Deathwatch: Murderers in Black (IC Thread)

[Machine God]

Asterius:

 

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

 

 

 

Favoured words were spoken. 

 

Thirteen days of dance and recuperation. 

 

Now they could properly dance. Although there would no doubt be lots of stealth and searching too. 

 

 

"Vengeance!" Asterius replied. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 13 by Machine God
Got rid of quote box.

[Mazer Rackham]

Azadth:

 

The Mantis Warrior let Asterius' bullish demand crash around the bridge. His own suggestion was accompanied by a cant of the head, conical helm describing a small swoop as it slewed across the shallow gorget of the Mk VI. The symmetry of the lumen globes above challenged the shadows cast on the cheeks of his visor, for a second providing the illusion of mandibles flexing to pronounce an unfamiliar tongue from the slotted vox grilles on his beak.

 

+Perhaps commission silent running. Engage long range augur scans.+

 

Azadth spoke evenly, allowing the Shipmaster or Sergeant-Hetman elect to dismiss or entertain as they wished.

 

[Mike Zulu]

Zidemi:

 

By the time Zidemi joined his battle-brothers on the bridge, the warp shutters had lifted and Commander Ibrym had been consulting the star chart. "That, my Lords, is Dorghra VII. We should be in orbit in just over four hours. Your orders?"

 

Zidemi considered the late members of Kill Team Lucifer and his reason for being part of this new team. He turned to Asterius, hoping for wise direction with the benefit of hindsight.

 

“Vengeance!" Asterius replied. A timely reminder of the Blackshield’s aloofness.

 

Azadth had made the first suggestion: “Perhaps commission silent running. Engage long range augur scans.”

 

“I concur.” Zidemi nodded, pausing briefly in contemplation. “Though I consider it unlikely we will detect whatever felled Lucifer on the previous deployment. Surely we would have that augury data if that were the case?”

[Mazer Rackham]

Azadth:

 

+Hm,+ the Mantis Warrior agreed, +but it may show us any changes since the last deployment. The eye of the Imperium has been blind here for several weeks.+

[Machine God]

Asterius:

 

"Maybe it would be wise to interrogate the Interdiction Marker Buoys to see if any other craft have entered the system?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

[A.T.]

Omoc

 

Forty days without success, the shadow that followed them had retreated into the darkness biding their time and now they too crept towards this world. But now was not the time to fracture the kill team further.

[Lysimachus]

Ibrym nods.

 

“We can go silent, minimise our emissions, coast in towards VII. It will require that we only use passive augurs rather than active, but I tend to agree that is a reasonable trade.”

 

One of the Bridge officers speaks.

 

“Exload from the interdictor buoy logs is now complete, sir. No ships entered or left the Dorghra system after the Needle departed. There was a… I can only describe it as a ripple, for a few seconds, detected only eleven hours after the buoy was first activated. Moving within the system, heading away from Dorghra VII. I suspect it must have been a random gravitic effect, or a ghost in one of the buoys’ augurs. There is nothing else.”

 

 

[Mazer Rackham]

Azadth:

 

His helm snapped up, pointed damningly at the Captain. Ah yes, a gravitic ripple. Nothing.

 

Just like the trembling rustle of a Venusian Bore-vole getting ready for the next meal.

 

+Record as much information as possible on the disturbance, Shipmaster.+ Azadth nodded, letting his rehearsed smile slip through the gaps of the vox-grille the way he'd slide it through his teeth. +Just to humour me, if you please.+

 

Edited July 15 by Mazer Rackham

[Ancient_Sobek]

Bekkar

 

The time aboard ship had done wonders for his humors. The feeling of the ships constant low rumble was a music his soul longed for. Like the voice of the cosmos calling him home. When not training he had spent his time among the crew, helping load the gunship for the task ahead. The level of professionalism shown by the crew had been nothing short of exemplary and he had commended the deck officers on running a tight ship.

 

As they entered in-system he had joined the others on the bridge. His boarding shield was already stowed aboard the gunship, his naval bolter slung at his side as he considered the world before them. He sighed inwardly at the thought of once more treading on gravity soaked earth. Still he had a job to do and he would see it done.

 

He passively watched as the captain gave orders and the bridge crew executed them like a well oiled machine. Azadth suggested a stealthy approach and he nodded in agreement, as the codex states, "When the enemy disposition is unknown, keep your strength hidden. Knowledge is key to Victory."

[Lord_Ikka]

Moridyn

 

"Do we have the available weapons to scorch the planet if need be? If we fail, then the Imperium needs to be protected from whatever Xenos evil is on-planet."

[Lysimachus]

Moridyn: Ibrym seems uncomfortable with the thought of losing another Kill-Team, but he nods.

 

“The Supermacy has Exterminatus capability, if necessary.”

 

***

 

 

 

Scene 9. Arrival

 

On minimal power, the three ships of the Inquisitorial flotilla drift into orbit around the red-orange mass of Dorghra VII. Datafiles and augur reports state that the planet is resource-rich, the reason for the Mechanicus survey team being there in the first place. Were the servants of the Machine God given to any kind of sentiment, one might also think that they would appreciate the world's visual similarity to their ancestral home.

 

When the Supremacy moves into geostationary orbit over the small Explorator site on the surface, Ibrym speaks.

 

“We are now in position above the target. The Needle and Swift Resolution have taken up flanking positions at ten thousand metres. I can give you orbital picter images of the Mechanicus outpost and cave entrance…”

 

The Commander frowns, and an image appears on the strategium holotable, overlaid with markers that highlight the various structures of the settlement.

 

 

“...but active augurs are still not operating due to silent running. However, based on previous attempts to scan the cave interior, I don't think ours would have had any greater success in that regard. Passive sensors are not picking up any life signs or activity.”

 

The Comms officer raises his hand and quietly interrupts.

 

“Sir, I have Watch-Captain Skaayn aboard the Needle on a secure channel.”

 

Ibrym nods and you hear the Raptor’s gruff tone.

 

“I assume you're all looking at the same picter stills of the surface that I am? Lord Kine commands that we investigate the cave system as soon as possible. I agree that we will need to go in, but I want a solid beachhead planetside to fall back to if anything goes sideways. I want you to go down in the Sabre, find us a nice safe landing zone where we can start bringing in our support units. Let's be smart and do this by the numbers.”

 

 

 

 

OOC: Hopefully it is reasonably clear what is what in the pic.

 

The AdMech outpost is built around the cave entrance, which is located in an L-shaped canyon that runs through more mountainous terrain.

 

This canyon runs 1km westward in from the open plains in the east (the ‘landing field’ is basically just the edge of the plains) towards the cave entrance. It then turns 90 degrees and continues northwards for maybe 300m where the gap between the canyon walls narrows and eventually closes entirely (hence why the main Skitarii base is by the east exit and there is only a small guard post to the north).

 

Obviously, the landing field is intended for much (much!) larger bulk transports. Your Stormeagle could easily land at any of the open areas within the canyon - and would have done so the first time it came here - as could the Aquilas/other dropships that the rest of the Inquisitorial force will use. (For scale, the overall length and width of the Sabre is probably about the same as the box showing the promethium tank?)

 

 

 

[Mazer Rackham]

Azadth:

 

When he hooked the maglock clamp to the hardpoint, the ramp opened. Bekkar pulled the gunship over the Mantis Warrior's landing zone, and without a word, Azadth plunged out into hard desert heat and sandstone pillars.

 

Climb Test:

Spoiler

STR: 56 + 20 = 76 (Cannot Fall)

D100: 022 PASS, plus 5 DoS + 2 DoS (Unnat Str) = 7 DoS.

Rappels about 14m, drops the last 1m.

 

Tranquillity II briefly flashed into his mind as he played the line out, spilling heavy cable through the drop harness and his palms. When his feet met terrain, he sent the ping he was down, cutting the harness' power from the linked systems, and the clamp dropped to thump beside him, the coil piling in snake-like spool. He made a loop fast around a low rock-bollard before triggering the auto winding back onto the reel.

 

Azadth brought his Stalker out, checked the immediate zone and dropped prone, pulling the weapon into his pauldron. The desert winds breathed on him, piling up the red sand from the mountains beaten by throaty downdraft of the Sabre - now rapidly vanishing to scour the scattered facility and drop the remaining cargo.

 

Low humidity, low wind squalls in the hollow. Autosenses panned the derelict, desolate landscape, travelling up the roads leading in each cardinal direction, yet all of these paths led here.

 

As intended.

[Necronaut]

Gerhardt

 

The slab-nosed troop transport shuddered and howled as it entered Doghra’s atmosphere, for an Astartes craft did not so much fly as it punished any air unfortunate enough to be caught in front by bludgeoning it out of the way of its blunt prow. Once they were clear of the upper stratosphere, Bekkar ignited the engines once again, and the storm eagle lurched forward at a steep angle. 

 

As they approached an elevation of 1000m, Gerhardt turned and nodded at Asterius, +Closing in on drop site.+

 

With the mag-locks in their boots firmly engaged, the pair thudded their way towards the rear ramp and Asterius punched the control for the ramp door and they were soon buffeted by powerful winds as they stared out over the alien expanse beyond.

 

+You have the van, Brother Asterius! For the Emperor!+

 

The black shield nodded, saluting him with his chainsword, before stepping out of the cavernous maw of the gunship and disappearing from sight. Gerhardt followed two seconds later and descended in silent free-fall for a span of time, watching the brutish Deathwatch aircraft bank away from them. Turning over to lie flat on his stomach as he plummeted towards the surface of Doghra VII, he searched for the structures he had committed to memory from their briefings prior to today while his altimeter ticked steadily down.

 

 

Pilot Test

Ag46 + 20 (Routine) = 66
D100: 82
Ha ha nope not dying here…
FP reroll D100: 28; 3 DoS

Perception Test
Per46 + 0 = 46
D100: 15; 3 DoS

2 FP remaining

 

 

At 100m, he and Asterius ignited their jump packs almost in unison, punishing g-forces tearing at their muscles and armour as the enormous jet engines strapped to their backs arrested their descent, and they both landed hard, rising amidst a billowing plume of dust with weapons drawn and raised, panning them across the deserted settlement.

 

+We have made landfall.+

Edited July 25 by Necronaut

[A.T.]

Omoc

 

The scorpion watched the auspex intently as the assault began, for it stood to reason that those who attacked the prior kill team might have taken action to prevent a return. Traps, sentries, automated defenses, but there was no movement below and no sign yet that their approach was detected.

[Machine God]

Asterius:

 

Insertion of Doghra VII.

 

 

As they approached an elevation of 1000m, Asterius caught the nod of Brother Gerhardt, +Closing in on drop site.+

 

+Once more unto the Breach, dear Friends+

 

 

Trusting in the gripping talons of his new bionic leg to work in tandem with the mag-lock of his other boot he shuffle, scratched, thudded his way towards the rear ramp. He punched the control for the ramp door and they were soon buffeted by powerful winds as they stared out over the alien expanse beyond.

 

+You have the van, Brother Asterius! For the Emperor!+

 

+Ave Imperator!+

 

 

With his chainsword he saluted Gerhardt, he stepped off the Storm Eagle and turned into the screaming winds, his chainsword arm outstretched to be the screaming eagle of vengeance.

 

 

 

 

 

AGL60 +20 (Routine) = 80. Result: 60, Pass 2DoS

 

 

 

 

At 100m, he and Asterius ignited their jump packs almost in unison, punishing g-forces tearing at their muscles and armour as the enormous jet engines strapped to their backs arrested their descent, and they both landed hard, rising from his position of knelt bionic leg and swept back right leg, revving chainsword held out in defiance whilst his right gauntlet had delivered the lightning bolt punch, his eyes panned across the deserted settlement.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 25 by Machine God
Clean up

[Trokair]

Alda

 

Securely strapped in, they had been warned that it would be a rough decent, Alda could only watched as three of einherjar departed before they where even down. The conformations over the squad comms, arriving distorted from the atmospheric interference, or perhaps just the engine noise, proof that it was not pure madness.

 

The jolt in her stomach as the stormegal levelled out at the last second, preparing to land on top of the Barracks complex, was all the warning she got. The remaining marines were already on the move, pounding out onto the roof. With one strap released Alda could turn enough to watch as they moved to secure the immediate surroundings. The other strap dealt with Alda rushed after them, momentarily of balance as she emerged from the windshield of the lander and into the full force of the atmosphere. Adjusting she scurried into cover that one of the einherjar had just vacated.  

 

(Assuming we do make it down and not crash, will rewrite if needed)

  

[Mazer Rackham]

Azadth:

 

Grit shifting under his elbows and knees, Azadth dug into the scarp. The rocky chimney to his right provided partial protection form the sun, even as the red sand scurried over him to bathe his dark plate in a dark-ochre dust, dulling his gear and quicksilver. He nodded, sincere. The Sky-Khan provides.

 

He resumed scanning the basin, looking for lights, left on, windows propped open, doors ajar on the elevations he could see, but the wash and skeins of dust momentarily obscured his sight.

 

Visible enough, comets from heaven, the two assault marines fell to the ground shortly after his own hasty deployment, and the Iron Sabre slashed toward the LZ.

 

Selecting the Stalker Slugs, The suppressed boltgun's chamber hungrily gulped the round. Blind or no, Death awaited destiny's call.

 

Actions/Stuff:

Spoiler

Half-Action: Hide (+10 Conceal)

Half-Action: Search (Visual)

PER: 70/2 (Untrained) = 35

D100: 38 Fail, no DoF.

 

He contacted the Wolf. +Sergeant-Hetman, Azadth. Dust obfuscation problematic on insertion. Will advise.+

[Ancient_Sobek]

Bekkar

 

The Sabre settled on it’s landing claws as the ramp touched down on the roof of the structure. Bekkar switched the control from his station to his Co-pilot.

 

“She’s all yours Lilya,” he said as he unbuckled and grabbed his gear.

The former Vostroyan pilot gave him a curt nod. “Try not to die comrade. You’re a much better pilot than Kinser. He is too rough, no finesse.”

 

“Hey now” Kinser said as he slid into the vacant chair and began running his pre-flight checks.

 

Bek smiled as he made his way out of the craft. The long weeks in space had done him good and he had made friends with many of the flight crew. It reminded him of his brothers in the Imperial Stars. The chapter had a long history of working closely with regular humans and they filled many vital roles in the chapter’s structure. Being among fellow space-farers was always enjoyable.

 

He was the last off the Sabre as it lifted off from the narrow landing pad. It had been a tricky landing for the craft on such a small pad, so leaving it there was to risky. Besides, if they needed to make a quick exfil fighting their way back up to the roof might be detrimental. That is why the team had agreed on an alternate extraction point during the planning for the operation.

 

piloting roll 45 (4 DoS)

Edited July 27 by Ancient_Sobek

[Mike Zulu]

Zidemi:

Before departing to the surface via the Storm Eagle…

 

Having mediated on the matter whilst with the brander serfs, Zidemi sought out Gerhardt prior to boarding the Storm Eagle. Though he had much to say to Gerhardt, he opted to instead be brief with his words.

 

“Gerhardt, may I have a moment.” he began. “I have something for you, a gesture of my trust.”

Zidemi presented Gerhardt with a palm-sized medallion of silvery metal. It had the shape of a flame icon, with a templar’s cross punched into the centre. A chain-link and shackle, both the same size as the chains binding Gerhardt to his bolter, hung from the weld on the back.

 

“May you be remade in the fires of battle, brother.”

 

+++

 

“Advancing to the Command Centre entrance.” Zidemi relayed over vox upon disembarking the Storm Eagle. With bolter drawn and raised, he converged on the sealed access hatch at the edge of the landing platform.
 

The brazen skull protruding from the hardened door frame acknowledged his presence with a flickering red light. It blurted a binary request for credentials to access the facility.

 

 “The Omnissiah knows all, comprehends all…” Zidemi incanted, as he connected his mechadendrite to the input terminal below the skull.

 

“Override command: disengage locks. Open door.”

 

Spoiler

Tech-Use Test → Int: 50 (Trained) + 3 (Trapping) - 20 (Hard) = 33 required

Roll → D100: 09 = Pass, 2DoS

 

Edited July 25 by Mike Zulu

[Lysimachus]

Scene 10. A Lightning Bolt out of a Clear Sky

 

The heavy door releases with low thunk as plasteel reinforcement bars retract into the frame, and then there is a hiss as pneumatics push the slab outwards on thick hinges that run down the left hand side.

 

As you enter the portal, you can see remarkably few signs of damage. Within is a small antechamber with storage lockers along the right hand wall. To the left is a stairwell that descends into darkness. At the far end is another bulkhead door, this one with two sliding leaves that have been left partly recessed into the walls, creating a narrow gap into the chamber beyond. Daylight, faintly orange-tinted by the environment of Dorghra VII, filters out into the antechamber. Here on the uppermost floor, it is almost certain that the chamber beyond is the Command Centre.

 

It takes only a moment of brute force to fully open the unpowered doors, widening the gap to something more suitable for an armoured Astartes. Within is a large, open circular chamber with armaglas windows that run around more than three quarters of the perimeter. Banks of angled cogitators create concentric rings leading inwards to a central dais with a Command throne at its heart. A multitude of cables and wires cross the domed ceiling and drop down in the centre, presumably connecting the throne with systems across the breadth of the outpost. The space is laid out with typical Mechanicus precision.

 

However, as you take in further details, you can see that the cold logic of this place has been compromised. The majority of the windows are smashed inwards and thin swirls of dust, displaced by your gunship's arrival, are now settling across the chamber, joining older deposits that cover the flat surfaces. There are other signs of combat. Cogitators scorched by what looks like laser weapon fire or even cored or partially disintegrated by heavier blasts.

 

However, there is no sign of the Adeptus Mechanicus Magi who oversaw this facility.

 

Azadth (and Gerhardt/Asterius might see a few of the same things depending on where they landed?): As the orange dust settles, you are able to pan your Stalker across the outpost, its powerful sight revealing an impressive level of detail. There are no signs of a pitched battle, but there is visible damage, again seemingly caused by energy weapons, focussed around the doorways of several of the buildings.

 

Just as within the Command Centre, there is no sign of either the Explorators or their servants or protectors.

 

 

[Lord_Ikka]

Moridyn

 

Moridyn moved into the chamber, sliding to the right to keep as much of it in view while not compromising firing lines. His plasmagun hummed quietly as he panned it around the space.

 

No bodies, just the debris from a firefight. 

 

The lack of bodies was disturbing; few Xenos took human corpses wholesale, even for food, and Mechanicus servants and magos were even less likely to be eaten with all the augmentations in their forms. Stripping the technology from the AdMech would make sense for some Xenos, but why remove the whole body if all that was required was their tech or meat and bone? 

 

"Are there any cogitators intact?"

 

Perhaps the Techmarine would be able to find some record of what had occurred.

Edited July 26 by Lord_Ikka

[Trokair]

Alda

 

With the Command chamber presumably secured, going on the Tactical’s comment, Alda slipped in and keeping low, just in case, begun to search amongst the cogitator stations for one that was undamaged, or at least less damaged.

Spoiler

Search Test

Per: 48 + 10(Search +10)=58

D100: 38, Pass, 2 DoS

 

In the second tier, three stations in, she found one that, while dusty, was neither las-scorched nor had any other obvious battle damage, certainly no gouges or deformation in the cogitator or the workstation.  

 

+Over here Drake, this one might be intact.+

 

Even as she whispered into the squad comms she begun to examine the cogitator more closely.

 

Spoiler

Tech-Use Test to try and get it to work

Int: 48 + 10(Tech-Use +10)=58

D100: 57, Pass, just

 

[Mazer Rackham]

Azadth:

 

The doorways were pocked and scored, chips of rockrete plucked out by an idling finger peeling off jarrowbark. The Mechanicum serfs wouldn't be slouches, would have fought from prepared positions - that was thing about the Imperium - almost every organisation was familiar with war.

 

Doorways. He'd seen more men die in doorways and on staircases than almost anywhere else. Indeed, Azadth had used the 'fatal funnel' many times.

 

He examined the building elevations he could see, saw the team enter the roundel atop the command centre, a satin sheen of dirty light from a magnetocoil bell-muzzle revealed Moridyn wasn't taking any chances and had the big guns ready. Azadth looked away, leaving them to it, once more playing the part of patient sentinel.

 

The sands masked a lot of what happened, ever the silent witness and conspirator. Perhaps there were skeletons picked clean, or blasted rags under the grains. He imagined an invisible foe, gunning down serfs and thralls as they fled for their lives, spilling from the buildings, or rushing into them for shelter. If he'd been here then, he could have tracked, traced, but the yawning maw in the mountainside precluded any need. There was a dragon in the earth, atop his bloodstained, gilded hoard.

 

The wind took over it's eerie vigil across this graveyard.

 

Azadth continues to watch for signs of movement now the dust has 'settled'.

Spoiler

PER: 70

D100: 35, Pass, 3 DoS.

 

[Lysimachus]

Alda: The cogitator awakens with a feeble, slurring twitter of beeps. The menu screen is dim, a clear sign of extremely limited power, but it is functional and ready to use. How long it can remain so without a more effective energy source is unknown…

 

OOC: That allows for Alda's just successful roll, and gives an opportunity if Zidemi also wants to assist in any way?

 

Azadth: Though of course the canyon floor is not perfectly flat, the shelter provided by the sheer sides means that the ground is more rocky in nature with a thin layer of sand and pebble on top, making it difficult to conceal anything beneath the surface. You cannot see any lumps or bumps in the sand of an appropriate size or shape that would suggest they are the outlines of corpses. If any bodies fell outside the buildings, then they have been removed. Or destroyed.

 

[Mike Zulu]

Zidemi:

 

"Over here Drake, this one might be intact," Ulfurbur relayed softly over vox. As Zidemi peered across the chamber, he saw the Agent operating a functional cogitator. Zidemi had thus far been unsuccesful, only find the husks of dead unit that reeked of burnt copper and silicon wafer.

 

The poor display output indicated the machine spirit was fading fast. A quick intervention was necessary, or they would lose it and any valuable data it contained.

 

“The spirit is famished," conjectured Zidemi as he approached, readying his electo-graft. "A voltaic supplement should improve it's output."

Zidemi will Assist Ulfurbur with her Tech-Use Test.

 

Spoiler

I believe Assistance reduces the difficulty by one tier (+10 to Test) and gives +1 DoS...