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Auz
Lord Zee@POOHEAD189
Wait, did you just drop a massive dragon fighting a titanic demon on us and then go 'alright guys time to move on'? You can't just brush past that!
Seriously though, that was an awesome post.
I'll go with the +3 points. Faeril isn't nearly personable enough to get rumors. :P
I don't suppose any crossbows survived the fire and wind?
Status
Recent Statuses
2 yrs ago
Current
Seeing if I can't get back into the groove
4 yrs ago
Finally stabilized enough to return, though I had to make a new account. Ah well. When life gives you lemons?
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Most Recent Posts
Faeril absolutely told everyone that night. How do you not talk about that?
Gansu didn't need to be told twice once he heard they were going after their teammates. He pushed the Titan as fast as it could go into the Roanoke. They had been able to fend off attack right now, but he had no doubt that they Coalition backing off had more to do with the fact that they also knew Sunray was down on the planet than it had to do with any show of strength the the UEE was able to muster in the face of the surprise attack. He was already rattling off specific instructions to the crew as he exited the Titan. "I need more SAMs, I need my MG ammo refilled, I need more shells for my cannons, and the armor needs to be inspected for any weaknesses. There shouldn't be any but I took more rounds to the face than I would have liked to." The technicians ignored him. They already knew what to do and were already well aware of Gansu’s tendency to be an overbearing mother-hen when it came to his MAS.
Reluctantly, after staring at them to make sure they were doing a good job, Gansu allowed himself to be handed a bottle of water and shooed away from his mech. All he was going to do was get in the way and despite his misgivings there was really nothing for him to do but sit and listen to Ingram give them the barebones of the mission. It was fairly straightforward. Go get the Sunray who, for some fucking reason, wasn’t safely behind UEE lines and was stuck somewhere on a planet that was currently being invaded by the Coalition. All of the Coalition's soldiers knew Sunray was on the planet and they were desperately searching for Sunray to give the Coalition an advantage in the war. There wouldn’t be any time for subtlety or theatrics. They had to be as efficient as possible when it came to killing.
---Planet Side---
Gansu hopped from the Roanoke with the others, glancing around at the jungle with distaste. He hated environments like this in general. He really hated ones that were filled with enemy combatants and mega fauna. He followed Aleks’ commands without a word. They didn’t have time for clever lines, and they were going to be limited by his movement speed. No energy needed to be wasted as they moved towards where their comrades were.
Still, he really fucking hated this planet.
The trek towards the Pips and Grizzly felt like it had taken hours. It seemed that they never made any progress no matter how many steps he counted the Titan taking. It was always the same massive trees with the same massive plants that hid the same massive creatures from them. Gansu was sure he was beginning to go mad from the monotony. There were only so many times that you could stare at the unchanging trees, looking for hostiles, before you started seeing things. He couldn't even say anything to break the monotony, lest he distract the rest of the team. It was pratically torture.
Which was why the burst of static that was someone attempting to contact them over the unencrypted short range comms got him excited.
He couldn’t make anything other than the word ‘Ray’ from that garbled mess, but it at least meant something was happening and that it was happening nearby. He flipped on the local comms, excitedly speaking to the squad at large.
“Which direction did that come from? I heard Ray, and the only ray I know of is Sunray.”
Before anyone could answer his HUD lit up with an image from Abigail's full echo suit. It was confusing burst of images, but Gansu was able to quickly make out SUN and three fenrir's approaching. Then the suit shut down. Before he could move the Titan to properly face the coordinates given, his HUD flashed again. New coordinates, and both Abi and Jakunta were enganged in combat with the Fenrirs. Gansu readied the Titan to head into the new directions, hitting comms again.
“Ah. That's where it's coming from."
Before any reply could be made, a final burst of imagery hit his HUD as Abigail's MAS approached the downed Fenrirs. "I knew the two of them could han-" Gansu's comment was suddenly cut off as an array of warnings hit the feed and Abigail's mech was driven into the ground by the explosion. Both the feed from the Full Echo Suit shut off and Abigail's MAS suddenly shut down, filling Gansu's stomach with a pit of dread.
He wanted to sprint over there right now and see if she was still okay, if anyone was still okay, but he couldn't leave formation. Do that and it'd put the rest of the team at risk. Not to mention, Aleks would flense him alive being so stupid and he'd never hear the end of it from Pips if she was still alive. He hoped she was still alive.
He spoke into the cockpit of his MAS, his comms off. "Hey guys, remember who gets you as many gifts as possible. And remember his friends."
"Please remember my friends."
Reluctantly, after staring at them to make sure they were doing a good job, Gansu allowed himself to be handed a bottle of water and shooed away from his mech. All he was going to do was get in the way and despite his misgivings there was really nothing for him to do but sit and listen to Ingram give them the barebones of the mission. It was fairly straightforward. Go get the Sunray who, for some fucking reason, wasn’t safely behind UEE lines and was stuck somewhere on a planet that was currently being invaded by the Coalition. All of the Coalition's soldiers knew Sunray was on the planet and they were desperately searching for Sunray to give the Coalition an advantage in the war. There wouldn’t be any time for subtlety or theatrics. They had to be as efficient as possible when it came to killing.
---Planet Side---
Gansu hopped from the Roanoke with the others, glancing around at the jungle with distaste. He hated environments like this in general. He really hated ones that were filled with enemy combatants and mega fauna. He followed Aleks’ commands without a word. They didn’t have time for clever lines, and they were going to be limited by his movement speed. No energy needed to be wasted as they moved towards where their comrades were.
Still, he really fucking hated this planet.
The trek towards the Pips and Grizzly felt like it had taken hours. It seemed that they never made any progress no matter how many steps he counted the Titan taking. It was always the same massive trees with the same massive plants that hid the same massive creatures from them. Gansu was sure he was beginning to go mad from the monotony. There were only so many times that you could stare at the unchanging trees, looking for hostiles, before you started seeing things. He couldn't even say anything to break the monotony, lest he distract the rest of the team. It was pratically torture.
Which was why the burst of static that was someone attempting to contact them over the unencrypted short range comms got him excited.
He couldn’t make anything other than the word ‘Ray’ from that garbled mess, but it at least meant something was happening and that it was happening nearby. He flipped on the local comms, excitedly speaking to the squad at large.
“Which direction did that come from? I heard Ray, and the only ray I know of is Sunray.”
Before anyone could answer his HUD lit up with an image from Abigail's full echo suit. It was confusing burst of images, but Gansu was able to quickly make out SUN and three fenrir's approaching. Then the suit shut down. Before he could move the Titan to properly face the coordinates given, his HUD flashed again. New coordinates, and both Abi and Jakunta were enganged in combat with the Fenrirs. Gansu readied the Titan to head into the new directions, hitting comms again.
“Ah. That's where it's coming from."
Before any reply could be made, a final burst of imagery hit his HUD as Abigail's MAS approached the downed Fenrirs. "I knew the two of them could han-" Gansu's comment was suddenly cut off as an array of warnings hit the feed and Abigail's mech was driven into the ground by the explosion. Both the feed from the Full Echo Suit shut off and Abigail's MAS suddenly shut down, filling Gansu's stomach with a pit of dread.
He wanted to sprint over there right now and see if she was still okay, if anyone was still okay, but he couldn't leave formation. Do that and it'd put the rest of the team at risk. Not to mention, Aleks would flense him alive being so stupid and he'd never hear the end of it from Pips if she was still alive. He hoped she was still alive.
He spoke into the cockpit of his MAS, his comms off. "Hey guys, remember who gets you as many gifts as possible. And remember his friends."
"Please remember my friends."
Faeril hurt. His feet hurt from travelling fifteen miles a day. His palms hurt from where he had scraped them against the tree, desperately holding on to it to avoid being flung like the poor bastards that the bandits had taken prisoners, sent flying through the air to die painful deaths. The rest of his body hurt from the rough sleeping he had been doing the past couple of days. While it was better than sleeping upright in the cart, sleeping on the cold ground was never comfortable. Sleeping on the cold ground with ill-fitting clothing was worse. Sleeping on the could ground, with ill-fitting clothing, while ash fell from the sky as a symbol of the wrath of the gods about to crash upon the peninsula that you happened to be trapped on was even worse.
Faeril had spent much of the past two days offering prayers to the gods, hoping that they'd at least spare him and most of his companions when they brought their judgement down. He would not have believed it had he not seen it with his own eyes, and then had what he had seen confirmed by those all around him. A dragon, bigger than some cities, battling some sort of demonic creature. The battle cries were loud enough that he could hear them clearly as they tore each other apart. Faeril had watched in a horrified awe, pausing in his attempt to stab one of the bandits too death. He had to shield his eyes from the flash as the two titanic beings crashed, and then was thrown into a nearby tree by the force of their collison. The wrath of the gods was all to easily felt as he clung desperately to that same tree and rode out the violent winds and fires.
The gods were not angry at him, at the very least. After finishing off the remaining bandits, he had been able to find one of the crossbows that they had been using. Much to his delight it was even in good condition. He had expected the bandits to have been using and abusing their crossbows to the point of uselessness. The bandit hadn't been taking perfect care of it, of course, but that was something a couple of days of proper care and treatment was able to fix. The crossbow had barely left his hands and never left his side since had found it. It made him feel whole and complete again. It made him feel like he was ready to take on whatever the Blood Coast had to offer.
He had even discovered a dwarven bandit amongst the corpses. While the other dwarf had been a little taller and wider than Faeril, his clothes were better than the tattered rags he had been given in while a prisoner. Besides, clothes that were too big on him was a problem a semi-decent tailor could fix. If he could ever find one in this city.
The gods had even seen fit to send him more allies. Two of them seemed like they would be more hinderances than they would be helpful, but the girl was quiet and observant and that was more than enough to put her in Faeril's good graces. He didn't need or want another person that would talk more than necessary. They needed someone who could kill without qualm, and that seemed to be what they got. Plus, the trio seemed to have just enough morals so as not to be an issue. They hadn't attempted to murder Faeril in his sleep, or at least try to kill him while he was pretending to be asleep. They hadn't even tried to run off with their hard earned weapons and supplies which was a good sign. They still weren't fully trustworthy, of course, but they had proven that they were at least willing to stay around and help out. If only for a little while longer.
Faeril looked around at the city walls adn the people around them, before looking back at Raddek. "Not much of a diamond, is it? I'd hate to see what the other cities look like." In comparison to the Thundrim of his home, this was nothing more than a sprawling hovel filled with dirt and-. Faeril scowled, his back aching as the memories were cut off. It didn't matter what this city looked like in comparison to his home city. This was the only place he could go now. Especially since the gods had cut off any chance at returning with the crash and ashfall. Faeril allowed himself a grim smile at the thought that maybe, just maybe, the guards who had brought them down had all been killed by the impact and the ash soon after.
"Well. Shall we head in then? I don't want to be caught out here any longer than I have to be, and I'd guess anything we need is going to be inside the walls rather than outside of it."
Faeril had spent much of the past two days offering prayers to the gods, hoping that they'd at least spare him and most of his companions when they brought their judgement down. He would not have believed it had he not seen it with his own eyes, and then had what he had seen confirmed by those all around him. A dragon, bigger than some cities, battling some sort of demonic creature. The battle cries were loud enough that he could hear them clearly as they tore each other apart. Faeril had watched in a horrified awe, pausing in his attempt to stab one of the bandits too death. He had to shield his eyes from the flash as the two titanic beings crashed, and then was thrown into a nearby tree by the force of their collison. The wrath of the gods was all to easily felt as he clung desperately to that same tree and rode out the violent winds and fires.
The gods were not angry at him, at the very least. After finishing off the remaining bandits, he had been able to find one of the crossbows that they had been using. Much to his delight it was even in good condition. He had expected the bandits to have been using and abusing their crossbows to the point of uselessness. The bandit hadn't been taking perfect care of it, of course, but that was something a couple of days of proper care and treatment was able to fix. The crossbow had barely left his hands and never left his side since had found it. It made him feel whole and complete again. It made him feel like he was ready to take on whatever the Blood Coast had to offer.
He had even discovered a dwarven bandit amongst the corpses. While the other dwarf had been a little taller and wider than Faeril, his clothes were better than the tattered rags he had been given in while a prisoner. Besides, clothes that were too big on him was a problem a semi-decent tailor could fix. If he could ever find one in this city.
The gods had even seen fit to send him more allies. Two of them seemed like they would be more hinderances than they would be helpful, but the girl was quiet and observant and that was more than enough to put her in Faeril's good graces. He didn't need or want another person that would talk more than necessary. They needed someone who could kill without qualm, and that seemed to be what they got. Plus, the trio seemed to have just enough morals so as not to be an issue. They hadn't attempted to murder Faeril in his sleep, or at least try to kill him while he was pretending to be asleep. They hadn't even tried to run off with their hard earned weapons and supplies which was a good sign. They still weren't fully trustworthy, of course, but they had proven that they were at least willing to stay around and help out. If only for a little while longer.
Faeril looked around at the city walls adn the people around them, before looking back at Raddek. "Not much of a diamond, is it? I'd hate to see what the other cities look like." In comparison to the Thundrim of his home, this was nothing more than a sprawling hovel filled with dirt and-. Faeril scowled, his back aching as the memories were cut off. It didn't matter what this city looked like in comparison to his home city. This was the only place he could go now. Especially since the gods had cut off any chance at returning with the crash and ashfall. Faeril allowed himself a grim smile at the thought that maybe, just maybe, the guards who had brought them down had all been killed by the impact and the ash soon after.
"Well. Shall we head in then? I don't want to be caught out here any longer than I have to be, and I'd guess anything we need is going to be inside the walls rather than outside of it."
<Snipped quote by DrRtron>
Nice! That's what I like to se- wait.
*squints* You're trying to get another boon aren't you?
I would never try to butter you up to get more boons to benefit me and my character! That would be unethical! Immoral! Amoral! Dishonest! Morally bankrupt.
But I wouldn't say no if you were so inclined as to give me another one
Added Faeril's glowing opinions on our newest members and updated his opinions on the others after the fight with the bandits and some travel.
@POOHEAD189
Wait, did you just drop a massive dragon fighting a titanic demon on us and then go 'alright guys time to move on'? You can't just brush past that!
Seriously though, that was an awesome post.
I'll go with the +3 points. Faeril isn't nearly personable enough to get rumors. :P
I don't suppose any crossbows survived the fire and wind?
Wait, did you just drop a massive dragon fighting a titanic demon on us and then go 'alright guys time to move on'? You can't just brush past that!
Seriously though, that was an awesome post.
I'll go with the +3 points. Faeril isn't nearly personable enough to get rumors. :P
I don't suppose any crossbows survived the fire and wind?
001.M31
Spacehulk above the Imperial planet Casan.
During Day 1 of the Council of Nikea
The space hulk was a ruined mess, as was to be expected. Who knew how many ships had been smashed together while lost in the warp, and the various ‘improvements’ the orks had made. The rusted ship and jagged edges creaked and groaned under the strain of unnatural existence. The only light came from Kaldun and his Vanguards as they made their way through the space hulk. The Primarch’s unnecessarily loud voice echoed through the ship as he spoke to his First Company Captain.“Chandrian! How goes the evacuation of the crash zones in Casan?!”
“High Lord Boamiel reports that all civilians have been cleared out of the impact zones and that the Golden Corp is in the process of cleansing any ork infestation that may have clung to the wreckage. In addition, the Mechanicus is on its way to secure any viable technology that may be on this space hulk. They specifically request that we limit the damage that we do to the ship as we cleanse it of the ork infestation.” Chandrian replied in a quieter tone, carefully bringing up the rear of the group as they made their way deeper into the center of the space hulk.
Kaldun laughed. “They will make due with what we leave! Any damage that we do is unlikely to be the deciding factor after all! And it is far more important that we cleanse the ship, or ships I suppose, of any ork presence than it is that we preserve any of this rotten technology!”
The cleansing was going well. The orks were putting up their characteristic fight, but with a Primarch facing them and their numbers limited by the close quarters nature of the fight, the Golden Spears were having no problem methodically making their way through the warped mass of ships and burning away any trace of ork presence with flamer and psychic power. There was something at the center of the space hulk that was concerning, however. A pulsating psychic power that Kaldun and his Vanguards could feel in their very bones. It was likely the source of the mutations in the orks they had seen thus far, though that could just as easily be the fact that the foul creatures had traveled unprotected through the warp.
They traveled down the hallway in silence for a few minutes before Chandrian broke the quiet. “Once again, Kaldun, I must suggest that you return to the Conqueror’s Blade and hasten to the Council. It has already been one day and will take you another to get there. Surely you would like to add your voice to the debate about the Edict?”
Kaldun laughed, waving a dismissive hand in front of him. “It is a ridiculous debate! The Edict is necessary to continue the strength of the Imperium and my siblings will no doubt see that! The few who have issues with it are that abomination Sarghual, Usriel and Augor! The latter two can be convinced, and the former outvoted! I have no doubt that the matter was put to rest promptly and with little drama within the first day! Besides, I am no orator! I leave that to Sekhmetara or Micholi! They are both eloquent speakers! No, I am best served here! Spear in hand and protecting the Imperium from danger!”
An ork appeared as they reached an intersection, leaping at Kaldun and swinging an axe with a guttural roar. Before the crude weapon could even reach him, the Primarch’s hand shot forward and crushed the creature’s head in his fist. He tossed the body aside with another laugh, looking over his shoulder at Chandrian. The gore on his palm began to hiss as it tried to melt through his armor. He burned it away with fire, still laughing. “See?! I can’t do that at the Council! Valdor would be very upset if I tried to!”
Chandrian sighed. “Yes Kaldun. Though I must repeat that your presence there would only help rather than hinder things. The Edict cannot have enough voices in its defense.”
“You worry too much Chandrian! My siblings and the Emperor will see the righteousness of the Edict, never fear!”
If there were any doubts in the mind of the Captain of the first company, they had no time to be voiced as a chorus of growls and roars echoed through the ruined halls of the ship, seemingly coming from in front of and behind them. The first ork was only a scout. The rest were coming. Kaldun grinned, gripping his spear tighter. “Ready, Chandrian?!” The Captain smirked, turning around to cover their backs. “Always, Kaldun.”
They came in an unorganized mass, snarling and howling. Most of them only had crude melee weapons, likely ripped from the ship itself, but a few had actual weaponry. The bullets ripped through the air above the heads of the other orks, hitting a few that were just slightly too tall, and came to a stop in front of Kaldun’s face. He grinned as they fell to the ground, the Golden Spear’s bolter firing from behind him to answer the attack. He lifted his own spear up and pointed it down the hall. “I admire the courage of you orks! Even if it can be seen as stupidity!” The Thunder of Labrys shone bright gold and crackled with electricity as he channeled his psychic power through it.
With a thunderous crack the power was released and golden lightning ripped through the horde before him. Those that were hit directly by the lightning exploded, their mutated blood burning and melting the flesh of the other orks around them. Those that were beside them were thrown backwards and into the walls by the force of his attack. Their ears bled from the damage the sound had done. Behind him, Kaldun felt the heat and heard the screams as Chandrian burned away the ork infestation. A good idea, to make the job of the Mechanicus forces easier. Kaldun moved his spear in a slow line in front of him, leaving golden flames twisting in the air before him. As the orks before him struggled to pick themselves up and counter attack he stabbed forward with his spear in a quick gesture and a wave of golden flames erupted out before him. The remaining orks were turned to ash without even a chance to roar in defiance, and the hall of the ship was left glowing red.
Silence surrounded them as the last of the orks died. “Another successful battle!” Kaldun glanced behind him, grinning at his sons and Chandrian. Chandrian gave a nod and a smile in return. “We are close, Chandrian! Those orks came from the sources of that psychic disturbance, I know it! We will cleanse this wretched mass of ships yet!”
It didn’t take long to finally reach the source of the disturbance from there. They could feel it pressing against their skulls, like a knife being driven deeper in with each step they took. They began to hear a mechanical roaring as they drew closer, like metal being ripped apart. The ship around them seemed to vibrate with each roar and they finally saw what it was as they forcibly opened a rusted door.
It was a gagrant. The foul shape that was meant to honor the ork gods was unmistakable. A warboss had clearly been trying to start his own vicious campaign through Imperial space with it. But unprotected travel through the Warp was dangerous, and he had paid the ultimate price. The countless orks that had been working on the Gagrant had been fused into the machine itself during the travel of the space hulk. It was as much a creature as it was a weapon now, with various faces, limbs, and mouths appearing and disappearing in the writhing mass of the gagrant’s body.
The gagrant shifted and roared again. Its screams finally became clear now that they were in the room. “WAAAAAAAAAGH.” The familiar ork battle cry had a metallic screech to it, and the entire room shook with the power behind it. As Kaldun and his sons watched, the vibrations shook free dozens of globes of flesh from the gagrant that crackled with warp energy. The balls of flesh landed with sickening splats and shook before rapidly forming into new snarling orks.
“The big one is mine!” Kaldun announced, pointing the Thunder of Labrys at the gagrant. “And what are we to do while you fight it?” Chandrian asked, looking up at the massive creature.
“Simple! You keep the little ones from distracting me while I kill their father!” With that Kaldun was gone, charging towards the gagrant with an excited and bloodthirsty laugh.
“Ah yes, clean up duty.” Chandrian sighed before gesturing forward, flames already forming around his hands. “Well, come on brothers. We’ll kill the little ones while he deals with the gagrant.
With a great leap Kaldun shot himself into the air, and golden wings shot out from his back to keep him in the air. He flew until he was looking down at the gagrant. “Feel the Flames of Conquest!” He drew in a deep breath, golden flames sparking around the edges of his mouth, and exhaled a torrent of honey colored fire straight into the face of the monster. “WAAAAAAGH!” The gagrant screamed again in response, a limb flailing towards Kaldun. He ducked under, laughing, and breathed the flames again onto the gagrant. Another scream and a flailing limb, easily dodged by the Primarch. He breathed even more fire onto the creature, raking its body with flames.
“WAAAAAAAAAAGH!” The gagrant screamed in frustration, its entire body crackled with warp energy and a bolt of lightning shot forward at Kaldun. It slowed before it hit him, and Kaldun was sent a few feet back by the impact, spinning through the air. His armor smoked from the impact as he came to a stop, and he could feel the electricity still traveling through him. That had hur himt. He grinned at the realization. That had hurt him! “Ah! You can hit me! Good! That means you’re powerful enough to be worthy of my time!”
Another bolt of lighting shot from the body of the gagrant. This time Kaldun was ready, and he dodged out of the way. “All those minds and you can’t think of a better idea!?”
He shot forward with his golden wings, dodging the attempts at hitting him again with lightning and flailing limbs of the gagrant. The Thunder of Labrys grew to twelve feet and once again began to glow with golden energy and crackling electricity. As he drew closer to the head of the gagrant it began to grow brighter and brighter until it was painful to look upon.
He landed on the head of the monster and hefted his spear above his head with a bloodthirsty grin. “NOW FEEL THE MIGHT OF KALDUN, THE GOLDEN CONQUEROR!” With a roar of his own to match the scream of the gagrant, he shoved his spear down into the head of the creature and channeled all of his psychic power through it. The gagrant screamed in agony, golden lightning sparking across its body as it spasmed and flailed. Its body began to smoke and tear apart from the sheer force of psychic energy being forced into it. Kaldun threw his head back and laughed madly, exultant in victory.
With a final scream, the gagrant wildly swung its limbs at Kaldun. Distracted as he was, he was only able to pull his spear free and attempt to block the attack to no avail. He was punted down to the ground and through the floor to a lower level. His sons followed through the hole he had made, finishing off the last of the orks around the dying gagrant.
Chandrian walked over to the dent Kaldun had made in the lower floor. “Get up. You killed the beast. How are you feeling?” Kaldun sat straight up with a grin, spear hefted in the air triumphantly.
“Flush with the glow of victory! It was only able to shock me and break a few bones! Nothing my powers cannot fix! We have sufficiently cleansed this hulk of any threat to the Mechanicus! Gather the rest of my sons! You and I will head to the Council, while the rest prepare for whatever crusade my father will send us on! This was a glorious day Chandrian! And you wanted to miss this for some boring Council!”
Spacehulk above the Imperial planet Casan.
During Day 1 of the Council of Nikea
The space hulk was a ruined mess, as was to be expected. Who knew how many ships had been smashed together while lost in the warp, and the various ‘improvements’ the orks had made. The rusted ship and jagged edges creaked and groaned under the strain of unnatural existence. The only light came from Kaldun and his Vanguards as they made their way through the space hulk. The Primarch’s unnecessarily loud voice echoed through the ship as he spoke to his First Company Captain.“Chandrian! How goes the evacuation of the crash zones in Casan?!”
“High Lord Boamiel reports that all civilians have been cleared out of the impact zones and that the Golden Corp is in the process of cleansing any ork infestation that may have clung to the wreckage. In addition, the Mechanicus is on its way to secure any viable technology that may be on this space hulk. They specifically request that we limit the damage that we do to the ship as we cleanse it of the ork infestation.” Chandrian replied in a quieter tone, carefully bringing up the rear of the group as they made their way deeper into the center of the space hulk.
Kaldun laughed. “They will make due with what we leave! Any damage that we do is unlikely to be the deciding factor after all! And it is far more important that we cleanse the ship, or ships I suppose, of any ork presence than it is that we preserve any of this rotten technology!”
The cleansing was going well. The orks were putting up their characteristic fight, but with a Primarch facing them and their numbers limited by the close quarters nature of the fight, the Golden Spears were having no problem methodically making their way through the warped mass of ships and burning away any trace of ork presence with flamer and psychic power. There was something at the center of the space hulk that was concerning, however. A pulsating psychic power that Kaldun and his Vanguards could feel in their very bones. It was likely the source of the mutations in the orks they had seen thus far, though that could just as easily be the fact that the foul creatures had traveled unprotected through the warp.
They traveled down the hallway in silence for a few minutes before Chandrian broke the quiet. “Once again, Kaldun, I must suggest that you return to the Conqueror’s Blade and hasten to the Council. It has already been one day and will take you another to get there. Surely you would like to add your voice to the debate about the Edict?”
Kaldun laughed, waving a dismissive hand in front of him. “It is a ridiculous debate! The Edict is necessary to continue the strength of the Imperium and my siblings will no doubt see that! The few who have issues with it are that abomination Sarghual, Usriel and Augor! The latter two can be convinced, and the former outvoted! I have no doubt that the matter was put to rest promptly and with little drama within the first day! Besides, I am no orator! I leave that to Sekhmetara or Micholi! They are both eloquent speakers! No, I am best served here! Spear in hand and protecting the Imperium from danger!”
An ork appeared as they reached an intersection, leaping at Kaldun and swinging an axe with a guttural roar. Before the crude weapon could even reach him, the Primarch’s hand shot forward and crushed the creature’s head in his fist. He tossed the body aside with another laugh, looking over his shoulder at Chandrian. The gore on his palm began to hiss as it tried to melt through his armor. He burned it away with fire, still laughing. “See?! I can’t do that at the Council! Valdor would be very upset if I tried to!”
Chandrian sighed. “Yes Kaldun. Though I must repeat that your presence there would only help rather than hinder things. The Edict cannot have enough voices in its defense.”
“You worry too much Chandrian! My siblings and the Emperor will see the righteousness of the Edict, never fear!”
If there were any doubts in the mind of the Captain of the first company, they had no time to be voiced as a chorus of growls and roars echoed through the ruined halls of the ship, seemingly coming from in front of and behind them. The first ork was only a scout. The rest were coming. Kaldun grinned, gripping his spear tighter. “Ready, Chandrian?!” The Captain smirked, turning around to cover their backs. “Always, Kaldun.”
They came in an unorganized mass, snarling and howling. Most of them only had crude melee weapons, likely ripped from the ship itself, but a few had actual weaponry. The bullets ripped through the air above the heads of the other orks, hitting a few that were just slightly too tall, and came to a stop in front of Kaldun’s face. He grinned as they fell to the ground, the Golden Spear’s bolter firing from behind him to answer the attack. He lifted his own spear up and pointed it down the hall. “I admire the courage of you orks! Even if it can be seen as stupidity!” The Thunder of Labrys shone bright gold and crackled with electricity as he channeled his psychic power through it.
With a thunderous crack the power was released and golden lightning ripped through the horde before him. Those that were hit directly by the lightning exploded, their mutated blood burning and melting the flesh of the other orks around them. Those that were beside them were thrown backwards and into the walls by the force of his attack. Their ears bled from the damage the sound had done. Behind him, Kaldun felt the heat and heard the screams as Chandrian burned away the ork infestation. A good idea, to make the job of the Mechanicus forces easier. Kaldun moved his spear in a slow line in front of him, leaving golden flames twisting in the air before him. As the orks before him struggled to pick themselves up and counter attack he stabbed forward with his spear in a quick gesture and a wave of golden flames erupted out before him. The remaining orks were turned to ash without even a chance to roar in defiance, and the hall of the ship was left glowing red.
Silence surrounded them as the last of the orks died. “Another successful battle!” Kaldun glanced behind him, grinning at his sons and Chandrian. Chandrian gave a nod and a smile in return. “We are close, Chandrian! Those orks came from the sources of that psychic disturbance, I know it! We will cleanse this wretched mass of ships yet!”
It didn’t take long to finally reach the source of the disturbance from there. They could feel it pressing against their skulls, like a knife being driven deeper in with each step they took. They began to hear a mechanical roaring as they drew closer, like metal being ripped apart. The ship around them seemed to vibrate with each roar and they finally saw what it was as they forcibly opened a rusted door.
It was a gagrant. The foul shape that was meant to honor the ork gods was unmistakable. A warboss had clearly been trying to start his own vicious campaign through Imperial space with it. But unprotected travel through the Warp was dangerous, and he had paid the ultimate price. The countless orks that had been working on the Gagrant had been fused into the machine itself during the travel of the space hulk. It was as much a creature as it was a weapon now, with various faces, limbs, and mouths appearing and disappearing in the writhing mass of the gagrant’s body.
The gagrant shifted and roared again. Its screams finally became clear now that they were in the room. “WAAAAAAAAAGH.” The familiar ork battle cry had a metallic screech to it, and the entire room shook with the power behind it. As Kaldun and his sons watched, the vibrations shook free dozens of globes of flesh from the gagrant that crackled with warp energy. The balls of flesh landed with sickening splats and shook before rapidly forming into new snarling orks.
“The big one is mine!” Kaldun announced, pointing the Thunder of Labrys at the gagrant. “And what are we to do while you fight it?” Chandrian asked, looking up at the massive creature.
“Simple! You keep the little ones from distracting me while I kill their father!” With that Kaldun was gone, charging towards the gagrant with an excited and bloodthirsty laugh.
“Ah yes, clean up duty.” Chandrian sighed before gesturing forward, flames already forming around his hands. “Well, come on brothers. We’ll kill the little ones while he deals with the gagrant.
With a great leap Kaldun shot himself into the air, and golden wings shot out from his back to keep him in the air. He flew until he was looking down at the gagrant. “Feel the Flames of Conquest!” He drew in a deep breath, golden flames sparking around the edges of his mouth, and exhaled a torrent of honey colored fire straight into the face of the monster. “WAAAAAAGH!” The gagrant screamed again in response, a limb flailing towards Kaldun. He ducked under, laughing, and breathed the flames again onto the gagrant. Another scream and a flailing limb, easily dodged by the Primarch. He breathed even more fire onto the creature, raking its body with flames.
“WAAAAAAAAAAGH!” The gagrant screamed in frustration, its entire body crackled with warp energy and a bolt of lightning shot forward at Kaldun. It slowed before it hit him, and Kaldun was sent a few feet back by the impact, spinning through the air. His armor smoked from the impact as he came to a stop, and he could feel the electricity still traveling through him. That had hur himt. He grinned at the realization. That had hurt him! “Ah! You can hit me! Good! That means you’re powerful enough to be worthy of my time!”
Another bolt of lighting shot from the body of the gagrant. This time Kaldun was ready, and he dodged out of the way. “All those minds and you can’t think of a better idea!?”
He shot forward with his golden wings, dodging the attempts at hitting him again with lightning and flailing limbs of the gagrant. The Thunder of Labrys grew to twelve feet and once again began to glow with golden energy and crackling electricity. As he drew closer to the head of the gagrant it began to grow brighter and brighter until it was painful to look upon.
He landed on the head of the monster and hefted his spear above his head with a bloodthirsty grin. “NOW FEEL THE MIGHT OF KALDUN, THE GOLDEN CONQUEROR!” With a roar of his own to match the scream of the gagrant, he shoved his spear down into the head of the creature and channeled all of his psychic power through it. The gagrant screamed in agony, golden lightning sparking across its body as it spasmed and flailed. Its body began to smoke and tear apart from the sheer force of psychic energy being forced into it. Kaldun threw his head back and laughed madly, exultant in victory.
With a final scream, the gagrant wildly swung its limbs at Kaldun. Distracted as he was, he was only able to pull his spear free and attempt to block the attack to no avail. He was punted down to the ground and through the floor to a lower level. His sons followed through the hole he had made, finishing off the last of the orks around the dying gagrant.
Chandrian walked over to the dent Kaldun had made in the lower floor. “Get up. You killed the beast. How are you feeling?” Kaldun sat straight up with a grin, spear hefted in the air triumphantly.
“Flush with the glow of victory! It was only able to shock me and break a few bones! Nothing my powers cannot fix! We have sufficiently cleansed this hulk of any threat to the Mechanicus! Gather the rest of my sons! You and I will head to the Council, while the rest prepare for whatever crusade my father will send us on! This was a glorious day Chandrian! And you wanted to miss this for some boring Council!”
Dope. I'm sure this disasterplan will go off without a hitch or issue.
Who needs a wooden stick when you could just pick up a rock from the ground and chuck it at someone's head.
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