Fighting fifth: Blaquiere

[Grailkeeper]

Spoiler

Show

If the men begin to suspect the true nature of the enemy it will be devastating to moral. Let your men know that if the truth, or anything approximating it gets out it will mean not only their death, but the deaths of everyone they talked to.


We need intel-0 join the squad as they gather it. To the best of our knowledge the civilians do not know the nature of the enemy. Whether or not enemy troops know is unknown. Find out.

[Lycan 01]

Spoiler

Show

"I will ensure the men stay silent. We suffered heavy casualties, so there are few loose ends left to tie. The remaining men appear to be devout and professional, as far as Guardsmen go. Appealing to their senses of duty and loyalty should do the trick. And if not, I will personally put the fear of the Emperor into them, and should the situation demand it, execute them all myself to ensure security.

We captured a prisoner at one point, and from what I managed to beat out of him, it seems that many of the rebels are conscripts, forced to fight against their will lest their families be harmed. Cowards. It appears they do not know what the true driving force behind the rebellion is, or at least the common grunt doesn't. And when we attempted to infiltrate the artillery positions, the soldier who hailed us seemed to be carrying out standard operating procedure. No weird hive-mind business, or attempts at such, from what we witnessed."

[Hazzardevil]

Gatnz stands around, affectionately flicking the barrel of his melta and wiping down the inside of the barrel of his shotgun.

He then finishes off any field rations he might have half eaten that day, saying grace to the Emperor on how thankful he is that he had food to eat that day.

[LeSwordfish]

Vance still looked shaken, but saluted neatly at the orders. "Sir."

"Alright. Everyone grab what resupply you need. We're headed into the city. Commissar, i believe you wanted a word in confidence?"

[DrK]

Rook grins at the fellow heavies as he and Austen rise to their feet. THe massive cannon strapped to Rook's waist mirroring the heavy belts of 48mm saboted rounds draped over Austen.

"Catch you when we finish trawling" he mutters as he leaves towards the slowly assembling squad.

Heading towards the Sergeant Rook and Austen both nod towards Vance. "All set for a good days fishing Sarge."

[Grailkeeper]

The LT rejoins the unitOk I've good news and bad news. Bad news is the Administratum sent maps for some place called Blanchardstown, not Blanchardston. You'll be exploring blind. I'm told theres a maket area and a mid sized church- otherwise it's all residential districts and the starport. Decide amoungst yourselves where you're most likely to meet some friendly or unfriendly tongues. The good news is I've been able to rustle up some support- meet the Enginseer Zaphriel. He came down over the starport. Times wasting- the more time we have to deal with any incoming the better. Move out and get trawling.

[Vizzi]

Zaphriel cuts a sombre figure, his body hidden in dark red cloth, his Mechadendrite twisting slightly behind him "Greetings, boyos." with a simple nod, he awaits for them to move out.

[Hazzardevil]

Enginseer! I have one question for you before we go into battle! Don't worry, it's not about trust or your skills.
It just comes down to this. He pauses for a few seconds
Is an Enginseer the same as a techpriest?

[Vizzi]

Zaphriel turns towards the speaker his motion stills for a few seconds "No it isn't." his voice serious with an almost hidden trace of amusement.

[LeSwordfish]

"Once we've got everything we need, head into the residential districts. The people there will be civvies, and civvies tend to like the people who kill the people who bomb their house."

[Grailkeeper]

Spoiler

Show

Very well. The Commissariat has had it's eye on this regiment ever since the death of Commissar Crowe. Don't get too lax. I have my eye on them...and you.

Move out. See if you can capture any enemy stragglers. If you do it is imperitive you bring them to me for interrogation.

[DrK]

Rook salutes the Enginseer and then offers a welcoming hand. "Welcome to the crew Sir." before he backs off whispering to Austen. "At least someone can fix any damn trucks we come across."

As the Commisar's talk he waits patiently, before asking the Sarge. "So Sarge, we clearing house to house are we? Can we do some creative resupply while we're about it?"

[Grailkeeper]

A passing trooper jerks his thumb over his shoulder in no direction in particular. I think I saw civvies concentrated around something called the May-Sun Devil. He looks pretty tired and wanders off before you can ask any questions

[Lycan 01]

Commissar Larkson silently nods to her CO, before turning to stride away and rejoin her squad.


Valeria approaches her team with rigid posture, her hands clasped behind her back. "Alright boys, I've had a word with my superior, and-"

She pauses, and raises an eyebrow. "Wait, did the Cogboy just say boyos?" she asks, slightly perplexed by such casual lingo amongst a member of the Machanicus. The Commissar then gives a small shrug, and picks up where she left off. "As I was saying, I need to have a word with all of you, away from prying ears. Follow me."

She turns and strides over to a nearby alleyway, or some other relatively secluded location. Once the squad is huddled around her, she fixes them all with a stern glare, her expression serious. "Two things, troopers. One, we need to figure out how deeply the heresy here goes. Interview civilians, take prisoners, and otherwise find out the extent of this rebellion. If possible, enemy combatants are to be captured alive, and brought to my superiors for processing. The second thing..." Her mouth curls into a scowl.

"I will speak with you on-the-level. That information I shared regarding the you-know-what was highly sensitive and classified? Forget I said anything. That knowledge is strictly need-to-know, and no one else needs to know. You no longer need to know, and it would be bad if anyone else where to know it too. Do not tell your comrades, do not tell your friends, do not even tell our new little Cogboy who's name I don't even know yet," she remarks with an idle wave of a gloved hand at Zaphriel. "As soldiers of the Emperor, you have a duty to Him to not muck things up, and letting that info slip would be quite a mucking up. The sort of mucking up that would get you all executed, and me sent to a penal legion. So. Keep your traps shut, got it?" she flatly growls.

Yes, it was a bit less formal and professional than she preferred, but she needed to get the point across to these soldiers. And by being a bit more informal and "human" with them, she figured they'd be more willing to listen to her and give credit to what she had to say, rather than just writing it off as "whatever the stuffy Commissar is prattling on about."

Certainly it would be a more effective and less messy tactic than just bolting one of them as an example. Though that option wasn't off the table...

[Vizzi]

"Zaphriel." he says quietly and calmly not at all bothered by her threats. A few seconds pass as he leans slightly forward and continues talking, with all the calm and mechanical precision of a tech-priest " Fo' Shizle they be calling me Zap." his utility mechadendrite rising slightly, opening wide whilst twisting horizontal to the ground.

He was certainly interested in the knowledge she was alluding. And really asking knowledge to be hidden whilst in the presence of a member of the Mechanicus and not expecting his curiosity to be twinged was almost as bad as expecting an Ork not to fight.

Although he knew well that the no doubt rather annoying habit of Commissars shooting people certainly necessitated a careful investigation. Although tech-priests weren't directly on their area of due diligence.

[Grailkeeper]

The Squad is joined by Dr. Caleigh Reid and KJ "Jonesy"- other veteradn of the drop for the starport.

The Squad moves off lead by Guardsman Attiluz. The enemy have taken down the signs here too and navigating the twisting cobbled streets proves harder than finding the city. Eventually the squad realises it is lost and heads instead for the tallest building it can see- the spires of the town church.

The Squad emerges onto a small plaza in front of the demi-cathederal. In this part of town most of the buidlings are realtively unscathed. There are a few broken windows and a few damaged roofs but no major damage. The Church is modest in scale by imperial standards- although its gothic spires still easily dominate the skyline. A 5 story tall statue of St. Sanguinius stands over the doorway with his wings arching down to the ground, protecting entrants. His face is raised to the heavens with a beatific smile.

In front of the church looking the other direction stands a solitary man, no not a man. His back is severly hunched and one of his arms is misshapen. He is clad in penitents rags and carrys an autogun of the same make as the enemy. He hasn't spotted you- even though you are only 30 metres away.

[LeSwordfish]

"Lets see how well you can do in a scrap, new guys." Vance offered. "Trooper Jones, cover us with your Las. Dr Reid, forward with me. If he looks at us funny, Jones, ice him. If he's willing to be taken alive... i'm willing to take him."

Vance raised his shotgun, and began edging toward the man.

Spoiler

Show

If we're on combat time, half action ready shotgun, half action move forward. If i count as having my shotgun ready, switch that to an Aim action.

[Starbin]

Running with the LT's unit had been fun while it lasted, even if the drop hadn't gone as expected. KJ had taken a number of minor wounds along the way, rushing into situations where he probably should have waited, but that wasn't his style. Besides, each time he had to report to the medic was an opportunity to meet the Doc. Unfortunately, after the first time, she caught on to his intentions and he found himself getting a lot of attention from her aide, Will. Afterwards, getting hurt wasn't nearly as much fun.

When the unit had moved in to support the Fighting Fifth, they found the squad had taken heavy casualties, and some of the other guys had taken to calling them the Fething Fifth. But when the LT asked for volunteers to be reassigned, he stepped up without hesitation, dragging Delveccio with him. "We're up for it, sir!" Stan stared at him, shaking his head. "Hey, dude, you got a death wish? I mean, there aren't even any chicks in their squad!"

"Yeah they do ... the Comissar! And look, LT's picking up the Doc! See, things are looking up already." Smiling at Stan, he headed over to his new unit, while Stan shot a shuddering glance at the Commisar and muttered behind, "Like I said, no chicks."

Soon, the group was on it's way to Blanchardstown or Blanchardston or something. KJ and Stan had kept to themselves for the most part, not wanting to make waves as the new guys, so the trip was pretty quiet and at times a tad uncomfortable. When they reached the town, the troop carrying the melta got them turned around. KJ started to speak up, but an elbow from Stan kept his mouth shut. Besides, he hadn't been offered a look at the maps before they departed. Lost, KJ finally pointed to the spires of a church. "Let's just head there, Sarge, and regroup." The look he got back said "Thanks for the advice, Mr. Obvious."

Unpon reaching the plaze with the church, there was a strange looking armed figure standing out the church. It was hunched and not doing anything ... just standing there. The seargeant broke the group's reverie, spurning them to action.

"Got it, Sarge." Dropping down to one knee behind cover, he raised his M36 and drew a bead on the figure.

"Stan, check the windows"

Spoiler

Show

Aiming at the figure for as long as I can ... Awareness check just in case something is sneaking up on us (TN 30): (1d100)[51]

[Lycan 01]

Commissar Valeria gives the Techpriest a blank stare when he makes his odd remarks. How quaint.

And then two more troopers show up. She gives them both curious, scrutinizing glances. They may notice that she's actually quite attractive - minus the ever-present scowl and the whole "aura of terror and death-murder" thing she has going on.

And then they're off!

And then they're lost!

Valeria does not look amused at the fact that they're lost, but she doesn't shoot anyone out of frustration or punishment, so that's good at least. And then they arrive at the church, and see the stranger.

The Commissar eyes the figure for a moment, doing some mental calculations. A mutant in the robes of a penitent, standing in front of a church. A misshapen arm, but not an extra or clawed arm, so it is likely a "normal" mutation. She draws her bolt pistol, but allows it to rest by her side in her lower right hand, while she keeps her left hand clasped behind her back. "Sergeant, I suspect it is not hostile. Not to us, at least," she muses quietly. "It may be trying to protect the cathedral as penitence for it's existence. Still, best not to spook it. I'll try to speak with it; hold your fire until I say otherwise."

And with that, Valeria begins to cautiously approach the figure directly, carrying herself with an air of professionalism and authority, but not casting herself as immediate threat.

Once she's within speaking distance, if it hasn't already addressed or tried to shoot her, she will flash a charming smile at the creature. "Greetings. What is your purpose here?" she inquires in a curious, amicable tone.

[LeSwordfish]

"Exactly what I was expecting Commissar. You won't mind if we keep our weapons raised, though."

[Hemnon]

Caileigh Reid. A slight oddity amongst the Imperial Guard, being a woman and all, but also because of her very young age, being only 20 and already a skilled medical practitioner.
Her hair is is keep relatively short, as to keep it out of her eyes and making enemies unable to grab it in CQC. Her Athletic features and attractive face combined together, makes her quite pretty. Adding her profession into account would make a fair deal of the male (and maybe even a minority of the female) guardsmen would love to be treated by her.

As she sees KJ being assigned to the same squad as her, yet again, a groan and the sound of a hand slapping against a forehead could be heard. He was always so instistent on wanting her to treat anything he was afflicted with, be it a cold or just a splinter in his finger. Luckily Will was more than happy to help her on that regard.

As she approached the famous Fighting Five, she Saluted the Sargent and the Commissar as it was expected from her. ''Greetings Sir, and Maam, Medical Officer Caileigh Reid Reporting for duty.''


Later on, after getting lost and finding the Old cathedral.

Caileigh remained with her new group of Brothers in arms while the Commissar went to talk to the mutant.

''Oh by the way all of you, If ANYONE begins calling me little sister of some such nonsense, then pray to the immortal god-emperor that you never get wounded. and yes that includes you especially, KJ!'' She whispered to the others, as she took a covered position next to the rest, Shotgun raised and eyes scouting the area for anything of interest.

[Starbin]

As the group huddled, watching the Commisar head towards the weird figure, Stan leaned forward to KJ and whispered, "Okay, I'll give you this ... the lady IS attractive. I just think the bolt pistol to my nether region might be a bit of a mood killer ...". KJ chuckled quietly, eyes still fixed on the figure.

When Reid made her comment, he felt a flush at being called out, and it was Stan's turn to chuckle. "Aw, c'mon, Doc! You've got such soft hands! Who wouldn't want you to pull a splinter out?"

KJ growled, muttering something about 'legitimate injury' before trailing off into silence. "Shhh ... Commisar's hailing the target ..."

[Grailkeeper]

The Mutant turn around and lowers the autogun resting it at his side. The mutant has an Acquila tattoo'd on his forehead and the numerals II XV branded on his cheeks, two numerals on each cheek.

Ze Liberators. Boy am I glad to see you. I am Guarding ze cathederal in case any more of the eebie-jeebies comes by. Deacon Broderick is in charge here.

A red robed missionary marches out of the church. He wears a rosarius in the shape of the wings of Sanguinus. When he speaks his voice has the neutral tone of someone who has spent a lot of time in space. His face is scarred and he looks grizzled.

Thank you Cubbs. I am indeed in charge here. Welcome to Blaquiere.

[DrK]

Cpl Rook looks about at the newcomers. An appraising looks at the new medic. Better than the last one eh?" Austen, still weighed down by the heavy belts of massive cannon rounds looks and smiles in agreement.

"You want us to set up Overwatch Sarge" he shouts as he bunkers down beside the new guy. "Hey. How was your jump? Ours sucked."

[Lycan 01]

"Commissar Larkson," Valeria nods to the Missionary. "And with whom do I have the honor of speaking? Am I to assume you're in charge here?"

"Also..." She tilts her head to the side, looking over to the mutant and raising an eyebrow. "Eebie-jeebies? Sounds like an odd way to describe a rebel."

[LeSwordfish]

"Deacon Broderick, i presume." Vance saluted.

Leaving the commissar to do the talking, he turned to his squad. "Set up a perimeter. Question anyone who comes too close. Give the uniform an airing. Act like soldiers."

"Well... like posh soldiers."

[Hemnon]

''Stan.... Do you want me to shoot you? Wait until this mission is over, then find a nice girl to have some fun with and LEAVE ME ALONE!'' Caileigh sneered at him, her cheeks slightly flushed with embarrasment and she kinda resembles an angry kitten.

At the Sergeant's Order.

''Excuse me, Sarge, requesting permission to check on anyone sick and/or wounded amongst the civilians.'' She asked in a firm and Rank-conscious tone.

[Starbin]

Standing up at the Sergeant's orders, KJ turned to the guy with the autocannon. "It was okay. Windy as a biatch, but what are you gonna do. Heard y'all got the worst of the storm. Sorry 'bout your mates."

Glancing around at the others as they set up a perimeter, he nodded towards the mutant. "So anyone else wonder why the guy guarding the church is facing the door with his back to the open? Seems kinda odd ..." Leaning towards Stan, who was busy watching the ladies in the squad, he nodded towards the plaza. "Hey, keep your eyes open ... just in case."

[Grailkeeper]

Yes, I am Deacon Broderick. Cubbs is no soldier- he's more used to working the promethium refinment tanks than battle tanks.

EB-GB Commissar. Emperor Benevolent, General battalion. It's what those you've been fighting call themselves. The cult of the Emperor Benevolent has taken over most of planet. It's infiltrated most of the planets institutions at this stage and brought a great deal of change in its efforts to pull out from the control of the administratum. I've seen this kind of thing before- I suspect they may be motivated by Xenos influences.



Dr- there are more of my congregation inside who could use your assistance. The Emperor Benevolent frown on the genetically abnormal.

[Lycan 01]

Commissar Valeria's face turns grave. She turns to stride off to the side, and gestures for the Missionary to follow, while leaving the Sergeant to care after his men without her ever-present shadow. Once they're away from prying ears, she leans against the wall of the cathedral and fixes him with a curious look. "Pray tell, Good Father, what Xenos influence do you suspect, and why? When did the Cult of the Benevolent Emperor rise up, and how well-organized are they? Anything and everything you can share with me would be appreciated. And fear not, you have permission to be frank and honest without fear of reprisal," she remarks with a wry smile, trying to put the man of the cloth at ease in case the Commissariat's reputation is an issue here.