Session 14: Face to Face with Darkness

With the strange voice calling us forward, we take the elevator down to what I'm guessing was the Bridge of what at this point, I'm assuming was a Titan. This conclusion was supported by Veck if not overly stated without out right saying it. The bridge held five seats and only one was occupied, the center seat. This belonged to the Princeps, who had passed from the mortal coil long ago. Of course I had no idea what a Princeps was, but Veck was kind enough to fill in the gaps of knowledge we had. But as he was explaining things to us, he suddenly stopped and began to shudder. Later we would discover that the Machine Spirit of the Titan we were standing in was still quite active and determined to finish his mission.
 
Once Veck came out of his trance, which was only a minute or two, the floor began to shake and we were violently tossed around the bridge as the Titan came to life rising from the briny deep. At that moment I remembered the words scribed in Thrungg's journal: "Hekate's champion will rise from the briny deep..." And at that moment I began to panic as I knew the Dei-Phage had been freed. The blast shield for the windows of the bridge opened and I looked around to see if the hands of the Titan were still closed. Imagine my surprise when I found two cannons and no hands. Obviously it was a misunderstanding from Thrungg, I think he meant to say "heart" and not "hand" but that wasn't important, the location of the Dei-Phage was.
 
Luckily, or unluckily, my concerns were justified as we saw the Dei-Phage come into view across the windows. Frantically we all waited as Veck looked for operational weaponry. And of course the only weapon that was operational was the Quake Cannon sitting in the Cathedral, what I would assume was the precipice of the Titan. The same Quake Cannon that was blocked with debris. At that moment, the Titan began to move through the sea heading towards some target. I had a suspicion of the target location, but my major concern at this time was the Dei-Phage.
 
Braxton and Arathus volunteered to clear the debris while the rest of us stayed in the bridge observing the situation. I felt an uneasiness and decided to take council from Goldie. Yes, yes, asking a doll for advice seems ludicrous, but we were in a lost Titan about to face a monstrous creature so I figured it couldn't hurt. Goldie pointed towards the lift directing us to join Braxton and Arathus. Braxton saw this and tried to close the doors, but luckily we were faster than the machine's mechanisms.
 
Luckily indeed as the moment we left the lift, the room began to shift and morph into a library with shelves of books surrounding us. All of these shelves were on fire, though the fire did not burn us. A figure of a man covered in flame ran into the room and cried out with what I assume was his dying breath, "Say his true name." At that we began to search the shelves for any clues to the Dei-Phage's true name. Our first attempts were interrupted by a fiery visage that appeared to have the same form as that of the Dei-Phage. It threw balls of fire in our direction but missed. Attempts to shoot it were fruitless.
 
Once we were able to compose ourselves, we once again searched the library. Three of us found books that I was able to cross reference to discover at least part of the foul beast true name. I tried to say the name, but my throat seized up and my voice was lost. Veck also tried and failed. Luckily Yarn was able to say the name and we were transported to the Naive in the Cathedral. It would appear as though the Emperor's grace was with us this day.
 
When we looked outside, a new horror awaited us. The Dei-Phage was performing some sort of ritual that opened a pathway allowing horrific beast to spill out of it. At the sight of this, Braxton and Arathus headed to the cannon to clear the debris. The rest of us fended off the beast that were sent to stop them. Braxton and Arathus had some issues removing the debris, so once the minion of the Dei-Phage had fallen, Yarn went to assist them. This did the trick and the cannon was now free of debris. Veck set up the cannon and directed it to fire, but it required a physical activation. I ran to the panel, under instruction from Veck, and pressed the fire button. The cannon fired, but also exploded, launching us all in various directions. We all came to our feet to find the Dei-Phage standing, singed and injured where the Quake Cannon once stood. All of us prepared for the battle of our life. I drew the bolter we found with the body inside the Titan and took aim. And then, well I'm embarrassed to say this, but I don't know what happened after that. I appeared to have passed out and come to once the foul beast was slain. My clothes were partially burned off in places and the gun was not fired as all the rounds were still in it. But that wasn't important. We were still moving and the Titan was about to make landfall.
 
Watching helplessly, we saw the Titan heading toward the destination I hoped and feared he would, the Gilded Cathedral. It destroyed buildings and stomped on citizens indiscriminately as it approached its target. Once there, it unloaded a plasma charge that melted the entire building so that nothing remained but that hidden below the shroud. I knew there was something off about this place, but I still felt a small bit of pain for those that died that may have been innocent.
 
The Titan instructed us to go down and witness the proof hidden by the black sepulcher. The device lit up once exposed to the Barsapine night sky and suddenly a video played before us. A group of people looking like members of the Ecclesiarchy were talking. They called themselves the Maledictor's Hand. They were performing some sort of ritual. They spoke about cleansing the Calixis Sector with a religious cataclysm and placing clergy in power that were from their group. Apparently this was their last gathering before setting their plan into motion. The prominent figure had his eyes on the Deaconship of the Cathedral of Illumination. He apparently was on his way to becoming a cardinal. They also talked of a secret code they would use amongst themselves to identify their members. As he was about to reveal more information when the man was interrupted by another hooded figure. Apparently the one recording this secret meeting was discovered. The Inquisitor Devayne I would assume given our previous knowledge. The man leading the Maledictor's Hand turned and revealed himself to be none other than Arch-Cardinal Ignatio, the current authority over the Ecclesiarchy within the Calixis Sector. But he was not the face that caught my attention. It was HIM. I saw him. He was there. I would never forget that face, though I had seen him aged, his cold dead eyes were the same. The anger within me swelled and at that moment the picture fades out and the pict-file was gone.
 
The proof of the corruption I knew existed, gone. The proof that I was not mad, gone. The proof I could use to set my family free, gone. Lost to time as the Black Sepulcher subsided to the ages. All we are left with is a destroyed "jewel" of the Barsapine system and an age old Titan lost in time and dead in the water. This will be fun to fill out a report over. I believe it's time we find physical evidence of the Dei-Phage or we might be in trouble.