40K/Inquisitor RPG. The Line of Damnation.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2005-01-13 01:35am

Typhonis 1 wrote:Nathan nods"Readying yourself for the drop?"

"Implying I'm not ready now?" Xavier Varian quirked an eyebrow at Nathan.

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2005-01-13 01:49am

"Lord, they are maintaining their fighter screen while sending the Dauntless ahead. They have suspicions."

"Of course they do. The Dauntless might be able to survive a rapid pass and it's is just close enough that they will be able to add their long range fire to its guns. If it survives the pass, then we will have its lances to our rear. An aggressive posture of verification. It won't save them. Continue to close at half cruising."

--------------------------------

"Surveyors have completed all scans. The logic engines are now matching the battle barge with all known vessels of that class. Results are coming in now. It falls within the possible range for Iron Wings," said the ensign with relief. Then his eyes bulged. "It exactly matches the Harbringer of Agony!"

"Emperor have mercy," Lena whispered. Abaddon had commanded the forces of chaos in at least four major battles from that ship's bridge. "Signal all vessels. Master of Ordinance, get your bombers off my deck and into space."

Typhonis 1 · Post by **Typhonis 1** » 2005-01-13 01:50am

"Physically yes you are mentally....... that is a horse of a different color and only you can answer that "

Nathan went back to the sword kata but kept talking " Must be ready.Must be prepared. for one must find and cleanse those that would injur and damage the Imperium .Truly they are our enemy . Truer words were never spoken but what if the enemy you face isnt a heretic,a mutant or a psycher but an arrogant smeghead who for his own ammusement decides to9 make his underling lives painful so he can get his laughs"
"

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2005-01-13 01:56am

Typhonis 1 wrote:"Physically yes you are mentally....... that is a horse of a different color and only you can answer that "

Nathan went back to the sword kata but kept talking " Must be ready.Must be prepared. for one must find and cleanse those that would injur and damage the Imperium .Truly they are our enemy . Truer words were never spoken but what if the enemy you face isnt a heretic,a mutant or a psycher but an arrogant smeghead who for his own ammusement decides to9 make his underling lives painful so he can get his laughs"

Varian just turned and left. This 'Inquistor' Nathan was an arrogant shit and running close to out and out radical heresy. Well, let him continue his crap. Time will come, the time will come.

Typhonis 1 · Post by **Typhonis 1** » 2005-01-13 02:01am

Nathan watched him leave and nodded ' To be rather than to seem my good Inuisitor ' He headed for a nearby action station sheathing the sword'be rather than seem remeber words mean NOTHING'

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2005-01-13 02:04am

Captain Shanan recieved the information impassively. "Are our bombers ready?"

"Yes captain."

"Then by all means launch. Have our fighters assemble into a screen. Master Gunner-"

"Signals incoming from Sword of Glory."

"Patch the Commodore through."

"Captain. We need to coodinate attack runs on their ships."

"Commodore, have you every fought against bombardment cannons? Our attack craft will take heavy losses. Their hulls will be difficult for our bombers to breach. And our fighter screens will be of limited use against Thunderhawks."

"Which is why we should concentrate against the Strike cruisiers. "

"Agreed. Finish the Strike Cruisers and then take care of the battle barge."

Petrosjko · Post by **Petrosjko** » 2005-01-13 02:08am

Prius gathered his troops around him, kneeling in prayer.

He'd selected what he felt to be an apt prayer for this circumstance, the Starfarer's Pleas.

We travel the darkness of the sea between the stars; remember us,
O'Emperor.

With lance, torpedo, and nova cannon we battle thy foes; remember us,
O'Emperor.

The stars themselves are nothing beside Your light; remember us,
O'Emperor.

We strive to drive back the darkness in Your name; remember us,
O'Emperor.

A thousand silent battlefields, a million million dead men; remember us,
O'Emperor.

We give all a mortal man can give, and more beside; remember us,
O'Emperor.

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2005-01-13 02:19am

Commander Thenara Gelt watched as the last of the Starhawk class bombers was maneuvered into position. She checked the stopwatch in her hand. Too slow. Adequate by navy standards, but too slow for a ship with all the advanced facilities that the Sword possessed. The crew was too damned green. "Launch," she ordered. She prayed to the Emperor that her boys and girls would come through.

--------------------------------------------

Master Gunner Salen Vivelvi watched data stream through his augments. Cogitators transmitted projectors. "Inquisitor Adivan, your word?"

"Steady," said Adivan. He could feel the probabilities begin to coalesce.

-----------------------------------------------

"Launch all Thunderhawks. Combine with the all cruiser element craft. Converge on the Emperor class. Lieutenant Cadran will have his opportunity to lead. Load Kazegor into the boarding torpedoes. And signal the Infidals to attack."

Typhonis 1 · Post by **Typhonis 1** » 2005-01-13 02:23am

Nathan walked up to the bridge detail and joined them.He wathed as the stromtroopers readied there new hellguns and chainswords .He simply leaned against a bulkhead and closed his eyes.He extended his senses and ....wait.....there.....his brows furrowed .....what is.....

"Bridge Talstrem Fox Fox Fox Hostiles in our wake Torpedo launch imminent"

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2005-01-13 02:40am

The Infidels powered up from where they were lying dormant in the asteroid belt. Nathan's senses may have warned him of the danger, but they were not here to hunt the battleship that was far ahead of them. As they burned towards Cyrus Gamma, the four raiders began to close with the rear elements of the task force. The transports.

------------------------------------------------------

"Commodore, message from Inquisitor Talstrem."

"What is it?"

"Enemies aft, impending torpedo attack."

"Surveyors?"

"Nothing."

"Keep scanning. Signal the Retribution that Pariah two is the atttack craft target."

--------------------------------------------------------

Captain Skerax watched the battle unfold from his data links. His autosenses transmitted data directly into his brain. He saw the Mars class battlecruiser come to bear on his ship, the Cruel Impulse. "All hands, brace for impact."

Power was transfered to void shields as the crew formed into emergency damage control parties, secured their positions, and slammed down sealing bulkheads.

-------------------------------------------------------

"Now Master Gunner," said Adivan.

A moment's hesitation. Then Salen Vivelvi triggered the cyberlinked fire control. The whole ship shuddered as the nova cannon fired.

The shell detonated less than ten klicks from the Cruel Impulse. The Strike Cruiser's void shields failed in a cascade of sheet lightning under the awesome impact. Armour buckled and failed. The ship lurched like a made thing. A bombardment cannon barrel was wretched and warped, a void shield blister was obliterated, two macro cannons were smashed off their mountings. Nearly one hundred crew were dead and that many again were seriously injured.

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2005-01-13 03:17am

Deep onboard the Crone:

The Sisterhood vessel was technically qualified as a hospital ship, as the Heretics came to harrass them from behind, the ship launched her "Angels of Mercy" certainly the shuttles could be used to ferry the sick and wounded to and from the planet's surface, however these were primarily designed for hard penetration, for attacking witches, genestealers, and chaos at the source. The modified Aegula shuttles were fully equipped for boarding actions, And this time they had full compliments of Sister Repenta assult forces, heavy weapons crews, a few sword voluteers, and Cannoness Sister Supirior Celeste.

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2005-01-13 03:27am

The Furies and Lightnings lead the way, slashing at the enemy Thunderhawks. The massively tough craft were piloted by veterans and most of them survived the pounding. A few broken Thunderhawks drifted in the void surrounded by the wreckage of more Furies and Lightnings. Then the carnage began in ernest.

The bombardment cannons fired. The massive rail guns fired magma bombs near the surviving attack craft. The massive blasts reduced most of the Starhawks to so much slag. The remnants of the kill squadrons limped towards pariah two, the Strike Cruiser Bloody Hands.

As they did, Fencer closed with Cruel Impulse. It's massive prow lance array struck the battered void shields and forced them past overload, blazing through the hull. The Divine Retribution added its long range dorsal lance turrets to the pounding. The Cruel Impulse's massively tough dorsal armour was blasted into vapor as the wounded ship writhed under the hellish touch. Atmosphere vented into space as power lines were severed, relays cut, thrusters shattered, fuel lines burst, and ammunition stores touched off. Secondary explosions and fire blazed through the hull.

The Cruel Impulse coasted foreward, dead in space.

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2005-01-13 03:43am

As the Crone turned towards the enemy, several armed ships joined her. Their captains were bold men and women, willing to risk trading in the fringes of Imperial space. They put their faith in their ships, their crew, and the Emperor to see them through. Given the choice, they would choose to go down fighting.

Swooping above the mass of transports came the Sword class frigates of Glaive squadron. Commodore Novdalorin would have prefered to keep their firepower in reserve, to commit against the strike cruisers and battle barge at the opportune moment. But necessity was a harsh master. They now burned to intercept the Infidels.

As they did, the swift and tough Thunderhawks flew through the gauntlet of the Divine Retribution's turret batteries. The tough little craft survived hits that would have scuttled ordinary craft and adhered to the hull of the mighty battlecruiser.

As they did, Harbringer of Agony unleashed a wave of boarding torpedoes at the Sword of Glory. It's port batteries acquired and tracked Fencer as Bloody Hands, only lightly damaged from the attack craft wave, came alongside. Bloody Hands' dorsal bombardment cannons joined its starboard batteries in firing on the Dauntless light cruiser. Shields on both sides failed in cascading explosions and energy bursts. Fencer was ripped open from both sides as the bombardment cannons breached Dauntless's plasma reactors.

Fencer didn't explode, but she burned. Her death agonizies were mercifully short.

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2005-01-13 04:07am

Pilium squadron began to return from their fruitless hunt. They had a while before they reached the battle, but they would do so with a full load of torpedoes. But for now, they were merely spectators.

The Strike Cruisers Bloody Hands and Nightmare closed on the Divine Retribution. If the Mars class had a weakness, it was in its notoriously light gundecks. At close range each strike cruiser had nearly as much firepower. Their shields had deflection ratings similar to that of the reinforced foreward shield's of the Mars. They closed for the kill.

As they did so, the Harbringer of Agony's boarding torpedoes plunged through the hail of fire produced by the Sword of Glory. Although the Emperor class possessed a heavy turret array, it lacked the armoured prow that most imperial designs possessed. Two torpedoes survived and punched through the Sword's hull and unleashed their lethal cargoes.

The Harbringer shrugged off the fire from the Sword's prow and dorsal weapon batteries. It possessed less absorbtion capacity, but higher deflection power than the battlship. Now she was closing to engagement range with her own guns.

Petrosjko · Post by **Petrosjko** » 2005-01-13 04:13am

Prius sat in the corner, chainsword grasped in his hands, tip on the floor. As the ship rocked violently with the impact of enemy fire, he stared ahead with his dark gaze, apparently unperturbed.

He could sense danger all around, so much that it almost overwhelmed his sense. Only by supreme force of will did he drive it down and attempt to focus on any local threats.

Soon enough, we will drench our blades in the blood of our foes.

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2005-01-13 04:34am

A the trailing end of the battle, blood was about to be spilled. Four Infidel class raiders launched eight ship killing torpedoes into the void. The Swords could evade them, but the torps would then continue on into the less agile ships of the convoy.

As the battlecruiser fought the two wolves harrying it, the Harbringer of Agony closed the distance to the Sword of Glory. Finally, it would be able to bring its bombardment cannons to bear and augment the firepower of its broadsides. As the range closed, the accuracy of the exchanges increased. The Sword of Glory exposed her flank, and brought the starboard, dorsal, and prow weapon batteries to bear. Explosions and energy discharges shrouded both ships as gun crews blazed away and launch decks struggled to prepare the next wave of attack craft.

Near the prow of the Sword of Glory, the hatch of a boarding torpedo blew open in a rain of shrapnel and secondary charges designed to clear the way for the attackers. The whine of hydrolics was lost in the stomp of heavy steel feet.

It was too small to be a dreadnought, merely three meters tall. It's right arm was an assault cannon, it's left a power claw matted with a storm bolter. It was a horned steel skeleton, wrapped in armour, and given life by unwholsome technologies. But the corrupt Mechanicus priests mave have built its body, but they did not give it a soul. Its heart may have been an artifact of techcraft, but its mind was summoned from the warp. It was a possessed war machine and it had come to kill.

Behind it, almost an afterthought was a small horde of beastmen driven into battle by a fireteam of Black Legion initiates, newly made Legionaires and eager to prove themselves to their wicked battle brothers. Their beastmen slaves were armoured in mesh and carried wicked axes. One half of the beastmen carried a superior weapon, a chainsword, eviscerator, electroflail, or the like. One in three carried a bolter, flamer, or plasma gun.

As Kazegor stomped towards the landing bays, the Black Legionaires drove their slaves towards the gun batteries and void shield generators.

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2005-01-13 04:49am

Slower and much less of a priority then the other small craft the "Angels continued on their way." The Black Legion was the former legion of Horus, there was much that these heretics needed to repay for their crimes.

The shuttles activated their clamps and their melta beams, burning into the hulls of their enemies, The troops that burst forward were penetant sisters, atoning for some minor transgression, or some personal fieeling of failling, or they were specialists who had chosen to take part in this scuicide mission.

The Cannoness swollowed bile, purhaps this time she would get that damned xenos taint out of her mind.

Petrosjko · Post by **Petrosjko** » 2005-01-13 05:18am

Like grotesque oversized ticks, the chaos Thunderhawks squatted on the hull of the Divine Retribution.

-----------------
"Conn, we have multiple hull breaches!"
-----------------

Prius smiled as the boarding alert klaxon sound. "All hands, repel boarders, repeat, repel boarders."

He rose to his feet, giving his chainsword a test-trigger before turning to the Swordsmen. As he grew in his abilities, he became more comfortable in using them. With his best oratorical persuasiveness, he looked to his troops.

"Blessed are we, for the God-Emperor gives us such chances to take vengeance upon those who betrayed him. Follow me."

Already the reports were being piped into his augmetic vox, locating the intruders.

Heretics. Traitor marines. He had faced them before. His lips curled back in a wordless snarl. Vengeance again for the Emperor, vengeance for the black betrayal of Horus and his weak-minded followers.

----------------
"Steady... steady..." encouraged the petty officer, his shotcannon leveled. They had chosen to make their stand here, an annex where they could mass their fire, and the boarders would have to enter.

So focused was he on guarding the entrance, he didn't even notice the rating behind him leveling a shotcannon at the back of his head. With a booming report, the weapon fired.
-----------------

In the comm chamber, the astropaths howled in discordant agony as the tainted wave of power resonated across the warp. The inquisitors could sense it, discern it for what it was. At least one powerful psyker was among those boarding the vessel... at once, each of them heard the message in their minds.

"I've hunted your kind in the past, humans. Fight back as best you can, it will make this... interesting.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2005-01-13 02:35pm

Petrosjko wrote:"I've hunted your kind in the past, humans. Fight back as best you can, it will make this... interesting.

Varian simply steeled himself, made the sign of the aquila and responded in kind.

Very well, spawn of darkness, come and try me.

And with that he did his best to drive a spike of mental force into the beast-psyker's mind.

Petrosjko · Post by **Petrosjko** » 2005-01-13 02:49pm

The chaos psyker's mind was heavily shielded, and he was ready for the attempt. The blow deflected off of his defenses, and Varian heard his fading voice, echoing mocking laughter as he disengaged from the connection.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2005-01-13 03:07pm

Petrosjko wrote:The chaos psyker's mind was heavily shielded, and he was ready for the attempt. The blow deflected off of his defenses, and Varian heard his fading voice, echoing mocking laughter as he disengaged from the connection.

Shrugging off the mad laugher Varian simply loosed his force rod and sword and proceeded to head for the boarding actions. At range and against a prepared mind he simply hadn't expected much return. Still, the enemy psyker was powerful.

Weapons and mind at the ready Varian and his retinue headed for combat.

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2005-01-13 03:25pm

Kazegor felt the wave of psychic force strike one of the thrall psykers. He could feel the mind that sent it. It was tantalizingly close. The daemon spoke across the warp to the Black Legion fire team. *The psyker is mine.*

He changed course, stomping across the Sword of Glory's deck toward Inquisitor Varian. Another party of armsmen tried to oppose him, but a burst from his assault cannon blew them to bloody pieces.

------------------------------------------------

The Infidel's turrets took their bloody toll from the Crone's shuttles. Only two out of five survived the raider's defensive fire. But some survived, burning their way into the hull of the Spite. The forces of the arch enemy were not idyll. Counter boarding parties armed with autoguns, shotguns, chainswords, and las weapons had donned their armour and was driving a mob of poorly armed slave cannon fodder toward the boarding points.

----------------------------------------------------------

Glaive squadron made a choice. They aborted their attack run on the Infidels and fired their massed batteries on the torpedoes. They succeeded, but at a terrible cost. Their course change left Viper exposed on the far end and while the gunners of the Spite were occupied, the other three ships concentrated their firepower on the frigate. Viper's void shield's failed under the bombardment and her armour was penentrated at a dozen points. Power failed all along the ship and the frigate was left drifting, dead in space.

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2005-01-13 04:02pm

The Infidel's closing for the kill was not without cost. As the Swords maneuvered back to engage them, the Crone and the Wager targeted the Venom. Their combined gun batteries smashed into void shields that were taking hits from Viscious' guns and drove the shields past the overload point. They tore open Venom's prow and struck detonated an ammunition magazine. The Venom's front third exploded and the crippled ship coasted on, a cold wreck.

As the small ships raged against each other, the two Strike Cruisers passed the Retribution. Their gun batteries and bombardment cannons overpowered the Divine Retribution's void shields and opened holes in her side. The Retribution responded by savaging Bloody Hands. The battlecruiser's gun batteries overloaded the traitor's void shields as her lances burned into her sides.

But the pass was finished now and the vulnerable transports were dead ahead. The Divine Retribution would not be able to stop them before they ripped open their prey.

The other pass was even more bloody. The gun batteries on the Sword of Glory pushed the Harbringer's void shields to the overload point. The Harbringer's batteries and bombardment cannons opened holes in the Sword's side, putting several batteries and one launch bay out of commission as she passed. More Thunderhawks disgorged, several surviving the Emperor's turrets. They landed on the Sword of Glory and unleashed their fell cargos.

Petrosjko · Post by **Petrosjko** » 2005-01-13 04:16pm

Aboard the Retribution a fresh set of alarms raced across the bridge.

"Commodore! We have breaches on the bridge level tower!"

---------------------
Heavy steps thudded through the deck, soundless in vacuum. The creature fired another blast of its flamer, incinerating a corpse.

Kill the head and the body dies, the voice whispered seductively.

Behind it, three more like it followed in its wake, discordian voices gibbering across the aether as they spoke in no language and fashion no mortal man could bear to hear, let alone understand.

KILL-KILL-KILL!

---------------------

"Initial resistance light," Granathan reported, pulling his chainaxe free from the weak fool's corpse. He paused for a moment, staring at the face. A thousand battles and more that he had fought in, and he could remember the face of every man or beast he had killed. Slotting the axe back into its spot on his terminator armor, he checked his storm bolter and prepared to lead his squad further into the heart of the Retribution.

Petrosjko · Post by **Petrosjko** » 2005-01-13 04:21pm

Prius heard the message of the foul chaos psyker, but his reply was drowned out in the thunderous force of Varian's counterstrike. He paused his troops, clicking over on his vox.

"Varian, Talstrem- Ristani, suggest we rendezvous and coordinate our efforts."

This was not like the previous boarding battle he and Nathan had fought in, to be won with flesh and steel. They faced a dark power here, one that would likely require their combined might.