(Dark Heresy) Whispers in the Darkness (IC)

[Viper9090]

You are currently strapped into a crash seat aboard an Aquila lander from the naval frigate Flames of Faith, hurtling through the upper atmosphere of the Hive World Barsapine towards its capital hive city, Amglora.

The CO of the Flames of Faith (Captain Ollagauge) is a friend of your inquisitor, and is willing to provide some support should you need it (although he hinted it should only really be if your need was dire). The Flames will remain in orbit for a standard week, then will leave on patrol for three months.

Your only orders currently are to reach the hive. Once there you would receive further orders as to your upcoming mission.

Your descent, whilst loud and juddering, is far smoother in the refined and comfortable interior of the Aquila then if you had to take a cargo lander, so you are able to talk whilst on approach to the hive.

It would be nice to see some character interaction here, as well as describing what your character is up to pre-mission. When everyone is done let me know and we'll proceed to the landing.

[Manticorkscrew]

Restlessly shifting in her seat, Amartey was having to force herself not to obsessively check and recheck her weapons. Her hands itched with the feeling that she should be stripping, cleaning and then reassembling her lasgun one last time, just to make sure.

Leave it alone. It won't get better if you keep picking at it, she told herself. She was frowning and her agitation was plain to see, if anyone cared to look.

[Monivey]

Father Barbosa was in a frenzy of activity as he prepared for departure. He ensured his clothing and armored greatcoat were properly pressed. Reciting the proscribed prayers, he cleaned his weapons, and prayed over them. Just before they were to depart, he made his way to the shipboard chapel, for his final prayers.

Love the Emperor
for He is the salvation of mankind
Obey His words
for He will lead you into the light of the future
Heed his wisdom
for He will protect you from evil
Whisper his prayers with devotion,
for they will save your soul
Honour His servants,
for they speak in His voice
Tremble before His majesty,
for we all walk in His immortal shadow


Following the officially sanctioned hymn, he continued, with a plea not found in any official tome, a plea he was too ashamed to vocalize.

Grant me the strength I lack. Heal the doubts in my conviction. If your might truly flows through me, grant me a sign.

Aboard the Aquila

Strapped in tightly, Kaltos couldn't help but be reminded of a combat drop, and the uncertainty about what they would face upon landing. He tried to maintain the most composed face he could, as he scanned the faces of the others. He was particularly keen to see how Piety handled the drop.

[Nightgaun7]

Istvan fiddled with the autoinjector on his hound, Anax, making sure he was receiving a slow but steady drip of the mild tranquilizers. This done, he returned his attention to the small glassteel window in the side of the lander. Atmospheric drops were always a fascinating experience for someone from the Volg underhives, although the depths of space above the thin atmospheric envelope always made him feel slightly agoraphobic.

[Manticorkscrew]

As the oppressive silence grew longer, Amartey felt that someone should make an effort to defuse the tension. It might as well be her, she decided (although she was surprised that Callidia hadn't started chattering away already). It would take her mind off the gnawing worry she always felt before she was thrown into a new combat situation and she had no idea of what the future had in store for her. For a little while, at least.

'I'm reminded of what old Commissar Trenton would say at a time like this,' she said. As always, she spoke softly, barely raising her voice so that she could be heard over the rumble of the Aquila's engines. If she spoke any louder, her voice would come out as a harsh rasp. Agathion had done that to her. 'It went something like this: "Ahh, another world, another victory in the making! All for the glory of the God-Emperor!"'

Her attempt to mimic the booming voice of the Cyrus Vulpan 9th's former regimental commissar was not very convincing, but it brought back memories of a time when she was young and impetuous. She laughed good-naturedly for a moment, reminiscing. Back then, she had truly believed that the bravery and valour of the soldiers fighting in the Margin Crusade must inevitably result in the glorious victories she kept hearing about. And then her smile faded. Those memories were now tinged with bitterness. Commissar Trenton hadn't even got a proper burial.

[Miraqariftsky]

Earlier...

The short, scarred scholar of the cell arrives clad in a battered, much-mended guynmetal grey flakweave cloak, trusty brass-plated autoquill bobbing with each step, belt-strapped to her belly. Her protective vestment has two slits at the sides--- making it into more of a flakweave robe than a cloak--- with lacing along the torso, holding front and back together. Beneath are hints of a navy blue tunic and green skirt over a pair of knee-high synthi-leather black boots.

Callidia's bone-white ponytail bobs as she bows to the others over Aquila-folded hands...

...which soon enough return to tapping away at her instruments, alternating between a running chronicle on her autoquill and a sketch-journal that emerges from her breast pocket every so often. A casual peek over the top of her pages shows a rough approximation of a panting cyber-Alex.

Taking a seat as she waits, the backpack that she doesn't deign to remove forces her to hunch over a little. She does, however, at least let down the matt-black lightweight marksman's rifle from her shoulder, its wire stock clanking dully on the Flames of Faith's deckplates.

Presently...

Blaaaaaarrrrggghhh! TheEmperorProtects! Oh Throne, Oh Terra, FAAAAAQQQ! TheEmperorProtects! Don't make a mess, dunnmaekkamess!dunnmaekkamess!, go Callidia's thoughts as she clings for dear life to her safety harness, her vision swimming with motion sickness, her gut churning with nausea.

[Leon]

Fly well ship fly well

Jozef murmurs this as they leave the Flames of Faith.

Seeing Callidia not taking the descent well he reaches out to lay a reassuring hand on shoulder ~ Focus not on the descent but on something you like

[Viper9090]

There is a click as the cabin vox comes on, "This is your pilot, we are on final approach to the mid-spire shuttle port. Please gather your belongings and prepare to disembark."

[Nightgaun7]

Istvan gives Anax a small dose of stimulants, enough to have him ready within a short time after landing. "Omnissiah, deliver us safely unto the surface..."

[Manticorkscrew]

Yup, I got mine. Amartey was satisfied that she had all her belongings and was ready to move out.

She shot a look of concern in Callidia's direction. The adept was white-knuckled and grey-faced. It looked like she was fighting severe motion sickness.The jolting would probably get worse just as they were coming in to land, unless their pilot was really good at his job – it would probably cause Callidia to feel even more horribly sick and (for once) Amartey didn't envy her at all.

[Urist]

Throughout the approach, Marcus has been very quiet, contemplatively rubbing his icon of the Machine God and whispering binary cants under his breath. No sense in taking chances while on a metal craft hurtling through the atmosphere, after all. However, when he see's Callida struggling with motion sickness, he smiles, and nods his head in her direction.

How awful it must be to be unnaugmented so. It's been so long, I hardly remember.

"So, comrades, does anyone have any idea what this mission might be about? I don't know about you all, but I hardly enjoy walking into a situation with no intelligence to speak of."

OOC:

Off to a pre-orientation hiking trip. Assume Marcus follows along and chimes in in a friendly manner when necessary, until Friday. Sorry guys!

[Manticorkscrew]

"So, comrades, does anyone have any idea what this mission might be about? I don't know about you all, but I hardly enjoy walking into a situation with no intelligence to speak of."

'Well, I don't enjoy it, but it's hardly a novel experience for me,' Amartey muttered. 'The Emperor points and we obey, through the warp and far away...'

[Viper9090]

There is the sudden pull of deceleration as your pilot banks the Aquila and fires its breaking thrustsers, slowing the craft right down for landing. Outside you see the massive hive appear from out of the dark clouds, sunlight catching the upper spires in the weak dawn light. It is a crazy spiral of Gothic architecture, reaching thousands of meters into the sky, and is many miles across, housing billions of emperor fearing citizens.

As you close on the middle spire the upper spire is obscured by a mixture of clouds and smog. There is a final pull, and the a judder as the Aquila finally lands, its landing gear clanking on what must be the pad beneath you.

The ramp opens behind your seats, leading out and letting in a blast of native air, a mix of oil, soot and the reek of promethium from the landers engines.

"Straps off, all passengers disembark. This shuttle will be leaving in three minuets." says the pilot over the vox. You all disengage your straps, some with a bit more difficulty then others, exiting the Aquila rapidly.

You exit onto a raised landing platform attached directly to the exterior of the spire, the viewing distance small in the smog that now engulfs you. There is a walkway that you follow down to an airlock that allows you into the Spire itself. As you enter you hear a roar of the Aquila's engines re-engaging, and see the lander raise a few feet, the shoot off, leaving the dock on whatever errand it has to perform next.

You enter the hive, and are confronted with a large and bright corridor, bustling with human and servitor traffic as they bustle about their daily business at the docks.

So, what do you do next?

[Nightgaun7]

Istvan makes sure that Anax is properly attentive, then turns to the others. "We need to receive our next orders. Let's move towards the main street, our contact should be able to find us easily enough. Unless any of you know something about our next move?"

[Miraqariftsky]

Previously...

Callidia's left hand darted for Jozef's and clamped tight abount his warm meat and bone.

Her eyes were wide and unfocused. Her breath came in short gasps. Her grit teeth soon began chattering.

Her already pallid face pales even further. Her right hand shot an obscene gesture at Marcus out of spite at a particularly violent spot of turbulence.

Unable to stomach looking at the steel and flesh and swilling tubes and glowing eyes on Anax, Callidia shifts her eyes to the Volgite's, then tries to fix her gaze on the ever-tinkling diminutive brass Aquila tied around her compact rifle's muzzle.

Presently...

The white-haired scholar almost immediately pops out of her safety harness and darts for the lander's lavatory where she proceeds to be violently ill.

Stumbling out, smelling of both bile and soap and contraseptic, she groans to nobody in particular after slinging a now-empty bottle of water into the cabin's wastebasket, "Took... meds... earlier... little help... they were..."

Nevertheless, back on terra firma, the Progena graduate gives her kit a routine check quickly and efficiently enough to make her old drill abbots nod and grunt in appoval. She then takes a couple of menthol candies from her breast pocket and pops them into her mouth, then, knowing the foul air of a typical hive world, dons her filtration plugs.

For now unspeaking, one hand on her shoulder-slung rifle, the other back at her autoquill, jotting down more lines into her running chronicle, Callidia keeps up with her cellmates but makes sure that her beefier comrades are between her and potential danger. Meanwhile, she tries to rack her memory for anything pertinent regarding Barsapine as well as keeping her eyes and ears alert for anything that might be a threat or of interest...


Lore: Imperium [roll0] TN 58 Anything that she knows of Barsapine? Anything beyond what the rulebook says?
Awareness [roll1] TN 43 Who else is out there? What else is out there? Might their contact be close by?

[Manticorkscrew]

Amartey said nothing. She looked around the entrance to the hive and wondered if now was the right time to open it. This was just about as far as they were going to get without some instructions, so she decided that, yes, the time had arrived.

She reached into her belt pouch and pulled out a slim case. She opened it up to reveal the data-slate inside. Pressing the button to activate it, she stared at the screen. She was intensely curious as to what information the data-slate contained. But she'd managed to keep curiosity at bay until now. She'd done just as she was ordered, right?

[Viper9090]

The data slate Amartey pulled out briefly activated and showed her several lines of green text small enough that only she could see, then you hear a faint electrical crackle, then the screen goes dead.

Callidia knows that the planet's chief exports are high quality ceramics and cogitation cells. You also know the planet is partially tidally locked, where one side of the world faces the star whilst the other faces the void, so only the strip around the light/dark equator is habitable, restricting the population growth. Also the day night cycle of the hive cities is artificial, leading to the population leading a highly regulated life based on the time that is told to them, rather then being able to judge the time of day by the sun's position in the sky.

Callidia spots nothing out of the ordinary around her.

[Manticorkscrew]

'Right. Right, I got this,' Amartey said, screwing up her eyes and trying to memorize the instructions she'd just been given. She was flustered by the speed of the self-destruct sequence that had come almost immediately after. But she wasn't about to complain.

She turned to face her fellow acolytes. By telling them the message, saying it aloud, she'd have a better chance of remembering it. 'We need to go to sector 19144, corridor A122A, hab unit 2934, on level 973. That's lower mid-hive, somewhere. When we get there, we'll receive further instructions.'

And there's a code phrase I need to remember, she thought to herself. Probably best not to shout it out in the street, though.

[Nightgaun7]

"Should be some sort of directory around here, might show us the way. Don't ask anyone though, no knowing who might be interested."

[Manticorkscrew]

"Should be some sort of directory around here, might show us the way. Don't ask anyone though, no knowing who might be interested."

Amartey nodded thoughtfully. Looking around, she tried to think of the most likely place where they'd find a directory like Istvan had suggested.

She felt she should know. She'd been in a hive city before.

Awareness check, if it'll help. Amartey's perception is 30 (and she has Awareness as a trained skill).

Dice roll: [roll0]

[Nightgaun7]

"Not a hiver? Should be that way." Istvan motions in the direction of the shuttle concourse.

[Manticorkscrew]

"Not a hiver? Should be that way." Istvan motions in the direction of the shuttle concourse.

Amartey gave a small, abashed smile. 'Cyrus Vulpan, born and raised,' she said, tapping her unit badge. 'We're famous for our grox herds, but by the standards of most planets our cities are tiny.'

[Nightgaun7]

"Grox herd or hive city, what's the difference? But in seriousness, let's get moving. We're a conspicuous group."


I hope someone else has any interaction skills we might need

[Manticorkscrew]

"Grox herd or hive city, what's the difference? But in seriousness, let's get moving. We're a conspicuous group."

Amartey gave a light chuckle and fell into step beside Istvan, following his direction towards the shuttle concourse.

[Miraqariftsky]

sector 19144, corridor A122A, hab unit 2934, on level 973. scritches out another line from the scrolling autoquill as Callidia listens, and adds, Approximate hive region lower midhive.

"Do you see this pallor in the air?" The scholar says. "It's not just smog. Nor merely the chem-banks or normative acidified condensation common to most hivecities. Feel that chill? Not just the general airconditioning, either."

Callidia continues, seemingly oblivious, apparently drawing comfort from masticating and spewing information. "This planet, Barsapine, does not rotate around its own axis as most other planets do. Rotationally locked, as astrophysical scholars term it. One side's is permanently hot and the other, never exposed to its sun, is permanently cold. Only a thin, twilight strip across the edge of both---" Here, she stamps, then continues, "---is suitable for sustainable human habitation. Because of this as well, there is no day or night as we might know it. Barsapinian day and night are rendered in the same manner as the diurnal cycle of a starship, artificial and strictly regimented."

Callidia then quirks a brief smile at their resident representative of the Hammer of the Emperor and says while she walks with them, keeping towards their formation's center, "Nothing wrong with rural life, if you ask me. Throne, I could breathe fresh friggen air there. Gimme grox dung over chem-spill anytime, trust me."

[Manticorkscrew]

sector 19144, corridor A122A, hab unit 2934, on level 973. scritches out another line from the scrolling autoquill as Callidia listens, and adds, Approximate hive region lower midhive.

'Oh, you wrote it down?' said Amartey, sighing with relief. 'Whew, thank you. I was afraid I wouldn't remember all that. That's a weight off my mind...'


Callidia then quirks a brief smile at their resident representative of the Hammer of the Emperor and says while she walks with them, keeping towards their formation's center, "Nothing wrong with rural life, if you ask me. Throne, I could breathe fresh friggen air there. Gimme grox dung over chem-spill anytime, trust me."

'Are you having difficulties?' said Amartey, sympathetically. She saw that Callidia was wearing filter plugs and therefore was probably better equipped to deal with the polluted air than any of the other acolytes (with the possible exceptions of Marcus and Istvan – they probably augmented their bodies with all kinds of wondrous technology).

Actually, she's looking perkier now that she's off the shuttle and walking on solid ground again. She'll be all right, she thought.

[Viper9090]

Access to the shuttle concourse is a large hatch guarded by several enforcers apparently checking boarding passes and ID's.

Between your group and the concourse is the crowd of people navigating the wide spire corridor. As you push through your group is momentarily surrounded by a large group of children, most in grumpy overalls, laughing and sheirking as they run through the crowd.

GM Instruction
Everyone please make an awareness and an agility check to avoid bumping into the kids.

[Leon]

!

Awareness (Per 25 halved) [roll0]
Agility (34) [roll1]



Oh Gosh 25 halved



with the possible exceptions of Marcus and Istvan – they probably augmented their bodies with all kinds of wondrous technology

Or Jozef ~ Augmented workforce for the toughest places unknown to common man

[Manticorkscrew]

Sorry, I rolled in the OOC thread:

Crap. Grubby, thieving kids. *Mutter mutter* :smallyuk:

I suppose it's probably a good thing that (apart from a mere handful of thrones) Amartey doesn't have anything worth stealing.

Awareness check (vs 30): (1d100)[1]
Agility check (vs 31): (1d100)[20]

[Mionelle]

Most of time in the Aquila lander Zoe stayed quiet, looking down and reading Rule of the Sororitas. Her mouth were moving in silent prayers to the Great God-Emperor. As she saw Father Barbosa going to the chapel, she followed him, kneeled down and joined singing hymns.

Holy Emperor, give me the faith that will not break, give me strong hearth to deal with my endless duty, bless this weapon, so I won't miss fighting against evil, chaos and heresy, and lead my life to follow the paths of the Sisterhood.

When the Aquila landed and the ramp opened, Zoe went out as the others did. She stopped for a while, impressed by the magnitude of the hive. She didn't know why, but the view of such architecture was always impressive to her.

Awarness check (vs 34) [roll0]
Agility check (vs 28) [roll1]

[Monivey]

Landing on a new new world. New sights to see, new servants of the Emperor to protect. What could be more exciting?

Almost anything, apparently. Crowds, pollution, and hordes of urchins. He tried to press his way through the crowd of youths.

"Excuse me. Pardon me. Oh, for Throne's sake!"


Awareness (14): [roll0]
Agility (31): [roll1]

[Miraqariftsky]

Callidia nods in agreement with Amertey and twitches a brief smile, "No problem. Glad I could help."

"Actually, yes, I'm not afraid to admit. PFFT!" she snorts and shrugs. "I am frail, compared against such heroes of the Imperium as you. Besides, isn't there the proverb, 'Never breathe deeply upon planetfall', or something to that effect? Especially useful advice, when dealing with hiveworlds."

Presently, she keeps close behind the protective bulk of Amertey and Istvan and Anax but still levels a glare at whichever urchin's hand had groped for her pockets, holding back against the temptation to lay about with her rifle butt. Rat-kids, bah. Throne, what a swarm. Where are their parents, hmm? Or shouldn't they presently be in the scholam at this point in time?"

[Manticorkscrew]

"Actually, yes, I'm not afraid to admit. PFFT!" she snorts and shrugs. "I am frail, compared against such heroes of the Imperium as you.

Amartey looked uncomfortable after Callidia called her a hero. She certainly didn't think of herself as a hero, just as a hapless grunt tossed this way and that by the vagaries of war, never really making a difference to anyone. She wasn't mighty or pious or virtuous enough to serve the God-Emperor as well as she would like.


Besides, isn't there the proverb, 'Never breathe deeply upon planetfall', or something to that effect? Especially useful advice, when dealing with hiveworlds."

'Yes. Wish I still had my rebreather,' said Amartey, moistening her dry lips, 'Alas, there was a limit to how much gear they'd let me keep.' She sighed. 'The Emperor provides us with what we need, not what we want.'

She paused for a moment and then said, 'You know... we all serve the Emperor as best we can with the talents we have. I'm a soldier. I'd be lost if I didn't have someone with brains standing behind me telling me what to do.' She gave Callidia a shy smile. 'You're good for that.'


Presently, she keeps close behind the protective bulk of Amertey and Istvan and Anax but still levels a glare at whichever urchin's hand had groped for her pockets, holding back against the temptation to lay about with her rifle butt. Rat-kids, bah. Throne, what a swarm. Where are their parents, hmm? Or shouldn't they presently be in the scholam at this point in time?"

Amartey saw the crowd of street urchins and kept a wary eye out for sly, grasping hands. She neatly stepped out of the way whenever one of them tried to bump into her. She didn't want anyone going through her pockets, thank you very much!

[Nightgaun7]

Istvan, a hive native, saw the urchins coming. Anax bristled, subtly but more than obvious to an expert handler. "'Ware the brats." Istvan shooed them out of his way with his staff, and none of the children were too keen to come close to a man followed by one of the dreaded cyber-mastiffs.

[Urist]

Marcus does his best to avoid bumping into children, apologizing to any whom he does bump into. He does keep an eye on his Thrones pouch, hidden under his robe, as well as any small equipment they might steal.


Awareness:[roll0]TN:14
Agility:[roll1] TN: 30

[Miraqariftsky]

Unsure of how else to say it, Callidia reverts to basic human contact and merely gives Amertey's arm a squeeze, then hesitates for a moment, knowing that some Regiments did a back-slap, others a knock on the helmet, others even squeeze of the buttocks.

That last one might be considered harassment under the penal codes of several systems, but is also considered acceptable in some cultures. Also, on scrumball teams.

Weighing the factors with their current environment and situation, a beat later, she completes the gesture by knocking her knuckles against her colleague's shoulder guard.

Mind awhirl, Callidia rattles off once more, with a snap of her fingers on remembering, then giving a chuckle, "Cardinal rule when stepping off a dropship: Never, ever take a deep breath. That's the one. Weeks or even months of canned voidship air and then dropping rockside, especially onto a hivecity? Tsk---"

She then sighs and hisses at the nearest street rat, giving them the benefit of the doubt, despite her better judgment, "Gggget back to your mothers. Ain't no place for juves."

[Viper9090]

The swarm of children move off into the crowd.

Results:

View only the result that relates to your character:
Amartey: You see that far from just running children, they are actually trying to grab small items from the crowd without being noticed. However, you are agile enough to avoid the prying hands of the children.
Istvan & Zoe: You do not see anything out of the ordinary, however you manage to avoid any of the children bumping into you (Manly through Istivan's cyber-hound scaring them off).
Kaltos, Jozef, Marcus & Callidia: The children surge around you, bumping and jostling you as they stream past. As they disappear off into the crowd you realize they may have taken some items from your person.

Roll 1d10 and deduct that many thrones from your total. If you do not have that many thrones you lose a small item of approximately similar value.

[Manticorkscrew]

Amartey scowled at the thieving street urchins, trying to look scary and forbidding and intimidate them so that they'd quickly scurry on and not come back.

Amartey doesn't have Intimidate as a trained skill, but it's a basic skill, so...

Either Strength (halved: 17) or Fellowship (halved: 13). Dice roll: [roll0]

Anyway, the mission remained the same: get to the shuttle concourse and find out how to get to sector 19144, corridor A122A, hab unit 2934, on level 973 (etcetera). Shouldn't be too difficult, from here...

[Miraqariftsky]

Callidia's face burns. Shame at having had such a breach in security wars with shame at such base behaviour being inevitable.

Give them a few more years and they'll soon be carjacking, jimmying into domiciles and establishments. Some of them might already be keen with knives and guns by then. Were this Volg or Gunmetal or Sinophia or Malfi or Tranch or any of those more brutal hives of scum and villainy, they'd have begun their burgeoning criminal careers even earlier.

Throne, have mercy. Though they be not worthy, may your light guide these lost souls to grace.

While they walk, the progena scholar reaches into her pocket, checking what might have been pilfered. Warped if it was any of the ammunition. Groping in her pocket, she starts a step and chuckles briefly, then says to nobody in particular, "Bugger nicked a bit o' lipstick, hah."

[Nightgaun7]

"Cute kids. Shuttle concourse directory's over that way." Istvan walks on a few more paces, then says "And for those of you new to hives, stick close to Anax."

[Miraqariftsky]

For the umpteenth time, Callidia curses her own frailty and the desperation that drives kids to crime. Still walking along in the shadow of her stouter comrades--- as well as their cyber-mastiff, the silver-haired scholar scowls.

And all the while, her fingers keep clacking out a running chronicle on her autoquill.

She asks of Istvan, "Anax' name, where did you get it? Anaximander or Anaximenes, two ancient philosophers? Or anax, a corruption of another ancient word for 'children'? Or another evolution of term 'xanax', a generic term for a 'alprazolam', a psychoactive medicine meant to relieve clinical symptoms of overanxiety and similar stresses?"

[Viper9090]

You eventually get through the crowd, avoiding any other incidents as you make it to the concorese entrance.

There is a barrier here, with 4 enforcers watching as an adept is taking tickets at a barrier. You notice that the people getting onto the concourse are dressed better then most of the crowd, and although not high class, you can assume these are natives of the middle hive, the merchants and craftsmen who are a cut above the common worker, but not too far.

What do you do?

[Nightgaun7]

She asks of Istvan, "Anax' name, where did you get it? Anaximander or Anaximenes, two ancient philosophers? Or anax, a corruption of another ancient word for 'children'? Or another evolution of term 'xanax', a generic term for a 'alprazolam', a psychoactive medicine meant to relieve clinical symptoms of overanxiety and similar stresses?"


"Never heard of those philosophers. Which sector were they from? Anyways, I don't know where the name came from. Anax here was trained and had most of his implants done by others. We got along pretty well so they assigned him to me." Istvan motions the others into a bit of a huddle, then asks "Anyone got the IDs we need to get through here? Or are we just going in as ourselves..."

[Manticorkscrew]

Istvan motions the others into a bit of a huddle, then asks "Anyone got the IDs we need to get through here? Or are we just going in as ourselves..."

'I don't see why we can't walk in as ourselves.' said Amartey, frowning.

[Nightgaun7]

"Let's get moving. Idle hands are the damnation of mankind and all that."

[Leon]

I agree, if an esteemed collection of the finest the Imperium can gather cant get past a gate the hive is much more suspect

[Manticorkscrew]

I agree, if an esteemed collection of the finest the Imperium can gather cant get past a gate the hive is much more suspect

Amartey nodded her agreement. She strode forth.

[Viper9090]

You walk up to barrier. There is no real line, and you make it up to where the adept is standing quickly. He looks at your group, not at all taken aback by your motley group of individuals.

"Pass or citizen ID please." He says in a bored tone.

[Nightgaun7]

"We've just come down aboard the lander from Flames of Faith. Here are our transfer orders."

Istvan holds the small docket out for the adept to take a look at.

[Mionelle]

She asks of Istvan, "Anax' name, where did you get it? Anaximander or Anaximenes, two ancient philosophers? Or anax, a corruption of another ancient word for 'children'? Or another evolution of term 'xanax', a generic term for a 'alprazolam', a psychoactive medicine meant to relieve clinical symptoms of overanxiety and similar stresses?"

"Your knowledge, Callida, is impressive," said Zoe, smiling. As she followed the rest of the group, they reached the entrance and she heard the adept requesting of the IDs, she asked Callida quietly "Any information what kind of pass he's talking about?"

[Viper9090]

The adept is about to look Istvan's papers when he sees the cyber Mastiff standing next to him, "Ah, Arbitrator business is it? Yes, there are always offworlders hunting down criminals of some sort. You'd be looking for the lower hive then?"

[Nightgaun7]

The adept is about to look Istvan's papers when he sees the cyber Mastiff standing next to him, "Ah, Arbitrator business is it? Yes, there are always offworlders hunting down criminals of some sort. You'd be looking for the lower hive then?"

"Level 973, Sector 19144. Should be lower-mid, actually, if this place is at all like Volg. While we're at it, can you give me directions to the nearest Arbites precinct HQ, and to a tube station that will get us close to where we're going?" Istvan makes as much of an apologetic smile as he can. "Didn't get much of a briefing en route, I'm afraid. You know how it is."

[Manticorkscrew]

It seemed that Istvan had the situation well in hand, so Amartey stood back and let him take charge.

OOC note:
Yeah, I'm not sure what else I can/should do.

[Viper9090]

The adept looks surprised "That isn't too far from here, about 5 minuets on the line west, stop Ajaxas. I wonder what could be going on there." He looks both intrigued and genuinely excited that something different is happening, despite the fact he seems to be making up most of the details himself.

"The closest Arbites station is at stop Maxeema, 20 minuets west, Sector 05332 level 792 in Saint Heshasiphus square, you can't miss it." He suddenly pulls something from his robe. "Hold on... there." He says before handing Istvan a dull metal rectangle with a few holes punched in it.

"24 hour pass, should get you and your companions through security until your handler issues you an open pass at the Arbites station." He smiles "Hope you get'em." he says, opening the barrier for you.

[Monivey]

"I am certain that we will. Hope is a sign of doubt, citizen. Now let's get moving."

He was a little nervous about the delay. This was a very crowded place, anyone could have seen them. That said, it would be hard for this group to be inconspicuous anywhere.

[Manticorkscrew]

Amartey had an idea that if she looked around she might see some sign of which sector and level they were on at the moment. If everything in the hive was ordered according to a strict numbering system – and if those numbers were clearly labelled – they might be able to use the numbers as a rough guide to how close they were to their destination.

She looked around, carefully. It should be easy to see.

[Nightgaun7]

Istvan chuckled mechanically, echoed by a faint clang as he patted Anax's flank. "You're not the only one. Omnissiah's favor to you."

[Miraqariftsky]

"The Emperor provides from far away" Calldia'd quoted to Sister Zoe, "We hear and we obey."

The scholar nods to the Sister Hospitaller and says, "Citizen's identicards, travel documents, bounty hunters' licenses, those sorts of thi---"

She shrugs and smiles as they listen to Istvan's reeling off their cover.

All the while, her fingers keep tapping away.

[Nightgaun7]

Once through the checkpoint, Istvan leads the others towards the tube station.

"So, to the Arbites station first, or to the location we're supposed to meet at?"

[Leon]

Appointment i say, we are expected for that. The Arbites may have useful resources that will be of more use after we know what we are up against