The Emperor's Executioners: Chapter 1

[Sigma]

Chapter 1: Decisions

"Apothecary Kovus." The Inquisitor paced around her quarters, studying some report. They were aboard the fast cruiser Intrepid and on the dark side of Kiljaro IV. "When did you attain such rank" she asked. "Six months ago, Lady," he replied. "So, not before you joined the Deathwatch and only during recently during your tenure with the Deathwatch.

"Kovus, you know who I am. There's been a question I," she hesitated, looking away from him, "I've been wanting to ask. How.. How's my father?" Kovus smiled. She remembered Tiberius and still calls him father.

"Brother Tiberius was alive and well last I saw him three years ago. Since I joined the Deathwatch, I have had no word of the Chapter. I trust, from your anxiety, you too have not?" he answered.

Heinke shook her head. "No. It's been so long... There were many nights I missed the security I felt..." The Inquisitor looked at him and Kovus saw a touch of fear in her eyes. "Ciara, if you are worried about my judgment and his judgment, do you think we would damn you for our mistakes?" For a moment, the fear wavered and the Inquisitor turned away. When she turned to face him again, it was the same hard face he had seen in the training room. Good, she can hide such feelings, he thought.

"Inquisitor, I'm sorry to interrupt but as per your orders, we have run a full spectrum scan. All Imperial communications from the planet are garbled and frantic. Most are pleas for aid. We have intercepted a few transmissions from the Star Lions Space Marine Chapter. From what we have so far decrypted, it does not look good for the world," the bridge captain said suddenly over the ship vox system.

"And non-Imperial?" she snapped. "Ork planetary communications are rudimentary. Basic radio signals all directed to and from a single point. We believe whatever leadership the Orks possess is there. There is also an interplanetary communications array close to this encampment. Roughly eight kilometres. We have tracked transmissions emanating from the array to an unknown location. From our analysis, the recipient is is another system."

Heinke considered the situation for a moment. "I want the Deathwatch Marines in the Drop Pod bay in 20 minutes. Get us over the array and be ready to release the Marines within the hour. Full stealth measures. I don't want any Ork ships discovering us. Out." She turned to Kovus, "I'll see you down there, Brother Apothecary."
---------------------------
20 minutes later

"This is the lay out of the area which we are concerned with. A coastal area. The objects by the shore are abandoned civilian huts. Imagery shows them to be straw huts, so don't expect them to stop much.

"The large structure in the northwest is our ultimate objective. Sergeant Longinus, your squad is the preliminary landing force. You will land in the open grass area to the south east. I had considered the clearing in the forest but I believe there are Orks waiting in there. Such a landing would expose you all to huge amounts of fire and provide little maneuvering room.

"Instead, your squad's objective is to take secure the clearing and forest so that I can join you. From there, we will secure the interior of the array. There are extra-system communications coming from the array so we must assume that the Orks are within the array as well.

"Finally, there is a large Ork encampment eight kilometres to the the north east. Hopefully, we should be able to complete this job without alerting the main camp. If we do, we must pray that the river can slow them down. Sergeant Longinus, you are the ground force commander. Do whatever it takes to secure a landing zone for my shuttle. If the clearing cannot be secured, then an area outside the array. Do any of you have questions?"



This post has been edited by Sigma on Aug 24 2009, 03:08 AM

[Commisar Rawen]

Lycaeus’s left eye let out a low mechanical click as it automatically adjusted to take in the details of the picto-map. He had been the first to finish his preparations and assembled at the bay, and thus he had the honour of standing at the top of the line, just besides the sergeant. Lycaeus stood beam straight as always polished black and silver armour glimmering softly in the light of the launching bay, only his head was bare and the helmet slung under his left arm.
His normally shoulder long hair had been bound up into a tight topknot.

The landing area seemed an interesting prospect. Orbital assaults had always been his favourite form of engagement. Some commanders found it too chaotic or uncoordinated, but it was in such battles he and his Brother Astartes excelled, after all it was what they had been engineered for. Slowly Lycaeus raised his hand as the Inquisitor finished her briefing,

“I have a few questions…” He allowed the statement to hang in the air for a few seconds, his deep voice surprisingly low for an Astartes but strong none the less,
“Firstly, do we have any information in the current weather conditions? Secondly, have the sea been taken into account? Is it not possible for enemy reinforcement to arrive by sea?”

[thechosen1]

With his helmet clipped to his belt, Cale ran a hand through his hair, staring at rapt attention as the Inquisitor concluded her briefing. Descent by drop pod. The Astartes were known as the "Angels of Death" for a reason, and Cale had always preferred drop pod insertions. They usually caught the foe unprepared, and their confusion and chaos were all too exploitable in the thick of battle. It was much easier to close with the enemy and rip them apart, which was Cale's specialty. His armor glistened in the light of the briefing room, the light playing off of both the Deathwatch pauldron and the insignia of the Disciples. Would his brethren be proud of him, if they knew what he was about to do? Undoubtedly. An assault on an enemy strongpoint, the opening move in what was to be a decisive set of battles.

Brother Lycaeus asked the Inquisitor a question first, and Cale patiently waited for her to answer before posing a question of his own. "Inquisitor, what do we know about the armaments and strengths of the local Orks? Do they possess assets such as artillery?", tying his question in with Lycaeus' query about Ork reinforcements. It wouldn't do if the Orks had artillery pieces in place, or worse, their version of Titans; Stompas, as they were called by their operators. They were Astartes, but a resilient enemy like the Orks, backed up by their artillery, looted tanks, and Titans, was a foe that could easily overwhelm them.

[Sigma]

Heinke raised an eyebrow. "One question at a time. Brother... Lycaeus, the planet is in the middle of its dry season. Rain and fog should not be an issue if that is your concern. As for the sea, it has been taken into account that the Orks may possess a naval contingent. However, no reports as yet have been made about a sea borne force by the local Imperial forces. The Star Lions have been most watchful of such a tactic. However, it appears that this Ork commander is less cunning and more direct than the Ork Ghazghkull." She took a breath and continued.

"Armaments and strength, Brother Uros? The armament of the Ork is clumsily made and non-standard. No two weapons are exactly the same, though they somehow function the same. And the physical strength of the Ork is slightly less than that of a Marine. If you are asking about force dispositions, if I knew such crucial information I would certainly have said so. But as you will see from the map I have here, the area is thickly wooded. We cannot see into it yet there are burning vehicles just outside the array which indicates that the Orks are present.

"Knowing how close they are to their main camp, and how important the array is, even if for parts, it is probable that you'll see a lot. Perhaps you'd care to count for me?" She's become sharp of tongue, Kovus observed, Time to step in. "Inquisitor, Brother Uros meant no such slight. Forgive him asking the obvious; he is less familiar with the Ork's ways, having instead brought the Emperor's wrath to the infernal Tau and malignant Eldar."

A brief look of shock after Kovus had spoken appeared on Heinke's face. "My apologies, Brother Uros. I should not have spoken with such sharpness. Are there any other questions?" She looked around, wondering if the Ultramarine Sergeant would have something to say.

Kovus, meanwhile, felt slightly satisfied. She may look down on any other Marine as an Inquisitor but still looks up to us. I will have to let her know.

[Izaak.]

Gunther was the last to arrive to the brifing , as he took his time with preyers for death , and wishing a chaplain from his Chapter was there to aid him in his Death-Trance , he did the best he could alone before leaving for the breaifing.

He was not late , no marine would be , but hehad taken a back seat in the meeting until the inquisitor had taking a verbal snipe at Brother Uros.
They where the Death-Watch , and did not require a mortal human telling them what the basic weapon of an Ork was.

"Ja! , I vill count the Orks for you little Inquisitor. And then , vhen they are all very dead , i may even show you one."

He stepped farwards , not deleberately towering over the woman , but his posture was far from civil.

"Mein brother asked if you had infomation about their numbers , their larger veapons and vehicles. Not their pyhsical build. Servetors know such infomation.
Ve do not need you..." Gunther paused just enough to make it seam his sentance was done , before he contuined. "...to tell us as much."

He paced back to his starting postion , helm resting under his arm , a skull had been newly painted over the matt black.
Technically no markings from his orginal chapter should be shown anywhere other than the left shoulder , but he cared little.

"Now , is there infomation vorth our ears , or can ve get on vith dealing death ?"

[Sigma]

Kovus waited until his Brother had spoken his piece. Now was not the time to lose tempers. His duty to the squad was their physical health as well as their mental. He had known there was always friction between Brother Gunther and members of the Inquisition. "Brother, the Inquisitor has apologized and you disrespect her. Mortal she may be, our commander in this mission she most definitely is. Do all of your chapter abuse authority as such, Brother? Disagree and dislike Inquisitors and ideas of the Inquisition all you want in our training rooms but you border blasphemy by voicing such impudence in front of the Inquisitor!" Kovus wasn't sure if he was defending the Inquisitor, the scared little girl he once knew or Brother Gunther.

To his surprise, Inquisitor Heinke laughed. "Oh that is good, Brother Gunther of the Mortifactors. That is good. The first time in a while I have heard Marines speak such thoughts with vehemence. But not the first time. And certainly not the last," she said with a smile. "Stand down, Apothecary. Authority has its own way of dealing with such matters." She walked past all the Marines until she was standing before Gunther and looked up at him. "Mortal and a normal human, I may be, O Astarte. But by your reasoning, it was not my ilk and kind who began rebellion against kin and comrade. It was not mortals who laid low the Emperor but Space Marines. So the question beggars, would the Emperor still be leading us in battle if He had not created the Marines?

"And to hold yourself above mortals? Is that not the same high minded belief which sparked that great rebellion? You may look down on me, Mortifactor, and the Imperium may look up to you as its saviours but in the eyes of the Inquisition, every Marine is suspect. Those with thoughts such as yours, more so. I am not fond of repeating myself to one of supposed intelligence." She took a breath,"If I knew such information, I would have said so," emphasizing the last few words. She smiled and looked at the other Marines. "I have no reason to suspect Marines of the Deathwatch. But it is still the duty of the Emperor's Inquisition to remind those who forget their place. Apothecary, do not presume to speak for me again. I am quite capable in duels of speech."

"But, as Brother Gunther is so kind as to volunteer his services, I will take them. A count of every dead Ork and do bring back an interesting specimen. Not just some random Gretchin or Ork. An intact corpse with equipment will aid our investigation as to the origins of these Orks. Brother Uros, is my apology not good enough?"

[mixmastermind]

Pherick looked over the map with a keen interest. The objective seemed fairly simple, which was good. Complicated plans always had too many complications. The Ork camp was worrying, no matter how much he enjoyed bashing their heads in with a blunt instrument. He more than most knew not to underestimate these beasts. Having ninety percent of one's chapter destroyed will do that to a man.

This post has been edited by mixmastermind on Aug 24 2009, 11:35 PM

[Izaak.]

"Ich have not mentioned mortality , vhy vould you ?
But , as you ask , Nien , no-one is above deaths-grip."

He snapped his teeth , all of them a tiny bit more pointed than one would expect , in annoyance at the little woman.

Brifely the Astarte woundered whos side she was on before remebering ; Inquisitors are only every on their own side.
This one would be no differant.

"If you vish me to count Inquisitor , you vill have to join us. Ich am only able to count to twenty-one. After this i vill run out of digits und quickly lose my place."

A short bark of a laugh followed his snide reply and once more Güthers teeth snapped before coming to a wicked smile.

[kilian]

Absalom at last leaned foward out of the shadows, framing his scarred features and short hair as he broke into a wide grin at his brother marine's joke. He looked between the inquisitor and his brother marine.

"Well, as much as I do love talking, killing is far more interesting, and those orcs are not going to kill themselves eh?" Absalom looked up in mock thought, "How long has it been since my last one? A week I believe?" Absalom's smile widened slightly as he turned to the Mortifactor, "If you run out of fingers to count on, you can always borrow a few of the orcs'."

[Izaak.]

"Ja Brother Absalom ! Ich vill nail them to mein armour und finally be able to count like mine Brother Sergeant , vhom i'm sure vas vell schooled on Maccragge !"

He slaped his fellow marine on the shoulder , his gauntlet meeting the reactive pad with a metalic "clump"

Günther was please the Blood Angle joined him in the laugh , the convosation had gotten much to heavy.

[kilian]

Gregorus Absalom nodded to brother gunther,
"I just hope that 'intact specimen' doesn't include the fingers." With that the marine popped his neck noisily, turning to the inquisitor.
"I trust this mission has no backup like the rest, mlady?" Absalom made the half joke, though in reality not having backup had always worried him in the past. He suspected the answer to be the exact same, typical "no".

[Sigma]

Kovus breathed easier, silently thanking the Emperor for a level headed Blood Angel. "The only support you will receive is me when you secure a landing zone. I'll have plenty of ammunition for you to restock. My Thunderhawk will then circle the array until it is time for us to be extracted. We should thank the Emperor the Orks don't seem to have much that can fly either. I suppose, in the worst case, I could requisition all Star Lion Marines and have them come to our aid. Still, I don't expect a few hundred Orks to give us too much trouble," Inquisitor replied to Absalom's question.

[Garak]

"So is there any restriction on how much collateral damage we can cause?" asked Siegfried, his voice sounding like a distant thunder. Even when he didn't say anything, the Marine's presence was obvious to anyone with ears - his every breath clearly heard. "Or" he continued "can I torch everything in sight? That forest would make quite a sight if it went up while there were orks in it."

He then shrugged his massive shoulders and added "It would also announce our presence but" and now he lifted his flamer "I was never known for my subtlety."

[thechosen1]

He thought he'd been patient. That he'd respected the Inquisitor by waiting after his Brother had finished speaking. Apparently he'd reacted too quickly once she'd finished her statement; flabbergasted, Cale didn't know what to say. What *does* one have to do when incurring the ire of a woman powerful enough to destroy planets on a word? About to stammer an apology, feeling like a foolish child, Brother Anzo spoke up, his accented Gothic laced with intent. Cale was horrified; he'd always known that Brother Anzo harbored an innate distrust of the Inquisition, but speaking to her like this was, in Cale's opinion, asking for a quick death sentence. They were Astartes, true, but an Inquisitor had supreme power, even over them. A mortal commanding gods.

Thankfully, the Inquisitor seemed to take it in stride, even as Apothecary Kovus tried to prevent further bickering between the two factions. When the Inquisitor addressed Cale, he quickly stated, "Of course, Inquisitor", too flustered to say anything. It was unusual for Cale to be out of words, but something about the Inquisitor rattled him. Between the bond she seemed to have with the Apothecary and Brother Anzo's distrust of her, something just didn't seem right to Cale. There was a larger story he wasn't aware of, but it was, in the scheme of things, irrelevant to him. He was a close combat specialist and a member of the Deathwatch. He left all of his old ties behind for now, and wondering about the past lives of others was not his place, not now.

Cale flashed an appreciatve smile at Brother Anzo; though the Apothecary was correct, he appreciated his Brother's support. He'd not really known the Mortifactor or the Blood Angel; the reputations of both Chapters had made Cale just a tad bit trepidatious. They were just like him, however; he could see that now. As Brother Siegfried asked a question about collateral damage, Cale grinned at his Brother, his hand patting the hilt of his power sword. After the Inquisitor answered his question, Cale whispered to him,

"Same for me, Brother. It's hard to be subtle when you're knee deep in your enemy's severed limbs".

Orks were a new enemy to him. There weren't many Ork clans on the Eastern Fringe (the largest being occupied with it's destruction of the Tau Empire, an enemy that Cale's Chapter had left to it's own devices). He knew about their basic physiology and had read many reports of their battles, including the infamous Battles of Armageddon. He knew what he was up against.

[Commisar Rawen]

“I agree it may seem hard to be subtle when knee deep in limbs… That is why we shouldn’t just dive into them. Keeping our heads cool for once wouldn’t hurt I imagine”

Lycaeus’s thin lips drew up in a thin sarcastic smile; there were a clear edge in his tone even if it was more humorous then sharp. The mechanical part in his left eye whined slightly as it zoomed and he regarded first the young brother Uros and the focused back on the Inquisitor.
The whole discussion that brother Uros had caught was of course utterly pointless and precisely the kind of thing you could expect from some members of the Inquisition. She was surprisingly clumsy though… to insult an Astartes was never a good idea, no matter your status. That however wasn’t or at least shouldn’t be their problem, they had a task at hand and until that was done focus was required.

“So… I hope next time we will just be given a dataslate…”

This post has been edited by Commisar Rawen on Aug 25 2009, 02:43 PM