The Fabricated Tales
of Alpha Capharius
DC-12-9/5/9/ZT5F412A0
Part Four
 |
| Mk I Powered Body Suit designed by Alpha Capharius, from Imperial records, date unknown, location unknown |
+++Personal
Encrypted Journal+++
The entity
stirred at the sound of its name… It always starts this way doesn’t it a name
being uttered and called upon in vain. I
should at this time mention the minor warp entity which goes by Imperial
records as S.I.M.O.N which for those deemed to be allowed to live will know,
stands for Sentient Interdimensional Manifestation of Nothingness… yes indeed –
perhaps a lot of the last, little of the first and a hell of a lot of
manifestation in the way of intrusions.
My long and continuing existence has been plagued by this minor
warpling, certainly beneficial at times, but capricious beyond measure – taking
enjoyment more from the spectacle of observance than in the act. Think of it as a voyeur of such
interdimensional perversion that even the forbidden one Slaanesh has its number
on speed dial.
Well there
you have it I have divulged another one of the mysteries of the unknown
universe, yet another nail in my coffin that the Inqusition and Mechanicus are
ever so habitually hammering away at. I am still here, growing, knowing, while
they atrophy and eternally fight amongst themselves as the final night draws
its curtain.
+++End
Encrypted Journal+++
When last I recorded my
magnificent illuminations into the workings around my everyday life, my band of
expendables were accompanying Reximus to find one of his allies that he
believed would still be found on this wondrous ship of science (isn’t science
amazing – a picture reference of a boy with a yellow mouse like creature with a
tail in the shape of a lightning bolt jumping from his shoulder flashes through
my memory decryptions). Yes science I
say, not the degraded quasi-religious claptrap that the Mechanicus doles out to
the brainwashed masses. Wolf of Iron Francine (slightly increased electrical shock)
communicated to me its displeasure that Reximus was taking liberties with its
person, though it conceded that he did have the authority to do so. It did not like it though, and asked that I
remind Reximus that it was self aware and had certain “rights”. I find this notion an interesting one, that a
self aware intelligence would think it had rights? We live in a totalitarian environment, to
think that there was ever a thought that anyone had rights was as quaint as
thinking there were multiple sexes! I
will find an appropriate moment to have a discussion with Reximus at some point
on this issue.
The tainted space that this ship
has been occupying is continuing to affect those of us not accustomed to such
abnormalities. That being said the
daemon-bred and tainted “humans” in my company seem to suffer little from the
adverse conditions while Horst and I struggle with the unnatural nature in
which we find ourselves. Reximus and I
continue to broaden the bond of understanding as outsiders in a universe gone
mad. I now have access to a secure and
private communication channel with him that the other members are unaware of. Thankfully it is of such a nature that that
pilfering Elsie won’t be able to acquire it, at least not without the aid of a
very blunt instrument and some heavy duty cutting machines. Of course by the time they read this material
they will be long dead, their short lives unable to match the eternal state I
have achieved – omnipotence, but I get ahead of myself in transcribing my
tales. These events are yet to be
revealed!
Reximus has communicated to me
prior to the others knowing (in time) that we are searching for his agent
Calistar Ironfoot, a diminutive human from the Hammer Held Merchant fleet. The image that he provided me was of a small
person some four feet in height (at best) with a bionic foot or leg, hence the
quaint identifying surname. Wolf of Iron Francine (slightly increased electrical shock),
Reximus and I commune on the best course of action and the route to be taken to
the last known location where Ironfoot would be found. It is decided not to share this information
with the others in the group, as Reximus is still ascertaining whether they are
worthy of his trust, though mine is clearly beyond reproach. Wolf
of Iron Francine (slightly
increased electrical shock) plotted the course, a short journey on the
intra-highway and in less time than it took Lady B to scratch the returning
case of “documented indiscretion” we had arrived. Wolf
of Iron Francine (slightly
increased electrical shock) parked in the large vehicle bay, ignored all the
warning signs of “Do Not Park Here” and deposited us right beside the required
docking entry port.
 |
intelligence between artifices. Alpha Capharius created a mobile weapon system that allowed it to accompany him. Imperial date, location - unknown. |
+++Personal
Encrypted Journal+++
There comes
a point in your journey with others that you need to almost have to spell out
your own “care plan” in the case of an emergency. It was at this point in time
that I felt it was necessary to make it extremely clear as to how I wished to
be “rescued” or given medical treatment by members of my own cadre. Sad as it is, Reximus and I had grave
concerns of the natives from the warp ravaged planet they were born on. I made it quite clear that Reximus, followed
by Horst were to be the primary caretakers should I be injured or harmed in any
way. Lady B if matters were dire,
however Elsie was not to trusted… my
synaptic and binaric cores can still hear the ghost chants of “roll, roll,
roll”. Whether the desires I have
expressed are even considered are moot at best, but I felt I had to spell them
out, even if it was only to niggle Elsie.
+++End
Encrypted Journal+++
With the echoes of “roll, roll,
roll” I am directed to the docking bay door and asked to gain entry. My augments pick up no immediate threats
(well about from Elsie and that bloody EMMA), and the doors open with little
resistance. I attempt a small amount of
defiance when I see that Elsie is distracted, actually being able to grab him,
but failing to propel him into the room with the pretext of getting him to
scout the environment. It’s amazing how
Elsie conveniently forgets his role in the cadre when his life might actually
be threatened! Wolf of Iron Francine (slightly
increased electrical shock) places itself on alert and agrees to provide
military support if I required it. I was
made aware that its nature of self awareness also included its capacity to
protect and take action exclusive of any orders given, as long as they did not
countermand any given prior.
The security sensors were similar
to those we had found (well stumbled upon might be a better word) prior and were
easily spotted. Horst suggested he could
deactivate them as he had shown such aptitude before (see Dark Matter weapon
use in disarming security systems in Appendix XTC, also catastrophic explosions
in Appendix FU2), but before he could do so I managed to located the system. By my understanding it appeared I had sent
the correct codes to deactivate the sensors.
Yes I had sent the correct codes, any stupidity on the behalf of Elsie’s
actions are those he generated on his own.
Right then, Elsie, now free of any immediate threat of harm (notice his carefree and gay attitude to
events in these circumstances) did what he loves doing. He followed his 4X philosophy, which while normally associated with the beer of
that name refers to his methodology of explore (i.e. look to see if there is anything about to kill him), examine (i.e. carefully look at what he has found, is it worth keeping), secure (yes I know there isn’t and X in it, but Elsie is not known for his
literacy… or intelligence – and by secure that means keep it from anyone, even
if it’s of no use to him), and retraction
(i.e. again I almost feel sorry for
Elsie… almost but – no, another fail at literacy, he thought the sound was
right: this will only occur when he has to ditch an item or blame someone else
for the purloin or wrong-doing on his part).
Elsie true to form found a crate
which contained empty Lho packets, never accepting an obvious ploy by the
warpling S.I.M.O.N to hide goodies from a truly deserving malcontent, Elsie dug
deeper – hence setting off the trap he failed to detect. A Jokaero artifact vaguely resembling a three
headed, two tailed centipede (primed with a virulent toxin) ambushed Elsie and
delivered a lethal dose directly into his bloodstream. Such was the shock to his system he jumped
back, tripped in the mess of his discharged bowels and collapsed to the
decking. (Yes, that is indeed what
happened, don’t believe a word of what Elsie may tell you might have happened…) At the same time Lady B shouted shoot, where
upon a small debate erupted over whether it was an instruction to shoot Elsie (this got my vote) or the centipede
device. Horst, practical as ever, and
not wanting to get a dose of whatever the centipede was carrying - placed a
well aimed round of Dark Matter through one of its heads causing the creature
to explode in a cloud of “harmless” shrapnel.
Lady B and I then attended the dying Elsie, to be honest we both had
conflicting agendas.
 |
| Pic feed capture of corrupted Mechanicus personnel Unknown source. |
+++Personal
Encrypted Journal+++
Elsie at
this point was delusional and clearly panicking as he saw both Lady B and I
looking over him. While Lady B may have
been looking at his wounded hand, I was looking into his slowly closing eyes
and giving him a very broad and reassuring smile. Reximus later showed me the digital replay
from his recording and I must say that I was shocked to see that where I
thought I was giving a reassuring smile and comfort to a patient, it came
across more as a maniacal grin and silent laughter, he made reference to an old
earth cartoon character called The Joker.
Oh well I’m sure he was pleased with the end results…
+++End
Encrypted Journal+++
Lady B wanted the toxin to add to
her growing collection, me, well my diagnostics had determined that the poison
was quickly making its way to his heart and that a quick removal of that organ
would save the organ from the deadly toxin, I’m not sure about the patients
survival? Horst, disgusted with the
Byzantine level of politicking and intrigue while a companion (his word not mine) lay dying (we wish, he has more lives than a cat that
one) applied one of our dwindling and precious supplies of nano-healers to
resuscitate Elsie. I admonished Horst over this waste of a precious resource on
what was clearly a mutant, but will leave this matter till a later time.
Lady B spent some time holding
Elsie’s hand while administering and tending to the wounds of the onetime
hunter. In truth she had straddled him,
pinning him in position so she could scrape every ounce of toxin that was being
exuded from his skin. Reximus was
bemused and suggested a private room for such intimate spooning of materials; I
just commented that saving his heart would have been more economical. EMMA hurled a grommet of hardened oil with
painful accuracy, nasty little beast.
Why it shows such devotion to a being of low… oh wait, it makes sense
now, dumb and dumber – a perfect pair.
Getting back to the toxin scrapping of Lady B, this “sensual” process she
was continuing to perform worked some form of magic on Elsie. Elsie lost his senses and allowed Lady B to
touch him, and it was the most unfortunate thing he’d ever done. Even now he could imagine the pressure of her
hands on his. He still tingled from this new passion that banished all others. He loved her. Yes Reximus and I, hell even Wolf of Iron Francine (gradually increasing electrical
shock) was affected by this noisome display.
Where once Elsie disdained his betters, he had finally succumbed to the
reality he really was at the bottom of the excrement heap and he may as well
accept it. Sucking up to his betters was
the best way to survive, and heck Lady B really wasn’t that bad a trollop to
look at – as long as you ignored all the blades, poisons and death threats over
erectile dysfunction.
While this horrible C grade soap
opera was in action I thought I could do something with the Jokaero device and
had started to gather up its parts in the hope of assembling it to better
understand and duplicate the process in time.
A silent warning of “that would not be wise” from Reximus made me look
down at what I had accumulated and to my great interest I saw that the device
had started to self repair. Not wanting
to be poisoned I dropped it a discreet distance from me, whereupon, ever practical
Horst executed the threat with another Dark Matter round. I pity the repair crew in patching this ship
of the holes Horst is putting in it, I do hope the Ships Spirit is
understanding – and take it out on them and not me in the end!
With the ministrations of
“healing” dealt with at last (and about
time), Lady B decided that Elsie probably didn’t do a proper job of
checking the crate. It was just as well
she did as she would not have found that the trap mechanism had recharged - and
then discharged as she clumsily searched the crate. Her immediate reaction (and petulant reaction) was to shoot the capacitors (she just saw a glowy thing), despite
Reximus and I shouting a warning to the contrary. It did little to stop the events which
followed.
Lady B saw her life flash before her eyes before S.I.M.O.N the warpling
laughed and erased her folly from the reality of real space. What we were left with was far more unkind a
fate than an exploding power core. Lady
B found a blackened box which stuck to her hands once she picked it up. This
stickiness wasn’t immediately obvious – well not until she tried to put it
down, and drawn her Truesilver blade. Horst
suggested unbuckling her armoured gauntlets, my suggestion of cutting off her
hands and replacing them with augmented limbs was ignored (though I constantly repeated the offer to no avail, it would have saved
a lot of heartache in the end). I’m
sure that looking back at all that will happen, the loss of flesh and bone for
an augmented replacement would have seemed a fair trade?
While we were working out the
puzzle of the sticky box Elsie was undertaking the 4X methodology – on his own
(always a dangerous occupation fraught
with danger). He discovered an area
with corpses and two blinking security sensors which he maliciously determined
was best left for me to appraise and disarm.
His return though allowed the group to test a number of hypotheses which
sadly did not involve the removal of limbs for augmented upgrades. Elsie applied his Truesilver blade to the
box, which shriveled and squirmed from the touch. Impulsive as always Elsie then plunged his
Truesilver blade into the box, which let us say led to some disturbing
outcomes.
The Truesilver blade upon
piercing the box made it undergo some transformation or reconfiguration,
resulting in the box becoming a book.
Elsie, still frothing with compulsiveness drove the Truesilver blade
into the book resulting in a psychic backlash that threw the blue skinned
mutants back a few feet. The rest of the
group didn’t even blink, though we are starting to question the stability of
the gene-stock of these creatures.
Reximus chose to re-enter the conversation and before Lady B could say antidisestablishmentarianism
had commanded her to close the book and hand it over to him. The fact he nonchalantly pointed what
appeared to be a very deadly pistol at her was just the full stop to his
sentence (of death if needed). Lady B swallowed bitter bile, yet again she
had been denied forbidden knowledge, Reximus and I shared a knowing look – this
one will be a problem if not properly controlled and educated. Lady B sullenly handed over the book,
whereupon Reximus removed from one of his many seemingly spacious armoured suit
pockets the paraphernalia required to bind and neutralize a warp object. I recorded the rituals in the hope that they
may be of use, however Reximus said that my current level of ability was
insufficient to master the ritual and that I was to be patient. Once the ritual had cleansed the article, he
produced a metal sack with written words or symbols etched into it. I’m not
sure which as even with my ability to recall and replay the incident show that they
are constantly squirming and moving, thus not allowing me to see clearly what
was there. This sack is another baffling
artifact which I’m sure I will master in due time. Reximus did give me specific instructions
that Lady B was not under any circumstances to be allowed access to the bags
contents in the event of his disappearance or death. I swore that a black hole would swallow the
system before that would ever happen, he nodded in agreement, a sly grin just
creasing the edge of his lips. (It was as
if he knew the hidden meaning!)
With
this little distraction dealt with Elsie advised us of the room with three
corpses and the two security devices (he
was having an evil chuckle over this revelation). Two of the bodies are clearly security forces
that we had encountered in other human run sections of the ship; the other is
that of a servitor. My array of sensors
were deployed to determine if I could shut them down, and yes it would appear
so, the only catch is the requirement of a security code. Elsie’s
chant of “roll, roll, roll” was really starting to irritate me no end. Pragmatic Horst affects his tried and true
method of security system shut down. His
highly accurate first shot, destroys the first sensor – however… the second
device activated and fired a deadly return shot. It was then that the capricious S.I.M.O.N
laughed at us from the warp, triggering the power core of the security device to
explode. The result was the vaporization
of one of the corpses (yes S.I.M.O.N you may have overlooked this when the
nature of the symbol on one of the human security guards was revealed – had all
been vaporized as first noted, then who but the warp would have known… death
seems to be taking an active interest in my activities as I write this section
I foresee and unhappy occurence…), and the hurling of the crate
directly at me, YES ME the most important person in this mission besides
Reximus at this point in the storytelling.
Horst, nimble as ever, skips out of the way, me I’m just a little too
slow. (My reconstituting body frame still has a way to go before my agility
exceeds that of Lady B, okay maybe it will be a long journey, a very very long
journey but it has started.) I start
calculating the impact force and begin to dislike the outcome when the impact
hits me like an asteroid. The force
field dissipates the primary kinetic damage, yet the crushing weight of the
object is another matter and I find that my armour while helpful doesn’t
mitigate the fact I’m stuck under a heavy crate. Horst again is the only one who comes to my
aid, while the mutants dash off to search the devastated area in the vain hope
of loot.
The crate that nearly ended the
brilliant and long life of Capharius was mangled from the blast and bent out of
shape from the impact damage with my reinforced musculature. Left alone I was to be the sole investigator of
the contents which proved to contain another of these boxes which have been of
interest to Reximus. As soon as I
appraised Reximus of the situation the harpies of opportunity arrive looking to
see what they may gain as a benefit. I
tried to seal the crate, but it is so badly mangled that it would not allow
itself to do so, almost as if some malign entity had an interest in the
outcome. Reximus looked at the crate and
the box and muttered that we were too late and that the summoning had started. The mutants though snap into primal action
thrusting their Truesilver blades into the swirling mass of warp biomatter
which had started to appear where the book rested. In this current state of flux the newly
forming entity flinches and avoids the touch of the Truesilver blades, though
it does not appear to harm it in any obvious manner. At this point a brilliant plan comes to mind
and I direct Elsie to surround the warp creatures summoned location in
Truesilver, he suggests his arrows, I concur.
Reximus is pleased at this application of knowledge and thinking on the
fly suggests that we remove ourselves to a distance, whereupon we hear Horst
shout “shoot the excrement out of the fornicating thing” from his vantage point
at the other end of the sectioned area.
Horst had been disturbed by the entities sudden manifestation and
creation and had “fled” though later admitted it was a tactical decision to
allow his enhanced marksmanship to assist in driving the creature back to where
it had come from (I liked that better
than fled). During the combat, what
concerned me and Reximus was the spoken acknowledgment of association between
Elsie and this daemon of skulls. Yes
indeed it is recorded as fact that Elsie did proclaim he had sent this
particular warp spawn back to the warp, but who was telling the truth about the
facts of their association. Time will
tell, and careful monitoring of Elsie will continue, any association with the
warp, no matter how little can create a gateway into this realm. Reximus made this quite clear to all after
the battle; however it was killer Horst who dispatched the daemon. I think the appellation “Killer of Daemons”
or just “Killer” will suffice to announce this man’s skills, pity there are no
scars to back up his reputation. Hate to
see him end up with “Nancy Boy” or “Pretty Killer” as his name, though maybe
“Killer Pretty”…
The battle has been won, but the
cost to Horst and I from having to deal with an entity from the warp is
taxing. The mutants prove to me (and
Reximus) again of their unnatural nature and yet they show no overt signs of
madness or corruption, though you can never be too sure.
 |
| Corrupted Mechanicus pesonnel Date unknown |
+++Personal
Encrypted Journal+++
Perhaps an
invasive examination might prove what makes them tick? I suggest inserting the Jakaero Sphere into
Elsie to allow it to perform a thorough internal diagnostic, however he seemed
reluctant to take a six inch round sphere through any orifice – even with the
application of goose fat!
+++End
Encrypted Journal+++
With the regular taunting and
frivolity concluded (along with threats of physical violence) the pair of
mutants could not help themselves but LOOT!
They found that the crate contained skulls each one marked with an eight
pointed star, not good Reximus advised us – a lot of people were sacrificed to
some dark and malign entity to allow this level of ritual and summoning to be
activated as a trap. Also located was
the obligatory stash of high end blank data slates, a fortune if sold, but in
reality a death sentence by Mechanicus dogma.
Horst discovered that one of the bodies not vaporized by the previous
explosion (yes the warpling is capricious
in its forgetfulness, or is it setting the stage for something more sinister?)
When Horst made his strategic
retreat he found another room with crates, my linked HUD and my recall had
processed this and alerted the relevant looters to the position, to which they
promptly made all haste. It was also at
this time the penny dropped and Elsie finally put two and two together and
discovered the number 22! No? No – really he did that as well, but he
finally worked out what the HUD was able to do, and once he did, he would not
stop playing with it – or shut up about it.
Sigh…
Elsie and Horst made their way to
the room which Horst had identified and which contained four crates and a
rather obvious TRAP! You would have thought
they would have learnt by now, but no some lessons have to be learnt the hard
way (continually). The process
of 4X begins and in the end Elsie prods one of the crates he had opened with
his Truesilver spear. The HUD feed link
goes blank, at which time there is a very unmanly high pitched squeal from
Elsie. Later investigation provided the
knowledge that both were blown off their feet and hurled away from the
source. Horst had a vision of his impending death wrapped around a pylon, but
FATE steps in and he avoids an unwarranted and untimely death. Elsie had driven his Truesilver blade against
a daemonic blade of ritual sacrifice and released the trapped souls
within. Reximus, Lady B and I arrive to
see what appear to be souls, vanishing, the whispers or echoes, a sigh of
release as they escape the eternity of damnation they would have already been
or would have continued to have endured.
The psychic release has placed a strain on all and Reximus is paler than
usual, he gingerly takes the blade with special care and places it, wrapped within
a marked cloth, inside the metal sack. I
find out later that the blade wept blood of the victims it had sacrificed and
that it was evil, ancient and old even by the standard of time when Reximus was
“alive” before stasis. Further
examination of the crates finds the diminutive corpse which I fear is that of
the person Reximus seeks. I let him know
this through our link and he arrived to assess the situation. The sorrow and deep sigh of regret he
expresses is very human for a man some nine feet in height and perhaps no
longer a true man by the definition of it at any time in history. “Yes,” he explains. “This is Calistar
Ironfoot, my agent, the one who was tasked to awaken me if all had gone awry. Clearly she has found some of the articles of
which I had tasked her and she has sealed them against those who would use
them.” There is little that can be done
for the corpse. Lady B asks if there is
any burial custom to be performed, and Reximus asks that she undertake the
removal of a cranial implant from the base of the skull. Lady B senses that Reximus is in no mood for
mucking about and diligently performs the task, removing a spider like implant
which I have seen before. Reximus nods
his head in agreement as he reads my questioning thoughts. The task complete Lady B hands the implant to
Reximus who then attaches it to a fiber link, his only instruction to me is to
protect him while he links with the device, I swear I will do so.
No one ever does as they are told
to do! Elsie bored with inactivity has
wandered off into his land of 4X, starting off a near simultaneous chain of
events that would almost pitch us into the warp. Yes Elsie finds more potential LOOT options
and the capacity to kill everyone. Horst
had removed himself to an overwatch position to see what new threats may appear,
proving to be the wisest ally in the group.
Lady B, despite hearing Reximus saying to keep him safe and protected
while he completed his task, grew bored.
She could not help herself and had to go and open another crate! The
profanities I screamed at her stripped the walls of a millimeter of metal, my
anger was palpable and she finally knew she had crossed the line, here she
finally realized was someone that was very dangerous, next to him was a person
even more dangerous. Lady B was in deep
excrement; at this point in time she could not even touch the bottom.
What happened? Elsie released a daemon of bone, and Lady B
one of hearts. I found out that Elsie
had a grenade, a stasis one at that. I
wonder how the dumb primitive knew what to even do with it, then I remembered
Horst had been giving him lessons in modern weaponry so I guess some of it must
have stuck. Elsie tossed the grenade,
and ran like a Nancy to the safety of Wolf
of Iron Francine (gradually
increasing electrical shock), only to find out that it would not allow him
access. (It had adopted my personality likes and dislikes and had decided that
Elsie was not on the welcome list unless specifically given them my Reximus or
I. What a wonderful and prescient
artifice, the most endearing intellect I have come across to date.) He only gained entry with the interference of
EMMA, I must fix that loophole, but it was gratifying to note that Wolf of Iron Francine (gradually increasing electrical
shock) was acquiring the dislikes I harboured.
What a wonderful and intelligent artifact (pleasant binaric feedback).
In the room where Reximus, Lady B
and I floundered, the warp entity of pulsating hearts started to coalesce. My only thoughts are to protect Reximus as
per his last instructions, and I will die to fulfill that oath. I use my enhanced frame to drag Reximus away
from the summoning location (no mean feat
I may add), Lady B attempts to assist, but it is like an ant trying to move
a loaf of bread on its own. Yet the fact
she acknowledges her error, and needs to be seen to be doing something to help
is what I believe is really driving her with this show of assistance – Reximus
can pass judgment should we survive the encounter.
Horst has retreated to the safe
vicinity of Wolf of Iron Francine
(gradually increasing
electrical shock), setting himself up to unleash a fury of Dark Matter energy
at anything from the warp. Slowly I
continued my task of dragging Reximus from the danger zone, when he stirs and
is no longer a burden of dead armour. I
quickly apprise him of the situation; mind you Lady B has already done the one
mile dash in 6 seconds, clearly dreading an encounter with Reximus over the
situation. Reximus is not far behind in his decision over the situation, I’m
afraid that my internal reconfiguration is still ongoing and continual so I’m
rather slow due to the enhanced and strengthened body frame. By the time I have reached the docking back
door, I see Reximus and Horst in positions to gun down the warp spawned daemons
(now just making an appearance), of the others I know not, though Wolf of Iron Francine (gradually increasing electrical
shock) tells me they are cowered inside its armoured hull thinking that a safe
enough refuge.
The combat that follows is
jumbled and furious, the party would have been lost were it not for the valiant
deeds of Horst, Wolf of Iron
Francine (gradually increasing
electrical shock) and I. I learned during
this encounter that daemons of the warp are not on the whole friendly with each
other. The daemon of bone which Elsie
had released took a massive barrage of missiles from Wolf of Iron Francine (gradually
increasing electrical shock) as it sought to aid me (certainly not
panicking). A missile struck the target
(daemon of bone); the remainder flew down the open space and opened up the rest
of sections corridors, blowing out walls as if they were paper, allowing
further exploration. The daemon of bone
had a nasty surprise for me when it raised its tail and sprayed the area with
bone fragments. Reximus proved agile as
ever, I less so, but found the combination of power field, body armour and
augmented body just enough to save me from mortal damage. It was as the daemon
of bone was preparing to leap into close battle, that the daemon of heart
attacked it. The battle was very short,
the daemon of bone was ripped asunder as if a piece of tissue paper – the
daemon of hearts did not even pause to consider a victory but went on straight
into battle. Things then became very
focused and confusing, Wolf of Iron
Francine (gradually increasing
electrical shock) released another truly devastating volley of missiles, Horst
again proved his title “Killer” but when we thought it would surely succumb, it
had healed itself before our very eyes.
Reximus had been knocked unconscious from the missile salvo; I was down
to actually engaging the daemon with my dark age axe. Then the capricious warpling played its trump
card, a catastrophic conjunction of events led to a warp gate appearing and
sucking the daemon back to its own reality.
Reximus though was still unconscious and unable to stop his armoured
form from being sucked into the warp.
While I had succeeded in saving myself from being pulled in I had to do
something for Reximus. It was then that
Horst shone forth, the fragile human from the hives, he had managed to secure
himself and grab Reximus, but his human strength was insufficient to stop the
armoured giant being sucked into the warp.
I then made the ultimate decision, hell I had made the decision a long
time ago, I can’t go back, Reximus is the only one I can see as an ally, if I
cannot save him, then I will follow him into the warp and share his fate. Whether or not the fable of the God Emperor
has truth and that there is a greater power in the universe than those beings
that maliciously inhabit the warp, but my “oath of the moment” must have been
heard as I found I had grabbed Reximus and Horst and with the aid of my
augmented strength managed to hold on long enough for the gate to close. The relief I felt at having survived, is the
most “intoxicating” that I have felt outside of direct contact with the ships
spirit and Wolf of Iron Francine
(gradually increasing
electrical shock).
The dealing of encounters with
the warp is troubling and Horst and I suffered again. The resultant byproduct has left me with an
intense phobia of crates; so much has happened due to the stupidity of the
mutants that I now can’t even think of opening one without seeing visions of
the daemonic spawn. My ever helpful
mutant companions think this is a wonderful joke, constantly asking me to open
crates at every opportunity, but I am not interested. I am the one who has to
live with these constant fears, I will try to master them in time. I am hoping that access to a proper workshop
and system mainframe may remove this malady.
I am sure that if there are any items that would be beneficial to me
Reximus or Horst would see that I would know of it. Horst was to admit to me later in life that
his nightmare from this time was pulsing organs, he said even that of an engine
feed or similar function was enough to bring him out in sweats.
 |
| Personal powered armour of High Marshall Horst. Date unknown |
+++Historical
Footnote+++
It has been
noted throughout the period of time in which Alpha Capharius operated, he was
never greedy. He did not seek to rule,
he was only interested in the good that could be achieved from the use of
technology in bettering people’s lives.
Not just for the wealthy was the technology he produced or maintained (the
ones who could afford it) but the average citizen and for the weak and the
poor. He created schooling programmes for
technological devices that escaped the notice of the Inquisition and Mechanicus
for centuries. While the purges were
dreadful to behold, after a while like a stray seed in soil, and the process
would start again. From the dark would
be whispered “I am AlphaCapharius”.+++End Historical Footnote+++
Reximus spoke of an “oath of
moment” to both Horst and I, saying that our actions were worthy and that he
would not forget them and that his “acknowledgment” of our duty would be
recorded and our reward of great potential.
A short period of time elapsed as the group assessed the situation. Had any alerts be raised? The newly opened wall sections Wolf of Iron Francine (gradually
increasing electrical shock) missiles created had to be
investigated. Horst was again on the
ball and on duty, ever vigilant for danger.
Lady B and Elsie were too busy playing “handsies” behind some
crates… Reximus and I were in
consultation on what action to undertake next.
Eventually a move was made, and yes it was Elsie - off on another 4X
maneuver. The shattered wall section
opened onto an area that revealed bones, lots of them. Reximus indicates that these must have been
the poor souls whose lives had been sacrificed to create the daemons we had
encountered.
I should point out that the group
did not have a loyalty to support each other.
Horst was annoyed by this, I equally so, Reximus just saw this as the
base nature of primitive cultures. Lady
B and Elsie buggered off on their own – again.
Lady B had returned to the room where the daemon of heart had been found
and was rummaging about for loot. Were
it not for the feed to her body armour I would say the group would not know
what was happening. The link to Lady B
went dead; we have now associated this phenomenon with psychic or warp
intrusion. So the group made a dash to
the location with every intent to destroy whatever had been summoned (I was almost hoping it was Lady B). There we found Lady B in a new form of body
armour none of us was familiar with (though Reximus later identified it as
psychic armour). Horst and I both did
sensor sweeps and found the suit fully enclosed with no weak points. Someone did ask how Lady B was going to
excrete, oh wait that was me, but the
capricious warpling just giggled at the suggestion – I think it was
enjoying Lady B’s discomfort. Eventually
Elsie turned up and he placed his Truesilver blade against the armour, I’m
still thinking it a daemonic possession until proven wrong. Yet all Lady B can see is the benefits she
has attained, enhanced physical abilities, the morphing weapons - blade and gun
type. The gun type proved to be deadly
to all concerned!
Of course Lady B, never to be put
off with just a simple find of the armour, believes there must be more
“goodies” to be found! Why yes there is,
another one of those deadly boxes – and before anyone can stop the stupid
unthinking hag from the nether regions of syphilis she had unknowingly created
a flame weapon of unknown type and configuration. Purple flames (definitely from the warp) gushed forth from the weapons muzzle,
engulfing the book and ALSO creating a backwash of flames into the area
surrounding her. Horst is agile as a cat
and avoids the worse, I have to call upon the inner strength of a custom
recently made know to me, shouting “69 dude” I avoided the flames, though I
tripped and flayed about like a cat on a hot tin roof, far less graceful than
pragmatic Horst. As the flames die away
the book is found to be cleansed! Any
taint appears to be gone, and before Lady B can even begin to start leafing
through the book and start adding to her corrupted catalogue of sins she feels the
pressure of Reximus’ gun to the base of her skull as he directs her not to read
the book and hand it over immediately.
He is amazed that the book, while still a threat, has had the taint and
corrupt symbols removed. He adds it to the
bulging sack of proscribed items.
To the group in general, and he
reluctantly included the mutants, he offers this caveat. “I was given a message
before I left old earth, which truth be told I placed little faith in. It said that if all seemed lost and my agents
had been compromised then I would be found and assisted by group of lunatics containing
a son of alpha.” Reximus looked rather doubtful as he said this, still thinking
he had some doubts as to the veracity of the message, though the lunatics part
he seemed to agree with.
Lady B is beside herself with her
new suit, which she decides to name Zoot (I guess small things amuse small minds,
maybe this might keep her off the path to damnation). I think it is perhaps a tragic name, with the
taint of the warp linked to it. I think
it has a link with Slaanesh the wicked
bad naughty zoot, that’s what dingo said, setting the beacon alight which is
grail shaped, it’s not the first time we’ve had this problem, wicked bad,
naughty, evil zoot, punishment – tie her down on a bed and spank her, then
spank the rest, then after that the oral sex… hang on - has my system been
corrupted by the warp. System analysis
now being done, no – just an old data file that must have been inadvertently
been lodged while looking at the data slates Horst discovered. Some holo-movie called Monty Python and the
Holy Grail, Reximus laughs when I mention this and finishes the reference with
“I bet you’re gay!”
Lady B also finds out a
side-effect of her new armour - it does not like anything else being added or
carried, and she drops all this unconsciously!
A rather amusing circumstance as we see the malady play itself out, this
provides further proof to the “humans” that Lady B and Elsie are clearly warp
touched mutants, dangerous - but like grenades useful if detonated in the right
place. All Lady B’s possessions are
taken back to Wolf of Iron
Francine (gradually increasing
electrical shock). It is at this time
Reximus becomes aware of some of her possessions and an interrogation
begins. The old earth latin book and
data slates are the primary source of contention. Reximus is most concerned that none have been
able to read it, I was never allowed sufficient time or access so I’m safe. I believe that Reximus now has Lady B under
more clandestine observation than she is aware, which is of course, all for the
good of the group and the universe.
The book proves to belong to the
“captain” and has much forbidden terminology within, which is why he
questioning with an unwavering pistol pointed at Lady B, his demeanour stern
and unyielding. Reximus places the book
into the iron sack amongst the other tainted or cleansed items, again reminding
me of my oath to keep the bitch away from the contents at all costs. As if he needs to remind me! As to the
ancient data slate he talks to himself as he skips through it, my link allows
me to catch glimpses, though I feel that they are only those he chooses to
share. Symbols, heraldry, references to
legendry names and places – Reximus even laughs at one point saying, look I’m
even in this one! While I saw the page
and can recall it, there were at least thirty names on the page, none of them
Reximus. Satisfied that he doesn’t need
to terminate anyone he motions that the group should continue on with its 7
year mission, he chortles at that reference…
The movement that Horst had
spotted in one of the rooms cleared by Wolf
of Iron Francine (gradually
increasing electrical shock) missiles proved to be a security sensor in
the shape of a ball running along a tracked rail in the ceiling. It scanned the group, but did nothing else;
no one decided to deactivate it. Horst
missed his chance to waste some more precious Dark Matter rounds, which are
slowly being depleted – it’s why I use a pistol on single shot.
Reximus links with me and reveals
that Ironfoot must have discovered a number of these forbidden artifacts and
managed to seal them away from the tainted followers of the warp. Both he, Horst and I are fast becoming
annoyed with this term dragonkin, the primatives are clearly going to have to
adapt or … Our reverie is broken as
Horst reports that the area is littered with bones, lots and lots, but of the
skulls – there are none. I am hoping at
this stage that the skulls were those already discovered, but looking at the
number of bones I fear that that may not be the case.
A room containing a number of
unsettling crates have been located by Elsie, it worries me that he has that
evil glint in his eyes again as he asks that I open them. I can easily see these crates are of a
variety not requiring my skills and after an extensive sweep for traps leave
the looters to their labours. Elsie’s
constant chant of “roll, roll, roll” echoes around the environment, but I
ignore the primitives’ poor attempt to provoke me and settle down to find some
peace and quiet, what little there is on this ship. The group is ecstatic with their finds, Horst
finds a mastercrafted meltagun, Elsie a sabre of such workmanship that it is
capable of slicing through metal, Lady B finds a handgun which is a match for
the armour she wears (a flachette firing catapult) and finally a missile
launcher suited to be mounted on an exo-suit of powered armour.
Exhausted and needing to return
to Wolf of Iron Francine (gradually increasing electrical
shock) with these items and to restock some supplies Horst spots one last
chamber near the entrance docking port that has not been investigated. A missile trap is detonated flinging the
investigating members in all directions; I of course along with Reximus had no
interest in such foolery. Yet I am
asked, after the smoke has cleared to investigate the crate (to the chants of
“roll, roll, roll”), which I did, found the trigger trap and disarmed it. I then left, the silly fools managed to find
another trap in the process and detonated a far more satisfying explosion this
time – punching a hole all the way through to the deck below. When the dust clears, Lady B has
vanished? Where did she go? Am I finally free of this warp tainted daemon
spawn? Knowing my luck, not a chance in
the Forge!
 |
| Corrupted Forge World Fabricator General Date unknown |
+++Personal
Encrypted Journal+++
I continue……
S.I.M.O.N floats in the warp, it is pleased
with the offerings
+++End
Encryped Journal+++
+++Appended
Encrypted Note+++
Hey who’s
been mucking about with my notes?
Sod off you
bastard, before I get angry and have to come looking for you!
+++ End
Appended Encrypted Note+++
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