Mortis Thule (IC)

[Xenopax]

Tyran addresses Brother Xavier as they all leave. Greetings Brother. I have heard much of the Salamanders Martial Prowess and I wished to invite you to spar so we may both hone our skills.

[Gunhaven]

Dhiiga settled into his bunk and closed his eyes. For a few minutes he centered himself, trying to contain the sound of his own blood coursing through his veins, but realized he couldn’t. His throat grew parched, his face became sweaty underneath his helmet, and he knew without a doubt that he’d need to drain SAN of his life giving essence. He waited to do so for now, though, knowing that he’d have to continue the illusion that he didn’t need a blood bag to drain lest the others viewed him as some sort of heretic.

In the midst of this personal issue was another, potentially worse issue. Perhaps distracted by his own personal trials and tribulations or perhaps the Emperor protecting his mind but he found the travel decent enough*. He wanted to wait, still, until it was quiet enough for him to gather up about a twelfth of a man’s blood to consume.

Spoiler: Checks

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Craving: WP+10. Failed with an 80 vs 55.
Willpower: WP. Succeeded with a 4 vs 45.

[Destro_Yersul]

Brother Attano watched Alisan make his oath. When his gene-cousin was finished, he nodded. "Well said, Brother."

Then, he turned away, stalking off into the depths of the ship before Xavier could corner him. He turned up some time later in the sparring chambers, keeping back out of the way yet watching everything that was going on.

[Darkstorm]

Octavius moves towards the Space wolf and asks "Sir, that was a great offer for the emperor. An ancient holy hammer? as he gives another look towards the ornate box before the altar.

"Do we have the intel from the ground. I would like your tactical imput on the situation also." he rises his voice slightly and adds "As of any of you that want to tag along." the blue armor shimmering in the light.

Spoiler: Roll

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WP (1d100)[9]

[Haval]

Octavius plus anyone who wants to be present

Yngvar is happy to go over the briefing materials in advance. As the Kill Team's designated leader he says that he prefers that Octavius at least should be aware of all this information in as much depth as possible.

Spoiler: Current Castobel Intel

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The Mechanicus storage facility is located in a range of hills to the east of the now irradiated ruins of Hive Tyralos. Tyralos, which was a centre of the surviving Cult Mechanicus during the Age of Shadow, was purposefully destroyed by overloading the cities generatoria, thereby denying the cities biomass to the attacking Tyranids.

Most of the remaining Imperial strength including the Titans of the Legio Praetor, and the 3rd and 4th companies of the Blood Drinkers are involved in defending the four remaining hives. None are close to the site of Tyralos, but detachments of Astartes are known to be involved with seek and destroy missions against isolated pockets of Tyranids and may be closer at hand. At present, in addition to the Blood Drinkers, Yngvar is aware of detachments from the White Scars, the Executioners and the Red Talons, although is of the opinion that not all Astartes elements always announce their presence.

Orbital allies include Castobel's own ships, which were once part of the old Battlefleet Jericho, and are supplemented by a strong Naval detachment and a handful of Astartes ships from the Chapters currently operating on the ground.

Yngvar looks thoughtful, 'The Tyranids in the area were likely fractured when Tyralos blew up. Often works like that. You kill the biggest ones and the little ones stop being as coordinated. A lot of the ones that survived probably moved to join the swarms attacking the other hives. That's where the meat is after all, and there's very little to eat on Castobel otherwise. Others might have just gone dormant until something worth eating shows up. That might be where the swarm that is moving on our target came from. Something woke them up.'

'Now it may be that it was the Mechanicus landing people in the hills. I have no doubt the Tyranids know to investigate shuttles when they see them. Yet I honestly doubt the leftover Tyranids in the area were strong enough to deal with all the Skitarri that the Mechanicus brought with them. I'll only know more when we're at Castobel.'

Xavier

Some of your squad mates seem friendlier than others, although the crew is more forthcoming. Many come from a long line of Deathwatch servants including Captain DeSaul himself, and they are mostly happy to talk to you. One senior armsman in particular talks of his honour to have had his life saved by another Salamander during a boarding action he was involved with as a younger man. The only crew member who seems less then pleased to see you is the ship's Astropath, who seems pale and oddly afraid of the sight of you.

Later

As the Crusader moves towards the translocation point most of you go about your business without incident. On the firing range Kvothe takes aim at targets of ever increasing distance. At first he is briefly distracted by a fault in the training room's lights as it flickers off for a few seconds at just the wrong moment. After this single miss he proceeds to hit everything he aims at with machine-like precision.

A few rooms away Xavier and Tyran duel in a large room that the Deathwatch have set aside for the purpose. Looking on are Attano and for a time Yngvar who shouts advice to both sides. The Librarian's speed and psychic abilities give him the early advantage but, just as the lights start to flicker, Xavier is eventually riled up to respond with a powerful kick to Tyran's leg that floors the other marine.

Cadmus

Perhaps to take advantage of the privacy they offered, Cadmus is alone in his sleeping cell when the light starts to flicker. As if from a great distance you hear a noise of an alert siren coming from outside your room. Typically the noise suggests that there is a major problem with the ship or that it has been boarded by a hostile force. Shortly afterwards you can hear screams and the sounds of fighting coming from outside your cell.

Alisan

Alisan is exploring the ship when the lights go off. Even if you are not wearing your helmet this is not entirely a problem for an Astartes, but with the change in light the ship suddenly looks different. The bulkheads are now buckled and rusting, doorways have been smashed apart and there are now bodies lying everywhere. The bodies are decayed but you have seen enough battles to recognise that they all seem to have died violently. The bodies wear the clothing of the Crusader's crew.

[boj0]

Alisan draws his Bolt pistol and slowly moves forward, calming his breathing and scanning several bands and frequencies to make sure he isn't walking into a trap.
(1d100)[1] awareness vs 65
(1d100)[52] silent move vs 92

[Haval]

Alisan

You hear nothing on the vox. No transmissions from your squad mates, nothing from the Crusader or from anyone else. You also notice that the engines of the ship seem to have fallen silent. Yet you do hear what sounds like chewing coming from around an intersection in the corridor. Easing yourself slowly around the corner you see what is making the noise. A carpet of some sort of insect, each of which is about as big as your fist, are feeding on the bodies of the crew.

At the end of the corridor there is something else. In the darkness you almost don't see it for a moment, but then you can see that there is something very large filling up most of the corridor. You otherwise would have missed it entirely as it seems able to blend into the background of the ship, but then it starts to move slowly towards you and you can clearly hear the deck creak under it's weight.

Spoiler: ooc

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Roll Forbidden Lore (Xenos) +30 for info if you want

[Volthawk]

Cadmus elects to stay around for the further briefing, feeling it was best that he knew as much as possible. However, this time he didn't ask questions once Yngvar was done, instead returning to his cell to think, prepare and meditate on the upcoming combat against the Emperor’s enemies that he anticipated.

---

When Cadmus hears the alarm, he is in the middle of rethinking what he first thought about his new team, for the better (although only time would tell what they were truly like). Prompted to rise and investigate, the screams that followed merely prompted him to act with even more haste, raising his storm bolter as he leaves the cell, his vision sweeping from side to side, ever vigilant for threats.

[Haval]

In your cell the alarms and sounds of battle are oddly muted. Alarms telling people of a threat to the ship ought to be audible everywhere, but once outside your cell you can hear everything. Now you can also hear the buzzing of chain weapons.

As you move outside a few unarmed serfs flee past you, and your attention is directed to the battle they are running from. At the end of the hallway, a duel is taking place between a Brother of the Deathwatch and a marine in an older model of ornate power armour that is coloured red and brass and is already stained with fresh blood. From your time hunting renegades with your chapter you recognise the sign of the 12th legion on the second marine's arm. This is a World Eater.

The Deathwatch brother wields an oddly curved sword and his opponent wields a massive chain axe. Both are exchanging blows faster then you would think possible, but you can see that the Deathwatch brother is wounded and appears to be tiring. The World Eater appears to be aware of this fact, and you can hear him chuckling through his external vox speakers.

[boj0]

(1d100)[10] vs 72 FL Xenos

[TheNotoriousSMP]

Kvothe lingered in the briefing room, wanting to hear the information Yngvar had collected for them as well. While not in a command position for this mission, he still felt that he should know as much as he could in order to improve their odds.

At the mention of possible additional Astartes present the Raven Guard marine's head tilted, ever so slightly, listening intently to the Chapter names. Most of them Kvothe didn't react to in any noticeable way, but at the mention of the White Scars his lips thinned ever so slightly. The relationship between their chapters was not the best, not after Operation Chronos, so while he would not object to their aid if necessary neither would he welcome it.

"It would be best not to rely on the aid of our fellow Astartes then," Kvothe commented once Yngvar was finished explaining things, "I would rather not pull any away from their own missions simply to give us a hand."

Later

Frowning as his first shot went off course, Kvothe corrected his grip and continued fighting. While some allowances could be made for new, unfamiliar equipment, the Raven Guard knew that in a pitched battle such a misfire could mean the difference between life and death. As he moved through the rest of the course, he made sure to correct for his mistakes.

Once he was finished however, Kvothe holstered his weapon and began making his way to the bridge, nodding politely to any serfs or crew he passed along the way. He knew that Yngvar had wanted them on the bridge for the transition to the Warp, it probably wouldn't hurt to get there a little ahead of time.

[PotatoGolem]

Xavier laughs and offers his hand, lifting the younger man back to his feet. Well fought indeed! You're a credit to your chapter. Remind me of a friend I had when I was your age, Brother Raphael. A Blood Angel; we fought the Eldar on Persephone together. A true son of Sanguinus. Xavier looks momentarily wistful, then turns and claps Tyran on the back. Well then! Let's not leave the captain waiting. On to our next glorious adventure.

[Gunhaven]

Dhiiga knew his best bet would be the medbays aboard the ship and bid his time. He casually walked the halls, idly thinking that he probably should've stuck around for further debriefing but figured someone would be responsible. Eventually he found what he was looking for and worked his way into the room, looking for the person who seemed most obvious in charge, and approached. He bowed his head and said "Hello bruddas, sistas. I've come to aid ya in da best way I can." He maneuvered his way as best as he could around the room, still refusing to take off his armor or helmet.

[Darkstorm]

Octavius remains with his face unreadable as he listens to the description - a grim one as most were these days. They would have no direct support, but the desorganized nature of the tyranids in the area was something they could use. A sort of blessing.

As Kvothe speaks he nods and adds "The more the other hives are distracted the better for us. Our mission should be as much focused and direct as possible. He looks at the maps and remembers himself to download the information into his cartografer "The tyranid situation in the area is something we can use to forge an path. The only thing I would want was thunderhawk extraction if available."

_____________
later
------------------
Octavius scrolls through information about other chapters (the ones elements are present in his group) usual attack tactics, and starts thinking on how to use some of those elements if possible, and combine the team into an well oiled machine.

[boj0]

Alisan messages over his vox, "Squad,
I have several dead crewmen and a damaged hull at my location. Possible Xeno infestation. Over."

[Destro_Yersul]

Well, that was odd. The flickering lights were one thing, but surely if there were xenos on the ship there would have been some sort of alarm, or an impact. They hadn't transitioned to warp yet, so it couldn't be daemons. Attano had found his mind wandering after the briefing, the presence of the White Scars an annoying stain on his state of mind, but surely he wouldn't have missed something so important.

He clicked the vox anyways, to register acknowledgement. Then he left the practice room, stalking off through the corridors, trying to home in on Alisan's location marker.

[TheNotoriousSMP]

At the crackling of his vox Kvothe spared the speaker a look, wondering what had occurred that necessitated such a direct message. The mention of a possible xenos infestation on the ship did not make him pause, but immediately quicken his pace towards Alisan's location

[Haval]

Octavius

Yngvar will consider the request, 'I've drunk with Sagor of the Executioners many a time. He should be willing if no one else can help, and his lads enjoy a good fight. If I tell them about it they might just show up anyway.' You recognise the Executioners as a particularly vicious successor chapter of the Imperial Fists, so Yngvar is probably correct in his assessment.

Dhiiga

Even for a ship as relatively small as the Crusader there are always people in need of medical attention and the medicae staff seem glad of any help you can give.

Spoiler

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Roll an Easy (+30) Medicae test to get blood. The staff are too busy to notice what you're doing and have no reason to distrust an Astartes

Yngvar has gone to speak to the Captain on the bridge when Alisan's message comes through. Over the vox, 'Find out what's going on.' You all know that the Erioch system's location is a closely guarded secret, so the idea that any xenos have infiltrated it or the Crusader a little difficult to credit.

[Xenopax]

The Fight-
Your compliments do me great honor cousin. I can see that the stories told about your Chapter weren't exaggerated. In fact I don't think they do you justice.

---

Later-
Tyrax unsheathes his blades but keeps them attached so that he had easy access in case there were actual xenos but didn't end up slashing out at someone accidently if they surprised him. "Acknowledged. Heading toward your location now" he says through the Vox while heading to the location.

[Volthawk]

The report of xenos activity is of little interest to Cadmus, compared to the scene in front of him. As he advances, though, he adds his own report over the vox.

"I have located a traitor of the World Eaters. One of our Brothers has engaged, I am moving to assist."

He moves down the hallway with haste, weapon raised and ready to fire when he gets a good shot.

[Darkstorm]

Octavius listens to the contradicting information on the vox.

He picks up his Stormbolter and chainsword, all details and runes shinning in the artificial light.

He puts his helmet and starts moving towards the position of his companions.

[Haval]

Cadmus

As you take aim, the Chaos Space Marine finally breaks through his opponent's guard and delivers a vicious wound to his opponent's shoulder. As the Deathwatch brother falls you see that he is part of the Marauders. As far as you know there are supposed to be no members of that chapter currently at Erioch.

Instead of finishing off the Marauder, the World Eater seems to register your presence and immediately charges you. Perhaps you open fire, perhaps not, but as he is close enough to take a swing at you he suddenly disappears. The ship's alarms have now stopped and the body of the Marauder has also vanished. There is now a thin layer of frost covering everything in the room.

Alisan

The Lictor finally stops moving. You can't make it out well enough to know if it's looking at you, but as one, the swarm of Rippers leave behind the bodies of the crew and start moving towards you. They are small but outnumber you perhaps a hundred to one. As yet they don't appear to be charging, but you will have to move if you want to stay hidden.

But then the lights come back on. There is no sign of any of the Tyranids, while the damage to the ship and the bodies have also disappeared. There is a thin layer of frost covering everything in the corridor.

Tyrax

During your duel with Xavier your mind was elsewhere, but now you are focused on the possibility of an actual enemy you notice it immediately. Somehow the warp is a lot more disturbed then it ought to be, and somehow this disturbance is having an effect on the Crusader. It is comparable to Gellar fluctuations during warp travel. It reminds you of a particularly hard journey you once took with your chapter. Many of your brothers reported seeing things, from visions of Sanguinius and long dead comrades to events from the ship's own history. For something like this to be happening before the Crusader has entered the warp suggests nothing good.

Very quickly the rest of the squad join up with either Cadmus or Alisan depending on who was closest. All of you see the frost. Tyrax immediately recognises it as a phenomena caused by the warp, but all you have had enough experience with psykers or with warp travel to recognise it for what it is.

[TheNotoriousSMP]

It didn't take long for Kvothe to arrive at Alisan's location, and as he saw the Raptor's armor he could find no trace of the supposed xenos infestation. Hand on his bolter, the Raven Guard approached the tactical marine with a curious look on his face. "Brother Alisan, are you well?" He then looked around the hall, noting the frost that was forming on near everything. "What has happened here?" he murmured, recognizing it as some kind of warp phenomenon and wondering just how it came to be.

[boj0]

Alisan doesn't speak at first, he holsters his pistol and steps towards a wall; he scrapes an armored finger across the frost and looks at it. He turns to his fellow marine, "False alarm, there was no Xenos; but something is not right here."

[Gunhaven]

Brother Dhiiga was still an apothecary and still performed his duties as such. He just also happened to occasionally take a little extra blood from each patient until he had a nice cocktail of flavors stored within his Exsanguinator. He did make sure that, despite the task he was doing, he maintained his cleanliness and immediately removed any blood or bodily fluids that potentially got on his armor lest the spirits were angered by his actions. Once he had his pint he finished up the last patient and gave a slight bow to the medical staff, stating ”My bruddas need me now. May the” he switched to High Gothic as he flowed into ”Emperor” and flowed back into the common Low Gothic ”guide us.”

He still didn’t rush to the task at hand, instead swinging back by his bunk. If it was empty except for SAN then he’d finally take off his helmet and drain the Exsanguinator into his parched mouth, shuddering a bit as he quickly put his helmet back on. Sated once more he began to rush to help his comrades as the false alarm was called. He faltered before he continued at an even faster pace, fearing the potential corruption.

Spoiler: Actions

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That Medicae Tho: (1d100)[52] vs 96 (56 Int + 10% Trained + 30% Easy Test)

[Xenopax]

Tyrax growls out his displeasure at what was happening. Like most of his kin he had an intense distaste for anything to do with the Warp. While it was a strange view to take as a Librarian it wasn't too different than how the Space Wolves saw Psykers. He spits out "The warp is in turmoil. As if we were going through the warp and our shields failed. I wish to talk to our Navigator." to Alisan and Kvothe before relaying the same information over the vox.

[Darkstorm]

The information struck Octavius like a sledgehammer. Warp.

The warp was something he was not afraid,. But had seen its strength before. He boarded a imperial cruiser that was lost and returned. And the sight was not pretty.

Death, destruction and brave souls collected by demons and beings of the warp.

"Librarian advise. What does this fluctuations mean?" he asks through the vox as he arrives near Cadmus. "Are you all right brother?

[Haval]

" I wish to talk to our Navigator."

All of you can hear a sour voice come over the vox. The voice is that of Navigator Lukan. 'I hear you Ser Librarian. You are correct. There is an unusually tempestuous warp storm starting to develop in this region of space. Passage through it will likely be difficult but not impossible as long as we leave soon. The storm is yet only inferring with the flow of time. Anything ... odd you may be seeing represents events that have happened on the Crusader in it's past. It shouldn't be dangerous, although one can never be too certain with these things.'

Yngvar will chime in on the same channel, 'You hear that. The Astropath is less than happy either. If I was a Skald I would see all this as a bad omen. Nevertheless, there are precautions we can take for this sort of thing. The All-Father would never have made us Astartes if he needed us to avoid danger. Adept Mellano reckons he can strengthen the Gellar field enough to get us through the worst of it.'

If anyone reports on the specifics of Cadmus' vision, Yngvar will tell you of the last time the Crusader was successfully boarded some 500 years back. The Archenemy force, including members of the Traitor Legions, was eventually defeated after the deaths of many Deathwatch brothers.

[Xenopax]

Navigator Lukan, how will this affect our journey time?

[Destro_Yersul]

"Something is, indeed, not right." Attano examined the frost on the walls. "If you were seeing events from the ship's past, when did it get boarded by Xenos? What sort of Xenos did you see, Brother Alisan?"