Ruin of Hive Togmoden - IC

[Col.Straken]

You have all managed to make the meeting point unnoticed by the authorities. The Union had started to hold their gatherings at prearranged locations which changed weekly and without pattern, currently you were just above what was considered lower hive territory in the very pits of mid hive. ”Thank you all for coming, your support is most welcome, especially in the coming months.” a tall slender woman stands on upturned crates to address the crowd. ”We have got people in every factorum across the hive, it is time for us to start our stand. The revolution starts with you tonight, the corrupt governor will be removed and we will topple the rich from their spires. Less hours at work, more pay for our time, a better life, one without tithes and suffering for an Imperium that does not care about us!” the woman raised her voice, fists clenched in defiance as she built the crowd into the edge of a frenzy.”Our brothers and sisters have staged a strike at the northern factorum, their fellow workers were eager to stand by them. The overseer has been expelled and now they are being starved! Starved by the [i]law enforcement.[i] What kind of law enforcement starves its own people just because they want a fair life. A corrupt one, that’s what. We will not start the fights, but we will end them.” Calming the crowd the woman smiles, ”I have kept you long enough, go to your families, spend what precious time you have with them, and look to a better future where family is the most important part of our lives.”[b/] The woman stepped down from her makeshift podium and people started to leave a few stayed to give her their praises, just trying to bask in her radiance.

As she walked through the crowd the woman stopped at a few people and pointed to a curtain, each one walked through. When she finally approached you she simply smiled as she had to each other person, [b]”Please, I would like to speak to you in private.” she said her hand gesturing to the back room. Nodding you walk through to find seven other people stood around looking mildly confused in a small square room, blank walls on all sides. At the back wall facing the door stand two guards armed with standard autoguns. While the others that have just entered the room mill around and try to figure out why they are here, the two guards seem to have no interest in you, their eyes fixed on the doorway.

Eventually the woman enters and stands between the guards, ”Friends, we have spoken enough, people are suffering too much, now is the time for action, we need to show everyone we are not just a group of people complaining about our lot in life. I need you to show the fat corrupt governor that he needs to take his workers seriously or he will lose more than his comfortable lifestyle.” She pauses and composes herself again, ”I am Lei, you may have heard of me. I am just like you, a worker, stuck in a hell hole that could not care less if we live or die as long as we meet our quota. We all want to change this, but we need to be careful, we need to be smart in how we strike the flint to make these sparks burn bright.” The left hand wall flickers as a pict caster comes to life showing a plan of the Hive. ”For now I want you to go and rescue our brothers and sisters, the arbites have the factorum surrounded. I would like to avoid blood shed but I know that it may be very much needed. Looking at the plans of the hive it looks like there may be sewage tunnels which run close to the factorum from the underhive. The arbites may have them covered but there will be less resistance that way from them, though they pose their own dangers.” Looking at each one of you individually for a few seconds she nods, ”Now, do you have any questions?”

[RedSand]

Mercurius's first impulse was to bite his tongue. The more attention he drew to himself, the more likely it was someone would shout "Good lord a marine!". But then, that was just paranoia, wasn't it? They'd be far more likely to believe him a mutant, and if he looked menacing enough, they'd probably rather just not know.

He raised a hand, than spoke before being called on. "How are old these tunnels? Safe to cross? Free of infestation, vermin or otherwise?"

[Checkmate-Pony]

Rather than questions of the battle plan. A more sinister plot was hatched.

Stepping forward in a cloak of wet red mesh, he'd kneel before Lei

"My lady, as initiation, let me begin by saying thus:" he said in a disturbing voice.

"I am no worker, no toiling citizen as you or any other man or woman that struggle. I come from down under, lower than the sump, I am nothing but Scum to you, worse to those above and a Scavvie to my fellow underhivers"

He looked up at her from his red hood, it covered his eyes showing only his lower face, not daring to look upon her, a hideously scared and charred visage, it took a moment to ascertain the emotions of his facial features: That of devotion.

"I have lived a life, a sinner, preying on the weak. The fires of hell has already burned me for my misgivings. I come now only for a chance at redemption. And in my expertise I have acquired certain tasteless talents you might desssire to employ would you hear me out"

He paused for a moment to glance over at the plans

he let the tension build as if he was about to reveal some horrible divine power at his disposal:

"I have a way of making people talk... It is what I do, and it has never failed me. Information is another power entirely within the gangs of the underhive, and having the ability to make men talk, no matter their allegiances to god or coin... is power. Heed my words M'lady, I wish to liberate your flock as much as you. But I propose we, in the deed of liberating the Factorum, we catch members of the Arbites, or better yet, their sergeants. If blows come to blows let it be so, but If we can kidnap one such tool of the goverment, we may learn so much more from it. The plans of our enemies, the flow and hierarchy. It won't be worth much at first, but as we work our way along, we can eventually string it all together into a picture more suited for us"

He looks back at her, now having revealed a startled eye to dare gaze upon her

"Think of it, knowledgeable is power... if we had eyes on the inside. The people deserve eyes on the inside, the people of Togmoden have been kept in the dark for too long, and we can change it here and now, if at best only slowly should you will it"

[Col.Straken]

Lei looked at the man kneeling before her, her face slightly taken aback. "Erm... Thank you. It does not matter what walk of life you are from, as long as you want to improve the life of those beneath the spires. I am sure you are right, though I would prefer to avoid bloodshed, if you can subdue one of the Arbites then it may help our cause."

Moving to the plans on the wall she highlights several points, "Nobody knows how old they are, probably hundreds of years. They are as safe as any part of the Underhive. Mutants, Gangs, Arbites, they may all be there. But by the looks of you, you should be able to deal with anything that appears." the last part Lei adds as she eyes the giant.

[Ionbound]

Milena's heart pounds as she listens to the woman's speech. Her palms itch under her face-concealing cloak as she takes deep breaths, trying to calm herself as she thinks to herself, in contradiction of most of her training and good sense. She shakes her head, thinking to herself, It's...It'll be fine. It can't be hard to make a government better than the Imperium. It will all be fine, in an attempt to assuage her own doubts about the course of action she'd decided upon after the first meeting she had attended.

She follows with some curiosity when she is asked aside, hand resting on her pistol as she listens to the pitch with a deepening frown as she realizes what she is being asked to do, and looks Lei in the eye and says, "What you are asking us to do is nothing short of open rebellion and treason to the Emperor, should bloodshed be necessary. So...Before I say that I am on board, I want to ask you a very simple question. Are you certain that you are right?"

[Col.Straken]

Lei meets the woman's eyes, almost as a challenge. Milena felt herself being weighed up, both were intelligent women though it was clear one was from experience and the other from training. "I know what I am asking, and I can see that this is hard for you. You are clearly not one of the oppressed from your stance, yet you are here as a friend. Even you must have seen the hardships put on the common people. I will ask you a similar question, are you certain I am wrong?"

[Ionbound]

Milena meets Lei's gaze unflinchingly and with steel resolve, then shakes her head and says, "Quite the opposite in fact. But one way or another, this is the point of no return." She sighs, then squeezes a fist together before continuing, "That said, I believe in this cause. So...Consider me on board with the plan."

[The Glyphstone]

"Rebellion, perhaps. But it is not treason to be defying those who have already done so. We are only protecting fellow servants of the Emperor by doing this. If the corrupt soldiers of the governor stand in our way, then they have already forsaken Him. It's like cutting out a tumor - spilling blood is sometimes necessary if you want to save lives."

Cylmar leans against a wall, adjusting his thin-framed spectacles. His carapace armor hangs loosely on his lanky frame, but despite the ill-fitting armor he is tense and anxious to finally do something instead of simply watch and talk while his planet rots around him.

[Space Lawyer]

The red-robed priest speaks from where he had been standing in the corner, motionless."Your assessment is insufficiently complex and therefore arrives at an incomplete conclusion. Rebellion against those who do not serve the Emperor well is, in fact, an attempt to serve more faithfully. The inefficiency wrought by the actions of this planet's current masters renders those same masters unfit to continue in their posts. It thus falls on every loyal servant of Terra and Mars to oppose them."

[RedSand]

Morality talks. Merciurius wouldn't be in the mood to talk morality, or ethics, or whatever for a good long while. Just...think of practicality, he guessed. Rational thought couldn't fail you, right?

"Listen, I don't think it matters much whether or not we're rebels. Worlds like this kick you around no matter what you do. That said...considering we somehow win here, is anything you're promising even feasible? Most of our food comes from offworld-if it gets out we're rebels and trade gets cut off, everyone on the planet will probably starve, and even if that doesn't happen, is there enough wealth around here to even spread around?"

[Ionbound]

Milena shakes her head and says, "You assume the Emperor cares. As long as the tithes are paid, no one cares how the planet is run. And the..." Milena pauses as she looks at Mercurius with a raised eyebrow, "Whatever he is has a point, actually. Even if this is successful...What will we do then? And for that matter, what'll we do when the planet starts being shelled from orbit?"

[The Glyphstone]

"You said it yourself - as long as the tithes are paid, no one cares. We overthrow the governor, install someone sane in his place, and everyone will be able to get back to work with no harm done to anyone who matters. Do it right, we might even be able to blame the governor for any disruptions in production. Claim output was already falling behind from his incompetence but he was cooking the books to hide it, thus justifying him being deposed. If we win, we can sell the lie. If we lose, we'll all be dead anyways so it doesn't matter."

[RedSand]

"The Emperor doesn't personally run all the farming worlds that keep this place fed-nobles do. If we put all the upper crust here to the sword, do you think they'll ignore it? Can we even do this in a way that's quiet enough that we won't have the Ordo Hereticus upon us within a year? I mean, ugh..." Mercutious gripped himself by the bridge of his nose, breathed in deeply, and rolled his shoulders. "I'm not trying to be an ******* here. But if we're going to do this, we need to at least have a realistic win condition. There's no point wasting ammunition trying to shoot a cloud out of the sky."

[Checkmate-Pony]

Vargulf Tan would shuffle around a little "even if reprisal comes, we shall fight that as well, it is better than continue living in such torment, besides, they'd never bomb the world and salt the earth just because of a rebellion, who would be mad enough to destroy and condemn an entire world of production output over little us, we can call the shots once in control, if they truly don't care then they will accept our coup as the natural state of things in the worlds politics"

He'd raise a brow: "who is the Ordo Hereticus?"

[RedSand]

"The domestic arm of the Inquisition. I highly doubt we're the Imperium's first revolutionaries."

[Space Lawyer]

Laran evidences frustration and impatience through the loud whirring of his cybernetics. "Enough. This debating is inefficient; we have already wasted 7 minutes of time when we could have otherwise acted. We are committed to this course of action. All other options have been considered and found less optimal given current conditions." The priest picks up his power axe from where it had been resting against the wall. "Follow and accept this action, or refuse and remain here." He clunks toward the tunnels leading to the factorum.

[Col.Straken]

While yoi had all been discussing your options Lei had slipped away. You aren't sure where to as she didn't walk past any of you.

Left alone, you are free to choose your first destination, do you follow the clunking Tech-Priest and accept your future as rebels, or walk away now and abandon any hope of improvement.

[RedSand]

Mercurius follows. He has no better paths available to him.

[Ionbound]

Milena shakes her head, almost regretful as she follows Laran and Mercurius.

[Checkmate-Pony]

Vargulf Tan follows suit as well, rebellion was the only revolution.

[The Glyphstone]

Cylmar goes with the others without the slightest hint of hesitation.