40K Dark Heresy: The Danse Macabre

Feil · Post by **Feil** » 2008-02-19 07:10pm

Apparently Camillia had had about the same thought as Cyrine, and their paths intersected after they had been walking a moment. Cyrine paused, pointing towards the slowly-walking Varnius.

"I don't think he likes, ah, blunts, very much," she said, smiling nervously.

Camillia nodded and hurried on; Cyrine waited where she was.

Academia Nut · Post by **Academia Nut** » 2008-02-19 07:13pm

Nodding, Quintos says, "Okay, it looks like we're following you Gelt."

He then leans in a says quietly, "Thanks for stepping up like that, I thought no one else would have the courage to stick their neck out and try and make this op work."

Turning back to the others still there, Quintos says with a weary looking face, "Look, don't get the wrong idea about me, I'm not some power grabbing maniac, I just want this to work. I do not feel like dying today, and I certainly do not feel like failing the Emperor, blessed be His name. Just understand that, okay? We need cohesion or we're all going to die."

Raj Ahten · Post by **Raj Ahten** » 2008-02-19 07:15pm

Meeting Place

As Lazarus watched the Pyscher and others leave, he grew increasingly alarmed.

Throne, the whole group is coming apart. I'm sticking close to Zakary. IF he lives through this shit, we'll at least have a chance of salvaging something.

Vehrec · Post by **Vehrec** » 2008-02-19 07:16pm

Gelt shook his head slightly. "I'm not looking to lead every moment. I just want to keep us organized when it's time for our metal to hit their meat. Well, and maybe keep us away from each other's throats. I'd be glad to have father Havelock as our spokesman to the gangs, aye?" He looked around and then continued. "First things first. Let's get ready to head down, I'll figure out a proper marching order on the way. Zakarius, you're wounded so do your best to stay in the middle of the formation or behind someone at all times, are we clear? Medicae care will be almost nonexistent where we are going. I'm gonna let the Psyker have his space for now, but as soon as he's ready to join the group, we move out." The lighter came back out and Serghar lit up again, re-ignighting the snuffed smoke. "The sooner this is over the better, but it won't do us any good to have anyone running off or unwilling to follow. I'm giving him five minutes with the ladies before I go over there."

Hawkwings · Post by **Hawkwings** » 2008-02-19 07:17pm

Camillia nodded to Cyrine. She couldn't help but feel a bit protective of the other woman at that point: she was going to approach a psyker of her own volition to figure out what was wrong with him. Not many people were brave enough, or foolish enough, to do that. Camillia stopped for a moment, smiled to Cyrine, and said simply "Be careful around us." before continuing her pursuit, fingering her psykana mercy blade as she walked.

Brother-Captain Gaius · Post by **Brother-Captain Gaius** » 2008-02-19 07:23pm

Zakary nods at Gelt. "Yes, quite. I've no desire to be shot again."

RIPP_n_WIPE · Post by **RIPP_n_WIPE** » 2008-02-19 10:34pm

Octavius was pleased. A fellow officer leading thing would be good.

"I as of yet have been uninjured. I offer to guard the rear. I do believe it would be best to keep the good priest at the head."

Than another thought hit him.

"Officer Gelt. I have a suggestion. Since we are new to the underhive, might it be best we bore alias' as opposed to our real names when traveling. If perhaps we came under scrutiny and our actions, thus far at the surface have already reached the underhivers, wouldn't it be best to have some sort of back up name at the ready?"

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2008-02-19 10:50pm

Team Varnius

Varnius waited for a few minutes at the entrance to the underhive for whoever was coming to catch up.

Block · Post by **Block** » 2008-02-19 10:56pm

Nodding to Varnius, Verum smiled, "I suppose you want me to go down first?" With that he began his descent, eyes scanning alertly for any signs of trouble, hands close to, but not resting on his weapons. As he reached the Underhive proper, he scanned the area and waited for the others to catch up.

Hotfoot · Post by **Hotfoot** » 2008-02-19 11:10pm

The trip to the underhive was not a short one. The group passed gigantic machines in various states of disrepair. People milled about, going into and out of bars, going and coming from various jobs. The deeper down the team got, the more scarce the people got, and the more wild the senses of fashion became. Soon the presence of the Adeptus Arbites disappeared completely, and a chill, damp blast of wind came over the group.

One thing that became obvious was that gunfights were common here, perhaps more so than they should be. Anyone who lived in a Hive would be more than a little shocked to see this level of devastation. Any people down here seeing so much as an openly carried gun or sword would take cover and try to remove themselves from the area.

Vehrec · Post by **Vehrec** » 2008-02-20 12:32am

RIPP_n_WIPE wrote:Octavius was pleased. A fellow officer leading thing would be good.

"I as of yet have been uninjured. I offer to guard the rear. I do believe it would be best to keep the good priest at the head."

Than another thought hit him.

"Officer Gelt. I have a suggestion. Since we are new to the underhive, might it be best we bore alias' as opposed to our real names when traveling. If perhaps we came under scrutiny and our actions, thus far at the surface have already reached the underhivers, wouldn't it be best to have some sort of back up name at the ready?"

Serghar nodded."Thats the best Idea you've had all day I think. We should pick aliases that are close enough to our actual names that we will respond to them normally." He paused for a moment, lips pursed in consideration. "Sevar should do for myself. Would you like for me to dub the rest of you, or would you all like to come up with your own pseudonyms

Underhive
This was a bad sign. Serghar Gelt had grown up next to one of the roughest neighborhoods outside of Gunmetal city on the planet-scratch that, this place looked like Gunmetal, and he was willing to say so. Not that he did. Instead he just looked around, frowning slightly at what he saw. Gunshot marks, people running away at the sight of weapons. It had the hallmarks of a warzone being fought right under the Arbiters noses. What had he brought these men and women into?

He was near the front of a loose formation, not really a proper marching order, but people were keeping their places close to his suggestions. He'd asked Quintos to be right up front, with himself and Havelock right behind him. Those with sharper senses and what looked like basic creeping skills were watching the flanks, with the rear covered by Octavius and Xerxes. In the middle, Lazarus kept an eye on everyone else, ready in theory to face any threat that came at the group. The psykers should also make for a nasty surprise, but Gelt had to admit he had some doubts about their abilities to make a man's head explode. He'd only ever met the one psyker who could do that and the man had been much less stable than either of those two. And all right, there was some moving around, people lagged behind, Zakary walked slower than he might prefer but it was working.

He glanced at Havelock. "Ever seen this in a hive before? I'm reminded of Gunmetal City at it's worst."

Academia Nut · Post by **Academia Nut** » 2008-02-20 12:57am

Glancing about, Quintos asks, "What do you think Sevar? Should we go full force or try and keep things quiet?" He then fingers the duffle bag with all of his long arms in. He certainly wanted to be packing as much firepower as he could right away, but he also wanted to avoid a fight at the moment. Best to leave that judgement call up to the guys with Hive experience.

RIPP_n_WIPE · Post by **RIPP_n_WIPE** » 2008-02-20 11:12am

"I don' fink mattas' 'nyway we do et." Octavius had taken on the alias Druggo, and assumed a surly disposition and a heavy underhive accent. "I wunna do sumfink more den jest talkin'. Nuffa dat on da uppa 'ive."

Raj Ahten · Post by **Raj Ahten** » 2008-02-20 11:15am

Underhive

Lazarus had taken up his position in the patrol without complaint. The loose Skirmish formation they were in was diferrent from what he was used to, but aught to work in a pinch. He had assigned himself the aditional job of making sure Zakary didn't get shot.

We'll have to see what Gelt can do if the shit hits the fan. At least we got enough firepower in theory to beat back a large number of gangers. Assuming everyone does their part.

As far as the guns went, Lazarus was going to let the hive experts decide when those should come out. He was uneasy about keepin' em in the bag though. In an ambush, the time needed to get them out might get him killed.

Feil · Post by **Feil** » 2008-02-20 12:39pm

Cyrine kept her place on the right flank, her hands stuffed into her pockets. She remembered what her father had told her decades ago - someone with one hand in their pocket looks armed; someone with both hands in their pockets looks like they have cold hands. Cyrine's right hand wasn't cold - in fact, it was sweating a little, wrapped as it was around the worn grip of her automatic pistol. Her thumb stroked the safety nervously. She was doing her best to keep her anxiety from her face, though. And although her eyes were moving, they moved from shadow to shadow with the deliberate watchfulness she'd learned manning the mining town's defenses against the unpredictable raids of the feral orks that inhabited the forests of Darmoth.

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2008-02-20 01:17pm

Varnius prowled ahead, searching with his mundane senses and his psychic ones for things of interest.

SylasGaunt · Post by **SylasGaunt** » 2008-02-20 04:43pm

Havelock nodded as he looked at the pockmarked walls.

"As a matter of fact I have seen its like. Few suspect how violent the wars between the underhive gangs can get.. at least those who have not seen them firsthand."

The priest gave the arbites officer an odd look as he responded to a question. Was he trying to imitate an ork?

"Quiet at the start would be the best I think.. "

Raj Ahten · Post by **Raj Ahten** » 2008-02-20 05:52pm

Underhive

Adressing the preist and arbite Lazarus said,
"We're in the underhive. Now what do we do? Weren't you all going to ask questions or somethin'?"

He was eager to get whatever the hell job they had to do down here over with as soon as possible.

Hawkwings · Post by **Hawkwings** » 2008-02-20 07:55pm

Camillia walked near the center of the formation, next to Cyrine and near Lazarus. Everyone was treading carefully, watching out for any threats, especially ambushes. Camillia was wary too, but searched for threats with her psychic senses instead. If there really was a witch down here, she didn't want to be caught by surprise.

The psyker went glassy-eyed as she tasted the edge of the warp, feeling for any disturbances that would indicate anything unnatural. Walking and looking out for obstacles took on a secondary importance as she searched for traces of psyker activity.

After a few minutes delving the mysteries of the Warp, Camillia refocused her attention on the physical, slightly relieved that she had detected no other psychic traces besides the two psykers in the party.

Vehrec · Post by **Vehrec** » 2008-02-20 09:11pm

SylasGaunt wrote:"Quiet at the start would be the best I think.. "

"That sounds good to me. Let's get everything concealed and find somewhere and someone to start asking questions. I'll let you pick due to your experiences." Gelt swung his shotgun around to be placed in the duffel with the other longarms. His knife would have to do as a sidearm since he didn't have a pistol and had allowed his skills with them to lapse years ago anyways. He'd need to train back up, start doing drills with his weapons again, and take it even more seriously this time.

Block · Post by **Block** » 2008-02-21 04:16pm

Eyes still searching the area alertly, Verum rejoined the others, waving in the general direction of the psyker and shrugging. "So where to start fellows? This looks like a lovely place to spend a night. Then again, I've seen worse." Spinning on his heel and stretching lazily, Verum moved off again with a bounce in his step, looking for all the world like a tourist off on a leisurely stroll.

Block · Post by **Block** » 2008-02-22 09:37pm

Sliding his weapons up underneath his ill fitting coat, Verum walked down the Hive street, keeping the others in sight but seperating himself slightly. He began chatting with anyone who would stop to listen, making small talk mostly, flirting with the pretty girls, window shopping when possible. He acted almost oblivious to the fact that the facades of the buildings surrounding him were pockmarked with holes and shrapnel. As he spoke with people, he took note of what they were wearing, what they weren't wearing, how they reacted to his attempts to be friendly, and simply the general mood of the area.

Moving further along the hive street Verum began to whistle an odd and haunting tune. As he walked, he noticed a group of people watching him curiously. They all seemed to be wearing the same color armband, red as a matter of fact. Cocking his head, he gave them a quick glance, followed by a nod and a wave. With that he continued on his way, whistling that same haunting tune.

Hotfoot · Post by **Hotfoot** » 2008-02-23 05:38pm

The green-banded gangers noticed the look Verum gave them, and within a moment, they were gone. Before long, a proper community of very skittish-looking workers, beggars, and reprobates. Signs for various shops, bars, and barterers appeared all over. Before long, a large group of gangers, including a fair number of juves collected in the area, walking along with the group. Before long, a man with a large scar across his face motioned to the gang to stop and looked directly at the group.

"Well well, what 'ave we got 'ere? Looks like a bunch of troublemakers coming through our town to make a mess. We don't like trouble, and we've got enough as is, so why don't you turn your arses back around and leave?"

Block · Post by **Block** » 2008-02-23 06:36pm

"No, of course not, friend, we're not troublemakers, or at least I'm not, the others..." Verum shrugged. "But they cause me more trouble than they'll cause you. So, friend, how are you this fine evening? And who may I say I'm speaking to, unless you prefer to be called 'friend' for the rest of our conversation?"

Raj Ahten · Post by **Raj Ahten** » 2008-02-23 09:49pm

Underhive

Lazarus noted the number of the gangers, their deployment and armement. He also scanned thhe sorroundings for snipers or other suprises, along with looking for the nearest cover for himself.

Things are different this time assholes. There are a lot more than two of us. A damn lot more of you too, but what the hell.

Lazarus kept his hand close to the opening in his duffle bag. He wanted the big guns if things went to shit.

Let's see if our talkers are good at it. If this lot is the target, meeting em' this way beats getting ambushed.

Lazarus slowly walked a little closer to some cover nearby.