A catalyst
Autarchical
and often fractious, Ordos of the Dalthan Conclave are not well known
for their harmonious assemblage. It requires a great deal of charisma
and power to influence so many respected Inquisitor/Inqusistrix to pay
fealty at the requiem of the former Helios Cabal leader, Madine. Not
many within the Dhaltan sub hold such command.
Inquisitor
Guidonis is one such individual. A long and glittering career behind
him, Guidonis now officially retired to the chapel planetoid Ecclissia
where he writes his Magnum Opus , Practica Inquisitionis Haereticae.
The
Bythonian Synod asked Guidonis to witness the Succession, acting to
serve the Ecclesiarchy's interests insofar as possible. After Madines
death , the synod arranged a reliquary shrine in the halls of Brythonis
. The devout Guidonis making all necessary arrangements for
transportation.
Whilst
many Inquisitors despised Madine personally, and many more apathetic
towards her political aims ( Including Guidonis ). Refusing a personal
invite from the revered Inquisitor, to the requiem was tantamount to
Heresy . As such it came as little surprise that so many representatives
from the Ordo's diligently arrived on board Admirals Faust's Cruiser
before it departed from Dhaltus Prime.
Admiral
Faust is a stringent man .. a man who knows procedure .. a survivor of
countless Naval confrontations ..His tactical nounce is as ingrained
as a servitors binary code. On occasion and when necessary, it is said
of his Captain's that he can interpret a lingua technis combat analysis
Vox, quicker than a techpriest.
Which would explain how he ordered his ship “Abaft the beam “ whilst still in the immaterium , seconds before pair of boarding torpedoes hit his flank .
A Single ship wide vox communicae rattled out of a thousands identical of plasteel lattice orbs .
“Make
ready to receive boarding actions gentlemen , we are dropping out of
warp, have your Lieutenants do their jobs well and we may survive.”
Klaxon's
wailed cacophonous as Captains yelled orders down vox tubes to the
lower decks. Lieutenants yelled orders at their ensigns and eighty
thousand indentured souls moved as one..Respect for the Admiral In
their minds , fear of the buffers cat o nine on the flesh and devotion
to the God Emperor the lubrication in the heart.
The first salvo of explosions rocked the cruiser leeward on its gyro stabilisers .
“ Damage report watch Captain , if you please!”
We have lost the geller field Admiral , all port side macro canons are disabled .
Void
shields down.. warp engines down..plasma drive intact , starboard
macro lance batteries intact, Nova cannon intact.. torpedo tubes
intact. Aft launch bays intact.
Power loss on decks 39 to 123..
The battle deck bristled with static energy as rasping orders rang out.
Bring her about and ready the lance batteries , launch all starhawk fighters, and someone contact Inquisitor Guidonis ,
You
could call it a sixth sense if you were of a superstitious nature ..
Faust called it too long in the warp.. sometimes the crew just knew
something bad was going to happen, you didn’t have to be an astropath
to sense these things ..
A
small flotilla of chaos frigates and reavers sporting the heretical
"Word bearer" iconography, had happened upon the ageing Dictator class
Cruiser. Even with its frigate outriders the Admiral was outmatched ,
and he knew it. Tactics could take you far and faith further , but not
today . This battle was lost before it started .. His only recourse was
to fight through or pull back.
“Praise the Emperor , we fight on”
STRATUM deck 144
Imperial guard barracks “Axiom”
The battle had raged for hours, emergency red light filled the stratum with a disconcerting glow .
The barrack had lost power several times as localised plasma cores imploded under fluctuating energy surges .
The
aptly named cruiser was on it's last legs. A final push by the Admiral
had seen the ancient ships armoured prow plunge through its enemies,
scattering its foes like leaves in the wind. But the price was too high
. A barrage of superheated lances had rupture the coolant tubes that
fed its venerable plasma core, several decks and most aft launch bays
had been instantly snap frozen. A winter ice palace reflecting a
contrary myriad of boiling plasma and lance ordinance.
Faust
had suggested Guidonis inter Madine in one of the barrack reliquary's,
for the transit to Loidis. The barracks could easily cater for any
needs the Inquisitors may have . With its own array of flight decks
transporting Madine on and off ship wouldn’t be a problem ..Which in
hindsight proved a welcome move. But also kept them together and off of
the Admirals command deck. The last thing he wanted was a dozen or so
inquisitors wandering around his ship with time on their hands.
When
the repel Boarders on stratum 144 order came through the Inquisitors
took direct command of the barracks. Skilfully coordinating the troops
to defend key locations ,until Guidonis ordered all to return to
Madines sarcophagus .
“ Our priority is to transfer Madines body to Brythonis , we must move now to secure a ship before its too late”
The
assembled Inquisitors along with their commandeered troops , began the
desperate battle to push through the tight renegade filled corridors
to he nearest vacant cargo hold.
Guidonis greets The inquisitors of Dalthus
Madines antigravitic suspensor sarcophagus is moved slowly towards the docking bay
under the watchful eye of Guidonis
Vendrake Commandeers Troops and joins Guidonis behind Madine
Renegade troops pour into the ship
Velk slips away unseen into the shadows
Cassar Valiantly leads troops into the enemies midst
Benadice rallies the shaken crew
Cordatus leaps into battle slaying cultist after cultist whilst heading towards the captured navy provost's
After
a desperate battle the Inquisitors had pushed into the centre of the
ship..half way towards the docking bay, when a second wave of cultists
burst forth blocking their exit. The ship crumbling around them they
were running out of time .
Adorno Intercepts a drove of recreant dissenters
Cordatus frees the Naval Provosts and leads the south east charge
Villem Hoth Breaks the right flank into the central corridor
Requiem Act : -][- -][-
As
the fighting intensified, the dauntless inquisitors split into three
distinct groups , Cordatus ,Vendrake, Benadice , Cassar, Guidonis,
Adorno and the Meretrix Auphid fought through the tightly packed
eastern corridors on the right flank. Whilst Helsmarck , Tybalt, and
Balthier .Skirmished through the spartan central the corridors ,
leaving Velk , Bell and Wroth to contest the discommodious western
maintenance corridors on the left flank.
East Corridor
The
battle grew blood fierce.. Las and bolt shot replaced by the slash and
stab of fixed bayonet and power sword. The right flank had slowed to a
crawl. The sheer numbers of guardsmen that had flocked to protect the
sarcophagus (as directed by Guidonis and Vendrake) had hobbled and
constricted its advance. The haughty, yet dour visage of Inquisitor
Cassar expressed little emotion as he elegantly strode, sabre in hand
towards the seething ranks of chaos, ahead of the sarcophagus and a
throng of bristling flak roughnecks. Agent Auphid bound impatient
forward, cutting a tempestuous swathe through the cultist. Eager to
impress Guidonis, the young Inquisitor Cordatus saw his chance.
Ducking out of the constricted north-east corridor and sprinting hard
to the brig. Skewering a renegade guardsman and freeing his naval
provost captives in one fell swoop. Not to be outdone Executrix
Benadice and the Malleusificant Adorno jostled through the fractious
fraternity. Inspiring and terrorising in equal measure, to join the
Meretrix on the front-line.
Adorno Intercepts a drove of recreant dissenters
Cordatus frees the Naval Provosts and leads the south east charge
Inquisitor
Alaric Balthier had forged headway into the dimly lit central passage,
His sword ran a crimson viscous artery through a bevy of wailing
rancorous scum, Ogryn and man alike fell to plasma and plasteel. The
Veteran Hoth, unable to keep speed with the more agile Inquisitor,
seconded a group of standing cadets, forking west through an open door
and overwhelming its heterodox
occupants. Tybalt had dealt with the first wave of cultists with some
ease, His mighty malleus hammer denting, then demolishing foe by foe.
He now swept forward towards Hoth and Alaric, followed closely by a circumspect Helsmarck, who had accrued a sizeable retinue of conscripts.
Helsmarck precedes Tybalt into the central west xxii generatum
Helsmarck precedes Tybalt into the central west xxii generatum
Villem Hoth Breaks the right flank into the central corridor
The
fighting had began in earnest, A quintet of fervent grim faced men,
formed a formidable human shield around the Ordo Xenos Inquisitor.
Bell battling brute after brute. Bodies of the fallen, imperial and
Chaos alike, now slumped into a hematic pile. The guardsman whittled
like wood, until Bell stood all but alone. Corralled into a corner,
facing a triptych mammoth of miscreation. His wingman the skilled
swordsman Maccabeus Wroth dexterous and facile, fought the oncoming
obdurate hoard with tenacity. Unlike the evanescent errant Velk who eluded the combat entirely, when he shrouded from the throng into the adumbral west cargo bay passage.
The onslaught reaches critical mass within cramped bulkheads
of the the central and west flank splintered asunder by the implacable hoard
Inquisitor Bell is pommelled
The onslaught reaches critical mass within cramped bulkheads
of the the central and west flank splintered asunder by the implacable hoard
Maccabeus Wroth gives all for his fellow Inquisitors. His heroic death a seething contortion
of
ferment ruination. A wonder of resonant blade and reaping telekenesis.
The diversion buying the coadjute ordos precious time to hasten
Madine uncontested towards the Cargo bay.
Velk
emerges unseen from the western cargo access tunnel. Using the death
of Inquistor Wroth as a distraction. He cannily appropriates the the
waiting Arvus Lighter and decamps the Sealed Fate
Leaving His fellow Inquisitors and subordinate crewmen with no certain means of escape.
Wroth
lay dead. Velk's shuttle departed.But still a hoard of cultists stood
between the Inquisitors and supposed freedom. The Death of Wroth had
bought them time to breath. A moment of quietus repose. But as they
drew the arid recycled air into their lungs the silence was broken...
The dissident sea ahead them, rippled with commotion. the ground underfoot rumbled tumult
trepidation.
The inquisitor Bathier steeled himself. And there he was... a behemoth
of a man ..no not man .. this had long since given up any claim of
humanity.. The blackest of black..An Astartes who had embraced the lure
of the warp.
Balthier
did not falter.. a battle cry emitted his lips uncontested ..his sword
in hand he powered towards the ceremite colossal. For the Emperor !
Guidonis Commands all Inquisitors to assail the apostate Astartes.
As more Cultists burst forth from the cargo lift , Madine is Manoeuvred behind the Chaos marine
towards a back entrance of the cargo bay.
Cordatus is held back to protect the sarcophagus. Much to his vexation
While
Balthier, Hoth, Benadice, Tybalt, The Meretrix and Cassar deal with
the Astartes Bell and Hellsmarck barrage through the remaining
cultists with a victorious final push to secure the cargo bay.
Adorno and Cordatus form a perimeter around Madines body,
whilst Vendrake and Guidonis Radio for a dropship.
Unbeknownst to Inquisitor Velk's Chicanery.
With The Astartes slain , the Arvus Ligher Docks at the stratum 144 Axiom cargo bay
The remaining Inquisitors board along with Madine's Body.
Minutes later Admiral Faust's Cruiser, the Sealed Fate erupts into flames.
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