IC II: DH The Purity of Sacrifice

[Wyndeward]

Orla runs back to the landing which had just recently been a hotly contested battle ground. Opening the door, Orla can see across the yard, though her vision is partly obscured by the sports car and the van. The bars of the gate entrance allow Orla to see out on the street, though again her view is not great. Orla is struck by the thought "hopefully I'm hard to see as well". Though she doesn't see any undercover Star Guards approaching, the few pedestrians she can see have given the manse a wide birth and are staring and pointing at the building.



Hound's words seem to have the opposite of their intended effect, and the more he talks the more Drimmle appears incensed and indignant. "Pleased with myself?" Drimmle shrieks, "you and your colleagues have veritable ruined my life. I have been unable to get a wink of sleep since your group broke into my house, beat me, coerced me, and robbed me. And now I have nothing, my life is over! Hah, I will take pleasure in any little triumph I can clutch at this point!" Forgetting himself, Ser Drimmle lowers one of his raised hands to point a long finger in Hound's face. He continues, "And how dare you accuse me of being proven false. Everything was not supposed to happen as it did. If only your friend had not started shooting. All I wanted was to hand over the documents as promised, and know that then I could leave this Hive and my nightmares behind! Do you think I wanted a firefight in my own hallway! Servants of the Emperor? Hah, I would hope He would have the foresight to choose more reliable servants than your lot!" By the time he is done, spittle has begun to foam at the corners of Drimmle's lips, and his face has again turned red as a Terran apple.

When Ser Drimmle pauses to take a breath, there is a loud *snick* of the hammer of a stub being pulled back.

"Ser Drimmle, perhaps you are under the delusion that you hold some power in this equation. Who brought the mutants and the bomb into the situation? Who sought to coerce through the threat of exploding said bomb members of the Holy Inquisition. You seem to grievously misunderstand your circumstances. Rarely does one get, shall we say, a reprieve of execution when one not protected by a Writ of Trade deals in proscribed Xenos artifacts. By rights, we should have killed you, removed your head and put in on a pike in front of your house and left it there for the next ten generations as a warning not to do what you have done. Instead, we gave you the opportunity to put things to right. Rather than embrace this rare second chance, you sought to pressure us into not fufilling our divine mission. And your excuse is a little lost sleep?"

[Bennosuke]

The wall along the entrance side of the manse has many large and impressive glass windows through which Orla can peer out on the front of the house. Of course, there is no way to completely keep herself hidden, though she can try her best to hide in the gauzy linen curtains.

(OOC: "reinforcements" will/may be coming, but not yet. Will return to this if/when we get there).

Ser Drimmle's face turns a ghostly pale when Marcella approaches. His mouth opens as if to speak, but only a low moan comes out, and this stifles when the sanctioned psyker starts speaking. Though he stares at Marcella in wide eyed terror, he follows her command to sit, raising both hands again above his head as if she were pointing a gun to it. Still, he remains dumbstruck to Marcella's line of questioning, perhaps not even hearing the questions, as he continues to simply stare.

But when Marcella reaches out to touch Ser Drimmle's wrist, he recoils with a shriek, tumbling backwards. "Don't touch me!" he gasps, falling out of the chair and into a heap on the floor. The group close in on Ser Drimmle as he begins to crawl to his hands and knees, blocking his attempt to escape.

In frustration Marcella decides to use her powers of the warp to overload Drimmle's consciousness and knock him out. She hits him with a blast of energy, which forces the man to cry out as if he were slapped. When he looks up at Marcella, there is a thread of sticky blood leaking from his left nostril. "Curse you witch," he mutters, breathing heavily, his brow slick with sweat. And then Marcella hits him again...

(OOC: Drimmle miraculously passes the first WP roll against Marcella, which leads us to her second roll of 55. Please roll 1d100 for psychic phenomenon, before I roll Drimmle's second WP roll.

@Wynde: I don't mean to take away your action... though to be honest, it would likely have been easier/better off to just intimidate the poor bastard.)

[Haval]

Orla will find some furniture or a part of the wall to lean against until she's needed or someone arrives at the front door.

Spoiler: ooc

Show

Probably worth a stealth roll then
vs. Ag 44 (Stealth +10)
(1d100)[33]

[BananaPhone]

Marcella

Drimmle had already shot Marcella twice, deliberately targeting her among the group and opening a pair of wounds on her torso. But despite that, she still did her best to present a pleasant front when it came time to initiate the interrogation.

Placing her hand against his forehead, he concentration beginning to slide out of her own mind and into his, "Now if you'll just - "

"Don't touch me!" Drimmle shoved aside Marcella's connecting appendage and bowled her aside as he leapt out of the chair.

"No, sto - argh!"

Marcella winced as her concentration was broken, the invisible passage forming between their minds splintering and shoving back into her head as if it were a broken shard of glass, causing her to snap her eyes shut and and bringing her hands up to her skull with a whine of pain. No sooner had she whined in sharp pain than the temperature in the room suddenly dropped to zero as if all the warmth were sucked out of it, chills eating into any exposed skin and a thin layer of frost materialising over the inanimate surfaces, including clothing. For a few moments all felt as if they had stepped into a meat freezer, before the temperature abruptly shifted back to normal and the sheen-like frost dissipated.

Panting, blinking her eyes, now glaring with a visible anger, Marc stalked around the furniture to stand over Drimmle who had attempted to make his escape on all fours, rolling over to reveal a finger of blood trickling from one of his nostrils.

"Curse you witch,"

"I tried to make it easy. You want the hard way? Fine."


OOC
_________
>> enter third and successfully rolled Psychic Shriek.

If he's knocked out, then she'll use those Mind Scan rolls.

If he STILL manages to successfully save, then she'll keep Psychic Shrieking him until he fails.

Spoiler

Show

Psychic Shrieking: (1d100)[2] vs TN 80
Psychic Shrieking: (1d100)[9] vs TN 80
Psychic Shrieking: (1d100)[81] vs TN 80
Psychic Shrieking: (1d100)[63] vs TN 80
Psychic Shrieking: (1d100)[75] vs TN 80

[rax]

"Well, I was intending for Drimmle to check in with the Star Guard before interrogating him, but too late for that now, I think," Hound mentions in passing to Arl. "Remain here and assist M as needed. I'll go to the security centre and see if I can access the pict-recorders to keep an eye out for unwelcome guests."

As he heads off to the security centre, Hound calls Milo on his micro-bead and tells him to stow the two corpses in Drimmle's study underneath the stairs, then assist Orla in keepin watch.

[Bennosuke]

Orla is able to take good cover as she watches the street.

************************************************** ****

Undeterred by Ser Drimmle's resistance, Marcella continues to push forward with her will. As the pskyer continues to tap into the Warp, her breath begins to become visible as the temperature in the room suddenly drops. Crystals of ice begin to form across the surface of a nearby glass table, and those around Marcella begin to shiver uncontrollably. Frost spreads out from her feet, crawling across the floor in an expanding circle of tiny icicles.

Ser Drimmle watches with horror, as blood continues to pour from his nostril. Marcella continues to push, and as the room begins to return to a more comfortable temperature, Ser Drimmle finally falls backwards, his body spasming several times before finally giving into unconsciousness. By then Marcella is breathing very hard. Her forehead too is slick with sweat, and she can feel the cold stains under her arms in the cloth under her robes.

With Ser Drimmle unconscious, Marcella steps forward to attempt Mindscan, placing a hand somewhere on the man's body. Marcella is immediately blasted with a level of cognitive pain she was not prepared for. Ser Drimmle's mind is a bleeding wound of anxiety and fear. His thoughts are scattered beyond a normal level of sanity, and as she struggles to trace through his unconscious thoughts, it becomes clear just how crazed the group's last assault on him has been. Pushing into his surface thoughts, Marcella is aware that Ser Drimmle plans on committing suicide now that everything has gone sideways. He was not lying; the man has not slept wink since the group assaulted him and he has clearly been suffering from severe PTSD from the attack.

His mind is unguarded and Marcella can gather specific information up to level three for Mind Scan.

(OOC: Please give me wp roll as requested in OOC thread for psychic rot)


************************************************** *******

Hound leaves Marcella and Arl, heading back to the security room. He had been here before, and remembers the group accessing the computer where they had first found Ser Drimmle, and had wiped out prior camera records. Having interfaced with the computer before, it shouldn't be too hard to accomplish what Hound had come here to do.

[BananaPhone]

Marcella

Marc exhaled as she forced her mind forward once again, screaming through the ley-lines of the warp to smother Drimmles consciousness and suppress it, the man spasms, writhing but then going still before her, eyes closing over, chest rising and falling.

"********..." the psyker hissed under her breath, asking Arl to help her get him back into the chair.

Once he was seated again, Marc moved her hand forward and flattened it over the nobles forehead and closed her eyes, her own psyche phasing through the physical connection, crossing the distance between minds and penetrating the barriers that separated them. The world around her blackened into a rapid tunnel through which her own consciousness poured before emerging into the shattered mental landscape of Drimmle's state of mind. His paranoia, his anxiety and his now terminal desire to escape the reality of his life all oozed back into Marcella's spirit where it gnawed at her own ego and chewed into its foundations while she plowed ahead, searching through a broken, suicidal mans life for the answers she sought...

[Wyndeward]

Marcella

Marc exhaled as she forced her mind forward once again, screaming through the ley-lines of the warp to smother Drimmles consciousness and suppress it, the man spasms, writhing but then going still before her, eyes closing over, chest rising and falling.

"********..." the psyker hissed under her breath, asking Arl to help her get him back into the chair.

Once he was seated again, Marc moved her hand forward and flattened it over the nobles forehead and closed her eyes, her own psyche phasing through the physical connection, crossing the distance between minds and penetrating the barriers that separated them. The world around her blackened into a rapid tunnel through which her own consciousness poured before emerging into the shattered mental landscape of Drimmle's state of mind. His paranoia, his anxiety and his now terminal desire to escape the reality of his life all oozed back into Marcella's spirit where it gnawed at her own ego and chewed into its foundations while she plowed ahead, searching through a broken, suicidal mans life for the answers she sought...

Arl carefully assisted Marc over to one of the library's overstuffed chairs, a look of concern on this usually placid face. Once she was seated, he hurried over to the sideboard and poured two fingers worth of amsec and brought to Marc, setting it on the table next to her chair.

[rax]

Setting himself up in the security room, Hound first checks what the pict recorders inside and outside the house show. Next, he checks to see if any alarms or security measures inside the building have been set off.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Not sure if any of this requires pass codes to do. I assume that what the cameras can see is at least immediately visible on monitors.

If pass codes are needed, I recall that we made Drimmle write all his codes down on our previous visit, so Hound would begin by trying the appropriate ones. As soon as he can tell that they're not being accepted, he'll try to break into the system using Tech Use, boosted by Foresight (+10).

Tech Use test (1d100)[12] vs. 70 (Int 60, Foresight +10)

FP re-roll if needed (1d100)[34]

[Bennosuke]

Remembering last time, Hound is able to access the security system without significant difficulty. Along with a larger and more modern computer set up in the room, once in, it appears that the number of security cameras, back ups, and encryptions are significantly updated. Still Hound has his way with the system.

It appears that the security cameras have picked up everything from the group's entrance, to the entirety of combat, to the aftermath; and all from multiple angles. There is the blip in recording, when Marcella jammed all electronics, but it looks like the cameras all came back online without more than a quick interruption. The footage has been backed up on the computer that Hound is using, but it also appears an additional backup has been sent to some offsite server. Hound's successes in navigating the computer reveals that the backup copy has been kept by The Star Force, though Hound doesn't know if anyone is watching the footage, or if it's just a backup file.

His significant success gives him an additional +20 to any further interaction with the system.

************************************************** ********

Before Marcella stumbles away she is able to gather a significant amount of information from Ser Drimmle's addled mind.

1) Are the documents Drimmle just handed over legitimate, are there any omissions (and what are they) and are there any falsehoods (and what are they)?

Marcella can tell that the documents were prepared well in advance of the 12 hours she can see back through. However, from his feelings about the documents, to the best of Marcella's perception, they were prepared in earnest and she can feel how ser Drimmle had hoped to comply with the group's demands, while further finding a way to sever their continued leaning on him. She sees how hopelessly Drimmle viewed the situation and had some misguided hope that somehow after he had done everything requested, maybe he could escape his situation.

2) What is his current relationship with Druchiss, does Durchiss suspect him, has he avoided suspicion etc?

Marcella can feel Drimmle's unease about Lord Durchess discovering what is happening, but can't see back far enough to witness any interactions between the two. She can find no memories or emotions revolving around Ser Drimmle being caught or suspected.

3) How many Star Guards are there exactly and what security protocols are there in place? Eg, if he texts or calls them and says a certain phrase, what's code for "I'm in trouble, come now" or "all clear" etc and what's the "phone number" to their leader that the group can use to send this all clear signal to them?

In the last 12 hours, it appears Ser Drimmle has only been aware of the guards that the group has so far interacted with. He had instructed the disguised guards that the group had run into to check in with him every hour, and rush back to his Manse if he did not respond. He should have a short range comm on his person.

4) What's his relationship with Trask and Shriek? They're mutants; where did they come from, how did he get access to them?

Ser Drimmle has done his best to avoid interacting with Trask and Shriek, feeling greatly uncomfortable being around them. Trask was apparently a Guardsman before joining the Star Guard, but Drimmle things Shriek is void born of some sort. He notes that the two were very close, seeming to almost be able to communicate with their eyes, but knows no more than this.

5) Where did the anti-psyker necklace come from or who gave it to him?

Ser Drimmle payed top dollar on the black market, but the purchase occurred too far back to pull any names or locations.

6) What does he know about the sudden Tora/Sabbay alliance that's blinded the Raptore in the underhive? Was there another Credit Guilder team sent down?

He knows nothing about this.

7) What are the codes to places in his home like his security doors, computer passwords, safe codes etc and are there any hidden stashes about his house?

Marcella has every security override needed.

[BananaPhone]

Marcella

Arl carefully assisted Marc over to one of the library's overstuffed chairs, a look of concern on this usually placid face. Once she was seated, he hurried over to the sideboard and poured two fingers worth of amsec and brought to Marc, setting it on the table next to her chair.

Marcella was breathing deeply, asserting control over herself but visibly shaken. Swallowing, her eyes pressed shut, drawing her shoulders together, she 'shook' herself gently and opened her eyes, only to be greeted with the expensive liquor poured into a little glass next to her.

The psyker couldn't help but smile, a soft little sigh of amusement escaping her lips as she did so.

"Thank you, but some water please," she said up to Arl, maintaining that gentle demeanour of hers as she inhaled and steadied her mind, standing herself back up and turning back to Drimmle, before placing her hand back against his head and diving back in.

Marcella can tell that the documents were prepared well in advance of the 12 hours she can see back through. However, from his feelings about the documents, to the best of Marcella's perception, they were prepared in earnest and she can feel how ser Drimmle had hoped to comply with the group's demands, while further finding a way to sever their continued leaning on him. She sees how hopelessly Drimmle viewed the situation and had some misguided hope that somehow after he had done everything requested, maybe he could escape his situation.

Marcella can feel Drimmle's unease about Lord Durchess discovering what is happening, but can't see back far enough to witness any interactions between the two. She can find no memories or emotions revolving around Ser Drimmle being caught or suspected.

In the last 12 hours, it appears Ser Drimmle has only been aware of the guards that the group has so far interacted with. He had instructed the disguised guards that the group had run into to check in with him every hour, and rush back to his Manse if he did not respond. He should have a short range comm on his person.

Ser Drimmle has done his best to avoid interacting with Trask and Shriek, feeling greatly uncomfortable being around them. Trask was apparently a Guardsman before joining the Star Guard, but Drimmle things Shriek is void born of some sort. He notes that the two were very close, seeming to almost be able to communicate with their eyes, but knows no more than this.

Ser Drimmle payed top dollar on the black market, but the purchase occurred too far back to pull any names or locations.

He knows nothing about this.

Marcella has every security override needed.

The lingering, mental madness chewed away at the peripheries of Macella's psyche as she plumbed the available corridors of Drimmle's mind, the dark and twsited labyrinth through which she moved to discover all that she could that would help fascilitate this investigation and, Emperor willing, spare the denizens of the hive the woeful fate that awaited them if they should fail. It was evident that Drimmle was becoming a disturbed man, his lack of sleep fracturing the acuity of his faculties and allowing suicidal ideation and other black thoughts to seep through the cracks. This made clear-thinking and rational avenues a thorn-laden path to follow. Thankfully, however, she could see that he had tried in earnest to uphold his end of the bargain. When he had first uttered that little prayer, 'Emperor protect me...' after learning of the groups true identity, it had come from a place of sincerity: he was not a heretic, nor was he a willing or witting traitor to the Imperium. That helped his chances enormously.

Marcella returned to the material world with a gasp, her eyes widening as tendrils of Drimmle's growing madness had slithered into the back of her skull and wormed through her brain. She stood there panting, chest heaving up and down as sweat coalesced across her skin, as some of her yellowed hair even clasped to her scalp.

Swallowing hard once, bringing her breathing under control and shaking her head, Marcella uttered some things under her breath in her native ship dialect, drawing a gloved hand up to her forehead as if to massage her inner connection to the warp.

"Drimmle is sincere..." she said out loud to no-one in particular, though Arl was the most likely to have heard it.

Turning and facing the man, Marcella then rummaged through his pockets for that comm device that connected him with the Star Force guards. Once she located it, she would send the 'check in' signal to them.

"He's also worried about Durchiss discovering his actions, which means he has remained quiet and loyal; he had hoped to do as we ask then return to a quiet life, never to involve himself in this sort of affair again."

[Wyndeward]

Arl smiled and went back to the bar, filling a tall glass with ice and water and hurried back to Marcella's side, handing her glass directly.

[BananaPhone]

Marcella

Marcella offered a relieved and thankful smile when Arl brought over the iced water, reaching up to receive it with a soft "thank you!"

Bringing it to her lips and guzzling it down, the Psyker exhaled and swallowed, trying to reset her brain or bring her palpitations down to a better level as she could still feel her pulse slamming in the back of her head.

Exhaling, inhaling and bringing her breathing under control, Marcella blinked and let the dull ache in her brain slowly drain down her neck and away from her mind.

Checking the small coms from which she had sent a 'text' to the Star Force to see if they had replied, Marc got her own comms out and opened a channel to Hound.

"Drimmle is sinscere," she started.

"As far as I can tell the documents are legitimate. He is in fear of Durchiss discovering his actions, so that means he hasn't betrayed us to him either. His hired security check in with him every hour and return here if he doesn't respond. I sent them a message through his comms, but we don't know yet if they'll buy that. The two mutants were with Star Force, they weren't his idea."

[rax]

"That is good to know," Hound replies. "However, it still doesn't reduce the risk of blowing our cover if Drimmle comes under suspicion from Durchess or his superiors in the guild. Before we leave, I believe we should read through the documents he has assembled and question him further in case there is need of clarifications."

"All of our activities here have been recorded and a copy of the pict captures has been sent off site to the Star Guard. It is impossible to tell whether the footage has been reviewed already or whether it is simply being stored as a backup. I can erase the pict captures stored locally, but we will need to devise a plan to recover the copy from the Star Guard."

[BananaPhone]

Marcella


Listening through the comms, Marc nods at Hounds words.

"We should convene. Drimmle will be conscious soon. That sounds like an issue we could ask our benefactor to pressure the Star Force to delete from their archives, lest they want their company going under for hiring mutants. If it was being actively watched, the guards would have returned by now, so I'm estimating it has not yet been observed."

Marc then picked up Drimmle's small comm device and checked once again to see if his guards had responded affirmative to the check-in signal she had sent them a couple of minutes ago.

[Bennosuke]

Marcella can see that there have been several attempts to reach Drimmle's comm, which he has not "picked up".

[BananaPhone]

Marcella

Marc looked at the comms device and bit her bottom lip. Swiveling her eyes over to Drimmle, she reached out to give him a gentle nudge with her left hand.

"Hey...wake up..." she spoke gently, hand on his shoulder, softly shaking him a little to try and stir him back to consciousness.

When he wakes up...

Spoiler

Show

"They need to hear that you're fine," she spoke to him, her voice remaining soft as she held the coms up.

"We're going to be gone soon, and you can go about your day. If they arrive here there'll be a fire-fight, and that benefits no one. It is much easier to tell them you're fine. I could reach into your mind and force you to do it, but neither one of us wants that, so make it easier for all of us, please."

She held the comms device up, but did not activate it, instead intending to leave it on speaker so that she could hear what was said.


OOC:
_________

Holding her action to Compel/Mind Control Drimmle if he tries to yell a warning or something.

[Bennosuke]

"They need to hear that you're fine," she spoke to him, her voice remaining soft as she held the coms up.

"We're going to be gone soon, and you can go about your day. If they arrive here there'll be a fire-fight, and that benefits no one. It is much easier to tell them you're fine. I could reach into your mind and force you to do it, but neither one of us wants that, so make it easier for all of us, please."

She held the comms device up, but did not activate it, instead intending to leave it on speaker so that she could hear what was said.


OOC:
_________

Holding her action to Compel/Mind Control Drimmle if he tries to yell a warning or something.

Ser Drimmle moans as he is prodded by the psyker. It takes several seconds before the man's eyes slowly flutter open, so that he can stare dumbly at Marcella. "What," he asks reflexively, his cold blue eyes slowly coming into focus. Ser Drimmle slowly comes to as Marcella continues to speak to him. When she mentions reaching into his mind to coerce him, the man's brow knits together, his thin lips pursing. "Leave me alone to go about my day?" he spits, the nostrils on his aquiline nose flaring, "and why should I believe that? If I'm to die either way, maybe I should just warn them first." The color begins to flow back into the man's cheeks, his face almost turning red as he stares with venom up at Marcella.

[BananaPhone]

Marcella


"We're not going to kill you..." Marcella returned, her tone like that of an amused mother listening to a child who scraped their shin and now believes they'll have to get their leg amputated.

"Was it on the cards when we came here? Yes," she continued, offering a token of truth.

"After recent events in the Underhive we thought you had betrayed us. But, after...taking a peek, so to speak," the Psyker said, tapping her temple with her index and middle finger, "as odious and frightening as you find me, I can testify that you are sincere. You've gathered incriminating documents. You have hidden your intentions from Lord Durchiss. You hope to return to a normal life once this is all over. You're on the right path, Ser Drimmle, and in years to come you're going to look back on this episode as an unpleasant necessity.

And as for Lord Durchiss himself, well...our superiors are going to handle him. The wheels are in motion and no one is beyond the reach of the Inquisition."

Marcella allowed a pregnant pause to linger before holding the comms device forward once more, its instruments set to Speaker so she could hear everything that would be said.

"The hard part is over; send them away, we'll go through the documents and then we'll leave, and you can get back to whatever it was you were doing. Besides, would I patch you up," she pointed to his right arm, where the bullet wound had largely closed up and the lead expelled from within, "if we were going to kill you?"

[Bennosuke]

"We're not going to kill you..." Marcella returned, her tone like that of an amused mother listening to a child who scraped their shin and now believes they'll have to get their leg amputated.

"Was it on the cards when we came here? Yes," she continued, offering a token of truth.

"After recent events in the Underhive we thought you had betrayed us. But, after...taking a peek, so to speak," the Psyker said, tapping her temple with her index and middle finger, "as odious and frightening as you find me, I can testify that you are sincere. You've gathered incriminating documents. You have hidden your intentions from Lord Durchiss. You hope to return to a normal life once this is all over. You're on the right path, Ser Drimmle, and in years to come you're going to look back on this episode as an unpleasant necessity.

Ser Drimmle listens with stark confusion written across his face. But when Marcella mentions being in his mind, he raises a shaking hand to his head. "You were in my thoughts," he mumbles, half question half statement. He grimaces with pain, maybe not even registering Marcella's comment about Durchess. But when Marcella hands Ser Drimmle the comm on speaker, his expression changes to a scowl and he says under his breath, "Fine."

The comm beeps and a man's voice on the other ends says with concern, "Boss, everything okay? We've heard there were the sound of explosions coming from your property. We are on our way now."

Ser Drimmle sighs, before speaking into the microphone, his voice quavering. "I'm okay," he says, his voice rising in pitch and sudden urgency, "don't come. Everything is okay!"

There is a pause on the other end before the voice replies flatly, "... We are on our way." The line cuts out, and Ser Drimmle looks up at Marcella, frustration cut into the lines of his face.

(OOC: Drimmle did not do well on his deceive roll... see OOC thread)

[Haval]

Orla has been continuing to watch the front of the house although she has taken the time to smoke a full lho stick while she waits.

[BananaPhone]

Marcella


Marc watched the exchange impassively. If she was annoyed, she didn't show it. Besides, from her trip through Drimmle's mind, she knew what his code-word for 'come and help me' would've been. This was simply a case of security believing their employer was under duress.

Retrieving the comms from Drimmle and pocketing it, Marc reached up to her own ear and activated hers, putting her through to Hound while she looked over at Arl.

"Drimmles security team believe he's under duress. Drimmle is being cooperative, but they have ignored him and they are on their way..." she said quietly and matter-of-factly.

"The last thing we need is more corpses; I might be able to put them all under, but the risk is always there. Should we leave or take up positions?" she asked, her eyes still on Arl as if asking both him and Hound at the same time.

[Wyndeward]

Marcella


Marc watched the exchange impassively. If she was annoyed, she didn't show it. Besides, from her trip through Drimmle's mind, she knew what his code-word for 'come and help me' would've been. This was simply a case of security believing their employer was under duress.

Retrieving the comms from Drimmle and pocketing it, Marc reached up to her own ear and activated hers, putting her through to Hound while she looked over at Arl.

"Drimmles security team believe he's under duress. Drimmle is being cooperative, but they have ignored him and they are on their way..." she said quietly and matter-of-factly.

"The last thing we need is more corpses; I might be able to put them all under, but the risk is always there. Should we leave or take up positions?" she asked, her eyes still on Arl as if asking both him and Hound at the same time.

Arl looked about he place, then looked over at Milo.

"Well, this is another fine mess you've gotten me into..." as he reloaded his stub automatic and moved to a position behind the door where the guards would most likely enter from.

[rax]

"I'm on my way," Hound responds. Arriving in the foyer, he gives Drimmle a withering look before he speaks.

"Sir Drimmle, when the Star Guard arrives, you and I will meet them outside on the steps. You will inform them that their services are no longer required, but they will be paid in full for whatever period remains of their contract. They are to leave your premises immediately and you will also require the return or verifiable destruction of today's pict recordings."

"My colleagues will be watching from inside and will open fire if they fail to heed your words. If that happens, it is highly likely that we will both be killed in the crossfire, so I advise you to exert the full weight of your station to impress upon your hirelings that your decision is final and not open to question or negotiation. Is that clear?" he demands of the old patrician.

[BananaPhone]

Marcella

Marcella nodded as Hound's acknowledgement came through her coms.

"Alright, let's gets moving then..." she said to Drimmle, assisting him out of his chair if he needed it.

"Go and bar the security door in the security room," she also said to Milo, turning to address him. "Use the desk, a chair etc then go and cover the balcony entrance, the one we almost used last time," she said.

When she had brought Drimmle to Hound, Marcella would retrieve her gun from Orla and sling it over her shoulder. However, she approached Hound with a thought.

"Sir, I was thinking, instead of going outside to meet them where you're vulnerable, what about..."

The Psychic then gave her description for where she thought might be most apt to receive the incoming guards in a way that they were in a position of extreme deterrence.


OOC:
See OOC picture for what she suggests.

[Haval]

Orla will assent to being directed in this case as she'll go retrieve the heavy stubber. 'You can't deny the firepower but if I actually need to shoot this thing you all ought to prepared to run. I can see someone sending the PDF in to see what's going on.'

[Bennosuke]

"Sir Drimmle, when the Star Guard arrives, you and I will meet them outside on the steps. You will inform them that their services are no longer required, but they will be paid in full for whatever period remains of their contract. They are to leave your premises immediately and you will also require the return or verifiable destruction of today's pict recordings."

Ser Drimmle gives Hound a harsh glare, but after a long exhale says, "Fine," in a sharp clipped syllable.

"Go and bar the security door in the security room," she also said to Milo, turning to address him. "Use the desk, a chair etc then go and cover the balcony entrance, the one we almost used last time," she said

Milo rushes off dutifully, one hand rubbing his temple.

[rax]

"Sir, I was thinking, instead of going outside to meet them where you're vulnerable, what about..."

The Psychic then gave her description for where she thought might be most apt to receive the incoming guards in a way that they were in a position of extreme deterrence.

"Yes, your suggestion is better from the perspective of gaining the upper hand, but it will also immediately prove to the Star Guard Force that Sir Drimmle is acting under duress. That may drive them to ignore his commands, no matter what."

"It will also expose more of us to the Star Guard, increasing the chances of identification and therefore increasing the chances of someone speaking out of turn at a later date, even if they agree to the settlement Sir Drimmle will be proposing on our behalf."

"However, I calculate that the moment of greatest danger will be when they demand to know the whereabouts of their mutant compatriots. There is likely no plausible lie we can tell to cover up the fact that they are dead. If, at that moment, their sense of camraderie is stronger than their desire for a payout, there is a strong likelihood of combat being initiated. Your suggestion would put us in a superior position and could give them pause enough to reconsider."

"Very well, we will try things your way, Acolyte M."

[Bennosuke]

The acolytes take position after the group has helped Orla set up the heavy stubber. Time crawls at a near unbearable pace as seconds take months and minutes take eternities. Still, soon enough, the Star Guard arrive. First, they can be seen striding past the gates, glimpses of them visible between the slats. Then they are marching up the walkway, though now there are only three. The man in the crimson cloak is nowhere to be seen, possibly because he was too wounded from taking bullets to the face and leg in their last encounter. The group was leg by the Ex- Guardsman, followed by Serellia and the older woman. The moment the three round the corner, their weapons are out, eyes darting side to side ready for combat.

(OOC: First off, let me say so sorry for the delay in my reply. Suffice to say this has been a rough week for me. Second, I am operating under the assumption that the entire group is not trying to remain under cover. If so, I will need some "stealth" rolls from everyone. If not, I can proceed)

[BananaPhone]

Marcella


Marcella inhaled softly and then exhaled, as she uttered a small prayer to the Emperor that the Star Guards would show reason. The Psyker was tucked away around a corner, up on the second floor, her right ear to receive the sounds coming from the foyer and the ensuing confrontation. Still feeling the dull aching from her chest where two las-bolts had caught her earlier, Marcella waited patiently, seemingly staring at the opulent wall several feet away from her, as she waited until the signs of their entrance were audible.

Then, she'd close her eyes and extended her mind over the local area, inhaling just a snapshot of locations of the incoming Star Guards. However, where normally there'd be a web to cast her consciousness across, this time she felt like her mind was stuffed into the dark, unable to perceive merely a few feet ahead of her. Inhaling and opening her eyes, ending the session immediately, the Psyker swallowed, shook her head, and breathed deep to recompose herself.