Entering the Atmosphere

[Rallus Zenodius]

GM

The Thunderhawk eased out of the hangar of the strike cruiser Deliverance into the cold recesses of space.
The voice of Brother Gradius, the pilot echoed over the command comm-net, the voice was transmitted to the command staff aboard the Bridge as they watched the Thunderhawk make its way towards the planet’s surface.

”Firesky is clear of the hangar, setting course for checkpoint gamma, St Sabbat’s square. “ The marine closed the channel after the acknowledgment from the bridge and turned to the navigation servitor built into the hawk’s cockpit. ”Set a course on a heading of 433 by 679, I want us coming in on the south side once we enter the atmosphere,” the servitor simply gave its usual response of clicks and beeps as it plotted the best course around the specified flight path. Gradius was not one for letting the servitors fly the thunderhawk for him. Most ships in the Imperium were on the whole piloted by automated functions and algorithms. While any pilot worth his title could pilot a craft without any aid, for many it was a task that took all of their ability and experience.
The hawk soared through space until the servitor beeped and a small light flashed. They were about to enter the atmosphere.

Multiple readings came up on screen, informing the pilot about the atmosphere composition. The sensors picked up over fifty elements but on the whole the atmosphere was much like that of Terra, 75% nitrogen, 21% oxygen 3% carbon dioxide and 1% trace elements. This, coupled with its relative proximity to the Armageddon sector meant that it had been quick to colonise and advance. The voice of Brother Gradius came over the strike force general comm.-net, speaking to each and every space marine.

” Entering atmosphere in T-minus 30 seconds. Be prepared.”
As the thunderhawk entered the atmosphere there was a sharp jolt and the craft underwent the usual turbulence. Again the cockpit sounded with the voice of Gradius.

”Initialize atmosphere protocols, terra conformation. Shut down space thrusters protocols and initialize the atmosphere flight engine protocols. “ The servitor beeped and whirred again and the thunderhawk steadied as the protocols took effect.

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As they flew across the planet’s surface, a temperate world of urban areas, forests and mountains the voice of the Chaplain could be heard announcing the litanies and prayers to the emperor. They were about twenty minutes out from checkpoint gamma where they would rendezvous with the remains of the Guard on the surface and push towards the spaceport.

[Manius Agrippa]

Sgt Agrippa activated 1st Squads Comm Link channel.

"OKAY FIRST SQUAD. WE HAVE DONE THIS BEFORE. AS SOON AS THE RAMP IS DOWN I WANT YOU READY TO GO. YOU KNOW THE DRILL. DELTA TEAM FORM A SEMI CIRCLE CENTRED ON THE HEAVY BOLTER DIRECTLY TO THE FRONT OF THE THUNDERHAWK. 50 METERS OUT. 20 METER SPACING"

He let this sink in for a second before continuing

"CHARLIE TEAM ON ME. WE COVER THE REAR ARC. ACHILLIES YOU GO 50 METERS BEHIND THE DROPSHIP. AVOID THE JET EXHAUST. CAMILLUS, MULETO. YOU COVER THE RIGHT QUARTER. BROTHER SEPTINIUS AND I WILL COVER THE LEFT"

He waited for any questions not expecting any - before continuing.

"ONCE THE FIRESKY HAS DUSTED OFF DELTA TEAM WILL FOLLOW THE SCOUTS. IF THEY GET BUMPED YOU ARE TO FORM A BASE OF FIRE. CHARLIE WILL BRING UP THE REAR AND REACT TO ANY ENGAGEMENT TO THE FRONT. I WANT SPEED AND EFFICIENCY MARINES. THIS IS WHAT WE DO BROTHERS. LET NONE DENY IT IN WORD OR DEED"

And with that he placed the channel back to standby and began to quietly recite the chapters 2nd catechism of honor.

[Demoades Achilles]

Demoades held his plasmagun in his lap, ready. He began to sweat.

Death could be near...

[Numerius Silvanus]

“Paratus et Fidelis”


The Chaplain's voice still echoed within Silvanus's mind. He had positioned himself near the back seats somewhat separating himself from his brothers. With almost half of the seats empty Silvanus could afford it.

With such an odd Squad arrangement as of late, Silvanus opted to travel planet side with the Tactical squad and take a more reserved background role once the fighting started, so that he could attend to injured marines.

Agrippa was already howling out commands to his fellow brothers. Landfall was soon to be upon them.

Usually the Apothecary would travel within the Command squad accompanying the Force Commander and Chaplain. But strange circumstances required even stranger exceptions. As they now had a mis-matched group within the Thunderhawk.

But once the fighting started it wouldn't matter

For whenever there would be a battle, an Apothecary would be needed.

[Julius Quintus]

The gunship boosted clear of the Deliverences hanger and began its descent into the atmosphere of Lirdian. Julius experianced a moment of weightlessness as the thunderhawk left the starships AG field and then the rapid acceleration of the aircrafts three plasma scram-rockets compensated and he was crushed back into the G chair.
The gunship shook as its hull kissed the atmosphere and the temperature in the cabin began to rise as the fuselage grew redhot from the air friction.

Gradually the shaking disippated as the gunship passed into the stratosphere and shifted to atmospheric flight mode, turning onto course for the designated drop zone. Julius could hear Agrippa giving his dispersal orders over the command channel so he activated his squad comm-link and began to give his own deployment instructions.

"When we hit the ground we wait for the tactical squad to secure a perimeter. When they signal the all clear we'll move out for the objective. Taranius you're on point, I'll be behind you then Calpurnius for base of fire if we run into trouble. Raziel you've got the tail end so keep you're eyes open. The rest of the strike group will follow us at about 300m and wait for us to clear any outlying sentries. Clear?"

OOC: OK guys this is your chance to show us you can role=play. I want to see good long descripive posts with proper paragraphs. Remember the 3 post rule but regular good quality posts will keep you alive.

[Magnus Calpurnius]

The flight from ship to atmosphere wasn't that bad, but as soon as it hit the atmosphere and the turbulence started Magnus' normal hatred of flying came back in full force. "I hate flying." He whispered to himself.

Fortunately it didn't last long, and before he knew it they had levelled out and were gliding in to land. He noticed the tactical sergeant was giving out orders, and one of the tactical marines didn't seem to be enjoying the flight either. At least he could take comfort in that.

"When we hit the ground we wait for the tactical squad to secure a perimeter. When they signal the all clear we'll move out for the objective. Taranius you're on point, I'll be behind you then Calpurnius for base of fire if we run into trouble. Raziel you've got the tail end so keep you're eyes open. The rest of the strike group will follow us at about 300m and wait for us to clear any outlying sentries. Clear?"

"Yes sergeant." Magnus replied, already checking to see if the heavy bolter had faired better than himself on the trip, thankully it had.

He was sure Taranius would be able to keep them safe from the front, though he was a little more wary of having a sniper take up the rear. He had no reason to doubt Raziel of course, it was merely the equipment choice that bothered him. Then again, they were heading in to enemy territory, it was unlikely they would be attacked from behind with the rest of the force behind them anyway. And it's not like there was any other choice of who could go last.

[Rallus Zenodius]

(The next bit of the mission is here