A penitent engine, an ork in fake power armor, and a primarily non-combat mission. Hyare was doing more than just questioning the honor of this assignment, he was beginning to think that command hated him. Reigning in his own internal maelstrom of frustration and anger, White Scar decides to keep himself silent. Whatever questions the others asked suited him fine, if they missed any gaps in knowledge or logic with this large a crowd containing as many high ups as it did then any hiccups or complications were well deserved. Running over the details over and over again Stormseer was more concerned with figuring out a place for himself during deployment. Something where he could work to his best abilities without hindering the others, whatever misgivings he had about this entire debacle they would not be allowed to interfere with duty. "Give me my bike and some helping hands. I believe capturing any personnel of interest among the heretics and traitors would be well within my realm of expertise. " It was like head hunting, without the beheading bit. Not to mention he seemed to be one of the very few psykers present, and thus vital to countering any chaos dickery.
@Keidivh Danse appreciated Zuriel's words. Having seen him again he now remembered him from that terrible war. He was part of the crusade sent to save the Boros from themselves. "That's kind of you to say Zuriel. Perhaps one day Uther will return to us and our chapter can truly be forgiven. Until then we will fight and the help your chapter gave, and you yourself, means a great deal to me. Until then, let us fight as brothers once again and liberate this system from the shackles of the heretic." Soon after the meeting started. Danse wasn't surprised to see an Imperial Navy or Imperial Guard commander here with the Warmaster, or even to see an Inquisitor or Sororitas Cannoness. What surprised him a great deal however was the presence of a Gray Knight. Danse had known of the elite chapter of daemon hunters and had met them once. A few of them had served as inquisitor's bodyguard during the War of the Gift and they had assisted in "evaluating" him and his brothers after the war. Seeing one again wasn't pleasant and it made him uneasy. If this crusade necissitated such a warrior then there was something truly terrible here and they were stuck with it. Danse's unease mounted. He wanted to leave this room and get on with their mission. He'd feel better if he could get out on the field. So he simply sat and listened, patiently waiting for them to be dismissed. It was still his duty to present the Appreciation Meal to the Warmaster but he for one had lost his appetite.
While the meeting was ongoing, Zuriel took notice of a late arrival. From the looks of it a commissar. A curious addition for such a task force. With the kind of missions they were to be sent on, it was beyond doubtful that the crusade council would allow anyone with the chance of having wavering faith and valor would be allowed in this unit. It brought to question why he would be brought along. The it dawned on Zuriel who the man was. He remembered the face and name of every Guardsmen who had stood by his side on Victus Prime, Commissar Ludwig being the most valorous of the lot, standing against any kinslayer who dared to assault them. He turned to him to give a proper bow, giving the sign of the Aquila as well, a traditional sign of greeting and respect in his Chapter. His attention then turned to Sister Catherine, who was quite interested in the history of his chapter. It was flattering really, although concerning at the same time. Questions were dangerous things, especially from those strongly affiliated with the Ecclesiarchy and Inquisition itself. But he did enjoy stories. "Hah, quite the curious mind you have Sister. You sure you aren't a Remembrancer? Well, the Sanguine Templars were founded during the Second Founding itself, its first brothers veterans of the Great Crusade, the Horus Heresy, and Battle of Terra itself." There was a very glaring battle of that time the Sanguinary Priest left out, but none besides another Blood Angel could know of the pain that was Signus. "But I presume you wish to know of more recent history. My kin have taken apart in many crusades, nearly all directed against the Arch-Enemy. Make no mistake, the Xenos find no quarter with the Sanguine Templars. But we are dedicated to the eradication of the Kin-slayers, the Heretics, the Traitors. We have also taken apart of the second and third war for Armaggedon, the Defense of Baal, the Victus Crusade, just to name a few. As for our combat doctrine..." His eyes wandered down to his glaive for a moment. "Well, we are the sons of the Great Angel after all. We rely on rapid, earth shattering assaults, assaulting our enemies in glorious close quarters, cutting them down with glaive and chainsword, flamer and melta. Each strike is carefully coordinated, like a piece of art. What defines my Chapter most of all, is it's desire and duty to defend the purity of Mankind, physically, spiritually and mentally." Zuriel decided to give the Sister a moment to absorb the information he had given her, and he had been addressed by the Warmaster. And he wasn't entirely satisfied with the answer. The Astartes were not diplomats or scouts. They were Angels of Death, and restraining them from their most sacred of duties sat ill with the black armored Astartes. Yet he held his tongue, knowing to argue with the Warmaster would simply waste time and keep them from the field of battle longer. So he brought his attention instead to the Grey Knight. Zuriel couldn't help but feel a flare of rage in his spirit for a moment. The Sanguine Templars had the distinct 'pleasure' of serving alongside the Ordo Malleus more than most, mainly due to the Chapters... Specialization in hunting kin-slayers and demons. While they were true warrior and defenders of the Emperor's domain, they were in his eyes heartless, willing to cull entire worlds without hesitation, sometimes to protect their secret or to prevent further taint. Not even bothering to weed out the pure and faithful. The Sanguine Templars weren't ones to let this stand, and many uncomfortable standstills occurred between the forces. He was curious to see why this one was here, was he to be a part of the task force? Curious. "I have but one last question Warmaster. When do we bring retribution?"
Taking notice of the glaring look he was given by the Guard representative, Ludwig simply stared back, unflinching as the man seemingly attempted to intimidate him. Ludwig after all, knew he was late for the meeting and did not require the unwelcome attention of a man who had likely not seen battle for years to let him understand his failure. The only thing more annoying about this meeting however, seemed only to be the other individuals who would make up his squad for future missions. All of them seemed to ask a ridiculous amount of questions except for a select few he knew what it meant to be a soldier, keeping your mouth shut and taking the objectives. But what would one expect when bringing such an ominously diverse group together? Taking note of Zuriel, having gotten a better look at the Sanguine Templar as he bowed. Pushing himself from the wall he had been leaning on, Ludwig would return the sign of the Aquila to Zuriel in respect of the man. Strolling his way across the room he would approach his old friend, placing a single hand on his left pauldron. "It seems we will fight in yet another crusade together" Ludwig spoke, taking a glance at each of the others that seemed to surround Zuriel. "A pleasure" Ludwig spoke in greeting to all of those currently in his presence, his free hand resting lazily on the hilt of his power sword that was sheathed at his hip.
@Kalle , @Casavay , @DeezNuts , @Colapse , @DeranVendar , @BuriasDempsey , @XV-878 , @Wata , @GobMaw_HellSmasha , @Keidivh , @ItsTime , @Vulpas , @Vlayden , @Shadhunter , @High_Adept_Zeth , @Valonox With the marine representative nodding at Hyare's request for the bike, Lilith replied to Zuriel "Preferably sometime today. Now get going, you lot do have a mission to complete." As soon as she had said that, the doors that the team had entered to reach the Bridge opened again making it perhaps clear that the time for talking was over and the time to start getting things done was upon them. Naturally the assembled task-force could stop by the armoury first if any of their number felt it suitable to claim extra wargear such as grenades, specialist munitions or spare equipment..... Or if they felt their current equipment was good enough for the task at hand, they could make their way to the hanger where their transports (Or Vendetta, in Deckard's case) were waiting to set off. Needless to say, fingers were being crossed by both the Valkyrie and the Thunderhawk pilot as they hoped for a successful drop off of the task-force. (OOC: List of stuff in the armoury is found on the gear sheet, available on Discord {Those of you not on Discord: You really should. } and the first page of the OOC thread. )
It only took a singular moment for Ares before he offered a nod and went straight for the armoury, he spent not much time digging and choosing gear in the armoury for he had already made up his mind on what he shall take and it all was neatly packed into a bandolier, two krak grenades and a single frag grenade, along with a medikit.
The Kasrkin quite calmly made her way over to the armoury - and she wasted very little time in grabbing ALL the grenade bandoliers that she could. Krak grenades, frag grenades - hoisting them over herself so she could detonate a city block on her lonesome, and have some left over. Of course, as heavy as it was, she wasn't going to waste it all on herself! @Wata Her voxbead linked in towards Erika's own, and she piped up, "Hey, Guardsman. Get your ass to the armoury and try dragging those Sororitas or space marines with you; if we're going into this, I'm going to damned well make sure we have enough boom to rival the Astronomican in brightness."
Erika lingered a while before making her way to the armory. She was almost there when her vox cracked and a voice came through. @Vlayden "-Astronomican in brightness." was said right when Erika reached the door. She found Brooks hoarding explosives. "I can help you pack that. I'm not going to lug that with me, however." Erika said and searched for a sniper rifle. Picking it up from it's rack she did a quick check of the weapon and put it on her back by the weapon's strap. "So, is this a Kasrkin thing or do you really like blowing things up?" Erika asked and helped her with the explosives. "Because it can be done at a distance." She said slightly smiling and pointed at a mortar in the corner of the armory with her thumb.
The armoured woman simply shrugged as she tried to find some sort of duffle bag to stuff it into. "Y~es." Was her response to the question - and eventually at the point, she... Hoisted the bomb bag up EMPEROR'S TITS THIS IS HEAVY -- And went over to lift the mortar over the other shoulder. She took in a breath and glanced to Erika. "Pack up the shells, we'll set all this in the transport." She then said, clearly strained. WHY MUST I CARRY SO MUCH?! DAMN YOU LARS! She cursed her trainer mentally; knowing how he and her own experiences had made explosives one of the only reliable ways (in her mind) with making ANY situation solvable. Chaos Lord? 'nade. Chaos tank? KRAK it open (Lianna, shoot yourself in the damned foot for that) Even a damned Warhound! Just get some melta bombs and slap 'em on! She even knows how to make makeshift landmines with these things, and tripwires... Ahh, well. She can just focus on her joy of getting ranged boom-boom.
Deckard nodded along as the Warmaster answered his questions as those of the other members of the strike force. The idea of electing a leader seemed messy to him. He liked clear hierarchy. Either way, he didn't intend on putting himself forward for the position when the stakes were this uncertain. Why have his name pinned on a disaster if this thing went wrong? His job was to fly. No passengers this time, which was possibly for the best; he decided he'd prefer to see how the other members of the team behaved before feeling comfortable with them aboard his Vendetta, and he had no idea how he'd combat-lift the Sororitas in the strange walker anyway. He promptly exited the meeting room after the Warmaster finished speaking, filing out behind the others. He circumvented the armoury, instead going down to the arrivals deck to collect his belongings before proceeding to the designated hanger where his Vendetta was docked along with the requisitioned Valkyrie. He found his co-pilot waiting for him, and - after changing into his flightsuit - began working through the Mechanicus-approved list of pre-flight checks.
