The bridge of the Imperial Navy's Dauntless class light cruiser Saxon is quiet during warp travel. Armoured shutters block the crews view of the roiling horrors of the Immaterium, plunging the huge space into a dim, artificially lit gloom. They had been underway for several weeks, crossing the void on some mission of great important. Their destination, an odd little system named Arbothor, two agri-worlds a hive planet and an important shrine world. The crew bustled as only a navy crew could, occasionally sparing a glance at their silent master. Captain Artivelli sat high above his crew in a decorated command throne, stiff backed and scowling. His hawkish eyes rove over the bridge, and especially over the small corner that the Inquisition has claimed as it's own. The two black armoured space marines made the other members of that most honoured retinue look childlike in comparison, despite their apparent subservient role.
The Captain clicked his tongue quietly, expertly slipping into the ship's manifold, reviewing the 'request' that had come from the Inquisitor to carry his loyal band. Not just the Interrogator and his accomplices, but red robed mechanicum flesh haters, and thirty mute storm troopers who only served to make his own crew feel uncomfortable as they passed swiftly through the ships myriad corridors and walkways. He came back to reality -Such a dull, closed off little place- with a sigh and stood, allowing the haptic interfaces to withdraw from his neck and wrists as he did so.
"Interrogator." He said sharply, stepping down from his throne's podium. "A moment, please." The Captain had decided early in the voyage to be the picture of diplomacy and treat the Inquisitors band with an almost satirical politeness. He had realised shortly after that they didn't particularly care what he thought of them. It irritated him immensely (and he was sure he'd caught his XO stifling a laugh).
"Yes, Captain. My apologies, we've been quite ensconced in our planning sessions." The Interrogator smiled down at the thin captain.
"I just wondered-" He stops, an odd noise cutting over the busy bridge. A whirring, rising and falling, slowly building in volume. A light turns the bridge blue, making most on the bridge cover their eyes until it finally dims, leaving a light blue box, sitting amongst the rows of cogitators and crew. Smoke leaks out of the edges of what appears to be a wooden door.
The Captain shouts for security, turning for his throne as the blue boxes door bursts open with a plume of thick black smoke. Sparks spray from inside, followed by a red haired woman and a shouting man in a pinstriped suit and glasses.
"Do you know what you've done! We could be anywhere! What did you touch?! What-" He stops suddenly and looks around, pulling on a pair of glasses "I... What? This... Well, this is new." Spoiler
+++ ASTROTELEPATHIC COMMUNIQUE RECEIVED 1345.277.895.M40 +++
+++ AUTHENTICATION CODE CHI 62UN3 =][= OMEGA +++
+++ SECURITY LEVEL MOST SECRET +++
+++ MESSAGE BEGINS +++
+++ IN THE BLESSED SERVICE OF THE GOD EMPEROR OF MANKIND +++
HAIL.
I AM INTERROGATOR MERTHACUS, ACOLYTE OF INQUISITOR NACHTMANN GRUND.
IN THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF OUR MISSION TO ERADICATE THE ENEMIES OF MANKIND WHERE THEY LAY WE REQUIRE THE SERVICES OF YOUR VESSEL. YOU WILL PUT YOUR SHIP AND YOUR CREW AT OUR DISPOSAL UNTIL SUCH A TIME AS YOUR SERVICES ARE COMPLETED. WE WILL REQUIRE SUFFICIENT QUARTERS FOR OUR COMPANY [DETAILS APPENDED AT END OF MESSAGE].
YOU SHALL BE SERVING A VITAL DUTY IN THE FRONTLINES OF PRESERVING HUMANITY. SHOULD ANY OF YOUR OFFICERS AND CREW DIE IN THIS DUTY, KNOW THAT THEY DIED SERVING THE WILL OF THE GOD EMPEROR OF MANKIND. HIS GRATITUDE SHALL BE ETERNAL.
WE SHALL BOARD AT 1030 HOURS IMPERIAL STANDARD TIME. WE EXPECT THE UTMOST SERVICE AND LOYALTY FROM YOU AND YOUR CREW.
IN THE NAME OF THE EMPEROR.
~MERTHACUS
+++ ATTACHMENT +++
+++ LIST OF PERSONNEL +++
[TO BE ACCOMMODATED IN PRIMUS CLASS QUARTERS]
INTERROGATOR MERTHACUS
INTERROGATOR SECUNDUS QUIMPER
EXPLICATOR BRANDELL
EXPLICATOR HOUGAN
AND EFFECTS OF PERSONS LISTED
[TO BE ACCOMMODATED IN TERTIUS CLASS QUARTERS]
VONIS, SECRETARIAT [ENSURE ADJACENCY TO INTERROGATORS' QUARTERS]
HUMBER, DIALOGUS
FINNA, ORDOS HOSPITALLER
ORCUS, MORTISCUSTODIA
AND EFFECTS
[TO BE ACCOMMODATED BY THE CULT MECHANICUS]
ADEPT ISSAC KNOLL, LEXMECHANIC SECUNDUS
ADEPT BRONTOS JAROV, ARTISAN PRIME
ADEPT UBBE KNOLL, FRATER RUNICA PRIME
AND EFFECTS
[TO BE ACCOMMODATED IN CREW QUARTERS]
AREW, LT. 3RD HEROCH SWAMP-CLAWS, 463ND STORMTROOPER PLATOON [PETTY OFFICERS' QUARTERS]
BORT, SGT. 3RD HEROCH 463ND-A [QUARTER WITH TROOPS]
CORDIK, SGT. 3RD HEROCH 463ND-B [QUARTER WITH TROOPS]
30 TROOPERS 3RD HEROCH
AN ARMOURY IN CONVENIENT LOCATION IS TO BE PROVIDED TO THIS UNIT FOR DAILY RITES OF MAINTENANCE. AN ENGINSEER AND LAY ARMOURERS SHALL BE DETAILED TO ASSIST IN RITES AS NEEDED.
SUFFICIENT HANGAR SPACE WITH CLEARANCE TEN METRES TO EACH SIDE SHALL BE ALLOTTED FOR TWO GUNSHIPS, REDAX-CLASS. WHEN NOTIFIED, HANGAR CONTROL SHALL GIVE IMMEDIATE LAUNCH PRIORITY TO THESE CRAFT. NO EXCEPTIONS.
+++ COMMUNIQUE END +++
"Seriously though, every time I see something like this I think 'Ooo, I'm living in the future'. Unfortunately it increasingly looks like it's going to be a cyberpunkish dystopia, where the poor eat recycled shit and the rich eat the poor." Evilsoup, on the future
Captain Cromwell had instinctively grabbed his weapon as soon as the strange noise was heard. By the time the box had appeared fully he was almost all the way across the bridge.
By the time the strange figures emerged he had his weapons aimed; the (apparently) ancient volkite serpenta raised in his hand pointing squarely at the man's chest.
"HALT!" The bellow from the Space Marine was enough to freeze half the bridge crew in place, whilst the strange man merely peered at his pistol. The red-headed woman looked suitably afraid for someone getting an up close and personal look at an Astartes warrior.
"Surrender immediately in the name of the Emperor." The viscious-looking volkite weapon gave an unspoken yet very clear "or else."
Baltar: "I don't want to miss a moment of the last Battlestar's destruction!"
Centurion: "Sir, I really think you should look at the other Battlestar."
Baltar: "What are you babbling about other...it's impossible!"
Centurion: "No. It is a Battlestar."
Corrax Entry 7:17: So you walk eternally through the shadow realms, standing against evil where all others falter. May your thirst for retribution never quench, may the blood on your sword never dry, and may we never need you again.
Secure bloody Merthacus, Orcus thought as he saw the flickering blue light. With a few brusque gestures, he directed the stormtroopers accompanying him to surround the interrogator and his retinue as he stepped forward.
The other Marine-- he had not been notified of this Astartes, Cromwell, accompanying their party, but he had joined them once they boarded without any explanation that he or Merthacus deigned to share with Orcus-- leaped forward as the blue box solidified and the people came out of it. The Astartes hefted a peculiarly crafted pistol, and immediately the thought leaped into Orcus' mind, We need them. Stop him.
It was the bloody interrogator using his witchery again, but for once Orcus didn't care. He lunged forward and grabbed Cromwell's wrist and snapped, "Halt thyself!"
Merthacus' eyebrows both went up, his equivalent to the open-jawed gapes of his retinue. Orcus realized that this was probably the first time they had ever heard him speak Low Gothic, or his voice coming anywhere but through a vox-relay. He switched to his accustomed mode and told Cromwell in his low rumble of a voice, "Non potest esse in praedam aqua in sanguinem. Merthacus vult. Ipsos."*
He just hoped he wouldn't have to pull his own bolter. It would not do for these humans to see Astartes fighting Astartes. If that was what it took, though...
*You cannot put blood back into the prey once it is in the water. Merthacus wants them. Secure them.
"There would have been no blood Brother." Nonetheless, he lowered his pistol slightly, just enough so that the male human was no longer getting a close inspection of the barrel.
"You strangers, step away from the box and keep your hands visible at all times."
Baltar: "I don't want to miss a moment of the last Battlestar's destruction!"
Centurion: "Sir, I really think you should look at the other Battlestar."
Baltar: "What are you babbling about other...it's impossible!"
Centurion: "No. It is a Battlestar."
Corrax Entry 7:17: So you walk eternally through the shadow realms, standing against evil where all others falter. May your thirst for retribution never quench, may the blood on your sword never dry, and may we never need you again.
As armsmen charged forward out of the emergency lifts, Orcus turned to look at the strange humans and got a glimpse of the interior of the box they had emerged from before the man hurriedly shut it.
That couldn't be right. Without hesitation, he blink-clicked a few picts of the box and the man, and a moment later the picts were forwarded to the adepts' noosphere. He whispered into his vox on their channel, "Do you read this?"
"It emerged from thin air upon the bridge. Two humans came out of it. Do you have anything useful to add, or shall I have it flung out the void-lock?"
+++Omnissiah above and below. That's worth checking out. Issac?+++ sent Ubbe.
+++Huh. Yes. Detain the two. We must examine them immediately once we've looked at the thing. Don't open that, we'll take care of it. Yes.+++ replied his brother the lexmechanic.
Orcus grunted in agreement. He looked over at the stormtroopers and jerked his head at the blue box, held up his finger and described a circle. They complied and surrounded it hastily. Once that was done, he opened the link to Jarov and growled, "What's so important?"
+++Latest stats on the Mk XCVII Gamma Cortida analytical engine came in last 'sphere link-up. It's got over 9000 megafarks--+++ and Orcus shut him off. The techpriest had a problem with authority. He was superb with creating and repairing whatever they needed him to, but you could never tell him to do anything. Almost as bad as a Jokaero.
WHilst the Stormtroopers surrounded the box, Cromwell continued to glare at the people it had contained. Seeing that the box was surounded and they humans were apparently isolated and trapped, he holstered his weapon.
"You will identify yourself. Name, affiliation and planet of origin."
Baltar: "I don't want to miss a moment of the last Battlestar's destruction!"
Centurion: "Sir, I really think you should look at the other Battlestar."
Baltar: "What are you babbling about other...it's impossible!"
Centurion: "No. It is a Battlestar."
Corrax Entry 7:17: So you walk eternally through the shadow realms, standing against evil where all others falter. May your thirst for retribution never quench, may the blood on your sword never dry, and may we never need you again.
Whoever says "education does not matter" can try ignorance
------------
A decision must be made in the life of every nation at the very moment when the grasp of the enemy is at its throat. Then, it seems that the only way to survive is to use the means of the enemy, to rest survival upon what is expedient, to look the other way. Well, the answer to that is 'survival as what'? A country isn't a rock. It's not an extension of one's self. It's what it stands for. It's what it stands for when standing for something is the most difficult! - Chief Judge Haywood
------------ My LPs
Miranda stumbled out of the TARDIS coughing, then stopped when she saw a hulking figure pointing what she assumed was some kind of weapon at her. She instinctively started raising her right hand and felt the weapon concealed inside beginning to emerge before she fiercely suppressed the urge. If she opened fire, she knew, she couldn't take out everyone in the desolate room they were standing in. She'd die, and so would the Doctor. Besides, the thought of using that thing disgusted her.
Do it, something loathsome in her mind said. Kill. Die. Destroy them all. Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminaaaate!
She shook her head, trying to dismiss the voice in her mind. She slowly raised her hands as she made herself a promise. She would die before she would let the technology inside her regain control.
The besuited man stares for a moment, before ignoring the gun, pushing his glasses up and stepping out of the way of its barrely. He glances between the two huge armoured figures in front of him before breaking into a broad grin.
"I'm the Doctor. She's Miranda, she pushed something, and that's why we're here. As for you..." He leans in close "Just look at you... Gene modified human? A soldier, obviously. I can't stand soldiers. But look at you, you're magnificent. And this ship! You can feel the age in her." He runs a hand along a bank of cogitators, pausing only to peer into one of the screens. He shrugs "I can't actually quite tell when we are, but still."
The man is a bundle of energy, almost gleeful at finding himself in a room full of armed men and complex machinery. He seems completely unafraid of the weapons on display, ignoring them completely.
The Captain, using his Throne's control interfaces, is in a state of apoplectic shock. This pair of people have pranced into the most secure part of his ship and seem completely unable to comprehend that they will not be leaving it freely. He was about to order their immediate executions when a small warning panel flashed up in the corner of his vision. Intruders, across multiple decks. Intruders, more intruders, spreading across his ship. More intruders, spreading across his ship, in warp... He sent orders, flashed commands to several stations shipwide before breaking from the Manifold.
"Interrogator, Orcus, we have... something of a problem.
"Seriously though, every time I see something like this I think 'Ooo, I'm living in the future'. Unfortunately it increasingly looks like it's going to be a cyberpunkish dystopia, where the poor eat recycled shit and the rich eat the poor." Evilsoup, on the future
Captain Cromwell looked suitably unimpressed at the Doctors babbling, although he was intrigued as to how the man knew about his gene-enhancements.
"Stand still! Where are you from? And how did that thing get here anyway?"
He waited patiently for an answer, although his superior hearing heard the Captain's comment about a problem. He'd keep listening, but right now his focus was the mystery man and his box. It was almost magical...and magic was something he had to despise, even if his Legion's views were somewhat less repressive than the Imperium's.
Baltar: "I don't want to miss a moment of the last Battlestar's destruction!"
Centurion: "Sir, I really think you should look at the other Battlestar."
Baltar: "What are you babbling about other...it's impossible!"
Centurion: "No. It is a Battlestar."
Corrax Entry 7:17: So you walk eternally through the shadow realms, standing against evil where all others falter. May your thirst for retribution never quench, may the blood on your sword never dry, and may we never need you again.
HMS Sophia wrote:"Interrogator, Orcus, we have... something of a problem."
The Deathwatch Marine turned his attention to Captain Artivelli and asked sharply, ignoring the flummoxed expressions of Interrogator Merthacus' retinue (for this was the most loquacious he had been since they joined and met him), "Problem? Explain."
The captain quickly brought him up to speed, and without bothering to wait for Merthacus' assent, Orcus voxed orders to the stormtrooper platoon lieutenant. "Report to the bridge. Keep the Interrogator and his retinue safe. I shall assist in repelling boarders."
He turned to Cromwell and brusquely told him, "We are being boarded. You can help me remove them, or remain here with these intruders."
Turning away, he pulled his bolter from its mag-lock upon his hip and racked the slide as he walked away towards the lift, taking inventory of his armaments. Combat knife, grenades, magazines of bolter rounds. If only he could get at his weapons locker in the tertiary guest quarters' hold...
Cromwell nodded and set off after his brother Astartes. First priority, weapons locker. Second priority, vox signal to the Hellrazers stealth ship shadowing them in the outer system. Third priority, find the borders and kill them.
Baltar: "I don't want to miss a moment of the last Battlestar's destruction!"
Centurion: "Sir, I really think you should look at the other Battlestar."
Baltar: "What are you babbling about other...it's impossible!"
Centurion: "No. It is a Battlestar."
Corrax Entry 7:17: So you walk eternally through the shadow realms, standing against evil where all others falter. May your thirst for retribution never quench, may the blood on your sword never dry, and may we never need you again.
The Doctor continued to hover around the bridge, ignoring the armsmen and storm troopers. He stopped as he noticed the Space Marine's leaving the bridge.
"Well now... if they have somewhere more important to be than with the box that just appeared..." He pauses, as if distracted, before hurrying over to the blue box and locking it. "Miranda?" He looks around for the half stunned woman. "Shall we follow them?"
-------------------------------------
The two marines set off down the twisting corridors of the ship. As they run, footsteps rattling the deck, noises begin to grow. Shouting, the crack of weapons fire, the occasional scream. They round a corner, and are met by a novel sight. A demi-squad of inquisitorial storm troopers, pinned down at an intersection. They occasionally exchange fire with a group of metal skinned humanoids who are firing back with what seem to be arm mounted weapons. Two stormtroopers are on the floor, and the charred remnants of one of the enemies shows where the plasma gunner has done their work.
"Seriously though, every time I see something like this I think 'Ooo, I'm living in the future'. Unfortunately it increasingly looks like it's going to be a cyberpunkish dystopia, where the poor eat recycled shit and the rich eat the poor." Evilsoup, on the future
Orcus doesn't bother with a war-cry or any such nonsense. He simply charges forward as he levels his bolter, a microsecond's pause allows the auto-sight to align itself and lock his arm plates into position for the space of a thought, and he fires. The round screams its way through the air, knocks one of the metal men back forcefully and then explodes, scattering metal bits and shrapnel.
Without breaking his stride, he hurdles the stormtroopers and rams headlong into the other metal men, sending them reeling with the force of his impact. He takes his off hand from the muzzle of the bolter and reaches behind his back, coming out with a long, sharp razor-edged combat blade as he rakes the metal men with bolter fire. A sweep of his hand nearly severs the head of a metal man, but an electric shock runs up his armour and convulsively his hand lets go of the knife.
He doesn't let that stop him and brings his head down. With a resounding clang, the metal man's head pops off entirely, now dented across half its face. Crouching, he sweeps his bolter across the passageway, wary of further threats...
Cromwell follows in the wake of Orcus, also remaining silent. His Volkite pistol is a close-range weapon, so he focuses all his effort into closing the distance. Once in range, he swings his arm in line with a third
target and pulls the trigger.
The effect is immediate and staggering. The metal-skinned humanoid explodes outwards, the armour shattering under the intense heat generated within. Hunks of charred flesh burst outwards, spraying superheated matter onto the other hostiles. Their armour begins to melt under the inferno but even as they begin to react Cromwell has changed his aim and fired again.
Baltar: "I don't want to miss a moment of the last Battlestar's destruction!"
Centurion: "Sir, I really think you should look at the other Battlestar."
Baltar: "What are you babbling about other...it's impossible!"
Centurion: "No. It is a Battlestar."
Corrax Entry 7:17: So you walk eternally through the shadow realms, standing against evil where all others falter. May your thirst for retribution never quench, may the blood on your sword never dry, and may we never need you again.
Raylan heard the klaxons of the ship going to alert. His legs still hurt, but he ignored it, shrugging on his coat and slidding his twin bolt pistols into their holsters with a sharp snap-click. Leaving his berth and entering to the hall, he took note of the ships ratings scurrying about before the sounds of gunfire erupted aft.
"Is there were Your justice is needed, my Lord," he murmured before setting off towards the sounds of fighting. He turned a corner of the crridor aft and came on a strange sight. A man, made of metal, it's gait sluggish, but it's purpuse clear by the bloodied remains of a good, (hopefully) honest Imperial citizen at it's feet.
Raylan gave it a brief glace before saying, "You sure you want to do this, Xeno?" The fingers of his right hand twitched breifly over his right thigh. It made the first move, but it couldn't anticipate the hell Raylan was about to unlsh. It the time it took to move it's weapon a few degrees towards him, Raylan's right hand blured, as a massive revolver snapped from a compartment in his right leg, the barrel tilted upwards, the wrist and hand still below the Raylan's waist when the gun spoke, sending a .75 caliber Godwyn-De'az bolt shell into the cybernetic Xeno's torso, just south of where the sternum would be on a human. As his hand came up, Raylan fired twice more, the second sheel striking center of mass f the thing's chest, the third striking it in the chin. The mass-reactive shells detonated thousands of a second apart, but instead of a welter of gore, there was a flash of sparks and flame as the internals of the thing caught fire after being blown apart.
"Well, guess that answers that, my Lord. Your justice is needed here then."
Goddammit, now I'm forced to say in public that I agree with Mr. Coffee. - Mike Wong
I never would have thought I would wholeheartedly agree with Coffee... - fgalkin x2
Honestly, this board is so fucking stupid at times. - Thanas GALEForceCarwash: Oh, I'll wax that shit, bitch...
Miranda watched the events around her fearfully. She was not a coward- she had served well in the Emperor's fleet until... But she was surrounded by strangers who could kill her and didn't trust her, the Doctor of all people didn't know where they were, and now they appeared to have found themselves in the middle of an attack. Despite this, she left the talking to the Doctor. She knew his reputation. Admittedly the reputation he had with his enemies, but she figured that if the Daleks hated and feared you that much, you were probably either a decent chap or an utter monster. Since he hadn't tried to kill, torture, or enslave her yet, she was favouring the optimistic option.
She heard the Doctor suggest following him, and after a second of hesitation she did so. She didn't know him and didn't really trust him, but he was her only way out of here.
The Doctor follows the hulking space marines, watching with an open mouth as the two marines round the corner and charge into the beings he knows as cyber-men. One explodes, followed by a second as a third loses its head. A fourth is destroyed at the back of the group, it's body falling to reveal a long-coated man with a heavy pistol in his hand. The doctor pulls off his glasses, frowning.
"Hang on. There's something..." he manages to get out before a hideous shrieking comes from the remaining standing cyber-man. A pink, fleshy tentacle , tipped with razor sharp talon bursts from the hole in its neck, followed by a second cracking the casing of its left arm. It reaches out at the marine in front of it, trying to wrap one tentacle around him and lashing at him with the other.
The Storm troopers radio crackles with reports from across the ship, of heavy fighting and armoured borders at multiple points. Spoiler
I hope no-one forgot we were in warp travel...
"Seriously though, every time I see something like this I think 'Ooo, I'm living in the future'. Unfortunately it increasingly looks like it's going to be a cyberpunkish dystopia, where the poor eat recycled shit and the rich eat the poor." Evilsoup, on the future
Daemon. That is the only thing Orcus has time to think before the tentacles wrap around him. He hastily grabs his combat knife off the floor as it yanks him forward off his feet, and starts hacking at it, his bolter in the other hand pinned against his side by the tentacle. Luminescent ichor with no identifiable colour starts splattering, but it doesn't let him go.
His helmet auspex shows him who is nearby-- unidentified human male, two unidentified xenos, unidentified Astartes tagged friendly, and 3rd/463rd-B Platoon stormtroopers, allied. He manages to roll to his back as he switches to the troopers' vox channel and snaps, "Target metal man and open fire!"
With precise discipline the stormtroopers pop out around the corner of the intersection and start blasting with their hellguns. The metal man blows apart, but a convulsing mass of wet flesh erupts out from its remains, screeching unintelligibly and flailing more tentacles. Eyes appear out of the thing's meat and start blinking, random mouths gibbering or-- worse-- laughing.
More firepower is required, Orcus decides. "Troopers! Hot-shot your hellguns! Three rounds rapid! Cromwell, fire at will!"
Cromwell did not need Orcus' order, he was already blasting away at the remaining metal men as rapidly as his volkite serpenta could recharge. The demon-no, Chaos-aligned xenos, demons imply Gods and there are no such things was still trying it's hardest to compress his fellow Astartes, showing no sign of weakening despite the apparent wounds inflicted by Orcus's knife, clearly maing it the priority target.
Cromwell took the brief pause whilst his weapon recharged to shift his aim to one of the creatures gibbering mouths. His armour systems, interfaced with the weapon, flashed his targeting reticle green and he fired. The effect would, on a normal realspace-creature, be cataclysmic (the flash-burned metal men where testament to that) but to the warp-xenos it was merely grievous. Four of the tentacles exploded, showering Cromwell and the Stormtroopers in a light rain of ash whilst the moisture int he mouth's instantly vaporised.
It was messy, it was painful, it was no doubt a serious wound. But it had not slowed th creature measureably. Instead of a follow-up shot, Cromwell ripped a fragmentation grenade from his harness, knowing it would not penetrate Astartes armour and, with a shouted warning to the Stormtroopers, rammed the armed grenade into the open wound in the creature's flank.
Baltar: "I don't want to miss a moment of the last Battlestar's destruction!"
Centurion: "Sir, I really think you should look at the other Battlestar."
Baltar: "What are you babbling about other...it's impossible!"
Centurion: "No. It is a Battlestar."
Corrax Entry 7:17: So you walk eternally through the shadow realms, standing against evil where all others falter. May your thirst for retribution never quench, may the blood on your sword never dry, and may we never need you again.
Seeing the grenade, Orcus promptly ducks the muzzle of his helmet into the gorget plate of his armour, blink-clicks the lenses' blast shield into place, and braces for impact, bringing the hand with his combat knife up before his face.
Impact duly follows-- first he is flung backwards, shrapnel clattering off his armour (as well as un-fleshy bits that he didn't care to think about splattering against it), and then an abrupt clang against the proximate bulkhead, finishing with an unkempt sprawl against the deck. Adrenaline springs him back to his feet, knife to the fore. There is only a burnt smear across the floor and the opposite wall; the bodies of the metal men were shredded in the explosion. Fortunately, though a large piece of shrapnel is sticking in its casing, his bolter is intact. He grabs it, racks a dragonfire-pattern round and fires at the daemon's burn-mark. Flames spurt forth from the impact of the round and spread across the wall and floor.
The stormtroopers, familiar with the procedure he just enacted, quickly locate a fire-suppressor locker and spread a mat of flame-retardant gel around the promethium flames of the dragonfire round. Without hesitation now that the current threats are eliminated, he opens his vox-channel to the Interrogator and curtly tells him, "Daemon breach, deck 16. It has been eliminated. I suggest you request that the Captain drop out of warp as soon as possible and have the enginarium run a full rite of maintenance upon the Gellar field generatoria."
Clicking the channel off, he scans the corridors again and chooses to take notice of the unidentified human male. Sloppy but balanced stance, low holsters, long coat, boltpistols. Almost casually he allows the barrel of his bolter to cover the man as he switches to open vox and commands, "Civilian, state your name and purpose. Why are you not remaining in quarters? Are you insufficiently aware of Naval regulations governing emergency alerts?"
Seeing that Orcus had the situation in hand, Cromwell accessed the vox-net to see if there were any further reports of boarders. Whilst doing that he headed for his quarters to finally acquire the rest of his weapons (his pistol had proved highly effective bu the power pack was badly depleted) and to replace the grenade he had expended on the demon.
Upon arriving he sealed the door behind him and, having gathered his weapons, opened a sealed casket. Within was a highly advanced vox unit. It was useless in the Warp of course, but the Fleet recon vessel shadowing this cruiser would pick up the burst-transmission once they reverted to realspace. He activated the unit and summarized the situation.
Imperium Cruiser Saxon breached by at least two unknown forces during Warp transit. Unknown humanoid male and female appeared on the cruiser's bridge in an unknown object. It appeared to have internal dimensions not congruent with external size. Object presumed to be a spacecraft of some form, propulsion unknown, defences and weaponry unknown. Humanoid male identified himself as "The Doctor" and recognised me as a gene-enhanced warrior. He seemed unfazed by the weaponry aimed at him or the situation he found himself in.
Investigation of unknowns interrupted by boarding alarms. Second unknown force had penetrated Deck 16 in proximity to the bridge. Hostiles were metal-skinned humanoids with arm-mounted energy weapons. Hostile weaponry ineffective against Astartes armour. Volkite weaponry highly effective against unknown targets. Method used by metal hostiles to breach Saxon: unknown.
At least one metal hostile contained a Warp-entity. Warp entity was destroyed with no friendly casualties. It is unknown if this was a deliberate possession or a coincidence due to the Warp transit and/or possible damage to Gellar field.
Observation mission proceeding. No suspicion, cover story intact and so far unquestioned. Will continue to report observations and analysis of unknown parties. Cromwell out."
Baltar: "I don't want to miss a moment of the last Battlestar's destruction!"
Centurion: "Sir, I really think you should look at the other Battlestar."
Baltar: "What are you babbling about other...it's impossible!"
Centurion: "No. It is a Battlestar."
Corrax Entry 7:17: So you walk eternally through the shadow realms, standing against evil where all others falter. May your thirst for retribution never quench, may the blood on your sword never dry, and may we never need you again.
Raylen took a moment to look over his handiwork. Whatever that thing was, he knew if a techpriest saw it they'd start babbling in binary about tech-heresy. Raylen's left eyebrow twitched a bit, he hated heretics. It was his one of the fringe benefits of his job. Turns out that most Imperial law broke things down fairly simply, you obeyed the Law and were a good and decent citizen of the Lord's Empire, or you were a thrice-damned heretic.
Whatever this Throne-damned thing was, it broke multiple Imperial statues just by existing, therefore heresy had been jusifiably punished.
"Thank you, oh Lord, for granting my this opportunity to serve Your will," he murmured before activating his vox. "This Chief Justice Givenus to any Imperial forces still in the fight. Where is the Emperor's Justice needed most?"
Goddammit, now I'm forced to say in public that I agree with Mr. Coffee. - Mike Wong
I never would have thought I would wholeheartedly agree with Coffee... - fgalkin x2
Honestly, this board is so fucking stupid at times. - Thanas GALEForceCarwash: Oh, I'll wax that shit, bitch...
Firefights have broken out shipwide, on multiple decks. The crew are being slaughtered, though where the fight involves armsmen or the Inquisitorial Stormtroopers, the metal men are being held back. Unfortunately, the demon infested shell the two Space Marines defeated is not the only warp incursion reported as the fights go on.
There are three main incursion points that have been reported, as well as several worrying silences and a few known losses. The fore-port gundecks have been evacuated and locked down. The Enginarium is a scene of intensely heavy fighting, and several messages have mentioned tech priests fighting alongside the armsmen. Shipboard security headquarters have barricaded themselves in and are essentially under siege despite efforts thus far. More concerning than anything else, the Astropathic choir has, unusually, gone quiet and no messages have been received from its position aft of the bridge.
The Doctor is busy crouching over the charred remains of the demon-cyberman, pointing a buzzing tool at it, and grimacing at the smell. After a few moments he jumps up and walks over to Orcus. "Is this... normal? Around here? Not the cybermen, they shouldn't be here, I mean the gribbly tentacle beast inside it. Miranda, you must have encountered cybermen, you've not seen that, have you?" [I/}
"Seriously though, every time I see something like this I think 'Ooo, I'm living in the future'. Unfortunately it increasingly looks like it's going to be a cyberpunkish dystopia, where the poor eat recycled shit and the rich eat the poor." Evilsoup, on the future
"I've heard of them, but I've never seen one before. But as far as I know, they don't have bloody tentacles in them. Listen, if their are more Cybermen or more of those tentacles, we need to get armed or leave now. Preferably both." She was armed, of course, but she didn't want to reveal that to her captors.