Black Crusade IC

[watupwithdat]

"I see. That is unfortunate." The heretek seemed sincere, and Setesh could not manage to penetrate her mental defences to notice any conscious lies. He attributed it to her being a heretek, and the alien, to Setesh, mind that implied. It was not the first time he had attempted to read one of the forges. "Then I hope we can find you any of the things you seem to need to be able to break the encryption." His consuming need to know had not subsided fully, but he had managed to contain it for now, at least. There was no point not to, as he would not be able to sate it at this time anyway.

A daemon in the tank, she said. He found the notion ridiculous. If there was one, Setesh would have been able to notice it straight away. And the vehicle itself had no characteristics of a daemon-engine either.

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Scrutiny test: (1d100)[89] vs 65 (-/+ any modifiers)

[Donan]

The insect scowls. "Well, at least we stopped the damn thing." She glances at Slathissin. "We can take one side each, guide the others through?"

She turns away, sending a private vox to Setesh.

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"Keep an eye on her. I don't think she'll try running off with the codes, but just in case."

[Lucretia]

"Please, lead the way. I can only report the information Riptide and Grag were able to obtain. They will be on the look-out for any snipers or mines, although I cannot say I trust their eyes completely. Please be cautious. That said, I'll just take the back of the group, if it's all the same with you? I'm not particularly fond of being at the front of the action."

[watupwithdat]

Setesh heard the Night Lord ask him for healing assistance. It would seem he still was unconscious when he had mended some of his wounds before. "I have some talents in... mending, yes." he replied, simply.

He recieved a private vox from the human girl, and replied.

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"You should ask her for the codes. There is no reason she should carry something which belongs to you. And she would not be able to outrun me, I assure you."

[Donan]

Katria nods lightly in thought, and looks ahead, then back to Verateka. "Before we go though, I'd like to ask you for those codes back please." She lightly holds out a hand."

[Lucretia]

"I would rather continue trying to crack through them. To be honest, it's something of a mark on my pride that they're offering this level of resistance!"

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(1d100)[34] v. 85

EDIT: Deceive, obviously. Sorry, forgot to write that in. Also, 6 DoS.

[Donan]

"But as you said, it won't help until we find a larger cogitator, so please. I've held onto them quite well so far." Katria smiled, even as she gave Setesh a light nod.

[Lucretia]

"One moment, then. Although they are significantly safer within me than on you." She undid her armour and removed the data cylinder, offering it to Katria. "I wish to make it known that this is a mistake. But if it will hasten our motion forward, by all means, cripple yourself."

[Donan]

"That's true." Katria smiles, then turns to offer the codes to Setesh. "We've something of an agreement there."

[Lucretia]

"Ah yes, I suppose the Astartes who wears a helmet might be an acceptable substitute. Of course, he won't be able to devote his spare time to trying to break through the codes, but I suppose you have no real desire to know what's on them. Anyways, with that done, who is going to lead us forward?"

Verateka returned her armour to her arm as she asked.

[Donan]

Katria gives Verateka a long look, that only ends in, "Hm." She then nods, turning to Slathissin. "The two of us?"

[watupwithdat]

The heretek may be the only one among them who might break the decryption, that was true. But as she had said, she needed something else to break them, which she did not seem to have. Katria reached out her hand with the code cylinder for him to take, which Setesh also did.

"While I agree that you may be the only one among us who can break the encryption, I have little reason to trust you at this point, which you may understand." He paused and secured the code cylinder in one of the compartments he had for such a sized item. "That may however change in the future, if you keep on my good side, at which point I will reconsider who handles the code cylinder. Or before, if you manage to find something which may help you penetrate the encryption."

Setesh looked at Katria who seemed to suggest to the Night Lord that they play the scouts or vanguard for their little gathering. With the addition of the still living Night Lord and the two mechanical mutants or whatever they were, they were not just three anymore.

[Elurindel]

"Would you care to employ them on me? It would not do to have us at less than optimum fighting condition at this point." he reasons.

[Lucretia]

"He already did," Verateka said, ignoring Setesh's comments towards her for the time being. "It's why you're alive now, instead of bleeding out of the wounds in your chest."

[Henry the 57th]

The party creeps forwards, Katria and Slathissin stealthily scouting ahead. What they find is simply a charnel house of corpses, burnt-out vehicles, and buildings reduced in part or fully to so much rubble. Despite the vast supply of dead bodies around, there is precious little left to scavenge. It seems other people got the idea first and beat the party to it.

When Katria and Slathissin near the base of the hill, they find a ring of fortifications and emplacements under heavy siege by countless thousands of men, mutants, and Astartes. Bullets, lasers, grenades, missiles, and countless other types of weapons fly back and forth between the two sides, but little progress seems to be taking place. Every time anyone sticks their head too far out of cover, they earn a shot to it and little else. The front line seems to have bogged down here. Also, the "friendly" Word Bearers have at last engaged the enemy, as the independents are now too few in number to sustain the siege on their own.

Then, just as Setesh, Verateka, and her minions begin to get in sight of the hill, a tremendous blue-pink light flares to the north, where the Scourged are. A hideously powerful psychic wave is unleashed, bringing even sorcerers as powerful as Setesh to their knees, and driving countless lesser mortal men mad.

When the light fades, where the Scourged once stood alone, there now stand countless daemons of the Changer of Ways. Horrors, Flamers, and Screamers stand in place briefly, before charging the enemy line in a mad daemonic fury. Many are gunned down before they reach the enemy, but enough make it through. They begin to tear into the enemy's northern line, the Scourged taking advantage of this to launch their own assault, hot on the daemons; heels.

As the Scourged assault begins, a brief speech is broadcast over all vox frequencies.

"Warriors of Khorne! Will you allow these cowards, these wretches, these lowly witches to claim the victory that is ours?!"

There is a great deal of enraged screaming from the west side, where the World Eaters are.

"All units, charge!"

A tremendous chant can be heard as the firing noticeably picks up near the World Eaters.

"Maim Kill Burn! Maim Kill Burn!!! MAIM KILL BURN!!! DEATH TO THE ENEMY!!!"

[Elurindel]

The Night Lord reports back to the rest of the party over his comm-bead while looking over the events, recounting everything he can see.

++What do you suppose we should do? I am uncertain how we would fair in a direct confrontation.++

[Lucretia]

"++I will instruct Riptide to activate his armament. The blast radius should be enough to draw their attention, if nothing else. I will position him in the roof of one of the nearby buildings, perhaps seventy meters from the battle. The building will be at a tangent to the battlefield, so our position will not be revealed. Grag will be able to charge the line after two shots from Riptide to take the battle to the masses. It is at this point I would advise yourself, Setesh and Katria engage in the battle. If we are able to dent the enemy enough, we may be able to secure an opening that will allow for us to penetrate the perimeter and proceed to the temple. Once Grag charges the line, I will instruct Riptide to return to me. We will provide as much ranged support as possible, and move in closer as the tide turns. This will allow us to hurry through the hole in the perimeter before it closes to either our side or theirs.

"As for allied troops, it may be worthwhile to thin the herd as to prevent us from having to share the proverbial spoils. During the melee, it may prudent to utilize grenades and wide strikes. However, I believe your expertise on melee combat is superior to my own, so please, exercise discretion++."

Verateka looked at her compatriots. "++That is my suggested course of action. I welcome your input++."

[Elurindel]

Slathissin wondered at Verateka's coldness. In some ways it was a boon, but that may mean she wouldn't spare a thought in leaving him for dead.
++Quite. I can help thin the herd with grenades from afar at the time. However, I do not like the "if" in your plan. I am all for thinning the herd, however. Have you any patterns on our allies weaker troop movements? It would be terrible if I went in to attack a lone human, only to have two Word Bearers attack me for a third time. It's almost as if some greater power has a sadistic sense of humour.++

[watupwithdat]

"++Your understanding of battle tactics is acceptable, and I will agree to the general course of action if our intent is to enter the fray just like so.++" Observing the ongoing battle and weighing in the fact that the Scourged's battle ritual which had just summoned a horde of the Lord of Magic's daemons, Setesh's prefered approach of deception and sowing confusion would probably be redundant. The summoned daemons and the frenzied World Eaters had already caused a large disturbance in enemy morale and diluted the enemy resistance on the southern and eastern flanks. The time to strike would be now, to better exploit this distraction.

"++As you can see, the enemy are redistributing their forces right now to better respond to the actions of the Scourged and the World Eaters, leaving this flank less defended -- we should use that to our advantage.++" Setesh paused while he observed the chaos the Tzeentchian daemons were creating, a little disappointed he himself had not been there to take part in the ritual to summon them.

"++Furthermore, I can see mostly humans on this flank, and they are oh so fragile.++" he said as he pointed towards the larger masses of enemy cultists. "++I do need to restock my supply of sacrificial victims.++" Setesh added, fully serious.

[Lucretia]

"++I do not at this time have any relevant data to the motions of our independent brethren, no. It would appear that the heretical Astartes are localized along the northern and western flanks, attempting to stave off the onslaught of Tzeentchian daemons and Khornish berserkers. It seems likely that any resistance we encounter will be augmented by trace amounts of heretical Astartes, but nowhere near the numbers of those we would have faced prior to the Scourged and World Eaters' assaults++."

[Elurindel]

++Then it would make sense that we assault along those lines. I have a plan. Would you be able to tap into the human's comm frequencies? I may be able to trick some of them into giving away their positions, or any other data. Despite my usual gravel tone, I am more than capable of mimicry when needed.++

[watupwithdat]

"++I have the means of that, yes. This heretek is likely as well.++" Setesh paused. "++Are you intending to broadcast out to all available vox frequencies? I would be pleasantly surprised if they were so easily fooled.++" He let out a short chuckle.

[Elurindel]

++That, or strike fear into their mortal followers by imitating the bloodcurdling screams of one of the mortals I killed earlier. Preferably while punching something meaty for effect.++

[watupwithdat]

Setesh laughed over the Night Lord's fear-mongering imagination. "++They should already be hearing plenty of such screaming at this moment, I assume. Another would matter little.++"

[Lucretia]

"++I lack a comm leach. Without a method of intercepting the vox signals, and without any indication of what the security key would be for their frequency, it would be impossible to perform the action you have requested++."

[watupwithdat]

Setesh was surprised the heretek did not possess a thing such as a comm leach. He pondered the possibility and consequences of offering up his own at this time. "++In any case, if we want to take advantage of the situation we should get into position for this plan of yours. From the building here your servitor should have a good arc of fire with its plasma cannon.++" Setesh pointed at the building they were standing next to.

[Lucretia]

"++Perhaps you are unfamiliar with the notion of the tangent, Setesh. Having the plasma barrage coming from directly above us would quickly attract attention to us. Having Riptide move to a building some meters away will draw attention away from us, which is beneficial++."

[Donan]

Katria shakes her head. ++It's simple and good, it works. Slathissin?++

She moved a short distance away to find cover and to prepare to strike when the battle began, shrouding herself in her cloak.

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Stealth. 120 target. (1d100)[66]

[watupwithdat]

"++I was not planning on standing around and looking mesmerized at the plasma barrages, so from where it shoot its weapon matters little to me.++" He observed as the visible parts of the horde of daemons was tearing through the northern flank. "++The longer we wait the more we will lose the advantage of the distraction. Order your servitor to go where you want it to be.++"

[Lucretia]

Verateka nodded and moved back to one of the buildings they had passed during the trek here, informing Riptide to ascend to the roof and take aim at the horde of cultists forming the defense. She also informed him she would give him additional instructions shortly.

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I believe the building should be 70ish meters away. That's my hope, at any rate. The density of the buildings and the quasiscale I've been using indicate anywhere between 70 meters and 300, so I'm just hoping there's a building within 70 meters that fulfills my purposes.

Presuming he made it to the roof without exploding or encountering resistance, Verateka would return to the group so that they could move into position where they so desired.