THE KARRIDEAN VERGE - Dark Heresy 1e Ascension Campaign IC

[Erulasto]

THE KARRIDEAN VERGE

A Dark Heresy 1e Ascension Campaign

OOC THREAD (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?608209-THE-KARRIDEAN-VERGE-Dark-Heresy-1e-Ascension-Campaign&p=24391465#post24391465)

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”Some may question your right to destroy ten billion people. Those who understand realize that you have no right to let them live!”
-In Exterminatus Extremis




PROLOGUE

New Cimmeria.

A Hive World straddling the borders between Sub-Sector Osse and Sub-Sector Volanti. It was settled in the early thirty-ninth millennium when Commodore Adolf Korolanus first led his explorator-fleet into the region. It was well-favored for a settlement, as the Arrek System in which it resided was full of a plethora of mineral-rich planetoids and an equally rich asteroid belt in the inner reaches of the system.

New Cimmeria was settled early in Korolanus’ exploration, and the vast mineral wealth found in the Arrek System would go a long way towards ensuring the explorator-fleets had the necessary supplies to continue the task put before them by the High Lords of Terra.

As the centuries passed, New Cimmeria grew from a simple Imperial world, into a proto-hive world and eventually a fully fledge Hive World with a population of just under six trillion spread across four major hive cities: Alecto, Eshmun, Mori and Rani.

While not as populated as Fidelis, or as wealthy as Luxzemburg, New Cimmeria sat on a stable warp conduit between Sub-Sectors that made trade easy to accommodate.

Until recently, New Cimmeria was a shining beacon of Imperial rule done right. The Planetary-Governor ensured the tithes were met, if not exceeded, in both raw materials, throne gelt, and the indomitable Cimmerian regiments of the Astra Militarum.

In the middling days of 982.M41, a sudden warp storm rolled through the system causing earthquakes and damaging infrastructure system-wide. It was thought the storm originated from the death-throes of a warp-entity called Oah on the agri-world of Aporia. In the warp storm’s wake, Hive Mori and Hive Rani were decimated and Hive Alecto was rent in two by a vast chasm that split the earth.

Millions died in Hive Mori and Hive Rani, with many more missing in the aftermath.

As excavation crews began the slow, arduous task of clearing away debris and repairing the damaged infrastructure, they made a discovery with terrifying implications. Deep within the chasm that split Hive Alecto, they found a vast underground chamber, unearthed by the quakes, nearly at a depth of ten kilometers.

Inside this vast, desolate chamber sat a towering structure constructed of some smooth black material. It was seamless, glossy and yet seemed to absorb ambient light, and was in the shape of a perfect pyramid. It was as wide as it was tall, with each face proportionally symmetrical to the rest and stood at least a kilometer high.

The Planetary-Governor, Jerichus Kessler, immediately put a call out to the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Emperor’s Holy Orders of the Inquisition.

A task force was assembled to investigate this strange, archeotech structure, overseen by one of Inquisitor-Lord Felix Bannon’s most trusted protégé’s: Inquisitor Sonya Astrazan and the Fabricator-General’s personal representative: Archmagos Explorator Amicus Yong.

Despite the best efforts of the Inquisition, Adeptus Mechanicus and local authorities, word of the structure got out to the general population and sparked a significant upswell of faith. Led by the street-preacher Korso Gaste, people began to believe that in the wake of the disaster that struck New Cimmeria, the pyramid was a sacred manifestation of the Emperor. Gaste claimed that the warp storm had come specifically to bring the pyramid to the faithful.

As time passed, more and more of Hive Alecto’s population became enamoured with this new mystery cult, and it spread far and wide across New Cimmeria despite the Ministorum’s best efforts.

At some point in recent days – the exact date is unknown given the variables of warp travel – the seditious Planetary-Governor of Logofer VI, Malkan Madrass, heard of this structure and sent an invasion force to New Cimmeria to claim the structure for his own ends.

The last recorded transmission from Inquisitor Astrazan via astropath was that the invasion force had set up a blockade around the Hive World, and begun to make planetfall. She indicated, as well, that the Cult of the Black Tetrad had become more militant – demanding unfettered access to the Pyramid.

Now, Inquisitor-Lord Felix Bannon and the rest of the Imperium can no longer ignore the strange events surrounding New Cimmeria.

He has dispatched some of his most proficient Throne Agents and a cadre of Inquisitorial Storm Troopers to retrieve Astrazan, the Archmagos, and ensure that the Pyramid does not fall into the hands of Madrass’ traitor forces.

They are sent aboard the Imperator Lux, a Lunar-class cruiser at the head of a small flotilla borrowed from the Logofer Crusade to break the blockade and repel the invaders and the Cult.





ARREK SYSTEM – NEW CIMMERIA
853.982.M41

The transition from the warp to realspace aboard the Imperator Lux was not a graceful experience. Residual traces of the recent warp storm had caused a great deal of navigational difficulties, but the flotilla managed to arrive intact none the less.

Immediately after transitioning, alarm klaxons began to wail and a general call-to-arms was broadcast across all the internal vox-systems, calling for boarding parties and armed voidsmen to man all battle stations.

The Imperator Lux and its escorts – the Resplendent Virtue and the Hand of Victory, both Dauntless-class light cruisers, and the Sword-class Frigate squadron, Shields of Korolan – altered their course to make their way in-system towards New Cimmeria. Vibrations resonated through the hull of the Imperator Lux as the full-burn of the massive plasma drives bore them onwards.

The goal was to break the blockade, while the escorts engaged the few traitor ships in orbit around New Cimmeria.

Eventually, the steady rhythmic pounding of plasma macrobattery broadsides were felt through the ship as the flotilla engaged the enemy fleet. Occasionally, a rumble was felt as the Imperator Lux itself was struck.

The cell of Throne Agents, hand-picked by Inquisitor-Lord Bannon, had spent the journey to the Arrek System preparing themselves for the task at hand. Tending their gear, training perhaps, or reading up on the archived history of New Cimmeria from the vast cogitator-libraries on board.

When the Imperator Lux finally broke through the blockade, having sustained some damage but overall intact, it was time to depart. As the Throne agents made their way through the ship towards the hangar where their ride was waiting, they passed swaths of Astra Militarum forces preparing for their own departure.

The splinter fleet of the Logofer Crusade had orders of their own, to secure Hive Alecto and push back the seditious forces that had taken hold.

Assembling hastily in one of the Imperator Lux’s hangars, where their transport awaited, they were met with the bustle of last-minute preparations. Bulk servitors were finishing the fuelling process, while a number of flight crew were triple-checking their ammunition stores.

It was called Firebrand, a heavily-modified gun-cutter armed with autocannons and a pair of pintle-mounted heavy bolters. The ship was not sleek, nor pretty, but its heavily reinforced hull would be just what was needed to make planetfall themselves.

As they approached Firebrand, a tall man with a scarred façade in an armored voidsuit descended the loading ramp to meet them.

”Ready to go?” Asked Gregor Ettinbar. He was one of Bannon’s favoured acolytes; a tireless pilot of no small skill.



Please let me know in a spoiler what gear you’re bringing with you, or if you’re leaving anything specific behind. Mostly basic book keeping stuff.

Also, if you have any other preparations you’d like to make, please let me know. This includes any lore checks you’d like to make regarding intel on anything mentioned above, or – I suppose – anything else you’re curious about I may not have covered.

[DrK]

VX266 'Vex'

VX had watched the battle from an observation blister near the prow of the massive cruiser. The silence in the blister enjoyable and the view of glowing void shields and rippling macro batteries impressive. This was the Emperor's hammer even as the likes of her and these Acolytes she had met were the scalpel.

Passing through the cavernous halls of the Lux's lower decks she had ghosted through crawlways and narrow underdecks to avoid the crowds, as hard steely gaze and a glimpse of the Rosarious around her neck enough to prevent interruption from the bustling troopers. I'd not the pistols at her hip suggested she was not a random crewwoman.

Seeking the augur chambers she handed the officer in duty a data slate. "Surface scans and topography around Hive Alecto. 200 Imperial mile radius". It was always good to get the lie of the land when they were heading to the surface.

Data in hand she headed back to the cabin she had near the other acolytes. The lights were dim and the room bare, no evidence of anyone staying there for the past 2 months since her arrival from the Officio's transport pod.

Grabbing her weapons chest she extracted the exitus rifle and spent an hour checking the weapon and appeasing it's sophisticated machine spirit. Then she did the same to the pistol tucked into her waist. Weapons happy she donned the spy suit, the material responding to her code and compressing around her. Over the top she tossed a light grey ecclesiastical cowled robe and with a light combat pack of other things and long barrelled rifle over her shoulders she picked up the well made case for her long rifle and headed to the hangar.

Heading to the transport she inspected the Hun ship carefully before nodding to the pilot. "Where so you plan on landing? Are we landing in the combat zone?" Her words are clipped, her accent of a homeworld long forgotten

[Henry the 57th]

Between his bouts of practice swordplay and regular exercise, Tyrus Pal had chosen to spend his time aboard the transport studying the likely disposition of enemy forces. This Madrass was a Governor, surely the Imperium must have some records of the quality of his troops. What kind of opposition are they looking at? Are the traitor forces disciplined regiments well-versed in combined arms and maneuver warfare, or a scraggly bunch of underage conscripts barely aware of how to hold a rifle? Or perhaps a raving, degenerate cult mob? He wanted answers before attempting a landing.

”Am I ever not?” replied Tyrus once he reached the hanger, bedecked in his full plate, pistol and sword at his side, rifle and shield strapped to his back, and grenades hanging right where he can reach them. He is a warrior through and through, about to leave without any of his gear. “How’s the old bird holding up?” he asks, looking over the craft with a professional eye. “Can she take a hit?”

Tyrus is bringing everything, because going into a war zone without his full kit seems like simple insanity.

[Hyperbolic sine]

Before Gregor could answer, a mechanical voice rattled off the technical characteristics of the gun cutter's reinforced armour and common AA weaponry.

"So yes, she can 'take a hit'." the metal monstrosity that was Magos Xander Blashak said. Clad in the red robes of the Machine Cult and the Mechanicus's own brand of powered armour, holding a hellgun and of course almost overflowing with various kinds of mechadendrites and telescopic connectors, he was floating a few centimeters above the the floor as he approached the Firebrand.

"What is the situation on the surface?" he asked, more to the other Acolytes than Gregor himself (though he was welcome to answer if he knew something, of course). "At the very least, I am certain within tolerable margins of error that we should not encounter any remnants of the Warp storm."

There was also the matter of the possible origin of the pyramid...but it was only a possibility, as the characteristics weren't perfectly aligning, so there was no need to unnecessarily feed destructive urges. He'd keep that particular detail to himself for now.

Bringing everything as well. Not that there's a lot of stuff that I could leave behind even if I wanted.

[Janwin]

Inquisitor Alonya

As the ship entered realspace, Alonya found herself in the ship's shrine conducting her daily prayers, in simple Sororitas robes.

"O immortal Emperor have mercy on us, miserable unworthies that we are.

O master of the galaxy, protect your flock from the alien.

O keeper of the light, guide our darkened path with your radiance.

We are your warriors and we are servants to thee, we stand free from blindness of heart, free from hypocrisy, vainglory and deceits, but captive to hatred, malice and anger, to the filth, the alien, the heretic.

By thy agony and bloody sweat; by thy Golden Throne and thy death; by thy destruction and re-emergence as the God of men, keep and strenghen us, we who fight for thee."

She finishes her prayer, makes the sign of the Aquila, and then rises and heads for the door of the shrine. As she makes her way through the halls of the massive vessel, she takes note of the frenzy of activity as the crew and passengers make ready for battle. Everything seemed to have a purpose and a place, and it seemed the God-Emperor himself was guiding them about their purposes. It would be a good battle, and a good day.

She makes her way to her cabin, where she conducts the prayer she had been taught so precisely over her power armor. Every golden fleur-de-lis would be spotless and shine brightly for the enemy to see, the power pack was fully charged, and the targeting systems were in working order. She inspected her arms and ammunition as the blasts of the ships batteries sounded throughout the ship, and once inspection and blessing with holy water was complete, she finally began to put on her gear.

The Sister that came back out the door of the cabin was considerably different from the one who had entered. This one wore the crimson red power armor of a Sister of Battle of the Order of the Bloody Rose. The jump pack's steel wings spread behind her shoulders like those of an angel. Her black robes were unbuttoned allowing free movement of her legs, and on her hips were a pair of inferno pistols. A power sword and bolt pistol were mounted behind the inferno pistols, and a string of prayer beads formed a belt around the waste of her power armor. Hanging from the prayer beads was her Rosette.

She the proceeds to the hangar, noting with some contentment the reaction of the crew and troopers in the hallways she passes through. Very rarely would any of them have seen a Sister of Battle, though many had likely heard stories. And word was spreading that the God-Emperor performed miracles through them, and he must be smiling upon this campaign. A boost to morale was always welcome, and would only increase the possibility of a successful mission.

And so, that is how she makes her entrance into the hangar and joins the other members of her team that had already gathered.

"That is good to hear, Magos Blashak. Whenever you are ready, Gregor, and whenever we are cleared to depart."

[Haval]

Cornelia has spent most of the voyage in seclusion in her quarters. The scale of the devastation caused by the warp storm suggested that there was a risk that it might have affected New Cimmeria in ways that weren't immediately clear. There was a possibility that things would be weird down there, and dangerous for reasons aside from it being a warzone, and so she wanted to prepare herself mentally to the extent that these things could ever be prepared for.

When aboard ship she's normally dressed as a Primaris Psyker for the benefit of the crew. Her presence tended to unnerve people and she preferred to give them the chance to get out of the way if they saw her coming. Mindful that they were dropping into a warzone she's chosen to play that down as she arrives in the hanger. She's dressed in a comfortable shirt and trousers with her flak armour and weapons worn over the top. You could never tell who might know enough to target the psyker first before she had the chance to do anything about it. Her force staff, which is slung over her shoulder is perhaps a dead giveaway, but under the circumstances she can hardly leave it behind.

Without attempting to keep her face as neutral as possible, she will place herself on the other side of the group from Tyrus, who she avoids looking directly at if she can help it. 'Is anyone likely to be shooting at us on the way down?' Couldn't do much about it if they were. They could only rely on the Navy people to know their business. 'And I am glad that you are more optimistic about the warp storm then I am Magos.' She was fairly sure margins of error was not a concept you could apply to the Immaterium.


Taking everything but trying not to look like a psyker.

Weaponry would be force staff, Hell pistol, compact laspistol and psykana knife.

[Kharnagar]

Anje had spent her first journey aboard the Imperator Lux training almost exclusively. Travel through the Immaterium still made her anxious, and that nervous energy had needed an outlet.
Initially, the ship's armsmen had been sceptical of Anje joining their drills, with her barely standing should-high to many of them. Although they'd been far more welcoming after the first day and an especially vicious sparring session. Luckily between sparring, practice shooting, and running lengths of the ship it had been easy to distract herself from the voyage if not the nature of their destination.

Anje had been napping when the transition to real-space occurred, and startled awake with the rise of the alarms. Rising quickly and dressing, she'd waited out the engagement performing one final gear-check and repeating the Prayer for Safe Return.Truth be told the idea of an active war zone intrigued her although she had resolved to not make her eagerness too obvious. Her indoctrination to the Holy Ordos had dulled her feelings of fear, and that lack of response didn't always sit well with other Acolytes, and she expected to need the full trust of her companions on this task.

Ultimately making her way to the Hanger in which the Firebrand was docked and finding the rest of the cell assembled. Anje greeted the group with a grin, "Looks like I haven't been left behind quite yet."
"I'll do my best to make sure we get through this as unperforated as possible, so hopefully we can manage that at least..."she joked before trailing off.
"Whenever you're ready Gregor."


Anje would also bring everything. The idea of having more than she can carry still being an odd concept to her.
I'm also a tad rusty in terms of PbP, so it'll be a little while finding a consistent character voice unfortunately

[Erulasto]

"Yes, ma'am." Gregor said to Vex as the grizzled pilot pulled a partially crushed pack of lho-sticks from one of the numerous pockets on his flight-suit and tucked one between his scarred lips. "We're running a bit low on intel at the moment - communications are spotty with New Cimmeria's PDF but the target L-Z is Agra Spire in Hive Alecto. Just a few klicks from the fissure." Gregor lit the meticulously rolled paper tube with a small flint, and took a deep drag. It smelled a little spicy, with an undercurrent of something sweet.

The pilot had flashed a grin at Tyrus as he approached, ready to defend his baby - but the Magos' interruption did little diminish his own enthusiasm. "He's right. We'll be able to take a couple hits. I don't plan on being hit though..." Gregor shrugged, and turned to make his way back up the loading ramp while puffing on the swiftly diminishing lho-stick. "Wheels up in three. You're on board, or you're left behind." He called behind him.

As the Throne Agents began to load themselves onto the gun-cutter, they saw Gregor settling into the raised pilots seat. His co-pilot, Declan Galbraith was already plugging some numbers into the navigation cogitator, and two men in the matte-black void-sealed armor of Inquisitorial storm troopers were strapping into the gun-ports that would control the heavy bolters.

Gregor was right, of course. There hadn't been much in the way of communication from local armed forces - PDF or one of the Cimmerian regiments of the Astra Militarum that were planetside. Captain Eskander and his command staff were convinced there was some signal jamming planetside, though they hadn't been able to pin-point anything specific yet.

What communication had made it through was grim. Which, unfortunately, Eskander and Bannon himself had anticipated. Madrass wasn't some raving cult magus. He was a heretic in name only, having been raised within the Imperium's Schola Progenium and had a distinguished military career before ascending to the role of Planetary-Governor of Logofer VI. Logofer was, of course, a fortress world. Only one of a handful in the entire sector. And at last Administratum census, had a standing garrison of thirty six full regiments plus armour. And somehow he not only secured the undivided loyalty of the Astra Militarum on Logofer, but the entire sixth fleet of Battlefleet Korolan. They weren't going to be facing raging lunatics or witch-priests. The Ordo Hereticus was desperately grasping for any information on what had occured to cause this sedition.

When the Throne Agents had finally boarded Firebrand, and the loading ramp had sealed the passenger compartments against the predations of the void, Gregor's voice chimed over the internal vox.

"Strap in. Atmospherics are reading a bit choppy so it might be a bit bumpy until we clear the stratosphere."

Then, with a great rumbling roar, the gun-cutter rose slowly from its berth and drifted through the yawning hangar doors to begin its descent to New Cimmeria.



As soon as they had cleared the hanar, they were driven back into the grav-harnesses that held them immobile and prevented them from being flung about the compartment by the sudden burn of the gun-cutters plasma drive. Through the armorplas-viewports they saw the glorious shape of the Imperator Lux begin to fade into the distance as they made their approach.

It was not exactly a clear trajectory - for even now in the distance they saw the void of space light up with blinding flashes of lance fire and the brilliant pulses of macrobattery fire as the Inquisition-requisitioned flotilla from the Logofer Crusade continued to engage the remnans of Madrass' invasion force.

Within moments, Firebrand was flanked by three Valkyrie-class gunships. It was likely they were loaded with squadrons of more black-armored Inquisitorial storm troopers to assist.

New Cimmeria spread out before them like a great dusty ball; its surface was ashy and barren at this point, stained by the great dark blots that were the massive hive cities. Even from orbit, the desolation of Hive Mori and Hive Rani were visible through silty, thin cloud cover. Firebrand and its escorts abruptly changed course, veering so suddenly that the inertia forced its occupants into their restraints.

A mere few kilometers away, the massive shape of a Sword-class frigate hurtled past them - hull coming apart in great fragments while it leaked a vast wake of burning plasma behind it. Magos Blashak recognized the impending sign of a plasma reactor leak. The others saw small lifeboats and escape pods jettisoning from the vessel as it plunged on ahead of them, breaking apart further as it hit the upper reaches of the New Cimmerian atmosphere.

"Hold on!" Gregor bellowed, and brought Firebrand into a deep dive under the careening frigate, narrowly avoiding what appeared to be the remnants of a lance battery that was rocketing towards them. "The Emperor Protects today!" He laughed a bit madly.

Soon enough, Firebrand had pulled ahead of the frigate - though a quick glance out the rear-facing view ports showed that it was hot on their tail - the armored prow scarred and blackening around a corona of intense, fiery heat from its entry into the atmosphere. When that ship hit, it was going to wipe out everything in a hundred kilometers - at least.

They could feel their own plasma drive still at close to max acceleration, and despite this Firebrand was rocked by turbulence as they passed into the wispy cloud cover. Gregor was right. The upper atmosphere was quite uneasy. It was clear however why Bannon valued Gregor's skill. He handled Firebrand with as much grace as an ungainly gun-cutter could manage and when he suddenly pulled back on the controls, the passengers once again could feel the force of several gravities pulling them down and Firebrand swiftly leveled out.

Past them, the frigate continued to plunge onwards, now burning from multiple gaping wounds in its flanks. The oxygen-rich atmosphere seemed to have triggered a plasma explosion deep in the core of the ship and the Agents could tell that the entire real fuselage of the frigate was consumed in roaring blue-white plasma.

The turbulent wake of its passing rocket Firebrand again, and they could hear Gregor muttering a prayer for those crew onboard under his breath.

The three Valkyries were still on their tail, though they had fallen behind somewhat given Gregor's maniacal flying. Ahead of them, they saw the colossus that was Hive Alecto. It spanned almost a thousand kilometers in diameter, rising from a thick ceramite wall that hedged the Hive and the ashy wastelanad beyond apart, up towards a cluster of a dozen spires near the center. Each of these was many kilometers tall as well, and between them - splitting the Hive in two - was a black, jagged chasm. It was visible even from here. Some of the spires were burning, leaking thick clouds of inky black up into the sky to cover the Hive in a somber pall of shadow. More fires raged down in the depths of the Hive. It looked, for all intents and purposes, like the entirety of Hive Alecto was at war.

Firebrand approached the outer reaches of Hive Alecto, altering course slightly to bring them to bear on one of the spires closest to the chasm. Through the view ports, they saw small shapes flitting to and fro against the backdrop of the Hive. They passed the first of the spires, and saw a dozen large landing platforms suspended from the upper eschelons. Upon these, a number of Basilisk artillery platforms had been set up and appeared to be bombarding targets on the opposide side of the chasm with their mighty Earthshaker cannons. Some of the landing platforms were occupied by more Valkyries, or even larger transports, to unload their Astra Militarum companies to reinforce the front lines. Their own Valkyrie escorts veered away at this point, bringing their precious cargo to the spire they were passing.

As they continued past, they saw a much larger spire ahead. Its lowest reaches edged right upon the chasm that split the Hive. Just opposite it, across that chasm, was another spire and even from here there were signs of artillery and long-range weapons fire between the two. Below, in the tight and narrow alleys and streets at the surface level they could spot armored columns of land raiders, and Leman Russ battletanks fighting their way onwards.

"Frag it! We've got trouble!" Gregor came over the vox again, as the gun-cutter shuddered under the nearby impact of AA fire. "We're spotted!" Immediately, their two gunners began swinging the heavy bolter pintles around, firing at any targets they could find with precision bursts. The sound in the passenger compartment - though muffled by the heavily armored hull - was still a cacophony of noise.

Suddenly, a wing of Avenger strike fighters descended from the sky above, and unleashed intense salvos of heavy weapons fire down into the hive streets below them. They left massive plumes of fire and destruction behind them as they targetted the AA guns and hastily-erected enemy bunkers below, before pulling away to find new ground-based high-priority targets.

With the immediate skies clear, Gregor was able to make the final approach to Agra Spire unbeset by enemies. He descellerated swiftly as he approached an open-air courtyard held aloft on a sub-spire by colossal support beams.

"This is your stop folks. Got a transmission from a Major Jax. He's expecting you! Move quick, we may be clear for now - but I'm not keen on sticking around. That frigate will hit any minute. Looks like it'll be clear of the hive...but it's still going to make a frag-ton of noise. Beep me on your vox when you need a pick-up. And for the sake of us all, make sure your L-Z is clear!"

Even as he spoke, the gun-cutter settled into a stationary holding pattern a few feet above the courtyard and the landing ramp began to descend.

The courtyard, though held a half-dozen kilometers off the surface of New Cimmeria, was a beautifully maintained garden filled with red-petalled flowers and beautiful topiaries and bubbling fountains. Amidst the beauty, the entire courtyard had been converted into what appeared to be a forward command center for the PDF and Imperial Guard. Canvas tents, crates of ammunition and supplies, auger arrays and sensorium suites littered the courtyard.

And swiftly approaching them, despite the down-draft of the gun-cutters VTOL thrust, was a broad-shouldered man in dark grey carapace armor bearing the Regimental command markers of a Major from the Seventh Cimmerian Light Infantry regiment.

"Welcome to New Cimmeria!" The man shouted over the roar of the engines. "I'm Major Harkon Jax. Seventh regiment. Second company. I'll be your point of contact. Follow me, if you please!" He waved the Throne Agents towards a large tent in the shadow of a tall, thick-canopied tree.

And when they had disembarked, Firebrand flared its VTOL engines and slowly rose up and out of sight.



Sorry for the delay. This one took a few tries to get right. Had a lot of info to cover before you got planetside. I've got part of the next post already done, so it'll be up tonight probably. Or early tomorrow.

Hope you enjoyed this one as much as I did. :smallwink:

[Hyperbolic sine]

Once aboard the Firebrand and fitted in the harness, Xander had extended a metal claw to secure himself to the hull - the blessed metal composing his body weighed much more than the flesh the harneses were designed for, after all.



His emotions long replaced by logis circuits, Magos Blashak remained uncannily unaffected throughout the descent; even during Gregror's daring maneuvers to avoid the falling frigate, the only reactions were his intoning a prayer of thanks to the ship's dying machine spirits, heralding the plasma explosion that would soon take place, and of course the groaning of the harness - and the cargo securing ring his mechadendrite was gripping - every time the Firebrand abruptly changed speed or direction.

When it was time to disembark, he floated down the ramp in what could appear as a leisurely manner - he wasn't exactly fast, and there was certainly no need to deplete his Potentia Coil to save mere seconds - and silently set to follow Major Jax.

[Janwin]

Throughout the entire flight, Inquisitor Alonya was locked in a mild state of glee and exhilaration, though fortunately nobody could see the massive grin on the Inquisitor's face thanks to the helmet of her power armor.

As the massive void-ship plummets toward the planet, she recites a quiet prayer from memory.

"...The end will be swift, and the Eternal gates swing wide for you. Your duty is done, and I must now do mine."

Upon finally touching down, she quickly disembarks the gun cutter with an appreciative and respectful nod toward Gregor.

She moves towards the Major who greets the team, and replies simply "Sister Alonya."

She then heads toward the indicated tent without any delay.

[DrK]

Vex

The assasssin nods to Gregor as he suggests that they will indeed be landing in a combat zone and pulls out the spy mask settling the black synskin material over her long hair. As the mask clips into place her breathing changes, the faint metallic tang of the rebreathers a familiar and comforting taste. The pict recorders activate recording all that she sees and targeting cogitators highlight various targets around her giving a constant read out on the surroundings.

As the Guncutter plunges through the atmosphere Vex sits dispassionately in her grav harness. A hand resting on the hilt of the exitus pistol as her eyes scan the skies cataloging and watching it. She twists slightly as Alonya utters a prayer for the falling frigate. Her only contribution a nod to the escape pods, "There are survivors Inquisitor. It is not a total loss." before she sits back in the grav harness, a slight flex of the hand as if she was holding the flight controls the only suggestion that she may have been feeling any nerves.

Her eyes flick back to the front as the frigate's hull smashes to the earth behind them and she offers a compliment to Gregor. "Impressive piloting. Bannon has selected well." She continues to watch the ground and the spires as they arrive at the spire, "How much fighting is there on this side of the chasm?" she asks the flight crew, her own spy suit sensors scanning the ground for threats even as the Guncutter twists and twirls.

Landing with a thud she offers a salute to the the flight crew and slides lithely from the flight harness. She pauses to open up the bag and pulls out the matte black Exitus rifle, as the genolock accepts the touch of her hand she feels the soft whisper of the machine spirit within the rifle greeting her and feels something like comfort. The rifle carried in both hands she descends from the back of the guncutter with a lithe step - clearly an agent of a death with the black Offico Assassinorum suit and faceless mask. She follows Alonya stepping in behind the Seraphim scanning for danger and nods to the Major as he approaches. As he points to the tents she scans the area, spy mask flitting through all manner of spectroscopic analyses.



Awareness [roll0] TN 74 w/ re-roll from spymask if needed [roll1]

[Kharnagar]

Performing one final gear check before boarding, Anje strapped herself in for departure, eager to be planetside again.
Her raised spirits didn't last beyond the warning about the atmospheric conditions. She could at least be glad that her helmet would help hide some of her obvious discomfort during the descent.

The journey itself passed mercifully briefly, and Anje found herself hopping the few feet to the ground before the Firebrand's landing ramp had fully descended.
"Gregor, Declan, thanks for the lift!" she chirped excitedly into her vox, taking a moment to stretch and loosen her joints and savouring the solid ground beneath her feet.

Composing herself and joining the rest of the cell, she addressed Major Jax with a half-hearted salute.
"Anj... Trooper Hahn, Major. Glad to be of assistance."

[Henry the 57th]

The wild flight down from space was, if Tyrus were to be honest with himself, almost nostalgic in a way. He’d served in enough combat drops to savor the mad rush of adrenaline amidst the searing plunge, and not to have eaten anything beforehand. He’s flown a few of them himself. The Crusader was positioned as close to the pilot’s compartment as the seats allowed, more than once wished he was behind the controls himself. This was fun.

When the time came to emerge from the bird, Tyrus left with a respectful nod towards its pilot before he stepping into the sun. His meticulously-maintained armor gleamed easily in the light, almost giving the impression of an honor guard of sorts for the Inquisitor. He followed her away from the ship.

”Trooper Pal, at your service,” he replied to the Major through filtered grate, faceless helm adding even more to his already eerie presence.

[Haval]

Cornelia is firmly of the opinion that no one should get into a situation like this if they could possibly help it. Given the scale of the weapons being discharged overhead, if they were hit at least it would be over quickly. In the meantime she closes her eyes and tries to relax. Under her breath she works through the names in the Book of 1001 Imperial Saints, which was an exercise she had used since she first came to the Scholastia Psykana. It helped her suppress a reflexive urge to reach out and watch what Gregor was doing. Something told her it would be better not to distract him.

The appearance of the falling Sword jolts her out of her meditation. 'Was that one of ours?' She isn't close enough to have any sense of what it's like to be on that ship but she has an unfortunately good imagination and can't help but watch it all the way down.

On the ground she'll introduce herself to the Major simply as 'Cornelia' with a friendly nod before following the others. 'Major, how is the war going anyway?'

[Erulasto]

On Firebrand

"Looks like most of the fighting is going on around the chasm ridge. Lots of heavy weapons fire back and forth. By the Emperor, that's messy." Gregor answered Vex.

The House of the Red Blossom

With Firebrand gone, the agents of the Throne were able to get a better glimpse of their surroundings. The courtyard was huge, spanning a hundred meters aside. While surrounded by high ceramite walls topped with tall, flanged spikes the inside was covered in lush green grass and elegant flagstone pathways meandering throughout. Flora was abundant, with wide-canopied trees and brightly colored flowers of a hundred varieties. The air was thick with a heady floral bouquet laced with the metallic tang of prometheum. Long wires were strung across the trees and the occasional decorative column, and from them hung hundreds of small red paper lanterns.

The twisting pathways converged in a large veranda, where the majority of tents had been set up in the shadow of the spire itself. The facade was definitely high society, as they were in the upper reaches of Agra Spire, with electrum inlaid engravings upon the laquered ceramite walls. Multiple windows of stained glass and balconies overlooked the courtyard and on many of these they could see fire-teams of Guardsmen standing watch. Some of them even had las-canons and rocket launchers it seemed. The veranda itself led to a large adamantium double door under a flickering lumen sign indicating this was something called the House of the Red Blossom.

The entire area was rife with activity, with squads of guardsmen hurrying here or there, stocking large munitions crates into massive piles or running some other errands. Through Vex's spy-mask, she picked up the infrared signatures of dozens of more guardsmen inside the tent. This had to be more than a single platoon.

As Major Jax led them towards the largest tent, he spoke in a firm and confident voice - if a little hurried.

"Good to have you." Jax began. "It's bloody, that's the truth. PDF and regimental forces are holding key points along the eastern edge of the chasm. We're trying to hold the excavation bridges and latticework to keep them from pushing through. It's been active fighting for the last four days. This is Agra Spire. The closest one.." Jax paused to point over the high courtyard walls, to the looming shape of another spire. It was burning and broken, belching great fumes of black into the sky. "Is Ferrix Spire. We assume it's overrun. Last contact with anyone there was fourty-eight local hours ago."

Jax stopped abruptly, bringing a hand to his micro-bead. "What? TAKE COVER!" He bellowed, as the sky brightened intensely. From behind the shadow of Agra Spire, the burning frigate blasted into view. It's angle was strange, almost as if it was beginning to turn end over end. It had lost great chunks of its hull, and from these gaping wounds roared great plumes of plasma. The ship was literally melting away as it plummeted. They could feel the heat of the plasma on their skin like they were standing in the sun too long. The smell of burning ozone was caught as a whiff on the scented breeze.

It looked as if it was going to hit somewhere in the vast fields of solar collectors south of Hive Alecto.

And then, there was a sudden silence as it passed from view, and they felt the wind pulling through the spires as if to fill the vacuum of the frigate's passing. They saw the blinding flash of light from somewhere below Agra Spire on the horizon before they heard it. The sky filled with the radiance of an escaping sun as the plasma reactor detonated.

With the sudden booming note that cracked the sky came a wash of intense force. A passing wing of Valkyries were caught in the shockwave, some breaking apart and others sent spiraling out of control. Despite the shielding of the high ceramite walls, they could feel the pressure as the entire courtyard rocked abruptly. A handful of guardsmen tumbled from the balconies, screaming. Many more stumbled to their knee's.

When the shaking stopped, the blinding light was fading and the ash and dust and smoke of the explosion began to fill the sky with detrius and dirt. Crunching the numbers, Xander knew there would be ecological fallout from this for generations.

"Emperor Protects!" Jax spat in horror. "I haven't seen this kind of fighting since Armageddon." Shaking his head, Jax pinched the bridge of his nose and huffed a deep sigh. "Right. We've got a job to do."

The large tent had remained intact, though several smaller ones had collapsed and large piles of munitions had toppled, spilling lasguns and charge packs across the grass. While the rest of the guardsmen frantically moved to assist their fallen, Jax pulled the flap of the tent aside and ushered the agents in.

When they had all entered, Jax led them to a table filled with holo-displays of the topography around the chasm. Small flicking green and red runes showed estimated troop and hostile formations.

"Here's the sitrep. This is the House of the Red Blossom. It's a local parlour of some kind for the wealthy. They're a pretty paranoid bunch, so most of the parlour is great for security and reinforced walls. We're funneling troops to the front, down at the chasm. There's a push coming, third regiment is making a go at retaking the spaceport near Ferrix Spire. I know you're here for a reason. I don't suppose it's to help win the war?"

[Hyperbolic sine]

"Perhaps." Xander curtly dismissed Jax's question, before asking one of his own. "We need to reach the site. Is retaking Ferrix Spire necessary for that, sergeant?" No need to concern themselves with that if that wasn't the case, after all. The Guard could just throw a few more troopers at it.

One of the mechadendrites, seemingly loaded with optical devices, pointed itself at the man as if to study his reactions.

Scrutiny on the answer at [roll0] (base TN 25, or 70 if using Medicae instead).
Using the auger array to detect bio-markers of lying, Tech-Use [roll1] (TN 90). If succesfull...I'd like to use Medicae instead of Scrutiny, but that's likely asking for too much. Still, Good Auger Array allows rerolling Per Tests, so if Scrutiny failed rerolling at [roll2]. Huh. Nice.

[Henry the 57th]

"We have our mission, just as you have yours," Tyrus said in his usual clipped, polite tones. He long ago learned that stiff politeness was the best he was likely to get out of almost anyone, attempting to be friendly was pointless. "I have little doubt we will kill a number of your enemies along the way."

[Haval]

Cornelia will do what she can to remain standing with her staff as the shock wave hit. How much warning would they get if something like that happened again?

In the tent, 'If you have any suggestions Major you can always ask. Someone certainly ought to look into what these seditionists think they're playing at, but unfortunately we have other business here.' In her time with the Ordo she has grown accustomed to talking around certain subjects. Was the Major even aware that Inquisitor Astrazan was here?

'The vox traffic reaching orbit has been a little broken. Assuming it's any better down here I may want to borrow one of your operators if you can spare them for a moment'

[Erulasto]

”You want to…go down into the chasm?” Jax asked with some surprise, ”But…no. Not really. Ferrix Spire is on the other side of the chasm. Your target is right in the middle of the fighting though.” To Xander, it was clear that Major Jax was…disappointed…but his physiological responses were still fairly baseline for the situation. Despite a measure of disappointment, it was clear that Jax was under no real assumption that the agents weren’t here for their own purposes.

”Of course, ma’am.” Jax said to Cornelia as she inquired about the vox-operator. ”Astropath or vox. We’ve got some access here to both for coordinating attacks. You’ve really got two options. I can give you transport to the combat zone. You’ll be looking for one of the big excavation elevators the set up to clear debris from the chasm.” Jax paused for a moment, considering. ”Some of my rangers have found a passage through the Underhive that’ll lead most of the way down as well. Both options pose their own dangers…”



Sorry this post is a bit shorter. I’m in full isolation gear at work tonight. I legit feel like Nurgle took an interest in the world…..

That being said, I am for the most part safe and secure. Just being super careful about what contact we have at work.

[Janwin]

"Would you elaborate on the dangers posed by each, Major?"

Sister Alonya surveys the hollow displays seeking any sort of insight she can find that might aid in a tactical manner, but not being trained too deeply in the ways of war the dots just seem to jumble around. Thus, it would come down to the advice of the Major and the expertise of her team to determine which route would be the best method of achieving their objective.

No sweat, man! Get through it safe!

[DrK]

Vex

The assassin ducks beside Alonya as the shockwave washes over them, a have on the Inquisitor's power armoured shoulder.

Vex glances outwards at the now fiery horizon. "We should move out soon. This command centre will soon be a target."

At the Major's words she glanced at Alonya. "Direct transport will risk artillery and the elevator's may be monitored. The tunnels will detach us from the Milatarum and allow us some flexibility."

[Haval]

Vex glances outwards at the now fiery horizon. "We should move out soon. This command centre will soon be a target."


'You're not wrong. Though I have to wonder if there's anywhere here that isn't a target.'

'Assuming the tunnels are stable they'll probably be easier to move through than an active war zone. But that doesn't mean they'll be unoccupied.' The Underhive didn't bother her. It would be like going back to Ubalto. 'If we decide otherwise the surface will obviously be full of things that need shooting.'

To the Major, 'Clearly we're here to find something. I'd like to have your people transmit a signal and see if they get a response. We'll give you the means to call us if you hear anything.' If Astrazan was still alive she might be able to find her herself eventually, but the search would slow her down and she had no real idea where to start.


Before we leave will ask his people to broadcast some Inquisitorial codes at hourly intervals asking for a status update.

If it's needed Ciphers (Acolyte) to get the codes right
vs. Int 41
[roll0]

[Kharnagar]

"I like our chances against the guard in a tunnel system far better than trying to fight an earthshaker shell." Anje said levelly while studying the holo-displays, before looking up with a grin.
"With any luck we can cause enough of a ruckus that they redirect some troops our way. Buy our side up here a slight breather."

She paused for a moment before addressing the team as a whole "In all seriousness, whichever we pick we're going to be running pretty slim on support. As much as I'd love to relive to good ol' days back on Ubalto, we should probably try to keep things on the quieter side."

[Hyperbolic sine]

Xander retracted the mechadendrite, satisfied with the answer.

"You are failing to consider a critical point." he then said to his group, after they expressed a preference for the Undercity. "Chances of structural failures are not negligible, *especially* with active bombardments."

"So, yes, Major, please elaborate." he echoed Alonya's request. There was not enough information to reach a decision.

[Henry the 57th]

"The composition of our group favors a close-quarters approach where the enemy cannot bring vastly superior numbers to bear against us," Tyrus said. "Maneuver on the surface risks being detected and surrounded. I do not suggest we attempt it. Unless you think it necessary, Major?"

[Haval]

To Anje, 'Seditionists in the Underhive is one thing, but I have to wonder about who might be living down there. Anyone with any sense will probably be keeping their head down, but not everyone has the sense to stay away from a group of heavily armed strangers moving through their territory.' She shrugs, 'I don't expect any locals will be much of a problem, but I know for a fact that someone like my old boss would have tried to rob us.'

[Erulasto]

”The largest problem you may encounter in the Underhive is the damnable cult that sprung up after the warp storm. Call themselves the Cult of the Black Tetrad. Claim that the warp storm sent them a gift from the Emperor Himself.” Jax began, ”That and the gangs. But the Hive Alecto arbites have been trying to keep control down there and they’ve not said much about seeing actual traitors out and about. On this side of the chasm anyhow.”

Jax seemed to lapse into deep thought for a few moments, before tapping a few commands into the cogitator control of the holo-display. The overlay map of Agra Spire zoomed in towards the lattice-like maze of tunnels beneath the spire.

”But your esteemed Magos is correct. We haven’t had a lot of word on how damaged the spire is. Especially after…” He trailed off with a grimace. ”And the route overland is an active war-zone. Not sure how much attention you want to draw to yourselves. The Underhive is a bit of a labyrinth, and it might take a bit longer to get there on foot.”

”I have a Chimera to take you to the elevator if you want. I can spare a single squad of troopers to help escort you. Either above, or below.”

A few moments later, an young and fresh-faced guardsman jogged over bearing a large vox-caster on his back. Pairing off with Cornelia, he began to work the codes provided into the system for a repeating broadcast.

[Hyperbolic sine]

"Ah, yes. The cult. I suppose accidental structural failings are not the only thing to be wary of." Xander commented, turning to the group again. "But I have shed the failings of flesh long ago, so they pose little danger to me. I will not interfere with your decision."

[Kharnagar]

"I'm no tactical expert, and I'm hardly the authority on military matters or structural engineering." Anje conceded, frowning slightly. "Personally I have concerns about heading topside, but I'll make do with whichever chosen. I'm just itching to set off."

Her opinion given she moved towards the edge of the tent, resting her crossed arms on top of her shield and using it as an impromptu wall to lean on.

[Janwin]

The sister listens to the Major and the input of her team and then nods. "I believe the Underhive route will be the route we shall use. A frontal assault may be beyond our abilities should it come to that on the surface. We appreciate any assistance you and your men can provide, Major."

Besides, maybe we'll run into this cult and kill two birds with one stone...

[Haval]

Cornelia is happy enough to let Alonya decide. She can see the benefit of either approach but isn't interested in arguing tactical matters. 'If it's to be the tunnels let's go make ourselves useful. If there are Arbites down there I suppose you better let them know about us Major. I would hate to be involved in friendly fire.'

[DrK]

Vex

The assassin nods at Sister Alonya and then looks to the Major. "Transport major. We can upload the route data en route."

She scans the area constantly, rifle in the crook of her arm and is ready to move out instantly.

[Henry the 57th]

Tyrus has little to say at this point. He has generally learned that it's best if he leaves the talking to others.

[Erulasto]

With Inquisitor Alonya making the decision to travel through the Underhive, the plan was set. Major Jax provided a data-slate to Magos Xander detailing the last known structural plans for Spire Agra and the route they would need to follow. The majority of it was easily enough managed on foot – they’d be taking service lifts, maintenance tunnels and the like until they reached the surface level of the spire. Once there, it would be a touch trickier – as they’d have several kilometers of Underhive to traverse.

To facilitate this, Major Jax would provide a Tauros ATV. The Underhive was not an easy path to maneuver a vehicle through, but if they remained on the major thoroughfares, it would be quicker. Also, potentially more dangerous.

With the decision made, Jax led them deeper into the House of the Red Blossom to a back room that contained the heavily reinforced doors to a service lift. There, a score of Tempestus Scions sat and prepped their gear. The matte black of their carapace armor stood in stark contrast to the scarlet of their uniforms beneath.

A tall, strong-shouldered woman stepped forward. Her helmet was tucked into the crook of an arm as she gave the sign of the Aquila upon their approach.

”Gentlemen. Ladies.” She greeted. Jax gave her a respectful nod.

”This is Lieutenant Mariska of the Cimmerian 14th Scions Task Force. She and her squad will escort you to the chasm through the Underhive. Unless her services are required, I would ask that you release her to return to us. We could use the extra firepower.”

[Haval]

Cornelia nodded in a friendly way to the Lieutenant. 'Have to appreciate more guns, but other then the Secessionists I don't know what we're expecting to find down there. I'd like to think if we run into anything we can't handle ourselves then a few squads of Scions won't be nearly enough backup.'

Without really looking at him, 'Tyrus, if we're driving I'd appreciate it if you sat up front. I ought to have a go at looking for our colleagues if they're close enough. You can come back if something weird happens.'She assumed that if the Scions had a problem with Psykers they'd likely be too well trained to object.

[Janwin]

The Sister of Battle nods to the Lieutenant. "A pleasure, Lieutenant. I am Sister Alonya."

She then returns her attention to the Major. "We will do everything in our power to make sure they are returned to you. Thank you for your help, Major."

Returning her attention to the Lieutenant that would be their guard, she asks, "Whenever you're ready, we are. Is there anything in particular we should be prepared for on the way down, or any intelligence you and your men have on what we're headed into?"

[DrK]

Vex

Vex nods silently to Lt Mariska and makes sure the safety of the Exitus rifle if off and takes a position beside Inquisitor Alonya in one of the Taurus vehicles. Eyeing the magos's massive frame she wonders internally if the small armoured buggy will take the tech priests's massive weight. Looking about she glances at the data slate mapping the route keeping an eye out for alternative routes and escape roads.

With her rifle in "door" hand she nods to the driver ready to head out.

[Hyperbolic sine]

Xander worldlessly took the data-slate given by the Major, studying the structural data as he followed Jax and the rest of the group to the lift and the their stormtrooper escort.

Not once did he raise his eyes from the device; the only sign he had actually acknowledged the presence of Lt. Mariska's squad was that his optical mechadendrite had turned towards them when they were introduced.

Using Conditioned Intellect, then rolling Trade (Wright) [roll0] (base TN 70, extra degree if it succeeds) to analyse the route's critical points (and plot safer alternatives, you never know).

[Henry the 57th]

Tyrus greets the Lieutenant with a respectful nod from a safe distance, but declines to say anything. Instead, he loosens his sword and pistol slightly in their sheathes. Once he is sure they're ready to be drawn at a moment's notice, he takes up position in a Taurus transport with Inquisitor Alonya, choosing the seat closest to the door for himself. He wants to be ready to burst out and wade into combat at a moment's notice.

[Erulasto]

The Tauros ATV is a rather light vehicle, with a roll-cage being the only true protection for the passengers aside from an armorplas windshield. There was a seat for a driver and passenger in the front, and four seats in the back for others. The very rear of the Tauros was a small platform with a pintle-mounted heavy stubber. Magos Xander would likely need to occupy this spot, as his considerable frame would be rather uncomfortably tight in one of the seats.

Two other Tauros were prepped for the remainder of the storm trooper squad to accompany them, though a driver was assigned to their individual vehicle.

The information provided on the data-slate was rather outdated, having been at least three decades since the structural information had been compiled. Xander knew that it was not likely to be as accurate as he’d hoped. Given the tumultuous conflict in New Cimmeria – the artillery fire, and the impact of the frigate not long ago – Xander could surmise rather easily that they'd likely come upon some sort of deviation.

”The Underhive has always been a cesspool of gangers and, unfortunately, mutants. It’s possible we’ll encounter some along the way, though…” Mariska frowned, ”We’re woefully uninformed at the moment. Most of our intelligence has been focused on the battle topside.”

With the Throne Agents loaded into the vehicle, they felt the rumble of the Tauros’ engine as it roared to life.

One of the Tauros took the lead, with the Agents own vehicle moving to the second spot. The final Tauros took the rear, the Scions checking and double checking their hellguns as they sped off.



The initial leg of the route was simple. A large four-lane highway, fully enclosed on all sides, spiraled around the interior columns of Agra Spire. This route, as indicated on the data-slate, was one of the primary freight lanes for the spire where large convoys of arbites, or transport vehicles could swiftly ascend or descend. Every few hundred meters, large blast-doors had been sealed to prevent access to the various other interior roads of the spire. They passed Chimera’s and other armored vehicles, most of them parked near squads of guardsmen milling about at set checkpoints.

After three-quarters of a local hour, they slowly pulled off the main road into the first open egress point they had come across. Soon enough they had passed through, and found themselves on a large bridge that spanned a half-kilometer between Agra Spire’s main hub and a secondary tower that rose imposingly from the eastern edge of the spire.

This bridge was suspended three kilometers above the surface, and gave them ample view of the hive sprawl around them. In the distance, they could see the great conflagration burning in the solar fields outside the hive. From within the pyroclasm, they caught glances of the blackened hull of the frigate. It was a scene of intense devastation. The shockwave had sundered the entirety of the solar fields, and debris was scattered everywhere their gazes could pierce the gloom and smoke of the burning plasma.

As they crossed the bridge, the small convoy came to an abrupt halt. The great doors that would lead into the next leg of their journey was rent and broken. Bodies were scattered before the door, most of them members of the New Cimmerian PDF and guardsmen. The door itself was partially slagged, with puddles of swiftly cooling ceramite and adamantium splattered nearby. The smell of burning ozone was strong here.

Whatever had damaged the door was potent. And more problematic was the damage would likely prohibit the Tauros from continuing on through.

”Blessed Throne.” They heard Mariska come across the vox. ”Unless this was a stray artillery strike of some kind, we’ll have active hostiles nearby. I don’t like it, but we’ll have to go on foot from here.”

As the three Tauros slowed to a stop just beyond the range of destruction around the doors, several of the scions began pouring from the vehicles to take up a defensive perimeter nearby.

”If the enemy is here, they’ve pushed farther in that we’d anticipated.” Mariska groused, before ordering one of her soldiers to send a vox-signal to Major Jax to notify him of the turn of events.

”Through the door here, we’ve got a half-klick to the main lift that’d take us to the Underhive. We’re close. We could go ahead on foot, or we can back-track and take head another few levels down to try one of the access bridges there.” She said, before looking to Alonya for orders.

[Janwin]

The Sister of Battle briefly considers the options, and glances between the door, her team and the scions.

"It's likely that, if this were an attack, they've also struck at those lower levels since they'd have had to come through them on their way up. Those bridges may not even be there anymore."

She then turns her attention to the Lieutenant. "I'd like to return you to Major Jax as requested, but I'm afraid we may not be able to quite yet. We're likely to need your help if there is any sizable resistance ahead. Once we reach the lift, you may have no path of retreat available to return to the Major as well, so I leave the decision on whether to accompany us or return while you still may to you."

"Vex, Trooper Anje, please take point."

With that, she proceeds to dismount from the Tauros and draws the two inferno pistols from the holsters at her sides.

[Haval]

Cornelia will take a seat in the back of the Tauros and fish her acquila pendant out of her coat. It had been given to her on the Black Ship at the beginning of her training and it always helped her focus properly. When in the proper frame of mind she'll close her eyes and push her mind in the direction of the chasm. To a certain extent finding someone in a Hive was like finding a needle in a haystack but there was always the chance she could find out something useful. If Astrazan had an Astropath as she'd been told there was always the possibility that they would recognise her attention and be capable of responding.

She had no idea what to make of the bodies but will have a brief look to see if she could tell how they'd died. 'If there's enemy around that did this it might be better that they're dealt with.'


Telepathy to look for Astrazan's Astropath. Not sure if I'm expecting anything from this, but I'm trying not to roll a 9 the first time I use a power.

Invocation test to double Wp bonus
vs. Wp 54 (+10 Psy-Focus) (-20 for Tyrus)
[roll0]

Telepathy (Threshold 11 +10 for Tyrus, range 5 km)
Rolling 2d10 + Wp bonus 5
[roll1]
Failed

-------------------
Medicae +20 to examine the bodies
vs. Int 41
[roll2]

[Hyperbolic sine]

"Already?" Magos Blashak complained when the vehicles came to a stop. "This is most irritating."

He then floated out of the Tauros and towards the destroyed door, examining the damage.

Using Conditioned Intellect, then rolling Trade (Armourer) [roll0] (base TN 90, extra degree if it succeeds) to determine the weapon used.
Also, just to check, I imagine a plasma cutter isn't enough to free a path for the Tauros?

[Henry the 57th]

"Prepare yourselves for an ambush," Tyrus says to the troopers as he steps easily from the Taurus, unholstering his shield with one hand and brandishing his Cadence Promethium Destroyer in the other, seemingly just waiting for a chance to fire. "If they chose not to leave behind a visible guard, it seems probable an invisible one may be about." All of that is delivered in the same calm tone one might use to announce an afternoon rainstorm, as he falls into line right beside the Inquisitor. His shield is primed to cover her at a moment's notice.

[DrK]

Vex

Vex offers a wordless nod to the Inquisitor as she hops from the vehicle and points to the right heading that way leaving Anje to cover the other side of the opening. Pulling off the loose grey shawl she wedges it into the thin pack now just clad in the black spy suit of the Officio Assiniorum. Moving cautiously she hugs the wall, ghosting like a shadow from debris to debris, the suit shifting and seeming to absorb the light around it. Her pale eyes within the spy mask scan the area alert to danger, mask flicking through all manner of spectra and thermographic imagery as she walks forward slowly massive Exitus rifle ready...



Advancing slowly Rifle at the Ready
- Conceal [roll0] TN 102
- Silent Move [roll1] TN 102
- Perception [roll2] TN 64 / 74 (sight) w/Darksight, Auspex, thermograph : If fail re-roll PER test [roll3]

[Kharnagar]

"Why is there never a roadblock somewhere with proper cover?" Anje mused aloud grimly while disembarking at Alonya's request.
Nodding in agreement to Vex, Anje broke right and began advancing towards the left side of the breach, hugging the edge of the bridge to make use of any possible cover.
Prowling forwards she released all bar the final mag-panel holding her hellgun in place, before smacking the auspex mounted to her wrist, trying to coax it to life.


[Concealment = 84] [roll0]
[Silent Moves = 84] [roll1]

[Tech Use = 11] [roll2] - To gain full benefit of auspex for detecting biosigns. No penalty if failed.
[Awareness = 54] [roll3] - Darksight, Auspex

[Erulasto]

The bodies that littered the end of the bridge before the fragged blast door looked to have died fighting. Some of them were missing limbs, and there was shrapnel embedded in bits of their flak armor – perhaps indicating a frag grenade of some kind. The rest seemed to have been killed by las fire, though a small number were badly burned. Cornelia’s experience led her to believe that perhaps a flamer was involved, since a plasma or melta strike would have done more penetrative damage as the tissue melted and ruptured from the intense heat.

Rising, she opened her mind to the eddies of the warp, trying to push her conscious mind far and wide to detect the presence of one of the astropaths that had accompanied Inquisitor Astrazan down to the chasm. Whether it was from the presence of Tyrus, or not, Cornelia was unsure. But she struggled to grasp the warp-currents and they slithered out of her grasp like wriggling serpents.

Meanwhile, Magos Blashak approached the destroyed blast door and peered at it curiously while is augmetics scanned the structural composition. It seemed, at first glance, that it had been struck by something incredibly potent and damaging. Perhaps it was a melta bomb, or some other ordinance. The damage was both too comprehensive and too concentrated to have been done by any hand weapons. Given some time, a plasma cutter could indeed carve a path through the door large enough to allow the Tauros convoy through. But it would take some time.

Meanwhile Vex and Anje pressed forward, through the gaping wound in the blast door and into the chamber beyond. Stealthily, the two found themselves in a vast chamber. It appeared to be some commercial district, at least a half-dozen kilometers long and high enough that the ceiling – which was thoroughly packed with large pipes, vents and power cables – was partially obscured by shadow.

Tall hab-stacks sat clustered tightly together, standing a dozen or more stories tall, and encircling a large three-lane transport road. The main floor of the hab-stacks were shops and markets of various kinds, their wares displayed in windows and in glo-signs for all to see.

The signs of battle continued even here. Several civilian transports were smoldering, their engines gutted by fire and hulls scarred by weapons fire. More bodies littered the street; some civilians gunned down in the cross-fire, and some being members of the New Cimmerian PDF.

Taking cover behind a large waste receptacle, Vex and Anje scanned the street cautiously. Far ahead, Vex’ spy mask toggling through the varied settings and image-enhancers, she caught movement. Just past the mid-point of the street, a number of figures were milling about. There was more movement up on a large balcony overlooking the street itself.

Their garb was not like any they had encountered as part of the New Cimmerian PDF, or Guard regiments. They wore flak armor that was lacquered a dull, matte black over knee-length red flak overcoats while their faces were covered by imposing flak-masks and rebreathers. Some of them had crudely painted skulls over the masks to inspire more fear and increase the intimidation factor. Most seemed to have lasguns in hand, though Vex caught sight of at least two with heavier weapons, and up on the balcony a trio of traitors manned a belt-fed heavy stubber set up on a tripod.

What drew her eye most acutely was the easily identifiable black and red overcoat of an agent of the God-Emperor’s Commissariat. While his face was similarly obscured behind a terrifying mask, the high-peaked cap bearing the Aquila and Eagle were visible through her auspex.

One of the soldiers wielding a heavy weapon – a flamer – was moving towards a storefront where there existed heat-signatures within. It was likely, as there was no return fire from within, that they were civilians.

And it clearly looked as if the flame-trooper was preparing to incinerate them.



Vex counts eleven on the street including the Commissar, the one with the flamer, and one with a hellgun. Three more on the balcony, one with a long las and the other two manning the heavy stubber.

They’re at least eighty meters out (260-ish feet), and the ones on the balcony are three stories up (about fourty feet).

As Vex and Anje have both succeeded on their stealth rolls, the enemy is unaware of their presence.

[DrK]

VEX

Vex freezes, her suit chamelonically shifting until she became merely another piece of plasteel rubble and ceramite chunks. Leveling the rifle on the enemy sniper she quietly activated the comms links to Sister Alonya and whispered a sit-rep. "Sister. We have encountered local militia. Unknown uniform. THey have set up defensive position 80m further down our route with heavy weapons. Local populace have been killed. Some are trapped inside a commercial unit, enemy militia appear to about to purge them with incendiaries. Do we engage?"

She settles down into the rubble leaning against the heavy rubble in front of her to take cover and aims very carefully at the head of the enemy sniper. A faint smile on her face "Feel the whisper of death" she murmurs to her self breathing slowly watching the flame wielding trooper approaching the commercial unit dispassionately.


Full round action aiming at enemy sniper on the balcony

[Hyperbolic sine]

"I cannot confirm an ambush, but this was no stray artillery shell." Magos Blashak announced once he was done examining the damage, backtracking a couple of meters from the door and readying his finely crafted hellgun.

Then, should Alonya share Vex's transmission, he would offer "We should keep our presence undisclosed, but if we kill them all except a few prisoners they might be a valuable source of information." Not a willing one, of course, but Xander had both the tools and experience for a particular brand of persuasion.

[Haval]

Cornelia takes a moment to respond. 'Oh I can. Small arms, shrapnel and burn wounds. No obvious signs that the other side took any casulties. Someone was being sneaky.'

[Janwin]

At the sit-rep from Vex, Sister Alonya turns to the Lieutenant. "Lieutenant, there are hostile forces on the other side of the door. Please deploy your squad for an engagement.
They have heavy weapons emplacements, but our sniper should be able to take care of that. If any can be captured, that would be ideal."

She then begins to stride toward the blasted door, ready to ignite her jump pack the second she hears the shot from Vex's rifle.

She opens her comms to the team. "Everyone, prepare for battle."

As she reaches the door, she braces herself into a launch position. "Vex, please eliminate the danger to the civilians as priority. Secondary is heavy weapons. You are cleared to fire at will."

As soon as the sound of the shot is heard, using Seraphim jump pack to double movement speed. Will land behind whatever rubble, vehicle or cover is available in the road.

Pilot Test if needed (I doubt moving is complicated enough to require a test, but just in case): [roll0] vs 60
Movement becomes 8. Run Action moves 48m closer to enemy. Enemy has -20 to hit due to Run.

[DrK]

Vex

THe assassin listens to the battle sister/inquisitor giving a single click of acknowledgment. She pauses for a moment, curious as to why the Inquisitor would prioritise the non-combatants rather than the tactical threat. The Idle thought is quashed as she aims instead at the militia with the flamethrower.

Signalling to the Anje who she assumes will target someone esle Vex counts down slowly then fires once, a pulse of excitment as the exitus rifle whispers in her hands. Even as the first shot is fired she glances down the barrel to see if the man has fallen before shifting aim and firing at the sniper on the balcony.



Full round (out of combat): Aim at the flamer

Surprise Round:
Shoot Flamer Called Shot to Head [roll0] TN 62+30 aiming +30 unaware +10 sight +10 short range = 122 (limited to max +60)
-- Damage [roll1] +4 PEN 9
(RF test [roll2] TN 122 [roll3] as needed

EDIT: 19 PEN 9 to the head with +4 to the crit modifier is a crit
EDIT EDIT: +15 damage from accuracy for 34 to the head :smalleek:

Second shot: Either on flamer if he's twitching, or if not the Log Las sniper
Shoot Flamer or Long Las [roll4] TN 62+30 unaware +10 sight +10 short range= 112
-- Damage [roll5] +4 PEN 9
(RF test [roll6] TN 112 [roll7] as needed

EDIT: 17 PEN 9 to the left arm
EDIT EDIT: +7 additional damage from accuracy for 24 total - scrap that - I didn't have time to aim so no bonus damage on this one

NOTE: If a critical add +4 to the effect due to Peerless Marksman

Weapon is silienced and suit is like Cameoline on steroids :smallwink:

[Haval]

Vex was useful to have around. Cornelia will underline the Magos' point, 'Try to leave one of them alive.'

She'll follow Alonya and will try and get close enough to be useful. As she passes through the doorway she'll attempt to blend herself into the background. This was a trick she had been doing since long before she even knew what a psyker was, although even that proved beyond her at the moment. Cornelia will mutter something filthy over the comm-link.


Half Action - Move
Half Action - Chameleon (+20 to Concealment, -20 to shoot at her, Threshold 7+10, Sustained)

[roll0]

Failed, although Tyrus adds 10 to the threshold anyway

[Kharnagar]

Anje knelt behind her shield, taking note of the enemy forces "The one in the fancy hat, or the gunner?" she pondered to herself under her breath as she brought her hellgun into a firing position.

At the Inquisitors orders and following Vex's signal, she took a deep breath before slowly adjusting her sights to focus on the trooper at the trigger-end of the heavy stubber, waiting until the her the muted crack of Vex's exitus rifle before firing.

Full round (out of combat): Aim at the "Gunner".
Surprise round:
Semi-Auto Burst at the "Gunner", called shot to the head.
[roll0] vs BS:127 [67+20(Full Aim)+10(Targetter)+30(Surprised Opponent)] (Ignoring +10 for Semi-auto due to capping out?)


Possible Hit 1 (Head) - [roll1] Pen 7 // RF Test(?): [roll2] VS 127, Dmg=[roll3]
Possible Hit 2 (Head) - [roll4] Pen 7 // RF Test(?): [roll5] VS 127, Dmg=[roll6]
Possible Hit 3 (Arm) - [roll7] Pen 7 // RF Test(?): [roll8] VS 127, Dmg=[roll9]


Any Criticals adding 4 due to peerless marksman.
Well, can't do rollv+ apparently, you learn something new every day.

First hit, 15 Pen 7 to the head.
Second hit, 11 Pen 7 to the head.
Third hit, the biggy... taking the lower roll of the 4 from RF*, it's 24 Pen 7 to a non-specific arm.


*- And it's only in doing the edit I realise I hecked the righteous fury rules a tad, it's been awhile, didn't recall the errata to "Just an additional d10", instead of "roll damage again".

[Henry the 57th]

Tyrus nods quietly along, remaining close to the Inquisitor as she braces herself for battle. The moment he hears the crack of Vex’s rifle, he’s up and over like this were another bout of trench warfare. Without hesitation he charges forward at surprising speed for all his armor, shield held protectively in front of him, trying his best to keep up with the Inquisitor. Silently he wishes she would stop just jumping in blindly. Or at least that he knew how to use a jump pack.

Full Action: Run 24m as soon as the Inquisitor does, taking cover in whatever is nearest to her.

-20 to all ranged attacks against me for one turn, +20 to any melee attacks

[Hyperbolic sine]

Magos Blashak had approached the breach in the door alongside Alonya, and when she ignited the jump pack he followed - dashing floating over the rubble at a slightly quicker pace than usual.

Full Action: Run 6m (!!!!!).

[Erulasto]

With word of hostiles ahead, the Agents of the Throne moved through the fragged blast door and into the commercial district of the Spire.

Raising the Exitus rifle, Vex took careful aim. It was like second nature to the killer, trained as she was by the Vindicare Temple of the Officio Assassinorum. Huddled down in the shadows of the rubble, no one would have been able to see her even without the technology of her stealth suit.

The enemy flamer-trooper was too busy toggling the fire-selector on his flamer to notice much outside of his immediate task. So, with a single pull of the trigger, the man’s head exploded in a shower of bone fragments, flak armor and gore – the heavy-gravity alloy of the round penetrating tissue and bone as if it were a las-cutter through paper. He dropped bonelessly to the ground, to the alarmed cries of the rest of his squad.

Tyrus tried to keep Alonya close, even as the sudden roar of her jump pack allowed her to leap ahead of the rest of the throne agents and land behind the gutted hulk of a freight hauler. Meanwhile, Xander floated slowly into cover near Vex and Anje. Cornelia tried to keep several paces away from the Untouchable, but the current level of cover prevented her from straying overly far for fear of being left out in the open.

Alonya found herself significantly closer to the enemy than the rest of her cadre, with Tyrus hurrying behind her. With his suppression shield raised, the man was a juggernaut – able to shrug off most small arms fire.

Vex shifted her footing behind the cover, swinging her rifle up and seamlessly taking a second shot. The sniper, who had removed his helmet and was in the process of drawing a lho-stick from his pocket suddenly found himself staring at the ruined stump of his arm. The turbo-penetrator round had severed his arm at the elbow, leaving the remnants of his arm and the lho-stick in a puddle of fresh blood.

His scream was loud, even as he stumbled back out of sight below the railing of the balcony he stood watch on.

Kneeling next to Vex, Anje lifted her hellgun up and opened fire with a pulsed fire of hot-shot las-rounds. The soldier with the heavy stubber was struck, the first two las shots searing blackened holes into the side of his flak helmet while the third melted a gaping hole in the musculature of his arm. He went down with a grunt of pain, the heavy stubber clattering on the ferrocrete street next to him.

Chaos reigned, as the remainder of the squad broke their loose formation and scattered towards cover. The traitor commissar withdrew farther away from the rest of his squad, trying to put some distance between the kill-zone and himself as he dropped to a crouch behind a large metal pole with a glow-bulb on top.



Janwin: No test is required, I think, in this case. Or even if it was, it’d be at +20% due to the simplicity of her movement. There’s really nothing in the air that could impede her movement, and the enemy isn’t able to react in time to try and shoot her out of the sky.

Initiative:
Anje 21
Alonya 17
Vex 15
Tyrus 7 / Cornelia 7
Xander 6
Enemy Troops 5

The surprise round is over. No return fire as of yet. Three enemies down at the moment. With Alonya and Tyrus having moved forward, they are now within range of the enemy troopers with pistol and sidearm weapons.

The first round is beginning now. Emperor Protects!

[Hyperbolic sine]

Peeking out from the rubble was a thin metallic probe, loaded with optical sensors. It was looking at the flamer trooper; once heads began rolling - or, well, exploding - it shifted to one of the two manning the heavy stubber, and then immediately after to his still-alive companion.

And then, Xander's heavy frame left the safety of cover, slowly floating forward; he raised his hellgun towards the balcony, unleashing a hot-las shot at the remaining trooper without seemingly ever actually raising his head to look, and fire his mechadendrite-mounted pistol towards one of the remaining ground troops.

Half Action: Move 1m forward, without particular care about finding cover.

Half Action: Attack the remaning balcony trooper (or a ground trooper if he was killed already by the time Xander acts). [roll0] vs TN 67 (base 47, +10 Targeter, +10 MIU) @ Normal Range (27.5m - 110m). On a hit, [roll1] damage, Pen 7.
Righteous Fury if triggered: [roll2], [roll3].

Reaction: Attack a ground trooper with Ballistic Mechadendrite (Assault Laspistol). [roll4] vs TN 37 (base 47, +10 Targeter, +10 MIU, -30 range) @ Extreme Range (60m -80m). On hit, [roll5] damage, Pen 0.
Righteous Fury if triggered: [roll6], [roll7].

[DrK]

Vex

Vex grins to herself noting down the 2 downed foes, when next she reached a ship she would add another pair of thin tatoos to the hundreds already covering her back marking foes that had fallen to her touch over the years. Crouching down behind the boulders she switched aim, her peripheral vision following the inquisitor flying through the air like an avenging angel, followed by the shielded and armoured Tyrus.

She scans the squad of enemy, noting with satsifaction as Anje cuts down the gunner. ALthough the enemy comissar would be an easy target she realisies that likely Alonya may want that one alive. Seeking the most heavily armed enemy she takes careful aim, relying on the cover, the spy suit and the whisper quiet silence of the rifle's machine spirit to keep her from harm.



Aim at any visible special weapon trooper (i.e. Weapon with highest PEN value)
Called shot to the head
[roll0] TN 62 + 30 aim +10 short range = 102 (122 if count as unaware of Vex)
- Damage [roll1]+4 PEN 9 (if they are allowed to dodge from hidden target its at a -20 penalty)
- RF is needed [roll2] TN 92/122 extra damage [roll3] use as needed
- Accuracy bonus damage [roll4] as needed

EDIT: 32 PEN 9 damage to the head

NOTE: Critical damage is at +4

If anyone see's me then count as 1 range bracket further away due to spy mask

Dodge Rolls if needed
[roll5] N 92
[roll6] N 92
[roll7] N 92
[roll8] N 92
[roll9] N 92
[roll10] N 92

Rosarious Ablative field (only if needed)
[roll11]
[roll12]
[roll13]

[Janwin]

With the heaviest threats being efficiently dealt with by the rest of the team, it was already time to capture a prisoner. The remaining lasguns would likely be of little danger to her in her Sororitas power armor, and thus it became the case that forgoing cover would likely be worth it simply to make a clear statement to the traitorous commissar: you are no threat to me, and I could crush you like a bug if I so choose.

And so, the Sister of Battle once again launches herself into the air with her fanned-wing jetpack. From the point of view of the commissar, the roar of the thrusters grows louder and louder until there is a loud THUD as the Inquisitor, dressed in crimson red power armor and black robes, lands beside him and levels her two inferno pistols at him with a simple command: "Surrender now."

Full Action: Run (-20 to be shot at this round)
Jetpack doubles Ag Bonus to 8, moves up to 48m. I assume that since they were described as being around 80m away, 98m of movement is enough to catch up to the Commissar.
She will land 2m away from him, and in the open since it doesn't sound like there's any cover around him if he took cover behind a light post.

If needed, Intimidate: [roll0] vs TN 20 (plus any situational modifiers for being a badass) :smallbiggrin:

Dodge: [roll1] vs TN 50 (Use this if the commissar attacks as priority since he probably has the best weapon; if he surrenders, use against whatever shoots at her)

Refractor Field: [roll2] vs 30 | Overload on 1-10
Refractor Field: [roll3] vs 30 | Overload on 1-10
Refractor Field: [roll4] vs 30 | Overload on 1-10
Refractor Field: [roll5] vs 30 | Overload on 1-10
Refractor Field: [roll6] vs 30 | Overload on 1-10
Refractor Field: [roll7] vs 30 | Overload on 1-10
Refractor Field: [roll8] vs 30 | Overload on 1-10

[Kharnagar]

Anje whooped loudly as her flurry of shots hit their mark, pausing for only a moment before edging her aim over to target one of the two remaining crew of the heavy stubber and loosing another volley.
After firing she brought herself to her feet, attempting to draw any attention away from the nearby Vex by presenting herself as an obvious target.



Semi-Auto Burst at Crewmember 2/3, called shot to the head.
[roll0] vs BS:87 [67+10(Targetter)+10(Semi-Auto Burst)]

Possible Hit 1 (Head) - [roll1]+6 Pen 7 // RF Test(?): [roll2] VS 127, Dmg=[roll3]
Possible Hit 2 (Head) - [roll4]+6 Pen 7 // RF Test(?): [roll5] VS 127, Dmg=[roll6]
Possible Hit 3 (Arm) - [roll7]+6 Pen 7 // RF Test(?): [roll8] VS 127, Dmg=[roll9]
Any Criticals adding 4 due to peerless marksman.

Dodge1 if needed - [roll10] VS 74
Dodge2 if needed - [roll11] VS 74

Well, you hate to see a miss like that, especially with the double RF on the possible 3rd shot.

[Haval]

Cornelia is going to move forward to find cover as the others advance. In the hope of dealing with the enemy as quickly as possible she'll reach out with her mind and send them all a message. <You realise there are more of us behind you? Put down your weapons and try not to make us unhappy.>


Full Action - Move
Reaction - Dodge
Free Action - Telepathy
Free Action - Concealment

Dodge if needed vs. Ag 30
[roll0]

Concealment vs. Ag 30
[roll1]

Deceive +10 vs. Fel 39
[roll2]

Telepathy (Threshold 11)
[roll3]

Rerolled with proper formatting in the ooc

[Henry the 57th]

Tyrus continues his remorseless advance without a word, trusting completely in his armor and reflexes to protect him as he darts from cover to cover. Getting close is always the hardest part, but the rewards are well worth it.

Full Action: Run 24m as soon as the Inquisitor does, taking cover in whatever is nearest to her.

-20 to all ranged attacks against me for one turn, +20 to any melee attacks

In case anyone shoots and hits me:

Dodge: [roll0] vs. 61.

[Erulasto]

With the sudden chaos of battle now upon them, the enemy guardsmen had made a mad dash towards whatever cover they could find. The street was littered with debris, so most of them were able to find something to duck behind – even if it was a burnt out trash can, or a the remains of a civilian ground vehicle.

Anje’s following volley with her hellgun struck the ferrocrete walls near the stubber emplacement, cracking the iron-hard stone and searing the old paint job upon it. It sufficed to have the two remaining guardsmen of that emplacement duck down out of sight as fast as they were able. That was the intention, however things did not go entirely as planned for the two heavy weapons team. The first one ducked out of sight fast enough, but the other was a hairs breadth slower.

Slow enough that the following turbo-penetrator round from Vex’s Exitus rifle managed to tear the entire crown of his skull open and splatter the wall behind him red.

Alonya soared through the air with the roaring of promethium-fueled wings of fire, a handful of the traitor forces firing wildly up at her majestic approach with their lasguns. Even the Commissar that she had intended to approach took a shot at her with the rugged bolt pistol he held tightly in a gloved hand. Of the volley, a single shot managed to strike her as she flew by – though the las bolt was barely enough to scar the red lacquer of her Sororitas armor.

Her resounding command to surrender seemed to go unheeded by the throng of traitor guardsmen, each still moving as a well-oiled fighting force, despite the frenetic activity of the surprise battle they’d found themselves in.

Tyrus sprinted up the street with his suppression shield held aloft, as las shots scoured the street around him. None of the return fire was able to penetrate his implacable advance, nor slow it with any measure of hope and soon enough the Inquisition’s crusader had fallen in behind the wreck of a metal-framed push-cart. Just behind it, Tyrus knew there was at least two of the traitors. He could hear them speaking to one another in what he assumed was the local dialect from Logofer. It sounded very utilitarian, and he could almost believe he understood something about voxing for support.

To her credit, Cornelia saw the shot coming a moment before it would have struck. Whether it was some precognitive ability, or perhaps dumb luck, the psyker dropped down to her knee’s as a shot seared past where she had stood only moments before. Scrabbling to her feet, the psyker dropped down behind a large bench that appeared to have once been part of some stop for public civilian transportation services.

Reaching out with her telepathic might, Cornelia pierced the feeble mental control the guardsmen had. Immediately, there were shouts of panic and distress among the soldiers, and no small amount of them broke cover and ran as hard and as fast as their legs could carry them. Some, it appeared, even made the sign of the Aquila in fear before fleeing.

If the psychic assault had not been enough to demoralize many of the soldiers, the immensely threatening bulk of the Magos floating listlessly out of cover and immediately unleashing a blistering salvo of hell and las shots would no doubt add to the terror.

The deep crimson of his hell shot caught a guardsman in the midriff, and sent him down with a smoking hole in his flak armor. The assault laspistol on his mechadendrite was able to score a second shot on one of the fleeing guardsmen, who tumbled down to the ground with a scream of agony as his clutched desperately at the burns that now scarred his back.

Following swiftly behind them, the rest of Lieutenant Mariska’s storm troopers surged in behind the Acolytes and lay down suppressing fire with quick, concise bursts from their own hellguns.

While it wasn’t quite over yet, it was likely that these traitors would lay dead at their feet soon enough.



Initiative:
Anje 21
Alonya 17
Vex 15
Tyrus 7 / Cornelia 7
Xander 6
Enemy Troops 5

[Kharnagar]

Under the cover of the suppressing fire provided by Lieutenant Mariska’s squad, Anje broke into a sprint and made to cut off the enemy retreat.
Without slowing, she let her hellgun fall slack on it's sling before slamming it back onto her mag-harness and drawing her hand-cannon, timing the natural pistoning of her arms as she ran to save precious moments.

Using Sprint to run 60m (or as far as needed to be past the enemy squad).
-20 to be hit by BS, +20 to be hit by WS

Potentially needed rolls;
Dodge1 ; [roll0] vs 74
Dodge2 ; [roll1] vs 74

Parry1? ; [roll2] vs 71 (51, +15 Defensive, +5 Good?
- Counter-Attack ; [roll3] vs 26 (51, -20 Counter Attack, -10 Defensive, +5 Good) - [If that somehow hits] [roll4] shocking damage, pen 0.
- Assassin Strike [Acrobatics]; [roll5] vs 64 (74, -10 House-rule.)

[Haval]

Well, that was something Cornelia wanted to laugh at how easy that was, but will concentrate on finding cover away from whoever was still shooting at her. To the others over the vox, 'One of them made the acquila. What sort of a heretic still does that.' She really wanted the chance to talk to one of them now, even if she had to ask one of the others to sit on them to stop them running off. As she scrambles around the ruins she will focus her will on blending in, as the others were more then capable of dealing with the remaining troopers at this range.


Half Action - Move
Half Action - Chameleon
Reaction - Dodge
Free Action - Concealment

Chameleon (Threshold 7, +30 to Concealment, -20 to shoot her)
[roll0]

Dodge if needed vs. Ag 30
[roll1]

Concealment vs. Ag 30
[roll2]

[Henry the 57th]

Tyrus doesn't hesitate. The moment he confirms the presence of traitors within arms length, he vaults over the overturned food cart with a surprising amount of agility for one so armored. Before the doubtlessly stunned enemy soldiers even have a chance to react, his shield is already up and his hand flamer is pointing around it. Channeling years of pent-up, bitter resentment into a single moment, he pulls the trigger without a second's pause.

"Death to the heretic!" he screams at them, a half-mad grin on his helmeted face.

Half Action: Move to get the heretics in point-blank range.

Half Action: Single Shot with Cadence Promethium Destroyer. Autohits anything with the 15m cone, damage is [roll0], Pen 2. Unaffected by cover. If the targets are hit and damaged, then they must take an agility test or be set on fire.

Dodge, if needed: [roll1] vs. 61

[DrK]

Vex

Blending into the rockcrete rubble Vex watches with satisfaction and feels the purr of the machine spirit within the rifle as the trooper explodes. "Three" she whispers to herself, before rotating the heavy barrel of the rifle to seek the next target that would dare raise a weapon against the holder of the Rosette. Even as they scatter he emperor has decreed that these are heretics so worthy of no mercy. A soft brush of the trigger and an almost imperceptible ignition of the penetrator round sends another bullet flying down range.





Aim at any visible special weapon trooper (i.e. Weapon with highest PEN value); pri
Called shot to the head
[roll0] TN 62 + 30 aim +10 short range = 102 (122 if count as unaware of Vex)
- Damage [roll1]+4 PEN 9 (if they are allowed to dodge from hidden target its at a -20 penalty)
- RF is needed [roll2] TN 92/122 extra damage [roll3] use as needed
- Accuracy bonus damage [roll4] as needed

Magazin 6/10 remaining

EDIT: 34 PEN 9 damage to the head

NOTE: Critical damage is at +4

If anyone see's me then count as 1 range bracket further away due to spy mask

Dodge Rolls if needed
[roll5] TN 92
[roll6] TN 92
[roll7] TN 92
[roll8] TN 92

Rosarious Ablative field (only if needed)
[roll9]
[roll10]

[Janwin]

At the refusal of the traitorous commissar to surrender, the Sister of Battle lowers her head and murmurs a brief prayer.

"The Emperor's guidance is all one needs..."

As her head rises once again, the glowing red eyes of her power armor helmet look directly into the eyes of the commissar while her Seraphim inferno pistol rises to meet the man's bolt pistol. As the trigger is pulled, disgorging a blast of super-heated gas aimed directly at the man's bolt pistol, she instructs him in a voice without emotion:

"Surrender, and you may yet find the Emperor's Mercy, traitor."

Ok, time to try and go for the rule of cool to get this commissar to surrender...

This turn:

Half Action: Activate Divine Guidance using Tests of Faith (no Fate Point cost once per game session)
Applying it to myself, Anje, Vex and Xander (so everyone except Anje this turn)
We can all ignore 1 Ranged Penalty (regardless of size) when making a ranged attack. Pick one penalty to your ranged attack and ignore it.
In addition, if you Righteous Fury, you can choose to ignore its effects and instead discount the target's armor.
This applies for the remainder of the scene.

Half Action: Called Shot at Commissar's Bolt Pistol
BS: 59
Called Shot: -20
Point Blank: +30
Total: 89

[roll0] vs TN 89
Damage (rolled in OOC): 14 | Pen 10

If needed, spending Fate: [roll1]

Dodge: [roll2] vs TN 50

[Hyperbolic sine]

"How unsightly." the Magos dryly commented, quickly pressing his hellgun's trigger to send a trio of las-bolts towards the fleeing guardsmen while his mechadendrite targeted the stragglers instead.

Full Action: PEW PEW PEW on the farthest remaining enemies. Semi-auto burst with Hellgun at [roll0] vs TN 77 (base 47, +10 Targeter, +10 MIU, +10 semi-auto, no range penalty if any). On a hit:

TN 77 [roll1] damage, Pen 7.
TN 57 [roll2] damage, Pen 7.
TN 37 [roll3] damage, Pen 7.
RF if needed: [roll4] [roll5].
Multiple hits will be assigned to different enemies if any are close enough to the first.

Reaction: PEW on the closest remaining enemy. Mechadendrite attack with Fury laspistol at [roll6] vs TN 77 (base 47, +10 Targeter, +10 MIU, +10 semi-auto, no range penalty if any). On a hit, [roll7] damage, Pen 0.
RF if needed: [roll8] [roll9].