http://dominiquekeephotography.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/miniature-madness-phantom-titan.html

The previous night had been dark, and it had been hot. The orange glow in the distance indicated that the fires were still burning in spite of the rain that had fallen for most of the day. There had been no attacks during the day-shift for the first time since the attacks began 10 days ago. Maybe they had run out of supplies, or even troops. After the fighting of the night before it would not be a surprise, but there was no way to count the enemy casualties as the bodies always disappeared before sunrise. Some people even reported that they had seen bodies disappearing as if they had been teleported away, but none had been confirmed... nothing had been confirmed, not even who the enemy was or why they were attacking.

Corporal Keveev checked the time. For the last 6 days the night-time attacks had started at any point within the next hour and a half. There didn't appear to be any pattern to it, but it always seemed as if the enemy waited until all the shifts had changed and everyone was at their most alert. It was one of a number of strange things about these attacks.

Keveev checked the time again and then started walking his patrol along the outer defence wall. He had been on the jungle planet, Cisoco for nearly 4 years now and had walked this patrol for the past 2 of those. He knew the top of these walls well. So well, that he would recognise the familiar features on the walls, floor, doors and hatches, storage containers, switches and anything else that didn't move regularly. He would walk around areas in almost exactly the same way every time, his feet falling in certain spots, stepping over a crack in the concrete or onto a stain or repaired patch every time he passed, almost as if they were a pattern of his very footsteps.

However, after the recent spate of attacks there were many differences to the previously familiar surroundings. Bullet holes, explosive damage, more cracks, scrapes and many bloodstains. Keveev stepped over a small crater in the concrete of the courtyard he was passing through and checked the time again, then headed towards the rear of the complex before he would start his circuit of the outer wall. Deep beneath his feet, the next shift of a different workforce was getting underway. A workforce that Keveev didn't even suspect existed.

Norma opened her eyes. It would work, she was sure of it, the calculations were correct and could not be denied. This could change the path of the universe and give the Imperium the advantage it needed over it's enemies. She closed her notebook and sat back. It would have to wait until the current enemy could be driven off and the communication blackout that had cut off this planet from the rest of humanity had been lifted.

A new fire had broken out in the jungle to the east. Keveev checked the time, yes, it was probably the right time. He adjusted his lasgun's strap on his shoulder and continued to walk along the walkway of the eastern wall. His eyes were constantly drawn towards the smoke as it rose like a serpent from the trees.

An alarm sounded and people stared to run to take up firing positions as they had on the previous nights. Keveev's job was to keep walking his patrol and to help out where the fighting was fiercest. He kept walking and just as he stepped over a bloodstain that had been there for 3 days, he heard it... The unmistakeable sound of "That" tank. The tank that had tested their defences night after night. This time something was different, the noise had always been loud, but this time the noise was angrier somehow, and much, much louder.

Keveev scanned the tree-line to his left and spotted the first signs of the tank's approach; trees falling. The tank's main purpose, it seemed, was to create a path for the rest of the army, and what constituted the rest of the army was one of the oddest things about this army, if you could call it an army...

This tank, to start with, was obviously of Astartes origin. That in itself wasn't odd; the forces of chaos had access to Rhino-based vehicles and they had a tendency to modify their vehicles, as this one had been. But what followed the tank, could not be described as any "normal" chaos army. There would be xenos from every corner of the galaxy; Orks walked side-by-side with Eldar, Tau and there were reports of Tyranids being spotted... and then there were the Space Marines themselves, many of which sported the heraldry of loyal chapters. Was this all some kind of psychological ploy by the enemy to disorientate Keveev and his fellow soldiers? No one on his side of the defensive wall knew, and as far as Keveev knew, he didn't much care why. They were the enemy whatever they were wearing.

The tank emerged from the trees in an explosion of splintered wood. It changed direction slightly to head towards the compound and then, with a plume of black smoke from the exhausts, drove headlong at the nearest perimeter wall. The defenders opened fire, but the larger guns were not positioned to fire upon the tank immediately and the small arms were ineffective against it's armour. As Keveev watched, the tank spanned the clear ground between the trees and the compound, cleared a trench without slowing, cut through the fence that surrounded the compound and then disappeared from view a fraction of a second before the wall, built to repel all attacks, was turned into flying rubble as the tank punched a hole right through it.

Now inside the compound, the tank opened fire upon the dazed and panicked troops that had expected the usual fire-fight from the top of the wall, and now had a close-quarters battle with a tank that had no qualms about charging men or buildings. The tank had never been so bold. It usually drove back and fourth across the open ground clearing the way for the rest of the army to advance. Now it was inside and it was creating havoc and drawing the attention of the vast majority of the troops.

Keveev looked out over the wall just in time to see a Wave Serpent drop a "squad" of enemy troops right by the opening and as he watched this was followed by a Tau Devilfish and a Dark Eldar transport that dropped even more troops and then peeled away to take pot-shots at the defenders still on the wall. The enemy troops filed through the opening, showing no fear as their comrades were cut down by a hail of fire (and in one case, getting too close to the tank and being run over) and created a cordon that would prevent the defenders from plugging the gap. The tank, meanwhile, headed towards the front gate of the compound.

The gate had been built to withstand even greater impacts than the walls, but only from the outside. The tank passed through the gate like a power sword through tissue paper. By this time the fastest of the enemy troops had reached the gap in the wall and were reinforcing the depleted ranks of the initial attackers. Anything outside the walls were by now free to walk right up to the compound without taking fire, as the defenders tried to kill those that had already breached the wall.

As the defenders fought a tactical retreat to the relative safety of the compound's buildings a pair of large Tyranid creatures came charging through the open front gate, followed by a mass of close combat specialists from all the races; Hormagaunts bounded shoulder to shoulder with Orks carrying huge bladed weapons and Eldar Striking Scorpions with their exotic weaponry. The defenders were completely overwhelmed.

Keveev ran into a toilet block as it was the nearest building to him and staying in the open was just asking to be killed. The floor inside was slippery as he skidded to a halt just inside the doorway, he was not alone. He could smell a foul animal stench over the usual smells of this block and he readied his lasgun. Creeping forward, the sounds of the battle outside fading, he peered under the divides and doors of the stalls and could see nothing. He prepared to kick in the first door when there was a thud and the world turned black for Keveev.

When Keveev awoke he head ached. He reached up and felt a large lump on the back of his skull where he'd been hit. As his eyes focussed on his surroundings he could make out the interior of one of the lower office rooms of the western wing, it had been ransacked; drawers had been turned out, chairs and desks overturned and the potted plants appeared to have been eaten.

Keveev looked towards the doorway and could make out the shoulders of an Imperial fist marine and a large Ork, they appeared to be guarding the room he was in. He scanned the room for anything he might find of use and noticed the time on a chronometer, askew on the wall, 20 minutes had elapsed since the attack started. Maybe the clock was wrong for some reason, Keveev couldn't believe that the entire compound had been overrun in less time than he would spend in the shower each day. He had many questions, but was afraid to ask either of the guards and suspected that the only answer he would get would be on the end of a large fist.

As the time ticked away, Keveev had a moment to collect his thoughts and tried to rationalise the recent attacks and compare them to tonight's. Had they just been testing the defences? Even with hindsight he didn't think so. There were moments in many of the battles that Keveev could recall, where the attackers would almost be able to accomplish what they had now managed, but then they would perform a strange manoeuvre that would go completely against the flow of their attack, or something would go wrong in their plans; like the one time a "squad" armed with heavy weapons had had a weapon malfunction and explode. The survivors had suddenly turned against each other and the rest of the army. This time though, none of that had happened and the attack had been almost perfect in it's execution. It was as if the person directing the attacks had either been replaced or had accidentally hit upon the perfect set of instructions, or at least avoided the bad decisions.

The noises of the fighting had quietened and Norma decided that she could now get back to her calculations in peace, before turning in for the night. She walked down the corridor from her sleeping quarters and exchanged brief greetings with the other scientists she passed on the way to her work area.

Keveev looked up as a tall man walked into the room. The man looked as if he belonged in some kind of crazy laboratory... or an asylum. The man smiled a broad smile. Keveev did not return it.
"Well hello there Corporal Keveev. So good to finally meet you after sampling your mind. Ha HA" The man said jovially.
The implications of what the man said were missed by Keveev. He really didn't like this man.
"What do you want?" He replied flatly.
"I want to be your friend. We're all friends here..." The man paused for a moment. "...and as friends I would like a favour."
Keveev stared blankly at the man and said "If you want something sharp inserted in your neck I can help you".
"Oh... Well, if you're going to be like that..." The man rummaged in his pockets for a minute and eventually withdrew a hand, holding a syringe. He took the syringe from the grey fingers and threw the hand over his shoulder.

Before the hand had hit the ground the man lunged, fast as lightning, and plunged the needle into Keveev's jugular vein. Before Keveev had had time to react, the contents had been injected, the man took a step back and gave him a look that a child would give a sick animal in their care. Keveev felt a warmth spread throughout his body. His back began to spasm and his jaw locked painfully, he could only manage a strangled gurgle before blackness enveloped him again.

When Keveev awoke again, his head hurt. This time the pain was not localised to a lump on his head, but it was more like his brain had just been kicked about the room for a bit and then squeezed back in his skull. Keveev took in his surroundings, he was in a different room, but it was still one of the offices and still in the west wing. He could smell blood and hear running water from the bathroom next door. He sat up and looked down at the desk he had been laying on, it was covered in blood and it was likely that is was his. He reached up to his head and it had indeed been bandaged, and bandaged expertly, this was no field dressing, it was the work of a medical practitioner. What had that madman done to his head? He heard the toilet flush and then footsteps approaching...

Norma ran through the calculations again. She could visualise the equations and the plot-lines in her head far quicker and more accurately than any machine. The engines could make the jump, and if large enough, could transport a huge vessel over vast distances... ANY distances, in the blink of an eye. But navigating the jump would be a monumental task, and would have to be done almost as quickly, or you could end up in a different star system or even in the heart of a star. The best way to navigate safely would involve knowing, not just predicting, the future. There was only a few people known to be able to achieve this and many of them were Eldar in origin. Maybe a gifted psyker could, with focussed training, achieve this. But then that would be relying on the warp again, and the whole point of this project was to avoid that. She closed her notebook and decided to go to bed. Maybe things would look different in the morning...

"So you see..." the man continued "...I am a man of science, not religion. I am The Scientist and I work to protect the Universe from total annihilation... from the rampant spread of order."
Keveev nodded. It made perfect sense to him now. "What do you need me for?" he asked.
"I need you to help me on my quest. Open the path I must walk..." The Scientist said "...Or to put it another way, I want you to open a door." He smiled.
Keveev smiled back. "Which door? and why me exactly?" he asked.
"I need you to open a door that you don't even know exists, to an area of this base that you don't know exists, so I can meet a woman that you... don't... know... exists." The Scientist replied.
"How do I open this door then, if I don't know anything about it?" Asked Keveev.
"That is the beauty of my plan. Because you know the areas of this base that you do know, like the back of your hand, you know where to look to find something you've never noticed before." Replied The Scientist with a smile.

Keveev walked along the corridor. A corridor like many others in the base, but one that had subtle differences that only the observant would notice, that only Keveev would notice; The angle of the floor, a slight change in the direction (and even the width) of the corridor, and the distances between the doors. This last difference was the key. You wouldn't notice by looking along the corridor, the space between the office doors became larger and then smaller. The largest space being about half way along the corridor. There was a portrait of The Emperor of mankind in the centre of this space, Keveev stopped in front of it. "Here" he said.

Norma performed her usual night-time routine; brushing her hair out from the tight bun she wore while working, laying out her personal items in a neat line on the sideboard and praying to The Emperor. This time, without thinking, she also retrieved a bag from under her cot and left it next to the sideboard, she would need it but did not yet know why.

The Scientist stood at Keveev's shoulder. "what can you see in the picture?" he said.
"It's one of the most common depictions of The Emperor. But, that path there in the background. It usually disappears over the horizon... there's usually some trees, but not that building. I've never seen a building like it... and the door... it looks like a key..." He reached out and pressed his thumb against the door. It lit up and there was a click and hiss of escaping air. The painting and the section of wall it was attached to slid to one side to reveal a narrow passageway that passed between the walls of the neighbouring offices which would easily be mistaken for one wall, the hidden corridor ended at a metal door.
"Well done" Said The Scientist "I can take it from here. Take this and I shall see you later. Ha Ha." He handed a small metal sphere to Keveev and as soon as he took hold of the device he disappeared with a "fop" from the corridor, leaving The Scientist alone.

The Scientist walked up to the metal door and studied it for a short while. An Ork approached him and saluted awkwardly "De... er... The H-ole base has been searched Boss. All rel-err-vant materials have been transported to the mothership."
The Scientist nodded absent-mindedly and pulled out a scale model of a tank from a pocket. It is the size of his palm and is bronze in colour. The Scientist presses a few buttons on top of the tank and examines a lens built into the underside of the tank, polishing it on his shirt.

The Scientist bends down and places the tank against the door near the floor by the lower hinge. It sticks in place with magnetic tracks and immediately starts to move across the surface leaving in it's wake molten metal and a cut through to the other side of the door. The tank traces a path up one side of the door, across the top and down the other side. It reaches the floor and emits a beep, The Scientist bends over and picks it up. Placing it in his pocket, he turns to the Ork, who is still saluting. "Yes, yes. Thank you number.. er.. 12, your pronunciation is coming on well, keep it up. Could you give this door a knock for me, there's a good fellow.".

Norma was awoken by an unfamiliar alarm. She sat up, looked about her room and located her tablet. Flicking it on she sees that the alarm is to signify that the door that leads to the above complex, has been breached. There are shouts from outside her door and the sound of running footsteps. She quickly dresses and hurries to the door. Opening it she stops the first person she sees and asks them what is happening.
"The door's been breached... there's a lunatic running about with an Ork... They're killing people." The breathless man said. "The guards we have down here are.. all dead... Hide yourself... or something..." He ran off without looking back. Norma shuts her door and locks it for the first time since arriving on this planet...

Norma scoops her things into the waiting bag, ties her hair back in a quick ponytail, puts on her shoes and then freezes. The sounds outside her room are now quiet and far away. Suddenly there is a nearby scream which is cut off by the report of a firearm. The sound is thunderous in the confined area and Norma claps her hands to her ears in response. She removes them just in time to hear a man's chiding speech "Now, now. That wasn't very nice. She was only surprised to see you. No need to do that." The reply is quite clearly an Ork; "Sorry Boss". Norma picks up her hairbrush as if to defend herself with it. Her eyes are fixed on the locked door to her room.

There is a knock at the door. Norma does not move and is now barely breathing. The man's voice comes through the door to her "Norma. I know you're in there. Your name is on the door. Ha Ha."
Still petrified with fear, Norma starts to back away from the door.
"I only want to talk to you, Norma. Well, to be honest, I want to probe your mind and learn all that you know. Ha Ha. But I won't harm you, you will help me a great deal, and I will help you."

In fear and with the untapped strength of the added adrenalin, Norma throws her hairbrush at the door and screams "GO AWAY!". The handle of the hairbrush penetrates the thin door and stops when it reaches the bristles. Suddenly there is a roar from the Ork and it punches it's way through the wall of her bedroom. She clutches her bag of personal belonging to her chest as it shouts at her "You could have had somebody's eye out wiv dat!". The Scientist walks into the room behind the Ork and says "It's ok, no harm done. Be nice, Norma here is a friend. She's going to help us..." He looked at her, "I see you are ready to leave, Norma". She hugged her bag more strongly and smiled weakly at the man.

Wide-eyed, Norma sat opposite The Scientist. Still clutching her bag, she sat quietly listening to his explanation of how his knowledge absorption technology worked, and she was fascinated. This man had a greater intellect then anyone else she had met, he was also clearly insane. But she couldn't help but listen to him, they were both scientists after all and she could learn a great deal from him, if she could stay alive to benefit from it...

They were sat in a comfortable, yet functional, room on his spacecraft. In her room, he had handed her an object; it was spherical and made of metal. As she weighed it in her hand and observed the fine detail on it's surface, there was a faint "fop", everything had gone black for a short while and she had found herself laying down in a room aboard his ship. She predicted that this technology worked on similar principals to that used by the Necrons; how he had acquired this technology, she could only guess. But she didn't need to guess that where she woke up, was not where she had arrived after the teleportation: She knew there was some missing time, and she could see that his knowledge absorption technology would allow for memory modification. He likely already knew all that she knew, so the only question was; why was she still alive?

"You're thinking about my little teleportation gizmos, aren't you?" The Scientist said.
Norma looked into his eyes and said "Based on the Necron phase-shift technology." It was a statement, not a question.
"Why yes, well observed." He replied. "Particularly tricky to get hold of the information required, but has proven useful... for short ranges..."
"And you want to have it working for longer ranges?" Asked Norma, although she suspected that this was not what he really wanted, but did not want to admit it to him... or herself.

At this point an Ork (huge, scarred and looking ready to charge into battle at any moment) entered the room carrying a tray on one hand. On the tray was a large glass of brown liquid with foam on top, which the Ork placed in front of The Scientist, and a small glass with a wide top and long stem. The Ork placed this second glass in front of Norma and said "Somefink for the little lady." The liquid in the glass was in two layers, the top being yellow and the lower being red, they were slowly mixing where they met. The Scientist looked up at the Ork and said "Very nice, 12. You're cocktail making is coming on in leaps and bounds. Norma just looked in puzzlement, at the small paper umbrella in the top of the glass.

The Scientist looked at Norma as the Ork left, "No no, I want something better. I want what you have been working on these past 5 years." Said The Scientist.
Norma took a breath and swallowed her fear "But what do you want me for, you already know everything I know, do you not?"
"Oo, you are sharp. I could do with you in the morning to shave with. Ha Ha." Replied The Scientist, genuinely surprised. "But actually, I need you to unlock your full potential."
Norma wondered what he could be getting at, but didn't need to wait long to find out.

She walked beside The Scientist, through a laboratory of strange experiments, Norma had been told to follow him and he had led her on an almost impossibly complex route of his ship. She could keep track of the turns and distances easily, but was puzzled by the construction of the ship itself; it was needlessly complex. Where a simple grid layout of the rooms and corridors would do, this ship had countless twists, turns and dead-ends... and yet, still seemed to make full use of the available space.

Norma stopped next to a sealed transparent box. Inside was a small, pink, slug-like creature that briefly looked up at her and then was replaced in the blink of an eye by a teddy bear. The bear was then replaced by a bucket and spade and then a pot of red flowers. After a pause, the flowers were replaced by a small, yellow, dump truck and then in quick succession; a doll wearing a long hoop dress, a white rotary-dial telephone, a toy elephant, a hat, a baseball mitt with ball, a toy boxer, a toy drum, and a yellow lamp that lit up. Norma looked closer, fascinated, it appeared that the objects were, in fact, shape-shifting.

The lamp became a red toy car, a roller-skate, a traffic cone, a lampshade, a toy penguin, a piggy bank, a Ken doll, a blue potty, an alarm clock, a tennis ball, a tennis shoe, a large pot, a yellow ball, a floor-scrubbing brush, a bucket, a tiny blue toy whale, a statue of a tribal man, an incandescent light bulb, a red horn, a small yellow ball, a red sock, and then a fluffy white rabbit. The rabbit glanced at her and then hopped to the far side of the box. The Scientist walked up to Norma. "A little experiment in polymorphism. Not quite perfected yet." He turned away and Norma followed him, leaving behind a basketball in the box.

In the next laboratory there was a large metal sphere on a pole. As Norma watched, bolts of electricity leapt from it's surface, accompanied by a loud crack, to a variety of tall metal spikes surrounding it. Norma asked The Scientist what it was for and he replied "Well, it's just one of them, isn't it... Got to have one of them in your lab, haven't you... You can't do science without one." They walked on.

As they walked to the next lab they passed a small room, stacked to the ceiling with boxes. Some of the boxes were open, and contained pieces of paper that were covered with writing. In the middle of the room, surrounded on all sides by boxes, was a man that was wearing the standard clothing supplied on the planet that Norma had been living on. The man was picking up piece after piece of paper and reading it carefully before replacing it in the box it came from. The Scientist paused at the door and turned to Norma "This is an experiment in learning enhancement. This man already had a good mind for observation and memory and I'm working on enhancing it through drugs and training." Turning to the man he said "How are you getting on my dear fellow?"
The man looked up, "I've memorised 4296 packets of data and can draw 2 prime computations so far. It is by will alone I set my mind in motion..." The man continued to read. The Scientist walked on and Norma followed.

In the next laboratory, filled with small experiments, Norma noticed a small cube that didn't look like a cube should. It was difficult to focus on it's shape and appeared to be more than just a cube. Before The Scientist opened his mouth to explain, she said "It's a 4D cube isn't it?"
"Yes, represented in 3 dimensions. Of course all objects are 12 dimensional, that we can only see 3 of them does not stop them existing. I just thought I'd see what advantage could be gained from creating objects of higher dimensional proportions in 3 dimensions. You should see the 9D cube... that makes your eyes want to crawl under a rock. Ha Ha."

Turning left they walked down a corridor that passed the windows to several rooms. Between the various beasts and monsters that appeared to be from a mad-man's dreams, there was one room with a small child that was staring at some floating letter-cubes which were stacking and re-stacking themselves.
"Promising children..." Said The Scientist "Brilliant telekinetic powers. Ah, here we are..."

The Scientist led Norma into an observation gallery. Below them was a plain room with two doors opposite each other. As she watched, the doors opened and two identical human males (or a close approximation) walked in from the opposite sides. They were large enough in build to be Astartes marines.

The Scientist turned to her "Which of these two identical clones do you think will win in a fair fight?"
"Um, I don't know much about fighting. It would have to be purely a guess without further information." She replied.
"Yes, but you have access to all the information you require, if only you knew how to access it." He looked at her expectantly.
"I don't know what you mean." She said sternly.
Without warning and as quick as a flash, The Scientist grabbed her and held a long thin blade to her neck. "This knife, that I am holding to your throat, is covered with a poison that will attack your nervous system causing intense, agonising, pain that will likely last for 30 or more hours before death. All that is needed is the slightest of cuts and only a few nanograms of poison to enter your blood stream. Tell me who will win the fight and you will come to no harm... Three..."
Held in the grip of fear once again, Norma could do nothing but utter a single word; "left"
The Scientist withdrew the knife and then knocked on the glass in front of them with the pommel. The men instantly leapt at each other and fought with their bare hands until one lay dead, his head twisted backwards. Norma had been forced to watch the whole, horrifying spectacle.

The Scientist turned to her "So, Norma. Which one won?"

Like she said the.one that's left

Still in shock, Norma noticed that it was the man that had entered from the left. But that had only been a guess, hadn't it? She didn't like to guess, but had had to say something out of fear. "Th-The left one." She managed.
"Indeed it was... And that was no guess you made. You knew that would happen, I just had to give you a little... push, Ha Ha." Said The Scientist.
"W-what?" Said Norma weakly, still staring at the men.
"You refuse to give answers that are only guesswork, it's in your very nature. The only way you could give an answer to any question is... if you could calculate, as it were, the answer." The Scientist looked at the knife in his hand, turned to the window, opened it and gently threw it down to the victor below. The man caught the knife by the blade and immediately keeled over backwards and started writhing in pain.

The Scientist led Norma away from the window and continued to explain. "The key, my dear Norma, to your method of travel, is in you... Prescience... Yes, you can see the future, and I have something that means I don't have to hold a knife to your throat every time. Come..."

 Gitsplitta wrote:
Annoucing the Second Annual Mantis Maker Competition!


Date: July 27th - Aug 27th
Title: Alia jacta est! ("the die is cast"... or alternatively... "cast the die")
Theme: The contest is to make a Mantis Warrior in a duel with another figure (a marine). I will have the opponent built (probably not yet painted) by the time the competiton begins so you know what you're figure needs to match with. The "display base" will be a large oval (Knight or flyer) type base. Your figure must be infantry of some sort (no vehicles) and fit on a 40mm base (though it can be any type of infantry & does not need to be confined within the 40mm base... but I want it based on 40mm so I can make the overall display correctly). On the 27th, I'll post pictures of my part of the display, as well as measurements so you know what the physical size limitations for your figure.

This is not a painting competition. Best painted won't necessarily win... the winner will be the person who has the most dynamic, exciting and jaw-droppingly creative Mantis Warrior opponent for whatever scum-bag marine that needs killin' that I create. It must also match well with my component... so biggest might not be the best (I'll leave that to you). Painting will be a factor of course, but not the deciding one.

Da Rulz...
1. Entries must be unique to this competition.
2. You must post a pic of your build and your final entry here on this blog. WIP shots are welcome here... but not necessary.
3. Each entry must be the work of one person only.
4. Deadline is 12AM GMT on Aug. 27th... whenever GMT is... I have no idea, it just sounds good.
5. You are strongly encouraged to help each other out. Visit each others plogs, etc. We are a big, global family of nerds... let's support each other!
6. Other rules as I think of them. I'll have the final set by the 27th.

Da Kategoreez - these don't "stack", one per person

"I'm here to chew bubblegum and kick a$$, and I'm all out of bublegum!" (Grand Prize):
"It is better to look good than to feel good, and I look mahvelous!" (best painted)
"To go where no man has gone before." (most original idea).
"A good stretch of the legs." (person who worked the farthest beyond their capabilities)
"Ill be back." (person with the most improved entry from last year to this one)

Da Prizez
Each of the winners will get something... easily transferable. Unlike last year where I spent 10x the value of each prize in shipping because the European contestants kicked the American's butts all over the gaming table. I'm thinking something like credit with one of the bits makers... like Zinge perhaps, or maybe another company in the US for any winners (just in case any of you p-knockers manage to step up your game this year). Maybe I can get a bit of a break from someone... we'll see. The grand prize winner will also get the display base including my figure... all painted, based and ready to show off their fine work. Neat thing is I'll be painting my end of the diorama at the same time you'll be working on yours. (That way I can mess with everyone's head while the comp is going on.) If you (personally) or your company would like to sponsor a prize, just PM me. I don't expect anyone to do it, but you never know unless you ask. I'm thinking each of the prizes will be about $25 in value (US) if I'm paying. If you're paying, the sky is the limit but I'd like to keep it at or above $25 (that's what... about 2 pounds now??). *sigh*


I am looking for a small cadre of judges. I would prefer folks who have a good eye for design and technique, but you don't have to be an experienced judge. I'd also prefer folks would be willing to help people with constructive feedback after the competition is over. I will however, keep your identities private during the competition SO BY THUNDER DON'T POST YOUR DESIRE TO BE A JUDGE ON THIS BLOG! PM me please.


Lastly... as you know I haven't been very active on dakka for quite a while (just taking a break, enjoying my boat and my family) so I suspect only the hard-core followers are still keeping up with this blog. I would very much appreicate it if you would help generate some buzz for the competition by cross-posting this announcement on your own blogs.

Comps are so much more fun when there's a good variety of people involved and the ideas that came out of this competition last year were really inspiring. I'd love to see some new and/or young hobbyists involved. That's why the "good stretch of the legs" category is there. You don't have to be fantastic... just show that you really put yourself to the test, tried some new techniques and experimented. Competitons are a good excuse to learn and practice new skills, expand your horizons and just take chances you might not normally take.


That's it for now. Please spread the word. You don't have to commit now... but a few bumps of this post never hurt!

Gits

The previous night had been dark, and it had been hot. The orange glow in the distance indicated that the fires were still burning in spite of the rain that had fallen for most of the day. There had been no attacks during the day-shift for the first time since the attacks began 10 days ago. Maybe they had run out of supplies, or even troops. After the fighting of the night before it would not be a surprise, but there was no way to count the enemy casualties as the bodies always disappeared before sunrise. Some people even reported that they had seen bodies disappearing as if they had been teleported away, but none had been confirmed... nothing had been confirmed, not even who the enemy was or why they were attacking.

Corporal Keveev checked the time. For the last 6 days the night-time attacks had started at any point within the next hour and a half. There didn't appear to be any pattern to it, but it always seemed as if the enemy waited until all the shifts had changed and everyone was at their most alert. It was one of a number of strange things about these attacks.

---
Keveev checked the time again and then started walking his patrol along the outer defence wall. He had been on the jungle planet, Cisoco for nearly 4 years now and had walked this patrol for the past 2 of those. He knew the top of these walls well. So well, that he would recognise the familiar features on the walls, floor, doors and hatches, storage containers, switches and anything else that didn't move regularly. He would walk around areas in almost exactly the same way every time, his feet falling in certain spots, stepping over a crack in the concrete or onto a stain or repaired patch every time he passed, almost as if they were a pattern of his very footsteps.

However, after the recent spate of attacks there were many differences to the previously familiar surroundings. Bullet holes, explosive damage, more cracks, scrapes and many bloodstains. Keveev stepped over a small crater in the concrete of the courtyard he was passing through and checked the time again, then headed towards the rear of the complex before he would start his circuit of the outer wall. Deep beneath his feet, the next shift of a different workforce was getting underway. A workforce that Keveev didn't even suspect existed.

Norma opened her eyes. It would work, she was sure of it, the calculations were correct and could not be denied. This could change the path of the universe and give the Imperium the advantage it needed over it's enemies. She closed her notebook and sat back. It would have to wait until the current enemy could be driven off and the communication blackout that had cut off this planet from the rest of humanity had been lifted.

---
A new fire had broken out in the jungle to the east. Keveev checked the time, yes, it was probably the right time. He adjusted his lasgun's strap on his shoulder and continued to walk along the walkway of the eastern wall. His eyes were constantly drawn towards the smoke as it rose like a serpent from the trees.

An alarm sounded and people stared to run to take up firing positions as they had on the previous nights. Keveev's job was to keep walking his patrol and to help out where the fighting was fiercest. He kept walking and just as he stepped over a bloodstain that had been there for 3 days, he heard it... The unmistakeable sound of "That" tank. The tank that had tested their defences night after night. This time something was different, the noise had always been loud, but this time the noise was angrier somehow, and much, much louder.

---
Keveev scanned the tree-line to his left and spotted the first signs of the tank's approach; trees falling. The tank's main purpose, it seemed, was to create a path for the rest of the army, and what constituted the rest of the army was one of the oddest things about this army, if you could call it an army...

This tank, to start with, was obviously of Astartes origin. That in itself wasn't odd; the forces of chaos had access to Rhino-based vehicles and they had a tendency to modify their vehicles, as this one had been. But what followed the tank, could not be described as any "normal" chaos army. There would be xenos from every corner of the galaxy; Orks walked side-by-side with Eldar, Tau and there were reports of Tyranids being spotted... and then there were the Space Marines themselves, many of which sported the heraldry of loyal chapters. Was this all some kind of psychological ploy by the enemy to disorientate Keveev and his fellow soldiers? No one on his side of the wall knew, and as far as Keveev knew, he didn't much care why. They were the enemy whatever they were wearing.

---
The tank emerged from the trees in an explosion of splintered wood. It changed direction slightly to head towards the compound and then, with a plume of black smoke from the exhausts, drove headlong at the nearest perimeter wall. The defenders opened fire, but the larger guns were not positioned to fire upon the tank immediately and the small arms were ineffective against it's armour. As Keveev watched, the tank spanned the clear ground between the trees and the compound, cleared a trench without slowing, cut through the fence that surrounded the compound and then disappeared from view a fraction of a second before the wall, built to repel all attacks, was turned into flying rubble as the tank punched a hole right through it.

Now inside the compound, the tank opened fire upon the dazed and panicked troops that had expected the usual fire-fight from the top of the wall, and now had a close-quarters battle with a tank that had no qualms about charging men or buildings. The tank had never been so bold. It usually drove back and fourth across the open ground clearing the way for the rest of the army to advance. Now it was inside and it was creating havoc and drawing the attention of the vast majority of the troops.

Keveev looked out over the wall just in time to see a Wave Serpent drop a "squad" of enemy troops right by the opening and as he watched this was followed by a Tau Devilfish and a Dark Eldar transport that dropped even more troops and then peeled away to take pot-shots at the defenders still on the wall. The enemy troops filed through the opening, showing no fear as their comrades were cut down by a hail of fire (and in one case, getting too close to the tank and being run over) and created a cordon that would prevent the defenders from plugging the gap. The tank, meanwhile, headed towards the front gate of the compound.

---
The gate had been built to withstand even greater impacts than the walls, but only from the outside. The tank passed through the gate like a power sword through tissue paper. By this time the fastest of the enemy troops had reached the gap in the wall and were reinforcing the depleted ranks of the initial attackers. Anything outside the walls were by now free to walk right up to the compound without taking fire, as the defenders tried to kill those that had already breached the wall.

As the defenders fought a tactical retreat to the relative safety of the compound's buildings a pair of large Tyranid creatures came charging through the open front gate, followed by a mass of close combat specialists from all the races; Hormagaunts bounded shoulder to shoulder with Orks carrying huge bladed weapons and Eldar Striking Scorpions with their exotic weaponry. The defenders were completely overwhelmed.

Keveev ran into a toilet block as it was the nearest building to him and staying in the open was just asking to be killed. The floor inside was slippery as he skidded to a halt just inside the doorway, he was not alone. He could smell a foul animal stench over the usual smells of this block and he readied his lasgun. Creeping forward, the sounds of the battle outside fading, he peered under the divides and doors of the stalls and could see nothing. He prepared to kick in the first door when there was a thud and the world turned black for Keveev.

---
When Keveev awoke he head ached. He reached up and felt a large lump on the back of his skull where he'd been hit. As his eyes focussed on his surroundings he could make out the interior of one of the lower office rooms of the western wing, it had been ransacked; drawers had been turned out, chairs and desks overturned and the potted plants appeared to have been eaten.

Keveev looked towards the doorway and could make out the shoulders of an Imperial fist marine and a large Ork, they appeared to be guarding the room he was in. He scanned the room for anything he might find of use and noticed the time on a chronometer, askew on the wall, 20 minutes had elapsed since the attack started. Maybe the clock was wrong for some reason, Keveev couldn't believe that the entire compound had been overrun in less time than he would spend in the shower each day. He had many questions, but was afraid to ask either of the guards and suspected that the only answer he would get would be on the end of a large fist.

As the time ticked away, Keveev had a moment to collect his thoughts and tried to rationalise the recent attacks and compare them to tonight's. Had they just been testing the defences? Even with hindsight he didn't think so. There were moments in many of the battles that Keveev could recall, where the attackers would almost be able to accomplish what they had now managed, but then they would perform a strange manoeuvre that would go completely against the flow of their attack, or something would go wrong in their plans; like the one time a "squad" armed with heavy weapons had had a weapon malfunction and explode. The survivors had suddenly turned against each other and the rest of the army. This time though, none of that had happened and the attack had been almost perfect in it's execution. It was as if the person directing the attacks had either been replaced or had accidentally hit upon the perfect set of instructions, or at least avoided the bad decisions.

---
The noises of the fighting had quietened and Norma decided that she could now get back to her calculations in peace, before turning in for the night. She walked down the corridor from her sleeping quarters and exchanged brief greetings with the other scientists she passed on the way to her work area.

Keveev looked up as a tall man walked into the room. The man looked as if he belonged in some kind of crazy laboratory... or an asylum. The man smiled a broad smile. Keveev did not return it.
"Well hello there Corporal Keveev. So good to finally meet you after sampling your mind. Ha HA" The man said jovially.
The implications of what the man said were missed by Keveev. He really didn't like this man.
"What do you want?" He replied flatly.
"I want to be your friend. We're all friends here..." The man paused for a moment. "...and as friends I would like a favour."
Keveev stared blankly at the man and said "If you want something sharp inserted in your neck I can help you".
"Oh... Well, if you're going to be like that..." The man rummaged in his pockets for a minute and eventually withdrew a hand, holding a syringe. He took the syringe from the grey fingers and threw the hand over his shoulder.

Before the hand had hit the ground the man lunged, fast as lightning, and plunged the needle into Keveev's jugular vein. Before Keveev had had time to react, the contents had been injected, the man took a step back and gave him a look that a child would give a sick animal in their care. Keveev felt a warmth spread throughout his body. His back began to spasm and his jaw locked painfully, he could only manage a strangled gurgle before blackness enveloped him again.

---
When Keveev awoke again, his head hurt. This time the pain was not localised to a lump on his head, but it was more like his brain had just been kicked about the room for a bit and then squeezed back in his skull. Keveev took in his surroundings, he was in a different room, but it was still one of the offices and still in the west wing. He could smell blood and hear running water from the bathroom next door. He sat up and looked down at the desk he had been laying on, it was covered in blood and it was likely that is was his. He reached up to his head and it had indeed been bandaged, and bandaged expertly, this was no field dressing, it was the work of a medical practitioner. What had that madman done to his head? He heard the toilet flush and then footsteps approaching...

Norma ran through the calculations again. She could visualise the equations and the plot-lines in her head far quicker and more accurately than any machine. The engines could make the jump, and if large enough, could transport a huge vessel over vast distances... ANY distances, in the blink of an eye. But navigating the jump would be a monumental task, and would have to be done almost as quickly, or you could end up in a different star system or even in the heart of a star. The best way to navigate safely would involve knowing, not just predicting, the future. There was only a few people known to be able to achieve this and many of them were Eldar in origin. Maybe a gifted psyker could, with focussed training, achieve this. But then that would be relying on the warp again, and the whole point of this project was to avoid that. She closed her notebook and decided to go to bed. Maybe things would look different in the morning...

---
"So you see..." the man continued "...I am a man of science, not religion. I am The Scientist and I work to protect the Universe from total annihilation... from the rampant spread of order."
Keveev nodded. It made perfect sense to him now. "What do you need me for?" he asked.
"I need you to help me on my quest. Open the path I must walk..." The Scientist said "...Or to put it another way, I want you to open a door." He smiled.
Keveev smiled back. "Which door? and why me exactly?" he asked.
"I need you to open a door that you don't even know exists, to an area of this base that you don't know exists, so I can meet a woman that you... don't... know... exists." The Scientist replied.
"How do I open this door then, if I don't know anything about it?" Asked Keveev.
"That is the beauty of my plan. Because you know the areas of this base that you do know, like the back of your hand, you know where to look to find something you've never noticed before." Replied The Scientist with a smile.

Keveev walked along the corridor. A corridor like many others in the base, but one that had subtle differences that only the observant would notice, that only Keveev would notice; The angle of the floor, a slight change in the direction (and even the width) of the corridor, and the distances between the doors. This last difference was the key. You wouldn't notice by looking along the corridor, the space between the office doors became larger and then smaller. The largest space being about half way along the corridor. There was a portrait of The Emperor of mankind in the centre of this space, Keveev stopped in front of it. "Here" he said.

---
Norma performed her usual night-time routine; brushing her hair out from the tight bun she wore while working, laying out her personal items in a neat line on the sideboard and praying to The Emperor. This time, without thinking, she also retrieved a bag from under her cot and left it next to the sideboard, she would need it but did not yet know why.

The Scientist stood at Keveev's shoulder. "what can you see in the picture?" he said.
"It's one of the most common depictions of The Emperor. But, that path there in the background. It usually disappears over the horizon... there's usually some trees, but not that building. I've never seen a building like it... and the door... it looks like a key..." He reached out and pressed his thumb against the door. It lit up and there was a click and hiss of escaping air. The painting and the section of wall it was attached to slid to one side to reveal a narrow passageway that passed between the walls of the neighbouring offices which would easily be mistaken for one wall, the hidden corridor ended at a metal door.
"Well done" Said The Scientist "I can take it from here. Take this and I shall see you later. Ha Ha." He handed a small metal sphere to Keveev and as soon as he took hold of the device he disappeared with a "fop" from the corridor, leaving The Scientist alone.

---
The Scientist walked up to the metal door and studied it for a short while. An Ork approached him and saluted awkwardly "De... er... The H-ole base has been searched Boss. All rel-err-vant materials have been transported to the mothership."
The Scientist nodded absent-mindedly and pulled out a scale model of a tank from a pocket. It is the size of his palm and is bronze in colour. The Scientist pressed a few buttons on top of the tank and examined a lens built into the underside of the tank, polishing it on his shirt.

The Scientist bent down and placed the tank against the door near the floor by the lower hinge. It stuck in place with magnetic tracks and immediately started to move across the surface leaving in it's wake molten metal and a cut through to the other side of the door. The tank traces a path up one side of the door, across the top and down the other side. It reached the floor and emitted a beep, The Scientist bent over and picked it up. Placing it in his pocket, he turns to the Ork, who is still saluting. "Yes, yes. Thank you number.. er.. 12, your pronunciation is coming on well, keep it up. Could you give this door a knock for me, there's a good fellow.".

Norma was awoken by an unfamiliar alarm. She sat up, looked about her room and located her tablet. Flicking it on she sees that the alarm is to signify that the door that leads to the above complex, has been breached. There are shouts from outside her door and the sound of running footsteps. She quickly dressed and hurried to the door. Opening it she stops the first person she sees and asks them what is happening.
"The door's been breached... there's a lunatic running about with an Ork... They're killing people." The breathless man said. "The guards we have down here are.. all dead... Hide yourself... or something..." He ran off without looking back. Norma shut her door and locked it for the first time since arriving on this planet...

---
Norma scoops her things into the waiting bag, ties her hair back in a quick ponytail, puts on her shoes and then freezes. The sounds outside her room are now quiet and far away. Suddenly there is a nearby scream which is cut off by the report of a firearm. The sound is thunderous in the confined area and Norma claps her hands to her ears in response. She removes them just in time to hear a man's chiding speech "Now, now. That wasn't very nice. She was only surprised to see you. No need to do that." The reply is quite clearly an Ork; "Sorry Boss". Norma picks up her hairbrush as if to defend herself with it. Her eyes are fixed on the locked door to her room.

There is a knock at the door. Norma does not move and is now barely breathing. The man's voice comes through the door to her "Norma. I know you're in there. Your name is on the door. Ha Ha."
Still petrified with fear, Norma starts to back away from the door.
"I only want to talk to you, Norma. Well, to be honest, I want to probe your mind and learn all that you know. Ha Ha. But I won't harm you, you will help me a great deal, and I will help you."
In fear and with the untapped strength of the added adrenalin, Norma throws her hairbrush at the door and screams "GO AWAY!". The handle of the hairbrush penetrates the thin door and stops when it reaches the bristles. Suddenly there is a roar from the Ork and it punches it's way through the wall of her bedroom. She clutches her bag of personal belonging to her chest as it shouts at her "You could have had somebody's eye out wiv dat!". The Scientist walks into the room behind the Ork and says "It's ok, no harm done. Be nice, Norma here is a friend. She's going to help us ..." He looked at her, "I see you are ready to leave, Norma". She hugged her bag more strongly and smiled weakly at the man.

---
Wide-eyed, Norma sat opposite The Scientist. Still clutching her bag, she sat quietly listening to his explanation of how his knowledge absorption technology worked, and she was fascinated. This man had a greater intellect then anyone else she had met, he was also clearly insane. But she couldn't help but listen to him, they were both scientists after all and she could learn a great deal from him, if she could stay alive to benefit from it...

They were sat in a comfortable, yet functional, room on his spacecraft. In her room, he had handed her an object; it was spherical and made of metal. As she weighed it in her hand and observed the fine detail on it's surface, there was a faint "fop", everything had gone black for a short while and she had found herself laying down in a room aboard his ship. She predicted that this technology worked on similar principals to that used by the Necrons; how he had acquired this technology, she could only guess. But she didn't need to guess that where she woke up, was not where she had arrived after the teleportation: She knew there was some missing time, and she could see that his knowledge absorption technology would allow for memory modification. He likely already knew all that she knew, so the only question was; why was she still alive?

---
"You're thinking about my little teleportation gizmos, aren't you?" The Scientist said.
Norma looked into his eyes and said "Based on the Necron phase-shift technology." It was a statement, not a question.
"Why yes, well observed." He replied. "Particularly tricky to get hold of the information required, but has proven useful... for short ranges..."
"And you want to have it working for longer ranges?" Asked Norma, although she suspected that this was not what he really wanted, but did not want to admit it to him... or herself.

At this point an Ork (huge, scarred and looking ready to charge into battle at any moment) entered the room carrying a tray on one hand. On the tray was a large glass of brown liquid with foam on top, which the Ork placed in front of The Scientist, and a small glass with a wide top and long stem. The Ork placed this second glass in front of Norma and said "Somefink for the little lady." The liquid in the glass was in two layers, the top being yellow and the lower being red, they were slowly mixing where they met. The Scientist looked up at the Ork and said "Very nice, 12. You're cocktail making is coming on in leaps and bounds". Norma just looked in puzzlement at the small paper umbrella in the top of the glass.

The Scientist looked at Norma as the Ork left, "No no, I want something better. I want what you have been working on these past 5 years." Said The Scientist.
Norma took a breath and swallowed her fear "But what do you want me for, you already know everything I know, do you not?"
"Oo, you are sharp. I could do with you in the morning to shave with. Ha Ha." Replied The Scientist, genuinely surprised. "But actually, I need you to unlock your full potential."
Norma wondered what he could be getting at, but didn't need to wait long to find out.

---
She walked beside The Scientist, through a laboratory of strange experiments, Norma had been told to follow him and he had led her on an almost impossibly complex route of his ship. She could keep track of the turns and distances easily, but was puzzled by the construction of the ship itself; it was needlessly complex. Where a simple grid layout of the rooms and corridors would do, this ship had countless twists, turns and dead-ends... and yet, still seemed to make full use of the available space.

Norma stopped next to a sealed transparent box. Inside was a small, pink, slug-like creature that briefly looked up at her and then was replaced in the blink of an eye by a teddy bear. The bear was then replaced by a bucket and spade and then a pot of red flowers. After a pause, the flowers were replaced by a small, yellow, dump truck and then in quick succession; a doll wearing a long hoop dress, a white rotary-dial telephone, a toy elephant, a hat, a baseball mitt with ball, a toy boxer, a toy drum, and a yellow lamp that lit up. Norma looked closer, fascinated, it appeared that the objects were, in fact, shape-shifting.

The lamp became a red toy car, a roller-skate, a traffic cone, a lampshade, a toy penguin, a piggy bank, a Ken doll, a blue potty, an alarm clock, a tennis ball, a tennis shoe, a large pot, a yellow ball, a floor-scrubbing brush, a bucket, a tiny blue toy whale, a statue of a tribal man, an incandescent light bulb, a red horn, a small yellow ball, a red sock, and then a fluffy white rabbit. The rabbit glanced at her and then hopped to the far side of the box. The Scientist walked up to Norma. "A little experiment in polymorphism. Not quite perfected yet." He turned away and Norma followed him, leaving behind a basketball in the box.

In the next laboratory there was a large metal sphere on a pole. As Norma watched, bolts of electricity leapt from it's surface, accompanied by a loud crack, to a variety of tall metal spikes surrounding it. Norma asked The Scientist what it was for and he replied "Well, it's just one of them, isn't it... Got to have one of them in your lab, haven't you... You can't do science without one." They walked on.

---
As they walked to the next lab they passed a small room, stacked to the ceiling with boxes. Some of the boxes were open, and contained pieces of paper that were covered with writing. In the middle of the room, surrounded on all sides by boxes, was a man that was wearing the standard clothing supplied on Cisoco, his head was bandaged. The man was picking up piece after piece of paper and reading it carefully before replacing it in the box it came from. The Scientist paused at the door and turned to Norma "This is an experiment in learning enhancement. This man already had a good mind for observation and memory and I'm working on enhancing it through drugs and training." Turning to the man he said "How are you getting on my dear fellow?"
The man looked up, "I've memorised 4296 packets of data and can draw 2 prime computations so far. It is by will alone I set my mind in motion..." The man continued to read. The Scientist walked on and Norma followed.

In the next laboratory, filled with small experiments, Norma noticed a small cube that didn't look like a cube should. It was difficult to focus on it's shape and appeared to be more than just a cube. Before The Scientist opened his mouth to explain, she said "It's a 4D cube isn't it?"
"Yes, represented in 3 dimensions. Of course all objects are 12 dimensional, that we can only see 3 of them does not stop them existing. I just thought I'd see what advantage could be gained from creating objects of higher dimensional proportions in 3 dimensions. You should see the 9D cube... that makes your eyes want to crawl under a rock. Ha Ha."

Turning left they walked down a corridor that passed the windows to several rooms. Between the various beasts and monsters that appeared to be from a mad-man's dreams, there was one room with a small child that was staring at some floating letter-cubes which were stacking and re-stacking themselves.
"Promising children..." Said The Scientist "Brilliant telekinetic powers. Ah, here we are..."

---
The Scientist led Norma into an observation gallery. Below them was a plain room with two doors opposite each other. As she watched, the doors opened and two identical human males (or a close approximation) walked in from the opposite sides. They were large enough in build to be Astartes marines.

The Scientist turned to her "Which of these two identical clones do you think will win in a fair fight?"
"Um, I don't know much about fighting. It would have to be purely a guess without further information." She replied.
"Yes, but you have access to all the information you require, if only you knew how to access it." He looked at her expectantly.
"I don't know what you mean." She said sternly.
Without warning and as quick as a flash, The Scientist grabbed her and held a long thin blade to her neck. "This knife, that I am holding to your throat, is covered with a poison that will attack your nervous system causing intense, agonising, pain that will likely last for 30 or more hours before death. All that is needed is the slightest of cuts and only a few nanograms of poison to enter your blood stream. Tell me who will win the fight and you will come to no harm... Three..."
Held in the grip of fear once again, Norma could do nothing but utter a single word; "left"
The Scientist withdrew the knife and then knocked on the glass in front of them with the pommel. The men instantly leapt at each other and fought with their bare hands until one lay dead, his head twisted backwards. Norma had been forced to watch the whole, horrifying spectacle. The Scientist turned to her "So, Norma. Which one won?"

---
Still in shock, Norma noticed that it was the man that had entered from the left. But that had only been a guess, hadn't it? She didn't like to guess, but had had to say something out of fear. "Th-The left one." She managed.
"Indeed it was... And that was no guess you made. You knew that would happen, I just had to give you a little... push, Ha Ha." Said The Scientist.
"W-what?" Said Norma weakly, still staring at the men.
"You refuse to give answers that are only guesswork, it's in your very nature. The only way you could give an answer to any question is... if you could calculate, as it were, the answer." The Scientist looked at the knife in his hand, turned to the window, opened it and gently threw it down to the victor below. The man caught the knife by the blade and immediately keeled over backwards and started writhing in pain. The Scientist led Norma away from the window and continued to explain.
"The key, my dear Norma, to your method of travel, is in you... Prescience... Yes, you can see the future, and I have something that means I don't have to hold a knife to your throat every time. Come..."

Norma allowed herself to be led into a dimly lit room that appeared to have wooden panels on the walls and a bar for serving drinks in one corner, a large Ork weapon was resting on the bar surrounded by many multi-coloured drinks. The rest of the room was filled with tables and comfy chairs. She was glad of the chance to sit down and The Scientist sat opposite her.

"Here..." He said pulling a small tin from one of his pockets "...is a compound I found on a distant planet. Long lost to history, it was a barren place that had become a fertile land for a while before returning to barren sand, being almost entirely cleansed by fire... of a sort." He put the tin down on the table, unopened. She could detect a faint cinnamon odour.

"On this planet, huge creatures existed that led a linked existence with this compound. I found the last surviving few of these creatures and... a small amount of this... shall we say, spice." He opened the tin. It was full of a reddish-brown powder. The faint smell, now hit her nostrils like a hammer. Norma recoiled slightly.

"It is entirely safe, generally. I have managed to synthesise it in large quantities, no small feat in itself. It will extend the life of those that use it, with the side-effect that you will be addicted to it for all that life, and acquire a slight discolouration to the eyes." He waved his hand dismissively.

"I don't use it myself, no need to, but I have had some success with certain... candidates. They refer to themselves as... what was it... ah, Free Men. This is because of the best thing about this compound, it will expand your mind and allow you to tap in to your prescience. With a high enough exposure you will be able to navigate the folding of space, as you call it." He pushed the tin slightly towards her. Norma licked her lips, her eyes were locked on the tin. Her head was spinning, the room seemed lighter than it had been when they had entered and The Scientist's voice, clearer somehow. At the back of her mind she had a thought, a feeling, a vision, of floating in a tank of orange gas while the universe folded around her.

"With your designs, your gift, your mind, and... what... I've got... Heh... We can make this happen..." Exclaimed The Scientist excitedly. "Your engines allow for travel outside of our membrane, bend it over and take a short-cut through the bulk to pop to wherever we like. All without having to bother with the warp and their 'brane. This can actually happen and you know that the Imperium wouldn't have let you even try anyway, they are too scared of new things. Try some, and start your journey... our journey, Norma Cenva."

Norma reached forward to the tin...