[BC] The Blackest Heart (Part II) (IC)

[FabiusV4lcoran]

Atesh Sapik

 

Atesh glanced around the corpses looking again for a weapon, discarding the dropped weapons left by the cultists.  Atesh must have been distracted as he wandered back to Mukta and the Astartes empty-handed.

 

Spoiler

Awareness

Per43 +  (Challenging) = 43

Roll:  74

 

[Iron Father Ferrum]

Obadiah

 

On the way to the door, Obadiah took a look at the bodies -- what was left of them after the possessed prisoners were finished -- more out of curiosity than anything else.  He nudged a few corpses with the toe, wondering if he could find some grenades.  His new companion could probably do with some intact armor and a firearm or two, as well.

 

Spoiler

Awareness Test

 

Per 42 + 10 (Enhanced Senses - Sight) + 10 (Autosenses) = 62

Roll: 79.  Fail.  Sorry.

 

Unfortunately, what few bits of gear that was leftover looked inoperable.

 

[Lysimachus]

There is little that has not been damaged by either the talons of the possessed or by exploding frag grenades, so you move forwards into the storage area. It is filled, as you might expect, with row after row of stacked munitorum containers awaiting transport to join others like them in far larger centralised cargo facilities in orbit, and from there to manufacturing worlds across the Subsector.

 

The vast store is otherwise empty, except for the corpses of a few Servitors and Adepts that failed to flee quickly enough to avoid the daemon-kin. Moving on, you come to several sets of massive blast doors that lead to the open air and the deserts and night skies of Penitence.

 

On a wide landing field, you can see a half dozen vehicles. The closer ones are obviously Mechanicus transports - huge, ugly bulk carriers painted dark red. The other shuttles, in another part of the landing field beyond yet another chain link fence, are smaller and only slightly less blocky, but the proportion of engine size to total mass is sufficiently increased so that you can be sure that they are both faster and more manoeuvrable.

 

At the far end of the field, there is a tall tower at one of the corners. It has wrap-around armaglas windows at the highest levels and atop the structure are all manner of augur devices as well as several heavy missile launcher pods. The plasteel door at the base has been torn from its hinges, and even from your current distance you can hear from within screams and the whine-crack of lasfire. It seems that the entities within the prisoners are, for now, still enjoying their freedom and you have at least a few more moments of distraction.

 

You will need to choose a shuttle to steal. There are pros and cons to either option:

 

One of the Mechanicus Landers:
Much closer (and no fence to get through to reach it)
Superstructure is bigger, so probably better able to take a few hits on the way out
Mukta might be more familiar with the ‘civilian’ controls
It also might have raw materials aboard that could equate to extra Components to bring back when you meet up with the rest of the Corsair PCs (That's with proper GM permission from Mazer, though)

 

A Warder Shuttle:
Faster
More manoeuvrable
Smaller target
Probably armed (and likely has personal weapons/armour/equipment stored aboard)

 

 

Take your pick!

 

 

Edited February 2 by Lysimachus

[Iron Father Ferrum]

Obadiah

 

The Astartes frowned at the collection of landers, then looked at his mortal companions.  "Can you fly a security transport?  We might need to outrun pursuit."

 

[Lysimachus]

Mukta frowns.

 

“The cockpits on those big boys ain't much different from the orbital tugs I'm used to, your Lordship. That first one looks fully laden and ready for take-off, too. Never flown wunna those fancy guncutters before…”

 

The scrawny pilot twitches slightly, and grins nervously.

 

“...always did wanna give one a try, though…?”

 

 

 

Edited February 2 by Lysimachus
Edited as fully laden for Mazer's excellent Components roll!

[FabiusV4lcoran]

Atesh Sapik

 

Sapik looked to the Astartes.  "Lord, today is a day of dreams for many of us.  Surely we'd be better off letting him indulge his dreams on the fancy one.  Speed also seems to be a pretty serious virtue in our case."

[Lysimachus]

Your choice is made. Speed and grace over structural solidity. Armaments now over a boon to carry back to the Corsairs.

 

But you must get there first. The Security shuttles are across the landing field and behind another fence, all overlooked by the control tower.

 

How will you get there?

 

Ok, some options:

You could just run for it. You'd likely get spotted, but the warders in the tower are busy fending off the possessed so they might not be able to do as much about it as they would want.

 

Or you could go sneaky, avoiding their notice entirely. Of course, the flipside of this is that it takes longer - meaning that although the warders might not see you going to the shuttle, by the time you are trying to take off they may well be unengaged and free to try to shoot you down…

 

Or another plan?

 

[FabiusV4lcoran]

OOC: I personally like option 1 because it feels like it'd bring more glory to the Gods, but I defer to my combatty friend.  I'm happy to keep trying for tenta-------------practice my magical abilities.

[Iron Father Ferrum]

Obadiah

 

"I agree -- speed is key.  Break for the fence.  I'll cover you from here, and follow once I see that you are in the aircraft."

 

The bolter comes up, and he locks in on the tower through the scope.  He can see the mutated fools clawing at the wardens, and scans across the windows, looking for someone paying too much attention to the landing field.  If he sees one. . . well.  That's what the trigger is for.

[Lysimachus]

OOC: Ok, making a run for it? Cool. I will roll some Awareness tests for the warders (starting with fairly high negative mods due to them being under attack, but they will get easier as we go!) and we will see how far you get before you are spotted…

 

 

Awareness rolls: …a bit rubbish. Takes 5 rolls before getting a success!

 

 

Ok, that should give you just enough time to get to the shuttle. Feel free to describe crossing the field and cutting (or even Doombolt-melting?) through the fence (Just narrative, no rolls needed). As you reach the shuttle and are boarding it, if you wish you can include some heavy stubber shots from the tower that hit the ground around you or bounce off the shuttle armour, but don't do any damage to you (just so you know at that point they have finally spotted you).

 

 

 

Edited February 3 by Lysimachus

[FabiusV4lcoran]

Atesh Sapik

 

As soon as the Astartes assumed their ready position, Atesh smacked Mukta on the shoulder and took off.  

 

Strangely enough, imprisonment in an Imperial penal colony did not help his stamina and his first few stumbles were awkward before he caught his breath and forced his way across the field.  As he chanced a look back to check on Mukta, he ran straight into the fence.

 

He looked around forcing himself to ignore embarrassment before focusing his shame into his hands and using it to bore a hole through the fence.  Looking back to make sure Mukta was close behind, Atesh finished the run up to the shuttle.  He just made the gang ramp as the first heavy bolts crashed into the ground inches behind him.

Edited February 3 by FabiusV4lcoran

[Iron Father Ferrum]

Obadiah

 

The Astartes watched the mortals. . . run. . . across the field, and shook his head ruefully as Atesh apparently forgot he can't run through fences.

 

When a few desultory stubber rounds began to spatter against the rockcrete around the fugitives, he debated taking a shot or two at the shooting wardens but it looked like the possessed had that matter relatively well in hand.  With Atesh & Mukta safely on board, he began a jog across the field.  He easily ripped his way through the fence, ignored the ever-decreasing rain of stub rounds, and ducked under the threshold of the hatch to climb aboard.

 

The interior of the craft was clearly not made for someone of his -- and his armor's -- bulk, but he did his best to brace himself.  "All right, Mukta," he commanded through the helm's voxmitter.  "Get us out of here."

[Lysimachus]

“Yes, Lord.”

 

Mukta bobs a nervy bow, then hurries along a narrow corridor and up a short flight of steps into the cockpit, set dorsally just back from the blunt nose of the craft. He stops, looking in awe around the small space, taking in the multitude of lights, switches, buttons and monitors.

 

There are three flight seats, two at the front with steering columns and a third set back on the left and surrounded by monitors. Mukta twitches, almost thoughtfully, then takes the front right chair. The little man, pitiful and weak before, seems more eager, more confident. He points to the seat beside him and addresses Atesh.

 

“Co-pilot.”

 

Then he points at the rear seat and ruefully looks Obadiah up and down.

 

“Systems and weapons control… you might need to rip the chair out, your Lordship?”

 

He turns, examining screens, flicking switches on and off, and tapping lights with a curious expression. He presses a button and the hatch behind you begins to close. Another, and you suddenly hear the sound of the vessel's powerful engines beginning to cycle up to full power.

 

From your viewpoint looking out of the cockpit windows, you can see the control tower looming ahead of you. A patter against the armaglas tells you that the warders are still firing their heavy stubbers, but this is of little concern against a solidly armoured combat lander. However, a much greater issue is the fact that you can see that the weapons pods atop the roof are coming to life. Obadiah might recognise elements of their design, broadly similar to the Hyperios missile launcher.

 

 

Edited February 4 by Lysimachus

[Iron Father Ferrum]

Obadiah

 

Obadiah's face took on an expression that was an odd mix of disdain and exasperation.  They really don't want us getting away, he thought to himself.

 

"Open the hatch again," he ordered Mukta.  "I need to do something about that missile pod."

 

He muscled his through the interior back to the hatch, Fate's Eye locked and loaded.  As the ramp lowered again, he studied the almost-Hyperios pod, looking for some kind of soft target he could knock out with bolt rounds: optics, transmitters, power cables. . . anything.  Such systems were usually cogitator-controlled, so it very well could engage them even if the possessed mob had already butchered every warden in the tower.

 

Spoiler

Awareness Test

 

Per 42 + 10 (Heightened Senses) + 10 (Autosenses) = 62

Roll: 31.  Pass, 4x DoS.

 

[Lysimachus]

Mukta isn't waiting. The shuttle dusts off, rising on powerful anti-grav VTOL plates, but yawing and pitching back and forth wildly as he attempts to compensate for the unfamiliar controls. Gradually it stabilises, lifting to a point where Obadiah can look down from the open hatch at the Hyperios system. You identify the weakest point - thick armour covers the two halves of the launcher, but in the middle are the ocular arrays that select the targets for the missiles.

 

The launcher suddenly fires, sending one and then another anti-aircraft device rocketing away from Dante's Barrow. They hurtle off, but you can see that their flight path begins a wide curve. Servo-skull guided hunters. A warning alarm blares at the shuttle's weapons console. Target lock on your craft.

 

Ok, you're almost free and clear! Last few rolls of the dice:

 

@FabiusV4lcoran

Piloting (you can roll this as Atesh assists Mukta):

Mukta's Pilot tests:
Ag35 +10(Pilot+10) +25(Lander Manoeuvrability) = target 70.
You'll get 1 roll per ‘Round’ (very loose Structured Time). Once you reach 4DoS (cumulative), that will be sufficient to escape from the prison's airspace. Try not to get too many DoF though (again, cumulative) That would be… bad.

 

 

@Iron Father Ferrum

You can shoot the ‘squishy bits’ of the Hyperios launcher with your bolter. You'll get the benefits of Short Range and Higher Ground, but it will also require a Called Shot to Hit the bits you can actually damage, so all these cancel each other out.

 

Once that is done, if you want you to go back to the cockpit, you can also make 2 rolls per ‘Round’ for attacks with the shuttle's weapon systems (2nd Round onwards, 1st Round will be your bolter shot) These can be either offensive (shooting at the tower itself) or defensive (shooting down the 2 missiles that have already been fired at you).

 

Missiles are currently between 300-150m away. You should have at least 2 Rounds before the first one hits. A hit on a missile will be sufficient to bring it down, so no need to roll Dam, but they are a Difficult target (-10 to Hit) due to their speed and narrow profile.

 

Tower has AV16 (Rockcrete) and ?? Structural Integrity Points, and is a Massive (+30) target.

 

 

Arbites Combat Lander:

 

Cruising Speed: 1,750kph
Tactical Speed: 25m
AV: 25
Structural Integrity: 30
Manoeuvrability: 25
Size: Enormous
Carrying Capacity: 20 Mortals or 10 Astartes
Weapons:
2 x Multilaser Turrets - 1 ventral chin mounted, 1 rear dorsal mounted (150m -|-|5 2d10+10 E Pen2 Clip100 Reliable)
1 Missile System (consisting of 1 Launcher Pod under each wing) firing a choice of:
Frag (300m S|-|- 2d10+2 X Pen2 Clip10* Blast(5) Devastating(1)
or Krak (300m S|-|- 3d10+8 X Pen8 Clip10* Concussive(3) Proven(2)
*5 in each Pod.
(Essentially it's a poor man's Stormraven, worse in pretty much every respect!)

 

 

 

Edited February 5 by Lysimachus

[Iron Father Ferrum]

Obadiah

 

"Incoming!" he called out in case Mukta didn't see the missile launch.  He sighted in on the ocular arrays, placed the crosshairs of his sight immediately on target, and gently squeezed the trigger.

 

Spoiler

Take Aim

 

Autosenses allow Called Shot as a half action, so I'm using the other half action to aim for the +10.

 

 

Called Shot

 

BaS 53 - 20 (Called Shot) + 10 (Half Aim) + 10 (Short Range) + 10 (Higher Ground) = 63

Roll: 57.  Pass, 1x DoS.

Dam: 5+9 = 14, Pen 4.

 

 

He watched the explosive bolt round impact, but simply didn't have time to do a proper battle damage assessment.  He slapped the hatch's toggle and moved back into the cockpit.  He mangled the systems crew seat squeezing in behind the console, but honestly he didn't give a damn; he needed access to the gunner station now.  A quick glance allowed him to familiarize himself with most of the controls, then activated the multilasers.  This was certainly turning into an interesting day.

[Lysimachus]

The bolter hit will be sufficient to render the Hyperios targeting system inoperative. That doesn't mean it can't fire at all, though, just that any missiles that might be fired in future Rounds will have a much harder time hitting you.

 

So,  @FabiusV4lcoran if you roll 2 Piloting tests (for Rounds 1 and 2), then we can come back to @Iron Father Ferrum for his Round 2 shooting attacks.

 

Edited February 5 by Lysimachus

[FabiusV4lcoran]

16 hours ago, Lysimachus said:

 

Piloting (you can roll this as Atesh assists Mukta):

Mukta's Pilot tests:
Ag35 +10(Pilot+10) +25(Lander Manoeuvrability) = target 70.

 

 So,  @FabiusV4lcoran if you roll 2 Piloting tests (for Rounds 1 and 2),

 

 

Atesh had zero flight experience.  "MUKTA!  WHAT DO I DO, BROTHER?!" before he hit a red button out of panic.

 

Spoiler

Roll Round 1: 16; >4 DOS

Roll Round 2 (just in cases): 33

 

Edited February 6 by FabiusV4lcoran

[Lysimachus]

The lander's afterburners roar into life, thrusting it forwards at several g’s. Fortunately Mukta has managed to pitch the vessel angled upwards, so the sudden acceleration drives you skywards, away from Dante's Barrow.

 

Behind and below you, the hunter systems within the Hyperios devices track your movement. The missiles turn to follow.

 

That will do very nicely!

 

So, you are away, heading for the upper atmosphere, but the two missiles the Hyperios got off are still locked onto you and gaining. The first one will hit in R3, and the second in R4. @Iron Father Ferrum do you want to see if you can take them out with your R2 (and potentially R3 if needed) shooting?

 

[Iron Father Ferrum]

Obadiah

 

He braced himself against the sudden acceleration.  It was hard not to smile as they were finally on their way off this cursed rock. . . so long those two bogies were disposed of.  His used as deft a touch as he could as his fingers flew across the gunnery control panel -- the buttons and such were not made for an armored hands of his size -- and engaged the craft's multilasers.  The crosshairs swung across the display towards the incoming missiles and began to spit angry red bolts.

 

 

Placeholder: Just a Ballistic Skill test at -10?  Can I take aim?  Any other modifiers?

[Lysimachus]

Range is standard, Aim isn't really possible as it's just firing a mostly automated system. However, Multilaser only does fully automatic fire, so you do get +20 for a FAB.

Can't think of any other mods that would apply, so it's BaS +10 in total.

 

[Iron Father Ferrum]

Spoiler

Half Action: Full Auto Burst

 

BaS 53 + 20 (FAB) - 10 (Target Movement) = 63

Roll: 50.  Pass, 2x DoS.

 

[Lysimachus]

Behind you, the hail of lasbolts cuts through the upper atmosphere, and first one missile, and then the other, are neatly struck. One explodes midair and the second is sent spinning, tumbling back into the deserts of Penitence.

 

Ahead of you, the stars and freedom.

 

Making it look easy, gentlemen! 

 

The 2 DoS means 2 hits, so we'll assume you can hit both of the active missiles.

 

This means that you have successfully escaped from Dante's Barrow! We can assume that the Lander will carry you out of the atmosphere and far enough out that a Red Corsair vessel travelling towards Brimstone can pick you up. From there you can meet up with the other Player Characters, so I'll now hand the narrative back to our esteemed GM.

 

Rewards:

I assume you are now awarded sufficient XP to bring you in line with the rest of the PCs (Astartes should now be at 2000, Mortals at 2500 - this total includes starting XP + any/all in-game awards). Spend, spend, spend!

 

I'm not sure about Infamy or Corruption? I think Mazer already mentioned a +5 Infamy bonus to bring you level with the other PCs, so if you've already included that, your current total should be in the same ballpark as the rest of us? If you haven't, chuck it on!

 

I'm not sure about Corruption - I suspect you might both be a bit on the low side for this compared to the other PCs, but I'll leave it to Mazer to decide if a ‘balancing’ amount (d5? d10?) is warranted…

 

I should have included more tentacles… 

 

 

[A.T.]

Xerxes:

 

Swift plunder and swifter withdraw by the Tyrant, and Xerxes could not help but think they were merely here to test the patience of the slumbering xenos that Blackheart might measure the cost of truly taking this place and its secrets.

 

But to be left amongst the dregs was opportunity as their service could be bought for trivial cost - repair of armour, modifications to weapons of dubious safety - and while other scavanged only to see their efforts tithed to the Corsairs he set his sights instead on securing a base of operations within the Brimstone.

 

It would take time to prepare a forge of any real value but the construction in-of itself brought him a measure of position and influence as those with the wit to avoid assignment to the mines and watchposts sought a post with greater life expectancy. Still what influence he had amongst the mortals mattered little in dealing with the astartes and it was not time to contest their authority over this place.

 

 

(placeholder)

Edited February 7 by A.T.

[Mazer Rackham]

LOCSIT: Penitence,

FAC: Dante's Barrow

AUTH: =]REDACTED]=

TIME INDEX: 0930 SOL, INCIDENT +4 (Days)

 

++ Incipe...

 

Clad solely in his travelling panoply, he paced purposefully into the charnel house. The stink of decay from the slain – the offal-slick and vacated innards – was only marginally held in abeyance by the silver-root censers placed by his acolytes. His mouth formed a tight line deep in his cowl, not in disgust at the obnoxious stench, but that security failed. Moral Containment should have not.

 

Thankfully, barrier wards were in place and functioning, to make sure nothing from the Veil could pierce the endangered location. There had been quite enough of that already, given the state of the corpses and general environment.

 

His office was not the target of the missive rapidly calling for help – but the Arbites had relayed it to him due to…special interests within the mine. Deck 13 interests, to be specific. He rallied whoever he could, dispatching cyber-mastiffs and patrols, a punitive repression in wake of the uprising. Thankfully, many of the reprobates who had escaped beyond the prison cordon, were either too dim-witted or lazy, spilling out into countryside to predictable bolt-holes, where the Arbites were even now breaking down doors and throwing in stun grenades.

 

Shock and awe, take them alive.

 

They would obey. His word was from the Throne, and the Throne was the Law.

 

His pacing ceased, the subconscious arrested muscles of his body, even as they meshed the gears of his mind. He believed in this – observation, drink in the scene, fill up the box with puzzle pieces until they all began to fit. He let his eyes roam over the trio of Verispex agents who served his Seal. More experienced, trained in the ways of his…Ordo. Subtlety may have been his watchword, but it certainly did not concern the assailant. All witness evidence from the warders, the strange pict recordings and erratic sensor data exloaded from the redundant secure datavault erased the mystery, but the surprise was certainly undimmed.

 

A Space Marine had come to Penitence.

 

The irony of that statement pleased him enough to smirk.

 

The man knelt by one object, produced a stylus and pushed it into the brass-spun casing, holding the offending article up to the light. Fyceline residue leaked from the disturbance of air. Old by several days, yet no malice clung to it. Standard, simple, clean.

With each piece I know you.

 

Pot-hole craters in the walls gave a rough idea of height, size. An impact crater on the ground being scanned for data to extrapolate weight. From the picters and the clues left in the wake of this brute, he would narrow down armour marks. The droplets of rich Astartes blood spattering the deck would provide a gene-sample.

 

All of these things were answers.

 

The only question which stood, the only question worth asking, was ‘why’.

He stood, boots making a soft sound as they scuffed rough floor, careful to avoid disturbing grit and soot. His orders were strict, and the cordon he’d enforced was keeping big, heavy cleats out of his evidence.

 

He approached the Judge in charge of the crime scene. The word mess seemed more apropos, but still. ‘Where have the prisoners been taken?’

 

‘Precinct Seven, sir.’

 

‘Take me there immediately,’ his voice carried the cool, deep power of an ocean current, ‘and I want a roster of everyone at this facility, prisoner and warden, for the past century. The Emperor wills it.’

 

‘As He commands.’ The Judge nodded once; stern face partially hidden by his casque.

 

Why.

 

Why.

 

Why.

 

Why not?

 

....Cessa+

 

Edited February 7 by Mazer Rackham