Sea of Stars - IC III

[Haval]

Anika will look back towards the wraiths. To Echo, 'Perhaps they have a difference of opinion. I don't feel like any of us..except perhaps Lord Ahriman are in much of a position to answer that. I suppose we could always dig around to excavate the site properly before we try breaking anything. I don't feel like we're short of time in here.'

As Ahriman manages to reveal something, 'That is a neat trick. And here was I going to suggest finding some means of burning the black material away.' Anika will get closer to see if she could make any sense of the Eldar script. To Hannabel, 'I can try. But reading doesn't always mean understanding. They have a tendency to be poetic in my experience.'

Spoiler

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Speak Language (Eldar) vs.Int 53
(1d100)[42]
Fp if needed
(1d100)[95]

[PotatoGolem]

Well! That is certainlysomething. It remains to be seen, however, if removing the corruption makes them less hostile, or merely less degraded. Would be quite a shame if it made them better able to move when we're looking, hoho!

Macharius makes the sign of the aquila and draws his hammer. Never hurts to be prepared, what? Who knows what's on the other side. God-Emperor, in Your holy name we go forth, to purge the darkness with Your holy flame. Watch over Your servants as we confront this evil, and may our faith be our shield. No xeno shall defeat us, for we are servants of Him of Terra, and agents of Mankind!

[Blarghy]

Kennoch's disgust and distrust of the Eldar balanced against his hunger for anything Ahriman might show or tell him; he diligently captured the wall's transformation with his Memorance Implant, and especially the hand motion that provoked it, although he suspected that gesture was less important than the unseen power in Ahriman's mind and soul. Once he scanned the ancient writing for later examination with Sargon, the Navigator stepped closer. He needed to be sure that none of the others were in his line of sight. Slowly at first, he cracked his Warp-eye. If a sliver of his gaze was enough to tell him how to proceed, then he could stop there, but if not, he was prepared to do a rare thing and put all the power of his bloodline behind a fully unveiled eye.

Spoiler

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I'm not sure if you/Ahriman wants Gaze into the Abyss, or the Lidless Stare, so Kennoch will start with one and lead into the other if nothing happens first. No sense in taking on Fatigue for no reason.

Gaze into the Abyss (54): (1d100)[9]

The Lidless Stare (73): (1d100)[74]

[Haval]

Anika grinned at Macharius, 'That's the spirit.' On her findings, 'That some of the writing seems to still be covered up suggests that its been here a very long time, which with the Eldar isn't really surprising. Who can tell what state the planet was in originally. Maybe it was buried by volcanic activity. Maybe the planet even had an atmosphere at one point.'

She'll point towards the important part of the alien writing, 'That describes this as the Potentiality Engine, although potential for what I couldn't say. Plus there's some talk of safeguarding the future of the Eldar and ending the darkness of ignorance.'

[rax]

"Well that certainly sounds hopeful," Hannabel volunteers. "Though judging by the state of things, I guess whatever hope the Eldar had didn't really work out the way they thought..."

[Haval]

"Well that certainly sounds hopeful," Hannabel volunteers. "Though judging by the state of things, I guess whatever hope the Eldar had didn't really work out the way they thought..."

'They're still around aren't they. I feel like things could always be worse.'

[Leon]

++Their constructs certainly are, the actual Eldar not so much++
++Unless they are hiding down here somewhere aswell++

[Destro_Yersul]

Spoiler: Echo Only

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Staring at the carved doorway with his warp eye cracked, Echo thought it looked a lot less like a carving, and a lot more like a doorway. The black corruption pulsed with dark energy, but it was nothing compared to what was leaking through the door. The source of the corruption was inside, certainly, and it gathered like mist, seeping through the carvings, pooling across the floor, rising in wispy threads from the outline of the fram. The carvings were deeper than they first appeared, and seemed to be pulling back further, the door receding into the distance while the rest of the wall stayed put, forming a long tunnel. Dimly, he could sense whatever Ahriman was doing, the bright flame of an Astartes psyker somewhere nearby, twisting the locking mechanisms to enable him to open this door. He wasn't sure it had been a good idea, but it was too late now, and if there was a chance they could destroy the black thing that festered at this planet's heart, he had just opened the path towards it.

The ground rumbled as Echo opened his warp eye, carved runes flaring to life. Something deep within the wall shook, dust raining from the ceiling. Mist started to gather at the floor, spilling from within the carvings on the wall, which were suddenly much more substantial than they had been. And where there had been a carved relief of a door, there was now a tunnel. None of them had seen it appear, yet there it was, filled with billowing vapours, and the memory of it being something else was rapidly fading, taking on a distant and insubstantial feeling that made them wonder if it had ever been true. Surely, there had always been a gateway in the wall.

The wraiths had changed too, somehow. They still looked the same, still stood there silent and unmoving, but they seemed more real. More present, than they had a moment ago.

[PotatoGolem]

Unsettling, to say the least. And I don't particularly appreciate that the constructs seem more solid. I somehow doubt that it's made them any friendlier, hoho!

[rax]

"Well then, only one way forward - what are we waiting for?!" Hannabel exclaims with delight.

[Blarghy]

Echo was silent for a long moment, staring at the gate. His hands trembled slightly, until he clenched them into fists. He wasn't sure what the others had just seen, but he needed a moment to overcome what he'd witnessed; he briefly looked to Ahriman for his reaction, as the Space Marine was the only one with a similar understanding of what happened behind the veil of normal sight.

"Something terrible rests terrible terrible something terrible down that path down," he claimed, his voice soft but tense. "A creature of Chaos Chaos or a rotting xeno xeno, or both both. Something ancient ancient and hungry hungry and dark dark dark dark. The monster that monster has preyed upon preyed us for centuries us, stealing voidfarers stealing from their ships their ships."

He breathed and took a step closer. The barrel of his Hellpistol bounced a little on his shoulder. "Let us go go kill it kill kill kill in the name the name of the Emperor Emperor the Emperor."

[Haval]

'Well it's not like we have any choice. The only way out seems to be through.' Anika muttered in response to Echo.

It would have been more comforting to assume that there had never been a wall there in the first place, but Anika knew that there had. Something had altered reality enough that the wall had suddenly never been there in the first place. It was hard not to dwell on what else it might be capable of doing.

[Destro_Yersul]

If Ahriman had registered the strangeness Echo had seen, he showed no sign of it, standing as upright as ever. He did nod at what the Navigator said, though.

"I agree. The Nexus must be destroyed, if we are ever to be safe here."

The tunnel was taller than they were used to, but narrow, the mist swirling around their feet with each step forwards. Ahriman took up practically the entire space by himself, just as he had in the mining tunnels they had left. Where those were rough-hewn rock, though, this was smooth white material, bone-like, marred only by veins of corruption and decorative carving. It was warmer here than it had been above, too. The planet exterior had been the frigid blackness of near vacuum, and the interior not especially warm even with life sustainers running. Here though, the temperature had crept upwards.

Then, without warning, they stepped across a carved threshold and were no longer in a tunnel. Mist spilled away from them, creeping across ground cover that was spongy beneath their feet, and carried with it the scent of earth and pine. It was night, the dark shapes of trees rising up thickly all around them. They were in a clearing in a forest. They could hear the chirping of insects, and soft scuttlings in the undergrowth. Moss and ferns abounded, and somewhere in the distance was the sound of trickling water. There was no sign of the tunnel or its archway, gone as if it had never been.

[Leon]

++Err++
++I suspect empyrean effects more than ever right now++
++Fascinating as it is it is also wrong++

[Haval]

'Is..everyone else seeing a forest?' Anika asked cautiously.

[rax]

"Oh yes!" Hannabel answers gleefully. "It's dank, moist and no fit place for a human being, but isn't this just the grandest adventure?"

[Haval]

'Huh. Well that's something.' On Hannabel's adventure comment. 'Well that remains to be seen doesn't it. Frankly I don't know.whether I'm more bothered by the idea that we're suddenly somewhere else or that we might be all seeing something that isn't there.'

[Destro_Yersul]

"Somewhere in between, I believe," Ahriman said. "I can still hear the background noise of the system, and sense the Nexus. Yet this is real in a way an illusion is not."

The Astartes took a step to the side, where the tunnel wall should have been, and picked a stone up off the ground. He threw it at one of the trees, and the impact made a satisfyingly wooden thunk.

"What did you say this place was called?"

[Haval]

'According to the writing the Eldar called it 'The Potentiality Engine'. Potentiality of what I couldn't say, although I suppose there are those stories about how the Eldar are capable of seeing the future.'

[rax]

"Ooh, you mean we might still be on the same planet, but somewhere in the future? The engine was some sort of terraforming machine?" Hannabel asks Anika.

[Blarghy]

Kennoch slowly walked to a tree, something he'd only seen before in pictures, and hesitantly brushed a leaf with his gloved finger. "Emperor protect us Emperor protect," he mumbled softly to himself. The fascination held him for another minute, until he at last tore himself away and refocused on the matter at hand.

He peered around in search for higher ground. "If we can we can obtain a better better vantage point vantage point, we might see we might more of use more. Failing that failing, we could burn burn burn burn this forest down this to reveal to the path forward the path."

Anika and Hannabel's theory jolted him. It seemed possible; they'd gone back in time before, so the alien magic of this place could throw them forward in the same fashion, whether this future was real or only possible. He attempted the same solution as the last jump. Tilting his head back, Echo surveyed the stars to see what they might tell him.

Spoiler

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Trying the same skills as last time, in the Astropaths' chamber. Now I've had two prior reference points of the stars visible from this planet at different times, so hopefully that helps.

Navigation (Stellar) (61, maybe +10 from the Memorance Implant?): (1d100)[82]
Scholastic Lore (Astromancy) (61, maybe +10 from the Memorance Implant?): (1d100)[70]

[Haval]

"Ooh, you mean we might still be on the same planet, but somewhere in the future? The engine was some sort of terraforming machine?" Hannabel asks Anika.

'I feel like I should have more to go on before I can say anything for certain. It's not exactly like this happens everyday.' Which was an understatement. 'Perhaps terraforming after a fashion. Perhaps it shows you enough that you know what to do and what not to do.'

[Destro_Yersul]

The sky was filled with stars, too many of them for there to be much light pollution here. Wherever 'here' was. The baleful light of the Eye of Terror swirled overhead, the distant pulsing of the warp storm tinting the stars with unnatural colours. Echo couldn't place them, though he was certain this wasn't the same planet they had been on. Or it was, but somewhere else.

As he watched, a distant pinpoint of light near the Eye flared, a star shining bright for just a moment before it winked out. Then the warp storms started expanding, the Eye roiling as the immaterium forced its way further into realspace, widening the cracks in reality. Unholy fire twisted across the sky, and he imagined he could see daemons uncounted pouring forth to rain doom upon millions of worlds.

Wind kicked up, shrieking through the forest, the trees creaking and swaying under the sudden onslaught. The sounds of the insects had vanished, replaced by rushing wind and snapping branches. Dark shapes moved amidst the pines.

[rax]

"Looks like it's time for a defensive perimeter, Lord Captain-sama," Hannabel declares. Raising her carbine to her shoulder, she tracks the moving shapes with the gun's motion predictor and uses her dark-sight to try and get a look at them.

OOC: I'll leave it up to Destro to decide whether there's any point in rolling a Perception test.

[PotatoGolem]

Macharius had been contemplating the trees, silently repeating prayers to himself. At the sudden change, he stands straighter.

Form up and prepare for battle! I want a defensive ring, with the astropaths in the middle. Lord Ahriman and I will stand opposite each other, with the two praetorians halfway between. Praetorians, ready your blessed bolters. Anika, take shelter by Lord Ahriman. His sword and hammer crackle with energy as he engages the power fields.

Remember that we serve the God-Emperor! No matter what horror comes from the dark, it is as nought before His holy light! No daemon or xeno or heretic can match His power. We are sheltered in our faith, and armed in our hatred. By His will we shall triumph, as Mankind triumps over all the lesser beings of the galaxy. Stand tall, stand proud, and stand together! For the Emperor and Absalom!

[Destro_Yersul]

The group backed up into the clearing, circling the metaphorical wagons against the terrors of the night. The things were very much coming closer, shambling through the trees. Through Hannabel's sight, they were clearly visible. The Praetorians caught some in the beams of their lamp-packs, lighting them up for the rest of the party to see as well.

They were more Wraithguard, more decayed and riddled with corruption than any they had yet seen, but whatever rules had held them immobile when observed evidently didn't restrain them in here. Several of them were missing limbs, or chunks of armour. One of them was down both legs, and pulled itself forward with its arms. A number of them had guns, alien weaponry twisted by the power of the warp, barrels oozing liquid decay.

[Blarghy]

"Emperor protect us Emperor protect!" Echo repeated more loudly, as he leapt back in surprise. He looked quickly between Ahriman and the Lord Commander before stepping beside, but slightly behind, the Captain, careful to stay back out of the way of his powerful swings. His Hellpistol hummed to life, swiveled between different targets, locked on, and offered a pair of red rays to one of the more injured Wraithguard. The Navis knew to act as a support fighter for the more capable warriors.

Spoiler

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If anybody else--probably Hannabel--damages one of the Wraiths before my turn, Kennoch will fire at that one. If not, he tries to finish off the Wraith with no legs.

Half Action: Aim
First Shot (BS45 +10 Aim +10 Red-Dot Sight +10 Mind Impulse Unit): (1d100)[44]
(1d10+4)[12]
Second Shot (MIU Weapon Interface) (BS45 +10 Red-Dot Sight +10 Mind Impulse Unit)(1d100)[66]
(1d10+4)[5]

Weapon has 7 Pen.

[Haval]

'I'm not sure if standing next to a battle-psyker can be classified as safe.' But Anika will assent to Macharius' request anyway. Even in this state, seeing the things moving was uncanny. It was like being attacked by a group of statues. 'Someone kill the ones with the guns.' Anika had heard things about Eldar weaponry and was firmly of the opinion that they should all try and avoid being shot by them.

Spoiler: ooc

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Half Action - Aim bolter
Half Action - Target the closest Wraithguard with a gun

vs. BS 41 (+10 aim) (+10 Red Dot Sight)
(1d100)[34]

Any damage 1d10+5 X with Tearing, Pen 4
(1d10+5)[14] or (1d10+5)[15]

Failed the RF roll in the ooc

[Leon]

Wishing she had thought to bring the Gun as this was the perfect place to test it with hindsight, Ravia takes careful aim at one of the weapon carriers and strikes it in the leg

[rax]

Hannabel squeezes the trigger on her xenos carbine, aiming for the nearest gun-wielding Wraithguard and unleashing a stream of plasma micro-pulses at the decaying construct.

Spoiler: Actions

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Full Action: Full auto burst w/ pulse carbine (1d100)[19] vs. 90 (BS 60, motion predictor +10, full auto +20) or higher if target at short range and/or Hulking size or larger
Damage: (2d10+2)[19], (2d10+2)[11], (2d10+2)[11]; Pen 4, damage type E, up to 3 hits possible

Pre-emptive defensive rolls:
Conversion Field (1d100)[23] vs. 50 (overload on 01-05)
Dodge +20 (1d100)[78] vs. 73

Armour: Head 5, Right Arm 3, Left Arm 6, Body 6, Legs 3 (increased AP to head from Sabbat-pattern helmet and body and left arm because of combat shield)
Wounds: 12/12