Overview

Obadiah: You reach your chosen position of cover just in time to look back and see the cyberhound returning past your entry point. From your location, it is impossible to see the damage you did to the fence… but of course the dog is much closer. It takes a few steps and pauses in its usual pattern, moving its head from side to side. Opposed Scrutiny vs Deceive test: not a good Pass, but a Pass… It is unclear what exactly has caught the beast's attention. A visual clue, a slight movement in the cut links? A trail of ambient heat or scent across the no-man's land? Whatever the case, the hound arches its back, raising its head skywards, and opens its heavy jaws wide. The sound that comes out is not a natural howl. It is a piercing, synthesised siren that carries across the landscape. After a moment, the tower spotlights on both sides pause in their automated search, and after a second or two begin to move again in a less precise fashion. First one, then the other, turn inwards to flood the narrow space between the fences with light, empty except for the alarm-sounding animal construct. Another few seconds, and your enhanced hearing picks up a raised voice atop the walkway of the closer tower. It seems to be talking to someone else, perhaps via vox as you cannot detect a second speaker. The voice sounds… irritated? “Yes, this is Tower 9… Throne damned cog-dog's cryin’ wolf again, sir! …No sir, no sign of anything down there… probably just a Kyoti taking a leak up the fence…?” The voice pauses for a longer moment, as though listening. Then it answers, as though resigned to a necessary but pointless job. “Yes sir, understood. Stubbers are locked and loaded. We'll shut off the siren and keep our eyes open until your response team arrives to check the 9-10 fence for breaches. Tower 9 out.” Atesh: Fritz smiles back and walks over to the table, gesturing to the scraps of paper strewn across its surface. In the glow globe's poor light, you can see that they seem to be crudely drawn maps, annotated with numbers and arrows. “I know this place well, Brother Atesh. I was… employed here, for many years. Until my eyes were opened.” He gestures to his clothing, then to his strangely coloured irises. “I tried to conceal them at the start, but eventually my former colleagues found me out. The traitorous filth threw me into the mines along with one of the prisoner intakes. Thought they were being kind by not killing me immediately. Fools. I will be avenged for their betrayal.” The last is a low snarl, and the elongated fingers close into a fist, before relaxing. “But what is needful is provided. I know how everything at Dante's Barrow works. The grav-conveyor is of no use to us. It was designed with fully automated defences and an open killing field at the top, certain death for anyone trying to use the lift cars as an escape route. Whatever is really happening down on Deck 13, they have helped us take the first step to freedom by locking out the conveyor and putting the casket system back into use.” “There are three casket shafts. Each one is guarded at the top to prevent break-outs, but the whole system predates the mine becoming a prison. Space at the top of the shafts is limited, so the guard nests do not have quite as much clear ground as they should. Shaft 2 is the tightest. A force carried in a casket could reach and overwhelm the nest there, if they had even a second or two of covering fire to prevent the guards from cutting them down immediately. From there, the dominoes fall. They could stop the pulley system from being shut off, so that more caskets and more prisoners would reach the plant floor. Teams could be sent to attack the guards at the other two shafts, tripling our points of egress.” He frowns thoughtfully, then looks at you and taps one long finger against the side of his head. “I have had a very long time to plan this, my brother. I know the timings of the three shafts’ caskets, to the second. I know how to keep the pulley system working long enough to bring our followers up in sufficient numbers to challenge the guards.” “The guard post at Shaft 2 is the lock. If I had a few lasguns, or even a single frag grenade, as a key, I could open the door and tear this whole place down around their heads. Alas… weapons? Explosives? These are not things that can be found anywhere in the Barrow where a prisoner might put his hands on them.” He smiles again. “But as I said, what is needful… So… can your gifts help us in our task?”

Ialathial Duskstrider He could not reason why he hesitated to slay the dark kin. Perhaps he was weary from the many days of trekking, or the distaste of killing a helpless target. It mattered not, for whatever possessed the prisoner had seemingly relinquished its thrall during the night. +++ ... Right after the team discussion ... +++ The tune was familiar, yet to his frustration could not put a title to it. A melody he most likely heard during the many intoxicated escapades of his previous life. No doubt he and his friends mocked it and sought to improve and expand it in his Dreaming. What he could recall was it was tale of Dandrame and its people The figure eventually revealed themself. Sensing distrust among the team, Ialathial approached the newcomer first. He offer his left hand in greeting, whilst holding his catapult at rest in the other. Diplomatic, yet cautious. “Ialathial Duskstrider; Dire Avenger of the Twilight Tempest.” +++ ... The next day ... +++ Ialathial could do nothing but stare vacantly at the crudely forged leviathan suspended above the mountain range. Whatever it was, he was confident it possessed ordnance to level the continent and anger this Sleeper within. There was no outrunning it on foot, and the odds of a miraculous webway exit nearby seemed unlikely. But maybe it was their only path forward.

Atesh Sapik A cagey grin spread wide across Atesh's scarred and burnned face, showing missing teeth and gums blistered by heat. "Where and when do we start, Brother Fritz?"

Kraith "It seems that no matter what we will need to travel to the Arbites fortress, to discover what has occurred. We should be prepared for investigation and battle."

I'd say pillage before you burn, but explosions are certainly within the remit of your game.

Apologies for the delay. This place is loaded with promethium and is getting dark. My characters thinking is of maybe starting a few loud firey explosions to create smoke cover and distract the orks. Collateral damage be damned. Is that a massively stupid idea?

Wrecked vehicles. Enemies all around. Bullets flying past. It reminded Nolites a bit of home. The cover was a bit worse here. If some Mechanium doo dads got damaged what of it. They had shown their true colours after Badab. Maybe it was time to make some cover of our own.

Don't break no sweat, yoof, we fixed it all in post with no lasting* side effects. * = Warning, random effects may include, but are not limited to: Palpitations, random beating, tomfoolery, japes regarding Tom Cruise, underpants inverted by random psychic distortion, spoiled bananas, sounding like you've been on helium for six weeks, watered whiskey, watered water, limescale forming in pipes, exclusion of warranty in Wisconsin, marketing options being mandatory, adverts for erectile dysfunction, and piles.

@Machine God that was Hit #3. Sorry if that wasn't explicit. @Mazer Rackham sorry about SAB. Got it confused with either the BC or dreadnought configuration. I'll take the outcome regardless...

@Necronaut - Should have rolled the damage from the X against Hordes.

Obadiah He let out a slow breath he didn't even realize he was holding in as the cyber-mastiff continued on its patrol route. Careful, Obi, he thought to himself. He waited until it was further down the line before drawing Silence from its sheath and began sawing at the wire fencing. The fence parted easily enough, though Obadiah knew he'd have to hone the blade a bit after this mission. He slipped through the hole, then began twisting the severed ends back together to patch the hole. The tension on the fence wire didn't make it easy, and Obadiah frowned as his attempt to hide the hole finished up looking kind of...mangled. He glanced up and down the fence line; there were no alarms so far and no mastiffs charging him, but that wouldn't last forever. And he was running out of time before the patrol came back through, so trying to fix the hole again was...not really an option. He slipped Silence back into its sheath on his chest rig and darted through the darkness into the dubious cover between a pair of hab-domes.

Atesh: Fritz laughs aloud. “Many. More than can be gathered here! Our friends here, like Sarge, each lead a group of like-minded individuals on their Decks. There are other leaders, with other groups, on every Level. We have almost a thousand brave men and women who will take a stand against our oppressors, if given the opportunity.” “More importantly, I believe that if we can begin something successfully, light the spark, then many more will join us, even if they do not yet know where our true loyalty lies. The population of Dante's Barrow is approximately fifteen thousand, and there are thousands of prisons like it across this world.”

Hierax: GM OOC: I think you're channeling your old Dreadnought there, SAB is a Full Action in DW, and RF doesn't generate extra Hits, so it's 3 Hits due to Size (+20). The Orks are suddenly assailed by Bolt shells, felling three of them as the Ferrocrete breaks apart in a spall, and the explosive warheads burst flesh. Contrary to all sapient sense, they cruelly laugh and bawl at the unfortunate brutes who are slain, yammering excitedly to get into position to retaliate. [ ] Kur-Dawa [ ] Nolites (@grailkeeper you're up).

Hierax The Storm Lord roared past the rest of the kill-team on his attack bike, drawing the ire of the heavily armed savages, who ineffectually assailed the outrider with a fusilade of poorly constructed explosives. Hierax wordlessly released Whisper to clatter upon his plastron cradled by its chest rig, and drew and fired his boltgun up at the distracted aliens without waiting for further direction or discussion, or offering any of his own. No orders were necessary; they all held the reaper’s scythe well in hand. Battle would be joined by the others in due course. Causality dictated it. The nuzzle flashes from his boltgun briefly and intermittently illuminated his pointed helm within its cowl with a hateful intensity in the nascent pre-dawn gloom. Die. Die. DIE.

Atesh Sapik Atesh pulled a small, ancient lucifer, for igniting Lho Sticks, from his pocket and flicked the wheel, sparking but not quite enough to catch. "I may, Brother Fritz. Before we start, are there any other friends that've been made along the way? Not present, I mean."

Atesh: Your senses tingling, you can feel the influence of the warp in this place. Not only Fritz Calder - though it is especially strong in him - but in all of the men in the chamber. You feel Tchar's touch on their bodies and their minds. A light, featherlike touch… but gathered together? It might be enough… “Change? Yes…,” Calder smiles, “You feel it too, Atesh. The purpose is borne, and so what is needful to achieve it… will come. Do you bring what we need, brother?” Obadiah: You stop a few metres from the outer fence. The spotlight pattern halts just behind you, as though the defenders do not believe that anything could reach this point without being seen. However, they are hardly the last layer of protection. Your careful surveillance reveals movement within the ten metre strip between the fences. Something - not a man, too low to the ground - is patrolling the stretch between guard towers, moving towards your position. It is an animal, a mastiff, but it doesn't move with a dog's natural, meandering walk. Instead, its pace is precisely controlled, measured, pausing every few steps while its head swings slowly from side to side. There is little bionic augmentation visible, other than an augur unit implanted onto one side of its head, but its logical manner plainly identifies the beast as a cyberhound. Presumably, should it discover an intruder within its assigned territory, more savage protocols would most likely come into effect. Augmented or not, it is a big, muscular animal, heavy yet still agile, with a wide, powerful jaw and sharp teeth. For an escaping prisoner, facing it would be a fearsome prospect. Opposed Awareness (vs Stealth) test: Fail… just… It moves past you, scanning devices somehow failing to detect your presence, and continues on towards the next tower. The structure is perhaps a hundred metres away, so at the hound’s regulated pace you can estimate that you have perhaps four or five minutes until it returns and passes your hiding place again.

Urr..one, two, free - LOTS. It's a Horde. Dat's what I jus'said, innit? (yes). There's no Nob, but there's a Muckety Muck with a big hat wot's in charge (narrate accordingly). IIRC I think the bunker is 30 ish metres tall, with a distance from the floorplate of 30m, using my old Pythag Theorem, that's about 3.5 kilometres. I could be wrong. Seriously, I'd say you're about 70ish metres off the parapet (it's a few metres from the edge) if you start at the fence (we're doing this fast and loose, you may have guessed). Be aware that if you go closer (to within 2m), the height of the walls and offset of the hatch parapet will occlude your targets, and similarly it will hide you - the advantages and disadvantages go with the dough. Stikkbombs enjoy gravity. Any use?

@Mazer Rackham okay we're back in the thick of it! How many tankbustas are there? Are they considered a horde armed with rokkit launchas? If they're not a horde, do they have one amongst them who looks like a nob/leader? And what is our approximate range?

GM OOC: I've had Grail's Initiative via PM, and it rocks up at 11. I will amend this post with Init Order, shortly. Oath of the Astartes, Cohesion: 8 Hierax: 12 Kur-Dawa: 11 Nolites: 11 Tankbustas: 10 Incario: 9 Uldyssian: 9 Enkush: 8 Kurkov: 6 GM: Maps are up, I will declare the following: Leyuun will drive the Rhino and the Inquisitor to a safe distance, but somewhere you can exfil to if need be (30m from the perimeter). Dark is beginning to wane. Ballistic Tests are at -10 for Creatures without Dark Sight. There is no Surprise Round (Enkush has been spotted). You are 30m from the nearest wall, the perimeter fence is no hindrance, you can just narratively heave it out of the way, it provides no cover. Buildings are Ferrocrete, so the low parapet around the Orks provides 8 AP to Legs and Body. There is sufficient cover to protect the Horde. [ ] Hierax. GM: Questions and shouting in the OOC as per normal procedure.

Atesh immediately recognized the discoloration of the eyes and other signs of the true gods, and recognized he was.....not safe, but in the right place. He gripped the hand firmly, looking Calder in the eye. Atesh thought a silent thanks to the Changer for their guidance. "I am Atesh. A pleasure to meet you, Fritz. Sarge told me that if I wanted to see some change on this world, this is the place to be."

Post edited: https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/370180-to-plunder-the-stars-themselves-episode-iii/page/63/#findComment-5848131

Obadiah Once you knew the pattern, it was relatively easy to beat. A few slow steps forward, a nimble hop to one side, a bit of zigzag for a moment, then a momentary pause -- and then another, smooth bit of forward momentum. And through it all, his head was on a swivel, preysight activated as he scanned all around him. He wasn't through the perimeter yet.

I just want to check what we know so far about what is happening on Astess. The Arbites sent us a tight beam saying that the planetary government had rebelled. We sent a tight beam back stating that we are loyal to the Emperor and would come to assist asap. We asked them for further info about the nature of the rebellion but they haven't answered. Slightly sus. Now the planetary governor is saying that the Arbites are the traitors, having kidnapped senior government members and attacked Imperial facilities? Do we know any more than that? Anything I've missed? Are we close enough for live comms now? I wonder if we should contact both at the same time, and see if we can get a clearer picture of who is lying and who isn't? Maybe even create an open channel to both, so we can listen to them respond to each other?

Atesh: After a few moments Sarge returns and waves you past the thugs at the door. You enter and find yourself in a large, natural chamber in the rock, lit by a single, semi-functioning glow globe strung up from the ceiling. Down here it is a wealth of light. Several men stand around an old table, looking down at scraps of paper under the flickering light. One turns to look as you enter. He is tall, broad, and carries a sense of… purpose? …that is missing amongst most of the inhabitants of Dante's Barrow. His clothes, although somewhat ragged, are clearly the tan fatigues of a prison guard. He steps away from the table to move towards you, his face suddenly shadowed from the globe's weak light, and that is when you notice that his eyes are an odd colour. They shine, a faint, orangey-purple, iridescent glow. He offers his right hand, and you might notice that the fingers are just slightly elongated, vaguely claw-like. “Welcome, friend,” he says in a warm, yet authoritative tone. “My name is Calder, though you can call me Fritz. Sarge said he had a good feeling about you, and I have learned to always listen to his hunches.” You may, if you wish, make a Challenging(+0) Awareness and/or Psyniscience test about Calder and the rest of the occupants of the room. Obadiah: You duck and weave across the broken ground towards the fence, a crazed, zigzag route of stops and sudden starts that nevertheless allows you to avoid the piercing beams of the spotlights. Please make an Ordinary(+10) Awareness test as you move closer to the fence.

As you burn towards the primary world, you get a message from the planetary government demanding your immediate assistance putting down rebel arbites. The government message says they suddenly detained several senor advisors to the planetary governor without warning raided several strongholds planetside before withdrawng to their portions of the primary orbital structure.