Pitted and scarred from countless battles, its hull jagged and beaten from the effort of entry through the planets atmosphere. The target loomed like a giant crustacean, the majority of it having been unearthed by the labors of corrupted souls. Looming in the far distance like ants, thousands of cultists and undead shuffled across the vessels surface further unearthing more of the vessel. The rife pestilence that had grown from its hull in thick bundles like tubers from a cancerous plant pumping glowing streams of filth that pooled in deep trenches excavated in intricate patterns along the ground.

From where they were standing, the Inquisitor gasped as he saw the length of the heresy unfolding as the last trench filled revealing the foul symbol of Nurgle. Around him troopers recoiled from the mind destroying evil of the symbol, vomiting out whatever was left in their stomachs while even the most staunch souls became obviously distressed. Yelling out for the men to remain steadfast in the face of evil, a cataclysm of warding on his lips, the Inquisitor ordered for ready weapons while the enemy was temporarily distracted by their ritual.

Guardsmen retreating behind the scant cover as to avoid gazing upon the blasphemous symbol, Inquisitor Moriarty began to outline their plan of attack.

"Gentlemen....ladies. Prepare your souls and weapons in service of the Emperor. We will destroy this affront to Him on Terra and cast out this evil in its lair before it can finish whatever dastardly scheme they have planned. You all saw the work of these heretics and know that by the will of our Emperor, we will be victorious this day." he chanted.

"Now, Sergeant Eckelson. You will lead half of the force and attempt to halt their rituals in front of the target. Use explosives or whatever you can find to break that corrupt symmetry and destroy any and all shrines of the Archenemy. The remainder of the force will push through to the vessel itself and create a defensive ring here around the vessels upper decks. Sergeant, you will rally with these men once you have deemed your objective sufficiently completed. Once we have breached the hull, my team and I will make our way to the bridge to exercise the cancer that has rooted itself on this planet cutting the rebellions head off and ending it here once and for all.” the Inquisitor said met with the affirmative praise of guardsmen and the quiet invocations of ‘in the Emperors name.’

"Now check your weapons, adamant your faith, and steel your nerves for we are in the fight of our lives. Make no mistake about it....the Emperor needs each and everyone of us now more than ever. Fight with the strength of ten times our number, make the enemy pay dearly for their heresy. Cast down their shrines of evil and show that our Emperor will not stand for this injustice. Go now men of the Imperium and remember, the Emperor protects! AVE IMPERATOR!" he screamed, his lamentation echoed by the entire battle group, their voices surprisingly unheard by the cultists cheering.

"Sergeant, prepare for battle and may the Emperor watch over you. Do not shrink in your duty and move swiftly...now, forwards once more unto the battlements of hell." he ordered, offering his hand in salute to what would most likely be their final charge which was grasped firmly in the Sergeants iron grip.

"Aye my lord, for the Emperor. First and second squads with me. Check your gear, check your ammo. On my signal we cast down those that would forsake the Emperor!" Eckelson reported moving with the gathered guardsmen towards their strike position.

Moving out through the outer ruins, the strike force split to opposite sides of the chasm. The Inquisitors force moved towards the rear most section of the ship closest to the bridge as the Sergeants force moved towards the main concentration of heretics. Inching closer and closer under the cover of fallen masonry and destroyed walls, both forces crept nearer towards their individual objectives.

As Eckelson scaled cautiously over the rise, he was alerted to a medium sized chunk of masonry falling down, its fall catching the attention of several cultists who looked up in surprise before reaching for weapons with squawks of alarm. Standing up, he shot the wall behind the cultists sending plumes of dust and weakened rock down upon them. Before the dust even settled, the small force was charging with the Emperor on their lips sowing confusion amongst the chaos lines.

Looking out as the gunshots echoed, the Inquisitor brought his force to a halt as the hordes of bloodthirsty cultists and shambling undead took notice. Moving in a massive tide of limbs and weapons, they began heading towards this intrusion in their midst. Biding his time as more and more of the hostiles cleared the area in front, the Inquisitor quickly rose up and charged causing nearby cultists to turn around in alarm before being skewered on bright las beams or upended on bayonets and power swords. With the chaos host in disarray unsure of where the enemy was or where to go, it began to slowly fight against itself in the early minutes of the battle.

Striding forwards with las beams scything down the enemy. Shotguns booming to send cultists cascading into their colleagues. Melta guns searing deep paths of crimson into the enemy. The Inquisitors force quickly reached their target. Motioning for the demolition trooper to place the breaching charge on the bridges spine, the Inquisitor was about to give the order to detonate when the entire chasm was shaken by a deep rumbling.

Thrown to their feet, the entire locked host of Chaos and Imperial alike were upended as thick volumes of rock and masonry descended from the caverns far flung ceiling. The might vessel that had appeared derelict and distressed before now was alive with chaotic energy. Slowly and with rapidly increasing power, the ancient vessels engines came online incinerating those surrounding it in a pyre of sickening screams and cries of ecstasy. As the cavern continued to shake, the Inquisitor attempted to hail Eckelsons force.

"Sergeant! The Death's Hand is attempting to escape its prison. Rally on my position with all due haste and enter through the breach we leave behind. We're entering the beast in the hope of slaying its master."

Not waiting for a reply, Inquisitor Moriarty ordered the immediate breaching of the hull before they were all sent spiraling to the Emperors side when the monstrosity went airborne. Moving with haste, the demolition team placed three beaching charges along the vessels upper decks creating a gaping hole that bled out thick pus and dislocated armored plating as if it were flesh. Ushering the troops into the living hell within, they quickly boarded the vessel and spread out within the cancerous cells within.

Greeted with pulsing floors and flesh coated tunnels, Moriarty's first thought was of entering a Tyranid vessel except this vessel was far more malign in its design. Ordering the team towards the bridge, he was about to hail Eckelson again when the first casualty was taken. A single guardsman in the center of the formation screamed out in alarm as a thick tentacle speared through his back and sucked his essence clean from his body. Screaming in burning agony, his flesh withered and rotted away as his body liquefied in front of the formation. Turning on shriveling muscles he reached out one cancerous arm as if pleading for help before disintegrating to dust, the only evidence to his existence the discarded lasgun and flak armor lying derelict on the ground.

In immediate response, several more tentacles burst out from the fleshy walls wrapping themselves around more victims bringing them screaming into the walls or to consume them as they had their first victim. Several of the slithering tentacles were minced by las fire but a few maneuvered through to claim ever more of the Emperors faithful.

Visibly unhinged and on the edge of routing, the formation began to fracture as nerves were unraveled by the final hammer blow to their sanity. Standing strong the Inquisitors retinue attempted to maintain order but all was lost until the Inquisitor himself yelled for order, his voice laced with psychic power. Using his indomitable will to force the guardsmen to rally, Moriarty plowed forwards leading by example deeper into the beast hoping to kill the cancer before it claimed them all.

Reaching the end of the hallway, the Inquisitor and the now rallied men found themselves blocked by a giant door. A single symbol marked its frame, a symbol that had betrayed the trust of Terra and His rule. The Death Guards Chapter. Ordering for any remaining troopers with meltaguns or plasma guns forward, the Inquisitor watched as they incinerated the symbol, the metal running like blood from a wound down the door as it withered and writhed in mocking agony before disintegrating along with the barrier. Plumes of acrid smoke spread out from the chamber within forcing the troopers to cough and wheeze as it filtered through even the strongest rebreather unit hiding the emaciated figures within.

As the smoke cleared, figures waited in the cycling smoke, eyes awash with Daemonic fire. Weapons raising to cut them down, the smoke cleared and what appeared caused the gathered troopers to pause. Sergeant Eckelson and his entire squad, the troopers lost in the breach, the General and countless other souls had manifested to block their path to the bridge. Rotting flesh pitted with sores dressed their cancerous forms, bodies torn open and reformed in mockery of human nature yet their faces remained more or less untouched. In the quiet that ensued to this latest perversion of humanity, Inquisitor Moriarty broke the silence.

"Stand steady soldiers of the Imperium, suffer not the lies of the daemon! In the Emperors name, CHARGE!" the battle cry spreading fresh resolve as the fear that held them in check broke like a wave across rocks.

Firing a burst of star fire into the closest leering daemons face, it laughed even as the searing plasma consumed its flesh, the laughter continued as the now headless corpse fell to the ground and as both sides engaged. Las fire latticed across the corrupted flesh of traitors even as bone talons skewered guardsmen ripping their bodies open to spread across the floor. Power swords sliced petrified flesh and bone even as rusted auto guns and warped blades raked against flak armor. The battle raged as both sides were evenly matched, for every soldier that fell another daemon arose yet for every daemon that rose several were vanquished.

Grunting as he locked blades with the bloated form of General Oswald, the Inquisitor broke off the lock and attempted to counter with a series of compound-ripostes on the corpse soldiers right. Yet each blow was blocked and countered, each attack inching closer to him as the daemon leered slicing the Inquisitor across his sword arm with a devastating coule. Counter attacking on instinct with face distorted with pain, Moriarty lunged outwards in an extension but was too slow. The daemon casually side swiped the Inquisitor along the forehead with a freshly grown bone talon knocking him unto the ground and sending the Inquisitors power sword skittering across the ground. With its victory in sight, the corpse opened pulsating jaws to speak.

"Embrace death and let your flesh be remade in our Fathers image. There is nothing you can do stop us for we are legion, the result of everything you have done. Your struggle only makes us stronger. Embrace death, warrior of the false Emperor." it leered as bile and stray fluids dripped from the countless scores marring its emaciated frame.

"Hey General!" -a form yelled bringing the room to silence as new forms entered the room. Light shining against the regal faces of Sergeant Eckelson and his men- "Tell your master to frag off as we send you to hell!"

Firing into the raging daemons face, Eckelson blasted it backwards with a melta blast as the newly arrived guardsmen engaged the remnants in the room. With fresh breathing room, the surviving members of Moriarty's retinue fought back with renewed fury until after what seemed like an eternity but could only have been minutes the room was quiet once again. Ethereal forms whisking away like smoke as the malign daemons that had taken the forms of their comrades dissipated.

Nodding his thanks to the sergeant as he was helped up onto unsteady feet the Inquisitor addressed the assembled men. "Such is the way of the daemon to lie and mislead us. Destroying them is the only way to avoid their influences. Onwards to the bridge so we may finally destroy the cancerous heart of this insurrection!"

Clambering onto the elevator that was now revealed with the daemons vanquishment, the guardsmen, now steadied in their faith prepared to end the conflict once and for all. As the lift rapidly climbed the bridge spire, the vessel began a hasty ascent breaking apart the outer parts of the hive like a newborn parasite bursting forth from its host. Gaping cracks and cratering holes blossomed out as if the very earth was hungry for anything on its crust. Unseen to the retinue, the very Capital Spire of Gallia itself trembled as support structures waned under this newest stress threatening to break and send the last embers of the resistance into the massive hole in the ground.

Rising ever upwards into the planets atmosphere, the corrupted vessel took preliminary lance fire as orbiting vessels sought to strike it down. Yet ancient and dormant as it was, the Deaths Hand was anything but defenseless. Automated batteries spat dark swirling clouds of noxious plasma and corrupted green smears of lance fire striking several defense vessels. With the prow spearing through the upper atmosphere, the mighty vessel rammed through the closest battleship skewering it like a trophy before the vessel detonated against the hull ripping away armored flanks and forward mounted turrets like dandruff or dry skin. Ancient paint peeled away as the vessel screamed, atmosphere clouding out from its wounds reminiscent of blood in water.

Reaching the bridge as the entire vessel shook from the impact the doors opened to send the outermost elements flying like rag dolls across the deck. Disoriented, the force was slow to react to the vile evil lurking amongst them. Swarms of carrion vermin and rot flies swamped the guardsmen even as flamer bursts and las fire immolated swaths of them. Eyes piercing the meat shield of corrupted entities, Inquisitor Moriarty screamed out a warning too late as the true threat surfaced.

Jumping into the middle of their formation and sending those fortunate not to be pulped by its landing, a monstrous figure half machine-half Daemonic flesh leered at them through a single unblinking eye. Once a proud warrior of the Emperor, the vision before them was a perversion of their once pure form. Nearly seven meters tall in bladed cataphractii plating, flesh bursting out at the joints, a Death Guard commander raked the nearby ranks of guardsmen with his combi-bolter. Soaring wings of bone and overgrown flesh rippled and covered the commanders form as counter fire bathed him creating a deluge of smoke and popping sacks of ichor. As the smoke filled the room, the guardsmen lost their target and began to fire sporadically in the general direction they had seen it.

Out of the gloom, blood red fire burst forth from the terrifying combi weapon tearing men and women in half before searing green ethereal flame burst from the undercarriage immolating those unlucky enough to be in its path. In less than three seconds, fifteen guardsmen lay dead or dying before even a single telling blow had been dealt against the enemy. A deep scratching sound like titans locking together in melee bellowed from the armored form as it laughed at the torment so easily dealt.

Bringing up the opposite limb, a massive protrusion of tentacles and whipping bone talons, the Chaos Lord shore another guardsmen casually in two as the troopers flesh was sucked clean from the bone by pulsating suckers. Bones clambering to the deck from the unfortunate victim, the corrupted champion of Chaos turned as a woman's voice sheathed in pain challenged it.

Moving out from behind the cogitators she had been cast behind, Interrogator Marriad fired a burst from her inferno pistol into the perverted marines form.Striding casually through the licking flames, flesh falling off in shriveled rivers, the chaos marine lifted his sword limb towards her and before the Interrogator could blink, the bone talon in its center shot out stabbing clean through her power armour.

Face caught between surprise and righteous fury, she slumped to the deck on weakening knees as the talons withdrew slick with her blood. Unconscious and bleeding out on the deck, Marriads seemingly lifeless form stopped moving. Screaming in rage and defiance, the normally reserved form of Chastener Briggand charged towards the adamant astartes. Shot after shot barked out from his scattergun to seemingly no effect as the armored marine stood defiantly in the barrage, weathering the enfilade until the echoing dry click from the weapon echoed in the chamber. Face white with righteous fury the Chastener threw the weapon and took out his pair of power swords before bringing them down in a furies redoublement. Yet as the blow was about to land, the chaos lords mailed fist shot out and caught both weapons by the blade.

The pair visibly straining over control of the weapon slowly danced around the chamber before the chaos marine batted the stoic man aside like a mere doll before casting the weapons into a random corner of the room. The battered form of the Chastener impacted hard against the reinforced armaplas of the front viewing windows making them crack slightly before his form crumpled in an untidy heap on the floor, limbs spasming in electrical misfires as his brain sought to render what had happened. Looking towards the Inquisitor who could only watch, his wounds from the previous battle having proved nearly fatal, the Inquisitor looked up as the heavy boot steps approached with unflinching resolve.

Standing above the Inquisitor, the chaos lord chucked deeply as it speared a bone talon through his other arm, slicing it off in a clean solid movement preventing him from reaching any weapon and thoroughly crippling both upper limbs. Screaming it undisguised pain and anger, the Inquisitor attempted to headbutt the armored form but was unable to summon the energy to do so. Leaning forwards, the astartes spoke in a thick accent spotted with age and malfunctioning speakers.

"Watch here dog of the corpse Emperor as your beloved Imperium rots from within. You thought you could stop me here? Did you think I would not return to slake my thirst for revenge!? No....and now you pay the price but I will not kill you...no...that would be too easy. I will spare your life so that you will live a longer life of torture and regret for none escape the true pain of Necrosius."

Standing up and moving towards the bridges command lectern, Necrosius began to enter in a series of commands. The vessel shuddered as continued barrages from the Imperial fleet wracked the vessel but with the main firepower of their force, the flagship Last Sacrament a lifeless hulk of debris, they could do little but attempt to maim the much larger chaos vessel.

Staring out past the windowed panes of reinforced armaplas, the Inquisitor watched in dismay as several hundreds of warships translated around the Imperial fleet. Weapons already armed and firing indiscriminately, the chaos fleet began to consume the scattered Imperial vessels as they were fully surrounded. Mouth agape as the magnitude of this heresy became clear, Inquisitor Moriarty screamed in a deep rage of his helplessness as he felt the tug of a teleportation array grab at him.

Looking for anyone else he could possibly crawl towards to teleport with him, Inquisitor Moriarty realized with deep despair that he was the last surviving member of the force. Arrayed around him were the dismembered bodies of Sergeant Eckelson and his squad, the shattered form of the Chastener and the unmoving form of his interrogator. Finally, his gaze locked onto the chaos lords mutated form as it muttered a final farewell.

"Remember Inquisitor. Your life has never been in your hands and you will know sorrow and pain beyond even a thousand lifetimes. I look forward to our reunion." Looking towards the Inquisitors slaughtered compatriots, Necrosius smiled cruelly underneath his helmet. "Don't worry, I'm sure their souls will come to enjoy being slaves to my whim. My final lesson to you that everything you hold dear will be destroyed and corrupted..." Turning around and pressing a glowing red rune, the Inquisitor screamed even louder as the teleportation fully commenced and everything went white.

Unbeknownst to Moriarty, the teleport had sent him to the ship he had arrived on, the rogue trader Hand of Fate which alone had been spared in the slaughter of the Imperial forces. Already attempting to transition to the warp and flee the system, the captain screamed out in shock as the Inquisitors broken form was teleported in front of him as the vessel was sent into the Immaterium, leaving the system behind to rally with Imperial forces a subsector away.

Watching the vessel flee, the corrupted form of Necrosius turned as a coughing wheeze echoed in the background. Turning slowly towards the crippled form of Marriad, he walked towards her and gently lifted her head to face him before speaking.

“I have great plans for you my dear, a great series of twisting affairs with your beloved master. Tell me....do you fear death?”

Conclusion of Intro to Act I​

M.41.38.237. ​

Ship Time 0631​

Scarrus Battle Fleet Deployment Marker Epsilon Six​

Fleet Wide Broadcast from Rouge Trader Hand of Fate​

An eerie silence filled the fleet as every vessel became afflicted by a single voice, a voice weathered in hatred and fury. A voice bent on revenge and on the brinkst of madness to whom every living soul was now tied to for either better or worst. Inquisitor James Moriarty, standing proud and defiant despite being helped by an orderly prepared to address the entire fleet whom would know bring about his personal venture of revenge in the name of liberation...Necrosius would dread this day.

"Soldiers of the Imperium. This is Inquisitor James Moriarty of the Ordo Hereticus. Many of you have gathered in this glorious display of the Imperiums strength and a testimony to His will on Terra to route out the taint that would afflict our domain. The forces of Chaos have thought us defeated. Thought us broken and scattered but we shall return to the Gothic system...stronger than we were ever before. We will crush all who have forsaken His glory, we will exterminate the taint that has grown in our absence, we will burn this entire subsector down if needed only for it to ascend as a Phoenix even more glorious than before. Remember your training, keep strong the fires of vengeance, and stoke the flames of your hatred for the Arch Enemy of Man for today, we bring justice and light to the darkness. All vessels prepare to break anchor so we may begin the liberation. Ave Imperator, let none fail in His name!"

Turning from the dais and pict recorder, feet unsteady from the effort of will it had taken him to speak fleet wide, Inquisitor Moriarty was wearily helped back to the command lectern from which he had been seated before. Resting age tested muscles and still healing bones, the Inquisitor slowly rotated to face the large assembly of soldiers and sailors of the Imperium.

"Many of you know who I am now...have seen me walking through the ships looking for suitable candidates. All of you gathered before me have been personally chosen by Him to serve in this holy quest to retake a section of the Imperium that has fallen foul by Chaos. Our objective will be to stabilize, and then secure the liberation's entire front, no small feat believe me. From there we will root out the cells of the traitors that have taken to the Emperors domain and flush out the true threat....traitor Astartes Necrosius of the Death Guard."

"This fallen angel is responsible for the entire chaos invasion and will pay for his crimes by our hand. Every one of you must be an army in your own right and march into the gates of hell to bring his cursed soul before the Emperor so that he may receive judgement!"

"We are few, but we will be the anvil upon which the traitors back is broken. Now then, I must retire to my chambers to investigate a new lead on our targets true whereabouts. I leave you all here in the war room with my aide, Maribel, who will answer any further questions any of you might have before we deploy. The first planet in our path is Pierre but first to reach the planet, we will have to break through the Chaos fleet besieging it. I will leave it to you to figure out who will aid the void war and who will land on the planet. The fleet should arrive at our destination in 0700 hours from now by the Emperors blessing."

"Go forth soldiers of the Emperor...and make Him proud. Report back here in 0500 hours. Dismissed."

Walking away from the seated personnel, Inquisitor Moriarty slowly made his way through a hidden doorway guarded by a pair of Navy stormtroopers in white carapace and aiming hellguns at anyone who strode near. The war room, a massive portion of the vessel attached to the bridge slowly ascended back out of the cradle it had been resting in bringing it level with the main sections of the bridge.

Several techpriests quickly walked onto the massive platform and began to bring to life massive hologram representations of the entire subsector ranging anywhere from troop dispositions to Munitorium requisition accounts. The Inquisitors aide, Maribel stood in the center consulting with an officer whom had appeared earlier during the briefing and began to punch in some new data into the largest holo projection filling the entire room with a generous picture of the area the fleet would deploy in.

Illuminated in several hues of reds and blues, the massive ship graveyard surrounding the Hive Planet Gallia came into view bringing several gathered personnel to a quiet shock. Over seven hundred vessels lay derelict and broken while the planet itself burned with ethereal flames. Dark blue colors indicated destroyed vessels and orbital platforms while the bright, blood red runes showed known enemy vessels and captured orbital guns blocking the fleets path.

Several smaller holo tables showed the planetary system and known Imperial holdings that should still remain. Warp currents swarmed each planet as if the void were attempting to drown them giving the appearance of a bartenders collection of spirits, each one a different hue and color, each one echoing a different fate.

{Objective 1: Consult with the vessels crew to learn more about the liberation fleets disposition.}
{Objective 2: Talk to Maribel for deployment assignments}
{Objective 3: Investigate the strange Naval Officer who has shown up randomly during the briefing}

​

​

Commissar Rackham -
Lights a large cigar and walks to the nearest bridge crew member that appears to be monitoring the fleets movements. "Sailor what are we currently looking at for the enemies fleet compostion?"

SGT Kroll -
Walks over to Maribel and the strange Naval Officer. "Ma'am, Sir, what's the situation planet side, I would like to brief my men so we can deploy the correct assets."

OOC: is Maribel male or female so I can re-edit this correctly Maribel is female got it

-Homes
Homes found herself In the war room of a inqustitors ship interesting that she was here. one of the planets under siege was the one she was born on and made a name for herself as a Investigator arbite. She took a whiff of the air and smelled someone was smoking a cigar. Possibly someone with authority and high rank. she looked to the crew man and looked for a name tag and rank and eventually spotted a officer she walked over to him. "Sir could i perhaps ask you what is the current status of the world we are headed to?" she asked him



-Kilroy
Kilroy Found himself in the war room with several others he looked to his side and saw a sergeant and a commissar. he looked to his other side and saw a female arbite. how interesting he then looked over to the women named maribel and walked over to her. "I have a question mam which squad will I be deploying with? My memory a little fuzzy i Hit my head when i was waking up today."-

SGT Kroll -
Acknowledges PFC Kilroy walking over to where he is at and recognized him from the 7th Scarrus Air Assault Wing, " PFC Kilroy I didn't realize that you got selected for this assignment. Glad to see atleast one familiar face here. Have you seen anyone else from the 7th?"

-Kilroy
"Good to see you Sarge. And good to see another from the seventh. Not sure how many of us are there is here though."

SGT Kroll -
"I believe I saw a few other faces, but I couldn't be sure through this crowd. Hopefully we can find out what's going on soon."