Poul Marlin - Escaping Shadrac: The survivor's trials were not yet over, however; the Tyranid fleet had forced the Imperial Navy and the Space Wolves' ship out of the system, leaving the Thunderhawk stranded above the dying planet. The prospect of a slow death by asphyxiation made the surviving Guardsmen become restless and agitated, and Sergeant Marlin had to step in and restore discipline, lest fights break out. Marlin assigned his men to man the dropship's Auspex stations, and report anything that could be of use.Once again, the Emperor seemed to protect the survivors of the Slavok 10th, for they quickly identified a possible solution for their predicament. By scanning a Space Hulk that had somehow followed the Tyranid fleet in-system, they identified a recent addition to it, an Eurus-pattern Fleet Tender from the Imperial fleet that had crashed against it. Auspex scans showed that the tender's bridge and reaction drives were intact, so the Guardsmen reasoned that if they managed to sever it from the Space Hulk's main mass using Demolition Charges without damaging the vessel too much, they could use it to blind-jump through the Warp toward the nearest Imperial outpost.Marlin realized it was their best chance of survival, and presented his men's findings to the Space Wolves. It was met by reluctance from Trunglas, the Space Wolves' Iron Priest, who acknowledged that the plan was feasible, but that he had grave concerns about angering the Fleet tender's Machine Spirit. Keeping calm, Marlin stood his ground before the grumbling Astartes, and they decided that the Guardsmen would install the Demolition Charges, and then wait for the Iron Priest to finish the necessary rituals before detonating them.Gathering his men, Marlin gave them a rousing motivational speech, saying they would have only one shot at escaping and assigning them tasks. His speech seemed to amuse Skold Greypelt, but when Marlin asked why, the Space Wolf simply told him to continue. The Guardsmen and Astartes then quickly went to work, but trouble erupted when they encountered a party of Orks from another part of the Space Hulk. The Greenskins were intent on looting this newest addition to their home, and eagerly seized the chance to do battle.Marlin's small party defended themselves mightily, but they fell one by one to the Orks' Choppas, until only Sergeant Marlin remained, barely keeping the Greenskins at bay with bursts from his Bolt Pistol. He was saved in the nick of time by his friend Greypelt, who joined the battle while savagely swinging his Power Axe and cutting the xenos into little green pieces. Greypelt burst out laughing when Marlin reminded him that they only had one shot at taking the ship, happily countering that life itself represented a single shot, and at that, the only thing that mattered was making the shot count. Both warriors then made a fighting retreat towards the fleet tender's access hatch, buying the necessary time for Trunglas to complete the needed rituals. Once completed, they jumped through the hatch and detonated the charges, which liberated their new starship from the Space Hulk's mass and allowed them to escape.As the Fleet Tender moved away under its own power, Marlin collapsed from sheer exhaustion, and remarked in a daze that he was down to his last Bolt Pistol shell. The Space Wolf joyfully told his friend once again that one shot was all he would ever need.