The Sin of Pride IC

[Tome]

"The ship has taken no injury from the enemy's fire, Captain. All of it's systems remain fully functional", Victris reports to the Captain as he spares a moment to analyse the ship's internal vox traffic, discounting the damage as superficial and keeping repair crews on stand-by, before returning to the task of filtering interference from the Auspex.

He notices the gunners attempting to compile a targeting solution and lends his thoughts to the cogitator's spirit, using his own faith and skills to to compensate for any lack in the crew that might interfere with their communion with the machine.

Spoiler

Show

Aid the Machine Spirit: 109 vs (1d100)[39]

Seven degrees of success again, resulting in another +20 to Detection.

[Starbin]

Gabriel smiled at the results of the weapons crew. Many of his fellow believers (with the Lord Inquisitor probably in that camp) felt that the best results were through fear, intimidation, ruthless efficiency, and a fanatical devotion to the Emperor. Gabriel knew, however, that a smile and word of encouragement was often times worth a hundred lashes, figurative or physical.

"That's it, boys! The Emperor is smiling on us today. Keep up the pressure. Teach them the folly of tangling with an emissary of the Golden Throne!"

Spoiler

Show

Roll in OOC was 13 vs TN 70 ... looks like 5 successes, which nets us another +5 BS and one more action, for whatever the Captain desires!

[DrK]

Even though the last of the fighters were barely functional nearly bingo ammo they still obeyed the iron-voiced Captain and formed up around the 2 starhawk wings as they bored in on the raider that had closed to within a mere 30000km. The short flight gave the fancy looking heavily armed raider little time to mount up a decent flak defence and the well trained starhawk pilots jinked and weaved through the streams of mega bolter fire and anti-void missiles.
Closing in on the raider following attack vectors from Lady Korvin on the bridge the strike was devastating! Melta missiles and plasma bombs bouncing and rattling down torpedoe tubes, through the bridge windows and across the 300m beam of the prow of the ship. The effect was instantaneous pressure seals failing and bulheads exploding as some 3000 souls were consumed by plasma flares in an instant crippling the ship the at a stroke. Worse was to follow sadly, plasma fires melting bulkheads and superheated fumes scorching and burning the torpedo compartment finally ate through the armoured safeties and torched off the stored torpedoes. The explosions were spectacular rippling down the ship as the Starhawk squadron escaped the rippling explosions that rent the vessel down its entire 1500m length....

Spoiler

Show

Wow- straight to -5 hull points. Then the fire touched off the torpedoes and took it to Hulked (1-2 Undamaged, 3-7 damaged, 8-10 destroyed)
Plasma drive (1d10)[4]
Warp drive (1d10)[1]
Geller field (1d10)[7]
Void array (1d10)[6]
Bridge (1d10)[1]
Life support (1d10)[2]
Crew quarter (1d10)[4]
Auger array (1d10)[5]
Torpedo tube (1d10)[5]
Macrobattery (1d10)[3]
Murder servitors (1d10)[7]

Surviving crew is 2%! Thats ~300 out of 15000 left alive!!
Apparently they are all clustered on the bridge, the warp engine and logically in the life support. Bet you're all glad it wasn't a warp engine explosion!
- That was an effective bombing run

On the Sin of Pride

THe ship and crew reposnd to amazing pyrotechnic display. Gabriel's words swelling the men's chests with pride in their ship and pilots and the machine spirits happy and content, lovingly seeking out new targates to anhillate at Victris's instruction.
The gunnery crew, pride oozing from them turn to smile at the Astropath as he amplifies the feelings of pride and joy focusing it into improving their accuracy on the next target.
A single message from the bomber wing reaches the bridge through the static of the vast plasma explosions "Strike 1 returning to base... hungry for more...

Over at the gunnery controls targeting arrays, assisted by the machine spirit began to triangulate the plasma battery onto the Goliath. The 50m long barrel on the dorsal hull swivelling as hundreds of men yanked on chains and pulleys to pull open the breeches and cranes and hoists dragged more plasma shells into the tubes. The targeting array for guns 1-6 turned green, shortly followed by the other 3 banks that made up the battery. Ready to fire Colonel was all the chief gunner needed to say.

Meanwhile by the comm station, a vast bank of switches and vox boxes to various parts of the ship Korvin could see Lt. Coyl speaking into the master auspex."This is the Inquisitorial Cruiser Sin of Pride stand down and ready to be boarded. Any hesitation will be met with lethal force.".

[rb780nm]

Mikael stretches out his senses, feeling for the presence of the psyker he detected earlier.

Spoiler

Show

Psyniscience (1d100)[66]

[DrK]

Colonel Lamar Wolfe

Spoiler

Show

In the interests of keeping things moving and that Phiris hasn't posted in ~ days I'll take his action now

Colonel Wolfe standing impassively behind the gunnery crew watched the targeting aquillas slowly come to bear on the enemy transport vessel. From the viewing port on the bridge he could see the massive turrets slowly swinging round to focus on the Eternal Profit and could imagine the thousands of men sweating as they loaded the shells. A wobble from the ship from the exploding raider momentarily distracted him before he nodded to the chief gunnery officer, "Commence battery fire". The Sin shuddered as several hundred tons of plasma ordinance hurtled through void, crackling shields and explosions on the distant hull giving a satisfying feeling... a feeling that fades as the Eternal Profit comes sailing through the banks of plasma clouds seemingly unscathed...

Spoiler

Show

Fire the Hecuter Plasma battery (1d100)[58] TN 92
damage (1d10+2)[8] (1d10+2)[6] (1d10+2)[6]
Crit if applicable (1d5)[4]

[DrK]

The Eternal Profit, unable to disengage with smoke and flames trailing from her thrusters comes streaking out the nebula into the pink tinged light of the sun. Her 4km long frame studded with defense turrets and crude glyphs and markings that the bridge crew don't recognise. Sensors indicate Jovian missile pods being reloaded and new ranks of anti-ship missiles being prepared for launch but you don't care about that. Of more concern are the tiny black specks of bombers and assault boats streaking towards you and the distant explosions that speak of macrobattery fire. With fighter squadrons dispersed and bombers landing to rearm/refuel you can only hope that the mega-bolter and multi-laser point defence teams are blessed by the Emperor.

Turrets and multilasers cycle through power and rounds filling the sky with tracer but to no avail. The lack of enemy pilot skill does however save them as the enemy bombers fail to hit any vital components with their bombing run just scoring deep hits in the armoured hull. The macrobattery, 22 ton shells slamming into the armoured prow of the [I]Sin/I] likewise does nothing as the void shields deflect the worst of the damage before the armoured beak of the ship ignores the damage on its battle scarred beak.

Assualt boats dodge and weave through the network of tracers and slam into the hull on the low decks, boarding ramp cutting holes into the hull before strike troops pour through. Bitter hand to hand fighting fighting breaks out between Inquisitorial troops and the attackers but its an unmitigated disaster for the enemy. Boarding parties scythed down in carefully concealed ambushes and boarding boats disconnected with melta bombs...

Spoiler

Show

Thrusters are (1d10)[1]

Lock-On Target (1d100)[73] TN 55 FAIL

Macrobattery fire (1d100)[5] TN 50
Damage (1d10+2)[5] (1d10+2)[9] (1d10+2)[12] - ARMOUR/Void Shield MEANS 0 DAMAGE
If 5 degrees success (unlikely) (1d5)[2] (and a (1d10)[3])

Bomber Wing
Defensive turrets (1d100)[45] TN 35
Bombing Run(1d100)[71] TN 60 (Including enemy captain bonus) --> MISS
--> Damage (1d10+3)[12] (1d10+3)[10] (1d10+3)[13] (1d10+3)[12]
--> Crit if applicable (1d5)[2] (and a (1d10)[6])

Assault Boats
Defensive turrets (1d100)[89] TN 35
2 Squadrons of assault boats (1d100)[48] TN 50
If land then Hit & Run (1d100)[90] TN 40+5/launch boat
VS Commander Korvin's Comman (1d100)[3] TN 80 --> ASSAULT PARTY WIPED OUT
--> If succeed crit (1d5)[2] OR (1d5)[1]
--> Actually I might be supposed to use the crew rating? Even so I lose

Summary- Abject failure for the bad guys.

[Intro]

Commander Anarette Korvin

The captain smiles as the enemy fire does little more than further pit the ancient vessel's battle-scarred hull, and the few attackers who had made it aboard were quickly repulsed by the Sin of Pride's better trained armsmen. She nods at that thought, watching the bridge display monitors closely to compare trajectories, then turns to Col. Wolfe.

"Master Wolfe, ready the ship for offensive boarding operations, then swing us alongside them," she orders. "Enginseer, prepare the forward thrusters for sustained full military power, and get ready to seal non-essential passageways once the boarding parties are mustered - I don't intend to expect any of the scum to fight their way onto the Sin, but best to be prepared."

"Lt. Coyl, Master Astropath," she continues, turning to the vox officer and Mikael, "Prepare to jam all vox and astropathic transmissions except for those frequencies assigned to the boarding crews. Confessor Mandalkan, Master Orthesian, continue the forward battery fire until we are too close, then ready yourselves for boarding operations. I will go to invite our honored guests to participate as well."

"Colonel Wolfe, you have the bridge," she finished, rising from the command throne to make her way to the chapel complex currently given over to the use of the Space Marines of the Deathwatch chapter.

Spoiler

Show

Orders:

Confessor: Put Your Backs Into It [Charm]
Crew 1: Lock on Target [Scrutiny]
Crew 2: Jam Transmissions [Tech-Use]
Crew 3: Either of above if failed [Scrutiny/Tech-Use]
Master of Whispers: Fire Plasma Battery [BS]
Astropath Transcendent: Telepathic Jamming

Enginseer: Aid the Machine Spirit (Maneuverability) [Tech-Use]
First Officer: Prepare for Boarding [Pilot (Space Craft)] + 10 Exceptional Leader (w/ Fate reroll as necessary)
Lord-Captain: Boarding Action [Command] (with assorted bonuses for more turrets + more hull integrity, Command Bridge, etc., focused on Population/Morale damage)

So with boarding, anyone who wants to get in on the action can. But for the DM's sake, probably best just to let the DW handle it.

[Tome]

"Acknowledged Captain" Victris voxes his short reply as he disconnects from the cogitators. Some Tech-priests, particularly the higher ranking Magos, are loathe to cease their communion with the machine. Victris is not one of them. His duty is to humanity, to see to the unity of man machine in perfect harmony. A task ill-served by casting aside his own mortal nature. Still, the sheer power is something of a rush, having all that information, all that control at his fingertips, more so than usual when interfaced with so grand and ancient a machine spirit as the Sin of Pride.

He shakes his head, clearing his thoughts as his awareness is once again bound fully into a single body. Then it's into the fray. He moves into the chaos of engine room, optical mechadendrite raised above his head to survey the crowd. Getting to work he relays order to his subordinates, taking control of the carefully planned chaos that is any ship's engine room during combat. He spots another potential accident with the cooling lines, corrects it and tasks a servitor to clean up the spill from earlier. An adept struggles to patch a section of damaged cabling and his Utility Mechadendrite snakes over her shoulder, patching the break in a second. He glances over the readings for the fuel intake and orders the crew to compensate for an irregularity no one else noticed. Above all, he provides a central point of organisation and oversight, his usual stuttering and timidity not present here, in his element.

Spoiler

Show

Aid the Machine Spirit: (89 Base + 10 Utility Mechadendrite) 99 vs (1d100)[5]

EDIT Nice. So that's +25 Manoeuvrability.

[Caimheul]

Master Holt observes the gunnery station on the bridge per the captains orders, assisting in the firing of the forward plasma battery as necessary.

Spoiler

Show

Fire Plasma Battery [BS 34 + 10 Angevin Veteran + 5 Command Bridge + 10 Point Blank + ? Put Your Backs Into It = TN 59 + ?] (1d100)[49]
Damage: (1d10+2)[7] (1d10+2)[3] (1d10+2)[6]
Crit: (1d5)[5] If i messed anything up let me know.

(Yay! I actually helped in a space combat! Someday he will be useful in them.. someday )

[Starbin]

The battle was continuing to favor the Sin of Pride. At this point, the moment called for little more than subtle support. A hand on a shoulder here, a pat on the back there ... Gabriel knew there would be other days that required more fervor by way of loud incitement and the like.

"Leave the Battle of Callavell to Academy lads ... let Morwen VI be the new lesson for those that ride the shadows of the warp and dance with the great unknown. Give those others following the Emperor's light a new legend."

Spoiler

Show

(1d100)[3] TN 70 (Charm 50, +10 (SC), +10 (item))

EDIT: Um, I think that's 6 successes ... 2 extra actions ... guess this is my calling, eh?

[DrK]

The Sin's engines bloomed, vast spears of plasma billowing into the void as it closed on the Eternal Profit. On the bridge Holt took command of the plasma battery, shells streaking through the void punching through the void shields before impacting on the Goliath's armoured frame but without any significant results.

As Gabriel harangued the crew, his exhortations all done to the soundtrack of the soaring Soratias choir even the Command Staff on the armoured bridge could hear the cheers echoing through the miles of corridor as the Confessor's inspirational words filled the crew with a righteous fury.

Down in the hallowed shrine to Mars Victris communed with the ancient and venerable machine spirit of the Sin. It responded to his touch and thought with glee as ancient stabilisers and long unused thrusters fired, shocking Colonel Wolfe as the ship responded more like a void fighter than a cruiser to his touch.

Mikhael swayed gently as the ship heeled dramatically searching out with his mind trying to block the communications but something, an alien presence, a shadow in the warp distracted him. casting out he looked through the Aethyr but nothing, an absence of some kind as if a psychic shadow had engulfed them

The bridge crew looked at the Colonel who was commanding the bridge with apologetic faces. "Apologies Colonel, they are operating on non-standard frequencies we can't block their transmissions and at this range the auger array is struggling to lock on...". Another of the bridge crew shouting "Raid warning, bombers in bound!"

The Colonel shrugged, there was nothing he could do about that, his bombers were re-arming and his fighters were damaged and out of action until Victris and his techpriests had done their jobs. He focused on the ship as the Sin soared through the void. An impact like a thousand fingers on ancient chalk boards as some 40 million tons of metal, glass and plasma scraped together in the void. Both ships lurching as they came to an abrupt halt spinning slowly in the void engines burning. Turrets and anti-ship missiles lanced between the ships in a stream of fire as the Sin's greater number of turrets began to silence the enemy ones.

Boarding collars shot from Sin, long snaky tens of metre long mechandrites of armoured adamantine tipped with burning las cutters that seared through the skin of Goliath injecting hundreds of the Sin's voidsmen led by the Lady Captain herself, power sword and plasma pistol cutting down enemy crewmen as her men dived forward lasguns, boarding shotguns and assault weapons tearing up the troops and leaving hallways filled with blood, smoke and bodies. Inside the Goliath was a horrific maze of double blind corridors, fire and sally ports and other strange contraptions designed to confuse and baffle an invading force- it didn't help them as the well trained crew of the Sin battled and raged through the ship laying waste to the Goliath.

Spoiler

Show

Holt: sadly void shield and armour soak the shooting!
Mikhael: Unlucky
Gabriel: More oration inspire the crew to new heights
Victris: Continuing his love affair with the ship

Col. Wolfe's Piloting check (1d100)[30] TN 79
(Fate pint re-roll if required (1d100)[40] TN 79)

Commander Korvin scored 47 TN105 (after the Hull and turrets were taken into account) - success by 58 (5 degress)

ENEMY ACTIONS
Re-Arm/Relaunch Bombers: (1d100)[44] TN 40 --Fail
--> If launched then anti-ship turrets (1d100)[88] TN 35
--> Attack Run on the Sin (1d100)[72] TN 60
--> (Damage (1d10+3)[12](1d10+3)[13](1d10+3)[9])

Hold Fast- to repel boarders: (1d100)[76] TN 40 -- Fail
Triage to reduce the damage: (1d100)[48] TN 40 -- Fail

Command check to resist the boarding action (1d100)[22] TN 65

[DrK]

A seeming age has passed since the boarding collars had slammed onto the other ship and the crew led by the gallant Commander Korvin had surged aboard. Since then the battle had been fierce and intense. Dead filled the corridors of the vessel, mostly the enemy as the Lady Captain was an excellent battlefield commandant and in many corridors near the hangar bays the crew of the Sin of Pride were finding nothing more than the shattered and blasted remains of the enemy- cut in twain by melee impact or ripped apart from heavy bolter fire.

In desperation the enemy crew began to pull back. Pleas to the bridge going unanswered the enemy enginseers in the plasma decks tossed levers and opened valves as the plasma engines fired in the cold depths of the void...

Spoiler

Show

Enemy pilot check -20 (1d100)[25] TN 25
Enemy command check (1d100)[4] TN 44 (20 less if fail the pilot) check

-I would have had them launch bombers but something happened to the launch bays...

[DrK]

THe enemy ship was devastated inside. Near a thousand dead from the Sin's crew and Emperor knows how many slain by the rampaging Astartes that had forged ahead.

As the enemy calls to the bridge began to go unanswered Commander Korving grew suspicious, she saw the warning lights flickering on the consoles and the faint thrum of engines and plasma banks beginning to overload. "Fall back. Disengage collars. All troops fall back - her vox echoing over the vox boxes and being relayed amidst the troops.

Lady Korvin. Disengage, we are getting warning signs from the enemy reactors. Calls to the Astartes have gone unanswered. Enemy engines appear to be overloading...

As the boarding troops withdraw through the corridors chocked with enemy dead and wounded and devastated technology they can hear the warning signs themselves. Valves and conduits rupturing, plasma vants flaring explosively as the ships starts to veer away on massively overloading thrusters...

Getting back to the bridge on the Sin of Pride Korvin is pleased to hear Commander Wolfes cool orders "Thrusters to full. Void shields to full- all attack craft disperse away from enemy vessel...

His words are drowned in out in a massively bright plasma flash as the enemy ship detonates. Reactors giving birth to a new sun that lasts for a few seconds before the blastwave hits the Sin tossing the millions of tonnes of metal around and creating massive fireworks as the void shields bear the brunt of the force before being overwhelmed- but lasting long enough to spare the ship any damage...

As the blast wave receeded the Commander's cool voice sounds over the sound of the Emperors blessing All stations damage reports. Hold fast for assessment before we continue with our mission.

Spoiler

Show

RT charcters feel free to start RPing.

All RT characters gain 500XP to spend for doing well.

[Starbin]

Gabriel Mandalkan

The Confessor stood proudly, watching as the target blip flickered out of existence on the screen. With two bangs of the haft of his thunder hammer, Gabriel called out to the crews, smiling, "Well done, gents! The enemy has shown his true colors, but the endgame remains the same - challenging the Emperor's sovereignty is suicide, no matter how you slice it, boys! Raise a toast tonight - for those lost, those saved, and for the Emperor's will brought to bear upon the unholy heretics!"

"For the Emperor!" Raising his hammer, Gabriel led the men in cheers, before bowing and exiting the area with a wave.

Moving towards the Commander's chair, he stood out of the way, waiting for the Captain to dismiss him. This was a good fight, but there were things to be done and questions to be answered ...

[DrK]

As the Confessor's words raise a cheer on the bridge, the flight deck, the still smoking plasma battery chambers and the bowels of the engine rooms the doors of the bridge slide open revealing a phlanx of heavily armoured Inquisitorial Storm Troopers and in their midest the wizened and hunched form of Lord Theocles. The hooded inquisitor stares around the bridge his piercing eyes searching for the merest hint of treachery, radicalism or heresy. His thin croaky voice finally speaking out, the words projected across the bridge by the small seraphim floating alongside him with a vox caster.
"Brave souls of the Emperor. I congratulate you. The vile forces of the heretic have once again be destroyed. Glancing around he waves a hand at Commander Korvin. "Lady Commander. I need you in my quarters. Captain Prince Casimir pleas etake command in the Lady Commander's absence."- his cowled and shrivelled hand waving vaguely in the direction of the young Prince-come-privateer that had joined them before they had left the shrine world a few days past...

[bluntpencil]

A grinning man takes his place at the Captain's post, his rod of office in hand.

He wears the uniform of the Battlefleet Koronus, with the slightly tasteless addition of a tricorner hat, which he doffs to those on the bridge.

He chuckles a little, before introducing myself.

"Very well done, ladies and gentlemen. Quite the show you put on there. Reminds me of the Battle of Ravenshaught, it does, what with the fireworks. Good show."

He strokes his neat beard, before lounging back in the Captain's throne.

"Anyways, apparently I've impressed the good Inquisitor enough to lose my commission in the Fleet and get stationed here. Let's find out whether I got this one for good behaviour or bad behaviour, eh?"

He looks around the bridge, and points at whoever is operating the sensors and augurs,

"Right, we'll start by having you see if that bastard you just exploded has anything we can salvage, right? That there ship was once a noble Imperial vessel, and deserves the chance to redeem itself, or at least get a decent burial..."

[Starbin]

Gabriel Mandalkan

Standing to the side, Gabriel nodded in acknowledgement as the Lord Inquisitor's eyes passed over him as they swept the bridge. The accolades were a nice touch, bringing the crew to see the Theocles as a tough, but caring person. Gabriel figured the Inquisitor would jettison everyon here if he thought it would clean the ship of all impurities, but that was just his perspective.

Finding little else to keep him, Gabriel bowed to the Captain-elect and headed towards his chambers. Once there, he voxed his subordinate clerics. "Brothers, please check the records concerning recent eccleisiarchal activities onboard the ship over the past month. I wish to know which of our brothers have been preaching, where they have brought the Emperor's message, if the message has changed during any of these sessions, and if any variations in flock size or composition have been noted.

The Emperor protects."

Putting his gear to the side, Gabriel went through his own records, looking for any inconsistancies or patterns that might indicate a subversion of the faithful.

Spoiler

Show

Trying to address Commander Korvin's request that Gabriel check with the clerics for any information they may have noted that might give us an idea of this infestation of corruption on board.

[Caimheul]

Master Holt Orthesian

The Master of Whispers slips out of the command center and makes his way to his offices, two of his trusted guards falling into step behind him. Upon reaching his offices, his first order of business is to encode a message to all of his agents. "Per standing orders, report any unusual activity immediately, particularly in the section of the ship closes to the boarding collar." After handing the encoded message off to one of his runners for distribution, Master Holt returns to the mystery of the creatures tainting The Sin of Pride's lower decks. He looks over the official reports from the incident and sighs. Their lack of detail and focus on the military aspects of the mission have not proven useful. He presses a few keys on his personal console, contacting his chief lexographer, Adept Lorenzo Bianco. "Mr. Bianco, I want you to interview the Acolyte cell. I trust that your report will be complete in all regards." He closes transmission upon receiving the customary assent. I really must see about having the Inquisitor add him to the Acolyte cell... accurate reports of their missions would be invaluable. Mentally filing that thought away for his next meeting with the Inquisitor, Master Holt reviews the most recent reports from his interrogators hoping that with more information he can finally discover their origin.

Spoiler

Show

Figured I should put something in about getting the new adept added to the cell , let me know if I should change anything or can make any new checks to try to discover that we have a genestealer infestation on the ship...

[DrK]

Master Holt

As the reports come back to you slowly in dribs and drabs they are tallied with the reports from the medicae dissecting strange remains of the parasite that was found inside one of the heretics. As you cross reference it with the scrolls sealed with powerful ritual protective prayers it all leads to one undeniable truth. Genstealers! and on board the Sin of Pride.

Spoiler

Show

I liked the Adept's introduction. And with all the data and a library you can't help but pass the test (essentially all the dat nets you ~ a +40 or so on a test)

Gabriel

The clerics reports are soon returned to the warlike cleric in the large echoing halls of the cathedral. The floor ocassionally soiled by the leaking bio-inorganic fluids of the seraphim that flutter amidst the fluted stone statues and high stained glass viewing vaults. It seems that the spread of corrpution has been slow. A slow drop in attendance to the Emperor's Devotions amidst the torpedo crews; 2 months ago a young and fiery priest dies in a steam vent accident and more recently the young confessors have reported a distrubingly high number of torpedo and gun crews complaining of dark thoughts and terrifying nightmares.

Casimir

The bridge crew you eye with some suspicion before their drilled in obedience kicks in and they return to their duties. THe leads sensor operator bending over the complicated displays as the auger array lashes the 2 wrecks seeking useful pieces...

Spoiler

Show

Scrutiny (1d100)[73] TN 42

"Nothing but wreckage Lord Captain" the young sensorium chief answers smartly. "Minimal life signs. We have vanquishd the heretic captain".

Colonel Wolfe also chimes in respectfully "All flight crews reporting in. 2 squadrons sustained heavy losses and we estimate 6 hours for recovery operations. Helm has plotted a course to Hippocrasion Agglomeration avoiding the worst of the nebula. They estimate 108 hours with full plasma burn."

[Caimheul]

Master Holt Orthesian

Genestealers... The revelation sends chills down the spine of the hunched Master of Whispers. He quickly keys in the code to the Inquisitor's office, knowing that any delay could be fatal. One of the Inquisitor's personal is quick to answer "Please inform the Inquisitor that it is urgent I speak to him in person at his earliest convenience. I have discovered the nature of our stowaways." Master Holt informs the intermediary, hoping to be able to speak with the Inquisitor almost immediately, not even trusting lines his agents have deemed secure with the news. I only hope we aren't too late...

[bluntpencil]

"Minimal lifesigns or zero lifesigns, ensign?"

The Lord Captain strokes his beard as he points at the sensor operator.

"Be specific. If we can take any prisoners, we shall. The good Inquisitor will likely have questions for them."

His eyes stare intensely into the void, this man is damned serious about his job, or so it seems, until he produces a cigar from his longcoat's inside pocket, lighting it with a match, and offering another to the nearest officer.

"Spoils of war, these are, I'll have you know."

One one hand, Casimir Kuchenko appears to be meticulous in getting things done, on the other, well... he's a little off.

[DrK]

The Bridge

The ensign blushes slightly before adding "Minimal Lord Captain. And fading." At the mention of prisoners the Enforcer Captain on the bridge turns and bows respectfully. "Lord Captain. The boarding troops captured a signifigant number of prisoners and one of the Astartes captured the enemy navigator. They are currently being processed inthe brig should you wish to deal with them." The subtle inflection on the word processed suggests that its not an enjoyable experience.

The shadowy chambers of the Master of Whispers

A scant hour after the message has been passed along the door chimes before opening without Holt pressing the access buttons. In a cloud of holy ungents and surrounded by the fluttering cherubium and servo skulls the Inquisitor enters. His bald and pinched face peering myopically at Holt with a nasty expression. "Genstealers Master HOLT! he barks. "How many. And where. How you have these abominations arrived on my ship. I want them purged. I will vent the entire ship into the void if need be rather than suffer these xeno horrors."

He pauses for a second eyeing the Master of Whispers wairing for an answer. "I want an answer Holt. I will meet you and the senior staff in the library in 2 bells and you will present me with a plan to eradicate these creatures. Otherwise the crew will understand that their sacrifice for the greater good will be appreciated by the Emperor and the Holy Ordos."

After listening to his Master of Whispers and then uttering his threat he'll stalk off with his strange menagarie of fluttering and cybernetic creatures.

Spoiler

Show

Obviously the invitation to the war council should include the PCs. Also any of the acolytes or marines that Holt deems suitable can be invited to.

[bluntpencil]

The Captain laughs after the head Enforcer keeps him up to date.

"Fantastic! That's just brilliant! Well done!"

He then smiles at the ensign that updated him on the lifesigns.

"Well then, Ensign, feel free to let those manning the las-batteries to know that there's target practice to be had out there if they want it, aye?"

He then stands up, straightens his coat, and marches around the bridge, allowing his crew to do their thing, watching them, trying to get a feel for them and their vessel.

When he gets the summons to the war council, he turns up promptly. He might be an eccentric individual, but he's still a Battlefleet officer.

[Caimheul]

Master Holt

"I apologize M'lord Inquisitor, it seems my agents will need to be reminded of their duties. According to the reports of your Acolytes, we are dealing with fully grown genestealers in addition to their mutant cultists. All records that we have on these foul xenos indicate that it takes time for the infestation to grow to that level, and it will be difficult to tell how long they have been living in the lower decks. It is likely that the recruiters were not as careful as they should have been during their selection of crewmen on one of the worlds we visited. I shall have a solution for you shortly." The Master of Whispers bows as the Inquisitor leaves, and then launches into a fury of activity. His first order of business is to contact his lieutenants, even as he begins plotting a means of eradicating the infestation. "HOW DID THIS ESCAPE OUR NOTICE?! he bellows at them, when they arrive in his office, each of them cowering in front of the wizened figure. "I want all of our agents examined for signs of mutation, starting with yourselves. Have those that prove to be pure keep their eyes open for signs of mutation among the crew. And you! here he points to the man in charge of the wet work squad. "Once these xenos are dealt with I want you to begin having your assassins regularly sweeping the lower decks. Use it as training, if they cannot survive what lives beneath our feet, then they clearly were not worthy of serving the Inquisitor as an assassin!" He rages. Genestealer nest... hopefully the marines can handle such an infestation... he sets about notifying the senior crew, Acolyte Praetus as his name appears on the majority of the reports from the cell, and additionally asks the Deathwatch to send a representative.

[Starbin]

Gabriel Mandalkan

Sitting at his desk reviewing reports, Gabriel raised his head at the knock on his door. "Enter." The messenger bowed his head in reverence, making the sign of the aquila before speaking.

"L-l-lord Confessor, IhaveanurgentmessageforyoufromtheMasterofWhispers! " Gabriel raised his hand for a moment, his lavender eyes piercing the man with his stare. After a moment, he smiled at the man. "First, I am no lord. Confessor or Brother Mandalkan will suffice. Second, take a deep breath, son, and compose yourself. The message will be clearer and not require repeating."

The messenger breathed deeply, nodding in appreciation, before continuing. "Confessor Mandalkan, Master Holt requests your presence at a war council in one standard hour to discuss the contents of this missive." He handed Gabriel a data slate that was encrypted and locked.

Gabriel reached over to take the slate, typing in a set of codes originally provided by Holt previously and read the contents. Upon finishing, he hit a tab at the bottom, watching the screen go black with a small zap and smell of acrid smoke in the air. Standing, he handed the wiped data slate back to the messenger. "Thank you. You may report back that I shall be in attendance. Go with the Emperor."

Watching the messenger leave, Gabriel considered what he had already found out concerning the decks near the torpedo tubes. With a sigh, he called in one of his clerics. "Please set up a standard review of participation in services and any indications of similar patterns occurring elsewhere on the ship. These dreams are also disturbing, and must be monitored as well. Alert me immediately if you detect additional patterns of discontent or uneasiness by way of dreams or visions. I shall discuss some possibilities with the Master of Whispers in an hour."

Gathering the information his staff had collected, Gabriel put on his robes and headed towards the meeting location. While he was concerned that the crew, as a whole, had failed to identify the infestation, he was more concerned with excising the xenos threat, as well as setting up a system that would highlight indications and warnings to avoid a similar situation in the future.

Leaving early, Gabriel went to meet with Holt prior to the others showing up. "Master Holt, I received your message. I wanted to provide you with additional data points for your presentation to the council. Based on recommendations by Commander Korvin, I have engaged my brethren to search for patterns and anomalies associated with matters of faith. The reports indicate that this has been a slow and insidious attack over a span of more than two months. We have experienced minor dips in attendance to the Emperor's Devotions amidst the torpedo crews - well within standard deviations. There was a zealous priest that died in a steam vent accident, which may or may not be indicative of the adversary attempting to weed out potential stumbling blocks to their corruption. Finally, over recent weeks there are a disturbingly high number of torpedo and gun crews complaining of dark thoughts and terrifying nightmares."

"In absentia of any other events, or taken separately, these issues would be considered the normal cost of operating in and around the warp, as well as transversing enormous distances through open space for increasingly longer amounts of time. However, together they paint a very grim picture - one that points to a need for changes in how we monitor indications and warnings, as well as establishing a methodology to ensure we do not inadvertently dismiss these sorts of occurrences in the future ... or worse yet, eliminate them through draconian efforts prior to identification of a threat. Such is the slippery slope of knowing when to excise the corruption before it grows too large, but knowing enough to not dismiss it as 'acceptable variances.'"

Gabriel handed over the data slate with the information, settling back into his seat. Steepling his fingers, he paused while the Master of Whispers assimilated the data, before speaking. "I welcome your thoughts on how best to deal with these kinds of situations in the future ... after you have determined a way ahead to deal with the current incursion, of course."

[Caimheul]

Master Holt Orthesian

"Hmmm... you say religious attendance has seen a decrease? Interesting. The reports I have mention no such indication, however seeing as the majority of the reports came from encounters with Genestealers on the surface of a planet, that is not too surprising, and a very useful datum to add to the archives. It is likely that the torpedo crews and other crew members who's duties place them near to the abandoned decks were taken as food, or breeding partners." Master Holt shows the Confessor the illuminated page he was studying when the priest arrived:

Spoiler

Show

"It worries me more that there were hybrids, and seemingly a 'Magus'. The infection either came about due to a Genestealer who infiltrated our lower decks, or an infested carrier we recruited to fill our compliment. This picture shows the appearance of the various generations of these beasts. The multi-armed beasts that the Acolytes encountered were likely of the first generation, borne by humans that have been taken over by a parasite injected by a Genestealer. The presence of a psyker means their is at least one of the fourth generation... when the hybrids again begin looking human. Our lower decks may be infested with agents of the cult. These agents are the likely cause of the disappearances and the death of the priest in the... 'accident.' The Magus is the cause of the nightmares, with the disturbances he is causing in the warp. Standard procedure is to target the Magus and Patriarch, putting the cult into chaos, making clean up on the rest of the cult much easier. My current proposal is to have the Deathwatch target those high profile targets followed by a sweep of the lower decks by heavily armed armsmen. I propose the formation of a new unit among the ship's assassins, tasked with scouting the lower decks on a regular basis and eliminating any infestations." Master Holt leans back in his chair and sighs. "I only hope that we are not too late, and that we have not spread this infection to any planets."

[DrK]

The Library

The choiral music is muted and quiet amidst the shadowy tomes. Cherubium flit about the hallowed stacks of prayers scrolls and ancient tomes, some more than 2 millenia old and sealed in stasis chambers with massive engraved and sacred locks.

A table has been set up and cleared of most of the books that normally dominate it. A scroll lies spread across the table, a copycat of the one that Holt had presented to Gabriel. As the two of them arrive and seat themselves in the antique and ornate wooden chairs with faded wooden carvings of the Emperor and the Primarchs adepts, many with their tongues removed to preserve their vows of silence, bustled around. Moving softly in grey robes, unmarked save that of the Inquisitorial seal they bow to the two senior officers and offer cool glasses of chilled water - nothing that may stain a book is permitted.

Its an odd moment of peace for the Master of Whispers and the Confessor, the muted sounds of the Sister's choir relaxing rather than intrusive and the musty smell of the scrolls far more pleseant than the acrid fumes of the power cables or the sweating mass of the crew....

Spoiler

Show

Who else is coming to the party.....
I'm like the power of Adminstrium coming into the fore here

Obviously the Inquisitor will arrive fashionably late.

With a slow creaking the double doors swing open, pulled by yet more cherubium and the acoolyte Praetus stands, ready for his part in the coming war council...

[rb780nm]

Finding his was by psychic vision, Mikael enters the room and takes a seat. Receiving the chilled water, he sips slowly, wishing to avoid any rushes of sensation that may disturb his equilibrium and cause discomfort to his ship-mates.

[bluntpencil]

Lexographer Bianco arrives at Master Holt's chambers fifty eight minutes after the servo-skull spoke to him.

He looks at his chrono, and smiles. Good timing, as always, it seems. He shuffles a stack of papers into order, and pats himself down, making certain that he has his various datapads and other forms of information storage.

He doesn't presume to take a seat, waiting to be offered one. His eyes dart from corner to corner, taking in all the sights, particularly the titles of all the books stacked all over the place. Needless to say, he looks impressed.

He slicks back his hair, and produces a small pair of reading spectacles which he balances on his nose, looking over them with a thin smile. Hopefully his thorough attention to detail will help deal with any problems on board the vessel.

[DrK]

Even ad the junior acolyte Praetus arrives the doors swing open again, the large hat and cape giving Captain Casimir a ditinctive profile in the shadowy light. Following him was an arch militant- a representing the ships security.

Spoiler

Show

this is Emperor ings PC

Minutes later a soft chime sounds and the choir reach the climax of the prayers announcing the arrival of Theocles and giving everyone time to stand. In a heavy cloak and face half hidden he enters and sits. His personal guard with their power glaives watching silently from the doorway. His pinched eyes glance around the table, narrowing slightly as the see lowly Praetus. As he sits he barks out some questions...

Is all set and course laid in for the Hippocrasian Casamir?

Where is my enginseer and Astartes?

So Master of whispers, now the xeno has shouted his presence, what is your plan?