The Water Dragon Awakes
Intramuros, Repulse Bay, Hailung V
"What now?"
Lady Imperatrix Funaho Murasaki (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v630/Senor_Nb3/lh_tsuruko008.jpg)was quite simply shocked.
"A Lunar-class Cruiser has gone missing while on patrol near Hailung VII. The other ship that was with it reported the presence of a freak Warp Storm that caused the incident."
A Lunar-class cruiser gone missing? This was too much. The local shipyards and the Forge World of Hailung I were not going to handle this well, and the normally demure and otherwise motherly Murasaki was very dissatisfied.
"Well, we can't have "freak Warp Storms" just up and eating our vessels, now can we!? Investigate this matter, Fleet Admiral. I want to know what happened," said a very concerned Murasaki, her face expressing severe dismay with a tinge of dissapointment.
Fleet Admiral von Stalhelm (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v630/Senor_Nb3/Ernest_King.jpg) replied simply, "It shall be done, Your Excellency."
He then did an about face, and left. Murasaki sighed, and returned to painting a die-cast battleship, placing a monocle on one eye spotting for a thin brush, applying a shade of Dark Angels Green. It was another day on the job. Tomorrow it would be handling conditions in Hab 12, then dealing with Ayasugi's rebellion....along with painting yet another model battleship.
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Near Hailung VII
Space was an awful place to get lost. The freak Warp Storm trapped the prey, known as the Pachebel's Fury.
On a segment of the ship, Commissar Resendes rallied his squad. The dark interiors of the ship, lit by red emegency lights and flashlights at best, made for a scary experience, and some of his men not more than conscripts, began panicking. One man could be heard saying, "We gotta abandon ship!" over and over, before he was shot by the Commissar. Resendes cried out, "Rally up, men! You're not afraid of the dark, are ya!?" firing his pistol into the air. The laspistol's flashlight effect lit up the room, and forced everybody to join up.
Resendes then said, taking charge in a definite instance of pulling rank, "Okay. First of all, this one is for the young'uns. You've got flashlights! Use them! Now for those of you who have the good sense to use flashlights, put on your masks. There's likely to be gases out there, so get them on! Also, you probably heard this when you were kids--but I want everybody in three-man teams. Find survivors, and get the skinny on what's going on. And stay in constant contact."
He then shouted, "YA GET ME!?"
The men shouted, "Sir, yes sir!"
Then Resendes said, "Fan out."
Resendes' orders were duly obeyed. Generally, you didn't mess with a Commissar, especially not now.
Not but five minutes later, shots rang out, and sounds were heard on the vox-caster.
"OH NO.....NOT THEM!!!"
Resendes then called back, "Who is this? Where are you!?"
The reply came back, panicked and rushed, "This is Corporal Thompson. We have contact with the raiders....*freem! freem!* It's the Orks! Repeat, we have Ork-"
The transmission cut out after that. Resendes immediately rushed out, deputizing a group of men next to him and calling on his vox-caster "All units check in. All other Commissars, Officers, or NCOs check in. We have a situation involving Orks. All units be advised, stay alert."
Pulling out his laspistol, he ordered some men to take point, and moved carefully through the dark passages.
---------------
Warboss Badtoof and Kimiko Ayasugi stepped out of the crude Orkish boarding craft, Kimiko pulling out a chainsword in her left and charging a powerclaw in her right up, Badtoof waving his Kustom Shoota in the air, and motioning to his forces, "Get going, ya lousy runts!"
Kimiko then nodded and said, "Right. Badtoof, take your men that way," motioning to her left, "and I will go this way," motioning to her right.
Badtoof then frowned, and blustered, "'Ey...when I said I wuz gunna work with ya, I didn't say you could give me orders, ya spiky git!"
She then held the chainsword to Badtoof's face, and said casually, "You know, I could cut you in half right now. And believe me, no matter how big you are, milennia upon millenia of existence owing to the dark Powers of Chaos gives you plenty of time to build a Bowflex body, a mastery of martial arts to boot, and even some black technomagic on the side--funny how devotees of Chaos get access to that sort of thing."
She then poked him with it, and said, turning serious, "Now move."
Badtoof then said, sighing, "Damn you...I swear, if I wasn't gunna get a load of teef and ded shooty gunz for this one, I would krump ya right 'ere and now."
Impaitently, Kimiko said, "Just move already. You'll get your money in time."
He then moved to the direction Kimiko pointed, and called to his Boyz with forced enthusiasm, "Saddle up! We gunna smash some 'umies!"
She then ducked out of the way, as hordes of Shoota Boyz rushed to follow their leader, joining the number already on the Fury. Meanwhile, a platoon of Cultist bodyguards armed with lasguns and plasma guns rushed to the side of Kimiko, and she snappily commanded, "Follow me. We're going to the Bridge."
As she moved, a squad of Guardsmen opened fire on her group. She promptly charged them, and then proceeded to decapitate the Sargeant with her Chainsword with a cold, dark emotionless expression, before turning on the terrified Guardsmen with her Powerclaws, ripping them apart in a brutal scene which I can't really describe here.
She then said, "Right. Let's go." and continued moving on.
------------------
Near Hailung V
Von Stalhelm assembled the St. Ayanami's Vengance and two other Lunar cruisers, the St. Elsewhere and the Deep Purple to lead the investigation. Almost from the start, the "investigation" would be a mere formality, despite the Inquisitor presence on the ship. He knew that no Warp Storms could be that localized naturally, and with another ship following the Fury, something else had to be responsible in order to bring down just that one vessel, and leave the other unscathed, if somewhat scared (the Captain and the crew of the other vessel that fled would no doubt be tried for cowardice--such was the Emperor's will.)
As he ordered "All ahead, go to the last known coordinates of the Pachebel's Fury," he knew that this would be something else.
The Ork tide flooded through the vessel, opening numerous cans of whoopass upon any Imperial Guardsmen they encountered. In true Ork fashion, they had come in big numbers, with lots of their trademark shootas and choppas, and the Guard were hardpressed to putup some kind of a resistance.
Resendes could be heard making numerous calls on the vox-caster, attempting to rally the disparate Guard units and personnel onboard the vessel to put up some kind of resistance, urging the personnel to get guns and defend themselves. In the meantime, he also used his own powers to assemble a posse of sorts around him.
As his unit moved about, they were set upon by an Ork force wich spotted them across the hall. A Nob spotted Resendes, calling to his Boyz, "Look dere, ladz! A komizar! Dibs on 'is hat!"
They then charged Resendes' group, whereupon Resendes ordered, "Level guns, and volley fire! Do not break!"
The Guard did as told, and volleys of lasgun fire, grenades, and flamers fell upon the Mob. Some fell, but the nineteen-megathule lasguns, as usual, seemed to give the Orks at most burns and pain, but nothing too hurtful. The grenades and flamers were a different story, hitting the Mob hard. The Orks however, kept charging, and slammed into the middle of the force, forcing Resendes and his men into hand to hand combat with rifle butts, bayonets, and kung fu-type action, in an action which was repreated all over the ship....
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Kimiko Ayasugi, meanwhile, moved effortlessly through the halls of the Fury. Letting the Orks do most of the fighting, she easily dispatched her opponents, wondering out loud to a dying Sargeant as she dealt the killing blow, "Why do Imperial Guard units have such weak, insignificant men in them?"
Still, she didn't kill everybody. She had the Cultists grab a couple of crewmen, whom she stuck her Power claws up to. She then said, grabbing them by the scruff of their necks, "Right. Brother Ursinus here will watch you. Any sudden moves, and you might not have a head any more. Got it?"
The crewmen nodded, and followed Kimiko and the Cultists as hostages. She pulled out her own vox-caster and called up Warboss Badtoof. She then said, with curtness and some relish, "Badtoof, how goes the operation?"
Badtoof replied with a laugh, "'Dese humies know how to put up a fight! 'Dere's a particularly tuff fight with sum komizar down on one uv da lower decks. Udderwise, dey's proving soft 'n pink as eva! Now lemme deal with 'em."
He then cut off the signal, to which Kimiko said, "Hrumph. Insolent Ork. He could show some respect."
Kimiko then picked up her weapons and hostages and continued moving. A platoon of Guardsmen attempted to fight them, but one nasty glance from Kimiko and a show of the hostages slowed their eagerness some. Kimiko simply said, somewhat teasingly but with a deadly serious tone: "Boys. You don't wanna hurt one of your own, don't you?"
The Sargeant in charge said, "Unhand those men, foul wench!"
Kimiiko then said, "Tsk tsk tsk....you'll pay for that."
Resendes and his men, meanwhile, were having quite a fight. Resendes himself had gutshot a Shoota Boy that as trying to get a few shots at him, and his men were tenaciously holding the line against the green tide that seemed to clog the hallways. Resendes screamed, "Do not falter! The Immortal Emperor shall bring you glory, be it in death or in victory!" The cries rallied his men together, knowing that if they didn't rally, they'd die anyway by the Commissar's hand.
Resendes himself then stared down the Nob that had vowed to take his hat. The Nob laughed with vile glee, shouting out, "I'z gunna stomp ya good!" before rushing him with Choppa swinging.
Resendes retorted, rolling to the side and taking a shotgun from a fallen Guardsman: "Son--never bring a knife to a gunfight."
He then emptied three shots of 12-gauge buckshot into the Nob in rapid succession, knocking the beast down. Resendes then emptied the rest of the shotgun into the Nob's head, finishing him off. Normally, he'd let the opponent get up, but with Orks...well, he couldn't take that risk.
A Sargeant then said, "Sir! We have to move, we cannot hold!"
Resendes then replied, "Well, we can't let them pass either! Fall back, and take cover! Make barricades if you must!"
Thus, the men fell back, reconsoldiating their sorely reduced numbers in the junction of a hallway, where they made a barricade out of desks, chairs and lighting before shooting back.
----------
Meanwhile, von Stalhelm's ships were moving in. Having gone to maximum Warp, they were getting close to the Pachebel's Fury, having passed the orbit of Hailung VI.
"Come on....I can only pray the Emperor has given His protection upon the people on the Pachebel's Fury."
Inquisitor Upham, who stoically stood next to him, said with a tone that spoke of dire consquences, "I can only pray that for your sake that is the case."
The barricades helped Resendes and his men, who by now were fighting desperately. The job was simple. HOLD THE LINE!
And hold the line they did. Commissar Resendes and the men under his command stayed the course, fighting with a superhuman fury against the Ork hordes. But even then, there just seemed to be way too many. Men fell left and right, and things were desperate.
Until Resendes cried to one of his men, "Sargeant!"
A Sargeant then stood up, replying only, "Sir?"
Resendes replied, "What part of the ship are we on?"
The Sergeant gave Resendes the strangest look, as if he was doubting the Commissar's sanity. Resendes could tell he thought: "Wait...this man led us down here, and doesn't know the layout of the damn ship!?"
Resendes then said, clubbing an Ork with his empty shotgun, "Well, spill it, man!"
The Sergeant said simply, "Sir, we may be near a vehicle storage garage--if memory serves me right."
Resendes then grabbed him, screaming at him, "Why the hell didn't you say so!? Come on, break it open!"
The Sargeant said, "Yes sir!"
The man ran to the locker, and opened it up with the proper authorizations. The door opened to reveal a Hellhound. Commissar Resendes didn't hesitate to order two tech sergeants to drive the machine. While they warmed it up, the remaining forces hid behind it, and used it as cover, as like in an old Western, it drove out to save the day, turning its turret to face the hordes.
One of the Nobz gawked at it, and was about to say something witty when the machine began spitting flames at the Mob. The Mob tried to charge it, but the flames torched most of them, forcing a withdraw to the tune of "LET'S LEG IT!"
Relieved, Resendes said on the vox-caster, "All units, be advised I have exercised my authority as Commissar and have commandered a Hellhound. All remaining units are to locate and commander any vehicles possible to take the ship back. Other vehicles for liberation exist here at Sector 7G. Come and get them."
They then held their positions....before long, three squads answered the call, bringing crewmen and tech sergeants to man the trove of Chimeras, Leman Russ variants and Setinels.
Reports however, were flooding in about "some crazy Chaos bitch cutting everybody down with Kung fu moves." Resendes knew that that could only mean one thing--that "bitch" had used the Orks as a distraction, so she go about her merry way...
He didn't hesistate to get moving. Resendes rallied a force of Armored vehicles, and ordered them to get moving on those passages that could be used by the vehicles to find the foe, and take her down....
---------------
Kimiko was also moving, and in the most extreme fashion. She lept upon the Guardsmen, setting herself upon them with a bloodcurdling warcry and furious swings with her chainsword. Only a few Guardsmen were killed, however--the rest fled to fight another day. Whether they were let go or Kimiko was simply slipping up was unknown.
Whatever the case, she continued her inexorable march to the Bridge....however, she had a feeling somebody found her out, and was going after her. Because the Orks were beginning to say things about "'umies wid tankz and walkas fightin' back." They were also complaining about some Commissar who had the balls to pull rank and take charge, despite the relative ease of comms...
And it didn't sound like the usual gang of Imperial flunkies either...whoever was leading them was special, having the balls NOT to crumble under fire like most Guardsmen. Kimiko swore simply, "When I found that motherfucker, he's gonna regret messing with my plans..."
---------------
Von Stalhelm's vessel finally approached the Fury. He radioed the vessel, saying, "Pachebel's Fury, this is the St. Ayanami's Vengance, Fleet Admiral Von Stalhelm speaking. Respond."
He only got a message from the Ork ships next to it, which said "Piss off, 'umie!"
Von Stalhelm then said, "Orks!? Open fire!"
Furious volleys of torpedo and energy fire fell upon the Ork forces, dealing damage to many of their vessels and drawing their attentions away from the boarding action at hand. When Badtoof heard of this, he merely shouted back into his vox-caster, "You lot! Fight back, why don'tcha!?" before abruptly hanging up.
A majority of the pirate fleet moved, no swarmed to attack the St. Ayanami's Vengance and her escorts. Von Stalhelm retaliated with, "Launch bombers in waves, fighter escorts proceeding with. Also, target their ramship formations with torpedoes. I want them to scatter."
The order obeyed, Imperial Navy forces replied with attack runs by Starhawk bombers and Fury interceptors, flying to hit Ork formations with their massive ordinance loads and drawing the attention of point defense and Orky fighters while the Imperials launched a volley of torpedoes at the enemy ramships, causing them to scatter as they went into evasive manuevers, hitting some and causing indirect damage to others.
----
Resendes' men continued sweeping the ship, using his newfound armor in those passageways large enough to support the vehicles and sending heavily-armed killteams into hallways where they couldn't go, attempting to either draw out the Orks inside or simply wipe them out. They had the iniative now, and by golly, the Fury would stay Imperial.
As the space battle went on outside, Kimiko finally entered the Bridge With an arrogant swagger and her retinue of cultists flanking her, she overpowered the guards aboard. The captain, who was understandably angry about this, said, "What do you think you're doing?! Stop this immediately!" pulling out a hellgun in the process.
She promptly pulled out a slugthrower, a meanlooking S&W .500 Revolver given a few Chaos upgrades, and shot the man in the chest, knocking him down. As she holstered it, she only said with an eerie casualness and a shrug, "Sorry."
She then turned to the rest of the bridge crew, saying, "Okay, ladies and gentlemen! I am your new Captain, Kimiko "Slippery Sam" Ayasugi, Prophet of the Second Child and servant of Chaos Undivided."
She then said with a snicker, "Boy, I love that title. Has a nice ring to it..."
She then continued, focusing back on her dirty job: "Anywho, you are under my power. Any resistance will be met with the same punishment as your dear Captain. Which will hurt a lot. Capice?"
The Imperial crewmen looked at themselves oddly. Kimiko then walked up to one of them, and said curtly, "The answer is yes."
The man simply spat back. Kimiko whipped out her pistol and knocked him down, hitting him with the butt of it, saying with black humor and a certain element of sarcasm, "Now that is unsanitary! Didn't your momma tell you, never hit, spit, or insult a lady?"
The man winced in pain, ekeing out a pained, "Yes...." The cultists laughed, as they were trained to do, at Kimiko's ugly excuse for humor.
She then said, with bite: "Good. Now, I hope the rest of you will be more cooperative."
-----------------------
A series of explosions later, the Guardsmen were on the offensive. The Ork Pirates were increasingly being whittled down, and this was putting pressure on the enemy plans to take the Fury. However, at the same time, Resendes got a brief but disturbing message from the Bridge.
"Attention all units! We need assist-"
Resendes then tried to reply to them, calling out on the vox-caster, "This is Resendes. Respond."
No answer.
Resendes then walked up to the Sergeant, saying, "Sarge! I need you to round up two of those Killteams we got going. We're going to the Bridge."
The Sarge did as told, and before long, Resendes was rushing to the Bridge. After some time, he got there, finding the door distinctly locked.
He then called to the Killteams, "Guys--blow down that door."
They immediately began attempting to wire up explosives to it, a process that would take a bit. Meanwhile, some of the kill teams took point, watching for any interlopers.
As the actions of the Imperial Guard were playing out, on Hailung V, members of the Inquistion were furiously working on compling a list of Rogue Traders, as well as their present whereabouts. Massive computer databanks, file cabinets, and dusty libraries of archived data in all formats were buzzing with activity, as the Lady Imperiatrix entered the offices of the Ordo Hereticus.
She was suitably impressed with te place, but also was unable to shake the gloominess of it off. It had a certain...medieval air about it, mixed with a machine like bureaucratic nature the Tyranids would love. It was the only place that truly made her feel "down..."
Well, moving on from that, she went to the office of Inquisitor Lord Huang Tso-lin. Zhang greeted the Lady with a curt greeting of, "Hello, milady. Sit down."
She then sat down, and the Inquisitor Lord said, "Hell of a job you're putting me through. Some of my colleagues in the Conclave have issue with the Proclamation you put out, and I'm working flat out to collect data on all Rogue Traders in the area."
He then got up and began pacing about, saying, "But you know as well as I do--that's like herding cats. Rogue Traders move from place to place, change registries, don't even register--you've put me through a lot. I wonder why I don't pull rank and have you arrested, for making me work this hard."
Lady Murasaki laughed and then said, "Only because you approved my rise to the title of Lady Imperatrix, and because you happen to like the fact I make better company than the rest of the Ordo Hereticus here on Hailung V. Come now, Inquisitor Lord--that should have been obvious."
Huang rolled his eyes, and said, "I suppose you're right. It's nice personally to get away from those Thorians and Monodominants. Emperor's balls, they get tiring to hear about."
With a slight chuckle and a disarming tone, Lady Murasaki said, "Of course."
Lord Huang however, declared, "Know this--next time you do something like this--ask me first. Or just throw it in the lap of the Administratum. Not this..."
"Understood," was the reply. Lady Murasaki continued with, "What did you find?"
Huang said, "Well, there is a man currently operating the farthest from Hailung--name's João Valdes. His current whereabouts are unknown, but we can say he's somewhere out there. He does have an astropath with him, and a Navigator."
Lady Murasaki replied, milling the information over, "Shall we contact them psychically?"
Huang then gave her a shrug and said, "There are some Sanctioned Psykers here. I suppose one of them is strong enough to contact Valdes or his psyker crew."
Nodding and getting up, Lady Murasaki then got up, and said, "Thanks Inquistor Lord. Your service to the Emperor is noted."
She then stopped and said, "Oh and remember--tonight is Poker Night."
Huang then said, with a smile: "Oh yes. That. Bring stronger beer this time, not that stuff for cooking lobsters and dragonfish."
Lady Murasaki then said, "But of course," leaving.
The doors of the Bridge blew down, allowing Resendes and his killteams to surprise Ayanami's band. He leveled his laspistol and said, "Stay where you are--"
As the woman turned around, Resendes couldn't believe his eyes.
"Slippery Sam Ayasugi. The one the Inquistion couldn't get," Resendes said wryly. "What brings you aboard a ship of the Imperial Navy?"
Ayasugi said, smiling, "Oh nothing, just doing a little shopping. Girl like me needs a fashionable form of transportation, y'know. The name's Kimiko, by the way. Slippery Sam is so awfully cumbersome and...common."
Resendes had to admire her sarcasm just a little. They always said Slippery Sam was known for being a joker--she had a somewhat sadistic knack for using the most unfortunate occasions to generate one-liners. That being said, Resendes couldn't let a bit of witty repartee distract him, so he said, "Likely story. Let the crewmen go, and turn yourself over."
Ayasugi rolled her eyes and said, almost wishing to frustrate Resendes: "It was a joke! You're just too serious. All work and no play makes for a very dull man. As a goody-goody Imperial Guard apparatchik, you should know that yourself. Can't you even giggle a little? Y'know?"
Now the humor wore off. Resendes said sternly now, "I'm not here for a standup act. I'm here to take back this ship. Surrender. NOW!"
Ayasugi then sighed, and threw her sword down on the ground, saying, "Emperor's prairie oysters in a combo meal. You win. Here, take my sword."
She kicked it to him, with a smile. Ayasugi even disabled her power claw, and threw that to the ground, kicking it to Resendes as well. After all that was down, she threw her hands up in the air, and said, "You want me to unbutton my uniform too?"
Resendes simply retorted, "I can do without the sound effects. Now, let's go."
Ayasugi then interjected: "Oh! Mister Commissar! You forgot my cultists and your crewmen! What shall we do about them? My devotees know a little Slaaneshi rituals they could use them for, if you are so neglectful."
Resendes then thought: "That's it." He then said, "Men--on my mark. Ready. Ai-"
Ayasugi then said, "Gotcha, bitch!" The chainsword suddenly got up off the floor, spun about, and boomeranged through a number of the men, cutting them in half as the rest hit the deck, flying back into her left hand.
Commissar Resendes then began firing laspistol shots at Ayasugi, and the men retaliated as well. But she then proceeded to jump about, mockingly singing, "I'm singin' in the rain, just singin' in the rain...." as she ducked and danced about the hail of hellgun and lasgun fire.
Both remembered they had jobs to do, but the fact that here was a leader of a Chaos cult and a force of Lost and Damned was too much to ignore. Especially since she stopped dancing and charged Resendes at full speed. Resendes barely blocked swing with his officer's saber, kicking Kimiko in the gut and forcing her back.
The two got back up, and stared with a fury and conviction into each other's eyes that both Guard killteam and Chaos cultist knew meant one thing--it was time for a throwdown. Of course, the killteam took the time to suppress the Cultists first, before getting the men out of there.
Resendes, with hat on, thrust his officer's saber at Kimiko, but she parried immediately. Counterthrust and parry later, the two were in a full-on sword duel. Kimiko lept up at one point, and dared to stand on the end of Resendes' saber, sticking her tongue out at him. Resendes swung a left hook in reply, whereupon she jumped off and made an attempt to hit his arm. He moved out of the way in time, but not before his left arm was nicked by the blade. He winced some, but he knew he had to stay strong.
In the later stages of the duel, the room began shaking, and then Resendes had to duck to avoid a hail of fireballs cast by Kimiko, joined by another boomerang chainsword attack. She then noticed outside there was a space battle going on, and not in her favor too. Not only that, but she noticed that more and more Imperial Guard were flooding into the area.
She simply said, "Well, it was a nice fight, but I gotta run. Oh, and one last thing."
Kimiko then charged into the midst of the new forces of Guard, proclaiming, "I WIN!" and dealing death to them as she had so many times before. But when Resendes turned to chase her, she had teleported away.
To his credit, Resendes had single-handedly fought a Chaos agent to a standstill. However...that agent got away, leaving him to go, "Damn."
The Fury liberated, Gunther von Stalhelm sent tugs to tow the ship back to port, while the other vessels maintained their position. Gunther invited the young Commissar Resendes into his office. Twirling a pen and writing official battle-reports, von Stalhelm looked up and said, "Oh yes. Commissar. Sit."
The Commissar did as told, as von Stalhelm said, "I hear you organized the defense of the Fury against a force of Orks and a small platoon of Chaos cultists?"
Resendes (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v630/Senor_Nb3/StradaAuto.jpg) nodded saying, "Though there were others who could have done the job, I opted to take command, because nobody else seemed to be doing so--barring that, they were busy."
Von Stalhelm said, with a smile, "Not a bad way of thinking. Independent thinking, while discouraged by the Inquisition, has proved to be a lifesaver on the field of combat.
Good job, son. I gotta hand it to you. I'd think lesser men would have been busy worrying about their own skins--especially Commissars. Then again, I'm not Guard. I'm Navy. Still, I am suitably impressed. I'd put in some kind of metal for you, but that's up to the Council of Twenty. They approve all Imperial Guard decorations in this area. Still, I'll put up a good word. Carry on."
Resendes stood up, and saluted the Fleet Admiral, saying "Aye, sir."
--------------
Meanwhile--
Kimiko (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v630/Senor_Nb3/megumi.jpg) strolled back into her mobile HQ, the Petshop of Horrors. Putting down her sword onto the rack, she strolled onto the bridge and said curtly: "All full ahead out of Hailung. I don't want to be caught with our pants down."
The Cultists manning the ship said, "Aye, your Highness" as she sat on the throne that made up the Captain's chair. She then said, yelling with ill-will: "And for the fuck's sake, somebody lay down mines. Some faithless shits among you didn't lay down mines last time, and we nearly paid for that. If it wasn't for the good graces of our friend Warboss Badtoof and the beneficience of the Four Aspects of the Second Child, we'd be dead right now."
The Cultists then said, in monotone, "Will do, your Highness." They were used to this sort of abuse--Chaos powers gave her strength, but also amplified an anal-retentive attitude she had back on Earth a long time back and even mutated it into a sort of prima donna worldview that in most social circles, would make people nervous at best.
A little Siamese cat then lept up onto Kimiko's lap, and then her attitude suddenly softened. She suddenly turned bright, talking in baby talk to the cat saying, "Miki! How's my good widdle kitty? Spot any Impewrial scum today? No? Aw, that's a good kitty. Run along now..."
She then smiled and said to the Senior Officer, "You have the Bridge, XO. I'm going to talk to some people."
The XO saluted and said, "Aye, your Highness."
Kimiko then went to her stateroom, and pulled out a laptop. Dialing it in, she got into contact with Alastair LaRouche (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v630/Senor_Nb3/gene_hackman.jpg) and Karl von Esling (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v630/Senor_Nb3/aoshi37.jpg), her two lieutenants. She then said, "Gentlemen, how fare things?"
Alastair said with relish, "A thousand more join the Cause here on Hailung IV. They are eager to understand the Four Aspects, particuarly that of Tzeentch. There are some 'Rogue Psykers' among them who will make excellent allies in the war on the False Emperor."
Kimiko smiled, saying, "Goodie, goodie, I like what I hear."
In a businesslike manner, she continued, eventually growing bitter and sarcastic: "They'll be needed soon enough. Warboss Badtoof is proving unreliable--his men were easily defeated by a man named Commissar Resendes. Imagine that--a Commissar gets his hands on some tanks and walkers, and he's like 'I'm the best there is!' I hate those guys...damn the Guard."
She turned to Karl and said, "Can your agents ascertain data on this Commissar? I need to know more on him, and I want his movements tracked."
Karl replied, frowning, "Something happen aboard the Fury? You look...somewhat concerned about this man Resendes."
Kimiko said, looking Karl square in the eye and modulating her voice to a mix of Patton rattling off a battle plan and a stereotypical feminist strawman on Fox News, with the severest conviction: "I may have just found my new arch enemy. This guy's not just a damn good fighter. He didn't just stalemate me in a swordfight. He's also a good leader of men. He turned what should have been a damned rout into a stellar victory. A good leader of men means prolonged Imperial resistance. Unacceptable.
I can't stand that! I WON'T STAND FOR THAT! And let's not forget his poor sense of humor. And because of that, on general principle--I must kill him."
She then took a moment to breathe, and said to Karl, continuing her pattern of voice, "Now you find that data Karl. Show me that for that our long collaborative partnership, my trust in you was not misplaced."
Karl smiled, and said, "You had me at 'new arch enemy.' I will dig up as much dirt as I can."
She then said to Alastair, "Alastair, you too. Do that voodoo that you do so well, and dig up some men who know this Resendes."
With an evil smile, she said, suddenly donning a voice darkened by that of Chaos, "And get close to his family if at all possible. Make them suffer for his crimes against us..."
Alastair saluted and said, "Aye, your Highness."
The transmissions cut, and Kimiko then returned to normal, saying, "Woah. I need a drink..."
The exploration fleets, authorized by the Lady Imperiatrix, prepared to move out soon. Well, they were not so much fleets. They were three patrols each, with an Imperial Guard regiment between two Lunar frigates and a picket of escorts each. Also, two Space Marine Assault Frigates were assigned to two of the exploration fleets, a Frigate each with some Space Marines for support, and ships from the Adeptus Mechanicus were present as well.
Before the movements began, the Archbishop of Hailung stood up, blessing the action in the name of the Emperor with a hearty, "As the exploration fleets move out, let us pause to remember the great, Immortal Emperor which bestowed upon us the resources to make the ships and rally the men which now yet comprise this glorious mission.
Immortal Emperor, let these men and women work your works! Let them spread your might and majesty!"
Accompanied by a performance of "A Mighty Fortress is Our God," words rewritten to pay homage to the Emperor, the fleets moved out. They began sweeping the stars, eager to search for new worlds to settle and new forms of life to find.
The fleets in question were led by three different people, plus Librarian Gordon Johnson of the Legio Johnson, who was chosen by the Chapter-Master Peter Johnson to assume control over the operation, since it would be of a scientific nature and thus require somebody of his skills to archive all that data. Generals Jonas Algarve, Taros Kwok, and HE Kamiuri-sama Thomas Murasaki, head of a detachment of Guard that included Kurosawa's Own.
This would be a most interesting trip...but for now, things were mostly empty. The travels and deep scans had revealed little but interesting curios so far, asteroids and the like. Still, there was bound to be a planet somewhere.
Aboard the Rick James--
Janos Algarve looked at his wrist chronometer, and ate his meal of caffeine (what the Imperials called coffee) and a plate of plain beef noodles. The ship's cooks had whipped up the typical Hailungese faire, with plenty of bolos levedos sweet bread and noodle and fish dishes to be seen. He could have eaten heartier, but the General chose to be not as imperious as his rank would suggest. At most, he was a gentleman. At the least, he was a man.
His retinue, with Father Miklos Forza of the Imperial Cult, Sgt. Donalbane, a Kasrkin Bodyguard, and a Sanctioned Psyker known only as "Spooky" and who would only name himself as such, supped with him, with Regimental Commissar Eleutherios Horst. As they did so, Janos checked the data-slate and the reports. The Navigators and the crew had found nothing yet, same with the Fleet Mechanicus ships and the Legio Assault Cruiser with them, the L is for Love.
Janos sighed, and said, "The Lady Imperatrix....I swear, she has these flights of fancy at times that are just friggin'...."
Spooky then replied, "Lemme gueessss.....stupid?!"
Janos then said, frowning, "Yes Spooky. Stupid. And didn't I tell you not to do that?"
Spooky twitched a little, and said in a shifty voice, "Yeah, yeah. Got ya, sir."
Forza let out a Hrumph, saying, "Psykers. My boy, how dost thou deal with it all? The Warp, the threat of Daemonic Possession? Tis a wonder thou hast not succumbed."
Janos then let out: "You're not helping."
Forza said, "Do I smelt heresy?"
Janos only said, "Nah, just the truth."
He hated this repartee. He liked the soldiers he commanded better than his retinue, and for that matter, officers in general who like to stay behind a desk. He especially hated Forza. Bastard spoke in formal Low Gothic and had a mind that didn't leave the church. Tended to pick on poor Spooky too. He kinda liked the guy, and he was the only dude he could rely on, besides Sgt. Donalbain.
Horst then said, "I do detest this. Shall we speak of more positive matters?"
Spooky said, "Yess...let's."
Horst then said, putting a finger up, "Gentlemen, the Repulse Bay Rangers have beaten the Northhive Thunderhawks in the annual Saint's Dodgeball Series, score of 4-2."
Forza sighed, but Janos replied, "Ellie, please, you know Repulse Bay doesn't have shit on the Thuds. They just had a bad night. Leung's a strong defender, blocks those balls nice, and de Souza can throw downrange like nobody's business. Let's see Thompson and MacNiell do that!"
Horst only replied, "Funny--the Thuds have had a really long bad night--not a Classic Cup in years! Typical Hivetrash, all chutzpah no brains."
Janos smiled and said, "Oh, you'll pay for that."
A soldier walked by and said, "Sir! There's a matter that needs your attention. It's the bridge. They got something."
Janos put his fork down, and then got up smiling, saying, "Well guys, I have to go. Seems I'm needed elsewhere."
As he left, he said, "phew!"
-------------
Aboard the Emperor's Benediction--
The Saint's Series captivated the Guardsmen on break; with popping corn and smuggled Sacra, they all hooted and hollered at the screen, as a burly man threw a dodgeball at a man from the opposition, knocking him down. One man said, "Go Rangers!"
The noise, however, attracted the wrong kind of attention. His Excellency Kamiuri-sama Thomas Murasaki stomped into the area, shouting in an upper-crust accent over the cheers, "ATTENTION!"
The men stood up, crying all sorts of profanities as they scurried to put away the booze and turned off the TV. The men stood ramrod straight, and the Kamiuri-sama looked at them. He poked one of them between the eyes, as he said, "You men are behaving in a most ungentlemanly manner! Such noise and filth!"
He then forcefully straightened their collars, which were somewhat loose, saying in a haughty voice, "Humph. Typical. Instead of cultivating oneself for the better good, you waste time with frivolous entertainments. Sports. Dodgeball. A barbarism if I ever heard one! Television! Opiate of the masses! Why if my mother were here, she would make you all-"
He then stopped, and sniffed the air. He then said, looking down and picking up a bottle, "Sacra?! Alcohol? When I clearly forbade it?"
One of the men said, "Sir, we're not from--"
He then said, slapping the man, "You will address me as Your Excellency, you fishmongering whoreson. You speak to a superior officer, and a superior man. Regardless of regiment, I command all forces of the Immortal Emperor on this vessel, and you are to obey my orders, for they are for your own discipline and for the good of the public order."
He then said, standing ramrod straight, "Now you men will be punished for breaking my laws. Commissar!"
No one came.
He then grew angrier, throwing his cap on the ground and crying, "I will not tolerate lateness! COMMISSAR!"
A commissar arrived, saying, "I am re-"
He then said, lip quivering and the tears of a spoiled brat emerging: "You will have no combat pay for being late. Now punish these men for violating my prohibitions on alcohol and unsanctioned sport!"
The Commissar said, "Yes, Your Excellency." He then pointed his pistol at the men and said, "For violations of the orders of a superior officer, the sentence is solitary confinement, with the leader shot! MOVE!"
The men grimly moved out, not too eager to meet their fate...
He then went back to his room, and sat down. Opening up his computer, he dialed home.
His mother, the Lady Imperiatrix herself, appeared on the screen, painting yet another ship. She then said, happy to see her son: "Tommy! How's my little prince?"
The Kamiuri-sama then said, "Meh. Fine, mom. I had to shoot some men because they disobeyed my orders. And the Commissar who did it was late. Why is it so hard to get good help?"
The Lady Imperiatrix said, sighing, "Oh dear. Some of the men acting up again? How have you been treating them, Tommy? You better not be abusing your powers again."
"Tommy" then said, "Oh mom, don't worry, I'm not. I'm just using them to, you know, keep the men in line and keep their morals up. I want them to be good soldiers, and good men too. Like our Kurosawa's Own."
The Lady Imperiatrix then put down her models and said, sighing: "I don't know son. After that Noodle Incident, I'm not eager to agree. You need to learn to control yourself."
Tommy then said, "Mom....please....you don't know how tough it is out here! All the officers think I'm a..."
He then said, unwillingly, "...douchebag, a pansy, other such things. They're brutes! They don't get it!"
The Lady Imperiatrix then said, "Just treat them as men, and as soldiers in the Emperor's Service. They don't know any better, Tommy. It's going to be okay."
Tommy then sighed and said, "I guess...mom..."
The Lady Imperiatrix then said, sweetly, "After all, you're my son, and I love you very much. I have faith in you...and I can't stay mad at you."
Tommy then said, smiling, "Thanks mom. I love you."
The Lady Imperiatrix then said, "Love you too. Stay safe, my little prince," shutting off the connection. On her side, she sighed, wondering why she couldn't scold the boy...perhaps Victor was right. She did spoil him, even in the littlest of ways.
Aboard the Big Stick--
Taros Kwok could be seen sketching the female personnel as they walked by. He liked to doodle in his spare time, and he drew all manner of items in his spare time, when he didn't have to deal with Imperial Bureaucracy, or as he called it, the "Loose baggy monster." He didn't draw the ladies for any sort of fulfillment in that way, but he just found them more interesting to draw than other subjects. He remembered how he was almost kicked out of OCS for doodling too much. Were it not for those Eldar Pirates....he'd be a starving artist, or maybe a man working for some ad firm. Meh. He'd never sell his art to anyone. He just wanted peace of mind.
One of the soldiers under his command said, "Sir?" and had been saying that for a while. The General put down his pen, and said, "Yes, private?" He said it with clear calm.
The soldier said, salute held "Sir, we've spotted a planet up ahead. Scans indicate it's got the right ingredients to support life. There's also some planets nearby, no word on those yet."
Taros said, smiling, "Excellent. Get in touch with the Space Marines. See if they can't get some Scouts down there. I don't want trouble."
The soldier said, "I'll relay the message sir."
He then bowed and said, "And I'm sorry for disturbing your drawing time, sir."
"It's alright soldier, I was in the moment. Carry on," Taros said, waving off the man and going back to his doodles. He then packed up, and decided to get some papers done...
Intramuros, Repulse Bay, Hailung V--Several Days Ago
Commissar Resendes knelt at the feet of the Lady Imperiatrix. As she said her bubbly words, he felt somewhat proud, yet somewhat out of place. Commissars didn't do things people usually loved. Yet the men of the 4309th Airborne were behind him, actually clapping and applauding his accomplishment. Seems that when it came down to the wire, his men were his men. He did like negotiating problems instead of busting caps...though he wasn't afraid to execute cowards if it came to it. Perhaps that was why they clapped. He didn't automatically kill them like Other Commissars, nor did he turn them in like Other Commissars.
Then, he heard the command, "Rise, Alvin Resendes de Ruiz. Rise, and Recieve the Macharian Cross. Praise be the Immortal Emperor!"
He stood up, and the Lady Imperiatrix pinned the medal on his chest. Usually, these things came in a commemorative box, but she insisted on the pin. Anywho, she presented a copy of the medal and citation in a box, and then said, "Good job, soldier. We'd have lost that ship if it wasn't for you."
Resendes saluted the Imperiatrix, and then said, "Aye!"
---------
The Emperor's Benediction
Resendes was woken up by his new boss....Thomas Murasaki. He saluted the boss, and then said, "Reporting, Sir!"
Murasaki, ever imperious, replied, "That is Your Excellency, fishmonger! Remember that!"
He then corrected himself, saying, "Yes, your excellency Sir!"
Murasaki then said, "Right. It seems the Adeptus Mechanicus have identified several worlds in this sector--a couple of them are suitable for life. You are to report at 0800 with the rest of your unit to drop to the surface."
Resendes, still saluting, said, "Your Excellency, what are we calling this planet?"
Murasaki replied, "Hmm..."
He then grinned evilly, saying, "Commissar, it is tradition that finders of planets get to name them?"
Resendes, trying not to offend his boss, said, "I am unsure, Your Excellency."
A loud, booming ominous laugh emerged from the prince--the kind usually found from schoolyard bullies when they vanquish another victim. Murasaki, having enjoyed the notion he would name this world, said, "If it is not, then I will name it, as it is my right! I hereby declare the planet Kamiuri Major, the second habitable one Kamiuri Minor. Emperor's blessing, I will have this system!"
He then marched away, pleased with himself, singing, "I named a planet, I own some land, I am the coolest..."
Resendes then said to himself, "What the hell was that?!"
Rick James
OOC: This one, and the plot with Kwok are not the plotlines I am using with the Exodites.
IC:
Algarve stepped onto the bridge, and then marched right up to the Captain in charge of the vessel. He said only bluntly, "This better be important, Captain. I was actually having a good meal for once."
Captain Ting then said, ignoring the slight, "It's big. Follow me."
Algarve followed Ting to a pictscreen, and then Ting called to a servitor, "Bring up that scan we got yesterday."
With a mechanical, "Yes, sir," the servitor waved its appendages and pushed some buttons, awaking the 3-d pictscreen. Ting then pointed to their position, and to several bodies nearby, saying, "Right here, General, is where we are. Not but several light years away from us, are several planets. Some of them are gas giants, some are lifeless parodies of planets, but there's about three here worth your attention." He then snapped his fingers, and the servitor zoomed in on the planets in question.
Ting then said, "Those planets are capable of supporting life. We are beyond scanner range at this moment. However, we can only say that they are fit for colonization. The question is, General--" he motioned for the Servitor to cut the screen, and then turned to Algarve, saying, "How are we going to go about this?"
Algarve says, "We have Space Marines, yes? Have the L is for Love drop some scouts on the surface, I will send scouts to investigate as well. I want to make sure we're not walking into a deathworld, and when it comes to scouting, these fellows are damn good."
Ting then said, "Good plan, General. I'll let Brother Captain Leonidas know."
Algarve then said, "Roger." He then left, and the message was sent. The L is for Love and the Rick James moved closer to the world, and sent a Thunderhawk and a transport down....
-------
Aboard the Thunderhawk from the L--
"Ye be ready, boys, for the job ahead!?!" called Sergeant Stephen Johnson to his men, echoing the pirates of old. Space Marine scouts of the Legio Johnson Chapter, they were reputed to be some of the oddest of the lot--with their pirate dress and pirate manners, it showed.
His men called out, "Aye, Sarge!" raising their fists in the air.
"YAARR! That be the proper spirit, boys. Now when we get down there, I want yer eyes wide, and fingers on yer bolters at all times. And no excess noise! I don't want ye to repeat the Noodle Incident," said Stephen Johnson.
The men then said, "We won't fail ye, sir!"
Stephen Johnson then said, "Now, what do we say!?"
The men then shouted out the Legio's motto: "If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball. . .for the Emperor!"
A resounding cry of "URRRAAAHH!" and a pirate concertina then began playing a jaunty tune, most likely a sea chantized version of the Scottish Regimental March.
-------
Aboard the IG transport--
"Emperor's balls, if you don't stop insulting me, I swear I'll put laxatives in yer next meal!"
Ratling sniper Tim Velasquez fumed. The short jokes he was used to; the insults to his cooking or shooting abilities he was not. By the Throne, he was the Stormtrooper company's best damn cook--let's see these Toy Soldiers make ordinary freeze-dried egg powder taste like your momma's cooking!
"Whatever, runt. Just don't miss out there, okay?" let out one of the Stormtroopers. The Hailungese Stormtrooper units, patterned after the famed Cadian Kasrkin, were known for their pride, their scouting skills, and their lack of attention. Most Hailungese joined Kurosawa's Own--if you weren't a "Kurrie," then you were more than likely a "Wannabe;" a label applied to these men jocularly in addition to the usual taunts of Toy Soldier and Glory Boys. And boy did that show...
Tim just shook his head. He turned to one of the other ratlings, and said, "Can you believe these guys?"
The other ratling then said, "They're toy soldiers. What did you think?"
Tim had to giggle a little. Maybe he would slip something into their meal. Maybe not something as filthy as the aforementioned stuff, but perhaps extra deathpeppers, just the way these dudes did not love their meal.
Over them, the Sergeant was issuing orders. They were follow the Space Marine Scouts in country, observing the terrain and noting anything significant. Combat was to be avoided, unless they were attacked.
The Thunderhawk landed in a secluded forest, and then disgorged its piratical cargo. The Scouts immediately were joined by the Storm Troopers and their Ratlings, who immediately took positions around the LZ. Ratling Tim Velasquez, in particular, loaded his needle rifle and aimed into the dense woods, looking for any troublemakers. The other Ratlings did the same.
Sergeant Stephen Johnson, meanwhile, said to his troops, "Alright, mateys! Tom Johnson--take Stanislaus, Chingy, Michael, Dubei, and Honorius Johnson with a squad of Storm Troopers and go on point. Joe Johnson--Take Louis, Horton, Horwell, Franklin and Frederick with you and go to the south, same as Tom Johnson's. Report anything you see, both of ye, bring skull probes. And remember the orders!"
Sergeant Donald Rump said, "What about me?"
Stephen only said, "Laddie, set up a perimeter here, tell Command we have a clear landing zone. Have them send in some Techpriests and a couple of companies of infantry to secure the place, with heavy weapons. The rest of ye, stay."
Velasquez wasn't surprised. The Marines got the glory, the Guard sat on its ass once more.
Rump said, "Aye, sir." He then summoned a man with a Vox and Pict communicator to speak to the Rick James, and inform them of successful entry. At the same time, he ordered his men to begin patrols around the area, using a combination of hand movements and shouts to get the point across. The Storm Troopers duly obeyed, and began the job.
-----------------
In the woods--
It peered at the incoming intruders. They were new to this world it called home. Dressed in what looked like skins aplenty and carrying some kind of item in their hands--possibly a weapon--it rationalized, it knew that these beings were mucking about in its lands. And, that was not a good thing.
It slunk away to warn others of its kind, to warn them about the invaders and ready them for battle, in the most primal sense.
---------------
Big Stick
The Big Stick underwent a similar procedure, landing some scouts from the Legio Johnson and the Stick's own Imperial Guard men stationed onboard. As this occurred, the Scouts onboard exited to an odd sight.
The world itself was relatively craggy and mountainous; but the terrain was covered with elephant grass up to the knees of the Scouts that landed. One of the Storm Troopers, Private Rockwell, was reminded of his home on Hailung II, the Dominion's Agro-World--verdant fields of vegetation, crags in the distance but an otherwise hospitable climate--it was like home, but oddly different.
Oddly different because his squad noticed the town up ahead. A small ramshackle settlement. Looked to be home to people still. One of the Scout teams had picked it up, but everybody could see it, Pirate's Brogue and all. They walked closer to it, taking care to move single file through the grass, to avoid surprises. Crouching low, they spotted a man from the town. He was followed by a column of men with primitive rifles...and Kroot.
Rockwell thought to himself "Kroot? This should be fun."
The Stormtroopers stalked the group of men and Kroot. The men seemed to be armed with crude slugthrowers, autoguns, riding steeds of some kind and clothed in crude leather dusters, protecting something important. The Kroot, meanwhile, looked more advanced, guiding the band and flanking them.
Rockwell was told to peer through his binoculars, and did so as the Troopers and scouts tracked them.
-------------
One of the Kroot in the convoy escorting the vital prometheum held his hand up. He said to the men, "I sense danger! Get down!"
The humans got down immediately, and wondered what it was now. Was it bandits? Orks? The beasts had ambushed Donston's men the other day, and they seemed to be in force this season. It was a good thing the Kroot were here, otherwise...
The Kroot raised his rifle, and aimed it at the elephant grass. He sniffed the air, and fired a shot into the bush.
-----
Rockwell could not just hear, but feel the zing! of a pulse shot flying over him, hitting in a glancing blow off of one of the Marine Scouts. The unit held still, hoping not to be noticed....
Rockwell and his forces were soon set upon by the Kroot, which began charging into the elephant grass as a diversionary tactic, while the humans were ordered to get the prometheum to its destination safely. Rockwell raised his Hellgun and let the energy fly, hitting one of the brutes square in the chest and giving him pause. Then, another fell onto him and slashed at him with its rifle, using the sharpened blades attached to it, forcing him to back off. Chaos reigned and it seemed like every man was blazing away in the confusion of the elephant grass, the Kroot taking advantage of the brush to attempt to isolate them in a hail of waist high brush and smoke.
Still, they were holding on, for now....
**********
Rump, meanwhile, was proceeding more peacefully. He had sent the transmission to the Rick James, and had authorized a force of Guard to land on the planet, joined by Skitarii from the Fleet Mechanicus units aiding the James and another Navy ship, the Charlie Murphy. In particular, the Famous Flames, more commonly known as the 26th Grenadiers, were arriving planetside. To make more room, the ships bombarded patches of forest to clear more landing zones, and dropped more men nearby.
As the transports came planetside, earthen-and-rockrete fortifications were going up, with servitors, techpriests and guardsmen working around the clock to build forts. Rump wanted his men to know they were going to stay here.
As this occurred, the patrols were uneventful. Unknown and exotic plants were confronting the men with every opportunity, and it took some time to hack through the tougher cases. But as they moved, they could not help but feel they were watched...
------------
It observed the intruders with some interest, and noted especially their ships, landing in a cleared section of the thick forest that was big enough for them. It also saw that the intruders were using fire and blades to move through the woods It had claimed as its own. From the sky, these men wiped whole section of forest, like pencil marks from a paper when met with an eraser. That level of offense could only mean that these men were here to stay. This was unacceptable, for this world belong to It and It's kin.
It stopped observing the men in the forest, and ran off to warn the others, and prepare a defense. These invaders would pay for ransacking what was theirs.
------------
One of the Scouts on patrol noticed a glint of light, and movement while on patrol, and raised his bolter, aiming it into a patch of brush. The others got down, arming hellguns and bolters.
The section leader said, "Dubei, what is it?"
Dubei then looked around and said, "I thought I saw something....it's gone now."
It arrived back at its home camp. There, in quick tones, it stood up and spoke of the invaders to the one in charge of the pack it was in. Nodding, the section leader urged it and the others to collect their tools of war; autoguns and explosives. He picked up a communicator, and spoke into it. The others had to be warned.
With catlike reflexes, they snuck back into the woods. Moving silently, they came upon a patrol of invaders. The alpha leader snarled; these were men. No good, weak men. It was time to take out the trash that threatened to litter the terrain. Section leader gave the motion to move in, and commence the kill.
While the others moved in teams of two to surround the force, It pulled out an autogun and aimed....
-----------
The other patrol, led by Joe Johnson, heard movement. Getting down, the stormtroopers pulled out hellguns, the scouts bolters, and Joe Johnson himself pulled out an auspex. It detected 8 lifeforms around them. They were moving quickly. And they were moving around them. This was not good.
Then, a snarl, like those of cats disturbed, was heard through the forest. Shots, presumably from autoguns, peppered the men, as out of the bush, abominations that resembled an odd mixture of men and feline lept at the patrol, guns blazing and teeth bared in feral fury. One man was injured by the gunfire, and shot back into the woods, taking down one of the foe with a glancing hit.
Two fell upon Franklin Johnson, and despite his best knifework, he was unable to remove one of them as it shoved him to the ground, and began slashing at his armor; he kicked the other away as a stormtrooper shot it dead. Meanwhile, two stormtroopers blindly fired their hellgun at a couple of the charging foe; but they were tackled from behind and alas, not as lucky as Franklin Johnson. The offending enemy was promptly silenced with a burst of bolter fire.
The situation degenerated quickly into a mess of hand to hand and gunfire; the enemy was able to move quickly and possessed great feral strength, like a terrifying mix of Eldar harelquin and Ork. For those qualities, the battle was dragged out, otherwise it would have been ended a while ago. As it was, the men of the Imperial Guard did not break, nor did the Legio Johnson.
However, the initial shock was over, and there was hope. A man from the Legio was killed, taken down by a crazed catbeing that got off a long burst of fire at the soldier's head, rendering the Scout's brains into a mess. Horwell Johnson avenged the man, and then called out to Joe Johnson, "Sergeant! These scurvy dogs be havin' us surrounded! We must make a tactical withdrawal, lest they take us t' th' locker!"
Joe Johnson then said, "I concur, lad."
Spotting an open and relatively higher up glen, he then said, "To higher ground, lads! Rally around me, and go!"
The men immediately fought a tactical withdrawal, running to the side of Joe Johnson as he led them to the glen. As they stopped, the patrol redoubled their fire, and took out three of the soldiers.
The cats then seemed to fall back and indeed ran off. However, one of the stormtroopers shot at the fleeing men with his hellgun, and incapacitated him. As the men walked to their captive, it seemed to look at them, with a sense of alarm.
----------
It felt a terrible pain in the legs.....the left leg...tried to move it. Okay, he could feel it. And it could move. But just barely. The leg hurt a lot, and frankly, that was the least of his problems. From holding one of the men down, he now had a bunch of angry humans aiming guns at him. And one of them was screaming in their cursed tongue. Damn these fools. He wondered if the Gods didn't have a judgment in store for them.
One of them thrust their pistols, and put it close to the forehead. The man spoke angrily. He had picked up some of their inferior tongue through contact with their Traders, and he could deduce the man wanted something....name?
He tried to form some words in their tongue.
---------------
The creature seemed to say, "Name...ist...Hali Jorujoru. No kill...."
Joe Johnston seemed confused. What did this thing think it was? Speaking in Low Gothic, or some parody of it, like the foul Ork. It should have been ashamed, or disgusted at itself.
Joe then shoved the gun further, saying, "Aye, laddie, I won't strap ye t'the masthead...yet. Me parrot concurs. So tell me. Whar did ye learn t' speak like one o' us? Ahoy, cats usually dasn't talk."
"Hali" replied, weakly, "Hueman...tradars..." It then said, with some ounce of anger, "No cat...more...better...no animal...."
Joe then interrupted Hali's speech, as he said, "Ahoy, well then what be ya? Man, beast, or thin'? I dasn't `ave much paitence, an' th' Legio Johnson be th' same."
Hali simply replied, before fainting, "Me...ctarl-ctarl....not beast..."
Joe Johnson got up and said, "Louis Johnson! Pick up this mess! Take 't t' camp, an' tell them what happened. Th' Adeptus Mechanicus will love t' be seein' this."
"It will be sometime before I can get back to you on what this creature is," said Magos Biologis Roncavelli onsite. "But, I can say right now it's nothing I have seen before. Maybe somebody else can tell you, or the databanks can. It will be some time."
He put down his scanner, and observed the being that was now on the surgical table. Confined with special restraints, the creature from the woods that the Johnsons brought back wasn't getting out. And should it break free of the straps...well, that was what the gun-sertivors were for.
Rump then leaned on the table, and said, "Look...Magos Roncavelli. I need to know what attacked our men...or at the least, what the hell this thing is capable of. I don't want any more boys seeing the Golden Throne before their time today."
Roncavelli replied with a sigh, "In due time. I had an assistant datafax all pictures of the xeno to the Ordo Xenos and the Adeptus, I got the reply that they're combing their records now. If that's any comfort."
Then...the table shook. The being woke up.
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Hali looked about. He was in a dark room, bound to some kind of table. Were these guys going to butcher him? He wouldn't be surprised; barbarians had their own ways of doing things--disgusting ways of doing things. They weren't like the Ctarl. Couldn't hear as well, couldn't fight as well. Those poor excuses for opponents out in the bush proved that. Though the bigger ones proved to be dangerous.
One of the barbarians, a man in a large red cloak with some ungodly suite of implants in his body walked up to him. A scanner of some kind flipped over the man's eye, and the man looked at him like he was some new toy. The man mumbled something in his language, and he stepped back.
Another man, presumably the asshole who ran this grease-joint, walked up to him. He spoke to him, as arrogant as the man in the bush. Hali could discern slightly from the man's babbling speech that he wanted to know why he was here, and what his name was.
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The creature on the table replied, "Hali Jorujoru. Ctarl-Ctarl. Rank....how you say....kohr-pour-ahl?" The last word, an imitation of the rank of "corporal," came out in a stilted, ungainly fashion, like the being had no idea how to comprehend the beauty of Gothic.
Rump replied, "Corporal, eh? Well, Corporal Hali Jorujoru, why did you fire upon soldiers in the emperor's service? Who are you working for? Why are you here?"
Hali replied, after looking about, struggling for words, "I am soldier...in Halagan CtarlCtarl. It...how you say...army? Yes. As for why, you..."
He then fretted, uttering, "...take land Ctarlctarl. Aya. Defend ourselves."
Rump was enraged at this. He grabbed a prod from Roncavelli's toolkit and shocked the insolent creature, pulling back after several seconds. It winced, but did not cry out in pain. He then tossed it to the Magos, as Rump said, "You dare say you defend yourselves?! This world was discovered by us, and by the Throne it will be ours. You are the invader, foul xeno! The Emperor gave us this world to claim, and we will claim it!"
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Hali could guess the man's insolence. That electric shock was bad enough. But now he was being accused of theft from what he could tell, and the man even took the Emperor's name in vain! Those siaotu-siaotu. They were the thieves who took the planet from them, with their explosions, their troops. This was Ctarl territory.
He wriggled against the shackles, and attempted to channel the feral strength that lay within every Ctarl. Spitting at the officer, who proceeded to try to restrain him, he broke one of the coffles loose and grabbed the man's face. He threw him against the other man in red robes, and began undoing his other restraints. They wouldn't keep him this way. Then, the sound of autogun fire. He immediately thrashed harder and broke free, throwing the surgical table against the cyborg with the autogun shooting him. Knocking the confounded machine over, he cried out with a feral roar.
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"Curse that gun-servitor!"
Roncavelli's lab was being ruined by this beast. He lept up and said, "Stop! Hali! Stop!" He waved his hands in a gesture was hopefully universal--the 'wait wait!' gesture. He then glared at Rump, who stood aside.
Hali paused for a moment. He said in his stilted Gothic, "Why you do this? Paresh-paresh! We Ctarl very strong."
He then pointed to the mess and then to the fallen gun-servitor, which was reduced to messy glop, and said, "You see what I can do?! If Paresh do this again, I smash more. If Paresh no let me go, then my army will come. They do more damage then I do. We have ships. Guns. Vehicles."
The Magos, not impressed with his speech, though impressed by the strength of this being, said, "My friend, Hali, I am sorry for my fellow officer's behavior. He was rash. Do you get rash?"
Hali nodded.
Roncavelli then said, "My friend, the restraints," tapping on the bindings that held the ctarl before, "were a safety measure. Safety measure. I did not mean harm to you."
Hali was unconvinced. Roncavelli could see his fierce disdain for the humans in the room. Whatever that owrd Paresh meant, it had the connotation that they were somehow lower than the being in the room. And yet it smashed up the lab...
Appealing to his sensibilities, the Magos said, "Hali, I know you're strong. Very strong. I admire you for that. But I must ask you to use your strength elsewhere. You cannot destroy my laboratory. Now, calm down, sit down."
Hali then said, "You hurt me again?"
The Magos said, smiling, "No. I want to ask you questions."
As this occurred, Rockwell and his force was still under attack. However, a few well timed frags had been thrown; these were enough to kick the foe back. The Kroot ran off, and the scouts broke combat. They reported the action to their commanders, who immediately ordered them to enter cover; an Ordo Xenos man would come down to join them soon enough.
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When the caravan came into town, news of the attack came. The caravan of prometheum took it to the refinery, while the report came to the mayor of the town. He was lucky. The incident didn't involve the Ctarl; as it was, human militia was able to handle it. However, things were tenous. Too many attacks and the Military Governor, Loron Korokoro, would mobilize the Halagan regulars. Those guys were bad news. Last bandit rebellion that happened, Halagan forces had burned down the countryside, used aircraft to wipe out sections of forest, and left no prisoners, all while declaring martial law. Their feral strength was enough to make most foolhardy men flee. But when people didn't listen....Goros III wasn't a nice place.
But these weren't like most other bandits. They had sophisticated weapons, and the Kroot spoke of "Imperial intevention." Imperials? Not Ctarl imperials? Whoever these men were probably didn't know the Ctarl. For they would most likely deliver a nasty reply.
**************
In orbit, General Algarve prepared to go to the surface and take control of his men personally. He also had a vested interest in examining a specimen the soldiers picked up. But first. He wanted to name the planet.
Picking the name of a neighborhood he lived in, he named the planet "New Newfallriver." Then, he got aboard a Thunderhawk, and ventured to the surface.
As he came down, word of the skirmish did indeed approach the rest of Ctarl-Ctarl forces on the planet. Their HQ, located in an old temple of some sort and connected to a battleship hiding out behind an ion storm, hosted General Horus Lornlorn. Commander of the various Alpha Leader scout teams across the planet, he was, needless to say, incensed at the presence of invaders who beat back Ctarl forces. Slamming his fist onto the table he used to draw up plans, he cried out, "You idiots! You're not worthy of being called Ctarl Ctarl! You going to let some weak pissants trample upon their betters!"
He then said, "We cannot let them command this planet. This is our soil. Gejidabo-lau II must not fall to them! Call the Rihon Gorusgorus. Tell them to bring a force of ships--these invaders must have ships in orbit carrying them there! And have more troops ready. I want this planet clean."
Emphasizing his point with a growl, he then finished with, "All units. Begin intelligence gathering missions. Capture prisoners and equipment they possess. We need to know what these people are capable of."
Thus, the Ctarl-Ctarl killteams began moving out, scouting for the Imperials and photographing the transports that flew to the surface, as well as stalking the men of the Guard.....