Introducing Warp Beasts
Boarding the space hulk isn't so bad, there's even a breathable atmosphere. It's a bit parky, though, and no powered systems to heat up the amalgamation of ships or even provide much light. We are relying on our own instruments to help guide us.
The choice of docking platform is an old imperial ship, lost to the warp some time ago, which gives us a fairly standard schematic to work through first. Nothing seems terribly amiss to start with, until Dariel asks me 'why are your pants bleeping?'
Alas, it isn't 'because it's the future!', as Moredcai suggests, but the motion sensor I clipped to my belt is detecting bodies other than our own. I have just enough time to bark a direction before three monstrous beasts from the warp are bounding our way.
I can't quite get to grips with the sight of a huge dog missing its skin, or another apparently made out of smoke and fire, and stand shocked for a few moments. I cope a little better than Matthias, who drops to his knees and starts puking, but Mordecai's familiarity with the warp has him acting normally, which is just as well when one of the beasts leaps up to gnaw on his neck.
I snap out of my shock quickly and ready a weapon, but Matthias isn't quite so lucky. After losing both his breakfasts his stomach cramps limit him to half-actions, and as he dropped everything on seeing the beasts his first action is to pick up his gun again. But seeing Mordecai in melee combat with a beast, and me joining with my mono-sword, he drops the gun again and takes his next half-action to ready some brass knuckles, to at least be threatening.
And what a threat those brass knuckles are. The vomit-stained, wobbly Matthias is apparently much more of a threat to the beast than Mordecai is a tasty snack, and despite my hitting the beast with my sword the warp hound turns to attack Matthias instead. Maybe he was better off being sick.
Our combined attack on the warp beasts sees them defeated, if you can call it a combined attack when our accompanying space marine swats each of them aside with his lightning hammer. But for a first fight on a space hulk, and an introduction to monsters from the warp, it could have gone a lot worse. And with a couple of hours deeper to tread it probably will.