Dark Heresy - Wisdom is the beginning of fear.

[Jak Snide]

"It is towards the aft of our blessed vessel. It should take you no longer than a eighth of a mark to reach with a suitable guide."

[Capntastic]

Mik slowly turned around to join the conversation proper, but didn't emit more than a low grumble.

[Kelne]

Cryvus nodded, "Very well," he said, "Have we a manifest for the hold?" He paused briefly to scoop up his staff from where it had been propped against a wall. He doubted any illegal cargo would be listed on a manifest, but it could prove helpful nonetheless. Forbidden cargo of one variety or another struck him as a likely possibility. After all, stirring up trouble on a ship traversing the warp was not something a sane passenger did.

Then again, sane passengers were not necessarily guaranteed. Still, he doubted the crew's complement included anybody dangerous enough to eliminate a full squad without an alarm being raised. No, whatever had done this was not likely to be anything within the crew's experience.

[Justice Augustus]

A danger to this ship was a danger to his comrades, which in turn was a danger to their mission, which is turn could present a threat to the Imperium itself! Also, it was a danger to his own self. Xerxes looked the Pursur intently, and caught Mits' eyes upon him. He nodded slowly at the guardsman, and rose from the cot he had been perched on, checking his weapons were still in their correct position as he did so. He listened carefully, interested in the answer to Cryvus' question. Tha' boy's got a judge's mind on him.

[Jak Snide]

The purser's mood seemed to have improved, the man noting the interest of the acolytes "That hold is empty, honoured one. I believe the Revered Captain intended to fill it with ores from Sophano Prime. Only holds A-1 through A-3 are currently holding cargo."

Those who glanced at men and women they shared this bay with noticed a subtle change in disposition. Curiosity had spread, and small pockets of whispered conversations had broken out.

[Christian]

Mits caught the nod and immediatly set upon putting on his armor in due haste, a long series of clicks and straps being pulled to fit. He grabbed his axe in its sheath, fastened it to his belt with one of the straps designed for that purpose and then gave a look towards his lasgun. At close range the pistol would be less bulky... then his eyes fell upon the shotgun. He wasn't all too familiar with the structural integrity of freighter ships, or any kind of ship for that matter, but he assumed that a few errant pellets would hardly risk a hull breach.

He grabbed the shotgun as well, letting the stock rest in the loop of his arm and the upper tip against the back of his arm with the muzzle pointing downwards. He didn't seem entirely unnerved by the reported incidents, although considering how jumpy he was any way, it was hard to tell if he'd just peaked it.

"Are we ready to leave?"

[Capntastic]

Mik never let his possessions (which happened to mostly be weapons) far from him. Too many strangers and twice as many hands aboard the ship made him nervous. As such, he was already prepared.

"I guess."

[Kelne]

Cryvus frowned thoughtfully. The immediate question which came to mind was why guard an empty hold. But military doctrine was that you posted guards everywhere, regardless of whether the place was in use at the moment. The real question here was why kill the guards on an empty hold.

Unfortunately, he doubted the purser knew the answers to any of the important questions.

"Does anybody else have any questions before we depart?" he asked.

[Jak Snide]

Cryvus found that no questions were pending, though Crisis did take a moment to scribble out a warning concerning high powered weaponry and hull breaches. The man had been on edge ever since he'd boarded the Brazen Sky, but this concern seemed legitimate enough his fellow acolytes.

Upon seeing that they had decided to help, Sebek launched into a good minute of praise, extolling their selflessness and valour as he lead them out of the crew bay and into the twisting and cluttered corridors of the vessel. Crisis could feel claustrophobia setting in, his surroundings bringing back a number of unpleasant memories, while Xerxes found himself a little more at ease, the cramped conditions, gurgling pipes and lumps of technology that adorned the walls distracting him from the knowledge of what lay beyond the hull of the ship. Mikolas found himself put on point, Sebek seeming unwilling to lead from the front as they made their way down to the lower decks via numerous stairwells, which hardly put him at ease. Mithras stayed alert as always, eyes darting about as they searched for any possible danger. Cryvus meanwhile couldn't help but marvel at the terrible layout of the vessel. Even if the crew knew every nook and cranny of it they'd still have a hard time dealing with any boarding actions. Then again, he doubted this ship had been designed with combat in mind.

It took them fifteen minutes to make their way down to the holds, entering through hold A-1. Sebek quietly explained that the Brazen Sky had nine holds arranged as three rows of three, with large, arrow shaped glow-lamps on the ceiling far above them pointing towards the prow to prevent disorientation. Each hold was also connected to it's neighboring ones; the man sketched a diagram on one dust covered wall to illustrate how. This hold alone was about 1/3 of a kilometer long and half as wide. While the edges remained clear the rest was filled with crates of various sizes, materials and markings, stacked high and arranged in such a fashion that it created a grid of pathways between them.

It was at this point that the purser told them that hold B-2 was one hold sternwards and one towards the starboard side. He also told him that he'd "wait here for their return", and that they should be able to make contact with the watch detail in holds A-1 through 3, B-1 and B-3.

(The acolytes are currents in hold A-1 of the ship. The layout can be seen here. The current location of the acolytes is marked with the red X, the green blocks mark points of access between holds. Sebek is still with them, though it's clear that he doesn't intend to follow them any further in. What they do now is entirely up to them.)

[Christian]

Mits scratched his chin as he looked on the map. His fingers trailed a few short routes before he mumbled something incomprehensible for himself, apparantly engrossed in whatever his little mind was focused on. Then he spoke, in a rather more comprehensible, to-the-point way:

"We first make contact with the guard detail here and then divide ourselves up into two teams. Guard Detail A-1 and..." he chewed his lips, "Mikolas would move down to B-1 and make contact with the detail there. They will form Group 1. Meanwhile, Xerxes and Crisis will remain at A-2 with the guard detail there. Cryvus and myself will then approach A-3 and either divide up the Detail there between A-2 and ourselves, or take them with us, depending on the manpower. This should only take a few minutes, after which we will send two long pauses and three short ones over the Voxcom. This will be the signal for group one to move into B-2, and approximately 20 seconds later group 2, that's Crisis and Xerxes, will move in from their direction. Some half a minute or so after that, Cryus and I will move in from B-3 and effectively cut off every escape route except C-2. If we fail to encounter the hostile, or retrieve the missing detail, we will divide ourselves up between A-2, B-2 and C-2, and then perform a raking," he looked up, "that's what we call it when we chase out vermin from the crops back at Arbeta IV. Anyway, we'll rake into 3, look around, and then turn around in case we don't find anything. Worst case scenario, once we'll reach 1 and still haven't found anything, we'll take another round and then report to the captain. Vox silence unless the hostile's encountered, I doubt we need to devise codes for the different holds."

He looked at everyone as if asking whether their directives was clear, and when his eyes fell upon Xerxes he gave a little jerk and added, belately, "...sir."

He seemed suddenly to tihnk of something, "Mikolas, I've noticed you're not really comfortable with the surroundings, but if everything goes as it should, and the Porter told the truth, there should be plenty of legspace once we get in there..." he looked at the towering giant and decided not to ask whether he'd liked to be placed in a group with the void-born, he figured the man could probably handle himself.

((OOC - This post might be heavily editted; posted on a gut feeling))

[Capntastic]

Mik scrutinized Mithra's plan- or at least what he could catch of it. But, really, he didn't need to understand all of it.

"Right, so, where'm I goin' now?"

He gripped his beefy shotgun with both hands, holding it up to nonverbally communicate the phrase 'ready to rock'n'roll'.

[Kelne]

"Very good," Cryvus said simply, "Objections? Refinements?"

[NamagomiMk0]

Crisis nodded his head once 'refinements' was mentioned. He seemed to get busy to writing out in detail on a sheet of paper, notably pausing a few times to think about some detail or other before handing them over to Mithras...

The sheet itself read: ' Originally, concerning the initial attack, would this tactic be more effective than a simultaneous joint convergent strike from all three aforementioned sides?

Additionally, it would seem that, in the case of extra hostiles being encountered during the secondary sweep, it would make sense, again, for the other two teams to converge upon the position of the one that had encountered a hostile--assuming, of course, the enemy has a greater number than one, and subsequently has not dispersed.

Lastly: We should be ready to deal with the fact that this may have been a ruse in order to force us to our minimal capacity--that is to say, get those of us with sufficient gear to leave some of it behind as to stay in combat-ready form. If it is so, we should plan on a method by which to reacquire our weapons.'

[Christian]

Mits took the sheet, tracing his fingers across the writing, re-reading some portions before he nodded.

"You're right, if in fact the hostile should prove to strike with strength and / or numbers greater than ours, it would make more sense to strike at the same time." he scratched his chin, "we have to be wary of attacking ourselves, of course. There's a lot of unknown about the second hold; is the light still on, will there be cargo, or empty containers, or anything..."

he turned to Mikolas, "we need you to take the security detail in this area and bring it down to B-1," he pointed at the map, "and wait for two long pauses and three short ones, we'll use this frequency," he dug out one of the battered old things they had been supplied with, "Then all you need to do is go into the B-2 hold and try to find whatever it is that's been keeping the guard details from not reporting in."

He turned back to Crisis, "naturally, if any of us encounter the hostile during any of the sweeps, we break vox silence and call out our hold number first thing..." he poked his finger at the map again, "shouldn't be TOO hard to remember this, think of a..." he paused. Think of a what? "Well, try to remember where you are, and that letters go to the sides and numbers go down."

[Justice Augustus]

"You got no complaints here, soldier," Xerxes says while double-checking his gun. This would be the first time he would be using it. Well, the first time officially. He had snapped off a few shots at protesting civilians to check the sights, but that was just mere preparations, and did not count as the actual act.

[Jak Snide]

Weapons checked and readied, the acolytes split into three teams, as per Mithras' plan, and advanced simultaneously. Mikolas, having made his way nervously through a maze of crates by himself, was the first to make contact with a watch team; a pair who identified themselves as Ishmael and Kadi, apparently having been informed of the acolytes arrival ahead of time. They'd been standing watch over the huge sliding doors at the Sternward end of the hold and, clearly on edge, informed him that they'd seen nothing themselves. It seemed the watch wasn't that well equipped; a flak vest, shotgun and a stub automatic. Fine enough for watch duty, but a touch lacking if something actually went wrong.

The others moved into hold A-2, Xerxes and Crisis branching off Sternwards towards the doors to B-2. Crisis had once activated the device he wore at his waist, masking the sound of his footsteps. Xerxes proved far more audible, his new armour and weaponry rubbing and bumping against each other. The pair they met at the doors quickly identified themselves as Dariel and Lug, their eyes never leaving their surroundings. They said they hadn't heard or seen a thing, which was odd given how "Bronson was always trigger happy when it came to putting down some scum."

The other two moved through A-3, Cryvus idly tracing words on the sides of dust-covered crates as he passed. Mits just kept his eyes open, the labyrinth reminding him far too much of hellish underhive fighting. The pair of guards they encountered at the doors to B-3 identified themselves as Meta and Ramz. They hadn't seen or heard anything themselves, much like the other watch teams encountered so far.

The first signals were given, Mikolas' team moving into B-1 and the Mits-Cryvus team moving into B-3. These holds stood in stark contrast to the ones they'd just left, being totally devoid of cargo and stretching out beyond their sight. Both cautiously made their way to their respective means of entry to hold B-2, weapons sweeping back and forth, scanning a threat which didn't present itself. Mikolas found a pair of jumpy young watchmen at the north end of B-1, Vern and Scab, while Mithras and Cryvus found a pair called Havelock and Venus almost immediately on the other side of their door. Both pairs linked up with the group they encountered, with one watchman from each keeping a close eye on their rear. Once they were all in position the second signal was given. Moving in unison, the three teams entered hold B-2 from all angles.

The first thing that struck the acolytes was the lighting; the arrows of light overhead, unlike those that had shone brightly in the previous holds, flickered and dimmed at random. The next was the only thing to inhabit the hold; a collection of prone forms some 75 meters from the door to A-2.

(After ten minutes of maneuvering the acolytes and the watchmen they encountered at in Hold B-2. Each square on the grid represents a 5x5 meter area. Team 1 is headed by Mikolas, who finds himself backed by Ishmael, Kadi, Vern and Scab. Team 2 is lead by Xerxes and Crisis and has the pair of Dariel and Lug supporting them. Team 3 has Cryvus and Mithras as it's leaders and has picked up four by the names of Meta, Ramz, Havelock and Venus. The prone forms can be seen by all and are indicated by the green question marks in O15 and the nearby squares. Edit: For the curious, here's what your backup looks like. All pale as a ghost, without exception, and quite young.)

[Justice Augustus]

Xerxes took only a second to assess the situation. "A'ight, spread out. 5 meters between each person. Dariel take the left flank, Lug take right. First thing we got ta do is make sure nothing slips past so give those corners a good check an' watch the ceiling. Ev'rone always try ta hide on the ceiling. Ev'rone tink they the first to tink of that."

[Christian]

The path through A-3 kept Mits on a razor-edge, his eyes swivelling madly in his sockets almost as if he tried to see the enormous hold in one go. Every nook and cranny was glanced towards and as he and Cryvus met up with Meta and Ramz he motioned for them to follow along as he explained in a very low voice what they were to do. The doors towards B-3 were opened and passed through, Mits keeping completely silent except for the hiss-like sound his litany of prayers created. He could as well have thought them, because there was no intonation or inflection in the voiceless whisper.

In B-3, he gave the same short, to-the-point line of instructions ("Move in, weapons at the ready, two more teams coming in, don't try to be a hero.") before he unhooked the vox-com in his belt, the frequency already tuned in. He turned it on, waited a second or two as the machine spirits did their work and then sent off the signals indicating his team was in place.

He felt as if his nerves were trying to crawl out his skin, his entire body tingling with adrenaline. That was good, he was confident it wouldn't get to his head, and he'd need the extra edge. They opened the door to cargo-hold B-2 and...

"Cryvus, take Havelock and Venus with you and move to the left along the wall and make your way towards the C-2 entrance. Meta, Ramz, you're coming with me towards the bodies over there." he paused, "be prepared to shoot anything at any time. Don't think there's no one here because you can't see them." he reattached the vox to his belt and took the shotgun in both his hands. The lighting was bad, but not bad enough to need a flashlight. "Remember to check where the walls meet the ceiling. Cryvus, after you've reached the entrance I want you to continue moving roughly half-ways towards Mikolas point of entry. After that, if nothing has happened, we regroup over at the bodies."

He neglected to mention to Meta and Ramz that these prone figures had about a fifty-fifty chance of being the bait that killed of these last patrols. Well, if the Emperor willed it, who was he to ask questions? He gave a short wave to the two other parties that entered and then began to head inwards, weapon at ready, his lips trembling with potent supplications to the God-Emperor.

Graphical link of how Mits imagine them to move; Red is my group, Green is Cryvus. Hopefully Cryvus' group will be in the vicinity of the shapes when Mits' reaches them.

[Kelne]

"It's a trap," Cryvus said grimly, "You heard the man though; let us try to find the trap-setters."

So saying, he led the way along the wall, trying to look in every possible direction.

[NamagomiMk0]

Crisis did not like this. He did not like this at all, regardless of how it just plain has not shown under this gas mask in poor lighting. There was no stationary cover whatsoever, in surroundings that were a bit too familiar, with a squadmate that could be considered gung-ho when it came to combat situations, to say the least. At least it was not being paired with Mikolas, though.

Crisis would have had to fight the easy temptation to use him as a decoy or living shield. And believably, that was no small temptation, given what the voidborn sharpshooter actually thought of the feral worlder.

And so, he stayed 5 meters within the rest of the group--behind, stummers reactivated and autocarbine fully loaded and readied. Sure, things can be on the ceiling. They can be roughly anywhere. That's why you don't just look. You check your six at any time. And, you -listen-. Well...past the memories, anyway.

Total awareness.


The only key to survival in a place like this.

...and still, he hoped that Xerxes would be smart about things, and NOT put several hundred holes of shot through the ship's hull by missing.

Though the thought that Mikolas would end up doing so FOR him was a simultaneous and discomforting one, to say the least...

[Capntastic]

Mik just stood his ground; scattergun pointed at the supposed corpses. But he glanced to the flickering lights, curious.

"They aren't supposed to be up to that, right? What sorta thing does that?"

[Jak Snide]

"Where's a tech-priest when you need one?" muttered Vern, the four watchmen remaining besides Mikolas as they scanned the room for danger. The burly man himself saw no movement from what he presumed to be corpses, too far away to make out any details.

Xerxes' team spread out and moved forward, Dariel and Lug falling into formation as he gave the orders, Crisis hanging back. The voidborn found himself wishing his field of vision wasn't narrowed, even it was only slightly, and tightened his grip on the autocarbine. Eyes scanned the corners and ceilings, finding nothing out of place, save for the flickering lights.

Mithras was less assertive than the dark skinned arbitrator, and Cryvus' proclamation did little to reassure the watchmen with them. Still, they were two important looking people, one of whom carried a big gun, so they fell in line. Mits' team advanced directly towards the prone forms, while Cryvus' swung down towards the end of the hold. It was over 200 meters away, but he couldn't see any movement in that direction.

As the teams which had advanced closed with the sprawl of forms they saw that they were indeed corpses. A pair wore the uniform of watchmen, the sight drawing mutters and gasps from the ones along side the acolytes. Five more wore similar uniforms, but were more heavily armoured. A few weapons lay scattered around them. Finally there were over a dozen rag-clad bodies, limbs twisted and misshapen, one of the corpses having claws instead of hands. Mithras felt the bile rising in his stomach as he recognised the mark of the mutant.

(Map updated, with extra details to help show how the hold is bigger than the current grid. Assume that there are 40 more squares south of the main grid. Mikolas and his lot held their place, and as such have no idea that the corpses are corpses. No movement or signs of an ambush. Check your PMs.)

[NamagomiMk0]

Crisis outright -halted- once he saw the way the bodies were strewn. This was deliberate. A trap of sorts, one could say...and the mutation only suggested worse things were likely about. ...and his mind immediately went to a worst-case scenario...

'It could only be THEM...'

'...could only be THEM...'

'...only be THEM...'

'...be THEM...'

'...THEM...'

Almost immediately, everything on him had gone into overdrive as adrenaline rushed through his veins. Sight sharpened, and even the smallest pin-drop would possibly have been heard by him in the silence. However...this went unnoticed by Xerxes and the others near him...

...what was noticed, however, was his sudden drop to a combat stance, bracing his autocarbine as if he needed to fire at any point. He was watching practically every angle possible--as well as keeping an eye on the seemingly dead mutants--there was something discomforting about that one...

[Christian]

About one million little needles suddenly pushed their way through his skin and a big wave-like shudder went through the previously fairly calm guardsman. He shook his head once, twice and then whispered to the guards that had come with him, "Keep your flashlights at ready in case they put out the light. The guards we were sent here to find are dead, anyone we meet belong to the Enemy..." his hands seemed to shake rather heavily as he continued, eyes darting towards the clawed corpse, "These things are not human; they are lowly beasts, they are scavengers and blasphemous monsters who do not deserve to witness the Light of the Throne!" his voice grew only slightly, "It is through your own carelessness that they have come to fester in the halls of your ship, and you would do good to Pray to the Emperor for forgiveness while you still draw your breath."

He felt as if his head was about to explode as he began to recount the faces of those he had encountered here in the holds. Could one of them be one? It wasn't impossible, this whole ship could be contaminated and he didn't know. Throne damned his soul he didn't know! Should he kill them right here and now? No... better to wait and see what would happen... They couldn't get the drop on him, no one could.

[Kelne]

Cryvus triggered his vox to ensure his words would be heard by all, "By the corruption of the body shall you know the corruption of the soul," he said, turning his back upon the bodies and gazing intently at the hold wall, "They shall have no surrender, no retreat. See that these are dead, and divide yourselves to forward and aft as you see fit," He indicated the doors from which he had entered and those at the aft wall, "The sky is not made of diamonds."

[Justice Augustus]

Xerxes listens to the chatter, but keeps scanning the room with his eyes, checking for odd shapes and movement. He waves the troopers forward, and slowly starts to approach the others.

[Jak Snide]

Mithras noted the downcast eyes of the watchmen, their shame readily apparent. What he didn't notice, or rather found absent, was any surprise. Had they known all along that this was what they would discover? Cryvus made sure that Venus covered their point of entry once he had recited his warning into the vox, it words crackling out of the devices the other acolytes had strapped to them. Mikolas and those with him moved forward cautiously, morbid curiosity drawing them in.

Xerxes gestured the two men with him forward, though only one obeyed initially. Lug edged forward, shotgun raised. A sharp glare from Xerxes set Darius in motion. The first man got within 5 meters of the first body before stopping, Cryvus' warning fresh in his ears. "Why'd they do this?" he voiced aloud, turning back to look at his watch partner, expecting an answer. The only response he got was when one of the bodies, one of the security detail, sprung forward, tackling him to the ground, the bald man screaming in shock and terror. The rest of the bodies, both those of the crew and the mutants, rose in perfect unison. Without a word they all turned to stare at one man.

Xerxes felt very ill at ease.

(Map updated. Lug is pinned to the ground by one of the security detail, while the rest of the un-corpses are organised into groups of 5. Still using 5x5 meter squares and we are working on combat time now. Declare your actions.)

[Christian]

His hands tightened on the shotgun as he realized they weren't surprised. Had they known? Of course they had. Sweat began to pour down his temples as he ran through every possible scenario he could imagine, all the while shifting his gaze from the bodies to his "team mates".

Were they mutants as well? Would they be able to pilot this freighter without the crew? Would an escape from it compromise the mission? Thousands of similar questions surrounded him like a hurricane, but he could not let his focus drop.

Then, it happened. One of the security detail assigned to Xerxes and Crisis was attacked by what he had up until now assumed was corpses. Careless, careless! Throne damned his soul he should have foreseen this!

The remainder of the bodies rose, and with a whisper passing faster than a breath he aimed his shotgun and fired. He had no care for what these things were. They were hostiles; they had attacked one of theirs and that was reason enough to destroy them. Research and investigation could be conducted after these things were dead, and he had learned that human life was a drop of piss in the great ocean of the Empire. They had been charged to deal with a problem, he dealt with it.

Suddenly the voxcom sent a message from Mits, who had apparantly switched it on mid-way through one of his oaths: "-our furious strength! Let me become the storm that blasts the enemy from Your sight!" His voice, usually hushed, seemed to boom with fury as he emptied his shotgun into the fray of bodies.




[[Mithras is basically firing his shotgun towards the risen bodies (O-15 to be exact, as they're the closest, dashing after his first shot while shouting. I don't know if it's possible to wield a shotgun and scream into a voxcom at the same time, but...]]

[Kelne]

Cryvus brought his laspistol up with the fluid ease of practice, aimed and fired at the nearest of the reanimated corpses. "Serve the Emperor today, for tomorrow you may be dead," he told the security details grimly.

There would be time later to discuss their companions' knowledge of the mutants. The walking dead were certainly a surprise to all concerned. The question of course (apart from how hard they would be to kill a second time) was just how many of them they could expect to face. Cryvus was not hopeful in this regard.

(Aim and fire, with the red-dot laser sight providing an additional +10 to hit)

[Justice Augustus]

Xerxes looks over his shoulder to Crisis. "Here we go again." Shotgun to the shoulder, he takes aim for only a second, side-stepping to the right and leaving Lug to fend for himself."

(Half-action aim at O-14, then fire.)

[NamagomiMk0]

Crisis resisted the urge to bury his face in the palm of his hand. How could he have been so stupid?! No matter. Right now, this was something that could be dealt with. Not That Which Should Not Be, but merely men corrupted by it. He took aim with his autocarbine, trying to make sure every shot counted...

[full aim at O-14]

[Jak Snide]

Mithras bellowed into his vox as five of the walking dead bore down on him, blowing a mutated one off it's feet with a well placed shot, it's upper torso lacerated. A moment later, however, he realised he was suddenly alone; Meta and Ramz had bolted, making a mad dash for the nearest exit.

Cryvus aimed his weapon carefully, waiting until the telling red dot flickered across the head of the nearest abomination. The former watchman's head disappeared a moment later, a perfectly placed las-bolt turning it into blood vapour. The watchmen with him proved to be more reliable, holding their ground despite their terrified exclamations. Another one of the enemy fell to their shotgun fire, though the remaining three surged towards them with alarming speed, faces blank and devoid of expression.

Mithras switched the fire mode on his shotgun, driving the cold fear in his stomach down. He leveled the weapon at the nearest pack of the things and held down the trigger. A hail of pellets tore into them, shredding the closest and dropping a second. The watchmen with him, not handling their fear as well as the huge gunman, poured their fire into the "dead," though to little effect.

The bulk of the pack surged forward, three more falling onto Lug as he lay there screaming, tearing at his flesh with tooth and nail. Dariel screamed in rage, moving forward and blowing one the things off his friend. Xerxes took down another, but it was too late; the bald man was a bloody, unmoving mess. Another five rushed forward, movements almost perfectly synchronised, ignoring the pair of watchmen, all eyes set on Xerxes. Crisis, meanwhile, kept his cool and steadied his aim. Loosing his head would not keep him alive, after all.

(Map updated. Lug has gone down under a tide of the living dead, his assailants tearing him apart regardless of their former affiliations. Crisis has a full round aim on the pack at L-19 readied, Cryvus scored a marvellous 19-damage kill with his laspistol and Xerxes is starting to worry about how five of the things seem to be focused solely on him.)

[Justice Augustus]

"A'ight, lets see what this beauty can do," mutters Xerxes to himself, flicking his new shotgun into full-auto mode and blasting away at the pack heading towards him.

(Full-auto at L-14)

[Christian]

Mits remembered the feeling of no one watching your back, he didn't even need to look to realize his two guardsmen had escaped. A small mental note about finding them when all of this was done, but not now, there were more pressing matters at hand.

His eyes were still focused on the mass of bodies lumbering towards him, dead eyes staring at him. He hadn't seen this before, the dead rising once more, but he had little time nor patience to question why right now. These were abominations in the eye of the Emperor, mutants or not, and he felt no hesitation to send them screaming back into the Abyss. He let loose another hail of pellets towards the approaching dead, this time without an accompanied shout but a determined glare and whitening knuckles. He began to move backwards, realizing that without any backup from those cowards he'd have to play this a lot more tactical... and he didn't have time to reload this bulky thing. He dropped the shotgun squarely and pushed aside the thin shoelace that kept his laspistol in place. It was only through sheer luck and good faith that it actually kept inside the make-shift holster at all, but Mits was a (generally) lucky man.

while he took up the pistol, his hand grazed over his axe. He'd use it if he had to, but not now. A stream of litanies, oaths and quotations from the Primer floated through his mind, which one would be appropriate? Sweat broke out on the back of his neck as he strained himself to enter his Tranch mindset. He hadn't been there for a while... But he felt it nagging at the back of his head, needless thoughts gnawed away by the sheer will to live. He'd see through this.




[[After reading up somewhat on the rules, I know now what I can do. Mits fires a Full Action, then moves a half-move straight backwards and prepares his Laspistol.]]

[Kelne]

Cryvus couldn't help but lament the loss of two of their number. Alas for the youth of the day and their lack of discipline. Still, the others had held their ground in the face of the living dead, for which he was quite grateful. On their own, the acolytes would have been in considerable trouble.

Not that their present situation was exactly rosy, he reflected, bringing a second zombie into his sights and firing.

(Another aim and fire.)

[NamagomiMk0]

Crisis shook his head as he watched one of his allies get undeniably slaughtered by the shambling not-"dead"...though it was hard to say that those were dead to begin with, given the peculiar way their corpses were arranged. These guards were...new, to say the least...the way the other one charged forth bravely--and stupidly, he must admit--was a testament to likely inexperience, rather than actual idiocy...

However, something was more notable--the swarm of shambling undead fixated on the new guy. Emperor forbid that one of the actually helpful and tactically-minded people is taken out. And speaking of people...where the hell was the big idiot to divert their attention?!

No need. Bracing the stock of the autocarbine against his shoulder, Crisis let loose a barrage of lead, likely accompanying that of Xerxes in a cacophany of destruction...hopefully, the damnable things will stay the hell down...

[Full-auto burst on the group he aimed at]

[Jak Snide]

Mithras felt his confidence slipping away as the risen dead closed in, arms outstretches and grasping. He fired his second, and last, shot, turning the upper torso of one of the things into a bloody paste. The others rushed forward, his own hands trembling as he struggled to draw his laspistol. And then they fell, no burst of gunfire heralding their return to death, a hail of silenced bullets tearing into the remaining three. Crisis eased his finger off the trigger, shoulder aching slightly from the recoil, and turned his attention to other threats.

Mikolas stood his ground, directing the fire of those with him with a bellowed "Get 'em!" Some well aimed shooting put down two of the risen dead that advanced on Xerxes, the arbitrator's own torrent of fire doubling that number. One remained though. Xerxes noted it's armour, marking it as one of the security detail, before it lunged at him. Unnaturally strong hands restrained him and, as the thing tried to shatter the visor of his helmet, he saw what lay beyond the man's own sundered head gear. His face had been torn open by tooth and nail, an eye ruined and flaps of skin hanging off his flesh. To his horror, though, he saw something writhe within the wounds. He lost it, yelling in fear as he tried to force the abomination off him. Crisis watched this transpire with a slightly grimace, also noticing Dariel being assaulted by the three corpses which had killed Lug. Only one had managed to take hold of him, but it wouldn't be long before he went down under their superior numbers. Especially given how the gangly man had gone straight from brave avenger to terrified soon-to-be-dismembered.

On the opposite side of the skirmish, Cryvus frowned in disappointment as his shot only glanced one of the advancing bodies. The watchmen, to their credit, managed to put one of them down, but it wasn't enough. The remaining two lunged at him. The first was turned away with a sharp smack of his staff, but the other managed to grapple him, the old man unable to bring his weapon to bear and getting a face full of the horrors which Xerxes had witnessed. Unlike him, however, Cryvus didn't scream or flail, his knowledge that the Emperor watched over them assuring him of his ability to combat this terror.

(Map updated. Xerxes, Darius and Cryvus are all grappled by one of the risen corpses so far. Xerxes has failed his fear test rather badly, gaining 2 insanity points and being filled with the urge to escape the thing's clutches and flee. If prevented from doing so he'll be restricted to half actions and take -20 to any test. Cryvus, however, is filled with faith and the knowledge that everything will be alright. Turn 3 rolls around, declare actions.)

(EDIT OF IMPORTANCE: I forgot to remind people that the ship is a low gravity environment. As such everyone gets +2 to their Agility Bonus fo the purposes of movement, throw and jump distances are doubled and stuff is generally easier to carry. As such most people can half-move 5 meters now.)

[Christian]

"And in the dark, when the shadow threatens, the Emperor is with us, in spirit and in fact..."

And trhe Emperor was there with them, as he'd been on Tranch, all those times... He tried to shake off the wave of cold fear that had surged over him. Fear was good, fear kept you awake, alert, ready...

His hands finally fished out Betsy, his fingers trembling as he was forced to make a decision. Cryvus, Xerxes or the Guard...

"FAITH WITHOUT DEED IS WORTHLESS!" He suddenly bellowed as he aimed his laspistol towards the things that approached Dariel; His hands were shaking lightly, adrenaline and his own jumpiness... And fear. As much as he tried to hold it back, the realization that he'd once again been close to death... and avoided it... No, focus!

Without taking the time to aim he fires with Betsy towards the walking dead, a silent prayer muttered as his quivering fingers press down on the trigger, the whirr and discharge of the laspistol confiding in him that the Emperor, most likely, is with them right now.




[Mits, having thought long and hard, decides to help Dariel. He picks up his laspistol and fires it towards one of the things]

[NamagomiMk0]

Crisis mentally cursed his choice to not bring his rifle with him--assessing the situation at hand, the only shots left were not easy ones, to say the least--Cryvus was too far away for a clean shot against his immediate enemies, and Xerxes looked as if he was thrashing violently to get the hell away from the arms of what had him in his clutches. Even worse, the damnable, disgusting fiends had swarmed their other comrade, who looked like he simply was not going to make it--he was tempted to kill him then and there just to put him out of his inevitable misery...

As such, the Voidborn sharpshooter took the only action he knew he could, and hoped that Xerxes wouldn't be hurt too badly, as he rushed over to the fiend grappling him...

[Half-action move, and fire at the abomination grappling Xerxes at the edge of point-blank, hoping for the best]

[Kelne]

Not being in a position to help others just now, Cryvus concentrated on bringing his laspistol into position. He intended to get the barrel under the chin of the former crewman and pull the trigger.