SIR LAW nodded and got up with his squad. Over a secure channel he sent a short burst scramble coded message to move out. He was waiting for the Magos to do just that, so their movements were in sinc and quickly excuted. They were still miving in mind for camouflage and concealment. So movements were slow and deliberate. But a steady effort to the next crash site was made on foot.
With a curt burst of code, Judarius' three Protectors took up a defensive stance around Knight-Scion Alduwin and himself. The fourth Protector remained behind with his broken charge, keeping close watch over the loathsome creation. Brother Uhm Coul followed closely nearby, eager to take the fight to the enemy. The Electro-Priest had been unable to close in to the enemy before they had been dispatched by the precise salvo's of the Rangers and Judarius could sense his eagerness to engage the foe personally. Judarius could understand the sentiment, and fully expected Coul would get his chance. The probability of their next encounter going so smoothly was unsatisfactorily low. The enemy knew where they where and the rough composition of their forces. They could afford no mistakes now . . . As Judarius proceed towards the next site, he signaled his intent to SIR LAW-98 and observed his Rangers disperse around them. He also requested Dragoon Daygar to spearhead the advance as he had so successfully done before. The whirr of the Dargoon's mount eased his trepidation, at least for now. Though confident in Daygar's abilities, Judarius would have preferred to have Sir Alduwin striding along with them in his Knight, rather then slogging it on foot. Lamentable, but the Archmagos and his Domini were not to be questioned in that regard. Judarius knew he should trust their tactical judgements, being experts in such matters, but he could not fight the nagging in the back of his mind that this was a convoluted means of being rid of him. Judarius knew his death would be lamentable, but at the same time convenient for some. Unsurprising, as he would do the same, were their roles reversed. After all, an aspiring Magos that was not plotting to undermine his rivals and take advantage of their weaknesses was hardly worth their accolades. Every adept had to face the challenges presented to him or her at all times. It was up to them to surmount them or be crushed beneath their weight. Judarius had no intention of being crushed. Not yet at least. He'd worked to hard, for too long, for it all to end on this Omnissiah forsaken backwater. No, the archenemy would need more then a few upgraded servitors to rid of him
Looking over the smoking remains of the Dreadclaw, Lukas quickly formulated a plan for the disposal of the tainted remains. ‘Anti-Intrusion protocol, Rho’ Lukas muttered and the servitor quietly hummed as all of his data feeds shut down temporarily. Lukas turned to the three Protectors that had been assigned to him. ‘We’re putting all the dead inside the pod, and bring me any grenades you find on their bodies.’ He sounded confident and in-charge, as if he had done this a hundred times before. The smoking pod felt strange to him, the smoke pouring out of the blackened hole also filed the inside of the pod, but Lukas was mechanicum and he switched his bionics to compensate for the difficult situation. He swept the pod for anything that would be a hindrance or anything that might be on interest to the mission and then ordered the Protectors and Rho to proceed, directing their placement with subtle gestures of his servo-arm. The two servo-arms and the assistance of the three Protectors made short work of moving the bodies, and in no time all of the remains had been placed in the pod. It was eerie to see in the half-light of the pod the mechanical astartes simply standing as if waiting for some unknown orders. With the heavy lifting done, Lukas dismissed the Protectors and turned to Rho, his ever faithful companion. ‘Let’s play a little trick on any monstrosities that arrive shall we Rho?’ Rho didn’t react to this he simply stood there, blank faced and awaiting orders. It would have annoyed Lukas if he hadn’t started on the path to enlightenment through the Omnissiah blessings. With a slight sigh Lukas turned to Rho and said, ‘Wait outside the drop pod Rho and end Anti-Intrusion protocols. The threat is over’. Rho trotted out of the pod and waited exactly three paces from the entrance. With the handful of grenades that the Protectors had passed him, Lukas began the delicate process of booby-trapping the drop pod. He placed several grenades under the feet of the mechanical astartes, primed so that moving the bodies would set them off. A grenade was placed in the control panel, so that accessing any information would hopefully result in detonation of the grenade and the drop pod itself. Finally Lukas pulled out bits of broken wiring from another panel of the drop pod and used these wires to create booby-traps at the entrances. Any suitably augmented person would see these traps, but it gave Lukas hope to think that one might maim or kill the traitorous mechanicum if they arrived. Ducking out of the pod with his work complete he signalled that his work was done to the rest of the group. ‘Until air-support arrives to clean up this mess I’ve created a surprise for anyone who investigates this site that I learnt fighting the orks. If the Dark Mechanicum arrives to retrieve their dead while we are busy with the other sites, then they will be in for a surprise.’
(@Grall_Stonefist @BuriasDempsey @TechCaptain @Nurianis @Keidivh @Mechiaus @bossaroo ) With that Maniple 24 was on the move again headed towards the second crash site that was also producing a large amount of smoke for a currently unknown reason. It did not take them long to reach the outskirts of the large crater that was created by the impact of what ever was at it's center. The smoke prevented anyone from seeing more than a few feet into the massive crater and all that could be made out was a small pile of wreckage just on the border of the crater. Protocol called for the maniple to investigate further but the crater was vast and Omnissiah knows what lurked in the smoke. The sun was starting to set now and they had previous few minutes of natural light left they would need to decide fast or else the lights from their head lamps would for obvious reasons give their position away.
Sir Law relied on his heavily modified sight to cut through the smoke. With a coded burst he presented his approach plan. Keeping the Rangers hidden and in the rear but everyone else approach in waves designed to overwhelm. The exception would be the noble he will stay with one of the ranger teams as backup.
With the smoke obscuring anything that could be found in the crater, Alduwin knew he wouldn't be able to see anything without any visual aid like his Mechanicus allies. And with the way the floating contraption formed around him and the Rangers taking position now, he realized they wanted him to stay out of the crater for now. He felt rather insulted that they think he needed so much protection, he was just as trained outside of his Knight as he was piloting it. But to go in himself he knew would only cause friction between him and them, something they can't exactly afford right now. So, against his urge to fight the enemies of man, he waited. "Perhaps if I wore a suit of power armor, they would not coddle me as so." He said under his breath as he readied his bolt pistol in the hopes that more of those machine fiends might walk out to meet them.
Looking into the smoking crater Lukas did some quick calculations based on what he knew of drop pods, which admittedly wasn't much. He spoke to no one in particular when he said. ‘I am unfamiliar the orbital mechanics of Dark Mechnicus drop pods or their standard trajectory patterns, but I believe this crater to be too large for such a device to have landed here, successfully or otherwise.’ Then a coded burst arrived from Sir Law, containing a detailed plan of his design. Using his rudimentary grasp of tactics Lukas realised his exposed position in the plan, but he was unwilling to show fear or hesitation on this mission. Ruinous Powers or not, exemplary service under the watchful gaze of a Magos’ ocular implants would greatly help his chances to rise in the ranks of the Mechanicum. Grasping his power axe firmly he bravely stepped into the smoke that obscured the crater; his bionic eyes began to glow green as they helped him see through the billowing smoke. Rho, as always, followed behind him into the smoke. Lukas’ crimson cloak vanishing from sight quickly to the fog until only the sickly green glow of his bionic eyes were the only thing that could be seen. Nothing more than pinpricks of light in a sea of darkness.
Judarius eyed the choking depths of the smoldering crater with trepidation. Cycling through the imaging spectrum, he settled on Thermal imagery. It provided the clearest resolution of his surrounds and allowed him to separate the residual heat from the smoke from his fellows. His world was now awash in varying shades of grey, with occasional white-hot blooms marking out the others. His three Protectors stood around him, with the Electro-Priest Ohm Coul and the Knight-Scion Alduwin to either side. He was about to issue orders when SIR LAW's tactical input flooded his inputs. He acknowledged the plan but disagreed with the positioning of Sir Alduwin. Given his close proximity and regular observations, he could detect the Knight-Scion's disapproval of their over-caution. It was understandable, as he was the most guilty of all of them. With Knight and rider separated, Aulduwin's situation was less then optimal, but even Judarius could not deny that he was just as capable a warrior on the ground, as he was within his Knight. As much as Judarius wished to safe guard Alduwin from harm, leaving him behind with the rearguard was a poor use of the nobleman's talents. Despite the backlash he would receive, Judarius open a channel to SIR LAW. @TechCaptain [98, I acknowledge your plan and will act upon it, with a single modification] Judarius canted, sombrely. [Knight-Scion Alduwin shall accompany me into the crater. Though I know you will object, he is more then capable of defending himself and my Protectors with keep close watch on him. His talents are wasted otherwise with the rearguard, and his armament is of no use at that range anyway] Judarius braced himself for the chastisement to follow. He turned towards his fellows. Despite his view of Alduwin's face being blocked by his helmet, Judarius could feel the noblemen's mild irritation. [Knight-Scion, I request your assistance in the crater. As you are aware, I am short one Protector, and your combat prowess would be most useful] he voxed, hoping Alduwin's mood would improve. Ultimately, Alduwin could make his own decision. As a Knight-Scion, he technically did not need to take orders from lowly Skitarii. Nor did he need to listen to Judarius, as he was but an errant Magos, and not fully invested with such authority. He was free to make his own choice. Judarius knew that Alduwin would make the right decision either way. Turning back towards the robed Electro-Priest, Judarius observed the man's usual silent reflection. Brother Coul was a man of few words. Like all Corpuscarii, he perceived the world in an entirely different way then the rest of them. Coul could see, as much feel, the motive force of existence. Coul shared a oneness with the Omnissiah's divine will that was enviable. [Brother Coul] he intoned after his moment of introspection had passed. [I ask you join us when you are prepared] With that, Judarius turned away and reached into his robes to retrieve his plasma gun. Thumbing the activation rune, he quietly recited the Rites of Activation to appease the weapons fiery machine spirit. He pondered the wisdom of his actions for a moment, but dismissed such thoughts immediately. Too late to play the coward now . . . His will steeled for the time being, he activated his Refractor Field, encasing himself in a hazy sphere of protective energy. Taking a last sweeping scan over the crater's edge, he scuttled over the lip and carefully started his way down the slope, cursing the jagged earth as he went. Ahead of him, Brother Brecher was making equally slow progress. His bi-pedal form proving no more adept at traversing a crater then his own multi-legged form.
Alduwin's preparation focus was interrupted when Magos Judarius spoke to him over his helm's vox unit. "Yes Lord Magus, I would be honored too." He answered with sincerity. Not only given a chance to enter the cater now under better pretense, but the protection of a high official of the Imperium would normally fall upon someone of a much more veteran status of his house. 'Did the magos hear of my complaints? Perhaps father was right, I should hold my tongue better.' He reprimanded himself. He was suppose to represent his House and its Honor, he can't be doing that with such childish acts. Unsheathing his power sword he activated the switch on the ornate pommel, arcs of energy dancing up and down the length of the blade. "Lead the way honorable Magos." he said with a respectful bow of his head to Judarius, readying his blade and bolt with growing eagerness that washed away the earlier annoyance.
Phaeton and his Rangers moved towards the edge of the crater, having received no true order or directive from anyone else. He positioned his troops around the depression and prepared to cut down any movement his augmentations could pick up. "We can provide a steady stream of covering fire folks, according to Alice, our accuracy will only be affected 8.64 percent. Just keep your heads down." In order to make sure there wouldn't be any friendly fire in the haze, Phaeton marked each friendly with a marker that would appear in his squads optics.
