Dark Heresy (Light in the Void)

[Myshlaevsky]

Solomon stands up, takes a few steps back and looks to Drake, "I can go, but - we need to decide what to do with these people, first. Or you can decide. I know what I want to do." He keeps his gun trained on the ganger, and turns his head to face him. "Actually - have they been searched?"

[Vikingkingq]

Drake looked at the newcomer sharply. "We are standing on top of an open pit, with a whole bunch of gangers who's just heard us firing guns and letting off flash-bangs, with a very nervous merchant who'se been dealing in prohibited goods. We need to move and move now, I dare say. So shoot the ganger, check the corpse, sharpish, and let's go. Warp it, I'll take point, but let's get moving before someone comes looking! Is that ruddy clear, soldier?"

Drake peers down the hole from the side, using the edge of his bayonet to try to look around the angles.

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Perception Check: (1d100)[30] vs. 30

[Wiz]

Magnus

Magnus comes back to the hole, awaiting orders.

[Prophaniti]

Drake strains to see through the gloom below, but is unable to make out anything distinct. He's fairly certain the next level is about a 15-20 feet drop, and there is still a faint light source just out of sight below.

[Vikingkingq]

"Alright, let's move out, eh wot," he whispered. Drake eases himself down the ladder one-handed, holding his lasgun with the other, moving slowly to avoid falling. Reaching the ground, he fell into a crouch and peered around.

[Myshlaevsky]

Solomon scowls at the departing figures. He takes a moment to club the ganger in front of him wih the butt of his gun, hard, hopefully knocking him unconcious:

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I don't know what you want me to roll for this - let me know OOC and I'll post it in the dice thread.

After that he looks for something to bind him with, and then searches the man urgently, hurrying in order to catch up with Drake, who is already descending the ladder. He leaves the other, more severely injured man to Fii.

[Prophaniti]

Though the area immediately around Drake is almost pitch black, he can see two passages by the light coming out of them. One leads directly away from the ladder, while the other leads slightly to the left. Drake notices very quickly that this area lacks the abandoned look of above, no piles of trash or refuse. It still looks old, but it seems that people still use this area of the hive, and regularly.

[Wiz]

Magnus

Magnus gets on the stairs after Drake and works his way down. He drops next to Drake, scanning as well.

[Prophaniti]

Solomon's rifle connects to the ganger's skull with a solid 'thunk' and he topples forward. He seems out, possibly dead, but after a moment, he squirms and moans a bit. The only thing in the room at all suited to binding is a rusted old length of medium-guage chain. The only things of value the ganger seems to be carrying are a knife and a few thrones.

((3 thrones to be exact.))

Magnus notices nothing additional at the bottom of the ladder.

[Vikingkingq]

Drake pauses, thrown somewhat aback by the two pathways. Blast, don't really have enough manpower to take both, he mused. When all of the team is down the ladder, the Guardsman fumbles in his pocket for a gold Throne and flips it in the air, catching it in one hand, and flipping it over onto the back of the other.

"Aquilla, we go left; Throne, we go right," Guilliman mutters.

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(1d2)[2]
1 = Aquilla
2 = Throne

[Wiz]

Magnus

Magnus nods, waiting the toss.

[Vikingkingq]

"Right it is. Alright then, we follow on me. Noise discipline means you keep your voices down, use hand signals when you can, eh wot?" Nicholas checks the power cell compulsively, and sets off down the right hand corridor at a measured pace, stopping every few yards to pause, listen, and watch.

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Perception Check: (1d100)[55] v. 31

[Wiz]

Magnus

The tall albino nods and follows, holding his staff at the ready.

[Prophaniti]

As you enter the corridor, you see the light is coming from a glow-bulb set into the wall. As the corridor continues, you see that the bulbs are placed at regular intervals, just close enough that you can see the edge of one pool of light from the edge of the last.

Occasionally doors appear along the sides of the lazily winding passage. Each one is sealed, whether through welds or bolts or bars across it, it is clear none are currently used.

After about half an hour of walking, the corridor opens up and you enter a large chamber. It is only dimly lit and you can just make out piles of rubble all around, apparently from collapsed pillars. As you slowly make your way to the other side of the chamber, you hear raised voices approaching from the other side.

Though difficult to understand, you hear a few phrases such as 'last shipment', 'guard it right', 'don't disappoint me', and one voice is pitched lower, deferring to the other with short answers.

[Vikingkingq]

Drake smiles sourly. At bloody last, we've got the bugger. Whispering softly, Drake lays out the plan. "Alright, here's how we go. We use the rubble to sneak up on them, moving slowly to avoid the usual screwups. All we have to do is get an eyeball on this Gordus chappie, then scarper."

Moving forward to the left, Drake moves through the rubble towards the louder voice, taking his time as much as possible. He touches his aquilla pendant for good luck.

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Silent Move: (1d100)[6] vs. 32

[Wiz]

Magnus

Magnus tries to maneuver his gangling frame as silently as he can.

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Silent Move (1d100)[68] vs. 12 (I think since their talking there should be at least a +10 for ordinary difficulty, but I won't assume it.)

[Prophaniti]

((Well, remember, stealth skill checks are always opposed by Awareness, so as long as they fail more miserably than you did... I don't have my dice with me, so the awareness check I'll make here for all to see))

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Awareness- (1d100)[30] vs 35

Unfortunately, as Magnus crept forward, he accidently kicked a piece of rubble, sending it clattering across the room. Immediately a voice sounded,
"What was that?" and the discussion ceased. Beams of light played across the rubble ((I'll not require concealment checks as the pile your behind is large enough not to matter. Counts as cover, too, btw.)) and footsteps approached.

"I tell you I heard it," One voice said, annoyed, "Ain't no one supposed to be down here."

Three men are approaching the rubble, two with lights on their rifles, one with light in hand. Though you are unseen for now, it will be almost impossible to hide when they get on the other side of the pile.

[Vikingkingq]

Guilliman groans as the stabbing pain in his missing finger prefigures the albino freak giving them away. That's it, this bloody mission just went from fragged to megafragged, and no two ways about it. Well, I'm not dying. We heard the bugger we're after so we're getting out. Thinking quickly, the Praetorian decides to seize the initiative.

"SUBJECT GORDUS, THIS IS THE ARBITES." he shouts, pitching his voice rough to try to hide his off-world accent. "WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED. DROP YOUR WEAPONS, SURRENDER AND CONFESS OR PERISH AS A SINNER."

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If and when the three men turn the corner, Drake aims his lasgun at the light sources and fires off a semi-auto burst, trying to knock out as many men as possible.
Aim: +10 to hit
Semi-Auto: +10 to hit
(1d100)[32] vs. 63
Result: 3 hits, allocated 1 to each man

[Vikingkingq]

Damage Roll:

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Target 1: (1d10+3)[12]
Target 2: (1d10+3)[10]
Target 3: (1d10+3)[8]

[Wiz]

Magnus

Once Magnus gets an idea if all three are going around the rubble pile from one direction, the one that Guilliman seems to be aiming his gun at, the albin tries to move around the other side of the pile quickly... doing his best to keep the pile between him and them so that when the inevitable gunfire erupts, he might be able to come up behind them while they are diving for cover. If on the other hand they split up and one or two are coming up the way Magnus is preparing to go, he will snatch up a piece of rubble, toss it over the pile to the far side of the room, and ready himself to charge him/them.

[Prophaniti]

The men stop at the sound of Drake's voice. A voice calls out, your fairly certain it's the man in the middle who's speaking.

"Arbites? I think not. They'd be in here with floodlights and riot troops. Who are you, really? Explain to me why I shouldn't kill you."

As he speaks, you hear more footsteps from further down the room. More men on the way, almost definitely gangers or hired guards who will not think twice about opening fire.

((Just so you two know, even though you're the only two active right now, I'll run Fii, at least, and a few of the others if it looks like you need them. So you do have some backup, it's not just you two in a fight.))

[Vikingkingq]

Hunkering down behind an old freezer-unit, Drake dropped the pretense, it hadn't been working anyway. "Fair 'nuff, guv. You'd be Gordus, then? Dealer in xenos stuff and archaeotech? Because you're nicked, my friend." Slowly, he moved his strap around and under his arm in a sling to provide a steadier firing platform and waited, keeping his breathing low and level.

[Wiz]

Magnus

Magnus, hearing more men coming, plasters himself against the rubble pile as quietly as he can, waiting to see who or what comes around the bend. He is aware that his skills are next to useless against so many armed men, so he desperately tries to think of something to do.

In we charge...
Down we die...
What will aid...
Perhaps a lie...?

[Prophaniti]

"Nicked?" the voice scoffed, "Not unless you've got a lot of men hiding behind that little pile of rubble. My bet is you don't." The other two lights slowly start moving around the rubble, taking opposite directions.

Then a new voice sounded, "And what if we do have more men, Gordus? That might not be such a safe bet to make." This new voice came from the side, where suddenly a door, one of the many sealed to make the area more secure, burst open, and floodlights filled the room. Silhouetted against the light, a figure steps forward, as a dozen or so heavily armed soldiers streamed past him, shouting for the gangers to drop their weapons. The gangers who'd just arrived from the far passage opened up on the soldiers, and were quickly gunned down in a hail of expertly coordinated fire.

Gordus' men took the hint and dropped their guns. Gordus himself seemed paralyzed, frozen by the bright lights. The silhouette stepped up to him and growled,
"You've made yourself known to some very dangerous people, Gordus. We would like to chat with you." Then the shape grabs Gordus' collar and throughs him toward the breached door, and as it turns toward you, you see the glint of metal, and an eerie green light where one eye should be.

((Sorry about the time between updates, I'm really busy now with work and school. I have time to be online, but not with my dice, books, or writing handy, so... I'll try to bring it back up to once a day minimum.))

((check OOC thread for status update))

[Wiz]

Magnus

Magnus steps out from behind the rubble pile, looking impassive.

It is good not to die...
I didn't tell a lie...
It was the one who sent us here...
To see how we react with fear...?

"Did we pass the test?"

[Prophaniti]

Konthus looks at you for a moment, then steps toward you.
"Yes. You did fairly well, considering your lack of intel. Perhaps I should not tell you this, but the primary purpose of this test was to see how well you can improvise. Intel reports are not always available, and not always accurate. You have to be able to adapt as events unfold, or you'll die. If there's nothing further, you'll be taken back to the docking bay and debriefed. If there's time, you'll get a few hours of R&R, then prep for your next assignment."

He gestures to the blasted doorway, where soldiers are herding the captured gangers, and a very frightened Gordus, onto an APC.

[Vikingkingq]

Drake lowers his rifle, steam venting from the muzzle, and snaps off a quick salute. "Yessir, thank you, sir. Can't wait to get cleaned up, sir."

[Prophaniti]

The ride back in the personnel carrier is somewhat dull. The only source of amusment is Gordus and his bodyguards, all of whom look like they just drank something then discovered it was poison, waiting helplessly for it to kick in. There is loud, laughing talk among the soldiers about whether they'll beg or cry at their execution, obviously pitched so the prisoners can't miss it. Any time you try to speak to one of the soldiers or catch their attention, they look nervous, sketch a salute, and go back to their conversation. Fii explains
"They don't know who you are, your names and ranks haven't been given. Pretty standard with the Inquisition, and they don't want to risk offending you."

Konthus rides with you, silent and still.

After some time, the vehicle stops again, and the hatch opens, flooding the back with light. You are back in the hanger your shuttle landed in, men and servitors scurrying about. Your old shuttle is gone, in its place sits a sleek, black cutter, Inquisitorial markings plain on the sides. The soldiers, as they hustle the prisoners toward it, keep glancing at it nervously, and soon it is hard to tell who is more hesitant to approach, the guards or the prisoners. A hatch in the side is already open, and more guards, these in official Inquisition uniforms, take charge of the prisoners. The soldiers, and Fii, head out of the hangar, trying to laugh and joke and failing miserably, as their gazes keep slipping back to the imposing cutter. Konthus watches them and the prisoners disappear, then looks at you.

"They'll be thoroughly questioned, then publicly executed, their deeds broadcast to the whole of the world. Doubt this'll slow that idiotic war the hives are having, but it'll certainly slow illegal trade. It'll likely be months before you can buy so much as a protien ration off the black market here."
He chuckles a little to himself.
"Well, your quarters for the next little while are down that corridor. A servitor's waiting to show you to them. You've got a few hours to get a shower and a meal. I'll come get you when it's time to go."

((Any questions or conversations you'd like to have at any point in this narration, feel free. Also, another status update in the OOC thread.))

[Vikingkingq]

Drake followed the clanking servitor down a series of corridors to quarters that, while spartan, were at least clean and reasonably spacious compared to a Guard bunk. His locker was in the floor, and the Praetorian almost lunged for it, tearing off his ganger rags and throwing them into a corner of the room, when he had cleansed himself and donned a spare singlet and uniform pants, he allowed himself to relax, sitting down on the cot. His hands began to tremble, and he clutched them together. I'm alive...

Reaching deep into his trunk, he pulled out an amasec flask and pulled deeply, feeling the burn in his lungs. Barely noticing the taste, he continued to gulp, seeking unconsciousness at any price...

[Wiz]

Magnus

Magnus goes to his quarters and stands under the shower, relishing in the unrationed flow and uninterrupted heat, compared to the Damnedhulk, anyway.

Testing... Testing... One, Two, Three...