CHAPTER 1
The chapter begins with two "Faustus-class" Interceptors flying in a nebula called "Nubila Reach". We get a description of them before learning that the pilot of one of them is called "Torten LaHain". He asks his observer for his next move (moving 5 points starboard, then going to the edge of a gas cloud before returning to the main fleet). LaHain then almost goes down to the gas cloud before the ship's Astropath tells him that he just recieved a mysterious message that must he must gather and tell Fleet Command. How important is this message? It's a "vermillion level", which is the highest clearance level that the Sabbat Worlds Crusade cryptographers use, which presumably means it's pretty damn important. The astropath needs several minutes to preform a ritual (which I'm guessing he needs to transmit the information). LaHain is busy being impatient, hating psykers like the astropath, and looking out at the nebula before he's informed that unknown contacts are heading towards the ship.
The defense weapons are activated and LaHain gets a message from the captain of the other Interceptor to flee while he still has times. Thanks to the his enhanced optics which are linked to the canopy's systems he sees the other interceptor coming at him. With Chaos ships not too far behind. As to hammer the point home, the other captain's scream abruptly ends, the other Interceptor "vanishes in a fireball", and the Chaos ships are still coming coming at them. Repeat after me: Oh, Crap!.
It's unfortunately taking a very long time for the Astropath to recieve and transmit the message, and time is not something they have. Much to the stress of the astropath, the ritual is finally done. LaHain turns around and begins firing plasma cannons at the ships, in the full knowledge that he's not going to win. He finally takes out two ships, but after he destroys the second one, a rain of warheads rakes the ship, causing the Astropath's head to explode, while the ovserver just explodes, and the flight engineer dies and the reactor interlock is destroyed. The Interceptor (and LaHain as well) promtly vapourises and the entire ship explodes.
edited 11th Dec '10 5:38:23 AM by SantosLHalper
Oh, I like this.
"And as long as a sack of shit is not a good thing to be, chivalry will never die."
The people who followed my liveblogging of "Wargames and Death Toys" may remember how I said I would do a Gaunt's Ghosts liveblogging when I was done with it. Since "Wargames and Death Toys" was deleted from the site it was hosted on, I guess it's time to liveblog Gaunt's Ghosts. I have skimmed through aproximately 130 pages, but I unfortunately did not pay much attention to it.
Table of Contents
Volume 1: The FoundingFirst and Only
edited 4th Dec '10 11:59:50 AM by SantosLHalper