the point sticking a few millimeters out of her side of the cover, but otherwise the party avoids any direct hits for the moment.


The beast actually landed a solid parry for once. It's action is an aimed unarmed strike leading to a grapple, which it succeeded on; Barriel has the opportunity to take a Reaction.

Reveka, Helena, and Miria are currently under suppressing fire, and need to make pinning tests at -10; one shot would have potentially hit Reveka, but cover and low rolling ate it.

[Chivy]

"Warp."
Reva ducked aside as the bone-spikes rained around her position, shielding her face with her arm.

"Miria destroy him!" She yelled, a moment later the sound of Miria’s sniper rifle being fired brought her some respite. She opened herself again to the warp and a few moments later she looked around the corner and flung her arm out, releasing dark lightning towards their enemy.

Reveka
Doombolt: Willpower 52 + 15 (psi rating 3) + 10 (psi focus): tn 77 - [roll0]
(One bolt for a success and an additional one for every two successes)
Reroll if she rolls doubles (using infamy) - [roll1]
Bolt 1 - [roll2] - AP: 8
Bolt 2 - [roll3] - AP: 8
Bolt 3 - [roll4] - AP: 8
Bolt 4 - [roll5] - AP: 8
Possible Zealous Hatred rolls – 1-[roll6] 2-[roll7]

Miria
Aim action: accurate weapon so +20
Shoot: BS35 + 10 (Single shot) + 20 (aim) + 10 (red dot): tn 75 - [roll8]
damage [roll9] AP 3
If 2 raises add [roll10]
If 2 more raises add [roll11]