The story is basically Inquisitional in nature, investigating the stuff Inquisitors do, but unlike something like Eisenhorn or Ravenor (which this story seems to be a similar to, sort of a Sandy Mitchell take on Ravenor/Eisenhorn) it focuses more on the acolytes (in like with the DH theme) and Mitchell plays with it in some fantastic ways. A Redemptionist Death Cult assassin who has a crush on an Arbiter. Need I say more?
They aren't - IMHO - quite as lighthearted or silyl as Cain, but lighter than 40K Standard (which is not a bad thing.) and I wish Mitchell would write more of them.
First book is Scourge the HEretic. 2 part update.
Page 10
Shuttle enviromentla system.As the stars around him steadied he felt the swelling tide of sickness recede, and sighed faintly with relief, misting the viewport ahead of him for a moment before the environmental unit’s machine-spirit recognised and compensated for the minute increase in humidity. As the thin layer of armourcrys cleared again..
Page 10
Inquisitor with his own power armour and storm bolter rig.Jorge Grynner’s formidable intellect was a weapon as potent, in its own way, as the storm bolter built into the power suit he wore on the rare occasions he deemed his personal intervention to be necessary..
Page 11
Implication of 'billions of star's in the Imperium, containing some degree of humanity. Whether it means some measure in all the stars or just some, nevermind how many planets this implies is entirely up to debate. We know for one thing the Imperium claims alot of territory (systems) that may or may not contain habitable worlds, and even where human habitation exists, it could just be an outpost or small mining colony or research station or orbital facility of some kind, but it's still an interesting implication of scope and it isn't exactly out of place considering how many 'millions/billions of planets' references continue to crop up.Pieter turned his back on the wonders of the Emperor’s realm, not without a certain sense of relief. Awesome as the sight of the entire galaxy undoubtedly was, it was disquieting to contemplate too. The billions of stars behind him didn’t just seethe with humanity, they were infested with uncountable xenos breeds as well, every one a threat, all of them gnawing away at the heart of the Imperium. The Ordo Xenos, which Pieter and his mentor served, defended it as best they could, but the task was an immense one, and the responsibility almost overwhelming.
Page 14
Deathwatch marine quite ab it taller (20-50 cm maybe) than 2 metres (itself an impressive height) and easily holding a bolt gun.He was tall himself, a hair under two metres, but even so his eyes were only level with the aquila emblazoned across the sable ceramite chest plates, and the grimly functional bolter, which the power armoured giant hefted as easily as a normal man might a stubber or lasgun.
Page 14
"fresh" air on a freighter, which does not seem to be a particularily recent or well maintained one (honestly.) Humanity at its finest“As fresh as it ever gets on a tub like this, anyway.” Dry and musty, from being recycled and replenished innumerable times over the centuries, the atmosphere was overlaid with all the familiar shipboard odours: the faint musk of human bodies, which seemed to have permeated the very decks: old food and cooking fat; burned incense from the endless round of repairs and maintenance required to keep the ancient vessel functioning; and the ever-present hint of latrines.
Page 15
Stride length of a Space Marine is twice that of a human, at walking pace....quickening his pace a little to keep up with the Marine’s unhurried stride, whose every step covered two of his own.
As per This source and this source we get roughly 31 inches, which is ~.79m per step, or 1.58 meters (for a man) per stride. Which means that a stride for a Space Marine covers about a meter and a half (roughly) with every step they take. Probably represents a marine not really hoofting it, given other examples have Marines pulling some pretty high kph when they're running flat out.
Page 15-16
Commentary on the parameters of ship design in the Imperium, at least as it pertains to freighters. Overall we could conclude that things are.. 'broadly' comparable, but with potential for lots of little individual modifications that can add up to a distinctively different ship design.Trying to recall the layout of the vessel, assuming it had started out fairly typical of its class and that half a millennium of shipmasters with their own ideas of what constituted an efficient use of space hadn’t changed it too much, they probably led up to the command decks.
Page 17
Freighter cogitators. Rivals anything from a Ben Counter novel“Have you been able to retrieve anything from the cogitators?” Pieter asked without preamble.
..
“The primary logic banks have been desecrated.
Any data this system contained has been totally obliterated.”
As he stood aside, Pieter saw that he meant that quite literally. The brass frames and cogwheels of the calculating engine had been ripped apart, like the bodies of the luckless tech-priests below, and only fused and blackened stumps remained of the polished wooden control lecterns. There was no chance at all of finding out the freighter’s intended destination from this collection of scrap.
Page 20-21
Scope of Inquisitorial activities (of a single, secretive agent) in Calixis, which gives an idea of the sort of scale of operations and coordination Imperials can operate at. Also Halo Stars (at least as per 5th edition core rulebook map and DH map) is perhaps some thousands of light years (5-10K LY or so, give or take a few thousand LY) from Calixis, which gives a good idea of how far the transport came from (which was supposedly from calixis to begin with) range wise, as well as the distance of astropathic communications in this case.“Carolus maintains a network of agents throughout the Calixis sector. If anything pertinent to our investigation involves rogue psykers at large there, it’s quite likely he’ll have some useful information for us.”
“I’ll contact him at once,” Pieter said, rising from his seat.
“Good.” Grynner breathed absently on his spectacle lenses, and polished them again. “You may need to be patient, however. He tends to be somewhat elusive.”
Page 23
cold weather camo cape...pulling his cold weather camo cape around him a little tighter..
Page 24
We get introduced to two Guardsmen who play a prominent role in the series. One is clearly a close combat 'specialist' (in that he's big and strong and better at hitting things with a hand weapon than a rifle) and the other is more a marksman. Interesting that a guardsman was ever issued with (or even allowed to keep!) a chainaxe. Perhaps it has something to do with his past as a forester. Chainsaw axes seem like something that would be appropriate to a lumber industryVos Kyrlock shrugged, and hefted his precious chain axe, checking once again that the mechanism was still free and unfrozen. He carried his standard issue lasgun slung over his shoulder, as dutifully as any other Guardsman, but the close combat weapon was his pride and joy. It hadn’t taken his instructors long to realise that he’d never attain anything more than basic competence with a ranged weapon of any kind, but his natural aptitude for brawling was quite exceptional. Drake, on the other hand, was quite the opposite, his instinctive affinity for lasweapons already honed by years of service in Queen Lachryma’s household troops, the Royal Scourges, the nearest thing to a properly functioning Planetary Defence Force to be found on Sepheris Secundus.
Also Sephiris Secundus does not have a true.. PDF per se. Or rather a sort of PDF made up of household troops (they have weapons and population control issues on that planet as I recall from Dark Heresy) but we know that private milita nad household militarie scan be tithed just as easily as PDFs so it probably isn't a big deal.
Page 24-25
IG recruitment. Truth is secondary to quotas. recruitment is 'technically' possible, although it seems that conscription can still be conducted. It seems to be - in calixis at least - handled on a planet by planet basis - each world handling the quota in its own way, which can be either voluntary, involuntary, or a combination.“We’ll be out there soon enough.”
“That’s what the recruiter told me,” Drake said bitterly, “six rutting months ago.”
...
“At least you had a choice,” Kyrlock reminded him. “Most of us just got told to volunteer.” It was rare indeed for the mining world of Sepheris Secundus to be tithed for an Imperial Guard regiment. The labour of its countless serfs was vitally important to the economy of the entire sector, and their poor standard of health made them, for the most part, useless as soldiers. However, the increasing number of skirmishes and raids around the Eye of Terror in the last few years had imposed its own demands.
Something big was coming, that much was clear, and the sectors closest to the bleeding wound in the fabric of reality had begun to prepare for the worst.
The nature of Sephiris Secundus is also interesting given the shitty way it treats its populace - it implies that the Guard has certain standards it adheres to (unless influenced or forced to toherwise) as far as troop quality goes - overworked serfs in poor health generally don't seem to qualify. Economic factors also it seems would play a role, meaning that despite its large populace Sephiris Secundus is rather a poor choice for recruiting troops from.
Also it seems that things are brewing up aruond the eye, so preparations are being made in all nearby sectors (which includes CAlixis.) I wonder if this is prefacing the 13th Black Crusade.
Page 25
According to Drake, the guard (at least as far as things go in Calixis) is a meritocracy of sorts. Naturally I can think of exceptions (places where the officers are chosen from the nobility come to mind...)“I should have stayed in the Scourges, like my father and grandfather did.”
“Without any hope of promotion or advancement?” Kyrlock asked, having heard the story innumerable times before.
Drake’s face darkened under the wan starlight. “That’s right, just because my mother was a chambermaid: mutant rutting snobs. At least in the Guard you get promoted on merit.”
Page 26
Much like with the Navy, planetary governors might see a tithe as an opportunity to get rid of criminals, troublemakers and undesirables of various stripes to meet quotas. Which of course can cause.. problems.. but I imagine in a crisis (or an anticipated crisis) the Imperium can't be choosy. If they make a habit of it, or do it when they CAN afford to be picky... then there's always that risk of execution or removal for failing to meet standards (EG the 1/10th of the best troops of a planet quota.)Kyrlock’s liege lord hadn’t been the only one who’d seized the opportunity the Guard tithe presented for ridding himself of the most troublesome malcontents among the workers he owned, and the undisciplined rabble he’d found himself surrounded by had been a stark and unwelcome contrast to the Scourges.
This also creates an interesting situation, as the tithe from Sephiris Secundus is a mix of volunteers from the scourges (the closest thing S.S. has to a PDF and professional troops) and conscripts.
Page 26-27
The troops have their own helmet vox. Guess that means Sephiris Secundus didn't skimp on outfitting the troops, at least...but before he could reply, the short-range vox receivers in both men’s helmets hissed.
..
Claren said, from the warmth and comfort of his command Chimera.
PAge 27
More on the S.S. regiment. It's mentioned that the platoon Drake and Krylock are part of are (probably) made up of the problem cases of the S.S. regiment, and they were basically exiled to get them away from the regiment (hence, 'expendable.' The officer is assigned for punishment reasons (pissed off the wrong person.)Neither had a particularly high opinion of Sergeant Claren, who owed his rank to his former civilian occupation as an overseer in the mines rather than any grasp of military matters....
...
Drake, with more experience than most of how the military mind worked, tried not to ruminate too much on the various ramifications of the word expendable...
Then again they're also lead by a guy who was a civilian slave overseer before his conscription, so it could be they wanted to get an incompetent out of the way (then again we dont know the quality of the rest of the force either.)
Page 28
camp shelters for the Guards. Better than sleeping in a foxhole I suppose...the Imperial Guard platoon had arrived and set up their camp, insulated survival bubbles for sleeping and a larger one for messing in..
Page 32
Assassin synskin (suits) have chameleonic properties. Also Keira, the wearer, is a Redemptionist assassin. Probably death cultist character type from teh game given her love of blades and the religious bent. She's also gotten some Assasinorum training, but she's not really like any of the six known 'Temples' either, so she would seem to represent some sort of lesser' force' trained by them or retained unofficially by them. I believe DH makes reference to that effect somewhere....still dressed in the skintight synsuit of an Officio Assassinorum operative, its chameleonic surface seeming to ripple in a vain attempt to match the ever-changing colours being reflected on it from the refulgent glass surrounding her.
Page 37
Again the nature of Sephiris Secundus (and its economic importance) make it an anomaly in the Imperium as far as military and law enforcement goes. It's probably its special status that marks it out for greater Arbites presence, although the novel indicates the arbites are dedicated to riot control rather than investigation (EG muscle over brains.. so very few detectives but lots of arbitrators to keep the peace.)Unlike most worlds of the Imperium, the Adeptus Arbites maintained a considerable presence here, maintaining law and order directly from the fortress garrison that the Secundans referred to as the Isolarium, rather than delegating the task to local enforcers as they usually did.
The feudal nature of Secundan society made any conventional police force impossible to run, and the nearest equivalent, the Royal Scourges, were too martial in outlook and too hidebound by tradition to make effective investigators.
Under most circumstances the handful of Arbitrators left to oversee the dispensation of the Emperor’s justice on an Imperial world would make useful allies for a team of Inquisitorial operatives, but on Sepheris Secundus, where their main concern was to ensure an uninterrupted flow of raw materials to the hive worlds of the Calixis sector, and riot control was a higher priority than intelligence gathering, confiding in them seemed like an unnecessary security risk.
It's also interesting to consider how a feudal world running on slave labour is vital to the economic welfare of the Imperium, although without detailed knowledge of what exactly they dig up and provide, not to mention the economic relationships between the Imperium and elsewhere applying it on a larger scale is difficult. Given what we know in the Dark HEresy stuff, we do know Sephiris Secundus makes a conscious effort to keep things as primitive as possible, so it could be they're favoring this method to benefit them in some manner (in terms of economics and power.)
Page 39
Given this is the misfit platoon, its interesting to note they apparently have more than one chimera. And given the size of the force, if there are several of them then there is a good chance the whole platoon is mechanised, which is further interesting given the nature and origins of the regiment (and of this particular platoon.)“Vorlens,” Kyrlock told him, naming one of the Chimera drivers. “He’s been distilling it round the back of the maintenance shed.”
Page 40
Scope of the space-going industry/traffic around Sephiris Secundus. Given context from earlier and following, these are *probably* warp capable vessels, albeit probably of the chartist variety (EG short ranged.) Still its an interesting look into the economic side of space shipping and meshes with certain other examples (EG Ravenor and the number of ships in and around planets there.)At any given time there were thousands of ore barges in orbit around the ravaged planet, their heavy lifters glutting their cargo bays with the mineral wealth wrenched from the cloud-wreathed surface below...
Page 41
After a while, a shuttle departed, and fell towards the planet below, its hull plates glowing a deep, rich red as it began its long plunge through the atmosphere, following the coordinates contained in the vox pulse its carrier vessel had received a short time before. Had anyone been able to observe it, they would have been surprised by both its shape and function, but no one did. Exotic technologies shielded it against most forms of detection, and the more specialised auspexes at its intended destination had been blinded by subtle sabotage.
Xenos designed landing/assault craft, with (proable) xenos stealth systems protecting it. Given hints later, its probably a Manta, but don't quote me on that.
Page 44
Wyrds/unsanctioned psykers rarely make it off planet due to the presence of othre (sanctioned) psykers to detect them. We aren't told why they are there - deliberately to scan or if just by chance, although its likely this would be one duty of a planet's astropath contingent.“So he caught a ship,” Keira said. “People do, even heretics.” Her voice tightened with loathing on the last word.
“Wyrds don’t,” Elyra said. “Not easily, anyway. Star-ports are full of sanctioned psykers of one sort or another, and it only takes one to get close enough to feel what they are.”
Page 45
A commentary on the ability of ships to escape off-world. While its rare for 'passengers' to move from one planet to another, it is at least technically possible (if expensive, and risky) even on Sephiris Secundus. Short range (inter-sector) travel is thus quite possible, whilst long range (between sectors) can still be quite rare.“Getting off-world,” Vex said flatly. “Quite a trick if they can do it.”
“A trick that a small but growing number of them seem to be pulling off,” the inquisitor assured him. “Given the number of ships that depart from here each day it’s impossible to tell which may be involved, but it’s become abundantly clear in the last few years that at least a handful of shipmasters on a regular run aren’t averse to taking the odd unauthorised passenger with them when they leave. No doubt for as much remuneration as the market will bear.”
We also get a commentary on the daily merchant traffic in and around Sephiris Secundus. Given the 'handful' of ships involved out of the total number, and the impossibility of figuring out which ships might be smuggling people out, we're probably talking at least dozens, if not hundreds of merchant ships daily, which would fit well with the 'thousands" of ships around the planet mentioned earlier.
Page 46
Tau control and guidance systmes onboard the aformentioned transport/probable Manta.A hololith, the image within it so sharp and steady it might almost have been a solid sculpture of glowing light, relayed an image of the surrounding terrain, every feature meticulously rendered with such fidelity that he had no need to look at the blurred, obscured reality beyond his cockpit. Status displays, translated into readily understood Gothic, scrolled across thin, flat pict screens of xenos manufacture and unparalleled clarity.
Page 47-48
“Why would there be a secret holding pen for the Black Ships on Sepheris Secundus?” Elyra asked, incredulity raising her voice half an octave. “I thought the Arbites took care of that at the Isolarium.”
..
“There are containment facilities for psykers on most Imperial worlds. Given the unusually high population of this one, and the unusually high incidence of mutation among it, I would have thought it obvious that the one here would be somewhat larger than usual.”
...
“In the years since the last Black Ship called here, over a thousand psykers have been apprehended. The Adeptus Arbites facilities at the Isolarium would have been overwhelmed long ago, if they were forced to contain them all.”
Given a population of 12 billion, 1000 seems a bit small given that the usual 1 per 100,000 or 1 million figure for psykers (depending on source) would imply at least an order of magnitude (if not two) more psykers on-planet. That would in turn suggest that the vast majority go undetected here (possible), or that despite the allegation of increased mutation the planet is less prone to psychic mutations than others.
Also, unless the Black Ships make very short round trips (every few years) or a higher percentage of these guys make useful psykers, we're not talking about a great many each generation from the Imperium (scores perhaps out of the thousand? Tens of millions of astropaths at best? Given that the Imperium lost a billion at the drop of a hat without collapsing, and how quickly they were supposed to burn otu that seems.. low.) Assuming a 10 year round trip between Calixis and Terra we're talking 20-30 thousand light years both ways... which is 4-6 thousand c at least.
Page 55
Tau transport has antigrav, unsurprisingly.Spotting a suitable clearing, he fed power to the gravitic compensators, and the great curved hull settled gently into the snow.
Page 55
comm operators get manuals for their equipment. That means they're expected to be able to read, at least.“All the comms are down. I’ve recalibrated, and recited the litany like the manual says, but I’m still not getting anything.”
Page 56
IG binocs. Wehther they're electronic or unpowered is as yet undetermined...handing him an amplivisor. Drake took it, focusing on the small knot of figures, dwarfed by the gargantuan scale of the vessel they’d come in, disembarking from the access ramp at the rear.
Page 57
Merc gear, including (possibly) a sound detector of some kind.For all he knew, the invaders might have some kind of sound detector among their motley collection of wargear. They certainly seemed to have pretty much everything else. All wore flak or carapace armour of some kind, but every set seemed to have been individualised to some extent, or made up of scavenged components that didn’t quite match. Their weapons were an odd collection too. Many carried lasguns like his own, or stubbers of some kind, but he could see a couple of flamers as well,..
Page 57
Given the (often) large ammo capacities, variable charge settings, and ease of recharging (restocking ammo) that lasguns have, they seem well suited to full auto suppression fire.“If they do, fire to suppress, and pull back into the woods.”
Kyrlock nodded, flicking the fire selector of his las weapon to full auto. He wouldn’t have much chance of hitting a target anyway, but he could spray and pray like the best of them...
Page 59
The other psyker in this little Inquisitorial Entourage (the Inquisitor) is a bit like Patience Kys - a specialist psyker of sorts. The Inquisitor is a telepath and (as we learn later) a psychokinetic.A pyrokene herself, she was unable to initiate direct mind to mind contact, but could recognise the signs of a sudden psychic shock impinging on the consciousness of a powerful telepath.
Page 59
One of the good thing about this book (and what I like about Sandy Mitchell in general) is he's not afraid to inject a very human aspect to 40K, without really diluting (for me at least) what an Inquisitor is supposed to be. That an Inquisitor can feel human emotions (fear, doubt, concern for others) and still try to project the image and aura of what an Inquisitor is believed to be is quite believable. I mean, look at Eisenhorn as a prime example.The moment she spoke she regretted the words. Her companions all shifted in their seats, uneasy, glancing sidelong at the inquisitor. In order to lead them effectively, he had to seem infallible, invulnerable, and she cursed herself for throwing even the slightest doubt on his fitness to command, not to mention drawing attention to the closer bond they shared, which she suspected Horst at least found threatening.
Page 61-62
No tertiaries? I'd thought a bit more redundancy might be used. It is in some other cases. Maybe S.S. is skimping? Anyohw, psi dampers require active power to work, which suggests that the passive measures we know must exist in the facility are not good by themselves to hold back thousands of psykers (or at least, not for very long.)“Primary generators are off-line,”
..
“Secondaries compensating… Secondaries off-line too.”
..
By now, the psi dampers would be down, and the thousands of psykers penned up in the containment blocks would suddenly have become aware that their unholy powers were returning.
Oh yeah and now there are thousands of psykers in the facility, not just a thousand. This 'technically' contradicts what was said before, but we might infer that the previous statement was merely an estimate rather than absolute, whereas the guy here works in the actual facility, and is in a position to know better.
Page 64-66
..the Chimera erupted in a white-hot fireball, blasted apart by a plasma bolt of almost inconceivable power.
..
The strange, smooth hull of the alien drop-ship swept over the Guardsmen’s encampment like a living, vengeful embodiment of the shrieking elements, stabbing downwards and outwards with beams of incandescent energy that gouged smoking scars through the permafrost beneath the snow, blasting apart hab units and vehicles alike. Dorsal turrets strobed too, pouring a relentless stream of fire into the walls of the fortress, which began to crumble and burn under the inexorable onslaught. Emplaced weapons atop the towering edifice began to reply, but without any noticeable effect.
...
The aerial leviathan turned lazily, and cut another swathe of devastation through what remained of the camp, casually picking off a lone Chimera that seemed to be attempting to flee, the lascannon in its turret continuing to spit futile defiance right up until the moment a hypervelocity projectile shattered its thick armour like porcelain beneath a careless boot.
Most of the vessel’s staggering firepower continued to be directed against the fortress, however, carving a huge gash through walls, which, until that moment, both Guardsmen would have sworn on the aquila were completely impregnable. Before their astonished and horrified eyes, a section of rockcrete over a dozen metres across splintered and fell, crashing to the ground with an impact that shuddered through their boots even at this distance.
..
..the swooping vessel overhead swatted a battery of lascannon, which had been blazing away at it from the ramparts with very little noticeable effect beyond some superficial dents and scorch marks.
The tau transport is armed, and quite heavily. Demolishes the exterior (defenses) of the psyker-holding facility whilst remaining untouched in return (albeit given the sabotage that can't be discounted - the power is down after all.) It also massacres the Guard platoon, including the chimeras. Plasma weapons and hypervelocity projectiles of various kinds seem to comprise its armament.
Also note that again there are multiple Chimeras in the platoon, and this one is armed with a lascannon (probably at least 3. we know this isn't the command chimera, which was already destroyed, and if this were the only other they might give some indication.)
Page 66-67
Armament of the Inquisitorial storm troopers. 12 probably means a ten man squad plus heavy weapons team, which is carrying a tripod (rather than weeled) gun this time.A full squad of storm troopers was formed up in front of the cyclopean entrance...
...
A heavy weapons crew was crouching behind the gunnery shield of their tripod mounted autocannon, but most of the men were armed only with their standard issue hellguns..
...
There were over a thousand of the walking obscenities down there, and only a dozen troopers at his shoulder.
Page 67
emergency passive measures in case of failure so the psykers don't get loose. Sabotage is again likely."The doors are still holding, but there’s a lot of energy building up behind them. “We estimate they’ll be out in a matter of minutes.”
“The gas?” Malakai asked, already certain of the answer. In the event of a complete power failure, a dead man switch was supposed to release a lethal nerve toxin into the containment area, specifically to prevent this nightmare from happening. Jessun looked puzzled.
“Should have been released when the dampers failed,”
Page 67
AdMech managed to counter the jamming.“We’ve countered the jamming signal,” the droning voice of a tech-priest informed him, “and sent word of our plight. The inquisitor is responding with all speed.”
Page 70-71
Aw that's sweet. A Redemptionist Assassin, in LOOOVE. Again its one of those quirks you got to like Sandy Mitchell for. Even the bloodthirsty fanatics have human sides to them.Keira flushed, feeling the strange sensation of pressure beneath her sternum that seemed to swell up whenever Horst showed signs of noticing her. It was disconcerting, uncomfortable, and curiously pleasant, although she couldn’t put a name to it, and lately she’d developed the habit of trying to attract his attention deliberately in order to experience it a little more often.
Page 72-73
An indication of the durability of storm trooper armour, at least against severe trauma.With a rending shriek of tortured metal, adamantine slabs thicker than the length of his forearm burst and tore like tissue paper, and a tsunami of unleashed psychic force swept them away down the corridor.
None of the storm troopers even got the chance to fire, picked up and whirled away on the tidal wave of warp energy like scraps of flotsam. Some died instantly, touched by the full force of that malignant flood, their bodies torn apart or incinerated by power beyond any mortal comprehension, while others slammed into unyielding rockcrete walls or metal stanchions hard enough to shatter bone and liquefy flesh.
Malakai was luckier than most, crashing to the floor before reaching a more solid obstruction.
He felt his ribs break beneath the protective outer layer of his body armour, and skidded into the angle of two walls, bouncing from one to the other, killing most of his momentum as he did so.
...
Comms were down again too, the vox in his helmet ominously silent. After a moment, his questing fingers found a deep, spongy gash in its hard outer layer, the legacy of an impact that would certainly have shattered his skull without the protection it had provided.
Page 79
Techpriest is seemingly able to identify weapons fire by sound and effects, at least to a reasonable degree of probability.“Three high energy impacts to the port aft quadrant,” Vex said, teasing as much information as he could from the ambient noise and the vibrations he could sense through the seat of his robe. “Almost certainly weapons fire. Possibly lascannon, although from the sound of detonation I’d be inclined to suspect plasma bolts.”
Page 87
The Inquisitor-psyker is dual-talent (at least) - telepathic as well as telekinetic. Given that the transport is probably very large (I'm guessing a tau manta based on implied size and armament - but its certainly at least bigger than an Aquila lander) we're talking tens or hundreds of tonnes worth of mass (at least) getting knocked about psychokinetically. Given in the nove the transport pilot notes he lost control briefly, it says something about how hard they might have gotten shoved.The inquisitor, however, was looking at him with evident approval, leaning on Elyra for support as he moved out into the narrow aisle between the seats. The effort of unleashing the psychokinetic bolt, which had deflected the attacking drop-ship, had evidently been greatly debilitating, but he straightened almost at once, to the woman’s ill-concealed disappointment.
Page 99
Laspistols. Again no recoil.“That thing next to your thumb’s the safety catch. Flick it up to release the trigger, down to make it safe. Just point and squeeze, don’t snatch, and pray to the Emperor to guide your bolt. It’s a las weapon, so there’s no recoil to worry about.”
Page 102
Lasrifle firing on psykers. 'cauterized craters' might suggest at least some fairly severe third degree burns, but we dont really know how large the craters are. Presumably they're larger than the lasbolts themselves, which might suggest 4-5 cm apiece. Single digit kj for the burns alone, and maybe 2-3 kj for blasting a 4-5 cm diamter crater in flesh. The need to penetrate deeper to inflict incapacitating/lethal will necessitate either more pulses (to drill) hence a 'crater' deeper than its width, (closeer to 5-10 cm at least), but the hole would not technically be a crater if its very narrow and deep. 5-pulse 'shots' at around 3-5 kj apiece (15-20 kj total) would drill out a 6-8 cm diamter hole and maybe 9-10 cm deep, whch might work well. It's impossible to get a precise calc from these, but the benchmarks are certainly interesting even if as lower limits. It's possible that given the nature of Sephiris Secundus, the lasguns may be configured more for hurting unarmoured human bodies than any other enemy (that can mean blowing large, craterized holes, but not neccesarily deep ones. Sort of like a shotgun version of the lasweapon.)He squeezed the trigger of his lasgun, spitting a hail of inaccurate fire at the newcomers. A few bolts struck home, gouging cauterised craters in flesh, blue-white from the cold, the rest whining through the air around them.
(all calcs assume 5 mm spot size and a 10mm delay between pulses.)
Page 102
Bolt pistol vs psyker, as well as autopistol. Autopistol seems to do some fairly nasty holes even without the explosive effect.The first time he pulled the trigger, the ragged torso of the man who’d set fire to the bush exploded in a geyser of blood and ruined meat, falling heavily in a cloud of steam as residual body heat met the bone-biting cold of the snowstorm. The tech-priest’s gun boomed too, hardly less accurately, but with less spectacular damage to its target. One of the people pressing close to the embattled girl fell, blood spurting from a grievous wound to the head, but didn’t seem to explode.
Page 103
Inquisitor TK throws a bunch of people, but it only weakens him further (still exerted from tossing around starships, as he says later.)The inquisitor gestured towards the tightly packed knot of heaving bodies, and it scattered suddenly, the grey-robed abominations picked up and flung aside as casually as the wind whirled the snowflakes away. Only Barda and the blonde woman were close enough to notice the way his face paled, and how close his knees came to giving way.
Page 103-104
Sanctioned pyrokene at work. A few hundreds kj at least to badly burn the insides of the body, to several mj maybe (depending on severeity of the burns) to the upper toros. Actually cremating some of the insides ('scoure from inside out') might suggest more on the order of double digit MJ. Bear in mind, however, that its possible some of this is partial self-ignition or a spontaneous-combustion effect, it may not all be puretly from the psyker (however, starting the process would still be energy intensive, as humans are not easily made into fuel.)...a bolt of pure orange flame winking into existence in front of her. For an instant, Barda felt its heat beating against his face...
...
..it streaked through the air to burst inside the partially reconstituted ribcage of the malignant witch facing them. The man screamed, high and shrill, as the cleansing flame scoured him from the inside out, and collapsed in the snow amid a cloud of steam, where he continued to flail for a moment before becoming still.
...
“She’s sanctioned, you idiot,” the dark-haired man said shortly.
Page 105
as noted, the Inquisitor was stille xhausted from flinging alien transports about.“I’m getting too old for all this,” he said, his faintly jocular tone immediately reassuring. “I just can’t fling spacecraft around like I used to.”
Page 106
Suggests the crew in the command chimera were cremated, but we don't know whether it was the plasma weapon, the Chimera's own fuel/ammo supplies, or a combination of both. Given a crew of 2-3 at least (driver, comm operator, and the sergeant) we're talking at least a few GJ worth of energy either way, probably more than that.Even Sergeant Claren would have been a welcome sight, but the reek of charred meat from what was left of the command Chimera was enough to confirm that nothing more tangible remained of him than ashes and grease.
Page 106
Implies there were multiple vehicles in the platoon.The Imperial Guard encampment had quite simply been obliterated. Every vehicle, every hab unit, had been scoured from the permafrost as thoroughly as though they’d never existed. Even the blackened remains were disappearing from view..
Page 107
Hellgun vs lasgun.A red-uniformed trooper was pointing something, which looked like a bigger and heavier version of his own lasgun..
Page 113
Telepathic espionage and spycraft. The need to detect and protect against such is likely to be a significant issue in the Imperium.“Even the most faithful servant of the Emperor can be suborned or cozened into disloyalty if the right pressure is applied. Indeed, if our adversaries are as resourceful and well organised as they appear, whoever was responsible for informing them of the weaknesses in our defences may have done so entirely unwittingly.”
...
"A sufficiently powerful telepath might have been able to lift the knowledge from an unsuspecting mind without the victim even being aware of it.”
..
“A powerful enough psyker might be able to control someone’s actions from a distance.”
“Except that the psi dampers would have nullified any such power,”
Page 113-114
Some psykers have abilities that allow them to resist adverse climates.Not that we’ll find many alive in any case. Most of the fugitives will have frozen to death by now.”
“Most, but not all,” Inquisitor Finurbi pointed out. “A few will have abilities that enable them to resist the cold, and some will simply be too bloody minded to lie down and die now that they’ve been given a taste of freedom."
Page 114
Protection against psykers and against daemons may not be the same thing, and it is implied that power is a major difference (a given psyker is less powerful than a given daemon, which could perhap reflect the difference in their connection to the warp.)“You said the dampers would stop a psyker from possessing anyone, but what if they were possessed by a daemon?”
...
"The units here are powerful, most certainly, but they weren’t designed with the repulsion of warp entities in mind.”
Page 115
Eldar shurikens, size of coins, although we dont know how big a coin. Also an indication of their sharpness, as even with the pull of gravity they will penetrate wood easily.Malakai nodded, and produced a handful of thin metallic discs, about the size of coins, which shone brightly as the watery sun struck them through the window. He dropped them on the table with a clatter, like someone overturning a set of cutlery. One fell edge down, and embedded itself in the thick wood of the tabletop.
...
“They look like blades, but I don’t see how you could possibly throw them without slicing your fingers open.”
“They’re ammunition,” Malakai explained, “from an eldar weapon. At least one of the raiders had some of their armour too, I saw the helmet.”
Page 116
The alien transport is confirmed as being tau. Given its transport capability (implied later), the implied size, and the firepower its probably a Tau Manta...a faintly wobbling hololithic image of the drop-ship that had downed their Aquila shimmered into existence above it.
...
“It’s tau. Couldn’t tell you its class, but the lines are unmistakable. We had a run-in with the little grey bastards a few years back, when they first started showing up on this side of the galaxy.”
...
“It’s more likely that the vessel was captured or stolen, like the eldar equipment Captain Malakai found.”
It's interesting to consider the implication that the tau's reach has extended - somehow - into segmentum obscurus, where the Calixis sector is. We might guess the Jericho Reach warp gate is one possibility, except that both sides of it are supposed to be heavily secured against such a threat, so that seems unlikely. Another possibility is that there are isolated elements or forces of the tau empire that have penetrated deeply (somehow) into Imperial space. It is known to have happened - in the Inquisitor Conspiracies 'Death of an Angel' we learn of a exiled Tau water Caste trader who managed to reach into Segmentum Tempestus by unknown means - means which were believed to be beyond the capability of the tau empire's Ether drive.
This could reflect another case of them finding some means of getting around the limits of Ether drive in a limited fashion (either through the fancy trick the Sept frm Deathwatch used to invade the Jericho sector, or through the use of some warp gate like they can use in Kill Team.) Either way it's evidence that the tau Empire has some (limited) menas of crossing the galaxy and has encountered the Imperium there, at least as of 933.M41.
