"We should drive as close as possible before we dispose of the truck.
Time is of the essence, we should proceed quickly and gather what evidence we can."
Zimm nods, "Neh, let's get the mech-man to admin...plug him in..." she drawls, doing a quick check by feel that all of her sacred blades are in the proper place.
"Yes, let us do...that..."
Ptah shoots a glance at Zimm, saying in an exasperated tone, "The Machine God's work is not so simple as 'plugging me in' much as it may resemble it. Credos of Steel 8.92.16, 'The body and the soul of the machine are as perfect as that of the human is imperfect. To interface with them is to feel that perfection.' Your point, inaccuracies aside, is sound. Let us proceed."
"Whats that I heard a tech priest say before, 'The Flesh is Weak'? This provides solid cover." Nalthos tries to position himself and the lasgun to avail of such cover.
A seeming accord reached among the remaining acolytes, Havelock drops down into the driver's seat of the cab. Taking a brief moment to familiarize himself with the controls, he kicks the truck into gear and the craft begins rolling down the tunnel once more.
Several minutes pass as you continue down the tunnel, moving at a slightly upward trajectory. Eventually, the tunnel opens into a large chamber, which after a few moments you realize is the main hangar bay. Across the way a flurry of activity draws your attention, where multiple trucks are being unloaded into cargo haulers by the corrupt miners. To your left are the tunnels back down toward the mine, while to your right is the entrance into the admin facility. With a multitude of people and vehicles in motion, it would seem none have taken notice of your group as outsiders amidst the commotion.
As the miners load the three cargo craft, a platoon of armed guards watches over the work, keeping an eye toward the mine entrance for a potential threat. No guards currently cover the admin facility’s entrance.
You notice the automated defense systems near the hangar door have glowing lights near their top and are actively scanning for threats.
The mine administrator, Adjunct Overseer Hayden Jonas, that you met earlier is checking off crates as they enter the second cargo hauler, while two similarly dressed individuals perform the same role on the other two ships.
"We have encountered a possible problem.
I can see the overseer from here, this person would obviously recognize us should we be spotted.
The automated defense systems near the hangar doors are also active.
We will need to disable them or our transport will be unable to land."
Havelock will steer the cab towards a hidden area so the group can disembark secretly.
Zimm nods at Havelock's observation, having not noticed anything of interest at all, "Neh, makes sense that tech-man could turn off the guns from admin..."
"Furthermore, by the mine entrance, there is what I believe a full platoon of guards.
They are currently not looking towards us, so we need to be done before they change their stance.
And... we will need to find a way to draw them off.
If possible, perhaps we can turn the automated systems towards them instead."
Havelock steers the truck far to the right, staying close to the near wall of the hangar bay as you approach the admin complex. Across the bay, the miners continue to load the cargo craft while the guards stay focused down tunnel toward the mines, seemingly unaware of anything amiss with your truck. The truck comes to a halt a few meters from the entrance to the admin wing, with the door you initially exited standing before you.
"We have arrived.
Time is of the essence."
Havelock doesn't expect there to be too many open spaces in an admin wing, so he elects to carry the pump action shotgun for now as he exits the truck.
Zimm hops down from the truck , "Neh, the smart man is right, let's get him plugged in..." she pauses, then in a passable imitation of Ptah, "neh...interfaced with the Machine Gods..."
Drawing her blade, she advances into the building...
Havelock follows behind the assassin.
Ptah lets out a sigh.
"The impression is 78.6% accurate...if mildly insulting. Nonetheless, let us proceed."
You all begin to dismount the truck, staying to the side that is both toward the administrative wing and hidden from the loading crews by the bulk of your vehicle. As Havelock reaches back into the bed of the truck to grab the scavenged pump shotgun, his eyes come to rest first on the fallen body of your comrade Arbite, then his considerable arsenal piled up next to him.
Ironclaw Naval Shotgun (w/ fire selector): basic, 30m, S/2/-, 1d10+4 I, pen 0, full, reliable, scatter, 6 kg
- ammo: shells (30 rds); slugs, +2 dmg, +1 pen, loose scatter (30 rds)
Carnodon Precision Pistol (8 rd mag): pistol, 35m, S/3/-, 1d10+4 I, pen 2, 8 rds, full, accurate, 2.5 kg
- ammo: standard rounds (2 mags); expander rounds, +1 dmg, +1 pen (2 mags)
Stub Revolver (w/ silencer): pistol, 30m, S/-/-, 1d10+3 I, pen 0, 2 full, reliable, 1 kg
- ammo: bullets (18 rds); manstopper bullets, pen +3 (18 rds)
Shock Maul (inertial, counts as mono): melee, 1d10+S I, pen 2, shocking, 2.5 kg
Synford Pattern Lockshield
Guard Flak Armor (4 all; 11 kg)
injector w/ stimm (3 dose)
microbead
photo visor
gas mask
manacles (2)
tac-light
"It may not be possible for us to retrieve our fallen comrades body later.
It would be a shame to allow such tools as his to fall into the hands of heretics.
I suggest we divide the arsenal among ourselves for now."
The Carnadon in particular interested Havelock, so he made sure to take it before someone else had a chance to.
The injectors were also something that suited him.
He would have taken the maul and the shotgun as well, but he was already carrying a small arsenal himself.
"The revolver is silenced, perfect for a stealthy kill.
The shield might be something worthwhile for our resident former guardsman."
Nalthos nods and picks up the shield and made a silent vow to put it to good work so as not to offend the arbites spirit. "Will someone else be going on point to try to deceive anyone inside, or should I move in first to draw fire and begin an overt assault?"
Havelock shakes his head, a remarkably "human" motion for the normally so very stoic adept.
"Subterfuge at this junction would be a waste of energy.
We cannot underestimate our enemy if we wish to survive.
Likely, they are on the lookout for anyone suspicious at this point.
No, I would recommend a harsh punishing action, preferably by stealth.
Fortunately, we have someone skilled in that area, and access to more than one silent weapon."
"The most logical solution would be for Sholl to lead the way, his visage will most likely reassure the enemy for a moment, and in that brief moment of relaxation, Nata may strike.
Sholl himself may aid by using the silenced revolver.
Should that not be enough, we will simply have to discard stealth and strike quickly and with purpose.
Time is the one thing we do not have on our side, so we should move now."
Following Havelock's clear direction, your company has quickly assembled outside the door into the Admin wing. The door itself is made of some steel-composite, and a digital access pad sits mounted to the wall on the right. All eyes are on Ptah to get you through the doorway...
"I observed that the last time a code was punched in this place, they used a simple variation of the sigma code.
The statistics bear out that there is a 78.5% chance that this lock will also feature such a variation."
Ptah closes his eyes, muttering in Cant Mechanicus, "ο θεός της μηχανής καθοδηγεί το χέρι μου"
"Machine God, guide my hand."
Instinctively, he knows the code, divine guidance from the Iron One steering his hand.
Zimm took a knee at the side of the fallen Acolyte, muttering a prayer and touching one of the aquilae embossed into her body glove.
Then she unceremoniously relived the corpse of its stimm,photo visor
gas mask and tac-light.
Then, with blade still ready, she waited for the tech-priest to commune with the spirits in the door mechanism...
Ptah's eyes scan the number pad before him as his fingers trace each key's surface. Offering a prayer to the Machine God, his mind processes the subtle details: the looser spring behind a key, the worn edges of a digit, and instinctively keys in a 5 digit code. An electronic buzz sounds briefly, followed a moment later by a dull "thunk" as the door's lock disengage. Without any seeming effort from anyone, the door swings partially into the room, revealing the gathering room where you spoke with the mine official earlier. The room is currently empty, though vague sounds of people working can be heard from the room beyond.
It sounds like there are perhaps three individuals in the room beyond, and accompanied by the clicking of typing, the mechanical whirs and grinds of cogitators processing, and an odd metallic scraping.
Beyond the noises, you hear one of the people in the room beyond, "Finish backing everything up, Overseer Jonas said the Magus wants everything ready to go, and nothing left behind. No idea who the interlopers are, but it's time to move on."
"We have at least three individuals in the next room, and they appear to be dowloading and possibly erasing the data we are after.
They may be doing our job for us.
Strike with precision so we do not damage the data."
Havelock replaces the shotgun with the Carnadon, in anticipation of his own strike with "precision".
Stepping to the side of the door, Havelock makes ready to open the door for the others so they can maximize the surprise potential of the ambush.
Nalthos draws his falchion. [smaller]"I will close to engage in melee. At the least it will disrupt their attempts to command the machine spirits."
With Naltos and Zimm staged ready to burst through the doorway and Ptah standing behind, awaiting a chance to get to the cogitators, Havelock's fingers close around the handle of the door. Taking a steady breath, he calmly, slowly turns the handle and smoothly pulls the door open, with Naltos and Zimm instinctually springing through, ready to strike at their targets.
Entering, you find a trio of slimly-built men seated at the cogitators with their backs to you, working feverishly. The men are lacking any of the tattoos or abstract appearances that mark the hiver-mining crews, instead bearing the ordered look of administrators of the mining consortium. Or at least, once they were - their attention toward a previously sharp appearance has been forgotten, with hair unkempt and the quality of their garb heavily worn. With the creak of the door and the rush of movement, the nearest man's head snaps up and back, an awkward staccato movement reminiscent of something played back on a choppy pictogram. He is surprised to see the duo with their blades drawn entering the room, with only something akin to a *croak* escaping his throat.
Havelock wastes no time, he raises the Carnadon, places his free hand on the wrist holding the gun to steady it, aims quickly and shoots one of the men.
Zimm flows into the room , all smooth muscle and murderous intent, launching her self at the nearest sacrifice...