MARVIN THE ARVN said:

 the saucy old devil (RT) has previously tried to sire a heir with a 'NORMAL' female but it didnt produce anything (Is he firing blanks?). You would have to ask Lord Spatula why

  

I seem to recall it as a discreet enquiry as to whether squats and Imperial humans could interbreed, to which our glorious GM said no.  Kiilgrim hasn't had any action, whether human, mutant or xeno, since he signed on with House Dureen.  Which is probably why his battleaxe is so well polished.

DrVesuvius said:

Polishing his battleaxe, eh? So that's what the kids are calling it nowadays!

DrVesuvius said:

MARVIN THE ARVN said:

 the saucy old devil (RT) has previously tried to sire a heir with a 'NORMAL' female but it didnt produce anything (Is he firing blanks?). You would have to ask Lord Spatula why

I seem to recall it as a discreet enquiry as to whether squats and Imperial humans could interbreed, to which our glorious GM said no.  Kiilgrim hasn't had any action, whether human, mutant or xeno, since he signed on with House Dureen.  Which is probably why his battleaxe is so well polished.

Never let the truth get in the way of a good story!!

MILLANDSON said:

Between raidng foot locker and phones for u

Zakalwe, the group liked your paragraph of Hartek's next victim so much Lord Spatula is going to modify his writeup to include it. Have a benny, ops wrong game

www.mangafox.com/manga/chninkel/c003/7.html

Something like this? Except I expect spatula to be a bit more impressive then J'on

crisaron said:

Now that's something I'll never be able to unsee.  Where's me brain bleach...

Oh and in case you're getting us confused Lord Spatula played Enginseer Nikander Hak and now plays Brother Castagir, our resident Deathwatch Astartes.  I'm playing Kilgrim Hartek, and can confirm he is just a mite beefier than that manga dwarf.  He was originally styled after Brian Blessed, but since seeing Game Of Thrones I'm now seeing him played by Mark Addy.  Oh and he's hung like an ogryn.  Fact.  It's on my character sheet so it must be true.

And in case it's not clear from the write-ups, recently added characters LIeutenant Ivanov and Major Iaris Kimenth are players.  Navigator Patronius "Notch" Prosescu is also a PC, but his player is only making about half the sessions - when he's acting like an arrogant git, that normally means he's being NPC'd by our glorious GM (all hail to him)

That storie is "The Chninkle", it is worth the read. And I tough it would represent the action well! Just make the evil guys Chaos Squat!

:)

MARVIN THE ARVN said:

That's awesome, I glad you all like the idea.  I'll take the benny, I don't know what it is, but I'm sure it will be good washed down with beer.

Next Victim?  Now that doesn't sound like a profit obsessed Rogue Trader Regent at all.  What about feelings of tenderness and protectiveness?  A mad desire to stock up on nappies and paint the nursery?  Deep and meaingful pillow conversations?  How about shopping for a stupid sized SUV to 'protect the kids'?  Longing glances across the bridge....   .. .I'm talking true romance here man!

Hung Like an Ogryn? (zip..thump!)  If it says so on the char sheet it must be true.  My Feral World Assassin character sheet just has "Jungo like huntin, fightin, and wimmin" on it so that's what he's into.

crisaron - Im just gald that the game isnt live action  Chaos Squats

Zakalw -  A benny is used in a game called savage worlds.

Segment taken from the official history of the Dureen Rogue Trader Dynasty

CURRENT LOCATION: HIS UNDYING WILL, UNIDENTIFIED SYSTEM, THE CAULDRON

Preliminary note: The following information has been attained by a combination of first hand observation, after action reports and official intelligence sources. It is my honour to record the following events for the official record of House Dureen.

Glory be to the God-Emperor of the Imperium of Mankind, and to House Dureen. My Lords, I am in perpetuity your faithful servant. Adept Michaelus Helix

The Furnace of Redemption and His Undying Will moved cautiously into the system, and after analysing the flight tracks of the detected enemy ships arced out towards an ice planet intending to use the world and its rings of rock and ice as cover. The Furnace of Redemption concealed itself in the debris, but the machine spirits of the Grand Cruiser refused to hide themselves, and engines blazing His Undying Will proudly advanced.

Rogue Trader Regent Hartek decided to use the non-subtle footprint of the Grand Cruiser to his advantage, and as two of the patrolling raiders, tentatively tagged as the Striding of Soul and the Fallen of Dark by the ships tactical cogitators, changed course, heading in the direction of the Grand Cruiser to investigate the energy signature they had obviously detected, Hartek ordered the crew to pilot the vessel as though the enemy had not been detected, seemingly focussing their attention on scanning the planet for exploitable resources. This ploy seemed to work, and the two Chaos vessels approached cautiously, and were drawn past the hidden Furnace of Redemption.

As the enemy Raiders slowly approached His Undying Will it was clear that their Captains knew what she was, and all for all their madness that was evident in their fall to the ruinous powers, they were not stupid enough to rush headlong into combat with such a powerful vessel, however, they were also fixated on their target, so when the Furnace of Redemption slipped from her hiding place like some prehistoric predator the first they knew about a second House Dureen ship was when macrocannon rounds bracketed the Striding of Soul and her hull was pierced by fingers of coherent light as the lance battery unleashed its energies.

Shocked into action, both ships turned to face their attacker, gouts of flame bursting through the rents in the hull of the Striding of Soul, however, the return fire was largely ineffective, with the Furnace of Redemption's armour absorbing any of the damage that penetrated her void shield. Initially it seemed that the enemy were going to push the attack, and the commander of the sensorium teams reported to Lieutenant Commander Ivanov; "We've detecting an energy spike indicating torpedo tubes being loaded on the Striding of Soul, Sir!"

Ivanov, remembering the devastating salvos of torpedoes that Cobra Class Destroyers used to unleash on their enemies from his years of Naval service, ordered the weapons batteries to open fire once more; again, the lances struck true, blowing chunks of hull from the unfortunate raider, setting sections of the ship on fire again. The Lieutenant Commander then ordered the Furnace of Redemption into evasive manoeuvring to spoil the return fire of the Chaos ships.

Suddenly a voice called out from the communicatorium terminal; "Sir, they're trying to open communications with us!"

"Anything they have to say, I don't need to hear!" Ivanov grunted, "Keep the link closed!"

With a smile the officer blocked the communication attempt.

Over the next hour the battle raged; the Captain of the Striding of Soul decided that his ship was too damaged to continue the fight, and broke away from the combat and started to run, leaving the Furnace of Redemption evading and manoeuvring to get the best firing solution on the remaining Raider, the Fallen of Dark. The two ships exchanged fire, with the Furnace having to avoid incoming torpedoes, but being unable to strike back in return, and a stalemate seemed to develop with neither ship managing to land a telling blow. Then, through some clever positioning, and using the superior abilities of the crew, the Dureen Ship managed to close into the rear arc of the Raider.

Seeing that Lieutenant Commander Ivanov had things well in hand, Rogue Trader Regent Hartek ordered His Undying Will to set off in pursuit of the fleeing Raider; even though logic suggested that it would be unlikely that a Grand Cruiser would be able to overhaul a much faster Raider, Hartek had faith in his crew, and slowly the huge ship began to close on her smaller prey.

Ivanov noted the departure of His Undying Will, grunted in satisfaction, and turned his attention back to the more pressing matter of destroying the last of the enemy. He ordered the weapons to open fire again, and a salvo of melta-cannon shells broke through the shields, and blew large chunks of superstructure clear, but more importantly, set fire to the torpedo bays on the Fallen of Dark rendering them useless for the foreseeable future; the fire seemed to take hold, and began to spread quickly throughout the enemy ship.

Ivanov watched the representation of the burning Raider in the holo-tank, and muttered under his breath, "Kill the filth, and cleanse them with fire. At least that gives them the chance to return to the side of the Emperor and righteousness!"

Those bridge crew around him echoed his words, a grim satisfaction on their faces as the Chaos Raider began to run for safety.

Lieutenant Commander Ivanov was not feeling merciful, and kept close in on the fleeing enemy repeatedly hitting the heretics with lance and melta-cannon fire until the battered ship began to tumble, and finally broke apart. The bride crew cheered, and the unscathed Furnace of Redemption altered her course, and set off in the wake of His Undying Will.

Thanks to clever course plotting, the boosting of power to her engines, and the leadership of the Rogue Trader Regent, and Brother Castagir who had taken a prominent place on the bridge, His Undying Will slowly closed on the fleeing Raider, finally overhauling her target eighteen hours after the chase began. As the enemy realised he was going to be caught, he reversed his course and in desperation began a full speed attack run towards the Grand Cruiser. Smiling that feral smile of his Hartek ordered all four Starhawk bomber squadrons to launch and intercept the doomed ship.

As soon as the Raider passed into the range of starboard Sunsear laser batteries, Brother Castagir fired a barrage of beams at the enemy, punching through the void shields and armour causing more internal damage. The enemy ship barrelled forward, leaving a trail of debris and bodies in its wake, as more and more of the hull was opened to the void. It fired a wild salvo of macro-cannon shells at His Undying Will, missing by hundreds of kilometres, and as they huge shells arced away the forty Starhawk bombers took the opportunity to start their attack run on the Striding of Soul weaving in and out of the streams of mega-bolter rounds that streamed out from the Chaos vessel.

Fire rolled down the length of the ship as the bombs detonated, and the Dureen attack craft powered away, jinking around the debris and the continued defensive fire, before all returned safely to the Grand Cruiser. As they cleared the vicinity of the Raider, Castagir provided additional covering fire from the Sunsear batteries, and as the beams of energy struck home, the raider seemed to swell and burst as her plasma drive detonated ripping the hull to pieces.

As the bridge crew celebrated the Grand Cruisers first kill in House Dureen colours, the Furnace of Redemption arrived and formed up on her flank.

Castagir stood, nodded to the crew and spoke, "You have done the impossible and gave us the chance to destroy these traitors. You should be proud; in your actions, the Emperor was with us today..."

End of Segment

Zakalwe said:

Kilgrim's motivations are a little more complex than that.  He is, at heart, a simple fighter, who has known nothing but war and combat all his life, right from his abandonment as a baby in the gutters and underground of Footfall.  He took an oath, when he signed on with House Dureen, to protect and serve the dynasty, not the individual rogue trader.  That's the only reason he accepted the fiction that let him replace the late unlamented Rico Dureen - for the good of the House.  He also knows that for there to be a dynasty, there has to be an heir, which is why he wants to find others of his kind, especially breedable females.  Seriously, he's genuinely that dedicated to his oath to the House.  If he does find a suitable partner, he'll probably even shout "For House Dureen!" at the *ahem* climactic moment.

Now if he ever finds himself a hot Tau-girl pile, then it's big-ole freaky-deaky time for Kilgrim!!!!  Till then he's got plenty of other vices to indulge in.

A Squat for duty, a Tau for pleasure, but a Hartek Fruit for ecstasy.

Howdy all, psb the latest installment of our game.

FYI we will have another session and then the game will be on hold for 2 weeks as one of the players takes a holiday.

Segment taken from the official history of the Dureen Rogue Trader Dynasty

CURRENT LOCATION: HIS UNDYING WILL, UNIDENTIFIED SYSTEM, THE CAULDRON

Preliminary note: The following information has been attained by a combination of first hand observation, after action reports and official intelligence sources. It is my honour to record the following events for the official record of House Dureen.

Glory be to the God-Emperor of the Imperium of Mankind, and to House Dureen. My Lords, I am in perpetuity your faithful servant. Adept Michaelus Helix

The two Dureen warships advanced deeper into the system, scanning the void ahead for threats, and were quickly able to plot the locations of the enemy vessels that were attacking the Squat world. It was fortunate that the sensorium crew were focussed on their task in hand; they spotted the two retreating Infidel class torpedo Raiders that had been patrolling the outer system disappeared from the auger array. They had dropped from the scans in an area of the void midway between the edge of the system and the target planet, obviously planning to ambush the forces of House Dureen. Rogue Trader Regent Hartek ordered the Furnace of Redemption to close up with His Undying Will, hoping to disguise the signature of the Frigate within the larger, more powerful signature of the Grand Cruiser.

The scans had produced enough information to allow the identification of the enemy vessels; the Hellbringer class planetary assault Light Cruiser was tagged as the Eater of Worlds, and was continuing to bombard planetary targets. In a higher orbit, the Devastation class Cruiser was identified as Soul Bane, and two more Infidel class torpedo Raiders were escorting her, the Relentless Pain and the Seduction of Tortured. The more accurate and targeted scans allowed a re-designation of the four remaining contacts; they were identified as Soul Cage class Transports and were named as the Crimson Lord, the Futile Hope, the Overwhelming Dark, and the Scream Dragon. The two Infidel class torpedo Raiders that had disappeared from the scans were identified as the Adamant of Fire, and Ocelot Damnation.

The days passed, and as two Dureen ships closed on the potential ambush location, they increased their scans, and identified the location of the Raiders. It was decided to use His Undying Will to trigger the ambush, on favourable terms, while the Furnace of Redemption went silent herself and attempted to flank the enemy. Once the ambush was trigged, the Grand Cruiser would launch her bomber and fighter squadrons and attempt to quickly overwhelm the heretics.

The plan worked well; as His Undying Will approached the "hidden" enemy ships the first volleys of torpedoes were launched at the Grand Cruiser. She turned into the attack, easily evading or destroying the enemy munitions with her turrets and the fighters that had been launched on combat air patrol.

The Furnace of Redemption unseen by the enemy then arced in on the closest Raider, the Ocelot Damnation devastating it with the opening salvo; both macro-cannon and lances striking true. The Grand Cruiser closed on the same enemy, blasting more holes into the hull of the enemy with her laser batteries before the bomber squadrons closed in and dropped their payloads leaving a slowly expanding cloud of debris in their wake as the ship broke apart. The remaining Chaos ship, realising that it had little chance of escape came about, and attempted to ram His Undying Will. It angled in on the Grand Cruiser, but misjudged the angle of attack; although it hit the flank of the Dureen ship, all it did was scrape along the armour of the larger vessel doing more damage to its own hull.

Seeing an opportunity to close on the now damaged Adamant of Fire, Ivanov ordered the Furnace of Redemption into close range, and once again accurate lance fire pierced the enemy vessel, setting sections of the ship on fire. His Undying Will pulled away from the damaged Raider, and turned to bring the enemy into the arc of her port weapons batteries which once again blasted chunks from the enemy ship. In return, the Raider fired a last, desperate salvo of torpedoes at the Grand Cruiser; it was fortunate, despite the turrets and fighters flying combat air patrol, one punched through, inflicted minor damage, but incinerating thousands of loyal crew in the explosion of the plasma warhead. The heretics did not survive long to celebrate their minor victory as the Furnace of Redemption brought her weapons to bear, and cut them into scrap.

The two House Dureen ships slipped back into formation once more, and continued their run towards the centre of the system.

The crew of His Undying Will busied themselves repairing whatever damage they could, although it was clear that the ship would require several days dedicated work to completely undo the damage that had been inflicted on her, and with the devastation being unleashed on the Squat world, the Rogue Trader decided that this was time that could not be afforded. He broadcast a message of thanks to the crew, praising their efforts in the fight so far, and stressing the desperate situation that the Squats found themselves in, suggesting that they may also be able to provide the weaponry that the House was searching for to aid the fight against the threat to the Calixis Sector. His words seemed to hit the right tone, and the crew responded well, returning to their duties with renewed vigour.

Brother Castagir requested that one of the unused areas of the ships have the environmental controls modified to match the arid conditions on the Squat world, and once this had been done, he ran the troops through drills and exercises in this area, attempting to acclimatise them to the harsher conditions. He also approached Bishop Arint asking him to focus on the spiritual needs of the soldiers, something that he was more than happy to do.

The Astartes requested a viewing of the Relic of St Drusus that was being held in the Temple-Shrine, and although the Bishop seemed reluctant initially, after the two had conversed for a while he became convinced of Castagir's righteousness and agreed to a private viewing. The Bishop led Castagir through the Shrine; it was a cavernous area, capable of seating thousands, and a wondrous example of Imperial Gothic architecture with huge fluted columns supporting high arches that reached the ceiling. Huge statues of Imperial Saints were placed in specially built alcoves, and the walls were decorated with hangings depicting the Emperor and Saint Drusus, braziers burned incense and cherubim fluttered high above the heads of the people there, yet still Castagir was conscious of the looks he was getting from the faithful present, many of whom were encountering a Space Marine for the first time. Even the normally impassive Shrine Custodians who had accompanied the Bishop aboard nodded respectfully, and the Bishop seemed to enjoy the reflected glory.

They reached the private alcove where the casket containing the relic was held and singing a hymn, the Bishop leaned forward to a control panel on the side of the casket, and screening his actions so no other could see, punched a code into the panel. After a minute the shutter on the casket began to rise, stopping after moving a few millimetres. From the crack that had been opened a bluish-green light radiated, bathing the area in a holy light. The Custodians bowed their heads, and Bishop Arint turned to Castagir and spoke, reverence evident in his voice.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Castagir nodded slowly. "It is Bishop, it is. As are all works of the Emperor."

"Who can doubt the power of Saint Drusus and the Emperor when you see works such as this?" The Bishop's gaze remained fixed on the relic as the shutter closed, and the radiated light was contained once more.

Castagir remained silent for a few moments before speaking; "Thank you for sharing this with me Bishop; it does the soul good to witness such wonders."

The Rogue Trader Regent was sitting in his study, looking over the readiness reports of the troops, and the damage reports from the Enginseer Prime with his aide, Antonia Fenducci, when Major Kimenth knock on this door.

Hartek invited her in, and spoke; "Major Kimenth. What can I do for you today?"

"Trader Regent. You seemed quite taken with my sword..." Iaris met Hartek's gaze. "I thought you might like to know the tale of how I came by it?"

With a smile on his face, the Rogue Trader Regent grunted. "Is there any way that I'm not going to hear it now, seeing as you came here specifically to tell me?"

"A direct order telling me to leave would do it!" Iaris struggled to suppress a smile herself.

Kilgrim leaned back. "Ah, sit down Major. The fact that you're here tells me that you probably want to get something off your chest."

"Fair enough!" The Major agreed. "I was entouraged to a noble, of sorts, and he took us to a... Well... Auction of questionable items, I suppose. There was a man there who decided to buy a daemon in a bottle, as you do. Said daemon got free, ate half the people there and set off the local volcano, as they tend to do..."

Hartek, despite himself, found his interest piqued by the revelations.

Iaris smiled again, and continued her story. "Well, after we'd killed all the heretics, and left the island burning behind us, and I'd personally found the heretic who'd freed the daemon and smashed his brain into the floor, in a very satisfying manner, I had a nice new sword. So the weapon was now in the hands of someone that knew how to use it, knew its worth, and honestly didn't mind its origins, no matter how cloudy they may have been... I mean, there may be better weapons out there, but this one will always be sharp and deadly, and she won't cut the hand that wields her, as long as she's held right! This also makes me quite good at cutting down heretics, which might make me useful very soon..."

"Well." Hartek grunted again. "I don't think your mysterious origins are going to be a problem for you here in House Dureen, as long as everyone does their duty, and fights as well as they can, that'll do for me." He paused, a little twinkle in his eye, then continued. "Besides, do you think Hartek was the name on the forms at the orphanage where I was found...?"

Kimenth suddenly looked serious. "Well, that depends. With the name you've got, will people from the name you had come looking for you?"

Hartek smiled one of his feral, toothy grins. "I rather suspect it's going to be the other way around..."

"In that case, Sir, I wish you good hunting...!" Iaris nodded. " But my concern is that those that I left behind, well it won't be me hunting. This far out, it won't be a problem, but I think it only fair to warn you that when we return to civilisation, it may be best if I stay on the ship, for the good of the House."

"You're in house Dureen now; we look after our own Major..."

Iaris nodded. "My thanks Trader Regent, it has always been my philosophy that if people don't try to get me killed unnecessarily, I will always back them up in a fight."

"Rest assured Major, I will never try to get you killed unnecessarily!" Hartek grinned again. "Was there anything else?"

"No Sir. Not unless you require anything else."

"Good. All I require is that your troops are ready to face whatever awaits us on this world."

Major Kimenth stood. "In that case I will return to my duties. My thanks Trader Regent."

"Carry on, Major." Hartek paused as Iaris left, and turned to Fenducci. "What a strange woman, have her watched!"

Fenducci nodded, and followed her out of the office.

By the end of the week, the Dureen ships had reached the inner system, and found the enemy forces arrayed ahead of them; the Eater of Worlds continued to bombard the planet, while the other ships formed a battle line, with two of the Soul Cage Transports on each flank, the Cruiser in the centre and the two remaining Infidel class torpedo Raiders positioned on either side of the enemy flagship. Hartek ordered detailed scans of the enemies, and launch bays were detected on both the Cruiser and Light Cruiser so the Dureen forces could expect enemy fighters and bombers to be present around the system.

The enemy ships were well armed, the Cruiser being armed with Banefire lance broadsides, and it was clear that the coming battle had the potential to be both bloody and brutal, but it was also clear that as the attacker, the Rogue Trader Regent had no choice other than to push the issue. Initially the plan was to draw the enemy out of formation in an attempt to defeat them in details, however, unusually for Heretics, the formation held together with surprising discipline, and despite a number of feints and taunts over the vox channels, they remained firm.

Suddenly, the communicatorium Officer called for the attention of the Rogue Trader Regent; "Sir, we're receiving a transmission from the enemy flagship!"

Conscious that exposing the crew to the machinations of the great enemy was not a conducive to their good health, Hartek ordered the message be transferred into the briefing room, and invited Brother Castagir to join him to listen. The Astartes followed Hartek into the chamber, and positioned himself to one side, out of the angle of the camera, because as he phrased it, "The enemy do not need to know that I am here."

Hartek took a seat, and activated the holo-projection.

The image flickered and distorted before coalescing into a steady picture, and Hartek was faced by a huge, black and gold armoured figure seated on a throne that appeared to be constructed from bones. Its armour was sparsely decorated, but the sigils were disturbing to look at, and although not the same, reminded him of the symbols he'd seen previously on Saphirus. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Brother Castagir tense slightly, the Deathwatch Marine unconsciously gripping the edge of the massive adamantium table that filled the room.

The figure spoke, a deep voice seeming to echo from its helmet; "I am Warmaster Viatax. Who dares intrude upon my campaign?"

Hartek paused, before muttering almost to himself. "Warmaster Viatax eh?" Then he spoke up, addressing his adversary directly. "I am Kilgrim Hartek, Warmaster of House Dureen. This world is under my protection. You will take your fleet, and depart at once, while I've a mind to let you."

As the laughter boomed from the giant figure, again, out of the corner of his eye, the Rogue Trader Regent noticed Castagir leaning forward, seemingly studying parts of the armour that the Warmaster was clad in. His own attention drawn to the areas Castagir was looking at with such intensity, he was able to see the paint of the armour had been scraped away and scarred by battle, revealing a different colour scheme underneath. The revealed colours were predominantly yellow, but there were patches of orange, deep reds and browns, and it reminded Hartek of gazing into the flames of a furnace. He was unsure what that meant but stored the information away as useful, simply because of the reaction it had provoked in the Space Marine.

The laughter faded away, and the Warmaster's voice hardened. "You dare order me worm? I found this world wanting and I have taken it for my own. The population are my slaves now! Find your own world and conquer it!" The figure leaned forward on its throne, peering at the screen more closely. "You are one of those creatures, like those on this world!"

It was Hartek's turn to laugh. "Very observant Warmaster. I have come to free my people, so unless you have a wish to face my wrath I would advise you to leave. I have faced powers that defy description on Saphirus. I have fought the greenskin horde on Damaris. Your fleet of despoilers does not impress me..."

Warmaster Viatax leaned back, laughing again. "You have put on a good show, but those dogs you have already killed were not worthy of survival. Your two ships will be no match for the remains of my fleet...!"

Hartek smiled tightly. "Then send your best hounds, we will despatch them just as easily..."

"We will wait here for you, Warmaster. We still have business on the planet..." Viatax growled, pointedly.

A grim expression appeared on Hartek's face. "Then count the remaining hours of your life. Dureen is coming."

Hartek slapped the button on the control panel that ended the transmission, and turned to Brother Castagir. "Well he was a charming fellow wasn't..." His voice trailed away as he saw that the edge of the massive slab that formed the table had been twisted and bent out of shape. Despite himself he was shocked, recognising the immense strength that would be required to do that amount of damage to the adamantium. Then he noticed that Brother Castagir seemed unaware of what he had done, and realised that the encounter had meant more to the Astartes than simply witnessing the verbal sparring of the two leaders. "There's something concerning you, Brother Castagir?"

With an effort, Castagir kept his voice level and carefully modulated, suppressing his anger. "The Warmaster is a fallen Marine." The Astartes paused again. "I have sworn an oath to destroy those of his kind. Do not under-estimate him. I have stood before those traitors before, and they are possibly the most dangerous enemies you have ever faced. That one..." Castagir seemed unable to speak Warmaster Viatax's name, "...is wearing tactical dreadnought armour, which means he has fallen further than most. He was once an elite veteran of the First Company of... his Chapter, he is centuries old, and has centuries of battle experience, and will be very good at what he does..."

Hartek nodded slowly. "And that was before he received the dubious gifts of the ruinous pow..."

Castagir interrupted; '"Before he betrayed all of his kind, and humanity."

"Hurmph." Hartek cleared his throat. "A dangerous foe, Brother Castagir. And your sworn enemy."

"That he is." Castagir agreed.

Hartek nodded and continued; "And the people on the world below may be the last of my kind still alive in this sector. Perhaps in the whole universe as far as I know..."

Castagir nodded. "At the end of this, either Viatax, or I will leave this world alive, but both of us will not."

"Then let all of the might of House Dureen be your sword, and your shield, Brother." Hartek held out his hand, which as Hartek glanced at the damage to the table, Castagir grasped, gently.

"And may your people be freed Rogue Trader Regent." The Astartes responded.

Hartek nodded. "Let's go and steal ourselves a world!"

The ships of House Dureen closed up, and closed to maximum range of their weapons, preparing to open fire on the enemy, however, there was shock on the bridges of His Undying Will and the Furnace of Redemption as lance beams flashed out from the enemy Cruiser before they were able to get into range; the Banefire lance broadsides on the Cruiser outranged even the Sunsear batteries on His Undying Will.

Initially, the enemy targeted the Furnace of Redemption, however, Ivanov ordered her into evasive manoeuvres and spoiled the enemy's aim, but it was as if the lance fire was a signal, and the Infidel class torpedo Raiders moved forwards attempting to bring their weapons to bear too, firing, but the salvoes of torpedoes either missed their targets, or were shot down. His Undying Will returned fire, however, her attacks were also ineffective, the beams of light flashing past the heretics ships.

Each group of ships jockeyed, and shifted position, attempting to find the optimal position to do the most harm to their enemies.

End of Segment

http://fantasyflightgames.com/edge_foros_discusion.asp?efid=123&efcid=3&efidt=540111#540523

I will try to make your friend that is sending out is own endeavor!

DrVesuvius said:

"FOR THE GREATER GOOD!" hehehe....

A while back I posted that I was in the process of compiling all the write-ups into .pdf documents, and I promised that I would make them available here.

Well, I've finally managed to get the first couple of volumes complete, and as I'm going to be away for a couple of weeks, so the reports will stop while gthe game is paused, I thought it'd be an ideal time to post the links for those who are interested; they're stored in my Dropbox folder so you should be able to save them if you want to.

There are two volumes so far, covering the story from the start of the game until the end of the Damaris story arc and the death of Enginseer Nicander (so be warned, the second volume does include reports of the first published Frozen Reaches adventure, so there'll be spoilers in there, and if you intend to play the game, be careful how far in you read...)

As well as the write-ups that have been posted on here (some have been subject to minor modifications where I spotted errors), there are PC, and NPC profiles, ship profiles, and outlines of the military units of House Dureen.

Anyway, I hope they'll be interesting for you.

Volume 1: From the start of our gaming sessions, to the end of the battle against the ruinous powers on Saphirus;
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16025092/The%20History%20of%20House%20Dureen%20Vol%201%20%28Personal%20Record%20of%20Nikander%20Hak%2C%20Part%201%29.pdf

Volume 2: From Saphirus to Damaris and the death of Enginseer Nicander
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16025092/The%20History%20of%20House%20Dureen%20Vol%202%20%28Personal%20Record%20of%20Nikander%20Hak%2C%20Part%202%29.pdf

In the future additional volumes will be created to continue the story...

Hi all!!

crisaron, nice fluff

Thrantor, the only good tau is a dead tau

Segment taken from the official history of the Dureen Rogue Trader Dynasty

CURRENT LOCATION: HIS UNDYING WILL, UNIDENTIFIED SYSTEM, THE CAULDRON

Preliminary note: The following information has been attained by a combination of first hand observation, after action reports and official intelligence sources. It is my honour to record the following events for the official record of House Dureen.

Glory be to the God-Emperor of the Imperium of Mankind, and to House Dureen. My Lords, I am in perpetuity your faithful servant. Adept Michaelus Helix
 

The two Infidel Class Torpedo Raiders advanced, attempting to pin the House Dureen ships, with the enemy Cruiser following up behind them, and bringing up the rear were the slow Soul Cage Transports. As the enemy closed the range the Furnace of Redemption continued to draw their fire, however, piloted by Ivanov himself, her evasive manoeuvring meant that any shots targeted on her tended to miss, and the few impacts that she suffered failed to penetrate her armour. The space between the opposing forces was teeming with fighters and bombers, each of the squadrons fighting their individual battles, but the heroic House Dureen pilots more than held their own, keeping the enemy small craft at arms length, and generally unable to engage the capital ships. In return, His Undying Will targeted the Infidel Raiders in an attempt to remove the number of enemy gun platforms, and her volleys of Sunsear laser fire repeatedly smashed into the hapless enemy forcing both ships to turn tail and flee, venting atmosphere, and trailing wreckage, fire, and bodies into the void from their wrecked hulls. Scans indicated that neither Raider was in any shape to offer much resistance for the foreseeable future.

It seemed like momentum was swinging the way of House Dureen, but then the enemy Cruiser, Soul Bane launched a flight of small attack craft at the Furnace of Redemption. Although suffering losses as they approached the Frigate, they managed to secure themselves to her hull and hundreds of heretics attempted to board. They pushed themselves through the breaches, but found themselves trapped by Dureen troops, and were slaughtered in their hundreds, and after the last of the enemy were dispatched, the hull breaches were sealed. Just when it seemed that the threat was over, reports started flowing in to the bridge of small areas of the ship going silent, and eventually a pattern was discerned; a number of paths from various points around the hull seemed to be leading towards the void shield generators.

Finally, the source of the unknown attacks were identified; six fallen Astartes had fought their way aboard, hidden amongst the larger assaults, and they were cutting their way through the brave crew of the Furnace of Redemption en route to their target. Ivanov called for help from His Undying Will, and made the tough decision to vent the areas the Chaos Marines were detected in to the void. Unfortunately, this action only slowed the attack and did not remove the threat. As a gun-cutter from His Undying Will arrived, with Rogue Trader Regent Hartek and Brother Castagir aboard, Ivanov made the decision to pull the crew back, and let the attackers into the void shield genertorium, and then surround the chamber with numbers, and pen them in. Although, the lack of a void shield would make the ship vulnerable, it could be repaired reasonably quickly, and the evasive techniques that Ivanov had been employing had been effective to this point, so it was a gamble worth taking, and Hartek approved.

Now, however, a plan was required to remove the Chaos Marines from the genertorium. Although fearsome opponents, they were now out of ammunition, and had limited manoeuvre capability, so plans were drawn up to teleport an attack force, led by Brother Castagir and Hartek himself, directly into the chamber. It would be a bloody fight, but one that would ultimately be successful as sheer numbers would eventually overwhelm the enemy.

Moments before the plan was to be put into action, Hartek received a message from his aide, Antonio Fenducci; he was receiving a message from the enemy commander, who was threatening to kill all the prisoners aboard one of the Soul Cage Transports. Hartek paused, and ordered that it be transferred to a nearby office where he would receive it in private.

The connection was made, and the distinctive image of Warmaster Viatax appeared before Hartek. "Well met, Warmaster! It seemed the skirmish has whittled out the chaff...! Anyway, I tire of this pointless exercise..."

"Well, leave then." Hartek suggested. "We'll let you go unharmed!"

Viatax's laughter boomed out. "Spirit! Spirit! Your kind has much spirit! They will make good servants, good warriors, but possibly not good slaves... But everyone breaks in the end. Everyone. I am willing to take this battle elsewhere! Enough pointless sparring has been conducted in the void, true warriors face each other on the ground."

"Continue..." Hartek spoke slowly.

"I suggest a contest. I will let you contest the fate of the final Stronghold on the planet." Viatax offered.

Hartek nodded. "And the prisoners you have in the hold of your vessel?"

"They are mine. I won them before you arrived. I will keep them."

"That cannot stand." Hartek protested. "I am here to take them off you."

"Before you could take them off me they would all die!" Viatax pointed out.

Hartek nodded again. "A kinder fate than living in servitude to such as you... But I understand if you are too afraid to take a chance on your own competence..."

Viatax laughed again. "And what would I have to gain? What would you put against these prisoners?"

Hartek paused. "All in. My ships, my Dynasty. All would be yours should you win."

This seemed to take Chaos Marine by surprise. "Bold! A bold move indeed! I come to despise your people less!"

"You say the sweetest things!" Kilgrim said coldly.

"How do you suggest we settle this then?" Viatax asked.

Negotiations continued, until it was agreed that a trial by combat would occur, a set piece battle with a thousand combatants on either side. They would meet in a precisely defined zone on the planet, and the ships in orbit would pull away and stand off under the terms of the agreement, effectively declaring a cease fire. It was clear that Warmaster Viatax was bored with the ongoing conquest of the world and welcomed the diversion, even agreeing to allow Hartek to visit the surface of the world, and speak with the surviving inhabitants. Viatax demanded the return of the Chaos Marines aboard the Furnace of Redemption, as a "Sign of good faith". A Dreadclaw assault shuttle was sent from the Soul Bane and docked with the nearest airlock, from which the enemy were ushered out quickly. Castagir was kept out of sight as this was going on, and found himself frustrated that some of his sworn enemy had slipped through his fingers.

After this, Warmaster Viatax actually passed on some details of the conquest to date. From the information he released, it seemed that of the three Strongholds that had been on the world, as Viatax had early hinted, only one still stood, the other two had been destroyed; the first in the opening salvoes of the invasion, the second after a protracted siege. It was estimated that over a hundred and fifty thousand Squats had been taken prisoner. The Warmaster had landed over a million soldiers in support of his attacks, clearly intending to rapidly overwhelming the defences by sheer weight of numbers. It appeared that the formalised battle was the best solution for House Dureen; it would be difficult to pit the several thousand troops serving under the House colours against such a vast tide of heretics, unfortunately, it also meant that the House Dureen troops would face the best troops that the enemy could muster.

It truly seemed that the enemy commander was bored with the whole situation, and saw the arrival of Hartek and the Dynasty as a welcome diversion.

After a planning meeting, where Hartek announced the trial by combat, but not the consequences of losing, it was decided to deploy the Orks, and the Armoured Cohort, the 8th, with their infantry support. Hartek reasoned that it was time the Orks had another fight, and any losses to their number would not be a problem, as he was already considering how best to rid himself of them, as they were a difficult ally to justify in many circles.
 

Hartek, accompanied by Brother Castagir, Lieutenant Commander Ivanov, and Major Kimenth descended to the surface of the world to meet with the defenders; the surface was scarred with huge craters, and the evidence of huge battles, and after initial contact they were directed to a landing zone near the last surviving Stronghold.

Hartek emerged from the gun-cutter on his own, the others hanging back until first contact had been made; the Rogue Trader Regent found himself feeling shocked, but full of joy as he recognised the world from the visions he had seen repeatedly over the last few months. More than that his heart leapt as he saw his welcoming party; a small group of Squats, the first of his own race he had ever encountered.

A male stepped forward, obviously a warrior from his manner of dress; he was clad in a form of power armour, similar, yet different to that available from Imperial sources. He was wearing a red flowing cape, and was armed with a power axe of similar design to Kilgrim's own, and with a boltgun. The others were armed, and armoured in a similar manner of with equipment more familiar to Imperial eyes, and at the back stood a young looking Squat holding a large banner of a blue background with red, runic symbols overlaying it.

Hartek seemed hesitant, and stepped through the gusts of wind that blew the dust around obscuring everyone's vision for a moment, and so when Hartek stepped forward through the dust, it was a surprise for the Squats to be confronted with a member of their own race.

Hartek reached out, almost disbelievingly, and touched the face of the red-robed Squat. "You, you're real! You're really here!"

"Of course I'm bloody here!" Came the gruff response. "I'm sodding well stood in front of you!" And he slapped Kilgrim's hand away. "Is your mind all boggled? That's what comes of living with tall folk!" He inspected Kilgrim before speaking again. "Where do you hail from, sonny?"

"I... I errr... I was found on Footfall..." Hartek looked at the red-robed Squat for any sign of recognition of that name, but there was none, so he continued. "A world of rocks floating in the void." There was still no recognition, so Hartek changed tack. "How is it that you're here?"

"How do you bloody think?" Came the impatient response. "We came here on vessels...! Pah! How did you escape the slaughter? Are there more of you?"

Hartek paused. "I don't know. I thought I was the only one left!"

The red-robed Squat shook his head. "I tell you what lad, you don't know a lot, do you?" He paused, as though something had just occurred to him. "You're not simple are you?" An amused expression crossed his face. "Come here lad. We'll look after you, you're with your people now!" He put his arm around Hartek's shoulders and began to lead him away.

Suddenly Hartek stopped, and turned to look at the other Squat. "Wait! The attackers! How many of our people are left?"

"Where? Here?" Red cloak asked.

"Well where else do you think, you daft apeth!" Hartek looked surprised at the words that he had just spoken, as though unable to quite believe that he had spoken them himself. "I mean... Wow... Errr... Where did that come from?"

The other looked at him sharply. "In our culture son, we respect our elders, you just remember that! There are about two-hundred thousand of us left."

Hartek nodded, a serious expression on his face. "We've challenged the invaders, for the freedom of your world, and to secure the release of the captives..."

"Aye, we've been fighting a battle for months." Red cloaks expression turned grim. "The cowards have been bombarding us from orbit and sending their lackeys down to do their work. They're not true warriors, but there're just so many of them. And their war machines; it's as though they are driven by some unholy power..."

Kilgrim nodded. "We need to talk, we need a conference. We need to confer with your war leaders to gain as much intelligence about the enemy as possible..."

"Aye sonny, we do." Red cloak nodded, "But first you must speak to the Ancestor. He makes all the decisions. I'm Gartek, Gartek Fiendhammer." He indicated a heavy warhammer that was slung across his back.

Hartek asked whether he could bring his command staff along, and after Gartek agreed he introduced them all, before the headed into the Stronghold. The new arrivals showed as much interest in the home of the Squats as the Squats showed in the humans; each seemed intrigued by the others. As usual Castagir drew surprised looks; he was a giant compared to humans, but towered over the Squats, and most of them hurried to get out of his way, unsure what to make of him.

The Stronghold looked well engineered, with solid walls of rock, ceramite and adamantium, and there were a number of well placed defensive positions, which guarded the entrances of large tunnels. These tunnels led deep underground, and there were huge forges and workshops, and numerous blocky buildings that covered large areas of the available space; almost every surface was engraved with runes of unknown meaning.

Soon, they group arrived at a building of exceptional craftsmanship, with blocky columns and a side staircase inlaid with gold; it was almost impossible to see the joins where one block of stone had been laid on another, something that was evident throughout the Stronghold. There were numerous statues, depicting Squats in a variety of heroic poses, and there were displays of banners and weapons. The impression gained was that some of these were very old indeed, and several seemed to originate from out side of the current Stronghold. The group were led deeper inside this building and into a large room that seemed to serve as an audience chamber.

A frail, elderly looking squat was making his way across the stone floor, his staff clicking every time it touched the floor. Surround him were three figures, wearing the strange Squat power armour and carrying ceremonial, but deadly looking halberds. The elderly Squat and his guard made their way to a throne located in the centre of the chamber; it was huge and would have accommodated Castagir's bulk, but the squat hauled himself into the seat, and then indicated that the visitors should approach.

Led by Gartek, the four newcomers approached to within ten metres, and then Gartek bowed, before going down on to one knee in a display of respect. Strangely, of the four visitors, it was Brother Castagir who reacted first, mirroring the gesture, and then the others followed his lead.

Gartek spoke, his voice breaking the silence in the chamber. "Ancient Ancestor, I have found one of the missing kin, and bring him before you." He indicated Hartek.

"Yes! He is!" The old squat croaked out, his voice cracking. "A lost pup finally returned to his people."

Kilgrim glanced up as he felt a wave of psychic energy wash over him, and could feel a presence, at the edge of his consciousness.

"Ancestor." Kilgrim spoke in a hushed tone. "I have been searching for you for a long time. I have brought my forces to try to free you from the invaders." He paused for a second and met the old Squats gaze. "I thought my people were no more..."

A look of reminiscence washed over the face of the old Squat, as though he was remembering times past, and then he spoke again. "Aye lad! It has been a long time since one of the lost found us. For all were know, we are the last of our proud and great people. I can feel the terrible gap in your life from missing your kin, and the shock at finding us again. Do not worry though; we take all our kin in. This must be overwhelming for you. Let us walk and talk of our people..." The old Squat slid from the throne, and indicated that Hartek follow him.

Hartek spent the next few hours learning of his heritage; he learned of the great Ancestors, and the worlds they had fled from, in the face of the Tyranid menace. Most had fallen, and been consumed, their race had been left in the cold by the Imperium which had not come to their aid when it was needed, despite promises of mutual protection, and of the hundreds of Leagues, Guilds, and thousands of Strongholds, the one they were currently standing in could very well be the last one.

The Ancestor told Kilgrim that it had been part of a small League, the Emberg League, but it had outlived all the others, taking on refugees from where they could. In total perhaps half a million Squats had escaped the Great Devourer, fleeing in a huge ship known as the Ark, defended by another ancient ship that had been a gift from the humans in better times. The trauma was not over, however; caught in a warp storm the vessels were thrown across the galaxy, and emerged in the current system. They were so relieved to be out of the warp, and the last of the human Navigators had died on the journey anyway, so they decided to settle this world. It was a harsh environment by most standards, but not for Squats, and it was rich in mineral resources, so they hid the ships in the outer system, and ferried all the survivors to the planet.

As the Ancestor spoke, Hartek learned of the hated enemies of the Squats, particularly the Orks, and he learned of the book of Grudges where the names of all those who had slighted the Squats in one way or another. He learned that the population had grown over the years, and occasionally did business with human traders, and life seemed good, at least until several months ago and the invasion of their world.

Hartek drank all the information in, and then showed his axe to the Ancestor, describing how he had found it, and telling him the story that was attached to it; that it was a relic of lost Squat Empire somewhere on the fringe of the Koronus Expanse. The Ancestor inspected the weapon, and declared that it was an axe that had originated in one of the destroyed strongholds. It appeared that the Squat Empire the rumours had spoken of consisted of the world on which he currently stood.

The remaining three did not waste their time, meetings had been arranged with the Squat military leaders and they did their best to glean as much information about the enemy as they could, attempting to learn tactics, force disposition, and any other useful titbits of intelligence. The Squats reported that the huge enemy army consisted mostly of barely equipped, barely trained cannon fodder, built around a core of warriors, something that had already be gleaned from other sources, however, at the start of every battle, a giant warrior in black and red armour, described by the Squats as being "like our exo-armour" which the three took to mean power armour presented himself, challenging anyone from amongst the defenders to fight him in single combat. So far no one had managed to come close to defeating him. Castagir suggested that in all likelihood this warrior was another fallen Astartes, and the other two nodded, in agreement grim expressions on their faces, and this seemed to be confirmed when the Squats said that this warrior led the enemy army.

One of the Squat officers spoke in a hushed voice, "This... warrior... is a monster! It is even said that he killed a number of his own men when they tried to interfere in one of the fights, bellowing at them that he had specified one on one combat! We have never seen anything like it..."

The enemy also made use of war machines, and these seemed to be on a par with the armoured vehicles and tanks that House Dureen possessed.

As the discussions were continuing, Hartek was shown into the briefing room, and then all four were taken to see the Squats secret weapon; it was a huge vehicle known as the Cyclops, larger than even super-heavy Imperial tanks and on the chassis was mounted what appeared to be a single defence laser. Gartek confirmed that although inaccurate, it was capable of hitting targets in low orbit, but they had not dared deploy the vehicle because the enemy controlled the skies, and it would be quickly destroyed by the enemy ship bombarding the planet. Hartek considered requesting its use in the ritual battle, but was informed that it had a crew of several hundred, and he judged that it would eat too heavily into the manpower allocation, so he moved on. The squats also showed three heavily armoured ore-miner vehicles that were being modified as weapon characters, Gartek called the Leviathans, but once again they were crewed by hundreds and not really of much use currently.

Intelligence gathering, and social niceties dealt with the two groups parted, now firm allies, the Squats to shore up their defences in case the needed to fight again, and the Command Staff of House Dureen to complete their plans.
 

Back aboard His Undying Will, Hartek visited Kolonel Shakgul in the xenos containment quarters that he had had installed when the vessel was being refitted. After the usual exchange of pleasantries, and explaining the situation on the world below, Hartek posed a question. One that he thought he already knew the answer to.

"So Kolonel, are your boyz 'ard enough to take on them spiky boyz? Coz if they're too scared..." Hartek paused, as he saw the look of anger on the Kolonels face, and then continued, "...well, if you really wants to fight along wiv us, coz I'm only takin' the best..."

Shakgul growled, "I want me one ov dem spiky boy beaky helmets, I needs me a piss cup!"

Hartek smiled. "Good. In that case youse got a fight!"

The Kolonel turned to his boyz, and shouted "Get yer gear! There's gonna be fightin' done!"

The roars of hundreds of Ork voices split the air, and a number of the smaller ones were kicked around out of sheer exuberance!

Hartek nodded, and returned to his office. After a few seconds thought he signed off Special Order 66; the Orks had reached the end of their usefulness, and any that survived the fight on the planet surface were to be destroyed by the remaining House Dureen troops, and while that was going on, their habitat on the vessel was to be completely purged and cleansed. It would be as though they had never existed. When he saw the order Ivanov was the happiest he had been since the Orks came aboard.
 

The next day, the House Dureen troops deployed to their designated zone, and Hartek strode forward and spoke over the noise of the advancing enemy, doing his best to prepare his men for the upcoming fight.

"We have come to this world to fight a great evil, but more than that, this is my people these are my ancestors, my brothers, my sisters, my cousins. And as we have stood in battle before that makes them your ancestors, your brothers, your sisters, your cousins too. We stand here today to keep their light shining in the galaxy. If we don't, then you bastards will have to answer to me! For the glory of House Dureen!"

Then another voice broke into the vox transmission; "For the survival of a race!", and Hartek glanced with some surprise at Brother Castagir, but nodded approvingly. It seemed, however, that the waiting for the enemy was playing on the soldier’s nerves, and Hartek's words were not met with the usual enthusiasm, however, they prepared to meet the onslaught with their customary professionalism.

The enemy force consisted of infantry, which seemed disciplined, and well drilled, backed up by around a dozen vehicles of a variety of types. Castagir was able to make out twelve Fallen Astartes in the ranks, and passed on their locations to the heavy weapons teams and vehicle commanders. In the middle of the army the commander in black and red armour could be seen. As the army formed up, it was noticeable that the ground was trembling and shaking, but it was unclear what the cause of this was, until suddenly the enemy army began to chant "Chak! Chak! Chak! Chak! Chak! Chak! Chak!" and a Warhound Class Titan hove into view. There was a sudden silence amongst the Dureen Troops, and a ripple of fear ran through the lines as the Titan blared out a roar over its external speakers.

Suddenly, a familiar deep, rumbling voice spoke over the vox, steadying the nerves of the troops. "That one is mine..." Hundreds of heads turned to see Brother Castagir shifting his position in the line to match that of the Titan.
 

From the opposing ranks, a voice bellowed for silence, and the Chaos Marine clad in the black and red armour strode forwards, and thrust down with his sword embedding it in the ground.

"I challenge..." He shouted "...an enemy champion to honourable one on one combat!" He stood there waiting. "Do you have a champion brave enough to face me?"

Brother Castagir began to move forwards, nodding at the Rogue Trader Regent, but before he had taken more than a step another voice bellowed; "Oi, humie! What are you doin' there! I has already said I wants his 'elmet! I woz promised!"

Castagir paused, and then in the guttural language of the Orks, spoke to the Kolonel. "In that case Kolonel, make sure you collect..."

Shakgul strode forwards, to the sound of cheering from his boyz, and Hartek leaned over to Castagir; "By the way, your Orkish accent's terrible..."

Castagir laughed. "The language was learned via hypno-casque, to help understand a foe, and gain intelligence, it is not often an Ork survives long enough for me to converse with it, and allow me to improve my conversational abilities!"

Hartek conceded the point.

The two warriors approached each other, Shakgul playing up to his boyz; in contrast the Chaos Marine bowed his head respectfully to his opponent before dropping into a fighting stance. Both armies began to work themselves up shouting for their own champion.

Suddenly several of the senior staff noticed that several of the soldiers had edged forward and had drawn weapons, crazed looks on their faces. Kilgrim could sense there was a strange presence on the battlefield; he could feel the anger and rage boiling off people, and for an instant it seemed to him that there were huge, spike collared, hounds standing on the periphery of the armies. Suddenly as quickly as it had arrived, the strange presence passed.

Castagir turned to the Rogue Trader Regent. "We must calm the men, if they forget their training, and rush blindly into battle, we are all lost!"

Hartek agreed, and ordered the men to fall back twenty or thirty metres and face away from the fight, and Major Kimenth began to recite litanies to bring their focus back to the Emperor's Grace. Quickly, the uncontrolled anger drained away and the soldiers got control of themselves once more. The Orks remained where they were shouting at their Warboss.

With a roar Shakgul sprang forward striking down with his power-claw, and at the last moment the Chaos Marine stepped to one side, avoiding a blow that looked like it would penetrate the armour of a tank. He riposted with a couple of quick cuts from his sword, one of which was blocked, but the second left Shakgul bleeding from a gash to his ribs, forcing the massive Ork backwards, shouting with pain. The fallen Astartes leapt forward, thrusting his blade through Shakgul's defences, and impaling the Ork's torso, but when he tried to withdraw the blade, Shakgul grabbed his arm, and drew him closer before unleashing a massive head butt that crumpled the armour on the front of the helmet, staggering the Chaos Marine backwards, and crumpling him to the floor. As he fell, he held on to his sword, pulling it clear of the Ork's body, and then he attempted to parry Shakgul's next attack as the Ork leapt at the prone figure, using his power-claw to try to pin the man to the ground. The fallen Astartes was forced to use both hands to withstand the ferocity of the attack, and scrambled clear, spinning in a semi-circle, smashing the hilt into Shakgul's face, smashing a tusk-like tooth. The Ork grabbed the Chaos Marine again, driving his knee into his midriff, crushing and cracking the power armour with the force of the impact; blood began to ooze from the cracks in the armour. The Chaos Marine forced himself clear, thrusting his sword out as Shakgul charged again, and the Ork ran right onto the blade, grunting with pain. Using the momentum of the attack, the enemy commander flicked the Ork from his blade, and staggered clear, before advancing on the prone Ork. The enemy army cheered and hooted in victory, but the battle was not over; Shakgul drew another blade, and slashed out at his enemy's legs. The Chaos Marine rolled clear before swinging his blade in a huge arc, beheading the unfortunate Kolonel.

This time the enemy ranks roars of triumph were justified as their obviously wounded commander picked up Shakgul's head, and slowly limped back to his lines. There was a stunned silence for the rest of the Orks, and they looked at each other, with what passed for calculating expressions on their faces. Suddenly Shakgul's aides and his pet squig exploded into gobbets of gore, as the other Orks paid them back for years of torment.

Realising what was about to happen, Castagir shouted in Orkish "Whoever kills the spiky humie is the new Boss!"

But it was too late, the Orks began to fight each other, and a dozen different voices could be heard claiming to be the Boss. Hartek realised that there was no chance of gaining control of the mob, and after a suggestion from Major Kimenth ordered the humans to withdraw another twenty to thirty metres, following the reasoning that the enemy forces would need to advance through the fighting Orks, who would not be overly choosy about who they fought, so they might still prove useful in the coming battle.

Over the sound of the Orks bickering and fighting the humans heard the enemy commander bellow "To battle!" and his army began a rumbling advance towards the waiting forces of House Dureen.

Suddenly, the ground shook as the titan took a step forward, and Castagir prepared to respond spinning up the turbines on his jump pack.
 

End of Segment