Prelude: Cadian Dawn (IC)

[DM B]

The Lector having heard confirmation that his two scouting parties are in position, turns to Silverwrists, using the Relictor's Pilots title when addressing him:

"Aurarius Falco, can you use our gear to try and intercept communications within and around this vessel?"

Helial: "I shall try Sir, but I'm afraid the vox-gear is in poor condition."

A while later. "I have something Sir. Mostly some chatter between the guards. They're not taking the situation seriously - they expect the ship's turrets to be deterrent enough. From the repair crews I get mostly tech-code; looks like they are tech-priests and servitors for the most part."

[LordPsycho]

"It would appear it is a Chariot-class vessel Sire. The Imperial Navy would classify it as a light raider-type ship, barely large enough to be warp-capable and useless in a pitched battle. The Chariot is primarily used in and around the Finial sector Sire. Mostly by rogue and renegade elements, but some hulls can be found in the hands of the wealthy - as personal pleasure craft, fast couriers, or priority transports. The pattern is unusual in appearance to say the least, but it is uncommonly well suited for planetary landings."

Nemus adds: "The makings are faint and inconclusive. Could be an Imperial craft - or not. So hard to tell these days."

The Inquisitor nods to show his appreciation.

"And what about the xenos fighters ? Eldars ?"

"No, I don't think so..." answers Jethro, the old Savant.

The agents of the Ordos watch the pictures again and again, but the xenos fighters don't fit anything that they have seen before, in operation or in the fantastic Inquisitorial databases. The fighters were sleek and predatory, with multiple asymmetrical wing-pylons surrounding a central combat pod. Just short of a hundred meters long and massing a few thousand tonnes tops. Logic dictates they were carried here aboard a much larger craft, seeing as they cannot possibly be warp-capable.

"Let's hope that Osh can discover more." says Nemus.

"We move." announces Maegon. "Ask the civilians where we can found a suitable base of operation in this direction. PDF barracks or Guilds headquarters, maybe ?"

[DM B]

The Inquisitor nods to show his appreciation.

"And what about the xenos fighters ? Eldars ?"

"No, I don't think so..." answers Jethro, the old Savant.

The agents of the Ordos watch the pictures again and again, but the xenos fighters don't fit anything that they have seen before, in operation or in the fantastic Inquisitorial databases. The fighters were sleek and predatory, with multiple asymmetrical wing-pylons surrounding a central combat pod. Just short of a hundred meters long and massing a few thousand tonnes tops. Logic dictates they were carried here aboard a much larger craft, seeing as they cannot possibly be warp-capable.

"Let's hope that Osh can discover more." says Nemus.

"We move." announces Maegon. "Ask the civilians where we can found a suitable base of operation in this direction. PDF barracks or Guilds headquarters, maybe ?"

By nightfall you've successfully relocated without any major incidents. No word from the corporal yet, but there would not be, not with the kind of fallout you're experiencing right now. Perhaps in the morning, after the rains. Or in a day or two. You've no closer to unlocking the secret of the xenos craft either.

Osh returns: "The ship was a mess Master. No survivors. Only this." He empties the contents of a makeshift bad upon the rockcrete floor. It looks like a massively over-sized head - about the size of the human thorax. The coloration is dark; shades of grey and dark greens. Six eyes, arranged in clusters of three. A wide fanged mouth, two vertical slits where a nose should have been. No hair or feathers, only rubbery skin with bone-like protrusions that form an irregular pattern.

"Weird ship. Badly smashed up. Looked almost like an arachnid. Like it had tried to change its shape... from ship to walking war machine... Osh has no better explanation."

[DM B]

@Azrael: By nightfall both of your groups are well underway, but nowhere near the crash site yet. You're forced to take shelter as best you can and endure the toxic rains. On the plus side Azrael is able to help avoid the roving hunter-killer patrols and you've yet to lose a single man.

Meanwhile your man Derry has returned with good new; he's made contact with another warband that seems both reasonable and willing to cooperate. Another rag-tag group of survivors and ex-Imperials, oddly enough led by a duo of Space Wolves. Their leader's name is Hrothgar and he's going to move to the crash site on the morrow. He figures it's better to arrive late and look things over than rush in headlong - and besides, if the ship needs repairs it won't be fixed in a day.

[DM B]

@Gaius: Your team has gotten off to a decent start, but they too must shelter in the blasted wilderness for the night (unless you want to press on of course, but that is considered very bad for your health).

[DM B]

@Maegon: His warband has relocated to a new position. He has a scout team out, taking shelter for the night.

[Stonecrown Coster/MB (Rune)]

The scouts settle in for the night, posting sentries and keeping noise and light to a minimum. Lancer, leading the small group of men, studies the crash site as the sun goes down.

"There is bound to be others coming to investigate the site, Gaius". He needs not speak aloud, as he's been a vessel for Gaius' presence often enough to recognize his presence. "If we hope to salvage something, we would be wise to expect some sort of confrontation". There is no reply, though he can feel Gaius probing his minds eye. He settles in for the first watch, oiling his rifle and humming a quiet tune he learned from his mother. The first drops of rain starts to fall, muffling the sounds of wildlife.

Back at the hive, Gaius discusses the events with General Maximus. The Scourge needs to be ready to travel at a moments notice, if the scouts report anything of interest. Supplies have been running low lately, so whatever can be scavenged will prove valuable. Of course, the prospect of a confrontation from other looters, or even survivors from the ship, complicates things. They will lean towards caution, Gaius decides, only engaging in confrontation should the enemy be severely weakened. Otherwise, they will take what they can and stay out of sight.

[Lurk Skywalker]

The Lector nods at his pilot. He seems to ponder for a short while, before he sends a brief encrypted order to Roldar. Should it be intercepted the Relictors' battle code would appear to be little more static discharge emanating from random machine intelligence.
The cold and formal voice of the Lector resonate within the hallowed helmet of the assassin.

"Decurio, I want to know more about this vessel and its crew before some local fools barge in and alarms them. I want you to get closer and if the opportunity arises abduct of the crewmen and bring him to me for interrogation." 

Roldar takes two of his Scouts with him and slowly they start approaching the makeshift camp. At the same time the Lector and his men ready themselves to provide cover and diversion if Roldar is detected. The other Scouts keep scanning the vicinity for any sign of would-be interference.

[DM B]

The Lector nods at his pilot. He seems to ponder for a short while, before he sends a brief encrypted order to Roldar. Should it be intercepted the Relictors' battle code would appear to be little more static discharge emanating from random machine intelligence.
The cold and formal voice of the Lector resonate within the hallowed helmet of the assassin.

"Decurio, I want to know more about this vessel and its crew before some local fools barge in and alarms them. I want you to get closer and if the opportunity arises abduct of the crewmen and bring him to me for interrogation." 

Roldar takes two of his Scouts with him and slowly they start approaching the makeshift camp. At the same time the Lector and his men ready themselves to provide cover and diversion if Roldar is detected. The other Scouts keep scanning the vicinity for any sign of would-be interference.

Helped by darkness, rain and broken terrain your scouts make their way over to the crashed ship - undetected - and secure a prisoner. They go for one of the repair crew, not the guards. By the looks of him he's a minor tech-adept or some such.

While exfiltrating they are spotted by an unidentified source and the alarm is raised. One of the scouts is vaporized by a burst from a rapid-fire lascannon mount, but Roldar and the second man is able to get out of the line of fire and bring back the prisoner.

Questioning confirms that the man is indeed a tech-adept, perhaps learned enough to qualify for the title of enginseer, but hardly a full initiate of the Greater Machine Mysteries.

The ship is indeed a Chariot-class vessel. It is called the Sensibilious. Its master and commander is the Great and Benevolent Xerxzes, Son of Honoured Artaxerxzes, Son of Mighty and Everlasting Fulgrim.

The ship is largely intact, but in need of some repairs before it can lift off again. More specifically the crash has ripped out a lot of the gravistatic coils - without them the ship cannot escape Cadia's gravitic embrace.

Unfortunately his knowledge of the over situation is somewhat limited; a man in his position isn't really in the command loop. What he does know is that his master came here seeking something and that the ship was attacked by Ner'gal mercenaries (presumably the fighters you saw pursuing the ship). He doesn't really know what the Ner'gal are beyond their mercenary nature.

He also manges to cough up a threat: Great harm will befall those who do ill by the servants of Xerxzes.

[LordPsycho]

By nightfall you've successfully relocated without any major incidents. No word from the corporal yet, but there would not be, not with the kind of fallout you're experiencing right now. Perhaps in the morning, after the rains. Or in a day or two. You've no closer to unlocking the secret of the xenos craft either.

Osh returns: "The ship was a mess Master. No survivors. Only this." He empties the contents of a makeshift bag upon the rockcrete floor. It looks like a massively over-sized head - about the size of the human thorax. The coloration is dark; shades of grey and dark greens. Six eyes, arranged in clusters of three. A wide fanged mouth, two vertical slits where a nose should have been. No hair or feathers, only rubbery skin with bone-like protrusions that form an irregular pattern.

"Weird ship. Badly smashed up. Looked almost like an arachnid. Like it had tried to change its shape... from ship to walking war machine... Osh has no better explanation."

"Osh is a good boy. Tomorrow, I'll take a look on that weird wrecked ship myself. You will lead us."

Seeing that his Master is pleased, the xenos warrior purrs from pleasure.

"Jethro. I know that we lack the appropriate tools, but please try to learn something from this massive head."

When the night falls, Maegon draws his Tarot

The Chariot. A vehicle or a vessel... Could be the crashed ship. Or the xenos fighters.
The Servant of Discordia. The Soulless. Mechanical monstrosity. The xenos pilot ? Maegon didn't see the occupants of the crashed ship so far.
The Saint. Winged angelic figure. Harmony or... Falsehood.
Ten of Mandatio - The Consul of the Administratum. Difficult choices, numerous tasks to be completed. As those awaiting Maegon and his retinue for survival...
The Pilgrim. New-born man, about to begin his journey. Beginnings, possibilities or... indecision.

Maegon is not of the irresolute kind.

"Nemus, listen to me. Tomorrow, you will send groups of civilians and their escorts to explore the surroundings.

Five objectives. First, we need food. Second, ammos. Third, an observation point overlooking the crashed ship and its surroundings. Fourth, a communication center. Fifth, an artillery battery, with anti-aircraft or long range potential, preferably both.

Fifty civilians, fifteen Necromundians, five groups of thirteen persons, five directions. North, East, South, West and Top.

Have a good night."

[Dragon Lord]

Azrael and his team take shelter for the night in the burned out shell of an APC (it is impossible to tell which side it once belonged to).  Lukas is a bit closer to the ship, but some distance away from Azrael, approaching it from a different direction, and has taken shelter in a small tumbledown building with his team.

Derryck's news that there is another warband willing to cooperate on taking control of the ship, and led by a pair of Space Wolves no less, was welcome indeed.  Marines will no doubt be able to move faster than they had and might arrive at the ship at a similar time to themselves, Azrael hoped that his teams would arrive slightly beforehand though so that he could get a chance to assess the condition of the ship first.

Meanwhile Irena has been getting the rest of the warband ready to move out.  From their position several hundred metres up in one of the hive spires they could almost see the crash site during daylight, so she decided to send a couple of people a bit further up during the night to see if they could observe what was going on around the ship.  Visibility might well be too poor, and it would delay slightly their departure while they waiting for the observers to get back down, but if they could get some observations it might well be worthwhile.

[DM B]

Azrael and his team take shelter for the night in the burned out shell of an APC (it is impossible to tell which side it once belonged to).  Lukas is a bit closer to the ship, but some distance away from Azrael, approaching it from a different direction, and has taken shelter in a small tumbledown building with his team.

Derryck's news that there is another warband willing to cooperate on taking control of the ship, and led by a pair of Space Wolves no less, was welcome indeed.  Marines will no doubt be able to move faster than they had and might arrive at the ship at a similar time to themselves, Azrael hoped that his teams would arrive slightly beforehand though so that he could get a chance to assess the condition of the ship first.

Meanwhile Irena has been getting the rest of the warband ready to move out.  From their position several hundred metres up in one of the hive spires they could almost see the crash site during daylight, so she decided to send a couple of people a bit further up during the night to see if they could observe what was going on around the ship.  Visibility might well be too poor, and it would delay slightly their departure while they waiting for the observers to get back down, but if they could get some observations it might well be worthwhile.

Getting a good view of the crash site from afar is troublesome because of the terrain. Perhaps if your men venture high up into one of the skeletal remains of a hive-spire. Yes, that might do the trick. Climb five or six kilometers up and maybe you can see where the ship landed. It will take all day though, possibly even longer. And you never know what lurks up there.

[Stonecrown Coster/MB (Rune)]

From a vantage point some distance from the ship Lancer surveys the situation. He's already spotted others moving towards the ship, and he's been made aware of others hiding, unseen. For now, he's content with keeping an eye on the survivors, and the competition. He and the rest of the men settle down in a defensible position, taking in as much of the scene as possible. Gaius and the rest of the Scourge is on the move, coming closer by the hour, but perhaps important intel can be gathered before he arrives.

[DM B]

OOC: Only the Relictors manage to reach the crash site before nightfall - only Marines can cover 60 klicks of difficult and dangerous ground in half a day. The other teams must be content to arrive at various times throughout the next day - and if moving along the primary axis of advance run a significant risk of bumping into other wanderers.

A new day dawns over the ruins of Kasr Hemshin - and the downed starship, some sixty kilometers to the east.

CRASH SITE
The crew of the ship continues their labors, but they are more wary now: Thrice they have fired the weapons at fleeting target in the dark - real or not, you do not know. Only Lexander's Marines are there to observe them, for mere men are incapable of moving so far and so fast through such difficult terrain. There are presumably other groups en route from Hemshin, but they've yet to arrive. Unless there are other, as yet unseen teams hiding in the surrounding hills.

@Lexander: Several times you've spotted a single space marine walking among the lesser men; his power armour bears the colours and heraldry of the Emperor's Children, one of the Renegade Legions that betrayed the God-Emperor ten millennia ago.

NO-MAN'S LAND
The teams that set out the previous day are on the move again, trudging through the foul mud and the toxic rain that fell last night. Hours later they have cleared the plains and gained the hills. There is less water and mud, but more stones and elevation. One bad stretch of ground swapped for another equally bad.

@Gaius: You psychically guided team is the first to arrive. Unfortunately you are spotted as you move into position and peppered with lascannon fire. None of your men are hit, but the intensity and power of the beams are such as to cause temporary blindness in several of your followers. If you had not been there to support their moral they would have fled - as it is they instead retreat to a more safe distance and hunker down.

@Maegon: Your half-squad of scouts have crossed the wasteland and are now in position to observe. Last night's rains were particularly violent and have cleared the sky of pollutants (for the time being). It has the secondary effect of enabling your team a semi-decent vox-link with their Inquisitor.

@Azrael: Your two teams follow on the heels of Maegon's men; from time to time you get glimpses of men ahead of you, moving purposefully in the same direction. They have disappeared by the time your reach the crash site and take cover in the burned-out APC.

KASR HEMSHIN
Back in the hive-ruins there is also quite a bit of activity.

@Gaius: The main body of the Scourge starts the long trek out of the hive and across the wasteland. They will not reach the wreck today. Perhaps on the morrow.

@Maegon: Osh leads the Inquisitor and a bodyguard to inspect the crashed fighter-craft. The wreck is badly mangled, but you can still marvel at its alien design and incomprehensible layout. Well, maybe not so incomprehensible if you consider Osh's comparison to a spider - perhaps the craft tired to change its shape even as it struck the ground...yes, that would explain a great many things.

Meanwhile your scrounging teams have produced a few odds and ends, but nothing to write home to Terra about. Maybe enough for half-rations today and enough ammo to improve the overall situation slightly. They also report finding a Hydra AA battery, but it is unfortunately out of ammo and the APC chassis doesn't seem to work so you can't move it.

The observers up top have something to report, however: They have a partial view of the dorsal section of the ship. It appears whole and there are repair teams up and about. They also report at least ten small and three larger groups of people moving from the hive and towards the hills...

@Azrael: Back at the hive the other warband signals that it's moving out. Presumably that's your cue and the rest of the Nar-ghosts also get moving.

[DM B]

OOC: All the 4 warbands now have people on-site. The Marines have been here a bit longer and have the initiative.