Dark Heresy -- Purge the Xenos

[Jak Snide]

Jim's mind was now entirely focused on beating the cherub to death before whatever was happening to it completed. To say that the arbitrator was not enjoying his first brush with the unholy would be a grave understatement.

(All Out Attack again, chief.)

[InquisitorChris]

Jim's mind was now entirely focused on beating the cherub to death before whatever was happening to it completed. To say that the arbitrator was not enjoying his first brush with the unholy would be a grave understatement.

(All Out Attack again, chief.)

Spoiler for Jim:

Spoiler:

Stuff that I send you in spoilers is sent in spoilers for a reason. Some of the characters don't know that the cherub is changing. So like please don't mention it directly. :)

Jim again swings his maul, still, like it or not, freaked out by the presence of Abstinence.

Weapon Skill 26 + 20 (All-Out Attack) = 46 - 10 (Fear) = 36%. The roll is 31, a hit to the right arm.

The club does 1d10 + SB = 1d10 + 3 damage. The roll is 7 + 3 = 10 - 3 (TB) - 2 (Armor) = 5 Wounds. It was akready at -6, so it is now down to a -10.

Jim's club smashes into the cherub's arm, obliterating it and eliminating the functionality of the rest of the cherub. He, Chani, and Kara are sprayed with bits of cherub arm bone, taking 1d10-8 I damage, Since this can't exceed anybody's Toughness Bonus, it can be safely ignored.

The cherub is dashed to one side and drops its ancient stone cleaver as it collapses dead (or disfunctional) to the floor.

There is one cherub left; the one with the rock fighting Chani. Kara is the only one who can directly engage it (other than Chani).

I NEED A MOVE FROM KARA

[helvorn]

Quite a barbaric sight all spattered with blood, Kara calmly aims and fires at the remaining cherub.

[InquisitorChris]

Quite a barbaric sight all spattered with blood, Kara calmly aims and fires at the remaining cherub.

<<ooc>> Note that only Kara and Chani are engaged with the cherub, and can be, given the confines of the corridor. <<ooc>>
<<ooc>> It also occurs to me that I should probably have given the cherubim a bonus for fighting from Higher Ground, since they're flying, but oh well onward.<<ooc>>

Kara aims and fires.

Ballistic Skill 29 + 10 (Half-Action Aim) + 10 (Short Range) = 49 - 10 (Scrawny target) = 39%. She rolls a 95, which is quite a miss -- very close to having to roll for a jam (not that that is much of a concern with las weapons).

Kara's shot goes wild and blows away some of the corridor's masonry.

Note that there are 3 shots left in the clip.

The remaining cherub -- the rock-wielding one fighting Chani that Kara just shot at -- attacks Chani.

Weapon Skill 10 + 10 (Frenzy) + 20 (All-Out Attack) + 10 (Higher Ground) = 50%. The roll is 84. Wow these guys have no luck at all.

Chani easily evades the cherub's strike.

I NEED A MOVE FROM LEVETICUS TO END TURN SIX. WOW, THIS HAS ALL BEEN 30 SECONDS OF GAME TIME.

Note, as I said, that Leveticus (and Jim) cannot move to engage the remaining cherub (unless Chani or Kara somehow move to get on the other side of it). So, he is limited to firing his autopistol into the fray (with the standard risky aspects of doing this) should he want to attack it, However he might want to do something with the unconscious, bleeding priest at his feet or the motionless heavy repair servitor a couple of meters from him. Or something else.

[gsteelwraith]

Leveticus will put the hammer back on his belt before bending down to pull the unconscious Ambrose away from the heavy repair servitor. It bothers him that the thing is standing there idle, and is unsure what to do about it, and leery about getting closer to it (I assume the psychology stuff is still in effect), though he suspecst that if attacked it will start back up again. He'll try to do something for Ambrose, although he has no First Aid skill.

He'll nod toward the gruesome looking servitor, and ask Jim, "You got any bright ideas about what to do with this thing?"

[InquisitorChris]

Leveticus will put the hammer back on his belt before bending down to pull the unconscious Ambrose away from the heavy repair servitor. It bothers him that the thing is standing there idle, and is unsure what to do about it, and leery about getting closer to it (I assume the psychology stuff is still in effect), though he suspecst that if attacked it will start back up again. He'll try to do something for Ambrose, although he has no First Aid skill.

He'll nod toward the gruesome looking servitor, and ask Jim, "You got any bright ideas about what to do with this thing?"

<<ooc>> Betcha wish you had some Tech skills, huh? :) <<ooc>>

<<ooc>> Non-Combat Fear lasts as long as you are in the vicinity of the source of the fear, so it's going to last as long as you are in the area of the gore-covered servitor with the crushed priest hanging from it. Probably a large part of Leveticus wants to get the hell away from it as quickly as possible. Maybe you should think of giving the priest that has been crammed into Abstinence's torso some postmortem last rites? <<ooc>>

Leveticus pulls Ambrose a bit away from the hulking servitor and the body dangling from it -- which is dripping a copious amount of blood. Ambrose is still breathing, but out like a light. Thre's a big bump on his head and his nose is bashed open, bleeding from where the cherub was smacking its face into him. (Putting the hammer away is a Half Action, so you can't really pull Ambrose much.)

Since you don't have Medicae, any assistance you could give him would be mostly for show. You'd probably be better off saying a prayer. :)

NOW A MOVE FROM CHANI TO START TURN 7. I HAVE A HUNCH IT'LL BE AN ALL-OUT ATTACK ON THE REMAINING CHERUB.

[ChristianC]

(Haha, not much else I can do I guess? :D)

Chani, covered in the innards of the cherubs, didn't spare a moment to consider her other options, but instead hacked away at the last of these pesky little things, the image of what she saw still fresh in her mind.

[InquisitorChris]

(Haha, not much else I can do I guess? :D)

Chani, covered in the innards of the cherubs, didn't spare a moment to consider her other options, but instead hacked away at the last of these pesky little things, the image of what she saw still fresh in her mind.

<<ooc>> She IS denying herself a defensive Reaction when she does this. She's been lucky so far that they've barely hit anything. <<ooc>>

Spoiler for Chani:

Spoiler:

The cherub seems to be changing too: flesh pulling back over the skull, belly caving in, flesh vanishing from limbs. It looks for all the world like it is starving to death, in rapid motion.

Weapon Skill 41 + 20 (All-Out Attack) + 10 (Best-Quality Weapon) + 10 (Outnumbering Opponent, since Kara is also fighting it) = 81%. The roll is 66. That's a hit to the body.

Damage is 1d10 + 1 (BQW) + 3 (SB) = 1d10 + 4. The roll is 2 + 4 = 6. The cherub has a TB of 3 and 2 Armor vs. Primitive weapons, so it takes only 1 Wound, of which it has 3, and is down to 2.

Chani strikes out with her blade, but it catches on one of the cherub's metal parts and doesn't do more than leave a shallow cut along its side.

A MOVE FROM JIM NOW PLEASE. NOTE THAT HE IS UNDER THE SAME ACTION RESTRICTIONS I DESCRIBED FOR LEVETICUS -- THE NARROWNESS OF THE CORRIDOR PREVENTS HIM FROM ENGAGING THE REMAINING CHERUB AS LONG AS KARA AND CHANI ARE IN THE WAY.

[InquisitorChris]

PS. Spoiler for Jim and Leveticus:

Spoiler:

Now that you're no longer in combat distracted by swinging blows around, you see that the problem with the lights going out may not have been a problem with the generator.

That is, there aren't any more electric lights mounted in the walls. Instead, there are empty torch sconces every few meters incorporated with the frescoes.

[helvorn]

</ooc> Could Kara move out of the way further down the corridor? She would effectively disengage to free up room for some one else. </ooc>

[InquisitorChris]

</ooc> Could Kara move out of the way further down the corridor? She would effectively disengage to free up room for some one else. </ooc>

<<ooc> read the rules on fleeing (sidebar on page 192). She has three options for doing so. In any case moving down the corridor will require an Agility Test or slip on cherub guts. (And she goes after Jim.) <<ooc>

[Jak Snide]

Jim gave the dead cherub a kick for good measure before taking stop of the situation. The servitor had stopped moving. That was very good. The subprelate was on the ground bleeding. That was bad, but he'd seen men survive worse. Lacking anything else to do he gave Leveticus a hand in hauling the man away, smiling weakly at the cell's leader.

"This ain't exactly how I imagined things would go." He said, his attempted levity doing little to calm his nerves.

[InquisitorChris]

OK, NOW A MOVE FROM KARA.

[helvorn]

BANG!

Kara will aim and fire at the nasty cherub.

[InquisitorChris]

BANG!

Kara will aim and fire at the nasty cherub.

Kara shoots at the one remaining, masonry-wielding cherub.

<<ooc>> Rereading the entry on pistols, I see I have made a goof. When used in close combat, pistols get NO range bonuses, not just no Point-Black Range bonuses. Whoops. So many rules! <<ooc>>

As before, BS 29 + 10 (Half-Action Aim) = 39 - 10 (Scrawny Target) = 29%. The roll is 36. Miss.

Kara's compact laspistol's overcharged beam flies past the little servitor, stabbing out into the darkness.

There are 2 shots left in the gun.

THE ONE REMAINING CHERUB GOES.

It makes a strange, animalistic, half-croaking, half-ululating sound,a thick animal gurgle of what sounds like desperation.

Then it tries to bash Chani's brains in.

Weapon Skill 10 + 10 (Frenzy) + 20 (All-Out Attack) + 10 (Attacking from Higher Ground) = 50%. The roll is exactly 50. Holy Emperor, it has actually hit Chani! In the head.

Chani can't take a Defensive Reaction, since she made an All-Out Attack.

The rock is an Improvised Weapon, so it does 1d10 - 2 + SB damage.The cherub has an SB of 1, +1 because it's Frenzied, so straight 1d10 damage. It rolls 9 - 2 + 2 = 9 Wounds. Chani has a TB of 3 and no armor, so she takes 9 - 3 = 6 Wounds.

Chani had 10 Wounds left, so she now has a grand total of 4 Wounds remaining and counts as Heavily Wounded for purposes of healing should that happen to come up.

The cherub screams -- far differently from the earlier calm, measured statements the things were making in flawless High Gothic and whatever language one of them spoke in to Kara -- and brings its rock right down on the top of Chani's head, leaving a wide, ragged gouge and matting her hair with blood. It's a pretty nasty-looking (and -feeling) wound.

(You can use your last Fate Point to instantly get back 1d5 of those Wounds if you want.)

NOW A MOVE FROM LEVETICUS TO END TURN 7 PLEASE.

[gsteelwraith]

ooc: Leveticus will do what the GM suggests and commenses praying for Ambrose and the poor soul whom was killed by the heavy labour servitor.

[InquisitorChris]

As Leveticus begins mumbling in High Gothic, Turn 8 starts. (Ambrose is breathing and obviously still alive -- in fact he has taken no Wounds -- but he is out like a light.)

CHANI GOES. WILL SHE SLAY THE CHERUB THAT WACKED HER AND END THE COMBAT? ONLY TIME, HER PLAYER'S DECISIONS, AND THE WIZARDS OF THE COAST DICE ROLLER WILL TELL.

I NEED A MOVE FROM CHANI.

ps. to speed up the combat, since only Kara and Chani and 1 cherub are currently involved in it, I'm not going to tie Leveticus and Jim to any particular Initiative order or require declared actions from them unless they get involved in the combat somehow. You can look around, discuss the situation or whatever.

pps. since it's been some time, if I don't hear from Christian (whom I emailed) in a day or so, I'm going to assume Chani makes an Aim + Standard Attack.

[InquisitorChris]

OK, I contacted Christian and got permission to autopilot Chani -- he's busy with RL.

First, Chani spends her second (and last) Fate Point to get back 1d5 Wounds and rolls a... 1. She now has 5 Wounds.

The wound wasn't quite as bad as it appeared, though still brutal.

Having been injured, this time around the assassin takes a more careful approach, slashing at the cherub with less frenzy.

Weapon Skill 41 + 10 (Best-Quality Weapon) + 10 (Half-Action Aim) + 10 (Outnumbering Opponent) = 71%. She rolls a 45. which is a hit to the body.

Damage is 1d10 + 1 (BQW) + 3 (SB) = 1d10 + 4. She rolls 3 + 4 = 7. 7 - 3 (TB) - 2 (Armor) = 2. The cherub takes 2 Wounds and is down to 0.

Another grazing blow to the thing's abdomen, this one sinks in more deeply than before as Chani slowly cuts the cherub into ribbons.

NOW I NEED A MOVE FROM KARA

Spoiler for Kara:

Spoiler:

A successful Awareness roll! Amid all the blows and lasbolts and the flickering light of the glow lamp, you notice something strange about the cleaver-wielding cherub you're fighting. Something seems to be happening to its body (other than being bashed around by Chani's sword). Something changing rapidly in its contours.

(PS as I said, Jim and Leveticus shouldn't feel bound by this order of actions, since they're not in combat.)

(Incidentally, although their players may have forgotten this, Jim and Leveticus certainly remember that the Arbites issued them with closed access microbeads connecting them with their liaison.)

[helvorn]

Kara aims and fires at the cherub. She calls out; "It looks like it's warping!"

[InquisitorChris]

The Dusk-born psyker cries out something about warping and fires again at the little flying monster.

Ballistic Skill 29 + 10 (Half-Action Aim) = 39 - 10 (Scrawny target) = 29%. The roll is 94. Really really close to a jam.

Kara's aim is too bad and the thing is too busy weaving about for her to get a hit. The lasbolt lights up the corridor, illuminating the bas-relief carvings on the walls for a moment, as it goes past the cherub.

There is one shot left in the gun.

NOW THE CHERUB GOES.

The cherub's howl is the cry of a crazed beast, warbling and grunting and screaming all at the same time. It's as if it were trying to make sounds its throat wasn't made for.

It cries out two words in High Gothic.

Consulting the Inquisitor's Handbook rules tells me that you can in fact understand a bit of High Gothic if you don't know it with a Speak Language (Low Gothic) roll made at -10, since they're dialects of each other. So Kara can understand this if she makes her Speak Language (Low Gothic) roll of 32 - 10 = 22 + 30 (it's just a couple of words) = 52% The roll is 38.

Even Kara can understand this.

The cherub screams "PLEASE! GIVE!"

Then it tries to kill Chani again.

Weapon Skill 10 + 10 (Frenzy) + 20 (All-Out Attack) + 10 (Higher Ground) = 50%. It rolls 15 and hits Chani in the body.

Chani has a Defensive Reaction this time and Parries.

Weapon Skill 41 + 10 (Ganging Up) + 10 (Balanced Weapon) = 61%. The roll is 05.

Chani deflects the cherub's clumsy attack with contemptuous ease.

THIS ENDS ROUND 7; ROUND 8 STARTS WITH ME AUTOPILOTING CHANI.

Chani aims and attacks again.

Weapon Skill 41 + 10 (Best-Quality Weapon) + 10 (Half-Action Aim) + 10 (Ganging Up) = 71%. The roll is 53, a hit to the body again.

Damage is 1d10 + 4. The roll is 8 + 4 = 12. The cherub takes 12 - 3 (TB) - 2 (Armor) = 7 Wounds, bringing it to -7.

Chani's blade disembowels the cherub. Its synthetic guts fall out from its belly and dangle beneath it along with a nest of wires, tangling up with its little legs and spilling blood everywhere. The thing is obviously not going to live through this, but amazingly it's still coming, at least for the time being. (Frenzy really makes you durable!)

"PLEASE!!!! GIVE OF YOURSELF!!!!" it screams. Then that weird growl, wail, screech again. It speaks immense, heartbreaking pain, desire, and confusion.

OK, ANOTHER MOVE FROM KARA PLEASE. I WONDER WHAT IT MIGHT BE?

(And Jim or Leveticus can do something)

[helvorn]

As expected Kara fires her last charge at the little construct (aim).

[InquisitorChris]

As expected Kara fires her last charge at the little construct (aim).

The psyker callously neglects to use her Healer psychic power on the injured assassin and shoots again. :)

Ballistic Skill 29 + 10 (Half-Action Aim) = 39 - 10 (Scrawny target) = 29%. The roll is 26! Kara hits the cherub in the body!

Damage is 1d10 + 2. The roll is a measly 2 + 2 = 4. 4 - 3 (TB) - 1 (Armor) = 0. The cherub takes no damage.

The lasbolt hits the cherub somewhere among its dangling internal organs, but given as they are already out of commission does no real damage.

The gun is now empty.

THE CHERUB GOES.

<<ooc>> Since Chani disemboweled it this round, it doesn't start checking for sudden death until next round.<<ooc>>

It tries to brain Chani again.

50% chance to hit as before. The roll is 04, which is a hit to the body again.

Chani gets a Parry: Weapon Skill 41 + 10 (Balanced Weapon) + 10 (Ganging Up) = 61%. She rolls 65. Which is a failure. Uh-oh. I hope Chani doesn't die while I'm playing her. :(

Damage is straight 1d10. The roll is 7. 7 - 3 (Toughness Bonus) = 4. Chani takes 4 Wounds.

In its frenzy, guts spilling out from its belly, the cherub manages to slip under Chani's defenses and bash her in the side with its huge piece of masonry. Bllood runs down the assassin's hip. This cherub is much more effective than the others were!

Chani has 1 Wound left.

ROUND 8 ENDS. 9 BEGINS WITH CHANI AGAIN.

Chani aims and strikes.

Weapon Skill 41 + 10 (Half-Action Aim) + 10 (Ganging Up) + 10 (Best-Quality Weapon) = 71%. She rolls 84. Dammit!

Thrown off by the blow, Chani fails to land a hit.

ANOTHER MOVE FROM NO-BULLETS-IN-THE-GUN KARA PLEASE.

[gsteelwraith]

(Incidentally, although their players may have forgotten this, Jim and Leveticus certainly remember that the Arbites issued them with closed access microbeads connecting them with their liaison.)

OOC: Yeah, I did forget that little detail. Its been a while.

Leveticus will cue up the commo, and find out if he can pull in a signal this far down.

OOC: I wouldn't hold out much hope if I were using my personal cellphone, but what the heck.

[InquisitorChris]

(Incidentally, although their players may have forgotten this, Jim and Leveticus certainly remember that the Arbites issued them with closed access microbeads connecting them with their liaison.)

OOC: Yeah, I did forget that little detail. Its been a while.

Leveticus will cue up the commo, and find out if he can pull in a signal this far down.

Whilst Chani is being bludgeoned with rocks and slicing crazed cherubim in half, Leveticus pulls the microbead out of the pocket of his robe, puts it to his ear, and presses "connect."

Spoiler for Leveticus:

Spoiler:

You hear scratches, and then far away, faintly audible through static, a man's voice: "Troop *crackle* speak *crackle* what the frak *crackle* on this line?"

[helvorn]

Kara drops the now less than useful gun to the floor with a quick word of apology to the arcane spirits of the weapon, pulls out her knife and slashes at the creature. She will pull an all out attack if possible.

[InquisitorChris]

Kara drops the now less than useful gun to the floor with a quick word of apology to the arcane spirits of the weapon, pulls out her knife and slashes at the creature. She will pull an all out attack if possible.

(You do have more than one clip.)

An All-Out Attack is a Full Action, and it takes a Half Action to pull out the knife.

Kara pulls out her psykana mercy blade. Though meant to give herself a painless escape in an emergency, here it serves another function. She slashes at the cherub.

Weapon Skill 24 + 10 (Ganging Up) = 34%. Kara rolls 09. Wow! That's a hit to the left leg.

The cherub can't parry or dodge due to its constant All-Out Attacks.

The knife does 1d5 + SB R damage and Kara's Strength Bonus is 3, so it does 1d5 + 3. The roll is 4 + 3 = 7. 7 - 3 (TB) - 2 (Armor vs. Primitive weapons) = 2. The cherub takes 2 Wounds, bringing it to -9. The cherub is dead.

Kara's blade jabs upward through the cherub's little thigh and somewhere deep into its dangling guts. She must have hit something important, because the servitor thrashes around a moment violently, makes a horrible gagging noise, and then collapses onto the knife. Its blood-stained rock falls clattering to the ground.

Kara now has her psykana mercy blade jabbed deep into a disemboweled cherub, its guts most likely covering her arm.

(That was rather a dramatic, and unexpected, conclusion I think.)

COMBAT IS OVER

[InquisitorChris]

GENERAL SITUATION. IMPORTANT, SO PLEASE READ

Down the corridor from which you came stands the inert Abstinence the servitor and its payload of dead priest. Past it is the way back to the cathedral.

A couple of meters from him lies the unconscious Ambrose. Over Ambrose crouch Leveticus and Jim. Leveticus is listening to his microbead and pretty much untouched. Jim is somewhat bloodstained by cherub bits. By them lie two dead cherubim. By one of them lies the stone cleaver that looks suspiciously like one of the artifacts you were sent to look at.

A couple of meters from them, the completely gore-spattered Chani and Kara stand over the bodies of two thoroughly eviscerated cherubim. Another cherub is impaled on Kara's mercy blade. Her laspistol lies on the floor. Chani, her aria dell'imperatore stained with synthetic blood and oil, has a nasty gash on her head and another on her side, as well as a big bruise on her stomach. She's kind of hurting. Further down in that direction the corridor descends at an angle, leading down in the general direction of where Ambrose was leading you to the artifacts.

You may all remember that Ambrose mentioned that there were supposed to be TWO brothers and TWO servitors down here. One brother is presumably protruding from one of the servitors. Where are the others?

The cherubim lying on the floor, you can all see now, seem to have changed in the past half a minute or so. Rather than plump angels, their bodies are now wizened, faces skeletal with bulging eyes, bodies and wings emaciated, limbs sticklike. They look like they were in the process of starving to death, very rapidly.

In the light of the glow lamp, you see again the walls covered with frescoes that were not there before. They appear primitive (think ancient Aztec) and cover every centimeter of the walls. The floor and ceiling are bare, the former worn smooth with what appears to be ages of treading feet.

There are no electric lights. Either they were never here, which seems unlikely, or they have vanished somehow. Rather there are empty torch sconces every few meters along the walls. Maybe the generator going out isn't the cause of the darkness after all.

One other thing. You all remember that glow lamps have a limited, and unpredictable, battery life.

What do you do?

[helvorn]

Kara shakes the dead cherubim off of her knife to the floor and gives it a vicious kick. She looks quite the barbaric sight spattered in gore while brandishing a bloody dagger. She is breathing heavily, her face is flushed and her eyes shine with excitement. As she takes in the changed scenery and the corruption of the cherubim her face goes pale but her eyes still shine with another emotion.

"Stay clear of the stone knife. It is Warp tainted as are the servitors. The skein of reality is thin here and the drum beat of the Warp sounds loudly." Glancing over at the injured Chani she shudders and appears to master whatever strong emotion is affecting her and her expression fades back to normal. Kara steps over and Chani and reaches up to brush her fingers just a few centimeters away from the worst of the gashes on her head. "Sit, rest and take some water from my flask Chani. You are hurt badly." She looks to the others; "Do any of you have medicae skills? I can heal but with the thinness of the veil I am at grave risk for a manifestation of unpleasantness."

She whispers to Chani; "You came to save my life. I owe you a debt sister."

[ChristianC]

Chani remained where she was for a little while, blade still drawn, her eyes narrowed and her sight enhanced by the alertness that adrenaline and years of combat training has taught her. But then, as the last drops of life fades from the gurgling little cherubim, the full weight of her wounds hit her and she staggered against the wall, pulling out a small cloth and a flask from inside her clothes. Although she seemed fully intent on proceeding to clean the blade of the Voice of the Emperor, the soothing voice of Kara momentarily pulled her out of her routine and she winced.

"I... did only what my duty required, you are far more valuable to our master than I am." she drank some water before beginning the procedure which she had been trained to do since childhood. Making the ink was simple enough, the blood and fluids of the cherubs were plentiful, and with a strained expression she began to mix it together with the ash, taking out a small, metallic tool. "I must see to it that this melody does not leave into the aether..."

[Jak Snide]

Jim was content to let the two ladies babble in their fancy ways of talking. He was busy trying to stop Ambrose from bleeding, not that he was having much success. Better this than focusing on the vile little flying things and the changes they were undergoing.

"You got anyone on that thing?" he asked, glancing up at Leveticus. "We could really use some help down here right about now."

[gsteelwraith]

[quote][Jim was content to let the two ladies babble in their fancy ways of talking. He was busy trying to stop Ambrose from bleeding, not that he was having much success. Better this than focusing on the vile little flying things and the changes they were undergoing.

"You got anyone on that thing?" he asked, glancing up at Leveticus. "We could really use some help down here right about now."/quote]

Leveticus will shake his head, and answer, "I'm getting a voice on the other end, but its staticky and garbled." He'll hit the transmit key, and say, "Diogenes to Lantern Base, do you copy?"

[InquisitorChris]

[Jim was content to let the two ladies babble in their fancy ways of talking. He was busy trying to stop Ambrose from bleeding, not that he was having much success. Better this than focusing on the vile little flying things and the changes they were undergoing.

"You got anyone on that thing?" he asked, glancing up at Leveticus. "We could really use some help down here right about now."/quote]

Leveticus will shake his head, and answer, "I'm getting a voice on the other end, but its staticky and garbled." He'll hit the transmit key, and say, "Diogenes to Lantern Base, do you copy?"

<<ooc>> I am not sure what that is supposed to mean exactly. <<ooc>>

Spolier for Leveticus:

Spoiler:

The man's voice says "*crackle* who *crackle* on this line? Access restrict *crackle" identify *crackle*."

Note: your liaison, who should in theory be answering this but obviously isn't, is a woman, Arbitrator Cremalla if you have forgotten.

PS. All four of you have these beads, so you can listen in if you want.

[Jak Snide]

Jim popped his own comm-bead into his ear, trying to make sense of whatever Leveticus was hearing. They weren't getting out of here without help from the outside, that much was sure.

[InquisitorChris]

Jim popped his own comm-bead into his ear, trying to make sense of whatever Leveticus was hearing. They weren't getting out of here without help from the outside, that much was sure.

Jim puts the bead to his ear just as Leveticus gets a response to his question.

Spoiler for Jim:

Spoiler:

A man's voice says "*crackle* who *crackle* on this line? Access restrict *crackle" identify *crackle*."

Note: your liaison, who should in theory be answering this but obviously isn't, is a woman, Arbitrator Cremalla if you have forgotten.

[Jak Snide]

Jim pressed his own transmit rune, eager to facilitate communications.

"It's us, you damn idiot! Put Cremalla on the horn! We ain't got time to be jerked around with access protocol!"

[InquisitorChris]

Jim pressed his own transmit rune, eager to facilitate communications.

"It's us, you damn idiot! Put Cremalla on the horn! We ain't got time to be jerked around with access protocol!"

Spoiler for Jim and Leveticus:

Spoiler:

The man's voice sounds angry and takes on a hard tone. "Cremala killed *crackle* in disaster in our lady *crackle* years ago *crackle* service to the Holy Ordos. Not funny *crackle* ever you are. *crackle* unauthorized use *crackle* Arbites channel *crackle* Emperor's law *crackle* heresy punishment *crackle* immediate death."

NOTE: You may remember that the cathedral under which you are is Our Lady of the Feast. (I feel obligated to mention things like this because of the length of real time since it was mentioned vs. amount of time in-game.)

[Jak Snide]

Jim continued to yell into the comm-bead, stabbing at the air with a finger as if whoever he was speaking to was right in front of him.

"Listen up you dumb son of a bitch, we met with her this damn morning! Don't pull this intelligencer obfuscation bullshit with me! We're stuck below the cathedral and are up to our necks in murderous cherubs! You quit jerking me around or by the Emp'ror I'm gonna put my boot so far your ass that you'll be tasting the shit I trod in on the way over here!"

[helvorn]

<ooc> Is Ambrose bleeding as in Blood Loss and chance of dying or is he just injured and at zero fatigue? </ooc>

[helvorn]

"I... did only what my duty required, you are far more valuable to our master than I am." she drank some water before beginning the procedure which she had been trained to do since childhood. Making the ink was simple enough, the blood and fluids of the cherubs were plentiful, and with a strained expression she began to mix it together with the ash, taking out a small, metallic tool. "I must see to it that this melody does not leave into the aether..."

Seeing that Chani was at least stable and Ambrose attended by Jim she picks up her las pistol, says a quick prayer of thanks for it's help in the battle and swaps out the expended magazine for a new one. Holstering the weapon she turns back to Chani, content to let the two men handle the arcane arts of comm beads. "I have no medicae skill and the use of my powers to heal with the Veil so thin here would be hazardous. If we cannot get immediate aid then I will take the risk, Emperor willing."

<ooc> does Abstinence block the passageway back to the upper level? </ooc>

[InquisitorChris]

<ooc> Is Ambrose bleeding as in Blood Loss and chance of dying or is he just injured and at zero fatigue? </ooc>

Kara can't really see him and wouldn't have any way to know this, but Ambrose hasn't actually taken any Wounds and has just been knocked out by accumulated Fatigue. "He's bleeding from his nose and head" is just my providing color. He's hasn't been injured at all in a game-mechanical sense.

Seeing that Chani was at least stable and Ambrose attended by Jim she picks up her las pistol, says a quick prayer of thanks for it's help in the battle and swaps out the expended magazine for a new one. Holstering the weapon she turns back to Chani, content to let the two men handle the arcane arts of comm beads. "I have no medicae skill and the use of my powers to heal with the Veil so thin here would be hazardous. If we cannot get immediate aid then I will take the risk, Emperor willing."

<ooc> does Abstinence block the passageway back to the upper level? </ooc>

Abstinence doesn't block the whole 2 meters of the corridor's width -- it's not THAT big (it's a welder, not a cargo lifter). You could squeeze past it or clamber over it. Would be kind of gross though considering what's dangling out of it -- but you're covered in blood anyway. :)