A slightly smaller Mess

*Laurence raises an eyebrow* "Is everything... alright?"

Hera: "It'll find us... We've got to stay together. We cant let it pick us off."

Jax: "Serah and i are soldiers, we tried the settled life.... Old grudges came looking." *theres a certain fatalistic pride in the statement. as if he accepts whats coming.*

Lyanna: your daemon buddy popped by to try and tempt me. that was fun.

Charles: agreed

Chard: Harder for em to get you here.

Laurence: "You mean Shenuii? Hmn, the wards must be weakening. He's in a hexagramic sarcophagus downstairs. He's harmless really."

Jax: "We can make a difference out there. We can't sit here forever, doing nothing."

Hera: "You can't sense it i assume?"

Lyanna: irritating.

Chard: true. *puff* something worth thinking about.

Charles: not right now... I think.

Laurence: "I find him oddly charming."

Jax: "I'll have to talk to Charles about it... Setting us down somewhere with work to be done."

Hera: "you think...?"

Charles: told you before. Interference. Not sure what it is.

Chard: your daughter okay with you being in danger?

Lyanna: riiiight

Laurence: "I'll go strengthen the wards, anything else happen? I'm not going to be hanging around, just passing through."

Jax: *He sighs, and rests his forearms on his knees, leaning forwards.* "We've not been great parents for her, She's not seen us since she was fourteen. I doubt she cares about us more than those men she leads. And she's willing to put them in harms way."

Hera: "...Shadow in the warp, type interference?"

Lyanna: oh you know, just the constant feeling of isolation and self doubt, the usual.

Charles: not quite...not something I've encountered before, at least nothing quite like this.

Chard: She's your daughter. No way she doesn't care about you at least a little.

Laurence: "Thats fairly par for the course with people doing something important."

Hera: "Fucking wonderful."

Jax: "Aye, She is, but i don't think she'll an try stop us."

Lyanna: and people who abandoned their bretheren....

Charles: quite...

Chard: Maybe.

Laurence: "Your brethren aren't what they used to be. I can tell you that."

Hera: "Any bright ideas? Mac's time is ticking."

Jax: "She knows as well as any, the imperium needs more people fighting."

Charles: I'm thinking. For now, we search.

Lyanna: what's that supposed to mean?

Chard: needs more than fighting men.

Laurence: "Your people... How do you remember them?"

Jax: "It needs someone with their ear to the ground. To find the little things you lot miss."

Hera: "Hmmmn."

Lyanna: depends. Harsh, but strong. Forged by the hatred suffered at the hands of those they called brother. Not good, but necessary, and vital to the lives of many beneath them.

Chard: It needs everything it can get. Not just military related stuff. *puff* I hear lord commander guilliman for example is in need of historians.

Charles looks around, his hand hovering near his holster

Laurence: "They're a decadent noble class. As bad as any imperials."

Jax: "Our stories aren't the type that get written."

Hera: "you see something?"

Lyanna: It's not the same. *sighs* please don't start debating this shit with me right now.

Chard: my point was there's more variety than you seem to realise.

Charles: just being careful.

*he holds his hands up* "Just an observation."

Jax: "The arts have their place, but they don't save lives."

hera: "Good..." *she continues to walk forwards, scanning their surroundings.*

Lyanna: riiiight... you went there. why?

Chard: don't they? Maybe not directly but taht doesn't mean they can't.

before long they begin to...hear something. almost like a... slurping, gurgling, spluttering sound, like a drain

Laurence: "I lost a safehouse. I needed another."

Jax: "How exactly, does a book, or a painting, save someones life?"

Hera: *she puts a finger to her lips, and gestures towards the sound*

Lyanna: fun.

Chard: depends on the situation.

charles nods and follows, pistol drawn

Laurence: "If shit really goes down i need one out of imperial space."

Jax: "One could stop a bullet, i suppose."

*she moves closer*

Chard: *chuckles* not really a creative type are you?

Lyanna: right.

They see the culprit as they round a corner, and it's...like nothing they've ever seen. large, humanoid, with a chitinous green exoskeleton, and a long serpent like tail tipped with a needle. it is currently in the process of drinking a man, as charles hypothesized it did. It suddenly turns to face them. "Hello....friend."

*Hera points her force sword, and wills the beast ignite. Mute levels hit heavy bolter, and pulls its twin triggers, flame leaps forth, and heavy shells rattle. Lucy begins to fire her bolter, and hakken adds his own flame to the blaze.*

Laurence: "So, anything else... besides questioning attempting to halt the onslaught of chaos?"

Jax: "Not particularly, the guard doesn't foster artists."

to their surpsise this does precisely... dick, the flame simply seeming to do nothing, while the bolter shells simply detonate on impact seemingly harmlessly. "I'm sorry... inquisitor. It's not quite that simple. *grins* Pathetic really. Almost as pathetic as when you let those dark eldar get the better of you..."

Lyanna: tha'ts about it.

Chard: spose that's true

*Hera's lip twitches, and she manifests another power. So soon after the previous one, it is... ragged, unkempt, uncontrolled. The fire that leaps from her palm, usually a concentrated beam akin to a melta blast, is instead a diffuse inferno, none the less effective, but covering a far larger area, the floor and walls are reduced to bubbling, white hot metal. She grins through gritted teeth, as the smoke rises from the boiling deckplate.* "Pathetic...eh?"

Laurence: "Well, i'll be off. Keep yourself entertained won't you?"

Jax: "Aye."

*cackle* "Just a tad. Although I'm sure you'll have less scars this time. Be they physical or... *looks at lucy* Mental"

Lyanna: Not doing a great job so far but I'll try.

Chard takes another puff

*Lucy's bolter clicks dry. she slams in another clip, and continues to fire. She starts slowly walking forwards.*

Laurence: "I'll go have a chat to Tyren, then leave."

Jax: "You ever gonna retire?"

"ooh look at that. She's feeling brave. Is it because the big guy's here to look after you? He didn't do so well before did he?"

Lyanna: alright.

Chard: not sure yet.

*mute roars wordlessly, raking bolt fire across the beast, and charging forwards. As he closes in, he drops the heavy bolter, and pulls his axe from over his shoulder. Swinging it at the things head.*

Laurence: *He puts a hand on the door, turns to leave, then closes it, and walks over to the armchair in the corner of the room, and drags it out a bit closer to lyanna, then sits down.* "Throne you're in a state. You want me to get the big lad in here to talk?"

Jax: "Not for me. Gonna keep goin."

the thing catches the axe in one hand by the blade, the blow doing precisely nothing
"oooh did i catch a nerve?" the tail flashes around, needle pointed at mute

Lyanna: maybe...

Chard: for now.

*Mute roars again, and punches the thing with enough force to break through a brick wall.*

Laurence: "I'm really not good at the comforting people thing."

Jax: "You ever been injured chard?" *he says this almost wistfully.*

the thing ducks that, before simply throwing mute at lucy

Lyanna: you and me both.

Chard: countless times.

*Lucy is thrown sprawling with mute, by merit of power armour alone does she live through it. With mute removed, the beast is faced with jack. Both swords drawn, his helmet impassive, as is his face behind it.*

Laurence: *he pulls a hip flask from one of his pouches, and offers it to her* "Want a drink?"

Jax: "You look pretty good for the fact."

"aaah now this one. What's wrong, need to take out your anger on me? Getting yourself killed here won't save her you know."

Lyanna: sure. *takes it and swigs*

Chard: Inquisitor likes his men in top shape

*Jack steps forwards, and adopts a low fighting stance. If the beast is psychic, it's getting nothing from jack, he's sanguine, he's fighting.*

Laurence: "Things are... fairly shit about now."

Jax: "Fancy augmetics?"

*The creature doesn't bother getting into a fighting stance of its own* "Really? By yourself? I'm offended. Shame, you and her complimented eachother quite well"

Lyanna: you don't say...

Chard: where necessary.

*He feints to the left, then brings his offhand blade up to thrust into the beasts stomach*

Laurence: "You've made them a little less shit. This planet's still here for starters."

Jax: *His lip curls up a little, as he looks at his own right hand, flexing the hand.* "You got any hidden away?"

the creature stands stock still. the blade goes in... and it doesn't react. after an awkward pause, it speaks again. "Oh sorry. OW WOE IS ME, YOU HAVE PIERCED MY ENTRAILS i'm sorry, I'm a terrible actor, My delivery's all off."

Lyanna: ...yay?

Chard: internal, aye.

*Jack just looks at it. He looks at the blade in his hand, and at the beast before him.*

Laurence: "Small victories."

Jax: *He nods.* "Hmn, it feels weird, don't it?"

"....Do you want the sword back or can I keep it?"

She shrugs

Chard: at first it did, aye.

*He rips the blade out of the side of its body, exiting at the hip, then whips his right hand blade around, slashing through his leg, at mid thigh.*

Laurence: "Every little victory helps out. Think about it that way. 's a hell of a lot better to."

Jax: "Just wait till you start loosing limbs."

it falls over
"OW FUCK I NEEDED THAT! OOOH YOU'RE GONNA REGRE-pffft *bursts out laughing* I'm sorry, I need to stop corpsing in the middle of a performance" *the limb regrows nearly instantly*

Lyanna: I'm still iffy about helping you lot in the first place.

Chard: *chuckles* true

*Jack steps forwards and decapitates it.*

Laurence: "I know i'm not exactly a good posterboy for the imperium, but at least you're not on the same side as fabius bile anymore. Or typhus. Or Kharn. Need i continue?"

Jax: "It hurts like a bitch."

this time it catches the blade, as it did with mute
"Come on you can't still think you've got a chance, with just you lot. Even if mummy and daddy were down here to help *looking at hera there* you wouldn't have a chance"

Lyanna: We never were.

Chard: i can imagine

Jack: "WHY WON'T YOU DIE!" *He rams the other blade into its chest*

Hera: "What do you know about them?! They've killed worse than you." *she draws the force sword charles gave her.* "Like mother, like daughter."

Laurence: "Black crusades... chaos undivided?"

Jax: "What you get trying to keep up with eldar n shit."

the creature chuckles at jack's ineffective stab. "Trust me, 'inquisitor'...no one's ever seen worse than me. *turns to jack* Sorry, stabby. Looks like you've let her down again. What a shame. *it pushes him away then turns around, and sprints off worryingly fast. Too fast to even think about catching it. it's gone in a flash*

Lyanna: we share common enemies. Doesn't mean we're allies. Our lord, Perturabo recently even fought in open war against Mortarion's legion.

he laughs at that

*Jack stumbles and lands on his ass as it pushes him. There he remains.*

Hera: "What the fuck.... what is that thing."

Jax: "Still, wouldn't have it any other way."

Charles:....something.....new

Chard: heh.

Hera: "How can we fight that.... *she looks at her hand, the gauntlet blackened and burnt from her violent melta blast.* "It should've burned..."

Jax: "Seventy four percent last time i checked... Of weight that is."

Laurence: "We both know how the long war works. Its chaos and the imperium."

Charles: I'm....going to have to do some research.

Lyanna:...how can you of all people be that blind?

Chard: percent?

Laurence: "I may be a radical, but i'm fucking far from thinking we can ally with any chaos faction."

Hera: "We... we have to find mac. Get him and anne out and then call in an exterminatus. Its the only way."

Jax: "Of my weight that's augs."