[Kynia G'Kal]

"So," she said, "we are looking at a public place where traffic can go without being taken over by the gangs. Unless of course that is also part of the set-up. I doubt there will be authorized heavily armed guards around such cargo. Let them do a scanning of all traffic through the hive from the port to storage, or directly to locations in the mid-to-lower levels?"

OOC: gah, I read destination instead of designation. hence the edit below.


"As for what name they'd transport it under... armament is a bad choice, as is anything too rare. Machine parts like conveyor belts, chains or pistons could work. More delicate stuff... I'd pack it amidst essentials like paper and other bureaucratic utensils."

Or, my own personal favorite, as a gift of the local Imperial bureaucrats to the Eclessiarchy.

This post has been edited by Kynia G'Kal: 09 December 2010 - 01:41 PM

[Travaz Malakai]

Vox, singular engagement mode

Quote

Ordinatus? This is the Enginseer. Relaying instructions from the Second now - continue assignment as planned, our tasks are too important and the distances too great to assist. Will update you further with more information as and when. Please acknowledge, also inform us if you know the origin of the triple burst over the universal channel. The source was not recognised. Enginseer out.

[Drake Dekko Yarn]

Vox, broad call, Inquisitorial band only (allies)

Quote

Please send some back up to the meeting place. Been a hard time. I suggest though that 1s and 0s be used by some for more information. Drake out.

[Kynia G'Kal]

Travaz Malakai, on 10 December 2010 - 01:16 AM, said:

Vox, singular engagement mode

Quote

Ordinatus? This is the Enginseer. Relaying instructions from the Second now - continue assignment as planned, our tasks are too important and the distances too great to assist. Will update you further with more information as and when. Please acknowledge, also inform us if you know the origin of the triple burst over the universal channel. The source was not recognised. Enginseer out.

"The triple burst was not ours. This suggests the third party, lead by the Inquisitor herself. Our part of the operation is going relatively smoothly so far. One of us can probably go and assist the Inquisitor, if so required."

[Justinian Funus Obitus]

"I can go. I will be of more use in a fight than doing this."

[Kynia G'Kal]

Drake Dekko Yarn, on 10 December 2010 - 01:45 AM, said:

Vox, broad call, Inquisitorial band only (allies)

Quote

Please send some back up to the meeting place. Been a hard time. I suggest though that 1s and 0s be used by some for more information. Drake out.

"Kynia K'Gal here. We may be able to do both as we seem to have things in hand... for now at the least, although we are just getting started. If required, I can also try to pressure the bureaucracy into sending Arbites or a platoon of Guards to secure the location. This will however expose your group to the public eye. Kynia out."

She looked at Justinian. "The Inquisitor ran into some trouble. I'll run a scan over the comm grid of everything relating to the bar, while also searching for comm traffic regarding the bar and the Inquisitor. I think between me and our fat friend, we can unearth quite a bit of info."

This post has been edited by Kynia G'Kal: 10 December 2010 - 10:50 AM

[Kynia G'Kal]

"Not to mention those cultists will probably respond better to being thrown around than these bureaucrats," she mumbled.
"You go. I'll call in my assistants, they can help here. Seems like Drake could use some help with extraction... you might want to commandeer a half track somewhere along the way. Make sure to flash the Inquisitorial seal on your orders."

This post has been edited by Kynia G'Kal: 10 December 2010 - 10:53 AM

[Justinian Funus Obitus]

Relieved to be getting away from the paper work, Justinian stormed out of the office and down to the main hall. On his way he commandeered two clerks and ordered them to acquire for him a half track. They scurried off to wherever such things are to be found with a speed that was pleasing. Already he had become the terror of this place.

As he emerged from the building he noticed the sudden attention of two men loitering across the street.
No need for subtlety now.
Without breaking his stride Justinian unslung his rifle and fired. The shots rang out across the street, emptying it more efficiently than a squad of guardsmen. For a few seconds there was nothing but silence. Justinian stood for a moment, taking in the glory of it. How easy it was to create tranquility. With eyes closed he could almost feel death at his fingertips. Blessed oblivion just a step away.

Screams ripped the illusion apart. One of the watchers had just realised that he was not dead, which made the amputation of his leg, just above the knee, an immediate concern. Justinian looked around. There didn't seem to be any more of them so he released a knife from its sheet under his sleeve and strode across the street. When the downed man saw the tall shooter approaching his screams abated and his eyes hardened.
"You will not leave this planet alive, inquisitor scum", he wheezed. Already his skin had taken on a grayish pallor from the loss of blood.
"I get that a lot", Justinian answered absent-mindedly as his eyes followed the half track which had just emerged from a side street. The empty street had brought it quicker than expected.
Blood bubbled from the man's mouth as he struggled to stay alive.
"I wont tell you anyt..." he started but before the sentence was finished Justinian bent down and slit his throat. All that followed was a bubbling sort of hiss quickly growing faint. Justinian wasn't paying attention, his eyes never left the approaching vehicle.

This post has been edited by Justinian Funus Obitus: 10 December 2010 - 11:33 AM

[Drake Dekko Yarn]

OOC: If you could post your vox response in the other threads in the future. Nearly moved without this info.

[Faelus Cartinor]

Vox singular transmission directed at Kynial said:

"Cartinor here, we're exposed already. Please direct a company of Arbiters to the meeting location. Report back in with an estimated arrival time if possible."

This post has been edited by Faelus Cartinor: 11 December 2010 - 06:25 AM

[Kynia G'Kal]

OOC: I'll be posting longish stuff tonight, advancing Kynia's research considerably.

[Kynia G'Kal]

Kynia didn't immediately answer Faelus. There wree more important things going on - now that Justinian had gone, she decided to take certain matters into her own hand. She checked the progress on Talic - still searching. She opened a second inquiry into the Inquisitor's lead.

"I'll see what I can do," she answered the other.


She then switched the vox to a secure channel, Administratum sanctioned. No chance of anyone listening to that. "Screech, Gurgle, I require you both here. Paperwork, but there may be a few side effects, so come in uniform. Bring my motor and the package, I may need them." She did not wait for Screech to broadcast her recognition of orders, but switched it back to the Inquisitional channel.

Kynia turned around, searching for a third data-pad and the access to the Hive's lower levels. There was a Guard station on floor 35, and the Inquisitorial office was in Hive 17 but would probably be able to do something even from that distance - and do it better than she could, through their local contacts. She opened a new channel on her vox. "Inquisitor Raquelia wounded," she said. "Hive 24, lower level, around mid-rise, the so-called Sharon's Shady Shack. Heavy resistance encountered. Evac plus combat support required."

"Who is this?" a voice answered.

"One of her liaisons in the Administratum," she answered. "I am not supposed to have this knowledge, and would appreciate protection of my identity."

"We cannot act on that alone."

"Feth!!" After uttering the Tanith curse, she took a deep breath.
"Listen, her cutter checked in on the Hive 24 port not two hours ago. Aboard was a group of mercenaries and her own man, Alens. Raquelia went to a meeting with her contact, Lexilius. Alens lead a group into the bowels of the Hive. My own duty was to check their progress through the comms grid. Now, can you fething see where that puts me? Now, unless you fuckers want to explain yourself to High Inquisitor Farzael, at the fucking least check out the damned signal!"

"Remain on hold," a deeper, very masculine voice said. "We may have questions for you."

"Not now, Romeo," she whispered. Louder: "Check the signal. Pull the Arbites on level 35 away from their desks. Two fireteams at the least, medic on standbye, and contact Lord Farzael's office just in case. I hear he is very protective of her. I'll monitor the channels from where I am, so if I don't hear squat from you guys in the next five minutes, I will place an anonymous call reporting heavy bolterfire and officials under fire near the bar. And then, I contact Farzael myself."

"Fair enough," he answered. "The Inquisition looks after their own. This better be true, because if this is a set-up, I will work on you with hot iron until that nasal rasp you call a voice becomes a broken screech, madam. Inquisitor in training Orlov out."

She knew he would probably send troops to flush her out, as well. She could need a few extra hands. Ten minutes at the least until her servants arrived.
She checked her inquiry on Lexilius. Progressing nicely. Stammer, front man, dabbling in black market goods. Suspected suppliers: couple of known small time crooks.

She diverted them to Plumbus, asking him to add them to his lead. No gangs in his past. She concentrated once more on the suppliers, and came across a report which concentrated on their repeated release rather than the expected assignment to a penal batallion. "By the Emperor's Balls!!" she cursed.
The repeated bribery of Adeptes Arbites District chief Hyun Ko Dan, guard station level 35 of Hive 24 was heavily hinted, but prosecution for corruption had never been launched.

"I'm starting to enjoy this," she said into her vox, calling up the other groups. "Kynia here, gentlemen. The Inquisitorial office on Hive 17 is going to lean on the local law enforcement to come to the aid of the Inquisitor.

I demanded two fire teams, but I doubt they will supply that. That is the good news. The bad news is, the local Adeptes Arbites chief that they will lean on to get that aid, is probably in the pocket of the cult. I doubt he knows anything about demons, more probably, he thinks he is dealing with just another smugglers ring, but he is definately getting paid by our adversaries. I guess whether or not you'll get help instead of getting arrested depends on whether or not he is the person Inquisitor in training Orlov goes to."

[Kynia G'Kal]

"So, chief Hyun Ko Dan, what can we dig up about you? Family? Friends? Bedmates? Nice secretary, by the way"

"Ehm, Ordinatus?"

"Yes, Plumbus, what is it?"

"I have been ordered by Ordinatus Filian to continue my regular duties."

"I told you, I won't accept that."

"Ordinatus Filian insisted, Ordinatus."

"So did I. In fact, so do I. Now, check those five datapads there and continue your search. If Ordinatus Filian has anything to say about the way I go about business, he can do it to my face."

She switched channels. "I need an ETA, Screech!"

The woman made four metallic snaps into the vox, the cheap copper voice box that replaced her torn out tongue and smashed lower jaw clicking against the molars of her upper jaw. "Four minutes it is. I want Gurgle to stay with the motor cycle, keep it running. Only you come in - we may need to make a hasty exit and in that case, we can't afford to be slowed down by Gurgle. Tell him to keep his diplomatic ID at hand. Things may get rough here, and I want you both defended by diplomatic immunity."

Two clicks, and the heavily blown hissing sound that meant yes in the limited vocabulary of the two siblings.
Screech and Gurgle were brother and sister, orphaned after a chaos uprising that took both their parents and saw them tortured and abused before they had been saved. They had been donated to an orphanage, trained as servants.
A chance visit, now six years ago, had introduced the then barely sixteen year-old Screech to Kynia. Screech was a small and lovely slip of a woman, if one looked past the facial scars and the missing jaw and its crude replacement. Few ever did. Bright and trained to be a personal servant, Screech had seemed that one chance for Kynia to do some lasting good for other people herself.
When she negotiated her price, she learned the young woman had a brother, who was fiercely protective of his slight sister. With her last spare cash, she had purchased them both.

Gurgle was a huge man, but his maimed right leg and shattered face made him unfit for anything remotely military or industrial.
He had strength and could lift things, and he a good mind, and many made the mistake of equating mute with stupid. Besides, for once her habit of talking to herself made sense with them around - keeping track of her own thoughts allowed them to follow her thinking and act upon it.

"Any luck yet, Plumbus?"

"No ma'am. Anything pertaining to Chief Ko Dan is above my security level, Ordinatus."

"Zap this," she said, tossing him a bronze plaque engraved with High Gothic runes. He caught it, and his eyes widened. "So you are actually from..."

"Shut it," she ordered. "Descretion is a good thing, Sub-Ordinatus. Use it, then give it back."

"Yes Ordinatus." He typed frantically, clearly enjoying the chance to work at beta level. If need be, she could use the tiny silver ring that had been surgically implanted in the palm of her left hand, with the other, way more powerful sigil. It would go all the way to Orange. And blow her cover more thoroughly than any other thing she could do.

They worked in complete silence, except for the whirring of the machines.

"Ordinatus?"

"Yes?"

"I receive a signal. Someone has come for you, front office."

"That would be my servant. Get her here."

"I also see that Ordinatus Filian is on her way to collect her, Ordinatus."

"Get her here. If need be, bring this Filian as well."

"Yes Ordinatus. Straight away Ordinatus."

"You're wasting breath, Plumbus."

[Talic Starsearch]

Vox, singular engagement mode

Quote

"G'Kal listen to me, Its Talic. I have reason to believe the administration is corrupt and heavily infiltrated by the cult, keep that thug of a mercenary close by and get out of there as soon as possible, do not do anything to overt in the name of the Inquisition, or against the cultists. You must..." Suddenly the sound of a door bursting open
"So what do we have here?" Nasty little spy i think." Purred an unknown womans voice through the Vox. Suddenly there was the sound of two shots and then silence on the Vox.

This post has been edited by Talic Starsearch: 14 December 2010 - 12:04 AM

[Drake Dekko Yarn]

Vox, Singular Engagement, to Kynia GKal said:

Ms. G'Kal I have an idea about dealing with the corrupt Arbites chief. If he's a corrupted by money, and not chaos, then his price is easy, we just need to offer more to him than the others. I suggest we ply the man with promises of Imperial rewards and favours. Ideally a monetary reward for assisting the Inquisition and say a transfer to a better posting than Arbites chief. A nice cushy job with as much possibility to make money on the side on a nice world. Material rewards might work as well.
We'll also have to work an angle that doesn't actually call him out on his corruption. I suggest we have Mr. Starsearch do it. He seems to be versed in smooth talking. I'll relay a message to him as well. I'd do it myself, but heh, it wouldn't work. I'll suggest my strategy to Mr. Starsearch, hoping he'll comply, though I'd ask you to give him details on the Arbites chief. He'll need it to better persuade the man, present the right rewards. Also maybe find a way that Starsearch could intercept him or that the chief winds up near Starsearch.
Let me know what happens.
Drake out.

[Drake Dekko Yarn]

Vox, Singular Engaement, to Kynia GKal said:

Ms. G, this is Drake. One of ours has lost contact. Suggest you take massive precautions for yourself and future vox use. Thank you though for your previous help.

[Drake Dekko Yarn]

Vox, Singular Transmission, to Kynia said:

Drake here, need confirmation on extrac. Over.

[Kynia G'Kal]

OOC: sorry guys, life is extremely hectic at the moment. Between xmas and new year, there will be slightly more time.

It turned out Ordinatus Filian got to Screech before Plumbus did. It also turned out that Ordinatus Filian was of a mind to have her arrested and detained. Ordinatus Filian, or so Kynia thought, was well on his way to earn himself some malevolent attention from her superiors. Kynia directed the flow of one of the datapads to the room where Filian was questioning Screech. The poor child, whose personal limited language was of course not understood by the Ordinatus, could only communicate with outsiders by writing messages on her own personal datapad, but he had confiscated that. Twice, she heard a slap, then the clacking noise of Screech' crying.

Plumbus did not return. While she was happy to curse him for being a coward, she could understand why he would not risk his career.
Security did not show up, clearly, Filian did not want an open confrontation. Neither did she, actually. Not without her data being complete. Then again, Screech was her responsibility. The girl deserved her loyalty and help.

She shut down all the search systems, asking for a sub routine to be kept open, sealed to her bèta code. That should keep it quietly running, no-one here would have the required clearance. She gathered the data she had, still not enough. An interesting sublink detailing a noble backer of the Arbites chief... and there were links to the fences as well, it seemed. However, first things first. Her servant.

She straightened her collar, marched out of the section, haughtily sealing every security code system shut at bèta level. If they would not let her return, they'd have to report to the planetary Administratum. Which would then have to contact System level, and from there it would go to Terra, and to her backers. It would take months, but she would be cleared.

When she exited the comm section of the building, a pair of Arbites guards tried to stop her. She pointed to her collar, her insignia of rank polished. "Unless you are going to open the door, don't you dare talk to me."

They opened the doors. Her datapad led her to the interrogation room, which turned out to be Filian's private work room. She had expected as much. A quick rapping of her knuckles, answered by a hurried "yes?" and she opened the door. Filian was a man of indeterminable age, probably having ahd life prolonging surgery somewhere along the road. A white moustache under a bulbous nose, watery blue eyes underlined with purple bags, bristling, probably combed eyebrows in imitation of a military colonel, the appearance completely undone by the weak chin and the bulging stomach.
Her servant, long blonde hair unpinned, a few strands pulled out and now lying on the front of her simple jacket, brown eyes tearfilled and her cheeks tear-stained, was curled up into a ball on the floor.

"And who are you?" he asked. "How dare you..." then he caught sight of her rank pins.

"That is Ordinatus to you, Ordinatus."

"This is my domain. If you think you are my equal or even my superior, you are sorely mistaken!"

"I am not here for discussions and comparing ranks. I came to get my servant. Did you hurt her?"

She stepped in front of Screech. The girl got up a bit, wrapped an arm around Kynia's lower leg.

"She was not authorized..." he started. She interrupted.

"She is not authorized to enter the comm-section alone. Which is why she went to the service desk, asking for a proper escort to me, as is standard procedure. I am authorized to request her presence, and as long as she does not work with any coded material, she is allowed to assist me. This is all very simple and laid down in rules as old as the Imperium. Moreover, since we are both off-worlders, this information would not be leaked to your own personell. You are obstructing my research, Ordinatus, and my superiors will not like that."

"Your superiors are light years away."

"I think it says something about my mission when Terra sends one of their own rather than simply requesting you to deliver the information they want, don't you? fact of the matter is, they needed someone intimately aware of just what they are looking for, someone who would also know how to analyse and value the data."

She paused. "Back to the matter at hand. Did you hurt my servant?"

He inhaled through his nose, deeply. The hairs of his moustache were ruffled by the breath.

"Screech, did he hurt you?"

Two clicks, a slight slap on her thigh from where Screech sat on the ground.

"It seems you hit her."

"Only to get her into the office. Besides, she was trespassing. A tribunal won't question me on that."

"Desk data downloaded through the comm-link, your own sub-Ordinatus and her own testimony will attest she wasn't. That makes this assault. The tribunal will want to know this, and they shall."

She knew she was trying to blow something very minor up to monstrous sizes, as he had some rights to do what he did - Justinian and herself has been rather thorough and unpleasant in getting to the comm centre.

"However, that is all just side issues. What they will want to know, is why you chose to obstruct my research."

"You and your high-handed brawler usurped my authority and then my comm-centre!" he hissed.

"We did, yes. There was some urgency involved, as well as a matter of secrecy. In fact, it is all coded bèta, and I was forced to seal your entire comm-section with a bèta lock before coming here - some very... sensitive files were still left open."

He turned red, then white, steadied himself at the edge of his desk. "You did what?"

"You do have access to bèta, don't you?"

"I only go to epsilon. Bèta....That's planetary level, woman!"

"Well, that settles the question of authority nicely between the two of us, now doesn't it?"

"You requisitioned my own assistant."

"Yes, and I am sorry for that. But it was to be only until my own servant arrived - if you had let her through, Plumbus would have been back at his desk nearly instantly."

He didn't have much more to say, so she continued.

"Now, allow me to go back to the comm section, and let me take my servant here with me. I will drop any complaints on your unseemly treatment of her if you let us work there, and grant her and me proper codes for access to the comm-section, sealed with your personal chop. We'll be out of your hair for the duration of our investigation. No secrets will leak, your own personell is yours to do with as you see fit, and you will get a recommendation for dealing with my request for access rather swiftly."

He agreed by nodding, clearly afraid she was taping the conversation through the comm links and wanting a way out. In fact, she was. He might make trouble later, she doubted he'd be this docile forever, but for now, he was stymied and would co-operate, at the least until he had backing from someone higher up the food chain - she had no doubt he'd munch carpet the moment one of his superiors decided to throw her out.

"Come, Screech," she said, pulling the young woman up. "we have some doors to unlock."

Her heart sank as she looked at her servant. Few had dared raise a hand against her while she was in Kynia's service, and as a girl, she had always been protected by her brother. This treatment might bring back bad memories, and she needed a cool and collected Screech.

She reached for the servants hand, gave it a squeeze. "I'll protect you. I'll protect you. Let's go and get your dataslate, I need to read your side of the story."

[Kynia G'Kal]

She made sure to leave all staff alone - nevertheless, a few guards pointedly hovered near her room in the comm centre after she had undone her sealing of the doors. Apparently, Ordinatus Finian wanted to keep her under supervision. The guards, armed Arbites one and all, with the stance of combat veterans, remained far enough away to not intrude on her research, yet the show of strength was obvious.

During the next thirty minutes, she ran a scan at bèta level on Finian, which turned up nothing. Finian was a slow riser through the hierarchy, unlikely to grow beyond his current station. His main talent was apparently employing good people and claiming just enough of the credit they earned to not have them mind that and his foul temper as he pushed them up in the hierarchy.

Let's see what his prodigy turned up, she thought. She handed the lowerlevel research to Screech, who efficiently sorted everything over several datapad entries. The young woman was doing better - she liked non-menial work, as it made her more useful than just laying out Kynia's clothes and maintaining the sealed lead case and its contents, which were her regular duties.

She turned to Plumbus' bèta level research... and found it entirely to her liking. A bit too much, even. He was slow, though. What she required was complete information, and he had provided that, but someone used to working on the comm links should have been able to dig up a lot more. Something did not connect here... just to be certain, she checked her own workload during the time they had been working together. She had done much more work than he did. Odd.

She ran a few background scans on the files the young sub-Ordinatus had accessed with her authorization. Some private stuff, some family matters... his own file, too. She smirked. Lower level corruption, but not enough by far to warrant spending over half an hour on.
And then, she hit dirt. The file on Chief Ko Dan had been changed. Subtly, but it had been changed. His backer, the one she had read up on, had been removed. The smile fled her face, replaced by an irritated frown.

She searched for files locked by her own bèta code, and found three - apparently the fat rat had tried to cover his tracks by editing two entirely innocent aristocrats, gambling she'd have to guess which one the real guy was. And the gamble had paid off. She routinely opened them all, no longer caring about throwing them in disarray. One was clearly not related at all, as it was an off-worlder. The second was a patchy file, coded and recoded so often by so many different people that the file itself was worthless. It was obvious this was a noble house he often did dealings with, and had thus come to mind immediately. She even found references to Plumbus himself in the file. It was the third - the house of Ironside, located here in the Hive. one of its Founding Houses, even... and the current Pater Familias was Petrus Ironside.


Who ran a shipping company, one that traded across the Warp, and had a full blown trade house on a planet close to the Eye of Chaos. Several of its officers and agents had been arrested and tried for heresy and chaos aberrations, each time cut out mercilessly by the house. The pattern was almost mechanical, probably a play by the company itself to appear to work with the Inquisition.

Now to decide... dig deeper or find Plumbus and squeeze everything he knew out of his worthless body?