Prelude: Cadian Dawn (IC)

[LordPsycho]

Hrothgar: "Honour is not a concept that applies to war. Only victory does. But the Dark Angel has a point - if we destroy the bridge, flying this thing will become difficult, if not impossible. We should try to lure the Marine to a position of our choosing, and then attack suddenly, and with overwhelming force."

Azrael: "I agree about the melta weapons, highly destructive weaponry on the bridge is not a particularly good idea."

Maegon nods but doesn't reply.

Who spoke of dumb overkill ?
Space Marines should be able to direct precise shots against Lexander and his men.
Well, Azrael and Kremiel are probably right: we can not take such a risk.

Kremiel: "I object. Do we truly know what happened down in the enginarium? I've heard talk of a daemon, that is now gone. Could it not be that this Lexander was the one to banish it? Have you so little faith in the Astartes? Were there no witnesses, no one that can tall us what happened?"

Azrael looked slightly contemplative at that.

"Had Lexander banished the daemon that would not explain his current odd behaviour.  However I suppose it is not totally beyond the realms of possibility.  Maegon, would you be able to determine the whereabouts of the daemon or the level of warp presence on the bridge without us alerting Lexander?"

"This ship has been tainted by the Children of Fulgrim."

No need to be a psyker to tell that.

"Amidst the overall corruption, I can feel more... radiating sources of dark energy. I have to concentrate to see more clearly."

Maegon closes his eyes and tightens his right hand on his psy-focus pendants.
He's exhausted, feels dizzy, but rest will have to wait.
He takes a prudent look into the Immaterium.

Remaining setback, Maegon sees is the Tower of Silence, then Lexander and Adorus.

However, something else attracts the Inquisitor's attention.
Somebody looking at him via ethereal eyes.

"Master Aquilus ?" the Inquisitor asks mentally.

[DM B]

Hrothgar: "Whatever we decide; let us do it soon. My instincts tell me we must be away from this place. And the wolf is never wrong."

[Dragon Lord]

Hrothgar: "Whatever we decide; let us do it soon. My instincts tell me we must be away from this place. And the wolf is never wrong."

Azrael:  "We should see if Maegon is able to discern anything, but if yourself and Kremiel are determined to face Lexander directly the rest of us will be of limited assistance.  There is insufficient space outside the bridge for us to be able to bring our numbers to bear in any meaningful fashion, the best I could do is provide some snipers for support."

[DM B]

Kremiel: "Inquisitor, what can you tell us? Must this Relictor be purged or not? If yes, I would agree with the Son of Russ - we should strike quickly. If no, let us be gone from this place with equal haste.

[DM B]

@Azrael: It's been made know to Azrael that the Dark Angels appear to have a prisoner; another space marine, in archaic black-and-white power armour. 

[darkking]

Jack moor and his warband had seen the ship start its forced landing. he instantly began making preparations to take it taking what he could. he even gained recruits bumping up his numbers to a good solid force. then they slowly began making their way to the ship. hoping they could be the first ones there. he urged his forces forward. leaving no one behind. he did major raiding prior to their journey mostly for food and ammo. he even go ta chimera which he was using to transport his more wounded soldiers.  he hoped he could make good time and get their soon enough before the ship left.knowing he was in a race against time carried his red white and blue flag as he lead the march. urging them forward keep an eye out for rivals and enemies.

(hope this is ok) 

[LordPsycho]

Maegon closes his eyes and tightens his right hand on his psy-focus pendants.
He's exhausted, feels dizzy, but rest will have to wait.
He takes a prudent look into the Immaterium.

Remaining setback, Maegon sees is the Tower of Silence, then Lexander and Adorus.

However, something else attracts the Inquisitor's attention.
Somebody looking at him via ethereal eyes.

"Master Aquilus ?" the Inquisitor asks mentally.

But the eyes disappear as fast as they came, and nobody answers.

So Maegon shrugs his shoulders mentally, then focuses on the command bridge of the Sensibilious.

He sees a dark aura around the Relictors, but that's nothing in comparison with the two Artifacts that they are bearing.
A huge shield and fist-sized sphere, both tainted without a doubt.
He tries to see their names... The Tower of Silence... The Maleficent Orb...
A terrific force repulses him.

Dark flames burn Maegon's mind and he's forced to come back to the material world.
His mouth has a taste of ash. His nose is bleeding.
Without his power armour, he would have fallen to the ground.

Kremiel: "Inquisitor, what can you tell us? Must this Relictor be purged or not? If yes, I would agree with the Son of Russ - we should strike quickly. If no, let us be gone from this place with equal haste.

The Inquisitor shivers, then turns toward the Dark Angel.
The answer is visible in Maegon's eyes.

"They are tainted, more than I thought... They have two dark artifacts... A giant shield and an orb."

Somebody knocks on the door.
On the other side, the Inquisitor hears the stifled voice of his Interrogator, Nemus d'Agoria.

"Inquisitor, are you alright ?"

After so many years together, their minds are somehow connected.
Nemus must have felt echoes of the psychic attack suffered by Maegon.

The Inquisitor would like to move toward the door, but he's still too weak, even for that.

"It's my Interrogator, Nemus. You can trust him. Could you please... open the door ?" he asks to his allies.

The agents of the Ordos are glad to meet again.

"The good news is that the reclamation team is back. The bad news if that new warbands are approaching the voidship. I fear that the situation will be out of control soon..." says Nemus.

[Dragon Lord]

"It's my Interrogator, Nemus. You can trust him. Could you please... open the door ?" he asks to his allies.

Azrael recognises the results of a psychic attack well enough and immediately moves to door.  Clearly Lexander and his marines are going to be more difficult to deal with than he might have hoped.  Perhaps Kremiel and Hrothgar might be more amenable to 'dishonourable' methods now.  Or perhaps they would just get themselves killed and leave the ship to him, Azrael would hardly complain.

"Of course Inquisitor, do you need medical assistance?"

"The good news is that the reclamation team is back. The bad news if that new warbands are approaching the voidship. I fear that the situation will be out of control soon..." says Nemus.

New warbands, just what they need at this point.
"How close to the ship are these warbands, and what kind of strength do they have?", inquires Azrael.

@Azrael: It's been made know to Azrael that the Dark Angels appear to have a prisoner; another space marine, in archaic black-and-white power armour.

Azrael files this little tid-bit away for further investigation later.  That the Dark Angels have bothered keeping a prisoner rather than simply executing them indicates he must be of considerable importance, and thus interesting.

[DM B]

A metallic voice echoes through the halls and chambers of the fallen Sensibilious: "Welcome aboard Inquisition Maegon. Captain Lexander of the Relictors chapter requests your presence on the command deck. He suggests you come quickly; the augur arrays, such as there are, are picking up strange energy fluctuations form the Kasr.

[DM B]

There must be at least a thousand people scattered around the vicinity. Some are part of various bands, others are little more than desperate refugees. They are fighting amongst themselves to a degree, but all are warily eying the ship. You can be sure that they will try to make it on board - which could be very bad if they just rush in.

[Rhein]

The Carbideblest Newborn were making their way onto the distant shape of the downed voidship- and slowly they could make out the rabble around it. Shortly after Rheins attention was brought to Norr, who was manning the battered radio of their transport. "Arch-Creator, listen:.."
And with these words he turned the volume up with a screech.

"To all survivors in-ssssccreeeccchhh-shin. The Hive -cxxrrttt-damned. Head -brrrzzzzzt- Gate. To all..."

Well, while it certainly explained the rabble around the voidship, it filled him with uncertainty. Was something bad to happen? Did something terrible happen? Either way, it sounded (and clearly looked) as if they were gathering for something. Either recovering from, or mustering up for something. And that clearly sounded as if they didnt plan to stay here too long.

"Double time." he requested and his order was relayed to the other vehicles. Whilst the
Legionares picked the best spots, the converts were clinging onto the Striders and the Leman Russ. Soon they were speeding up to the crashsite (as fast as they could bring the old battletank anyway) - and the dustcloud behind their black, oily shapes immediately grew to a considerably size. Their footprints (and approach) would now be impossible to hide.

While coming closer, Rhein was terrified by the sight of the voidship - it clearly was patched up with whatever they could muster, but it definetely looked patched up. Their biggest trump card, their technical knowledge, seemed considerably less useful than he imagined. If they really wanted to get a place on this blasted ship, they had to get in on the situation asap. This friggin crowd was far too cobbled together for his taste.

[LordPsycho]

"It's my Interrogator, Nemus. You can trust him. Could you please... open the door ?" he asks to his allies.

Azrael recognises the results of a psychic attack well enough and immediately moves to door.  Clearly Lexander and his marines are going to be more difficult to deal with than he might have hoped.  Perhaps Kremiel and Hrothgar might be more amenable to 'dishonourable' methods now.  Or perhaps they would just get themselves killed and leave the ship to him, Azrael would hardly complain.

"Of course Inquisitor, do you need medical assistance?"

"Thank you for your solicitude, Magos... More than medical treatments, I think that I need a few hours of mental and physical rest... I haven't sleep well for days... But time flies, sleep will have to wait."

Even physically weakened, the old Inquisitor still have tricks up his sleeve.
One does not live up to 182 years without serious assets.

"The good news is that the reclamation team is back. The bad news if that new warbands are approaching the voidship. I fear that the situation will be out of control soon..." says Nemus.

While Nemus speaks, Maegon puts a trembling hand in one of his waist packs, searching for something.

"How close to the ship are these warbands, and what kind of strength do they have?", inquires Azrael.

"Some warbands are camping around the ship, trying to identify the best entry ways. Some others are a little further, but rapidly approaching.
They will probably rush forward soon.
Jethro has identified several imperial flags, but also several renegade ones.
And vehicles, I fear."

The augmentic eyes and integrated cogitator of Maegon's old savant would need a checkup, but are fortunately still working.

"Who's in control of the ship's turrets ?" asks Nemus.

Before anybody can answer, the discussion is interrupted by a metallic voice.

A metallic voice echoes through the halls and chambers of the fallen Sensibilious: "Welcome aboard Inquisition Maegon. Captain Lexander of the Relictors chapter requests your presence on the command deck. He suggests you come quickly; the augur arrays, such as there are, are picking up strange energy fluctuations form the Kasr.

Just a second before hearing the voice, Maegon pulls a vial out his waist pack.
A crystal vial, containing a silver-blue liquid.
He stops his move, the time to listen.

How do they know my name ? The psychic clash, probably...
The ship is equipped with speakers, but impossible for each room to be equipped with microphones. The Relictors can not have listened to our meeting, I'm confident about that.
But I don't like this convocation...
And whose voice was that?

"Well... I guess that confrontation time finally came." drops Maegon with a sad smile.

"In your state, Inquisitor..." says Hrothgar. "Are you seriously considering to answer this call ?"

Nemus cleans Maegon's blood, still flowing from his nose.

Maegon shows his vial.

"As my body is not reduced to dust and my soul is not lost in the limbs, I'm not yet defeated.
This is Asea Eranion, a powerful substance distilled by the Schola Psykana on the basis of a rare psychoactive flower.
I saved it preciously for a... special occasion."

Then Maegon drinks the liquid.
With every sip, his tired face relaxes and retrieves colors, his stature straightens, his tarnished psychic aura sparkles again.

"Now..." begins Maegon with a strong and strange voice, combining three different tones.
"I can stand and fight at full power for one day and one night.
My psychic powers will be magnified during this period.
After that... the backlash will be terrible. I'll fall unconscious for several weeks. Eventually, I'll wake up fresh as a new born, or I'll die."

Nemus stays silent.
At this stage of the game, his Master has no choice if he wants to keep playing, right ?
All-in.

The Inquisitor stretches in his power armour.
Now he's holding his force staff, more than his staff holds him, as it was the case just a moment before.

"Are you ready, friends ?"

[Dragon Lord]

"Who's in control of the ship's turrets ?" asks Nemus.

Azrael is just about to answer Nemus's question when Lexander's message boomed out of the ship's intercom.

Azrael isn't entirely surprised at Lexander's intervention, after all to have been subjected to a psychic attack clearly indicated that Maegon had been detected by the Relictors.  Ah well, so much for the element of surprise he sighed to himself.

Absorbed in thinking through possible next moves Azrael isn't entirely listening when Maegon mentions the vial of Asea Eranion but when the Inquisitor speaks in that strange tri-toned voice he snaps round to regard the Inquisitor and stares at him intently.  As he listens to the newly energised Inquisitor, Maegon's previous words filter through from his unconscious.  Asea Eranion.  Yes, Azrael knows of it, though he is not supposed to.  It is a dark substance, the basis might well be a psychoactive flower, but there are other less savoury ingredients and preparations that go into it.

His eyes narrow, Asea Eranion is powerful indeed, while under its effects the Inquisitor would be a match for Kremiel or Hrothgar (and perhaps even Lexander), but Maegon is not understating the side-effects that will come later.  If Maegon were to die of the side-effects, it will not be a pleasant death, either for the Inquisitor or anyone else in the vicinity.  Many other Inquisitors would likely execute him after the battle to avoid that possibility, if they even allowed him to take the substance in the first place.  Azrael has no real concerns about the provenance of the substance, and he doubts Hrothgar does either, though the Dark Angel might, but special precautions will have to be taken with the Inquisitor's unconscious form afterwards.  Hopefully the Interrogator knows the correct procedures.

"Are you ready, friends ?"

Maegon turns as he speaks and catches Azrael's gaze.  They lock eyes for a moment, and it is clear to the Inquisitor that the Magos knows just what Asea Eranion is, though how he knows such a secret is another matter.

Maegon wonders whether the techpriest will say anything, but he does not.  Instead Azrael breaks his gaze away from the Inquisitor and turns to Nemus.

"I have control of the ship's turrets, what of them remain at least."

Turning back to the Inquisitor and the two space marines he continues, "I am unlikely to be of any great assistance to you with Lexander.  I will see to the ship's defences and ensure we are ready to take off.  The augur arrays have been a long way down the priority list for repairs, if they really are picking up energy fluctuations from the hive, those fluctuations must be massive and I for one don't want to stick around to see what the presage."

With that he turns to leave, but as he passes Maegon he takes hold of the Inquisitor's shoulder and says, "Good luck friend, does your Interrogator know how to care for you during your unconsciousness?"
The subtext is obvious and Maegon nods, to anyone else it would appear just in acknowledgement of the good wishes.  Azrael nods in return and departs, leaving the Inquisitor wondering just slightly what other secrets the Magos might know that he really is not supposed to.

[OOC: Thought I'd add a little colour to it, more in the OOC thread]

[DM B]

#On the command deck (aka the bridge):

Lexander greets Inquisitor Maegon once he enters the command deck. "Inquisitor, what a pleasure to make your acquaintance," he says. That chaos-imbued shield of his is strapped to his arm.

Adorus Galrek, Lexander's lieutenant-librarian, stands close to his captain, his chaos orb pulsating with unseen power.

The rest of the Relictors (6 of them) are spread out across the bridge, making good use of available cover - and critical components, like bridge officers, high-grade servitors, and cogitator banks. In a firefight they will have cover, while you will be wrecking stuff.

Lexander indicates the librarian at his side. "Librarian Adorus urges me to be gone from this place. According to his premonitions we are about to die, all of us, unless we get going."

[DM B]

On the outside several warbands start to move towards the prone form on the once-proud voidship.