[@Necroes][@BCTheEntity][@Wraithblade6][@Klomster][@Sophrus][@agentmanatee]



The Emperor's Child shook his head even as he walked toward the 'bridge' area of the smaller vessel, created specifically as a self-contained exploratory craft (the pre-Heresy brains really did think of everything...), ignoring the clearly confused Ogryn but not allowing his slightly garbled words to leave his mind; the Emperor had won, but not before Horus betrayed him in the first instance? Now he sat on...a throne? It appeared he wasn't dead, but Vedius saw no real evidence that he were among them either – those warrior women were one clear example of that. The other more glaring one was Azazel and his distinctly chaotic appearance and attitude, and what had he said about them all being traitors?!

What had he gotten himself into? What had he gotten this poor vessel into? Would he need to dispatch all those present here before he could consider himself safe?

Such thoughts were forcefully pushed aside as he placed himself into the commanders throne, built more for a human frame than his own genetically altered mass, creaking beneath him as he tapped commands into a number of glowing panels to his left, right and centre. He had never been trained to fly a vessel, nothing larger than a Thunderhawk at least, but they had to get out of here and into wider space...after that they could either kill one another or decide what to do.

“Will you all be [b]silent[/b]!” He snapped at them, not even glancing round, his voice carrying quite clearly nevertheless, “whatever year this is...no matter if what the Ogryn says is true...I am trying to free us here.”

There had to be some form of auto-pilot, as no-one here appeared capable or in their right mind to contemplate flying [b]anything[/b] at this point. No...there had to be...maybe it was this one!

It was [b]not[/b] that one, he discovered after tapping in half-forgotten rune code, but the entire structure about them did begin to shake. A promising start. Further bits and pieces bought life to the thrusters and some kind of forward momentum, although no direction as of yet, minutes turning into half-an-hour and they were finally beginning to float away from the main hulk – or they could have seen that they were, had anyone been able to see from the outside.

“We're moving,” huffed the Palatine Blade with a thin smile, “we're moving!” He yelled over his shoulder, not certain whether his compatriots would be thankful for such news or not; he decided to leave out that he had no control as to [i]where[/i] they were going.

Indeed they were going, the smaller craft firing out into the void of space and heading on a trajectory that would take them directly past Outpost 3-12/19. Not only that, but vessels had began to move toward them from somewhere on the fringes of the scanners, others appearing on the other side of the Outpost.



[hr]



“My liege, the Hawk Lords have arrived!”

The elation in the voice of McNespey was palpable, his wobbling jowls continuing to do so even once his mouth had ceased to move, and Commodore Harker had to grit his teeth in order to stop himself cutting off the general sense of celebration that had spread over the bridge at the news.

There were several smaller craft and a strike cruiser, not the sort of response that Harker had been waiting for, but it would have to do...

“Tell those Imperial vessels present to move aside them, and regale them of the situation.”

“Aye si-,” McNespey stopped and peered for a moment at the long-range scanners, rubbing the screen as if to remove a speck of dirt, then looking back to his commanding officer, “there's something else moving toward us, something smaller than an escort-class vessel, sir. It appears to be an Emperor's Child exploration craft.”

Harker could not believe his ears, his nose emitting a high-pitched nasal wheeze, but any orders were cut off before he could give them.

“There are other ships...ghost-blips on the scanner...thin ships of xenos origin.”

“Eldar?” Grunted the slender Commodore, like a parent deriding a hated and handicapped child, “my God-Emperor, is there no-one who has not arrived to pester me?!”

“Your orders, lord?”

“Yes...yes!” Waved away the elderly soldier, “attack the Eldar.”

“Lord?”

“You heard me! Send their last known location to the Astartes and request that they assist us against these raiders. Request mind you, the Emperor's Angels do not like being ordered around by mere mortals.”

“As you wish, lord,” confirmed the blubbery Liaison-officer, “His will be done.”