Wreck of the Sejanus- Grimm omens campaign

 

Grimm stood upon the bridge as they fell out of the warp.  Before him in the maelstrom swirled ship wreckage and detritus orbiting a small barren planet.  They had homed in on a weak distress signal.  Harkon advised they approach cautiously.  Grimm agreed, they would not be ambushed again.  

"My Lord, the signal is coming from the planet.  Auger scans shows an imperial ship wrecked upon the surface." A mutant crewman reported.

     "Any other signals on the surface?" Harkon asked.

     "Faint vox transmission signals detected around the wreck" the mutants hissed before looking back at Grimm.

     " We make for the surface.  The salvage prize is of great worth," Grimm ordered.  " I sense warp weaponry echoes here in orbit.  The dead whisper that here lies a strand of fate in what occurred here that will see our rise if followed."

The survivors of the wreck of the Sejanus looked up to see transports streaking down from orbit.  The vox began to echo with warp whispers and Major Thune ordered his men to protect their camp in the wreck.  The archenemy was upon them.

Grimm led his warband up from the landing zone.  His prize stood before him.  The salvage here could repair his cruiser and increase his forces arsenal.   Harkon led a squad of legionnaires to secure a supply bundle while Grimm marched into the wreck surrounded by a swarm of damned souls obscuring him from enemy fire.

The imperial survivors surged forwards to meet the chaos raiders.  An armored sentinel was blown apart by the vindicator as it emerged.  The lone valkyrie that had survived the crash swept in weapons blazing but it's shots bounced off the thick armor of the vindicator.  One of the chosen fell to psi lightning from a surviving primaris psycher.  Grimm laughed as the psychers actions made him a lightning rod for the churning warp around them.  Clouds of warp energy rushed into the psycher moments before his head exploded and bathed his fellows in warp flame.

Grimm ordered the cultists to secure another cache of supplies while he charged into the wrecked hulk leading his chosen.  The chosen hacked apart the guardsmen while the venomcrawler provided covering fire.  Grimm saw the data hub and ordered one of his chosen to download the files while he drew on the warp to create a telekinetic force shield.

While the valkyrie provided inaccurate cover firebthe imperial forces struck.  Harkon was beset by fire and then a damaged sentinel charged in crushing one of his marines.  Grimm absorbed the fire as his chosen worked on the download and watched as the cultists were cut down by fire before 2 sentinels charged in and crudhed them beneath metal feet.

Grimm grabbed the downloaded data slate as rounds poured in and pinged off his psi shield.  Grimm glanced at the officer directing the heavy weapons team.  Grimm thrust out a hand and a ball of warplanes flew out and engulfed the officer in green flames.  Grimm smiled as the imperial screamed and burned.  The vindicator opened up on the valkyrie clipping it and leaving it trailing smoke before ramming the sentinel.  As the sentinel buckled Harkon leaped atop it and ripped the hatch off and dropping a grenade within before leaving off.  The grenade exploded and Harkon waved his marines forward.

Brutus stormed into the wreck his meltagun landing out to slap one armored sentinel before the helbrute charged the second one.  The armored power fists of the helbrute smashed the armored sentinel apart like kindling. 

The damaged valkyrie swung round to pour fire on Grimm's host as they advanced.  A preacher led a squad of guardsmen at Brutus.  The guardsmen threw grenades and improvised explosives at the helbrute.  Before the preacher jammed a Evicerator into the helbrutes leg toppling the war machine.

Harkon led his squad into the wreck and fell upon the terrified guardsmen.  The chaos Space Marines hacked them apart and secured the supplies.  The vindicator opened up on the valkyrie and blew it out of the sky.  Grimm saw Brutus fall and with a roar charged the preacher.  Grimm swung his staff low breaking the preachers legs.  As the preacher fell Grimm brought the bladed end of his staff down impaling the preacher.  The skull topped staff had it's eyesockets glow as it absorbed the preachers life force.  Green lightning landed out then from its eyes into the nearby guardsmen who fell dead, cored like an apple where the warp lightning had struck.   With that the last imperial survivors threw down their weapons and began begging for mercy.  Grimm felt disgusted by them but before he could order their deaths Harkon was on the vox.  "The lower decks need slaves and our mutants and cultists need sport as well travel."

An hour later the slaves and the wreck were secure.  Grimm listened to Harkon asked he gave his report.

     "My Lord we can effect repairs with the salvage here.  The weapons of the imperial fallen are now in our arsenal.  The data you recovered is interesting." Harkon said slowly.

     "How so Harkon?" Grimm asked.

     "This ship was part of a small convoy that was blown by empyric winds into the rift.  They emerged from the warp into a fleet engagement between two dark knight houses.  They were destroyed by the two fleets and forced to crash land here.  Before they did the one fleet scattered and fled before the one fleet." Harkon reported.

     "The two Renegade knight houses?" Grimm asked.

     " Unknown" Harkon said after a brief pause.

     Grimm thought he could detect the barest trace of lie.  He turned his eyes on Harkon and let the silence and menace grow.

     "A Renegade knight house could be turned into a powerful ally. " Harkon said after a bit.  

     "Indeed." Grimm agreed.   We will follow up on that in due course.  Now we have salvage to complete and an ambush to set."

     "Lord?" Harkon asked.

     "As the priest died I ripped his mind apart.  A dying man can conceal nothing.  There is another imperial forces here in the rift.   They had made brief contact.  The spirits say they are coming to rescue those we have slaughtered.  Gather the imperial dead in the wreck and place their corpses in an acted to honor the gods.  Then hide yourself and your men.  We will greet these imperials with their desecrated dead and a ambush," Grimm ordered.