Misdirection at Monins

The opulent throne room of the governor’s palace was silent as Baron Ironblood sat deep in contemplation.  The inquisition was digging too deep into his business interests.  If they continued with their investigations, it would not be long before they started to uncover some of his more serious transgressions and that was something that he could not allow.  The inquisition was not infallible, though, their obsession with the ruinous powers could be used against them.

The baron smiled to himself as he ran through the plan in his mind, he would allow the Volkstan tribes to acquire the ruinous sword that Red Jackal had recently brought to him and through it the tribes would be slowly corrupted.  The inquisition would then turn their attention towards the Volkstan tribes and destroy that thorn in his side.

Black Major felt a cold shiver run up her spine as she instructed her patrol to advance through the plains of Monins.  She been given an assignment that reeked of subterfuge, to escort a research-tech and his research through the lands of the Volkstan people, it was madness.  Why weren`t they using an atmospheric transport?  What had she done to fall out of favour?  Still, she could not go against the wishes of the Baron.  Her troops could take the lead they were expendable after all.    

As the Red Shadows cautiously advanced through the plain Red Laser spotted a group of tribesmen up ahead.  Without waiting to find out what the tribesmen wanted Red Laser ordered his men to open fire.  The sounds of the auto-guns shattered the silence on the plain as their deadly munitions shattered the bodies of three of the Volkstan people.

The survivors of the unprovoked attacked could not contain their rage and charged the Red Shadows.  The Volkstan warriors fought valiantly but the red mist that engulfed them was more of a hinderance than an aid and they were quickly chased down and slaughtered by the Red Shadows.

Tears ran down the faces of the second group of the Volkstan as they saw their friends being killed, but they held their fired  Taking careful aim with their muskets the tribes men opened fire into the unsuspecting backs of the Red Shadows killing two of their number.

The sounds of gunfire had alerted the tribesmen in the vicinity and as the Red Shadows engaged one group in a firefight a third group of Volkstan warriors arrived on the scene. 

The newly arrived warriors did not wait to assess the situation they let out a terrifying war cry and ran headlong towards Black Major and her charge.

The Volkstan warriors were temporarily held in check by Black Major as she fought like a fury.  Her power sword lashed out parrying blows from one warrior, then stabbing at another, finally cutting one of the warriors in twain, but slowly she was pushed away from her charge.  The research-tech looked back at the major his eyes wide with fear but before he could drop to his knees to surrender one of the Volkstan warriors smashed him in the temple with the butt of his musket knocking him unconscious. 

Black Major quickly surveyed the situation her forces were depleted, and the enemy would soon be reinforced.  Shaking her head, she ordered the retreat; she did not know how she would explain her failure, but she had no intention of dying on a fool’s errand.

The guttural voices of the Volkstan warriors sang a lament as they carried the unconscious research-tech and his research off the field of battle.  The elders would be able to determine what it was these men of the city had been trying to smuggle through their lands and whether it was worth the price that had been paid in blood for it.

 

Exorcism at Elms Vale

The chair groaned under the weight of the ancient artificer armour clad space marine as he slumped into it. Tutor Zeno tried to make himself comfortable, but the discomfort he felt was more intellectual than physical. The performance of the neophytes troubled him; the flora should not have caught them so unaware. The neophytes had all been schooled on the possible dangers of the planet. Zeno shock his head the recent cohorts had not performed as well as was expected, and the thought of the falling standards troubled him. The veteran warrior picked up his auto-quill he would have to inform the senior tutor of his findings. Zeno disliked the administrative side of his role, but performances had to be evaluated and reports for the chapter master had to be written.

Zeno sat back in deep contemplation oblivious to the howling storm that was raging outside of the fortress monastery of the Wardens of Dubris with his administrative work done he could take a few moments. The deep chambers that he had been given allowed him to escape some of the tedium of chapter command and his mind returned to the overthrow of the tyrant Nearchus. It had been a glorious victory, one that had seen him elevated to the elite cadre. Drinking deep of his old memories the ancient warrior did not stir as the Lord Warden of Dubris entered his chambers. Before the commander of the Wardens of Dubris could speak Zeno raised his hand and spoke. “We know of your troubles and will of course aid you; it is the least we can do for the hospitality that you have shown us. I have studied the opponent we will face. We will need one of your ancients to accompany us, with their support I think this creature will be put to rest.”

The Mentor legion had lost twenty of their best servitors as they computed the course of the infernal demon, the very act of trying to fathom the actions of a creature of the ruinous powers had been too much for the human computers.  Their sacrifice had allowed the Elite Cadre to get ahead of the creature, and the names of those damned for acts against the Imperium would be given places of honour, their redemption complete.

Activating his jump pack Brother Wilson of the Wardens of Dubris soared through the air.  He had been tasked with engaging the demon at close range to allow the Mentor legion to get into position. 

The daemonhost looked up as he saw brother Wilson hurting through the air.  As the demon bounded towards the dreadnought`s landing spot brother Wilson opened fire.  The bolter rounds bent around the demon as if they were repulsed by its very existence.

 Gallglut Fatflesh did not wait for brother Wilson to hit the ground before he attacked.  The preternatural speed of the demon overcame the dreadnought`s defensive routines, but even its warp spawned claws could not penetrate the armour of the ancients.

Having received the signal from brother Wilson the mentor legion elite cadre moved into position and activated their targeting web.  The five-man squad`s weapons slaved to one another, when the time came to fire they would fire in unison with lethal effect.

The demon, Gallglut Fatflesh, screamed in frustration as his claws raked harmlessly across the armoured plates of brother Wilson.  The mortal was proving irritatingly hard to deal with, and with the arrival of more mortals Gallglut decided that it was time for him to break away from this conflict.

Brother Calliphon pulled the trigger of his bolt-gun moments before any other members of his squad and all their guns sounded in harmonious unison.  The deadly rocket propelled rounds slammed Gallglut Fatflesh, any mortal opponent would have been shredded by the fusillade.  Gallglut was no mortal opponent, though.  The rounds barely slowed him down in his escape.

Brother Wilson had no intention of allowing the demon filth to escape and engaging his jump pack he shot through the air barrelling into the demon.  The two opponents stood up cautiously looking for any weakness in each other.  In the blink of an eye Gallglut stuck the dreadnought.  His blow tore a deep gouge into the ceramite plates of the dreadnought, ripping out crucial servos in the dreadnought`s torso.  The demon licked the cables in triumph savouring his momentary victory.  In response, brother Wilson lifted his power assisted left leg and brought it down with a squelching thud into the demon breaking its back.  Brother Wilson repeatedly stamped on the helpless daemonhost until it was nothing more than a wet puddle of mangled flesh.

Dealings at De Burgh

Dealings at De Burgh

Storm clouds gathered in the sky over the De Burgh star port as the crew of the Belgrave ran their third diagnostic. The aged ship had plied the space lanes for centuries, but now it languished in the spaceport waiting for urgently needed repairs.  As rain pattered on the view screen of the Belgrave washing the grim from the aged star ship YT-75 sighed with relief, she had been struggling to find the funds to get the Belgrave off the ground, but her luck had finally turned.  She had received a message from a perspective buyer for the sword that the crew had recovered.  The funds would finally allow her to buy the parts that Shino S had been badgering her for.

The port authority at De Burgh had been alerted to a black-market deal that was taking place within the port precinct and despatched two squads of the PDF to deal with the transgressors.

Corporal Teach led his troops through the squalid streets around the space port their boots getting clogged with rancid wet mud and detritus.  Neither he nor them wanted any part of the assignment they had been given, but orders were orders.  Teach signalled for quiet as they approached the target location.

Through the sheets of rain Lance corporal Read could just about identify the five targets that they had been sent to deal with.  Not waiting for full confirmation, she ordered her troops to open on the targets. Rackham brayed as he let loose with his auto-gun, his rounds were quickly joined by las-gun beams from the other members of his squad.  Two rounds from the fusillade slammed into Shino S, lifting the engineer off her feet with the impact.

Hearing the sounds of weapons fire Teach pushed his troops forward and soon their weapons were added to the deadly crossfire.  Bolt-gun, and las-gun fire streaked though the air hammering into the buildings around the crew of the Belgrave, but none of it found its mark.

Without a moments hesitation YT-75 and her client, Red Jackal, charged towards the PDF troops.  The regular planetary defence force of Dubris were no match for the two cybernetic super soldiers.  Corporal Teach raised his bolt-pistol towards YT-75, but his movements were snail like in comparison to the captain of the Belgrave.  YT-75 casually crushed the gun and his hand with her bionic arm.  As Teach screamed in agony YT-75 pulled out her handgun and shot the corporal in the chest.

Steam came off Wells` auto-gun as he poured suppressive fire towards the PDF soldiers.  The shots exploded around the PDF troops forcing them to keep their heads down.

During the respite offered by his comrade Mandrake dashed towards the limited covered of the comms tower firing wildly with his las-pistol as he run.  The wild shots from Mandrake`s las-pistol burnt three deep holes into corporal Read.

Rackham roared in anger as he saw his lover fall to the ground.  The beastman led the charge of his squad firing his auto-gun from the hip as he ran.  Shots flew past Wells as he faced down the enraged beastman. The master of arms brought his auto-gun up to his shoulder and pumped four shots into the beastman stopping the abhuman metres away from him.

A beam of sunlight shone into the square as a break in the clouds passed over the port of De Burgh.  Private Silver looked nervously at Wells she had no wish to die in this slum. The master of arms raised his gun into the air and spoke to the soldier “Take your wounded and leave the field of battle, soldier.  Enough blood has been shed this day.”

 

Exercise at Erith

The Bells of remorse, in the fortress monastery of the Wardens of Dubris, peeled in memory of Chief librarian Ainger.  As a sign of respect, the bells would peel once for every year that the librarian had served the emperor.  The loss to the chapter laid heavy on the Lord Warden`s shoulders.  In one disastrous mission he had lost both a friend and the chapter`s chief weapon against the demonic forces of Chaos and had multiple injured marines.  There would have to be a reckoning with the inquisitor for his part in the death of the librarian and the hurt done to his men, but that would have to wait there was a demon to be dealt with.

The Lord Warden turned the problem over in his mind.  The Mentor Legion was still conducting exercises on Erith.  The chapter was well-known for its use of experimental weaponry if they could be persuaded to offer their aid to the Wardens of Dubris the demon could yet be vanquished.

On Erith, a squad of Mentor Legion neophytes were being led through a training exercise by Sergeant Rorty.  The squad had been sent in blind, their task was to find and retrieve munitions from two supply caches in the southern Erith spore fields, but other than that they had no idea of they would face. 

 Thick clouds of spores obscured the neophyte’s vision as they headed slowly towards the supply caches.

A dark shadow floated slowly towards the group of neophytes in unison they opened fire.  The explosive rounds struck the object and it exploded illuminating the area around it.  The flash of light revealed the real danger the squad was in.  Writhing leaves topped with orange flowers protruded from a central stem were snaking towards the marines.  The leaves moved with lightning speed and before sergeant Rorty or initiate Taylor could react to the deadly flora the leaves had completely engulfed them.

For a moment the spore cloud thinned allowing initiates Cavell and Kirchin to see initiate Anscombe vainly trying to fight off four giant leaves with his combat knife.  The two marine scouts did not wait to see the outcome of the combat and they let loose with their weapons.  Their shots hit several times, but they had no real effect on the giant plant.

Taking careful aim with his sniper rifle Initiate Kirchin breathed out slowly and relaxed his whole body. As he was about to pull the trigger the spore cloud suddenly thickened spoiling his aim.  Through the spores the two marine scouts heard initiate Anscombe stifled cry as he was overcome by the Venus mantrap.

The Venus mantrap reached out with its leaves groping for the remaining marine scouts.  One of its tendrils wrapped itself around a Bimmiel landshark.  The ferocious predator lashed out at the leaf that was wrapping itself around it, but the landshark was soon stilled.  A second vine caught Cavell by his ankle as the initiate fell, he reflexively pulled the trigger of his bolt-gun blowing the leaf to pieces and freeing himself.   

Cavell and Kirchin pushed on towards their objectives without thought for the fate of their comrades.  They had their duty, and they were determined to carry it out or to die trying.  In their haste they did not notice the large floating sphere coming out of the spore cloud until it was too late. 

The sphere was covered in a myriad of sensitive papules as one of these papules brushed against initiate Kirchin`s arm the sphere exploded.  The explosion threw Kirchin through the air his body slamming into some rocks with a sickening crunch.

Cavell grabbed his fallen brother by his arms and dragged his motionless body into the supply shed.  There he activated the distress beacon and slumped down exhausted.  The exertions of the encounter had taken everything out of the marine scout.  His previous life on a hive world had not prepared him to fight enemies like these. 

What would the Tutors make of the squad`s performance? 

Outside, the Venus mantrap could still be heard, the slow quiet crushing of its captured prey, and the wild thrashing of its tendrils as it tried to gain entry into the supply shed.

 

Mayhem at Maison Dieu

Senior Arbites Paschal bleary eyed looked over the latest orders from the sector house.  She and her team were to head to the old Maison Dieu industrial area and apprehend any looters.  She had been on patrol for 72 hours, kept on her feet by a cocktail of stimulants, and the situation did not look like it was going to change any time soon.  The whole city had suddenly gone crazy; an eruption of crime, arson, assault, murder, theft, rioting.  It was as if something had infected the minds of the people coercing them into committing crimes they would never have contemplated otherwise.  

Paschal`s hand twitched as an urge to shoot Beech washed over her, his never-ending prattle was starting to grate on her nerves, the sooner this patrol ended the better it would be for her.

YT-75 did not like risking her crew out in the chaotic city, but she had received a tip off that a cache of jewels and coins had been hidden in a shipping container in the Maison Dieu industrial zone.  If the value of the jewels were half of what the rumours said they were she could deal with most of her creditors. 

Torrential rain poured down as the Arbites continued their patrol through Maison Dieu. The industrial zone took on a more sinister feeling in the reduced visibility, and the air itself was electric with the expectation of a thunderstorm.  Arbites Beech kept up a nervous stream of chatter as they walked through the neglected storage yard.

YT-75 felt uneasy as the crew were searching through the shipping containers, the oppressive atmosphere surrounding the storage yard made her skin crawl.  Leaving Shino S to continue the search for the cache YT-75 took cover by a crystal cluster and scanned for any trouble. 

Through the rain she saw two shapes moving and instinctively opened fire with her bolt-pistol.  The muzzle flash from her gun illuminated the area for a brief second as the shapes dove for cover.

Four bolt-pistols barked loudly as the arbites returned fire on YT-75, the rocket propelled rounds slammed into the crystal cluster she was using for cover and exploded.  Shards of crystal fragments peppered the ship`s captain, but she came out unscathed.

Hearing gunfire, the other members of the Belgrave crew rushed to their captain`s aid.  Mandrake charged through the mud of the storage yard letting loose with his las-pistol.  Deadly beams of light flashed through the air, one cut across Minto`s thigh and he fell to the group clutching his leg.

Bolt-pistol rounds and las-pistol bolts flashed though the air as the two sides blindly shot at each other. In this orgy of blind violence YT-75 was hit three times and slumped down over the crystal cluster, and Arbites Beech was cut down by Mandrake’s accurate las-pistol fire.

Wells rounded the corner of the shipping container, his flanking manoeuvre complete, and opened fire with his auto-gun.  The new danger from an unknown quarter made up Paschal`s mind and she ordered Broadgate to pull out until reinforcements arrived.

After a few sporadic shots the fighting ceased, and the crew of the Belgrave had time to regrouped.  Mandrake saw to YT-75s injuries as best as he could, they were not as serious as they could have been, with some aid she would be able to limp back to the ship.

 Shino S climbed down from the shipping container clutching an old hessian bag. Inside the bag there was a crudely made sword.  Its age pitted blade was kept in place with rusted wire that led down to a skull shaped pommel.

YT-75 was about to tell the crew to get back to searching when the sound of a siren broke through the sound of the rainstorm.

The crew looked at the sword and glanced at each other.  It was not the treasure horde they had been led to believe, but at least things had gone more smoothly than the last job.

Building a world on a budget. Part six

 

Building a world on a budget.

It has been quite a long time since I last put the spotlight on a piece of terrain that I have built, so this week, as an interlude from the tales from the Cantwara sector, I thought I would present the Pleasure Dome.  The Pleasure dome is the sixth piece in my terrain building project and it is another piece rescued from obscurity that had sat in my cupboard gathering dust for nine years. 

As I made this piece nearly a decade ago, I don`t have any pictures of the building process.

Project six: The Udon Pleasure Dome

Construction

The pleasure dome’s main structure was made from a convenience store udon bowl.  My original plan was to keep it transparent and have some kind of garden visible inside.  I was inspired by the geodesic domes in the1972 film Silent Running, but after a few failed attempts I put that idea on the back burner and went for a much simpler structure.

I thought that the overall look of the bowl was great and that it would not need much to make it game ready.  I added a cable tie for a vent on the top of the bowl and I dug out a resin door that had sat in my bits box for an age.  Rather than cutting out a hole in the bowl to accommodate the door I used modelling putty to fashion a doorway.

Like the previous structures that I have made the texture on the bunker was achieved by using a Tamiya texture paint.  I am fairly certain that I used the Tamiya concrete texture paint for this build, but it was a long time ago and I may have used snow or mud.  The building was painted grey, and I then used a Coat d`arms super shader.  I was never really satisfied with the way the structure looked, which helps to explain why the dome sat in my cupboard for nearly ten years, so I decided to repaint it.

For the paint scheme, I went back to basics and undercoated the building in black, applied a dark blue base coat, then a blue wash.  After that it was just a matter of dry brushing several different layers of blue onto the building.  I thought that the building looked a bit boring all in the same blue, so I decided to pick out some different areas in  purple.  The blue and purple paint scheme then gave me some ideas about what the domes purpose was in the Cantwara sector.  

To detail the pleasure dome I turned to my collection of transfers.  These I used for the building designation number, some signage, and the name of the dome. I tried to keep them as uniform as possible, but there are a few sections that could have done with a steadier hand.  Still, I think the effect is quite presentable.

To finish the pleasure dome, I added some flock around the bottom of the dome. 

Overall, this is a piece that I am really pleased with and has already done go service on the battlefields of the Cantwara sector.