All of you please make Toughness tests to see who wakes up first.
*shrug* why not just do massed rolls like that in one post? Same for initiative and passive awareness/perception tests?
it would save a load of time waiting around for everyone to ensure we post in chronologically correct order.
I'll roll for it anyway. I assume you want the degree of successes/ failures next to it?
(+1 degree of success
Standing over the Arbitrator's prostate form, Sister Renata was about to turn away when a hissing sound came from the ventilators.
Only a momentary thought was possible before blackness overcame her....
Toughness (33)
wait a tick...I shouldn't be this sleeep-*-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Made it but no degrees of success
Our stats are all relatively close for Characteristic Tests. One roll could mean we all fail or make it with minute degrees of variance. But I think initiative could work well that way.
---------
the vents activate with an audible grate of metal, quiet but still audible. Chocking a curse Vector grabs his overcloak and is halfway through the action before the world drips into bars and pools of color. the psyker hits the deck after sliding down his cloak.
------
Emperor's mercy what just happened? Vector gives a pained grunt before looking around blearily. He releases the death grip he had on his temples only to be assaulted by a new tempo of pain beating in his skull.
"Ow.." the psyker states flatly before gingerly moving again, careful not to upset the symphony in his skull for fear of it getting worse.
As the gas begins to release from it's long slumber within the holy containers of readiness, Titus sighs and slowly lowers himself to the floor. He rolls quickly under his blessed board of seating and curls up in to the defensive position of holy pre-birth. As the gas hits him and he hears the thumps as others slump over or fall smashing to the ground he begins deeply breathing in the blessed air, fighting hard against the urge to hold his breath. I serve at his will, my death will not be in vain. This is simply a test... simply another test.
As consciousness slips from his brain he hangs on hard to his training.
12345412335454368.712-1 The sin of abstractionism shall be dealt with in expedience and with all due prejudice. Any officer of the law that has stained their hands with the mark of the traitor, taken upon them selves the judgement and sentencing of another without sanction, is forfeit. Purge the lost brother or sister lest their heresy poison the actions and thoughts of another.
When consciousness returns to his mind it continues as it had before.
35132414589013249.813-5 The sin of public indecency shall be classified as, but not limited to, any action designed to cause a moral outrage within the common citizen of a location. (See also The sin of public annoyance) On the first offense a citizen shall be dealt with by sound beating and penal service. A second offense shall be put to death by holy injection or blessed explosives.
Titus notices that the others seem to have stirred long before him, no matter.
As you slowly come to, you find yourselves inside of a large metal cargo hold, filled to the twenty-foot ceiling of crates and other containers stamped with the Imperial Aquila on their surfaces. The room itself is dim and rife with the smell of distilled air, but otherwise is perfectly survivable. A clearing that is twenty by twenty meters is where you find yourself lying prostrate, devoid of your weapons.
A vox lies a few meters from your position, crackling with static and garbled words issuing out. "Can...hear...immediate...request...heretics...protect...-lar Field..."
The order of who wakes up:
* Renata (15)
* Vector (23)
* Cimbria (27)
* Mathias (30)
* Simmins (82)
* Roth (89)
Slowly, slowly the lights of the cargo hold become clearer , Sister Renata raises her head from the hard metal floor.
A quick check reveals her weapons were missing. Accepting tha situation with equanimity, her attention is captured by the static coming from the vox.
Head cocked in concentration, she tries to make out what was being said.
Picking up the vox, she attempts to send "This is Battle Sister Renata, seconded to Inquistor Sharben. Identify yourself and the situation."
She notices that all of the others from the shuttle have been deposited here with her, all currently in states of unconsiousness, though a couple are beginning to stir.
"-tor Sharben. Identify yourself and the situation."
On fully waking Vector grabs at his temples and stands, looking miserable and scans the crate filled room. Eyes alert for dangers and threats in the area. And yet more lessons as to why the Inquisition is not be crossed, So he seems to have put us in a storage room of some kind. Perhaps whoever is on the other end of the line will give further information
He nods to the battle sister who appears to be occupied with the Vox and it surprised to feel something on his ear, reaching he pulls what he had mistaken to be a prayer bead of the Mechanicus from his ear properly placed its purpose now obvious. So I had such an item the entire time, I wonder why they did not label it, perhaps I should set it to the bandwidth the arbit- As vector fiddles with the object he considers his actions in the last few moments he remembers I was right, and yet I could have just let the Arbite speak. She would have said her piece and been reprimanded by the inquisitor. But because I chose to speak rather then drop the issue she did what any guard dog would. She bit and didn't let go. He looks toward the unconscious arbitie before sighing softly All I sought was to reach my commander so I could understand my position, but I seem to be even further from that now. Emperor may you give me a simpler task next time, for flourishing at such things as diplomacy is beyond me.
The dream seems to be keeping Simmins down longer the normal affect of the gas. A dream that starts with familiar cold but grows warmer and warmer as the axe rises and falls over and over chopping and rending flesh and skin and bone spraying hot blood everywhere red and comfortable and...
He wakes with a start finally escaping from the disturbing images. Groaning he looks around. It looks like everyone but the silent tech priest are already up and inspecting a strange storage area that they seem to be in.
-ituation..*bzzzzt*
*ugggghhh* my head... Sudden panic washes over Cimbria as she realizes she was unconscious for an undetermined amount of time What did you do witch? WHAT DID YOU DO? A quick pat-down reveals she is unarmed. Glaring at him she notices he is holding his head. This isn't the shuttle. The cargo hold was nearly barren and not as large... At Vector This wasn't your doing... Cimbria's eyes narrow as she contemplates the situation
We must have docked...
Vector grinds his teeth as Cimbria vents her voice driving the tempo in his head even higher "No Magistrate Cimbria we have not docked as far as I am aware, vents on the shuttle activated after you att-." No this isn't the time, we need to grasp the situation at hand. The pained psyker thinks before speaking again"Regardless we were knocked unconscious and are currently in a large storage area, I do not possess my pistol or blade and on looking at you I presume the same." The psyker casts about the room still searching while speaking
"It being his shuttle I would say that wherever we are it is highly likely the doing of Inquisitor Sharben. I am searching the area for things of use while the battle sister obtains details with the Vox.
Do as you will but I can only guess this is a test of some kind, as normally on being knocked unconscious I would expect to wake in a cell or at the emperors side."
In response to Renata:
"Get...-oost signal...there!" Most of the static clears away and a female voice, one with authority, shouts into the vox amidst the sound of distant bolt and las fire. "Whoever is listening on the other end of this vox, I repeat! Heretics have taken over the ship and are trying to deactivate the Gellar Fields! If the heretics succeed in turning of the fields, this ship will become a charnel house for the daemons outside to feast on! All navy armsmen are protecting the bridge and critical points, so whoever you are, protect the Gellar Field generators at all costs! Auspex pings you at...Cargo Omega-372? You're more than close enough-"
The vox cuts out as the sound of an explosion overwhelms the communications device. "They've broken through the blast doors!" the voice resumes. "Stand to, men! Educate these ignorant heathens on how we purge traitors from our midsts. In the Emperor's name----!"
The communication cuts with the sound of an army's worth of gunfire erupting from the device before returning to static. No matter how many times you try to establish communication again or ask questions, there is no response from the other end of the channel.
The pain tore through Gabriel's head and lungs. Emperor protect me, grant me the strength to serve you on this day.
Opening his eyes, he takes stock of the situation. The acolytes are still together, Emperor be praised. We are unarmed, though otherwise unharmed. What is that coming of the vox? The battle sister seems to be working on that. And both the psyker and the magistrate are searching the contents of the chamber. How did we get here? Why have they taken our weapons? Did I hear the word heretics as we were waking?
Seeing Vector searching the compartment, Gabriel will seek anything that could used to defend themselves, including check in any crates he is able to open. As he does so, he speak, "Emperor protect us, has anyone found anything of use?"
Mathias and Vector spot a locker outside the room. Inside of it are all of your missing weapons. Aside from that, all that the crates contain are foodstuffs and rations for the journey.
I'll check Roth's status. If he is not conscious I'll lightly slap his face to wake him Vaughn...Vaughn, you have to wake up!
The psyker rouses. I take it I'm not dead? Roth hops up while ignoring his pounding head. He looks around and asks the same questions as others before him. He catches up on current events and dresses for battle.
Any idea where the Gellar thing is? says Roth to no one in particular. Sister! far as I'm concerned, you're in charge.
Simmins moves to retrieve his weapons and opts to ready the shotgun for now.
Whoever is in charge we need to figure out where the gellar is.
Check near the doors and any offices you find, maybe we can locate a chart with the path...
"If the Gellar fields machine spirit is tampered with we all die, from my memory the one on the ship I grew up on had it in the center of mass. It needed to project the materium bubble at equal distances on all sides. My home ship was venerable though and I am unsure of the nature of the one we are on" the psyker states with a quickly minor shake to his voice. But I can't help but feel strange. We get shipped off unconscious and just wake up for this to happen? the Com is just repeating once message loop, how long? then we wake up just in time to stop it... this does not seem right.
No one is killing you while I live, witch. I reserve that right exclusively... Cimbria gives a vicious grin at that...
Sister Renata tosses the vox to the ground when it become apparent that nothing more would come of attempting more with it.
Moving with the others to the lockers, she picks up her bolter with what could only be called reverence, turning it over and over, inspecting it for damage.
Satisfied of its integrity , she slips it into its holster and stands looking at Vector as he explains the nature of Gellar fields
"The woman indicated that we were close to the Gellar generators. Convenient as that is, we must work on the assumption that we and the ship are at grave risk. Do you concur?"
"Well if the field fails make sure to tell the Daemons that, some of them might die laughing." the psyker replies blandly, grabbing up his weapons, ensuring his autopistol is loaded and his firebombs are primed. he turns to address the battle sisters question features hardening into professional tone and posture
"Yes, Battle Sister if the containment of the field is punctured for even a moment it fails. If that happens we stand completely unprotected in the depths of the warp. We must reach the generator with all haste for to do otherwise is to damn every soul on this ship."
Collect my guns and Search for the deck-chart
just going to stop rolling dice before I look even more foolish
Roth laughs at Sister's question then quickly recovers. Yes Sister. We concur. Pick a direction to go and we will follow. We can learn while moving
The Sororitas nods at Vectors confirmation, then looks to the others to see that all are armed and ready. "Stay close, not all of us have comms. First order of business is a proper orientation. The Arbitus has the right idea, let us find a deck-chart or cogitator that we might discover our location relative to the Gellar generators. Stay sharp, heretics abound on this vessel it appears." she says.
hopefully you tuned in to channel 15.25
*bzzt*"Magistrate" will do nicely, Sister...I have the six
After hearing to stay sharp, heretics, Roth sighs. Yeah, Attacking the Gellar. We go follow the sounds of fighting, we find the gellar.
After a few minutes of tense walking through the dark hallways, you find yourself at the quarters of the tech-priest in charge of regulating this sector of the ship. While the person who resides here is absent, probably having departed in a hurry given the slew of papers and blood stains across the room, you manage to scrounge up a data-slate.
However, there is a crack in the chassis; the machine may be damaged and its spirit gravely offended.
Titus shakes his head as the others begin to file out in to the halls of the cruiser, if it were not for the urgency of the current predicament he would have stopped to try and understand how this had all come to be. It is all a test, always a test. He pushes himself up off the floor and begins to follow behind the rest. Aged hands quickly check that he still possessed the blessed medikit that he feared he would soon need. Hard step and purposeful stride bring him in to lock step with the others, trying to position himself in the middle of the pack as they pushed to their destination.
Finding the tech-priests quarters a mess he steels himself for the worst. They may well die out in the warp...A test, just another test, every single step a test. Titus looked through the room a little more carefully while the others spent their time investigating the data-slate.
I guess this one tests our tech savy. If you can't fix it, lets move on to the next test. The psyker smirks a little. Let me know when I'll be useful. Roth takes a knee.
*bzzt* I'll make it a point to learn more about these cogitators later...
Armed and equipped, Brother Gabriel takes up a position toward the front of the company, behind the first line. Armageddon in his hands, he prepares to deal with the heretics bringing chaos to the ship. Those who betray the glorious God-Emperor have fallen from the light. Redeem them through annihilation
As the others go to work on the damaged data slate, Gabriel hunkers down in the doorway, taking cover while maintaining strong sight lines down the hall.
This looks kinda like the tech that navigated the auto carts to the mines... I think I can get it... Yeah there it is
Simmins manages to get the device to work. With a series of chirping noises, the data slate hums to life and blows up a map of the floor you're currently on.
From your current position, you will need to head to the rear of the ship. Take the service tram seven floors down, walk another quarter of a kilometer and you should be placed right in front of the entrance to the Gellar Field generators. However, bypassing the lock requires either the gene-locked key of the magos or an Inquisitorial Rosette.
As you peruse through the map, a small warning appears in the corner of the tablet. When you click it, a small message reads:
{Technomancers be advised: the heretics have seized control of the murder-servitors. Warn the navy personel attached to you and proceed with extreme caution. They are armed and extremely dangerous.}
The Psyker looks at Roth owlishly "The woman on the Vox sounded alive, such questions are fruitless but it seems odd we would end up here. ".
I wonder, was it simple chance? is the Inquisitor gambling thousands of lives on our success or is this simply a bluff?
-----(once the guardsmen does his stuff)
He does not appear the type to know the machine spirits, curious.
Vector had been looming in the room with little to contribute as the guardsmen worked. Though he prepared his weapons on seeing the man get power to the Data slate.
Simmins relates the information to the rest of the group. I don't know if we care to get to the field, only keep others out of it. The murder servitors we'll have to deal with
Simmins tries to see if the slate contains information on where the magos with access to the fields is.
We should hurry
The murder-servitors are secondary to the risk if the Gellar Field is lost...
Simmins, you're more canny than you look. Well done.
So seven floors and a quarter click...not exactly close
Roth readies himself, and heads off with the group to the Tram. I can't imagine that the tram is unguarded. Be ready for a fight.
After once again checking the hall in both directions outside the magos' chamber, Brother Gabriel glances in. "Odd, or perhaps divine providence? For what if the Emperor himself saw into the vastness of the warp, and foreseeing the attack sent us in this direction. Perhaps he even provoked Cimbria and Vector to confront each other, so that we would be placed unconscious in the locker. For if we were conscious when we arrived on board, we would like be near the command deck, and thus tied up right now fighting the heretics. But Emperor be praised we were placed where we were, and thus are able to respond to the imminent threat to the Gellar Field. Have faith brethren."
Glancing into the hall again, "We best get moving. But what of this key? Is there anything in this chamber that would work as the magos' gene key, or was one of you perhaps granted Inquisitor Alistair's-"
As if suddenly interrupted, Brother Gabriel stops speaking and starts cycling through the different channels on his microbead, listening for chatter on any other frequencies. "Do any of you know what channel either Inquisitor Alistair specifically, or Inquisitors in general, prefer to use?"
Could it be something as random as chance that would bring us to this point? It seems similar to some of the loyalty verification that Magos ardent Mendicant place me into though...
"Our being here as fortune or not I can only guess, foresight is not my blessing. I can only guess that an Inquisitor would use a private channel or a personal telepath.
Looking at the stains on the floor and the office in general he considers.
"Do we know if this is the Magos's quarters? If so the blood on the floor could serve as a possible method of opening a gene lock. though I do not know the specifics of such a device."
By a cursory inspection, the quarters that you are currently inhabiting are not that of a Lord Magos. Such a quarters would contain more machinery and holy technologies of the Mechanicus.
As you finish your search and ready yourselves to make your way to the tram, you hear a series of noises coming from down the hallway. They begin faintly, but slowly begin to grow in noise and intensity as whatever is causing the phenomena are getting closer...
"I am bereft of knowledge of each of those subjects, if the Magos' blood could be of use... Sister Renata states, checking the corridor they came from.
"As Brother Gabriel states, if there is nothing left of use here we should hasten to our objective."
Passing Simmins she grasps his shoulder and murmurs "Well done, guardsman."
Hearing the noise coming nearer she hisses to the others "Something comes... make ready!"
She finds a doorway or crate or something to take cover behind , draws her bolter and watches the corrider from where the commotion emanates.
Roth pulls his pistol in a quick motion. He springs to the the corner that turns into the hallway. From cover he aims down the corridore. Ready to light them up.
Resisting the urge to charge down the corridor with his axe Simmins copies the Sister's motion and finds cover on the front line ready to fire at anything that comes within 20 meters of his position with his shotgun. Emperor preserve us he mutters.