To Plunder The Stars Themselves, Episode III

[A.T.]

Alpha:

 

Odyssus took command of the transport, it's crew proving inadequate for the task given the time constraints. This investigation such as it was one unprepared stumble after another but he mused that their efforts would at least be difficult to predict.

 

With the transport so far from the monastery the only path before them now seemed to be one of slaughter. He glanced back at the Traveller, "we know why contact was lost and now move to draw greater attention to ourselves. Is this now a rescue mission or do we have some more practical purpose here?" The ire of the sisterhood was an inconvenience, the investigation of a lost monastery might draw more descerning eyes.

[Ancient_Sobek]

Squad Beta

 

S’ynek turns as the door is wrenched open and Orphiel strode out. S’ynek looked through the doorway at the shivering wretch.

 

+Don’t give me a reason to visit you again…+ he hissed, the mechanical rasp almost as menacing as the the metallic eyes glinting from the shadow of his hood. With that he turned to follow Orphiel into the hive.

 

Attacking a heavily fortified facility was dangerous, the risk of failure great. Finally he thought, smiling inwardly at the thought of the havoc to come…

[Lysimachus]

Squad Alpha:

 

Ithan Khor calls out, grinning widely at Odysseus' question.

 

"Aye, the 'why's and 'how's of it seem answered clear enough. But it is a rescue mission, for a certainty!"

 

He stumps over to where the psyker and the squad leader converse, hefting his brutal chainaxe easily on one shoulder.

 

"Not the Sororitas crone, of course, whatever the mortal thinks," he growls quietly. "Rather, a rescue of all the supplies we can carry out of their Armoury! Weapons, ammunition, fuel... But most important? Power armour components; fibre-bundles, servo-motors, autosense and vox replacements, even raw materials like ceramite. The Iron Gods need it all!"

 

The wild-haired Techmarine casually taps his finger against one of his gruesome coterie of servo-skull 'advisors' and winks at the other Marines.

 

"Don't worry. He's got a whole shopping list."

 

***

 

Over on the opposite edge of the valley, Toks watches silently as the smoke rises from his home of several decades. Bobs stands beside him. Both are wearing old flak jackets covered in equipment pouches and the rangy old veteran has a grey guard-issue helmet balanced atop his head. Each also carries a long las- weapon mounted with powerful scope. While a humble lasbolt is not usually a cause for concern for anyone wearing power armour, the ability to fire them with pinpoint accuracy has to be respected. Finally Toks shrugs and sighs.

 

"Well, that's that."

 

He turns to look at the Kill-Team, then around the rocky valley and up at the cold, weak light of the Viorda sun.

 

"Me n' Bobs have been hiking this range for a long, long time. Know it better by far than any of those Sisters. Escape hatch is about forty-eight kloms northwest. It's a rough march but I'm guessing nothing too tricky for you Astartes? Figure if we start now we should reach it just after nightfall?"

 

***

 

Based on an average of the team's Ag values, the trek to the Sally door will take approx 9 hours, or 4.5 hours if you choose to Hurry. (crb.pg205) 9 hours would mean darkness will have already fallen by the time you arrive, whereas if you choose to Hurry, it will be early evening/twilight.

 

We can mostly handle the journey narratively, though, so feel free to add any posts describing your actions, thoughts, etc as you go. The terrain will be through mountain passes, along ridges and trails, up scree slopes and so forth (challenging, but not outright vertical i.e. requiring rock climbing) and perhaps becoming snowy/icy as you get higher and nearer your objective.

 

As you go, you might be able to observe signs of the Sororitas searching what is left of Rolling Rocks and the surrounding plains. Anyone who wishes can make a visual Awareness test to try to see where they are and what they're doing. You can use Heightened Senses and Autosenses, but there is also a -10 due to the distances involved (and if you decide to Hurry that also gives a -10 to Per based tests).

[Machine God]

Squad Alpha

 

"Me n' Bobs have been hiking this range for a long, long time. Know it better by far than any of those Sisters. Escape hatch is about forty-eight kloms northwest. It's a rough march but I'm guessing nothing too tricky for you Astartes? Figure if we start now we should reach it just after nightfall?" said Toks.

 

+Yes and we as Astartes can do it in 4.5 hours, getting there by dusk. We don't need to be tied down to the speed of the slowest, weakest member, the pathetic Abhuman! It is infinitely more efficient to terminate these mortals and utilise the Omophagea implant. We can take their memories to get there quicker, slay the Sororitas' and claim the prize!+ stated Draak.

 

 

Edited December 17, 2022 by Machine God
Enlarged font size

[Necronaut]

Squad Alpha

 

Vesalius smiled at Draak's ruthlessness, chuckling over the squad vox. +Your zeal is admirable, Draak, but I suspect these mortals may be of further use to us alive -- at least for a while yet.+

[Black Cohort]

"Surely one of us could carry the ratling?  It is barely larger than a child."

[Lysimachus]

Squad Alpha:

 

Ithan nods.

 

"My shoulders are broad enough."

 

Without warning he grabs the Ratling by the back of his flak jacket and easily lifts him up over his head. The little abhuman is startled, then grunts irritably at being manhandled, but quickly settles himself. Bobs rests against the Techmarine's power pack, padded by a swathe of red cloth. His feet are braced against the rear of Ithan's raised collar and one hand steadies himself by holding onto the folded metal arm of Khor's shear-hook.

 

Toks looks up at his comrade perched atop the Astartes' armour.

 

"Sorry," he says uncomfortably, though it is not clear whether he is apologising to the Techmarine or the Ratling. "Good call, though, if it helps us make better time, right? So, what are we waiting for?" He points at a trail that climbs northwards out of the valley. "This way."

 

***

[Lysimachus]

Squad Beta:

 

As you walk away from the hovel where Dex waits, Holger speaks into his secure comm link, also connecting to the Dagger in orbit.

 

"Captain Achard. Further to my lord S'ynek's request, can you arrange permission from the orbital dock to allow a shuttle planetside... perhaps tell them we have sourced the supplies we required, but we need the lander to carry them back to the ship?"

 

He looks thoughtfully around at the three Astartes.

 

"We are also going to need... heavier... equipment for the assault on the stockade. Please load the shuttle accordingly. Will transmit you the location for the rendezvous. Holger out."

 

***

 

You wait on the empty landing pad that Dex directed you to, the airlock open behind you and the vast bulk of the Hive rising into seeming infinity beyond it. The skies are gradually darkening and occasional flurries of heavier ash are visible, swirling in the ever-present thin smog that climbs from the levels below you. The air here is mildly toxic, but not enough to trouble your enhanced constitutions. Holger appears equally comfortable, but who knows what the true nature of his... modifications... are?

 

The shuttle - near identical to the vessel that you aided in loading for Alpha's mission to Secundus - drops through the upper atmosphere and descends towards you, proving once again the laxity of this world's border guards. The pilot skillfully uses the thrusters to turn and manoeuvre his craft over the pad and gently bring the extended landing gear into contact with the plasteel surface, with the main ramp at the rear facing towards you at the airlock. With a hiss of compressed air the ramp descends. As you move to climb aboard, you can see within the large cargo hold a sight that stirs your hearts. Three crudely made armour stands. Three full armour stands.

 

***

[Trokair]

Beta 

 

Not trusting that Dax would leave them alone to use the landing platform, whether out of spite, curiosity, or some other motivation, Brynjarr carfully checked the perimeter. There were three entrances to the landing pad, the airlock that served as the official entrance behind them. A service hatch a little to the left of the airlock set into the floor, it had rusted shut with age and disuse, but no rust eaten metal could resist an Astartes grasp. The handle screeched and snapped, but enough of the mechanism had moved to disengage the lock. The hinges likewise protested for a moment, before grudgingly giving way. A short ramp let into the dark.

 

Investigating further Brynjarr found an age worn refueling hose connect to a equally broken pipe leading back into the hive. A scattering of rusted tools and parts along a partially workbench showed that this was once a repair and refueling post, long abandoned judging by the stale air, layers of dust, and rusted entrance. On the far side of the room there was a door that would have led back into the hive if not for the covering of blackened melted metal, at some point the fuel pipe must have caught fire, burning hot enough to collapse part of the ceiling and melt the door shut.    

 

The other entrance, if barley that, was at first glance just a air intake, or outflow, it was hard to say, located on the far right edge of the platform. It would have been large enough for a skinny hiver to crawl through, and so Brynjarr checked it as well. A layer of dust showed that it too had lain unused for some time.

 

Careful surveying of the surrounding also revealed no cameras or other sensors, just some burned of wires where they probably had been in the past, no doubt removed by Dax or some previous smuggler to ensure that they went unseen.

 

++Area secured as far as I am able to ascertain.++ He informed the others as the shuttle came into view.

 

Watching the pilot maneuver the craft in for the landing Brynjarr had some moments to reflect upon the sterling example of planetary life that was the Hive. How could humans live like this, oppressed by a gravity well in an atmosphere that was just as deadly as the void, but merciless in the slow path it took to kill a mortal if the environmental systems failed. Which judging by the state of the air both in and outside the hive they already had, hemorrhaging clean atmosphere from too many seams. This habitat was beyond saving, it just did not know it yet.

 

Glancing up he thought that up there a mistake would have the mercy to kill you quickly, and voidfolk like himself would never let a habitat fall to such a state.

 

The spire gentry had the right idea, striving upwards, but why stop atop the spires, they clearly had the means to build a string of orbital stations if they had wanted to, the many additions to the hive clearly attested to this.

 

With the shuttle landed and the ramp revealing its precious cargo the three stride forwards, each eager to be reunited with their armour. Some of the shuttle armsmen milled about with the intent of assisting, as they had no doubt been ordered, Brynjarr waved them away.

 

“Guard the landing pad and shuttle, it is secure for now, but who knows what filth might come out of the Hive.”

Now free to focus on his armour and equipment Brynjarr inspected each piece with care before carefully donning it.

Edited November 24, 2021 by Trokair

[Commissar Molotov]

The Traveller's beaked helm is fixed on the horizon, the lowering sun reflected within his twin eye lenses. Whilst Draak was a monstrous aberration, the Traveller inwardly shared his distaste for the ratling and the old man. Torrid tales of long-lost love were of little interest to him.

 

"Onwards," he says over the vox.

 

Perception Test:

PER51(+10 Heightened Senses)(+15 Auto-Senses)(+5 Traveller's Path)(-10 Distance)(-10 Hurrying)=PER61: 57 (Pass, 0DoS)

Edited November 9, 2021 by Commissar Molotov

[Machine God]

Squad Alpha

 

+Onwards+ the Traveller barked out over the vox.

 

Draak had assumed an overwatch position upon leaving the shuttle, although he was eager to be off.

 

In the position of guarding the kill-team's rear, Draak checked his six with a measured scan of Rolling Rocks.

 

PER 43 +10 (Heightened Senses) +5 (Auto-Senses)  +5 (Traveller's Path) -10 (Distance) -10 (Hurrying) = 43, Result: 02 (Pass, 4DoS)

 

 

(Edit: Typo)

Edited November 9, 2021 by Machine God

[Mazer Rackham]

Squad Beta:

 

Donning the harness carefully out of sight of his comrades, Orphiel fixed his helm into place, eyes closed.

 

He heard the hiss of the pressure seal closing the suit.  The outrage of the warplate's spirit simmered up to boil as he interfaced with it, a claustrophobic sting of adrenaline from the machine-ghost that burned.  It set every hair and nerve afire in a rush.

 

It was always the same.  Such an old suit was bound to have...quirks, and the resonating determination to never fail again quenched the sudden, heated anguish into cool certainty.

 

Orphiel let the warspirit mingle with his mind, echo in his soul.  When he opened his eyes, the two were one.

 

Going to the kill.

[Ancient_Sobek]

Placeholder 

[Lysimachus]

Squad Alpha:

 

The trail rises through the mountains and the air becomes even colder. Thinner too. This makes no difference to you, but Toks has to take deep, slow breaths to compensate for the decrease in pressure. Otherwise, he struggles on gamely, doing his best to keep up. If the trek were any longer he would almost certainly be unable to maintain the pace you have set, but fortunately for him you are nearly at your goal.

 

As you march, you can occasionally look out over the great plain towards Rolling Rocks. The smoke above the settlement has dissipated but the observant among you might notice that the Sororitas vehicles, now tiny black dots, have not yet moved. Presumably the Battle Sisters are carefully searching the site of your earlier ambush. There is now little chance that they will return home before you reach the Sally door.

 

The icy trail climbs up and around a high peak. As you move along it you suddenly find you have a clear view to your left across a broad valley, where the setting sun paints blazing reds and oranges across what must be the front facade of the Convent House a little less than two kilometres away.

 

It is a grand entrance, constructed in the typically gothic style of the Imperium and built into a rocky vertical face of one of the mountains. But besides all its elegant grandeur, it would be a fearsome prospect for an attacker to face. The House is constructed from plasteel, rockcrete and armaglas, and all across the tall, ornately carved frontage are visible weapons emplacements. Difficult to identify at this distance, but likely heavy bolters and lascannons, as well as large cylindrical shapes on the roof that appear to be missile pods.

 

Not only this, but the House is well defended by natural means as well. In front of the steps that lead up to tall double doors there is a small spit of snowy ground, then nothing. A wide, black chasm of unknown depth separates the holdings of the Ecclesiarchy from the rest of Viorda Secundus. A bridge, constructed and decorated like the building's exterior and wide enough for a single transport, is the only way to cross.

 

In short, it is well that you have chosen a more subtle approach, as even a Demi-Company of Astartes might struggle to force a breach in such a defence.

 

You pause for a moment, instinctively stopping to weigh a potential threat. Toks has seen this sight before, but he also halts, glad to take a breather.

 

"There it is. Maybe three kloms up to the hatch from here, then we're in." He pauses, looking up at his small companion sitting above Khor's head. "Back in the day, Bobs would camp out around here while I went on up. Y'know, keep an eye on things?"

 

***

[Lysimachus]

Squad Beta:

 

As you complete your re-arming, the shuttle pilot clambers down into the hold.

 

"My Lords, Captain Achard has provided us with the results of further orbital scans. We can confirm that there is a structure of some sort in the location you specified, though atmospheric interference has made it impossible to be certain about its exact size and nature. When you are ready, we can take off and investigate further?

 

However, there is a large ash storm currently moving across the planetary surface that we will have to cross. The edges of it are already here. We can fly above it, which is... safer. However, if we stay under the cloud level it should prevent anyone, in orbit or on the ground, from detecting our approach? But it might get a little rough?"

 

The crewman looks at you expectantly.

 

"What should we do?"

 

***

 

So, up and over, or through? Also, if Brynjarr wants to take over the pilot's chair, now is the time?

[Trokair]

Beta

Now rearmoured and reunited Brynjarr was once more well more himself. Berating himself for the momentary lapse of attention as he realized that the pilot had been taking to them, Brynjarr concentrated to recall the mortal’s words.

 

“Low I think,” Glancing at Orphiel and Radago, refreshed and now once more armoured. “we can handle a little rough.”

 

Leaning past the Pilot to study the weather readings for himself he added. “A little rough might be an understatement, eh? I think if it best if you and the others,” indicating the shuttle crew and armsmen, “ stay here for this. Captain Achard would be most upset if we returned this shuttle with a broke crew because the weather was a little rough. If the storm gets here you’ll be safe on the other side of the airlock.”

 

 Adjusting the pilot seat so that it could hold him Brynjarr readied for takeoff.

 

+Ready when you are.+

Edited November 24, 2021 by Trokair

[Machine God]

Draak handed to Toks and Bobs a pair of headsets each that he had been tinkering with on the shuttle.

 

INT: 44 +10 (Tech Use) +10 (Exceptional Bionic Hand) = 64. Result: 06, Pass 5DoS

 

"Take these so that you can communicate with each other and us. Leaving a sniper to guard our backs is an efficient solution Toks!"

 

stated Draak, he then spoke over the squad vox

 

+Their net is on a sub-channel to the squad vox, they can talk together and to us but cannot hear squad comms. Furthermore if Bobs is captured or killed and the headset is interrogated in any way then the sub-channel will expire+

[Commissar Molotov]

The Traveller nods with satisfaction at Draak's solution.

 

The Convent House was indeed a formidable fortress.

 

[Placeholder - The Traveller would interrogate the mortal to find out more information, rather than trusting him blindly.]

[Black Cohort]

"What order shall we enter this tunnel, for should we not be ready for combat as soon as we enter?"

[Mazer Rackham]

"However, there is a large ash storm currently moving across the planetary surface that we will have to cross. The edges of it are already here. We can fly above it, which is... safer. However, if we stay under the cloud level it should prevent anyone, in orbit or on the ground, from detecting our approach? But it might get a little rough?"

 

Orphiel considered the crewman's words and smiled.  +That is what magboots are for.+

 

Brynjarr dismissed the crew, taking the pilot throne himself.  Interesting.  As the crew heeded the Shield-bearing brother, Orphiel leaned in to accost them, almost conspiratorially.  +And stay away from Dex if you value your lives.+

 

They peered up at him.

 

+Or ours.+

 

One slapped the other on the shoulder before leaving, and Orphiel nodded.  Message received.

[Lysimachus]

Squad Alpha:

 

After seeing Bobs settled - hidden with his longlas and one of Draak's voxbeads under a mottled tan and grey camouflage sheet - Toks looks up at your squad leader. His expression is a mix of frustrated hurry and proud anger, diluted by sudden fear. He responds to the Traveller's questioning with as much firmness as he can manage in the face of those burning eye lenses.

 

"I am with you, Astartes; mind, heart and soul. You are my only hope of finding out if Ags is alive and, if she is, of getting her out of there. But we don't have time for me to lead you through every step before we take it. So can we go? We are nearly in."

 

Without waiting, he turns and walks on up the trail, only a slight tightening around the eyes revealing his nerves - even shock - at having shown such audacity. However you might feel about most mortals, the Guard veteran is proving his mettle, both physically and in mental determination.

 

He takes the lead again, moving on up the mountainside across a snowy scree slope towards a high escarpment. After another half hour of hiking you reach its base, what appears to be a featureless wall of rock. There does not seem to be any way to go further. Toks, a few metres ahead, steps right up to the sheer face, then sidesteps to one side and seems to vanish!

 

He steps out again, but only half way, and suddenly the trick becomes clear - a simple optical illusion! There is a manmade passage penetrating the rock face, but cut at such an acute angle that it cannot be immediately seen from the trail! It is an ingenious extra layer of protection, but hardly a proper defence. No, as you follow Toks into the smooth tunnel you see that the real barrier lies further within, perhaps ten metres back from the face of the escarpment. A heavy portal with a thick, reinforced plasteel door. Beside it is a small screen, keypad and data-spike port.

 

Toks steps forward and presses a series of numbers and symbols which appear in boxes on the screen. As the final icon is entered, all of them turn red and a low buzzer sounds. Then the screen goes blank once more. The veteran shrugs and steps back.

 

"Ten year old code. Worth a shot, though. Maybe one of you can get us through?"

 

***

Edited November 16, 2021 by Lysimachus

[Lysimachus]

Squad Beta:

 

The shuttle veers and shudders in the swirling ash. Orphiel and Radago, magbooted in the cargo hold, can see nothing of the pollutant storm that rages around your vessel. Brynjarr's visibilty, from his position strapped in behind the armaglas canopy, is only thirty or forty metres more than his squadmates.

 

However, by carefully following the cockpit instrumentation around you, you are confident you are still heading towards the source of Achard's scan results.

 

***

 

@Tro: Please roll 5 Pilot Tests. (This is your Ag48 + 25 Shuttle Manoeuvrability = 73)

Start at 1 and add 1 for every DoS and minus 1 for every DoF. As long as your final total is positive, you have successfully navigated the storm. If your total is negative...

 

@Beta: Any of you please feel free to add some flavour posts based on Brynjarr's ups or downs!

[Trokair]

Beta

 

Pilot Test 

AG48 + 25 - 20 (Wind) = 53

D100:

63, Fail,  1 DoF

45, Pass, 0 DoS

41, Pass, 1 DoS

14, Pass, 3 DoS

83, Fail, 3 DoF

Net 0 DoS

 

 

+We are airborne+ he voxed as final confirmation as the engines ticked over from not enough lift to sufficient lift and the shuttle left the landing pad behind.

 

Keeping steady Brynnjar initial took of following one of the common flight lanes as indicated by the local planetary aviation navigation system. Anybody watching them depart would falsely assume they were heading elsewhere.

With the advancing storm it was not long before visibility reduced drastically and he was mostly relying on the instruments of the shuttle. Once he judged that they were far enough from the Hive to be undetectable in the storm he dropped low and adjusted the direction towards the suspected prison complex.

 

+Going to be a little rough now+ he voxed to the squad, echoing the mortals pilots accent.

 

Now at a visibility of less than he could throw a grenade Brynjarr was flying by instrument and long remembered lessons. In a way it was like the void, replying on instrument while death lurked outside the hull, but in other ways it wasn’t, and the winds made themselves felt with a vengeance as the journey continued.  

 

Slowing as they drew closer and wrestling with the controls, as the shuttle strained, Brynjarr patched the sensor data through to the others.

 

+Less than 5 kilometers now, time to find a nice landing spot.+

 

 

Edit: added wind modifier 

Edited November 24, 2021 by Trokair

[Machine God]

Squad Alpha:

 

"Ten year old code. Worth a shot, though. Maybe one of you can get us through?" said Toks.

 

After seeing the keypad used and the code's rejection Draak had an idea.

 

Draak wondered if the Rhino Driver had ever used the rear door to the Convent to return from a foot patrol?

 

 

 

Edited December 17, 2022 by Machine God
Typo

[Beren]

Svelk steps forwards, and begins to lightly tap at the door seals with the pick-head of his axe-rake. 

 

+++Still got demo-charges left, but at this point I'd still rather not have noticed. If I can get leverage there's a chance I might  be able to force it open.+++