Mortis Thule (IC)

[Destro_Yersul]

"I would take it, unless anyone disagreed, but the choice should fall to our leader." Attano turned, the red eye lenses of his pointed helmet glowing in the dark. "Brother Octavius? Who should wield the Hammer?"

[Gunhaven]

Dhiiga brushed off SAN as the servitor whirled back to life and confirmed that their rockets were still intact despite everything that happened. He then carefully carried Yngvar over to the servitor and helped get the unconscious space marine situated before they moved out to the chapel. His voice caught when he saw the devastation that the chapel had sustained, composing himself as he helped his brother cement the Emperor back to His proper position.
He looked at his brother holding the hammer and said ”I don’t think Brudda Yngva’d want us to use it. If the squad’s gonna, though, then I’d like to give it a try. We got launchas for a reason. But now…” He audibly calmed his breath as he looked around, slowly saying ”We gotta find a new ship. Let’s see what’s still here?” Even as he spoke he was looking for a map of the Crusader and where the landing craft would’ve been at, on the off chance it was a portion of the ship fused with the hulk,

[PotatoGolem]

Before leaving the bridge, Xavier makes an attempt to diagnose the ship's ills. He nods to Octavius. I will try, brother. But know that the machine spirit is likely gravely wounded, and that ascertaining the precise status of the ship will be nigh-impossible. He roams the deck, seeking a data-port to try to interface with the Machine Spirit. When he finds one, He kneels and places his electro-graft upon it, murmuring prayers softly.

---------------------------

Xavier looks around at the devastation sadly. He picks up the corpses of the crew gently, placing them in dignified positions and closing their eyes. Sleep well, brave soldiers. You died in the Emperor's name, and sit at His side. We shall not forget you.

He looks up at the squad. Now, brothers, this is no time to stand on ceremony. Bearing the hammer is a great honor, true, but it is also one of our greatest weapons and hopes of salvation. It must be wielded by he who is most skilled at the desperate dance of close combat. That means, most likely, an Assault Marine. The others of us- myself, Brother Octavius, Brother Tyrax, and such- have spent too much of our efforts on mastering the other aspects of battle to use it most efficiently. He raises a hand towards Attano.

[Haval]

Now you get a closer look at the hammer you see that it has the name 'Maul of the Gatekeeper' inscribed in High Gothic along the haft. You can also see the icon of the Storm Wardens chapter on the hammer's face.

From your time in the armoury at Erioch you all know that much of the wargear stored there comes from elsewhere. Sometimes brothers bring weapons and armour along with them as they serve in the Deathwatch. If the brother falls in battle their wargear is often stored with honour at Erioch until such time as each chapter can reclaim it. Occasionally, weapons that were involved in battles with particularly dangerous xenos are bequeathed to the Deathwatch as long as they wish to keep them. This hammer must be the later kind of weapon.

Spoiler: Maul of the Gatekeeper

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As Master-Crafted Thunder Hammer with the additional effect that PCs may spend Fate Points to augment the damage it inflicts when fighting xenos of any type. This augmentation is declared before Damage is rolled, and each Fate Point spent adds an additional d10 to the weapon’s Damage for that attack only.

[Xenopax]

I agree. Brother Attano would be the best choice to wield the Hammer. While it hurt him physically to say that anyone would be a better choice than him in anything, it was the truth.

[Darkstorm]

"This is a relic of the Imperium. We can't leave it here to it's doom, it's our duty to preserve it, and when we're safe, return it to their owners." says Octavius.

"It is a great honor to use it. Use it well brother."

He waits for the report by Xavier, and says "Next to the armory to gather suplies"

[Destro_Yersul]

"You honour me, Brothers." Attano hefted the hammer, testing its weight in his hand. It was a magnificent weapon, and now it would fall to him to uphold the Maul's proud history. "I will bear it into battle, and with it smite our foes in the Emperor's name. I will see it returned to Erioch, or I will die in pursuit of that goal. Should I fall, Brothers, this task must pass to you."

[Haval]

The Bridge

Interfacing with the wreck of the Crusader gives Xavier some idea of the extent of the damage to the ship. There's no power on the bridge but Xavier's implants allow him to lend the ship enough energy to temporarily access it's systems. The ship has undergone massive impact damage as a result of it's collision with the Space Hulk. There have been numerous hull breaches on the lower decks and there are records of internal bulkheads closing to prevent loss of atmosphere. The status of engineering is unknown, but there appears to be small fires burning in parts of the gun decks. You can see no indication that any of the crew survived.

As far as you can tell the Crusader has materialised in the same space as Mortis Thule. What this means in practice would need more investigation. Given enough members of the Adeptus Mechanicus perhaps the Crusader could theoretically be cut free at some point and made space worthy again. In practice, as is common with many Space Hulks, the Crusader may have melded with Mortis Thule to such an extent that it is now virtually impossible to recover.

The Armoury

When you finally make your way down to the armoury you find that the place is a mess. Something seems to have set off the munitions that were stored there and the last remains of the of the resulting fire is still burning. Still, the Crusader was an Astartes ship and it's armoury is well stocked. Perhaps some of it can still be recovered

Spoiler: ooc

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Anyone who wants to can roll Search. Probably at basic, but you get the +20 for autosenses and heightened senses.

If you pass you get one choice of up to 20 req.

The Launch Bays

At some point some of you investigate the Crusader's launch decks. The primary deck’s armoured door has been fractured and it's interior is exposed to the void. The Thunderhawk that was previously kept there has been ripped in two by unknown forces, its drive section embedded in one wall and its forward section crushed against the armoured bay doors. Both of the secondary launch decks are inaccessible. You realise that they occupy the part of the ship that seems to have been melded with Mortis Thule and so there is likely to be wreckage blocking any access.

The primary lauch deck does include an intact drop pod cradle, but you realise that even should you wish to use it to get you into the open void, it may not even even be enough to escape the gravity well that the Space Hulk seems to have created. Eventually you will only be dragged back to crash somewhere else.

Dhiiga

As the Kill Team moves through the Crusader Dhiiga can hear the faint sound of a vox signal through his helmet. The machine spirit of Astartes power armour is often made to perform various useful tasks while it's owner is busy. One of these involves scanning for active vox signals, thus allowing an Astartes to stay aware of what else might be going on in a warzone. The signal sounds to you like machine code.

Spoiler: ooc

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Roll Int to know what the signal is. I'm not saying what the modifiers are.

Anyone can roll Int for this as Dhiiga probably tells the others.

[Gunhaven]

Dhiiga didn’t let the sight of the launch bay disappoint him. He managed to scavenge something from the Armory and it appeared that the hammer was in good hands. He couldn’t disagree with the group’s reasoning to use such a relic, knowing he’d do much the same when he finally received a golden chalice. Perhaps when he survived the Hulk, or if he managed to recover one…

His daydreaming was cut short when he picked up a signal on his Vox. After a moment of listening he said ”Bruddas, got a signal.” He spent a moment to share what he heard with the others before he said ”Sounds like we got someone alive. Just as I was gonna suggest makin holes.”

Spoiler: Acquisition

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I’ll browse the books and find something to grab. If there’s something the group needs then I’d choose that over something silly like more missiles.

Either way I’ll post in the OOC and edit the sheet when I find something.

[Xenopax]

Brothers...the signal is Imperial in origin. While it reeks of a trap, Honor demands we mount a rescue of whoever sent the signal out. Tis a fellow Space Marine, so we may recover their geneseed at worst and gain more fighting forces at best.

[Destro_Yersul]

"Can we tell where the signal is coming from? It may be an automated message. Whatever the case, I recommend caution as we investigate." As he spoke, Brother Attano scanned through frequencies on his helmet's vox, trying to isolate the signal.

[Haval]

While there are differences in the ciphers used by the many Astartes Chapters, they come from a similar origin in the days of the Legions, and so some of you are able to get the gist of the signal. The message is a simple one. The machine spirit of the Angels of Vengeance Strike Cruiser Sword of Corswain asks for aid from any Imperial forces able to receive this message. There is no information on how long the signal has been transmitting for or even if anyone is still alive on the ship, but that you're receiving the signal at all suggests that the Strike Cruiser still has power, and may at least be in a better state then the Crusader is.

Once everyone can hear the signal it is trivial for Xavier to work out roughly the distance to it's source. Once you've found a way off the wreck of the Crusader it would be perhaps a few hours walk if you could avoid any obstructions. Whether you'll be able to do that on a Space Hulk seems unlikely.

Spoiler: Cadmus Only

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Corswain is a famed Dark Angel from the Horus Heresy. He was arguably the finest swordsman in the Legion. His actual sword is now carried into battle by the most skilled warrior in the Ravenwing. You've probably seen it in use.

The Angels of Vengeance are a Dark Angels Successor Chapter of the Second Founding. You are aware that some of them are present as part of the Achillus Crusade, but you don't think this particular Strike Cruiser is one of the ships they brought with them.

[Gunhaven]

Dhiiga for his part made some final adjustments to his jetpack before he looked off in the direction of the launch bays. Merriment was clear in his voice as he said ”Bruddas, what do ya say to a space walk?” As he waited for a better idea he tested the gravity by flexing his feet and giving the jetpack a couple test fires to make sure it worked.

[boj0]

Alisan looks through the wreckage of the armory, saddened by the loss of his brothers and comrades. He is Astartes though and forces himself to not stop, under a crewman crushed by a terminal, he finds a few clips of ammunition, "Thank you for your sacrifice." He would make sure to put it to good use.

Upon hearing that there was an Imperial signal, Alisan nods in agreement that if there was another Marine to save, they had a duty to do it.

[PotatoGolem]

Xavier pulls open a crumpled storage locker with his servo-arm, finding a serviceable jump-pack. Excellent! This will serve nicely. Let us be off. There may be brothers still alive on that ship. He strides off, servo arm sweeping detritus out of his path.

[Haval]

Before you leave the Crusader you renew your Oath to the Emperor. The circumstances are very different to what you had been anticipating on Castobel and, without allies, your chances of survival may be slim. Yet as before, your Oath strengthens you against whatever is to come.

The one launch bay you have been able to access offers the easiest way off the Crusader. The surface of Mortis Thule is a mass of metal and rock, but it appears stable enough that it gives you a way down from the ship that even SAN ought to be able to follow. In the distance, ships that have been able to maintain their structural integrity can be seen breaking the surface. Many of them are familiar to you on sight. The surface of the Space Hulk is well lit by the red light of the Hadex Anomaly, but the terrain is difficult and there are long shadows cast by the wrecked ships. If there is anything alive out there you may have difficulty seeing it coming.

But as it happens you will not need to walk on the surface of Mortis Thule for that long. Outside the Crusader Xavier is able to get a more accurate fix on the distress signal. It is fairly close but it is coming from a few km down within the Hulk. As ships crash onto Mortis Thule, they are eventually buried by layers of new wreckage. Much like the insides of a planet, parts of the Hulk are moving as gravity eventually drags ships down to it's centre. To get to the Sword you will need to go below the surface and find whatever route you can. The nearest and most stable looking entry point is the rear section of what appears to be a Mars class Battle Cruiser. As far as you can see the ship lies at an angle with most of it's length below the surface, but you can see from here that the ship's engine section ought to be accessible.

[TheNotoriousSMP]

Kvothe idly turned over a piece of the room's rubble with his armored boot, but found nothing but more rubble. No matter, he still possessed his requisitioned equipment so he was not lacking for options at the moment.

Upon hearing that there was an Imperial signal in the area the Raven Guard nodded to Xavier. "Let us be off then," he said, hefting his bolter and preparing himself for the possibility for facing one of the Hulk's no doubt numerous native terrors

[Xenopax]

In the Chapel: Tyrax carefully picks up the icon of his Gene-father. He fixes up what he can before attaching it to his belt. He would not leave the Angel here to be defiled by whoever found it.

---

Present: As Tyrax walks toward the destination he notes something. He says through their group vox, Brothers. Tracks leading toward the ship. My instincts say tyrannid merely because of how often they appear in space hulks, but my knowledge on these matters is lacking.

[Gunhaven]

Dhiiga looked at the surface of the hulk and sighed within his helmet. He shifted the missile launcher and made sure SAN could follow in his footsteps, sending over the vox "Engine's our best bet, right bruddas? Betta if we can get the bugs to us less stealthy bruddas." He continued to keep an eye out lest the tyranids attacked them on the outside of the hulk, idly judging what adjustments he'd need to make for his launcher.

[Haval]

You are on the outer surface of the Space Hulk for about half an hour, and as far as you can tell, there is no sign that anything else is alive out here. That is not to say you are safe though. The terrain flattens out as you get closer to the wreck of the Battle Cruiser but you can all see tunnel entrances and larger pieces of wreckage rising out of the ground to either side of you. You are clearly walking across the wreckage of other ships, and if someone had a mind to ambush you this would be a good place for them to do it.

In such a place scouting ahead to see an enemy approaching makes good tactical sense and Attano peels off from the group early. Even in the unfamiliar terrain he melts into the landscape, and most of the others never even see him leave. Perhaps Alisan and Kvothe, who might expect this sort of thing and who know what to look for are the only ones who notice.

Tyrax is the first to spot the tracks but once he points it out they can be easily seen by everyone. Many creatures passed through here at speed and appear to have been moving both towards and away from the wreck you are heading towards. The path you are on appears to be well used by something. Tyrax suspects Tyranids but Alisan is certain of it. The tracks are made by a creature with wickedly sharp claws and you know that the Tyranids would certainly be capable of surviving in this place. The dome of of force that Tyrax calls up is more than large enough to cover the majority of the group. It was better to be prepared and the warp was very easy to reach for in this place.

Yet all remains more or less quiet. There is a brief tremor as you near the Battle Cruiser. Parts of the Hulk are evidently moving around somewhere. You have felt worse tremors on many planets, indeed Xavier is well versed in them from growing up on Nocturne, but you realise that it might be very different if it ever happens closer to you.

You can enter the Battle Cruiser through a large rent near the engine section. Whether the ship took this wound in battle or since it ended up on Mortis Thule is unclear. Ahead of you is what looks like a maintenance corridor to allow the Mechanicus to access the more sensitive parts of the ship's exhaust. Normally you would expect it to lead you directly to Engineering. Everything is dark inside the ship.

As you enter your armour notifies you of the presence of radiation in the area. The obvious suspect is the ship's engine. Your implanted organs give you a limited immunity to levels of radiation that would kill a normal human, but the closer you get to the drive the more you test that immunity.

Spoiler: Alisan only

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Out of habit you have been trying to pay attention to everything around you while you are outside. If there are enemies out here it would be better to see them coming.

That is why you notice the figure as you enter the ship. To the north there is a great ridge about 10 km or so away. The size of it may be judged by the wreck of an Ork Terror ship that you can see at the ridge's base. You can't see any detail about the figure on top of the ridge even with your armour's autosenses. To even see it at all at this distance it must be something larger then Xavier even. You think that it might be watching you all.

[PotatoGolem]

Xavier works the auspex, trying to get a more accurate reading of the radiation level. Brothers. The radiation levels are rising rapidly. It would be wise to consider taking another route. I will take the lead to divine the exact degree of radiation, so that we may turn back before it is too late.

Spoiler: OOC

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Tech-Use for Auspex: (1d100)[65] vs 75

[boj0]

"Caution Xavier, there is something watching us on the ridge. Something large judging by the distance."

Alisan slips to the side of Xavier, his bulk hopefully covering his next action, drawing his bolter and seeing if he can get a better view with his scope.

Concealment vs 102
(1d100)[15]

Awareness vs 75
(1d100)[62]

[Haval]

Through his scope Alisan ought to have gotten a clearer picture of whatever was watching them, but it doesn't seem to be there now. Obviously just because you can't see anything it doesn't mean there is nothing there. Given the time constraints you are under it is not as if you can take what would be a long detour to investigate. You would have to hope that whatever is watching you isn't interested enough to follow you into the Battle Cruiser.

You move on into a series of cramped maintenance corridors that lead you down towards the engineering decks. According to your armour the radiation levels have risen the closer you get to the ship’s plasma reactors, although as yet the radiation is still tolerable for Astartes. You emerge on one of the gantries high above the massive space that is main engineering. Some of you might never have been in such a place, only knowing them by reputation, as non-members of the Mechanicus are typically kept out. For them it is a holy temple to the Omnissiah and is treated much the same as any Ecclesiarchy Cathedral. Everywhere you can see signs of damage. Panels are broken in parts of the walls and ceiling exposing air vents and pipework. Parts of the gantry you are standing on have broken and fallen to the deck. Some of the machinery below you is visibly broken although the occasional light does suggest that there is still power coming from somewhere. To the right and below you are the armoured security doors leading to the reactor chamber. Directly below you are the shield generatoria. To left and below you can make out a larger security bulkhead that was evidently designed to be closed in emergencies such as when the ship was boarded and the Mechanicus went into lockdown. These outer security doors seem to have been broken open by something. From the looks of it the force needed to open them would have been substantial.

The wrecked ship is quiet, but as you emerge in engineering you can hear something. There is a sound of whispering voices coming from somewhere and not from over the vox. As far as you can tell you are alone, although the combination of darkness and the plentiful cover below you mean that you cannot be certain of that. Whatever it is the voices are just on the edge of hearing and there are perhaps too many talking at once to make out what they are saying. The effect is distracting.

Tyrax easily recognises the voices as part of the lingering after-effects of the warp on this place. Depending on how long this Battle Cruiser has been here it has entered and left the warp without the protection of a gellar field many, and perhaps hundreds of times. It is likely to not be the ship it once was.

[Xenopax]

The warp is strong here brothers. Pay no heed to it's whispers. He opens his mind eye once more to the warp but again it was too bright to make out anything.

[TheNotoriousSMP]

The cramped nature of their surroundings does not set Kvothe's teeth on edge, as he has heard members of the Imperial Guard, or a Planetary Defense Force, say. That sort of reaction has long since been removed from him. Despite that however it is unpleasant to be in such a place. The Warp is clearly strong here, as Tyrax notes, and despite not receiving a formal training in psykery his mentors had always been sure to instill a healthy caution towards the Immaterium in the recruits.

Kvothe did his best to ignore the whispers, and for the most part it was easy to do so. But every once in a while one of the voices would be so damn familiar; dredging up a half-forgotten memory of times best left in the past. Shaking his head to clear it, the Raven Guard pressed onward. following his brothers in their search of the ship they were in

[Haval]

As you file out onto the gantries you begin to notice the bodies. Many can be seen here and there among the machinery below you, but there are a few near to you up here as well. Something has evidently slaughtered the Mechanicus personnel that worked here, although judging by the state of the bodies this battle happened years, or even decades ago. There are larger concentrations of bodies outside the main entrance to engineering and outside the entrance to the ship's reactor. Many are skittari, but you can make out augmented humans and the odd Tech Priest among the dead. All of you are experienced enough in war to guess what happened here. The Mechanicus tried to defend the doors to engineering and were unsuccessful. They then fell back to defend the reactor and were defeated there in turn. You can see no bodies that aren't Mechanicus, so whoever they were fighting is unclear.

The nearest body is sprawled across a walkway leading to your left that leads down eventually towards the main doors that should let you into the rest of the ship. Most of the flesh on this crewman has decayed, but you can make what may have been the wounds on his back that probably killed him. If he died like that he was probably running from something. As you watch the side of the body bulges unnaturally and a small creatures burrows it's way out of the corpse before slithering on top of it to continue feeding. The creature is maggot-like with a mouth the size of your fist filled with serrated teeth.You easily recognise this as a Tyranid Ripper. It currently seems to be more interested in it's meal.

[Gunhaven]

Dhiiga frowns behind the helmet at the Ripper and immediately moved to stab at it. At the same time he said over the vox "We got 'nids, bruddas." He looked around and continued to frown as he attempted to see if any of the other corpses were being eaten from his current vantage point.

[Xenopax]

Careful brothers. Where there is one, there is more. Tyrax stomps on the Ripper. Tyranid Filth.

[Destro_Yersul]

Attano clicked the vox. He still hadn't appeared from wherever he was, scouting ahead, but had clearly entered the same ship by his words. "Brothers, I believe I have located the source of the radiation in this vessel. Shall we repair it, or simply go around?"

Kvothe might recall that Attano had an implanted augur array, and was likely using it to get around hazards.

[Haval]

As Tyrax approaches it the Ripper finally looks up and hisses in anger before the Librarian's boot breaks it's back. There are answering hisses from across engineering. Some of them come from the rents in the ceiling above you.

Dhiiga looks down into engineering and, now he pays closer attention to the bodies he can see that some of them have been partially eaten. Here and there you can see some of the Rippers that have been eating them. All of them are looking up at you.

Whether you've faced the Tyranids before or not, all of you are aware of the distinction between Synapse creatures and everything else. Without a Synapse creature present Tyranids are still dangerous, but they don't all respond in the same way, and some of them are as likely to flee to gain an advantage as to fight you. Dhiiga has heard that some in the Ordo Xenos are of the opinion that engaging the lesser Tyranid creatures is likely to inform the greater Hive mind of the existence of something that might be a threat to it. The Rippers are of little real threat to you, even in great numbers, but defeating them increases the chance that something else might come looking to see what happened to them.