The huge fin that hangs down below the rear of the ship has no floors or decks within it but the vast, cavernous space is dissected into an intricate three-dimensional maze by the machinery within and the cat walks, girders cables and ducting that connect it all together. Visibility is restricted in the fin by the great jumble of items mentioned above and also the moisture vaper and translucent gases that form a permanent cloud throughout the whole area, limiting vision to a few hundred feet at best.

What is actually going on here is confused, there is sporadic laser fire from a number of different locations and troops moving here and there with no apparent direction or leadership, each squat, or in some cases, individuals seeming to be acting independently. On a walkway below, two units can be seen struggling to pass each other in opposite directions, both units in a hurry, over to the left two men fire reputedly into the mist while laz shots vaporise tiny craters in the panel they are using as protection and a substantial explosion echoes up from deep below.
.

 By comparison to the usual armament of the shipboard defence teams - shotguns, slug-thrower pistols, lasguns and suchlike (with more exotic arms limited to only the most elite forces), Jak's ornately manufactured bolt gun and resilient armour represent a considerable force multiplier all on their own, and it's more or less assured that wherever his presence is made to be felt, he'll change the state of affairs.

 So it's perhaps something of a surprise to anyone who doesn't know him that his first action upon arriving is to take up a position at the very top of the fin looking down and to signal anyone in his vicinity with a powerful vox-caster to join him, whereupon he spends a few minutes connecting himself to the comm system and reaching out to the soldiers and ship-crew below, co-opting speakers, servitors and comm-beads as necessary as he starts to try and gather information about the shape of the battle.

 ---

Using my augmetic brain and any sensors and comms I can pick up to try and make sense of the fight down there, so we can deliver reinforcements to needed locations.
 Like other PCs (hint, hint).

As the elevator opens onto the auspex fin, Gregory has his helmet down and the air flowing. He's already consulted the disposition of the fin's interior on the way down, and his plan is simple - rally all nearby forces and ensure repairs to the auspices are completed. Then he notices the sound of boltgun fire from above; clearly officer grade material, and he keys up his microbead.

++Asgard on the scene. Master Enginseer, I'm heading over to your location. Are there any other arrivals inbound?++

Saying so, he signals to the others to follow him over to Tesla's location. As it happens, his command squad DOES have someone who manpacks a voxcaster everywhere she goes; Kyria Gerhart his personal signaller.

++Oh bother, this isn't where I parked my gun-cutter. Vormav is on deck heading your way. It's a fair mess down here. Any idea where the actual enemy is?++

Vormav stays low trying to avoid being accidentally fired upon but the weapon mounted to his shoulder hums with pent up energy and he is keeping an eye out with pistols. If he comes across any voidsmen he will flag them down and try to get a sit-rep.

++You're here too, Vormav? We should probably mob up, then begin steadily re-establishing control of the place. Could you round up any armsmen you find along the way? We're headed toward the top of the fin to meet up with Enginseer Tesla.++

Gregory, Vormav and Scarlet meet Jak on an unloading platform by a freight elevator near the top of the fin, there are already twenty or so Tec Priests here that Jak has organised into a perimeter defence and Gregory and Vormav have rounded up about fifty assorted ship troops.

By now they have realised that they are fighting the missing unregistered people from the ships bilges though they are now better equipped with and
I assume Scarlet is here, if not please just ignore that reference.
.

After greeting Jak, Gregory begins organizing the men they've found into a security detail to supplement the enginseer prime's forces.

"Seems like we'll need to take the fight to them, but our top priority is probably fixing the auspex fin. In that scenario, I think we should leave some of our people here as a secure staging area while the rest of us escort the cogb... I mean, techpriests out and defend them while they perform their holy duties. What do you think?"

The question is directed at everyone around him.

"I've never liked the idea of these people being allowed to thrive aboard our vessel. Like you say, establish a perimeter up here so that none escape. Cogheads can tell us what the priority objectives are. But I expect any part of the fin being actively torn apart is going to be a set back. So we shoot anyone else we see on the way there."

He steps aside momentarily ++Mr. Church I've found your missing people. By the Emperor we will be having words about this later.++

"Enginseer'" he pronounces the prime as a clicking of his tongue "Point the way."

Scarlet grimaces as she pops a tendon in her neck a bit, her blind left eye glowing blue as she tapped into the warp, which was easily visible through the faceplate of the armour, a transparent field of blue-tinted force surrounding her as she glances to Gregory. "I agree, yes, are we going to leave any of them alive? or just shoot to kill," she asks, gripping her staff firmly as she keeps her breathing steady.

---

Casting Telekinetic Shield: Unfettered, 3 AP To All Locations.
04:55, Today: Scarlet rolled 35 -- 4 degrees of success using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 77.  Focus Power Telekinetic Shield (Willpower).
This message was last edited by the player at 13:01, Thu 16 Feb 2023.

"Let's try to take them alive. Try. Not going to get anyone killed just to save a traitor's skin."

"Why? If I had had my way every one of these would have been vented into space or sold off as scullions to another ship. I'm sure enough will be disabled by their wounds that they can answer questions." Vormav was clearly fairly off put by this whole state of affairs. Addressing the state of the undocumented population was literally the first thing he complained about after taking command of the ship's civil functions.

 There are half a dozen members of the Cult Guard standing at the back of Explorator Tesla (the small handful of truly elite forces of the Cult - the two maniples of Hypaspists and the four Contubernium of Classiarii - are assigned to secure other sacred sites), a half-squad of the Cult Guard (five armed with Merrovech-pattern lasguns and grenades, one holding a Voss-pattern grenade launcher) accompanied by a lay priest (carrying a Lascutter), all wearing fairly good light flak-pattern armour or its equivalent.

 Jak himself, when the group starts to arrive still seems to be wrestling with the 'comm channels, announcing to the Archmilitant when Gregory addresses him "Delay is inexcusable, but I have been unable to separate loyalist from insurgent forces by comm alone. Our highest priority must, in these circumstances be the targeting and active sensor arrays. All other concerns are secondary."

"I'm just saying that because I brought down a breacher squad loaded with your riot control munitions to capture some xenos and if there aren't any xenos in sight, I might as well let these rioters have it. At least we know your gas rounds will work on them. As for the rest... kill them all, the Emperor will know his own."

In response to Jak's statement:

"Sounds like we have a plan, then. Are both those sites close together or will we need to split up? I don't like splitting up but needs must when the devil drives."

 "Wait!" Jak declares, indicating the lay priest and one of the tech-guard, who step forwards and assist him in unrolling a lengthy sheet of what looks to be purity-seal-embossed parchment. One of the servo-skulls floats over, then another and then a third, each projecting a small hololithic display for a fraction of a second then another - botching together an ersatz tactical display while Jak, with a smooth hand outlines a side-view of the fin in general form and fills in major tactical objectives, managing a basic map in mere moments.

 Eight - and a flickering ninth - groups of red-outlined 'insurgents' start to appear over the map at specific choke points, with one additional larger group (as many as fifty-strong to the one-to-two-dozen of the others) occupying a major cogitator node which is flagged in gold.

 Six groups marked with Aquila sigils appear on the map, along with two additional groups in strobing yellow - all but one of the twenty-strong squads seem to be pinned down or otherwise restricted in their freedom of movement.

 One final group, marked in blue but with Captain Aase's tag are marked as being at the bottom of the fin, but they bear multiple 'poor communication' tags.

 "Archmilitant Asgard, the situation is as I display, tactical command is yours. I can endeavour to secure better communications with our forces or provide direct support, at your discretion." the tech-priest states.

Gregory nods. He definitely appreciates the

"Throne, if only we had maps like these back in the day. We had to make do with outdated paper maps that kept sticking to their wraps..."

His voice trails off as he takes in the situation. Then he begins musing out loud about where to go and what to do, inviting anyone with input to speak up. Obviously he intends to pick up as many of his men as possible and clear out all the hostiles, but battle changes quickly and often it's best just to have an idea of what to do and adapt on the fly.

OOC: Since I'm not a Napoleon IRL, I will roll Common Lore (War) and/or Scholastic Lore (Tactica Imperialis) and/or Command.  to formulate a decent battle plan before executing. Anyone with the relevant skills can lend a hand with teamwork, or better yet, take over if their skill is high enough.

Gregory also has Peer (Military) so even though he's untrained for Command, he's got the same score as he does if he were trained.

Please advise on how to proceed.

Vormav leans down to look at the map, he's not really sure how to proceed but will give input as needed.

OOC: I have a 36 with Command but can't really help otherwise in the planning phase.

++Hello  .  hello  .  anyone receive al dfopfg,daxd remely poor here but I’ll report anyway. We are located near the ‘;lihul fin and have just been hit by an Eldar warrior. Came out of nowhere adskfmndsrmnd ick. Took out Jones, Patinisky and poihsd68ujdsal;l;’ we knew what hit us. It didn’t stick around though once we started fighting sdlfopkf  there is an Eldar warrior in the fin. Hope sosklujuijk this. We are proceeding qdeaf next target. Out.++

Vormav looks to Gregory "All right, fine, THAT one we can take alive."

He stood up "Mr. Tesla, where on this map did that transmission come from?"

He gets ready to head out having a more concrete mission objective.

"Wasn't that from Captain Aase? Sounds like we could try meeting up with him. The Eldar would be a target of opportunity."

WIth a few quick commands, he organizes the armsmen and quickly briefs everyone.

"Final gear check, we'll move out when ready."

He takes this opportunity to avail himself of that grenade launcher he asked for earlier.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:19, Wed 22 Feb 2023.

Scarlet nods at Gregory's orders as she grabs the grip of her pistol from its holster, sliding it out and checking to make sure it's fully loaded, turning her shock staff on and off briefly, hearing it crackle as she gave him a nod "Everything is loaded and ready to go"

Vormav does a quick check of his weapons. "Good to go."

How much of a maze is this? Hell gun shoots 1/3rd of a km so if I can see a bad guy I can pop him with pretty decent odds.

Will you be using the elevator to get down there, or some other means?
.

 "A true tactical hololith is both far more versatile and less portable, but it is an acceptable field improvisation." Jak replies as he continues to juggle the feed and incoming data, highlighting locations with each new data-point and then addressing the question "My title is Engineseer, or Explorator Archmilitant. This unit is, I believe at the lowest level of the fin. We are at the top of the fin."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:19, Fri 24 Feb 2023.

As part of the final preparation, Gregory grabs a supply of rags and a stick of high-reflectivity hull-dye, which all go into a sack that Slab gets to carry.

It's part of his plan for labelling friendlies later, but he'll put it into practice on the way down.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:09, Thu 23 Feb 2023.

The fin on the Pious Lament is quite deep and could easily accommodate the London Shard or Empire state building within it. Although there are no actual floors the space is packed with equipment and machinery, linked by a spiders web of walk way, gantry’s, ladders and stairways so generally visibility is restricted to 30 yards or so, though here and their you might chance on a view that goes considerably further. Visibility is further compromised by a fog of water vapor and various gasses and particles that also limit visibility and in some cases are hazardous to health.

There is an elevator that can accommodate about twenty people and runs most of the hight of the fin, also a stair well that runs alongside it. In addition wherever you go on any level you will soon come across steps or a ladder going up, down or in both directions and also it would not be difficult to climb down the pipes or iron trellises that support them.

The player characters are currently at the top of the fin, how are you guys going to try to get to the bottom where Captain Aase is located.
.

"Elevator use is prohibited in the event of a fire. None of us know this area well enough to have an easy route through the machinery. Stairs are out best option." Vormav heads that way. He scans the area with his eyes and the bejeweled weapon mounted to his shoulder follows his movements.

"Yeah, I don't want to get stuck in a metal box going what, 400 meters straight down with hostiles around me. Still, it's going to take a long time if we have to take the stairs. By the way, tell me how stupid this sounds; we throw a lamp pack down and see which places have anyone stupid enough to fire from them as the light source heads on down."

 "Stupid, no. Inefficient, yes. Do you have a short spool of... Ah!" Jak answers, as a length of climbing cable is produced by one of the tech-guard and handed to him, where a few moments work produces a five-foot length of line which he loops through the handle of a lamp-pack then attaches to a Servo-skull, providing the means to dangle the lure at a distance without breaking it.

 "Similarly, we can still summon the elevator and lock it in place. This will leave the shaft clear for rapid descent, should we wish to make use of it, and prevent it from being used to outflank us." he adds, while going on to use a small piece of metal plating to fashion a circular shroud that will leave the servo-skull in shadow - giving it a measure of protection from being exposed by its own light.

Vormav is still walking towards the stairs "Unless you brought a means of rapid descent with you then the point is moot. Lets get a move on!"

OOC: I don't have a grapnel or drop harness on my character sheet.

 "On my person, no. But securing one will not be difficult." Jak answers, despatching a further message to have climbing gear delivered to the top of the elevator shaft from elsewhere in the vessel as he disassembles the map in favour of maintaining the link with the 'com pack while following Vormav, unslinging his bolt gun and carefully checking it as his guards fall in around the elevator, one of them calling it up and the others taking position to secure it once it arrives to keep it from being used by anyone else.

 The shaded, lumen-mounted skull is sent ahead, bobbing and weaving.

"Anyway, I don't think we can all fit into the elevator shaft at once. I'll bring my boys down the external stairs and see if we can pick up anyone on the way to Aase."

Slab looks visibly relieved at not having to go into the claustrophobic elevator shaft. Gregory turns to one of the generic troopers with him.

"Get me a lamp pack that you can bear to throw away, then throw it away, off the side of the stairwell. Anyone with preysensors, keep back and keep your eyes open. Shout if you see anything. Everyone else, unless you have anything to suggest, it's time for a vertical marathon."

Scarlet grabbed a flare from her bandolier and cracked it, letting it light up before she tossed it down as instructed, watching it fall down beside the stairwell as she fell in beside Gregory. "That should do, right? figured a flare would be better than a lamp pack, more disposable" She comments as she prepares to head down the stairs, her blind eye glowing brightly for a moment before she clutches it, swearing under her breath as it goes dim again "Damn interference..." She shook her head, annoyed as she walked beside Gregory, starting to head down the stairs, keeping herself alert.

OOC:
Was attempting to detect Eldar via their powerful presence in the warp, but ultimately failed with 1 DOF.
06:18, Today: Scarlet rolled 86 -- 3 degrees of failure using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 52.  Psynicience .
06:19, Today: Scarlet rolled 71 -- 1 degree of failure using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 52.  Psynicience re-roll.
06:19, Today: Scarlet rolled 10 using 1d10.  Charmed (9+ Regain Fate).

"Perfect, I knew there was a reason I pinched you for my squad, Scarlet."

Hopefully, with all eyes on the falling flare, nobody would notice the footsteps proceeding down the stairs. His borrowed grenade launcher (loaded with riot foam and gas grenades) is up and ready to hit anything that shows its face.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:50, Sun 26 Feb 2023.

A brief wave of vertigo passes through everyone as the gravity compensators adjust for the lateral forces imposed by the Pious Lament’s rolling.

The flare falls into the void and after bouncing off a couple of pipes is soon lost to view behind a large promethean tank, the sound of its passage can still be heard for a little while longer as it navigates its way between obstacles but that to is quickly gone.

Meanwhile the light hanging below Jak’s servo skull makes a more stately decent, following ladders and walkways that offer the optimum path as calculated by the tech priest and serving as a distraction to any observers. The lamp gets about half way to the bottom before being blown to bits by a withering array of mixed small arms fire coming from a workstation platform  ahead of it and slightly higher up. There is no clear shot from the walkway the party currently occupies, but there are several options to achieve line of sight. Descending the stairs to where the lamp met it’s demise is the most obvious, but one might return to a higher level and get a good firing point down on the position or try to outflank it either the quick and dirty way to the left, (port), where there is minimal cover but grenade or assault range can be achieved very quickly, or to the right, (starboard), which would take longer but involve very little risk.

As I understand it the characters are leading the troops down the various stair ways and ladders and attempting to team up with Cpt Aase somewhere near the bottom.
.

Scarlet grimaces as she watches her flare get blown to bits, glancing down the stairs as she contemplates their options. "How confident you feel in your armour?" She asks, rapping a knuckle on the form-fitting chest plates of Carapace. "I can take a mean hit and stay standing, so going in hot and fast is fine with me, but if you wanna pull back for a more covered position... I'll leave it up to you."

"I'm all for going in fastand hard," Gregory says. "Vormav and the Enginseer are probably shaking their heads at my recklessness, though. Mayybe they could cover us as we go in?"

"We should probably assess what exactly they are armed with. But I should be safe enough if we change them under covering fire."

 "If we are to achieve contact with the besieged squads before they are over-run, speed is of the essence, but speed avails us not at all if we are slain en route. This said, tactical command is the Archmilitants. My presence on this operation is primarily to provide theological counsel." Jak states, with what is plainly a very clear view of their respective areas of expertise and no intention of countermanding the actual battlefield commander on deck.

 He does however painstakingly inspect the seemingly shaken servo-skull when - its trailing line and lamp shot to pieces - it returns to him, chirping short binary reassurances at it.

"True, but we're better armed and armored than they are (Unless they have zero-gee assault troopers down there), plus we have the ship's resources on our side in case anything happens. More to the point, you felt that just now, didn't you? The Lament's engaging enemies right now and time is not a luxury we have."

Gregory signals the rest of the breachers to follow him and Scarlet, though he has the good sense to at least put the ones with naval shields up first. They're all wearing sealed gear so it should be okay if they run into clouds of gas, which is what half the barrels of his grenade launcher are loaded with.

"In we go."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:46, Tue 28 Feb 2023.

Those taking the direct approach move out onto walkway wide enough to take two people side by side, there is 42 meters to a platform surrounding some unidentified machinery and no cover. The platform has a strong looking wall of gothic arches decorated with skulls, (just part of the 40K vibe), and various pieces of equipment have been stuffed into any gaps to add to the cover. About a dozen people in ragged clothing are hunkered down behind it where they have an overview of the stairway leading down from this level and they have it covered by a variety of slug and las guns, including at least two heavy weapons.
.

Scarlet gave a soft huff and nodded to Gregory, taking point alongside him as her Refractor Field crackles to life, moving quickly down the stairs as her eye glowed, looking towards the Stowaways with a hint of malice as she outstretched her hand, before closing it, an invisible force seeming to start to squeeze the heart of her target directly.

---

Scarlet will be taking the lead up front, trusting in her armor, and once she has positively identified the people on the other end as enemies, she will cast Telekinetic Crush on one of the heavy weapons users.

Half Action Move (4M)
Half Action Focus Power succeeds on 2 DOS on a 52, opposed by the target's Toughness, a failure will have them take 8 Impact Damage. Simple Success to Grapple the target with Telekinetic Crush.

03:51, Today: Scarlet rolled 99 -- 2 degrees of failure using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 77.  Focus Power.
03:52, Today: Scarlet rolled 52 -- 2 degrees of success using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 77.  Focus Power Reroll.
03:52, Today: Scarlet rolled 10 using 1d10.  Charmed 9+.
03:55, Today: Scarlet rolled 8 using 1d10+3.  Crush Damage.
06:56, Today: Scarlet rolled 68 -- a simple success using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 77.  Grapple, Substituting Willpower.

20:05, Today: Scarlet rolled 6 using 1d10+3.  Initiative.

This message was last edited by the player at 04:06, Thu 02 Mar 2023.

Vormav takes up a position behind the breachers and whoever else he can fit between himself and the enemy. The Heavy weapons were the real threat against the more professional grade armor of his comrades. He takes a long second to center his targeting reticule on the heavy weapon team and then with a though the Hellgun on his shoulder glowed brightly and spat out a triple burst of red hot las fire.

That the shots hit their mark was inevitable but through the glare of the las fire it was hard to tell if they had struck the man or the cover he was hiding behind.


12:33, Today: Vormav rolled 14 using 1d10+4.  Initiative.

Full Aim
Free Shoot
12:31, Today: Vormav rolled 45 -- 6 degrees of success using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 105.  20 Full Aim, 10 Semi-Auto, 10 Short, 10 MIU.
12:34, Today: Vormav rolled 7 using 1d10+4.  Damage 1, Pen 7.
12:34, Today: Vormav rolled 12 using 1d10+4.  Damage 2, Pen 7.
12:34, Today: Vormav rolled 8 using 1d10+4.  Damage 3, Pen 7.

 Assuming some degree of tactical coordination from the Archmilitant is in effect, Jak moves to one flank of the assault force and levels his ornate bolter, choosing his arc carefully to combine a degree of care for the structure of the fin with an effective amount of suppression, trying to keep the heads of the enemy gunmen down during the course of the assault.

 Unfortunately, his care seems to be rather overcoming his desire to prevent fire from coming their way.

 ---

19:20, Today: Jak Tesla rolled 94 using 1d100 ((94)).
 Not sure that it matters what the rules are with a roll like that. ^_^

"SQUAD ADVANCE!" Gregory calls out over the squad voxnet. The column begins their advance, marching with even strides and taking their shots carefully, going for disciplined fire as they advance on the enemy positions. Napoleon would be proud.

Gregory is directly behind Scarlet. He notes the location of the heavy weapons emplacements and fires a gas grenade at the more dangerous-looking of the two. He doesn't expect to singlehandedly neutralize them, but anything that keeps the gunners from shooting at them  will help.

OOC:
Initiative 9, +2 for Weapon Master, total of 11.
10:54, Today: Gregory Asgard rolled 9 using 1d10+3.  Initiative .
Half action to move (4m)
Half action to grenade the emplacements.
11:01, Today: Gregory Asgard rolled 60 -- 1 degree of success using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 70.  Grenade (includes Weapon Master), no range mod.

This message was last edited by the player at 08:06, Thu 02 Mar 2023.

The insurgents are ready, aimed and waiting for people to step out of cover, never the less Vormav manages to slam three las shots into the position before they have adjusted their aim.

A hail of las blasts and solid projectiles comes back in reply hits Vormav and everybody else as they emerge onto the walkway, a loud ‘buzz’ of a heavy stubber can be heard within the cacophony but the heavy las is conspicuous by its absence. The responding fire going into the position is instantaneous and devastating, Scarlet destroys one of the weapon team with the power of her mind, several others go down from lead and laser as the team and the troopers lead by Gregory move out onto the walkway.

The crash and shockwave of the macro battery firing 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 throwing the defensive position into chaos and sending two insurgents over the edge. One of Gregory’s troopers also falls off the walkway but is grabbed and saved by some of his companions.

With half the troopers sprawled on the ground and exposed out on the walk way there is a sudden ‘CRACK!’ from high above and a spray of blood from the head of one of them who twitches and slumps dead among his companions. There is another ‘CRACK!’ as a round sings between Vormav’s ear and the weapon on his shoulder and takes a second trooper in the leg.

Glancing up there is the briefest glimpse of something grey moving away and the shots cease, for now.

Most of you have taken hits, but nothing of any consequenc.

Apart from Jak, everyone is exposed on the walkway, the insurgents are in disarray but will get one more shot before you reach them if you go that way, the cover you have just moved out of is out of sight of the insurgents but not the sniper, the sniper has gone quiet and is probably just repositioning.

Please pass an unmodified Agility test or fall over, if your character fails by two or more degrees they will tumble off of the walkway, a situation I’ll address if it occurs.
.

The firing of the macrobatteries causes the ground to suddenly vanish from under Gregory's feet, and the brief feeling of weightlessness makes him glance down and realize that there's a foot or two of empty air where the deck plating should have been. However, there's no time to wonder what caused it; all he can do is find his feet as quickly as possible. Fortunately, there's a convenient handrail nearby; Gregory's foot finds purchase on it and launches him back into the middle of the walkway and into a half-crouch... just in time to see one of his men die. There's another shot, which seemingly missed, but he doesn't know where it went; only what caused it.

"SNIPER!" Gregory shouts over open comms. "Move move move take those fethers' position NOW! Does anyone have eyes on the shooter!?"

OOC:
22:11, Today: Gregory Asgard rolled 5 -- 2 degrees of success using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 30.  Agility test.

As the ship shuddered, Scarlet found herself briefly lifted into the air, her eyes widening as she kicks out to regain her footing, but in the process ends up sending herself sideways, tumbling over the railing of the catwalk, a very colorful stream of crude language and curses coming from her as she fell.

08:32, Today: Scarlet rolled 89 -- 5 degrees of failure using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 34.  Agility.
08:32, Today: Scarlet rolled 94 -- 6 degrees of failure using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 34.  Agility Reroll.

The ship lurched and Vormav's feet came out from under him. Fortunatly he didn't stumble enough to fall from the walk way "Reasonably sure he is repositioning. Don't think we have a good way of getting up to him. But his range shouldn't matter for much in all this mess. If you could get your men to actually move their asses across this walkway it would be a huge help!"


12:13, Today: Vormav rolled 54 -- a simple failure using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 45.  Agility Test.

As Gregory looks up and sees Scarlet falling over the edge, he instinctively reaches out to try and grab her, but his fingers fall just an inch or two short. Undeterred, he rushes toward her for another try, but he only ends up falling short even more.

Dammit...

Hard decision time; try to grab Scarlet and expose his men to further fire, or have them carry on to secure the position that's covering them with automatic weapon fire. What does the Tactica Imperialis recommend?

Trick question - the Tactica Imperialis doesn't give a damn about individual lives, only sweeping victories. As such...

Hang in there, Scarlet, Gregory thinks as he joins the others in the push forward.

OOC:
06:42, Yesterday: Gregory Asgard rolled 70 -- 3 degrees of failure using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 40.  Fat point reroll.

06:41, Yesterday: Gregory Asgard rolled 44 -- a simple failure using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 40.  Ag test to grab Scarlet.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:51, Sat 04 Mar 2023.

 Lifting the barrel of his bolter, Jak sweeps the upper reaches of the gantry for signs of the sniper, fully intending to shoot when he sees signs of the marksman firing - and while he would usually despatch Yasha to assist him with her auspex system, a different task entirely is assigned to her.

 The ornate servo-skull had been hovering next to the one which was previously carrying the lumen that was shot out, emitting a comforting string of binary but with Scarlet's fall, she chirps a short data-stream and flies over the edge, followed by the second skull, darting for the falling telepath.

 ---

 Jak is going to hold his action to shoot when/if he sees the sniper.

 Yasha and the second (unnamed) Servo-skull can't lift a human, but together they ought to be able to slow her down and steer her, turning a lethal plummet into a guided and somewhat broken fall onto a nearby, lower gantry. Hopefully.

Most of the troops scramble to their feet, aided by those who hadn’t fallen. One with a bullet through his leg is directed back to cover by his sergeant as the rest press on across the walkway, firing as they go and leaving the body of their dead comrade behind.

Behind the barricade the insurrectionists are in disarray, many had fallen when the macro battery fired, several had been shot, or had their heads psycicly crushed, they were choking in a cloud of riot gas and couldn’t see so well and troopers were baring down on the position, this was all to much for most and they tried to escape. Some moved around their platform out of sight behind the machinery in the middle and some went over the sides, scrambling down the steel trellises and pipework.

A few, perhaps made of sterner stuff, but more likely with nothing left to lose, fired back across the barricade, three shots ring out, one, a stubber misses, another stubber wounds but doesn’t slow one on the troopers and Gregory receives a las scorch on his stomach that doesn’t penetrate but will need polishing out at some point. More serious is the Heavy Las that rises up over the barricade and punches a hole in Gregory's chest plate close to the heart, that’s gong to take more than a bit of buffing to sort that out.

Scarlet falls four meters before reaching her first obstacle, a pipe that bends and splits under the impact and sending a spray of hydraulic fluid into the air, she continues falling but the first impact did slow her enough for Jak’s servo skulls to catch up and shunt her sideward onto a walkway two meters below this.

Meanwhile Jak, scanning the for any sign of the sniper catches a flick of movement on a gantry above and anticipates where it might next appear but it will be a hard, (-20), shot to pull off,

Melee with the four insurrectionists who are left next turn.
.

Scarlet growls and yells out, anger and defiance filling her voice in equal measure "Mother... Fething... Bastard!" She reaches her hand out and grunts in pain as she was shunted by the skull, her hand missing railing, but the momentum and angle of being shunted to the side was blissfully enough, letting her tumble over the railing onto the walkway after her body slams into it.Scarlet breathes hard after her ordeal, saying a silent prayer to the emperor, after a mild bout of blasphemy for putting her in this situation in the first place. After a few seconds of recovery, she pushed herself to her feet, ignoring her aching shoulder and leg as she works her way back up towards the rest of the group, swearing under her breath as she makes sure to keep a much more stable footing this time, just in case it happened again.

Ooc
Nearly ate shit.
Spent 2 FP, one for +10 and another for a re-roll (though regained one with charmed) and still nearly absolutely got fucked.

06:40, Today: Scarlet rolled 72 -- a simple failure using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 64.  Agility+30.
06:41, Today: Scarlet rolled 64 -- a simple success using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 64.  Agility Reroll.
06:41, Today: Scarlet rolled 3 using 1d10.  Charmed 9+.
06:41, Today: Scarlet rolled 10 using 1d10.  Charmed 9+.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:56, Sat 04 Mar 2023.

 The scorched-cut-rope-trailing Servo-skull and the rather more ornate Yasha hover around Scarlet, chirping concerned little sputters of binary cant, the latter flashing a rapid auspex-glow over her, no doubt in order to have something to communicate to the medicae when assistance arrives.

 Both skulls continue to hover close to her, no doubt with the intention of providing assistance again at need.

 Jak meanwhile, tracks and draws a bead on the flicker of movement before sending a single bolt flashing into the darkness overhead, but asides from an explosion against a metal strut, there's no particular result as he misses his target.

 He then relocates his position a little down the flanking hall before taking up his watch again.

 ---

 Yup, nowhere near him. Moving and settling in to try again.

13:53, Today: Jak Tesla rolled 82 -- 4 degrees of failure using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 39.  Aim and fire.

Gregory staggers back as the powerful laser blast hits him in the chest; his heart feels like it's on fire, but he resists the urge to peel off his chestplate; this is most definitely not the time or place for it. Instead, he impels himself forward into a run, seeking to get into close quarters ASAP while reaching for his bolt pistols...

Vormav scanned the developing battlefield as things seemed to move at a blur around him. He moved in with the rest of their troops the breachers did a good job of screening him and he repaid their kindness by vaporizing their attackers with point blank shots from his much superior weaponry.

His pistol bucked and the air shrieked with the sudden increase in temperature. But the target dodged just in time and the melta shot left a glowing crater in the deck plating rather than in the man's chest.

His follow up shot with his shoulder mounted gargoyle mouthed hellgun gave the traitorous bilge slime just what he deserved.


Half Action Standard attack with Inferno Pistol.
13:40, Today: Vormav rolled 78 -- 1 degree of failure using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 65.  Attack +0, Point Blank +30, Melee -20.

Free action Semi-Auto Burst with Hellgun.
13:42, Today: Vormav rolled 21 -- 6 degrees of success using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 85.  Semi-Auto +10, Point Blank +30, in Melee -20, MIU +10.
13:55, Today: Vormav rolled 5,12,8 using 1d10+4,1d10+4,1d10+4.  3 hits pen 7.

Those insurgents who haven’t fled, die. Most of those insurgents who have fled also die, some from falls, some from opportunity shots taken by the trooper, many from a group of twenty or so friendly troops who appear on a platform nearby but lower down.

++Captain Aase reporting Sir,++ comes over the comms link, aimed at Gregory but all can hear it, ++Sir, there is a large contingent of these bilge scum up ahead by that big sphere thing, I don’t know what they are doing there but a lot of tech priests have died trying to stop them.++

About eighty meters away, forwards of the current location, obscured by the machinery but visible to anyone who moves around the platform, there is a large, spherical device that dominates the heart of the fin. There are two platforms around it both swarming with insurgents, on the top platform they are centred around a closed hatchway which they are trying to open, on the bottom platform a similar hatch is still being defended by a small number of tech priests.

Gregory, Vormav and the remaining troops move onto the platform they have just liberated, wounds are thankfully light.

Some six meters below, half a dozen friendly troops peel off from Cpt Aase’ patrol and rush to Scarlets assistance, the two that help her to her feet enquire after her wellbeing while the other four for a defensive perimeter, facing out with weapons tracking across four different arcs.

Jak continues to scan the walkways trying to anticipate the snipers next move.

.

"Aase, good to see you. There's a sniper on the loose, keep your eyes peeled."

Now that the insurgents have been driven off or killed, Gregory has time to think about what to do next. First, he orders a headcount to take stock of their fighting strength. THen...

"Right, Scarlet," he mutters to himself. "Choirmistress Scarlet went over the side just now. Did any of your men see her?"
This message was last edited by the player at 12:28, Mon 06 Mar 2023.

Scarlet is clearly visible on a walkway six meters below, being assisted by Aase' troopers and a couple of servo skulls.
.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:41, Mon 06 Mar 2023.

"Right, I see her. Enginseer Tesla is with us and I believe he can tell us more about that sphere. I'm thinking we should take a couple of minutes to catch our breath and plan our next move."

 Departing cover, but with both Yasha and the second, unnamed servo-skull floating back up to train their auspex systems at the overhead, looking for any resurgence of the sniper, Jak moves to join the group as he states, with unusual emotion "The only object matching that description in this area is the primary cogitator assembly. Any significant damage to it will result in the Pious Lament being functionally blinded. There is no time for delay.", adding as he moves forwards with the obvious intention of joining his brothers and sisters in the cult in their doomed defence of the holy relic "And as admirable as your relic is High Factotum, you will not direct the holy Inferno pistol anywhere near the cogitator. I trust this is understood?"

 ---

Eeek, technology in danger Will Robinson! We must immediately hasten, no number of lives lost is too many to preserve so much as one diode!

"Right, so don't shoot the big round thing, shoot everyone else. Works for me."

He glances at the heavy laser, wondering how to work it into their offensive...

Vormav, ever the logistics officer, looks over the bodies of the fallen for anything good, an autogun with sufficient ammo would be perfect. "Enginseer Prime, kindly bugger off and go teach your grandmother how to knit."

OOC, literally even an autopistol will allow us to suppressing fire the doors and stop the sieges.

Scattered among the bodies are the heavy laser, (much like a las gun but bigger and heavier), two las guns, one heavy stubber, (Ursid, slightly damages), two autoguns, one stub automatic and one autopistol. By some strange coincidence or quirk of fate the all have exactly half a full load of ammunition.

There is no direct route from the current position to the sphere, the options are to go left, climb up a couple of levels, cross a gantry then either climb up higher and move directly above the sphere or descend to either platform on the sphere. Alternatively, one could go right and descend a short way to where Cpt Aase and Scarlet are, proceed forward from there and the climb up to the lower platform on the sphere, or proceed beyond it to see what is happening on the far side.
.

...And it seems there will be no way to do it; not with all the moving they'll have to do.

"Seems like we're best off heading down to meet up with Aase and Scarlet before moving in to break the siege."

Gregory directs one of his bigger men to grab the Ursid and its bipod; currently it, the autogun and the autopistol are most valuable for suppressive fire. He senses Vormav is thinking the same thing, so he voxes, "See anything you like?"

Vormav hefts one of the autoguns "Cowards by nature, but they are also scavengers by nature. Left barely enough ammo for three good bursts between the two of these. Maybe it's best to send Jak down to Aase and we go over the top and see what's attacking the other side of this thing. He'll be able to liase with the remaining tech-guard better than we can. Plus it's easier to get that Ursid down a level than up a few so they'll have a bit more firepower." he shoulder's the autogun. It would have to do for now.

 "Your compliance is not requested High Factotum, it is required if you wish to continue to be communicant in the mysteries and blessings of the Omnissiah. The cogitator core cannot be harmed if this vessel is to survive its engagement." Jak answers in the emotionless, flat mechanical tones his kind tend to favour, then turning to Gregory for his tactical assessment, since it's pretty obvious that the Archmilitant is prepared to take action and he's entirely prepared to take whatever risks are needful to secure the Core.

Gregory notes the growing tension between the two of them and decides that he's not having any of it.

"Enginseer, I would suggest we split up in this case. Aase will go with you and Scarlet as you attack this side and meet up with the techpriest contingent while Vormav and I circle around below and flank them from the other side with the breachers. Is that agreeable?"
This message was last edited by the player at 00:59, Sat 11 Mar 2023.

Vormav double checks the map of the area again "Ah yes down not up, an active combat zone is no place to be sliding along the crown of a giant sphere after all."

The troops lead off in two groups, one covering while the other advances, then stops to cover the first group's advance, moving first up the stairs to a gantry which they cross to a ladder that leads down through the higher platform to the lower one. From here the troops can open fire on the insurgents on the top platform, though neither side will have any cover top speak of. To reach the insurgents on the lower platform they would have to descend passed those on the upper one.

Jak descends a stairway on the right to meet up with Scarlet, Captain Ace and the men she has with her there. They then proceed along a solid platform to the foot of a spiral staircase that leads to the lower platform where the insurgents are in melee combat with a small group of tech priests.
.

As the move forward the feel the Pious Lament shakes and shudder.

News across the vox beads from elsewhere on the ship is mixed, the main fight seems to be in the Temple where heavy casualties have been taken however, the invasion is being contained, for now.

Outside the fighters and gunships are trying to dislodge the Eldar ship that has latched onto the temple, the situation there is confused and there might have been some losses.

There is no contact with the bridge at the moment and it seems that heavy fighting is also taking place there.
.

 "You have tactical command. I am here only to set strategic objectives." Jak answers obligingly - from where he stands he doesn't expect the Archmilitant to have the slightest idea of the relative sanctity of the great machines around him, but he also doesn't imagine for a moment that he can equal the other mans knowledge of military affairs, making that division of labour entirely logical.

 With that said, he heads to join the group moving to relieve the tech-priests, checking his bolter as he goes and - once in position to do so, announces their presence with a resounding call - echoed from a dozen wall-speakers and obliging vox units - "Omnissiah Vult!", punctuating his statement with the crack-whoosh-slap-boom of a bolter round being sent downrange into the back of the biggest-looking thing in the enemy line.

 ---

21:53, Today: Jak Tesla rolled 9 -- 5 degrees of success using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 59.  Aim and fire.
21:54, Today: Jak Tesla rolled 4 using 1d10.  Damage.
 Pen 4, 9 damage (Well, 10 if I use my degrees of success instead).
This message was last edited by the player at 03:10, Wed 15 Mar 2023.

Meanwhile, Gregory, Vormav and the Breachers have gotten over to the other side, where Gregory begins their attack by unloading suppressive fire from the autopistol he took with him, aiming to force all the insurgents to dive for cover.

"Vormav, take over," he says as he drops the weapon (it only had one burst left in it, which he just used) and draws his grenade launcher, preparing to drop a gas grenade behind whatever piece of cover the insurgents have decided to hole up behind.

OOC:

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Per the Suppressing Fire rules (p. 248)...

All targets within the kill zone must a Hard (–20) Pinning Test or become Pinned (see page 248).

Additionally, the active character must make a Hard (–20) Ballistic Skill Test to determine if his wild spray of gunfire hits anyone, friend or foe, within the kill zone. A roll of 94–100 on the test indicates the weapon has Jammed (see Weapon Jams, page 249). If the Ballistic Skill Test succeeds, the GM assigns the hit to a random target within the kill zone. Furthermore, every two degrees of success scores an extra hit against another random victim. Use of the Suppressive Fire action does not affect the defensive benefits of armour or cover. The number of hits scored may not exceed the weapon’s fully automatic Rate of Fire. Use Table 9-5: Multiple Hits to determine Hit Locations for f against the same target. The active character cannot choose to fail this Ballistic Skill Test.

---

12:35, Today: Gregory Asgard rolled 26 -- 1 degree of success using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 40.  Suppressive Fire.
Damage for whichever guy I hit: 1d10+2 I, Pen 0.
12:38, Today: Gregory Asgard rolled 6 using 1d10+2.  Autopistol Damage.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:26, Tue 14 Mar 2023.

Vormav watches the insurgents and aims for any that don't duck for cover when Gregory opens fire and peppers the brave unfortunates with the supercharged lasfire of his Hellgun.

Again, the gun hisses and spits its deadly payload three times and each one is accompanied by the screams of an injured opponent.

"Aye!" he shouts back to the Master-at-Arms as he shoulder's his reclaimed autorifle and prepares to spray the insurgents with slightly higher caliber gunfire.

07:55, Today: Vormav rolled 60 -- 4 degrees of success using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 105.  +20 Full Aim, +10 Semi-Auto, +10 Short, +10 MIU.

07:59, Today: Vormav rolled 5,5,12 using 1d10+4,1d10+4,1d10+4.  Damage, Pen 7.

On the upper platform of the sphere, Gregory, Vormav and the troopers rain fire down on the insurgents who are trying to break in through a hatchway, they have no cover from this angle and panic ensues. Some turn to run around to the far side of the sphere, most dive down onto the deck and try to crawl after them, several fall into the depths of the fin and many more are wounded or killed..

On the platform below a similar situation arises when Scarlet, Jak, Captain Aase and his troops open fire, especially when the head of a hulking mutant virtually explode under the influence of Jak’s bolter round. The difference here is that there is nowhere for them to run, the mechanicus defending this hatchway push forward, re-energised by Jak’s ‘proclamation’ and invigorated by suddenly having support. At the front of the mob insurgents are cut down while others turn to flee. At the back of the mob many are shot while others push forward to get away from the withering fire while in the middle, a good few go over the railings in the chaos and confusion.
.

 With the chaos developing in front of him, it would be the height of folly for Jak to continue to use a weapon as potent as his bolter - the risk of a mis-aimed round vanishing into the sphere to perform the very damage that the heretics sought to achieve is too great! And so slinging the weapon after a short binary paean of praise he advances, brandishing his bladed staff of office high - a weapon he is far less practised with yes, but a potent one nonetheless, and far safer to wield around sanctified mechanisms - as once again the vox-speakers roar "Excitare ferrum!"

 ---

Going in to mop up with the power axe, although I suspect I'll not have actual targets since there's folks in front of me. ^_^

"Think we should probably take a look and see if they planted bombs or anything, maybe they scattered because their mission was already complete? Maybe capture some wounded to interrogate?" Vormav offers, his tactical acumen no doubt being second to Gregory's.

"And you were telling me to kill them all," Gregory muses. "Breachers advance. Cover the High Factotum and the Engineer-Prime. Take prisoners if possible."

Gregory keeps his grenade launcher at the ready, aiming to drop gas grenades into pockets of resistance or to hit commander-type people (usually the better-dressed ones or those shouting orders) in the chest with a gas grenade like a makeshift beanbag round.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 01:42, Sat 18 Mar 2023.

"No, I guessed correctly that if you just went ahead and tried to kill them there would be enough prisoners laying on the ground that it wouldn't be a problem."

Vormav organizes rounding up any wounded survivors that are left.

When they link back up to Jak "Do we have another objective?"

There is no fight left in the remaining insurgents, Captain Aase takes his cue from Jak and orders a melee advance, which is followed up by Jak and Scarlet. Initially the troops are slaughtering all they come across but when word reaches them from Gregory the just round them up. On the upper platform it is much the same though here many more are able to flee as they are not boxed in.

Soon everything settles down, an inspection of the sphere reveals only superficial damage to the outer casing. There are about forty prisoners by the end of it, many of them wounded and mostly with some form of minor mutation, they seem dazed and confused, aware of their actions but cant understand why they acted like that. There are many more lose in the fin but they are unlikely to be a threat unless reorganised and remotivated.
.

Gregory orders a casualty count and an evacuation of severely wounded personnel. Anyone who can fight joins the Tech-Guard in watching over the techpriests as they perform their repairs.

He hasn't forgotten about that sniper yet, but he's going to finish one task here first before starting another.

 More or less immediately, Jak emits a volley of high-speed Binaric, one which results in the servitor skulls around him whipping forwards to play their scanners over the sphere, while a few swift orders see the Mechanicus militia secure the sphere, taking the time to dig in more thoroughly and treat their wounds as Gregory takes charge of the greater martial effort.

 "Tactically, that would be for the Archmilitant to determine." he answers Vormav "But it would seem that securing the fin structure against the possible Xenoc intrusion and gathering the scattered forces under siege within it is a high priority. I will determine what other priorities exist.", after which he extends a cable-link and sockets it into the nearby portable vox-caster, once more signalling the scattered loyalist units to ascertain the current situation.

"If your boys are alright by themselves, I'll divert my lads so we can start organizing patrols to hunt down the stragglers and that sniper from just now. And we should start putting our prisoners into custody for later interrogation..."

Vormav, starts looking around at the labyrinth of catwalks above them as the troops are moving the prisoners and wounded "We should probably find cover from that sniper. I don't fancy getting scalped by a xeno-dart or whatever they shoot. Sounds like there is a lot of action around. No shortage of things to do."

"Patrol time it is, then," Gregory says.

He keys up his mirobead and sends a transmission to First Officer Alexei and the Lady-Captain.

++Ma'am, we have regained control of the Auspex fin. Enginseer Tesla is overseeing repairs to it while Mr. Vormav and Choir-Mistress Scarlet are assisting me in hunting down stragglers. There was a suspected xeno sniper sighted dwn here, we will be flushing him out as we continue to secure the area.++
This message was lightly edited by the player at 01:10, Wed 22 Mar 2023.

In the Auspex fin, while guards, both trooper and Mechnicus, are posted at the enterences to ensure that no one leaves, Jak and his Mechanicus minions get on with the job of testing and repairing while the Gregory leads Scarlet and the trooppers in a systematic search of the whole place to round up any surviving insergents and track down the sniper.

Given time the repairs will be compleated, the insurgents killed or captured, the bodies removed and the blood cleaned up. The sniper seems to have disapeared into thin air so I'm considering this eppisode done and dusted, but feel free to post here if you have any follow up or bright ideas to find the sniper.

.

After ordering the spoils to be brought back to the armory, Gregory notifies the rest of the senior officers present.

"The L-C's reporting another incursion near the chapel. I'll be heading over after I get a medicae to see to this nice new hole in my chest."

 'The spoils' of course do get a once-over from one or two Tech-priests - the net result of which is unlikely to represent more than anything especially heretechal being redirected to a guard trophy room and anything that needs particular maintenance being flagged for the especially attention of the munitions masters.

 Beyond that, Jak remains jacked into the 'com system for some five or ten minutes of exquisitely high-speed communication which he uses to organise search patterns and repairs (with Archmilitant Asgard conferred with for the former), the completion of which leaves him free to state "While the Chapel is not my direct concern, it is placed toward the rear of the ship. I will accompany your efforts."

Vormav keeps scanning the area for traces of the sniper. "I think I'll stay here a bit and manage some of the clean up"

He touches his micro-bead and mutters some heated messages back and forth for a moment.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:23, Sun 26 Mar 2023.

 Which volunteering earns Vormav the assistance of an adept of the Mechanicus assigned to his team, as well as nominal control over cult resources in the spire - with the proviso that their priority is diagnosis and repair, but that they're to help him if they can.

 He is the High Factotum after all, and his compliance with not using the tank-buster near the sensorium is apparently appreciated.