# Suffer not the Xeno to Live



## Necrosis

The doors to the bridge of the Strike Crusier Abrogation opened as a figure entered the bridge. The captain and his crew looked upon this figure. The figure was a female, who wore power armour and was armed with an inferno pistol, power sword and Praesidium Protectiva. Her power armour was the same wore by that of the Adepta Sororitas but all its marking were gone and replaced with Inquisitorial ones of the Ordo Xenos. The Armour was mainly black with a red trimming. Thus it would be impossible to tell which order she was form. Her hair color was an unusually dark purple; her eye color was green at least her left eye was. Her right eye had been replaced by a bionic implant. Yet the one thing that stood out was her Inquisitorial Rosette. This showed her position as an Inquisitor.

*“Ah, Inquisitor Sylivian, we are just about to drop out of warp. We will be entering the Scinivelia system soon.”* said the Captain as he saw the Inquisitor enter the bridge. “Good, call for my retinue and tell them to come to the bridge. I wish to meet them; after all I will be working with them until they or I are dead.“ said Inquisitor Sylivian as she took a quick glance at the bridge before putting her attention at the captain. The bridge had several officers, most of them males. They didn’t really stand out. The captain on the other hand carried a bolt pistol and a power sword. He wore carapace armor that covered most of his body. He had blonde hair and green eyes. For a normal human he was pretty tall.

*“Captain, dropping out of warp and entering the Scinivelia system.”* said one of the bridge officers. * “Set a route for Scinivelia II.”* said the captain as he then turned back towards the Inquisitor. *“Inquisitor I summoned your retinue to the bridge. They will arrive shortly. What should I tell the Space Marines?”* ask the Captain. “Tell them we have exited warp and we shall soon arrive at our target. There is no need to summon them to bridge. It would simply waste their time.” said Inquisitor Sylivian as she responded to the Captain question. *“It shall be done.”* said the Captain.



Valerie & Carlton Corazion: You are each in your own quarters when you get a message from the captain. He informs you that the Inquisitor wishes to see you on the bridge. The bridge isn’t too far from your quarters. Arrive there and introduce yourself to the Inquisitor. Also how is your character feeling? Are you nervous about meeting the Inquisitor? Feel free to ask the Inquisitor any questions you have about her or the mission. 

Mikhael Doukas, Nexus Vaddon & Arminius Furien: You are all in the same room. This room is very close to the bridge and to the hanger. Feel free to introduce yourself to each other. The captain has also informed you that the ship has just exited warp. Thus you will be starting you mission soon. The Inquisitor will expect you to be ready to start the mission as soon as they are in range. If you wish to talk to the Inquisitor you may use the Vox to speak to her.


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## Protoss119

_"He who allows the alien to live, shares its crime of existence." -Inquisitor Apollyon_

Mikhael was uncomfortable. That was a hard thing for him to admit, given that he had been trained and conditioned in the most hellish of environments, but the relative lack of danger, of the natural hazards that he had been accustomed to, was the very source of his discomfort. He had known Dystopia since his feet first touched the muddy soil, and in the years following his induction, it felt less like a nightmarish Death World and more like home.

It had been many years since the Damocles Crusade, and his hatred of Xenos had not diminished ever since - especially the Tau. It was not simply a desire for vengeance that drove him to such hate; surely, the Stormhunters had lost many brothers to the vicious Kroot and the cunning Tau, but he did not simply desire to avenge their deaths. He hated them, as did his brothers, and that was all. They were so abhorrent to him that he wanted to kill all xenos everywhere, to see everything they had achieved cast down before them by their betters.

Admittedly, Mikhael was not as well-versed in battling the Tyranids as, say, the Ultramarines. Ever since the Damocles Crusade, the Ultramarines and the Stormhunters have had a troubled history. He and many of his brothers blamed the Codex Astartes for the deaths of their brothers; where was Guilliman's answer to Mont'ka and Kauyon? Where was his response to the ambushes of the Tau, with their advanced technology, and the Kroot, with their numbers and their stealth and their ferocity? Mikhael and his brothers responded with disturbing joy when mighty Theridus announced their complete abandonment of the Codex. Relations between the Stormhunters and the Ultramarines had been degrading during the Crusade beforehand, but following the Stormhunters' breaking from the Codex Astartes entirely, they would never be the same.

For that reason, Mikhael bore no love for his Ultramarine companion. Even so, they were fighting Tyranids today, not Tau. Given the Battles of Ultramar and of Tarsis Ultra, he figured that Arminius and the Ultramarines knew more about fighting the Tyranids than the Stormhunters did - for now, anyway. And so, holding his helmet in one arm and his boltgun in the other, he approached Arminius and spoke the unthinkable:

"You are Brother Arminius Furien, correct? The Ultramarines seem to know more of battling the Tyranid than our chapter does at the present. Therefore I am willing to defer to your command; we will likely require your expertise."


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## Therizza

Arminius Furien sat there, meditating on the mission he would soon undertake. Though he knew not the size nor disposition of the xeno threat he would face whilst attached to this Deathwatch team, he knew that the Emperor's light would guide them. It was during moments like these that Arminius would recount the battles he had fought in, and won, in the Emperor's name. He recounted the litany of comrades that he had lost, dedicated to memory, and swore that he would avenge every single one of them a hundred fold.

As Arminius neared the end of his meditations, one of the other Marines he had been sharing the room with approached.

"You are Brother Arminius Furien, correct? The Ultramarines seem to know more of battling the Tyranid than our chapter does at the present. Therefore I am willing to defer to your command; we will likely require your expertise" spoke the unknown Marine as he approached Arminius.

"Yes, that is the name my father gave me. But what is a name without a face?" replied Arminius. Rising from his seated position, he deactivated the restraints holding his helmet in place. Walking towards the Marine, Arminius met him with a salute.

"And you, I presume, must be Brother Mikhael, of the Stormhunters if I am not mistaken?"

Mikhael was a Stormhunter, this much Arminius new for certain. Their chapter had abandoned the Codex Astartes in favor of their own tactics, and had shown no love for the Ultramarines as of late. Due to these factors, Arminius knew he would need to comport himself amiably if their stint with the Deathwatch was to end in victory.

"Yes it is true, we have developed some tactics for combating the Tyranid. Perhaps we will have time to train before we make planetfall?"


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## Protoss119

"Yes it is true, we have developed some tactics for combating the Tyranid. Perhaps we will have time to train before we make planetfall?"

"Perhaps." Mikhael pondered and weighed Arminius's words. He was far from expecting the Ultramarine to follow the example of the Stormhunters, but Emperor's Mercy if he was to follow the Codex Astartes for once. A tactical approach melding the tenets of the Codex Astartes and the teachings of Theridus just might work to the satisfaction of both. He was nothing if not flexible; his mentors had seen to that.

"But I would not do so without the presence of our Brother Apothecary" he said as he turned to the figure in question, taking note of the badge of the Crimson Fists on his shoulder pad marking him as a fellow son of Dorn. "What is your name, brother? And should we have time, would you join us in our exercise?"


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## Lord Ramo

Nexus Vaddon looked up as his brothers introduced themselves to each other. He had been in the corner of the room, checking through his equipment when the Inquisitors message had come through. He wished he knew what was happening on the bridge, it would be good to have the full mission details, but he was Astartes. He would succeed without the information if necessary. He had to, the Crimson Fists could not lose any other brothers, they had lost too much as it is.

He took note of the names of his brothers, committing them to his memory, Brother Arminius of the Ultramarines and brother Mikhael of the stormhunters. Both chapters held in esteem by his, the Ultramarines for the codex and conflicts past and the stormhunters as they were sons of Dorn. _"What is your name, brother? And should we have time, would you join us in our exercise?"_ Nexus saw that they were asking him so he removed his helmet and set it in the crook of his arm.
*
"I am brother Nexus Vaddon, Crimson Fist apothecary 2nd Company. Well met brothers. If there is time I shall watch and learn from the skills of our brother."*


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## Serpion5

*Valerie*

Val was alone. Like always, there was nobody in the ship`s crew that had taken an interest in her, at least not once they had gotten close enough to feel it... 

The Void... Emptiness. She wasn`t like them. She was hollow.

But that hadn`t surprised her, really. It was still somewhat disappointing, every attempt she had ever made to form a lasting relationship had ended in disappointment. 

She distracted herself by practising her sword technique. A short butterly sword in each hand spun unbelievably fast as she twisted and danced through the kata she had developed a few years back. She had designed the series of techniques to develop every facet of her skill, to give her a good workout and test her reflexes and muscle toning to their limits.

It passed the time well.

After an hour`s workout, she finally decided to take a rest. Panting heavily, she reached for a bottle of water at the side of her bed when a buzz came from the door of her quarters. 

'It`s open!' She called, and the door slid open. A young adjutant stepped into the room, his eyes lighting up at the sight of the young woman before him.

_Take two steps forward, lad._ She thought glumly. _That`ll cure that annoying smile._

'Lady... Valerie?' The aide asked, checking his dataslate.

'That`s me.' Val replied.

'Ah, good.' He nodded. 'The Lady Inquisitor has requested your presence on the command deck.'

'Alright.' Val said. 'Will you show me the way?'

'Of course!' He replied. 

_He sounds delighted._ Val thought. _Poor fool..._

But in reality, Val pitied herself more than him...

- - -

Entering the bridge of the ship, Val nodded her thanks to the aide as he turned and hurriedly left. She had been right. The smile had vanished from the boy`s face as soon as they were within three metres of each other. She had quelled any seeds of hope for a night with him on the rest of the voyage...

'Milady Inquisitor!' Val announced her presence, ignoring the rest of the crew. They were likely to have the same reaction anyway, and if she was honest none of them really appealed to her. 'You requested my presence? I am led to understand we have a genestealer problem. I am at your command, do you have any further information?'


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## G0DSMACKED

Carlton Corazion was asleep in his chambers when the summoning came. Roused but grogy, he put on his redemptionist robes, and made his way to the bridge. A confusing room, cramped with lights and people hooked into panels. The various servo-humans runing the day to day operations of the ship.

Upon entering Carlton saw Val greeting the inqisitor. Waiting for her to finish, Carlton then spoke up. "Carlton Corazion, High priest of redemption, and excorcist of taint, at your service. Those who know me by reputation simply call me Firebeard."

With that he rested his hands on his hips. His engerness to do good works in the name of the emperor, had gotten the better of him. His Large grin shown through the mess of red hair on his chin.


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## Therizza

I am brother Nexus Vaddon, Crimson Fist apothecary 2nd Company...

A Crimson Fist, Arminius thought to himself. He hoped that the Apothecary would be able to disarm any hostilities that may rise between Arminius and Mikhael. 

"It is an honor to serve with you, Brother-Apothecary Vaddon" replied Arminius.

Just then, the vox-system located above the doorway came to life. "Honored Space Marines, this is the Ship's Captain. We have exited the warp and are currently entering the Scinivelia system." With that, the transmission ended. 

"It seems we are upon our target sooner than I had anticipated. Time for a training exercise is likely non existent. Nevertheless, I have brought some targeting information that may help us in the execution of our mission." Having said that, Arminius reached for his belt and retrieved a data stick. After activating the device with a voice recognition protocol, a holographic projection emerged. 

The image was that of a pure-bred Genestealer, with certain areas highlighted in red to denote weak areas. "I am led to believe that we shall be combating a Genestealer threat. More dire than this, it is known that where Genestealers appear, larger Tyranid forces will not take long to follow." Arminius began explaining the combat tendencies of this species, as well as weaknesses that could be exploited by the Deathwatch Marines, pointing out weaknesses in the bio-armor and other physiological data. 

Moving on from the Genestealer, Arminius continued explaining the tendencies, and weaknesses, of several other Tyranid species he had encountered...


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## Protoss119

Mikhael listened closely to Arminius, considering his advice on the Tyranids. The Stormhunters knew much about battling the alien in general, and their knowledge did not exclude the Tyranids, but his prediction about the Ultramarines' greater knowledge of the Tyranid threat proved to be true. There were several points that this Son of Guilliman made that he had not considered before. It begged a question: how did a chapter that adhered so closely to tactical doctrines written 10,000 years ago manage to accomplish so much against the Tyranid threat?

_A question for another time_, he thought. If the Tyranid threat could reach past the Eastern Fringe into Segmentum Tempestus, then that meant that Dystopia itself, located in a system that hugged the border between the Tempestus and Solar Segmentums, could be threatened relatively soon if they were not stopped here and now. But for now, the three of them would need to devise a plan of attack concerning the Genestealers and the rest of the Tyranids when they arrive.

"Genestealers are infamous for their stealth and their guile, as you well know, and they will no doubt be biding their time in the shadows to ambush us. I suggest we cling to those very same shadows in order to steal the initiative from them. Moreover, they seem to be able to organize themselves into cults that hide behind the cover of a legitimate Imperial organization. An investigation into whatever movement or organization we come across would be sound, but we must be thorough.

"The 5th Company and I once purged Hive Romanograd on the planet Gambrilline entirely of life, destroying the Genestealer cult there in the process and ensuring it would never again rise on Gambrilline. Three marines will be unable to do this, so we will need to draw them out of hiding and then eliminate them and anyone involved with them if necessary."


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## Necrosis

((OOC: Sorry for not making a post sooner but I've kind of lost my will to rp but I will keep this rp going))

Inquisitor Sylivian watched the monitor has she waited for her retinue. Then she heard the door opened and turned to face the crew member who had just entered. It seemed he was in a rush. Then Sylivian saw who was behind him. No wonder he was in a rush. He had brought Val, the untouchable. If there was one thing here more valuable than the death watch marines it was her. She was the bane of psykers and Sylivian primary defense against witchcraft, aside form her faith of course. Most people despised blanks but Sylivian did not. She knew what she felt was nothing compared to the pain that witches felt when they were around her.

As Val introduced herself, the other member of Sylivian retinue entered, High Priest Carlton Corazion of the redemption cult. To have one devoted to faith like him was nearly impossible. Only the Sisters of Battle could match such faith and devotion to the Emperor. Val had learned that even the most loyal Inquisitors could become radicals. To become an Inquisitor risks tainting your soul. Yet with High Priest Carlton Corazion at her side, Inquisitor Sylivian was sure that she would not fall into the path of radicals.

"As you both know I have requested both of you to become part of my retinue. Val, you are an untouchable. Those who cannot stand your presence are either weak or are witches. For you are the bane of chaos itself. Even Daemons are hesitant to walk near you. As for you High Priest Carlton Corazion. You are a true servant of the Emperor. You did not wait to be called to fight the enemy; you did not wait for the enemy to bring the battle to you. You instead went and brought the battle to the enemy. You have shown true faith in the Emperor. This is why I have chosen you two. The path of an Inquisitor is a dangerous one, not just for the body but for the soul. Yet with you two at my side, I know I shall not falter. Yet if I ever do I expect the two of you to do something about it, even if it means my death and yours." said Sylivian as then paused for a moment. She was just about to say something before the entire ship started to shake.

"We've been hit." said one of the officers. *"Raise shields. Return Fire."* said the Captain. "Sir Shields are failing and weapons are firing but the target is moving extremely fast, we can't get a lock." said the officer. "How did they catch us off guard? Why didn't it show up on scanners?" asked Sylivian. *"I don't know how but it's a civilian ship. No civilian ship is this fast or has this kind of fire power." *said the captain. "Get us a visual on that" said Inquisitor Sylivian. The monitor then displayed an image of a ship with several sharp curves. "That looks like an Eldar ship." said one of the crew members. "Not Eldar, Dark Eldar." said Inquisitor Sylivian. *"That's why they were reading as a civilian ship, they were using mimic engines."* said the captain. "Sir incoming smaller ships. Looks like there boarding us." said one of the crew members. Inquisitor Sylivian then moved towards the vox that went through out the ship. "This is Inquisitor Sylivian, prepare to repel enemy boarding party. We are under attack by the Dark Eldar. I repeat we are under attack by Dark Eldar." said Sylivian as then put down the vox and then used her comm bead. "This is Inquisitor Sylivian to Death Watch. I want you guys to go to the hanger and repel the enemy boarding party."



Valerie & Carlton Corazion: You should stay on the bridge and protect the Inquisitor. Feel free to ask a few questions about the dark eldar. You see the Inquisitor takes cover behind one of the computer consoles. Once you have finished asking your questions, you will hear a large explosion and see the bridge doors blown apart. From the smoke you see about ten dark eldar warriors appear who begin to open fire with splinter rifles. Out of the ten one of them is armed with a blaster and another one is armed with a splinter cannon who opens fires on the Inquisitor which forces her to take cover and able to return fire.

Mikhael Doukas, Nexus Vaddon & Arminius Furien: You feel the ship rumble, as if it’s been hit by some kind of weapon. The Inquisitor then tells you that the ship is under attack by Dark Eldar over the Vox. Then over the comm bead she tells you to go to the hanger to repel enemy boarding parties. As you exit your quarters you see ten dark eldar figures, one armed with a splinter cannon, one armed with a blaster and the rest armed with splinter rifles. As they see you the quickly open fire upon you. There isn’t much cover in the halls, thus you may want to go back to your quarters and fight them there.


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## Protoss119

Mikhael stumbled over to the nearest wall, leaning on it for support as the ship rumbled. Over the ship's vox channel he heard Inquisitor Sylivian declare that they were under attack by the Dark Eldar.

"Dark Eldar? Masochistic fools! A hive fleet threatens Scinivelia and the Dark Eldar choose _now_ to attack!"

Afterwards, he received her message to the Deathwatch marines over his suit's vox feed:

"This is Inquisitor Sylivian to Death Watch. I want you guys to go to the hanger and repel the enemy boarding party."

Mikhael hastily donned his helmet, its auto-senses coming to life as he joined his Battle-Brothers in the halls. The Stormhunters had fought the Eldar and their debased cousins several times before and came to the conclusion that one would have to fight them at their own game to defeat them. Fighting the Craftworld Eldar in this fashion was comparable to a long and desperate game of Regicide played on a hooded board, but the Dark Eldar could be baited and trapped, a fact that the Stormhunters had discovered almost by accident and had tested many times to repeated success. And when the trap was sprung, few were the Dark Eldar warriors who could resist the might of the holy Boltgun.

Mikhael almost paid for his internal aside with his head, were it not for his helmet and his superhuman reflexes, as a volley of splinters flew past him, some impacting his power armor. Quickly he took a position inside the Astartes quarters near the entrance and fired back, targeting the Warriors' legs in order to slow them down if he could not destroy them outright.


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## Serpion5

*Valerie*

(ooc: I know how you feel Necrosis, I`m experiencing a bit of writer`s block myself atm...)

--- --- --- 

Valerie listened to the Inquisitor`s speech with a sense of gratitude and pride. No matter what happened in Val`s life, she would always have the loyalty of her friend and Mistress.

She looked set to continue, but something impacted the ship heavily and threw them all off balance. Val lurched forward and touched a hand to the deck to keep standing, her other hand was already on the hilt of one of her blades. She swept her gaze to the inquisitor; she had sheltered behind one of the command thrones and was staring intently at the door to the bridge. It was glowing...

Suddenly, the heat proved too much and the door was blasted from its tracks. A group of warriors emerged from the smoke, their evil laughter sounding through the grilles of their baroque helmets. They were tall, lithe and slender.

Eldar. Worse, the darker kin of the Eldar...

They did not waste any time, and neither did Val. The group of warriors spread out, two of them bringing their guns to bear on the untouchable`s position. She timed her move with the telltale flexing of her enemy`s wrist, darting aside just in time to avoid the initial salvo. At the same time, she hurled her left handed blade as hard as she could whilst drawing the right. 

The sword hit the alien in the thorax, and a shrill cry of pain was Val`s reward. She darted again, puttinhg herself on the other side of the second warrior`s wounded comrade. The cover was temporary, as the impaled alien fell to its knees and expired, taking Val`s weapon to the floor. Now less than a metre from her foe, Val was left with no alternative. She charged.

Her first swing was quite easily parried by the warrior as it raised its weapon, so she lashed out with her free hand and siezed it by the throat. In truth, she had amost given up and this attack was one of desperation. Rather than fight back however, the alien seemed to be in increased pain from this physical contact... 

A moment of realisation hit Val suddenly. She remembered learning of the xeno breeds during her studies, and it was said that the eldar are a more psionically attuned race than humans. Naturally then, her abilities seemed to affect them more. Taking the oppurtunity, she brought her blade back down and stabbed the alien through its heart. If indeed it had one.

Hefting the corpse aside, she turned to see where the other aliens had advanced to combat the crew and the old priest. Two had lagged slightly behind, one bearing a heavier version of the others` needle firing weapons, the other bearing something else. It was the latter she charged, reasoning that this weapon was somehow more dangerous. Using stealth, she swiped her blade across the alien`s back, but the armour held firm, and the creature turned to meet her, backed up by one of his allies. The pair of them each drew a serrated dagger, and advanced relentlessly. 

Val pushed back, one of the aliens seemed put off by her aura, but the other was sterner. Val attacked the first, taking advantage of its weakness to slice its wrist from the arm and deliver a killing strike to its neck. But this cost her dearly, as the second, her original target, came in from her unguarded side and hammered his knife into her abdomen. She dropped, with the alien looming over her, expecting death at any moment...

But it did not come. The alien leaned in close, glowing visor concealing its true face.

_'Bleed.'_ it said, before standing and returning to the fight, a low laugh following as it turned its back on her, leaving her to suffer.

_You just made a mistake, you arrogant bastard._ Val thought, fighting through the dizzying pain in her gut and reaching for the throwing knives concealed beneath her jacket. She pushed herself upright, the bleeding intensifying as the wound shifted, and took aim...


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## Therizza

_We have visitors…_

Jostled from his position within the Space Marine dormitory, Arminius could tell that their vessel was under attack. Not a moment later the transmission came that they were indeed under attack, and the Inquisitor had given the order to advance to the hangar and repel the incoming boarding parties.

“Dark Eldar!” bellowed Brother Mikhael as he dodged a near-decapitating salvo from the xeno threat.

“These fools presume to interfere with the Emperor’s work? We shall crush these vermin and repel the attack!”

Reaching for his blessed chainsword and setting it to idle, Arminius produced a frag grenade from his belt, depressing the arming switch. 

“Cover me. When my frag detonates, I shall advance down the hall. My distraction should be enough for you to pick them apart. Show me how you earned your place in the Sternguard!” 

Bolting from the relative safety of the room, Arminius dashed across the hall to a small alcove as he deftly threw his explosive into the midst of the Dark Eldar. His movement was met with a shower of deadly splinters, none of which met their mark. A second passed, and then another, and then a third. Although Arminius could not see his Battle-Brethren’s faces, he could tell they were perplexed. “Wait” was his only response through his vox.

Arminius had predicted that his throw might not have been as accurate as he would have liked and that the frag grenade may have been tossed back by the Dark Eldar, who he knew possessed inhuman agility. To compensate for these factors, Arminius had elected to manually detonate the grenade via a simple command spoken into his battle-helm. Peaking around the corner, he could see one of the Dark Eldar bend down to pick up the device, presuming it was a dud. At that moment Arminius spoke his command word, detonating the explosive. Seeing it tear the Dark Eldar in half and knock the others down, Arminius charged down the corridor into the midst of the enemy.

Displaying true grit, Arminius produced his chainsword and fired his bolter single handed into the mob of Dark Eldar, targeting the one wielding the blaster as his first kill. Having been dazed by the explosion, the blaster toting Dark Eldar attempted to parry Arminius charge with his weapon. While the Dark Eldar had narrowly missed being decapitated by the raging Ultramarine, Arminius’ gauntleted fist had smashed into the xeno’s face, evidenced as blood and mucus began to pour from its nose and mouth. Noting his enemy’s dulled senses and inability to counter, Arminius blew his head off with a point blank bolter round.

Turning to the others, Arminius could see that Brother's Mikhael and Nexus had made quick work of the other Dark Eldar, their prowess with the holy boltgun displayed in full. Arminius whispered a prayer of thanks that his trust had not been misplaced. 

“We must proceed to the hangar. Further incursions by this filth shall not be tolerated!”


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## Lord Ramo

_*"This is Inquisitor Sylivian to Death Watch. I want you guys to go to the hanger and repel the enemy boarding party."*_

Sirens wained through the ship, and Nexus could pick up hails of gunfire echoing throughout the corridors. Nexus donned his helmet as did his brothers before moving towards the corridor, his chainsword hung at his waist and he held his bolter in his hand. As they moved into the corridor they were met by a hail of splinter fire, Mikhail diving into cover as Arminius lobbed a grenade down the hall before taking cover at the other side of the corridor. Nexus smashed to the side as a trio of splinters slammed into his shoulder guard.

Nexus opened fire on them as the grenade detonated and Arminius charged forward, his chainsword roaring in vengence. Nexus sighted a dark eldar who was drawing a wicked looking blade. Nexus squeezed the trigger and a burst of shots burst forth, the trio smashing through the Dark Eldar's puny armour and removing his head from his shoulder. Nexus charged forward, adding his chainsword to the fight, swinging it with deadly precision as he would his tools to save his comrades.

He was an apothecary and an Astartes. He was used to death, fighting as he took care of his fellows and he looked out for his brothers, especially Arminius as he stood directly in the path of death. Mikhail would lend his bolter support as the two Astartes fought in the circling meelee. Nexus brought his chainsword down on a Dark Eldar rifle, shearing in two with his powerful strokes. He reversed the direction and stabbed through the dark eldars chest, killing him as the chainsword destroyed his heart. As the last dark eldar fell Arminius spoke out to his brothers, _“We must proceed to the hangar. Further incursions by this filth shall not be tolerated!”_ Nexus looked to him and opened a channel to both his brothers, *"I agree, we must do as ordered, the xeno filth must be destroyed this day. They will feel our wrath for attacking one of the Emperor's ships."*


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## G0DSMACKED

"Eldar? Dark Eldar? why should I care what the Xenos calls itself... so long as by the Emperor's grace I can call it dead." 

With that Firebeard, turned.... and Strode for the door, only to have it explode in his face... 

Pinned behind the door, the dark eldar walked past him into the room and began opening a barrage of splinter fire... pinning the Inquisitor. Amongst the rapid firing shots the dark eldar failed to hear the Redemption Priest's eviscerator Retribution spring to life. With it Firebeard cut through the door on him like butter, and stood up behind the dark eldar group. Unleashing his Exterminator one shot flamer unto the squad of dark eldar, before wading into them with Retribution. Cutting two in half, before realizing the speed of the Dark eldar's reaction would be a problem... two had gone down from his exterminator, however this left 6 to be dealt with, including the one wielding the heavy weapon keeping the inquisitor pinned. 

Now 2 of them were on Firebeard with the darting quick combat blades. He was more heavily armored than they, but their grace was not to be underestimated. 

Firebeard looked to Val, taking out the rest, he was determined to finish this lot. Swinging low, and knowing the eldar would leap out of the way of his swing, he then turned his blade upwards, and with no where to go but down the eldar fell with his crotch onto Redemption. The other managed to sink it's knife into Firebeard's Bionic shoulder. Firebeard looked at him in the eye. and as the Dark Eldar tried to pull his blade from Firebeard's arm, Firebeard grabbed his wrist... muttering "now i got ya" he hefted his Redemption into The last of the Dark eldar.


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## PapaSmurf124

_Dark Eldar? Here? Foolish creatures_

Nemius was shaken from his meditation by the apparent attack on the ship. He was soon after informed by a transmission that a Dark Eldar raiding crew has boarded the ship. He, however, did not need the transmission to tell him what he was up against. The psychic affinity of the fools gave them away. He could feel their presence in the warp, and was ready to end that presence.

Nemius rose from where he sat, taking up his force halberd, Eckerd, and securing his bolt pistol. He was prepared to make short work of whatever he came across. He felt it was time that he met up with the other Battle Brothers and introduced himself anyway.

He could hear gun fire and a small explosion nearby.

"Heh," Nemius laughed to himself, "My Brothers must have already engaged the fools. By the Emperor, I will not allow them all the fun!"

Nemius strode through the passage ways of the vessel, always scanning for threats. He was approaching where he heard the gun fight coming from. in front of him he saw five Trueborns emerge several paces in front of him, all armed with splinter carbines, charging towards where he had heard the fight coming from.

_They must be going to support their fallen comrades. They shall fall by my hand!_ Nemius thought as he quicken his pace.

He rounded the corner, behind the Dark Eldar, who were intent on gunning down his allies. He began to invoke the powers of the warp, his eyes glowing a pale blue fire and Eckerd glowing with psychic energy. One of the Dark Eldar warriors, sensing the growing psychic power behind him, turned to face the Librarian, but it was too late. All five of the warriors burst into flames as Nemius discharged the psychic energy upon them. His blue glow subsided, to be replaced by the red glow of the dying Dark Eldar which smoldered before him.

Once they all ceased to exist, Nemius strode forward and joined his fellow Space Marines.

"Brothers!" he exclaimed, "I am Brother Nemius Uclin, Librarian of the Crimson Fists. I see you all have been busy terminating this Xenos scum."


----------



## Therizza

"I agree, we must do as ordered, the xeno filth must be destroyed this day. They will feel our wrath for attacking one of the Emperor's ships."Brother-Apothecary Vaddon had barely completed his statement when Arminius's enhanced hearing picked up the nearly imperceptible footsteps of what must have been Dark Eldar reinforcements rushing to intercept the Deathwatch Marines. But within the nearly silent footfalls of Dark Eldar, Arminius could hear the tell tale pattern of a Space Marine, a large one at that, running full tilt. Even before Arminius could yell to his comrades to take cover, he felt the temperature in the corridor drop significantly and then return to normal.

It was at that moment Arminius glimpsed the figures charging towards his compatriots, five Kabalite Warriors, but these ones had a different look about them. It mattered little, for as they entered his view, so did the visage of a Brother-Librarian, eyes glowing blue with eldritch power as he channeled a powerful psychic attack at the xeno raiders. As the Dark Eldar burst into flames before his eyes, Arminius could not but be awed at the immense power of the Librarian.

Having dispatched the xenos with relative ease, the unknown Space Marine walked forward to the Deathwatch contingent in the corridor. "I am Brother Nemius Uclin, Librarian of the Crimson Fists. I see you all have been busy terminating this Xenos scum."

"Well met, Brother-Librarian Nemius. I am Sergeant Arminius Furien of the Ultramarines. I am glad we are joined by such a skilled warrior such as yourself. We must push forward to the hangar and repel the rest of these interlopers. The Emperor's work will not be delayed by such xeno incursions!"


----------



## Midge913

Numetor stood still, eyes closed, feeling the air around him. The quiet hum of the practice servitors filling his senses, he wrapped the calm of combat around him like a warm blanket. He thumbed his chainsword to life and with the roar of its engine the blades of the practice cage decended, attempting with all of their limited intelligence to bring him harm. Numetor pivoted, parried, and countered, each movement fluid and practiced. As he practiced the machine began working faster, smarter, and more challenging, until it reached a point where Numetor was taxed to the edges of his abilities. He lost himself in the perfection of the dance. 

Numetor was broken from his regiment by the sound of warning claxons. He dodged to the side and slammed the cage’s deactivation switch with a fist. 

Over the ships vox system came the Inquistor’s voice. 

"This is Inquisitor Sylivian, prepare to repel enemy boarding party. We are under attack by the Dark Eldar. I repeat we are under attack by Dark Eldar."

“Scum,” Numetor mumbled to himself. He had encountered the Dark Eldar on several occasions and he relished the opportunity for another confrontation with them. He knew that they must be repelled before they managed to get a firm hold on the ship. He would not allow this vessel to fall into their hands. 

Numetor retrieved his bolt pistol and Combi-flamer from outside the practice cage. He checked the magazines and chambers of each, finding them ready for action, and took note that he had enough promethium for a single use.

“Inquisitor Sylivian to Death Watch. I want you guys to go to the hanger and repel the enemy boarding party."

Numetor acknowledged the order with a silent nod and moved towards the hallway door. He donned his helm and clasped it into place and was immediately assailed with incoming information streams. His enhanced hearing picked up the silent foot falls of what could only be Dark Eldar raiders. 

Stepping confidently into the hallway he primed the feed for his flamer and came face to face with two Dark Eldar warriors. Caught by the surprise of his emergence the xeno scum barely had time to raise their weapons as Numetor bellowed, “Into the fires of battle, unto the forge of war! For the Emperor!” and bathed them in burning death. 

Standing over the still burning corpses Numetor opened a secure vox channel to the rest of the Deathwatch, “This is Veteran-Sergeant Numetor Tu’Lan of the Salamanders to the remainder of the Deathwatch. I am outside the practice cages in the forward section of deck two. Requesting a point for rendezvous. It seems that we have a few guests onboard that require our attention brothers.”


----------



## Lord Ramo

"Brothers!" he exclaimed, "I am Brother Nemius Uclin, Librarian of the Crimson Fists. I see you all have been busy terminating this Xenos scum." Nexus watched as the brother Librarian from his same chapter moved towards them. Nexus did not know Nemius very well even though he was in the same chapter, Nexus spent most of his time in the apothecary trying to find ways to rejuvenate the chapter.

*"Brother Nemius, good to see a fellow crimson fist here."* Nexus responded as he moved forward Boltgun slack in his hand, _*"We better keep moving, we must get to the hanger."*_ Nexus revved his chainsword as he took point, preferring to keep his chainsword out in the cramped corridors.


----------



## PapaSmurf124

"Well met, Brother-Librarian Nemius. I am Sergeant Arminius Furien of the Ultramarines. I am glad we are joined by such a skilled warrior such as yourself. We must push forward to the hangar and repel the rest of these interlopers. The Emperor's work will not be delayed by such xeno incursions!"

"An honor, Brother-Sergeant Arminius. I expect the famed Tyranid tactics of the Ultramarines will prove handy, should we come across any of the wretched beasts during our mission." Nemius hadn't seen an Ultramarine in some time. He looked forward to hearing what the Marine had to say.

"Brother Nemius, good to see a fellow crimson fist here." Nexus responded as he moved forward Boltgun slack in his hand, "We better keep moving, we must get to the hanger."

"Ah, Brother Nexus, one of the famed survivors of the Rynn's World incident. You are well known for your actions during the battle. Not many can boast to have done his duty that day as you had. My respect to you." Nemius raised Eckerd in salute to his fellow Crimson First, feeling much more at home alongside another of his chapter. "By your lead, Brother, let us show those vile fools the glory of the Emperor!"

The Marines prepared to move out, Nexus on point, to the hanger. Nemius reached out with his mind, searching for the presence of any more of the raiders near by. He would not have his group caught off guard. Then a new voice was heard over the vox channel.

“This is Veteran-Sergeant Numetor Tu’Lan of the Salamanders to the remainder of the Deathwatch. I am outside the practice cages in the forward section of deck two. Requesting a point for rendezvous. It seems that we have a few guests onboard that require our attention brothers.”

Nemius searched his mind, attempting to recall the layout of the ship. There was a junction between their two decks near by, and not far from that point would be the hanger. That would be an excellent meeting point for the two of them.

"Brother Numetor, this is Brother Nemius. Rendezvous at the the junction of Decks 1 and 2, and we will proceed to the Hanger as a unit."


----------



## Jackinator

"This is Inquisitor Sylivian, prepare to repel enemy boarding party. We are under attack by the Dark Eldar. I repeat we are under attack by Dark Eldar."

Marcus was jolted out of his reverie by the Inquisitor's voice over the intercom. "Ah, so it's going to be one of those trips is it?" he muttered to himself. Swinging himself down off his bunk he reached for his pistol, holstering it on his ammo sling before snatching up his shotgun.

Sliding his door open silently he looked out, then slipped out into the empty corridor. He could hear shouts and gunfire in the distance, he headed in that direction but had only managed to get around the corner when a hail of splinters came flying towards him. He spun back around the corner but not before one of the flying shards had gouged his cheek, he cried out, the pain was excruciating, he fired wildly around the corner and followed it up with a grenade.

Following the explosion he leaned out, one of the eldar was down but the others had somehow, astonishingly, avoided the blast. He turned the closest into a red mist with his first shot and followed up by taking the leg off another. His third knocked the weapon from anothers hands but his fourth and fifth missed as the two xenos dodged behind bulkheads. His last three shots accounted for the disarmed alien and he got one of the ones behind the pillar who unwittingly poked his head out.

Just one left, he slung the now empty shotgun over his back and drew his pistol, advancing slowly toward the bulkhead the alien had disappeared behind. He swung round behind it pistol raised, but there was no alien. He spun at a sound behind him, but not quickly enough to stop the rifle butt from crashing into his face, knocking his head against the bulkhead and dropping him to his knees, he looked up groggily as the dark eldar warrior leveled his rifle...


----------



## Protoss119

“This is Veteran-Sergeant Numetor Tu’Lan of the Salamanders to the remainder of the Deathwatch. I am outside the practice cages in the forward section of deck two. Requesting a point for rendezvous. It seems that we have a few guests onboard that require our attention brothers.”

Mikhael picked up the message on his armor's vox feed and shuddered - not at the prospect of meeting a Salamander, but rather adding another Codex adherent to the ranks. All of his battle-brothers that he had thus met were ones whose chapters he identified as being Codex-adherent. With that in mind, he had allowed an Ultramarine, whose adherence of the Codex Astartes was second to none, to command him so far. And now a Librarian, albeit a Son of Dorn like himself, seemed to have quickly befriended that same Ultramarine.

He remembered Damocles and how the Tau adapted to the Stormhunters' attempts to follow the Codex Astartes - how it was only by breaking from it that the chapter could have surprised and defeated them. When the crusade was finally over, the Stormhunters abandoned the Codex Astartes in their spite. Now it seemed like he would once again be forced to follow the tenets that led his brothers to their deaths. Mikhael felt the return of "Guilliman's Grip", as it were; a four-to-one ratio of Codex and non-Codex marines would...

Mikhael shook his head free of such thoughts. What did it matter that they were Codex adherents? All he need do is offer his skill to the Kill-Team, regardless of whether they were Codex or not. And in any case, now was not the time, not when there were xenos to kill. Mikhael detached the drum magazine from his bolter, placing it in one of his pouches, and inserted a new one - loaded with Kraken bolts. Depending on past experience in the Stormhunters 5th Company to guide him, Mikhael expected that the next few encounters would be much tougher, and that he would need to adapt in turn to stronger enemies.


----------



## Necrosis

“Damn cowardly Xeno” said Inquisitor Sylivian as she got back up as Firebeard dispatch the last dark eldar. “Well done, we need to hold this position. If the bridge falls, then the battle is lost. Enemy reinforcements will probably be coming. Take defensive positions. The Death Watch Marines will take out enemy boarding ship. That will cut off their reinforcements. Once that is done we will have to act quickly. For the Dark Eldar ship may open fire on us again.” said Inquisitor Sylivian.

Then five Dark Eldar warriors appeared. Yet they look different, for one they had splinter carbines. To make matters worse it seemed that the leader was wearing some kind of strange armour. “In the Emperor Name!” yelled Inquisitor Sylivian as she fired her Inferno pistol at the leader yet to her surprise he managed to dodge it. Yet Sylivian had already closed the gap and engage it in close combat using her power sword. Yet the xeno was able to parry her blow by using some kind of whip.

As the two engage in combat the other warriors opened fire.

Valerie & Carlton Corazion: This warriors are far stronger than the previous ones and faster. You will have much harder time beating them. The Inquisitor and Dracon are lock in combat and getting close would probably result in your death.

Death Watch Marines: The hall way is now clear and you begin your way down to the hanger but just before you reach their Nemius seems to stop for some reason, he doesn’t appear to be injuried or have been attacked. Perhaps you should ask him why he stopped. Or you can simply keep on moving and try to take the hanger without his support.

Nemius: You sense something that causes you stop moving. Even though you cannot see them, you can sense them. You sense something odd, almost daemonic. This presence seems to be following you to the hanger. Perhaps it is planning to do a pincer maneuver, trapping you in-between the current dark eldar in the hanger and whatever is following you. Perhaps you should tell your teammates.

Marcus: Just as the dark eldar warrior leveled his rifle, a lasgun shot goes through his head. You seem a badly injured crew member making his way towards you. He then falls down on the ground. You can try to save him and take him to the armoury, or you can leave him behind and go to the bridge as the Inquisitor ordered you. The choice is yours but even if you take him to the armoury he may not survive.


----------



## PapaSmurf124

The Kill-Team advanced down the hall, wary of any new threats and movements that might present themselves. Soon they found themselves at the junction they were to meet the Salamander at. Sure enough he stood there, keeping guard of the narrow passage ways, prepared to gun down any Xenos filth foolish enough to stand up to his might.

Suddenly, Nemius felt a terrible pang of foreboding, something eating at his very soul, the source of which he was unsure of. Could it be the psychic presence of a much more powerful Dark Eldar figure? No, this was much different, much too powerful. It was almost like a presence of a being much different from the Xenos filth that boarded their ship.

Nemius stopped dead in his tracks, dropping to one knee. He latched his bolt pistol to his side and placed his free hand on his head, while keeping a firm grip on Eckerd. Something wasn't right. What he felt was much more deeply rooted in the warp than anything that could possibly come from the Dark Eldar. Something much more dangerous was aboard the ship. But what?

The other Marines stared at Nemius, confused as to what exactly had come over the Librarian. He seemed almost in pain, but he did not appear to be wounded. There had been no other engagements since they had left their meeting point, and the Dark Eldar he had incinerated had not been able to react soon enough to damage him. What was going on?

Nemius concentrated harder. The presence seemed most familiar, he was sure of it. He felt as if he had sensed it before, during another battle he had fought. Then it hit him. The presence was daemonic, a true warp entity, and it was following them. What was it doing? Where was it hiding? What was it planning? Many different solutions ran through the Librarian's mind, as he tried to calculate his foe's actions, hoping that he may catch it off guard.

One of his Battle Brothers stood over him, and asked for a report. Nemius remained silent for several moments, lost in concentration as he tried to sort out what the daemonic entity was planning. Then he rose to his feet and, for the first time since the battle had started, donned his helmet.

"Brothers...I fear the wretched dark brethren of the Eldar may have brought a daemon aboard the vessel, and it is preparing to strike at us. I can sense its presence. We must act quickly. I feel that it hopes to trap us in the hanger and give us no way out, forcing us to fight on two fronts. But we will not give it the pleasure. I would like to request one of you to accompany me whilst I hunt down this daemon, and banish it back from whence it came. We will regroup with the rest of you in the hanger to aid in repelling the Dark Eldar scum once the daemon has been removed. By the Emperor, no daemon shall best us this day."


----------



## Therizza

As Arminius proceeded down the hall with the rest of the Deathwatch Marines, he reloaded his bolter with a fresh magazine before replacing his chainsword on his hip. 

Suddenly he saw Brother Nemius wince in pain at first, and then fall to one knee clutching his head, as if something gnawed at his very essence.

"Brother Nemius, what is the matter? Do you sense something?" spat Arminius.

After a moment, Brother Nemius rose and spoke of what he had experienced. The highest probability was that a Daemon, either employed by or commanding the Dark Eldar, had made its presence known to the Space Marine Librarian. 

"I would like to request one of you to accompany me whilst I hunt down this daemon, and banish it back from whence it came." was the Librarians request, a request Arminius Furien of the Ultramarines would answer.

"I shall accompany you, Brother Librarian. My chainsword was blessed before I left my Chapter for this assignment, and may prove useful if this threat indeed is a warp-spawn." That being said, Arminius, the impromptu leader of the Deathwatch unit to this point, turned to Brother Mikhael and fixed him with a stern look.

"Go forth to the hangar and purge it of the xeno, in any way you see fit. Your skill with the boltgun, along with our Brother-Salamander and Crimson Fist will prove more useful there than I. We will reestablish comms once the Daemon is no more."

With that, Arminius and Nemius proceeded down the corridor. Arminius had sensed a hardening of Mikhael's demeanor when it was discovered he would be fighting alongside another Crimson Fist and a Salamander, both of who's Chapters adhered to the Codex Astartes as much as the Ultramarines. 

Hoping that his small gesture of respect would diffuse any animosity, Arminius detached his blessed-chainsword from its location as he proceeded along with the Librarian. Pressing the blade to his battle helm, he whispered a prayer to the Emperor that his strikes would be swift and true before depressing the activation stud to idle.

"Have you battled many Daemons, Brother-Librarian?"...


----------



## Midge913

"Brother Numetor, this is Brother Nemius. Rendezvous at the the junction of Decks 1 and 2, and we will proceed to the Hanger as a unit."

Numetor sent a coded acknowledgement to Brother Nemius and started off in the direction of the junction point. He kept his bolter ready incase he met an xeno resistance but his journey was uneventful. He rounded the corner and found his brother marines waiting for him. 

It was a mixed group that stood before him, an Ultramarine, a Storm Hunter, and an Apothecary and a Librarian from the Crimson Fists chapter. He knew little of the Storm Hunters other than the odd mission report he had read from the Damocles Conflicts, but he knew the the Ultramarine’s experience against the Tyranids would be valuable to the team, and the Veteran experience and skills of the Crimson Fists would be very useful. 

It was the Brother-Librarian the took his whole attention at the moment. He was kneeling in the center of the junction, hand to his head in apparent concentration. Numetor approached the group just as the Librarian was getting to his feet.

"Brothers...I fear the wretched dark brethren of the Eldar may have brought a daemon aboard the vessel, and it is preparing to strike at us. I can sense its presence. We must act quickly. I feel that it hopes to trap us in the hanger and give us no way out, forcing us to fight on two fronts. But we will not give it the pleasure. I would like to request one of you to accompany me whilst I hunt down this daemon, and banish it back from whence it came. We will regroup with the rest of you in the hanger to aid in repelling the Dark Eldar scum once the daemon has been removed. By the Emperor, no daemon shall best us this day."

This was troubling indeed. If the Brother-Librarian was correct, and Numetor had no reason to question his judgement, it appeared that they may be hemmed in on two fronts: depraved Eldar to the front and Daemon Spawn behind. Numetor decided to listen to what his brothers proposed as it appeared they had some brief experience working together. 

"I shall accompany you, Brother Librarian. My chainsword was blessed before I left my Chapter for this assignment, and may prove useful if this threat indeed is a warp-spawn,” the Ultramarine said, in an air only possible from one of the Sons of Guilliman. "Go forth to the hangar and purge it of the xeno, in any way you see fit,” he continued addressing the Storm Hunter, “Your skill with the boltgun, along with our Brother-Salamander and Crimson Fist will prove more useful there than I. We will reestablish comms once the Daemon is no more." With that, Arminius and Nemius proceeded down the corridor and turned out of sight.

“Well that that was something,” Numetor commented to his fellows as he removed his helm and extended a hand of greeting to the Storm Hunter and Crimson Fist in turm. “I am Numetor Tu’Lan brothers, I look forward to working with you. Since I am the new-comer here I would hear your report of what is going on so I am better prepared to assist.”


----------



## PapaSmurf124

Arminius stepped forth and answered Nemius's call to assistance, stating boldly, ""I shall accompany you, Brother Librarian. My chainsword was blessed before I left my Chapter for this assignment, and may prove useful if this threat indeed is a warp-spawn." He then turned to the rest of the Kill-Team, instructing the Storm Hunter to take charge, for his skills with a bolter were indeed great.

Nemius knew the Storm Hunters were not followers of the Codex Astartes. He knew that their members despised the Codex, and harbored particular disdain in having to be around those who followed it. Mikhael's tensions were noted by the Librarian, and he knew that he would need to build trust in his Brother if they were to complete their mission successfully. Nemius was pleased with the notion the Ultramarine put forward, as it a notion of respect and trust from his fellow Marine.

As Nemius and Arminius strode down the corridors, scanning and searching for anything amiss, Arminius turned to him, asking, "Have you battled many Daemons, Brother-Librarian?"

Nemius turned his head to the Ultramarine. "Yes, I have entered combat and tested my wits against the beings of the warp twice before this occasion. The first time was nothing significant, merely a mop up duty left after a warp rift had been closed by my fellow Crimson Fists."

"And of the second?"

"I had accompanied a small contingent of Tactical Marines from the 2nd Company on a Purge and Clean run of a Hive City. The city had been over run by daemons, and it proved to be a daunting task. We spent days slogging through the filth of chaos, attempting to find the true source of the warp breach that had taken the city. What we found was like nothing any of us had ever seen. One of the great daemons of rot, a Great Unclean One I believe they have been called, had taken residence in the political district of the city, and was well defended by many of his lesser counter parts. The creatures could withstand injuries that would have even fell an Astartes with out much trouble. 6 men were lost to the creature before the combined effort of my psychic power and their holy bolt fire sent the vile beast screaming back to the warp."

Nemius looked to the ground. He never liked to recall that day. Too many Astartes lost on what should have been a quick and routine clean up operation. Had they have known what they were up against, they would have requested the aid of their 1st Company, and surely the battle would have tipped in their favor much sooner.


----------



## Jackinator

There was the snap crack of a lasgun and the alien flew sideways as a sharp beam of light cut the air. Marcus staggered to his feet and looked in the direction of his rescuer just in time to see a pale-faced lad of no more than eighteen crumple to the floor. One hand clutched a battered laspistol while the other arm ended at a ragged, bleeding stump just above the elbow.

Marcus ran to him, skidding to a halt and using the crewman's remaining sleeve to fashion a makeshift tourniquet.

“Well done, we need to hold this position. If the bridge falls, then the battle is lost. Enemy reinforcements will probably be coming. Take defensive positions. The Death Watch Marines will take out enemy boarding ship. That will cut off their reinforcements. Once that is done we will have to act quickly. For the Dark Eldar ship may open fire on us again.”

"Shit"

Marcus was faced witha dilemma. He made a snap decision.

"The infirmary's near to the armoury right?" He figured that if he was going to be late he better bring more than just a battered combat shotgun.

"Ye... Yes" the crewman stuttered, he was fading in and out of consciousness. Marcus hoisted him onto his shoulder and dredging up the ship plans from his memory headed to the infirmary, fortunately it was only one corridor across.

He burst into the white-walled room and stopped dead. A scene of horror confronted him, eight men and women were laid out on the floor, their throats slit. Worse still was the eldritch symbol they had been contorted into, he felt a wave of nausea rise and threw himself back out of the door, grabbing a medikit on the way out. He slammed it shut. The nausea subsided as quickly as it had risen once the horrific rune was out of sight.

Breathing heavily he made his way along the corridor to the mercifully empty armoury. He lay the lad on one of the work benches and opening the medikit, quickly sprayed his wound with medifoam, he also stabbed an anit-toxin jab into the lads arm. He wasn't sure what the xenos had coated their weapons in but whatever it was, the lad had clearly got a much larger dose than he had. He wished he could stay to do more but his place was by the inquisitors side. He straightened and surveyed the room. The armoury was a veritable treasure trove of death, everything from bolters to a mighty lascannon. His eyes swept the weapons racks before finally coming to rest on one he remembered from his underworld days. Although in better condition than the ones he had come across before the heavy stubber still brought back fond memories. He lifted the matt-finished weapon from it's cradle and drop it's strap across his shoulder. He took three drum magazines from the rack and slid one in with a satisfying click. He clipped the other two to his belt and with one last look at the now unconscious, but seemingly stable crewman stepped out and slid the door shut.

"Inquisitor, this is Marcus Gloq. I'm heading up now, can you hold till I get there?"

He set off down the corridor at a run...


----------



## Protoss119

"Go forth to the hangar and purge it of the xeno, in any way you see fit. Your skill with the boltgun, along with our Brother-Salamander and Crimson Fist will prove more useful there than I. We will reestablish comms once the Daemon is no more."

"Very well. Emperor be with you both."

Mikhael turned to face Numetor and Nexus as Arminius and Nemius left to confront the Daemon. At first, it made little sense to him; the Eldar were sworn enemies of Chaos, and the Dark Eldar were no exception. Somehow, though, their Dark Eldar foes must have bound - or enslaved, as the case may have been - a Daemon to their service and unleashed it upon the _Abrogation_...most likely to further the suffering of its crew, suffering in which they take pleasure. The Dark Eldar's consorting with Daemonic forces made perfect sense to him now.

“I am Numetor Tu’Lan brothers, I look forward to working with you. Since I am the new-comer here I would hear your report of what is going on so I am better prepared to assist.” 

"Well met, brother Numetor" Mikhael said as he removed his helmet. "Unfortunately, we know only as much concerning these roving masochists as you do. Arminius, Nexus and I were on our way to embark for Scinivelia II when the Dark Eldar attacked. We dealt with the first wave of Dark Eldar when Nemius arrived and immolated a second wave with his powers. Now we must retake the hangar and destroy the Dark Eldar transports to cease this senseless raid."

With that, Mikhael donned his helmet once more. He briefly recalled his time as a Sergeant before being elevated to Veteran status. Leading small squads of three or four in the Stormhunters was not uncommon; Mikhael himself was often comfortable with separating his ten-man squad into combat squads of three or four, ideally with a senior squad member leading those squads he was not attached to. The Codex Astartes already outlined the concept of 5-man Combat Squads, but Theridus took this concept one step further after abandoning the Codex and introduced 3-4 man squads to his Captains. These "reconnaissance squads" were usually formed when dedicated Scout squads were unavailable - and they often were, as the chapter's recruitment rate was below average.

"I'll take point, brothers" Mikhael said, taking a frag grenade into his hand; he was planning to toss it at the first squad of Dark Eldar he saw. "We must be careful about this; follow my lead." With that, they headed toward the hangar...


----------



## Serpion5

*Valerie*

The xeno warrior dropped as Valerie`s blade pierced the back of its neck. At the same time, the last ones died to the priests roaring weapon. Valerie clutched at her bleeding abdomen and focussed.

_Ignore the pain._ She thought. _Pain is nothing, you can handle this._

The Inquisitor`s next words were a blur, but Valerie was able to make sense enough of them. They had to hold out a little longer. They had to defend the bridge. More of the xenos were likely to be coming. She propped herself up against the wall at the back of the bridge, panting heavily, but determined not to give up while she was still needed. 

She was beginning to lose concioussness, but forced herself to wake up when another group of warriors walked past her and targeted the crew. Valerie forced herself to focus. They were dressed in more elaborate armour, and their weapons were different. Presumably more dangerous...

_No more holding back..._ Valerie thought, and switched off her Dampening field. The effect was instantaneous, no longer was her innate ability being suppressed by her mistress`s device. The two warriors at the rear of the formation turned to face her, one of them clutching at its head. 

'Am I hurting you?' Valerie laughed, coughing up a little blood in the process. 

_'Not for much longer.'_ One of them growled, levelling a gun at Valerie`s head. 

He fired, but Valerie had already begun moving, strafing to the left and then darting sharply forward. Her blank aura, unmasked and flooding the area was palpable, grating against their minds like coarse stone. 

She impacted, her mere touch extracting a scream as the xeno warrior found his very soul being repelled by her presence. She swung her sword, but the armour held against her attack. The xeno pushed at her, desperately trying to remove this, this abomination from his presence. She kicked out, catching him ion the shoulder and causing him to drop his weapon. In his moment of hesitation, she struck, burying her blade into the alien`s neck. 

As it died, the second one shook its head and raised its own weapon. Valerie dodged again, but this time she was not fast enough and one of the needle projectiles hit her on the shoulder. 

The pain was unimaginible. Valerie screamed in agony, falling to the floor and clutching her wound. THe needle was still there, protruding from her flesh, embedded in her bone. She looked up, glaring through tear blurred vision at her attacker. 

Remembering her untouchable training, she focussed her energies on the xeno. Unseen, her soulless aura began to change shape, going from a sphere surrounding her to a cone directed at the xeno warrior itself. It fell to its knees, dropping it weapon and staring in horrified stupor back at Valerie`s form. She could only hope to last long enough for someone to finish it and help her. 

Her vision was too blurred by pain and tears, and she was losing focus. What was happening? 

She couldn`t take it. She screamed. 

'SOMEBODY HELP ME!'


----------



## Jackinator

'SOMEBODY HELP ME!'

Marcus heard the scream of a woman in pain as he rounded the final corner. skidding in through the doorway he came upon a scene of carnage. Eldar and bits of eldar lay around, and the stench of burnt flesh filled the air. A bright red beard caught his eye and he glanced over to where a huge man fought with a group of eldar warriors, fire licked along the edge of his weapon, a brutal eviscerator, presumably the aftermath of the exterminator mounted just above the hilt.

The Inquisitor was engaged in combat with a dark eldar warrior, armed with some kind of crackling whip. The combat was moving almost too fast for him to follow and his respect for Inquisitor Sylivian's combat prowess ratcheted up a notch. But with that whip flying around it looked like it was too dangerous to get close. He moved his attention elsewhere.

Behind the Inquisitor was a further combat, these warriors seemed to be a higher rank than the ones he had earlier encountered. Their armour was more ornate and their weapons were bulkier and unleashed a storm of splinters at the mere squeeze of the trigger. They were using this to great effect, five of the bridge crew were already down while the remaining few had taken cover behind tables or engaged the xenos hand to hand. One man, the captain it seemed, wielding a long, elegant power sword had already downed one attacker and seemed to be struggling to get to Sylivian's aid. The rest of his crew were not fairing so well.

But there, a woman slumped against the wall, barely conscious, blood pooling around her. One of the eldar in front of her had fallen to it’s knees, clutching his head, she must be some kind of psyker. The rest of the group however, was turning to face her, and it seemed she would have no defence against them. He braced the heavy stubber and opened up.

Whatever she was doing must have been affecting the other eldar because they reacted only sluggishly. They didn't stand a chance as the stubber cut the group in half, literally. He shifted, and carefully put a single shot through the head of the immobilised warrior. The woman cried out and slid further down the wall. Keeping an eye on the melee in the rest of the bridge he advanced slowly towards the woman who now had her eye's half closed, her breathing shallow. He stepped towards her.

He paused, somehow he felt uncomfortable. He’d lived for thirty-two years, he’d fought servants of the pleasure god, foul orks and the treacherous eldar. He’d socialised, and more, with young women more times than he could count. Yet he could not account for this inexplicable feeling that seemed entirely related to her. He was used to mood swings, but this was something else entirely. He took another step, and gasped, swaying. Whatever it was had just intensified, becoming an almost physical force that resisted his every step.

“Whatever you’re doing, stop it, please”, there was almost a note of pleading in his voice.

“I… I’m sorry”, she reached down to a little device mounted on a belt around her waist. She flicked a switch.
Marcus felt the force lift, he staggered forward the last few steps and sank to his knees next to her, the feeling was still there, but had less of an effect, he pushed it to one side.

“Just another mood swing” he muttered, to himself, “just pretend it’s a mood swing and it’ll pass.” He forced a smile, somewhat out of place considering the situation, but he thought it might help. “Oh shit”, she was bleeding heavily from a chest wound, he plucked the canister of medi-foam from his pocket and used the remainder of it trying to plug the wound. There was still blood, but it seemed that the spray had stopped most of it. Then he looked for other wounds, there, a splinter, sticking from her should. “Emperor, that thing must be 8 inches long!” He gripped it, trying to pull it out, but it was lodged firm.

“Sorry, this is going to hurt”, he held her shoulder with his left hand and with his right took a firm grip, and heaved. There was a crack, and a wet sucking noise, she cried out in pain, but when he pulled it out the shard was whole. It must have been embedded in the bone, the force of its removal had fractured it. There was very little blood flow from this wound, a bad sign.

“Ok, ok”, he spoke more to reassure himself than her. He took the anti-toxin jab from his coat, fumbling, he finally managed to get it poised over the vein. “I’m not supposed to do this, but the muscle would be too slow, you need it now”. He plunged it down…


----------



## Tarvitz210300

Calling all squads help were trapped in a room eldar are almost through we can't stop them they are in no no noo save us

Helmut heard the broadcast then how it suddenly went black. He knew those men inside that room were dead. There are so many of them you can't kill them all. Helmut could feel the rage flowing through him. He was a blood angel son of sanguine and by the emporer he was going to avenge them.

Running down an ally he heard a scream, he could not deal with it some one else would. Further down the alley a dark eldar jumped out 
at him plunging a dagger into him Helmut screamed as his thick blood flowed out of him. With a grunt he slammed himself against the wall trapping the eldar against it. But doing this the dagger sliced deeper into him the more he pushed the further through him it went but Helmut ignoring the agony crushed the dark eldar. Then with a scream
he pulled the dagger out of him blood poured out of him.

Helmut in deeper pain then he had ever felt before pulled himself 
forward panting until he came upon a supply room. It was a damp dark room and Helmut dragged himself slowly around it. Soon he found what he was looking for a thin piece of cloth wrapping it around his arm the blood finally stopped coming out of him.I need back up I am in a supply room the eldar will find me you got to help me


It took all his strength to send that now was not the Time for pride. Suddenly Helmut heard noises sounding very like elderHelp


----------



## Lord Ramo

As they moved down the hallway towards the hanger Nexus at the forefront the group halted at a cross section. Their brother salamander was waiting for them, and stood guarding the section. Nexus dipped his head in acknowledgement towards him as they slowed down. That was before his brother Crimson Fist hit the floor, obviously something was wrong with him. Nexus pushed his way through his brothers to the Librarian and immediately scanned his prone form with his auspex.

There were no injuries, so what was happening to him must be warp spawned. Nexus stood as the Librarian regained his composure and stood, the Ultramarine demanding to know what was happening. 

"Brothers...I fear the wretched dark brethren of the Eldar may have brought a daemon aboard the vessel, and it is preparing to strike at us. I can sense its presence. We must act quickly. I feel that it hopes to trap us in the hanger and give us no way out, forcing us to fight on two fronts. But we will not give it the pleasure. I would like to request one of you to accompany me whilst I hunt down this daemon, and banish it back from whence it came. We will regroup with the rest of you in the hanger to aid in repelling the Dark Eldar scum once the daemon has been removed. By the Emperor, no daemon shall best us this day."

The Ultramarine immediately moved forward to accompany him, tasking the others with clearing the hanger. Nexus would have words with him when they were reunited, he was not in charge like he was making out to be. If anyone would be it would be the duty of the Librarian not the Ultramarine to lead them. *"Careful brother, we will need your guidance later on."* Nexus warned to his brother crimson fist through a private vox channel. He turned to the Salamander as the two marines moved away and spoke, *"Brother Nexus Vaddon, Apothecary of the Crimson Fists. An honour to meet you brother."*

Mikhail took point and led them towards the hanger with Vaddon opening a vox to him and the Salamander, _"Is it just me or has the Ultramarine assumed he is in charge?"_


----------



## Tarvitz210300

Helmut realised that no one was going to save him he would have to fight. But even Helmut knew that a front on fight would be hopeless. Slowly he dragged himself towards a shelf ignoring the excruciating pain coming from his shoulder. The closer he got to the shelf the more painful his shoulder got until it was almost unbearable even for a space marine.

He got to the shelf all the same and holding it he pulled himself around it until he was well hidden. Now that he was well hidden he propped up his injured hands on the shelf readying his angelus bolters. He suddenly thought that his grenades may help him survive a Krak grenade could definitely kill a few. So he took out his grenades and placed them on the shelf waiting for the eldar to come.

In a matter of seconds the Xenos burst into the room there were six of them,
they looked around trying to find him. Helmut waited until the right moment throwing a frag grenade to stop them finding where he was then opening fire. Within moments two of them fell down dead the over four fired randomly hoping to find him. Helmut tried to throw his Krak but his hand seized up on him, he then used his over hand and this time he succeeds the krak grenade killing all but one. The last one tried to fire at Helmut but he was to fast.

Helmut now that he was safe sent out another message "I need medical attention do we have an Apothecary on board this time he got an answer "have an Apothecary on board he is near the hanger 

Helmut knew were the hanger was and so he slowly got up. He was very careful making sure that he was not ambushed. Slowly he moved down the alleys avoiding eldar as he was not up for a fight. Around an hour later he arrived at the hanger to see a large amount of space marines waiting to clear it he shouted do you an Apothecary i am injured. he then waited for an answer.


----------



## Protoss119

From behind him, Mikhael heard someone shout:

"do you an Apothecary i am injured."

He turned to face the direction from which the shout came from to find an Astartes armed with a chainaxe and two wrist-mounted boltguns - "Angelus" or some other designation he couldn't remember for the life of him. He spotted the badge of the Blood Angels on the marine's right pauldron, identifying him as a Son of Sanguinius. He also spotted a bloodied cloth wrapped around his arm, normally where he would have spotted soft armor.

His head swiveled to the Apothecary and he spoke:

"Brother Nexus, if you would, tend to our brother."

After which, he faced the Blood Angel again, recalling his chapter's experience with them. Since the dawn of M41, the Stormhunters had been petitioning the Blood Angels and their successors for their Baal Predator STC, believing that it would be critical in their battles against the alien. The Adeptus Mechanicus had been doing so as well, and both they and the chapter had been met with little success.

Those petitions ceased after the Stormhunters caught wind of the Gehenna campaign of 955.M41; reportedly, their Chapter Master, Dante, had temporarily allied with the Necrons to defeat a Tyranid invasion; after the Tyranids were defeated, the Blood Angels and the Necrons went their separate ways. To ally with and spare the alien is normally an idea that does not sit well with the Stormhunters. Mikhael had heard rumors that his Captain was in talks with the Adeptus Mechanicus...

He shook the thoughts from his head. That this one had been accepted into the Deathwatch was reason enough not to doubt his resolve, especially now. The chapter's grudges could wait. Mikhael approached the Blood Angel and asked:

"What is your name, Son of Sanguinius? And what happened to your arm, that you might be in such distress by its wound?"


----------



## Lord Ramo

Alrighty then lets start this off.

As the battle raged around them Inquisitor Sylivian and the Dark Eldar Drachon fought, neither seeming to be able to gain the upper hand. Whilst the Drachon had the speed to finish her off she was guided by the Emperor's firm hand and blocked every blow from the wicked Dark Eldar. As they fought she cried litanies of purity and devotion to the Emperor, her pistol holstered at her side as they fought in the brutal meelee. 

Marcus, Valerie & Carlton Corazion: As marcus got Valerie groggily back to her feet he heard a sharp cry. Turning he watched as some of the dark eldar he had previously thought were dead stand up again. Obviously some managed to evade his fire and were now picking out the crew one by one. Several more of these ornate and deadly dark eldar dart through the door, 3 of them heading straight towards you. Carlton is busy fighting the other dark eldar with a group of armsmen so these dark eldar are yours two. Two of the original group on the bridge also join in the attack on you.

Deathwatch Kill team at the hanger: As you enter the hanger you notice that it seems be full of Dark Eldar warriors, several of whom are turned away from you laughing as they force a small group of Imperial Crew members to their knees. They slowly start cutting them apart laughing in manic delight over the slaughter and pain they are causing. Nexus snarls something to the others as Mikhail hurls his grenade at the furthest group from the prisoners. Immediatly Nexus charges forward firing his bolter and swinging his chainsword in his determination to get to the prisoners. However some of the dark eldar are true born and one sees Nexus charging forward hitting him in the shoulder with a lance weapon. These true born are harder to kill than the others and will use their lance weapons to keep you out of close combat. Take them out from a far. There are around 15 and are the hardest opponents you have faced yet.

Arminius and Nemius: You hunt the daemon through the cramped corridors of the ship, finding on your way slaughtered crew men butchered and left mutilated on the floor. The lighting is dim and the floor is slick with blood as you come closer and closer to your target. Finally you get to a cross section and Nemius says it is just to the right. As you two sprint round the corner you find out it is not a daemon but find in fact six mandrakes, who had been feeding on the crews energies. They turn and unleash a powerful baleblast knocking you both back. They dart forward, bringing cruel blades to the fight. These will be hard to kill and will take all your skill and determination.


----------



## Jackinator

"Come on"

Marcus helped the groggy woman back to her feet. Her eyes focused over his shoulder and he let go of her and spun, another group of ornately clad warriors had entered the bridge. The group, seeing what was happening, split up, three of them heading straight for him. They raised their weapons and he pushed her out the way, diving off to the side himself to avoid their hail of fire. But he wasn't quite quick enough as half a dozen of the lethal splinters lacerated his right arm and face. He screamed and clenched the trigger of the heavy stubber, the sudden torrent of bullets catching one of the warriors by surprise and pulping him effortlessly.

The other two simply stepped out of the bullets path, Marcus grimaced as he tried to follow one of them with the unending stream of lead but the unhelmeted xenos merely gave him a single look of contempt before kicking the gun out of his grasp. It paused, sneering down at him, he would never forget the look of shock on it's face as he emptied his auto-pistol into the alien's torso.

Eyes foggy with pain, he managed to drag himself behind a console as it's surviving brethren returned fire. He fumbled with the gun, clumsy from his wounds, before finally managing to slam a fresh clip home. Behind him, two of the aliens he thought he had killed stood up, he turned just in time to see the nearest lunge...


----------



## Protoss119

Mikhael spotted the group of Dark Eldar and tossed his frag grenade in their direction. It went off flawlessly; he counted some three or four warriors caught in the blast, and he could have sworn he had seen one of them lose a leg to it. But it wasn't long afterwards that he saw Nexus charge.

"Wait! WAIT--"

Mikhael had spoken too late, however, as Nexus was fired upon by warriors carrying some manner of lance weapon. _Trueborn_, he surmised. Luckily, the apothecary had only been hit in the shoulder; had it been anywhere else, it may have taken off a limb or even his life, judging by his combat experience with the Dark Eldar.

Mikhael reacted quickly. "Move to support brother Nexus!" he barked, motioning towards Helmut. "Brother Numetor, on my position!" Mikhael moved for cover, keeping his head low as he fired upon the trueborn. He managed to hit one of them, a kraken bolt lodging itself in his leg before detonating, but that was all he could bear to manage until he could find a favorable position.


----------



## PapaSmurf124

(OOC: Please correct me if I am wrong with this. I don't know anything about mandrakes, and the Lexicanum entry is vague as hell)

"Mandrakes!" Nemius shouted when he and the Ultramarine rounded the corner. The creatures turned to face them, unleashing a powerful blast of energy that knocked them both to the floor. "The damned creatures must have been feeding on the crew's energies. Cowardly beasts, let us see how they withstand the might of a Librarian of the Imperium!"

Nemius rose from where he had fallen and began to gather his wits. A psychic duel with these beasts would be interesting indeed, as he had rarely seen them in action. His eye began to glow pale blue again as he began to gather up power, channeling a mighty, brain crushing psychic beam through his force halberd. It struck one of the creature hard, knocking it over. It screaming with pain, and then began to laugh. Clearly the vile beast was enjoying the pain.

_This will be interesting_ Nemius thought to himself, as he readied his mind for a psychic attack from the Mandrakes. The attack never came, however, as the creatures merely vanished from sight. This came as a bit of a shock to Nemius, as he had not expected them to disappear.

"The Mandrakes just...vanished?" Nemius wondered out loud as he brought Eckerd to bear. He would be ready when they reappeared.


----------



## Serpion5

*Valerie*

'Come on!' 

Valerie was hauled to her feet by the young stranger who had helped her and forced herself to focus on the task at hand. The painkillers were beginning to work but it still took a considerable effort to move through the pain in her limb. 

Suddenly, he pushed her back to the floor. She landed on her back and saw a hail of the splinter projectiles sail overhead. He had just saved her life. Completely alert now, she looked over and saw the trio of alien warriors aiming their weapons. One was tracing her movements as she scrambled to stand, but the other two seemed more concerned with her saviour. 

She noted with some satisfaction his return fire, obliterating one of the foes in h hail of lead and distracting her would be killer long enough for her to shelter behind a crew member`s terminal. She heard more gunshots, from a pistol this time, and was relieved to find that she had not been followed. 

But didn`t that mean her ally was in danger? 

She looked around the side of the console cautiously. The last of the xeno warriors was keeping the man pinned behind one of the communication consoles with sporadic fire. To her dismay, two more alien warriors she had thought dead begun to stand up, one clutching at the knife still embedded in its abdomen. Valerie had to act, and act fast... 

Taking a deep breath, fighting through the pain and the fear, she screamed a warcry and leaped into the open, her one remaining sword sliding free of its holster and into her grip effortlessly as she charged. The alien keeping her ally pinned was taken by surprise, but even so its reactions were honed to a lethal degree. It turned and fired, Valerie only just managing to dodge all but one of the agonising shards before her charge hit home. 

The sword carved a beautiful arc between her and her foe as it severed the warrior`s head. With her free hand, she gripped the barrel of the xenos weapon and yanked hard, loosening it from the decapitated foe`s hands and taking hold of the handle herself. Her discarded sword clattered to the deck as she aimed the strange weapon at its own kind, pulling the trigger with a roar of anticipation and pain. There was no recoil, but the weapon loosed a salvo of the splinter shards regardless. One of the aliens dove aside to seek cover, leaving its fellow to die screaming as Valerie pulled the trigger again. 

Then the pain became too much, and her cumulative wounds began to take their toll. Sinking to her knees, Valerie began to crawl backwards, leaving the xenos gun behind on the floor. 

Of the Inquisitor, she could not see. All she knew was that she needed help, and this time she did not have the strength to cry out for it.


----------



## Tarvitz210300

"What is your name, Son of Sanguinius? And what happened to your arm, that you might be in such distress by its wound?"

"I know that that it does not look bad but it feels like I have been shot with a lascannon constantly and an unusual amount of blood has come out of it." 

Nexus soon had sewed up his arm and used Marphone to stop the pain and blood. Helmut soon felt much better and so they started to enter the hanger. What happened next was a blur. He saw the man he had just been speaking too throw a grenade at a group of then watched him shout as another was wounded. Brother Nexus he thought he is the apothecary and I must protect him. He was about to charge when he realised it would do no good much better to shoot from afar. 

As a reflex he tried to find a grenade but then remembered that he had used them up, apart from one frag grenade. It would not do any harm but it could easily cover him. So he threw it the explosion a shrapnel gave him ample cover to get to Nexus. Now he was their he thought of his options in a moment they would be able to fire upon him he knew he would have to cover Nexus.

"Cover me"

He sprinted to Nexus he then grabbed Nexus and with one arm pulled him on to his feet. Then he started to fire against the elite Xenos, He saw one go down. Then he pulled Nexus into cover 

" You all right?"

He then watched the other space marines talk among them self he heard a few words and believed that one of them would soon draw fire. So he waited until they moved and advised Nexus to do the same.


----------



## Jackinator

The alien lunged, then collapsed as a shower of splinters slashed into it. The second Dark Eldar dived into cover behind a vox console as the hail of fire tracked towards it. There was a thump behind him, the fire stopped, he put a few shots in the direction of the hiding xenos before scrambling around the console, snagging the heavy stubber in the process. He saw a decapitated Dark Eldar Warrior, and the young woman dragging herself away. "Hey wait, oh shit."

Marcus was forced to duck again as another storm of splinters flew over his head, he risked a quick peek out, preceded by another few shots from the auto-pistol, the eldar warrior was still sheltering behind the vox console. With a grunt, he heaved the heavy stubber up onto the command station, centering it above the alien's cover. It was only a matter of time, there, the alien had taken the chance, a brief burst put paid to it's worthless life.

He pulled away from the console, using the heavy weapon as a makeshift crutch he hobbled towards the crawling woman, "wait, you've got to wait."

He paused, taking the opportunity to look around, they were caught in the only calm area of the bridge. Around the edges was swirling melee, there was the roar of a massive chainblade, as the huge fiery bearded priest duelled with more of the ornately clad xenos. Further back a group of navy armsmen and the remaining bridge crew were struggling with more of the Eldar. But the central combat dominated the scene. Inquisitor Sylivian traded blows with the xenos leader, almost too fast for Marcus' augmented eyes to follow.

He finally caught up to the crawling woman, feeling that nagging unease at the back of his skull again, he pulled her up against the wall, her eyes were unfocused, "come on" he growled, "wake up, you can't go to sleep now". He slapped her, seeing some focus return to her eyes he stood up, "I have to help, here", he dropped his auto-pistol and a spare clip into her lap, "watch yourself."

He checked his shotgun, fully loaded. He slung the heavy stubber over his back, the heavy weapon wouldn't be much good in the chaos of the melee. Edging his way around the Inquisitor and the Dracon in the centre of the room, he grimaced against the pain, he stumbled, his vision fading in and out as he struggled against the toxins coursing through his system. He bit his lip, the sharper pain overriding the dull pulse and clearing his vision. He grunted, then limped to join the swirling combat centred around the bellowing priest.


----------



## Midge913

*Brother Numetor*

As they arrived outside the hangar bay doors, they were met buy a another Battle-Brother, this time from the Blood Angels chapter by his shoulder pad markings. 

"do you an Apothecary i am injured." The new arrival asked. Numetor took a quick glance around the Blood Angels person to try and ascertain the seriousness of his wounds. His yet unnamed brother appeared to be in great distress over a wound to his shoulder, and Brother Nexus went to see to his injury. Numetor knew that the weapons of the Dark Kin were potent and carried lethal poisons, but he was concerned as to the reaction of his commrade to the seemingly small injury. If his brothers Astates systems were having difficulty with the poisons...... well it seemed that they needed to end this fight, now, and decisively. 

As he was being tended to, the Blood Angel Marine, introduced him self as Brother Helmut, and gave a brief rundown of his encouter with the Dark Eldar.

Brother Mikhael motioned that they should continue into the hangar bay and in a solid formation, Numetor followed his brethren into the spacious room. The first thing that he saw was a large group of the Dark Eldar scum had surrounded the Imperial deck crews and they had begun to slaughter them mercilessly, smiling and laughing the whole time. With a roar of rage Brother Nexus surged forward, firing his bolter with one hand, while attempting to engage the Xeno filth with his chainsword. Numetor watched as Nexus took a hit to the shoulder from a wicked looking weapon born by the enemy, and he watched as they scattered into a defensive position with super human speed and agility. These were not normal soldiers, these were elite, Trueborn he belived them to be called. 

Brother Mikhael lobbed the grenade he had been holding into the group of Trueborn and began to direct the other members of the Deathwatch into a firing line, ordering Brother Helmut to assist Nexus. 

"Brother Numetor, on my position!", Mikhael ordered, and with practiced prescision Numetor fell into his right side, firing his bolter from the hip, as they moved to cover behind a large cargo loader. Numetor, from behind cover, aimed his next shot carefully, peeking out from the side of the loaders frame and fired three times at one of the Trueborn that was concentrating on keeping Brothers Nexus and Helmut pinned down. His first shot took the thing in the shoulder and blew its arm off, well above the shoulder. If his other two shots stuck home he did not see as he was forced to duck back behind the protective steel frame of the cargo loader as a volley of fire came back at him faster than he could believe. 

"Brother Mikhael," Numetor said passing his brother some additional frag grenades, "I am going to run to the that Lander over there in an attempt to draw their fire. We must end this quickly. At your signal..."


----------



## Therizza

"Mandrakes!" was Brother-Librarian Nemius' warning. Too late, as the foul creatures unleashed a wave of eldritch power that toppled the Crimson Fist and Ultramarine.

Despite inklings that the foe they sought was of Chaos, the fact of the matter was that Arminius and Nemius now faced down a handful of mandrakes, some demented form of Dark Eldar, or a beast created by them. Not that it mattered to Brother-Sergeant Arminius or his comrade Librarian.

"At least we know they are not Daemons!" spat Arminius as he quickly regained his footing. "They are mortal, by your reckoning Brother-Librarian?" fell from the Ultramarines lips as he loosed a krak grenade down the corridor towards the mandrakes.

Brother-Librarian Nemius did not respond, at least at first, as he was hastily readying some form of physic attack or defense, eyes glowing with Warp energies. Arminius fully expected to be charged by these creatures, but to his amazement, they vanished before his grenade could detonate. 

Aiming his boltgun down the corridor, Arminius paused to find some scrap of experience he could use to gain advantage over the mandrakes. He had fought lictors on several occasions, similar to these mandrakes in that they had chameleoid skins. Recounting a lesson hard learned, Arminius detached a smoke grenade from his belt.

Opening a private vox to Nemius, Arminius whispered a plan of attack. "With the smoke deployed, we will be able to make out these xenos' silhouettes, and perhaps hamper their our senses more than our own."
With Nemius' acknowledgment, and a brief prayer that this would work, Arminius hurled his smoke grenade down the corridor to the mandrakes last known location...


----------



## PapaSmurf124

Smoke spewed forth from the grenade as the corridor was completely filled. The auto senses in Nemius's helmet allowed him to see through the thick fog better than what any man's eyes could ever allow.

Nemius's awareness heightened as he slowly scanned the smoke. At the same time he was concentrating on preparing a more potent psychic attack to unleash upon the xenos. Slowly both the Space Marines entered the smoke, prepared for an attack at any moment.

Nemius caught a slight glimmer of movement within smokescreen that Brother Arminius had created. No sooner, the crystals embedded within Nemius's psychic hood began to glow bright red as he loosed a ball of flame from his hand in the direction of the disturbance.

The Mandrake that caused the disturbance had not expected to be seen by either of the marines and was unable to react in time. The creature took the full force of Nemius's attack to his head. The impact of the attack was nearly enough to remove its head from its shoulders. Nonetheless the creatures was now on fire and dead on the floor. It's death brought a noticeable change to the psychic energies in the room, which relieved some of the pressure that Nemius was feeling.

Before they had vanished, Nemius had counted six of the creatures. One lay dead. That left 5 remaining.

His grip began to tighten on Eckerd, feeling that something was about to happen. Sure enough, another disturbance manifested within the smoke screen, this one charging straight at him. The creature must have thought his current state of invisibility was enough to allow him to charge a Space Marine head on. Nemius would prove its theory wrong.

He began to channel his power into the force halberd, preparing a strike that would kill the xenos outright. At the last possible moment, he stepped out of the charging alien's path and brought the blade of the halberd down upon the foul xenos with all physical and psychic might. It was cleaved in two from shoulder to waste. Its two pieces fell to the ground, spewing blood.

That left four...


----------



## Protoss119

"Brother Mikhael, I am going to run to the that Lander over there in an attempt to draw their fire. We must end this quickly. At your signal..." 

"Very well, brother" replied Mikhael, nodding in thanks as he received the frag grenades. "I will cover your advance with a frag grenade."

Mikhael primed one of his frag grenades and poked his head up from behind the loader and taking quick observations of enemy positions. He spotted a group of 3 Trueborn before a volley of lance fire forced him back into cover. He voxed to his companions, "Grenade going out!" before tossing the frag grenade towards the Trueborn.

The grenade detonated and Mikhael rose from behind the cover to see that the three Dark Eldar had been separated and wounded by it. "Go, brother!" Mikhael shouted to Numetor before turning to fire on the Trueborn he had scattered, decapitating one of them and hitting two more in the stomach, keeping them down if not killing them.


----------



## Therizza

Scanning the smoke filled corridor for the slightest signs of movement, Arminius saw how the Librarian detected the attack of one of the foul mandrakes, immolating the creature on the spot. Another creature, not a moment after charged head long into the Librarian's reach. 

Cleaved in two by the psychers potent force-halberd, Arminius noticed how these mandrakes fought not as a unit, but like beasts. Charging a Librarian, of all things. A foolhardy endeavor, even for the likes of a Dark Eldar. Examining the corpse cleft in two by his comrades stroke, Arminius saw how their targets wore little in the way of armor. "My chainsword will drink it's fill today."

The thought had not but left his mind when he was assailed from behind. A blow from fist knocked Arminius to the ground. All he could feel at first was indignation. He, and Ultramarine, had been flanked by a beast? "This will not do" Arminius quipped to himself. Drawing his chainsword, he began slashing at the corridor, thinking perhaps the beast had stayed close by. "Brother Nemius, some must have outflanked us. Watch your back!"

The two Space Marines covered each other's backs, scanning for movement. Suddenly, an arm materialized from behind and grabbed hold of Arminius' neck. Near superhuman strength sought to wrench his head from his body, but his power armor stood fast. Bellowing some obscenity at the foul creature, Arminius caught it in the stomach with a blow from his elbow. The two disengaged for a moment, enough time for Arminius to see the Librarian was locked in combat with another mandrake. "So you want to fight like that? I'll tear your heart from your chest!"

Lunging at the mandrake, Arminius brought his chainsword down in an overhand arc, designed to cleave the foe in two. The creature sidestepped, but not in time to fully avoid the attack, evidenced by the large piece of flesh separated from its owner. "Quick bastard..." Arminius spat as he lunged once more. The creature dodged once again, but Arminius had accounted for this. As the mandrake dodged to his own right, he ran right into Arminius' balled fist. The ceramite reinforced hand, propelled by superhuman strength and mechanical assistance, laid the creature low. Seizing the opportunity, and not wanting this one to cloak once more, Arminius bowled the mandrake over. Raining blow after blow into the creatures deformed face until it was a tattered mess of flesh and bone, Arminius rose to find the Librarian had neutralized his own foe.

"Methinks this one dead" Arminius spoke to the Librarian, blood dripping from his gauntlets and spattered on his helm. "How many does that leave, by your reckoning Brother-Librarian?"


----------



## Tarvitz210300

Helmut watched as the frag grenade flew stunning the Trueborn as they scattered helmut stood up and fired at two others further away hitting one. The other one managed to avoid the shots and fired one shot back narrowly missing Helmut. Helmut quickly crouched down and noticed that three more trueborn were on the floor one dead. 

Helmut decided he should kill these to stop them calling for help or shooting somebody. So Helmut left Nexus who had still failed to do anything and started to move towards one of them. It took about three minutes to get to the Xenos but he had to be sure nobody saw him. He then pulled out a small combat knife, it would be quieter this way and moved the last few feet. The other xenos were behind cover pinned down by his companions. 

It took less then a minute he sliced the xeno's throat and it died almost instantly. Helmut did not like being stranded trapped behind a shelf trying not to be seen. He was now in a more useful position and decided to stay here, if a trueborn came through his legs would be splattered. Those what would happen to him if he was found, he tried not to think about.


----------



## PapaSmurf124

Nemius saw Brother Arminius engage with another of the creatures, while a fourth one began combat with him. _Fools to fight me one on one, I would have thought they would be smarter than that_, he thought as he traded blows with the beast. He was not as well prepared for this one, so they were learning at least.

The Librarian and the Mandrake swirled in a fierce melee, neither able to gain the upper hand. The Mandrakes were lithe beasts, able to dodge swiftly and gracefully. Nemius was glad in his hulking power armor, and was therefore not nearly as swift. It mattered not, however, as though Nemius relied heavily on his psychic powers, he was a powerful warrior as well, and wielded Eckerd with deadly skill.

Nemius felt something begin to dig at his mind much harder, pressing at the psychic walls he had put up to defend him against other psykers. Soon after, a second force began to assist the first one. They were pushing hard, trying to pry into his mind. Nemius was distracted from the melee enough that he felt a hard blow connect with the side of his helm. Sharp pain flooded both his mind and his body as he felt the pressure form the two angles of assault.

Nemius back peddled a step, nearly losing his balance as he fought the war in his mind, strengthening his mental walls to keep the xenos out. He managed to push his assailants out of his mind long enough to refocus on the Mandrake attacking him outright. With a quick burst of psychic energy, the Mandrake stumbled for a moment, the quick, mental strike doing to it what the other two Mandrakes attempted to do to Nemius. Before the beast could recover, he removed its head with a sweeping blow from the force halberd.

"Methinks this one dead" Arminius spoke to the Librarian, blood dripping from his gauntlets and spattered on his helm. "How many does that leave, by your reckoning Brother-Librarian?"

"It leaves two, Brother Sergeant. Be on your guard, I feel these may be the most powerful and experienced of the group. I have felt them clawing at my mind," Nemius replied as the smoke screen began to clear.

They heard the evil cackling laughter of the xenos from what seemed like all around them. How they managed that, he did not know, but one thing was certain, they could strike at any moment.

Nemius reached out with his mind, trying to detect where the two remaining Mandrakes were hidden, trying to feel their exact psychic presence, but they were more powerful than he had originally thought. He felt as if they were all over, in multiple locations. He focused harder, his hood glowing with the effort, until he managed to pinpoint one, about to strike Arminius.

"Arminius, to your right!" Nemius barked as he felt a heavy impact on his back that knocked him to the floor. The other Mandrake had snuck up on him, and was now on his back, trying to pull his helmet off.

Bearing the additional weight of his assailant, Nemius forced himself from the ground, the power armor adding to his strength. He then began to swat his free hand behind his back trying to dislodge the foul beast. He found that he could not quite reach, as the Mandrake continuously shifted its position to both dodge the armored hand and try to force Nemius to lose his balance.

Nemius thought he would smash the creature against a wall, and immediately began back peddling full speed towards the wall of the corridor. The beast, however, saw what the Librarian was planning and lept from his back just in time to have him slam into the wall alone.

Nemius was frustrated now. _This little bastard is indeed much more cleaver than the others_, Nemius thought as he considered his next course of action. He glanced up and saw the Ultramarine had managed to engage the other Mandrake, but was unsure if his warning had come in enough time for him to avoid a sneak attack like the one Nemius endured.

The Mandrake that stood before Nemius pulled a curved dagger from behind his back, glowing purple runes lining the blade. He did not believe the ornate weapon could pierce his ceramite armor, but he did fear that a strike in the soft armor could be devastating.

Nemius began to concentrate once more, preparing for the arduous fight that was sure to ensue...


----------



## Therizza

Arminius was enraged. He could hear the foul beasts cackling, seemingly from all sides at once, but could not detect them despite his efforts. He scanned his surroundings for anything, a shadow or footfall, perhaps even the scent of his prey could tip him off as to their location. Loosing a volley of bolter rounds in an effort to elicit some response, Arminius bellowed his anger.

"Come and get me, you xeno filth! I've bested far worse than the likes of you! I'll tear your fucking heads off!"

"Arminius, to your right!" was Nemius' call. Too late, for Brother-Sergeant Arminius was bowled over by a mandrake of considerably larger size and strength than his comrades. Consumed with rage, Arminius had let down his guard for a millisecond, enough time for the superhuman monstrosity to launch its attack.

Knocked flat on his back, Arminius' boltgun skidded out of his grasp. The creature lashed out with violent strikes, wielding a menacing blade. It was targeting his helm, seeking to smash Arminius' head in. "This won't do" thought Arminius, and he rolled to his back, kicking the mandrake free. The creature's blade, though wielded by flesh, had made a mockery of his precious battle-helm, even drawing blood from a cut on the cheek.

This one seemed like it wanted a straight up fight, one that Arminius would more than happily oblige. The creature screamed something unintelligible at him, and Arminius hastily removed his helmet, damaged so much as to impede his vision. Dropping his helm on the floor, he gazed at the creature, and out of the corner of his eye caught sight of his boltgun. Too far, he thought to himself.

"You seem to have broken my helmet and spilled my blood. I will see those grievances redressed."

Readying himself, Arminius turned his chainsword to idle. Starring the creature straight in its foul eyes, he began to speak, knowing full well the beast could not understand him. "Gaze upon me, foul xeno. I am your end. I will tear out your still beating heart and choke you to death with it!"

Arminius began to charge, chainsword keening as it was brought up to speed. _I fear not death._

Crashing into the beast, Arminius lashed out with gauntleted fist and then a front kick. _For I am death incarnate!_


----------



## PapaSmurf124

The Mandrake that stood before Nemius chuckled maniacally, enjoying his frustration. It shifted it's blade back and forth from hand to hand, as it prepared to strike. Without warning, it launched an assault on two fronts: psychic and physical.

Nemius allowed a portion of his focus to go to hardening his right arm and parried strike after strike from the creature with it. He would periodically strike out with his halberd, but was more concerned with the war going on between their minds. The xenos was pushing hard to break him, and Nemius had to push hard back to keep it at bay. It required a considerable amount of energy, and it was very taxing for him to keep it up.

Quickly the creature changed tactics, and with a sudden burst of psychic energy, the Mandrake knocked Nemius back, and then lunged for him, burying his dagger into the soft armor in his arm pit. Nemius bellowed in outrage as a burning pain seared through his right arm. The beast's psychic energy was being fed into the blade, and Emperor knows what poisons it was soaked in.

The Mandrake, quite pleased with itself, was not prepared for what happened next. With unbelievable speed, Nemius' uninjured arm lashed out and grabbed the xenos by its long, white hair and lifted it from the ground. Iit left its weapon embedded within the Librarian as it shrieked with fury and pain, trying to dislodge Nemius' iron grip. He had dropped Eckerd upon the impact of the dagger, but with his now free hand he connected a hard blow into the ribcage of the beast, and the whipped it to the ground.

It was fairly disoriented now, and the psychic assault had ceased temporarily. It was time for this fight to be over. Nemius reached over and ripped the dagger from his wound, his enhanced body working to seal it quickly and stop the bleeding. Something in the blade had made it difficult to achieve this, and the wound continued to trickle blood. He then removed his helm and threw it at the xenos, desiring to see his assailant with his own eyes as he ended its damned existence. The helmet collided with the downed fiend, presumably knocking the wind out of it.

The beast made him sick. Not because it was necessarily disgusting, but because it was xenos, and everything he had been taught throughout his life made him abhor the sight of it. Its white hair, itscharcoal black skin with green eldritch runes glowing within it, its maroon cloth draped around its waist. A horrid sight.

"You will not be triumphant this day, fiend," Nemius growled. "In the name of the Emperor, you will be cleansed. Suffer not not the xenos to live!"

Nemius began to advance on his downed opponent. It recoverd, however, and rose to its feet, once again chuckling. Its arms were wreathed in green flames, presumably another of its psychic manifestations.

Nemius laughed as well. "So be it, xenos. Let us fight with fists of fire!" He concentrated his psychic energy into his own arms, ignoring the pain he felt. His armor began to harden further and the white flames of the Emperor surrounded his gauntlets. At the same time he began his own psychic attack on the beast's mind, determined to gain the upper hand this time around. He was a Librarian of the Crimson Fists, and a member of the Deathwatch. He would not be outmatched.

Nemius charged the xenos, one flaming fist raised for an attack. It did the same, darting from side to side in an effort to throw the Space Marine off. It was to no avail, as Nemius connected his blow with the xenos' chest. Bones could be heard cracking, but the beast was able to shake off the wound. It began its own assault, defending its mind with its psychic prowess and its body with a flurry of quick strikes. A few managed to catch Nemius' cheek and nose, while another dented his chest plate. _Surprisingly strong, for its size_ Nemius chuckled to himself.

Again, Nemius manged to catch the creature's hair, the Holy fire of the Emporer spreading from Nemius' gauntlets to his opponent. It screamed as the fire burned its scalp and its very soul. Nemius connected another hard blow to the Mandrake's stomach, and then a second to its head before throwing it against a wall.

"Feel the righteous fury of the Emperor, xenos scum," spat Nemius as he wiped blood from his nose, the fire now gone from one of his gauntlets. He quickly retrieved Eckerd as he advanced on the wounded xenos, prepared to deliver the final strike. It once again it recovered however, and with a burst of psychic energy it lept at Nemius, connecting hard with his chest and knocking him to the floor. Eckerd was once again loosed from his grasp, and he fought to protect his face and throat as the Mandrake viciously clawed at him.

_This needs to end now!_ Nemius thought, as he prepared for his next move.


----------



## Therizza

_For I am death incarnate!_

The words had not left his lips by the time he crashed into the mandrake. It deftly dodged his punch, but Arminius' kick landed squarely, sending the creature toppling over. Not a moment later the mandrake was once again on its feet, eyes glowing. 

_Death. Bodies torn asunder by ravenous claws. Worlds burning. Fallen brothers. Betrayal._

"Get out of my mind!" raged Arminius, lunging at the creature with his chainsword. It parried, jumping over Arminius. He steeled his resolve against the cerebral onslaught. He was unable to feel fear, yet the beast hoped to bring despair to Arminius' soul. Caught in his battle-lust, Arminius withered the psychic attacks on the senses, slashing at the mandrake. It dodged and parried, but could not evade all of his attacks.

_Blood_

Landing a blow cleanly on the creatures shoulder, Arminius could not help but grin as bits of flesh and gore were sprayed as his chainsword found purchase. Reeling, the mandrake disengaged but for a moment, then tackled Arminius to the ground. Dodging menacing slices, Arminius noticed he could see his breath, the air had gone cold. Out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of Brother-Librarian Nemius' melee, seeing the holy flames bellowing from his fists.

Spitting into the mandrakes eyes, the creature reeled for a moment, enough of a gap for Arminius to throw the creature and regain his footing. 

_This ends now_

Charging the mandrake, Arminius knew full well the creature could easily dodge his assault. Throwing his chainsword high, as to make the beast duck low, Arminius seized the mandrake around the chest in a bear hug. It's arms trapped beneath bio-enhanced sinew and ceramite, the beast screamed its rage.

Arminius smashed the mandrake into the wall with all of his might. The beast screamed, in pain or joy Arminius did not know or care. Increasing his grasp, he sought to crush the life from the mandrake. Bones snapped under his death grip. The heinous blade the mandrake had wielded fell from its crushed arms. "In the name of the Emperor of Mankind!" roared Arminius, smashing the creature with a head butt. Knocked senseless, the creature fell to the floor, seeking to grasp at its weapon, but hands would not heed their master. 

"Where are you going, friend?" Arminius laughed as he strode past the mandrake crawling on the ground towards its blade. Bending over to grasp the weapon, he spoke. "This is what you want, is it not? The weapon you used to defile this vessel, a vessel carrying out the will of He Who is Enthroned on Holy Terra? The least I can do is oblige a last request."

With that Arminius stood over the mandrake, teeth bared. Grasping the beast's hair, Arminius parted its head from its neck. If the creature had derived some perverse pleasure from its death, Arminius did not know, nor did he care. He would see every last one of these xenos dead.


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## Protoss119

Like the Sons of Dorn before him, Mikhael held fast. He continued to provide covering fire for Numetor, managing to decapitate one Trueborn and shoot the leg off of another. But he was about to blast the head off of one more when he heard a sound that he hated almost as much as all the xenos in the galaxy.

_Click._

Mikhael pulled himself down and quickly discarded the empty magazine. He was fresh out of Kraken bolts, so he would have to make due with standard rounds. He shoved another drum magazine into the boltgun and kept firing on the Trueborn, becoming more liberal with his firing rhythms as he returned fire on the Trueborn. The one he was meaning to decapitate took a bolt to the abdomen - enough to stun him, and enough for Mikhael to bury him in bolterfire.

It was just in time to duck back into cover as a volley of lance fire came his direction. _To be Inaccurate; That is the Mark of the Xeno_, Mikhael thought, curious as to how he had not been hit so far - but he dismissed the thought rather than tempt fate and instead focused on another. While he had been fighting, he had seen brothers Nexus firing on the Trueborn and he had sent Numetor to draw their fire...but he had lost track of Helmut. Instinctively, he opened up a vox channel in an attempt to contact him.

"Brother Helmut, do you read? Where are you?"

The Stormhunters may have held grudges and rivalries against other chapters, but they were all Space Marines in the end. Hopefully Helmut was in no great danger...


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## Midge913

"Very well, brother" replied Mikhael, nodding in thanks as he received the frag grenades. "I will cover your advance with a frag grenade."

Numetor checked that his bolter had a fresh magazine, glanced at Mikhael who indicated that he was ready and was busy priming one of his frag grenades. Mikhael poked his head out from behind cover, taking stock of the enemies position. "Grenade going out!" Mikhael said before tossing the frag grenade towards the Trueborn.

Numetor readied himself and waited for the detonation of the grenade. "Go, brother!" Mikhael shouted to Numetor before turning to fire on the Trueborn. 

Numetor exploded from behind the cargo loader bellowing, "For the Emporer and Noctune!" Taking a bladed stance to the position where the remainder of the Trueborn were, Numetor took metered steps firing on the move. He noticed that Mikhael's grenade had killed one and wounded three others and his bolter fire had taken another. Numetor watched as his rounds took a Trueborn three times in the stomach, cutting the foul xeno in half in an explosion of tissue and red mist. The four remaining Dark Eldar were hard pressed to return fire on three different positions. Smiling Numetor knew that he and his brethren would soon overcome the enemy. 

Reaching the Lander he reloaded quickly, took a firing stance once more, and took aim. His shots hit home and felled another of the foul beasts. It was then that Numetor felt three heavy impacts to his chest plate, and he almost lost his footing. He looked down and saw several splinter shards embedded in his armor, all three failing to penetrate. He scanned around saw no enemies. It was obvious that they had taken up concealed positions. 

"Brothers, shift to attack pattern 3-Detla. We have snipers. Helmut and Nexus take the right flank. Mikhael I will group with you and take the left. Sweep and clear, be wary of high positions."


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## PapaSmurf124

Nemius sent a a brief psychic shout that startled the Mandrake long enough for him to make his move. Taking hold of one of the beast's legs, he quickly turned over, twisting and pulling at the leg. The satisfying crunch of the fiend's bones met his ears as he disabled its leg.

Nemius stood up and gazed down at the wounded xenos. Its chuckled now stuttered with shudders of pain.

"Foolish xenos, to think you had a chance against the Emperor's Angel's of Death," Nemius growled as the xenos began to crawl away from him. He walked to its side, and kicked it hard in its flank, sending it crashing into the bulkhead.

"All xenos will be purged from this galaxy, by the holy might of the Emperor. With each one of you we kill, we come a step closer to succeeding in our divine mission." Another kick crashed into the beast, undoubtedly shattering what had yet to be broken in its ribcage.

Defiantly, the Mandrake continued to attempt to crawl away, but it was to no avail. Another kick from Nemius put it on its back. Nemius stepped over it as it cowered from the towering figure, one leg planted on each side of its chest. He brought one of his boots up and held it over the xenos' head. "Die, xenos," Nemius spat as he brought his boot down on its head, completely crushing it. Gore and grey matter sprayed in all directions around his boot.

Looking up, Nemius saw that the Sergeant was standing there, witnessing the killing blow the Librarian delivered. Without a word, he retrieved Eckerd and his helmet, latching the latter to his belt. He looked to Arminius, and simply said, "To the hanger, Brother-Sergeant. I am sure we will be needed there."

The two Space Marines walked down to corridors in silence at first. Nemius had noticed an interesting change in Arminius' demeanor during battle. In fact, he had become almost savage. Granted, Nemius had not exactly been "civil" either, but he had been surprised at how much Arminius had enjoyed the slaughter. After a few moments of thought, Nemoius looked to the Brother-Sergeant.

"Brother Arminius, I find your style of combat rather...fascinating, however a little savage. You seemed as if you had been overcome by something while we fought. Would you care to sate my curiosity?"


----------



## Lord Ramo

On the bridge the fight between life and death took another twist in its path. The Inquisitor and the Drachon had fought skilfully and gracefully against each other, and neither could find a ***** in the others defence. The Inquisitor came close several times to breaking through and striking a blow but each time the Dark Eldar twisted out of the way by a fingertip. They could both sense the fighting around them lulling as the Imperials gained the upperhand. Most of the Drachons advanced teams had been wiped out though they still held crucial areas of the ship which lay helpless to that of the Dark Eldar cruiser.

The Drachon saw how few men he had left on the bridge and drew a pistol firing a flurry of rounds at the Inquisitor. Most of them missed the Inquisitor as she dived behind a control console as did the Imperial crew as the Dark Eldar backed out. The Drachon moved quickly through the ship, the few warriors he had left bought him time as he made his way to the boarding craft. As he entered it he saw the amounts of prisoners that he had captured and a cruel smile spread slowly on his lips as his ship pulled back.

The Inquisitor rightened herself before looking around the bridge. It was a mess, the emergency lighting was on, members of the crew and dark Eldar littered the floor, and her blank was seriously injured. She immediately called for a medic as she surveyed the forces she had left. The fight in the hanger was won, but the armoury, reactor and the main battery of weapons still laid in the enemies hands. The doors hissed upon as a medic came in, disgust on his face as he tended to the injured blank before moving away muttering to the Inquisitor that she would be fine for now.

*"Good, I will need all of you by my side if we are to win this day. We must take back the weapon deck, armoury and the reactor and soon. If we don't then we could soon be destroyed. The Marines will secure the reactor and armoury whilst we secure the weapons battery. Gather strength my followers, we must push on in the God-Emperor's holy name."*
==================================================

Vaddon watched as his brothers fought the wretched foe. He felt shame at his earlier act but he would not dwell on it. With cold precision he rose from cover and took out the few remaining true borns with headshots from his bolter, pausing as he walked past an injured warrior before stamping on its wound and then blowing its head off. They had rescued few of the crew, some being taken prisoner by the retreating Dark Eldar, whilst others had died in the firefight. He looked to his brothers before a cool voice washed through all their ears from the Inquisitor. 
*
"Brother marines of the deathwatch, I am afraid your job isn't done yet. I need you to retake the reactor and the armoury of the Darkened Eldar, we need to finish here so we can head on with our primary mission."*

Deathwatch marines (Including ones not in the hanger): You effectively split into two squads, Squad one consisting of Mikhail, Helmut and Numetor, Numetor in charge for this attack on the reactor. As you burst inside followed by around ten arms men you see a Mandrake leading a squad of warriors and a squad of true born. The warriors and the arms men immediately begin to exchange fire with each other while the true born focus on you. The mandrake stays back and waits for an opportunity to take you in close combat. 

Ok I want you lot to focus on the true born, they are similarily armed to their brethren in the hanger bay, and won't be easy to overcome. Once you have done that you can engage the three wytches who are waiting for the true born to weaken you so they may attack. One wytche each and 3 or so True Borns.

Squad 2 consisting of Vaddon, Arminius and Nemius head to the armoury. Reinforcements currently can't get to you so you are on your own. Nemius is in charge of this attack and as you burst into the armoury you are met with a hail of gunfire forcing you back into cover. 15 Warriors are led in good order here, makeshift barricades used mockingly against the marines. Behind them stands two Incubus protecting a Haemonculus.

Nemius will engage the Haemonculus as Arminius and Vaddon take the two Incubi. You may defeat around five warriors each and I will post up Vaddon's fight in the next update. 

Retinue: You are given time to rest as the Inquisitor prepares to strike at all angles to cut off the dark eldar inside the weapon battery, and to esnure that they retake the deck. As you wait you can converse with each other, the three of you being put in charge of around 15 crew men who have been taken from all over the ship and armed lightly. At a word all the entrances to the Weapon battery are opened and the Imperials with a cry to the Emperor on their lips charge into the hanger. In here there are around 60 Dark Eldar opposing a much larger group of Imperials, but have set up defences and are more heavily armed.

Your group head straight towards the defence as does the rest of the group, but you are the closest in the attack on the left. You will enter the enemy lines and will be faced with a dozen warriors led by four True Borns. As you leap over the barricades a good half of your men have been gunned down and your only chance of surviving is to get into combat. Remember you still have 7 men to help in the fight, though more will die as it progresses.

I want each off you to kill one true born and around three warriors, and explain the death of a crewman in detail, maybe have your character talk to them before hand. If you pm me what you want to say to them I shall respond via PM so you can include it in your post.


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## Therizza

The battle had been won, and Arminius was satisfied with his performance. He had always favored hand to hand combat, deriving joy from looking into the eyes of his opponent as he crushed the life from them. 

Striding across the blood-slicked deck, he first retrieved his boltgun, then in short order picked up his damaged battle-helm. Without the assistance of a Techmarine, Arminius feared he would have to continue the Deathwatch campaign without the aid of his helm. "No matter", Arminius thought, "all the better to see and smell my opponents with".

Latching his chainsword to his belt and securing his helmet via magnetic lock to his belt as well, Arminius fell in next to Brother-Librarian Nemius as they proceeded down the hall. Checking his boltgun, Arminius scanned each intersection in the corridor as they moved at a trot toward their next objective. 

The Librarian had fought valiantly, with much skill, and brought honor upon his station and his Chapter, Arminius thought to himself. Nemius would be a great ally in the coming battle with the Tyrannid threat upon their cleansing of the vessel.

Arminius could feel Nemius' gaze upon him, questioning his actions in their fight with the mandrakes. After a moment of silence, Brother-Librarian Nemius spoke in a hushed tone to Arminius.

"Brother Arminius, I find your style of combat rather...fascinating, however a little savage. You seemed as if you had been overcome by something while we fought. Would you care to sate my curiosity?"

A fitting question, Arminius mused to himself. Slowly, Arminius thought to put words to what he experienced in combat. "When engaged in melee, Brother-Librarian, I have always become something other than myself. Perhaps a part of me wishes that I had died on Macragge all those years ago, or had been able to defend my home world of Prandium. When Hivefleet Behemoth sought to destroy my Chapter's home, and we thwarted their efforts, I swore to never again let the xeno defile the Emperor's Name in any manifestation. Fear not, for I am not tainted. Through prayer I have honed this rage into an instrument of the Emperor's Will."

With that, the two continued down the corridor, seeking to rendezvous with their comrades and bring the fight to the xenos in force.


----------



## Serpion5

*Valerie*

Valerie must have blacked out after that last slavo. It felt as though she had just blinked, and when her eyes opened the face of someone she hadn`t seen before was looking down on her, applying bandages and several ointments and such to her wounds. 

'Are you okay?' he asked, though Valerie could plainly see that the concern on his face was forced. 

'I feel fine now, thank you.' She replied curtly. 'Was it bad?' 

'It could have been much worse.' He said. 'Try not to get yourself killed, okay?' The medic stood and turned to walk away hastily, exchanging a quick word with the Inquisitorbefore leaving. 

'Good,' Sylvian began. 'I will need all of you by my side if we are to win this day. We must take back the weapon deck, armoury and the reactor and soon. If we don't then we could soon be destroyed. The Marines will secure the reactor and armoury whilst we secure the weapons battery. Gather strength my followers, we must push on in the God-Emperor's holy name.' 

'As you command Milady.' Valerie nodded. Turning to the others as the Inquisitor led them from the bridge, Valerie struggled to find the words to thank them. 

'Marcus is it? Firebeard, I want to thank you both.' Valerie said to them. 'I also want to apologise for endangering you.' She said, meeting Marcus` gaze. 

- - - 

The group had picked up a number of followers as they marched hastily towards the weapon battery. If there was any chance of winning the battle, those weapons had to get firing again. As they broke into a run down the final corridor, Valerie had lost sight of the Inquisitor somewhere along the line but now noticed the young man who had earlier escorted her to the bridge. 

She didn`t know if he had seen her, but had no doubt that everyone in the group was at least partially aware of her presence, even with her dampening field active. 

'They`re up ahead!' Someone shouted as the doorway to the bay opened. The Imperials gave shouts of rage and hate as they charged the xenos opposing them. 

Valerie swept her gaze across the scene as her hands withdrew the two swords sheathed at her waist. The eldar had set up hasty defences and were assailed on several fronts by Imperial forces whose tactic simply seemed to be charge and hope for the best. 

'Take to the left!' The same voice as before called out, and Valerie did as she was commanded. Who exactly was commanding was a mystery, but she was too valuable to be singled out alone. 

It was callous and she knew it, but it was better that those in front of her died instead. She was, to put it bluntly, more valuable than them. 

'LOOK OUT!' Someone screamed. Moments later a salvo of splinter fire hit the group, but fortunately Valerie was able to avoid harm. A handful of those up ahead were not so fortunate, including Valerie`s "friend" from earlier. He fell, and she stopped to check his body for a pulse. 

With a sudden jerk his arm shot up and gripped hers. His face was pale as she looked back into his terrified eyes. 

'Are you okay?' Valerie asked, suddenly concerned. 

'I can`t feel anything.' He said. 

'Are you in shock?' She asked. 

'No.' He gasped. 'I mean you... The void I felt around you is gone. I can see you now.' Valerie was unsure, but it almost seemed as though his senses were shot. For her ability to have no effect on someone meant either they were a blank as well or else they were already dying... 

'Rest easy.' She said. 'The Emperor calls to you now, you`ve done your duty.' 

'I`m-' He was interrupted by a brief coughing fit, sputtering up a mouthful of blood. 'I`m sorry for my reaction to you earlier. It was... rude of me.' He managed one more smile before the light left his eyes... 

'I`m sorry.' She said, ashamed of the thoughts she had let pass through her mind moments before the man fell. Fate had a cruel sense of humour sometimes. It was now Valerie`s turn to be the instrument of Fate`s hand. 

No, the hand of the Emperor! 

She stood and charged. By this time the assault was well underway and the gap had been closed. She didn`t bother trying to assess the situation, such concerns had long since faded from priority. Instead she simply charged towards the first xeno she could see, a warrior and his accomplice assailing a group of Imperial crewmen. 

'Move!' She cried, swinging a lethal double uppercut with both blades. She caught one of the alien`s completely by surprise and severed him in two, before following up and removing the second xeno`s hand as it attempted to draw a knife. 

'Keep moving.' She ordered her new followers, but no sooner had they sought a new foe than the new foe instead found them. One of the crew members was gunned doown where he stood, and Valerie and the other dove to the floor. She tried to stand but a pointed boot drove int her back and pinned her to the floor. 

'Get off her!' The crewman shouted. Velerie struggled to stand as the distinctive sound of a splinter weapon`s discharge was followed by a gurgling scream. She had one chance. 

'STEEL YOURSELVES!' she shouted before deactivating the damper and releasing the full force of her blank aura directly above herself. The xeno`s tortured scream was sweet to Valerie`s ears as she stood. Wasting no time she decapitated the stunned xeno before barelling into the one behind it. It was one of the leader types, its slim shapely form suggesting it was a female. Valerie`s blade was intercepted by the barrel of the xeno woman`s splinter rifle as she withdrew a sword of her own. 

But Valerie was having none of it, swinging her secondary sword into the alien`s arm before she could draw the weapon. As the eldar cried out in shock, Valerie pushed forth, the weight of her attack and the chilling void of her aura driving the foul xeno to her back on the cold metal floor. Valerie was well beyond all measure of mercy, focussing the full extent of her ability upon the lone eldar now under _her_ boot. She was blind to anything but her target. 

As the eldar`s soul was agonisingly driven from it`s flesh, Valerie glared down at it, revelling in every second of pain she inflicted. 

They deserved nothing else.


----------



## Midge913

Numetor swept down the left side of the hangar bay with Mikhael, eyes searching for the hidden enemy, when he heard the report of bolter fire. Two shots, quickly followed by the thump of a body that echoed across the now empty hangar bay. 

Converging in the center of the bay where the remaining deck crew were rallying themselves he and Mikhael found Brothers Vaddon and Helmut. Vaddon seemed much more focused than he had after his headlong charge into the enemy. He was standing over the headless remains of a Xenos warrior, the light of the Emperor's wrath in his eyes. 

"Excellent shots brother," Numetor said to Vaddon, "The Xenos appear to be falling back." 

As he said this the door to the hangar bay opened with a hiss of hydraulics and Numetor turned on instinct, raising his bolter to address any possible threat, only to find that it was in fact Brothers Nemius and Arminius. Neither looked the worse for ware so they must have been successful in their assault. 

"Brother-Librarian, Arminius" he said nodding to each of them in turn. "has the Daemon been banished back to the warp then?" 

Before Nemius could answer the cool voice of Inquistor Sylivian came across the vox, *"Brother marines of the deathwatch, I am afraid your job isn't done yet. I need you to retake the reactor and the armoury of the Darkened Eldar, we need to finish here so we can head on with our primary mission."*

"there is only war..." Numetor said to himself. "It seems that once again we must split our strength brothers, " he said to his fellow marines, "Brothers Mikhael and Helmut, would you follow me to the reactor? We will take some of these imperial crew men with us, and purge the rest of these xeno scum from this ship. After the reactor is clear, we will rendezvous in the armory to re-supply for the assault on the planet." 

With that Numetor began to rally and arm the Imperial Crewmen, in preparation for the assault on the reactor.


----------



## Tarvitz210300

More Eldar fell down dead. Helmut had found the poor Xenos that was in his line of vision. Preparing his two Angelus bolters for the coming fight Helmut began to search trying to find more True born. He saw another one behind a barricade and realised that if he went for one the other would kill him. He started to think of the possibilities he could try kill them both but that was unrealistic. Then it hit him he could kill the first Eldar and then leap into the cover. 

"Brother Helmut, do you read? Where are you?"

Suddenly he got this message and discovered that the others might think he was dead. Lets tell them I am not, he then walked slowly crouching towards the nearest Xeno and with a cry splattered him. Helmut suddenly jumped behind the cover to miss a volley of shards. Here he fired upon the other Xeno but failed to touch him. He then saw an opening and fired killing him. 

"Brothers Mikhael and Helmut, would you follow me to the reactor?

Helmut realised that there was no more threats in this room and was relived to stand up. Looking around he saw devastation dead Eldar scattered the floor and a few space marines were dead too. Helmut then saw that Nexus was very still walking up to him he checked his pulse there was none. Was Nexus dead Helmut wondered, he knew of drugs Apothecaries use to heal themselves that make them seem totally dead, he vainly hoped this was the case.

"Numetor I am here, I take it your in command do you want me to guard you that is my speciality"

He then walked to Numetor and halved kneeled down as a sign of respect. Then he waited for commands finally he was being given orders it felt comforting, not being in charge of his destiny.


----------



## Jackinator

The last of the Dark Eldar were finished off as the Dracon retreated from the bridge, proverbial tail between his legs. He leaned against a console, his shotgun cradled loosely in his arms. the priest was stood near him, panting from the exertion of wielding his massive chainblade. The Inquisitor spoke, 'I will need all of you by my side if we are to win this day. We must take back the weapon deck, armoury and the reactor and soon. If we don't then we could soon be destroyed. The Marines will secure the reactor and armoury whilst we secure the weapons battery. Gather strength my followers, we must push on in the God-Emperor's holy name.'

The woman he had saved earlier approached. 'Marcus is it? Firebeard, I want to thank you both.' Valerie said to them. 'I also want to apologise for endangering you.' She said, meeting Marcus` gaze. He returned the look, 'Valerie isn't it?' She nodded, 'If I hadn't expected danger when I joined the Inquisition, doubt I'd be standing here talking to you now. I have no doubt that you would do the same for me.'

- - -

Marcus joined the group of armsmen with Valerie and the aptly named Firebeard. He found himself jogging alongside an older armsmen, the tattoos and his rank pins speaking of his long service with the Inquisitor. 'Cassos', the man said in greeting, Marcus replied in kind. 'Have you seen much combat on this ship then?' he asked. 'Aye, don't let her condition fool you, the Inquisition has enough resources to make it look like new in no time.' The man paused, 'you can't use that in the weapons battery', he indicated the dangerous looking heavy stubber. 'Why?'

'Those rounds go anywhere near the munitions and there won't be a lot left to talk about, anything like your shotgun should be alright though'. 'Thanks, that spares us a lot of trouble', Cassos laughed, 'that it does, you seem young, have you much combat experience?'

'I do, not all of it entirely out of the shadows I must admit.'
'Ganger?'
'No, I was a bounty hunter, then I had a brief spell as a bodyguard.'
'Ah, my brother was in the gangs, killed back when I was young. I would have followed him, but for the Inquisitor.' A shadow passed over the mans face, his eyes took on a far away look, then he snapped himself out of it. 'Still, we can share stories later, this is the weapons deck now.' The man bellowed out, his voice accustomed to command, 'they're up ahead'. Marcus leant the heavy stubber against the door frame, then followed Cassos in, the man indicated Marcus and a number of others, 'take to the left.' Marcus paused, 'last one in buys the drinks', Cassos laughed, began to speak, then he disappeared, a dark bolt of eldritch power enveloped him, the echoes of his laugh fading away as it stripped the flesh from his bones, then finally stripped his bones from reality, there was simply nothing left. It was a more complete death than he had ever imagined. Marcus stared in shock, he was simply gone, without even the chance to fire a shot, what sort of power had these xenos harnessed that could do that to a man. It was as if he had never existed.

He steeled himself, racking the slide of his shotgun and ran with the group. He leapt over the barricade, launching himself into a two-footed kick into one of the warriors on the other side. He twisted as he fell, landing catlike and blew the alien's head off, blood and brains painting the deck behind the corpse. He heard a whine, and twisted, throwing himself to the side, a beam of black energy flew past him, and a section of the barricade was wiped from existence. He followed the beam back to it's source, one of the more ornately armoured warriors stood, legs braced, a strange weapon in it's hands, then he was distracted as he was kicked in the chest, he falling to the ground, he looked up, seeing a second warrior standing over him, smiling viciously. Then one of the armsmen plowed into it from the side. Marcus leapt to his feet, stepped up behind the struggling pair and brutally snapped the alien's neck, the man opened his mouth to speak, a blade came through it. Marcus was spattered with blood as the man choked, clawing at his mouth, behind his head, but it was too late for him. Marcus put him out of his misery, the shotgun blast disintegrating his chest and leaving the eldar behind him a twisted wreck. It's head rolling away as what was left of it's body collapsed, almost silently.

Then he turned his attention to the strangely armed killer. They were caught in a lull, humans and xenos in conflict about them, but somehow it didn't touch them. 'Foolish mon'keigh,' it spat, 'you think you have a chance?' 'Well, I rate it about even,' he grinned cockily, the alien hissed in fury. Then Marcus dived to the side, rolling behind a rack of shells as the lance of energy drew a line across reality. Something clunked against his foot, the eldars helmet. 'You can't hide for ever' the alien hissed as it prowled towards him, 'you think that at any point of your pathetic, short exitence you could ever hope to outwit me?'

The helmet came flying towards it. It caught it in one hand, 'is that all you have mon'keigh'.

It cackled, turning the helmet around, looking inside the empty vessel. The grenade, crammed into the cone of the helmet, went off. Most of the shrapnel was slowed or stopped by the helmet, but three shards, and half a ton of concussive force was channeled in the direction of the alien's gaping face. One piece of shrapnel went through it's right eye socket, another slashed across it's ear, while the third buried itself in it's forehead. The alien was knocked off it's feet by the concussive blast, it's limp and broken form landing crumpled against the wall. 'This point'...


----------



## Protoss119

"It seems that once again we must split our strength brothers. Brothers Mikhael and Helmut, would you follow me to the reactor? We will take some of these imperial crew men with us, and purge the rest of these xeno scum from this ship. After the reactor is clear, we will rendezvous in the armory to re-supply for the assault on the planet."

"Very well, brother" replied Mikhael, nodding in agreement. Following Numetor's example, he searched the hangar for weapons and armed the Imperial crewmen with lasguns, chainswords, and whatever other suitable weaponry he could find strewn about where the guardsmen had fought.

In the meantime, he also reviewed the details of the skirmish from his perspective. Nexus's charge had thrown off his plans to ambush and separate the Dark Eldar; sneaking about in Powered Armor was no easy feat by any means, but he was trained in the use of stealth and guile as a scout and those values had not diminished in his chapter as a result of his induction as a full Battle-Brother. To charge so recklessly into combat was something he would have expected out of the likes of the Ultramarines...luckily, the four of them had been able to adapt quickly and slay the Trueborn.

He noticed that Nexus had charged towards the guardsmen being tortured by the Dark Eldar, causing the predicament in the first place. It was the duty of a Space Marine Chapter to defend humanity, but Mikhael still found fault in charging recklessly in order to do so. His first priority was to kill the xenos; the welfare of man came second. Perhaps he and his chapter were procrastinators in that regard, but Chapter Master Theridus and the various captains of the individual companies had argued that their focus upon killing the alien was doubtlessly beneficial for mankind as a whole.

Mikhael shook the thoughts from his head. Now was not the time to cast judgment or assign blame; there were xenos about, and they had to die. Even so, he could not help but wonder about the marksmanship of the Dark Eldar. He had faced volleys of lance fire from the Trueborn and not a single lance found its mark. Perhaps the Emperor was smiling upon him, but he did not put stock into that thought; why him, of all the denizens of the galaxy? Perhaps it had been luck, but he did not dwell on that thought, either, for luck was finite and the Stormhunters placed more emphasis on skill.

Having armed as many as he could, he turned to face Numetor. "I am ready to depart for the reactor by your leave, brother" he said. As he spoke, he loaded his boltgun with a drum magazine full of Vengeance rounds. _If there were Trueborn here_, he thought, _there must be something deadlier awaiting us at the Reactor..._


----------



## Midge913

“Very well, brother,” Mikhael replied and he joined Numetor in arming and preparing the Imperial crew with what ever weapons they could find. 

As he armed them, Numetor spoke to them, tried to ease their fears. These men were not meant to be soldiers. Deck hands and technicians all, some never had even held a weapon. They were scared and unprepared for combat against a foe such as the Dark Eldar, but lead them against the Xenos he would. It was his duty as it was theirs. 

"We are all tools of the Emporer,” Numetor thought to himself. 

He managed to find some spare promethium from a welding torch and re-fueled his combi-flamer, setting the pilot alight, Numetor felt ready to confront the foe in the reactor.

“Men of the Imperium,” he bellowed to his assembled ragtag crew of soldiers, “ You will stand firm against the Xenos in the Emperor’s name. They will be routed from this ship, and you will help us retake it. Arm and steel ourselves, the Emperor protects."

He glanced to Mikhael and Helmut and both indicated that they were ready to proceed to the Reactor.Numetor opened a secure channel to his brother marines, “Helmut take rear guard, cover our backs. Mikhael you and I will take point.”

Spreading out Numetor and his squad moved through the hallways of the ship towards the reactor, and their journey there was met with no resistance.

“The Xeno filth is preparing an ambush for us I am sure brothers,” he said over the Vox. “Be wary. These Eldar are tricksome beasts.”

They entered the reactor core and just as he and his brothers had expected the Dark Eldar sprung their trap. Warriors and Trueborn leaping from concealment to assail Numetor’s Squad.

“Men of the Abrogation! Defend your ship and avenge your companions,” Numetor roared and directed the Imperial crew into a firing line to deal with the Dark Eldar Warriors. 

“Helmut, Mikhael, we will deal with the Trueborn,” he directed, and brought his bolter to bear on the first foe. His aim was true as his round took the thing just below the throat and blew a fist sized hole through its chest, splattering its fellows with dark blood and gore. 

He saw his brethren open fire on the threat as well adding their bolter’s song to his own. Spinning behind some machinery Numetor took stock of the enemies numbers. Around 12 warriors had engaged the crew, mirroring the number of Trueborn that had turned their sights on the marines. Further back in the reactor Numetor could just make out a strange form that glowed with an odd light about its skin. This thing appeared to be directing the Dark Eldar assault. 

“Mikhael. Helmut. That one is our objective,” indicating the beast. His brothers acknowledged, just as a Trueborn rounded the corner where Numetor had taken cover. Its reflexes where incredible as it opened fire at him with a speed that Numetor could scarcely believe. Numetor felt three impacts, and a screaming pain in his leg. Using the butt of his bolter he clubbed the Eldar in the side of its head bellowing in fury and pain, feeling his body flooded with combat stims and adrenaline. He heard the crunch of bone as he struck, and before the Xeno could hit the deck he fired two rounds into it at point blank range. The Trueborn literally exploded into bloody parts and bits of bone, spattering Numetor’s armor. 

He could tell that his body was being flooded with lethal poisons from the projectiles still lodged in his thigh bone, but he was a space marine. Such things were trivial. The time for evaluation had ended, Numetor burst from his cover at another of the Trueborn, bolter blazing, but the thing evaded his shots. “Dodge this scum,” he said to himself, primed his flamer, and let loose with cleansing flame. Numetor smiled as the alien screamed and died, consumed by the burning fluid. 

He turned to locate the leader, the mandrake he recalled, and instead found a lightly armored and heavily armed Dark Eldar barring his path. It held a foul looking dagger in one hand and some sort of barbed whip in the other. Each had a dark substance coating its blades and protrusions. 

“So be it….” Numetor said. He latched his Combi-flamer into its thigh mountings, drew his chainsword, thumbing it to life with a roar, and rushed the creature barring his path….


----------



## Tarvitz210300

*Awesome Helmut*

"As you wish" Helmut said to Numetor and getting up tried to find weapons to give to the crew. He knew few of the crew would survive. 

He saw Numetor trying to ease there fears but Helmut could not hope to achieve to do anything other than scare them. So he gave up and decided the only way he was going to make a difference was to make himself an equal. He took off his helmet and placed it on the floor the motley bunch of Crewmen looked at him and he shouted.

"Today I fight like you with no mask to protect my face and no power armour on my body," With that he took off his armour leaving the under-layer of Flak armour 

He hoped this was enough to boost the morale of the Crew knowing that a Space marine was fighting like them would boost his. Then again he was not like them he had weapons that were easily better then any the Crew had, He had the training to use these and the body of a space marine, but the Crew no doubt did not think of this as they stared at him slightly straiter. Then Numetor spoke 

“Men of the Imperium, You will stand firm against the Xenos in the Emperor’s name. They will be routed from this ship, and you will help us retake it. Arm and steel ourselves, the Emperor protects." 


Helmut felt empowered the speech and when Numetor looked at him signalled that he was ready. Then he waited for the bloodlust that followed, some of him looked forward to it, he tried to dismiss this part of him knowing this was the curse of Sanguine. 

Helmut was the last through the corridor as he tried to control his bloodlust. He saw no Eldar as he patrolled down the corridor

“The Xeno filth is preparing an ambush for us I am sure brothers, Be wary. These Eldar are tricksome beasts.” nexus said to him after he said it on Vox. 

Helmut agreed completely with Nexus and tried to be more wary as he moved along the corridor. As he remembered the last time he had met Eldar, this started a tragic memory.

He had to defend commander Manfred on the world of Bel-shaarnan. It had been an imperial world for centuries, The Eldar on the other hand declared that this world had been theres since they had created it. They invaded and there forces easily overcame the small force of Blood Angels. He, his squad and Manfred had to escape only Helmut and Manfred survived. 

As soon as the squad entered the reactor the Eldar attacked they charged strait at them and began to fire at them. Helmut could no longer contain himself he started to feel the Rage inside him raise. Helmut pulled out his chain axe and bellowed "You scum shall die as my squad did" then he charged at one Trueborn. It looked at him and drew his sword it seemed to believe that he would kill him easily, he was a fool. 

Helmut swung his chain axe at its head but the Eldar dogged easily and tried to stab at his arm but he easily deflected it. The Eldar jumped back but was not quick enough to escape an strike that decapitated one of his arms. The Eldar screamed and charged towards him. His rage make him incompetent at swordsmanship and Helmut cut him in half. 

Two others came and began to attack to avenge their companion they surrounded him. They were both skilled and they soon had him on the back foot Helmut soon realised he would be killed. That would be until a crew member jumped out and wildly slashing with his chain saw killed one. The other jumped at him only for Helmut to kill him. 

“Mikhael. Helmut. That one is our objective,” He heard and saw numetor pointing to a man like thing with green runes covering him. He did not attack but instead watched as he saw Numetor duck and the Mandrake disappear. 

"Look out!" 

Helmut turned around and saw a female hag charging at him, this would be hard wish I had my armour thought Helmut and revved his chain axe.


----------



## PapaSmurf124

Arminius and Nemius arrived in the Hangar as the battle drew to a close. The bodies of the foul Dark Eldar that littered the floor brought a glimmer of joy to Nemius' heart.

Nemius was greeted by Numetor.

Brother-Librarian, Arminius, has the daemon been banished back to the warp then?"

Nemius opened his mouth to answer, but was promptly interrupted by a voice over the comms.
"Brother marines of the deathwatch, I am afraid your job isn't done yet. I need you to retake the reactor and the armoury of the Darkened Eldar, we need to finish here so we can head on with our primary mission."

Nemius sighed. The audacity these fools had to attempt capture of an Imperial Vessel of this class. They were merely wasting their time. And lives. Nemius quickly remarked to Numetor, "The threat has been eliminated, but it was no Daemon. It was merely Dark Eldar trickery."

"There is only war... Numetor muttered, and then he faced the rest of the group. "It seems that once again we must split our strength brothers. Brothers Mikhael and Helmut, would you follow me to the reactor? We will take some of these imperial crew men with us, and purge the rest of these xeno scum from this ship. After the reactor is clear, we will rendezvous in the armory to re-supply for the assault on the planet."

The 3 marines went off on their mission without another word. Nemius then addressed the remaining Brothers.

"We shall clear the armory then, Brothers. Tread carefully, however, as I sense a strong presence in the armory," he said stoically. The 2 marines nodded and followed him out of the hanger.

The 3 Space Marines strode down the corridors single file, with Nemius leading the way. They arrived at the bay doors that lead into the armory and were greeted by a hail of splinter fire.

"Get to cover!!" bellowed Nemius as he nearly took on of the deadly needles to the chest. He took cover behind some weapons creates that had been placed in the corridor.

He peaked his head over the top of the crate to assess the situation. before him stood 15 more warriors, lead by a Haemonculus, a master of torture. He was protected by 2 Incubi. He knew if they wanted to have a good chance of defeating the beasts without incident, the Haemonculus must be killed.

"Arminius, Vaddon, destroy the Incubi, and then extinguish the warriors if you get the chance. I will deal with the Haemonculus," Nemius grunted to the other two marines.

No sooner had he uttered the words, he heard a grating voice in his head.

"Ah, a Space Marine Librarian. What a joy it will be to match wits with you, pompous fool. I have just the torture for you, when your body is mine!"


----------



## Protoss119

Mikhael opened fire on the first Trueborn he saw. He scored a few kills with the volley of fire he unleashed - two of them down, and he could have sworn he saw one of his Vengeance rounds slice through one's chest entirely only to hit another Trueborn and detonate - before he was forced into cover behind a cogitator console.

Realizing his Vengeance rounds were of little necessity against these lightly-armored foes (and realizing his effective range would be shorter anyhow), Mikhael ejected his magazine and placed it in one of his pouches before reloading his boltgun with a magazine full of standard bolt shells. A few splinters were lodged in his right pauldron, but thankfully none of them were enough to pierce the ceramite.

“Mikhael. Helmut. That one is our objective.” Mikhael heard Numetor vox, indicating the shrouded figure in the back.

"Target sighted" he voxed back, locating the figure and identifying him as a Mandrake. "Taking him ou--"

His vox was cut short as he was assailed by the two Trueborn he had left alive. More splinters found their way into his armor, though still none found their way past the ceramite or hit the soft armor. Mikhael turned and fired back, slaying one of the Trueborn while forcing the other back into cover. Mikhael turned back to face the Mandrake only to find that he was gone.

"Death and damnation!" Mikhael spat, firing futilly where the Mandrake once was before turning back to the Trueborn to finish him off. That was when he caught sight of a figure only a fair distance away, bald and scarred and carrying what looked like a wicked flail, leaping off walls and surfaces in his direction. He identified the figure as a Wych and opened fire on it before it could engage him in close combat. Of the shots he fired, only one of them hit; he expected it to kill it outright, given its relative lack of armor, but it endured, although it did seem to slow.

It was a lucky shot at any rate. Realizing that to continue firing would be folly, he instead focused his fire on the last remaining Trueborn. The volley from his lance weapon destroyed the cogitator console Mikhael was seeking cover behind before a volley of bolt shells finished him off. Mikhael abandoned his cover and prepared for a brutal melee with the Wych. His boltgun's bayonet was not much, but it would have to do...


----------



## Lord Ramo

The Inquisitor had achieved their primary objective, launching themselves and the squad of arms men straight over the barricades into the enemy lines. While her retinue had preformed well very few of the crew men were left alive that went with them. The dark eldar on that flank had broken, falling back to whatever cover they could fire. However the other eldar remained strong, some of the warriors had done so well in the middle, the ground littered by injured and dying crew men, turned to the left flank and poured fairly disciplined fire into the survivors, forcing them to seek cover. The damage had been done however, and as reinforcements arrived the Dark Eldar knew they had lost. 

Under covering fire a squad of true-born moved away, heading straight to the guns. They were laden with explosives, their intent clear. Soon the arms men broke into the right flank and there from the Inquisitor stood, bellowing the men on as she moved straight through the combat killing indiscrimantly as she went. 

Weapons Deck retinue: 

The Inquisitors presence bolsters you and the arms men with you. From their cover position they start to pick off the enemies that face you, keeping you pinned. You hear a calm voice smoothly penetrate your ears, as the Inquisitor sends a message, *"You need to stop those explosives going off. I have a feeling that by the end of the day we are going to need to use those guns later. Also the explosion will decompress the deck and kill us all. It all rides on you."*

(You see that there are five true-borns setting up explosives, protected by a squad of warriors. The squad of warriors are in a good position, and will require at least two of you to take (I am going to assume that Firebeard is still an npc and therefore will help Marcus who I am assigning to deal with the warriors whilst, Valerie deals with the true-born. The True-born will be initially occupied, so you can take down a few of them quickly to even the odds, though when 2-3 are downed the rest will notice you and try and deal with you.) You move forward as the arms men provide covering fire for the you)
================================================

Armoury marines: 

Vaddon nodded at the plan, take out the Incubus first then deal with the warriors. He knew the Incubus from the files he had studied back at the chapter had a sense of honour, and would in fact be dying to engage the marines in close combat to prove their superiority over them. He fired a burst of fire in through the doorway, trying to keep the warriors pinned. The warriors, either at his fire or at the Incubus orders ducked down into cover, allowing the marines to enter. The Incubii leapt over the barricades and moved towards Vaddon and Arminius. The Haemonculus slowly moved over, relishing the attack on the librarian.

(Alright then marines, you got a handful here, the Incubus are gifted warriors in close combat and will not be easy to kill. The Haemonculus will not die in one post and neither will the Incubi. *You can't kill them this update.)*

================================================

Reactor Group:

As you take care of some of the warriors and true-borns the wytches leap at you, all of them bounding in quickly scratching cermantine and weapons as they weave a deadly dance around the marines.

(Same as the others, can't kill the wytches this update, one of them will be slower due to already being hit, good luck. You can do one minor injury to them, like taking an arm or leg)


----------



## Jackinator

Marcus dusted himself from the combat, taking the opportunity afforded by the lull to reload and reposition his bandolier. The left of the weapons deck seemed mostly clear of the xenos, the members of the retinue having made short work of the aliens. Combats continued on the other side of the deck however and the Inquisitor's voice, heightened with urgency rose above the clamour. "You need to stop those explosives going off. I have a feeling that by the end of the day we are going to need to use those guns later. Also the explosion will decompress the deck and kill us all. It all rides on you."

"Wow, no pressure then", Marcus steeled himself for more combat, glancing over and motioning to the priest, "come on, we have to stop that lot", indicating the eldar near the guns. The priest nodded, a fierce grin splitting his broad features, revving his eviscerator. Marcus noted from the sloshing in the tank that he must have reloaded the incinerator mounted at it's hilt. "Lead me on", the priest roared, "the Emperor has already decreed their deaths."

Marcus turned and sprinted towards the aliens laying down covering fire, "I'll distract them, you get the ones with the explosives." He yelled this as he flew past Valerie, his coat flying out behind him like a bat out of hell as he primed a grenade in his left hand. A snap throw as he dodged a hail of splinters put it amidst the group, the blast slaying three and dazing the others. "Die scum", the briest bellowed as he unleashed his incinerator into the group, slaying another two before he charged in and decapitated a third with a swing of the massive weapon. Marcus followed him, putting down another of the eldar with a blast from his shotgun.

They were doing well, only eight of the warriors were still standing, down to seven as Firebeard clove another in two. Then things started to swing the other way, one of the warriors kicked the whirling priest in the chest with astonishing force, sending him crashing into a pile of shells as he levelled his rifle at him. Marcus turned and destroyed it with a single shot, the bloodied carcass slumping to the ground in pieces. But he'd let his guard down and he heard a hissing sound, he turned to see an expanding net of barbed wire flying towards him, he spun out of the way. But not quite quickly enough. His shotgun was snatched from his right hand and the wire lacerated his skin, stripping it from his flesh and leaving a bloodied mess. He screamed, implants auto-glanding combat drugs as he turned to the the remaining warriors. His pistol already in his hand, even they looked shocked at his speed as he demolished two of the warriors with a burst from his pistol. One of them dived at him but he stopped it dead, punching the pistol into it's face and blowing it's brains out with his last bullet. He dropped the pistol, and snatched the alien's falling dagger from the air.

It was a long, elegant weapon, all mono-molecular edges and sharpened spines. He weighed it in his hand for a split second before knocking the barrel of the web weapon away from him, the deadly monofilament wire flying into a nearby brawl. He punched the alien in the chest, the pain numbed by the combat drugs, then chopped at it's hand with the dagger. It screamed, dropping it's gun before flipping back and drawing it's own hand weapon, the other remaining warrior dropped it's rifle and did the same, the two of them prowling around until one stood on either side of him, taking advantage of their numbers. Marcus held his breath, his system balanced on a knife edge from the potent cocktail of drugs in his system, he flicked his head to the left as the dagger went skimming past his right ear, at the same time he swung the dagger round in an arc, knocking the other alien's weapon away from his midriff before he twisted on his left heel, turning his hips and putting all that force into a single kick that sent the alien tumbling back while at the same time cutting the others legs from under it. It reacted with catlike grace, flipping over into a cartwheel and coming blocking his return blow with the dagger. The two blades grating off each other with a sickening screech. He cursed as the other alien came up behind him again, exchanging blows with the two of them, a hand knocking that dagger away, a block halting a lunge centimetres from his eye.

He knew he had to finish this and soon, his system couldn't maintain the level of drugs his implants were auto-glanding and he was going to shut down from the chemicals in his blood stream. He took a chance, he punched the flat of his palm into the sternum of the alien in front of him, turning in time to catch the others knife had as it stopped his. Feeling the other come up behind him he forced his head forwards, head butting the alien, it's hands loosened in shock and he spun. His outstretched dagger slicing through the alien's throat before it embedded itself in the forehead of the other. They collapsed in unison. The entire combat with the two Dark Eldar had taken less than thirty seconds, so high was his system set. His vision began to gray out. He could feel himself slowing down, returning to normal time. Then he collapsed...


----------



## Therizza

"We shall clear the armory then, Brothers. Tread carefully, however, as I sense a strong presence in the armory" was Brother Librarian Nemius’ word.

Caution! The word turned Arminius’ stomach. His battle-rage had not subsided since the engagement with the Mandrakes, and Arminius was itching to kill every last one of these Dark Eldar scum and flush their lifeless husks into the void of space.

"Get to cover!!" bellowed Nemius. The only thing that saved Aminius from eating a volley of splinter rounds was his years of training and absolute trust in his fellow Marines.

Before them were fifteen warriors, hiding behind shoddy barracades. Aft of them stood two incubi, guarding some deformed creature Arminius did not know the name of.

“Those crates won’t protect you for long, Dark Eldar scum!!!” shouted Arminius as he loosed a volley of bolter fire. He was greeted by a tight burst of splinter fire. Ducking for cover, he looked to Nemius. The Librarian tasked them with slaying the Incubi, and to take the warriors out as secondary targets.

Strangely, the warriors ceased fire. Striding forward, the Incubi motioned toward Arminius and Nexus. _An honor duel?_ Arminius wondered if the Incubi were baiting them in, or sought an honorable death, or felt that the Marines could be easily bested in melee. 

As Arminius strode forth, he stood several meters from his prey. The Incubus was the consummate weapons master of its race. Clad in power armor, an oddity for one of Eldar lineage, this Incubi wielded a massive double-handed blade. This would be more of a challenge than the Mandrakes in the corridor, for although the Mandrake was possessed of inhuman strength, the Incubus was a skilled technician of its trade.

The Dark Eldar spoke, it’s voice sounding neither here nor there. “You come to die, human.”

Strapping his bolter to his back and drawing his chainsword from his hip, Arminius calmly replied, “It is not I who will die today.”

With that, the Incubus shot a look to the warrior, communicating his apparent orders for them to hold their fire while the two groups of alpha predators engaged in melee. Arminius and the Incubus began to circle, examining each others guard, looking for any weaknesses, any openings for attack…


----------



## Serpion5

*Valerie*

As the creature died under Valerie`s boot, she took the oppurtunity reactivate the dampener, look around and take in the carnage around her. On this side, the imperials had faired quite well, most of the xenos lay dead or dying and the remainder had routed. Or so it seemed... 

Valerie noticed the inquisitor, weapons in hand and gesturing furiously toward the group that was fleeing. 'You need to stop those explosives going off. I have a feeling that by the end of the day we are going to need to use those guns later. Also the explosion will decompress the deck and kill us all. It all rides on you.'

'No pressure then.' Valerie heard Marcus mutter. Turning around, she saw both he and Firebeard already moving, Marcus turning to her as they passed.

'I'll distract them, you get the ones with the explosives.' He said to her. 

Valerie dropped into a steady run a short distance behind them seeking a chance to slip around the flanks. She watched the pair fight, and was met with a new respect for the ecclesiarchy upon seeing Firebeard`s fury. Marcus was doing extremely well also, and Valerie felt an increased sense of urgency. They were both in mortal danger, and even worse was the price everyone would pay if she were to fail. 

'I won`t fail!' She insisted to herself out loud and sprinted past the outer edges of the combat making straight for the bomb laden aliens approaching the gun batteries. She didn`t look behind her, trusting completely in Marcus and Firebeard as she bolted forth with swords raised. 

Her aura hit the first of the xenos as she came up behind them, but he was not quick enough to stop her. His head rolled on the floor, but Valerie paid no heed to the corpse, already swinging her swords towards the next foe. They raked through his armour, one finding little purchase but the other cleaving through soft xeno midsection. 

'DIE!' She xcreamed at them, the three remainder too encumbered with explosives to efficiently wield their weapons. Only when a third alien fell dead to the floor did they think to drop their loads. The two survivors countercharged, each of them drawing a wickedly serrated dagger. 

Valerie parried the initial strikes, and with a grin lowered the null dampener...


----------



## Protoss119

The Wych landed in front of Mikhael and in a lightning motion swung her flail at him as he was taking aim. It is often said that the Space Marines know no fear, but whether or not that was true, they evidently knew alarm; certainly, Mikhael felt it when the flail wrapped around the bayonet of his boltgun and with a strong jerking motion, the Wych tore it from his hands. The boltgun landed directly behind her; he could only assume that she had taken combat drugs beforehand. The razor blades of the flail clicked into place to form one large wicked blade which she swung at him, intending to behead him. Mikhael ducked, barely avoiding her lightning-fast attack even with his Astartes reflexes, and moved to her left, intending to reach his boltgun. In return, he threw a punch at her abdomen, causing her to fly back into another cogitator console, her fragile form performing as well as he expected it to.

The Wych returned to her feet, however - _what manner of combat drug could keep her standing?_ thought Mikhael as he reached for his bolt pistol. As he moved to retrieve his boltgun, he fired at the Wych to keep her down, but she gracefully dodged each and every one, bouncing off the console, off walls, off the cieling, before launching herself at him. While she failed to cause direct harm to him, she managed to knock his bolt pistol out of his right hand, and it landed only a short distance apart from the boltgun. Fortunately, not long after she landed, he found the opportunity to pin her to the wall and he took it, slamming his armored palm upon her throat with the intent to squeeze the life out of her and causing her to drop her flail.

Mikhael thought the fight to be over - the Wych would be dead in a matter of seconds - but he had not considered the twisted dagger sheathed on her right leg. She swiftly drew the dagger and and stabbed him in the soft-armored section at the top of his thigh. He grunted, releasing her to figure out what the stinging sensation in his hip was, and she kicked him to the ground before rearming herself.

Mikhael rose, grabbing his boltgun, feeling the return of familiar feelings - hate and bloodlust. He despised this Eldar; nothing would please him more than to see her blood run hot across the cogitator console, to see her innards exposed as the alien filth she was. Beyond that, there was nothing more - no thirst for glory, no deep love of mankind. The Wych had to die, and that was all. She gloated, speaking in a tongue he found he could understand. "What a weak specimen of your race you are, in a race full of weakli--"

She was cut off by a bolt shell that grazed her hip, slicing off flesh but otherwise leaving her intact. Mikhael had remembered well Theridus's 39th Instruction of Combat, the gist of which was "If your enemy ceases fighting to speak, attack him! Give him no quarter, for he shall not give you any." The Wych grunted and leaped into the air, just shy of the ceiling, and swung her flail downward, only for Mikhael to duck and step to the side. The Wych was beginning to slow, and he felt certain that she wouldn't last much longer...


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## Midge913

Faster than he could have imagined the Xeno filth lashed out with its whip, snaring Numetor's left arm and pulling his bolt pistol shot off target. The explosive round blowing a hole in some nearby storage crates the size of a man's fist. In one swift motion the creature darted under his pistol arm, straight in front of him, its wicked looking dagger scoring a long mark across the ceramite of his chest plate. 

This thing was quick, but not quick enough to evade a swift front kick from Numetor. He launched the thing forward several meters, jerking the whip from its grasp in the process. Uncoiling the whip from his arm and tossing it aside Numetor launched himself forward in a blazing series of attacks, only to find that each of his strikes dodged or parried by his more agile opponent. "Time for a shift in tactics," Numetor thought. 

As his opponent lunged for an attack, Numetor surprised it by closing the distance instead of retreating. He spun slightly to the side, forcing the Eldar's strike to flow into the space right below his armpit. He felt the wicked dagger slice into the soft armor there just before he clamped down on the things arm. Agile though it was it could never match the brute strength of an Astartes. It struggled to free itself as it found its arm trapped and being crushed at the wrist between unyielding plates of ceramite. Numetor heard bones breaking as he applied more pressure, before twisting savagely to the side, ripping the things arm from its socket. 

The xeno retreated with a screech of pain, but to its credit drew another dagger from its hip with its remaining arm. It looked up to find that it was staring down the barrel of Numetor's bolt pistol. Into a face that was twisted with rage.....


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## PapaSmurf124

_Go on, Librarian, show me what your mind holds, and surrender your soul to me_, the Haemonculus goaded. It poked at the psychic screen Nemius had put up to protect himself from the Dark Eldar.

_Show you what I can do, I will. But surrender my soul, I shalt not,_ Nemius replied. The two communicated completely telepathically. Not a soul heard what they said to each other.

Nemius's eyes began to glow eldritch blue as he began to gather power for a psychic assault. He launched a glowing fireball at the Haemonculus, but it merely drifted to the side and deflected the fireball harmlessly away. Well, harmlessly for him anyway. The two eldar warriors that had been unlucky enough to be in the path of the deflected fireball burst into flames as the psychic ball punched through the chest of one and collided with the chest of another.

_You are going to have to do better than that, Space Marine,_ it chuckled, seemingly not caring about the two warriors he had just killed. it then began to glow a dark purple color as it prepared its own psychic strike. Soon a wave of purple energy burst forth from the beast, in an attempt to knock Nemius to the ground. He stood fast however, and shook off the afront.

_As will you, Xeno scum. It will take more than a little psychic blast to best me,_ Nemius spat as his eyes began to glow more intensely. His head was engulfed in the blue glow, and the crystals on his psychic hood began to glow with effort. Without warning, the glow vanished as he unleashed a mental onslaught on the mind of the Haemonculus. He felt something strain as his strike hit home

_Impressive, quite a lot of power. No matter, you will not be able to defeat me,_ the Haemonculus mused as it unleashed its own psychic assault on the Librarian's mind. Nemius was flooded with visions of torture and pain, of death and agony. He felt thousands of souls screaming as they were slowly torn apart by the horrid power of the Dark Eldar. Nemius felt their pain, and he did not understand why.

Nemius quickly focused energy into resisting the visions, and then focused a large amount of power into Eckerd. A blue psychic bolt flew from the blade of the halberd and into another Dark Eldar warrior. The warrior writhed in pain for a few brief seconds before rising and looking at the back of the Haemonculus. _You are a slave to my whims,_ Nemius said int he mind of the warrior. "I am a slave to your whims," the warrior repeated out loud.

The Haemonculus, who had up until this point ignored the bolt of energy that had completely missed him, turned around in the direction of the voice. As he was turning, however, Nemius quickly gave an order. _Open fire._ The warrior's splinter carbine began to spew out its deadly payload in the direction of its leader. The reflexes the Haemonculus had saved it from death as if was able to dodge all but 2 of the shards. They embedded deep within its arm, nearly causing it to go limp. The beast then glowed purple once more and a second later the head of the warrior imploded into a bloody mess.

_Clever, Librarian, to use my own warriors against me. And to have me kill them as well. Too bad it will not help you. Their minds have been screened to protect them from your trickery,_ the Haemonculus chuckled. it felt like it had the upper hand. Nemius would show it otherwise.


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## DaafiejjXD

Holding Cell: 

Darius was in the holding cell. 2 months. It had been two entire months since he was locked up in this damned rathole. Three times a day did he get food and water, just enough to keep him in good state. But it did not satisfy Darius enough. His stomach still protested, and yearned for more food. Luckily one of the guards felt a pity for him, and he gave Darius some extra food and water occasionally.

During these months, Darius did not waste his time in the holding cell, in contrary, he used it to train his martial prowess even more. He only did so when the guards were absent, or when they weren't paying attention, as he did not want them to be alarmed by this. 

As weeks passed, Darius came to the conclusion that his only way out would be a breakout. And thus, he started planning his escape. He started planning his entire escape route. Where to go, what to use, what to do. Now all he needed was the right moment, a moment of disarray or an attack would give him the opportunity to get out of his prison.

More weeks passed, and he eventually gave up hope that he would ever get out before he got transferred.

The attack:

Some sort of quake woke Darius, he got up, and checked if there were guards around. Oddly enough, there was no one, not even the conversations the guards normally held while on duty were heard. Only silence inhabited the dark corridors of the prison block.

He was the only prisoner at the moment, although the entire place still reeked of it's previous "guests". Darius waited for a while before he shouted: "Where's my breakfast! I'm starving!" He anxiously listened for some sort of reply. But the damning silence was still all there was.

Suddenly the sound of huge guns blazing raised his alertness. The gun sounds were too loud to be from something fired by a soldier, it had to be the weapon batteries, or perhaps the lance batteries onboard. This could only mean one thing. "Attack" Darius mumbled.

Shortly after more noise was to be heard. People screaming, guns blazing and grenades exploding. Darius was alarmed by this recent development, and stepped back from the force field that held him in his cage. Without a sound, he slowly walked back towards his bed. He went prone, and disappeared under his bed. The lights in the cells faded, and suddenly went black. 

In the still scarcely lit hallway, vague shadows appeared, along with the sound of hurried footsteps. A strange sound was heard, and a sound as if someone tripped over and fell to the ground came shortly after.

"NOOOO! Don't! Please do... AAARGHHH!" the screams disturbed the peace an quiet of the dark catacomb like complex. Darius kept himself quiet. The footsteps neared, fast. Darius could see a pair of boots, the dark ones the guards wore. Just as the boots left his sight, another pair of boots followed. This time they were made out of some sort of metal, and were thin and long. Then another pair of these thin boots passed by, leaving a trail of blood behind them.

"Run while you can little piggy, but the butcher is gonna catch you!" Yelled an eerie, and sinister voice. The sound of a knife being thrown was heard, followed by a shriek and a large smack. "Told you, little piggy. The butcher always slaughters his products himself!" The macabre voice ended in a maniac like laughter.

Then the pair of footsteps once again neared Darius. The eerie voice said something in a dark language, and it got a reply from another voice. Then the footsteps halted in front of his cell. More chatter in the same dark language. Then one of them lifted the barrier somehow, and the other stepped inside.

"Come out come out where ever you are." The sinister voice said in a playful manner. The feet walked near the toilet in the room, and then to the bed. "Ah! There is our little friend!" The voice cackled, and the feet stopped in front of the bed. The creature crouched in front of the bed, and lifted the bed's blanket. 

"Peek a bo-" A gurgle was to be heard as the creature dropped on its back. Blood violently pouring out of a hole in its neck as it began to flounce wildly. The other creature stepped forwards and tried to take a look inside the dark cell. It leveled it's gun when it searched the room for Darius.

Darius morphed the blade on his right hand back into a normal hand. He quickly focussed on hotshot laspistols. His hands began to transform into hotshot laspistols. Darius silently moved away from the bed, and aimed his pistols at the alien who stood in the dimly lit hallway.

Two red beams lit up the room and corridor, they were followed immediately by a crackling sound. The beams entered the creatures chest, and left at the other side. It dropped it's gun instantly. As the creature reached for his chest with its hands, a final shot found itself a way through the aliens head. The body collapsed onto the floor, and remained lifeless. The other "butcher" had already bled to death, and was motionless.

"Finally" Darius muttered as he reshaped his pistols back into hands. Darius took a look at the two corpses. "Dark Eldar" he said. He turned around, and saw the stairs leading to the central hallway of the ship. Darius began to make his way through the shadowy hallway. He left the same route as he was brought in. Only 2 months later.

(P.S.) Hope you like my first post!

Cheers!


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## Tarvitz210300

The Wytch brandished a large scimitar, walking towards Helmut meanicingly. Helmut knew that soon the Wytch would jump and begin the attack. Helmut pulled out his chain axe preparing for the coming fight, he knew that he would be ready when the Wytch attacked. Helmut pulled the trigger and the chain axe whirled, Helmut enjoyed the motion of the axe and laughed happily, this would be easy. Helmut hoped that the wytch would not be too skillful. 

The Wytch then jumped and began to attack, blades flew and Helmut could only defend. Then the wytch jumped back, she obviosly did not want a honorable fight. The Wytch circled around him trying vainly to find an opening and manage to kill. Helmut easily followed her and the Wytch jumped even further back, knowing that she would have to use a great amount of stealth. 

The Wytch jumped up onto the pipes and began to run, the virbrations told him were she was. Helmut could not reach high enough to hurt her and so was helpless, as she ran along the pipes. When she dropped down Helmut had barely enough time to doge the blade. Helmut did duck under it and after the blade flew over his head pushed up to try knock the Wytch off balance. She was already gone running along the pipes, Helmut began to get worried, he could not survive forever like this, he would have to destroy the pipes. 

As Helmut tried to break the pipes he decided that he should never take his armour off again. It was just not worth it, the Crew no matter how inspired would never be warriors. Helmut decided that he should destroy the pipes, but how. Then Helmut figured it out, he would stab the pipe and then put a grenade in it. For Helmut it was much harder than thought, the pipes were extremely hard, so Helmut took about 5 strikes. Then the Wytch dropped down again. She fought franticly like she was posessed, the Scimitar almost knocked his axe away. 

Then the Wytch jumped up again unaware that it would probably spell her doom. Helmut threw the grenade and in a matter of seconds the pipe was no more. The Wytch fell but managed to land on its feet. Helmut saw his oppertunity and charged screaming "For the emporer," Helmut was upon her and began to attack.


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## Therizza

Brother-Librarian Nemius was engaged with the psychic foe. Eldritch forces lashed about the room and Brother-Sergeant Arminius took advantage of the situation. Closing the gap between himself and the Incubus in less than a second, Arminius swung the blade of his chainsword into the side of the xeno with all of his might. To his dismay, the Dark Eldar effortlessly parried his attack with its immense two handed weapon.

"You will have to try harder than that, human!" spat the Incubus. The words had not left its mouth when it launched its counterattack at Brother-Arminius. With a speed he thought impossible, the Dark Eldar retracted its blade and brought it down in an attack designed to cleave Arminius in twain. Arminius rolled to one side, narrowly dodging the xeno's death stroke.

"You are skilled at swordplay" shouted Arminius as he swung once more at the Incubus, and again the attack was parried with ease.

"The best in the galaxy, fool! You do not seem to know how to use your weapons either! You do not use your _holy_ boltgun and engage a sword master in melee? With your chain sword not even working properly!" Again, the Incubus lunged at Arminius, this time with a low stab reversing into a slash aimed for his midsection. Arminius dodged the initial thrust and dove over the slash, again narrowly avoiding a grizzly death at the hands of this blade master.

Regaining his footing, Arminius retorted, "I feel like a challenge, for it would be too easy to kill you with my boltgun! Or a fully functioning chainsword!" Glancing to his side, Arminius caught a glimpse of Brother-Librarian Nemius engaged in psychic combat with the homunculus. _This must end swiftly._

Charging the Dark Eldar at full speed, Arminius sought to bowl his opponent over. Swinging his sword high, he crashed into the Incubus. Having closed the gap with sufficient speed, Arminius had neutralized the Incubus' reach advantage. Catching the xeno with an uppercut to the chin, Arminius continued to push his advantage. Having recovered from the ceramite-encased punch with alarming speed, the Dark Eldar had to contend now with Arminius' battle rage, now in full swing. 

Arminius hacked and slashed, spewing curses at the xeno, but all of his attacks were parried. Arminius trusted that if he kept up this pace, the Dark Eldar would certainly tire. They dodged and parried, thrusting and slashing at each other. Both were fighting at their limits, but both looked seemingly serene despite the swirling melee.

"You seem to have some skill, human" spat the Incubus, "but you realize I could end this at any point!"At that moment, the Incubus caught Arminius' sword with his own. Their blades locked together, neither opponent could continue the fight without losing their weapon. Staring each other down, Arminius calmly explained what would happen next.

"Remember how you said my chainsword was broken?" he said.

"Yes, and now your blade is locked with mine" replied the Dark Eldar, thinking Arminius helpless to what would happen next.

"Well, it isn't." In less than a millisecond, Arminius thumbed the blade of his chainsword on. The teeth bit deeply into the Dark Eldar's weapon, straining the Incubus' grip. Suddenly, the xeno's grip failed, and it's weapon flew across the room, clanging to the floor.
Arminius looked straight in the xeno's eyes. He could see it's fear, he could feel it, and part of him reveled in it. Grabbing the enemy by the wrist, Arminius landed a booted kick square in the xenos chest, sending it flying.

"And I am not above using my _holy_ boltgun on vermin such as thee" were the words Arminius spoke as he swiftly drew his boltgun from its location on his back, put it to his shoulder and loosed a salvo of bolter rounds into the Dark Eldar still soaring through the air. The mass-reactive shells made short work of the xenos laughable excuse for power armor.

Bolter still glued to his shoulder, Arminius drew a bead on the Dark Eldar warriors in cover nearby. He could see they were in disarray after seeing one of their best destroyed before their eyes.

With a grin, Arminius calmly asked, "_Who's next?"_


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## PapaSmurf124

Nemius caught an explosion of gore out of the corner of his eye. He quickly divided his attention to see that brother Arminius had dispatched his foe. _Good, one less threat in this room is always welcome_. Nemius returned his full attention to the dark one before him.

He prepared to leash a flurry of of psychic bolt on his enemy. His blue glow intensified as he concentrated more and more and pulled greater energy from the Immaterium. As he reached out his free hand to attack his foe, Nemius dropped to a knee, suddenly stricken by pain. His blue glow subsided, and suddenly a rift in the warp appeared, dragging Nemius into the Warp.

As Nemius was pulled in, he saw the opening close before him. _The dreaded Perils! How did I not avoid this!?_ Nemius' mind screamed as horrors flashed before him. Daemonic visages, horrid deeds, slaughter, bleeding images, so much insanity. Nemius began to scream out as the sickening scenes before him began to take their toll. Never before had he seen such terror. His eyes darted back and forth, trying to avoid the worst of the images before him. He was beginning to feel sick. He knew not how much more he would be able to handle.

He spun out of control through a sickly scene, seeing battle brothers slaughtered by daemons, seeing the Holy Grey Knights destroyed with ease by the foe they were designed to best. _How is this possible? Grey Knights would never fall so easily!_ Inexplicable terror had gripped Nemius now, terror that no Space Marine ever thought he would feel. More scenes of slaughter and gore flashed before him, and he quickly removed his helmet to vomit.

He felt as thought he had been trapped here for hours, but it had been mere seconds. How would he get out?

***

The Haemonculus saw the Librarian ripped out of existence and pulled into the warp. He shuddered slightly, he couldn't imagine what Slaanesh and the other Dark Gods would do to him in there. "Without the Librarian to stand in my way, I can slaughter these fools as well. Pity, I had so much suffering planned for the Librarian," the Haemonculus mused. He turned to face Arminius and prepared to gun him down when he felt a thick drop hit his head.

He reached up and wiped where he had felt the drop hit. His eyes grew wide as he realized it was blood. _Blood? From where!? It shant be mine. I have not been wounded!_ the Haemonculus thought alarmingly. He felt another drop hit him, and then another. The drops were beginning to fall all over. On him, on the ground, on his warriors, everywhere. Sudden fear gripped him as he thought to what the Librarian could have done.

A blood storm now raged within the confines of the armory, causing all to shudder with even minute amounts of fear. Pools of blood that came from Emperor knows where began to form on the decks. Everyone was bathed in the acrid, red fluid.

***

As suddenly as the warp rift had opened an closed on him, another appeared, and he was sucked through and spat out on the other side. Nemius was lucky that it lead right back to the armory. However, this rift was opened on the ceiling of the armory, and he crashed to the floor, falling in a puddle of blood. The blood storm continued to rage in the armory. Nemius pulled himself painfully to his feet, still shaking from his ordeal. He used the force halberd as support as his body continued to shiver. He raised his free hand up and began to reach out psychically into the skull of the Haemonculus.

The Haemonculus had seen Nemius' miraculous return and stared in disbelief. _But....h-h-how? The w-warp took you!_ the xeno stuttered.

_The Emperor guides me,_ Nemius replied, weakly. Mustering what strength he had left in his body and mind, Nemius clenched his fist tightly, and the Haemonculus began to scream. Its blood was boiling, causing its body temperature to rise too quickly. Like an egg placed in a microwave, the Haemonculus exploded, adding more blood and gore to the storm that still raged.

Nemius stared where his foe had stood, and smiled. He had done his duty to the Emperor. His eyelids fluttered, and then shut as he collapsed to the ground, and blacked out.


----------



## Lord Ramo

Nexus snarled as he and the incubus strode towards each other, Nexus chainsword buzzing and roaring in the name of The Emperor, whilst the Incubus sword was as silent as death itself. There was no pointless exchange of talk, the Dark Eldar had seen what had happened to its fellow and wanted to defeat Nexus quickly. Nexus at the last moment burst into a run and brought a powerful two handed uppercut at the Dark Eldar. The Eldar skillfully blocked the attack and quickly, swinging into a crouch, brought his sword around in an arc, hitting Nexus bolter. Nexus snarled as he felt the bolter break under the impact, and the sword continued into his leg. He quickly swung down at where the Dark Eldar was to find that he had moved quickly away.

Nexus knew that the Incubus was faster than him, the Dark Eldar being a bit like the Eldar, graceful but in a terrifying way. Nexus felt no fear as he fought the Incubus, confident he would prevail. He ducked as the Incubus launched an attack at his back, felling as it rolled over his back trying to deliver a uppercut after it landed on its feet. Nexus blocked with the chainsword and lashed out with his fist, knocking the Incubus back. Nexus launched forward, ignoring the pain in his leg as he lashed out with his chainsword, hearing it bite into the Incubus arm. The Incubus barely staggered at this, earning a little respect in Nexus eyes as it launched a swift counter attack. 

Nexus blocked and ducked under the renewed attack from the Incubus and brought his chainsword down in attempt to lure the Dark Eldar in. The Incubus fell for the gambit, thinking that blood loss had effected the Astartes, something that wouldn't happen. It was desperate, the last of the Incubus in the room and still had another two astartes to face. At the last second Nexus brought his chainsword to block the wound, while his hand reached out and stabbed his narthiuem into the Eldar's arm. Nexus heard it scream and revelled in that, forcing it to its knees*. "You broke my bolter, filthy xeno and killed crew men. You will pay for this with your life and the lives of your men.*" He stabbed his chainsword into its stomach and brought it straight up through its chest and up through its armoured helm. 

Nexus grabbed its sword and chucked it back into a dark eldar that leapt over the barricade to try and finish him off. He turned seeing the Librarian on the floor and pulled him into cover.

Arminius: You bellow your challenge and the Dark Eldar shrink back, their leaders dead. A rear door to the armoury open and you see a strange figure standing there, without a seconds thought he blasts with two pistols, seemingly attached to his hands, and the Dark Eldar die. Between the two of you the Dark Eldar burn and die. After the last is dead you see what he really is, a prisoner of the ship. A voice nags in your head to shoot him, though he potentially helped you out here. Another more reasonable voice, (which wins over) tells you to inform the Inquisitor and let her judge his faith.

Nexus and Nemius: Nemius is being cared for by Nexus, who starts looking for any surface wounds. There are a few minor scrapes which are quickly healed, and Nexus administers adrenaline into the Librarian to wake him. "Come on brother wake up. Rynn will need us both to return alive and safe." Nemius you awake to hear Nexus' words, him glad that you are ok moves to a nearby weapon rack. You see the tattered remains of his boltgun in his hands as he places them on the counter before checking to see if each of the Dark Eldar are actually dead. 

Darius: You walk through the ship, finding no more dark Eldar, until you chance upon an armory. Inside Dark Eldar and Space Marines duel, and you see a chance to prove to the Inquisition that you are in fact loyal. You open fire on the Dark Eldar warriors, in quick seconds taking down four. Another three are taken down by one of the marines, and the last Dark Eldar is stabbed by him as it tries to find new cover. You need to try and convince the marine, who know has his weapons pointed at you to allow you to live.

(Ok, well then Darius you will need to explain to the marines why they shouldn't kill you, (delve into your background some more) and once that is done you will be told to wait for the Inquisitor to judge you. Marines interact with the new prisoner, and with each other. Arminius, once you have the prisoner secured you should ask Nemius on what happened in the warp. (You might be suspicious of the whole situation, him dissapearing into the warp and this prisoner turning up afterwards) You can ask Nexus about his experiences in the hanger bay)
===================================================

The Inquisitor and her forces had retaken the weapons deck, dozens of crew men and dark eldar lay dead, covering the huge weapon deck. She turned to a engineer_ "Get these weapons operational, and open fire upon those xeno filth. No mercy, no quarter. Let the Emperor's voice sound with our guns."_ No sooner had she said then the Captain's voice boomed throughout the ship, "My lady the enemy ships is fleeing, we aren't yet fully operational so cannot pursue it."

Val had done her job well, killing the last of the dark eldar explosives off, as had the rest of the Inquisitors retinue. She looked at them and said simply, _"Go to the medical bay, get whatever treatment you need, we soon will make planetfall."_

Inquisitor henchmen: Head to the medic bay, where you will receive treatment for all of your wounds and such, Val treated by the same medic as she was on the bridge who is even shorter on words than before, while Marcus treated by a young male, who has to be quick due to the amount of wounded men in the bay. Once done, you two are free to leave the bay and head to the bridge. (Describe how Val kills the last few dark eldar, with the null dampner active. Once you have done that you two are free to talk, find out more of your characters background)
==========================================================

Marines in reactor room: Defeat the Wytches, it will be quick as they are mainly wounded now and have slowed considerably. Once you have done that you notice that the arms men have defeated the Dark Eldar warriors, obviously taking heart from the God-like Astartes. Check the room to ensure that all the enemy of dead before Numetor voxes the all clear. You have no new orders, see to your wounds and talk to each other. How did you get into the deathwatch? What do you think of the Xeno attack on the ship? Are you impressed by the other marines abilities? Develop your character a bit more.


----------



## Jackinator

Marcus surfaced from the stupor his overloaded system had endured. He felt the sting of the needle withdraw as an anxious looking man inspected his eyes. "It looks fine, whatever you have in your system just seems to have sent you into shut down for a bit, I don't forsee any lasting effects."

Marcus grimaced, and shaking the last traces of fog from his vision he sat up. "Thank you, I'll be fine", the medic gratefully hurried off to attend to the other men and women scattered throughout the infirmary. The action had not been gentle, despite the ships evident age and the veteran levels of the crew their had still been large numbers of casualties. He was taking up space here.

He reached out with his right hand to pull himself up from the bed, then frowned. The clunk as his hand came into contact with the rail was unexpected to say the least. He looked down, and swore, seeing a high-quality augmetic in place of his right hand. "All that time in the underworld and no wounds, and now, this." He flexed it contemplatively, then brought it down on the rail, crumpling it easily, "Emperor damn it!"

His exclamation drew the stares of men around him. He flung himself off the bed and stormed from the room, his expression thunderous, his good mood at their success evaporated. As he exited the room he almost collided with the young woman he had saved before. What was her name? Valerie, that was it. She seemed odd, but he was too angry to notice anything beyond mere behaviour. He scowled at her quizzical glance, snarling back "What?"...


----------



## PapaSmurf124

"YOU ARE WEAK, FOOLISH WORSHIPER OF THE CORPSE GOD!" a voice bellowed in the darkness. Nemius' vision began to clear as he saw that he was chained to a wall. He had nothing but a robe on. His weapons were no where to be found. "Where the hell am I?" Nemius muttered, as he tried to identify his location. The room around him was made of stone, with but one window that was very high up. The window was barred, but through the window he could see a blood red sky that did not at all look familiar to him.

"YOU CAN NOT CONTROL THE POWER YOU WIELD, SPACE MARINE!" the voice thundered again.

"Who are you, and what do you want from me? Where the hell am I? Answer me, damn you, the Emperor commands it!" Nemius shouted.

"YOUR EMPEROR WILL NOT COMMAND ME, FOOL. THE RUINOUS POWERS KNOW NO MASTER!"

_Ruinous powers!? Where the hell am I? I only blacked out, I couldn't be in the warp again!_ Nemius' mind was racing. What was going on? A dream, maybe a vision? It had to be, the Dark Gods would not win over his soul.

"WE CAN GIVE HELP YOU LEARN TO CONTROL THAT POWER! YOU COULD BE MIGHTIER THAN ANY LIBRARIAN THAT HAS EVER STOOD BEFORE YOU! WE CAN TEACH YOU TO REVEL IN THE WARP, NOT FEAR IT, MORTAL!"

"Never! You will not tempt me, vile creature! The Emperor is the one, true light. You will never put that light out. I am his faithful servant!"

***

Nemius began to cough and sputter as he sat up. Wiping blood from his eyes, he quickly glanced around to see where he was. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he was still on the ship, with his fellow marines around him. He noticed he had been dragged behind a crate, and Nexus was kneeled next to him.

"Brother-Librarian, how do you feel?" Nexus asked him.

"Better, Brother Nexus, thank you. You do you duty well," Nemius replied, placing his hand on the marine's shoulder to help him stand up. His knees were still a bit shakey, but he could stand, and had Eckerd to aid him. He noticed the broken bolter in Nexus' hands. Nexus nodded to Nemius, and moved on to the weapon rack to put the unusable weapon down.

Nemius surveyed the room, seeing that all the enemies were dead. He also noticed that Arminius was standing with his Bolter at the ready, pointed in the direction of a figure that stood in the door way. Nemius did not feel a large psychic presence, so he knew it wasn't another Dark Eldar foe that stood before him. In fact, it was human. Well, mostly anyway.

The being stepped forward into the room, hands held up, asking not to be shot. Arminius kept the bolter trained on him, refusing the budge.

Nemius stood beside Arminius, put a hand on his shoulder, as if to request he relaxed a bit, and looked at the newcomer.

"Identify yourself. Who are you, and why are you aboard this ship?" Nemius asked.


----------



## DaafiejjXD

The stairs were only dimly lit by the lights of the hallway, even though the door at the top of the staircase was wide open. As Darius silently proceeded up the stairs, step by step, it became apparent to him that the noises of battle he heard before were getting closer to him. He was on his guard, and expected xenos to be in the hallway. Darius placed his back against the wall, and without making a sound, he reached the top of the stairs.

As Darius placed his right foot onto the last step, keeping his back against the wall, he glanced out of the doorway to the right. The hall was full of debris and the dead, indicating that a large battle was fought there. No living were to be seen however, and the noises he heard came from the other direction. He turned his head, and observed the left part of the hallway. There were dead crew members and Eldar corpses scattered along the corridor, but significantly less than on the right.

Suddenly the sound of a bolter firing got his attention. The sound was coming from the left, so he stepped out of the darkness, and into the dim light of the hallway. Staying behind cover, he approached the sounds. 

Along the way, Darius was cautiously checking every corpse if it really was dead, to cancel out a surprise attack from something he presumed to be dead. After he was sure all corpses truly were dead, he moved further in the direction of the noise. When he came very close to the sounds, he began to form his hands into hot shot laspistols oncemore. Within seconds his hands melted away as if they were made from magma, leaving two stumps at the end of both arms. Suddenly, two lasgun barrels began to protrude from his arms, and eventually two whole guns were formed. Once the process was complete he neared the door leading to the room from where the noise originated.

Darius silently moved closer to the door, and peeking through a hole in the door obviously blasted out by a bolt, he could see a group of xenos battling with large warriors, clad in thick black armor. "Deathwatch" Darius whispered to himself. 

As Darius watched the eldar retreat towards the door, he realized this was the chance he had been praying for, a chance to redeem himself in the eyes of the Emperor, by aiding his sons in battle. Darius dropped to his knees, and began to pray to the Emperor. Seconds later, Darius rose. He was determined to kill these beasts, and by doing so, he hoped to earn the Emperor's forgiveness.


----------



## Therizza

So there Arminius stood, in the middle of the room, weapon aimed squarely at the Dark Eldar. They seemed to be demoralized, confused and seeking a way out of the engagement. With their leader dead, and the corpses of their two greatest warriors mangled beyond recognition, who would not be demoralized? This victory was sweeter than the battle with the mandrakes, and Arminius silently thanked the Emperor for guiding his blade against the Incubus. There had been no sneaking through smoke screens as before, just two combatants exchanging blows in the dance of death.

Arminius had noticed the incredibly strange events that had surrounded Brother-Librarian Nemius' psychic duel with the homunculus, and pondered their implications. Nemius had disappeared, it began to rain blood of all things, and then Nemius had reappeared and turned the Dark Eldar's head inside out. Brother Nexus had performed admirably in his combat with the incubus, and was now aiding Nemius, who looked ill after his ordeal. Arminius would have words with him after this situation was cleared up. It would not do to have the Deathwatch team's Librarian succumbing to the warp.

Up to this point, the Dark Eldar had been hiding behind what little cover remained in the room. They fired blindly, missing the mark completely. Arminius would take care of them when he felt he had made them suffer enough. 

_Shame and death await the foes of the Emperor._


----------



## DaafiejjXD

Darius carefully opened the door, and snuck inside. The noise of the battle obscured the sound the door made as it was opened. Whilst the dark eldar were focussed on fighting the marines, so they did not notice the silhouette sneaking into the room. To avoid being seen, Darius positioned himself behind a pillar in the left hand corner of he room. From behind the pillar, Darius observed the xenos. There were 8 in the room, however, he could only see 3 of them clear enough for an accurate shot, and a fourth that he could kill if he got closer to it.

Without hesitation, Darius brought his arms to aiming height, and pointed his left arm at the nearest dark eldar who was hiding behind a weapon rack of sorts. His right arm was aiming at the dark eldar who was next to the first one, and who had taken cover behind a stack of barrels.

Two bursts of red lit up the back of the room, one piercing the shoulder of the dark eldar who was behind the weapon rack, crushing the socket, and ripping apart the sinew and flesh. The second ray entered the other xeno's neck, leaving a bloody fountain in it's wake. After Darius noted that one of the vile aliens still drew breath, he shot another volley at it. The red laser beams tore through the aliens chest as it tried to draw it's pistol. The being spasmed as it dropped to the ground. 

The third eldar, now aware of Darius' presence, ducked behind a turned over table, and started to fire blindly in Darius' direction. While dodging the shots, Darius dashed to cover behind a piece of debris, and kept low for a few seconds. The noise the eldar gun made faded away, and Darius inhaled deep as he carefully raised his head. The eldar seemed to still be behind the table, so Darius aimed his guns at the table, waiting for it's head to appear. 

The top of a black helmet slowly rose, and Darius took aim. The aliens eyes had barely emerged from behind the table, when Darius fired his guns. The beams tore a hole right between the eyes, making sure it would never rise again.

After repositioning himself, Darius began surveying the room, trying to spot the 4th eldar he had set his sights on, but there was no trace of it. He did however, notice that most of the other eldar had already been disposed of by the astartes. Their corpses full of holes blown out by bolts, with a few mangled beyond recognition.

Seemingly out of nowhere, the 4th eldar took a sprint towards Darius. Baffled by the speed the Eldar had, Darius tried to keep his guns aimed at the creature. Darius fired, but the alien elegantly evaded the shots. Realizing that it would also evade further attempts to shoot it, Darius morphed his guns into blades. The pistols melted away into his arms, and shortly after, two shining pieces of metal were growing out of his arms. They formed into blades, sharp edged and shining as bright as the astronomicon. 

Darius bellowed a challenge to the warrior. "Come face me, you filthy alien! My swords will purge your vile form from existence!" The warrior, halted for a moment, and threw it's helmet off. A nefarious grin became visible. "I shall feast on your soul!" the eldar screamed at it's adversary. As the two warriors began to charge at each other, the eldar drew his sword.

Neither one of them hesitated when their swords clashed. The dark, curved blade of the alien collided with the shining straight edge of Darius' right arm. Darius struck out with his left blade, but the xeno simply moved out of the blade's way. The alien responded by taking a step back while slashing it's sword in an attempt to cut off Darius' head. Darius ducked, and lashed out with his right blade. The blade only narrowly missing it's target. The xeno retaliated by slashing it's blade against Darius' left arm. The attack left a deep gash in Darius' armor, a thin stream of blood pouring out of it. Whilst the attack had wounded Darius, it also gave him a chance to stab with his right arm. 

The alien tried to evade the sharp edge, but it was too late, as the blade had already pierced the alien's chest. The alien thrusted it's blade upwards in a final attempt to take Darius' life. Darius quickly pulled his sword out of the aliens chest, and dodged the strike, while replying with an upwards thrust. The sharp edge of the silver colored blade pierced the aliens neck, and slashed it's arteries. "No more shall you stain this galaxy with your foul presence!" Darius took his blade out of the aliens neck and using both his blades in a scissor like motion, he cut off the aliens head.

Only after the alien's body hit the ground, and the head rolled on the floor, did Darius notice the boltgun aimed at him. Darius did not want to fight a fellow Imperial, so he changed the blades back into hands. The blades retracted back into his arms, and his hands came in their place. He put his hands in the air, and asked the astartes:" Why have you pointed your gun at me? Son of the Emperor, I ask you to let me live, as I do not mean you any harm." Darius kept his hands up in the air, as the marine did not lower his weapon.

Another Marine appeared, and put a hand on the shoulder of the first marine, as if he wanted him to calm down a bit. The second marine then looked at Darius "Identify yourself. Who are you, and why are you aboard this ship?" The marine said.

"My name is Darius Phaestus, and I was taken captive by the inquisitor more than two months ago. The only reason she ever gave was that I was here because of my ''talents''." Darius took a breath and observed the marine. Psychic wards, psychic hood. Without a doubt, it was a librarian.

"Please spare my life, noble Angels of Death, for my time has yet to come. My debt to the Emperor is not yet repaid, I still need to atone for my sins." Darius remained calm, and hoped the marines would see reason in his words. "Please do not deny me the chance to redeem myself." Darius kept faith, as he was sure the Emperor would save him.


----------



## Therizza

Arminius could not believe the events that transpired next. A figure, in what appeared to be Imperial clothing, lashed out with two pistols at the remaining Dark Eldar. The weapons he used did not look normal to Arminius' eyes, in fact they looked more like extensions of his hands. Not a moment later the figure killed another Dark Eldar, this time with blades in place of his hands.

Arminius had seen this trait before, on the battlefield whilst fighting the forces of Chaos. Obliterators could use this same technique, but instead of pistols of blades, they produced lascannons and multi-meltas. Could this man be an agent of Chaos, and infiltrator sent by the Ruinous Powers to sabotage the Deathwatch's holy mission? Thoughts of killing the figure outright came to Arminius' mind, but he opted to query the man and determine his disposition.

Arminius, with boltgun aimed at the figures chest, issued his command.

"State your name, and what business you have on this holy vessel! Do not think to draw a weapon on me, for I will send you back to whatever hell-pit spawned you in an instant!" yelled Arminius.

"My name is Darius Phaestus, and I was taken captive by the inquisitor more than two months ago... Please spare my life, noble Angels of Death, for my time has yet to come. My debt to the Emperor is not yet repaid, I still need to atone for my sins" replied the man.

Arminius weighed his options. If this man was truly repentant, truly sought to be brought back into the fold of the Emperor, he may be of value to their mission, and to the Inquisitor. Space Marines have never been so quick to execute those found lacking in the Emperor's eyes as the rest of the Imperium. Quests of absolution, where a wrong is made right through blood, that of the enemy or the penitant, were common. 

"You are our prisoner now. We will take you to the Inquisitor, and she shall decide what we do with you. Your assistance, though not needed, will be taken into account. If you truly follow the Emperor, then you shall find absolution" was Arminius' response.

He ordered Darius over to wait for the Inquisitors orders. Asking the man to sit on the floor, and with his bolter poised to blow him in two if he dared attack, Arminius voxed the Inquisitor.

"Milady, we have dealt with the situation in the armory. Zero casualties. We have, however, captured a man who calls himself Darius Phaestus. He says he was your prisoner. He lent aid to our cause, and in that I believe you should show lenience in your decision as to his fate. We will secure this location further and await your instructions. Arminius out."

Brother-Nemius seemed to have recovered from his encounter, and walked over to inspect the prisoner. Brother-Nexus did likewise, seeming very interested in the man's mutations.


----------



## Midge913

Numetor stared down the barrel of his pistol and time seemed to slow as it often did on the field of battle. The Wych had drawn another wicked looking dagger with its remaining hand, and with a force of will and the agility of one of the Eldar, began to leap to its feet. It was however a futile effort as Numetor pulled the trigger of his bolt pistol twice and the alien head exploded into a fine mist of bone fragments and gore as the reactive bolt shells found their mark. The things body thumped to the deck to move no more. 

Sacnning the reactor bay Numetor found that his brother marines where dispatching their foes as well. He opened a vox channel as he saw the xenos fall to Imperial arms, "Brothers. Sweep and clear, make sure none are left alive." He saw Mikhael and Helmut proceed to sweep the room and turned a discerning eye on the imperial crew men. 

These deckhands had made a showing for themselves in the battle for the reactor. Dead Dark Eldar littered the floor, and suprisingly the make shift regiment had taken relatively few casualties. He approached a man how was directing others in clearing the room and dispatching wounded enemies, "Well done, man," Numetor commented," The Emperor smiles on your dedication and service." Numetor looked down and saw that the man's last name at least was Callahan," I would know your rank and first name Callahan. I will be making a report of your dedicated service to the Inquisitor." 

"Tiberius, sir...." The makeshift leader stammered out,"Tiberius Callahan, Deck Chief, sir." 

"You have done well Tiberius," Numetor said removing his helm and smiling," and I shall see that your service does not go unrewarded." This was the part of the Imperium that made the years of sacrifice and war worth it to him. Seeing normal men of average standing, perform great feats of heroism. 

He turned his red eyed gaze on his brother marines. He was impressed with their skill and Mikhael had a solid grasp of tactics and proved to be an excellent marine to fight beside. Helmut was an enigma to him though. His skill Numetor did not question, but he had heard tales of excentricity revolving around his brothers from the Blood Angels Chapter. He wondered if removing ones armor on the brink of an assault was something that was normal for those of his position. If could prove to be a weak link in a firing line or an assault if this was to be the norm. He resolved to speak to Brother Helmut about it in the future.

Numetor moved down the opposite side of the room from his brethren and found no enemies left alive. Those who may have survived had obviously fled in the face of their assault, "Cowards..." Numetor growled. He returned to the front of the room and awaited the all clear from his brothers.


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## Protoss119

Mikhael had predicted it this time - the Wych swung her flail at his boltgun, intending to tear it from his hands again - and he ducked and lunged at her with his bayonet. The alien deftly maneuvered herself, leaping into the air and landing behind him, the blades of her flail clicking together again. She ducked down and made a swing for the back of his knees, which were protected only by soft armor. Mikhael swiftly spun about and landed a kick with his right leg, sending her flying into the cogitator console. She lied there, dazed, for only a second, but that was long enough for Mikhael to take aim with his boltgun and fire on her. The Wych's head exploded in a red mist, viscera flying everywhere and a fountain of blood erupting from her neck.

Mikhael felt disappointed that he would not be able to take the alien's head as a trophy to display on his armor, but he knew that to target the head was the only way to be sure. The Tyranids would be unbowed in the face of such a grisly trophy, anyhow.

As the battle died down, Mikhael reloaded and swept the area he was fighting in, finding no further enemies. In an instant, he recalled the shadowy figure that had disappeared when he had tried to fire on it. Certain beyond reasonable doubt that the creature was still alive, Mikhael was compelled to find it and slay it; if allowed to live, it would beyond the shadow of a doubt continue to wreak havoc amongst the crew of the _Abrogation_ - certainly not something anyone would want to deal with in the midst of a Tyranid attack.

"Brothers, the shrouded figure escaped" Mikhael voxed to his peers. "We must find it and kill it. If we do not, I suspect he will continue to wreak bloody havoc amongst the crew. That is something I would prefer we not suffer in the midst of a Genestealer infestation..."


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## DaafiejjXD

"You are our prisoner now. We will take you to the Inquisitor, and she shall decide what we do with you. Your assistance, though not needed, will be taken into account. If you truly follow the Emperor, then you shall find absolution" said the marine who had his bolter aimed at Darius. It meant a lot to Darius that a Son of the Emperor not only spared his life, but also assured him of the fact that Darius can truly find absolution by fighting in the Emperor's name.
Darius was ordered to wait for the Inquisitor to arrive. The marine asked Darius to sit on the floor, the bolted still aimed at him. Darius followed the marines orders without objection, and sat down. 

Darius closed his eyes, crossed his arms to form the aquila, and began to chant the Verse of Absolution.

"May Thee, who guides us all, lead me back to the true, straight path. 
May Thee, who guards us all, cleanse my soul from taint, forgive my sins. 
May Thee, who fights for us all, allow me to do battle in thine name.
I shalt fight for salvation, justice and righteousness, oh benevolent Lord. 
For Thee, my Lord, for Thee."

When Darius had finished his prayer, he opened his eyes and noticed that the marines were observing him. He was aware of the fact that they had taken an interest in his mutations, but thought it to be wise if he kept his mouth shut, at least when not spoken to.

Darius then took a look at his left arm, at the cut the eldar caused. The deep gash had diminished into a small scratch. The metal had repaired itself, just like it always did. The combination of necrodermis and the virus gave Darius an extraordinary ability. His body was able to repair itself after it had taken damage. His wounds never lasted long, as the affected area would start to repair itself within minutes of the attack. If he did not posses this ability, he would be lying dead among the xenos by now.


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## PapaSmurf124

Nemius had finally regained his full composure. His dreams could be dealt with later, perhaps a private message to the Chief Librarian could help to put him at ease. Nevertheless, he had a situation here to deal with. He listened as Arminius commanded the new comer, Darius, to sit and await his fate. Nemius nodded to Arminius, pleased with the decision he had made, and then paced to where Darius had sat down.

"Rest assured, Darius, that we are grateful for the assistance, however unnecessary it may have been. While I was unfortunate enough to not observe your combat prowess, it is my understanding you took out several of the vile xenos yourself. Impressive, I must say," Nemius said him. "I do not feel any Chaos on you, in fact I feel very little psychic presence about you at all, although it does not feel the same as a blank. And I do not see any weapons about you. Tell me, how did you defeat those fiends?"


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## Serpion5

*Valerie*

Valerie strained under the mental onslaught as the last of the xeno elites resisted her efforts to decimate its soul. The preceding combat had seen both of them disarmed, and now they both grappled against one another. 

Valerie needed only survive for another minute, whilst the xeno tried desperately to crush the life from her before it expired. 

She dropped to her knees, the alien`s gauntleted fist around her neck, choking her. Its grip began to slacken and Valerie was able to steal a few lungfuls of air. Her vision began to fade, blurring with the lack of oxygen. 

Then it was over. Its grip was gone and it fell to the floor lifeless, its soul driven to the depths of the warp to who knew what fate. 

Valerie likewise collapsed, conciouss but worn out and gasping for air. 

'Well...' She panted. 'Thank fuck that`s over...' 

- - -​
A short time later, Valerie sat on a bed in one of the medical bays. Her arm was bandaged and in a sling and her wounds from earlier had to be patched back up as well. Beyond this, she had suffered heavy bruising. The medic who had attended her was the same one who had seen to her injuries on the bridge earlier. He did not seem pleased at all to be near her again. 

But then again, nobody ever was. 

As he moved on, she felt no need to stay here. Making her way to the crowded exit of the room, Valerie stopped short as she almost collided with another person. 

Instantly she recognised him, it was the warrior who had saved her earlier. He seemed very different now, there was no tolerance in his eyes and his arm... it had been lost? A bionic now replaced it... 

'What?!' He snarled, taking her completely by surprise. 

'I...' She struggled to find words, simply staring at his arm. 'I`m sorry, don`t know what to say...' Was all she could stammer before turning and leaving the room, visibly shaken. 

She didn`t know why, but somehow, she felt as though it was her fault. It was often so that she could instigate a foul mood in others simply via her presence, even with the damper at full effect. 

After a few steps she broke into a run. She ducked into the first unoccupied side corridor she could find and sat, not wanting any others to see her tears.


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## DaafiejjXD

"Rest assured, Darius, that we are grateful for the assistance, however unnecessary it may have been. While I was unfortunate enough to not observe your combat prowess, it is my understanding you took out several of the vile xenos yourself. Impressive, I must say," Nemius said to Darius. "I do not feel any Chaos on you, in fact I feel very little psychic presence about you at all, although it does not feel the same as a blank. And I do not see any weapons about you. Tell me, how did you defeat those fiends?"

Darius looked up at the large warrior. "Thank you, for the compliments, and for sparing my life." Darius was unsure what he should say against a Son of the Emperor, but seeing the situation, he opted to tell the truth. "The reason why you do not seen any weapons, is simple. I am a mutant, infected with a virus known as the Obliterator virus. The virus merged me with my armor, and enabled me to absorb, and form weapons out of my body. However, the virus is dangerous, and was it not for my mentor, I would have been walking the dark and damned path of chaos." Darius though back of his mentor, tech priest Samuel Indrus. 

Samuel had always been a man with empathy, a human who actually cared about others. Those people were rare in the 41st millennium, most just cared about themselves, or about fulfilling orders. But Samuel, he was different. Although he dedicated his life to the Quest for Knowledge, Samuel was a man who tried to make the galaxy a better place for the human race. A bright star amidst the dark horror that was this age.

--Flashback Time--

"I won't lie to you Darius, if we don't stop the virus now, it might take over your entire body." Samuel carefully arranged the tools he would need for the operation. He slowly picked up a container of sorts, and placed it on the table. As his hands moved swiftly over a control panel, Samuel unlocked the container, and opened it. As the container opened, the content began to shine due to the bright light of the operation room.

"Our only hope to contain, and halt the virus, is this metal." Samuel picked up one of the bars that were in the container. "Necrodermis" Samuel said. "Metal that was used aeons ago by a race fighting the psychic eldar. It has the remarkable ability to partially block psychic energy." Samuel began cleaning the piece of Necrodermis. "As the virus is warp related, this metal should be able to nullify the virus' power, and as such, prevent it from worsening." Samuel took another bar, and started cleaning that one as well. "This metal also possesses the ability to repair itself. Much like your armor is beginning to do." Samuel finished cleaning the shining bars, and placed them on a sheet next to Darius. 

Samuel picked up a piece of breathing equipment, and handed it to Darius. "Lie down on the table, and inhale the gas. It should get you unconscious within 10 seconds." Samuel took one of his tools in his hand, and started cleaning it. Darius inhaled the gas, and all around him began to blur. Another inhalation, and Darius fell asleep. 

--Present--

Darius remembered what the marine said about little psychic presence. " Do you want to know why I have only a little presence in the warp?" Darius looked the marine straight in his eyes. "My body is infused with necrodermis, do you know what that is?" Darius asked the marine.


----------



## PapaSmurf124

"My body is infused with necrodermis, do you know what that is?" Darius asked the marine.

"I am quite familiar. The skin of the Necrons. Psychically resistant, said to house the essence of a C'Tan, although I doubt highly that you have the presence of a Star God within your own necrodermis armor," Nemius said, as he examined the skin. "I am no Tech Marine, so I know not more than that. I am curious as to how you have come into possession of this type of armor, however, as well as how you have managed to survive the Obliterator virus in your state. Perhaps we can speak on this another time. Now, psychic resistance would serve you well in combat with these beasts, but pray that its value as armor will hold true if the Inquisitor allows you to join the battle at hand."

Nemius could feel the eyes of his brothers on him once more. They undoubtedly had questions about what they had seen during the fight with the fallen eldar. Nemius looked at each of them before saying anything.

"Brothers, I can feel that you have questions you wish answered. Please, do not hesitate to ask them, as you deserve to know what you saw, if you are to continue battling alongside me. I can promise you that I have not succumbed to the Ruinous Powers. It takes more than what most think to break the will of a Librarian. The Emperor is the only true light," Nemius said sternly as he awaited a barrage of questions.


----------



## Therizza

The ensuing conversation with the prisoner revealed what in fact allowed him to merge weapon with flesh. It indeed was the Obliterator virus, apparently halted at Stage 5. Arminius did not like this, not one bit. He could still be an assassin. If the Inquisitor deemed it appropriate to bring this mutant into here retinue, he might execute his orders and sabotage their mission. The Ruinous Powers worked in many ways, Arminius knew, with plans reaching across centuries. This could be one step in a massive plan to bring down the Imperium, and with this thought in the back of his mind, he resolved himself to suggest to the Inquisitor that Darius remain with the Deathwatch when they reunited. In the fiercest of the fighting, Darius would truly be able to atone for his past transgressions, in victory or in death.

If this idea was approved, Arminius still had doubts. Would they be damning themselves by utilizing this man whose powers were spawned from a Chaos virus? If only Chaplain Cassius were here. He would be able to put these questions from Arminius' mind.

Regardless, the prisoner was in custody and posed no immediate threat to their mission. Brother-Librarian Nemius had approached, questioning Darius and then stating that he knew the other Deathwatch Marines had questions about his stint in the Warp. This was indeed unbelievable. Their Librarian, sucked into the Warp, reappearing and this unknown mutant calling himself Darius appears. This felt more and more like a Chaos plot with each event.

"I would have words with you, Brother-Librarian, away from our prisoner, if you please" spoke Arminius, and Nemius and he walked several paces away as Nexus took his position guarding Darius.

Out of earshot of the others, Arminius began his questions. "What in the name of the Emperor happened, Brother? It began to rain blood! I have never seen that in all my years of combat. How long were you in the Warp? I know it was not but for a moment here, but the Warp is the realm of insanity, you might have been in there for a century! Quickly, tell me! I fear for your soul."

Nemius replied, and then Arminius let Nemius know his doubts about this prisoner. "Brother-Librarian, you above all know the strange ways in which the Ruinous Powers operate. You disappear into the Warp and this man appears? Coincidence? I think not. He may be an assassin, a pawn placed long before we ever were inducted into the Deathwatch for this mission. As such, I believe that if the Inquisitor decides to let him live, he should fight with us, in the thickest of the combat, and far away from the Inquisitor, the most probable target of this assassin, if he is indeed one. We will be more than capable of dealing with him if he turns hostile, and as with any quest of absolution, he will earn his redemption in His eyes with blood, that of our enemies or his own."

Arminius and Nemius continued their conversation for a bit longer, before returning to the prisoner.


----------



## PapaSmurf124

"I would have words with you, Brother-Librarian, away from our prisoner, if you please" spoke Arminius, and Nemius and he walked several paces away as Nexus took his position guarding Darius.

The two marines took several paces away from the prisoner, Arminius finally putting his bolter to rest as Nexus took his post. Once away from the others, Arminius began the flurry of questions that Nemius had anticipated. "What in the name of the Emperor happened, Brother? It began to rain blood! I have never seen that in all my years of combat. How long were you in the Warp? I know it was not but for a moment here, but the Warp is the realm of insanity, you might have been in there for a century! Quickly, tell me! I fear for your soul."

"Aye, Arminius, I too have never born witness to a storm of blood until this day, but strange phenomena such as this are common around psykers, Imperial or otherwise. With great power comes great peril. It is part of the reason we are so distrusted among our peers in the Imperium. What you saw, both the blood and myself being sucked into the warp, is what is known as The Perils of the Warp. Every psyker fears it, and it can happen to any of us at anytime. Even the greatest Librarian's have suffered the Perils," Nemius began. "The perils can take many forms, Brother. I count us fortunate that I was the only one who suffered severely from them, as I have heard tales of accidental rifts being opened that allow daemons to pour through. As I had said, the blood storm was a first for me as well, but I can only hope it never happens again. As far as to how long I was there? Emperor knows, but it felt like several hours to me. What did I see there? Horrifying images of death, destruction, and slaughter. But fear not for my soul, Brother, for my belief in the Emperor is unshakable. What I saw there only increased my hatred of the Chaos foe!"

Arminius stared at Nemius for a second, slightly startled at the Librarian's gusto, despite his ordeal. Then he continue, "Brother-Librarian, you above all know the strange ways in which the Ruinous Powers operate. You disappear into the Warp and this man appears? Coincidence? I think not. He may be an assassin, a pawn placed long before we ever were inducted into the Deathwatch for this mission. As such, I believe that if the Inquisitor decides to let him live, he should fight with us, in the thickest of the combat, and far away from the Inquisitor, the most probable target of this assassin, if he is indeed one. We will be more than capable of dealing with him if he turns hostile, and as with any quest of absolution, he will earn his redemption in His eyes with blood, that of our enemies or his own."

"I agree, this could be anything, although the necrodermis does intrigue me. I would be interested to know how he came across that. I cannot sense any corruption on him, save for the virus, so I feel we can at least keep him around for the time being. Your plan is very solid, though, as our fighting will be the fiercest and he will get his chance at redemption, if that is what he truly seeks. And besides, he may have bested some filthy Dark Eldar, but to surprise and kill several members of the Deathwatch? The Emperor would not allow it!"


----------



## Jackinator

"I..." She struggled to find words, simply staring at his arm. "I`m sorry, don`t know what to say..."

The woman turned and fled down the hall. Marcus watched her go, angry with himself. He called after her, "Valerie, wait", but she was already gone. He took the bottle from his pockets, weighing it thoughtfully in his hand. It was small and insignificant, but it's contents were potent, strictly speaking he shouldn't have it. He'd palmed it in the infirmary, old habits. Making his decision he tipped one out of the little bottle, dry swallowing it.

Almost immediately he felt it's effects. Chemicals began surging through his bloodstream, but these weren't the enhancing ones he was used to and his system fought back at first. But as the powerful repressor began it's work he felt the resistance go away. He felt his senses dull, returning to a level he hadn't experienced in years, his body slowed, returning to normal human speed and he swayed at the sudden effects. Even his mind slowed. He felt the rage fade, to be replaced with loathing, she hadn't done anything.

He regained his balance and, putting the bottle back in his pocket, strode off down the hall. He had to make amends. But as he paced through the corridors he could find no sign of her, he called her name, "Valerie". And there. What was that? It was faint, he would have heard it easily if he hadn't taken the repressor but now he had to strain to hear it. It was emanating from a side corridor and he stepped into it, his form blocking out the light.

Valerie sat there, her head in her arms, she was crying. "I... I'm sorry", he stayed where he was, not wanting to alarm her, "I shouldn't have treated you like that, not after you saved my life."

She didn't reply so he went and sat down against the wall opposite her, surprisingly he felt no feeling of unease, whatever was in that repressor must affect psychic sensitivity too. 

"Blank?" Still no reply, "I once knew a blank, detestable little man, I couldn't stand him, still, I regretted it when they put a bullet in him..." he let the statement trail off. 

"That's not helping is it, I'm sorry, I just..." They sat there a while. 

"You aren't the same, he revelled in it, enjoyed making people uncomfortable, you just seem... lonely."

He leaned forward, "I owe you girl, you saved me, when I obviously don't deserve it, not after all I've done."


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## DaafiejjXD

"I am quite familiar. The skin of the Necrons. Psychically resistant, said to house the essence of a C'Tan, although I doubt highly that you have the presence of a Star God within your own necrodermis armor," Nemius said, as he examined the skin. "I am no Tech Marine, so I know not more than that. I am curious as to how you have come into possession of this type of armor, however, as well as how you have managed to survive the Obliterator virus in your state. Perhaps we can speak on this another time. Now, pPsychic resistance would serve you well in combat with these beasts, but pray that its value as armor will hold true if the Inquisitor allows you to join the battle at hand."

So the librarian knew about Darius' "curse", and was clearly interested in Darius' case. He was glad with the fact that at least one marine was conversing with him normally. The others treated him like Darius was treated his entire time as mutant, like dirt. 

"I would have words with you, Brother-Librarian, away from our prisoner, if you please" spoke Arminius, and Nemius and he walked several paces away as Nexus took his position guarding Darius.

Darius did not like this, at all. The marine who acted hostile towards him was now talking to the librarian. Darius' suspected that they were discussing his fate. Darius hoped that they would let him live, and give him a chance to redeem himself. 

Thirst, hunger. Darius had both, since he had not eaten nor drank for a long time. He checked his pockets, but there was nothing there. He raised his head, and asked the marine guarding him "Excuse me sir, but do you happen to have something to drink or eat? I have not eaten in days, and have not drank for more than a day." Darius was hoping the marine would even listen to him.


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## Lord Ramo

Nexus nodded at the librarian as he thanked him for what he did, though the room was soon taken over by a new presence. The Dark Eldar were all dead, and it was mainly thanks to a mutant. It seemed that Arminius didn't trust it, so they stood guard making sure that it didn't do anything, though it seemed that the mutant wanted the Emperor's forgiveness. As Arminius had a word with the Librarian, obviously afraid for his soul Nexus stood over the mutant. He was curios at what the mutant really was, and what would happen to it.

At that moment the Inquisitor walked in during their convosation, moving forward. She stopped and took a long look at the Librarian before turning to the mutant, "Ah Darius, escaping from your bonds I see, perhaps we may have some use for you yet. Nemius, we will be having words later about your.... encounter. For now you and Arminius head to the briefing room if you would please, we will make landfall soon." She turned back to Darius and laid her eyes upon him, "Well Darius, I still feel no taint upon your body, and I may need your specialist skill set soon enough. Nemius Arminius would you please take him with you if he wishes to have redemption?"

[Ok, you three head on up to the briefing room, you can talk to each other about your past experiences, for example how Darius got captured, what actually happened. Maybe your introduction into the chapter or being seconded to the deathwatch, a bit more character interaction before we are thrust back into the combat. In the briefing room you can acquaint yourselves with the others you don't know. Nemius, how do you feel about a blank being in the room? Is it painful or just a discomfort. Do you wonder why Nexus is still with the Inquisitor?]

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

As Marcus and Val converse, Marcus deeply apologetic for what has happened a nervous young messenger rounds the corner, relief in his eyes as he spots you two, _"Sir, Ma'am, the Inquisitor requests you move to the briefing room. We are approaching our target and the Inquisitor wants you to meet the rest of the team." _ As you get up to go you notice the man moving away quickly, injured troops moving through the ship to the medicea bay. As you enter you find marines of the Deathwatch there, as well as an interesting figure in Darius.

[Well then, finish off your apology and then head on down to the briefing room, its next to the Bridge, and this is a bit more character interaction before the combat to come. Do you feel awe at the Astartes? Will you be brave enough to talk to them? Or will you keep company with yourselves and Darius? Val how do you feel that there is a Librarian here, are you going to move away from him as far as possible or will you hold your ground.]

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

As you check the reactor, futilely looking for the mandrake you see engineer crew entering the reactor room. It is obvious you are moving on to the primary threat and as you search another alcove a messenger calls up, keeping his eyes on the ground. _"My Lords, the Inquisitor requests you move to the Briefing room. The mandrake will be found, teams of arms men are already sweeping the ship, and should be enough to find him and kill him."_ Though you may doubt this you have your orders, and wont begrudge an inquisitor. The engineers are protected by several arms men, maybe give them a word of advice on leaving. 

[How do you feel about your search being called off? Head to the briefing room where you can interact with the marines that went to the armoury and ask them about what actually happened down there. You can also talk to the humans in the room. How do you feel about the presence of a blank? Does it effect your superhuman abilities? What about the mutant in the corner, obviously he is trusted here.]

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

Zaxius and Sabelline: You two were sent ahead with the techmarine, and are already in the main hive on the planet. So far your movements have been restricted and you have all been following up leads to point you towards the geenesteeler infestation. The governor has been helpful to a point, not wanting you to harass the nobles of the city. You are informed via private vox that the Inquisitor will be there soon and to prepare for her arrival and her large entourage. She asks you two to commandeer a Chimera as her squad will need two transport, and as such you need to head to a motor bay.

The mechanics are initially hostile to you, not wanting to give up a vehicle as they believe that the Guard will need them all as reports of Dark Eldar raids in the sector have been stepping up a notch. One finally relents, allowing you to take an old version of a chimera, battered and bruised it arrived only a few days from the front line. 

[Can one of you drive the vehicle to the landing pad? Are you stressed at the lack of progress made so far? Is Zaxius spoiling for a fight after what he heard happened on the ship, or is he calmed by his sister. What of the mechanics and vehicle you received? Did you feel that they are willing to help the Inquisitor or more afraid of what might happen to them?]

Teuthras Ixion: You were also sent ahead with the two siblings to find out some information. You have had more success, tech priests in awe of your abilities more willing to give up any information that they have to you as you prove your worth as a servant of the mechanum. One tech-priest even tells you that the first hab to experience any sort of mysterious disappearances. This could be something, or it could not be. You have the Rhino APC transport that was sent ahead with you and are told to rendezvous with the siblings at the landing pad.

[Well, what do you think of your time on the world so far. You haven't travelled out of the city and have generally stayed away from all except tech-priests working on all manners of weapons for the Imperium, as well as the siblings. What do you think of them? What do you think about being sent ahead? Do you remember when you were seconded to the deathwatch?]

Ok well a little more character development then we will get into the infestation.


----------



## Protoss119

Time passed, and there was still not a single sign of the figure. Yet Mikhael did not tire; he was certain that the figure had left a trail somewhere, and he would not stop until he had found it.

But, as circumstance had it, the task would not his to accomplish. He watched as teams of engineers accompanied by armsmen entered the reactor and heard someone speak from above:

"My Lords, the Inquisitor requests you move to the Briefing room. The mandrake will be found, teams of arms men are already sweeping the ship, and should be enough to find him and kill him."

Mikhael sighed, collecting his wits before indignation overwhelmed him. The entire raid by the Dark Eldar had been a waste of time, a distraction from their true objective. He was loathe to pass the task of hunting this would-be saboteur to these mere humans, but he remembered that his duty was to purge Scinivelia of Genestealer infestation. Without a word, he joined his companions as they made for the briefing room, relatively certain that the armsmen would meet their ends at the hands of the Mandrake and that it would return at the least convenient of times.

On the way, Mikhael meditated on the word of Theridus. It had been long held that the enemies of the Imperium fear the wrath of the Space Marines above all else, but Theridus had disagreed with that statement, holding that the Imperium's enemies were growing increasingly bold as time passed, even in the face of humanity's mightiest defenders. He held that Space Marines were not invincible, and that their enemies would soon realize how to take advantage of the ideas of honor and nobility so frequently held by many Codex chapters across the Imperium. After Damocles, the Stormhunters fully abandoned those notions, taking glory in the utter destruction of the enemy no matter the cost. This did not mean going so far as to wield xenos or tainted weaponry, but it did mean that they made use of stealth tactics and camouflage not approved by the Codex Astartes and had little in the way of livery and heraldry; thus the armor of their veterans looked rather plain in comparison to other chapters, and they would have it no other way. In so doing, the children of Theridus had been oft-criticized as rebels and cowards and had earned the distrust of several members of the Inquisition, but thankfully it had never been enough to consider them renegade. As it stood, Mikhael considered himself and his brethren pure in the eyes of the Emperor, and he saw no reason to doubt his own allegiance; if he had nothing else in common with his brothers in the Deathwatch, it would at least be his allegiance.

Mikhael entered the briefing room and spotted the rest of his brothers, the ones who had made for the armory. He also spotted a number of mortal men, two of which incensed him greatly.

One of them, a female, seemed completely normal. In fact, he couldn't quite pinpoint what was wrong with her. There was...something, though, that was wrong with her, that he distrusted her for. But what?

He disliked the other for a much more obvious reason. The other, a male in the broadest sense of the word, was a mutant, a deviant from the perfect form of man. The robes he was wearing made it difficult for him to discern just what manner of mutation he was afflicted with, but he spotted patches of dark grey here and there that he took for armor - who else but a mutant would wear clothing over his armor, if it could be called that?

Mikhael sighed and cleared his thoughts. After all, he was the only Astartes on board the _Abrogation_ who did not follow the Codex Astartes, and he would have preferred not to make a bad impression.


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## Therizza

The doors to the room opened, the sounds of machinery echoing throughout the room as the Inquisitor entered the room. Arminius saluted her with the sign of the Aquila as she approached Nemius and himself. After a brief gaze, she spoke to their prisoner.

"Ah Darius, escaping from your bonds I see, perhaps we may have some use for you yet. Nemius, we will be having words later about your.... encounter. For now you and Arminius head to the briefing room if you would please, we will make landfall soon."

"As you wish," was their joint response. Before they left, the Inquisitor asked them to take Darius with them.

They obliged the Inquisitors request, walking next to each other down the corridor to the briefing room. 

"Darius, having been deemed worthy of absolution by the Inquisitor, I believe a proper introduction is in order. I am Veteran-Sergeant Arminius Furien of Ultramarines 1st Company." Arminius held his fist to his chest in a salute. "Forgive my former animosity, as in all of my years of combat, I have always been leery of 'help' arriving at opportune times. To think I thought you an assassin!" Arminius bellowed a laugh that echoed down the halls. "You are truly blessed by He Who is Enthroned on Terra! To fight with the Deathwatch, a greater honor cannot be had by my reckoning. You shall find your absolution, forged in the maelstrom of battle against the foes of Mankind!"

Arminius was obviously not entirely truthful in his positive rhetoric with Darius. Although he may have been a deadly fighter, the Tyranid threat would be more dangerous than the Dark Eldar. Arminius fully thought that Darius would die, albeit a glorious death in prosecution of His work.

"So, tell me, how did you come to be mutated in such a way! The Obliterator virus, very potent. Have you ever seen one fully taken by it? Deadly and insane, to say the least. What did you do before you were this way??

As they walked down the hall, Darius told his tale. Nemius chimed in from time to time, and Arminius thought that this was a good day. More of His glorious work lay ahead, and Arminius was itching to use his Hellfire rounds on some Tyranids.


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## Serpion5

*Valerie*

Valerie listened patiently as Marcus made his apology. Reluctant though she was to show it, she was very grateful to him for seeking her out. Several times before had a situation like this occured, and on both occasions the offender had simply let her go without a second thought. But he had sought her out, he had actively looked to say sorry. She could not begin to describe this new feeling of elation. She looked up slowly, smiling softly, but still words escaped her. 

'Thank you.' She said. It was all she could manage, she`d never ben apologised to before, not ever. 

_Is this how it feels to be someone`s equal?_

'There you are!' A voice called. They looked and saw one of the adjutants from before. 'The Inquisitor has called a briefing in the briefing room, hurry please!' He wasted no more time, rushing along to find the next of his contacts. 

'At a time like this...' Valerie muttered softly, instantly regretting it and wondering if Marcus had heard... 

- - -​
In the briefing room, Valerie and Marcus waited on one side, unable to not notice the several astartes on the other. 

One of them looked at her oddly, and by checking his heraldry and the hood about his head, Valerie realized why. He was a librarian, a psyker. 

_this could get awkward..._ She thought. But she wouldn`t let herself show weakness, whether he was an astartes or not. They were all on the same side after all weren`t they? 

'You`ll have to forgive me astartes.' She called out to him. 'I cannot increase the strength of my dampener any further, but I trust you have the strength to endure? My name is Valerie. Might I enquire yours?' 

Valerie waited with interest to see if the librarian would respond to her. She shot a glance sideways to Marcus, wondering if his mood was at all improving, or whether her presence had kept him feeling sour. 

'Are you alright now?' She asked.


----------



## Jackinator

Valerie looked up, smiling softly, "thank you." Marcus smiled back, feeling some the guilt at his actions ease with her acceptance and forgiveness. He made to speak but a cry interrupted him. "There you are," a young adjutant had rounded the corner and was hurrying towards them. "The Inquisitor has called a briefing in the briefing room, hurry please!" Marcus nodded in acknowledgement and the man hurried away.

_Of all the times..._

Valerie muttered something, it was soft, barely on the edges of his senses. If they hadn't been dulled below their usual enhanced level he would have heard it easily, but as it was he was barely aware that she had spoken. He smiled at her and she smiled uncertainly back, "we should go..."
__________________________________________________________________

The briefing room felt crowded, filled as it were by the massive forms of the Deathwatch. He and Valerie stood to the side of the room and he had taken the opportunity to examine the Marines. They were a varied group, gathered from a handful of different chapters, some he recognised, but others were new to him. There was even a Librarian, that most rare of creatures, although he was looking with some unease towards Valerie, she called out to the Librarian and he moved on to study the others. There was one from a chapter he had never seen before, staring with distrust at the robed man in the corner.

Valerie spoke, "are you alright now?"

He turned back to her, smiling, perplexed by her slightly puzzled look but then remembering that she was a blank, the repressor was still at full effect and he couldn't feel her influence. "yes, I'm not so sure about our companions however," he nodded at the Librarian, then at the other marine and lowered his voice, leaning in so she could hear him "he seems particularly on edge. What do you think?"...


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## Midge913

As Numetor approached the front of the reactor room, Mikhael came across the vox, "Brothers, the shrouded figure escaped. We must find it and kill it. If we do not, I suspect he will continue to wreak bloody havoc amongst the crew. That is something I would prefer we not suffer in the midst of a Genestealer infestation..."

Numetor couldn't agree more. The Mandrakes presence on the ship could not be tolerated. "Understood Brother," Numetor replied, "it would make sense that it escaped from the rear of the room as I know none made it past us. Mikhael take point in a search and destroy formation. We will flush this abomonation out and end it."

He and his brothers gathered and were about to start searching, when Numetor heard the loud his of hydraulics and the door to the reactor opened disgorging a host of engineering crewmen and Imperial Navy security forces. One of these men called out, _"My Lords, the Inquisitor requests you move to the Briefing room. The mandrake will be found, teams of arms men are already sweeping the ship, and should be enough to find him and kill him."_ Numetor was loathe to leave this task to anyone but his brother marines, but in this campaign the Inquisitor had the authority of command. "Understood," Numetor replied to the messenger. "Be wary in your search," he cautioned, "The beast is tricksome and liable to wait for you in ambush."

With that he followed Mikhael to the briefing room. The made the walk in silence. He was unsure as to what Mikhael was thinking, but his brother from the Storm Hunters appeared to be keeping his distance from the rest of the Death Watch. "no matter," Numetor thought, "bonds such as ours are forged in battle, and I am sure that there will be plenty of that to come."

Arriving in the briefing room, Numetor noticed that his brother marines that had assaulted the Armory were already there and unscathed. He also noticed that the room was full of individuals he had not met. There was a palpable tension in the room between Nemius and a young woman on the other side of the room. There was also an air of tension bewteen everyone in the room and a young man that Arminius was speaking with. 

"What a motley crew we are," Numetor thought. He was most interested in learning what each brought to the mission, and he was impatient to begin their assault on the filth of the Genestealer infestation. 

Numetor approached Brother Nemius and asked, "Brother-Librarian how went your assault on the armory? And where is Brother Nexus?"


----------



## Necrosis

"I should be up there, I should be defending my Lord. Instead I am stuck on this world. Force to run errands instead and am I not even able to deal with them well." said Zaxius in an annoyed voice. "How do you think the Inquisitor would react if she saw you like this? She would not be pleased with you." said Sabelline in a calm voice. "You are right sister. Still I am displeased that the tech priest only gave us a damage chimera. The Inquisitor will not be pleased with us." said Zaxius as he looked at the chimera. "What would you have us do? Point a gun at them, take the chimera by force?" asked Sabelline as she checked to make sure all her equipment was working. "Of course not, it just I worry for the Inquisitor life. How am I suppose to protect her and aid her in her mission with a chimera that probably doesn't work well. A lasgun could probably destroy this vehicle!" said Zaxius as he kicked the Chimera. "If that was true brother, then it would have not returned from battle. You see something old and damage, I see something that has been tested in battle and survived. Have faith in it brother." said Sabelline as she tried to reassure her brother. "You speak as if it is a living creature, like a servant of the Emperor. It is a machine, nothing more. It has no faith and no loyalty. It does not care who drives it, weather it be human, xeno, loyalist or traitor. I know you sister, you do not believe in the machine spirit. In fact you see it almost as heresy. But enough we could spend a hundred centuries debating about this. I should have not complained about this vehicle, not while we still have a mission to do." said Zaxius as he got into the Chimera.

Sabelline took one last look at the hive world, wondering how many of people living here were now genestealers. Then she turned her vision to the chimera, taking a look at it before entering. As she got inside she saw her brother looking at the controls. "You've never driven one, haven't you?" asked Sabelline as she looked at him. "No, what about you sister?" replied Zaxius. "I have." said Sabelline as she sat down and began to drive towards motor bay. As she did, she decided it would be best to check on the tech marine. "This is Sabelline, just checking in to make sure everything is OK there Tech Marine. Please respond." said Sabelline as she then waited for a respond from the tech marine.


----------



## Therizza

Reaching their destination, the briefing room, Arminius fell in with the other members of the Deathwatch. Brother Numetor entered the room and came forward to speak with Brother-Librarian Nemius. Brother Mikhail was also present, though he seemed even more reticent than usual. What had happened during their engagement with the Dark Eldar, Arminius thought to himself.


Arminius could not help but notice the rest of the members in the room were eying Darius. They undoubtedly had the same concerns he voiced earlier in the armory. Those thoughts couldn't be farther from Arminius' mind at this point, as Darius had informed him of the strange events that had brought him to this vessel. Arminius deemed Darius a worthy ally, and he would gain his redemption in the Emperor's eyes. 


Arminius approached a man and woman in the corner of the room, conversing in whisper. The man had the look of a mercenary, bionic hand and all. The woman seemed distant, cold, despite her not having spoken yet. _A blank?_ Arminius thought. That would explain Nemius' subtle change in demeanor upon entering the room. Deciding to break the ice, Arminius introduced himself.


"I am Veteran-Sergeant Arminius Furien of the Ultramarines, 1st Company. Veteran of the Battle of Macragge and countless campaigns, I am now of the Deathwatch. What might your names be, and what skills do you bring to bear in our mission against the Tyranid threat?"


----------



## Jackinator

"I am Veteran-Sergeant Arminius Furien of the Ultramarines, 1st Company. Veteran of the Battle of Macragge and countless campaigns, I am now of the Deathwatch. What might your names be, and what skills do you bring to bear in our mission against the Tyranid threat?"

It was one of the Deathwatch who had spoken, an Ultramarine, Marcus had heard a lot about their exploits and knew they were particularly knowledgeable about Tyranids, the threat they had supposedly been sent to combat. Marcus smiled at the huge man, proffering his hand. "Marcus, I'm just here for mayhem sergeant, Valerie here has considerably more tactical application than I do. I just kill people. Ex-bounty hunter and bodyguard by trade."

Pompous bastard Marcus thought, though he didn't say it aloud, the fact that he's a veteran sergeant tells us that he's been in countless campaigns already, he doesn't need to blow his own trumpet. I hope the rest of them aren't like this. "So what do you bring to the table sergeant?"


----------



## Doelago

_"...and Omnissiah be praised."_ He just finished the last rites of praising the Rhinos machine spirit, and was about to embark to the landing pad, when one of the siblings, Sabelline, the hospitaler, voxed him. 

_"This is Sabelline, just checking in to make sure everything is OK there Tech Marine. Please respond."_

_"This is Teuthras. Everything is going according to schedule. Some of the Techpriests have been quite cooperative with me, and I have had varied success. One of the techpriests told me that on the south east outskirts of the inner hive there have been several mysterious dissapearances. How are your investigations proceeding Sister Hospitaler?"_

After that he proceeded to sit down on the drivers seat of the coal black Rhino. It was a fine stead, but its machine spirit was a bit ill tempered and difficult to speak reason to. But it had never let him down. At least not yet. 

He muttered a quiet prayer to Omnissiah before hitting the activation rune, and at once the engines rumbled into life.

As he drove out of the empty vehicle depot, which had served as his personal lab for some time, he could not do anything but think about meeting his brothers again. Not that he had particullary missed them or anything, but he thought more about what vile desecrations towards the machine spirits of their armor had occurred. He was suddenly hit by a very dark thought, which he quickly shrugged away not to insult his armors own machine spirit. He cleared his mind and proceeded to drive on to the landing pad.


----------



## PapaSmurf124

Nemius approached the briefing room, slowly beginning to feel somethign clawing at the back of his mind. It was incredibly uncomfortable, and brought about a bit of fear in him.

_What is this?_ Nemius thought as the feeling intensified. He tried to think back to the dossiers he had been given on each of the members of the team, trying to think if one of them would be the cause of all this. He was still processing it as he walked into the room. His eyes fell upon a young female, easy on the eyes, who was wearing a belt he knew he recognized before. Then his mind fell upon her profile, and he remembered. A blank. The bane of the psyker. What a wonderful meeting this would be. He winced as the pain in his mind intesified.

"You`ll have to forgive me astartes," the girl called out to him. "I cannot increase the strength of my dampener any further, but I trust you have the strength to endure? My name is Valerie. Might I enquire yours?"

"Pleasure to meet you," Nemius forced, feeling as if he would be sick. "I am Brother Librarian Nemius Uclin, of the Crimson Fists, at your service. Do not fear for me, in regards to your dampener, for I will be able to endure. But perhaps upon meeting with our Brother-Tech Marine we could find a way to modify the power of the dampener further. I know of a few ways that it can be accomplished. Please forgive me, as I do not intend that to be rude."

He looked at her and waited for a response.

He then turned his eyes upon the Inquisitor. _How had she known about his mishap in the armory?_ he wondered. _She had not been there, and surely no one on the ship would have had time to stare at a camera of that battle during the fray._ It bothered him, as she should not have known about it, and he had hoped to have been able to move past it without another thought. He did not need his brothers or the other humans on this ship mistrusting him more than he felt they already did. He was, after, nothing more than a sanctioned mutant. Maybe not to the extent of their latest arrival, Darius, but still a mutant in one regard.


----------



## Serpion5

*Valerie*

'...he seems particularly on edge. What do you think?' Marcus asked Valerie. 

She only shrugged, not really wanting to risk a slip of the tongue in the presence of an astartes. She snapped her attention back to the Librarian as he replied to her.

'Pleasure to meet you,' He said, clearly in a strained voice. Valerie could recognise discomfort quite easily after so long. 'I am Brother Librarian Nemius Uclin, of the Crimson Fists, at your service. Do not fear for me, in regards to your dampener, for I will be able to endure. But perhaps upon meeting with our Brother-Tech Marine we could find a way to modify the power of the dampener further. I know of a few ways that it can be accomplished. Please forgive me, as I do not intend that to be rude.' 

Valerie was momentarily silent. She was intrigued, but in truth she doubted the possibilities of this being possible. If the Inquisition could obtain the means to do it, why hadn`t they? Maybe this Techmarine knew more than usual...? She looked back at him and answered. 

'If that is possible, then I welcome it.' She said. After this, she followed the librarian`s gaze to the Inquisitor. 

Why hadn`t she been aware that a stronger dampening system was available?


----------



## Protoss119

"I am Veteran-Sergeant Arminius Furien of the Ultramarines, 1st Company. Veteran of the Battle of Macragge and countless campaigns, I am now of the Deathwatch..."

Mikhael had heard it all before - Guardians of Macragge, favored sons of the Emperor, warriors of Ultramar and the defenders of the Imperium - and all too often during the Damocles Crusade. He was sick of it then and he was sick of it now. Granted, Arminius had stopped at the Deathwatch - but drawing from his experiences and those of his brothers with the Ultramarines during Damocles, Mikhael inferred, correctly or not, that he would have gone on given the opportunity.

Mikhael turned his gaze to Nemius, who was speaking to Valerie, and noted his apparent pain. He heard something about a dampener - a dampener of what?

He thought he had seen something akin to this human before - blanks, he believed they were called. In all his years of service, the Stormhunters 5th company had encountered a mere handful and had heard the resident Inquisitor Julius mention them by such a name once or twice. He did not fully understand what it meant to be a blank until he had witnessed the conversation between Valerie and Nemius and saw the latter in distress.

Mikhael looked around. Everyone seemed to be getting acquainted with each other, it seemed. He could see the merits of it in that to know each other better now might be critical to the mission's success later, but bonds such as those were better formed on the battlefield. In idle talk, sometimes the only thing one might learn from another is that he hates him; the Stormhunters learned this first-hand during the Damocles Crusade.

Nevertheless, Mikhael turned to brother Numetor. _Perhaps it would serve me now to gauge the strictness by which my brothers adhere to the Codex Astartes_, he thought. He already knew that the Son of Guilliman would be strictest in his adherence to the Codex, but as for the rest of his brothers, the subject was a mystery to him.

"Brother Numetor," he started in a low voice nearing a whisper, "I am inclined to ask...what is your standing on the Codex Astartes?"


----------



## Midge913

Numetor was waiting for Nemius to respond when he heard a voice in his ear. 

"Brother Numetor, I am inclined to ask...what is your standing on the Codex Astartes?"

Numetor had actually been expecting this. He turned to face Mikhael, a neutral expression on his face. "Well brother, the codex gives our chapters form and function. It allows us to take aspirants and train them in the use of bolter and chainsword. It dictates the use of heavy weapons, tanks, and other wargear at our disposal. It forms the back bone of the organization that is a chapter." 

He saw apprehension in Mikhael's face, "That being said brother, it cannot, and doesn't dictate the tactics and strategies for every possible situation. It is a guideline brother. It is a way to bring order from the chaos that once was. Sometimes, as I think we will find fighting this genestealer menace, the we must be flexible. We must use all of the considerable might and experience that we all bring to the table."

"I have read some of the reports from the Damocles Campaign. Fierce fighting, and I think that you will bring the lessons learned on those battlefields to the betterment of our mission here," he continued. 

"If you ask whether I support the codex in its entirety, my answer would be yes. Do I believe that one must be flexible on the field of combat? The answer to that would also be yes. But one does not exclude that other in my opinion brother."


----------



## Protoss119

Mikhael listened closely to the Son of Vulkan, weighing his words. He had not considered that flexibility and adherence to the Codex could be mutually inexclusive; certainly, his interactions with many other Sons of Guilliman before his secondment to the Deathwatch did not suggest such. Not that he had any plans to begin adhering to the Codex anytime soon.

Mikhael nodded in agreement with his points. "It would be well and good if more Astartes saw the Codex in such a light, I think" he said, keeping his voice in a low whisper. "As it stands, many are very strict adherents...including our friend here." He motioned toward Arminius to indicate him to Numetor.

"You have read some of the battle reports from the Damocles Crusade, so you might know that in our battles against the Tau, we committed several breaches of the Codex Astartes in order to gain the element of surprise over our alien opponents. We were still adherents at the time, and our allies in the Ultramarines...did not take this well. I am sure you can imagine the fallout, though no blood was drawn by either of us."

Mikhael's features began to show signs of indignation, as though he thoroughly believed he was in the right. "After Damocles, we realized the means by which Roboute Guilliman and Lord Macragge controlled the Astartes, with their Codex's notions of honor and glory, notions that enemies such as the Tau and their allies would readily take advantage of at the first opportunity. So we abandoned it; our founder and lord Theridus decreed that the Stormhunters would be a Codex chapter no longer. We would place flexibility, innovation, and victory over the honor and nobility so touted by the Codex. Unsurprisingly, the Ultramarines and their successors did not take this well."

"These Sons of Guilliman, as we knew them, are arrogant, possessed of the idea that they are almighty and invincible and favored above all by the power of the Codex. Always they spoke of Guilliman and Calgar and Ultramar and Macragge and _their_ victories while the children of Theridus died at the hands of the insidious Tau. Personally, I was sick of it, and my brothers were too."

Mikhael sighed, shrugging. "I do not ask that you detest the Codex Astartes or despise the Ultramarines, far from it. I ask only that you see where I stand in such matters."


----------



## Therizza

_Marcus, I'm just here for mayhem sergeant_

Ah yes, Arminius' thoughts had been correct. A hive ganger would prove useful in their investigation the Genestealer threat. Arminius tried to remember the last time he had fought alongside normal humans. It had been some decades and as he recalled, in support of an Imperial Guard action repelling ork raiders on an agriworld. The Guardsmen fought valiantly, Arminius remembered, goaded into glory by the words of the clergy and the pistol of their Commisar. What amazed Arminius was how they were so easy to break, mentally, and yet were capable of great deeds of valor, with the proper motivation. 

_So what do you bring to the table sergeant_

Insolence, but forgivable. The man was obviously taken aback by Arminius' introduction, but that was the style and there was no gloating meant by the way he introduced himself. 

"I hope you are as sharp with your weapon as with your tongue! What I bring to the table is obvious. The severity of this mission should be evident by the number of Deathwatch present. Keep that in mind, and you may find that you make it out of this alive."

Arminius thanked the man for his introduction and strode away. Arminius' temper had flared, but he successfully resisted the urge to smash the mans head in. Now he remember why he didn't like interacting with humans.

Brother-Mikhail had been staring a hole in the back of his head and he knew it. He was speaking with Brother-Numetor, and Arminius decided he should speak with Mikhail. It was well known that he hated the Codex Chapters, but why Arminius did not know. Perhaps it was his personal loss in the Damocles, or hate mongering by their Chapter's leadership. The brief image of an edict declaring the Stormhunters renegade flashed into his mind. Arminius banished the thoughts, knowing full well he should quash whatever animosity was brewing, or at least attempt to. Hate will hear no reason though, it is said.

Approaching Brother-Mikhail, Arminius decided to put the question to him. "Ah, are we discussing strategy? Tell me Brother, what merits, if any, do you find in the Codex Astartes? I trust there is something of value in it..."


----------



## Tarvitz210300

Helmuts Wytch was much stronger then the others. As he swung his axe ready to kill, she parried, something that had not happened for a while. He was still stronger though and pushed down, forcing the Wytch to escape. She snarled at him and ran to the wall. Her back against it, she was trapped. So Helmut charged forward preparing to finish her off. Suddenly she jumped, flipping over him and landing behind him. Helmut was stabbed before he could move. He saw blood trickle down him, this made him angry. He looked up hatred in his eyes and screamed holding his weapon up high. The Wytch seemed totally calm, in fact she laughed at him. 

The Wytch did not know of the Red Fury or she would have probably shut up. Instead she taunted him " Poor little marine no one to save him trapped bleeding," it went on like that. Soon Helmut could not see, Red engulfed him the mist was blinding. When it cleared, Helmut could not believe his eyes, Horus was standing before him. He looked at himself, he was Sanguis. He reached Horus in seconds, slashing at him like a mad man. Horus tried to parry but Sanguis knocked his sword away, then kicked him to the floor. Sanguis then spoke to him " you were once like us, now you must die," he stabbed. 

The mist cleared Helmut saw what had actually happened. He had hacked the Wytch apart, thinking she was Horus. Helmut was terrified, he had never suffered from the Fury before. He did not now what he could do. Helmut was engrossed in his thoughts and did not help, to find the mandrake until nearly the end. Even then his mind was not on finding the Mandrake his mind was on escaping the Fury. He could not become a flesh craving maniac.

"My Lords, the Inquisitor requests you move to the Briefing room. The mandrake will be found, teams of arms men are already sweeping the ship, and should be enough to find him and kill him." Helmut then snapped back, he had a mission in hand and he needed to concentrate on it. He walked to the briefing room in silence. He was not in the mood to speak with his brothers.

The Room was like a punch in the gut for Helmut, Blood angels were always magical and the blanks presence almost hurt him. He wondered if the pain would get any worse. Then he had an idea, maybe the blank could suppress the Rage. He could test that theory later. Scanning the room he saw a creature in a corner. Helmut could see he was a mutant, yet he was here. He must be trusted. 

Helmut had completely forgot about the wound in his back, it was not bad nothing his body could not heal. When he remembered he looked at himself, he had forgot his power armour. He needed it now " Servitor, as you can see I have lost my armour. I need you and some helpers to retrieve it," he ordered. Then he waited for the Inquisitor.


----------



## PapaSmurf124

As Nemius stood there, fighting the nausea caused by the blank's presence, Numetor approached him and asked, "Brother-Librarian how went your assault on the armory? And where is Brother Nexus?"

"Ah, Brother Numetor," Nemius replied, "the battle went swell. All enemies destroyed without a single major casualty. We picked up a mutant along the way, but it seems that the Inquisitor had commissioned said mutant. I am sure you will hear more about him as time goes on, as he will be joining us, the Astartes, in battle."

Nemius saw the look of perplexity on Numetor's face. "Aye, Brother. The Inquisitor has deemed him worthy to fight alongside us, and he has proven to be a decent fighter by any respect. We believe he will serve us well. As for Brother Nexus? I am not sure. He did suffer a small wound to his leg during the combat. Perhaps he is away dealing with that briefly before rejoining us."

As he finished, Brother Mikhail approached Numetor and they began to speak of the Codex Astartes. _Always a problem, that sacred document_ Nemius thought, as he listened in on the conversation. Some believe it to be a waste, some believe it needs to be followed by the letter. His own personal stance was that it had its uses, but in many situations, especially now, it was best to adapt to overcome your foe. The Xeno scum of this galaxy have already begun to do the same, adapting to the tactics the Codex had aligned so many years ago.

When the two had finished conversing, he observed Brother Arminius approach Mikhail for the same reason, to speak of the Codex. _This could get interesting_ Nemius chuckled. Such a strict adherer to the Codex speaking to one who has completely thrown it out the door. The animosity was thick, and Nemius hoped it wouldn't boil out of control. They were Brothers, after all. He knew it was an all too possible situation, however, as while he liked Arminius, especially his fearsome combat prowess, he knew he had a very short temper, as he observed during his exchange with Marcus.

_Marcus, yes. I surely hope he realizes that not all Astates are like him_ Nemius thought to himself. Nemius doubted he would spend much time in combat with the human crew, but he hoped Marcus would prove as good a fighter as his dossier claimed him to be if he and Arminius ever had to fight together.

Nemius strode towards an empty seat in the room, one that was closest to the humans so as to avoid any more problems between his brothers and them. He was blessed with a gift in interacting with humans. They generally liked him a lot easier than other Space Marines. He was unsure if it was his demeanor, his appearance, or the way he spoke to them, but he did enjoy being the mediator.

As Nemius sat down, the pain and nausea intensified, but he would endure to keep the environment within the room as friendly as possible.


----------



## Jackinator

Marcus watched the Ultramarine turn away and stride angrily back across the room, Arminius joined another group of Space Marines engaged in discussion. He fought to hold back a smile, seeing the Space Marine Librarian sitting down nearby. He strolled over and extended his hand, "Marcus," he said, introducing himself. "I hope you aren't all as self-important as he is," the words were said with a straight face, but his amusement was evident in his voice. "Some of you don't seem to get on well at any rate..."


----------



## PapaSmurf124

Marcus had gotten up and approached Nemius, extending his hand in the old human greeting. "Marcus," he said, introducing himself. "I hope you aren't all as self-important as he is." Nemius could here the tone of amusement prevalent in the man's voice. Nemius rose and shook the man's hand.

"I am Nemius, of the Crimson Fists. Rest assured that we aren't all the same as he. He has a bit of a hot temperament, and the many successes he has had in his lifetime have certainly played upon his character. All I can do is ask that you forgive his behavior," Nemius said, straining to smile despite his pain.

Marcus cracked a smile, and then said, "Some of you don't seem to get on well at any rate..."

"Aye, it is not that we do not get along, but rather one amongst us has abandoned the sacred Codex, while the others still maintain it. Throw in the fact that Brother Arminius is a Son of Guilliman, the strictest of adherents to the Codex, and you tend to have some animosity." Nemius sighed. "I only hope that it does not cause us any unnecessary problems when we are planetside. The majority of us believe the codex has some flexibility built in, and I myself personally believe it is time to evolve our combat style to the ever changing fields of battle. The enemy has already changed their tactics to counter us, why do we not do the same to them?"

Marcus looked at him for a moment, pondering what he has said. Then Nemius looked to him and said, "You were a bounty hunter and a body guard, if I heard correctly. I am sure you have your share of stories to tell. Care to share one?"

Nemius had always enjoyed the stories from his non-Space Marine brethren, knowing that many of them were capable of feats of combat prowess that still amazed him. And besides, he was a Space Marine. He sees their side of the combats every day, but rarely the other. Nemius had hoped that his interest, being genuine as it was, would help to dispel Marcus' doubts that they all would be like Arminius.


----------



## Jackinator

"You were a bounty hunter and a bodyguard, if I heard correctly. I am sure you have your share of stories to tell. Care to share one?"

Marcus smiled, half to himself, "my occupation had none of the noble principles that yours does, in the underhive you do all you can do to survive, selling out the life of a friend for a crust of bread." He paused, thoughtful, a secret hurt hidden behind his eyes, "some of us rise high enough to escape, and I reached that, but turned it down." He looked up at the Space Marine again, "I enjoy it too much, it's why I exist, I earn my keep as what I was, a hunter, a bodyguard, sometimes, a criminal."

The Marine looked puzzled and Marcus continued, "I still keep my skills from my underworld activities, and they apply anywhere within the Imperium, I can access the criminal underworld almost anywhere, you just need to recognise where to look." 

He sat down next to the Librarian. "I have enough experience and enhancements to be more than capable of looking after myself, regardless of what some may think, I doubt whether he would last long without my help, try and crack open the criminal brotherhood by force and you'll meet force back, some gang bosses are so high on slaught and spook they wouldn't hesitate to turn a melta on you, retaliation be damned. You gotta be careful how you talk with these people." He sighed, his past was not something he was proud of.

"What about you? I know you're a psyker, but beyond that, I know little of your kind except how to kill them, if you'll pardon me saying."


----------



## PapaSmurf124

Nemius listened to his story, and was very intrigued. Criminal or not, he has a very unique set of skills, and judging by where they were going, Nemius knew they would need his skills. He was right about trying to crack a criminal brotherhood. Space Marines were mighty, but they can only withstand so much. Nemius sensed a turn in his demeanor, sensing he was uncomfortable with his past. Understandable, but the past is the past. At this point, Marcus had taken a seat next to the Librarian, and was continuing conversation with him.

"The past is the past, Marcus, and I have no doubt you will be a valuable member of the Inquisitor's Retinue, especially for your seeming ability to withstand the presence of the blank. As you are well aware, I am sure, we are venturing to a hive city to destroy a Genestealer threat. Your connections will prove very useful," Nemius said. Marcus seemed to brighten up a bit.

"What about you? I know you're a psyker, but beyond that, I know little of your kind except how to kill them, if you'll pardon me saying," Marcus asked.

Nemius laughed, "Yes it can be a bit tricky to kill a psyker. I discovered my own psychic power when I was young, roughly of age to prepare for the Trials to become a Space Marine. I and my sister had been out one afternoon when we were corned by a pack of large wild wolves. We were both frightened beyond belief, and I believe it was my fear that caused my latent psychic energies to manifest themselves. In my fear, I had ignited two of the wolves, and let out a psychic scream that had rattled the rest of them to their very soul. They fled immediately, leaving both myself and my sister there to wonder what in the warp had just happened. I was even more fearful, for I had heard the stories of what happens to many a psyker, should they be discovered."

Nemius looked to the ground, remembering that day, so many years ago. He continued, "I immediately made up my mind to go and attempt the Space Marine Trials of the Crimson Fists, so that I could hopefully be taken up by the Librarium and avoid my gruesome fate. I was lucky that I was chosen, and have since developed my powers." He looked down again, "Unfortunately I am still considered a mutant, and while psykers have been accepted and sanctioned for millenia now, I still feel as though many distrust us, for we are living recepticals of the chaotic energies of the warp, and many fear that we will turn on them at any time."


----------



## Lord Ramo

Group in briefing room: The door hissed open and the Inquisitor, the Captain of the ship and his security officer walk into the room. Nexus is nowhere in sight however as the doors close. The arms man and captain both view Nemius warily, obviously disturbed by something. The Inquisitor motions for them to sit as she moves to her place in the briefing room. A map of the world, Scinivelia II appeared above the table thanks to holo's.

*"Ladies and Gentlemen, please take a seat. I know you have all preformed admirably here, but the real threat still looms out there. The Genestealer cult is active, and could help to destabilize this entire sector. I have sent an advanced team ahead and we will be meeting up with them as soon as possible."* She paused, taking in all the faces around her. They were the best available, the Deathwatch marines would be crucial burning the xeno menace, whilst her retinue would help her find out how far up the chain of command it went.

*"As you can see the main landing pad is here, where we believe that the infestation is centralized."*, a small red icon appeared in the southern hemisphere with the hive city, *"Judge Darius Bauer, called the emergency after the governor was assassinated, probably genestealers that have infested even the ranks of the PDF. We will rendezvous soon.*"

The Inquisitor stood slowly, armoured fists on the table, *"Head to the hanger bay, we will be dropped soon. Nemius if you could stay behind for a moment? The rest of you dismissed."* Soon everyone had left leaving Nemius, the Captain, security officer and the Inquisitor. *"Nemius, I know you have concerns about my knowledge of you entering the warp, but do you really think that security wouldn't be monitoring the ship? I am giving you a chance to explain, I was informed the moment you returned from your.... Incursion."* The map was replaced by a holo-vid showing him suddenly dissapear then reappear. 

The group move quickly, arming themselves fully and preparing (Any preritual you will go through as a marine or before a conflict) before entering the thunderhawk. Soon Nemius and the Inquisitor joined them and the Thunderhawk left the ship, slipping fast towards the planet. It entered the atmosphere and soon hit the deck.

The ramp descended and the Inquisitor moved out quickly followed by her retinue and the marines. Judge Darius stood in front of her, a rhino one side and a Chimera the other with the rest of the squad waiting at the bottom behind him. Two squads of PDF stood either side and saluted when the Inquisitor came into sight.

The judge and the Inquisitor had a quiet word, away from the rest of the group before the Inquisitor returned. *"Right we have some leads. I believe the techmarine (Who has told the Inquisitor via a private link what he found out) has some information. Nemius, time for you to shine, the genestealer is sure to have some psykers abilities so you will lead the marines under the guidance of your loyal techmarine brother. My retinue, we are going to go to one of the palace of a lesser noble, he has failed to check in the last few days, and the last messengers that the judge sent was two days ago and haven't checked in."*
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Group on the ground: You are soon at the platform, both vehicles slew up together. As you exit you see another two marines, both of them Deathwatch marines. You have arrived earlier, shuttled in via a second strike cruiser in orbit, Perseus Orbit, comitioned temporarily by the Inquisition. On it there were a company of Sable marines, ready if needed. 

(This is just to bring in Gree and LordOfAbsolution, introduce yourselves and do the same when you are in the rhino with the marines.)

Soon you hear a thunderhawk descending, and see the Inquisitor arriving. Just before the Judge in charge of the planet and two squads of PDF arrive and set up as honour guard.

Techmarine, the second you see the inquisitor, you inform her what you have found out as she walks down the ramp and she acknowledges this with a slight nod.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marines: You travel quickly in the rhino, accelerating down the highways. The roads are cleared by two chimera's forging a path for you. You near the first hab to find it completely deserted, two PDF troopers stand there. One moves forward, seemingly awestruck by the marines, "Err, I am afraid you will have to go back... Chemical spill nothing left alive in here." Mikhail, you notice something wrong first, the trooper is nervous, and the second one keeps looking around, attempting not to look at any of you in the eyes.

You move past the troopers saying your armour will handle it when you hear a screech. A horde of first generation genestealers, all of them with four arms charging screaming towards the marines. The two PDF troopers run, straight past the horde which seemingly ignore them. There were at least 30 of them, around 3 each. They are mindless animals in close combat, dangerous. You can't kill more than one out of close combat, they move quickly up to you. The cover of the area around you is low walls, and strewn debris, a sort of slum area of the hive.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Retinue: You follow the Inquisitor into a Chimera, the sister Hospitillar and her crusade brother introducing themselves to you, and you do likewise. The Inquisitor nods, smiling at the ride as she moves into the back. You head north east, Two squads of PDF following you to the estate, a spire in the inner hive. One PDF squad disembarks and waits by the main gates as you pass through. 

The Inquisitor walks down the ramp followed by her retinue. The PDF squad move into the building quickly, scanning the main lobby whilst the retinue follows. The Inquisitor turns to the sergeant,* "Hold the lobby, we are going to check the top floor. If needs be call for backup and get the 2nd squad here, your going to have to clear the lobby and the rest of the building."* The sergeant just nodded, not wanting to argue with the Inquisitor.

You move on up utilizing the elevator to the top floor, the offices of the noble named Gorus Thelian. As the elevator door pings open it is obvious that something is wrong. Furniture is strewn all over the place, there is a distinct odor and the skeleton of a messenger, picked clean hanging from a wall. The Inquisitor pulls out her sword, activating it in one fluid motion. You draw your weapons as a hiss sounded throughout the room. 15 Mutants, 3rd generation genestealers, ones with hunch backs holding clubs and knives move slowly into the light. In the shadows they almost seem to look like human, though its obvious that they are not. They charge forth without a moments thought.

Ok fairly straight forwards, you may be able to take out a one each from range if you have a gun, otherwise it will be hand to hand combat. Darius, Marcus and Sabelline will be able to take out two with their guns, and one in close combat if needed. Zaxius and Val, you are going to have to fight in close combat. You should each be able to take three. A fully-fledged Genestealer creeps up to the elevator, intent on attacking the group from behind to be met by the Inquisitor who launches an attack immediately. 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nexus prowled through the ship, he had his mission from the Inquisitor. The arms team wouldn't be enough to find the mandrake, though the mandrake was different, a notable warrior. Nexus also knew his target, the captain. The Captain was the target as were the rest of the bridge, right now protected constantly by arms men. Nexus growled as he found the bodies of three arms men, each with a twisted scream on what remained of their faces.

They were fresh kills, he was getting closer and closer. Time for the hunter to become the hunted.


----------



## Protoss119

"Ah, are we discussing strategy? Tell me Brother, what merits, if any, do you find in the Codex Astartes? I trust there is something of value in it..." 

Mikhael turned to face Arminius. His facilities were clouded somewhat by indignation, but he was prepared to give an honest answer.

"Perhaps. Maybe. The organizational standards set by the Codex still hold some value. But it is not a holy text, as you and your kin continually suggest, to be followed to the letter. Innovation, guile and cunning are required to prevail over a foe, and we have found that many Codex conventions run contrary to that idea.

"Mark my words, brother; there will come a time in which our enemies learn to exploit the knightly notions of honor and nobility your primarch so espoused. The Tau and their nefarious allies did just that during the Dal'yth stalemate, and we suffered for it. _That_ is why we abandoned the Codex; Guilliman's grip drove us into the ground!"

Mikhael sighed after he heard Arminius's response, letting his anger drain from his senses before the situation got out of hand. "But I was not seconded to the Deathwatch to quarrel with my brothers. We have xenos to kill."

Moments later, he heard the hiss of a door and the figure of Inquisitor Sylivian herself emerged. Mikhael diverted his attention to her as she briefed the assembled humans and Astartes as to the nature of their mission. His brow furrowed when she requested to see Nemius for a moment; what possible interest could she have in him? Without knowing what occurred in the armory, he could not have guessed. Regardless, he was dismissed with the rest of the group and made for the armory.

There he restocked, grabbing frag and krak grenades, an extra magazine of standard and kraken bolts, and a mono-edged combat knife in case his boltgun was knocked out of his hands again. Mikhael also traded the boltgun he had brought with him for one with a shot selector that was so vogue within the ranks of the Deathwatch, making sure to reattach the bayonet, but he promised its machine spirit that he would return.

Mikhael returned to his quarters for a brief moment. They were small and spartan, with only a stone slab to rest on, but in the center was a stone figure of a helmed Space Marine in Terminator armor, raising his power sword into the air with his left arm. He knelt before it, his personal shrine to Theridus; his Chaplain, Dethicar, had long been a believer in the idea of the Stormhunters' obedience to their "Master in Three Persons"; in essence, he held that the Stormhunters were sworn to the Emperor, to Rogal Dorn, and to Theridus all the same.

Theridus was not only the present Chapter Master but also their founder. It was a point of great pride to the Stormhunters that their founder would be alive for three millennia; even after suffering supposedly mortal blows, Theridus would rise again, convalescence after convalescence. That was what he had heard, anyhow; strangely enough, only the Stormhunters' 1st company and Inquisitor Julius bore witness to such miraculous events, and beyond that, they did not reveal much. Nevertheless, because of this, the Stormhunters often revered him as being blessed by the Emperor himself, and Mikhael was no exception. As he knelt, he offered a prayer to Theridus, to Dorn, and to the Emperor, asking his master-in-three-persons to empower him with pure thought and iron will, to grant him the zeal and the righteous hate to strike down the alien. Afterwards, he left his shrine and joined his brothers in the Thunderhawk...

_My armor is contempt._


----------



## Gree

The Thunderhawk touched down on the ground, the backwash of the jets sending dirt flying low. Some of it hit the ankles of Vandius, but the Praetor hardly cared. His weapons where mag-linked by his side. To the entire world he looked like a statue.

The planetary Judge and the PDF had already arrived and set up in formation, rather speedily in Vandius’s opinion. He had removed his helmet, mag-locking it to his side. He sniffed the air briefly, tasting the chemicals in the air.

It was a gift of the geneseed of Guilliman, affording the Marine enhanced senses far beyond a mortal.

Nervousness and fear from the PDF troopers. It was to be expected of course. An Inquisitor was coming here. Even if they were to help their very presences often brought dread for obvious reasons. Vandius had never felt the sensation of course. He was Astartes and beyond fear. The very sensation to him was as alien as an ork or elder.

There was fear too from the troopers about the Astartes. Again, something to be expected. Most Imperial citizens never even saw an Astartes, let alone one of the Deathwatch who were only shadowed legends in the Imperial military. It was part of the nature of men like these PDF to fear the Emperor’s Angels of Death.

Post-Human. Genehanced. Supermen. He was to a human as a lion was to a household cat.

There were two the Astartes with them. Both Templars, if Vandius remembered correctly. Gene-children of Dorn, Guilliman’s brother. A forty years ago Vandius had fought alongside them as part of the Balur Crusade, although his interaction had been brief.

One was called Dominicus, they had introduced themselves to each other briefly on the trip down. The other, a blessed Techmarine was unknown to Vandius, although he would ask for his identity soon. He felt a sensation that he was almost embarrassed to call nervousness. Here he was, cut off brother his battle brothers and thrust into a new situation.

_You represent your chapter here_, thought Vandius.

As he saw the shape of the Inquisitor come he raised his fist to his chest in salute and gave a respectful nod.

‘’Greetings Inquisitor. I have been waiting for you, I am Vandius of the Praetors of Orpheus. What are your commands?’’

_That should be good._ Vandius thought to himself. Polite and respectful for a first impression. Behind her he saw more Astartes emerge.


----------



## Therizza

Mikhael's response was to be expected. More blood and thunder about how the enemies of the Imperium would learn the Space Marines' tactics and exploit them in the future. The mere thought was heresy. If not for the Codex, how many times would the Horus Heresy have been repeated? If not for the Codex, how would the Imperium have halted Abaddon's Black Crusades? Regardless, Arminius' answer was brief, as he did not want to incite Mikhael any further. There was no convincing him, or even speaking reason. Hatred clouded his logic, but Arminius could not blame him.

The doors to the chamber opened, and in came the Inquisitor, the ship's Captain and his security officer. _Where is Nexus?_ Arminius thought to himself. The Inquisitor briefed the group on targets and insertion points. After being dismissed and noticing Nemius remaining behind with the Inquisitor, Arminius left the room and headed for the armory. He briefly pondered the content of Nemius' debriefing with the Inquisitor and then banished the worst outcomes from his mind. Entering the armory, Arminius replenished his supplies. Several fresh magazines, frag, krak and smoke grenades as well as a MK III bolt pistol found their way onto Arminius' kit. Arminius then exited the armory, found an unoccupied room and entered, sealing the hatch behind him. 

Laying his bolter, pistol, chainsword and helm down, Arminius kneeled before them. Closing his eyes, he reflected on what had happened thus far, and what was to come. Mikhail's statements about the Codex leading to the death of his battle-brothers stuck with Arminius, despite his trying to suppress them. He remembered his youth, on fair Prandium, working on his family's farm. _Why did they have to die?_ He asked himself. _Why could we not save them?_ Was it the Codex's failings? Arminius refused to believe it. Marneus Calgar lead a valiant defense, but the Hivefleet was too great. A tactical withdrawal was necessary to protect the Ultramarines ability to defend Macragge. These thoughts still lingering in his mind, Arminius recited his Prayers of Accuracy, beseeching the Emperor to guide his bolt and blade. Swearing an oath to avenge his fallen comrades from the 1st Company in the Northern polar fortress all those years ago, the same as he had done before every major battle, Arminius stood. Securing his chain sword and pistol to his hip, Arminius then secured his helmet. Grasping his bolt gun, Arminius left the room and proceeded to the launch bay.
_
My sword is hatred_


----------



## PapaSmurf124

Just as his conversation with Marcus had ended, Nemius heard the door behind him hiss as it opened. He immediately rose and turned, to see who it was that had entered and to show them respect accordingly. He saw the Inquisitor, followed by the ship's Captain and a security officer. All of them looked upon him in seeming distrust and disgust. _Great_, was Nemius' only thought. He turned and looked upon Marcus, who had noticed the look Nemius had received.

"You see what I mean?" Nemius said quietly to the human. Marcus simply nodded in acknowlegement.

Nemius listened intently to the briefing they received, making mental notes on the main points the Inquisitor brought up. Upon completing her briefing, she requested that Nemius stay behind. Nemius sighed heavily. _It never ends_, he thought as he remained where he was. He could feel the gaze of several different individuals fall upon him as they left. _By the Emperor, if she questions my faith..._

"Nemius, I know you have concerns about my knowledge of you entering the warp, but do you really think that security wouldn't be monitoring the ship? I am giving you a chance to explain, I was informed the moment you returned from your.... Incursion," the Inquisitor said, and the Captain and security officer continued to scowl at him.

"My time in the warp is something that I will discuss with my Chaplain and Chief Librarian. Rest assured that my faith in the Emperor remains strong, if not stronger than before. All that need concern you is that I have suffered from an extreme case of the Perils, but have made a full recovery. Consider it lucky that I was the only one who suffered anything from that trip, as the Perils could have thrown a larger rift that would have destroyed the ship, or could have even sent a fearsome daemon prince for us to contend with. I feel that we got off easy," Nemius said sternly. The Inquisitor seemed surprised at his tert reaction and refusal to give further information.

"My only concerns with you knowing of my Peril is that it seemed a bit...odd that something so small and trivial to those not present would have been noticed during such a time as the defense of our ship. Now I have a question for you. I sense Nexus is not going to be accompanying us to the surface. Where is he, and what task have you given him? Not having an Apothecary for the battle we are preparing to face will be troublesome." Nemius awaited a reply.

"Now, if you have no other questions for me, I will be on my way. I need to prepare for the coming battle." With that, Nemius turned and left, feeling frustrated by what he had just endured. It was such a small event to those outside of the room. Why was it necessary to question him about it? It was obvious that the ship's crew no longer trusted him, as they thought him corrupted. But in the situation that they had been in, could he not have destroyed them all in that briefing room without a second thought if he had been corrupted. _Nevermind it,_ Nemius thought. _They know not what it is to be a psyker. Let them believe what they will. Your actions will speak much louder than their words ever will._

Nemius returned to the armory and found it relatively empty. In fact, he though he saw the last of the group leaving for the shuttle bay as he entered. He browsed a selection of weapons, hoping to find something he desired, but was left wanting. A bolt pistol and Eckerd was all he needed, and none of the items the armory had on hand were desirable to him. He simply grabbed a couple of extra clips for his pistol and returned to his quarters briefly.

Upon arriving at his quarters, he knelt and said several prayers to the Emperor. He then paced over to his storage chest, and withdrew a small box, similar to that of a jewelry box. He opened it, and in it was a necklace, with a pendant of blue steel shaped in the form of the Crimson Fist's Chapter symbol. He removed the necklace, and placed around his neck. He felt the holy hum of the pendant as it fell into place, the blessing of his Chaplain upon it. _May this holy symbol protect you from the denizen of the warp, and allow them not to play any tricks upon you,_ he remembered the Chaplain saying as he blessed the item. _Yes, Brother-Chaplain, may it protect me from all that is unholy._

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

Nemius arrived to the Thunderhawk just before the Inquisitor did. He had anticipated being questioned by someone about the Inquisitor holding him back, but no one said a word as she entered in behind him. As Nemius was unlucky enough to be one of the last on board, he was also the one forced to be closest to the blank. The intense nausea instantly returned, and he knew it would be a rough ride down.

She looked at him and smiled pitifully. She knew she was causing him excruciating pain, and she did not seem to revel in it. Nemius retrieved his Data-slate, and pulled up schematics of the special dampening field that he had known about.

"I had been assigned to retrieve a Tech Priest from an outpost during a Tyranid attack many years ago," he began, noticing her shocked expression. "When we arrived, the priest had already been wounded, and most of his protection slaughtered. He approached me, and handed me this data slate. It contained many, many files that he had retrieved, but he requested that I protect only one file on this slate, the one this dampening field, until I saw it fit to be used one day. Why, I still to this day do not know, but I have continued to guard this knowledge until this day. I deem this the moment he told me to wait for. I will find out if this is doable, and I will get this to you, for both of our sakes."

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

The ride down could not have been over soon enough. Nemius had been sick several times on the way down, attributing it to his close proximity to Valerie. The others made a few jokes about his weak stomach, as it was expected, and he laughed along with them. It was, after all, humorous to see a Space Marine vomiting on a shuttle down to a planet.

When they arrived planet side, they were met by 3 other Astartes, as well as 2 other humans that seemed to be connected to the Inquisitor and the planetary Judge. This day would be an eventful one indeed.


----------



## LordOfAbsolution

Dominicus passed back and forth along the landing platform, his right hand constantly on the side of his storm bolter's holster. After a few moments he stop within a few metres of his chapter brother Teuthras and looked up towards the sky then back down to face him directly.

"Brother, This planet doesn't feel right, feels like Armageddon during the Helsreach siege" Dominicus paused for a moment "let us pray to the Emperor that it doesn't end up like that" he finished as the sound of the heaven's roaring with the engines of the Thunderhawk became louder. Dominicus turned to face the approaching craft as it eased in to land, tensing his muscles under his armour as to loosen them up and crack joints, Dominicus stood straighter and taller waiting for the Inquisitor to approach them.

... as the Inquisitor along with his retinue departed from the ship Dominicus noticed another Deathwatch member with them, as glanced towards the marines shoulder pad bearing which chapter he came from and noticed the red iron fist of the Crimson fist chapter "more marines and one of the Crimson fists, this should get interesting" he muttered loud enough for Teuthras and Orian to hear as he made his way towards the retinue.


----------



## Therizza

As Arminius boarded the Thunderhawk transport, he said nothing to his Brothers already aboard. Taking a seat opposite of the blank, Valerie, he secured himself with the restraints. Arminius mused silently how he always preferred a drop pod insertion, but today's mission called for a somewhat more subtle entrance.

A moment later, Nemius boarded the vessel just before the Inquisitor arrived. _What had they spoken of?_ Arminius wondered before refocusing on their mission. There would be time enough after to discuss such things. Nemius was forced to sit next to Valerie, and he seemed to Arminius to visibly turn several shades greener as the craft descended through the atmosphere.

"What ails you, Brother-Librarian? Have you been too long from trans-orbital flight? You seem as a Neophyte undergoing a rite of passage!" Arminius jokingly said to Nemius. The Battle-Brothers all laughed at the comment, and even Nemius chuckled.

As the transport descended, the pilot came over the vox, "we are entering the lower atmosphere and will be experiencing some chop. Arrival in five minutes." The Thunderhawk juddered suddenly as it crashed through the clouds, but the skillful pilot corrected for the turbulence. The vessel approached its target, a series of landing pads, and began docking procedures.

As the ramp of the Thunderhawk opened, the image visibly shook the massed PDF troops. The Inquisitor lead the contingent down the ramp, with here retinue flanking her. As the Deathwatch Marines emerged from the vessel, Arminius thought he saw one of the troops almost faint as the group approached.

The visage would have been terrible to behold, if one did not know the reason for the Thunderhawk's arrival. An Inquisitorial retinue accompanied by a large group of Deathwatch Marines. That was usually the sign that the shit had hit the proverbial fan, or the prelude to Exterminatus.

As the Inquisitor spoke with a local dignitary, Arminius appraised the situation. A Rhino and a Chimera transport, two squads of PDF, a Crusader and Sister Hospitalar and three more Space Marines were present. Two Black Templars and what looked like a Praetor of Orpheus. _Praise the Emperor_ Arminius thought. No longer would he be the only son of Guilliman on this mission. He would have to speak with this as of yet unknown Praetor.

Leaning over, Arminius tried to whisper something to Marcus. "Ach, PDF, all they're good for is dying, don't you agree? I would rather have a squad of Inducted Guardsmen. At least they can fight as well as they die." Hoping this would quash any animosity between them, Arminius proceeded to the Rhino and introducing himself to his new comrades.


----------



## Serpion5

*Valerie*

Valerie listened intently throughout the briefing, taking note of as much detail as she could. What she knew of genestealers was that they were formiddable close combatants, able to breed hybrids into local populations and take control from within. From the sounds of them, there would be few people on the ground they could trust. 

Following this, the group was dismissed. Valerie returned to her personal quarters for her final preparations before the departure. She drew her wardrobe out and changed outfits, replacing the worn out gear she had been fighting in and replacing it with a fresh set, taking a quick five minutes to shower in between. When she had changed, she took out her weapon sets and debated with herself for a minute before finally deciding to keep the twin sword fitout. She sheathed them both at her waist, and lined the inner pouched of her suit with as many throwing knives as the suit would carry, all up totalling about fifteen. 

After ten minutes of preparation, she was ready, and proceeded to the embarkation deck. Alas, her somewhat inconvenient timing saw her having to board near the librarian. 

_Great. As if I`m not enough of a burden already._ She thought, struggling with the guilt of the pain she was causing him. She boarded after the others and the Inquisitor, trying to focus what little null energy still emanated from her into a single spot on the floor. It was difficult, but she reasoned that the astartes was more valuable than her on this mission.

It did not seem to help however. The poor librarian threw up several times despite her efforts... 

He informed her of the techmarine and schematic for strengthening the dampener on the way down. She smiled gratefully, and replied.

'It would be fantastic to be able to mingle with others without drawing so much attention.' She said. 'At least, not this kind...' 

- - -​
Once on the ground, they disembarked and Valerie made a point to distance herself accordingly from the astartes, but not too far from Marcus. She awaited patiently as the Inquisitor had a word with one of those arrayed before them. She returned moments later, and they approached a nearby Chimera with several of the newcomers. 

A sister of the Order Hospitaller and someone who appeared to be a crusader from the ecclesiarchy. Val silently wondered how Marcus would react to them, and they to him? 

Valerie greeted them both with a curt nod, declining to offer her hand for their sakes. 

'My name is Valerie.' She said. 'You may find some discomfort in my presence, for which I apologise. I hope we can work alongside one another regardless.' 

When the introductions were complete, the group boarded the Chimera.


----------



## Jackinator

“You see what I mean?” The Librarian was commenting on the looks of fear and suspicion worn by the men who had just entered. Marcus just nodded, frowning at the men’s behaviour, then he dismissed it, sitting forward for the Inquisitor’s briefing. The situation she outlined did not sound particularly friendly, an assassinated governor meant the infestation was far more advanced than he had hoped.

He stood, leaving the room with the others and then cutting off back to his quarters. He washed quickly then replaced his damaged coat and body glove, slipping on a fresh body glove and a dark combat jacket. He looked at his punctured coat ruefully, he’d have to repair it later, he didn’t have time now. Realising the time he headed down the corridor, ducking into the armoury to stock up. Feeling the comfortable weight he hurried off to the hanger

He was relieved to see he wasn’t the last to arrive. Stowing his shotgun in the overhead rack he took a seat by the side hatch, pulling the acceleration harness down and locking himself in. Valerie arrived and took one of the last seats, then the Librarian followed by the Inquisitor, Marcus grimaced in sympathy. As it turned out even the Space Marines hardened constitution couldn’t stand up to the close proximity of a blank.

The Thunderhawk’s jets flared as they came into land, hovering above the pad before dropping gently onto it’s landing gear. Marcus was up and out the hatch before the backwash from the landing had dissipated, the artificial wind blowing up dust and other debris as the main ramp came down. Over to the side was a waiting Chimera, two people standing in front of it. They looked similar, brother and sister? He strolled round to the rear of the craft to rejoin the others. Then as he turned to go with them to the Chimera he felt an armoured gauntlet on his shoulder “Ach, PDF, all they’re good for is dying don’t you agree? I would rather have a squad of Inducted Guardsmen. At least they can fight as well as they die.” The Marine sounded pleased with himself, obviously proud of this masterful ‘diplomatic’ move.

Marcus turned to the hulking figure, furious, snarling “no you arrogant bastard, these soldiers are people, they might not be as strong, or as fast, or as skilled as you are, but they enlist to serve the Emperor, and despite your assumed superiority they are just as important to him. In fact, they are braver than you, they do not have your armour, your weaponry, your benefits, they might be inexperienced but I have seen much men sacrifice everything for His glory. Give them the respect they deserve, for you have forfeited mine.”

He stormed away from the Space Marine, not giving him a chance to respond. He fought to control his anger, he’d actually come close to punching him, not that it would have done much good. He sighed, unfortunately such men were the defenders of the Imperium, he was only glad that they were not all so damned superior. Nemius for one, an insightful man, but perhaps his position as an outsider made him that way, he hoped it was not so. No doubt they would be fighting alongside the Space Marines at some point in the future.

He forced himself to calm down as he neared the Chimera, he smiled and nodded at Valerie, who had already introduced herself, then he proffered a hand to the other two. Closer up he could see the similarities, definitely brother and sister. The brother carried the heavy shield and ornate power sword of a crusader, but the other was a Sister Hospitaller, an unusual combination of skills, still, they must be good, or they wouldn’t be here. “Marcus,” he smiled, “so how did you get yourselves into this trouble then?”


----------



## Protoss119

Mikhael arrived at the Thunderhawk in short order and took his seat, securing his harness. Nemius was the last to arrive; without knowing what occured in the armory, he would remain confused as to why the librarian would be kept by the Inquisitor in the first place. Not long afterwards, the transport departed.

Mikhael kept his eye on the nauseous Nemius, but at least this time his expression was one of genuine concern for his fellow Son of Dorn. Auspicious fate had placed the librarian and Valerie right next to each other, and given what he had gathered so far about blanks...

"What ails you, Brother-Librarian? Have you been too long from trans-orbital flight? You seem as a Neophyte undergoing a rite of passage!"

Mikhael stifled a laugh. There was little that he found humorous about a sickened Battle Brother, and a Son of Dorn at that, especially given that the Adeptus Astartes were blessed with immune systems far superior to the common man. However, there had been something of a wave of distrust towards psykers early in the chapter's history, and while not everyone bought into it, the distrust persisted to this day. For his part, Mikhael did not hold a notable distrust of psykers, but he took great care in interacting with them.

After experiencing some atmospheric turbulence, the Thunderhawk landed. Mikhael emerged, along with the Inquisitor, her retinue, and his Battle Brothers, to the sight of members of the PDF looking upon them in awe. And as he heard Arminius's comment and Marcus's angry reply, he kept silent. _A prime example of the arrogance of the Sons of Guilliman_, he thought. Admittedly, he found that he would have agreed with the Ultramarine's statement; in his experience, the PDF, like most mortal men, were little better than meat shields against the myriad enemies of the Imperium. Even so, that probably wasn't something to say to a mortal man.

In what he took to be a mixed blessing, he spotted three more battle brothers ahead near a Rhino transport. One of them was a member of the Praetors of Orpheus chapter; _Another one of Calgar's puppets_, Mikhael thought to himself.

But the other two brought him joy; two members of the Black Templars chapter. The Black Templars had long been an influence upon the Stormhunters; along with being fellow Sons of Dorn, theirs was not a Codex chapter, and they, in their zealotry and their ruthlessness, had been an inspiration to them. Even if they differed substantially in combat doctrine, the two chapters had historically gotten along very well.

Mikhael banished the thoughts from his mind; the time for quarrel was done. As he looked upon the Praetor, whose chapter was machine-savvy by repute, and upon the Techmarine, his mind became alive with memories. He remembered an old friend from the 5th Company, one Nikephoros Komnenos, with whom he served alongside in the Zalost Campaign. The Stormhunters had the rare opportunity to fight alongside the Iron Hands in that campaign; despite the Iron Hands' reclusiveness, brother Komnenos had evidently managed to at least interact with them, but he changed with every visit. Influenced by the ideals held by Ferrus Manus, he began to become a recluse himself and maintained his wargear to the highest standard he could. Things came to a head after the campaign when he obsessively refused to part with his plasma gun until the chapter's Techmarines forced it from his hands. From then on, he sought to replace more and more of his flesh with bionics and steel. Needless to say, he was never quite the same to Mikhael, and their friendship deteriorated.

Mikhael shook the memories from his mind. That was decades ago, and the time for contemplation was gone. If there were bonds to be forged, they would be forged in battle and not in idle talk. Nevertheless, he was eager to meet the two Black Templars, and he followed his brother marines to the Rhino in order to meet them.


----------



## Therizza

Marcus' reply was not expected by Arminius. He had the notion that Markus had had many a run in with the PDF in whatever hive he spawned from. Humans, Arminius had obviously lost touch with them, after nearly three centuries as a Space Marine. It did not matter, for soon he would no longer have to interact with them. The Deathwatch's mission was clear: board the Rhino and move to contact.

Nearing the Rhino transport, Arminius hailed his new comrades. "Hail, Brothers. My name is Arminius Furien, First Company, Ultramarines." The Techmarine replied in the manner customary to those of his calling, while the Sword Brother was short with words nevertheless conveying the zeal of his Chapter. Arminius had always had nothing but respect for the Black Templars, constant crusaders for the Emperor, despite their not adopting the Codex all those years ago. The Praetor seemed more apt to converse, as they both shared the same Primarch's geneseed.

After the brief introductions, Arminius boarded the transport, thanking the Rhino's machine spirit for carrying them on their mission. Locating a seat, he secured himself. Remembering all that he had learned under Chaplain Cassius, Arminius resolved to do whatever was necessary to combat this tyrannid infestation. If that meant adopting some of Mikhael's tactics, Arminius would risk the Death Oath to complete this Deathwatch mission. 

If the genestealer threat was as dire as was indicated, their movement to contact would be short. Giving his weapons a brief check, Arminius steeled himself for the coming fray...


----------



## Midge913

As he stood speaking with Mikhael and the others Numetor heard the door of the briefing room hiss open and as he turned to look he saw Inquisitor Sylivian, the ship's Captain and Security Officer all enter through the now open door. As they walked by Numetor couldn't help but notice the fact that the Captain and Security Officer both eyed Nemius with wary distrust. Numetor wondered what had happened in the armory to warrant such a change in behavior. 

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please take a seat. I know you have all preformed admirably here, but the real threat still looms out there. The Genestealer cult is active, and could help to destabilize this entire sector. I have sent an advanced team ahead and we will be meeting up with them as soon as possible," Inquisitor Sylivian began looking at each of them in turn. "As you can see the main landing pad is here, where we believe that the infestation is centralized. Judge Darius Bauer, called the emergency after the governor was assassinated, probably genestealers that have infested even the ranks of the PDF. We will rendezvous soon." As she spoke the Inquistor gestured to the holographic display and a small red blinking dot appeared in the southern hemisphere of the hive city. Sylivian stood slowly from the table, armored gauntlets resting on the table, and commanded,"Head to the hanger bay, we will be dropped soon. Nemius if you could stay behind for a moment? The rest of you dismissed."

Numetor was concerned by the fact that Nemius had been singled out from the group. This was not the time for the Inquistion to become suspicious of their own, and Numetor had personal experience with their fanatical paranoia. Nemius' skills would be of great help to the Death Watch's mission. Another thought struck Numetor, he had not seen Brother Nexus since the Marines had split up in the hangar bay. He had not heard of him falling as a casualty against the Dark Eldar, yet he wasn't present for the briefing for their primary mission. Numetor was loathe to engage this Tyranid menace without the skills of an apothecary to bolster them...

Pushing his doubts to the back of his mind he rose with the rest of his companions and exited the briefing room. He made a quick stop by the armory to replenish his ammo and grenade supplies. He also filled the promethium tank for his combi-flamer to capacity and collected an extra combat knife. One could never know what was needed when making planetfall. Best to come prepared. He made his way to the hangar bay where he was met with the familiar sight of an awaiting Thunderhawk. Climbing up the ramp he saw that many of his brothers, as well as the Inquisitors retinue, had already come aboard. He stepped the front of the craft and found the seat next to Brother Mikhael open. He sat, stowed his bolter in is securing mount, and secured his harness. 

"At last we get to it Brother," he said quietly to Mikhael,"I relish the coming assault. If nothing else we may find that Arminius is to busy fighting to talk much." To which Mikhael chuckled. 

Looking down the compartment Numetor found that Nemius and the human Valerie were just coming on board. Numetor did not envy Nemius at all being forced next to the blank. It was uncomfortable for most, but it seemed as though it may be too much for Nemius to endure. He looked as though he was going to be ill. Sure enough as the Thunderhawk left the ship and was making its way to the planet, Nemius vomitted several times. 

"What ails you, Brother-Librarian? Have you been too long from trans-orbital flight? You seem as a Neophyte undergoing a rite of passage!" 

Arminius yelled down the aisle. Numetor laughed with the rest of the Marines, but something about Nemius' ailment troubled him. Had something happened that had made the Inquisitor and other Imperial officials suspicious of the Librarian and also overcome the exceptional constitution of a Space Marine? Or was it just his close proximity to the Blank that was causing him this distrest? 

As the Thunderhawk made its way onto the landing pad and touched down, Numetor felt the familiar sensation of extreme deceleration and shortly after that the explosion of hydraulics as his harness popped open. He stood, grabbed his weapon, securing it to the mount on his thigh, and decended the ramp with his Brothers. 

The Inquisitor quickly disembarked and made for the waiting Imperial official that had come to greet them. He was surrounded by two full squads of PDF troopers. Numetor looked them over. Most PDF forces were for show more than anything else, granted some of them had seen combat action in the dangerous realms of the underhives, but most never really saw any real action. This group was different. The all appeared to be grizzled veterans in well used by well kept uniforms. 

"Ach, PDF, all they're good for is dying, don't you agree? I would rather have a squad of Inducted Guardsmen. At least they can fight as well as they die," he heard Arminius say. Numetor sighed. Arrogance had always been the trade mark of the Sons of Guilliman, and for the most part Numetor agreed with this statement as a general rule, but it had been a poor remark to make to the human Marcus, who by his reaction, had not taken it well. 

Numetor approached the waiting rhino transport, and found the there were several new Astartes that hadn't been on the ship with them. Two Black Templars and a Praetor of Orpheus. Both chapters were ones that Numetor held in high regard, having served with both in various campaigns. The Templars expertise in close combat would definitely be beneficial in the coming campaign that was more than likely going to be waged in cramped tunnels and warrens in the cities under belly. Ontop of this one of the Templars was a Techmarine. Very useful to have, Numetor thought to himself. 

He watched the Praetor step forward and introduce himself as Brother Vandius, just as the Inquisitor broke off her conversation with the Imperial official.

"Right we have some leads. I believe the techmarine (Who has told the Inquisitor via a private link what he found out) has some information. Nemius, time for you to shine, the genestealer is sure to have some psykers abilities so you will lead the marines under the guidance of your loyal techmarine brother. My retinue, we are going to go to one of the palace of a lesser noble, he has failed to check in the last few days, and the last messengers that the judge sent was two days ago and haven't checked in," she informed them and with a kurt nod went to assemble her retinue. 

Numetor turned to Vandius and offered a hand in greeting,"Numetor Tu'Lan of the Salamanders Brother." He nodded to all three of the new Marines in turn,"I welcome you all. Well Brother Techmarine would you care to share what what information you have about what we will be facing?"


----------



## Gree

Numetor Tu’Lan. Interesting, Vandius thought. He knew of the Salamanders as a First Founding chapter, but had never gotten the opportunity to serve alongside them himself, although he had heard of their illustrious reputation at warfare. This could probably turn out to be an interesting experience.

Vandius took the offered gauntlet.

‘’I’m pleased as well to meet my future comrades. I have heard of your chapter, although I have not had the honor of fighting alongside them. I have had experience with various other chapters though, I recently came from the Ziest Campaign. I’m well acquainted with the Crimson Fists.’’ Vandius nodded to the unnamed Crimson Fist Librarian. He had already knew the Ultramarine from his introduction and knew his owns chapter’s parent legion quite well.

He already spotted the Fist Librarian, the Ultramarine, the Salamander, the Blood Angel and an Astartes from a chapter who was not quite familiar with. He didn’t recognize the heraldry at all. Could it be a more recently founded chapter? Of course that was not especially surprisingly. There were a thousand chapters in the galaxy and information was often lost over the centuries. Possibly only the Emperor knew of every single Astartes chapter that had existed.

‘’Forgive me but I’m not familiar with the rest of your squad.’’


----------



## Therizza

Leaning over, Arminius beckoned Vandius to speak with him.

In a hushed tone, Arminius spoke. "Brother, it is good to be once more amongst one of the same lineage as I! But watch your tongue around that one." Arminius indicated the Stormhunter with a nod.

"He is quite fickle, but his prowess in battle is without reproach. If you do not wish to draw his ire, decline conversation of the Codex or Guilliman. We are one in this fight, Brother. Perhaps you will be a better representative than I."


----------



## Necrosis

Sabelline was impressed by the resources that a this Inquisitor had available to her. She had a squad of Death Watch marines and a personal retinue. She would expect something of this of a veteran Inquisitor not a newly minted Inquisitor. Zaxius on the other hand simply went towards the Inquisitor, paying no attention to anyone else. "Inquisitor, I am glad to see you unharmed. I only wished I could have been there so that I could have assisted you." said Zaxius as he then got into a defensive position, ready to guard the Inquisitor form any attacks. Sabelline let out a smile but her re-breather hide it from sight. 

Yet her smile quickly disappeared. Something felt wrong but she wasn't sure what it was. She looked at Zaxius and could see he was feeling the same way. Then the source revealed itself as a fellow Inquisitorial agent revealed herself to be Valerie who was the source of this feeling. "I am sister Sabelline and the crusder over there is Zaxius, my twin brother. Don't mind him, he like that to everyone. Tell me you are a blank are you not? I have never meet an untouchable before." said Sabelline as she took out her data slate and begin to record the event. "If you don't mind I would like to study you. Blanks are very rare and are said to be one of the Inquisition most valuable assets. It will be an honor to work with you." said Sabelline as she continued to record down notes on her data slate. Then another Inquisitor member appeared and introduced himself and ask a question. Sabelline was to busy writing down notes to even notice. Thus Zaxius decided to step in. "I am Zaxius and that is my twin sister Sabelline. Crusaders take great honor in protecting an Inquisitor, saying this is trouble is an insult to us but I will overlook it this time." said Zaxius as he then placed his hand on Sabelline shoulder, indicating it was time to go. The two of them enter the chimera.


----------



## Jackinator

*Marcus*

"I am Zaxius and that is my twin sister Sabelline. Crusaders take great honor in protecting an Inquisitor, saying this is trouble is an insult to us but I will overlook it this time."

Marcus held up his hands "I meant no offense, it's just my way of speaking. Old habits." He laughed, then watched with a grin as the haughty crusader escorted his sister into the Chimera. He looked back over at the gathering Space Marines, the group had grown, three new marines had joined them. He raised an eyebrow, a techmarine? He'd never come across one before, but he knew they existed. He saw Arminius conversing with one of the newcomers, presumably another son of Guilliman. He shrugged to himself. It didn't matter right now, he just hoped it didn't lead to any friction among the Space Marines, that was one thing they could do with out. Dismissing it he turned back to the Chimera, running a critical eye over the battered tank. _At least it moves._ "Interesting pair", he said to Valerie. Then, making an exaggeratedly elegant leg, he gestured to the armoured vehicle, "after you."


----------



## Serpion5

*valerie*

'Study me?' Valerie was a little taken aback. She had fully expected to be treated differently but this was not expected at all. She masked her surprise quickly, or so she hoped, before nodding politely and answering.

'Of course, if ample oppurtunity arises I am more than happy to assist you in learning more about my abilities.' She said. 'And perhaps if there`s a chance, do you think...' She trailed off. 'Never mind.' 

After a brief yet awkward exchange with Marcus, the introductions were complete. 

'After you.' Marcus gestured, and Valerie smiled politely and boarded. 

- - -​
The Chimera ride was an interesting experience to say the least. Valerie wasn`t sure, but it felt as though she was being scrutinised by the newcomers. Though that in itself was not a new feeling, she had to admit, to herself at least, she was uncomfortable with being viewed as a mere test subject...

- - -​
She put these thoughts from her mind as the Chimera stopped and the hatch opened. Business was at hand, it was here that the Inquisitor`s work would begin in earnest... 

--- --- ---​
ooc: Trying to move the plot along.


----------



## Protoss119

For his own good, Mikhael declined to converse with the Praetor, whose name he learned to be Vandius; he saw the Sons of Guilliman as arrogant and hidebound, but it would do no good to voice such an opinion now and endanger the vital trust between Battle Brothers. He had done enough of that already, he realized. Instead, he turned to the two Black Templars, the scions of Sigismund, and greeted them both.

"You are welcome among us, brothers" he said to them. "I am Mikhael Doukas of the Stormhunters. It shall be an honor to fight alongside fellow Sons of Dorn!"

Mikhael heard their responses and acknowledged them before making for the Rhino. He recalled hearing rumors of a Chaos Lord leading a warband of wretched traitor Astartes in the Kaurava system. This Chaos Lord had taken a great dislike to the Rhino transport, of all things, denouncing them as "metal boxes" and those who fielded them as cowards and fools. So incensed, he swore that he and his warband would "take away their metal boxes!" Not that this particularly dissuaded Mikhael from entering; not only were those the words of a traitor, but he heard a rumor from the same system that 100 baneblades had disappeared entirely. With those in mind, the entire Kaurava campaign sounded like a hoax to him.

Dismissing the thoughts from his mind, he entered the Rhino and secured his restraints, awaiting the arrival of the rest of his brothers before they moved out.


----------



## Jackinator

The trip was short and uneventful, while the Chimera was not the most comfortable of vehicles it still grumbled along at a fair old pace, old tired engines rattling with age as the vehicle felt every rough patch in the road. None-the-less they arrived in one piece and Marcus and the others followed the Inquisitor and her requsition PDF into the spire. She turned, speaking to the PDF, "Hold the lobby, we are going to check the top floor. If needs be call for backup and get the 2nd squad here, your going to have to clear the lobby and the rest of the building." The sergeant looked intimidated but nodded.
_____________________________________________________________

The elevator doors slid open with a soft ping, and they stepped out into a scene of carnage, furniture was strewn over the floor, chairs tipped over and tables reduced to wreckage. On the wall was a skeleton, spread eagled, the skull grinning vacuously at these intruders. Marcus sensed movement in the shadows, and as an unerathly hiss filled the room he was already moving. His shotgun came up as he instinctively moved to the fore of the group, body guard instincts kicking in and putting his body between theirs and the enemy.

Twisted, hunched figures moved out of doorways and into the dim light, as they did, they brought the smell with them, an alien stench that caught in the throat. They held crude knives and make-shift clubs, some raised them. Marcus acted, his first shot blowing a mutant out through the door it had entered. He stormed forwards, fixing his sights on another of the mutants. It rose up from behind a chair, evidently expecting to catch him by surprise but being surprised itself as his fist crunched into it's face. He found himself grateful for the augmetic as the mutants skull caved beneath the blow, it's surprised expression crumpling inwards and blood bursting outwards around his fist.

He pushed over a heavy dining table, creating a make-shift barricade against the rest of the mutants. He gestured the rest of the team over and then without waiting for them he stood up. Sighting down the length of the barrel he fired a shot clean down the length of the room. Mutants dived for cover as the bolt round hit one in the chest, exploding and sending him tumbling out of the window. The others had reacted by now and he turned to look back at the Inquisitor, locked in combat with a diabolically fast xenos. A genestealer...


----------



## Gree

Vandius blinked as he took in Arminius’s words. He still had no idea who the other Astartes were, beyond their names, nor about the squad he was attached to. He knew names from the introductions, but nothing else other than that.

‘’I see, thank you brother, but I best prepare for the ride, our orders are to move out.’’ Vandius nodded politely to Arminius and put his helmet back on with a hiss of air. Immediately his vision filled up with the HUD of his helmet.

Vandius secured his position in the Rhino, bolter readied and held across his chest. He knew the insides and construction of a Rhino like the back of his hand, a product of his chapter’s expertise with technology. He had driven one multiple times himself for his squad.

He sat down inside and looked around at Mikhael. He figured he might as well get to know the other Astartes, seeing as they would be comrades on his team. 

‘’So, my apologies but I don’t believe I’m familiar with your chapter. Your name is…..Mikhael? Am I correct?’’ he asked.


----------



## Protoss119

‘’So, my apologies but I don’t believe I’m familiar with your chapter. Your name is…..Mikhael? Am I correct?’’ 

_It seems circumstance forces a conversation between us_, thought Mikhael. He placed his words carefully and diplomatically. Normally he would not be so cautious with his words concerning a Son of Guilliman, but when so much depended on their actions alone, and as the Kill-Team was so close to battle, he realized it would not serve him.

"That is correct. I am Mikhael Doukas of the Stormhunters, 5th Company Veteran." Mikhael looked away for a moment, his brow furrowing. _Perhaps I should not have let that slip_, he thought, hardly ashamed of not following the Codex Astartes, but more concerned for the Kill-Team's cohesion. He would rather not have _two_ Sons of Guilliman on his back, after all. Nevertheless, he returned his gaze to the Praetor.

"And you are Vandius of the Praetors of Orpheus, correct? Another Son of Guilliman?"


----------



## Gree

"That is correct. I am Mikhael Doukas of the Stormhunters, 5th Company Veteran." Vandius stared at him blankly under the impassive mask of his helmet. The chapter name brought no recognition at all.

"And you are Vandius of the Praetors of Orpheus, correct? Another Son of Guilliman?" Mikhael asked him.

‘’Of course. That’s how it was the last time I checked.’’ Vandius nodded. Yes, his heraldry still had the symbol of the Praetors on it. ‘’Unless the Apothecary somehow switched my geneseed during my recruitment, then yes, I am a Son of Guilliman.’’ Vandius stated.

‘’What chapter are you descended from?’’ Vandius asked. This Astartes wasn’t one of the Second Founding, that was for sure.


----------



## Serpion5

*Valerie*

Valerie was a little questioning of the decision to leave all of the PDF on the ground floor, but in the long run it would ultimately matter little. She followed the main group, hands gripping the hilts of her weapons as they ascended to the upper level. 

The room was a total mess as the doors opened, furniture had been strewn all over the place and a dessicated skeleton stared at them from where it had been mockingly placed by the intruders. Almost at once, shadows began to move near the corners of the room. Marcus reacted almost immediately, moving to the fore of the group and firing into the throng of monsters. 

Valerie decided it was time to do her part, turning to cover the left flank and drawing several throwing knives. The cultists were armed with clubs and knives of their own at best, easy kills to a properly trained servant of the Inquisition. Valerie caught the first one in the throat with a well aimed throw, and wounded another with the second before drawing her swords. She ran one through, dodging its clumsy club and decapitated the one she had wounded moments ago. 

The sound of a table tipping over caught her attention, Marcus had created a barricade and was gesturing to the group to join him. 

She scanned the room at once, dodging a knife swing as she did so before impaling the part human on her swords, and saw everyone but the Inquisitor... Was she in danger? 

Valerie began to retreat from the combat, a handful of cultists following her at a cautious distance. 

'Sabelline? Marcus?' She called. 'Where`s the Inquisitor?'

Something about the attack was too... intelligent for a cultist rabble. She remembered that genestealers, like other tyranid forms, were psychically controlled by a dominant mind. 

'I`m going to drop the dampener.' She said. 'Brace yourselves...' She hit the switch on her belt just as one of the cultists charged...


----------



## PapaSmurf124

"Well met, Brothers. I am Nemius Uclin, Librarian of the Crimson Fists," Nemius said, making the sign of the aquilla. He then pulled aside the Tech Marine, Teuthras Ixion.

"Brother Ixion," Nemius said, "i believe you have some information vital to our mission. Please, share this with me, so we can be better prepared for the road ahead."

Nemius listened to the Tech Marine's resonse. 'Excellent, this is indeed useful. Also, before we move on, I have something I would like you to take a look at. It is a prototype of an advanced dampening field that could all but eliminate the sense of the presence of a blank when turned on. As you may already know, we have a blank with us on this mission, and for me it is miserable. Do you think there is anything you can do with this?" He hand the data slate to the Tech Marine, who examined it closely for a few minutes...

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

"Brothers!" Nemius shouted. "Into the rhino, we have our heading!"

The others piled into the Rhino quickly and they were off on their way.

After a small amount of time traveling, and relative silence within the troop area of the Rhino, they came to a stop. They all filed out of the Rhino, Teuthras and Mikhail joining him at the front of the group.

Before them stood two PDF soldiers and a seemingly deserted hab. Both of the troopers stared at the marines in awe, just as some of the PDF at the landing zone had done. _Odd_, Nemius thought, _What are these two doing out here by themselves?_

Nemius stepped forward. One of the troopers approached him.

"Err...I'm afraid you will have to go back..." he stammered. "Chemical spill....nothing left alive here..." His eyes darted back and forth, and he appeared to be sweating.

Nemius laughed. "A chemical spill does not concern us, Trooper. We are the Space Marines! Our power armor and advanced metabolisms will guard us form such a meaningless threat!"

Nemius noticed a change in Mikhail's demeanor. "Something wrong, Brother Mikhail?"


----------



## Midge913

After speaking briefly with Vandius, Numetor entered the Rhino in preparation for departure. He saw over his shoulder that Brother Nemius was deep in conversation with the Blessed Techmarine, hopefully securing information as to their destination. As fortune would have it the seat next to Brother Mikhael was open. Even though the beliefs of his chapter put him at odds with the descendents of Guilliman, Numetor had found a kinship with him. His stoic resolve and skill in battle were all that he needed to prove himself in Numetor's eyes, and he had seen both in the skirmish with the Dark Eldar. 

Seating himself, securing the restraint harness, and stowing his bolter in the weapons lock next to his seat, Numetor glanced around the interior of the Rhino. It had seen better days in all honesty and he thought it a wonder that the Techmarine had been able to get the thing running again. 

He turned to Mikhael, "The Techmarine there must be very skilled indeed to get this machine running again. Hopefully we won't be delayed much longer, Genestealer Cults are tricky business and the longer they fester the worse it will be in the end."

"Brothers!" Nemius shouted from the outside. "Into the rhino, we have our heading!"

"At last..." Numetor thought, as his brethren climbed aboard the ancient machine, and its motors roared to life. 

Nemius gave several quick instructions over the vox to the Rhino's pilot and he navigated the city streets with apparent ease. Pulling up the view port in his helmet's display Numetor saw two PDF Chimeras clearing a path for the Rhino and as such they had been going for only a short while when the Rhino came to a stop, the rear hatch dropping with a hiss of hydraulics.

As Numetor exited he secured his combi-flamer to the fastenings on his thigh and took note of their surroundings. They appeared to be out front of several abbandoned Hab structures, but what was curious was the two PDF troopers that were guarding the entrance of the deserted ruin and blocking the road ahead. 

Nemius approached the Troopers and engaged them in conversation, one of them driveling on about a chemical spill that had the area contaiminated. 

"As if that would matter us, huh brother" he said to Mikhael. Numetor began to forge forward with Brother Nemius when he heard a high pitch shriek from inside the structure and watched as several First Generation Genestealers came pelting from the building. 

Unnaturally fast, these creatures closed the distance as the two PDF Troopers disappeared inside the building. Numetor's bolt pistol and chainsword flew to his hands and he fired off several shots at the nearest xeno beast. His first shot took it below the first set of arms ripping through the muscles and tendons that held the second arm in place, the second shot ripped into its chest cavity exploding the creature from within. He heard his brothers bringing their own weapons to bear as two more of the creatures bore down on him. Revving his chainword to life he prepared to met them....


----------



## Protoss119

‘’What chapter are you descended from?’’ 

"We are descended from the Imperial Fists" Mikhael answered. "We are inheritors of Rogal Dorn's legacy." He was not surprised that not everyone had heard of the Stormhunters. His chapter's reputation was nowhere near on par with the likes of first-founding chapters or certain second-founding chapters such as the Crimson Fists. Perhaps that was for the better; some of their actions were no cause for celebration amongst their lot, anyhow.

Not long after, he saw brother Numetor approach and take a seat next to him, and the two of them began to converse.

"The Techmarine there must be very skilled indeed to get this machine running again. Hopefully we won't be delayed much longer, Genestealer Cults are tricky business and the longer they fester the worse it will be in the end."

"Agreed" Mikhael replied. "The 5th Company was sent to purge Hive Romanograd on the planet Gambrilline of Genestealer infestation, and few were the inhabitants we could trust. So pervasive was the infestation that we were forced to purge the entire Hive. I should hope it does not come to that..."

But if experience had shown him the truth of anything, it was that hope was the first step on the road to disappointment. Still, he had come to respect the Son of Vulkan for his prowess in battle and his ability to adapt. He hoped to strengthen this bond of brotherhood between him and the rest of his brothers, and the moment to do so was rapidly approaching. Perhaps he would not be disappointed after all...

"Brothers! Into the rhino, we have our heading!"

The words were music to his ears. Mikhael was finally able to turn his thoughts to battle as the rest of his brothers boarded the Rhino and they embarked. The trip was short and uneventful, and Mikhael donned his Corvus helm and took point, along with Nemius and Teuthras. There they found two PDF soldiers ahead of an apparently abandoned hab. He listened closely to the two of them as they spoke.

"Err...I'm afraid you will have to go back...Chemical spill....nothing left alive here..." 

Mikhael was immediately suspicious, and not just because they were two PDF troops in the middle of nowhere. The one who spoke, spoke with anxiety; not the terrified, desperate, "Run for your life!" attitude that he expected from the likes of the PDF, but simple nervousness, and about...a chemical spill? And the other was averting his eyes as much as he could; what did he have to hide?

He resolved to take the direct approach to find out. Turning his gaze toward the trooper averting his eyes, he approached him. So set on confirming his suspicious was he that he ignored Nemius and Numetor, if only for the moment. He gripped the bottom of the man's head with his right hand - lightly, as he was well aware of his enhanced strength - and lifted it so that their eyes might meet.

In the trooper's eyes, he saw the markings of a fourth-generation Genestealer hybrid.

Mikhael became incensed. He was about to crush the man's head in when he heard the high-pitched shriek that heralded the arrival of the Genestealers. As it was, the most he could do was shove the trooper to the ground, and he picked himself back up and joined his friend in retreat, blending into the mass of first-generation Genestealers.

He quickly drew his boltgun and pressed the rune on his shot selector for Kraken bolts. He took aim for a Genestealer's head and fired, blowing it open with a single shot. But that was the only one he could kill before the rest of them closed in on their position...


----------



## Therizza

Exiting the Rhino with speed wrought from centuries of training, the Deathwatch Kill-team proceeded to what looked like a makeshift guard post of sorts. Brother Nemius was on point and was the first to speak with the two PDF troopers manning the station. Brothers Mikhael and Numetor flanked Nemius, while Arminius was the farthest man to the right of the wedge formation.

While Arminius was not privy to the details of Nemius' conversation with the human, he could tell something was awry. Two PDF troopers, out here, unsupported? No heavy weapons, no defensible positions, no transport. Something wasn't right, this felt like an ambush. His suspicions were realized when Mikhael, confronting one of the men, gazed into his face to realize he was a scion of this genestealer cult.

The men fled while simultaneously a horde of first generations spewed forth from the dilapidated surroundings. Leveling the sights of his bolt pistol on the midsection of one of the charging genestealers, he loosed a salvo of rounds. The mass reactive shells hit the xeno in succession with incredible force, leaving nothing but its lower legs to attest to its existence. The image was similar down the Kill-team's impromptu firing line, skilled marksmen whittling away at the tide of fast closing xenos. And all they could hope to do was whittle, as genestealers were as fleet of foot as anything Arminius had even encountered.

Electing to close the gap and bring the fight to the xeno scum, Arminius began to charge. Having spotted a pair vectoring towards him, Arminius revved his chainsword. The first one jumped high as another sought to bowl him over. Arminius smashed the jumping genestealer away with his pistol and sent the other reeling with a kick. Not but a moment later the two beasts were on Arminius, slashing with deadly claws. Parrying blow after blow, Arminius bellowed in rage as he fought back as viciously as his opponents. "I will not let the fate of Prandium befall this world!" Arminius spat as he sliced the arm off of one of the genestealers. "If only you could feel pain so that I would better enjoy this!" was his retort as he smashed the other on the head with the grip of his pistol.

Arminius' thoughts blurred, memories of comrades lost emerging after years of repression. Feeling only hatred, he continued the hack and slash at his enemies, looking always for an opening to end their Emperor-forsaken existence.


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## Gree

"We are descended from the Imperial Fists" Mikhael answered. "We are inheritors of Rogal Dorn's legacy.

Ah, Dorn’s sons, Vandius knew them well, he had fought alongside the Crimson Fists at Ziest and the Imperial Fists at Thardan fifty years earlier. He had forged close bonds with Sergeant Plateado of the Crimson Fists during the Ziest Crusade. He still had their honor marking engraved on the underside of his gauntlet.

The rest of the ride was shorter than Vandius had expected. The Praetors exited the Rhino when they stopped and Vandius wondered what the hold was. He spotted two PDF soldiers, apparently by themselves, it was a rather strange situation. From what he knew of standard military protocol that was something usual. Something was definitely odd here.

His mind took in the surrounding, noting the broken down habs and the strewn debris, the area of a hive. He had fought in such places countless times before and he noted the optimal places for firing positions and ambushes.

"Err...I'm afraid you will have to go back...Chemical spill....nothing left alive here..."

Again, something odd, it was blatantly obvious to even mortals that the Astartes could survive with their sealed power armor. A chemical spill was nothing to Vandius at all. They were hiding something obviously.

He then watched as Mikael lift the man up by the head and look into his eyes, evidently his comrade was also suspicious. Apparently Mikael found something, although he didn’t get a good look at the trooper as he was interrupted by the alien shriek of genestealers.

He knew the sound well enough, he had fought genestealers man times and knew the call. Immediately forms began darting through broken walls and pipes. They were hunched, the shapes that moved with an inhuman speed and gait.

Definitely genestealers. Distantly a part of his mind noted that the two PDF troopers where running away and where not harmed by the genestealers, confirming their status at hybrids. He raised his bolter as his target lock acquired one genestealer.

For a moment the heat-form in his visor shimmered, then the genestealer lost its head in a perfect kill shot, then Vandius had no more time to switch to a burst mode as the stealers where upon them, with an alien shriek one blurred through the air.

Vandius barely managed to withdraw his gladius from his belt and block the foremost claw that struck at him. There was no room to fire the bolter here, so he mag-linked it to his thigh plate and drew his bolt pistol, all while fighting the genestealer’s rapid assault.


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## Lord Ramo

The Inquisitor ducked underneath a slash of claws from the geenestealer, probably either one of the first of the cult, impregnating a human most likely or was a pure new one. She brought her sword around in time to cut off one of its rending claws drawing a powerful screech out of it. It knocked her to the ground with its powerfully built frame as it charged past her, leaping into the elevator with two mutants following, the elevator doors closed. The Inquisitor bellowed into her vox to the guard below about what was to happen, though she never received a reply. 

The mutants had felt the effect of Val's powerful dampener and were easy pickings for the rest of the retinue. As the last one dropped dead the Inquisitor spoke to her retinue after she was helped to her feet. "Search this place for any clues to shed some light on the situation on this planet, I feel like the judge hasn't told us everything that he knows." She immediately moved to the desk in the office, leaving you to search through the books, his bedroom which was full of clothes and wardrobes which held maps of the world. One map catches the eye of Val who returns it to the Inquisitor, a map of the sewage system underneath the judges palace.

"Good work my retinue, it appears the geenestealers are using the sewers to gain access to the city. We will go to the judges palace and start our search there." 

Retinue:

Describe the rest of your fight with the mutants, and your feelings on what they are. They are the product of geenestealer offspring and as such do you have any qualms about killing them? Or do you find them to be a challenge that you welcome? What do you think of the Inquisitor, is she driven to find out what is really happening on this planet? What about your other fellows, are they living up to your expectations?
================================================================================

The last of the hybrids rushes at your group as the marines fight, killing without mercy or reprisal. The mechanical roar of the techmarine can be heard above the screeching of the hybrids as he smites them by the rhino, protecting the machine spirit that dwells within, whilst the Blood Angel charges into close combat, his angelus bolter shells making mincemeat of the geenestealer. Finally they retreat into the hab building shreaking as the wounded try and escape but get put down by the marines, now burning with the Emperor's holy fire.

You pause for a moment, none of you have been injured during the fight. A squad of Guard and their transport pull up beside your vehicle the sergeant climbing out before bowing, trembling at the sight of the Astartes. "My Lords, your gunfire was heard from the nearest hab and they reported it to us. We are here to assist you in whatever you may need us to do." The Sergeant looks at the corpses of the tyranids, gulping a little.

Deathwatch: Your job is simple, kill the wounded tyranids and enter the hab. You are still under the leadership of Nemius, who sends Mikhail first with Arminius before the rest of the marines enter behind. The building isn't quite what it seemed on the outside, the floor has caved in to reveal a passageway into the sewers, whilst the walls are covered in dried blood and broken furniture. 

(marine that are now npc till their creators return to take over them, or they die) Helmut, Dominicus and the Techmarine go to check the upperfloors, finding more bodies of tyranids, that obviously had fought with their fellows as well as bodies of humans used as food and other reasons. They inform their brothers of their finding before staying topside with the guard and the vehicles, Helmut entering once more with a flamer taken from a guard as he purifies the bodies that are on the upper floors.

Vandius and Numetor check the ground floor, finding nothing but fresh blood and broken furniture, you two quickly return to the others in the main lobby as they are about to descend down the passageway, follow them. Nemius, Arminius and Mikhail are all there and you wait Vandius and Numetor to arrive before you descend into the passage way.

It is actually a sewer but the foul xeno have used it as a way in and out of their lair. As you travel down the dimly lit sewer you can hear noises, screeching, growls as the geenestealers know your are here. You barely get anywhere down the tunnel, five pure geenestealers leap out of the darkness, closing with you. You get to kill one each though it may take multiple posts, they are fast and deadly.

Nexus: Nexus moved down the corridor, stopping as he arrived at a fresh body. He was closing in on the mandrake, in fact he was almost on top of him. He bent down to examine the body, seeing the terrified look of horror on the man's face, just an engineer. The blood was fresh, and Nexus realized what was about to happen. He ducked and rolled forward, turning with his chainsword held at the ready as a mandrake stood where he was mere seconds ago, a knife in its hand. 

Nexus was about to move forward when two more thumps hit the deck behind the mandrake, and from the darkness another two mandrakes settled into combat stances. Nexus growled, and opened a link to the captain, *"Captain I am by the portside airlock, there are more mandrakes then we thought. Seal all the bulkheads, and have arms men stationed at every exit out of here. Give them breathing apparatus. My plan is to open the airlock, suck them into space and let the void claim them."*


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## Jackinator

*Marcus*

The mutants were finished off quickly and efficently by the retinue. The Genestealer had escaped to the lower levels however, and Marcus hoped they didn't find a slaughter house when they reached the ground floor. The cultists had been a pathetic enemy, something to be exterminated, true, but not something he could quite hate. He didn't quite know why, perhaps because he was not much different to them, but out of choice. His body was laced with implants and upgrades, who was he to truly call another mutant when he was no longer strictly human.

He shook himself out of his reverie, looking around at his fellows, he hadn't witnessed much of the twins in combat, relying on the Crusader's trained protective instincts to guard his back and the man's sister. Valerie had proved her effectiveness yet again. He rubbed at the blood on his lip, he'd bitten it when she'd deactivated her limiter. Despite her warning the change in her presence had come as a nasty shock.

"Good work my retinue, it appears the geenestealers are using the sewers to gain access to the city. We will go to the judges palace and start our search there."

The Inquisitor seemed unshaken by the encounter, not that he expected anything less. Still, she didn't seem entirely satisfied with something, perhaps the Judge, who to Marcus it had seemed had been far less than forthcoming. He took the opportunity to reload his shotgun, he sensed more trouble could not be far away...


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## Serpion5

*Valerie*

Two surviving hybrids followed Valerie as she retreated back towards Marcus` position. The lowering of her dampener had had an effect, but not as much as she had hoped. Telepathic though they were, the impact of her null aura had only stunned them for a moment. Clearly they were not completely reliant on a brood mind to function. They continued to follow her, brandishing crude and scavenged blades against her fine swords, and using them with basic skills to match. 

Once she had them lured into a clear piece of floor, she darted forth and finished them both before they could react. With a look around to confirm that the threats were neautralised, she reactivated her dampener and sheathed her swords. 

Valerie met their gazes one by one. With that little inconvenience out of the way, a search was in order... 

- - -​
Valerie was searching through the main wardrobe at first, she had seen instances of hidden passages in this manner before. But not this time. Stepping out in disappointment, she instead looked in the secondary wardrobe next to it. This one was not containing clothes at all, instead the back wall was covered in maps of the world and various cities across it. She scanned them in an instant, before taking a more detailed look at one that seemed familiar. It almost resembled the map in the files she had received in her briefing, but something about it was different. 

'Sewers.' Valerie realised out loud. She took the map down and returned to the Inquisitor waiting outside. 

'Milady,' She said. 'This may be of interest.'

'Good work my retinue, it appears the genestealers are using the sewers to gain access to the city.' Sylivian said, meeting their eyes. 'We will go to the judge`s palace and start our search there.'

'Understood Milady.' Valerie replied. She gave a nod to Marcus, remembering his initiative in looking to protect the others.


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## Protoss119

As he fired into the mass of Genestealers, Mikhael spotted two of them charging directly for him, rearing their massive claws along with their ugly heads. As one of them leaped forward, attempting to knock him down with its momentum, Mikhael thrusted his boltgun forward, tearing off bits of its flesh with his bayonet and breaking its momentum, forcing it to the ground. The Genestealer in question quickly recovered, however, and joined its companion as they closed on the Stormhunter, swiping at him with their talons.

He was just barely able to dodge one pair of claws, and he heard and felt ceramite being torn into by the second pair. Thankfully the talons failed to breach, but he was understandably alarmed and he kicked the genestealer who attacked him square in the torso before stabbing the remaining one - the one he wounded - in the neck with his boltgun's bayonet. The alien shrieked in pain, giving time for him to step back and fire on it with a fully automatic burst of bolt shells, silencing it.

Mikhael had little time to relax, however, as the other genestealer was immediately upon him. He took another swing for the genestealer's torso with the bayonet, but to his surprise, it lashed out with its other set of claws and grabbed hold of his boltgun, tearing it from his hands and sending it flying behind them onto the ground.

"Emperor's Mercy!" he cursed; he did not select that boltgun just so that it might be taken from him at the first opportunity! He drew his bolt pistol and combat knife, incensed by the audacity of this damnable alien. Although he preferred a cold, clean kill with the boltgun to the chaos of melee, he was skilled at both as a veteran of his chapter. The genestealer intensified its assault, however, and he was forced to duck before his head was torn from his body by its jaws. This gave him an opening to attack, however, and he made a swing for its torso with his combat blade, managing to strike a decisive blow.

The genestealer yelped in pain; Mikhael was about to finish it, but at that point it turned and fled, along with several other genestealers. He steadied his aim quickly, shaking off dizziness and unsteadiness with the help of his Lyman's Ear, and opened fire upon the xenos as they fled. While he wounded one or two of them, it soon mattered little as they were beyond the range of his bolt pistol.

He sheathed his bolt pistol and combat knife and retrieved his boltgun before regrouping with the rest of his brothers. Not too long after, he spotted another Chimera arrive and deploy a squad of guardsmen, although he could not tell from what regiment. Their sergeant approached the Astartes, trembling, nearly losing the power of words.

"My Lords, your gunfire was heard from the nearest hab and they reported it to us. We are here to assist you in whatever you may need us to do."

_A coincidence_, thought Mikhael, _in every sense of the word_. In his years of service to the Emperor, he had taken a very low view of PDF forces, and his perception of the Imperial Guard was not much different. Just what was the value of their lives, in comparison to the complete destruction of the enemy? He had seen worlds destroyed while men still inhabited them so that the alien would be denied their prize, and he had seen Imperial Guard regiments wiped out so that they might not carry the taint of corruption, be it that of the xenos or the Warp, to wherever else they traveled. His answer: they weren't worth much.

Add to it that these Imperial Guard had arrived just after the Genestealers had fled...he couldn't help but wonder if they, too, were Genestealer hybrids, or otherwise involved with the enemy. Then again, he wondered so about every native he encountered; the alien was a cunning and manipulative enemy in all of its myriad forms.

Mikhael banished the thoughts from his mind, taking his canister of Repair Cement from one of his pouches and spraying it over the damaged portions of his armor. _That should keep the armor in one piece until brother Teuthras can initiate repair rites_, thought Mikhael as he refocused on the task at hand and awaited further orders.


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## Midge913

The remain two hybrids closed the distance quickly as Numetor charged forward. He took the first hybrid in the stomach with a shoulder charge flipping it up over his back, while unloading his bolt pistol directly into the face of the second. It died without sound, its held vaporizing into a cloud of red mist. Turning to face his last remaining foe, Numetor saw that its rough landing had hardly stunned it and was caught by surprise as it darted just inside his reach, raking its long claws across the side of his chest plate. 

Numetor laughed aloud at the creatures gall. "Come creature," he bellowed, "come and meet your death." 

The Hybrid leapt into the air bounding of several pieces of rubble, obviously attempting to go for Numetor's head. He side stepped it easily, bringing his chainsword up in a sweeping arc, cleaving the xeno beast in twain. Numetor scanned the conflict quickly, looking for another opponent only to find that what few hybrids remained had swiftly retreated into the ruined hab. He took stock of his brother's condition and found that, apart from a few scrapes to ceramite plating, they were untouched. 

To his left Numetor picked out the sound of an approaching tank and turned to watch an Imperial Guard Chimera pull around the corner. "Typical," Numetor thought. "Now the Guard makes an appearance."

Numetor watched as the squad disemebarked from their transport and watched their sergeant approach them. The man trembled at the sight of the Astartes arrayed before them and once again Numetor fought down old agitations. He was still a man, despite all the gene-enhancements he had undergone, and he could not understand why others always reacted in such fear at the sight of a Space Marine. They were on the same side after all, fighting for the betterment of the Imperium, why the temerity. With a sigh he removed his helm as the sergeant stammered out, "My Lords, your gunfire was heard from the nearest hab and they reported it to us. We are here to assist you in whatever you may need us to do." 

"Sergeant, It would probably best for you and your squad to remain here," Numetor said addressing him. "Secure this area and let none pass." 

Numetor secured his helm once more and approached Mikhael who appeared to be looking at the newly arrived guardsmen with some suspicion. He opened a secure vox between himself and Mikhael.

"Oddly coincidental that they should arrive now, don't you think brother?" He began, "I should wonder if they are not part of this infestation as well." 

Numetor reloaded his weapons while he awaited a response from Mikhael and for the rest of his brothers to be ready to enter the hab.


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## Therizza

The genestealers came at Arminius once more, but he was ready. Grasping a krak grenade, he depressed the primer. Counting down in his head, he grinned as the two tyranids closed the gap at the rate he had anticipated. When the genestealers were but an arms length away, Arminius dropped the grenade and lept several yards behind a low burm of debris.

The grenade had detonated at precisely the right moment, incinerating the two tyranid where they stood. All that was left was the small crater of the grenade and a mist of blood and cordite. His Brothers had fared similarly, defeating this rabble in short order. 

A Guard vehicle had arrived, coinciding with the genestealers defeat. If it was coincidence, or more xeno trickery, Arminius did not care. He was livid.

Walking towards Mikhael, Arminius could tell the Guard's arrival had set him to brooding. "Do you think this a coincidence, Brother? Or more trickery?" Arminius did not wait for his response, as he approached the leader of the Guard detachment.

Removing his helmet, he walked directly to the sergeant, brushing aside his soldiers questions. "You are in command of this unit, are you not?" The man replied yes. "I will have you know that were were deceived and nearly ambushed by others guarding this complex. Let it be known that I will pull each of your heads off if you prove to be more tainted scum."

Walking away, the sergeant did not respond, dumbstruck by Arminius' words. The Space Marine knew full well that they would not hesitate to attack if they were indeed tainted, but his words were meant to vent the rage building within him. As far as he was concerned, the only ones to be trusted were the other members of the Kill-team and the Inquisitorial retinue.

Meeting up with Numetor and Mikhael, Arminius spoke. "Brothers, that hab seems to be our obvious next objective. How should we proceed, sweep and clear or demo it?"

Arminius waited as the others replied. He was trying to be more of a team player now, as he had a burning desire to see this genestealer infestation purged with all due haste.


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## Protoss119

Mikhael heard his brothers Numetor and Arminius voice the same concerns as he had and he nodded in concurrence with both. He found time to reply to Numetor, however.

"Oddly coincidental that they should arrive now, don't you think brother? I should wonder if they are not part of this infestation as well." 

"I would not be surprised if every native of this planet had a hand in its infestation," Mikhael replied. "I've little doubt we will be able to tell hybrids apart from the rest of the population, but it is the rest of the population I am concerned about."

The purge of Hive Romanograd on Gambrilline taught Mikhael how to recognize the generations of Genestealers. But it had been a long time since then, and he knew that the Tyranids could adapt to their enemies. The thought of hybrids that looked entirely human made him leery, but he figured that Arminius would know more about that than he did.

And as he saw the Ultramarine berate the sergeant, he could not help but smile beneath his helmet. Only through utter ruthlessness would the Kill-Team see victory, and Mikhael was glad to see that he possessed it in copious amounts. Shortly after, the Space Marines gathered and began to discuss what to do next. Arminius began first:

"Brothers, that hab seems to be our obvious next objective. How should we proceed, sweep and clear or demo it?"

"There must be a reason why the Genestealers fled into the hab, one beyond simply attempting another ambush" Mikhael suggested, reasonably sure that he did not need to remind anybody in the Kill-Team that the alien was a treacherous foe. "Perhaps they have found some means of passage into another part of the hive, so that they might infect more with their vile progeny. I think the only way to be sure is to pursue them."


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## Midge913

"I would not be surprised if every native of this planet had a hand in its infestation," Mikhael replied. "I've little doubt we will be able to tell hybrids apart from the rest of the population, but it is the rest of the population I am concerned about." 

Numetor nodded his head, agreeing with the statement. "This filth will be purged Brother..... One way or another." 

He looked over and saw Brother Arminius berating the Imperial Guard Sergeant he had just been speaking with. Smiling Numetor thought that, despite his arrogant attitude and brashness, he would be glad to have the Ultramarine along on this mission. His experience against the Tyranids would be invaluable and his prowess in battle went without saying. 

"He does carry on a bit doesn't he," Numetor continued to Mikhael, nodding in Arminius' direction. "I think though that we will be glad of his presence in the end."

He finished speaking as Arminius approached and said,"Brothers, that hab seems to be our obvious next objective. How should we proceed, sweep and clear or demo it?"

Mikhael responded first saying, "There must be a reason why the Genestealers fled into the hab, one beyond simply attempting another ambush. Perhaps they have found some means of passage into another part of the hive, so that they might infect more with their vile progeny. I think the only way to be sure is to pursue them."

"I agree Brother," Numetor said," I think that destroying this build, while it would be satisfying, would just push them to another location which is unknown to us at the moment. I say we track them, follow them to the main hive as Mikhael suggested."


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## Therizza

Hearing his Brother’s sage advice, and having cooled since the initial genestealer encounter, Arminius spoke.

“Your words are wise, Brothers. I agree that we should enter the building and investigate. If an entrance to the main cult indeed lay within, this turn of events may prove fortuitous.”

How many times in the past had he lost Brothers in ambushes launched from subterranean tunnels? Too many to count, by his reckoning. Arminius prepared himself for the horrors that lay ahead, ready to fight to the last in order to purge this hive.


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## Lord Ramo

(OOC: Just thought I would bump this see if anyone is still interested, though I admit it is my fault if this rp dies.)

Nexus launched himself forward at the three mandrakes, he had no other choice. The mandrakes seemed confident, they had the advantage over the marine, three to one odds and they were all faster and more psychically powered. He launched a powerful swipe at the middle mandrake, snarling as it launched backwards with inhuman grace and speed in a mere thoughts time. The other two immediately launched counter attacks, one striking him on the right pauldron, whilst the other drew blood from his knee. Nexus cursed himself, he was acting without thought, but there was no other option, if he failed than the crew would die. 

He drew his combat blade, and calmly waited for the attack that was about to come, the Dark Eldar were confident, content in toying him for now. Nexus waited as all three leapt forward before leaping at the middle one himself. The others twisted in the air as they tried to get back around in time to strike at his unprotected back as his armoured bulk smashed into the mandrake. The mandrake stabbed down with its blade at his neck, only to have it parried before a chainsword ripped through its stomach. Nexus landed on top of the dead mandrake and turned in time to parry one of the blades aimed at his neck. The other blade ripped into his side, skewering its way into his chest and rupturing one of his hearts. Nexus knew this wasn't going well and did the only thing he could think off left.

*"Captain, open the airlock, suck the air from this part of the ship. Do it for a thirty second burst then close the airlock.*" He magnitized his boots to the deck, though he knew it could be the end for him. 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marines
As you decide to enter you hear gunfire erupt behind you, at this point your group has entered the tunnel heading towards a chamber where you are ambushed by the geenestealers. As the group move forward they hear Ixion bellow over the vox, "Brothers we are under attack from a large group of geenestealers, obviously we are close to their heirachy. Helmut is down, I don't know if he will make it or not." You have a choice now, go back and help your brother or move onwards towards the heirachy. If you choose to go back then you will find the guardsmen and remaining marines, beset on all sides by geenestealers, the guardsmen fighting for all their worth.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Retinue
Your transports reach the judges palace, the Inquisitor using her credentials to pass all security check points. You notice something odd the second you enter the judges palace, armed security personal, heavily armed and armoured so their faces cannot be shown patrol the corridors, each finger twitching to their triggers as they see you. What are your reactions to this, do you think that there is something amiss in the palace? Do you warn your fellows and Inquisitor, or do you respond by moving your hands to your own weapons.


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## Jackinator

(OOC: It's aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive :laugh

The palace was massive, a huge, imposing edifice of metal and stone that towered over the city around it. Numerous checkpoints slowed them down as they progressed further into the palace until eventually they had to disembark.

They entered the forbidding structure, seeing security personnel standing watching them from a side door Marcus frowned. They carried loaded, cocked weapons, and as they had entered he had seen their fingers twitch. They were fully armoured and their helmets concealed their faces but something about the atmosphere seemed tense, there was something up here.

Confident that he would be able to react with speed he moved towards the Inquisitor, he passed Valerie on the way. "Be careful, there's something up here", before continuing to the front of their impromptu file. "Inquisitor, I don't know what, but something is wrong, the guards are too twitchy, I'd be prepared for trouble if I was you..."

(EDIT: OOC: I knew I'd got something wrong )


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## Serpion5

*Valerie*

(ooc:Jackinator, who is Valkyrie?)

--- --- --- 

Leaving the interior of the Chimera transport, Valerie followed a few paces behind Sylvian as the inquisitor led them towards another gate. The guard stopped her, appearing quite disgruntled. Without batting an eyelid, Sylvian simply showed her rosette and demanded they be let through. 

Valerie took a moment to look around, the palace complex had been huge and this was the furthest they could have gone in the chimera. She noticed the guards were all on edge, their trigger fingers seeming to twitch at every sudden movement. She passed her gaze over one and saw him visibly wince. 

That in itself was nothing unusual, but still....

'Be careful, there`s something up here.' Marcus said softly, brushing past her and speaking with Sylvian. 

'You sure it`s not just me?' She whispered back as a lame joke. 

She then paused momentarily and raised a hand to her face as if to scratch her eye. In reality however she was concealing her lips from the row of guards as she mouthed a message to the crusader and his sister. 

_Something is wrong here. Be alert._

She turned and continued walking. One hand rested on her hip, a few short inches from the dampener. The other hand gripped her shoulder as if cradling an old wound. In reality, it was quite close to the hilt of her secondary sword...


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