The Emperor's Work - OPEN AND ACCEPTING

[Van Evok]

Van Evok, instead of dropping weapons, simply holstered them. He crossed his arms and awaited of whatever this new force would bring them.
"Ease up, folks...I guess had they wanted us dead, they would have made it so already..."
- he said in a slightly sarcastic tone.  

[bhaus]

the mysterious figure stopped just short of an overhead emergency light so as to still hide his identity, staring down each individual in the group he let out an unsatisfied grunt, raised his hand and motioned for two guards to bring forth a scuffed up looking individual, beaten and bruised but still left with plenty of vigor to struggle with every step

is this one of yours? boomed the man cloaked in shadow. he keeps going on about daemons and chaos and the sort, claims to be on some mission from the Emporer himself. calls himself Gideon Hawksley and has the testicular fortitude to claim to be and adeptus arbites judge  

[lord-kensington]

Inquisitor Helghast
Ordo Hereticus
Hangar Bay
And so it begins...

Helghast observed the group from the gantry above, watching his chief security officer intimidate the new arrivals. When the doors to the Hangar bay closed and locked he jumped down, landing gracefully. He was a slender man with dark hair and shockingly bright green eyes. He stood tall at over 6ft, dressed in black robes and the iconic Ordo Hereticus broad brimmed hat he stuck an intimidating pose.
'That's enough Wesley, and tell your men to stand down. You've had your little fun now let me talk to them.'

'As you wish.' The man in the shadows said before departing. taking the guards with him.

'You must forgive Wesley, he takes his job as my chief of security very seriously.' Helghast said, 'Allow me to introduce myself, I am Nathaniel Helghast, Inquisitor in the Emperor's most holy Ordo Hereticus. I have need of your skills and what I want, I get. You have each proven worthy of my attention and have managed to survive contact with the great evil that dwells in the Immaterium. That shows me you are worthy to become agents of the Inquisition. Do not think this is something to rejoice, you have a hard road ahead and some of you may well die along the way. But know this! You are serving your Emperor and his people in a far greater capacity that you ever could before. You will keep innocent people safe from those who would harm them. There will be no songs sung of your adventures, for that is not your way, not anymore. You will remain in the shadows guarding against threats insurmountable.'

He lead the group to an alcove where a bank of cogicators stood and entered a series of commands, a panel in the floor slid open and a holoprojector appeared, it thrummed to life and the image of a planet appeared in the air.

'This is the planet Khonsu, it's one of the lesser hive worlds in this sector. My investigations currently have my main attention focused elsewhere. However I have come across information that could further incriminate my main quarry. I suspect that one of the merchant guilds on this planet is harboring an associate of my target. I suspect it is House Atreus who is aiding this man. Probably in the hope of acquiring Xenos tech or worse, arcane knowledge of the ruinous powers.
Marcelle Atreus is a fool if he thinks the Inquisition hasn't noticed his flirtations with all things contraband.'

He turned from the image to face the team, 'I want you to infiltrate House Atreus and find me proof of their heresy. You have a good cover story; every five years the guild houses hold gladiatorial competitions for teams of Mercenaries, they call it The Proving. The top teams are guaranteed a very lucrative contract as personal bodyguards for the upper echelons of the guild, this year House Atreus hosts the games and as such they get first pick of the champions. I want you to enter The Proving. This is the best chance I can see of you getting what I need, your presence as offworlders will go unnoticed as Mercenaries from across the Sector and beyond will be coming.'
Helghast switched off the display and the Holoprojector receded back into the floor.

'This mission cannot be won by you revealing your status as agents of the Inquisition, to do so will only lead to your death. You will need to be cunning and discreet. Which means you Arbites will have to find new clothes. As for those of you carrying the high tech weapons from the armory, you will have to relinquish them now. No mercenary could possibly get their hands on a plasma gun, certainly not one as well maintained as the ones aboard this vessel.'

He pointed over their heads to a old looking orbital cutter, 'You'll have to make planet-fall in that, we're currently approaching the edge of the system, if the Liberator Iustitiae gets any closer than that then your mission will be compromised.'

Alarm Klaxons sounded.
'All hands prepare to return to real-space, all hands brace for Immaterium exit!'

'I suggest you make your final preparations, we won't be staying here long.' Helghast said.

 

[lord-kensington]

Dark Master Steel

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bhaus

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Van Evok

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Blaise Simpson

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Kreiger grunted and started removing his arbiter gear, he held onto his shotgun and Stub revolver. He changed into some olive drab overalls that were set aside obviously for him.
He lit another Lho stick and savored the bitter sweet taste.
'Well I dunno about you guys but I call shotgun.' He said as he made his way to the cutter and climbed into the co-pilots seat.
'Well someone better step up and be pilot, cause you guys sure as hell don't want me flying us down there. I can fly skimmers, but this is a whole different ball game.'  

[bhaus]

Gideon didn't trust the situation as far as he could understand it. where was this inquisitor and his "security force" during this entire ordeal, and now all of a sudden he needs us to do his dirty work... shaking his head he began to change his clothing to something less conspicuous making doubly sure that he still had his mauler bolter strapped in his chest rigging after he had changed. giving the cutter a once over visually. knowing he had no other option and no other way off the trap that most called the Liberator Iustitiae he began to climb into the pilots seat not entrusting any of the others to get him planet side, took a deep breath and began clicking buttons and flipping switches, the steel hulk that sat lifeless in the hangar began to rumble to life.rest of you best get your hides in..i'm not all that content staying here longer than i have to  

[Van Evok]

"Well, I for once welcome our new Inquisitorial overlord... We get to land on a solid ground again. I'm not against space travel, but warp transit is really ugly when things go wrong..." "Name's Van Evok, by the way."
spoke Van Evok as he eased into the folding seat in the cargo hold of the shutle.  

[Sven Bergfalk]

Kinkaid was having a difficult time deciding weather he should risk his comrades and his own life trying to put a bullet in the inquisitors head for dropping the geller fields in the middle of the warp. he had to have known somehow... or he was an opportunistic Frakker... glancing around once more at the weapons arrayed around them he finally made his decision, lowering his shotgun he moved along with the rest of there group sitting down with the rest of the group he began to remove bits and pieces of his armor sacrificing protection in favor of mobility. in addition he pulled out his combat knife and began to deface the regiment and company markings on his armor. taking special care to scratch out his name from the chest plate.

Glancing up from his work when it was mentioned that they needed a pilot and the other introduced himself he nodded to Van and said "I'm Kinkaid... If we need a pilot I might be able to substitute for a bit, back in the Drop we cross trained for different jobs around our squad, I was the weapons specialist but I can pilot a Valkyrie well enough that I wont smear us on the landscape."glancing back at the rest of the group he grimiced slightly before finishing " Just don't expect any fancy flying though." stowing his kit in some cargo netting Kinkaid took off his helmet and made his way up towards the Cockpit hoping that the controls wern't that different.  

[BornStellarMakesEternal]

As Virune awaited the rest of his team at the spaceport he withdrew a data-slate from his pack and waited for it to identify him and power up. He read through his instructions again after entering his passcode. "Obtain lodging and supplies. Check." He whispered. "Meet local contact. Check. Rally with team at Latarn Memorial Spaceport, in progress." He shut down the data-slate and tucked it away as a young man approached him.

"Sweet tattoo." The man commented, pointing to Virune's shoulder. "Where did you get that, might need to head over and get one myself."

"Don't bother." Virune answered dismissively. "It's a family job, the artist passed away last year." It was a lie, but a necessary one. The dragon's head on his arm covered his cadian regimental tattoo. He couldn't risk any guard veteran's identifying him and blowing his cover identity as a newly arrived mercenary. The young man mumbled an apology and walked away. Virune let his head lean back against the rockcrete wall of the spaceport as he thought about the events that had led him here.

He sat in his tent, putting in a request for additional surgical supplies and lodging a formal complaint against his platoon commander for conduct unbecoming, the closest thing he could find to the true reason of absolute incompetency. As soon as the enemy had hit the trench line he had ordered a retreat, an order Virune had ignored, stubbornly holding his ground to protect a fellow guardsman who had taken a shot to the leg, leaving him unable to fall back. The enemy had been repulsed, but Virune had sufferd a demotion for failing to obey his commander. His third in the last year.

As he sat trying to figure out the best wording for his complaint a woman in Commissar's attire entered and placed a data-slate on his desk before leaving, never saying a word the whole time. He had reviewed the genelocked slate and howled in disgust at it's contents.

Virune Aluna,
Your skillset and operational record have shown you to be a possible asset to The Emperor's Most Holy Inquisition. As such you have been transferred to our custody. An agent will arrive by sunrise to escort you to your departure route. Failure to comply with this agent's orders will be grounds for immeadiate termination.
-IH

Virune opened his eyes as he heard a ship come in for a landing and pushed away from the wall to approach the landing pad. "Another day, another way to die horribly. Wonderful world we live in." He muttered to himself.  

[villegal]

Arkady Van Sorincovff

The tiny shuttle slowly began its landing approach to one of the many space docks of the hive city Khonsu. Inside its cargo hold contained the
frozen Psyker know as Arkady Van Sorincovff. It had been several months since his last mission, the battle that attracted the inquisition to him.
uncovering chaos worship within a small hive world only a few systems away from Khonsu. Arkady used his unique psychic powers to discover the truth.
the noble elite of the hive were worshiping the foul dark gods and causing a civil war that erupted the whole planet. The heretics were burned to the last
and thats when the Inquisition came into play. They wanted who was responsible for it, and that was Arkady.
He was transferred here, with very little word. Some event called "The Proving" and notes of possible heresy. His current objective was to meet up with the
other agents, acquire a base of operations and create a plan of attack to winning the event.
Arkady was here early, that gave him an advantage over the other agents, it was their job to work together but that didn't mean it wasn't a competition for
the inquisitors favor.
The ship landed and the cargo bay doors slide open with a long loud grind. The inside of the hold was cold like the surface of an ice world and puffs
of frost exited the large steel doors and flew up into the atmosphere.
Two rough looking guardsmen walked towards the cargo container, each one wearing a pair of thick insulated gloves up to their elbows, they each grabbed a
long steel chain, the chain was clearly cold, covered in a layer of frost and as they pulled the crate out onto the floor of the dock more cold air was
released. One guard pulled a lever and the container opened.
Out hobbled a man, at least it appeared to be a man. He practically crawled out of the container, relying on a long metal staff to walk somewhat properly.
He wore long faded green robes and the hood covered most of his face. He stepped out onto the dock as the guardsmen checked him over.
"your released freak. get lost"
One of the guards said quietly, they then both walked away and left the man alone in the sprawling dockside.

Subtlety was imperative to this mission and the landing may have caused a stir if anyone cared to look, but thousands of drifters entered the town at this time
and the guards could have just been escorts and since Arkady was dressed so plainly, he looked like nothing more than a homeless drifter with a walking stick.
he was of course, much, much more.
Regardless, it was unlikely anyone would notice the event, and as he hobbled around , beginning to wander, he searched the crowd. He had been given a picture.
Well, he got to view it for a second and was told to memorize that face. The face of a fellow agent he should meet, a medic. The image was burned into his
mind and as he scanned the various people of the docks he picked him out.
Arkady headed toward him, but not openly, he merely limped in his direction. He got closer and closer until he was face to face and then he simply kept walking
bumping into the man slightly as he passed. Quietly he entered a dark alleyway just behind them and there he waited, hoping the man would get the hint.  

[BornStellarMakesEternal]

Virune grinned as the staff bearing man bumped into him. He waited a moment, then followed after him. He nodded as he entered the alley. "Hey there. My name's Virune. But you can call me Fixer." He greeted quietly. "I'm waiting here for the team, you can wait with me or head to the Blue Moon Inn. It's where I found our accomodations for the trip." He explained. "At any rate, I take it you're our psyker?" He paused to wipe the sweat from his brow before continuing. "And how are you not sweating on this planet? It has to be at least ninety five degrees out here." He adjusted the strap of his pack and shrugged his aching shoulders. "Especially under those blasted robes. You'd better find something else to wear or you'll be dying from heatstroke."  

[villegal]

Arkady Van Sorincovff

Arkady was pleased that his trick had worked properly, no doubt the Inquisition picked only the brightest of humanity
and hopefully this "fixer" was one of them.

"I-i-i am the Psyker-r-r-r that was re-re-requested and to answer your qu-qu-question"

It was impossible for Arkady to speak and not shiver, it was as if he had been walking the frozen tundra for months in
only these ragged robes, as he spoke he shook and shivered.
Quietly he raised his right hand up near the medics face, about a few inches away
His hands weren't exposed, instead they were covered in thick fur and leather gauntlets to help conceal his identity further.
But even with such protection, just the mere presence of his hand near Virune's face made the sweat droplets freeze instantly.
He put his hand back down at his side as to not hurt the man, He had good control of his cyromancy but you could never be too safe.

"A-a-as for my n-n-name-e-e, Ar-Ar-Arkady Sorincovff-ff-ff"

It was physically hard for Arkady to speak and he preferred not too if it wasn't necessary. Most people cared little for the words of psykers
anyways so it usually worked out in the end. Basic introductions however had to be made, if they were to work together as a team they would
need to be able to trust one another. He was anxious to get going but getting to know the rest of the team when they arrived would ease any
growing pains in the future.

"I'll-I'll-I'll stay.."  

[BornStellarMakesEternal]

"Well, then." Virune replied, blinking as Arkady dsiplayed his ability. "Heatstroke won't be an issue for you then." He had grown a bit pale as the beads of sweat froze on his skin before quickly melting again once Arkady pulled his hand away. Deep down he admitted that he always felt strange around psykers, as if they were something truly unnatural, not flesh and blood humans but something all together different. One of his squadmates had once said that psykers in all forms were born of the void itself, and but one false step from daemonhood. Virune shoved the thoughts from his mind, at the same time wondering if this psyker had heard them, he had met no less than three that could read minds.

"I take it you know our cover story for this op?" He asked, idly watching the sky, checking for any extraordinary landing craft. "Or have met any of the others? I recieved extremely limited information on the team but plently on Khonsu, i'm hoping it might have been the opposite for you."  

[bhaus]

the flight to the planet surface was a long daunting task, it had been years since Gideon had flown a craft such as a cutter, but once he took the chair and with the help of his co-pilot things came back to him. once the craft landed Gideon stepped out rather briskly, being glad to be back on solid ground, however when he did step out he instantly regretted the decision. Having been sent to and stationed on more than his fair share of arid desert planets. he took off his jacket and unbuttoned the first few clasps of his vest. this just gets better and better he thought to himself. he sat in the shade on the lowered ramp of the cutter enjoying the feeling of the cold metal and gathering his equipment into a pack. while waiting for the rest of the team to prepare he took a few steps out, scanning the crowded port for the contact they were to meet.  

[lord-kensington]

Kreiger ley out a sigh of relief when they touched down, Gideon was not the smoothest of pilots and the journey had made him feel quite nauseous.
He stepped out of the ship and onto terra firma, the planet was hot and dusty, the place stank.
He retrieved his bag from the cargo area and sauntered down the ramp to look at the spaceport, they were expecting a contact to meet them, no one approached from the city yet so he lent against the fuselage and rummaged through his bag. With a smile he pulled out a hip-flask of Amnesac and took a swig. He walked over to Gideon and offered him the flask.
'Well, at least this isn't a swamp world.' He said chuckling.  

[bhaus]

Gideon examined the flask for a moment or two, his eyes darting warily back and forth from krieger to the flask. sensing no ill will towards he him graciously took a drink and handed it back. wiping the excess moisture from his lips he continuously scanned the port for anyone who would remotely seem like they would be a person of interest to them. problem was, with the all the riff raff pirates and heretics he had trouble keeping focused. he finally snapped out of judgmental staring, turned to krieger and said this port reeks of heresy, i practically sense it out of everyone. i don't suppose you have any intel on who this contact is supposed to be?