# Burn the Witch



## Jackinator

Inquisitor Barden strode into the briefing room, his long coat billowing out as his savant scurried in behind him. "I see you are already here", he came to a halt at the head of the holograph table, and surveyed his team. He nodded to Eseau, his acolyte, and then looked over the rest of his team.

The whipcord ex-merc, Nex, stood apart from the others, his eyes taking in the room around him as he saluted Barden. Sister Silences stood closer, she had been with him for just a little over a year, and was as fierce and loyal as any he had served with, she had straightened when he entered the room. He sighed inwardly, her interrogation and reindoctrination had not been easy for either of them, he was strong-willed and experienced, but the memories within her mind had given even him pause for thought.

Xarian stood away from both Nex and the interrogator Elisabeth, both more recent additions to his team, he found it hard to trust people. But he had already worked with Barden for six months and he seemed to have settled alright. Barden was glad, he had not interrogated the man himself but Inquisitor Geron was rumoured to be ruthlessly brutal. He was flanked by one of his latest creations, a hulking gun-servitor, a heavy bolter mounted in place of it's left arm, it seemed he was still making adjustments. Finally, Elizabeth stood the closest to the table, her slim form bathed in the blue glow from the now active holograph. The rest he cast a brief glance over, exchanging nods with them.

"Some of you I have worked with before, and others I only have your reputation to go by." Barden activated the map, the holograph grew brighter, silhouetting him before them. He was a tall, well built man, his long storm coat wrapped around him like a cloak while the brassed chest plate of his carapace armour gleamed beneath a well-worn icon of the aquila hung on a chain around his neck, just inside the cradling collar of his psychic hood, a slim, inconspicuous design that fitted just inside the collar of his storm coat but was as effective as the full head hoods more commonly used by space marine librarians. An eviscerator was slung almost threateningly over his left shoulder while a bolt pistol, loaded with psycannon bolts, was holstered at his thigh. A servo-skull hovered protectively behind it's master, it's one augmetic eye focusing on each of the team members in turn. "But now, this is Caterva, and here, he indicated a spot on the map and the image swelled to reveal a clustered city, is Jenera, the primary city. Over the last 2 months there has been a rise in subversive activities, this was considered the normal discontent that often arises at the election of a new governor, but things have escalated. These three manufactoriums have all suffered setbacks, machinery has been sabotaged and there have been other disruptions. Normally we would have left this to the appropriate authorities but two weeks ago deputy-chief arbitrator Galvin disappeared. He was in charge of the investigation and we suspect something more may be happening. That is our job."

He looked around, some of them were studying the map intently, others looked up at him as he paused. "There are further details that you need to know but I will leave that to my savant." Makron stepped forward and began, Ferric, already aquainted with the details of Caterva and Jenera, turned and walked to the observation screen, lost in thought. This was similar to cases he had investigated in the past but there was a nagging discomfort he couldn't quite shake. He returned to the group as Makron finished his briefing. "We will be arriving soon so I will leave you to get to know each other, Eseau, I would like to see you later." Ferric made the sign of the aquila before turning and striding from the room, Makron scuttling after him.

All: You have had your briefing, what did you make of the others around the holograph table? What did you take from the briefing? Did you pick up on anything in particular? Now you have been left by the Inquisitor you have chance to get to know the new members of the team or just converse with the ones you already know. Will you remain in the briefing room or return to your quarters, perhaps the training deck? There are five other members of the retinue, their creation I am leaving up to you, you have one each, please PM me their descriptions and dialogue and I'll get back to you asap, I'm usually on most nights so I'll get back to you pretty quick.

Eseau: See above. You have also been summoned by the Inquisitor, once you have finished in the briefing room make your way up to the bridge. Do you meet anyone on the way, perhaps another old friend from previous missions, maybe a new recruit. When you reach the bridge you see the Inquisitor in deep conversation with the Captain but the first Lieutenant comes over to you. Once the Captain and the Inquistor have finished you excuse yourself and go over to Barden, what will you say?

All: I encourage multiple posts between updates, so you don't need to cram everything into one post, but no double posting please, I am setting a deadline for Friday but if there are any problems please PM me.


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## Epidemius

Xarian clenched his fists in frustration. he had not been paying attention and caused a long, deep scar on his servitor's arm, as well as breaking his drill.
"Damn." he muttered.
He quickly patched the wound and approached the map, clutching the aquila pendant around his neck.
He quickly studied it and then turned to look at the others. His acquaintances were off doing their own things and he decided to return to his quarters. he had some work to do. that servitor needed some adjustments. he waved his goodbyes and left.
As he walked back to his quarters he saw new recruits passing by. When he came to his work area, he unlocked it and went inside. the walls were lined with unfinished and de-activated servitors, and his latest two were resting on two tables in the center of the room. he went to his desk and pulled out a replacement drill for his mechanical arm piece. he took out the broken piece and replaced it with the fresh one. he quickly tested it then put his hands on the desk.
"There's a war coming." he said to himself.
And with that he left his quarters and began to return to the briefing room. If there's going to be a war, he thought, I can't be toiling the hours away in this workshop.


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## dragonkingofthestars

Silences examined the map in detail, one of her eyes glideing around following Xarian, she always did on tech priests from mars. When he left she raised her arm to silently say good bye. eyeing the map more closely she turned to the mercanry Nex,

"its safe to say your the most traveled of us, have you been to Sub-sector Exceria or the planet Caterva it self? and if you have not, do you know anything about it second hand?


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## Epidemius

Xarian re-entered the room and looked around. everyone was as they were. he put down his tools and quickly began a conversation with a few of the new recruits. After a while he simply began to stare at the hologram, then returned to fiddling with his servitor.


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## oblivion8

To say Elizabeth wasn't overly caring of the briefing would have been an understatement.
"My job isn't tactical, nor is it aggressive, I just need to keep my squad alive" was a common statement she constantly made, and her serving with a new inquisitor didn't change that.
No, instead Elizabeth was focused on her team, studying their physiology, how a knife would make its way across certain areas, how medi-gel would likely react on each individual, and how much patience to hold for each future patient.
Nex in particular was a fascination. Most of his body appeared to be made out of cogs and metal plates. _Better left to that grease monkey than a doctor like myself_ she thought. 

As her thoughts drifted towards the mechanic, her eyes caught the gorilla with the heavy bolter. _And I am NOT touching that abomination..._

The grease monkey left the room, so she decided to leave as well. 

As the recruits passed by she called out.
One of them broke from the group and scurried over.
"Yes madam?" said Triana, Liz's personal aid and medical assistant, also part of the Inquisitors retinue as a junior member.

"I would like to inform you that it appears we are soon to arrive at our location, I want all dispatch medical tools ready, and my personal wargear assembled, we shall not make the inquisitor wait on us."

"Yes madam, right away, however I must attend this meeting with the other recruits, Ferrick's orders madam, beg your pardon."

"Yes, yes. Go on" Elizabeth responded.

Triana was only two years younger than Elizabeth, but had nowhere near the expertise or training.
Elizabeth then went to her room to prepare her chemical supplies.


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## Serpion5

Eseau had been one of the first to arrive in the briefing room and had seen the entrances of most others, assessing each of them in his own way as per his training. 

_Suspect everyone where appropriate, even your closest friends._

The woman known as Elizabeth was certainly the most interesting of the bunch, that was to be sure. Looked fairly young thought even an agent of the Inquisition had to know when _not_ to ask certain questions. In a position of authority he may have been, but Elizabeth didn`t read like the type to be too delicate about personal issues. 

The mercenary Nex was much harder to read, Eseau`s gift was not very strong to begin with and the silent man kept his mind well shielded. 

Another woman was also present, he believed her name was Silences. She was one of the Sororitas and her mind exuded a gentle kindness, though there was the telltale trace of darkness to be found in every soul that served the military. He took notice of her bionic arm, and briefly wondered what had happened to her. 

The tech adept had a similarly closed mind to the mercenary, so Eseau decided not to pry for the time being. 

- - -

At this stage, the Inquisitor had entered and he alongside his savant addressed the group. Barden asked to speak with Eseau seperately before leaving. 

- - -

Eseau studied the holo map quickly. 

'Looks like this could escalate. Several planets means more room for heretics to scurry away to.' His gaze moved through the transparent image to meet with Elizabeth`s. But I`m confident we`ll be okay. Not for nothing was such an able team assembled.' Eseau nodded to each of them before turning and leaving the room. 

As he walked down the corridor towards the Inquisitor`s chamber, he heard a familiar voice call out his name...


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## Santaire

Nex studied the map closely. He had never been to Exceria during his lifetime, he had never got any contracts from that sub-sector, though he had heard of it from one of his old informers.

"its safe to say your the most traveled of us, have you been to Sub-sector Exceria or the planet Caterva it self? and if you have not, do you know anything about it second hand?" 

Nex turned to the sister of battle who had spoken, replying "I have never been there for my job took me to different places but I have heard from... someone (he was unwilling to tell the sister his contact's name) that it is, or was a relatively peaceful sector with little or no signs of cult activity. Even in the sub-sector capital Caterva, a planet renowned for it’s beautiful architecture and wide rolling plains, there were no signs of unrest or chaos cult activity until these recent events," he gestured at the mission briefing "and that is all I know." He moved off.

Alexander Corvinus came over, "how you been Nex," he asked quietly. "Guess," Nex responded. "That bad huh," Corvinus said, making Nex half smile. "Has it been good then, you enjoy working for this inquisitor, what's he like." Nex asked. "He has been good to me, a hell of a lot better than Juror," another smile, "true, he was annoying," Nex replied a little more warmly. Corvin was his one friend, the closest one he had and the only one that could make him smile.

"Corvin," he said, causing the to turn, he held out his hand. Corvin realised what he wanted and clasped it immediately. Standing there, with their hands gripped tight, they repeated their old motto, "fight to the death."


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## dragonkingofthestars

"I have never been there for my job took me to different places but I have heard from... someone" wonder who? Silences thought "though that it is, or was a relatively peaceful sector with little or no signs of cult activity. Even in the sub-sector capital Caterva, a planet renowned for it’s beautiful architecture and wide rolling plains, there were no signs of unrest or chaos cult activity until these recent events," he gestured at the mission briefing "and that is all I know." 

"Humm, I see," she looked at the briefing, memorizeing it long and hard. "so in other words this is likely a outside incident and as we reacting as fast as we are, we can brun this out before the Emperors childern are led astray." her agile mind leaping around the problem. 

"I be in my quarters for a while." she said as she walked out, giveing Xarian a wide burth so she did not interupt him working on the mind machien interface on his servitor, a delicate item hooking fiberoptic to nerve. and left the room to work on a project for five hours.


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## Epidemius

Xarian gave a small goodbye gesture to sister silences as she left. he wiped his hands and de-activated his mechanical arm attachments. He didn't quite know what to make of the others. he had spotted Sister Elizabeth staring at him with disdain from across the room, he decided that it might be better to avoid her; she seemed disgusted with his creations and line of work.
Macto Nex was the only one of them in the room left, he stood there, observing the hologram.
His thoughts were interrupted by a mechanical sputtering sound his servitor made. he decided since most of the others were already gone, he could return to his quarters to finish the servitor; it'd be a while before they reached their destination, he had time.


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## DasOmen

jack was a nervous wreck inside the enclosed room. one would normally think a guardsmen would be at ease in a room with only a single exit and entrance, that at least there was only one point where the enemy could come from, but jack's mind was racing, he knew better, he had experienced it for himself. briefing room invaded by eldar warp spiders during a briefing, briefing room invaded by tyranid ravagers, briefing room slaughtered by the dark eldar and their twisted magics. everywhere he looked, he saw flashes of images in his mind, nids jumping out at people from the grates and pulling people up into the ceiling, eldar warp spiders porting in around everyone and cutting them to bits with their death spinners, a dark eldar skiff ploughing through a wall and slicing a good amount of people in half with their twisted weapons, the images didn't stop, not for a single moment. his right hand always hovered over his pistol, eyes darting around for a long time, the slightest sound seemed to set him off as he frantically looked around. 

"you know, you dont need to be so worked up, the meeting hasn't even started yet" mused a new recruit towards jack, jack however just violently shook his head " ork mek boys, port over from a ship just coming out of the warp, open up with big shootas, tear through hull with beamy def gun, bomb squigs coming through the grates, they dont care about thier lives, htey just want to fight, see a imperial ship, know there's a good fight, come in before we have a chance to respond. " jack began one of his tangents, listing out possibilities for attack in this room involving orks, this was until the inquisitor came into the room and began his briefing. his mere presence caused jack to shut up. to say his mind was a wreck was a understatement, his thoughts were in shambles, tormented by the visions of battles long past. but thankfully, peace came to his mind at last. in behind the inquisitor a creature would follow. a Gyrinx scooted inside and immediately made it's way towards jack, the moment it came within range of jack his mind seemed to calm down a great deal. like a massive burden was lifted off his shoulders. 

with the feline rubbing against his leg jack was finally able to concentrate on the matter at hand, and for once, actually seemed calm. the cat would crawl up his leg and force jack to hold it in his arms. eyes watching intently at the map that appeared, though it soon became a mystery who was looking where first. he would look someplace, his cat would look someplace, his cat would look to another point, he would look to another point, both of their eyes scanned the map intently, taking in everything they could. under his breath the careful of hearing could hear his mutterings, "too careful to be orks lion, much to careful and neat to be orks. not as much destruction, not as many missing parts. no greenskin spores in the area from this map, no ork tribal markings, no banners placed, could be though, yes could be orks... ork mek boy send in a group of commando nobs to secure specific parts, only appears to be sabotage. humans leave it alone until the mek boy's project is complete. would not kidnap someone though, breaks ork stealth operation. not orks lion. no not orks... dark eldar perhaps? no, no signs of their work. more people would be missing, much more. they would worry about taking people as slaves not about sabotage... but on the other hand, a careful trap could be set, luring a select target, a prized slave, yes prized slave... seek to lure him out, draw him out with this sabotage. then would move in, capture... explains why the person is missing, yes explains very well. but perhaps this person is the bate? not the attacks or sabotage, no, that just step one, step two complete, but what is the process of step three for them? still not enough of the dark eldar's normal markings in the area. leave as a possibility. eldar perhaps could do this, definitely cunning enough, plan this for long time. each step well thought out. planned, directed, brutally efficient. if it is eldar, larger scope of the plan is unknown. cant underestimate eldar, not again... no not again... never again, no never again. nids are highly unlikely, bugs smarter than they look, not feral, capable of advanced planning. learn as a whole, execute as a whole. but no, not as many signs here. mutated plant life, strange spores, monster sightings of proper descriptions all missing. not enough people taken to feed biomass. nothing is right for initial workings. perhaps still in early stages, zealots of genestealer cult sabotage the facilities, but why? what purpose does it serve? no purpose, none. not in normal operational parameters for the bugs. smart, but not stupid, would be stupid move for the bugs. who else, standard decenter? no, too much for that. would not be here if were standard decenter... ordo xenos would be called if suspected xeno activity... not us. no not us... heretics yes, heretics... but who, why, what goal, planetary dominance end result but what purpose? for what reason strike at this planet first? why not other planets in the area, ones easier to take over. mining worlds, feudal worlds, many more targets available for building up a force. starting here is stupid, very stupid... too much notice is gathered too quickly. unless, already have strongholds on other planets. this not the only one, working in secret then, subsector wide uprising, not good. if levels of heretical infestation reach critical mass, Exterminatus will be called for. space marines arrive, obliterate everything. wasteful, truly wistful. resources lost, possible lost technology never recovered again, artifacts destroyed. must prevent, yes must prevent. find routes... paths they took.. yes find the paths" to some, jack's ramblings would seem mindless, just simple banter of a mad man or a person gone crazy, but some knew to listen, some knew it was relevant, it was a process of elimination for him, and now he was getting on track. 

"level of skill unknown, suspect highly advanced stage or flawed early stage of heresy infestation. skill of troops varies greatly, plan for both. yes plan for both. " jack started leaning over into the hologram, both he and the cat looked to various places until something caught their eyes. "one constant, a constant route. evidence in tracks, signs in nearby area, well traveled but not by intended users. sloppy work, very sloppy. possible decoy? yes, decoy. but why use a decoy? suspect other routes used, hidden decenter... " pausing for a moment he straighten himself out a bit. "inside man, not good. need a line up. those who refuse could be seen as heretics, declared heretics, smart heretic not refuse calling, line up, but plant others as the heretic, the traitor... need more information, need more clues... so much is missing. need more, i need more information... but cant have, heresy to seek more. not meant to know. no, know more than i should already... not supposed to be alive, no... learn from xenos, learn from past. guardsmen not supposed to learn, not supposed to survive. die for emperor... that is our purpose... but wicked has been done here, must draw a line, yes, must draw a hard line in the sand. " 

his cat though seemed to notice something about it's owner. placing one of it's paws up on jack's cheek jack stopped, straightend himself upright, and removed a canteen from his back. a single glint of metal evident to those paying attention to his right arm as he moved for the canteen. as soon as he uncapped the canteen though, a thick stench of whiskey was apparent in the air around him. and rather than just taking a shot of it by pouring it into the cap, he'd raise the canteen to his lips, and chug down a good bit of the contents, the result was immediate. he calmed down greatly, his mind slowed down a great deal, and he didn't seem as bothered by being in this enclosed room. 

jack kept to himself after the inquisitor left however, sticking close by the table, cat in one arm, canteen in the other as he studied the map. motioning out with his "free" hand towards the map every so often, looking to his cat who would simply nod in response to the pointing, more mutterings under his breath, but not in simple low Gothic, his mumblings were surprisingly all in high Gothic now, quickly moving from the litany of protection, to ballads about the emperor's deeds, to individual tales and excerpts from holy texts. every once and a while he'd adjust his Barret or take a drink of his whiskey, but he didn't move from the map, he stayed there. studding it intently.


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## Serpion5

*Eseau*

'Eseau!' the voice called out his name and before even turning around Eseau knew who it was. With a huge grin on his face he turned around and met the gaze of fellow acolyte Jayna Keldar. 

'How have you been Jayna?!' Eseau exclaimed, spreading his arms and embracing his old friend. She hugged back with gusto, as pleased to see him after two years as he was to see her. She had been in the same group as him for their original training upon arrival at Titan. Then he had been seconded permanently to Barden while Jayna had been taken on by another. 

'I`ve been well.' She replied. 'I only wish this reunion were under happier circumstances...' Eseau could sense sadness in her voice now, and her brainwaves seemed to confirm it. She was... mourning. 

'Who did you lose?' Eseau asked, though given her presence it could only have been...

'Lady Inquisitor Takani.' Jayna replied. 'She was discovered while undercover and the gangers killed her on Necromunda. Her staff have mostly been disbanded. The Grandmaster of the ordo in that region was kind enough to make a few calls on my behalf and I found myself in Inquisitor Barden`s service.'

'I am sorry for your loss.' Eseau said. 

'I appreciate it.' She replied. 'Were you... expected somewhere? You seemed to be in a hurry.' 

'Yes.' Eseau nodded. 'I have to meet with the Inquisitor.' 

'Okay.' She smiled and bowed. 'I will see you soon then.' She turned and entered the same room Eseau had just left. Before the door slid shut, Eseau caught a glimpse of one of the others he had taken little notice of before. Whether he had simply dismissed the guy or something shunned his mind away was unclear. 

This time however, their eyes met for the briefest of moments before the door slid shut again, and Eseau caught a brief glimpse of the man`s psyche. It was... unusual to say the least. Was that an image of a bike the man had projected? 

Eseau paid it little mind, continuing on his way until he reached the Inquisitor`s chamber. 

He announced his arrivel and entered. Standint at the ready, Eseau awaited Barden`s instruction.


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## oblivion8

Elizabeth carefully prepared the needles and formulas she might need, dozens of vials lined the top of the case, the case itself was a feat in itself, special gel-foam fitting each vial in an almost completely safe environment, the case itself was made out of the same metal as terminator armour, and could easily be rolled over by a tank and stay intact. 

Elizabeth made sure that each chemical compound was meticulously concocted, knowing that the slightest error in percentages or doses could take away the lives she was to save. Sighing deeply, she closed the case, undoing her armour, she lay down.
The calm before the storm.


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## Epidemius

Xarian was in his quarters, working on one of his servitors. he finished the last rivet on it's mechanical arm and stopped to survey his work. The servitor was tall and thin, with armored plating put in on some areas. It's arms were unusually long and it's left arm was mechanical with a large buzz-saw, the other was normal, but it had a built in flamer on it's wrist. It had built in hydraulics in it's legs, enabling in to jump higher. It's feet were completely replaced with incredibly strong, metal talons. It's back was covered in wires and tubing. It had a bionic eye and a mask over its mouth, which had tubes going into its throat and included a sound amplifier. 
It was one of his most hard worked on creations. He was very proud.
He decided to take it for a test run. his drill and grasping mechanical arms came out from his back and he reached for a panel in between its shoulders. he opened it and pressed a button. the servitor's bionic eye slowly lit up and was followed by the whirring sound of working parts. it slowly rose.
"WHAT DO YOU WISH OF ME MASTER?" it said in an angry, mechanical tone.
"Stay here." said Xarian.
"YES MASTER." it said.
He went across the room and pulled out a target dummy of his own design, it flickered on and started to flex it's metallic limbs. 
"Kill." instructed Xarian, stepping back.
"YES MASTER." It said. The creature leaped across the room and landed on top of the dummy, digging it's talons deep into its metal exterior. It quickly ended it by slicing it open with it's buzz-saw and angrily ripping out a handful of wires.
Xarian smiled. "Let's see an enemy get away from that."


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## dragonkingofthestars

Silences twisted the fine screw driver the tip embeded into her hand. the robotic one. 

She glared though the magnfiying mirror at the delcateing servos of her hand, she had picked up some slight lag in her grip, and in a combat situation any lag was death. 

she twisted the driver calibrating the sensitivty, the fine mechanism responding responding slickly. she pulled the driver away and clenched her fist a few times checking the response, she put the driver to it again for a few more turns, and tested it again. 

"perfect." she clicked the plate that normaly covered it into place. she clenched it a few more times. she swiveled round in her stool to look at her armor siting on a rack, every joint, every plate, every servo had to be gone over. not to mention testing bolter and bolt pistol to make sure they all were fully functional. 

Inquistors were not the type to lead from the rear, battle was comeing, and every thing must work perfectly.


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## DasOmen

jack continued to study the map, he'd be doing so until the inquisitor summoned him or a member of deathwatch decided to lift him up and carry him someplace else. still muttering under his breath various litanies and praying to the emperor in high Gothic, not quite as frantic at the moment as one may expect from a person who has gone mad. eyes tracing over the shapes until something caused him to stumble backwards, shaking his head, just repeating the word "no" several dozen times.

"not right, no not right. cant think of that, mustn't think of that. wont think of that. emperor watching, always watching. sees me, sees my thoughts, watches my mind. kill me if i think of that, will not think of that. cant draw line in the sand if i'm dead. have to draw the line in the sand. a man has to answer for the wicked that he's done. wicked man is here... on this planet. have to draw a hard line, hard line in the sand. " raising up his canteen of whiskey he'd shake it a bit to see how much he had left. "will not think of Elizabeth in that way. no, not in that way. guardsmen are to die, die for the emperor... it is not our place to think of such things, think of arm... how did other sister loose the arm? fight? yes, outward signs show that battle was the cost of her arm. but not hide arm, it's out in the open but not as a trophy, no, as a reminder... yes as a reminder. remind her of why she lost her arm, hmm, troubling. arm is touchy subject, suspect loose many comrades before arm was lost. sad day is sad, many sisters die when she lost her arm. but how would she loose her arm? combat? yes combat. but what is enough to take out a sister of battle? strong, faithful, never relent. seen one retreat once, not twice, no once, not twice. ground combat? no, not likely. too open, not enough places to sneak up on a sister out in the open. city combat? close, not right though. space hulk? why would sisters travel to a space hulk? if injuries sustained from space hulk would show other signs, would show subtle madness, yes subtle madness, but no madness, sorrow, regret, still strong in faith, yes, still strong in faith. but close with space hulk, hmm, lost in space then. yes, space, only suitable explanation. but how in space? training accident? no, not likely. too careful when training, arm would not have had chance to be severed... in transit? sudden stop? no, Geller field, yes... plausible explanation. daemons escape into the ship, cause havoc. crew have to fight for survival. close quarters combat highly likely, daemons normally disdain from long range combat... excel in close melee though. her comrades die from demons, she lives, but missing her arm. know what demons look like, fight them before... hate to get close, not like them close... if they're close they latch onto bike. make life difficult prevent me from drawing line in sand. small red demon with burning sword cut off arm? possible... fits normal operational habits... but what about other demons? no, must not think of demons... think too much, talk too much. emperor always watching, always listening... tech priest though, appear slow, no, not slow. appearance deceiving, prefer to deceive opponent. much more agile than he appears. tendrils, mechanical arms, all fight for him. but seem tormented by something. wears a mask, sad eyes, tormented eyes... bad things happen in his past, see eyes before, know look. tormented, tortured, captured. all cause eyes, but why not show face? what is he hiding? chaos mark perhaps? no, remove skin and meat and simply polish skull if that is the case... remove chaos mark. something else... dark mechanicus markings possibly? difficult to remove, heretecks they call them. possible reason for mask, hereteck know how to get under skin of tech priest, then again, easy to get under skin, simply remove skin, do it themselves. but no, getting off track. must watch this one closely, study this one... but what of others? study others? acolyte have means of speech that is awkward... but i know that accent, i know that method of vocalizing desires... what planet.... not close to here no, highly venerated planet, but which one. imperial guard stronghold? no, not right... higher speech is used, different tone. voice isn't right. space marines? possible, have same manner of speaking as those under there care...same flow in voice... but which chapter, outward stance suggests perfection, ultra marines... could he be from main homeworld then? possible, debatable though, several things seem different, no, nothing different. merely personal sense of change that is different, everyone is different, unique, is only his uniqueness that i see as different. seen him, now him. travel with him several times. never noticed, decide what do to with acolyte later, acolyte trusted by the inquisitor... will be inquisitor... also seek to draw hard line in the sand. merc? merc has look of regret in his eyes, swearing never again, but never again for what? what hs merc done? kill those he cared for? unlikely, would be different signs. cause destruction of planet? no, not that severe, corruption of populous though possible. regret his actions, attempt to make amends in the eyes of the emperor, possible. regardless, when the gun smoke settles we'll sing a victory tune, but until then, we'll raise our glasses against evil forces... draw the line in the sand, will stand against heresy and the forces of chaos... will follow the inquisitor where he goes, fight through the eye of terror if told to... he saved me, i owe him. by his grace i live, by his grace i can follow the words of my father's farther farther... back in my day son, a man had to answer for the evil he'd done... take the rope in the empire and find a tall old tree, and hang him high in the streets for everyone to see... will hang those who have done wrong here in the name of the emperor, will follow and seek out justice... it's time the long arm of the law put a few more in the ground."

jack's ranting ended with that, chugging down the rest of his whiskey, and slamming the canteen down on the table as he intently continued to study the map, his voice picking up as he began singing out a ballad in high Gothic, the song in question apparently having reference to Macragge.


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## Epidemius

Xarian sat in his room when a horrible feeling came over him.
"No... not again." he said as his vision went blurry and he slumped over.

He was having another hallucination. He had these ever since his experience on Hadrius Beta... _so many years ago. so many..._

He was in a dark room, nothing could be seen anywhere. No roof, no floor, no walls. just darkness. he looked around, straight ahead of him sat a child. they sat their with their head down, weeping. he tried to turn away, but no matter what direction he turned, the child lay straight in front of him, closer and closer. He reached out a trembling hand to the child. it slowly lifted its head. Its cheeks were scarred to look like a smile and it had no eyes, it cackled insanely. Xarian recoiled in fear. the child lunged and bit off his hand. He screamed and opened his eyes. when his eyes were opened he was in a cage. a person stood before him with eight heads. it spoke.
"Xarian," it said in different tones and voices. "why do you leave us?"
_Get away from me!_ he tried to yell. but his mouth was sewn shut, and his legs were broken.

Xarian came out of his trance gasping and screaming, thrashing in all directions. A man shook him.
"Xarian! Xarian!" they yelled. "Snap out of it!"
His vision slowly returned. the man shaking him was his old friend Felix Maycre.
Xarian slowly calmed down. He then looked at Felix and smiled.
"Its been a long time, friend." Xarian said.
"Aye, it has." he said with a grin on his face.
"You still seem to be having your... issue." he said, a look of concern on his face.
"Yes," responded Xarian. "I've been trying to rid myself of those horrible memories, but they just keep coming back. Those damn cultists."
"They're just memories Xarian, they'll heal."
"No they won't. They're not just memories. First they took my hands, and now they wish to take my sanity." he said, taking off his gloves to reveal the cold metal underneath. "I can't speak with you now. I need rest. We'll catch up later on."
"Alright Xarian." said Felix. he turned to leave, his red shroud following after him. "Some rest will do you good."
"Aye." said Xarian, laying down, exhausted. he closed his eyes and sleep eventually overtook him.


----------



## Serpion5

*Eseau*

'My Lord.' Eseau began, stepping into the Inquisitor`s chamber. 'I await your command.' 

'Ah.' Barden looked up from his desk, and motioned to the empty chair opposite him. 'Please take a seat, young Eseau.' Eseau bowed his head and complied, sitting opposite his master and meeting his gaze sternly. Barden`s thoughts were troubled, and he sought to calm his own nerves by taking out a bottle of amasec. He offered Eseau a glass, but the acolyte declined.

'Well, that`s probably for the best.' Barde nodded, pouring a small measure for himself and taking a drink. 'The task I have in mind for you will be easier if you have a clear head.' 

'Is there trouble, Master?' Eseau asked, slightly concerned. 

Barden hesitated. '...It can wait. First, tell me about your old friend, tell me about Miss Keldar?'

'Jayna?' Eseau was a little surprised. 'She`s one of the best students from the schola if you ask me Master. Always a clear devotion to her studies and rarely found herself in trouble.' 

'Good at resisting temptations then?' Barden smiled.

'Certainly resisted mine...' Eseau muttered before he realized what he was saying. '...erm... I mean-' 

Barden said nothing, but neither did he make any attempt not to laugh. 

'I take it she`s a reliable sort then?' Barden added after a moment of laughing.

'Oh of course Master. You`ll be hard pressed to find any better.' 

'Glad to hear that.' Barden said, his smile vanishing and his expression darkening. 'That will make your task a little easier.' 

Eseau was not pleased when he heard what came next...


----------



## Jackinator

*Flashback - Sabotage*

It was quiet; the heretic could feel the ship slow, it was time. As they stalked through the dark corridors of the ship’s bowels, they laughed to themself. The traitor reveled in the coming anarchy they were about to cause. Blinking lights and grating sounds filled the halls as the renegade approached the target. They wiped the blood off of their hand, it had been messy, but the traitor had to get through a few obstacles first. The maimed remains of an engineer lay partway behind some barrels; his dead, bloodstained hand reaching for the broken alarm system, the traitor had made sure to break that before anything else. They remembered fondly when they had killed that particular engineer. 

‘… must, tell… the others…’ the engineer had said, a sacrificial dagger protruding from his back. Its quillions had two other blades in them, just grazing the victim’s skin.

‘No one can hear you.’ the traitor said in a mocking tone.
The engineer reached at the panel, his hand shaking. ‘Emperor prote-’

‘The Emperor will not hear you either.’ The traitor said. And he sent a hard kick at the pommel of the dagger, driving the remaining two blades hard and deep into his back, instantly killing him and ruining his spine. The Heretic smiled and pulled out the dagger. Without bothering to wipe it off, they jammed it into the control panel, sending sparks in all directions. Then they ripped it out. The smell of cooked blood filled the air for a little while then dissipated.

That’d been their first form of vengeance upon the Imperium and the cursed Emperor. But now was not a time for memories, now was a time for action. The heretic looked up. Security Mainframe. They smiled, this was it. If they were to destroy this, the ship would be without any form of mechanized security, enabling the heretic to move more freely about the ship. The Heretic sneaked in and quickly dispatched an engineer at the control panel with a slice to the throat, spattering his blood all over the keyboard. He came to the main control panel, a hologram was up that showed a two-dimensional rendering of the ship; it had little yellow and green dots in certain areas, some larger than others. 

“Convenient.” Said the traitor. Their good mood was suddenly broken by a tiny red dot they saw on the hologram. Upon closer inspection they found this to be the control panel they had just destroyed.

“Damn! Damn, damn, damn! By the Gods, those blundering fools will be here any moment!” They cursed out loud.

The traitor placed an explosive on the bottom of the control panel and set the timer for three hours, then fled as quickly as they could to a dark corner not far from the panel they had broken. They clutched the sacrificial dagger and held their breath.

Moments later a group of four engineers approached the area. They broke their slow pace to a run as they saw the horror ahead.

“You stay here with me,” one said to the man next to him. “And you two,” he said to the others. “Go and inspect the Security Mainframe.”

“Yes, sir.” They said in unison.

“What did this?” said the one that was instructed to stay with the higher-ranking member of the team.

“I don’t know,” said the other. “But it doesn’t look like it was an accident.”
They will ruin everything! Screamed the heretic in their thoughts. I must act quickly, the Gods will not be denied!

“Die cowards!” shouted the heretic, leaping from the shadows. They immediately killed one with a downward thrust to the back of the neck and then turned on the other. The highest-ranking engineer pulled out a wrench, ready to defend himself from this traitor.

The engineer blocked the forward thrust of the dagger and staggered slightly, he then retaliated by bringing the wrench down hard onto the heretic’s hand, causing them to drop the dagger. The traitor winced in pain, but didn’t cry out.

“Scum!” said the engineer, as he brought down the wrench towards the renegade’s head.

The Heretic noticed this just in time and rolled out of the way, the wrench clanking heavily on the steel-grate floor. The engineer began raising it again for a killing-blow. This was the heretic’s opportunity. With inhuman speed, the follower of Chaos grabbed their knife and made a sideways thrust into his stomach. The engineer sputtered and coughed up a little blood. Gasping for breath, the trembling engineer dropped his wrench and said, “I curse you, heretic…”

The Heretic grinned in fiendish delight. They ended it by forcefully and quickly bringing the knife up through the engineer’s abdomen and ribs, causing the sickening sound of cracking bones and slicing flesh. Gore spattered onto the floor as the torn engineer hit the ground, blood dripping through the grating.

“And now a parting gift.” Said the traitor, pulling out two small devices with blinking lights. They jammed one into the fallen engineer, and the other was dropped in through the steel-grating.

Now the heretic began their retreat. You have done well… said a voice in their head. Knowing this to be their master, they quickly sent a praise to the Dark Gods. Thank you master. What will you have me do next? The heretic inquired. In time, my child… in time…

The Heretic laughed aloud as they walked down the corridor. They rid themselves of their bloodstained shroud and continued towards the briefing room. The carnage shouldn't be noticed until after they had re-entered realspace.

They entered and saw everyone, blissfully unaware of their impending doom. The Traitor grinned. I will have my vengeance…


----------



## Jackinator

Disengaging from warp in 5…4…3…2…1. The ship shuddered, there was a gentle groan of metal. Barden relaxed feeling the sensation of confinement relax as the Gellar field was shut down, in the warp he had to be constantly on guard, feeling the daemons slip and slide around the ship, clawing at it’s protective envelope, reaching out to the minds inside. Now they were back in real space the danger was reduced.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On the bridge the captain, an almost anorexically thin rogue trader named Herad called out to his crew, “reengage systems”. The men and women around the bridge called out in turn “reactors, stable”, “life support optimal”, “shields online”, the sound of continued until finally they reached the security officer, “no response from the mainframe captain.”

“Damn” Herad turned from his crew, bending to a vox console, “Lord, we appear to have a problem with one of the minor systems.”

“I’m sure you can sort it out Herad, I have every faith in you”

The captain turned back to his crew, “get a message down to engineering, I want a team to go check on that mainframe.”

“Yes sir.”

The rest of the bridge crew hadn’t allowed themselves to be distracted by this minor drama and one of them called out, “picking up contacts sir, range nine thousand and closing”.

“What? We’re too far out for picket ships. It looks like your aims to remain unnoticed have failed Ferric.”

Back in his quarters the Inquisitor frowned, “they can’t be pickets, can we get a visual fix on them?” The scanning officer, brusque and efficient brought an image up onto the bridge’s main observation screen, “just coming into range now sir.”

“Pirates,” the captain spat, “power up the weapons batteries, shields to full, Inquisitor, may I call upon your forces to repel boarders?” The Inquisitor nodded to Eseau, “you may Captain, these pirates must be taught the price of an assault on the Emperor’s subjects.”

“Thank you sir.”

“I will join my team” the Inquisitor drew his pistol, “Makron, stay here. Eseau, with me.” Standing he strode from his quarters, Eseau followed him as he turned and headed to the barracks where his storm troopers were quartered.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Autogun rounds whicked around the corner as Ferric darted back into cover, one of his storm troopers lay in the middle of the corridor, blood pooling around his head, while laughter cackled down from the pirate’s boarding team. A second storm trooper flicked a grenade round the corner and the laughter stopped abruptly in a storm of shrapnel. The Inquisitor and his storm troopers moved into the hanger, the crack troops sliding into cover with practised ease and Ferric diving clumsily behind a pile of crates as some sort of heavy weapon opened up. His snap shot knocking a charging man onto his back. Then a number of other weapons joined in, a storm trooper peaking around his cover only to take a melta blast to the face, his headless corpse slumping steaming to the floor.

“This is Inquisitor Barden, the pirates are well dug in in the hanger, I am having problems, they have us pinned down with some sort of heavy weapon, can anyone find their way to the other hanger entrances?”

Macto and Jack: The ship has only just emerged from warp space and already you are under attack, in the briefing room you hear the captain’s call to repel boarders. You rush out in a group and head down a corridor, as you reach the end you hear a dull clang, of metal on metal, you are blinded by a flash, regaining your senses as a portion of the hull falls into the corridor, revealing a boarding torpedo full of pirates who swarm out. You must fight not only to force them from the ship, but to survive. Some of the NPC characters may die here, PM me with which ones you wish to die and I’ll let you know if it’s ok, the ones that are off limits for this are Jayna Keldar and Felix Maycre, the others however I leave to you to decide as long as I have approved it.

Silences: You are still in your quarters when the alarm is sounded, getting into your armour you step out into the corridor and a small group of pirates rounds the corner, one of them carrying a meltagun, something you know your armour cannot stand up against. You slide behind cover but they have already spotted you. You are alone in the corridor, there seems to be no help. You must deal with this threat yourself.

Xarian: Alone in your quarters you to hear the call to arms. Gathering a number of finished combat and gun servitors you head out only to encounter a large group of renegades attempting to force entry to the armoury near your workshop. They have heavy weapons and although your servitors will be able to carve a fearsome toll they fall one by one and there are still too many for you to overwhelm by yourself. However, you can keep them occupied with your remaining servitors until help and reinforcements arrive.

Elizabeth: You hear a commotion outside your room and when you slip outside you see a combat at the far end of the corridor, a group of pirates has cornered a number of crewmen, some of them are wounded but they are fighting back. Your position behind the pirates lends you an advantage. Kill them and treat the crewmen’s wounds.

Eseau: You have followed the Inquisitor to the hanger but you are outside with a squad of five storm troopers. Barden is pinned down and you do not have enough men to break the deadlock, you must head back towards the briefing room hoping to encounter more members of the Inquisitor’s team. However, before you get very far you encounter ten pirates, presumably planning to flank the Inquisitor themselves. Your storm troopers and yourself should make short work of them before moving on to meet up with others from the briefing.


----------



## Santaire

Disengaging from warp in 5…4…3…2…1. The ship shuddered, there was a gentle groan of metal. Nex did not relax. Demons, in his opinion did not give up easily and he had come through too many jumps were they had been fighting for their lives immediately after they emerged from the warp. "Prepare to repel boarders," came the captain's voice through the speakers "prepare to repel boarders." 

Within 5 seconds Macto had drawn his gun and leapt over the briefing table. "Jack," he shouted, seeing the man, "this way, we have to get to a defensible position." Without pausing to check whether the man acknowledged him or not he sprinted through the door and down the corridor. He heard the others coming behind him. He saw a laser cutting through the wall and skidded to a halt just as there was a bllinding flash. His optics compensated and he watched as a piece of armour thumped down onto the deck. In it's place he saw a boarding torpedo filled to the brim with armed pirates. Before they could gun him down a priest called Palamon charged at them hefting a huge eviscerator. "Die fiends," the priest roared as he brought the evisceator down into the torso of one of the pirates. He lifted the chainblade high and gutted another three but was then shot in the stomach, chest and arm by another pirate. He staggered backwards, still gripping the eviscerator. Then he roared a last time and brought his weapon down through the heretic, chopping him in two. The priest slumped, and then fell to his knees and collapsed face first onto the floor of the boarding tube. Blood pooled around him.

But by then Nex was ready. He fired a flurry of shots at the pirates and then started to back down the corridor. "Corvin," he yelled, "covering fire." Corvin began blasting at the traitors with his shotgun, diverting enough of their attention so that Nex could dive behind cover. "What do you think," he shouted across the corridor. "That I haven't had so much fun in years," the big man roared back. "I'm going for the sharder, cover me," Nex called. Realising what he meant Corvin nodded and began blasting away. Nex took out both his grenades and stuck them together, he set the krak's timer to 3 seconds and then tossed the pair into the corridor. The krak went off, increasing the frag's already formidable explosive power causing the shrapnel to shoot down the corridor at an incredible speed. 10 of the pirates collapsed, clutching at the tiny holes in their bodies. But there were still more. "It's going to be a rough one," he shouted.


----------



## dragonkingofthestars

"Warning!" Silence looked up her magnifier still on her eye, 

"Pirates detacted prepare to repel boarders!!"

Silence turned back to her bolter, rapidly assembling it takeing all of three seconds for experenced fingers.

she turned to he armor. she startee with her breast plate, chatting softly under her breath, "as we armor are soul with faith," lifting it abover her head she slip it over her body, and then useing a sort of powered screw driver tightened it by appyling it to some screws on the abdomen that triggered mechanices that tightened it. "we armor are bodys with adamandtium." she stopped when the armor was at its propers size around her. "So we Don this armor."

Applying the Rerebrace (upper arm guard) she slipped the armor up her use the screw driver to tighten it, "The Emperore defend the faithful," she forced it farther up her arm till she heard the click of interlock servos. "so we will not waver." she did the same for the and the Vambrace (Lower arm guard) puting it on and tightening it till it interlocked with the Reembrace armor servos."So we Don this armor."


The Gauntlets were next she quickly sliped them on, chanted the prayer, "To touch the hertic is to be unclean, so we don this armor.

Stepping into the culet(butt armor) she pulled it up her legs and at her hips she tightened with the driver till its servos interlocked witth cheast plates "The Emperor guardians are faith, so we must Guardian his people. So we don this armor." 

A explosion echoed near by, but to a sister of battle this was as much cermoney, as doning armor one she would not stop

She puleld the Cuisses (thigh armor) up her legs and tightened each in time till the servos clicked. "we stand as a bulkwalk between humanity and the alien hoard, we will hold, or die on are line, so we don this armor." 

lastly her feet sliped into a pair of Sabatons (foot armor) the upper parts covering the lower legs, the Cuisses did not. she bent down to one knee in a almost praying postare or as if she was being nighted, as one hand tighed the screws so it interlocked with the servos the other made the sigh of the Eagle.

she stood up, and switched knees, she could hear them geting closer, she had to hurry. Interlocked her second sabaton as she made the sign of the Omnissiah with the other. "emperore, guide me along the path of faith, no matter it may lead, so that i may kill all who dare defile and revile your name. So I don this armor."

she was almost done, she walked up to the stand and that held the "back pack" that contained the power and cooling system. she turned around and backed into it, servos os deisghn byond her knowing sprung to life and inter locked with her armor. power flood the suite take the tremendous weight off her so it was now self supporting.

"We walk this path Emperor," she did a final system check "and tunr from it we shall not no matter the hertic or xeno," all lights green across the board that was in the chest armor below her chin "we shall purge it all, in the fires of faith, and flame, to this I sware to you," she fell back to a praying position for the last one, "Upon my being O god Emperor who sits upon terra amen." 

They were closer, she could tell, she pulled her red robe from ware she put it on the floor and slipped it over her armor she put her hands int the pockets to make sure nothing fell out, nothing had, she then put a maglock belt over it,the belt tightening till it was as tight as it could be. She then put her helmet on feeling it interlock with her chest plate and the system status and her bio signs lit up across the head set. She grabbed her bolt gun, put her pistol on her belt. slapped a fresh magazien into the gun and step out into the corridor.

just as a small group of pirates rounds the corner. Silences noted the six of them (you gave no number) armred with standard boarding weapons, shot guns mostly but one held a melta gun, that could turn even her holy armor into so much sacred slag.

There was a moment of shock, and suprise from the pirates, one she took advantage of. 

riseing the bolt she took aim and squeezed off one shot, two shots, then a shot gun bucked and her armor ringed to the impaced of BB's. she was unsure if she "killed" the targets, but they would die if they did not get medical aid which she doubt they would.

she steped back into her room, reached for but remebered she did not have, a frag grenade." 

"Damn." She muttered, she flipped the fire selector on her bolter to full auto. she did not even step into the hall way. she flipped the gun to her robotic arm and stretched it into the hall way, barrel pointing toward the pirates. 

She pulled the trigger and the gun roared shooting a spout of flame, he robotic arm takeing all the recoil thanks to the dampners, that put there heads down. she then steped out with her bolt pistol (the clip in her bolter was empty) and fired rapidly in a single hand grip at the pirates who were even now trying to find cover in the corador, forced back by machine gun fire, but there was none. 

She fired once, twice, thice, and once more after that. The pirates were done for the count.

she waked over to them, calming with a knife, she did butchard them, slitting there thoughts so that there was no chance of them being alive.

she eyed the melta gun, seing as she had no heavy weapon she reached down to it,found the sling and slung it over her shoulder, the armor takeing all the weight. Slipping a new magaizen into both the bolt gun and bolt pistol. she turned on her helmet radio. 

"This is Silences, six pirates netulized, request postion of other boarders,,,,,,,,
confirm." and she ran to were, who ever was on the other end, told her to, her bolter leading the way like a hunting dog, its muzzel prowling for any sign of tratiors.


----------



## Epidemius

Xarian sat at his desk, fiddling with a piece to one of his servitors. he was interrupted by the sound of Ferric Barden's voice and footsteps outside. he heard quick las-shots and a frag grenade, then everything was silent.
Xarian realized he was in danger, he pulled out three frag grenades and a roll of tape. he wrapped the grenades together and kicked over his desk so it faced the door. He drew his needle pistol and waited.
Seconds later, the door was knocked down by two armed pirates. Xarian sent a salvo of needle-rounds into the open doorway. killing both of them instantly, their limp forms slumping to the floor. he rapidly pulled the pins on the grenades and tossed it through the door. He ducked as a massive explosion killed everyone outside.
He got up and quickly assembled a group of two gun servitors and his latest creation. he went outside and put some barrels down to act as cover. The two heavy-bolter mounted servitors crouched behind them and primed their guns.
A screaming horde of over twenty pirates come rushing down the hall, guns raised. Xarian ducked as a blast of las-shots came screaming over the cover. He raised his needle pistol and fired it in a sweeping motion at the horde, killing the front five.
"Fire!" he commanded the servitors.
There was a heavy clanking sound as bolt-rounds were launched at the horde, killing pirate after pirate. one of the servitors was killed by a knife-weilding renegade, but was killed by a quick stab of Xarian's blade.
He hardly had a moments rest, when another group of pirates came rushing down the corridor, blasting with lasguns and autoguns. the other gun-servitor was killed by a shot to the neck and fell back to the floor.
He faced his last servitor.
"Kill." He instructed
"YES MASTER." it said.
It flew in front of the mob and let loose a deafening scream of rage. several of the renegades in the front were knocked dead to the ground, their eardrums ruptured and their noses bleeding. The servitor plowed through them with its buzz-saw, slicing off heads and limbs in all directions. It lifted a renegade into the air with its clawed arm and split him in half, spattering blood and gore on the walls. It held off the onrushing others with its built in heavy-flamer, roaring in delight. Xarian came up beside it and contributed to the slaughter.


----------



## oblivion8

_There's no time for armour if I am to save those crewmenan_ thought Elizabeth. A sister was trained in different combat techniques, not the least of which was a stealthy approach. However this was almost always done in power armour, so Elizabeth was unheard as she silently crept upon the pirates. 

As she approached within feet of them, one of the crewmen stupidly focused their attention on her. 
One of the pirates noticed and turned around to face her, but not fast enough.

With a quick motion Elizabeth took her medium knife and ran it across the pirates arteries in his neck. Knowing that she need not worry about him any longer, she took two quick steps and drove the same knife into the adjacent pirate. The man screamed for a moment, and knowing she would not have time to pull take the knife out, she turned to the four others, who were hiding behind some crates for cover. With skillful precision she tossed her scalpel through one of their eyes. 
The crewman took to the initiative, thank the emperor, and only one of the three remaining pirates opened fire on her. She dove forward and to the side, more agile without her armour, and only received a gracing shot from the shotgun into her thigh. She came up, and taking her large knife in both hands, she cleanly went through one side of the pirates neck, and out the the other. 
She was just about to take care of the last two, now gore stained, pirates when two shots went off, each rupturing the pirates head and shoulders respectively. She turned to see who had taken care of them, and surprisingly saw Triana, a boltpistol in between her two hands.
"Very good Triana, it appears you are far more proficient than I first thought."
A smile, as Elizabeth wiped the blood from her face.
Triana's hands started to shake violently.

After returning to her room, Triana quickly made her way back to the injured with the med-kit as Elizabeth put on her armour and attended to her leg wound.
The armour itself was of a lighter medic build, but she still performed the ceremony of preparation, and attached the power source (a much less visible pack, which had an attachment for her med-kit). She slid her three knives into their sheathes among her waist, and left to attend to the wounded.

_I'm going to need some extra protection if I am going to be throwing my self into the fray like that again_ she thought with a grin.

There were five casualties, three dead but one with a damaged leg, and another knocked out with potential for a coma if he was not treated right away. Overall the crewmen had done quite well, and were all happy to be alive.


----------



## DasOmen

jack's eyes didn't divert from the holo map until he was called upon by his fellow team member, he didn't even budge when the "prepare to repel boarders" message came across the vox. when his name was called for combat by his comrade, he did not move from his spot even as the man rushed out of the room. bringing his cat up closer to him he'd hug it, kissing it's head softly only to get a slightly confused mew in return. "if i am to die for the emperor this day lion, i ask you as my keeper, please, look after the inquisitor, give him the same calmness you have given me. " his cat didn't give much of a reply at first aside from licking his cheek, hopping down from his arms and moving over to a grate with jack close behind to slide it to the side. "hide in my quarters, keep yourself safe... no harm must come to you... no, no harm shall come to you sacred one... " as the cat bolted inside jack's mind fractured a bit, inside he felt things twisting and contorting, breaking apart and reforming... he was now in the right mindset for war, but not conventional war. 

moving towards the door he didn't run after his comrade, he simply walked, eyes taking careful note of what all was going on, even as the light blinded him he listened. he heard the bulkhead give out just moments before the torpedo entered the ship. his vision clearing to see the priest rush in with the large chain weapon, his hand at this point slowly removing his pistol as he began to sing out, this time in low Gothic, voice building with the song

"we are the chosen ones, we sacrifice our blood, we kill for honor. 
we are the holy ones, our armor stained with blood, we kill
in glory we return, our destination set, we kill
no more living in fear, it's time to raise our kin"
his song continued as he broke his walk and began to run full out towards the boarding party, moving too fast to simply stop and take up position behind or beside his comrade, instead his right arm whipped out, as if reaching for the ceiling above the pod as a thin black line shot out from under his sleeve, that line suddenly drew him along with it, giving him the appearance of soaring through the air without wings.

soaring above them all, his grapnell had latched onto the ceiling of the corodor and his body zipped up towards it. his arm lashd out in a forcefull movement as he came mere inches from the top, turning upside down and hanging from the ceiling as if he was sitting on it and not hanging from a grapnel. his pistol outstreatched as he took aim, still singing as he opend fire, drenching them in the emperor's light. one would think that he didn't see the set of grenades lobbed towards the group with how focused he seemed to be, but jack saw more than most people gave him credit for. 

as the combi grenade thunked against the ground, he dislatched his grapnel from the ceiling and fell towards the ground, arm lashing out again as he shot a grapnel off in the distance, moments later his body soared through the air, whisking again along the path of his grapnel, only to latch onto the side of the corodor wall next to a two story structure within the ship, ducking inside one of the windows to shield himself from the blast. his ears picking up the harsh "TINK TINK TINK" sound of shrapnel letting him know when the blast was finished with the emperor's justice. 

now the boarder's attention was diverted, the remaining forces that were still alive were now forced to divert their fire from the group firing on them, to the "demon Bat" as they called him, soaring through the air, even if his method of travel was far less demonic than anyone cared to realize apart from the inquisitor. 

inside the room he had ducked into jack saw the crew of the ship, the non combatants who's void born life was all they knew. a simple smile was given to them as he walked passed them in their home, moving down the stairs as stubber rounds impacted the window he had just entered. reaching the lower level of the home, jack's eyes went to the door as he flicked off the lights with a simple prayer to the machine spirit that controlled such function. his eyes moving to the door as two of the boarders rushed inside the room in hopes of finding and killing him. but with the lights off it was far to easy to get the jump on them. 

the light of the emperor left jack's twin linked las pistol that lit the room like a strobe light, framing each impact of the pistol as if a picture was taken in sequence. "the emperor is watching, always watching" jack would mutter as the other man made to retreat, screaming about a demon in the dark as the room behind him flashed in a red strobe from the sustained fire from jack's las pistol. but just as the man tried to turn and run in a different direction, something stopped him.

"No escape" were jack's only words, the words themselves bellowed out of the room and into the hallway as a black line lashed out and impaled the man in the shoulder. that black line, was jack's grapnel which had dug itself into the man's flesh before ripping his entire body through the air and back into the room, screaming in terror. anyone remaining in the pirate's squad that was still alive would be screaming "Squad Broken", only problem was no one was left alive... the man who had been yanked back into the room, now lay dead, not from las rounds, not from the wound in his arm... but from a fractured skull as jack's fist met the flying man's face, and not his fleshy fist, but a fist clad and forged from Metal

to the less informed, jack was possessed, a mad man without a leash, soaring through the air and firing at people like a assault marine, save not jumping and landing on someone, jumping and sticking to a surface and raining fire down on his enemies... to the more informed his actions had clear purpose... break the moral of the enemy, sew fear into their hearts so that the rest of the squad could get clear shots and cut them down.


----------



## Epidemius

*Xarian*

The pirate dropped to the ground, his midsection ripped outwards from two knife-wounds. Xarian wiped the blood off his servo-arms and holstered his pistol. They had a small break in enemies and now was an excellent time to recuperate. His creation, whom he had named Ferox, stood nearby, shredding a corpse with his talons.
"MORE! I NEED MORE!" it yelled.
_Perhaps I shouldn't of made him so smart,_ he thought. _I shall keep a close eye on him._
He returned to his make-shift barricade and pulled out a communications device.
"This is Xarian Fidelius, requesting Felix Maycre." he said into the device.
"This is Felix, yes Xarian?"
"I need you and your team to support me over near my quarters, we are dealing with a heavy offensive and we need your help."
"Understood."
Xarian put down the communicator and fixed the barricade, a barrel had been reduced to white-hot slag from a stray melta-shot. it was cool now, but still useless. he found a flamer on a fallen pirate, his face was covered with streaming blood. The sound-amplifier had been a nice touch. he checked to make sure it still worked, it did, but it only had half a tank left.
He heard shouts and gunshots in the distance and knew the next wave was on its way. 
"Hopefully Ferox will be able to hold them off until help arrives." Xarian told himself. "Ferox!"
"YES FATHER?" it said, _Xarian noticed his speech and behavior was changing, but he dismissed it._
"I need for you to get to a safer position." said Xarian.
"BUT FATHER, I MUST HAVE MORE!"
_He's starting to question me, this can't be a good sign. I must not agitate him too much, the slightest mistake could cause him to snap._
"Ferox, I don't wish for you to die."
"_YES FATHER._"
Ferox came over to the barricade and crouched, ready to spring onto the unsuspecting wave of pirates.
yells of fury could be heard from ahead, and no sooner than it had been noticed, the next wave came. Xarian primed his flamer and prepared to fight for his life. to his side was his creation, a look of agitation and impatience about him.


----------



## dragonkingofthestars

"This is Xarian Fidelius, requesting Felix Maycre." 
_Xarian?_ Silence thought she could only here his side of the convsation though.
"I need you and your team to support me over near my quarters, we are dealing with a heavy offensive and we need your help."

"this is Silence I can help,, Xarian?" Damn he hung up on his communcator.

Silence started to run toward ware she knew his quarters were. she sung around a cornor to meet three pirates who were picking a dead crew member for ammo and money. it took only three shots to disbatch them. she joged over to them, nothing. she heard shots from a head. she ran forward closer to them.

she rounded a corner and looking down it she saw a hoard of pirates surgeing down a hall way this one connected to. calmly she pulled the 30 round clip from her bolters and sliped a 200 round drum magazen into the gun good for real suppsive fire, not quick bursts. 

she ran forward closer to them, when she was only 20 feet from them they all rushed past the T corador she emerge onto there hall way behind the large wave of pirates.

she lowered the gun, and fired full auto in the tightly packed group of them. there were crys as suprise and pain as the bolts ripped pirates apart in a hail of mass reactive bolts. coating the floor in blood and shattered limbs boters broke from there bodys.

"KILLL!!" Silence started back a few as she saw the Servitor of Xarian plow though the devided pirates _holy terra_, she thought, _thats what that thing cand do!_ all the while she kept blasting at the pirates. 

The servitor ripped the last one apart and the hall way was silent save the mones of few still alive. she lowered her gun, till the servitor turned to face her, "KILL!!" it said and took steps forward. 

the gun lept back up to point at the Servitor "Xarian!!" she yelled


----------



## Epidemius

*Xarian*

"Xarian!!" yelled Sister Silences, her bolter pointed at Ferox.
"FEROX! NO!" yelled Xarian after his creation.
"KILL!!!" roared Ferox as he charged at Sister Silences.
Xarian dropped his flamer and ran. Ferox lunged at Silences, ready to tear her to pieces. Xarian dove and pushed her out of the way. Before they could get up Ferox was on them, he had become blood-crazed. He activated his buzz-saw and slowly paced towards them.
"Ferox!" shouted Xarian. "Stand down!"
"NO!" yelled Ferox in response.
"Stand down!" shouted Xarian again.
"NO!" He said coming closer.
Xarian raised his needle pistol. "Don't make me do this!"
Ferox raised his buzz-saw, but paused as a loud shot resounded through room. a large bolt wound lay in the middle of his chest, the bullet had sheered completely through his armor and flesh. Ferox slowly fell to his knees, his buzz-saw deactivating and his bionic eye dimming. "I'm sorry, father." he said, his anger gone. and with that he fell dead to the ground.
Xarian looked over to Silences, she held up her boltgun, smoke still coming from the barrel. "I'm sorry Xarian. I knew you wouldn't do it."
"Your right," he said sadly. "Thank you."

They were interrupted by Felix Maycre and his approaching squad. they saw the dead pirates and the dead behemoth in front of them.
"Looks like we missed the fun." said Felix.
"They'll be plenty more," said Xarian. "We should go and find the others."


----------



## Serpion5

*Eseau*

Upon hearing the Inquisitor`s order to prepare for battle, Eseau took the first oppurtunity he could to check his weapons. One of the first lessons he had learned was to always carry a weapon. Even when among friends. 

When they arrived at the stormtrooper`s barracks, he had taken the liberty of securing a spare powerpack for his hellpistol and made sure his ring was positioned correctly... 

'Sir, would you like a suit of carapace armour?' One of the troopers asked him. 

'No.' Eseau had declined. 'I`m afraid I don`t have your training or stamina, it would slow me down pretty quickly. Do you have any flak suits available?' 

'One moment Sir.' The trooper paused and detached several of the plates, reducing the weight of the suit considerably. 'Will this suit you Sir?' 

'Much better.' Eseau nodded approvingly. 'Your name, Trooper?' 

'Corporal Jacen Evans, Sir.' He replied. 'I`ll be joining your Fire Team.' 

'Excellent.' Eseau nodded. 'Let`s not keep the Inquisitor waiting.' 

- - -

Barden had joined a fire team led by Sergeant Hudson while Eseau joined the other with Corporal Evans. They made good time to the hangar bay doors, though if Eseau was honest he was more puffed out than he let on. If Barden was worn out at all he hid it well. 

'Evans, secure this position.' Hudson ordered. 'Inquisitor, are you ready?' 

Barden nodded to the trooper then turned to Eseau. 'Hold the fort. We`ll try to make this quick.' He gave a confident smile and nod before one of the troopers hit the switch on the wall. The group vanished into the hangar in a hail of shouting and gunfire. Eseau lost sight of them as the doors closed. 

'I hope they`ll be alright...' Eseau muttered. 

Less than a minute later the vox crackled. 

_++This is Inquisitor Barden, the pirates are well dug in in the hanger, I am having problems, they have us pinned down with some sort of heavy weapon, can anyone find their way to the other hanger entrances?++_

'Should we help?' Eseau asked. Evans would know better than him in this situation.

'Negative.' Evans shook his head. 'If we go in this way we`ll be pinned just like them. We`d best find another way in like the Inquisitor ordered.' 

They began to move, Evans voxing their status to Hudson en route. 

- - -

It was not long before they found resistance, a band of pirate was heading the opposite way, no doubt intending to flank Barden`s team just as Eseau intended to outflank the pirates. 

'Cover!' The lead trooper called, presumably out of reflex because there was little to be had. Evans held up a hand to stop Eseau, then he and another trooper knelt side by side, using their own bodies to form a barrier to protect the less armoured acolyte. 

'Don`t be afraid to shoot, Sir!' Evans encouraged. Both he and the other had already opened up on full auto, felling three of the pirates in their initial salvo. The other three troopers had gone prone and felled another four between them. Return fire came sporadically, impacting uselessly on plates of carapace or missing entirely. 

One of the remainding pirates attempted to shield himself with the corpse of one of his comrades, but Eseau managed a dead kill shot with his hellpistol, reducing both of them to smoking carcasses. He fired again, killing another. 

One of the stormtroopers stood, chargint the last pirate and breaking his skull with a precise blow from the butt of his rifle. 

'Report!' Evans ordered. 

'Ten confirmed kills. No casualties.' One of the troopers replied. 

'Let`s keep moving.' Eseau ordered, his confidence boosed by their success. 'Let`s see who else we can find.'


----------



## Santaire

Had he not been in the middle of a firefight Nex would have shown utter shock as Jack shot past him. His first thought was something demonic had possessed him but then he noticed the black line coming from under his sleeve, a grapnel, though how his arm wasn't ripped off by the strain he had no idea until he remembered that Jack, like him had a bionic arm. was something demonic had possessed him but then he noticed the black line coming from under his sleeve, a grapnel, though how his arm wasn't ripped off by the strain he had no idea until he remembered that Jack, like him had a bionic arm. The man hung from the celling and blasted at the foe before darting back from the sharder combi grenade's blast.

"Keep the pressure on," he called aloud, "we need to push them back."_ ++This is Inquisitor Barden, the pirates are well dug in in the hanger, I am having problems, they have us pinned down with some sort of heavy weapon, can anyone find their way to the other hanger entrances?++_ The voice crakled through his headset. "This is Nex, we may be able to do so but it will take us some time to reach there," he replied to the message.

"What is it," Corvin yelled. "Inquisitor needs support," Nex shouted back. "Can you hold here and I'll take a group a different way," he called. "We can hold, go, support the inquisitor," Corvin replied. Nex motioned a few of the remaining lightly armed crewman to follow him and, being covered by Corvin, darted for a side passage. He would support the Inquisitor while Corvin held the pirates there and prevented them from flanking the others. As he ran he thought about the hangar. The inquisitor must have entered from up near the bridge, meaning if he took the opposite entrance he would have flanked the heavy weapons that were keeping the inquisitor pinned.


----------



## oblivion8

_++This is Inquisitor Barden, the pirates are well dug in in the hanger, I am having problems, they have us pinned down with some sort of heavy weapon, can anyone find their way to the other hanger entrances?++_

Elizabeth finished patching up the last crew member and stood up.
"Triana. Do you know where the specialty equipment is stored?" asked Elizabeth. 

"Ummm.... I think I recall the briefing they gave us, mentioning arms lockers, equipment can't be stored far from there... Why mistress?"

"I'm not going to have us walk into another firefight without some proper precautions" replied Liz, "Can we access the area on our way to the Inquisitor?" she inquired.

"I think so madam, this way", Triana and Elizabeth then made haste towards their destination.

---

After a while, they reached the arms lockers, unsurprisingly the equipment and specialty reserves were not hard to find. The mechanical door opened slowly, and Elizabeth and Triana entered. 
"Exactly what we needed.." grinned Elizabeth. (two force-field generators of some kind, like an iron halo or rosarius etc... to give the medics a bit of extra protection, let me know if that's ok or not Jackinator). 
After equipping the force-fields to their respective armour, the two women made their way to the inquisitors position, ready for any medical emergency that might arise.


----------



## Serpion5

*Eseau*

Eseau was trying to will his heartbeat to slow as he ran to keep pace with the stormtroopers. Though he had prided himself upon being physically capable back when he was an officer in Ultramar, he was being put to shame by the athleticism of these most elite of the Imperium`s warriors. 

'Are you okay, Sir?' Evans called back to him. 

'Don`t stop on my account!' Eseau responded. 'You have to make sure the Inquisitor is safe. If I fall behind, I`ll catch up.' He managed between gasping for air. 

They rounded another bend, and saw a lone individual traversing the hallway in the same direction as them. 

'Contact!' The lead trooper called. 

'Friendly?' Evans asked. 

'Unknown.' Came the reply. Eseau took advantage of the situation to catch up to their slowed pace and took a look at the man up ahead. 

'Hold fire!' He ordered. 'He`s one of ours.' They came closer and the man seemed to notice them. 

'Soldier?' Eseau greeted him. It was the man he had glimpsed in the briefing room before, and the same feeling of unease entered his mind as he sensed the man`s inner instabilities. 

'We need to find the Inquisitor.' Eseau said firmly. 'He`s pinned down by hostiles in the hangar. You`re coming with us, right? We may need your help.'


----------



## DasOmen

jack exited the building he had entered seeing the fighting had stopped for the most part. the merc had run off, moving to regroup with the inquisitor taking five of the squad with him. though as jack exited the building, his mind recoiled, there were no real targets, but his mind made targets all the same... horrors, demons, nightmares, wraiths... all manner of abominations clawed at the walls of the ship in his minds eyes, pressing their faces through the warp, distorting reality as they tried to rip themselves out of the walls he was surrounded by. a shaky hand moved back to snag some of his whiskey to help settle his mind as he began walking down the halls, mind beginning to go numb from the horrors that pleaiuged it, but he would find no solace... no respite, and his mind would not give him mercy, for he was out of whiskey. 

'Are you okay, Sir?' a voice in the hallway would have normally gotten jack's attention, but his hallucinations were too severe, he was on foot, out of whiskey, and his cat was off somewhere safe while the fighting took place. so the voice was just disregarded as mindless noise started to fill jack's head, as his avatar, his representation of himself pulsed in his mind, trying to push out against the horrors, take control, anything to give his mind solace. he heard music in his mind, heavy strumming of guitars and the chorus of a thousand voices began to sing out, at first a whisper, then a loud war cry as jack screamed out against his fate in defiance. 

'Don`t stop on my account!" he heard once more, the voice echoing violently in his head as as countless voices cried it out in tandem and in chorus. only to have a echoed "you must never stop!" in between the echoes.... "never stop, Never Stop! NEVER STOP!" the voices becoming more violent, as did the music banging in his head like the war march of a million souls making the war filled trek to hell. 

"i'll catch up!" came a voice piercing his madness, "i'll catch up! i'll follow, i'll do the emperor's deeds and follow his will!" the chorus would start to whisper till a loud "NO" deafened him from the inside "I" jack screamed out in his own mind. "Will Draw a hard line! I will punish the unjust, I will hang the bastards of the empire high in the streets for all to see! I will serve the Emperor and his justice will know no bounds!" 

"Contact" this voice snapped jack's mind to a different tune... he could hear the guns of a thousand men going off in rhythm, bolters, stubbers, las guns, plasma guns, he heard them all, ringing out in rhythm and in tune with each other... but he didn't just hear them, he saw them. individual rounds soaring past and impacting the ground of his mind tearing it to shreds and lifting chunks into the air only to float of their own accord. 

"Friendly?" the voice changed, echoing, coarse and harsh in his mind, constantly repeating itself. echoed only by the word "Unknown"

the words hold fire bellowed in his head like a request from his soul, only to have a booming "NO!" tear his mind asunder... the horizon sat a figure on a golden throne, like so many pictures and statues he had seen before.... "Do not hold your fire!" a chorus replying "It shall not be held", the emperor responding to this, "Pirates Must pay! but their death is not enough!" the chorus responding in kind "It Is Never Enough!" with the emperor's response "Send them to their grave, but reclaim what has been stolen from the empire!" the chorus responding "Slay them! Seize Them" constantly repeating itself.

jack's mind didn't even recognize as he was addressed, all he knew was the haze in front of his eyes had lifted, and he was no longer walking along mindlessly muttering countless litanies in high Gothic... when he saw the acolyte however.... he would respond in his own way, not with words that one would think be normal for the situation, he did not respond "yes, i shall follow," he did not respond "aye, i shall be your sword acolyte, for the emperor's justice be done" he did respond however, with a mighty hymn from the acolyte's own home world, as if it had been rehearsed a thousand times, and he was cursed to sing it a thousand more. he sang the battle hymn of the ultramarines, the chanted song of his planet's deeds. 

(reference: 



 )

jack appeared ready to follow the acolyte, but responding in these strange ways was all he could do to keep control, and not go completely mad. the lights were on, people were home, but inside jack's door was a battlefield unlike what most had ever imagined in their minds wildest nightmares. though anyone who could see or cared to notice... his las pistol's clip was blinking, letting him know that it was empty and the battery was dead inside. he had no more light left to shine for the emperor, and his mind reflected it as the dark horrors that pleauged is sanity were a endless mob of shadows and darkness... all coming for him, all gunning for him with knives, axes, swords and spears. they would charge him, but would never reach him, their constant running for him forever locked in time, he needed light, he needed a guiding light, a calm in his never ending storm. but his cat was safe, far from combat. his bike was in the hanger, and his whiskey was out. making matters worse, he was out of ammo and walking. 

"in the emperor's name we shall praise him, and shine his light so that our enemy can see his glory, in doing so, we earn our honor, and never more will the emperium be engulfed in darkness...." jacks final words as he finished the hymn was a age old quote from a commissar overseeing fresh recruits. for many in the guard, these were the first words they heard signaling their service to the empire. but all too many worlds forgot this commissar, left his name to rot and his deeds gone unremembered.


----------



## Santaire

Nex jogged down an intersecting corridor, weapon raised. He heard voices and motioned the last remaining crewman to head for cover. He walked slowly and cautiously to where the corridor he was in intersected another before continuing on. He pressed his back to the fall and then darted round the corner, gun raised. When he saw who it was he lowered his hellgun. It was Jack and one of the acolytes, the one named Eseau. "Their friendlies," he said to the crewman, "head back to your post."

"Are you helping the inquisitor," Nex called. The acolyte turned and raised his weapon, as did the storm troopers but they lowered them when they realised who he was. "Report," Eseau snapped. "Got ambushed on my way to the Inquisitor's aid, they've got the rear entrance covered but I noticed a seemingly unguarded side entrance although it could be a trap, I suggest checking for other entrances first if we have the time to do so."


----------



## Jackinator

_This is not going as planned…_ thought the heretic. _These pirates are not supposed to be here. They will complicate the plan. 
It isn’t a total waste of time. I’ve had the opportunity to see the others in action, what they can do…
Ferric Barden’s team is not to be underestimated, that I know. Their skills in battle are something to be feared, those pirates didn’t stand much a chance. But everyone has a weakness…
Fear? No, no. That cannot be it. Desire? Possibly. Trust? Yes, yes. Trust, that is it. They trust me; I will use that to my advantage. But how to…dispose… of them? 
I shouldn’t try to corrupt them; they are too… loyal, too faithful. They trust their… god. What if this god were to “wrong them” in some way? Make them feel alone, abandoned, betrayed. No, it is too much of a risk. They are better off being killed. The traitor grinned at the thought. Yes, killed. It would be such a waste of good potential, but completely necessary.
Now, how to fix the plan? Those tracers should ensure a little “present” for the ship. But they might be starting to suspect something. They thought about the mangled engineers left in the bowels of the ship, they remembered the sweet sound of their screams, and the satisfying looks of death and fear on their faces. Yes, that was quite entertaining. I would love to partake in more, but I will have to wait. The security is gone, no cameras or alarms for them. That will help, but I will have to do more, judging by how those pirates were massacred. Inter-ship communications would be quite a nice thing to dispose of, along with the lighting. They savored the thought of enemy soldiers running around lost in the dark, their knife taking them down one by one. The ship’s defenses? Yes, yes. That would be very beneficial to be rid of. But first, I must warn the master. His army must be readied. _
The heretic thought of death and destruction, all soon to be.


----------



## Jackinator

Barden focused, sending his mind questing out into the cavernous space of the hanger, seeking the consciousness' of the enemy heavy weapon team. He flitted through minds, ignoring those that did not interest him before finally resting on a man standing by the heavy bolter. He brought his full will to bear, pushing the mans soul to the side. Manipulating his body he slipped into it, putting it on like a suit.

He turned, raising his las-rifle and flicking it to full auto, he grinned at the team's look of shock as his finger clenched the trigger, sending a spray of las-beams into the men. Their bodies jerked and danced sickeningly, blown back from the heavy bolter by the fire. Then he felt an overwhelming force rise in his mind, he pulled out of the body, feeling the mans soul extinguish in a single instant of psychic force. But Ferric frowned, this was not the work of single mind, the force had been too diverse too varied. But he was snatched back to reality, his storm troopers vaulting the barriers and charging as the fire from the heavy weapon dropped.

"For the Emperor" he holstered his bolt pistol and drew his eviscerator, swinging it from his back and through the body of a pirate in one move. The two halves fell to the deck with a meaty thunk as he blasted the souls of another two pirates, their bodies collapsing like puppets with their strings cut. Then he felt another blast of fearsome psychic power, so fierce it knocked the men around him to the ground.

Three figures were rising on a pillar of psychic power, the central figure was a powerfully built man, the other two were smaller, of a slighter build, their hands on the central man's shoulders. They were channelling their energy, how could the pirates have psykers as powerful as these, lasfire fell from them like rain as they effortlessly deflected the shots of his stormtroopers. Then he realised, there was now a second ship in the hanger, a sleek, stylish star yacht that seemed to have vomited an unseemly number of men onto the deck. These warriors were leaping into the pirates rear, cutting them down with swift efficent blows.

Then the psykers focused on him, a fat tentacle of psychic energy slapping down on the deck where he had been just moments before. He rolled to the side, drawing his bolt pistol, where lasfire had failed the blessed ammunition loaded into the ancient weapon would succeed, he raised the bolt pistol, then cried out as another tentacle of mental force slammed into his arm, knocking the pistol out of his grasp to spin away on the floor. Then their full might focused on him, he hastily threw up his own defenses, but even so a sweat broke out on his brow, their power was astonishing. They increased their attack, forcing him down to one knee. He would not be able to keep this up much longer...

Macto and Jack: You arrive at the hanger in time to see the Inquisitor slammed to his knees by a single fat tentacle of psychic energy emanating from three figures hovering above a group of more disciplined troops than the pirates. Though they bear no markings you know that they are not your friends and open fire immediately, charging forward into combat. Your Stormtroopers following close behind.

Eseau: Despite your recent blooding in combat you hesitate at the entrance to the hanger, unlike the others you saw more of the struggle between the Inquisitor and the three psykers. looking around you find what you are looking for, the Inquisitor's pistol lies on the floor ahead, you know it can harm the psykers but unfortunately three enemies stand between you and it. You must fight your way through them to reclaim the pistol. Once you have recovered it you take aim at the psykers and fire, unfortunately the recoil surprises you and you only get one shot off, but it is enough to wound one of the two smaller psykers.

Elizabeth: You and Triana emerge from the storage area to encounter a group of five pirates, they pause at the sight of you. Then advance leering suggestively, you must disabuse them of their notions.

Xarian and Silences: After you have finished the pirates off you are joined by Jayna Keldar, a young acolyte. She seems shaken by recent events but you reassure her and when you move on you take her with you. As you move deeper into the ship you encounter what look like signs of fighting, marks on the walls and further on, an engineer lying spread eagled. His wounds look to old to have been a result of the pirates, puzzled you move on and reach the remains of the security mainframe, it lies in ruins, the remains of an explosive at it's base. The bodies of other engineer's lie littered around. What are your reactions, who could have done this? You split up, seeking to find more clues as to the perpetrator of this catastrophe, Xarian heads in one direction, Silences another, and Triana goes down a service corridor.


----------



## dragonkingofthestars

*Silences*

Silences moved down the corrador, gun trained down each side passage waiting for movment, she assumed Xarian was doing the same, her gun twisted down each passage way, a form moved toward them, "Contact left flank!!" She yelled her gun pointing the shadowy form, "Identify!" she said as Felix Maycre strom troopers formed up around her to face the target. 

hands went up, "My name is Jayna Keldar, don't Shoot!" the gun turned down ward, but with her robot arm it could leap back in a 0.432 seconds.

"come closer then, an weapons?"

"a Las Pistol and a chain sword." she walked closer, Silence still not compleatly trusting her, but the longer she looked at her the more she did, she did not look any thing like a pirate and come to think of it all the pirates so far had been men.

"very good then, we need to keep moveing, find others." 

"what about the rest of the crew?" she said odvously nervous and on edge.

"they the rest of the crew," she said determnatly and confidently "They have the whole ship at there disposal, every gun and every man, the pirates have no chance." 

(Give Xarian a chane to speak)


----------



## Epidemius

"I agree," said Xarian, holstering his needle pistol. "The crew will be able to fend off these pirates. but I still worry for the others, even those of their skill can be defeated by overwhelming numbers."
Jayna look very scared. she was trembling from head to toe.
"We should get moving," said Felix.
Xarian and Silences nodded in agreement.
As they moved deeper and deeper into the ship, the signs of battle faded away, until their was no sound other than that of their footsteps and the sounds of the ship.


----------



## dragonkingofthestars

*Silences*

_Idot, I said that to assure he, not scare her._Silences grumpbled in her head. 

"we should be close to the security system," Felix said "we should be able to tell how many pirates are on each level." 

"and perhapes space a few?" Silence said with a smile, "we will have control over the blast doors, so yes." he said with a grim smile. he stood before a door and opened it. the Storm troopers spred out. and a corus of no contat rang out. 

Felix walked over to the secruty system, and looked at the trash gear. "Emperore damn it, the damn pirates got it,," 


Silences leaned down behind a creat, "I am not sure," she looked at one of the techpriests these wounds are dry," she touched one and brought the goody cogulated blood up to her her eye to examine, "Like there old," she shock it off Jayna was nervous, "so there more then pirates here?" as she said as she looked at the dead body looking for all the world like soem one ready to jump three feet in the air at a droped pin
"do not fret, the Emperore protects," Sience said then shifting to Xarian,
"Xarian you know bodys, how old are these?"


----------



## Epidemius

"Xarian, you know bodies, how old are these?"
Xarian kneeled to inspect a mangled corpse, "these are much too old to have been the pirates, I'd say about... 7 hours ago."
"So who did this?" said Jayna, a touch of fear in her voice.
"Do not be afraid, Jayna. whoever did this must be long gone from here now." reassured Xarian. "But I don't know who it could have been, the pirates came too late to do this. whoever it was used a knife," he said, inspecting a wound on the back of the neck. "it looks like an ambush."
Xarian saw another body nearby, he went over to it and saw that it had been completely split down the middle, blood and gore flowed out of it, but was now semi-dry. Xarian pushed it onto its back to keep Jayna from seeing.
Xarian continued to where Felix was inspecting the mainframe.
"Looks like a planted explosive," said Felix. "Someone wanted this gone, with no hope of repairs."


----------



## Serpion5

*Eseau*

_What kind of soldier is this?!_ Eseau wondered to himself as Jack replied in song. And not just any song, a hymn from Ultramar? How could this man possibly know that Eseau hailed from Ultramar? Unless... 

The Inquisitor`s words from earlier came back to his mind. He opened his senses slightly and attempted to get a reading of... Jack. 

_...my cat is safe... far from the fighting... bike is stowed in hanger... out of whiskey... no more ammo... have to walk..._

It was truly a mess to comprehend, but there didn`t seem to be any real danger from this man. 

'Are you helping the Inquisitor?' A voice called from up ahead. All seven of them snapped their weapons up, but relaxed when they saw it was Nex. 

'Report!' Eseau commanded simply. 

'Got ambushed on my way to the Inquisitor's aid, they've got the rear entrance covered but I noticed a seemingly unguarded side entrance although it could be a trap, I suggest checking for other entrances first if we have the time to do so.' Nex summarised quickly. 

'There`s no time for that.' Eseau snapped. We`re going in, and we`re going now. Move!' 

- - - 

They ran at full pace as they approached the final rung towards the hangar. Eseau struggled to keep up, and considered ditching the flak armour, then chided himself for such a foolish thought. As he ran, he shot a glance sideways to Nex. 

'Tell me Nex, why were you by yourself?' 

_(Nex answers)_

They burst through the door to the hangar, and Eseau immediately lost sight of everything as his senses bacame enraptured by the three psykers in the midddle of the hangar. They were so far beyond his power it was awe inspiring and humbling in equal measure. 

But then came the fear, the urge to live, the urge to turn and flee... 

'No!' Eseau shook his head and expelled the thoughts of cowardic from his mind. He looked up again and glimpsed his master`s bolt pistol on the floor. But there were also three pirates heading towards him, one armed with a shock maul and the other two wielding swords. 

Eseau raised his pistol and felled the first with surprising ease, then tried a second shot. It went wide and he drew his knife just as the swordsman took a swing. Eseau kicked the man`s legs out and finished him with a shot to the back of the head. He turned, trying to find where the last enemy was. 

A massive shockwave ripped through the right side of his body and a moment later he felt the cold steel of the deck slam into his back. Both of his weapons were dropped.

Lying on his back, Eseau looked up and saw the pirate looming over him with the shock maul raised high. He raised his hand, and in a flash the pirate disintegrated from the waist up. Eseau sighed in relief and pain. Forcing himself to sit upright even though he was half numb, he crawled steadily to where his master`s pistol had fallen. 

Raising his arm painfully, he took aim at the psykers. He could see Nex and Jack already preparing to engage. 

He fired, but the recoil was too much for his damaged arm and he dropped the bolt pistol. He could only hope it would make a difference enough for Jack or Nex to take advantage of...


----------



## dragonkingofthestars

*Silences*

Silence, Silence stood up from were she was kneeling. "we have been comprimised, this was not the work of pirates or even a pirate infiltrator, a Tratior." her uncomprimizeing gaze went around the room, "we need more information." she pointed at each of the strom troopers devideing them into thirds "you go with Xarian, you with Triana, the last of you with me." Xarian heads in one direction, Silences another, and Triana goes down a service corridor. she walked off to explore deeper into the engineering bay, her storm troopers, Jayna with her assured more by the pity of a sister of battle then either the Mechadendrites of Xarian or the hell gun of Felix.


----------



## Santaire

'There`s no time for that.' Eseau snapped. 'We`re going in, and we`re going now. Move!' 

--- 

They ran at full pace as they approached the final strech of corridor before the hangar's side entrance. Nex found the sprint exhilarating for it helped tense his muscles, ready for the fight ahead but he could tell the acolyte was finding it hard, Eseau was gasping for breath and gradually falling behind the group. All of a sudden he looked up at Nex and asked 'Tell me Nex, why were you by yourself?' 

Nex responded "I wasn't but I sent the last crewman who came with me to return to his post for he was wounded in the arm, a bullet from one of those damned raiders." He dived through the hangar door and brought up his hellgun, immediately opening fire on a group of pirates right in front of him. They died quickly and cleanly. He turned to wave the others on and noticed the acolyte staring, transfixed at a scene in the hangar. Three psykers were hovering in the center of the room, the air crackling around them. He also noticed that their was a huge tendril of psychic energy striking at Inquisitor Barden. He fired a volley at the psykers but that only served to turn the attention of one of them to him and he dived into cover as the ground where he had been exploded. Warriors (most likely experienced mercenaries) had entered the hangar with them through a shuttle.

The warriors noticed them and a firefight began. Suddenly a bolt shell hit one of the psykers and wounded the man terribly. Nex noticed Eseau, slumped on the floor with a bolt pistol in his hands, the barrel was smoking, and called "cover me, I'm going to get him out of there." He leapt over a barrier and began to drag the acolyte to safety.


----------



## Epidemius

Xarian watched as the others went off in other directions, all looking for clues as to finding the perpetrator of this crime. "May the Emperor be with you." he said as they walked away. Xarian approached a broken control panel, he reached out a hand to it but swiftly pulled it back as it shot sparks everywhere.
"These security mechanisms are severely damaged," he said, reaching out a manipulator Mechadentrite attachment to the panel. "Whoever did this used some kind of sharp object, a knife maybe?"
Xarian turned his attentions toward an eviscerated tech-priest. "These injuries look like like the work of a knife as well. whoever did this must favor stealth and surprise attacks, judging by how most of the wounds on the bodies are on the back or across the throat."
The troopers began to look uneasy, one of them primed his gun and nervously darted their eyes around the room.
"We should look for more clues, if we find out more we can get closer to finding the identity of the heretic; or at least anticipate what they do next."


----------



## oblivion8

"Filthy beasts"

Five pirates with an assortment of weapons, shot guns, las pistols, and clubs of various sorts made their way towards Elizabeth and Triana as they turned a corner and were spotted.

"Looksy here boys! Got our self some fresh meat to play with." said one of the pirates, seemingly the leader of the bunch.

"Let me kill em boss!" another responded, waving his shotgun in the air.

"Naw boys, put down ur guns, this meat we dont want splattered on the ground. Not until we be finished with em dat is."
The other men laughed.

"They sound like orks... repugnant" spat Elizabeth. lowering the med kit.

"Mistress, what will we do?" Fear crept into Triana's voice.

"Let's show these boys that we don't care for their thoughts" replied Liz, unsheathing her two larger knives. "Cover me with your pistol, just... take care not to shoot me in the back" Triana was swept over with a look of worry at this comment. 
"Don't worry, I've seen your aim, I'm sure you'll do fine" Said Elizabeth comfortingly. Triana's face relaxed a tad. 

"I think them girlies wanna fight boys!" Called the leader, "lets give em a nice spankin!" All the men cheered.

Elizabeth started to advance at a quick pace, the men did likewise. 
Two of them made to trip her, swinging their pipes towards her legs recklessly. Elizabeth quickly skipped up using the pipes as a step, and went around the man on the right, plunging her knife squarely in his spine. As he fell forward one of the other men dived at her, a large knife coming down upon her shoulders. Using the falling man as a stool, she dived to the man on the right, kicking off of the knife she had stabbed into him. 
Preparing to roll, she took her Medium sized knife and slit the other pipe wielding pirates neck as she flew past.

_Two down, three to go..._

She shoulder rolled onto the hard metal flooring, but was ambushed by the two other grunts on her way up, both of them grabbed a hold of her arms and pulled her in, she saw the flash of a knife... 

Three shots went off, Triana, noticing the two pirates taking advantage of her mistresses dodge, had tooken aim at the one drawing a knife. She held steady and pulled the trigger three times (better to make sure one hit).

Elizabeth felt the mans hands loosen on her left, and brought her fist around, breaking the second mans nose. She then twisted his arm using a lock on his wrist and spun around to his back. She deftly broke his neck. 

The leader wasn't just standing by at this point however, and grabbed her arm from behind, twisting her shoulder, he took her around the neck.
"Caught ya darlin" he whispered, licking her cheek.

Revolted she used the back of her head to butt him in the face. He stumbled back a few steps, keeping a firm twist on her arm. 
Elizabeth went to her waist and whipped out her scalpel, swinging it at the pirates arm. He avoided it easily.
"Time to die darlin" he snarled, reaching for the pistol on his waist.
"Such a pity, Ive been hearin that you sisters are quite pleasin whe..." He faltered, looking down at his arm he realized he had been shallowly cut by Elizabeth's scalpel.
The groups leader fell to the floor with a thump. Dead.

Triana rushed to Liz's side. "Madam, how did you..." she stood their stunned and amazed equally.

"Necrodilaxia, quite harmless to eat or apply to skin or any soft tissue, but if it enters the blood stream, it will eat at the hosts spinal chord in around ten seconds... quite deadly" She smiled revealing her scalpel, it had the faintest smell of formaldehyde and a slight grayish coating.
Elizabet laughed, then took a swift kick at the man, wiping her face off with her robes. "To think he had the audacity to..." She activated her communicator. "This is the Inquisitors medical staff, Elizabeth and Triana responding to emergency broadcast, we are on our way, unless there is any emergencies elsewhere? Waiting for response, over and out."

The two women made their way to their original destination, awaiting a response from anyone to tell them otherwise.


----------



## DasOmen

jack didn't see much of the fight, not that he cared much either way, they were targets, and the emperor demanded their deaths. as the merc ran towards the downed acolyte. jack however had other intentions... he was in the hanger, and he could feel something else in the hanger, eating away at the back of his mind despite the madness like a pillar of light shining through the darkness. his pistol was out of ammo, but he felt light shine through. rushing towards the psykers as if that was the only thing on his mind. but the pulsing in the back of his head nagged at him, calling him, the trembling rumbling music was calling his name. 

jack's bull rush wasn't unnoticed by the pirates who turned to him, same as the psykers just as a bolt smacked into one of the psykers. passing by the acolyte jack hunched down closer to the ground, snagging the smoldering shock maul in his grasp, he got about four or five steps ahead of the acolyte now being aided by the merc when he saw it, a massive pulse of energy ripping it's way through the air straight for him like a artillery round.

the blast smacked into the ground where jack had been, causing lashes and arcs of energy to ripple up from the ground creating a haze of psychic energy as it lingered from the powerful blast. jack however was nowhere to be seen. apparently vaporized by the blast itself. jack however was far from dead, not because he withstood the blast, but because about a second before impact he whipped out his mechanical arm and shot out a grapnel to whisk him away. his grapnel had latched onto the sacred repository for his bike. as jack came to it, his mind cleared, the storm inside vanished and forged anew, only this time, no longer controlled by the madness, instead it was controlled by him. 

outwardly he seemed to flip his lid as he began ranting off in a frantic manner, all varieties of litanies and incantations in high Gothic. his body mounting the bike despite the repository's arms trying to hold the bike in place. his hands folded over the handles and revved the engine violently, the bike roared to life, it's machine spirit howling out as if over taken by rage. it's thundering rumble of the engine sent vibrations through the air as it tried to break free of the arms holding it back. it's wheels spinning, trying to pull it free of the arms, they were screeching against the ground as the rubber of the tires smoked and burned. just as it seemed the repository was going to keep the bike in it's grasp, it broke free, bursting free of the machine binding it, parts of the arms flying everywhere as jack and his bike seemed to explode onto the field of battle, bike riding on a single wheel as the other was reared up in the air, engine roaring with a shock maul held high, a trail of electricity following the weapon as it's arcs lingered in the air. 

as one of the warriors from the yacht prepared to bolster the offensive of the psykers assaulting his comrades, a strange hard thump sound resonated from the man's back, pausing for a moment form the impact the man barely had a moment to ask his fellow warriors what the sound was and what hit him before he was ripped into the air, now trailing behind jack like some kind of crude and barbaric living ball and chain. making a long and wide turn in the hanger on his bike as he pushed the engine to go faster, causing the engine to roar in defiance of it's limit, jack ducked and juked on his bike, whipping his arm out and sending his "ball and chain" screaming through the air on a collision course for the psykers. the screaming living projectile tumbled through the air erratically like a rag doll as it made it's way ever closer to smacking into the psykers. jack on the other hand was in the mind to keep doing this, he'd use the psyker's own men against them in a manner of speaking.


----------



## Santaire

As he was dragging Eseau to safety Nex saw Jack runnung forward swinging a shock maul. The psykers fired a blast at him and he swung away from it on his grapnel. He landed on a case and froze. At first Nex thought the man was hit but then he remembered Jack had a motorbike. The case he was standing on probably contained it.

He watched Jack frantically loosen the bolts holding the case shut. The lid popped open and Jack climbed onto the machine. He drove the bike out into the hangar straight into the enemy. He snatched a warrior from behind and swung him behind the bike like a morning star. "I'll have to get him to teach me how to do that," Nex breathed. Then he continued to drag the acolyte to safety.

He propped the man against a wall and grabbed the bolt pistol in his hands. The weapon was uncomfortable in his hand for it had been tailored to fit Inquisitor Barden's hand and the Inquisitor's hand was smaller than his own. He raised it and aimed at the psykers. "Eat this," he snarled and pulled the trigger, once, twice, a third time.


----------



## Jackinator

(Just to insert an anti-climax here :laugh

Ferric felt the psychic assault lessening and staggering to his feet unleashed a barrage of psychic power in return. He saw that his team had made it to the hanger. Jack was on his bike, several pirates already down from his lethal ministrations while another had been hurled towards the psykers, but blasted to atoms before it could reach them. Nex was firing at the psykers using Ferric’s pistol, but the central figure had pulled one that was already wounded in front of them. The small body was blasted apart by the trio of shots and the remaining two sank to the ground, returning to the cover of their warriors.

Ferric picked up his eviscerator again, and charged forwards into a scrum of enemy soldiers, the huge chainsword sweeping round in massive arcs, taking two or three lives with each swing while Ferric immolated more with his mind. Then he suddenly found himself alone, the group from the yacht were withdrawing.

The psykers were falling back with them, lashing out with their minds, Ferric stood against it, buffeted by the waves of psychic power. But others were not so fortunate as he, he saw two storm troopers disintegrate and others of his team thrown back by their psychic attacks. Then, just as quickly, they were gone.
________________________________________________________________

Ferric sparred with the droids, his lean muscular body dripping with sweat as he knocked away a blow then hit the contact pad on the training droid’s chest. His chest heaved as the final droid of eight shuddered to a halt, then he strode over to the bench, snatching up a bottle of water and taking huge gulps. He watched as Eseau took his turn, this time with only four droids.

All: The fight with the pirates and other boarders has concluded and you have emerged victorius. Now is the time to relax and recover, perhaps taking the opportunity to train in the ships gymnasium.

Elizabeth: You are finishing off in the infirmary, you have already treated Eseau, what did you think of him? However, you now only have a few patients left, once you have finished you can return to your quarters or head to the gymnasium to train, once you arrive there you see the Inquisitor and his acolyte’s in the corner, Eseau is training on the sparring machine while Jayna and the Inquisitor look on. You can either join them or continue your own training by yourself.

Jack: You are tending to your bike, it suffered some damage in the skirmish so you are repairing it. Has your gyrinx joined you? What are your thoughts on the rest of the team now that you have seen some of them in action?

Macto: The firing range is empty except for you, you refine your abilities, setting yourself more difficult challenges each time. You have seen the acolyte and the guardsmen in combat now. What are your thoughts of them and the future?

Eseau: You and Jayna are training with the Inquisitor, you observe him, talking to your fellow acolyte and perhaps attempting your "temptations" with her? When the Inquisitor has finished you enter the arena and spar with the drones. After your session it is Jayna's turn and you have a chance to talk to the Inquisitor alone...


----------



## dragonkingofthestars

*Silences*

The pirates had been delt with and she planed to drop the melt gun she took off a pirate to the armory, then work on a project, not looking after her gear, but she to talk to the Inquisitor.

Fresh from the engineering bay Sister Silences made her way to the gymnasium. she made her way though the hall way skirting every now and then the puddle of blood or the dead man not yet taken away. Silences got to the heavy blast doors that marked any room of a space ship and entered the gym. 

Inside she saw each of Inquisitor Barden acolytes sparing with each other and the Inquisitor. she took a breath and walked toward them, sudenly aware of the fact she was stll in her power armor by the light ringing of cermic on stell flooring, till it turned to the pad of rubber mats. 

she walked to put her self in clear view of teh Inquisitor to make sure he knew she would like a word with him, but made no move to get closer or to interupte as he was in the middle of his drills with the Acolytes.

and you don't interupted a Inquisitor. Ever.


----------



## oblivion8

Elizabeth removed her sterile gloves and began to make her way out of the infirmary. She had treated sixteen in total, a modest sum considering the circumstances. Three had died.

She had even had to treat the Inquisitors own acolyte for slight lacerations and a mild fractured wrist. In all, she had found him an unpleasant patient, continuously demanding his return to duty, claiming he was fine. Elizabeth new fine, and Eseau may very well be "fine", but fines build up and become problems, and Elizabeth wasn't going to allow any of the inquisitors personal retinue to come under physical duress. 

A day had past since she had hospitalized him, and he had the audacity to try and leave without informing her. She was furious, and made a comment on why such a man with such a position would ever fall to such simple foes as renegade pirates. She may have even asked why he bothered being the Inquisitors bodyguard or some such comment, she did not remember. He had replied that....

-Space for Eseau to comment on his reply to Elizabeth's outburst-

She didn't nessasarily mean all of it, most of it was anger, and she did respect the man quite a bit, she just wished her patents wouldn't "know beter" alll the time. All in all though, she had kept him in bed the rest of the day as medical order (punishment) and clearly made her point that if he ever wanted future help, he would heed the doctors orders.

---

Elizabeth wanted some extra sparring practice after the recent pirate raid, and asked for Triana to attend with her (I assumed jackintor, that you meant Jayna when you were referencing Triana in Eseau's instructions?). The two of them made their way into the gymnasium aboard the ship, quite sparkly and new compared to some less desirable frigates she had the pleasure of riding in. She decided that she wanted to try some disabling pressure points and asked if anyone cared to spar with her. (I don't know what you wanted Triana to do jackinator, feel free to control her actions in the gym)

-Anyone is free to fight Liz, I dunno who is better or worse, maybe a pm to get it straight, or jackinators decision.  -


----------



## DasOmen

jack's bike was in such a shape that it was obvious to anyone with even half a brain that it had seen better days. even a ork mek boy would say "dat bike's got a bitz and richez mizzing boss" or "it's all shot up boss" jack on the other hand, attempting to fix his bike, didn't fare to well. he was no acolyte of the machine cult, and his insanity didn't help either.

his mind was a bit of a wreck too, more so than normal. he had been "sober" for quite a while, though jack sober meant jack a little more deranged than normal. frequent twitching, drawing his gun on anything that moved, and the constant mutterings to himself ranging from what kind of cheese the emperor had for his last meal to the dietary concerns of persons serving in black watch, even to the grooming habits of squigs and other assorted animals. and all of this was without him noticing it, or realizing it, not that he ever relay noticed in the first place. 

he could feel eyes glaring at him, angry at him, dissapointed at him. "you let them get away! they are not all dead and that which they have stolen from the empire has not been returned! you have failed me jack! FAILED ME! you have FAILED the empire!" the repeating bludgeoning from this voice kept bashing him mentally upside the head, jack's physical body seemed to recoil as if it was actually being beaten, mechanical arm the only thing not responding to the non existent beatings as it toiled away at the bike, making repairs and patches. his human arm moved to clutch his side as if a pike had been rammed into it, his body buckled a bit, hunching over trembling, mechanical arm not giving a shit and continued to work. 

his mind began flashing back after a particularity forceful mental blow. recounting everything in reverse that had just happened, everything that had happened for three to four years now, till it all stopped, and things began to play out in his mind. 

jack was waiting outside the inquisitor's chambers on titan, his acolyte was there, not yet in a meeting, no, his attention was focused on another, a girl who was also in the service of another inquisitor. he could see them both, his vision clear as he watched them. his mind fast forwarding greatly to the present, then back again, back much much further till when jack was in the service of the empire as a simple guardsmen, a rough rider in the empire's military. it had re-winded to when he was confronting the commissar, when he was still sane... but his mind had snapped that day, he relived the severing of his own arm, he felt every blade of the commissar's chainsword rip into his flesh, tearing through it all and shredding it. he saw everything again, relived stringing up the commissar after beating him to death with his own severed arm and fighting off a tyranid infestation all at the same time as stringing him up. the psychic screams of the nids had shattered his mind, the clawing and tearing was more than most could bare. he could feel his body loosing blood, feel it going limp, as he slumped against the statue of the emperor at the shrine. he saw time pass by, then he saw him, the inquisitor... for reasons he still didn't know, the inquisitor had him tended to, and stabilized. he still remembered the stims and the medipacks being pumped into his body to stabilize him. the combination of chemicals and the psychic screams from the tyranids had torn his mind asunder. the whole mechanical arm grafting to his frame didn't help matters either.

his mind recoiled, everything snapping back at once as he heard it. the thump of flesh and fur. his mind recoiling with pain... and then, blind rage as he heard the feline cry of his cat. everything snapped back at once. just as the guardsmen was about to thump the cat again, jack's his leg was ripped out from under him, and his body skidded across the floor violently. a whip like black line reaching from jack's arm to the man in question. the loud crash of a storm trooper colliding rather forcefully with several crates pierced the normal noises of the hanger. his Gyrinx limping towards it's owner just as the trooper climbed out of the pile of crates he had been hurled into. thinking the cat had done it, he rushed the cat in a attempt to punt it. the mere notion of hostility didn't take too well in jack's mind, especially considering it was his cat... and he had always been known to be fiercely protective of it in his three years of service of the inquisitor. 

jack's grapnel lashed out once more, snatching the man by the neck and yanking him through the air till he was in jack's metal grasping hand, that was slowly crushing his windpipe. jack didn't speak, instead his free hand removed his las pistol, and pressed it so hard into the trooper's faceplate, that the trooper's visor cracked. the only thing that got jack to stop, was his cat clawing at his leg wanting to be picked up. jack released the man and picked up his cat. petting it softly.and holding it close. 

his cat looked up to him, as if to ask a question, it's voice ringing in his head in a soothing pattern, lulling the rage in his system to nonexistence.

"the merc has his heart in the right place, too keen on normal tactics, too easy to predict his actions. good actions, but actions that are easy to predict. the acolyte is brave, as always the acolyte is brave.... needs to train more with bolt weapons... much more. the sister's of battle? i do not worry about them. they can neither be corrupted nore can their faith be shaken. the tech priest worries me... too often alone, same with others... this attack was planned. meant to divert us, carefully thought out and executed. could have taken us if they wanted to, killed us all, destroyed us before we reach our destination. but that was not their intention... what was then? need to bring this up with the inq.... no, no lion, must not ask of that... i will be equipped according to the inquisitor's desires. if he wishes me to be outfitted with a weapon, it will happen. if not, i stick to my current gear. no i cant use the heavy bolter, i have one mechanical arm, not two. i would need a bipod for it, or heavily modify the design. i can use it yes, but not without getting everyone who worships the machine cult rather angry at me. yes, yes i need more whiskey"

it was during jack's seemingly mindless rantings that the other troopers in the area pulled the bloodied stormtrooper away before he could do anything else that would likely result in his death.


----------



## Epidemius

Xarian slumped against the wall, warm liquid streaming down his arm. reaching to his shoulder, he felt a knife lodged in place. It was a deep wound, and the blade was serrated, so he didn't want to risk pulling it out. He needed help, quickly. The storm-troopers he came with were all dead, they were attacked by a group of, what were they, pirates? They had stealthily snuck through the shadows towards the group, then assaulted them with a hail of throwing knives. many of the others were killed outright, and Xarian was hit bad in the shoulder.
Now he lay against a wall, paling from from blood-loss, with his sanity starting to deteriorate. He had been berated by the visions and the sights of chaos for too long, and what had happened was no help.
He was far from the others, and it was dark. he felt himself fading.
"I must... get... help..." he said weakly, beginning to rise. He felt a sharp pain in his skull and collapsed, falling into oblivion...


----------



## Serpion5

*Eseau*

Eseau was scratching at the bandaging he had been burdened with by the sister hospitaller, more than a little peeved at how stubborn she had been. She had all but kept him imprisoned against his will, and when he had tried to leave, even had the nerve to insult his worth as an inquisitor. 

_'My calling means far more than being good with a gun or a sword, woman. Do you have any idea how much time I must devote to studying?'_ He had replied. 

Perhaps hypocritical, the first stop Eseau had made after his release was to Join Barden and Jayna in a sparring session. Following the encounter with the pirates, Eseau had reluctantly concluded that he did indeed need to train more in combat arts, and to hell with what that bitch in the infirmary thought of him... 

He was waiting now beside Jayna as Barden practised in the cages. 

'He`s rather good, isn`t he?' Jayna observed, captivated by the inquisitor`s prowess and ferocity against eight combat servitors. Though they were merely training dummies, they were still worthy foes for most and could cause severe injury if taken lightly. 

'Yes, he is.' Eseau agreed, quite enjoying Jayna`s company. 'I cannot boast that skill, I`m afraid. Officer training in Ultramar is rather tedious and I had little time for drills and such. Actually, not a great deal has changed since I enlisted as Barden`s apprentice.' 

'Well, you`re here now, making an effort.' Jayna nodded. 'Let`s see what you can do.' She motioned to the cages as Barden exited, panting and grinning with satisfaction. Eseau stepped forward, losing his coat as he did so. He stepped into the cage a little nervously. 

Four of the training dummies activated. Barden had given him four opponents, perhaps thinking he wasn`t ready for more? 

_We`ll see._ Eseau thought. Dropping into a combat stance, the fighting began. For seven and a half minutes, Eseau ducked and weaved, striking blow after blow where he could until the last of the servitors had registered sufficient damage and shut down. The effort was exhausting, but Eseau felt oddly satisfied. 

Stepping outside, he gave a nod to Jayna in her training gear, a tight fitting bodyglove that matched her form perfectly... 

'Eseau!' Barden`s voice snapped the acolyte back to focus as the cage closed behind him. Eseau flustered and hurried to stand beside his master. He didn`t think Jayna had noticed. 

'Yes, Master?' He asked, trying not to be distracted. Jayna was fighting six training dummies. Oh, how she moved... 

'What have you found out?' Barden demanded in a low voice. 

'Well,' Eseau began...


----------



## Santaire

Nex lowered the rifle. He had been testing out the myriad guns in the inquisitors armoury. He was growing acustomed to the comforatable feel of the long las and hoped he would be allowed to keep it. There was something about the feel of it in his hands that made him feel powerful. He rufelly remembered the fight in the hangar. The rounds from that bolt pistol had torn one of the psykers into bloody ribbons with there explosive charges.

He had handed the pistol back to the inquisitor and made his way to the firing range. The area around the amoury was a bloody mess. Xarian and his servitors had obviously put up an amazing fight for it seemed there were more dead pirates clustered there than anywhere else. 

He scratched at the bandage on his leg. He had taken a las round through his right thigh and it still stung. A cheerful but strict sister hospitaller who hadn't let him leave until she had double checked everything.

Nex had been unperturbed, he had faced his share of overly concerned medics but he could tell Eseau had been annoyed by her stubborness and had complained. He half smiled, remembering the sister's cold reply. He decided to go and ask the quatermaster if he could keep the rifle. 

He reached the armoury and the quatermaster agreed to let him keep the sniper. He slung it onto his back and began walking to the gym to practice close quaters combat.

On the way he saw a pool of blood poking out of a side corridor. He turned down it and witnessed a scene of devestation. There were Storm Troopers lying dead in pools of their own blood and gore splattered on the walls. There were throwing knives embedded to the hilt in them and there was Xarian with one in his shoulder.

"Xarian," he shouted and ran up to him. The man was still breathing but he was loosing blood at a horrific rate and had fallen unconcious because of it. Nex picked him up and sprinted down the corridors to the infirmary, he laid Xarian down on a table and shouted "medic, Elizabeth, somebody."


----------



## Jackinator

The vox in the gymnasium crackled into life and Macto's voice came through, the readout said that he was transmitting from the medical bay. Barden nodded to Elizabeth, stepping back from her on the sparring mat, "go, you are needed."

He turned from the medic and started towards the acolytes, as he did so he felt the shudder of the ship docking. They had arrived at the orbital platform above Caterva, and the primary orbital entry point for the capital city. It was well run by the munitorium but like all such places it had it's own shadowy side, a thriving criminal underworld growing up around the ships that docked there. Smugglers to brothel owners made their livings there while a dark group of crime bosses ran the lower decks, the area too dangerous for station peacekeepers to venture into.

"It seems we will not have much time for you to explain your suspicions to me, we need instead to find out as quickly as possible, Jayna, your assistance would be appreciated." Turning, the three strode from the gymnasium.

Elizabeth: You must return to the medical bay to help Xarian, he is badly wounded and delirious, having lost a lot of blood. You will have to fight hard for his life.

Xarian: You have lost a lot of blood and as you slip in and out of consciousness you begin to remember events from your past as well as events that do not belong in your memory. As you lie there on the medical slab you can feel your life slipping away, even as Elizabeth struggles to save you.

Eseau: You and Jayna accompany the Inquisitor to the ships brig and he shows you the hidden room within. It is an interrogation room, though clean and well kept it is still rife with the stink of pain and fear for the Inquisitor is not a man to be lied to. Here he gives you your instructions, you are to follow your discoveries and bring in members of the team who have aroused your suspicions, this may include NPCs. However, Barden makes it clear that there is to be no physical torture, you must begin with questioning, torture may come later. The Inquisitor will sit in on this, observing your and Jayna's abilities but he will make no input. The only characters exempt from this are Elizabeth and Xarian, for obvious reasons. However, that is only for now...

Macto, Jack, Silences: You carry on from what you were doing previously, although you are now aware of having docked. Bear in mind your prescence may be requested.


----------



## dragonkingofthestars

_humm seems the Inqusitor knows bout the tratior,,, _Silences thought _so why ht hell was i wasteing time just watching him?_ she shurgged, she had no way of knowing the Inqusitor knew, as far as she knew no one had told him.

she shugged, she had to take her armor off, tend to its systems (two posts woth of time) then she would swing back to the gym.


----------



## Santaire

"Will he be alright," Nex asked Elizabeth for Xarian was still obviously in considerable pain but had stabilised slightly. (Gives Elizabeth chance to respond.) "I'd better go," and with that Nex walked out of the room.

He walked down to the gymnasium, his feet padding softly down the long corridors. He entered the gym and saw the sister of battle removing her armour with evident care. He shrugged the guns off his shoulders and pulled the armour over his head and then walked into the centre of the training area and took up a fighting stance. He held his dagger in his right hand low in front of him and had his left hand curled into a fist to block any blows. He was leaning on his back foot slightly in a position that was perfect to dodge from.

It was a mixture of fighting styles but it worked. As the 6 training bots moved towards him he snarled and suddenly lunged forward, striking the foremost one in the chest with a thrust that easily activated the combat plate. He dodged back as another one lunged at him. He ducked and weaved and rolled and lunged and hacked and after five minutes came fresh faced and heavily breathing from the exhilirating combat. All 6 of the drones were down with scratched contact plates. He walked over to a shower and stepped under the water. He came out and pulled on his armour before picking up his stuff and begining to walk back to his cabin.

He checked on Xarian on the way and the man looked in a lot better condition, no doubt about it, the hospitaller was a miracle worker. He sat in the cramped room and reflected over what had happened. He picked up his hellgun and the new sniper and began to adjust them, thinking about what was to come.


----------



## oblivion8

Elizabeth had finished her third bout with the Inquisitor when she got an emergency call, Xarian had been seriously injured and required immediate medical attention. 
Not having time to change, she rushed to the infirmary. There Xarian lay, body matted with blood. 
She and the nurses worked for hours. He had had his arm and leg broken, in various places, obviously the attacker was very aggressive in his moves, probably due to rush. The most difficult part however was Xarian's neck. It appeared that the attacker had tried to slit his throat, however Xarian must have been pushing the knife back because it only managed to go halfway in, either that or the attacker was sloppy. Xarian was thankfully not stupid however, and had scrunched his body up, and wrapped something tightly around his throat, slowing the blood, and allowing him to gasp air.
The broken bits were not the problem, and Elizabeth had allowed them to lay. 
As Triana handed her the tube which would be placed within his neck during the surgery (to allow him to breathe), Nex had came by. 

"It's lucky you came by when you did" said Elizabeth, "he probably wouldn't have survived much longer".
"Will he be alright?" asked Nex.
Elizabeth paused in thought. "...He will most likely recover, as long as we keep air moving towards the brain, we can get his throat patched up".
Nex looked relieved, then left.

They started the operation, they carefully but quickly opened up his neck, and slid the tube down one end and pushed it up towards his mouth. They then electrolyzed the tubing, which caused it to expand, until it gently pushed against the throat, more or less replacing it for now. Then the procedure began. Nex came back an hour and a half later, and stood at the window, then moved on.


----------



## Serpion5

*Eseau*

Following the brief discussion between Barden and Eseau, the three of them left the training hall just as soon as Jayna was finished with her sparring practice. Barden led them to the brig, and activated a panel hidden on the wall. 

Eseau and Jayna were a little surprised to see the emergence of a hidden door, and the room it contained in a secluded corner of the prison block. 

'I`d hoped this wouldn`t be necessary.' Barden said, almost sadly. 'But it would seem there is more to our crew than meets the eye. I would like to see you act on your suspicions. Remember, nobody is above your authority.' 

'Understood, Master.' Eseau replied. Jayna bowed and the two of them left. 

They were silent for a time until they reached a junction in the outside corridor.

'Suspicions?' Jayna asked. 

'A few.' Eseau replied. 'What about you?' 

'Not so much.' Jayna replied. 'Maybe I`m not cut out for this.' 

'Don`t doubt yourself now.' Eseau said encouragingly. 'Tell you what, can you do me a favour? There`s a merc on board, seems a little unstable. He doesn`t seem like a bad guy, but all the same, think you could tail him while I check out another lead? Try not to let him see ya.' 

'Alright.' Jayna nodded and set off to look for Jack. 

Meanwhile, Eseau checked the clip on his pistol and adjusted the belt that held his sword. His coat concealed his weapons, but they may be needed nevertheless. He pondered his suspect as he travelled towards the man`s quarters. 

Macto Nex. He had been seemingly alone during the confusion earlier, and now he was supposedly the first on the scene when someone was attacked? 

First things first, Eseau visited the infirmary and enquired from an orderly the presence of Macto Nex. Apparently he had visited several times. 

_It could be genuine concern, or he could be hoping that Xarian dies._ Eseau thought. 

He shot a glance to the hospitaller. 'I trust he is in good hands.'

- - - 

A short time later, Eseau stood at the door the Nex`s cabin. He instigated his inquisitorial seal and overrode the security systems in place, unlocking the door. 

'Macto Nex.' Eseau said, stepping into the room. He mustered as much confidence as he could when he spoke. 'Regarding the events of earlier, I have further questions for you. Please, come with me.'


----------



## oblivion8

Eseau had entered half an hour into operations. 
He asked a question, but Elizabeth was to concentrated to answer.

"I trust he is in good hands?" he had asked. Triana handed the bonding gel to Liz, and approached the acolyte. "Sorry sir, but I would ask that you not disturb the mistress whilst she is in surgery. I can personally assure you however, that Mr. Xarian is in the best of hands." She gave him a smile, then went back to hand Elizabeth a scalpel.


----------



## DasOmen

jack contenued working, his bike was almost fixed by the time the acolite came to the vehicle bay. jack didn't seem to notice her in the least. his cat on the other hand, as soon as she entered the vechile bay, was stairing at her, not just "oh it's a person" but more so "hmmm will she pet me?" or one that may have been slightly creepy coming from the cat, a sense of knowing her task was in it's eyes. jack contenued working despite all this though, fueling up his bike, tightening newly placed bolts holding on plates of armor. but with her approach, as silent as it was while she moved into a more opportune observation position, jack stopped what he was doing, wiping his hands off on a rag and standing up. his cat still on his shoulder, still staring at her. 

turning his head jack's eyes would meet the female acolite's, and for a moment, she must have been gratefull that she didn't have psycic potential, for the madness in his mind was echoed in his eyes like a window to another world. one could almost see the twisted world painted in his mind though his eyes like they were a portal to another realm. jack watched her, eyes never leaving her for a moment, even as she turned and attempted to look like she was here for something else. but jack saw more than most gave him credit for. he could see the reason she was here, it was in her movements, her posture, her incredibly subtle hesitations. his mind began racking itself to the tenth degree as he thought more on her other bits, the postures, the accent, the way she walked, everything was being taken in, until he saw her glance his way subtly once more, using a reflection off of a reflection to keep a eye on him. this sneaking around wouldn't do for jack though... not in the least. most guardsmen would keep their distance, stay away and leave the acolyte be to her work for fear of being charged with heresy... jack however, was not in any regards, a normal guardsmen... and did what most others would cringe at, he approached her.


"your actions betray your purpose acolyte from (insert her home planet's name here). it's in your actions, the way you walk, how you move, carry yourself, your accent, the tone in your voice, how your eyes shift, that little motion you make with your hands when you feel uneasy about something, the way you turn yourself to your side when you're thinking about things. i see your actions Jayna, and they tell me your intent before you even need to speak. " jack was obviously crazy, the fact that he had switched hats five different times while talking to her kinda shouted that to some level. taking off his mechanic's grease hat, then putting on a simple white cap, to a fez, then a Sergent's Barret, and then a large wide brimmed hat that almost mirrored the hat worn by the witch hunters without threatening heresy. 

"your posture now shows self doubt, self doubt that is uneeded... you will be well in the inquisitor's care, you will grow up to be a wonderfull servant of the emperor and you will draw your own line in the sand Jayna. now, that is not accurate. you have already drawn your line in the sand. and i have crossed it. " jack seemed to show symptoms of regret and remorse to some level, signs of sadness littered him to some degree. "you have questions for me, answers that you seek". he'd wait for a moment, apparently lost in thought. 

"the recent attack is troubling, could have killed us all, destroyed our ship and looted the remains, the entire thing felt like a trap, but the trap was never sprung. chaos taints this sector Jayna, make no mistake. it's hold here is well beyond what anyone is willing to admit... have already gone over logistics, must convey findings to inquisitor. however, i am being sought out for another reason. you suspect me of being the traitor. understood. " with a simple motion, jack gave the signal for most if not all of the guardsmen in the vehicle bay leave the room. what he did next was a tad strange. he removed his jacket, revealing his metal arm, and his heavily tattooed arm complete with the purity seal that was scribed into his flesh. 

"by my actions i have braught suspision upon myself, caused the inquisitor to question my loyalty. i must make amends. please acolite Jayna, take me in for questioning, interrogate me, torture me, string me up and impale me into a penance engine to force the truth from my lips, i go freely with you to be questioned. for if i have betrayed the emperor, i deserve no less than to burn by his light. " softly after this, he'd begin to sing, weaving a song from her home planet. his voice was soft, a attempt at comfort was made, though he kept his posture professional and blatantly in penance, bowed to her at a knee.


----------



## Santaire

"Macto Nex." Eseau said, stepping into the room. Nex regarded him coldly, he was halfway through adjusting the sniper rifle, he saw the acolyte muster his courage before speaking "Regarding the events of earlier, I have further questions for you. Please, come with me." Nex stood and followed the acolyte out of the room.

On the way he was wondering what the acolyte must want with him. The man seemed nervous, even scared of him, which struck him as odd but he decided to not worry about it. They passed through the corridors into an area of the ship he had not explored before and he took care to note every nook and turning point.

They stopped at a door and Eseau used his inquisitorial seal to open it, that must have been how he had entered Nex's room, and they stepped through into a clean room that was bare save for two chairs in the center. The room was too clean Nex thought uneasily for unless they wanted to get rid of all signs of previous use no one would have scrubbed it so thoroughly. Nex sat in one of the chairs and the acolyte sat opposite him.

"So Nex," Eseau began...


----------



## Serpion5

*Eseau*

Eseau sat in a chair opposite where Nex had sat down. For a few moments he was silent, content to simply wait and see if the merc would betray any signs of guilt. It was highly unlikely but still worth a look see. There was no way of knowing how much interaction Nex had with the Inquisition prior to landing in Barden`s service. 

He extended his telepathic sense a little, seeing if there was any trace of guilt, but for the moment at least, Macto`s mind was well shielded... 

--- --- ---​
Jayna was a little taken back. Was it unusual for a member of the Inquisitor`s retinue to actually _confess_ before any form of interrogation had even begun? She couldn`t begin to understand this, but the man had practically begged to be taken in, so she felt the polite thing to do would be oblige... 

'You are willingly giving yourself to my custody?' She asked redundantly, as Jack simply knealt before her. 

'Then come with me.' She said. 

Jayna led the man to the same room only to find it already occupied. Two Stormtroopers barred the way in, while another two appeared to take custody of Jack. 

'We will wait here, Sir.' She said. 'Until your interrogation.' 

--- --- ---​
'So Nex...' Eseau began. 'When the pirates invaded, you seemed to be out on your own there. Granted the merc Jack was nearby, but he does not seem lucid enough to accurately recall your presence. His memories are tenuous at best.' Eseau thought it prudent to inform Nex that he did indeed have knowledge that Jack had been close by. 

Barden stirred slightly in the far darkened corner of the room, but whether or not Nex noticed Eseau couldn`t tell. 

'I want to know why you were alone so long after the attack begun.' Eseau explained. 'And furthermore, when Xarian was injured, you were quite conveniently the first on the scene. It appears quite well calculated from my point of view.' He paused for a moment, Nex did not yet speak up. 

'You see,' Eseau continued. 'It _almost_ looks as if you attacked Xarian, injured him to a point of no recovery, then set yourself up as a timely saviour already knowing he was as good as dead. This is just how it seems to me, I`m not actually accusing you of anything. Not yet anyway.' 

Eseau played with the ring on his finger in a calculated move. Whether or not he was actually succeeding in intimidating the warrior was anyone`s guess, but the feel of the familiar weapon still offered some small measure of reassurance to the acolyte.


----------



## Santaire

...'When the pirates invaded, you seemed to be out on your own there. Granted the merc Jack was nearby, but he does not seem lucid enough to accurately recall your presence. His memories are tenuous at best.' Nex had not realised that Jack had been close by but he showed no emotion. 

'I want to know why you were alone so long after the attack begun.' Eseau explained. 'And furthermore, when Xarian was injured, you were quite conveniently the first on the scene. It appears quite well calculated from my point of view.' He paused for a moment, Nex stayed silent but inside he was in turmoil

'You see,' the acolyte continued. 'It almost looks as if you attacked Xarian, injured him to a point of no recovery, then set yourself up as a timely saviour already knowing he was as good as dead. This is just how it seems to me, I`m not actually accusing you of anything. Not yet anyway.' 

Eseau played with the ring on his finger in a move that was obviously designed to intimidate him. Nex did not move, knowing that such a weapon was a one shot piece and Eseau had already used it but the feel of the familiar weapon obviously still offered him some small measure of reassurance.

Nex leant back, "you think I am a traitor," he asked bluntly. The acolyte spluttered, obviously suprised that Nex had worked out why he was wanted so soon, "and I guess you are going to interrogate me and if I don't give any damning or redeeming evidence you will move on to torture," Nex continued. "Well if there is one thing I know it is that a lot of inquisitors have a habit of twisting stories to suit there own needs." He sat back "unless there is someone else who is trustworthy listening I will not say anything."


----------



## DasOmen

jack followed his captor rather contently. though as they arrived outside the interrogation room, jack's eyes turned to the female acolyte. "you needn't worry so much, you worry about your own ability, if this is really what your lot in life is supposed to be. these concerns are normal, but unneeded". pausing for a moment as he let his words soak in. the stormtroopers kept their guns trained on jack, most knew better to let their guard down around him if he was going to attack something. but he soon put their concerns to rest, as he removed his mechanical arm with his flesh and bone one. metal limb sitting in his grasp. 

"the inquisitor has faith in you future inquisitor, as do a great deal of us. three years ago, Eseau and you were on titan, outside the inquisitor's office after a meeting. " jacks next words were the exact words the two said to each other, his body mimicked their motions during that conversation neigh exactly save for the whole one arm thing. when all was said and done, jack was still standing there, cat rubbing it's cheek against his face as he stood there, awaiting his interrogation. "you know i still don't know why the inquisitor keeps me around. no idea why he saved me, me, of all people. simple guardsmen. the saying the emperor protects holds true" he thought for a few moments. leaning up against the wall as he waited for everything. "the merc is troubled, troubled by his past, it's easy to see it in his eyes. he isn't the type at first glance to make the same mistake twice... second glance is debatable. the sisters of battle aren't of concern, they cant be tainted... ok tainted by human desires of procreation is a different story but their standards are so astronomical the chance of having one of them desire someone is the same chance of having the emperor himself deliver a package of food rations to a oppressed factory worker out on the fringe, rags and all. i've heard stories of their priests though, wont mention those... bad to mention those... questions about the tech priest though. his mask, trouble it is... not needed, not normal, unnatural for one to wear one, there is simply no need. skin damaged beyond repair? remove it, polish bone, use implants to prevent biological decay. hide a scar of chaos on his bare flesh? no, reason before stated that not likely... can think of one other reason though, hiding something yes. very much so. the mechanicus has a enemy, just as the empire has chaos, the mechanicus has the dark mechanicus...just as the forces of chaos know how to scar someone, so do the enemies of our allies. easy to remove wounds to the flesh. wounds to the bone however? much more difficult. suspect he hides a hereteck mark under that mask. the tech priest was alone a lot... " he added, his mind trying to play out the events that could have transpired. 

"but that is for later. for now, i face the emperor's justice, and i face it with few regrets" he finished, now just simple mutterings of countless litanies and ballids of protection and purafication. by the throne did jack need whiskey. hopefully someone who knew him, such as the inquisitor would give him some to put a calm in his mind so Eseau could penetrate the storm within.


----------



## Serpion5

*Eseau*

'Unless there is someone else who is trustworthy listening I will not say anything.' Nex replied bluntly. 

Eseau was a little surprised that his overture was so transparent, but then again there was little he really needed to hide. 

'Do you trust your own master?' Barden spoke up suddenly, drawing both of their attentions. 'Macto Nex, do not for one minute think that you are above the authority of others simply because you are in my employ. In the end, even I must answer to my fellows just as they must answer to me.' 

He paused, letting his words sink in before continuing: 'For you to show such blunt disrespect to someone who is for all intents and purposes you superior is an insult. In this room, Eseau carries my authority. You wish to be proven innocent? Then you will need to prove it yourself.' 

Barden stepped back, motioning for Eseau to continue. Eseau nodded in gratitude. 

'Well there you have it.' He said, turning back to Nex. 'I`m sure we can both trust our Master to keep an open mind, now if it pleases you perhaps we could continue?' 

Eseau glared back at Nex and awaited a reply, his Master`s support lending him more confidence.

- - -​
Jayna was astonished. Jack had recited the meeting she had shared with Barden and Eseau from years ago? Clearly Eseau was right to have concerns over this man, but he had seemed to believe that Jack was not a threat. 

But even so, a psyker like Eseau could be fooled, particularly since he was technically a low level psyker and still in the course of his psychic training. 

Jayna held her silence, troubled but committed to seeing this through. She hoped Eseau and Barden would not be too much longer...


----------



## Santaire

'Do you trust your own master?' Barden spoke up suddenly, drawing both of their attentions. 'Macto Nex, do not for one minute think that you are above the authority of others simply because you are in my employ. In the end, even I must answer to my fellows just as they must answer to me.' 

He paused, letting his words sink in before continuing: 'For you to show such blunt disrespect to someone who is for all intents and purposes you superior is an insult. In this room, Eseau carries my authority. You wish to be proven innocent? Then you will need to prove it yourself.' Barden stepped back, motioning for Eseau to continue. Eseau nodded in gratitude. 

'Well there you have it.' He turned back 'I`m sure we can both trust our Master to keep an open mind, now if it pleases you perhaps we could continue?' 

The acolyte glared at Nex, awaiting a reply, obviously emboldened by his master's support and help.

Nex sat back, "Inquisitor, I do not presume that I am above Eseau but I wish to hear his reasons for choosing me out of all the others. Surely I am not the only one to be suspected on this ship."

The Inquisitor replied "you are merely the first to be interrogated Nex and you will not be the last so answer Eseau's questions truthfully or I shall go through your mind and find out the answers for myself."


----------



## Epidemius

Xarian's eyes opened suddenly and he awoke with a start. as his vision slowly cleared he realized he was in an infirmary, Elizabeth stood by a sink washing a scalpel. 
Xarian touched his shoulder, it stung a bit but it was no longer an open wound. he could feel the sewed up parts of the cut. his throat also felt strange.
He weakly said to Elizabeth, "What happened? Where am I?"
He remembered the shrouded figures that had attacked him. The others were slaughtered, but Xarian had luckily only received the shoulder wound. he had to fight then. he looked at his drill mechadentrite attatchment, it was dulled and stained with blood. strangely, he smiled. he loved to fight.


----------



## oblivion8

> "What happened? Where am I?"


"Why its good to see you regain conciseness." Elizabeth stated, washing the final stain of blood from her knife, the blood slowly swirling into the surprisingly clean sink.

"As I am sure you are aware, you were attacked" Elizabeth straightened her robes, and came over to the surgery table. "You received some traumatic wounds, you should be happy to be alive."

Xarian struggled to sit up, but Elizabeth put a hand on his chest and gently shoved him back into a laying position.
"Your leg still has three breaks, I strongly suggest you don't get up, your operations are not yet fully complete."

"We needed to reseal your neck, not an easy procedure. Right now you have some electro-tubing in your throat to allow you to breathe, your neck itself is stitched up, but the throat muscles are in the process of rapidly regenerating. You may feel a tingling itchy sensation in your throat, I would suggest you don't scratch at it, you may open the stitches. Additionally, you will be unable to eat for twenty eight hours or so, the food could get caught in the tubing and start to rot. We will remove the tubing after the healing has sealed your throat tissues back together." She stood there as Xarian rubbed at his neck.

"Your arm is better though, it was only broken near the shoulder, a simple surgery allowed us to join the bone back together."


----------



## Jackinator

The command orb of the orbital platform hummed with activity, each member of the crew knew exactly what they needed to do it and they scurried about on their business with clear purpose. Commander Dalglish smiled at her crew's efficiency, the trade of a thousand worlds flowed easily through the nervous centre of this vast system, as it had done for thousands of years.

She strode back to her command throne and set, inter-linking with the systems through the delicate augmetics integrated into the back of her cranium. She felt herself slip into the platform, the sensors of the construct becoming her nerves, it's cameras her eyes and it's weapons he arms. Her consciousness reached out into the station, editing protocols, diverting guard patrols, sending messages. "Ma'am", a young ensign had approached her chair and she was pulled back to reality, irritated, she sent a brief command to the servitors flanking her command throne and one turned. The man hit the deck, hard.

Panic ensued in the command orb as the servitors opened up, the hull was reinforced, even the heavy calibre bullets of the heavy bolters couldn't penetrate it here. Soon the command orb was sealed off, the commander was alone with the two heavy duty combat servitors, the Inquisitor's ship had docked and they clearly didn't realise that there was a tracker on-board. Smiling grimly she diverted more of the peace-keepers to the docking tube of the rogue trader, false reports of pirates, dissidents and separatists gave the stations 'police force' plenty of reasons to shoot to kill. She certainly didn't want to give the Inquisition time to explain to the peace-keepers...

Eseau: You are midway through questioning Nex when a siren cuts through your voice, you turn to the Inquisitor, seeing him on his vox, in contact with the Captain, he turns to you. "Eseau, we appear to be having problems with the station authorities, they have boarded our vessel and appear to be operating under shoot to kill orders, find what others you can and try to stop them, you have your rosette, I would rather bloodshed was kept to a minimum." As you stand up to leave you remember Nex, Barden anticipates you however, "Macto will be fine here, there are no ways in or out of this room and it can be sealed securely, I will head to the bridge." You leave, meeting up with Jack, Jayna and then finding Silences, you will encounter resistance from the peace-keepers, there will be some bloodshed before you can convince them of your authority.


Silences: You too hear the siren and step out of your room, you set off down the corridor and before long meet up with Eseau and his group, follow on from the rest of his update.

Jack: As the others you hear the siren but you are directly outside the room as Eseau comes striding out, he takes you, Jayna and your guards, leaving two by the door, you head off down the corridor, meeting up with Silences. You don't know where your gyrinx is and you have no alcohol or narcotics to take off the edges, are you coping with the stress, what is going on inside your mind? Are you ready to snap? Also follow on from the rest of Eseau's update.

Elizabeth: Unfortunately the infirmary is placed very close to the entrance by which the peace-keepers have gained access, ten of them burst into the infirmary, armed with compact auto-guns, deadly in these confined spaces. However, thanks to the siren, you are somewhat prepared, how have you prepared for their attack. You will have to fight them and you should try not to kill them but it may be unavoidable, this group is well trained and you will not be able to kill them all in one post.

Xarian: You are still wounded and sluggish but you are able to help Elizabeth in her preparation for the attack. How did you help, do your wounds pain you, how weak are you? Remember you are operating far below optimum level, your senses and reflexes will be far below what you are used to, how will you compensate. You assist Elizabeth in the fighting against the peace-keepers but with your wounds you may find it harder to incapacitate them, your needle pistol and mechadendrites may be your only chance but you must still try not to kill them all. Remember it will take more than one post to finish them off.

Macto: You are left sitting in your cell, with the interrogations last ominous words ringing in your head, you are left with nothing to do but look around, describe the room you are in. Torture implements, arcane devices beyond your understanding, it's up to you. Also consider the possibilities of escape and how that would look on your record.


----------



## Serpion5

*Eseau*

Sirens blared and the interview was cut short. Eseau stood immediately, sternly directing Nex to remain seated as the prisoner tried to stand as well. Barden was already on the vox to the captain, and the acolyte waited patiently for commands. 

'Eseau, we appear to be having problems with the station authorities, they have boarded our vessel and appear to be operating under shoot to kill orders, find what others you can and try to stop them, you have your rosette, I would rather bloodshed was kept to a minimum.' 

'What of Nex?' Eseau asked. 

'Macto will be fine here, there are no ways in or out of this room and it can be sealed securely, I will head to the bridge.'

'Understood, Master.' Eseau replied. The two of them left the chamber, Eseau locking it behind him and beckoning to Jayna and Jack. 

'I don`t know why the two of you are here, but it doesn`t matter.' Eseau said to them. 'The ship`s been boarded and we need to restore order. Barden wants us to keep bloodshed to a minimum, let`s go.' 

- - -​
The first resistance they encountered was a short distance from the brig as they attempted to link up with the others. A heavy barrage of autogun fire complimented with shotgun bursts blocked them off from making it across the intersection they needed to cross. 

'We`ll need to backtrack a little.' Jayna said. Taking the lead, she led them back the way they had come, before detouring and leading them towards some of the barracks. 

--- --- ---​
(ooc: at this point we will probably encounter Silences)


----------



## dragonkingofthestars

(Occ you do)

have wasted the whole day going from the gym to her room, back again, no one there, destroy a few training dummys back to her room just in time to put her armor back on, loading her gun and walking out in to the hall way to try and find out what went wrong this time.

Sufface to say, she was annoyed.

she cutted toward the barracks trying to find somewhat who knew what was going on, it was not like she had a weapon team out her door this time.

she turned around a corner and almost impaled her self on a guardsmen baynet, and almost blew his head arpart with her bolt gun. 

putting her gun down she looked the small group over, they had been fighting by sweat stains alone.

"Eseau whats going on?"


----------



## oblivion8

Elizabeth sat at her desk, feet propped up. A first edition issue of "The Ecclesiastical Heretic, and where to find him" rested in her hands and she quietly read to herself, mumbling here and there. Xarian lay on one of the many surgical beds, he had refused sleeping medicine or a good book to read, and just lay there, eyes focused intently on the ceiling.

His surgery had been uneventful, but the electro-tubing remained, and so did her prescription for rest, rest and more rest.

---

Siren blaring, Elizabeth was startled awake. Xarian had apparently not been sleeping and slowly sat up. 
"More trouble" grumbled Liz, and rose to her feet. She swiftly went to her armour. 
Xarian began to stir in the corner of her eye.
"As the ships main medical practitioner, I would advise you to stay put. Its probably not anything that needs both of us.

(respond for Xarian)

She efficiently put on her armour, half mumbling her ceremonial rites whilst doing so. She additionally attached the med kit to her back this time, and sheathed her knives. She gently removed her new Rosarius from a coat hang and gently put it around her neck.

(space for Xarian to do things)

---

Elizabeth was about to leave, when a huge commotion started coming from close by. "_They must have come through the main entrance of the ship_" she thought, _"That is peculiar considering that that would mean the intruders entered when we docked... I need further information..._

Triana was unfortunately close to the other side of the ship in her quarters, and would not provide backup assistance.


----------



## Santaire

Sirens blared and the interview was cut short. The acolyte stood immediately, sternly directing Nex to remain seated as he tried to stand as well. Barden was already on the vox to the captain while waited patiently for commands. 

'Eseau, we appear to be having problems with the station authorities, they have boarded our vessel and appear to be operating under shoot to kill orders, find what others you can and try to stop them, you have your rosette, I would rather bloodshed was kept to a minimum.' 

'What of Nex?' Eseau asked. 

'Macto will be fine here, there are no ways in or out of this room and it can be sealed securely, I will head to the bridge.'

'Understood, Master.' Eseau replied. The two of them left the chamber. Nex stayed seated and waited although inside he was in turmoil. It went against everything he had learnt or been taught to let others fight while he just waited.

He stood from the chair and examined the room. There were strange devices hanging on the walls, some kind of mix between a torture device and a weapon. There were also more common torture devices such as chains covered with hooks and even a branding device, Nex hadn't thought Barden was so arcane but then again many religious fanatics had a habit of branding others with the aquila.

'Or simply cutting it into their skin,' he thought ruefully. He walked to the door and banged on it shouting "I wish to talk to the Inquisitor." His guard opened a slit in the door and after a heated argument said "I'll vox him then."

"Nex," came the Inquisitor's voice through the guard's headset. "Inquisitor, let me fight this once and then you may go through my mind at your will," he pleaded "when have i given reason for you or any other Inquisitor to doubt me? I have stayed firm through unmentionable horrors as you have and in all that time I have never betrayed the Inquisition" The Inquisitor's reply was cautious, "I will consider it," he said...


----------



## DasOmen

jack's mind shattered as the siren went off. his cat leapt from his shoulder, going down to the ground to clutch it's ears with it's paws. jack was swept away in his world, he saw his sanity leave him, being ripped away from a greater tormentor pleauging his mind. he barely heard anything from that point on, everything was distorted and taken out of context... but the messages desired still made it through somehow. 

"bloodshed to a minimum" words creaped through the psychosis that was wreaking havoc and causing storms in his mind far greater than what most would consider possible. it was like a whole world, a entire planet, was raining down on him through a torrent of hail, rain and hurricane force winds. more words came, but they were not the ones spoke. his "world" pulsed with a brilliant golden glow. "hate not these deceived ones. my children have been lied to. turned against their brothers through the lies of another... show them my light, bring them back to me. " the voice in his head had a respectability to it, like the old recordings of the emperor himself it brought comfort to him, despite the hellish torrent of storms in his mind. 

as the three turned a corner, jack saw something out of the corner of his eye that cuased him to move quickly. a bullet came from a marksmen's autogun, the bullet was meant for Eseau, but jack insured he stole it from it's intended home. how? jack quickly moved infront of Eseau, arms out as he intercepted the shot with his own body. the bullet ripped it's way through the gardsmen's bare chest, narrowly missing his heart and lungs and left through his back, only to thump dully on the acolyte's armor rather harmlessly. rather than fall back, forwards, or to the side like most would expect, jack just stood there having been shot, bullet wound bleeding and causing a haze to grow over his eyes. 

"do not hate my children, they do their duty in my name, they fight for their emperor. and they fight well. but they fight falsely. " the voice came moments before the call for retreat came, the group backtracked a bit, and despite the wound, jack didn't complain once, strangely enough he remained silent. no songs escaped his lips, no twisted ramblings that would enlighten others of the situation could be heard, nothing came from him till they stopped, a sister of battle in his path. looking up towards her with tormented eyes, he'd attempt to get out a ballad that the sisters were known for, their own hymn, but no sound came from jack's lips despite him mouthing them. he felt a comforting hand on his shoulder, but he couldn't tell who's it was. this seemed to bring his voice back. "we must draw a hard line. it's time the long arm of the law put a few more in the ground. the boarders, not to blame. lied to. they've been lied to. few people can control the actions of the law, we seek the station commander. tainted by chaos she is... turned from the light of the emperor, i see it in their movements. they doubt their actions, they just need convincing. they are not the guilty ones, must show that this sector can be redeemed... must not" coughing a bit he'd break away from the hand, covering his mouth as a bit of blood found it's way onto his hand as it bloomed from his mouth in a thick mist. "must not... mu" no more words came out from his mouth, but those reading lips could see what he was saying "must not let this sector fall to extermanatus. too valuable, this area, is too valuable. overlooked frequently it is because of the existence of others, but the loss of this sector will be a loss the empire will not recover from for centuries. the emperor wants his children to follow the light, we must show them the true light of the emperor, not the lie they have been told." 

jack was still holding his mechanical arm in his biological hand, he hadn't receaved permission to reattach it yet, not that he knew of anyway.

his cat however was relitively safe, the inquisitor provided ample protection for the feline. it stuck close to him as he traveled to the bridge. once the two reached the bridge it started purring a bit, climbing up to sit at the inquisitor's sholder rubbing it's cheek against his. the inquisitor would find himself with the same boon as the one jack receaved. it's large radar dish ears seemingly helping the inquisitor hear more in the room, it's eyes followed his wherever he looked, and it didn't seem to be a burden to the great man. though whether or not the spotted and striped markings of the creature went well with the inquisitor's attire was debatable. it's markings seemed to fit more with jack's wild mind than the inquisitor's sensibility.


----------



## Serpion5

Having linked up with Silences, and with the renewed urgency of Jack`s injury, Eseau led the group at much more hurried pace than before hoping to find a peaceful solution. He held his pistol at the ready and had his sword half drawn in anticipation.

It was not much longer before they encountered more resistance. Eseau beckoned for the group to halt before the approaching patrol could see them. 

'Listen to me very carefully.' He began. 'I`d rather not do this, but it seems we have little choice. It`s only one fire team, five men. We need to ambush them, I want you all to try to take them alive. All the same though, if it`s them or us, make it us.' He met their gazes each in turn. 

'Five of them, one each.' Jayna spoke up. 'What about Jack, will he be able to do this?'

Eseau did not reply. They both knew that ultimately, soldiers and mercenaries were expendable. The blunt truth of the matter was that even their own lives were forfeit if it meant Barden would succeed. Such was the life of an inquisitorial acolyte. 

Eseau shot jayna a glance, and they both instantly knew; If they had to suffer to succeed, then suffer they would. 

He shot another quick glance around the corner. Less than five seconds away...

Four...

Three... 

...

...

'Charge!' Eseau barelled around the corner, leading the others into their attack. He hit the leader of the fireteam, blade on blade, and hoped that his comrades would succeed...


----------



## Santaire

"No Nex, you may not!" The Inquisitor said firmly.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Pass me your sidearm," he requested. The guardsmen passed it over. It was a las pistol with a larger clip than standard. Corvin turned it over in his hands before slipping down the corridor. He heard a murmur of voices and pressed his back to the wall.

He glanced round the corner. "Police," he muttered "what the hell are they doing here." Realising that they must be operating under false info he holstered the las pistol. Darting round the corner he charged at them.

The first and last thing one of them saw was his fist smashing towards them. He hit the man with a powerful uppercut and than smacked him down into the floor with his return swing. He swung a sything kick at the nearest one, catching him in the flank and knocking the breath out of him in an explosive rush before he was knocked unconcious with a brutal sledge hammer blow. Another lunged a dagger at Corvin, who dodged back before coming in with four punches and then a brutal finishing move. Stepping his leg behind the man and smashing him back over Corvin's leg, breaking the peacekeeper's leg with a terrible sounding crunch.

The man screamed aloud. The last man had drawn an auto pistol and pumped two shells into Corvin, knocking him over but not breaching his carapace armour. As the man came closer Corvin swung his legs round, hard and fast, and knocked his feet from under him. Corvin climbed to his feet and brought his elbow down into the man's temple, putting him out cold. Corvin stood, panting and then moved further down the corridor.

He reached his room and entered it. He picked up an autopistol loaded with blanks and his shotgun, also loaded with blanks, alongside two flashbangs and a smoke grenade. Double checking his pistol and shotgun's clip so that they would not kill the police he moved back out into the long corridor.

A peace keeper came running round a corner. Smiling grimly Corvin raised the shotgun and shot the man full on the breast plate before continuing down the corridor.


----------



## Jackinator

Deep in a room in the heart of the orbital platforms under decks two figures sat cross legged, facing each other, hands joined. Their eyes were closed and they radiated an ice-cold sense of concentration, literally. The walls of the room around them were coated in a thin film of ice and the floor around them was covered in a thick sheen. They smiled in unison, their pawn had done it's work, the station's peace keepers had been set on the Inquisitor's forces and along with the myriad combat servitors now sent against them they didn't have a hope. Not now that they were on their way...
_______________________________________________________________

Up in the command orb, Commander Dalglish slumped, blood dripping from her mouth and eyes as the final backlash burned out her mind.


Eseau: You have met the patrols commander blade to blade and although he is experienced you have the advantage of surprise, as does your team. You manage to fight him to a standstill and thrust your rosette forward, proclaiming your true allegiance. He listens, and realising that he has been tricked, steps back and calls off the rest of the Peacekeepers, sending a message to the command orb to call of the combat servitors. He is mystified as to the lack of response from the command orb and you look on in horror as a he is cut down by a spray of heavy bolter bullets from the pair of servitors who have just rounded the corner. Deal with them. These are advanced combat servitors, optimised for these situations and it will take at least two posts and concentrated efforts to bring them down.

Silences: You too are struck by the servitor's opening shots, but your power armour saves you, you return fire before leaping into cover. These are advanced combat servitors, optimised for these situations and it will take at least two posts and concentrated efforts to bring them down.

Jack: You have reattached your arm after the small skirmish with the peacekeepers, you found the combat easy, you fought with only the normal members of the patrol and as such they didn't have the experience or skill to match you. The servitors are a different matter however, and they will be more of a challenge to bring down, work together with the others to achieve this.

Xarian: A squad of peace keepers enter the room slowly, cautiously, weapons at ease and their leader converses with Elizabeth, it seems their assault was a result of a trick. You walk over to join them but a combat servitor bursts into the room, cutting down half of the peacekeepers. The sergeant calls out command words desperately but is himself cut down in turn. You recognise that it's standard commands have been overridden and you need to assist the others in restraining it. If you can hack into it's station link you might be able to broadcast a universal override code. This will take more than one post.

Elizabeth: As you converse with the peacekeeper sergeant a close combat servitor strides into the room, talons crackling as it cuts down 5 men in as many seconds. You manage to avoid it's first attack but the thing is closing on you, it is still partly biological so your poisons will have some effect on it, although they will be slowed. Assist Xarian in his attempted halting of the rampaging servitor. This will take more than one post.

Macto: Barden as outright refused your request and you sink to the floor defeated. However, realising you cannot stay there forever you get up and pound on the door calling for release. Your only response is shouts and gunfire, there is an explosion, followed by the short burst of a heavy weapon and the sound of two bodies hitting the ground. Those of the guards of your concealed cell.


----------



## Serpion5

*Eseau*

Eseau`s sword clashed heavily with the sword of his opponent, and their eyes met sternly for a moment. The cold yet misled hatred of the trooper`s eyes met the almost desperate Eseau`s as they each pushed back. Instantly Eseau regretted his weakness, as his extra sense now began to pick up the renewed confidence of the fooled sergeant; as far as he was concerned, Eseau was a heretic plainly in fear of the Emperor`s wrath. 

A second strike came for the acolyte`s head, but Eseau ducked and leaned in, delivering an uppercut to the man`s unarmoured abdomen. He raised the opposing elbow, knocking the man`s sword from his grip but was unprepared for the devastating punch that landed on his jaw. He fell to the ground and the trooper loomed over him with pistol raised, ready to deliver a killshot... 

Until something hurled into him from the side... It was one of his troopers! Eseau looked to where the projectile had come from and saw Jayne huffing with the effort of throwing an armoured peacekeper! 

'How the hell...?' He began to say, but Jayna was already moving, reaching into her pocket and withdrawing...

The rosette! Of course, Eseau had completely forgotten. He hastily drew his own, and when the peacekeeper sergeant and his underling had composed themselves, they stood and saw the two of them with Inquisitorial rosettes bared. 

'What the...' He stammered. 'What`s the meaning of this? Who are you?' 

'Acolytes Eseau and Jayna, in the service of Inquisitot Barden.' Eseau said. 'Trooper, near as I can tell, you`ve been lied to.' 

Leaving the man with his thoughts for a moment, Eseau turned to see how the others had fared...


----------



## dragonkingofthestars

*Silence*

Silence let shot gun shells ping and off her armor as she blazed down the corrador, till it stopped.

took a half second or her to figure it out though and when she did she promptly stopped shooting and walked down the corrador, still as confused as when she first put her armor back on. she stood in front of the, sargent she thought they have name names she was sure. 

she stood in front of the sargent, what ever doubt he had at the validy of the inqusitor symbol broken by the prsence of a sister of battle whos armor was literly coated in holy symbols.

"why were you shooting at us?" Silence asked 
"we thought, and were told that you were hertics." the sargent said somewhat nervously, he did not get paid enough, he did not get paid!

"well, call off your men." she looked over his shoulder "and you servitors why our at it." 

"yes, sir?" unsure what to call a women in authority he spoke in to his radio, 
"Sir ship is inqusitor, not hertical we will stand down."
"....." no responds
"command?" he said confused 
"command, we need you to shut the servitors off." 

his responds came, of the heavy bolter kind.

With a long scythign burst of gun fire they sliced though the man and his men cutting them apart in one long burst.

Rounds pinged and hammered Silence back staggering her back in to a side corrador with Eseau at his questioning look she responed "I am fine, I think I cracked a couple ribs." 

"there are two possiblitys, either the command of this station is hertical, or this is a combnation of misidenity and poor maintence. either we we need to take thouse servitors out."

she leaned around the cornor looking at them "they have heavy armor, bolted on steel plates, servo arms, there slow but unstopable, don't happen to have Kraken pentrators on you?" she asked him he shock his head no "thought so," she put her bolt gun around the cornour and fired it singled handed blindly at the servitors, her robotic arms dampners takeing the recoil easy on full auto as she blazed away at the serviotrs.


----------



## Santaire

Nex slumped, defeated, all he had wanted was a chance to redeem himself but the Inquisitor had bluntly refused even that small mercy. The Inquisitor had refused his wish, ignoring his years of loyal service to the Inquisition. However, realising that he would do no good by simply sitting there Nex stood. He walked over to the door and pounded on it shouting "let me out," but it was futile for the guards did not open the door. Nex hung his head in defeat, then the sound of shouts of surprise and pain and gunshots made him snap it back up,.

He backed away from the door as he heard the thump of two bodies hitting the floor. His guards! He glanced around his cell, looking for a weapon. His eyes rested on what looked like a complicated beam projecter. He snatched at it and tugged it off the wall. He pointed the beam at one of the chairs and, making minute adjustments with twitches of his hands and fingers. He pulled the trigger and felt an immense pleasure at the recoil of the torture device. The result was even better.

The chair had been vaporised! Not damaged, not scarred or scratched but literally vaporised. The device was obviously designed to be used as a final judgement tool, designed to grant the prisoner a quick death.

Nex hefted the unfamiliar weapon and chuckled mirthlessly. This would be interesting.


----------



## DasOmen

the fact that jack bested the police officers without using his mechanical arm for anything more than a crude and strange, and slightly unwieldy club must have been rather insulting to them, it was little more than a menial challenge for jack, which earked him somewhat, his mind clashing with logical reason of figuring out why such low level cops were stationed here, to the "normal" madness that pleasured his mind. he was about to crack one of the police officer's heads open with the heel of his boot when they suddenly stopped putting up resistance and the fight itself came to a close with the acolytes showing their nifty little inquisitorial badge. the peace didn't last long however... it didn't last long at all. jack barely had time to crouch by a unconscious police officer to snag a spare power pack for his las pistol and reattach his arm before he heard a noise that dragged his mind from the apocalyptic state it was in. "battle bots... unfortunate" he'd grumble, turning his head to watch two of the mechanical bastards round the corner, and open fire. snagging some survivors with his human arm and wrapping his legs around the chest of another he'd lash out with his grapnel and zip the three of them to safety, not that the survivors enjoyed the abrupt and forceful trip jack took them on.


loading in the fresh power pack for his pistol jack listened to the sister of battle, though he'd shake his head at her response. "you're underestimating the threat in this sector sister, far more corrupted these worlds and stations are than you would ever like to believe. low level police officers were but a distraction to tie us down, they would fail, this was inevitable. they were merely expendable resources to be thrown at us like a green tide, buying time for something greater. these new threats, the two with the heavy bolter, are but a menial challenge we will face along our path with the inquisitor. they are far from unbeatable. they are well armed, heavily armored, but they're as mobile as dung going down a grainy slope during a Valhalla winter. " pausing for a moment as bullets sprayed the corner they were hiding behind. "if your enemy has a weapon stronger than yours, and armor stronger than yours, use your enemy's weapon against them. this station is heretical, though most have good intentions or are ignorant of the heresy going on. we have a fight ahead of us sister, i do hope two misinformed servants of the machine cult will not deture you. " with that, jack barely gave another word as he began to chant out a mighty battle hymn as he shot out his grapnel and zipped towards the ceiling. 

the gun servitors saw the movement and quickly started tracing jack as he zipped along his line. they were no longer firing at the corner the acolytes and the sister of battle were hiding behind, but now focused on jack, raining fire in his general direction. but jack did not reach the ceiling, he made it part way, detached his grapnel, and zipped in a different direction, smacking into the wall a good story into the air, before zipping to the opposite side of the hallway as he tossed his pistol into the air. as the pistol went up, jack went down, having detached his grapnel from the wall and his feet thumping against the ground. just as he broke into a dead run, the guns came on him once more, but a roll to the side bolstered by a grapnel snagging one of the servitors by the feet and zipping him along the ground helped with that problem to a degree, though the shrapnel from the explosive rounds did honestly hurt like a bitch, not to mention he was still dealing with the bullet wound in his chest which kept nagging at him, telling him he was close to his limit, telling him he could only last a little more before he had to despite his pride, or what amounted to it, ask for a stim pack or some medical treatment, his wound was really making a mess of this mostly clean hallway to be honest. leaving blood splatters everywhere. 

jack skidded across the ground towards the servitor's feet, pistol in hand as he opened fire with the twin linked las pistol, sure it was weak in comparison to most other weapons in the empire, but jack's shots had a purpose... he was a decoy, one that wouldn't last long in this fight, but he was doing his damnedest to last as long as he could. as he skidded and fired, jack forced himself to roll to the side, and zip behind the servitor only to be snagged by the neck by the servo arm and hefted into the air. jack's eyes drifted down to watch the drill start to rev up as he felt the crushing pressure of the arm's claw start to do it's job. jack's vision began to blur as he felt the crushing pressure of it cut off his air supply and cause a excruciating amount of pain, but the pain stopped, not because the arm popped his head off like the cork of a wine bottle, but because something else smacked into the chest of the servitor causing it to stumble slightly.

(insert other allied attack here)

using this oppertunity jack broke free, ghasping for air and clutching his chest. he didn't think he had much time, but he had less than he thought as the other soon turned it's gun on him, opening fire. the only thing that saved jack at this point was zipping up towards the ceiling and pelting the thing's face with las shots as he acceded towards the top of the area. as he reached the top however, his insanity proved useful, noticing something on the two that would help disable them. clicking his micro bead he'd relay this information to the acolytes.


----------



## Epidemius

Xarian snapped back to reality as a raging servitor burst into the room. Its mouth frothed and it twitched violently, Xarian knew something was wrong.
In seconds, half of the peacekeepers were dead.
"Kill that servitor!" yelled the sergeant. "Don't let it-" he stopped as the servitor sliced open his neck, spattering blood everywhere.
"Hold it down!" yelled Xarian. "I can override its commands if you hold it down!"
A peacekeeper fired repeated las shots at it, but in vain. the shots simply pattered off his armored torso. the beast howled in fury and smashed apart the peacekeeper's skull, sending pieces of broken bone and gore in all directions. The servitor then turned his attentions on Elizabeth, it raised its crackling, blood-spattered blades and charged at her. Elizabeth skillfully threw a scalpel at it, burying itself in the servitor's shoulder. but the beast charged onwards.
Elizabeth blocked a thrust of one of the servitor's blades and hit it square in the face, her armored gauntlet doing noticeable damage. but the relentless creature fought on.
Xarian quickly grabbed the knife that had almost killed him from a nearby table and charged the servitor. he stabbed its left arm, then twisted its arm and palm-striked it, breaking bones. The angered servitor knocked Xarian backwards, he hit a wall and coughed up a little blood. he hadn't fully recovered yet. 
A peacekeeper hit the servitor in the back with the butt of his lasgun. the beast turned and screamed in rage, it lifted a gore-spattered blade and horizontally cleaved him in two. the peacekeeper's remains fell to the floor, blood pooled around his broken sections. the creature began to slow down suddenly, its arms began to grow limp. 
_Elizabeth must have coated that scalpel with something._ thought Xarian. _We should still be careful though, it still looks like it can fight..._


----------



## Serpion5

*Eseau*

Eseau and Jayna were poised to strike, waiting for the moment when Jack`s diversion would give them a chance to move. Eseau reflected on what an odd man Jack was, heedlessly throwing himself into the midst of danger and, thus far, miraculously prevailing. 

Jayna turned to Silences and spoke. 'Since we can`t penetrate that armour with our conventional weapons, we`ll have to rely on a more unconventional tactic. Leave one of them to me, the two of you need to help Jack.' 

'What are you going to do?' Eseau asked in concern. In response, she raised a hand, revealing the ring she wore. 

'Let`s move, now!' She called, and Eseau snapped back to focus, following her out. 

'Stay behind me!' He called to Silences. 'I`ll see what I can do about disabling its weapon, then you need to try and finish it off. Power Armour makes you stronger, right? Try to find a weak spot, and hit it with as much concussive force as you can!' 

He shot a sideways glance to Jayna. One of the servitors had snared Jack in its grip, and so the other had sought a new target. It trained its weapon on the nearest and logical target, being Jayna. 

Eseau faltered, but the sound of Silences heavy footfall behind him kept him on track. He had to trust that Jayna would be capable enough to handle it... 

He turned back to the servitor hefting Jack in its servo arm, about to crush the life from him. Eseau slammed shoulder first into the thing, jolting it backwards and suffering a mild concussion in the process. Looking through the daze, he saw Jack break free, now turning his focus elsewhere... 

Jayna ducked the initial salvo from the servitor, but then it stopped and turned back to its intitial target; Jack had broken free. 

She closed the gap and triggered the digital weapon. 

'Damnit!' The thing had moved at the last instant, causing her aim to be off. Though she succeeded in destroying its servo arm and one of its legs, it still had a gun and a limited arc of fire, which still covered Eseau and Silences. Desperately, she drew her sword and started hacking at the thing, trying to divert its attention from the others.

Eseau crawled back and staggered to his feet with sword drawn as Silences thundered past. About to join the fight, he received a transmission from Jack.

'Jack?!' Eseau replied, still cradling his head. 'What is it?'


----------



## dragonkingofthestars

*Silences*

'I`ll see what I can do about disabling its weapon, then you need to try and finish it off. Power Armour makes you stronger, right? Try to find a weak spot, and hit it with as much concussive force as you can!' 

Conncussive force? she did not even have a frag grenade. but the plan was already in action as Jayna ran past her. she watched as she used her digital weapon on the servitor, the damage though not "lethel" was enough. tightly gripping a purity symbol around her neck and with a shout of "The Emperor protects!" Silences went into the thick of the fray, drawing her bolt gun she charged into the servitor line of sight.

The heavy bolter fired the shells cuting though the air like, well bullets, cracking over head.

Dropping to a roll she got closer to the servitor, another quick push off the wall pushed her out of the very limited traverse of the gun five dagrees or so, even in the narrow corrador. bringing her bolter up, and yelling a order to Jayna to back aside, she fired full auto on to the servitor, aiming the rounds to the left of the things body, trying to knock the gun out. 

The Servitor did a sort of half turn, half shuffle bringing its gun upon her when it fired a fresh burst her armor once more saved her as she dropped to a combat roll and stood up infront of the thing. drawing a knife she stabbed it down into the Servators skull and finished it off with a twist that spliting the brain from its eyes. 

With out sight the Servitor automaticly shut down pulling her knife out she spun it round slightly and began opening the servitors brain vault to find out if it was bad matinence, or orders.


----------



## oblivion8

The nuerotoxins flowed through the abomination and slowed its muscle reaction time, but not to the same extent as it would have with a human. 

Elizabeth pressed the advantage, her armour moving at every command Elizabeth weaved through the servitors crude attack patterns, she caught the blow of the heavy bolter with both hands. The force was impressive, but force was half the equation. Liz let the blow carry through and circled around the creature keeping both hands on the heavy bolter. She quickly snapped the arm joint, leaving the heavy bolter hanging limp against the servitor's body.

The servitor was not happy to say the least. With a roar, and with a surprising boost of speed, it swung its blade towards her.
Elizabeth brought her arms up to block, but the force of the blade, although not able to cut through the power armour, caused enough force to throw her back against the wall, fracturing her left forearm.


----------



## DasOmen

"i'll keep it short sir and explain later. aim for the optics" jack had noticed the out of date optics on these units, a little more frail than most things in the imperium, and as the sister of battle revealed herself, taking out the optical implants did wonders for shutting these annoying clankers down, for a time anyway. things didn't add up in the long run, all of this left jack questioning a lot of things that anyone would blatantly tell him was unnecessary to question, but jack wasn't sane enough to listen to those people, even if half of them were in his head. 

as the micro bead clicked off and he relayed the point of interest on the gun servitors, jack felt something begin to give way, his arm jerking a bit as something twanged against the ceiling. looking up at a smoking mark on the ceiling and a small crater that a object had left, his eye focused on two points on his arm, a undetonated bolter round had gone astray from the fray below, ricocheted off the ceiling and impacted his arm enough to not only wrench itself into the metal plating, but also enough to trigger the round's internal timer, not only that, but the ricochet had smashed his grapnel's "hook" and all of this noticing was in the small amount of time a person felt weightless as they suddenly started to fall. trying to real in the length of cord to lash it out again to zip himself to safety, the gears and motors inside his arm smoked, whined, and groaned as the round caused the gears to begin to strip themselves. little metal fragments began to rain down below as jack fell from the ceiling. 

in a moment of quick thinking, jack whipped his arm out in a fluid motion, forcing the mechanical arm to move even as the gears inside began to grind themselves to dust and the pistons acting as muscle began to spring leaks. with the length of cord lashing out, it snagged a opening in a ventilation shaft in the wall, though with a damaged grappler, it's grip was fleeting. just as jack began to swing to safety, the round inside his arm detonated, sending him spiraling towards the ground in a storm of shrapnel as his entire mechanical arm was blown to bits from the elbow down. as the shrapnel storm ensued jack smacked hard into the ground, bouncing off of it and getting a good two feet of air before he would smack into it again and skid across it, leaving a streak of black and red swirls. the hydrolic machine fluid of his arm and the wound in his chest insured he stayed down despite his best efforts, though he tried to get up.

jack struggled on the ground, his body weak from the wounds and the stress it had been put through. his smoldering las pistol was drenched in machine oil just a few feet from his grasp, though jack reached out for it desperately, a oddly calm look in his eyes that masked the struggle in his mind as he didn't scream out against fate, but roared in defiance of being down for the count like this. he'd need a refit for his arm, his old one in more peaces than a tech priest would care to count. 

((what's the fun of having a character if you cant beat the shit out of em every once and a while? sides, this opens up room for wargear))


----------



## dragonkingofthestars

"BOOM!" Silences spun on her foot bolt gun up, just in time to see jack hammer into the floor. looking around she saw that the second servitor was accupied she then ran out to Jack he was coated in blood and she and fell to her knees over him to look him over "Jack?" she looked him over he was fine, save his arm that was torn to peaces of metal and dust, heck the "Blood" all over him was red hydrolic fluid. she grabbed him and hefted him over her power armor shoulder and hauled him behind the conore she started behind in the first place.


She rubed her fingers together (makeing a cermic on cermic scrape can't snap fingers in armor) to see if he was awake, "Jake?" she gave a hiss of exsprastion, the stroys she heard of him said he was touched in the head. 

She looked into his eyes, they had a insane gleam to them, "damn it," she huffed knowing no one could hear here "I am a Metal Mayter not a Sister Hospitalier." she thought about what she coud do, it hit her.

she put her hand on his forehead and gave a simple blessing.

"Through the darkness, i walk in his light,
Through the fire, i feel cool in his shadow
As I tread the path of chaos may no being, Xeno, Deamon or Hertic stay me, 
As long as I walk in his shadow of he who died so I may live, 
and dies a little each day, upon the golden throne so all may live."
For the emperor, who rules in war, and all things.

She hoped the words of a mellnium old blessing would calm, she thought it was hard to tell with him. She then took her bolt gun and went round the cornor to kill the second servitor.


----------



## Jackinator

(OOC: sorry for how late this was guys)
The Inquisitor strode from the bridge, "Lord," the captain called out, "where are you going?" Barden turned, "there is something coming captain, I must be there to greet it."

Eseau: You finish off the remaining servitor as the Inquisitor strides into view, he tosses you a bolt pistol loaded with psycannon bolts, one of two that he is now carrying. "A threat has entered the ship, we must deal with it, come." He leads you towards the brig, on the way you are intercepted by another group of servitors, these are more easily dispatched by the Inquisitor and yourself (you may control Barden's actions for this encounter).

Silences: You lift Jack and carry him to the infirmary, despite the fact that he only seems to have lost his augmetic he seems far weaker than should be expected. You suspect there may be some deeper wound and as such hurry to get him to the attentions of Elizabeth.

Jack: Silences carries you to the infirmary, what is going through your mind as this happens. Do you protest, or are you too weak, how is your mind coping with the strain?


Elizabeth: You and Xarian finally pin the servitor, and Xarian manages to patch into it's cranium, eventually the servitor stops struggling and you sit back. You are exhausted from the fight but you are relieved at Xarian's seeming recovery.


Xarian: You and Elizabeth pin the servitor and you manage to patch into it's skull, shutting it down, Elizabeth sits back, exhausted but you continue working on the combat machine. You are trying to upload an override order to the system. It will not be easy.

Macto: You are still trapped in the cell, the execution device has proved useless against the heavily shielded door but you know that there is still combat happening in the ship. Looking around, you see a long, heavy object on the wall. There are no real weapons in this room and this device is the closest to one. It is a long, ornately decorated spike with runes inscribed along it's length and silver winding down along it's length. You take it by the leather and gold bound hilt, it would be a sword except it is the wrong shape. Hefting it you prepare for whatever may come through the door.


----------



## Santaire

The cell door was indestructible. The Execution device had not broken through. The door was not even scratched, the device that had been able to vaporise a chair was not strong enough to even scratch the door to his cell. It lay, useless on the floor in front of him. It had overheated after his fifth attempt to destroy the door. He knew there was still combat happening on the ship but was frustrated that he could not help his comrades, and it was all because of a stupid door and an acolyte's damn suspicions.

Looking around for another weapon Nex noticed a long, heavy looking weapon on the wall. There were no real weapons in there but that... thing was the closest to being a weapon. It was a long, ornately decorated spike with mystic runes and patterns inscribed along it's length and silver winding down the shaft. He walked towards it thinking 'it must be powerful otherwise no one would have spent so much time decorating it.'

He gripped by the leather and gold bound hilt, it was almost a sword, would be a sword if it were not for the shape. He hefted it and pointed it at the cell door, he would be ready for whatever came through. The spike felt reasuring in his grip and he smiled wolfishly.


----------



## dragonkingofthestars

Eseau finished off the last servitor while Silence was tending Jack. with her fellow comrades now well in hand with the arival of Inquistor Bardan. she spun on her heel to Jack. he was still out of it.

Mag locking her bolter to her hip she easly picked Jack up, and frowned, even in her armor he seemed weak. she put a hand to his throat to messure his heart beat, but forget she was wareing power armor and could not tell. 

quickly she took off at a fast jog, bout as fast as she dared going if she tripped then Jack could get more damage, she looked down into the face of Jack, still wild eyed.

"come on Jack, Emperor willing he will wait for you to sit beside him." she smiled into his face for a second then she moveing toward the medical bay,"

"Elizabeth!" she yelled at the top of her lung as she got closer to the Medical bay.


----------



## DasOmen

jack was so limp it was as if he had been paralyzed from his injuries. his body limply bounced on the sister's shoulder as she ran towards the medical bay. that same crazed look in his eyes was the only sign of life in him. his breathing was so shallow one could almost mistake him for dead. his eye's shifting in dilation and intensity was the only thing about him hinting life. though if one looked deep into his eyes, they could easily see what brandon or Eseau could see through their psycic sight. 

jack was whisked away to a cold place in his soul, constantly falling into a never ending void. dark ominous clouds surrounded him as rain poured down, smacking him in the face and in the back as he plummeted through his own mind. thunder struck and the clouds lit up with brief flashes of his past, like snap shots of his past life. there was no light in his mind now, the only illumination coming from the brief strikes of thunder and lightning. the sister's voice was distorted to him, he didn't hear her words, but he heard the ringing drawn out sounds her voice made. the sweet music it translated into gave jack some solace as he fell through the sky. 

jack was naked and cold in his mind, shivering from the harsh winds and the rain as he fell from a unknown height. but as the sister finished her blessing, he found himself basked in a warming light as he broke through the clouds of his mind. below him he saw a massive complex, read outs of the planet, sector, subsector, type, everything a imperial could hope to know about a planet began to list itself for him as he fell towards it. the warm light that was basking over his form soon clothed him as pants, shirt, jacket and boots all materialized around his body, fitting itself to him. clutching the dangling shrapnalized stub of his robotic arm jack cried out against fate, this motion mirrored in the real world as well as jack made the first movements he had in a long time. his human hand moving up to clutch the jagged stub that had once been his mechanical arm.in his mind though, he didn't stop falling, though he began to grow closer to the location he was falling towards.

mathematical formulas, scientific equations, logistics notes, even his own observations began to list themselves off in glowing symbols of high Gothic, passing by him in explosions as if fired off by ground based flack guns. gritting his teeth he could feel the air being sucked out of his body, "this planet, it had no atmosphere... wait, it wasn't a planet at all!" his mind raced as it scanned his previous memory, a holographic map appeared in front of his falling form as a pulse of light engulfed him once more, a pressurized hazard suit phasing out of the golden light armored him. storm trooper armor specialized for the void of space clasped itself around his body and he found himself able to breath once more. but his arm was still missing till he came closer to the planet. 

"this planet" a voice echoed in his mind, high in athority and power, holy in tone and in the feeling in his soul. "this is where you will find what your inquisitor seeks. this is where my justice shall lead you" the voice came pounding in jack's head as a glowing golden arm meterailized where his robotic one had once been. a power field started to flow out from it as he plumeted towards the surface. he could feel it, pounding in his skull as the planet arived closer and closer and closer. his body flexed a bit, tensed up as he passed buildings and spires, falling betwene them as if guided by the emperor's hand. guns aimed at him all the way, firing off explosions of flack that passed by him, information laced in the explosions themselves. soon a blast door became visible to him, a massive door imbedded in the ground. not satisfied with staying on the outside of this door and traveling too fast to stop, his hand began to glow as he clutched it into a fist and opened it. a rippling wave of energy passed over him, engulfing him in a commit like field that smashed down through the sky and pierced clean through the barrier that would stop him. but this wasn't a barrier for a large auto bay, or a vehicle bay. and was far too deep for a space craft launch point, that much was evident in how deep the damn thing was. then he saw it, and it shook him to the very core as to what his mind had seen. it was a missile, and not just any missile, but one that would spark a event that would end a entire planet. he could see symbols carved into the missile and the walls. it was heresy to know these symbols, even for jack, but they became etched in his mind almost, and he committed many of them to memory. on the tip of the missile however as it came into greater view, he saw a corpse, lashed with chains and bound to the warhead itself... just as jack was to collide with the missile his body changed directions. 

jack would tear through a wall of the launch tube and rocket through a narrow corodore as a voice appeared in his mind once more. "they seek to bring false justice to this sector, they will say it is in my name only to lie, instead it's a sacrifice. your search will begin here" came the voice as jack burst out of a wall, and found himself over a space marine world that was basked in fire. "they have sacked this world in secret, and stolen the munitions in which your inquisitor may call on. " as jack soared over the planet's surface he saw countless marines impaled on pikes and spikes, mounted like trophies and warnings to the rest of the imperium. chaos tainted the ground and the planet itself seemed to writhe in agony. but jack saw why this planet could no longer be seen by the imperium, he saw it in the sky around it. it had been consumed, eaten alive by a freak warp storm thousands of years ago. 

jacks mind started to race a bit, his body being split and pulled through a glowing light like spaghetti. on the other side, his mind pieced things together and he saw things from a new perspective. he watched the inquisitor's ship come out of the warp, from the window of a command deck. he watched the movements of the crew, the actions of a commander, and the orders that were given. word for word it was close, but off only slightly. jack's mind was piecing many things together, linking them all to a single event that they had been wrapped up in. not only had the commander lied to her men, she had been lied to herself knowing that she would fail. he felt himself be pulled through the station drifting as a specter, places of importance being highlighted for him in a glowing golden light. then he felt it, a sharp pain that silenced his active mind and ripped himself to reality, this sharp psycic scream was nothing to a tyranid, but there were many of them, screeching, their voices chaotic and calm at the same time. 

as his eyes focused and his body lay against the sister of battle, he found himself weak, weaker than he was ever comfortable feeling. his vision was blurred and his sight range severely limited. the only thing he could see was the sister's face which he reached out a hand to touch. 

"sister" his voice came in a raspy tone, signaling he was struggling not only to breath but to speak as well. "the emperor sends his regards. but your bolter will not be enough this day" the purity seal that had been painstakingly tattooed on his human arm was oddly clean throughout this entire endeavor, it's intricate markings and careful scribing seemed untouched by the battle or his wounds, not even a single speck of blood or hydrolic fluid dirtied the full length of his arm. one could read the length of the purity seal if they so chose without a single spot messying their reading.


----------



## Serpion5

*Eseau*

Silences had distracted the servitor long enough for Eseau to regain his balance. Jack had told him to aim for the optics. With a glance, he realized that Jack was right, why hadn`t he seen it sooner? They were not brand new models, their eyes were ill protected. From what little he understood of servitor protocols, if their sense were disabled, they were basically helpless and would in essence shut themselves down. 

He activated his power sword and swung it into the thing`s head. It raised an arm to block, and subsequently pulled Eseau inside its guard. With his blade wedged into the servitor`s arm, he instead drew his hellpistol and took out its eyes. 

He looked over at Jayna as the thing powered down. She had succeeded in decapitating the one she was fighting, though she was a litle bruised on her left thigh. 

'Are you alright?' Eseau asked. 

'I`m fine, it just tried to club me to death.' She answered. 'What about Jack? He was shot wasn`t he?' 

They both turned, Silences was already tending to Jack. Before either of them could ask what was wrong she had picked him up and was carrying him to the medical bay presumably. They had no time to wonder, because the Inquisitor`s voice drew both their attentions. 

'Eseau! Jayna!' Barden called. 'I need your assistance immediately!' 

'What`s wrong?' Eseau asked. 

'A threat has entered the ship, we must deal with it. Come.' There was little more in the way of explanation but the urgency in his voice was very real, so they followed. On the way, Barden tossed Eseau a Bolt Pistol. 

'It`s loaded with psycannon bolts, so should have more punch than normal.' Barden explained as they ran. 

'What are we facing?' Jayna asked. 

A hail of gunfire interrupted them before he could answer. More servitors were up ahead, heavy bolters blazing away at them. They dove back behind the corner they had just rounded, waiting for an oppurtunity. The servitors had a predictable firing pattern as they advanced. 

'Whoever sent these is what we`re facing!' Barden snarled. Waiting for a break in their firing pattern, he dove forward and loosed three shots from his pistol. The bolts soared through the corridor and impacted the first servitor heavily. Its torso was shredded, its secondary arm was blown clean off and the third bolt removed one of its legs. Taking his cue, Eseau charged forth, firing two shots of his own. 

Both shots hit home, and the acolyte felt a shred of pride at his marksmanship. The servitor crumpled, its head and arm gone... 

'Where are we going?' Eseau called as they resumed running. 

'To the brig!' Barden answered. 

_The brig?_ Eseau thought. _Nex..._


----------



## oblivion8

Elizabeth leaned back exhausted. 
"That thing was not easy to take down" she commented, Xarian gave a nod of recognition, but continued to fiddle with the creatures head silently.

Elizabeth wondered what would possibly make the servitors act like that, completely against the troopers will.

She turned her head loosely towards Xarian, inspecting every aspect of him meticulously. His recovery seemed to good to be true, she was impressed but would make him go through another series of tests after all this mess was sorted.

She heard a call outside. She got up slowly, her body aching in her light armour. She stepped outside the bay, and down the hallway saw a figure making its way towards her at a brisk jog.

"Elizabeth!"

Liz realized it was sister Silence, the other sororita assigned to Barden's guard. She seemed to be carrying something over her shoulder. 

Silence ran up, and Elizabeth realized that the slump she carried was none other than Jack, the guardsmen she had seen at the briefing. 
"Prayers be with you sister" Liz said in high speech, custom greetings between two sororitas. "Quickly come lie him down inside" Elizabeth motioned towards the infirmary.

"What exactly happened?"


----------



## DasOmen

as jack was laid down on the medical table he coughed up a good amount of blood. laying there a few quick observations would denote the bullet wound square in the center of his chest. first glance would suggest it went straight through his heart, but if that was the case, he'd be dead already. if one turned him over and looked at the exit wound they would understand why he was alive. the angle of the exit wound meant the round didn't have a completely headlong trajectory through his body and missed his heart by a closer margin than anyone should be comfortable with. the wound itself seemed agitated to a dangerous degree, denoting that the guardsmen at the cost of his own health continued to move and fight with his wound, causing it to become enlarged and aggravated until it could be tolerated no longer, save it was a tad bigger than most would stomach, not that most would continue fighting after being shot in the chest anyway. to make matters worse, jack's wound was also drenched in hydrolic fluid, a painful situation indeed for the guardsmen. 

what the hydrolic fluid was coming from was a different story. his mechanical arm was reduced to a sharp, mangled, and gruesome stub; blown apart by the explosive charge of a heavy bolter round that had wedged itself into the very core of his arm right at the elbow. the forearm and much of the upper arm were in tatters. only the emperor's blessing would see the joint itself, where flesh melded with metal was undamaged and therefore able to receive a new arm readily. 

as jack lay there, a blood and hydrolic fluid covered eye twitched madly to the side as it caught the sight of some rubbing alcohol. his mind craved releaf, and so at more risk to himself, jack struggled to roll onto his side and reach for the container, his only intent to down the contense and give his mind some form of releaf. but his motions were shaky at best, and to be honest, his actions were weak, everything about how he was moving reflected a body that had gone numb and was only moving now through the will the guardsmen had to continue on.


----------



## Epidemius

Xarian gave a sigh of relief. the servitor had finally been pinned and he had gained access to its controls. 
"That thing wasn't easy to take down." said Elizabeth. Xarian simply nodded in agreement as he fiddled with the servitor.
Soon Elizabeth had left the room, leaving him to try and override the system. It wasn't easy. Xarian gave a small curse as a few sparks flew out of the panel. 
_Someone tampered with its primary functions,_ he thought. _It's no more than a mindless killing machine. this will be difficult._


----------



## dragonkingofthestars

"Prayers be with you sister" Liz said in high speech, custom greetings between two sororitas. "Quickly come lie him down inside" Elizabeth motioned towards the infirmary.

"What exactly happened?" 

"I don't know for sure, I was fighting a servitor, go for the optics take them out and they auto shut down." Silences said, "I assume he got shot, luckly the round that hit him did not expload in his chest," the two made there ay into the Infirmary and put him on a table, "I have no idea what wrong, I can't fix flesh, metal maybe but not flesh," 

Silences sighed as she looked him just then he coughed a fair bit of blood up she eyed the damage, "Jack,, don't you know that a sucking chest wound is nature's way of telling you to slow down," she looked up "What can I do to help?"

(OCC if you intend to play the sergure oblivion8 i give you the ablity to godmod my charcter for the extent of it, if you need to be handed a scalpe or something.)


----------



## Epidemius

Xarian stopped what he was doing when he saw Silences and Elizabeth burst through the infirmary door carrying Jack.
"What happened?" said Xarian, concerned as they placed Jack on an operating table. 
(space for reply)
"Is there anything I can do to help?" asked Xarian.
(space for reply)


----------



## oblivion8

> Silences sighed as she looked him just then he coughed a fair bit of blood up she eyed the damage, "Jack,, don't you know that a sucking chest wound is nature's way of telling you to slow down," she looked up "What can I do to help?"


_I could really use Triana's assistance right now_ thought Elizabeth. _This will have to do..._



> "What happened?" said Xarian, concerned as they placed Jack on an operating table.


Elizabeth was unresponsive, her full attention was on the man lying, dying, in her care.



> "Is there anything I can do to help?" asked Xarian.


"Go get the bottle marked with the red and green label" she motioned towards the cabinet.

Xarian took the bottle and gently handed it over to Liz. 
With a quick motion she loaded the vial into a device, which she promptly injected into Jacks neck, his eyes lolled and then closed, his pain disappearing with his consciousness. 

"Silence, go get me that rag over there". After Silence returned Elizabeth stated "start to wipe the oil from his body, gently, I don't need you pulling on the wounds." Silence complied.

"I swear..." Elizabeth started. She motioned Xarian to hand her a scalpel. Her cut was made around the fractured mechanical limb. "if you people... Xarian, large blue container..." She was working under time, her cuts precise and quick. "...you people keep throwing yourself into.... oh thank you..." Xarian handed her the container, which she gently poured onto the chest wound. "...throwing yourself into bullets we'll all be dead!" One hand on Jack she reached over and took her Narthecium in hand. She first tended to the chest wound, using the device to staunch the blood using the liquid, then cut around the flesh that was shredded. She then replaced the missing flesh with a synthetic compound which the surrounding flesh would meld into. Next she used the Narthecium to remove the broken ligament, sealing the wound with a temporary agent, he would need a replacement later.
"Xarian, would you be able to make Jack here a replacement arm. If so how long would it take?" 

She worked on various treatments on Jack for the next hour.


----------



## Epidemius

"Xarian, would you be able to make Jack here a replacement arm. If so how long would it take?", asked Elizabeth

"I will need to make a few measurements first. Additionally, there's also this servitor to take care of," said Xarian. I have supplies in my work area, if I can get to it quickly I could have it ready in at least a day. may I first examine his arm?"
(space for reply)
Xarian walked across the room and made a few quick adjustments to the servitor. _done._ he said in his mind. he came back over to the operating table with a notepad and pen, as well as a few other devices, and began to observe.


----------



## oblivion8

> "I will need to make a few measurements first. Additionally, there's also this servitor to take care of," said Xarian. I have supplies in my work area, if I can get to it quickly I could have it ready in at least a day. may I first examine his arm?"


"Do what you must, but try not to poke and prod at the wound" Elizabeth replied half acknowledging as she worked on some inner organs.


----------



## Jackinator

Eseau: You and Barden are nearing the brig when you feel a psychic blast of diabolical power, exchanging glances you quicken your pace, fearing the worst. You round the corner to see two psykers, just in time to see one entering the once sealed room containing Macto Nex, the other turns to you, his eyes flaring as he unleashes a wave of psychic power down the corridor, enough to immolate you utterly. You hear the Inquisitor bark a defiance and a wall of power appears in front of you, it's presence causing a deep ache in your bones and teeth as the enemy psyker's attack washes over it. Barden buys you the time to scramble out of sight so he needn't use energy protecting you instead. Will you get help or do you intend to outflank the psyker by yourself?

Macto: A ball of psychic energy blows in the door of your cell and one of the younger psykers stands there. She is barely out of her teens but her eyes blaze with horrific power and her robes whip about her in an unearthly wind. She unleashes a psychic blast at you, screaming about her brother. You brace yourself for death but open your eyes a second later to find yourself unharmed and the device in your hands glowing with entrapped energy. The Weapon has somehow absorbed the psychic energy. The psyker realises the problem and uses her powers to hurl objects at you from around the room, some of them lethal, but all are dangerous because of the force her powers impart them with.


Jack: You feel yourself surfacing from your delirium and you know only one thing, you are needed. You attempt to leave the room, but collapse once you roll from the bed. Elizabeth and Silences pick you back up and keep you there. You must try to explain to them that you need to help. But you are still delirious and your speech is confused, almost insane.


Elizabeth: Jack attempts to leave and you return him to his bed with little difficulty, your power armour and Silences assisting you. He continues to rave, do you listen to him, or will you sedate him?


Silences: You too hear Jack's ravings, will you find any sense in them. Feeling that there is some meaning behind his apparent lunacy you stride from the room, but you do not know where you should go as you do not know the ship that well. There are two choices, left or right. Which will you take? I will PM you once you have made the choice.


Xarian: You think there is no sense in Jack and dismiss his babbling, concentrating on your measurements. Once you have them, you leave the bridge, heading towards your quarters.


----------



## Epidemius

Xarian measured Jack's arm carefully and quietly. he began to babble on about something but Xarian dismissed it, he had to attend to his arm. Xarian wrote down the final measurement on his notepad and put it away. 
"Alright," said Xarian. "I'm finished. Take good care of Jack Elizabeth." Xarian left the infirmary and began to walk to his work area. He started to formulate designs in his head. weapons, attatchments, materials, the ideas constantly grew and changed in his head.
When he reached his quarters he went over to his desk. he opened a drawer and got out a few tools. he then crossed the room to a cabinet. opening it, he looked around inside. 
"Ah, there it is." he said as he pulled out some design notes from awhile back. "They're a little old, but they'll do."
He brought them over to his work station and began going over the materials list.
About an hour later, he began to quickly work on the mechanical arm.


----------



## Santaire

Nex heard huge explosions from outside his room and then a ball of pure psychic energy blew in the shielded door. The other of the younger psykers, a girl he noticed, stood there with psychic energy pouring off her. She was barely an adult but her eyes blazed with horrific power and her robes whipped about her in an unearthly wind.

She unleashed another blast of psychic energy at him, screaming about the death of her twin brother, and he shut his eyes, waiting for death but opened them when he heard her gasp in surprise. He realised he was unharmed and then looked down. The stake he had picked up was glowing with energy. It must have absorbed the blast he thought.

The psyker did not remain in-active for long. Realising the problem she began hurling items in the room at him. He dived forward, dodging the chair that came hurtling towards him and would have knocked his head off had he not reacted. She threw all manner of things at him. Torture devices flew off brackets in the wall and then the brackets themselves flew at him.

He hit one of the incoming projectiles with the stake and the torture device exploded. Realising this he lunged at the psyker with the weapon and seeing his intention she threw a wall bracket at his arm knocking it aside before smashing a fine bladed torture scalpel into his chest making him stumble back and almost piercing his armour. He then began to continue dodging the multiple things that flew at him waiting for another opportunity…


----------



## dragonkingofthestars

Jack was mumbling, muttering, growling Silences leaned in close, "what are you saying?" 

"don't bother," Xarian muttered so focused he did not notice he was talking "he feverered." done with his memerments he truned and walked off.

"maybe, but he knew about the servitor optics, I heard of his fighting on the prates, hes touched in the head, true, but perhapes hes been touched by the Emperor." She stood up "I think there somthing going on." she unmaglocked her bolter and left the operating room, knowing there was literal nothing more she could do. 

she turned and looked at the corrador, one went left, the other right, she wished she had learned the ship better. 

"well, when given a fork in the road, trust to the Emperor." she took the holy symbol around her neck, a twin headed eagle, and with a light flick set it spinning in a golden arc.

it slowly stopped spining and when it did it was angled so the a wing pointed down the right hallway. breflying she let it unspoil then she put it back down around her neck. 

"thank you emperor." she said with a prayer and a quick bow toward the direction of terra and she set off down the right hallway her bolter prowling like preditor long forgoten to the mists of time.


----------



## DasOmen

jack's eyes shot open like a cannon had gone off next to his head. frantically he'd try to get up, moving like a zombie reanimating itself, though that didn't do well to stand up, and soon he smacked into the floor, rather hard too, not that you can smack yourself into the floor softly when you fall off of a table mind you.

"asleep too long! out of the fight i have been, time has passed, too much time! enemy is moving now, lining up points of opportunity, preparing traps! their psykers will be on us, they are on us now as we wait" he could feel restrictive arms on him, trying to calm him, but he could not be calmed so easily. "the inquisitor is in danger! he knows not what lies ahead of him on his path, psyker resistance, servitors, and worse. the commander of the station is dead, she was but a puppet of the greater evil that befalls this sector. now the threat sends more of it's forces, forces we are unprepared for! psykers, daemons, heretical servants and mindless slaves of a false machine god! arm yourself sister! to the right is your path! they will not stop, and neither can we stop shining the emperor's light! mind the lanterns on your paths! head their warmth, their glow will bask you in his light and keep you safe, their glow shall guide you in the darkness of the station" 

jack continued to struggle, his mind in a maddening race to catch up and make up for lost time, he could feel it, scrambling his mind, he could not give the warnings in order, but soon his own voice became nothing more than static to his ears, his rantings went off into a assortment of litanies and chants. they told tales of heretics hiding in the shadows while true and just warriors hunted them down. his balled continued, and seemed to mirror the rough movements of his allies. a verse about a mercenary who had lost greatness once now faced down psykers but rest under the emperor's protection, it spoke of how a sister moved to aid those she knew not where they were, it spoke of many things, altered to a degree, but accurate if you knew how to listen to the rantings of the madman.


----------



## Serpion5

*Eseau*

'We`re getting closer!' barden called. 

'I know.' Eseau replied. 'I can feel it.' There had been a strong psionic presence grating on his mind for some time now. It was a strange presence, the acolyte suspected the presence of multiple psykers up ahead. The only other feasible explanation was a psyker possessed. Eseau couldn`t decide which he`d rather face. 

The two of them continued on. Jayna had peeled off to reinforce another conflict elsewhere, leaving the two men to investigate the brig. Eseau dearly wished he still had his jokaero ring, it had saved his life on several occasions before and he always felt somewhat defenceless when he was without it. Still, there was nothing to be done about it until it could be recharged. 

They rounded the last corner before the brig. Eseau`s guess had been right, there were two psykers up ahead. One of them was entering the brig`s main room, the other turned to face the two of them. Raising his hands, the psyker blasted a wave of energy at them. 

'ESEAU, MOVE!' Barden shouted, stepping forward. Eseau bolted backwards. He couldn`t hear Barden`s next words, they seemed to be some sort of warding incantation. 

_I`ve never seen him do that before._ Eseau mused. _How odd._ It appeared as though Barden wanted to keep the young acolyte out of danger. But was Barden up to the task of fighting these kinds of threats on his own? And what about the other psyker that had gone after Nex? 

_Or has he gone to free him..._ Eseau thought darkly. He backtracked, running as fast as he could to approach the psyker from the other side. If he was focussed on the threat in front, he wouldn`t see the threat from behind...


----------



## dragonkingofthestars

Silences went down the corridor bolt gun tracking back and forth. she stopped at a cross roads riddled with bodys "strange." she nelt down to one, they were killed by close range shot gun blasts, and none of her compaions used shot guns, so what was going on? 

looking around she saw each body was near a shot gun that they had used when alive. _"they had killed each other?"_

"sister?" a voice said and Silences spun around on one knee bring the bolt gun round, a group of five peacekeepers jumped back "don't shoot sister!" 

the bolt gun did not lower "what are you doing?"

"this corrador is the entrance to the ship were guarding it." 

she walked forward, carefuly but she remembered the captain who had been cowed by the inqusitor symbol.

"why did you attack us?" 

"the commander,," at that point they were cut off by a noise in the ship.

five shot guns and one bolt gun stared down the hallway.

"what was that?" 

"I don't know." Silences responded. she came to the conclusion that the Peacekeepers were pawns, "stay here, turn on my and my bolt gun, were turn on you." she marched into the depths of the ship.


----------



## Jackinator

Barden strained against the immense forces the psyker was bringing into play, he was powerful but this man was so far above him it defied belief, he must have been nearly alpha level at least. Sweat beaded his brow as another wave of psychic power flowed over him, he couldn't hold much longer, unless something changed...

Nex: The psyker continues in her attempts to kill you, knowing that you can't last much longer against her onslaught, you resolve to do your best to slay her. Grasping your makeshift weapon you hurl yourself towards her, dodging the thrown objects. You lunge towards her, but see your blow will not be fatal. However the psyker screams in agony, a sound of almost physical force that sends you to your knees, convulsing as pain rips through you. By the time you look up she has been engulfed in a blue, ethereal flame, seconds pass and in that time her body is utterly destroyed, releasing a final blast of energy that throws you against the wall of your cell.

Eseau: You reach a junction, and see Silences hurrying towards you, but before you can say anything a psychic blast hurls you from your feet. The older psyker is retreating down the hallway, falling back from the Inquisitor's renewed onslaught. The Inquisitor seems surprised, as though he expected a tougher fight. But you dismiss that, focusing on regaining your feet as your vision fades in an out of blackness. You sway on your feet, but attempt to stumble away from the conflict.


Silences: You arrive in time to see Eseau thrown against the wall by a wave of psychic power. A powerfully built man, bearded and wearing loose robes enters your field of vision. He and Inquisitor Barden are trading mental blows as the man retreats down the hallway. You see the Inquisitor's seeming surprise and are faced with two choices, you can help the Inquisitor, or you can assist Eseau.


Elizabeth: Jack has stabilised, but you hear the sounds of combat outside. You know that Jack is not going to rest easy, do you stay and ensure his health, or do you leave the infirmary to find out what is going on?

Jack: You hear the combat outside. The voices come back more strongly this time, insisting that you leave, you struggle to get up, but you are still weak. Should you succeed in getting out of the bed you lean heavily against the wall, the room spinning. You stagger towards the door, but for some reason you can never quite reach it.

Xarian: Your project took less time than you envisioned, you had enough parts pre-made that the hour it took you to assemble and calibrate them has passed in moments. Take your construction, describe it and it's capabilities briefly, then head towards the infirmary. As you hear the sounds of combat you quicken your pace.


----------



## dragonkingofthestars

Silence pounded down the hall way heavy power armor pound off the metal floor. 

she passed round a corner, only to be driven back by a errent blast of psy lighting that almost skorched her hair off _"a witch"_ her mind hatefully thought as she pokeda round again and looked the corner again, Eseau had been thrown by the same bast of energy that almost hit her. 

A powerfully built man, bearded and wearing loose robes entered her feild of vission, she was buffeted by a metal shock wave just by looking at the witch. 

another metal buffet broke her chain of thought slightly, but to be effect by this distence was like be on the receving end of a after shock, they were't aimed at her, but the Inqusitor.

She responed the way her training told her, the witch must DIE!

with a roar of faith she came round the corner bolter blazeing.

Barden felt her come round the cornor and moved out of the way so she had a clear fireing lane. 

Bolter blazeing at a 1000+ rounds a minite the bolter sprewed a long chain of tracers that just pittered off a force feild the witch raised for a moment she kept advanceing the bolt still pitering off it, but when the durm magizen ran out and she reloaded a massive psycice blast blew her off her feet and slamed her agaisnt a wall, but gave Barden his chance.


(whould haveing Barden do somthing be godmodding?)


----------



## Serpion5

*Eseau*

Eseau rounded the last corner before the final corridor that he would need to take. At the end of this one, he would turn right and head the psyker off from behind. He drew his pistol and sword, clicking off the safety and hitting the activation rune at the same time. It was only a few metres away, he could hear the shouts of rage from the two of them. 

But he could also hear heavy footsteps, like someone in power armour. Silences? 

He reached the junction, and everything seemed to happen at once. Eseau looked left, to the source of the heavy footsteps. It was indeed Silences. Then he looked right, seeing the malevolent psyker retreating from Barden`s assaul towards him. 

'Oh...Shit.' Eseau muttered as he realized the psyker was heading directly for him. With a casual flick of his wrist, he threw Eseau back with a wave of psychic energy that blasted Eseau`s mind as equally as it slammed his body at the far wall. 

His mind was swirling in all directions as he struggled to stand. He could see nothing but stars and lights. He stumbled, leaning heavily against the wall as he shambled away. His pistol had fallen from his hand and he had a loose grip on his sword. He turned, but still could not see a damn thing...


----------



## oblivion8

> Elizabeth: Jack has stabilised, but you hear the sounds of combat outside. You know that Jack is not going to rest easy, do you stay and ensure his health, or do you leave the infirmary to find out what is going on?


Nothing was more important to Elizabeth then the continuation of her patients, and this day was no exception. 

Silence had run off at the sound of fighting in the distance, so Elizabeth was left alone with the crazed man she was treating. He was muttering something, and Elizabeth went for her sedatives. Jack jolted upright, and started to fumble off the bed. Elizbeth quickly put a hand on his chest to press him downwards but the man fought with such ferocity that Elizabeth dropped her sedative vial, its murky contents smashing on the floor. "Jack, you are not well enough to get up" Elizabeth protested, but Jack just stared to sing at the top of his voice, his words half contorted by the blood being forced up into his mouth from his wounds. "Jack!" she yelled, "you MUST lay back down before your chest wound reopens!"

Jack did not listen, his immediate goal was to obviously get to the action, Elizabeth was literally being pushed back by his psychotic burst of strength. Just then another hand grabbed a hold of Jacks other arm, and both Elizabeth and the unknown helper forced Jack into his restraints, he continued to fight though, and sing. 

Elizabeth turned, it was Triana.

"Thank you for your assistance Triana, I was at a loss of how to restrain him." Elizabeth, unclipped her hair, and rearranged the mess before placing the clip back. 

"No worries mistress." Triana blushed at her superior officers praise.

"What in the blazes is going on outside, have we been attacked yet again?!" Elizabeth said. Trianas face resumed its pale statues at the return of her mistresses brash personality. "I am unaware of what is happening exactly Madam, but I rushed here as soon as I learned of a conflict." Triana bowed.
"Well we will wait here and tend to this silly mans wounds until that damn artificer comes back with Jacks spare arm" Elizabeth said, taking a quick breath as she sat herself down at her desk. "I assume you can handle the preliminary procedures Triana?" she asked the girl.
Triana's face flushed once again. "Of course mistress."


----------



## Epidemius

There was a click of metal as Xarian slid the last piece of the arm into place. he picked it up and examined it. it hadn't taken as long as he'd expected, the only stage left was weapon testing. He pointed it at the wall and tweaked a few wires with his mechadentrite. a grapple line flew out of the arm and slammed into the wall. Xarian made it retract and marked on his paper. _Grapple: check_. he then inspected the other attachment on the arm. it was a built-lasgun. although rapid fire, it had more similarities to a laspistol than that of its larger variant. it was short-barrled and most of it was within the arm, causing only the barrel to show itself. he clicked a panel open near the weapon and a slot for holding las ammo showed. Xarian slid a battery pack into the area and clicked it shut. with a few tweaks, a short burst of lasfire flew at the wall.
Xarian closed his notes and got up. taking the arm, he walked towards the infirmary. he looked closely at it while he was walking, not fully paying attention to where he was going.
Xarian woke from his trance as the faint sounds of battle could be heard in the distance.
"What in the Emperor's name is that?" Xarian quickened his pace.


----------



## Santaire

The psyker continued her onslaught, sensing that Nex was nearing the end of his endurance. Resolving there and then that he would have to end it quickly he charged forward, diving into a roll under a flying, makeshift missile before continuing on, running at full speed towards her.

Nex lunged at the psyker with the weapon and drove it right through her gut, knowing it would not be fatal he continued anyway. She screamed aloud. A flood of psychic energy poured out of her throwing Nex back but leaving the stake still thrust through her stomach. She burned with blue, ethereal flames that suddenly vanished before exploding outwards in a huge shockwave. Nex was knocked unconscious by the blast but came to soon afterwards. He climbed to his feet and ripped the psychic stake free of her body. It came free in a wash of dark blood.

He heard the sound of fighting from in the corridor and staggered through the door. He staggered out of his cell and began to stumble down the corridor. After about twenty feet he staggered sideways and slammed into the wall. He realised that the psyker’s blast must have damaged something after all. He fell to his knees and his vision blacked over but a voice woke him. Nex’s eyes clouded over and he lost consciousness…


----------



## Jackinator

*Betrayal*

The sounds of heavy combat rang in the corridor. The inquisitor and his teammates fought the rogue psyker with ferocity and courage, but none could gain the advantage. Suddenly the psyker threw out a wave of powerful energy, knocking out the lights and sending the defenders to the ground. 
The traitor sensed their opportunity. 
Raising an ornate knife, they walked through the darkness, seeking their desired prey. 
Where are you inquisitor? I have a gift for you!
The sound of heavy breathing and clanking armor could be heard to the left. The traitor turned slowly, grinning while lifting their knife and stalking forward. 
There he is, I found him. Now to end it…
The traitor stopped in front of him, eyeing his form like a hungry animal. The traitor then plunged their knife into unprotected flesh, spattering blood all over their arms and the floor. Then another. And another.
DIE! DIE! DIE! the traitor screamed in their mind.
The traitor was about to deliver the fatal blow when they heard someone quickly approaching.
“Inquisitor? Inquisitor? Where are you?”
The traitor threw the knife away and ran into the darkness.
I’ll have to finish the job later…


----------



## Jackinator

Inquisitor Ferric Barden strained against the forces pounding against him. The psyker should have been weakening but he had kept going as strong as ever. And then, suddenly , he had retreated. Moving away down the corridor towards the infirmary. The man stopped, Barden had paused himself, standing next to the infirmary door. Then the old psyker grinned evilly. And the lights went out, a psychic shockwave blowing out each set along the corridor. By dint of his abilities Barden could still see and he made to resume his attack, but someone reared up in front of him, a long and vicious looking knife clutched in their hand...

All: You are either already present or arrive as the emergency lighting flickers on. You see the Inquisitor lying face down in a pool of blood, a sacrificial knife discarded beside him. How do you react? Should you run to his side you discover that he is still bleeding, you are next to the infirmary. However, he is a heavy man and it is unlikely that any of you, with the exception of Silences because of her power armour, will be able to lift him unaided.

(OOC: I know it's not much but it's just a build up to get everyone into the right position etc. Next update is on Saturday)


----------



## dragonkingofthestars

Silences pulled her self to her feet standing up the psykers blast, "err,," she stood up her head pounding, she looked around and picked her bolt gun up, and looked around again only to see Inquisitor Barden in a pool of his own blood.

"INqusitor, she tryed to walk over only for her head to pound again, she gritteed her teeth and ran over to him.

_(as the rest of the acolytes arived they noticed somthing about Silences, the blast had blown half her hair off.)_


----------



## Epidemius

Xarian's heart pounded as he raced through the empty corridors, forgetting all about delivering the arm when the blast had gone off.
"What in the Emperor's name happened!"
He came to an abrupt stop when he saw the incapacitated Inquisitor sprawled on the floor, with Sister Silences kneeling next to him.
Xarian ran up and kneeled beside him.
"What happened, Sister Silences?" he inquired, concern in his voice.


----------



## Serpion5

*Eseau*

Eseau heard another explosion, gunfire, and flickering on his senses. He still shambled along the wall attempting to evade the conflict until his senses reasserted themselves. He blocked his ears tightly, and closed his eyes. It helped. He was vulnerable, but no more so than when he was disoriented. 

Then the lights went out. He opened his eyes and saw only darkness. He stood upright, his faint psychic sense feeling distress very close by... 

_Pain!_

He started to move back towards the group, hoping nothing had befallen anyone. Then, as he felt his way around a corner, the lights returned. 

'Master, no!' Eseau cried out in shock and horror. Barden lay in a pool of blood, a discarde knife on the floor. Silences already knealt at his side, injured but still functional. She had lost a portion of her hair. 

Eseau moved over, his eyes fluctuating between his wounded master and the weapon that had assailed him. He immediately tore off a piece of his vest and wrapped the weapon in it to protect any fingerprints or other evidence it may hold. 

'Everyone!' He bellowed. 'Inquisitor Barden has been injured, and the heretics are becoming bolder. Be vigilant, we can afford no mistakes!'

Turning to Silences, he said; 'Is it safe to move him? He needs medical care urgently. Where is Elizabeth?'


----------



## dragonkingofthestars

Turning to Silences, he said; 'Is it safe to move him? He needs medical care urgently. Where is Elizabeth?' 

"Elizabeths near by, I don't know if its safe to move him, but it likely worse for him to bleed on the floor." she walked over flexing her armor joints to make sure they were fully functional." 

She reached down and picked the Inqusitor up, "lead on there may be more hertics around."


----------



## DasOmen

jack managed to find his way out of the infermary only to find the inquisitor in less then decent shape. the one armed trooper still had it in his head to get the man some medical attention however. all he could think about was getting the inquisitor to the medical room, to heal him, to do whatever he could. the thaughts of this dominated his mind more than anything else.

"get him to the medical room, yes we must get him to the medical room."


----------



## Santaire

Nex walked slowly into the corridor but froze when he saw Barden clutched in Silences arms. He moved forward quickly saying "is he alive?" He checked the Inquisitor's pulse and it was faint but still there. Nex picked up a knife from the floor and turned warily, searching for an enemy that might try to attack the wounded Inquisitor. He had a prickling sensation on the back of his neck and turned fast.

He realised everyone was staring at him. “What?” he asked…


----------



## Jackinator

Shadows, falling, murmurs, arms lifting him. Where was he, Caterva, planet, no, he wasn't, suddenly his vision cleared and he found himself sitting at a desk, students sat around him as they all concentrated on their books. The instructor at the front of the classroom droned on and the other students listened attentively. Barden knew he should concentrate but felt his attention drawn inexorably to the shadows to the sides of the holograph at the front of the room. Something was watching him. Then the lights snapped out. He heard footsteps, heavy breathing, a sharp pain, then he was falling again.
___________________________________________________________

Another room now, Lord Inquisitor Scilenar stood behind a lectern in the immense room that was the progeniums primary lecture hall. A handful of students stood before him. "You have done well to come this far, of the three hundred who joined us here only you have made it this far, but before you go any further you must join an Inquisitor until he or she deems you fit to ascend to our ranks". Ferric felt that creeping feeling again, _he was here, couldn't they see he was here_. Then everything went black.
___________________________________________________________

Now his own master lay there, his life blood pouring out on the floor, the cult master poised above him, psychic lightning flaring from his eyes as he raised the knife for a killing stroke. Ferric gulped and raised the bolt pistol, preparing to fire, but the scene faded and he was left with only his master and the cultist. Then the cultist too flickered and changed, becoming a blurry indistinct figure, knife clutched in hand. He tore his eyes away from the shadowy figure to look at his master. But it was an older man sprawled on the ground, a long coat flapping around him as blood pooled around him. Barden gasped. It was him, and the shadowy figure, before he could do anything the figure, face revealed at last, cackled and plunged the blade down, he felt the pain in his chest, and fell forwards into blackness.

Eseau: The Inquisitor has been unconscious for three days now and you are uncertain and unsure of what to do. You have been cruelly thrust into command and still haven't quite understood the full magnitude of your predicament. Sitting at the Inquisitor's desk you ruffle through papers, searching for anything that might tell you what you are supposed to do. After some time you wake sharply, you open your message slate only to discover the message that woke you is from Barden.

"If you have this message then the situation is already worse than I anticipated. I must be dead if you have recieved this as the message was on a time delay to be reset every 3 days. I imagine that you are unsure and uncertain, my death will have thrust you cruelly into a position I did not want you to suffer. But you have proven yourself a worthy student, and I, Ferric Barden hereby give my approval for the elevation of my acolyte Eseau to the rank of Inquisitor, to be confirmed by Lord Inquisitor Erlon Scilenar. Eseau, the code to my storage room is Eisenheim. I hope it's contents prove useful to you."

Intrigued you rise and move across to the sealed door on the opposite side of the room. You key in the code and the doors slide silently open. The room inside is sparse and unfurnished, a pedastal in the middle holds an ornate master-crafted power sword and below it, nestled in red velvet is an Inquisitorial rosette, a hand scanner below the armoured glass seems to offer access. You are astonished when it opens to your touch and lifting the rosette you are even more astonished to find that it is burnished with your name. As is the sword. How do you react to your newfound rank and do you still harbour suspicions on your fellow team members, did you reimprison Nex or did you judge him innocent? There is a beep and you look up to see a camera screen before you, the other members of the retinue are waiting expectantly outside, and you look around to see items suited to each of them. Do you let them in or do you still suspect them? (Santaire, don't post until after Serpion )

All: Having been left on the ship in relative peace for the last few days you feel useless and out of place. Some of you may resort to training while others may resort to other time killing methods. What are your feelings about Eseau about at this point? You all recieve similar messages to Eseau's though addressed to you personally and with certain details changed, the code for instance, is omitted. However, the Inquisitor does tell you to make your way to his quarters and to wait outside for Eseau. When you do so will you respect his wishes or will your curiousity get the better of you. Should Eseau choose to admit you then you will all recieve one item.

Elizabeth: A master crafted narthecium is concealed in a finely carved wooden box and is accompanied by a bolt pistol with Mercy carved on one side, and Judgement on the other.

Jack: A marksmans quality hotshot laspistol awaits you, a low power sight mounted on it and a set of high efficiency power packs.

Silences: A heavily ornamented combi-melta with a large box mag clipped to it. It is decorated with finely chased silver and gold which spell out Absolution on the side.

Xarian: A slim, short blade that on closer examination is revealed to be a power knife, a rare but effective weapon.

Nex: A simple guardsmans weapon awaits you, one of the famed needle las pattern snipers and a stash of hot shot clips. Despite it's lack of ornamentation it is a pinnacle of design and weaponry. It appeals to your old soldiers heart more than any power sword or bolter ever could.


----------



## Serpion5

*Eseau*

_Why, damnit. Why?!_ 

There was little else coursing through Eseau`s mind at the moment as he read and reread everything he could find on Barden`s latest case. So far he had turned up empty. It seemed Barden had a tendency to keep his work as secret as possible. Unfortunately, that meant that if he died, most of his investigation would die with him. 

_Damnit Master!_ Eseau cursed to himself. _Why? Didn`t you trust me??!_ He slammed his fist down on the desk, before laying his head down as well. He had been here for hours, and fatigue had finally caught up with him. He fell into a restless sleep with his own curse still fresh in his mind. 

_'Why aren`t you working?' Barden asked. 

'Forgive me Master, I was just taking a short break to let my eyes rest. I`ll get straight back to-'

'Listen to me Eseau, you were a fine officer, but this isn`t Ultramar, this isn`t your old Officer`s Club, I expect you to meet your full potential and you can`t do that if you`re staring blankly into the distance. Now is there a problem?'

'Well, I...' Eseau stuttered. No, he had no excuse. 'I am sorry. I have failed you Master. I will not betray your trust again.' 

'Good.' Barden said, as a chiming sound started from somewhere. 'Then I think you should wake up.'_

'Gah!' Eseau jumped awake suddenly, banging his knee on the underside of Barden`s desk. 'Damnit!' he cursed. Looking back to one of the dataslates, Eseau realized that it was his own message receiver that was making the chiming sound. 

Intrigued, he picked it up and activated it. Why would someone on the ship send him a message rather than simply coming to see him? 

His eyes widened, and he fought back a wave of fear and sadness as the message played out...

++If you have this message then the situation is already worse than I anticipated. I must be dead if you have recieved this as the message was on a time delay to be reset every 3 days. I imagine that you are unsure and uncertain, my death will have thrust you cruelly into a position I did not want you to suffer. But you have proven yourself a worthy student, and I, Ferric Barden hereby give my approval for the elevation of my acolyte Eseau to the rank of Inquisitor, to be confirmed by Lord Inquisitor Erlon Scilenar. Eseau, the code to my storage room is Eisenheim. I hope it's contents prove useful to you.++

Eseau`s heartbeat raced as he turned to face the door. Rising slowly, he walked to the door and raised his hand to the keypad. Forcing his hand to steady, he keyed in the code. The door slid open and he stepped inside. 

He saw a glass case, armoured glass protecting two items of exquisite design. One of them he recognised instantly, the Official seal of the Inquisition. An Inquisitorial Rosette. The other was a masterpiece, crafted to perfection by hands that clearly knew their art. A sword, the finest blade Eseau had ever laid eyes on. He looked around the small chamber, there were other weapons here as well. 

There was a power knife, a customised laspistol, a boltpistol, narcethium and even an exquisite combi melta were stashed here. Barden had accounted for almost everyone. Even Nex had been accounted for in the form of a needle pattern sniper rifle. 

Ah, what a predicament this was. Even though Eseau had allowed Nex to be released due to his assistance in the attack that had so badly wounded Barden, he still did not completely trust the man. Perhaps it was best to keep this chamber... secret for the time being? Was that the right thing to do or would that be a cowardly act? Thinking heavily on this, he was suddenly interrupted by another chime. He looked at the security display and saw the Inquisitor`s retinue mostly assembled outside the door. Perhaps the message was co-ordinated with others? Maybe they all received the order? 

Eseau placed his hand on the security panel for the case. As he suspected, the case opened. He retrieved the rosette but left the sword in place for the moment. As he stepped out of the chamber he locked it again before making sure his laspistol was holstered at his waist. Taking a deep breath he opened the door and allowed the group to enter. 

'I trust you all know by now what the situation is.' He began, meeting their gazes one by one as he spoke. 'Our master Lord Barden is in a critical condition, and we likely must uncover the traitor by ourselves. Fortunately, our master had prepared for his own incapacitation.' Eseau revealed the Rosette in his palm, bearing the seal of the Inquisition as well as Eseau`s own name. 'As of right now, I am in charge of this investigation. You are all officially under my command. Before we go any further, I want each of you to give my your word, with the Emperor as our witness, that your devotion to this arrangement is absolute. Do you all understand?' 

Eseau sincerely hoped he was ready for this burden as he awaited their replies. 


--- --- --- --- --- 

(ooc: You`ll get your stuff if I like your answers.  )


----------



## Epidemius

Xarian stepped forward. With a hand over his heart and standing tall, he recited his oath:

"Impero duce, ferro comitante, fidem meam obligo ad Eseau. Impero auxilium nemo timeo. In bona fide, vicemus."


----------



## dragonkingofthestars

Silences thought about it, she followed Barden not out of any othes but out of loyalty out of how he proved her loyaty upon her encounter with the bloodletters she flexed her arm, the robotic one. still Eseau need her help aned she would be remissed in her dutys as a sister of battle if she did not.

she walked forward and fell to one knee simlier to a prayer, and spoke in a cermonaly sister of battle othe.

"Si igne inferni, cum ventis verbera malleo cutem qui stant coram te sunt qui tribulant me mea fides imperatoris immortales mortuus humanis, ut vivam, sequetur et mandata tua."*

she reamined bowed till he acepte the it.

________________________________________________________________
English from latin translation:Though the fires of hell, though the winds that lash and hammer my skin, those who stand before you, are my foes, by my faith in the immortal emperor, who died so that humanity may live, i will follow you and your commands.


----------



## Santaire

Nex stood straight. "I swear on the Emperor’s golden throne and upon my life, I will follow you as I did Barden, he is a brave man and will continue fighting the Emperor’s enemies till his dying breath. Upon this I swear," Nex said sincerely and dropped to one knee before the acolyte. He bowed his head. "And if you still suspect me of a crime against the Imperium land the killing blow now and grant me death, whether in peace or in turmoil."

Nex waited for Eseau’s response. The vow was a sincere one and his life was a huge weight to place in the hands of a nervous acolyte just turned Inquisitor but Nex knew that Eseau would judge him fairly at least. He wanted that last chance at redemption in the new Inquisitor’s eyes…


----------



## DasOmen

jack had been standing outside the inquisitor's office long before he got the message to be outside. oddly enough it actually said "i know you're standing outside my office" somewhere inside the message. but when the new inquisitor stepped outside and asked them to recite a oath to him, jack just listened to the others, the bland standard oath was repeated over and over and over by the lot of them. when it came his time he just stayed silent as he removed a fresh canteen of whiskey, popped the lid with his freshly replaced mechanical limb and started to drink. just as you thought he'd stop drinking, he kept going till the canteen was dry as a bone. and with a twinkling glare in his eye he made a half step forwards pointing down towards the infirmary where the inquisitor still rested.

"his quest is my quest, his line is my line. he drew the line in the sand, i drew a line in the sand, it is the same line. he found me, he took me in. saying i owe my life to him is a lie, my life is the emperor's! he demands my service, and he tells me to serve the inquisitor. " whipping his arm back around his grin would widen as he locked eyes with easu. "your will is my will, my will is your will. draw your line inquisitor, and i shall draw the same line. a wise man said a man had to answer for the wicked that he'd done. so gather the rope of the emperor, and we'll hang them high in a tree! the assassin still roams free, the traitor is still amongst us. torture me, interrogate me, i have no secrets to hide Inquisitor. your will is my will, my will is your will. this system is in peril, it is our job, it has always been our job to save this system from chaos. " little after that jack's words just became slurred together in a hymn of the empire, singing the song of the old inquisitor's home planet and his deeds thereof.


----------



## oblivion8

Silence had fell to one leg, customary to her their order.
Nex had spoken some oath of ever dying loyalty.
And Jack had.... well Jack had been Jack, and he still continued to mumble some sort of hymn to himself.
Even the mechy Xarian had sworn in his most esteemed words.

Elizabeth stepped forward, "I swear as a sister of battle, and as a medical practitioner, that I will follow you as I did Barden, and...." she grinned "try and keep the lot of you alive long enough to finish this". 

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Silence glancing at her scornfully, more than likely because Elizabeth did not follow suite with her customary oath.


----------



## Serpion5

*Eseau*

Eseau stared across the group, until at last they began to make their case.

He nodded as Xarian recited his pledge in High Gothic. He kept his face passive as Nex swore his life to Eseau. He smiled as Silences gave the sisterhood`s vow of fealty in High Gothic. He stifled a laugh at Jack`s enthused rambling of loyalty and pennance, and he matched Elizabeth`s grin as she swore her own oath. 

'Well I must say, I am truly touched by all of this.' Eseau bowed his head to them. 'In light of the situation and by our Lord Barden`s wishes, I am going to present each of you a gift to use in our pursuit of this heretic.' He omitted what he planned to do should any of them double cross him. If the traitor truly was one of them then this may appear to be a naive move, but Eseau had learned more than a few torture tricks in Barden`s service. 

He turned his back on the group, covering the keypad with his back and re-entering the code. He stepped inside the chamber, and withdrew carrying the Narcethium and Bolt Pistol. These he presented to Sister Elizabeth. 'It should be fairly easy to keep us alive with this, eh Sister?'

He went back again, and returned with the elaborate combi melta. This he presented to Sister Silences. 'May the Emperor guide your aim Sister.' He said to her with a bow. 

Again he visited the chamber, this time returning with a laspistol and a small blade. 'Clean kills, Jack.' He said, giving the pistol to the former guardsman. 'And may the Omnissiah guide your hand, Adept.' He said, giving the knife to Xarian.

One final trip. When he withdrew, the sword was slung across his shoulder and in his free hand he held a simple yet finely crafted lasrifle of the needle pattern design. Meeting Nex`s gaze sternly, he handed the rifle to him butt first. 'If I have wronged you in my suspicions, then you may take this chance to prove it, and earn yourself absolution and my apology.'

With that he stood back, sheathed his own sword and knealt on the floor in front of them. 

'In the Emperor`s name, For Barden.'


----------



## Santaire

Nex took the rifle and turned it over in his grip. It possessed none of the finery of Silences Combi-melta and Eseau's power sword but it's simplicity appealed to his heart more than any other fine weapon could. It reminded him of his old life as a mercenary where he and his team had got by with what they could buy. It had a more reliable and comforting feeling for Nex than any boltgun or power weapon could.

'In the Emperor`s name, For Barden.' Eseau said and sank to his knees. Nex did likewise and repeated "For Barden..."


----------



## dragonkingofthestars

He went back again, and returned with the elaborate combi melta. This he presented to Sister Silences. 'May the Emperor guide your aim Sister.' He said to her with a bow. 

she bowed back as she accepted the bolter and maglocked it to her belt were it sat like it belonged.


----------



## oblivion8

"For Barden" Elizabeth replied.

The master crafted beauty easily locked into her forearm and had a pressure sensitive screen for adjusting surgical tools built in as well as injections. The amazing tool even had some offensive capability with large needles and blades able to retract and eject.

She smiled as the machine whirled and transformed to her touch. 

She took a good inspection of her new pistol as well.

Does the Pistol have any special functionality in regard to the names, or is it just a fancy bolt pistol?


----------



## dragonkingofthestars

Silence tossed a thought around in her head, what now? Barden had know and now Inqusitor Eseau had a right to know.

Silences took a deep breath, "Inqusitor Eseau," she waited till she had his attention. 

"my I have a privite word with you?"


----------



## Jackinator

Judge Gregory Marx sat behind a desk, paper piled high as he stared down the latest avalanche of paper work dumped in front of him. He sighed, this was what he got for undercover work. He leaned forward and pulled the first folder towards him, but jumped as his communicator chimed. The folder slipped from his grip and tumbled to the floor, a precariously balanced pile of others following. "Damn it," he grumbled, pulling the chunky device out and glancing at the screen, "oh shit." It was a summons to Hirren's office, the judge at the head of internal affairs, and not a man to be kept waiting.

He left his desk in it's mess and scrambled out of the room, struggling to keep his pace at a brisk walk. He skidded around the corner and took a moment to straighten his uniform before knocking and entering the office. Hirren was not alone, with him was a slim man in a blue trenchcoat, a sister of battle, imposing in her armour, stood beside him, while a taller man in carapace armour leant against the wall, cradling a sniper rifle.

Marx was about the same height as the man in the trenchcoat, but far wider across the chest, his armour almost bursting under the strain as he came to attention. Pale blue eyes scanned the company from deeply sunken sockets, there were deep shadows beneath them. Hirren was tapping his fingers impatiently, "now that you've finally decided to join us may I introduce you to," Hirren paused at this point, waving a hand towards the shorter man, "Inquisitor Eseau." There was an air of reluctance in his voice and Marx frowned, it wasn't like the Judge to be so dismissive. "You know you're way around the slums and as such I am assigning you as liasion, is that clear?"

Marx nodded sharply, "yes sir, of course." _Oh shit_, why was it always him?

Eseau: You have spoken to Judge Hirren and find yourself disliking him already. He seems to have cottoned onto the fact that you are relatively new as an Inquisitor and although he hasn't been actively disrespectful you feel as if he is mocking you. Nonetheless he assigns you an officer and you take your leave. As you leave the precinct Marx acquires a Rhino, shamelessly flaunting your authority. Considering Hirren's seeming disregard for your authority, how do you respond to this flagrant breach of protocol? Especially considering the Judge seems more respectful of your position than Hirren. You may question him about his previous assignments etc. (But make sure you PM me about it first .)

Macto: You sense that Eseau is still untrusting of you as he specifically ordered you to accompany him to the Arbite's precinct. How did you react to Hirren? But you sense in Judge Marx a kindred spirit, an 'old soldier'. What are your thoughts about him?

Silences: You also accompanied the Eseau to the Arbites precinct and stand with little interest through his exchange with Hirren. A somewhat dishevelled judge enters and comes to attention, how do you respond to him and his later behaviour?


Xarian: Eseau had sent you, Elizabeth and Jack ahead to the refinery most recently subject to sabotage. You have chosen to bring to combat servitors with you and the foreman is clearly intimidated by their hulking forms, but not as much as by your shadowy, hooded demeanour. The other workers are watching surreptitiously but you ignore them as you step into the foreman's office, Elizabeth close behind you. You may begin your questioning, PM me with the questions and I shall let you know the answers. (No torture!! :laugh

Elizabeth: You are also uncomfortable with the two servitors but hide it considerably better than the foreman does. As you glance around at the workers you notice several of them rapidly and guiltily looking away. Perhaps some other places to check once you have finished questioning the foreman.


Jack: You see Elizabeth and Xarian accompany the foreman to his office but you remain on the factory floor. Something about it doesn't seem quite right but you can't pin it down. Ignoring the inquisitive workers you move through the factory, wincing as a sharp flash of pain shoots from your chest, it still isn't fully healed. You move to the wall and start pushing open the doors along it, that is until you reach a locked one. You glance around and confident the noise will be masked by the sounds of the factory, put your shoulder to it. It give easily, but you are met with a sight you did not expect... (Once you have posted this part I will PM you with the contents of the room)


----------



## Santaire

Nex leant against the wall, cradling his new rifle in his arms. He had guessed that Eseau did not fully trust him yet and that the Inquisitor had asked Nex to accompany him. He showed nothing but inside he still did not understand why Eseau believed that the traitor was him.

He had thought that Hirren was an idiot. Eseau may be a recently appointed Inquisitor but he had the authority to order an Exterminartus of this planet and everything on it. He had the power to send a highly trained assassin to kill the arbite officer but still the man was disrespectful. Nex had wanted to shove the man against the wall and intimidated him into showing some respect but Eseau was already suspicious, why add more reasons for him to not trust Nex.

While Nex may have disliked Hirren he warmed to Marx fairly quickly. He sensed a kindred soul in the judge, another 'old soldier' with a fair amount of experience and skills to share. The arbite was obviously nervous in the presence of Eseau but he did not show it, revealing to Nex that the man had seen enough action to be able to control his fear fairly easily.

Marx showed respect to Eseau but was not afraid to flaunt his authority, using it to aquire a rhino apc. Nex settled into one of the seats of the transport and wondered about what was to come...


----------



## DasOmen

jack for once had a decent supply of whiskey to keep his mind somewhat calm. but something was still nagging at him. his eyes, his ears, all of his senses were picking thigns up, noticing every little detail, so much so that his body kept turning around to look at everything. the sights, the smells, the sounds, he took everything in, even the taist of the air. he seemed lost in his own little world which wasn't odd for jack, his twisted mind compiling everything and giving him a insite to the area... but something was still bugging him, one thing didn't make sense and it was driving him batty. when the storm within his mind was at it's peak a booming voice pearced the lack of silence. "the heretics are among you. go now... route them out" by this time his companions had left him, followed the foreman. but just as he moved he buckled, falling to his knees like he'd been shot. 

the wound hadn't fully healed yet, and the pain he felt was emence, but he'd press on and ignore it for now as he took a particularly long chug of whiskey. the eyes of the workers were on him, he could feel them. he knew where they were, each set of eyes catching the inquisitor's seal telling them instantly he was one of the inquisitor's men. he seemed lost in thought as he moved, singing out a strange tune that praised the inquisitor in a rather biquilar way. it was in one of those strange dialects of high Gothic that few chose to study enough to comprehend. so strange was the dialect that one couldn't tell if he even took time to take a breath as he sang out, his body breaking into a flat out run as he moved through the factory. his mind racing back towards the first briefing, and he seemed to move along the path he had plotted there as if he was guided by the holy light of the emperor himself. there he found doors, dozens of doors. 

he'd start to open them one by one. often times startling the people inside. room after room he'd open, and door after door his vision got worse, more distorted from reality, more comprehensive of what he would find in the next room. notes, data, algorithms, everything seemed to spew forth from the doors to his eyes like magical glyphs. he was walking in both worlds now, his and the real one. but something stopped, namely him. he paused, looking down the hallway. eyes unconsciously gazing at the footprints, figuring out their age, shoe size, weight put into them, all of this was going through his mind until he came to realize... this was the only door, this was the one thing that didn't make sense... that didn't add up... looking to it, he didn't even have to check the handle to know it was locked. drawing his gun and with a loud resonating cry of battle, he'd break down the door, fully ready to shoot, kill, maim and burn with the emperor's light anything beyond it that was hostile. "FOR Brandon, For Easu! AND FOR THE EMPEROR ON HOLY TERRA!" he'd shout out, his voice echoing deep into the depths of the factory. whether they heard las fire as well at a pace of automatic weapons was well... yet to be seen


----------



## dragonkingofthestars

Silences: You also accompanied the Eseau to the Arbites precinct and stand with little interest through his exchange with Hirren. A somewhat dishevelled judge enters and comes to attention, how do you respond to him and his later behaviour?

Silence stood at the door way watching the exchange, not perticuly intrested, she was more concered with matter of faith then poltics. she did not know if she should be vagule offended by being the muscle here, but she was need here so,,

she metaly shurgged, no matter about that.

the door opened and a somewhat dishevelled judge enters and came to attention. Silecne looked back at Eseau, he was busy she would handal this.

she turned to face him and did a small half bow were guardsmen would have saluted "hail judge,, Hirren is currently speaking to inqusitor Eseau, why do you wish to speak to Hirren?" 

(To be edited once PMed answer return form Jackinator)


----------



## Serpion5

*Eseau*

Eseau did his best to hide his dislike of this arrogant judge, bet even so he had displayed naivety too early and would be treated as a rookie because of it. It would seem that he had a lot of proving to do, both to himself and to his peers. As Hirren spoke, he considered his next course of action. 

A younger, rather dishevelled judge entered the room. Silences stood to bar his path, but Eseau approached. 

'It is quite alright Sister, I have done speaking with this... Officer.' Eseau deliberately avoided using the jerk`s title, and led the group from the room to begin the investigation. 

- - -​
'A Rhino transport at once!' Marx called to the security guards at the vehicle hangar. 

'On whose authority?' Demanded one of the guards. 

'The Emperor`s!' Marx replied. 'This is the business of the Emperor`s Inquisition, we require a Rhino transport at once!' 

The guard looked at Eseau, and suppressing an amused grin Eseau flashed his new rosette. The guard reacted immediately, small shock and awe before quickly composing himself and making to adhere to the request. 

'It will not be long, m`lord.' Marx said to Eseau, offering a small bow.

'Good.' Eseau replied. He made sure his face was stern and his voice heavy. Marx appeared slightly uneasy at this. _Well,_ Eseau thought. _If he`s going to flaunt my power, I might as well do a bit of it myself..._ 


- - -​


----------



## oblivion8

Elizabeth, arms crossed, followed closely behind Xarian as they approached the foreman's office. One of his servitors bumped into her and she almost punched it.
Rubbing her arm, she approached Xarian. "Jack has run off" she whispered in his ear.
And as a side note.
"and you should teach your infernal machines some manners."


----------



## Epidemius

The sound of footsteps and clanking metal could be heard as Xarian, Elizabeth, and two servitors approached the foreman's office. One of the servitors was tall and skinny, with a mask fused over its face and four blade-fingered arms; it was predominately mechanical. the second was more organic, with more flesh showing than the other. its wire-infused face was visible, along with its right arm and parts of its torso; its hands were replaced with blades. 
One of the servitors bumped into Elizabeth. holding back a punch, she approached Xarian. "Jack has run off." she whispered to him, rubbing her arm. "And you should teach your infernal machines some manners."
"He'll be fine, Elizabeth. The Emperor will keep him from harm." Xarian replied. "Artifice! Wrath! come to me." Xarian ordered the servitors. the two machines instantly came to Xarian. "Keep close attention on those workers." he said, eying the suspicious characters around them.


----------



## dragonkingofthestars

Silences stood along side the door watching Eseau talk to Hirren, it was mind numbings so she had resorted to metaly reciteing every prayer in the book of the Emperore, alphabedical.

The door, opened interputed her serch for a prayer that started with Q and in came a somewhat dishevelled judge enters who came to attention. 

Silence turned from her stiff guard possture to face the Judge she did a small half bow and spoke "hail judge,, Hirren is currently speaking to inqusitor Eseau, why do you wish to speak to Hirren?" 

the Judge respodned, "I was summoned to meet him here, I believe I am being assigned to you now." He thrusts out his hand, "Gregory Marx."

Silence reached out and grabbed the hand and shock it. "well met Gregory if we are to work together I will enjoy it," she looked over his dishevelled look "if you parden the Question Judge Gregory, might I ask if you were doing feild work to warrent you apprence?"

"Aye, that is I have been on an extended period of field duty, undercover in the gangs, so I know my way around the underworld here"

Silence rasied her eye brow, that was interesting, pehapes he could tell him what he knew about the cult there here for,, but if he did not know that would tipp him off to there being one, best to let the Inqusitor handal this.

"wait a second." she said and Gregory nodded and Silence spun roud to face Inqusitor Eseau who was deep in coversation with the judge.

she waited for a pause in the coversation, "inqusitor judge Gregory is here to see you."


----------



## Jackinator

The rhino pulled into the large garage beside the immense manufactorum and Judge Gregory Marx wrestled the gears back into neutral before shutting the engine down. He paused before reciting the rites of shutdown, taking a moment to recall prayers he hadn't needed during his stint of duty. Once he had finished he stood and shuffled through into the troop compatment, ducking at the low hatch. He turned to Inquisitor Eseau, "we're here."

Eseau: The manufactorum is massive but you have two options, go to assist Jack with whatever he has found, or go and assist the interrogation of the foreman. Remember that the other members of your team are under your command, they can either accompany you, go to assist Jack or go about their own investigations, you decide.

Jack: The door swings open on rusted and now shattered hinges, inside you see nothing particularly incriminating, but the dark corridor behind the door beckons you onward with a strange fascination.

All: The rest of you wait for Eseau's commands then carry them out. it would be best if you did not respond to this update until Serpion has had a chance to.


----------



## Serpion5

*Eseau*

Eseau stepped out of the rhino transport, trying not to laugh as Marx fumbled his way through the litanies of deactivation. He took a look out at the facility`s floor before proceeding to the foreman`s office with Macto and Silences in tow. Marx hesitated awkwardly before deciding to follow, reasoning that the rhino should be safe... shouldn`t it? 

Opening the door and pausing fractionally through to give an imposing presence for a moment, Eseau stepped in and stood beside Xarian and Elizabeth before taking stock of the situation. 

Perhaps the room was a bit crowded. 'Macto, Elizabeth, stay here.' He commanded. 'Xarian, Silences, I want the two of you to have a look around. See if you can find where Jack went. Be careful.'

After they had left, Eseau turned to meet the foreman`s eyes. 'Now then. It`s time for a few questions...'


----------



## DasOmen

as jack broke through the door he didn't even stop to look around, his eyes didn't see what others saw, not in any regard. it wasn't he had special sight, but he was completely lost in his own world. to him he just saw a vast open desert that was breaking away all around him, down below battles raged against the loyal and the forsaken, those who would fight in the name of the emperor's light, and those who would shun it. explosions rocked the bridge he ran across as the two sides diked it out. jack however kept running, running into the moonlight, runes, glyphs, sigils and stamps all guided his path. to anyone else he was running down a relatively empty corodoor... to him, he was running full boar balls to the wall towards a fight with destiny, and he would not be stopped. 

surely whatever was at the end of the path noticed something as jack made his way through it like a feral enraged freight train of flesh and metal, chanting litanies in perfect tune and harmony, litanies of harmony, of war, of protection, and one that he was unconsciously burning into the walls and the floor as he fired off his pistol, a Litany of his own creation, a Litany of Vengeance and Justice in the holy name of the Emperor. in between reloads jack continued to wrench in the litany with his metallic arm as he ran full out down the hall. his voice wasn't hard to follow, it echoed eerily down the path he had taken. bouncing off of the walls as if they were a vast canyon. his companions would have no problem finding him, they would only have to follow his voice, which considering he was going at the top of his lungs was a relatively easy task. 

before jack stood another barrier, another door to deal with, another would be blockade to slow his approach to his destination. his eyes saw everything, his nose smelled the odd scents, his ears heard things he did not consciously understand, and his mind, his twisted fucked up mind was pacing it all together, altering his inner world to reflect this, something was close, and only a idiot wouldn't be aware that he was coming as he blazed a trail "into the moonlight", though his pace only became more rapid, more frantic, more... well jack, for jack did not settle for his legs alone as he neared what he knew to be his destination... lashing out with his grapnel he'd propel himself faster, swinging, pulling, and climbing his way faster and faster, fueled by a wrathful thirst for vengeance boiling deep within his veins... he could see the line he had drawn with Brandon, a line for justice, and the emperor demanded the wicked cross it... ironically enough, jack would be punting them across that line one way or another, regardless if the guilty wanted to confess or not, the emperor's justice would be had here today. trick for Easu however, was getting to jack's location, or encouraging whoever he talked to, to reveal what jack might find to them, before he purged it and showed every heretical bastard the light of the emperor.


----------



## Santaire

Nex walked into the room, brushing past Xarian as he did so. Nex gave the techpriest a brief nod before leaning angainst the wall. He slung the sniper and began sharpening his combat blade, the scratching sounding defeaning in the small room. The foreman, already seeming nervous due to the presence of Eseau looked like he was terrified. His eyes darted at Nex who gave him a sly smile as he sharpened the blade.

The man turned to look into Eseau's eyes when the newly made Inquisitor spoke saying "now then. It`s time for a few questions." The man cleared his throat nervously and looked at Nex and Elizabeth. Nex nodded and slid the grind stone up his combat knife slowly, creating something that sounded like a wailing shriek. The man turned to Eseau and said nervously "what do you want to know?.."


----------



## dragonkingofthestars

Silences gave a slight saluted and turned to Xarian to plan with him "I think I know how we can find Jack the manufactorum secrutiy camaras could tells us were he is, better then stumbling around this place blind, you concer?"


----------



## Epidemius

Silences gave a slight saluted and turned to Xarian to plan with him "I think I know how we can find Jack the manufactorum secrutiy camaras could tells us were he is, better then stumbling around this place blind, you concer?"
"I agree." replied Xarian. "Using the security cameras, we can find him much faster."



(sorry for posting late, I had finals .)


----------



## Jackinator

Gregory eyed the workers suspiciously, 2 years with the gangs had given him an instinct for danger, and it was sounding now, these workers looked... too busy. He glanced back at the office Eseau had disappeared into and a shot rang out. Instinctively he dropped to the ground, rolling behind the nearest piece of machinery. He pulled his autopistol from it's holster and risked a glance over the machine. A spray of lasbolts forced him back behind cover, but not before he'd counted 18 hostiles, weapons up and advancing with the confidence of veteran warriors...

Eseau: The foreman is cowering in his chair when you hear a shot ring out, the man looks at you with blank, terrified confusion, he obviously has no idea what's going on. You head out into the main hall of the manufactorum but as you leave the office a hail of bullets pelts your way.

Macto and Elizabeth: See Eseau's

Xarian and Silences: You have made your way to the security office of the manufactorum in time to see the violence about to unfold on the main floor. You see Jack pass a camera in an obscure sector, you have two choices, you can go after Jack, or you can go and help Eseau and the rest of the team. You don't have to make the same choice, one of you can go to find Jack and the other can go and help if you choose.

Jack: You are far enough down the corridor that you don't hear the sounds of fighting breaking out. As you continue you come upon another door, this one is more solid and has a complicated looking lock, but you have a hot shot laspistol. Once you get through you are greeted by another corridor, this one perpendicular to your own, which way do you choose? Left or right? PM me with your choice and I will let you know what you discover.


----------



## Santaire

Nex hunkered down next to the wall. Resting the sniper against the wall behind him he drew his hellgun and began shooting out the door. He took out a frag grenade and krak grenade and connected them. "Fire in the hole," he yelled and tossed the grenades at the enemy. There was an explosion, followed by several thumps as bodies fell to the floor. Nex spotted Marx in cover, closer to the foe and dived out the doorway picking up his sniper at the same time. He slid into cover a few metres behind the embattled arbite. He raised his head above cover and, taking aim on the head of one of the foe, fired the sniper. The hotshot round flashed down the corridor and blew the head off one of the enemy.

Several turned to Nex's cover and began shooting at it. Nex realised he couldn't move with them pouring firepower like that at him and stayed in cover. He searched through his pouches and found a flash grenade. "Shield your eyes," he roared to Marx before hurling the Photon Flash Flare at the hostiles. It detonated and he poked his head up to see the effects...


----------



## Serpion5

*Eseau*

Eseau couldn`t deny he was enjoying his new stint as an Inquisitor. Seeing the foreman cowering beneath his questions was empowering, but at the same time he could not help but imagine Barden`s disapproving glare at such behaviour... 

Gunfire snapped him out of his reverie and immediately Nex and Elizabeth reacted, moving back out of the office and taking up positions in the hallway just outside. Eseau glared at the foreman, but his demeanout, if anything, had only become more scared. He most likely did not know what was going on. Eseau followed the others out and ducked, barely missing a bullet that would have taken his head. 

He dove behind the nearest alcove as more gunfire headed his way. Nex had already taken a few, evident by the dead enemies laying on the other side. Eseau took aim ith his laspistol, loosing a few shots before ducking behind cover. 

Nex tossed a grenade, neautralising several soldiers and allowing Eseau to pick off another one. 

Shortly after, the enemy had clearly realized that Nex was a threat, as the fire begun to focus on his position, forcing him to keep cover beside Marx. Eseau ducked and shielded his eyes, seeing Macto prepare a flash grenade. He head the discharge, and leaned out. Three of the enemy were staggering backwards. Eseau took the chance to advance to the next alcove, not wanting to get too far ahead of his allies. As he went, he put shots into two more, missing the third as he hit the deck. 

More bullets forced the Inquisitor back into cover as he reloaded his power cell. 

_Damn._ He thought. _I wish I`d brought Jayna for this..._

- - -​


----------



## oblivion8

The conversation the Inquisitor was having took a sudden turn for the dangerous.
Bullets flew through the air and it appeared Nex was already laying down supporting fire, having taken down two of the enemy with his new sniper already.

Eseau dived for an alcove, and Elizabeth followed suite. It appeared Nex was going to stay back and pick the enemy off one by one. Then he threw something. Elizabeth had combat experience, but it wasn't extremely diverse. The flash bang went off and the stunning effect knocked her on the ground. She quickly felt her way around until she was in the alcove that Eseau had been. Unfortunately though the inquisitor had been prepared for the flash and used the moment to dive to the next alcove. 
Elizabeth moaned and picked herself up. The way seemed clear and she prepared to move to the inquisitors side. Something inside her, a gut feeling, made her stay put for a while though. Better safe then sorry she thought.


----------



## dragonkingofthestars

Silence and Xarian walked into the security office, oddly no one was there at the front desk.

Silence looked to Xarian, "should't this room be maned constently?" 

(room for comment)

the two walked into the office it was oddly quite Silence looked around and moved to open a door behind a desk, (it lead to the bank of monters that we expect in a security office) it was locked. pulling her bolt gun back she looked to Xarian "stand by." he nodded and braced him self as Silence put her helmet on.

she put one mass reactant bolt into the lock spaying the room in picese of lock and the two walked into the room and two things were clear.

one: the securty guards who normaly watched the monters were dead, they could tell as they coated the floor.

two: the manufactorum was exploading, there were at least two fire fights one between Eseau and the other with Jack.

Silence turned to Xarian rapidly "Xarian! the inquestior is under attack and Jack is being persued, I reconmend aiding Jack as hes alone and Eseau has Macto and Elizbeth.


----------



## DasOmen

jack blitzed his way through the hallway like the madman he was, he had passed several cameras though they didn't matter much to him anymore. when no one had come to greet him after the first five or six his mind had already determined what had happens to the security room's personnel. however ahead of him sat a single door. the subtle humm of it told him many things about it before his eyes could even see it, the damn thing was advanced, nearly pick proof, however few things as Brandon had found out, were jack proof, and so jack did what jack did best, latch onto the door with his grapnel, pull himself towards it at a staggering speed, and blast away with his hotshot las pistol like no tomorrow. warning lights were flashing all over in jack's mind, he was at his destination, it was just beyond this door. 

so when jack's las rounds impacted the lock, the hendges, and the things binding the door to where it sat in the frame, and then jack came smacking into it a split second later, it was no surprise that the door was blown back about a foot or so before crashing down on it's back leaving jack with just two choices of where to go. then again, jack didn't see the choices, he only saw the path ahead of him, his mind had blocked out the right path and he only saw the left, so left he went. 

as jack ran his sense of self began to reapear, the vast desert behind him fading from existance, the sounds of fighting gone as his mind ripped himself back to reality, where jack found himself seemed to be near a series of dormitories, all of them being empty, however the path jack was on was not. a bullet whizzed by jack's cheek and a las round went so close to his ear he could hear his flesh almost sear. his mind listened for the zort and zap of the las gun while his eyes looked to the staggered firing pattern of the stubber. two guards, each different weapons. one had a stubber, the other a las rifle. the stubber provided the sheer stopping power while the las rifle provided the accuracy and the reliability. the only thing that kept jack from being smacked in the face with a grenade round that had been launched at him was his psychotic method of fighting these two, in that he lashed out his grapnel and rocketed into one of the dormitory rooms where he skidded against the floor and smacked into a personal locker. the two men following him which honestly caught jack off guard for once. 

these two were a lot more skilled in combat then the standard pirate, their tricks, their tactics, hell how they fought told jack that his initial calculations about a high level invasion were correct. he'd have to inform easu of this when he saw him next. but for now jack had more problems at hand, namely the two highly trained pirates he was now dealing with. 

jack lay on his back for not a second before he saw the two men rush around the corner and into the room he was in, leaving him barely a moment to snag the locker off of the ground with the grapnel and fling it at the two in order to stop a hail fire of bullets, las rounds, and a grenade or two launched by a under slung launcher. jack however zipped away again as soon as he could, firing his hotshot las pistol as quickly as he could. most people would shoot at comfortable range using the scope with a simple notion of staying out of harms way while they were standing still. jack on the other hand had one eye looking down the scope at all times as he zipped through the air putting rounds down range. the two however dove to cover like pros, firing over it blindly to suppress jack, not that jack could be suppressed on the ground when he was hanging from the ceiling near the secondary exit for the room. when they finally broke cover and took proper aim at jack they didn't seem shocked to see him hanging from the ceiling or zipping away into the main hallway as fast as he could, instead they followed jack, nipping at his heels with bullets and grenades. 

the fight was one sided for a long time, jack evading, firing, and generally keeping out of reach, while the guards chased him down, and seemed to throw everything they had at him. eventually jack managed to get them to separate when they thought they could get him with a pincer, it would have worked too, had the man with the stubber's gun not jammed. jack had taken that short time to rush the stubber guard, breaking into melee distance like a bat out of hell/

jack crashed down form the ceiling, grapnel extended as he used it like a whip to try and hit the man, who just dropped his gun to grab the whip and try and yank him closer, jack however used the yank to his advantage, leaping towards the man and planting both feet on his chest as he retracted the grapnel despite the man's efforts and stuck it on the man's head, the grapnel's claws digging into his skull as jack tried to bring his concealed weapon to bare on his opponent's head, however mister las rifle had other ideas as a hail of las bolts smacked into the area around jack, one clipping his arm. the reinforcements the stubber guard got prompted him to remove his melee weapon, much to jack's dismay, said melee weapon was a chain sword... how jack hadn't seen this boggled his mind. it didn't seem natural, it didn't seem probable, the way they moved, how they acted, nothing pointed to a chainsword... there was no place to mount it on their bodies and jack had seen the lot of them... this confusion bought the two the time they needed to land a single bullet in jack's shoulder, forcing him to run once more. jack's mind racing to play catch up. when it did though, he realized where he went wrong. there was a weapon's cash right near the door with two slots. the man must have grabbed it when they came through the room. 

with jack's mind sound, well as sound as jack's mind could be, he turned his attention to his foes, this time he wouldn't give them a chance to react. listening to the footsteps he feinted like he was going to fire his grapnel at one entrance, only to launch it at the other. right as the grapnel zipped out the las gunner's head poked out of the door frame, he had been sneaking around trying to sneak up on jack, while the stubber man was making enough noise for the two of them, but jack's grapnel shot true, though it's aim was off by just a hair. one claw wrenched into the man's eye socket as it grabbed hold of the man's head, jack could hear the man's neck pop and crick as he was yanked towards him, the las gunner's body sailing through the air as jack reared back prepping a powerhouse of a punch. what happened next bought jack more time as the stubber man's eyes caught jack's metal fist with the lasgun inside it's port deployed, smack full on into the las gunner's skull. jack's ears picking up a wet crunch as he shattered the man's skull from a full frontal blow, the lasgunner's comrade mister stubber stood stunned as jack's concealed las rifle blasted away into the punch at a rate of near full auto, what he didn't know was jack was slowing his rate of fire on purpose. 

spinning round just as the stubber man opened fire, jack sped up his rate of fire enough to clip the man as he dove forwards. the round sizzled a hole straight through stubber man's ear. jack rolled forwards from his dive, lashing out with his grapnel to propel himself much closer to the remaining foe, who drew his melee weapon in last resort, bringing it down just as jack stood up in front of him like he was going to tackle him. 

the sound of grinding and crunching metal along with the sound of a strained engine were easily heard as jack blocked the chainsword with his arm, his hand up and taking the full blow of it. sure his hand had been shredded, but it had given him enough time to bring up his pistol and plug the man once in the chest. stubber man stumbled back clutching the wound as he gasped for air, jack however just smashed his shrapneled limb into his face, pointy bits piercing into the skull as he lashed out with a few more las bolts from his concealed rifle. 

with the two men dead jack had a bit of a OCD moment, moving over to the cots as he collected some sheets, tieing them into a pair of nooses and slipping them around each of his former opponents necks. dragging the two out into the hallway he'd hang them up at each door. a line of blood below each. with that taken care of, jack turned his attention to the door they were guarding. breathing heavily he'd approach it slowly, a trophy sitting at his hip, said trophy was stubber man's chainsword.


----------



## Jackinator

Eseau: You and your group continue fighting, slaying more of your opponents, but as you do so, you hear the grind of ancient machinery behind you, turning you see massive doors beginning to separate...


Nex: A hail of shots comes your way and you duck round your cover only to come face to face with an equally surprised warrior with a whirring chainblade...

Elizabeth: Your gut feeling pays off, as a grenade rolls into the area where you had been about to leap, it has landed next to Eseau but he is distracted, it is close enough that it's explosion would probably sevrely injure him, if not kill him, you have sworn an oath to him, but you know that to try and save him may risk your life too...

Silences: You arrive as Jack is putting the finishing touches to his handiwork, Jack looks about to hack through the door but you stop him. The design of the lock is something you have seen before, time to use your skills to their full effect. The door slides open revealing some kind of control centre, screens dominate the far wall and several men are stood with heavy weapons aimed at you. A man stood behind them barks an order and they open fire, but not before you and Jack have managed to dive inside.

Jack: See Silences

Xarian: You are pinned outside by the horrendous barrage of fire coming from inside, you take the odd snap shot but are still unable to get through the doorway. Your servitors are still with you and both are capable of taking far more punishment than you.


----------



## dragonkingofthestars

For the past minate Silene had been chargeing in the after math of Jack's carnage, broken doors, bullet puckers on walls and seering from lasguns. 

Silence rounded a last corner bolt gun raised for any targets,and almost skided on some spent shell caseings from the heavy stubber. 

she gave a half second pause takeing it all in, the bodys hanging form the ceiling, the door, and Jack

"Jack!" she yelled epecting to be the rescuer she was welcome to see Jack was ok. she jogged over, "Jack were these two gaurding that door?" Jack nodded.

Silence recalled passing a door he had burst open and put a hand on his shoulder just as he raised his grappel to burst though it again. 

"there no need for that now, cover me." she walked up to the door while Jack looked on.

Silence looked the lock over, standard biometric locking system, with additional antitampering systems. 


She reached into her belt and pulled a clamp like device from a pocket. with a frim grip she placed it over the plastic houseing of the device and spun some fine knobs till it had a tight grip she then frimly hammered the device with a flick of her robtic hand with enough force that the houseing broke from its base she then smoothly pulled away the houseing, still tighly in the grip of the clamp.


Looking at the now exposed electronics she took small wire cutter and sniped a few thin copper wires removeing the antitampering device slowly and carefuly. With it rended impotented she then turned to the Biometric.

Electronics were not her specialty, but she had seen this kind of lock before so she knew what to do. cliper going to work she sniped the wires around the scanner's sprite till most of them hang loose.

Muttering prayers of forgivness under her breath as she basterdized the complex lock by quickly soddring wires back together with a touch, litteral, her thumb and fore finger could heat just hot enough to melt the wires together. 


Looking over her shoulder Jack noted that this was a job for senior tech priest.

finaly with the door actvation controls linked to the battery the door slide silently sideways. Rapidly puting her tools back into her belt she smiled at Jack "not all door need to be broken with force."

The door slided open revealing some kind of control centre, screens dominate the far wall and several men stood with heavy weapons aimed at them. three had heavy bolter, a another pair had melta guns enough to turn Silence to molten slag, and the last man had a heav subber. A man stood behind them with a sadistic smile and pointed at them as he yelled "kill the dogs!"and the men open fire, but not before Silence and Jack managed to dive inside.

(ok jack your turn.)


----------



## Serpion5

*Eseau*

More gunfire caused Eseau to duck back into the alcove he was hiding in. He waited for a break, then loosed a few shots. Whether they actually hit he could not tell, but there was no time to think on it too much or even aim properly. He knew he would have to change tactics soon, but for now his immediate goal was surviving. 

Another grenade went off, this one not thrown even remotely far enough to constitute a threat, but at least it caused the enemy to duck. Taking advantage, Eseau leaned out, aiming to where he knew one foe to be hiding. Two of them rose at the same time, and he fired, fortunate that his target was one of them. 

With the pressure increasing with every enemy that fell, they were becoming bolder, firing upon his position with increasing rapidity and focus. Las bolts impacted all around him, the sound made it difficult to hear anything and he was forced to shield his eyes from the almost constant glare. 

A clanging sound came from somewhere shortly behind him. 

_Probably just Nex or Elizabeth. Focus Eseau!_ He told himself. 

With a deep breath, he checked his laspistol`s charge and prepared to resume firing.


----------



## Santaire

Nex dived back into cover coming up in one fluid movement from the roll. He found himself facing a surprised man wielding a chainblade. Nex was equally surprised and so froze for a few crucial seconds in which the man finally moved. He brought the chainblade down in a huge swing but Nex dived beneath the blow, barreling into the man and knocking him back. Nex grabbed him and threw him away. The man stumbled and fell to his knees but he was back on his feet in an instant.

He roared in hatred and charged, chainblade held in front of him. Nex twisted away from the blade and grabbed the man's hand that was clutching the handle of the chainblade. Nex spun and the man's arm twisted back and there was an audible crack. The man screamed in pain and two of his companions rounded the cover. All they saw was him screaming in pain and Nex over his shoulder before the chainblade ripped it's way through the man's torso. 

Nex tore the chain blade out of the corpse, letting it slump to the floor before hurling the heavy weapon at one of the men. It's killed him instantly and the other man looked shocked at how easily Nex had hurled the huge chainblade. He turned back to the Inquisition soldier and all he saw was a fist hurtling towards his head. The blow crushed the man's skull and Nex turned, picking up his hellgun from the floor...


----------



## oblivion8

The grenade fell to Eseaus side with a dull clatter, the inquisitor didn't even turn to notice the new threat, being completely occupied with the immediate dangers before him.

Elizabeth knew she had a few scant seconds, putting her own life on the line she rose from her position, took a few steps and dived.

_I'm going to have to join the handicap club on our ship after this aren't I?_ she thought, her mind filled with pictures of Jack and Silences arms and shudder... Xarians infernal walking corpses. 

She landed beside Eseau and kicked out with her left leg, smacking the grenade full on, her arms covered Eseaus body shoving him violently to the ground. 
A split second as the nade flew through the air, maybe a meter or so away the grenade went off. Shrapnel made its way towards Elizabeth. She quickly turned her head to protect her face, but her arms and body remained devoutly shielding Eseau. She brought her legs up against her chest as the first slicing shards started to make there way across her smooth skin, easily penetrating the few crevices of her armour.
She did not scream or moan. 
A few small shrapnel went into her head and neck, thankfully not into anywhere severe, but a grievous injury nonetheless. 
The grenades explosive blast then enveloped her, as did the blackness of unconsciousness.


----------



## Jackinator

Eseau: You are knocked down as Elizabeth crashes into you and a grenade goes off, she falls unconscious but you have no time to see to her health as a heavy lifter servitor punches you in the gut and sends you flying. You crash into the wall and recover just in time to roll out of the way of another blow. Unfortunately, the rest of your opponents have no qualms about damaging the servitor and continue to fire, you have two enemies to avoid but find yourself steadily driven back in the direction Jack has vanished in.

Nex: There are almost none of your opponents left but they seem to mostly be focusing on the Inquisitor, leaving you mostly alone, however, Eseau is facing a lifter servitor as well as heavy fire from the six or so remaining gunmen. At the same time you see Elizabeth struggling to rise, you are faced with three choices, distract the servitor, take on the gunmen or help Elizabeth, you can only do one, choose wisely.

Silences and Jack: Jack follows you in, firing down at the shooters and taking out two, leaving four on their feet and their commander rushing out through a door at the back. They renew their fire but Xarian sends in his servitors and they absorb most of the fire, allowing you, Jack and Xarian to move up and finish them off.

Xarian: You send your servitors in through the door, giving you the few seconds you need to slip through. You move up with the other two and easily finish off the four remaining guards, despite their heavy weaponry.


----------



## DasOmen

(and here i was waiting for our tech priest to post all this time)
jack had dove into the room along with the sister of battle, rolling in and barely missing the heavy incoming fire from their assailants weapons. with a quick motion of his battered arm he shot a grapnel up to the ceiling, unfortunately it seemed like the men in the room were apparently watching the previous fights on their monitors and were thus prepared for jack's strange antics. 

jack's mind jostled a bit as the incoming fire caused him to reach the ceiling only to kick off of it to plummet down to those below him. no longer did he see himself as a guardsmen, oddly enough he saw himself as a marine with a jump pack, and thus shouted "STRIKE FROM THE SKY" before colliding head on with the Chainsword. the spinning teeth of the deadly weapon sunk into it's first meal, the man with the heavy weapon was being ripped in half by the viciously ravenous weapon. but in such close proximity jack was only able to take down one other person with the voracious teeth of the chainsword.


----------



## Serpion5

*Eseau*

An explosion took Eseau completely by surprise, despite the obviously protective actions of Sister Elizabeth. Only after did he realize what she was doing, but it was too late now. Her form had gone limp on top of him. He dragger her further into the alcove, his grip slipping as blood started to get between his fingers. 

'No!' He growled. 'Not like this, you hear me Elizabeth?! You hold on damnit, I`m coming back for you!' 

He propped her against the wall, using a piece of his own sleeve to bandage around her head where bleeding had begun to show. He could only pray that whatever other injuries she had were not so life threatening as to have her die whilst he finished this. Whatever that humming from moments ago was, hydraulic doors by the sounds of it, had stopped, meaning whatever was coming would be here within moments. As if to confirm this, no sooner had he stepped back up to the alcove to keep firing had a gigabtic brutish servitor loomed over him. 

'Holy shi-!' The curse was cut short as a sickeningly strong fist slammed into Eseau`s midsection and knocked him back several metres. He rolled to his feet, wheezing heavily from the impact and desperately trying to to throw up. The servitor turned its ugly augmetic head towards Elizabeth, causing the Inquisitor to forget all sickness and instead give way to rage. The thing`s eyes were shielded unlike the ones before, meaning it would not be a matter of simply blinding it again.

'Get away, you ugly son of a bitch!' He roared charging heavily with blade in hand. He forced the construct to react to his presence and ignore the injured woman, swinging wildly and as rapidly as he could to disallow it as many openings as he could. But the servitor had been built well, and he lacked the physical strength to truly damage it. A las-bolt whizzed just past his ear. Clearly the heretics had no qualms about accidentally damaging the thing, meaning Eseau would have to stay directly in front of it to stay clear of most of the fire. 

Just great... 

He missed a stroke, giving the servitor the opening it had clearly been waiting for. It hit him hard again, this time in the chest. 

Through the stars that clouded his vision, Eseau saw Nex move slightly off to the side. Overcome with concern and a surprising lack of thought for his own safety, he shot a glance back towards where Elizabeth had been propped up. To his relief, she was moving, but he could not observe further as he struggled to his feet. He stumbled backwards under the brute`s relentless advance. If he couldn`t figure something out soon, he was dead... 

Xarian! The tech adept had servitors of his own, and was accompanied by the power armoured Silences to boot! That was as good a chance as any, more than they could do here. That just left Nex and Elizabeth to account for. Elizabeth was still badly wounded, and Nex had succeeded in killing most of the cultists. 

'Nex!' Eseau called, ducking another powerful swing. 'Finish them off! Keep Elizabeth safe! I`ll ge-!' 

The words were cut short as the next blow glanced Eseau`s shoulder and threw him off balance. By now there was no more room to maneauvre, meaning he could only retreat straight back. He hoped Nex had heard him and would not try anything stupid...


----------



## dragonkingofthestars

Silences moved forword laying a barage of bolter fire down range as she marched into the room heavy weapon fire pinging and glaceing off her armor. she ducked just as a hyper beam of heat from a melta gun went over her head fill the air with a reek of Ozone. she poked her head over the computer bank she had hidden behind to see Jack enage two men in one swing another man rased his Heavy bolter. 

she raised her gun and put a bullet, not into him, but his ammo back pack kicking up a explosion as all the heavy bolt rounds went off at once, the man was dead and the explosion took out three other men. 

She then sprayed her bolter on full auto to supprese some other troops, the plan being Jack would be able to deal with suppressed troops easyer then he had the two that had shot at him mid graple (as these guys had other things on there mind, not getting shot.)


----------



## Epidemius

Xarian ducked as an explosion ripped through the air. Silence's carefully placed shot had left a few men dead and others stunned across the ground, the event was shortly followed by a heavy clanking noise as bolter shells went off at the enemy. Xarian peeked over the cover he was in, he spotted Jack engaging the enemy and his servitors, which were been torn apart from their current use as bullet sponges. it pained him to watch his creations be destroyed right before him, but he realized now wasn't the time to be thinking about that.
Xarian popped out of cover and shot a volley of bullets at one of the hostiles, they quickly buried themselves in his chest and he fell backwards to the ground. Xarian ducked back down and holstered his gun. he pulled out his power knife. taking a moment to admire it, he held the blade up to his eyes. it glinted in the light as he moved it from side to side in his hand. still staring, he said to himself, "I've been waiting to test this out for a while now." 
Xarian slowly stalked forward through the pieces of cover towards his enemies, making sure to not be noticed. the servitors were working as nice distractions. he stopped not far from a lasgun armed enemy, the man's back was turned to him. "Damn ugly servitors." the man said to himself as he sent lasrounds at Xarian's precious creations. Xarian didn't like it when people insulted his children. Clutching the dagger hard in his right hand, there was a click of metal as short blades distended from his metallic fingertips. the man stopped to turn his head, but before he could even look the other way his throat was torn away by Xarian's clawed fingertips. he coughed and sputtered for a moment as blood ran freely from his mouth and neck, before finally collapsing to the ground into a quickly forming pool of blood. Xarian felt a rush of energy and vigor as he was thrust into the world of battle.
Another man nearby heard the commotion and turned his heavy bolter from the servitor to Xarian. cursing himself for not being more subtle, he realized he had to think fast. looking around, he made a quick decision. Xarian threw the chunk of meat from the other man's neck at the heavy-bolter wielding man's face. he stopped in a mixture of surprise and horror as he tried to get the gore off of his face. this gave Xarian his chance. he ran forward and slashed the power knife up through the man's abdomen, spraying blood upwards in an arc of gore. the man died almost instantly as the blade sliced through many of his vital organs. Xarian rolled into cover as bullets started coming his way. Xarian was surprised at how fast and easily the blade had sliced through flesh and bone alike, he had never used a power-weapon before. he gave a quick smile under his mask. he liked it.


----------



## Santaire

Nex was utterly still for a few moments as his mind processed everything. Elizabeth was down, Eseau was being pounded by a combat servitor and the gun men were still shooting. Eseau's words snapped Nex back into the real world and he immediately sprang into action. He dived out from his cover to where Elizabeth was lying in a pool of her own blood.

He rolled into cover beside her and injected her with a brief stim boost that would give her at least enough strength to drag herself to better cover and then Nex opened fire on the gun men. He swung his hell gun in a wide arc and the laser rounds cut through the foe like they were wheat under a scythe. He then switched to his sniper and began to pick off individuals.

One of them popped his head out of cover for a split second but it was all the mercenary turned inquisition storm trooper needed. The hot shot round vaporised his head and the man's corpse collapsed to the floor. Nex shifted his aim swiftly and another shot claimed another life. 4 gun men were left and Nex decided to go for the assault option. Placing the sniper in the alcove he dived out and snatched up the chainsword he had been attacked with earlier.

He pulled out his pistol and began to sprint down the corridor towards the remaining gun men. One looked out of his cover and his eyes widened in the mili second before Nex's las round vaporised his head. Annother stared at Nex and began to bring his gun up. Nex hurled the chainsword and the whiriing teeth of the weapon buried themselves in the gun man's chest. His body collapsed to the floor.

Nex heard a screamed oath from behind him and turned in time to see one of the last gun men charging at him with a drawn knife. Nex shifted his body into a fighting stance without thinking and, acting on instinct, reached forward to the man. The man stabbed down with the knife, expecting it to bury itself in Nex's skull but Nex moved with an amazing speed. He grabbed the man's hand that held the blade and, with a simple but fast movement, spun the man around and lunged at his back.

The last opponent gazed at his fellow cultist and could only watch in horror as the man's own dagger ripped through his chest. Nex kicked the man forward, leaving the blade buried in his back befor hurling his own dagger to impale the last man through the forehead. The man collapsed and Nex retrieved his weapons before turning to see how Eseau fared in his fight against the combat servitor...


----------



## oblivion8

Elizabeth's eyes fluttered open. 
Eseau fighting a large creature.
Nex picking off foes like flies.
Distant firefights in the surrounding complex.

_The inquisitor..._ she thought. She tried to move but the blast had taken its toll on her muscles. All of a sudden Nex landed beside her. A sharp pain in the arm told her that he must have injected something into her. Nex quickly rejoined the battle. 
"Damn drugs will be the death of me." her thoughts on the forced labor being put on her limbs as she knelt up. Her first concern would normally be to get somewhere safer but Elizabeth knew better. With a grunt she rose, and saw Eseau being beaten down by the Servitor's large powerful arms. With forced movement Elizabeth acted quickly. She ran (more like a gimped jog) and launched herself on the creatures back.
"You may be part machine!" she yelled. "But this will still hurt!"
She swiftly jabbed her narthecium into the servitor's shoulder, unprotected by metal plates. She gave the abomination enough drugs to bring down a large elephant.

The servitor roared and smacked Elizabeth across the temple, again bringing her out of conscientiousness. The large creature tossed her to the side, thankfully towards Nex's position, her body landing against a metal barrier with a dull thud.

Thankfully though, the Osteoporosinidic drugs she administered helped grow bones back. The servitor, with no missing bones, got a extremely high dose of pain instead.
Eseau was backing off as the servitors body started to convulse, its limbs shaking violently from the stimulus. If Elizabeth was awake, she would have gotten quite the laugh at seeing a construct like Xarian's being overcome by such a simple compound.


----------



## Jackinator

Eseau: The servitor is shutting down rapidly but it's convulsions force you back into the corridor Jack disappeared into. You head on into the complex to meet up with Xarian, Sliences and Jack after telling the others to try and find a way around as the corridor is blocked by the fallen machine. Once you meet up with Xarian, Silences and Jack you should update them on what has happened and seeing the state of the control room, the resources your enemy must have at their disposal. Especially when you realise just how large the complex seems to be.

Macto Nex and Elizabeth: You look up from the body of the last gunman just in time to see Elizabeth land heavily against a metal support. You rummage through her kit bag and finding anadrenaline injector plunge it into her neck. As her eyes flicker open you hear Eseau calling for you to find your way around the wreckage of the servitor. You help her up and begin to look around, eventually finding another corridor that seems to lead off in roughly the same direction.

Silences, Jack and Xarian: The three of you finish off the remaining soldiers and move through into another corridor which the leader escaped into. You meet Eseau here, he took a slightly different route and ended up on the other side of the control room. He quickly updates you on what happened and you begin to move further into what is now turning out to be a large complex.


----------



## Serpion5

*Eseau*

Somehow, the servitor was beginning to shut down. It was far too bulky to see or move past in the narrow corridor he had backed into, and as a result he was forced to jump back a few paces to avoid the flailing of its limbs in its death throes. It finally lay still, and the sounds of combat had died on the other side. Unfortunately, this meant that Elizabeth and Nex were trapped on the other side. 

'Nex! Are you there?' Eseau called. 'You need to try and find a way around, there`s no way to move this thing.'

Following their response, he turned and kept going the way he was already forced to move. He held his sword at the ready and double checked that his pistol held a full clip. He edged cautiously down the corridor and emerged into a control room. The sounds of dying machinery and fire were geting louder as he passed through the doorway. There was someone inside... 

He rounded a destroyed terminal and raised his weapon. Instantly he lowered it again, seeing the other three of his retinue before him. 

'Jack! Xarian! Silences!' He exclaimed. 'Damn it`s good to see you`re safe. It seems the enemy, whoever they are, have a lot more at their disposal than a few well placed infiltrators. This runs much deeper than we thought.'

He paused for a moment. The control room they occupied seemed to be of some importance, but it was too damaged now to be of any investigative use.

'They`ve turned the facility against us, servitors included.' Eseau told them. 'We`ll have to advance with extreme caution and be wary of automated defences. Xarian, your friends will come in very handy.'


----------



## dragonkingofthestars

Silences bolter clicked emptry and she went back into cover and she swiched magaizens and exposed her self to open fire again..

only to see they were dead between Jack and Xarian they had not lasted a half second.

Silence moved otu of cover and looked around the control room and at the dead troops. she did a head count 

Silence frowned. before she could voice her concern she heard a set of foot steps and raised her bolter up as Eseau came around the corner.

she smiled and droped the gun. 

'Jack! Xarian! Silences!' He exclaimed. 'Damn it`s good to see you`re safe. It seems the enemy, whoever they are, have a lot more at their disposal than a few well placed infiltrators. This runs much deeper than we thought.'

He paused for a moment. The control room they occupied seemed to be of some importance, but it was too damaged now to be of any investigative use.

'They`ve turned the facility against us, servitors included.' Eseau told them. 'We`ll have to advance with extreme caution and be wary of automated defences. Xarian, your friends will come in very handy.' 

"sir the leader of this group."' she made a hand motion to one of the dead tratiors "got away I supose though a side tunnel orders?"


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## DasOmen

as jack disposed of the last heretic his eyes scanned over the carnage. he was well aware of the missing commander, and the moment he had fled jack had payed careful attention to the footsteps he made, his body movements showed jack all he needed to know about the path he'd take. his mechanical arm was in tatters, bits of shredded metal, shrapnel sticking out of it, and ligaments hanging only by the bolt the rest of it was held to. the only thing surviving within the thing was part of the barrel of the lasgun, the very chain sword that shredded his arm in his hand. 

as the inquisitor entered the room he'd seem oblivious to everything in the room, staring at a computer array that had taken a horde of bolter rounds, though he looked to it as if it was still working, standing over it as if he was the main operator. looking up as the Eseau made a comment on being more dire than they could have thought, jack would shake his head. "i disagree inquisitor Esea. many signs, many messages, this level of infestation was apparent, blatant even with what we have encountered. our every move is merely walking into one trap after another. this seems incredibly heretical so know that when i say it, it is not meant as such. we are but pawns in a chaos cult plot at the moment, moving only because they move us. everything has happened according to their plan. their losses, what we stop, everything we discover, merely there to guide us to the next ambush. " jack could have had the bolter pressed into his temple held by a angry sister of battle, he'd be completely obilvous to it. 

"tried to warn the inquisitor after the meeting after i noticed several things. we were however besieged in boarding actions. and our inquisitor befell an assassination attempt. worse yet, our traitor is still among us. the enemy will expect us to give chase after the commander that got away. we will go down the hall, take a left turn, and follow clues to discover his position. we will be fed double false information, information that is true, but yet meant to lead us down a specific path, and we will yet again walk into their trap. what i say is heretical, there is no doubt in my mind of that. the notion that we are working according to a unknown chaos cult's predefined plan is heresy in itself. however my words are true, and the evidence supports it. " sliding his hand over the controls of the computer terminal once more his eyes would drift across the rest of the control panel. moving to one terminal inpiticular... 

"this terminal was shot five seconds before i engaged the guards at the outer door.... intresting... inquisitor Eseau. i require an interrogation. but we should move. estimated time before the heretics move to push us in their desired path, is three minutes. in the meantime, i recommend requesting for imperial reinforcements. at very least a death watch kill team in case we are needing to prolong the life of inquisitor Brandon. i am admitting not aware of the particulars. there is not many texts i had access to describing the process. or what the process is. "


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## oblivion8

Nex finished the injection. For the second time that day Elizabeth's eyes fluttered open. 

"Girl can't get any decent sleep around here can she?" Elizabeth mused, legs stiff, she got up to find that one of her legs had a torn muscle. 
Putting her weight on her left leg, she limped around in a circle, feeling out the injury. 
"Where is everyone? Where is the Inquisitor?" Elizabeth turned to Nex.


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## Epidemius

Xarian listened to the other's discussion intently before finally speaking.
"I agree with Jack, we have been tricked and ambushed multiple times and they could easily lead us into more if we aren't careful." he paused to flick a few drops of blood off his finger-tips, it didn't do much. he was still spattered with blood. "On the subject of the traitor, I think we should start doing more about it. he or she has already killed multiple crewmembers, has done damage to the ship, and had even tried to assassinate inquisitor Barden. he or she also may have had a hand in the on-ship attacks we recieved. if we don't solve this soon, one of us could easily became his or her next target."


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## Santaire

Nex helped Elizabeth to her feet and when she asked he responded saying, "the servitor blocked the entrance, we're to find another way round." He rolled his shoulders and walked over to the servitor. Bending low he got his hands under the machine and heaved up. He could feel the servos in his arms straining and he dropped the servitor before it's weight ripped his arms out of their sockets. "It's seems Eseau was right, let's go."

With that he began to walk alongside the wall where the blocked corridor was. Almost at the end of the wall he found a door that opened into a corridor leading in roughly the same direction as the blocked corridor. "Over here," he called to Elizabeth and began to walk down it, alert and tensed, ready to spring into action at the slightest provocation...


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## Jackinator

*Update*

(I apologise for the lateness of the update but I have been in America for the last three weeks). Falling, always falling, and then, with a jolt, he was on the floor. But it wasn't the floor, it was an infirmary bed, two tubes led from his forearm to a gently humming machine to the side, while Jayna was asleep in a chair in the corner. He smiled ruefully to himself, she had already lost one master, he doubted she was thrilled at the prospect of losing another one. Then he frowned, remembering the pain, falling, and... a face, he had to warn Eseau. He had sent him the message so he was undoubtedly already on planet. He had to warn him. Barden sat up, with difficulty and swung his legs out of bed. He put his weight on them, only to have them collapse under him. The tubes ripped free and he groaned as the machine went into a frenzy. Jayna woke with a start and Triana came rushing in from the other room, rubbing sleep from her eyes. He pushed her away as he clutched at Jayna for support, "we have to warn him, there is, a danger, get me to the bridge." Then, he passed out...
_____________________________________________________________

All: You have all managed to regroup and begin to move deeper into the complex, Elizabeth is still being supported by Nex and Eseau is limping, one of the servitor's blows caught you off guard. The others are mostly unharmed with the exception of Jack's arm which has finally given up the ghost and detached from the finally bolt. You discuss the situation, aware that you are seriously outgunned and wondering what might happen should you encounter the psyker who engaged Barden on the ship. In addition to this you have a traitor to worry about and their next action is foremost in your discussion. (This is just a moment for a bit more character development and conversation to happen, a bit of a rest in the action sequence :biggrin


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## DasOmen

Jack's pace began to slow as they moved through the complex. His head was throbbing with pain and the area around his mechanical arm was in agony, enough so that it actually slowed him down a noticeable amount. His hand fumbled for his canteen of whiskey, a futile attempt to dull the pain some. Though try as he might, he couldn't unscrew the top with one hand, didn't stop him from trying and trying though as they kept moving. The more he tried to unscrew the cap, the worse his body started to tremble. It would start to shake and quake as if he was trying to hold back the pain he was in as the machine spirit in his arm died slowly and painfully.

Then without warning Jack's canteen of whiskey fell to the floor, bouncing off of it with a half empty bonk. Jack seemed to almost mimic his canteen's falling though a wall got in his way. What had caused this? Perhaps it was his mechanical arm giving a groaning sound like a bulkhead being bent till it snapped, right before falling to the ground. Jack tried to scream, tried to shout out in unimaginable pain as his bionics separated from his body. The way his arm fell from it's socket still connected by tubes and wires, then yanked many of them free would have made some cringe. 

As the tubes and wires snapped from the falling arm, the machine fluid from within the rest of his arm and that which was stored inside his body purged violently, and as it purged, his mind screamed out in pain even when his body could not, almost as if the very air had been sucked from his lungs. The pain was almost too much for him to bare alone, though in hindsight not much he could do about it. His crazed mind was ripped from it's "own little world" and thrust painfully back to reality. 

No more did Jack see signs everywhere, words, sigils, glyphs, runes, hieroglyphs, and other markings telling him things about the area. Now he only saw what was there, what the others saw. Even as he tried to scream, there was no air in his lungs to do so and for some reason he couldn't inhale. He wanted to see his road again, he wanted to see his own little world, he wanted to be done with this pain that crippled his body. 

Finally though he regained his breath though he knew not how. His mind slowly starting to come back from the shock the pain had left it in. And has his mind caught back up so did his mouth as he began to ramble. "In glory he returns to lead his chosen ones though his armor be stained in blood. In glory he returns to lead his chosen ones though his armor be stained in blood. " He would try to finish, try to continue, but the sting of the pain was still lingering in his shoulder, preventing his mind from catching up. But he did know one thing. Based on the inquisitor's previous injuries, this was sufficient time to be healed with all the things at the inquisitor's disposal. Whether or not the others listened to Jack's ramblings was something else entirely. Though there was always a easy way to get Jack back on track if he started sounding like a broken record... And that was to ask him a question. Normally this would be what planet they came from or what was the anthem of their people. But there were other things that could be asked by his acting Inquisitor. Though whether or not his mind had the ability to comprehend the question and process the required information was another thing entirely.


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## oblivion8

"is it so wise to be continuing in this rugged state?" half-joked Elizabeth, as they limped through corridors. "I do suggest we find somewhere to rest and recover if our state of things gets any worse" she said plainly, looking towards the limping Eseau.


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## Santaire

"I agree with Elizabeth," Nex said as he supported her down the corridor "it will hardly be good for the Inquisitor to wake up and find out that half his team died from blood loss when there was an infirmary down an adjacent corridor. Plus we need somewhere defensible if the foe attacks again. I suggest getting these 2 patched up" he said gesturing to Eseau and Elizabeth "before moving on to the armoury where we can get more ammo and weapons and so be properly prepared when the enemy comes." Nex waited for the others to speak while he shifted uneasily. He had an uncomfortable feeling and he gripped his pistol while he watched all posible attack routes...


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## Epidemius

As the group headed through the hallways, Xarian was straying more to the rear of the group. he had a bad habit of letting his mind wander, often thinking of the Emperor, or new schematics, and even things long since past. his thoughts were interrupted by a clank followed by splashing as Jack's arm finally gave up. he bent to pick it up. 
"Sometimes I think you go through arms faster than bullets, Jack." he joked. "Are you alright?" he added as he saw Jack's heavy breathing and obvious signs of pain. 
He was reassured when Jack continued to walk and began reciting his ramblings. Xarian actually liked to listen to his ramblings sometimes.


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## Serpion5

*Eseau*

Eseau led the group down another corridor, dreading what may await them. He was limping, his leg and back had taken a beating from that damnable servitor and his head was still in a daze. They were not making good time. Ordinarily Eseau would push himself to his limits and beyond in the face of duty. He had done it before in Barden`s service and was under no illusions that such strength would be required of him again. 

But not today. Not right now. As he listened in on the chatter of his acolytes behind him, he began to realize just how ill off they were. Eseau was not the only one with injuries and was not the only one who needed to rest. 

He booted open a door in the corridor and peered inside pistol first. Empty. It looked as though it was just a simple office cubicle, no signs of fortification or damage. 

'We can rest here for a short while.' He called to the unit. 'But we mustn`t waste more time than we need. That psyker is likely down here somewhere and if we get caught off guard we won`t have a chance.'

His mind shuddered as he remembered the sight of his master lying prone on the floor of the ship. Shaking his head, he began to mutter mainly to himself. 

'And there is still the possibility of a saboteur...'


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## Jackinator

Barden finally reached the bridge, Triana and Jayna still supporting him. The captain stared at him. Barden almost chuckled, drenched in sweat and wrapped in bandages, he supposed he wasn't the most common apparation to visit the Trader's bridge. But pulling himself back to the present he hauled himself over to the comms officer, "Eseau" he gasped. The man hurriedly moved dials and typed in commands before proffering the mic. "Xarian... don't trust Xarian." he only hoped he was in time...
___________________________________________________________

All: Xarian was last into the room, passing Eseau as the others slumped down against the wall. He heard Eseau's comms slate squawk and as he heard his name he knew he was revealed. He responded quickly, grabbing the wrist that was already raising the hellpistol and deftly twisting it out of his grip before spinning behind the surprised man and locking his arm under his chin. He raised the laspistol and shot Nex through the shoulder as the man raised his own weapon. "Now, now", he pressed the pistol to Eseau's head, "don't be hasty now."


Nex: You are slammed back against the wall by the shot, gun falling from a suddenly nerveless hand.

Elizabeth: You collapse to the floor as Nex falls back, no longer supporting you. Pain ripping through you.

Jack: Despite your previous quick reactions your body seems unwilling to obey as you merely stare at the scene before you.

Silences: You begin to raise your bolter but think twice as Nex is shot.

Eseau: Your bruised body complains at the continuing rough treatment and you tense as you feel the barrel pressed against the side of your head.

All: What is your reaction to this sudden treachery? Did you suspect Xarian or not?

Xarian: You have finally shown your hand and begin to back out of the door dragging Eseau with you. What is your reaction to your discovery? What precautions do you take to ensure you are not followed?


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