(Dark Heresy) The Curious Case of The Fenksworld Vanishings

[Vikingkingq]

OOC Thread Here

The Curious Case of the Fenksworld Vanishings, Chapter I:

The stars turn above the sickly green orb of Fenksworld. Below, where the thick pollution-fogs and industrial vapors overcast the skies year-round, the teeming masses of humanity neither see nor do they mark their movements through the heavens. But the stars turn all the same, turn – and wait for the right moment.

All is stillness and silence in the void, and the song of the spheres. And yet, far below the range of hearing, a dissonant note appears – a soft keening that builds up through the octaves until it pierces the very fabric of reality. Existence tears, time is rendered whole, and the Imperial Destroyer Ultima Ratio surges forth into real-space.



And high among its battlements and crenellations, perched above the captain’s bridge, a stateroom’s lights burn brightly. You stand in the foyer, waiting in uncomfortable silence under the watchful gaze of Naval Commissariat Proctors. From inside the door, a single violin soars through the scherzo movement of Sidelsky’s masterwork, the “Dreams of Phobos” Symphony. On silent, velvet-clad feet, a butler emerges from inside and ushers you in, raising a silent finger to his lips.

You pass into a great circular library, with white marble pillars that reach twenty feet or more to a gilded dome. Between them on two levels, the walls are burnished oak and brass bookcases crammed with rich, hidebound tomes and filigreed dataslates. Suspensor fields hold aloft celestial globes and ancient navigation tools. And in the single great armorcrys bay window, the planet Fenksworld is framed.

On the balcony above you, the musician skips the bow across the strings as he builds to a crescendo and stops abruptly. The violin hangs from a long arm clad in understated, dark evening wear. Only a small tie-pin and a ring on the left hand bearing the barred-I testify to the fact that an Inquisitor stands above you. The man is skeletal-thin, with dark hair slicked back into a noble’s peak,and his pale face on its long neck is a thing of pure geometrical precision, the angles of his cheekbones and jaw blotting out all human softness. And above the great raptor nose, two impossibly-bright blue eyes seem to reach into your soul and tear out your darkest secrets.

“I am Inquisitor Wendyll Domus Atreus, and as of this moment, I own your bodies and souls alike.” The sinister hand stretches out with the bow held like a poniard to stab at the planet.

“Before you is Fenksworld. A scabby, shabby second-rate hive planet. The Administratum informs me that production has decreased by 10% over the last two years. A series of industrial accidents and kidnappings – and thus stoppages, delays, bottlenecks, and lost man-hours into the millions per annum. Perhaps it is nothing – violence and accident, even industrial espionage and corporate warfare are hardly unknown on Fenksworld – but perhaps it is everything.

“These disruptions have become all too common, and not merely in this Subsector. The industrial heart of Calixis has caught an ague. I have investigated elsewhere, but an open presence brings only a temporary recovery. So I turn to you, my...Irregulars. You are not, officially, agents of the Inquisition; you will not bear the Rosette.

“I have made…arrangements for you to be deputized as members of the Adeptus Arbites Tithe Investigations Division, Unit 13. No such unit exists, but it will give sufficient cover and authority both. The locals are expecting the Arbites to respond to the decline in Tithing, so your introduction should cause little surprise. You will rendezvous with the Arbites headquarters in Nova Castillia for a full debrief.

“Gentlemen. Fenskworld may be a second-rate Hive World. But it is one that Battlefleet Calixis relies upon. If Fenksworld is weak, then the Imperial Navy is weak. And I will not tolerate that.

"Any questions?”

[Raynn]

Magnus kneels extending is arms outwards in a sign of respect, staring only at the floor, not meeting the Inquisitor's gaze.

"My liege, Master Atreus, I humbly swear my allegience," he bows his garbed head as much as he can "But I must ask, in your investigations did anything link these events to those on other worlds?"

Magnus Hertirrus speaks with a tone of absolute and unwavering respect for this man, waiting for an allowance to rise back to his feet.

[Vikingkingq]

Magnus kneels extending is arms outwards in a sign of respect, staring only at the floor, not meeting the Inquisitor's gaze.

"My liege, Master Atreus, I humbly swear my allegience," he bows his garbed head as much as he can "But I must ask, in your investigations did anything link these events to those on other worlds?"

Magnus Hertirrus speaks with a tone of absolute and unwavering respect for this man, waiting for an allowance to rise back to his feet.

Atreus raises a languid eyebrow. "As I said, open investigations brought only a temporary abeyance of production declines. There are other teams on other planets - your task is Fenksworld.

Bring me data, data, data. I cannot make bricks without clay."

[Raynn]

Realising his question may have annoyed his new master Hertirrus' tone became subservient

"Your will will be done my Master."

Slowly he rises from the floor and pulls the Emperor's Tarot from within his garbs, he begins to shuffle the deck with great skill, a old trick he learned on Terra to calm himself.

[Limos]

"Oh no no no, can't have slippage in the production. Sloppy, very sloppy." Nihilus mutters, his words muffled by the grating buzz of his aged respirator, "But also good! Chance to prove myself, can make improvements to system! More efficient, cut out the rot, replace with better, yes yes much better." The stooped techpriest fiddles with his robes and pulls out his trusty data slate and begins a rapid research on Fenksworld.

"Ah, such a miserable hive of scum of inefficiency this Fenksworld is." Nihilus sighs, "Much to do, very busy."

"Oh right..." Nihilus suddenly stops and looks from his Data slate to the Inquisitor, "Will get right on that sir. Can count on me." He sketches an awkward salute as best he can with his hunched back.

[Daisuke1133]

Grendel kneels to the floor in a similar manner to Magnus and keeping his head bowed towards the floor, he responds while taking care to give every ounce of deference and respect due to his lord, "M'lord, you can rest assured that I will not stop until I am either successful or dead. But I am very concerned about bureaucratic resistance from officials attempting to appear unassociated with any foul play in connected to these events."

[Raynn]

Hertirrus turns to to Nihilus "Would you agree it would be inefficient to remain here any longer? We should depart and begin our work immediately, most holy clergy of Mars."

As he speaks he makes the sign of the Aquila to the Tech-Priest as a sign of respect, he then turns to Grendel "You may have a point Sir, and what may I ask is your name sir?"

[Limos]

"Yes yes, time wasting and all that." Nihilus says curtly, "Still waiting on input from others? What say you on this?"

[Daisuke1133]

Grendel turns his head towards Hertirrus and replies, "Among my people I am known as Grendel. I would wish to know who I am to work with as well."

[Raynn]

Magnus stows his deck and bows his head slightly towards Grendel "I am Sanctionite Magnus Hertirrus," he turns to the Tech Priest who had spoke "And you are known as what Priest of Mars?"

[Limos]

"Hm? I am Nihilus, Technographer." He nods to the others, his iron faceplate with it's painted smile makes a grinding noise as he tries to bend his neck. "Sure will be nice working with you."

[Raynn]

Hertirrus smiled beneath his robes, only his grey, crimson rimmed eyes showing through his many layers "I am happy to hear you say such words, I look forward to the experience also."

He speaks to the group as a whole "Must we continue our parley or may we depart? Any further inquiries?"

[Vikingkingq]

The Inquisitor's face takes on an expression of pained annoyance for a second. "My time is valuable, and introductions can be done outside of my presence. As far as actual questions go-" his gaze focuses on Grendel with a sudden and alarming intensity. "Your cover is that of Adeptes Arbites. If you cannot make use of that authority, you don't belong here."

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Unless anyone wants to ask the Inquisitor any more questions, which we can do in the OOC thread, I'll move the scene on.

[Raynn]

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I vote move on please

[Daisuke1133]

Grendel bows his head even lower and says, "Yes M'lord, I shall depart at once."

Grendel rises and gives a final bow to the Inquisitor before quickly leaving the room lest he incur the full wrath of the Inquisitor.

[Raynn]

Hertirrus kneels momentarily "Yes my Master, you will will be done," he respectfully stares at the ground.

When he rises he departs and follows Grendel immediately.

[Limos]

Nihilus bobs his head in a half bow and turns to leave with the others, "Much to do, so little time."

"By your leave Lord." He says just before leaving the room.

[Vikingkingq]

Fenksworld, Planet-Side, Nova Castillia:

After a punishingly steep shuttle-dive to Star-Port Castillia, you emerge on dry land for the first time in a fortnight. Night has fallen, the air is wet with chemically-tainted rain, and to the east, the massive spires of Hiva Nova Castillia rise through the clouds, to where the richest nobility frolic in the luxury of natural sunlight. Lesser notables must make do with void shields to keep off the rain and artificial solariums and weather generators.



An Arbites grav-wagon idles on the edge of your landing pad, where a bored-looking officer leans against the side of the grav with the rain bouncing off his helmet. "Assuming you lot are the Investigative team, get the frak inside before we all drown." The wagon's designed to carry a full platoon of Shock Troopers - or twice that number of prisoners - so the six of you and your luggage manage to fit inside with relative comfort. The driver shows you how to strap in, and the wagon lifts from the ground and speeds off towards the Spire of Justice in the Adeptes Section.



Once inside, the trooper yanks off his dripping helmet and brushes the water out of his thinning hair and talks distractedly as he weaves his way through sky-lanes crowded with mass haulers, commercial shuttles, air-taxis and the occasional jet-speeder. "Anyway, welcome to Hive Castillia. This here's about the closest thing to civilization you get here on Fenksworld, so don't worry, it's all down-hill from here. The Marshall's waiting back at Precinct, so you should get debriefed and on your way soon as can be arranged." The Spire of Justice looms before you, a black pillar amidst the throbbing lights.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Your luggage is dropped off in an evidence locked, and you are escorted into an office dominated by a long nalwood table stacked high with papers. Two people are sitting at the table, an older grey-haired man with the biggest build you've ever seen on a non-Astartes in uniform carapace with a wreathed-fist insignia on his service stripe, and a younger, greasy-looking man in tattered leathers.

The trooper who brought you in throws a quick salute at the bigger man sitting across the table, who looks up with a sour expression and dismisses him. He looks up at you, looks at the chairs and sighs. "You must be the extra manpower that the pencil-pushers over in Tithe sent me. Was sort of hoping for more." He stands up and leans two hands the size of hams on the table. "So, I understand you need to be briefed."

[Raynn]

Hertirrus nods with respect to the man and extends his hand to be shaken "I am Investigator Arbites Magnus Hertirrus and these are my associates, you are, sir? And yes we are to be briefed on all the files and data you have concerning the decrease in production and any associated incidents."

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If the man asks why he is covered head to toe he has a response prepared.

[Vikingkingq]

The big man gives you a look, and taps the wreathed fist on his service stripe. "That's Marshall Dossantos to you. I don't know how you do it where you come from, but here in Nova Castillia you salute a superior officer, Investigator Hertirrus."

"Edzibsky, they're all yours. Administratum might be whining about a 10% decline in production, but I've got a 17% increase in ganger violence and the same number of officers I had yesterday. Oh wait, I forgot Dozerman. One less officer than I had yesterday." The Marshall storms out of the room in what appears to be a habitual foul temper.

Edzibsky, the young man in leathers, reaches over to shake Hertirrus's hand. As he leans over, you can see the Arbites badge on a chain around his neck. "Edzibsky, Proctor in Plainclothes Division. Sorry about that. We had a pretty big anti-crim 10-34 last night, and a Molotov cooked one officer. Anyway," he gestures to the massive piles of files.

"This is the case. We've had a half-dozen or so major industrial accidents in the last 20 months, different sites across the planet-" he fires up a projector that displays what look like bombed out factories onto one wall of the conference room. "At first, we thought recidivists, mebbe corporate rivals, but the recidivists don't have the resources for something of this scale, and the cases are too spread-out to come from a rivalry. You can look through the paperwork, but we didn't find a pattern either in the factorium owners or sub-leasers or customers."

The projector flashes instead to a graph. "And this is the other half of the case. See, in every factory that gets hit, we're seeing a pattern of missing persons reports, mebbe twenty-thirty percent higher than average, and given the kind of damage we're seeing in these accidents, the scenes don't turn up enough bodies."

[Limos]

"Conversion maybe? Raw materials for combat servitors if Heretek cell. Biomass for Genestealer cult. Perhaps Khornate blood sacrifices." Nihilus says hopefully, "Of course could be less interesting, slave trade maybe?

"Officer Edzibsky, any suspects or gangers we should be looking for? Nihilus gives the Marshall a belated salute and turns to Edzibsky.

[Raynn]

Hertirrus leafs through a file for a moment "Hmmm. . ."

He taps his chin momentarily, thinking out loud, as was his habit "Bodies, bodies, assume a common link, a basic law, connection, fundamental principals, what links these cases? We thought motive came from the result but we are looking at the wrong portion of the result. . . I believe we are considering only the side effect of the intended action. . . "

Hertirrus rubs his chin and points to the projected slide "What links these crimes? Missing persons? NO. Not unless people survived the explosions, no what links these crimes are corpses, MISSING corpses. Which implies whoever did this, needed or wanted corpses. . . Servitors, which implies they need manual labor for something. . . sacrifices? Doubtful but possible if they only took survivors of the explosion. . . ."

Hertirrus motioned to Edzibsky "How likely is that someone could survive this explosion? That ONLY the survivors had been taken and the corpses left?"

He turned back to Nihilus "By any chance can you examine the corpses in the Morgue and see if the explosion could ever left corpses salvagable enough for use as servitor components. If either or both of these theories are wrong we should prove them so as fast as possible, both imply dangerous outcomes if left unchecked."

[Vikingkingq]

"Conversion maybe? Raw materials for combat servitors if Heretek cell. Biomass for Genestealer cult. Perhaps Khornate blood sacrifices." Nihilus says hopefully, "Of course could be less interesting, slave trade maybe?

"Officer Edzibsky, any suspects or gangers we should be looking for? Nihilus gives the Marshall a belated salute and turns to Edzibsky.

Edzibsky snorts a bit at the Genestealer and Khornate references. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. You hear hoofbeats, you think equines - not crystal space zebras. Slavers, could be in some of these after-hours missing persons, but it's rare to see craftsfolk get snatched - too many questions, too many powerful interests get involved. And these are some serious numbers we're talking about - over the last 20 months, we're talking almost a thousand missing persons from the street reports, and another thousand almost if we assume that the nonconfirmed from the accidents weren't just turned into small piles of ash."

Hertirrus leafs through a file for a moment "Hmmm. . ."

He taps his chin momentarily, thinking out loud, as was his habit "Bodies, bodies, assume a common link, a basic law, connection, fundamental principals, what links these cases? We thought motive came from the result but we are looking at the wrong portion of the result. . . I believe we are considering only the side effect of the intended action. . . "

Hertirrus rubs his chin and points to the projected slide "What links these crimes? Missing persons? NO. Not unless people survived the explosions, no what links these crimes are corpses, MISSING corpses. Which implies whoever did this, needed or wanted corpses. . . Servitors, which implies they need manual labor for something. . . sacrifices? Doubtful but possible if they only took survivors of the explosion. . . ."

Hertirrus motioned to Edzibsky "How likely is that someone could survive this explosion? That ONLY the survivors had been taken and the corpses left?"

He turned back to Nihilus "By any chance can you examine the corpses in the Morgue and see if the explosion could ever left corpses salvagable enough for use as servitor components. If either or both of these theories are wrong we should prove them so as fast as possible, both imply dangerous outcomes if left unchecked."

Edzibsky shrugs. "Look, the missing persons cases all happen in the same neighborhoods as the accidents at about the same time, then quiet down after each of the accidents. That looks like a pattern to me."

"Now, as for servitors, I gotta think that this would be a lot of extra risk when you can get living bodies for a lot less - that's what didn't make sense when we gave it a shake. Maybe, maybe if you were trying to make some high-end servitors with some built-in skills, but we checked that market and supply is steady."

He then gives a slightly shamefaced look. "Corpses might be a problem. See, a good half of these incidents are prior year, and we don't keep bodies that long for what at the time were considered to be accidental deaths - and we didn't find that many bodies to begin with. 'Sides, most of these would be in local Precincts, not here at Planetary HQ. You looking for bodies, our best bet is to check the last accident-" he hunts through the files for a moment. "Month ago, over in Magnagorsk. This one's weird too. Lights go off across an entire Factorium District, explosion levels the place - and damn near the entire workforce is missing. 400 bodies gone - not a scrap of tissue left. Afterwards, they tell me that there's a whole rash of suicides - not in the hab blocks, but around the site." Edzisbsky leans back in his chair, spreads his hands and widens his eyes.

[Raynn]

Hertirrus nods as Edzibsky speaks "Suicide. . . suicide, causal link? Bodies missing? Skilled workers? Either they need labour for some sort of device, vehicle, creation or they are selecting their targets poorly, implies only a basic connection required, possibly for sacrifice but there are easier methods than falsifying terrorist attacks on populated areas."

He turns back to Nihilus "There must be a location from which the power was deactivated, either by sabotage or simply switched off, maybe you could seek out answers there as your formidable skills would be best applied there, but only if you wish," Hertirrus had great respect for the priest, seeing him as pure and holy, and did wish to appear like he thought he was his equal.

He turned back to Edzibsky "was it only the lights that were deactivated? Or did they lose power entirely? Can you give my associate the location of where someone could or did do this?"

He looks over his shoulder at Grendel and nods solemnly "I believe we should go search the site of the explosion for any clues, if you would do me the honour of accompanying me?" He again didn't want to seem like he was forcing the issue.

The again he thought out loud "but still, suicide? On a notable scale, what does that imply? Either mental imbalance or grief? Hundreds dead or missing, possibly simply grief? Unlikely, bad feeling about this, possible linchpin in the case. Mental manipulation? Possible, unlikely but fits. . . Hmmm. . . Psychic or warp taint on a wide enough scale? Unlikely but again possible, Psykers would find it easier to kill than cause them to commit suicide. Chemical toxin causing mental imbalance? Possible connection, could be a cover up but again unlikely. . . Hmmm. . . We should check out these areas if we are going to find any more clues."

He turns to the group again "Or you can disregard all I said, I apologise for any rudeness, it was unintential, Noble Grendel and Wise Nihilus," he bows his head momentarily in respect.

[Daisuke1133]

He looks over his shoulder at Grendel and nods solemnly "I believe we should go search the site of the explosion for any clues, if you would do me the honour of accompanying me?" He again didn't want to seem like he was forcing the issue.

Grendel nods to Hertirrus and replies, "Of course. We may be able to ascertain more about the explosion by examining the scene and what remains of the device."

[Raynn]

Hertirrus smiles at Grendel, hidden beneath his garbs, "Then it settled, Edzibsky, could you arrange transport for Investigator Grendel and I?"

[Limos]

"Also require transport. Wish to examine machinery that lost power," Nihilus chips in, "possibly determine method of sabotage and narrow down list of possible suspects."

"Hum, any connection to the products that the factorium was producing? Chemical contaminants with a mind altering effect may be cause of suicides." Nihilus paces slowly, limping his way around the room, "Officer Edzibsky, what were the primary products of the factorium?"

[Raynn]

Magnus speaks up "That is what I thought possibly, a connection between the suicides but the incidents are too widespread for the same product to be produced in all locations meaning that if a chemical produced by the plant leaked due to the explosion to the general populace causing them to commit suicide then it was a coincidence and the suicides are not directly relevant to the cause of the attacks, and I don't like coincidences, but still a good point, least likely connection to solve case but most likely connection compared to others. Not sure whether it being true or not will more hinder or benefit the investigation, still a wise question Honoured Nihilus."

[Vikingkingq]

Edzibsky consults his files. "One bulk steel foundry, one generatorium, a couple of machinist shops, and the most recent one is a shipyard. Which is more or less what you get on Fenksworld - heavy industry, with a strong emphasis on shipbuilding. What was that? No, it was a district-wide power outage, 'bout 10-15 minutes in duration according to this report.

As for transportation, I can arrange a shuttle for the six of you in the morning. Magnagorsk is a three-hour flight anyway. Two hours over to the equatorial regions, and then one hour down."

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This is an opportunity for the six of you to procure any supplies you want before heading out to the gritty volcanic hive of Magnagorsk.

[Raynn]

Hertirrus searches for occult texts and literature that could either give him a clue to these events or teach him more about the warp and his powers in general.

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Sholastic Lore (Occult) (Int) 35 (1d100)[62]