+++Class IV Warp Conglomerate Detected.+++
+++Analysing... ... ...+++
+++Composition:
27% Unprocessed minerals.
14% Ice and frozen liquids.
38% Synthetic debris (including an estimated thirty-three spacecraft of various origins).
21% Unknown - scans unable to penetrate to Hulk's core.+++
+++Threat Classification: Alpha Extremis.
Hulk's course will take it within striking distance of vital Inquisitorial installation on planet Thera.
Loss of Inquisitorial installation unacceptable!
Protect at all costs!+++
The Deathwatch stood in the centre of the teleport chamber, surrounded by all manner of arcane machinery. Their Strike Cruiser was holding position a hundred thousand kilometres off the Hulk's starboard flank, having located a suitable insertion point via passive scanning.
The team's mission was simple; board the Hulk and disable it at all costs. Their insertion would place them just prow-ward of an Ork raiding vessel fused to the surface of the Hulk. Power signatures from the wreck suggested that some of its systems still functioned, which in turn meant there could be survivors.
An Inquisitorial cogitator in an eyeless black hood turned sightlessly toward the Deathwatch. "My Master advises you to move against the Orks with all speed. Silence what weapon systems you can and secure a landing platform - once we have a foothold, we can move additional men and supplies aboard the ship. Until then, you are on your own; we have no means of extracting you."
This came as no surprise to any of the Deathwatch. The air of the chamber became thick with the smell of burning metals and the foul stink of Warp Space as the mystical device gathered the power required to sunder reality.
The teleport itself was a sudden thing - a brief lurch, a sudden chill of being exposed to the void, and the Strike Cruiser was gone. In its place was a darkened chamber that had perhaps, in ages past, been a mess hall. Now it was forgotten, its port wall crushed inwards and its floor upheaved. The aft door stood ajar, half slid into the wall and halted by power failures. The only other exit was a door to starboard, powered down in the closed position. There were no signs of Orks here, though the faint smell of them drifted through the stagnant air.
Brother Gideon hefted his hammer with both hands, feeling its satisfying weight against his armoured gloves. He shook his head slightly. Even a brief transit through the immaterium left him unsettled. It was an unavoidable fact that the only way to move so quickly over vast distances was to skirt the edge of death and madness. The stench of Orks permeated the chamber, faded with time or distance. Relaxing slightly, Gideon set his auspex to scan the surrounding area for any hidden passages or survivors.
Isidur checked that his helmet seal was still fully connected, which it was. The smell of orks was foul even through the filters.
As they appeared to be in no immediate danger, he lowered his weapons and instead looked around the area that they had arrived in, although there was not much to be seen.
Samuel swiftly recovered from the teleport. Drawing his pistols, he moved to check the aft door.
Severus performed a rapid check of his servo harness to ensure nothing had been damaged by the teleport. Activating his auspex he began to scan the area. He walked over to what seemed to be the main door to the chamber and he inspected the control pad for functionality. It was a little damaged but a few loose wires were no challenge.
He then began to hunt for a functioning dataport so that he might learn what parts of the ship were still functional, and what parts we going to be blocked off to them.
After a taking a moment to recover from the disturbance in the warp, Zoltan set his psy-senses to examining the local area. Finding nothing, he ran a quick sweep of himself and his systems before taking up position by the main door.
Brother Connolly shook himself a couple times to get the affects from the warp jump out. He was still getting used to it, having never used it while with the Black Knights. He could smell Ork, but it was stale, they were alone for now. He sheathed his sword and slung his storm shield over his back, looking around at his Battle Brothers. "Brother Severus, anything of use on the auspex reading?" He asked, bolter now drawn out.
It didn't matter how many times he traveled this way; Isaac knew he would never get used to teleportation. It was worse somehow than translating through the warp in a ship, perhaps due to the more personal nature of the Immaterial jaunt. To be frank, were he still the boy he had once been, a Fleet Serf deckrat lacking the lyman's ear and improved constitution of a space marine, he knew he probably would have vomited all over the floor. As it was, he flashed into being with shield and weapon at the ready, only permitting himself a moment to shudder nausea out of his limbs after he finished sweeping the room.
With the indescribable smells and sensations encountered during warp-transit abating, the Torchbearer could quickly tell from his filter-contaminant readouts that the hulk's stale air was expectedly thick with Ork spores and impossibly ancient dust. But Isaac was quite at home; he had been born in environments like this, though less dilapidated, and hadn't set first foot on solid ground until well after his twentieth year. He just praised the Emperor his mental conditioning had been sufficient to overcome the resulting agoraphobia.
Keeping his weapon trained on the only open door, with a wary eye towards the second, he spared a bare moment to examine his new battle-brothers. He had only recently been nominated for this prestigious posting, and their summons here had been urgent; there had been no opportunity to get to know the Astartes in his team before starting his first mission for the Deathwatch.
He noticed with approval as the Astartes with a bloodred claw marking one shoulder moved to cover and investigate the sealed door, impressed by the variety and potency of the uncommon and high-tech weaponry the Marine carried. Baraquiel resolved to learn how the warrior obtained such ordnance, though he hoped it was not through close partnership with the ignorant, self-aggrandizing leeches on Mars.
Likewise, he noted the tabarded, hammer-toting marine with keen interest. Though the Bright Lords were not of Dorn's line, their initial training cadre had been from the Imperial Fists, and veneration of the knightly heroism of Sigismund was in their bones. It would be fascinating to learn more about such a spiritual foster-brother. The marine next to him, crimson sword marked clearly on one shoulder, was not of a chapter Isaac knew, but his bearing and the sword in his hand suggested that here too was another Astartes of chivalrous mold, and it lifted his spirits in this oppressive place.
The Apothecary surprised him. Though he was somewhat uncomfortable at the thought of being treated by another Chapter's hospitaller, he knew the book-and-blood-drop marked Marine might well prove the difference between life and death, and the success or failure that brought to their mission. He wondered that a chapter would willingly part with so vital an adept; did they have an unusually high number of them, to lend one so?
And... He couldn't quite make out the chapter symbol, but the meaning of a psychic hood was unmistakable. He was honored to have the mystic lore and wisdom of one of the safr
Severus turned to Connolly as he was addressed. "I am not detecting anything in the immediate area. We need to shut down the weapons on this Hulk, or at least take control of them." We should head to the bridge first.
He moved to the main door once again and opened it. The gloom before him was thick so he activated his shoulder mounted spotlight. His ornate bolt pistol extended before him, he took a few steps out into the passageway.
Having served with Deathwatch for many years, Jarda was well-acquainted with teleportation insertions. Familiarity though did little to mitigate the peculiar un-naturalness that accompanied the experience; the sudden lurch, subtly different from that of a drop pod, and chill of the warp, sharper than any natural weather. Pushing the feelings aside, Jarda grabbed his bolter from where it hung on its strap and checked to make sure his power sword was still sheathed securely at his side. Even through the filters in his helmet, he could smell the scent of orks in the air as he moved to cover the partially open door to the rear of the room.
Auspex sweeps of the chamber were a nightmare to decipher. The Hulk didn't read like a normal vessel - just ten feet to the left was a chunk of mineral ore three hundred metres across. To their right, beyond the sealed door, was nothing; where there should have been corridors there was simply a void. Beyond, if the bouncing, mangled returns were anything to go by, were more remains of crushed starship and random space debris.
The lifesigns were equally confused. They were mostly small things - likely rats or Squigs or one of a thousand kinds of vermin that found their way aboard the less well maintained starships. Some were big - large enough to be Orks - but precisely where they were was hard to tell. Perhaps fifty to a hundred feet ahead, one deck up, down or on their level.
"The rocks are dense in rare minerals," Severus said to Gideon. "Their unique properties will distort auspex and vox signals. We will have to move on for more accurate scans."
"And how do you know that?" Gideon asked.
Severus nodded to the terminal he was stood at. "I have a working system. The ship's Enginseers performed a basic mineral evaluation before the Orks overran their position. I have found more than reports, however..."
Both doors sprang open together. The starboard door did indeed lead into a void - a drop of six or seven decks into a pile of ruined metal. The aft door, beyond which lay the vague life signs, seemed a far more direct path.
"So... I suppose we should go aft" said Samuel, looking at the empty space beyond the starboard exit. He turned to the Bright Lord. "I agree. You are best equipped to take point. I shall endeavour to keep you covered."
"Agreed. Aft it is. I will bring up the rear, ensure we are not followed by anyone who may seek to impede us."
Returning his bolter, Brother Connolly drew his power sword and bolt pistol. Giving the blade a few quick twirls he moved behind brother Isaac and prepared to move out.
Readying his bolter, ammunition selector set for standard bolts, Brother Jarda fell in behind Brother Connolly. He kept a watchful eye on the passage ahead. It reminded him strongly of the passages beneath the surface of Arrivia, where his chapter fought long against the Tyranids, where he lost his arm and eye but upheld the honor of his chapter.
Isaac nodded and moved up to take point, peering intently though the dark, newly-opened portal now ahead of him. Breathing in, then out, he uttered a short prayer- at first, in some tongue familiar to none present, then he caught himself and began again in High Gothic. Then he advanced into the hallway, trusting implicitly that his new squadmates would follow and protect their respective angles.
"Imperator Deus, dona nobis fortitudinem adducere lucem tuam ad hoc loco caliginoso.
In nomine tuo oramus.
Per voluntatem tuam,
Sic fiat;
Amen."
Holding his shield defensively before him, lambent green eyelenses and the sights of his combi-bolter alike swept the corridor ahead for threats.
The hallway floor creaked and squealed in protest as the Astartes moved along it. Auspex returns were slow to clear, but they hinted at more structurally sound sections ahead.
They reached another chamber, one that might once have been some kind of control centre. It was spacious enough, though the central floor space was partly taken up by work stations and cogitator pits embedded into the floor. Dead screens hung from ceiling mounts or wall brackets, whilst piles of dry, yellowed parchment was left abandoned at work stations. The bones of some of those who had worked here still remained, killed at their station. At its height, thirty men or more had worked here.
Unseen creature scurried inside the walls. Auspex returns were more frequent and more urgent - at least a dozen humanoids were ahead of them. There were only two access points - port and aft. There may have once been a port access, but heavy computational units had been erected in front of it long before the ship was hulked.
As the first of the Deathwatch entered, a solitary lumen globe flickered into life - the last survivor of an automated system designed to bring the logistics centre to operational status the moment a work shift arrived. None of the terminals activated; the Servitors that were required to man them were all long gone.
Severus approached one of the dead terminals, and attempted to bring it back online to gather as much information as they could.
"I suggest that the doors are covered. Assuming accurate readings we may get visitors. This room would be a good place for an ambush."
Samuel nodded in agreement at Severus' suggestion, and moved to cover the aft door.
Brother Gideon looked around the room, noting the positions of his erstwhile battle brothers. He also took a moment to study the returns on his auspex. It seemed that there were a lot of them. Shouldering past broken cogitator banks and striding over metallic scraps that may once have been pieces of servitors Gideon took up position near the aft hatch. If anything intended to harm his battle brothers it would first have to face his hammer. The massive astartes smiled as he spoke the litany of readiness and flicked the activation stud of his thunder hammer.
Isidur moved to cover the port door. While it was blocked by the cogitator banks, anything of suitable strength could still force it's way in.
Zoltan took up position near the entrance opposite the one they had entered by, silently activating the generator in his shield and holding it up. The Blue Vipers had spent a long time working out which litanies were needed and which were redundancies, an activity that went unchecked due to the unusually direct logic that most of the chapter ran their lives by.
Jarda took up a position within a cogitator pit from where he could cover Brother Gideon at the aft door, beyond with the life signs had been detected. He also paid attention to the scuttling within the walls, lest a threat emerge from an unexpected quarter.
The low ping of the auspex returns grew more urgent and more numerous. Before long the device was not needed at all - the Deathwatch could hear the Orks moving beyond the door. A dozen, perhaps more, were making their way through the sections beyond. It sounded like they were heading for the starboard hull.
"After them Brothers. They must not be allowed to escape, nor to live."
Activating the pilot light on his flamer, Severus moved towards the doors nearest to the Orks position. He opened the doors and uleashed a gout of burning prometheum at whatever lay beyond.
Samuel was taken by surprise by the techmarine suddenly abandoning his work to chase the orks, but his training kicked in swiftly and he followed Severus, plasma pistols ready.
Zoltan pulsed his psysense, trying to identify where exactly the Orks behind the starboard side were and what the fire had done...
[Vyper rolled me a 15]
The tides of the Warp were strange here...
All ships have a soul; any Tech Adept of Mars can tell you that. The Hulk was not a true vessel, however; it was a place where vessels died and suffered the indignity of having their physical form consumed and merged into the detritus of the Empyrean. That suffering left an echo, and those susceptible to such things could feel it...
Visions of an Ork vessel - almost two kilometres of engine, gun and laughably ill-advised structural engineering - drifted into the Librarian's vision. He saw Orks by the thousand pouring from it; a tide of death and mayhem some thirty thousand strong. They had slaughtered their way through here before moving on to more lucrative looting grounds.
He refocused his mind, trying to drown out the psychic screams of dying Orks, and see the present. There were many Orks ahead - hundreds of them who had, either by choice or through fear of violence inflicted by a superior, remained with their derelict. The deaths here would alert those nearby, who would in turn call others... speed would be of the essence if the horde was to be kept ignorant of this new danger.
Severus - 1 flamer fuel shot expended.
Severus' weapon was devastating in close confines. Five Orks were ignited by the jet of liquid fuel and left to burn. One cannoned into the command chamber, burning head to foot, but was dead before he'd taken a single step into the chamber; his body forced him to keep going until a spasm of his ruined nervous system caused him to crumple up on the deck.
Bullets smacked the door frame as the survivors of the attack rushed forward, hungry to find the source of the flamer burst and slay them. Three Orks, armed with crude guns and cruder melee weapons, stormed the aft door of the command chamber.
Isidur took aim at the lead ork and fired, snapping off a pair of shots at the first ork into the chamber (roll (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3718547/)).
The ork was hit square on and a grapefruit size hole was blown through it's chest (roll (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3718548/)).
(ooc: I presume we do our own rolls with regards to combat :P And did I do it right by rolling two separate to hits for the storm bolter when firing once?)
(Yes you did - the Stormbolter has to fire at least two shots per action. :P).
Brother Gideon waited for the Orks to burst through the door before striking, smashing (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3719321/) his thunder hammer into the stomach of the lead Ork, whose comrade had been shot by brother Isidur. The hammer slammed full force into the greenskin, but for some reason the beast seemed entirely unfazed (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3719332/) by the blow. Brother Gideon cursed and swung again, easily evading the clumsy (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3719337/) blow the Ork lashed out with. Gideon's hammer struck true (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3719340/) and the thunder hammer's powerfield obliterated (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3719341/) most of the Ork's torso, the rest turned into a spray of gore flying back down the aft corridor.
[1 Action left]
To hit (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3719498/)
To wound (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3719500/)
Samuel took careful aim as the others killed the first two orks to enter the chamber. The shot from his plasma pistol struck the middle of the beast's chest, incinerating a sizable chunk of it's torso and blasting it back. He kept his pistol aimed atit in case it got back up; he had seen orks survive beheading before, and wasn't certain his shot had killed it.
[ooc]What did we need to kill the orks? I assumed six, but I wasn't sure so I left my post a little ambiguous[/ooc]
(I shall produce a bestiary later - for now, assume 5+ ;)).
Seeing the first three orks quickly dispatched, Jarda carefully loosed a shot at the next. (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3719859/) It's head exploded (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3719861/) in a spray of blood and bone. Jarda then took a few seconds to survey the rest of the room, to ensure nothing else was sneaking up on the team.
[1 Action shooting, 1 surveying, 1 Action left.]
The last of the Orks toppled to the ground. The fight had lasted only a few seconds; rushing the well-defended Astartes, the Orks had no hope of victory.
There was no immediate sign that any other Orks were nearby, but Ork glyphs had been painted on the wall of the corridor beyond. One of which resembled a large Ork face with comically oversized tusks, and below it a crude depiction of a gun, and an arrow pointing starboard - the way the Orks had come from, judging by the lay of the burnt corpses.
Severus took his Auspex in hand and began scanning for more threats. His Bolt Pistol was in his other hand, ready to unleash a hail of Kraken Rounds at anything that burst out fo the shadows. His Flamer was equally ready for action once more.
Disappointed he hadn't gotten into the fray, Connolly sheathed his blade and surveyed the ork writings on the wall. It appeared to show that starboard was the origin of these orks. "Lets head towards the source" he said, checking his bolt pistol momentarily. "Either we will find more of them, or whatever it is that they are running from. Either way we need to eliminate it.'
"Brothers, I can confirm the signatures of several hundred orks in this area. There doesn't seem to be any fear beyond your average horde of Greenskins, so it would appear they do indeed have a warlord of some sort. Speed may yet get us further in without further confrontation, but we shall have to decide quickly what we should do."
Zoltan prepped his hammer. "Either way, try to conserve ammunition as you go."
Severus advanced cautiously. He was in no hurry to die at the hands of the greenskins, which would almost certainly happen if he got cocky. Holstering his bolt pistol he unslung his Boltgun and locked the drum mag he had brought into place. With all 3 weapons prepared to bring down any foe, he tool up a positoing on the group that would allow him a clear line of sight to anything in front of them. Flamers were especially brutal in closed quarters, and the last thing he wanted was to harm his brothers.
According to the auspex returns, there were plenty of Orks up ahead. Their crude spaceship came into view after a short time, having smashed through part of the old Imperial derelict. The two vessels had been fused into one by Ork mechanics, but it was clear from the graffiti and general craftsmanship where one vessel ended and the other began.
There were voices ahead. A large open chamber full of mostly-empty storage boxes was visible beyond the joining point; a nice, wide space that would allow plenty of movement in battle, but good amounts of cover in an extended fight. At least a dozen Ork Boys were in the room, judging by the clamorous back and forth they were partaking in. It was hard to tell what they were saying, but it sounded like they were working themselves up for a fight.
Samuel moved forward as far as he could without being detected, both pistols ready. As he waited for the others to get in position, he spoke sofly to avoid being heard. "How should we proceed? I believe our apothecary should stay back and cover our rear and Severus, I think you should conserve your flamer for difficult situations. Who wants to go in first? I can provide close range fire support, but I don't think I should lead."
Brother Gideon slung his hammer through the loop at his hip, drawing both pistols. Seeing the Orks ahead were nominally the weakest kind of boyz, he decided to simply use the pre-loaded standard bolts in his pistols. The inferno bolts would be of more use against larger, hardier targets. Double checking his auspex for target locations, brother Gideon strode forward and opened fire, both pistols belching smoke and fire. The first bolt smashed (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3724143/) through the ugly nasal cavity of the first boy, detonating (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3724145/) an instant later and removing most of the Ork from the neck up. The corpse twitched and spasmed, a spray of bullets from its crude weapon striking the deck.
The second slammed (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3724148/) into the center of the next greenskin's torso, exploding (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3724149/) in a spray of gore that ripped out half the Ork's spine and splattered his comrade with gore. Gideon's third round punctured (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3724150/) that gore splattered Ork's belly, lodging in its stomach for a split second before detonating (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3724152/) in such spectacular fashion that the greenskin simply disappeared from thigh to shoulder.
Behind the helmet, Brother Gideon smiled as the remaining Orks rounded on him, and made a mental note of his ammo count.
[3 Actions Used, 3 Bolt Rounds Spent (2 Right/1 Left)]
Isidur was crouched low at the back of the group, Storm bolter aimed at the direction they had come from, axe held ready.
He heard the report of Brother Gideon's pistols, and the squelchy pop of exploding ork shortly afterwards.
It sounded like things were going to get a lot busier.
To hit rolls (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3724215/)
to wound rolls (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3724217/)
Following Gideon into the room Samuel began firing, covering his battle brother. All of his shots hit their targets, but sadly Gideon had already killed two of them when the plasma struck. The third shot successfully vaporised an Orks head, although that didn't stop the body trying to hit him. Fortunately, the body had lost all sense of direction along with its head and stumbled into a wall instead.
(ooc: Samuel never misses. He just doesn't always hit something useful :P)
To Hit (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3724487/)
To wound (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3724489/)
Jarda moved into the room after Brothers Gideon and Samuel, taking up a position to the right of the entrance. Aiming towards the back of the horde, he unleashed two rounds, striking one in the head and another in the shoulder. The powerful bolts ending the blasphemous existence of the two foul orks.
[1 action to move (from towards the back), 2 shots fired (77 left)]
to hit (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3726435/)
to wound (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3726460/)
Brother Connolly stepped into the fray and drew his sword. An ork brandishing a jagged axe charged him head-on, causing him to chuckle slightly at its foolishness. He smoothly sidestepped it, and brought his power sword in an upward swing, slicing almost through the ork and spewing its organs onto the floor. Another with a long choppa charged from the side, catching Connolly off guard. He swung with all his might, striking the orkish blade just above the hilt and shattering it. The ork stood confused for a moment, then charged claws up. Connolly responded with a swing of his storm shield, which caught the ork with a solid blow, though it's thick skull meant it was only momentarily stunned.
(actions used: 3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3726466/shield%20bash%20attack%5B/url)
Severus stepped up, deactivating his flamer to avoid his battle brothers. He brough his bolter up and fired twice, both shots sailing wide of the mark. Cursing to himself he took more careful aim and fired again, this time sepperating a Boy from his legs.
The surviving Orks were in disarray, struggling to rally for a counter-attack.
Connolly was staggered backward as his Ork opponent rallied and charged again, bolstered by the mad dash of a second. Both Orks laid into him with knives, axes and even bare fists, but his armour held true under the onslaught.
Gunfire filled the chamber as a trio of Shoota Boys at the far end of the chamber opened up at the Space Marines. They dove into cover, keeping low behind the junk piles [All ranged attacks vs Shootas are resolved at -2 to hit unless you use a flamer, Kraken bolts or outflank them] and firing at the invaders on full auto. Their accuracy was poor, but Severus, Gideon and Samuel were all hit and staggered, though spared any serious harm.
Zoltan could feel the sickly prickle of the Ork collective psyche; the sense of their racial war-lust slowly waking in anticipation of the fight to come...
Isaac snarled in fury as the Greenskin filth dared open fire on his battle-brothers. Storming into the room with a cry of "Fiat Lux!", shield held protectively before him, he barreled through the scrum to put his body and heavy boarding shield between his comrades and the firepower of their newest foes. One of the intervening Orks rose up to bar his path, axe upraised, but Baraqiel smashed him back (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3727587/) with a full-body shield check before obliterating (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3727632/) the staggered greenskin with a point-blank two-round burst. (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3727613/)
Reaching his position and slamming his heavy boarding shield down into deployment, he crouched on one knee and unloaded into the Shoota Boyz with a ruinously accurate (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3727653/) torrent of bolt rounds.
Belt Feed: 390/400 remaining.
((Unsure how a multiattack like this resolves damage, or if I have the actions left to do so, so I'm leaving those rolls to Wargamer. If I don't have enough actions for that last burst, have the Shootaz go and then go ahead and resolve Baraquiel's return fire as my next turn's action.))
Severus approached behind Issac, using his shield for additional cover. His Flamer hissed into life and the servo arm it was mounted on extended forward.
A searing gout of promethium rolled forwards, engulfing the Orks position. Severus couldnt tell how many Orks had been hit, but the raging screams from the enemy position told him it was a few.
"You cannot cower from the light of the Emperor, greenskins."
[OOC]
For multi-actions, you should probably declare number of shots, then allocate logically.
For example, if you decide to shoot into a group, you'd apply hits to the front man until he dies much like in 40K (it's assumed you'll adjust your aim as you perceive the victim to fall). If you decide to just blaze away in a wide arc, you might put 1-2 shots at five feet increments, which may result in shooting empty space a lot between victims... but that's how a lot of full-auto fire works! :P
Just as a rule of thumb, here's some sample fire rates:
Pistols and the like can probably put 1-2 shots out an action, maybe 3 if you're really quick on the trigger.
Semi-automatics, like Bolters, can get up to 5 or 6 shots.
Storm Bolters, built for full-auto mayhem, can get up to 8-10 shots per barrel.
Plasma, as a rule, is a low-rate of fire weapon, and should never be more than 3-4 shots at a time. Same for flamers (the multi-shots in this case represent hosing the area with a lot of extra fire).
Finally, melee. Yes, you can stack melee hits... assuming you could clout multiple people at once! For example, if you could hit 2-3 enemies in a single swing (Thunder Hammer, much?) you can resolve the attack on all three.
[/OOC]
((6 rolls, two each per shoota boy, and six wounds rolled. Hell fukken' yeah. (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3736211/)))
Isaac felt as much as heard the familiar pings of crude bullets bouncing harmlessly off of his boarding shield before he could properly line up his sights on the trio of Shoota Boyz, but it mattered not. They were in his sights now, and they were doomed. The salvo of bolts had rocketed out with terrific accuracy- two bolt rounds connected with each ork, even though two passed through the spaces between them as he worked the combi-bolter from side to side. The orks came apart in a shower of green flesh and blood.
Noticing Brother Severus approaching behind him and beginning to extend his flamer, Isaac reached his gun arm up to gently block the path of the reaching servo-arm. "No need of that brother, these Orks have been neutralized. You may preserve your holy promethium for the next horde."
He shouted out behind him, into the continued melee. "Brothers, I can hold this door for as long as you need. I trust it to your capable hands to guard my back and cleanse this room's remaining Orkish filth!"
The immediate threat was dealt with, but the echoes of the gunfire had barely died away before a great, feral roar rose up ahead of them. From within the bowels of the ship the sounds of conflict were awakening the green tide.
The Astartes knew from the surface scans that they were within striking distance of a gun deck, as well as what might be a launch bay of some kind. The gun decks were a priority if the capital ship was to close and begin boarding actions, but the launch bay would allow Thunderhawks, Storm Eagles and Caestus to brave the turrets and land supplies and reinforcements.
Both objectives, from what they had seen of the Hulk so far, lay ahead - into the jaws of the growing Ork Waaagh!
"Sounds like we could have more company very soon. We'd better hurry" remarked Samuel, heading towards the chamber's exit.
"Brothers, I recommend securing the launch bay. Once secured, we might be able receive reinforcements to disable the gun batteries while we focus on the larger task of disabling this Hulk," said Jarda as he moved forward, watching the exits and listening to the distant roar of orks.
"Indeed, but without the guns in play our forces will be more able to get here safely. I would suggest splitting up and taking both objectives, but I suspect it will take all of our skills to make it work."
"I say clear the gun batteries first. Once we have the situation relatively under control there, we split up. Severus would stay and work on disabling the guns along with any others with heavy weaponry and explosives. The rest can head to the bay and wait until just before the first of the Thunderhawks arrive with reinforcements. We then assault the orks there and draw their attention so our brothers can more safely land. I've calculated that our chances of full success is 32.3, repeating of course, percent. Which is better than usual. Of course we can always adjust the plan as needed. How close are the reinforcements to arriving?"
"I agree with Brother James' plan, with one modification" Samuel called from his position near the exit "I do not think it wise to leave Severus to disable the guns alone. If we were to follow this plan I would suggest that one person stay with him to keep him covered while he works. I volunteer for the task if there is no more suitable candidate. In any case, we should discuss this on the move."
"Agreed. At least two should stay, one with heavy weaponry and explosives to assist in taking out the guns, and one with advanced combat skills if there is an ambush and things get close and personal. Any volunteers?"
Brother Gideon listened patiently while the others outlined the plan. Strategic planning was never his fort
"My thanks brothers Gideon and Samuel. We should begin to make our way there, the path will not be easy."
The Techmarine switched out the drum on his boltgun for a magazine of Kraken Penetrator rounds. Facing tougher opponants would require better ammo. A quick check of his flamer and plasma cutter showed that no damage had been sustained in the recent action and that ammo was plentiful.
"This way my brothers." And he moved off towards the gun batteries.
The interior of the Ork ship was a mish-mash of building styles on a theme of "weld, bolt and rivet together whatever is on hand." The main corridor from the storage chamber was wide enough that three Astartes could walk down it with room to spare, but some of the side passages would force single-file movement. There were rooms either side of them, some filled with the complex and incomprehensible creations of Ork Mekaniacs, others left empty, either as storage space or simply formed accidentally from ad-hoc construction.
A passing study by the Space Marines confirmed one key asset - the structures were fragile. The supporting struts would take considerable time and effort to bring down, and even then it would require specialist cutting tools, but most of the interior walls were just sheet metal, chain mesh or even flakboard. A strong and determined individual could travel through a large area of the ship's interior simply by knocking the walls down as they went. The exception to this rule seemed to be in the bulkheads, which were placed at hundred metre intervals and would be strong enough to survive anything the Astartes had on hand.
Through the augmented vox system of Brother Connolly, the support ship outside was able to provide valuable tactical information. Primary gundecks lay three decks down and a hundred metres starboard. The launch bays were two hundred metres ahead on their current deck.
As to the Orks... they were apparently everywhere. The first contacts were already pouring out of side rooms, or else pouring in from all decks via the access ladders and cargo lifts at the next bulkhead a hundred metres aft of the Deathwatch. Auspex returns were coming back full of contacts - possibly a hundred or more within sensor range alone, including enemies to their rear...
"Our plan was to take out the gun bays first; the launch bays are nearer but I think we should stick to the plan. Anyone know the quickest way down there?"