Space Wolf series thread

Connor MacLeod · Post by **Connor MacLeod** » 2012-05-23 06:43pm

Well, not only have I gotten around to Horus Heresy at last, we're going to get into the Space Wolf stuff I've long, LONG delayed. Sorry it took so long but had so much other stuff on my plate I wanted to clear (hell I STILL do) but we're getting there. I was debating whether to cover the Rennie and Last Chancer stuff first but I may wait til the Necromunda or SMB stuff is done there before I move on. I want to start in on Dark Heresy this week as well as get a good solid start on HH, and I want to finish up Imperial armour so... still juggling.

Aside from Aaron-Dembski Bowden, I have to say Bill King is my favorite Space Marine writer. In fact I consider the Space Wolves series to be some of the best Space Marine stuff out there. Which is interesting because I know others have echoed that attitue WRT Abnett and Chris Wraight's entries into the series, and ADB himself commented on how there can be a massive nostalgia factor distorting things. To that all I can say is.. he has a point. I certainly can't deny it. I am not quite as fond of Chris Wraight's 'Battle of the Fang' or Abnett's take on the Wolves, and alot of that stems simply from I'm so used to Bill King. I think Abnett's work was still good it just didn't.. resonate with me. I didn't care for the plot of Battle for the Fang much period so I'm waiting to see if the next book does better (I will admit I did lik ethe byplay between the Dreadnoughts and Bjorn, so its not all bad.)

So what is there to like about Bill King's space marines in my opinion? Well a big thing is he writes them as people (alot like Abnett does), and he doesnt really take them too seriously. I mean for fuck's sake.. Haegr case in point. Fat space Marine. But while ther'es a bit of absurd there there is also some seriousness too (but not too much) and there is also that bit of 'personal interaction' - both amongst Space Marines and amongst humans that really makes for a 'good' Space Marine Story (eps Ragnar's Claw and Wolfblade.) There's also quite a 'classic' feel to the stories that reflects a point in the fluff where things weren't quite so over-the-top grimdark. For me, at least, all those elements really combine just to make for a really good book (or a series of books.) the continuation of the series (last two books by Lee Lightener) don't *quite* match up to it, but do a satisfactory job nnonehteless.

In any case, this thread will be for the Space Wolves. It starts out mostly with the Bill King stuff, the last two Lightener novels, and if any other 'generic' Wolf novels come out (I think Chris Wraight has one come out this year) it will go here too.

Another reason to do this is that this month (well June) Bill King will be releasing his first 40K novel (about Macharius) in God Knows How Long, and I'm looking forward to it.

Connor MacLeod · Post by **Connor MacLeod** » 2012-05-23 06:49pm

So the first entry in the Space Wolf series is, naturally enough, Space Wolf. It basically is one of those 'point of view' stories where you get introduced to the 40K galaxy from the eyes of an initiate Space Marine from start to finish. Pretty basic story formula for 40K (Space Marine by Ian Watson, Sons of Dorn, and most other stories pertaining to similar follow it too to varying degrees.)

Space Wolf in particular follows one Ragnar Blackmane, saved from death at the hands of another tribe and brought to the Fang to become a prospective Space Wolf. We follow him on the course that leads him from mere man to Space Marine, with all the hardships and problems along the way. We meet friends and rivals (some of whom do not make it) and we encounter his first actual mission and his encounter with the Thousand Sons. And all this before he joins any Great Company.

It's a solid book, maybe not as good as some of the other ones (like Wolfblade) can be, but it has its charm, and as a starting point it works. But Ragnar's real adventures don't start until book 2. And as I alluded to before, these novels also have a flavor of that 'earlier time' in 40K fluff when things were different, but not so different (like Space Marine) as to make it .... 'heretical'. Each story goes in a premise of Ragnar telling a story bout his own past, often as a sort of 'morality tale' to show how he was shaped into the leader he becomes.

Well, all that out of the way we shall begin. Part 1 of 'Space Wolf.

Page 11

He raced from the doorway where he'd been sheltering to a huge block of fallen masonry some twenty metres closer to his objective. Enemy laser blasts melted the concrete behind his heels but, even in his powered armour, he moved too quickly for the heretics to get a bead on him. He threw himself into a crouch behind the rubble and waited for a moment.

Lasgun blasts show thermal rather than mechanical effects here. Possibly a sustained/raking beam. We dont know how deep or how much was melted, but if we just guessed roughly 2-3cm diameter (the rough width of a lasgun beam as a rule) hemipshere it would melt ten grams worth of ground roughly. 20 kilojoules at least. So going with an OoM rough calc we could say double or triple digit kj at least. What we dont know is duration/rate of fire or anything like that. This could be a fractional-second shot, or it could be over several seconds. The quote implies the shot tracked him over some distance, but probably not a long one, seconds at most, so the calc could be greater (more rock melted) but mitigated by the sustained duration.

Page 11

Somewhere off in the distance he could hear the howl of Thunderhawk engines and the multiple sonic booms as they slowed their speed down from the sub-orbital. Even as he watched, bright yellow contrails pierced the leaden clouds and the gunships hove into view. Missile clusters detached themselves from their wings and hurtled groundwards to smash into the heretics' positions.

This implies the Thunderhawks got pretty close to the ground before decelerating from some greater speed- at least supersonic. It also implies they were some great distance up although how high we can't quite say (a kilometre maybe?) when the missiles fired.

Page 11

His body was already healing the minor cuts and grazes he had taken from shrapnel. He could feel a slight nick on his face closing itself.

An example of rapid healing of minor wounds. Seconds at worst.

Page 12

He checked his armour to ensure the integrity had not been breached. Here and there were a few scuffs where shrapnel had bounced from the hardened ceramite of the carapace. In two spots he found blisters on the paintwork that told of the fleeting kiss of a lasgun beam. In one spot there was a distinct chip on the shoulder pad where a bolt pistol shell had torn through the raised
rim. Nothing serious. The servo-motors that powered the mighty combat suit were currently operating at 75% efficiency, idling on most systems to save power. The suit’s built-in auto-sensors informed him of faint traces of pollutants, contaminants and a residue of the neurotoxins that the heretics had used in their surprise attack on the loyalist forces when they began their rebellion.

Ragnar gives an overview of his armour. Note again that lasguns seem to be implied to be a sustained-fire beam weapon. The auto-senses behave like sensors to a degree, and it implies a certain level of redundancy in the systems and protection (due to damage. parts of it can be reduced in efficiency yet still function acceptably, and it seems nowhere in danger of failing.)

Page 12

After a month of meditation in his cell back in the Fang and a week cooped up onboard one of the great Imperium starcruisers en route to this minor war, he relished the action.

A week to travel from the Fang to whereever they are. Could be tens or hundreds or even thousands of LY away. 5th eidtion indicates the Space Wolves watch over a good many worlds.

Page 12

Someone had hit his cover with something heavy, a rocket perhaps or a very heavy bolter shell. Not that it mattered. He knew from long experience that the metal-reinforced concrete could take it.

Rocket or heavy bolter shell likeened to be similar, although we dont know what kind of rocket. And heavy bolters could have some variance as well. Heavy bolters and the aforementioned rocket can resist metal reinforced concerete (although the specifics are a bit vague, obviously.)

Page 13

He studied the chronometer readout superimposed on his field of vision. .

Built in time function!

Page 13

+Force Ragnar. Enemy Predator tank approaching your position. Do you wish assistance? Over.+

PDF tank, non Space Marine issue. It can still mean that some places use low end Rhinos and their variants. I mean its been stressed god knows how many times they can be built and repaird from almost any material.

Page 13

He checked his belt compartments. Everything was in place. Healing drug syrettes, grenade dispensers, repair patches. He tapped the grenade dispenser and a krak grenade dropped into his hand.

Ragnar's Space Marine gear. Note that in this case Ragnar has grenade "dispensers" rather than having them attached to the armor or a harness or naything. They are also smaller and Space Marines carry more. We might argue that there's a tradeoff in size and power to allow for mor enumbers, at least in some cases. Or something like that.

Page 13-14

He glanced out of his cover and saw the long snout of the Predator's gun barrel coming around the comer. Moments later the whole tank hove into view. It was a standard design for an Imperial tank but instead of the neat patterns of the Imperially aligned planetary armies it had been hastily sprayed blood red, and a crude eight-armed Chaos symbol had been painted on the side in yellow.

Again PDF Predator.

Page 14

He could see that the turret-mounted bolters were
already swivelling to bear on him.

I'm tempted to think this is a pintle mount they refer to.

Page 15

He reached out and lobbed the first krak grenade between the drive cogs and the tracks they were linked with. The charge was shaped and the fuse was set for three seconds. Plenty of time for Ragnar to set another charge.
When they exploded, whole sections of tread were blasted away and drive cogs began to grind to a halt as the power train failed. A huge section of track flapped free and almost hit Ragnar.

- Ragnar's krak grenade is identified as being a "shaped charge"

Page 15

He reached down and grasped the handle on the top of the turret with both hands then braced himself. He strained with all the strength of his enhanced muscles and tugged. Nothing happened. He threw more and more power into the servomotors of his armour until the muscle fibres were almost overloaded and the maintenance readouts superimposed on his field of vision were far into the red. Slowly at first, with an awful grinding sound, the hatch began to come away from its hinges. Ceramite buckled under the terrible strength of the Space Wolf. Ragnar almost overbalanced as the hatch cover came free in his hands.

We dont have enough information about the bolts or such on the tank hatch, but its a safe bet it requires many tonnes of force to rip off.

Page 16

Ragnar moved quickly now for cover, knowing that it was all too possible that the drive systems of the tank would go up in the explosion.
..
..just as a wracking explosion tore the mighty vehicle to pieces. Huge chunks of metal
armour were twisted outward by the blast of the exploding power plant.

Predator powerplant is volatile, whatever it is.

Page 16

..Brother Snagga threw himself flat, wriggled on his belly under the firing slot of the bunker
and lobbed a handful of micro-grenades through the entrance.

see? the dispenser grenades are micro-grenades. Actually thats pretty impressive if you can miniaturize a grenade but retain some of the lethality.

Page 17

Even as he sprang, the sniper’s bolter shell, rocket-powered and armour piercing, was
ripping towards him too quickly to be avoided. All his leap did was get his body partially out of the way. The shell which had
been aimed directly at his heart exploded instead within his chest.

I'm not sure if this is a nromal bolt round or special variant like with the sniper bolters.

Page 21-23

It was a sea dragon, and no mere hatchling but a full-sized monstrosity, large as the ship, stirred from the sea bottom by the fury of the storm.
...
The ancient had drawn some kind of massive iron icon from his side, which he held aloft and pointed at the beast. A searing blast of fire spurted from the end of the holy charm along with the roaring sound. Looking back at the dragon Ragnar could see that huge gaping wounds were stitched across its torso - testimony to the strength of the stranger’s magic. It opened its mouth to scream in pain and the stranger raised his talisman still further. A hole appeared in the roof of the dragon’s mouth and the top of its head exploded. The creature tumbled backwards to vanish beneath the waves.

Ranek, the wolf priest, blows the braisn out of a giant sea serpent. No exact sizing on it, but it must be many hundreds if not thousands of kilos - many times greater than the firepower needed to explode a person's head.

Page 26

"I must have been your age when I first saw them, lad, and that was well nigh three hundred years ago."
...
The stranger had all but admitted that he was a supernatural entity. No man of Fenris, not
even the oldest greybeard, lived more than thirty-five years.

A comparison between the lifespans of Fenrisians in general and of Ranek the Space Wolf. and he's nowhere near the oldest.

Page 28

"They say Gorghe and Sla Nahesh are imprisoned within those islands."
...

"I thought they were the children of the dragon goddess Skrinneir, of her marriage to the dark god, Horus."

Horus has become a mythological figure on Fenris. Chaos have their own variations here.. I'm guessing "Gorghe" is Nurgle.

Page 29

Stone, thought Ragnar and shuddered. It was near inconceivable. What if one of the great earthquakes came and sent them tumbling to the ground? Would not everyone inside be crushed to bloody pulp by the avalanche of falling rock? Those huge sootblackened structures were death traps. Everyone knew it was only sensible to build a house as you would build a dragonship -
from dragonhide leather around a frame of dragonbone. Or for sacred structures you might consider using precious wood, though it might burn if an oil lantern got tumbled in the quake.

Fenrisian construction techniques. Iron Masters use stone.

Page 31

It was a tower built all of iron, one of the most precious of metals. It rose from the water’s edge. Looking at it closely, Ragnar could see the construction was odd.

It was not solid. It was like a latticework of metal beams, like the skeleton around which a hall would be built. Except that here there was no dragonhide stretched around it. The frame was open to the air and to the elements, and you could see the intricate machinery it enclosed.

There were huge cogwheels and great metal arms that rose up and down in a regular rhythmic movement like the pulsing of a great heart. Black stuff, liquid and slimy, bubbled from pipes on the tip of the tower and rolled down long tubes to be gathered in wooden vats around the base. Small figures moved around constantly shifting the vats and emptying them with buckets. It was at once the oddest, most impressive and most baffling structure Ragnar had ever seen.

Oil extraction. I think Fenris (at least the Space Wolves) not only have their own fabrication technology, they probably do resource extraction on their own too (although they likely subcontract out to their serfs and other servants, like the Iron Masters.)

Page 31

The ships had no sails and were made of metal. How was it that they did not sink like stone? And
what propelled them? Bound fire elementals? Perhaps that was why smoke billowed from the chimney at the rear of the ship.

Unlike the rest of Fenris, the Iron Masters seem to have at least reached Feudal level tech - steam ship ironclads, and likely cannon.

Page 32

"Then come ashore, Wolf Priest, and be welcome here. Bring your
companions and we will feast."

the Iron Masters know what a Wolf Priest is, at least.

Page 35

He was considered tall and well-made among his folk but compared
to this old man he was but the size of a child. Ranek was head and shoulders taller than he and would have been far more massive even without the odd armour that encased his body.

- Ranek is described as being "head and shoulders" taller than Ragnar.

Page 36

After a while he heard a humming grinding noise. The great flower on top of the building had started to move, to face away
towards distant Asaheim. As he watched in wonder, its metal petals unfurled. In the centre lights pulsed eerily.

Iron Masters probably have some sort of AdMech comm array or something similar.

Page 70-71

He came awake suddenly and instantly this time, aware of the sun on his face and the caress of the wind’s fingers on his cheek. He felt well rested. He felt very little pain. He tried to sit up. It was an enormous effort but he managed it. He could see that he was naked. Instinctively he raised his fingers to probe where Strybjorn’s axe had bitten into his chest. To his surprise he found only the faintest trace of a scar and an area of tenderness that gave him pain as he probed.

Looking down he saw a fresh pink scar and a yellowish area that looked like an old bruise. There were other scars and other bruises all over his chest, and he did not doubt that he had more on his back.
..

"Surely you have already been dead? Is that what you were going to say? Yes, you were. Dead or the next best thing to it. Your heart had stopped beating and you had lost a lot of blood. Your body took a lot of damage but not enough. Our healer got to you before brain death could occur, and what ailed you was not beyond the power of our. magic. to fix."

- Ragnar awakens with his wound completely healed, and he's still on the battleground. The interesting thing to note here is that Ragnar is noted as having technically "died", but that he was revivable as long as he hadn't suffered "brain death". This gives us an indication of the medical technology available to the Imperium, or at least to the higher echelons of it (like the Space Marines.)

Page 74

As he approached the ship Ragnar noticed another body lying on the ground. It was on some sort of metallic stretcher and all manner of translucent tubes seemed to be buried into its flesh. All of the tubes connected to a metal device that sat like a great spider on the youth's chest. Fluids gurgled through them. Odd runes pulsed in harsh reds and greens.

The deviec that apparently healed Ragnar, is healing another casualty of the battle. So its a mobile device.

Page 84

Ragnar could see that the weapon was strange and complicated-looking. Serrated blades
were fitted round its edges and the blade itself appeared to contain a complex mechanism.
...

He reached out and grabbed the hilt of the massive weapon. He tugged at it, obviously expecting to lift it as effortlessly as the sergeant had. No such thing happened. The blade refused to budge. Strybjorn grasped it with both hands. The muscles on his neck stood out like taut guy ropes. His biceps bulged. His face turned red.

Eventually, with much effort, he pulled the weapon free of the ground.
"Too heavy for you?" Hakon sneered. "Perhaps you would like something lighter? I have a knife here."

With a roar of incoherent fury Strybjorn threw himself forward, bringing the blade arcing down towards the sergeant's unprotected head. Given the weapon's weight and Strybjorn's obvious strength and speed if it connected there was no way the sergeant could survive. And it seemed to be about to connect. The blade moved through a whistling arc and the sergeant made no attempt to deflect it or get out of the way. Then suddenly, just as it seemed his skull would be smashed, Hakon was no longer there. He simply stepped back and the blade passed through where he had been less than a tenth of a heartbeat before.

- Space Marine chainsword is so heavy that a muscular Fenrisian wariror cannot pick it up or wield it easily.

Also the sergeant is able to dodge a Chainsword blow in 1/15th or 1/20th of a second (depending on how one defines heartbeat. Of course, given how he acted when Strybjorn swung, he may not really have been trying to dodge either.

Page 84

Once again Hakon waited until the last moment and then simply leapt into the air. The momentum of the blow carried the blade beneath him. He landed easily on the ground as Strybjorn almost overbalanced from his stroke.

Hakon demonstrates his super Space Marine jumping skillz.

PAge 87

Then he had been subjected to a physical examination by those Ranek had referred to as Iron Priests. They had passed many odd-looking amulets over him, and inspected his body minutely as if looking for the stigmata of mutation. If the situation had not been so odd Ragnar would almost have been insulted. There had been no mutants among the Thunderfists. Any babe which showed traces of the mark of Chaos had been drowned at birth.

Pre-Initiate examinations.

PAge 88

Hakon’s blow was almost blindingly swift yet somehow Ragnar saw it coming. He threw himself backward with just enough force to lessen the impact. The force of the impact still sent him sprawling back into the dust but he kept rolling and came to his feet. It felt as if he had been hit with a blacksmith’s hammer, sparks danced before his eyes but at least he was still
conscious.
"You have good reflexes, boy,"

an un-augmented Ragnar is almost able to out-react Hakon. Yet another case where a "normal' 40K human demonstrates reflexes/reactions far above normal humans.

Page 89

"Now I am going to assign you to your Claws. This is your basic fighting unit.
Every one of you in a Claw will train together, eat together, hunt together and most likely die together."

Groups of five. Once they become na official pack they can get alot bigger.

Page 91

"I was amazed that you almost got out of his way." the youngling said. "I didn’t think anybody could do that."
"Ragnar didn’t." the surly one said.
"He almost did."

- Again, others like Ragnar comment on being amazed at how he nearly avoided the aforementioned punch on page 88, and it was mentioned to be thought impossible (or rather "I didn't think anyone could do that.") This means while its possible for normal humans to have such extreme reflexes, its probably not normal (the same way you can get naturally super strong types like Bragg)

Page 97

The sergeant had made it look easy. He had started after them, but even in his heavy armour had swiftly overtaken the lightly clad aspirants. He had reached the top of the hill while they
were only half way up and now he stood there, looking utterly unwearied and bellowing at them.

Armored sergeant is at least tow, probably at least three times faster climbing a hill than the aspirants.

Page 117

The regime of constant training and exercise had filled them out, made them stronger and fitter and faster than any islander lads Ragnar had ever known.
He himself felt twice as fit as he had when he came here and maybe ten times as competent.

- Ragnar mentions being "twicec as fit" as he was before the Spacee Marines took him in. He's still a normal human at this stage. this may correspond to a similar increase in performance.

Page 118

Half of the aspirants were dead now. Of the two score from the time of his arrival only about twenty were still alive. Some had fallen from the cliffs on which they practiced climbing. Some had vanished while out hunting, taken by wulfen or trolls or by the wolves. Two had been killed during weapons practice with the axe or spears. One had been executed by Sergeant Hakon for some unmentionable crime.

Of course, new recruits had arrived, fresh-faced and full of wonder and fear. Ragnar wondered at his own feelings of superiority to these newcomers. The few months since his choosing might as well have been a lifetime.

Page 119

On the other hand, there were always the magic weapons the sergeant and his kind carried. A hundred or a thousand, it would not matter against the sorcery that could tear a full-grown sea dragon to pieces.

Well, at least tear its brain to pieces.

Page 127

Kjel, Strybjorn, Sven and himself were not the only ones clambering aboard and strapping themselves in. He noticed that Nils and Mika too had been summoned. He also recognised Lars, Hrolf and Magnus from his initial intake of aspirants.

9 out of 40 survived thus far. Still by Space Marine standards, this is actually a good survival rate.

Page 127

Once again he was pressed back into his seat by the force of acceleration.

Thunderhawks of course don't have AG.

PAge 128

Ragnar had no idea how fast they were flying but their speed was incredible. It seemed as if they were covering as much ground in an hour as a fit man might cover in a month. Their shadow sped across the wilderness below them faster than that of any bird of prey.

assuming a man walks at least at a pace of 2-4 kph, you get between 1440 and 2880 kph.

Page 131

They had crossed hundreds of leagues of land, flown over a vast continent and somehow the helmsman of the flying ship had managed to find this exact spot and dock his craft there. He was sure that this precision was no accident but the product of a mighty sorcery, the like of which he could not yet understand.

They had taken "long hours' to cross the distance Ragnar estimates. CErtainly less than a day (no need to sleep or be tired) and no hunger.

Page 133

They were overtaken by huge wheeled carts which had no visible means of propulsion and which carried burdens too heavy to be moved by twenty strong men.

HORSELESS CARRIAGES.

Page 134

He stepped into the opening. For one heart-stopping moment he felt nothing but empty air beneath his feet, then he stepped out and began to fall. Even though he was determined not to scream a moan of fear passed his lips. His stomach churned as he plummeted down a long shaft. Red and yellow lights flickered past his eyes as he dropped swiftly and with ever increasing velocity. He knew now that indeed it had been a trap and his life was over. Just as he felt black rage begin to overtake him at the senseless nature of his own impending death, some unseen force grasped him in its invisible grip and slowed his descent so that he came slowly to rest on the ground at the bottom of the shaft. As he touched down light as a feather and realised that he was not going to die, laughter bubbled from his lips.

Grav lifts of some kind.

Page 138

Who was Khorne, Ragnar wondered? The name sounded oddly familiar, and resonant with evil.
..
Why not offer up his soul to this Khorne? Why not gain immortality?
But even as he thought this, another part of him recoiled in disgust.

The Gate Of Morkai tests the loyalty of each prospective wolf, by subjecting them to the temptatons of each of the four Chaos Gods, Genestealers, and other such threats. I don't plan on covering each specific one, but I wanted to comment on this fact.

PAge 140

There were hundreds of the creatures. Monsters bigger than a man. Each with four arms that ended in massive claws. Nightmare faces of tiny eyes and monstrous jaws. Fast. Much faster than a man, covering the distance between them almost too quickly for
the eye to follow.
..
The roar of sorcerous weapons filled the air. The same magic which had killed the dragon began to take effect on their attackers.
...

Heads exploded. Bodies were torn apart.

Space Marine bolter fire. Even in a dream it probably has sme validity.

Page 140

All around were the ruins of a massive city, larger than anything Ragnar had ever
seen except, perhaps, the Fang. The blackened stumps of towering buildings loomed over him. Each seemed almost as large as a
mountain.

A probable Hive city?

Page 140

In the distance, at the end of the street, he could see huge metal beast-machines moving. They were shaped like men, but maybe ten times as high. In their fists were enormous weapons that sent beams of light lashing across the sky like the lightning of the gods. From their shoulders thunderbolts flashed. For a few moments the air was filled with high-pitched whining, and then in the distance could be heard the world-shaking roar of an explosion. The ground trembled underfoot like a whipped beast. A cloud of black smoke and debris leapt into the sky before settling back to earth in a surprisingly slow seeming motion.

Ttians, possibly Eldar versions.

Page 142

This city must have held more people than his entire world, and it had been levelled by the forces unleashed here as surely as if the gods had leaned down from heaven and smashed it flat. Perhaps that was exactly what had happened. His mind reeled as he tried to picture the sheer destructive power which had been focussed on this city. Power beyond the scope of his imagination to even begin to comprehend.

Eldar attack presumably, probably from the Titans since they're the largest target shown.

Page 142

One of the distant giant figures he had seen earlier turned the corner and hove into view. It was nearly ten times his height, proportioned somewhat like a man only taller and more slender. The head was long and sleek and ovular and from the way it turned alertly he could tell it was aware of him. Red and yellow pennons implanted on its shoulders fluttered in the wind. Its mighty talons gripped strange elongated weapons.

It bounded forward, covering the ground far quicker than a man.

Eldar titan. Implies around 20 meters in height.

Page 143

No, he told himself, screaming in tormented defiance, this was all an illusion, a spell woven by those bitter ancients who waited beyond the Gate of Morkai, and he would not let it defeat him.
"This one is strong indeed, brothers." said the thunderous voice inside his head. "If he lives he will be numbered among the mighty."
Once again Ragnar felt an enormous wave of power sweeping through his mind, numbing his will, draining his resistance. This time he fought against it, using every ounce of his savagery and hate. He was not going to be forced back into those alien worlds against his will. He was not going to be the puppet of some ancient wizards. He was not going to give way to.

the testing involves use of the psychic powers of the Rune priests, both to create the illusion and probably to probe/scan the mind of prospective recruits.

Note ragnar shows his resistance to mind altering attacks.

Page 146

Once again the vision of those terrible old men who lurked beyond the Gate of Morkai sprang into his mind. He knew they were out there somewhere, toying with him, examining the innermost secrets of his being, sifting his very thoughts and judging his worthiness.

This seems to confirm what I said before.

Page 148

One of the strange creatures, half man, half machine, stood watching him. One eye was human and blue. The other was of glass and steel and reflected the light like a tiny sun. It turned to look at him, and as it moved its head there was a strange whirring noise. Ragnar could see its neck was partially covered in metal, and a collar of steel fitted into the metallic breastplate that covered its chest.
"Come with me." it said, in a strange emotionless voice, in an accent that Ragnar could not recognise.

Servitor.

Page 150

Ragnar stood on the edge of a huge amphitheatre on the side of the Fang. It was so large it might have held tens of thousands instead of the meagre few score aspirants who waited there.

It can because its probably meant to hold a Legion rather than a Chapter.

Page 150

"You have come from Russvik, Grimnir and Valksberg, all places where aspirants are judged. You have survived where others have died. You have proven yourself worthy of consideration to join our ranks."

Space wolf Training camps.

Page 151 -

"I bear within me the mark of Russ. All of the Wolves you will meet in this fortress do. It is a thing that has changed me. Made me different from mortal men. It has extended my life for centuries, made me faster, stronger, more powerful than any mortal man you have ever met or ever will meet."

Benefits in the recruitment speech.

Page 152

"At the end of the transformation, if all goes well, you will be many times stronger and faster than you are now. You will heal quicker. Your senses will be much keener. You will be braver and more ferocious than ever you were."

This correpsonds with what we know of Space Marines in genereal, performance wise.

Page 166

His senses no longer seemed so keen they hurt. He knew they were far better now than ever they had been before but he had grown accustomed to them. He could sift through the information they presented him with and understand it. In a way it was little short of miraculous. He could see things in the darkness, track people by scent, hear a feather drop.

And he felt faster and stronger than he ever had. He did not doubt that most normal people would seem to be moving like slugs to him now, if ever it came to combat. He was broader too. He could lift the great stone bench in his room, a feat that would have broken his back during his time in Russvik. He felt as if he could run for leagues now without tiring, and he was sure he was much tougher and healthier. He had never felt better in his entire life.

Its worth noting that Ragnar drank from what is called the"Cup of Wulfen" and was at least parttially transformed, but he has not been implanted ( or at least not fully so) yet. This may be equivalent to the "scout" stage of Space Marines in other Chapters.

Page 167-168

As it did so, in the air next to the machine an image formed. It was roughly the same size as Strybjorn and had his outline made all of glowing lines of light. In some areas, mostly around the head and chest the lines were a deep angry red; in most other places they were green or yellow. Ragnar guessed that the individual colours indicated the areas in which most changes
were taking place in the aspirant’s body, but as with every new thing he experienced here, he did not know for certain.
...
"The red areas on the holoshadow indicate places within the aspirant’s body where great changes to its internal chemistry are still taking place. The yellow areas are the ones which are either stabilising or beginning to change. The green areas are stable."
...
"Your transformation is proceeding slowly and in a controlled fashion." he said eventually.
"Is that bad?" Ragnar asked, worry gripping his bowels.
"Negative. Generally it is a positive indicator. A body which adapts in a slow, steady fashion usually adapts to the genetic implants favourably. Normally it is when change occurs in rapid, uncontrolled spurts that we see unfortunate degradation in the subject."

The Iron Priests monitoring the changes in the Aspirants.

Page 171

Ragnar looked around at the others and his heart fell. So few remained. Nils was still there, and a stranger called Mikal.

Along with Ragnar, Njel, Sven, and STrybjorn.

Page 173

For the first time in months, he was really and truly on his own. There was no one around for a hundred leagues. Already the Thunderhawk was receding into the distance, vanishing into the heavy grey clouds in the direction of the Fang. He had been the last to be dropped into the snow. The others had been set down already somewhere off in the far distance among the isolated peaks. Ragnar had not realised that there were quite so many aspirants until he had seen
them all troop aboard the gunship. All told, he had counted over a score of them on the Thunderhawk.

- Ragnar mentions being alone/isolated for "a hundred leagues" and having to get back to the Space Wolf forterss.

One also wonders how stable this transformation is. It seems stable enough, if they can persist a week unattended. Could they continue as they are without the implants? Some sort of "lesser" Marine? Perhaps for the Space Wolves this qualifies as the 'Scout' state? I know Space Wolves handle scouts differently, but one assumes they would go thorugh the "incomplete transformation" stage like other scouts do.

Page 174

At least his aspirant’s tunic, woven as it was from some strange grey material, was uncannily warm.
..
Warm though his tunic was, he doubted that it would prove warm enough if the winds really started to blow and the temperature began dropping. And there was always the possibility of it being ripped and torn as he travelled. Ragnar wondered whether it could maintain its miraculous warming qualities then.

Ragnar's new wardrobe.

Page 185

It had been a long trek. Seven hard days from the place where he had been dropped to this ultimate mountain.
...
Ragnar guessed that another day’s march would bring him to one of the outposts of the Space Wolves, barring accidents, and he had been keen to rest this evening and press on at dawn

- it took Ragnar close to eight days to make the trek. Only part of that would be actually moving, as he was indicated to have slept at night at the very least. One assumes he hunted/scavenged for food, firewood, etc.

~560 km in 8 days is about 3-6 kph. Probably faster, given he had to make stops for various reasons, not factorint in terrain, etc.

Sidewinder · Post by **Sidewinder** » 2012-05-23 10:03pm

One also wonders how stable this transformation is. It seems stable enough, if they can persist a week unattended. Could they continue as they are without the implants? Some sort of "lesser" Marine? Perhaps for the Space Wolves this qualifies as the 'Scout' state? I know Space Wolves handle scouts differently, but one assumes they would go thorugh the "incomplete transformation" stage like other scouts do.

According to Codex: Space Wolves, 5th edition, the gene-seed stabilizes the changes the Cup of Wulfen induces. The Cup- or rather, the "mead" that fills the Cup- MUST be used, or the other organs can't be implanted at all. That seems to imply that, without the gene-seed, the mental and physical health of one who drank from the Cup of Wulfen, will steadily deteriorate until he becomes a Wulfen.

Connor MacLeod · Post by **Connor MacLeod** » 2012-05-27 07:46pm

Part 2 of Space Wolf.

Page 189

Since he got back to the Fang there had been many strange medical rituals performed over him. He had been put in various technical engines and scanned. Iron Priests had prodded him with sensor wands, encased his head in scanner helmets, clipped monitoring filaments to his limbs. He had been fed a diet of meat and ale containing the chemical taint of many strange drugs. His enhanced senses had told him of their presence, but he assumed that they had been put there for his own good so he had not worried. Not that worrying would have done much good anyway, since he was entirely at the mercy of the Iron Priests.

- Ragnar is fed "meat and ale" that he knows are laced with drugs. Presumably these include (among other things) those that augment and reinforcee a space marine's skeletal structure, and possibly their muscles.

Page 189-190

So had many of the others but not all. At least five, including Kjel, had not come back from the ultimate test. A full month had passed and it seemed unlikely now that they ever would.

So now we're up to 6. That's still better than most Space Marine chapters do.

Page 190

The Iron Priests assured him that the changes wrought by the Cup of Wulfen were complete, that his body had now fully integrated the magical thing they called the canis helix, and that he was ready to move on to the next part of the process that would turn him into one of the Wolves. He was ready to have the thing they called the geneseed implanted.

- Geneseed implantation is mentioned now.

Page 190

This was the geneseed, Ragnar knew, remembering the things he had been taught over the past few weeks. This was the master component that controlled all the others and would enable his transformation into a full Space Wolf. It would enable his body to adapt and it would control the host of other implants the Iron Priests were going to place within his flesh. It did not look like much, but it was a sacred thing. This scrap of bloody flesh had been borne by many Wolves before Ragnar, had originally been taken from the flesh and blood of Russ himself. It was a direct link with the ancient times and with the god of his people.

The purpose of the geneseed.

Page 191

He heard an odd sucking sound as the geneseed was placed within his ribcage and began the task of grafting itself to his nerves and veins and sinews. It was an odd sensation the like of which he had never endured before. It was as if a living thing were crawling about inside his chest cavity. He imagined tentacles of flesh emerging from the thing's carapace, of veins sprouting from it like roots from a seed, of bits of nerve binding themselves to his own.

- Curiously this seems to imply some sort of self-awareness, or at least some sort of 'programming' in the gene-seed.

Page 191

His chest no longer felt swollen and constricted by the presence of the geneseed. The scars of the ceremony were already fading even though only days had passed.

Gone from having his chest cut open to having fading scars.

Page 192

He felt himself relax as he reached forward and picked up the crown of knowledge. It was a mysterious and age-old thing of brass and iron, connected to the engines of knowledge by pulsing cables of copper and glass. Ranek had told them the crowns were connected to great knowledge machines where all the history of the Chapter was stored, and much ancient lore. By donning the crowns, that lore could be pumped directly into his head at a rate far beyond that at which a person could normally memorise it. Ragnar found the whole process a frightening and magical one. Once the crown was in place, and the correct litanies intoned by the priests, then the knowledge came. Not only in the forms of words and memories, but also of sounds and pictures and emotions. Ragnar knew his own feelings were being subtly altered by the machines, but he did not care: the possession of the lore was worth the price. He had learned so much in only a few days. It was an enlightening experience in its own way. The more he learned, the more he understood the Space Wolves, and the more he understood the Chapter the more he longed to serve them and be a part of them.

hypnocasque. A form of education and programming/propoganda tool.

Page 192

Fenris was an orb that circled the Eye of Russ. It was merely one of many such worlds that floated in the space around that huge sun. And in turn the Eye of Russ was just one of millions of suns that made up the galaxy and around many of which orbited other inhabited worlds. Strangest of all, not all of these worlds were inhabited by humans. Some were ruled by greenskinned monsters called orks. Some were the homes of a tall beautiful yet utterly alien people called the eldar. One whole sector of the galaxy was the home of daemons and those who served them. The vast bulk of the human worlds were ruled by the Imperium, which the Space Wolves served. The Imperium was ruled by the Emperor, the All Father, the crippled god who had given life to Russ and his brothers and whose shattered shell now existed in a great machine on the ancestral world of Terra.

Page 193

He learned of Russ's disappearance on his great quest to find the seeds of the tree of life which would cure his Emperor. He learned of the long and honourable history of the Wolves unto the present age. More and more knowledge poured into his willing brain and he soaked it up like a sponge.

This is one thing that tells you this was second edition fluff-based.

Page 194-195

Chants and litanies and prayers filled his mind. He understood many of them now. They were to focus a warrior's mind, to keep his faith as strong as his arm. He knew that others were to help him use the new abilities he was gaining daily as the Iron Priests did their work.

He understood the changes that were being wrought in his body better now. He was being given the knowledge to help him do so. He knew that he had been given a second heart, and augmented muscles and glands that would enable him to breathe poisoned air and eat poisoned food without coming to harm. His senses had been made even keener and his body far more resilient. He knew that he could now recover from almost any wound that did not kill him outright, even without medical care, given time. He learned the basics of field medicine for cauterising amputations.

Most of his body was enclosed in a flexible black metallic carapace. He knew that the various plasteel nodes protruding from it were contact points that would enable his body to interface with the armour that all Space Marines wore like a second skin. He was astonished that he now possessed the vocabulary and the knowledge to understand these concepts. Truly the power of these ancient engines was great.

More and more knowledge flowed into his mind. He learned of weapons and their use. He learned of tactics and organisational structures. He learned the ten basic offensive manoeuvres and the four strong defences. And he smiled as he did so, the pleasure centres of his brain stimulated by the awesome intricate subtle mechanisms of the old machines.

He saw the organisation of his Chapter. He saw that it was arranged into twelve great companies, each led by a mighty warleader from whom the company took its name. He saw that there was a thirteenth great company belonging to the Chapter's leader which consisted of all the priests and other types of warrior. He saw the progress that he would need to make through the Chapter. He learned that if he were accepted he would become a Blood Claw, part of a pack of similar youthful warriors struggling to tame the unruly beast within. If he lived he would become first a Crey Hunter, then a Long Fang, growing older, wiser, mightier and more cunning.

On and on went the endless flow of knowledge, burning itself into his memory, making him wiser, and causing his brain to glow with love of his Chapter and Russ and the Emperor.

More of Ragnar's great learning experience. It's both interesting and a little disturbing since it shows how Space Marine's brains are actually altered to make them 'safer'

Page 195

The entire length of his massive frame had been encased in plasteel and ceramite yet he did not feel too much different. There was no sensation of being encumbered by heavy armour. In fact, if anything he felt lighter, fitter and stronger. He knew now that the powerful servo-motors within the armour were doing their work, helping support his weight, make him mobile.

Ragnar, now with power armor. Note a distinct absence of mass lightening.

Page 196

Ragnar took the stone, marvelling at the sensitivity of the gauntlets that let him feel its texture despite being thick enough to stop the blow of an axe. It was not quite like touching the stone with his bare flesh. It felt more as if he were wearing thin gloves.
...

"Crush the stone." the Iron Priest said.

Ragnar looked at him, not quite able to comprehend what he was saying. He knew that it was theoretically possible for the systems in his gauntlets to generate enough pressure to do so, yet something instinctive in his brain rebelled against the concept. It was not possible. Human beings could not crush rocks with their bare hands.

"Do it." the priest said. There was a note of command in his voice that could not be disobeyed. Ragnar closed his fist. Instantly he felt resistance and instinctively he began to loosen his grip but the Iron Priest merely repeated his command. Ragnar closed his fingers once more. There was a cracking sound as the stone broke like an eggshell crushed by a strong man. Ragnar opened his hand to see that the hard stone had been reduced to several small chips of rock.

Ragnar's augmented strength can pulverize a stone. Armor can also stop an axe. Also, the auto-senses seem to extend to touch.

Page 196

There was a projectile weapon, called a bolt pistol. It was like the magical weapon with which Ranek had dispatched the sea dragon, only smaller. And there was a chainsword, one of the potent weapons that Sergeant Hakon had carried. In the belt on which the pistol was scabbarded was a dispenser of other small but no less potent weapons
known as microgrenades.

The blood Claw's Arsneal. Again note the micro-grenades.

Page 197

The bolt pistol kicked in Ragnar's hand. Even with the enhanced strength granted by his armour and his altered body, the recoil was something fierce. The gun moved like a wild thing he held trapped in his vice-like grip.

caseless ammo, yet has recoil that only a superhuman can hope to handle.

Page 197

He knew all about this weapon. He knew how it worked. He knew that it fired caseless self-propelled ammunition capable of piercing armour up to several hundred strides

Ragnar's bolt pistol. Generally a "stride" for a normal human could be considered to be equal to a pace, which could be between .75 or 1.5 m (which is roughly similar to the step length an adult male can make, allowing for variance.) The difference I suspect comes from wheter one measures a stride as one step with one leg, or taking one step with both legs together (effectively two steps.) Either way it comes out to around 150-200m effective range minimum, If it goes 1.5 then we go for 300 m, which would fit with Angels of Darkness.

Page 197

...Hengist drew his own pistol, seemed only to extend his arm, point it and pull the trigger. A cluster of three shots hit the bull’s-eye directly over the heart of the man-shaped target.

Bolt pistols again demonstrate three round burst mode.

This vast cavern full of alien flora was the place where the recruits were inducted into the basics of jungle warfare. It was a controlled environment deep below the Fang, where the heat and the humidity were carefully controlled to create a place just like the real thing.

Alternate combat enviroments existing in the Fang for training. They also use paint shells

Page 199

Well, that and his knowledge that Sergeant Hengist was probably watching him through one of the camera eyes of the floating drones that moved through the caves.

Interesting bit of surveillance gear.

Page 199-200

Ragnar looked down on Vrotwulf's corpse. Things looked like a mess. The whole back of his head was gone and a pulpy mass of blood and brains decorated the wall over the aspirant's bunk.

..

One moment Vrotwulf had been sitting there laughing and joking and polishing his bolt pistol. Then there had been a bang and a roar and his head had disintegrated. It had all happened so quickly that the youth had not even had a chance to scream.

Effect of a bolt pistol round on a space Marine's head. Remember that Space Marines are several times larger/heavier and all around tougher than a normal person.

Page 200

An aspirant known as Logi managed to blow himself up with his own krak grenade during live ammunition training. Another aspirant, Hrald, had simply keeled over and died while eating one day, and his body was carted off by servitors to be dissected by the Iron Priests.

Self explanatory.

Page 201

Each day at dawn he rose and entered one of the great meditation chambers, where he busied himself reciting the litanies that had been placed in his brain the previous day. After three hours of contemplation of the religious mysteries and honing his spirit for war, he ate a hearty breakfast. While his body digested this he was hooked up to one of the ancient tutelary engines and more knowledge was pumped into his brain, along with an unquestioning adoration of Russ and the Emperor. By noon, stiff but unwearied, he was unhooked from these ancient cryptic devices and went to the chambers of armaments. For the remainder of the day, depending on the schedule set for him, he either exercised, or practiced unarmed combat, or trained endlessly with the weapons he had been issued. Every few days, they would be sent to one of the environmental chambers, sculpted to resemble some alien landscape, and practise the disciplines of war and survival in those strange places. Ragnar came to recognise quickly what days those would be, for some knowledge of them would have been placed in his brain the day before After this they would retire to the refectory for the evening meal, and then another session either with the tutelary machines or with the Iron Priests. The things they learned now were always technical in nature, usually concerning the maintenance of their weapons and armour, or the new organs that had been implanted in their bodies. The day would conclude with several hours in the meditation cells and then to bed where Ragnar would drop into an exhausted sleep.

Every seventh day, they would assemble in the Chamber of the Aspirants where Ranek had first explained their purpose to them.

The Space Marine fortress has other facilities for training in alternate enviroments, like the aforementioned jungles.

Also the fun filled activity schedule for a newly trained Wolf.

Page 202

He stared at the vast automated factories where the weapons and munitions of the Space Wolves were created from the very bones of the planet from deep mined metals and minerals and oil.

The Wolves not onyl have their own fabricaiton facilities, but they are automated. Presumably the mining is also automated. Note that "automation" can simply mean "they have a bunch of servitors do it under computer control."

PAge 202

He became more aware of the rhythms of the place and of the fact that it was more or less empty of the Space Wolves themselves who were forever on the move around the galaxy on the Emperor’s business.

He knew more now of how the Chapter was divided up into a number of great companies, the armed retinues of mighty warleaders, and that it was rare indeed for more than one of those great companies to be at the Fang at any given time. Sometimes the companies would return home briefly to be rearmed and re-equipped and to replace losses taken in battle with new recruits from among the aspirants. He knew that there was a constant steady flow of aspirants passing through the Fang, and that one day it would be his destiny to be chosen to accompany one of those great companies out to the stars.

He saw many new aspirants arrive, brought in from Russvik and other places like it scattered around Asaheim, and bound for the Gate of Morkai.

Basically you have lots of differnet "pools" of recruits. The newly trained reserrves at the home base, plus the forces of the various great companies. This means that Wolf numbers probably can be highly variable, even accounting for their non-Codex structure.

This tells us that (at least among hte Space Wolves) there are always a reserve of Marines available to replace losses as well. One would imagine they would try to have a surplus available, since losses can be anticipated to be high.

Page 203

Ragnar had talked to the older aspirants and learned that sometimes years could pass before they were shipped out to jointheir more experienced brethren.
...
They had still not been made full Blood Claws or been assigned a warleader, but they knew the day would come when that would happen.

Context wise, its indicated that even after implantation Space Wolves undergo some time of further training/honing thier skills before they might be placed in a Great company. And even when the training is finished they are not guaranteed to actually become "part of a company", but may serve on Fenris, or go on other duties as the situation may require.

Also apparnetly Space Marines are not blood claws until assigned as such.

Page 204

Creatures half man, half machine brought them an endless supply of ale, and platters of fresh venison taken from the enormous spits at the end of the room. On the table in front of him were plates piled high with bread and butter and cheese. He thought he had never tasted food so good Perhaps that was simply because of his improved senses or maybe it was all much better provender than Ragnar had been used to.

Space Wolf fare. Better than most chapters.

Page 207

The skyship’s exhaust flared as it accelerated away over the mountains. Within seconds there was a sound like a thundercrack and the vehicle had vanished.

accelerates to supersonic speeds in seconds.

Page 208

A pack of Blood Claws led by an experienced Space Wolf sergeant were unlikely to have got themselves lost in the mountains of Asaheim. They had compasses, and locators and all manner of reliable equipment the use of which still astounded Ragnar. Of course, rad storms could disrupt the locator beacons and communications nets, and magnetic vortices could impair compasses.

Wolf navigational gear.

PAge 208

The other Blood Claws seemed just as impatient to be about their task as he was. There were a dozen present, the survivors of all the groups of aspirants with whom Ragnar had been inducted.

Plus Hengist, the Sergeant.

Page 209

Ragnar's armour whined as he strode purposefully up the hill. The servo-motors and gyrostabilisers were working hard to keep him balanced on these long slopes..
...
His augmented muscles did not feel in the slightest tired. It seemed like the armour was doing most of the work of marching for him...

Benefits of power armor - gyrostabilization and muscle assistance to reduce fatigue.

Page 211

All communication was on directional scrambled links in the comm-net. It would be very difficult for anyone to eavesdrop on their communication. Ragnar was still getting used to the fact that a small bead in his ear and another one on his throat could let him talk with other Blood Claws at a distance without shouting, but he was profoundly glad this was the case.

Comms discipline.

Page 212

He sucked food paste from a self-sealing tube with a grimace.
...
Field rations might well be nutritious, containing everything a warrior needed to live on in the field, but they did not taste anything like real food.

Usual "good for you but tastes like shit" food. Literally shit, since that is what Sven euphemistically calls it. Note that like much space Marine gear (except their multi-use weapons) they tend to be very compact.

Page 212

They had been schooled that all manner of ’’enzymes’’ and ’’glands’’ had been added to their stomachs along with the geneseed. They could eat wood if they had to now, and poison, they had been told, would have no effect on them.

SM dietary limits.

Page 217

The shoulder lamp on his armour sent a bright finger of light out to pierce the stygian darkness.

Even though they can see in the dark or even have night vision capabilities, they use lights.

Page 218

This new development was not good. Very few natural forces could fracture ceramite armour. Ragnar assessed that it probably wasn’t a rock slide or an animal which had killed the armour’s wearer.

Implies ceramite is virutlaly invulerable to most reasonable, natural forces (EG we're not talking about resisting a focused hurricaine)

Page 218

Ragnar tried to estimate how far they had come. It seemed like they had wandered for leagues through these tunnels following the faintest hint of a trail. According to the pedometer built into his armour they had covered exactly five point zero six Imperial kilometres, but that still did not give him any idea how deep they were underground.

- Space Wolf power armour has a built in pedometer.

Page 218-219

"Ceramite armour." he heard Hengist say in his gravelly, matter-of-fact voice. "Clean fracture too. looks like someone used a magsteel blade judging by the break. Very interesting." Hengist could have been describing the salient features of one of the automated combat drones in the training pits of the fang for all the emotion in his voice.

"I never knew the Outlanders had magsteel forges." Sven said.

"magsteel" blade and automated combat drones. Diont know what either means tech wise.

Page 220

These were girders of plasteel, partially corroded. The knowledge the Fang's teaching machines had placed in his head told him that they must be immeasurably ancient. It took millennia for plasteel to begin to corrode.

Meaning its pretty damn durable shit, especially when you consider its stuff to be used in building tanks and starships and other long lived vehicles and ships.

Page 223

Ready icons flickered across his senses, as his power suit told him that all his battle systems were fully function.

The suit appearas to have at least a limited ability to respond or react.

Page 225

He leapt up from his hiding place, bolt pistol spitting death. He unleashed shot after shot into the crowd of pursuers. They were so close packed that every shell found a home more often than not. Sometimes they blasted through the tightly packed mass of flesh and buried themselves in
another target.

Bolt rounds overpenetrating targets.

Page 225

The muzzle flash of his gun and the blazing contrail of his bolter shells unmistakably gave away his position to the nightgangers.

Muzzle flash AND contrail.

Page 225

He pulled the trigger again and again as the frenzied mass of mutants approached, sending bolter shell after bolter shell rocketing into his targets. Heads burst, chests were torn apart as the shells exploded in their targets.

Effects of Space Wolf bolt pistols on the nightgangers.

Page 226

With a swift mental command he upped the magnification of his shoulder lamp so that it would dazzle any nightganger who looked directly at it.

the lights are tied into his suit's functions.

Page 227

The nightgangers were almost upon him. Hengist tossed a last grenade that tore another apart...

Meaning grenades are close in performance to modern grenades, despite being smaller.

Page 227

They were armed only with crude hatchets, stone-tipped clubs and spears. They struck at him wildly at first, and their blows, unable to make proper contact with his fast moving form, slid harmlessly off the smooth curved ceramite of his armour. He was aware of their strikes in much the same way as a man would be of rain striking his cloak.

Note specifically: PRIMITIVE WEAPONS ARE DOING FUCK ALL AGAINST the solid, hard parts of the armor.

PAge 228

Then he felt a bite of pain in his ribcage. He looked down to see an axe blade lodged in the hardened ceramite of his armour. It was made of black iron and yet it had cut through one of the hardest substances ever produced in the foundries of the Fang. How could this be? Then he noticed the red glowing runes that blazed on its surface and he had his answer. Evil sorcery was at work here.

...
He knew of such fell weapons, tales of their power had been implanted in his brain by the teaching machines of the Space Wolves. They could have all manner of dreadful powers, built into them by their daemonic makers. Who knew what this one would be capable of?

Primitive weapons enhanced with sorcery, however, can be problematical.

Page 228

If he did not start to fight back he would be dead in a matter of moments anyway as the nightgangers’ weapons buried themselves in the joints and chinks of his armour.

This, unlik the solid bits, can be damaged.

Page 231

"These weapons have been touched by the power of Chaos." Hengist replied.
"I thought as much. One of them pierced my armour during the combat."
...
"Sometimes these weapons bear a poisonous power. Sometimes they carry the taint of Chaos itself. That alone can be enough to drive men mad."

further dangers of Chaos weapons, aside from superior armor penetration.

Page 232

He tapped the utility belt at Ragnar's waist. 'Best use repair cement on that break. It should at least hold your armour together until we get back to the Fang.'

Ragnar did as he was told, smearing the quick-hardening paste into the gaps in his armour and waiting for the few moments it took to harden on contact with air

SPace Marine equivalent of Crazy glue.

Page 232

It did not seem possible that the nightgangers could overcome a fully armed and prepared pack of Blood Claws. By Russ, he and Sergeant Hengist had routed what must have been a whole tribe of them virtually on their own. Their weapons were too primitive, their tactics too simple for them to have overcome a whole unit.

100 total had been mentioned as killed (approximately), and hundreds had attacked a dozen Blood Claws plus their sergeant.

PAge 235

Wide enough for just one Space Marine at a time, and stretching several hundred paces across the chasm, the stone felt solid beneath his feet, but Ragnar was taking no chances.

- the Blood Claws cross a bridge that is described as "several hundred paces" across.

Page 238

"Use grenades." Nils said.
"That will not work." Hengist said. "Unless I miss my guess, that evil thing is bound with foul sorcery. It will take greater weapons than we possess to destroy it. We must inform the Chapter of what we have found here."

Some altars are grenadeproof.

Page 240

Strybjorn and Sven and several others of the pack held their ground and responded. Their shells flashed across the temple but some evil power seemed to send them astray, and they exploded harmlessly on the flagstones around the Chaos Marines.

Chaos often has bolter defenses.

Page 242
[qutoe]
Without thinking Ragnar raised his bolt pistol and snapped off a shot. All the long hours of practice on the ranges proved their worth. The bolter shell flashed straight and true towards its target. The shaman's head exploded like a jellyfish hit with a blacksmith's hammer.[/quote]

More bolter head exploding goodness.

PAge 243

He raced forward, feeling the bridge begin to shudder and tremble at his every step. It was obviously only a few heartbeats from total collapse. Ahead of him more and more of the flagstones were tumbling into the chasm below. The yawning gap between the still stable part of the bridge and the ledge on the other side grew ever wider. As he ran he wondered whether even his enhanced muscles would enable him to leap so wide a distance. Well, he thought, gritting his teeth in a feral grin, there was only one way to find out.

Each step brought Ragnar closer and closer to the edge. He heard his heartbeat loud in his ears, smelled his own tension and excitement. He knew that he would have to time things just right. A single misstep could take him over the edge and send him tumbling to his doom. Leaping too early would be just as fatal if he could not cover the full distance. Gripping his pistol and sword tight, he ran as close to the edge as he dared and then sprang.

...

Even as he hurtled forward through the air Ragnar raised his pistol and snapped off a shot at a nightganger at the front of the precipice's edge. The mutant clutched his stomach and slumped forward tumbling down into the gloom and the darkness. Ragnar fired another shot and dropped another of his foes, then with a surge of relief he felt the solid ground beneath his boots once more.

...

He surged forward, chainsword swinging, trying desperately to clear a path through the tightly packed nightgangers before his brethren landed on top of them. He knew it was all too possible under these circumstances that they might get entangled and overbalance and fall together into the gloom.

Self explanatory.

PAge 244

The screams of the dying were almost deafening, even with the sonic dampeners within his helm.

- Space Wolf helmets have sonic dampners to reduce sound.

Page 244

The blows of stone clubs ricocheted off his armour. He ducked a whirring stone from a slingshot. His senses were so keen that it appeared to be moving towards him in slow motion, and he seemed to have all the time in the world to get out of its way. He shifted his head and was rewarded by the scream of a nightganger behind him who got in the stone’s way. With a swift snapshot, he shattered the skull of the slinger and continued to hack his way towards freedom.

Again, primitive weapons don't seem to do much to the solid armor bits. Also note the change in perception/time flow Ragnar experiences. Also another head exploding bolter round.

Page 245

He raised his blade to parry, but faster than thought the finger of writhing, hideous energy swerved around and struck Ragnar’s armour full on the breastplate.

Instantly his whole body was bathed in agony such as Ragnar had never known or guessed was possible. Every nerve ending screamed its pain. Ragnar felt his armour blister and begin to melt. Sparks flew outwards as systems started to short. Mad interference patterns flashed across his visor and crackling static roared in his ears. His hair stood on end. Surges of energy caused his power-assisted limbs to judder and spasm of their own accord. Ragnar felt like his eyes would boil in their sockets. He could smell his hair burning. He staggered like a drunk, engulfed in purple fire.

More chaos weapon goodness.

Page 245

Looking up he saw a cackling, subhuman shaman capering madly on a floating disc of light, high above the crowd, towards the very roof of the cavern.

...

Then suddenly a bolter shell flew straight and true and buried itself in the shaman's heart, knocking the fiend off the already fading disc. As he fell, the shaman spread his arms wide and the serpent of light flickered and faded. Even as he tumbled down, another shell blazed towards the nightganger mage, temporarily averting his downward progress through sheer force of impact. The bolt round entered one eye and exited the back of his head in a fountain of brains and blood. Ragnar looked around to see who had shot his enemy, and to his surprise saw that it was the hated Strybjorn. His sworn rival raised one hand in a salute and then gave his attention back to smiting the mutants.

Self explanatory yet again.

Page 245

His armour was already running automated system checks, and endless lines of icons flashed and flickered in the periphery of his vision.

Again the armor seems to have some levle of it sown automated function.

Page 246

Ragnar was surrounded by howling nightgangers, all of whom would die if a grenade exploded anywhere nearby. Even in his semi-stunned state Ragnar knew his armour was in no condition to take a direct hit from a krak grenade.
...
As it swept closer he reached up with the flat of his chainsword and batted it away, hoping against hope that the shock of the impact did not trigger the detonation he feared. For one brief heart-stopping moment, Ragnar half expected to feel his arm wrenched from its socket by the explosion but then the grenade was flying backwards into the packed mass of nightgangers. A moment later came the blast that sent subhuman forms blown into myriad pieces tumbling through the air.

More grenades blowing more mutants apart.

Page 246

Stone hatchets and clubs smashed into the fracture lines on his damaged armour. Chunks of ceramite fell onto the stone floor.

IF the armor is damaged, it seems like primitive weapons can be a threat.

Page 247

At the last moment, he threw them off with a mighty roar and attempted to evade the grenade. He almost managed it, but began his leap just as the detonation erupted, catching his armour and sending him tumbling through the air like a rag doll tossed aside by a cruel child.
...

His armour was cracked. Internal machinery was visible. Half the skin of his face was peeled away and teeth and jawbone were visible. One arm hung limp and bloody by his side, but still he fought on..

Strybjorn, post grenade.

Page 249

Ragnar took out a canister of synthi-flesh and sprayed it onto Strybjorn’s face. It congealed instantly to cover the bare bone and teeth. It did not look pretty but at least it would keep the wound clean and sterile. He took the repair cement and just as quickly plugged the cracks in Strybjorn’s armour, but not before reconnecting and splicing the power-fibres. Lastly, after a quick glance to make sure everything was in place, he injected the wounded Blood Claw with a powerful stimulant. Strybjorn’s eyes opened and he let out a howl of pain and rage.

Space Marine first aid, such little as they may need.

Page 252

He undipped another vial of painkiller, and pressed it against the induction valve in Strybjorn’s armour. With a hiss the vial emptied as the chemicals entered the Blood Claw’s system. Strybjorn let out a long groan, shook his head, looked around, his cavernous eyes filled with pain, but no longer perhaps quite so feverish.

Almost like in an action shooter.

Page 257

Once again Ragnar became aware that these thoughts were coming from outside himself, that he was being subjected to the influence of some external power. The woeful dirge being sung by the runesword was affecting him. The effect was subtle and demoralising. Its hellish shrieking sapped the courage and strength from Ragnar’s arm and will

Property of Madok's daemon sword.

Page 258

A great, roiling geyser of foul smoke erupted towards the ceiling and slowly dispersed, as a long wail of aeons of despair assaulted Ragnar’s senses.
Madok’s helmet rolled clear from the chest plate of his armour, and Ragnar could see that it was as empty, as if no one had been wearing it. Perhaps that was the case, he thought. Perhaps the physical form of the Chaos Marine had faded long ago, leaving his armour animated only by some foul residue, or the vile essence of his evil soul.

So he was a Chaos sorcerer.. and an empty suit of armor? Fantastic.

Page 259

It took another split-second for it to register that the muzzles of half a hundred weapons were pointing at him

At least fifty other Wolves present on planet, including Ranek, three Rune Priests, and whatever medics they brought.

Page 260

He heard the whoosh of air as chemicals were injected into the appropriate vents in his armour, then a click as the panels of his chest plate swung open.

Again, lots of little vents and receptacles in the armor ofr injecting shit into.

Page 261

"I thought we were never going to get far enough away to be out of the zone of interference. We must have covered a good two leagues or so before I could make contact with the Fang over the comm-net."
...
About five minutes after I delivered the message I saw the fire-trails of Thunderhawks in the sky. They swooped low and began firing chemical rockets into the forest. Within another two minutes they had cleared the area around the cave entrance for a thousand strides. A few heartbeats after the alchemical fires subsided the Thunderhawks were on the ground and what looked like every Wolf in the Fang poured out. They’re all here - Ranek, the Librarians, the Iron Priests. There’s a huge monster-machine they call Bjorn the Fell-Handed. They say he’s one of the Ancients, that he walked beside Russ. All the full brothers who were in the meditation cells."

Space Marine rescue. Implies comm ranges at least 10 km or more. And some alchemical rockets.

Page 261

"They’re laying sealed comm-wires, checking for deadfalls, making sure it’s not a trap and the whole ceiling won’t fall in once we’re all down there. The Thunderhawks are scanning the mountain looking for any other exits..."

Land line comms, probably since they can't be jammed.

Lost Soal · Post by **Lost Soal** » 2012-05-28 02:55am

Connor MacLeod wrote:Space Marine rescue. Implies comm ranges at least 10 km or more. And some alchemical rockets.

Given the time of writing the rockets are most likely loaded with Antiplant. A chemical defoliant from Codex Imperialis which has since been replaced with the much more advanced... um, fire...
Apparently.

Connor MacLeod · Post by **Connor MacLeod** » 2012-06-03 07:21pm

The second installment in the space wolf series: Ragnar's Claw. This marks the first 'full' Space wolf story of Ragnar as a marine - since the first one was basically him becoming a Wolf. he's not part of a Grand Company yet, but he's sent off on a mission of vital importance to a major world of the Imperium and the honor of the wolves.

I find the second novel to be better than the first, being that it's still a sort of introductory story, but its 'Ragnar discovering the Imperium' rather than 'Ragnar becoming a marine.' He meets other people, other cultures, visits other planets, and faces different threats (Orks, 'Nids, Chaos.) in different venues. There is a definite feeling of 'adventure story' to it, and we have what begins the 'Ragnar and women' subplots where he seems to have some sort of emotional bond to prominent female figures in the series. (First an inquisitor, next a Navigator.) Plus there's a bit of the weirdness/silliness coupled with the serious we come to expect from later novels (like Wolfblade.)

Page 269

As the shell seared past, Ragnar threw himself flat behind the low pile of rubble, trying to make himself as small a target as possible. That had been close, too close. The shot had almost parted his hair. Only his lightning-quick reflexes and the microsecond's warning provided by his superhuman senses had got him out of the way. If he had ducked half a heartbeat later, his head would have been an exploding fountain of gore and bone. Ragnar had seen it happen too often to have any doubts as to what his own fate would have been.

Not sure what kind of shell or weapon (aside from being a human cultist/PDF renegade's weapon), but it owuld have exploded his head, and it wasn't unusual. Might be human bolt pistol or perhaps an autoweapon. Probably bolt weapon of some kind, but even so its impressive considering Space wolf durability (even heads) and space wolves being several times larger than a normal person.

Microsescond response time to warnings given by his senses (that doesnt mean he moves at microsecond times, but probably refers to the time to process the information received by his senses and to trigger those reflexes, which are still considerable - tenths or hundreths of a second maybe.)

Page 269

He raised his head slightly, lifting it just above the parapet of rubble, his superhuman senses taking in the entire scene. Everything imprinted itself in his mind in one split second, then he ducked down once more before his enemies could fire.

split second "photograph" of the scene, relevant to his ability to recall (near photographic memory, I suppose?)

Page 270

Of course, Ragnar had other ways of spotting his troops. The wind carried their distinctive scent to his sensitive nostrils even over a gap of fifty paces.

Distance of fifty paces between himself and his troops.

Page 271

These reflections had taken less than five heartbeats perhaps. In the midst of battle, Ragnar's mind worked at a speed far beyond the merely human. He realised he had only been keeping himself occupied until his troops were massed in position for the final assault. He focussed his mind back on the problem at hand, selectively editing the memory of the scene he had just witnessed, using his superhuman abilities with a skill born of long decades of practice.

Using ancient meditation techniques taught to him in the fortress-monastery of his order, he concentrated upon the impression of the one part of the battiefield that was currently important to him: the rebel position directly ahead. He consciously selected all the crucial details.

Space Wolf reflexes and enhanced cogitation/recall capabilities. Not really possible to condense down all those thoughts but it was lengthy (many paragraphs worth of text/thought) so maybe many times normal human thinking speed.

Page 272

His men were Space Marines, Adeptus Astartes, hardened warriors drawn from a world of fierce fighters, put through the toughest testing regime ever devised, then subjected to a process of genetic re-engineering which had transformed them into supermen, many times faster, stronger and tougher than mere mortals.

Space marine capabilities.

Page 272

They were the best troops the millions of worlds the Imperium of Mankind could produce.

Self explanatory - millions of inhabited worlds in the Imperium (or at least, capable of providing troops.)

Page 273

The Space Wolf sprang lightiy to his feet, the servomotors of his centuries-old power armour whining inaudibly to all but his own razor-keen senses.

Faint noise made by Ragnar's power armour, but only audible to him (normally) - others with similar magnitude of hearing could make it out and that could be a drawback.

Page 273

He knew that the pack of Blood Claws, twenty strong was forming a flying wedge behind him.

Size of the Blood Claw pack Ragnar is part of.

Page 273

Without breaking stride Ragnar raised his bolt pistol and put a shell through the man's head. It exploded like a melon hit with a sledgehammer, a puddle of brains and blood filling the peaked cap as it fell from his head.

Ragnar's bolt pistol explodes a head.

Page 274

Without thinking, he snapped off a couple of shots, sending the taloned giant straight to hell with a hole in his guts big enough to put a fist through. The force of the second shot blasted Slugeyes backward three yards into the wall.

Ragnar's bolt pistol, again - couple of shots put a fist sized hole in the target (striaght through). Whether from penetration or explosive effect, we dont know, or if its human or Space Marine sized fist.

Page 274

The glittering trails of laser fire passed over his head. Screams sounded behind him as the beams seared the flesh of other heretics who had been attempting to sneak up on him.

Sustained beam, thermal lasweapons that "sear flesh" of whoever they hit. Not calable, but it suggests that the weapon that would have blown ragnar's head apart was not some trooper weapon (They're using las, the officers using a bolt weapon.

Page 275

Swiftly he holstered his pistol and tapped the hilt of the microgrenade dispenser on his belt. The small oval disk of a frag grenade dropped into his gauntleted fingers. He pushed the timer three times to set the detonator to go off in three seconds, then lobbed the grenade into the room. He doubted that the terrified men within even realised what was happening until, a few heartbeats later, they were torn apart by the force of the explosion.

Ragnar poked his head around the doorway and surveyed the mangled corpses.

- Space wolf microgrenade timers are button operated - each single push represents one second's worth of time (in this case, three button pushes = 3 seconds.) The force of the explosion tears apart multiple chaos troopers.

Page 276

A huge arm emerged and a fist the size of a shield closed around Brother Olafs head. Almost at once Ragnar caught the scent of ogryn, one of the giant abhumans who were sometimes attached to the Imperial levies, mutants suffered to live by the Imperium because of their toughness, loyalty and strength. Unfortunately they were also very stupid and would follow their officers into heresy without the slightest thought of the consequences. Now one of them had Brother Olaf in a grip strong enough to crush even the reinforced bone structure of a Space Marine skull by merely clenching its fingers.

a renegade Ogryn appears, strong neough to pick up a Space Wolf one handed and resist Space wolf strength (considerably stronger, since the wolf can't break free.. dozens if not a hundred time stronger, given strength given in other sources.)

Page 276-277

Ragnar raised his pistol and sent a bullet through one of the ogryn’s eyes. Still it did not fall, but reached out for him with its remaining good hand. Was the creature simply too stupid to die, Ragnar wondered, or was some dark sorcery at work here?
...
Ragnar held onto the hilt of his chainsword and was lifted clear of the ground. He felt himself start to fall as the teeth of the chainsword ceased to find traction. Yet for a moment he had another clear shot at the monster, so he put a bullet through its other eye, convinced that blinding it at least would give him all the advantage he would need in the coming fight. It was more than enough. This time the bullet passed clean through the abhuman’s thick skull and blew its few brains over the wall of the chamber. The massive corpse toppled like a falling oak.

It takes two shots, and several chainsword strikes before the Ogryn is brought down (again exploding head at least partly, which is unsurprising again considering durability and size.)

Ragnar seems surprised at this durability, suspecting it might be unnatural. It might be in this case, but it's not unheard of resilience for an Ogryn (Dark Apostle, for example.)

Page 278-279

This one was a powerful sorcerer, no doubt sworn to the Chaos power known as Nurgle, the Lord of Pestilence.
...
A nimbus of dark power boiled around his taloned fingers, becoming a ball of glowing green fire as he finished the gesture. The ball of tainted energy swept outwards towards Olaf, emitting a buzzing like the flies, catching him on the chest. For a moment nothing happened, then a yellowish glow limned Olafs form, spreading around his body until it encased him. Then a cold fire seemed to consume him. There was no heat, no stench of burning, no sign of anything at work except potent magic. His armour bubbled and blistered and began to ran like liquid, taking the flesh below with it. For a moment, Ragnar had a glimpse of the reddish augmented muscles of a Space Marine. Then these too were consumed, rotting to black pus, flowing to the ground like water and evaporating away. In another instant only Olafs skeleton, so like and yet so unlike that of an ordinary man, remained. Ragnar had a clear view of the heavy bones, the reinforced joints, the unnaturally thick skull, and the mighty fangs. then that too decayed, leaving only a swiftly fading, glowing outline hanging in the air.

Nurgle sorcerer vs Space Marine. Despite turning to liquid I suspect its not actually melting.

PAge 279

He aimed a shot at the Chaos-worshipping sorcerer with his bolter. The man raised his other hand in a warding gesture and the shell was deflected to one side.

By Russ, this was a powerful one, Ragnar thought, greatly gifted by the powers of Chaos.
...

As he leapt, the Wolf loosed another shot but once more the heretic warded it away with a gesture.

Nothing for it, thought Ragnar, but to settle this up close and personal, the old fashioned way.

He tumbled all the way to the mage’s feet and lashed out with his chainsword at his foe’s legs. The mage tried the warding gesture once more but he was too slow. Even as he did so Ragnar changed the point of impact of his blow and took the man’s arm off at the elbow. Black blood flowed thickly from the stump like molasses and instantly began to congeal around the wound.

- Chaos sorcer is able to deflect Ragnar's bolt pistol fire easily multiple times.

Page 283

He knew that the monstrous vessel before him was only a shuttle, not even one of the huge craft that plied the unthinkable distances between the stars, but even so the sheer scale of the thing was enough to take your breath away. It seemed as large as the village in which he had grown up, a great wedge of ancient ceramite and duralloy, pitted by meteor trails and seared by weapon impacts.

A very large shuttle.. larger than a longboat at least (or else he woudl have compared it to something like that.) Note the reference to duralloy.

PAge 284

He now knew that his homeworld, Fenris, was a sphere floating in the endless immensity of space, orbiting a star that he had once thought was the Eye of Russ. He knew now that it was but one star amid millions which made up the galaxy and the Imperium of Mankind, and that, somehow, mighty ships moved between these worlds.

Millions of "stars" in the Imperium of man (and the galaxy) - different from earlier "millions of worlds" reference in that a star can encompass multiple worlds and moons and other settlements (EG potentially tens of millions of worlds.)

Page 284

The other worlds were like that and there was scope for far greater differences between the inhabitants of planets than of the islands of Fenris. Some, he had been taught, were homes to foul mutants, others to alien races inimical to mankind. Some worlds were entirely sheathed in metal and inhabited by teeming billions pressed cheek to jowl. Others were empty wastes of ice and snow on which dwelled fur-clad nomads. Some were deserts of fire, yet more airless barrens where life survived only in ancient cavern cities.

variety of worlds in the Imperium. Note some apparently coruscant-liek city worlds (we know of at least one named Thranx, although that was wiped out at some point.) Others probably exist. "billions cheek to jowl" is probably an under-estimate, as the population density for that sort of accomdoation is ocnsiderably greater.

Page 285

Pretty much all of the Chapter currently resident in the Fang was here awaiting the new arrivals. They had been drawn from their lairs and meditation cells all over the great armoured mountain to be here and welcome this inquisitor. Only mighty Logan Grimnar, the Great Wolf himself, legendary leader of all the Wolves, and his household were not present.
..

There must be over a hundred Space Wolves here, plus over a thousand retainers.

- If those proportions remained consistent, there would be roughly 10,000 retainers/serfs at least for the entire Chapter. This may not include the support elements (like Techmarines, Chaplains, etc.) It probably is more an approximation than an exact value, as the non-Astartes population (much like the AStartes population) will vary due to recruitment, deaths, etc.

Page 286

He was a tall man, almost as tall as a veteran Space Wolf, and almost as broad too. His body was encased in dark ceramite armour which left only his grizzled grey-haired head visible. A pair of well-used weapons were bolstered at his hip, a long pistol of unusual design and a chainsword.
...
The man smiled easily, showing white teeth in a face tanned dark as well-seasoned witchwood. He paused only for a heartbeat and then strode down the ramp. It flexed slightiy beneath his weight. Ragnar guessed that the armour was a lot heavier than it looked, and was, like his own, animated in part by servomotors.

An Inquisitor, who has his own power armour. His apprentice is also implied to possess her own. The fact he is almost as tall as a Space wolf MAY suggess he is at or a bit over 2 metres tall (given the usual 8 foot hight for a Marine.) Whehter this is because of the power armor or ihs own innate height, it's hard to say. Though to be fair I doubt that the power armour could add more than a handufl of inches to his own height (no more than half a foot?) so even accounting for the armour it isn' tunreasonable for him to be close to 7 feet tall, which adds to the data that such people are not super-rare or unusual in the Imperium.

Page 288

Only the Space Marine Chapters considered themselves beyond the remit of His Divine Inquisition, for they were bound by laws and traditions which predated the Imperium itself. Ragnar's teachers had been quite specific on this point. The Space Marines were an independent force within the great swathe of humanity and proud of this fact. Indeed, they had been one of the major contributors to its founding and as such were granted many privileges. They were loyal only to the Emperor himself, not to his minions in the Ecclesiarchy.

Space marines maintain their independence from the Inquisition - again thea bility of Inquisitors or other factions to deal with or dictate to Astartes is limited, and dependent largely on politics and other sorts of pull.

We also see that Space Marines get special dispensation/recognition due to their ties to the Imperium, which is hardly surprising in the case of a First Founding Chapter - a group whose legends and history will be woven into the very fabric of the Imperium itself - propoganda of that sort carries its own sort of power.

Page 289

One day soon, Ragnar knew, his pack of Blood Claws would be assigned to their own Great Company and become part of the greater command structure of the Chapter but for the moment they were in a sort of limbo, waiting to see which company would need replacements either for casualties or for those Blood Claws who had been promoted to the Grey Hunters.

Ragnar and his pack mates must wait to be assigned (or selected) by a Great Company, depending on whether there are casaulties or replacements. I suspect it is more complicated than that, as Great companies themselves have no fixed size, and their numbers can fluctuate due to more than just casualities - what factors dictate that, we don't know.

It does suggest however that there can be, at any time, a number of marines (new recruits mostly, but some sergeants, recruiters, etc.) who are not attached to any particular Company. As we learn in latter novels, there are also other detachments of wolfs assigned to other duties (like the Wolfblade).

Page 290

Dozens of battle honours had been worked onto the Great Wolfs armour, for Grimnar had served in hundreds of campaigns over the past seven hundred Imperial Standard years. That thought itself was almost enough to make Ragnar’s mind reel. It was ten times the life span of the oldest mortal man on Fenris, yet Logan Grimnar showed no signs of weakness. Instead he gave off an aura of boundless health, strength and energy.

- Logan Grimnar is stated to be seven hundred years old, and this is not indicated to be close to his death. Indeed, its implied he may be good for much longer. This would suggest that Space Wolves have lifespans similar to the Blood angels. (contrast this with the Ultramarines, where 400 years old is considered rather ancient by their standards, although some of their spinoff Chapters, like the White Consuls, have members as old or older than Dante.)

Also, it seems the "oldest man" to Ragnar's knowledge is 70. Not sure whether he refers to the tribals or the indentured serf types.. probably the latter since in the first novel he hinted that the tribals tended not to live much past middle age (at least not amongst the Thunderfists)

Page 290

Ragnar could not help but notice that the Great Wolfs armoured form similarly did not touch the stone of the throne, but instead seemed to float just shy of its surface. He now knew a little about the ancient magic of suspensor systems and he guessed that one of them was in use. At the very least it would surely make sitting on the hard stone more bearable, although Ragnar suspected that it had another use. On the back of the throne fluttered two vast banners: one bore the two rampant wolves that were the insignia of Grimnar, the other the snarling wolfs head that was the symbol of the Chapter. They fluttered and rippled, though there was not the slightest hint of a breeze to move them.

Ragnar notices the use of suspensors in a chair, apparently as a cushion.

Page 290-291

Within the shadows of the pavilion, flanking Grimnar’s mighty throne, stood the folk of his lair, the Wolf Priests resplendent in their wolf-hide cloaks and wearing their aura of age and command. Ragnar recognised Ranek the eldest of them all, who had inducted the young Blood Claw into the Chapter all those months ago. With them also were the metal-clad Iron Priests, their helmets moulded to represent wolfs heads. And there were even several Rune Priests, long bearded, carrying huge wooden staffs carved with mystical runic symbols. All of these men had about them an aura of age and wisdom that was palpable. All of them were veterans of a hundred campaigns.

Months have passed since the first novel, and we are introduced once again to the "special" elements of the Space Wolves, the Rune priests (Librarian analogues), Iron Priests (Techmarines), and Wolf priests (apothecaries and Chaplains, although I suspect Apothecary duties may be shared by all three at various points.)

Not ethe rune priests carrying wooden staves.. that's a holdover from 2nd edition fluff IIRC - supposedly made from old wood carted off from Terra (a rather peculiar sort of lost tech lol)

Page 294

"I returned to my homeworld as soon as my duties allowed, for Aerius is a mighty industrial world, and keystone to the Imperium’s control of its sector."
..
"When I reached Aerius much of the world had already been quarantined. There seemed to be nothing I or any of my advisors could do. Over the comm-net we could see pictures of the terrible effects of the plague I decided to consult the Oracle of Chaeron, who resides in her ancient citadel on the surface of that dark moon."
"I have heard of this oracle." the Great Wolf said. "A most holy woman, blessed by the Emperor."

Comm-net in the Space Wolf novels typically refers to the communications network used by the Wolves and Guard. It might refer to some sort general information network though in this caes, some sort of internet-like network for the whole industrial world.

The industrial world itself sounds a bit like Armageddon, a rather key hive world important to an entire sector/region.

Page 296

"One part was given into the keeping of the Imperial Guard Commander, Byran Powys...
...

"Powys and his men returned to Galt."

Guard commander and his troops being returned to another planet. Later it is mentioned that the regiment was from Galt, so I guess this means they're returning to their homeworld.

Page 296

"The oracle’s words have been confirmed by seers of my own Order and by my own consultations with the Imperial Tarot."

"The Tarot is notoriously ambiguous." pronounced the chief Rune Priest, Aldrek.

The general flaws in Imperial divination/precog are discussed, and here we have several variations, the tarot and more generalized seers.

Page 298

Giant flambeaux, treated with some chemical process to make them burn brightly and for many hours, blazed in brackets set on the vast stone walls. Servants hurried about, carrying great platters which groaned under the weight of venison and boar and bread and cheese. Serving maidens brought great tankards filled with ale.

- torches /flambeaux treated with a "chemical process" to amke them burn brightly for many hours. Indication of advanced chemical techs we know the Imperium has (like its magically cremating flamethrower weapons.)

In keeping with the Space Viking theme, there are tankers, massive platters, and serving wenches alongside torches.

Page 299

"Only for you. I will accept your bet but only if the forfeit is that the loser must drink only milk for the next week. Wouldn’t want you to go the way of Torvald."

Ragnar considered that that sounded fair. It meant that neither of them would be honour-bound not to touch ale for the rest of their lives, a forfeit which would have been torment to any Space Wolf. In the whole history of the Chapter only one man had ever had to pay that ultimate price, Torvald the Mild, and it was said that he had gone mad.

The most horrid fate a Space Wolf can possibly endure.

Page 305

Ragnar wondered how the fitting could have been made so quickly, until he saw that each section of cloth hung from a suspensor globe floating on its own antigravity field.

More Antigrav suspensors.

Page 306

The sentry spoke into a small brass device on a leather strap at his wrist. The words were framed in a language which Ragnar did not recognise, though that was hardly surprising; there were millions of tongues in the Imperium, and he spoke only the language of Fenris and Imperial Gothic, which had been drummed into his brain by the tutelary engines of the Fang.

- Ragnar considers there are "millions of tongues (languages) in the Imperium". Note that this does not imply millions of worlds, as on earth you can have many cultures with variations on language.

Page 306

The pair turned on their heels to leave an opening between them for him to pass through. It was performed with a discipline and a precision that Ragnar found almost amusing. Part of his education had concerned the military training of other Imperial units. He knew that they were addicted to marching and moving in formation and all manner of shows of discipline that the Space Wolves rarely indulged in and considered pointless ostentation. Of course, he had been led to believe, they in turn thought the Space Wolves barbaric.

Ragnar's opinion of (I think) Imperial guard, although they aren't quite sure what the troops are. Unsurprisingly, the Wolves are aware of how others regard them themselves.

Page 309

One corner of the vast chamber was filled by flickering viewscreens and the huge brass and iron chassis of the ancient cogitation engine. The air smelled of ozone and machine oil. The hiss of pistons and the hum of capacitors reached his ears. In the walls were countiess niches filled with smooth stone tablets. Ragnar knew that these were runestones, and that in some way known only to the Iron Priests they stored great volumes of information that the machine could read. The stones were a near-indestructible repository of lore from throughout the Space Wolves’ history.

Information stored on magically indestructible (I suppose) runestones, which get stuck into the computer. Might be some weird magic crystal technology, although "Stone tablets" suggests otherwise. I'm not sure if this is better or worse than punch cards.

Page 310

"There are millions of runestones, Blood Claw, and the indexes are not necessarily all that reliable. Such procedures take time."

- Space Wolves archival indexes for their information repositories and history are not considered to be "all that reliable" by the archivist.. but the reasons why aren't stated. "millions of runestones" suggests an approximation of the information, but of course we dont know how the runestones store info, either.

Page 311

Karah Isaan glared at him with cat-like green eyes. She was almost as tall as he was, brown skinned, with a pert nose and wide lips. Her hair was lustrous black.

The psyker of the novel and Ragnar's (sort of) female companion. It's not really fair to say "love interest", but one of the themes of every novel seems to be that Ragnar develops an attachment to some woman (although after this one it becomes a Navigator and stays thta way.)

Page 311

He was one of the mightiest warriors humanity could produce, enhanced in a hundred different ways, taught to kill in every way, bloodied in combat against the vile forces of Chaos.

Considering there's only some twenty or so implants (potentially) and even including enhanced senses, muscles and bone structure, healing, and other factors separately.. they must need get lots of other little upgrades to account fro that. Unless knowledge qualifies as an enhancement (which it might - like the bullet time trick, or the enhanced information processing, or the photographic memory/enhanced cogitation.. etc.)

Page 312

She moved her hand. Ragnar sensed a gathering of energies, but was unsure of what was happening.

Then he tried to move and his limbs would not respond.

A psyker, he realised. She was a psyker, one of those witches gifted with extraordinary mental powers, one of which was now quite obviously the ability to paralyse any target she wished.

Ragnar realizes Karah is a psyker. He can sense it but not swee anything. Karah can immobilize him - guessing by this I would say its probably mind or muscle control rather than telekinetic restraint.

Page 313

One of his fingers quivered slightly and a look of utter shock appeared on her face, as if she had never seen anyone break her hold before, no matter how slightly. He smelled her sudden loss of confidence, and a faint flicker in the power as that affected her control. Suddenly, somehow, he could move. It was like being encased in molasses but at least his limbs were his own once more.

He seemed to be moving with incredible slowness, but at least he was moving.

Ragnar can break Karah's psychic hold. Whether this is common to Wolves, or to him in particular, is not said here. Given stuff like Prospero Burns, and the genreal sacking of Prospero, its safe to say that most Wolves might have some resilience to the warp.

Page 314

They stood for a moment, glaring at each other. Both of them were breathing hard. He realised that the use of her powers must be as draining to her as hours of heavy exercise was to him. He himself was exhausted from resisting them as he had not been after a two hundred mile forced march.

An indication of the strain that use of psychic activity can put on a person. Ragnar also comments on a the difficulty he faced in breaking the compulsion physically, as well as an indicator of how far he coudl march.

Page 314

"And there is something else within you. I sensed it, as I wove the web."
"Is that what you call it?"
"I saw something like a wolf: large, dark, fierce."
"It was something woken when I joined the Chapter." he said, not sure whether he should be discussing this with anyone from outside the Space Wolves. "A Wolf Spirit."
"No. It’s part of your own spirit. Something that separates you from normal people."
"It was bound to me."
"I suppose that is one way of looking at it. Albeit a primitive way."

Karah calls her trick a "web", and she comments on seeing a wolf spirit bound to Ragnar, which is pretty much a good indicator this is natural to all Space Wolves (EG its part of the geneitcs of Russ' gene-seed)

PAge 315

"I know there are many millions of runestones kept here in these Halls. Not all of them are catalogued by the Thinking Engines. Some records exist only in runescript inscribed on the tablets of stone themselves. Others are held only in the sagas memorised by the Wolf Priests."
"There are gaps in the records of your auto-librams."

Ragnar was not familiar with the term, but it sounded like she was referring to the Thinking Engines. He nodded thoughtfully.

"It is the same with us." she continued. "The machines are old, dating from the Dark Age of Technology, and their systems have been reconsecrated many times by the tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Each time that happens, information is lost. There are flaws in the copying process. And, of course, much information is recorded under the individual seal of a specific inquisitor - and sometimes those seals are lost when the inquisitor dies and no one can then access his records."

Ragnar looked at her. This was the most forthcoming he had ever seen any member of Sternberg's retinue. Something in her scent told him to be careful. Perhaps this was a trick the inquisitors used, confiding a little information to make the person they were talking to do the same. Not that it mattered very much, he thought. There was nothing here to hide - as far as he knew.

"And of course, some records are destroyed."
..
"Why?'
"Because the knowledge in them is deemed too dangerous for anyone to possess - because it might lead to heretical thought or heretical deed or because it pertains to certain things that were not meant to be known."
"Who decides that?"
"The Masters of our Order. Sometimes individual inquisitors. Over the millennia the definition of what constitutes heresy has changed. Yesterday's blasphemy is today's orthodoxy."

A rather lengthy discussion on information, computer tech, lost tech, the loss of information and how it is lost, and how and why thigns are declared heretical (or may be later un-heretical.) It's all strangely apporpirate.

Page 317

"You are a psyker. Why do you not simply lift the knowledge you need from other people's minds?'

She smiled again, this time coldly, as if this was a subject she did not care to discuss. "Some psykers have that gift, but not I, my talents run in... other directions. Even for those with the gift it is not that simple. A strong-willed individual can resist them. More subtle ones can mask their thoughts or even send false thoughts. And there are other risks..."

..
"Those who enter the minds of heretics often become heretics in turn. Their very thoughts are a contagion."

Problems in reading/probing minds, and the dangers (especially with Heretics or the corrupted). Karah comments that not all psykers will hve the same powers.

andrewgpaul · Post by **andrewgpaul** » 2012-06-04 05:20am

"(we know of at least one named Thranx, although that was wiped out at some point.)"

A reference to the story Deathwing (found in the 1st edition Space Hulk expansion of the same name), also written by Bill King. It occurred 120 years before that story, so by the time of the Space Wolf novels it must be ancient history (and bear in mind these novels too are a few dozen years before the 40k "present"). Dark Angels, Space Wolves, Ultramarines and Imperial Guard turned up to investigate 20 years of unpaid tithes, and find out it's now a hive world full of genestealers.

Connor MacLeod · Post by **Connor MacLeod** » 2012-06-16 01:06pm

Next update for Space Wolf. Part 2 of 'Ragnar's Claw'

Page 320

He reached for his comm-net earpiece, which lay on the hewn slab of rock beside the pallet on which he slept. He pushed it into place then pressed the subvocaliser into position on his throat.

Ragnar's comm, and its subvocalising ability.

Page 320-321

Huge arcs of Universal Fire leapt from massive conduction coil to massive conduction coil. A nimbus of light surrounded the great Thinking Engine. Iron Priests bellowed chants designed to propitiate the ancient spirits trapped within the machine and bind its power to their purpose. One of them tapped something on a keyboard so old that most of the ceramite keys had been replaced with others carved from black basalt or whale tusk ivory. A junior Iron Priest slapped cooling unguents onto the machine from a ceremonial urn. Ragnar guessed that if the Engine grew too warm, the spirits within would grow angry and seek to escape - but that was only a guess, he really knew very little about the mysteries of the Machine Spirits. He was glad to leave the whole ritual in the capable hands of the Iron Priests, Emperor watch over them.

One of them fed a smooth black runestone into a brass orifice in the machine. The lights grew brighter, the scents more intense. Suddenly there was a sound like a small bolter starting to fire and from a slot in the side of the machine a long scroll of parchment began to unroll. Ragnar could see that runic characters covered the page. Ragnar hoped that the archivist was correct. He risked a look at the small slab of black marble which had been dropped into a restraining slot on the machine’s side. Even as he watched, the runes along its top, which had previously been invisible, lit up, shedding a light that reminded Ragnar of molten steel. All they spelled out was a cryptic mass of numbers and letters.

Runestone goes into computer. I guess the stone is marble.

Page 322

He proceeded with the translation, surprised at how well he handled the process. The tutelary engines had done the work of burning Imperial Gothic into his brain well. Only rarely did he struggle to find exactly matching words and phrases as he turned the words from Fenrisian into the tongue of the Imperium.

Ragnar's learning of Gothic.

Page 330

It occurred to him that quite soon he might feel the same way about Fenris. It was only one world but there were millions of such worlds in the Imperium, separated by thousands of light years of distance. He had heard it said that if a man could visit one new world in the galaxy every day of his life, he would not have visited a thousandth of the inhabited worlds by the time he died.

Millions of worlds in the Imperium again, separated by "thousands of light years" of distance. The second part of the paragraph may offer insight into how many millions. If we take the earlier assessment that Fenrisians live to 70 (and bookmark that on the high end with Grimnar as an example) and he visits a new world every day that's 25,550 worlds... 25.5 million or so inhabited worlds, to several hundreds million or so (for someone Grimnar's age. Someone Dante's age might be something like 400 million.

Note that this is simply the worlds that *MAY* be in the Imperium. Context suggests that this is the case, but the lack of explicit reference and the reference to the "galaxy" means it can be interpreted otherwise. Of course, we have lots of references to there being billions of worlds, so saying there's a few hundred millions is not that improbable either.

Page 332

Inquisitors Sternberg and Isaan were strapped into old leather gravity chairs. Between them was the lead-lined casket containing the fragment of the Talisman of Lykos.

The Talisman is kept in a lead-lined casket (to apparently keep the emanations inside) this is not hte first time such has been used in such a way (EG Lord of the Night) can block at least certain kinds of psychic power.

Page 332-333

The thing was a flying mountain, a huge wedge of steel and ceramite which dwarfed the Thunderhawk the way a whale might dwarf a minnow. As they neared it, the Space Wolf could see that it bristled with enormous weapons. Huge turrets and emplacements bulged in its side. The Imperial eagle painted on its meteor-pitted flanks was almost a thousand strides across. Beneath it, in Imperial Gothic script, were painted the words Light of Truth. Ragnar guessed it was the ship's name.

The Inquisitor's starship the Light of Truth. Assuming a stride is between .75 and 1.5 metres, teh eagle is at least 750-1000 metres long. I'd guess its at LEASt that tall, or thereabouts, and if it is like any BFG ship the length to width ratio is probably at least 4-5:1 which would make it something cruiser sized at least, possibly a small battleship or battlecruiser (which would fit with "mountainous". Note the broadside "turrets and emplacements" - I guess its not all just broadside weaponry.

Page 334

Ragnar knew that these were Guardsmen seconded to the inquisitor’s service for the duration of his mission.

I believe these are the Inquisitor's bodyguards, on temporary secondment. They're lead by Gul (see below) anyhow.

Page 334-335

He was a large man, even bigger than Sergeant Hakon, who was huge even by the standards of Space Marines. He was dressed in a uniform of inquisitorial black which fitted him as tightly as a glove. Black leather gauntlets gleamed on his hands. High leather boots encased his powerful calves. His head was bare and shaved hairless. His nose was beaklike, almost aquiline. His lips were thin and cruel. Black eyes dominated the gaunt fanatical face. He glanced at the Space Marines with respect but no fear.

...

The man's left hand was gone, no doubt left on some distant battlefield, replaced by a mechanical metal claw. A bolt pistol and a chainsword hung from a broad leather belt at his waist. Three honour studs similar to those worn by elite Space Marines were driven into his shaven head beside the sign of the Inquisition which had been tattooed there. Obviously, Ragnar thought, this was a man who took his duties and his loyalties seriously.

Commander Gul, captain of the Inquisitorial troops/Bodyguard, and proof that there exist normal humans that can mass as much as a space Marine naturally (like Bragg) Assuming he's not a Space Marine in disguise (at this point in the novel I don't remember and I'm too lazy to check) and it can go either way. The fact noone leaps up and says "Hey! noone gets that big normally he's really Astartes!" is telling (although the honor studs are a big hint too, unless that is a practice for the devoted.)

Page 337

In fact the huge blast doors which gave access to the hall looked like they could be welded shut. Not that it would be needed, Ragnar thought. He doubted that any of the weaponry the Blood Claws currently carried could force them if they were simply locked and barred. Those armoured doors must be a span thick.

- Ragnar is basically saying the door is a hand's spand wide - 10-15 cm maybe depending if the palm is together or spread apart.

Page 337-338

The crew of this vessel must be numbered in the thousands, he thought. The large open plaza they stood in now was full of men toiling away on huge arcane engines.
...

Looking at some of the men, he saw that they were chained to their machines. He glanced around, located a man in the ornate uniform of a ship’s officer and strode over to ask him why.
...
"Indentured. Pressed into service. Dirtside scum, sir, most of them. Criminals sentenced to work ship. Minor traitors who are repaying their debt to the Imperium for their crime. Most of them will serve for twenty-five standard years. If they live that long. It’s a hard life. There are accidents."

Ragnar considered the man’s words as he glanced at the thin starved wretches, their legs chained and manacled to the machines they serviced. A lifetime unable to move more than two strides from the same place. If it were him he would most likely go mad, he thought. Or try to escape.

The officer seemed to read his thoughts. "It makes mutiny difficult too. It’s difficult to communicate with anybody save those who work on their own machine. And if they get uppity they don’t get their portion of food until they calm down. Don’t spare any sympathy for them, sir. They’re criminals and they deserve what they get."
...
"And once they have served their sentence they are free to leave the ship?"

"No, sir. They are free to move around it," the man replied with a grin. "Provided they obey the rules and do what they are told. Most of these men are here for life. This is a prison as well as a starship."
...
"They can be [for punishment] lashed or chained or subjected to some of the experimental questioning engines the inquisitors keep up front. If they are incorrigible they go for a walk."

"A walk?" Ragnar asked, puzzled.

"Through the airlock. Without a suit."

- Ragnar guesses the ship's crew must number in the thousands. Living conditions, unsurprisingly, echo much of the BFG theme, although by the time of Rogue TRader this has become less of a standard and more of a preference (Or in the case of the Navy, probable tradition.) Indentured ratings are virtual slaves (for security reasons, it seems, since they're criminals.) If they serve the term they seem to earn their shipboard freedom (Becoming trusted ratings, meaning not all the crew is a slave.)

And the navy, as is typical space fashon, practices spacing.

Page 339

Sternberg had claimed there was a teleporter on his ship. If that was true, it was a sign of the regard the inquisitor was held in. Such devices were as rare and precious as they were temperamental. Only the Terminator companies of the Space Marine Chapters used them, and then only during missions of utmost urgency and importance. The mystical ancient devices allowed small groups and cargoes to be shifted between themselves and other areas without crossing intervening space, or so the knowledge placed inside Ragnar's head told him.

Predictably, its rare for even Inquisitors to have teleporters. Much less ones that can be used by anyone other than Termiantors.

Page 340

His armour could recycle oxygen and waste-products for him, keep him alive for weeks if need be, but it could not do so indefinitely, and from where they were there was no way to swim home.

Life support functions of Ragnar's armour. This really makes me not want to wonder where their food paste comes from.

Page 340

It was a cavernous vault, a storage bay of sorts. Huge crates bearing the twin-headed eagle seal of the Imperium were stacked almost to the ceiling. Huge roaches scuttled up their sides into the shadows. Cunning-looking rats watched them from dark corners. Ragnar could smell their excrement and their foul, musty odour. He was not fond of rats.

Storage, including the obligatory rats. I wonder if they keep the Ark of the Covenant here too. Ragnar oddly does not like rats.

PAge 342-343

He lashed out with his right fist at Scarface. The impact of the blow, driven by Ragnar's mighty augmented muscles and the servomotors of his armour, mashed the man's nose flat. The thug flew backwards as if hit by a battering ram. His falling body slammed into the men behind him and sent them tumbling. Ragnar reached forward, picked up one of the fallen men and effortlessly hoisted him clean above his head. The man's feeble struggles availed him naught against the Space Wolfs awesome physical power. Ragnar tossed him headlong at a pair of his companions, bowling them over.

...

He had the uniformed leader by the throat and held him easily at arm's length, one-handed. The ringleader's feet dangled half a stride above the floor.

....

A kick with his right foot propelled another man ten strides and sent him smashing into a wooden crate.

...

He sprang forward and grabbed them by the necks and then knocked their heads together. The two men dropped at his feet unconscious.

Melee with Naval ratings. Note how he keeps sending people flying with punches and kicks.

Page 349

Ragnar lay on the old leather of the acceleration couch in his chamber. A starsailor had entered earlier and showed him how to strap himself in. He had been surprised to find that the chairs doubled up as acceleration couches. A touch of a hidden button and they folded outwards and backwards, extruding restraining straps which looked thick enough to hold a bull mastodon. The harness was controlled by a quick release button similar to the ones on the restrainer straps in a Thunderhawk. The Blood Claw wondered why they could be necessary. The huge starship had seemed utterly stable the whole time he had been on it. The starsailor had been insistent though. He claimed that everyone not performing vital duties absolutely requiring freedom of movement would be doing the same. The tenseness of the man’s body, together with the undertones of dread and anticipation in the man’s scent, convinced Ragnar. This man claimed to be a veteran of a thousand warp jumps, yet still he was afraid.

- the Light of Truth uses acceleration couches for its passengers. Whether this is for actually propelling the ship, or if it is for warp translations we don't know. We do know that the ship has its own artificial gravity, though. And most 40K ships have their own inertial damping anyhow.

Page 350-351

The ship would be passing out of this space-time continuum and into another place where matter did not exist and time flowed strangely. In some ways it would be like a submersible going under water. It would become lost to the sight of all tracking devices which operated in the normal universe, until it emerged in real space again. Of course, this might not happen. It was all down to the skill of the ship's Navigator, who would set his course by the mighty beacon of the Astronomican on distant Terra, and would try to find a path for the starship through the treacherous currents of warp space.

The warp itself was a turbulent medium, unstable, as full of ebbs and flows as a mighty ocean. It was said to be haunted by daemons and ghosts and the hulks of the thousands of ships, some of them human, which had been lost in it since time immemorial.
...
Of starsailors who travelled through it convinced that only days had passed and who later emerged to find centuries had gone by in real time and that all who knew them were dead and gone. It had happened even to the Space Wolves. Ships had been deemed lost for hundreds of years and then their crews had returned to the Fang, unheralded and unexpected, to rejoin their comrades. And other, stranger fates had befallen travellers as well. Sometimes crews would travel out and return what seemed days later to their comrades; only when they emerged from their ships, they had grown old and senile and some had died of ageing. Their crews felt like they had been lost for decades in the warp, and showed all the effects of having been so. Sometimes entire crews went insane the moment they slipped into the Immaterium. No one knew why. And sometimes, most ominously of all, ships, even entire fleets vanished, never to be seen or heard from again.

Warp jump, warp navigation and the usual warp analogies and dangers.

Page 356

"We emerged into normal space about six hours ago. Since then our astropaths have been picking up various messages from the surface of Galt Three."
...
"I instructed our astropaths to make contact with their counterparts on Galt Three and the following details have emerged. About six months ago standard Imperial time, a hulk emerged from warp space. It drifted within three standard units of Galt Three and as it did so it unleashed a host of smaller craft, thousands of them."
...
They were huge agglomerations of dead ships which for any one of a dozen reasons came together to form immense space-going craft, often larger than many cities. They drifted in and out of the warp seemingly without reason.

- ork invasion of Imperial planet involves a space hulk largge enough to transport thousands of ork ships (presumably non warp-capable ones) plus tens if not hundreds of thousands of Orks.

Page 355

"What we do know is that it is common for orks to suddenly mass huge formations of troops and go on the rampage. These are in some ways like Imperial Crusades. The ork hordes gather troops and manpower as they go until either the leader dies, his savage ambition is slaked, or they are stopped by external forces such as military intervention or a natural disaster. While these crusades are under way ork morale is high and the sheer momentum and scale can make them irresistible."

Ork WAAAGH.

Page 356

"According to the Imperial authorities on Gait, there are tens of thousands of orks down there, perhaps hundreds of thousands. Intelligence is vague. Compared to those numbers all the troops we have on this ship are merely a drop in the ocean."

Scope of the invasion.. rather small WAAAGH by such standards. Even more interesting is how there are supposed to be vastly more orks on the planet than on ship despite Rogue Trader's new "figures" for ships - maybe that's proof they have a heavy servitor crew or something.

Page 357

Everyone who was to be subject to the ritual stood inside a circle of silver inscribed on the floor. Each circle was linked to the others by lines of metal inlaid in the floor. All were inscribed with ancient runes. A mighty double circle enclosed the whole area, and he guessed that the symbols inscribed mere were warding signs, designed to contain the energies which would soon be unleashed, and protect the transportees from the daemons of the warp.
..
He knew that teleporters were not entirely reliable, that sometimes those who were supposed to be transported simply vanished and never reappeared.

- teleporters here are indicated to involve travel through the warp (because they need systems that provide protection from the daemons and such)

Page 362

A blood-sucking insect landed on Ragnar’s face. His sensitive skin detected its bite. He resisted the urge to slap it. His body could compensate for any allergic reaction. He knew his internal glands were already beginning to secrete chemicals into his sweat which would repel the insect’s fellows in future.

- Space Wolf glands can secret a sort of insect repellent autmatically.

PAge 363

He glanced down at the locator on his wrist, now keyed to Sergeant Hakon’s own device. The clearing was about two thousand strides west of the temple. Not far over open terrain, but difficult to tell how long it might take in this jungle. He was glad now that he and the other Blood Claws had put in such long hours in the jungle caverns beneath the Fang. Such simulated environments couldn’t quite prepare you for the real thing but they helped a little.

- the Fang on Fenris had underground facilities simulating jungles for trainign purposes. Also locator devices for tracking members of the team.

Page 363

Back in the Fang he had been exposed to the musky scent of orks by the tutelary engines. Right at this moment he could detect nothing like it.

The tutelary engines can apparently implant not only knowledge but sensory input (at least scents) as well.

Page 364

Fungal spores, he guessed. From somewhere at the back of his mind came the knowledge, placed there by the engines in the Fang, that orks cultivated certain types of fungus as food and the basis of crude fermented drinks.

Spore theory for Orkoids and their mobile ecosystem.

Page 365

Until now he had maintained comms silence, even though the pack was on a sealed and scrambled net. He did not want any signal pulse giving away their position. It was just possible, even though their communicators were set to the lowest possible emission, designed not to project at over a hundred strides, that someone nearby with the appropriate equipment could detect the signal if they were looking for it.
...
+Ragnar+ he subvocalised.

- the communicators the space Wolves and inquisitors are using can subvocalise yet again, and lowest possible setting has a range of 75-150 meters or so.

PAge 366

The speaker was indeed an ork, and it was far larger than a normal man, larger even than a Space Wolf. Its chest was as round as a barrel and its arms were thicker than most men’s legs. Its skin was an oily green in colour. Huge tusks jutted upwards from a massive jaw. The skull was ape-like, the bestial yellowish eyes set in deep cavernous sockets. It was humanoid but its legs were oddly short and its arms incredibly long compared to a man’s. The whole impression was of ape-like power and savagery, an impression only partially belied by the array of equipment that festooned its powerful body.

A jacket of thick armour encased its upper torso, leaving its leathery green arms bare. A huge bolt pistol was clutched in one gnarled hand, and a chainsaw-bladed axe a normal man would have struggled to lift was held negligently in the other.

- the Ork is bigger than a Space Marine or a normal man. It could easily lift in one hand a chain axe a normal man would have difficulty lifting. Ork is (probably in flak armour, and mass probably several hundred kilos easily.

PAge 367

It was the scent of something ork-like and yet not an ork. He paused for a moment, frozen into absolute immobility, and waited to see what would emerge. He did not have too long to wait. A small head poked around the doorway, cautious and wary. It belonged to another greenskinned creature less than half the size of the ork, but obviously in some way related to it. It had the same greenish skin and yellowish eyes...
...
A gretchin, he thought, recognising the creature from his lessons back in the Fang.

It, too, had very long arms in proportion to its size, but where the ork’s fingers were stubby and powerful, this one’s were long and clever and dextrous. A cowl projected from the leather jacket which covered its torso and partially obscured its head. An autorifle was slung over the gretchin’s back. The weapon was huge compared to the gretchin and Ragnar was surprised the little alien had the strength to lift it.

- Gretchin are half the size of the ork. It is carrying an autorifle larger than it is, but is strong enough to wield it. Its implied to be far heavier than it looks for the crature to use (possibly more than a normal man could wield)

Page 368

As he watched, the gretchin began to caper around their prisoner, until the ork bellowed an order and cuffed the nearest creature on the ear.
...
The ork advanced on the human prisoner. A swift open-handed slap sent the wretch reeling to the ground. Blood flowed from his nostrils and he choked out a couple of teeth. Ragnar gathered a new respect for the gretchin. They were tougher than they looked if they could take such a cuffing from an ork.

"Slave!" the ork bellowed in very bad Gothic. "You slave!"

Orks speaking Gothic, and gretchin are tough enough to take abuse from Orks.

Page 375

"The Light of Truth has been driven out of teleport range by ork warcraft." Sternberg said. "It is moving out to rendezvous with the approaching Imperial relief fleet. It will return with the task force in one standard week."

Outside teleport range when forced from orbit... and a week to rendezvous with the relief fleet (in system or in warp, we dont know. Probably in-system.)

Page 380

Not that they were needed, Ragnar had seen: the current was strong enough to carry them at a speed well beyond that even a Space Marine could march at through the dense jungle.

If we knew how fast the current moves we might be able to get a speed for that.

Page 381

What if some creature was strong enough to crunch through his armour? He knew it was unlikely. His Space Wolf senses were such that they would alert him to almost any threat even while asleep. And ceramite would prove impervious to any natural fang or claw.

Don’t be so certain, a part of him told himself. You don’t know that.

Ragnar thinks its unlikely that any natural creature could penetrate his armour, although that last caveat isn't certain. (and even if it wasn't, there are plenty of "natural" creatures who aren't so natural.. at least in a real life sense. Like Ambulls.)

Page 381

Some of the plants and animals were similar to those on Fenris, that was all. In a way this was hardly surprising. Most of their ancestors had probably come from distant Terra all of those tens of thousands of years ago during the first great human Diaspora, when Man had set out to colonise the galaxy and remake it in his own image. They were the descendants of those old creatures and plants, reshaped to fit their new homeworlds.

Human colonisation seems to have involved some terraforming of some kind if they could get many EArth planets to adapt to alternate enviroments. This may help explain some things being common from various sectors (Recaf, amasec, etc.)

Page 381-382

Around the next great bend, huge, dusty brown reptiles basked along the riverbank, presumably some species of dragon. Their immense jaws looked as if they could down a man in one gulp - even one armoured in ceramite.
...
He was beginning to get a sense of quite how large it was, probably twice as long as this whole raft. He was aware of the tiny, intelligent-seeming eyes gazing at him from either side of the beast’s snout.

The rafts ought to at least be several meters long each, since they carry about 4-5 people apiece.

That makes the beasts a good 8-10 metres long.. or about twice the length of a Alligator or Crocodile.. and probably a good 3-4x as massive (meaning several tons quite likely)

Page 383-384

The roar of bolt pistols filled his ears as the Blood Claws joined in. Rocket contrails blazed towards the beast. Its flesh erupted where the shells bit into its leathery hide. The creature emitted a long, hissing screech but kept on coming. Ragnar wondered if the creature felt any pain or whether they had simply angered it. Looking at those jaws and the massive ropes of muscle on either side of them, he wasn’t so sure now that his armour could survive being bitten by them.
...
The beast kept swimming on through the hail of fire. The Space Wolves on the other ship had joined in now. Huge chunks of flesh were being blown out of the beast and Ragnar was sure he could see the white of bone amidst the pale pink meat. Still the creature showed no sign of dying.
Ragnar pulled the trigger again and again, hoping in vain to put a shell through the beast’s eye and blow out its brain. But its head was thrashing from side to side and it was difficult to aim precisely. The Wolf pulled the trigger rapidly, sending bolter shell after bolter shell hurtling towards the beast. Its leathery skin was torn and shredded, but to Ragnar’s awe the massive skull endured the pounding. What was the beast made of?

Bolt pistols against our croc analogues.

PAge 384

He glanced around and saw the others were also in the water, limbs fluttering as they tried to head towards the surface. He holstered his pistol and struck upwards himself.
...
His head broke the water. He saw some of the others bobbing to the surface near him.

- Space wolf armor is light enough to float in a river. Or maybe it has some sort of suspensor or antigrav or (pseudo-mass-lightening as hinted in Angels of Death

).

Page 385-386

He felt the jaws close around him. He felt the pressure on his chest plate as the teeth started to clamp down. The riverdragon gave a swift flick of its head, like a dog with a rat in its mouth. If Ragnar had been an ordinary man, he knew his neck would have broken in that moment. But he was not a normal man, he was a Space Marine, and his body had been reconstructed to withstand far more stress than any normal human beings. The whiplash threatened to drive the air from his lungs. Sparks flickered in his field of vision. He felt vertebrae grind as his neck muscles took the strain.

Space marine and power armor durability against the super crocs.

Page 386

His armour had switched into oxygen recycling mode. He was in no danger of drowning for the time being. Systems designed to keep him alive in the depths of space would have no trouble doing so here. The major problem was that the jaws were still closing. He could hear the ceramite creaking, feel armoured plates grinding against each other. Prickles of pain from his sensory systems told him that at certain stress points there was a danger of the armour giving way. If that happened, other systems might fail, and then indeed he might drown.

oxygen recycling function in the armour.

Page 387 -

He fumbled with the utility belt on his waist, and felt his fingers close on the grenade he sought.
..
Limbs working as if in slow motion in the water, he pushed the grenade into its mouth and kicked out, heading for the surface, wondering what would happen next.

For an instant, nothing occurred. He looked down at the riverdragon and saw it arching its back as it prepared to come up after him. Then its whole body seemed to inflate from within. Its stomach expanded, as if the creature had swallowed something much too big for it. Its jaws distended, and even here under the water Ragnar was aware of its roar of pain. Then the flesh of the creature's belly parted, and its innards blew out into the water. It had swallowed the grenade, and then it had been blown apart through its soft unarmoured innards.

Again: the creature is described as being twice as long as rafts, these rafts that carry half a dozen Space wolves, two inquisitors, and another human, so they must be quite large. Its also lage enough to apparently (or possibly) swallow a Space Wolf whole. At several tons they must require many times more firepower than a person to blow apart (meaning Space Marine greades must pack some hefty firepower, especially considering how damn compact they are in these novels.)

Page 390

They were fearless foes, hardy beyond belief. He had seen one continue to fight after its arm had been blown off by bolter shells. When it ran out of ammo it had actually picked up its own severed arm to use as a club. The creature had seemed almost impervious to pain.

Orks. Gotta love em.

Page 391

They were farmers and foresters and traders who had lived for too long under the great shield of the Imperium’s influence. They had not expected such a savage invasion. And according to Inquisitor Sternberg, there must have been corruption too on a huge scale. The Imperial Governor was supposed to maintain a powerful standing army but they had found no sign of it. During their late night discussions around the campfire, Sternberg claimed that the money had most likely been misappropriated, used to swell the Governor’s private treasure chest. He also claimed that if the man were still alive, the Imperium would extract such a vengeance on him that he would wish the orks had killed him. The thought of the Governor’s folly and mismanagement drove the inquisitor into a quiet rage the like of which Ragnar had never

We learn that the Imperium, whilst taking a hands off approach tends not to take kindly to Governors who are lax on their duties, which includes the defense of the realm. I suspect the Munitorum and Adminstratum resent the time and effort (and resources and paperwork) needed to bail them out.

Also its nice to know this Inquisitor is most defintely not an asshole.

PAge 393

He had lost weight in the jungle. Unlike the Space Wolves, he had not been able to survive by eating bark and grubs and leaves. His normal human stomach had forced him to live on powdered field rations, and while these contained everything a man needed to live on, they were hardly substantial fare. He now had the look of an ascetic martyr..

- Powdered field rations. containing everything a man neede dto live on, but not considered to be "substantial fare". I've seen worse rations in 40K novels.

Page 395-396

"I can see the bearer. He is an ork of fearful power, and he is the vessel of something greater. In some way, he is the focus of this ork army. He binds it together. He speaks for their gods or so he believes, and in a way this belief is true."
"If we kill him will the horde disperse?"
...
"This warlord is tapping into the powers of the talisman, as well as his gods. He will not die easily."

I'm not sure if this is something innate to teh talisman that they would boslter just ANYONE, or if the Ork is able to tap it because as a warlord his is a focal point for the WAAAGH power (and thus in a way is like a Weirdboy.)

Also it seems to be something of a habit that powerful warlords (like Ghazzie) start thinking they are prophets of the Orks if they get to a certain point.

Page 396

"The signal may be blocked by power fields or the use of certain energy generators. Alternatively we may have to cause a distraction and slip away in the confusion till we can find a place where the teleporter can be used."

"certain energy generators" or power fields can block transmissions and teleporters.

Page 397

Ragnar clambered up the huge tree and focussed on the city through his night goggles. The ruined buildings and the awesome gargants leapt into view as he adjusted the focus.

NV goggles.

Page 398

While they looked like rabble they were capable of operating with a cunning and speed and grasp of the military situation that would have done credit to many an Imperial general. It was as if, like a Space Wolf pack, they had some sort of unspoken understanding of each other’s actions. Ragnar wondered how that could be, then decided it did not matter. The teaching machines had placed many examples of ork martial prowess in his brain, and just in case he needed another, one lay before his eyes.

Ragnar's assessment of the Orks. Note that unlike some sorts, Ragnar considers Orks to be clever and capable of sneaky and effective tactics.

Page 398

A mass of trenches and fortifications, gun emplacements and refuelling dumps spoke of the earlier siege. They had encircled the city with earthworks, minefields and razor wire, Ragnar could tell, before bombing and shelling it into submission. He could see the massive holes in the defensive walls where ork artillery had reduced the bastions to rubble. He could see the camps where prisoners and slaves were now being kept preparatory to being shipped off-world to act as slave labour for their new masters.

Orks employing siege warfare. They seem like they would be rather well suited to that, although not likely to care much for the mathematical portion of it or have the patience to sustain it (They would just enjoy the explosions and the charges.)

Page 401

If he did nothing he would soon find himself face to face with a foe nearly half again his bulk.

The ork stopped right in front of him. It seemed impossible to Ragnar that it could not see him. He heard buttons pop and the sound of water flowing. Ork urine splashed his armour. The ork let out a satisfied grunt and then a fart.

Amusing at it is to know Orks urinate (and seeing Ragnar getting pissed on) the really interesting bit is how Ragnar views the Marine as being half again as large (bulk = mass?) as he is. If this is out of the armour, we might be talking a good 250-300 kg. If it's in armor.. well over half a ton (500-700 kg maybe.) A bit large for Orks compared to other novels if the second example, but not impossible (Some of the big ones are implied to be upwards of a tonne.)

Page 402

It seemed to have been made to carry over a score of passengers.

The controls were easily mastered. There was a huge steering wheel, a massive pedal to go forward, another for the brake, and a monstrous lever that took most of Ragnar’s strength to move which controlled the gears. There was only a series of crude lights on the dash, no gauges or meters or any complex readouts. The whole thing could have been driven by a child, Ragnar thought, albeit a most gigantic, misshapen ogre of a child. A big red button on the dashboard started things up.

Ork vehicles. Simple design and controls, but surprisingly reliable for a non-Ork. Plus there is a big red button. The fact Ragnar has difficulty with the controls gives one an indicatio of the strength needed to operate a vehicle (varies from Ork to Ork. in the ARmageddon novels Steel Legionnaries could operate the vehicles without much trouble)

Page 402

The suspension was good, obviously intended to carry the machine safely over the roughest of terrain, and his seat was thickly padded with leather. Two red cubes dangled from a thong tied to the roll bar.

Again surprisingly good design, an indicator that despite appearances, Ork tech isnt always crude shit. Also note the fuzzy dice - another nice touch you could always count on William King for.

Page 404

Ahead of them, one of the orks stood poised on the rear of the buggy. He had dropped his trousers and waggled his buttocks at them.

Self explanatory. Included for the humour value. In context I would note that Ragnar and co are in a drag race with the Orks. I love how Bill King always included crazy shit like this, balancing the silliness and humour in 40K with the drama and tension, and such well written, likeable characters.

Page 404

The wind rushed past his face. Transparent membranes slammed into place over his eyeballs, to protect them from the wind.

A rather disturbing, but rather useful and sensible modification.

Page 405

He felt another bump as the buggy ran over something solid.
..
Looking behind them, he could see it starting to climb to its feet. It stood there for a moment, a foolish grin on its face, caught in the headlights of the pursuing vehicles. Then, with a horrible squelching sound, it was hit by the leading buggy.
..
Ragnar wondered if that was case. The ork already survived falling from a moving buggy and being ran over by Ragnar's own vehicle. It was perfectly possible that it could endure being struck by another. On the other hand, it seemed unlikely that anything could survive being ran over by the succession of vehicles which pursued them.

Yes. Ragnar and Co. just ran an Ork over. An Ork that had survived falling out of a moving buggy. And it survived being run over. And then possibly even surviving a collision with another, although even Ragnar doubts an Ork coudl survive a whole bunch of vehicles. As if we needed futher indication of how stupidly tough Orks were.

Page 407

He raised his pistol and put a bolter shell right through the ork's eye. Its head exploded. The shell passed right through its skull and lodged itself in the throat of the ork driver.

Bolt pistol exploding Ork head. Again noting the sheer size/mass difference between humans and Orks (much less betwee humans and Astartes), thats alot of mass to blow apart (quite probably equal to blowing a large hole in a human torso.)

Page 409

The teaching machines had placed so much knowledge within him that he had not had time to assimilate it. It was as if he contained whole libraries that he had not read. He knew the whole history of the Chapter was there somewhere, along with all the technical schematics of his weapons and equipment, and endless reams of knowledge that he might never need but that his tutors had deemed useful.

The implantation of knowledge does not always seem to follow with immediate comprehension (or as Ragnar terms it, assimilation.) Kind of like having a massive mental library in your head. This isn't the first time such has been implied.

Page 413

She made a gesture towards the nearest orks and Ragnar felt a surge of power emanating from her.
...
Slowly, as if compelled against their will, the orks lumbered towards them. They looked a little confused. Karah said something to them in their own guttural tongue, and they nodded.
...
She obviously had the orks under psychic control.
...
"These are strong-willed brutes. I cannot hold them for more than a couple of minutes."

There are enough Orks that they can kill them from surprise in seconds. Probably no more than a score or so for Karah to mind control/paralyze them.

Simon_Jester · Post by **Simon_Jester** » 2012-06-16 01:43pm

Just one thing- a weapon like a grenade becomes much more dangerous (at least at short range) in water because of the way water carries shock waves. An ordinary real-life hand grenade would probably be deadly or crippling to even dinosaur-sized aquatic life forms; it's a class of threat they're just not adapted to handle.

Connor MacLeod · Post by **Connor MacLeod** » 2012-07-11 10:23pm

Making a quick update for all this since I've been lax in posting. Space Wolf (since it sbeen ages), Necromunda (to finish that off), IA (to push that towards completion), etc.

Last update for Ragnar's claw. Next up: Grey hunter

Page 419

Four orks, presumably guards, were stood in a shadowy archway
..
The inquisitor was using her powers to fool the orks, to befuddle their wits. He had no idea what the orks were seeing.

At least 4 orks being mindfucked.

PAge 419

Two immense ork warriors flanked the archway. They were quite possibly the hugest creatures Ragnar had ever seen. They were at least a head taller than he was. Their arms were each as thick as tree trunks. Their leathery fists were the size of most men’s heads. The guns they clutched in their hands were crude constructions of folded steel and wood, but they had the calibre of cannons.
...
Their red eyes stayed focussed on the middle distance.

Yes. Just what we needed. Even bigger, more massive, and tougher orks, with head-sized fists, portable cannons, and I bet they have carapace or power armour analogues.

Page 420

The ork looked up at them almost casually, definitely unafraid, unnervingly like a man who has just had unexpected but not unwelcome guests drop in on him. There was an utter confidence in its manner that was daunting. It looked at them and spoke, using heavily accented and yet comprehensible Gothic.

"Arammm. Greetings, mortals. I am Gurg, speaker for Two Gods. It good you brou+ght Eye of Gork to me. It goes well with Eye of Mork."

Again Orks are not stupid - they can learn and speak human languages.

Page 422

Gurg simply stopped moving and raised his hands. He howled a chant to his brutish gods. A green aura sprang up all around him and suddenly the sergeant’s bolter shells were halted in the air, frozen mere inches from the warleader’s leathery green flesh.

Again I'm uncertain whether or not his ability to perform what seems to be psyker tricks is because he has the amulet, or because he is a nexus for WAAAGH power.

PAge 423

An evil smile twisted the orks lips and revealed his yellowish tusks. He gestured and the shells reversed themselves and went hurtling back towards the Space Wolves.
..
As he twisted to watch, Ragnar saw one of them ricochet off Sternberg’s armour, and several others buried themselves in the wall.

- a shot from a space wolf bolt pistol (non explosive?) ricochets off Inquisitorial power armour. Not sure how fast it was going, fast enough that Ragnar could (Barely) dodge it though.

Page 423

He rolled across the floor and snapped off a shot at one of the bodyguards. The bolter shell smashed through its heavy armour and embedded itself in the ork's flesh before exploding.

The ork was thrown back off its feet but, incredibly, started to rise again. Ragnar was amazed - he could see a massive hole in the creature's armour and internal organs gaping from its open chest, yet the ork was still moving, and not only that, still fighting. It swung its weapon towards Ragnar and he dived to avoid the hail of bullets flashing from its blazing muzzle.
...
Ragnar glanced over to see that the ork’s head had been smashed to pulp by a well-placed shot. He was not sure which of his comrades had saved him...

The super Ork guards do seem to have som elarge and heavy armor in addition to all their other insane stuff. They can survive having a gaping hole blown in their body from bolter fire, although the head is still an obvious fatality.

Page 423

Gurg strode towards him, his skin seeming to repel bullets as Ragnar’s armour might repel rain.

Magic Ork tricks make the Warlord bullet resistant when he has the amulet.

Page 424

The mighty ork warlord, buoyed up with power from the talisman, swatted him aside as if he were a fly. The force of the blow cracked the carapace of Ragnar’s armour and sent him hurtling across the room to smash into the wall with sickening force.
...
If it had not been for the reinforced bone structure of his head, Ragnar felt his skull might have been crushed by the impact. As it was, stars flickered before his eyes and his vision seemed to pulse from black to grey and then back again.

Super Ork's amulet-augmented power.

Page 427

He fought to retain consciousness as his altered nervous system sought to damp down the overload of pain. Endorphins and opiates poured out of altered glands to help him ignore the pain.

Space Marine physiology includes an altered nervous system to control or block pain at will. Probably makes sense that way - pain can be a distraction or incapacitating, yet at the same time not being aware of it means you have no idea how badly hurt or damaged one might be. This seems a happy medium (of sorts.)

PAge 429

"The beacon is scanning for a carrier signal but we can't find it. We don't even know if any of our ships are up there and in range."

"It's possible that the orks have a low-intensity power field around the building. It could be disrupting the signal.’ Inquisitor Sternberg suggested, running a hand through his grey hair. 'If we can find some uncovered frequencies there's a chance we can punch the signal through."

Again power field blocks teleporter signal, which includes scanning/tracking for it (EG sensors.) suggesting EW like functions.

Page 429-430

"Do not stray more than ten paces from me." he said as he worked. "If the ship can get a lock on us, they’ll respond to the distress signal immediately. Anyone out of the beacon range will be left behind."
..
The Wolves had fanned out to cover all points of the compass. They all kept themselves facing outwards, and as spread out as possible. Ragnar knew they were all thinking the same thing he was, Clumped together at close range like this, they would be easy prey for a single grenade.

More on the beacon blocking/tracking. If we knew the spacing we might estimate effectiveness of grenades.

PAge 430

He turned and fired from the hip, blowing the head clean off one of the brutes. Its brains splattered over its companions but they merely bellowed louder and ran faster.

Bolt pistol again. Again given size of Orks this is much more impressive than blowing apart human heads.

Page 430

Suddenly, dozens of ork troops rose into view, massive jet-packs strapped onto their backs, huge boltguns held in their hands. Ragnar shot at one of them. His shell buried itself in one of the jetpacks. Sparks flew and the ork swung out of control, smashing first into one of his companions and then into another.

Stormboyz probably. Then again for all we know these Orks just like Rockets the way they like Artillery.

Page 431

Overhead he could see a few of the rocket packers preparing to hurl down stick grenades. It seemed that, like it or not, they were going to have to spread out and away from the beacon or be torn apart in a rain of explosive death.

Nope. Stormboyz.

Page 433

Then he noticed the blood flowing from his side and face, and was aware of the searing pain surging through him. He had been hit, he knew, whether by an ork shell or something else. He raised his hand to his face and felt a great open wound. He felt organs leaking through his sides and looked down to see something long and rope-like protruding from his stomach. He reached down and felt his own innards starting to tumble out.

Ragnar takes a bolter wound that penetrates his armour.

Page 436

"How long?"
"Weeks. We have made another warp jump into a new system while you lay in the healing sarcophagus."

Weeks to travel from one system to another. Depending on the distance it could be as few as a few hundred c (10 LY) to several tens of thousands of c. If its close to 10K LY we could be talking a few hundred thousand c.

Page 436

"Was I wounded?"
"In several places. We had to dig bolter shells out of your chest and your head."
...
"And in answer to your questions, you will heal just fine. You Marines are made very tough, and your body will heal anything that does not kill it, or so our chirurgeon assures me."

Ragnar took gunfire from Orks - a "great wound" in his head and virtually disemboweled in his stomach (multiple wounds implied) - a benchmark on Astartes toughness.

While they say that MArines will survive anything that doesn't kill them, it is possible to overtax their body to such an extent that their self repair mechanisms start to fail.

Page 437-438

"It seems like the ork forces are starting to fall apart and fight with each other. It may be that Gurg is losing his power."
..
"I sensed something while we were down there. Gurg was more than just a strong warlord. He was a sort of psychic focus for all the orks. He meant more to them than a mere general. He was sort of their spiritual leader as well, in a very real sense."
...
"I think he lost that power when we took the amulet. I think we somehow diminished him."

"But if what you’re saying is true, he was their leader before ever he got the amulet."
"Yes, there is that," she admitted with a nod. "but being a psyker is as much about having belief in yourself as it is about being touched with the power. If we undermined his confidence in his abilities by besting him, it may be that we somehow undid his power as well."

I suspect this hints at the WAAAGH effect being a double edged sword. It's very effective when the orks have momentum, but if they lose it or lose confidence/faith in their leader (for example) it will turn on them.

Page 439

It was not a reassuring thought that he had lain unconscious and helpless for over two days. He must really have been hurt badly.

Two days unconscious seems unusual for a Space Marine.

PAge 439

The knowledge that had been placed in his brain by the tutelary engines surfaced in his thoughts. He knew it was not so. Unless the resurrection procedures were accomplished immediately on the field of battle, the lack of oxygen would cause brain damage. Even if resurrected the dead warrior would be little more than a vegetable if he were not helped within minutes.

We learn a bit more about Ragnar's miraculous "resurrection" from Space Wolf.

Page 443

In training they had run through simulations of boarding space hulks. It was one of the things a Space Marine could be expected to be called on to do in a long career of serving the Emperor.
..
Space hulks were among the most deadly environments known to mankind. Ragnar let his thoughts drift back to what the tutelary engines had taught him about the things.
..
Space hulks were gigantic structures, agglomerations of many craft, of rubble and debris, which accumulated in the warp. No one quite knew how or why this happened, but everyone knew that it did. And there was something about the hulks that no one quite understood. They drifted in and out of warp space, seemingly at random, with neither rhyme nor reason to their movements.
Sometimes they would disappear for centuries, only to reappear again somewhere far from the last place where they had been sighted.

Most were harmless enough, mere junk in fact; sometimes a threat to navigation, sometimes containing secrets that had been lost in the dark depths of time. But sometimes they were the home to other things: to orks, and genestealers and far worse creatures.

Indeed sometimes they were taken over by such creatures and used to drift from world to world.

Space wolf knowledge and training pertaining to Space hulks

Page 445-446

All around robed and cowled Initiates of the inquisitor’s retinue performed their tasks. At long benches, numerists of the Machine God fed endless streams of data into their consoles. At a high central lectern the astrogators checked their calculations and made minute alterations to the ship’s course. Figures more machine than man, communed directly with the ship’s central data-core.
...
Such things were done differently on the ships of the Space Wolves and by the uniformed officers of the Imperial Fleet, but this was an Inquisition ship, and it was ran in the Inquisition manner.

It occurred to him, for the first time, just how vast and variegated the Imperium was. Each of the great departments of the Ecclesiarchy was a world unto itself, with its own rules, codes, and functions. They stood apart from each other as well as the mass of humanity they ruled in the Emperor's name. It was only the core of shared faith that bound them, and the million worlds of the faithful.

Numerists, astrogators, and servitor/cyborgs all involved in piloting and controlling the ship (lots of math involved, unsurprisingly.) We learn things are different on Space Marine ships and Navy ships, though.

Ragnar also comments on the variety and differences of the various factions of the Imperium. I'm not sure whether to think "millionw orlds of the fiathful" refers to the Eccleisarchy worlds (since they mention that specifically) or if its the "million worlds of the Imperium" fluff we're so used to. I suspect the latter is more likely, but given the references to millions of worlds previously, the former would be certainly possible (especially with the billions factored in...)

Page 448

As Ragnar watched, a shimmering glow settled on the image of the hulk. Small red and green dots drifted over its surface. Then without warning the whole image became distorted, shimmered and winked out of existence.
..
"Those lights we saw just before the image was nullified tell us that there are living creatures aboard the hulk." Karah said quietly. "And the fact that our sensor sweep was interfered with tells us that they don't like prying eyes."
...
"It appears our sweep triggered some sort of automatic shielding device, my lord inquisitor. It will take several hours to work out exactly what type. I suspect from the auguries that it was not a product of any human technological ritual, but rather something alien."
"Could it be that we have triggered some sort of automatic system on the hulk that has nothing to do with those life-forms aboard?" Karah asked.

The initiate bowed his shaven head and steepled his fingers. "Yes, Inquisitor Isaan. That is within the realms of possibility. Although it's probably wisest to assume some form of hostile intent for the moment."

Sensor scan of a hulk can detect life signs (from the starship) - sensors which can be blocked or jammed - shielding device as they put it. The fact that they are aware of such and that severla such are known to exist suggests that they know of different kinds, and at least some of them are human in nature (indication of human EW like abilities.)

Page 449

There were over thirty armed men of the inquisitors' bodyguard. They were garbed like Imperial Guard but were wearing full face helmets and oxygen tanks to protect them against any decompression, lack of air or poison gas in the hulk.

The Inquisitor's forces again.

Page 453

Already the auto-borer in the nose of their ship was at work, chopping through the ceramite of the hulk’s hull and preparing a way for their entrance. Soon it would pierce the hulk’s side and expand like a flower blossoming to allow a boarding tunnel to pass through.

drill like function on boarding torpedo. The "blossoming" approach is rather common means of boarding.

Page 454

"I’m sure if you look you’ll find a nice fat mutated cockroach." Ragnar hissed back. "You always find them on ships like this. The ancients used to carry them to eat the flakes of dead skin their bodies constantly shed."

In the GRim Darkness of the future, there are only cockroaches. I guess they ate all the mutant rats.

Page 456

Behind him he could hear the nervous chatter of the guards, as they kept up a constant cross-talk on the comm-net.

They seem to be guard, and they have their own comms. Whether this is common or just special to thq Inquisitorial body guard (like the helmets and oxygen units) we don't know.

Page 460

After six hours of rest, they broke fast on ration tablets washed down with purified water, and then pushed on deeper into the hulk.

Ration tablets. If the Space wolf novels are good for nothign else, they show you the extreme variety of food types and the various portable forms they can exist in. Paste, tablets, powders...

Page 460

The guards turned on the beacons on their shoulder pads to give them more light.

Beacons (lights) on shoulder pads. This may mean they dont have any NVG like ability.

Paeg 462

It was larger than a man and it moved much, much faster. Four huge arms, tipped with monstrous rending claws, swivelled from its shoulders. Row upon row of hideous fangs gleamed in its mouth. A horny shell of armour encased its body. It loped along on clawed and padded feet. Its manner suggested the scuttling of some enormous insect. The memories placed in his brain by the teaching engines told him what it was instantly.

"Genestealer!" Ragnar yelled, taking a bead on the thing with his bolt pistol and squeezing the trigger. Quick as he was, the thing was quicker. It jinked to one side and his shells passed over its head. Ragnar had never seen anything move so swiftly. Its reflexes made his own seem slow by comparison.
.

Genestealers appear. Its a hulk so of course there will be Genestealers. and like with the Orks, Ragnar has implanted knowledge about the 'STealers. Stealers, unsurprisingly have better reflexes than MArines.

Page 463

..seeing the monstrous forms of half a dozen genestealers emerge from the smoke.
...
The things were attacking from behind them too, then.

Half a dozen genestealers in front, more behind.

Page 463

Ragnar raised his pistol and shot. This time his aim was true. The shell passed right through the head of one of the stealers. He howled with satisfied bloodlust and fired again. The stealers were too closely packed to miss, but this time the armour of his target’s carapace partially deflected the shot so that instead of killing it cleanly, it merely removed one of its huge clawed arms.

Bolt pistol round overpenetrates Stealer head without detonating, biut another round glances off the carpaace (showing how tough it can be.) but even deflecting it amputates the limb.

PAge 463

The smell of burning flesh filled the air as the lasguns bit home. Ragnar could see armour sizzle and liquefy and run under the heat. Still the beasts came on.

The Guard bring their lasgun to bear on the stealers. Again purely thermal "heat ray" lasguns, although they seem to have a rather wide area of effect, capable of not only burning the stealers but liquefying the carapace.. or at least starting to. ASsuming something between 3rd degree burns and an acetalyne torch (50 and 1000 j per square cm) across all six stealers. Stealers in IA4 are 1.9 m tall.. lets call that 70 cm across we get close to 80,000 square cm for al six stealers at 3rd degree we get nearly 4 MJ and close to 80 MJ at "torch" levels. Sounds impressive I know but remember that a.) thirty lasguns doing this, over a prolonged period (short but undefined.. less than one powerpack's worth 40-50 shots maybe ) 3-30 kj or so per shot at that rate.

But for shits and giggles.. assume 5mm depth half meter by half meter area metled, and assume silicon for the carapace (we know that its rocky/partly silicate in nature anyhow).. 6-7 MJ per 'Stealer for 6 thats 36-42 MJ, which tends to conform more to the upper end of the scale.. but again we dont know how deep (yet) Works as an OoM calc (inefficiencies, or fewer shots than I estimate)

PAge 464

Half the stealers had fallen now but the rest were almost within striking distance.

- Half the stealers had "fallen" If we assume they melted through the carapace of all 3.. assume 2 cm carapace, and that the area penetrated is 20x20 cm. thats 4-5 MJ per 3 nids... 18-21 MJ assuming the previous calc remains melted. 12-15 MJ... 30-36 MJ total for 30 Lasguns. 20-30 kj at least for 1200-1500 shots. Call it an Order o fMagnitude calc. another way to look at these calcs is to say that each lasgun has at least a MJ in the powerpack.

Page 464

Sternberg blasted another in the face point blank sending a huge gout of blood and brain and splintered skull everywhere. Gul wrestled with one of the creatures and in a show of near superhuman strength was holding his own.

Sternberg has a bolter, and Gul seems nearly as strong as a Space Marine. Again given the honor studs, his height, and strength it is overwhelmingly tempting to call him a Marine now. But I'm pretty sure that he wasn't. He was just a large, strong man. And 40K has plenty of large, strong, non space marines.

Once more skull blasting bolter damage.

Page 467

The attack from the rear had been the stronger of the two and had inflicted greater casualties.

Just to know we had a t least a dzoen 'Nids all around.

Page 468

Sergeant Hakon was spraying synthiflesh on his face to cover a gaping wound. Even as Ragnar watched the artificial skin closed over the gash, sealing and cleansing it. Ragnar knew it was quite a bad wound for the sergeant to need the arcane stuff at all, but if Hakon was in pain, he gave no sign of it.

Page 471

"Tyranids." he heard Sergeant Hakon say, his voice full of both dread and wonder.
..
What were these? Some remnant of one of the great hive fleets that had swept through the human realm? Or were they secret infiltrators, harbingers of a new tyranid invasion to come?

Included gaunts of some type, Genestealers, and hive warriors (Tyranid warriors?)

Page 471

In all the records, there were no references to diseased tyranids. They sometimes infected whole worlds with their biomechanical spores, but there was never any reference to them suffering illness.

Warp corrupted Tyranids. I understand this is something that engenders rage right on the border of anything Tau, chaos Orks, and similar other 'canon violating' concepts. Except.. what protects the 'Nids from Chaos? I'd guess the Hive Mind, and without that... who knows? They might act more like Genestealers, whcih are (technically) Tyranids but I think they can be chaos corrupted. I certainly wouldn't call 'Chaos corruption' infecting Nids impossible, just highly unlikely.

Page 472

He thumbed his grenade dispenser. One of the small circular microgrenades dropped into his cupped hand. He squeezed twice to set the timer and then threw.

It arced away and landed among the tyranid attackers. The first few passed over it without harm, but an instant later the explosion smashed into a tall hive warrior and some of the smaller brood. Great chunks of the beast's carapace blasted outwards, then the huge creature toppled like a felled tree. Its smaller kin were shredded instantly.

Grenade from Ragnar's dispenser. Coin sized microgrenades which is further proof of how poweful they are (at least comparable to a modern grenade) and how advanced the grenade tech is. I have a sneaking suspicion that they may be something akin to DIME munitions, although probably 40Kified.

Page 473

There were so many of them he could not miss. Each shell smashed into a victim. Heads flew apart, flesh tore, and alien body fluids oozed forth to splatter the deck. Any human force would have broken under the relentless fire the Marines and their allies spewed forth.

Ragnar's bolt pistol (and possibly those of others, including the guards with the lasguns) cause heads to blow apart.

Page 474

Bolter fire blasted clean through the body of one and exploded in the chest of the tyranid behind.

More overpenetration and chest exploding.

Page 474

Suddenly he was face to face with one of the mighty hive warriors. It towered almost twice his height above him. In two of its four claws it held swords of razor-sharp chitin. In the other two it clutched one of the weird living guns.

hive warriors.. yes we're getting into 'Nid territory here.

Page 479

Her face was gaunt, and there were flecks of grey in her hair that had not been there short weeks before.

Poor Karah is aging from the psyker stuff she's been expected to do.

Page 479

A strange silence had descended. The ship’s astropaths had not been able to contact their counterparts on the planet. This was not a good sign. Only death could silence an astropath totally.

This implies astropathic activity is pretty much ongoing and constant even when messages aren't being sent.

PAge 481

Aerius was a smaller world than Fenris, that much was obvious, and the surface of its landmasses glittered darkly in the sun's light. As the shuttle drove downwards into the atmosphere he realised exactly why. The entire surface of the continent at which they were aimed was sheathed in metal. The whole surface was one huge industrial city. The black clouds that obscured the sky below them were not natural, but the products of enormous factories. Chimneys as large as mountains spewed chemical pollutants into the sky.

Here and there he could see monstrous burning pits that looked like lakes of molten lava. He guessed, from the knowledge placed in his brain by the tutelary engines, that these were the waste products of the titanic factories for which Aerius was famous. As they came lower, individual details became visible, and the scale of what he was witnessing became almost too much to comprehend. They were passing over buildings the size of islands back on Fenris. There were thousands of them, in all shapes and sizes, mountainous structures so large that they could surely not be the work of man. They seemed, rather, the products of the imagination of insane gods. A growing sense of wonder filled him. Intellectually Ragnar had known the Imperium was capable of building on this scale. But it was one thing to know something was possible; it was quite another to see it for yourself.

Our industrial world, continent sized industrial cities (otherwise known as hives) Thousands of "mountain sized" buildings. Not sure if these are hives or what, but its possible, given what we know about the size of hive world hives.

Page 482

"It is said that a million, million people lived on Aerius." Inquisitor Sternberg said. He had obviously overheard Ragnar's question. "No one knows for sure. The Ecclesiarchy have never been able to get more than a small percentage of them on the census rolls."
"It must be a very bountiful world." Ragnar said.
"Bountiful and terrible." Sternberg replied. "It is one of the most productive Hive Worlds in the Imperium. Its manufactories supply over half the worlds of this sector. If it were lost it would be a terrible blow to the Imperium."

Aerius is classified as a hive world.. with a hypothetical "million million" people (or a trilliion") That isn't unreasonable, considering its an estimate and most heavy-industrial, polluted hives tend to be in the hundreds of billions easily. Supplies "half the worlds" of the SEctor. Not quite as vast or important as Armageddon, but definitely on that order of magnitude.

Page 482

He felt relieved at the prospect of setting foot on solid ground after weeks cooped up aboard a starship.

More weeks of travel to reach where they needed.

Page 485

Why had his thoughts become so defeatist over the past few weeks? Perhaps it was because of his wounds, or perhaps it was because of some other external reason.

Again "few weeks" I would gather that since they come from outside the sector, we're talking hundreds of light years at least - thousands if not tens of thousands of c.

Page 489

"The maze is set out according to some kind of arcane geomantic principle. The runes in the wall and the layout of the corridors are all part of a pattern designed to funnel unseen energies. I can sense the flow all around us, being channelled and directed."

The Eldar know geometry I guess, and it has an important purpos in warp rituals and psychic powers (such as I, I suppose, trapping daemons.)

Page 491

The Unclean One was the ancient name for a type of terrible, terrifyingly powerful daemon, devoted to the service of Nurgle, the Lord of Pestilence, and now it appeared he was in the presence of such a being.

And we find out what is inside the maze.

Page 492

"I mean, those eldar were unnaturally cunning, if you ask me, almost too much for a poor bumbling creature such as myself. All those wards and gates, all that power bound up in that lovely talisman. All those ancient warrior ghosts to keep my followers away. One of those accursed intricate patterns which only reveals its flaw every three thousand years when stars are falling from the sky and the moons are in the right alignment. It was tricky arranging this, I don’t mind telling you."

Eldar wards against the release of the Daemon. We also see that despite that, a daemon prince (or rather a Greater Daemon, I suspect Will King is screwing up a bit here but who knows, the warp can do anything and nothign says a daemon prince cant manifest as a Great Unclean One.) can still exert influence on the world to arrange matters. This is hardly the first time such a daemon has done this either (Fire Warrior novel, Grey Knights novel, etc.)

PAge 492

"Foolish boy, you can't slay me. I am a daemon prince of Nurgle. You might, if you were very powerful and very lucky, be able to destroy this living vessel and return my essence to the warp, but you could not kill me. Not even your Emperor could do that. Believe me, I know, I met him once. A nice enough chap but very dour."

Daemon claims to have known the Emperor.. if it is a Daemon prince its existed at lesat 10K years. Also you can banish a daemon (temporarily at least) by estroying its physical vessel.

Page 493

"It wasn’t easy, I can tell you. Only at certain times could I send my thoughts questing outwards, to make contact with my minions and get you people to do my will. Seemed like an age, believe me. Oh, what am I saying? It was an age since I first got stuck here. The eldar again - they never liked me, you know. I suspect the Farseers built this pyramid as a trap for my kind ages
ago. You can never tell with them, they can predict the future in an odd sort of way, and they are subtle in a way you lot have never been."

Difficulties in breaching the prison to affect the mateiral plane.. hard.. but it involves vast distances too.

Page 500

Overhead he could see the running lanterns of aircars and descending spaceships.

Aircars and spaceships have running lights.

Page 501

He realised that he himself was not feeling too good. His head felt light and sweat was pouring from his brow. He stifled a sneeze and realised that he was rapidly becoming feverish, ill in a way he had not been since he first became a Space Marine. Not even his altered physique was immune to the vile contagion created by the daemon

Nurgle can overcome Space Marine biology, to an extent at least.

Page 503

He reached for a grenade and lobbed it into the mass of bodies. The explosion tore them apart, sending blood and body fluids and internal organs spraying everywhere.

More supar grenade-ing.

Page 505

He felt hopelessness return when he realised that the daemon’s powers had been great enough to reach out from this sealed pyramid halfway across the galaxy to sway the minds of even the Rune Priests of the Space Wolves.

The effective range of the Daemon prince's power, even cooped up. I should also note this means they've come many tens of thousands of light years (50-60K LY at least) in a space of a few weeks ot a few months (depending on how you define all the provided "weeks" of travel - no more than a month or so for each locale) We're talking mid to high tens of thousands of c at the bare-assed minimum, and more probably a few hundred thousand to a few million c if it is two month or less. That Karah has aged in a matter of a "few weeks" is telling that it probably can't be more than a few weeks to a month or so.

Page 512

He brought his bolt pistol round and pulled the trigger. One of the cultist's head exploded as a shot blasted through the bridge of his nose and emerged from the back of his skull. Part of his cowl ripped away as the shell passed through, the remainder of it swelled like a sail catching a breeze as it filled with brain jelly.

Nurgle cultist head blasting goodness.

Page 512

His foe resisted desperately but was no match for Ragnar’s power. The Wolf pushed forward and his blade bit into the man’s chest. There was a shriek as its blades scraped against a hidden chest plate. It slithered around in his grip like a living thing but by the application of all of his strength Ragnar pushed it ever inwards and the armour parted. Blood sprayed against the Wolfs face as he bisected his foe.

Chest plate armor from a c ultist resists Space Wolf knife, although not forever.

Page 516

For a brief terrifying instant, he caught a glimpse of the pit from which the daemon had crawled. He saw it was only a small fragment of a greater corruption, of the awesome entity known to men as Nurgle, that it had been broken off from its parent and sent out into the universe to work its evil, but that it was still linked to its creator and all the other children it had spawned.

Nurgle is bound to everything he makes.

Page 517

He sensed the presence of Karah, and thousands upon thousands of other souls. These were alien presences, as undying as the daemon, eldar warriors who had been bound within the pyramid to prevent the daemon’s escape.
...
His flesh was opening and reuniting again as if he were being cut with thousands of invisible blades

Thousands of Eldar ghosts manifest to fuck over the daemon.

Aaron MkII · Post by **Aaron MkII** » 2012-07-11 11:26pm

Since your reading it. Did you notice much difference in Ragnars personality after he starts getting info pumped into his skull?

Block · Post by **Block** » 2012-07-11 11:45pm

I didn't. That'd be my one complaint about Bill King, all his characters are basically sarcastic dicks that only can be differentiated by what they wear. Except Haegar and his speech patterns.

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2012-07-12 05:03pm

I just got done reading the first Space Wolves omnibus, and nowhere in it did Guard use their standard tanks; it was always Predators. I think Mr. King simply doesn't know the difference.

Connor MacLeod · Post by **Connor MacLeod** » 2012-07-12 06:08pm

Aaron MkII wrote:Since your reading it. Did you notice much difference in Ragnars personality after he starts getting info pumped into his skull?

Yeah. I believe it was commented on at least once (or more than once) what the machines did to his head, as far as memories and knowledge, but also changing how he felt or acted on stuff. I think it was Bill King alluding to the psycho-indoctrination stuff, that Space Marine's minds are molded not only to make them better warriors, but incredibly loyal and intolerant to chaos, mutants, xenos, etc.)

That's always been one thing I liked about Bill King's take on Space Marines.. he was willing to play around with it (at least as far as the Space Wolves go) and not always in positive ways.

Connor MacLeod · Post by **Connor MacLeod** » 2012-07-12 06:13pm

Block wrote:I didn't. That'd be my one complaint about Bill King, all his characters are basically sarcastic dicks that only can be differentiated by what they wear. Except Haegar and his speech patterns.

As opposed to the writing of what other authors? I never got the impression the Space Wolves were actually dicks - if anyhting they're probably written as being more humane than alot of other Space Marines this side of an Uriel Ventris novel. They certainly are snarky to each other of course, but that's part of the whole Bill King Space Wolf motif. It doesn't make them assholes.

But if that DOES make them assholes, I'll take that kind of assholery over the other kinds of Space Marine BS we get.

Rogue 9 wrote:I just got done reading the first Space Wolves omnibus, and nowhere in it did Guard use their standard tanks; it was always Predators. I think Mr. King simply doesn't know the difference.

Way back when (prior to 3rd edition, when Squats still roamed the fluff in a more obvious fashion) the Imperial Guard had access to more than just Chimeras and Russes. THey could use predators and Rhinos and shit. In fact, the Russes and Chimeras came later, because they were trying to make each faction 'diffrent'

Hell back in 1st edition you could have the Imperials using bolters, shuriken weapons, etc. Along with Half Eldar Astropath Space Marines and stuff.

Block · Post by **Block** » 2012-07-12 08:16pm

Oh I mean they're dicks to eachother, not uncaring assholes like the Dark Angels or something. Or the smug superiority of the Ultramarines, with the exception of Ventris.

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2012-07-15 09:13pm

Connor MacLeod wrote:
Rogue 9 wrote:I just got done reading the first Space Wolves omnibus, and nowhere in it did Guard use their standard tanks; it was always Predators. I think Mr. King simply doesn't know the difference.
Way back when (prior to 3rd edition, when Squats still roamed the fluff in a more obvious fashion) the Imperial Guard had access to more than just Chimeras and Russes. THey could use predators and Rhinos and shit. In fact, the Russes and Chimeras came later, because they were trying to make each faction 'diffrent'

Hell back in 1st edition you could have the Imperials using bolters, shuriken weapons, etc. Along with Half Eldar Astropath Space Marines and stuff.

However, he also repeatedly says the Ecclesiarchy when he's clearly talking about the Adeptus Administratum or Adeptus Terra; he also conflates the entire Imperial government with the clergy of the Imperial Cult. Carelessness in terminology in the books isn't limited to Guard vehicles and equipment (which can, as you say, be written off as being familiar with second edition), which led me to that conclusion.

Connor MacLeod · Post by **Connor MacLeod** » 2012-07-15 11:27pm

Rogue 9 wrote:However, he also repeatedly says the Ecclesiarchy when he's clearly talking about the Adeptus Administratum or Adeptus Terra; he also conflates the entire Imperial government with the clergy of the Imperial Cult. Carelessness in terminology in the books isn't limited to Guard vehicles and equipment (which can, as you say, be written off as being familiar with second edition), which led me to that conclusion.

The Adeptus Terra has also been referred to as the Priesthood (or other semi-religious terminology) way back in earlier fluff as well, and that same confusion between Cult and government. Mainly because back in the earlier fluff the two were the same.

This isn't the case of Bill King fucking things up - the guy was heavily involved in early 40K fluff as well as novel writing. You can't really accuse him of fucking things up when he played a part that early on, at least on some level. The fact is that, like the Ian Watson stories and a few others, the novels reflect an era where the fluff was simply different than what came later. That includes the terminology. Honestly I never even noticed this as being a problem in Bill King's stuff (it's a bit more obvious in the first Inquisition War novel, really, but then again that's also a novel where the Ordo Malleus is still the 'inner' circle of the Inquisition and the Xenos/Hereticus simply don't exist.)

Connor MacLeod · Post by **Connor MacLeod** » 2012-07-24 12:54am

And we're back to the Space Wolves, starting up Grey Hunter. It was the last book of the first 'trilogy' of Ragnar, marking his first (and last) venture in the novels as part of a great Company. It also sets the stage for the following 'trilogy' although Bill King only wrote one of those novels.

The premise is pretty simple. The Thousand Sons are back, they've taken over a planet under the aegis of the Space Wolves, taken an important relic of Russ.. and the Wolves are heading out en-mass to kick their asses and take both planet and relic back. In the process we get a Cameo by Magnus (or his Eye at least) and Ragnar pokes it out.

So, here we go!

[Oh and for the record, the first three novels I covered were all from the Omnibus so the numbering follows that convention rather than specific novels. Probably should have mentioned it earlier. Or maybe I did. I'm too lazy to check)

Page 525

Close to his hand he could see where stonework had run like water under the infernal blast of energy weapons.

Energy weapons of unknown typ emelting stuf

Page 526

Behind them, in the distance, he could make out the unimaginably huge shapes of the Titans. They looked like men but seemed the size of small skyscrapers, an impression heightened by the storm of battle, the clouds of dust and his own knowledge of how powerful the mighty war machines were. Beside them, all other armoured vehicles looked puny.

Titans make their appearnce in the space Wolf novels.

Page 527

The Rune Priest had been assigned to his company for this mission by Great Wolf Logan Grimnar himself.

Grimnar is still alive. He'd have to be eight or nine hundred years old by that time, given that usually Ragnar is described as having been around for (at least) a century if not longer.

Page 527

Ragnar's fingers flickered through his Chapter's handsign asking the priest if he was ready. It was too noisy for speech, and too close to the sensitive detection equipment within the fortress to risk the comm-net.

Sign language.. well battle language hand signals. Detection gear can pick up evne Space Wolf comm signals.

Page 528

Four men missing. It was not yet known whether they were dead or if their locator beacons had simply been damaged.

Locator beacons to track down lost or missing troops.

Page 532

But then, ten years ago, his body had not been sheathed in the miraculous armour of the ancients, capable of shielding him from far more hostile environments than this. And ten years ago his body had not been transformed into a near tireless killing machine capable of eating lichen or the inhuman flesh of the ice fiends and their related folk.

At the time of this story Ragnar has been a marine for 10 years. Incidentally if we needed further reason as upper limits for what happened in Ragnar's claw.. he spent less than a decade travelling halfway acros sthe galaxy (or farther) to reach Aeris.

Page 535-536

Briefly and incongruously a screed of information placed there by the tutelary engines back in the Fang blazed across his brain. He recalled that the blood of an ice fiend contained different chemical elements from human blood, designed to prevent it from freezing in the winter chill of the arctic wastes. He also remembered that it was poisonous, just as the creature thrust its stump into his face and a deadly searing jet of the stuff spurted into his eyes.

Ragnar was grateful as the translucent second lid dropped into position over his eyeball. Even so, the pain was immense as the corrosive stuff began to eat away at the specially hardened flesh.

More on the recollection and information placed in his brain by space Marine training computers. And the second, protective lids. Useful not only against wind but also against snow and blizzard.

Page 536

Ragnar retracted his second eyelid and wiped his eyes. The stinging had started to diminish as his enhanced body adapted to the poison.

the eyelids also protect against poison being spat into Marine eyes, coupled with their resistance to poison.

Page 538

The old Marine was even more grizzled-looking now than when Ragnar had first met him, five years before.

Five yeras rather than 10 this time, at least. This prboably suggests less than a couple years (tops) to travel halfway across the galaxy.

They mention alter "a few years ago" too, suggesting 2-3 years to and back from Aeris.

Page 539

Most had probably been doing the same as him and Sven, keeping their skills sharp by hunting, tracking, climbing mountains, practising winter world survival strategies. It was part of the routine for most of the Wolves when at home on Fenris. Those not involved in mandatory duty rosters were left free to pursue their own interests, unless of course some emergency came up.

Training routine in between for recruits waiting to be assigned to a Great Company. I imagine in 5-10 years they've amassed ag oodly number.

Page 540

He felt a great calmness pass over him, as the ancient words of the prayer triggered responses programmed deep into his body's central nervous system. At once he felt both at peace and alert. The beating of his double hearts slowed. His breathing became deeper and more relaxed, his mind clearer and calmer. It was becoming easier, he thought. The more he practised these ancient rituals, the more effective they became, and the quicker he got results.

Ragnar hints in the first novel that he feels as if his indoctrination/speed learning process by the ancient machines may have changed things in his mind. One possibility is here - that he has been hypnotically or otherwise conditioned to respond to certain verbal or mental cues (such as prayers and such.) Makes sense, but part of me suspects it may serve other roles than just getting recalcitrant marines to sleep - it would provide an ideal control mechanism in case of rebellion or any other sort of threat.

Page 541

The Thunderhawk screamed down the Valley of the Wolves, towards its landing site, passing over fields worked by the thralls of the Chapter, and over the mines and refineries that kept its warriors supplied. In the hellish glare of the venting gas jets, Ragnar saw the massive metal pipes clinging like enormous steel vines to the mountain sides. A cloud of dark smoke rose from the towering metal chimneys to wreathe the ridges of the great mountain. Abruptly the gunship decelerated, slowing from fantastic velocity to a standstill in a few dozen heartbeats.

Ragnar, like everybody else, was thrown forward against the straps of his restraining harness. Sven opened one eye and looked around.

Given the circumstances of the retrievel (As in "urgent") and the fact that Ragnar mentions sonic booms on page 537, we can probably conclude the Thunderhawks were traveling at supersonic speeds, if not at max speed (some 2000 km/hr going by the Imperial Armour books.)

Page 541

Servitors - half-man, half-machine - halted, red warning lights blinking on their craniums, and gazed around in wonder.

The Fang has its own servitors.

Page 544

The ancient power gauntlet that replaced the hand he had lost in battle with Kharn the Betrayer flexed unconsciously. A faint aura of lightning crackled across its surface, filling the air with the taint of ozone.

Berek met Kharn at some point, and lost an arm to him. To be honest this would have made an interesting story, given Bill King also wrote the "Wrath of Kharn" story.

Page 543

Berek Thunderfist stood ready, flanked by Morgrim Silver-tongue, his skald, and Mikal Stenmark, his chief lieutenant, and captain of his Wolf Guard. Ragnar, Sven and Hakon moved to take their place in his retinue, along with nearly a hundred other warriors of Berek’s company.
...
He was one of the most successful field commanders in the Chapter’s history and was talked of by many, not least himself, as a possible successor to the Great Wolf when that time came.
..
It was true that Berek had never lost a battle, but Ragnar suspected the body counts in the staves of his saga told a different tale. Berek led men to glory but it was often purchased at a high cost in Space Wolf blood.
...
Many Blood Claws clamoured to follow Berek, desperate for the glory that being in his company promised.

- its mentioned there are "nearly a hundred" warriors in Berek's company. ITs not known how his company compares to others, but Berek is apparently one of the more popular leaders (and one with a high casaulty rate.) Judging by 5th edition Space Wolves Codex, Ragnar manages to greatly eclipse Berek in this.

Assuming 100 or so wolves per Company thats 1200. With however many new recruits and their trainingofficers (scores if not hundrds) freshly trained, the Woflblade (another two dozen or so) we have maybe 1400-1500 Wolves at least. figure another company or so for the household guard, and another maybe to maintain the space fleets.

Also note RAgnar is not stupid or blind - he pays attention to the substance rather than just the glamor and sees how Berek's fame is a double-edged sword.

Page 544-545

Often appearances were deceptive; the brethren aged at different rates depending on how their bodies responded to the genetic alterations that transformed them into Space Wolves. In this case they were not: Egil was older even than Logan Grimnar although he looked as hale as a man half his age. It was said he had weathered over seven standard centuries in the service of the Chapter.

Gunnar Red Moon was proof of the variability of the ageing process. If it were not for the length of his mighty fangs, he could easily have been mistaken for a Blood Claw. His skin was fair and his complexion as clear as the newest initiate's. He was slender by Space Marine standards, with a fragile haunted fey look that made him resemble an apprentice skald more than the batde captain he was. You could never have guessed by looking at him that this was the man who had torn off an ork warlord's arm and used it as club to beat it to death when his chainsword had failed at the battle of Grimme Field.

Space Marine aging does not seem to be consisstent in any manner amonst the Space Wolves (at least) - given this, I wonder if perhaps mutations and time have degraded the aging function of the Gene-seed, as in horus rising its implied that Space Marines should be effectively immortal.

One interesting (and disturbing) possibility is that gene-seed is not an infinite resource, that with each successive generation it "Wears away" -its genetic information is lost, mutated or worn away with each successive recruit implanted. It's not as if they can create "fresh" gene-seed anymore, they can only replicate what exists. Certainly the idea that gene-seed mutates over time and the loss of organs would argue for dilution of the purity over time, especially since they can't tap the Primarchs anymore (well most can't. The Fists, Smurfs and Blood Angles could in theory, since they still have the corpses of their respective Primarchs.)

Page 546

The cairn had been raised by Russ himself with his own hands, in tribute to the first and greatest of his followers. The primarch caused a jet of cold blue flame to mark the spot, and laid his enchanted spear on the cairn, asking his old friend’s spirit to watch over the weapon until he returned to claim it. It was a place where one could still sense the presence of the primarch on certain wild stormy nights.

This story ascribes some rather supernatural powers to Russ, unless he made it happen through some technological device. Given how the 13th Great Company reacts to Ragnar and co in book 6 when it comes to the Spear (and how they respond to Russ in general) I suspect the answer is probably either exaggerated or more mundane than the current Wolves believe.

That said, I have no doubt that some wolves could "detect" the Primarch - we know from auto seances and psychometry that people leave psychic imprints on objects and places, and Russ is if anything a strong personality, and I imagine he would leave a large, deep impression psychically.

Page 546

As for the Spear of Russ, it had been forged for the man-god by the folk of Garm, greatest artificers of the factory worlds of this sector.

The Factory world Garm, a world allied with, or saved by, or tied to the Wolves in some way. 5th edition codex mentions they're responsible for or have control over a hundred some worlds. I imagine this is one such world.

Page 547

One hundred days ago the master of the Order of the White Bear refused to pay his tithe to the Imperial governor of Garm.
...
Now Chaos seeks a beachhead on one of the greatest foundries and arsenals of the Imperium and if it is not opposed it will seize it and fortify it.

Uh oh. I guess Garm is a pretty hefty place.

Page 547

The Wolf ships will sail between the stars to Garm. There we will join forces with the Imperial fleet gathered to free the world from the shackles of Chaos and the taint of heresy.

Yes. can't leave an important factory world in Chaos hands.

Page 548

"It is an industrial world." he said eventually. "Part forge, part hive. Dark clouds of pollutants fill the skies. Steel citadels cover the surface. Each is ruled by an industrial order, sworn to serve its own master. Each master is sworn to serve the governor, and the governor is sworn to serve the Imperium."

"The members of the orders represent only a small fraction of the population. Each owns its own factories and foundries and the services of the clans who work there like thralls. Every man, woman and child has a lord."

Description of Garm, a Shrine world of the Space Wolves. Industiral worlds here are classified as something halfway btween hive and forge world,showing that some planets straddle definitions. This is a bit different from 1st edition, which defined industrial worlds as being highly automated, industrial, but not necesarily population heavy (That may be forge world now, though.)

The most obvious example of industrial worlds in "modern" 40K is Vostroya, which is ruled jointly by AdMech and Imperial governnors, which is somewhat similar ot GArm's government.

Page 549

Already companies were forming up to take shuttles, one for each company present, one for each ship. Each of the great companies was assigned its own vessel for the duration of the campaign. Each would carry its supplies and equipment and thralls, containing everything it needed to keep that company on the field. These shuttles were different from the one he had taken when he had accompanied Inquisitors Sternberg and Karah Isaan on the starship Light of Truth. They were smaller, more streamlined and much more heavily armoured. They bristled with weapons, and looked more like large Thunderhawks than normal spacefaring vessels.

Preparations for war. WE see Space Wolves like other Marines belive in self sufficient warships, and that they use starships that behave like larger thunderhawks. It's possible these represent the BFG "fighters" that are supposed to be thunderawks (and are tiwce as big as fighters and bombers)

Page 549

As Ragnar watched, a Rhino armoured personnel carrier roared up the ramp and into the interior of the shuttle. It was swiftly followed by another and then by squads of bikers. Ragnar glanced around and saw several thralls in power-loader exo-skeletons carrying massive crates on the tines of their mechanised armour.

- Space Wolf Thralls using powered exo-skeletons to lift cargo onto shuttles. I wonder if its some kind of sentinel, or if its supposed to be like squat exo armour.

Page 550

All through the hangar hall hundreds of thralls loaded dozens of shuttles. Some of the vessels, less well armoured than the others, were used only for carrying stores to star-ships.

They have non-military as wella s military shuttles.

Page 553

Ragnar watched the approach of the Fist of Russ, Berek’s ship, through the porthole of the shuttle. On first inspection, it was a disappointment. Seen from close up it was smaller than the Light of Truth, the first starship on which he had travelled, though it looked more densely armed and armoured. Around the ship, shuttles and Thunderhawks came and went.

- Berek's flagship, the Fist of Russ, is described as being smaller than the Light of Truth (The starship used by the Inquisitors in the second novel.)

In latter novels the Fist is defined as a Mars class Battlecruiser. Ragnar thinks its smaller than the Light of Truth from the previous novel, suggesting the Truth was considerably larger than 3-5 km. It is more heaivly armed and protected though, which is very much in line with ssome Space Marine vessels (It is possible to make ships more heavily armed for a given size, albeit with tradeoffs)

Page 553

He must be doing that deliberately, Ragnar realised, matching velocities exactly so that there were only a few dozen metres per second difference in the speeds of the two vessels.

Neat trick.

Page 555

The teaching machines had placed enormous amounts of information within their brains but that did not mean you instantly had access to all of it. Sometimes, trying to find what you needed to know was like being lost in a great library, looking for a single volume. And, of course, sometimes the information was simply lost, forgotten or never transferred at all. Like most of the ancient machines owned by the Chapter, the tutelary engines were not entirely reliable.

Still, it was worth a try. Ragnar closed his eyes and invoked the mnemonic prayers he had been taught, concentrating on the image of the winged figure, the name Belisarius, and the concept of the Navis Nobilitae. As if from a great distance concepts drifted up, like half-forgotten memories suddenly recalled by the stimulus of a scent or a song.

More library analogies for the information stuffed in Ragnar's mind. I guess it literally is like a library. Ragnar admits to certain drawbacks though (lost info due to degrading tech.)

PAge 555

"Why do we need twenty-four bloody Navigators?" said Sven. "The Chapter has only fifteen great ships. One for each company. Three in reserve."

"Slow as ever, Sven." said Hakon. "Replacements and reserves are always needed - with Navigators as much as with ships. More so, for there are times when men need to rest and ships do not."

The Wolves keep a full two dozen navigators, and use close to 2/3 of them.

Page 555-556

He realised he had never given consideration to a lot of things before now, to the level of support that stood behind every Space Marine. It was not just thralls and mechanicians they needed, but Navigators and crews. For he realised that the crews must be raised from the folk of Fenris and trained by those who preceded them on the great ships. In a moment, he became conscious of the fact that he and his battle-brothers were merely the tip of a great spear, the cutting edge of a huge organisational structure intended to send them into batde anywhere in the Imperium.

I suspect few do think about it, in the Imperium or out of universe. The Astartes are meant to be very highyl specialized, and highly equipped and that carries an unfortunate drawbakc in terms of logistics, which has its own problems in trying to keep up. It also serves as a means of the Imperium keeping a leash on the otherwise-independent marines (They need supplies at some point to function.)

Page 556

Ragnar could not help but contrast his experience on the Space Wolf ship with his first experience of an Imperial star-ship, the Light of Truth, and with that of the transport which had eventually brought him back from Aerius to Fenris. On those ships most of the crew had been conscripts and convicted criminals, either sentenced to serve punishment for some crime or press-ganged by a naval shore party. Most of them had been chained to their machines, and harshly disciplined by their officers.

The folk of the Fist of Russ were free men, proud to serve the Chapter, permitted to come and go as they pleased. They looked on Ragnar with awe but no fear. They did not expect the lash for the slightest infringement of discipline, real or imagined. They were an elite among spacefarers and knew it. All of them showed the mark of Fenris. They were tall men, mostly blond, rangy and fierce-looking. They wore grey tunics that bore the sign of the wolf, and went armed and ready to do battle, if need be, in defence of their ship. They moved with a purposeful stride, certain of what they were doing.

Unsurprisingly, conditions aboard Marine starships differ from those aboard naval or Inquisitor ships. Note that Ragnar had to travel back (Half across the galaxy) in another transport. In an implied 3-5 year timeframe we're talking 25-40,000c tops (minimum)

Page 557

...making his way over to the terminal altar.

..
A small cube of metal topped by a circlet of hologems surrounding a small brazier for the machine incense. A long brass umbilical connected the machine to the data cavity in the wall.
...
He lit the small block of machine incense, tapped the ivory keys and spoke the words of invocation. His fingers worked through the invocation sequence to summon the knowledge spirits of the datacore. In answer, the altar shuddered, the air shimmered and a glowing sphere of light sprang into being over the glowing hologems.

Ragnar's computer onboard the Fist of Russ.

PAge 557

Logan Grimnar's Pride ofFenris was similar to the Light of Truth, a grim warship far larger than the Fist of Russ. Egil Ironwolf s was of the same type, if marginally smaller. The others ranged from one half to one third the size of those ships, and showed many subtle differences. In answer to his questions the spirits whispered facts about the fleet. Most of the ships were old. The Chapter had captured many of them in battle during ancient actions millennia ago. Some had become Chapter property more recently.

The Iron Wolf for instance, had been taken during a battle against a rebel fleet when Egil's own ship, the original Iron Wolf, had been crippled. The Chapter had claimed the battleship as plunder, and refused to return it to the Imperial fleet, an act that apparently still caused problems in certain quarters.

Other ships in the fleet. Assuming the others are cruisers but not escorts (3-5 km) and size is equal to length it might suggest 6-15 km. HOwever if it refers to mass or volume the differences are much different (50-100 million tonnes maybe, going by rogue Trader stats. Also the tendency of the Space Wolves to plunder.

Page 558

It did not seem likely that Logan Grimnar would die soon. At least not of old age, but then few Great Wolves had ever died in their beds.

- Few Great Wolves "die in their beds", which seems to imply they don't live often to reach old age. This in turn suggests Logan Grimnar is not particularily "old" by Space Wolf standards.

Page 559

The rate of attrition among Blood Claws was terrible. By the time they made Grey Hunter it was likely that only half of the young warriors in front of him would still be alive.

Unsurprising. Makes you wonder why they do things so ass backwards - inexperienced assault marines are more likely to get killed compared to the others. Of course, given the Canix helix and all that, its quite possible its not possible for younger wolves to be cautious - as we've seen (and see later) they tend to be prideful, stubborn, and impulsive. Ragnar is, in this regard, somewhat exceptional. Grey Hunters and Long Fangs (Tactical and Devastators) only become such when they mellow out and gain experience (particularily in the Long Fangs.)

Page 560

The maximum number of companies ever deployed in the field at once was eleven. One company always had to be left out of a campaign, so if all the others were wiped out it meant the Chapter would continue. Such an event had happened only three times in the Space Wolves’ history, but happen it had. To have ten companies dispatched to the same place at the same
time was most unusual indeed.

- the Wolves never deploy more than 11 companies in any battle, in case they all get wiped out (which according to Ragnar, happened 3 times in Space Wolf history.) Again despite their evident heroism they suffer some gratuitous attrition, especially compared to other Chapter.s I guess it sucks when you don't have successor chapters to steal from either (like the Blood Angels.)

PAge 564

"All crew: we are being attacked from vector alpha-alpha-twelve by enemy craft, presumed to be traitors. They are attempting to prevent us achieving orbit around Garm."

- the Wolf fleet has been attackd on emerging from the warp. One of those pesky risks of warp travle.

Page 564

Ragnar crouched before the altar terminal and made the invocations. The holosphere shimmered and became a three dimensional representation of the space around the Fist of Russ. Blue teardrops represented the ships of the Space Wolf fleet. The red points of light must be the enemy vessels. Other distant points in a lighter blue were, doubtless, ships belonging to another Imperial force.

The lights flickered and an eerie booming sound vibrated through the air. It was either the ship's shields absorbing an attack, or a power drain caused by the primary armaments being activated. His hands danced across the keyboard runes, his invocations to the spirits of information came so fast as to be almost garbled. Suddenly he achieved what he was aiming for, a pure unfettered communion between himself and the machine. Ragnar hooked himself into the flow of information passing through the ship's central nervous system. This was the same tide of data that the pilots, gunners and Navigators responded to. In his case, there was

Ragnar can tap into the ship's computer and data systems.

Gunners, navigators and pilots for the ship all receive important targeting data. Note that weapons and sheilds (from RAgnar's perspective) may draw similar amounts of power.

Page 565

Had he been in charge of the Fenrisian fleet, he would have grouped his ships in order to concentrate their fire power against a single foe and engaged the enemy one at a time, picking them off individually. Instead, the great ships were responding like Fenrisian warriors challenged to single combat, pairing off with their chosen foes, and making ready for battle. It was like watching a battle of dragon ships back home on the world ocean of Fenris

Ragnar smiled savagely. It was all very well coming up with a superior plan, but a field commander has to work with the troops he has available, and take into account their likely response. In the case of the Space Wolves, this was entirely predictable. They would fight their duels, and only then, with victory achieved, would they go to each other's aid. Ragnar shook his head. The pride of a Fenrisian warrior was a great strength as well as a weakness. Fortunately it appeared their foes felt the same way. Either that or their captains were so insane that they no longer had a grasp of sound tactics.

Ragnar plays at being a naval officer. Like most Space Marines, it frustrates him because its not close in hand to hand combat. Ragnar, ever the tactician, notes the inherent flaws in the Space Wolves' methods of combat

Page 565

It was incredibly large, a massive structure of metal and ceramite, crudely riveted together.
...
Massive turrets lined the upper dorsal spine. Some of those weapons already belched fire although the range was too great for them to do much damage. The heretics were not ones for conserving energy.

At this range, the Fist of Russ had superior weaponry. Its nova cannon was capable of doing huge damage. Ragnar could tell that their pilot’s strategy was to keep as much distance as possible between the two ships and use the Imperial vessel’s superior ranged capability to pummel the foe into submission.

- Ragnar notes that the range is "too great" for the enemy to do damage. Some weapons (at least) seem to degrade over long ranges. The Fist of Russ is mentioned to have "superior Range" to the Chaos ship, including its nova cannon.

Note the Chaos ship has dorsal turrets and is riveted.

Page 566

Energy bolts chipped away at the screens surrounding the enemy vessel. Whenever they made contact, the shields flared and brightened. Sometimes a pale blue glow spread across the energy barrier like ripples on a pond. Sometimes huge thunderous sparks of energy danced along the side of the heretic ship, turning armour to cherry red, molten slag.
..

A Space Wolf should be in the thick of battle, smiting his foe, not watching the discharge of mountain-shattering energies on a holosphere.

Shields here seem to exhibit properties of spreading the energy over a larger area (and possibly radiating it away), but they also exhibit extreme work being done, which has a side effect of heaitng the s urrounding hull (possible bleed through.)

Aldo the discharge of "mountain shattering" energies. ASsuming 500-1000 meter tall mountain with a similer diameter (including cratering) would require single digit megatons. Of course, this depends entirely on the size of the mountain and the diameter of its base - anything over 10 km could be into the gigatons (for example)

Page 566

Instead it began to lurch forward, moving with ever-increasing velocity, closing the gap between the vessels with a speed that the Fist of Russ could not match. The heretic crew were overloading their engines, taking an awful risk with their drives in order to close with their foe. Mouth dry, Ragnar watched as the gap closed. Surely soon the Chaos cruiser would be in range to annihilate the Fist of Russ with one blast of its awesome batteries.
...
He felt the ambient temperature leap as a whole section of the hull must have been reduced to slag.

Ahhh.. ramming speed. Note that oyu can push the engines to (or past) a limit, but it risks the drive going up. Note the heull melting as well.

Page 567

The Fist of Russ was now driving dirertly towards the enemy cruiser, moving at full speed, ramming velocity.

Yes.. ramming again. you have to give Bill King credit for eschewing WW1 and space and going for Viking longships.. in space.

Page 568

The Fist of Russ shuddered once more, like a man in the grip of breakbone fever, as another blast smashed into it. For a moment, Ragnar found himself tumbling through the air, as the artificial gravity failed, then training took over, and he cartwheeled, kicked himself off the walls and followed his comrades through the postern at increased speed.

On the Fist, the AG seems to double as inertial damping.. but it doenst seem very efficient.

PAge 568

Ten heartbeats later he emerged into a long gunnery hall. Sweating men rammed massive cartridges into the maws of huge weapons. Teams of gunners responded to the bellowed instructions of their officers. Each of the weapons was larger than a Rhino APC, and most impressively, Ragnar knew these were among the least of the guns mounted by the Fist ofRuss. At a signal, one of the gunnery officers pulled a massive lever, and a weird halo of energy surrounded the weapon as it discharged. The smell of ozone filled the air. The Fist of Russ was fighting back.

Crew loaded guns (cartridges, whatever that means) into guns bigger than a Rhino. And these aren't even the heaveist guns. Firing for the gun seems to be handled individually here, but the gun behave slike some sort of non-chemical propelled weapon (or at least, not a slugthrower. Electrothermal or EM gun perhaps.)

Page 569

"In approximately two minutes and four seconds, assuming we are not all blown to hell in that time, we will make contact with our opponent."
..
"The enemy is an Acheron-class cruiser and I think we can assume the schematics have not changed all that much since the Second Gorechild War. We will fight our way into the heart of the heretic ship and detonate its power core with thermo-charges."

- the craft is identified as an acheron class cruiser. I ts also noted that they are "two minutes and four seconds" way from impact. Its wortth noting that earlier Ragnar notes they were traveling at "full speed" or "ramming speed", and they don't seem to sharply decelerate until the end. Depending on speed (I'll assume "full speed" in this case means at least hundreds of km/s, given we know Space Marine ships cna at least exit a system, if nto thousands of km/s range would be between 60,000 and 248,000 km. Engagemgent ranges would have occured over this time. Weapons fire also takes much less than this to hit the target

Page 571

Suddenly the Fist of Russ decelerated. There was a thunderous clash of metal. A rumbling vibration passed through the deck as the beaked boarding prow cleaved through the armoured hull of the enemy vessel. Ragnar held his breath involuntarily, knowing that this was one of the most difficult of all special manoeuvres. The Fist’s captain had just a few seconds to exactly match the velocities of the two vessels or the impact would destroy them both.

the intricaties of the ramming move. The ability to survive ramming actions seems to be more a matter of precision and control (relative velocities) than it is on brute force (meaning full power ramming can cripple or destory ships)

Page 571

The absolute tip of the ship, a great neutronium bit, the hardest substance in the known universe, smashed through solid duralloy and steel, chewing through metal like a drill through soft wood, creating a route for them into the heart of the enemy vessel.

...

Ahead of mem, the neutronium bit ceased its rotation

Imperial starships and 40K has neutronium. Of some sort, which makes ideal substances for ramming beaks. I guess Neutronium might be a substitute (or analogue) for adamantium.

Page 571

Ahead of him, Ragnar could see Berek check the sensor on his wrist. It was doubtless set to locate the impulses of the Chaos power core. Near him, several of his Wolf Guard hoisted weapons in one hand, and massive square thermocharges in the other.

Sensor mounted on a wrist, designed for tracking reactor emissions.

Page 572

Every sergeant had linked his locator to Berek's through the comm-net, just as his own was linked to Sergeant Hakon's.

Again locator beacones for tracking troopers, linked to the comm nets.

PAge 573

It was a testimony to the mutants’ toughness that it took a number of direct hits from bolter shells to put them down. Ragnar saw the leader keep coming despite the fact that one of his arms had been blown off, and a bullet had passed right through his forehead, and blown half his brains right out the back of his skull.

More super-tough chaos mutants. Not all of them are just like regular humans. Or course these guys can't exactly hide, etiher.

Page 576

He touched the grenade dispenser on his belt and allowed a few of the lethal metal
eggs to drop into his palm. He set the fuse of the first and tossed it, lobbing the rest in quick succession.
..
Almost out of grenades Ragnar opened up with his bolt pistol.

Bill King seemed to change tech in this novel. Instead of disc like microgrenades, the Space wolves are using (larger?) egg shaped ones. Why is not clear - it could be tech/logistics issues (perhaps they no longer have micro grenades, although if they were limited supply why did they give them to Blood Claws as standard?) or it could be a matter of tradeoffs (microgrenades have greater quantity and are easier to throw, but less powerful than the egg shaped ones.)

Of course "modern" 40K did away with the dispensers for the most part it seems, so maybe "trade off" is the best argument.

Connor MacLeod · Post by **Connor MacLeod** » 2012-08-08 04:45pm

Another 'Grey Hunter' update.

Page 576

One of them, a massive mutant, a giant really, twice the size of all the others, bellowed instructions to his fellows.
...

He took advantage of the moment, and snapped off a burst of fire that took the leader in the head, below the helmet. The mutant's face exploded, and for a second his torso stood there...

There are even bigger mutants (this one being twice as big as the others) REgardless bolter fire can still explode his head.

Page 580

He was astounded by the size of the vessel on which they moved and fought.
..

This was something else. It seemed larger than any structure ought be, bigger even than one of the vast starscrapers he had seen on Aerius. Entire islands from the world sea of Fenris could have been lost within it. It was a labyrinth large enough to swallow the entire island on which he had grown up.

Chaos seems to have a good gift for packing more room inside a given volume than physics would normally permit (probably exotic pocket dimensional stuff.) This would I imagine make them rather wel protected against accelerations and such as well.

Page 581

It dawned on Ragnar that Morgrim must have patched himself into the heretics’ own comm-net and must be able to understand their twisted language.

- one of Berek's Wolf Guard, the skald, is able to tap into and listen in on enemy communications onboard the ship. BErek's comms can also sub-vocalise.

Page 581

Mikal Stenmark checked the sensor unit on his wrist. "We are not more than five hundred metres from the power core now, Lord Berek"

"Aye, Mikal, so I can see, but who knows how long it will take us to get there? Those five hundred metres are by the straightest route. These corridors might wind for leagues before we get to the core."

STernmark has a sensor on his wrist as well. Range of at least 500 metres, although actual corridor length may be considerably greater.

Page 583

Enormous cast metal engines towered above them, disappearing into the shadowy recesses of the cavernous ceiling far above. High atop each of them was a huge steely sphere clutched by a massive brazen claw set on a copper spike. As the sphere rotated, greenish lightning flickered across its surface. Every now and again, there was a thunderclap of noise, and a lightning bolt leapt from the sphere to impact on the massive metal tower in the centre of the room. At the top of this tower rotated the largest of the moving spheres, all but invisible behind the curtain of power bolts that danced across its surface. The thunderclaps almost drowned out the roar of the great engines.

On the nearest engine Ragnar could see rotating cogwheels, the smallest of which was larger than his body, the biggest of which was the size of a dragonship. They were fouled with rust, and dripped oil. Occasionally from a massive pipe a burst of superheated steam emerged with a noise like a huge kettle whisding. Ragnar wondered whether even the Chaos engineers who had built this strange device could know exactly what every component did. Maybe. He heard Mikal mutter, "How can this work? This is not a power core. It's more like a factory."

"This is the power core, my friend." said Berek. "Unless my sensor is totally malfunctioning."

"It looks like no core I have ever seen."

"I doubt that you have seen every form of power core in the galaxy, old friend."
..
"The thing is unshielded and seems to use tainted fuel." said Morgrim. "No wonder so many of the crew are mutated."

Chaos reactor. And we thought Imperial plasma reactors were bizarre.

Page 585

..Ragnar obeyed, squeezing the frag grenade dispenser on his belt. A small oval egg of death dropped into his palm. He set the timer for three seconds and lobbed it into the oncoming mass of heretics. Heartbeats later the rest of the Blood Claws did the same. Severed limbs flew everywhere as flesh was ripped to gobbets. Mutant blood and bile flooded the floor. Incredibly, several of the huge wounded creatures kept coming despite having lost arms or legs.

Yet another egg grenade, and it does more of the wonderful "blasting to pieces" effects we've gotten used to.

The Chaos troopers are using bolters incidentally.

Page 586

The younger Blood Claw slapped a synthi-flesh plaster on his wound, and proceeded to seal the breach in his armour with repair cement.

Space Wolf in field medical healing, and the ubiquitous repair cement stuff.

Page 588

He aimed at them through the gap, blasting one heretic skull to fragments.

Yet more head-exploding.

Page 588

Seeing the bottom of the stairs coming, he braced himself and hit the ground rolling, still firing, his superhuman reflexes and quickness of eye enabling him to hit with more than half the shots.

Ragnar is dual firing twin bolt pistols when he pulls this off.

Page 591

Ragnar glanced at the chronometer superimposed on his vision by the systems within his armour. It was set on a countdown now, ticking off the minutes and the seconds till the charges detonated and the Chaos cruiser was blown to pieces.

Vision-superimposed systems inside the helmet (Yes Rangar is wearing a helmet.)

PAge 591

"Since they were proximity shielded that means they'll have to carry out a visual search - they won't show up on sensors."

The explosives planted on the Chaos power core won't show up on sensors. Stealth systems I guess.

Page 592

Ragnar saw a couple of the Wolves collecting gene-seed from the fallen, driving the armoured punches into the chests of the dead, twisting the collar on the top of the punch to open and close the grabbing claws, ripping the tiny tentacled egg from the chest cavity. Even as he watched, the punch’s claws enfolded the gene-seed completely and sucked it into a stasis tube, to be hooked onto the collector’s belt. Another ten seconds gone, he thought.

I guess they don't have any dedicated apothecaries so they have to handle it themselves, on the fly.
note the uses of stasis devies to maintain the geneseed.

Page 593

He checked the locator on his armour. The signal said it was only five hundred metres, but with all the twisting and turning of the ways, who knew how long that would take?

Locator again.. seems to provide navigational aid, at least in homing in on the base (ship)

Page 596-597

Thirty seconds to go.

All around him he could hear the familiar welcoming scents of the company's own ship.

Twenty strides took him there.

...

Twenty seconds to go.

This means Ragnar, Sven, and the others covered twenty strides in less than ten seconds. 2 strides a second At least 3 m/s, although given Space Marine strides in other sources (Angels of Darkness, Kill team) we could be talking 6-10 ms/

Page 597

He could see that the enemy ship had already receded a hundred metres behind them. Ten seconds.

they pull 100 metres away within 10 seconds or less. The retros are pulling at least a gee, if not several gees.

PAge 597

Five seconds to go.

...

The Chaos ship seemed as large as a floating iceberg, an indestructible mountain of armoured metal. Even as he watched he saw the enemy vessel's turrets, bristling with enormous weapons, begin to swing to bear on the Fist ofRuss. They were moments from being blasted into eternity.

Maybe a few km away in15 seconds or so - its still within range, but bound to be more than a ship length away I suspect Assuming 2 km distance at least 2 gees, probably more though, givne the turrets have enough clearance to track the Russ.

Page 598

Three seconds.
One of the largest turrets seemed to be pointing directly at the Fist of Russ.
..

He felt the lurch of the ship as the Fist ofRuss continued to accelerate away.

Two seconds.
..
The hellish weapon system really was activated, and it was pointing their way. He knew that there was no way the Space Wolf vessel could take a hit from such a thing at this close a range and in its crippled state.
..
One second.

The Fist ofRuss lurched to one side as the pilot took evasive action. An enormous beam of coruscating radiance flashed past in the darkness of space. It had missed by mere metres, a hairsbreadth in terms of space combat. Ragnar's gaze strained out into the darkness, waiting for the explosion his whole body had become keyed up to expect.
..
Their ship was crippled and directly under the guns of the vastly superior foe. It would only be a matter of seconds before the enemy gunners made the necessary corrections to their arc of fire, and the devastating beams of energy would play over the Fist of Russ snuffing out all of their lives

Evasive action agains the doomsday beem weapons. Again note that range seems to have a hefty impact on the ability of weapons to cause damage. Also enemies can compenstae for a near miss of "metres" in a few seconds which gives an idea of turret tracking speeds.

Page 599

Then the whole shell of the Chaos ship seemed to expand. Great gouts of plasma burst out of every orifice, every turret, every airlock, every porthole, every point of weakness on the hull. The slow expansion of the ship continued. It was like watching a pigskin being inflated to bursting point. Slowly the huge structure of metal began to buckle and twist. The process accelerated as large chunks of the hull were blown into space and the fiery inferno within was revealed.

Part of me wants to indicate this is an example of starship resilience, as the bulk of the structure seems to be containing multiple explosions (which may or may not have anything to do with that plasma, 40K plasma being weird stuff) but this is a Chaos ship, so we can't be certain.

Page 600 -

This was pure Fenrisian lager, containing ribaldroot, a herb that suppressed the Space Marines’ usual ability to metabolise poisons, even alcohol, and allowed them to get drunk.

Having a herb that seemingly nullifies poison resistance is.. dangerous to say the least. Unless it is meant to be considered in context - that it prevents the implants from metabolizing the alcohol as a poison or something.

Page 603

"Looks like we'll be seeing bloody Garm soon."
...
"You’ve been saying the same thing every day for a week."

Once again, a week transit to reach the inner system. Transit velocity would be in the hundreds of km/s to a few thousand km/s top. Accelreration will quite eaisly be single digit.

PAge 604

'Ha bloody ha! If you had bothered to wait for me to finish, you would have heard me say that whatever he is, he knows what is going on. He's always on the command deck. He hears what the sensor augurs see in the divinatory engines as soon as they give their reports, and he tells me that we've cleared a path through the Chaos fleet and are putting into orbit over Garm within hours. That was why they fired the big engines two hours ago."

Sensors and "divinatory engines" - shit that tells what is going on basically. Apparently the slow delay was having to get through the chaos fleet (a week long running battle?) and they'll get close "within hours" If we assume a 500-2000 km/s velocity and that they're going to slow down within a day - half a gee to several gees of steady acceleration.

PAge 605

"That every time a new Great Wolf is chosen he must send two dozen Wolves to Belisarius in repayment of some ancient debt."

First mention of the Wolfblade.

Page 605

"Like everybody else, our Chapter needs Navigators to guide our ships through the immaterium. If we did not have them we would be reduced to jumping blind."
..
Jumping blind into the imma-terium meant a good chance of never coming out again. Only Navigators had the skill to guide ships through the void and bring them safely out the other end. And even they made mistakes sometimes. Ragnar had known this since the tutelary engines had placed the knowledge in his brain, but he could see now that he had never fully assimilated it or thought out the consequences.

I'm not sure whether Hakon means ships in general or just Space Wolf ships, though, since we know that warp travel can be done without Navigators, it's just not as good as with. Presumably it refers to truly inter-galactic travel, rather than "local", sector-scale travel. It may also just be a generalization that "blind" jumping is more dangerous than jumping via Navigator.

Ragnar also notes that the tutelary engines put the knowledge about Navigators into his brain, but he had evidedntly not assimilated it or thought of the consqeuences until Hakon explained them to him. Space Marines can tehrefore know alot of things, but not neccesarily immediately recall it to mind (as we've seen in past books) or have a deeper comprehension or implications of facts they are imprinted with.

Page 606

Like Space Marines, Navigators were unique, their origins dating back to a time before the Imperium. They were gifted with unusual powers - their psychic talents - available only to themselves. The Emperor and his pri-marchs had possessed that gift too, but the primarchs had vanished long ago and the Emperor was entombed within his life-giving throne. In effect, the Navigators controlled all commercial and military travel within the Imperium. Were it not for the fact that they were divided into a number of mutually antagonistic houses, mey would have a stranglehold on the human realm.
..
The control the Navis Nobilitae had over space travel had made them rich and powerful beyond the dreams of most planetary governments. They had ensured that without them, the Imperium and possibly even the Adeptus Astartes, the Space Marines,
would be helpless.

Again this seems to hint that travel without navigators is impossible, which in turn must be a relative or context-dependent statement. Space marines are going to be one of the few groups in the Imperium who have to be able to travel large distances to perform their duties, which logically means they are heavily reliant on Navigators, rather than (for example) a sub-sector Free trader who does not have a navigator but plods along a stable warp route, relis on computers and possibly astorpathic relays, etc.

Page 607

"I think what Sven meant was that the tutelary engines never taught us this."
...

"The machines are ancient and no one, not even the Iron Priests, entirely understands their workings. They are intended to teach what it is needful for a Marine to know. They cannot fill your head with every detail of our Chapter's history. Not even Sven's skull is empty enough to hold all of that. And sometimes there are gaps; the transfer of knowledge is imperfect. That is why people like me are here, to teach what the machines leave out."

Ragnar considered this for a moment. He could see that there was sense in the sergeant's words. Moreover, he could see a problem he had never considered before. He would never know if the machines had missed out important knowledge until it was too late. He did not have the ability to know if anything was not there. How could he? Most of what he knew came from the engines themselves.

...

"Sometimes the learning is there." said Hakon, "but it is like a scroll left on a shelf in a library, rather than an epic learned by a skald. If you do not read a scroll, how will you know its contents? And sometimes there are problems with the transfer of knowledge and it lies dormant for many years before it is fully assimilated. The brain is a peculiar thing."

More on the limits of the teaching machines that have to be made up in other ways, and the needs to consciously hunt the data down.

Page 608

"When will we be landing on Garm?"

"We are in orbit over the world now, as you would see if you chose to look out one of the portholes," said the sergeant. "My guess is that we will be on the surface within hours.."

- Hakon notes they are in orbit now over Garm. Hours to deploy.

Page 608

"Aye, you do not think we would leave our most sacred shrine outside Fenris undefended?"

"I would have thought that there are few enough Wolves." said Ragnar sharply. " The Emperor must have more important things for us to do than guarding shrines."

"There is a base here, Ragnar. A transit camp. A way station. Garm is an important crossroads and trade route. We have a presence here to repair our ships, to let our troops rest and recuperate. The place was commanded by an old comrade of mine, Jurgen Whitemane."

Like the Ultramarines, and Black Templars, the Space Wolves seem to hold signficant territory off Fenris. How many troops are here we don't know, but in 5th edition they not they have at least a hundred or so other locales to guard.. so many hundreds of troops extra seems likely.

Page 614

The shuttle sped closer to the Pride of Fenris, the Great Wolfs massive flagship. Berek stood at the massive armour-glass window, gazing covetously at the old warcraft. It was a Retribution-class battleship of ancient design, its hull pitted and scarred by a hundred battles. It dwarfed the shuttle like a sea dragon would dwarf a sprat. From where Ragnar stood it looked like the maw of one of its weapons could swallow their whole craft.

PRide of Fenris is a retribution class.. which suggests it is perhaps 6-8 km long.

Page 615

"And sometimes Shayara has the gift of foretelling, powerful as any Rune Priest."

Navigators can fortell.

Page 619

"We can't get an internal view of the shrine's inner sanctum." said the Great Wolf. "The shielding is still effective."
..
"The schematics are the only things we have to go on currently. Nothing from the orbital divinatory engines suggests anything has been changed."

Imperial anti-sensor shielding. Probably useful to prevent your enemy from planning attacks.

Page 619

".. we shall begin with a short orbital bombardment at these points."

The map returned. Red skulls appeared at each corner of the building until the whole shrine was cordoned off.

"How brief?" asked Sigrid.

"Thirty seconds. No more. We go down thirty seconds later. The bombardment should detonate any mines or other nasty surprises the tech-augurs have missed and give us a clear landing site. I want five companies on the ground in drop pods. There will be Thunderhawks for air support. Three transport shuttles will bring the armour in once the perimeter is secure. I am allowing two minutes for that."

30 second bombardment thrown by 30 second drop assault. They can orbitally scan for mines or traps.. and use bobmardment to trip them (showing it has a secondary role) 2 minutes to drop everything else.

Page 621

The drop pod could malfunction in a hundred different ways. The heat shields could fail and they could burn up on atmospheric entry. They could be caught by defensive fire as they made the drop. The reverse thrusters could malfunction and they could be flattened like crushed bugs by impact with the planetary surface.

Drop pod dangers.

Page 623

The internal walls were all inscribed with murals depicting familiar scenes from the Chapter’s legends. Behind Sven, Ragnar could just make out some details of Hengist Torvaldsson’s battle with the great serpent of Doom-flare Doubtless the product of some Wolfs long leisure hours between combat practice and the meditation cell.

inside of the drop pod is painted. Rather nice because it shows that even the Wolves, for all their viking and drinking and feasting, its pretty neat, the way the other Chapters do similar (fists, Blood Angels, etc.) I suspect they might be recovered.

Page 623

A low bell-like chiming sounded in Ragnar’s ears as the ancient technical systems checked that the chronometers of his armour were perfectly synchronised with those of the sergeant and his battle-brothers

The drop pods seem to beautomated somewhat.

Page 623

He checked his physical responses. His heartbeats were perfectly relaxed now. His mind was clear. His anxieties were under control. Glands in his implanted lymphatic systems manufactured hormones to enhance healing and trace chemicals to speed his reflexes and dull pain. All familiar programmed changes before battle. In the past he had not had enough experience to even be really aware of them, he had just known he felt better, faster, stronger. Now, he was capable of distinguishing each small new response.

Ragnar does a mental checklist of his biological condition - note the use of some sort of chemicals (natural?) to enhance various performances. And this seems to be normal. checklist.

Page 624

Hakon reached up and touched one of the controls on the board above. Suddenly in the air in front of them a holospheric image appeared.
..
Hundreds of tiny runes glittered below the image, giving out myriad bits of information to those who could understand them. Some of their meanings had been lost in the dim mists of time in the days when such systems had first been devised, but Ragnar knew enough of the symbols to be able to pick out those which displayed their speed, altitude and ambient temperature. Outside now it was cold, the chill of interplanetary space.

They were away. It would take long minutes for them to reach the insertion point for atmospheric entry and many more minutes after that for them to penetrate the atmosphere. In that time, the fleet would have moved on to to a position over their drop point, and if the Navigators had got their calculations right, would begin the support barrage, stopping mere seconds before the course of the falling drop pods intersected with the blast of their mighty weapons.

More drop pod stuff. Minutes to drop from orbit to atmosphere, and minutes from atmosphere to ground. They intend to bombard whilst the pods are en-route, echoing Sicarius in Assault on Black REach.

PAge 625

Now flames licked all around the hulls of the drop pods above them. The heat shields on the bottom of the drop pods were starting to glow cherry red. Streamers of superheated hair flickered all around them. This was no normal atmospheric entry such as a shuttle or a Thunderhawk would make. This was a swift insertion, designed to get them on the ground as quickly as possible and with little fuss. They were flying on minimum power, easy to mistake at this altitude for a shower of meteorites.

Even as Ragnar watched, bits of the pods above them burst away.
..
This was merely the pod shedding its outer skin, creating decoys that would show up as multiple images on any sensor system that might be observing them. The theory was that this proliferation of targets would make it difficult for the defenders to pick them off as they came in to land. At this altitude it would also increase their resemblance to a meteor shower breaking up under atmospheric impact.

Pod decoy measures, low power to assist measures.

Page 627

Ragnar knew the massive orbital bombardment would begin soon. It had been carefully timed to start just before their drop, so as to not give the enemy too much advance warning.
...
In his mind’s eye, he pictured the titanic wave of las-and projectile fire blazing down from orbit, cratering the ground, smashing their foes’ defences, clearing the way for them.

Ragnar picturing the orbital bombardment.

Page 628

Sporadic fire from building-mounted defence lasers leapt into the sky around them. None came close to their drop pod. Had they been spotted or was this merely some form of automated point defence system, designed to fire on anything that dropped into this particular airspace? If so, Ragnar was glad that the barrage had done its work. Normally such networks covered the entire sky over a city.

Defence lasers open up in atmosphere.

Page 628

"Suspensor failure." said Hakon over the comm-net. "Brace yourselves."

Looking at the runes on the holosphere Ragnar suddenly realised they were not slowing down. The gravitic suspensors which were supposed to slow the final stage of their descent had not automatically cut in. In moments they would be smashed to bloody pulp against the ground.

Drop pods use suspensors to slow the pods down. Automation failed.

Page 629

Sergeant Hakon had other ideas. He reached up and flipped the emergency handles on the panels above his head, manually activating the suspensor drive. For a moment, nothing happened, then Ragnar felt as if a giant hand were crushing him into his seat as the suspensors wrestled with the planet's gravity. A smell of ozone filled the air, and Ragnar thought he heard a high pitched scream as the ancient machine's overloaded generator quit. Acceleration returned sickeningly The sensation of dropping twisted Ragnar's gut. The hope that had flared briefly died, only to return a moment later as the secondary power system cut in.

luckily they have manual activation. Note the Suspensors seem to provide acceleration compensation.

Page 630

A wave of steam greeted him as his feet touched the plascrete covered surface of Garm, the snow boiled away by the heat of the drop pod's impart. Ragnar thought it was the heat shield cooling, but a quick glance told him a different story. Part of the side of the capsule glowed cherry red. It looked like one of the enemy las bursts had come a lot closer than he had thought, hitting the drop pod a brief glancing blow.

Probably why the automatic systems failed, Ragnar thought, as his eyes searched for a target. He knew just how lucky they had been. If that ravening energy beam had kissed the cupola of the drop pod for more than a microsecond, they would have been vaporised.

Drop pod take sa microsecond hit from defense laser. Longer than a microsecond would have vaporized pod. As it was the side is glowing red (several GJ at least.. double digit GJ to vaporize at least. E9-e11J or thereabouts. For a microsecond or two we''re talking e5-e6.. well into the megatons range for a defence laser if its a continjous het ray a pulse laser could be considerably less (say millisecond range duration it might only be 100-100x greater.. wich is still significant.) For poitn defense weapons that isn't bad.

Page 631

With one fluid motion, he raised his bolt pistol and fired. His single shot smashed through the sniper's skull and decorated the carved wall behind him with brains.

YEt anothr head bursting bolt example.

Page 632

They were normal enough looking men, garbed in white and grey camouflage uniforms, padded against the cold. Thick dark goggles protected their eyes, and filter masks covered their mouths giving them a sinister insectile look. In their hands most of them clutched well-used autorifles tipped with serrated edged bayonets.

Given that the world is a hive/forge world type atmosphere (IE unhealthy for normal humans) it seems likely that they are using full NBC protection (like Armageddon's Steel Legion.) Note the use of autoweapons rather than lasweapons.

Page 633

Nearby lay a heavy autogun. Somewhat miraculously, it did not appear to have taken any damage from the grenade explosions.
...

Sven raised the heavy automatic weapon one handed, and smiled, looking very pleased with himself.
...

He raised the machine gun one handed and opened fire into the oncoming mass of infantry. It cut through them like a scythe, chopping bodies in two, punching bullets right through the chests of oncoming men to bury shells deep in the bodies of the warriors behind. Sven let out a long howl of pleasure. The muzzle flare of the machine gun underlit his face, making him look daemonic. He stood in the middle of a storm of bullets, completely unfazed by the death whizzing all around him. Amazingly he began striding forward, ignoring the bullets, blasting away at their foes, causing unbelievable amounts of destruction.

Its described repeatedly as a "machine gun" and it was in a machine gun nest and a heavy weapon, if that tells us anything. I'd guess that it is lighter than a heavy stubber (like the .30 cal guns the Ghosts use, perhaps) but heavier than a regular autogun (which is basically like an M-14, going by Siege of Vraks). Then again the Siege of Vraks books tell us that heavy stubbers can cover that category already. More than probably, like most weapons there is bound to be overlap.

Also I suspect the lasgun analogue would do this kind of damage (multilaser probably since this is a heavy weapon analogue.)

Note the grenade apparently could have damaged the weapon..

PAge 634

There were five Space Wolves in the remains of the machine gun nest, versus several hundred foes.
..
Now the weight of lead hurling past him was too much even for one of Sven’s insane bravery. He began to step backwards towards the emplacement, firing as he went, until he tumbled backward into the pit alongside Ragnar. Looking down, Ragnar could see his friend was not entirely unscathed. His armour was cracked in a dozen places and blood leaked from the gaps.

Limits to Space Wolf armour when you don't bother take cover.

Page 635

As soon as the support fire stopped, he leapt up and began blasting away with his bolt pistol.
...
Almost as soon as he had popped up he saw the oncoming infantrymen ready their autorifles to blast him. They were obviously just as prepared for the moment when the support fire stopped as he was; what they lacked were his superhuman reflexes.

He was hunkered down again before any of them could pull the trigger. A tidal wave of bullets passed over him...

Benefits of s uperhuman reflexes.

Page 637

He began blasting away, bolt pistol in each hand. Shells blazed out at close range burying themselves in human flesh before exploding.

Bolt pistol rounds at close range do not overpenetrate. This makes me wonder if perhaps bolter ammo can be variable fuse, as sometimes they penetrate through multiple enemies before detonating, and other times they do not, sometimes even in the course of the same novel/battle. If they use a targeter and a suit/sighting link as well as linking sensors, they might be able to make "on the fly" adjustments to adapt to a particular target.

Page 638

Even as he felt a bayonet find the gap between shoulder-plate and upper armguard, he hacked down one man and smashed in another’s face with a punch.
...
A stab of pain behind his knee told him that another of his foes had managed to find a weak spot in his armour. A backhanded slash with the chainsword ensured the man would never do anything else again. Already he could feel the wounds beginning to clot but the healing process was slowing him.

- Here, Ragnar is fighting renegade PDF/militiamen in hand to hand, and getting overwhelmed by sheer numbers. Its worth noting that despite having power armor, the sheer numbers allow at least some attacks to get through weak points in the armor and injure him (joints, etc, where a bayonet can slip through.) This tends to suggest that despite the fact we know its "fully sealed/NBC/Vaccuum protection", there are parts of the armor that are alot weaker than others.

Whether its a body glove, some mesh, or whatnot, we dont know, but it is alot easier for (40K humans at least wielding 40K weapons - adamantine bayonets, mono-edged weapons, power-bayonets, etc.)

Page 638

As he did so he felt an arm go round his neck, as someone tried to drive a knife into his throat.

Ragnar threw himself forward, hoping the momentum would toss his assailant from his back but the man held on for grim death, and drove the knife home once more. Blood slicked Ragnar’s chestplate - and it was his own.
...
Above him loomed a huge man with a rifle. Before Ragnar could react, he smashed the butt of the gun into Ragnar’s skull. The blow would have caved in the head of any normal man, and even his reinforced bone structure could not entirely protect Ragnar. Sparks flickered before his eyes, and for a moment all he could see was blackness.

Again chaos cultists swarm Ragnar and try to stab at the weak points of his armor, although the flexible bits seem to offer at least some protection against cutting/penetrating attacks. Also able to withstand having his skull crushed in by rifle butt.

Page 639

As their blades crossed Ragnar realised that he faced a worthy foe. The man’s skill was tremendous. Normally, he would not have physically have been a match for a Space Marine, but Ragnar was braised and battered from his earlier battles, and the Garmite was fresh and hungry for glory.
..
The commissar ducked below the sweep of Ragnar’s return stroke and lashed out, catching the young Wolf on the arm. The vambrace of his armour smoked as the friction of the chainsword bite heated it unbearably. Ragnar stepped forward, grabbing the man’s sword arm with his free hand and closing his grip tight. With a sickening crunch bones gave way. The commissar did not utter a sound although his face went pale and sweat beaded his brow. Ragnar thrust his own head forward in a swift butt to the bridge of the man’s nose, breaking it. As the Garmite fell backwards, blood leaking from his nostrils, lips tight with self control, Ragnar lashed out with a kick that broke the man’s hip. As the man fell, Ragnar’s stamping foot crashed his skull.

- renegade Commissar fighting Ragnar takes numerous injuries without giving any obvious indication of pain or suffering (ie no sounds) - he has his arm crushed, his nose broken by a headbutt, and a broken hip. Only after this does he fall and get his skull broken.

Also its a rarity to see a Commissar becoming a heretic like this, unless the name is just a local affectation rather than an actual Progenium-trained Commisar.

Page 640

It did not matter how strong Ragnar or any individual Marine was, there were just too many foes. Like angry ants swarming over an armoured beetle, they came on, stabbing, hacking, pumping bullets at Ragnar with startling disregard for their own lives and the lives of their comrades.

Numbers can be a downaside to any Marine, which is why IG can overcome even Space Marines.

Page 640

Even as he did so, a lash of tracer fire whipped in from somewhere to the left and took the sergeant in the skull. The whole side of Hakon's head was blown away, leaving exposed fragments of brain. Like a mighty tree toppling the sergeant fell forward and was still.

Context wise indicates this was probably an auto-round, as Ragnar indicates the charging Garmite infantry killed Hakon. Possibly sniper weapon. It doesnt completely blast the side of the head off, but does blast a good chunk of it off, especially consideirng how large astartes heads are. Again lasguns probably could do this (at least single digit kj)

Connor MacLeod · Post by **Connor MacLeod** » 2012-08-24 07:16pm

Final update for Grey hunter. Next time we start my favorite of the Bill King wolf novels, 'Wolfblade' and we meet MIGHEH HAEGR.

Page 641

He leapt forward, bullets clattering off his armour with a sound like a blacksmith’s hammer falling on metal. Seeing his face contorted with rage, a few of the Garmites panicked but most of them were brave men. They kept firing and braced their bayonets, readying themselves for the colossal impact of Ragnar’

you'd think the cultists would figure out gunfire is doing fuck all against power armour in these circumstances.

Page 642

An hour after Logan Grimnar had declared the shrine cleared, he was ready for combat in a heartbeat. Even the re-shaped metabolisms of Space Marines took time to calm down after the fury of battle had passed. There was an aftershock, Ragnar realised.

Space marines need time to let their combat systems wind dwon after a battle - at least an hour for space Wolves it seems.

Page 642

He had removed his greaves and sprayed the wound with synthetic flesh. The skin was already starting to knit as his body healed itself. There was a dull ache in his stomach that he realised was hunger. He removed a ration-tube from his belt and began to suck on it. The taste was bland, and it did not feel like he could get any sustenance from a mere paste, but he knew it contained all the nutrients he needed. More than that, it contained the alchemical ingredients that would help him heal. He recognised that hunger; his body craved the raw materials with which to repair itself.

Ration tube meals described. Flavorless but nutritious, and like the chemical sin the body naturally, designed to enhance capabilities like healing. Also synthetic flesh for covering wounds while healing occurs (organic version of repair cement.)

Page 642

A priest moved among them, deploying medical augurs. His examinations were quick but thorough, more in the nature of simple checks to make sure his patients were all right. While it was true that a Space Marine would heal naturally and swiftly from almost any injury that did not cripple him, there was no sense in taking chances. It was not unknown for men who had taken blows to the head to walk around normally for hours afterwards then keel over and die.

"What about Hakon?" Sven asked.

"He’s still in there." said Ragnar. "The priests would not let me stay while they performed the rituals. One of them told me he is most likely going to join his ancestor spirits."

More detailed examinations coem from priests iwth Augurs for potentailyl serious injuries. Hakon is seriously injured.

Page 643

"Sergeant Hakon is in a bad way." said Berek. "He is in a coma. His spirit hovers over his body."

"Will he recover?" asked Ragnar.

Berek shook his head. "No."

"Will he die?"

"We do not know. Even if he lives there has been too much damage to his brain. He will not be fit for war ever again."

Ragnar considers this a horrible death. For a Space Marine this would likely make perfect sense. They are ultimately warriors, and everything that is them is more or less geared towards war. What would a marine be if they live but cannot fight? Of course, this is highyl dependent upon the Chapter and the marine - whilst all warriors, Marines do serve in other ways (training, shipboard duty, esp plugged into the vessel, etc.)

Also his brain took damage form the shot.

Page 646

The death of Silvermane had taken place nearly four centuries before. It was strange to think that some of the men in the shrine today had been there. It was one thing knowing that the process that turned a man into a Space Wolf could vastly extend the span of his years. It was another encountering evidence of the fact.

4 centuries doesnt seem to be much to a Space Wolf.

Page 647

He pictured himself on Logan’s throne, issuing orders to the Wolf Lords, listened to respectfully by the warriors of the whole company, commanding a fleet, standing as an equal to any of the great lords of the million worlds of the Imperium of Man.

The FFG books call this being a "peer of the Impeirum" IIRC. Also the "million worlds" again (insted of millions.)

Page 649

Logan Grimnar looked old. Not feeble, for he was as hale as a gnarled and weather-beaten old oak, but still old. There were other men in the Chapter as old as he and they did not seem so obviously ancient.

Grimnar's age is not unusual for the Space wolves, it seems.

Page 656

Behind them the previously empty space around the shrine was filled with the massive bulk of Imperial spacecraft, each disgorging its cargo of men and machines. Now the Wolves had established a safe beachhead, General Trask, the Imperial field commander, was prepared to reinforce it. Tens of thousands of Imperial Guard, hundreds of massive battle tanks and dozens of heavy artillery pieces were being deployed on the plain around the shrine. Not nearly as many as were holding the spaceport twenty kilometres away, but enough to make the shrine all but impregnable.

The Guard forces deploy now that the Space Wolves have taken a landing site. Tens of thousands of troops, hundreds of tanks, and lots of artillery.

Page 656

Ragnar grinned, showing his fangs, and the commissar looked away. He was not sure whether it was because the man was intimidated, or he thought Ragnar might be some sort of mutant to be cleansed. Ragnar would not have bet against it being the latter. Not all servants of the Imperium regarded the Space Marine Chapters with awe, or even liking.

Unsurprising, given that a.) some Chapters can be complete assholes to other organizations (and vice versa - even the Wolves, such as with the Ecclesiarchy vs Space Wolves.) b.) Some organizations resent Space Wolf autonomy or are just outright bigots (some of the Ecclesiarchy types, or the Mechaniucus, etc.)

Page 659

Focusing on the building showed him the fighting that was under way. Shots blazed from the slit-like windows at the tiny figures advancing across the cratered concrete plain below. Heavy weapons lashed out at Predator tanks. It was hard to judge whether those men there were loyalist or rebel. The banners told no story. They bore a white bear on a blue background. From the briefing he had received before they made the drop, Ragnar knew that these were supposed to be a faction loyal to the Imperium, but that meant nothing. The situation here on the ground was fluid.

PDF forces using predator tanks. Whether they're good or bad doesn't really matter in this case.

Page 661

Ragnar looked into the medical sarcophagi, wondering why Hakon had sent for him. The old sergeant lay stiff and unmoving. Gurgling tubes, filled with greenish fluid, snaked from the walls of the ancient bio-magical machine into the sergeant's flesh. His carapace had been peeled away, giving him a strange vulnerable look. His skin was pallid, like that of a corpse. A metal mask covered one half of his head, hiding the great hole in his skull. The scars on the remaining side of his face stood out even more strongly. Only his eyes looked alive. They burned with fury.
..
"I have heard the healers speaking; there is too much damage for my body to heal. Parts of my brain were blown away. My spine is damaged. I will never fight again. Or walk for that matter."

Hakon is still alive, but dying. Apparently he got some kind of hole in the side of his head rather than just havign a significant layer of flesh blasted off, including having part of the brain blown away. That he survived even to that degree is some miracle, methinks.

Page 662

Ragnar wondered whether the healing potions were making Hakon’s mind wander. They sometimes did that even to men with constitutions as strong as a Space Marine’s. Under the strain of injury even their bodies’ ability to metabolise poisons and drugs sometimes behaved strangely.

They must be some strong drugs, that's all I can say.

Page 666

"Next crater," he sub-vocalised into the comm-net.

"Bearing north, north-west. Distance about two hundred metres. Looks like the augurs were right."
..
He considered how the crater might have come to be occupied without orbital surveillance spotting anyone moving into it. Suddenly someone had just been there.

Augurs/sensors detect some troops several hundred metres away. Rangar considers it unlikely that they could have just sneaked up on them without being detected from orbit normally.

Page 667

This no-man's-land was full of them at night, the orbital augurs spotted the heat trails of many groups of men.

Orbital thermal imaging/sensors.

Page 667

Whoever was inside it had not spotted them yet. Hardly surprising for they lacked the night sight and the enhanced senses of the Space Wolves. Ragnar told himself not to be overconfident. He did not know this was the case. They might have night vision magnoculars. They might have all manner of divinatory sensors. They might be mutants with night-adapted eyes. They might have the aid of evil magic.

Ragnar considers it likely that possibly enemy troops (originating off planet or the PDF) would have night vision gear or sensors, or even mutants with night vision or magic, showing the various forms of allowed or illicit detection that might exist.

Page 668

They smelled scared and weary, but there was no taint of Chaos to them. Of course, this did not mean anything. There were plenty of heretics who showed no outer stigmata of their evil and there were an equal number of perfectly human dupes who believed in the cause of Chaos

Space Wolves can smell chaos taint. I suspect some sort of oflactory sensor could duplicate this.

PAge 668

These men were careless, he thought, to have left no sentries on guard, and no sentinel devices.

Tired or no, under war conditions there was no excuse for it.

PDF forces seem to have access to some sort of computer or automated monitoring devices that double as Guard duty. Or at least Ragnar expects them to.

Page 669

His nose told him it was a small smokeless stove, powered by some chemical oil. The strange acrid tang of it made his nostrils twitch. They were cooking something: meat of some sort.

- the militia is using a "smokeless stove" powered by some "chemical oil".

Page 669

All of them were wearing thick insulated uniforms, covered in fur lined greatcoats, and their breath steamed into the cold night air.

Since Ragnar’s body had adapted to it, he had never given the cold here a second thought, but he could see these men were wrapped and muffled like tribesmen for winter back on Fenris. Several of them wore two greatcoats, and had their hands muffled in great furry gloves. All of them wore filter masks over their faces to protect against the heavily polluted air.

PDF outfits.

Page 676

Trainor looked around to make sure they were not being overheard, and lowered his voice as he replied. "These past few weeks have not been easy. There have been times when I thought we were all going to die."

Implies weeks have passed since the uprising. This may imply that it took roughly a week or two to travel from Fenris to wherever Garm is, since they spent roughly a week fighting in-system. Probably within the segmentum they're in, but that doesn't really provide any precise data.

Page 677

"Even during the best of times there is always tension among the high clans who rule the keeps. Trade disputes, infractions of mining claims, arguments over transit tithes on merchant caravans, the usual thing."
...
"And there are always bandits, cultists and mutants. When I put in my basic two years in the militia we were forever hunting them down. Sometimes it was hard to tell where banditry started and politics began. Sometimes the bandits were financed by other keeps, or even disgruntled factions within our own, but you just try proving it."

the "usual" conflicts on Garm. This is differnet from the thousands (or a hundred thousand) types of other conflicts the Imperium wages, one imagines, but fluff rarely makes up its mind here (and when it does its vague)

Page 678

"I heard the man speak on the comm-channels and his sermons were awesome. There is something in his voice that compels you to believe him, that dispels doubt. His charisma is incredible. "
...
"In the beginning we thought they were just another splinter sea of the Imperial cult - there are hundreds here, and they have always been tolerated."

Radio sermons, I guess. And we see how diverse and fragmented the Imperial Cult is.

Page 679

"Sergius’s followers went from aiding the poor to fighting their enemies, and they seemed invincible. It was said that bullets could not harm them, and that their cloaks turned blades, and when they were wounded they healed almost instantly. If I had not seen that myself I would not have believed it."

Obviously taint and mutation and sorcery, but it shows how dnagerous Cultists can be despite sometimes using shitty tactics.

Page 679

"Lord Koruna massed all the loyalist forces to drive the heretics out of Ironfang, nearly ten thousand men, all loyal to the Emperor."

They must have either lost alot of PDF already, or a good chunk of them turned to Chaos, although the latter is rather hard to argue with in context. Or maybe they're elite troops - its rather hard to believe that a Industrial world would be protected by so few men.

Page 680

"They used sorcery, they were unstoppable. I shot at Sergius myself but some evil spell turned my las-beam, just as it turned the bullets aimed at him."

Magic can deflect even lasfire.

Page 682

+Castra Fenris. This is Brother Gundar. A Thunderhawk is on its way. Hold your position. Activate your beacons. Praise Russ.+
...
Ragnar switched channels, dropping to the squad level. "Ragnar to battle-brothers. Prepare for Thunderhawk pick-up. Switch on your beacons."

A line of icons flashed on his field of vision letting him know that all of the squad had activated their beacons. The Thunderhawk would now be able to locate them.

- Space Wolves locator beacons in their armour can be tracked by Thunderhawks. Again probably tied to the comm-net.

Page 683

The scuff of boots and the scent of soldiers told him that Trainor and his squad were moving into position near him. Some shouldered las-rifles. Two men wheeled a heavy auto-gun into position. The weapon looked battered and badly maintained. Ragnar hoped it was in better condition than it looked. Such a weapon could wreak awful havoc on a large body of men approaching over relatively open ground.

- another mention of a "heavy autogun" as a heavy weapon.. wheel mounted. Whether or not there is a las variant (and how big it is) we dont know (multi lazors lol) but it gives you an idea of what Sven was hefting before.

Page 683

Ragnar had only his own small squad, and Trainor had about two dozen men, at maximum.

They were outnumbered by perhaps ten to one, and he could see that their enemies had heavy weapons too. Plus it was always possible that they possessed some of those uncanny powers with which Chaos gifted its followers.

Ragnar assesses the odds.

Page 684

"Squad Ragnar to Castra Fenris. Can you tell me when that Thunderhawk will be here?"

+Castra Fenris to Squad Ragnar. Estimated time of arrival: two minutes and thirty seconds standard.+

- The Thunderhawk is 2 1/2 minutes from Ragnar's position. Assuming the Thunderhawk is traveling at max speed (2000 kph in IA2) this works out to a communcation range of around 80-90 km at least (Ragnar was communicating with the base and with the thunderhawk both, and the Thunderhawk was moving for an unspecified length of time.)

Page 685

Ragnar could see some were unlimbering their heavy weapons, rocket launchers and heavy autoguns. The rocket launcher might certainly be able to take down a gunship. There was a small chance the autoguns might be able to do the same despite the vehicle’s armour.

- man portable rocket launcher can employ ordnance capable of shooting down a Thunderhawk. Not the first time this has happened (Savage Scars, Sons of Dorn, etc.) It's not definite tho.

Page 688

. Tendrils of oddly glowing mist, strangely reminiscent of the tentacles of some massive beast, swept along the lip of the crater. Moments later clouds of glittering yellow and green boiled up from the depths in a choking nauseating fog.

"They might just as easily have used bloody smoke."
..
Certainly the roiling mist would cover any advance the heretics were making but it might easily have some other purpose.
...
As the words left his lips, the mist boiled towards them, one mighty tentacle sweeping out faster even than a Space Marine could ran. It sought them with uncanny intelligence, for all the world like the limb of some monstrous kraken.
...
Without thinking, he rammed his helmet on his head, and sealed the systems of his armour. He wanted to take no chances with being slowed down now. Every second might prove vital. There was a click as the vents in the helmet shut and his armour’s sealed systems kicked in. At once, his senses became less keen. His sense of scent was completely cut off, and his hearing was muffled.

- Space Wolf power armor can protect against sorcerously-created toxins/gasses as well as regular ones.

Page 692

He moved over towards the militiamen. Trainor and a few others looked alright. Ragnar noticed that the breather masks on their faces looked different from the others, obviously of better quality.

Along with power armor, good quality masks (at least what the officers have, but possibly several troops) can protect against even warp-inspired bio/chem warfare. Whether this is becaus eit was bought "out of pocket" or they just got lucky in requisitioning (or had connections) we don't know.

Page 693

Ragnar reached into his utility belt and pulled out his medipack. There were broad spectrum anti-toxins inside it, for use by Wolves whose poison processing glands failed. He hoped they might be of some use to the men dying in front of his eyes.

Space Wolf medipack. Ragnar wont let ANYONE on his side die if he can help it.

Page 696

"You are quite correct, young Ragnar." said Berek. "These men are allies and guests of our Chapter, and they will tell their tale to the Great Wolf. If Inquisitor Gideon wishes to come along, also as our guest, he may. We are of course requisitioning the use of the Rhino to bear off the needy."

Inquisitor Gideon stared hard at Berek but said nothing. Obviously giving commands to a young Blood Claw pack leader was different from arguing with a Wolf Lord, and a famous one at that.

Ragnar defies and makes an enemy of an Inquisitor, but even this Inquisitor won't piss off Berek. Again, politics. Interesting that the Wolves can "requisition" from the Inquisition (probably informally)

Page 697

They were even more vast than normal transport ships, and it soon became obvious why. The sides of one of them had swung open to reveal the monstrous humanoid figure of a Warlord Titan within. The mighty machine’s weapons were stowed parallel to its body for landing.

Like a monstrous insect emerging from its cocoon, the Titan strode forth. As it did so, massive frames extended outwards from within the Adeptus Titanicus ship. Attached to these were trolley-mounted cranes and repair systems. As the Titan moved, the earth shook beneath its massive metal foot. Its carapace weapons raised themselves into the ready position. The huge multi-melta in its right fist swung to bear.

Titan drop ships. Combined deployment and repair centres. and arm mounted multimelta.

Page 698

Ironheart and his Titans had fought alongside the Wolves before on several occasions, which was hardly surprising since the Salonus forge world was located close to Garm and his legion owned a supply depot on the planet. The man had made his reputation amid the blazing deserts of Tallarn, and was said to have destroyed three ork Gargants in the battle which had cost him most of his humanity.

Forge world close to Garm and the Wolves. This suggests they may be within the same region (sector or several sectors, depending on the reach of the wolves) -hundreds or thousands of LY tops range. Also note this reinforces the distinctions between industiral and hive worlds.

Page 698

Shimmering in the air above the dais was the massive face of Imperial General Balthus Trask, which Ragnar recognised from before. Supervising his troops from his flagship in orbit, he could not be in present in person, but he was making his presence felt over the comm-net.

Holgraphic comm of the IG general. remember that in modern 40K this is supposed to be super-rare tech. Also a shared comm-net.

Page 701

A dozen Warlord Titans dominated the force, towering over the mass of warriors like men looming over a swarm of insects. The single massive Emperor Titan dwarfed even them. Its long shadow seemed to lie over half the army. The shimmer of its void screens was bright enough to see. Loping swiftly on the edges of the force, lean, wolfish, Warhound Titans took up position for
their race towards the enemy.

Titan force deployed on Garm.

Page 701

Already the huge Earthshaker assault guns battered at the enemy position, sending monstrous shells smashing into the walls of the distant keep, not even visible through the snowy mist of the Garmite dawn. The weather diviners on the fleet had prophesied that the mist would dear soon.

earthshakers. Possible "on the horizon/beyond the horizon" range.

Page 702 -

Most of the infantry below were in the Rhinos, ready to move into the battle zone. The Imperial Guard might lack the skill and superhuman ferocity of the Space Wolves but it made up for it with numbers. Tens of thousands of men were down there, ready to do battle in the Emperor's name. As Ragnar watched he saw more tanks drive through the snow. They were Baneblades, so large that not even the Titans could dwarf their massively powerful presence. He saw Shadow Swords too, ready to engage any enemy armour that might show.

Tens of thousands of troops, with Rhinos and superheavies, ready to deploy. Seems to be a wholly vehicle-mobile deployment as well.

Page 706

Once more he ran through the holomaps he had memorised. All of them were stored within the matrix of his armour, but in the heat of battle they could not always be called up, and sometimes armour got damaged. It was better to carry the information in your head.

Ragnar has holomaps stored onboard his suit, and probably other pertinent data that may not be in his head, ready for use. This creates an interesting sort of parallel - they cram alot of general info into their heads - but not EVERYTHING they need to know (as Hakon said) so there are gaps. I imagine the suit's own data storage and retrieval might make up for this gap (inputting specific data about targets, planetary enviorments, battlegrounds, or whatever a Wofl may need to know to accomplish his mission.) Makes sense - put the commonly used stuff in your head, and leave the rest for temporary storage in the suit.

Page 706

Ragnar visualised the keep as it had first been shown to him. It was a huge structure of the type favoured by humanity on these industrial worlds, basically a cube, a kilometre per side. The cube was joined to the earth by a tangled web of pipes and cables that resembled the root structure of some massive plant. These were power systems drawing thermal heat from Garm's fiery core, and water from underground reservoirs and transit tubes for grav-trains. The tubes clambered up the side of the structure like vines clinging to the walls of some ancient stronghold.

At each corner of the keep's roof, four enormous towers thrust into the sky like spears aimed at the belly of the clouds. These towers were part fortification and part chimney, venting enormous clouds of pollutants into the sky. From the centre of the roof jutted a truncated pyramid, as massive as many islands back home on Fenris. This was the place where the keep's nobility dwelled and where many of the control systems for the entire structure terminated.

Instant recall of visual data in exact detail. Note the geothermal systems, grav-trains, and built in life support.

Page 707

The other Baneblades started blasting away in response, although Ragnar was not sure what they hoped to achieve. No matter how powerful those guns were, they could do little damage to the walls of the keep.

- the Baneblades open up now, not to much effect on the keep it seems. Could this mean that they're more powerful than Earthshakers, given that the Earthshakers haven't made a dent in it?

Page 708

He could see that a Warlord Titan was bringing its weapon to bear. The air was filled with an enormous humming sound as the Titan’s generators peaked at maximum energy, and then its gun sent a spear of energy lancing at the distant building with a sound like a thunderclap. The sound reverberated like thunder as the rest of the Titans opened up.
...
It would be interesting to see the effects of the Titan’s incredible firepower on the enemy.

Titans open fire.

Page 708

The Imperial army was firing at will, and their enemy responded in kind. A wave of explosions ripped through the Imperial line as some kind of multiple rocket launcher targeted the onrushing Rhinos. Looking down into the maelstrom of explosions, it seemed impossible that anything could have survived, but when the dust and snow settled Ragnar could see that not a single Rhino had been touched, and all were now far beyond the point of impact.

Imperial army opens fire. Not the Multiple rocket launcher bombardment from the fortress against hte IG Rhinos.

Page 709

The Thunderhawk rose above the shoulder of the Titan, and Ragnar caught sight of the Ironfang rising out of the snow and mist. All along its sides, huge guns blasted away. City defence missile launchers sent payloads of death smashing into the Imperial army.
.

The Imperial barrage was taking its own toll. Many turrets on the keep had been blasted into smithereens. Flames leapt from their hardpoints. Pools of steaming metal marked where some had been reduced to slag by the Titans’ firepower. Massive explosions carved huge chunks from the sides of the building, exposing twisted girders.Steam poured from broken pipes large enough for Rhinos to drive inside.

Now components of the Imperial force raced ahead, Rhinos and lighter tanks hurtling towards the holes in the lower walls. Land speeders and battle bikes probed even further forward, plumes of snow and ash rising in their wakes. Tens of thousands of autorifles and bolters opened up, as infantry within the building joined the fray. Ragnar saw the contrails of rockets from man-portable launchers as their projectiles tore through the Imperial ranks.

More missile launchers vs Imperial barrage. Note the Titans melting defence guns (assuming a gun turret equal in size to a 16" battleship turret It might be 100 tonns. If its equal to an 8" gun it might be 17 tonnes. A 6 inch gun turret might be only 8 tonnes. Assuming iron, we might figure double or triple digit GJ, although in what context this effect occurs (single shots, multiple shots, which weapons, etc.) we don't know.

Rhinos are supported by "light" tanks (Predator sperhaps) as fast as the Rhinos as well as Land Speeders and Bikes. We dont know if the speeders are IG or Marine, however. Safe bet is the latter. Autoguns and bolters from the defenders along with rocket launhcers employed to shoot at advancing Imperials.

Page 710

Hundreds of heretics concealed within the hab bubbles poured out, blasting away at the huge machines with their pitiful weapons, trying to stop them with grenades and weapons intended only to take out tanks and other lesser engines of destruction. They were met by a host of Imperial Guard disgorged by the first wave of Rhinos.

IG deploying from Rhinos. Heretics try using anti tank weapons (to no avail) on titans (and maybe superheavies)

Page 710

The Thunderhawk dropped downwards, lurching slightly as it sent rockets and heavy autogun fire scything into the enemy position.

Space Wolf Thunderhawks have rockets and autoguns.

Page 711

For the first time he began to get a sense of how big the factory keep really was. It loomed like a mountain above them, its massive shadow falling for kilometres. It had a cold, monumental presence like the Fang back home. Great fountains of industrial slag had gushed down its side, like molten lava. As the slag solidified it became another layer of armour on the keep's side, except where it had been mined by the scavengers who dwelled in the bubble towns.

Sounding alot like a hive, in other words.

Page 711

It was so hot it would have seared naked flesh; it felt warm even through his ceramite gauntlet.

- a pipe that could burn/sear naked flesh feels "merely warm" to Ragnar. That suggest it is absorbing/shrugging off heat that would at least inflict third degree burns (50 J/cm) if not greater (hundreds of j/cm^2, perhaps a thousand or more.) This would be consistent iwth its relative immunity to flamethrower type weapons.

Page 712

Ragnar had to stoop now, for the tunnel was built so that a native of Garm barely had room to stand upright, and the Space Wolf was a head taller than any of them.

Garmites are 15-20 cm or so shorter than a Space Marine. This would suggest an average size of 1.8 to 2.3 metres. I am not going to consider 2.8 metre people unless they're half Ogryn

Page 715

"Not enough people left alive to take them to recycling."

"Recycling." said Ragnar with some disgust. He knew customs varied on different worlds, but this was not one he thought he could ever get used to.

"Aye, their bodies have not been sent back to production."

Ragnar tried hard not to imagine how this worked, but failed. Images of huge dumpsters full of bodies being tipped into pools of recycling fluid to be broken down for their proteins and nutrients filled his mind. On hive worlds everything was considered a raw material, even the flesh of the dead. He must have muttered the words softly for Strybjorn said, "That's one raw material of which there is no shortage around here."

the usual corpse-starch/soylent green reference for hive worlds. Recycling of this sort (including other things - water, resources, etc.) is important for Hive ecology and survival.

Page 716

This was just one keep among thousands.

There are "thousands" of keeps on the planet. If they have anything like a hive population, the place must have billions at least, if not approaching thr trillions true hives tend to. Given King's approach with worlds like Aerius and Thranx, that's not impossible.

Page 716

It might take the lifetime of a normal man, but he had many times that number of years, so what did it matter?

Ragnar has "many lifetimes" of a normal man, which might mean he expects to l ive centuries typically.

Page 717

Berek’s company had been handed a prime role, taking out the main power-hub for the western wall. Ragnar knew this would cut the energy supply to the great turrets and beam weapons up there, put the supply lifts on manual operation, and force the whole sector to use back-up power batteries tor life support functions such as air filtration and circulation, and water pumping.

- the "great turrets and beam weapons" are powered by a geothermal reactor. ( The weapons firing on the approaching Imperial Force, at least. We haven't seen any other obvious guns engaged, certainly no anti-orbit stuff.)

Page 717-718

They knew that once the power was off, they had only limited time before the storage batteries ran out, and life support went off-line for good.
..
And, if worst came to worst, it meant that the enemy would simply die of oxygen starvation, thirst, and all the other ailments that hit hive cities when their life support failed. Hitting a hive this way was like stabbing a man so that his lungs filled up with blood.

The fortress guns have batteries as well as a direct reactor link. I imagine that starship guns might operate on similar principles for redundancy purposes.

Ragnar and the rest emphasize the weaknesses of Hive cities (such as power, life support, etc.)

Page 720

"The Rune Priest is invoking Russ and the Emperor to shield us from any divination spells used by our enemies."
...
Each of the Rune Priests was equipped with knowledge that had been plucked directly from the memories of Trainer’s men, and each could contact his brother priests by virtue of his mystical powers should such a necessity arise. It made Ragnar aware of the depths of resources and knowledge his Chapter possessed. He doubted that any other organisation in the Imperium, save their fellow Adeptus Astartes Chapters, had access to such things.

Rune Priests apparentyl can psychically obfuscate their location. RAgnar also thinks other Imperials have nothing like what the Wolves have (in a sense true - as noone has the same level of organic resources the Marines do, but each organization has parts of it, and working together they can achieve similar results, obviously.)

Page 720-721

The ceramite of Torvald's armour had blistered and run in several places, and he complained loudly to anyone who would listen about the agony he endured, save when a healer was close enough to overhear the words. Sven had a bandage wrapped round his face, covering the empty socket where he had lost an eye. Ragnar had heard the healer say that he was lucky, that the nerve was still intact and that in time a vat-grown prosthetic could be grafted on. At the moment, a metal optical lens lay under the bandage. In another few hours the implant would be attuned well enough for the wrapping to come off, and let Sven see properly again

Presumably torval's armour is running from energy weapons ifre, but we don't know what kind. Sven lost an eye and needs a replacement (which they call a "vat grown prosthetic" - either they have some augmetics that are biomechanical or organically "grown" but still artificial, akin to what happened with Lexandro's replacement hand, or they cloned a fresh hand.) A short term mechanical augmetic is in use, and needs a few hours to adapt (EG a short term solution that shows some augmetics are at least temporary.)

PAge 721

The Rune Priest had spirit walked and mind controlled the men guarding the entrance to the power core into opening the massive armoured gate. The company had poured in, overwhelming ten times their number of foes in a matter of minutes.
..
Save for a few officers kept alive so that their minds could be drained of knowledge by Skalagrim..

More Rune Priest powers.. mind control and "spirit walking." as well as drawing information from officers minds. The asisstance helps to overcome numerical inferiority.

Page 721

The lights had flickered and gone out for a few moments until the emergency power reservoirs had cut in. Soon this whole area of the keep would be uninhabitable. And sooner than that, the massive weapons holding the Imperial army at bay would no longer have the power to fire.

Confirmation that the power was cut to the fortress guns, as well as the reserves supporting other internal systems of the hive.

Oage 730

Constantly having to live in filter masks was proving a strain even for men who had grown up under the strict air disciplines of the keep. They had to sleep in their masks, and squeeze food pastes into their mouth pieces through the same long metal straws they used to suck in the vile stagnant water.

The PDF troops. Comes with straws for drinking water and (yuk) food paste (again.)

Page 732

Ragnar could see, as he glanced at the works from the corner of his eye, how easily the Imperium could be misrepresented by it foes. After all, its mightiest organisations worked behind a veil of mystery. Its most sacred rituals were hidden from the view of the mass of its citizenry, most of whom were shielded even from the knowledge of the evil from which the Emperor’s servants protected them.

The irony of the "we must keep potentailly dangerous stuff secret" is then that it is easy for those enemies they are keeping secrets about (or from) can twist shit around to their purposes. And it does happen frequently, such as when Administratum, Munitorum, or Ecclesarchical organizations (at least on the local level) are penetrated and subverted to the purposes of (for example) Chaos.

Page 736

He had a sense of the ancient evil power which he opposed, caught a glimpse of the sheer immensity of the enemies of mankind and, for a moment, his soul quailed. Then from somewhere far off, he sensed an opposing power, a beacon of pure shining power which pulsed unimaginably far off, and which opposed the wills of those who would destroy mankind. Its power flowed into him, and pushed him backwards and downwards into his flesh.

Ragnar appears to have an out of body experience. If we can take it literally, it suggests, like we know from other sources, the Emperor is active in the galaxy still, at least on some level.

Page 739

Now Ragnar could see battle being fought, as Berek and his embattled company fought their way into the core of the complex against more than ten times their number.
..
Ragnar could see heavy weapons fire erupt from the Wolves' position on the stairs, and see the flicker of energy as Rune Priests drew on their powers to blast aside their foes.

"Come on!" he shouted, and led his pack at a blazing sprint across the chamber. Beams of hot light seared the stones around him as las-fire erupted from turret windows above the entrance to the sanctum. Snipers, he thought veering erratically to disturb their aim, knowing there was not much else he could do at the moment. The range was too great for a snapshot.

Laser fire from snipers. Note the rune priests using their powers to attack. Again 10:1 odds.

Page 739

He breathed in the scent of the massive pack, and noticed the quick confident way in which every man moved, instinctively knowing what needed to be done, and what his part in it all was. Ragnar could see through that illusion now. The coordination was in part a product of long years of training, and part a product of the complex subliminal web of olfactory signals that tied the pack together.

This has actually been a long-time facet of the novels, but I only got round to commenting on it now. Apparently Space Wolves have some means of scent-based empathy/near-telepathinc communication (pheremones perhaps?) that supports their ability to coordinate and work together. It also quite often communicates general feelings/opinions often (manifesting sometimes as an ability to 'read' the state of others.)

PAge 740

To have to face that hail of death, of heavy bolter shells, and micro-missiles and heavy las-fire, without the benefit of heavy ceramite armour, without the confidence of being a Wolf.

- The Space Wolf Long Fangs are employing "heavy bolter shells, and micro-missiles and heavy las-fire" to lay down a heavy covering fire barrage against cultists. This suggests that there are "smaller" missiles than usual missile launchers (but larger than heavy bolter s hells) and also that some Space Marine lasweapons at least seem to be capable of higher rates of fire than a lascannon supposedly (or perhaps their lascannon have variable rates of fire.) I will refrain from commenting on the possibility of man portable multi-lasers (even though it makes some sense for such devices - the possibility enrages people for some reason.

Page 741

The return fire seemed to have died under the barrage of death thrown down by the Long Fangs. He risked a glance up and saw a massive cloud of smoke and thunderous explosions. Some of the wicked looking gargoyles around the entrance had been reduced to shapeless masses, chiselled away by the sheer weight of bolter shells thrown at them. Some had been melted to slag by the reflected spray of heavy las-fire.

"Gargoyles" melted to slag by las-fire. Assuming they are man sized they might mass hundreds of kg.. which could mean double or triple digit heat ray lasers.

Page 744-745

In one massive tattooed hand, the cultist held a huge spear. It was carved all of some dark wood worked with the runes of Fenris.
..

The spearhead looked as if it were carved from the fang of a monstrous dragon.
..
There was something about the Spear, even in its polluted state, that caused a sense of reverence in him, something that seemed to have been burned deep into his flesh, perhaps implanted within the gene-seed itself.

The Spear of Russ. The spear of Telesto from the Blood Angels novel had something similar. I don't quite get why so many Primarch-owned spears supposedly existed (Soulspear, Telesto, and now this one.) The Emperor must have REALLY liked Polearms (Then again there ARE the Custodes signature weapon...)

Page 749

"Some of them have been trapped since the Burning of Prospero and Horus’s rebellion. I fear all that waiting, and wrestling with daemons has driven them a little mad and not a little vengeful. On the other hand, we will soon have every Thousand Son killed in the Long War back in the flesh, and believe me, that’s a lot. True Chapters were so much larger than your puny latter day imitations."

basically using living beings to return to life. They need a functioning brain however, so killing them denies them bodies. The hosts need to be rune-inscribed sa well, meaning the Thousand Sons planned the numbers to return. This suggests that a vast majority of the Thousand Sons legion is still "alive" in a sense, but incorporeal, existing and functioning not unlike a daemon. Whether this was due entirely to Ahriman's little fuckup or predated it, I don't know. I assume they can bind either to armor (becoming lifeless automata in the process, akin to daemonic weapons) or they can to a living body (Becoming like the possessed.)

Also this implies that Heresy-era Chapters were larger than current-era Chapters. I'm not sure if he meant Legions or not, or if the actual chapters comprising the Legion (depending on your author) were larger as well.

Page 749

From its roaring mouth it spat the returning souls of its dead followers. Ragnar knew now that without question he was looking on the awesome visage of Magnus the Red, primarch of the Thousand Sons, a warped creation of the Emperor, who rivalled any daemon prince in power and malignity.

Daemon Primarch Magnus appears. While I'd e tempted to make jokes about him shooting daemons out of his mouth, this rather strongly suggests that the bulk of the Legion's souls, if not its entirety, are bound/tied into him psychically, not unlike the way that Daemon sof a particular aspect are tied to their particular Gods

Page 750

The huge armoured warrior was lumbering and slow. He could probably destroy a tank with a blow of his axe but first it had to connect.

Thousand Son could "destroy a tank" with his power axe, by which I mean he can cut it apart and penetrate armor.

Page 750-751

"The youth is right. Those madmen do not know what they are doing. If that warp gate is allowed to run loose much longer it will break free of all control and consume the planet. This world will become a daemon world like those in the Eye of Terror."
..
The daemon worlds were places where hell invaded the material universe, warped by Chaos, ruled by the whims of daemon princes.

Consequences of an uncontrolled warp gate on Garm, and what Daemon planets are. Denying them to Chaos is to deny Chaos a staging point into the galaxy.

Page 755

Nearby he saw a heavy flamer held in the grasp of a fallen Long Fang. He leapt over to it, snatched it up and pulled the igniter that brought it to life. A jet of incandescent chemical fire leapt out. He squeezed the trigger and the jet lengthened.
..
The flames licked out, setting light to the heretics, melting the armour of the Marines. Within seconds Ragnar had burned a path forward.

Long fang heavy flamer burns cultists and melts Chaos Marine armor.

Page 758

The cult leader held the Spear of Russ in his right hand, as if considering throwing it at his assailant. Inwardly Ragnar quailed. His armour would not be able to withstand that legendary weapon even if wielded by a heretic.
..
Ragnar could feel the death in the weapon, sense the weight of it, knew that when the weapon struck a life would end. It hurtled towards him like a thunderbolt cast by an angry god. He watched it come, knew that on its current trajectory the glittering point would pierce his heart.
...
At the last moment, he reached out and snatched the Spear from the air, catching it just behind the head. He felt its momentum and its mass, far greater than anything he could have expected. He let the weight of it turn him around in a half circle, bringing him to face the heretic once more and with a snap of his arm he set it onwards to bury itself in the Chaos worshipper's chest. Even Sergius's vast, sorcery riddled body could not withstand the weapon that had wounded Magnus himself. It passed right through him and almost out of the other side.

The (thrown) Spear of Russ would penetrate Ragnar's armor and kill him immediately. Whether it is just becuase of the way it is thrown or some special power isn't specific. The weapon can be picked up or moved by Russ, but is considerably heavier than even Astartes-sized weapons I guess (not a shock given how much bigger most Primarchs were.)

By that same token the Spear is easily able to penetrate the defences of a sorcerer and kill them.

Page 760

All of the air was sucked out of Ragnar’s lungs. His armour’s life-support systems kicked in automatically to compensate.

Life support provides oxygen to ragnar as his lungs exhale.

Page 762

"It takes a lot of a man’s strength to recover from a hellblade wound. Even with the help of Rune Priests it is draining."

Seriousness of daemonic/warp weapons.

Page 763

"You must understand though that the Spear of Russ was a most precious and sacred thing. It was created for Russ, Lord of Lords, Wolf of Wolves. It contained part of his power. It is said that on the day of his return he would claim it and use it to smite the Great Evil One in the last days. I think he will find that a bit difficult now."

Legends/beliefs behind the Spear of Russ. I'm really not sure what to say about this, really. I'm not sure if it really could/did hold a part of his power (one of those genetic links maybe? Or are they just responding to a psychic imprint of his imbued in the weapon.) Moreover, despite the reverence it is held in, one mus tremember what we are told about the Spear in Wolf's Honour and how Russ himself felt about it. I really don't know if this is what Bill King intended behind the Spear or not, but I do think it provides a nice, ironic contrst between "modern" Imperium and Heresy era from the myth and legend angle.

Of course, Chaos considers it important in some way, whether it really has power or if it is purely symbolic (akin to polluting or corrupting a powerful Imperial symbol like a church.)

Page 763-764

"In any mighty organisation there will always be politics, Brother Ragnar, even among the Russ’s Wolves. There are those who see discrediting you as a means of discrediting me. After all, it means my company goes from being the one which saved the world of Garm well-nigh single-handed to being the one which lost our Chapter’s most precious relic."

Much like with the Ultramarines in the McNeill books (or Assault on Black Reach) and the Blood Angels in Swallow's novels, the Space Wolves have their own internal politicking that drives much of their behaviour. Politics and Ragnar's actions will drive much of the next novel and the rest of the series, for that matter.

Connor MacLeod · Post by **Connor MacLeod** » 2012-09-26 08:50pm

Well I should dig into this then. Next up is my favorite in the Space Wolf series, and my favorite of Bill King's writing in particular. Wolfblade. The basic premise is 'Ragnar is exiled to Terra cuz of politics, and gets involved in even more politics - those of the Imperium. With his trusty sidekicks he defeats an evil plot and wins himself a magic sword.'

Like 'Ragnar's Claw' the story is driven much by the characters Ragnar meets as he is thrown into a situation far from his Chapter (this was sort of the case in Grey Hunter, but he was actually part of a larger Company there rather than on his own with a handful of others as he was in Ragnar's Claw and Wolfblade.) And it is the characters, particularily the Space Marine ones, that make it so interesting and memorable. The Wolfblade is basically the place where the irregular, unusual or disgraced Wolves go. And nowhere is this better shown than Toril and Haegr. Torin is (for lack of a better term) a Space Marine dandy, about the closest to a Space Marine prettyboy one is ever likely to meet, while Haegar is the closest to an overweight Space Marine one is likely to find. Bill King's willingness to break with stereotype, even amongst the Space Wolves, is really what makes this memorable. Haegar and Torin bring much of the humor to the story - indeed the banter between those two and Ragnar is one of the more enjoyable parts of the book for me, but them being a bit 'goofy' does not detract from them being Space Wolves - and when it comes to fighting, they're all business and quite deadly (especially Haegr, as we'll see.) But by virtue of their position, they are also reflect a different 'path' Space Marines may take than the 'kill em all' super soldiers - Torin has skills other than killing (as do some of the other Wolfblade) although Haegar is still all about battle. And eating. And this is another good thing too.

Another good part about this story is that it is primarily driven by events on Terra - the politics and internal dynamics of the throneworld of the Empire. We get one of those rare glimpses into what actually happens on Terra, and one of those even rarer glimpses into the Navigators themselves. That does much to flesh out the universe as a whole. The story itself is nothing fantastic by itself, but you hardly notice due to the characters.

Wolfblade also marked the final Space Wolf novel Bill King has (yet) written, which is a tragedy. Although I wouldn't call the Lee Lightner novels 'bad' per se.. they just really can't capture the Bill King 'feel' of the story. And after this book you're really left wondering where King might have taken the wolves had he kept writing for Black Library.

So, without further ado, we begin Wolfblade. Its a fairly lengthy update, I may stretch it out to 3 or 4 depending on my moods. I'm aiming for three, though.

Page 7

He looked to the soft ground underfoot. Although he was moving quietly there was no way he could avoid leaving tracks. The weight of his armour ensured it.

It's impossible to not leave tracks in power armour in soft ground.

Page 8

And everywhere and always there was the faint insidious stench that Chaos left when it inhabited a world’s surface for any time; it was the smell of corruption, rich, sweet and sickly.

Again Wolves can smell Chaos (or rather the effects of it on reality.)

Page 9

Several times he had tried raising central command, but something had shut down the whole net. Whether it was sorcery or some freak climatic effect, it did not matter.

Sorcery can jam comms.

Page 10

In the face of the sledgehammer falling on them, there had been no choice but to give the order to retreat. It had not been a popular one. For Space Wolves the most honourable death was in battle, and it was not in their nature to give way before the enemy.

Ragnar grinned. A Wolf Lord did not need to be popular, he needed to be obeyed, and Ragnar was. It was not his duty to throw lives away needlessly. It was his duty to defeat the enemy. However, if that was not possible, he would preserve as much of his force as he could so that they could return and overcome the foe another day.

This underscores the difference in military philosophies/priorities of the "rank" Marines (or at least their inclinations) and those who command. Much like the Black Templars, Space Wolves are not prone to withdrawl or retreat, even if it is tactically sound. And much like the Black Templars, a
competent officer (if selected) will do it anyhow.

It is worth contrasting Ragnar's approach to his Great Company and how Berek operated it before, particularily given Ragnar's own comments about Berek's attrition-happy nature amongst Blood Claws in Grey Hunter

Page 10

In fact, they had done the work of ten times their number in throwing back the enemy assaults.

more of "Space Marines equal to 10x their number" commentary.

Page 12

Those hits had come from close by. Had the enemy spotted and targeted them? It was hard to see how they could have done so by conventional means, but then Chaos did not have to use conventional means. They had sorcerers and daemons and all manner of divinatory enchantments to call on. Ragnar had seen evidence enough of that in his career never to doubt it.

Their own position was supposedly warded by the spells of the Rune Priests, but they had been cast days ago, and such things had a way of untangling when most needed.

Sorcerey can be used to provide what amounts to "targeting data", more or less, instead of by "conventional" means. "conventional means" presumably includes auspex or surveyors, so this tends to suggest Space Wolf power armour has some means of masking against sensors (llike IR/thermal ones)

Rune Priests, likewise can attmept to shield against such scrying. Something simialr was tried (or implied) in Grey Hunter.

Page 13

Battle was a fluid situation; lines that seemed solid had a way of melting like tracks in sand before the tide. Perhaps the men behind them had been over-run by the advancing tide of evil. He would not know until he was much closer. Once again he cursed the battle that raged overhead. Without access to the comm-net and the divinatory orbital sensors, they were blind as well as deaf. At least, he hoped battle still raged overhead. If the Imperial Fleet had been defeated, then they were cut off, and they were all dead men who did not know it yet.

Ragnar comments on the battle situation, and its "fluidity", as well as the importance of the comms and orbital sensors in order to fight properly. And he also notes that without orbital support from the Imperial Fleet they would be doomed.

Page 14

Not all spells involved bolts of fire or the summoning of hellspawned fiends. He was shielded against obvious attacks, and knew how to resist a direct probe at his mind.

Ragnar is shielded against direct physical (obvious) spell attacks somehow (power armor?), and he has the ability to resist mind probes. Whether this is typical to Space Wolves (tied to that wolf spirit commented on in the second novel) or is unique to Ragnar is not specified.

Page 18

Get used to it, he told himself, you cannot always be on the winning side. Not unless you were the Imperium anyway. It was a joke among the human military that the Imperium always won, even if it took a thousand years. Individuals, regiments, armies might be lost in meat-grinder campaigns but in the end the forces of the Emperor were always triumphant - they had to be, they were just too numerous for it to be any other way.

Morbid, but true. The Imperium can simply throw more resources at a problme than any other force in the galaxy, except (maybe) the Tyranids or the Orks, and the Orks are hampered by lack of unity. Oh and the Necrons potentially, but they'd have to wake up and unify themselves too.

Page 24

Swiftly and silently, they slithered through the dark, bypassing sentry devices, stepping over tripwires.

Chaos set up sentry devices.

Page 25

Ragnar let out a howling war cry that echoed in the woods around them, magnified a hundred-fold.

This suggests (roughly) that Ragnar's company numbers are at least 100, probably more. This does not include Ragnar or (presumably) his own personal bodyguards (who are with him and don't need warning or indication to attack). It also probably doesn't include the rearguard Ragnar had left when he'd retreated. We learn in the 5th edition Space Wolf Codex that Ragnar's troops seem to number in excess of 200. IIRC

Page 29

Ragnar extruded the claws in his boots. He stepped back and lashed out with his foot, catching the Chaos warrior behind the exposed knee, where the armour’s thigh and calfguards met. He felt the blades bite home and saw Karamanthos begin to tip over.

I bet this isn't standard equipment, but its pretty fun regardless as far as dirty tricks go.

Page 39

Of course, that is what he would think if he had come under some sort of spell. He might well believe himself to be completely loyal until some moment of Magnus's choosing and then...

He knew such things were possible. Psykers could read minds, alter memories, and change people's thoughts and emotions. He had been trained to resist such things but Magnus was a primarch of the Fallen, a being only marginally less powerful than the God-Emperor himself. Furthermore, of all the primarchs, Magnus was the one most deeply immersed in sorcery. So if anyone was capable of such a feat it was he.

Ragnar comments on the perils of psykers influencing or corrupting normal minds, particularily of Magnus.

Page 42

The politics of the Wolf Lords were at least as important as their religious beliefs. He doubted that there was any man among them who did not aspire to sit in Logan Grimnar’s place on the Wolf Throne. The only difference was in the timing.

Again, Space Wolf politics and how it influences things in the Chapter. The veteran's equivalent of Blood Claw brawling, methinks.

Page 49-50

"Tell me Ragnar, what do you know of the Wolfblades?"

Ragnar sifted through the memories that had been implanted by the training engines when he was an aspirant.

"They are Space Wolves sent to Holy Terra to fulfil our treaty obligations with the House of Belisarius. We provide them with bodyguards in return for the Navigators they provide us."

"That is true insofar as it goes, Ragnar, but Wolf-blades are much more. They train the Celestarch of Belisarius’s House troops and lead them into battle. They act as his strong right arm when there is need. They slay his enemies in open battle and by stealth if need be."

The Wolflblades, mentioned in Grey Hunter, are described in greater detail. Basically they're a force contracted out to serve and Guard House Belisarius in return for Navigator assistance. Part politics, part mercenary deal. Still it makes sense. Borrowing "modern" 40K terminology, Logan Grimnar, as a Chapter Master, is a "Peer of the Imperium", and as such he is expected to barter and negotiate with other factions in the Imperium to gain services, for which he trades his men (or promises of assistance from the Wolves, such as in times of crisis.) Like with the AdMech and Technolgy, the Munitorum and the Guard, and the Ecclesiarchy and religion, the Astartes (and the Space Wolves in particular) parley their particular gifts into tangible political power, and ensure their survival and place in the Imperium.

The cornerstones of the Imperium (the major ones, anyhow) are the Emperor and self interest/mutla cooperation.

Page 50

"..Skander Bloody-axe, an old comrade of mine from my Blood Claw pack."

Ragnar could see sadness in the old warrior’s face. There were few left from that generation in the Chapter now, and Grimnar and this Skander must have been among the last. There were no closer comrades in the Chapter than those who had gone through their initiation and basic training together, and who had been part of the same initial unit.

This means Skander was of a similar age to Logan (700 years or so.) I imagine Logan relied on such individuals as trusted operatives, especially far away from Fenris. Especailly on Terra.

This is also a commentary on the nature of Blood Claw packs and the close bonds they form and their importance to the chapter even when one is no longer a Blood Claw.

Page 52

"You get the fleshpots at the heart of the Imperium!"
"Earth is a holy planet, Sven."
"Earth is as holy as a hornweed addict’s visions. It’s the capital of the Imperium. All the nobs are there and I don’t think they spend their time fasting and meditating."

Sven gives his usual astute analysis. To most people, and Imperial propoganda, Terra is a holy site and a pilgrimmage destination. To others (like Sven), it is a haven for politics, corruption, and sin. In my mind, and knowing the aristocracy of the Imperium, I'm banking on the latter being more true than the former. (That does not mean that Terra is not 'sacred' in some fashion - such things, and the godlike nature of the GEoM, certainly have tangible and important impacts to the Imperium, so its perception as a holy site is valuable.)

Also note they call Terra "Earth" here. again I'm not usre if this is a Bill King flub, an artefact of these novels being of an earlier time (or based on an earlier era), or whether we assume it is a "translation" of osme kind (From Gothic to english) in universe. Or maybe the tutelary engines had enough data to cram that name into their minds and that Terra and Earth are the same thing.

Page 54

"Earth is the hub of the Imperium. It’s the centre of government, the setting of mankind’s greatest temples, the home of our wealthiest and most powerful merchant houses. And the most corrupt."

Ranek echoes Sven's earlier assessment, albeit in a more intelligent fashion. Note that Terra having "powerful merchant houses" implies that whilst Sector level trade and politics is more regular and consistent (relatively speaking) there still exists a segmentum wide/Imperium wide economy, which in turn needs its merchants. I wonder if those Merchants are all Navigators or navigator aligned, or if there are Mrechant houses that are independent of them?

Page 56

"Our pact with House Belisarius predates the Imperium itself. Some members of the Administra-tum dislike it, but they have to accept it. They know that we keep this Navigator House honest. The Celestarchs of Belisarius have been good men and women, Ragnar. They are loyal to us and to the Imperium and we have always been part of the reason for that."

Another purpose to the wolfblades. They Keep an important arm of the Imperium honest, much as the Sisters do to the Ministorum. I wonder if other Navigator houses have made similar pledges. I would assume so, since the other Chapters have to get their navigators from somewhere. That might imply hundreds, if not thousands of Navigator houses.

I'm not quite sure what Ranek means by their pact predating the Imperium.. does he mean that it originated with the Great Crusade and the Unification? Does this mean all the Navigator houses resided on Terra even back then? I suspect that the Administratum dislikes this bond because it is yet another lever on Astartes denied to them.

Page 62

She had just spent a decade among the men of the Fang.

This might give us an idea of the time between differnet events.

Page 62-63

He wished he could read her moods better. The Navigators smelled different from other humans. There was something alien about their scent. Alien and well nigh unreadable.

Ragnar knew they had been bred for countless generations to guide starships across the interstellar void. They had done so since before the founding of the Imperium. Somewhere, their gene line and that of normal humanity had parted company. Ragnar knew that they were no longer human but they were tolerated by the Imperium because they were necessary. Without Navigators interstellar voyages would take years or decades, if they could be made at all. Travel through the warp was treacherous even with a Navigator. Without one, it could be deadly.

Ragnar considered this, as he considered the woman before him. Their skills had brought the Navigator Houses wealth beyond measure. Belisarius had sent a ship to bring the news of Gabriella's father's death to the Wolves. Granted it had also brought trade goods and a request for a new Wolf-blade, but even so the thought was staggering. Shipswere enormously expensive. Belisarius had its own fleet, one considerably larger than that owned by the Space Wolves. Ragnar knew this from the histories. They had leased ships to the Wolves on very favourable terms when they were needed. It was one aspect of the ancient alliance between the two.

Navigators, as mutants, smell different to Ragnar. We also get the usual Navigator details - note that voyages without Navigator would take "years or decades" Assuming 2 LY and a 20 year trip, we're talking 10% of c.

Also their stranglehold on Navigation makes them superb traders and merchants and incredibly wealthy. Including to the point of having their own starships (which they lease out). Presumably these ships are "technically" owned by the Adeptus Terra but leased out to the Navigators (or loaned). That there is an industry in renting starships in some manner is interesting, to say the least. Bureacracy always hates what it cannot control.

Page 63

"And we do not have holdings only on Earth,"

Belisarius has off-world holdings. For Navigators this is not surprising. We learn of examples of this in "Farseer" and Sons of Fenris. I imagine they also have territory and merchant houses scattereda bout the galaxy, since they are the best positioned to facilitate (and control) trade above the sector level (and quite probably below it as well.)

Page 64

"Your Chapter is known to be wild and uncontrollable, a law unto itself."

"All Space Marine Chapters are. Their privileges and prerogatives date back to before the Imperium itself."

Again Space Marines have an ingrained independence from the Adeptus Terra.

Page 64

"I thought Belisarius was one of the most powerful of the Navigator Houses?"
"It is now, and has been at many times in its history. But these things are cyclical. All Houses suffer setbacks. Such is the nature of trade and competition."

Like the Imperium itself, Navigator houses wax and wane in power and influence. and probably size.

Page 67

'When we leave orbit, we will be about twelve hours away from our insertion point. The captain will handle the steering of the vessel until then. I am going to get something to eat and have some rest,’

The Belisarius trading/courier ship (its mentioned carrying cargo needs twelve hours to reach the warp insertion point from Fenris. Assuming a 1 AU distance we're probalby talking 30-35 Gees. Tens or hundreds of gees depending on exact distance seems likely.

Page 69

He surveyed the food and realised that it must have cost a small fortune to bring it all this distance. The selection of wines, brandies and cheeses that had been provided had been brought all the way from Terra. Given the cost of transportation the Navigators charged, it seemed almost a sin.

An example of the long term transportation cargo. Given the use of stasis tech it probably makes sense. This also implies that Terra has some "home grown" agricultural/food production industries still, given it can export food (even if at cost.) And we get confirmation that Navigators seem to be the major (if not only) long distance shippers.

Page 70

In this small heavily armoured chamber, bolter shells would ricochet. Ragnar’s armour would shield him, but there was every chance they might harm the woman he was supposed to protect.

Ragnar's armor can protect against ricocheting bolter shells.

Page 70

To normal humans it would have been moving with blinding speed, but Ragnar was a Space Wolf, and his perceptions and reflexes were superhuman. For him, in combat mode now, it moved in slow motion.

"combat mode" where Ragnar's perceptions and body is shifted into a heightened, accelerated state. Including the 'bullet time' and the injection of natural (enhancing) chemicals (which are not combat drugs.)

Page 71

"That is a jokaero death spider. An assassination device that contains zarthax, one of the deadliest poisons in the galaxy."
..
"Every child of the Navigator Houses knows about such things. They are commonly used devices. Small enough to crawl through ventilator shafts, stealthy enough to infiltrate a mansion. I was lucky. I had gone to wash my face when I heard it thump down on the bed. I froze and shouted for help. Its camera eyes would have tracked movement. The operator could not have seen me or I would be dead now."

Jokaero tech makes an appearance, as an assasination device. Frankly I'm surprised that any Jokaero would make more than one of such a thing, as what I remember of them they tend not to be that focused. Unlike most Imperial tech it doesnt seem to be the least bit cybernetic but completely automated.

And yet again we learn that despite the disdain for the Xenos, humans will happily use its tech if they can get away with it.

Page 74

"Perhaps he was hypno-conditioned or psychically brainwashed to perform this action. There are many ways it can be done."

- it is possible to hypno-condition or psychically brainwash someone into fanatical devotion to a task or cause (even to the point of suicide if the task/cause fails)

Page 77

The hemisphere glittered metallic silver in the daylight. There were patches of red upon it that might have been seas of rust. The lines of the ancient continents were gone. All that was left to suggest them were vague outlines where the density of buildings became even more intense along what had once been shorelines. Now the world wore metallic armour over its entire surface.

Terra. Basically another Coruscant-like world in 40K, although in this case it is also a capital.

Page 78

Soon he would join the countless trillions who had made the pilgrimage to its surface.

This may mean there are "trillions" of visitors to Terra currently, or trillions over the span of the Imperium. In context I'm guessing the former, which gives us an idea of Terra's population, since as a rule space travel is common but not as prolific as Star Wars, so pilgrims and passenger flights tend not to greatly inflate population numbers (EG Terra's population should be similar, which isnt surprising since it is a hive world of the classical variety.)

Page 78-79

He knew that they had passed countless fortresses and fleets as they had swung in from the ultra-solar jump points. They had passed the armoured moons of Jupiter and the forge world of Mars. They had been subjected to hundreds of challenges and scans and they had been boarded twice. It had been a long drawn out process but it was only to be expected.

The world down there was better protected than any other planet in human history. There would not be a Second Battle of Earth if the terrible lords of the Imperium could help it. Even now, the sky was filled with satellite fortresses: great weapon installations with enough firepower to destroy battle fleets. The whole of sublunar space was crowded with warships.

The scope of the defenses at Terra, which are, if we are to be believed, stronger than they were during the Great Crusade/Heresy, and are far above Cadia and other worlds (like the one in Dark Creed.) we're probably tlaking billions if not trillions of troopers of all stripes, many hundreds (thousands) of Titans on TErra and Mars both, countless hundreds if not thousands of battleships and other vessles (probably tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of warships total) and even more stationary defenses and sublunar ships. Whole moons turned into armored weapons platforms, docks, etc.

Page 79

On the braided jacket were medals and emblems which doubtless told of her lineage and status. Some of them also contained powerful sensors.

- Gabriella, the Navigator Ragnar is escorting, has some interesting disguised sensors of all kinds (probably to cover and protect against Navigator and other Terran intrigues and assasinations and such.)

Page 81-82

As they broke through the clouds, he saw they were heading towards what looked like a vast island separated from the rest of the world by barriers and towers at least a kilometre high.

Towers and barriers a kilometre high.

Page 82

Ragnar noticed several small armoured vehicles nearby. An armoured figure, a head and shoulders taller than the locals, lounged against one of them.

Torin. Another of the Wolfblade "head and shoulders" taller than others. Assuming around 40-50 cm or so for "head and shoulders", we might figure between 1.6-2 metres tall or thereabouts is average for Terrans now.

Page 84

"These are not matters that should be discussed openly. There are many with televisors who can read lips."

Televisors (which I figure mean vox/pict thieves in modern parlance) can read lips.

PAge 84

Ragnar found he had fallen into step beside Torin as they headed for the smaller machine. Up close it looked like a smaller, sleeker version of an ork buggy. Although far more streamlined it had the same rugged look.

Ragnar and Gabrielle's transport.

Page 85

"That's a little better." said Torin. "The hood should protect us from casual snooping and this car has its own share of divinatory wards. We can speak a little more freely now."

The "hood" refers to the covering of the cockpit, and is screened against spying.

Page 86

This world is where the elite of the Imperium have gathered. We are talking now of the most ruthless, ambitious, unscrupulous collection of rogues ever culled from a million planets.

Apparently Terra is the convergence point of Imperium-wide politics from a "million planets" Whether this means all planets in the Imperium, or just a million or so who matter enough to send representatives, envoys, etc. I dont know. Depending on the source(s) you use, it could go either way (million worlds, or millions. Within the context of the Space Wolf novels and given the repeated mention of 'millions of worlds' in the Imperium, the latter seems more likely.

Page 89

"You’re already inside the Belisarius estate. They own everything in this sector, from the spacefield to the shops to the residential buildings. It’s a measure of their wealth."

..

"Land on Terra is the most expensive in the Imperium. For the price of one square metre of any of this, you could buy a palace on a Hive World, or on most worlds of the Imperium if truth be told."

The scope of Belisarius (and generally) Navigator territory. Land in Terra, (unsurprisingly) is the most expensive in the Imperium by orders of magnitude. Above ground, at least.

Page 89

"Thousands of lives have been lost for areas the size of a small farm on one of the islands on Fenris."

"I thought wars were outlawed on Terra."

Torin grinned. "Ragnar, look at this car, tell me what you see?"

"A fast manoeuvrable vehicle of more or less standard design."

"Of more or less standard military design. It's armoured against anything short of a krak grenade. It contains every form of protective counter-measure the Adeptus Mechanicus have at their disposal. It has a beacon for summoning aid from the palace. If Terra were peaceful do you think all of this would be necessary?"

Description of the armoured car Ragnar and Torin are travelling in, and its resilience, which gives you an indicator of material and defnesive technologies. Also Countermeasures. Warfare is endemic to TErra - again unsurprising since its a hive world. Its likely got its equivalent of Hive gangers and such. I'd love to see what they are equippd with, nvermind the PDF/Enfrocers, or the arbites/Guard garrisons.

Page 90

Like it or not, he was stuck on Earth with this man and less than two dozen of his compatriots.

Implied to be fewer than 2 dozen wolfblades total on Terra. We learn more later.

Page 93

He followed Torin across the mosaic floor, through one of the archways and into an elevator. Moments later, without experiencing the sensation of motion, they were a hundred floors below, surrounded by walls of armoured reinforced plascrete.

Covering a hundred floors (seveal hundred metres easily) in "moments" - tens of gees acceleration easily, probably by suspensor/antigrav though.

Page 96

"As I understood it, the Navigators have no troops."

"Yes, and no. They have no formal soldiery but they have security guards who perform the same function. And they have mercenary companies under permanent contract who have served them so long that they might as well be part of the House. They are House soldiers in all but a legal sense."

On planet at least, this must be true. Unless they wear house colors (which they probably do) Confirmation that mercenary and "soldier for hire" type work (including bounty hunters) exists even here, much less anywhere else. This suggests there may in fact be a vast underclass of troops and warriors in the Imperium not formally tied to any organization except perhaps by money - yet another resource the Adeptus Terra can tap if it neds to in emergencies (and probably does. I doubt Mercs are going to say no if they get effectively conscripted.)

Page 96

He was quite the largest man Ragnar had ever seen, gigantic even by Space Wolf standards, and the only one who might conceivably be called fat. His tiny eyes were sunk deep above huge rosy cheeks. His armour seemed to have been modified to contain a massive belly, which made it something of a triumph of the smith’s art.

Space Wolf Haegr. One of the best things about this novel, and indeed the Space Wolf series. Also how many Space Marines would get introduced in a series wearing a tankard on their foot and looking like a massive humaniform walrus.?

97

"Do you mock me, little man?"
"I would not dare. I was simply admiring your new honour badge."
"I have no honour badge."
"Is not that the order of the gravy stain, used to mark the armour of the mightiest of trenchermen?"

Can you tell yet I thoroughly enjoy the banter of Torin and Haegr?

Page 99

"How did he get so heavy? I thought our bodies had been engineered to burn food efficiently. I don't think I have ever seen an overweight Space Wolf before."

"There is more muscle than fat in there, as you will find if you ever arm wrestle with him. As to his fatness, something went slightly wrong when Haegr made his ascension to Space Marine. It did not show up for a long time; the Wolf Priests merely thought he had a huge appetite. It was only after he piled on the pounds that they realised there was some sort of flaw in him. Not enough to turn him into a Wulfen or get him exiled into the Cold Wastes but one that made him what he is.

You will find most Wolfblades did not exactly fit in back at the Fang. That's how most of us ended up here."

Like the deathwatch, the Wolfblades seem to be for Space Marines who do not exactly "fit in" but are still useful. And Haegar shows that despite the best efforts of the Apothecaries (and their analgoues in various chapters, like the Wolf Priests here) mutations and defects arise in the Gene seed, so the Space Marines have to be practical rathre than puritanical. It's still better than having tentacle hands (EG Blood Ravens.)

Page 100

There were armchairs, couches and desks, a suspensor bed where it was possible to float above the mattress on a repulsor field. There was a wash chamber with a sunken marble bath.

There was a hologramic window which changed views when you passed your hand over a rune. He cycled through views of Fenris, a desert world dominated by massive ruins, the hall of merchants above, a huge structure that might have been the Imperial Palace with an endless queue of pilgrims about it. The air was filled with relaxing scents, low thrilling martial music was piped in

Highest quality furnishings on Terra. Including antigravity beds to complement antigravity furniture.

Page 101

Ragnar continued to look around for concealed surveillance devices. He unplugged cameras set within the plasterwork of the ceilings. He sniffed out sub-auditors beneath the beds. He found a camera eye in the poison snooper above the table

Security/spying measures in Ragnar's room. Belisarius doesn't evn trust the Wolfblade fully, I guess.

Page 113

"Below this palace is a maze, Ragnar. It is fortified, and sealed off from the rest of the underworld by a ten metre thick moat of reinforced plascrete. It fills every corridor and is riddled with sensors and traps and detectors. The Elders dwell in these Vaults."

Also known as the Freak show and "I don't want to be sued by Herbert's estate".

Part of me wonders if perhaps such Navigators could still.. navigate. If so they should just go all the way and stick them in giant, tinted tanks to hide their true forms and just admit to ripping off Dune. I mean its not like Starship Captains and Titan princeps don't do that sometimes..

Then again as we learn later, the Navigators are a bit paranoid about outsiders finding out their secrets, especially the puritanical.

Page 114-115

Torin led them over to a small four-man flitter.
...
Moments later the vehicle slid swiftly out into the night. Ragnar felt a moment’s disorientation as he looked down at the metal and plascrete sliding away below. They were a thousand metres up and rising. Torin was giving his attention to their surroundings and the holosphere gauges.
...
Another glance showed him that the flitters were all following routes through the sky as distinct as the roadways beneath them.

Belisarius antigrav vehicle. Has a height of at least a km, holosphere "guages", and the indication of air "traffic" of some kind (suggesting others have flitters, flyers, skimmers and other grav vehicles.)

Page 116

"I thought the Inquisition and the Arbites maintained tight security on Terra."

"They do, but not everywhere. You are in the navigators quarter now. The whole island is a free zone. The families are left alone and maintain their own security. The Inquisition cannot enter here unless invited or unless there is some flagrant violation of the laws. There is little love lost between the families and the Inquisition."

- the Inquisition cannot enter Navigator grounds/territory without permission or a blatant violation of Imperial law(s). Again Navigators, like every other faction in the Imperium, guard their power and secrecy and independence jealously, even from organizations that supposedly have power over them. Given the nature of the ARbites and Inquisition especially, this is bound to cause friction.

Page 117

"You said the Inquisition does not come here."

"It would take little short of open war between the Houses to give them reason." said Torin. "The Navigators spend enough in bribes to buy a small planet. It ensures their privacy."
..

"Are you saying the Inquisition takes bribes?"

"Nothing as blatant as that." said Torin. "You have to understand how the Imperium works, Ragnar. All the High Lords of Terra spend their time intriguing against each other, jockeying for position, prestige and power. That takes money. The Navigators have a great deal of money. The High Lords and many ranking bureaucrats ensure that the trusted allies who provide them with money are not bothered."

Not unlike American politics, really.

Page 118

"Religious fanatics. Terra abounds with them, as you might expect. It’s not all corruption and luxury. Not everyone can afford them. There are billions of people here on the holy soil who have no comfort but their faith. A certain percentage of them take comfort in killing anyone who does not measure up to their idea of virtue."

"That’s one of the reasons why the Navigators prefer to be isolated in the middle of this sludge sea." said Haegr. "The zealots hate them, they call them mutants."

"Billions" on Terra who are fanatics, a percentage of which are so ultra-puritainical they would kill any mutant, even navigators (or probably astropaths) despite their importance to the Imperium. AGain small wonder they are so paranoid and secretive, is it?

And again the interesting blend of religious and sacred as well as the political and corrupt.

Connor MacLeod · Post by **Connor MacLeod** » 2012-10-18 07:41pm

And back to Wolfblade. Day 2 of my update-fest. I'm probably going to do one 'current' and one 'ongoing' update digging back into my old one. I think I'll touch off with the BFG 2010 stuff next.

anyhow, second update. The Bar Brawl. Witness Haegr's mighty bar brawling skills and offensive use of a table. This will only be topped by the hammer-tossing bet he makes in the next update.

Page 119

The Tavern was packed with hundreds of people. Sailors, soldiers, merchants and their bodyguards from a thousand worlds had congregated here. Music pulsed loudly. Semi-naked women danced on tables, while others brought food and drink to the customers. The interior had been built to resemble a wooden tavern on some frontier world, but Ragnar’s senses told him that this was an illusion. The beams overhead were in fact painted plascrete, not wood. The walls were panels overlaid on stone. The fire, strangely enough, was real and roaring.

Many animal heads had been mounted on the wall. Ragnar recognised wolf and elk. Strange how some variant of these creatures could be found on thousands of worlds. Ragnar supposed they must have been bome outwards with the original migration from Earth.

Terran Tavern. Ragnar can smell the differences.

Page 120

It was a testimony to the cosmopolitanism of the crowd that surrounded them that when Torin and Haegr made their way towards a table, no one paid them the slightest attention. It was not something Ragnar was used to. On any world save Fenris a Space Wolf could expect to be greeted with awe and not a little reverence. Of course, it was entirely possible, looking at this crowd, that the revellers were simply too drunk to have noticed three armoured giants moving through their midst.

Space Marines don't warrant awe and respect on Terra. Far from it, really as we learn shortly.

Page 126

This was one of the many side effects of Fury, an alchemical concoction designed to goad men to berserker fits in battle. It had been banned by the Imperial military centuries ago because it made troops unreliable and increased their susceptibility to the influence of Chaos. Still, it had been used by heretics in several of the planetary rebellions that Ragnar had helped quash. He was shocked to discover it being used here on Earth.

He was not intimidated. A man in the grip of Fury could be erratic, incredibly strong and almost immune to pain but that would not make him a threat to a Space Wolf.

One of the many powerful, insane, and battle-useful drugs that permeate the Imperium. Note that the Imperial military restricts military drug use. How nice of them huh?

Page 127

The blow came in faster than it would have from a normal man but Ragnar blocked it with ease. He caught the man’s wrist in his hand.

- the lunatic on Fury can punch faster than a normal man, but his reflexes are still no match for Ragnar.

Page 127

The man was wearing electric cestii, designed to enhance the power of a punch with an electric shock. If set to maximum, the blast of power could stun or even kill a man if his heart were weak. Ragnar smiled and casually backhanded his attacker. Teeth flew everywhere and bones broke as his foe was thrown across the room. He landed on a table, but immediately struggled to his feet, his resilience obviously enhanced by the drugs in his system.

Glove version of a shock maul. Does nothing to power armor of course.

Page 128

Ragnar caught the first by the throat, raised him high and then tossed him onto his friends, knocking three of them over.
..

Ragnar caught him by his prosthetic arm, twisted for leverage, and pulled. He ripped the mechanical limb clean out of its socket in a shower of sparks, and used it as a bludgeon to knock his assailant from his feet.

Ragnar able to not only throw people and knock others over, but he literally rips a guy's arm of fand beats him with it.

Page 128-129

More blows rained down on him now. Electric cestii sparked against his armour. Sparks flashed and the scent of ozone filled the air as they connected. Ragnar's armour was designed to take far heavier punishment than this, so he ignored it and concentrated instead on smiting his foes.

He lashed out around him with his fists. Each blow dropped a man but a surprisingly large number of them got back up again and instantly came back on the offensive. It seemed obvious that these men had been sent specifically to start this brawl and they were pulling no punches. The drugs left them incapable of hesitating. They would have killed him if they could. In fact, the treatment he had received would have killed a normal man ten times over. Fortunately, Ragnar was a Space Marine. His armour was almost part of his body and his bone structure and musculature had been heavily modified so he could absorb enormous amounts of damage. Still, he had collected a few bruises and cuts. He could feel his skin sting where his ultra-coagulant blood had congealed on them.

Ragnar is well protected in brawls by his armour, which is.. impressive considering he's fighting a bunch of near-superhuman drugged up freaks. He has taken abuse that would kill a normal man "ten times over."

Page 129

Torin was swinging from one of the suspensor chandeliers.

More suspensor furniture.

Page 130

A sweep of his arm cleared the berserker from the table. Haegr reared to his feet, like a mammoth rising from a mudhole. He had the same mass and power, but suddenly he was even larger and more threatening. He picked up the metal table. The bolts holding it to the floor snapped as he lifted it free and tossed it into the oncoming mass of drugged fanatics. It bowled them over and left them sprawling beneath its weight. Haegr reached forward and picked two up, one in each hand, and then used them as clubs to batter their companions senseless.

Haegr fighting. Ripping up a large metal table anchored down by bolts is.. impressive. Each bolt is bound to require tonnes of force to rip out (Judging but what Mike has said in the past about Vader Telekinetically ripping machinery off the walls, at least.)

Oh yeah, he doesnt rip arms out, but he will pick up your friend and use him as a bludgeon. That's all kinds of awesome.

Important lesson: Don't interrupt Haeger when he's feasting.

Page 131

Ragnar nodded and they rushed at Haegr. Ragnar grabbed his left arm, Torin the right, and together they began dragging him to the door.

Distracted as he was by the side of beef, it was like trying to tow a bull. It took several attempts. Occasionally, they were interrupted by Haegr’s blows at the surviving berserkers. But they dragged him out into the night air and began to calm him down.

- This suggest sthat he's confident that their combined strength will not be dramatically overmatched by Haegr's own, though it still took af ew tries to actually pull him out.

Page 134

If there had been someone there, he had vanished in the few moments it had taken them to get aloft. Either that or he was camouflaged enough to baffle even the Space Wolves' keen night vision. Ragnar knew that was not impossible, but they would have to be using military issue wargear.

Military issue gear can foul Astartes senses, including the night vision. I wonder if by "military issue" they mean the Guard.

Page 137

"The Navigators’ representative among the High Lords has always been little more than a figurehead."
..
"Because potentially the Navigator’s voice has power. All of the High Lords do. Sarius is powerless because he comes from a relatively minor House with very little support from the more powerful ones. None of the great Houses would allow any of their rivals to take that position. At least none of them has managed it in the past two thousand years. It would signal their preeminence among the Houses. The rest have tended to gang up on anyone who looks like they might swing it. A weak man from a weak House can be influenced by anyone. And he can be counted on not to do anything that would upset the balance of power."

High Lords politics, especially with respect to the Navigator branch of things. Much like the Inquisition, it can be said that the Navigators appoint a (unofficial) representative that everyone might influence.

Page 139

"You are not on Fenris now, Ragnar, and stop trying to pretend you’re Haegr. You would need to put on a hundred kilos and grow a moustache like a walrus before you could cany it off."

Torin implies Haegar is a 100 kg heavier than other Marines.

Page 140

"The thing about Navigators, old son, is that they are all related: they only marry other Navigators. They do this to preserve the bloodlines that give them their gift. But no Navigator can marry within their own House, for reasons you can well imagine - although I have heard it has happened anyway."
"So they marry their enemies?"
"They marry who they are told. All marriages are arranged with a view to keeping the bloodlines strong. There are great books of genealogy detailing each bloodline's strengths and weaknesses. The Navigators procreate in the same way people breed dogs or horses."

Navigator marriages.

Page 141

Without Navigators trade would be reduced to a mere trickle and Imperial fleets would only make short crawls between nearby stars. The Space Marine Chapters would be in a similar position. Huge expanses of the Imperium would fall out of contact and revert to barbarism or be conquered by alien powers. The Navigator Houses had an effective monopoly on long haul interstellar travel. If someone could mould those fragmented Houses into a single combine, he would effectively control the Imperium, so great would be his political leverage.

Perhaps that was why the Emperor had encouraged the creation of so many rival Houses, Ragnar thought. Perhaps he had foreseen the consequences of having one united guild of Navigators.

the importance of Navigators to the Imperium again, and why monopolizing is a bad thing. Ragnar seems to think this was deliberate on the emperor's part. Of course, knowing how he set up most other things (like crating the AdMech) it wouldn't surprise me.

Page 151

Suddenly, and so subtly that Ragnar almost doubted it, he felt a feather-light touch of a strange energy brush against his mind. Psyker, he thought. Immediately, he was on guard, automatic wards clanging into place in his subconscious. He began reciting protective litanies under his breath. He knew he should be safe - this was not a very bold or potent attack.

Ragnar can sense psychic intrusion and has mental defenses that automatically activate in response. They seem to be reactive to the threat, but I imagine the litanties offer some strengthening influence (either via psychically tapped "faith" sorcery or some sort of mnemonically triggered enhancement.

I wonder if other Space Marines have similar - it seems to be something of a lesser version of what Grey Knights get.

Page 155

The more Ragnar studied him, the more he was convinced that he was no simple servant. His movements and scent suggested a hard competence, as well as many sub-dermal implants.

A cautious glance revealed that the man’s hands were bionic, encased in synthi-flesh. One of his eyes seemed mechanical as well, although it looked so natural that most men would not have spotted it.

Ragnar's senses spot an enhanced 'servant' and probably figure him for a bodyguard. Much worse than that, as we learn later. Interesting that sub-dermal implants and related stuff might be common enough that Ragnar wouldnt instantly figure him as an assassin. Also some mechanical/augmetic implants are subtle enough that it can't be easily determined whether they are natural or not.

Page 158

In any case, he had noticed incredibly dense surveillance. Televisor lenses and suspensor mounted floating eyes were everywhere, in far greater numbers than in Belisarius territory.

Surveillance of Belisiarius territory.

Page 166

All three had been searched by a team of security retainers to ensure they had brought no long distance sensing devices into the palace. Gabriella handed the documents to the retainers for scanning and complete divination before heading off to present herself to the Celestarch.

Remote spying/viewing devices. Also documents of some kind subjected to "scanning and divination" which I guess means some sort of psychic scrying and probably autoseance/psychometry.

Page 167

"Because that very streak of madness is what makes them superb Navigators. Feracci ships can travel further and faster than almost any others thanks to their Navigators' prowess. Only Belisarius, Helmsburg and True produce Navigators as good. The Imperium needs them. It needs all the Navigator Houses."

I'd guess madness is an asset in that regard becuase it makes one "in tune" with the warp, despite the danger it may represent.

Page 167

They had been divided into two sides and were armed with guns that fired pellets of dye. The dye contained an astringent which would cause pain but no permanent harm.

House Security forces being trained by Wolfblades. I assume these re the mercs.

Page 167

"There was all manner of surveillance - from servants who followed us, to suspensor mounted televisors. I am equally sure our route was chosen so that we passed through sensor arches. I also believe there was some sort of psyker nearby."

Surveillance methods available on Terra.

Page 169

"She passed her message on while you were with her." Ragnar reflected on this. He had seen nothing change hands, but he knew there were ways. Dermal patches, microspores. The two women had probably been talking in a complex code as he had considered earlier. Alternatively, there could be a subtle psychic bond between kindred Navigators.

Means of passing messages, includign some (such as psychic bonds) Ragnar suspects.

Page 172

"Where can we find this merchant?"
"He has what he believes to be a secure mansion in the asteroid belt. We are going to prove that it’s not secure. We will take off this evening."

ASteroid habitats/mansions. Void born, in other words. It's located in the belt region of Terra, so we're talking 2-4 AU out.

Page 174

"The Lady Elanor has confirmed our suspicions. We have had a shielded monitor at the asteroid itself for some time. His ship arrived a day after Adrian Belisarius's assassination. "

One assumes "shielded" means "cloaked/stealthed."

Page 174

"On departure we shall destroy the asteroid and any evidence of our visit. The main security dat-acore must be seized before we go. Jammers will prevent any comm-net transmissions so, unless Pantheus has an astropath with him, no one will ever know what happened."

Jammers and the intention to destory some sort of asteroid used as a home.

Page 174

"He has a security detail recruited from Brotherhood thugs. They are tough and well armed. Some have bionic enhancements. All have access to military weapons and a supply of proscribed alchemics. They are all fanatical. It may be hypno-conditioning but I doubt it. I believe they are the genuine article,"

Military weapons, proscribed chemicals/drugs, fanaticism which may be hypno-conditioned and bionic enhancements.

Page 175

Normally in a battle between a ship and a fortified asteroid there could be only one winner. It was possible to mount more firepower on a hollowed out rock than in most small ships.
...
"Gravity?" asked Torin. It could be important.

"No artificial sources. It comes from spin."

Rather interetsing perspective, considering starships are more mobile. I wonder if it holds implicaton for Ork roks.

also artifiical gravity can be distinguished from spin-provided gravity.

Page 177

The gas jet would give out no heat signature. And no power was being used so it should not be traceable by sensor divination. They were carrying too little metal to show up on magnetics. A human being would be too small to set off a standard proximity detector designed to warn of collisions with ships and large asteroids.

There was a slight chance that if someone was looking closely, they would notice the occlusion of the stars but here in the asteroid belt that would happen often enough with tumbling rocks and space debris. The chances that objects of their size could be spotted were infinitesimal, but the chance remained. It was enough of a possibility to send little shivers of controlled fear through Ragnar. It was one thing to die in battle in the fury of hand to hand combat. It was another to be blasted into nonexistence by a defence laser in the cold, silent void of space.

Zero-gee operations in Space Marine armour.

Page 177

If need be he could live for weeks out here in the void. Like all of his battle-brothers he was virtually a small, self-contained spaceship.

Space Marine armour allows weeks of self-sufficiently.

Page 178

The asteroid’s gravity was insufficient to draw him in. From the outside a man could leap into space, its escape velocity was so low. Any direction could just as easily be up or down.

This might be calable if it weren't for the fact they spin the asteroid... oh well.

Page 179

Ragnar turned back to the asteroid. He knew that perfect timing would be called for. It would take a five second burst of gas to kill his velocity before he impacted. A hard landing might result in injury, armour breach or even death.

5 second burst of thrust to prevent lethal impact velocity. If I knew more about such things I might be able to calc this

Page 183

The helmet constrained his senses. He had to rely on his eyes now. Hearing and scent, the Space Wolves’ primary sources of information, were useless when they were suited up. All he could catch was the sound of his breathing and the recycled stink of his own body.

Presumably this is meant to refer to the fact that in a airless or dangerous atmosphere they have to close up their suits and go self contained, which makes it impossible to scent or anything, rather than not wearing helmets at all, as prior novels have depicted them as wearing helmets when fighting without problem (rune displas, etc.) Odd though that the auto-senses don't appear to mimic sound or scent sufficiently well to aid the Space Wolves though.

Page 184

Once again it was made graphically clear to him why airlocks had such a well-deserved reputation for being death traps in boarding actions. All it would take would be one well-placed grenade and the four of them would be sent to Russ’s Iron Halls to await the Last Battle.

Airlocks and their dangers.

Page 184

If someone was waiting to attack, he was certain he could snap off a shot before they could. His reflexes were far, far swifter than a normal human’s, except if they were on combat drugs.

- Ragnar's relfexes are "far far" swifter than a normal human's, unless they are on combat drugs.

Page 185

Ragnar unsealed his helmet and tasted the air. It was pure and breathable. His helmet would not have unlocked if it had not been.
...
He clipped his helmet to his belt. His comrades had done the same.

Dammit. Good thing noone tought the cultists the importance of headshots.

Page 185

Ragnar did not wait for them to see him. He pumped bolter shells into the leader, and watched the man's head explode as if hit with a mallet. A second later Haegr stepped forward and reduced the rest of him to bloody shreds of red meat.

Multi-shell bolter shots explode a head. Haegar's hammer strike pulverizes the remainder of the body.

Page 187

He was shouting something into another intercom. Ragnar took aim and fired. The man went down with a huge sucking wound in his chest.

Well its not a head exploding, but its pretty nasty.

Page 188

A wave of scent told him that doors had opened down the corridor. He whirled in time to see a group of armed and armoured men. Some had donned full-body armour, others were wearing military flak, and all carried lasrifles. Before any of them could fire, Ragnar opened up. His battle-brothers joined in. More men were cut down. Las beams splashed off the walls behind Ragnar, and blistered his armour.

Lasfire blisters Ragnar's armour.. again indicating thermal heat rays. Note the difference betwen "military flak" and full body armor. Neither of which does much against bolter fire, it seems.

Page 188-189

A small egg-shaped object flew overhead from behind Ragnar. It bounced and rolled down the corridor into the chamber where the cultists lurked. A moment later an explosion smashed through the men. Screams and the scent of blood told Ragnar that it had even got those out of sight.

Space Marine grenade. We're still on small egg grenades.

PAge 189

A crackle of static in Ragnar's earbead told him that the courier had managed to patch itself into the asteroid's internal comm-net. He could hear a dozen voices gabbling away now.

Hacking into enemy comm net.

Page 193

Valkoth took the gem and inspected it, dropping the crystal into a small scanner he produced from his utility belt. Runes showed it was safe and a data-source.

more magic crystal data-storage tech.

Page 196

Valkoth turned on his heel and moved with Torin towards the door. Ragnar put his bolt pistol to Pantheus’s spine. "Move.". he said. "Or you’ll have a hole in your stomach big enough to put your head into."

Bolt pistol wound capable of putting a head-sized wound in a fat man's gut.

Page 196

Haegr had advanced down the corridor. Ragnar could tell by the sound of bolter blast. Las fire splattered the walls. The surface had fused and run, and paintwork was blistering off to reveal the hard rock beneath.
...
A pile of corpses smouldered slowly. Haegr and Valkoth moved through them.

Haegar the Horrible continues his path of devastation. Implies that the surface MAY have melted, but I suspect it means the paintwork/coating had "fused and run" rather than the rock. We dont know how many shots anyhow. It still shows the magic heat ray effect of lasweapons in this case though.

Why the courpses smoulder either I don't recall or know.

Page 197

As they progressed down the levels, resistance stiffened. Everyone was aware that there were enemies on board. They were watchful, and armed, mostly garbed in light space armour.

Now we have "light space armour" - I dont know if that means a form of carapace, or vaccuum sealed/self contained armour or what.

Page 198

Pantheus's breath came in gasps and he seemed in danger of foundering. Ragnar guessed he was feeling every extra kilo, although the gravity here was still far less than Earth’s. He wondered what the man did when he was on the surface of Terra.

Doubtless he used suspensors to lighten his weight.

Suspensors to counter gravitational effects on the fat man.

Page 198

If someone tossed a grenade while the door was open, the blast could be catastrophic in a contained area. Las fire bristled all around the Wolves now. Some of it hit. Ceramite armour blistered in several places.

More thermal effects on ceramite.

Page 200

Ragnar was hardly surprised. He was watching billions of ducats worth of mansion being reduced to rubble.

The Belisarius ship blasts the asteorid to rubble by unspecified means and unspecified timeframe (presumably short) - doesn't matter much since it wouldn't be terribly impressive compared to say, nova cannons and exterminatus.. but the fact Belisarius has the firepower to obliterate a fairly large asteroid mansion (kilometres across perhaps) might be telling. Nuclear level firepower at least.

Also "ducats" seem to be a valid means of currency in the Imperium or on Earth, contrasted with credits (various sources, but most recently for me Crimson Tears) or the Throne Gelt (FFG stuff)

Page 201

"Haegr fights like two men." said Torin. "Which is easy for him since he has the bulk of four."

This might suggest Haegar masses around 250-300 kilos, assuming a 60-80 kilo man and if he's about a hundred kilos lighter than Torin or Ragnar, that means either of them are around 200 kilos, which woudl match closely with the mass of a person scaled up to Marine dimensions (approximately) as well as Leandro's bulk from Harlequin.

Page 202

The moments of battle lived in his memory with peculiar intensity, and everything else seemed dull and colourless compared to it. He had heard it said that Space Wolves were made that way. Parts of their brains had been altered to respond precisely that way, so they were keen for combat. Ragnar was not sure this was the case. Perhaps it was simply a product of the process that had awakened the beast within him. Perhaps the heightened memories were simply a product of his heightened senses working to keep him alive.

Ragnar suspects his mind may have been altered or otherwise fucked with when they made him a Marine. Given the combination of loyalty indoctrination, the need to cram so much information into their head, and the need to structure their brain so as to be able to control and cope with the additional organs and other implants, it wouldn't be too far fetched to think they redesign them mentally to be better warriors.

Page 203

As he rounded a corner, two men in the uniforms of Belisarius's guard raised their weapons. Their movements seemed absurdly slow to Ragnar. Before they had brought their weapons to bear, he could have drawn his own, or sprung forward and snapped both their necks.

I would assume he means have kileld them both in a fraction of a second, including closing the distance.

Page 205

"They are using machines. Neural induction coils, electrodes. Drugs as well, I would imagine."

"sophisticated' torture/interrogation methods.

Page 208

"He had heard it said that all the ancient civilisations of Earth could be found here still, buried in layers. And if you dug deep enough you would find the remains of even such legendary ancient places as Atalantys and Nova Yoruk."

Probably. Atlantis and New York are still known of, albeit in corrupted form.

Page 210

It was a mark of how his few days on the holy soil of Terra had changed him, he thought.

Ragnar has only been on terra for a few days. Note that Ragnar was able to go from the asteroid belt (where the fat man they captured was) to Earth and back in that time (2-4 AU in 1-1.5 days and then back) We're talking at least 7-16 gees for 1-1.5 days and 2 AU. Twice that if the distance doubles. This is bound to be vastly conservative given that they did far more on Terra (like get in a brawl, visit another Navigator's house, etc.) in that time. More probably they covered that in a day or less both ways, which would be between 65-130 gravities.

Page 215

"The people of Terra have bad memories of Space Marines."
...
"The Warmaster tore this planet apart. He reduced areas with populations of hive worlds to molten slag. His people offered up millions to his dark gods,’

Space Marines aren't well liked on Terra due to the aftermath of the Heresy. Hard to blame them. Also implied that Terra had entire regions with billions, if not hundreds of billions (or even trillions) of people, which Horus reduced to "molten slag". Given how they boiled off the oceans, fucked up the continents, and everything else, thats hardly surprising if they (say) melted some continent sized region to slag. A good indication of the scale of bombardment and devastation of that war.

Also implies Terra may have had (and may still have) a truly insane population.. possibly at at least 5-10x bigger than other Hives (if we assume each "hive world sized region" was a continet-sized hive city.)

Page 233-234

"This is like no hive world you ever visited, Ragnar. There are hundreds of layers of buildings above us. Each of them represents a century of history or more. This part of Terra was built and overbuilt and then built on again. Parts of it were cannibalised to build the layers above, and what was left was slowly crushed down by the new stuff above. We’re walking through history. Some of these walls around us were built before the Emperor entered his golden throne. Much of these corridors were the same when Russ walked this earth, ten thousand years ago."

Terra has "hundreds" of Layers, which like all other hive worlds has been built on, crushed, built on again, and cannibalised. Each Layer seems to represent a century at least of time, suggesting tens of thousands of years of potential history and reosurce there. Assuming a kilometer or so of thickness, 90% empty space, and iron... we've got to be talking 4e20 kg worth of mass at LEAST.. as an approximation that is quite impressive for the sheer volume of material and buildup, nevermind that it is close to the mass of the earth's old oceans.

Also the scale of this underhive is bound to be damn impressive (not to mention inflate probable populations of the world even more...)

Page 236

. From what Valkoth had said, they had fled the surface of the world, and the ancient privileges of job and caste to come here. He knew too that they would be armed with the best weapons that could be stolen from the well-stocked armouries of Terra.

Terra hsa some very effecitve and well equipped armouries. Considering how important it is this is not surprising. In context we're talking about the people who flee the upper levels to what is Terra's "under-hive". This would mean they are probably at least as well equipped, and prboably much better equipped, than what you would find on Armageddon, Necromunda or similar. Which, given all the shit I mentioned in Necromunda, is truly frightening.

Page 238

A world as densely populated as this one contained hordes of the poor, dispossessed and angry. Sometimes, it did not take much to turn that anger to rage, and then focus that rage on war. He had seen it happen many times before.

Ragnar is speaking of hive Worlds like Terra. This could actually provide us with yet another reason why Hive worlds tend to be large contributors to the Imperial Guard, and why often their populaces tend to be 'recruited' as colonists - keeping the numbers of the lower classes less helps reduce the odds of a revolt, even in a Hive. Or, at least tries to. God knows how many actually exist in the lower levels of hives. It's telling despite having so many wars, so much conscription, and even throwing out such hivers into new colonies, these places are perpetually overcrowded,never have trouble keeping up quotas, etc.

Connor MacLeod · Post by **Connor MacLeod** » 2012-10-28 01:23pm

Last update for wolfblade. Wasn't sure whether I wanted to split this up or do it at once, so decided to throw it all out at once.

Page 242

Ragnar could see Haegr nod as he checked their foes' weapons. Those heavy flamers and bolters out there were capable of penetrating even their armour. This was not going to be easy.

Note that context is importnat. Saying it can penetrate does not tell us the conditions or likelihood of penetration. Flamers for example could exploit gaps or less-armored portions of the power armor to get inside or inflict injury. Or even just directly heating the armor up sufficiently and cooking the guy inside. It's not as if power armor is one uniform mass. Considering what heavy flamers can do (cremation like temperatures), even if it i can breach armour physically, that takes some hefty power (single if not double digit kj per cm intensities at least) I would find it liklier that the fleixble parts are breached first , though.

Page 242

A glance confirmed it - a halo of light surrounded a figure of glowing whiteness. It would have dazzled Ragnar had his protective second lid not dropped into place to protect his sight.

The second lids protect against bright lights as well as the elements,

Page 243

"Psyker!" he shouted, snapping off a shot as he continued to roll. The bolter shell flew true but was repelled by the aura around the cultist. It ricocheted off at right angles.

Yet another psyker who can deflect bolter fire via magic shields.

Page 243

No need to ask why these mutant haters helped the person they avowed to despise. Ragnar had seen and heard of a hundred instances like this. Doubtless the psyker claimed that his powers came directly from the Emperor, and they were proof of his holiness for his credulous followers. An aura of compulsion would aid their weakwilled

Another hiliarious bit of irony.. one person's psyker mutant is another one's holy saint. The Imperium can't ever decide which is which. ( CF inquisition.)

Page 244

Ragnar tapped his belt dispenser and caught the grenade that dropped into his gauntleted palm. A quick touch set the fuse, and he lobbed it at the psyker. A moment later the explosion smashed into the man. Not even his powers could fully shield him. He was tossed backwards off his feet and the glow around him flickered.

Get used to this. This will be the last novel with the Space Wolf grenade dispensers, even of the egg variety. He can't fully stop a grenade. This suggests the grenade explosive is vastly more powerful than a bolt round (which either means bolt rounds have less than a full grenade yield, or that the egg grenades are vastly more powerful than RL grenades. Could go either way, or even incorporate both to a certain degree.)

Page 244-245

A second later the sorcerous limbs found their target, wrapping themselves around the giant Wolfblade. There was a strange sputtering sound as the ceramite of his armoured carapace began to bubble and melt. Haegr grunted and attempted to break free but even his massive strength was ineffective against the psyker’s power. Snarling, he was pushed inexorably away from his foe.

Magic mutli-armed psyker attack that can melt through Haeger's armor. Psyker strength is greater than Haeger's.

Page 245

This time, however, its effects were less than Ragnar had expected. The blast made the shield dim momentarily, but it had somehow adapted to protect its owner against this form of attack.

Another grenade attack.

Page 246

As he flew forward, he fired, pumping shell after shell into the false prophet of the Brotherhood. The glowing shield repelled them all except one. They impacted where the glow was at its faintest, and where the red veins of light were at their thickest.

One of his shells passed into the glow. He heard a faint, muffled scream.

At last the crazy psyker's barrier is weakening.

Page 246

...bringing his bolter to bear on the area of the glow where a human head should be. Even if the shield repelled the shells, he hoped the effect would be like a blow to the helmet. Perhaps the shock would stun and disorientate his target. Once more he was rewarded with a groan.

Ragnar thinks its likely that conservation of momentum applies to the crazy psyker's shield.

Page 247

Although their reflexes were mortal, the Prophet’s bodyguards finally reacted. Some of them opened fire. Ragnar writhed. Even the most glancing impacts felt as though his armour had been struck with a heavy hammer.
..
He sprang to one side, putting the body of the Prophet between himself and the rabble, and was rewarded with the impact of a dozen weapons on the glowing screen.

The man tells his bodyguards to desist firing on RAgnar and Haegar, probably fearing their shots will breach his shield.

Page 247-248

This time the tendrils came straight at Ragnar with unbelievable speed. Not even Ragnar’s superhuman reflexes could carry him out of the way. His armour sizzled where they hit him, and worse than that waves of pure agony passed through him from the points of contact. The pain was not the product of the heat, rather of the touch.

Magic psyker attack again.

Page 249
['quote]
His armour was fused and rent in a dozen places, the ceramite cracked and blistered by the power of the Prophet’s psychic onslaught. Worse still, he appeared tired and drained by the pain he had endured.[/quote]

Aftermath of mad psyker assault. Not only is he burnt, but he got lifedrained. Probably explained the Psyker's unnatural toughness if he used this on Haegar. Haegar has enough bulk and toughness and calories to sustain a regiment.

Page 249-250

He lowered the gun and fired point-blank into the face of another, decorating the surrounding area with a splatter of blood and brain.

Bolt pistol again. More head 'splodey goodness.

Page 250

A heavy built man slammed into his chest. He had barrelled through the fanatics and launched himself forward in a mighty bound. He was huge - at least as big as Ragnar and he was obviously used to overbearing his foes through sheer bulk. But it was a mistake this time. Ragnar absorbed the impart with a flex of his knees, his armour’s internal gyros compensating for the force of the impart.

Hiver cultist fanatic "at least as big" as Ragnar and possibly as strong unarmored. Pity Ragnar is armoured - gyros help him keep stability and deal with the impact (recoil dampening I imagine). Further proof that people as big as or bigger than Space Marines (who aren't super mutants or Ogryn) are not freakishly rare.

Page 251

Idiot, thought Ragnar, as he brought his bolt pistol up to the man’s belly and pulled the trigger. The reinforced vertebrae of his neck could withstand far more stress than any mere mortal man could bear. Ragnar realised there was no way the man could have known about this, just as he would not know that Ragnar’s altered lungs could keep him alive far longer than a normal man, even with the air to his lungs cut off.

Durability of Ragnar's skeleton and his utter resilience to choking.

Page 252

Lasfire splashed his armour. A heavy bolter shell smacked into his chestplate and he felt it crack.

Lasfire and heavy bolter fire. Lasfire does nothing. The heavy bolter at least cracks the plate, although fails to completely penetrate. Probably on the borderline of Power armour resilience. It is up for debate whether there is a 'scale difference' at work for the heavy bolter.. if so there could be a 'human-sclae' HB and a astartes scale one.

Page 252

Moments later wetness engulfed him and the horrid clammy waters closed above his head. He kept a grip on his weapons as he began to sink towards the bottom. The weight of his armour was pulling him down, while the force of the flow carried him away.

Rather interesting, considering that in Ragnar's Claw Ragnar was able to float along in a river.

Perhaps he has gained different armor in the time betwene then and now? alternately it may have something to do with the content of the water. I believe salt water and freshwater have different degrees of buoyancy or some such. Or maybe Ragnar had suspensors and mass lightening in his armour that failed.

Page 252

The membrane protecting his eye from chemical irritants allowed him to see fairly well in the murk and gloom.

- "membrames" protecting Ragnar's eyes from the pollution in the water allow him to see in it. Those damn second eyelids protect against everything...

To be fair, I think it was rather clever of Bill King to remember this detail. Otherwise you'd think Space Marines would get blinded more often.

Page 253

Unless his armour was damaged to the utmost extremity, its locator beacon would enable Ragnar to find him if need be.

Ragnar's armour, as we know, has a locator beacon to allow him to be tracked. Apparently it has a great deal of range too since he never once considered that he might not be in range or that the signal might be blocked.

Page 255

The concussions caused Ragnar a great deal of pain, as changes in pressure smashed into his sensitive eardrums. It affected a Space Wolf a great deal more than it would a normal man.

Grenades going off underwater. downsides of Space Marine augmentation - their senses are more sensitive to this sort of assault. I imagine their eyes might be more sensive to brighter flashes as well, if not for those second eyelids.

Page 255

He fumbled his sword and bolt pistol back into their holsters. They were Space Marine weapons; continued immersion should do
them no harm.

Space Marine weapons resistant to immersion in polluted water.

Page 257-258

With powerful strokes, Ragnar swam out of the range of the current, and headed in the direction that his armour told him was up. It was possible that his sensors had been damaged and that they were malfunctioning but they were the only guide he had.

His armor has sensors that enable underwater navigation. Also, the armor is not so heavy that Ragnar can't swim in it (EG its not like heavy mail or plate that would drag a normal man down.)

Page 258

Ragnar did not bother to ask him why he had not suggested activating their beacons. Any enemy that knew they were coming would be able to locate them by it. It was only a matter of tuning in to the correct comm-net frequency and knowing the scrambled codes. A few hours earlier he would have said that was impossible. Now he was not so sure.

Locator beacons use comm frequencies to trnasmit, which means they can be tracked and homed in on. The locators are, unsurprisingly, a double edged signal in this regard.

Page 260

There was something to what Haegr was saying. A psyker could predict their arrival and perhaps tell their number. Such feats were not beyond some of the Rune Priests of his Chapter. It beggared belief that other psykers would not also be capable of them

Precognition in psykers, including Rune priests. Implied to be at least hours (days) in advance in this case.

Page 261

He unhooked a grapnel from his belt and tossed it upwards.

they have grappling hooks!

Page 261-262

His armour was cracked in many places and had been broken through completely around his left shoulder and forearm. His whole face was horribly burned. His beard and whiskers had been singed on one side of his face. It was nothing that competent healers could not repair, but they were far away from medical help.

Haegar's injuries sustained against the pskyer and his minions (hundreds with guns and such) apparently aren't easily healed., Rapid healing quite obviously has limits, especially in an adverse, unsanitary enviroment like an underhive.

Of course given Haegar's constitution and appetite, he may just be running low on fuel for self repair and not have enough to keep up iwth the extent of his injuries. Or it may be that his durability is so much greater tha a normal marine, that even normal healing rates take him some time to completely recover. Nothing says that greater constitution comes with a faster healing ability. And that healing ability may depend on having access to the proper degree of nourishment to fuel it, which Haegar probably doesn't have.

Page 264

He should try and contact his companions. He patched himself into the comm-net, but caught only static, which was unusual. Haegr gave him a knowing smile.

"The local relay must be down on this level."

"They need relays down here?" Ragnar was astonished. He had never encountered such a thing before.

"Yes. Some of the levels were built with seals, or materials that somehow resist the net. You need to be near a relay to use the net and this one must be down,"

The neceessity of comms relays belowground. Its rather amazing they even bother to install relays in the underhives (which I suspect are their version of wireless networks and such for cell phones.)

Page 265

He was worried about his companion - he appeared slow. His wounds were bad. Normally a Marine would have begun self-healing by now, if he were capable. His system must be overloaded trying to keep him alive. Judging by his pallor it might even fail.

Well I guess Haegar is suffering from the conditions and punishment he took. His self healing seems to be borderline.

Page 266

Methane gas recycled from sewage was used to light the whole area. Ragnar could smell both both the gas and the processing works.

Here we see the endless capacity for hivers and underhivers to adapt to their enviroment and its ecosystem to live and survive. In this case, processing and employing methane for lighting and probably electricity. Where they get it.. I won't dwell.

Page 272

"The Wolfblades are the only Space Marines on Terra. Your kind has not been popular here since the Heresy."

Wolfblades are the only Space Marines on Terra. This means that Belisarius is the only faction with such an agreement with the AStartes, it would seem. This may be part of what makes them such a powerful House. Or maybe the other Chapters avoid such entanglements.

Page 272

Malburius screwed a magnopticle into one eye, and bent to examine the Space Marine's wounds. He adjusted some dials on the control altar and invoked the Machine God. Two globes of light flickered to life on either end of the table. Malburius attached dermal divination sensors and lit two sticks of medical incense.
..
No sooner was the connection made than the sensors began to pulse wildly. Malburius banged the machinery with his fist and uttered an invocation to the tech-spirits but it made no difference. He thrust a thermal sensor into Haegr's mouth.
..
After a few moments, Malburius removed the sensor and shook his head.

Underhiver medical dude and his gear. He also doubles as a priest. Note that he refers to all this as "old" medical tech, meanng that his more modern analgoues may have better gear (esp the Hospitallers)

Page 273

"I received basic medical training in the seminary. I can perform basic battlefield work and anything necessary to treat my flock. I was never taught to deal with the likes of you. Judging by the readings of my old instruments, I expect to find all manner of alterations to the basic human bio-form."

Again, Priest and healer. Rather like the Sisters Hospitaller in that regard, I suspect they may be used as a complement to or a replacement for them in such situations (along with the regular Guard Medicae and such.) Makes sense though - there are battle priests and other priests, so why not healer priests?

Page 275

Ragnar knew what he was talking about. Many types of blood were incompatible. Fortunately all Space Wolves shared the same type. It was part of the process that turned them into Wolves.

Ragnar may need to share blood with Haegar, and their transformation gave them all the same blood type, which doubtless was deliberate. It's also a testament to his level of injury if his larraman's cells aren't clotting properly.

Page 276

... Malburius washed his hands and sprayed them with a chemical designed to kill disease spores. It came from a standard military dispenser marked with the Imperial eagle. Swiftly and competently he hooked Ragnar and Haegr up to the blood machine. "There is no power grid near here, Brother Ragnar." he said "so you must power the machine. If there is a need, you must work this pump with your foot."

more medical procedures and gear. The blood transfusion device has manual and uatomatic modes.

Page 277

He unscrewed the magnopticle and donned a pair of goggles of thick smoked glass. Ragnar could see that they contained some sort of optical magnification system. He lifted the las-scalpel and touched the activation rune. A beam of pure intense light sprang into being. It was about a hand-width long.

Malburius twisted the body of the scalpel and the beam shortened. He leaned forward and began slowly and carefully cutting away the carapace. Then he sliced the flesh to expose the internal organs beneath. Haegr flinched. The smell of seared flesh filled the air.

Malburius moved very carefully. The priest was obviously used to dealing with normal humans, and there was much about a Space Marine's anatomy and skeleton that apparently confused him. The bones were thicker and reinforced to be strong as steel. The ribs were much wider and flatter than a mortal's, designed to provide an extra layer of armour over the vital internal organs. Most of these were in different places, intermingled with grafts that had no place within a human's body.

Las scalpel, magnification goggles. The laser scalpel seems to be a heat ray like regular las weapons. This is interesting if a bit crude - modern surgical laser techniques use a rapid pulsed beam because of the reduced chances of scarring and collateral damage. On the other hand he did say he had older shit... "hand width" might mean thickness or width.. if width it migth be 10 cm... if thickness 2-3 cm. take your pick.

This also suggests we are dealing with magic lasers, as the beam not only is visible, but it stops at a defined point in space. Which photons don't do.

We also observer the Space MArine's anaotmy and skeleton, said to be "reinforced as strong as steel" - which fits in with their armour like role. I wonder if its "like steel" due to the ceramic elements introduced into their diet during the creation process, or if there are other materials "added" - something metallic perhaps? Or they may mess with the iron content in the body for all we know. In any event it's basically an indicator that you can't treat a Space Marine as being just a genetically engineered super squishy organic type.. he has some elements of outright bionic/cybernetic enhancement (or near enough as to make no difference.)

Page 278-279

Swiftly the priest moved the las-scalpel over the perforations and with practiced skill, cauterised them closed.
..

"That is the best I can do." he said eventually and began to close up, carefully cauterising the wounds and sealing them with synthi-flesh. "I would recommend to most people that they spend the next few days abed, but you are Space Marines. I have heard much of your miraculous healing powers. I now begin to believe it. Much of the internal damage was healing itself even as I operated. Only the major perforations needed work although they needed it desperately."

las scalpel cauterizing, confiriming its a sustained heat ray type. Haegar's healing system seemed to be working, albeit at a slower rate, and this might have still killed him had not the priest-surgeon helped.

Page

“They choose to interpret the Emperor's words in a way that suits their prejudices.”
“Suffer not a mutant to live?” asked Ragnar.
“Aye, but they spread their nets too widely.”
...
“They hate those to whom the Emperor gave shelter, and to whom he extended the cloak of his protection.”
“The Navigators?”
...
“If the Emperor himself chose to spare the Navigators, who are they to contradict him? It seems to me that they combine the sins of wrath and pride."

The endless adaptability (or division) of the Imperial Creed. They can find ways to "tolerate" mutants the same way other groups can, or tolerate xenos, or psykers or whatever. Sucha f antastic ability for self rationalization.

Page 292

"Most likely it was either population or economic pressure. Tales tell of how the structures beneath were still occupied even as new ones were built."

"Economic pressure?" Ragnar asked. He understood population pressure. He had seen the worlds of the Imperium where billions were crammed into massive hive cities, but the concept of economic pressure was more difficult for him to grasp.

"Land is very valuable here." said Linus, not without pride. "The most expensive in the galaxy. Every square metre is titled and deeded to someone - a Navigator House, a great noble of the Adeptus, a religious order. Selling is rare. Rents are high. When you can’t build outwards, you build upwards. New layers are constantly being added."

Ragnar’s grasp of economics was good enough to tell him one thing. "Surely that would reduce the value of all the land beneath."

"You would think! But no - it means they simply charge more for the new space above. Eventually, after millennia of this you end up with places like we have. The rent rolls must be fascinating. Some of them date back more than ten millennia."

Ragnar had assumed that the area of warrens was abandoned and the people there were squatters who lived free. Linus soon corrected him.

"No, we pay rent. Not much by modern standards, but we pay according to the agreed schedule. The toll collectors still come and enter our payments in the book of records."

terran economics.. despite all the shit that has happened they can feel economic pressure - for the land crucnh if nothing else and land is owned (and fought over) nowadays. Virtually everything is rental property... even in the underhives. I have to say that those have to be some damn brave collectors to do that, especially since that isnt something you would ever see happen in Necromunda.

They also have a very capitalist approach to economics - when new resource becomes available you don't reduce price, you just keep jacking up the price on the newest layer. talk about upwards mobility.

Page 293-294

They moved on through the gloom, the shoulder lights of the Wolves flickering on automatically as they entered pockets of darkness. Ragnar did not bother to suppress them by over-riding the automatic controls. He wanted some light to see by, and he was sure that his own eyes gained more advantage from the lights than a normal man’s.

Automatic lights

Page 295-296

Everything is relative, thought Ragnar. He realised he was coming dangerously close to heresy. The Imperium was built on absolutes: the absolute truth of the Emperor’s revealed word, the absolute supremacy of man in the universe, the absolute evil of Chaos and mutation that must be opposed by the defenders of order. These formed the bedrock of Imperial faith.

He did not need to start thinking in terms of relativity - that way leads to weakness and worse. The truth of it was that every man, woman and child had a place in the great scheme of things. It was up to Ragnar to stand between mankind and its enemies. It was Linus’s place to write down farts and figures. They had simply been given gifts of strength and courage proportionate to their responsibilities. There was no need to look further than that.

Anything worth settling had been done by the Emperor and the primarchs at the dawn of their history. That was the end to it. There was no need to start attributing more courage to Linus than he had, or to belittling himself and Haegr because of it.

He and Haegr were worth more to the Imperium than Linus and a hundred like him.

And yet. part of him did think that way. It was a flaw in him that he must wrestle with ideas. Not all heresies were obvious; the most dangerous were the subtlest. Pride was the greatest of all sins, the one that had led the Warmaster astray. Pride in intellect was the worst of all, and Ragnar suffered from precisely that.

Ragner contemplates the Imperium, and the relatives and absolutes of things. Ragnar recognized "danger" (for him) in moral relativisim. Which is kind of true in a way. It isn't so much that one can say that the Imperial faith, and its actions are good and right - its a government and religion that preaches intolerance and violence and sanctioned murder after all. But it is a product of its own universe just as much as every other race is, and morality is a luxury that a society not at threat of extinction can permit or enjoy, as horrid and inhuman and immoral as it is. but getting back on topic - faith and belief are absolutes, and absolutes are whta give the conviction and certiant ythat enable someone to do something which is immortal or horrific (such as destroying a whole world.)

I'm not saying I condone it, becuase I can't and its quite shitty and its one of those things that makes the Imperium far from being "good guys", but put in the sort of situation they are, I question whether any government would be able to do better. Especially considering the sorts of enemies one must invariably face (like Chaos.)

This also probably highlights the rather "inhuman" nature of Space Marines, as they are among the most absolute of the absolute, and fanatical of fanatical. Ragnar is a bit of an aberration, which is why he can indulge in these thoughts, even though he knows (to his way of thinking) it is dangerous and wrong. Moral relativism and such are things left up to Inquisitors and the like.

Page

"Heavy bolters.."

Ragnar looked at the man. That was military hardware. He did not know why it should gall him that these zealots have access to it here on Terra but it did. It niggled at him for a moment, and then he realised why. Unless they had their own armaments manufactories they had to be getting them from somewhere. Somewhere off planet most likely. Mars was the nearest forge world, but he could not see the Adeptus Mechanicus engaging in arms smuggling within the Holy System - although stranger things had been known to happen. More likely the weapons were being brought in from somewhere further. He wondered what he would find if he searched some of the Navigator’s bonded warehouses.

Heavy bolters are definite military hardware, and apparently restricted stuff given Ragnar's reaction. Terra must not have any (official) industiral capacity on-planet, since Ragnar assumes that unless it was private factories it would be made at Mars (which makes sense.) Interesting that he does think it might be possible for determined factions to manufacture their own bolters though.

Also Terra still has its own sort of crime, although it is likely of the support designed to supplement and aid the general (and lethal) politicking of the Imperium. although Ragnar suspects it must come from outsystem (and if so that, to him limits the people who can be involved.)

Page

"Edrik was at his mansion. He has also been to his palace in the belt."

"The asteroid belt?"

Pantheus' mansion, that is. Further confirmation it was located in the asteroid belt.

Page 308

"If the mission has been compromised who knows whether the Belisarius channels or any others are safe? The relays may be monitored and short range pulse traffic can be picked up by people with the right divinatory apparatus."

"divinatory apparatus" to pick up comms traffic.

Page 324

A glyph blinked in Ragnar’s vision. A faint chime sounded in his comm-link earbead.

Visual representation of a comms channel.

Page 326

He raised his bolt pistol and snapped off a few shots into the distance. The shells could not miss the tightly packed bodies. He was rewarded with a scream.
...
"I could have hit that man with my hammer from here."

Ragnar looked at him in astonishment. "You doubt my word? The word of mighty Haegr?"

Casually, he threw the hammer down the corridor. It carried a long way, and Ragnar could smell blood and hear bones crack. "I suppose I shall have to go and get it back now." said Haegr and lumbered off into the distance before Ragnar could say anything.

Ragnar opening fire with his bolt pistol on barricaded cultists. Important shortly for a possible calc. The main and amusing thing is Haegar of course, showing his hammer-tossing skills. Haegar is freaking awesome.

PAge 329

Bolter shells and autogun bullets chipped the plascrete around Ragnar while las-beams made it bubble and stink like hot asphalt.

Lasbeams melting "plascrete". If we assume it is like silicon, and it is boiled (assume a 2-3 cm diameter crater.. we have to be talking 40-50 kj or so per "shot" easily. IF it is like silicon. However given how it melts and bubbles it might be more like asphalt or concrete (in that it technically does not have a melting point) which is a slightly different matter (it could be single digit KJ.. from what I gather here Concrete does not need a high temp to melt/boil. Of course the patch is probably quite a bit larger too.

Page 332

Someone tugged at his legs and he felt something sting the back of his knee. Looking down he saw that a wounded man had caught the weak joint at the back of his kneeguard with a combat knife. Instinct told Ragnar that the wound was neither serious nor likely to slow him down, but it was a warning to him to be more careful.

Weak points are vulenrable to piercing penetration, although not a serious injury for marines.

Page 333

More and more fire impacted on his armour, the force of the bullets were like hammer blows. Something glanced off Ragnar’s skull, drawing blood and sending waves of pain and blackness surging through his head.

Hammer blow scale impacts on the armor, suggesting considerable momentum (full power rounds at least, if not greater like say .50 cal) Similar round ricochets off Ragnar's skull, showing how durable Marine bone is against glancing hits.

PAge 336

..leading them in the direction Haegr had taken. Within a hundred metres they found the first mauled bodies, and heard the receding sounds of slaughter.

- Earlier as well, Ragnar had opened fire on cultists from that range. Of course as we know from 'Space Wolf", this is well within the capabilities of his bolt pistol, but its interesting to note a potential range of 100 m. Given the ranges for bolt pistols in the first novel, this is hardly surprising. Haegar can also throw his hammer this far.

Page 342

..the men sitting in the booths, bidding and contracting in hand sign and pidgin Gothic proved that fact. He had no idea what they might be contracting for. It could be anything from the futures in Necromundan industrial production to the shipping of a million sides of grox from the steppes of Thunder Plain.
..
They traded where they could find a profit. The Navigators got a cut for shipping it, and possibly financing it. He had been in the palace long enough now to know that the Houses bankrolled an enormous amount of trade even though they were supposedly above such things. There were fronts over fronts over fronts. The middlemen had middlemen.

An intergalactic stock market of sorts.. run or at least aided (for a fee) by Navigaotrs. Officially of course Navigators aren't supposed to be involved (fear of that monopoly thing) but funny how money can make things like that simple (like in America, again.)

Apparently one can buy or sell stocks in the productivity of a planet (or buy and sell the territory or products.) it sounds more like Space eBay or Amazon than a stokc market. A "million sides of grox" might imply tens if not hundrds of kg worth of meat too if taken literally (and how big the Grox is.)

Page 347

And despite all the implants and all the bio-surgery, he was at least human.

Xenothan, the bio-enhanced assassin. Considers himself superior to Space marines yet still human. I dont think he's an "Assassinorum" assassin despite the similarity, since I don' see the Administratum possibly having control of that from the Inquisition. Rather he seems to be an example of the sort of "personal" assassin groups various organs of the Imperial government seem to cultivate (The AdMech has its own tech assassins, and the Eccelsiarchy have their own, such as Death cultists.)

Page 349

Take up that challenge if you dare, he thought. Not even Cezare Feracci would want to confront a High Lord of the Administratum without much a better reason than that. It was best to remind him that

It seems that the Administratum high lord has access to assassins that the others might not know about. Although again I question whether this is an Assasinorum assassin, I doubt the Adminsitratum can end run an entire Ordo, much less the Inquisitorial Representative on the High Lords.

Page 351

It would never do for him to know what only very few in the Administratum knew. That within certain dark and almost forgotten departments of the Inquisition, there were small units of scholars and alchemists who had been working on the Adeptus Astartes problem since the time of the Heresy. It was a problem having such powerful, uncontrollable and near invulnerable groups at large within the Imperium, particularly as they were under no man's direct control. These hidden inquisitors had for millennia been working on methods of controlling or even slaying the Space Marines, and their research had borne strange fruit.

Xenothan smiled, thinking of the vial of potent toxin he carried on his person. It acted directly on the gland that the Space Marines used to neutralise poisons, temporarily overloading and confusing it. Ultimately, it turned the gland itself into a weapon against its owner. When the poison entered a Space Marine's system, he would be paralysed for a short time - not enough for an ordinary man to take advantage of - but for someone like Xenothan, a heartbeat would be more than he needed.

Of course, the poison was rare, produced only from the first blossoms of the rare Mercurian Swamp Orchid, and it was very secret. It would never do for enemies of the Imperium to acquire it, or for the Astartes to find out about all of those black research programmes. But it did exist, and Xenothan possessed some. Soon he would use it. He had to confess that he was quite looking forward to it. It had been a long time since he killed a Space Marine. Tonight, he thought, he would kill many.

The Higher echelons fo the Adminstratum are either collaborating (in this case) with Inquisitors of a certain type or faction, or they have penetrated the Inquisition enough to appropriate some of the fruits of teir research. Either is possible - as odd as it seems that the Adminstratum might fight politically with an Inquisitor, they are probably seen as oppposition to the administratums' political goals as they might be an ally.

Interetsing and unsurprising that the Inquisition consider the Astartes a potential threat and create such countermeasures. It's the sort of thing they do. Odd we never see this employed quite regularly against CSM forces - its's the CSM equivalent of hellfire munitions for Tyranids in a way.

Page 360

He smiled and his facial muscles flexed, pulling his skin into a new configuration. He looked almost exactly like Skorpeus now, and he had the man’s dress uniform and security talismans. There had been no blood. The poison dart had seen to that.

Xenothan can shape-shift ot a limited degree. I wonder if this is polymorphine, or some sort of bio-surgery or implant.

Page 361

There was something metallic in it. It was the last thing Hope noticed before his brains decorated the wall.

Considering Ragnar heard and smelled something, and given lasguns are consistently thermal weapons in Bill King's novels, I'm guessing it was a slugthrower. But if it was a laspistol it might be single digit kj at least (same for the projectile weapon really.) Possibly more if there's thermal elements to it or it is particularily violent/explosive.

Page 363-364

It was then his nose caught another scent. It had the mad strangeness of Chaos.
...
"The stink of mutation is all over this place. Chaos has corrupted even the sacred soil of Terra it would seem."

Gabriella gave him an odd look. "Perhaps it is not Chaos you scent." she said.

Oh dear no. That thar be mutants, Ragnar me boy. And not what you think. I wonder if this means Ragnar and Space wolves can tell the difference between 'normal' mutation (loosely speaking) and warp based mutations.

Page 364

"I am a Navigator. My pineal eye can see through far worse gloom than this"

I guess a Navigator's third eye gives some fancy night vision or can see in alternate ways. Could imply those 'alternate detection' abilities attributed ot Navigators in the Rogue Trader RPG stuff.

Page 365-366

He lengthened his stride towards the sound of violence, and emerged into a large chamber in which something bloated and white and huge lay on the floor. Its legs looked more like flippers, its arms like tentacles. But the face appeared human and it had three eyes, one in the middle of the forehead that looked suspiciously like that of a Navigator.
...
"They are killing the Elders.."
..

"They are Navigators, very old ones, very wise ones.."
...
"I look more human. It makes no difference. If you live long enough and are exposed to the warp often enough, this is what happens. It’s the price that we pay so that humanity can have star flight."
...
"The Emperor knew, Ragnar. The Emperor knew and he granted the charters anyway."

And the horrible secret at last. Ragnar has trouble coping, but Gabriella pretty much echoes the beliefs of our priest surgeon from before. The mutation is ascribed as being an inevitable consequence of delaing with the warp. This may suggest that there is a finite "lifespan" on a Navigator due to this - the warp wearing themd own or out, and this prevents mutated navigatorsf rom continuing their career (lest worse happen.)

Rather noble in a way. Navigators parley their skills into power, wealth and prestige, but they still pay a price ultimately that is far more horrible than a price many pay, and they do it for the sake of the Imperium - an Imperium that contains people who hate and fear and condemn them, no less.

Page 366

"If I live long enough." she said. "I will look like that. Maybe not exactly but close enough. And I will still have done my duty to the Emperor."

See above.

Page 368

She was skeletally thin and unnaturally tall. Her face was narrow like an eldar’s, but her skin was scaled like a snake. Her stomach had been slit fully open and her innards had tumbled out. Not even the most advanced medicine would guarantee her survival...

Another is later described as having tentacles. Evisceration of a severe degree cannot be fixed it seems.

Page 373

Why would they pick on the Elders? They were politically powerful, but from what he understood, they were mostly retired or engaged in strange research.

He pulled the trigger and the back of his target’s head exploded in a cloud of red mist. His brains decorating the intruder in front of him.

I wonder what research Navigators do.

Also more head boom.

Page 375

Xenothan proceeded through the palace, following the guidance he received from the main datacore over the comm-net.

Xenothan seems to have a comm-tap or comm connection to the Belisarius datacore, providing him instructions and navigational guidance.

Page 376

..we have set Belisarius a pretty conundrum. What will they tell the men who see the residents below? How will they deal with them? Perhaps they would be shipped out to some distant hellworld, and new guards would be brought in. Death was an obvious answer, but would the Celestarch have the stomach for it? Possibly. The Navigators were capable of anything when their survival depended on it.

Obligatory Grimdark. It also seems that the fate of navigators may be an open secret amongst the upper echelons of at least some of the Imperium's organization. OF course if the Administratum knows you'd think the Inquisition knows too. Yet they never act on this, save for this point. Self interest would be an obvious motivator in collusion to keep it secet, yet why is Xenothan being called upon to act this way now, when it would seemingly be self destructive?

Page 379

She had taken a few small wounds in their battles. A medic had hastily applied a synthi-flesh plaster to them, and it was swiftly being absorbed into the skin.

Synth flesh to seal wounds.. absorbs into the skin like a sort of stich or suture.

Page 380

This was the high spot of his career, a thing that would be talked about amid his secret brethren for centuries to come, if he was successful.

There are more of him.. an entire order it woudl seem.

Page 381

He gave orders for the intercept, knowing it was only a matter of time before they worked out that he and his followers were using scrambled transmissions piggy-backed onto the Belisarian net.

Some neat bit of comms trickery.

Page 382

The question was who? The Navigators had many flaws but loyalty to their clan was practically bred into them. It had to be. How could someone have got around that?

Torin contemplates a possible traitor to House Belisarius.

Page 382

It could not be Ragnar. He did not know the youth well but he had just arrived from Fenris, and he did not seem the corruptible type, although he had come with the wench Gabriella. Still, she had just spent ten years with the Wolves, so she would be in no position to be a traitor so soon.

This implies that far less than a year (a few months at most) have taken place between Ragnar and Gabriella leaving Fenris and coming to Terra. Going by the 5th edition map we're probably talking around 10-12 thousand LY from Fenris to Terra. 10K c at a bare ass minimum, and more likely 50,000-100,000c minimum, if not several hundred thousand c (weeks rather than months)

Page 384

He took a heartbeat to savour the moment, raised his customised bolt pistol and snapped off a single shot, almost without aiming. The shell sped directly into the Celestarch's head, causing it to explode. Only Xenothan and an observer close to her side would notice that he had put the bullet right through her third eye.

The Wolfblade gave a howl of rage, and his response almost caught Xenothan off-guard. He raised his pistol and launched a snapshot. It was pure chance that caused his shell to smash into Xenothan's gun, sending it broken and spinning over the banister.

The ASsassin is on a balcony some unknown distance above the target (although probably more likely in the tens of metres range than hundreds of meters) - he's far enough away to witness a large battle but not be part of it.

Page 384-385

The image of the tumbling Celestarch had burned itself into his brain, and was taking its place in the gallery of his proud triumphs. It was one of those things he would savour as long as he lived. He could freeze the scene in his mind.

Replaying it now, he realised he had made a mistake. The woman had been a Navigator but she was too short and too broad to be the Celestarch.

Xenothan seems to have a very good and precise memory. One of his modifications no doubt. It echoes the mental enhancements the Wolves themselves exhibit.

Page 387

"I mean a real Imperial assassin. He killed the decoy Valkoth sent with the Celestarch’s bodyguard. When I shot at him he moved away so fast I almost could not see him. I am on his trail now, and I suspect he is heading your way."

"An Imperial assassin? That does not seem possible. Has the Administratum turned against us?"

discussion of Xenothan. Again the question arises: would an Imperial Assassin be under Adminstratum control? The novel Wolfblade was Circa 2003, so it should well be into 3rd edition, and the Assassins had been put under Inquisitorial control by that time.

It is also odd that Xenothan does not seem to be one particular kind of assassin, but seems to have traits of them all. He's clearly not Callidius, he doesn't seem to be wearing polymorphine. He uses poison darts and a bolt pistol, but is not armed like a Callidus, equipped like an Eversor. He's clearly not Culexus or Vindicare. And he's clearly neither Vanus nor Venum.

The only conclusion we can reach is that the Adminstratum has its own order of assassins, rathre than "Assasinorum" type Assassins. It could be the reference to Imperial Assassins is meant to differentiate between say, Death Cult type assassins. Organizational assassins, but not neccesarily Asassinorum ones.

This is quite possible. We know, for example, the Mechanicum had (has?) their own branch of Assassins as well, who seem to be (subjectivley) as badass as any Assasinorum assassin. So why not the Adminsitratum? And the Ecclesiarchy has death cultists, which quite often ar equipped and employed as assassins (by priests and Inquisitors of that bent)

The one problem with this however, is that Xenothan implied he had connections to the Inquisition. Which suggests either he's part of some order with ties to both organizations (possible, but debatable) or he is of some unknown (lesser?) ASsasinorum order. It does not seem improbable that the Assasinorum might have lesser ranks/orders or keep groups of Death Cultists around in addition to the Temple assassins. Moreover it isn't impossible that Terran politics has thrown some Inquisitorial faction into alliance with a faction in the Adminstiratum - it would be foolish to assume that just because one person in such organization acts, that the entire organization would condone that practice - inqusitiors in particular we know are incredibly fractious even within their own ranks, nevermind outside it.

Page 390

He had a few surprises up his sleeve. He still had the envenomed blades, the dart throwers and the grenades filled with poison gas. He had changed his appearance once more and now wore the stolen uniform of a House guard. His face was completely different - wide and flat. Sub-dermal pigmentation sacks had changed his skin colour from Navigator pale to dark brown. His scent meant he would not fool a Space Wolf, but it would fool any normal person looking for one of his previous appearance.

Xenothan's various assassins tricks.

Page 390

A guard called out to him to halt. Xenothan had no time to waste now; swiftness, not concealment was of the essence. He concentrated and his altered body responded. Time slowed as his chemically enhanced reflexes sped up. The man seemed to barely raise his weapon before Xenothan was upon him. He reached out and speared his fingers into the man's eyes, pushing them deep into their sockets. They punctured under the impact of his razor sharp fingernails.

As the guard fell, Xenothan caressed the edge of the man's throat with the edge of his hand, crushing the windpipe.

Like Space wolves Xenothan seems to have implant/gland enhancements to boost speed ands trength. As well as claws implanted in his nails/fingertips for close combat.

Page 393

He breathed in the tainted stench of close combat in the hallways of the palace. The stench of opened guts and las-seared flesh, splattered blood and excrement.

"opened guts and las-seared flesh" suggests severe burning, possible steam explosions. If we assume burning the torso area (20x20 cm) we could be talking at least 20 kj for 3rd degree burns.

Page 395

It may have been the proscribed combat drugs they chewed on, but Ragnar suspected they would have been as bold without them. They simply would not have been so untiring and fierce and strong.

Effects of combat drugs in contrast to mere fanaticism.

Page 395-396

Suddenly, out of nowhere, flew a dart. It impacted on the giant’s forehead and stuck there. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen, and then a look of horror came into Haegr’s eyes and he stiffened and fell forward like a great oak.
...
A glance to his left revealed a man writhing on the floor in dreadful agony, his face turning swiftly blue, muscles writhing beneath his skin like tortured serpents.
Ragnar kept moving and more darts rattled off his armour.

Poor Haegr. And the effects on a normla human,, needler darts do little against armor.

Page 398

Ragnar sprang forward over the barricade, aiming for his opponent's back, ignoring all the blows that flashed towards him from the fanatics, trusting his armour to keep him from harm. He lashed out with his chainsword, hoping to catch the assassin at the top of his spine. He almost succeeded, but at the last second, the assassin threw himself forward, stretching almost bonelessly to avoid the strike. More than that, he somehow writhed out of the way, rolled forward and caught Ragnar with his foot adding to the Wolfs momentum and propelling him head over heels into the chamber.

Ragnar had to let go of the chainsword in case he fell on his own blades. He tried to control the roll and bring himself to his feet. The chainsword skated away across the marble flagstones and came to rest against a far wall. Ragnar sprang upright but the killer was ready. His boot connected with Ragnar's chin with a piledriver force that would have broken the neck of anyone other than a Space Marine. Ragnar was once more hurled off-balance, while the assassin vaulted over him. He was amazed by the speed of his foe. Never before had he encountered someone so much quicker and apparently stronger than he. There were many stronger, but none so fast. This stranger was a lethal combination of the two.

Ignoring Ragnar the assassin moved towards his target. The guards were confused by the startling speed with which events were unfolding, and were not firing because of Ragnar's presence.

"Shoot." he bellowed, reaching up to snag the man's ankle. He just managed to grab it and once more the stranger twisted, trying to break free. The first hail of bullets filled the air around them. Several smashed into Ragnar's armour but he held his grip.

Xenothan cursed. What did it take to put this youth down? So far he had absorbed enough punishment to kill a dozen normal men and he kept coming. Worse, he managed to thwart Xenothan's every effort to get to the Celestarch. The assassin realised he had made a mistake putting down Haegr first. The giant's ferocity was legendary, and Xenothan had assumed he was the greater threat. Only now he was not sure. Another mistake, he thought, and one he had very little time to put right.

Amusingly the Assassin manages to avoid getting hit by gunfire. He also seems quite skilled, able to fight pretty well against RAgnar in hand to hand - dishing out enough abuse to "kill a dozen men" and yet RAgnar is still going strong. Ragnar comments that he is not the strongest, but he is both strong and fast. Xenothan is stornger and fater still.

Page 399

The blow was aimed at Ragnar's eyes. The young Space Wolf just had time to turn his head, while taloned nails sliced the skin of his forehead. He lashed out with the sword he had retained, but the man took the blow on his forearm. Ragnar expected to feel flesh slice open, but instead the blade rebounded as if it had hit solid metal. The stranger's slashed tunic was only cloth. Ragnar realised at once that he possessed some sort of sub-dermal armour.

Sub-dermal armor implants. I'm pretty sure this isnt Assassinorum issue regular - they're usually more subtle than that (For Callidus or Vindiciare) or more obvious (Eversor.)

Page 400

He threw the sword with all his strength directly at the stranger's stomach, hoping it was not as well protected as his arms. The man twisted in the air, flailing his arm, and struck the blade away. It dropped directly into the guards, piercing one's throat. If that had been deliberate, and Ragnar had to assume it was, it was an astonishing feat of coordination.

Ragnar rolled and snatched a lasrifle from the hands of a guard. He brought it to bear on the stranger and pulled the trigger. Lacking anything to gain purchase on, and forced to follow the arc prescribed by gravity, the assassin, for once, made an easy target. Not even his reflexes were swift enough to avoid coherent light, and Ragnar hit him. The beam burned cloth and seared flesh, charring it black. Somehow the assassin managed to keep his arm in the way all the way down, and as soon as he hit the ground, he came straight at Ragnar, despite the sizzle of fat and muscle.

Implies several things: Lasguns ae "coherent light" - implying a lightspeed beam that cannot be dodged (at least not when fired by a Space Marine)

The beam also "burns cloth" and "sears flesh" til it is charred black - indeed it inflicts significant damage to underlying fat and muscle. The cloth burning (ignition) suggests 125 j per square cm at least, and the severe charring and burning of underlying muscle and fat suggests very very severe third or even fourth degree burns (100-200 J per cc at least, possibly up to 400 j even though there is no steam and lacerating) If we assume torch like intensities (quite possible and mentioned elsewhere.) its 1000 J cc easily.

The effect seems to encompass the whole arm (which may or may not be armoured) - it is noted shortly after that he only has one "good arm" left, and the context above implies that the blocking arm was badly burnt protecting his midsection from harm (which may suggest that the beam would have badly burned said midsection had he not sacrificed the arm.)

Duration isn't specified other than he gets hit in midair while jumping, so it can't be more than a few seconds (between being in imdiar and landing).

Assuming a 8-10cm x24-30 cm area burnt (approximate) we can talk between 200-300 square centimeters. 25-40 kj at least for burning clothing. Double that for severely searing the flesh as described. If we go with the "torch" levle damage.. 200-300 kj. Overall double/triple digit kj seems to fit the order of magnitude, within a few seconds or less.

If we do a volume assessment and assume boiling point of water (enough to badly burn, and cuateirzation woudl happen within an order of magnitude) around 1-1.5 kg at most might be burnt. assuming around 270 kj to boil we could be figuring on 300-400 kj. A bit more than earlier assessed, but if only part of the flehs was burnt (say half the arm's thickness) then it might be within the high end of the earlier range.

Eithr way we hav ea lasgun acting as a sustained, coherent heat ray doing severe burns in a short period of time over a sizeable fraciton of the arm, which suggests they can also act in a flamethrower sort of mode.

Page 405

"I have never fought anybody so powerful." Ragnar said. "He was faster than me and stronger. I never expected that from anyone, except perhaps one of the slaves of darkness."
..
"When I entered you were holding him all but immobile and rending his flesh with your teeth. We finished him for you..."

They mention that Cezare Ferraci, the guy behind this, would be Ragnar's enemy. We can assume either he failed to gain revenge or Ragnar killed him, since Ragnar survives to become a Wolf Lord (nautrally).

Also a berserker Ragnar can pretty much overpower and mutilate Xenothan, despie the "aware" Ragnar being somewhat outmatched.

Page 406

"What Imperial assassin?" said Torin. "If you made any inquiries I am sure you would find he was some sort of renegade."
"That’s not what you said a few hours ago."
"No, but it’s what the Administratum would say were we foolish enough to lay this matter before them."

It seems unlikely that Xenothan could have been a Temple Assassin if anyone would believe an Assassin could go renegade like that. I can in fact only think of ever hearing of one potential Callidus renegade (Meh'Lindi doesn't quite count methinks) and that was from the Inquisitor RPG and potentially an aberration. Then again, who could say? In any case it still wouldn't be the Administratum calling the shots, much less discussing the issue openly. Again the argument calls for a non-Assassinorum assassin, which is hardly unprecedented in canon.

Page 408

She gestured and two of the guards brought forward a massive rune-encrusted weapon. It was ancient and very beautiful and its like could not have been forged in this age. "Take it." she said.

Ragnar reached out and gripped the weapon. It fitted his hand as if it was made for him, and its balance was perfect. An aura of strange coldness radiated from the runes.
...
"This blade was borne in the time of the Emperor, by one of the first Wolfblades."

Ragnar's frostblade. Seems to be a weird sort of power weapon, or somehow a magic(warp) infused blade that is not corrupt or daemonic or anything like that.

dragon · Post by **dragon** » 2012-10-28 05:58pm

Nice updates.
Though I'm curious what was in the water underneath them, shame they never said.

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