A Decade on the Edge (Game Thread: Closed, Dead)

[sage42]

Natasha's head jerked as the ship rumbled, her flamer moving with her sight. She didn't like this. To much was unknown, too many places for...whatever was aboard the hulk to hide. "He is our torch in the darkness, our shield against the evils on all sides. The Faithful shall be nestled in his flames, the Heretics shall be as ash in the wind." She prayed aloud as her gaze drifted through the room.

"Alright, Let's Move out."

"Gladly, the sooner we find whatever haunts this hulk the better."

"Give me something I can actually shoot any day."

"You and me both Eva, you and me both." She said looking back towards the gaurdswoman. "Though if this Hulk is any indication, I doubt this will be the last time you deal with the perils of the Warp before our ten years are up. Far from my last if I have any say."

 

[Evrant-Knight]

"I'm not sure if it's safe to call in the salvage teams at all but not my call. I think the three of us are probably going to head further in. See if this ship has anything to offer." Replied Jack as he gave a status report. Through the radio, Grimm could hear that something was going on in the background, but the static was making difficult to make out clearly as to what it was. "I'm going to have to call you back."

Grimm gave a huff then continued to patrol the area, seeing if there was anything useful, when suddenly a crackling came from his vox unit, followed by a voice that didn't sound... right. "This is a wide band transmission from Boarding team nineteen. Does anyone read?"

"I dun't lyke da sownd of dis, mite be Chaos trying to screw with us. Howedda', cud be a genuine cry for help. Best play along."

Grimm then pressed down on the receive button of his Vox unit.

"Yeah, I hear ya Humie, what do you want?"

 

[Anti-American Eagle]

After a few moments of silence the voice of the rating picked up and spoke again to the Space Wolf "We've received a response. Identification hasn't been received yet, but it's being sent from one of our frequencies. It sounds like an ork. Do you want us to relay the signal to you sir?"

A few moments later the voice spoke to the Ork from the other party "An incursion is suspected on board. Our lord is requesting an identification. Can you identify yourself?"

[hr]

The Space Wolf, The Black Templar, The Sister of Battle, and the Guardswoman left the room as they finished their investigation of it. The paths forward were many and there were still some of their number behind them.

As they decided upon their course of action, an explosion in the distance could be heard.

To the west of their position, they would find in the halls a corpse reduced to chunks. Charred and frozen meat coated the vicinity of the scorch mark on the ground. The pattern would be consistent with a fragmentation grenade.

[hr]

As Smoke moved forward through the cold halls and the lights he began seeing what appear to have once been tripwires. Cut and snapped, the explosives sitting across from them sat disabled in the cold. Further along he came upon a room, lights leading to it like a path. Corpses sat in it in various states. Imperials torn limb from limb, most with what was left of their bodies, their arms, their hands tightly gripping their weapons. The chargepacks on them spent for the most part with scorch marks on the walls corresponding to lasweapons.

[hr]

As Jack and Kalgard walked forward through the caves of frozen coolant fluid they finally layed their eyes upon the creature in the darkness. It looked like a man. He or it was wearing what looked like guardsman cold weather gear though it lacked anything identifying. The Face of it was exposed to the elements and revealed that it was as frozen and ruined as the corpses they had come across previously. In one hand it held a large pipe and in the other a knife.

As the men layed their eyes upon it, it seemed to notice them as well. Its movements were jagged and seemed uncoordinated as it started walking towards the two men.

[hr]

What felt like hours of walking settled into minutes as the party reached its destination. Volkov looked on in wonder as they found the reactor. It was massive, something from another age. Something that deserved studying once the ship was secured. The Tech priests with him began to wander the structure around it, looking for controls and readouts to the behemoth of a generator as the security team began to search for vantage points and set up their generators.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

"An incursion is suspected on board. Our lord is requesting an identification. Can you identify yourself?" Spoke the Humie on the other end of the Vox, his voice and mannerisms making him more to be the genuine article than some copycat trick made up by the forces of Chaos.

"Of course Humie." Grimm replied with a deep sounding chuckle. "I am Grimmfang, Ork Kommando, and member of the second entry team sent to this 'ere Krooza to aid in securing it. Sorry for knot getting in touch sooner Humie, we've been having a few... technical problems on our end; there was some unusual interference playing havoc with our Vox units."

"Guess you be wanting a status report then?"

 

[thatsnozaku]

Brother Hulic, Group One

Hulic paused as the explosion would likely be felt as much as heard due to its proximity in such a confined space, autosenses directing a crosshair over the direction of the disturbance yet sighting no signs of anything living at the group's current range. The fire and zeal within the young Astartes' powerful hearts called for him to go in swinging the enormous relic blade presently secured to his armor's power pack, yet the voice of a departed mentor rose forth to remind him of what falling for such ploys had cost him. A bitter tension filled the space marine's stomach, his dark eyes again narrowing with irritation as the edge he had first spoken with once again came forth, distorted and intensified by his laureled helmet's vox-booster.

"We are being called that way, and perhaps it is here that some of us might answer it with the Emperor's divine reckoning.. but not all of us should be baited into the same trap so easily. To separate is to play the game we mean to unmake, yet to simply move as we are guided is to unmake ourselves. I suggest we leave a beacon to find our way back to if we are to indeed part ways here, one that genuine allies might use to navigate towards some manner of rendezvous point. Only then could we verify their faith and loyalty with our own eyes, rather than being tricked by tainted machines and bumps in the void's eternal night."

 

[Sithmorack]

Jack ? Abyssal Halls

Jack thought that he?d be ready for pretty much anything this ship was going to throw at him, mind- game wise.

How horribly wrong he was.

The creature that shambled towards them (for indeed it could no longer be called human) held two weapons in each hand. When Jack had first spotted it, he hadn?t paid it much mind. Figuring it was just another dead corpse. That was until he realized it wasn?t lying on the ground. It was standing upright and as the duo got closer, it turned and stared at them. The first thought that came across his mind was that it was a zombie. Coming to feast on their entrails and turn their visions of death into a reality so they could join the undead legion.

Jack glanced at his companion but he couldn?t really read any of the Eldar?s emotions at this point because of the mask. Jack attempted to calm his nerves and had a little success but he needed to end this. ?This place is going to be the death of me.? Jack thought as he put away his Agripinaa and pulled out his silenced Voss. He was afraid if he made too much noise he could attract unwanted attention to their position. He took aim at the slow moving target. Easily lining up a shot with its head and pulled the trigger. Jack didn?t stop with one bullet but ended up putting about 3 rounds in its head.

 

[Athol]

"We've received a response. Identification hasn't been received yet, but it's being sent from one of our frequencies. It sounds like an ork. Do you want us to relay the signal to you sir?"

Maarku sighed quietly. Allfather forgive me? ?Aye, patch the beast through if you cannot raise any of the others.? Both he and Skoll perked up as a near-by explosion rumbled through the ship. Tightening his grip on his weapons, he looked towards Hulic.

"We are being called that way, and perhaps it is here that some of us might answer it with the Emperor's divine reckoning... but not all of us should be baited into the same trap so easily. To separate is to play the game we mean to unmake, yet to simply move as we are guided is to unmake ourselves. I suggest we leave a beacon to find our way back to if we are to indeed part ways here, one that genuine allies might use to navigate towards some manner of rendezvous point. Only then could we verify their faith and loyalty with our own eyes, rather than being tricked by tainted machines and bumps in the void's eternal night."

?You raise good points Brother, but we must both re-connect with the other boarding parties and discover just what happened to this vessel.? Thinking for a moment, he then gestured to the Krieg trooper that had joined them. ?Since you?re the senior officer from the ship?s compliment, I want you to head back to our insertion point, activate the boarding torpedo?s locator beacon; then take your men and make for the probable landing point of the second boarding party. Since this is just a single vessel, and not some Warp ravaged Hulk, navigating the corridors shouldn?t be unduly dangerous?but be mindful and take no unnecessary risks.?

As the Kreig saluted and headed out, he turned back to the others. ?Hulic take point, let?s see what that blast was. Sister, you cover him, me and the Sergeant have the back.?

 

[Anti-American Eagle]

?Aye, patch the beast through if you cannot raise any of the others.?

A few moments after the Astartes finished speaking the voice returned "It's the only response we've received sire. It's referred to itself as a Kommando named Grimmfang and has identified itself as a member of the second boarding party. Relaying its signal to you now." A faint click could be heard as he finished speaking.

[hr]

"Guess you be wanting a status report then?"

A moment after the Ork finished speaking the voice replied, "Yes. One moment..." A clicking noise could be heard for a few moments before the voice returned "Our lord is now listening."

[hr]

As Jack shot the creature it dropped to the ground spasming. After a few moments the body went still and the room went quiet again. The body was frozen, ruined by the cold and likely time. Its eyes were odd, frozen over completely with the same kind of blueish ice as what was surrounding them.

In the distance, the darkness more shuffling began as a sense of dread washed over them from some unknown source.

[hr]

As the group wandered the frozen halls they cam upon the source of the explosion. A scorch mark covering a part of the hall surrounded by fragments of meat and bone.

[hr]

Across the ship something was beginning to happen. Lights were starting to flicker on, slowly and weakly they were beginning to gain power. This was followed quickly by small electronics. The frozen machines in the medical bay near the one group began to gain power, a machine connected to one of the frozen corpses weakly screeching as it realized the patient was dead. Announcement speakers long dead sputtered to life briefly making a bleeting noise briefly before exploding.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

"Our lord is now listening."

"Right den Humie, where do I begin?" Grim asked rhetorically followed with a clap of his hands.

"Well for starters, we been clearing out our initial entry point; though we had an ickle bit of trouble earlier in the form of some shadows that were dancing about an playing 'avoc with da lites, it seems to 'ave backed off for now though, most of us reckon it was sum kinda Chaos influence trying to scare us."

"Our initial look around has revealed that we landed near somme kinda medical place, given the amount of corpses we found dere. Though them and most of what we been encountering has been covered in somme sort of ice. A few of the team have gone off to scout ahead and to report back anything of use, nothing as of yet though." Just as Grim finished speaking, he could hear a screeching noise coming from the medical bay. Then some of the speakers above him began making random faint noises before promptly exploding.

"Ere, did someone on your end just turn on the power humie? Reason being dat something in the medical room just made a noise." Grim then aimed his Shoota in the direction of the room itself, just as a precaution.

 

[Athol]

"It's the only response we've received sire. It's referred to itself as a Kommando named Grimmfang and has identified itself as a member of the second boarding party. Relaying its signal to you now."

Maarku made a face as crewman spoke. It was bad enough having to share a ship with xenos, but having to actually talk to them? Emperor give me strength. As ?Grimmfang? gave his report Maarku was pleasantly surprised; this Ork didn?t mangle Low Gothic nearly as badly as any of the other of his kind that Maarku had encountered. Will wonders never cease?

?We?ve encountered strange phenomena as well and like you, I suspect powers from the Warp; most likely the Lord of Change or one of its followers.? Hearing that somebody had split from the second group he sighed, scratching his temple with the front sight of his pistol. ?If you can, try and recall whomever left. If we are dealing with the Lord of Change sticking to large groups may be our best bet.? Though an Ork may be dull witted enough that IT may just ignore them. ?As to your question?no we?ve made no attempt to reactivate anything; it must be a localized issue. Maarku out.? He felt unclean talking to an Ork almost like a Brother. Emperor, the things we must endure in Your service?

 

[Sithmorack]

Jack ? Abyssal Halls

The body fell and Jack felt actual relief flood through his system at the sight. However what comfort he felt was diminished, as he heard more of the creatures shambling towards their position. A dread washed over Jack like a simple breeze would. This however wasn?t even his own dread it was some outside source projecting the dread onto him. He looked towards his companion backing away slowly and asked. ?Run or shoot??

 

[thatsnozaku]

Brother Hulic, Group One

"You raise good points Brother, but we must both re-connect with the other boarding parties and discover just what happened to this vessel. Hulic take point, let's see what that blast was. Sister, you cover him, me and the Sergeant have the back."

The time for words having passed in the mind of the the mysteriously unadorned Astartes, Hulic instead answered his battle-brother with action as he strode forwards into the dark without hesitation; without fear! One of the space marine's mighty hands would rise back to again grasp the crimson hilt of his massive ebon blade, releasing it from its magnetic seal to once more fill the cramped chambers of the derelict vessel with its uniquely golden and deceptively peaceful glow. It was not long until they indeed came to the gory aftermath of whatever had transpired, the familiar signs of a fragmentation weapon easily recognized to the titan clad in ebon ceramite, his hand rising to cast the light of his power sword farther into the shadows that surrounded them.. only for the action to be rendered moot by the vessel's sudden activation -- or awakening.

It was then, in the lost ship's increasingly illuminated environs, that Hulic would notice the corpse's condition was such that whoever had been blown to pieces was long dead before being so defiled, confirming in the marine's suspicious mind that they were truly being led somewhere.. or perhaps away from something? Hulic was learned in the arts of war, but he was no enginseer, and so the workings of this strange relic and its layout were as arcane to him as any heretical sorcerer's magic. He briefly considered the ship perhaps slipping into the Warp while they were trapped aboard, but he had been vocal enough up to this point and deigned to keep his own counsel unless the situation necessitated his input, instead relying upon his armor's machine spirit to perhaps highlight something he had missed in his attempts to avoid being played like a piece in a game of Regicide.

 

[booksv2]

Smoke, shaft up

Smelling at the blood again and moving forward Smoke grabs one of the arms laying around and crunches off a large section of it as he looks at the bodys. Eying the scorch marks and picking up a few of the weapons to toss them aside again after seeing they are empty he crunches off another large bite of the arm he is holding and chews through the icy flesh. Listening to his radio crackling and some almost words coming through he ignores them as he moves through the room farther. Dropping the stiff hand still holding the weapon and picking up the torso of another frozen thing he digs his fingers inside the torso and pulls out a handfull, taking it in his mouth and chewing on it sharply. Muttering to himself as he walks through the room towards the back.
"Where is the killing things?"

 

[sage42]

"Hulic take point, let's see what that blast was. Sister, you cover him, me and the Sergeant have the back."

Natasha nodded as she quickly followed after Hulics large strides. Her helmets small light and Hulics pulsating sword did little to to light the hall as she examined the damage to the floor and the remainder of the body. Either these creatures were once human, or they took Imperial equipment off of their victims. If the former then they will pay for their heresy, if the latter why? She looked at the forxen hunks of meat and bone. And why waste them on each other? Surely they have ways of killing each other better than wasting explosives. Even the forces of Chaos are not that far gone.

She stood as the lights flicked back into life. She brought her flamer up and swiveled on the spot, looking for the source of the sudden light. When nothing showed she lowered the barrel slightly. We are being played. Something is toying with us and I mean to see it's fun ruined. She scowled down the hallway beyond. "Let's keep moving sir. The dead here hold no secrets we can find. Perhaps others will." She said stepping over the frozen meat and bone. He is the sun in the dark expanse, our torch in the night. He gives light to the blind burns those who turn away.

 

[Anti-American Eagle]

A series of Vox signals canted into Volkov's ear as the tech priests reported to him

"First cycle completed. Spikes across the board. Radiation leak detected, cause unknown, shielding likely damaged. The reactor will need to be deactivated or the controls will need to be routed and the deck sealed and abandoned. Orders."

After a few moments Volkov responded "Locate controls for the transportation systems and bring them online, reroute controls to a safe distance, and then attempt to repair the damage. Evacuate and seal the area when the rad count becomes dangerous."

"Acknowledged,"

the voice replied.

[hr]

Throughout the ship a mechanical groan could be heard as machines began to reactivate across it. In certain areas it began to sound as if something was banging on and through the walls.

[hr]

After Jack spoke, the Eldar sprinted away and started climbing up the shaft. No response needed apparently. From the darkness another one of the creatures began to shuffle forth, its movements more jagged but its pace a little slower.

[hr]

In the distance Smoke could hear human screaming. Should smoke investigate down the hall, the noise was coming from a human. His left arm was torn off and his flesh was entirely frostbitten. His eyes and the skin around them appeared to be coated in now frozen blood. The uniform on him was imperial, and from Smoke's knowledge of these things it appeared to be naval. The expression on the mans face was that of horror and the screaming emanating from his lips was hoarse and panicked.

[hr]

The halls and rooms began to shake as a great mass passed through something nearby. Though what it was to have passed is unknown, the noise however sounded something like a macro cannon reloading. Around the group dull groaning began and frostbitten corpses began to shuffle out of nearby rooms, moving with jagged steps and confused expressions, their eyes noticeably frozen over with a dull luminescent blue.

 

[sage42]

Natasha froze as the ship groaned around them again, her flamer ready as her gaze wandered across the walls from where the noise originated. The ship breathes still. But is it a death rattle? Or something breathing life into this hulk? And what is that something?

As the groans grew duller and closer. Natasha looked back down the hallway. She scowled as the corpses of the frozen grew began to shamble out of the various rooms and towards them. "Sir Hulic, these things no longer serve the Emperor. I say we remove these abominations from his light as quickly as we can." She said pulling her bolt pistol from her side. With a power sword Hulics only option, she would prefer accuracy of the Bolter of the purifying flames of her flamer. She leveled her bolt pistol at the corpses and fired.

 

[thatsnozaku]

Brother Hulic, Group One

"Sir Hulic, these things no longer serve the Emperor. I say we remove these abominations from his light as quickly as we can."

The ancient craft's sudden activity ultimately did little to surprise the Astartes so much as confirm his concerns about what might follow its awakening, the proud space marine calmly shifting into a striking stance as the walking dead finally made their presence known. Hulic felt almost relieved as the threat within the frozen vessel finally became more than an ominous shadow that had up until now haunted the edge of the first group's collective sight, idly chiding himself for depending on his wargear alone when seeking out the foes that now threatened to quickly overwhelm and separate the small force despite their slothful gait. "And remove them we shall, Sororita; we must cut a path towards whatever is attempting to slow our progress. Let no blow go unanswered!"

Whether or not his vox-assisted voice carried above the distinct sound of bolt rounds being fired within the rime-coated hallway was ultimately irrelevant to the champion without chapter heraldry, his deadly relic blade flashing with the disruptive force by which power weapons were defined in the Imperium of Man as it was brought to bear against the growing number of animated corpses -- no doubt directed by the same arrogant being that had openly baited them towards their present location. "Contact," he would speak into an open channel between the mighty swings of his greatsword, briefly considering and then deciding against attempting to perhaps disrupt the growing swarm. Better to save such trump cards for the greater foe that no doubt awaited them further ahead.

 

[Sithmorack]

Jack - Abyssal Halls

Well there was no reason to stay here. With the Eldar completely abondoning him, Jack realized he best run to. He quickly made his way back through the darkness and began climbing up the shaft. Once he had reached the top, he took on a more casual pace but still walked away and back towards the others. He began to radio in to anyone near. "People, if you come down our way don't go down into a dark corridor. There are walking corpses just looking for an oppurtunity to kill you in the dark."

He really hoped he didn't have to go back down there again.