40K Dark Heresy: The Danse Macabre

[Vehrec]

Gelt looked back down the tunnel and made up his mind. "Frak it, someone's gotta watch their backs. I don't like splitting up, but I'm gonna go back there and guard them as best I can. If there are things in these tunnels, they'll need someone watching out for it." He turned around and started walking back the way he'd came.

Touching his combead again, he voxed the left behind group. "This is Gelt, I'm reinforcing you. If this gets us all killed I'm going to kick your asses when we have to explain ourselves to Him on Terra."

[Raj Ahten]

Touching his combead again, he voxed the left behind group. "This is Gelt, I'm reinforcing you. If this gets us all killed I'm going to kick your asses when we have to explain ourselves to Him on Terra."

"Roger that. I'll waive you in once you get here."

Shit mate, I ain't looking to get killed or do anything so stupid that's an option. Another man doesn't hurt on this op though, and I'm glad it's Gelt. We might ned him to balance out the other arbite.

[RIPP_n_WIPE]

Sitting from the sniper position Diver had set up, Octavius peered out over the remains of the heretic base through the scope of his hunting rifle. He looked through the scope, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the heretical ganger's. He had decided to cover the rest of the team from the outside, lest the fiends head toward the tunnels, they might be drawn away. The only problem was escaping himself, should he be discovered.

Over the micro bead he called out to the team.

Right I'm set up. When do we start rotating shifts. I don't want us to be caught off guard.

[Hotfoot]

Diver wasted no time making it back to the Grimloch base, but those following would get the definite sensation that the path had changed slightly. The trip was tiring, and with all the gear the acolytes were carrying, sleep or fatigue would soon be the only options available. On their return, Grim eyed them carefully. "Hm...I take it the fight didn't go as well as you liked?"

Diver spoke up, "No, they all survived, but some decided to stay behind."

Grim's eyes narrowed. "Did they now? And what's stopping them from selling me out to the Balimeks?" He glared at Havelock, his voice beginning to rise. "I grow weary of facing knives to my face, what I need less is a knife to my back."


...Meanwhile....


The fires in the base below began to die down before too long, and then began the long wait for the Balimeks to show. Several hours of waiting later, and the first of the Balimeks made it back to the base. Numbering ten men of various sizes, statures, and armament, they scurried around the base, looking for any cause for the death and devastation that had struck it.

[Raj Ahten]

Lazarus had shifted position as the team had rotated shifts. Now he was just back from the sniping hole as someone else had taken up position in the tunnel. The fatigue had really started to get to him. All the marching around and multiple fire-fights could certainly drain a man.

At the first hint that the heretics were back in the area, Lazarus kicked into high gear, with the fatigue melting away.

All right, time to get to work.

Lazarus spoke lowly to the teammates near the sniping position,
"All right, this is it. Let's let these heretics poke around for awhile. We're after the big fish, not these assholes."

Lazarus looked directly at Octavious as he said it.

I hope that gung ho bastard doesn't fuck this up.

"I am going to reinforce our watch on the tunnels."

He then queitly made his way back to his previous position, with his autogun out and ready for action.

[Academia Nut]

Quintos was dead tired from lugging the heavy stubber and the ammo and all of his equipment, so he just sort of slumped against the nearest vertical surface, sleep nearly ready to overcome him. His head not quite clear, he sort of blinked and said, "Oh, I wouldn't worry about betrayal, we're more worried they'll do something stupid and get themselves killed. The Balimecks didn't exactly make many friends with their actions."

Quintos was so tired it took him a second to even realize he had said something and he mentally kicked himself for running at the mouth. He was just a trooper, he should have left such things to those more silver tongued, and less exhausted, than he.

[Block]

"Friend Grim, relax. The Balimeks are heretics. They had mutants, and something so vile... They will need to be purged, completely. You have no need to worry about those who stayed behind to watch. Should they attempt to make a deal they'll likely be skinned alive. Is that stew ready?"

[Hawkwings]

Camillia was tired enough to drop straight to sleep from the long trek back to the Grimloch base. She wondered how the people carrying all their heavy equipment and ammo could still be standing, much less walking and talking.

While the others were talking, Camillia looked around the area, trying to see if she could spot any possible hostile actions to back up the gang leader's words.

[Vehrec]

It wasn't sleep exactly. Gelt would have a hard time describing what he was doing in the near total darkness of the tunnel to someone who couldn't do it themselves. Nonetheless, he'd managed a couple hours of rest while standing up, his eyes half closed, trusting in his keen senses to alert him to anything coming his way. It took the worst of the edge off his exhaustion, but that was all it could do. He snapped more fully awake as Lazarus walked over. "What's changed?"

[SylasGaunt]

Grim's eyes narrowed. "Did they now? And what's stopping them from selling me out to the Balimeks?" He glared at Havelock, his voice beginning to rise. "I grow weary of facing knives to my face, what I need less is a knife to my back."

"Do you really want to know what's stopping them from betraying you? How about a load of dead mutants and gangers? Or better yet how about the Psykers you didn't warn us about?"

He looked for some sign of surprise or disgust on the man's face.

"Or the.. ABOMINATION we found there.. men imprisoned and subjected to some of the most foul heresies I have ever seen Grim. How much did you know Grim? How much did you know and not tell us? Or perhaps a better question would be how much did you know and do nothing?" The last words were an enraged hiss.

He knew he was tired, he knew he wasn't being as diplomatic as he should be.. but what he'd seen would be something that would haunt him for a long time to come and his eyes gleamed with a zealous need for retribution.

[Raj Ahten]

"Gelt, we got gangers coming in now. Ten of them so far. No big shots far as I could tell. I'm here to help keep a watch on the back door. You might want to keep an eye on Octavious. He seemed a little eager to kill 'em. Hopefully he's got the patience for this plan."

While Lazarus talked he kept an eye on the tunnels.

Let's hope these bastards are dumb as a brick and oblige us by bringin' in their bosses.

[Vehrec]

Gelt grunted audibly and moved away from the tunnel wall. "Right. Remember, don't use the combeads. We don't want to risk being overheard by a heretic with a bit too much brain." He brushed on past Lazarus without looking once directly at the guardsman.
He let himself wander down the tunnel a ways to where Octavius was set up, and sat down near the other Arbites. "How many of them are there?" he asked, patting himself down in a search for a datapad or something he could record observations on.

[RIPP_n_WIPE]

"Roughly ten as far as I can tell. Not too much different from those we saw before. I'd guess, if we wanted we could easily take them. But I am going to assume a more subtle approach is immediately in order?"

[Hotfoot]

Grimloch Base

Grim eyed Havelock carefully, an anger burning behind his eyes to match the fury the priest was using. "You come from parts unknown and want to stay in my care. I asked you to do something to prove that you are worthy of my trust. That makes you my subordinate, not equal. What I have known or not is no business of yours! Do you ask the Emperor what horrors he has seen when he asks you to strike them down? Do you question why he sends you, and not another? You are but a gun, ready to fire, a blade, ready to cut. You were looking for a hand to guide you to a target, a holster to keep you safe. Know your place in this, preacher!" His lips lifted back into a snarl. "Now put your stolen goods down, we'll sort that in the morning. I've cleared out a place for your lot to sleep, unless you'd prefer another holster?"


....Meanwhile....

The gangers below seemed to be waiting for something. The leader of this group seemed extremely uneasy. Another hour passed before other gangers came on to the scene. Shouting erupted between the gangers, as soon did fistfights. All of that stopped as shots were fired from further away. An very oddly dressed and disfigured fellow held a smoking gun and shouted orders at the rest of the gangers. The gangers began running around the base in a somewhat organized fashion, apparently looking for clues. The oddly dressed fellow went into the ganger's planning room, moving with a sense of purpose.

[Raj Ahten]

While the gangers scurried about, Lazarus kept his autogun trained down the tunnels.

What the fuck was that shooting about? It wasn't us, and it wasn't long enough to be a fire fight. I don't know shit while I am in this fucking tunnel. Gelt and that witch better have a handle on the situation.

[Academia Nut]

Glancing at Nixios, Quintos says, "I'm all ready for sleep, but with the help of our techpriest here I would like to make sure the spirit of this heavy stubber is properly attended to before I take my rest. It has been abused by foul heretics, if what we saw was enough to make our blood run cold then what deprevations must its noble spirit have suffered, and it has gone through much fighting today along with us, so if we wish for it to fight for us tomorrow we must tend to it today."

Quintos was tired, exhausted, and covered in grime and his own blood. He was just about ready to collapse, but he would be damned if he let this heavy stubber fall into the hands of those that would disrespect it after all it had done for him. In fact, despite his best efforts to prevent such soiling from occurring, without the proper sanctified cleaning oils his own bloody fingerprints would remain upon the gun.

[Hotfoot]

"Very well, if you wish to keep that gun, take it to a perch and you can stand watch with it while the rest of your friends sleep! I do not share your preacher's lax method of command. Bloodied and bleary-eyed sentries are damn near next to worthless, but not nearly as worthless as a damn fool who chooses to sleep with a gun that could have better been used to shoot those what once owned it when they come looking for where it went!" Grim stalked in close to Quintos and glared at him intently.

"By the Emperor I make use of the useless here, so you will give up those guns, stand watch, or go back from whence you came! I don't care which you do, but do it soon so that I might go back to doing something more worthwhile than arguing with a bunch of scum!"

[Academia Nut]

Quintos glared back at the gang leader and hissed out, "I said I wished to attend to the gun's spirit with the aid of our tech priest, not that I wished to sleep with it. It has had a long day and we must ensure that it is well taken care of before our own needs. My blood has dirtied it, my sweat has soaked its frame, therefore it must be my task to restore it. Or do you treat your machine spirits as poorly as the Balimeks? I have liberated this gun from a nest of heretics, it knows me. Does it know you? Does it know your men? With Nixios' aid I shall placate it, and only then once its wrathful spirit has been properly been placated would I feel safe letting another wield it while I rest, for a weapon that refuses to fight is even more useless than one that is not used, for at least you are not carrying the dead weight."

[Vehrec]

"Perfect. Now you see why we waited for this. This is beautiful information." Gelt raised his borrowed pict recorder and snapped picture after picture of the man, not much good at this distance, but he hoped that quantity could help identify him and the way he moved. He made sure to capture images of most of the other gangers as well. "We should pull back soon I think. Can't stay out here much longer."

[Hotfoot]

"A tech-priest? Here I thought you had a fancy servitor! It's good to know he's got such a devout little aspirant to the Adeptus Mechanica! Fine then, all of you leave what you've stolen here and these two will tend to them while the rest of you sleep. Maybe then your tech-priest can tend to the rest of our gear, make sure it's all up to his standards!" His eyes burned at Quintos with a deadly edge. The other gangers nearby tensed up, their hands getting much closer to their guns.


....Meanwhile....


The gangers continued to search the area, and while none seemed to find the hidden tunnel entrances yet, there were many open eyes looking for where the attack came from. Before long the strangely dressed man stalked out of the gang planning building and into the dome. He was overcome with smoke that came billowing out of the door. He ran in and the door slammed shut again. After several minutes, he came storming out and shouted numerous orders. Some of the older-looking gangers ran off beyond the line of sight of the overwatch point.

[Academia Nut]

Quintos was bone tired and still leaking slightly and he didn't need this shit, but still he plastered a broad smile across his face and said, "Well now, that would be a wonderful idea and a grand show of trust to cement our friendship, now wouldn't it? You hand over your equipment to us so that we might tend to the machine spirits, make sure that they are in good fighting shape. Of course, since our gear has been quite active of late it will have to be tended to first lest their spirits grow vexed with us."

Quintos then yawned mightily and said, "Well, it has been a long day now hasn't it? Better get to it as quickly as possible. Start piling it all up, we'll get to it all in due time." He just hoped that Nixios wouldn't object to this. Hopefully the techpriest would even enjoy ministering to the machine spirits.

[Losonti Tokash]

Nixios had remained silent throughout the exchange for good reason. While he did not approve of Quintos' choices, he knew enough about his own appearance that inserting himself into the exchange would only make things worse. Unfortunately, Quintos had not just revealed to the ganger that Nixios was a techpriest; he'd forced him into the conversation. Meatbag.

"It would be my pleasure," rasped Nixios' voicebox. "No insult to your men, but I doubt that they have followed the proper rituals to the letter."

[DPDarkPrimus]

Xerxes has kept silent the whole time, while the gangers and the ad hoc spokespersons for the group kept going back and forth, veiled hostilities becoming less veiled. He didn't like how this was going, but he knew he couldn't do much unless it actually got down to shooting.

[Hawkwings]

Camillia didn't need to pay attention to the conversation to know it wasn't going well. She could just look at the nearby gangers, see how their faces tensed up and their hands drifted towards holsters. See how everyone else suddenly got very quiet and paid extra special attention to the conversation. It was a bad sign, and Camillia hoped that they would be able to find some way to talk themselves out of it. They didn't need another gunfight today.

[Hotfoot]

Grim continued to glare at Quintos. "Oh, you'll start with your own gear, all right. Then you'll move to the gear you've looted. If you're still standing at that point, then we'll see about the rest," He turned to the rest of the nearby acolytes. "Go on then, you can all leave your weapons with these two, and when they're done, they can bring them back to you. Diver, you can watch these two, I'll show the rest to their beds, once they're done filling up the pile."