Knowledge Is Power [Dark Heresy] - IC

[Destro_Yersul]

"We're interested in a ship called the Byzantium. The code used to access this vault two months ago is the same as the one used to lock down some information related to that ship. We believe that the same heretic who used that code burnt out the security here just moments ago. It's in both of our best interests to catch them. I don't know how much clearance you have, so I can't tell you more."

[LCP]

"Your motives are not in question. Your qualification and authorisation for such a task is unknown. Secutor Ferox will cleanse the Vault. All other personnel are to be prevented from entering."

[Destro_Yersul]

They weren't going to get anywhere with this, it seemed. Still, Hieronymus had one more card to try before they had to play their trump. "That's fine. But when you catch the heretic, we want to talk to him. And if we find him, we'll turn him over to you when we're done."

[LCP]

The Mech-Wright glared at Heironymous.

"You have no authority. You have no proofs. The culprit will remain in Mechanicus custody."

[Thanatos 51-50]

Red decided to take a gamble, and opened his mouth again.
"Heretics rarely, if ever move alone. If one is in the Library, we have to assume there are others, and he's doing these things for their benefit. His crime right now, as far as you can see, is defiling the Machine Spirits, but it's not too far-fetched to assume he has other plans beyond this, and those crimes will probably be against Him on Earth, whom we revere just as much - if not more than you revere the Omnimessiah. Surely, just as we wish to impede you not in your duties, your do not wish to obstruct our Holy task."

[Destro_Yersul]

"Perhaps we could speak with the Secutor? We may need to work together in the future, if not now. We don't want to hinder his work here, but there's ours to think of as well." Hieronymus tried to think quickly. He needed a plan and, more importantly, to gain the Secutor's trust.

[LCP]

The Mech-Wright was beginning to look more than a little irritated.

"Uncertainty parameters unacceptable. We have no reasons to believe your claims. This is a restricted zone. You have no authority, you have no clearance. You have no identification save Electro-Priest Flange. His rank is insufficient to access the Vault. You are not permitted to access the Vault. You have no acknowledged purpose to pursue the culprit of the attack. There is no need to 'work together' with unidentified civilians."

There was a slight pneumatic hiss from the direction of the Servitor.

"Turn your grav-unit around."

[senrath]

Sighing, Ignace straightened up before speaking. There was no avoiding revealing who they were. It was that, or start a fight. "We're operating under orders from Inquisitor Al-Subaai. You're interfering with Inquisition work. Stand aside."

[LCP]

The adept's head snapped round to Ignace.

"Present verification of your claim," he snapped.

OOC: The way for you to present direct verification would be to get Vale on the line.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Armsman Red sighed. Loudly.
"Well, I suppose it had to come out sometime, eh?" he asked nobody in particular, and tapped his comm-bead, attempting to tune it to a frequency the Adept in charge of the hub would be monitoring.
"Dectalogue Vale," he said in a calm, commanding voice. "Please respond."

[LCP]

There was a crackle of static on the other end, and a sudden, loud mess of noise, as of someone accidentally dropping the receiver. After a short pause, Vale's voice came over the line.

"Yes? Um, hello!"

[Thanatos 51-50]

"Adept Vale, please switch to the following frequency:" Red said smoothly, rattling off the frequency he and his fellow Acolytes were currently using, before switching over himself.
"Mech-wright, if you would kindly begin using the same frequency." he offered the tech-priest.

The moment Vale came over the line, Red tapped his commbead again to transmit.
"As soon as you're both ready, Vale, please confirm our party's clearance with Mech-Wright Verrin."

[LCP]

"Ah - run into the Mechanicus?" crackled Vale's voice at the other end of the line. "I believe they're on encrypted communications: hang on a moment, I'll transmit the Inquisitor's message."

The communicator Vale had given them earlier flashed: on its narrow, boxy screen, Al-Subaai's reference to the Adept appeared, the lambent green glow of the text standing out sharply against the black display.

"Just show them that, and it ought to do," came Vale's almost-cheery voice. "Better than you having to call me up each time, eh?"

Examining the document, Verrin made a grudging noise of acceptance - a blurt of Servitor binary chattered from the speaker in his throat, and the gun-servitor stood down.

"Authorisation accepted. You may pass."

[Destro_Yersul]

"Thank you. Suffice it to say, it wouldn't do for the heretics to get wind of us. Keep our authorization quiet, please?" Hieronymus re-attached the communicator to his waist. "Could you direct us to the Secutor?"

[LCP]

Moving out of their way, Verrin looked up at Heironymous.

"Your clearance can be kept private," said the Mech-Wright, circumspectly. His face became set and stony, however, at the Provost's second request: an unreadable, emotionless mask.

"The Secutor's business here is private. We invoke the autonomy of the Mechanicus to keep it that way."

He gestured towards the Vault beyond.

"You are free to pass. Goodbye."

[Destro_Yersul]

"Alright. I guess that's fair." Hieronymus looks at the others and climbs back onto the grav platform. "Let's go have a look around, see if the heretics are in the immediate vicinity. If not, we'll go talk with those others."

That said, the Provost calls Vale on the library communicator. "Vale. How's LIRA doing? She back online yet?"

[Thanatos 51-50]

Red returns to the Grav platform, taking a moment to kneel down at the very front, and surveying the stacks in front of him, peering around cautiously for any signs of life.

[LCP]

With a low hum, the grav-lectern powered forwards once more: Verrin and the servitor turned to watch them as they left, the figures of the Mechanicus rearguard receding into the distance behind them.

The gates to the Proscribed Vault were clearly a high-security affair: they would have seemed impossible to penetrate by brute force, layers of blast doors visible in the fortress-thickness walls. As it was, the cogitator attack that had so affected LIRA’s organic host had left them standing wide open. Passing through the last set of inert metal jaws, the Acolytes emerged into the cavernous darkness of the Vault.

Like the Library outside, towering bookshelves reached up to the roof in great aisles, the place’s dusty stillness seeming to press its silence down on the newcomers like an invisible mattress. The only visible difference on this side of the blast-doors was the books: each volume was attached to its shelf by a heavy chain, attached to a shackle over the spine. Among the higher shelves, a solitary cyber-owl was picking its way over the books as if inspecting their titles, the faint flicker of light from its optical bionics illuminating its position amidst the shadows.

“Hello, hello? Hello!” came Vale’s voice again. “Yes! Yes, very happy to report, yes. Back online. All primary systems running. Should have full functionality back in a couple of minutes.”

The communicator crackled.

“You’ve made the Vault? I’ll have her transmit the map – it’s a big place, I’m afraid.”

The communicator clicked off - then buzzed again, the Adept seeming to have remembered something.

"Oh, one other thing - you might want to avoid reading the books. Which is to say, ah, don't." He coughed. "Most of them are harmless, but then you wouldn't know which ones aren't, would you?" The man's nervous laugh echoed over the line, before his voice clicked off again - and in its place, a green schematic of the Vault began to load onto the communicator's screen.

[Etcetera]

Jericus quietly drew his staff. It wouldn't do anyone any good if they damaged the books, and even silenced guns tended to be quite noisy.

He waved at the owl.

[LCP]

If the owl saw them, it didn't show it: it continued picking its way over the shelf it was on with a single-minded dedication.

[senrath]

Ignace nodded at Vale's warning. Although he was curious as to what knowledge these forbidden tomes held, they were forbidden for a reason. As he looked around, he drew his pistol, just to be on the safe side.

[Destro_Yersul]

Hieronymus was less curious about what the books held. Unfortunately, both of his guns would not do in such a setting as this, as the shotgun scattered its pellets over a wide range, and the irontalon's fragmentary ammunition would shred the books if it hit one. Out came his sword, as he consulted the map. "There's an uplink chamber past the central index tower. I'm no mechanicus, but I think that's the most likely source of the attack. Jericus, what do you think?"

[Thanatos 51-50]

Everybody was preparing for a close-quarters battle, drawing their silent, deadly arsenal of close-quarters Death.

Red was already prepared, with his trusty Monomolecular bayonet's blade gleaming in the light of his lamp pack as he switched the attachment on.
Besides, he mused to himself, I'm a crack shot. The only books that will burn will be intentional.

[Etcetera]

Jericus turned back to face Heironymus "That would be prudent" he replied "I'm concerned, though. We need to stay alert." Jericus powered up the lectern again, and began slowly making his way towards the tower.

[LCP]

The grav-lectern glided off into the gloom, the broad aisle between the shelves seeming to stretch on forever. Ghosting through the oppressive silence of the Vault, they could not see another living soul - only the occasional owl watching them from high above, cast into fearful silhouette by the lights of its mechanical eyes.

They had been travelling for perhaps ten minutes - the map showing that they were now close to the tower - when they heard it. Three dry cracks, followed by a throaty, juddering rattle, somewhere ahead of them. The noises repeated spasmodically, then died away.

Each of them had the experience to recognise weapons discharges. Lasfire, and something heavier, casting solid ammunition. From the volume of the noises that reached them, they still had a way to go before they stumbled on the source - but it was not far.

[Destro_Yersul]

"Unless I'm mistaken, I think we might have located the Secutor's other Servitor. Perhaps him as well. Hang on..." Hieronymus reached over and pushed the throttle on the platform forward. He had seen Vale's instruction on how to use the thing, and wanted to get there as fast as possible. "They must have found something."

[senrath]

"I really, really hope that they won't need our help. They probably will, but I'm hoping they won't." Ignace said, his twitch much more pronounced than before, now that they were heading directly towards a firefight.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Gunfire.
Lasguns and a Slug-thrower, probably the other Gun-Servitor tearing things apart with its Heavy Stubber.
"Give us the high ground." the guardsmen prompted over his shoulder, without really looking at Jericus and Heironymus.
He twisted his torso and the leading edge of the rifle towards the sounds of the firefight.
"Might not be Ferrox, I don't hear plasma discharge. 'Course, he might be going blade-to-blade, or packing a las, but if you have a plasma weapon attached to your shoulder you use the thing."

[senrath]

"He could be under orders not to damage the books. Plasma weaponry would do more damage to them if it misses its target. Ignace pointed out as he checked to make sure his pistol's safety was off. His shakes continued to grow, although the hand holding the pistol managed to remain eerily steady.

[Thanatos 51-50]

The Armsman spared a polite glance over his shoulder as the Psyker spoke.
His shaking while holding a gun was terribly unsettling.
"Makes sense." Red replied to Ignace's supposition. But locked eyes on the shaking arm as he did so.
"You okay to shoot like that?"