Most of our players couldn't make this session (holidays and some movie or other called "Avengers" was released - pah - I'd gone on the first weekend...*I* didn't disrupt the game... ;) ) so we decided to play a "flashback" set during the ten days of Warp travel between Footfall and the rendezvous with the alien Stryxis at the end of the last game.
We got to "peep behind the veil" at what Mord does to keep the ship running. Prior to the Warp jump there was a suspected problem with the Gellar field and due to it's importance Mord went to investigate personally (with a coterie of priests and servitors). Everything checked out OK but we got to see how Mord "relates" to his underlings. Personally I'm glad he's not my boss..... And we also took the chance to think about how Mord relates to the Machine god, especially as he is delving into areas of research and technology that other tech-priests might consider heretical....
After translation into the Warp Mord decides to have his form further enhanced and sorted the aquisition of a second mechendendrite - this time a heavy lifting servo-arm (see Dark Heresy: Ascension). During the procedure a subordinate tech-priest, Thom-Alpha-5, comes to Mord to advise that there has been a problem with some of the salvage they brought on board from Footfall (to breakdown and use for raw materials & parts); life signs have been detected within.
Mord heads to the cargo bay (with entourage) to examine the issue: the salvage is apparently a section of the outer hull of an Imperial vessel, about the size of a modern day tower block. Mord orders further auspex sweeps and summons Lomar to help as it's more his area of expertise. Lomar arrives with a squad of armsmen and calls in some voidsmen to try to shed some light on what sort of ship it may have come from. Its hard to tell as its such a small section and imperial ships can be pretty generic (coming from similar Standard Template Constructs) but it's certainly Imperial in origin and either from a Warp capable tranport or a non-warp "system" ship. There are no identifiable markings.
The tech-priests indicate that there are multiple life signs aboard but the ship segment has no power. Mord and Lomar lock down the cargo bay, remove all non-essential staff and take a combined squad of tech-priests and armsmen into the wreck to investigate. Sending "Scully" (Mord's Servo-skull familiar) forwards where possible they scout out the hull, going deeper and deeper within. Mord occasionally has to exercise his new Servo-arm to rip open sections of bulkhead to progress through the darkness. The only light is that which they have brought in and the party are moving slowly in a staggered line.
Suddenly a shriek cuts the air from the back of the party (the poor guy playing Mord practically jumped out of his skin and had a "bit of a turn"...) - I made the players make Fear checks that they both failed. "Something" with a blade or sharp claws had taken down one of the tech-priests at the back of the group. Very shaken, Lomar & Mord order the team to group up and send Scully ahead, above them into a access tube. He soon reports back that a growing number of life signs are rapidly heading their way, from all directions....
A horde of Ghiliam (twisted "once humans" and mutants who infest the crawl spaces and hulls of ships like vermin. See Dark Heresy: The Inquisitor's Handbook for details) swarm at the group from all dierctions and combat is joined. Mord overcomes his fear and starts crushing the creatures around him with his Servo-arm while fending others off with his shock-staff. Lomar relies on his trusted Ripper pistol to dispatch a number but can't shake his fears. The tech-priests and armsmen fend off a number too (the armsmans' shotguns making quick work of many of them) but a few crew are lost in the battle. After a while the effective, if manic, defense breaks the horde and they flee back into the bowels of the wreckage. Thom-Alpha-5 reports from outside the vessel that as they have now identified the Ghiliam he has detected a single, static life sign different to all the rest. The Explorers decide to investigate further but Lomar calls in a second squad of armsmen to follow them in and mke sure they aren't ambushed again.
The climb up the wreck is slow and arduous but the team are not bothered by further Ghiliam. Eventually they reach the room containing the unique life sign. The place appears to be the Ghiliam's "nest" and is a fetid, dirty pit of a place. Scattered with rags, mess, excrement, scrap and the remains of other, weaker Ghiliam (the canabalistic mtuants are their own main food source) the scene is pretty horrific - once again we called for Fear tests and Mord failed pretty famously, becoming paranoid and very jumpy for the rest of the voyage.
In the centre of the room is some form of large, oopen-topped, casket or crate, set on a plinth or table of some sort. The Ghilliam appear to have decorated it as some form of rudimentary shrine. Scrimshawing sigils and messages in their dark, corrupt, tongue and festoning it with trinkets and "offerings". Lomar approaches and, pistol in hand, peers inside. Laid within is the body of a Space Marine, one of the holy avengers of the Emperor; the Adeptus Astartes. He is clad in battle damaged red and black power armour and bears a bolt pistol, chainsword and combat shotgun. Lomar summons Mord who investigates the armour, identifying that the Marine within is alive but in self-induced suspended animation, his suit is still powered and has integrity, but is battle damaged (as noted by Lomar) and has been rebuilt or repaired from salvaged parts. The explorers arrange for him to be removed in secret and secured in one of Mord's chambers while some medicae staff can attempt to resucitate him, while Lomar's teams continue to purge the remains of the Ghiliam.
Some time passes and Mord & Lomar agree that they ought to advise Darien of their "find" and he is enthused with the prospect of meeting one of the god-emperor's "sons" in person. They head to the chamber to find the 8ft tall marine, now stripped of his armour, awake and crushing the indpipe of one of the medicae who revived him.... Darien and Mord talk him down, whilst an orderly manages to get a sedative into him (should have knocked out a bull elephant but it just makes him a little sleepy). He is Brother Sebastion "Bastion" Khaine of the Angels Sanguine and he tells Darien, Mord & Lomar that they may be permitted to transport him...
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