Corbulus watched as the predator tank rolled up, outwardly expressionless. His troops, however, began to show signs of hesitancy at the main battle tank's presence. The Alpha Wolf understood that the armored vehicle would complicate things: they may have the numbers for now, but lacked heavily in anti-armor weapons. If this went to a fight, it would be bloody, likely for both sides. Still, he merely stood there with weapons in hand, not raised or leveled, but calmly waited as the beastman chieftain got out and stood up onto his tank, before jumping down. The plaguebearer's head on his horn made Corbulus raise an eyebrow behind his helmet, and next to him, he could hear the slight growl of the chainsword in Captain Robb's hand.

As the eviscerator toddling beastman chieftain addressed him, the Lupercal Army soldiers, as well as the Khornates, looked to their leader for guidance. Seeing Corbulus still at ease, the tension lessen slightly as the soldiers stood at ready but with their weapons lowered, and even the cultists restraint themselves. As Gorzkha spoke, a large minotaur stood behind him. The Alpha Wolf ignored the question posed, obvious an addition to the taunt, and replied evenly. "Several beastmen just now raided the shrines of the dark gods under the Wolves of Horus' protection, and therefore I have come to retrieve both what was stolen as well as the thieves themselves. Had they merely stole from me, I would have came with a smaller envoy, perhaps even alone, to settle such accounts."

With that, Corbulus's tone grew serious, and had his helmet been off, those in front of him would see a dangerous light glimmer across his orange eyes. "Yet they stole not from me, but from the dark gods themselves, daring to take from deities that could but at a moment strike them down without more than a thought. Such offenses demand remuneration, and from the hospitality, you showed me during your feast before the last deployment, I'm sure you would agree with me." He gestured towards the herdstone where the sacrificed happened many nights ago, before continuing. "All are welcomed to worship at the shrines we protect, as some of your kind have found to their pleasure, and shall always be."

"However, such audacity as to steal from the dark gods must not go unpunished, and so I am here to ask you for the perpetrators in order for them to answer to their crimes against Father Nurgle, Prince Slaanesh and Master Tzeentch, as well as have the stolen items returned to the shrines." Corbulus looked upon the beastman chieftain, giving a quick wave of his hand over the beastman's body. "You have shown yourself a faithful servant of the dark gods, and if I suspect correctly, these raids went outside of your supervision over those of your kind, which is why I come asking you for these things now. Unless of course, I was mistaken in thinking you alone commanded all beastmen on this ship, at which I apologize for disturbing you, and would entreat you to join us in hunting down those responsible." With that, the Alpha Wolf ended his words. He had no quarrels with the beastman chieftain, so long as he had not ordered those raids himself. If he had, then Khorne shall be pleased with all the blood that would be shed today, the Wolves of Horus' or the beastman's. It mattered little to the blood god where it came from.


@Grall_Stonefist

<Janitor Kombuse on the Job>
With the battle for the bridge done, what was once the captain giving its last death spasms, Kombuse heard the prettied up marine tell him to get his weapon to clean up the mess of flesh everywhere. "Sure, be back in a second." he said as he left to go get the heavy flamer, sighing quietly to himself as his previous reason for being here keeps getting derail by circumstance. Back again with his flamer, he noticed an odd difference in the air of the bridge now. As if it went through some sort of deep scrubbing by dozens of servitors, even though the flesh of the captain remained. Shrugging at the oddness, he flicked on the sparker flame and set to work on the mess. The gouts of flame setting the corrupted flesh ablaze, blacking it before turning it into ash and char pieces, Kombuse walking among his handy work as if the flames were of no concern to him as he hummed another tune, trying to get the job done fast but right so he could go on about his business.

<Kombuse and the nice talking tank>
The Pact trooper's mind was still filled with sheer awe for the warmachine he had come across and the grumpiness he still had for what Bo'kar had accused of him earlier to really grasp the fact that he heard someone speak to him. Giving his surroundings a once over and only seeing the servitors slowly catching up, he looked at the massive tank. "I-I was looking for something big to fix...the warpsmith didn't think I fixed the vehicles I did so I wanted to prove it. W-wha...who are you?" he asked, correcting himself as he took a couple of cautious steps closer to the chained tank. If it was talking to him, it didn't seem right to call it an object instead of a person. He's heard of baneblades before, huge tanks the imperial guard likes to use and they sometimes get on their own side, but this did not match any description he had heard of before. Maybe the Marines had their own sort of baneblade?

Gorzkha gave a quick bestial laugh before the grimace on his ugly face turned serius again, "All beastmen on Nightfall belong to me, not found tribes in the old darkness, belong to me. This is time of expansion, beastmen rule over manfilth serf here, we stayed, we was allways loyal to Nightfall and the dark farthers, we are children of chaos.
We take what is ours, your shrines where nothing but mirror of your own unearned and pitifull arrogance, your manfilth guards weak and unworthy like you. The herdstones are strong, the cloven ones conquer, we spread and serve the dark farthers." Gorzkha said before he snorted and contenuid, "you come here with gaggle of manfilth, so arrogant you enter our place herded up, beastmen are all over Nightfall, we are around you. but fear not, i will put your skull atop my throne." Gorzkha said though he dident attack outright even if the implication was that.
Instead a bestigor came to his side carrying a rolled up banner witch Gorzkha took and planted beside him, letting it show, the banner was that of nightfalls crest, though also covered in beastongue runes and ritualistic fetishes, and it seemed to pulse with dark power.

@WanderingJester

Corbulus nodded slowly at the beastman chieftain's words. Apparently, Gorzkha wanted an ego boost and thus sent his own to go and test him. That meant that nothing more had to be said. As the beastman chieftain took a banner from his henchman, the Alpha Wolf now raised his bolt pistol and aimed it at the enemy leader, causing all the soldiers on his side to raise their weapons, officers included. The Nurgle blessed chainsword in Captain Robb's hand now revved to life, the sound of its teeth sounding vaguely like someone coughing up a lung. Nero pointed his bolter at the minotaur behind Gorzkha, and the Khornates all now grinned, the various weapons in their hands gripped with tight, white knuckles. Tilting his head slightly, Corbulus turned his aim to the banner of the beastman, before firing a single shot through it.

The shot pierced not just the banner, but the tension in the room as well. Just like that, the Khornates charged into the beastmen opposite of them, screaming, "BURN! MAIME! KILL!" Nero opened up with a burst of bolter shots on the minotaur, moving backwards and to the side even as the undivided troopers all took cover and opened up with their own stub rifles. Tables closest to the squads got flipped, and a rain of lead flew at the opposing side. Nearby, Captain Robb charged into the fray, laughing the entire time. The nurgle troopers followed him, as they inflict both wounds and pestilence upon the beastmen, his chainsword flying through the air in worship to the plague god. Through the chaos, there were some signs of a larger plan: a single squad of undivided troopers, having quietly made their way to the perimeter of the standoff, set their sights now on their objective.

Charging forward, the men did not pause to fire or take cover, instead of using the covering fire of the original volley to their advantage. They bum rushed the predator tank, as per order, and, with close quarters combat weapons in hand and teeth, dove at the open hatchway of the vehicle. The controls within would prove too large for their hands, but they were not to convert the enemy armor, only to destroy its crew and lock any reinforcements out. All the while, Corbulus strode forward calmly, power axe wreathed in warp energy in one hand and bolt pistol in the other, firing at the enemy chieftain all the while, until he got close enough to strike with the power weapon. Once he did, he would swing the power axe forward, aiming for a limb or his head, whatever seemed most venerable. "Feel the fangs of Lupercal, beast!"


@Grall_Stonefist

OOC: All out attack.

Corbulus haddent exactly made a snap action when he decided that the fight was gonna happen, as Corbulus put a bolt through the beastblessed Nightfall banner Gorzkha pretty much grapped a close ungor and threw him up front to shield against the bolts he knew would be comming next.
Over the sound of the battle erupting, loud brays where heard to a point that they for a short while even overtook the crescendo of barking autoguns, he also heard the loud moooh'is bray of minotaurs as the one that had stood behind allready charged in blind frezy and the rest would be let out their cages, and Gorzkha followed suit joining his brays into the beastmen warcry as he made a giant spin to get as much momentum into his evicerator for when him and corbulus was to clash.
OOC: balanced attack defence.

though the tank would likely have tried to stay out the fight, the soldiers risking their lives to bum rush it through the herd properbly made the inexperianced crew feel pressed, putting the tank on lockdown, as the gunner tried to figure out the weapons, since the only one with a sorta of idea of what he was doing was the driver.

@WanderingJester

As the disgusting creature finally met its end, Erelak holstered his pistol. He knelt once again, making sure his leg was still mostly intact. He stood again. Turning his nose up at the remains of the enemy, he looked towards Viator. "I wish to discuss something with you in private once we are finished here." He looked back at creature briefly, smiling at the fact that the monstrosity had fallen, before turning back to face Viator for his answer.

<Herdstone clash> @Grall_Stonefist @WanderingJester

Fighting exploded in a heartbeat, both sides eager for combat and the combat was given to them. Herdstone chambers became once again a place of battle, blood and flesh flying all around. Nero fired in the Minotaur and his bolts ripped its flesh but the thing didn't seem to care in the slightest as it ran through the lesser humans, cleaving them around before he tried to swing for the Ultramarine, however the thing missed as Nero rolled out of the way.

Captain Robb and his plague guard were in the thick of it, killing Ungors by cutting them with their plague weapons, however such was the sheer number of the beastmen that they were currently locked in a stalemate of some sorts, unable to push through despite inflicting significant losses. The squad that went for the looted Predator saw it defended by more intelligent Gors who the moment they spotted them opened fire with their autoguns and killed couple of troopers before they could fire back. As for the tank crew, the beastmen inside still haven't figured out exactly how the gun operated so it remained silent for the time being, but that will probably not last for long.

As for the "main event", Corbulus struck first, using the superhuman speed he crossed the distance and swung his new power axe at the chieftan of the herd. Gorzkha however proved to be equally skilled, the blessing of the Dark Fathers flowing through the child of Chaos as he narrowly evaded the attack, axe missing him by hair's length. Bringing his eviscerator around his own attack scraped the Alpha Wolf's armor but did no damage to his actual flesh, the miss punished by a pistol whip move that smacked Gorzkha in the head and drew blood above his left eye.

Corbulus:15HP vs Gorzkha:11HP

Lupercall Army vs Nightfall's Herd: Tides of war (Balanced)

<Meeting with the Admiral> Comms Officer Lopez [ @Vlayden | @Colapse ]

The Communications Officer was being busy nearby the demigod and his admiral, writing a very extensive sheet on various vox-codes and frequencies down that were to be used henceforth. It was for safety as well as efficiency. For example, a direct channel to the enginarium would ensure that in case of system failure the right people could be contacted without having to worry about static interrupting or giving information to the whole ship crew - especially in case of boarding.

One of the few reasons Valu more than gladly volunteered for this was not just the convenient role of the body he had snatched, but also to regain trust and value in the admiral - as well as of course providing a copy of these vox-codes and frequencies to Phocron and his cult. Thus it was no mistake that in the main vox-console a relay was being installed that served as a sender on a very specific frequency and security codes that would forward any communication going through the main console.

Eventually he finished his work and brought his sheets of paper, roughly 5 single pages in total, over to the Admiral. The handwriting was somewhat sloppy which easily could be explained through the pace he wrote with, but it would definitely be readable. As he offered the sheets to Augustine, he looked up to the Astartes with an awkward smile and a slight nod. "Milord, apologies for interrupting your conversation - I shall begone now." He saluted to the Admiral, waiting to be dismissed.

Corbulus swung his power axe, directly at the head of the beastman chieftain. However, Gorzkha proved faster than he looked, and he ducked underneath it, the weapon's power field nearly smoking the hair on the chieftain. Likewise, the eviscerator came around only to collide with his pauldron, doing no damage outside of the cosmetics. The Alpha Wolf retaliated with a quick bash with his pistol to the side of the beastman's head, doing less damage and more aiming to disorientate his enemy with the strike. Coming back around, he lashed out with a series of hard slashes and smashes with the power axe, the warp aura around the weapon hungry for the chieftain's flesh as he pressed the attack.

Elsewhere, the battle continued. Nero had rolled out of the way of the charging Minotaur, the bolt shots managing to rip out chunks of flesh but unable to kill his target. The large beastman had barrelled through all bodies between the two, and only through the reflexes of his physique did he avoid what might have been a severe wound. Captain Robb looked unperturbed at the countless beastmen around them holding them back by sheer numbers. He and his plague troopers happily tore through the enemy, praising the plague god all the while and dedicating each kill and each body to the Lord of Decay. They continued on their path, even as disease bodies stacked up around their feet.

What proved interesting revolved around the beastman's predator. Even as the first squad got ripped apart by the autogun from the tank, the vehicle and those around it caught the attention of the Khornates who had followed Corbulus from the blood god's shrine. Perhaps in their blood mad state, they thought it a worthy opponent to battle, or they foresaw the slaughter they could inflict in the name of Khorne should they capture the vehicle. Either way, the group charged the tank with the directness only befitting the god of slaughter, or maybe the orks. Seeing this happening, the undivided officer immediately dispatched another two squads to rush the tank from behind, in the opposite direction of the cultists. Unlike the first squad, they lack all pretence of stealth, firing and killing on their way to the vehicle's open hatch, happy to let the cultist take the brunt of the fire for them as they awaited an opening in the fire to rush the predator.


@Grall_Stonefist

OOC: All out attack.

<1 on 1 with Viator> @Taec

Viator gave Erelak an awkward look and somewhat sighed before he pulled the Raptor to the side, going outside the Bridge and out of the earshot of its bestial guards. "Is there something you need of me Legionary Erelak? Be quick, I have no time to waste."


<Forge> @BuriasDempsey

"I am the thing that stalks the night little one. I see desire burning in your heart, you wish to inspect me, to see what I am, to have me for yourself? That can be arranged...Kombuse," as the Blood Pact trooper came closer to the giant tank, he felt drawn to it in a way that he couldn't explain. It was indeed a mighty machine of war, the likes of it haven't been seen in a millennia even by greater warriors than him, meaning that he was elevated to a greater position just by being in its presence. There were many numbers and strange writings on the hull of it, mixed with various scorch and burn marks, individually they meant nothing but Kombuse somehow knew they were telling a story of their own, a history of violence stretching far away into the now almost mythical past, were gods and men walked side by side. It would be great to be just a part of it, to be a hero, a mighty warlord of your own host, to command legions and bring ruin to the lesser beings. To be the lord of the galaxy to whom everyone would bow to and ask for mercy.

As Kombuse got closer he failed to see a maw opening at the side of the tank, close to its entrance. Covered in similar color like the rest of the hull it was difficult to spot it in this darkness, but even if the thing was dangerous there was no possible way for it to reach Kombuse outside him placing his hand in it. However what then happened was most likely serving as an eye-opening for the trooper. Tank, obviously unmanned, lashed out to the side as if something pushed it with a giant bat. Huge spiked track came right at Kombuse and there was simply no way to dodge the entire size of the vehicle that was most likely about to splatter him against its hull. But before that happened Kombuse felt something gripping him by his shoulder and violently yanking him backwards, just in time to evade getting killed by the vengeful tank.

"Stay down," trooper landed on his back as Bo'kar marched forward and placed his heavily-enhanced armor between Kombuse and the tank. He then grabbed the chains holding the vehicle and pulled it, making the metal whine against the hull of the vehicle, but instead of normal metal sound all Kombuse heard in his mind was screaming that almost forced blood coming out of his ears. Pain was excruciating but it worsened as the Warpsmith said something that awfully reminded him of the words the tattooed marine used against the daemonic entity in the prison, the words forcing him to stay put and suffer the pain.

Words of power were spoken aloud and the screaming reached a point of such intensity that the trooper almost went deaf before it went silent. He also became aware that during Warpsmith's "oratory" tank tried to set itself free from the chains holding it, lurching back and forth, but was ultimately unsuccessful. Satisfied with what happened, Bo'kar turned around and spoke again. "Don't do that again. You were lucky with the simple machines but this is something else. Better if you get out of here now, it will save me a lot of headache."


<Admiral's quarters> @Vlayden @Uriel1339

"Well, believe it or not, we were fine. That Viator marine gave us this deck to use and placed additional guards, those wicked looking beastmen, to watch over us if anything happens. But he was also smart enough to give us some proper weapons as well," Admiral said and nodded at her hip where a laspistol was holstered, "So we could defend ourselves properly. Nothing came our way and I think it had something to do with the rest of you knowing the importance of our task."

"Anyway I guess now will be the time for me and my men to prove our worth, we just received message that the Bridge has been made available for us so we're packing our stuff to move there and towards the quarters closer to it. I'm quite excited to be honest, this is one of a lifetime chance to command such grand vessel and I assure you, we won't let you down."

She was interrupted by Comms Officer Lopez who she gave a sideways glance as she snatched the paper from his hands. "Lopez, I applaud your dedication but can't you see we're busy? We'll talk about your situation later. Dismissed."