[OW] Die Hards: Eleventh Hour

[Mazer Rackham]

Scarlett:

 

Halbast opens his mouth to say something, but from the look on his mug, it could be dangerous to intellect.

 

The distinctive snap-crack-roar of a bolt pistol barks from up ahead, and Halbast slows the vehicle.  You can hear it clearly now, then suddenly, a human being steps into the road about 50 metres ahead.  He points the blocky gun at the Unimokk, then seems to hesitate, his features become more discernible as you close on him.  He lifts the weapon into the air to show he has seen you, but makes no move to leap aside.

 

His bearing is noble, despite the obvious poor condition he deports.  His black trousers are torn at the knees, thigh and hip, and his regulation hot-climate undershirt is browned with bloodstains.  One of his legs carries two field dressings likely applied by his own hand and yet, his face is stern and serene, giving off the impression that were you to hit him, he would crumple the vehicle.

 

"Stop!  In the name of the God-Emperor of man!" the surety in his voice is admirable.

 

Halbast applies his brakes, and the Unimokk grinds to a halt in a slew of gravel and shredded leaves, only six metres from the imposing figure.

 

"Name, soldiers!" he barks at you.

[Steel Company]

"Corporal Kathrine of the One-oh-One." she replies out of reflex, adding, "We're trying to EVAC out, you?"

[Mazer Rackham]

Scarlett:

 

"Midshipman Halbast," your companion adds, licking his lips.

 

He dabs his forearm to his head to wick off the sweat now he is no longer being cooled by the wind of travel.  The heat of the moon is rising as the sun climbs to high afternoon, and you can feel it starting to sear where the sunlight strikes your bare skin.

 

The strange man reaches into his belt and withdraws a very crumpled hat.  He dons it with a strange mix of reverence and ceremony, and the death-head badge of a Commissar gleams through the patchy patina of algae stained swamp water.  The peak of the head garment is battered into ruin, but instead of giving the Hangman a maudlin or comical air, it somehow serves to demonstrate a resolve that no doubt carried him across the river.

 

"Commissar-Lieutenant Vorgen," the man replies at length.  He ignores the second part of your introduction as he looks you both over.  "Explain your...presence in this Xenos vehicle."

[Steel Company]

"Beggars can't be choosers, Sir. Between blowing the bridge, riding down river and taking this to deny it to the enemy, it has managed to get us this far." she says, pausing before adding, "We've got plenty of room, Sir if you'd like my seat?"

[Mazer Rackham]

Scarlett:

 

He peers from underneath the ruined cap.  There is nothing but scrutiny in his steely stare, and he misses nothing.  The state of your dress and condition have not escaped him, nor apparently your readiness to fight.

 

"That is satisfactory soldier.  I will allow you to convey me in this...contraption, but only because my duty is unfinished and we must hasten."

 

He waves you to keep your seat, and clambers into the back.  As he does so, you can see a flash of pain beneath the mask, but it is covered quickly.  "Drive on Mr Halbast."

 

The Midshipman clunks the vehicle into gear, and it lurches off.

 

"The wrath of the Emperor shall not be stayed," he says as he peers up at the ship holding position above.  "Where is your unit Corporal?  And why did you not muster at Thunder Point?"

Edited October 27, 2021 by Mazer Rackham

[Steel Company]

"Dead Sir, Thunder point was abandoned and the bridge across to it wasn't blown." she pauses and looks off to the side of the road way as she adds, "I blew the bridge to stop the Greenskins from getting across and rode it down to the rive. Only He knows why I survived the trip, but I refuse to roll over and die here, a Tempestus never quits."

[Beren]

Stimms rolls up his sleeves.

 

"Well then, I guess I'd better get started. Cn't wait around too long, not with what's coming."

 

The medic is suddenly a flurry of movement, darting between different medical kits, taking an item here, discarding one with a grimace there.

 

"How on Terra did that even... never mind."

 

Finally, the necessary equipment collected, Stimms bustles over to the the Colonel.

 

Test 1: Roll vs 70: (Int 40 + Medicae Kit(+20) + Experienced Medicae(+20) -difficulty(-10)

d100 = 43

 

Test 2: Roll vs 70: (Int 40 + Medicae Kit(+20) + Experienced Medicae(+20) -difficulty(-10)

d100 = 51

 

Test 3:Roll vs 70: (Int 40 + Medicae Kit(+20) + Experienced Medicae(+20) -difficulty(-10)

d100 = 19

 

Test 4: Roll vs 70: (Int 40 + Medicae Kit(+20) + Experienced Medicae(+20) -difficulty(-10)

d100 = 26

 

Treating the Leg: Roll vs 60: (Int 40 + Medicae Kit(+20) + Experienced Medicae(+20) -difficulty(-20)

d100 = 35

[Mazer Rackham]

Scarlett:

 

When you've travelled maybe two hundred metres, Vorgen studies your face.  It is apparent from the vague twist of his lip that whilst he finds your grit appropriate, your current status is not.  He peers across at the back of Halbast's head.  "You must have quit something, Corporal, else why would a Tempestus be serving in a Penal Unit like the 101^st?  Perhaps it was your senses."

 

He turns away to watch the road vanish behind you, his observation rhetorical, as it always is with skull-caps.  It is obvious he seeks no answer.  Everyone in the Guard is familiar with the ways of Commissars, their view that there is certainly no smoke without fire.

 

A strange chugging emanates from the front of the vehicle, similar to that of an Ork choking down a protesting Gretchin.

 

Halbast taps some of the dials in front of him, clearly not sure what they are, but looking for a specific result from his urging.  By his grimace, it appears he didn't get it.  "I think we're low on fuel."

 

Stimms:

 

The Colonel sighs as you finish your treatments, the analgesics you applied easing his great discomfort.  "You've done well, Stitcher," he slurs your name a little more, but it's amazing he can even talk at all, as he continues to swill down the booze.

 

"You're coming with us, and we'll watch this whole blasted village burn," he coughs and spits out a wad of crimson phlegm, the result slapping onto the floor of the hovel with a wet splat.  He turns his head to regard you with his remaining eye.  "Welcome to the Horon Volunteer Militia," he grins with a mix of pride and malice.

 

As the name percolates in your head, half-remembered intel briefings float to the surface.  These men are not Imperial Guard, runaways, strays or deserters:

 

They're Rebels.

[Steel Company]

"Commisar, long story short, I beat a Lieutenant half to death for selling Tempestus equipment to rebels and letting those rebels murder my squad with our own guns, and the governor of that world that witnessed me beating that officer was in on it too." She says as the vehicle grinds to a halt.

 

Limping out of the seat, she looked for anything that could make a decent enough crutch and improvised melee weapon, since she had no rifle.

Edited October 29, 2021 by Steel Company

[Beren]

Stimms freezes as he suddenly begins to appreciate just how utterly fethed his situation has now become.

 

Not that he reallycares about the rebels one way or another. The problem iis that rebel holdouts tend to be rather small places. Fewer opportunities, fewer places to hide, especially when teh Imperial war machine tended to flatten them underfoot. No, the Imperium was typically the better option.... especially when they were the ones actually aware that this place was about to become cinders.

 

Stimms nervously clears his throat.

 

"Ah, Colonel? You would, perhaps, be aware of the fact that the Orks have broken the Imperial lines here... and that the Imperial Navy palns to bombard this place down to the mantle as a result?"

[Mazer Rackham]

Scarlett:

 

Vorgen's face is flint against your umbrage, he considers the position of the vehicle and seems to gauge the distance needed to travel in order to escape, perhaps so that he may continue his mission.  Halbast shouts to the back of the vehicle.

 

"If we can get over this rise, we can freewheel downhill for a good spell."

 

You can hear him dismount as Vorgen begins to push.  "Tell me then, Corporal - what is a soldier's greatest virtue?"

 

The Unimokk grinds uphill a fraction as both men put their efforts in.

 

Stimms/Stitcher:

 

The 'Colonel' chuckles mightily, so much that your careful needlework and applied cataplasm is under threat of being undone.  He laughs until he almost chokes, before struggling to rise to a sitting position, chugging on the bottle until it is empty.  He hurls it at the wall with a powerful shout that fills the hovel.

 

"Jó egészség!"

 

The bottle shatters into pieces and there is a shill cry from the room beyond, a gasp of fright the Colonel laughs at, before he pulls off the cot and reels to his feet.

 

"I know that hell and Orks come, Stitcher," he grins.  "Let them come.  They can have the filthy rock they stole from me, Duke Ladislaus the Third, Governor of all Horon!"  He bursts into laughter and makes for the door.  "I give you the woman as your prize for your services.  Be quick!  In half an hour we flee this pit."

 

He crashes through the door, still laughing.  "Krause, Krause you bastard, bring the Chimera around!"

 

In the middle distance comes the sound of a torrent of flames devouring stone, and the screams muted by the building walls.

[Steel Company]

With a nod to Halbast she responds to the skullcap, "Loyalty, Sir. He on Terra has it, He has always had it. I may question things, enough to be kicked out oft he Sortatis track in the schola, but never enough to be display disloyalty to Him." balling her fists as she looked directly a head for a pause before adding, "I have never asked for reward for what I do, I've also never complained for being placed in the One-oh-One for what I did. If that is the price I have to pay to be loyal to Him, then I will pay it every day, but is it so wrong to hope that, that Governor, General, and Lieutenant meet His wrath for turning against Him?"

[Mazer Rackham]

Scarlett:

 

Vorgen weighs what you say, his face almost unreadable, but there is a glimmer of...something.  Perhaps not.  Who can tell what the Hangman thinks, and who wants to?  As you throw your weight into the effort, he takes a breath between pushes.  Halbast is helping in the fight, clenching and unclenching the brake lever.  You all fall into the odd rhythm of push-stop-push quickly enough, until the ground levels off, and you can see the road fall away in front of the Unimokk.

 

Vorgen claps the grime and muck from his hands, with an odd satisfaction, perhaps of a deed well done between the three of you.

 

"You speak well enough Corporal, and rightly.  By His Will, the wrongdoers shall be punished," the set of his jaw almost helps you to believe such a thing is certain.  "But remember, always, that whilst Loyalty is the purest currency, Discipline is the Burser.  Think upon it."

 

"That's it, hold it!" Halbast calls back.  "All aboard!"

[Beren]

Stimms frowns to himself as the Colonel leaves, and muffled screams fill the air.

 

Well, half-an-hour was better than never. True, departing this merry band might be an issue, but one that could be saved when the heavens weren't about to mete their impending judgement down on him.

 

Still frowning, he cautiously walks towards the door, and pokes his head round the side.

[Steel Company]

Gripping tight, Scarlett nods and says, "Lets get out of here."

[Mazer Rackham]

Scarlett:

 

The Unimokk trundles downhill with a rattle and clank of springs and Halbast abusing the handbrake.  The war for Horon is becoming hotter as the distance to Sawtooth closes down and the jungle begins to thicken.  With the sound of a spring twanging out of battery, Halbast lifts the remains of a lever painted red, a cable hanging limply from the ruined metal of a torn shaft.

 

When the foot of the hill approaches, it becomes apparent that the vehicle is plummeting towards a crater in the road ploughed by dropped ordnance.  The sound of gunfire is close by, perhaps half a kilometre or so to the landward side of the river-hugging road.

 

"Stay in or get out?" Halbast asks.

 

Stimms:

 

As you peak around, there is no-one nearby, the receding backs of the Colonel, limping heavily and his cronies, escorting Wide-Eyes.  The coast is clear, and the dense trees and lianas hang tantalisingly close, promising concealment if you can get to them.

[Steel Company]

"Like that's even an option." Scarlett says as she waits just long enough for the transport to slow a little as she adds, "Tuck and roll."

[Beren]

Stimms shrugs and leans back into the room, before rummaginf around further in the medical supplies and assessing what might be useful that can be carried on his person. He glances towards the back of the room as he does so, a frown still on his face. If the 'Colonel' is foolish enough to leave an untied end from this village, he'd rather not have his face be known to her.

[Mazer Rackham]

Stimms:

 

The crackle of the flames from the burning building is overwhelmed by the thump of explosions outside.  You have managed to gather several medical items, catoplasm patches, auto-injectors, blood expander and analgesics (One full Medkit and change) and a packet of corpse starch rations.  A sturdy travelling bag, though bloodstained and grotty will carry your bounty for as far as you need it.

 

The whimpering stays in the room, the person inside doesn't emerge, but the noises subside.  The noise of your rummaging keeps the woman at bay, but it won't be long before curiosity at your reticence to claim your reward takes over.

 

Scarlet:

 

The Unimokk flies loose down the road, until it comes to a staggering, abrupt halt as the crater catches the metal comet in the grip of an earthy fist.  A shower of soil and plastacadam flings into the air before chunking down.  Looking behind you, your knees and arms a little worse for wear, but thankfully no extra damage done due to the thick foliage you fell into, you can see you've travelled a fair way, at least a whole Klick downhill.

 

The Squawkbox in the Unimokk scratches and jitters.

 

"Hit..., this is...coming...in, Hitman 2...me?"

[Steel Company]

Giving her head a shake, she reaches for the box and voxes back, "Hitman 2, vox unit is damaged only getting partial response."

[Beren]

Stimms tosses a disinterested glance towards the back of the room. He'd rather not go back there, otherwhise he'd have to deal with another person who might recognise his face at a later date. Anyways, the Colonel probably would...

 

Stimms pauses, then straightens up as something occurs to him. He removes a single scalpel from his assorted medical supplies, secreting it in his hand so it can't be immediately seen. This done, he heads towards the room at the back. He knocks twice on the adjacent wall before, keeping his voice soft, announcing himself.

 

"Hello? I'm coming in."

 

He steps into the room within, fixing a measured demeanour to his face, and without making any sudden moves places himself in the corner opposite to the capitive.

[Mazer Rackham]

Scarlet:

 

The vox crackles.

 

"Hitman 2, Mattock 3...LZ Blue...November-Echo your...1 Klick...One-Zero...dustoff.  Over?"

 

Stimms:

 

A quivering bundle of filthy rags resolves into a dirty, smudged and tear-streaked face that pops out over the coats and blanket she shields herself with.

 

"Don't hurt me!"  Her voice is barely a whisper, but her eyes are alight with pain and terror.  She watches every move you make with an intense scrutiny beyond animal wariness.  One of her arms is hidden, the other ends in broken fingernails clutching the covers with crusted, bloody fingers.

[Beren]

Stimms doesn't get any closer. He keeps his facial expression relaxed, neutral rather than freindly.

 

"I'm not going to hurt you. The Colonel however, is a different matter. He may be... erratic, but I'll wager he aint stupid. Leaving one survivor to bear a grudge for a whole village, now that would be stupid."

 

Slowly, the medic reaches down to the floor. When he draws his hand back up, the scalpel is lying there in the dirt.

 

"Now, you've got three choices. One is nice and simple, easy, but does jack'all else for ya. Another is a helluva risk, might give you a chance of dieing in the jungle instead of at his hands. The last... Well. The last might go a little way towards making right for your kinsfolk burning alive out there."

 

With that Stimms turns around, showing his back to the girl without hesitation, and makes to leave.

[Mazer Rackham]

Stimms:

 

You hear a furtive rustle behind you, and hands and knees in dirt.  A faint metallic clink signals that the scalpel has vanished into the grotty blankets, but you just perceive she has returned to her safe spot, planted in the corner.

 

"Thank you," she whispers.

 

It appears she has chosen, and whatever you do will be on your own account.

[Steel Company]

"Copy Mattock 3, LZ 1 klick November Ecco, dust off one zero. Hitman 2, out." Scarlett replied over the vox unit before dropping it and hobbling out of the vehicle as she called over her shoulder, "We got to double-time if we want to make it."