Dark Heresy: The Malvium Cypher

[Zarg1]

You stand at in the shadowed recesses of the briefing room within the Vanish, Inquisitor Cassius's personal vessel. Aside from a holoprojector in the room's center, the darkened tiers of the auditorium are lit only by a few feebly glowing lights set in the floor. You are here with with two of your fellow acolytes awaiting the arrival of Lord Cassius.


Test roll please disregard [roll0]

[Zarg1]

OC: (Guys post your character sheets here. Remember point buy, maximum starting gold. [roll0])

[Zarg1]

(This is the last out of character comment of this thread. I have created a separate thread here for the character sheets and such. It can be found here.
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=10918067#post10918067

Now back to our story.)

[Delphon]

(There is no official point buy system for Dark Heresy, there are several non-official ones but I don't know which ones you'd prefer to use)

[Douglas]

The default random method is to roll 2d10 9 times then pick one and reroll it (I think), then add your various modifiers for background, etc. The "point buy" method listed in the Dark Heresy book in the same section is to replace the die roll part with just picking whatever you want that's within the possible range from dice (2 to 20) with the constraint that the 9 numbers have to total 100.

Edit: And this really should have gone in the Out of Character (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=197784) thread.

[Zarg1]

Guys this is the in character thread. We should probably move this to the out of character thread where I will reveal my answer to the point buy question.

[Zarg1]

You stand at in the shadowed recesses of the briefing room within the Vanish, Inquisitor Cassius's personal vessel. Aside from a holoprojector in the room's center, the darkened tiers of the auditorium are lit only by a few feebly glowing lights set in the floor. You are here with with your fellow acolytes awaiting the arrival of Lord Cassius.
Inquisitor Regulus Tactarion Cassius materializes out of the dim light like a mountain out of the fog. He is a huge man nearly as large as one of the blessed Astartes. His chiseled features and crew cut black hair give no trace of his age. Under the cameleoline cloak that shrouds him in shadow, he wears a carapace breastplate with slab like paldrons, yet he moves with a eerie silence at odds with his size.
"Tech Wright Augustine, Officer Ansley, Mr. Petrushka" he acknowledges you breaking the silence. "I have a task for you."

[Talbain]

Petrushka is leaning against a wall, nervously sucking down an Lho-stick and trying unsuccessfully to look bored and non-chalant. He absent mindedly flicks ash in the general direction of a nearby garbage receptacle, but it falls far short and the tiny grey flecks settle slowly towards the floor unnoticed.

Hey, it's about time right? I've seen more action behind a desk! Haha...

An anxious chuckle dies in his throat as Pyotr glances around at his fellow acolytes for support.

[Zarg1]

"Quite time," says inquisitor Cassius in voice that drains any attempt at levity from the room. "You are well over due for a test of your capabilities."
The holotank in the room's center flickers to life projecting a lattice of green grid work in the air above it.
"I have a simple assignment for you," he walks to the projector. "I have received several reports of xenos weaponry in the hands of criminal elements within Hive Ultris on the planet Kolrut." The image changes to reveal a strange almost organic rifle.
"Based on the images that I have recived, I belive this to be a match for the weapon. A shuriken catapult produced and used by the eldar. It deals death by launching razor sharp disks at high speeds. Deadly against lightly armored targets."
"The eldar, though raiders and mercenaries at times, are not known to be arms dealers. If they are supplying these weapons they are doing it for a reason beyond simple monetary gain. It also likely that the weapons were smuggled on world by black marketeers dealing in xenos goods.
Your mission is to determine where these weapons are coming from, whatever their source may be."
"Your initial contact in this is Red Star, an arms and salvage dealer in the lower section of Port spire." Cassius turns his gaze to Quinton for a moment, "She is an informant of mine, and my be the best place to start your investigation." The holotank switches to an image of a hard bitten woman with vivid red hair and a red star tattoo around a glowing red bionic eye.
"This envelope contains the means to contact her," he lays a thick envelope seamingly out of his cloak and places it of the side of the holotank, "It also contains your expense account, information about the world of Kolrut, and the location of a number of holdings kept in Hive Ultris for the use of my agents."
"Do you have any questions?"

[LutherAugustine]

"Lord Cassius" *wheeze*

Luther steps forward grabbing the enveloped left beside the holotank with his right hand, bracing himself with his left. His voice, even with the aid of the synthesizer, sounds weak especially when Luther pauses to catch his breath. The mechanical intonations in his voice, combined with the inhumane look of his head and hands, make Luther feel more like a machine than man.

"We will do this task, as you have instructed. But may I ask...*cough* these images of this weapon, who acquired them? Or are they conjecture based on eyewitness reports? It would help us greatly to know the source of this information. In either case, what are we to do with any confiscated weapons? The Adeptus Mechanicus could study such weaponry and unravel their secrets in the name of the Machine God, the Imperium and Holy Terra. Would you not agree, Lord Cassius?"

Luther makes no attempt to conceal his intentions, starring directly at the inquisitor waiting for a reaction.

[Zarg1]

"This hologram was taken from inquisitorial archives," lord Cassius begins, "though we have pictures of the one of the weapons Red Star acquired. Aside from superficial differences they match this hologram. Any xenos tech that you confiscate should be returned to my ship. You are a member of a rare breed Augustine. Most techpriests see little use in xenos secrets."

[Delphon]

Quinton, dressed in his black Arbitrator uniform in turn reaches out and takes the envelope from the tech priest, warily eying the covetous gleam in the dull eyes of the machine-man.

"I believe I will hold onto such information. The Inquisitor means to dispose of these foul xenos armaments, lest they stain the purity of Humanity's war. Red Star should be able to supply us with the necessary information when we get in contact with her. We should make haste so that these vermin cannot disseminate any more of their "merchandise".

Quinton tosses a glance at Pytor to gauge his reaction to the exchange as he tucks the envelope into his overcoat and awaits dimissal

[Zarg1]

"Quinton," say Cassius, "Your desire to destroy the weapons are admirable, but studying them can grant us knowledge of the xenos. This knowledge though dangerous can aid the Imperium if used properly. They shall be turned over to Augustine's order for study."

[LutherAugustine]

It is impossible for Luther to smile but one could swear he was.

"Of course Lord Cassius *wheeze*. All vessels that hold knowledge are sacred and it is up to the Adeptus Mechanicus to discover and log all of them. We are all the mere sum of our knowledge *cough*. While I would never advocate allying with any xenos, like some radical Ordo Xenos Inquisitors are suggesting, exploiting their tech is something entirely different. Regardless, we should not delay. We should read the information manifest and then depart. The wicked do not rest, so neither must we, right Arbitrator?"

Luther shifts his gaze from the Inquisitor to the Arbitrator with the envelope.

[Talbain]

Pyotr wears a wry smile as he exstinguishes the spent butt of his Lho-stick on the side of the nearest garbage can. He tosses it away and reaches for another. If he is still nervous, he no longer shows any sign.

Careful there Quinton... Lord Cassius doesn't appreciate it when acolytes put words in his mouth!

He winks at the inquisitor as he lights his cigarette.

But hey, let's get out of here! I didn't join up so I could sit around and stare at the walls all damn day.

Petrushka stretches his arms and ambles towards the exit, pausing on his way out of the vessel only to collect the auto pistol and ammunition in his quarters.

OOCThis is the only weapon Petrushka will be taking for this expedition.

[Zarg1]

Cassius regards Pyotr with a bored gaze.
"Pyotr, while your zeal is is certainly laudable, we will not reach anchor for several hours. You have time to prepare if you desire. Remember, though you are operating under the inquisition's authority, it is far better if you keep your purpose a secret. The merest mention of our order is enough to send the ones we hunt scurrying back into the shadows. If you have need of any further information I'm sure Iacton in the library can tell you what you may need to know. Else meet Cassandra in the lighter bay when you are ready to depart. Go forth with the Emperor's blessing."

[LutherAugustine]

Luther wracks his brain about what he might already know about the planet they are about to embark on, as well as the weapon he just saw:

Common Lore (Imperium) on Kolrut vs. 20
[roll0]

Common Lore (Tech) on the weapon vs. 40
[roll1]

Evaluate on Weapon, to find its value vs. 40
[roll2]

Luther realizes most of this information is probably stated clearly in their orders or that Iacton in the library can tell them specifics. He walks over to the Arbitrator to have a look at the envelope.

[Delphon]

Quinton reads over the briefing materials found in the envelope en route to their destination, making sure to copy any pertinent information to his own dataslate as he hands over the contents to the techpriest upon request.

He thinks of what he knows of Kolrut and the Eldar in general as they pass through the warp.


Common Lore (Imperium) on Kolrut vs. 35
[roll0]

[Talbain]

Upon discovering (much to his disappointment) that the ship is still in transit, Pyotr spends the remainder of his first interstellar voyage pacing the observatory and contemplating the fact that he really does not like interstellar voyages; particularly when the only company on said voyage is a wheezing, half dead robot thing and an ex-cop who has clearly misplaced his billy club somewhere in the vicinity of his rectum. Maybe he should have stayed back home on the hive.

Worse, Pyotr did not have the foresight to bring more than one pack of Lho-sticks, and the dwindling supply makes him far too anxious to contemplate anything useful. He'll be out by the end of the day, and after that... perhaps his tribulations will best be left unreported.

Suffice it to say that Petrushka very eagerly awaits planetfall and the use of that all important expense account.

[Zarg1]

Based on a combination of your knowledge, the briefing information, and Iacton the information gleaned from the the grumpy old librarian, you have pieced together the following information about Kolrut.


Kolrut is a warm temperate world roughly half covered by vast oceans. History stated that it was conquered by the Ultramarines in millennia past during the height of the Draedelus Crusade. The legacy of the Ultramarines can still be found across the planet, from lonely statues carved into the rock of mountain ranges. to the shrine of the first where it is said the first drop pod landed on the world to free it from the yoke of its mutant overlords. It is the subsector capital as well.

The world has a population of roughly 10 billion mostly concentrated in the planet's major hive cities. Aside from the major hives the planet is sparsely populated wildness and farmlands puncutaed only by a few smaller cities. Surprisingly clean for any world with it's population, the planet's wilderness areas range from pastoral wilds to thick humid jungles inhabited by feral orcs and other dangerous predators.

Although home to several notable cities and hives, the crown jewel and capital of Kolrut is Hive Ultris, an ancient city that predates imperial colonization. The city is well past the point of being large enough to see from the surface of the planet's blasted moon. Seven great spires as large as great mountains arise along the eastern coast of the planet's second smallest continent, surrounded on three sides by three millennium of urban sprawl, and on one side by the crystal clear waters of the Kaelth Ocean.
The city houses 4 billion souls, more then most subsectors. The vast bulk of the labor in the hive comes from an enormous under hive work force of mutants. The mutants work to atone for their sin of existence in the industrial belly of the vast hives, forging much of the material and finished good for the entire subsector.
Hive Ultris is also the home of the most prestigious and wealthy noble families of the world as well as some that even possess a Rouge Trade's Writ.

(Based on Luther's tech and evaluate tests)
As for the shurukin cannon you, cannot put an exact monetary value to its worth. It is a more common of xenos artifacts. (If such a thing can be attributed to them.) That being said you know little of the few who deal in such forbidden goods or for what price they might change hands, or even what knowledge might be gleaned from such a device.

[Zarg1]

The constant rumbling of the engines changes pitch and despite the ship's gravitational systems you can slightly feel it as the ship changes its heading slowly bringing itself into high orbit. Your com beads beep, before the voice of Cassandra, of the the ship's shuttle pilots comes on, "Hey boys, we're in high orbit and my bird's ready to fly. Whenever your ready, hurry on over and we can head down."

(By the way Lord Cassius has supplied you all with comm beads.)

[Zarg1]

(The contents of the envelope.)
The envelope is a very large and thick manila envelope, sealed with a wax seal embosses with the inquisitional I. It contains three vox beads.

It includes directions to Red Star's contact location, it is a salvage shop on lower levels of Port Spire, that deals with under hive salvage's, and other unsavory characters. According to the instructions you are not expected to just walk in and start talking to her. The contact arrangements are a little more paranoid then that. There is an old message tube that leads from your safe house several levels up in a heavy traffic market, straight down to her own private residence. You may make contact arrangements by sending a message cylinder down the tube. Red Star does not know when she will be contacted or who will contact her, but she should expect to be contacted.

The section of the hive that you are going to be in is a more commercial and residential area, with a number of markets, and housing blocks. It borders the underhive, but it is a relatively safe neighborhood to live in, as long as protection money is payed to one of the local enforcer gangs.

Detailed instructions on how to reach a two additional safe houses in different areas of the hive, (Museum Spire), and the South Forges respectively.
OC: (Bear in mind that these locations are spread over an area equivalent to that of New Jersey)

[LutherAugustine]

Luther approaches Cassius pausing slightly before speaking

"Lord Cassius. Do we have a vehicle to travel around Hive Ultris or is our mission expected *wheeze* to stay located near our safe houses? Also, how 'liberal' may we be with the expense account? I ask merely to determine how we should weigh frugality versus expedience. I wish not to waste the Inquisition's resources but I do not wish to waste its time either *cough*. I believe our current course of action should be to arrange contact with Red Star upon arrival and then proceed to pay off one of the enforcer gangs, as was suggested. Even though we are protected by the Inquisition and have nothing to fear, we would not want to arouse suspicion. Perhaps we can even learn something by talking to them. Then we will meet with Red Star and go from there. I am, of course, merely a Tech-Priest. Arbitrators have more experience investigating, especially when it comes to hunting down criminals. Perhaps Quinton would like to make a suggestion? *wheeze* Though when it comes to matters of the hive and hive life, Mr. Petrushka (Luther does his best to raise his voice but fails and instead has a coughing fit)... pardon me. Perhaps Pyotr has something to add..."

Luther tinkers with his voice synthesizer for a minute. After a quick prayer and some hand movements, a click is heard followed by a deep breath. Luther's breathing is a little less labored for a moment.

[Talbain]

-over the vox bead-
Cassandra!
Pyotr's voice sounds strained even over the comm.
Your voice is beautiful music to my ears! If the zhopa are ready, I am waiting to be swept off my feet again! By your great beauty, yes?
*cough*
I am on my way.

[LutherAugustine]

Augustine turns to face Lord Cassius again

"Perhaps the planning of this mission is best left to the Arbitrator and myself *wheeze*. Some are ill equipped to deal with the pressures of the Inquisition"

[Zarg1]

-Augustine and Ansley-

"Do not under estimate him," Cassius states, "He is a clever fool, and may yet surprise you."
"The expense account is for you to do with as you please. Three hundred credits should be more then enough to see you through this investigation." "You will not need a personal vehicle, hive Ultris has a very effective mass transit system. The safe house contains three cards allowing for unlimited access to it and a truly prodigious store of canned goods. Help yourselves to them."

-Pyotr-
Walking to the lighter bay gives you a sense of how big Lord Cassius's ship is. It is a long walk to the lighter bay. Waiting for you next to her ship is Cassandra. The ship is an Argus lighter apparently modified with passengers in mind. A number of rectangular viewports mark the blocky gunmetal gray ship's weather beaten and meteorite scored hull.
Cassandra stands in contrast to her ship. A petite younger woman, she wears a green pilot's jump suit zipped to just below her neck, revealing a jagged scar over her upper chest. Her blond hair is cut short, but still manages to spill from her light pilot's helmet.
"Hey I was told to expect three guys." she says. "Where're the others?"

[Talbain]

Cassandra! You are looking as wonderful as ever! And your ship... she is a sight for my weary eyes! You have no idea how I have longed to see you again... let us not rush things! I have no desire to spend any more time than necessary in the company of... those two. I'm sure they'll be along eventually - one of them, he is so old the cobwebs in his cloak have cobwebs of their own... and they are all that holds him together! Ha!

At this, Petruska begins to fumble around for a Lho-stick, only to remember he is out. He sighs heavily and shoves his hands in his pockets, giving Cassandra a long suffering look.

On second thought, I am eager to be leaving this ship. I am sure it is a cruelty for a creature of your exquisite beauty to be caged here as well! You long to stretch your wings again, do you not?

[roll0]

-over the vox bead-
Hey, old man! Did you misplace your walker again? What is taking you so long!? We have business to do, and the lady she is eager to be leaving!

Pyotr grins, giving Cassandra a wink.

[LutherAugustine]

Luther excuses himself from the company of Lord Cassius and heads to the lighter bay.

-over the vox bead-
"I am eager to get started with this mission myself *wheeze*. I am collecting knowledge before we leave, something you would be wise to do yourself. As much as I would enjoy dragging the remnants of your charred body back to Lord Cassius, I would prefer to keep out of unnecessary danger"

Augustine arrives a few minutes later in the lighter bay, greets Cassandra and begins to examine the ship.

"Beaten and weathered..." Luther grumbles "As long as we have a capable pilot we should be alright"

Examining the ship for any faults or defects
Tech Use vs. 40 [roll0]
Pilot (civilian) vs. 30 [roll1]
Common Lore (Tech) vs. 40 [roll2]

[Zarg1]

As Pyotr continues to flirt with the pilot, Luther begins examining the ship and checking that the proper rites of preparation for take off have been preformed. Your knowledge of common technical lore reveals the this ship is a modified Argus Lighter. A small shuttle craft usually use for small cargo. This one has been modified with passengers in mind. As Luther continues with the checks it becomes apparent that all the damage on the ship's hull is completely superficial. The ship is otherwise in great condition.

The pilot skill which could normally be used to run preflight checks is superseded by Tech use here.

Cassandra breaks off from her conversation after Luther finishes his check, "Well now, she's prettier then she looks isn't she, Augustine?," she turns and looks around the bay. "Where's the other guy? He knows we aren't paid by the hour, right?"

[Delphon]

Quinton makes his way to the lighter bay, after having finished his daily prayers he arrives in his customary Arbitrator uniform and double checks his weapons and equipment as he walks up to the craft. Checking his voxbead Quinton turns his gaze at the others assembled in the bay, nodding at Cassandra and the others in turn.

"I assume everything is in order and we are ready to depart?"

[Talbain]

Is something wrong Quinton? When Luther wins a foot race, one must pity the competition! If you want to sit this one out, we'll understand... too many doughnuts and not enough exercise has done in many an arbiter, it's nothing to be ashamed of.

Pyotr's accent seems to have mysteriously vanished, but the look of impish glee on his face strains the boundaries of inflection all on its own.

[LutherAugustine]

"Let me ask you, Pyotr, what weapons are you bringing on our mission? I myself *wheeze* am bringing this las carbine" Luther gestures towards the las carbine hanging around his shoulder but somewhat hidden under his cloak "And I am sure the Arbitrator would love to show you what he is bringing along. But enough of this posturing *cough* let us leave for Hive Ultris"

[Zarg1]

"Lets hit it!" yells Cassandra, politely giving you just enough time to almost buckle your seat restraints before hitting the thrusters and practicably catapulting the ship out of the launch bay. The interior of hte shuttle is compartmentalized giving you a great out the front of the cockpit, as well as through the windows, she circles around the Vanish, Lord Cassius's vast converted Freighter. Its is well over 2 kilometers long and about half a kilometer wide and tall. You could swear that the ship looks different each time you see it from the outside. At the moment some one took the trouble to paint the words, The Great Ramilis, on the ships prow, to better have the ship fit its current alias. The great golden letters due little to annul the shadows that seem to cling to the vessel even in the light of the system's star.

Pyotr
The prow is currently capped by a vast ram's head, an feature that you're absolutely certain wasn't there when you last boarded the vessel.

Cassandra brings the tiny shuttle into a steep dive into the atmosphere, plunging through clouds and finally leveling out over a vast tropical ocean. The empty ocean is soon filled by a number of craft, from tiny fishing boats, to vast hauling ships. Soon a number of islands appear, all of which appear to be artfully constructed in a number of shapes. You are joined in the air by a huge number of other craft flying in your direction towards the vast shape on the horizon, rapidly growing to fill the front window. A range of man made mountains appear to soar out of the ocean before you. Below you the crystal sea abruptly hits white sandy beaches and a thousand lagoons and marinas, broken only by the bulk shipping dock.
"This is barrier island city." yells Cassandra over the engines. It separates Hive Ultris from the Ocean. "Beautiful place if you've got the Thrones."



Then the barrier island is crossed and the cities true visage is revealed. On the the far end of the great barrier island the buildings, having stead ally risen in height abruptly stop revealing a vast lake of polluted liquid. You're not even sure its water. Like flies on a carcass a thousand boats and shanty rafts float on its surface. Then you reach on of the spires and the hive's true scale sinks in.

[Zarg1]

It is a mountain of metal large that dwarfs most natural mountains. Surrounded on all sides by centuries of industrial sprawl hemmed in by the bay and the other six city spires. It grows until it swallows you as Cassandra brings the ship into an opening in the hive slope, flying at breakneck speeds trough the vast chasm before finally landing on an outstretched landing pad. The pad begins retracting into a hanger in the chasm wall as soon as you land, the doors sealing before Cassandra pops the hatch.

"Bye boys, have fun on your trip," says Cassandra as you exit the craft. Abruptly the smell of the hive hits you, centuries of human habitation only mostly filtered out by life support systems that were old before your parents met.

The safe house is several hundred levels down. The bay though vast is empty, registered to one of Cassius's alter egos, Free Trader Thorton Ramilis.

[LutherAugustine]

"First lets get to our safe house *wheeze* we should arrange to meet our contact as soon as possible. Pyotr, can you write our letter to Red Star? I tend to be less than diplomatic *cough*. Also, I noticed that this bay is registered to Ramilis. This is a cover we may use ourselves, since people might see us coming in and out of this bay. Working for a Free Trader on business in Hive Ultris. Then again, I am out of my element here. I prefer the company of machines more than billions of people"

[Talbain]

Petrushka stretches his arms wide and takes a deep breath of refreshing stench.

Ah, now this is more like it!

*sniff sniff*

Bit of a dump though. You can smell the apathy of the maintenance crews. Back on MY world... oh forget it. More importantly, I need smokes!

Pyotr rubs his hands together in anticipation as he begins to follow the flow of foot traffic. He carefully scans the crowd, looking for ways to blend in - local fashion, dialect, and the like... looking particularly for denizens that appear to be merchant class. Abruptly he wheels around to face the group.

[roll0]
Does awareness count for this? If so, +10.

Rogue Trader... I like that. Saves us the trouble of a cover story. And hey - while we're here, my name is Peter, ok? Call me Pete. Nice to meetcha.

Peter grabs Luther's hand and pumps vigorously, grinning.

Now, how do we access our expense account? I'm serious about those Lho-sticks. I'm dying here!

[LutherAugustine]

Luther tries to take his hand back from Peter, looking a little perturbed

"Lho-sticks *cough*. Why would you want to ruin your body? You are not one to get right down to business, are you? Well, perhaps you are right. We should scout out our surroundings and an expedition to find (Luther pauses)... Lho-sticks *wheeze* is as good as an excuse as any. Remember though, Cassius said 300 thrones should be enough, so do not spend frivolously"

Luther takes a few steps forward towards the exit, turning his back on his compatriots. After a few steps he turns and says

"Petrushka...uh...*wheeze* Pete. You lead. I do not know how to get around a Hive World and all these people make me... nervous"

Luther places particular emphasize on the word 'nervous', sounding more disgusted rather than fearful.

[Delphon]

"Indeed, lead on 'peter'. However,let us make it to our safe house before we made any unscheduled trips. We can set up our equipment and begin exploring from there."

Quinton takes up the rearguard and looks around cautiously, checking for any subtle signs of danger.

Perception 35[roll0]

[Zarg1]

Looking for any threats, Quinton Quinton completely misses the lamppost infront of him until he walks into it. There are few people around this section of the hive, mostly dock workers. Fortunately few saw you.

To where do you go?

[Talbain]

Patience Quinton, patience... haven't you ever seen any old spy vids? You're never supposed to go straight for the safe house! You have to wander around first and throw them off your trail! But if you really have to go to the bathroom or something, why don't you go on ahead and make the place all cozy for us? I'd like a recaff, one cream one sugar. And a bagel, as long as you're at it! There's a good man.

With that, Petrushka spins about and marches off in single minded pursuit of a convenience store, regardless of whether or not Quinton is following. After all, he's not holding the Thrones!

[Zarg1]

Conveniently, there seams to be a convenience store at the end of the cavernous hall that you are in. The brightly painted metal sign above the entrance proudly proclaims it to be Gavino's market. Proprietors of the finest selection of smokes and tobacco products the the B78 cargo docking sector.
They sell Lho-Sticks of course. In fact they have quite a selection.

[Talbain]

Peter takes his time, browsing the selection starting from the luxury brands on down. If there are other customers present, he makes note of their social class, attire, accent, and brand of choice.

[Delphon]

Quinton frowns at the flippant attitude of his comrade as he checks the local map on his dataslate and heads for the safe house, keeping his eyes open for any interesting storefronts or locals of note, paying special attention to any vendors of the bizarre as he briskly walks away from the meandering pace of Pytor.

[Zarg1]

Peter
You find that you are one of a very few in the store, aside from the storekeep there are a pair of dockworkers.
Your astute observations of the surrounding populace lead you to believe that this is certainly a working class area. The peoples clothes are well worn, but soundly made, holding up well despite faded fabrics and minor holes and scuff marks. In fact it seams that it is almost a point of pride for people wearing them to have such clothes. The people for the most part match their clothes, faded, well worn, but still perfectly functional. Occasionally you see what must be an administrator or servant of a noble house decked out in more current styles.



Quinton: The map to the safe house leads deep, deep into the hive's core. Down a vast elevator. (Unless you want to take around 900 meters worth of stairs.) Your path doesn't take you by and particular stores of note, but the characters you meet are another story.

Despite it being between work shifts, you pass no less then 5 corner side preachers, one preaching an apocalyptic credo that the end is night, a second one preaching that the Imperium shall last forever, and three more preaching on about the sin of mutation. On the elevator (assuming you arn't in the mood to climb down a very very long set of stairs, you end up sharing a car large enough to park a Baneblade Superheavy tank in with a polite but somewhat crazed old man selling effigies of Saint Mysa, and a young teen who appeared to be listening to the sermons of Saint Sebastien Thor remixed to dance music.

You finally get off the elevator, in the midst of a large market selling a variety of sundry goods. If you wanted to you could explore a little, or just go to the safe house.


And what does Luther do?

[Delphon]

Quinton takes the effort to look around the market, knowing that the rest of the group will be some time in coming. He keeps an eye out for any interesting persons around him as he browses the various shop keeps and vendor stalls.

[LutherAugustine]

Luther decided, against his better judgment, to go with Peter. While his intention was to get a feel for his surroundings he becomes more and more uneasy around all the people. Sweat begins to form around his brow and his breathing becomes a touch more labored. He pulls Peter aside

"*Wheeze* I am going to try to find my way to the house *wheeze* I'll see you there..." and then briskly wanders off.

Luther checks his map at first but instead heads to the hanger for some space. After taking a short breather and orienting himself properly using the map on his dataslate he heads out. Luther finds his way to the market and makes his way through, heading straight for the safe house instead of lingering in the throng of people.

[Zarg1]

Fortunately for you it is still between work shifts and the corridors and galleries of the hive are, relatively uncrowded. Still far more people then your used too. You arrive without incident.

[LutherAugustine]

Luther starts taking stock of all the supplies in the safe house. Afterward, feeling slightly more comfortable after his walk as well as noticing Quinton is not there yet, he decides to take a look around their safe house's immediate vicinity. Luther will venture just about anywhere as long as there are few people there. Especially if they are no people there.

[Zarg1]

The door to the safe house, (or at least the one that you use to enter it, is down a narrow ally, between two residential habstacks. It is a fairly standard nondescript door. The inside of the safe house is at first glance a fairly typical apartement. It has a small kitchen and eating area off a main room. Several hallways and stairways, branch out from the main area down into a labyrinthine maze of rooms, secret doors, and dead ends. Many of the rooms are built at different levels or in seemingly arbitrary shapes. Logically you deduce that this must be due to the houses construction around portions of the internal architecture of the hive, such as vents systems and water lines. In fact several rooms have large pipes set into the walls. It takes quite some time to search the entire safe house.
The neighborhood that it is in is quiet residential, vast stacks of habitation blocks. When you finally get to looking around outside, one of the hive's rush hours is beginning and the streets out side are thronged with people heading to and from work.

[LutherAugustine]

Luther takes one look at the throng of people outside and decides to instead stay and wait for his comrades to arrive. He decides to contact Red Star and set up that appointment while he waits. Augustine writes the following, brief, message

"Red Star. Three associates of Free Trader Thorton Ramilis will swing by the salvage shop tonight, after most have gone home. One clad in red robes, one 6'6 with a mesh coat and one undoubtedly sucking on a Lho-stick. We will stop by to discuss the strange happenings as of late"

Luther keeps the message intentionally vague just in case the message is intercepted or lost. He approaches the old message tube, dips just the tip of his finger in sacred machine oil and anoints the tube, then sends it off after whispering a short prayer.

[Talbain]

Peter takes special note of the more current styles before stepping up to the counter empty-handed.

Hey, I'm looking for a carton of something nice, but not too expensive. Do you have any reccomendations? Maybe... a local specialty?

He looks the clerk dead in the eye, searching for a reaction. After a long stretch cooped up on the ship, Petrushka is eager to soak up as much human interaction as possible.

[Delphon]

Quinton heads to the safe house after browsing around the various stalls for a short while, looking around before heading into the domicile. Checking around the various room and nodding at Luther, Quinton sets his pack down and proceeds to take stock of his possessions and begin picking out various tools for the job at hand.

[Zarg1]

In the convenience store, the clerk eyes you with a somewhat bored look and recommends the Midorii brand.

[Zarg1]

The time grows late and Pyotr finally shows up happily smoking a new low stick. This would be your last chance to do anything else before going to meet your contact.

[Zarg1]

Red Star's salvage shop is located in a less affluent are of the hive several dozen levels nearly directly down. Down here the corridors lack the towering buttressed ceilings of the larger corridors of the mid hive, instead you tread through dimly light corridors and arteria, on your way to her shop. It lies slightly off the beaten path in a behind a crowded plaza of neon lit eateries.
The front of her shop is a narrow shopfront squeeze between a pair large garages.
The place is much larger on the inside. Extending well into the garages on either side the place is filled with vast shelves of scrap, organized in no discernible manner.
Before in the center of the shop is a circular metal desk, with a thick slab of hired muscle behind it. He scowls at you and says nothing. Next to him is an aging gun servitor. Its weathered biological components complement its haphazard metal components.

[Zarg1]

The large man speaks, in a thick drawl.
"You just gonna stand there? You don't need an invitation to look around." Somehow he makes this sound accusatory.

[LutherAugustine]

Luther casually glances around and then walks up to the central desk. He takes a look at the gun servitor, noting everything from flaws to its design intricacies, taking a few moments to just look at it.

Common Lore (Tech) vs. 40
[roll0]
Tech Use vs 40
[roll1]

The Tech-Priest then breaks his silence to speak. "We are here to see *wheeze* Red Star... she should have been notified that we were coming" says Luther to the man that addressed them.

[Zarg1]

The servitor, despite appearances, is in fairly good condition. The man behind the counter grumbles.
"Its not for sale. Quit messing with it. Red's in the back, quit keeping her waiting."

[Delphon]

Quinton keeps his arms loose in case there is any trouble, knowing that even when things go according to plan, nothing is ever truly safe when on Inquisitorial business. He waits to see where the entrance to the back room is, not allowing himself to be the first one through any portals as he continues to monitor his surroundings

[Delphon]

Perception 35 [roll0]

[Zarg1]

There are a handful of well worn servitors puttering about. Only one or two have actual guns, but the industrial claws on the others look like they could snap a man's arm like a twig.

[LutherAugustine]

Even though he is wary as well, being surrounded by machinery and scrap makes Luther feel somewhat at home and even at ease. He decides to head into the backroom as the man suggested letting the others follow him.

"Yes *wheeze* it would be a shame to keep her waiting..." says Luther as he walks through the door.

[Talbain]

Petrushka being more than a little intimidated by the quantity of muscle and firearms in the vicinity, remains uncharacteristically quiet. His Lho-stick ceased to be lit some time ago; it hangs off of his lip unnoticed.

Peter takes furtive glances around, sticking close to his companions as he follows them in to the meeting.

[Zarg1]

As you walk into the dilapidated office, a high backed chair rotates around to greet you revealing a wiry red headed woman in well worn leather vest and leggings with intricate geometric tattoos running up her arms. The star tattoo around her eye, clearly marks her as red star.
Her initial scowl fades when she lays her eyes on Luther.
"Well now, Priest of Mars," she says with a smile. "What can I help you with today?" She gestures for you to sit, on one of the well worn, but sturdy, mismatched chairs in her office.

[LutherAugustine]

Luther takes a seat gladly, falling heavily into the nearest chair. His hands are clasped over the end of his metal staff and then he begins to address Red Star.
"Thank you" the Tech Priest takes a moment to catch his breath, then continues talking "I am not sure how much you know, Ms. Red Star *wheeze* but we are here on behalf of the inquisition. I wouldn't normally say this so casually as we want this to be as covert as possible, but since we were asked to contact you directly, I thought you should know. We are here hunting xenos weaponry and trying to figure out where they come from *cough*. We were told you have come in contact with these weapons and can give us a place to start our hunt..." Luther fixes his gaze on Red Star without blinking, awaiting her response.

[Zarg1]

"Like I haven't heard that inquisition one before," she says. "Look boys, either way you've got your sources wrong. I deal in archeotech, scrap, and salvage, brought to me from the lower hive. All nice and legal if you'd like to see my charters, assuming you are from the "inquisition" and not another two bit group of con men." Over the sound of her voice you hear the unmistakable sound of a shotgun round being chambered from outside the door. "If you're with the Emperor's inquisition, prove it."

[Talbain]

All present hear the *snick* of Petruska's zippo snapping open with gusto. A flame appears for a few seconds as he lights his cigarette in an extremely dramatic fashion, and snaps it closed again. He steps out from the position he took, leaning against a shadowy wall in the back.

Oh Luther, you old pocketwatch! he says, laying a hand on the aged tech priest's shoulder.

You're not known for your subtlety, are you?

Pyotr takes a long drag on his cigarette, drumming his fingers briefly on Luther's shoulder. He exhales through his nose, bathing his companion in a cloud of thick smoke. He gaze settles firmly on Red Star.

Ms. Red Star... if that IS your real name... who were you expecting to meet? We've gone through our pre-arranged channel... (Petrushka gives the ceiling a significant glance before continuing) but as you can see, we're in a hurry. We're interested in xenos tech. We know you don't have it, but we heard you know where to get it. If we're wrong, we can look elsewhere but suffice it to say... we represent powers that are VERY interested in getting their hands on this merch at ANY cost. If you want those interests to be Space Marines then woman consider us the Emperor's shortest Astartes! What matters is that those that help us will be rewarded, and those who don't had better pray to the God Emperor they'll be ignored because our master has your name on his list one way or another, and right now you have exactly one chance to decide which side you want to be on. But don't you think for a second... a second! That some slummer punk with a shot gun (Peter gestures angrily at the door) can stop HIM!

Petrushka prays to himself that his shaking hand went undetected amid the wild gesticulation that accompanied his tirade, but wastes no time as he puts both hands on Red Star's desk, leaning in for the finisher.

So tell me lady. What's it gonna be?

[Talbain]

[roll0]

keystrokes

[Zarg1]

"You have 1 minute before my servitors consider you a target. I suggest you leave before that happens," Red says flatly.

Bren had +30 to that check and still managed to fail.

[Delphon]

Quinton looks down for a moment as he types in a code on his dataslate, he calmly turns the pad around, holding it up and offering it to Red Star. The slate contains the authentication sigil of Inquisitor Cassius.

"Scan the code, you'll find its authentic. If you choose to settle this with violence I believe you shall not long regret your mistake. We require your help, our mission requires expedience and we have no longer have time to play the usual politics and games associated with such activities. All we ask is your cooperation and silence and we shall soon be out of your business."

Quinton calmly awaits Red Star's code scanners to confirm the veracity of his statement, having kept an official Inquisitorial code-seal in the event that help had to be "convinced" in a time of need.

[Zarg1]

"Ah," says Red in a slightly higher pitched voice. She calls out to the the shot-gunner behind the door, "Brutus, shut the door and forget you heard anything."
As the door shuts and Red apologizes, "My apologizes, Mi lords. You must understand, one meets all kinds in this business. I have the gun I wrote to your lord about, but not here. Its in a more secure location."
She hands Quinton back his data slate, with a sticky note on it.
"Meet me at that address at midnight. We can talk then."

[LutherAugustine]

"Hmmm... Lord Cassius did leave a few things out, didn't he? Hehe *wheeze* I suppose dealing with these misunderstandings is part of the job"

Luther, having remained surprisingly calm throughout the encounter, gets up slowly, still bracing himself with his metal staff. He lays a hand on Quinton's shoulder

"Quick thinking Quinton. You may have saved us a lot of time and bloodshed here. As for you Red Star..." the tech priest now looks at Red Star again "We will meet you at the address at midnight. As you can tell we are not ones for subtlety *cough* nor men to be trifled with. It would be appreciated if we could keep discourse civil yet efficient from here *wheeze*"

[Talbain]

Peter looks at Quinton in disbelief.

You mean you had proof the whole time?! Why didn't you say so to begin with??

He hurriedly discards his spent Lho-stick and reaches for another. Lighting it, he continues.

I'm over here ranting passionately for my life, and you've got the seal in your pocket the whole friggin time! What is this, some kind of joke to you!?

Petruskha takes deep, calming breaths inbetween drags. He gives Red Star a long suffering look.

Emperor preserve me, I've taken up with lunatics! I'm out of here!

Peter ambles off to find a local watering hole for a much deserved drink, muttering darkly to himself.

[Delphon]

Quinton nods curtly as he takes the data slate back and tucks it back into his coat as he turns to leave, following soon after Pytor, speaking after they leave earshot.

"I apologize Pytor, the situation rapidly became out of hand, the code-seal was a desperate last measure, one I had hoped not to employ."

Turning to the Techpriest while walking.

"Friend Luthor, I realize you are not accustomed to these situations, but it is often advisable to be unassuming and inoffensive when dealing with nominal allies. Mentioning our employer is neither, even those who would have no quarrel with us personally would not regard the Inquisition or its influence well. "

[LutherAugustine]

"Bah. I don't deal in subtlety well *wheeze*. The inquisition is universally feared and rightly so but our cause is just. I would invoke the name of the inquisition whenever possible *cough* but..."

Luther pauses for a moment and then sighs

"You are the arbitrator. You know the hunt better than any of us, so I defer to your judgment. You do not tell me how to uphold sanctified rituals of the machine, so I will not tell you how to do your job"

Luther tries to keep pace with the hurrying petrushka, hobbling a little as he tries to speed up

"Regardless, I think petrushka is having a drink. *wheeze* let us make sure he is sober enough before midnight"

[Zarg1]

It would be easy for Petruska to find a drink. What do the rest of you do in the mean time?

[LutherAugustine]

Luther was intent to follow Petrushka on his search for a drink but as the streets become more crowded he begins to feel ill. Unless his friends pull into a fairly deserted and dimly lit bar soon, he will find one himself.

[Zarg1]

The bar Peter finds is dimly lit and relatively uncrowded.

[LutherAugustine]

Luther sits down by the bar. He has no intention of drinking anything, he merely keeps an eye on peter. As much fun as the last encounter was, being drunk would not have improved it. Since midnight should not be too long, the Tech-Priest decides to while away the time going over mission details on his data-slate.

[Zarg1]

Just out of curiosity, what does Quinton do before the hand off?

[Zarg1]

I'll just assume he does nothing of importance then.

The hand off site red star supplied, is located a short distance away in a warehouse district. As you travel to the meeting site, you find a gang of lho stick smoking teens in ratty leathers who have decided to congregate at the mouth of an alley that you apparently need to travel down to reach the drop off site. There are about a half dozen of them, and they sport a variety of unusual hair styles and piercings. Come to think of it you haven't seen any local law enforcement in this area either.

[Delphon]

Quinton takes the lead as the group walks briskly past them, his knuckleduster and club ready at a moment's notice, confident that his ill concealed ability to do violence should deter gangbangers looking for an easy mark.

[LutherAugustine]

Luther completely ignores the gang. He notices them but doesn't think twice about passing them. One, Quinton alone should deter attack and two, Luther is confident that 3 inquisitors should be able to handle 6 teens. As a result, the tech-priest makes no effort to hide any of his deformities.

[Talbain]

Petrushka takes his que from Quinton and strives to appear confident in his troublemaking ability as he strides past, taking up the rear.

[Zarg1]

Rolling intimidate.

[Zarg1]

Quinton

[roll0]

Luther

[roll1]

Petruska

[roll2]

Quinton has scored a basic success. (Just barely.)

[Zarg1]

The leader of the delinquents looks for a moment like he's about to block your path, but after he notices the the Arbites logo, on Quinton's duster he wisely decides that desecration is the better part of valor.

[Zarg1]

After a short walk down the ally, you come to the address of the drop point. An unremarkable door in the side of a warehouse. At your knock, it opens inward. You enter a large warehouse. In the center amidst stacks of crates is a table covered by a thick grey sheet. Near it sitting in chair is Star. Next to her is one of her gun servitors.
"You know you should have given me a chance to check my mail, before charging into my office right?" she says as she stands. "I nearly had you killed."

[LutherAugustine]

"HeHeHe..."

The tech-priest lets out a low, haunting laugh

"a misunderstanding. I believed the messenger tube to lead to your work *wheeze*. In any case we are here now and you know who we are. I think it is time we learned what is going on, on this planet..."

Luther looks for a chair, is unable to find one, then simply begins to sit down slowly on one of the crates. Luther finds the nearest crate not marked 'danger', 'fragile' or 'toxic waste' to use as a chair.

[Talbain]

Peter takes up his usual position, leaning on a pile of crates towards the back of the group. He takes a thoughtful drag on his Lho-stick before responding.

Yes, we apologize. We had in fact been lead to believe that the message chute ran directly from our safe house to your place of business. I'm glad all that nonsense is out of the way. Though I risk branding myself a heretic, I must say I prefer to solve things without violence!

[Delphon]

Quinton stands quietly near Red Star, awaiting her to finish her mail as he analyses his surroundings.

[Zarg1]

??? Red is not checking her mail. She did that earlier. ???

[Zarg1]

Red places a long weapons crate on the table. Unlatches it, and opens it revealing a long organicly formed rifle. It closely resembles the hologlypth shown to you back during your briefing.
"Here you go boys. Would you like chips with that?"

[LutherAugustine]

Luther immediately begins to study the weapon, quickly standing up to get a closer look.

"Where did you get this weapon? *wheeze* And where does it come from?"

Almost immediately after asking Luther realizes they were sent here to answer those very questions. He doesn't care, however, as he is currently captivated by the weapon in front of him.

Common Lore (Tech) vs. 40
[roll0]

Tech Use
[roll1]

[Zarg1]

"I got it from a scavi from the underhive." says Star as Luther begins examining the weapon. "He claimed to have picked it off the body of a dead mutant ganger. He was also kind enough to loot some ammunition." She gestures to three small almost organic cylinders stored with the weapon.
Luther is mostly likely barley listening as he examines the weapon. It seams to be made some sort of hard plastic. There appears to be a seam along the outside of the weapon as if each half of the gun has a separate piece. Although unfamiliar with the makers of this weapon, the grip on the gun and its overall balance seem to be an exact fit for human hands. You are certain you could open the case and examine the insides without damaging the weapon.

[LutherAugustine]

"May I examine the inside of the weapon? *wheeze* I should be able to open it up along the seam here..."

Luther gestures to the seam along the top of the weapon. As he sees his own hand by the weapon he realizes he could just pick up the weapon. It would fit easily within his hand

"...odd" Luther's tone changes from enthused to somewhat perturbed "it looks as if this weapon was crafted for human hands...*wheeze*. I assure you that Mars knows nothing of this weapon and I do not know of anyone else creating tech for humanity. We aren't looking at a simple weapon smuggling here...*wheeze* we are looking at weapon creation"

[Talbain]

Petrushka simply stands quietly in the background, surveying the proceedings with casual disinterest and trying not to look bored. A gun, after all, is a gun.

[Zarg1]

"Its yours" says Star. "Do what ever you want with it just don't point it at me."

Luther quickly finds a pair of catches that only the gun along the seam. Resting the two halves of the weapon, its quickly apparent that the gun is more then it seems. For one thing none of the internal components resemble the organic outer casing at all. Secondly it appears to be held together with imperial standard nuts and bolts. It all looks like imperial technology. Most of the pieces are readily identifiable, it even has Adeptus Mechanicus seals on what must be an internal stabilization system. The exact mechanism by which the gun fires its ammunition is unknown to you. Whatever it is it takes up the entire length of the gun's barrel.

[Zarg1]

"Its yours," says Star, "Do what ever you want with it just don't point it at me."

Opening up the weapon reveals another quandary. For the most part the inside of the weapon appears to have been created with standard imperial components. What must be an internal stabilizer, even has an Adeptus Mechanicus seal stamped on it. The only mechanism that you don't recognize is the actual mechanism by which the gun fire's its ammunition. Whatever it is takes up the entire length of the barrel.

[LutherAugustine]

"It seems we were meant to believe this is a Xenos weapon *wheeze*. However, it is not"

Luther lays the weapon back down and points to the Adeptus Mechanicus symbol

"These components come from my order. There is very little about this weapon I do not already know. *cough*"

Luther pauses for a moment as his enthusiasm has turned to bewilderment

"Perhaps it was meant to fool us, perhaps it was meant to fool their enemies... perhaps it was meant to fool their customers *wheeze*. Whatever the reason, we need to track the source of this leak as soon as possible"

[Zarg1]

Red speaks, "As I told you earlier, I go it from some sump rat, he says one of the gangs is using em. I don't think your buddies in the mechanicum would be happy that recoil surpression sustem got in their either, those things are meant to be on bolters. They don't just turn up in the underhive. Hell it still has its serial number."

[Delphon]

"I do not know if this was in the purvue of our mission, we were told to identify and seize xenos weaponry, but as the tech priest can attest, this is no xenos weapon. "

Quinton raises an eyebrow as he turns to look at Red Star, after analyzing the weapon himself.

"And I am curious as to where you learned the techincal specifications of a bolter as I believe that knowledge would be heretical outside of the mechanicus...regardless I believe I have a solution to our problem. First I shall require armaments, I wish to have access to any and all weapons here. Second - a secure connection to the local Arbite headquarters."

Paying attention to her face and stance, Quinton stares into her eyes, searching for a moment before giving a slight nod to her as he turns to speak with his companions. The gleam of his knuckleduster in the dim light a portent of conflicts ahead

"Luthor, take the weapon and bless it, if required I would have it serviceable. Peter you will come with me to the armory."[/COLOR]

[Talbain]

THIS is our big lead? So what, we're just supposed to w- wander around... down there until we find something? THAT's the plan? Stroll into the - the underhive, guns blazing!?

After shooting Luther a pleading glance, Pyotr moves to follow Quinton to the armory.

You said it yourself, there are no xenos weapons! Shouldn't we just report back?

He gives Quinton a searching look.

[Zarg1]

Red Star does not keep a weapons stock pile here. The nearest armory that you'd have access to, barring flashing your inquisition badge, would be your safe house. You may also report back to Inquisitor Cassius there.
Likewise red cannot offer you a secure line to this warehouse. In fact she'd rather the arbites not know about this warehouse.
She can however point you to the man who sold her the weapon.

As for how she knows about the recoil suppressor. She used to work for the mechanicum actually making them when she was younger. This is only the second one she's ever seen outside of the Mechanicus foundries on the south side of the hive.

[LutherAugustine]

"Hmmm..."

Luther lets out an inquiring groan

"Perhaps we should wait to involve anyone until we know more *wheeze*. This weapon had to have come from somewhere... somewhere within the imperial chain of command or even from within my order *cough*. The worst we could do is alert those responsible to the fact that we are hunting them *wheeze*. At least we should not tell anyone local about this... the most dangerous heresy is one coming from within"

Luther reveals a bottle of sacred machine oil and just very lightly dabs his thumb in it to anoint the weapon, followed by a few incantations.

[Delphon]

"You mean to tell me, that as a purveyor of death and retribution, you do not have any available stores of weaponry to be made available to His most Holy Inquisiton? That as an 'arms' dealer' you possess no fitting armaments neccessary for our trade?
The fact that in your position you can offer us no more 'help' than a possibly tainted weapon and a filmsy story about 'finding' such a thing in the underhive from second hand information no less, not to mention the fact that your warehouse, which is where you obviously do business, is no equipped to handle the most simple of requests. Your ineptitude borders on Heresy."

There is a bit of heat in Quinton's voice for the first time as he grasps the magnitude of the meager resources available to him despite the situation warrenting a much more forthcoming response.

Quinton attempts to detect any sort of subterfuge on the part of Red Star
"Fine, then your part here is done, never breath a word of our presence here for as long as you live, be it to a grox or the void of space itself. And pray to Him on Earth that you never meet us again."

Quinton turns away from Red Star and leaves the building to begin making our way back to the safehouse

"Peter, Luthor, we shall return to our previous local, at the safehouse and make use of our encrypted transmissions to alert the Inquisitor to the situation and make certain calls to obtain what we require."

directing his attention at Luthor, Quinto explains

"I do not believe it prudent to alert such organizations quite yet, it would behove the enemies of man to have spies and traitors in such places whereupon they would seize the initiative before any countermeasures could be taken. We shall make use of more minimal resources that will attract less attention."

As they continue down the mazelike corridors of the hive city, Quinton matches step with Peter.

"I share your concern Peter, we shall not engage such scum and worthless dregs directly, the Inquisiton has more than brute force and trinkets to acheive our goals. We shall call up the local Arbites forces and use their assistance in this matter."

[Talbain]

Peter has regained a measure of composure. He glances at Quinton as he walks, speaking in hushed tones as the party of acolytes emerges from the darkened alleyway, and making sure there are no thugs in earshot.

As eager as I am to call the Emperor's vengeance down upon the unworthy, I'm worried that Luther may have a point. We know so little of this place - the arbites could be corrupt and we would know nothing! Hell, we don't even know if these things are being manufactured here, or imported!

Petrushka lights a fresh cigarette as he continues.

What really bothers me is why Red Star would contact us in the first place. Frankly, I think these weapons are encroaching on her business. If this isn't a set up! I mean in the name of the Emperor, who the feth designs a gun that opens on a hinge!? Even I know that something is extremely shady here. I'm worried we may have been drawn into a trap. I pray our Inquisitor friend has more information than we do.

[Delphon]

Quinton waits to respond until they have reached the safehouse and engaged all security measures. Turning to Peter as he brews a pot of recaf.

"I understand your hesitance my friend, that is why we shall not reveal the full extent of our mission to the Arbites, using a cover story and false credintials we will attain the help of the local Arbites forces and utilize their manpower to track down the weapons and then retrieve them after they are apprehended.
We are investigators, not stormtroopers. I would never hesitate to strike rightously but I believe the story here is too murky to make a definitive blow."

He offers a cup to Peter while turning to the techpriest, Quinton looks up from the chair he has chosen.

"Are we in agreement Luthor?"

[Talbain]

As Petruska accepts the cup of caff, a look of horror crosses his face before he is able to restrain it as something terrible dawns on him.

It's a trap! It has to be a trap!

His hands are shaking enough to splatter scalding recaf on his fingers; he curses as he reflexively flings the cup to the ground. He waves his hand in the air, a futile attempt to cool it.

Ugh. ****! Any idiot would know those aren't xenos weapons! It doesn't take a Mechanicus adept to open a fething hinge and spot a purity seal! Not even the simplest, drugged out scummer would believe this is a xenos weapon! Nobody could sell this without being shot inside of 10 minutes! We've been had!

Clearly beginning to panic, Peter completely forgets the steaming pool on the ground and begins to rummage around for his things, apparently forgetting he that failed to bring any. It takes him a moment to realize this, and upon doing so he wheels abruptly to face the party.

Who supplied us with this "safe" house? Red Star?! It's connected to her empty warehouse! We need to get out of here... she's clearly no friend of the Inquisition. This place is probably bugged! We need to leave... right now!

[LutherAugustine]

"Caution is prudent *wheeze* but panic is NOT"

Luther, who has made himself comfortable on a chair, takes on a more serious tone as he addresses his group

"It is true, heresy has a way of hiding within *wheeze*. Perhaps the Arbites are corrupt, perhaps Red Star is, but we must remember who we are *cough*. No one, and I mean NO ONE, would like to draw attention from the inquisition, so I doubt it is a trap intended for us *wheeze*. Else, why not trap us right then and there at the warehouse?"

Suddenly the tech-priest's voice turns more sinister

"No...the quickest way to reveal a trap is to spring it. Not by us, of course. The local Arbites here are incompetent enough to let this heresy go undetected, so the least they can do is act as bait *cough*. I say we go with Quinton's plan and tell the local law enforcement some story to make them investigate. Then when the rats come to feast on their catch, we in turn catch them..."

[Zarg1]

As you left the warehouse Red Star tells you she sells salvaged technology, not just weapons.
In addition you do not detect any subterfuge on her part, just a desire to have you out of her hair.

The safe house has a message drop, but if you think about it, its not necessarily to her warehouse. You're not sure where it goes exactly.

[Delphon]

"Pytor, calm yourself! This is not a time to lose faith. It seems we were merely dealing with such a gross level of incompetence that it seemed as though traitorous intent was the only possible explanation.
Although misuse of one's Emperor given faculties is indeed a form of Heresy, I do not believe it to be intentional, no matter how unforgivable either are. Luthor is correct and that shall be our plan of action."

Quinton types on his datapad for a moment, bringing up information on the subsector Arbities Commander, reading up on his file and bringing up the requisite codes and cyphers to use. Bringing up the local Arbites HQ on the screen.

[Zarg1]

You are immediately interrupted by a loud rattling sound in the vent you used to drop the message to Red Star. It is followed by a loud beeping noise.

[LutherAugustine]

"...****"

Luther, luckily having gotten up, follows his instincts and runs to the door. Despite his frail appearance he moves surprisingly fast. All he can do is gesture to his comrades to follow suit.

Do we need to make a roll? This is my roll, should we need it [roll0]

[Delphon]

Quinton's eyes widen as he hears the telltale sign of a grenade and immediately leaps to the message chute, hitting the "return" button before diving to the floor and covering his head and bracing for the explosion.

"Hmm...I'd almost think its Red Star if she wasn't so incompetent..."

Calmly typing on his data plate while dusting off the rements of the explosion, Quinton sits in the burning remains of his chair as he contacts the Inquisitor.

"Code Zeta Epislon Delta Oh two niner Alpha to The Throne. Requesting Option Zero, repeat requesting Option Zero."

Quinton gets up and checks his weapons, looking around the room.

"Pytor, Luthor, I believe our location has been compromised and we have been had. We need to evacuate and rendevous with the Inquisitor's ship, we have about an hour to get off world before this world is reduced to cinders. I shall bear the guilt of this world's death. I've summoned Exterminatus"

[Talbain]

Pyotr simply walks out the door, having been headed in that direction already. The poof of smoke from inside the safe house barely ruffles his collar.

Petrushka, now completely composed again, fetches a fresh Lho-stick from his pocket and sparks it. His hands are shaking slightly as he takes deep drags, visibly calming with each breath.

He spares a glance for Luther as he steps out into the night air, to ensure the old pocket watch is Ok. Inside, the code for exterminatus resounds with grim finality, heralding the doom of a thoroughly worthless planet. He sighs with visible relief.

Well. All things considered... that was pretty easy. Let's get outta this dump.

-The End-

[Delphon]

Alright Evan, I'm afraid I'm tendering my resignation. This has become too farcical to continue. You know that you are a great friend of mine and I love Warhammer, but this is over. Your games are far more a reflection of your personal interests than a collaborative effort with your players! It may be what you want, but you do not care what we as players want. In the years that we have roleplayed, we have in all seriousness done what amounts to the same exact dungeon over and over with little superfical changes - be it a dank underground dungeon, towering sky castle or underhive on an alien world.

I'm willing to put up with the effort to improve or offer something to each player but every time the desires of the party have been pushed aside in favor of your own entertainment. No attention is given to any character's backstory or motivation, the only thing ever focused upon is the spartan plot of retrieving the random Macguffin. Every NPC is a completely two dimensional, thinly veiled mask you put on each and every game. Even the NPCs I take an interest in are pushed into the background to make room for more pointless violence. Red Star for example could have been a very engaging and interesting character, talking about her mannerisms and attitude but you rarely even spoke as her in character, instead using a "3rd person omniscient narrator" to explain events as though us misinterpreting your very bare posts were our fault. Case in point being when my character waited for Red Star to finish her mail and you broke narrative and rather than go along with what I had said, spoke as yourself and explained why what I had done was wrong. It's like trying to play a game that only exists in your head, that you can't or won't explain to us - yet expect us to memorize - when you yourself don't even know what's going on. It's extremely frustrating.

I was willing to overlook the minor effort put into the storytelling and plot of this game as I was putting in little effort myself, but when I decided to really invest myself into the game, rather than be rewarded for my effort I was left high and dry by your own inattention to detail. The fact that you cared so little that you didn't even look up what you yourself had written was damning.

In D&D many of the issues are the same, except that in addition every plot was exactly the same. There was always an evil overlord or world threatening evil with hordes and hordes of nameless mooks put in our way to be slaughtered. If I wanted to kill random minions I could play Balder's Gate or Dragon Age since that has a graphical representation of the action. I roleplay for the opportunity to get into my character's head and interact with a living, breathing world that is rarely provided.

Every attempt my characters made to make a meaningful difference in terms of their character were met with blatant railroading. The most memorable examples were my merchant who wanted to travel and explore the world you could create but was instead subjected to random attacks by the damn town guard, over and over until we quit the game. Other stunning examples include the Khornite warrior who would have never have been allowed to succede in his quest to be a disciple of the Blood God, and my Communist cleric who was interested the plight of the people that had his philosophy and situation completely negated by the sudden benevolence of the nobles and their far more important quests.

It is fine to run a lighthearted and funny campagin or incorporate some humor but when every NPC of importance has names pulled on the fly and end up being "Bob the farmer" or "King Jerry" in every game, the suspension of disbelief is destroyed, I can't feel like I'm in a medieval fantasy world with names that sound like they came out of redneck Alabama (and goofy accents to match). I know you plan out pour great attention into your maps and setting, but the characters and feeling of the world are created as needed with little thought. It's like playing a flowchart - the pieces are there, but ultimately meaningless data. There is no point.

This translates back to our Dark Heresy play by post, I was adamant about avoiding combat since that is typically a last resort of the Inquisition and would fare poorly in a play by post as well. All our characters had hooks and built in plot points to be explored even on the side of the main plot. Once again, no life was breathed into the characters or setting, merely minimally categorized. I had hoped you might use the pace and freedom of a forum game to explore new themes or include imagery, or choices... anything really. But I never felt like I was in a world remotely invested with any effort. The odd tidbit hastily written about random people on the street that you won't allow us to interact with doesn't count as description or interaction.

I want you to know that I don't say this out of malice but in the hopes that it can help you become a better game master, I will no longer participate in any games in the future but look forward to playing some Borderlands and maybe Civilization if we get lucky. Thanks for hearing me out.

[Talbain]

It sounds a little harsh but I really think this is accurate. I'm used to being rail roaded, and I realize this game is something of an experiment, but I think this game is just a beautiful example of what Sam is talking about.

We've spent all this time building up to one encounter, and when we finally get there we're met with an NPC that not only makes no sense, but hardly even exists! She is literally only there to hand us an illogical gun McGuffin, and direct us to an encounter with thugs in the dungeon downstairs. It's just the bare minimum you think it will take to get us from point A to point B on the flow chart, but if all we cared about was "winning the game," we wouldn't be playing a roleplaying game! I just get the sense that when you "run a game" these days, you think of it as giving us an excuse to roll dice.

That was fine years ago, but these days if I roleplay I'm looking for an experience I can't get from videogames - the niche that is left is a deep experience of exploring and interacting with a rich environment in total freedom. That is pretty much the exact opposite of this game, like many before it. We are always lured in by the potential for greatness, but the execution has been consistently disappointing in this respect. I had truly hoped a play by post game would allow you to grow as a DM and encourage you to fill out your campaign setting with descriptions and imagery, but instead it has been even more breathtakingly empty than ever.

It's like landing on a planet to find it's inhabited by ghosts. Some relatively distinct impressions remain... here a red star, there a mountain pass... but there is no feeling or purpose behind them. They're just shapes of grey, going through robotic puppet motions. It's impossible to pretend when the man behind the curtain is sitting in a hover chair behind the party at all times, flagrantly flinging strings at herky-jerky puppets yet speaking in 3rd person from his omniscient loud speaker, throwing grenades at us when we threaten to deviate from the designated display-route! It's a card board movie set with no actors, just a very confused audience!

I don't want to go into examples because I think Sam already did a fine job there (full disclosure - I helped edit his post). I just wanted to say that I share his frustration, but I do not harbor any hard feelings either. I am also tendering my permanent resignation, and I too wish you luck with your future DMing endeavors. Let's play some videogames soon!

[Zarg1]

Three things:

1. I wish you had told me that years ago. (Maybe you did and I wasn't listening.)

2. Its very hard to adapt to characters like the communist cleric or the merchant on the fly.

3. This wasn't actually going to be a combat encounter.

But I suppose the game is off, so I'll see you on skype.

[Zarg1]

I will say no more here. Any further discussion can be through skype.