Chapter 6 - War Eternal - IC

Grimnir didn't like Cassiel's inference that he was undisciplined. The old wolf was many things; he was argumentative and savage but he was not undisciplined and both Tomasu and himself were following orders.

He glanced at the Whitescar then back at the Dark Angel "The only thing undisciplined about me is my tongue and it will remain so. If you ain't noticed we are followin' orders, but I will speak my mind and voice my thoughts."

Grimnir's face was stormy, he was touched by Lokyar, the Great Lone Wolf and so he disliked working with others to the extreme and this new pack was darkening his bright and sunny nature.

Hydrako listened to the Wolf and the Angel with silence. He did not like giving the order, but it had been the most pragmatic at the time.

"We will not provoke the traitors unless we have the upper hand." he said in no uncertain terms.
"...Or our current mission is complete and we can turn our attention to other matters." he adds.
After all, he was not going to let them do whatever they were doing and get away with it, but priorities were priorities.

"We have no choice but to come around from another angle. It will cost time, but we can avoid the traitorous filth until they are weakest. Proceed in the same manner as before. Grimnir, I'll let you pick the direction we approach from, but we should come around far enough away to avoid any detection methods the traitors have."

The order was given, and time was seemingly running low. Grimnir takes the lead again and picked to go to the far right before coming from the northeast instead of the south.

As the kill team reaches where Grimnir felt it was safe to turn back, his keen ear picked up the far off sound of weapons fire. Based on the dunes and the lack of sound dampening structures, it was at least 3 km away.

Bleda thinks about the sorcerer. The damnable traitor would seem to have both a talent for warp sorcery and divination, as he had forseen Hydrako's plan to flank the traitors. Grimnir did what he could but without the gift, the Wolf couldn't hope to know that in terms of reconnaissance Grimnir would be throwing punches in blind darkness against a foe with darksight googles.

The feeling of helplessness came creeping as Bleda had not training in observing the traitors from afar or to block their scrying.

"Ruin and desolution." He muttered with a tinge of undirected anger as they continued forward. Bleda kept together with the White Scar.

Grimnir cocks his head and listens for a moment "Gun fire." he gestures into the distance. "Perhaps three klicks."

Carnelian wrote:

Grimnit perks up at Bleda's remark "That's why we should have struck when we we knew where they were with the sorcerer occupied with his portal."

The wolf sniffs the air taking in a big lungful "We're safe from pursuit for now unless the traitors have somehow circled around us."

Between Grimnir, Bleda, and Tomasu, Lucius chimes in. "Does it serve any tactical purpose for our mission at hand to complain about what wasn't done?" It was a purely hypothetical question. He was quickly reinforced by Cassiel whose short but sweet burst of wisdom drove the point home.

"Focus," he added in general to the rest of the squad.

Hydrako's response seemed to do the. At the report of gunfire, he made ready to engage.

"Whatever fight that is, it makes nice cover for our infiltration."

"Correct." Hydrako agrees.

Without any seeming need for further discussion, you move on towards the target.

The fighting gets louder as you come back around towards it, but the fire is also more sporadic, and it is starting to come from different angles. Even those with sense not as keen as Grimnir's could pick out the staccato gunfire and small scale explosions over the stinging desert wind.

Bleda and Tomasu are stopped in their tracks. They no longer saw a desert, but a thriving city of xenos design. Buildings as tall as hives reached towards the stratosphere. There were streets with antigrav vehicles. You don't recognize the xenos species, but based off of the clean, elegant curves of the designs and the clear use of ancient technology remind you of a mix between Eldar and Tau sophistication.
That was until the skies grew dark. Panic erupted as the short, green skinned xenos with pointy ears and 5 eyes panicked in the streets. Millitant response was initaited as supersonic flyer streaked in the sky. The sky itself was dominated by a large, glass-black shape that blotted out the sun and the clouds. The flyers used rockets with high AP payloads against the black shape, and they also had some sort of rapid fire plasma weaponry. All of it failed to put a scratch in the black sky.
As this happened, soulless warriors seemed to erupt from the ground in green lightning among the citizens.
These were not like the whip-coil snake like things you had fought before. These constructs were humanoid, bigger than a human but smaller than an astartes. They carried a bladed gun that glowed with the same green tint all their stuff seemed to glow with. As more and more of them "landed" in the city, they fired indiscriminately into the masses. The guns flayed flesh from the bones and turned bones to ash in a matter of seconds. The advance of the soulless was slow and methodical, effective. The xenos stood no chance at any sort of effective defense.

It made you wonder if the imperium could withstand the soulless' weapons of the magnitude. The true extent of power displayed was hard to measure. The only reason the imperium of man existed at all was because the soulless had not risen to reclaim what they had already conquered,

As the scene plays out before you, it dissolves away like black sand in the sand. All you see now was something you knew to be in front of you, yet was too far away to see with any bionics available.

A Glass-black pyramid with a capstone emblazoned with a wicked green sigil of the Nahb Dynasty. At each corner of the obsidian pyramid was an obelisk of the same material, just as tall as the main structure itself. There were no obvious defenses.

As Bleda and Tomasu are entanced by the decision, you try to rouse them, and Muse steps forwards.
"Do you see it? The psychic scar left by the nameless race lost to history? This was nothing more than a precursor to the war in heaven. They were cut down as easily as wheat in the field. That is why cegorach sent me to you. That is why there is an alliance between our species. If the youngling races understood the threat as we did, and didnt try to make allaicnes, they they would choose the same path as we."

The vision ends, and your brothers are returned to you, albeit with the haunted knowledge of Muse's truth.

Tomasu stuttered as he tried to gather his memories again and find his tongue. He had just watched the end of an empire in but 20 seconds, it was a lot to take in.
"It doesnt change a danmed thing." he finally forces out.
"Between us and them, us and you, any of it. The Great khan and his Father will not be denied triumph, and you will fall before our blade and bolter when the time is right.'
Muse doesnt react to the threat, anymore than a shrug.

"Only Cegorach knows...." he said finally, the sly smile returning to her half hidden face.

"What did you see?" Hydrako asked the two, not caring for the posturing and only needing the cold, hard facts.

Bleda does not waste a look at Muse.

"I don't know exactly what Tomasu saw, but I saw a race of mighty Xenos obliterated by the Soulless and every tool and trick these Xenos had were useless to protect them from their doom. I saw the Soulless with unstopable power.

And I saw something more. Far away, an obsidian pyramid with an accursed sign of our foe and four black oblisks around it."

Tomasu nodded in approval.

"Same as I." he grunts.

"As such, they will descend on all civilization if we do not stop them from rising here. Something has affected the fates though. I'm not sure if its the servants of chaos, or if it is the meddling of the younglings, but the timetables have been advanced. Our only chance is to cause enough damage to the engines of awakening to halt them."

"Then we best hurry." Hydrako adds, motioning for Grimnir to continue.

Another 17 minutes pass by as the fighting either moves off or fades away.

Finally, cresting a hill, you see the black pyramid.



Its size was enormous, you should have been able to see something like this as soon as you left the jungle. Even as you crest the hill the skies turn black, and there was a frantic storm of wicked green electricity arcing from the obelisks over the pyramid.

Sensing your confusion, Muse informs you, "They are masters of sensory alteration, pocket dimensions, and applied theoretical quantum mechanics. Its not as big as it seems, on the outside. On the inside, it's even bigger."
"All I want to know is how we get in?" the white scrar says.

"On the far side, there is a portal thet will gain us entry. Since they have begun the awakening process, it should be open." Ur'iss says.

Moving to the far side, you turn the corner to see the light from the portal. And guarding it were 6 warriors. They each had a tower shield and an large bladed axe.
Dull, bare metal humanoid bodies with a regal if not menacing countenance; the heads and ornamentation were all gilded brass. The shield and axe both were a greenish-black with the same glow as the rest of the technology these beings seemed to employ.

They maintained vigil in front of the portal, some 60 meters away from you. There was no cover for you or them, but you both have a corner to easily hide behind.

"Praetorians." Muse says. "Elites who guard the technomancers and the nobility. Tread carefully. Those shields are not just for looks. They have counter wave technology."

"I say we use our element of suprise to cut them down with our fire power. They only seem to be ready for the melee"

Bleda is clearly excited at coming here and finally engaging the Soulless.

"With such a range between us they would have to be Astartes or more heavily armoured to have a chance to close with us before most of them are cut down. And then we can finish off the two or one who have managed to survive our storm of bolter shells and psychic assaults."

Grimnir gave Bleda a sour look "Have you not been paying attention to these souless' comings and goings - they could perhaps be on us in a moment."

He wondered what this counter wave technology might mean, would a counter extend beyound the range of a chainsword hit?

Carnelian wrote:

Grimnir gave Bleda a sour look "Have you not been paying attention to these souless' comings and goings - they could perhaps be on us in a moment."

He wondered what this counter wave technology might mean, would a counter extend beyound the range of a chainsword hit?

Bleda took a look at Grimnir. "And your suggested course of action is?" Not without irritation nor without interest.

Grimnir bares his fangs in an amused smile that was also part sneer "Shoot em', with some fore thought. Yer just seemed a bit feckin' cock sure there."

Bleda smiles back, neither hostile nor friendly.

"My Chapter has a saying. 'A flawed course of action always defeats perfect indecision.' We are here and so are the enemy who blocks our way. What forethought it necessary?

We need to go through them. And we know we have no way to interact with their possible alarm or communication systems or reinforcements or what else they have. So the path before us looks perfectly clear to me.

Destroy the enemy and then proceed."

Lucius observed and mentally consulted the Codex. If there was a tactical answer, Guilliman had already considered and codified it.

"Cover and contact from range is our advantage here. Those are close-combat specialists and we will lose that advantage if we close ranks. We should engage from range while we can. Focus fire then switch targets. Heavy weapons and penetrator rounds if you have them."

The Codex was very clear on this, and as the mission was well beyond these simple doormen, the team needed to get this job done as quickly as possible while the advantage was still theirs.

As Guilliman wrote: Thou shalt kill them with guns. If need be then focus fire on the first, then the next and so on. Do not engage with with the sword, for thy bolter advantage will be lost if done so, excepting if thine enemy hast close thy ranks and there is now now range to then draw upon.

Sapiens provided some information:

These possess some intellect, though it is odd that they are guarding a mere entrance. We may be closer to core functions than expected. I wouldnt assume they lack proficiency at range however.

Hydrako regarded the weapons of the Praetorians for a moment and could guess what those blades would be capable of. Much like the rest of their technology, they would probably cleave ceramite like wet parchment. He nodded as Lucius quoted the codex. Ranged weapons, it shall be. he sheathed his powersword and drew the stormbolter that was yet to be fired in anger this mission. While he inspected the breaches and magazines, he spoke to the squad. If we attack from two fronts, we can split their advance and whittle them down. Those with jump packs will launch from here to attack from the front. Once we start firing on the lead Praetorian, everyone here will fire on its exposed flank. We should be able to eliminate a number of them as they split up to attack you. When he was done checking the weapon he looked at the group. Counter wave technology sounds like something that will reflect shots back at the attacker, so only fire into the exposed flanks of the enemy. Even if that means targeting something that is marching away from you while another charges your position. It will be the best way to take them out quickly and efficiently. You must trust that others in the squad will be targeting whatever is coming for you. His chainaxe was held in his right hand, as usual, but with the engine cut. It would be unlikely that he would use it this fight.

Bleda smiles as the order to attack is given. "Affirmitive, squad leader." The Destroyer checks his kraken clip is in the weapon and ready to be unleashed.

Lucius, all business, nodded. If it wasn't for the poor intel on this planet, he would have requisitioned kraken rounds for just this purpose. But that didn't matter now. He trusted his aim and would simply make the mass reactive standard rounds work.

The bolter was only a tool. Lucius was the weapon.

To the Novamarines, the Emperor was not a God looking down on them from the Empyrean. Yet, Lucius had picked up some habits since being with the Deathwatch. In his mind, he repeated a simple litany.

Tomasu looks at his bold pistol with a dissapointed look. He had eschewed the long range accument of a bolter so that he could still keep his treasured force khopesh, Genesis, on him; and he would never leave the relic, pit viper, anywhere else. That left his only ranged option as the unnamed pistol.
He still had the power of the storm though, and that weapon was far more potent than any bolter could ever hope to be.

As one, Hydrako, Lucius, and Serephan blast off diagonally away from the rest of draco to a point 90 degress out from the M'ra bodyguard, ending up 40 meters away from them.

And, as one, they turn their full attention to the sudden commotion. Like a well oiled machine, they raise their tower shields, and a hazy distortion field can be seen momentarily as it activates. The hunch low, behind the shields strapped to the left arm, and rase the xenos power axes in the right. If the assualt element of the squad was going to shoot, it would no be so easy, but they ere not the ones who were supposed to shoot.

Ur'iss, lacking any apparent ranged weaponry, stood there content to let things play out a bit before reacting. in commoragh, those who strike first typically ended up dead, or in the winner's circle if it was against a lower species. She didnt care to test her luck here.

Muse, whose ranged armament consisted of only a simple xenos pistol, took a second to prepare her aim.
Cegorach laughs at the remains of kheala mensha khaine from the corners of the webway. Though us, adherents to the laughing god, are not so immune to the boiling hatred of the god of murder. he thinks to herself.

As he landed, the storm bolter rose to take in the end of the necron line, closest to the rest of the squad. He knew his shots would do little to nothing against that shimmering field, but if he could force the guards to take pause and weather the storm then it might give the others a better opportunity to put it down. A wall of sound and fire erupted from the double barrels and engulfed the xenos, striking his targets better than expected. No doubt the creatures would be oblivious to any hits.
The first set of rounds slams into the lead unit. The first shot was not absorbed by the power field, but somehow was deflected at an unnatural trajectory off into the sky. As it was deflected, a thunderclap sound is heard as the power field fails. The second of the two shells hits it in the knee, jerking it backwards and nearly making the leg buckle, but it doesn't. In fact, besides the sudden jerk at the awkward angle, the enemy seems to be unaffected at all.

SerephanIC

The unshielded warrior takes the lead and moves towards those with jump packs. This confirmed that it had no standard ranged weapons as was determined. It also confirmed that these elite warriors were immune to any kind of suppression. It runs forward, but it looks more like a overladen soldier trying to keep pace with the forward elements. Now you could begin to form the picture that these bodygfuards were slow, but extremely tough.

The grotesque stands motionless. Ur;iss didn't speak so it was not clear if she planned on waiting until that group started shooting or would keep it in reserve in case they get close.

Without any other targets, another bodyguard moves forward at a heavy pace towards Lucius, Hydrako and Serephan.

Raising his bolter, Bleda fires three rounds in a burst and all of them strikes home on his target. Bleda's barrage sailed across the battlefield and hits the bodyguard elite from an unexpected angle. Its body jerks with the motion but it maintains its footing, and then keeps on advancing as if nothing happened.

Grimnir notes the ineffective shots against the necrons, he would of course shoot with more accuracy but it was clear how tough these opponents were. Thumbing the fire selector on his stalker boltgun to load a adamantium bolt he snaps off an aimed shot with casual ease at the one without a shield. He assumed it was some kind of leader, better to bring it down first.
The shot was as true as any could be. Even a raptor, famed for their marksmanship, would be hard pressed to make such a shot. The kraken round hit the enemy square side of the cranium. Instead of simply ignoring the damage, half of its head is blown away in a shower of metallic bits and debris.
Much to Grimnir's annoyance, the warrior seemed not to notice, and kept moving towards its quarry.

With Bleda and Grimnir's opening salvo, they knew they were being flanked. The ones who had already started moving kept their path, but two of them turned and started moving towards the covering fire group.

Lucius held his position. His weapon was already up and tracking. "Focus fire on the already damaged ones. These boys can take a beating." Following his own advice, he squeezes off three expertly placed rounds on the one whose shield had just gone up in a blast of energy. Body - Body - Head
Every shot was well placed. His burst was not as accurate or spectacular as Grimnir's, but it was just as effective. With the first shot, the xenos' ribcage was blown outwards, leaving it as only half of the automaton it used to be. It was engulfed in a upward rising seas of green pixelation, even as the other shots passed through where it had just been. When the green phenomena ends, there is no sign that the warrior ever exsisted.

Tomasu decides that before he would unleash the chogoran storm on these foul beings, he would first boost Draco's ability to contend.
He opens up his mind to the empyrean, that sea of madness from which thought is power. Using his mind, he shapes the power into a shield of time dilation around his position.
For the others nearby, the enemies seem to move just a bit slower, and thier reactions were that much faster. It was something they noticed but was barely over the edge of perception.
Tomasu, however, knew that something was amiss right away. The hoarfrost that always accompanied his power was absent. In its place he felt was a stink. WHen he had pulled out the power from the sea of madness,  something else had slipped out.
He turnes, and notices a new figue only 18 meters away. Whereas the astartes we're 2 meters tall, this figuere was almost as tall as an unaugmented human. Its belly was discolored and had a gash from which flowed intestine like a loincloth. It had a single horn sticking from a clump of matted hair on the left side of its skull. It only had a single yellowed eye, but what was most disturbing was the giant grin, which was too big for the size of its face. It locks its gaze with Tomasu and he knew right away thet he had a new enemy to content with.
"Foul Deamon!" he warns the others in contempt.

Cassiel had been prepared as the members of the squad with Jet Packs moved into position. With the Praetor closest to him forced to use his shield against withering fire, Cassiel prepared to launch a krak missile with this Soundstrike Launcher. Prior to depressing the firing rune he notices the appearance of a demon from the warp. That doesn't change his actions for the moment. There were two pyskers they knew about here, and he didn't trust either one, but he couldn't be sure enough to target either the demon or Tomasu, if he was the traitor that brought it here.
The missile was aimed at the other rearguard who had started moving towards the jump pack brethren. The krak round was loaded with a armor penetrating payload, Cassiel couldnt have guess when it bounced off the forcefield protecting the warrior. It kept flying in the direction but now it flipped end over end as it does so. It appeared as if the machine spirit had suffered a grievous head injury and now was retarted as it spun off into a dune and exploded with little fanfare.
Accompanying this was the same sound that the other one had made when its shield had collapsed.

Sapiens was absolutely focused on his target. He vaguely registered the appearing demon, but it was too far to yet be a concern. He analysed the praetorian's movements, waiting until its shield broke. He analysed the probabilities, calculating to the microsecond for the moment the praetorian's left leg should reveal an internal passage in under 3 seconds. It would be too short for more than one bullet, so a single bolt surged out. The knee is blasted out in a single, well placed shot. The bodyguard's knee buckles, but it regains its footing and keeping on marching, its damage being the robotic equivalent of a flesh wound.

That left 2 bodyguards at the entrance to thing fluid-green portal. They did not confer what they would do-whether they would go after the jump packs or the flanking shooters-They simply stepped back into the green portal and disappeared from view.





Initiative:
Ur'iss - 16 - delay
Muse - 16 - full aim
Hydrako - 15 - 40m away
Serephan - 13 - 40m away
haris shakhsiun 5 - 13 - PHASED OUT
Grotesque - 12 - delay
haris shakhsiun 2 - 12 - 12 meters towards Jump Packs - Shield Down - 12 wounds
PLaguebearer - 12 - 18m from Tomasu
Bleda - 11
Grimnir - 9
haris shakhsiun 3 - 9 - 12M towards shooters
haris shakhsiun 4 - 9 - 12m towards shooters
Lucius - 8 - 40m away
Cassiel - 8
Tomasu - 8
Sapiens - 5
haris shakhsiun 5 - 5 - ZAP!
haris shakhsiun 6 - 4 - ZAP!

Ur'iss mutters a curse towards Tomasu, or Bleda, she didnt care which witch had let this thing into reality.
"Foolish Mon Kiegh! You toy with powers you cannot control here?!"
She turns her attention to the plaguebearer who was all too close, and pulls out a pistol from under her long tattered robes, but does not take aim or fire.

Muse curses in his native tongue, or some tongue you did not understand, as her target dissappeared from Lucius' fusillade.
The the daemon appeared. As a solitaire, he was accustomed to traversing the webway, including the shattered portions that ran amok with daemons. She sighed in relief when she saw that it wasn't a servant of she who thirsts. She danced a step back before raising her pistol and shooting. The micro shards shreds tissue and organs, but the plaguebearer did not notice such paltry things. It maintans it leer towards Tomasu.

Watching the rounds from various Marines ricochet and fly off in different directions while others found their targets, Hydrako switched targets to one that was facing the flanking force. He opened up with his twin barrels, but could see by the tracers that his aim was well off. It wouldn't even draw the Necron's attention...

Serephan IC

At some unseen signal from Ur'iss, the hulking grotesque stalks its way towards the plague bearer. It was too far away for the fleshcraft to engage so it seemed to be content with a slow start.

The lone bodyguard moving at the jump pack group keeps up its slow and steady pace. Heedless of the lack of the force field shield.

The new deamon narrows its single eye at Tomasu. The too-big-grin on its face did not change, but it seemed to radiate hate. Those more well versed in daemonology would know that followers of the plague god were a jovial lot. Perhaps the leering grin did contain excitement? Only those scribes allowed access to such forbidden lore would know. The deamon runs, an amazing feat considering it dragged one leg as if it was broken. It makes it to Tomasu, but not before he was ready.

Using his fire selector to switch to kraken rounds, Bleda lets a burst out against Necron 2 and scores a solid hit on the target.
The pace was hardly slowed. But damage was damage, regardless of the amount.

Grimnir stayed disciplined and drew a bead on the next nercon that was closing with Hydrako's group. It was a good plan so one that he would follow. He paid the deamon no heed, he assumed that Tomasu and if needed Bleda would deal with it. They were best equipped to.

Instinct and skill again made the next headshot look effortless.
Without any sign of concern nor saving their own lives, the last 2 warriors move on, seemingly oblivious to being outnumbered and outgunned. The march on towards Cassiel, Grimnir, Bleda, Tomasu, Sapiens and the Eldar contingent.

Lucius kept up the steady, almost meditative squeezing of his trigger. Three more shots - expertly aimed - but it wasn't like he had a hard target. He put his motion predictor on the target's head. Boom. Headhost.
Either the shield had overloaded as the others, or the field failed to deflect Lucius' rounds. They slam into the body, causing it to jerk woth each impact. The head especially jerks forwards. Lucius could not see, but when the automata raises its head again the death-green eyes flicker as protocol reboot the visual sensors - or whatever was going on in the xenos' neural pathways.

For once, the plan was generally working the way it was supposed to.  That could only mean that something was about to go terribly, terribly wrong.  But until it did, Cassiel would stick to the plan.  Cassiel focused on the one that was drawing close to his group. There was no flank, he made the only target for a krak missile. With Lucius' rounds peppering it from behind, Cassiel would send a missile into his front.
He was surprised to find that the missile bounced off to the right, connecting with the ground and exploding harmlessly to far away.

Tomasu had a good oppritunity to end the plague bearer once and for all. It had overextended its run, and he countered with pit viper. He speared it as it made a lumbering run towards him. The spear connects with its gut, but the spear came away with a bundle of dead flesh. If the demon felt any pain, he didnt show it.

Sapiens maintained his focus. Another shot through the shield, avoiding the right arm to hit center mass. The shot hits the mark. The warrior was heavily damaged, and Sapiens shot scattered more metallic innards of the automaton. But it stayed standing, it stayed moving, and seemingly unstoppable.



Initiative:
Ur'iss - 16 - Overwatch
Muse - 16 - full aim
Hydrako - 15 -
Serephan - 13 -
haris shakhsiun 1 - 13 - PHASED OUT
Grotesque - 12 - delay
haris shakhsiun 2 - 12 - PHASED OUT
PLaguebearer - 12 - CC/Tomasu/-20BS/+20WS - 20 wounds
Bleda - 11 - 1 wound
Grimnir - 9
haris shakhsiun 3 - 9 - 24M towards shooters - 34 wounds, BLIND/DEAF/2 FATIGUE
haris shakhsiun 4 - 9 - 24m towards shooters
Lucius - 8 -
Cassiel - 8 -
Tomasu - 8 -
Sapiens - 5 -
haris shakhsiun 5 - 5 - ZAP!
haris shakhsiun 6 - 4 - ZAP!



{+10 to any one test, +35 to any parry/dodge tests fo Cassiel, Tomasu, Bleda, Grimnir, Sapiens, NOT the Eldar}

Ur'iss' head darts between the approaching soulless and the flanking plaguebearer. She was confident that if the plague bearer got away from the psyker, she could evade his reach and hit him with the stinger pistol. She was also confident the haris shaksiun would be dead before the made it to her position. They were too slow and too outgunned to make a difference.

Muse was not so inanimate. Singing some untranslated eldar song, she shoots repeatedly at the plaguebeared where he had a shot between Tomasu and the warp spawn.Shot after shot os tiny razored discs rip through decayed flesh where it could, and where it could not toughened hide simply deflected the rounds. In either case, the spawn seemed unharmed.

Hydrako saw the necrons begin to phase out as they were punished by the crossfire. He aimed at the construct that was the least damaged and squeezed the firing stud. Bolts leapt out of the twin barrels again, but again they missed the slow moving xenos.

Serephan IC

The Grotesque lumbers out towards the approaching soulless, putting himself between them and him. Whatever was controlling him, be it its brain or some unknown signal from Ur'iss, knew that to move out now would still overextend him. He stayed out front but in reserve still.

The plague bearer gurgles out some tainted warp-speak at Tomasu, though no one really understood it. As he does so he swings at Tomasu with a rusted blade. The blades was tainted with all manner of toxic filth and decay. Its appearance belied its true potential.
Tomasu was not well-versed in Deamonology, but he knew instinctively that that Blade would do more damage than it should, and that any biological damage it might cause would fester.
It was a good thing that the attack was overextended. The deamon seemed to be acclimating to reality still.....

Deciding to down the damage Necron, Bleda fires a burst of bolts against it but misses. The misses were do to a sudden jam in his Bolters firing mechanism. He could spend precious time to clear the breach, or take the fight to them directly. Just after firing the Force Sword is in Bleda's hands. The Destroyer's next course of action was clear.

It looked to Grimnir that the pack were going finish the necrons without bother, still the wily wolf was careful as he wasn't in his power armour. He'd let his better armoured brothers take any charge if it came. Grimnir backs up away from the xenos while getting ready for the next headshot.

As Lucius sights down his target, he sees the head knit itself together. What could only be processor circuits of high xenos tech heresy simply rebuilds itself, undoing the damage he had just inflicted.
On the front side, the damaged eye socket rebuilds and the eye emits a green glow once again.
As this happens both of the Haris shaksiun march forwards, oblivious of the insane amount of firepower being thrown their way. They were now only 24 meters away.....

Lucius mics to the team: "Focus fire to destroy; they have a hell of a regeneration capability." He then fires off three more shots, not as carefully placed as last time but still on target.
Mass reactives hit the force field. Lucius notices the automata jerks as an armored arm panel was lit by an explosion. A Partial hit was better than no hits.

Cassiel mentally kicked himself for letting his last missile bounce off the abomination's shield - the next shot would be true. He scanned the target and let the machine spirit analyze the refresh cycle of the forcefield. Concentrating his breath he calculated the exact distance, the exact speed of the missile. Only with millisecond timing would this work. Cassiel pressed the firing rune and was rewarded by watching the missile pass through the shield as if it wasn't even there.

Tomasu felt the exertion of holding the possability shield and fighting at the same time. He would fight on as he always did, with grit and determination. He swirls Pit Viper end over end as he moves forwards into the deamon.
"BEGONE FILTH" he goads. Each spin of the relic spear cuts a little more from the plague bearer. He chortles gleefully, but knew that he was outmatched.
Finally, Tomasu ends the attack with a diagonal swipe from the blade. The Blade struck the single horned pile of disease at the base of the head. Its limit reached, the plague bearer's form dissipates to the warp. The falling body collapses into a dissipating swarm of flies, which soon was scattered to the winds.
Tomasu wipes the sweat from his brow. His rt eye was visible so long as he called upon the storm. He eyes the eldar with barely contained hate, for it was an eldar weapon which gave him the scar and the peculiar effect with his eye. Were it not for his orders and his word of honor, he would have dealt them the khans justice days ago.

Sapiens IC


Initiative:
Ur'iss - 16 - Overwatch
Muse - 16 -
Hydrako - 15 -
Serephan - 13 -
haris shakhsiun 1 - 13 - PHASED OUT
Grotesque - 12 - delay - 5m Out
haris shakhsiun 2 - 12 - PHASED OUT
PLaguebearer - 12 - CC/Tomasu - 15 wounds
Bleda - 11 - 1 wound - Jammed
Grimnir - 9 - Back 6m
haris shakhsiun 3 - 9 - 36M towards shooters - 20 wounds, 2 FATIGUE
haris shakhsiun 4 - 9 - 36m towards shooters
Lucius - 8 -
Cassiel - 8 -
Tomasu - 8 -
Sapiens - 5 -
haris shakhsiun 5 - 5 - ZAP!
haris shakhsiun 6 - 4 - ZAP!


{+10 to any one test, +35 to any parry/dodge tests fo Cassiel, Tomasu, Bleda, Grimnir, Sapiens, NOT the Eldar}

Ur'iss notes the daemon's demise and watches the approach of the haris shakhsiun. They were close, but she still had her mind slaved bodyguard. It was almost time to activate the many injectors lining her flesh-creation's body. That would send it into a rage she could manipulate to crush the approaching ancients.
"Clown, when are you going to stop playing with the unborn? They are not our enemy."
Muse turned back towards Ur'iss, as if she had forgotten all about the original battle.
"The dance must be performed along its ultimatum." She said in a downright icy tone.

He summersaults to a more forward position, before raising a splinter pistol and firing. She knew there was little chance the weapon would do anything. But inaction was to let the enemy win.....

Another volley erupted from the storm bolter, and this time the bolts found their mark. However, as the bolts struck the metal body of the xenos, they failed to penetrate and exploded harmlessly. Prepare to scatter. Move away from melee and draw them apart, he hissed over the vox. the shots hit the lumbering robot in the backside, and the forcefield bounces one off.

Serephan?

As Serephan pumps round after round into the seemingly invincible automaton, Ur'iss last remaining fleshcreation edges itself forwards at some unknown command from the silent Haemonculus of the dark city. As soon as Serephan stops to see his damage, the Fleshbeast charges.
The sand does not slow it, but you have the idea that if you were still in the jungle then the trees would shake with each massive step.
The beast leads the way and raises its massive cleaver high, putting its momentum into the swing. The haris shaksiun uses the tower shield to block the blow. As the two meet a thunderclap can be heard as the shield overlaps and fails under the heavy blow.
When the echo clears, the HarisShaksiun was still standing, unphased by the lumbering monstrosity bearing down on him.

Bleda?

"Squad leader, the Xenos have engaged the enemy in melee. Does the order to scatter and avoid melee remain in effect?" Bleda sends by the vox.
He wouldn't mind seeing the Necrons maul the Eldar but the idea to back off before the enemy in the Eldar's sight was not something he did eagerly.
Confirmed. Use the distraction to fire into its flanks. Hydrako hissed in reply.
"Understood, squad leader." Bleda took off to position himself to grant aid to the Eldar by bolter fire into the flank of the Necrons.

The last haris shaksiun turns and attacks the Grotesque. The dark green waraxe passes easily though its gnarlskin thigh and bites deep. This time, unlike before, the fleshcraft creation gives a bestial roar of pain.
Xenos blood, ichor, and stimulants spray out from severed arteries.

Lucius' first instinct was to rush into combat, but the squad leader hadn't ordered it. With the risk of friendly fire given the new situation, he just took his time and lined up a careful shot instead. "Disengage and attack at range where they have the disadvantage," he suggested over the squad vox.

Cassiel IC

Tomasu smirked in frustration at Lucius and Hydrako's words. No was was even close enough to disengage, what difference did an order make?
Cassiel was blowing the last one to pieces anyway, and It was sure to cause tensions between the dusk wraiths and themselves. He did not look forwards to that.
Still, he had to keep half of his attention on keeping the time dilation up so that his allies close by would shoot better and have better raction times.

As Sapiens lined up another shot, he under-estimated the erratic nature of the phase field and overcompensated, and the singular bolt flew wide. He annoted the recording of this part of the combat to avoid this mistake in the future.
His calculaions were premature, the shot rang true, and before Cassiel's explsion had even died down, the soulless was being riddled with more shots.





Initiative:
Ur'iss - 16 - Overwatch
Muse - 16 -
Hydrako - 15 -
Serephan - 13 -
haris shakhsiun 1 - 13 - PHASED OUT
Grotesque - 12 - CC/ Haris Shaksiun 4, 30 wounds, 5 crit
haris shakhsiun 2 - 12 - PHASED OUT
PLaguebearer - 12 - BANISHED
Bleda - 11 - 1 wound - Jammed
Grimnir - 9 - Back 6m
haris shakhsiun 3 - 9 - PHASED OUT
haris shakhsiun 4 - 9 - 36m towards shooters, CC/Grotesque
Lucius - 8 -
Cassiel - 8 -
Tomasu - 8 -
Sapiens - 5 -
haris shakhsiun 5 - 5 - ZAP!
haris shakhsiun 6 - 4 - ZAP!


{+10 to any one test, +35 to any parry/dodge tests fo Cassiel, Tomasu, Bleda, Grimnir, Sapiens, NOT the Eldar}

Ur'iss turned to glare at Cassiel. A look of barely restrained malice on her stretched death-mask face.
"Watch yourself mon'keigh! Orders say to work with you on this, but I will suffer no foolishness of yours more than I already have!"

Muse dances uselessly, as the solitaire also sends spliner fire rippling across the ancient ones shield uselessly.
"I would think he would consider that a 'happy accident'" Muse says in response. "Not intentional"
"I care not!" Ur'iss hisses. Ur'iss looks back to the carbon scorched grotesque and knew that once the combat was over and the stimms, rejuvinants and drugs she had just pumped him full of wore off, he would succumb to his wounds.
She would have to make more.

Hydrako IC

Serephan IC

The wounded flesh-beast attacks the last automaton. The large cleaver grazed off the tower shield. Even though the force field was not active it was still sturdy enough to deflect the massive blade.

Bleda tries to clear his jammed bolter but the weapon's had a more serious issue than he had expected. 'Oh, well. I'm sure the xenos will manage.' The Destroyer thinks to himself as he works with the weapon.
Tomasu watches his distant blood-cousin fail to clear the breech. Hrumph he grunts. He knew well what it was like when the machine spirits refuse to cooperate. He himself was hard on his own wargear, practically ignoring the steel for the power he instead took from the steppe of mundus planus.
Perhaps Sapiens would lend his talents to Bleda as Erradius lent him his own....

Grimnir noted the Dark Angels effort which took a chunk out of the xeno construct, firing into combat was always risky but he'd expected better unless of course it was on purpose. He cared not. The wolf lined up another shot at the necrons head and pulled the trigger.
Part of the head is blown away by the kraken round.

The Haris shaksiun counters with its green handaxe. In one fluid motion, and with half of its head gone, it quickly and easily severs the grotesque's head from its body.
The iron-masked head bounces several times along the ground, and the body remained standing, not aware that the control center had been surgically removed.
Without word, thought, or effort, he turns back to renew his march against the group at the corner of the black pyramid. As you watch, you see his head reknit itself.

Lucius took his time lining up the shot - seeing an opening, he squeezed the trigger. Nothing. Not a jam, as the weapon had never jammed on him before and its machine spirit didn't allow it to now. No, this was a misfire. The machine spirit within the chambered bolt-round had failed him. Quickly, he yanked back on the action, ejecting the traitorous round and quickly chambering another.

Cassiel ignores the Eldar witch until he fires his missile. Turning his recalcitrant gaze on her he responds to her drivel. "Orders were to avoid melee. If you're going to fight alongside Draco, you will need to observe our tactical doctrine. Or you'll end up like your foul-beast." He switches off the outer speakers so only Draco can hear him when he add, "As I hope to see in the very near future."
The round strikes true. And this time, with no forcefield to protect it, it explodes from the warhead of a shaped charge on the end of the krakstorm missile.

Initiative:
Ur'iss - 16 - Overwatch
Muse - 16 -
Hydrako - 15 -
Serephan - 13 -
haris shakhsiun 1 - 13 - PHASED OUT
Grotesque - 12 - CC/ Haris Shaksiun 4, 30 wounds, 5 crit
haris shakhsiun 2 - 12 - PHASED OUT
PLaguebearer - 12 - BANISHED
Bleda - 11 - 1 wound - Jammed
Grimnir - 9 - Back 6m
haris shakhsiun 3 - 9 - PHASED OUT
haris shakhsiun 4 - 9 - 36m towards shooters, CC/Grotesque, 10 damage
Lucius - 8 -
Cassiel - 8 -
Tomasu - 8 -
Sapiens - 5 -
haris shakhsiun 5 - 5 - ZAP!
haris shakhsiun 6 - 4 - ZAP!


{+10 to any one test, +35 to any parry/dodge tests fo Cassiel, Tomasu, Bleda, Grimnir, Sapiens, NOT the Eldar}

"Orders?" Ur'iss hisses, still at Cassiel.
"You made one decent shot the entire fight. Your psychic ones just stood there, oh. and pulling a demon from the immaterium. Was that your orders?"

Tomasu finally drops the psychic time dilation barrier, and then bristles at the mention.
"And what do you know of it? You stood there and did nothing. Less than worthless.

"If you've forgotten, master mon'keigh, I came here with 3 raiders, each loaded to the brim with my own fleshwarriors, and then 2 of my larger varieties. Losses not easily replaced Im afraid."
"Not to mention the raiders were not your to begin with" Muse adds with a sly smile underneath her mask. "What repercussions will hat entail?"

Ur'uss' impasive face answered with an unwavering glare of silence.

"I have not forgotten that you have lost your 3 raiders and both of your larger fleshwarriors, but apparently you have. Their presence alone was never sufficient justification to tolerate your insolent tongue, Witch, but now that you have no protectors you should watch what you say.
Orders to put up with you is the only thing keeping you alive. Call me 'mon'keigh' again and orders be damned, I'll see you hanged. Although the battle was technically over, Cassiel wasn't ready to stop fighting and he was already looking for new enemies, although surely the Deathless had more puissant defenses within the tomb.

Lucius picked up the round that failed him from the desert floor and tucked it into a pouch at his side. He would have Makradon inspect its failure and see if there were other rounds like it in their armory. That was not at all unexpected necessarily, but this was not some Guard unit nor even a standard Astartes squad.

This was the Deathwatch, and mistakes like that were unacceptable.

With the threat eliminated, the Novamarine checked his sector and gave an "All clear," as per protocol.

Listening to the exchange happening between Cassiel and the Eldar Wytch, Lucius found himself suddenly happy that the burden of command was not his currently. Yes, he yearned for it again, but right now - right at this moment - he was flexed and ready to back up Cassiel down to the millisecond a fight broke out. It was on Hydrako to ensure order, and while Lucius would back his Carcharadon brother down to the letter, there was a piece of him that wanted to rip the Eldar in half with Cassiel. He turned to Hydrako whom he had battled beside.

"Orders, brother?" His unhelmed face held the slightest of smirks.

"Well, it seems that Draco scored a victory here." Necrons gone, path cleared and the Xenos abominations dead, Bleda wasn't sure there could be a better outcome for this. The Destroyer can helpt but smirk at the trade of words between Eldar and his battle-brothers.

Feeling a bit at ease at the current situation, Bleda casts a Reading on the Eldar solitaire. He would like to know a bit more abput what this wierd xenos was thinking and what the creature was like.

Focused Power Test - Fettered

30 vs 57

https://orokos.com/roll/868679

Enough bickering, all of you. Hydrako's words hushed across the vox. He glanced at Lucius, catching his smirk before continuing, deadpan. The enemy is defeated and we have yet to sustain serious losses. Save your vitriol and poison for the enemy Fleshcarver. You can replace your puppets with whatever leftovers there are after the final battle. Refrain from baiting each other and drawing blood, or I will eat the perpetrators...He intentionally added the last part to make sure that it was understood all would be punished. It wasn't exactly orthodox but it was the way of his Chapter.

He leered at Lucius then, showing his relish for a possible altercation.We'll see who wants to bite first now,he said.

Move to the portal and prepare to breach. Grimnir, take point and enter first. We'll remain in vox contact outside until you give the all clear. If there is interference and we lose contact, we will wait 10 seconds before entering behind you in support. Questions? While he waited for a reply, he took off in blast of flame and arced to the portal, powersword and stormbolter ready.

Lucius followed on the tail of Draco's squad leader. The banner of Draco hung high and proud from the top of his jump pack. He took a breaching position beside the door and waited or Grimnir to lead the way in.

As an aside, he clicked over to Cassiel and said in Draco cant, "If it makes you feel any better, I have a suspicion that both these Necrons and your new wytch friend will have a place on our banner before we return to orbit."

"Just don't forget that some of our enemies wear our armor" With his helmet it was impossible to see if Cassiel's glance betrayed a specific suspicion about anyone they had newly encountered planetside.

Tomasu moved towards Bleda.
"Do the machine spirits deny you Succor brother? Oft have I found myself faced with silence when I listen for the machine spirit. It give me pause to their true existence. The techmarines can work wonders and push them further than they ought to go, But I hear from them not a whisper. I can feel the wildlife and hear their emotions if i open myself up enough, but guns and armor have no more attentive than are rocks."

He surveys the rest of the squads forming up over the scant remains of the soulless.

"How long have you been with this kill team?"

Sylphilis wrote:

Tomasu moved towards Bleda.
"Do the machine spirits deny you Succor brother? Oft have I found myself faced with silence when I listen for the machine spirit. It give me pause to their true existence. The techmarines can work wonders and push them further than they ought to go, But I hear from them not a whisper. I can feel the wildlife and hear their emotions if i open myself up enough, but guns and armor have no more attentive than are rocks."

He surveys the rest of the squads forming up over the scant remains of the soulless.

"How long have you been with this kill team?"

"The machine spirits do as they do. I am not an initiate of Mars and no mortal man, save Him on Terra, can hope to grasp all of the universe. This" Bleda gestures to the bolter. "This is but a tool. My true weapons are my gifts and this." Bleda pats his force sword with a grin. "I put my trust fully in this."

A bit hesitant to give to much information with the motto of "A Suspecious Mind is a Healthy Mind" in his own mind, Bleda answers Tomasu.

"I have been with them neither a long nor short time. But we have reinforced our brotherhood in the fires of battle."

Lucius responded to Cassiel with a knowing nod. The traitors were who they really needed to keep in mind.

With no more to be said, he waited for insertion.

But instantly regretting his secrecy he adds. "This is my second mission with this Kill Team, forgive my previous obfuscate statement. It's an old habit."

Grimnir kept to himself after the fight was over, he wasn't interested in the bickering although he'd been part of it earlier. He gives a nod to Hydrako at his orders and so makes himself ready. The foe seemed technically advanced so it might be easy to track his movements but he would at least ensure to more mundane senses that he was hard to keep track of. His scount armour had some electronic counter measure but he doubted they’d be up to much here.

Pulling his chameleon cloak tight about his frame Grimnir moves cautiously forward keeping a very close eye on what he stepped on and any viewports or automated weapons. He expected traps and would be disappointed in the enemy if there were none… at least an ambush.

Sapiens left the squad to their bickering. A very...typical issue with posthumans. Too much pride and self-assurance in a package that-despite the creed-still mortal. He picked at the space the necron previously occupied, trying to see if anything-weapons, defences, data-had been left behind.


Noting that grimnir was moving towards the entrance, he followed, using his auspexes to inspect the entrance for any hidden defence systems.

Hydrako watched the Wolf Scout basically disappear in plain sight and then the ripple of the portal as he slipped through. As Sapiens inspected the entrance with his scanning tools, he asked do you notice anything, Tech Marine?

Grimnir approaches the single entrance, a glowing green pool set in a square portal. It was where the last two haris shaksiun had went when combat was initiated. It was very possible that they were in wait.

Grimnir was bathed in its glow as he peered into its depths. His eyes searched every square inch of the malign door for some hint of what lay behind.
He saw....nothing, nothing but the green hue that these automatons were keen to.
Likewise, he heard nothing of import. The portal itself emitted a low hum that was just on the edge of perception.

His enhanced wolf senses smelled the acetonic tang of ozone and sterility.

A Minutes passes by, and Grimnir stands there, staring into the portal.......


***

Sapiens approaches Grimnir. All he had found was scraps of metallic skin and parts he couldn't identify, spinal joints? or possibly angle joints?

Peripheral scanning, however, shows him that the metal is unclassified in his limited databanks. The alloy was unlike any he had come across before. He needed time with them in a lab to determine the exact mineral ratios; so he kept the scraps for later analysis.

Behind Grimnir, his HUD provided him with more information that Grimnir's keen senses.
The portal was emitting ferocious power. It was similar to readings that match warp breaches and incursions, but unlike those, these were stable readings. If he did not know better, the green wall of light itself was a miniature event horizon, the center of black hole phenomena.
Current theories on wormholes, warp routes as stable as the webway, gave Sapiens the indication that this door lead them to somewhere that was not just on the other side of the black-glass wall. It could lead to deep space or possibly the other side of the galaxy.

But....based on the fact that this was the ancient Nahb kingdom's center of power, it was more likely that this lead to somewhere in system.
Coinciding with that thought was the fact that the event horizon did not put out the gravitational pull of a black hole, meaning that the wormhole would not have the same kind of power that could transport ships across the stars.

"There is some kind of portal, covered by a field which I cannot see through. I may go out of contact when I enter." Grimnir reports over squad comms. With without fear or trepidation he steps through.

Grimnir steps through and immediately his signature disappears from Hydrako's command HUD.

---SIGNAL LOST---

The rune blinks repeatedly in the lower corner in red whereas everyone else had a STATUS: OK in green.

As to any other sign of foul play, there was none. No screams or blood, just the errie green silence of the portal.

Lucius began the mental countdown in his head as soon as Grimnir left view. After ten seconds, he moved to breach the gateway, bolter up.

Sensing Lucius' intentions Bleda makes himself ready. No one could tell what was beyond the portal but he'd be damned if he let a single of his brothers behind, or die unavenged.

one by one you each follow suit and enter the portal.

It was nauseating, much like teleportation, but whereas the technology of the imperium had been suited to fit living beings, this was build for automated ai constructs.
After the momentary sensation of nausea, weightlessness, vertigo, molecular particulization, and reassembly wore off. You find yourself in a dark room build from the same black obsidian as the pyramid proper. These walls were laced with corruscating green circutry embedded behind the smooth surface.

More pressing, however was the fact that you were not all together. Looking behind you, you find no such egress, no way back to the surface. Was this a trap? Some sort of machine error?
There was no time to thin about it now as there was a noise opposite you. Raising your bolter for attack, you find another member of your team......

Cassiel raises his sidearm in the small room to find Tomasu at the end of his sights. Unhelmeted, his breaths came out in ragged puffs of white air. Experience led Cassiel to believe that this was a side effect of his witchery, was he using it now.....?
The room you find yourselves in is a small room, with only a dark hallway that ends in blackness somewhere along the way.

Bleda saw a flash of green light behind him and instinctively dodged, narrowly avoid the incoming Lucius. There was confusion as Lucius had jumped through before Bleda, but Bleda arrived first.
You were on a narrow, rail-less catwalk above a blackness that implied a very long fall. The catwalk ended in a darkened doorway some 50 meters behind you, and another 75 meters in the other direction. You cannot tell how wide the room actually was.

Grimnir was ready and waiting when Hydrako erupted from a momentary lapse in reality. Before his boots hit the ground, the way back was gone.
You find yourselves in a menagerie of sorts. There were round plinths, each lit from above with no obvious source. The subjects were varied, some were identifiable, some were not. You could take a closer look, the rooms was large enough to hold 1000's of subject tubes in neatly organized rows and columns, with enough room to maneuver between each.

Sapiens was almost unaffected by the distortion of teleportation, but his ambient reading were varied. Many readings came back as unavailable. Before he could take stock, a green portal opened in front of him and Serephan stepped through, the portal closing immediately behind him.
You were on a grated catwalk above what could only be called 'Legions' of warriors, extending in the distance that made you feel like you were on a parade ground. Whatever this room was, it was big enough to have a mock battle between a dozen imperial knights, possibly even titan class machines, and still not be in range to fire weapons. The machines themselves were immobile, unpowered. They had no life in them.

Testing the vox, you find that only static returns. Even the static was more a product of baffling than background noise. It was as if this place simply did not allow short range vox traffic, or maybe you were just that far apart?

[Lucius & Bleda]

"Good seeing you, brother." Bleda adress the Novamarine. "But its less good to not see anyone else here. Its probably best to get moving than to remain here, and maybe we can figure out what's going on and where the others have gone." As they start to move Bleda also adds "It seems obvious that the Xenos who entered before us have tampered with the portal's mechanics to divide the Kill Team and make it easier for them to destroy us. But why they did like this and didn't let us enter above an endless pit or among a hundred of their kind," Bleda throws a look down the darkess on their sides, "I can't profess to know or make a guess."

[Grimnir and Hydrako]

The wolf shook his head to clear the after effects of the 'teleportation' and he then took in his surroundings. He took a deep breath, tasting the smell and scents of the place so he'd be aware if anything changed. He stood stock still ears straining to hear... anything.

Grimnir had a few moments to ensure there were no enemies present before his curious gaze drifted to the many specimens on display. His interest was professional; looking for points of weakness amongst any natural armour the subjects had or weapons at their disposal. All the better to kill the xeno.

When the shark arrived alone Grimnir spoke in a hushed voice "No targets present. Where are our brothers?"

When it bacame apparent they were elsewhere the wolf starts looking for a way forward.

Gurkhal wrote:

[Lucius & Bleda]

"Good seeing you, brother." Bleda adress the Novamarine. "But its less good to not see anyone else here. Its probably best to get moving than to remain here, and maybe we can figure out what's going on and where the others have gone." As they start to move Bleda also adds "It seems obvious that the Xenos who entered before us have tampered with the portal's mechanics to divide the Kill Team and make it easier for them to destroy us. But why they did like this and didn't let us enter above an endless pit or among a hundred of their kind," Bleda throws a look down the darkess on their sides, "I can't profess to know or make a guess."

Lucius made ready to gun his jump pack and clear Bleda, but the Destroyer had moved away in time. Odd as Lucius had entered before him. A quick check of the comms revealed what he had already suspected since Grimnir had entered - no luck.

I bet Sapiens is loving this, he thought quickly.

"Or perhaps it wasn't these robotic abominations at all. Other abominations could have tinkered with it to impede our progress. The ancient enemy's foul sorcery could be at work here as well." Lucius pointed toward the closest of the two doorways, indicating they should advance. The Novamarine took point, knowing that he could react and respond much more quickly with his jump pack, and that the Librarian would potentially need those vital seconds to bring his power to bear.

"Let's move out."

OOC:

"I have sensed no warp energies since our previous encounter or than Tomasu's uses." But Bleda is willing to let the Novamarine take the lead.