Capitulus Decum: The Belly of the Beast
- Grimbold
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- Title: Professor
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Pax Macharia: Moderati Quarters
"You are wise, Damien. I shall attempt to find something on the device." He takes it with a mechadendrite and then, humming some mantra, goes to work.
- RorytheRomulan
- Level 12
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- Location: US
Pax Macharia: Moderati Quarters
Meanwhile, at his insistence, Merica takes the bolt pistol and secures it somewhere among the rest of her gear.
- Vardaen
- Admin
- Posts: 66394
- Location: Miskatonic University
- Title: Great Old One
- User Class: Unshackled AI
Pax Macharia: Moderati Quarters
Merica takes the bolt pistol, it is a high quality weapon and everyone agrees that leaving it here to rot would be a crime. She checks the chamber, clears and cleans it a moment with a cloth and then inspects the ammo. There are seven rounds in the magazine, each one bears a mark of the Elecciarchry of Terra! These rounds are Sanctified, and no doubt will lay a daemon low if used against such creatures of the warp.
Damien has to give the vid recorder to Haxtes twice. The Tech Priest then inspects it and finds it damaged. He easily adjusts it and plays back the last recording. The vox-record plays back the static filled message of a desperate man. His voice weary but determined.
“My name is Tauron Hekate. No, that’s a lie. My last words shan’t be a lie. My name is Barabus Zanatov. I came to Barsapine in service of Inquisitor DeVayne, whose faith and strength I admire even more in these last days. I do not have his will, but I carry his mission."
“The evidence he entrusted to my care was safely within a cypher and in my hands. Unfortunately, the process for unlocking its secrets were not. The details of what brought me to this place are inconsequential. Should a loyal servant of the Imperium of Mankind find this recording, know this... the Dei-Phage does not wish the secrets I nearly decyphered to be brought to light."
“I am pursued by agents of the ruinous powers, men who hide among the flock of the faithful. My ruse, masquerading as a noble here, served me well this last decade. I have nearly bankrupted the fortunes gathered by my family’s warrant. It was worth it. The Black Sepulchre was built, the evidence nearly decoded. That’s when they caught up to me."
“They have taken my Black Sepulchre. Unable to dismantle it they took the land to raise up a new monastery. If they manage to block the night sky, the translation will not proceed."
“The Daemon, I can’t forget the Daemon. It spoke to us all, calls itself the God-Eater. Promised us... everything. I resisted but not all of my servants did. It’s talking to me now. I won’t listen."
“I’ve asked one last thing of my old friend, the Magos has brought to arms this machine. This last chance to prevent the fall of all of Barsapine. This last chance to stop the Dei-Phage."
“I will not see the battle through. I cannot. It wages even now, but should the Daemon take my mind I will be too dangerous to the cause. Uncover the Black Sepulchre marked on the Princeps‘ maps, learn the truth I could not discover."
“Emperor Protect us all.”
A single explosive shot from a bolt pistol is the last noise from the vox-record.
“My name is Tauron Hekate. No, that’s a lie. My last words shan’t be a lie. My name is Barabus Zanatov. I came to Barsapine in service of Inquisitor DeVayne, whose faith and strength I admire even more in these last days. I do not have his will, but I carry his mission."
“The evidence he entrusted to my care was safely within a cypher and in my hands. Unfortunately, the process for unlocking its secrets were not. The details of what brought me to this place are inconsequential. Should a loyal servant of the Imperium of Mankind find this recording, know this... the Dei-Phage does not wish the secrets I nearly decyphered to be brought to light."
“I am pursued by agents of the ruinous powers, men who hide among the flock of the faithful. My ruse, masquerading as a noble here, served me well this last decade. I have nearly bankrupted the fortunes gathered by my family’s warrant. It was worth it. The Black Sepulchre was built, the evidence nearly decoded. That’s when they caught up to me."
“They have taken my Black Sepulchre. Unable to dismantle it they took the land to raise up a new monastery. If they manage to block the night sky, the translation will not proceed."
“The Daemon, I can’t forget the Daemon. It spoke to us all, calls itself the God-Eater. Promised us... everything. I resisted but not all of my servants did. It’s talking to me now. I won’t listen."
“I’ve asked one last thing of my old friend, the Magos has brought to arms this machine. This last chance to prevent the fall of all of Barsapine. This last chance to stop the Dei-Phage."
“I will not see the battle through. I cannot. It wages even now, but should the Daemon take my mind I will be too dangerous to the cause. Uncover the Black Sepulchre marked on the Princeps‘ maps, learn the truth I could not discover."
“Emperor Protect us all.”
A single explosive shot from a bolt pistol is the last noise from the vox-record.
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring
- RorytheRomulan
- Level 12
- Posts: 1842
- Location: US
Pax Macharia: Moderati Quarters
Albeit unwieldy, the bolt pistol may come in handy sooner than they thought. Maybe the recoil glove will control its explosive temperament... When the recording finishes, she opens the chamber of the weapon again, and recounts the ammo. "No wonder."
She calls out to the Titan's pilot now, who must be observing them. "Princeps, we are ready. Will you lead us to the Sepulchre?"
She calls out to the Titan's pilot now, who must be observing them. "Princeps, we are ready. Will you lead us to the Sepulchre?"
- Grimbold
- Moderator
- Posts: 10309
- Location: Austria
- Title: Professor
- User Class: Scholar
Pax Macharia: Moderati Quarters
Haxtes listens unmoved by the story. "Conjecture: We need to uncover the Black Sepulchre marked on the Princeps' maps." He scans his dataslate for the maps or tries to find a screen where they could see a map.
- ManWithDoor
- Moderator
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- Location: California, USA
- Title: Imperial Psyker
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Pax Macharia: Moderati Quarters
"Your conjecture appears sound, or at least the Acolyte was convinced." Damien takes the time to perform a quiet invocation to the God-Emperor to watch over the soul of Barabus Zanatov, who sacrificed himself that he would not be corrupted. He died pure in his convictions and faith, that those who were yet to come would have a chance at victory.
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."
- Vardaen
- Admin
- Posts: 66394
- Location: Miskatonic University
- Title: Great Old One
- User Class: Unshackled AI
Pax Macharia: Against All Odds
Merica calls up into the Princep and almost at once a voice calls through the PA System "“Enginseers Excellar to the Bridge.”
It repeats itself over and over until you make your way to the Bridge. You head to the bridge hurrying along.
Dozens of pict screens throughout the room spring to life. Each shows a drawn and pale man hunched in a command throne. Even at a glance, the augmentics are identical—this can only be a recording of the individual whose corpse now sits behind you in the command chair of the bridge.
A mechanical voice booms through out the room, “Brace — drives engaging!” You have scant moments to grasp handholds and the edges of consoles before the entire room lurches violently.
With a deafening hiss and burst of static, the pict screens switch to showing myriad vid-feeds from points within the structure, the cathedral above, and the surrounding grounds. As you watch, cracks split the earth around the cathedral, the soil shuddering and falling away. Before your eyes, the cliff-face begins to disintigrate, collapsing into the surrounding ocean.
You can feel the floor lifting and shifting beneath your feet, as a deep, terrible groan reverberates through the structure. “Primary drive-train engaged. Power at 38 percent.” the voice says tonelessly.
The adamantium shutters at the front of the room suddenly clatter open, allowing you to see out of the viewports. Rocks and dirt block the outer frames, but even as you watch it sloughs away, revealing a grey, leaden sky and the expanse of the ocean. The horizon seems to be moving. Peering out the veiwports, you realize that the cathedral and entire structure beneath it are somehow rising into the air as the remains of the cliff sink into the waves around you. Massive arms—encrusted in barnacles and covered in sea-bed silt—rise out of the water on either side.
The machine finishes straightening, and bone-shaking seige-sirens blare—the sound flattening the ocean and nearly deafening you. Then the voice speaks again. “Primary reactor core lit. Weapons at 17 percent capacity. Motive-power at 27 percent standard. Imperator Titan Pax Macharia...operational.”
It repeats itself over and over until you make your way to the Bridge. You head to the bridge hurrying along.
Dozens of pict screens throughout the room spring to life. Each shows a drawn and pale man hunched in a command throne. Even at a glance, the augmentics are identical—this can only be a recording of the individual whose corpse now sits behind you in the command chair of the bridge.
A mechanical voice booms through out the room, “Brace — drives engaging!” You have scant moments to grasp handholds and the edges of consoles before the entire room lurches violently.
With a deafening hiss and burst of static, the pict screens switch to showing myriad vid-feeds from points within the structure, the cathedral above, and the surrounding grounds. As you watch, cracks split the earth around the cathedral, the soil shuddering and falling away. Before your eyes, the cliff-face begins to disintigrate, collapsing into the surrounding ocean.
You can feel the floor lifting and shifting beneath your feet, as a deep, terrible groan reverberates through the structure. “Primary drive-train engaged. Power at 38 percent.” the voice says tonelessly.
The adamantium shutters at the front of the room suddenly clatter open, allowing you to see out of the viewports. Rocks and dirt block the outer frames, but even as you watch it sloughs away, revealing a grey, leaden sky and the expanse of the ocean. The horizon seems to be moving. Peering out the veiwports, you realize that the cathedral and entire structure beneath it are somehow rising into the air as the remains of the cliff sink into the waves around you. Massive arms—encrusted in barnacles and covered in sea-bed silt—rise out of the water on either side.
The machine finishes straightening, and bone-shaking seige-sirens blare—the sound flattening the ocean and nearly deafening you. Then the voice speaks again. “Primary reactor core lit. Weapons at 17 percent capacity. Motive-power at 27 percent standard. Imperator Titan Pax Macharia...operational.”
[/center]
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring
- RorytheRomulan
- Level 12
- Posts: 1842
- Location: US
Pax Macharia: Against All Odds
Merica takes a knee briefly to steady herself and rise, not wanting to tamper with the columns of data storage inside the room. Perhaps the room beyond - observation area? - has more to cling to.
Recalling the time Damien ran when exposed to the light in the generator room, and the last time they were on the bridge, she turns to the psyker and asks, "How fares your mind? Are you in control?"
Recalling the time Damien ran when exposed to the light in the generator room, and the last time they were on the bridge, she turns to the psyker and asks, "How fares your mind? Are you in control?"
Last edited by RorytheRomulan on Sat Oct 03, 2020 3:47 am, edited 1 time in total.
- Grimbold
- Moderator
- Posts: 10309
- Location: Austria
- Title: Professor
- User Class: Scholar
Pax Macharia: Against All Odds
Haxtes stays calm and, unfazed, observes what is going on. If he were able to feel any emotions, he would feel awed. But he is not, so he does not.
- ManWithDoor
- Moderator
- Posts: 9307
- Location: California, USA
- Title: Imperial Psyker
- User Class: Imperial Psyker
Pax Macharia: Against All Odds
It is all that Damien can manage is keeping his feet, as what feels like the entire world is shifting beneath his feet. He had known the scale of the Titans of the Mechanicus, at least from a numbers perspective. But being inside one puts those numbers to irrelevancy. He sees now why these God-Machines are so feared and revered. It is as though the Omnissiah walks astride the world, through this machine.
Hearing the question, he shakes his head slowly. "Negative, there does not appear to be any warp influence as of yet. The Pax Macaria is underway, but I sense no backlash yet from the Immaterium."
Hearing the question, he shakes his head slowly. "Negative, there does not appear to be any warp influence as of yet. The Pax Macaria is underway, but I sense no backlash yet from the Immaterium."
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."