AlphaJester
Senior Member
OOC notes-
First, when you post to this thread your most recent requisition post in the briefing section is locked in and cannot be changed.
Second, Belial, please select which of the 2 valid oaths you will be leading your squad in before you post here, and put the oath in the briefing thread.
Third, this mission will seem very easy. This is because I want to make sure that things run smoothly before we get to the harder missions. I want to check that everything runs well with the forum, with combat, and especially with my communication to the players, since I will be verbally illustrating the scene, and will provide rough maps of the region. Expect future missions to ramp up the difficulty.
Fourth, please end your post with any action that requires a roll. For example, you want to use perception to check the auger array, make your roll and end your post. Same goes for opening doors, combat, etc. This will cause things to move a little slowly, and by and large my responses will be made away from my rule book since I will be at work. If I miss something let me know. If combat bogs down too much I will allow the players to identify the results of their shots, but I would like to wait and see how the slower version goes first.
Apologies for the long OOC. And please pardon my terrible map.
IC-
The drop pod launch was daring in the extreme. Typically conducted from orbit, this drop pod was being launched from nearly 3,000 kilometers away, to keep the Deathwatch cruiser safely away from the orbital batteries. The risks of the drop were extreme, to say the least. A fraction of a degree off course and even the machine spirit modulating the pods thrusters wouldn't be able to compensate for the error in trajectory. The kill-team would be careening through space until the pods retro-thruster kicked in and they could be recovered from the void with valuable time lost.
Still the 8 marine team boarded the pod and secured themselves into the harnesses. The door sealed and the pod launched, firing thrusters and accelerating rapidly to 12000 kilometers per hour. The trip to Vanir took all of 15 minutes.
The gravity force exerted on the marines would have been enough to turn a normal man into jelly; it was only thanks to their super-enhanced bodies and power armor protection that prevented them from being smeared across the inside of their pod.
Finally, 14 minutes and 30 seconds into the trip things began to change. The once stable voyage encountered atmospheric resistance and the pod began to shake violently as it descended through the atmosphere of unsuspecting Vanir.
Orbital defense batteries targeted the pod, bow glowing as the heat of friction illuminated its ceramite hull in glowing white, like a falling star. The big guns fired, missing constantly, unable to track the pod plummeting so violently towards the planet. With barely seconds to register, only a few men on the world below figured out what was happening.
There, in the sky above Vanir was a falling star. A star that fell as if hurled from the hand of a god. And riding that star were gods themselves - gods of war and angels of death, riding a burning star of vengeance, mere seconds from exacting that vengeance with bloody blade and bolt.
The machine spirit flew true, firing retro thrusters and the last possible spit second before crashing into the landing pad with terrific, thunderous speed. The hatches blew open at impact and the pods deathwind launcher burped into life simultaneously, spraying fire and shrapnel around the immediate area, giving the marines time to step from the pod and lay their enemies low.
Physical description of the landing platform:
You are on an octagonal platform that is approximately 100 meters across. It is cluttered with cargo crates and canisters that will provide partial cover without restricting movement. In the center of the platform, about 30 meters to your north is a solidly built bunker with massive antennae and communications equipment on its roof. This bunker houses the orbital defense controls.
Opposite the bunker (about 20 meters past the bunker) and to either side about 30 meters are a pair of fortified barracks, one to each side. Between them is a wide roadway that presumably leads into the city. This is the choke point you will need to hold until the Guard reinforcements arrive. Between the road and either bunker is a large tower, and you can make out the muzzles of multiple heavy bolters on each one, protected by a crenelated top that is otherwise open to the air.
Edit: shamefully, I neglected to indicatethat the command bunker is 20m to a side and does not have firing slits, only 1 entrance visible fom your location. It is closed.<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2014_05/map1.jpg.75a04536deca1e31bd04f6366d946535.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="24574" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2014_05/map1.jpg.75a04536deca1e31bd04f6366d946535.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p>
First, when you post to this thread your most recent requisition post in the briefing section is locked in and cannot be changed.
Second, Belial, please select which of the 2 valid oaths you will be leading your squad in before you post here, and put the oath in the briefing thread.
Third, this mission will seem very easy. This is because I want to make sure that things run smoothly before we get to the harder missions. I want to check that everything runs well with the forum, with combat, and especially with my communication to the players, since I will be verbally illustrating the scene, and will provide rough maps of the region. Expect future missions to ramp up the difficulty.
Fourth, please end your post with any action that requires a roll. For example, you want to use perception to check the auger array, make your roll and end your post. Same goes for opening doors, combat, etc. This will cause things to move a little slowly, and by and large my responses will be made away from my rule book since I will be at work. If I miss something let me know. If combat bogs down too much I will allow the players to identify the results of their shots, but I would like to wait and see how the slower version goes first.
Apologies for the long OOC. And please pardon my terrible map.
IC-
The drop pod launch was daring in the extreme. Typically conducted from orbit, this drop pod was being launched from nearly 3,000 kilometers away, to keep the Deathwatch cruiser safely away from the orbital batteries. The risks of the drop were extreme, to say the least. A fraction of a degree off course and even the machine spirit modulating the pods thrusters wouldn't be able to compensate for the error in trajectory. The kill-team would be careening through space until the pods retro-thruster kicked in and they could be recovered from the void with valuable time lost.
Still the 8 marine team boarded the pod and secured themselves into the harnesses. The door sealed and the pod launched, firing thrusters and accelerating rapidly to 12000 kilometers per hour. The trip to Vanir took all of 15 minutes.
The gravity force exerted on the marines would have been enough to turn a normal man into jelly; it was only thanks to their super-enhanced bodies and power armor protection that prevented them from being smeared across the inside of their pod.
Finally, 14 minutes and 30 seconds into the trip things began to change. The once stable voyage encountered atmospheric resistance and the pod began to shake violently as it descended through the atmosphere of unsuspecting Vanir.
Orbital defense batteries targeted the pod, bow glowing as the heat of friction illuminated its ceramite hull in glowing white, like a falling star. The big guns fired, missing constantly, unable to track the pod plummeting so violently towards the planet. With barely seconds to register, only a few men on the world below figured out what was happening.
There, in the sky above Vanir was a falling star. A star that fell as if hurled from the hand of a god. And riding that star were gods themselves - gods of war and angels of death, riding a burning star of vengeance, mere seconds from exacting that vengeance with bloody blade and bolt.
The machine spirit flew true, firing retro thrusters and the last possible spit second before crashing into the landing pad with terrific, thunderous speed. The hatches blew open at impact and the pods deathwind launcher burped into life simultaneously, spraying fire and shrapnel around the immediate area, giving the marines time to step from the pod and lay their enemies low.
Physical description of the landing platform:
You are on an octagonal platform that is approximately 100 meters across. It is cluttered with cargo crates and canisters that will provide partial cover without restricting movement. In the center of the platform, about 30 meters to your north is a solidly built bunker with massive antennae and communications equipment on its roof. This bunker houses the orbital defense controls.
Opposite the bunker (about 20 meters past the bunker) and to either side about 30 meters are a pair of fortified barracks, one to each side. Between them is a wide roadway that presumably leads into the city. This is the choke point you will need to hold until the Guard reinforcements arrive. Between the road and either bunker is a large tower, and you can make out the muzzles of multiple heavy bolters on each one, protected by a crenelated top that is otherwise open to the air.
Edit: shamefully, I neglected to indicatethat the command bunker is 20m to a side and does not have firing slits, only 1 entrance visible fom your location. It is closed.<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2014_05/map1.jpg.75a04536deca1e31bd04f6366d946535.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="24574" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2014_05/map1.jpg.75a04536deca1e31bd04f6366d946535.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p>
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I have tactical expert