Nodding at the others' assumption, Yelisaveta swallows back a stressful lump in her throat. The sooner we land, the sooner we'd be down on our own two feet, and not relying on someone else to keep us alive.. "Great work, helmsman. Take us in.", she orders on the comms, releasing her fingers from the seat's handles. Standing up to follow the psyker, she disappears in her bunk, leaving a moment later with an oversized lasgun in her hand and a hack shotgun at her flank. "I'd rather explain the weapons than be caught off guard."
Ptah walks out of the cabin and nods to the team. With a sly smile he says to Balthasar, "How was it, calling out to your god for the hope of protection? Mine, I know, works through my hands, and through the sacred mechanisms that prevented a fiery death for us all."
He turns to the rest of the group and says, "I am in accordance with carrying our armaments. It is not uncommon for acolytes of the Machine God to carry their armaments at all times. Or, at least, it is a ruse you could sell to whoever may be awaiting us."
Caius returns after several minutes, dressed in full arbites flak armor. A shotgun is locked into a holster attached to the left side of his pack and his stub revolver sits on his left hip in a drop holster. A tactical shield is strapped to his right arm, and his shock maul is in a sheath on his right hip.
"When we land, I will take point. I'll walk across the landing pad first to insure that any cover fire comes my way. Should the enemies of the Emperor begin attacking, return fire while I move to cover. Should we not receive any attack, we'll know the way is clear."
"Helmsman" Caius calls out "Once we have landed and disembarked, you are to leave the landing platform and remain on standby. Our callsign will Invictus. The password will be 'kill heretics with fire'."
"Remember acolytes: The Emperor Protects!"
"I'll hold up the rear of the group. If we are ambushed I will attempt to provide suppressing fire." Nalthos added and very much didn't get involved in the theological debate. The Machine Cult's ways were strange and not proscribed, he could not afford to earn the disfavour of either priest.
Hmm, going in "hot", that can cause complication to be sure.
Ah, but there may be complications already, heh, this is why we are here.
Disliking going OBVIOUSLY armed, Havelock still shoulders his long las, and conceals the armsman within the folds of his robe.
A long las was most useful from a distance, so he made sure to keep to the rear.
In addition, if no combat was initiated he would have extra time to conceal the weapon in it's case.
Julien grasps his Talon in his left hand, with his right clear of lho sticks. Instead, his right hand appears to be slowly shuffling a deck of cards open in a robe pocket.
"I am ready. If anyone tries to shoot at us, they will be in for nasty surprises."
He does not comment on Ptah's barb.
Bal will have words enough for Ptah, I am certain.
Julien stops shuffling, gripping one card firmly, still without looking at it. He appears to be fully concentrating ahead of him.
Having received confirmation on his course of action, Helmsman Fram follows his predetermined flight path down toward Kadenar. As your craft descends, the pict-screen located in the central chamber flicks on, offering a grainy view of the approaching planetoid. Though spherical in nature, the lunar surface has suffered countless asteroid strikes, leading to an extended appearance of a devastated battlefield, marred by vaulting peaks and endless craters. As you watch, you see two separate surface strikes, throwing up clouds of stone debris and dust.
XXX
X
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The Taurus begins a deeper angle of descent and banks left, bringing a long canyon into line with your view. Down the canyon you spot blinking lights, made obvious by the flare their flash causes on the screen in front of you. In addition, you see several stout structures jutting up from the cliffs at the top of the canyon, each armed with a battery of sorts.
Just before your sight drops below the crest of the canyon, you notice that one of the emplacements, indeed the one that appears to be directly above your landing sight, looked like it had sustained major damage.
Continuing your descent, you see below you a large plateau sticking out from the canyon wall with several buildings on it and a large gate into the canyon wall next to it. Drawing in close, your craft levels out, ultimately coming down for a landing in the center of the area. As the engines wind down, the helmsman comes back over the radio. ”Landing clamps engaged. Atmosphere reading as below optimal levels to sustain human life. Enviro-jacks and rebreathers are in the bulkhead just inside the cargo bay. Will lift back off and stay in orbit, maintaining a position at a safe distance from the Gorgon’s Tears. Will await your word on how to proceed.”
"Curious... As we descended, I noticed that the emplacement we passed showed clear and direct signs of major structural damage."
Zimm is quiet as the lander approaches the planetoid. She's discarded the Hiver clothes, and stands in her body glove, the hard lines of her body revealed...embraced. Liturgies praising the emperor emboss the close fitting armor at all angles.
A combat harness across her torso carries two swords, a collapsed bow and a quiver of arrows. No guns can be seen on her person.
She grabs a re-breather and straps it to her face, then slides a micro-bead into one of her ears, "I suggest frequency 1.3.33..." she says over the noise of the lander.
Those with any ecclesiastical background recognize the numbers as the index number of a hymn titled His Chosen Shall Triumph Always
Then, she pulls the bow from her harness, and with a small motion causes it to expand to its full size. Fitting a arrow to its string, she crouches, ready to disembark...
"Let us check out these enviro-jacks.", says Julien as he moves over to affix a rebreather to his face.
"As did I. It's clear that our ruse will no longer be necessary."
As he straps on a rebreather and enviro-jack, Caius' eye quirks as he watches zimm draw out a bow, but he says nothing.
"Is everyone ready?" he asks over microbead after tightening his mask. Once everyone ascents, he cycles the airlock.
Once Julien has affixed both rebreather and enviro-jack, he replies:
"Affirmative."
Julien readies his Talon - and cards.
"We can at the least claim to have broken out the gear for fear of pirates." Nalthos firsts adjusts his microbeads frequency before he slides the assault lasgun off his should and checks it one last time.
As Caius double pulls the lever for the airlock, you hear the seals release and depressurize. The bay door slowly folds down, becoming the exit ramp from the craft. Granted your first direct view of the landing plateau, from your position you can see three buildings ahead of you, all of which appear to be hangars to store landed craft. Their roofs and sides are dotted with dents, though it appears none have suffered direct strikes. The first's double doors stand partially open, revealing an empty bay. The other two have their doors closed. Behind your craft stands the plateau's edge, where the distance drops back deeply into the canyon. In front of your craft stands the canyon's wall, where a corrugated plasteel door, standing 12 meters wide and 8 meters high, offers the main access to the mining facility. To its left stands a single access door, to allow foot traffic without opening the large garage door.
”Hm. Projected threats have failed to materialize.”
Julien looks just a little put out.
"Ah, so it has. Does anyone see any movement?"
Julien instead tries to examine the local warp a little more closely.
Havelock was more used to enter a situation AFTER the shooting has already stopped, but that didn't mean he had not survived a few ambushes in his time.
As such, he refused to relax just yet, keeping a sharp lookout.
Zimm steps down the ramp, scanning the area for threats, she steps to one side to allow others to follow, crouching ...
Caius strode across the landing pad, mentally preparing himself to break into a run should weapons fire start.
Caius examines the lock and attempts to put in the standard Arbites code.
Balthasar is monetarily aghast by Ptah. But surprisingly he does not respond with anger. ”Your God? My God? There is but ONE Lord of Mankind. To suggest otherwise is heresy. I called upon his Divine Grace for protection, and He has acted through his agents. This is Proof we are called here to perform his Will.”
Balthasar gives the landing area a cursory glance, looking for any signs that might betray the fate of those that came before. Then follows after Caius.
Perception 34
Ptah nods quietly to Balthasar, ”Worry not, I jest. You Emperor is my Omnissiah. We share common ground. The Mechanicus acknowledges that fact.”
————————————————
Ptah follows along, ocular units taking in his surroundings.
Whether it be the sense of foreboding hanging over all of you, or simply adjusting to the bulky rebreathers you have donned, few are able to pick up any additional details on a cursory glance.
Your mind continues to have difficulty on this accursed rock in learning its truths, and you sense no psyker or daemon in your midst.
Caius and Balthasar proceed swiftly across the landing pad toward the cliff wall and its access door. When they reach 15 meters away, a light above the door begins flashing red, with a discordant "MEEP" sounding with each pulse. After the fourth flash, metallic gears can be heard moving in the door, and it swings open to reveal four heavily garbed men exiting the building. Each wears a heavy, ankle length brown overcoat, his head covered in a full-mask rebreather, with a heavy carbine in his gloved hands. As they exit, they split and flank the door, their weapons at the ready though not trained on any target.
As they take up position, a fifth figure exits, similarly garbed, though of a slimmer build and lacking any visible armaments. He pauses momentarily after exiting, apparently caught offguard by the nature of your company, before proceeding forward, one hand raised. As he draws to about 5 meters from Caius, he calls out, his voice amplified by some small vox-projector build into his rebreather. "Greetings, and welcome to Kadenar. I am Adjunct Overseer Hayden Jonas, agentof the Tadrian-Rex Consortium. Apologies for the limited welcome, we only got your transmission as you were coming into the canyon on final descent. Who is the agent of Clan Othriad?"
"Well spotted.", Yelisaveta nods at Havelock's observation, then turns a spiteful face at the Confessor and the Tech-priest. "Let's leave the disputes about the divine until we know what's going on.", Yelisaveta snaps, leaning the lasgun on her shoulder. Sighing deeply as the men materialise into her sight, brushing a hand across her face.
"Adjunct Overseer Jonas, it is a pleasure to meet you!", the woman replies, slowly lowering her lasgun. "I am Esmerelda Othriad, at your service. We apologise for our... unceremonious entry, though the destroyed emplacement had us fearing the worst." Her eyebrows dart up for a moment, as she slings the weapon across her back. Offering a faint smile at the agent, she adds, "Your sight's a great relief." before bowing and making the Aquila with her hands.
Julien stifles any frustration and moves out.
*********
Finally seeing locals, Julien watches them.
I wonder if those are las or solid shot carbines...and what else they have handy.
Following your introduction, Overseer Jonas offers your sign of the Aquila and bows slowly and purposefully in kind. "Lady Othriad, my apologies, I did not realize I would be speaking directly with a scion of your Clan. The asteroid storms have been especially bad this year, and our facility has suffered some... setbacks." The figure pauses for a brief moment, before continuing, "Where are my manners, won't you please join me inside? I am sure we would all prefer to be out of this ghastly, though admittedly useful, protective gear?"
As he finishes his words, the overseer turns partly, gesturing back toward the door. With his motion, the guards fan out further and now turn their attention to the outlying reaches of their visual range, with one on each side sweeping high, and the other scanning low.
Their actions make lies of their words...
But the truth will out eventually, I'll see to that.
Nalthos kept his rifle in hand but at no point directed it towards the locals. The coats would likely provide some level of protection- possibly reinforced with flak or mesh. It might help against the las bolts he anticipated but the monoedged bayonet would likely puncture it easily.
He bit his tongue, still uneasy, removing their armour would likely not happen anytime soon. As the leader of the greeting party turned Nalthos observed the surrounding area for others. When the group proceeded he would follow in their wake continuing to watch their backs.
"Gieuseppe le Monde" nods slightly at the adjunct's words, as if accepting them at face value. He will advance slightly behind "Esmerelda" as she dealt with the locals.
We have skill. Let us hope that will be sufficient.
Caius took up a place right behind Yelisaveta, in a stance very much like a bodyguard might.
"Enginseer Macharius" stands beside Julien, the hood of his red robes up and rebreather with two goals. First, to make himself seem like as much of an unassuming tech-priest as possible, and secondly to obscure his more distinctive features.
Zimm stays crouched by the gangway, waiting for all to disembark, not trusting the well wishes of those that emerged from the complex.
She continues to scan for threats both among the strangers, and the environs...
As your company follows the Overseer through the door and out of the wind, the dull roar that had been a constant effect of the canyon dissipates. The chamber you have entered is relatively small, with two doors exiting - one goes deeper into the cliffside, while the other opens into an adjacent room, where several tables and chairs can be seen through a window. The overseer and the guards remove their environmental gear, hanging it on hooks mounted on the walls. Likewise they stow their las carbines on ready-racks, prepped for when they are next needed. The individuals look far less ominous out of the gear, clearing being pale-skinned hive stock, each sporting at least a few tattoos and piercings. They are all well built, and their skin has an almost soot-like tinge to it, perhaps a product of their extended stay at the mining colony.
Once out of his gear, the Overseer opens the door to the side room and gestures in. Stepping through, he opens a cabinet, pulling a few steel bottles and a clutch of drinking vessels. He begins pouring a few glasses, handing the first to Yelisaveta, before speaking, "Lady Othriad, thank you again for your visit. I must confess, though, I was a little taken aback by the sudden notification, and your desire to come here rather than descending planetside to discuss with the leaders of the Consortium. I am able to enter into preliminary negotiations regarding any contracts you might be seeking, but they would have to be agreed upon by our leadership." With a sigh, he raises his glass to you, offering a toast. After a hearty gulp of the somwewhat acrid spirit, "So, what is it you seek?"
Julien, as an assistant, says nothing just yet.
He removes his rebreather but will only remove his enviro-jack if he sees the others start to do so.
With the rebreather off, he gazes over the hiver tattoos.
Do they sport any syndicate signs - or worse?
"Before any negotiations occur, what happened here? I have been tasked with her protection, and I would like to verify that there will be no attacks while we are here."
Smiling at the Overseer, Yelisaveta shakes her hand to dismiss the man's politeness. "Oh, I was feeling rather adventurous when I left, I was a tinge bored of the spires." The noblewoman's smile is a little nervous. "However, I can't seem to shake the thought that it might've been a little too adventurous. I'll gladly take you on your offer, Overseer, and do please remedy the concerns of my bodyguard.", she adds, as the retinue follows the locals inside the small office. Good. Hivers. Tough, reliable., she thinks as she eyes over the men's markings.
Raising her glass in a toast, she sits down and smoothes her dress. "My house's interested in pursuing a new Administratum contract, which would be subject to a little more scrutiny in terms of quality than the usual.", she says a moment later. "Thus, I brought along a few of my experts to ensure that your supply,", she adds, before raising her hands in an amused gesture, "which, as you know, we'd very much like for its exceptional value for its cost, would be acceptable for the contract. I'm certain that it will, of course, but it always pays to be prudent with the Administratum."
Taking a sip from her drink, she glances back at the Overseer. "We were hoping to be given accomodations here until my trusted associates,", she nods at the Tech-priest and Havelock, "have had a chance to confirm the quality and sourcing. And as you mentioned - my task is to go over the preliminary with you.", she adds, "and hopefully break some of the monotony in my life."
Havelock had not bothered to mention the fact out loud before, but he was trained as a prospector and in commercial as part of his reprogramming, so he was unusually suitable for the task his cover required.
Not to mention, the deceptive part of him that was second nature to his personality.
As such he merely offered a stoic nod when mentioned, and resumed studying his surrounding for anything that might catch his attention for a moment.
Zimm's eyes narrow as she notices the broken bridge. Still crouched she pulls out her dataslate and compares that bridge with the maps supplied, seeing if they indicated where that bridge previous gave access.
Then, seeing the others enter the facility,snaps her bow closed, slaps it back onto her harness and makes her way inside as well.
At Caius's bluntly direct words the overseer's expression draws into a strange mixture of confusion and consternation. After several moments of thinking, he is about to respond when Yelisaveta interjects. Well not her best performance, her balanced tongue seems to ease his mind and draw his eye away from your lawman's words. "Lady Orthiad, we would be most interested in discussing a contract that could benefit you, us, and the Administratum. Typically such negotiations would transpire at our consortium headquarters on Lo, but as you are already here, I would be happy to grant your team access to our facility, to review our practices and our product. I must say that whilst a stable product, our iron ore is most certainly not of the highest caliber. So I must ask why would you travel so far to seek a product of admittedly average quality?"
Not giving her time to offer a response, he turns to Caius, a teacher's smirk on his lips. "I would encourage your head of security to read your destination briefings more thoroughly in the future. Kadenar distantly orbits the planet of Lo, whose orbit in turn draws close to the Gorgon's Tears for several months each year. Kadenar is bombarded by countless asteroids for a stretch of each month throughout this lunar phase. This mining facility was built into the canyon to offer shelter against such strikes. But it is not still without vulnerability. A little more than three weeks ago, and 4 days before our orbit would bring us into the typical threat zone from the asteroid belt, a rogue asteroid struck our departing cargo hauler. It's shattered husk crashed into one of our aerial batteries and our communications array. Thus, we have been unable to summon help for some time."
His words make sense to each ofyou, and you find yourselves slightly more relaxed then when your first disembarked your vessel.
After several long moments of silence during which an unforeseen tension seems to build, the Overseer offers a forced chuckle. "My apologies, I do sometimes get rather lecturial. Especially when I have dealt with only my staff for such a long stretch. Where are my manners - Lady Orthiad, I can arrange for some of our staff to take your personnel on the desired tour in short time. I can provide accommodations for you to rest in while they review things, unless you'd like to accompany them? And please, everyone, my humble apologies, ask what you might, I will be on my best. What more would you like to know?"
"That would explain the unseen damage in our surveillance picts." nods Caius, at least seeming to be satisfied with the response.
Inside his concealing goggles Naltos' eyes narrowed. There was no easy way to communicate his concerns with the others... not that he would be able to give specific details other than his instincts. He moved a little off to the side, ready to proceed but making mental notes on areas to take cover or exit the landing pad.
Was that broken bridge on our dataslate maps? If so , where did it originally lead? thanks
Bottoming out her drink with a single swing, Yelisaveta nods. "That is a great reassurance, Overseer. I admit, not being able to call had me rather worried. But in the end, the Emperor protects." She bows her head slightly at the Confessor, before standing up. "Without shedding too much", she winks at the man, "light of my House's plans, Overseer, there are a lot of things that are greatly overlooked, and for which it's the quantity and the value that's relevant, and not necessarily the quality. Simple things, for which the contract comes around every several decades, even centuries, and while trivial for the Greatest of Houses, are still a tasty morsel with more than sufficient profit margin."
At the Overseer's apology, Yelisaveta is all too eager to dismiss the man's concern with wild hand gestures. "Oh, don't be! I'll be strolling around personally. A little conversation is an excellent change of pace from being stuck in a ship with my crew, and a tour would be more than welcome. And I adore conversations with hard workers, so much character!."
Standing up, she glances at the rough looking men and their tattoos. "So are you from Lo?", she asks slowly in Low Gothic. "Our working people have same markings as yours on one of my escapades in the lower spires." She turns towards Caius with a smile. "Oh, I remember you were so worried."
Julien nods, ever so slightly, and continues his attempts to study local warp conditions while the others speak.
The overseer smiles in response to Yelisaveta's suggestion of a potentially highly profitable arrangement. "Oh yes, naturally, there are details that you don't want bantered around the table, so to speak. Discretion is the word. And if you'd like to tour the mines and rough refining facility yourself, I will not stop you, though you might find it both dirty and boring. That said, I will have one of my foreman come up to lead you around. The mines are quite complex and I would not want you getting lost." Stepping toward the wall, he picks up a vox receiver off the desk and keys the feed, "Kaerd, this is Jonas. We have prospective clients, I require your presence to facilitate an evaluation of our facility."
After a few brief moments, a broken reply comes back, "On my way."
Meanwhile, the two tattooed men who have remained with the Overseer look at each other quizzically as Yelisaveta starts to banter with them. Finally, one of them responds, "Yeea, we from Lo, on me third rotation, yeh know? It's good pay, an' yeh can't blow it 'ere."
The Overseer clears his throat, and the two men step back. "Lady Orthiad, my apologies, I must step away for a time. I had not anticipated having visitors today, and as such have much work still to complete. These gentlemen will wait with you until Foreman Kaerd gets here. It should not take too long. And please, enjoy some refreshments while you wait." With his last word, he offers a brief nod of respect, then departs the room, heading into the mining facility.
Nalthos watched the man as he walked away wondering if he was merely getting out of the area before the shooting started... or was getting ready to hide evidence.
The large man's head swivelled as he went from watching the retreating overseer to look back at the employees.
Caius makes a show of relaxing his body language a bit and then turns to the more talkative of the two men and says "Are you folks alright here? I know you have no reason to trust me, but I am an Arbitrator and I believe in keeping the good people in my charge safe."
The pair leaned against the wall near the door you'd entered the room from. One grabbed a mug of recaf from the dispenser in the corner. As Caius asked about their experience, the one still standing shrugs, while the other holding his mug takes a big sip then looks at him. "Auright? Weer miners, it's 'ard, but it's what we do. Not much more teh say on deh matter."
Several more minutes pass before another man enters the room. He is short and stocky, with a bald head and a shaggy beard, wearing a stone dust-smeared coat and a hefty tool harness on his hip. Looking to the two men, he nods toward your cohort. "These our new guests?"
Pointing his mug toward Yelisaveta, the man replied."Yeh, dat one's Lady Outried, or sumtin'. An' dat one's an Arbite, so 'e sehs."
The foreman chuckles a touch. "A Lady, and an Arbite, you say? Well, then I suppose I'll have to be on my best behavior. I am Foreman Kaerd, I oversee the work crews down on Delta, but have a good mind for the whole operation. If you'd follow me, I can have you a look around the place."
As you emerge from the set of chambers into the bay beyond, the Foreman gestures toward a six wheeled vehicle. The front is open topped, with seats for two beside the driver. The back is a partially walled bed, designed for hauling cargo. He offers his hand to Yelisaveta, as though to assist her into the front beside him. "Is there anything specific you'd like to see, Lady?"
Julien tries to conceal any discomfort about this place as the others speak with the miners.
Caius takes one of the seats behind Yelisaveta.