UPDATED!
I've posted near the top of my profile an outline of sorts on the general appearances of each major character as I envision them. If you presented a character and the visual I've chosen to use doesn't seem right to you, tell me immediately so my mind doesn't explode from the angry reviews you might send in retaliation for 'messing up your 'imagi-baby'.
And yes, I realize that most of them are anime characters but hey, SAO is an anime and it's how I initially imagined Destiny Online. Also, if you have any suggestions for the appearance of a character that you believe may look better, please PM me so I can check it out.
Go to - forum/ Warhammer-40K-Destiny-Online-Contributor-Thread /145817 (remove the spaces and replace the 'dots' with real periods)- for lots of info, discussions and making your own contributions to the story. I will also be able to respond to any of your questions quickly and other readers will be able to add possible insights into my story that they may have…that I may or may not correct.
"Inspiration grows from the barrel of a gun."
Chapter 2 – Link Start: Commissar – Part 1
For her Commissar, the [Leadership] skill had [Commissar], [Commissar-Captain], [Colonel-Commissar] and [Lord-Commissar]. Thanks to her remaining [Skill EXP], Leah reached the perfectly respectable [Commissar-Captain] rank, which let her command at up to two squads outside missions and requisition IG NPCs from a base, town and/or city's [Infantry Command Bunker/Center]. Luckily, the standard [Commissar] rank had let her keep the [Execution] ability that made Commissars a major favorite…and bewared opponent. [Execution] let a player shoot a useless, rebellious or cowardly NPC trooper. The result was completely restored [Morale], temporary [Morale Damage Immunity] and roughly fifteen percent increase in ranged accuracy; though that last one was only through vigorous testing and experimentation by the Beta testers. Who knows if that had changed since the release…?
The largest city and planetary capital of Ageria, [Algeron] was founded a millennia prior to the Horus Heresy by the Ultramarines as an outpost in which they could monitor the subsector. The original structures are all but destroyed from several Ork Waagh!s and a brief infestation by the Tyranids a hundred years prior. Only a single structure from the founding still exists; a large subterranean factory capable of manufacturing many of the most essential equipment and supplies needed by the Imperial Guard and the few Space Marine Companies that visit the subsector. The only visible parts of the factory that can be seen above ground are the main entrance in the middle of the [Agerian Planetary Defense Force]'s headquarters and the dozen or so tall smoke stacks erupting from the ground around the base.
The city itself spans just under three hundred square miles, filled with buildings both military and civilian. The architecture of the city mimics that of a military state interspersed with civilian life. The buildings all have one thing in common despite their varied appearances; the very sturdy and strong. The buildings have proven capable of handling heavy attacks and explosions. The architects and tech-priests built the city with survivability and endurance in mind. All buildings were built with a combination of ferrocrete and rockcrete in addition to ceramite reinforcements to the buildings' frames and support structures to ensure that the city will endure every possibility.
At the very center is the [Agerian PDF] Headquarters – the initial starting area for new IG players and the [Plaza of Beginnings] – the initial starting area of new players of the Citizen class.
Around those two is a ring of smaller factories and warehouses serving as the supply and storage for essential supplies and materials for all players and NPCs in the city. This area also doubles as a free living space for players of all classes; if they can find the right buildings.
The third ring/area is the merchant district, the [Inner Ring] that acts as the planet's main hub for commerce and the main housing area of the city. All the basic commodities for all players can be found here. Products ranging from miscellaneous items such as [Scrap Metal] and [Basic Rations] to advance player items such as vehicles and Master-Crafted wargear can be found in this district if you know the right merchants and have the requisition for it. The living spaces are fairly expensive; mostly high ranking players of the Civilian and possibly Guardsmen classes are found living in this area.
The fourth ring/area is known as the [Inner Defense Ring] or IDR to Beta players. It's from this area that almost all beginning players of any class can gain missions and skill training. It also acts as the border between the main [Safe Zone] of the planet and the free-for-all that is Ageria. Any player of any class can train their skills in this area and can also receive training in skills they don't start out with. Some examples are a Tech-Priest training not only his [Repair] and [Building] skills, but also gaining the use of the Civilian class [Socialization] skill.
The fifth and final area of [Algeron] is the ironically named the [Safety Ring] or as it's known to Beta players, the Grinder. It's in this area most Imperial players take their very first steps into the terrifying world that is Destiny Online. From here on out, the traditional rules of gaming get tossed out and players are tossed in to a free-for-all where the only way to survive is to trust that the allies you gathered in the city really have your back. Friends and enemies are made in this area and the blood-pumping excitement granted by the [True Life System] really shines.
Destiny Online uses a brand new system called the 'True Life System', where taking [Damage] such being hit, falling from a great height or being poisoned mirrors real life action and reactions. So you will feel bruised, battered and fatigued in DO as compared to previous games where your [Health] and [Energy] are numerical values that increase as you level and decrease as you take damage. No longer do you get shot in the head and lose a measure of health in a HUD meter. No longer do you sprint massive distances because you leveled your [Sprint] skill so high that it takes such negligible energy.
Using the 'True Life System', gamers feel the real limitations of their characters' bodies. You feel the hits you take, taste the food you eat, quench the thirsts you have… The 'True Life System' is the penultimate experience in virtual reality gaming.
Leandra cursed as she ducked behind a crumbling wall. The mission she was on, [Regaining Command] was a right pain in the arse!
A few hours ago, she had logged in for the first time since the end of the Beta and had immediately been confronted by an Administratum NPC. He had presented her with a data-slate with a message notifying her of a series of special missions she could undertake if she wanted to retake her place as the leader of the now-lore regiment, the [23rd Agerian Orkbuster Regiment]. She hadn't even bothered to read the whole message before signing slate.
She followed the small map displayed upon the data-slate out of Algeron to the city limits and hopped onto the game's limited version of fast travel. And by limited she meant that it barely qualified as 'fast travel' by gaming standards.
In Destiny Online, fast travel doesn't really exist in the ways it exists in other games. In every major city and Imperial garrisons, there are a few NPCs that own non-military vehicles. The most common found used by NPCs are [Mars -Pattern Land Crawlers], [Bruennhilde-Pattern Land Crawlers] and [Centaurs] pulling trailers that players and travelling NPCs can ride in. Players of sufficient rank, such as a Captain or a Magos, can requisition a military transport that can double as a temporary ally if the convoy is attacked during its journey.
On one unique occasion during the Beta, Leandra had used a heavily damaged [Scout Bike] to escape a horde of [Megarachnids] for a special mission. She hoped to undertake that mission again if it still remained. That bike had been…wonderful.
Back to fast travel; in all previous games, the use of fast travel initiates a loading screen of some sort and their avatar is teleported to their destination. In Destiny Online, the player simply rides in whatever is transporting them, still limited by their movement speed. Thus, the term 'fast travel' is misnomer for the game's built-in transportation system.
But alas, the [Chimera] she was riding in was attacked. There was an explosion of some sort that erupted from below the APC and flipped the whole thing over. Leandra had been lucky she had buckled in or she might have ended up like the other player in the Chimera; dead, logged out and unable to enter the game for several hours. Leandra had managed to sprint away from the burning wreckage and to the cover of the surrounding ruins of the desolated Grinder area. Slugs of misshapen metal slammed at her heels, each shot creeping closer and closer until she dived into the safety of a ruined building.
"Bloody fuck!"
Her curse carried across the area as she hurled one of her only two [Frag Grenades] at the source of the gunfire. Not a moment passed before the resulting explosion brought an end to the hail of metal flying about and destroying her cover. She peeked up and nearly had her head lopped off by the savage swing of a crude axe.
"Waagh!"
'Ork!'
She dodged to the side as the next strike broke through the crumbling wall, destroying the area she had been not a second prior. She leapt over a low wall and spun, firing her weak laspistol at the large [Choppa Boy]. Typically, the lasfire did naught but irritate the savage greenskin.
"Stupid humie! Orks are da biggest and da strongest!"
The ork charged at her, forcing her to dodge to the side once again to escape his wild swings. Leandra's mind raced as she tried to figure out how to survive this…
'Wargear too weak; my laspistol doesn't have the firepower to penetrate his hide and my sword is just a fancy slab of metal with a hilt…bloody hell…DUCK!'
She ducked her head just in time to escape being decapitated and slammed a few more rounds of lasfire into its face on reflex. She ducked, bobbed and weaved around the ork's axe, cursing her impatience and the stupidity of not taking advantage of her significant in-game wealth to equip herself with the best gear she could prior to accepting the mission. She clumsily dodged another swing and stumbled over a piece of rockcrete, landing hard on her back.
"Got yaz now, humie!"
The ork lifted his axe for an overhead chop when suddenly a storm of powerful lasfire punched though his head and chest, bringing him down in a split second.
"Commissar Leandra!"
Leandra's head spun in the direction the shout and lasfire came and spotted one of her original NPC troopers from the Beta, [Sergeant Fordo], a Storm Trooper she had trained up from an Imperial Guard Whiteshield. And at his heels was a squad of four Storm Troopers bearing her guild's emblem and colors. Her mind raced at the possible direction her mission could take her if this was actually part of it. Most of the time, missions merely pointed you to the start and gave you the end-mission requirements. How you completed said mission was up to you thanks to the near-infinite possibilities granted by the [Immaterium System], the very framework of the game itself.
In any case Leandra got to her feet, ecstatic at the fortuitous turn of events. She quickly adopted the Commissar-persona she had constructed during her time playing the Beta. The beta testers learned early on that taking on the persona, or mindset and personality, of their avatars would result in smoother NPC interactions and an easier time picking up the various skills needed to survive the game.
"Sergeant, your timing is as impeccable as always. It seems you are still a fine example of the quality of the guardsmen Ageria has to offer."
Sgt. Fordo, his face no longer the blocky pixilated mess it was before was fairly handsome and the wicked scar on his face was a new development. He snapped a salute which she returned.
"Eh, I'm just sorry me and the boys didn't get here sooner Commissar. Got held up by those bloody idiots at the checkpoint back a ways. Anywho, while the men set up a perimeter, I got the reports gathered from during your absence. The regiment's been hit hard and we'll need your leadership to show these xenos why we're the damned best on Ageria."
Reaching into his pack, Fordo handed her a data-slate containing a series of reports on what had occurred while she was logged out and a [Bolt Pistol] to replace her laspistol.
[Service Bolt Pistol]
Garm-Pattern
Standard .75 caliber, rocket-propelled fragmentation rounds
-No History-
Apparently her regiment initially had nearly doubled in size thanks to the development team's favoritism but Kayaba had decided that it would have been too overpowered. As a result, they had gotten completely mauled by the newly-arrived Ork Warboss, [Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka]. The remnants of her troops had been taken under the command of a [Colonel Haymer], Acting Commander of all Imperial Guard operations on Ageria. And the incompetent arse was sending all her men on a suicide mission down south at the only major land route between two of the major continents of Ageria.
"Good. You are to escort me to the rest of the men. I'll be retaking command as soon as possible, Sgt. Fordo. Also, get the troops on the vox and tell them to halt all operations pertaining to the Colonel's previous orders. Only orders issued by myself through you are to be followed."
Fordo hesitated for a moment before leading her down a well-worn path, his men taking up defensive positions around them.
"Something the matter, sergeant?"
"…what about the Colonel, ma'am?"
Leandra smirked and brandished the service pistol Fordo had handed her.
"The Colonel will be handing over command of my men or he'll be charged with heresy. And do you remember the punishment for suspicion of heresy?"
His gleeful smirk signified his complete recollection of that particular law.
[Excerpt from the Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer, pg. 11-12]
"…Any soldier who speaks ill of the Emperor, the Imperium, cites his loyalty to any entity besides the Emperor, defaces holy artefacts or buildings, incites heretical thoughts or actions, talks openly about forbidden subjexts and generally behaves in a manner disrespectful to all that is holy and good will have his extremities removed and left to bleed to death, for the Emperor's pleasure. The body will then be burned to ensure no taint remains. (Art 6741/09a)"
"And how is the Colonel being heretical, Commissar?"
"He's being a complete arse with the tactical sense of an Ogryn. That's all you need to know."
Nodding at her mental plan, Leandra reviewed the data-slate again as they slowly made their way south through the ruined outer ring. Her troops that had survived the Ork assault were her eight Storm Troopers led by Sgt. Fordo, twenty-two Infantry Squads, five Heavy Bolter Teams and a single Leman Russ Squad (three tanks to a squad). The rest guardsmen and conscripts were dead. Sadly her old base far south of Algeron on the other side of the landbridge was gone; completely demolished by the Ork Roks' impact.
The report also had deeper information on the major faction changes on Ageria since the Beta stage. Her regiment had lost the three other IG players. Phil, Erica and Howard – or as they were known in-game [Hayward], [Edenia] and [Dionysus] had all switched classes or factions; even changed their screen names. Apparently, she had been active enough during the Beta and had controlled a large enough area that her guild had become part of the game itself. So all she had to do was retake command of her remaining troops, rebuild her numbers and find enough new members to reactivate her guild.
Lastly…urgh, the old Ork Warboss, [Bigklaw Und Dakka] was still here and was fighting Warboss Ghazghkull for control of the Ageria's ork population. So not only did she have to deal with a thousand other Beta players trying their best to carve out a piece of Ageria not sectioned up by the development team, but also the oncoming flood of 'noobs' at the end of the Early Start phase and two whole Ork clans at war…
Suddenly one of her troops towards the front was ripped to shreds by a hail of gunfire. She and her entourage had come under attack. Breaking formation, they all took cover behind a fallen pillar. The lack of the iconic sound of 'dakka' told Leandra that she had been ambushed by something other than orks. Peeking up, she found at least twelve gang members in varying amounts of armor bearing down on her position, their autoguns spewing metallic death. One of the many diverse enemy mobs that could be found around Ageria, a [Vagrant Gang].
"Blasted traitorous bastards! Guardsmen, return fire! Kill the criminal scum!"
Fordo nodded and open fired on the vagrants, his [Hellgun] taking out one of the men. Leandra drew her pistol as well, first disabling the vagrant with the largest autogun with a snap shot. The Storm Troopers had taken down most of mob when the last vagrant, autogun disabled by Leandra, charged forward. Sprinting right at her, he threw his gun into two of her men knocking them down. Growling heatedly, Leandra drew her sword and sliced the man's right arm off; following up with quick horizontal that decapitated him.
Fordo helped his men and cataloged any injuries; nothing major, just a few scrapes and near-misses.
"Sgt. Fordo, rummage though their corpses. Find out if these men were hired or just the run of the mill vagrants. Oh, and see if they have any of that rubbish the cogboys find oh so useful."
He nodded and the men set about searching the corpses, searching specifically for the greatly unappreciated and undervalued [Scrap Metal] item. Normally the [Scrap Metal] item was useless to everyone but Tech-players, but Leandra had found it to be very useful during the Beta. [Scrap Metal] helped to pay most Tech NPCs and players for services instead of credits; it saved her a fortune on repairs and new gear.
"Finished, ma'am. Not much aside from the usual trash maggots like these carry."
Leandra nodded, the 13x[Scrap Metal] and 1x[Damaged Autogun] added to her near empty inventory…oh, she had forgotten about the 'in-game fortune' that came with the Golden edition. 10,000x[Imperial Credits] would go a long way if she played her cards right; might even help persuade some other beta players to join her guild/regiment. Idly looking through the pile, she had the sergeant divvy up the salvage between the men to ease the load. With that done, the group returned to their careful journey south to her remaining troops.
The march had only gone on for less than an hour before Leandra made another startling discovery: her troops were praying whilst they marched. It became so…catchy that she too started reciting the Imperial prayers, most specifically the [Profession of Faith] to erase all their doubts…
"With all my strength,
With all my will,
With every fibre of my soul,
I pledge my soul and my Faith,
To the Immortal Emperor,
Shepherd of Humanity."
…and the [Prayer of Invisibility] to ensure their safe passage through the ruins.
"I am the darkness that surrounds me,
I am the air that surrounds me,
I am the land that hides me,
I wait to strike,
From the darkness,
I wait to kill,
From out of thin air,
I am invisible,
And I am silent death."
It was really amazing that her troops had that kind of autonomy and sentience. They had their own special methods of combating foes and reacting to stimuli back during Beta, but now it almost seems that each one has their own individual personality. Take for instance the Storm Trooper at her left. His head was on a constant swivel, warily keeping an eye out for possible threats while the trooper behind him was busy buffing some smudge off of his hellgun.
She could hear them speaking about things pertaining to nothing at all and things she had no clue about, such as events that happened whilst she was logged out during the release. Some discussed past assignments, or Missions she had done with them at her side, while others talked quietly about downtime activities. She didn't even know they HAD downtime.
"…glad the Commissar is back. The colonel is a frakkin' idiot…"
"…arse still stings from that trouble we got in that…"
"…still seeing that gal from the Inner Ring? She was…"
"Knockers the size of an Earthshaker on that one…"
Despite her blush, Leandra was growing more amazed by the depth and realism the game was exhibiting at the most random moments…
Forward in time three weeks, Release Day…
"TAKE COVER!"
Dyson cursed, slamming to the ground sprawled out on his stomach. What the hell was going on?! He had just logged in after making his character, a tall man with rugged features and a graying military buzz cut, and had immediately found himself in the middle of a warzone. As the guardsmen around him flew through the air, Dyson's eyes searched all around him for some cover against the hail of dakka and lasfire.
"Orks all around us!"
"What the hell i-Aaargh!" -BOOM-
'There!'
He spotted the husk of a Chimera and bolted to it at the first lull. Bullets clipped at his heels and into other hapless players/guardsmen as he dived into cover. An artillery shell smashed into the dirt, blowing his former position to smithereens. Terror gripped him as he looked all around him seeing the sheer carnage of the battle. Here and there he could see the shattered hulls of Imperial and Ork vehicles burning; in the distance he could make out what seemed to be a seriously messed up [Gargant] exploding. And all around him players and NPCs alike, he couldn't tell the difference between the two, where dying left and right.
'Shit, shit, shit, SHIT!'
His cursing echoed in his mind as a near endless barrage of metal slowly ate away at his cover. Dyson curled up as more and more of his cover crumpled under the rain of dakka. He could hear more death screams and the vicious howls of the orks all around.
'T-this is too much! This is seriously fucked up!'
Suddenly, a barrage of artillery shook the world and the dakka fire ceased. Moments passed and Dyson cautiously peeked around out of cover to find a quad of [Leman Russ Battle Tanks] plowing through the area, Battle Cannons and Heavy Bolters cutting down ork after ork and saving various players.
"Oi, you alright?"
Dyson whirled around to find himself surrounded by a 4-man squad of Imperial Guardsmen. Each squatting man was clad in iconic green flak armor bearing the twin headed Aquila of the Imperium and lasrifles like him. But on their shoulders, there was a badge or heraldry of some sort. Overlaying a grey flame was a white '107' with a snarling red hound's head overlaying both. Dyson gulped…
"…ya fucked in the head, mate? I said, are you alright?"
Dyson shook his head and nodded.
"Y-yeah, I think so."
"G'day then. Me and the boys were havin' a blue with them orkie dipsticks and havin' a grog when we saw you's rooted in this shithouse for cover. Figured it be a piece of piss to save a bloke in shithouse bog standard gear."
"…what?"
The soldier sighed as his squad started firing around the husk to ward off the various ork mobs.
"We was fightin' the orks and saw that you needed some help. Wasn't too much trouble to save a newb like you. Any questions, seppo? "
"Oh, thanks for the save. So, what the hell's going on? I just logged in and I nearly got blown the fuck up!"
The Aussie, for no one else could possibly speak such nonsense and sound mildly British, laughed as he sniped an [Ork Boy] in scrap armor.
"You picked a rooted day to log in, mate! Today's [The Invasion]!"
Dyson ducked as a metal slug tore through the tank where his head had just been. He screamed bloody murder as more and more rounds rained on their position. The Aussie and his boys just hunkered down, blindfiring at full auto for brief moments. Dyson screeched out a question about [The Invasion] as he huddled to the ground.
"The Invasion's a special event those pommy and seppo bastards that made the game thought up! For a whole week, the entire subsector will be invaded by whatever creatures are the biggest threat for the separate planets. For us Imperials, we got the orks. Instead of logging in at the capital, noobs get dropped in the middle of a bloody warzone; it's supposed to be some big welcome fo-Bloody oath!"
The Aussie ducked just as a rokkit flew overhead and exploded well behind them. His boys rained hell on whatever ork shot launched that rokkit in return. Dyson looked at him like he was insane.
"A-an invasion as a welcoming party?! What the hell are those idiots thinking!?"
"Don't give a root. Those dills just announced it last night so me and the boys decided to head right into the biggest blue we could find to help out any bloke or sheila we could. Sure we're getting a boost to our skill experience but the whole event is all rooted. Only good thing about this that if anybody in the same area as you logs in, they'll log in right near you. So if you got any cobbers nearby, they'll pop in near here."
Dyson nodded and gathered his courage. At the next lull in the firefight, he stood up and managed to plant a las right into the chest of an [Ork Shoota].
"Good onya, mate! Never mind all that whinging like a whacka. Just start shootin' some orks and worry 'bout everythin' else later! Oh, the name's [Roper20]."
The newly identified [Roper20] pointed out the three other guys with him.
"The dag over there is [JJagger3]; he's from the Lucky Country like me. The bloke next to you is [0Boomer0]; a seppo digger but like apples, he is. Last up is [CPK007]; he's not really a bloke. CPK's a right spiffy Sheila, she is. What's your name, mate?"
"Dys-I mean, it's [D-GrayMoon]. But call me D."
Roper smirked, his avatar's scarred face looking even more fearsome.
"Arvo, D. Now grab your strides and grab your las, let's show these green dipsticks what the Imperial Guard's made of!"
Dyson smiled and tightened his grip on his lasrifle. First he would pay back these guys and hold until the rest of his friends logged in. His entry into the game may have been all fucked up, but all the heart-racing terror made it worth the insane stupidity of a bloody invasion as a welcoming party.
On the other side of the battlefield…
"COME ON ALIENS, SHOW ME YOUR FURY!"
Revan growled under his breath as he slammed a few more bolter rounds into a small mob of Ork [Kommandos] trying to sneak up to them. He had been meaning to log off for awhile but the sheer excitement of the game was keeping him online. An hour or so earlier, he had followed the Imperial Fists Sternguard's advice and headed up the hill and found an encampment of astartes gathered in the area. From first glance, Revan had spotted over four hundred Space Marines hailing from so many different chapters. Though there was a fair amount of minor Chapters represented in the base camp, a vast majority of the six hundred hailed from the more famous First Founding Chapters, such as the Blood Angels, Ultramarines, Imperial Fists, Iron Hands and Space Wolves. Those five chapters made up at least half of the group with the Ultramarines leading at around eighty and the Space Wolves following at around sixty.
He had barely gotten here when he got lumped with the only other Blood Ravens in the entire gathering, three players going by [Thule777], [Gigas-Khan] and [-G-Dredd]. Each one had a standard wargear loadout to match his; a [Bolter], [Bolt Gun] and [Combat Knife]. Though -G-Dredd had managed to swipe a [Heavy Bolter] from somewhere…
"Hey Rev! Stop daydreaming and get back to killing! G's already taken down about a hundred of these fuckers!"
"Yeah Jedi, get your ass in gear!"
He snapped out of his thoughts and returned to supporting the Space Wolves squad they had been attached to. The big bosses of the gathering, three Betas armored in Artificer power armor and Relic wargear had divided up the astartes players and bullied them into kill-teams to make sure everyone got a fair amount of EXP out of the Invasion event. And by fair, Revan meant completely lopsided because the bastards favored their own, Space Marine Chapters.
The Betas, the leaders acted all high-and-mighty but really…really…okay they were kickass bastards armed with the best astartes wargear on the planet. The three belonged to what they considered the three best Chapters in all the Imperium with the guilds to match:
[Cato-117], the self-proclaimed 'Captain' of the Ultramarines and guild master of the [Thunder Warriors]; wearing identical artificer power armor to 2nd Company Captain Cato Sicarius, Cato carries a personalized Chapter Banner on his back, an enormous [Thunder Hammer] and a one-handed [Grav-gun] in his arms. So far, he's forcibly recruited every single Ultramarine player and anyone hailing from a Successor Chapter, raising his guild's numbers to nearly one-thirty.
[Sir-Galahad], also a self-proclaimed 'Captain' of the Black Templars and guild master of the [Knights of the Round], wore a modified Mark III Iron Power Armor. He carried a two-handed [Relic Blade], a [Power Axe] and a large kite-shaped [Storm Shield]. His guild is the smallest of the 'big three', numbering at forty at the most, comprised of only Black Templars.
And finally was [Siegland-D], the 'Captain' of the Space Wolves and guild master of the [Vlyka Fenryka]. He was the most imposing, thanks to the towering [Tartaros-Pattern Tactical Dreadnought Armor] he wore. The ancient rune-scribed terminator armor was apparently the ultimate astartes mission reward on the planet and the weapons he had, paired [Relic Wolf Claws] were just the icing on the cake. Siegland recruited only Space Wolves players into his guild, but made an exception for a lone astartes player from the Dark Angels.
Together, the three presided over the gathering with an iron grip. They had already taken down (beaten up, not killed) fifty challengers of varying skill. Revan wondered how long before they started divvying up the remaining players into their guilds.
"Shit, Squiggoth!"
Revan jerked and spotted the rampaging orkoid monstrosity tearing through the orks and imperials straight at the encampment. All around the camp, players panicked and reacted in varying ways. Most franticly emptied all their ammunition at the giant quadruped; bolters, autocannons, lascannons all opened up at the Squiggoth in an attempt to stop it.
Revan gaped as suddenly, a [Drop Pod] fell from the sky signaling the arrival of a player…right on top of the monster.
"Holy shit!"
Similar oaths erupted from the surrounding players as they watched the Squiggoth's head cave in and the pod open up to reveal an astartes in red armor. He stumbled as the orks on the ground realized it wasn't a bomb that took out their beast and started charging the stunned player.
"Hey! Run you idiot!"
The player realized his predicament and sprinted towards the camp. Revan and his group (and several other groups) laid arcs of suppression fire at the orks, slowing them just enough for the player to reach the hastily piled rubble they were sheltered behind. He dived right beside Revan just as a barrage of rokkits impacted a yard from their position.
"Hey, nice entrance."
Revan's greeting startled the recovering player out of his daze. Reaching up, the player roughly yanked off his helm revealing the default astartes appearance, a grim-faced and bald head. Revan helped him off his ass and to his feet. Looking closer, he realized that the player was clad in Blood Raven colors. And his group realized it as well.
"He's one of us!" – [Thule777]
"Blood Ravens!" – [Gigas-Khan]
"…hey." – [-G-Dredd]
The player, having regained his bearings introduced himself as [Leroy-JENKINS]. He had the typical starter gear for astartes players but lacked the [Bolter], likely having not noticed it in his haste to stay alive. -G-Dredd tossed him his old bolter and Thule began instructing the newcomer in the basics of astartes playing.
Revan on the other hand got a really bad feeling…for the guy's future, not his.
Dyson's/[D-GrayMoon]'s wargear.
[Standard Flak Armor]
Agerian Whiteshield Pattern
Standard multilayer ablative and shock absorbent ceramics
-Carbon-fibre, Plasfibre and Thermoplas strips
-No History-
[Lasrifle]
M35 M-Galaxy Short Pattern
19 megathule range (rechargeable)
-Low to high Shot Intensity
-Single or Full Automatic
-220 shots per minute (cyclic)
-No History-
[Combat Knife]
Basic close combat knife
Honed stainless steel
-No History-