Vasyl's beam flicks over...something...as it flees the building, eliciting it to yell once more.
"I agree," the Alcolyte replies over the comms. "Do you have a location we can move to?"
"We have a hotel room booked. It may or may not be compromised by now. I suggest that we find somewhere lowkey that won't ask too many questions. Do you know of anywhere like that in this area?"
"There's a number of empty warehouses and the like, but perhaps a Hive apartment or the like would be better? The more people the less likely the Eldar are to try and intervene. They are...not subtle enough to move through the streets." The older man paused. "I hope."
"We should go to the hotel room. At least we know it's secure"
"I propose we return to the hotel room however we should not be lax. Vasyl and Afan could perform some light snooping. If the arbites have been around asking questions it would stand to reason that the staff would be agitated and nervous. Even if it looks suspicious they might be able to extract our gear. I for one would be more comfortable facing off against the xenos with all of our combat gear."
"Good call. Afan, you're with me."
The return journey was uneventful, and there was no sign of the Arbites or even less police at the hotel. The standard belief that such a van wouldn't be linked to one of the finest hotels on the planet, let alone the Hive, seemed to be paying off.
Once they are securely back in the apartment Lothar muses "Whatever our next move I think I'll be keeping my gear close to hand stowed in the storage compartment of any vehicle."
What's next... we chase him down? Jene seems in a foul mood.
"My next move is to get my rifle, it seems we will be needing it."
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"There are three obvious targets for such a rifle," the old Adept added as he made himself comfortable in a chair. "The first would be the manor described by the Eldar. Assuming his description was both accurate and honest the only one matching the description would be House Larnia. I haven't broken into there comm chatter yet, the fleeing you understand, but they certainly seem to be have increased activity."
Considering, he added, "Then there is the PDF base mentioned. It shouldn't take long to confirm one that matches the description he gave. It will be difficult to move undetected, but I'm not sure how much need for secrecy you still have - the Eldar know you exist now, after all. Then again, they can't kill what they can't find."
With another pause, he hesitantly added, "And of course, now we know what exactly we hunt, we could use a ship's scanners to narrow down the area the Eldar themselves lurk in. Their ships are hard to find, it's very true, but not impossible. And they're very arrogant."
Hit the heart and head.
"I like the idea of hunting the eldar themselves. They're the biggest threat here."
Do you know anything of House Mandre, here? They have the means of transport and combat units. They would gain status in helping the Inquisition clean up this mess.
"Mandre? They seem a decent bunch. Smaller and newer than some of the others. No major scandals. A few minor members have small issues - gambling, drugs, etc. Nothing worth mentioning."
You scratch my back...
"That could work. Make them owe the Inquisition too."
A mark of distinction about the houses, a debt to the Inquisition for the opportunity.
Stroking his chin, he said, "I think they will likely agree to help the Inquisition, yes. There house troops are said to be unusually well equipped for some reason. The question becomes where you wish to aim them. If you wish to strike the Eldar, we'll need to locate them."
We've met an artificer of that house, before we came to you... could they be complicit. Having sent the Eldar to follow us?
Maybe you two should... talk.
"I think that can be arranged with some security."
Lothar rubes his jawline "Mandre getting involved at this point openly could force the enemy to expedite their timetable. Rather than at this point them openly moving under the Inquisition we find an excuse for a feud. Make the higher ups in the family aware but keep it tight lipped."
"Noble houses feuding might just amuse the Eldar scum. We could disguise ourselves as hired guns to allow us to lend aid directly and conduct our investigation. If we can get a solid lead on the Eldar then we can identify it as such to the Inquisitor to begin reassigning forces to scourge the taint from this world."
"It has...potential. You'll need to be exceptionally cautious about who knows what, of course."
"Put the right round through the right head and you can get a fight between nobles going, just have to make sure there is enough evidence pointing the way towards the one you want hit after putting a laughable amount of time making it look like you were hiding that evidence and trying to get them to go after another. The hard part is picking the targets."
"If that is the plan, then, I would suggest arranging a meeting with Mandre. It will probably be difficult to do without falling back on your inquisitorial authority, though - even minor houses tend to be difficult with meeting there higher ups for obvious reasons. It depends on how you would like to proceed."
"My cover is that of a nobleman on a layover, we should use that to arrange the meeting, or at least make the attempt."
"That is a viable plan, yes. You'll need to make it believable but a big enough that one of the more senior members to be involved, or trust that the junior one you find will be able to keep there mouth shut."
"I think we should aim as high as we can feasibly get. They will have the power to get the house into the fight."
The artificer will do nicely, better his business and name.
"So you can try talking your way into a higher ranking member, or speak with this artificer and use him to get to who you need." The other Acolyte shrugged in bemusement. "Such interactions with people were never exactly my forte, so you will need to decide which one you think will work better."
"You did the majority of interaction with him, I feel like I was appropriately aloof. We need a cover story to entice them into a meeting but it can't be something easily verified. We'll probably have to make some concessions, the easiest is having it be inside their holdings. Make them more comfortable."
Lothar looked up for a few moments "A business opportunity would be possible but we could claim that we have information on one of their rivals we'd like to trade. We can discretely use the artificer to make clandestine contact to arrange the meeting."
It's a chance to prove themselves of value, gain prestige and better future commerce.
"If we can make the pitch tasty enough."
"If they're already addicted to drugs it should be easy for us to convince them into a meeting the the promise of more. I can synthesis some basic drugs that should get them to meet with us"
"To clarify house Mandre are a house we might be eliciting for aid in a strike since we are unsure which pdf or enforcer forces are untainted."
That's my suggestion, it's the house of that artificer we spoke with.
"Do you have something to offer," the adept queried, "Or will this be a bluff? That will influence the way you approach."
What about a peek at Eldar tech? An artificer wouldn't pass that up. She nods to their recent loot.
"Alas, the heresy of such an action could backfire," the Adept noted thoughtfully.
"It would be a bad indication if they did. I say we tell truth of a sort, an opportunity to elevate their standing at the expense of a rival. Details will only be discussed with a senior figure in the house. The patriarch or matriarch would be best but as unknowns we'd likely be doing well to get someone in their inner circle."
"The favour of the Inquisition should be a big chip, though we can only drop that at the higher levels."
"And we can always just start shooting if it falls apart. Enough die and it might pull investigations on to why." Afan pronounces this with cold efficiency as if discussing a boring routine. Choice of last resort I know."
"Alternatively we spill some of these Eldar drugs" Lazerus says holding up the drugs they got from the dead Eldar."And tell them if they don't help we call the arbites"
"While I know some disagree, I've always felt murder should be used as a weapon of precision," the acolyte agreed.
"Well we say favour to lure them to the meeting... I think it would be in actuality more along the lines of this world is about to come under a lot of scrutiny so it wouldn't hurt to start proving your loyalty and faith."
I'll try to talk to the Artificer, we'll go from there... or do we need a little recon, prior?
"At the very least he'll have more up to date information and personal insight about the House than we can get." The Acolyte nodded. "So, approach this artificer for information and a potential introduction and work from there?"
"Agreed on approaching the artificer. Let's keep our options open for now on whether the murder happens, or in mass."
Let's go then... I'll start the parley, feel free to jump in as any time. But, give me some space. Let's not over stimulate the fellow.
We want him as an asset.
"I can provide a perfect cover for our trip; I need to replenish my shells and he mentioned having bolt ammunition." Callidia removes the nearly spend magazine from the bolt pistol and inserts the fresh clip as she speaks.
It is a good crew. Things keep looking up.
"Let's do this."
Lazerus reloads his hell pistol.
"I'm ready"