They All Uprose (Dark Heresy IC)

[-Sentinel-]

Solomo blinked. He had never seen anything like vanishing technology before.

"...Throne," he swore. "You know what else just disappears when you kill it? A daemon."

Like Joss, he kept a wary eye out. Wherever the thing had gone, it was not necessarily very far.

[Destro_Yersul]

"The bug things vanished too," Benson said, pushing back off of the wall and sheathing his sword. With their attacker gone, the provost sergeant had regained some of his former composure. Glancing over to where the three remaining provosts were huddled, near the stairs leading up, he sighed.

"Wait a moment. Before we go..." Walking over to the two dead provosts, Benson bent down. When he straightened up he had an extra shotgun slung over his shoulder, and the ID cards for his two dead men in his hand. Stowing the IDs in a pocket, he nodded. "Okay. Let's go. Unless you want to check the body again?"

The remains of the dead man from whom Novus had scavenged the pistol, and his former effects, were still in a bloody pile near the stairs. Past the stairs, another tunnel was visible leading off into the darkness. Whether they searched the dead man or not, there was still a choice to be made about direction.

[Blarghy]

Given the choice, Novus prefers the stairs. Keeping to the high side of the underground city seems best for reaching the pyramid without having to travel through miles of tunnels hosting more of these skin-saving monsters. But first, he inches toward the bloody pile. He defiled it first--well, second, after its murderer--so it's only right that he finish what he started, however hesitantly.

"Who were you?" he wonders as he delicately picks through the red rags with his fingertips. "Beside another unlucky bastard in a desert full of them?"

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Perception (36): (1d100)[88]

[Thanatos 51-50]

Gabe is less squeamish about investigating the skin their metal antagonist wore, quickly finding the face and comparing it to the pict of their quarry.

[Destro_Yersul]

Picking through the bloody skin was a messy job, and not an especially pleasant one. It was like uncured leather, almost. Gabe did find the face though, and held it up against the light to get a better look at it. Without a framework of bone and muscle behind it, it was harder to tell, but it didn't look like it had belonged to their quarry. By the time he had finished, he was getting odd looks from Benson and the other provosts.

Novus, meanwhile, had elected to go through the bloody pile of personal effects instead, doing his best to focus on those and not the nearby corpse. It was slow going, carefully checking everything to make sure nothing was missed. There was the holster he had seen before, and the ammunition, but the only other weapon was a knife in a small sheathe. A slim and battered dataslate was poking out of the pocket on a shredded white coat, and numerous pouches clipped to the belt proved to contain a hypodermic syringe and a selection of rubber-capped phials filled with clear liquid. The last of the pouches contained fourteen throne gelt in small denomination coins.

OOC:

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Gabe gets to make a WP test!

[Blarghy]

He pockets the ammunition, of course, after getting off what blood he can, and sets the money aside. Novus looks over the medicine--or drugs--to see if he can recognize it, but his main interest is the dataslate. He checks to see if it's locked; this might be a great source of information, if he can get it working.

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I assume he can either open the dataslate or not, with no roll really coming into it. No skill on my list looks appropriate for appraising items, so I guess I should go with half of an Intelligence check.

Int (21): (1d100)[63]

[Thanatos 51-50]

Gabe quickly removes a fold of skin which resembles a finger and secreted it away in one of his robe's pockets.
"Geneprint could be useful."

With no other explanantion, the priest moved over to the skinless corpse and looked down at the spoils Novus had looted.
"Dataslate. Mind if I take a look at it?"

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This roll is here to save time in Case Novus Says "yes". It is a TEch-use check to unlock the dataslate and/or access history/hidden files.

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TechUse47 - (1d100)[37]

[Destro_Yersul]

Novus couldn't tell, at a glance, what was in the phials. It could have been any number of drugs or medicines, though it probably wasn't any of the more exotic ones. Those would have been easier to recognise outright. Turning his attention to the dataslate, the adept fiddled with the controls a bit while Gabe looked over his shoulder. Between the two of them they got it active, and it blinked over to a dull black menu screen, with the names of different files arranged in a glowing green list. There were a handful of articles on Regicide strategy, alongside three other files, labelled 'notes,' 'inventory,' and 'Xenoform Anatomy.'

Inventory was the simplest file - a brief list of medical supplies kept in the camp tent, adjusted for usage. The file purporting to contain notes was actually a series of log entries by Medicae Oberon Drake. The Medicae was, apparently, highly fastidious about documenting everything. There were dozens of entries, ranging from simple application of bandages to full on trauma care. Only the recent ones seemed to concern the camp, and were predominantly of the bandage variety, though the survivors of the shuttle crash had required more extensive treatment. Another man had been complaining of headaches, and was given painkillers. All in all, it made for fairly dry reading. The last item on the list, Xenoform Anatomy, was more interesting.

Xenoform Anatomy

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The creatures we have seen, either held in stasis in the buildings or active in the distance, mostly bear superficial resemblance to the legendary Men of Iron. They are not the same, though, being wholly alien in their manufacture. None of the technology we have seen in the cavern city thus far appears to be Imperial, or pre-Imperial human, in nature. While the hunt for STC data constructs is a noble effort, I cannot help but feel that what we have found here is a greater discovery yet. I have examined the units held in stasis, though I dare not disturb them for fear of waking them. They are constructed of silvery metal, and appear to have faceted crystals in place of their eyes. Each warrior carries a weapon with another crystal at the end of the barrel, undoubtedly some form of Xenos Lasgun. The warriors are identical down to the last detail, each one standing exactly eight feet tall. Of their interior anatomy it is impossible to say, as I was unable to procure one for dissection. We encountered numerous small insectoid forms as well, and I was able to bring down one of these, but it faded from existence before I could cut it open. If the larger forms do this as well, it may prove exceptionally difficult to get a good look at their inner workings. Apart from the dormant warrior forms and the insect forms, I have seen in the distance snake-like constructs with long tails, which hover through the air. There may be other forms, in some distant building of the city, but as yet I have been unable to locate them and our search is necessarily narrow. I hope there will be opportunity to study these beings in greater detail later.

This article, too, was written by Oberon Drake. It looked like they had found what was left of Raltus' unfortunate medic.

[Artemis97]

Joss began pacing, trying to keep an eye on all the exits at once.

"We should not tarry." The warrior rasps. "That thing could return, or something else might find us. Like whatever you had been fighting." He nods to Solomon as he walks past, but pauses and turns, his cat like eyes boring into the other man. "What had you been fighting, anyways? You did not get the chance to explain before."

[Blarghy]

Mention of yet more aliens with sophisticated weapons adds to Novus's mountain of stress. Even so, he scholastically wonders why they're in stasis here at all. Past legends still make him believe that these creatures care more about destruction than conquering, so did they expect this planet to recolonize after the first humans were crushed? Maybe armies, once used, are sometimes left in hibernation to save on transport costs. This one could be on standby for notice of more life within a given area, ready to deploy. But then why not attack the moon station above? Maybe the larger command structure has fallen dormant too, leaving no one to give the order. Maybe these forces have just been forgotten. As a member of the Administratum, Novus can definitely understand such effects of bloated bureaucracy.

Speaking of which, he holds the dataslate protectively and tells Gabe, "I would like to claim this for Administratum records, if the Inquisition allows it." He'd love to call dibs in hopes of a promotion--especially once he adds his own notes to the overall compilation--but he isn't about to cross Valle if she disagrees.

"We might see large soldiers of the same type as those insects from above, this time humanoid with ranged weaponry," he adds to all the others. "There are also flying snakelike creatures in the area. They and the insects appear to have already been active even before the point when Raltus possibly triggered something, but the soldiers were originally in storage. That might not be the case anymore. I would think that they'd be out in force through the city if awake, but we should be on alert for alien firepower anyway. The monster we just saw doesn't fit these descriptions; I'm not sure if that's good or bad. It could've been active before Raltus came, like the bugs, or he might've disturbed it. Either way, if they roamed this cave in numbers, one likely would've been sighted and recorded. This one didn't hesitate to attack when it saw us; I doubt it would hide."

[Thanatos 51-50]

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about, Novus." Gabe half-whispered, half-growled, thumbing his nose and subtly indicating the party of provosts milling about. "I certainly wouldn't want to run into... them... myself, and since my superiors would likely pass this thing up the chain..."
Gabe paused and let the thought process hang in the air.
"Come to think of it, I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. What dataslate?"
The priest turned to Joss.

"Whatever our man Solomon had been fighting, they are most assurdely regrouping or descending upon us even now. We should move.
Quickly and quietly. We still have prey to catch."
He turned towards the bounty hunter with a knowing stare and gestured off into the distance.
"If you would take point please, Mister Tark."

[Destro_Yersul]

There was no real trail to follow past the point where the bloody corpse lay on the floor. Whatever purpose the metal thing had in dragging it here, this was as far as it had gone before they surprised it. Novus held on to the dataslate and other things he had scavenged from the body, while Gabe took the weapon.

"Inquisition?" Benson said as they walked, Solomon taking the lead as directed. "That the reason you lot are here? Explains the brass being only too happy to send you some help, at least. I'll make sure everyone stays quiet, if you're worried about secrecy..."

[-Sentinel-]

"If you would take point please, Mister Tark."

All too glad to have an excuse to dodge Joss's questioning, Solomon nodded and walked to the front of the group. For now the arbitrator had very little to say, putting on a mask of stoic professionalism to hide how he was still reeling from the horrific encounter and - worse yet - his shameful reaction to it.

[Blarghy]

Novus clams up, embarrassed; secrets are easier to keep when they're on paper. He tucks this new dataslate into his cloak, along with the other items no one showed an interest in, and resigns himself to never being a professional spy. It does occur to him that they still haven't chosen a direction yet. Still favoring the stairs, he silently positions himself near them, casting a vote.

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Sheet updated. Once we identify the phials, if no one still wants them (do any of us even have the necessary talents to be a medic?), we can presumably sell them for group profit. As for the gun, Novus is still hanging onto it for now, since Gabe already has manstoppers and I'd like to be able to damage armored enemies in the unlikely event that I ever hit one. Just clarifying for Destro's records, unless by "weapon" you mean the small knife. Gabe's more than welcome to that at any time.

[Artemis97]

Joss gives Gabe an odd look, wondering why he had interrupted his question. Still, he agreed they needed to keep moving, and nodded before falling into line, deciding to take up the rear.

"At this point, I think we are most concerned with getting out of here." The archer says to Benson, attempting to allay his apparent fear that they might all be executed at the end of this for nosing into Inquisition business.

"Should we continue on to the pyramid? I believe that is our best bet for finding our quarry." It might also lead them into the path of more horrible creatures, but Joss leaves that unsaid.

[Destro_Yersul]

Chapter Three: The Long Distant Road

Ascending the stairs, the group came out in an alcove off one of the main streets. The city was all quiet around them, as they stepped out onto the glossy black paving stones that made up the street. The pyramid was much closer now, the massive edifice looming high over their heads. This close to it, they could start to fully appreciate the scale of the thing. The work lamps at its base did nothing to illuminate its vast bulk, to speak nothing of the cyclopean monuments rising from the ground to flank it. Walking quickly, their weapons sweeping the empty space overhead for any sight of the metallic insects, the group moved towards it. It was almost a relief when the great black opening rose above their heads, blocking out the sight of the larger cavern. With the cold white of the luminators Raltus had brought chasing away the eerie green the Xenos seemed to favour, it was almost possible to forget where they were.

Almost.

Passing into the pyramid, they became aware of a distant droning hum. Joss felt it first, a rythmic thrumming coming from somewhere deep within the pyramid. The walls were unchanging, black stone and green sigils, but the machinery they passed seemed to be more active than elsewhere in the city, the dust of ages slowly shaking off of gently vibrating conduits overhead. There were more signs of struggle here, too, dark splashes of blood on the stone and the occassional empty shell casing to mark the passage of Imperial feet in the Xenos' halls. They were passing the third set of side passages when Solomon caught sight of something in the gloom. Lurking half seen behind a tangle of piping down the left-hand hallway was a crumpled shape on the floor. It was hard to tell, at this distance, but the bounty hunter thought he could just make out the muzzle of an imperial-issue autogun poking out from within the heap of fabric. It didn't appear to be moving.

[Blarghy]

After some time, Novus's scholarly side muscles past his fear and encourages him to holster his gun in favor of the data-slate. He's easily the least useful of the soldiers here, so maybe he should do his actual job instead of waving a pistol around like an idiot. The adept occasionally looks up to glare nervously at the alien city, his expression rather birdlike, but otherwise keeps his nose buried in his notes. At times he juggles both the data-slate and his writing kit to copy down the glyphs they pass, adding a tally if he sees the same symbol frequently. Sadly, he can't scribe them all, or even a significant fraction, but it's better than nothing.

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Novus Octus Flavion, Scribe of the Administratum, inducted aboard The Saint’s Humility. In service to the Inquisition under Kadis Valle of the Ordo Hereticus.

We have discovered an underground Xeno city of unknown origin while in pursuit of classified Inquisition business. Architecturally, all structures are built of black stone. Crystals glowing with green light provide illumination and possibly decoration (significance unknown, origin unknown--native to Klybo or imported?). Circular glyphs are present on many surfaces. Not able to translate. See accompanying documents for examples. City is built around giant pyramid and stone monoliths with more green crystals; power source or machinery of some kind seems to be buried within. Significance of pyramid unknown. Possibly religious or cultural; no lesser pyramids within cavern, so it is unlikely the common building type of this species.

Species is varied in appearance but shares common traits (see notes of Medicae Oberon Drake under Xenoform Anatomy). Insect Xenos have been encountered personally--not yet seen other forms. One Xeno undocumented by Drake appears to have killed him: creature was humanoid, metallic (same as insects), and possessed fingers of long blades. Eyes glowed green similar to crystals in architecture (investigate this connection). Subject dressed in flayed human skin (significance unknown; simple intimidation or some cultural factor?). Never attempted communication. Attacked on sight. Difficult to damage, but was brought down with mining charge. Subject then partially repaired itself and revived. After second attack, was killed again and evaporated in same fashion as insects (see Drake's document). IMPORTANT NOTE: IF THEY DO NOT EVAPORATE, THEY MAY NOT BE DEAD. This obviously complicates collecting samples. Have not yet attempted to take samples from architecture; will keep in mind when time allows.

Related to Inquisition mission, other Imperials investigated city first; do not yet known what impact they may have had or what they possibly disturbed. Did not see city in original state, but will question first party if any are alive. Signs of their battles are available, excluding corpses. Xeno bodies presumably evaporated, but KIA Navy provosts accompanying me DID NOT disappear. Phenomenon not transmitted by Xenos, so earlier corpses must have been destroyed or taken. Reason unknown (possible cultural matter). Unlikely to have intended to clean away signs of presence; weaponry and shell casings were left behind.

Personal suspicion based on architectural similarities and lack of human corpses links these Xenos to other attacks on Imperial worlds. Investigate the following events for connection:...

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Novus goes on to reference the legends he remembered earlier, providing the necessary dates and worlds, insofar as he knows them. Maybe while he's in the process of writing this all out, something new'll jump out at him. Mostly this roll is to give you the chance to drop a plot point or nudge, if you're feeling charitable (or if we're being dumb and not noticing something you want us to notice). =P

Logic (42): (1d100)[35]

[-Sentinel-]

Solomon snapped his fingers and pointed at the shape.

"I'd take a look at this one, too."

In the silence of this place, whispering seemed appropriate, no matter how much noise they had been making earlier.

[Destro_Yersul]

Some of the symbols Novus saw matched the rubbings they had seen back at the camp. Evidently Raltus' party had some of the same ideas, though sketching the markings provided a clearer image of them. Solomon, meanwhile, was left free to investigate whatever was lurking in wait for them. Approaching cautiously, the bounty hunter was able to pick out more details than just the autogun. A boot, a hand... there was another human here, likely attempting to hide from the metal Xenos. Catching himself on the verge of taking another step, Solomon noticed the steady rise and fall of breathing. This one was alive.

[-Sentinel-]

Solomon took in a sharp breath and raised the muzzle of his autogun.

"You there! Put your hands where I can see them!" he growled, loud enough for the rest of the team to hear.

[Blarghy]

The command snaps Novus out of his own little world and back to the pyramid; he spazzes like he's been electrocuted, writing kit jumping from his hands and scattering pens and paper. Both arms hold rigid high in the air for several embarrassing seconds before he realizes what's going on. He sheepishly collects his things, puts them back into his cloak, and draws the pistol with manstopper rounds. Better late than never, perhaps.

Now doesn't seem like the right time to ask their potential prisoner about his various questions, so he just sticks with the pack of provosts. Following the herd, as it were.

[Artemis97]

Novus' reaction elicits a chuckle from Joss at the back of the group. The warrior stalks forward, nocking an arrow in his bow and carefully fanning out around the group, so he could have a clear shot if necessary. Still, if shots had not yet been fired, he hoped they wouldn't be. Humanity needed to band together in this place, whoever this person was. Once they were out, the Emperor's Justice could be served.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Gabriel smiled, even as Joss and Solomon jumped at the armed stranger, and bristled with doom.
"Calm, my friends." he murmured peaceably, making his way to the front of the group and the one breathing human they hadn't brought with them.
"It wouldn't do to thin our numbers needlessly."
His sidearm held low and out of the way in his off-hand Gabriel extended his main hand to the man in the fabrics.
"Thank the Emperor someone else is alive down here! I thought we were the only ones!"

Spoiler: Rolls

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Charm47 - (1d100)[53]

[Destro_Yersul]

At Solomon's command the man started, jolting upright. He was clad in rags like the merchants in the halls of the station above, and his hands went straight for the autogun before he checked himself, blinking bleary-eyed at the decidedly human figures arrayed around him.

"Emperor's Mercy! You're real, aren't you? You have to be real." He cried, dropping the autogun and pulling himself to his feet with Gabe's help. Then he paused a moment, thinking, and lowered his voice to a whisper.

"Sorry, Sorry. You startled me. Can't be too loud. You should move. We should all move. They must have heard that."

[Thanatos 51-50]

"We've had similar doubts about how real you are, friend." Gabe returns with a smile, shifting his fireamr back into his main hand as it's freed up.
"All too happy to be moving. What's your name? Seen anything we should know about down here?"

Spoiler: You Know This Question is Coming

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Does he look like Rialtus?

[Blarghy]

While Novus approves of paranoia approaching his own, he also fears that this man's level of concern outweighs what is warranted by the bugs they encountered. What might he be referencing instead? More of the knife-fingered monsters? Those dormant soldiers, no longer asleep?

"They?"

He steps slightly--very slightly--away from the group and cups one ear. Maybe he'll be able to hear over the distant machinery buzz and sounds of his comrades. He also hopes he can't. Rhythmic marching haunts his imagination enough already without becoming a reality.

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My Awareness rolls are at best long-shots, but I don't have much else to contribute at the moment. The void-born madman is the absolute last person who needs to be handling our first encounter with this sole survivor, unless we want to make him more nervous in some roundabout intimidation attempt.

Awareness (18): (1d100)[47]

[Destro_Yersul]

"Belial. I'm.. I was.. a scavenger. Come on." Taking only a few moments to make sure he'd collected all of his things, Belial hurried along down the passageway, shuffling into the gloom without bothering to turn on any sort of light. The ambient green glow of the pyramid was enough to see by, and the man seemed to know his way around well enough.

"Can't stay in one place too long. They've started waking up, and you're dead if they find you. The Metal Men, that's what they are. Mr. Raltus says they're older than humanity. Mr. Raltus says a lot of things. I never paid attention. Should have done. Might not be stuck here." He offered them a weak smile, given a sickly pallor by the green light. Rounding a corner, he looked up and down the hall, picking another opening a few meters away to make for. Inside turned out to be a room dominated by a glass tube that stretched up to the ceiling, silver piping snaking out from it to run into the walls. There was another door on the far side of the room, and a large block of machinery to one side, with enough crevices behind it to hide one or two people, but not the whole party.

"Safe enough here. They don't search far, but they're patient. I don't think they sleep once they've woken. Please tell me you have a way out of here."

Spoiler: OOC:

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He looks nothing like your pict of Raltus.

[Artemis97]

Joss lowers his bow when the man proves to be non-hostile. He felt it was good to have another ally, potentially.

"You know Raltus?" He asks quietly as they walked. "What has happened to him?"

Once they reached the room, he stands near one of the doors, keeping an eye out for trouble.

[-Sentinel-]

"Can't stay in one place too long. They've started waking up, and you're dead if they find you."

They've started waking up. Solomon did not like the sound of that at all. He did suspect that such a vast place must have at some point housed many such creatures, but had been hoping that the one they fought had been some kind of straggler or lone survivor. If the man was right, though, the thing may have been only one of the first.

"Please tell me you have a way out of here."

Solomon's eyes narrowed. "For now we'll be the ones making requests and asking questions. Do you know what Raltus was after?"

[Destro_Yersul]

"Know him? Well, yes. In as much as he paid me to come down here with the others. Don't know where he is now. I assume dead. They will have found him, unless he was fast at hiding. As for what he was after..." Belial shivered, shaking his head. "He called it the Codex. It's at the center of the pyramid. I don't know what it does, or why he wanted it. Kept that to himself, he did. Didn't want to tell us."

"Shouldn't have come here," he added, looking at one of the banks of machinery on the wall. "I'd try to get out, but it's just desert out there. If I could get to the vox, if I could only get to the vox..."