orbital imagery of the Brotherhood fortress

Deckard looks out over the fleet of ships here to aid them, "Well the brothers will be distracted all right. Looks like it'll just be us two going after Dagget, it'll be easier to get in that way. How are you feeling Cal?"

@Calidorius Odenburg (Charles)

(Yeah. It’s been a day. Let’s light this candle )

"Feeling ready to finally put an end to this. I'll feel even better when I live in a galaxy without that bastard in it" Cal says letting out an uncharacteristic slip of rage. "We need to get in there first. I don't fancy a full frontal assault but I can't see many alternatives"

Deckard puts a hand on Cal's shoulder, "We could approach from the back and scale the wall while their forces concentrate on the small army approaching the gate. Then we stick to close quarters inside where our melee weapons have the advantage over their pistols. As long as we don't run into a large group we should be fine. I'll let you take on Dagget and make keep any guards he has off your back. They won't know what hit em."

"And yet you don't seem to come up with strategies like that when we play the game. I'm starting to worry you're letting me win" Cal says with a smile

"Bah, stupid game. I don't like working in abstracts."

A Tri tone alert plays over the ship speakers as it begins making final maneuvers to get into orbit. Rather than a pod, this time the drop assault for your small team is being done via landing craft. It’s armored and armed, and will land you close to the fort. With the attention focused elsewhere, infiltrating is shaping up to be an easier than normal endeavor

"Just like last time!" one of the deck crew shouts to Cal, as he helps the both of you get into the proper restraint harnesses

Deckard gets in, feeling the pre-fight rush of adrenaline, "Hopefully 'last time' went well for you if this is just like it... Though you've got me this time so we'll be alright."

"Yeah... Went well" Cal says unconvincingly remembering all the times his missions have gone wrong as he straps himself into the harness

(That was meant to come across in a joking way but reading back sounds melancholic and sad hahaha poor Cal and his dark and mysterious past)

(Good thing hammers dont have an edge)

The harnesses lock around you and you feel a squeeze as the pressure holds you to the seat. There is a bang as the hatch shuts and outside you see the mech dropship and the door-kicking team ships move away, along with their drop ships filled with armsmen. A countdown from ten seconds ticks down and there is a violent shove from above as the drop ship is released from its hoist and sent out into the atmosphere

Deckard holds on tightly as they descend, still not wholey comfortable with the transition of space to land travel. "Ugh, I've been to three whole planets before, you'd think I'd be comfortable with this by now. Much happier on land or even more so in water. If I ever get my own ship it'll have a swimming pool for sure."

"We make it through this I'll buy you a ship with a swimming pool in it" Cal says between his rattling teeth. "Somehow I don't think I'll be happier once we land"

Deckard gives a tense grin to Cal before closing his eyes and waiting for them to land.

Below you, the formation of CIS drop craft is obscured as the fortress is suddenly engulfed in a blinding light. When your vision returns, you see smoky contrails across the sky, and the formation has vanished. Dozens of smaller fires pepper the ground, and the comm channel has far fewer voices on it than it did before. only this flyer, and one of the others is still functional

The castle grows closer, and another countdown from thirty seconds begins to wind down

"Well damn. Glad we didnt drop with the others. Hopefully there are enough left to keep the focus off of us."

The anti air field seems to be recharging now and the drop craft slings you low across the landscape to a hilly escapement of land 500m from the northeast wall of the castle. The harness rises and there is a blinking green light signaling you can get out.

It seems that most of the attention is on the battle at the front gate right now

Deckard exits the craft, stretching and bouncing on the balls of his feet, "Alright, it's game time. Let's go get em."

Ahead, the wall is tall and topped with spiked barbicans. Two brotherhood sharpshooters keep watch over the relatively rolling terrain leading up to the wall

Deckard pulls out what clearly used to be a brotherhood pistol, "Got anything ranged? I might be able to take out one if you can the other." (How far are we from them?)

"I'm more of an up close and personal kind of guy but I'll try and draw their fire away from you"

(Can I get within 50m to execute or would they clearly see me?)

A gentle feeling of warmth begins filling Cal's veins as the hammer in his hands senses this is one of the pivotal moments it was made for, imbuing him with strength for the trials ahead (cal can use torrent of energy, and you can get within 50m to make an attempt)

(Execution: sunblade/dex 10)

The shot is true, and clean, rewarding you with a splatter of red and the first sharpshooter falling down the front of the wall, marksmans rifle coming with him

(so hes on your side of the wall, fell outside the fort)

(Cal can essentially shoot a bolt of energy using his sunblade skill in place of shoot, if his shoot is worse)

(6d6 damage for Cal since he's level 6)

(My shoot is much worse. Rolled a 9 on sunblade skill. Do i do damage?)

(Still enough)

The second shooter likewise falls, joining his friend at the bottom of the wall

Deckard keeps an eye out for other guards as he approaches the wall. "Wanna boost me up? Unless you can smash through the wall we're going to have to risk those spikes up there."

(the guards each have their rifles, and 2 magma grenades, if you need anything)

(I assume they're normal rifles not sunblade weapons. Deck will take one of the grenades and give the other to Cal)

(normal sniper rifles)

(How thick does the wall look? Does it look like something they could break down?)

(With your hammer and being all juiced up right now you probably feel like you can Thor it down)

(or Thor a hole)

Cal raises his hammer to the sky, accruing his radient energy into the deadly weapon. He begins whirling it to his side, gradually increasing speed and with the speed power before slamming it into the wall of the complex with such mighty force the ground shakes

The impact back through your arm is tremendous, throwing you off balance, and onto your back. the wall for a long moment looks like nothing has happened, before it begins to spiderweb. the cracks grow larger, and pieces of the stone begin to fall away, before large boulders tumble inside the newly created hole.

a plume of dirty smoke blooms up from the newly created debris pile

(You guys are at the east, between that round building and the Zigzag piece below it)

Deckard stands, blinking. "Alright. Well. I need to get myself an ancient mystical weapon it seems. Cool. Where do you think Dagget will be?"

Cal smiles as he stands back up, stretching his arm from the pain. "You can have this one once this is all over with. I think I could use a break from it." Cal surveys the scene. "I don't know much about egomanical shrines people make for themselves, but I've got a nagging sensation that the building over there looks like one" Cal says pointing at the round building in the North east

The doors of the building open (youre out of sight, they're coming out the front and heading up and around to reinforce the gate) and another pack of the geneforged labor thralls is being released. This band has a handful of firearms among them, and a trio of brotherhood sunblades follow

"Alright, looks like the distraction at the gate is working at least. Let's go while we have the chance." Deckard approaches quietly, hunched down so he's harder to see. He glances around a moment before peeking in the door.

Cal follows Deckard, keeping a close eye on the ones that headed towards the main gate

Entering the gate you find yourselves in a security area. The heavily reinforced door leading deeper into the building is undergoing the slow process of swinging closed. You can see bright lights beyond it

Seeing the door closing Deckard slips in and rushes over, whispering to Cal, "Hurry, we need to go quickly!"

Cal goes with and tries to slip inside the door before it fully closes

The both of you slide underneath the door seconds before it closes. You emerge into a room lit almost blindingly white. It mists from above and the air smells like some kind of quasi industrial cleaner. DECONTAMINATION IN PROGRESS flashes on the wall with five seconds remaining on the timer. The door then clicks open, and the following room is something out of a bizarre dream

Hundreds, close to a thousand viewscreen fill almost every available surface of the room aside from the door in and out. Most show just views of streets of towns. Things like traffic cameras, ATM machine cameras , and closed circuit televisions. People go about their daily life unaware they are being observed by this distant place

One bank in particular draws your attention. The UNW council chamber is clearly the focus , showing a commanding view of the speaker podium and the floor. It appears other corporate and faction links had also been snooped on this way. Things like fleet movements, suspected cargoes of ships, and garrison locations are all mapped out- as are brotherhood disruption plans made from overheard UNW council discussions

(He has dusted the UNW capital space station with panoptic nannites as a past agency action)

Deckard glances at the screens for a moment before scanning the room for enemies, "Looks like they've had eyes on the UNW for some time... no wonder we never catch their raids."

(Room is empty of anyone but you right now)

Gun camera footage from the hit on Heras and the crashing of the free merchant into the temple of ares is also playing. There are plans drawn up and simulated for a raid on Galeta wearing UNW uniforms , though the ships responsible for it are no longer responding

There is also a desk laid out with an additional plot to assault buey to strip the pretech components out of the terraforming engine there, but the plan has been shelved for now

Deckard looks at the various plots and pieces and screens wide eyed, "I think Dagget would give you a run for your money at chess..."

Something stomps loudly in the room Beyond, shaking the monitors

Deckard cautiously steps towards the next room, harpoon sparking with electricity, "Sounds like this is the end through here. You ready?"

"I am, but we might not come out of the next room alive, and we can't allow the one we're in now to continue existing. We need to take care of it before we move on. Do you have any explosives?" Cal asks regreting not bringing his own.

Deckard pulls out the magma grenade found on the guards, "This should do the trick. And if we dont come.out alive, it's been a pleasure and an honor Cal." Deckard gives a semi-mocking solute before tossing the grenade at the computers and plans and walking into the next room.

the super heated jets of molten chemical blanket the room and eventually find enough fuel on their own to continue burning. One by one, monitors crack and screens fall. Computer banks blacken and go dark. The next room is a massive dome and takes most of the floor plan of this facility. A giant mechanical form has its back to you and seems to be surrounded by a group of underhill warriors. With a gesture of its outstretched mechanical arm, they scurry off into the holes bored into the wall, back outside

More screens populate the room though are much larger and are projected onto the dome ceiling. These appear to be first person views of the underhill, and the longer you’re watch the more it appears they’re acting with a level of intelligence far beyond what drones are known for

Knight-Commander Dagget is an armored sarcophagus , mounted in a heavily armored mechanized body. Wires, pipes, cables and tubes extend from the casket into other parts of the psi mech his burial tomb has been turned into

“Calidorious Odenburg. You survived the purge. “ he says matter of factly

(Someone has been reading too much warhammer again Neko)

(He’s like a janky version. Not a dreadnought)

Cal stops for a second unsure of what to say. He's spent his entire life imagining this moment and all of the clever things he could say but in the actual moment he is lost for words. HIs brain is focussed on only one thing. Revenge

All his training of serenity and calm are gone, there is nothing but rage as he screams and charges the man who has haunted his nightmares for his entire life. His hammer's radient energy is the only source of light in this dark and dingy room

(30m away right now , you do have torrent of energy available. Let’s get initiatives as you charge)

(That's a solid 1 to initiative)

(What is my movement again?)

(Elemental warrior also has a ranged attack)

(10m , but you can spend your main action to double it)

(6 for Deckard's initiative)

(Deckard, dagget, cal) (edited)

Deckard sprints forward, spear held out towards the large mechanized commander, ready to dodge incoming attacks as he runs. (Double move)

The coils and wiring begins to pulse with energy and a cone of projected electrical current narrowly misses deckard as the mind burner fires. Dagget sets his iron feet and prepares to meet the charge, MES knife igniting in the other hand

(Cal)

Cal, while charging unleashes a blast of his torrent of energy (13) blasting into Daggets chest

(Right now you're rolling a sunblade skill check which is 2d6, an attack would be a d20, torrent of energy actually automatically hits with a save for half damage. So you'd roll 6d6 for damage and it'd cost a sunblade effort)

(I’ll roll his save)

(Pass. I’ll take half the result when we know it.)

(Sorry still trying to get back up to speed with this syste,. 24 damage roll)

(You're good, its been a long while for you)

The energy strikes the mech in a buffeting wave and Dagget plants one of the clawed iron feet into the ground. Actuators and hydraulic assists slam as it braces itself against the unleashed force, paint slightly blacking from the angle of your attack

(Deckard)]

Deckard stays put 10m away from the mech and throws his harpoon, but the throw is off and glances off the mech's armor mostly harmlessly before returning to Deckard's hand in a flash of lightning. (10/12) (edited)

(5 shock vs AC20)

(Dagget up @Reverend Levi McClain (Dax'olli) )

(Sounds like neither of you are in melee range yet, so I'm going to do a thing.) The Knight-Commander's mechanical body begins to glow and thrum a deep blue that quickly brightens in intensity until it's a brilliant white. A cone-shaped explosion arcs out from his body towards the both of you. Lances of MES energy harden into shards of ice, coating the entire area with cold daggers. (28 damage, Evasion save for half damage)

(If I'm wrong and one of you was in melee range, I would jump back first before doing the blast, giving you a free melee attack on me.)

(Save 11v10)

(They were both in melee)

(Deck stayed back 10m since he can throw his)

(Ah just cal then)

(Melle attack of 21 with 12 damage and then 3/10 on the evasion save)

(28 damage on Cal and you're up now.)

(Ouch. That's a solid 1hp left.)

Cal grunts at the weight of the blast forces him to his knees, but he turns the momentum in on himself using it to push himself forward swinging wildly with his hammer (21 attack 10 damage)

The hammer begins to glow , just as it did during the dark passageway in Creusa. For a moment it feels like being back there, fighting for breath as Remnant chainveil fighters advanced mercilessly down the tunnel. Then, suddenly light. The light returns now, and cal feels some of the hammers power re knitting his wounds (1 sunblade effort committed for sunblade level d6 healing )

(Deckard up )

(The DM is ever gracious)

Deckard runs into melee range, flanking the mech with Cal, body aching from the vicious energy blast as he swings his harpoon. (15/12; 5 shock)

The harpoon finds no purchase in the armored body of Dagget, and he responds in kind by slicing out at Deckard with his long-blade MES knife. "Get out, boy." (18/15) (edited)

Deckard narrowly dodges the oversized knife, the blow glancing off his shield.

(Cal up)

Cal strikes out trying to to smash his way through Daggets thick armour (17/13)

The hammer connects with a resounding thud and Dagget shrugs it off to continue his assualt on the Merlon. "I said," he punctuates his words with a sweeping kick of a mechanical leg and skewers Deckard in mid-air with his MES knife. "Stay. OUT!" (24/12) (edited)

(I'll let Neko resolve this bit before we move on.)

(Deckard's down)

The knife falls into the ground, blade sinking several inches deep with the impaled body of Deckard on it. The Merlon still breathes , but barely. He aspirates blood, internal organs inside the body cavity destroyed

( )

(The MES knife is a heavy weapon , so he is beyond saving I believe by anything that’s on hand)

(Bringing us back to cal)

Cal's fury, having worked for him so far, finds him once again as he unleashes a torrent of blows againt Dagget (24/10)

(Solid hit!) The mech now looks heavily damaged. Fluids of all nature’s trickle down pipes and tubes, like the mech has been caught in a rainstorm localized only on itself

Small jets of oil seep out of various bits of the Knight-Commander's mechanized body as it protests the abuse. The glowing MES knife disappears and plunges the chamber into further darkness as Dagget leaps backwards out of the range of the divine hammer. (Fighting Withdrawl for Main Action.) "It's not too late, Calidorius," a wearied, gravelly voice says. "Your strength is undeniable, and your persistence is... noble, but foolish. Tenebria Secondus marches ever closer with each passing day. Not even my death can stop it. Call off this assault, and join me to usher in a new era. I seek only to cleanse the filth from this sad sector."

"There's only one source of filth in this sector and I'm about to cleanse it of that" Cal says moving to close the gap between the two

(my go?)

(Yeah your go)

Closing the distance once more, unwilling to relent, Cal goes for what he hopes to be the final blow he has to ever make with his hammer

(26/6)

The hammer crashes down with thundering force. The broad head shatters the ornamental stone and the metal beneath. There is a tumble of metal as the mech sinks onto its feet and the mangled body of knight commander Dagget tumblesfrom the casket.

The body is pale, and breathing in sharp hikes

Cal, upon seeing the weakness of his enemy, calms down and recollects his senses he dashes over to Deckard to check the health of his friend

Deckard is gone, pinned to the deck by the now dull MES knife. The fierce Merlon warrior’s features are at peace , and it is the first time you have ever seen them this way. His harpoon lays on the deck a meter from his outstretched hand.

Your radios crackle on the general channel before Dorian’s voice begins transmitting, “Coalition forces, Outrider 1. The fortress’s generator looks to be going critical. Expedite your egress from the fortress. Comet flight is on standby for pickup. This place is going to blow!”

Cal listens to the message but pays it no heed. What he has to do is more important than getting out of here alive. He picks up Deckard's harpoon where it lies on the ground near him and makes his way over to Dagget. "Any last words?" Cal asks but rather than wait for an answer he uses the blade of the harpoon, in one swift motion, to cut the head off the snake, decapitating Dagget. "Guess not". Cal says. Looking around Cal tries to establish if he has enough time to escape with Deckard's body

There looks to be enough time to escape. With the sunshine field down, the dropships come in close, and one sets down outside.

Daggets head continues rolling free

Cal picks up the body of his friend and drags him out to the dropship, loading the body into the dropship. It is not until the dropship is leaving the atmosphere that he realises the burden of his hammer no longer holds him down. He visualises it lying beside Dagget as the building exploded around him, freeing him of his lfielong burden

Sunderhead has completed its purpose, and although the power fades, it does not entirely leave Cal's body. The Temple of the Knotted Wheel has a future now, if it wants it. Violet and Cage are doing well in administering things around the campus, and the Remnant Captain, converted at Creusa has the makings of an effective drill instructor. One day soon, when the galaxy gets to breathe again, there might be new Justices of Vandar , fighting alongside whoever is in need of them. For now, and maybe forever, the warm sun and sandy beaches of Tereznino beckon. Governor Whitaker is a good friend, and the ramfish should be basking this time of year... (edited)

❤️