[RP] Verus Imperator Adventum

[The emperors chosen]

IC

"Why, Inquisitor Carrack, like any loyal Inquisitor odf the God Emperor, I would purge the heretic, destroying him forever" James responded,as he felt a slight presence on the edge of his mind, an he knew Carrack was judging his emotions "well this will show him" he thought, and he projected his voice into Carracks mind "Inquisitor, i can assure you, I am no traitor like that man Basavriuk."

[evilsponge]

Carrack was surprised James had been able to detect his reach. Since the Awakening his already psyker powers and risen ten fold, as did the power of the terrible secret inside him. Channeling such great power was like weilding a lascannon though, not something one could hide from others.

 

++Forgive my directness, Lord James. It's not your loyalty that I question, but your perception. Do you really think Basavriuk's death will be the end of this? No, I fear more sinister enemies lay at the core of this situation....++

[The emperors chosen]

IC

"Inquisitor, yes i believe that Basavriuk's death will be the end of our current problem, what do you mean,"more sinister enemies", surely not other inquisitors?"James responded,slightly shocked.

[Skytear]

The engines of the Thorn of Light sang at full speed as the Cobra Class Cruiser's sleek frame parted a Nebula of multi-coloured particles.

He had just finished his litanies when the Thorn of Light had entered

the nebula. Now he was watching the particles disintegrate against the Cruiser's shields in colourful flashes of light. It gave him peace.

Inquisitor Gabriel Crown, strong hands clasped behind his back, watched the nebula part in front of the Thorn of Light.

The tall, broad-shouldered man was standing in the Cobra Cruiser's Observatorium.

 

"May this be an Omen of the things to come and clear the path. Saviour of Mankind, Light of my Soul, cleave the Darkness and make room for your Light."

Singing praises to the Immortal Emperor, Crown let his green eyes wander over the nebula and gave a quick prayer, loosing himself in thought.

 

Originally scheduled for Cadia to pick up a squad of Kasrkin for Inquisition training, his mission had changed dramatically when his

Lady Inquisitor had almost been killed by that Daemonhost.

He had just set his boots about the shuttle when he had been alerted. The next hours he had spent praying for His Lady's life and soul at the medical station.

One of her first orders upon recovery had been for her pupil to help in the hunt for the rogue one.

And to uncover, even at risk, what he had learned.

The very fact that Basavriuk had been able to bind a Daemonhost to himself was a testament to the Lord's Abilities and radicalism.

Skytear tactiturnly furrowed his high forehead.

"Some things are not worth the price."

The words of his mentor echoed through his mind.

Lady Raxia, who now lay, severely wounded in an Inquisitorial medstation, had taught him much more already than would be deemed safe

for most Inquisitors.

But even for a Xanthite, she had always taken a very cautious approach. This accorded her grudging respect with the remaining factions of the Inquisition, she was after all very knowledgeable and more willing to share than most other Xanthites, but it made her an outcast with her own kin.

 

Now she had sent him in her stead, to maybe act as the one voice of reason that the Xantithes might bring.

After all, Skytear thought, Basavriuk's actions may damn the whole of us. And we've worked so hard, by the Holy Emperor, we've worked so hard.

 

 

Crown watched the dust particles evaporating in a rainbow of colours as they came into contact with the Thorn of Light's shields.

When they had traversed the nebula, he would get on board a shuttle and transfer over to the Cavalier and Lady Inquisitor Pykonnen.

Just in case the message from his Lady had not reached the Cavalier in time, he had been given both a recording of the message and a hand-written, psychically-sealed letter.

Lady Inquisitor Nikkole Pykonnen. As himself, she was a Cadian. And every Cadian had fought Chaos before he could even walk or uttered

his first sentence. Mayhap that would bring both of them a bit closer together.

Maybe not. Inquisitor Gabriel Crown had every intention to make the powerful Lady a friend. The Emperor know he might need them if he did not

want to get shoot himself, being a Xanthite, walking the dangerously

thin line between outright damnation and heresy.

 

His chronos came to life with a short beep.

Time to get ready, he thought as he fluidly turned around and gathered his gold and black mantle in his right hand, heading for the Corridors.

[Grand Master Tyrak]

*Out of character*

Sure you wanna bring that coat? We both know the trouble it cost you the first time around :P ...

 

Nah, he always uses that jacket. Its standard issue for his men too. Very useful for hiding the power armour when posing as Captain Englehorn. You can keep all sorts of things in it, loose change, rosette, pens, interrogation kit etc. Plus you can sleep in it if necessary.

Its actually based on an old jacket of mine I took on a month's trip to Uganda. I too ended up wearing it almost all the time, carrying loads in it, sleeping in it . . .

 

Don't mind Rhiannon's dig at your troops, she's just doing a bit of morale and espirit-de-corps building for her own little trio.

 

They don't mind. If they do overhear they'll probably start laughing behind their hands. ;)

 

Yes, it is ironic that an inquisitor should consider roughly 30 to 35 individuals a small force, but remember her brother is an Imperial Guard Colonel.. a platoon is a small force.. she doesn't believe in overkill

 

Nothing wrong with that. The Firebird's (human) crew is around 30. Obviously, counting the servitors its several thousand strong.

 

crossing a ship floor.

*Mock Outrage* A ship floor? The word, sir, is 'Deck'!

 

It also seems that whilst I wasn't looking large amounts of Space Marines have infiltrated my ship. :P

 

*In character*

The wind whipped at the roofs of the primitve huts, caused by the thrust of the Aquila's engines as it touched down. Through the observation dome Tyrak could see men running from their huts, grabbing blackpowder weapons.

"Oh good", he commented dryly, "I do love a warm welcome."

 

Outside, Chiiss was attempting to calm and talk with the first of the settlers when Tyrak strode up.

"I hate this. Too much open sky, open places. Nothing like the deck of a good ship. Made any progress?"

"Yes sir, it seems that the Missionary here serves as the planetary governor. Its only a small community."

"Right."

Addressing the settler, who was still timidly clutching his blackpowder musket, Tyrak asked,

"Can you . . . I mean . . . could . . . Someone else do it, I can't bring myself to say it."

Chiiss spoke.

"Er . . . take us to your leader?"

 

Missionary Gelt looked up, irritated, at the first heavy knocks on the door of the chapel.

"The chapel is closed today, you should know the schedule of prayer by now."

What followed were the two words he had hoped never to hear in his lifetime.

"Imperial Inquisition! Open the door."

The old missionary scurried to the door, frantically tugging at the rusty bolt to get it open as fast as possible. Immediately outside were six men, all wearing identical black coats, with varying forms of armour visible underneath. He could see a vessel of some kind beyond. The leader of these men, who wore a black cap in place of a helmet, produced a metal object, coloured dark blue and in the shape of the stylised 'I' of the Inquisition - a rosette to be sure.

"This is my authority, granted by authority of the Immortal Emperor of Mankind. We need to speak with you, and examine any records you have regarding the planet and its history."

Gelt could manage no more than a frightened squeak. The Inquisitor seemed unconcerned.

"We will talk inside."

All six men followed Gelt inside, the Inquisitor's guiding hand on Gelt's shoulder. The chapel door closed behind them with a thud.

[Wulfen Lord Leo]

*IC*

 

Inquisitor Lord William rose from where he had been sitting, polishing his blade. The retinue and Katherine's squad had arrived back, the former in jungle gear and the latter in shining metallic blue armour. He turned to both "This mission is going to be harder if we have too many of us, I will take my retinue for the primary stages of the investigation, to be replaced by Dominion Squad Righteous Flame when the mission becomes more intense, as this is a jungle world, vehicles are to be kept to landing only, even the Dominions. Ave Imperator" he explained

 

"Ave Imperator" came the reply, the sisters dispersing back to the altar. As they left, William looked at his retinue, each of them wearing Hexagrammic Wards "You are all prepared, good" William said, noting his own wards "Now, to the lander" he said, the retinue following him.

 

----

 

As the Aquila landed down, William aw the chapel doors close. Muttering "bloody hell", he sprinted over to the chapel "Imperial Inquisition, open up!" he shouted, having Sister Ange translate into the language of the world just in case.

[Shunch]

**IC**

 

Syanx had been elected Subaltern of the raiding party by merit of ritual combat. He had another scar to add to his ever-growing collection as proof of that.

 

Finding the Imperials had not proved difficult. All the hustle and bustle, it was surprising the villagers had not shot them down themselves. Fortunately, the colonists had not stolen Syanx's glory, and he was eager to prove his worth against imperial forces for the first time in far too many years.

 

The soldiers, some 40 in all, had spread in a loose circle around the village. Dioq's command had been clear: scorched earth. No mercy, no quarter. Civilians were, in this case, collateral. Syanx watched through his omnoculars as the party leader entered a small chapel of the False Emperor.

 

"The cowards are seeking cover, using these poor people as shields" announced Syanx to his men. First rule of a civilian massacre, always make your troops feel they are in the right.

 

"We will not shy from this treachery, brothers. Scramble grenade launchers, wide formation."

[Grand Master Tyrak]

*In character*

The chapel door opened.

"Stop confusing the missionary, the Imperial Inquisition already got here", muttered Tyrak, "Come in, come in," he dropped his voice, " and under no circumstances llok around, we're being watched."

Inquisitor William moved inside, giving no indication he had recieved Tyrak's message.

Inside, Tyrak turned to his men.

"Code 3, gents, there's an ambush set up for us outside. I hope its not Basavriuk himself. Psychically enhanced senses are no match against an effective psyker. I believe there are around 20 out there, but there could be more. Make what cover you can, Inquisitor William that means you too."

Tyrak concentrated a moment, sending his telepathic message up to the Firebird.

++Code 3. Ambush. Scramble Thunderhawk support immediately for extraction. Thaddeus, evacuate the shuttle and make for the chapel.++

He pulled out his bolter from under his coat, and prayed whoever was watching them outside the chapel wasn't able to lipread.

 

The thought had barely crossed his mind when the first grenade struck the chapel roof.

[Wulfen Lord Leo]

IC

 

"Feth" William said "my retinue is based on assult, not shooting". Despite these words he pulled out a bolt pistol "the rest of my retinue, make cover, its the best we can do currently".

 

OOC:William wasn't expecting an ambush, but he always come prepared with orders.

[Inquisitor Fox]

(OOC)

 

It also seems that whilst I wasn't looking large amounts of Space Marines have infiltrated my ship. :ph34r:

Would you like to borrow some of my Inquisitorial Stormtroopers, all highly trained Cadian Kasrkin, to improve your shipboard marine security? I'd only charge a minor, very modest interest rate ... a favor to the generous Amalathians :lol:

 

(IC)

 

Preparations for her operation were well underway. Data on the planet had been obtained, and after reading what knowledge there was Inquisitor Lady Nicole Pyykkönen had concluded her original idea was the most prudent. With any thick sort of terrain vehicles were almost more of a hinderance than a help, so the Pallas Athena, her Phobos pattern Land Raider, would stay safely aboard the Cavalier and her Stormtroopers would not be bringing any Repressors. Instead three Valkyries, Lenneth, Silmeria and Hrist from the aircraft aboard the Cavalier were being transfered to a transport which would take her and her team to the system, hopefully covertly. Especially after the imagined landing she could picture the more Puritanical Inquisitors embarking upon. With any luck, all of the enemies attention would be on the initial group, and she should be able to approach relatively undetected. Inquisitorial Stormtrooper squads 609 and 501 were preparing themselves and going over applicable equipment, and two of the assassins in her employ, Celia and Lede, would be joining her.

 

Her retinue had taken many casualties in the battles with the Mordant 13th in their most recent campaign throughout the Scarus Sector. As an Alpha class psyker of the Ordo Hereticus, she had lent her assistance to the campaign in order to provide protection from sorcerous servants of the evil powers, able to help guard entire regiments with her sole efforts. While she had been engaging in psychic battle with many servants of Chaos, a stray Titan shot had hit the building she and her servants had been guarding, with expected lethality. Although she had learned to harden herself against such losses, she still grew angered as she remembered it. Herself, her two trainees and Bosco had essentially been the sole survivors of that incident, and Bosco only because he was highly repairable. Sergeant Franklin Figaro had been the soul survivor of the then current squad 609, after taking cover with a group of Marines from incoming missiles from a traitor Reaver Titan. So many losses, all for the safety of the Imperium.

 

A communication from the bridge of the ship interrupted her thoughts. "My apologies Lady Inquisitor, however a Cobra-class Destroyer, the Thorn of Light, has approached and is requesting to send a shuttle aboard. There is another Inquisitor who wishes to speak with you in person." Admiral Drayson sounded slightly ruffled... apparently all the Inquisitorial attention he received did not sit well with him.

 

Nicole frowned at the unexpected message, however acknowledged it. "Please see to it straight away, Admiral Drayson. I would be quite honored to receive a visit from one of my brethren." She headed down towards the docking bays, after all, with one of their own number turning rogue it would not do to appear any less than eager and on the up and up.

[The emperors chosen]

Ic

The thunderhawk had just touched down outside the village when James could hear the firefight going on "men", he shouted"move out",drawing his power sword "lysander, take your squad and flank the village,Captain Johnson, form up your squad and come with me" "Now FOR THE EMPEROR,CHARGE!" James shouted, running into the village with his stortrooper close behind,blowing the head off one of the raiders in the process with the stormbolter attached to his artificer armor and decapitating another with his power sword.

oc

finally some action!

[Shunch]

**IC**

 

Syanx had grouped all of his grenadiers on a hill over looking the village in its entirety. With their vantage point, they could see anyone and anything scattered amongst the hovels making up the settlement.

 

He had ordered the regular foot to advance in step from the north. A good thirty of them, bayonets attached, were slowly advancing down the hill towards the Town Square. Several snapped off potshots into the houses and barns, hoping the drive the populace out of their houses.

 

From the east, the flame troops came. Four of them, weapons belching fire like warp-dragons of legend, fell upon the houses, setting alight building and person alike. The strategy was not one of mindless slaughter though. Faced with the growing inferno from one direction and the advancing enemy en masse from another, the villagers ran to the only place their feeble, deluded minds could think of: the chapel.

 

Ignoring the fragmentation grenades raining down all around the chapel, the civilians threw themselves against the great, bolted gates in waves of flesh and blood. Screaming as death fell upon them from above, the people pounded against the doors, clawing at wood and breaking glass. Even as they fought to break open their only defense, more of them continued to die. The flame troops set about lighting up the buildings and the surrounding terrain, as the infantry formed up around the chapel and added their own brand of noise to the cacophony.

 

Syanx glared at the besieged chapel, holding resolutely against the triple assault. "Fight back" he whispered to himself, staring at the enemy's position, "Fight back, dammit!"

 

He turned to the sound of screaming and gunfire. Boltgunfire. No one in his detachment had bolt weapons.

 

Emperor damn them, the Puritans had hit the rearguard!

 

Syanx turned back to his force disposition. The rest of the party was engaged. He couldn't pull his grenadiers out, or the sea of civilians would eat his primary elements alive.

 

Instead, he drew his chainsword and turned to the eight men behind him. No words were needed. Releasing a guttural cry, he plunged into the thick of it.

 

 

**OOC**

 

Just a little bit of action to get things going. I don't expect this fight to become too serious, and we'll return to storytelling soon enough

 

EDIT: I missed the emperor's chosen's post, so I added in a bit so it'd make sense.

[Chengar Qordath]

*OOC*

 

Maybe we should try to cut down the pace of events just a hair; we want everyone to get a chance to post before the plot moves along and leaves them behind. By the way NicolePyykkonen, I'm guessing from your Valkyrie names you're a fan of the Valkyrie Profile games?

 

*IC*

 

Inquisitor Kolbe looked over the village, less than impressed by the crude black powder weapons the villagers were sporting. She watched as Tyrak and his men entered the chapel, joined shortly afterwards by Inquisitor William and his retinue, then turned to her own trio of bodyguards. "It would seem the chapel and local priest will be quite well attended to, no reason for us to crowd in there as well. Perhaps the locals will have some useful information though."

 

The Inquisitor made her way into the village itself, but the villagers were distinctly unhelpful and had a habit of fleeing in blind terror whenever they saw her and the heavily armed guards accompanying her. Kolbe was feeling tempted to simply smash down the door and force someone to speak with her when the attack began, with grenades tearing through the simple wooden buildings and their inhabitants.

 

While most of the locals fled in blind terror a few tried to respond to the attack, but their crude black powder weapons lacked the range and accuracy to strike the attackers, and any shot that did strike would have had little effect against someone wearing modern armor in any case. The Inquisitor herself had somewhat more success, calling on the forces of the warp and lashing out with bolts of lighting that tore into the trees one of the attackers was using as cover, leaving him a charred husk and the trees in only slightly better condition. Melania drew out her hellpistols and unleashed a one-woman firestorm; each of her pistols had been modified to allow automatic fire and given a power pack with a larger than normal capacity, and while she only scored a single glancing hit on the shoulder of one attacker she forced half a dozen of them to take cover and cease any attack. Tamaya began her own advance, moving carefully to close the distance to the enemy so that she might put her power sword to work, while Gaelle remained close to the Inquisitor, guarding her superior and holding fire until she had a good shot; unlike Melania's hellpistols that could be reloaded simply by exposing the power packs to sunlight or any other source of heat, a plasma gun's ammunition was a limited and precious resource.

 

The Inquisitor quickly scanned the area, trying to get some idea of how many attackers they were facing, but a grenade landing nearby forced her to take cover, and she was grateful for her armor as she several small bits of shrapnel ping off of it. "Any idea how many enemies we're facing?" The Inquisitor asked Gaelle.

 

"Looks like about a dozen in our sector, and from the sounds of it the rest of the village is under attack ... maybe fifty or so total." The former Sororitas replied.

 

"Good thing the other Inquisitors are here, or we might be in trouble." Kolbe responded, giving a tight smile of satisfaction as one of Melania's shots smashed into face of one of the attackers as he peeked out from his cover, and another was disarmed when Tamaya burst out from cover and he used the weapon to block a stroke from her power sword, resulting in the launcher being cleaved in half. "As it is," Rhiannon continued. "I think we'll be fine."

[Shunch]

**OOC**

 

Maybe we should try to cut down the pace of events just a hair; we want everyone to get a chance to post before the plot moves along and leaves them behind.

Agreed. Action is a lot harder to handle than conversation (at least I think so), so it's best just to let it stretch on for a bit by not saying anything definitive until everyone has the chance to put in their two cents. In other words, no "The enemy force was vanquished" posts until we've waited a bit longer.

 

P.S. - Fifty posts! Where's my cake? :rolleyes:

[Wulfen Lord Leo]

**OOC**

 

Maybe we should try to cut down the pace of events just a hair; we want everyone to get a chance to post before the plot moves along and leaves them behind.

Agreed. Action is a lot harder to handle than conversation (at least I think so), so it's best just to let it stretch on for a bit by not saying anything definitive until everyone has the chance to put in their two cents. In other words, no "The enemy force was vanquished" posts until we've waited a bit longer.

 

P.S. - Fifty posts! Where's my cake? :rolleyes:

*OOC* Agreed.

 

P.S. The cake is a lie!

[Captain Hajime]

The Sound across started to get softer clearly it was not coming their way after all.

 

“Well, I guessing we should get going, seems that they are leaving without us.” Says James noting the couple of Craft leaving the ship.

 

“Agreed I am sure Jethro has everything ready by now.” Says Donald.

 

The three move to the hangers sits Three ARVUS LIGHTER Borrowed from their hosts reserves.Where he got so many is a question better not asked.

 

“Jethro, is everything ready?” shouts Donald.

 

“Yes Sir.” replies a Storm trooper Sgt. His Hair is Salt and Pepper grey, He look like he could spit in the face of Bloodthirster. maybe he had at some point.

 

The three Inquisitors grab their readied weapon and when into one of the Landers.

 

“Hey Ducky why are you in here? Shouldn’t you be with your Retinue?” asks Abby.

 

“I want to make sure you and Mr. Palmer don’t get killed upon landing.” replies Donald.

 

“Awe you really care about us.” replies Abby with a slight mocking tone.

 

“Better than my own Children.” Replies Donald with flat monotone.

 

“Really?” says James just before the Crackle on the com.

 

Over the Com come Jethro’s voice “Zone is Hot, Drop and leave for the Lighters. Be ready!”

 

“Well you want adventure didn’t you Abigail.” replies Donald.

 

“Got to love it!” says James pulling out a Plasma Pistol.

 

“On of these days that thing is going to blow you hand off and that is if you are lucky.” says Donald.

 

“Given this job, has hazards like being Bloodthirster bait, having you soul sucked out of you and some other things that are even worse, I’ll take the risk” Replies James.

 

The force manages to land on the far side of the combat, Donald’s retinue charges towards him as nearly every one looks for cover and evaluate what is going on.

 

OCC notes Donald’s Retinue had ten, James had five and Abby has four also there are 10 Storm troopers. They have land on the far side of the combat some what at it tail in. They should be far enough to fire upon the enemy which is likely retreating by the time the line shots up. They are not in the position to cut anyone off because the Lighters needed to clear the field.

[ripath]

OOC

Well you all will understand why I'm late. You could say that Stanislaus never travels light.... yeah thats like saying cyclonic torpedoes should take care of a grot with a shoota

 

IC

 

A ship emerged from the warp at the edge of the system. Inquisitor Stanislaus looked over the roster of troops that he had taken with him and smiled.

"Ah I doubt that any of the others would be able to even be willing to call upon so much manpower let alone have the abillity to do so without drawing attention to themselves" Stanislaus had quite a reputation among the malleus as a wild card

"Which troops will be readied sir? asked Lt. La Faire

"Take half of the catachans on board and deploy them on the opposite side of the planet that the other inquisitors are playing on. Deploy them around the ruins that the reports spoke of, use alpharius to find them before deploying."

"What shields should we use during scanning Sir?"

"You have my permission to turn on the geller field Lt. And also ready the Inquisitorial stormtroopers, and the mystics."

"Yes sir." La Faire saluted briskly then left to complete her tasks.

Looking at the read out of the composition of the other inquisitors forces Stanislaus almost laughed. "They may be prepared to kill this single heretic but not hold the planet, like I am against his friends. That is unfortunate for whatever sorry fools decide to turn this time. "

[Chengar Qordath]

*OOC*

 

How many troops does everyone have, all told? Should we have some sort of upper limit on troops for RP purposes; I know that by Inquisitors can have full armies and armadas under their command, but if every single Inquisitor here has their own legion of troops and fleet of ships we'll end up with half of the Imperium's forces running around on this thread.

 

Also, the cake is not a lie, that is an evil heretical deception spread by depraved pie-lovers.

[ripath]

OOC

How many troops does everyone have, all told? Should we have some sort of upper limit on troops for RP purposes; I know that by Inquisitors can have full armies and armadas under their command, but if every single Inquisitor here has their own legion of troops and fleet of ships we'll end up with half of the Imperium's forces running around on this thread.

 

Do you mean ones that will be fighting in the inquisitors retinue? or total on board resources? My Inquisitor is going to be taking one person with him planet side in his retinue and that is his eversore. As a side note I figured beforehand that there would be a limit on active troops such as named charecters etc. but that garrisoned troops would not have a limit as that they don't advance the plot.

[Chengar Qordath]

Do you mean ones that will be fighting in the inquisitors retinue? or total on board resources? My Inquisitor is going to be taking one person with him planet side in his retinue and that is his eversore. As a side note I figured beforehand that there would be a limit on active troops such as named charecters etc. but that garrisoned troops would not have a limit as that they don't advance the plot.

*OOC*

Having an assassin sounds like fun and is a little different from what others have done so far, so that's well and good. As for total resources, I don't have an objection to anything that's been posted so far since as you said they're just plot elements, but I know from past experience that if there's not some sort of limit we could end up getting to the point where half the thread is "My Inquisitor has a bigger army than yours!" and I wanted to say something before we had a situation to deal with. As a rough guideline, I'd suggest players try to avoid having above 2000 points of troops and enough navy to transport them in, and not taking more than their retinue and/or a squad of troops on the current mission.

 

If someone decides to suddenly declare "My Inquisitor teleports down onto the planet with a thousand Grey Knights, and they're all Terminators!" (I have seen this happen) it does kind of make things a bit less fun for the rest of us...

[Skytear]

...Thorn of Light Docking Bay...

 

The message from the Cavalier had been relayed to his retinue by a young warrant officer.

Crown had already been on his way to the docking area when it had

been patched through to his person.

He allowed himself a brief smile. It felt good to be welcome for once.

That earned him a quick look from the female soldier in his retinue.

Her Kasrkin helmet tucked under her left shoulder and Plasmagun strapped casually on the other, she drew a couple of looks from Imperial Soldiers as she casually strode down the corridor along with her Boss, who moved with the poise and grace befitting of someone who

embodied imperial Authority.

"All of our things are on the shuttle. I signed for the crates personally. Double-checked it."

She was always utterly relaxed, which had been a reason Gabriel had taken her with him.

Kasrkin Sergeant Polarian gave him a brief sneer before she continued.

"Even the things I thought we might loose are here. A pity noone wants to steal from us. Nothing like a naval execution."

The Redhead gave an amusedy smile, Battlefield-Humor, before returning to her usual, businesslike face.

It had taken Crown some time to crack up Polarian's facade, but she actually had a nice humor underneath all that military armor.

"Thank you Sergeant. You make me rest a little bit more at ease."

Indeed, Crown considered the woman a blessing by Holly Terra herself. She was a dead good shot with her plasma rifle and she could organize equipment almost unnaturally good.

Gabriel gave her a smile back, which resultet in her eyes flashing in

appreciation.

"Thank you, Sir. Trooper Varius is powering up the shuttle as we speak."

She briefly touched her throat-vox, activating the device.

"Status on the Shuttle, Trooper Varius?"

After brief static, Varius metallical voice answered the request.

The Trooper had had his natural voice replaced by a vox-caster due to an accident. He was still the best pilot Crown had found.

"Ready to go in 5."

The Inquisitor and his Bodyguard passed two Guardsmen who gave them

sharp salutes.

"Be there in 2."

 

...Shuttle, en route to Cavalier...

 

The Cavalier was a big ship. Crown's eyes studied the massive frame of the Mars Class Battle Cruiser as his shuttle traversed the length of the vessel. No match for a Cobra Class, definetely not. The Nova Cannon barrel alone was more immense than whole ship he had been travelling on.

"You have clearance to Land, please proceed to Docking Bay 14-Sigma."

Crown felt a brief stutter in the engines as Varius changed course to match the new directions.

The Inquisitor lowered a datapad to briefly inspect Polarion.

"You look sharp. You better."

Crown's crips and smooth voice had trouble contending with the powering up, howling engines of the shuttle.

Polarion searchingly rested her grey briefly on Crown's face.

"Inquisitor Lady Pykonnen, I've heard about her. You know her, Sir?"

"Sure don't. But since I've been assigned to her for this operation, I am fairly sure she is competent enough to handle me."

Polarian gave him a smile.

"Now if that ain't something."

"Pardon me, what did you say, Sergeant?"

"Nothing, Sir."

Polarian's face straightened, but her eyes gave her away for a tiny fraction of a second more. There were signs of a unit-spirit developing between

all of them and that was desirable. They had to get attached and depend upon one another. He returned his attention to his

datapad. Polarion regarded him for a short while before she continued speaking.

"We're going to see some fellow Cadian's over there, are we not, Sir?"

Polarian had been looking forward to seeing some of her family on Cadia, as had Varius, who had a a wife and two kids waiting for him.

Noone said anything, but he did not have to read their feelings to know

that they were glad to be seeing some kin finally.

It was the Inquisitor that finally broke the silence with a smile.

"Yes we are."

[Grand Master Tyrak]

Chengar Qordath Posted Today, 06:47 AM

*OOC*

 

How many troops does everyone have, all told? Should we have some sort of upper limit on troops for RP purposes; I know that by Inquisitors can have full armies and armadas under their command, but if every single Inquisitor here has their own legion of troops and fleet of ships we'll end up with half of the Imperium's forces running around on this thread.

 

Yeah, definitely an upper limit, especially in terms of what I can fit for those travelling on my ship. Around 30 is a good number. Tyrak will never deploy over 15, the other 15 are needed to stay on the ship. Despite his Navy connections, he isn't going to whistle up a Battlefleet since we're operating under the condition that someone has to SEE Basavriuk die. I would say no Grey Knights in people's retinues, they would operate outside of character control (since we'd need a fair few if we had to have them at all).

 

emperorschosen, is that my Thunderhawk you speak of? Or is there another?

 

*In character*

It was the locals that saved Thaddeus.

Running from the shuttle, he made a prime target for those attacking the village, but since they had attacked the chapel first, that pitched the locals squarely against them.

Blackpowder weapons could do little against the attackers, but they distracted them long enough for Thaddeus to get clear of the shuttle before it got hit.

 

He just reached the shelter of one of the settlers' shacks when a frag grenade struck the ground near him, sending shrapnel tearing into his left leg and bringing him down. Alternately cursing and gritting his teeth, he dragged himself into the shack and, sinking down against a wall, dug out his medikit.

"Firebird 18 down. Repeat, Firebird 18 down", he spat into the microbead on his helmet.

 

All he could do now was wait.

[Chengar Qordath]

OOC: Sounds good Tyrak.

 

*IC*

 

Tamaya slipped through the chaos of battle, easily hiding the sound her movements in the thunder of exploding grenades and the screams of the dying. Carefully moving between blasted buildings she slowly made her way towards one of the grenadiers, who was too focused on his target to notice the woman's approach until it was too late. A single swipe of her blade cleanly removed the man's head from his body, and with a grimly satisfied smile Tamaya repeated one of the first rules that had been drilled into her during her warrior training on the primitive battlefields of Elgon II. "A true warrior never lets their enemy know where they are."

 

"HEY!" Melania shouted out at the raiders, long since caught up in the enthusiasm of the battle and emphasizing her point with a burst of hellgun fire. "I'M RIGHT HERE! C'MON! COME AND GET ME! WHAT'RE YOU HIDING FOR! I'M RIGHT HERE!"

 

"Having a distraction helps too." Tamaya muttered to herself before moving off to find her next victim.

 

Meanwhile, Gaelle saw an opportunity to put her plasma gun to good use when she saw a man who, judging by his slightly better armor and equipment, might have been one of the higher-ranking attackers. He certainly seemed more experienced, carefully moving from cover to cover and not allowing Gaelle a clear shot, and he was slowly moving to flank Melania's position. The Inquisitor used her power to launch a blast of power at the man, but when the spell-lightning faded he continued moving forward, having been protected from the attack by using a fallen stone pillar for cover. "I've got him Rhi." Gaelle said with a grin, taking a bead on the man's position and firing; the pillar absorbed the bulk of the plasma blast, but that shot instantly converted a large chunk of the pillar into white-hot and partially liquefied stone, and this proved to be quite fatal as it flowed over the raider.

 

Unlike her companions, Melania was having little luck taking further enemies, who had begun to frustrate her by using cover, instead of presenting themselves as target. Determined to score of kills, Melania's hand was halfway to one of her grenades when she remembered the Inquisitor's words about trying to conserve limited resources like grenades, and then a particularly devious thought occurred to her. Melania quickly bent down and picked up an appropriately sized stone, and then hurled it towards the nearest enemy; the man, hearing the impact of a grenade-sized object near him while facing an opponent armed with grenades, did the sensible thing and put as much distance as possible between himself and the sound of the impact. Or, a bit more accurately, he would have fled the area if Melania hadn't gunned him down as soon as he broke cover while fleeing from the blast radius of Melania's "grenade".

[Captain Malachi]

*IC*

I hadn't even landed when the fighting started. Swinging the Valorous Heart around I made for the battle, charging up the newly fitted plasma cannons on the front. I could see them now, plenty of big juicy targets on the hill overlooking the village, but before I could get off a shot, a stray missile caught the wing, sending the lander spiralling right in to the jungle at the side of the village.

Screaming to my men to buckle up, I tried as hard as I could to try and level our descent, but despite my efforts the crash was extremely..........uncomfortable.

"Stay here, I'm going to join the fight, Liam, you're with me, let's go." I said, picking up my bolter and exiting the crashed valkyrie, immediately being forced to take cover from enemy fire.

 

*OOC*

I go to sleep and wake up to find everyone shooting each other? I like ^_^ And yes, I've decided that my valkyrie has plasma cannons, told you it was a custom job.

[Chengar Qordath]

*OOC*

 

Correction, your Valkyrie had plasma cannons.