40K Dark Heresy: The Danse Macabre

Academia Nut · Post by **Academia Nut** » 2008-02-19 01:30am

Rendezvous

Shaking his head in disgust at Verum and Octavius, Quintos says, "You are both idiots and I wouldn't be surprised if Captain Greis decides to put bullets in all of our skulls next time we see him. Verum, you have all the subtlety of a cinder block despite your protests to the contrary, and Octavius, I wish I could say you were that subtle.

"First of all, you are both making assumptions you can't back up. Let's paint a little picture here shall we? Let's say that, despite Octavius' insistence to the contrary, that law enforcement, including the Arbites has been compromised on this world. Let's say that despite their often rough origins, the Guard regiments are being assembled as a counter. There is little honour amongst thieves, and if a heretical criminal organization is rising to power, I can easily see the gangs being pushed aside by that rise being fertile recruiting ground with the intent of being used against those who have fallen from the Emperor's Light. Now, let us say that our irate lieutenant friend knows what we know now about 'Silvanus' and its origins. That means when you brought it up in conversation Verum, you may very well have linked us, and by extension the Captain, to heretics and criminals. Then when Octavius goes up to him and gets us kicked out, we not only lose our base of operations amongst the only loyal men on the planet, but we endangered the Captain's mission here as well!

"While my tale may not be correct, or even necessarily probable, it is possible. Both of you, frakking think before you act! This is our first day here, and so far we've managed to lose our only base of operations. We know nothing so we can assume nothing therefore our first priority should have been to correct that situation. If we learned of corruption in the Guard, then we establish a new base of operations before we break with them. Right now though we have no logistical support whatsoever. I don't know what that means to the rest of you, but to a Guardsman that phrase ranks up there with 'friendly fire incident involving an Earthshaker'."

"Our first priority now is to secure logistics. That means a place to rest, heal, repair, and recharge, and then some way of acquiring fresh supplies. As it stands, the only option we have available is the Underhive unless we want every corrupt or mistaken official landing on our heads when they start tracing accounts. So I say that the first thing we have to do is knock over an Underhive gang and take what is theirs so that we don't starve to death."

SylasGaunt · Post by **SylasGaunt** » 2008-02-19 01:28pm

Havelock nodded.

"But not just any gang.. we need to take soundings, find out the political landscape of the underhive here. Look for smaller, weaker gangs we can either smash or co-opt.. the best option would be if we could find a weaker gang that the others aren't fond of. Particularly if they happened to crop up at about the same time the trouble started. People are people and events that occur close together tend to become linked in the mind."

The cleric's eyes flicked form person to person.

"I intend to eventually make contact with my brothers in the local ecclesiarchy, but I think it's important to again reiterate the fact that we can trust nobody who didn't arrive here with us.. and I'm not all that certain about the Captain either. There are always stories about.. things that may crop up when heretics, xenos, or the daemon are about, things that can turn the pure hearted into the blackest of sinners without their knowledge or against their will. We need to step softly for now, if for no other reason than so we will be in a better position to bring down the hammer of His Fury on those who defile His Imperium."

RIPP_n_WIPE · Post by **RIPP_n_WIPE** » 2008-02-19 01:43pm

Octavius was in agreement with the priest.

"Fine if we aren't going to trust anyone than the way we go about entering the underhive should not, at the very minimum, invade the hive as an opposing gang organization. I know for a fact that THAT action WILL have us come into contact with local Arbites and I will not fight my brothers. We should go in possibly as a redemption organization. Perhaps as a group of underhivers who have simply gathered weapons and are fighting back against the gangers. If we were to gain support of underhivers who were not associated with gangs it is possible they could provide us with supplies or we could always simply continue to take on smaller gangs for weapons and such, returning to the upper levels when necessary to acquire supplies and intel. We should also at least try and have someone inflitrate a gang instead of just charging down there. Eventually we will need to contact local Arbites and, as you mentioned Father Havelock, Ecclesiarchs."

Academia Nut · Post by **Academia Nut** » 2008-02-19 02:24pm

"You know, it occurs to me that co-option is more effective than annihilation in this case. If we just show up and start shooting things, even if we don't draw unwanted attention from the authorities, we will face an uphill battle. If on the other hand we find a small gang and convince them that cooperation with us will be good for their souls, and wallets, then we gain more bodies to hold guns and access to people who know the lay of the land. We need not trust them, in fact they should be the ones we watch the most, but really, a change in management for a minor gang will not bring up all that much fuss."

Raj Ahten · Post by **Raj Ahten** » 2008-02-19 02:56pm

Seeing the situation had calmed somewhat, Lazarus relaxed a little bit and re-entered the conversation. He was however nonplussed by the sorts of operations the others were describing. He had been hoping for a quick investigation, followed by a raid. It looked like it wouldn't be that easy.

"Well we better get started with this shit ASAP then if it's going to involve infiltrating gangs or whatever. I don't think I'll be particularly handy with that sort of thing though. Our experts,"
Lazarus nodded in the direction of the preist,
"Could start gathering information for that while a small team could check the space port angle. I doubt Zakary here, if he agrees to my proposal, and a few of us who don't know much about hives would be that useful in the sort of operation you all are describing anyway. We could make better use of our manpower by persuing both leads at once. And if there ain't shit at the port, you're only losing the expertese of people who don't know anyhing about hives for a short time."

That and I might be able to ditch that damn arbite with the underhive crew. Hope people like this plan.

"All we have to do is arrange some form of communication or check in system and we can be on our merry fucking way."

Block · Post by **Block** » 2008-02-19 04:02pm

Hab Block

Visibly relaxing, Verum's eyes reverted to their natural color. Tension fled from his face and his hand slipped away from his scabbard. His voice changed back to it's normal tone as he said, "I agree with Brother Havelok. If there's a link in the underhive to the name we're looking for, and it seems to be a gang link, then the place to start would be with the gangs. We can convince one to help us by offering our services, or we can try a more direct approach. Whatever works. If you still insist on splitting up, I suggest keeping the Arbiter with you on the surface, it will lessen the distraction. Understand that once we're down in the underhive, and especially once we've made contact with a gang, we will not have the time or inclination to come back up simply to fetch those who are afraid to travel with us.

As for subtlety my dear guardsman, I am sorry that my plan is beyond your comprehension. However criticizing things you simply do not understand is foolish and gets us no where. Let us decide upon a plan, and be off."

Academia Nut · Post by **Academia Nut** » 2008-02-19 04:16pm

Giving Verum an annoyed look, Quintos says, "Unless you somehow planned this, I which case I will quite gladly gut you for being an ass and/or a witch, I highly doubt you comprehend your own plans. Obfuscating stupidity only works with teams if you let them know what you're trying to do, otherwise it is just plain stupidity. You know what we call people who charge out of trenches without letting their comrades know that they need covering fire? Dead.

"But you are correct that bickering right now will get us nowhere. I recommend that we stick together as much as possible if we plan to go into the Underhive with the intent of conquest. We need strength and the appearance of more strength, so the more bodies, the better. We need a base of operations to continue our investigations, everything else is secondary until we have our logistics secured. Investigating the space port is needlessly splitting our forces at this juncture.

Vehrec · Post by **Vehrec** » 2008-02-19 04:30pm

Academia Nut wrote:"You know, it occurs to me that co-option is more effective than annihilation in this case. If we just show up and start shooting things, even if we don't draw unwanted attention from the authorities, we will face an uphill battle. If on the other hand we find a small gang and convince them that cooperation with us will be good for their souls, and wallets, then we gain more bodies to hold guns and access to people who know the lay of the land. We need not trust them, in fact they should be the ones we watch the most, but really, a change in management for a minor gang will not bring up all that much fuss."

"Not every ganger is an enemy of the Imperium, anathema to His will. I used to run with a gang when I was a Juve-because there wasn't anything else to do, and if you weren't part of a gang then you got gobbled up by the Hive." The Arbitrator took a pull on one of his precious Lho-sticks and then exhaled the smoke through his nose in a short puff. "If Silvanus really is a big gang, and not a person, there could be tens of thousands of members in this Hive." He let that sink in.

"There should be smaller gangs with leaders that we can usurp fairly quickly, its just a matter of finding them and planning the takeover." He gave a low chuckle. "I can't believe I'm actually helping to plan this kind of operation. We have a course of action, now I think we just need to gather some more information. And the best place to do that would be in the Underhive, so what do you say we get started picking who goes on this crazy mission? If some of you think you've got what it takes to ask questions at the spaceport instead we are going to need to pick a time and place for a rendezvous."

Academia Nut · Post by **Academia Nut** » 2008-02-19 04:37pm

"If we split up, we will need multiple rendeazvous points and times. If, or rather shall I say when," Quintos looks critically at the bandages around Zakary's arm, "something goes wrong, we need back up plans. Allow me to reiterate just how important a base of operations is. Let us say that half of us go to the space port while the other half go to the Underhive to acquire some sort of accomodation for the rest. Now, let us say that the forces arrayed against us do not take kindly to the team snooping around and they get into a fire fight. Forced to retreat, they run to the other team in hopes of finding shelter... only to discover that the other team has yet to achieve what they need to, or that because we did not go in full strength the other team ended up in a similar or worse predicament. We need beds to rest in before we contemplate getting into situations that involve us needing them to rest in for an extended period of time. We need a reliable source of ammunition before we think about firing our weapons for extended periods of time.

Vehrec · Post by **Vehrec** » 2008-02-19 05:12pm

Gelt grunted. "Point. I'm down to my last 12 shells and then I'll have exhausted my ammo. I know you guard lads have the advantage there, las weapons are very hand in that way. I'd ask to borrow one, but I haven't handled a las in years. Probably best not to try to relearn now." He looked around at the others, one at a time. "It's sounding like we'll probably only have one shot at making this takeover. So before we do anything else, I really think we ought to settle one thing." He removed the Lho-stick from his mouth and pinched it out with his bare fingers. "Who's going to be making the calls when we get in a firefight? I'm not going to leave this room until we have a chain of command."

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2008-02-19 05:25pm

Varnius bit back a snarl. The blunts were so cursedly stupid. "We do not approach the Arbites. That will raise far too many questions and suspicions and we have already seen the results of that kind of stupidity. The good cleric will visit with his Ecclesiarchical brethren because a wandering brother wanted to preach to the benighted is a good cover story for why he wants information and the Ecclesiarchy may have some. The rest of us will scout in force."

"I will say this once: we do not have the time or the resources to mess around. Our supply lines have been cut and our personal resources are meager. We must act swiftly while we retain the ability to act effectively. I'm going down to the Underhive now. Who is coming with me?"

Academia Nut · Post by **Academia Nut** » 2008-02-19 05:33pm

"You need shells? Cause I've got a couple for my own shotgun, and I've already got my lasgun, so I'm in far less danger of running out than you.

"Now, as to chain of command, I nominate me for the affairs of fighting. Frankly, when the slugs and beams start flying, I want a Guard in charge because I know he won't lose his head or do something stupid. Now, there are three of us, so I'll let the others give their piece if they want, but since I'm the one pointing out the obvious all the time, I think that earns me the right to ask to yell at all of you when the shit hits the fan, excuse the metaphorical abuse of a Machine Spirit Nixios. Now, if we want someone more charming than me to be the negotiator, no problem, but if you want this mission to succeed and for us to get out alive at the end, then I say you all listen to what I tell you."

Block · Post by **Block** » 2008-02-19 05:49pm

Imperial Overlord wrote:Varnius bit back a snarl. The blunts were so cursedly stupid. "We do not approach the Arbites. That will raise far too many questions and suspicions and we have already seen the results of that kind of stupidity. The good cleric will visit with his Ecclesiarchical brethren because a wandering brother wanted to preach to the benighted is a good cover story for why he wants information and the Ecclesiarchy may have some. The rest of us will scout in force."

"I will say this once: we do not have the time or the resources to mess around. Our supply lines have been cut and our personal resources are meager. We must act swiftly while we retain the ability to act effectively. I'm going down to the Underhive now. Who is coming with me?"

Nodding to Varnius, Verum moved towards the door,"I am with you. Let us depart, the time for pointless banter is over." Hearing the arrogant guardsman nominate himself as leader, Verum snorted, and shook his head. "What experience have you in employing irregular assets? Oh, of course, none. Typical guard arrogance, thinking they're the only ones in the Imperium with combat ability."

With that he spun on his heel and crossed the street to the transit station. Grabbing his shotgun from the locker, he slung it over his shoulder, walked back across the street and motioned that he was heading back to the Transhive hub and that anyone who wished to join him was welcome.

RIPP_n_WIPE · Post by **RIPP_n_WIPE** » 2008-02-19 05:52pm

Imperial Overlord wrote:Varnius bit back a snarl. The blunts were so cursedly stupid. "We do not approach the Arbites. That will raise far too many questions and suspicions and we have already seen the results of that kind of stupidity. The good cleric will visit with his Ecclesiarchical brethren because a wandering brother wanted to preach to the benighted is a good cover story for why he wants information and the Ecclesiarchy may have some. The rest of us will scout in force."

"I will say this once: we do not have the time or the resources to mess around. Our supply lines have been cut and our personal resources are meager. We must act swiftly while we retain the ability to act effectively. I'm going down to the Underhive now. Who is coming with me?"

"And likewise there is no reason for an Arbites who has already mentioned he was part of an investigation to update local Arbites about what he has thus far found. I don't know why you are so resistant to engaging them. They were the ones who purged the corrupt Magistarium, they are less likely to have fallen than the guard with whom we originally shared company.

Octavius continued.

"However if you are so vehemently compelled to not contact the Arbites I will comply, for now. But we will have to eventually tell them something and I am more than willing to do that with someone if you are so concerned about me 'running off' again."

He picked up his duffle with his mace and shotgun and slung it over his shoulder. "I'm willing to accompany anyone into the underhive now. But I will not join or assist a gang that I find unacceptable. I do know that in my hive, we arbites tolerated some gangs since they tried to instill order to a greater or lesser degree and protected those of the underhive who could not protect themselves. These gangs are usually small, since they lack the support of large smuggling rings and are largely comprised of under citizens. If we could find a gang like that I would not reject a plan to join or assist them. But I will not participate in illegal activity."

Raj Ahten · Post by **Raj Ahten** » 2008-02-19 06:05pm

Lazarus was not a happy man. It looked like he had preciuos little support for the relatively safe option of investigating the starport. It looked like he would end up going to the underhive after all, and all the problems with the mission were coming home to roost.

We got a target finally at least. But no leadership, and you couldn't pay me enough to take responsibility for this shit, no backup, no supplies, and no real plan. Recon in force is another name for 'walk until you hit an ambush.' This shit is about on par for operations in the Imperium. Go and bleed and die because someone says the Emporer demands it. No use arguing any more. I'll just have to keep them from getting me and anyone else thats worth a damn killed down there. Somehow.

"Sure Quintos, why not? Take command. Someones got to."

Not that asshole arbite over there will take orders from anyone.

"I've said my two bits. Tell me when we got a plan. I'm going to eat some rations and keep a watch out in the meantime. If thats all right with the leadership council, or whatever the fuck we got going on here."

Lazarus then went just outside the small courtyard they were meeting in, leaned up against the wall. The Guardsman then took out a ration pack and ate while scanning the sorrounding crowds.

I hope the Emporer is looking out for us on this one. We're going to need it.

He also kept an ear on the proceedings within.

Vehrec · Post by **Vehrec** » 2008-02-19 06:06pm

Gelt ran over to Verum and seized his arm. "Wait. We need to have this conversation now, before we get in over our heads and scatter in twelve different directions. Now you can go running all over the place like a grot with it's head plucked off or you can sit back down and throw your hat into the ring if you want to lead. Or you can throw someone else's hat in, I don't care. But if we are headed to a fight, I want someone in charge of that fight. So cool your heels kid, because I say you aren't going anywhere just yet." The smile on his face at that moment was the same smile as could be found in any ally in the Hive, on the face of some man calling you 'friend' in an unfriendly way.

Block · Post by **Block** » 2008-02-19 06:20pm

"I have no wish to lead. I nominate Varnius, he at least has knowledge of how to employ those with special skills, and if he is unacceptable, then the Lady," he said, motioning to Camillia.

Academia Nut · Post by **Academia Nut** » 2008-02-19 06:26pm

"Hey, Gelt brought up the excellent point that we need someone in charge of this frakked up op. I said I don't care if someone else wants to assume over all strategic control, but we need someone to assume tactical command or we're all going to get shot to the Warp and back. I don't want this shit, but guess what? I'm willing to frakking listen, to frakking think before I act, which neither of you two grox-shit for brains has demonstrated so far. Don't think I'm making idle threats when I say that if either of you two think that you can run this show without everyone else on board, you will end up dead. Are you so stupid, so short sighted that you can't see that right now everyone else on this team is ready to feed both of you to the crows if you make one more mistake, or whatever scavengers this planet has. Right now, you don't get to call the shots, you get to nod and listen, otherwise you end up dead at the hands of a mutiny. I don't particularly want it to come to that because right now you're both at least another body to absorb rounds and a set of hands to carry guns, but if you can't see that you're fasting becoming a liability, then I should just shoot you both now and save us all a lot of misery."

Taking a deep breath to calm down from the obvious fury, Quintos asks, "So does anyone else want this shit, or am I just going to have to drag you lot along? Come on, speak up, I don't want to rule over a bunch of surly children, if you've got a problem with me being leader, say it now."

Vehrec · Post by **Vehrec** » 2008-02-19 06:40pm

Gelt released Verum and turned back around, walking at a slow easy pace that seemed to have no energy spent at all. "Quintos, you need to calm down. It cannot be healthy to have so much of the Emperor's greatest gift, Hate. And your mother should have washed your mouth out before you joined the Guard. I know mine would have." A short laugh barked out across the area. "You know what, I'll put in myself for the head spot. I've been in underhive raids before a time or two. And I think I can keep a civil tongue in my head for longer than some of you young hotbloods. Might be an asset to taking charge."

Academia Nut · Post by **Academia Nut** » 2008-02-19 06:47pm

Calming down, Quintos says, "I apologize, the magnitude of this... screw up is putting me on edge, and with no one else looking to take up this responsibility the stress was piling up. I will support your leadership if no one has any objections, you at least have Hive experience. I trust that if the others desire me to be leader anyway that you will help me where I am weak in such areas, just as I will help you if you are leader."

Quintos then puts on a crooked smile and pats his duffle bag before saying, "I never knew my mother, and for all I know her bones are part of the scrimshaw on my lasgun."

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2008-02-19 06:48pm

Varnius walked away, unconcerned with the squabbling behind him. Let them argue over who would lead. None of them had done anything to prove to be a leader. In a situation like this leadership had to be demonstrated, not demanded. He walked towards the underhive at a leisurely pace.

Block · Post by **Block** » 2008-02-19 06:50pm

"Sure right, that sounds good," Verum said with a laugh. "Maybe we need a calming, experienced hand in the lead. Gelt, if you want it I'm fine with that."

Seeing Varnius walking away, he jogged to catch up, pulled along side him and slowed to keep more or less in step.

Feil · Post by **Feil** » 2008-02-19 06:55pm

Cyrine shrugged and looked at Gelt. "If you lead, I'll follow. In just a minute."

With that said, she moved off quickly after Varnius.

Hawkwings · Post by **Hawkwings** » 2008-02-19 06:59pm

The conflict here was making Camillia uneasy and angry. Never before had her work been this complicated. It all used to be simple: follow orders, do her part, and if other people failed, it was their problem.

Finally, though, things seemed to be coming to a point where there was a chain of command and a clear plan. The guardsman, Quintos, and the arbitrator, Serghar, they would be acceptable leaders for Camillia to follow. She had never had the luxury of picking her own superior before, but in this case, those two were definitely the best choices out of the whole group.

As the conversation dropped into a sudden silence, Camillia said quietly, almost shyly, "I would support either Quintos or Arbitrator Gelt to lead us, with Preacher Havelock as special adviser because of his experience with hive gangs."

Noticing the other psyker wandering off, Camillia excused herself and pursued him, wary of anything strange he might be doing.

Brother-Captain Gaius · Post by **Brother-Captain Gaius** » 2008-02-19 07:08pm

The whole affair seems to have a dizzying effect on Zakary. One can almost see his head spinning. Frustrated, the scholar dons a scowl and voices his opinion to whomever is assembled.

"Ahem. Well. I am very much a fan of organization, so in the interests of unit cohesion I will follow Arbitrator Gelt's lead for the time being. Though let it be known that I formally protest the state of affairs thus far, it's all been very dissatisfying. Honestly..."