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The Horizon's Pride, Deathwatch Armory, Primary Aft Secure Hold
291.817.M41
Hour 24, Ship's Time

Brother Quintus, Search test unsuccessful, Brother Caledonii, Search test is successful.

As the brothers of Kill-team Umbra secure the last of their armaments, preparing themselves for the mission to come, the Storm Warden finds himself standing before a narrow devotional alcove, framed in carved stone aquilae, at the far end of the narrow armory, at what would be considered the 'apse' if it were a chapel.

Touching the a nearby luminal stud, he finds it lit from within by a warm golden light, revealing a recessed interior containing a tall, tattered, backbanner mounted on a fluted, golden standard shaft. The banner is inscribed around its borders with fine calligraphy; devotional verse sacred to the Imperial Creed. Centrally depicted on the banner is an iconic image of the Emperor of Mankind at his mightiest, clad in his golden power armor, the fallen enemies of mankind, human and xenos both, arrayed about his legs, smote in defeat. His fatherly eyes seem to stare through Brother Caledonii, glinting in the warm light of the alcove, and the Storm Warden feels his hearts swell with pride.

He gingerly takes it down from its bracket, reading the High Gohic text surmounting the top of the banner:

'Mors est pretium superbiae'

Simply, "The Price of Hubris is Death."

Brother Caledonii, or Brother Quintus, please attempt a Challenging [+0] Common Lore (Deathwatch) skill test to identify this banner.

The Orpheus Salient
Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 23 System Sidereal Time

Feint test unsuccessful.

Brother Bjorn nearly has his fang slip from his fingers when he lunges forward with it in an attempt to goad the hissing thing before him into offering an opening in its defenses.

Corrupted Auran Warrior #1 attempts to Parry, WS = 48, 1d100 ⇒ 6, successful.

Recovering, he pivots on one heel and slashes at its throat with the blade, but the thing is preternaturally quick, and raises the haft of its spear to intercept the strike, driving the space marine's arm downward with a prodigious strength that rivals his own.

Grensvayl Mountain Ambush
Round #2
Battlemap

Conditions:

• Each Square = 1 meter

• Mountainous terrain is uneven and rocky, characters Running or Charging must succeed on a Challenging [+0] Agility test or fall Prone.

• The shaded border in the center of the map shows the perimeter of the declivity where the shallow cave is, all movement into or out of the area requires a Difficult [-10] Agility test, or Challenging [+0] Acrobatics or Climb test and follows the rules for Climbing up or Jumping down (considered a 1 meter depth if needed).

Initiative Order

15-Brother Bjorn, I8
12-Corrupted Auran Warrior #1, H08
12-Corrupted Auran Warrior #2, I07

The once human thing peels its chitinous lips back in a snarl, hissing a foul stink from between its needle-like teeth, before shoving the Space Wolf, and flicking the wickedly sharp speartip downward in a powerful riposte.

WS = 48, 1d100 ⇒ 77 a miss.

Bjorn pivots on one heel leaping out of reach of the blow, but this only seems to encourage the creature.

To his left he can see its companion clambering up from the hollow below, its long, misshapen arm and the claw at its end proving useful for leveraging it out.

Climb (58) test, 1d100 ⇒ 46, successful.

It springs from the craggy declivity and moves to flank the Space Wolf, moving with its upper body hunched forward in a guarded stance, spear leveled horizontally to stab.

Bjorn is next.

The Horizon's Pride, Deathwatch Armory, Primary Aft Secure Hold
291.817.M41
Hour 24, Ship's Time

As the remaining members of Kill-team Umbra gather their chosen war gear in the small armory, Brother's Quintus, Decius and Caledonii make one final sweep through the chamber, searching for anything further that may be of use in their endeavor.

Brother Quintus, Brother Decius, and Brother Caledonii, please attempt a Difficult [-10] Search skill test.

The Orpheus Salient
Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 23 System Sidereal Time

The whispered burst from the bolter goes wide, spraying a shower of rock behind the charging warrior, and the corrupted Auran levels his spear to spit the Space Wolf upon it.

Corrupted Auran Warrior #1 charges Brother Bjorn, WS = 48 + 20 (Charging), modified WS = 68, 1d100 ⇒ 63, a hit. Awaiting Dodge or Parry attempt, Brother Bjorn.

Even as the first mockery charges him, the second rushes toward the lip of the declivity already running with a full head of steam and leaps across the depression, spear clutched in two hands, bounding with a lithe, animalistic grace that even the agile men of the Caele do not naturally possess. It screeches a hideous cry as it flies through the air, parting the wispy smoke hanging over the peak.

Challenging [+0] Agility test for Corrupted Warrior #2 to leap across the depression, intended landing spot is Brother Bjorn's square. Agility = 42, 1d100 ⇒ 71. Unsuccessful, by two degrees.

The warrior with the hideously deformed, claw-like arm lands just short of the edge on Brother Bjorn's side. As its feet scrabble for purchase amongst the loose scree it plants its spear into the stony ground, using it gain balance and leverage to vault itself out of the hollow.

It lands in square I7 instead of Bjorn's square.

The Horizon's Pride, Ship's Brig, Detention Block C-3
291.817.M41
Hour 24, Ship's Time

"Is there an inventory listing of any such recording devices that were active in the vicinity of Engiseer's Kreth's demise? Or record of data missing coinciding with the time of the said incident?"

The rogue trader, understandably curious and intrigued by the Librarian's method of interrogation has remained silent to this point, but he rouses himself from his silent fascination of the proceedings to interject and answer Brother Vex's question prior to the techmarine.

The suggestion of sabotage of some kind clearly has him apprehensive.

"We were unable to recover any pict-corder footage from the enginseer's workshop---there is no reason to suspect foul play---there simply were not any devices to make recordings in the area where the incident occurred."

Lan steps forward, amazed at the sudden change in Bennex; once hysterical and sobbing, the accused cook now appears to be in an almost rapturous calm.

Unsolicited, the man sighs deeply, and utters, "Enginseer Kreth---he tried to kill me, I only tried to protect myself."

He nods off into waking daze, peering up at the hulking space marine before him with nearly religious adulation.

"Forgive me!"

At the mention of a private word, Diaz Lan nods, willing to accept without reservation the space marine's request.

"I will await you outside. I only ask that if there is danger to my ship or crew, you disclose such to me as soon as possible."

Stepping past the apothecary as he peruses his satchel of curious instruments, the rogue trader takes his leave.

The Orpheus Salient
Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 23 System Sidereal Time

Initiative tests for Corrupted Auran Warriors:

• Corrupted Auran Warrior #1, 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10.
• Corrupted Auran Warrior #2, 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9.

Grensvayl Mountain Ambush
Round #1
Battlemap

Conditions:

• Each Square = 1 meter

• Mountainous terrain is uneven and rocky, characters Running or Charging must succeed on a Challenging [+0] Agility test or fall Prone.

• The shaded border in the center of the map shows the perimeter of the declivity where the shallow cave is, all movement into or out of the area requires a Difficult [-10] Agility test, or Challenging [+0] Acrobatics or Climb test and follows the rules for Climbing up or Jumping down (considered a 1 meter depth if needed).

Initiative Order

15-Brother Bjorn, I8
10-Corrupted Auran Warrior #1, D10
09-Corrupted Auran Warrior #2, I02

Brother Bjorn acts first, Fate Point expended.

Even in the darkness, Brother Bjorn can the see the feral savagery of these Auran warriors is corrupted by some fell taint, and they are as much slavering beasts as men. As they charge toward him with ferocious abandon, spears upraised, he can see the terrible changes wrought on their forms; mottled, chitinous patches on their skin, a deformed arm ending in broad black talons instead of fingers, and gleaming, pupil-less, alien eyes possessed of ruthless cunning...

The Orpheus Salient
Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 23 System Sidereal Time

Attack is successful, Brother Bjorn, scoring two hits.

With a sound no louder than a puff of expelled breath, the Space Wolf's silenced bolter brings swift death to his unsuspecting quarry, the first round passing through the creature's strangely misshapen skull, the second exploding its blood-flecked jaw in a burst of shattered fangs and bloody ribbons of flesh. It drops with a dull thud into it's gory repast, one arm twitching as whatever life remains within it is extinguished.

Brother Bjorn's low grunt of satisfaction is short-lived, as two more of the things, both slightly larger than the first, slowly scuttle into view to either side of him, before each breaks into a loping charge at his position through the wispy smoke hanging over the peak.

Cunning.

Three all along.

More disturbing still, it seems these things that were once men are devious enough to have bullied the runt of their little pack forward with the intention of drawing him out.

The Space Wolf springs to his feet, preparing to meet the coming attack.

Brother Bjorn, please roll Initiative, your abundance of caution prevents you from being surprised by the sudden turn of events, but you still are outnumbered, two to one.

The Horizon's Pride, Ship's Brig, Detention Block C-3
291.817.M41
Hour 24, Ship's Time

The techmarine mutters a greeting as Brother Syne arrives in the cell, keeping his voice low so as not to disturb the delicate focus of the librarian.

Unfortunately, however, the consideration is largely unnecessary.

Try as he might, Brother Vex cannot penetrate what comes next. He is able perceive the cook's initial impressions of the cold and emotionless Enginseer Kreth; a sense of unease, superstitious fear, and a growing uncertainty as he asks a wordless question, in all humility of the enginseer, pointing to the malfunctioning scullery servitor. Things begin to blur for the Dark Angel, and he cannot be certain that the servant of the Mechanicus even answers Kohl Bennex's request for aid at all. The memories then explode, the vision lost, replaced with a churning supernova of the cook's emotions; mortal fear, desperate violence, and utter confusion and surprise.

His focus wavers, and he asks a question of Brother Emeric, his hissing voice barely audible as he strives to maintain some measure of rapport with the accused man's troubled mind.

The Horizon's Pride, Ship's Brig, Detention Block C-3
291.817.M41
Hour 24, Ship's Time

After donning the simple robe and collecting the unguents and narcotics required for his ministrations, Brother Syne leaves the Armory, dismissing the ship's seneschal's offer to guide him, and makes his way toward the Detention Block under Brother Emeric's passive direction.

Negotiating the corridors, he notices far more servitors than would be expected roaming the companionways, and he idly wonders to what purpose they attend, their blank gazes ignoring him utterly as progresses through the lower decks. Perhaps this portion of the Horizon's Pride is currently undergoing maintenance of some kind or retrofitting. Still, something about their lobotomized gaits and sense of purpose troubles him.

When he arrives at the cell, he finds his brother Dark Angel already immersed in his own brand of interrogation, the ship's cook staring at the ceiling as blankly as the servitors, mouth open, tongue lolling in semi-consciousness.

The Horizon's Pride, Ship's Brig, Detention Block C-3
291.817.M41
Hour 24, Ship's Time

"Very well, Kohl Bennex. Open your mind to me."

I use Telepathy to enter his mind. Fettered

I enter it slowly and carefully. Such an extreme change in personality makes me wary. Such a willingness for me a stranger to enter his thoughts and memories. To evade such privacy. That his mind may be some sort of psychic land mind or trap. I enter what I consider a hostile mind out of safety.

Brother Vex, given that Kohl Bennex is now a somewhat willing participant in the interrogation because of your successful use of Inspire, some of his surface thoughts and short-term memory will be accessible to your Telepathy abilities, however, a more intensive scouring of his memories/thoughts would require the use of the Mind Probe ability.

Brother-Librarian Vex is wary as he plumbs the surface thoughts of the cook, probing delicately despite the man's obvious adulation and cooperation, wary of what he felt lingering in the consciousness of Roge Halis during the Administratum functionary's interrogation beneath the Tower of Brass.

Pressing past the nearly overwhelming religious awe the man feels for the Librarian, a faith in the Emperor and the 'angel' that has come to deliver him, that is just and true, Brother Vex sifts through the melange of surface thoughts and mnemonic routines that fill Kohl Bennex's far from extraordinary mind. The rituals of labor and tradescraft of a devoted ship's cook blur by, along with the simple sins and aspirations of such a guileless man; the theft of three pepper cylinders and their contents from stores, a desire to supervise one of the Horizon's Pride's officer's messes, essentially all the flotsam and jetsam that crowd the mind of a ship's cook.

Pressing deeper, but still restraining much of his power, Brother Vex hears the man let out a low groan of recognition that the 'angel' is among his thoughts, alternately becoming ashamed with the revelation of each misdeed, and elated at the acknowledgment of each virtue. It makes things easier, and soon the Dark Angel comes to the crux of things.

The images are a blur of perception, observations filtered through the senses of another, lesser man, altogether confusing and jarring for the space marine. He sees the weathered stainless steel of a ship's kitchen, all angles and dull, mirror-like surfaces. He hears a sink activating and follows Kohl Bennex's gaze as it watches a scullion-servitor, once intent on dicing tubers, simply staring blankly ahead, sparks cascading from its mechanica-aided limbs as it ever-so-efficiently cuts and segments one of its own pale fingers upon the chopping board. Bennex's voice can be heard shouting something in surprise and irritation, and this outburst segues into him glancing at his own filthy apron, chagrined he did not clean himself up more, and then into the dim corridors of the Horizon's Pride as he walks to some destination, leading the addled servitor by one arm. He sighs in apprehension and unease as he enters what can only be the demesne of the Adeptus Mechanicus' enginseers aboard the rogue trader's craft...

The Orpheus Salient
Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 23 System Sidereal Time

Test is successful, Brother Bjorn.

The Space Wolf senses it as it approaches the opposite edge of the rocky bowl, a skulking, hunched, humanoid figure, large despite its slouching posture, the outline of a long, sharply pointed spear visible in its grasp to his dark sight. It shuffles silently to the lip of the hollow, and he can hear the corrupted thing snuffling and sniffing at the blood path left behind the man.

As both predators listen intently, they hear the final, staccato slaps of the dying warrior's heels drumming the floor of the cave as he dies. Cocking its head curiously to the sky, the creature sniffs deeply again, and surveys the edge of the declivity where Brother Bjorn watches, as if searching for something; wary.

The Space Wolf can now see that this thing is or was human, or something akin to it, the starlight reflecting minutely upon the jade green scales of its saurian hide armor.

Still, no warrior of the Caele, or man of Aurum would do what the thing does next. Brother Bjorn watches as the figure leans forward, bowing at the neck, to lick and lap at the spilled blood of its prey, sucking into its smacking maw the fragments of entrail the dying warrior left behind. A throaty, gurgling growl of pleasure escapes the thing's lips with a sibilant hiss of breath, and it begins to follow the bloody leavings into the depression, moving toward the cave.

The Horizon's Pride, Ship's Brig, Detention Block C-3
291.817.M41
Hour 24, Ship's Time

"Kohl Bennex, please be calm. We are merely here to learn."

Since we are in the warp I will attempt a fettered test to Inspire Kohl Bennex to remove his fear. He is no good to us in his current state.

Excellent use of the ability, Brother Vex, test is successful.

Summoning the churning roil of the Warp that thrums around him through the ship's hull, through the flickering pulse of the Horizon's Pride's staunch Gellar field, Brother Vex channels a benediction of quiet calm through his mind, and into the prisoner.

Kohl Bennex stops his whimpering almost immediately, wet eyes drawn to Brother-Librarian Vex's soothing voice. Sniffing deeply, he raises one shackled hand to the limits of its chain, gesturing with his open hand to the Dark Angel.

"You, you---by the Throne! The Emperor has sent one of his blessed angels to deliver me from my fate---the light! You! I beg your mercy, see into my heart, I know you will see the truth!"

The Orpheus Salient
Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 22 System Sidereal Time

Brother Bjorn becomes a convincing part of the dark and treacherous mountain terrain, folding himself into the environment almost effortlessly. The pragmatism that brings him to what some would perceive as a callous decision is made without any sentiment or worry for the eventual fate of the Caele's man. Even if the obvious indicators in the man's bloody trail didn't speak of a near certain outcome, he would have followed the directives of his mission; avoiding contact with the natives of Aurum.

Tactics: Recon and Stealth skill test is successful.

Going prone on the downwind edge of the declivity, with clear firing salients, he sets about watching, his hunter's instincts attuned to a preternatural level, hearing the scurrying of the small, nocturnal rock lizards as they scavenge about for food, seeing the gentle movement of wispy smoke in the night sky above as it passes overhead, well away from the bonfire.

He waits, knowing that such prey will eventually draw forth the beast he so briefly spied at the edge of the warrior's camp.

Brother Bjorn, please attempt an Awareness test.

The Horizon's Pride, Ship's Brig, Detention Block C-3
291.817.M41
Hour 24, Ship's Time

Kohl Bennex begans to whimper and writhe under the unforgiving stares of his interrogators, a torrent of frantic tears running down his face. He stares blankly at some space in the middle distance, or at the Astarte's feet, refusing to make eye contact.

"I beg you! I beg you! Mercy, please! I never meant to hurt him, please, oh please, spare my miserable life!"

He breaks down, blubbering, snot dripping from his long nose. He tries in vain to shrink into the restraint chair and will himself invisible, altogether collapsing into a piteous state.

The Horizon's Pride, Deathwatch Armory, Primary Aft Secure Hold
291.817.M41
Hour 24, Ship's Time

Lan's seneschal, the fastidious man known as Veyoris Akioh, silently leads the rest of Kill-team Umbra through the main spinal corridor on the same deck that houses Lan's quarters and the war room, before descending on one of the aft lift hubs to the primary aft secure hold.

Once in the vast, echoiing hold, the Battle-Brothers follow the functionary through a massive cargo vault, and then through progressively smaller and smaller storage areas whose contents appear to grow incrementally more and more valuable. Each vault door is only accessible by one of several ward-keys in the seneschal's possession, valid biometric interfacing, or a combination of both.

Finally, the Kill-team arrives in a narrow, trapezoidally-shaped hold coated in a thin layer of dust, and suffused with the cold of the void itself leeching through the ship's thick bulkhead. A tall, wide doorway, affixed with the unmistakable seal of the Deathwatch in chipped and pitted iron stands just before the very aft-most segment of the Horizon's Pride

Veyoris Akioh steps politely aside, gesturing toward the door.

"A sample of your blessed gene-seed and the requisite ciphers of opening will allows you entry, honored Astartes. I will await your return in the adjoining hold to escort you to your chambers. Take all the time you require."

Brother Quintus waits for the man to depart, and approaches the door. Removing one of his gauntlets, he opens the hinged faceplate on the lower jaw of the iconic skull, and slides one thick finger into the slot provided. A sting in the end of his finger is followed by a hollow, mechanical voice, uttering a stentorian request for the Tarsis cipher, which thankfully is known to the Ultramarine. The door opens with a squeal of tired servos, revealing the armory beyond.

Stepping into the room, Kill-team Umbra finds a small armory, lined with several tall racks of carefully organized and assiduously packed armaments and equipment. It is far from expansive in its inventory or quantity, but it is stocked as well or better than some of the lesser Watch Station listening posts the brothers have encountered.

As they begin to examine its contents, Brother Eli receives a transmission from Brother Emeric, now on the detention level. Acknowledging the Black Templar, he begins to systematically scour the Armory for the equipment he seeks.

Eli, just let me know what you are looking for, and I'll let you know if it is available.

"The Rogue Trader is hiding something. It is not about the mission, but it makes me wonder why he would do that, considering the admissions he has already made."

Brother Hrothgar laughs heartily as he roots through an armored case containing tightly-packed Hellfire rounds.

"What more could he be hiding, Quintus? Truly, you are beginning to sound as troubled and paranoid as one of---(he looks pointedly to Brother Eli's back, thick eyebrows raised dubiously)---them."

The Orpheus Salient
Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 22 System Sidereal Time

Taking in the vista for a few moments, Bjorn is still wary. Picking up a sizable rock from his side he throws it to clatter near to the cave and hunkers down to see if his senses pick up any response to the noise...

Finding a chunk of thick of sedimentary stone, Brother Bjorn conceals himself and hefts it up and over into the depression near the cave, the resounding echo of rock on rock piercing the still night air.

Awareness test successful by multiple degrees.

Listening intently, he hears the unmistakable sound of a furtive scraping, as if leather on gritty stone, followed by a very human groan of hissing pain.

The Horizon's Pride, Ship's Brig, Detention Block C-3
291.817.M41
Hour 24, Ship's Time

"Acknowledged, Brother Librarian."

I take a step forward, letting my mag-boots clang loudly on the metal floor. "Kohl Bennex. Ship's Cook. Second Class. You stand accused for murdering Engiseer Kreth, minion of the Omnissiah and property of the Mechanicum. Data-share demanded: recount that which transpired in the servitor repair bay."

Looking down at the simpering wretch I wish to verify he is what he appears to be, taking an auspex reading with special attention to olfactory and biochemical analysis. Does his body produce the sweat and his pulse race in such a way as to match the fear that one would expect from a lowly cook in the presence of Astartes?

The cowering voidborn cannot mask his fearful awe of the Astartes, and despite some interference received on Brother Emeric's auspex, probably as a result of the confined metal-walled cell, all of the readings confirm what can be plainly seen. An imprisoned man in a state of abject terror regarding his predicament.

Brother Emeric, please attempt an Interrogation skill test, you may apply the Assistance bonus for Brother Vex, consider the test Routine [+20] instead of Ordinary [+10] and apply one additional degree of success if you succeed for the Librarian's aid.

The Horizon's Pride, Ship's Brig, Detention Block C-3
291.817.M41
Hour 24, Ship's Time

Brother's Emeric and Vex follow Diaz Lan from the war room as the rest of the Kill-team files away along the hallway in the opposite direction, following Lan's seneschal, Veyoris Akioh, toward the sealed Deathwatch armory.

The journey to the brig is a relatively quick one, and the trio navigate the regally wide corridors of their current deck before descending upon a near-silent lift system several levels and emerging in Detention Block C-3. Lan passes through the primary guardpost with a commanding wave of one hand, acknowledging the salutes of his house guard warden's as a heavy wall of bars slides open to either side of a much narrower corridor.
The Astartes must turn their larger bodies slightly to one side to follow, and their walk ends before a sealed bulkhead door, marked with the Low Gothic numeral '112'.

Lan opens it with a cursory wave of a short command wand, and pushes his way in without preamble. Two more house guards stand at attention within the room, combat shotguns at parade rest. They salute as well, and Lan dismisses them. They file out silently, leaving the techmarine, librarian, and rogue trader alone with a haggard looking voidborn with pallid skin and fearful, staring black eyes. He is restrained by ankles and wrists to an excoriation chair, but does not appear injured or harmed, merely hunched and exhausted.

The man is obviously terrified of the ship's captain, but this is as nothing when he finally lays eyes upon the Astartes accompanying him. He lets out a low whimper that sounds utterly inconsolable, squinting shut his eyes and hiding his face as if this impotent gesture will make his worst nightmare disappear.

Diaz Lan gestures with one hand to the man rather dismissively, as if unsure on how best to facilitate an introduction under such circumstances, or embarrassed that the man seems likely to soon wet himself.

"Kohl Bennex. Ship's Cook, Second Class."

The Orpheus Salient
Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 22 System Sidereal Time

Angered with himself for losing the beast's trail, Brother Bjorn elects instead to follow the trail of what may well have been one of the thing's victims. Clutching his fang tightly, he stalks, low to the ground, loping up and down the craggy peaks and declivities along the escarpment, moving to the west with purpose.

The trail is easy enough to follow, and soon it is academic when he encounters the first ropy coil of the man's viscera, discarded, purple-red and weeping where the man's path led him through a dense cluster of thorny bramble-bushes. The blood is fresher here, and the Space Wolf holds it to his nose, inhaling deeply, locking in the unfortunate warrior's scent.

Picking a path through the spiky brush proves difficult, his armor making faint scraping sounds as the thorns click and snap against him when he claws his way through, until finally emerging on the other side.

The blood is much wetter here and he follows it up another small, sloping shelf of rock, pausing at the top when he looks down into the craggy hollow below. A wide, bowl-shaped depression tops the node of peak he has ascended, and the trail ends inside it, just before a long, diagonal patch of black, far darker than the night around it. It marks a low overhang and the gash of a cave below it, cut from the far wall of the hollow, draped in more of the brambly overgrowth.

The Orpheus Salient
Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 22 System Sidereal Time

Tracking test unsuccessful.

Brother Bjorn grunts in consternation. Searching the loose, gravelly scree yields nothing tangible to mark the creature's passage to his eyes, which is a rarity given his expertise. He begins to make a wide circuit of this side of the canyon looking for any tell-tale indications that this predator---for surely it is such for the degree of stealth it has already exhibited---may still be lurking in the vicinity.

Although he does not find track or spoor, a quarter kilometer from the ledge he comes across the tracks of a lone human, by the shape and spacing in the tracks, one of the Caele's warriors. Given the thickly-clotted trail of blood that runs parallel to the tracks, the man is grievously injured. They continue off to the west, moving at haste despite the apparent severity of the injury, as if the man was fleeing for his life.

Just let me know your intentions, Brother Bjorn, the trail is a simple one to follow if you choose.

The Horizon's Pride, War Room Black
291.817.M41
Hour 23, Ship's Time

With the pertinent information transmitted to the helmet displays of his fellow Astartes, Brother Emeric allows the other members of the Kill-team to digest this new information for a minute or so before he asks further questions of the rogue trader. Instead he poses a query to the new Ambassador-Militant:

"Brigadier-General, did you have the honor of serving with any of my fellow Black Templars in the Cellebos Warzone? What word do you bring?"

"I did not have the privilege of serving with them directly on Vanity, Brother Emeric, but my regiment was assigned to the same theater of operations. I did have the honor of meeting Brother Richter of your chapter, seconded to the Deathwatch, like yourself, during the purging of some cult activity on Karlack at the outset of the Crusade."

Heth fairly beams with the pride and distinction that such an encounter and the associated name-dropping allows him, and Brother Emeric must remind himself how the martial tradition of the Imperial Guard is steeped in politics as much as the effective prosecution of war itself. Besides, it is the rare guardsman, grunt or officer, that is not awestruck by a meeting with one of the Emperor's Angels of Death.

Satisfied the others have had ample time to review his transmission to them, he presses on with Lan.

"Captain Lan, what was the nature of your travels to Samech? Additional: the ore-hauler Shoulder of Stepatikos is of particular interest to the Deathwatch. Do you have information you can share regarding this vessel?"

Lan is clearly a man who is rarely wrong-footed, and he regains his composure quickly following Brother Emeric's unexpectedly pointed questions, perhaps realizing how the techmarine came upon such information so quickly (a glance at the data-jack speaks volumes). He is honest and to the point. Watching him, Brother Vex and Brother Syne are fairly convinced he has nothing further to hide.

"It was dictated by the Inquisition, from the Tower of Brass itself, that we conduct long-range scans of the navigable Warp routes skirting the Hadex Anomaly near Samech. Very little of our sensoria sweeps yielded anything at all. The severity of the radiation band surrounding that blighted swath of the salient is nearly impossible to penetrate. At our nearest approach to the system's core we detected the ship; an ancient ore hauler, once part of the crusade's Explorator contingent, lost nearly two-score sidereal years ago. Much of what I researched is classified even to my clearances, so there is very little further I was able to add to my report on the matter to the Holy Ordo. I cannot say I am surprised that the Deathwatch searches for this ship as well."

After hearing replies on these matters I then state: "Data scouring reveals the death of an engiseer, apparently murdered by one of your crew, Captain Lan. Since the crime is against the Omnissiah's own, I would be remiss if I did not assist investigations. With your leave Brother-Librarian Vex will also accompany us for he and I each have certain skills with regard to... information extraction."

If the first line of questioning took Diaz Lan a little off guard, this follow-up by the techmarine is answered with the aplomb of a man who is quick on his feet when faced with surprises. It is clear he expected the subsequent query and was ready to answer as soon as the words were articulated through Brother Emeric's vox.

"Although this is an internal matter, I must admit that the convenience of a learned devotee of the Omnissiah suddenly being at hand is a welcome development. I will not dispute that my crewman is responsible for the death of one of the Machine God's faithful servants and I would be grateful for your assistance---and that of Brother Vex---in getting to the root of what precipitated such an act. Although my master-at-arms has conducted only the most cursory of interviews, his preliminary report emphasizes Kohl Bennex's insistent refutation that the act was anything but self-defense. I cannot fathom a reason why Enginseer Kreth would make an attempt on this crewman's life, as they had no prior interactions to the best of anyone else's knowledge. He is currently in the ship's brig on the detention level, I will take you there if you wish. I will stand by any punishment you wish to mete out as a duly recognized servant of the Adeptus Mechanicus should it be necessary."

He glances around the war room, looking at the other Battle-Brothers.

"If there are no further questions of myself or the Ambassador-Militant, I will have my seneschal escort the remainder of your Kill-team to the Armory, and from there to your chambers so that you may take your rest."

The Orpheus Salient
Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 22 System Sidereal Time

Brother Bjorn sniffs at the air, one hand pawing across the rough ground where the horn of the escarpment projects over the canyon below, searching for signs of the creature's passage.

Brother Bjorn, please attempt a Challenging [+0] Tracking skill test.

The Horizon's Pride, War Room Black
291.817.M41
Hour 23, Ship's Time

Five degrees of success, Brother Emeric.

The cogitator uplink from War Room Black is configured to automatically bypass the secure partitions of the Horizon's Pride's data-stacks and this makes Brother Emeric's task nearly effortless. Only portions of the data-looms and cogitation engines governing essential ship's systems and the personal devices of Diaz Lan and his most trusted subordinates are out of bounds.

Parsing what he finds from the equivalent of data-dross takes barely an instant for the techmarine, of note is the following:

One or two successes.

The navigation logs of the Horizon's Pride are detailed and thorough, showing that the Lan Dynasty craft has shuttled between Aurum and Watch Station Erioch on a total of two separate occasions, most recently the return trip to the Golden World that it is being completed at this point in time. Additionally, near the beginning of the last solar year, the light cruiser made a sojourn to the Acheros Salient and the world of Vanity in the Cellebos Warzone, ostensibly to retrieve the Ambassador-Militant, verifying Archibal's Heth's time on board as near to a sidereal year.

Three successes.

On at least one occasion, and perhaps more, although the logs are more heavily redacted on this matter, the Horizon's Pride conducted long-range astropathic and sensoria reconnaissance on the corrupted forge world of Samech while skirting the edge of the Hadex Anomaly during its round trips to the Watch Station. The inherent danger of these missions is evident in the precautions taken, and it appears it was mandated by Inquisitorial edict.

Four successes.

One of the sensoria sweeps recognized and verified through ancient transponder sequences a massive ore hauler in high orbit around Samech once known as the Shoulder of Stepatikos. A brief scrap-code transmission was tight-beam broadcast from the ore-hauler to the Horizon's Pride, but it was deemed irretrievable and likely an artifact of the electromagnetic radiation field that surrounds Samech returning a false signal from the original proximity soundings of Lan's ship.

Five successes.

Through judicious use of data-filtering Brother Emeric is able to determine that Lan's current preoccupation stems from a need to interrogate a member of his own crew being held on the detention level. The crew member, known as Kohl Bennex, stands accused of murdering Kreth, an indentured Enginseer of the Adeptus Mechanicus under suspicious circumstances in the servitor repair bay. Lan is presently having his astropaths scour the Orpheus Salient for the nearest Adeptus Mechanicus ship so that a rendezvous can be arranged to turn Bennex over to the Mechanicum for punishment.

The Horizon's Pride, War Room Black
291.817.M41
Hour 23, Ship's Time

To the rogue trader: "Is verbal communication with the indigenous Aurumites problematic? What form of gothic do they speak?"

Brother Syne can see the flicker of relief that crosses Diaz Lan's face as he eagerly turns to answer the techmarine's question of linguistics.

"They speak a devolved form of High Gothic, comprehensible, but with unique variations from their long time divested from the Imperium. This common root tongue, along with the echoes evident in their cultural traditions and faith when compared to our own Imperium lend valuable commonalities in our efforts to re-integrate this world. I think even the Aurimites are curious about these similarities and their implications about our shared heritage."

Since I am now hard-wired to an access port, simultaneous to my conversation I also attempt to open the Horizon Pride's data-banks and access their navigation logs for the past solar year.

Brother Emeric, please attempt a Challenging [+0] Tech Use test; more degrees of success will yield more information.

Easily capable of keeping the conversation with the rogue trader flowing as his cogitator-aided interface prowls through the data-stacks of the Horizon's Pride, Brother Emeric searches for further information relevant to their mission or datum that might shed more light on some of the things perhaps left unsaid by their seemingly forthcoming host.

The Orpheus Salient
Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 22 System Sidereal Time

Utilizing a circuitous route that wends up the side of the defile along a craggy path steeped in shadow, Brother Bjorn stealthily returns to the top of the escarpment overlooking the camp in the canyon. Taking the air into his throat and nose, breathlessly silent as he goes, the Space Wolf stalks toward the spot where he witnessed the thing lurking. His keen eyesight reveals the many rough spurs of rock, dismissing the forbidding outlines of such things that would bedevil the eyesight of a normal man in similar circumstances.

Seeing no sign of the creature where it once was, he breathes deeply again, trying to reacquire its spoor.

At first, nothing, but persisting, he detects the hint of something, something most certainly alien to this world. It has moved on along the treacherous rim of the cliff-edge, circling back through the gloom where the titanic bonfire licks the limits of the canyon wall on this side.

He cannot say with any certainty if the thing he hunts is merely moving away from him as it continues to spy upon the camp below, or if it is instead luring him closer to the heights beyond the wall of flame, to some ambush along a hidden way into the valley beyond; the valley that the Caele's men have so desperately quarantined.

The Horizon's Pride, War Room Black
291.817.M41
Hour 23, Ship's Time

Nice rolls, guys. Both successful.

Brother Quintus and Brother Syne hear the lie in the rogue trader's words, and there is something hollow about them. His tone suggests that he is making an elaborate explanation about the navigation of the voidcraft as a pretext to mask a less savory activity that he must reluctantly complete for the sake of duty. There is no suggestion that his dishonesty has anything to do with the marines or their mission, but it is troubling nonetheless.

He catches their glances, and it is clear he is uneasy from them, but Diaz Lan still elects to offer nothing further.

The Orpheus Salient
Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 22 System Sidereal Time

Awareness test successful, Brother Bjorn, Wolf Senses and Dark Sight noted.

The Space Wolf narrows his gaze as the shadow-limned outline retreats beyond the edge of the escarpment overhead. His remarkable vision picks out mottled, chitinous skin and the jagged outline of serrated spines projecting from the quickly moving forelimb. What was this mockery?

The Horizon's Pride, War Room Black
291.817.M41
Hour 23, Ship's Time

"Brigadier-General we understand that time is of importance. Other then the chaplain has there been any to have made inroads to these people? And do they offer anyone to become one of "them" by the rite of passage?"

The newly appointed Ambassador-Militant to Aurum slowly shrugs with uncertainty, a gesture that almost seems affected from a man with such a ramrod-straight and decisive military sensibility.

"None that I know of, honored Storm Warden. Although if there are any in this great galaxy who might impress upon their martial culture the true meaning of what it is to be a warrior, there can be none better than those assembled in this room. Their rites of passage and ritual, however dangerous or taxing, should be as nothing to such as yourselves---I presume."

"What would you want us to do on this planet other then find the person or thing that killed the Sister and to get the natives into the Imperium."

Brigadier-General Heth projects a grim resolve.

"Only one other thing, and in the end, perhaps the most important objective of all. Find the threat that lurks on Aurum. Find who or what is responsible for the murder of Sister Rachayel, and eliminate it."

The weight of these words is impressed upon the Astartes by a firm nod from the rogue trader, and Diaz Lan allows a silence to settle over the table before speaking again.

"If there are no other questions, I will summon my seneschal, Veyoris, so that you may be escorted to the Armory, and then a suite of chambers where you can take what rest your require. I am needed on the bridge, as my astropath is even now calculating the final deceleration vector on our approach to Aurum. We are some days out from our destination, yet, but it will not be long. If there is anything else I can provide you, honored Astartes, do not hesitate to ask it of me."

If anyone has any final questions or words for Diaz Lan or the Brigadier-General, now is the time, otherwise I will proceed to the next scene.

Also, anyone who wishes to do so, please attempt a Scrutiny skill test.

The Horizon's Pride, War Room Black
291.817.M41
Hour 23, Ship's Time

Heth seems surprised by his own outburst, particularly when it is answered by two of the imposing Astartes.

"I apologize, Honored Astartes, I would be lying if I said I misspoke, but I fear I also was not entirely clear with my meaning. I am a man of action, I have commanded men in the Acheros Salient for the last decade, and am unaccustomed to such diplomatic postings. I fear that my uncommon rapport with the indigenous peoples of the worlds I have served on during the Crusade has unwittingly led to my unexpected transfer. I prefer to be with my men, at the front, and not trying to puzzle out a means to an end convincing recalcitrant feral worlders to commit to the Imperium. I would never shirk my duty, and if it is the Emperor's Will and the order of the Crusade command that I do so, then it will be done. I will say that the Warmaster and the high command's patience grows short with the Aurans, and we are something of a final attempt to bring them into the fold. I fear that if we are not successful, and this has been confirmed in my conversations with Rogue Trader Lan, the bulk of my regiment will be following me to the Golden World to bring it's people into compliance in a less delicate manner. I would prefer it not end this way, but, as I said before, I am merely a soldier with orders."

"We are not here as judges, but to assist you Archibal Heth. Please tell us your insights and speculations on the situation of Aurum. Tell us what is not in the reports. Who are the power brokers amongst the natives? Which Imperial citizens do you feel still have a positive relationship with them?"

"I understand you have agreed to render your aid in this matter, and for that I am grateful, my lords."

"However, I am afraid that I have seen such deliberate noncompliance with indoctrination before on the part of native populations in my other postings and they usually end violently. I am of the opinion that were it not for the vital importance of the world's resources, and the need to harvest them immediately for the sake of the Orpheus Salient, the crackdown already would have begun."

He considers the second part of Vex's question thoughtfully.

"It all comes down to this 'Caele', an honorific of their culture akin to king or khan. Caele Rylus Darkscourge is a prideful man, and by all accounts a mighty warlord who dictates the martial and political activities of all the planet's tribes. All of the reports and information provided to me by the high command along with Captain Lan's more specific insights speak to the fact these feral worlders simply do not respect the Imperium or its warriors. Of course, this is on a man-to-man comparison by their own cultural and martial traditions. They have not been on the receiving end of a shelling by Baneblades or the charge of a hellgun-equipped stormtrooper regiment. We have deliberately held our aggression in check to reach a more pragmatic, diplomatic solution. But, time, as I said before, is running out."

He considers something.

"It is known that we share a common cultural and religious history, however, and they seem to have a grudging respect for the garrison's chaplain, a servant of the Ecclesiarchy known as Father Marius. He has been posted on Aurum since the founding of the garrison, and firmly believes our respective faiths spring from the same source. He was the one who discovered Sister Rachayel's body and sent word to Captain Lan of the development."

"It seems we have something in common, Ambassador-Militant. I too was seconded for my current deployment without my consent. Let us together serve the Emperor with our utmost."

"Again, I fear my words were too harsh, and hastily spoken. As you do, I live only to serve, Brother Emeric. I have a deep respect for your chapter in particular, as I have served with them in the past along the Spinward Front, and most recently in the Cellebos Warzone on Vanity, though our paths did not cross on that occasion."

The Orpheus Salient
Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 22 System Sidereal Time

As Brother Bjorn skulks off into shadow again, he retraces his steps carefully, his passage less than a whisper to the men of the Caele.

However, when he finally reaches the edge of the camp, his instincts scream at him to freeze in place, somehow sensing before even his conscious mind can tell him that something is amiss. He slowly tilts his head back toward the towering firelight of the barrier, noting that with the faintest shift in the wind it has caused the illumination of the pyre to dance closer to the perimeter of the camp where he stalks. Strangely, none of the men, even their leader Heydal, appear to have noticed him, but he quickly scrambles back into the gloom just the same. His breathing perfectly controlled, he extends his feral senses outward, trying to make sense of the disturbance that arrested his passage.

He smells it before anything else, hidden beneath the powerful odors of promethium, flame, and men. A bitter smell, quite unlike any other he has caught scent of before, for some reason his mind recalls the stink of the giant, scabrous, dark-dwelling cave crickets that infest the deepest bowels of the Fang on Fenris, but there is something far fouler, something far more dangerous to this odor. The scent of a predator. Back pressed to the cliff-side, he slowly cranes his head upward, conscious of how it exposes his thick neck to the cold wind blowing through the canyon, and his eyes scan the escarpment high above, where he was lurking himself, just a short time ago. A bulge of shadow, one that could easily be mistaken for another outcropping, slowly recedes from the lip of the ledge until it is gone, whatever it was hidden again by the rocky overhang.

It was no man of the Caele, and it was watching him.

The Orpheus Salient
The Horizon's Pride, War Room Black
291.817.M41
Hour 23, Ship's Time

Archibal Heth adjusts his chair and looks around the table, the pressing weight of Kill-team Umbra's stony silence dragging on so long that it seems to provoke a spontaneous, fully-honest utterance from him.

"I never asked for this post."

The Orpheus Salient
Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 22 System Sidereal Time

Bjorn, please attempt another Silent Move skill test to extricate yourself from the encampment while you move to the west.

The Orpheus Salient
The Horizon's Pride, War Room Black
291.817.M41
Hour 23, Ship's Time

I'll assume that Brother Caledonii will accept the mantle of leadership of Kill-team Umbra for this mission. Caledonii, feel free to roleplay the Storm Warden's reaction to this development.

With Brother Caledonii as leader, the following Oaths are available as choices for the squad for this mission: Oath of the Astartes, Oath of the Emperor, Oath of Glory, Oath of Loyalty. Please reach a consensus on which you will select. In addition to the Squad Mode Abilities provided by this Oath you will also have access to Brother Caledonii's Chapter Mode Abilities, Lightning Strike (Attack Pattern) and Shield and Sword (Defensive Stance). Starting Cohesion at this point will be 4 (Caledonii's Fellowship Bonus) + 2 (Command Skill +10), for a total of 6. If I am missing any modifiers contributed by Caledonii or other characters please let me know.

The rogue trader returns after several minutes, entering the war room with a tall, sturdily-built, but lanky man, attired in the dress uniform an Imperial Guard Brigadier-General. His shoulders are bedecked with golden epaulets, and his chest is crisscrossed with campaign medals marking him as a veteran of the Acheros salient. His face is lean, weathered, and somewhat haggard, marking him as man accustomed to commanding from the front. A few straggly, wispy gray hairs are combed precisely over the top of his balding head, and one eye, which appears filled with milky-white cataracts is surmounted by a golden monocle.

Diaz Lan gestures to the man, "Honored Astartes, may I introduce Ambassador-Militant and Brigadier-General Archibal Heth of the 313th Scintillan Guard."

The recently appointed Ambassador-Militant to Aurum gives a crisp salute to the Astartes when he enters, and then bows his head respectfully before taking a chair beside Lan.

His voice is reedy and melodious, accented by the peculiar inflections of his home sector.

"Honored Astartes of the Deathwatch, I am at your service."

The Orpheus Salient
Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 22 System Sidereal Time

Silent Move test is successful, Brother Bjorn.

Moving like a wraith amongst the encampment, Brother Bjorn keeps to the darkness, wide-eyed, nostrils flaring, preternaturally alert to anything that might detect him. All the while he keeps his eyes upon Heydal, stalking through the primitive tents and stacked casks of unrefined promethium, until he finds a sheltered place, a narrow cleft in the canyon wall close by where he can pause. Although the men of the Caele are vigilant, their eyes are just the eyes of normal men in the night. Still, it was no easy task to penetrate their overlapping defenses, and the Space Wolf does not believe for a moment it will be any easier getting out.

Closing his eyes, he attunes his senses, sniffing the air deeply, trying to ignore the powerful smell of burning oil, while listening for the clipped, and heavily accented voices of the Aurumites. Their dialect of Low Gothic is at times difficult to understand, even when situations for eavesdropping are optimal, but Bjorn has had a long time to familiarize himself with it.

As Heydal deftly slices with his gyrblade through the knotted ropes bundling another tower of casks together, he is approached by one of his subordinates, a stocky man with long, braided black hair and beard who speaks quickly, in a raspy torrent of words.

"Hae'l, Heydal! We'ave searched the path and the slopes with'out finding the cause of what the sentries heard, per'haps'n a stone, fell loose. No track or spoor, but the relief, they from Haistand of late speak they may'ave been stalked for a time; by beast or what other they know'n naught."

Even from where he lurks, Brother Bjorn can see the chiseled features of Heydal frown, like a stone-faced giant, or some carved mountain idol. His lips turn down in worry, his brow creasing like a slow rock-slide of weathered flesh in the firelight.

"Hrmm. These men are'not striplings, Jaxel, that would jump and falter with'out true cause. I believe the weight of their words."

He looks out over the camp, eyes scanning the limits of the huge flaming barricade and the canyon walls to either side.

"Wake the sleepers, we will watch with the eyes of sky reavers tonight. I am worried it has been too long since the last interloper has crossed."

The warrior, Jaxel, nods, his manner suggesting that the order already has been carried out in his mind. When he replies it is about another matter entirely.

"What'of the patrol on the western scarp? They are late. By hours now. It is not like Kuuval and his brother to tarry overmuch. Shall I send some of those woken to search for them?"

Heydal's graven face frowns deeper.

"No. If the mantids are finally skulking o'er the wall again, they are already lost to us. We will search at first light, with numbers."

Brother Bjorn mouths the word, turning over what it could describe in his mind. His first thought is a most troubling one, and his genetically engineered body seems to sense this unease and dumps still more adrenaline into his bloodstream to compensate.

The Orpheus Salient
The Horizon's Pride, War Room Black
291.817.M41
Hour 23, Ship's Time

Sensing that the Battle-Brothers of Kill-team Umbra have no further questions of him, perhaps from the uncomfortable silence that follows his last answers in the war room, Diaz Lan gestures to the door.

"If you wish, I will now bring in the Brigadier Archibal Heth. As Aurum's newly appointed Ambassador-Militant he has been fully briefed by the Crusade high command on the where things stand on the Golden World, and he may be able to offer further details and insight into the murder of Sister Rachayel and the disposition of the Imperial garrison.

OK, it is also time to consider the Mission's leader, Oath-Taking, and Requisition. The Requisition rating for this mission in 55. Feel free to discuss choices that are separate from the IC discussion in the OOC thread. Provided the request is within reason, assume anything you can purchase with these points will be available in the sealed Deathwatch armory aboard the Horizon's Pride.

The Orpheus Salient
Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 22 System Sidereal Time

Darkness falls over the eroded mountain, but the heat does not diminish appreciably, the natural humidity of this world and warmth contained in the rock beneath him stubbornly clinging on despite the black tapestry of stars overhead.

The roaring flames of the promethium-fueled barricade tower over the ravine like a great, crimson-orange sentinel, causing even Brother Bjorn's enhanced eyes to narrow when he looks in that direction. The long-limbed shadows of the Caele's men working tirelessly before it to keep the fire stoked caper and dance exaggeratedly with their movements. The warriors work mostly in silence, but the Space Wolf, through careful observation has identified the man they defer to. It is most certainly Heydal, a tall and powerfully-built warrior, long-of-limb, his body streaked with soot from sharing in his men's toil. He is favored by the Caele, and Brother Bjorn now has the answer to the mystery of why he has not observed him in the vicinity of Haistand for so long.

The inky well of shadows on either side of the ravine is constantly probed and patrolled by well-armed warbands of the Auran warriors, and nightfall has not diminished their vigilance. On the contrary, they seem even more focused and intent upon their duties now.

Even so, this is far more the Space Wolf's natural element than theirs.

The Orpheus Salient
The Horizon's Pride, War Room Black
291.817.M41
Hour 23, Ship's Time

"Do these lizard-beasts possess any unusual properties save their ferociousness? Do the Aurumites have any peculiar legends regarding the saurians?"

Diaz Lan answers Brother Emeric first, "Saurian life dominates Aurum, almost to the exclusion of everything else. Anchored as it is in the firmament, so near to its star, the climate is without exception warm to hot throughout the planetary year. To the Aurimites, who live a largely subsistence, post-neolithic existence, the reptilian life is an integral part of their culture and traditions. They are accomplished warriors and hunters, first and foremost, as defending themselves from the aggressive native fauna is by the far the most dangerous threat to their survival. The conditions for agriculture are so perfect on this world, it requires far less effort to master. I am not as well versed in their folklore as some of the Imperial garrison on Haistand are, but I do know that many of their most basic rites of passage are predicated on courage, honor, and, as Brother Vex and Brother Caledonii have both astutely inferred, strength."

He smiles self-deprecatingly.

"These people are nearly half-again in size physically larger than your typical human genotype. They make Imperial Guardsmen, at the peak of their own fitness, appear as short, spindly, and gawky adolescents in comparison. Some, like Caele Darkscourge himself, begin to approach the physique of an Astartes. In retrospect, my attempt at impressing upon them the might of the Imperium through a misguided attempt at proving myself in one of their combat rituals was foolhardy and counterproductive, and I fully acknowledge this."

"Unfortunately by failing the initiation ritual. This has forced Rogue Trader Lan into a support role, and a new act of strength must be initiated if we want these people to be brought back into the Imperial fold."

"Brother-Librarian Vex has said it succinctly and to the point, I can only render aid and support in this matter at this point. They may appreciate my wit, candor and diplomatic acumen, but as a warrior, I can never expunge this loss of face in their eyes."

He chuckles to himself, "Not to mention that the legacy of the theratryx poison that once coursed through my veins still makes my piss burn almost a decade later."

"I admit I am confused by the Inquisitor's letter in regard that she knows what must be accomplished yet denied to give you assistance when you asked..."

"I cannot say I will ever fully fathom the puzzle that is the Holy Ordos, Brother-Librarian Vex. I do not believe their refusal to provide aid in this instance had anything to do with a change of heart in the crusade command's urgency to pacify Aurum, nor do I believe for one instant that Inquisitor Quist or her superiors are deliberately trying to forestall the process. As recently as a handful of years ago they placed one of the Deathwatch under my auspices on detached duty to act as reconnaissance monitoring events on the surface and to keep a watchful eye on the safety of the garrison. I have even considered asking Brother Bjorn alone to perform the service I recently requested the Ordos and yourselves to do, but, and I mean no disrespect in this at all, one space marine would not be sufficient to win the hearts and minds of Aurum's populace or address this new threat."

He considers something for a moment.

"Knowing well the Inquisition from substantial experience with their intrigues, I would presume that there is something else afoot on Aurum, something that the Ordo Xenos of the Tower of Brass does not wish to come to the attention of the Achilus Crusade at large."

The Orpheus Salient
The Horizon's Pride, War Room Black
291.817.M41
Hour 23, Ship's Time

Yep, I misspoke on that one Ellipsis, the line should have read: "I obtained my copy from Inquisitor Quist after I failed in my charge to bring the populace into the fold of the crusade." This document was forwarded to Diaz Lan as a backhanded insult by Inquisitor Quist and as a not so subtle goad/reminder to finish the job he was assigned to do.

The rogue trader's mouth wrinkles sourly at the memory of the incident.

"It is simple, really, in an effort to impress upon the people of Aurum and their Caele the fighting prowess of the men of the Imperium, I foolishly stepped into an arena with a particularly nasty strain of indigenous reptile known as a plumed theratryx. It was venomous, and nearly killed me. In hindsight, I would not choose to repeat the experience if at all possible, Brother Syne, and this is not say that I am disinclined to martial pursuits, merely that I not as adept with using a flint spear to dispatch my opponents as the Aurans. Another reason I believe the Astartes may measure up better in their eyes."

He shrugs.

"To give you an inkling of what I faced, theratryx are perhaps one of the most vicious, ill-tempered and savage predatory saurians I have encountered in all my travels through the Koronus Expanse and the Jericho Reach. The youth of Aurum frequently break them for mounts as part of a coming of age ritual."

He chuckles wryly to himself.

"Needless to say, my embarrassing defeat at the hands of one wild specimen considerably lowered my esteem in the eyes of the Caele and his people."

The Orpheus Salient
The Horizon's Pride, War Room Black
291.817.M41
Hour 23, Ship's Time

"Suffer not the alien to live. Diaz Lan, we will converse with Brigadier Archibal Heth."

"Indeed."

"If that is your wish I will summon him, Brother Emeric."

Diaz Lan begins to tap at the keys on the arms of his chair, and the hololithic displays spring into life again, spooling data in green and gold, illuminating the surface of the matte black table from above. The Battle-Brothers can see astrographic and geographic representations of Aurum from orbit, details about the Imperium's expeditionary garrison on Haistand, and a digitized representation of a document signed by none other than Inquisitor Quist herself.

"Ah, I see you have noticed. This was an Inquisitorial summary-briefing of the Imperium's contact with the people of Aurum thus far. It was part of a file forwarded to the Lord General of the Orpheus Salient some time ago. I obtained my copy from Inquisitor Quist when I was charged with bringing the populace into the fold of the crusade."

The Orpheus Salient
The Horizon's Pride, War Room Black
291.817.M41
Hour 23, Ship's Time

The rogue trader does not make any effort to conceal his relief upon hearing Brother Quintus' words, and smiles graciously at each of the assembled Astartes.

"In my service to Achilus Crusade, I have had ample opportunity to assist the Deathwatch and the Inquisition in their endeavours, and I have always assumed these duties with the complete earnestness of purpose and the utmost discretion. Consider myself, my crew, and all of our resources at your full disposal for the course of this mission, honored Astartes."

"In the Jericho Reach, outside of the craft of the Deathwatch itself, there is perhaps not a finer vessel in the Imperium for conveying the militant arm of the Ordo Xenos to its targets. There has long been an entire sub-deck of the Horizon's Pride set aside for just such a purpose. Although spartan, it is fitted with cells for rest, an infirmary, a drilling range, and a gene-coded and cipher-secured armory. I am not privy to what it contains, but I have been entrusted with protecting the only non Adeptus Astartes secured cache of space marine weaponry in the entire crusade effort, a truly humbling honor, use it as you will."

He pauses, considering how best to proceed.

"As I said before, War Room Black is yours to use for whatever deliberations you require, and I with it, if you wish to pose further questions to me regarding our destination or its people. Furthermore, I am currently conveying the new Ambassador-Militant of the Imperial garrison to Aurum, Brigadier Archibal Heth, and I am certain he would be grateful to offer his counsel as well if you would deign to speak with him. His briefing on Aurum, particularly with regard to recent events, matches, and perhaps exceeds even my own."

The Orpheus Salient
The Horizon's Pride, War Room Black
291.817.M41
Hour 23, Ship's Time

The Astartes of Kill-team Umbra confer for nearly an hour, an hour comprised of well-reasoned argument and counter-argument, shouted exchanges and quiet logic, dissension and, finally, consensus.

Although a few of their number have voiced their very legitimate concerns about potential conflicts with the Holy Ordos and their duties as outlined by the Apocryphon Conclave of Orphite IV, the Astartes are all very clear wherein their duty lies as protectors of the Imperium. The compiled intelligence they have in their possession pertaining the events on Tantalus, Magos Vyakai's datacore, and the enigmatic connection between the Omega Vault and the world of Aurum ultimately supersedes any such fears of Inquisitorial retribution or interference.

When the rogue trader, Diaz Lan, returns, his arrival is preceded only by a perfunctory knock on the heavy blast door, perhaps the surest sign thus far that War Room Black is hermetically sealed against eavesdropping of any kind. Upon being granted entry by Brother Quintus, he steps into the room, a cursory glance at the solemn and unreadable faces of the space marines denying him any quick interpretation of their feelings or intent with regard to his request.

Taking his seat in the command chair at the head of the table once again, he steeples his fingers, and begins to speak, a final plea for their aid, not knowing that they have already come to their decision.

"I will be frank with you. The Lord Militant believes that some kind of alien creature has descended upon Aurum, perhaps responsible for the death of Sister Rachayel. I'm sure venerable warriors such as yourselves will be more than a match for it if you consent to assisting me. However, there is also, in truth, another matter that the Crusade and myself need your help in on that planet---possibly one that only the Adeptus Astartes can address. Aurum is a valuable world, and its people were some of the few that did not turn to the dark powers during the Age of Shadow in the Jericho Sector."

His frustration is evident as his hands twist together slightly, a look of consternation on his countenance that shows just how much he has struggled with the conundrum he is about to reveal.

"However, they have proven remarkably resistant to negotiation. Their leader, or Caele, a paragon of a warrior who calls himself Rylus Darkscourge, won't permit any sizable Imperial detachments to land, nor will he allow the people of our small garrisson to stray beyond their capital city of Haistand. Some over-zealous survey groups tried to stray beyond these edicts once, and their deaths nearly shattered our fragile peace. The Aurans are a proud people, and the truth is I think they're not impressed by us. We could pacify the world, but the last thing we need is one more population held by force instead of faith, like the worlds of the Canis Salient. More importantly, these are a people who share our faith, albeit in a divergent form due to their long isolation from the Imperial Creed, and simply subjugating them would waste a potentially powerful ally for helping to secure the Orpheus Salient from the Tyranid. This is, of course, in addition to the unique mineral and agricultural resource this world would provide the Crusade effort. I will not deny the importance of the more material matters, either, but therein lies the rub, the Lord Militant will only wait so long before he judges that the resources are more vital than winning the hearts and minds of the populace, and the clock it ticking."

He watches the faces of the Deathwatch marines for a while, trying to divine how receptive they may be to his earnest request. Sighing, he imparts a more personal narrative.

"I have been charged with this task and I admit I am at an impasse in this matter. Every method at my disposal has been ignored, met with refusal, or the outright contempt of the populace and their leader. These are a special people whom I respect greatly despite our differences, a people who believe in the Emperor and his works, a people that would be a proud and welcome addition to the extended family of mankind, and perhaps, in time, a profoundly effective contributor in the efforts to save their world and many others from the threat of the Great Devourer. You may find this ironic, but as a warrior-culture not to dissimilar from your own, envoys such as yourselves from the Adeptus Astartes might be our last chance to bring peace to Aurum."

The Orpheus Salient
Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 15 System Sidereal Time

Awareness test successful, Brother Bjorn.

Surveying the strange scene before him, the thick, black smoke wafting overhead somewhat occluding his lofty vantage point from view, Brother Bjorn begins his reconnaissance in earnest.

He first counts the numbers of the Caele's warriors, comparing the number he settles on, 112, to the number he has estimated the Caele's strength at, and the conclusion is jarring. Easily a fifth of the Caele of Haistand's warriors is present here, and more importantly, Brother Bjorn recognizes many of them to be among his best soldiers. It does not bode well for the level of danger posed by whatever it is they are guarding.

As far as his initial observations can tell, there is no sign whatsoever of scoring or damage to the fire's perimeter or the rocky walls of the ravine that would indicate the use of any advanced weaponry. As the people of Aurum have just barely progressed past the use of bows in their technological development level, this likely rules out an advanced xenos presence, as even with their commendable bravery and prowess in battle, a hundred or so of even the Caele's best men would likely not last long in the face of such a threat.

Neither is there a sign of any injured. One of the more conspicuously large hide tents amid the camp appears to have been erected by some kind of large fire pit, however.

The Orpheus Salient
Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 15 System Sidereal Time

Climb test is successful, Brother Bjorn.

The climb is arduous, even for an Astartes, but Brother Bjorn is used to such trials, and the ascent is nothing compared to even the smallest of Fenris' forbidding peaks. As he crests the narrow, rocky summit of the steep mount, he exhales in satisfaction. Truly, this is a perfect vantage point to observe the narrow defile that leads to Grensvayl. Looking back over his shoulder as he hunkers down to watch, he can look down on many of the closer watchposts of the Caele's warriors behind him, from the direction whence he came.

Looking through his scope, though, he first focuses his hunter's shrewd eye on where the thickening pall of smoke is originating from. It does not take long to find, as the source is a towering wall of flame, impossible to miss, erupting from the toppled ruins of the former gap that led to the valley. It appears a treacherously deliberate avalanche of rock, nearly a hundred meters high, has choked off the pass, turning it into a dead-end ravine, surmounted by a gigantic, flaming barricade. Even at the considerable distance Bjorn watches from, he can make out over a hundred of the Caele's loyal warriors standing vigil here, some watching the narrow road, others the numerous passes and paths over the peaks on either side of the inferno. Still more work laboriously to shore up and expand the fiery wall, their bodies sweating with the exertion caused from rolling great casks of unrefined promethium along roughly built ramps and scaffolds to ensure the fire does not gutter out.

The Orpheus Salient
The Horizon's Pride, War Room Black
291.817.M41
Hour 22, Ship's Time

Brother Emeric, Tech-Use test is successful by four degrees.

Free from the contradictory nature of the Omega Vault, Brother Emeric finds that his auspex and sensoria arrays are again operating at peak efficiency.

A thorough survey of the chamber entirely confirms what the rogue trader, Diaz Lan, has intimated. This ship's war room is specifically outfitted and configured with the utmost measures to ensure privacy and security of those within it. The cogitational systems integrated into the table are free of any unexpected devices or broadcast signals, on any spectrum, and the walls, floor, and ceiling are all cunningly configured with baffles and sonic dampening emitters to further preserve the sanctity of whatever transpires within.

He is confident that their discussion will not be monitored or recorded. The private quarters of a senior Inquisitor would be comparable in regard to security.

Looking along the length of the table on his side, he finds that there is standard template docking shunt. There are similar data ports on each other edge of the table as well.

The Orpheus Salient
Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 14 System Sidereal Time

Brother Bjorn circumvents the warrior's watch-post. Once aware of their presence, he easily skirts the next two that he encounters as he climbs steadily higher into the mountains. He observes several more at a distance through his scope as he travels, always two warriors, always camped in high vantage points. He finds it interesting and peculiar that there as many watching the other, lesser traveled passes leading away from Grensvayl as there are the ones leading to the village from without.

As the inky smoke hanging over the peaks grows darker still, his wolf senses begin to detect the unmistakable smell of unrefined promethium blowing to him from further upwind. He watches as several of the warriors he has followed from Haistand relieve a few of their brethren at the isolated guard posts, coming from the direction of where Grensvayl is purported to be located.

Although the continuing ascent from his lofty perch is a precarious one, Brother Bjorn believes he can climb the remaining distance to the summit of one of the nearby peaks to look down upon the entrance to the isolated valley on the other side where Grensvayl sits, and where the smoke seems to be originating. It is unfortunately his only option at this point, as the guardposts this close to the pass are clustered closely together. He has counted at least thirty of the Caele's men, and his risk of discovery will be that much greater if he approaches by a more direct route.

Brother Bjorn, please attempt a Challenging [+0] Climb skill test.

The Orpheus Salient
The Horizon's Pride, War Room Black
291.817.M41
Hour 22, Ship's Time

Diaz Lan does not seem taken aback in the least at Brother Quintus' request for Kill-team Umbra. He rises from his chair nods respectfully to the battle-brothers, and exits the war room.

A silence settles over the room.

The Orpheus Salient
The Horizon's Pride, War Room Black
291.817.M41
Hour 22, Ship's Time

Seeing his brother Dark Angel appears to be preoccupied, the normally reserved Brother Syne speaks up, asking the question that all of his fellow Astartes must be wondering.

"Such matters are usually the purview of the Holy Ordos, why would you ask for Astartes rather than an Inquisitor?"

Diaz Lan actually points at Brother Syne with his index finger, smiling with the good-natured expression one usually associates with a teacher commending an especially bright student. Realizing he has forgotten himself and the decorum usually ascribed to interactions with space marines, he pulls his hand back to his lap after the awkward faux pas.

"Yes, precisely! Surely this matter would be better investigated by the Holy Ordos---so I believed, as well, Brother Syne. As I mentioned to Brother Quintus, however, my entreaties for Inquisitorial aid were met with silence at the Tower of Brass. Despite my persistence, despite the gravity of the matter, silence then led to stalling, which soon became polite refusal from lesser Ordos functionaries. For all my patience and respect for the Holy Ordos, I will not be diverted by the insincere prattling of lowly acolytes. After several attempts at contact with the upper hierarchy of the Tower, I finally received direct word via encrypted cipher from Inquisitor Adrielle Quist herself. It was a tersely worded, unequivocal refusal to commit Inquisitorial assets at this time."

Rather than wait for the next, most obvious question to be posed, he answers it.

"I am not a foolish man, and only foolish men trifle with the dictates of the Holy Ordos. Although disappointed and confused, I considered the matter closed. I only broach the subject with you now because of your serendipitous arrival, an arrival that coincides with a message I recently received, a message from one of the Deathwatch, who has been placed on detached duty in my service on Aurum. I had originally petitioned for his service when I first came to be charged with bringing Aurum into the Imperium's fold, and he has served in this capacity admirably, maintaining a reconnaissance presence unknown to world's natives or the Imperial garrison he has been tasked with watching over."

Diaz Lan begins to tap hidden keys on his chair causing hololithic read-outs and three-dimensional depictions of Aurum to spring into life over the surface of the jet black table.

"My astropath has recently translated an encrypted transmission from this Deathwatch marine that indicates there may be a greater threat to the Imperium at work than the murder of Sister Rachayel. Given the enormity of that crime alone, I felt it was in the best interest of the Deathwatch and the Ordos it serves to be aware that something far more sinister may be afoot on Aurum."

The Orpheus Salient
Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 12 System Sidereal Time

BS = 45, +20 (Full Action Aim), -10 (Long Range), modified Ballistic skill test is 55, test is successful by two degrees, Brother Bjorn.

Brother Bjorn hits the mark, dead center, dislodging a tumble of broken stone and loose scree, that rattles down the outcropping with a satisfying amount of noise.

Peering toward the watchpost, he allows himself a grim grin, as the two warriors creep forward, conferring anxiously. Something about their manner unsettles him, however. He has seen the Caele's warriors in battle against other tribes, watched them face down fearsome reptillian predators on the veldt, and this nervous hesitation is not normal.

His grin fades as quickly as it came. This is troubling.

He watches the men stealthily slip down from their perch, moving warily along the steep hillside before crossing the rough path leading to Grensvayl like shadows.

His path clear, he begins his ascent once again, but cannot help but look back at the two warrriors as they approach the site of his diversion.

Having none themselves, it is hard sometimes for the Astartes to recognize it in others.

These men are afraid of what might be lurking, hidden in the shadows of the mountains.

The Orpheus Salient
The Horizon's Pride, War Room Black
291.817.M41
Hour 22, Ship's Time

Brother Vex, Psyniscience test was successful.

The Orpheus Salient
Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 12 System Sidereal Time

Nestling the silenced and dampered Stalker pattern bolt pistol to his cheek, Brother Bjorn Ensam-Vargr takes careful aim at a nodule of rock several hundred meters distance away from the southeast corner of the rocky promontory the Caele's warriors use as a guardpost. Squinting from the dying light of the descending sun, he offers a word of propitiation to the Totem of the Sun Wolf, and feathers the trigger lightly.

Brother Bjorn, please make a Ballistic Skill test. The more accurate the shot, the better your ruse will work.