A Huge Heap of Trash

I found the auto-pilot box and plotted the coordinates for Skorgulian. For several hours, I stared into deep space. After what happened, I was on the look out for more spawn of Chaos.

 

Kaine of the Adeptus Mechanicus bleeped “Look!”

 

And there it was. It was evil, alright, but not quite what I expected. It was huge, about the size of half a dozen battleships…or maybe it was half a dozen battleships…and Eldar cruisers, Ork frigates, and other ships I did not recognize. They were all squeezed together like garbage after going through a compactor.

 

Schwuck, who was usually quiet, blurted out “Space-hulk!”

 

Before I could reach the pilot box, I felt the pod going off course. We were caught in the hulk’s gravitational field. We were plunging into a jutting lance turret of a Mars class Imperial Battle Cruiser. I then felt gravity shift starboard. I was born and raised in a ship but my poor stomach lurched.

 

A strange fin-like structure loomed in the porthole, getting bigger and bigger, closer and closer.

 

Boom!

 

And everything went dark.

 

 

 

 

“We crashed.” Schwuck said plaintively.

 

After a few bleeps, Kaine announced “We are inside a ship.”

 

“Durga!” I cried, for there she was, prone on the floor of the pod. She wasn’t strapped in when we crashed.

 

She touched her forehead. “Oh my head!” She stood to inspect her bruises. Luckily, nothing more.

 

I checked the atmosphere readings: low radiation, oxygen, nitrogen, base air pressure. “This should be breathable.” I reported.

 

We all unbuckled the safety straps and the men started to stretch their legs. Kaine detached his built-in missile launcher and installed it into the servitor.

 

We open the hatch and Durga twitched her nose. “It smells like rotten garbage.”

 

“Can we close that hatch, please?” Kaine suggested. Tech-Priest that he is, he hates strong smells.

 

But we press on. We realize that we have crashed into a long corridor. We use the servitor to light the way. We walk with the foot soldiers and Salvador at the rear.

Character Tidbit – Rush

 

-Salvador Brown on Rush-

 

Who is this old guy anyways? Does he think he can push me around with that big armor and assault cannon? I don’t need such trifles. Leave that heavy stuff to the Tech Priests and Space Marines.

 

You know what he loves more than his big shiny guns? His title. He calls himself Honorable Chaplain of the Mentors Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes. He brandishes his claim to fame with his Rosarius and the skull on his helmet. We assassins don’t need such labels. Pooh!

 

I pestered him in the Pod. He couldn’t stand interviews, he said. Like the celebrity he is? Hah!

 

All I learned is that he was born on a forge world that’s why most of his skin had been damaged by chemicals. His skin was burnt bronze and his hair turned white. He was friends with some of the Tech Priests so he is pretty handy with whirligigs.

 

I decided not to annoy him too much. If I get him on my side, he might be handy some day. That servitor was kind of useful.

Durga’s Willpower

Skorgulian isn’t too far from our launch site; but without a navigator, I couldn’t properly go through ports. Looking out in despair, I felt a sharp chill at the base of my spine…

But wait, the cold didn’t come from outside. I turned to my fellow refugees and I spotted Durga unhooking her safety belt. She moved over to a wounded Imperial Guard. She touched the poor man’s forehead and chanted loudly.

Rush nervously fiddled his thick thumbs. I knew what he was thinking. The entire pod felt colder and colder with Durga’s psychic aura. Please, not in space! I prayed. I sensed another presence, another kind of chill that wasn’t like Durga. It felt more sinister, like something filling your lungs with sand.

I’m not really a psyker but I swear I heard Durga speak in a voice that sounded like a dozen children. “You are mine now, foolish one. You have called me and I have come.” It said.

I felt a crackle of electricity coming from our friend and she snapped back to her normal voice. “You would not wish me to call you by name, daemon.”

“I am nameless.” It replied. “I, who will not be named, will now take your name…and your soul.”

A sharper shot of electricity and frost crept across the walls. Durga’s cat eyes turned to an icy silver color, almost white. “My body is sacred. No one can have it. Especially not you, MAGINDUSA.”

The monster shrieked and whooshed away, almost taking all of the air in the pod. Durga drops to the floor with a faint smile.

The Imperial Guard was cured completely of his wounds. We sighed in relief and fear. Good thing the daemon didn’t go for his weaker soul. Durga has won, twice in a pod.

Abandon Ship!

Kaine extracts data from the cameras on Levels 1-3. There were holes in the walls and the floors, las-fires and men were running frantically. I recall a pre-Imperial ancient text saying that Fear and Panic are the children of Chaos.

And indeed, we heard a huge boom and the ship shook. Kaine instinctively scanned the dataports again. “Data systems are breaking down. Almost everything in Level 2 has burned down.”

One of Durga’s captains reported ominously, “The men are taking the pods for their own safety…I …await your orders.”

“Meet us at Level 3, captain.” Durga repied through vox. Then she turned to us. “To the pods! Quick!”
We rush to the elevators. It stopped at Level 2 and opened for about twenty men. A few seconds later, they all fall dead. We were about to close the doors when we saw a massive 4-meter figure in black Terminator Armor shooting at the Ork horde while falling back.

“Foul xenos!” the figure screamed while peppering the enemy with his Assault Cannon. He turned to us, showing his skull-adorned helm of an Adeptus Astartes chaplain. “Step back! To the back of the elevator! And shut the door!”

Before asking if he was suicidal (most Marines seek glory in battle, after all), we did as he asked. As the doors hissed shut, we saw him throwing some smoke bombs. He began to shimmer…and disappear.

A few moments later, he rematerializes in the elevator, we had to make room due to the sheer size of him. He stood almost 4 meters tall, the armor mostly black with a green chest plate, a white skull painted on the helmet, white greaves and shoulder guards, a Rosarius around his neck and a red eagle’s head on the left shoulder, an indication that he’s a Chaplain from the Mentors Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes . He casually spits on his weapon to cool it down.

“Praise to the Emperor, chaplain.” Durga greeted in her high-born accent “I am Durga, an interrogator in the service of Lord Inquisitor Rorken. And these are our associates.”

“Ahh, Rorken,” the marine mused, “I know him from the Cadian Rebellion. Let’s go down to Level 3. I have a pod there being prepared.”

As the elevator eases into a halt, we hear even more gunfire and las-blasts. When the elevator doors slid open, the Marine Chaplain voxes, “Guardsmen! To one knee!” the very floor vibrated beneath us with his dominating voice. I almost did as he said out of terror but before we knew it, his Cyclone Missle Launcher bleeped to life and launched a shell over the guardsmen and to the Ork horde. The blast effectively cleared most of the path to the pods, but it also called the attention of three Ork bigmeks. The sight of the marine made them see red. With a terrible warcry, they call the rest of the Orks nearer.

I had to make a decision fast. “Chaplain, I need a boost.”

He looked at me quizzically.

“Can you toss me to the pod?”

“I can, but…”

“Good.” I clamber up his leg and he got the picture. He picked me up with his Power Fist and I curled up myself in the ball of his palm.

He paused “Have you done this before?”

“Not with a chaplain. But we’ll figure it out. Aim well.”

He shrugged his shoulders and threw his arm back, ready to pitch. Was I scared? You bet I was. I have had some practice gliding in the upper stratas of some hives with my stretch suit fins but I’ve never been catapulted by anything, much less a Space Marine. But I was more afraid of the three hulking beasts raging at us along with their Ork boyz. “Ready? On three.”
“One…two…three!”

And I sailed through the air with my eyes closed for the first few milliseconds. I felt so peaceful flying over the throng, like I could be air-borne forever. I only reckoned spreading my wings when I felt the pull of gravity and my body curving down. I easily found the top of the pod guarded below by a figure with a bolter …quot; a servitor. I touched down unnoticed.

The Marine watched my figure land on the pod, he then voxed his servitor some instructions. I assumed that he told the servitor that I am safe so I made my way down into the pod.

Seeing this, he turned to Kaine and tossed him a stikk-bomb.

“Give me that!” said Salvador as he grabbed the bomb from Kaine. “I have an idea. Everyone run and shoot. Keep ‘em busy… and cover me.”

The team all made for the pod while shooting at the Ork boyz. The chaplain faces off with one of the Big Meks. The stupid brute did not notice Salvador sliding between the Marine’s legs…and right underneath the Mek’s crotch. All I saw from my post was the Ork looking between its legs as Salvador whizzes past. He stared in disbelief for a few moments, and exploded.

Salvador reaches the pod in safety. “Not bad, eh?” He was grinning from ear to ear. “Always wear protection between your legs.”
The marine teleports behind the bigmek on the right and started swinging his power sword at him. A combination of two swift slashes and the bigmek falls.

I found the pod’s missile launcher and aim it at the Big Mek standing in the middle. and that was the end of him.

The marine teleported into the pod. “All aboard!” Some of the troops rush into the pod. The rest of our party squeezed themselves in as well.

In a rare show of compassion, Salvador tries to save a few limping ones falling behind. When he managed to drag the poor souls in, I decided to raise the hatch. We could only save so many troopers.

“Buckle up!” I announced. I hit the release button and the pod whirred to life. The men cheer loudly as we zip out of the invaded ship.

The sight of the mighty Imperial Battleship invaded by an Ork horde in less than an hour filled me with dread. This rushed ambush attack was all too familiar with me. My family once owned a space station, a mega-orbital platform. It was the beacon, the home dock of our trade ships. It, too, was taken by the Ork in a similar manner.

But I had to cast aside such thoughts. This was no time for sentiments. I still had work to do – deliver Rorken’s team to their destination. I program the pod to head for Skorgulian’s space port.

Character Tidbit : Durga

–Miki on Durga–

That haughty little hive-born brat. She’s like all those in the upper stratum, with their noses turned up to those in the lower dregs, in the void….and everybody else. All those party girls are so vain, no wonder she became a biomancer.

She calls herself Durga, and she lately she prefers a strong, sinewy form. But no one really knows how she looks like. She has created herself an athletic form that does not hide her curves, but rather even shows them off. She does love showing them off, even through her armor.

She’s not vain about her hair, though. She just pulls it back in a high ponytail. It’s wine-colored and thick and seems to move with her.

She tells us that she’s sort of a gladiator back home, but I don’t buy any of it. I mean, why could a socialite from the upper strata debase herself with fighting in Sewertown? And for what? Money? As if she ever needed to lift a finger to get what she wanted. My parents, on the other hand, taught me how to earn my own living and be my own boss.

The Imperium issued her a standard armor but she also had one made out of silver covered in palladium. They gave her a powerblade, she had another one made so she can brandish two at a time. Talk about overkill. She claims it all comes from her street fighting spoils.

She claims that she won’t ever ask anything of her overprotective parents. To them she was a freak because of her shape-shifting gift.

Now if only I did not relate so well with that. If only I didn’t try to emulate her elegant but powerful moves in battle. And if only we didn’t make a good team. Maybe I would hate her. But I really couldn’t.

People are unnerved by her bio-enhanced cat eyes, especially when they glow in the dark. But I can see through them. And I see that beyond all that loudness is a deep wisdom. Beyond all that flashiness, is a cautious and analytical mind.

No, I cannot truly hate her.

Character Tidbit — Miki

Yes, they call me the Unworthy Child. Miki was the name my parents gave me many a score ago, the same parents I betrayed in order to be spared by the Imperium. They raised me in a carrier ship that specialized in the trade and transport of Xenotech. My experience of alien technology has been my blessing and my curse: it certainly has enriched my knowledge of the known universe, but it has stunted my growth. An accident when I was twelve years old exposed me to a strange kind of radioactive material; and my body has never developed since. The radiation merely turned my skin to a yellowish pale color and singed my black hair to a dark indigo sheen. I was hoping for the feminine shape my mother had but year after year came and I never changed. I have stopped counting. I have much business to do. And this was only one of those missions.

I have dealt with all kinds of races but I have never understood my own kind. Humans have always feared the unknown; so much that they seek to destroy knowledge that they don’t comprehend. My family has used this scarcity, and illegality, of such technology to our benefit. Our illicit fortune soon turned into whispered infamy across the Void. The Imperium took notice and placed a hefty bounty on our heads. I simply chose to survive…Nor does the Imperium own me. I may work under its shadow, but I live on its tail: I do as I please as long as it has its back turned to me. And now it’s business as usual.

Dark Heresy: Calixis Commission

457.315.M41

War Room, Resolution Class Battleship Merciless Fury

– As seen through the eyes of Miki –

When we were summoned to the Calixis sector, it didn’t cross my mind how important this mission would be. Rorken has called upon the Freeblade Salvador Brown, the Technomancer Kaine, the Archivist S’chuwck and a mysterious Biomancer who calls herself Durga. Each had their battalions with them; a veritable force with varied specialties. It was not clear to me then why Rorken gathered such a group. I thought I was only to transport them to Skorgulian for supplies or introduce them to traders round the area. Little did I know that this mission truly would require all kinds of skills, even that of an unworthy kind.

Yes, they call me the Unworthy Child. Miki was the name my parents gave me many a score ago, the same parents I betrayed in order to be spared by the Imperium. My experience of alien technology has been my blessing and my curse: it certainly has enriched my knowledge of the known universe, but it has stunted my growth. An accident when I was twelve years old exposed me to a strange kind of radioactive material; and my body has never developed since. The radiation merely turned my skin to a yellowish pale color and singed my black hair to a dark indigo sheen. I was hoping for the feminine shape my mother had but year after year came and I never changed. I have stopped counting. I have much business to do.

And this mission was business as usual.

Rorken sent us a message through the astropath in the conference room of the great battleship. He informed us that the planet Skorgulian is being infested by aliens. It has been reported that Orks are trying to destroy this forge planet. This planet must be secured because it produces weapons and supplies for the entire Calixis Sector. Rorken placed Durga, the psycher, in command. He also commanded that we brief the captains of our battalions immediately.

Realizing the urgency of the mission, the captain used the Warp to zip us through space to the remote planet Skorgulian. We have hardly touched the planet’s moon orbit when a huge figure loomed in from the Warp. From afar, it looked like a huge asteroid heading straight towards Skorgulian. We soon realized that it was a spacehulk: a floating trashbin from the depths of the Warp. It had several abandoned ships, and pieces of ships stuck together forming a gigantic mass of space waste. Upon investigation, we see an entire fleet of savage Ork ships fly from the spacehulk into the planet.

We rendezvoused with the main battle fleet and we felt some ships explode. We felt our own battleship shake and heard the alarms blare. The ship captain warns the crew “The Orks have boarded!”

The explosion screwed the synapses of the Navigator, leaving the control bridge a complete mess. We ran to the bridge and found that we still had life-support but navigation and weapons went down.

Each of the elite squad tried to contact their captains. All they heard were desperate screams for help, and then some, of death. We knew that we had to abandon ship. Durga suggested we use stealth to get out in order to avoid the majority of the Orks. Salvador agreed to head the way.

The pods were berthed on Level 3. The armory was on Level 4. All the other levels were locked-down red zones. Kaine, the Technomancer, tapped into the ship’s machine spirit to activate the sensors and scan for life-signs. He found that there were only 127 left of the mighty crew, and of the four battalions. He also reported gravely, “The auspex has picked up 300 unfriendly lifeforms.”

Durga ordered the remaining armsmen on Level 3 to protect the vehicles in this area.

“All elevators are operational.” Kaine reported from the dataport. “And the paths around the elevators are clear of enemy lifeform.”

S’chwuck finds data in the cogitator for more info. He finds that all elevators are right next to wide corridors and stairs. Durga decides to that we take the stairs in the middle. We drop down through Q3. Kaine suggests that since our men hold the line surrounding the elevators, we take the elevators.