Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team

[Hazard1325]

Onboard the Xenobane inquisitor Wyrax keys in the last few instructions directing her teams to the teleportarium. The first squad comprised of four of Elizabeth's most capable acolytes. Sister Rosette, Odessa Kraft, Alanis Tarda, and the assassin known simply as 'Ash'. Each of them had been chosen for their own particular set of skills and would be trusted with the most important tasks of all her kill teams. At the heart of planetary fortress Arylian was the mechanicus control room where the guardian servitor and his caretaker were in charge of the sprawling complex. One or both were most likley under the thrall of Apostle Thorne the ministorum priest that had begun this bloody rebellion. One way or another the team was expected to bring the fortress back under imperial rule before the Tyranid hive fleet arrived. Bringing balance to the sector was critical and if the rebels could not return into the fold as loyal imperial citizens all opposition needed to be crushed for a unified Lysara. Aiding the Imperial Guard and its allies was a secondary concern to the team but if targets of opportunity presented themselves they were authorized to take care of them at their own discretion.

With a blinding flash of light four figures appeared in the old exterior vista on the fifth level of Arylia's upper city. The vast fortress had been built with the planets population in mind and so a hive city had been erected on the surface of the fortress, its many buildings had ancient mechanisms designed to retract the colossal structures in the event of an emergency but the team could clearly see out over the city and landscape far below the mountain. The vista was essentially a tall hallway missing half the wall that was replaced with ornate pillars and a thin screen of glass. Against the opposite walls were a few benches in which one could rest on the long journey through the hive and admire the scenery below.

To the east was a vast open plain that had become the no mans land of the conflict below. Long trenches scarred Lysara's surface providing fragile refuge for the thousands of soldiers below. The solid thunder of artillery echoed around the open viewing chamber and a few levels below the team could see a battery of stolen basilisk artillery pieces manned by the rebel's, their firing was less a salvo and more a random series of blasts without any obvious sighting equipment. They were raining hell down on both sides of the battle causing chaos for the front line troops.

Two large doors were fixed on either end of the hall, the one behind the team was closed and had the inscription 'Archives' written above it in black embossed lettering. The opposite set of doors were open and led into what looked like a garden up ahead. The team was free to act on their own initiative to seek out how best to secure the fortress city.

[exalted]

Rosette gave out a small prayer as the light faded from around her, revealing the vista. It looked like the heathen Admech hadn't destroyed her, which was good. Looking around she saw the two witches on team had made it too... that was....

The thunder of the basilisks pulled the thought from her head. A pang of guilt flashed through her for the suffering of the faithful on the other end, but suffer they must. Attacking the position may alert the defenders and doom their mission right from the start. She would say a prayer for the fallen later.

A grin crossed her face as she saw the door for the archives, perhaps a relic or two could be saved... that would make her mother superior happy! Also the light from their teleportation may have drawn attention, and the catacombs would be a good place to hide.

"To the Archives?" She proffered to the others.

[Valtiel]

Odessa came out of the light of the teleporter fine, but she had a headache that seemed to have become a little more annoying the closer she got to this planet. It might be because of the powers of Chaos, the warp would probably be strong around here. As the light faded, so did the headaches though, making her more concentrated about the task at hand. Looking around she noticed the Assassin standing next to her fellow psyker. She was happy that there was another psyker... since one of those Holy Sisters were on this kill team. She glanced at the Sister already feeling it might cause trouble having her on board.

The sisters weren't known for taking good care of psykers. She would have to watch out for her if things got rough or the Sister tried anything. She was looking around, as the Sister is the first to speak. "To the Archives?" Odessa turned her head and looked at the sister noticing her youthful appearance. "I think it would be a wise decision. We might gather knowledge about this place. It is possible these rebels is a part of an old cult that has been active before." Odessa holds her hand up to her chin, as she ponders about the situation.

"If we do not go there, I suggest we move out and try and accomplish the mission. We can't let innocents or the brave Guardsmen, if we have a chance to save them."

[DomJoe]

Alanis took a couple of cautious steps as soon as she touched down, looking about. "This planet was probably more beautiful before all this started," she stated with a sigh, noting the stark difference between the vista they were on and the scarred battlefield they could easily witness. Two of the other members began talking about going through the archives first, a sister of the Holy Order and a fellow Psyker. The sister troubled her, and with good reason: they did not appreciate their powers, even though Alanis herself was trained to counter other Psykers. The other Psyker she didn't know too well, but at the very least, she wasn't out to get her, which was good enough for her.

"We should probably stick together, so yes. The archives would be a good place to start," Alanis said, addressing the group.

[Phoenixcz]

Though her training didn't covered teleportation, Ash used it to lead her. Immediately after landing, she rolled aside, so any potential enemy won't get a chance to use her momentary confusion caused by rapid change of scenery. When no attack followed, Ash checks her surrounding to make sure it's safe. Seeing her teammates are the only one around, she mentally thanks the Emperor for protecting them; as the teleporting uses the Warp, it's far from safe.

Her teammates...this should be interesting. Most of the time, Ash worked alone or with other assassins, even in the service of the Inquisition. Sister of Battle should be straightforward, they are usualy pretty predictable. Psykers, on the other hand...you never know where are you standing with one of those. Even if they aren't crazy, strange things happens around them.

She's not here to observe her companions, though, they have a mission to perform. "We need maps and informations. Archives is a logical place to get that. We are in unknown, possibly hostile territory, we should be careful."

[Hazard1325]

Deciding on the archives for now the kill team advances finding the large steel doors open easily enough. Inside was a multi-tiered room filled with what was possibly billions of data slates plugged into their receptacles. Each likely held more information than the average human could sort through in a week. The room appeared to be a huge circle with a maze of smaller shelves on the ground level and large path ways on the others. It also featured a central spire than many long wires wrapped around leading to its base where they connected with a sickly looking servitor in a clerks robe. It glanced up at them and spoke a greeting in a vox modified voice. "Welcome to the Archive tower guest's One seventy nine through one eighty three. Will you require a guide today?" It asks as a small servo skull descends from the lofty heights above to hover over the group. A small ocular scanner sent a thin green beam over the group and it spoke in machine cant a series of whirls and beeps which then suddenly shifted to low Gothic which they all understood. "Three life forms detected, one partial." It said referring to the Synskin Ash wore that likely interfered with the scan. The Archive servitor glanced up quizzically at the skull. "Perhaps that one needs maintenance."

[Valtiel]

This archive was huge, it truly must have all the information about this planet's story. Odessa would love to spend days in here reading about the history of the planet. But she had to find out about the history related to her mission. She was the first to speak. "Servitor, we need information about any old history known to be related to any previous riots and traitor activity. Can you guide us to that place?" she asked, with authority in her voice. As she had said it, she heard the familiar voice in her head. It had been silent for several hours but once again spoke. "Sorcerers... Cultists... Dark magic..." Was it asking to research these things?

"Also Servitor, any previous accounts about Sorcerers and cultists of the dark powers," she said. She had to be careful what she said, especially near one of those dreaded Sisters. However if her helpful voice was giving her advice, it couldn't be bad. It had several times helped her in surviving hopeless situations. This couldn't be any different here.

[DomJoe]

Alanis looked at the room in awe, stunned by the sheer volume of information that was present. There was no doubt that they would be able to find what they were looking for, but sorting through all this information would be difficult, even for the 4 of them. Luckily, there appeared to be a servitor around to help them look for what they needed. "We could also use a detailed map of the city," Alanis piped up, remembering what one of their members said. They could use all the advantages they could get.

[exalted]

Rosette slowly turned her gaze to glare at the witch Odessa, fingering the handle of her bolt pistol.

"Did the Ecclesiarchy keep any relics with you?" She asked the Servitor, keeping her eyes on Odessa, "We must ensure they are safe."

[Phoenixcz]

Ash ignores the servoskull, but take few steps between the shelves, away from the rest of the team. After all, who knows who else the servitor or the servoskull sent the information about their presence to? Skull's inability to identify her may be useful, if there are enemies on the way, they won't know what to expect. Ash tries to stay in the hearing distance from the group, but hidden from sight, if possible.

[Hazard1325]

The archvist returned his atention to the guests in front of him and addresses Odessa first. "Records of all police action on Lysara are stored in the Adeptus Arbite database located in wing three, floor one. Any data pertaining to heretical subjects has been purged in compliance with Imperial regulation 11-98A, any original copies would lie in the restricted section of the archives, security level Theta or higher required." It sputtered addressing the next question with a mechanical transition. "A map of the non restricted areas of Fortress Arylian can be found in wing one, floor one. Restricted area's maps require security level Delta or higher." The Servo Skull was already floating away at the mention of maps and turned a corner out of sight heading down one of the two large halls behind the desk.

Turning to Rosette it shook its head. "Any religious artifacts are kept in the Tower of Faith on the opposite end of this tier of the city. Reports indicate riots are in progress near that district. Records indicate fourteen minor artifacts and one major. Details can be found in wing one, level three. If there are any other questions I would be more than happy to assist." It said glancing between the three of them. Ash had slipped away into the library already and was somewhere amongst the nearby bookshelves still in the main room.

[DomJoe]

"So, everything we've asked for is in different areas," Alanis said to no-one in particular. "It would probably go faster if we split up, but should we really do that? Who knows where the enemy is right now," she added with a shudder. There was a battle going on outside, after all. Who's to say that it couldn't spill into this area as well?

[exalted]

"We go in teams," Rosette barked, "Alanis with me on the first wing. Ash, Odessa, third wing. We rally up on the Restricted Archives, ensure they haven't been breached. Avoid contact with the enemy."

Rosette started to storm off towards the first wing, robes sweeping behind her before she paused to turn back , her eyes on Odessa.

"And no one goes into the restricted section alone." She said, turning to Ash, "Keep an eye on your witch."

[Phoenixcz]

Ash rejoins the group and nods at sister Rosette. "No problem. We should set up a time constraint for the regrouping, though. Digging through Administratum's archives take time and we don't want to wait for the other team too long before realising they've got into trouble."

[Valtiel]

Odessa feels the eyes of the Sister stare at her. She was used to being mistrusted but she had always been able to find out why personally they felt that... by reading their minds. The Sister was impossible to read though. And thus Odessa was getting nervous having her around. She would have no idea how that wretched Sister would react at any point.

As if to answer Ash's question, Odessa comes with a number of minutes to use in each wing. "I would estimate a 30-45 minutes would be enough to reveal anything relevant. I believe if we are to find anything of importance we need to access the restricted archives." She points at Ash as Odessa gets ready to leave. "Come with me, we will be busy," she says as she walks past Rosette, glaring out of the corner of her eyes. She disliked being called a witch, there were no sorcery involved in her powers! Luckily the assassin that would accompany her would prove to be a suitable ally. She just wished the Sister would stay away from the other Psyker.

[Hazard1325]

The kill team split into two groups, the first Rosette and Alanis went to the first wing, located to the right of the front desk while the other team of Ash and Odessa headed to the left. They would have to travel through wing two to get to the third. Both teams found the library to be rather straightforward in layout, long rows of dataslates lined the hallways providing plenty of concealment should they run into anyone.

Team two, Ash and Odessa reached the third wing after passing through the second, though except for the signs that marked the sections they all looked identical. The local Arbite records were vast and it took a majority of their time simply sifting through the irrelevant data. Most Arbite reports ended two weeks ago when the local government had been toppled and the fortress had been taken by the rebels. Most reports detailed the arrests and executions of suspected rebels and their sympathizers, in total nearly a tenth of the cities population had been put to death or imprisoned for their suspected role in the rebellion. Unfortunately this did nothing but make the rebel cause rise as Apostle Thorne accused the planetary government of abusing its power and rallied the victims families to his cause. The last report dated was from the local Arbite commander who commented that the HQ was overrun and sent a final communication notifying Lysara's capital the fortress would fall to the rebels. Looking back over the notes for any mention of witchcraft or other strange phenomenon they found several gaps in information that were marked as 'purged' materials. Most seemed to mention Thorne's Inner circle, a group of his followers which carried out his orders directly. In the distance back towards the lobby they heard a banging noise like a slate being dropped echoing around the empty halls.

Team one, Rosette and Alanis found wing one was much the same as the lobby with the exception of a large hole in the buildings second floor. The damage looked to be caused by a stray artillery shell, thankfully the section that had been hit was 'Ministorium Regulations and Forms', something of very little use to the team. As they began searching for the section on maps the Servo Skull returned and stopped in front of them. Its eye whirred and it projected a crude hologram of the city highlighting the south western tower marked as 'Tower of Knowledge' Along with that there were three other main towers jutting off from the fortress city and three leveled tiers. The lowest tier was the industrial sector, which mostly comprised of munitions factories, food storage and residential blocks. The second tier was the mercantile sector which had a starport, the land based entrance to the city, commercial districts and residential sectors for the upper class. The final tier was labeled as the Administration sector and contained all the essential structures required to manage a city of this size including the central palace and emergency control centers. After reviewing that Rosette began to climb to the third floor when the two of them heard voices from the lobby followed by the discharge of a firearm... moving back towards the lobby still on the second floor the two of them watched a group of about six rebels and two cloaked figures standing around the servitor. The first robed figure held a large caliber pistol. The long barrel was still smoking and aimed at the servitor who was now suspended from the mechanical tubes connecting it to the central spire, its biological components had gone limp after the bullet destroyed most of its head. One of the rebels was arguing quietly with the robed figure. "There are thousands of years of history in this place, why does Thorne w-" The cloaked figure interrupted with a shout. "Apostle Thorne has foreseen the enemy, they will come to this place and use it against him. We cannot allow this." The rebel shook his head glaring at Thorne's zealot. "That doesn't make any sense, the Guard are still stuck out in the Nrath Plains, their front line hasn't advanced in days how could they possibly use the tower against us?" The cloaked figure laughed. "It is not our place to question Thorne, Tzeentch speaks through him and demands this place this burn!" It was clear the Zealot's clearly couldn't be reasoned with and barked orders to the two rebels with flamers to begin dousing the Archives with fire.

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

I'm still working on maps, hopefully I'll have at least the Archive map ready by next post.

[exalted]

Rosette winced behind pillar she used for cover, her words coming back to haunt her. Her lips turned to snarl as the words of the foul heresy uttered by the cultists, but if the what they said was true there must be something important here. But could she take it as truth? The words of a traitor were not to be listened to at all.

But was there another way out? If they sent the entrance ablaze the rest of the team would be trapped inside. There was no choice then.

"Take aim for the flamers first," She whispered to Alanis, "Hit them and then draw them further in."

Rosette lined supported her silenced bolter against the pillar and drew a bead on the robed figure with the pistol. If she delt with him then she would target the flamers as well in the confusion of the leaders sudden death.

As soon as the firing started she would inform the other team through her vox bead.

[DomJoe]

Alanis looks over the map that the Servo Skull projects to her, taking interest in the locations of the munitions factory, the entrances to the city, and the administration center. She didn't get to look for long, however, when the air of silence was broken by a gunshot. Alanis soon saw the culprit: a robed figure with a pistol in hand, followed by 2 other men holding flamers. From their conversation, it seemed as though the enemy already knew they were there, which made Alanis wonder just how good their intelligence was. Sister Rosette was quick to command Alanis to open fire on the flamer wielding rebels, and Alanis simply nodded, moving into position where she could get a good line of fire on the rebels. She would try and discern of any of the 2 flamer rebels were Psykers before opening fire, and if they were, she would switch over to her witch hunting rounds before doing so.

[Phoenixcz]

That wasn't very helpful. Hopefully Rosette and Alanis will be more lucky with maps, they are more important at the moment. No surprise about the psyker files...neither Ash or Odessa propably wouldn't have high enough clearance to look at them anyway. "I guess we won't find anything more here..." Ash's words are interrupded by crash in the distance. Ash immediately draws her gun. She's got limited ammo, and she's not able to use just any standard lasgun energy pack, but it's her only way to fight at distance at the moment. "Sounds like trouble. Check it out?" If Odessa agrees, Ash lets her go first and stays just far away so they can't be both hit by one lucky burst...and so she could quietly slip out of sight to surprise any foe. She would feel bad about using her teammate as a bait, if her conditioning didn't get rid of such emotions first.

[Valtiel]

Odessa was alerted by the noises, as she by reaction draws her weapon. Looking around, she knows this means trouble. Seeing Ash do the same, makes her know she is not the only one being on the edge. "Sounds like trouble. Check it out?" Ash says to her. Odessa would really like to study more of the more limited documents but this could be serious, and she didn't want to leave anyone in trouble. Not even that Sister. "Yeah, let's check it out. They might need us!" she says as she starts proceeding carefully towards the entrance, with her weapons ready.