41K RPG : Into the Eye

[Cynical Cat]

"Clarrify. Can I lower my hand to activate the coms or do you want them raised?"

[The Necrontyr Messenger]

There was a slight sigh, seemingly betraying the humanity of the figures in the armour - but then, Gix had met Marvin - "Order your crew to the foward section of the ship, then stand, hands on your head, witch," the leader repeated, finger tightening a little on the bolter's trigger.

[Josh]

His augmetic breather cycled once, twice.

"We are engaged in a mission of supreme importance," he replied. "To defy the will of a Saint is to defy the will of the Emperor Himself. I repeat, all vessels must stand down."

As he waited for the reply, Neriss flashed an assessment over to his onboard cogitator, giving him much the same assessment that Jolan's people had delivered, albeit with a tad more generous view of his atrocities and Mondominant leanings.

[The Necrontyr Messenger]

"Your compatriot has been engaged in forbidden warpcraft. You are welcome to attend the inquisition into his behaviour, once he is in my custody."

[Pcm979]

No reply. Pater hissed. There was the faintest possibilty that Jolan could talk his way out of this, and Pater wasn't going to go out in a blaze of glory just yet.

[Cynical Cat]

"Of course," said Gix. "This is Inquisitor Gix. As per my standing orders, cooperate with the boarders. They desire you to move to the forward section." He place his hands on his head and rose. "You will, of course, put your chop on the message and affirm that you have taken custody of the icon."

[The Necrontyr Messenger]

"Move," the leader of the assault team said, indicating the wall furthest from the weapons, his squad keeping their weapons trained on Gix, as one of withdrew a bulky teleport homer from his combat webbing.

[Cynical Cat]

Jolan began to move"Then you are failing to secure an icon of our Beloved Emperor and are taking personal responsibility for failing to inform the Saint of what is occuring. Interesting. I wouldn't think you would want that responsibility. Name." The last was clearly an order.

[The Necrontyr Messenger]

"Draven!" he snapped - living in the right parts of the Imperium made one suspeptible to commands like that. The homer hummed, "Chop? Icon? Saint? What're you blathering about Heretic?" the squad leader asked, having no clue what Gix was talking about, before they vanished into the netherworld of the warp...

***

The Teleportarium of the battleship was, as one would expect, under-maintained and dingy, and Gix could see the various tech-priests hard at work worshipping their spanners. "To the brig with him!" snapped a naval officer, and a dozen armsmen joined his escort, prodding him towards the doorway.

[Josh]

And so either Vidor hadn't implicated him in Jolan's experiments yet, or was daunted by the prospect of facing the forces of multiple chapters in battle.

Either way...

"You would say that a Saint of the Emperor would sanction heresy, then?" he answered, his voice smooth and unruffled. "You have substantiated evidence of this heresy?"

As he spoke, orders went out. The Astartes vessels slid into formation, ready for combat but not making an aggressive move... yet.

"I have with me the elements of seven chapters of Adeptus Astartes, Vidor. If this does not communicate to you the grave import of this matter..."

[Cynical Cat]

Gix went with them. These men wouldn't obey his orders or his demands. "I require access to a log pad to make formal declorations. This is my right as an Inquisitor, even under arrest. Immediately. Fail in this and you will all be executed. Unless you think Lord Inquisitor Aeris is the forgiving sort."

[Pcm979]

Pater made up his mind. "Order the Heracles to reveal itself and prepare to relay communications."

An Astartes Strike Cruiser slid out of the sun's corona, and Inquisitor Novum's message filtered through it:

"This is Inquisitor Novum. Listen to Ristani, Vidor."

[The Necrontyr Messenger]

It was amazing how the gaol of the Imperator Rex managed to feel underground, even though it was aboard a ship. It had darkness, rats, and even an annoying 'drip-drip' sound.

Gix was thrown in, and, having been searched - and stripped of his conversion field and indeed, anything else but the clothes he wore (and even some of them were considered expendable) - he was finally tossed his log-pad.

----

Aeris snarled at Prius. "Yes, happened before. And yes, I have the results of a long investigation into this Inquisitor's behaviour, citing numerous acts against otherwise loyal members of the Mechanicus, various clandestine disappearances, known use of warp-craft, and most recently, evidence of collusion with eldar Xenos in the praction of blasphemy on Ophelia Seven, of all places!" With that, the connection was cut, and Prius stonewalled in any future attempts to make contact by an uncomprehending servitor...

----

The time lag, over half an hour, between Novum's message and Aeris' ship prevented him being there to receive it. Having had two anonomous servitors wheel in a particularly intimidating looking excruciator apparatus, he was busy watching Gix via camera, and sending for his elusive informant.

[Cynical Cat]

Gix was making notes of the several violations of protocal and procedure, not the least the afformentioned failure to secure the icon committed by Aeris's people. He looked up unflinchingly when the torture apparatus was wheeled in. The Gamesman and the Prince of Ruin had done far worse to his life than mere physical torture. If it hadn't been for Nathan's warning, they might have broken him. What was this crude Monodominant compared to those wicked and cunning champions of chaos?

He addressed where he thought the camera would be. "You're violating procedure. I'm do a formal hearing, pronounciation of charges, and a chance to refutiate them before interrogation begins. Do you normal violate Inquisitional Law while subverting a Saint's Crusade and interferring with the operations of Astartes Chapters or am I a special case?"

[Josh]

Gix had been taken aboard the battleship.

There was a good chance they would learn if his end of the conspiracy was self-sustaining as he'd claimed, unless...

"Vidor, we need to talk. In person."

He triggered a command, ordering the Will forward between the armadas, weapons safed.

As if a Rogue Trader's puny guns could make a dent in any vessel on the field anyway.

"The survival of the Imperium may well depend on what transpires in the next few minutes," he said. "May the Emperor guide us both."

[The Necrontyr Messenger]

"Procedure is a nicety and a nonsense among Inquisitors. I think I have a far better way of dealing with you," a loud clang followed each step, as the power-armoured and helmed giant entered the room, looking at Gix through the bars, "I'm going to ask you, just once, to tell me why you were engaged in assisting the Eldar infiltration of Ophelia Seven, and what you gained from it... And I'm going to leave it up to you to imagine how I'll react if you don't answer me..."

[Cynical Cat]

Gix probed the room with his psi senses. He doubted a Monodominant would be without some defence, but he needed a very strong one indeed to resist Jolan Gix. "The eldar tried to kill me and several other inquisitors. I see it has succeeded in getting you to do its bidding."

[The Necrontyr Messenger]

"This is Inquisitor Arinna Eregic, I speak for the Lord Inquisitor. You may board this vessel. with no more than one pilot in tow, Inquisitor Ristani."

In the warp, Prius could feel a strangely familiar sensation, like a form of Deja Vu, when talking to this woman...

---

There was nothing but self-righteous contempt on the surface of Vidor's mind. "That's not what my sources tell me. They tell me that you engineered the Eldar Prescence in exchange for information from the xenos... Something to do with their necromancy, I'm told..."

[Pcm979]

A ghostly voice shimmered across Prius' mind. Pater.

"If we cannot extract Gix, we must silence him."

[Cynical Cat]

Could Vidor really be right here and nicley incineratable. That was almost too good to be true. "Your source is a liar. The only contact I've had with eldar was exterminating the cult on Xuharis and the assassination attempt on Ophelia. You disrupt a crusade and threaten an inquisitor on the word of a liar. I'm really not impressed. There are several inquisitors in this star system who can testify as to what happened. Three inquisitors versus one liar. You must want me badly Vidor. Or maybe you're just your informants pawn."

[The Necrontyr Messenger]

He leaned forwards, "What crusade?" he damaned, through his muffling helmet speakers...

[Josh]

He stood on the cusp.

A fresh scar stood out on his skull, newly healed.

Pater was correct- Gix was expendable. By all rights, he should order engagement and be done with it.

But while Gix was expendable, Nathan was not, and either he or the link to him was on Gix's vessel. The chance of losing him in the crossfire was unaccceptable.

He recorded orders, locking them under his seal. Interval/circumstance/code locked, either a specified time frame, certain events, or a direct command from him would transmit an order to the Astartes to obliterate the Imperial task force, with a priority upon the protection of Gix's vessel.

As for himself...

He had gone back for Gix more than once. Now he would be entering the lair of one perhaps even more devout than he. Gix's admonition about the extremes of Thorian doctrine and Monodominacy came to mind.

"I will be over shortly."

In the event of a battle, the Will would place itself in the line of fire that Jolan's ship could escape.

He ran a systems check, testing his new equipment. He had not finished acclimating himself to the system, but then conditions never were optimal in this line of work. He made his way off the bridge to his shuttle, leaving behind all obvious weaponry, beyond that which was integrated into his cyborg body.

[The Necrontyr Messenger]

The battleship's landing bay waited, cleared of ships, dozens of armsmen and dockers waiting for Prius to land, heavy blast doors sealed over every exit...

[Cynical Cat]

"The one that the Saint has called. The one that has the other inquisitors and the Astartes Strike Cruisers here. The one which you are interfering in and doing the Enemy's work."

[Josh]

He stepped out, looming over the armsmen, unperturbed by the volume of firepower that would focus upon him were he to give them reason.

"Take me to Vidol," he barked, putting his oldest discovered ability, his psyker-enhanced tone of command, to use. "Now."