Adeptus Astartes: Deathwatch

[Lighthawk]

1503 day 1

From near the door, a soft but deep voice chuckled at Cyrus's words. The owner of the voice was a lean, long limbed individual who's skin and long hair both were black as the void between stars, the white of his teeth through his smile and the blazing red of his eyes powerful contrasts to his coloration.

Khan had forgone to wear his armor to the meeting, instead he was dressed in a blue robe with golden trim, the symbol upon his left shoulder marking him from the Salamanders. The right shoulder was bare; anyone who could not recognize the significance of the colors without the symbol of the Librarians deserved whatever shock they might recieve for their ignorance.

He had been listening to the meeting with interest and an odd amusement, a smile playing at his lips through out the planning. He had choosen to remain silent, uncertain yet how some of the Marines might take to his presence. Cyrus's closing remarks however had simply struck him as too amusing to leave unvoiced.

[Tyyr]

1503 Day 1 Antonia

"Alright then, you're dismissed. We'll arrive in system in four hours, be prepared."

1908 Day 1

The next four hours pass quickly as the Bulwark transits the warp towards the target. You receive a summons to the embarkation deck from where ever you happen to be. When you arrive you find Antonia standing beside the drop pod, dressed in lightweight power armor of brass and black cermite. She still wears her dress from before but it has been tucked back and arranged to fit around the armor she now wears without interfering with it. The human sized las pistol and sword are gone and she now carries a plasma pistol and what looks to be a power sword. She holds her helmet under her arm watching as the tech priests and crewmen make final checks on their drop pod. She glances at her wrist chrono and spreads her long legs. A moment later you feel the ship lurch as it returns to real space.

Over the scratchy ship vox you hear the captain announce, "Return to real space, planet ahead. Hulk positioning is not optimal, all hands man your battle stations." A moment later the vox channel of the team crackles and its the captain. "Inquisitor, one of the hulks has shifted orbit in the last few hours. Its not in our path but its close. We're going to take some fire on the way in. I recommend you board your pod and stand ready. Drop in eight," he says tersely and the vox clicks off without a chance for rebuttal.

"Sounds like we're in for a bumpy ride," Anotonia says. She quickly and smoothly dons her helmet. When the neck seal secures itself with a slippery hiss she raises the face plate up. The techpriests and crewmen guide her into the drop pod as others make the final checks on your restraints and beckon you in. Antonia is secured inside an over sized grav couch. The crew takes great care in securing her to it but tighten down on the straps cruelly, pinning her in place. You can see her frown as they do it, obviously not completely comfortable with the process. When they are finished the last one shuts her face plate. You are quickly secured in the pod, your weapon stowed but ready and the petals of the pod's exterior are raised and locked into position. You feel the familiar lurch and sway as the cruisers machinery guides the drop pod to its launch tube. All too soon though silence returns as the ships machinery waits.

Pure silence is the order of the day, the only thing you can hear in the pod is your own breathing. Your optics let you see even in this total darkness but there is only the still interior of the drop pod and your team. The timer to launch ticks down with agonizing slowness. When it gets to two minutes you hear the first outside sound, the deep subsonic thrum of a lance battery firing. Then you feel the ship shiver as a torpedo leaves. You hear the squeal as the ships void shield repels something. What at first were quiet distant sounds start to build in volume, the Bulwark is fighting its way in. "Thirty seconds," Antonia calls needlessly. She squeals a half second later when the whole pod and likely ship drops from under them. It quickly recovers but the next sound is the tortured groan of the hull as something peels away. When the clock reaches ten seconds you feel the ship starting to turn. It's powerful acceleration compensators doing their best and still failing as the swift footed ship starts to pull away from the planet. You faintly hear Antonia start to groan as the timer nears zero and then it gets worse. In a split second the force shifts from your feet to your shoulders as the launch tube fires and hurls your pod towards the planet. When you clear the tube you can see through the small viewport that you are not alone. Debris surrounds you and you can see the soundless flashes of lance and broadside batteries firing from the Bulwark dueling an unseen enemy.

The fate of the cruiser is no longer your concern though as its deep plunge into the atmosphere has cut your drop short. You feel the pod decelerating and the view outside the pod is blocked by the white hot plasma sheathing your pod as you fall. For long seconds you feel the pod slowing down suicidally quickly, the body of it straining to hold together with the steep plunge, but then it lessens. You can see outside the pod again. The sky is dark and you look to be coming down in a forested mountain area, quickly. When the pod slams into the ground you feel the locks on your armor release and the petals of the pod burst open releasing you. In the grav couch Antonia's restraints release but she doesn't move.

The pod has landed in a small clearing, maybe two hundred meters across. Your suit map tells you that you've landed approximately where you intended, a surprisingly accurate pod drop. The sky is dark and overcast, it's local night, only an hour until sunrise. The forest at the edge of the clearing is dense, the trees thirty to forty meters tall each with trunks two meters thick at the base. You can see evidence of ork habitation in the crudely felled trees that lay here and there, the pathetic stick figures carved into the trunks of others. That's when the smell hits, equal parts sweat, blood, shit, gunpowder, and decomp. Nothing but a bit of local wildlife stirs in the night. The only sound is the pinging and popping of the drop pod hull as it cools.

[Tyyr]

1920 Day 1 Mithras

Mithras' hands shot down to the grips of his heavy bolter as the pod released him. He drug the massive weapon out of its cradle and had it primed and ready even as the pod door dropped open. He took two step out and then one to the side, getting him clear of the opening as he swung his weapon back and forth, looking for a target. "Clear," he declared over the vox.

[Mikey]

1920

As Zirk's restraints released, he swept his pistols from their shoulder rigs and dashed down one of the exit ramps. His helmet speakers crackled, "Apothecary, check on the Inquisitor. I'll recce the to the south and west - Wolf Scout, take the north and east." The dull hum from Zirk's jump pack died as he powered down the unit, and he crept off silently to the south.

[Lighthawk]

1920

Khan leapt from his pod as soon as the restraints released, hammer in hand, and mind perched on the edge of contact with the warp. Seeing no immediate threats, he relaxed the grip on the hammer, even as he sent his thoughts streaming out to scout their surroundings.

"Clear," he voxed. He glanced over at Antonia. "Does she live?"

[Aaron]

1920 Day One:

Bjor leaps from his seat and bends over the form of Antonia, checking her for wounds and signs of life.

[Aaron]

1920 Day One:

Bjor straightens in the pod, "she is alive, no major injuries. She's just unconscious." Picking her up as a father might a small child, Bjor carries her out of the pod and sets her down just outside where she will be sheltered under the curve of the pods hull. He sinks down to one knee and draws his plasma pistol, ready to defend his patient if required.

[Tyyr]

1920 Day 1 Mithras

"It'll slow us down if we're forced to carry her," Mithras said. "She probably won't like not getting to poke around the fortress either."

[Lighthawk]

1920 Day 1

"Agreed," Khan said, moving to stand over the unconscious woman. "I might be able to wake her." He stretched out a hand, and a faint shimmer seemed to surround the armored gauntlet, pulsing like the beat of a heart.

[Tyyr]

1920 Day 1 Antonia

As Khan focused Antonia began to stir. After a moment she rolled onto her hands and knees then clambered up, raising the face plate of her visor. One gauntleted hand reached in to rub her eyes. "We either took a steeper trajectory or they didn't calibrate my grav couch properly." She pulled her hand away and took a deep breath then immediately gagged. "Ugh, it smells like orks." She slapped her visor shut with a clank. "Is everyone else fine?" she asked as she drew her sword and pistol.

[Lighthawk]

1920 Day 1

Khan nodded. "Yes, it was a good drop. We are alone, for the moment." He walked back to his own pod and retrieved the multi-melta, hoisting the weapon to his shoulder.

[Tyyr]

1921 Day 1 Antonia

"Good drop, of course," she said hesitantly. "Lets get moving, we want to get in and out as quickly as possible."

[Lighthawk]

1921 day 1

"Zirk, we are moving out," Khan voxed. "Is there anything of interest waiting for us?"

[Deepcrush]

1920

Cyrus waited, waited... still waiting... then the impact came. The pod touched down and opened. Cyrus burst from his position, scooped up his heavy bolter and raced out of the pod. After five meters, he halted to the North of the pod. "We are clear." Quickly stretching his joints, Cyrus grinned. "Good drops are always a welcome thing."

1921 day 1

"Zirk, we are moving out," Khan voxed. "Is there anything of interest waiting for us?"

Cyrus laughed. "I would bet safely that the enemy would be." Though the serious words couldn't hide the joking tone.

[Mikey]

1921 - "Khan, Zirk. Copy that. Tracks headed east, fairly fresh, indicate that we may be sitting on a patrol route. Hide the pod, I'm en route. Inquisitor - shall I follow the tracks or form up?"