Session XVII: Catch! - Report
General Summary
In the manner of Douglas Adams: The Tech-Priest fell in slow motion, maybe from a point of everyone's perception, maybe because the gravity on the collapsing planet was fickle at best. In any case this gave Rasp an inordinate amount of time to contemplate the nature of himself, others and the situation he found himself in. A million thoughts could of gone through the feverishly loyal and devout member of the Mechanicus' brain but in the end as shadow of the most bulging and green member of his crew eclipsed him all he could think was 'Oh no, not again.'
Back to my normal storytelling voice... mostly: It was without a doubt to the tech adept that Ani had missed her shot with the grapnel on purpose and this was all some clever ploy to either kill him or subject him to being manhandled in the form of a rescue by a filthy xenos; possibly both with the bone crushingly strong embrace of Murk the Ork as he sailed through the dying gravity of the planet's atmosphere.
For being such a loveable dimwit the Ork certainly knew how to look graceful swan diving out of a moving lander. In any case with a half pirouette the big creature grabbed hold of both the limp grapnel and the quickly descending Mechanicus. Kicking and smacking him the entire time, Rasp pummeled at the large Ork, preferring almost certain death to the current proximity he now maintained to the heaving chest of his savior.
The ever present and steadfast friend of everyone and everything, Stig had taken ahold of the grapnel on the handle end of things up in the lander as the lithe Eldar woman who fumbled the initial shot would of likely been dragged out of the ship the same of almost anyone and likewise fallen to her doom had the big man not stepped in. The pure unadulterated action hero quality in which both Stig and Murk operated when things needed to be done happened so quickly and in sync with one another that it almost made others believe that the two did in fact share some strange psychic link that Stig kept going on about. The mania passed quickly as Stig opened his mouth and spoke proving he did not possess the mental stamina needed for such awesome powers, though his strange dreams along with Murk's uncanny sense of what the other masses of Orks were thinking was uncanny.
After everyone was pulled up onto the lander it was full speed ahead back to the "Eternal Perdition" as Bjorn set the autopilot so the team could discuss the concerns of the day. It seemed like there was some disagreement about where the team should go next, how to get there and whether or not the methods available would be safe and or worth it. In any case a myriad of topics were discussed including the new polyhedral object that the crew had collected while on the now destroyed planet Illisk, which Stig had named Poly while no one was looking. The Yu'Vath orb now named Simon by our resident friend maker also was brought up a number of times. In the end it was Isaac that made the point that they had struck a deal with Simon and that going back or delaying keeping their word could be a rather detrimental mistake and this could be the perfect opportunity to get rid of the large menacing blue orb.
Simon's antics on the ship were in fact getting out of control as when the command crew returned aboard their ship Simon spoke to them through the ship's PA system casting the vox to all corners of the ship tipping off the crew that some entity, and not just the machine spirit was on board and in control of systems that could potentially threaten their lives. Simon demanded that all haste be made to the area of the Accursed Demnse known as the Processional of the Damned. The message and it's intent were found to be disturbing by the crew and potential upheaval and unease were the common conditions of the crew. As a result Bjorn called for the officers to meet at the mess so that he could give direct orders to his men and make sure they understood who was in charge.
He laid out the plan and while the captain and his command crew behind him appeared to be calm and in control one of the most wizened of his officers stepped forward, very distraught after hearing of plans to jump to the Processional of the Damned. He warned Bjorn and everyone present that the Processional was not a natural place and that those that visited it were never heard from again. Some chiropteran horror lurked out there in the darkness and it would claim them as easily as anyone should they foolishly venture into one of the most notorious and arcane places in the galaxy. The other officers murmured among themselves for a brief moment, mirroring the XO's concerns and making illusions to disobeying orders should the captain wish to proceed.
Rasp had heard quite enough, dereliction of duty was a clear breach of the Omniscian code and was punishable by death on the lathe worlds which he came from from. So he did just that, the red robed man quickly stepped forward pulled his las pistol from beneath his garments and fired at the man who had spoken up. The crewman of many years, long before Bjorn has ever received his Writ of Trade, hit the metal grating unceremoniously as the Tech-Adept asked if any others felt of a similar nature. The remaining officers backed away quickly, hands raised in surrender not wanted to illicit the ire of the hair triggered priest of Mars.
Men returned to their stations shaken but willing to get their jobs done, at least for the time being. Engines were stoked, machines spirits roused to action and the crew made a smooth transition to the warp quickly and efficiently with the help of Isaac. The psychic navigator had become quite adept at finding the astronomicon and discovering usable warp lanes and today was no different as the man found stable path after stable path.
Although the ship transitioned into the Warp with ease it did not change the fact that Warp paths may be stable but they are not without their hazards. The route that had been selected put them on course to traverse some warp shoals and reefs unexpectedly. Bjorn did what he could to avoid them and managed to steer the ship around them without loosing the warp lane or splitting the ship open. A net positive in both cases.
When the "Eternal Perdition" transitioned back into reality and the crew got a look at why this area was so forbidden. Oceans of derelicts, millions of millions of vessels hung suspended in the void, unmoving, utterly stagnant and devoid of any signs of life. Ani was immediately worried as her psychic powers warned her every fiber that something was off. If the warp was palpable in some places of the void then fate and time were as such here.
Simon was ecstatic or at least you assume so as any blue pulsing orb is notoriously hard to read. He requested that the crew allow him to reach his brother immediately. He sensed his sibling close to the inner part of the system passing through near endless seas of wrecks and hulks with emperor knows what inside them. The psychic members of the crew could feel an eldritch terror coiled and waiting.
Isaac reached out to pinpoint Simon's 'brother' but he felt something snap psychically as he did so. Whatever was waiting out in the darkness knew they were there now. The lander was offered to Simon to placate him and get him off the ship without sending any of the crew into the jaws of death and darkness. Simon accepted and removed himself from the Orbiary for perhaps the last time. The giant ball of warp energy made it's way to the hanger slowly but while he did so the ever cunning, sometimes to his own detriment, Rasp sabotaged the lander to fail after if had gotten a decent range away from the "Eternal Perdition".
The lander left the hanger and everyone collectively held their breath as the malign orb left their presence and proceeded into the darkness. He had become a growing problem and maybe they were finally getting rid of one rather than gaining more. As the lander was getting to the edges of their scanners Rasps trap was sprung. The lander suddenly went dark and drifted listlessly, bumping into the shattered debris of other destroyed craft. While the couldn't hear him the crew could psychically feel the rage of the Yu'Vath as he was at the mercy of fate. The pushed around ships and debris jumbled around a bit and clanged off each other until a strange nearly unseen wave of entropy flashed across the area, freezing everything in place once again. The crew wasted no more time, leaving Simon behind to whatever fate had transpired to the other ships here they charted a new course to Damaris and took off immediately breathing a sigh of relief to be rid of him.
Isaac was able to even more accurately predict the peculiarities of the warp and moved the ship into the Damaris sector with little trouble. Once there Bjorn asked that Ani reveal why they had come, a secret only the two of them had shared up to this point. The Eldar woman was quick to supply what details she could and revealed that the fabled "Spear of Khaine" was somewhere below on the embattled planet of Damaris. Supposedly the spear had the ability to destroy anything that was stabbed by it and Ani was planning to either stab the Prince of Chaos with it herself or hand it off to someone who would fulfill such a prophecy.
The crew looked on at the situation before them, a system in the throws of an Ork invasion both on the ground and in the void above and no idea where to start looking for a weapon that could easily destroy anyone of anything. Sounds like the complications for the crew haven't ended after all.
Rewards Granted
+6 xp
69 total xp
Ani +8xp (previous logs)
Bjorn +8xp (previous logs)
Isaac +4xp (previous logs and hidden plot found)
Murk +6xp (previous logs)
Rasp +1xp (previous haikus)
Stig +7xp (previous logs)
Missions/Quests Completed
Grasping hands from every corner of the Void - Part 1 & Part 2 complete Part 3 (begun)
Ani - Getting past the visions of the future (Part 1 complete, Part 2 - begun)
Bjorn - Darktide (begun - Part 1, optional objective 1 failed, Part 2 - In process)
Isaac - The god-machine (Part 1 & 2 complete, Part 3 - In process)
Murk - A tail of two Waaagh! (begun, optional object 1 failed, Part 2 - begun)
Rasp - Children of the Machine (begun - detoured - critical)
Stig - The Jungles of Ash (begun - detoured - Objective 1 failed, Part 2 - In process)
Character(s) interacted with
Simon
Crew officers of the "Eternal Perdition"
Related Reports
Session XVI
Stig
Stig
Species
Career
Militant
B
4
A
3
I
2
C
2
W
2
P
2
Wounds
21/21
Strain
13/13
Soak
8
Defence
M1/R1
Murc Boilah-Krusha
Murc
Species
Career
Ork
Ork
B
5
A
3
I
1
C
2
W
3
P
2
Wounds
0/26
Strain
4/13
Soak
9
Defence
M1/R1
Rasputin
Rasp
Species
Career
Forge World
Chiurgeon
B
3
A
3
I
4
C
2
W
3
P
1
Wounds
/13
Strain
/13
Soak
4
Defence
M1/R1
Vanirach
Vanirach (Ani)
Species
Career
Eldar
First-Mate/Interpreter
B
2
A
3
I
3
C
2
W
2
P
2
Wounds
1/12
Strain
0/12
Soak
6
Defence
M1/R1
Report Date
03 Jan 2021
Primary Location
Secondary Location
Comments