The Great Price (Game Thread)

[ShadowWolfSBI]

Re: The Great Price (Game Thread)

Mallia's psychic search turned up no clues. No 'static' or other disruption, although the mild headache seemed just slightly worse.

Meanwhile, Markus was having trouble identifying the exact manner of head removal beyond some manner of violent explosion. Drake, however, immediately spotted some telltale signs... Indicating bolter fire as the cause.

And while looking through the remaining possessions, Seraph found two things... A damaged cognomen, and a spent bolter shell. Of the type used by a Godwyn-De'az pattern bolter.

Rather than over the vox, Hastus' response to Mallia's callout came telepathically. Track an Arvus? We'll try... Ready your cell for rapid movement, though. Things may be about to get very hairy. From impressions she'd get... Things were already hairy for the Primaris.

 

[lurker]

Re: The Great Price (Game Thread)

Seraph scooped up the spare bolter casing in her hand, a dark frown crossing her features. It was a very specific make of shell here...

"Godwyn-De'az pattern casings. Someone's fired a Sister's bolter here... though it doesn't mean it's related to this man's death..." she reasoned, more to herself than anyone in particular. She didn't want to think of the possibility of a gang member having stolen such a violent weapon.

 

[cross_grave]

Re: The Great Price (Game Thread)

"Are you certain?" I raised my heard as I heard the Sister mumble, somehow catching her speech. The manner of the man's death... I was not sure, but it could have been a bolter shot. Still, if that was the case, why was the shell so close to the man's body? That implied the shot was fired from close range, or that someone deliberately put it there - the latter didn't make much sense. "So. We got a corpse, probably killed with a Sororita bolter... Hang on a sec, I was certain the killed Sisters back at the convoy were not robbed of a weapon." I paused to think. "Whoever did this, I wonder how they got their hands on something like that. And that Arvus... What the Hell is going on here?"

 

[Caulder]

Re: The Great Price (Game Thread)

"Based on the spatter and force with which the head was removed, this man's head was clearly removed as the result of a bolter explosion." Drake's Vox speaker pipes up, the mechanicus standing and turning to face the Sister of Battle. "It is safe to assume that this deed was accomplished by a Godwyn-De'az pattern bolter, based upon your findings." he says matter-of-factly, cold and monotone logic pouring out of his speaker.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: The Great Price (Game Thread)

"Primaris Hastus believes we should be prepared for rapid movement," Mallia says from her position over by the doorway. Her head leans against the psy focus mechanica atop her aquila head staff and she rocks her body back and forth to help dull the pain of her growing headache.

"Something wicked this way comes," she moans, more to herself than to her companions, though the volume of her voice is loud enough for them to hear.

 

[lurker]

Re: The Great Price (Game Thread)

Seraph gritted her teeth in annoyance as she stood up, having looted the other object off of the corpse as well. "Something about this still don't feel right. It could have been any other bolter weapon, but it seems too much a coincidence that they allowed a Godwyn's shot so near the corpse. I get the impression this may be a setup."

She meanwhile held out the cognomen, giving the Mechanius a quizzical look. "However, what do you make of this?"

 

[Caulder]

Re: The Great Price (Game Thread)

Drake plucks the cognomen from the Sister's hand, examining it carefully. "You claim this was on the headless body, Sister?" he asks, his breath catching for a second as his breathing apparatus gurgles and makes a disgusting slurping noise, then quickly quiets down and a fine mist sprays from the vents on the side of his neck, his interest in the cognomen not faltering once during the ordeal, his hands working deftly to repair any damage he could find.

 

[ShadowWolfSBI]

Re: The Great Price (Game Thread)

After checking his work, Drake would possibly be slightly pleased to see that his efforts had some effect. While there were bits of the information that was lost due to physical damage to the device, most of the information could be recovered. Only part of the name could be recovered: Trantor. Given the identification pic showing a particular devotional tattoo visible on the left shoulder of the cognomen's owner, a tattoo present in the exact same spot on the corpse would strongly suggest that the body and the cognomen went together.

However, from a slight distance away came the sound of approaching footsteps.

 

[lurker]

Re: The Great Price (Game Thread)

"Only thing I could locate, beyond his mashed skull and the round casing," she confirms.

At the noise of footsteps, Seraph stiffened a bit, turning to face the direction, cradling her weapon as she watched for the source of the noise.

 

[cross_grave]

Re: The Great Price (Game Thread)

I stiffened a bit when I heard the footsteps, roused out of my contemplation of the clues we managed to find. Sadly, it seemed that I would not be allowed the luxury of time to ponder upon our findings. "Weapons at the ready!" I barked, the psyker's earlier remark at the forefront of my mind. "Find some cover, or at least don't stand out in the open!" Pulling out my shotgun, I already moved to find a firing position. I was not going to risk being ambushed. "Assume they're hostile unless it's clearly otherwise!" I tried to listen in to the footsteps, desperate to determine anything about the arrivals before they reached our position.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: The Great Price (Game Thread)

Mallia presses herself up against the doorway, using the stonework as cover while she holds her las pistol up to her shoulder and her staff in front of her as she waits for the footsteps to reveal their maker.

 

[Caulder]

Re: The Great Price (Game Thread)

Drake blinks several times after completing his repairs, still distracted by the tech in his hands and not even noticing the footsteps, though he does notice his companions tensing up. "You all appear to be suffering from an acute instinctual response tied to some manner of external stimuli. Clarify." he says, looking around for the source of whatever has his companions spooked.

 

[ShadowWolfSBI]

Re: The Great Price (Game Thread)

Drake would receive a bit of "external stimuli" of his own, as something large slammed into the ground near him... Apparently having expected him to move in a different way than he did. Although things were suddenly confused by the surprise attack, one thing would be readily apparent... Whatever this attacker was, it wasn't human.



And whatever the source of the approaching footsteps were, the pace was quickly increased. Hopefully, help was on the way.

 

[ShadowWolfSBI]

Re: The Great Price (Game Thread)

((Double-post to handle the combat.))

Mallia's laspistol shot seemed to merely graze what seemed to be some manner of chitin on the attacker's head. However, Drake's shock from the surprise quickly turned to righteous rage, and his shot leveled the attacking creature square in the center of its mass.

Surprisingly, the shot left a smoking crater on what appeared to be a weak point in its chitin, and the creature briefly struggled for a moment, let out an inhuman screech of pain, then collapsed.

It was the size of a large man covered in chitinous growths, its mouth open to reveal a long tongue, and its forelimbs ending in scythe-like blades.

The footsteps came to a halt nearby, and a deep male voice let out a short bark of a laugh, then added, "Well, I certainly was not expecting to see this."

The speaker was easily taller than any of the cell, and was clad in mostly black armor. The left arm was silver and etched with writing, the pauldron of that arm bearing some manner of emblem based around a cross-like affair with a skull set in the middle. The right pauldron was silver, like the left arm, and bore a symbol of the Inquisition, similar to the Rosette of Inquisitor Klightus. His helmet was white, as was the right kneepad, which bore some manner of medicae-related insignia. The left kneepad was also white, but showed a blue shield with a white lightning bolt in the center of it.

The ranged weapons carried by this approaching man were clearly bolters, although larger and a different pattern from that carried by the Sister of Battle. He also had a power sword with him, although it was again, far larger than any of the cell's weapons. On his right arm rode some manner of device.

 

[Caulder]

Re: The Great Price (Game Thread)

Drake's respirator catches as he stands almost completely still, his eyes fixated on the inhuman creature, his vox speaker crackling and popping, as if it was having a difficult time trying to figure out what he was trying to say, before finally playing out something vaguely like words. "The Omnissiah blesses me this day." plays out in the usual monotone, the Mechanicus' eyes still locked on the creature, and his lascarbine readied, in the off-chance it could still get back up.

 

[lurker]

Re: The Great Price (Game Thread)

Seraph had barely raised her personal weapon before the burst of lasgun beams scattered into the target, with the creature's shrieks of death echoing through the street. Quietly, the Godwyn-De'az bolter lowered again, though safety was still ready should another foe comes.

With the words of another not of the cell suddenly appearing, Seraph turned to face him, and a visible look of relief crosses over her body language. "Thank goodness..." she muttered under her breath as she quickly bowed to the Deathwatch soldier, voice returning to normal as she addressed him. "The Emperor honors us with your presence, Brother! It is glad to serve alongside those of your chapter again!"

 

[cross_grave]

Re: The Great Price (Game Thread)

((Switching to TPP for the time being.))

Markus was also aiming at the mysterious creature, though apparently there was little need for that. Either Drake was extremely lucky, or he was far more combat capable than the Arbites gave him credit. Whatever that thing was, it clearly made a mistake when it picked the techpriest as the target of it's assault. "Emperor guided your hand, I think..." Argent muttered, getting over his suprise. The mechanicus certainly impressed him this day.

His head quickly turned as he heard the source of the footstep arrive, half-expecting another attacker even at the sound of laughter. Instead, Markus found himself looking at a Space Marine - a member of the Deathwatch no less, Inquisition's elite anti-xenos force. He couldn't recognize the chapter off the top of his head nor some of the equipment on the marine's arm, but the symbol was curiously similiar to the one used by medicae. An apothecary, then? Still, if things like the one just killed by Drake were the source of this planet's issues, then that would certainly explain his presence. "My lord." Argent bowed to show his respect. "We are honored by your presence. Our techpriest just dispatched this... Creature. It attacked us during our investigation of the site."

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: The Great Price (Game Thread)

With two searing discharges of las energy, the moment of crises was over. Mallia had sworn she had hit the attacker - some strange, chitinous monstrosity whose fearsome appearance was diminished only by its quick death - cleanly upon its skull, but her shot had bounced harmlessly aside. Drake's point blank effort however, had a much more fortunate result. The searing energy bypassed the fearsome armor of their foe as if it had been guided by the Emperor's protective grace, the energy trapped within its chest cavity by that same armor and ricocheting several times within its body. The creature crumpled to the ground, its scything limbs twitching and then suddenly still.

"The Emperor protects." Mallia intoned the familiar oath, though never before had she said it with such apt evidence laying before her.

The footsteps drew the aim of her laspistol, but she quickly pulled up, recognizing the oncoming figure as not an enemy but a defender of mankind - one of the legendary space marines, whose presence kept her in awe. She was surprised that some of her companions were so calm in the presence of such a rare being, even if it was known that these superior men were on the planet with them. Among the untold billions of humanity within the imperium, only a staggeringly small fraction would ever glimpse a space marine in their lifetimes, and smaller still were those who would speak to such a warrior. For Mallia, this was an unexpected first, though obviously to those like Seraph, this was more familiar ground.

The others had done the job of hailing the man and asking to be of service, and so the psyker contented herself to remain in the background and allow others to drive the conversation forward. In the meantime, she moved closer to the creature and studied it, though always with her laspistol out and pointing directly at it.

 

[ShadowWolfSBI]

Re: The Great Price (Game Thread)

The marine gave a small snort. "It is no small feat, even for some of my Brothers, dispatching one of those xenos. Tyranid Genestealers have even been known to cause severe harm even to us."

He stepped over to the corpse, then slammed his right fist into it. The device on his arm coming to life once he did. "Let us see what I can find out about it." After a moment, he withdrew his hand and looked at the device. Apparently, he didn't like what he saw as his free hand moved over the device, as if trying to follow something. "That can not be right." After saying that, muffled words came from his helmet, possibly him running through some minor catachism or the like.

 

[cross_grave]

Re: The Great Price (Game Thread)

Tyranids... So those were xenos after all. Perhaps that explained the nature of deaths suffered by the previous cell. At the moment, however, Markus was somewhat more curious about the marine's efforts and the device he was using. Or rather, the problems the marine was apparently detecting. Because any issues that cropped up would likely be something the cell would end up having to deal with in one way or another. Gathering himself, Argent decided to ask. "Is this one... Some kind of irregular, my lord?"