40K/Inquisitor RPG. The Line of Damnation.

Petrosjko · Post by **Petrosjko** » 2005-01-03 04:45pm

General Paratin Carnis, Imperial Guard retired, sat in front of the regicide board, musing thoughtfully.

"You could concede now, General," Rynthis Marselo offered in a polite yet mildly sarcastic fashion.

"Mmm? Thank you, no, Ryn. I believe I have a few tricks yet up my sleeve." He moved a piece, then sat back.

Rynthis shook his head. "Prolonging the inevitable. You always were a stubborn old bastard."

"And you're enjoying the prospect of a rare victory," Paratin shot back with a smile, taking a drink of nectarine juice. "Is it too early in the day to start drinking?"

"Is there such a thing? But you're just trying to get me drunk on the chance I'll make a mistake." Rynthis took a drink himself. "Twelve moves?"

Paratin shook his head. "Sad. Actually, you could short-circuit the process and win in six. I'm surprised you haven't seen that yet."

"General, there's a call for you," the housekeeper said, stepping out with a pitcher to refill their glasses.

"It wouldn't happen to be any of my grandchildren, would it?" Paratin asked as he took a sip.

"Actually, it's the Deparmento Munitorum," she answered.

Paratin and Rynthis traded a look.

"I'll take it inside."

Petrosjko · Post by **Petrosjko** » 2005-01-03 05:16pm

Paratin shook his head at the image in the mirror. He'd lost too much weight since he'd last worn the uniform, and it hung on him sadly.

But there wasn't time to get alterations made. The summons to meet Commodore Novidalorian were explicit in the need for haste. As he stepped out of his quarters, Rynthis against the wall with a smirk pasted on his face, still dressed in civilian clothes.

"They must be dragging through the bottom of the barrel to give you a call," he said sarcastically.

"Obviously not deep enough to require your services," Paratin shot back.

"Yeah, but I figured I'd tag along for old time's sake." the other man said. "I get the feeling this isn't a call for you to make a speech for the latest graduating class from the Levins Academy."

Paratin looked at his old friend and smiled. "No, likely not. As always I will count on your low intellect and feeble sense of humor to make me look stellar in comparison."

Rynthis bowed and gestured. "Lead on, sir."

Petrosjko · Post by **Petrosjko** » 2005-01-03 05:30pm

Paratin entered Lena's office with stately grace. "General Paratin Carnis, reporting for duty as ordered," he said gravely.

It was curious, reporting to a commodore. But that was the service, a million and one curiosities.

Rynthis waited outside, contenting himself by chatting with the guards. His former aide's casual, carefree style had served him well in the past, allowing Paratin to keep touch with the concerns and morale of his soldiers.

Typhonis 1 · Post by **Typhonis 1** » 2005-01-04 12:49am

Nathan walked to Lenas office .A dataslate was in his hand he noted the gurds and an old gentleman talking to them.He walked up to them and nodded a greeting "Gentlemen , I take it the commodore is busy"

Petrosjko · Post by **Petrosjko** » 2005-01-04 01:00am

"Yes Inquisitor," the guard replied. "Should I page her?"

Rynthis' eyebrow shot skyward as he straightened up, his expression getting very serious and intense.

Inquisitor indeed. He wondered just what the hell this commodore was talking to Paratin about...

--------------------
Paratin looked over the force assessments. "Long term, it can't be done. Unless... we can locate the enemy's center of gravity and strike hard, we could buy ourselves enough time to establish and professionalize on-planet resistance. Otherwise, sooner or later these forces will be whittled away, if not outright defeated."

Perhaps not what the powers that be wanted to hear, but he wasn't going to give them anything but the truth. It was a large reason he retired early.

With all the recent disturbances, he'd expected that they might have called him up to command a body of PDF units. In his wildest thoughts, he'd thought that perhaps they would even give him overall command of planetary defenses. He never expected to be called in to be offered command of a full-fledged army on an invasion.

They must really be scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Typhonis 1 · Post by **Typhonis 1** » 2005-01-04 01:04am

"No need too .I can wait "

Nathan looked at the other man and nodded ."At ease . I am Nathan Talstrem "

Petrosjko · Post by **Petrosjko** » 2005-01-04 01:14am

Rynthis relaxed slightly. "Colonel Rynthis Marselo, Imperial Guard, retired, sir."

Dear Emperor, these were not good waters for Paratin to be sailing in. They'd never dealt with the Inquisition, but Inquisitors were known to have a habit of executing anybody who disagreed with them. Paratin wouldn't be rude about it, but if he felt something was wrong or needed to be said, he would say it. That same trait had put him on the wrong side of more than one commissar.

-------------
Lena took the dataslate back. "Can you do it?" she asked bluntly.

"There are no guarantees in warfare, commodore," Paratin replied. "But I've never backed down from any assignment. We'll take your hive world, or we'll die in the trying."

She nodded. "Then you had best get to work. Colonel-commissar Ristani has already assembled a working staff to manage Imperial forces on-planet."

"One thing," Paratin said, raising his hand. "Colonel Rynthis Marselo accompanied me. He was my aide-de-camp for eight years prior to my retirement. I would need to have him returned to service as well."

"Easily arranged."

"Then I have a great deal of work to do." He rose to his feet.

Typhonis 1 · Post by **Typhonis 1** » 2005-01-04 01:50am

Nathan nodded " Good. Enjoying the time off earned from loyal service. I have a very long ways to go before that.... if we Inquisitors ever do retire save from forced retirement"

Petrosjko · Post by **Petrosjko** » 2005-01-04 01:03pm

He nods, trying to figure out what would be a legitimate topic of conversation with an inquisitor.

'How 'bout those cultist uprisings in Hive Primus?' certainly wouldn't go over very well.

He decides to nod and let the Inquisitor pick a non-inflammatory topic.

Typhonis 1 · Post by **Typhonis 1** » 2005-01-04 01:45pm

"So what brings you here Colonel?"

Petrosjko · Post by **Petrosjko** » 2005-01-04 01:55pm

"I was General Paratin Carnis' former aide de camp, and oversee his estate and affairs now. When he was summoned to speak with the commodore, I asked to accompany him."

Typhonis 1 · Post by **Typhonis 1** » 2005-01-04 02:07pm

Nathan nodded" I think I know why....how much combat experience Has the General had? If he is good enough for the Commodore and by extension Gix to pull out of retirement then we may have a chance after all wwhere we`re headed"

Nathan noted the startled look n the colonels face. "Yes more than likely I`ll be going with you in case the enemy has some...'Non codex' help"

Petrosjko · Post by **Petrosjko** » 2005-01-04 02:19pm

He didn't bother asking where they're going. It would be somewhere possessed of the following traits:

Too hot or too cold.

Raining constantly, snowing constantly, or atmospherically so polluted it's miserable to move around outside. There will be mud. Lots of it. Possibly an atmosphere not possessed of any form of protective ozone layer, where harsh radiation from the planetary star beats down, hungrily searching for unprotected flesh.

If the mission is offensive in nature, it will involve easily fortified mountainous, rocky, or hive terrain, where a small group of determined defenders can make attackers miserable.

If defensive, it will of course be broad, flat plains where armored units can nip at the flanks and constantly threaten to envelop their position.

Most importantly, it will be possessed of large quantities of unpleasant hostile xenos, rebels, mutants, or heretics.

"General Carnis served in the Imperial Guard for forty years, and had combat commands at each level from platoon to corps level," he replied.

Typhonis 1 · Post by **Typhonis 1** » 2005-01-04 02:24pm

Nathan nodded."Well Emperor willing we may be able to kit out some of your troops with new gear... may hellp you planetside."

Petrosjko · Post by **Petrosjko** » 2005-01-04 02:28pm

"New gear, sir?"

New gear. What an odd concept. Did they receive a fresh shipment of equipment from a forgeworld? Perhaps even holy Mars?

Typhonis 1 · Post by **Typhonis 1** » 2005-01-04 02:28pm

"Worse comes to Worse this will be a @##%@#$%##$ Frellis Prime....THAT was a bloody mess I can tell you."

Nathan notted the puzzled look on Rynthis face.

" Old high gothic term that is seldom used any more"

Petrosjko · Post by **Petrosjko** » 2005-01-04 02:33pm

He nodded. It certainly wasn't any High Gothic he learned at Levins. "May I ask where we're going, Inquisitor?"

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2005-01-04 11:16pm

"We're going to Cyrus Gamma," said Jolan Gix. The inquisitor walked stiffly into the room, carapace armour over his customary body glove and under his heavy coat. Gix wan't bothering with pretending to be a civilian these days. Arm twisting at the highest levels had different requirements than covert investigation.

"Our near neighbor, a hive world with a lot of similarities to the infamous Necromundia, although mercifully only about a third of that world's population. The Imperial Commander has been overthrown and heretics are celebrating in the street. A difficult task, even if the subsector was stable; which it is not. "

Jolan shifted slightly and a knife of pain shot through his body. His ribs were still tender. He hoped the power armour he had ordered came in before they left. If he was going to be unsubtlely leading men into combat, he would like all the protection he could muster.

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2005-01-04 11:30pm

master it may be unusual, but there is a large store of Xenos weapons, still intact on the planet, that the enemy does not have ready acess too but we do.

I believe it's some sort of tomb, the dead xenos were left in a position as if they were guarding against something, but what ever escaped there. Their war gear was still intact, despite the time that had passed.

As shown by the jewel, and the grenade I liberated.

Petrosjko · Post by **Petrosjko** » 2005-01-05 12:24am

Rhynthis nodded. "Well then, the local PDF troopers may not be quite Guard," he said with a trace of the inherent snobbery of Guard over PDFs. "But Adraxian fighting men have proven themselves time and again in the service of the Emperor, and they are well acquainted with hive fighting. If I may say, sir, General Carnis is an excellent choice for this mission. His men will move mountains for him."

Normally easygoing, Rhynthis was quite serious now. His manner and bearing were the product of millennia of tradition, drilled into the cadets of the Imperial Military Academy of Levins.

At this, Paratin stepped out of Lena's office. He blinked at the rosettes, snapping to attention. The commodore had mentioned the inquisitors, but it was one to to hear about them; another thing altogether to actually stand in their presence. He bowed formally.

"General Paratin Carnis at your service, Lord Inquisitors. I understand there's a war to be won."

Petrosjko · Post by **Petrosjko** » 2005-01-05 12:30am

Prius limped in after Lillith, his brow furrowing at the reference to the xenotech. He still had his suspicions with regards to the xenos and their presence here, and had resolved that at the soonest opportunity he was going to see to it that the so-called Legio Xenos was used up and eliminated. He had looked over the dataslate Lena had sent him on Carnis' record, and while his disposition had often been noted as lacking, his adherence to orthodoxy with regard to the xenos was properly zealous. He stood by Nathan's side, eyeing this new general. Not terribly impressive, this shrunken little man with his white beard and hair, but he did possess a certain admirable spark of intelligence and fire in his eyes.

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2005-01-05 12:50am

deepwithin the grave barrow, the long forgotten guardians awokened.

The demon that had been imprisoned was now loose, however, the activation of the gateway, now set about the awakening of the long dormant avengers. As the soulstones began glowing, no longer oppressed by the prahia's presence, the wraithbone stirred disturbing the dust of ages. Any new visitors to the tombs would now see that wraiths now prowled it.

The Monkeigh had stepped on the holy ground, the monkeigh would suffer. Distortion cannons charged, brightlances glowed, and flamers were ready.

Typhonis 1 · Post by **Typhonis 1** » 2005-01-05 01:33am

Nathan nodded to Lillith"Good Work"

He looked at General Carnis and nodded to him " glad to have you on our side.We need all the soldiers we can get . Right Jolan any word on what kind of war material we can expoect from planetside or are we on a shoestring here? Also any word from ANY Astartes chapter?"

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2005-01-05 01:55am

Master Nathan, We may not beable to obtain Marines, but I am still in good graces with Veteran Sister Celeste, The forces under her command might be used here. That would be Ten Squads in all, as well as their own purifiers

Petrosjko · Post by **Petrosjko** » 2005-01-05 02:00am

Paratis took the men in surrounding him. They were the real power here, and to some extent he liked what he saw. He got good feelings from Gix and Talstrem. Hard men, but his initial impression was that they were fair as well. Those were qualities that often did not come in tandem in the Imperium.

He didn't know what to make of the Sororitas sister, other than the fact that she made him vaguely uneasy.

The commissar, on the other hand... his eyes burned with the fanatical gleam he'd seen all too often. This was a man whose answer to most problems was to throw more bodies at it. He would bear watching, and above all he could not be allowed to usurp control of this expedition. This was a task that required discretion and... delicacy was a word that hardly ever applied to the art of war, but it did almost fit here.