Ordinary ordnance and extraordinary goods

3 stakes

Being really clever Inquisitorial agents, we show up early for the meeting with Eldric's contact. We manage to drive fairly close without incident, and Titus scouts the area for any trouble. None that he can spot.

At the designated time, we walk in. There's a big guy with various cybernetics, scars, a bolt gun on the gantry along with 5 standard issue grunt elite guards. Everyone's obviously very alert yada yada. We do the same song and dance I've done a thousand times before. Since our cover story pretty much matches up with what I've been doing the last 20 years, he believes me (I assume he checked out my background). We pay him half of an exorbitant amount of money in exchange for another item in the orb set, to be delivered tomorrow. He could get another item, but it'd have to wait a few months. After some prodding he refuses to out the names of his suppliers. Damn. We briefly consider starting a fight right there, but the setup is in their favor and we prefer to get some better info.

On the way back we get our first taste of the wonders of the underhive: an ambush. An IED goes off under one of the cars, and the local scum/mutants start firing in our general direction. I can't say it's routine, considering it's our first actual fight together, but we handle ourselves pretty well and finish off the scum without too much trouble. Me and Titus rack up the best body count with our sniper rifles, take that Imk! Cred to Scorp for splitting one of the mutants in half lengthwise with his axe though!

Back in the regular lower hive, Titus contacts some of his less savory acquaintances and manages to actually get the name of our trading partner. He's called Zax Haltare, and is a high-mid level guy in the faceless trade, trading more or less exclusively in high-end xeno/warp items. Even better, Titus manages to find out that Zax's lair (do people actually have lairs?) isn't far away from the factory where we met him around 2 clicks +/-.

Things that make you go hmmmm boom

Back in the upper hive, we discuss how to handle the situation. There are tons of options here, and obviously none of them are easy. To be on the safe side and to have more options, we stock up with two essential items: a pict-fly for surveillance, and a ton of explosives. We decide that our course of action will likely be to scout the area with Titus/Imk and the fly first. Based on that info we'll either assault the lair, set up an ambush on the way or in the factory. Or other actions.

We grab the same 4 guards that survived yesterday + a new one and drive down. Once near the factory, we send out the fly in a circular sinus curve pattern at roughly 2 clicks from the factory. It discovers a gang of scum/thugs/take your pick, an abandoned refinery of sorts, a fort, an acid lake with a band of bikers nearby and a bit more. Of that lot, the refinery looks slightly promising with regards to faceless-trader-guy-lairhood while the others do not, so we drive nearer while we send the fly in for a closer look.

Sure enough, the fly discovers a watch tower with a sniper on semi-alert, with entrances welded shut and blocked from the outside. Titus sneaks nearer for a better look. There are three entrances with wheel tracks going in and out. Two of them converge near the factory, the last one takes a bit of a detour bit but also ends up at the factory.

After a fairly long discussion, we discard the "breach the lair" option (too dangerous) and go with the "blow them up!" plan. We'll try to catch Zax alive and use web grenades to secure him, but it really depends on the roll of the dice with our bombs. Scorp rigs two bombs, one slightly bigger than the other. We use one of the guards and the fly for surveillance. We plan to set off the bomb on one of the two roads that converge. Luckily I manage to spot a screamer well hidden on one of the roads, otherwise we'd be pretty thoroughly screwed.

Around 30 mins before the meeting time, three bikers approach the factory. We let them pass, waiting for the bigger fish.

A bit later, two cars roll out, one slightly bigger than the other. We see around 8-10 guys in the bigger one, the smaller one is hard to see into. We set up in our designated spots and wait for the vehicles to approach. I have to honor of pushing the button, and I'll be Emperor-damned if the hit is a biiiit too direct - the smaller vehicle is reduced to next to nothing in a spectacular inferno. The bigger one barely survives first contact, so to make sure we set off the second bomb as well, annihilating all signs of life. The three bikers arrive after a while, me and Titus pick them off with our rifles. Who knew being in the Inqusition was this easy?

The refinery

Unfortunately Zax didn't survive the blast, so we won't be able to interrogate him directly. We approach the refinery and get in through one of the entrances without too much trouble. Taking the standard precautions, we don't find anyone in the facility at first pass. There are a bunch of crates with a lot of valuable items. In one of them, Zharkon senses something warpy and true enough, it's the missing piece of the orb set! Great, I did find it fairly unlikely that it got blown up by a paltry bomb. I point out that it'd be a shame for all the valuables to go to waste and propose that my cousin takes possession of the crates, splitting the profits 50/50 with our team. Not entirely surprisingly, everyone agrees.

We enter Zax's office, and in the inner chamber we get an unpleasant surprise: a gun servitor comes roaring to life, twin-linked heavy stubbers and all. We go balls to the wall aggressive, and somehow manage to shoot it into smithereens before any of us die - though Imk and Titus get hit pretty good, bleeding out of twin sets of new orifices. Luckily, Scorp is quite adept at (gently) removing extra orifices, so they survive.

We find a data slate with some very, very interesting info. A bunch of client names (including Lans) and a list of other faceless trader names being one of them. We find that Zax bribed at least one and probably more scribes to look the other way when shipments arrived. And last, but definitely not least: Zax expects a BIG and IMPORTANT shipment in 6 hours, with one "SH" as the recipient.

The port 

I recognize one of the names from the traders list, one Helios Gaunt. Since that's our only lead, we drive upwards to the shitty bar he hangs out in. I offer him a deal he can't refuse: take his name off the list of traders before we hand it over to the Inquisition if he gives us the name of the scribe Zax bribed. He sees the wisdom in avoiding the Inquisitorial spotlight, and we get a name: prefect Gaius Antschern. I also enlist him as an informant to use later.

The port is closed for unauthorized visitors, but luckily money and knowing how to properly bribe guards works as well as any badge. Entering the Administratum hall, we're approached by a scribe. We kindly inquire after Antschern's quarters. He kindly refuses, then kindly acquiesces once I show him the Inquisitorial pin.

Entering Antschern's office, we once again flash the pin. I know, I know...Kalypsia ordered us not to throw her weight around (so to speak), but we think this is a great strategy. One, Zharkon erases the memory of the scribe, who wanders off not knowing what just happened. Two, Antschern agrees to continuing his work and becoming an Inquisitorial double agent. That's a win-win right? Except he still ships some questionable items onto Desoleum but well...if it's not him, it'll just be another guy. Believe me, the Inquisition is in no danger of wiping out the faceless trade just yet.

The cargo in question is set to arrive from Lander 341 beta in an Arvus lighter shuttle, setting down on platform Tertius-9. Apparently, the shuttle will be piloted by the Lander's own crew, which is highly unusual. Antschern is unable to discern who owns or pilots the Lander. Guess it's another kill/capture mission for us!

Well that escalated quickly

Training is over

Another day, another training session. Of course, this being the Inquisition, the "training session" is still lethal and will get you killed 20% of the time. Better odds than we'll be likely to face out in the real world though.

Scorp the semi-autistic tech priest questions my leadership without knowing it (I think?), since Erioch the semi-civilized "I kill for fun, what else is there to do?" Imk attacked the damned servitor despite Scorp's warning that it was about to blow. Mr Imk pointed out that you take the kill when you Emperor-damned can and you don't pussy about in case you might get some owwies. Fair point, but also not.

Controlling these guys in the middle of real life combat isn't really something I'm all too keen on, but it might be needed. Titus the ex-arbitrator turned criminal scum/save my own hide guy survived a penal colony by organizing a gang, so really, this should be on him. On the other hand I'm probably more used to dealing with very weird people/shit (well, except Warpy shit...Zharkon can take care of that) than him, so in the end it's good enough I suppose. I also somewhat care about the value of a life (or well, some lives), something I'm not entiiiirely sure Titus is too big on. For my own conscious' sake it's probably better that I'm leading. Here's hoping Imk doesn't have a shaving accident in my general direction because of it.

Our first mission

As we exit the training area, Adeon approaches, congratulating us on a job well done. Apparently we've cleared the Inquisition's hurdle for the coveted "these guys might actually end up killing bad guys instead of themselves" badge, and just like that we're done with training. Also hopefully, done with this Emperor-damned ship.

We're taken to a rare audience with Kalypsia, who's looking fine as ever, especially for being 300+ and having seen enough to drive a thousand men screaming into insanity or worse.  We're given our first mission: find out what fishy going-ons are happening in noble circles in the main hive on Desoleum, and stop them if possible. Apparently a nobleman killed his entire household, then himself. Another tried to do the same but was stopped. There are rumors of Inquisitorial pawprints on the scenes, but we don't know for sure. And now, another noble has demonstrated peculiar behavior. There are suspicions of Warp taint and/or xeno tech. That's all we have to go on...not much. The Inquisitor also asks that we keep a low profile, as she would prefer to keep her name out of this case. Fair enough, matches my preference anyway.

Not entirely surprisingly, there appears to be factions (within factions) in the Inquisition as well - Kalypsia hints that we should probably avoid other cadres, just to be safe. Ending up in the dungeons of some firebrand Inquisitor does not seem like a good time, so I make a mental note to follow her advice.

Desoleum

I've visited the planet a few times before. They are a weird bunch, utterly obsessed with their oaths. Cadre members were instructed to read the background info on their data slates, I'd be happily surprised if more than half did.

We land in the Upper Hive, the Spire glittering in the sun and stretching into the void, where the world's rulers live in the so-called Apex. The cloudscape stretches out beneath us, hiding the blasted glass surface below. I notice several areas even in the Upper Hive that are closed off and derelict, more than on earlier visits. Seems like the tech-priests still haven't figured out the proper rites to appease the archeotech machine spirits. Hmmm....a possible business area for the Khanes? I'm sure somewhere there is tech that could help - and I have a feeling Lady Aud Killian wouldn't look too closely at the origins if it could help her hive from falling apart.

We've decided to operate under my actual name, since it's pretty much the perfect disguise - close to the truth and within my (previous, I promise) domain. We meet my cousin Corretta who's in charge of the family's business here, sharing a decent meal and a few bottles. I express an interest in the weird cases that's been going on, citing possible exotic acquisitions, and she's more than happy to supply answers. She's quite the gossip like most nobles (myself included), of course she's happy to share.

Apparently a "merchant" named Steinmüller appeared on the latest scene, local Sanctionaries (this world's arbitrators, sort of) in tow. Another nobleman, Lans Gulijan, has committed the (more or less) ultimate crime - not keeping up appearances in public. Additionally, he's been overheard mumbling something prophetic sounding, as well as speaking in an unknown language. But clearly, the not keeping up appearances part is the most important sign here.

The tragic fate of Lans Gulijan

We decide to scope out Lans' estate. Casual reconnaissance doesn't reveal anything besides the estate being very ill kept.  The direct route works (sometimes), so we walk up and knock on the door. The servant opening the door isn't very cooperative, refusing to let us in despite my promise of great wealth for his master.

Then, suddenly a scream bursts forth from the estate's second floor, chilling enough to make the hair stand up on our necks. Claiming Scorp's medicinal skills we rush upstairs, the only security guy at hand acquiescing. Opening the doors to Lans' room, a grisly sight greets us. The noble is on his knees, blood streaming from his ruined eyes and face, letter opener in hand. On his desk there's a perfectly round and jet black orb - to my trained eyes, clearly xeno in origin. The doomed noble is babbling, a few intelligible words can be made out. "We are all doomed", "the wheel that wails" and "the pale child, the pale child!" is repeated over and over again.

Zharkon proves his worth here - he digs into Lans' crumbling mind, extracting priceless info. He's able to see a xeno kingdom of unknown origin. Lans both loves and is terrified of the black orb. He acquired the orb from a big guy by the name of Eldric with a fine metallic mask in a rundown bar. And - the orb is part of a set. The connection is severed, and Lans drops dead on the floor.

Most of the (very few) servants have gathered outside the doors of the study by now. I make a quick decision - we can't have possible witnesses blabber to others about this. We finish off the hapless wretches without much trouble. There's a furnace big enough to dispose of the bodies in the basement.

The Screaming Wheel 

Not sure how he did it, but Scorp manages to find the name of a bar that he's fairly certain matches the one in Zharkon's vision on a nearby data slate - or so he claims. Imk laughs in derision, certain that the tech priest is wrong. In this spot I'd rather go with the info guy than the kill everyone guy, it's worth a go.

We descend into the lower hive to get to the bar. It takes us roughly 3 hours - the lower we get, the more we need to make detours due to debris, fallen buildings, gangers and so forth. Eventually we find the place, leaving Scorp and Titus behind to guard the car.

The Screaming Wheel is, of course, a shithole. Entry is by a gantry with thin rails and the stability of a Navy sailor early in the morning after a night of debauchery. A shaky ladder leads down into the darkness. As we enter we're assaulted by the stench of sweat, lho sticks and worst of all, Irokian bile-fly gruel.

We get a table and order what seems like sort of safe drinking options. After an hour, we're rewarded - Eldric walks in, power sword at his waist, with five other men, all wearing the weird masks. They're obviously nobility, and obviously behave like they own the place. Imk huffs, muttering something about dumb luck.

A poor wretch walks up the Eldric's table - seems like he owes a debt or the like. He gets down on his knees and begs for his life, Eldric just laughs and shoots him the knee with an autopistol before one of the others knifes the guy many times. He sputters and bleeds out on the ground. Everyone else performs their best "I didn't see anything" act, and I gotta say, they're pretty good at it. Essential survival skill in the lower hives.

I ask one of the serving girls about them, turns out they're called the Babyfaces. They're one of the cloud boys, an informal name given to lower rung noble criminal gangs. Apparently Eldric is the leader of the Babyfaces.

I decide the direct approach might be best again, so I walk up to the table, posing as a buyer of exotic items who's talked to Lans and who's interested in more pieces of the set the black orb was part of. After the standard prodding and poking each other, we set up a deal for the next day at 6 PM, where Eldric will introduce us to his dealer.

We show up early the next day, everything seems in order. Eldric comes strolling in 15 minutes late with his crew. He casually remarks that he's heard that Lans has disappeared, I do my best "I know nothing" impression. He gives us a meeting place and time to meet his contact - 12:00 at an abandoned factory in 3 Stakes. I've vaguely heard about it, a gangland filled with psychopathic murderers, toxic waste and mutated monsters of all kinds. Lovely, just lovely. At least we won't have any issues disposing of the heretics' bodies!