Dark Heresy - Wisdom is the beginning of fear.

[Jak Snide]

Crisis made a dash for the stairs, the arcane device at his side doing much to blunt the sound of his footfalls. Those of the enforcers had no such masking, and the sharpshooter could hear them rushing his old position and, if his ears weren't mistaken, from the other side of the building as well. They were closing fast. He darted up the stairs, slowing as he joined up with the three armored men, both Mikolas and Gunner helping Julius along now. If they didn't pick up the pace they'd be caught up with, something Gunner became aware of as he heard the clatter of booted steps at the bottom of the stairs.

Cryvus and Xerxes moved into position, the latter still hauling the traitorous warden behind him. The rear exit was a large steel door, probably several inches thick and controlled by a bulky switch to it's right. Xerxes barked his order, but Locan didn't comply, the desire to preserve his own skin overriding all other considerations.

(Either Locan and Cryvus are in position to throw the switch to open the rear door. Maps for the 2nd floor and 3rd floor updated.)

[Capntastic]

"Up you go, fella."

Mik threw his arms down around Julius's waist, and, pulling him up from under the shoulders, moving to hoist him up and carry him up the stairs like a huge tire. They didn't have the time to be gentle.

[Besyanteo]

Gunner wasn't about to complain. It wouldn't help Jules to be careful with him if doing it got them all killed, now would it? He picked up the pace, moving as fast as he could udner the circumstances.

(Double move to catch up with Xerxes and the others.)

[Kelne]

Cryvus paused a few critical moments, muttering to himself, then his finger stabbed out and down, "He's there. Be ready." With that, he hit the switch.

[NamagomiMk0]

Crisis kept speeding up the stairs--and if at all possible or feasible, barrelling by the other three acolytes; they were in some state of being injured, but they had much more effective weapons for dealing with groups than he did...

[Jak Snide]

Crisis tried to skirt around the others, but found himself blocked by Mikolas hefting Julius over one shoulder with barely a grunt, the guardsman protesting loudly but unable to stop himself being hauled upstairs, Gunner and the marksman moving as quickly as possible behind him, the sound of mercenaries rushing up the stairs right behind them. Julius clutched his lasgun in both hands, fully intending to shoot from Mik's shoulder if he had to.

Cryvus flung the switch and the door opened outwards with the screech of metal on metal. Xerxes, who was now gesturing his shotgun at Locan none too subtlety, convinced the warden to take a peek outside. A burst of autofire riddled the doorway and the area around it, much as Cryvus expected, their prisoner catching a round in his right leg, causing him to stumble backwards with a cry of pain and collapse, bleeding profusely.

(Everyone is on the 3rd floor now, and the sound of mercs storming towards them is noticeable. Locan took a pretty bad hit and will only be able to move at half speed without aid. Julius is being carried by Mikolas and will probably try to shoot if he spots any hostiles. Xerxes and Cryvus can tell roughly where the enforcer outside is due to the autogun fire, as represented on the map. Turn 8 begins.)

[Kelne]

"The dance continues," Cryvus remarked, ignoring Locan's plight. He fell to muttering for a few moments, then turned to look not quite at Xerxes, "I'll distract him, you shoot him," he said, before darting out the door.

It was best not to think too hard about the danger he'd just put himself in. They couldn't afford to get pinned down; reinforcements would keep coming in until they were finally cut down. Hence, his mad plan.

Cryvus kept low, moving quickly. He intended to make himself as hard a target as possible.

[NamagomiMk0]

Crisis' face distorted into a silent snarl as his progress was blocked. Mark his silence, that large, bumbling imbecile will get his one of these days. Sadly, now is not the time. As tempting as it would be to put a bullet through that idiot's skull, that would not help his own circumstances one bit. Nevermind essentially make him a traitor to the God-Emperor.



...his skull was probably thick enough to stop a rifle bullet anyway. Waste of a good bullet, that.


Better to put him to good use--the enforcers coming up have a single disadvantage that he and his fellow Acolytes did not--and so, Crisis tapped Gunner on the shoulder with his rifle before pointing toward the opening--and the corners as well--with the same gun, before attempting himself to move up to a position of cover--one of those corners would do nicely as long as that moron doesn't get in the way...

[Capntastic]

The large, bumbling imbecile made to move forward enough to let those behind him spread out a bit. Getting stuck in a tight spot like this, with folks firin' every which-way, was a true roll of the dice. He grinned, loving it.

"Hey, Jay, keep lookout behind us while we keep these fellas up here busy."

(Move to B9, facing East.)

[Besyanteo]

(please excuse typos: At this resolution and font size, I can't actually see why I've typed. It's jsut a blurr on the screen. I'm also posting from memory, and can't garuntee it'll even be coherent by the time I'm finished. :( )

Well, they were finally moving at decent speed, at least. Gunner could see that Jules wasn't happy in the least about his new position on Mik's shoudler, but somehow Gunner didn't expect him to be concious long enough for it to become a serious issue. He'd continue trying to catch up to the rest of the group, and hopefully escape.

(more moving! Atleast far enough to try to catch up with Xerxes. Outside the door, if it gets opened and he sees it this round.)

[Jak Snide]

Mikolas and Gunner moved towards the exit, Julius settling himself into a firing position over the former's shoulder. Crisis moved up behind them, but instead turned left and took up a firing position. He was rewarded a moment later as an Enforcer charged into view and was gifted with a shot through his right leg, staggering the man and leaving him out in the open.

Cryvus took a step forward then suddenly jerked to the side, narrowly avoiding a controlled burst of fire. A moment later he was out the emergency exit, sliding down the ladder with agility that defied his aged appearance and hitting the ground on his feet, much to the astonishment of his would-be killer who hadn't had the good sense to take cover again. He was rewarded a moment later as Xerxes, kicking Locan out of the way, leaned out from the 3rd floor and blew the man's left shoulder clean away, his arm flung away as the man dropped to the ground screaming and writhing. The arbitrator's arm ached from the recoil, but he couldn't help but grin at the payoff.

(Cryvus makes it to the ground safely and Xerxes takes out the enforcer with a good dose of Righteous Fury. Crisis wounds and staggers the enforcer at the forefront of the rush on the 3rd floor, but the acolytes aren't out of the woods yet. Turn 9 rolls in.)

[Kelne]

Cryvus recovered himself admirably, scooping up his fallen staff before heading over to put the man out of his misery. He did retain enough common sense to take a careful look around the corner before exposing himself. No sense risking being perforated again.

[Justice Augustus]

Focus, through the pain now. Let them all feel the force of the law.

"Don't let them take the stairs!" roars Xerxes, as he pops out to fire again, before dropping back into cover to reload.

[Capntastic]

Mik did his best to get to the emergency exit, hoping Xerxes would let him and wounded Jay pass. Of course, he led with his shotgun, in case he needed to scare off any rats or mercs that would pose a slippery risk while getting back to the ground in one piece with his occupant.

[NamagomiMk0]

Crisis was already intending to do what Xerxes shouted out--these damnable Enforcers are, to say the least, being a pain. Unfortunately, it almost appears as if the rest seem to be inclined towards getting the hell out--admirable, but Crisis noted one thing in particular in his mind...

A rifle is incapable of holding back these bastards! Get the oaf over here, or at least the kid!

Regardless, he silently, with a frustrated look on his face, continued to take aim at the already-wounded Enforcer, before taking another shot--noting that that was his second to last shell in that clip, and that if things came down to it, he'd have to make a break for it, or break out the holdout...

[Besyanteo]

Crisis and Gunner were of like minds at the moment. True, he'd been intending to get the fuck out, but that didn't seem like it was going to work any longer. At least, not if they were taken from behind while still trying to shuffle people out the fire escape... and Mik was going to be unbearably long getting both himself and Jules down three stories safely.

Much as he'd like someone else to have taken a turn at this, he was also the only one left who could quickly and easily get to the stairway right now. This wasn't good at all. They needed a long term solution. Sadly, he didn't expect the mercenaries would oblige and wait long enough to let him load the Inferno Shell... Which meant he'd have to stick with his Las guns. Luckily, he'd thought similar on his way up the stairs, and had since taken hold of his Las Gun, which he now set to automatic fire.

He ran over to the side of the door opposite Crisis, and prepared to fire at anyone coming up.

(Moving to B8, readied half action shot with the Lasgun around the corner.)

[Jak Snide]

The enforcer moaned in pain as Cryvus hurried over to him. He'd bleed out in a few moments, but there was no sense taking any chances. A forceful blow to the head from his staff cracked the man's skull and sent him off to the Emperor to explain himself.

Back upstairs Crisis took a moment to settle his sights on the staggered mercenary before firing. The results were, to say the least, spectacular, the top of his skull popping with a wet splorch and splattering fragments of brain and bone everywhere. Gunner moved into position just in time to catch the corpse topple over, wincing slightly as something wet bounced off a nearby wall. The grisly death of their comrade only served to spur the rest of the hired guns onward, two stepping over the corpse and snapping off shots at Crisis. He ducked low, a fatal bullet whizzing through the space his head had occupied a moment before, while another caught his left side. The shock of the impact stung, but the recently purchased flak vest had done a fine job of protecting him from the worst. Gunner managed to get off a shot at the leading enforcer, but the man's own armour absorbed most of the impact of his shot as well.

Xerxes scanned the exterior, noting a lack of hostiles as Cryvus granted release to the shooter the arbitrator had shot moments before. He stepped aside as Mikolas moved up to the ladder, the prone warden proclaiming "You can't leave me here!" in a desperate, high pitched yell. The guardsman payed him no mind as he began his descent, Julius resting haphazardly over one shoulder. Until he slipped.

A chunky arm shot out, grabbing Jules' outstretched hand and saving him from splattering on the ground below, the dark skinned man affixing himself to the ladder swiftly and making the rest of the way down on his own power. When they both reached the bottom he turned to his saviour and stated "I'll walk, thanks."

(Crisis hits the prone enforcer for 30 damage, rolling two 10s and a 7 for damage in one hell of a Righteous Fury. Gunner's shot proved far less fatal, unfortunately. Crisis has taken 1 damage. The ground and 3rd floor maps have been updated. Onto turn 10, which should prove to be exceptionally bloody.)

[Justice Augustus]

Xerxes, seeing no opportunities to shoot anyone at the moment, ducks back into the hallway, quickly slotting in another shell to his shotgun. "Can you climb?" he asks the Warden, glancing at his comerades further down the hall.

[Jak Snide]

"Does it look like I can?!" screeched the man. Xerxes saw Crisis reeling from the bullet his flak vest took, the freakish...person thankfully no more than superficially injured.

(Xerxes has a half-action left to use, if you so desire.)

[Justice Augustus]

Xerxes steps over beside Gunner, to give him some back-up. "We're running out of options here, and I'm half tempted to shoot the sump-sucker. Ideas?"

(Move to B9)

[Besyanteo]

Much as he didn't care to say it, Xerxes had asked a question, and derserved an answered. He'd squeeze off sound rounds while replying:

"Might be the kinder thing to do. We can't carry him down."

Kinder how? Well, these men worked for Emperor knew what kind of foul woman, and she apparently had a penchant for turning people into abominations. This guy just ratted her and the others out. So it really was kinder to just kill the man now then let him live and end up as another one of her experiments.

The sound of laser fire echoed as he let the shot go.

"The only other thing I can think of is to throw him down to Mik, and hope he catches him."

(Aimed shot at En8)

[Capntastic]

Mik nodded and tromped towards Cryvus, shotgun held aloft. They weren't out of the desert yet, not by a long shot.

"Man, how're we gonna get outta this pit if everything's sealed off?"

[Kelne]

"Escape?" Cryvus shook his head despairingly as he appropriated the enforcer's autogun and set about checking it over. It would now be put to use in a more worthy cause, "That's the worst plan I've heard since Governor von Strab said 'let's reason with them.'"

"The Emperor gave us comm terminals for a reason, Mikolas." Still, in a more immediate sense, it wouldn't be a bad idea to get well away from Enforcer headquarters. Cryvus cast about for the quickest way in which to lose themselves in the sprawl of the hive.

[Capntastic]

"If you say so. I just don't wanna have to square off against any more of those...things."

[Kelne]

"That ship," Cryvus said, turning to look Mikolas in the eye, "Has sailed. All your roads now lead to ruin. But the way of fear is the swiftest road of them all."

[NamagomiMk0]

Crisis grimaced as the shot grazed him--that was painful, but it was good that he at least had the money to pick up some body armor in another section of the hive well before he got where he is right now...

However, thankfulness was the last thing on his mind. He had -a- guardsman as support for now, but unfortunately, he also was down to his last bullet...if only he had taken the time to grab that auto-carbine, really...

But no time to worry about the dead now when you have two more Enforcers out to get you...

And so, he squeezed off the last bullet in the clip quickly, before shouldering it and taking out what looked more like a child's plaything than a gun; the grip seemed to take up most of the gun, and that was completely covered by the one hand used to wield it. It still had a finely polished sheen to it that his rifle shared, but one glance at the equally small charge pack on the sucker showed that it was still capable of doing harm. It wasn't going to be anything near where what everyone else had at the moment, and he honestly preferred the buck and impact of a solid gun, but when you have nothing else, it's time to use what's left...

[Rifle shot at Enforcer 8, before switching weapons to his compact Laspistol. Noting that he's STILL counted as in short range with that thing despite it having the range of a flamer without the area effect]

[Jak Snide]

Julius remained where he was, checking himself over to see exactly how bad his wounds were, casting a glance up at the top of the ladder and frowning when he saw nobody else mounting it. Mikolas, glancing past Cryvus, noticed that their bit of violence had not gone unnoticed. A few civilians were starting their way and, more importantly, so were three green-clad enforcers standing at the rail station.

Crisis put a round into the chest of the enforcer in the open, knocking him back a step. Gunner's shot sent him reeling into the wall behind him, hand clutching at the flak armour that now bore two punctures. The man in cover, though, took this opportunity step out slightly and rattle off a few shots. A bullet grazed Crisis' left arm, tearing his bodyglove and leaving a thin trail of blood. Gunner was not so lucky, a round taking him in the chest, the ex-PDF trooper wondering if this was how Julius currently felt as his flak vest failed to stop the bullet completely. As Crisis shouldered his rifle and drew his sidearm he heard another shot impact into the corner not too far from his head. Two more mercs had moved up, one of them dashing past his fellows, autogun gripped tightly. He turned to face Crisis, an ugly face bearing a scar and a scowl spitting the words "You'll pay!" at the sharpshooter.

(Enforcer 8 is down, but not dead. Given his wounds he probably won't be getting back up. The rest, however, have moved up to swarm the acolytes' position. Gunner took 3 damage, while Crisis avoided having his arm shot off by the Emperor's Grace. The station is 100m away for the purpose of shooting. Ground and 3rd floor maps updated. Turn 11 begins!)

[Besyanteo]

This wouldn't do. Not at all. Since the bastard had gone to the trouble to stand right in front of him, Gunner obligingly set his lasgun against En7's torso and fired. He felt so fucking terrible, though. This was fast shaping up to be a bad way to end a first mission. He dearly hoped Xerxes would have the sense to escape before he went that same way... and fuck Locan. There were only a handful of people that could be expected to survive, now. IT probably wouldn't help to urge him on.

"Get out! Now! Run, damn you!"

[NamagomiMk0]

Crisis knew when he was in trouble. This was one of those times--a firefight with Emperor knows how many Enforcers...possibly survivable. Huge Enforcer ready to bash his face in with the butt of an auto-Carbine...pretty bad by comparison. Cutting his losses, the Voidborn backed off swiftly, making sure not to incur this guy's wrath. Thankfully, the Emperor had gifted him with more than a good trigger arm...

[Withdrawing to D3. Oh HELL NO I'M NOT MELEEING.)

[Capntastic]

Mik looked around, making sure Julius and Cryvus were aware of the approaching enforcers.

"Uh, hey guys, there's some more mercs and such headin' this way. We gonna rush 'em, or let 'em head over here?"

[Kelne]

Escalating a firefight that was already going rather badly for them - due to attrition, if nothing else - did not strike Cryvus as the best of plans. Unfortunately, nobody else had emerged from the fire escape. Not even the worthless Locan.

Cryvus shook his head, "We secure a line of retreat and hold it for the others," he said, resuming his sweep for a suitable way out. The others had to be warned to hurry things up. But how to do so without giving whatever enforcers remained fresh hope?

Cryvus smiled a vicious smile and triggered his vox, speaking loudly and urgently into it, "People, you have one minute before those explosives level the building. Get out of there."

The bluff might or might not work, but he'd done what he could.

[Justice Augustus]

Xerxes snaps off a blast from his shotgun at those rushing up the stairs, and then runs over to the escape exit. "Get ready" is all the warning he shouts to those downstairs.

(Firing at En6, then moving to B11)

[Jak Snide]

Cryvus' message crackled through the voxes the acolytes carried, clearly audible to all upstairs. The foremost enforcer seemingly bought it, expression changing to one of surprise, giving Crisis a moment to slip away, darting around the corner. Gunner's bellowed command had lent weight to the bluff, and the other men seemed to have begun to consider their position.

The blue armored trooper took this opportunity to blast his target in the back with a trio of las bolts, torso disintegrating one chunk at a time until all that remained was a tattered flak jacket and two halves of a body tenuously connected by a length of smoking meat. Gunner barely noticed a bullet bouncing off a shoulder pad, one of the enforcers firing a shot as he fell back, the other helping the injured one to his feet and following suit. Xerxes scowled as his shotgun blast went wide, his target slipping around the corner too quickly, and headed over to the exit and shouted down. Julius looked up and gave him a swift nod. Mikolas, meanwhile, noted some activity on the rail platform from the enforcers. He couldn't tell what they were doing from this distance, but it probably wasn't anything good.

(Gunner obliterates En7 and the rest fall back, Cryvus' vox message complimenting what Gunner had yelled a moment before.Ground and 3rd floor maps updated, the latter expanding a bit thanks to Crisis darting away. While there are no immediate threats we're still working in combat time till the acolytes properly extricate themselves from danger. Turn 12 comes now.)

[Justice Augustus]

Xerxes grabs Logan and drags the pitiful man to the escape route. Pulling the man up with a grunt due to his injured arm, he looks the Warden directly in the eyes. "Go with the grace of the Emperor," is all the advice he gives the man before tossing him out to whatever fate awaited him. He then turns to Gunner, and shouts down the hallway. "Cover Crisis, let's go soldiers!"

[NamagomiMk0]

Crisis heard the message loud and clear--and noting that unless the Enforcers themselves had planted one, that was obviously a bluff. Mind, a good bluff, but still a bluff... Hearing the footsteps recede and the gunfire stop, he opted to move out into the corridor where the fight was again--though not minding an attempt to snag a worthy sidearm in the process--but not at the expense of his own safety, remaining alert of that stairway...

[Heading back out, attempting to snag the autocarbine from Mr. Vaporized. If he can't get it while walking by, he'll stop to grab it if he can do so from cover]

[Besyanteo]

Well, holy shit. They just might survive this cock up yet. Gunner keeps his lasgun trained on the stair case until Crisis passes. If some enforcer shows his ugly face, it will be summarily vaporized in high intensity laser fire. If they don't, he'll follow Crisis and get the hell out.

[Capntastic]

Mik grinned.

"Heh. Wish I'd thought'a that."

He looked up to the escape ladder. "Hey, hurry up! We gotta get a move on!"

[Kelne]

Deciding that, the way things were going, he might need a bit of extra ammunition, Cryvus checked the fallen enforcer for clips. His fellows would no doubt be along soon. "The decaying abodes of the lost," Cryvus said decisively, before turning, "Mind the traitor, Julius."

[Jak Snide]

Crisis picked his way down the corridor carefully, scooping up an autocarbine as he passed. He and Gunner fell back to the door just in time to catch Locan's expression as Xerxes shoves him out the exit. His mouth was slack, eyes wide with shock and face even paler than usual. He teetered on the edge for a moment, then dropped out of sight. Mik turned around in time to watch him plummet, while Cryvus lifted two spare carbine clips from a corpse.

Down below, Julius stepped aside casually and watched the Warden impact with the ground, the wet thud clearly audible to all. "Damned motherfucker" he muttered to himself before arcing his neck upwards. "Y'all clear up there?"

(And so ends the Warden Locan, now a broken and bloodied pile of meat and bone. The enforcers at the station have yet to move, but they're clearly watching the acolytes. Ground and 3rd floor maps updated once again. Now unthreatened, the three on the 3rd floor can all descend in the same turn. Turn 13 is mostly a formality now.)

[Capntastic]

"I didn't mean that fast!"

Mik shuffled over and, well, poked the fella's remains with his boot. Try to sorta...get the pieces laying down proper, as opposed to a heap. The closest thing to a burial he'll probably get. And hey, if he came across any guns or other trinkets that could use an owner, he'd snag 'em as well.