Hawk's Gallery

Thursday 31 January 2008

C'tan

High commander Fa'thanen sighed. Everything that had been going so well with Operation Lone Pilgrim seemed to be on the verge of being lost. The orbital defenses were bombarded out of existence after they had been revealed too early. Why had he let himself be convinced to open fire at that point? The native human population had become restive as the orbital fireworks told them that what the Tau emissaries had convinced them of previously was not exactly true. The fleet had had to be withdrawn to defend against a surprise Imperial Crusade against one of the Tau Rim worlds. His two picket system ships had vanished shortly after they had reported contact with a derelict Space Hulk approaching the system and now this. The reports he held indicated that the attack he had ordered to wipe out the isolated human imperial survivors from their recent original landing had gone bizarrely wrong long before the attack force had made contact. Devilfish exploding for no reason or colliding into and destroying other transports made no sense at all. All his slim residual resources would be required to rescue the survivors. He needed to think. Had the humans made contact with the indigenes and their bizarre system of levels. He shrugged. The Imperial Humans would stamp that cult out as soon as they took control. The High Commander shook himself he must not think like that. He needed to concentrate on the needs of the greater good.

Were the imperial humans using as yet unknown weapon systems and that was why the attack had failed or could it be sabotage Fa'thanen pondered. Hn'harduden his bumptious servant entered. He had never learned to precede his wish to enter a room with a respectful clearing of the throat before entering.
"Why are you here," demanded Fa'thanen.
"I have a message," came the unusually confident response.
"Speak then."
"By the order of the High Emperor of Terra I pronounce you foul Xenos and sentence you to die. So says Inquisitor Hawk and so do I."
The form of Hn'harduden blurred. A C'tan phase sword stabbed forward impaling the High Commander before he had time to react to his death sentence.
High commander Fa'thanen sighed and slid off the sword.
Sophia laughed and teleported. "What a useless piece of meat," she thought.

Wednesday 30 January 2008

Devilfish

A taloned hand punched through the bulkhead separating the seated armoured suited Tau warriors from the drive compartment of their Devilfish transport. An evil demonic visage followed. It emanated waves of unnatural horror that clung to any who saw it like a stench of death and decay. The warriors nearest to the apparition were retching as they tried to squirm themselves as far away from it as possible. They were crammed too tightly together in the transport's troop compartment to use weapons or in any way defend themselves or escape. It paused to allow them to appreciate the horror of their predicament. It spoke to them, not in words but directly and repulsively into their minds. "Canned meat I like that." Caliban launched himself into the compartment faster than the warriors could react. A spray of blood, bowels, gobbets of flesh and gurgling screams resonated around the compartment. In less than a minute Caliban was grinning, and preening itself while hovering over a layer of minced tissues awash with blood. The intercom snapped and spat. "Ah, the pilot," murmured Caliban and reached through the ceiling of the compartment. The Hammerhead lurched and spun. Caliban teleported. The Devilfish raced out of position and smashed into it partner in formation. Both hit the ground with an immense flash and explosion.
Further down the line of Devilfish and Hammerheads the same events recurred.

The sentry reported to Gann Arfur, "Flashes and explosion on the horizon, Sir, North West , sensors suggest 20 kliks distance."
"Any idea Hammerhand?" asked the Gann.
"Probably my and Hawk's pet."
"What sort of pet?"
"Our daemonhost, I let him off his leash just before I Ieft to come here. I have also asked him to bring his associate Moloch this time."

Monday 28 January 2008

Take me to your Leader

"Take me to your leader," whispered Hammerhand with a smile in the ear of the sentry. Athelwist startled, dropped his las rifle and fumbled for his knife as Hammerhand grasped his wrist. "Easy there soldier," commanded Hammerhand. "Here is may badge of authority with the Inquisition. My rank is Interrogator."
"Please don’t tell the sergeant," gasped Athelwist.

The autosavants reported matter expressionlessly. "The Hulk’s systems report that there has been a significant perturbation of the Hulk’s trajectory. The controls are being used without understanding and as a result the divergence from an atmospheric entry path is becoming more marked with each passing minute. There are probably only 3 to 4 hours during which the trajectory can be repaired. We can influence the control systems from here but with the presence of others in the control room also using the Hulk’s systems it is unlikely that we could achieve sufficient control to ensure that a planned landing on the planet can be achieved."
Hawk demanded. "If the trajectory is not corrected, what then?"
"It is likely that the Hulk will strike the planet’s atmosphere at a glancing angle, losing speed due to atmospheric friction and as the resultant trajectory would if uncorrected pass close to the system’s sun, suffer significant heat and radiation damage before collecting speed from its passage through the solar atmosphere and if it survives this it will be ejected from the system in the directions of the Dark Marked Warp region at sublight speed reaching…."
"Enough, thank you," responded Hawk.

"It seems we either have to gain full control of the Hulk or evacuate."
"Evacuation may only be possible after completion of the planetary assault," responded captain Meddigo through Blou.
"Agreed," replied Hawk. "We need full control of the Hulk, despite its infestation with Orks.
"According the Hulk’s systems," intervened the autosavants, "there are 2 or 3 million of them on board. Almost all as ‘passengers’ sealed in other compartments controlled by the Mobs that have occupied the bridge and engine rooms."
"There is also evidence of other Xeno species on board."

Sunday 27 January 2008

Frame Shifts

“Captain, arrange for the snake data umbilical of the shuttle to be located in the nearest Hulk data point,” commanded Hawk. The two autosavants began their analysis of the Hulk.
“There are two battle worthy platoons of Grey Knights,” reported Meddigo through Blou. “And there is also one Deathwing platoon ready for immediate deployment.”
Hawk thought. “And the injured, how many will be available after patching and repairing with the facilities we have here.”

Hezakk and his mob waited for Garzakk and his mob to come done the axial corridor to the control room in the Hulk. His boys were ready with choppas, rokkits, and sluggas. Master Mekk Boltzerr and Slaver Slyzakk had their grotts fighting with the alien systems of the Hulk in the control room to restore stability. The fight in the hangar, the explosive collapse of the hangar roof as well as the impacts of the assault pods and the weight of debris falling on to the Hulk from the destruction of the Ork cruisers and the secondwave had altered the Hulk's course fractionally.

Hammerhand arrived as a wave of black armoured drop pods crashed to earth around the Belisimar positions on the crater rim. He dropped his stolen speeder to ground quickly before anyone thought to target him and cautiously approached the Belisimar positions.

Garzakk and his mob were crossing the outer hull of the Hulk. The skin of the Hulk was scarred from millennia in deep space. Its outer rind was fissured. The fissured valleys were often dominated by protrusions, some of which were smooth domed. Others were mind wrenchingly twisted. A few larger ones had leathery surfaces pocked by micrometeorite impacts and venting gasses, suggesting an organic origin. Yet others were crudely mechanical and functional. The latter were often additions that generations of Orks had added. The functions of most were of little interest to Garzakk and his mob even if he could have understood them. Many contained sensors or warp controls and propulsion mechanisms. Garzakk crept through the vacuum seared industrial landscape of the outer surface of the Hulk to an airlock that he knew led directly into the control room.

Hammerhand crept on his belly to the sentry. Visibility was still markedly reduced as a result of the original bombardment throwing tons of fine micro-particles high in the atmosphere, reducing sunlight and allowing moisture to condense out. Daytime was only slightly brighter than nighttime. Inching forward he crept past the sentry and eased himself into the communication trench that ran outwards to the sentry point.

Saturday 26 January 2008

Hangar Victory

Hawk's launch swooped down into the Hangar with fusion motor flames incinerating and hull mounted cannons blasting Orks. The remaining Orks fleeing the launch fell under the bolters of the Terminators. There was no escape.

Grey Knight Captain Meddigo plugged himself into the comms port on the outer hull of the shuttle by the landing gear. He linked to Inquisitor Hawk through the Vox-link communicator. Hawk eschewed vox linked communication directly into his own neural circuits and mind. Blou the pilot spoke for Captain Meddigo. "It was touch and go, Sir. You arrived just at the right time. When are the second assault wave due?"

"We are all that will be arriving of the second wave," responded Hawk.
"None the less we must take this Hulk."
"Report to me your strength and situation, while my autosavants interrogate the Hulks systems and formulate the best approach to taking control of the Hulk. If need be we may have to cut a deal with one or another faction of the Orks here to get neutralise them if we do not have sufficient ammunition to erase them all at the moment."

Wednesday 23 January 2008

Changing Fortunes

Hezakk waved his Nobs forward as he slipped back from the whirling melee. It was not looking so good now. "Time to go," he thought. He noticed some mobs of lesser Orks hanging back. Moving over he grabbed and threw their leaders in to the fight at the same time sending his attendant grots to get his bodyguard of Nobs to fall back. Garzakk noticed the change and signalled his own mob to fall back to the bulkhead doors. Hezakk and his mob began running for the doors. Blood thirsting Orks cleared out of the way of the Boss and his Nobs but closed up ranks after he had pushed through. Garzakk realised he could not catch up with the retreating Boss. His group was blocked as it fought and pushed through the jostling mass of mobs. Blood crazed Orks struck by Garzakk's mob lashed out at other Orks. Creating a heading chaotic secondary Ork versus Ork battle. The front ranks were whittled down by increasingly devastating bolter fire from the terminator suited marines as the Orks fought amongst themselves. The massive hangar was a whirling chaos of chopping and firing and dying spacemarines and Orks.

Shouting into his mask, " Usless grot," Garzakk fired his slugga at the retreating back of Hezakk. Hezakk stumbled and fell. His Nobs grabbed him and roughly carried him throught the bulkhead door. The doors began closing. Garzakk signalled to his boyz and Nobs, "Use Rokitts." Back strapped rokkitts fired. Most Orks rose slowly at first then rapidly, mainly out of control arcing out of the hangar through its shattered roof and onto the surface of the Hulk seeking functioning airlock doors.

Sunday 20 January 2008

Retinue

The confines of Inquisitor Hawk's assault shuttle were cramped with equipment, retinue and by the fact that all were already vacuum suited. The atmosphere had been evacuated from the craft to ensure no delay during an assault debarkation when the craft touched down.

His retinue were strapped into crash couches welded to the floors and bulkheads of the craft. Directly ahead of Hawk, Blou Max, the pilot positioned at the apex of the chamber was massively cybernetically augmented. He appeared to have been melded with the controls he used. His rewired hands played a flight of harmonies across the keys surfaces. Data inputs were wired directly into his skull. Framed as if windows the visual map displayed on the bulkheads around Max seemed to show the void around the ship. In fact they displayed Max's visualization of the data fed into his skull. Hawk approved. At least here was someone whose thinking he could see clearly.

Behind Hawk were his three massively augmented combat servitors. Their limbs and reflexes mechanically augmented to make them impervious fighters capable of slashing rending and crushing their way through maxsteel without needing tools or weapons. They responded to the names of Ironhand, Shannar and Drutt respectively. Beside hawk were his two autosavants. These although not suited for combat were his most powerful weapons in his long struggle against Chaos. With their massively enhanced cognition and eidetic memory they were friends, advisors and libraries. Three of his acolytes also accompanied him. Hammerhand his Interrogator was heading for his designated position on the planet below. The three Explicators had armed themselves with close combat equipment including power armour, storm shields and chain swords. They answered to the names of Snap, Crack and Pop. His familiar a psychically enhanced flobber worm curled at the foot of Hawk's crash couch.

Outside flashes of light and hurtling debris from the spasmic vicious detonations of assault pods caused Max to make the shuttle slip, weave and dodge as it powered down to the surface of the Hulk.

Wednesday 16 January 2008

Hulk

Launching payloads the Ork cruisers disintegrated under sustained linac fire from the 3 Imperial warships. Hawk gripped the arms of his couch as his pilot fired attitude jets at seeming random intervals to evade the scattering clusters of Ork lobba mines. Inquisitor Hawk's landing ship was designed for atmosphere as well as vacuum work. As a result it was highly maneuverable. The Assault pods crammed with the second wave of Space Marines were no maneuverable at all. The second wave disintegrated in multiple majestically soundless flashes around Hawk's ship.

In the vast hangar the battle was slowly developing a direction. Piles of fallen space marines lay across the centre of the vast airless arena. Slowly the space marines had pushed the Orks back through their awesome fire power. The Orks had become more and more entangled with each other and the dead which had prevented them from mounting a final close combat assault to wipe out the residual marines. Time was now telling against the Orks as their vacuum resistance was running out.

"Bak, yelled Hezakk waving to his surviving Nobs, "Mobbup behind da bulk heads," he screamed at his Mek made kommunicator. He kicked his grots into action to get them to alert his tiring but still blood hungry Orks.

Friday 11 January 2008

Speed Mek

The Ork cruisers burst from the blind side of the Hulk. Each was a unique and brutal nightmare agglomeration of Mek madness. A core of crudely powerful propulsion around which was bolted bizarre and powerful weaponry. Impaled on the apex of each propulsion tube was a small life support habitat containing one Mek Nob and a few grots. The cruisers shoaled close to the body of the hulk. The Mek pilots gloated with their relative speed across the surface. Green taloned fingers gripped the contols mercilessly. This was the life for a speed freak Ork Mek. Anticipation of a mega death blowout at the end of the speed run made it only better. The shoal of cruisers twitched as they lined up for the attack run. Arms swung out from the sides of the craft as grots activated mine lobbas. Some mines were actively homing piloted by speed freak grots. One craft flashed and spun in a searing streak impact as it was pulled down onto the surface of the Hulk as a result of an inopportunely deployed lobba arm. Regardless the remaining cruisers lined up for their attack run. Before them lay the second wave of Imperial Void Black assault pods the fleet had launched at the Hulk.

"Signal the Inquisitor, greenskin attack ships closing on second assault wave. Evasive action immediate." Ordered Captain Pilgrim.
"Secondary batteries retrained and locked on to attacking cruisers," reported Gunnery Officer Isvista.
"Concentrate fire on those closed to the Inquisitor's ship," Ordered Captain Pilgrim, "Otherwise fire at will."

"Bugga," yelled Garzakk. He had shot close to Hezakk again but again failed to hit the useless grot.

Tuesday 8 January 2008

According to Plan

Hundreds of void black armoured assault pods powered in waves to the surface. Secondary batteries of turbo cannons from the three ships engaged the Hulk. There was no return fire from the Hulk. Turbo penetrator rounds blasted holes in the outer shell of the Hulk, penetrating the armour and into the habitat beneath. Geysers of debris spouted from the holes spewing tumbling orks and grots their equipment and debris into the void. Other rounds scoured the surface of the hulk of any defenders with cinematic patterns of mathematical explosions around the target locations for the assault pods.

Captain Pilgrim reported to Hawk, "Debris scanning indicates the Hulk is infested with greenskins, Sir"
"Seems we will be doing the job of the Ordo Xenos again," remarked Hawk.
"We need the Hulk in any case. Proceed with the assault."
"It looks as if the Orks have not mastered any of the defensive fire power that these Hulks usually carry."

Just before impact each pod instantly switched from power from rear to nose engines, adding their searing fusion flame to the scouring of the surface of the Hulk in a cruel and brutal deceleration. Space Marines groaned in their armour. They were held in place by the monomolecular threaded crash webbing that had been blessed by the techpriests before launch. The first wave of pods crunched to the outer hull of the Hulk. Webbing snapped open and Grey Knight terminators and Deathwing terminators rushed in a spreading fan of assault squads from the grounded pods, heading for the breaches in the hull. At that moment shaped charges detonated across the landing zones blasting the surface occupied by the assault for and its pods down into the mighty hangar below where the Ork counter assault waited.

"Anuvver cunnin plan and a good fight comin up," screamed Harzakk at his Nobs. "Get stuck in, chop all de humins, Now!" He waved them forward with his big choppa. All the nobs were power armour suited which gave them a prolonged stay in vaccum. They shambled forward joints wheezing in the cold vacuum of the void. They were backed up with all the killa kans and closed cabin trukks and vehicles.
It was my plan you useless over-grown grott thought Garzakk. And why dont yous let us blast them now while they are fallin and lyin' in heaps. He fired his blasta narrowly missing Hezakk and killing a grey knight struggling to stand.
"Watch wot you are doin," screamed Hezakk.
"One to me already," retorted Garzakk.

Saturday 5 January 2008

MALAC linac

Explosions sparkled across the slowly spinning body of the space Hulk. The swarm of small attack craft discharged their payloads across the rear of the Hulk close to the engines.The Emperors Will open fire on the closer of these craft destroying several with each blast of its MALAC batteries, matter/antimatter linear accelerator cannons. These twin linked linacs fired matter and antimatter alternately at either a target or close to a target. The blasts of energy as the highly charged balls of matter and antimatter collided were powerful enough to create transient black hole energy with warping gravity waves sufficient to disrupt most hulls within tens of kilometers. A direct hit usually resulted in the complete gravitational collapse of the target unless it was vastly large. The closeness of the engagement meant that the damage repair crews on the Emperors Will and her consorts were constantly in action.

Along with the cannonade the Emperors Will discharged her cargo of landing pods configured and crewed up for boarding.

Tuesday 1 January 2008

Prepare for Boarding

“You are destroying my ship,” yelled Pilgrim at Inquisitor Hawk.
“Velocity matching and boarding maneuvers for the “Emperors Will”, plus the “Imperial Holocaust and the “Xenos Extermination”,” replied Hawk to Pilgrim the vox-comms servitor and the helm servitor.

“My apologies, Pilgrim, for usurping temporarily the tactical command of your fleet. There was little time. And I have also taken that into account regarding your claim of ownership of this ship of the God-Emperor.
The visual of the Hulk, on your screen, indicates a state of poor repair indicating that it is likely to contain either an Ork or Tyranid Xenos infestation. Either way if this is the case they must not be allowed to disrupt our planned actions. When I have gained control of the Hulk with the landing parties from these 3 capital ships I will have acquired a significant additional weapon. Remember the Tazim 22 action. A large asteroid was used to destroy the defenders.”