~Ven I- Mechanicus Survey- Two Hours Ago~ With the packages of teleport beacons and charges complete, Sigma-Eta 11 could mostly consider her work done for now, with the main bulk of the work being setting up each package at the sites that Magos Renald had marked out. Not wishing to leave the poor Magos doing all the walking, the Alpha took a long range sojourn by herself, to scout around for anything of interest which ended up leading the Felinid Protector to the puzzling discovery of a very fresh crater on the moon (OOC: The same crater @CommissarGaunt 's goons made to cover their tracks, not the Serna knows that. ) , which under normal circumstances she would happily attribute to a meteor strike... And in the end, it was the idea that was most likely to make sense. Still, it was worth bringing it up with the Magos Artisan. ~Now, Ven I, Mechanicus Survey~ Serna had decided to save that interesting matter for later , and once the Alpha had headed back to Magos Renald, (@seabass ) she inquired "Well, has anything else of interest been going on within the system?" Meanwhile, the Protector sent a noospheric message to the Magos Artisan (@High_Adept_Zeth ) ++" Magos Xi-Lomax, I have encountered an oddity on Ven I: Freshly made crater, yet I am unsure if it was caused by an unexpected meteor strike or something else."++ The Skitarius was going to remain with Renald unless new orders from either Renald or Xi-Lomax told her to leave them and carry out other orders.
*Nothing to important now, Other than the apparent anomally on the second moon.* Answered Renald to the Skitarius's query. -------------------- After boarding the craft that originally brought them to Ven I, it took off back to the Hymn of Forging to prepare for their next assignment to the Frozen moon of Ven II. Renald sent a message to the Magos Artisan (@High_Adept_Zeth ) *We are on approach back to the Hymn of Forging now, Shall we wait for the Knight Gale to join us at the Hangar?*
~~ Derelict(?) Ship ~~ @EvicusDasan1 The guns that were initiating the fire died down one after another as the veteran-squadron had easy play with them. They were almost like shooting targets in the simulators. It was only a firefight for roughly five minutes until all weapons in range were annihilated, there was no more casualty once the pilots learned they were actually not even being aimed upon and could fly much much slower, making more accurate runs against the craft. Now was the critical moment. To land, or not to land? ~~ Polar Scout ~~ @Vulpas | @Colapse | @TechCaptain | @High_Adept_Zeth (?) Whomever and whatever was sent to the dark region of the Polar World had to land outside of the darkness, as apparently some sort of storm raged in that area. It was hard to see with all that darkness, but the approaching vessels warned the pilots quite actively. And so nobody dared to take a risk as they dropped their passengers. Now it was to make a plan how to venture forth into that utmost darkness and to find out what the energy readings were about...
<Scouting of Ven II> @Vulpas @TechCaptain "I suggest Knight Gale taking the front," Major Berg spoke as he and his men put the helmets on to protect themselves from the elements, "While the rest of us moves in separate squads next to him and behind, so if something happens it won't happen to all of us. Lieutenant, you have the runs of this mission so be my guest to organize your troops as you see fit."
Scout Force Victor Alpha - Ven II, Anomaly "Knight Gale can take the lead if he wants. We can have the Ten Leman Russ around the softer targets of the Pathcutters full of Guard and the Two Command Salamanders. Following the group will be the Salvation of Despair lent to us by their Battalion Command. Major Berg your men and any Mechanicus allies can comfortably fit in there. " Lieutenant Mason spoke with confidence since he was told these words by his higher ups. It is showing that his diplomacy is why he was chosen a key liaison for this force. The Doomhammer could fit 25 passengers. @seabass @Colapse @Vulpas @High_Adept_Zeth
Renald nodded, "It certainly is better than waddling through the snow on foot, I learned that from experience. But even with armor plating all around us, you'll forgive me if I keep my weapons active."
"Well done Murder One. Now someone find me an entrance. We are to establish a beachhead. And wait for a boarding team to arrive." Apker said as he searched for an entry bay and prepared to land.
"I shall take the lead then, If I see anything in the front I will try to warn everyone of what I spot, It maybe possible for me to send images of what I am seeing through the Vox net to you all." Gale said, As His knight began lumbering forward he took each step step around the Guard to get to the front. His knights had looked forward trying to pierce through the storm to see as he readied to move forward with the Scouting teams.
Some music to accompany the setting: View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyjOPYK7FKk Six hours before anomaly detected on Ven II, Briefing Room - Arbites Controlled Sector of Flagship Reckoning Hour "Gentlemen, I have called you all here to inform you of the next stage of our orders. Now after the first expedition has yielded the results of their research, we have found that the location of a long lost artifact sacred to our founder, the infamous Malcador the Sigillite. You all know that at this very moment, it is our sacred duty, an honor debt that must be paid that we secure this relic before any others could use it to sway our presence here. Each and every one of you have trained, dedicated your lives to this very moment and with the Emperors blessing we will accomplish our mission before anyone else can become aware of the situation." Chief Justicar Rahl states as he walks up and down the ordered ranks of the entire Arbitrator force, their static forms silent and unflinching as much as their resolve. He knew that none of them would fall short in their duty and would blindly follow his orders, in the name of Terra, the Emperor, and the High Lords of Terra they would succeed. Seeing that their final mission was set, the Chief Justicar activated the holomap to project their target location...right in the center of the soon to be projected anomaly zone of Ven II. Highlighting the target zone, a battle plan was made to secure the location even as last minute supplies were secured from the ships manifest holds to prepare the small assault force. Three hours before anomaly detected on Ven II, Valkyrie Command Gunship "Judgement of Terra" Entering the cockpit to get a better view as the formation pierced the upper atmosphere of Ven II, Chief Justicar Rahl took in the view and began to formulate already in his mind how he would inform his superiors of their findings now that they were so close he could almost grasp it. "Time to target corporal?" "We should be over the LZ in a few minutes Lord...wait a second...I'm picking up massive disturbance in the upper atmosphere coming in from the target zone...sacred feth...it's moving faster than anything I've ever seen before. All hands brace for evasive maneuvers!" Just as soon as the corporal finished then the gunship began to bank hard as waves of concussive force battered against the sleek armored flanks of the gunships as they banked hard through the atmosphere hitting unforeseen cataclysmic gales which fought with all their might to tear them out of the sky. Klaxons blared with angry shrieks as if a banshee itself was attempting to gouge out their senses but this was nothing compared to the sudden sonic boom of the Valkyrie suddenly plummeting out of the sky as its instrumentation died without any warning. Bracing himself in the entrance to the cockpit, Chief Justicar Ordwin Rahl had only a few moments to prepare himself before the gunship ploughed straight into the hardened soil of the moons cracked surface throwing him across the deck behind him. Metal shrieked and groaned as the stresses of the impact fought to rip apart the mighty vessel of the Imperial war machine. Broken apart in three sections, the stricken Valkyrie lay upside down with the cockpit smashed into the side of a large outgrowth of rock while the left wing lay sticking out of the ground in a mock pose of a guillotine behind them. Several minutes passed as eardrums rang with the incessant chimes of shell shock disorienting the first Arbitrators to awaken inside the cargo hold even as the Chief Justicar was hauled shakily to his feet and laid against the gunships hull. Waking as Chastener Hendrickson injected a combat stimulant into the Justicars neck, he wretched out the contents of cheap amasec the Navy called "alcohol" and some last bits of undigested venison before recovering enough to stand. "St..status report Chastener...where the sacred feth are we?" "Unknown my Lord. Sensors are completely gone and vox-chatter is almost impossible to make out over the interference. However based off the last paths before systems failed, the entire formation was in relative close proximity so we all should of crash landed within a few kilometers of each other." The Chastener raised his gauntleted hand to shield his face as he spoke, waves of grit and dust smashing into his unprotected face as the storm which had stricken them down intensified. Looking around for the first accurate time himself, the Chief Justicar saw that they had landed from his estimates no less than fifty klicks southwest of their intended destination which could be vaguely seen out in the distance. However, as he attempted to focus on it, the target zone seemed to vanish from view only to refocus hazily moments later as if it was not really there. Deciding that it was best for his stomach and psyche not to pay it any more mind at this moment, he turned to inspect the remaining survivors. Taking stock of the crash landing, they had been very fortunate in that most had survived the impact. Watching two darkened forms of Arbitrators carrying out the pilot and co-pilot and laying them into the body bags, they had taken almost no casualties. Most of their injuries were sprained limbs or light concussions from impact but most of their gear was in a much worst state. Out of the fifteen Arbitrators left, they had no working vox-casters or comm beads as long as the storm raged overhead. Most of the more sensitive auspex and cogitator machines they had brought with them were like wise damage beyond repair or inoperable forcing them to leave them behind as the insertion team grouped up and began to advance in the general direction their quarry rested. Justicar Rahl hoped that the rest of the strike force would have the same idea and had like wise been as lucky as they had or better yet, had not completely lost their transport on their unexpected short journey down to the moon. Aside: The Arbitrators were seen leaving in force from the Reckoning Hour but their final destination was unknown until a distress beacon that was automatically activated was detected deep within the anomaly zone on Ven II. The signal is weak and continues to bounce sporadically with a three hundred kilometer differential. Among the materials taken by the Arbites Warhost was an abnormally large amount of high explosives and meltas in addition to three high powered portable cogitators, two Taurox Assault Vehicles, and unbeknownst to the Navy retinue, a homing beacon for the primary weapon batteries.
Main Imperial Guard Force - Hour of Reckoning A Battalion of Warhawks scrambling in their bays to prep their birds. Orders came in from the General to support Naval operations. 68th Warhawks have their own ships so can support the fastest, but right next to tjem was a Battalion of Spectres prepping to get on Naval boats with similar orders. The Spectre Battalion forgoing most of their camouflage in favor for specialized equipment for shipborn operations. The orders were only a WARNO but depending on the General's conversation with the Admiral (@PorOborosCain ), the orders will be activated in short order. Two Battalions of soldiers should handle anything a ship should be armed with.
