<Searched too far, too deep, too greedily.> Kombuse was still on his side, dazed, his ears ringing, and a whole new kind of pain that even the beatings he took in prison paled in comparison, before his senses...somewhat came back to him enough for him to hear Bo'kar. ".....Yes sir. ...Thank you." the trooper was able to say barely, feeling not much more than defeat and disappointment with himself but still thankful for the Warpsmith's intervention. Stumbling around to get up and drag himself out of the forge and back to his room, getting out Bo'kar's hair was the least he could do as thanks for getting saved. Not to mention with his head still ringing, he probably couldn't really do anything useful for awhile.
<Meeting with the Admiral> Comms Officer Lopez [ @Vlayden | @Colapse ] The man stopped his salute and marched off. It was quite interesting to see that Ausarius was not letting the Admiral be. Oh indeed it was getting interesting, especially as he started to learn rumors of more and more factions building up on-board the Nightfall. Silently, Valu wondered how far the tendrils of Phocron might have reached and if there might be agents like himself already walk amidst the Admirals crew. He just shook his head - focusing on his task and started to get to the bridge where he would take his position as proper comms officer for now. There would be time to give Phocron a copy of the vox-protocols in due time. Gifted Requisition - Valu the Winged Beast [ @BuriasDempsey ] The Alien was surprised when he had received an unsealed missive, simply lying on a shelf in his room. He opened it and saw that it was a requisition order for a new set of Flak Armor and a Mask. It had no real details, but apparently order numbers which must have correlated to the finished pieces. For a moment he wanted to believe that Satharn or even Viator might have left it here, but neither of them would make sure to show him they can infiltrate his room without him even waking up. No, this was Phocron's work - for sure. He smiled. Either he was enough trouble for them that they made sure to keep him in line, or they really wanted to reward him. Without much thought he grabbed the work order and discarded the missive somwhere on the way to the workshop and armory. Once there, he found a familiar face and luckily not a crazy looking giant who was more machine than space marine. "Kombuse!" Valu yelled out, while waving. Once in reach, he would hand over the work order. "My requested gear seems to have been completed according to this paperwork. I would like to pick it up. And well... I figure I don't need this current set anymore, so I suppose you could put that in the armory, or fix it up for someone or something. Of course not this." He grabbed the paper bag on his head and pulled it off to reveal his massively burned face with also various cut wounds. One eye was higher than the other one, the face having become distorted as flesh must have melted a bit at some point and having misplaced his facial features. There was also no sign of a nose, as if it was cut off. Not a single piece of hair grew on his scarred head and his uneven smile made him look even more crazy. Kombuse would be able to see that the gear was a full set of flak armor, including boots and gloves. And the mask would be a ballistic mask including a cloth mask for beneath. Both of them were just recently completed and unlike Valu's current Khorne dedicated armor, his new gear had clear instructions to make them undivided. However, there was a 'special decoration' marked on the mask - what it was, they had to go and find out together, it seemed as the paperwork did not reveal such thing. "Oh by the way. How are you doing? I'm also the resident medic for all mortals, learning under Apothecary Ukris. I met Quor Gallek... He can be quite intimidating and has quite some powers. I just want to make sure he didn't inflict anything too drastic on you." He smiled warm like that of an actually caring person, though again - it just made Valu look wicked.
Having now come into full melee with Corbulus, Gorzkha no longer feared the bolt pistols bark, even if he had just been struck by it, taking a step back while making a low upwards curving swing, the warchief too decided to embrade his more Khornate side and focus all of his strength on bringing down his quarry quick. OOC: all out attack Other than that not much immediately changed, the blessed troupers of of Corbs mop proving the most valueble, as the background commander kept trying to get troopers to the predator tank, they would be met by the backlog of the herd if they succeded in running around the melee crunch, perhaps even the newly freed minotours. OOC: this last bit is only if i had 2 bray shamans, im not sure myself or if my only wielder of warp is in the gardens a fair bit away As the fighting had began proper, a different tint could be tasted in the air, as the remaining bray shaman began to try and wield his magick, seeing the gors being brought down by the plague guards he would try and bestow a greater bestial strength and frenzy upon the herd. @WanderingJester
<Herdstone clash> @Grall_Stonefist @WanderingJester Using similar tactic like before, Corbulus managed to once again hit Gorzkha with his pistol, the strength of the hit pushing beastman back and somewhat dazing him, making him miss his retalitory strike. Eviscerator went wide and Corbulus moved in, swinging his axe around and carving up a deep gash across Gorzkha's shoulder and chest, ruining his fur and drawing more blood. As for the rest of the battle, it started to turn out a little bit different than the duel. Bray shamans started chanting and their magicks, mixed with the smell of blood and death surrounding them, pushed tthe herd into its more primal state. Nero managed to finally put down the minotaur attacking him with a well-placed shot in the head but as soon as the creature fell more of the Gors took its place, jumping on the Wolf of Horus and clobbering him with their blunt maces. Creature inside the Predator finally figured out how to use the main weapon and the attacking Khornates disappeared in a blaze of superheated air, leaving only ash behind. Those troopers coming from behind almost reached the vehicle but now that they lost their distraction force more of the Ungors turned to face them and in the following firefight, both sides suffered casualties. Captain Robb and his plague guard held the lines but no matter how many cloven ones they killed, more of them kept on coming like a proper tide of Chaos. Corbulus:15HP vs Gorzkha:8HP Lupercal army vs Nightfall's Herd (Beastmen advantage)
After being pulled aside, Erelak looked at Viator for a few moments before speaking. "I have remained unaligned to any of the gods as I have fought so far, but now I wish to dedicate myself fully to the service of Slaanesh. I believe that the life of pleasure would suit me very well." He smiled. "I thought perhaps you could aid me, as you are one of his Servants?"
Roaring in the anger of his own ineffectiveness Gorzkha kept on the offensive, swinging with more beastly ferocity than he had before, like his herd pushing back the the attacked original egde he too would push back the arrogant wolf and prove himself the alpha of the ship. OOC: all out attack
Corbulus continued his assault, focusing primarily on his attacks with his power axe. However, his other weapon had not been forgotten; the pistol came up for another whip. The sidearm smashed into the side of the chieftain's head once more, this time doing more damage and staggering him. The Alpha Wolf followed up with a vicious strike from his primary weapon. He could remember the steely gaze from Khorne earlier, and like a child under the gaze of his stern parent, he braced himself to put up a good performance to the blood god. The weapon bit deep into the beastman's shoulder, allowing more blood to flow, blood to please the blood god. The retaliation from the beastmen went wide, lacking the discipline the greatest warriors of Khorne held even in the deepest of their rage. Corbulus continue to press the attack, intending to pass this trial of Khorne and grant proper worship to the Lord of War. However, around them, their forces had begun to be pushed back. The sheer numbers of the beastmen had begun to close in, and however many they killed, more and more arrived. Nero found himself dogpiled by a bunch of gors, and the bolter firing at point blank range along with the combat knife slicing and stabbing left and right. One of the rear squads, spotting the besieged astartes, rushed over, combining a volley of shots and bashes to get the beastmen off of him. To the other side, the sheer attrition of the beastmen finally became a burden to the plague troopers and their leader, Captain Robb. Several of the mortals found themselves dragged under by the numbers, and only with the strongest of reluctance did they began to withdraw, forcing the advancing beastmen to climb over the bodies of their own dead. This, however, made Corbulus's own situation more difficult, given his duel location now turning rapidly into a peninsula surrounded by a sea of beastmen. Still, he fought on, ignoring the peril closing in around him. The lord of brass had given him a test, and a test he shall pass. @Grall_Stonefist OOC: All out attack.
<Quartermaster Kombuse> Stuffed under his helm there was a gauze packed into his left ear with a bit of red on it now, Kombuse was sitting behind a counter with cage wire on top of it to form a wall between the armory racks behind him and the rest of the room, leaving only a square hole for the exchanging of equipment. "Big tank tried to eat me after being nice to me...things could be better." Kombuse answered him as he looked at the list of things, not really seeming to notice the mutilated appearance of Valu. "...I didn't even know we had work orders." The boy said to himself, more surprised by the presence of the paper than anything else, before he looked around at the racks behind him to find what the other guy came for. "I got put here after that by Bo'kar, so I guess not everything is bad if he's still letting me fix stuff." The Trooper explained before finally finding the armor and pulling it off the shelf. It was black with only the chaos star on it and....some other mark he was guessing was some sub cult on the ship, making Kombuse have a frown underneath his grotesque mask as he shook his head. If he was just switching to another god, that's at least more understandable, but backing down from following one god all of them seemed like a wishy-washy thing. He went back to the counter and handed it to the former khornate guy. "Actually....do I know you? You seem to know me..." Kombuse realized, since it was the first time he actually met the guy who knew his name.
The Priestess' Quarters @Uriel1339 Spoiler "Your mortal perception is faulty, limited, inhibited. You feel blind because you are, Valu," Xaviera said simply. She favored him with a small smile all the same. "Does a bug understand how its work supports the hive? Does the star know its place in the constellation --- or the night sky? Like you, they live in a vast cosmos. Even stars are small in the great order of things, minute next to the Dark Gods. Yet they have their place, their form, and their function. Yet the great wisdom of Lorgar allowed him to peer past mortal perception and view the cosmos from the eyes of the Dark Gods. We all have a place and a use, if not a purpose. I will forward a selection of passages from the Book to your quarters, yes?" she suggested, and stood again to turn the chair away from him. "And you can come back to me and we can talk when you have had a chance to contemplate its wisdoms. If you don't mind, I'd best rest," she added with an apologetic smile. The Navigator's Quarters @Colapse Spoiler "How times change," Xaviera intoned. A small smile touched the priestess' lips. She extended her hand to clasp Delilah's. "Friends," she said, and studied the Navigator's eyes. "And I mean that," she said very softly. Releasing the Navigator's hand, she picked herself up and made to stand. "Though, I believe I've taken quite enough of your time now... May I just call you Delilah? ... It's been my pleasure."
Gifted Requisition - Valu the Winged Beast [ @BuriasDempsey ] "I see... Well, feel free to see me anytime you need. Ukris directed me to tend to mortals as much as I can. Gaining experience and of course to take work load off of him, so he can do the Plaguefathers work." Valu said to the first bit, smiling quite widely as the armor and mask was handed off. He was surprised to find blue feathers with purple tips on each side of the mask, just above where the eye slits. The flak armor bore a blue snake on the left shoulder pad, but had no sign of the wings. This indeed was personalized and there were only a handful of people who knew of his wings. And only one of his snake form. He took it and started to undress right there, while maintaining the talk to Kombuse. "Oh. Yes, I fear we never were properly introduced. I was the voice of the speaker in the prison who led you, Delilah and Quor through the corridors? My name is Valu. It is short for something quite cumbersome to pronounce, so just call me that. I'm a medic, servant to Satharn Tem, Fourth Claw, Fifth Company. Student in the medical field to Apothecary Ukris. Student in the Primordial Truth to Xaviera." He said with pride, not before long standing there clad in his new armor and having also put on the black cloth mask with slits for his eyes. And on top of that came the ballistic mask with the two wings and even smaller slits for his eyes, also no space for his nose or mouth - yet he still could breathe through it. Also what was interesting is that as he put the armor on, there were small elastic holes on the back just where his wings could extend out - most likely so he wouldn't hurt himself or tear the armor apart. Somebody made sure his gifts' potential were ready to be used. Valu - Intermission; Follow-Up visit with a Patient [ @Kalle ] Spoiler "Of course, of course." He said and got up slowly, his legs in fact a bit hurting from kneeling in that position for so long, but he didn't mind for the insight he gained. "Thank you for the tutelage, Mistress Xaviera. I shall await the texts and study them thoroughly and come to you with any insights and questions I have... Oh and..." He put his hand in one of his pouches on his belt and pulled out a single blue sapphire feather that towards the end turned into an amethyst purple. He put it on her desk. "Just a little something. After all, if anyone here might appreciate it, it might be you. Since I doubt Delilah would appreciate such gesture." The curious soul left it at that and turned to leave, but he was walking at a pace at which the witch easily could stop him if she wanted to - and if not, he would return to his quarters. This conversation was interesting and made him indeed curious if he was wrong about Khorne and Nurgle. Time would tell. After all... Perhaps it is just trauma from the warband he served without understanding the bloodshed, just like he might be simply scared of Nurgle after being almost torn into pieces by living corpses back on Schindelgheist.
