Apocalypse (Game Thread : Closed, Dead)

[Anti-American Eagle]

[u][b]Tribune Theta-46531[/b] - Driseadi Quarantine Zone[/u]

A warning played in Arcor's head, as the Rhino's auspex began going nuts. Hits from every direction, big ones.

He quickly sealed the drivers section off and blared a message into the back "Guns Now!" before ramming it through the chimera based fortification infront of him.

Odd beetles slammed into it as it pulled out, thankfully not piercing the armour. However one of the plasma blasts that struck the back did. One of the survivors quickly welded a piece of flakboard in place before anything else managed to tear its way in thankfully.

Arcor, reactivated his emergency beacon, hoping someone would hear it when he finally made it out of the quarantine zone.

[hr]

[b]Eversor Vymazat[/b] - Driseadi Quarantine Zone

A flaming rhino sped past the Eversor.

[hr]

[b]Driseadi Command Bunker 05[/b]

Orbital Bombardment commencing in 5. 4. 3. 2. 1.
Bombardment Beginning.
Bombardment Ending.
Objective Ceti still standing.

Overlord Jakis stared at tactical map as the reports he was receiving continued to be grim. Even the arrival of the second wave fleet support did little to help his mood.

He turned to his servant and spoke "Any report from the zone 7?"

"No sir." the servant said weakly

"The damned inquisition knows they could bomb the damned orks into oblivion." he paused and sighed "Yet they tie men down on it when they're needed against the damned bugs. Any news on whether they're dropping men on it yet?"

"A few dropships were reported to have been reported taken down in zone 8, 6, and 5 by bioplasma and flyers."

"Have gas shells and target designators shipped to as many men as outposts and fortresses as possible." he paused "Warn the commanders that the perimeter's been breached."

"Yes sir."

Overlord Jakis walked out of the command room and towards the lab being reconfigured into a cybernetica control system.

 

[deathbydeath]

"Well you heard them, Acolyte. This is your mission now. Do we try and search them all, or one at a time? Decide quickly."

Nothing seemed to be going Martin's way this day. He was stuck among the Tyranids, Odicio went and killed himself for no visible reason, and he couldn't see this day doing anywhere but down.

"We're going down." He didn't wait for Helena to object before rallying her Sisters and readying their descent. "Surround the entry with flamers but hold your fire; I'll light the way and alert us if there are any threats."

 

[sage42]

"Surround the entry with flamers but hold your fire; I'll light the way and alert us if there are any threats." Helena nodded and the rest of the sister's moved into position. The two sisters with the flamers to position facing into the hole, along side another sister with a heavy bolter.

The others, five in total, took position facing back towards the other tunnel's ready for the horde that was sure to come. Helena looked to Sister Sumi, who took a stance facing way from the hole with her heavy flamer. "Sumi should I fall you will make sure our orders are carried out. Remember Sister's, we fight for The Father, and for Our Lady Kathrine. We will all give our lives to destroy these blights upon the galaxy. But dying with out reason is not a proud death, and that is how we'll die if we fall here. Should too many of us fall or should both myself and the Acolyte fall, you are all expected to retreat and report to the nearest command bunker." She looked out over her sister. "But this is a last resort. We have chased the patriarch to it's nest. We will not fail."

Her Sister's all nodded. None would retreat before the order was given. She turned once more to the Acolyte. "I'm not letting you go ahead alone Acolyte, not after what happen to your master." She hefted her Bolter. "Now let's go."

 

[mcpop9]

"ofcourse." Sana said, tearing an orc inhalf with the power of her mechandrites. "You were flying under the banner of one Horus Lupercal." she said, her mechanical part of her on a sort of autodrive, tearing a path through the orks; her meat shields doing wonders to protect her as well.

"You fought for him and helped stand for his ideals. One cannot be accounted of their actions once the taint of chaos has befallen them. You respect the man he once was, i take it, and can respect it." she said to him in a rather calm voice for someone killing other beings in a rather brutal and horrid way.

"Told you Egerion, she's not brainwashed like these fools." said the Terminator over the vox channel. He unleashed bursts from his storm bolter and tore a number of orks to shreds.

 

[Athol]

"Told you Egerion, she's not brainwashed like these fools."

"Indeed." The war machine replied as he poured more fire into the Orks. "Not many others have reacted so...well when I told them. It is nice to be amongst people who think for a change." Gunfire clattered and pinged off of Egerion's armour as he shadowed the techpriest...if that was even possible, considering she only came to his knee.

As the three pressed onward, Egerion picked up a thunderous roar over the noise of the baying Ork horde. Moments later he spotted the wheeled abomination that was an Ork Wartrukk hurtling towards them at high speed, Orks clinging to every surface. "VEHICLE INCOMING!"

Stepping to block Sana, autocannon rounds slammed into him, triggering several minor warning alerts. Seeing that nothing critical was harmed, Egerion ignored the alerts and set to dealing with the trukk. Bringing his lascannons to bear, he waited until the machine was airborne, after jumping off a small berm. His shots blew the front axle and engine to pieces, sending shrapnel everywhere. While still at speed, the trukk now not having a front end, slammed into the dirt and cart wheeled, throwing debris and Orks all over the place. "I believe that went well."

 

[Anti-American Eagle]

[b]Acolyte Martin Cassius and Retributor Helena Karr[/b] - Drisania Warzone - A hole in the ground

The Sister went into the pit first followed shortly by the Acolyte.
In the black of it the grips that were carved into the crete slowly became further and further apart until the Sister slipped and fell, once again followed by the acolyte.
The fall was rather short fortunately, the Sister hit the ground hard though due to the weight of her armour, with the acolyte falling on her shortly after.

The ground under them seemed to be slick, the area still pitch black, with noise like screaming echoed around them, the air seemed to be scented with blood and incense. A mechanical thumping could be heard in the distance.

Driseadi - Objective Ceti (Ork Encampment)

Valkyries flew over the area dropping troops upon the vile ork hordes, as Vendettas bombed their structures and tanks assaulted their walls.

Casualties on both sides were already high, but orks continued to spill from their damned bases.
The Mechanicus speculations ranged from looted teleportarium complexes to xenos breeding machines.
But as it was they were still dropping from orbit.

By this point the Mechanicus was perhaps a day or so from loosing Atomics on it.

 

[sage42]

Helena's eyes widened as she fell. She scrambled to try and get a grip on the surface of the wall, but to no avail. The fall was short, and had she not been in armor would have just stung. But with the armor she felt her breath leave her chest and felt her Bolter fall from her hands. She tried to get up to inspect her Bolter, but the combination of the slick floor, the lack of breath and the damn Acolyte now on top of her, it was a futile effort. Her breath returned quickly however and she shoved the Acolyte unceremoniously off of her and scrambled for her Bolter.

This weapon had survived for centuries, and would for centuries more as long it didn't end up in the belly of a Xeno. She would not and could not let a scratch mar it's surface, not if it was from something as shameful as falling. She would be chastised in front of her entire order, in front of a craving of The Holy Father and Lady Katherine. She would lose some of the favor she had worked so hard to achieve these long year's. She would not let the happen because of a fall.

In the dim light she inspected her Bolter. She released a quiet sigh of relief when she found no new marks in the design. Hefting the Bolter once more she examined their new surroundings. She could see very little, and would not risk calling up to one of the sister's for a pair of goggles. She only heard the mechanical thumbing deeper in.

She moved to the Acolyte again. "Gather your wits quickly Acolyte, and ready your weapon. Who knows what lies at the end of this tunnel, but I intend to shine the Emperor's Light in this forsaken place." She whispered as she drew her Hand Flamer.

 

[mcpop9]

Time lapse through the day, to where the sun was setting just over the horizon.(for this trio atleast)

The field of gore was strewn around the trio. there was a massive pile of gore where the counter attack was broken. there was gore covering each of the members of the group, however sana was currently working on cleaning off Egerion's armored body, cleaning the gore out of places that it would hinder performance first, as they were still in an active warzone, but in a state of rather calmness.

"today was... rough..." was all the little techpriest could say, working her mechandrites in and out off hard to reach places to remove bits of gore.

"You did well Lady Sana. It's good to wee that your close quarters skills were put to use efficiently. all that training finally payed off." Momaru said, leaning against a rock formation.

 

[Athol]

"today was... rough..."

From his higher line of sight, Egerion regarded the small Techpriest. "I remember hitting an Ork world...back when I was still just a Marine. Took us three days to shoot a clearing big enough to land armour...fortunately they were just Ferals so no real casualties, but even so, there were just so damned many. By the time we got Land Raiders down, the bodies were so high the Raiders couldn't go through or over them...we ended up having to jump from objective to objective with Thunderhawks."

Standing there, as Sana pried bits of flesh and bone out of various nooks and crannies, the Dreadnought rumbled with what passed for laughter. "I still remember one sight in particular. We'd just crested a ridge on our way to the latest target, and there stood Horus and the Emperor, surveying the seething mass of greenskins between us and our goal, and they gave each other the most poignant 'You've gotta be fucking kidding me' looks I've ever seen."

 

[mcpop9]

Sana smiled. "I always liked hearing about the emperor. but as to what i said earlier." Sana said, finishing her work on him, moving to actually cleaning his armor, removing gore and blood and the such from all important symbols and then focusing on the painted areas.

"If you recall, you said you were just a soldier. and with all due respect, that's a load of bullshit if i've ever heard one. You're still a man beneath this metal. no matter what's happened to you since your entombment in this body, even if your soul purpose is fighting, you're still a man who cares about what happens to others." she said, polishing his chest.

"When i first met ru over there, he was far more rigid, despite holding the same ideology he does today." she explained to the dreadnought. "You're already a bit more lax than most space marines i come across. but you need to get it out of your head that you're just a soldier. you're far more than that. you're a man with a heart. and proof is in caring about my well being, despite there being thousands more of my kind in the imperium just waiting to take my place." she said to him.

Momaru just shrugged. "Girl has a point." then cracked open a flask he carried on himself and began to drink a bit.

 

[Athol]

Egerion regarded the little Techpreist for a moment, and then rumbled with what one might call a sigh. "I guess she's not aware of how men are chosen, is she Veteran-Sergeant?" As he was about to go on, and Ork popped over a small rise in the distance. With speed and fluidity, that were surprising for his size and bulk, he brought his Bolter to bear and killed the creature with a single shot.

"Anyways....it is because I'm a soldier that I now care." He said. "The memories of who I was before I was chosen to fight for the Imperium are lost, but knowing what I do about the type of men selected, that is not a bad thing. In the Age of Strife, when the Emperor was still building his army, he did not need kind and caring individuals, he needed simple minded brutes that could kill. In all reality, before I was transformed into a Thunder Warrior, I probably had more in common with these beasts we've been fighting, than with any man. When the Emperor turned me into a soldier, he gave me back my humanity."

 

[mcpop9]

"That still doesn't change the fact you're a man and not just a soldier." She said, being used to the rather non surprising surprise attacks. "I've met beasts of the caliber you've described, they're just soldiers. the menials that we have roaming the halls of the explorator fleet, when in combat, they're just soldiers. even fetching us book, they're just soldiers." she said, finishing off his arms.
"I know what "just a soldier" is. you're a man, Like momaru." she said, and went onto his legs. "And i know when i die, you'll miss me, along with momaru. "i'll have left an implant on you and him. some proof of my existance." she labored on, working his knee joints now.
"and i know i'll die before you two. i don't have a suit of power armor to protect me. all i have is the ability to live at the cost of my humanity. become more like the computers we have aboard the ships, more souless each time i replace a bit that's been smashed to shit." she said, getting rather angry, it showing in her cleaning as she was a bit more forceful and less caring.

 

[Athol]

Standing there, listening to Sana, Egerion's 'body' hummed and rumbled. "I am beginning to guess that your definition of a soldier and mine are somewhat...different." Twisting slightly, he reached down and plucked Sana off his leg with amazing gentleness and dexterity. "However such discussions are probably best left for when we are no longer in an open field of battle."

Doing a quick sweep, he was surprised to find no immediate Ork activity. "It seems the greenskins have fallen back to their camp...a surprisingly intelligent move from such creatures." Stepping clear of the bodies they'd made at their stopping point, Egerion resumed the push to the Ork encampment. As he did so he opened a vox to Sana. "As for your concern about losing your humanity...by now I am likely more machine than even you little Techpriest, but I remain who I am by focusing on why I fight."

 

[mcpop9]

Sana sighed. "Yes, I do believe we hold different values on what a soldier is." She commented, following him as momaru put away his flask and put his helmet back on. The terminator took up rear guard as the group made their slow progression.
"But you've hit your limit on how machine you will be Egerion. I've lost all my lower limbs, meaning my forearms, my calfs and my hands and feet. Not to mention I had mechendrites seated deep in my spine, and a number of different "upgrades" as a couple of the other enginseers and imperial guard called them." The little techpriest explained to the massive machine infront of her. She was using her mechandrite to help climb over corpses and the such.

"Not to mention, the little humanity I have isn't even mine. It originally belong to somebody else who died thousands of years ago. I'm a clone. Borrowed flesh living on time that wasn't given to me by parents, but by some priests wanting to preserve someone else's genius." She continued on. "When guardsmen ask me why such a pretty little thing like me would join the priesthood, I have either lie to them, which momaru knows I lie about as well as an apothcrathy can repair a Russ, or tell them I was grown in a tube because the last iteration of me died."

Meanwhile, momaru was mysteriously quiet. This was something that was settling into Sana's subconscience with an unnerving feeling growing in her. Ru was beginning to get a knot in his stomach, something that always signaled something bad.

 

[Athol]

Lumbering forward, Egerion pondered what Sana said. "If you truly believe that you are nothing more than 'just a clone'." He said eventually. "Then you should forget the truth that Sergeant Momaru has taught you, and go back to being one of those blind fools that make up the Imperium as it is."

An Ork Boy burst from beneath a pile of bodies, in an attempt to ambush the trio. His attack was cut brutally short, when Egerion shifted his path slightly and stepped on the creature. "How you can into this world does not matter so much as what you do once you are here. Sana, I can say with no hesitation, that you are the first 'post-heresy' individual I have met that I would truly consider to be a good person; so what if you were cloned, does that make your actions any less meaningful? Do not think about where you came from; think about what you can do to better the world around you. Do that and you will be more human than any 'natural born' human in the Imperium."

 

[mcpop9]

"The only thing i have is a somewhat rational head, and even that, the mechanicus said i was a mistake, but too much of an investment to waste, and the fact i had inherited the Deathe Maska from my previous iterations in the only thing that lets me function." she said and tried to take a deep breath, calming down.

"I know i'm probably the most sane person in the entire damn mechanicus, but i still am near useless with the damn maska. I appreciate your compliments egerion, but... i don't know... there's too much pressure i put upon myself and i snap. And i try to help others... i helped momaru, i helped you with your lascannons... though i swear if you use them as bludgeoning weapons again, i'm affixing melee weapons to you like it or not..." she continued on, a bit of a glare could be felt from sana at egerion.

"But i'm only good for repairing a couple of things and talking to the last two sane people in the imperium. anytime i've ever had a breakthrough is from when my head merges into those of my prior iterations and our collective minds somehow manage to produce something good. I just feel... so insignificant. I feel as if i'm expendable... i don't want to be. I know you and Ru would miss me, but outside of that, who else?" she asked.

However, ru gave off a series of clicks with his tongue, whistles in varying pitch and tone. This would confuse the dreadnought as he would have either heard it from techpriests, or recognized that it was some form of language.
sana nodded and the two had a rather quick situation.
"Egerion, ru left it up to me to decide wether to tell you, and i think it well that should be known." she said then gestured for the Sgt. to continue on.

Opening up a vox, Ru contacted the dreadnought. "You know i spent some time in the warp, but prior to that, i always had a feeling in my gut when something would go horribly wrong. that's why i got so high up in my company and into it in the first place. I guess you could say i was warp touched, but i kept quiet about it." the sgt explained.

"However, during my stay in the warp, it must have effected me, because i tend to be more sensitive to these things now. I'm by no means tainted, but by what me and lady sana discovered, i am a bit of a psyker. low enough grade to avoid notice by the inquisition. Anyways, i getting the feeling like i'd like to puke. Something rather bad is going to happen in the coming hours." he said, his voice stone dead serious.

"could be daemons, could be another wave of orks from the warp. Could be my rations getting at me." he chuckled a bit. "But in all seriousness. Stay frosty and keep your eyes... sensors monitored at all times. it's not going to be a small happening." Ru finished explaining.

 

[Athol]

Egerion rumbled in annoyance, as Sana kept going on her self-deprecating rant. Despite all he'd said, she still refused to accept the idea that she may actually have some worth as a human being, not just as another tool of the Mechanicus. He was tempted to say more, but this too was a topic best left to after the battles to come.

He was about to tell Sana to knock it off with all the self loathing, when he heard Momaru say something in Tech. Having been interned in a dreadnought for so long he had heard plenty of the techpriests 'unique' language, but he had yet to understand any of it.

"You know I spent some time in the warp, but prior to that, I always had a feeling in my gut when something would go horribly wrong. That's why I got so high up in my company and into it in the first place. I guess you could say I was warp touched, but I kept quiet about it. However, during my stay in the warp, it must have affected me, because I tend to be more sensitive to these things now. I'm by no means tainted, but by what me and Lady Sana discovered, I am a bit of a psyker. Low enough grade to avoid notice by the inquisition. Anyways, I'm getting the feeling like I'd like to puke. Something rather bad is going to happen in the coming hours, could be daemons, could be another wave of Orks from the warp. Could be my rations getting at me; But in all seriousness. Stay frosty and keep your eyes... sensors monitored at all times. It's not going to be a small happening."

"Warp touched or not, a soldier's instincts are never to be ignored without peril." He replied. "As for potential forces from the Warp? Why not? We already know there are both Orks and Tyrrianids on this planet, and that other xenos are sniffing about as well...why not have those filth here as well?" Pressing forward, he went on. "However since there is nothing we can do but wait and see on that front, let us focus on the task at hand, and deal with these Orks."

 

[mcpop9]

"Yeah, you're right." Agreed momaru. The terminator hit a few of the runes on his powerfist's gauntlet. he got a quick tactical overlay of the battlefield from ships above. "Seems we're dealing with a loot camp. No warbass, lot's of nobs, couple of mechs, the usual for this sort of stuff." he explained, sending it to the dreadnought's systems.

Sana picked it up off the transmision and quickly analyzed it. "If i can get close to the mechs, i should be able to quickly take em out, i do have my gauntlets." she poked into the conversation.

 

[Athol]

Egerion wasn't happy with what he saw, and it showed in his voice. "I was looking forward to killing another Warboss...it's been a long time since the last one." Doing on final systems check, he addressed his companions. "Steel yourselves my friends, we end this now."

As the trio approached the camp, a large Nob, armed with a bolter and a power claw, stepped over a barricade. "Oi! Iz it jus' youz tree dat been krump all my boyz? Well den dis iz gunna be a good ol' smak up! The Nob rasied his claw high, and a roar of Orkish voices could be heard from behind. ALL ROIGHT YOU LOT LE'S GO, BUT DA DREAD IZ MINE! WAAAAGGGGHHH!" With that, a green wave spilled over the walls towards the three.

"FOR THE IMPERIUM!" Egerion boomed back, lacing the horde with bolter fire. Spying a Ork dreadnought carving its way towards him, Egerion laced into it with his lascannons; a few well placed hits blew it to smouldering wreckage.

 

[Outcast107]

Vymazat saw the flaming Rhino speeding pass him as he look around the area to see what could have cause it. Seeing nothing at the moment but decide to follow the Rhino incase it leads to more enemies. Laughing out loudly as he gave chase to the Rhino, the blood from the lictor slowly drying on him as he never bother to try to wipe it off.