Arbites Strike Team (DH1) IC

[dojango]

Penny reads off some of the information to the others and sends it over to their dataslates. Afterwards she says to the others, "Hey guys, so huddle time? Definitely leaning on the side of just blasting the area and bein' done with it. Phil, you're the expert on, you know, weird stuff, any reason why that won't work? And, uh, should we take that weird stuff into account when passing sentences? I know that bein' under the influence of weird xeno crap isn't a complete defense, but we can at least consider it, you know? Was it a spiritual failing do you think, Dan? Certainly the Magos shoulda known better."

[LairdMaon]

Priest Dan De'Lion

"I saw how quickly the craft took hold of even you, Techpriestess, and I will not doubt your dedication to your cult. No," he shakes his head sagely, "I believe it's the very nature of the craft's construction that it infiltrates the mind and seduces with it's unholy wonders. Indeed, I feel our final report should be shared to the Adeptus Astartes and the Imperial Guard lest either stumble on such an artefact unawares of it's corrupting influence." As he spoke, he absently fondled the heavy cables of the neural whip.

[Novabomb]

Phil Vega
There is no reason blowing the crap out of it shouldn't work.
You seem to be fine now that we are outside its immediate sphere of influence. Certainly leadership are not deserving of consideration. For anyone else they may be a small consideration, it will be case by case dependent. Section 433.5546, governs mitigation clauses for mental manipulation.

[dojango]

Penny winces as the others mention her... failure of will... but rallies after a moment. She flips on the comms array and says, "Hey, Gavel? Come in, Gavel. We've just arrested the Chief Magos for light treason and resistin' arrest, and we're, uh, gonna need an orbital bombardment to help clean things out a bit. How long would take to get a firing solution on [COORDINATES]? Thanks, a million, Special Arbite Squad out."

[Kaptin Keen]

There is a slight hizz of static, but the late Cognatus' gear is top shelf:

Away team, communication received. Preparations for ignition are two hours - time to target, fifteen minutes. Destruction of target estimated at 0,012 milliseconds. Longer if substantially shielded or armored. Is significant resistance expected? Over.

[dojango]

"Ah. That is a good question. I'll, uh, disable the station defenses so you won't have to worry about that, but maybe make sure the ship is a good distance away?
And uh, it's kind of classified, but tell three-eyes and no-eyes to be on the look out for anything weird, yeah? I mean, over?"

She turns to the others and says, "OK, we're gonna have 50 megatonnes of explosive justice delivered in two hours or so. Suppose we should warn everyone on the station to maybe stow their breakables and find shelter beforehand? Also maybe we should, uh, requisition one of the Cognatus's private crafts so we can be elsewhere? Lemme finish going thru these notes to see who else is involved, we'll have them arrested after the bombardment is over. Or maybe let them go with a warning? Also I guess we gotta appoint a new Cognatus. Someone who wasn't involved in all this."

Penny will start flipping through the evidence again, looking for names or identification numbers of anyone else involved in the illegal experiments. Once she's got a list of names, she'll transmit them to the Gavel, just so there's a record...

[Novabomb]

Phil Vega
Aside from closing off the shaft env side, the less the civilians know the better. After the xeno is dealt with, Gavel being on overwatch should be sufficient incentive to ensure compliance. Let the local security forces know they have been commanderred.

[Kaptin Keen]

Cognatus' notes are exhaustive and precise. A few of the civilian administrators gleefully joined in the fun, seeing 'significant financial and industrial prospects in this new technology and it's possible applications.' Everyone is named, and there's even a nice list of contributions in terms of funding and manpower.

Furthermore, it seems another tech priest, designated simply 4nt0n, is currently incarcerated below the Mechanicus enclave, awaiting execution of sentence (dismantlement, recycling and servitor-fication) for opposing the march of progress, apparently.

Spoiler: OOC

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You're basically done on the colony - the level of involvement you want is up to you: You have all the names and all the evidence.

All that remains is the alien ship.

[dojango]

Penny switches the comms over to a station-wide broadcast and starts broadcasting on all channels. Even the muzak channel. "Hey everybody! Arbites Tech-Inspector Pensacola 43b here, just got some important news to pass along here. Chief Engiseer Cognatus has been convicted of resisting arrest and other crimes, which are classified. So by authority of the Adeptus Arbites, he's been permanently relieved of duty and we're appointing 4nt0n as new Chief Engiseer. So let's all give 4nt0n a round of applause in hopes of a long and hopefully crime-free tenure, OK?" She pauses for a moment to clap. "Next on the agenda, is, let's see. We're going to do some light orbital bombardment for reasons that are also classified, so let's have everyone try to get as far away from Shaft 51 as possible, and also maybe batten down some of the hatches and stuff, OK? I'm locking everyone out of the station defenses for a little while so don't try anything funny. I will know if you try to access it without permission, and we will be filing charges against anyone that tries, so don't do it, OK? Tampering with Official Arbites Investigations is a pretty serious offense, you know? Finally, last on the agenda, I'm sending over a list of names of people who've been tried and convicted of various crimes, I'll want station security to bring them or their remains over to main landing facility for sentencing once we're done with the orbital bombardment dealie. Am putting the Sergeant from Unit 4-1 in charge of it, so defer to him, OK? And if he wants to use the opportunity to settle a few scores too, that's cool. He seems like a good chap. Keep in mind that these crimes are classified, so if anyone of them tries to tell you about it, be sure to carry out the sentence for revealing classified information as quickly as possible, OK? And if anyone has any questions or concerns about what we're doing here, please be sure to forward your name, living quarters location, and station ID number to station security and they'll be sure to take care of you. Thanks for your help in this matter, and I think that's all, unless our priest here wants to fire off a quick sermon or maybe a prayer to the Emperor to see if he'll forgive you?"

Spoiler

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OK, cool, lock them out of the station defenses, turn over the mechanicus control to 4nt0n and the station security over to that sergeant we talked to earlier, if he's still alive, and then we'll head on out in one of the Magos's private spacecraft. Suppose Dan De'Lion can give them a sermon on the importance of not messing with weird xeno **** too if he wants.

[Kaptin Keen]

After setting the record straight for the colony, proclaiming the new world order, and getting all the guilty taken into custody, the team descends Cognatus' private elevator to his private dock. It holds all manner of craft, among them a small skiff, a fast, agile space craft as easily at home in the void or a planetary surface.

The team reaches the Gavel just as the ship is positioning for it's attack. A single las blast easily does away with the silk-like membrane covering the cave entrance - causing the atmosphere in shaft 51 to rush out in a storm of insta-frozen crystals of water vapour and oxygen.

Then, the bombardment begins - but the instant weapons lock on the alien craft, energy spikes show up on auspex: Reactors come online, shields are activated, and some sort of machinery seems to be building a charge for ... something.

Spoiler: OOC

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You have a few choices. You can hope the Gavel get's the job done, or you can try to direct it's efforts (you could even come on board to directly fire it's weapons - if you have the BS for it), or you can use the skiff to board the alien craft, to knock out some essential system. Or come up with a fourth action - like ram the skiff into it, or .. something.

You have no idea what thing it is the xeno craft is charging, nor does the crew of the Gavel.

[dojango]

Penny watches the ship's gunners do their work, and when the augur crew reports the strange shield being thrown up, she frowns. "Shoulda know it weren't going to be that easy." An idea comes to her, and she continues, "Hey, you remember that mining crawler I wanted to save? Maybe the Omnissiah has other plans for it... if we can sneak past the foul xeno shields, we could rig the crawler's engines to blow, and crash it into that monster from behind its protections! I bet it'd never see that coming! Unless it can read the future! Or minds! Wait..." Penny disappears for a few moments and returns, her helmet wrapped in shiny reflective insulation foil. "Ready to go?"

[Novabomb]

Phil Vega
Down the shaft we go again I guess.

[Kaptin Keen]

It is but the work of a few moments - but it does require a number of things to actually work to succeed. Cognatus' ship is a small, fast, agile craft perfect for the task. It easily swings around the asteroid, past the Gavel and into the cave. Attaching a tether to the crawler is simple. It does, however, require some piloting to slingshot the crawler past the shields and into the xenos craft - and a bit of creative hacking to trigger an overload explosion in the fusion reactor, at the right moment.

Spoiler: OOC

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Ok - there are various ways to do this.

None of you - far as I can tell - can actually pilot the skiff. For day to day operations, that's fine. There's an autopilot, of course. However, slingshotting heavy mining equipment isn't part of the autopilots programming.

Hence, it will require a Tech Use test to program the autopilot.
Another Tech Use to hack the crawler, and trigger an explosion in the reactor.
And finally, a Demolition check will help increase the damage.

I'd also like an Agility check from someone - for manning the helm. The autopilot still needs someone to be at the controls.

You can assist each other if you like. Remember to spend Fate if you still have it. Good luck =D

[dojango]

Penny starts flipping through the skiff's autopilot programs before settling on a likely-looking one and turning it on. "Buckle up!" she says.

Once they've reached the abandoned crawler, she voxes the ship to hold fire until further notice. She leads the way towards the fallen machine, giving the xeno-thing as wide a berth as possible. She climbs-hops through the microgravity with the practiced ease of one born to the void, and makes her way to the crawler's micro-fusion reactor. She takes a few moments to disable the safety protocols and overload protections, pausing only to wipe away a few tears and to pat the machine reassuringly. "We'll meet again on Mars", she whispers, "And serve mankind once again." Once the others have attached the line to the skiff, she triggers the overload sequence. "We've got about 10 minutes to get clear! Aim it for that spot right there! Airburst! Should send a nice shockwave through the xeno beast a couple times!"

Spoiler

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Autopilot roll v. 49 (1d100)[50]
Overload the engines roll v. 49 (1d100)[78]
Demolitions roll v. 39 (1d100)[100]

Last fate point to reroll something if needed (1d100)[57] charmed (1d10)[10]

[Kaptin Keen]

It is not a perfect maneuver - you feel fairly confident it will not be included in pilot education material across the Imperium. It does, however, work after a fashion. You attach the line, trigger an overload in the reactor, and while that is building up to catastrophic levels, make a neat little sling-shot turn with the skiff, releasing the crawler at just the right moment.

It turns end over end, tumbling towards the xenos craft. It does, sadly, explode just an instant too soon. There is no sound in the void, but there is plenty of blinding white light and debris to convince you the explosion is of terrible intensity. It hits the shields of the xenos craft with crushing force. You see the bubble of the shields hold against the force of the explosion for a moment - then collapse.

But a moment is enough. While the shields fail, the armor and hull of the ship survive. Battered, but not quite broken. And meanwhile, the xenos ship is ... doing something. The entire hull shimmers, seems to glow from within with some form of unknowable intensity.

The Gavel fires a broadside, lance batteries punching holes in the flank of the ship-cocoon. And then, with a flash of bluish light - it's gone. You've never seen anything like it, but regardless, you feel it had done enough to repair itself, and managed to activate it's drive and escape.

It's not all bad, though. You've succesfully completed your mission - and made a more than halfway decent attempt at fixing something that really should have been the job of the Ordo Xenos Inquisiton.

All that remains now is to report back to your superiors, and await new orders.

Spoiler: OOC

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Sorry about the long wait - and the somewhat anti-climactic conclusion.

Initially, I frankly expected you to explore the xenos ship. That would have changed things up somewhat - making things considerably easier later on. And then, obviously, it wouldn't have escaped .. unless you deliberately let it.

Otherwise, that's it for the first mission. And obviously, I hope you're interested in more. Although we might want to look towards recruiting another player, or rebuilding characters to compensate for those we lost initially.

[Kaptin Keen]

It is a lengthy process of setting up new management for the colony, assinging a new magos, cleaning up the messes, tracking down who died or was involuntarily modified to the point where servitorization seems the most merciful outcome.

Thankfully, you don't need to stick around for most of it. You set things in motion, leave the reins in the hands of competent and God-Emperor-fearing folk, and return to The Gavel - for R&R, new orders, and some training. It's important to keep your skills honed, and build new ones when possible.

The captain of the ship informs you that the astropath has received a message calling you to meet a ship - the Void Whisper - at specific coordinates in deep space in the nearby system of Osmundi. It's an uninhabited system, which is slightly odd, but the navigator informs you that it's about halfway between your current position, and the nearest Arbites hub. So maybe someone is meeting you halfway for a priority meeting.

Spoiler: OOC

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If you so desire, you may have a d'laku hellgun to add to your personal arsenal.

Also, one of the things you picked up from Cognatus' lair was an enhanced battery+discharge coil for your standard shock maul. If you attach this, it will up the charge, making it more likely to affect armored targets - thus giving it +2 armor pen (yes, it's a mono treatment for shock weapons).

The training facilities of The Gavel stand at your disposal for any XP you need to spend uprading your skills.

Let me know anything you want to do during travel - otherwise, I'll skip forward to your arrival in Osmundi.

[Kaptin Keen]

The journey through the warp is uneventful - if any warp travel can ever truly be called that. There are bad dreams, strange sounds and phenomena, but nothing truly threatening or mind-bending.

On arrival, you see precisely why Osmundi is uninhabited. Osmundi is a neutron star - a pulsar, to be exact. The entire system would be black on black, no lightsource except for distant stars, if not for the pulsing beams that sweep outward from the collapsed star. Thankfully, you are nowhere near their arc. You feel vaguely confident the Gavel's shields would be able to withstand such force - but being honest with yourselves, you're not really sure.

The system held nothing but a few barren rocks, planetary remains blasted bare when the sun went nova.

Such systems always had a haunted quality: The surly, angry light of the accretion disk around the pulsar, the swell of background radiation, but something more - a feeling, that this is the future, this is all the universe holds, in the end. Cold, dead rocks, barren of any semblance of life, any chance.

Just minutes after translating into real-space, there was a hail, as a sleek black ship drifted closer: The Void Whisper.

Arbites Ship The Gavel, please confirm identity and transmit current Imperial pass codes. Once verified, prepare to receive a transport of two - Scrivener Maldanis of the Holy Inquisiton, and Marshall Cleia Pavonus of the Adeptus Arbites. Awaiting response.

Spoiler: OOC

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The term Marshall is one I use for an Arbiter of the rank of Judge, but with no regular seat or jurisdiction. Like the strike force the characters are part of, the Marshall travels where he's needed. A travelling Judge/Gunman. They are famously tough hombres - or, as the case is here, chicas.

[dojango]

Penny had spent a somber few days mourning the loss of the crawler, going over the treatises on demolitions and the sacred rites of detonation. It had embarrassed her to have failed in her attempt to destroy the alien craft. Sure, an all-astropath-bulletin was sent out to have the illegal vehicle be detained and destroyed on sight, but it had seduced so many already... it would not do to have it seduce another reckless world again. But she cheered up almost immediately once the requisition for some extra 'mining' supplies went through... after all, practice makes perfect, and hopefully there would be a chance to practice demolitions on their next mission. If not, well, she'd have to make a chance for it...

After that, she'd had the new mechanicus leader install some new mechadendrites for her. It was about time, she wanted to have the tools close at hand, and having a few extra hands would certainly prove to be quite useful. It was almost with regret that she saw the station dwindle into the distance as they left... after all they had done good deeds there and had only needed to space a few (dozen) people to get the station shipshape again. But after a time, she was eager to get moving again to their next mission. After all, the enemies of the Imperium never stop plotting to harm it, and neither do we! "Wait, that didn't come out right..." she said as the other voidsmen scooted away from her in the cafeteria.

"Don't just sit there! Send the codes! And make ready for our honored guests!" she told the men on the bridge. Then she voxed over to the other ship, "Hey there! Welcome to the hammer of the law, the might fist of justice, the Gavel! How's the judge doing?"

[Kaptin Keen]

There is a curt reply over the vox: Arbites ship The Gavel, be advised the Void Whisper is an inquisition vessel. We collect information, we do not disseminate it. Also, there was no time for shore leave during out brief stay at Arbites HQ.

Soon, a tiny shuttle comes across from the other ship, and when the airlock cycles, two people enter the Gavel: An old man with receding hair, worn robes, and using an autoquill as a walker. At his side hangs an almost aggressively ornate laspistol, but other than that he carries no other weapons, and no armor. He looks very much like someone's kindly old uncle. There is also a look of daunting intelligence in his eyes.

Beside him walks a woman who could easily have stepped right out of a picture - a religious icon, to be exact. Nothing would have seemed out of place if she were an avenging angel, fighting alongside the God-Emperor against the terrors of the galaxy. Her power armor is festooned with honor badges and purity seals. She carries a storm bolter and a massive power sword on her back.

It is the woman who speaks first, but she glances left - to Maldanis, who nods - before proceeding:

Arbitors, we have two items to discuss with you. I should like to brief you on your next assignment, while this uh, old inquisition scribe would like to say a few words about the xenos vessel you encountered.

First thing first:

Next, you're headed Putreo Minoris 7 D - a small moon orbiting a brown dwarf. The colony is ... quite a special case. It's held at a deliberately low level of technological development by the Noble clan whose feifdom it is - because the tithe grade is lower. Legal, although noisome. It is controlled by a number of powerful guilds, who all vie for the favor of the Sky God - the God-Emperor - and his Chosen - the handful of Imperial agents residing in a closed enclave in the polar region of the colony.

The colony has little tech above the level of gaslight and steam. However, and this is a vital point, they mine a type of .. well, the terminology is tricky. See, they mine a 'stable' form of highly explosive crystals, comparable to mercury fulminate. But don't let 'stable' fool you - it's extremely volatile, highly explosive, but just .. slightly less likely to go off in your pocket than a bottle of nitroglycerin.

You will be going in under cover - meaning you will have access only to the types of weaponry the natives do: Muskets, flintlocks - swords, maces. You will be able to wear concealed body gloves, giving you some measure of modern protection to supplement your .. well .. she smiles with a touch of irony your breastplate or chain mail.

What you will be investigating is a breach of trade embargo. That is to say: Only the Imperial agents are allowed to transport anything onto of off the colony. There are signs, however, that someone is doing so regardless. Your task will be to investigate the guilds, and find out who. It's considered certain that at least one of them is involved. No one else has the influence or manpower to do so.

With her piece said, she turns to Maldanis, who speaks in a slightly quavering voice:

Well, Arbitrators, what I have is fairly simple: In failing to stop the xenos vessel, you've allowed a potential threat to roam free within Imperial space. However, we've analysed sensor readings from The Gavel's arrays, and come to this conclusion. He produces several sheets of print from his Autoquill, and waves it vaguely in your faces. there are wild and seemingly random energy spikes right at the moment of activation of the xenos drive system. This has lead us to conclude twofold:

A: The drive was only barely repaired to operational levels, with shielding and containment still dysfunctional. It is estimated that activating the drive in this state most likely has rendered it, once again, inoperable.
B: In such a state, any truly long distance jump would have destroyed not only the drive, but also the vessel. Hence, we estimate it may still be somewhere in the subsector.

We of the Inquisition urge you to keep an open eye. You know how this xenos .. lifeform, ship, whatever .. how it operates. If you see anything suspicious, intervene immediately - do call for Ordos backup, but do not wait for it to arrive. This ship, under full power, may pose a far greater threat than we think.

Now .. any questions?

[dojango]

"Yeah! I gots some questions!" shouts Penny, raising her hand and waving it furiously. "So this crystal thingy! What's the best way to detonate it then! And can we use it to prime another explosive substance? Maybe mix it with night soil or gunpowder? I mean, just asking hypothetically. In case it becomes relevant to the investigation... So. We gots some locals selling this stuff outside of channels. I gots to ask... do you know whose buying and you're trying to figure out whose selling? Or do you wanna find both parties involved? And do you wants a chance to interrogate them, or should we just move directly to sentencing once we got the culprits?"

Turning to the inquisitorial agent she says, "Yeah, I don't thin we seen the last of that horrible xeno thingy. If we see it again, you bet we'll try and carry out the sentence for being an unlicensed xeno. But it's got weird spooky powers, so, uh, might be kinda your job to blow it up? We already done convicted everyone dealing with it. But if it finds another defenseless colony it might try and seduce vulnerable types into carrying out its nefarious schemes again."

[Kaptin Keen]

"Yeah! I gots some questions!" shouts Penny, raising her hand and waving it furiously. "So this crystal thingy! What's the best way to detonate it then! And can we use it to prime another explosive substance? Maybe mix it with night soil or gunpowder? I mean, just asking hypothetically. In case it becomes relevant to the investigation... So. We gots some locals selling this stuff outside of channels. I gots to ask... do you know whose buying and you're trying to figure out whose selling? Or do you wanna find both parties involved? And do you wants a chance to interrogate them, or should we just move directly to sentencing once we got the culprits?"

Amusingly, the crystals are impact detonated. Which makes mining them an interesting passtime. Thankfully, they require quite a bit of a jolt to explode, and before refinement are just a bit more stable.

We have no idea who's selling or how it's getting off planet, but the crystals are all but unique to this planet - at least in the sector - and we've found them for sale in places they really shouldn't be. Interrogation would be nice, yes.

"Yeah, I don't thin we seen the last of that horrible xeno thingy. If we see it again, you bet we'll try and carry out the sentence for being an unlicensed xeno. But it's got weird spooky powers, so, uh, might be kinda your job to blow it up? We already done convicted everyone dealing with it. But if it finds another defenseless colony it might try and seduce vulnerable types into carrying out its nefarious schemes again."

Yes - about that .. there is no available Ordo Xenos forces available at the time being. I'm formally Ordo Hereticus, though as you can plainly see, I'm merely an aging scribe, Marshall Clia gives a snigger at this and I'm not really of such physical capabilities as to face down a xenos vessel singlehandedly.

However, I ask merely that you investigate - and eliminate if possible. Do not risk your lives in vain. If the thing is beyond your powers, call for backup.

[dojango]

Penny thoughtfully rubs her chin with her hand. Her mechadendrites flex and one of them apes the gesture unconsciously. "Are there any priests of Mars on the planet? What do they know about?" She waves her mechadendrites. "Can I bring my dataslate? My electric toothbrush? What about noo-sphere access?" She asks, voice rising in alarm.

[Kaptin Keen]

Cleia gives a sigh of exaperation: No, no, no, no and no.

Or, wait, the second no doesn't work. They know about steam tech, mechanics, gaslight. They have gas for heat and light, steam engines for drills and assorted stuff, mechanics for muskets, lifts, mining trolleys.

It's worth noting that they have very nice alloys which allow them to do stuff their low tech level otherwise would not. A man-portable steam drill for instance is within their capabilities. Also, I should warn you: The crystals are definitely weaponize-able - a spear or crossbow bolt tipped with these crystals are something to be mindful of.

But to answer your question: You can bring whatever you like - but if you're seen using your autobrush it may be cause for civil unrest, diplomatic incidents, and a veritable shotstorm from the Noble cartel if it affects their tithe grade.

I cannot sufficiently stress: Do not reveal to the general populace that they are living in the dark age for no good reason - other than tax evasion.

[dojango]

"Ok, as long as they don't see it..." Penny brightens up a bit. "Ok. Let's think this through. The only legal way on and off the planet is through the Polar spaceport. I assume there's only one for both freight and passengers? So either the stuff is going through there or there's some hidden landing spots. Are there any satellites in orbit that a plucky tech-priestess could take a look at? And the spaceport... the people there must be vaguely aware of the offworld. Is the spaceport run on medieval tech? If so they won't have scanners... that means maybe we could bring some useful gadgets... I mean local laws are cool and all, but they obviously don't apply to us..."

[Kaptin Keen]

Oh, the Administratum are the same tech level as you or I. After all, they maintain a spaceport. And yes, there are orbital sattelites - we're quite certain there are no othe launch or landing sites. It's somehow making it's way through the Enclave.

Also, you're not quite correct. It's all a matter of jurisdictions. Local law applies to local matter, and Imperial law applies to Imperial matters. If local law has a ban on alcohol, we have no special remit to drink ourselves silly in the streets. So while obviously, local authorities owe a great deal of courtesy to Imperial ditto, we're not the Inquisition - we cannot set aside local regulations at will, except where they contradict Imperial law, or where they harm Imperial interests.

[dojango]

"Oh yeah, those greasy little inquisition punks. Uh, no offense," she says to the adept. "Anyhoo, I think I'm ready to go." She picks up one of the flintlock pistols and starts examining it. "So, uh, how do you turn this thing on?"

[Kaptin Keen]

Maldanis smiles at Penny's little blurb, and replies None taken. Somehow the kindly old man manages to fill Penny with a creeping, quiet dread.

The planet doesn't have an actual spaceport - at least, it doesn't have one capable of receiving The Gavel, or even a standard Aquila lander. Instead, the Administratum Enclave sends up their supply shuttle, an aging fusion rocket workhorse with good fuel-to-orbit economy, but very little in the way of comfort or aesthetics. It is, quite possibly, the least inviting void craft you've ever seen. It does, however, bring you safely planetside.

At the Enclave, you're met by two advance agents who have been here a couple of weeks undercover, trying to find heads or tail on the case. They've travelled here by the long and dreary surface train connection to meet you. Respectively, they are Sar Rakud of the Chalised Commisariat and Xanthia, an adept in service to the Adeptus Arbites.

Spoiler: Things to know about the planet

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The Administratum Compound - also known as The Enclave - is located in the polar region of the planet. Simply because that's where landing and lifting requires the least amount of fuel. Also, it's conveniently away from prying eyes.

The planet itself is a broken mess. Gravitational forces from the nearby brown dwarf has broken and rebroken the planets surface, creating countless deep cracks in the planets crust. Unsurprisingly, earthquakes are common. The planet surface is pure hell - hundreds of degrees hot during the day, frozen to near zero during the night. But down in the cracks there is a breathable atmosphere, and balmy temperature. Happily, this is also where the mining takes place.

Access to The Enclave is via a single, very long train ride across the blasted topside landscape. It's very hard to imagine how anyone manages to smuggle anything onto the train - but clearly they do.

So. The colony is dominated by four large guilds:

The Stout Malletmen break the ore - they work the mines and bring the crystal to the surface.
The Benign Assembly of Porters and Bearers - their primary duty is logistics and storage.
The Clockwork Guild of Machinists and Tinkerer - build and maintain machines of all kinds.
The Fearless Pyromongers, Chemysts and Arcanists - who refine the ore, and experiment with it in various unsavory ways.

The colony features several large settlements, but the investigation is centered on one: Undertopia, the capital and only direct link to The Enclave.

There are dozens of smaller guilds, and plenty of other work. The four I mentioned are .. you know, the relevant ones. The smaller ones, say Cleanliness Is Next to Godliness Guild of Renovators and Sanitizers, do not have the ability, ambition or connections to pull off anything like this.

[Burden King]

Xanthia took a long, deep breath of the Enclave’s air, and felt a wave of comfort wash away a bit of the homesickness that had developed in her for the past couple weeks. While the air in Undertopia wasn’t horrid, it was stuffy and never to far from the exhaust of the many mining operation of the planet. Not to mention, the humidity from all the steam reliant technology was something she was sure she’d never get used to.

A sigh escaped her lips as she stood waiting one of the main rooms of the enclave, and open space meant to act as a focal point to many connecting halls, for the Arbite team she’d be working with. “Alright Xani, stay professional, stay focused, you’ve had a couple standard weeks to work...you don’t have much to show for it, but you do have that contact. Just play into that, and they’ll know how hard you worked. Definitly didn’t go to that diner next to the clockwork guild head quarters to often...I wonder if I can convinced them to go there at some po-No, focus, the emperors work first, mortal pleasures second.“ she said, clutching her notes and standing at the ready, before anxiously scratching at the deep scar that went from her jaw to the bottom of her eye. It was an old scar, she just scratched it out of nervous habit, the texture calming her as she felt it beneath her nails as it brought her back to Schola.

“They’re goin to think I’m such a rookie...“ she said with a grimace, before looking to Sar Rakkud, briefly imagining what things might have been like if she went down the more martial path of her generation “What do you Think Sar? We’ve done good work right?“

[TankLaser007]

Rakud was happy to be off of that bloody transport. The trip on the train had been nigh unbearable, almost as bad being cooped up in a voidship. In the two weeks here he had begun to acclimate rather well, there was something he found comforting in the simplicity. The lack of the constant whirring and clicking of tech and machine spirits.

You could take the boy out of the Feral World but you couldn’t take the Feral World out of the boy. He was only half listening to Xanthia, his good eye was darting left to right, he felt comfort in the weight of the quiver of arrows at his hip and axe looped through his belt, he did miss his shotgun, but he had quickly taken to the bow, somethings you never forgot.

He was more worried about these incoming agents. The work here had been laboriously slow, glacial even but it was to be expected he imagined. Cases this big were not cracked in a fortnight. These new agents were likely full of fire and enthusiasm not a bad quality but he hoped they brought with them some newfound insights or abilities. Aside from the contact they had made the going was slow.

He noticed the young adept was worrying her scar. She was nervous. What a pair they must make, her action reminded him of his own appearance, he often forgot about it. It had been almost twenty years? The first five had been the worse, especially learning to deal with the loss of his senses.

He unconsciously ran his hand over the bald strip of scar tissue running through his hair, the shivered ear and melted eye, he could almost smell the burned flesh and hear the whimpering of his mother, in the rubble. It was the first and last time he had ever seen weakness from her. He looked at the black haired women next to him. Her scar gave her a sense of character, a nice badge of honour, to wear with pride, of a battle well fought. His was an albatross of shame.

“What do you Think Sar? We’ve done good work right?”

Pulling himself out of his own thoughts he addressed his colleague “Aye, indeed we have. As much as can be expected given the resources. Your work, in particular, has been invaluable.” He cast his gaze over the halls, ”I am just anxious to see what these new agents bear in-store...”

[Kaptin Keen]

The Enclave is well hidden by ice and mountains, and thus can reasonably afford the usual Imperial style of unnecessary size and gloomy grandeur. Seen from the outside, it is a mass of towering square towers whipped by wind and snow - from the inside, it is all marble and dark wood, and tall, narrow arches onto pale blue and white landscape.

There are surprisingly few people here. Other than a few handfuls of Administratum adepts and black clad security forces, most everything is done by quietly efficient servitors. It's clear that, at least here in the Enclave there is some Mechanicus presence.

The room you meet in is like the rest: Tall ceiling, arched windows onto landscape that makes you shiver internally, marble walls with dark hardwood floors and panelling.

Spoiler: OOC - planet and security forces

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The security forces are offworld private sector hired militiamen - they seem the sort of ruthlessly efficient bastards who would justify their price by making sure they fill their 'quota'. They are well equipped, rarely say anything to anyone, and seem alert and on guard, despite this place being almost literally unassailable. Which brings us to the other point:

At this time - at night - there is deep snow outside. It gets quite, quite cold at night here, and the snow outside is frozen atmosphere. However, Osmundi A - the brown dwarf - floods the planet in heat and radiation each dawn, blasting the frozen atmosphere into steam. Dawn is hugely violent, and ... shall we say, by no means survivable unprotected. However, once the atmosphere is defrosted, it gives enough protection from the sub-star to be survivable. The um, radiation should still be considered carefully. Sunbathing is strongly discouraged.

Keep in mind that for all their cleverness, this planet does not produce anything resembling a void suit =)