They All Uprose (Dark Heresy IC)

[Blarghy]

Novus's screams turn to choking coughs; he decides he's already done his part, so he retreats from the smoke, trying to wipe the tears from his gray eyes with his cloak. He probably bumps into at least one person during his retreat. When his vision clears, he hurries to Solomon, his fear of the man temporarily less than of their enemy.

"Grenade," he manages to say between hacking up fresh mucus. Given how Novus hesitantly touches Solomon's hand, clutching the explosive, he might interpret the adept's single word as Let me have it.

[Calimos]

Severus took cover behind a nearby sofa and kept his respirator fastened tight to his face, his hood drawn over his head and his laspistol close at hand. With the second grenade and the cloud smoke it created he could no longer trust his normal senses and thus he was disinclined to move from his place of cover. He decided to stay there, until the smoke had cleared and to relay any changes in the mercenary's position that he could notice through his psychic senses, to the other acolytes, via his microbead.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Unsure of a tacticaly-sound decision, Gabe decided the best course of action would be to lean into the corridor again and lay down another burst of suppressive fire.
GunnaMiss - (1d100)[30]

[-Sentinel-]

Solomon carefully remained outside the room and leaned against the wall, waiting for his blindness to subside. Throne, he hated to be the useless one, but anything he tried to do right now may endanger his allies.

Please, Emperor, give me my sight back. Quickly.

"Grenade," breathed Novus, touching his hand.

The bounty hunter hesitated for a moment... This was the man who had been screaming like a maniac a moment ago. Eventually he shook his head. "Sorry, civilian. I can't trust you with that thing."

[Artemis97]

Smoke? Coward. As if that could hide their quarry from such a skilled hunter. A feral smile formed on Joss' lips, as he crept forward carefully, using the smoke as cover to get close to their target, where he could bring his sword into play. Then there would be blood. The Emperor would be pleased.

[Destro_Yersul]

Under the cover of the smoke put out by the grenade, it was impossible for Gabe to aim properly. The torrent of bullets he sent towards their target pinged off the far wall again, and the priest could only hope it was forcing him to keep his head down...

Severus Only:

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Their man was keeping his head down, from the sense of things. It wasn't enough to aim by, but the flicker of human light in the room was staying where it was. For now.

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Need me some rolls! The same smoke that says you can't shoot him also says he can't shoot you.
(1d100)[30](1d100)[50] - well, he's not pinned anymore. How long THAT lasts...

[Blarghy]

Novus's reply is an angry squeak, but he scurries away from Solomon all the same, back into the room (he'd rather stay out in the hallway, but he'd also rather be on an isolated planet with only himself for company; wishes and fishes, as they say).

Without that grenade, Novus isn't about to wade into the smoke and stick his head around the corner again. He fears Severus slightly less, so he crouches behind the couch with him--on the other end, of course, with some space between them. He rests his wrists and heavy pistol on the top of the sofa. If their enemy comes back into view, he'll be ready.

[Calimos]

"Our man still keeps his spot. No signs of him advancing. Tread carefully in this blasted smoke", responded Severus via his micro-bead to the rest of the team, remaining behind cover, awaiting the smoke to clear before taking any further actions.

[Artemis97]

"Just make sure you don't shoot me." Joss' voice comes over the micro-beads in a hoarse whisper.

The assassin slips closer to his prey. He makes a final adjustment to his grip on his mono-sword before, like a ghost from the shadows, he strikes.

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Attack (1d100)[79] vs 43
Damage (1d10)[1]

[Thanatos 51-50]

"I'm going to regret this." Gabe mutters, slipping his pistol back into his robes and drawing the scimitar at his belt. The cleric closed his eyes against the smoke for a moment to compose himself.
He breathed it in deeply, and blew it out, the thick white cloud forming invisible eddies in front of his breath.
Then, sword raised high and shield firmly interposed, Gabe darted around the corner to join Joss in the melee.

[Destro_Yersul]

Bursting out of the cloud of smoke, Joss closed the distance to the scarred man faster than he would have been able to bring the shotgun to bear, but when the warrior's sword came down at the man's head, it was blocked with a ringing clash by his own blade. Standing up, his shotgun held tight in one hand, the man had drawn his sword in anticipation of a fight in close-quarters. It was a good thing he had. Gabe charged in to join the melee, stacking the odds against him. Joss easily swatted aside a feint, but the priest wasn't so lucky: their enemy's sword flicked along his cheek, drawing a thin line of red. First blood went to the enemy.

[Calimos]

Severus held his position, waiting for the smoke to clear, while whispering a prayer for his comrades that had engaged the mercenery in melee.

[Blarghy]

The sounds of battle alone from the smokey hallway are enough to make Novus whimper and duck lower behind the couch until only his eyes and the barrel of his gun peak over. He can't decide if it's worse this way, or if having a full view of the melee would be more frightening. At the moment he isn't expected to try shooting into the fray, so that's something to be thankful for. Maybe, if the Emperor is kind, the others will finish this fight for him.

[Artemis97]

Joss lets out a snarl in frustration and lashes out again. Blood had been spilled, but it was not his enemy's! That would soon change, Emperor willing.

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attacking again (1d100)[5] vs 43
damage (1d10)[8]

[-Sentinel-]

Solomon was still powerless outside the room. He was starting to distinguish blurry shapes, but this was not nearly good enough for him to join the fight. For a man who much preferred to work alone, he had to admit; it was good to have comrades in situations like these.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Gabe jerked his face away from his foe's clean cut and danced away from joss's counter-attack, the Priest took advantage of the opening his ally provided to aim a thrust underneath the scar-face's guard.

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WS68 - (1d100)[87]
DamageBeforeStrength - (1d10+1)[7]

[Destro_Yersul]

The smoke from the grenade was dispersing, giving Severus and Novus a better view of the scene. Their opponent was engaged with Gabe and Joss, and looked like he was getting the worse end of the deal. The cut he'd dealt to the priest was superficial at worst, and the one he'd recieved in turn, a strike from Joss that cut under his guard and slashed across his chest, was bleeding quite badly. It looked like he was wearing some sort of armour under his civilian clothes, hardened plates fixed to a matte black bodyglove, but it hadn't been enough to save him from the warrior's blade. He turned to run, vaulting the desk he'd been hiding behind and making for the door, but the extra time spent to get over the obstacle cost him. Gabe's finely-crafted scimitar gutted him from behind, dark blood dripping to the floor and staining the blade red.

OOC:

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Ok, he's down and out, and no chance of saving him. Nice reaction attack there, Gabe. Solomon may consider himself free of the effects of the flashbang, since we're now out of combat time. What do you guys want to do in the apartment?

[Blarghy]

There's an immediate gagging sound from behind the couch as Novus tries not to be sick. He fumbles to put away his pistol and then clamps both hands over his mouth, waddling away quickly. More in hopes of taking his mind off the gruesome scene than anything else, he starts searching the apartment. Well, half of it--the half opposite to the new corpse. Preferably an entirely different room.

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Does Dark Heresy do search checks?

[Thanatos 51-50]

Gabe took a knee and shrugged the shield off his arm for a moment, to give his off-hand a rest.
Then he cleaned his bloody scimitar on their victim's clothes.
"I told you. You should have surrendered."

Nothing to be done about it.
Time to look through his pockets.

[Calimos]

"Excellent work gentlemen, though he might be useful as an interrogation subject as well. Nevertheless, we should search the appartment for any and all relevant information and clues on V.R.'s whereabouts and current endeavour and proceed accordingly".

[-Sentinel-]

The battle was over by the time Solomon regained his sight. The bounty hunter took in the mess made by the priest's blade and let out a low whistle. He regretted that the bodyguard had to die; he was only doing his job and likely knew little about his employer. Solomon hoped the man's soul would find the Emperor's forgiveness, for ignorance was not a crime.

"Well, I'm afraid the discreet part of the investigation is already history," he drawled, lighting a lho-stick. Not that he minded that much; subtlety was useful, but it was hardly his strong suit. He helped his comrades search the room. Better not linger here too long.

Search 39: (d100)[40]

[Destro_Yersul]

While Novus retched behind the couch, Solomon and Severus went over the room methodically. Time was a concern, but so was finding something useful. The apartment Raltus had rented wasn't very large, but it was big enough to hide a few things. There was a code-lock safebox inside one of the cupboards, and a good-size collection of clothing in the drawers. Raltus had obviously meant to stay here for some time. There wasn't any luggage around, though - in fact, there was precious little that looked like it hadn't come with the room. The bed hadn't been used recently, from the look of things. The bodyguard must have been sleeping on the couch. One thing did turn up, though. Under the couch was a scrap of crisp parchment, dropped and forgotten where it had fallen. Scrawled on it in a precise hand were the words Jens Hagen, ISP 343.

With the rest spread out to search the apartment, Gabe was left to go over the dead man's belongings. There was the sword, obviously, but it wasn't anything special, from the looks of things. A simple blade, sheathed in adamantium, and likely sharpened finer than steel, by the way it had gone through his helmet. He was carrying no more grenades, and the shotgun looked like a standard pattern. He wore an armoured bodyglove, and in his pockets... one hundred Imperial Thrones, and a familiar looking roll of parchment. Unrolling it, the priest read it over. A bloodsworn charter, identical to those carried by the men on Sephiris Secundus, and another letter.

Gabe

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You're being re-assigned. I need someone to look after Mr. Raltus for the duration of his stay on Klybo. Follow his orders to the letter, and I'll see your pay is transferred to your account as usual. I don't want a repeat of the last incident - caution is of the utmost concern.

R.A.

Severus Only

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Unfortunately, the recent fight had clouded the immaterium with death and pain, the last remnants of the dead man's final moments. Severus could not detect anything else over the turmoil.

[Calimos]

Severus reached for the paper and unfolded it carefully. He read its contents, then looked to the others and pointed to the hidden safe.

"Anyone capable of opening this safe? It might contain something important to Raltus that could give us an additional clue on the nature of his endeavours here on Klybo. Other than that, I also found that note, beneath the sofa. Appears to be a name and a sequence of letters and numbers written on it or perhaps some sort of code, location, coordinates or who knows what else".

[Thanatos 51-50]

"Didn't you say the first guy was a Malfian, too?" Gabe asked to his companion, pocketing the Throne Gelt and snatching up the shotgun and his shield in tandem before slinging them.
"Anybody in need to a nice sword? It's not master-crafted or anything, but it's able to bite through carapce."

[Artemis97]

"I don't think I could say no to another sword." Joss says to Gabe. "Unless someone else has need of it?" He glances around the room at the others. He then moves to take a look at the safe. "I can try my luck." Perhaps it would be better than what he had with the damned door.

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Security (1d100)[82] vs Ag 43

[Calimos]

"Didn't you say the first guy was a Malfian, too?" Gabe asked to his companion, pocketing the Throne Gelt and snatching up the shotgun and his shield in tandem before slinging them.

"Indeed. Tarkus, the mercenary we encountered upon Sepheris Secundus was a Malfian Bloodsworn. Very capable and highly dangerous, until we managed - thank the Emperor - to put him down".

[-Sentinel-]

"I can try my luck." Perhaps it would be better than what he had with the damned door.

"Stop," said Solomon, his voice tense, "you don't want to break something inside the lock. Let me give it a try."

Security 37: (d100)[98]

[-Sentinel-]

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*wince*

Epic fail. I'll spend a Fate point: (d100)[12]

[Destro_Yersul]

Joss hadn't seen many code-locks on Acreage. Yet another way in which the Imperium at large was different from life on the feudal world. Solomon, on the other hand, had seen plenty as an Arbitrator. They seemed to have been smart enough to wipe the keypad on this one down, so he couldn't tell which of the keys had been recently used, but this type of safe commonly had an override code in case the owner of the contents forgot the one they had set personally. The bounty hunter punched it in, and the red light flashed to green the door swinging ajar.

Inside, it proved to contain a few things of interest. Two grenades, likely meant as backups to the ones the dead Bloodsworn had already used. One looked like a photon flash, and the other was a canister identical to the smoke grenade before it went off. A small credit block rested next to the grenades - Solomon had seen plenty of these before, too. They were most often used when someone wanted to avoid carrying a large amount of physical money. The only other item was a matte black dataslate, marked with Navy insignia. Switching it on, Solomon found it to contain a schematic of the station.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Crossing the room to gaze upon the opening safe, Gabe saw that Solomon switched on the datapad.
"Can I see that, my friend?" he asked, holding his hand out. "Mouse isn't the only non-techpriest to have a handle on those things."