Hesiod's Wake IC

[elephantum]

OOC Thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=13560448)

Aboard the Tyrtaeus

Interrogator Myghal Stelian made his way across the ship with purpose, menial crew and servitors stepping aside, heads bowed in deference, at the sight of his badge of office, an unadorned silver I, symbol of the Inquisition, embroidered into his velvet purple robes.

The Navigators reported they would be ready to translate into realspace within the day, and he was eager to be relieved of his cargo. After two long years he had finally driven out the smuggling ring active on Malice, a task that had claimed the lives of three of his predecessors, and he was rewarded with the task of escorting an untested cell to an insignificant backwater. Ultimately, this cell would not even answer to him, reporting to one of the functionaries serving more closely with the Inquisitor herself.

By the time he reached the briefing room, in the small portion of the ship he had allowed them access to, all five had gathered, summoned by the ship's servitors at his command. Moving briskly to his position at the head of the table, he rapped the activation rune for the table's hololith projection. The blue text showed clearly in the highly polished onyx table. Clearing his throat, he began:

"Very well, let's get this briefing done. It must have been frustrating for you to be stuck on this ship with no idea of your mission. I assure you, our silence has only been for reasons of strict operational security. Please hold all questions until the end."

"Shortly, we will be exiting the warp and heading for Hesiod's Wake, a small agri world."

A rendition of the planet showing single forested continent that dominated half the map and a smattering of islands, amidst a deep azure ocean. Essential data from Administratum files flashed up alongside it.
OOC:
See datasheet in OOC thread

"The sub-sector has been plagued by illicit smuggling operations for decades. While normally their cargo has been pretty standard fare, proscribed substances, fugitives, light weaponry, and the like, that began to change nine standard years ago."

"Movement in banned texts has seen a significant uptick, and random searches by Battlefleet Calixis turn up xeno-artifacts with alarming frequency. Twelve Leman Russ Battle Tanks fresh from the Forge World of Synford went missing in transit, and have not yet been found. While we have stopped numerous individual smugglers, we have reason to believe that "

Inquisitor Vasuda identified Hesiod's Wake as a potential transit point. The planet's spaceport sees very high levels of traffic relative to its size, and regulatory authorities are largely understaffed. She tasked Judge Timoteus Kuzlow, commander of the local Arbites garrison, to monitor for any questionable behavior."

He contacted us recently, stating that he believed he had uncovered evidence of "betraying the Emperor's trust at the highest levels." His small garrison lacks the ability to carry out the covert investigation that these charges require.

The judge wisely did not include the details of his suspicions, but there are two individuals believed to be in a position to be facilitating this illicit trade. The most obvious is Governor Thule. No other local has nearly as much control over operations at the spaceport, or control over local law enforcement. He traces his descent, indirectly, from the Great Land-Kings of the pre-Imperial era, which could contribute to anti-Imperial sentiments.

The other individual is Arcule Yamatov. He is well liked among the populace as a whole, hailed as a hero for defending the planet from an Ork invasion two decades ago. He is able to exert significant pressure on the governor, and commands the Planetary Defence Forces. If he is involved in the trade, it is most likely through the planet's space defenses. He commands about a dozen system ships, armed vessels incapable of warp travel, that attempt to prevent in-system piracy. They could be providing a way to move goods, through false 'inspections' or other techniques.

Your task will be to assist the Arbites in ascertaining whether Kuzlow's suspicions are correct. The Arbites know of your arrival and will meet you upon landing, but the local authorities do not. Do not identify yourself to them as members of the Inquisition. Should you discover heretical behavior, bring it to a halt if possible. If you are unable, we shall assist you.

He reaches beneath the table and pulls out five micro-bead communication units.

"Use these for communication between yourselves. They support both voice and pulse code. Channel 35 is shielded against the more common forms of surveillance. Use channel 36 to contact us. If you have information, use three short pulses followed by your message. It will reach us eventually. If you require emergency evacuation, use three long pulses. An agent will evacuate you if it is safe for us to do so.

Welcome to the Inquisition, comrades. May the Emperor smile on your endeavors. If there is any other information you need, now is the time to ask.

[Fremen]

Novus silently absorbed the information, his electooed hands quickly flying across the data-slate as he recorded all that he considered to be of particular value. He paid special attention to the mention of the lost battle-tanks, his mind quickly running through possibilities and scenarios. The minds of traitors and heretics did not make logical sense to him, nor often did those of normal humans, but he quickly found himself wondering at just what purpose such activities as the Interrogator was describing could mean.

"Inquiry," he stated simply, his voice coming out as a grating rasp. While it was true that many of his cult brethren possessed fantastic vox-grills, capable of mimicking almost any pattern of human or machine voice, he did not yet rate high enough in the divine cult's great machinations to merit more than a simplistic but functional device. It served well for filtration and life-support, as well as being perfectly functional in terms of basic communication (he had even worked out how to manipulate its speakers by introducing a scrambled error message to emit a piercing shriek most humans found destabilizing), but did little else. "Adeptus Mechanicus presence: minimal. Such holy machines as Lemun Russ battle tanks cannot function without Cult Mechanicus ministrations. Which Priests of Mars show close associations with suspected traitors of the Omnissiah's trust?" His statements and questions were clipped and monotone, his ruby-red eye-lenses staring fixedly out from beneath his rust-coloured robes.

[Denomar]

Cassius leaned back in the chair. It could hardly be called comfortable. Appropriate to his mind. And likely on purpose. Toying with communications bead between his thumb and forefinger he casually slipped it behind his ear. With his closely cropped hair there was little chance of concealing the device, but such things were common enough. Especially amongst the Adeptus Arbites, no one would question an officer for wearing communications technology. As Novus speaks Cassius's eyes narrow

"They'll need shells too. I doubt they ship them around the warp fully loaded.."

It was humiliating. Crime was one thing, but to lose a squadron of tanks? Head would roll surely.

[RadicalD]

Yuri did not mind about accommodations, whatever they gave him, it was better than the **** – place where he had been in the prison. Food, service, even his clothes seemed to be more decent, even if they were just a step up from prison clothes. In other words, he was comfortable as hell, looking at his fellow companions; he could easily spot his role in this mission. The tech – priest, the Arbites, easy they had their own set of skills, and may even have some ability in fighting, but those weren’t probably the reason they were here. No, it would be Yuri’s, and maybe that other guardsman’s role to protect them and take care of anything that threatened him.

Chances of survival were higher than the previous mission, score one for the inquisition, of course, being it the inquisition, if death came, it would not be pretty. Still, to do his job right he needed to say three things, he waited for the interrogator to answer to his companions, and then voices out his doubts. “Being as covert as we should be any story for us, any reason to be there if questioned, and in any case, having this collar removed would surely increase our odds of going unnoticed. Second” said Yuri continuing, “Weapons, ammo, grenades anything that we could get, I know this will not be easy, and some grenades will come in handy, more so if we end up fighting some heretics as it seems to be the case, and last”, a brief pause “Dead or alive, any preferences?”

[Astro_sol]

Luca, clad in a skin-tight black bodysuit, stretched and turned to her companions, leaning back in her chair. She rolled her fingers on the table as the Interrogator droned on in the background, and, while she heard him, she was much more interested in sizing up her companions. They weren't much.

A...techpriest, was it? A man with bolts for brains. Also, disgusting. Her eyes angled over as she leaned her head in the other direction.

A cop. Blond hair, fairly well built, average looks. Also, his eyes reminded her of when she saw herself in a mirror. She made a note to avoid him. Another glance.

A purple-haired grizzled veteran. What.

And a more average looking soldier, but this one with a collar around his neck. Luca had no idea what that meant and resolved to keep it that way.

She heard the Interrogator mention stolen Leman Russ tanks. Those things were huge. She'd never been a fan of tanks, but right now it sounded like there were some on the market, right where they were going to investigate. She was just waiting to take the next shot. She preferred silence. Tanks were loud, but...

"...I've never done it with eleven barrels of hell," she muttered, staring at the projection of the planet.

[elephantum]

Myghal pauses for a moment, before consulting delving into his own data-slate, turning to Novus.

"Well, most of the Mechanicus there have non-military specialties. The vast majority of their attentions are devoted to maintaining servitors and agricultural machinery.

PDF equipment records list two dozen Chimera transports in service. The rest of their motor pool consists of civilian ground-trucks and the like suborned for military purposes. An Enginseer Savva is listed as the individual responsible for maintenance."

He returns to the dataslate, his twice-broken nose inches from the cold surface of the table.

"Savva is also on record as responsible for maintaining the three Rhino APCs possessed by the Arbites garrison.

Neither Savva nor any other Mechanicus adept on Hesiod's Wake has shown any evidence of heresy, at least according to our records. Though, as I am sure you know, the sons of Mars are occasionally, shall we say, less than wholeheartedly forthcoming, so our personnel records are not very detailed. Questioning him would probably be worthwhile.

That said, I believe the tanks have been moved elsewhere. There seems to be no direct threat of military insurrection here, at least that I can see."

"As for you," eyeing the blinking red locator beacon on the side of Yuri's thick metal collar with disdain,

"Judge Kuzlow has been a keeper of the Emperor's justice for seven decades. I shall leave him the...honor of removing your collar if he so chooses. It's a standard model, he should have no trouble with it. And consider yourself grateful the detonation command is not standard."

"When you return to your staterooms after this briefing, you will find a set of basic equipment set up for your use. Unfortunately, due to the haste of our departure, we did not have time to properly stock this ship for a mission. The Tyrtaeus retains an active cover as a transport for the wealthy, and was not in full operational condition. If it is any consolation, I believe the heiress to a sizeable Scintillan property empire was left stranded, with her entourage, at a backwater space station en route to a holiday on Reth in order to secure your transportation.

I will ask the Judge to arm you as needed upon your arrival."

[elephantum]

The Interrogator looked up from his slate, giving Luca a quizzical look, before turning to Cassius.

My apologies, I neglected to mention the question of ammunition. We have no record of missing battle cannon shells, though if this group was able to obtain the tanks themselves, surely some ammunition would be manageable as well. Besides, the tanks still have their secondary weaponry, and heavy bolter and lascannon ammo can be found in any well-equipped PDF unit. Including those on Hesiod's Wake.

[Denomar]

"Of course. But its a lead. Criminals, in my experience, are straightforward if not careless. But to steal a battle tank is utterly ridiculous let alone twelve. We need to find something to follow. If we narrow down what has been stolen to the missing parts of a tank than we could figure out what they want to steal next."

Cassius rubs his cheek thoughtfully. His gaze moved to Yuri. "Actually that collar might provide a plausible cover. Who's going to question an Arbite bringing in a prisoner for a transfer."

[Fremen]

Novus said nothing at first, his mind whirring as he processed the information for the future. He began running through his basic introductions to ministering to the machine spirits of such creations of the divine as battle tanks. There were a plethora of rites and supplies which any machine of a Lemun Russ's size would require, but many of these were also necessary for operations of Chimeras and Rhinos, or could be acquired through less legal or official means. He began searching through internal memory files for any specific or unusual materials that would need to be sought out by the thieves. It was certainly possible that they would just use the same black market channels as they did the make the tanks disappear to smuggle the tech-goods, but it was a shot.

Novus took special care to sort through any possible items for those which, while unusual, were not unknown to laymen such as the Inquisition; it would not do to spread the glories of the Machine God to the uninitiated.

I'm not sure the difficulty for these, so I'll just roll on my base Int (43) and let the GM decide the success/failure. I'll continue the RPing and questioning once I get confirmation about how the tests went:

Rolling for Tech-Use: (attempting to recall information about Lemun Russ specific material requirements)
[roll0]

Rolling for Common Lore (Tech): (attempting to recall information about Lemun Russ specific rites)
[roll1]

[elephantum]

OOC Reminder: Please refrain from reading spoilers intended for other characters.

Novus:

Tech Use (failure): While the Leman Russ is based off STC designs, there are a large number of variants that meet Mechanicum standards. A tank with a standard Mars-pattern power plant will have notably different needs than one that uses a Ryza- or Gryphonne-pattern design. Being unfamiliar with the forges of Synford, there are too many variables to consider.

Common Lore: You remember that the machine spirits of the tanks are not fully blessed until delivered to their recipients. If an individual of lower rank than a Magos, like Enginseer Savva, performs the blessing, engine output is expected to be reduced by 1.27%.

[Hawkfrost000]

Eisen has been sitting quietly throughout most of the briefing. He was a soldier, a doer not a thinker. He sits in dress casual, clean for once, he had washed and re-dyed his hair for the first time since his reassignment. An Iho stick twirling on his fingertips, too polite to light it in front of the inquisitor.

He sits forward when the Interrogator mentions Leman Russes, a frown on his face. His mood does not improve when he hears about their lack of main gun ammunition. I've fought beside and against Russes on Manticore. Even without main guns the things are monstrous, practically indestructible, i doubt there are 20 weapons on the planet capable of destroying one reliably. I would feel much at ease if you could provide us with a Krak grenade or two before we touch down. He grins, Maybe even a meltabomb.

[elephantum]

Hmm. I can see if ship security has anything that might be suitable. But to be clear, the ringleader of the smuggling ring will be your top priority, not the goods themselves. Recovering the weaponry does us little good if they're able to obtain more tomorrow. Ideally we'd like the individuals alive for interrogation, but kill them if necessary.

[Astro_sol]

Luca smiled at the Interrogator's words. The time spent out of the holds had left her itching for a kill. As part of her employment, she couldn't shoot her problems all the time. Now, at least, she could at least shoot someone else's problem.

"When do we leave?" she asked quietly, her eyes still on the projection. She knew all she needed to.

[elephantum]

We should be translating to realspace in the next few hours, and heading straight for orbit. Once you land, the Tyrtaeus and I will be departing. I have a cell of my own to attend to on Cloister. A friend on the surface will be forwarding your communications along. They will aid you if they can, but the source is in too prominent a position to risk being compromised except in the most dire circumstances.

Are there any further questions? I am sure you will want to coordinate amongst yourselves, and I have proto-Gothic texts to decipher.

[Fremen]

Novus was discontent with his recollections, and made note to address both his current memory access functions, as well as his obviously impaired knowledge of war machines. What little he did recall served no bearing on the current discussion, and may have implications beyond his station should he reveal them. For this, he remained silent.

Abandoning that line of thought, the young tech-priest turned to his data-slate, reviewing the information he had considered pertinent enough to record, and found another possibility. "Inquiry," he rasped again, cutting off the last words from the Interrogator. "Twelve 'system ships' were referred to. What presence of Cult Mechanicus personnel man these vessels?"

As he spoke his mind began to fire again, this time working through information about various orbital vessels. He knew there was incredible variation in Imperial ships, but those without warp-capabilities were, as a rule, of a much smaller, simpler category than trying to assess all Gellar-field equipped warships.

Rolling for Common Lore (Machine Cult): attempting to recall what kind of Mechanicus crew would likely be aboard each vessel; this information is to be cross-referenced with whatever information the Interrogator provides in search of any possible discrepancy (such an individual of a supremely high rank managing a single ship)
[roll0]

Again, I don't know any modifiers, so this is just a base roll. Int: 43.

[elephantum]

These are small vessels, with crews far smaller than actual warships. They're great for scaring off raiders, but not for much more than that. Let's see...

It varies by class, but each ship has an overseeing Magos Technicus, one or two Lexmechanics, a Transmechanic, two Enginseers, and a cohort of lesser adepts. I'll upload the files to your datapad.

Novus:

Common Lore (success [easy]):The personnel appear less experienced than normal for ship crews, likely some combination of those seeking to earn the right to serve on more complex craft, and those deemed inadequate for stationing on more important vessels. Magos Ilani, commander of the flagship Triumph of Perses, a refitted bulk hauler, spent several years on the Battlefleet Calixis Gothic-Class cruiser Silver Consul immediately prior to his current position.

[Fremen]

Novus scanned over the information on his data slate and quickly mulled it over, coming to the conclusion that there was nothing obviously unusual.

"No further inquiries."

[Denomar]

"Do we have any cover stories provided?"

Cassius appears uncomfortable at the thought of being dishonest.

[Astro_sol]

Luca finally turned her eyes from the projection to look Myghal in the eyes.

"I'm done talking. Let's go."

[RadicalD]

There wasn’t much Yuri wanted to know, and what he wanted to know had been answered, no, he wouldn’t have his collar free, maybe they would have more ammunition, yes, preferably bring them alive. Simple things for a simple man. Rather than leave, the legionnaire stood there, he wouldn’t know much, but maybe hearing something else would be worth the while, besides there was nowhere for him to go.

“I am done”

[elephantum]

Deliberately avoiding Luca's gaze, he responded to Cassius.

You'll be landing in an Arbites craft rather than one of the landers we have onboard, otherwise we would have to log a passenger manifest with the local Enforcers. They may be calling it an inspection, or perhaps using the arrival of yourself, or our friend with the fashionable neckwear, as cause for the flight.

Should you need a cover, any plausible false ident should suffice. Even in the city of Kymi I would not expect too much scrutiny. Though his collar may be a problem.

Furrowing his brow for a moment, he continued, the his expression the closest to a smile it had been during the meeting.

Actually, the servant class on Merov wears a nice thick cotton collar that would cover it up well. Mr. Pavlov, you can play a servant, can't you? Obedience is amongst the greatest of virtues."


...And now I must go. The Emperor Protects.

OOC: Talk amongst yourselves as much/little as you want. The Arbites shuttle will be here when you finish.

Edit:

When you return to your room you will find a beige canvas backpack containing survival supplies, and potentially other goodies as well [detailed list in OOC thread].

[elephantum]

Yuri:
You open your book to the first page, to see if the High Gothic prayers of your youth come in handy. Clearly the scholams of your homeworld did not feature the disgraced cleric in their curriculum, as you make no progress there.
Turning to the first Low Gothic page you find. It is the beginning of Padraig's Litany of Atonement, an enumeration of the Ecclesiarch's every sin, beginning with greed. The man clearly spared no expense on clothes, and judging by the chapter on gluttony, it seems he could drink an Ogryn under the table. Doubting that your freedom will be earned with an apology for commissioning a gemstone-encrusted privy, you dog-ear the page and resolve to continue later.

Trying to remember anything about Padraig that might narrow your search is similarly fruitless. What few Ecclesiarchs you can name tend to be the great theologians and crusaders. You don't think you'd heard of this Padraig before, or any of the twenty who preceded him.

[Hawkfrost000]

Seeing his companions unwillingness to socialize, he does the same and returns to his quarters. He quickly unpacks and repacks the Medi-Pack he has been provided with, familiarizing himself with the contents. He has never had official medical training, but he has seen Guard Medicae at work, he can make a tourniquet or bandage a wound.

With that done he carefully extracts his long las from its gun case, he strips it completely, checking wires for fraying, polishing the lenses, oiling every moving part. He checks over his Telescopic Sight, lining up the lenses just the way he likes, carefully aligning the sight with the slight leftward angle of the barrel. Once that is done he does the same to his standard lasgun, then turns his attention to his sword and knife. Finally he checks over his armor, checking straps, cleaning the plates and adjusting for stretching straps.

He undresses and quickly straps on his gear, sliding everything into its accustomed place. He shoulders his Long Las, returning his Lasgun to its gun case. Ready to go. He says to himself.

[Astro_sol]

Luca laid eyes on all of her companions again. Her eyes lingered on her companions, each earning a few seconds of earnest attention. She took note of who seemed the strongest. Yuri, it appeared. He'd be the muscle. And a distraction.

Eisen looked pretty average, aside from the purple hair. She recognized that gleam to his eye, the eye of a fellow marksman. He looked bored, and left quickly. She decided to at least keep an eye on him.

Novus. Techpriest. Probably smart. Talking to him would be a waste. Luca wasn't too hot on cybernetics, and this guy was full of them.

Cassius. More meat between her and the enemy. She smirked before swinging her legs over and somehow casually strolled out on the balls of her feet, ready to swing in any direction in case someone took a shot at her; the result of years of living on that ship.

She returned to her quarters and took up her familiar weapons almost lovingly. Her Long-Las, found in an abandoned armory during one of her forays into that ship. It'd needed many replacement parts over the years, but it had served her true in the past and would do so now. And there was also her pride and joy, her Hecuter. She usually needed two hands to fire the beast, but it gave her an edge when her rifle couldn't. She spent the time remaining to her cleaning her weapons and taking stock. She found a makeup kit and spectacles, using the former to dye her hair black, color her eyes brown with hard contacts, and slightly darken her skin so it wouldn't be as pale. The spectacles she put on delicately, even though they were most likely very cheap and didn't work. She strapped on what she could carry, prepped and ready to leave.

[Denomar]

As the untouchable leaves the briefing room Cassius breathes a sigh of relief. Is it his imagination or did the room really just get that much warmer. He glances at the tech priest absorbed in his datapad and mentally chided himself. No, clearly not.

To no one in particular Cassius speaks. "What do you reckon our chances are?" He is quite neutral in the question.

[elephantum]

OOC: Looks like you guys are keeping it quiet, so I'll put this here for now. We'll hit the surface tomorrow afternoon or evening (EST), any conversations on the Tyrtaeus or the shuttle can go on until then.

Some hours after the jolting translation out of the warp, a loud tone blared over the ship's communication system, followed by an artificial female voice:

We have arrived at our destination. Acolytes, please gather your possessions and proceed to deck 7, port hanger bay C...We have arrived at our destination

The voice was clearly intended to sound calming, but as the loop continued it quickly began to feel grating.

Arriving in the hangar bay, the first thing you notice is the large vessel in the bay, about fifteen metres long, and with a roughly comparable wingspan.

Most of the party will note the craft's similarity to a Marauder bomber, standard among the Imperial Navy. Novus and Cassius recognize the craft as a Carcer class, traditionally used by the Arbites to transport both prisoners and Arbitrators, adapted from the Marauder. While they can be armed, most commonly with non-lethal riot weaponry, this one did not appear to be so equipped. The hull is a gleaming silver, with Arbites symbols, aquilas, and identifying information in both black and burgundy.

Hearing the team enter, two figures walk around from the other side of the vehicle. The first to come into view is Myghal, now wearing a cream robe with a thick leather belt cinching the waist, the Inquisitorial I embroidered in black thread. His hair, greying around the temples, had clearly been trimmed and perfected since the briefing that morning.

The other figure was a woman in full Arbites carapace, clutching a thick envelope in her left hand. Contrasting sharply with the neutral, understated tones common in her profession, her uniform matched the ship, highly polished silvery armor plating over a deep burgundy lining. Unhelmeted, her chestnut brown hair was pulled back into a tight bun. Cassius will note that it appears to be exactly as large as regulation maximum. Her bright green eyes and face were attractive in shape, though her skin was marked by the telltale pocks and blemishes of one who grew up in a heavily polluted environment.

Giving the party a critical look, she turned to Cassius

You must be Trooper Calaurum. I am Arbitrator Nina Elgin. Judge Kuzlow sends his apologies. He intended to come on the shuttle to meet you and your team, but the Governor's Council had an urgent meeting, and his legal advice was required. He shall meet us at the spaceport instead.

Her voice lacked the traditional gruffness most of you had come to expect from the protectors of Imperial law. In fact, she sounded almost excited

She acknowledged them each in turn, ending with Luca.

We had better be off. Please gather your things and come with me.

As you turn to follow her up the back ramp of the shuttle, Myghal says,

Again, best of luck to you all. And remember, if you need extraction, send three long pulses over vox channel 36.


Before bowing slightly and exiting the hangar bay.

The inside looked like it might fit twenty men total, if not for the cells that occupied the back half of the cell. They couldn't be larger than a square meter each, with only a loop to attach a prisoner's chains to in each. Fortunately, there are also bench seats. You sit and strap yourselves in at Nina's insistence.

Imperial Navy Reg. 6471A-32 requires that you remain secured for the entire flight. You can't access the cockpit from the main cabin, anyway. I'll activate the vox so you can contact me if you need me.

With that, she left the cabin, presumably clambering into the cockpit. The ramp closes noisily, and shortly you find yourself in motion, hurtling down towards the planet below.

[Fremen]

Prior to Shuttle Launch

Novus perked up at the sound of the arbite's question. He turned to face the larger man, crimson eyes whirring softly beneath the darkness of his hood as they stared eerily at Cassius. For quite some time he said nothing, the only movement coming from the metal irises of his cybernetics as they constantly adjusted focus. Eventually he turned back to his data slate, as though nothing at all had happened, his semi-human fingers scrolling rapidly through pages of information.

Without warning he rose abruptly and faced Cassius. "Unknown variables," he croaked. "Insufficient data for statistical estimation."

With that he turned and shuffled from the room, his robed form hunchbacked and awkward as he disappeared from the briefing room.

Returning to his spartan living quarters he eyed the backpack suspiciously, prodding it softly with the tip of his staff. Eventually deciding that should it pose a sufficient threat then he was unable to circumvent the danger regardless, he opened it up and began to rummage through its contents. Quickly understanding the nature of the materials he began spreading them out on his bed, itemizing them by purpose and making a mental recording of the inventory. He paid particular interest to the multi-tool and the small, finger-length device, both of which he secreted quickly within his robes.

Satisfied with his new gear he repacked the bag's contents back into the backpack, and after a moment of thought, packed in everything else he owned not already on his person. Which was not much. Running through a last inventory and satisfying himself that he had everything, he left his room without a second's thought for sentimentality, and made his way directly to the hanger bay, the backpack balancing almost precariously atop his hunch.

[Astro_sol]

After she leaned back in the seats, Luca waited until the shuttle launched before speaking.

"What names will we go by? Or are we fine using our own names?" She stared at the floor, but wasn't speaking to it.

[Fremen]

Novus turned to face the untouchable, seemingly noticing her for the first time. Although his eyes were little more than red lenses housed in grey metal sockets, with a series of delicate-looking metal irises of varying nature and appearance, it was quite clear that he was looking her over. What wasn't clear was why.

Normally, when one human looks over another it is possible to judge by facial expression and tracing eye movements just what the observer is looking at. Such basic, taken-for-granted human interaction simply did not work when the face of the observer was either shrouded in a rust-red hood, or subsumed beneath a complex-looking rebreather grill. The difficulty increases when one cannot be quite sure just what the eyes are seeing, or indeed just what they're aimed at.

At length the cybernetic lenses came to Luca's face, where it lingered for an uncomfortable length of time, before finally barking, "Current intelligence does not indicate any requirement for subterfuge in this regard."

Although his gaze didn't move, his mind had already moved to other things concerning their deployment and mission. His concern was, primarily, for the fate of the battle tanks; it was one thing to die in service to the Omnissiah, but to be stolen and perverted to the ends of heretics and traitors? Novus shuddered to consider the fate for man or machine.

Rolling for Common Lore (Machine Cult): attempting to recall what kind of security measures might be taken by the watchful defense ships for their shuttle. He will then inform the pilot to contact him should any scans of other activities from the ships occur which the shuttle is capable of detecting.
[roll0]

[Astro_sol]

So. Tinker-toy could talk. To her, at least. Luca leaned back - or tried to, before she remembered that she was strapped into a shuttle. She settled for looking lazy, pushing her legs out as far as she could across the floor. Now-black bangs spread out in front of her face; her bun was starting to get loose. Whatever.

"Current intelligence gave me a makeup kit, so I'm gonna makeup whether there's a need for it or not."

The changes she'd applied made her feel free. Well, as free as one could be, tied to the Inquisition.

[RadicalD]

As the rest of the team left, so did Yuri, he went into his room, small, but a comfortable place comparing those he had been, and started to organize his equipment. The things that had been brought to him, while not exactly the best equipment for the mission, would have to do, anyway, he had been thrown with worse things in more suicidal missions. He then, slept for a while; it was hard to get some sleep during missions, so a good time would be now.

He was surprised they had given them a seemingly functional ship; then again, he was accustomed to one way rides, being shot down halfway through a mission. He hated to, but he had to smile, at least working with the Inquisition had some good things, beds, working stuff, of course, death would always be looming, but, everyone has to die. Yuri was surprised when the Arbitrator did not make a comment about him; he had come to enjoy the despite they showed those of his kind. If being an “unlucky bastard” could be considered a type of person.

“Not that they know who you are, pretty girl” said Yuri from his seat, his eyes closed, he would try to relax himself until they touched ground. Hard to from his past experiences, he did not enjoy this rides, even less so if they were shooting at them. “Feel free to do whatever you want, just don’t waste time” because time was always an essence, an overextending it could mean his death.

[Denomar]

Tick.

Tick.

Cassius ignored his companions for the ride. He was entirely too noxious to talk. Instead he spent time clearing his thoughts.

As much as he loathed the foul smelling transport with its dripping oils and claustrophobic interior there was a benefit to its large metal casing.

Tick.

Tick.

The antique chrono in his left breast pocket echoed sharply in the shuttle. It was soothing. Precise. Predictable. Everything that the Ordo Hereticus was not. To serve with Vasu-the mistress would be to serve as the prying eye of the Emperor. In many ways it was no different than serving as he had before. However, Cassius could not quite kill the sense of disease in the back of his mind. Turning his thoughts to one of the catechisms of trust, Cassius closes his eyes and does his best to relax. The cold hard weight of the melta bomb heavy in his pack.

Tick.

Tick.

[elephantum]

Novus

Success [finally]:The system ships lack the high-performance scanners necessary to discern anything more than the size and location of the craft. The Arbites have higher jurisdictional authority, and thus have no obligation to respond to requests for information.

If a ship were to go to combat readiness, the large increase in energy use would be detectable. However it is highly unlikely, given the classes of ships and presumed level of training, that they could be in a position to fire before you land.

Records from the PDF indicate the presence of anti-aircraft weaponry at the spaceport. Those should only be manned when the PDF is on high alert, though.

[Astro_sol]

Luca turned her haunting eyes to Yuri. She let the pretty comment pass.

"Don't waste time? You mean don't waste your time, meathead. Just stay out of my line of fire, how's that for a cryptic command? Huh?" Her tone was slightly teasing, but held a hint of accusation. Her body never moved, though, and her facial expression remained neutral.

[RadicalD]

“Cryptic?” he wondered, might be he had grown fond of talking as less as possible at the front line of a battle. “No, don’t waste our time.” He repeated, taking a deep breath and resisting the urge to touch his neck, he continued “If you want to use your makeup, go ahead, do it now, but don’t do it planetside, there is never enough time” Yuri did not manage to understand the teasing tone, and took what she had said as anger, again using his knowledge of what usually happened during the battles penal legionnaires fought “If you fire as quick as you anger, I don’t have much to worry. Fast shot, lost bullet”. Even though he continued to have his eyes closed, he grinned at where she was supposed to be.

[Astro_sol]

"Angry? Pshaw." It was an ugly sound. Her eyes gleamed as she leaned her hair forward, letting the loose strands hang over her face. "Perceptive, aren't you? Tell me," she said, pointing at a black clump, "what color was my hair during the meeting?"

[RadicalD]

“Hell if I have an idea, I know what it is expected of me, and that is enough, I don’t expect to see all of us here once the mission ends, why waste time remembering small facts” he said, briefly opening his eyes, looking at her black hair, “I could also ask you, where do I come from, and it still won’t matter”

[Hawkfrost000]

After stowing his gear Eisen thinks for a moment, then stows his long las and removes his lasgun, loading and priming it, but keeping the safety on. He fixes his sight to the lasgun as well. He starts speaking, probably to himself Just like that air drop into the Darian mountains, took some shrap to the engine, came down hard, so much smoke and dust in the air, kept trying to line up a shot with the damn long las when there were mutants all around us.

As his companions begin to argue Eisen holds up his hands in a placating gesture, a smoldering Iho stick held between his fingers and a wry smile on his face. Ladies and... Gentlemen please, save your anger for the heretics. He pauses for a moment. Though i have to disagree with you on two points Yuri, it takes far more skill to hit with a fast shot than a slow one, any fool can line up a good shot given time. he glances over to Luca As im sure my colleague-in-arms will agree... your hair was blonde by the way. he adds as an afterthought. Its a good dyejob, though if you really want to be unrecognizable you should have at least gone for something like this. he gestures to his own hair I guarantee half the people i know wouldn't recognize me if i changed my hair color. another pause as his expression changes to a frown And where you come from matters very, very much.

[Astro_sol]

Luca's level gaze was finally cracked by Eisen's interruption. An eyebrow twitched.

"****, you sound like a *****." Her gaze shifted, as if she were looking behind the trooper, but her position didn't change.

[Denomar]

"Why are you all here?"

Cassius clears his throat with a slight cough. Making a point of meeting every other acolytes eyes (or eye-like lens') before continuing.

"I am sure that this is very exciting, and arguing with each other is clearly the most constructive way that you can think of dealing with the stress of our first assignment."

He lets that sink in a moment.

"Because frankly, besides you." He points at Novus "I have no idea." Cassius leans forward and points to each acolyte in turn beginning with himself.

"I am an Arbiter. I have all the clearance I need to ask questions from the local Arbites forces without obviously involving the mistress and thus am logically placed." He points to Novus. "Clearly, the loss of significant military hardware would be of interest to the Mechanicus, and therefore you are also well placed to make inquiries of the tech cult."

"You three I can't fathom. We have the vet who's certainly not in a war zone, a criminal who doesn't give a Grox's arse, and a Monster. Now clearly the soldiers are just as expendable as I am but You." His finger gesticulating wildly at Luca. "What possible reason could the Mistress have for deploying you to this mission unless she expects there to be witchspawn crawling out of the walls. And None of this matters so much as coin if we don't even come up with a semblance of a plan."

"You know what's expected of you'. Grox crud. I suppose you should share that with us, since you hardly seem qualified to track down latrine duty let alone an operation with the capability of stealing Battle Tanks. And you, Eisen, this is just like that drop in the Darian Mountains? With all due respect in that case we might as well be dropping behind enemy lines without a map."

Cassius spreads his arms wide. "We've been instructed not to find the stolen goods, but to deal with the criminals who took them. Something I am more than happy to oblige too. Except, our only lead we have is the stolen goods at all. We aren't going to walk out of this shuttle and shoot whoever we can see. We need to start somewhere. So unless someone else has any particularly fantastic ideas than from the moment this shuttle touches the ground we are simply investigating the whereabouts of these stolen goods on behalf of the Navy.

Any word of the mistress and her profession is guaranteed to either scare our suspects into further hiding or simply get us Killed."

Cassius does his best to turn in the straps to face Arbitrator Elgin.

"Which leads us to you. Are there any leads that you can share about this case Arbitrator?"

[Hawkfrost000]

Eisens hands tighten around the grip and barrel of his lasgun I'd like to see you dropped behind enemy lines Arbite. How long would you last. Three days? Five? How long until the Enemy found you, shot you down in the mud.
Eisen returns Cassius's stare I spent fifteen days knee deep in the snow overlooking the only highway through the mountains. I killed 37 of the Archenemy, me and the rest of my sniper cadre held up the column of soldiers long enough for our armor to get into position to smash them. So to answer your first question: I am here because I survive, i can take whatever you throw at me and keep going. He looks thoughtful Also i was the best shot in my company. he finishes with a grin.
That drop in the Darians was blind, we knew the enemy were out there, knew they wanted us dead, but we had no idea where or how many. We were scouts, it turned out badly, lost 7 good men. Its the same here, going in nearly blind, have to work out the details once we hit the ground. He looks around the cabin I think we can agree that the principle is the same.
He returns his gaze to Cassius I believe that posing as representatives of the Guard or Navy will be beneficial to our search. You are an Arbiter, i defer to your experience in dealing with matters of investigation, likewise i expect that you will defer to my experience if this expedition should lead us into the wilderness or into a battle.

[Astro_sol]

As Cassius pointed wildly at her, Luca returned his gestures with some of her own, which were rather more crude.

So, yeah, everyone in here seemed to know about her...condition, as it had been explained to her. She remembered something about the Warp and how she didn't leave much of an impression. Funny, she had a decent enough figure, she certainly left a strong impression. Anyway, she was apparently immune to...psy...psyk...psychos? Yeah, psycho powers. She was totally immune to those.

As she tuned back in to the conversation, she realized that Eisen seemed to be discussing how his manhood was oh-so-much bigger than Cassius'. She could play that game.

"No, no, mine is bigger," she piped up, looking between the two with wide eyes. "I spent years growing up in a derelict space hulk with a faulty Gellar Field. Spent my childhood killing mutants and psychos and crazies and looters and mutants and servitors and xenos and did I mention mutants? Yeah. Just me and my gun." She patted the Long-Las in her lap. "Those days were simple. Didn't need to talk to nobody. Just shoot if they pass the yellow line."

She shook her head as she realized that she was rambling. "What were we talking about? Right. What to do." She put a fist under her chin and began pondering.

[Denomar]

"And that is the difference between myself and you two. I have no illusions as to my skill or importance. I am a speck in the universe that could be plowed into the ground without a second thought. You aren't in the army any more. This is the Inquisition and for the most part they do not care how many people you have shot to death."

Cassius makes a visible effort to try and calm himself down but is only partially successful.

"I just think this is a lot more dangerous than I've heard anyone here give credit yet. War is simple, Crime is simple. This. This isn't."

[elephantum]

Responding to Cassius, the pilot voxes in,

I'm afraid whatever you've been brought here for is beyond my pay grade. Most of us weren't informed of your arrival until this morning, and the details have been kept strictly need-to-know. There had been rumors of an investigation into the Governor and the members of his Council, though.

[Astro_sol]

"I just think this is a lot more dangerous than I've heard anyone here give credit yet. War is simple, Crime is simple. This. This isn't."

Luca tapped her chin. "So is one bitch versus a ship full of crazy a war? Because that was simple. Less entertaining, though."


"There had been rumors of an investigation into the Governor and the members of his Council, though."

"Awesome! Thanks, pilot guy! We'll start there. Help with investigatin'."

[RadicalD]

As his companions begin to argue Eisen holds up his hands in a placating gesture, a smoldering Iho stick held between his fingers and a wry smile on his face. Ladies and... Gentlemen please, save your anger for the heretics. He pauses for a moment. Though i have to disagree with you on two points Yuri, it takes far more skill to hit with a fast shot than a slow one, any fool can line up a good shot given time. he glances over to Luca As im sure my colleague-in-arms will agree... your hair was blonde by the way. he adds as an afterthought. Its a good dyejob, though if you really want to be unrecognizable you should have at least gone for something like this. he gestures to his own hair I guarantee half the people i know wouldn't recognize me if i changed my hair color. another pause as his expression changes to a frown And where you come from matters very, very much.

“That it takes skill to land a fast shot, don’t doubt, but that doesn’t mean she has the neccesary skill. And tell me, soldier, where do you come from and how does it matter?”

--

It was funny, as the pretty girl realized, helping Yuri do the same, that they were each seeing who had the bigger manhood, and it was funnier that they kept at it, even though it seemed a lousy excuse to reveal where they were coming from and to point out how expendable they were. His eyes still closed, he pretty much lost what Cassius was saying to each one, with the exception of the girl, again, this was because she was the only woman in the group. Witchspawn, could she be a hunter –of – sorts, he had no idea, never in his life had he heard that term before. “So, anyone care for a little nap, you all yelling too loud”

[elephantum]

As the heated discussion went on, the shuttle continued its rapid descent to the planet's surface. After some roughness, the craft shudders, completing the transition to the atmosphere.

The tiny viewports on the fuselage allowed some view of the ground below. The city of Kymi was a sizeable affair, a sprawling tangle of small buildings, punctuated by several large, ornately decorated buildings of red stone. A broad harbor was filled with sea ships, primarily large scale haulers.

The Carcer reached the spaceport and began its descent before you could see more. Low to the ground now, you can see a flurry of activity. Ships are landing, stevedores driving trucks packed with cargo, servitors tending to maintenance on ships.

Nina wasted no time in landing the ship, doing so with the grace of a skilled pilot. No sooner had the craft settled than the back ramp began opening. The noise of the servos was soon joined by the great commotion outside, as well as the smell of salt air and a spear of bright afternoon sun, a stark change from the dim artificial lighting of the cabin.

Once the ramp was fully down, you proceeded to the end, seeing three figures approaching. The central figure was an older man, dressed in a formal black uniform jacket, various insignia and decorations shining in the sunlight. His flanking companions were dressed in the same silver and burgundy and silver as Nina, helmets on and shotguns at the ready.

As they approached, the man in the middle made the sign of the aquila, bowed his head slightly, and called out.

Good afternoon, Acolytes!

With a series of loud cracks, he and his companions were struck by a wave of gunfire.

[RadicalD]

Instincts kicking in, Yuri quickly rolled a smoke grenade between the acolyte and the Adeptus Arbites, immediately after pulling the closets acolytes, those curiously being Luca and Cassius, in the direction of nearby cover, in this case, a giant pipe to the north. He gave a rat’s – ass if they accompanied him or not, he was giving them a chance of survival, up to them if they followed. “Cover!” he shouted again, as gunfire kept erupting from all around them. As soon as he was safely behind cover, he would take out his lasgun and try to buy time for the rest.

[Denomar]

From behind the pipe Cassius curses. Too obvious. Too open. In the future they wouldn't know they were coming.

...If there was a future.

Cassius drew his las pistol, spat out the oath of thanks to its machine spirit and flicked the switch marked with the sacred rune words "O-N" and was rewarded with the high pitched whine that meant the gun was now working. Crawling along the edge of the pipe Cassius makes his way towards the gunman to the west. Looking for an opening.

OOC. He will get as close as he can and drop to his belly and begin aiming, if he's within point blank range and can actually see a target than he will try and shoot him in the foot or leg in the hopes to drop the target.

[Astro_sol]

The second Luca felt something attempt to grab her, instincts kicked in...well, that's inaccurate. Her instincts kicked in the minute shots were fired. Her rifle having been in her lap for the trip, Luca had still been working it onto her back while walking forward when the judge and his friends got hit. Her reaction to shots being fired was to calmly ready her gun, but before she could aim she felt someone try to grab her. As she dodged by instinct, she noted that the perpetrator was Yuri.

He had crossed a line. She made a note to herself to address it soon.

As the man who'd touched her ran off with Cassius, she noted that the nearest available cover was...yes, just where they were headed.

Wonderful. She followed and quickly took cover, trying to decide on a priority target, her mouth shut in a grim line.

OOCLuca's going to also follow Yuri, hiding and, if possible, using a half action to aim, unless the move took the full turn.

[Hawkfrost000]

Eisen lets out a short, sharp scream as the bullets hit home, more of a shout really. He sprints towards the nearest piece of cover, a large pipeline to the right of the landing craft. Sonofabitch!

He drops behind the large wheel jutting from the pipe and begins to belly crawl towards the nintey degree bend in the pipe, he knows good cover is the key to winning a firefight. As he does so he fires a controlled burst at the gunman on the roof by the pipeline, trying to keep his head down until he can get into position. As he does so he activates his comm bead Cover, now! Luca, covering fire. Yuri come down their flank at 90 degrees from my position. Somebody grab the Judge.

Orders:
If possible i make a Tactical Advance (if the cloud of smoke counts as cover) to the Pipeline and as far towards the right angle bend as possible.

If not i make a half action move and an attack towards F2

Attack roll [roll0]
Damage [roll1]

[Fremen]

Novus quickly glanced around, his already hunchbacked form crouching lower as the gunfire started around him. His cybernetic eyes flicked around the landing area, registering numerous attackers and only few allies. Although he was equipped with a weapon, he was not overly confident in his accuracy in such a dangerous situation, having never truly been under fire before. Instead he opted to bolt to the nearest cover, hunkering down beside a large pipe, just under immense wheel lock. He marveled for a moment at the simple device, figuring that servitors were likely the only personnel on the landing bay with the strength to ope-

He immediately began reassessing the makeshift battlefield, taking careful note of the servitors he could see. Given the relatively short distance between himself and the machine-servants, he opted to release a loud, dense burst of audio binary chatter, quietly making the sign of the cog over his heart as he spoke in the blessed tongue.

Half Action: Move to right-most end of pipe at top of map.

Half Action: Attempt to instruct all servitors capable of hearing his binary cant with the following order:
"Kill all humans who meet the following parameters: a) currently holding an autogun; b) not bearing identification signifying them as members of the Adeptus Arbites."

I'm not sure what roll is required for this, so here is a generic d100 roll (although I do have Binary Chatter):
[roll0]

[elephantum]

The party dashed towards the relative safety of a nearby pipe. Yuri was quickest to react, but stopped to lob a canister in the direction of the brunt of fire. Cassius overtook him in the journey to the pipe, weapon at the ready as years of intense training took over.

Eisen tried to snap off a shot at the closest attacker, but hit the vehicle the assailant was hiding behind. The las-bolt burned a large hole in the windscreen of the truck, with the sharp scream of liquefying plas-glass. A series of loud beeps and tones from Novus' vox-grill soon joined that noise.

Meanwhile, the gunmen opened fire again. Most of the shots went wide, Yuri's smokescreen making it harder to draw a bead. Through the azure haze, though, Judge Kuzlow's convulsing body was hit again and again, growing still. Luca too took a bullet, hitting her in the back before she reached the protection of the thick blue cloud.

[Astro_sol]

Luca had thought that she was in a bad mood before, when Yuri had touched her.

"****! Ow! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow," she growled, continuing to the safety of the pipe with a stumble. She quickly took advantage of the cover to at least get out of the line of fire for a moment. "You're ruining my looks, grox-sniffers!"

With her lasgun readied, she took a moment to pick out a target and let loose a round.

OOC
I guess I could say instead of aiming last turn, Luca was too busy being shot and continued to run to the pipe as a Full Action. Now that she's there, I should have cover from, theoretically, everything.

Half Action: Aim
Half Action: Shoot the bastard

To Hit: [roll0]; base 36, +10 aim, +10 Accurate quality, +10 short range, tentative total 66.
Damage: [roll1]; Penetration 1

[Hawkfrost000]

Eisen shouts again as bullets crack into the pavement near him. Good job with the smoke Yuri. then as he sees Luca take a hit he yells Luca report! Arbite, some covering fire if you would.

He abandons all sense of subtlety as he sprints towards his selected cover.

OOC:
Full turn move to location previously described

[Denomar]

As he reaches cover Cassius throws himself shoulder first into the pipe. The smell of ignition powder hanging heavily in the air. Fighting back the urge to sneeze Cassius aims his pistol around the corner and sends a las bolt burning towards the nearest target before ducking back into cover.

Moments later Novus makes it into cover before letting forth a shrill burst of binary that sets Cassius's teeth on edge and nearly makes him drop his gun. A terrible thought occurs to him. A superior officer was just shot in cold blood not ten feet away from him. And he hadn't been able to stop it.

A trip to the confessional was in order it seemed.

OOC
Note. Queued action for my next turn.

Half Action: Aim
Half Action: Fire

to hit. [roll0] target 43 (bs+10)
damage if it hits [roll1]

[Astro_sol]

Eisen shouts again as bullets crack into the pavement near him. Good job with the smoke Yuri. then as he sees Luca take a hit he yells [COLOR="Green"]Luca report!

"I got frakking shot! Reporting a bullet hole in my torso, screwloose!"

[Hawkfrost000]

"I got frakking shot! Reporting a bullet hole in my torso, screwloose!"

If you still have a sense of sarcasm it cant be that bad. barks Eisen Keep pressure on it, ill get over there quick as i can.

[Fremen]

Novus scrambled across the landing bay, his robes slowing down his half-running steps as he made for the pipe. Seeing his colleagues taking fire, his turned, taking stock of what he saw. In the distance, he thought he could hear the soul of a blessed machine coughing into waking, but he was more concerned with the oncoming barrage of autogun fire.

Suddenly aware of the mass movement from the other acolytes to the pipe alongside him, Novus quickly made an adjustment to his plans. Turning abruptly, he ran as fast as he could back towards the armoured aircraft, diving to the relative cover of its landing struts.

Full Move Action - make for under the transport aircraft.

[RadicalD]

Seeing that there are already too many people close to the pipe, Yuri turns around and runs as fast as he can towards be a small transport truck close to the lander and a servitor. Throwing himself into cover.



Full Action: Run