Deathwatch: Murderers in Black (IC Thread)

[Machine God]

Asterius:

 

He withdrew the charm and affixed it to his belt. 

 

"Thank you Techmarine Zidemi, I shall honour the memory of Brother Ki'shar by wearing it. I was remiss for leaving it in my cell."

 

Before he left to follow the tech serf Boechner he talked a little more to Techmarine Zidemi. 

 

"I am still getting used to this bionic leg, although I don't mind it so much now. I am worried about how it will interact with my War Plate, but I guess it will work for me."

 

Asterius laughed boisterously and set off to find Boechner. 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 29 by Machine God
Heart not Arm

[Lysimachus]

Scene 6. Departure

 

When you arrive in the Watchstation hangar, you find a hive of activity. Watch serfs and Mechanicus personnel swarm over and around the Iron Sabre, performing last minute checks. The pilot and co-pilot, both heavily augmented mortals in black void suits, stand near the working specialists, occasionally shouting an order or stepping forward to inspect a completed task. When they see you arrive, both bow respectfully. The shaven-headed pilot, who you can barely identify as female beneath a heavy rebreather and bionic eye, speaks.

 

“My Lords, I am Flight-Lieutenant Vora of the Deathwatch. Watch-Captain Skaayn just sent a message that he had been invited to travel with Lord Kine aboard the Needle, so that they might strategize during the journey. He said to tell you that ‘it seemed too good an opportunity to miss’?”

 

She shrugs slightly, obviously unaware of the meaning of this part of the message, but confident that it will be clear to you. She concludes.

 

“Commander Ibrym awaits us on the Supremacy. Once the Sabre is aboard, our flotilla will be ready to depart.”

 

When you board the ancient, powerful gunship, climbing the assault ramp might feel like being swallowed into the maw of some huge black and silver beast. Within its hull you find there to be more than sufficient space for your team, as the standard Stormeagle is designed to deploy, not nine, but twenty Astartes warriors. Perhaps the empty harnesses might make you wish that your numbers were doubled, but unfortunately that cannot be.

 

When Bekkar Haalec arrives, the Flight-Lieutenant bows even lower to the Imperial Star.

 

“I understand you are rated for this type of craft, my Lord? Did you wish to take us up?”

 

OOC: I'll leave it to @Ancient_Sobek if you want to describe anything further about the take-off or flight, though it should all be pretty routine?

 

As the Sabre escapes the thin atmosphere of Alucar and out into the blackness of true space, its augurs are able to detect several vessels in orbit. The Needle and the Supremacy of Man are just as you remember from the hololithic displays shown during the briefing in the Strategium. A third vessel floats in formation with them. It has much more in common with the Inquisitor's sleek clipper than it does with the ugly, brutal Deathwatch warship. Bekkar would recognise it. It is the fast trader that brought him and Dendinius to Alucar IV only days ago, the Swift Resolution.

 

Vora explains that the Lord Inquisitor had the trader held, press-ganged into service, so that he would have an additional ship available at Dorghra. You can hear a sharp smile in her muttered words.

 

“Commander Ibrym says that he can't imagine what use Captain Pelgar and his crew will actually be, unless we need some sniveling cowards to run away from the first sight of danger.”

 

 

 

[Mazer Rackham]

Azadth:

 

He was unsure such a mighty craft as the Iron Sabre should be in the hands of mortals. Whilst the capability of the Deathwatch's servants was both prodigious and surprising, having such valuable equipment in their hands, was a small needle. He wondered if the mighty machine spirit was as relieved as he, when Bekkar took the helm. The flying was...vigorous. And why not? It was to be expected from Astartesian* reflexes.

 

As they ascended, he surveyed the hold. So many empty chairs. He wondered what the Mantis Warriors would do with all the space! This hold was cavernous in the absence of bulky Marines and their wargear, enough to make him comfortable as they plied the dark skies. He hummed a song his Brothers would know, would have raised their voices to alongside him in the shared effort, joined purpose as they got underway. He tapped his toes along with it, the rest of his body maglocked and hemmed in by the crash couch.

 

Flight Lieutenant Vora's disdain for the Rogue Trader cut through her otherwise amenable dialogue. A press-ganged freeman? Truly Inquisitor Kine assembled strange allies. He didn't miss the disposition of Agha Skaayn, either.

 

+Does the Rogue Trader's fortune wax well otherwise, Lieutenant?+ Azadth asked her, breaking from the song to let his thoughts manifest elsewhere.

 

Edited July 1 by Mazer Rackham
* Astartesian = just for Xin ;)

[Lysimachus]

Azadth: Vora looks slightly embarrassed.

 

“Apologies, my Lord. That was hearsay, and not my place to utter in any case.”

 

She shrugs.

 

“Pelgar is not a Rogue Trader himself, but rather a vassal Captain of one of the dynasties operating in this Sector, the Von Caeryds. Their Warrant of Trade is newly granted, but they already have a reputation among the Sector Fleets for being… cautious? As I understand it, the Von Caeryds were obligated to transport some of your teammates here from several Sub-Sectors away, and the Swift was the ship that was sent?”
 

 

[Mazer Rackham]

Azadth:

 

More threads blowing in the Nine Winds, each of them defying his grasp.

 

Caution or cowardice. The difference was wafer thin, but it could be seen if one observed the reason, not the reticence. In the Green, a man was a fool to put his hand in the hole he just dropped his compass into without having a damn good look first, then retiring to find a stick-clutch. The idea that the previous Kill Team had been devoured in the bowels of a bloody tunnel by something unknown was not lost on him.

 

He glanced at Asterius, then Gerhardt. Maybe they could just choke the monster with pointy sticks.

 

Azadth changed tack when he flicked across to Omoc, his Mk VI conical helmet swivelling to fix in the Scorpion's direction, but he still spoke to the human pilot. +There is an Ordo Hereticus element operating from the Bulwark, Lieutenant. Have they also been uplifted for this operation?+

 

OOC: I couldn't quite remember if the Hereticus was in the keep, if not, I'll change this.

[A.T.]

Omoc

 

The inquisitors obsession with this task continued, even the events at the keep had turned the his gaze from whatever prize he was seeking, whatever he was hiding from kill team.

 

If he would not speak of it now then what path was laid out once the Astartes here had seen for themselves, confession or obfuscation, or perhaps another knife in the back. But then it was yet to be proven that there was not another that stood against them.

 

Many questions to be answered in time and in blood. For now Omoc would know what secrets this world held that any accusation might be weighed in full.

[Urauloth]

Váfri

 

The Hangar

 

The sword was everything he'd hoped for. They had done outstanding work in the forge, fine-tuning an already high quality weapon into a work of art. He grinned at the Ork fang mounted on the pommel. Perfect. He patted the blade at his hip and strode out onto the hangar deck with his helm under one arm and his wolf pelt worn over his shoulder. It was, as ever, slung in such a way that it obscured the Iquisitorial emblem on his pauldron, but not so obviously that an observer could be certain if the effect was intentional or not.

 

He had seen the Iron Sabre before, briefly, during his early exploration of the Watch-fortress. He had marveled at it then, but he was impressed again as he approached the Storm Eagle. There were too few of its venerable kind left. The Vlka Fenryka still maintained a number, and he had watched them take flight from the Aett in the past, but he had never been aboard one. Riding one to battle would make him the envy of his pack brothers if they could see him.

 

The thought of his old pack brought his new duties to mind. Gerhardt had recommended him as the Kill-team's new leader, and he had vowed to uphold his legacy in that regard. A shadow might have fallen over the son of Dorn, but in his brief stint as Watch-sergeant he had shown courage and honour. For his part, Váfri intended to do the same. At this point, though, nothing felt any different. He boarded with the others, marvelling at the interior of the gunship. No one needed any rousing words from him at this stage.

 

The Flight

 

The Sabre's engines didn't disappoint. He had affixed his helm before launch, so his grin of delight at the speed and din of the gunship was hidden from view. "Magnificent ship," he muttered. Bekkar piloted it well, too. He still hadn't had the opportunity to ask the breacher about his chapter, he realised, what with everything that had happened. After this mission, perhaps.

 

Vora's mention of cowardice brought all of his attention to the present, as sharply as if he had heard a gunshot. He listened as the Flight-Lieutenant talked to Azadth, not liking what he heard very much. An unreliable crew, vassals to a newly-minted trader dynasty? That sounded like a weak link at best.

 

"What won the Von Caeryds their warrant, if you know?"

[Lysimachus]

The Flight-Lieutenant frowns.

 

“I was unaware we had any Hereticus operatives in residence at this time? Not since that joint op on Corellageon, maybe two years ago? Still, the Bulwark is a big place, so I wouldn't know exactly who is on Alucar at any given time. There are not any Hereticus aboard the Supremacy, that much I am certain of, but I have no knowledge of who is aboard Lord Kine's Needle.”

 

She looks over at Vafri.

 

“I understand that the Von Caeryd patriarch was a naval officer out of Battlefleet Hydraphur. Rumour says his attitude towards privateering was not entirely in line with Sector HQ’s, and he was offered a Warrant instead of a promotion… but again, that is merely hearsay.”

 

 

[Trokair]

Alda

 

She had already been listing in with interest to the conversation between the einherjar and the flight crew, but at the mention of Corellageon a thought occurred. While she had not been able to find further details of the joint operation down in the Bulwalk, whether because she had just not looked in the right place or because someone had deliberately obscure the facts, ships carried their own records. She could see if the oficcial records aboard the Supremacy had any clues as to what had happen to lord Kine.

Leaning forward in her seat to look down the hold at the Flight-Lieutenant Vora. A Voidship was a city state, and as with any city there was always the informal source known as gossip.  

 

“I have heard Corellageon mentioned a few times around the Bulwalk. Where you there and do you know what happened?”

[Lysimachus]

OOC: Just to clarify, I'm going to assume that Bekkar did indeed take the pilot's chair alongside the co-pilot, leaving Vora free to be seated in the hold and able to talk to everyone.

 

Alda: Vora shakes her head.

 

“It was supposed to be a covert op, primarily investigative. The Ordo Xenos was only called in to serve in an advisory capacity. Therefore the Deathwatch, Kill-Team Lucifer and the Supremacy were not involved. From what I heard, I think Lord Kine might have later wished that he did have them there. The investigation turned violent. Most of the Inquisitor's colleagues, Xenos and Hereticus, were killed, ambushed by secessionists. I think only he and Interrogator Aykawa returned to Alucar IV.”

 

She shrugs.

 

“So, we have no records regarding that operation aboard our ship. However, you might find that the Needle does have them? It took Lord Kine and his entourage to Corellageon. I don't think we have time to put you across in a shuttle before we get under way, but perhaps after we translate into the Dorghra system?”
 

[Machine God]

Asterius:

 

It was strange. His bionic leg didn't interface with his power armour, he'd been told that the leg was armoured anyway.

 

It was still strange like wearing a pair of trousers with one leg bare.

 

Anyway he had been fitted with his war-plate and jet pack by the armorium serfs and he'd received his Kraken Rounds.

 

 

Any doubts about movement in the Storm Eagle were unfounded.

 

He of course had taken the position closest to the assault ramp!

 

 

 

 

 

[Lysimachus]

Scene 7. Departure (cont.)

 

The Iron Sabre sets down in the hangar bay aboard the Supremacy of Man and you begin to disembark. Even as you take a first step onto the mighty cruiser, you can feel the sympathetic vibration through the deck as the plasma drives cycle up to full power and start to push the warship away from Alucar IV's orbit and out into the black towards the system's Mandeville Point. Such precise timing indicates the efficiency of the Supremacy’s crew, and perhaps as well their eagerness for action?

 

That certainly seems the case in the grey-haired man who waits to greet you. He is clad in the black uniform worn by naval officers serving the Watch. Small, even for a mortal, and in his latter years, but he maintains an aura of discipline, alertness and competence, as well as just a hint of tightly controlled impatience to be heading out among the stars.

 

Flight-Lieutenant Vora steps forward to make introductions.

 

“My Lords of Kill-Team Lucifer, may I present Commander Ibrym of the Deathwatch vessel Supremacy of Man.”

 

Ibrym bows smartly, then dismisses the pilot with a nod.

 

“My Lords, it gladdens my heart to have brethren of the Long Vigil back aboard this ship. As I am sure you can tell, we are getting underway now. It will take sixteen point three hours to reach the Mandeville, then approximately thirteen days to travel to the Dorghra system, if the Emperor smiles upon us. Our Navigators say that our route appears calm and stable, with prevailing warp currents in our favour.”

 

He pulls a data-slate from his belt and makes several neat taps across its screen.

 

“Ship's Log shows command is now transferred to your authority. The Supremacy is at your disposal. Astartes quarters have been assigned to each of you, there are training ranges and cages and a Chapel and Refectory on Deck Beta, and Watch personnel in the Engineerium, Forges and Ship's Apothecarion stand ready to assist you in whatever manner you might require. Should you wish to join me on the Bridge, you would be most welcome at any time.”

 

Commander Ibrym then offers a businesslike, but still genuine, smile.

 

“And that is where I should return, unless you have any orders or questions for me, my Lords?”

 

 

OOC: So, it will take a few weeks to reach Dorghra. In the meantime, you have the run of the Strike Cruiser and it is set up to provide for most things a Deathwatch Kill-Team might need.

 

There is a small Armoury attached to the Forge (which is itself attached to the Engineerium) so if you have posts re: Requisition that you didn't get a chance to include but wanted to, these can still be added while aboard. Likewise, the Apothecarion is set up for any medical needs, eg Asterius may still need to spend some time resting/under observation for his bionic limb to fully integrate with his nervous system.
 

[Mazer Rackham]

Azadth:

 

On initial meeting, the Mantis Warrior gave his usual cordial introduction.

 

+My humble thanks noble Shipmaster. Your crew do you honour. May the Khagan and the Nine Winds carry us straight and true. If you could spare someone to give me a tour of this mighty vessel, I would be grateful.+

 

His smile carried through to his voice, as well as the retreating Lieutenant's back.

 

+Someone like Ms Vora, perhaps?+

[Lysimachus]

Azadth: Vora looks back.

 

"It will take perhaps thirty minutes to complete post-flight checks and engine shut down procedures? After that I am... hopefully... surplus to requirements for almost two weeks, and it would be my honour, my Lord."

 

 

[Machine God]

Asterius:

 

One mortal and then deferred to another, much speech but he barely listened.

 

 

“My Lords, it gladdens my heart to have brethren of the Long Vigil back aboard this ship. As I am sure you can tell, we are getting underway now. It will take sixteen point three hours to reach the Mandeville, then approximately thirteen days to travel to the Dorghra system, if the Emperor smiles upon us. Our Navigators say that our route appears calm and stable, with prevailing warp currents in our favour.”

 

 

“Ship's Log shows command is now transferred to your authority. The Supremacy is at your disposal. Astartes quarters have been assigned to each of you, there are training ranges and cages and a Chapel and Refectory on Deck Beta, and Watch personnel in the Engineerium, Forges and Ship's Apothecarion stand ready to assist you in whatever manner you might require. Should you wish to join me on the Bridge, you would be most welcome at any time.”

 

 

 

"Yes thank you commander, I hope that your training cages are more extensive than those of The Needle." Asterius enquired to the mortals back.

 

Asterius then glanced over at Amaras.

 

"Thirteen days divided by cage work and apothecarion recuperation."

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 7 by Machine God
typo

[A.T.]

Omoc

 

Wasteful, a strike cruiser was an asset few chapters could field now used to transport a single kill team. A ship such as this could raze a planet... perhaps that purpose was already considered.

 

He would join this tour, know what places the ships master would have them see and what places he would not. There had been no rest and there could be no rest since the death of the librarian and these halls could be considered no more safe than the world ahead of them until the assassins master was found. Here he would hunt.

[Ancient_Sobek]

Bekkar

 

The flight up to the Supremacy had been just what he had needed. It was good to escape the chains of planetary gravity and return to the blessed void. His time planetside had been trying with the death of his friend and the uncertainty of what had occurred.

 

In the end, it was judged that the Templar’s actions had been at the will of the librarian. Though seemingly exonerated, he still felt ire towards the reluctant killer. It was something he would have to find a way past if they were to complete their mission.

 

As he gathered his kit and made his way down the ramp he gave his respect to the rest of the flight crew of the Sabre. It was always refreshing to work with talented professionals.

 

He caught up with rest of the kill team as the Captain finished his salutations. Bek moved alongside the black shield and spoke.

 

”I owe you an apology brother, Asterius was it?” He began “I feel I have slighted you by not acknowledging you when we met previously. I beg your leave, I meant no offense. In truth I was lost in my own thoughts. The death of Dendinius was a blow that I still struggle with. It is one thing to lose a brother in the heat of battle, but something else in your on sanctum.”

Edited July 8 by Ancient_Sobek

[Machine God]

Asterius:

 

 

The Breacher spoke to him.

 

”I owe you an apology brother, Asterius was it?”

 

“I feel I have slighted you by not acknowledging you when we met previously. I beg your leave, I meant no offense. In truth I was lost in my own thoughts. The death of Dendinius was a blow that I still struggle with. It is one thing to lose a brother in the heat of battle, but something else in your on sanctum.”

 

 

Asterius grabbed Brother Bekkar in the warriors handshake forearm to forearm "None taken Brother Bekkar! Sometimes our thoughts are all we have, when we think of kin."

 

Asterius released his grip.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 8 by Machine God
clean up

[Ancient_Sobek]

Bekkar

 

Bek returned the handshake. “Thank you for your indulgence brother. I look forward to bracing the shield wall together”

[Necronaut]

Gerhardt

 

The return to the void, the freedom from the starless black cells of the Inquisition, was a welcome relief to the Black Templar, whose brothers roamed the galaxy even now in their sprawling, black-hulled crusade fleet. He had tapped into the gunship’s sensorium suite to experience the final release from Alucar IV’s weak atmosphere first-hand, and the sight of a field of dots of nuclear fire against a canvass of deepest black-within-black filled him with some measure of the same exhilaration as when he was still a wiry and vicious barbarian youth newly chosen by the ebon demigods to join their holy war beyond the outer heavens. 

 

As they made their way towards the brutish slab of gothic architecture bristling with planet-slaying guns that hung in high orbit, Gerhardt turned to look surreptitiously at the others of Kill-Team Lucifer nestled in their crash harnesses holding their wargear and various implements of death dear to their breasts. They appeared to him briefly as the larvae of some strange species of insectoid warriors waiting to pupate and emerge from their chrysalides to murder and burn all in their path. He felt greatly diminished in their eyes, and his twin hearts pumped the burning venoms of pride and hatred and shame through his veins at an increasing rate.

 

In an odd way, it was a small relief to be a line-brother again, his only responsibilities being to kill and kill again until no xenos remained.

 

But the xenos were without end.

 

+++

 

Gerhardt silently fell in behind the others as they disembarked from the storm eagle and stood idly by as the ship’s master introduced himself. He felt like half a maniac with his weapons so chained to his arms in this place of relative calm, this mobile fortress of the Inquisition, but his blade and bolter brought him some measure of comfort, anchoring him to the present. He rested Drachenhauer over his right pauldron, cradling its pommel and chain in his palm, as he walked behind the others, taking in his new surroundings with mild boredom. Such was the conformity of Imperial ship patterns that one strike cruiser was much like another, albeit with minor variations and deviations from the norm where appropriate, and he felt right at home within its steel struts and bulkheads.

 

His thoughts drifted to his prayers, his need for spiritual succour and atonement. The reclusiam and training cages beckoned.

Edited July 8 by Necronaut

[Mike Zulu]

Zidemi:

 

Zidemi had made his introductions and toured the voidcraft alonside his Astartes brothers. The Supremacy Of Man was impressive but at the same time unremarkable. It was no doubt a testament to both mankind's perseverence and the Machine God's brilliant, but there was nothing to distinguish it from others of its type. It was somethime he came to lament since his induction into the cult: the astonishing had become the mundane. 

 

As the frigate began it's journey to Dorghra VII, Zidemi retired to the Forge as per his calling. After conducting his typical duties, Zidemi finally had time to work on a project he had on his mind for some time since departing the Bulwark.

 

He summoned one of the serfs: "Theta-27, obtain for me one kilogram of cupronickel sheet." 

 

After twenty minutes the heavily augmented serf returned with a square of silvery metal. Zidemi took the metal and began to craft his vision. "Ki'shar," he spoke aloud as he began, "may I honour your memory with my craft."

 

After two hours, Zidemi was content with his progress and his vision had taken shape. All that remained was a final touch which required the steel punch. As he hammered the tool into his work, he heard a distinctive click of fissured metal. He removed the punch to see his medallion had split in two; the metal had yielded under the impact.

 

With a sigh, Zidemi tossed the broken pieces nto the nearby dustbin. Undettered, he again summoned the serf: "Theta-27, obtain for me one kilogram of high-manganese cupronickel sheet."

 

 

Edited July 14 by Mike Zulu
Placeholder filled

[Mazer Rackham]

Azadth:

 

Flight Lieutenant Vora proved an amiable, capable guide. Azadth asked steady questions in his genteel manner, but as she spoke, his eyes did the learning. Places for ambush, cover, retreat. Nooks and crannies to fight from and submit to the shadow for concealment. Airflaps, crush-transoms, and crew decks. It was valuable to know all. The Scorpion stuck to his back, reminding him of the tale of the Azureus amphibian. At many times Omoc stalked to one side, or in front, looking into the same places as Azadth did, but for a different reason - he was staring into them, scouring for the nosy or lackadaisical.

 

There were scorpions in the Green who ate only spiders. A strange, fratricidal Arachasaen war, both developed, evolved to destroy and prey upon the other. The scorpion was strong and determined, the spider nimble and fast.

 

The little caravan of tourists stopped to let crewmen past as they hurried to vital stations. Azadth accessed the private vox network with a deft flick of a rune-blink for Omoc's sigil. The human might hear the clicks of the comms-cycler, but a modicum of privacy would endure.

 

+The Bulwark is unsecured. It frustrates you.+

[Urauloth]

Váfri

 

The Supremacy was a powerful ship, like all cruisers of its class, but it lacked the personality of the Úlfhvatr. Its comparatively spartan pragmatism briefly made Váfri miss the carved stone decks and hanging banners of his old vessel.

 

He offered a salute to Commander Ibrym when the Kill-team were introduced, and listened to what the officer had to say.

"I'll take you up on that," he said when the bridge was mentioned, "I will join you there soon."

 

First he would head to his assigned quarters to stow anything he had no immediate need of, and then he would make himself seen on the command deck - it seemed onlt right, as the pack's leader - and get a look at the ship's nerve centre and a feel for how the cruiser was run.

Edited July 27 by Urauloth

[Trokair]

Alda

 

The tour led by Flight Lieutenant Vora had been insightful in its way, but Alda could not shake the feeling that certain parts of the ship had been entirely, and deliberately, avoided.   The twisting of the corridors, the change between levels and decks, all felt designed to disorient them. A tactic that would work well enough on most humans, and indeed Alda had only the vaguest sense of where in the ship they now were, but surly such a strategy was useless given that the other participants that Ms Vora was showing around where einherjar.

                                          

---

 

They had settled into their assigned quarters and the members of Kill Team Lucifer had disbursed. Some to the training cages, the drake to the forge, each to their own devices. They had many days ahead of them. It was perhaps the second day, she had not quite adjusted to ship time yet compared to planet time, when Alda, while exploring on her own, came across one of the crew mess just as a meal was being served. Quietly sitting down at one of the tables she looked round at the two dozen faces that had all turned to stare at her.

 

“Greetings, I am Alda, chronicler assigned to the Lucifer, I was wondering if any of you could tell me a little of the current Kill-Team’s predecessors.”  

Edited July 20 by Trokair

[Lysimachus]

Scene 8. Arrival

 

The Terran distinction of days and nights means little to a ship at warp. Time is instead measured in Watches, and forty of them pass by over the course of the journey to the Dorghra system. During the forty-first Watch, three hundred and twenty-three hours after the Supremacy entered the Empyrean, Commander Ibrym makes a ship-wide announcement.

 

“Code Amber. Thirty minutes until translation to real space. All hands, prepare for translation. Kill-Team Lucifer to the Bridge, please. Repeat, thirty minutes until translation.”

 

***

 

When the three ships tear their way back into reality just outside the Dorghra system's Mandeville Point, there is an immediate, blaring hail from the network of interdictor beacons left behind when the Needle fled the system.

 

“THIS SYSTEM IS DECLARED PERDITA BY THE AUTHO…”

 

“Gah,” Ibrym grunts, “someone silence that signal! Open the warp shutters! Augurs to full! And access the beacons’ datavaults, make sure no one else has passed this way since the Inquisitor's ship left!”

 

The heavy plasteel screens that protect the Bridge crew from the maddening gaze of the warp rise slowly upwards, revealing a largely empty field of darkness. The most obvious stellar mass is the Dorghra star, a bright white orb slightly bigger than the Terran Sun. Other, much smaller, dots speckle the black. Most of these are far distant stars, but a few of the glowing objects are much, much closer. Ibrym looks down at his charts for a moment, then looks up and points his finger towards one tiny pinprick of light, coloured a bright orange, just visible in the top right quadrant of the central viewport.

 

“That, my Lords, is Dorghra VII. We should be in orbit in just over four hours. Your orders?”

 

 

 

OOC: As a vague response to Tro's placeholder:

 

Alda: It is a horrible, shameful thing for a crew of an Astartes transport to come home with an empty hold, a feeling of guilt even though there was nothing they could do about the loss of the Combat squad on the Ork cruiser. Having a new squad aboard is something of a relief. You would find the feeling among the crew of the Supremacy is now cautiously positive.

 

Obviously, the ship wasn't involved at Dorghra VII the first time, so they don't have any real info about it, but again there is likely a level of confidence that whatever is on the mining world there is now sufficient Imperial/Inquisitorial force to deal with it.