Dark and Heretical
The continuance of Zarkov's adventures.
++Guardsman Zarkov Barbossa++
++Report of Action, Calixis Sector, Percipre++
++The Glorious Imperium of Man++
++Thought of the Day: Victory Needs No Explanation, Defeat Allows None++
++Classification Scarlet Epsilon++
M41.350.226
++Recording has initiated...sounds of breathing++
Well, this is a frakked up affair. I'm not sure how this worked out, or how this is going to work out, but we're shipboard and bound for Scintilla again.
I suppose I should start from where I left off.
After the battle on the walls of the shrine, only 12 Templars remained effective, and only 6 of the Tannhauser guardsmen. And one of them with a pretty aching gut. Of our team, Venus was down, though alive. Sila began tending the wounded, and the Templars set up a small area for medicae care.
Xanthis and I spoke with the Abbot for some time, attempting to convince him to remove the relics with us. He refused to yield, determined to make a last stand against the Orcs with his 12 men. Yes, the Emperor protects, but he doesn't often protect the stupid.
With things looking fairly serious, we acolytes had a quick meeting and cast about for a plan. Without Venus to support us, the task would be so much more difficult. Xanthis and Sila went to the Abbot to try to get him to hand internal security to us, which we hoped would give us greater freedom of movement. They were successful in this endeavour.
We waited for night to fall, and Atellus went out into the hallways to scout about and see who was guarding the Abbot's chambers. With his report of only an Aspirant, we decided to try one last time to reason with the Abbot, but with the fall back position of taking the vault key from him by force. If he was not going to respect our writ and mission, we would have to perform our duty the hard way. I shared my thoughts with the team, and a go-word in case violence was needed.
The young aspirant in the hallway nearly got himself killed drawing a laspistol on us...I tried to send him on his way telling him if he saw anything big and green to shoot it. He insisted on announcing us to the Abbot. We all filed into his office, spreading ourselves around his desk. I was less than thrilled to note his bolt pistol on his desk in front of him, and his power maul in his hands as he sat at his desk, blessing it with sacred oils. The mace, not the desk.
We made our last shot at reason. The Abbot was intransigent, and we had to resort to violence. It rankled to know a holy man was about to get hurt, but our mission was paramount. I slid the code word into the conversation, and was rewarded by watching the entire team start trying to knock him out. He whipped his mace to the ready, the power field activating. He shouted "Betrayers!" and Ignace used his augmetics to mimic his voice and finish his statement "In the courtyard!" We heard Joseph's feet shuffling along outside, running for the courtyard.
That power maul was dangerous, and he barely missed me with a swing. I went over the desk and tried to disarm him, but he was too quick for me. The head of the mace brushed my bionic arm, and it went numb and dead, frozen in mid-grasp. I did manage to keep him distracted enough for the others to knock him out, though, and I think Xanthis grabbed the key off of him, giving it to Ignace.
Roth made a beeline for the Abbot's armor, and I stopped him. We were not here to loot, but to perform a duty. We would not abscond with the Abbot's posessions, potent though they surely were. Ignace worked on my arm for a few minutes, getting it locked into a more balanced position. I was not looking forward to carrying on one handed.
Using his mimicry over the vox, Ignace ordered all the Templars to gather in the courtyard and await orders regarding a betrayer among the temple. He laid it on a little thick, but it worked, so I won't bitch. I ordered the Tannhausers to the Chimera, knowing we'd be leaving in a very, very big rush. Then we made our way to the secret entrance to the catacombs that Xanthis had found, closing the door behind us.
Ignace had a bit of trouble with the control key, but finally it yielded to his cogboy rituals, and we laid eyes again on the Fia Defensor and the banner of St Drusus. Ignace wrapped them up in his robes, an actual smile on his face as we made ready to leave. We stopped by our cells to grab Venus, Aspirant Marshall, and our belongings, and then started for the Chimera.
The Emperor may protect, but he also has a sense of humor. The Templars reported orks approaching, and we hightailed it to the APC as Ignace began to recite the Abbot's prayer from the battlements, using his vox mimicing again to great effect. I knew this was about to get dicey.
I was thrilled to see the Tannhausers had fired up the Chimera, hatch opened for us. We boarded and got a sitrep, carrying out a subterfuge that we were removing the betrayer from the temple. There were a ton of orks outside, and so we had the devil's choice. To stay or go? It really wasn't much of a choice at all...our mission required the relics to be brought back, so we gunned it. Ignace did use the Abbot's voice to move personnel to cover the hole we left in the defenses, though. We left with the hammer down, firing the multilaser into the orks as we blasted past them.
Only an hour out, Ignace let us know that the Chimera's machine spirit was angered, and that he needed to check on the engine. We started looking for a defensible position to go hull down and make repairs, and we found it. A few hours later, and we got ready to saddle up even though repairs weren't quite 100%. Unfortunately, some orks decided this was a great time to attack us. From all sides. With 2 nobz leading them. With snazzguns. Drek.
Sila gets the credit for the save, showing me a primer she'd found in the Chimera of disposition of forces on Percipre, and daycodes and challenges. And there, right in front of me, was the news that only 50 kilometers from us was an artillery unit. So we called in a fire mission under Black Flag condition. Oh, this would be fun.
I could hear tons of fire happening outside, and I looked back in time to see one of the Tannhauser boys get cored by a snazzgun. I heard a few clangs above, where Xanthis was at the heavy stubber, and knew things were going ploin shaped very quickly. I had the driver start up the engine, knowing that hell was only moments away and likely already airborne. The Vostroyan 90th, the artillery boys, field Earthshakers. ++sounds of a giggle++
I yelled for everyone to board up, and the team jumped on quickly, absent a few Tannhausers. Xanthis and Atellus were up top, and suddenly Xanthis called out "meltabomb"...and Roth Khan dropped the rear hatch and bailed. The earth shook as the shells hit, and all but 2 of the orks were reduced to stains in craters.
The next few moments went by in a blur...Atellus had took a small piece of shrap, and I grabbed Venus and dismounted, knowing the meltabomb above was going to have to go off soon. Ignace managed to get it tossed off the front, but not far enough. That cost us some burnt eyebrows, some pulped Tannhausers, and a mangeld front end of the Chimera. We quickly finished off the last 2 orks, and I grabbed the vox and tried to arrange a Valkyrie for evac. 12 hours. Frak.
Ignace grabbed Xanthis and started working on the Chimera, soothing its tortured machine spirit. The cogboy does amazing work...he had us ready to roll in two and a half hours, and we headed out with a purpose. I kept in contact with the Vostroyans, making sure they and the Valk both had our position, and an updated fire plot every few minutes. I set up a speed code to call for fire, which turned out to be a good habit left from my merc days.
At the 4 hour mark, we noticed some depressions in the road, and Ignace brought us to a halt. They were mines. The Valkyrie showed up on station, just as we were attacked again by orks. With lobbas. I've had worse days, but I can't remember when. We all started shooting out the fire slits, rockets from the lobbas flying wide and bouncing off the hull. Sila called the code into the vox, and the Vostroyans responded quickly. The firefight couldn't have lasted long as I grabbed Ignace's hotshots to try to kill some orks. I didn't, but the incoming artillery certainly did the job. We boarded the Valkyrie as quickly as we could, carrying Venus and the relics. I began to relax a bit, catching the first sleep I'd had in over 36 hours.
We arrived at the spaceport to the sounds of thunder. I looked for the storm, and realized the lightning was massive...and perfectly straight...and then my exhausted brain realized I was seeing a lance strike from orbit, near the shrine of St Drusus. I was filled with a desire to get the hell off this dustball. A commisar was detailed to us, and we took the opportunity to rest and wash up and replenish our stocks as we awaited transport offworld. We grabbed a Harrdig box to hold the relics and keep them out of sight, and some locks for it. I asked the Commisar about our travel. He replied that we would be joining a ship passing through on its way to Scintilla, and my heart sank. I knew what was coming. It was like a bad opera, and I had to hear the next verse.
It wasn't long before a gold-burnished Aquila lander descended, and I didn't have to look to know who would be on it. Surely I was not surprised to see the Boy Saint. I was, however, surprised to see Inquisitor Mikelos next to him. My jaw still hurts from dropping open that fast.
Well, now we're on board, and we had a chance to see the Saint speak...he seems sincere, but who knows what the truth is. Mikelos has congratulated us on a mission accomplished, though he made no mention of our methods. And I'm sure I have no desire to see the Abbot anytime soon. But now we get to ride along with the Saint, and hide the relics, and hope. And I get to hope there's a cogboy on board who can see to this damn deadweight hooked to my shoulder.
Jonas, it's a hell of a job you've got us on this time. Oh, and you owe the Vostroyan 90th a case of half decent amasec.
++transmission ends++
++Guardsman Zarkov Barbossa++
++Report of Action, Calixis Sector, Percipre++
++The Glorious Imperium of Man++
++Thought of the Day: Victory Needs No Explanation, Defeat Allows None++
++Classification Scarlet Epsilon++
M41.350.226
++Recording has initiated...sounds of breathing++
Well, this is a frakked up affair. I'm not sure how this worked out, or how this is going to work out, but we're shipboard and bound for Scintilla again.
I suppose I should start from where I left off.
After the battle on the walls of the shrine, only 12 Templars remained effective, and only 6 of the Tannhauser guardsmen. And one of them with a pretty aching gut. Of our team, Venus was down, though alive. Sila began tending the wounded, and the Templars set up a small area for medicae care.
Xanthis and I spoke with the Abbot for some time, attempting to convince him to remove the relics with us. He refused to yield, determined to make a last stand against the Orcs with his 12 men. Yes, the Emperor protects, but he doesn't often protect the stupid.
With things looking fairly serious, we acolytes had a quick meeting and cast about for a plan. Without Venus to support us, the task would be so much more difficult. Xanthis and Sila went to the Abbot to try to get him to hand internal security to us, which we hoped would give us greater freedom of movement. They were successful in this endeavour.
We waited for night to fall, and Atellus went out into the hallways to scout about and see who was guarding the Abbot's chambers. With his report of only an Aspirant, we decided to try one last time to reason with the Abbot, but with the fall back position of taking the vault key from him by force. If he was not going to respect our writ and mission, we would have to perform our duty the hard way. I shared my thoughts with the team, and a go-word in case violence was needed.
The young aspirant in the hallway nearly got himself killed drawing a laspistol on us...I tried to send him on his way telling him if he saw anything big and green to shoot it. He insisted on announcing us to the Abbot. We all filed into his office, spreading ourselves around his desk. I was less than thrilled to note his bolt pistol on his desk in front of him, and his power maul in his hands as he sat at his desk, blessing it with sacred oils. The mace, not the desk.
We made our last shot at reason. The Abbot was intransigent, and we had to resort to violence. It rankled to know a holy man was about to get hurt, but our mission was paramount. I slid the code word into the conversation, and was rewarded by watching the entire team start trying to knock him out. He whipped his mace to the ready, the power field activating. He shouted "Betrayers!" and Ignace used his augmetics to mimic his voice and finish his statement "In the courtyard!" We heard Joseph's feet shuffling along outside, running for the courtyard.
That power maul was dangerous, and he barely missed me with a swing. I went over the desk and tried to disarm him, but he was too quick for me. The head of the mace brushed my bionic arm, and it went numb and dead, frozen in mid-grasp. I did manage to keep him distracted enough for the others to knock him out, though, and I think Xanthis grabbed the key off of him, giving it to Ignace.
Roth made a beeline for the Abbot's armor, and I stopped him. We were not here to loot, but to perform a duty. We would not abscond with the Abbot's posessions, potent though they surely were. Ignace worked on my arm for a few minutes, getting it locked into a more balanced position. I was not looking forward to carrying on one handed.
Using his mimicry over the vox, Ignace ordered all the Templars to gather in the courtyard and await orders regarding a betrayer among the temple. He laid it on a little thick, but it worked, so I won't bitch. I ordered the Tannhausers to the Chimera, knowing we'd be leaving in a very, very big rush. Then we made our way to the secret entrance to the catacombs that Xanthis had found, closing the door behind us.
Ignace had a bit of trouble with the control key, but finally it yielded to his cogboy rituals, and we laid eyes again on the Fia Defensor and the banner of St Drusus. Ignace wrapped them up in his robes, an actual smile on his face as we made ready to leave. We stopped by our cells to grab Venus, Aspirant Marshall, and our belongings, and then started for the Chimera.
The Emperor may protect, but he also has a sense of humor. The Templars reported orks approaching, and we hightailed it to the APC as Ignace began to recite the Abbot's prayer from the battlements, using his vox mimicing again to great effect. I knew this was about to get dicey.
I was thrilled to see the Tannhausers had fired up the Chimera, hatch opened for us. We boarded and got a sitrep, carrying out a subterfuge that we were removing the betrayer from the temple. There were a ton of orks outside, and so we had the devil's choice. To stay or go? It really wasn't much of a choice at all...our mission required the relics to be brought back, so we gunned it. Ignace did use the Abbot's voice to move personnel to cover the hole we left in the defenses, though. We left with the hammer down, firing the multilaser into the orks as we blasted past them.
Only an hour out, Ignace let us know that the Chimera's machine spirit was angered, and that he needed to check on the engine. We started looking for a defensible position to go hull down and make repairs, and we found it. A few hours later, and we got ready to saddle up even though repairs weren't quite 100%. Unfortunately, some orks decided this was a great time to attack us. From all sides. With 2 nobz leading them. With snazzguns. Drek.
Sila gets the credit for the save, showing me a primer she'd found in the Chimera of disposition of forces on Percipre, and daycodes and challenges. And there, right in front of me, was the news that only 50 kilometers from us was an artillery unit. So we called in a fire mission under Black Flag condition. Oh, this would be fun.
I could hear tons of fire happening outside, and I looked back in time to see one of the Tannhauser boys get cored by a snazzgun. I heard a few clangs above, where Xanthis was at the heavy stubber, and knew things were going ploin shaped very quickly. I had the driver start up the engine, knowing that hell was only moments away and likely already airborne. The Vostroyan 90th, the artillery boys, field Earthshakers. ++sounds of a giggle++
I yelled for everyone to board up, and the team jumped on quickly, absent a few Tannhausers. Xanthis and Atellus were up top, and suddenly Xanthis called out "meltabomb"...and Roth Khan dropped the rear hatch and bailed. The earth shook as the shells hit, and all but 2 of the orks were reduced to stains in craters.
The next few moments went by in a blur...Atellus had took a small piece of shrap, and I grabbed Venus and dismounted, knowing the meltabomb above was going to have to go off soon. Ignace managed to get it tossed off the front, but not far enough. That cost us some burnt eyebrows, some pulped Tannhausers, and a mangeld front end of the Chimera. We quickly finished off the last 2 orks, and I grabbed the vox and tried to arrange a Valkyrie for evac. 12 hours. Frak.
Ignace grabbed Xanthis and started working on the Chimera, soothing its tortured machine spirit. The cogboy does amazing work...he had us ready to roll in two and a half hours, and we headed out with a purpose. I kept in contact with the Vostroyans, making sure they and the Valk both had our position, and an updated fire plot every few minutes. I set up a speed code to call for fire, which turned out to be a good habit left from my merc days.
At the 4 hour mark, we noticed some depressions in the road, and Ignace brought us to a halt. They were mines. The Valkyrie showed up on station, just as we were attacked again by orks. With lobbas. I've had worse days, but I can't remember when. We all started shooting out the fire slits, rockets from the lobbas flying wide and bouncing off the hull. Sila called the code into the vox, and the Vostroyans responded quickly. The firefight couldn't have lasted long as I grabbed Ignace's hotshots to try to kill some orks. I didn't, but the incoming artillery certainly did the job. We boarded the Valkyrie as quickly as we could, carrying Venus and the relics. I began to relax a bit, catching the first sleep I'd had in over 36 hours.
We arrived at the spaceport to the sounds of thunder. I looked for the storm, and realized the lightning was massive...and perfectly straight...and then my exhausted brain realized I was seeing a lance strike from orbit, near the shrine of St Drusus. I was filled with a desire to get the hell off this dustball. A commisar was detailed to us, and we took the opportunity to rest and wash up and replenish our stocks as we awaited transport offworld. We grabbed a Harrdig box to hold the relics and keep them out of sight, and some locks for it. I asked the Commisar about our travel. He replied that we would be joining a ship passing through on its way to Scintilla, and my heart sank. I knew what was coming. It was like a bad opera, and I had to hear the next verse.
It wasn't long before a gold-burnished Aquila lander descended, and I didn't have to look to know who would be on it. Surely I was not surprised to see the Boy Saint. I was, however, surprised to see Inquisitor Mikelos next to him. My jaw still hurts from dropping open that fast.
Well, now we're on board, and we had a chance to see the Saint speak...he seems sincere, but who knows what the truth is. Mikelos has congratulated us on a mission accomplished, though he made no mention of our methods. And I'm sure I have no desire to see the Abbot anytime soon. But now we get to ride along with the Saint, and hide the relics, and hope. And I get to hope there's a cogboy on board who can see to this damn deadweight hooked to my shoulder.
Jonas, it's a hell of a job you've got us on this time. Oh, and you owe the Vostroyan 90th a case of half decent amasec.
++transmission ends++