thewizardguy

Multiverse Rising: Reborn

@supertinyking
The figure batted the sheath out of the air with the sword in his off hand, even as he once more called on his strange magic. He stepped aside of the tongue at the last moment, recognizing it as a threat. This figure moved with inhuman grace and agility, dodging an attack even as Ozo initiated it, even as the magic it called upon flowed around him. As Ozo moved close enough to strike the spell was completed, a blast of energy shooting outwards, emanating from the stranger. Everything nearby was blasted backwards and burned, and Ozo would suffer the same fate. When he stood once more his opponent would be standing in the middle of a small crater, the air filled with the smell of burning corpses and a strange stinging smell that lingers on the mind.

However, the stranger was ready for his next trick. A strange white mist covered the being, cloaking it from view for a moment. And when the mist slowly siphoned away, it was like a completely opponent had appeared where the previous had been but moments before. This figure wore a massive suit of steel plated armour. The armour had an almost golden sheen, and was of unknown origin. It included white decorative cloths and golden jewelry. And as the figure stepped, the ground beneath his feet cracked, indicating an immense weight. This was not an armour that could be worn by normal humans.

The figure hefted a massive blade, forged from a shining white material and adorned with golden patterns and runes. It was almost 2 meters long in total, wielded in one hand, and it exuded an almost divine presence, a glowing white sheen that moved across the blade, a slight yellow-golden glow along the edge. As he did so, glowing lightning enveloped the weapon, the very blade seemingly turning into a solid beam of writing golden energy. The enemy moved into a slow bow, after which it stepped forward, swinging the massive weapon like it was a much smaller sword, aiming to slice Ozo in half.

Multiverse Rising: Reborn

@supertinyking@Nightknight@Absolis@Gentlemanvaultboy

A single duel. Interesting. It certainly appeared that this strange beastman would be a worthy opponent in single combat. He had fought Enki without a gunman of his own, and dealt serious damage, a feat in and of itself. The 'devil' would need to be seen as a serious threat. Viral moved into a rather unorthodox stance, nearly crossing his arms while pointing the blade inwards. Viral's combat style was entirely based on abusing his superior agility to catch his opponents by surprise, and defying expectations. He had learned from an old enemy that even a single surprise attack can turn the tide of a fight.

Shooting forward, Viral shifted into a series of quick slashing strikes, his blade moving like a bolt of lightning through the air as he bobbed and weaved in place, following Viral around. He didn't circle, and didn't even really dodge to the side, maintaining a duelist's relative position while waving around like a piece of gras in the wind, aiming the blade to take advantage of chinks if his opponent's armour, often taking a shot at Firebrand's relatively exposed head. "I will end this quickly! You'll see why I am the Captain of the Human Extermination Squad!"

Multiverse Rising: Reborn

@Flamelord
Depending on how many solar systems along it is, estimate they've got about 15 minutes for every solar system traveled. So 15 minutes if they stopped at the first one, 30 if they stopped at the second, etc. Although I'm not sure why they'd skip over solar systems in the first place.

Multiverse Rising: Reborn

@Flamelord

They're able to track the direction in which the ship started it's jump, based on the effect jumping has on the space around it. Most FTL travel operates on one of 2 principles: bending space to allow for ftl travel, or dropping into another dimension temporarily. The Imperium is adept at the latter, I assume the Goa'Uld are using that as well. As such they're able to track the direction in which the ship moved at the start of it's jump. They then move along that line, stopping at every solar system in the path, although they wouldn't keep tracking after a certain distance. If the Goa'Uld were to exit FTL and then immediately make another jump, they'd probably lose the Imperium, or at least severely slow them down. It wouldn't make much sense to do, though, as they don't know they're being tracked.

Tracking jumps of a cloaked ship like that, BTW, is quite hard to do. Normal ships can't do it. But the Rock is a space station owned by the Dark Angels, who are obsessive about secrets and uncovering them. Hence why they developed an entire branch of psionics dedicated to extracting information from enemies mid-battle. So the Rock's sensors are pretty much the best in the Imperium.

Multiverse Rising: Reborn

@Flamelord
Well, there was kind of an agreement. And making expansionist efforts in the middle of a global crisis is doomed to attract unwanted attention. But if the Goa'Uld are diplomatic, conflict might be avoided.

@Nightknight
Understood. I'll wait on you to post for Vulga, but ignore you in this round for Viral, assuming you don't post before I get around to it naturally.

Multiverse Rising: Reborn

@Wraithblade6
The commander nodded, before taking Mithias with him. A large node-like construct built in the style of a cathedral spire sat in the center of the square, and a quick gesture in it's direction caused a portal to open, through which Mithias was moved. Presumably it had some form of psionic interface, although Mithias had seen a more physical interface as well in the brief moments before he was whisked away. At this point to struggle against his 'saviours' would have been pointless, as he was in the middle of the Imperium. The Throne City, capital of the New Imperium, and home to the Emperor himself. He was marched through corridors and rooms filled with various Space Marine soldiers, moved by portal from location to location, occasionally switching hands. It was like he was being hoisted up the chain of command by the ever present armoured gauntlet on his shoulder, stopping occasionally for a conversation between high-ranking officials.

After a dizzying little adventure into the surprisingly complex world of Imperial politics, Mithias found himself sitting in a massive golden room adorned tastefully with giant pillars and skulls, which appeared to be a repeating fashion. The ceiling arched away into the distance, and the waiting room itself was large enough that you could have reasonably fitted a few middle-class homes inside of it. Sitting in front of Mithias was a small wooden chair, and a table upon which sat a bowl of chocolate chip cookies. The small gesture of hospitality was painfully out of place in the vast grand hall, which possessed an aura of uncaring magnificence, like some vast hall of worship, but with an underlying tone of military power.

After a perhaps uncomfortably long period of time, a figure entered the hall. He was impossibly tall, standing at a bit over 3 meters. Mithias just about came to the man's nipples on tippy toe. More than his physical height, perhaps, it was the sheer aura of power around him that made him seem massive. When he walked into the room, the vast hall somehow almost seemed small by comparison, as if this figure's sheer presence had filled up every nook and cranny. When Mithias looked up at the figure's face, exposed above his light green and yellow power armour, he was greeted by jet-black skin and glowing red eyes, giving the figure a demonic appearance. This was counterbalanced by an almost kind smile, as the Primarch slowly and carefully sat down in front of Mithias.

Vulkan looked over the vampire, before reaching over and delicately grabbing a cookie from the platter. It was a feat of dexterity in and of itself to hold the cookie in the massive armoured gauntlets, each easily the size of Mithias' head, without shattering it. "You know, my father told me these used to be a common delicacy on ancient Terra. But the knowledge of how to make them, and the habit of doing so, was lost during the Unification Wars." He smiled, as he popped the cookie into his mouth. "For a while I wondered why it was this lost knowledge he chose to impart on us before he left us once more. Why he had not granted us the designs of the great Mars factories which could design a fleet of ships overnight, or the ancient Chapter Flagships once constructed as small fleets in and of themselves. Or perhaps the knowledge of how he created his sons in the first place. But instead, he chose some small Earth treat." He mused over this for a moment, holding another one of the cookies up to his face. "After a while I realized that some things lost in war are more precious than ancient technologies, and advanced war machines. A lesson perhaps the old Imperium had forgotten. In war it's the small things that go away, the little things that can never come back."

Sighing, Vulcan put down the cookie, before looking Mithias in the eye. He looked like a tired monarch, albeit one with black skin and glowing red eyes. Not the look one would have expected from the leader of the Imperium. "An ancient foe has awaken on this world. My men tell me you may have imporant information. Please, tell me everything."

Multiverse Rising: Reborn

@Tyki@Supertinyking@Nightknight

Unflinching, Amon fired a shot from his Bolter at the ground in front of the creature, about 3m away from him to ensure both parties understood it was a warning shot, not an attack. But Amon wanted this creature to realize the severity of it's situation, and the small crater formed by the Bolter shell made it clear that these were not toy guns. "By standard Imperial code of conduct, you are-"

"I'm taking command." The simply command shut Amon up, as Remus stepped forward. The man was surrounded by an aura of power, Warp energy flowing about him as he preemptively shielded himself and his men from psionic attack. While Amon made for an excellent warrior, this situation might require a degree of subtelty the man did not possess. As such, Rhemus would take charge of the situation, temporarily leaving Vulga to his own devices. "Xenos. You have intruded on Arcadia, quite probably by accident. A phenomena on this world causes powerful beings to be transported to it through as of yet unknown means. However, despite the accidental nature of your arrival, you are reponsible for dealing severe damage to property belonging to a current ally of the Imperium, and may have damaged or destroyed crucial information. Realize that your position now is one of severe suspicion, and reevaluate your responses as such, creature, for you do not wish to make an enemy of the denizens of this world." This was perhaps the most diplomatic a space marine got when dealing with a potentially hostile alien lifeform.

"I will indulge you in informing you that our purpose here was to retrieve important information you may have just destroyed in order to avert a possible cataclysm which would destroy this entire solar system. The possibility exists that recent events will cause the formation of a singularity from nothing, perhaps transported to this location in much the same fashion you were. We are also here to prevent several incredibly dangerous factions of hostile aliens from seizing this information for their various goals, and to protect the mutant who originally revealed the existence of the information to us." Rhemus looked over to where he believed the creature's face would have been, had it had one. "We will not put down our weapons as long as the possibility exists that you are a threat. As such, I would ask you return the courtesy of explanation, and elaborate on your purpose here. Should you be deemed not to be a threat to us or the Imperium we represent we will happily extend the hand of friendship, but first you must explain yourself."

Martin meanwhile received a couple of odd looks, but none of the marines made moves to stop him. In this particular situation, nobody thought it was unreasonable to want to be armed, even if it was with a weird blue-coloured crystal.

Multiverse Rising: Reborn

I love the Imperium. They make everything 10 times as big as it needs to be, and then cover it in guns and castles.

Multiverse Rising: Reborn

@Flamelord

- Supreme Grand Master Asrael -

The Rock was in high panic mode, servitors and marines rushing to their duties as ships and weapons alike were made ready for action. From it's position high in orbit, the advanced scanning equipment of the Dark Angels mobile space fortress had been monitoring the events of the peace meeting. While even their technology was unable to give detailed reports without altering their orbit, they would be able to detect any major occurences and interfere in the case of foul play. And given the events of the past few hours, they were none too happy.

Frowning, Asrael stared at the screens full of data as panicked officials and marines shouted reports in his direction. Not that he was usually such a cheerful person, but these events called for had calls. First it appeared that a truly massive ship had appeared, a weapon comparable only to the Great Crusade vessels prepared for personal use by the Primarchs. And even then most paled in comparison. It was a potentially devastating superweapon, and Asrael was tempted to initiate combat maneuvers the moment it appeared. However, Kaldor had not yet requested backup. Asrael didn't like it, but for the moment Kaldor spoke for the Emperor in matters of war, and he had been given express orders not to intervene without direct orders from Kaldor.

"Prepare all battlecruisers, and ready orbital weaponry. I want the chapter ready for war." Asrael's words were calm but resolute, and they stirred the soldiers around him into an even greater frenzy of activity. He would be ready for anything. And when two Goa'Uld combat craft moved into the forbidden zone, he was inches from ordering an all-out attack. It was conceivable that even an individual of Kaldor's strength had been overwhelmed in combat, but it didn't appear that weapons were being discharged. Some kind of standoff had ensued, and he still didn't have any orders from the 'Commander General'. Grimacing, Asrael waited for events to play out, occasionally giving orders to prepare specific ships or companies for combat.

Eventually, massive weapons discharge was discovered. Asrael stood, about to order an assault, when reports began flooding in of a new opponent appearing. It appeared that it was not one of the local Xenos that had broken the peace, but the Tyranid, an ancient and dangerous foe from the home universe of the Empire. This was bad news. Asrael had faced these creatures more than once in his efforts to stop the Tyranid hive fleets from devouring the galaxy, and no victory had been 'easy'. Any victory of such creatures was Pyrrhic at best. Weapons were prepared, but an orbital strike would also eliminate the xenos leaders. And if these truly were Tyranid, then they would all need to work together in order to repel this threat. That's when his 'orders' finally came.

'Tyranid threat detected, secure ocean perimeter, sweep sector for hive ships.'

It appeared Kaldor lived after all. Asrael might have issues with working under the command of an outsider, but he recognised sensible orders when he saw them, and immediately relayed the relevant commands. They would scour the skies for any hive ships, and ensure they did not spread. The greatest threat of a Tyranid attack was their ability to 'infect' entire worlds, making them completely uninhabitable even as the very terrain was devoured by great devourer swarms. If left unconctrolled, the Tyranid army could double in size less than a week after arrival, a devastating prospect to face.

Borders to other faction lands could not be controlled without breaking peace agreements, so Asrael merely sent them information pertaining to the potential spread of Tyranid organisms, and the mutagenic effect they could have on local fauna and flora. A proper guard would need to be maintained to ensure they didn't spread, and if any one faction were to fail in this duty, all would pay the cost of their negligence. Meanwhile the Imperium deployed several light cruiser vehicles and elimination squads with the goal of destroying any large groups of fauna or flora bordering on the ocean. Thunderhawks carried servitors and supplies, allowing for the rapid construction of auger sentry posts. While it was impossible to wall off an entire ocean, posts such as these could scan large areas for life-forms and inform the fleet of any Tyranid expansion. A fleet could then be dispatched to deal with them before they were able to retrieve any biomass, and in the process damage the main hive.

Of course, such efforts would be completely useless if the hiveships themselves were able to move around unchecked. If a full hive fleet was encroaching, then they could do no more than evacuate and exterminatus the planet before moving to another location, hoping the Tyranid wouldn't be able to track them to the next solar system. However, perhaps even more worrying, there wasn't a single sign of a Tyranid invasion in the skies. No small precursor infection ships, no great fleets, or even space-borne organisms of any kind. Space was as empty and desolate as it appeared. And despite heavy Auger and Astropath scanning of practically everything in the sector, no hidden force revealed itself. Tyranids were not ones for stealth, or at least the fleets themselves weren't, relying on their speed and nigh unstoppable force to take planets, as well as the inability to track their interstellar travel, which was still a mystery to the Empire.

In the course of such scanning, however, something interesting popped up on the radar. Even as Asrael coordinated countermeasures to the confirmed xenos ground forces, a lone official gave him a rather odd report. A warp jump had been detected, of unknown type. The vehicle had been heavily cloaked, and even the Rock's scanning devices weren't able to pierce it. But war- and hyperdrives of all kinds left telltale traces which could be picked up by the Rock's delicate sensory equipment. But if they hadn't been on high alert, they might not even have picked it up.

It was possible that this was a Tyranid ship, moving to a different world. Perhaps attempting to devour that world to construct a new hive vessel, and then to return to this world with a new army. Or perhaps it was a newly constructed ship, sent out to regain contact with the main hive fleet, and to bring them to this world. The Tyranid method of movement left no traces, however, and as such the chances of this being a Tyranid vessel were low. Potentially worse, however, would be a xenos vessel infected with the Genestealer Gene, unknowing pawns of the hive mind, ready to lead their civilisation into chaos. And even if this somehow had no relevance to the Tyranid whatsoever it was a potential threat, which could not be ignored.

"Trace the jump, I want to know where they went, when, and the size of the warping force." He gestured to several trusted tech priests, who immediately began analysing and configuring the data, even while others attempted to acquire additional information. Turning towards one of his many subcommanders, he issued his next orders. "I want the Fist of Heaven and the Devastation prepared for combat. The Fist of Heaven will remain in our hangars, the Devastation will be deployed. No escorts. I want a full company of marines on that ship, in additional to a full complement of servitors." It was a large orders. The chapter was hardly in any shape to deploy in such numbers, and nowadays every ship was a commodity. The Empire fleet was small in number, but they made up for it in individual quality. And one ship would be more than enough to deal with any threat that might be present, besides an actual Hive Fleet.

---

As the Devastation emerged from the Rock's hangar, it was a glorious sight indeed. At the front was a massive adamantine plate, presenting the imagery of a massive battleram, and absorbing frontal attacks. Beneath this wall of metal was a massive energy lance weapon, for long-ranged frontal assault. Along the sides of these frontal compartments stoof rows upon rows of high-powered macro canons, weapons that are to bolters what cruise missiles are to hand grenades. Hundreds of these guns could rip through enemy ships in mere moments, firing shells the size of cars at high speed. On top of it's large, cathedral-like design sat a massive Nova Canon, followed by it's brother a couple of hundred meters behind and placed slightly higher. These immense weapons of mass destruction had barrels nearly 100m long, and their long-range combat potential was practically unmatched. Behind these two canons sat a castle-like construction that functioned as a sensory array and communications terminal. More interestingly was what lay beneath the Nova Canons, in the middle of the ship. There sat the immense combat hangars of the Mars-Class Battle Cruiser, filled to the brim with fighter craft. These smaller ships were still terrifyingly capable, deployed to harass enemy ships after the heavier weapons disabled the enemy's shields, as well as fending off enemy fighter squadrons. Behind the hangar bay lay a large series of weapon cannons, reserved mainly for the heavy-duty massive energy canons that formed the secondary block of main ship combat weaponry, together with the macro canons. The two groups firing together formed a broadside that could wipe out entire fleets of lesser ships. This was also where the Torpedo Launch Tubes were located, allowing the ship to bring it's many specialist torpedoes to bear against slow-moving distant targets, in addition to deploying a special variety of drop pod intended to pierce enemy armour and deploy squads of armed space marines inside. Far below, mounted on what almost appeared to be a dorsal fin, were laser-based Lance weapons, firing a high-powered but highly concentrated burst of energy intended to melt through enemy armour and disable crucial systems. These weapons might not be as effective against Void Shields as the sheer barrage force of the main weapon banks, but they would turn armour to mush, and could cripple enemy ships with their focused bursts.

All in all, the Devastation numbered a crew of 100.000 servitors, not including the odd 100 Space Marines, tanks and war machines the ship carried into battle. This was necessary, considering the ship's impressive length at 5.4 km, a size comparable to the Anubis Mothership employed by the Goa'Uld. Compared to the power of this Battle Cruiser, practically any other galactic navy fell short. But it was also it's size and power that formed it's main disadvantage - scarcity. Even before their relocation to Arcadia ships of such calibre had been scarce, but now they were impossibly rare, and a logistical nightmare to deploy in bulk. Only about five had made their way to Arcadia at all, and the Rock lacked the sheer manpower to deploy them all. Regardless, the fact that such a weapon had been deployed would certainly garner some attention from any other factions watching the skies.

Purple energies gathered around the ship as a massive portal seemed to form in front of it. The cruiser sailed into the purple storm, geller fields fully active as it temporarily dropped into the Warp. It would use a short hop through this nightmarish realm to follow the Goa'Uld ship, using it's space-altering properties to 'skip' the conventional direct route. While this was slightly slower than the Goa'Uld's more practical warp drive, they wouldn't have much time before they discovered this ship emerging wherever they had chosen to move, potentially guns blazing.

Multiverse Rising: Reborn

@Wraithblade6

- Imperium -

As Mithias approached the coast, he might have expected a wall of some kind. Of course, to wall off the entirety of the Imperium would have required an immense amount of resources, and was mostly pointless against the enemies the Imperium faced. Instead, the Imperium relied on the heavy-duty Tarantula turrets placed around their territory. Several of these car-sized turrets stood at the waterfront, spaced out, heavy weapons turning as the servitors within prepared to fire on the newly appeared threat. There was a moment of charging, and then twin beams of light slammed into the water. Mithias was blinded for just a moment, before realizing the beams had struck behind him, blowing two fist-sized holes in the creature. A perfect tunnel had been bored through it, allowing Mithias a surreal glimpse of the sky behind the creature, before it began to sink into the ocean.

As Mithias swam for the shore no more heavy weaponry was fired at him, although he could tell the turrets never powered down. Upon arrival he was greeted by a squad of Grey Knights, their heavy armour reminiscent of Kaldor's as two aimed their bolters at Mithias, another helping him out of the water. Their leader, easily identified by his lack of a helmet, stepped forward to meet him. "Greetings. My name is Adrian, Luitenant of the third chapter, fourth squad. Identify yourself." While one marine always had his weapon aimed at Mithias, he got no real sense of hostility, just preparation. The other marines were mainly scanning the water for signs of the monster, several making signs which were presumably to ward off evil.