Prelude: Cadian Dawn (IC)

[DM B]

The situation becomes even more complicated; as if on cue the servants of Xerxzes rush into the chamber, about sixty of them in total. A misshapen, but undeniably dangerous group of mutants and misfits - some of them are so twisted you suspect them might not be human at all. All are sporting guns of various kinds, but fearful of the consequences of weapons fire in the enginarium they attack with melee weapons only.

Lexander's Relictors turn to meet this new threat; at this they are far more successful, blunting the enemy charge and killing half a dozen  attackers without a single injury among them. What will Lexander and the Locum do? Support the men or focus their attention on Xerxzes?

[Lurk Skywalker]

Aboard the voidship

The Lector throws aside the broken chainsword, probably his first gesture of rage and lack of control since he accomplished his elevation to Astartes status. In the ongoing melee around him, he cannot help but feel the anger and desperation of his brothers as they throws their lives in the fight to shield the one of their leader.

The enchanted swords provided by Nouri and his thralls seem to allow him to join the melee again. Quickly seizing one, barely feeling the strain on his second and last heart, he turns to Xerxzes who just smashed the visor of a Relictor and turns his back to the Lector. With a mighty blow, seizing his new found blade with both hands, he downs it on the junction between the right shoulder and arm of Fulgrim's grand son.

The Locum Lector taps again the Orb, feeling as he so does, another small part of himself going into the void, and projects phantasms of fear and dread across the mutants being fought off mercilessly by the Relictors who have started chanting their peon of death.

[Lurk Skywalker]

Outside the voidship

Roldar receives the communicator from the Magos and turns to Derryck. As they speak together, two Scouts are detailed to remain with the injured Astartes and another one seconded by Helial Silverwrists is hurrying a small ceremony held in such a dismal place with the local recruits. He can be overheard:

"... and now, you stand on higher ground than any other man, save your masters the Astartes of the Relictors Chapter who will nurture and elevate you for the remainder of your mortal days. Raise and be proudly recognised Men-at-Arms of the Blessed and Honourable of the Relictors."

A small ritual is performed where the newly baptized Men-at-Arms are being given the accolade by the Scouts.

Having seen this achieved, Roldar, alone, approaches the makeshift camp of the renegade Space Wolf.

"Hrothgar, once of the Space Wolves, I, Roldar of the Relictors greet you today. The fires of war are kindled again, if ever they dwindled and the Relictors have nothing to offer but a chance to pick-up a mortal feud against a scion of what was once a revered Primarch of the Imperium. What is your answer if any?"

Having heard the answer from the Space Wolf, Roldar will then turn to Derryck and lead the group towards the pointed maintenance hatch (OOC: Roldar, Helial Silverwrists, 6 Scouts, 15 "Men-at-Arms") 

[DM B]

@Roldar: Without his helmet on the rogue Space Wolf looks a lot less like a true space marine; his features are not those of a human, but a feral beast. He sniffs the air as Roldar approaches, a decided inhumane gesture. His eyes are yellow where there should be whites.

"No little scout, we are not so stupid as to let ourselves be trapped inside a metal coffin even as enemy war-machines march on us." He gestures emphatically towards the hills. "You go fight the scion of Fulgrim alone. I shall wait here to see what the outcome is."

[DM B]

Powerful static floods every available vox channel.

Only those units controlled by Azrael continue to work unimpeded.

Those of you inside the ship is also largely shielded (but you're even less able to speak to those outside now)

[DM B]

@Lexander: The chainsword bites deep this time, piecing armour can chewing through bone and flesh with equal ease. Perhaps it's the chaos enchantment. Perhaps it is your own desperate strength. His arm dangling uselessly Lexander snaps a kick to the inside of your knee, ruining the joint and crushing the join inside. As you topple over he deftly moves the chaos-infused chainsword in his left hand into your path, letting your own momentum work against you. You can feel it's teeth checking into your guts...then you are flung clear as Gaius leaps into the melee, preceded by a telekinetic strike that sends anyone with a dozen meters flying. Red and amber warning lights are flashing inside your mind; suit breaches and sub-system failures, multiple severe injuries...not looking good at all.

[Dragon Lord]

"No little scout, we are not so stupid as to let ourselves be trapped inside a metal coffin even as enemy war-machines march on us." He gestures emphatically towards the hills. "You go fight the scion of Fulgrim alone. I shall wait here to see what the outcome is."

Lukas overheard the exchange between Roldar and Hrothgar.

"If we are both remaining outside I suggest we coordinate.  My snipers can provide information on anything coming this way and take out individual troops, but you are more able to deal with anything larger that might come."

[DM B]

Between the psychic might of the Locum Lector and the bravery of the remaining Relictors the line is holding. But it will not last long; soon more of Lexander's marines will fall and the enemy will flood the enginarium and kill you all.

[DM B]

Lukas overheard the exchange between Roldar and Hrothgar.

"If we are both remaining outside I suggest we coordinate.  My snipers can provide information on anything coming this way and take out individual troops, but you are more able to deal with anything larger that might come."

Hrothgar pretends not to notice Lukas, before finally deigning to reply:

"Something larger IS coming. Can you not feel the tremors in the ground? Can you not hear?"

Now that the Space Wolf mentions it; yes, perhaps there is something. An almost imperceptible tremor. A faint noise, like many clawed feet being dragged across stony ground.

[LordPsycho]

With the bypass complete Maegon can set the communicator to simply blast static noise across all frequencies except the narrow bands they are using for their own communications.  The Xenos might eventually be able to find the gaps in the noise, but it would take them time, more than sufficient for Azrael to instruct Maegon in the more complex adjustments that would need to be made.

"That seems to work, Magos ! But be careful. Please remember that the xenos fighters are able to transform into walking war machine. Kind of Arachnids..."

Maegon manipulates other commands, as he understands their operation without the help of Azrael now.

"I'll scan all mid and short-range frequencies to identify possible assistance, but I fear that with our jamming... What do you think about programming a sequence of mixed interference and distress signals ?"

[Dragon Lord]

"Something larger IS coming. Can you not feel the tremors in the ground? Can you not hear?"

Lukas frowns and listens for a moment.  Nothing at first, but then maybe, yes maybe there is a very faint noise.

"Your hearing is more sensitive than mine.  Nonetheless, with my scopes my sight is at least as good as yours and you can't be in five places at once, so I repeat my offer of cooperation.  We can sight them, maybe even cause some minor damage or distract them, and relay their positions to you."

"That seems to work, Magos ! But be careful. Please remember that the xenos fighters are able to transform into walking war machine. Kind of Arachnids..."

Maegon manipulates other commands, as he understands their operation without the help of Azrael now.

"I'll scan all mid and short-range frequencies to identify possible assistance, but I fear that with our jamming... What do you think about programming a sequence of mixed interference and distress signals ?"

"Unfortunately heavy weaponry is not something that we have in abundance.  One of Derryck's objectives is to locate fire control on the ship, the ships weapons are the best way we have to deal with the Xenos.  You have had a chance to observe them more closely, did you identify anything that looked like a weak point?"

"The current jamming set-up is a blunt instrument, but it was easy to arrange.  If the encryptor unit were still present and I were there myself I could program the communicator to search out the individual signals of the Xenos and block only them.  Without the encryptor unit that would be very difficult and we lack time.  Interference interspersed with distress signals seems a reasonable route, though we do not know what kind of response they would elicit.  I am beginning to wonder if this ship is more curse than blessing."

[Lurk Skywalker]

Aboard the voidship

As the Lector falls on his knees, his left hand clutching instinctively at his violated abdomen, a veil of blackness shuts him out of his immediate surroundings. A faint and then stronger silky voice seems to sing in his mind and a sensation of well-being and remoteness engulfs the martyred Astartes. In a state of semi-delirium he is reminiscent of the Imperial nursery which was probably the first and last time the Lector was acquainted briefly with sweetness and kindness, before the Imperium and his Calling turned him into a rampart of Mankind. During this black-out which might have lasted for one or two heartbeats, the claw of the Seeing Tower of Silence, which had already penetrated armour and flesh, when the main heart of the Astartes had been pierced through, starts expanding with black thin tendrils running through the arteries and veins, spreading a black liquid which mingled with the Astartes enriched blood and accelerating coagulation here, fighting infection there and providing the broken body with additional strength and resilience. In the mind of the Lector the melodious song continued unabated, even though the words and meanings of it remained elusive and reticent to human understanding. Unseen behind its Mark VII visor, the eyes of the Lector altered from their erstwhile human appearance became pools of blackness and eventually closed, probably for ever, after one or two last flicker as futile as the wing beats of a dying butterfly in the storm. On the Seeing Tower of Silence, an eye, visible as if through a crimson mist, opens and without blinking scans the surroundings, conveying with its glaze an almost irresistible message of sadness,
Grunting as he slowly tries to stand, the Lector notices that his eyesight seems oddly out of focus as well as disturbingly out of place. Where once stood his brothers and foes, the Lector can now see a full scenery of blazing silhouettes, where his fellow Astartes stand and fight, as well as other shapeless monstrosities where the servants of Xerxzes are pressing on, before noticing the Locum Lector as a bright silhouette whose very heart pulsates and radiates darkness. He eventually involuntarily gasps when he perceives what once was Gaius the Sane.
All along, the song recedes but never quite stops, and he manages to grasp certain words, or at least so he thinks: “…my child.”

OOC: DM B, feel free to slam this if too what not 

[DM B]

"Something larger IS coming. Can you not feel the tremors in the ground? Can you not hear?"

Lukas frowns and listens for a moment.  Nothing at first, but then maybe, yes maybe there is a very faint noise.

"Your hearing is more sensitive than mine.  Nonetheless, with my scopes my sight is at least as good as yours and you can't be in five places at once, so I repeat my offer of cooperation.  We can sight them, maybe even cause some minor damage or distract them, and relay their positions to you."

"You have a point human. If my brusqueness offended you know that it isn't personal, only professional. I meet so few human warriors worthy of the title...

...we shall pool our resources. We need to set up spotters, determine their likely route of approach and aestimate their capabilities. We do not want them to damage the ship any more than they already have, so we need to take them out before they reach our position. Coordinate with sergeant Ravn."

[DM B]

On behalf of Nouri:


Nouri and the cabal work quickly, but time is growing short and they haven't marshaled enough might yet.  From the corner of his eyes, he  sees one of the Squats taking cover and the whispers of the Void give give rise to a plan.

"Noble Squats, your honored ancestor has need of your prayers! Lift your voice in praise to the Honored Ancestor!"  From the mind of a squat, he quickly plucks a prayer in which he leads them and from his humble beginning, a chorus of murmured quickly emerges.  Nouri shifts from the Squats to the Cabal and with a nod they begin working their unwittingly acolytes into the greater working.  And with the addition of true faith, much stands to be done, but Nouri seemingly only gathers the growing storm the the weight of which he toils, while some of the Thralls and Squats are broken.

[DM B]

Xerxzes gets up much quicker than any marine has a right to, chainsword still grasped in his left hand. The Gaius-thing is upon him immediately, wielding the force sword of Gaius. A rain of blows are exchanged, so fast that no mortal man could have kept pace. The blades lock, and in that instant the second chaos-blade so thoughtless enchanted by Nouri leaps up and past Xerzes' guard, burrowing through the weakened abdominal plates. Xerxzes falls back a pace, to find himself grasped from behind by Lector Lexander. Seemingly unaffected by his crippling injuries he locks the scion of Fulgrim in place. The Gaius-thing severs Xerxzes sword-arm at the wrist.

Meanwhile the squats have taken to arms, wielding tools and whatever makeshift weapons they have been able to procure. It's not much, but added to the psychic fear conjured by the Lector Locum and the remaining Relictors it is enough to stem the tide.

"Enough," screams the Gaius-thing in a voice not at all like Gaius'. When a small group of fighters do not heed its command quickly enough it sends them flying - allies and enemies alike - with great force at the merest flick of a wrist. "Defy me at your own peril," it shouts with a voice that reverberates throughout the ship.

Xerxzes tries to tear free from the Lector, but the Relictor captain has found preternatural strength somewhere and Xerxzes is going nowhere!

Instead Gaius tears the embedded chainsword free without ever touching the hilt. Next an unseen force breaks the Emperor's Child's helmet seal and lifts it clear of the marine's head. The face inside is twisted by rage, pain, and defiance. Xerxzes' first act is to spit Gaius in the face; the skin on his left cheek immediately turns bright red, then it starts oozing and running as the bio-acid in the marine's spit does its thing. Gaius doesn't even twitch.

"You and me," Gaius says in that strange voice, "are going to be one again."

"Never, " Xerxzes replies curtly.

Gaius smiles in entirely the wrong way, as if his face doesn't really know which muscles to move when smiling. The effect is...disconcerting.

Gaius turns to face Nouri and his thralls. "And what of you sorcerer? Will you serve a worthy master or do you wish to be consumed, body and soul along with your thralls?"


This is where Nouri must decide what to do. Defy what is obviously not some ancestor spirits, but a potent warp entity or abject himself before the daemon?

Lexander has accepted the gift of chaos and is currently a thrall to whatever the Tower is. He could try to fight it of course, but he has already let it in, so it might not be that easy.

Gaius is possessed by the daemon and can't do squat (pun intended).