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.
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 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.
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 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."
"Greetings Kohl Bennex. I am Librarian Vex of the Death Watch. I am hear to bear witness to your testimony."
"My compatriot is Tech Marine Brother Emeric."
I let the titles explain enough for themselves.
"Brother if you would be kind enough to question Kohl Bennex. I would wish to observe."
I would like to use Telepathy to see what the man see's as Emeric asks his questions.
"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 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.
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.
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.
When we are in the armoury, and only the Deathwatch inside.
"The Rogue Trader is hiding something. It is not about the mission, but It makes wonder why he would do that, considering the admissions he has already made.
The subject appears to be in a state of abject terror, unable to respond. We may have to take alternative measures.
Perhaps other assistance would be helpful. Need to settle this pathetic creature before we can properly question him.
Via internal vox:
<<Apothecary Syne. Report to the detention deck.>>
I transmit a schematic map to guide him to our location.
Eli gives the techmarine a curt reply.
<<I am on my way, there are supplies I must first retrieve for my examinations.>>
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.
"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 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 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.
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.
"I am wondering what the Omega Vault wants from us. The Dark Angels love their secrets, but that does not mean that those secrets are not important. Unless it affects us, the Rogue Trader's secrets are his to keep. After we collect what we are going to use on the mission, Let us get food and drink before preparing for our task. Unless you have other orders, Brother Leader Caledonii."
The Horizon's Pride, Deathwatch Armory, Primary Aft Secure Hold
291.817.M41
Hour 24, Ship's Time
"I am wondering what the Omega Vault wants from us. The Dark Angels love their secrets, but that does not mean that those secrets are not important. Unless it affects us, the Rogue Trader's secrets are his to keep. After we collect what we are going to use on the mission, Let us get food and drink before preparing for our task. Unless you have other orders, Brother Leader Caledonii."
"Aye, I am of your mind, Brother Quintus---at least where it comes to the need to partake in food and drink---wandering the hallways of a place where time has no meaning, and traveling at the Vault's whim thousands of light years across the Reach through the Warp does something indeed to whet your thirst!"
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."
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 23 System Sidereal Time
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.
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"Very well, Kohl Bennex. Open your mind to me."
I use Telepathy to enter his mind.
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.
My auspex notes anamolies as the Librarian pacifies the ship's cook. Sensing witchcraft, my Black Templar indoctrination triggers internal revulsion but I fight it down. Not wanting to interrupt Vex's interventions I stand completely still.
Once sealed inside the Deathwatch armory, Eli stands apart from his fellows, lending only half an ear to their discussion, and begins the practiced ritual or removing his holy armor. Placing his armor and weapons in an empty cubicle, he dons a simple robe gifted to him by his chapter.
Next, Eli collects the tools of his trade swiftly but without haste, plucking fragile devices from their sterilized cases and picking handful of strangely tinged reagents from their neatly labeled rack.
He places these supplies in a well made leather satchel, and retrieves his sword and knife before leaving to seek Brothers Emeric and Vex.
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.
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-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 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.
I break my stillness and turn to greet the kill-team's other Dark Angel.
"Apothecary."
As I gently probe Kohl Bennex's mind nudging it forward to the final scene.
I let a question drift into the air for Brother Emeric's response.
"Do all Servitors carry a visual recording device?"
As I look for serial numbers to Identify the Servitor in question. I ask another...
"Is there a report of a damaged Servitor stationed from the mess Kohl Bennex was assigned to?"
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 Orpheus Salient
Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 23 System Sidereal Time
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.
The Orpheus Salient
Aurum, The Shining Plains
300.817.M41
Hour 23 System Sidereal Time
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...
"Brother-Librarian, not all servitors are equipped for visual recording, especially the type used in this case. I have detected a peculiarity in the data. Apparently a scullery-servitor failed to shut-down on command, then requiring its termination."
How does this add up?
"Cogitations indicate a high probability of sabotage or malign influence."
"That is unfortunate..."
"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?"
As I slowly receed from the poor Cook's mind. I know he has given willingly all that he was able to give.
"Thank you Kohl Bennex. Be assured I am an instrument of the Emperor's Will."
"Brother's I wish to have private council with you."
"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?"
Observing the scene before him, Eli deduces what is going on.
"Are my attentions still required Brother Vex, or has your own discipline obviated the need for mine?"
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
I talk in High Gothic for privacy since Kohl Bennex is in the room with us.
"I am at an impass Brothers and require your assistance. While I believe this man's word. It will mean nothing if we can not find concrete evidence to placate the Adeptus Mechanicus. In the end if I can not find evidence to convince you as a Tech Marine. Then this man's life will be forfeit as you must be the one to make the case of innocence or guilt for this man."
"While I can read his mood, and intent before meeting the Enginseer. His emotions become like white noise and I can no longer read what happens. To push further would damage the man's mind permanently."
"Which would lead to my next question. If we accept that Kohl Bennex is telling the truth. Then we have to ask why he was attacked? This would require us looking at the Enginseer Kreth's body. Which would require both your talents working in tandem to find an anomaly."