Fractured Oppostition, Chapter 3

Inside, it was hot, steamy and stank of sweat, a lot like the thick jungles of Catachan, but made of steel. Once we had acclimatised to the sensation of space travel, Von Carstien bade us to eat with him. He introduced us to wider imperial culture and food, taking time to teach us in debating. As hard as he tried, he could not however, get very far, having just left very tight viewed communities. Another important skill he taught us was basic manners to those above you in status. After we had finished our discussions and fine food, we were shown to our habitation for the journey. On his way to Catachan, Von Carstien had ordered the ship’s crew to grow a small, self sufficient jungle habitat in one of the interior cargo bays. There was also control panels dotted around, from which we could control the climate of the jungle. As soon as I found one, we set it to max humidity and started a rainstorm while Freya and Karazak constructed a shelter to stay in. Later, having stayed the night in the small, homely lean-to we had constructed, Von Carstien came into the jungle to talk to us from a place where we were comfortable. He started talking about where we were going; the Schola Progenium.

“You will find many others there. Some will try to befriend you; others will try to hurt you. Some will stay on the sidelines.” He began.

“Who runs the place?” I asked.

“The Schola are run by priests of the Emperor, Drill Abbots of His Ecclesiarchy. If you break their rules, then you will be punished accordingly.” Von Carstien replied.

“Where will everyone else be from?” Freya asked.

“Pupils in a schola come from all branches of the Imperium. Some are the sons of planetary governors, others; the children of Imperial Navy admirals. A few will be the orphaned children of Imperial Heroes, like you”

“What will we do there?” Karazak enquired.

“A great many things, Karazak. You will learn about imperial history and culture in a way I would never be able to teach you. There will also be a selection of physical activities, which should be of interest to all of you. Like your father, I see you going on to fight for the Imperium, Freya and Karazak; can see this for you also. Because of this I want to make sure you can fire a gun and wield a blade before we get to Volag Nok so you can participate better in the military exercises. Is everyone OK with this?”

“We can all wield a blade, but I for one have desired to fire a gun from when Freya first mentioned them to me.”

“Also, when you are there, you may see your loincloths as a sign of honour, but others at the schola may not. When you get to Volag, ask for an audience with the High Abbot of Nok about it, but until then I would wear your ceremonial robes or other clothes that the schola provides.”

“Right then, we will start the training tomorrow. In the mean time though, would you give us some blade practice now or at least coach us with our own weapons.”

“It appears that Catachans are eager to learn, and could make fine scholars, no doubt of they wished! I will get a selection of blades from the armoury and I will watch and give advice for I have studied the blade for most of my life.”

“I think I have found my goal in life” said Freya, and then we all started laughing.

As Von Carstien left to get the blades; Freya, Karazak and I started running through the jungle occasionally stopping for a minor bout of unarmed combat to get us in the state of mind for the coming exercise. By the time Von Carstien returned, we were bruised and covered in sweat, but still ready to go on with the blade lesson.

“I see you have been preparing” Von Carstien stated as he passed each of us a sparing sword. The weapons were masterfully crafted, each with a straight hand guard and a one metre blade.

To start our training, we simply duelled with each other while Von Carstien watched and gauged our technique. I fought Karazak first and I noted how resilient he was to the blows that landed, barely even flinching when I hit him while I preferred to dodge the blows as they came. Freya however, having only defended herself fought a defensive battle against Karazak and I, but one of lithe and agile movement, lashing out at a lighting pace then drawing back using the terrain to her advantage. Meanwhile, Von Carstien remained impassive, watching our every move, even when we weren’t duelling!

He then gave us advice on how to improve our technique, giving tips to each of us, such as to avoid the harder blows in Karazak’s case and to be more often on the attack to Freya. To me he advised me to keep my distance and use the edge of the blade where possible rather than the point. He then left us to practice and departed from the jungle room for reasons we did not know.

An hour later, he came back wearing only a pair of shorts and wielding a sparing sword as he called us out one by one to test our skills first hand.

Von Carstien was skilled and defeated Karazak easily and eventually pinned Freya to a wall, but his regular artistic blade flourishes opened gaps in his guard that only a sharply honed mind can spot and he yielded before my blade. He then commented how my bladework was superb and that Catachan would be a great training ground for blademasters and the like.

By this point we had been in orbit for just under w week while the great vessel made its way towards the warp jump point. So after we had cooled off, Von Carstien used a vox link to ask for the time until warp transition. He then told us to tie ourselves to some trees because warp transitions are very ... “bumpy” as he put it. His warning was just as well and in the nick of time as the final countdown began half a minute after Von Carstien had finished tying Karazak to a tree, he then left quickly to find a restraint chair.

After our successful warp transition, Von Carstien came back into the jungle and untied us and after that, our days followed a similar schedule: Get up and have a swim in the “river” in the jungle, then we would go for some exercise (either jogging, swimming some more or fist fights or all three). We would then do other training, such as firearms training and blade-work or lessons on Imperial history and its culture.

One day after our morning exercise, Von Carstien came in early and announced that we were one week from Volag Nok and he wanted us to participate in the ship’s officers duelling contests that were to be held that day, because though we were not officers we were honoured guests to the vessel and he thought we were ready to go against these highly proficient blademasters.

He also told us that our last few lessons would be tough, but also that life at the schola would be harder still. As he left, I asked; “what form will the contest take?”

“A very good question, know your opposition. The contests are normally staged on the bridge where there is a decent open flat space with the sparring swords you are used to using, but if you are willing and the officers agree, we could host it here where the terrain will provide an additional challenge. But beware, some of the officers spend every moment of their off duty lives training with a blade and as such, could best even I, a combat swordsman in the confines of a duel.”

“Then we will use all of our advantages against them”

“Very well, I have left three sparring swords by the door. Just be warned, some of the officers will likely prefer you did not wear your tribal loincloth, but if you wished, we could make the duelling contest unofficial and have all parties wear similar attire.”

“Yes, that would be a change for those officers! Perhaps we could include a round of unarmed combat, most definitely not to the death!” 

I looked at Freya and Karazak with eyes that had changed substantially since our first meeting, and then we all started laughing as Von Carstien left our sanctum to let us train.

The tourney was an exhilarating experience; for the first time, I was able to test my skills against experts in bladework. I worked my way up the tables to the quarter finals where I fought the Captain of the ship, Andromicus, who had me on the defensive until I feigned a fall. I then rolled out from under him and almost won, until he lashed out with his leg and knocked me off balance, forcing me to yield. Andromicus then went on to win for the 4^th voyage running. Karazak got past the first heat, but was then beaten by the good Captain. Karazak however, Freya surpassed all expectations getting to the semi-finals to be beaten by the head gunnery officer, a stern man called Sohek.

Funnily enough, when we made our offer of unarmed combat duels, many of the younger midshipmen and lieutenants took up the offer and followed us to the jungle sanctum. We all stripped to the waist (aside from Freya and the few female officers) and then paired off to fight.

Few of the officers could hold out long against us, but all the same, it was a good change to fight others with different upbringings. I won the tourney, but by the end of it we were all dripping with sweat, but ready for more. Unfortunately, the officers had other duties to perform about the ship, so i shook hands with 1^st Lieutenant Hans, a senior bridge officer and with that the officers left with a hearty salute.

During the last few days, training did indeed toughen, but it was exhilarating and enlightening as well. Two days before planetfall, Von Carstien introduced us to more suitable clothing that still fitted out jungle background. For myself and Karazak, he looked out several pairs of loose shorts and short sleeved shirts; he also told us that they would be suitable for the desert as well. For Freya, he found similar attire, but also included a knee length dress of the style of Volag Nok.

During that time, we got used to the attire of most imperial citizens, and Von Carstien got laser scans of our sizes to make us huge varieties of clothing for every occasion for us to try. Lessons also kept going during this period and the pace quickened before planetfall.

Fractured Opposition chapter 2

When Freya and I awoke the next morning, we gathered our few belongings and Freya made her farewells to her friends in the village. I went to wake Karazak’s tent, but he wasn’t there! I used my tracking skills I had picked up in the wilderness and found him at the damaged gate, staring out into the endless forest. I walked up to him said:

“Ready to go?”

“Yes, just enjoying my last view of home in all likelihood.”

“Can I join you while Freya makes her farewells?”

“Of course, but there was something I wanted to talk to you about involving you and my sister.”

“I understand; what is it?”

A custom of our village is that the closest male family member to the daughter has to authorise anything ‘official’, and can also ask this of her lover.”

“I see where this is going. You don’t want me going after your sister!”

“No! Sorry, that is not what I meant. I was going to ask you to join hands with my sister. It is an ancient custom symbolising a strong bond of love between the two participants.”

“Ok, what arrangements must be made on my part?”

“None, I have talked to the village elders, and they have agreed to your participation in the ceremony. Normally, the man would give a gift to the girl’s family, but under the circumstances, all parties have agreed that saving Freya’s life was enough; as well as this off world business!”

“This is great news! When is the ceremony?”

“In the village centre in 1 hour’s time. Oh and you’d better talk to Freya about the ceremonial wear, I believe she has been making some this morning after spreading the news to her friends.”

“Is this another custom? For the girl to make the man’s ceremonial clothing.”

“That is one of the reasons both parties get to know each other first!”

“Right then, I had better try the clothing then. I will see you for the ceremony.”

As it turned out, the ceremonial robes where perfectly fitted and simple in design; It was simply a rectangular sheet of fabric that was pinned at one shoulder and secured at the waist with a thin cord. The time that went into making one was the time spent embroidering ceremonial detail in the correct locations. On mine there was a five pointed star above my heart and the Eagle of the Imperium upon my chest, while Freya’s had the moon over her heart and what I thought was the tribe’s icon;  a marked wolverine underneath a stylised falling star on a green background. Then I realised it was how I had come to know her and was in effect an icon of our relationship. She also had an Eagle, but on her right shoulder where I had the relationship icon. I then realised my position: I had fallen in love. It hit me like a hammer blow to see how far I had come in the few days between me being a wild jungle hunter to falling in love and joining a tribe.

Freya had then described how the ceremony would run: Freya would stand outside her shelter with Karazak and I would walk to her shelter from the gate with one of the town elders filling in the role of next of kin. There would be an exchange of vows which would normally include gifts, but a trip off-world was more than sufficient. According to Freya, this was to bind the couple through word. The next step was to bind the couples hands and feet to bind them by action. They are then left under a bamboo frame draped with sheets until the next morning to allow the couple to bind through thought.

The ceremony was a wonderful experience, and it also included the initiation rites for the tribe which involved cutting the tribes icon into my arm using my phosphor-beta knife. The off-worlder and his guards were also present to witness the ceremony. In the morning, the rite concluded with us having the star and moon removed from our robes and we began the ceremony for leaving the tribe, but with a slim chance of return. Before we left for the stars, two of the village elders embroidered the tribal icon over both of our hearts.

The off-worlder introduced himself for the first time as von Carstien, a name of sorts I have never heard before.

He led Karazak, Freya and I to a large clearing with a large metal beast, the likes of which I had never seen. Von Carstien then invited us to get into the beast, which he called a shuttle and make ourselves comfortable. He followed us in, but passed us and opened a hatch in the wall and retrieved what looked like a metal rectangle with colourful images painted on the front. Von Carstien called it a data-slate and claimed that he knew Freya and Karazak’s father as well as mine. He also claimed that the “data-slate” contained pictures of both Colonel Lorenzo Griess and Knight-Commander Craig Johnson.

The off-worlder introduced himself for the first time as von Carstien, a name of sorts I have never heard before.

He led Karazak, Freya and I to a large clearing with a large metal beast, the likes of which I had never seen. Von Carstien then invited us to get into the beast, which he called a shuttle and make ourselves comfortable. He followed us in, but passed us and opened a hatch in the wall and retrieved what looked like a metal rectangle with colourful images painted on the front. Von Carstien called it a data-slate and claimed that he knew Freya and Karazak’s father as well as mine. He also claimed that the “data-slate” contained pictures of both Colonel Lorenzo Griess and Knight-Commander Craig Johnson.

As the shuttle rose through the atmosphere to reach the ship von Carstien had come on: Karazak, Freya and I pored over several dataslates that showed pictures of Johnson, Griess and Carstien. I was saddened, but relieved to see a picture of my father’s funeral, and to see who he was succeeded by: a gruff soldier by the name of Straken.

As we approached the ship, von Carstien showed us into the cabin to show is the ship as it approached, It was a gargantuan thing, three km long and half a km wide. The shuttle was completely dwarfed as it entered the hanger bay.

We all looked in wonder as we guessed what could be inside such a great vessel.

Arco flagelent Greengo R268

Arco Flagellant Greengo R268
Formerly an imperial guardsman, Greengo’s previous name was Private James Green and was convicted of heresy, but was offered a chance for redemption through Arco Flagellentation, being given the trigger word Redeemer and was entrusted to Witch Hunter Dictatus who was assassinated and was then given to Inquisitor Octavian Lars for the acts of valour and leadership he showed during the battle that followed. Greengo has since served well under the distiquished Inquisitor in his secret wars against Chaos.
Greengo R268 is left handed.
Equipment: Electro-Flail implanted into right arm, Power Fist implanted into left arm, injector with 50 doses of Barrage, ‘Slaught, Psykon.
Greengo R268’s trigger word is Redeemer.
Special Abilities: Furious Assault, Nerves of Steel, Force of Will            

        WS BS  S T  I  Wp Sg Nv  Ld
Greengo 42 11 85 74 53 94 24 169 28

Insertion Zone part 4

I consider myself skilled in the arts of interrogation. In my opinion, torture can often hide the truth as much as it is revealed; thus I only use it when absolutely necessary. So, I squared up to the ethereal. He had been bound and gagged by the PDF who had captured him. I removed the gag and signaled to Karazak, my bodyguard and assistant, to start the recording.

“What is your name?” A classic opening move that helps the interrogator connect with the interrogated.

“My name is Ethereal Commander blooded wildflower of the Tau’n sept.” I had been studying the Tau language for nearly thirty years now, on and off during the war against them on Velterax III. My tutor was a captured human who served the Tau as a diplomat and negotiator.  This ethereal’s name  of wildflower became evident with his next sentence.

“What is your purpose here, Gue’La?” I have rarely been disrespected by my captives, even the Eldar have never shown me the disrespect that this Ethereal showed me that day. I replied harshly.

“In your foul tongue, the correct term should be Gue’O, Aun’El Tau’n Li’Sun’Ye. In my elegant tongue, my name is Inquisitor Octavian Lars of the Ordo Malleus. And since you ask about my purpose, I shall gladly tell you. My purpose was to capture you and destroy the column heading towards the capital of Velterax III. Which leads on to my next question.”

“Which is?”

“Don’t interrupt Ethereal! You are in the custody of the Imperial Inquisition and will speak when spoken to, no more. The question I was going to ask was, what was the purpose of your column’s advance?”

“I shall not tell one as unworthy as yourself.”

“If that is so, I shall have to find out using better methods than are available here. Karazak, vox Marcus and tell him to start the shuttle’s engines and help me move the captive.”

We locked him in one of the shuttle’s prison cells, gave him enough sustenance to last the two week journey to my base of operations in the upper spires of Hive Hyperion. My self and Karazak inspected the troops in their sleeping quarters. As it turned out, of the five Devils taken out of action, three would fight again, one was badly wounded, and would be stuck with desk duty, but only one; Lorenzo had been killed outright. He had taken several pulse wounds to the chest, but he kept fighting, according to the Devil who had been beside him when he had been killed. He had charged, grievously injured, wielding his empty bolter as a club and hacking and slashing with his long Catachan warknife. The final blow had come from a Tau squad leader’s knife at the same moment that Lorenzo had stabbed him with his own knife. They had gone down together. All of us departed to our sleeping quarters for the night before the long journey back to base.

When we got back, my servants had redeyed my Inquisitorial Mansion for my arrival. A cell in the basement had been prepared for the Ethereal and a safe return banquet had been laid out for my arrival. I decided to allow the Ethereal a night of luxury and he was allowed to dine with us. My Tau language tutor helped prepare some Tau dishes for him. Other members of my staff were distrusting of him due to him being xeno, but many of them enjoyed the Tau culture themed food so I decided that Tau food would become a meal for special occasions.

After the great banquet, the Aun’El was escorted to his spartan, but comfortable cell. It was furnished with a simple bed, a toilet, a shower and a small desk. The room was also well lit, it was also the room I would be questioning him in. Confident he was settled and unable to escape, I retired to my study to examine the chainsword I had killed so many fire warriors with. After a quick examination, I had found many clues to it’s origin. The first one I spotted was the mark of the Inquisition, embossed on the casing of the blade. It had to belong to an inquisitor or one of his staff. My long time rival and Tau supporter, Inquisitor Ostrek would never use a chainsword. Gut instinct is often frowned upon within the ranks of my fellow inquisitors, though I often go with my instincts when there are no other clues available. I had run a quick search of all inquisitors active in that area. There was a total of twenty four Inquisitorial missions to the Iron Dune where I had found the chainsword. This was where gut instinct came in. In many cases, chainswords are often wielded by Monodominant Inquisitors and the followers for reasons I can never quite grasp. I then looked further into make and model, date of production, location of production. Eventually, well into the week, I had a name. Inquisitor Tannen von Hausing.

Insertion Zone part 3

While deep in thought on those topics, my vox bead made a sudden ping and I was startled. Captain Grant had ntel for me; I accepted the message.

“Inquisitor, my veteran assault team have located the Ethereal. What are our orders. Over”

“Pin him down and wait for my presence. Devils will accompany. I repeat, Devils will acompany. Over”

“Received and understood. Over and out”

I switched the vox bead to the devil’s frequency and ordered them to 56-Gamma and wait for further orders. I also noted from the HUD implanted in my retina that there were eight Devils remaining and twenty-seven PDF including the Captain.

I sprinted as fast as my bionic assisted leg would allow whilst reloading Banisher. A chime originating from the scabbard buckled tightly to my back alerted me to the fact that the power sword was recharged and ready for use. I stowed the crude chainsword on my belt for examination of the unholy symbols etched onto the casing and drew my power sword and thumbed the activation rune. A chainsword is a weapon of brute strength, carnage and mayhem. It does not have the same finesse as a power sword. Whenever I can, I use my power sword, to me, a chainsword symbolises chaos in this galaxy. I was still running, pulse weapons fire and the crack of lasguns could be heard in the distance.

The Devils had been waiting for several minutes looking phased, which in war makes a great difference. There was a local landmark at 56-Gamma, often known as the Iron Dune, the Mountain of Living Metal as well as other less savoury names. I surveyed the Devils; they were scarred and battered, but they were not phased by injury. They were phased by the death of Lorenzo who was respected by all. The Devils do not show emotion normally. The death of Lorenzo had shaken them badly, they wanted vengeance in his name. The Devils also rarely tire so they were ready for the run to the zone where Grant and his PDF were engaging Tau forces. All we had to do was follow our ears.

When we got there; there were still many Tau still to be taken out and we were determined to do it quickly. Our presence was announced by the traditional warcry of Catachan, as well as the roar of bolters and the sharp crack of hellguns. I was a blur. Shooting three Tau through the head with the heavy man-stopper rounds then cut a bloody swathe of silent death with the power sword. Karazak was already engaged in a vicious knot of Tau and dealing with them using his heavy energised claw and his stubber pistol. The remaining Devils were equally destructive and soon the Tau were fleeting the sight of us. Grant came out to meet us. What I like about Captain Thomas Grant is that when giving situation assessments, he gives me the necessary detail quickly and efficiently which makes things so much easier for a commanding officer like myself.

“We have trapped the Ethereal in a steep walled ravine to the East. There are several elite men watching him. He will not attempt escape as he knows any attempt will be fatal.”

“Thank you Captain, I wish to make a short interrogation before we escort the Ethereal back to my HQ in Hive Hyperion.”

“As you wish Inquisitor.”

“Order your men to return to the dropships, the situation can be handled by the Devils from here.”

“Any other wishes before our departure.”

“Yes. I ask you to collect all the injured soldiers, Imperial and Tau. Take the dead from both sides. All fought with honour and shall receive what they deserve. Leave the Devils, myself and the remainder shall collect them.”

 “As you wish. An Imperial Inquisitor knows what he is doing.”

Grant made the sign of the Aquila and departed and resumed ordering his men around.

After the final assault, there were seven Devils, Karazak and myself left in a comat ready state. I ordered four of the to find the injured and dead bodies of the Devils from the battlefield. Karazak and the other three  Devils to accompany me to the Ethereal. All were to rendezvous at 56-Gamma with the shuttle after completing our tasks. We passed the PDF guards and I ordered them back to the dropships and the three Devils took their place, watching the Ethereal. Myself and Karazak confronted the Ethereal.

Insertion Zone part 2

The ramp hit the sand with a thud and at once I was in the combat zone. The chatter of auto-weapon fire, the screaming pulse from the heretical weapons of the Tau and the bellowed orders from both sides. All of us were thankful the column only consisted of infantry. Had it contained the more specialised AT weapons, our aircraft would have been annihilated during the descent. The blood was even louder in my ears, the sound almost drowned out the noise of battle. I spotted a flash of gunfire that hit a PDF square in the chest. The trooper buckled and crumpled to the floor. I traced the origin point of the shot. My hand was a lightning blur. I reached into my holster, drew banisher and smashed a hole in his helm. I was then searching for a new target.

My vox bead pinged in my ear, Karazak was in trouble. I spotted him, surrounded by Tau fire warriors, but he was going to be overwhelmed. I shot one, holstered my revolver and charged in, drawing my power sword as I ran. My impact knocked one to the floor and I brought the sword round in a great arc to remove another’s head. The next thing I knew was a great explosion of pain in my side as one of the Tau, obviously a soldier of distinguished achievement stabbed his ritual knife into one of the few cracks in my carapace armour breastplate. Instinctively, I brought the pommel of my sword into contact with his face. He fell, dazed. I then delivered the killing blow with the ring mounted laser emitter. Karazak was now free and hunting for new targets. I was doing likewise and considered how combat “felt”. I loved the “zone”, the adrenalin rush, the extreme levels of hormones stimulating your reaction times and thought processing.

I was snapped out of my daydream when I saw Lorenzo, a distinguished Devil who had served me for well over 10 years. That was longer than anyone except Karazak and I had to do something in an act of vengeance for him. I butchered my way through several of the tau soldiers and caught a glimpse of the primary target. The commander of the column was a so called “Ethereal”, one of the rulers of their Empire. About ten Veltraxian troopers were down already. One of the column’s elite soldiers, mounted in a battlesuit charged towards me. He didn’t even get five of their gargantuan paces before his vital circuits were destroyed by a casual flick of my right hand and a intense ray of heat from the inferno pistol mounted on a ring on my right hand. I charged into the fray once more, with the litanies of hate on my lips, but I cut through one  before the inevitable happened.

My power sword had run out of charge. I dodged a swipe from the butt of a tau rifle, stooped low and sheathed my sword. I leaned backwards to dodge another strike. I spotted a chainsword in the corner of my eye. With the red mist descending and a glint in my eye, I backed out of the fight and sprinted, ducking low and grabbed the hefty chainblade with both hands and charged. From the moment the sword made contact with the tau’s flesh, the rapidly rotating chain teeth were splattering the blue blood and gore from the tau soldiers all over me. It was then I looked down at the puddle of blue blood and what I saw shocked me. I was no longer Octavian Lars, saviour of worlds, hero of the masses. I saw myself as an avatar of war, a purger of life. That was the path that led to destroying worlds because you could and summoning daemons. Eventually, that path led to heresy. That was not the Octavian Lars I wanted to become. After that glimpse of that path that led to heresy in that puddle, viewing the scarred, gore splattered persona of myself; I thought on Karazak, the major, the Devils as well as the common soldier. In the case of nearly all of them, they were only tasked with battle and training, they had little mental capacity to even think about the complex tasks of an Imperial Inquisitor. 

Insertion Zone part 1

This is a piece of ongoing fiction about the exploits of Inquisitor Octavian Lars in the year M42 031, 35 years from when his current adventures are set.

Insertion Zone

An excerpt from the log of Inquisitor Octavian Lars, M42 031

“Were’re going in hot Octavian” came my pilot Marcus Flavius over the intervox. Marcus was a skilled fair haired pilot I had met on Sternum II, that was all he could do due to a leg condition that made both his real legs rot and bionics short out; so he stuck with a grav chair and voice recognition. Aside from my bodyguard Karazak Johnson, he was one of my most trusted servants. Anyway, all of this made little or no difference as I cut the main lights and engaged combat lighting. We were inserting into the mistd of the desert on the continent of Atlas at the head of a PDF strike team. Our target was a Tau infantry column that was heading straight for the sprawling hab spires Hive Hyperion.

The Handpicked team in my shuttle had been searching for several weeks for this column with our superior sensor arrays; we were now ready to call in the cavalry. The troops in my shuttle were; myself, Karazak (who was also the major (CO)in my Catachan bodyguard corps, the Devils), 12 devils and enough combat trucks to see us into battle. The PDF contingent consisted of 50 men in Thunderstorm transports, the equivalent of the bulky armoured chimera transports on VTOL jets led by my former assistant the now captain in the PDF; Thomas Grant. Of all the PDFs I have seen (I have never seen the far superior Cadian Interior Guard in my life), the Velteraxians are by far the most disciplined and drilled.

My gunner, Minerva Flavius reported contacts and alerted us to imminent landing. Minerva was Marcus’ wife and another trusted servant in my employ. She was tall, like most Sternum borns; dark haired as well as very, very confident. All of us were combat veterans, even more so than the veteran battalion of PDF that Captain Grant’s contingent had come from. The Devils were hand picked for resourcefulness, courage and loyalty. All  applicants went through a grueling training regime, live fire exercises and often fatal drills, these were men who had been through hell and back. War was all they lived for. Inside the shuttle we were checking kit and I was addressing the last minute briefing. I quickly scanned my trusty revolver for faults, Banisher was flawless. I quickly loaded 6 heavy man stopper rounds for getting through the Tau combat armour. I had a glimpse round, Karazak was checking his bionic power claw and the Devils were checking their elite kit; hellguns, shotguns, shock knives bolters etc.

Captain Grant came though on the medium range vox

“Ready when you are Inquisitor, Storm Squadron standing by. Over”

“Copy that, Captain. Over.” I replied.

“Recieved and understood. Over.”

“Starting run Storm Squadron. Over.”

“The Emperor protects. Over and Out.”

“Start the run Marcus,” I called on the Intervox.

All I could hear was the whine of the shuttle’s jet motors, the blood in my ears and the chatter of autocannon fire. Then the ramp came down. And then all hell broke loose.

Gunslinger mercenary Markus "Druggie" Carter

Mercenary gunslinger Markus “Druggie” Carter

Having lived most of his life in the depths of Hive Posieden on Ryza Secondus, Carter was engaged in several gang wars, illeagal drug dealing and addictions. By the age of 34 he was the biggest crime lord in the hive, so he fled the Ryza system after several atempts on his life, both by rival gangers and local Arbites Enforcers and hired out his services as a gunslinger and so lived the life of a bounty hunter. In the time scince his departure, he has become dependant on the drugs and stimms from the hive and these have had a great effect on his features and general demeanour. At the present time, he has been hired by the possesed Magos Volta Electron and serves him in his daemon’s foul schemes.
Carter is Right handed                                                                                              Equipment: Pump action combat shotgun with 3 reloads, 10 scatter shells, 5 inferno shells, 3 expanders and range finder, stubber with reload and 7 dum-dum shells, auto pistol with 4 reloads and 15 flechette rounds, flak armour on all locations except head, 1 gas genade with bloodfire toxin, 2 blind grenades, 1 frag grenade, Injector with 5 doses of barrage, 3 doses of ‘slaught, 1 dose of spook and 2 doses of reflex, inhaler with 6 doses of psykon.
Special Abilities: wyrd-distracton, hipshooting, gunfighter, fast draw, quickload
Special Rules: Drug Addict
Expanders: 2D6 +2 damage with the effects of dum-dums and man stoppers.

Drug Addict: Due to his extensive drug use, if Carter goes for a full 5 turns without using a drug, he must take a Wp test, if passed he suffers withdrawral symtoms and adds D6 to his injury total, if he fails he must randomly administer a drug from his remaining stash following the table below.
D10 result (if Carter has no more of the rolled drug left then increase or decrease the D10 score by the minimum number to reach a drug he as supplies of).
1-2   Psykon     
3-4   Reflex     
5-6   Spook     
7-8   Barrage     
9-0   ‘Slaught  
          

	WS	BS	S	T	I	Wp	Sg	Nv	Ld
Carter	51	63	57	42	62	31	27	59	48

Carter 1

Carter 2

Inquisitor Octavian Lars

Inquisitor Octavian Lars of the Ordo Malleus

Born on the planet Catachan a fierce world of hardy warriors that specialise in jungle warfare and son of the famous Colonel Griess of the Catachan 2nd regiment and taken to the Schola Progenium on Volag Nok by Lord Commissar von Carstien. As a son of Catachan he excelled in combat situations as expected and bonded well with a fellow Catachan named Karazak Johnson, but what surprised all of his peers and assistants was his willingness to learn and focussed hard on his studies. His areas of focus for learning was small squad combat and weapon studies. On the training field he excelled in close combat he also made a proficient marksman with his favourite revolver nicknamed “Banisher”. Another talent he developed on combat situations was in commanding his soldiers with great efficiency even in the thick of combat. This ability soon swelled to a level where he could command all of the cadets in the Progenium and beat an equal number of staff in pitched battle. A quirk of being Catachan was a sense of kinship with his men (especialy Karazak as they were now almost inseperable) and a sense of duty and as such he led from the front more often than not. When the time of graduation came at the age of 22 his studies and abilities in the field had made him the perfect recruit for the daemon hunters of the Ordo Malleus and became a member of the Inquisition. Since joining them he has risen through the acolyte stage while showing progress in anti-deamon studies to a prominent position, at the age of 58 he is an inquisitor held in high esteem and already roumers of his diligance have spred back to Catachan. Even now, he still uses the revolver he learned to shoot with. Although capable of leading huge armies he prefers to fight a secret war with his veteran warband, including the Arco Flagellant Greengo 268R, given to him as a gift from the Ordo Hereticus after commanding a combined army of Battle Sisters and Grey Knights after the battle sisters’ commander (Witch Hunter Dictatus) was assassinated by daemons of Slanesh. At the current time he is currently fighting a secret campaign against a Renegade Magos of the Dark Mechanium and his warrior band.

Octavian Lars is right handed.

Equipment: Throwing knife, power sword, revolver with 16 shells, 4 dum-dums and 2 man stoppers, Carapace Armour on chest, abdomen and groin , mesh armour on all limbs, digital las pistol in left hand and digital inferno pistol in right hand, inhaler with 8 doses of De-Tox and 1 dose of reflex, Average right bionic leg, 1 psyk-out grenade, 2 photon flash grenades and 2 frag grenades, motion tracker auspex on right shoulder (if Octavian Lars takes an acute damage result, the auspex is destroyed).

Special Abilities: Leader, Quickload, Fast Draw.

	WS	BS	S	T	I	Wp	Sg	Nv	Ld
Octavian	72	79	69	67	71	68	73	87	78

Introduction to the Velterax Blog

I have recently started Inquisitor and I have also been playing 40K for a number of years (3) now. Recently I got hold of the planetary empires kit and felt I had to name the planet. In the end I called it Velterax 4, eventually (after I started inquisitor) I changed it to Velterax 3. Also I decided I would need to create a back-story for it. I have adapted the story to fit my gaming group as well as my armies. This blog will document the current goings on on Velterax as well as its history.