"Enough that we can take prisoners, I hope," Gregory replies. "Truth to be told, I didn't fight those Eldar xenos so much as shoot at shadows and hope I hit. With luck, the cramped confines of the ship will keep them from running around too much..."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:39, Sat 11 Feb 2023.

In reply to Gregory Asgard (msg # 32):

She grunts in acknowledgement as she chews at her lip a bit "Ill try to hold a few still for ya, if you see one suddenly stopped in place making choking sounds, shoot it in the head, before it breaks free" She chuckles a bit "I can only hold them in place for so long before they break out one way or another, unfortunately, I'm not all-powerful, unlike our God Emperor, may he protect us in these dark times" she places her hand near her sternum, where the Aquilla is hung around her neck within her suit

"Much obliged," Gregory grins. He hasn't put his helmet on yet; it's stuffy and he doesn't want to start draining the suit's air cells unless he absolutely has to. Of course that merely exposes his rakish grin to Scarlet.

"Though I did recall you saying you wanted to pop a head or two?"

He mimes an explosion: gooey-kablooey.

Hearing the chatter over the vox, Vormav rethinks his priorities. This fire in a more or less random sector of the ship is probably just to eat up the Infernus Master's resources and man power.

He boxes to his subordinates. ++Uriel, make sure Mr.Nox has everything he could possibly need at the moment in terms of manpower and resources.++

Then he heads heads down to the Auspex fin. To find out exactly what was happening there.

When Searlait is notified of the auspex's reduced detection she stifled a curse as she sat upon the throne. "Can someone please tell me what is happening on this ship?" she asks the bridge in general as the xenos infiltrators go about the ship wreaking havoc.

The Emperor’s Glory is off the port bow, (front left), range 40 VUs and heading directly towards the Pious Lament. There are now about twenty Eldar ships 10 VUs of the starboard beam, (leftish), and they have deployed several hundred fighters. The fighters are closing but the ships are maintaining distance, jinking and turning in perfect unison which indicates that all but one of them must be holographic projections.

The Pious lament is traveling at speed 5 and heading towards the planet some thousand or so VUs ahead.

I have put a simple map in the ‘Game Map’, each square in the grid is 1 VU, the blue arrow represents the Pious Lament, the red arrow represents the Emperor’s Glory and the green arrow represents the Eldar ship that is still visible.
.

Across the bridge instruments and screens flicker wildly and are a lot less precise when they settle down.

The Pious Laments detection is now at -5%
.

The Navigatrix silenced the instinct to glance back and up towards the Command Throne from her own position in relation to the rest of the bridge. Whilst she remained masked, and technically, her warp eye was hidden from mortal eyes... That same blessed organ was still open and any might feel the draw and power therein so she did as she said she was doing;  sifting apart the background 'noise' of warp anomalies and the recent translation into real space from a truer perception of their surroundings and the corresponding immaterial shadows. The thrills of annoyance, anger, concern and disappointment all leashed and held in check by her iron will but proving in the moment the essential component to success.

Her hands fell then to the Navigator's console before her to utilize it's connection to the greater hololithic display above to relay her witch sight borne understanding of their position and the relative positions of approaching xenos vessels and craft. Her staff of office, all the while, hastily discarded into the care of her present attendants. The familiar pain of wretched, withered and treacherous musculature protesting the decision in the moment but overruled by the necessity of the task and the mind that ascribed it such importance.

The Hololithic display above her cycled again, this time deliberately, revealing more detailed sensory information of local space and their approaching adversaries.

"Tacticals updated, Lady Captain." Cennet concluded in a voice that spoke of concentration elsewhere and merely a perfunctory declaration for the benefit of any who might have not noticed the updates to the central Hololithic.



Perhaps preemptive but best I can do to contribute to the situation at moment:

09:21, Today: Cennet Melek Shiraishi rolled 17 -- 3 degrees of success using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 55.  Scanning the Aether - Psynicience at -10.

With the success, I count as having completed the Active Augury Extended Action up to a range  of 15 VU. Additionally, until the next strategic turn... Our Auspex counts as no longer damaged/non-functional.

This message was last edited by the player at 14:50, Sat 18 Feb 2023.

Both the auspex viewer hanging from the ceiling and the hemisphere of the tactical display both take on a bluish hue under Cennet’s influence, the flickering and indistinct images remain but superimposed over them are clear, sharp images of both the Eldar ships, the larger one standing off the starboard beam is distinct from its holographic decoys and the other ship, hither to unseen, is on the port quarter but high up above the plane of the Laments orientation. The two fighter squadrons are also clearly defined and distinct from the images of their decoys. The Emperor’s Glory is closing and preparing to fire long range weapons.

I have updated the Game Maps.

.

"Excellent" She says as the screen goes clear and sees the missing ship is just sitting there a few dozen kilometres away her eyes narrow and says "Fire everything on the starboard arc on that vessel"

OOC: I have BS of 45, if anyone on the bridge has better they can fire, starboard broadsides, dorsal and prow weapons fire.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:41, Sun 19 Feb 2023.

As things stand the closest Eldar vestal is high above the elevation on the broadside, to get those guns to bare the ship will have to roll requiring a 'piloting check', the success of which will dictate the difficulty of the firing solution.

The Sunhammer Lance Battery's are in dossal; turrets which are more flexible and they may fire immediately.
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Almost imperceptibly at first but with gathering momentum the Pious Lament begins an anticlockwise roll to bring its broadside to bare on the nearest Eldar ship, the target almost immediately changes course still closing at speed but now in an arc seeking to match the rotation of the Lament and stay ahead of its guns.

The two turret mounted lance batteries on the Lament are not as restricted in elevation as the broadsides and fire immediately, unfortunately there is no indication as to whether they hit or not.

The Eldar ship can’t outrun the Pious Lament’s rotation and begins to jink wildly as it closes, the macro batteries will get in one shot at close range before the Eldar ship actually reaches the lament, it still refrains from firing.

.

"Angle up 40 degrees of Z axis, prepare all weapons to fire" She orders while pulling up a cursory display as she plots out firing arcs.

Searlait Saoirse rolled 19 -- 2 degrees of failure using the Only War system with a target number of 5.  to hit Sunhammer.
Searlait Saoirse rolled 26 -- 3 degrees of failure using the Only War system with a target number of 5.  To hit star flare lance .
Searlait Saoirse rolled 84 -- 6 degrees of failure using the Only War system with a target number of 25.  To hit WB.

Cennet braced herself preemptively as the order to roll the ship was given. Her wretched limbs protesting both the sudden force of the gesture and the subsequent readjustments of the artificial gravity fields of the Pious Lament. Once all had normalized, she continued to punch in updated positional information as it was gleamed from the immaterial shadows cast by all things that existed in base-line reality. The strain of such replacement of a vital ship system was beginning to wear upon her as pain began to slowly bleed from her temples to add to the ever present choir of protests that was the remainder of her wretched and withered form.

"Contact but minimal damage, Lady Captain. I suspect they intend to retrieve or reinforce their own given the trajectory and lack of return fire." the Navigator offered with raised but collected voice. The subtle hiss of strain at the edges of each word but stubbornly, pointedly pushed aside.


We retain awareness of our surroundings for the time being.

19:18, Today: Cennet Melek Shiraishi rolled 14 -- 4 degrees of success using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 55.  Scanning the Aether - Psynicience at -10.

The crash and shockwave of th4e macro battery is felt throughout the ship. In spite of its mass, its recoil absorbers and its gravity compensators, when 85% of the starboard macro cannons fire in unison the pious Lament shifts eight inches to port. On the gun decks scores of people are injured and seven people die, two from faulty flash protection, one standing in the wrong place, three tech priests working to get one of the unresponsive units online and just didn’t know what was coming, and one guy just had a heart attack. As the reload operation swings into action casualties start to stream into the nearby triage stations which are set up and prepared for just this event, all in all things could have been a lot worse.

On the bridge several people fall over and climb quickly back to their feet as a carful cogitated pattern of munitions streaks across the gap towards the Eldar ship, explosions in quick secession flare silently on both auspex relays and the target is suddenly reviled as whatever cloaking device it used, breaks down. It is close, to close for another shot, quite badly damaged but still heading directly towards the Lament.

Please pass an unmodified Agility test or fall over, there will be no damage from this, except to your character’s dignity.

.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:53, Thu 02 Mar 2023.

++ Permission to launch Ma'am, incoming fighters are getting a bit close.++
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This message was last edited by the player at 16:47, Thu 02 Mar 2023.

The combined effort of the Navigatrix and her aide ensured that the subsequent macro salvo did not sweep either of them from their feet or disrupt the vital work that Cennet had committed herself to as their eyes into the Void. Still, the harsh hand of gravity and physics was doing precious few favours to the pain that continued to clap up through the back of her legs, arms, and up her spine to drive into the center folds of her brain. Pain, however, was the norm and to feel it meant she still could serve and her pride would allow nothing more and nothing less than her absolute best in any given task.

Such in mind, her hands continued to input the ever changing positional data of their stellar surrounding as scryed from the long shadows cast into the Endless Sea.

11:17, Today: Cennet Melek Shiraishi rolled 29 -- a simple success using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 30.  Agility test.

The Explorator remained standing, holding on to the hallowed console. As he watched the auspex readings he came to the only logical conclusion as his logis implants calculated the relative trajectories.

"Lord-Captain. The Eldar vessel's trajectory and speed indicates a ninety-eight point seven percent chance likelihood that it intends to board us. Estimated point of penetration; the Temple-Shrine of the God-Emperor."

Why the Eldar would bother with boarding the vessel the Explorator did not know. Surely something of interest had to be here to them, although to understand the alien mind and its intentions were impossible. Perhaps they had dealings with the previous Rogue Trader? Who could say..

---

21:32, Today: Arius Draccius rolled 14 -- a simple success using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 20.  Agility, my only weakness!

As the ships stabilisers fail to compensate correctly for the fullscale fire of the weapons hundreds of thousands were thrown from their feet and the lady captain was no exception, stumbling to her knees before swiftly getting up again and hit the vox to respond to the Wing commander ++Launch permission granted, but no showboating, keep'em occupied and kill'em if you can but we need all fighters for what's coming++

When the Explorator mentioned a high probability of boarding a smile crept across her face ++This is the Captain, All hands prepare to repel boarders! The Emperor Protects!++ She sends before looking to Sabrynn "Well Sister it appears we need to go to the Temple" she tells her, walking to the throne, taking her weapons and begins heading to the Temple. "First Officer you have the Bridge"

On the Captains command there is a general rush of troops from across the ship, heading for the Temple but Searlait and Sabrynn had only moved twenty meters down the corridor before they hear shouts, screams and gunfire from behind them.

++Ma’am, they are here, on the bridge, came out of nowhere and are slaughtering everyone.++


.

Swiftly turning around Searlait runs back down the corridor she came from and back into the bridge.

Searlait runs back in to a scene of chaos and carnage, the bridge seems over run by tall, lean humanoids with tall pointed heads, entirely enveloped in some sort of shimmering, quicksilver armour. A crowd of them just stand in the centre of the lowest floor, but several have been slaughtering the drones and operators with long, curves swords while firing pistols at those out of reach on the various balconies.

The guards have not been inactive and four silver forms already lay dead on the floor but there are many times that number here and they mark Searlait out as she renters the command deck, suddenly she is the centre of their attention.
.

Moving in she several of the Xenos dead but not enough for her liking, especially when how many of her crew lay in pieces on the ground. She rushes forward, charging the first xenos she meets and spears the witchlance into the creatures leg.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:40, Tue 07 Mar 2023.

Arius Draccus rose from behind the consoles of the Enginarium section of the bridge, having donned his helmet. More importantly, the tech-priest had a boltgun which he fired on full-auto into the group of unmoving Xenos. The strength offered by augmentation and power armor gave him total control over the powerful weapon that would throw a lesser man off his feet. The Tech-priest lamented the damage his weapon might cause to the hallowed machinery of the bridge, but it would pale compared to the defilement these Xenos would inflict if left unchecked.

---

Full Auto Burst: simple failure.

17:19, Today: Arius Draccius rolled 76 -- a simple failure using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 70.  Full auto Burst (+20).
This message was last edited by the player at 16:19, Tue 07 Mar 2023.

Armored as she was, Cennet did not so much fear the battle that had begun on the bridge as the possibility that she might outlast those armsmen stationed there. The report of bolt, las gun, and more alien weapons beside forcing her mind and attention away from scrying the Immaterium and focusing upon the present and dire reality that surrounded her. Memory of tutelage in the arts of self defense soon followed as she drew the weight of her hell pistol, it's grip strange and unpleasant in her hand, and moved with painstaking care towards cover. The sharp report of her staff on the deck plating lost among the general din of battle as her attendant rushed in her wake.

She knew her priorities well in the moment, however. There were far more homo-sapiens aboard this vessel than Homo-Navigo and she needed to be certain her kin were safe as surely as she needed to look to her own safety. After all, the Aeldari had managed to board despite the void shields being up which only spoke to more dire straights as the extent of xenos devilry was still to be determined.

++Guard Captain, status report.++

Her voice was sharp, precise, and focused without the overtures of civility or consideration in the moment as she called out to the Navis Guard that ensured the sanctity of their sanctum and quarters aboard the Pious Lament.