Intel Data Files
The Master of the Administratum reports that an Imperial Tax
Collector was dispatched to Salem to inquire about nonpayment of tithes. Salem
has not missed a payment.
The Inquisitorial Representative has passed on that
Inquisitor Jeager last made contact from the Salem Area.
The Master of the Astronomican has reported a weakening
signal from the eastern fringe.
The Master of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica reports that a
spacecraft has gone missing in the Salem System. They did not include any specifics
about the craft or why we should address this as a concern.
The Scion of Honor plows through the perils of the warp
without flinching. Enemies of all, too dark and sinister to be known, attempted
to breech the hulls but they were turned away by the Litanies of protection and
the age old practices that were being carried out in the various chambers of
the ship. Thus continued the voyage until at last, the destination had been
reached, the Scion of Honor tore through the immaterial of the void to return
to the relative safety of space.
The unnatural feeling of the void has ended but for a moment
as chaos seems to immediately reign supreme. The bridge becomes a maelstrom
of activity as systems begin to fail across the room. Data and commands are flying from both
man and machine as systems turn into smoking and sparking mini funeral pyres.
Several servitors plugged into various instruments spasm as things continue to
go awry. Within moments the bridge is filled with the smell of burning wires
and flesh. A semi toxic smoke appears to be fog like as it is awash with the
auxiliary lighting that has kicked in to replace the darkness. “Status Report all stations!” Captain Sicarius
remains calm but knows something is amiss.
It would appear all ship systems are in a state of decay. Techs are trying diligently to keep the eyes and ears of the strike cruiser functioning but too many failures are ship wide and the crew just can not keep up with the technological distress of the entire craft.
Sicarius smiled, "It looks like we have a chance to gain glory prior to even arriving." He looked to his staff. "I believe this could be the influence of dark powers. All marines and chapter serfs, armor up and prepare to repel boarders. Captain, how far are we from our destination?"
ReplyDeleteThe entire ship completed various tasks at the direction of the Captain's instructions. Lanster was moving from display panel to servitor and back again. Of all the serfs aboard the Scion of Honor, only he commanded the respect of all those on the ship. He had served the chapter for over 56 years and all of that time had been on various space going vessels of the Ultramarines. When his assessment was complete, he approached Captain Sicarius.
Delete"Sir, I have information about our current situation." Lanster waited until his Captain was ready. "First, we are experiencing a loss of warp drive. Our engines are completely normal except for the fact that something is draining their power as it is produced. We are unable at this time to leave the system via our warp drive. This loss of power will cause our void shields to become unsustainable in about 20 Terran hours. We have will be able to reach high orbit and deploy our drop pods in less than 2 Terran hours. At this time we are unsure about what will happen if we try to use any ships other than our pods due to the energy drain we are currently experiencing. Second, we have at least 12 ships in system around the planet of Salem. We were able to collect some data about 5 of the crafts before we lost the ability to scan at range. 2 of the ships appear to be Imperial designs. Normally, this would be my first concern, but all 5 of the ships are operating on residual power and appear to be dead in the water as it were."
"Very well. Continue to attempt to make contact with the other ships. At this time, all hands are to prepare for deployement. Once in range, begin the planetary augaries to try to figure out what is going on down there. And bring my my Librarian-I want him to scan the drives for malevolent interference."
DeleteThe Scion of Honor moves into a high orbit around the planet of Salem. Drop pod crews are preparing the vessels for deployment.
ReplyDeleteEpistolary Antilochi appears before Captain Sicarius to explain his findings. "Captain, I wish I could be more helpful, but the warp drives are not very telling at this time. And although, I do not feel the presence of an evil force at work, I would like to introduce you to one of our younger Librarians." A very young face indeed steps forward. "Captain Sicarius, this is Palidorius. This will be his first time in the field, but I thought you might be interested in his readings of cards." Palidorius looks almost embarrassed to be in the company of his captain and he has a difficult time explaining his findings. "Captain, Sir, I mean well...the cards are saying that we are but one actor on a stage of players." Palidorius looks as if everyone should understand his implication and turns slightly pale as he realizes that the captain is waiting for a better explanation. Antilochi tries a different approach, "Palidorius is trying to suggest that the Emperor is trying to warn us that several elements are involved with the dilemma we are about to face. I know it is not much but we thought it better to inform you."
Lanster waits until the captain is ready. "Sir, we have additional scans that may prove important. On the surface of the planet we have been able to scan three areas. Area 1 appears to be a small urban area that is all but destroyed. Area 2 appears to be a water system that is currently engaged in some sort of conflict. And last and most interesting, we have found in Area 3 a landing beacon. The code is an old Imperial Code. The pad is of lower tech and this is not a main landing beacon by any means. These 3 areas are not located close to each other but we will be able to use this data to fill in the areas that we can not scan."