Preparations

[Steven Trustrum]

I will start the game some time tomorrow in this thread. Check the rules thread for how we'll be playing.

[Steven Trustrum]

For reasons known to you and your Chapters, you have each been sent to the Inquisitorial Palace, on the planet of Talasa Prime, to serve in the Deathwatch of the mysterious Ordos Xenos of the Emperor's Inquisition. You have only been at the palace a short while, having first received your hypnotherapy regarding your duties and relevant subconscious training, and soon expect to be introduced to the other members of your Squad. Until then, you have each contented yourselves with continuing your studies in the schola and keeping your edge with other Deathwatch neophytes in the gymnasorium's training cages. You are spread out amongst these locales, or meditating in your cell or within one of the palace's many shrines to the Emperor, when you are each approached by an Inquisitorial serf, summoning you to one of the schola's many lecture rooms with immediate urgency. Each of you is unarmed and unarmed (save those in the gymnasorium, who will have access to training weapons), wearing only robes (at best) or loinclothes if training.

What do each of you do?

[Retias]

Kerr had been one of those in training when the call had come, ensuring his sword and bolter skills remain sharp in the time between combats and battle. The recent assignment to the Deathwatch was a chance to fight new foes and new battles and he took a keen satisfication in his preparations, knowing they and he would soon be put to the test and ensuring he was fit for the task.

The serf received a curt nod and the sword he'd practiced with was returned to its place, awaiting the next wielder in need of it. He padded down the halls and corridors in his simple loincloth, making quickly for where he'd been summoned and eager to see what task was being set now.

[MorioMortis]

The cold stone of the meditation cells is oddly comforting for Procel, but the sudden arrival of the serf momentarily breaks his concentration, and, rising from a deep state of meditation into a lesser one, quickly dresses in a simple robe, the hood obscuring his features. He then quietly makes his way to the appropriate hall, never breaking his meditation.

[BVrtis]

The vaulted ceilings of the fortress librarium echo with the whispered turnings of parchment pages and low conversations and the quiet hums of servo skulls as they roamed the aisles. The air is filled with the scent of candle smoke and incense and the lights are kept low to preserve the more fragile of the texts kept here. The hall radiates an air of quiet, intense study and it takes the serf several tries to rouse Fuegus from the documents spread out before him.
With a nod of thanks, he rose from the table, adjusting his still – novel Lexicanum robes and picking out a data slate for further study in his cell later. The rest would be gathered up by a servitor and replaced. He walked the halls towards the designated chamber, his head bent in study of the data slate he had taken with him and only halfway paying much attention to his path.

[Donikage]

Odgribin steps away from his heavybag, flashes his fanged grin at the serf, and booms, "Ho ho Servant of the Watch! Please tell me my cup or my blade will be stained this day! I'll follow you!" Feeling content in his loincloth, he walks with the serf, asking questions about the planet and the resident members of the Inquisition to pass time.

[jimmythand]

After spending some time in quiet study, Ramiel's temper grows short. Waiting does not suit him well. A training session with some other neophytes later, he returns to the librarium, content that he could let off some steam. Upon spotting the serf, he gives thanks to the Emperor that the time has finally come. "Lead the way, my good man," he says, looking the serf up and down. Along the way, Ramiel inquires about recent events in the sub-sector and the surrounding area.

[Kai Tave]

Acquire. Sight. Terminate.

Battle-Brother Nero Flavius, Adeptus Astartes of the Ultramarines, survivor of the Tyrannic Wars, and just recently called upon to serve in the Deathwatch at the behest of His Majesty's Holy Inquisition, recited the simple, meditative mantra to himself as he hefted the practice weapon designed to resemble a heavy bolter (albeit much lighter and not firing live rounds) and brought it to bear against a group of training servitors advancing upon his position.

Acquire. Sight. Terminate. Long burst sweeping left. Adjust for recoil.

The servitors slumped as they registered hits from the practice weapon, unable to return any fire of their own in time. He allowed himself a small moment of satisfaction before quickly turning to aim at another group moving in from the east of the practice cage that had been set up for combined squad training. Another group of Astartes dressed in loincloths similar to his own moved up into position as his heavy bolter cleared them a path through a winding and twisted obstacle course designed to resemble a city under siege.

Acquire. Sight. Terminate.

It was, he quietly admitted to itself, a far cry from the vaulted training halls of the Fortress of Hera upon Macragge. There the sound of bolter-fire and the clash of blades was almost like a hymn in its own right, echoing throughout the graceful triumph of his Primarch's will. There was a small part of him too that missed the camaraderie of his Battle-Brothers...but to be called to serve in the Deathwatch was an honor, and if the price for that honor was being separated from his homeworld and Chapter for the duration of his service then it was a small one to pay. For this would be a chance to prove his worth against the toughest, most dangerous foes that the Imperium of Mankind faced amongst the stars. A million worlds, untold trillions of people, and from all sides they faced death and destruction at the hands of the greenskin Orks, the treacherous Eldar...

Acquire. Sight. Terminate.

...the Tyrranids...

Acquire. Sight. Terminate.

Gritting his teeth at his momentary distraction, Nero chided himself over his lapse in control and removed his finger from the trigger before he could waste any more ammunition on targets that, were he firing live rounds, would have already been reduced to shreds of flesh and bone. Ahead of him the other Astartes had carved their way towards the objective at the end of the course, planting and priming a simulated melta-bomb upon the designated target and bringing the exercise to an end.

A presence approaching from behind and to the left caused him to whirl around and bring his weapon to bear with automatic precision, his finger tightening on the trigger before he realized that he wasn't sighting down on another servitor but a serf, his robes bearing the gilt symbol of the Inquisition. Just as automatically he lowered his weapon as the serf informed him that his presence was required immediately. A brief surge of pride swelled through him as he realized this could only mean that he had been called upon for a mission...he and the Astartes who he would soon be assigned with as Battle-Brothers.

Nodding his acknowledgment and thanking the serf for the message, he quickly handed his weapon off to another servitor to be replaced, taking a data slate from another serf as he left the training area to review his performance as he made his way towards the lectorum. 47 confirmed kills, three retaliatory hits upon his person which would have been deflected by his armour had he been wearing it. He frowned as he walked...only 47 kills. Clearly more practice was still called for.

[Retias]

Kerr looked around with a broad smile, nodding to the others in turn. "Brothers! Hail to you, a honour to meet and to stand with you all!" He chuckled confidently. "It'll be good to taste combat again, I thirst for new challenge."

[barkman]

Roland kneeling in the center of the mat, waited for the sound that would signify the attack of the servitors upon him. The barest brush of someone's robe against their ankle sounded like the rush of a hurricane wind to Roland. In a single move, he stood, caught the servitor and tossed him into the one who started to attack him from the opposite side. Dropping into a low crouch, a spinning backfist moved where he had been, as if in slow motion. With a looping sweep, he knocked two of the servitors down, including the one who had started the backfist at him. 4 down, 4 to go, he counted in his head. Taking the momentum of the sweep, he front rolls over his shoulder coming up under a servitor wielding a staff, and plants both feet into the servitor's chest, and pushes with his legs, heaving the servitor off the mat, coming down with a sickening crunch. Roland's momentum momentarily negated he springs up into a fighting stance, one leg bent in front of him, weight on the balls of his feet. Two servitors stood in front of him, each swinging a sword in a tight pattern, interlocking the paths of the blades to prevent him from getting in between them. Once again using the power of his legs, Roland springs up and over the servitors, both hands going out wide to crash down on to the top of their heads, dropping them like bags of cement. Roland drops to the mat again into a front roll, bleeding off his momentum, and carrying him to where the last servitor should stand,coming up with a tremendously strong blow under the servitor's chin. The servitor's eyes roll up into the back of his head, and he drops. Roland bows to his opponents and returns to the center of the mat, before noticing the Inquisitorial Serf.

He makes his way to where the serf stands, moving over the bodies of the servitor with a panther's grace. He is careful not to the touch the serf, taking the scroll and nodding that he has received it. He then walks over to the long line of hanging robes, takes on down, and proceeds on his way to the meeting place.

[BVrtis]

Fuegus smiles as he tucks the datapad into the folds of his robe. His red eyes scan the others in the room as he takes his seat and returns Kerr's greeting. "It's good to meet you all. I look forward to serving with you."

[Steven Trustrum]

As you each enter the lectorum, you are greeted by the penetrating, violet stare of a woman dressed in what appears to be a stylish (and decadently expensive) blend of what passes for a dark scarlet and black noblewoman's dress in most hive city high-societies, and a military-cut uniform of indeterminable origins. She is tall for her gender, and either slightly overweight or somewhat muscled--you cannot tell for certain because of her clothing. Her skin is milky, almost ghostly pail, especially in contrast to her copper hair. You suspect she has undertaken some body sculpting, making her age impossible to discern.

"I am Inquistor Callista Emeriallus of the Order Xenos, and you are the kill-team assigned to me for the foreseeable future, codename Scourge. You shall be under my immediate supervision and control for the duration of your current assignment to the Deathwatch. For some of you this is an honor, for others a means to an end, but for all it is a commitment to which you are now all tied and, through that commitment, chained to my duties and will."

She pauses for a moment, letting her eyes wander across you all in turn, willing you to sit in the semi-circle of Space Marine-sized chairs facing her, waiting to see if any of you will dare speak.

[MorioMortis]

From the back of the group, Procel, barely raising his head, calmly answers lady Emeriallus. "By your very presence within these walls, you must be a person of great faith, and I do not question this. However, your rank of Inquisitor has yet to be proven; our loyalty lies with the Adeptus and the Ordo, and by extension, it's recognized representatives, and if you are truly what you pretend, than you must know that no branch of the Imperium is impervious to the agents of the warp, even the holy Inquisition and the mighty Astartes. Therefore, I shall gladly serve your cause to death and beyond if you would only prove the legitimacy of your request."

[Kai Tave]

[Retias]

Kerr falls silent and folds his arms as the Inquistior announces herself and two of the other Astartes in the room respond to that, one with a challenge of her authority, the other with acknowledgment of it. He had no doubts that she was who she said she was and any worthy task would be undertaken eagerly. He did want to see how she responded to the reminder that the kill team served a greater master, as did she.

But he had little interest in politics or wrangling and so he remained silent, with a simple chuckle of amusement at the situation.

[jimmythand]

Ramiel felt his temper flaring again, but reminded himself that he was here to find peace and purpose. "What's our target?" he asked cutting right to the chase.

He immediately reminded himself that she was his superior in this endeavor, "My apologies for being so direct."

After the apology, Ramiel started one of the many mantras taught to him to find some peace.

[barkman]

Roland snapped to attention as the Inquisitor started talking, her authority hitting him like a slap to the face. He could sense and feel the waves of corruption that the Inquisitor had fought through, but he couldn't get rid of the idea in his mind that corruption had stuck to this woman. A barely perceptible quiver of his arms was all that would be noticed by an observer, but the thought to clean the heretic, just to be sure, was running through his mind.

[BVrtis]

Fuegus cocked a eye brefly at the hooded seaker in the back. A prudent move perhaps, but here in the fortress itself? Did the questioner really believe that the woman before them may be an imposter? Or was it a matter of something else in the mind of this questioner? A desire to see enemies wherever he looks, this could be an issue.
Working on the assumption that the woman already knew who he was, Fuegus addressed the others in the room. "I am Lexicanum Fuegus Pyria, I represent the Salamanders' contribution to the Inquisition's mssion here."

[Steven Trustrum]

Anyone else want to introduce themselves before I move on? Also, I found some Chapter avatars for those of you who were still lacking, so don't be surprised if you now have one.

[Steven Trustrum]

Eying you all as she continues unphased, the Inquisitor steps over to the chamber's lectern and manipulates its controls. A glass-topped pillar rises before her, stopping at about waste level, and then the lights dim. A fluorescent green image of galaxy is projected into the air, spinning, with Holy Terra at its center. Indicating the "eastern" edge of the Segmentum Ultima , another star system begins to glow.

"We shall soon be leaving here, Talasa Prime, and embarking on my cruiser, the Resolute Vindication, for the Jericho Reach." Her finger moves to the projection's eastern fringe, at which point the image also scans and zooms in upon the location. "Although long forgotten by most of humanity since the Great Crusade, events of the last century or so have renewed interest in the region. Through years of analysis and investigation I need not go into here, I have detected a pattern of xenos activity within the Reach that does not bode well for the Empire of Man."

Pausing, she lifts her gaze and views you all in turn.

"Our duty, then, is to leave for the Reach immediately and uncover and unravel this xenos plot. Unfortunately, the Order Xenos has classified this mission as being of the utmost secrecy, meaning we shall avoid contact with all other Imperial forces, including that of the Reach's primary Deathwatch fortress, Erioch. Instead, we will be taking greater than normal resources with us and shall have to claim our own base of operations or make do with the Resolute Vindication alone."

She then returns to the lectern, resulting in the light levels returning to their original, brighter levels, and the projection pillar once again receding into the floor.

"Normally you would be given weeks, if not months, to train as a unit and come together as a squad, but that is a luxury the importance of this mission will not allow for. Gather your wargear and gird your resolve. We leave in 18 hours. Be in the landing bat to meet the shuttle in 14."

With that she crosses her gloved hands behind her back and leaves the room.

[jimmythand]

"Finally, some action," Ramiel exclaims. "Let's put those filthy Xenos down in the name of the Emperor."

He stands up, takes a look at the other battle-brothers, and starts off towards his room.

On the way there he tries to remember the recent conflicts plaguing the Jericho Reach and which Xenos have been sighted in the area. Common Lore (War) and Forbidden Lore (Xenos)

[MorioMortis]

"Your nature remains unproven, but, for the sake of my brothers and the Imperium, I will accompany you on this endeavor. If you and my brothers will permit it, I shall give the Omnissiah's blessing to your wargear and our vessel before we depart." Procel anwsers, still standing at the back of the group, waiting for permission to proceed with the sacred rituals of the Mechanicus.

Meanwhile, Procel attempts to remember anything related to the Reach or a xeno plot now or during the Great Crusade. Common Lore (Imperium), Common Lore (Adeptus Astartes) and Forbidden Lore (Xenos).

[Retias]

Kerr grinned widely. "A dangerous and powerful enemy! We'll see them broken across our knee when this is finished!" He beamed broadly, taking a delight in what he saw coming. "Your trust is well placed, we'll be sure to succeed."

He glances over to Procel, giving a respectful, grateful nod. "I'll permit, and I'm honoured by your aid Techmarine." He did wonder why the other marine displayed no Chapter colours and what his past had been, but it was his choice and he'd seen prove how worthy he truly was when battle begun, markings or no markings.

The Storm Warden also considered what he knew of the Reach and the conflicts there.

Common Lore War and Forbidden Lore Xenos.

[Kai Tave]

[BVrtis]

Fuegus studied his folded hands while listening to Nero's concerns. "Perhaps the Inquisitor fears a subtle threat. Onethat has the potential to have compromised the local forces but has not spread out beyond the Reach. I believe (Confirming with Forbidden Lore:Xenos) that there are those in the galaxy that can work their will on the minds and actions of man, possibly without the man even knowing it. Maybe she fears the possibility of some alien influence among the Imperial forces there."
Fuegus stood, smoothing out his robes. "We may find that we are the only ones we can trust in the Jericho Reach."

As he made to leave, Fegus turne to the hooded Techmarine, "I would greatly appreciate the rites of the Mechanicus that you can provide. I try to keep my gear in as good condtion as I can, but as they say, steel is not tempered in a single step."

Fuegus left for his cell, sending a request for his bolter and data on the Jericho reach. Speaking with Aktur before boarding would be good as well, there may be some things that he as missed.

Common Lore imperum to find useful data. I'd like to use my Solo Mode ability to give my bolter Proven (2). Also, would you want any conversation with Aktur just handled by me or as a sperate thread/PM exchange?

[barkman]

Roland stood in rapt attention as the mission briefing was played. The thought of facing a xeno invasion made his very soul cry out for redemption.
After the Inquisitor left the room, Roland turned to his brothers " This secrecy bothers me as well, brethren. I would worry about the fact that none of the other servants of the Emperor would have access or knowledge to this mission. It would lead me to believe that our Inquisitor fears others in her organization finding this information out through dirty psyker tricks. If the Emperor was against this mission, I am sure we would know it in our very souls. "
Facing the Techmarine, "Brother, I would ask for you to beseech the OmniMessiah for his blessings on my equipment"

[Kai Tave]

[Steven Trustrum]

[Steven Trustrum]

Okay, so if Procel is willing he can go over everyone's gear. You'll only have the equipment on your character sheets. Other than this, does anyone have anything they want to do before you are to report to meet your shuttle?

[Retias]

Kerr waves a hand, not seeming too worried by their Inquistior's manner. "The Inquistion never trusts anyone, no matter who or what they are." He chuckles. "I doubt she trusts herself, and she'll suspect even us. Her paranoia shouldn't matter though. We have enemies to destroy and as long as our tasks serve the Emperor and are worthy of us, I have no issue."

He gave a confident nod. "We're the Adeptus Astartes, we already know we'll succeed."

Kerr is set to go once Procel's checked his equipment.