Wrath and Duty 13

<StaffenGM> You can hear, muffled though they are by the walls, the turbojet engines of the xeno craft screaming full-blast outside. The alien war-machine waits blindly, patiently for you to emerge. However, emerge you shall not.
<StaffenGM> Your task lies further in.
<StaffenGM> You stand n the lobby of the eastern wing of the parliamentary spire. Somewhere to the west is the entrance to the emergency bunker. And therein lies the PDF commanders who have taken the Governor hostage.
* Herbert adjusts his grip on the chainsword.
* Priad eyes roam around the lobby, the targeters in his helm reading off on the many displays of cover to be had. "We are close, brothers. Shall we proceed?"
<Draco> "Indeed."
<Priad> However before they move off he performs maintenance on the flesh of his brothers, and even himself. The whirring and machine noises of his tools fill the lobby as he knits flesh and slaps fresh cement on the various rents and holes in their armor.
<Draco> "Thank you Brother for the minor repairs."
<Herbert> With a nod, Herbert begins to move at a jog's pace. Speaking in the sacred tongue of the Ecclesiarchy, Herbert calls to the Kill Team, +Remain as one. We breach in formation. Emperor guide us.+
<Draco> +Understood, Kill Leader.+
<Priad> +Affirmative.+
<Draco> +Our target is located at a maintenance corridor. It is in the northeast sector of the spire, adjacent to the Interior Ministers' offices.+
<Priad> +Not too far then.+
<StaffenGM> As the group passes through the halls, Herbert stops the group from running afoul of a gunnery team that has set itself up in the hallway.
<StaffenGM> The entire corridor is fortified and obstructed with a pair of heavy bolters.
* Herbert projects his voice through his helm's vox-grill at the weapons teams, ++LAY DOWN YOUR WEAPONS AND PROSTRATE YOURSELVES BEFORE HIS ANGELS OF DEATH, OR SUFFER THE FATE OF THOSE WHO HAVE THUS-FAR DEFIED THE EMPEROR'S JUSTICE!++
<StaffenGM> The entirety of both bolter fire-teams turns and flees, save for the officer of the second weapon.
<Priad> +Well done, brother.+ He chuckles over the inter-vox.
* Draco violently charges the only guardsman and rips him to pieces with his servo-arm.
<StaffenGM> The bunker entry hall is close.
* Priad advances past the defenses and continues on with the squad.
<StaffenGM> However, emergency alarms begin blaring; your advance is now known to the enemy.
<StaffenGM> You make it to the bunker entrance in short time: a ramp, concealed behind a peculiarly thick wall, leads down to a large blast door.
<StaffenGM> It is, however, closed.
<Priad> "Brother Draco?"
<StaffenGM> And identification panel sits to the side of the doors.
<Draco> "Affirmative."
<StaffenGM> A light trail of smoke wafts off of Draco's servo-arm as he pries the plasteel doors open. He cannot push them open, but he does rend a hole in the door...
<StaffenGM> Only to reveal another door behind that door, with its blast doors sealed along a perpendicular axis..
* Draco sees a console nearby and decides to connect to it.
<Draco> "This should be more effective."
<StaffenGM> As Draco connects to the terminal, a team PDF storms downstairs.
<StaffenGM> The doors begin opening in the mean-time.
<Herbert> 1d100
* Herbert blasts towards the first guardsman in the corridor, crushing him utterly with the impact.
<Priad> The Apothecary supports Herbert in his effort by firing a burst of bolter shells into the nearest enemy.
<StaffenGM> The officer of the group, armed with a power fist, charges Herbert.
<StaffenGM> The second set of blast doors reaches the fully open position.
<StaffenGM> Beyond it is a third set, again closed on an axis perpendicular to the previous set.
* Draco opening the next set of doors.
* Herbert side-steps the officer, and responds with a slash from the chainsword which bites into and tears his arm off.
* Priad whips his chainsword out and charges the wounded guardsman, and though the swing found it's mark, the soldier decided to move himself instead.
<StaffenGM> The third set of doors opens,
<StaffenGM> And a fourth set of blast doors is revealed.
* Draco continues to open the blast doors.
<StaffenGM> As the combat continues, a new group of PDF troopers comes rushing to support of the previous fireteam. Something seems different about these men, however -- their kit is definitely not Imperial.
* Herbert reaches for a fragmentation grenade, and tosses it at the traitor troop coming down the stairs.
<Priad> Getting a little annoyed, Priad brings his chainsword up again and brings it down again...and the soldier somehow rolls out of the way again. He would commend the mortal, if he wasn't a traitor.
<StaffenGM> The fourth blast door opens.
<StaffenGM> And behind it is an expanded bay, housing a second terminal,
<StaffenGM> And a pair of ceiling-mounted servo-guns.
* Draco decides to sprint to the second control panel
<StaffenGM> The servo guns fire on Draco as he makes his hasty attempt to access the panel.
<StaffenGM> As the fight continues, a shrill metallic screech comes from upstairs.
<StaffenGM> Barreling down the stairs now charge a pair of murder-servitors.
* Draco rips the other servo-gun from the wall and gets a new Heavy bolter.
* Herbert strikes with his blade yet again, slashing in a fury. Though his first strike is parried by the machine warrior, the following two tear through its frame.
* Draco walks to the control and panel and continues opening the doors.
* Herbert is fired upon at point blank, warning runes lighting up his helm display. In turn, he drives his blade in and out of the servitor's torso, following up with a decapitating cut.
<Priad> While all that is going on, Priad sprays a cone of promethium-power flame down the stairwell, cooking all enemies that were previously coming up it.
<StaffenGM> As the smoke clears, the next set of blast doors open.
<StaffenGM> But as they slide clear, through the gap a gargantuan, mechanical form rockets out, an machine-arm outstretched towards Draco.
<StaffenGM> The war engine is familiar in form: it is painted in strange, alien patterns of camouflage. Its arms are bulky and its back is laden with strange weaponry and subsystems.
<StaffenGM> Superficially it is a crisis suit -- but of what variety, you cannot tell.
<StaffenGM> The machine rockets forwards, jets blasting behind it. It stretches out the hand with which it holds Draco, charging towards Priad.
* Priad deftly slides out of the way, his armor skidding loudly upon the floor.
<StaffenGM> Having missed Priad, the crisis suit slams Draco into the wall beyond.
* Draco tries to attack the suit and misses.
<Priad> Priad switches the ammo selector to Kraken rounds and blows the right drone on the back of the suit to bits. He warns that the other drone is still functioning.
<StaffenGM> The crisis suit deploys its remaining drone.
* Herbert engages the xenos construct in furious melee, causing damage to its head, arm, and torso.
<Priad> The Apothecary destroys the other drone, in a spray of bolter fire.
<Draco> +There's two field generators: one attached to each arm. We must disable one of them or its field will stay on.+
* Draco uses his servo-arm and hits the suit's in the arm. He's still pinned.
<StaffenGM> Draco's servo-arm rends a chunk out of the crisis suit's forearm. The moment that it begins to separate the metal from the arm, arcs of electricity spray out from the point of contact; a blinding blue field strobes on, then off, then on again, and finally fades in a wave.
<StaffenGM> The arm holding Draco, no longer fully supported, bends and tears from the body, freeing him.
* Herbert launches himself once more at the xenos construct, intent on its destruction.
<StaffenGM> Herbert's assault rends the xenos war-suit's armor into ribbons. Before long, as his strikes cut deeper and deeper through the ruined metal, an alien ichor is spilt by his weapon; somewhere, unseen within, the pilot has been affirmedly slaughtered.
* Draco runs the control panel and opens next door.
<StaffenGM> The door opens, and reveals at last a war room.
<StaffenGM> And standing in front of the gates is a man in a grey uniform, holding another man at gunpoint.
<StaffenGM> "Stay back!" shouts the man with the gun. "Close that fucking door and leave now, or I kill Governor Stueck!"
<Priad> +He doesn't seem to realize his predicament.+ Priad says almost sarcastically.
* Herbert raises his bolt-pistol, aiming *through* the Governor, at the man in uniform. ++YOU ARE, BOTH OF YOU, VERMIN. SURRENDER, OR DIE.++
<StaffenGM> Minister Gage clearly realizes that his last gambit has failed, as he lets go of the governor,
<StaffenGM> And then pushes his bolt pistol beneath his chin and pulls the trigger.
* Herbert walks towards the governor.
<StaffenGM> The governor sinks to his knees, gasping -- looking more exhausted than frightened.
* Priad walks into the room, his bolter mag-clamped to his thigh.
* Draco has his missile launcher ready.
<Herbert> ++WHERE IS THE TRAITOR GALDEN?++
<StaffenGM> The governor slouches back, and points -- attempts to point, anyway, before resorting to waving his hand towards a podium before a planetary map flashing with warning lights.
<StaffenGM> "Shot him," the governor declares. "Tried to mutiny."
<Priad> "Is there any proof that can back up your claim?"
<StaffenGM> "Fucker's corpse is there."
* Herbert mag-locks his sidearm.
* Priad swivels to where the man pointed and walks over to the dead body.
* Herbert adjusts the settings on his vox-grill.
<StaffenGM> Indeed, there is a corpse behind the podium, shot twice through the chest. It is Serhiyev Galden.
<Herbert> "Do loyalists yet remain?"
<Priad> "Confirmed. It is Galden, brothers."
* Herbert turns to Priad, and nods.
<StaffenGM> "I am unsure at this point, Angel. You are an Angel, aye?" Grimacing, he looks up at Herbert through lidded eyes.
<Draco> "Only one target remains: The Ethereal."
<Herbert> "Or a Daemon. Your utility in purging this world of the remaining xenos filth will determine what this world will call me."