"Ahh Federica, how you have grown. Yes it will take me only about 13 minutes to prepare my equipment and then i will be ready."
An Acolyte enters the chamber and informs the group that a skimmer has arrived:
The unarmed transportation the Inquisitor requested has arrived. Shall I ask the pilot to remain or will one of you be piloting? The trip is roughly 3 hours distance from here, far outside the city.
"I shall abide in the skimmer until we depart." Electing against bringing any of his heavier weaponry, Ludicus hoists his crosswbow and force blade, leaving the rest of his considerable armoury behind.
"I cannot drive a skimmer, so the pilot would be necessary.", she says to the Acolyte. Unarmed? Perhaps to avoid suspicion?, she thinks, turning towards the others. "I'll need some time to tend to my armaments. Will meet you there in quarter of an hour."
Appearing from his rooms, Gaius looks no less like the academic he is, his arsenal looks rather out of place, and yet it all looks well worn and used.
"I am ready, err i think, yes I have everything i need."
I can be ready then as well. Phineus taps his dataslate and turns it off.
Once finished with the discussion, Phineus heads to his quarters and prepares his equipment. Because of the nature of the mission he quickly dresses in his Vindicare suit and throws a regular robe over it for the walk to the skimmer. His travel bag is already packed and ready to go, as always.
Once finished he makes his way to the skimmer. Even with his mask on, it is clear to any that just spent time with him that this is Phineus. For any that were not already aware, it is now quite obvious what his role in the group is.
Walking into her quarters, Sister Federica walks towards a massive armoire, standing out with its conservative design from the rest of the room. It has been a while..., she thinks, as she lays her fur-brimmed cloak on the bed, beginning to get ready. Revealing an intricate web of prayers and scripture tattooed on her skin, covering almost her entire body, leaving only the hands and feet untouched. Lines of prayers and holy symbols intertwine, all culminating in a multi-coloured work of St. Mina's final moments, final breaths among the corpses of her foes.
Placing her hand upon the Aquila, the armoire opens, a masterfully crafted set of blood-red armour appears, an image of a rose with two gilded, bloody daggers crossing through the flower. The side doors of the armoire are covered with equal parts armaments and holy iconography.
Falling on her knees, Federica whispers a short, quiet prayer. "May His Light shine from my armor, so that my foes are helpless. May His Mercy smile on my arms, so that my aim be true. May His Will be manifest, so that our endevour be just. For the Emperor."
Standing up from the altar, the Palatine begins putting on the armour with trained efficiency. The blood-red paint gleams in the morning sun, as she puts on a harness made of small plates, and begins attaching weaponry to it. Finally, she reaches in, opening a small ebony box, and takes out two massive revolvers, engraved with tenets against the heretic, placing them in two holsters on her hips.
Upon having full battle regalia, she reaches in, taking a finely engraved jump pack, placing it on her back, above the reactor. The jump pack clicks and lets out a small gust of wind, sending ripples in her cloak. Taking a gilded helmet, engraved with a fleur-de-lis, she takes a bolter's handle, before looking to the side and leaving it in the armoire, and begins marching out into the corridor.
"I'm ready. Let's proceed. Who else will be joining us?", she asks, curling up her braid in a bun, ready to put on the helmet, "Let the pilot know that I would be there to assist him if need be.", she says to the Acolyte. She turns around to Phineas, surprised at the man's role. "I wouldn't imagine one of your... purpose being so... communicative, Master Faeyd. You would think one wouldn't need such skills when they're as far away as Vindicares are, no?", with a small smile and a glean in her eyes, which jump from the man to the armaments he's carrying, lingering for a long time on the pistol. I wonder if the rumors of their marksman skills are not as exaggerated as I though...
Once everyone is ready Lillian beckons them to join her. Her support coffin lifts a few centimeters off the ground and glides through the halls of the mansion til it exits and boards the skimmer.
As she leaves a mean looking woman named Freya, Lillian's Arbitrator bodyguard, joins her and enters the skimmer as well.
+Let's get going, shall we?+ She beckons the team.
Taking a seat in the skimmer, Ludicus spent the short time that he had until the others arrived by very carefully laying out a set of five stake-bolts before him, polishing them gently, before slotting each one into the magazine of the purgatus crossbow.
It was done with meticulous care and precision, almost reverently.
By the time he was joined by the rest of the cadre, he was once again sitting completely still, back stiff, eyes straight ahead, almost like a statue.
The skimmer departs without much notice on a busy afternoon. The transportation looks local and is well maintained, though it looks a bit older, it's paint worn and tarnished over time, obviously seeing a lot of usage. As you clear the city grounds and head northeast it’s a smooth ride with very few other encounters along the way. As you drive it looks like an open tundra, but drier and aged, no vegetation to be found here, or many animals that you could see. After an hour you break through the end of a valley you had driven through for nearly half the ride. When you exit the other side there is lusher vegetation and water everywhere. It looks like a small oasis in a desert and as the skimmer slows its speed you all can see in the distance a number of Pylons, large, black, and of obvious xenos design. Just then the pilot fills you in a little on the path:
This is the most common route moving in and out of this sector. The other way is very long and dangerous, besides, the view is much better here.
Phineus spends the time using his wide-spectrum visor to scan for heat and energy sources, allowing his comm sensor to scan through channels for any communication. He leaves the short range observation to the built in Auspex.
Rakavet compared there route to the one in his database. It was always wise to know what your escape routes were.
Ludicus does his best to slowly scan the area for the type of elevated positions that offers good cover and can be used to set up a killing ground.
They will not be able to ambush us if we are suitably forewarned.
From moving off, Gaius instigated a thorough sweep pattern around the vehicle with his inbuilt auspex, foreground, middle ground, distance and repeat. Looking for signs of regular travel and humanoid presence i.e. tracks, refuse, the glint of light off metal or glass, movement.
2dos
6dos
"Err Pilot, please forgive my condition, but i feel that if i am taking notes of our journey today, I should have all the facts. Could I take your name please and the name of this oasis area. It reminds me of a desert creature from the death world Seren, that I read about. It was a giant lizard of some sort that could open its mouth and produce a pool of saliva so as to imitate an oasis pool, it even had a natural lip attachment that resembled the local flora. Isn't that fascinating, do you have anything similar here?"
Lillian sets her sensors to pick up life form readings and heat bleed from weapon power packs, searching for any armed men down below.
4 DoS
Sister Federica keeps an eye on the dials, attempting to remember best how to fly an unarmed vehicle. Not even multilasers? One would think them fashion accessories on Cadia, no?
"Look for tracks or any visual signs for people leaving.", she speaks on the intercom. Turning to the pilot, "Brief us on the more dangerous path. We might need to head there sooner or later. I am assuming it is less observed, no?"
Phineus Faeyd:
Your spectrum scan shows an abundance of small wildlife, rats, ferrets, birds, snakes, and fish. There are no other comm signals in the immediate vicinity that you can detect.
Rakavet:
is too distracted by the pylons and is lost in thought, oblivious to what is happening around him for the moment.
Ludicus Marleno:
scans for possible ambush points but can't see through the foilage or tree line to assess much. There are some hills and elevated spots, but you don't notice anything particular.
Gaius Haxtes:
This path looks man made and while not congested with heavy movement at the moment, you can see it is used regularly by a number of vehicles. None seem to head off the main road, none you can detect turning off into the forest or nearby waterways. As you question the pilot he responds in low Gothic.
Locals call it Vegas, something about an old Terra city, but I don't concern myself with history much. Never actually been roaming around, as beautiful as it is, its too isolated for me, I prefer the city life and the occasional view....Don't know much about the plants, seems most folks coming through these parts are more interested in the pylons than this. Besides, there are other pockets throughout Cadia like this, something about underwater springs and geo-thermal something or another.
Then turning to Sister Federica, he replies:
Don't know much about that route, never been that way personally, few business and interest there. The valley we went through was manmade, up until about 20 years ago, everyone went around the plateau by way of "the Nongfu pass." But every since I been driving towards the Alexandria sector where we're going, I've taken the this new shortcut. Haven't really shared the route with others, so plenty of people still using the Nongfu pass, it continues on to another small settlement called Zara.
After a moment he ask his own question of the party:
Why ya'll so interested in this particular pylon, there are some closer I'd could bring you to. as he looks around at the party, he continues...I'm just glad you all have the sense to be well armed, too many people take the safety of the cities for granted when commin out here...Not me! he says, patting his side where a solid projectile weapon is half tucked into his pants.
For the re-roll on failure, that's only if you fail to roll below your stats OR fail an opposed test. So your first 2DOS is what you get, unless it were opposed and then I'd apply the second roll. Also, everyone, please list your DOS for me when you roll.
Too busy to notice anything, as she keeps busy with refreshing her knowledge about the vehicle, Federica speaks to the pilot. "This particular one is special." Turning to the others sitting in the back, she begins speaking in Low Gothic, speaking a couple of words before coughing quietly and continuing in a language more suitable for the current audience. "Let's mo... I suggest that we keep the pilot outside as a pair of eyes on the outside while we're in there. After we're finished, if we haven't found anything of particular interest, we could take the longer way, and stop to ask about any parties investigating the pylons."
As soon as the vessel reaches the destination, Federica stands up from the co-pilot's seat. Pointing at a clearing next to the pylon, she says, "Take us down there. We'll be inside, you stay here and wait for orders. If somebody approaches, you are to reach us over the comms. If you can't reach us over the comms, for whatever reason, you come inside and find us.", she says in a voice not willing to take no for an answer, before smiling and saying, "Emperor be with you."
Taking her helmet, she walks to the passenger area and says, "We're all ready, I'm assuming? Let's find out what's so special about this pylon. I suggest Magos Rakavet and I take the front, while Master Marleno and Phineas guard the rear. Gives us firm lines and perceptive people at both ends."
Ludicus nods crisply and salutes.
"I hear, and I obey."
Before moving to stand at the back of the group, one hand resting lightly on the pommel of his sword.
As he stands to exit the vehicle Phineus removes his cloak, folds it, and places it on the seat. He nods at Federica as she gives her instructions.
Very well. We'll be two-hundred meters back. Marleno...how's your stealth training?
"...Sufficient."
" Uh Federica, one little thing, as you know my expertise lies in assessing crime scenes, please allow me to do a sweep of the immediate pylon vicinity first, before all your big boots move through the area. By all means cover me, in fact I would prefer it, as my eyes will be on the ground, but if we are to find clues as to where the other team went, then I need the scene uncontaminated. Argos, Pattern Beta track!"
1dos
4dos
2dos
Rakavet nodded, finishing the preperations of his armour and weapons. The Magos was tall by human standards, bulky by any, and the armour, while far smaller than typical power armour, wasn't exactly light or simple. He had connected the heavy multilaser to the correct ports, checked it's systems while murmering the Machine Gods blessings. Hopefully the weapon didn't suffer any problems.
As the group approaches their destination the view of the Pylon unfolds and it seems much like the others you've seen. Nothing different stands out about it, though it looks fairly well maintained, as some others you have seen have shown varying signs of natural decay. This one however seems nearly untouched by time. While rare, it wasn't unheard of.
Sister Federica assigns squad positions and everyone seems to fall in line, readying their equipment and weapons. At about 200m the pilot stops momentarily for the Master at Arms and Phineus to disembark and bring up the rear. They attempt to remain hidden.
As Rakavet and Gaius approach, Gaius expresses concern and wants an uncontaminated crime scene. The others oblige and remain at a distance until Gaius and Argos can scan the area more thoroughly.
As they begin to inspect the scene carefully the unfamiliarity of this world and his companions is just enough to distract Gaius and his eye misses a few things he might of otherwise noticed. He eyes a few openings high above in the Pylons, easily accessible by a Servo Skull.
Argos has better luck and and is able to make out multiple prints for tracking, a few vehicles, and some blood. The area surrounding the Pylons is bare and dusty, with many prints having been blown away or covered by debris and dirt. Today wasn't particularly windy though and the team had some luck on their side as they inspected more easily.
Rakavet stays with Gaius but holds back as Argos and Gaius begin to inspect the scene.
This large an area needs closer inspection and it will take an hour or more for Gaius to thoroughly examine the scene alone, not including the Pylon itself.
Marleno and Phienus give me an Awareness -20 roll:
The scene is littered with footsteps of varying age. There appears to be fresh footsteps within a day perhaps. Gaius attempts to follow the freshest ones:
You find a set of steps leading to the pylon and then suddenly disappearing. They don't turn around and you have no idea where they could've lead.
Anyone nearing the Pylons now or later who gets +3DOS on search will find a dataslate.
Phineus barely makes out something approaching and speaks into his microbead, Incoming. Moving fast.
He zooms in with his magnoculars and scans for heat and energy signatures in order to identify what it is. Looking around for concealment, he sets his comm sensor to continue to scan for traffic.
"I see it.
Unknown quality, unknown speed, unknown intentions.
Recommend care in response."
Just as Federica's about to assist Gaius in his searches, she hears Master Ludicus' reply. Turning on her vox, she begins giving orders. "Pilot, there is an incoming vehicle. Try to find out if anybody's coming to the area. Master Rakavet, coordinate with Phineas to identify the craft. Master Gaius, please continue with your searches until further orders. Master Marleno, begin setting up a defensive position. Better safe than sorry, no? Phineas, if you so desire, I could transport you to a suitable vantage point with haste. My Lady Inquisitor, please let us know if you have any ideas." The jump pack whirls with power as it starts, and the Palatine quickly checks her weaponry.
Rakavet's optical mechandendrite begins to scan the pylon when the long, thin device flickers. The Tech-Priest glances over his shoulder. [b]"The power cell seems to be fluctuating. Give me a moment while I switch to an internal power supply."[/dice]
Initially put on the back foot by the sheer size of the area and the amount of footfall, Gaius' attention is drawn back by Argos' find at the perimeter and focuses in on the tracks. Leaving Argos at the perimeter, Gaius follows these tracks to the end, he is left puzzled by their sudden disappearance. With such an anomaly identified, Gaius casts around the immediate location for further evidence, before returning to investigate the blood.
3dos
1dos nope
Phineus' warning barely registers as most levels of Gaius' brain are already processing the information around him, however his subconscious survival instinct kicks in, processing Argos into a defensive perimeter around the site, with a subroutine of detection still running.
After asking the pilot of your transport to see if anyone else in the area is inbound he replies after a minute to the entire party:
Hey ya'll dont mind that transport I know the pilot, he's making a regular run to Zara. He saw us and thought we might be in trouble. We usually keep in close contact out here, machine spirits rebelling against the heat can leave a man stranded for days. I told him I was fine and on the job.
After some time everyone can notice it as it begins to veer away from your position and will not be coming that close after all. It's a skimmer much similar to yours with 4 human heat signatures.
As Gaius inspects the area for where the prints could have gone he notices the only place is up, he see's prints running up the wall. No way to follow them any higher or understand where they lead without climbing or the aid of a servo skull.
All clear, it's veering off. Phineus goes back to scanning the area.
Phineus pauses in his scan, I'm picking up readings of some functioning tech, he pauses and nods towards some wreckage, there. The tilt of his head makes it apparent that he's still reading his scanner. Size indicates a dataslate.
Phineus relaxes as the inbound ship changes course. He moves towards the pylons and away from the perimeter, noticing a data slate half buried in the dirt. Upon retrieving it he sees it is damaged and unable to power on, but looks intact enough that there might be something recoverable.
As Phineus uncovered the dataslate, Rakavet finished re-powering his mechadendrite and glanced over. "Do you wish any assistance with that?"
Phineas hands it over, You're much more suited to handle such things than I. He returns to his position and lets the Techpriest handle the uncovered dataslate.
Nodding, Rakavet replied, "My thanks. Now...let us see..." In short order Rakavet plugged in his multitool and utility mechadenrite, accessing the machine via his M.I.U system. "Attempting to read...now."
"Thank you, pilot. Keep us notified for other incoming vessels.", regales Sister Federica over the vox. She walks over to Gaius, holstering her revolvers on the way. "Senior Adept, do you require assistance? I may be able to help you with the tracks, no?" Taking off her helmet, she begins looking around.
Upon being notified about the tracks, she looks up on the wall, and after a brief moment, notices them and nods at Gauis. "I will keep you updated. Following the tracks.", last sentence carrying over the vox. The jump pack whirls, bursting out two gouts of flame as she begins ascending alongside the wall slowly, keeping an eye on them.
The Inquisitor is silent for the moment, pondering the Pylon before her.
"Ahhh Federica, what a good idea, yes you follow them, and I will cast my eyes around again."
Unable to pursue the footprints further himself, Gaius heads back towards the signs of a scuffle to get a blood sample to analyse later and to look for any further evidence. As he walks he ponders the footprints and their size and shape.
7dos
3dos
standard success
Rakavet looks at the damaged dataslate and tries to recover any data he can from it. Unfortunately it is unpowered and after careful inspection you notice a serial number and it matches one of the Inquisitors acolytes according to your internal cogitators. Without some alternate power source, you're unsure if it will work, but you are confident you can get something from it should it be powered.
Before Rakavet can finish his thoughts he is interrupted by the sounds of a jump pack as Sister Federica begins scaling the side of the Pylon.
You follow the prints until they disappear, unsure where they have gone. Test: Search +0 to find more
As she ascends to about 30 meters, the tracks suddenly end. There is no nearby visible entrance.
Upon her ascent Gaius goes back to focusing on the ground and comes across a blood sample. His immediate anaylsis is that it isn't human, its a mix. Probably the blood of tech-priest. The tracks all around are mostly human sized and civilian, though some of the tracks seem to point to heavier men or women. Perhaps more tech-priests or heavily armed and armored personnel.
From what you can recall of the original group sent to scout here, the profiles and tracks fit, but there are too many for this group and its obvious there have been other tracks made here recently. The original group was positioned to the south, but the other group came from the North. It looks like they got close and there was little or no struggle. You don't see any other blood, so you have hopes the others might still be alive.
Once returning to the labs you can study the blood sample further and compare them to what records you have or the Inquisitor has.
Phineus maintains his position, waiting patiently and keeping a careful watch.
Federica begins ascending, however the tracks prove to be simply too hard to track with the current speed. She attempts to reduce it, however the jump-pack isn't capable of performing such a delicate task. Simply impossible. Too hard to track. Should have brought my pict-fly... Upon realizing that the tracks end 30 meters from there, she descends slowly, and informs, "I cannot fly with enough finesse to follow the tracks. If we had any grapnels, or even simple rope, I may attach it to the top of the pylon, and let somebody climb on it."
"Ah well Federica, I also wish i had brought other equipment, but we must not allow ourselves to waste time on could and should haves. Perhaps one of our colleagues has thought to bring something we could use. Anyone bring anything that can fly and follow tracks? Or possibly climbing equipment? Also from what I can see,our group was positioned to the south and a group approached from the north, there was little struggle although I have found some blood, which i can analyse in a lab. We are then left with a set of tracks walking up the pylon, is anyone wearing magboots so that we can test that theory?. Anything on the dataslate? My only other odea is to follow the tracks north and see if where they came from gives us any clies as to who 'they' are!
"In any other case but this, my telekinesis would see us through, but the pylons effect on psykers makes such an attempt...risky."
Phineus responds into his microbead as he keeps his eyes on the surroundings, Negative.
Hmm... "Pilot! There should be rope on the shuttle, I'm guessing? For emergencies, no?" She begins walking around impatiently. "If so, find it and let me know, I'll come and get it." Still walking around, she stares in the distance, trying to come up with ideas. "Senior Adept, if you could follow the tracks to where they came, I'm simply assuming they'd lead to a landed vessel. Maybe we could identify it, no?"
"I'm unable to power this device," Rakavet said with a sigh as he rose. "Using my own power source would be...unwise. I think I would reduce it to slag without the right converters." The Tech-Priest ambled back towards the shuttle. "I will see if I can find some spare supplies onboard - and a rope, blessed sister. I will have to note that climbing gear is a good idea. Mostly I fall off things, I don't really need to get up higher..."
Onboard, Rakavet searched for the items in question.
At the Sister's request the Pilot brings the skimmer in closer and Rakavet moves to search for more equipment to use.
He finds all he need, climbing equipment and a box containing 2 servo skulls. There must of been some equipment loaded onto the skimmer by the Inquisitor's acolytes.
The pilot helps as best he can: Some of your fellas put some things over here and I know they loaded some climbing equipment, I told them the pylons wouldn't be easy to inspect...If its not enough, I have some extra stuff that might help...Here, take a look. he says motioning Rakavet and leading whoever is looking for more equipment.
With the equipment needed to climb the walls and servo skulls ready to assist and give you eyes up above, what will the Cadre do next?