40K/Inquisitor RPG. The Line of Damnation.

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2004-12-17 08:02am

"The sergeant has a point. It will work. Give me a reason not to do it."

Petrosjko · Post by **Petrosjko** » 2004-12-17 08:08am

"You'll do what you want to do. And if that means scouring an innocent vessel while heresy may be festering on a planet below you, I suppose that's what your mission ordains. Were you harrassing traders while a cult was preparing to take over your precious space station, inquisitor? I explained the situation to you, and that answer obviously wasn't good enough. There's not a damn thing I can say or do about the matter beyond telling the truth, which I've already done. Your kind aren't trusted by Rogue Traders because we've been burned time and again while carrying out our Emperor-sanctioned mission. We've learned to trust only our own and the Emperor, because for damned sure inquisitors aren't above betrayal, corruption, and outright heresy, any more than the least of us."

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2004-12-17 08:17am

Gix triggered his vox. "Severa, have naval security tear this ship apart. Logs, holds, everything. Don't put up with any shit."

"Your position, captain, does not allow make you immune to the consequences of your actions. If you're guitly of something, then you will catch whatever hell is coming your way. If your innocent and smart, you'll learn. If your stupid, you're career will be brief."

Gix's lowered Synnove to the floor. Hethor swore. "Boss. . ."

"I know," said Gix. Traitors wouldn't have come so readily to the station's aid, not as effectively as they did. But there was more going on than a few xenotech weapons of dubious origin.

Petrosjko · Post by **Petrosjko** » 2004-12-17 08:21am

Uschi relaxed slightly. At least they weren't arbitrarily sticking anyone on the autorack.

Emperor above, Engelier, you had some shady dealings in the past. Don't let there be anything that will sink us.

Synnove rose to her feet, wiping her bloody lip with the back of her hand. Her eyes had gone blank, and she deliberately did not look at Hethor or Gix.

GeneralTacticus · Post by **GeneralTacticus** » 2004-12-17 08:24am

Well, at least it doesn't look like they're about to start killing each other in here. Out there, though...

"Do try to avoid having your people kill anybody if it can be avoided, Inquisitor," Adivan said softly. "They may be hiding something, but that alone isn't a reason to kill. Yet. And try not to damage the ship excessively, either."

He looked over at Captain Oschi.

"Captain, I suggest you order your crew not to resist. If whatever it is you're hiding, if anything is worth fighting to keep from the Inquisition, well... let's just say the consequences will be unpleasant."

Petrosjko · Post by **Petrosjko** » 2004-12-17 08:31am

"We are not hiding anything, inquisitor. We will cooperate fully with the investigation."

Damn all of you to the warp, she thought furiously. She would give good odds on the ability of the crew to take out these inquisitors, and they would see that for themselves when they inspected the integral defense systems of the Wager, which were superior to pretty much any naval vessel of the same class.

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2004-12-17 08:32am

"Infernas the knife unsheathed," said Hethor. In some ways Gix was a lot like a green louie with a lot of promise. That bitch would smoke them if she thought she even had a slim chance of getting away with it. Letting her live was a mistake.

"The tale unending" was Gix's response. Well, Throne, he was right about that. But she would act on it, not just think it. Hethor stepped foreward.

"I know what you're thinking" he said. "I've been there. Don't do more than dream about it. We're not talking about a fucking commissar, but an inquisitor. You fucked up. Whatever you're secrets are you got jittery enough to think about smoking inquisitors. While under a battleships guns. Orks ain't that dumb. He gave you a fair chance to come clean and you didn't. You're getting it and you don't even understand how easy you're getting off. Now smarten up."

Petrosjko · Post by **Petrosjko** » 2004-12-17 08:37am

Synnove looked at him with her blank eyes. "I will undergo any questioning the inquisitor deems appropriate, and on my oath to the Emperor, I will answer them honestly."

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2004-12-17 08:44am

"Tough but stupid. Were you lucky or did you just get the cushy jobs?" Really, any guard sergeant worth his or her salt knew that you survived officers and commissars, you didn't antagonize them.

"Hethor."

"Yah?"

"There's no point and no need. They're not going to talk and they are going to hate us the rest of their lives. Veritas and Severa's crews are going to get our answers. When she's finished she'll know the ship better than they do." Which was almost true. Not looking the other way for certain smugglers is what sidelined Severa's career. She still carried that hate with her.

Hethor grinned. Fuck. They didn't like Gix? Wait 'til they met Severa. The big guardsman roared with laughter.

Petrosjko · Post by **Petrosjko** » 2004-12-17 08:49am

Uschi stood mute. This was the inquisitor's play now, and she could simply await his directions on the matter. She knew that any statement she made would be viewed with suspicion.

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2004-12-17 09:06am

Severa's security squads began systematically disarming the crew and securing the ship. They were hard people these Traders, hard and proud. That was normal and they resented having to surrender to her troopers. Well rape that. If they wanted to play nice they had the chance. Knowing Gix, too many chances.

"Throne!" she swore. What an internal defence network! Fighting in here would have been nasty. She began the sweep. That old trick. Pretty good, but really not as clever as they thought they were.

She began giving supplementary instructions to her crews. Gix was at the captain's cabin and she would need to be there soon.

-----------------------------------------------------

Gix's lips curved upward as his electoo returned displayed Severa's transmition runes. "Lieutenent Valin is impressed by your security system, but she says you aren't as clever as you think you are. Your smuggling compartments aren't that well hidden. Of course, she's very good at the job and has better equipment than navy standard. And she doesn't like smugglers."

Petrosjko · Post by **Petrosjko** » 2004-12-17 09:13am

Uschi looked at him and truthfully answered "Those compartments have been on this ship for centuries, and the only thing the previous two captains used them for was to secure highly valuable cargo. Captains Valdis and Engelier were devout followers of the Cult of the Emperor and did not stray beyond the regulations of the Imperium."

Emperor knows, Engelier often stretched and bent the rules until they were barely recognizable, but he had deep knowledge of them that would put some judges to shame.

"In the interests of full disclosure... Synnove, put your whip on the floor and step away from it."

Synnove very carefully dropped her agonizer whip on the floor and stepped away from it, hands in the air.

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2004-12-17 09:19am

"Xeno tech weaponry. Dark Eldar, to be specific. The Adeptus Mechanicus may dislike it, but unless you've been betraying the Imperium to get your hands on it, I don't care."

Petrosjko · Post by **Petrosjko** » 2004-12-17 09:21am

Uschi looked at him slightly differently, a fractional amount of respect coming back to her.

Not many who know the difference between breeds of Eldar.

Pcm979 · Post by **Pcm979** » 2004-12-17 09:29am

Gork and Mork had moved their stuff- Not much, just a few heirlooms and 2 really comfortable rugs- into their new quarters. Gork was polishing his new Hammer; A repetitive action, he liked them. Mork was alseep, curled up in a gigantic ball on his Rug.

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2004-12-17 09:30am

"Further more, its legal for a Rogue Trader to possess xenotech. I have a suspicion that's one of the reasons the charters were issued in the first place. Nor do I care about some customs irregularities. Severa, on the other hand, had her career torpedoed by a matter that involves smugglers." So, he thought, Adivan likes the waiting game. Watch others stir the pot and watch what floats to the surface. Not what he expected from someone who wore power armour everywhere. On the other hand, the strategy did remove one from direct danger. Both were defensive in nature.

Hethor had other thoughts. She'll take one look at that bitch's eyes and put a bolt into her brain. No way is she going to let someone that dangerous eyeball fuck Gix and live. Not when she had control of the situation. Gix would forgive her.

Petrosjko · Post by **Petrosjko** » 2004-12-17 09:36am

Adivan stood silently, reserving comment. His thoughts on the matter were not readable by his expression. He simply waited.

"I told you what you'll find here, inquisitor," Uschi said. "If we were smuggling anything, we would have walked away from the engagement on the station, and we wouldn't have reported the activity on-planet."

She glanced at Synnove.

"If it makes any difference, Sergeant Margarte and the Captain were romantically involved."

For the first time, Synnove's icy facade cracked. The look she gave Uschi was filled with pain and betrayal.

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2004-12-17 09:40am

"I fail to see how this explains her lining me up for a kill shot."

Petrosjko · Post by **Petrosjko** » 2004-12-17 09:46am

Uschi sighed. "There's no proper explanation and there's no excuse. A mistake was made, and now we're paying the price. But there's nothing hidden here, and you can search this ship until the Emperor returns, you can stretch every crew member aboard across the rack, and you won't find anything. Synnove erred on the side of overprotectiveness, probably because of our recent loss, but that's not a reasonable justification for the disrespect to your office."

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2004-12-17 09:54am

"Possibly. At any rate-Throne!" The report trickled through his electoo. He should have fried Xerxes back then. Soft, too soft. "Other matters seem to have taken priority. Hethor, we're moving. " Severa could handle this.

Petrosjko · Post by **Petrosjko** » 2004-12-17 09:56am

Synnove had gathered herself, though her former resolve had been shattered and she was having a hard time piecing it back together. The women watched the inquisitor freak out and bail from the room with some amount of confusion.

Pcm979 · Post by **Pcm979** » 2004-12-17 09:56am

Pater got the report too; He couldn't help feeling that this was irony at it's worst, or possibly best. Who was the one preching the uncorruptibilty of the Arbites mere days ago? He roused Slate, Mallok, Gork and Mork and set out to Prius and Nathan's position.

Petrosjko · Post by **Petrosjko** » 2004-12-17 09:57am

Adivan likewise bailed on the scene in a great hurry, not daring to comment on the matter in front of non-inquisitors. However, the grim look he gave to Gix spoke volumes on the grimness of the situation.

Petrosjko · Post by **Petrosjko** » 2004-12-17 10:01am

Prius soon found himself at the center of a group of highly alarmed inquisitors.

"There is no further information available at this point. The arbites did not feel that a mere colonel-commissar, even one with inquisitorial backing, had any business inspecting their affairs."

His expression shows what he thinks about that particular notion. A commissar's job is to inspect the affairs of others.

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2004-12-17 10:08am

Jolan Gix grimaces. The wages of mercy. Kyra was right. I'm too soft. Fortunately he had the right tool at hand for the job. "Colonel-Commissar Ristani it appears that the Arbites have misinterpreted our respect for their position in the Imperium for weakness. Execute any Arbites who is an obstructionist. Bring down the hammer. On my responsibility." Saying that to Prius might institute a blood bath, but it would also get results. It wasn't like his hands were ever going to be clean of innocent blood.