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[nemossubmarine]

Kill Team Campaign Missions 11 & 12

Take Prisoners - Adeptus Mechanicus vs. The Deathpack

Uffe’s idea had been good. If they could only snatch up a Mechanicus or two and get them to talk (which, if Uffe was to be believed, was incredibly easy), the intel they’d gain would mean easier battles and a better idea if there was a logic in the Mechanicus’ erratic behavior.

The Pack didn’t want to go face to face with the Sicarians. The long-legged things were built on close quarter combat, and it would be too big a risk to send someone to just snatch a Skitarii up from among them. They needed to be softened up first, and then, once there was only few left, they could be easily picked apart.

The first part of the plan worked fantastically. Ivar and Snorri took down cyborgs like they were born to do just that. The Mechanicus were clearly taken by surprise, scattering, trying to approach and then backing away from the bullet fire. At least two of the Sicarians received blows hard enough to kill.

There was only few remaining as the Pack started their advancement. There was a Skitarii Ranger, still standing, clutching a rifle in their hands. Rolf ordered the capture. But before the Pack could reach them, the Mechanicus vanished, fleeing through underground paths beneath the ruins, making it impossible for them to follow, leaving the Pack empty-handed.

Winner: Adeptus Mechanicus(?)

Recover and Rescue - Gellerpox Infected vs. Elucidian Starstriders

The ruined temple had been secured from the Mechanicus. It would be a good place to move base for the moment, Elucia had figured, to be closer to the Mechanicus, as the Truehawk was in no flight condition and she would not hitch a ride on the scrap-heap of the Deathpack.

Larsen and Doran had been left behind to see how easily a conversion could be done, when with sudden horror the two realized that they were not alone in the temple. A huge figure stalked the corridors, the echoes of its heavy breath and the thud of its footfall the only ways the two could locate and keep clear of it.

They hid in one of the side rooms and Larsen radioed for backup. They could hear Leon Hartman shuffling in the ruins just outside the room. Then there was silence, and then a cacophony of frustrated noises. Doran dared to sneak a peek outside the room. Laughing, he returned, telling that the creature had managed to lock itself inside one of the old pods littering the ruins.

The Starstriders appeared, Elucia though would be a bit late. Before they could decide what to do with Hartman, the rest of the Infected appeared, apparently keen on releasing their leader.

A fierce battle ensued. The Starstriders knew they’d have to just hold on, and make sure none of the Infected could reach the pod with Hartman inside, even if it meant having to face the Infected in close quarters.

Luckily, even though Knosso wasn’t there, Randall was back on his feet and he charged in to assist his friends. Or he tried, but what faced him behind the corridor froze him to his feet. There, twisted near, but not quite beyond recognition, in his overalls, with the name tag and head lolling on one shoulder with a clearly broken neck, familiar eyes staring right through him, was a friend, Herman. Randall gritted his teeth, raised his weapons with hesitation, but before he could make the decision to strike, a shot from Angus had brought the creature down.

Randall unfortunately didn’t fare too well coming face to face with the former cook of the ship, who he couldn’t hold back in one-on-one. Poor Larsen, fared not much better either, as the Cook’s rancid vomit brought him down. A sure shot from Doran finally brought the cook to its knees and a silence to that end of the temple.

On the other side, Sanistasia, Gaelle and Aximillion were being bothered by a lot of the smaller creatures, the daemons and the insects. One of the former crew member’s impaled Aximillion with a hook on its hand, but Elucia’s arrival at the last moment brought it down.

In the end, the Starstriders managed to keep the Infected at bay. Perhaps the thought of using this place as the new base would have to be reconsidered. They wouldn’t want to waste time fighting the creatures for living space, when they still had Mechanicus to catch.

Winner: Elucidian Starstriders

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[nemossubmarine]

Kill Team Campaign - Introductions to the teams

Elucidian Starstriders (played by @raddigested) Elucidian Starstriders are a rogue trader group comprised from all sorts of folks all over the Empire. That’s what the Starstriders’ commander Elucia Vhane had always prided herself with, surrounding herself with the best people she could, who also wanted the same as she. There was no glory to be found in this universe at war, but money, money was always to be made. Members: 1. Larsen van der Grauss (Comms) 2. Elucia Vhane (Commander, Strategist) 3. Voidsman Gunner (Heavy) 4. Voidsman (Demolitions) 5. Sanistasia Minst (Medic) 6. Voidsman (Veteran) 7. Aximillion 8. Voidsman 9. Knosso Prond (Combat) (miniature subject to change) 10. Voidsman Nitsch (Leader)

The Deathpack (played by @raddigested) The Deathpack consists of Space Wolves, who all have, at one point in their lives, served as part of Deathwatch. After returning to their home chapter, the members had been recruited to the Deathpack, Ragnar Blackmane’s Great Company’s special order of Deathwatch veterans. With special arms and ammunition, mementos from Deathwatch service, these men, led by Brother-Sergeant Rolf take on tasks few else would dare to take. Members: 1. Brother-Sergeant Rolf (Leader) 2. Brother Ivar 3. Brother Hjalmar 4. Brother Snorri (Comms) 5. Brother Uffe (Combat) 6. Brother Bear (Zealot)

Gellerpox Infected (played by @nemossubmarine) Once part of the Starstrider crew, these people working under deck became suddenly infected with chaos. Mutated beyond recognition, they are led by their commander, a former head engineer Leon Hartmann and his two assistants fused together, the creature known only as “Lämmin masu”. They are on a strange planet, and don’t recognize their former comrades anymore, but there’s a smell in the air; something familiar, something just like them that draws them near. Members: 1. Lämmin masu (Commander, Combat) 2. Tim Cook (Leader) 3. Huge Hefner (Zealot) 4. Ben Ten the Amazing Alien Man 5. Smoothie 6. Manbat, the Man who is a Bat 7. Merituuli 8. Luigi the Jumping Man 9. Twinsitters 10. The Fly Boys 11. Gummy (Demolitions) 12. Hörgi (Veteran)

Adeptus Mechanicus (played by @nemossubmarine) Kill Team XZ / 370 was a team made up of experimental Mechanicus, sporting add-ons no standard Mechanicus could claim to have. They were tasked with retrieval of lost relics, a task they performed outstandingly, until a mission to a far off planet ended with their mechanical parts to gain feelings and sensations they hadn’t had before. XZ / 370 was unsure what caused the change; was it radiation or something worse? Their leader, now known as Eden, ordered them to continue on their missions. Perhaps they could avoid having this change detected and flee to the vastness of space, before anyone noticed and wanted them fixed? Members: 1. TI-84 or Tora 2. P://1319 or Persilja 3. 8.4_KL or Bonnie (Zealot) 4. #583 or Vivek Baak (Sniper) 5. E-E \\ 821 or Eden (Leader) 6. 1146 x 784 or Iiris 7. 74_785 or Zeki Maris 8. IX c4I or Xia 9. Rn:d (5:1, 3):12 or Demir (Combat) 10. K303 2:82 or Melchor Mendoza or Kuru 11. AAA/9 or Agda Maris 12. Mk. III or Max

Setup:

This story starts with the Starstriders, rogue traders ready to take just about any job that would pay enough, led by the gorgeous Elucia Vhane receiving a rather lucrative offer. A kill team of Adeptus Mechanicus had apparently broken down. They had still continued on their mission to a distant moon of Plilia C-550 by the name of Iethea, and it was now crucial they would not complete this mission, or there would be no knowing who would be getting their hands on the precious artefacts they were hunting. An easy enough job, right? Elucia barely glanced at the missive before accepting; there was no way this would ever go bad.

It was Elucia’s communications officer, Larsen van der Grauss, an AdMech himself, who read through the missive. A name jumped out among the list of the broken down kill team’s members; K303 2:82, or as Larsen had once known him, Melchor Mendoza. Mendoza had never been a pleasant man, and there had always been something off about him. He had been a brutal, ruthless murderer. If there was even a slim chance the rest of the Mechanicus had became like him, Larsen wouldn’t want to face them alone. He brought this to Elucia’s attention, who rolled her eyes but took his advice to heart.

A kill team called the Deathpack made of Space Wolves who had returned from Deathwatch, was in the vicinity, so Elucia asked them to join in this mission. Perhaps the dirty work of actually dealing with the malfunctioning bots could be left for them, and Elucia could still get most of the reward, and the artefacts.

They hadn’t even gotten to Iethea before things started to go bad. It had started with strange noises at the engine rooms of the Starstriders’ ship. What emerged from the depths of the ships were no longer human, but infected mashes of metal and flesh, accompanied by chittering, maddening daemons of the Void. The Starstriders had to make a rather hasty landing. 

Maybe this wasn’t going to be as easy as they thought. But there was no way the Gellerpox infestation on the ship and the broken Mechanicus could be related... Right?

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[nemossubmarine]

Kill Team Campaign - Mission 4

Feint: Adeptus Mechanicus vs. Starstriders

They saw the newcomers approach from far away enough. Enough, for Eden to order that about half of them took Persilja and scurried off. The rest would have to buy time, and use every trick in the book to make their forces look stronger and more put together than they were, so the others would get to safety.

It wasn’t wolves that they faced in the ruins, no. These people wore different uniform, and appeared to be a mix-and-match bunch of varied backgrounds. It wasn’t a welcome sight. Facing the wolves this soon would not have been good, but neither was the fact that there was now at least two different sets of people after them. Their tactic still stood: mislead and buy time.

The strangers took no time to launch a ferocious attack. Kuru came face to face with a woman and barely withstood five blows. Each would have taken down a Skitarii, but Kuru took them, and took down the woman with returned viciousness. He couldn’t let these people get to the rest of the team.

Vivek had received a reprimand from Eden for recklessness few times now. But this time recklessness seemed like a good idea, that is until the dog skirted around the corner and stopped in front of him, growling. A rather irrational fear, it was, but then, rationality was the first thing that had broken down, and Vivek found himself backing away from the beast. Eden noticed this, intercepted and quickly dealt with the dog. Vivek gave his leader thumbs up as a thanks, but Eden was already moving on.

While the others fought on Iiris sneaked out the other side of a ruined wall. If she remained unseen, perhaps she could make it to behind enemy lines, and she could cause a loud enough distraction to help. She had barely made it halfway to enemy lines when a stranger was upon her. He was a Mechanicus like her, but not one of hers. Iiris clutched her plasma caliver to her chest, and waited for the blows.

They never came. Iiris could hear the comms-link on the man come on. Then the man turned around and left. Logically, Iiris knew, the only reason that would happen, was if things had gone really bad for the others. It was time to hightail it.

Winner: The Starstriders

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[nemossubmarine]

Kill Team Campaign - Mission 3

Shuttlejackers - Gellerpox Infected vs. The Deathpack The ship was silent, the machines turned down. The infection leaned against the walls, wishing to be absorbed into the metal panels with wiring beneath. The infection, individuals part of the whole, that as one became one with the ship.

And suddenly a burst of noise and heat of living beings. But most importantly a scent, a lingering mark of metal and corruption. The Infected inspected, ignoring the wailing of weapons and gunfire upon their flesh. The fleshy beings managed to lock a lot of them into one room, holding them back, but from another part of the ship Huge Hefner followed the scent. 

The first being it sniffed. Sweat and blood, a being of flesh, but beneath the grime Huge could smell machine oil. He tried to get to it, to rip off the bits that weren’t what he wanted. But there was nothing beneath of interest, so Huge let his victim fall from his tentacles and turned to the next one. Behind him, one of the fleshy ones roared, plunging a sword into the soft bits. That one didn’t smell as good. Another one suddenly jumped next to Huge, and Huge threw him at the nearest wall. He was in the way.

The next one didn’t want to play, trying to keep distance, as Huge lumbered after him. The scent was faint, but there. Huge didn’t want to lose it. From his belly he brought up a torrent of infected vomit, a scent-mark.

On the other side of the ship, Gummy stayed in place, in trance by the soft hum of the control panel. Gummy wanted to be part of it, it wanted to be part of Gummy. Suddenly the door opened, and a fleshbag stood there before her. He tried to get in between her and her prize, knocking her away from. She was about to get to her feet, when she heard the rumble beneath. It was her commander. They were moving out.

She shifted herself, through the void, where others were waiting. Commander had caught scent.

Winner: The Deathpack

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[nemossubmarine]

Kill Team Campaign - Missions 7 & 8

Yard by Yard - Gellerpox Infected vs. Elucidian Starstriders They had decided that working together against the Mechanicus would probably work better for the both of them. It had been a plan both Rolf and Elucia had approved of: The Deathpack would move in first, and the Starstriders would sneak in from another entrance.

Except the Starstriders’ attempt to close in on the Mechanicus was stopped by the sudden, unexpected appearance of the Infected crewmen. Elucia ordered them to fight. Just running would mean they’d arrive to the Deathpack’s help with many wounds and casualties, and would be of no help at all.

The fighting tactic didn’t fare much better. The ruins were crawling with strange daemonic creatures, impossible to shoot down. Knosso rushed into the mix, trying to keep her comrades from getting ambushed, but the Infected Mutant’s mask brought her down.

They held on. Elucia brought down one of the big ones, a former cook, but they were stuck, unable to follow the plan. Larsen tried to help Doran and Zhanya who were surrounded by the small glitchlings, only to come face to face with the three-headed former engineer. The hit was so hard it almost knocked Larsen’s helmet off, luckily not his head. As he laid on the ground, he could hear Snorri’s voice coming through the comms’ link. 

Backup, we need backup, it said, but darkness took Larsen before he could reply.

Winner: Gellerpox Infected

Retrieve the Relic - Adeptus Mechanicus vs. The Deathpack It had been a good plan. They had caught up with the AdMech in an old temple of sorts where they had set up their temporary camp. The Deathpack would go in first, and while the Mechanicus fought them, the Starstriders would ambush them from behind. If nothing else, they’d be able to grab some useful stuff.

It didn’t go according to that plan, of course it didn’t. While Snorri managed to bring down the team’s sniper, Vivek, the woman next to him turned out to be a far bigger problem than anticipated, bringing down Rolf in turn with a precise, almost deadly shot and making it near impossible for the Pack to close in.

Snorri managed to get a bit closer, even taking down one of the ruststalkers harassing him. Ivar took down an Infiltrator at Snorri’s tail, but again, the woman shot Ivar down just as swiftly. Bear was not faring much better, and Uffe was nowhere to be seen.

Neither were the Starstriders. Snorri tried to contact Larsen, to let them know that back-up was needed, now, but only static answered. There would be no help coming.

They could maybe hold on a bit more, Snorri thought. There was only two Mechanicus left that were in any fighting condition. And two of them. But before he and Uffe could close in, that damn Skitarii just grabbed whatever she was guarding and bolted.

Winner: Adeptus Mechanicus

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[nemossubmarine]

Kill Team Campaign - Post-Mission Log 4

“Don’t you have anything better to do?” Elucia asked.

“No, I don’t believe so,” Hjalmar replied calmly.

The two of them were sitting in the Deathpack’s ship’s bridge. Elucia had taken over a side table with the artefacts the Deathpack had retrieved from the Mechanicus’ dig site. Hjalmar was sitting on one of the chairs, looking at Elucia work, which annoyed Elucia to no end.

“Why didn’t Rolf take you with him? I don’t need a babysitter.”

“No, you don’t, Miss. But the Truehawk is a big ship. If any of these infected persons made it past the Deathpack, Rolf would want to know. I’m here for that.”

Elucia eyed the elder man with suspicion, but Hjalmar’s weathered face betrayed nothing. If he was mocking her, it was impossible to tell behind the breathing mask that hid both his mouth and distorted his voice into an even almost robotic tone. With a huff Elucia returned to her work, which was trying to twist one of the stone cylinders open, a task she was currently failing at. Not that she would ask Hjalmar for help. She just needed to find a mechanism to get it open.

Suddenly, there was a loud sound, almost an explosion. In her surprise, Elucia dropped the stone cylinder. She swore out loud as it rolled away.

As soon as the sound rang, Hjalmar was on his feet and at the window, gazing out. Elucia fished the cylinder from beneath the chair before joining him.

From their vantage point, they could see the Truehawk with a huge hole in its side, like someone had just walked through the wall like it was paper. The culprit wasn’t hard to pick out, it must have been the huge hulking fire-bellied creature, that lumbered out of the hole, with other Infected at its tail.

“My ship!” Elucia hissed. “They’re destroying my ship!”

Hjalmar held out his hand to silence her, and she was too stunned by the gesture to even offer a snarky reply. In silence they watched as the Infected creatures picked a direction, started marching and soon disappeared behind the horizon.

Hjalmar got up and went to the comms table. 

“Rolf, can you hear me?” Hjalmar spoke. There was a short silence and then a crackle as Rolf’s comm link came on.

“Yes, Hjalmar. What is up?”

“It’s the Infected,” Hjalmar said. “It looks like they’re going after the Starstriders.”

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[nemossubmarine]

Kill Team Campaign - Post-Mission log 3

“I got the control panel secured,” Snorri informed through his comm-link. “There was a mutated person here, but they left after that explosion.”

“We need you at the bridge,” came the voice of Rolf. “It seems the infected have left the ship.”

Snorri gave one longing look at the control panel. The creature had seemed to be in some kind of trance-like state as it had gazed upon it. It had hardly paid Snorri any attention. There must be some clues to the true nature of the infection left behind on it. Hopefully he’d have time to look into it.

Snorri sheathed his weapon, and made his way to the bridge, to a rather more chaotic scene. It was the stench that caught him off-guard. Its origin was not hard to decipher. Ivar was standing in the middle of the room, dripping with green and yellow substance, trying gingerly to get it off his hair.

“Snorri, see to Ivar, would you?” It was Rolf, who had knelt down next to Bear, who Snorri only now noticed, crumbled between the commander’s chair and a control panel.

“What happened to you?” Snorri asked, approaching Ivar, crinkling his nose at the smell assaulting his airways.

“It puked on me!” Ivar said, wiping vomit from his face.

“Interesting,” Snorri said. “Does anyone have a bottle or something?”

“I do,” came to voice from Uffe from the floor.

“You okay?” Snorri said, as he stretched out his arm to get the empty canteen Uffe offered.

“Yes.”

“At least he wasn’t puked on!” Ivar complained, as Snorri used a dagger from his belt to scrape some vomit off Ivar into the canteen.

“I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Snorri said. “Maybe. It doesn’t look actively infected, though we should probably get you to a shower.”

Snorri glanced at his leader for confirmation, but Rolf did not notice. He had helped Bear to his feet and was now talking to him silently, a hand against Bear’s cheek and another feeling around for chinks in his armor that the mutants’ attacks had left. Bear meanwhile was looking into Rolf’s eyes, leaning against the touch, patiently letting Rolf check him over.

“Rolf?” Snorri asked.

Rolf tore his gaze from Bear, and looked over Ivar, now mostly cleaned.

“Yes. I think we better head back. I need to report to Miss Vhane. Uffe, are you in any condition to stay behind with Snorri?”

Uffe got up from the floor, grimacing slightly.

“Good enough.”

“What do you want me to do?” Snorri asked.

“Find out everything and anything you can about this infection. Full permission to break into ship logs if need be. I don’t think Elucia has been completely forthright with what went down here. We need to know what they are after.”

“Are they after anything?” Ivar asked. “They’re chaos infected.”

“They could have stayed behind and fought,” Rolf said. “But they left. They are after something, and I want to know what that something is, before any more people get hurt.”

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[nemossubmarine]

Kill Team Campaign - Post-Mission Log 13

Doran woke up aching. The last thing he remembered was standing next to Zhenya aiming at one of the strange daemonic creatures that traveled with the Infected. Then there had been a huge shadow looming over him. And then fire. And then, nothing.

Not the first time he had blacked out, probably not the last either. At least he felt soft bed beneath his back. Better than waking on the cold ground. There was a familiar warm weight curled next to him. Aximillion, Doran’s dog companion was asleep on the same bed. Doran could feel his chest fall and raise.

Doran slowly cracked open an eye. He didn’t want to wake Aximillion up yet, he’d get fussy, so he tried to stay still. The glare of the white lights blinded him for a moment, but soon he noticed that he wasn’t alone in the room. There was a figure leaning over the bed next to Doran’s. It couldn’t have been Sanistasia’s as the figure’s shoulders were way too wide to be her. Doran squinted until his vision cleared.

It wasn’t Sanistasia, wasn’t any of the Starstriders in fact. It was one of the Wolves, Bear leaning over the bed, planting a kiss on the lips of whoever was laying on the bed. They parted and Doran could see the leader of the Deathpack, Rolf, smiling sleepily up at the other man.

Doran turned away quickly. he didn’t want the Wolves to notice that he had noticed. Unfortunately his aching lungs then decided to act up. Unable to stop it Doran had to cough.

Aximillion immediately perked up at the sudden sound. He let out a low whine, pushing his snout to Doran’s face and licking his cheek. Doran sat up so he wouldn’t choke pushing Aximillion aside as gently as he could. The coughing finally subsided. Doran put his hand on Aximillion’s head and ruffled his fur.

“It’s okay, boy,” he said, his voice hoarse. “I’m alright.”

Bear had left Rolf’s side and during the coughing fit had appeared next to Doran’s bed with a glass of water, which he now offered.

“Thanks,” Doran mumbled, taking the glass.

Bear offered his hand for Aximillion to sniff, which he did with keen interest.

“Aximillion won’t bite,” Doran said. “Not unless I tell him to.”

Bear scratched Aximillion behind the ear, which the dog clearly enjoyed immensely, leaning into the touch and closing his eyes in joy.

“He’s very small,” Bear said.

“Is he?” Doran asked. “I guess.”

“We don’t have many dogs on Fenris,” Rolf said. He had sat up on his bed as well. “Our comparisons might be skewed.”

Aximillion took notice of Rolf now. He walked away from Bear’s touch to the edge of the bed. Rolf smiled at him and before Doran could stop him, Aximillion had leapt onto the other bed.

“Aximillion! My apologies, he gets curious,” Doran said, absolutely mortified, as Aximillion climbed onto Rolf’s lap, sniffing his face, his tail wagging so hard that his whole butt was shaking.

“Quite alright,” Rolf said, grinning as he tried to get Aximillion to sit down. “What was your name again?”

“Doran, sir.”

“I think the sir is unnecessary here,” Rolf said. “This is Doctor Minst’s domain after all, I’ve no say here.”

“Yes s... Of course. Are you alright?”

“Unlucky shot from a Mechanicus plasma caliver,” Rolf answered. “I’ll survive. And you?”

“Face-full of fire. Could have been worse.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Aximillion had just settled down on Rolf’s lap, when Bear returned back to his side, so Aximillion got up again, overwhelmed with the attention.

The door to the sickbay opened and Sanistasia stepped in. She stopped at the doorway as she noticed Aximillion and the two Wolves showering him with love. She looked at Doran with amusement who gave her an apologetic shrug.

“Doran, I told you if the dog can’t behave, he’ll have to leave. This is an infirmary, not a play-pen”

“Now, now doctor Minst,” Rolf said, smiling. “ There’s no need for that. He is being a very good boy.”

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[nemossubmarine]

Kill Team campaign - Post-Mission log #28

“Larsen! What, who is that?” Elucia was leaning against a pillar of stone, every now and then peeking over her shoulder at the Mechanicus on the other side of the battle field.

“Whatever they are, they seem to be taking no damage,” Angus grunted from his position, loading another round of bullets into his weapon.

Larsen, also leaning against a pillar, took a look at the rows of Mechanicus and the new face that had appeared. The newcomer was at least a head taller than the Skitarii they walked among, but it was always hard to tell as his body was twisted and brought down by the weight of all the metal strapped on. Larsen didn’t need to see the full body, he knew the look all too well. Only one type of Mechanicus would look so haphazardly put-together, as only one type of a Mechanicus had any say in what was put into them.

“That,” Larsen said. “Is a tech priest.”

“They didn’t have a tech priest before,” Elucia hissed, flattening herself against a stone column as a Skitarii bullet flew past her head, nicking one of the feathers in her hat.

“They did,” Larsen said. “Their commander is a tech priest, it was mentioned in the missive the Mechanicus gave to us.”

“You know what I mean,” Elucia said. “Last we saw their commander, he didn’t look like that.”

Larsen didn’t feel like this was the proper moment to explain the intricacies of the tech cult and how their priests viewed their bodies, so he only shrugged.

Nitsch’s voice came over through the comm link, “I’m closing in on him.”

“Larsen, give him backup,” Elucia ordered.

“It’s highly unlikely the two of us can down a tech priest,” Larsen said, though he still straightened and started charging up his re-locator.

“We don’t need that,” Elucia said. “I want someone to have a good idea about what we are dealing with now. Take a look, maybe distract him enough for Nitsch to get some shots in up close, to see if anything even connects.”

Larsen nodded his understanding, but he wasn’t sure if Elucia saw that, as she had to duck from another shot whizzing past. Larsen re-located using his personal short distance teleporter, a rather useful addition to his gear.

He appeared near Nitsch, only few meters ahead. A skitarii bunkering behind the wall gave a surprised look, at the newcomer, and then gave a glance at their commander.

Larsen had no time to adjust, no time to breathe, barely time to ready his pistol and give a warning shot before the tech priest was on him, stopping in front of him. 

Larsen had met several tech priests over the years, though most of his contact had been with the priest that had done his own enhancements. This tech priest was more unevenly put together than most. From under the red hood, several blue lights stared at him.  There was something there, and Larsen got the distinct impression that the tech priest was staring right through him, seeing beneath the armor.

Nitsch was close behind, Larsen thought, just a small distraction. The tech priest raised one of his hands and the Skitarii behind him took the shot. Larsen didn’t see Nitsch fall, just heard his pained yell, as he fell.

“Nitsch is down,” came Elucia’s voice through the comm link. “Larsen back off!”

The tech priest tilted his head, and one of his arms came forward, holding an ax. A distorted voice came through the breather attached to his face, “Yes. I think you better back off.” The ax rose. “Nice to meet you Larsen.”

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[nemossubmarine]

Kill Team Campaign - Post-Mission Log #25

Elucia crossed her arms across her chest, and huffed a small annoyed noise beneath her breath that probably only Nitsch beside her could hear. If he did, he did not react to it, standing to attention and waiting. 

Rolf had informed her that another member of the Pack would be joining them in assisting both with the Mechanicus as well as the Infected. In fact this person had already been on his way when Rolf deemed it appropriate to let her know. Elucia had made it clear that the Pack would not receive any more pay than what they had agreed no matter how many wolves they hauled in from Fenris, and Rolf, for once, had not argued. 

Elucia admitted to some curiosity, so when the Wolves had informed that this person would soon be arriving, she had taken Nitsch and together they were waiting for the arrival. The other Starstriders were either on duty or spending their free time more efficiently, but surprisingly Zhenya had decided to come along. She was sitting on one of the rocks a little farther behind, smoking as she watched the proceedings.

All the Wolves were there, of course, even the ancient man, Hjalmar. There was certain restlessness about them, and Elucia couldn’t decide if they were excited to have a battle brother join them, or nervous. They mostly ignored the Starstriders present, huddled together and talking among themselves, though Elucia could have sworn the young Wolf, Ivar, had turned to give a small wave at Zhenya at one point.

They had stood outside maybe fifteen minutes since Snorri had received the transmission on the newcomer’s arrival, before his ship came into view. It was not much better looking than the Pack’s dingy unit, though perhaps a bit cleaner looking. It descended down near the ships, and Elucia had to grab hold of her hat or the displaced air would have made it fly off.

There it stood, silent and still for a moment. A hiss of air was released, as the door to the ship opened. 

A man walked out. An older man, giant in his height and gait. His whole frame emanated sureness and power. The armor, traditional Wolf armor, was covered in runic symbols from head to toe.

Even Elucia knew what that meant. The Pack had called in a rune priest.

“Shit,” she mumbled, impressed, not even bothering to mask it. Again only stone-faced Nitsch heard it. 

The man stood in the doorway for a moment, examining the Pack in front of him. Then his grim face cracked into a big grin, canines showing. He strode to the Pack and haphazardly pulled Rolf into an embrace. There was shouting, exchanged enthusiastic greetings, pats to the back and the like.

Soon, the rune priest disengaged from his pack, and set his eyes on Elucia. Without even consciously realizing it, Elucia stood taller, tipped her chin up ever so slightly at the approaching man. She was no soldier, so she didn’t stand like a soldier, but something about the man made her wish to appear strict and in control. Nitsch saluted, an automatic response from him at this point, and the man nodded a greeting. 

For Elucia he offered a hand. Elucia took it, and the man squeezed it, pleasant but firm, and smiled at her. Bright eyes under bushy brows looked for her own shadowed by the brim of her hat. Elucia met the gaze, unwavering. She knew how to make a first impression. Usually. When her ship had just not been blown up by a chaos infection.

“Elucia Vhane,” she said. “Commander of the Elucidian Starstriders.”

“A pleasure,” the man answered, and Elucia half-believed he meant it. “My name is Torben Oddveigson, and I am a Rune Priest and a former commander of this Pack.”

“We welcome your assistance,” Elucia replied, cordial, a bit stiff. 

Torben smiled wider, his eyes squishing close, and Elucia got the unnerving sensation that she was being read like an open book just then, picked apart and assessed. 

“It would be a great honor for me if you could introduce me to your people.”

Elucia didn’t miss a beat, ”Of course.”

“A meeting in, let’s say half a hour then?” Torben asked. “My legs are a bit stiff from traveling.”

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[nemossubmarine]

Kill Team Campaign - Post-Mission Log #24

”It’s good to see you up, Randall,” Angus said.

”Yeah, you worried us there for a moment,” Gaelle agreed. ”But we knew you’d pull through.”

Randall didn’t say a word. He had found Angus and Gaelle sitting at the Truehawk’s kitchen, a game of Gin set up in front of them. Gaelle was fanning her face with the cards, while Angus was frowning at his own. It seemed Angus was losing, as usual.

”Is everything okay?” Gaelle asked, trying to catch Randall’s eyes as he pulled a mug from the cupboard and poured himself some coffee-substitute. Real coffee was bit too scarce to be even kept in the common kitchen area. Rumor had it Elucia still had some real coffee stashed around for a special occasion, perhaps when they finally got off this forsaken moon.

Randall didn’t look at her. He gazed into the distance and took a sip from his cup. Finally he spoke, ”Why didn’t you tell me about Herman?”

”Ah,” was all that Gaelle said, laying down her cards. Angus too twisted around on his chair, to look at Randall, who still very pointedly refused to look at either of them.

”You knew Herman was one of the Infected,” Angus said.

”I knew, but you didn’t… Did you see him?”

”He did look bit worse for wear,” Angus admitted. ”I heard the Wolves got a pretty good shot on him.”

“You got a pretty good shot on him too,” Randall said, and there was a definite tone of accusation in his voice.

“Hey, now,” Angus said. “It was either that or he would have attacked Larsen, and I know you know that there’s a difference between the two at this point.”

”Guys, can we not talk about him like this?” Gaelle said. ”It’s making me uncomfortable.”

Randall finally turned to her, his voice raising, ”Like what? Like we know him? Like we should feel bad when we do bad things to him? Like he’s still Herman?”

Gaelle turned to look at the cards splayed on the table. She picked one from her hand and threw it to the pile. She opened her mouth to speak, but didn’t. Instead she got up, her chair’s legs making a sound as she pushed it back. Without a word, she was out of the kitchen.

Angus sighed, picked up Gaelle’s hand from the other side of the table and examined the cards. He then started gathering the cards.

”Look, Randall. I’m sorry about Herman,” Angus said, his voice low and his gaze at his task. ”I’m sorry no one told you he made it out of the ship and in what condition. But it’s no use getting mad at each other. We gotta handle it somehow, or we’ll be dead.”

”I don’t know if I can handle seeing him like that.”

Angus brought his hand on Randall’s shoulder and squeezed it gently. Randall turned away from the touch. Angus sighed again, and got up, leaving Randall alone in the kitchen.

Randall stared into the depths of his coffee mug for a moment, before pouring the rest of the bitter liquid down the drain.

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[nemossubmarine]

Kill Team Campaign - Post-Mission Log 9

They had set up camp in one of the ruined cities of Iethea, in a house that was only missing half a wall, and which still had most of its roof intact. A temporary solution most likely. Eden had forbade all lights. All except the ones that they themselves emitted. It wasn’t a problem, all Mechanicus were equipped with in-build night vision.

As others rested, the rest went around the ruined city, searching for anything useful. The nights in Iethea were a deep dark, with a slight purple tint, almost beautiful if one had enough time to admire it. Which Zeki didn’t.

He and Demir had agreed to separate for a moment. Demir wasn’t very good with climbing, and Zeki wasn’t very good with jumping, so Zeki had taken it upon himself to climb a pile of rubble to see what he could on top of it, while Demir snooped in one of the houses.

There was nothing to see, really. Shapes of crumbled buildings, mountains on the horizon, a distant light that might have been Xia’s eyelights. Zeki slid down the rubble pile and came to a square. He would wait for Demir there. While waiting, he pulled out his Omnispex to see if it had noticed anything that he had missed. 

There was footsteps behind him.

“Anything interesting in the house?” Zeki asked, not turning around. There was no reply. “...Demir?”

No reply again. Zeki turned around.

First he saw only flames, behind a metal grate. Then he realized that the grate was set into flesh, much like his own enhancements. In front of him stood a creature. It was at least twice as tall as Zeki and three times as wide, a hulking monstrosity of metal and flesh that sagged around its frame, looking like it was barely hanging on. Zeki looked up, at its face. Or rather, faces. His night vision picked three glinting pairs of eyes, deep-set in the partially melted, partially fused together flesh of its three heads.

Zeki clutched the Omnispex in his hands. His rifle was strapped to his back, and absolutely useless in this situation.

The creature leaned forward, looming over Zeki. It raised its enormous hand. Zeki could see it attempting to breathe, the crushed noses trying to get air into its being. 

The hand came to rest on top of Zeki’s helmet and Zeki stiffened, waiting for the creature to crush him. Instead the hand moved, gently, unsure. It was patting him. 

The three heads lowered to gaze into Zeki’s face, and the mouths opened and moved as the creature struggled. Two of the mouths turned up, into toothy, wonky smiles. From the third a guttural sound emitted. It tried to speak.

There was sound of rushing footsteps, and the creature let go of Zeki, just as Demir rushed in between the two of them, his chordclaw and transonic blade readied, his third arm pushing Zeki away.

The creature stared at the both of them. One of the mouths was turning into a frown, but one still smiled.

“I think it’s high-time we start backing up, kid. Slowly,” Demir whispered.

Zeki took a step backwards, and watched the creature for a reaction. The only thing it did was sit down on the ground. Then it started to hum in a deep bellied broken voice, a tune Zeki didn’t recognize. It didn’t look like it was about to stop their escape.

When Zeki and Demir got to the edge of the square they stopped. The creature was not following. 

“I don’t get it,” Zeki whispered. “The Omnispex didn’t pick up on it.”

“That’s a problem for someone who understands how those work. That is, not me. We better head back.” Demir turned his back on the creature. Zeki grabbed his arm and stopped him.

“Wait. Demir, look.”

Demir looked over his shoulder. From the shadows around the square other humanoid creatures were appearing. Two other giant monstrosities lumbered forward. Behind them limped several human sized creatures. Some were still wearing tattered clothes, but even then one could see how twisted the flesh was, full of boils, holes and metal parts sticking out here and there.

“Well I’ve seen enough for the day,” Demir said. “Let’s book it.”

They started a brisk walk back towards their new base. They kept glancing behind them, but none of the creatures seemed too keen to come after them

“What did it say to you?” Demir asked. “That... thing. It spoke to you.”

“I think... I think it said: Hello child.”

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[nemossubmarine]

Kill Team Campaign – Post-Mission Log #23

Upon joining the team Snorri had been given his own little workshop at the ship. Rolf had figured that since Snorri had been hired to be the technology-expert on the ship, he should probably be given the space and tools to be just that.

It was in the workship where Snorri spent most of his free time, looking after the pack’s weaponry or repairing their gear or just tinkering to keep his mind busy. Tonight was a tinkering night, nothing broken and since the Black Box had been given over to the Starstriders, nothing interesting on that front either.

From one of the many ruins they had searched, trying to find the Mechanicus, Snorri had picked up a broken ancient data caliber. It was this data caliber now that he was trying to disassemble. Whoever Iethea’s former occupants had been, they had had some rather interesting ideas about technology. Copper felt like such an ancient way of conducting eletricity, but clearly Ietheans had been incredibly skilled with it.

There was a knock on the open doorway, and Snorri raised his head to look at the newcomer.

”There is someone for you at the door,” Bear grunted, eloquent as ever, before disappearing.

Snorri set his tools aside and took off his goggles. It was a late hour, and Snorri wasn’t expecting anyone, so he was somewhat worried that meant he had done something wrong. What that was and who was trying to bring this to him, he had no idea.

The answer to Snorri’s question was waiting for him in the doorway. The Starstrider’s Mechanicus, Larsen, was standing outside their ship. Snorri noticed a few things odd about the man. For one, the he was not wearing his helmet, his hair was disheveled and his eyes darted from shadow and shadow. In one hand Larsen was clutching his pistol, and the other he had brought across his chest, gripping his other arm, almost as he was shielding himself.

”Hey,” Snorri said. ”What can I do for you?”

Larsen opened his mouth but no sound came out. Just then a sudden gust of wind caught up with them, and the ship creaked in the silent night. Larsen jumped at the noise,  clearly distraught.

”Do you want to come in?” Snorri asked.

Larsen only nodded, though he appeeared relieved, his shoulders visibly relaxing.

Snorri led Larsen to his workshop, ignoring the curious gazes his visitor received from the rest of the Pack still awake. Only after Snorri had closed the door of the workshop behind him, did Larsen speak, ”I think I might be broken.”

It clearly pained Larsen to admit this.

”You think?” was all Snorri could think to ask.

Larsen shook his head, mostly to himself as if trying to shake something, some thought, some feeling, off, ”Things haven’t been right. Things haven’t felt right.”

Snorri nodded, in what he hoped was a comforting way.

”I don’t know much about how Mechanicus are put together, but I can take a look if you want.”

”I’d appreciate it.”

Larsen sat down and Snorri put his goggles back on and hesitated, ”Where do I start?”

”The head,” Larsen replied, and then more quietly: ”It doesn’t feel right.”

There were several panels on Larsen’s head, wires running through it, disappearing into the back of his neck. Snorri found a screwdriver and opened up few of the panels. He had to admit he was nervous. He was a mechanic and a tinkerer, but his subjects didn’t usually breathe, or nervously fumble with a pistol on their lap. Inside the paneling things looked a bit more familiar, wiring and computer chips, just what Snorri had expected. Carefully he took Larsen apart, scanned every piece, made sure nothing was loose, bent or frayed, but finally he had to admit, ”I can’t find anything broken.”

”There must be something,” Larsen said.

”If there is, I am unable to locate it. Do you have anyone on the Truehawk who knows more about this?”

”Hartman was the one who… No. There’s no one.”

Snorri let out a huff of breath, bringing his goggles back up to his forehead and tried to think. By all appearances Larsen was not broken. He seemed to function just fine, but his behavior was oddly tense. And it couldn’t have been mental, as this was a Mechanicus, and that just didn’t happen to a Mechanicus. But there was nothing out of place as far as Snorri could see.

”Could you, this might be too much to ask, but, do you have your, er, blueprints? I could double-check the scans I took with them.”

Larsen was silent for a while, and Snorri was certain he had breached a line, but then Larsen got up and said, ”I’ll get them to you immediately.”

Snorri took Larsen back to the door, and as he watched the Mechanicus make his way through the dark night back to the shadow of the Truehawk, Rolf suddenly appeared to his side and asked, ”What did he want?”

Snorri gave Rolf a sidelong glance. Rolf was leaning against the doorway, also watching the figure of Larsen disappearing from view.

”Tech support,” Snorri answered.

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[nemossubmarine]

Kill Team Campaign - Post-Mission Log #22

The world around him was dark, actually dark. Either his night vision was broken, or the shadows around him were not darkness but something worse. Larsen tried to move, but found that he was unsure where his limbs were, his mechanical legs were slipping into the shadows, becoming part of them, and he couldn’t feel them anymore.

There was movement in the shadows, a noise of skittering feet and laughter, joyous, terrible laughter. 

Suddenly, the shadows parted for three sets of eyes glowing in the dark, staring and coming closer. Larsen tried to back away, but his legs were gone, and his hands found nothing to grab onto.

The eyes were right in front of him now, and the creature’s rotten breath washed over him.

There was a light, an inferno of flames that lit up the heads of Leon Hartmann and his apprentices. A smell of burning flesh, of melting metal. But no burning sensation, only a feeling of disappearing. The mouths of the creature turned into grins and it mouthed the words:

Join us.

- Larsen woke with a thrumming heart in his chest and a scream caught in his throat. For a moment he was unable to feel his legs and the only noise he could make was a low whimper. Then the feelings returned, somehow worse, and he ripped himself from the wires recharging him. Something tore, but he couldn’t care about it for the moment. 

He stumbled to his feet, found his helmet and his gun. But there was no security in them, and the walls were closing in, air stuffy and the smell of burned flesh still caught in his nose.

Larsen exited the small tech-station he used for his recharging. The Truehawk was silent and empty, everyone asleep, but Larsen felt a restless fear crawling under the metal of his enhancements. He pressed a hand to his arm, tried to keep it down, but it was no use. 

He had almost reached the exit, when the hall was suddenly lit up, by a door being opened. Larsen froze, absolutely paralyzed.

“Larsen,” the sleepy voice of Gaelle came from a doorway. “Where are you going?”

Larsen’s mind was hazy, his hand clutching onto his gun.

“I...” he began. “I need...” To get out. Now.

Gaelle’s next comment was drowned out by a yawn, “Whatever. Just try to be more quiet. Some of us need sleep.”

As Gaelle turned away, to go back to bed, Larsen bolted.

-

Larsen stumbled out of the ship to the cool night air of Iethea, There were dark clouds hanging heavy, hiding the planet and the stars, making the night darkest it could be. 

Larsen could see in the dark, his enhancements turning themselves on automatically. The green tint of night vision brought no comfort, the darkness was too deep, swaying to the rhythm of the wind blowing.

There were lights still on in the Wolves’ ship. Larsen hurried to it, and without thinking rapped on the door. He didn’t have to wait long. Almost immediately, the door was opened and a merciful flush of light illuminated the darkness, driving away the moving shadows. There was a figure in the doorway and the scowling face of Bear glared at him.

Larsen swallowed heavily, and spoke, hoping there was no tremor in his voice, “I need to see Snorri.”

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[nemossubmarine]

Kill Team Campaign - Missions 5 & 6

Sweep and Clear - Gellerpox Infected vs. The Starstriders The Starstriders were prepared for the Gellerpox attack. They had had a warning, and Elucia managed to join her troops, before the Infected lurched into view. It was a tight-knit formation, they would not be broken.

But, for some reason the Infected were barely interested. There was no recognition, no hatred, they almost walked past the Starstriders, only bothering them when bothered. They finally turned back after some gun-fire. There was very little blood shed, though Aximillion, bravely guarding his masters, got a snout-full of belly-flames, and Knosso was knocked down by two Nightmare Hulks. The Starstriders managed to advance, forcing the Infected back, until they turned and went away. A relief, really, but that left a big question: If not the Starstriders, what were the Infected really after?

Winner: The Starstriders

Heist - Adeptus Mechanicus vs. The Deathpack They didn’t expect the ship to be swarming with Mechanicus. It had appeared quite abandoned when they had spotted it. Just their luck to end up there at the same time as the Mechanicus team.

It was very clear that the Mechanicus were evacuating, so this was the Deathpack’s only chance to get their hands on some probably very important stuff. It had to be important, if the Mechanicus risked their flight by coming back to get it. 

They were outnumbered and in a strange environment, not a very great start to a fight. Snorri and Ivar managed to secure a supply chest, hole up in a room and Snorri even managed to down one of the Skitarii. Unfortunately, the eagle-eyed Mechanicus sniper brought Snorri down, and Ivar had no other hope than to hold on and watch as the Mechanicus gathered all their things amidst exchanging bullets with him.

The others were not much luckier, running into the Mechanicus’ leader and two Sicarians in a rather tight corridor. Only Bear managed to survive that onslaught, though badly wounded. It was time to retreat, and let the Mechanicus clear out.

Winner: Adeptus Mechanicus

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[nemossubmarine]

Kill Team Campaign - Post-Mission Log 19

Vivek was not exactly known for picking the right place and the right time. If he was, he would still be out there, probably burning down another Mechanicus factory. But he was here, and as soon as he saw Kuru join the others, he slipped out and went to find Eden.

Vivek didn’t bother to knock, he probably should have. In the small side-room he found Eden, his helmet on his lap as he worked to repair it. Vivek had never seen Eden without the helmet, he was pretty sure no one had. And when Eden looked up at him, suddenly, he kinda wished he hadn’t. 

There was not much man left. Basically half a jaw and a worried mouth was all that remained of a human, as far as the face went. The mechanical eyes that caught him were piercing.

“I am here to report,” Vivek said. “I didn’t have time to before.”

Eden’s mouth moved silently, as he worked something over in his mind, and Vivek wondered if he realized that Vivek could see it. 

Eden returned his attention back to his helmet, “If it is about the ship, I’ve told you the person you report to is Bonnie. She knows what kind of information we need better than I do.”

“It’s not that, not exactly. Mind if I sit?”

Eden gestured at the empty room which Vivek took as a permission, and settled down on a rock opposite him.

“I spoke to one of the Wolves.”

This made Eden pause and look up at Vivek, mouth a thin, displeased line. Vivek put his hands up, palms outward, in defense.

“Not my wisest move, I admit,” he said. “I didn’t mean to go chat with the enemy. I slipped up and it just happened. But I made it out okay, so it’s a victory in my books.”

“Tell me,” Eden ordered.

“His name is Uffe. He’s the one I called polite, and that still stands. Not a very wordy guy, not very trusting either. And...” Vivek hesitated. “He knew my name.”

“Your name,” Eden repeated.

“He called me Vivek.”

“And you responded to that?”

“It is my name,” Vivek said, touch defensively. 

“That is not good.”

“Suppose they have an old mugshot of me or something, and they got it from that. Maybe the Martians figured they’d need to know that we got an actual criminal in the bunch. Armed and dangerous they used to call me. Then they took my arms and gave me these more dangerous metal arms, so maybe they figured whoever is trying to catch us has a right to know what to expect.”

This was why Vivek had wanted to report in private. He could stay stuff like that. Eden was the only one who knew about his criminal past, as far as he knew. Eden certainly did not approve of it, having been a gold-star Mechanicus for so long. But it’s not like Vivek needed that approval, he was just glad to have someone who already knew and to whom he didn’t have to explain. Eden didn’t know the reasons, but he didn’t need to. He had never asked for them, and Vivek was glad.

“Perhaps,” Eden said finally. “It is still worrisome. What else might they know of us?”

“Not more than you do, I’d wager.”

“I am not all-knowing, I have merely read your files.”

“Which is more than I have ever done. Just saying. Don’t think I’ve even seen mine. Who even knows what kind of juicy secrets they got about me. Aside from you of course.”

“It wasn’t that interesting,” Eden said. “Mostly technical stuff.”

“Hey! I take offense to that.”

Eden smiled then, a flash of white teeth before he realized what had happened and forced his face back to the neutral outlook, and very pointedly returned to his work.

“Thank you for the report, Vivek. For now, it might be better to not talk about this with others.”

Vivek nodded and got up. He didn’t ask whether Eden meant Uffe or his face.

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