Author:- Trooper Joshua Titus, Adaptus Arbites (ID: 164-sigma12)

Date:- M41.819 Day 151

Subject:- Operation AEG-77-03 A.A.R.

Thought For The Day:- The lot of courage is to be sacrificed on the alter of battle.

Summary

            The operation began smoothly; we successfully arrived and entered the Subside operational area with no untoward trouble.

            As we descended into the area, however, our explorations resulted in an ambush by a local gang. They did not prove to be any major difficulty, the enemy force being wiped out with no casualties on our side, and only minor injuries. Judging by the clothing, weaponry and skills of this opposition, they were likely members of a scavenger sump gang.

            We continued deeper into the region, where we encountered the first situation of note [see Auspex record 275b for location co-ords]; a group of apparently Emperor-worshiping Ecclesiarchy radical organization. After a meeting with our own Cleric, this organization was exceedingly helpful, providing us with both information and ammunition [1] [2].

            It was in this area that we located the missing Arbites team in a side room [3].

            Shortly after departing the Ecclesiarchy organization, we arrived at what I believe is the entrance to the Ganger organization that held our objective; a disused but ornamental set of stairs leading down a level at the rear of an abandoned store room. Above this stairwell was a scrawled message of some kind, written in an unidentified language [4]. Note; Akantha appeared to have some understanding of this message; I recommend a follow-up interview on this subject. At all times I guarded this recidivist, Akantha, ensuring that she did not attempt escape or sabotage.

           Upon entering the stairwell, we discovered that the entrance was covered by an emplaced Stubber team. Fortunately, the Stubber was set too close to the stairwell and, with my frag grenade as cover; Leonidas and Gerdt were able to take the location.

            Upon entering the lair, we began noticing combat sounds. The PDF diversion was apparently successful; we did not encounter any further forces until we penetrated considerably deeper into the area. We also noticed an increasing problem with our equipment; the machine spirits of our vox and Auspex equipment weakening as we penetrated the area.

            We descended a further level, and located the area we believed to be the heart of the Gangers' lair, guarded by a Combat Servitor (Autocannon variant) which was suffering the same malady that effected our own loyal machine spirits. Entering the central lair, we located the Gang leader, a psyker of considerable strength [4]. A quick assault defeated him, and we located our primary objective on his person. Our machine spirits regained their former strength; apparently their illness had been more of the Gang leader's Warp-craft.

            With our objective secured, we quickly attempted to leave the area, only to encounter three gangers on the way. Although two seemed more typical, the third (possibly the leader of the three) displayed extensive mutation; extensive protrusions (possibly tumours), a second pair of vestigial arms, and enhanced speed [4]. The recidivist elements' leader was defeated thanks to a well placed shot from my Combat Auto Shogun; unfortunately the mutant's body was too badly damaged by gunfire for a post-mortem.

            We continued our extraction, encountering the same servitor as before, its machine spirit had recovered from it's pox. We engaged the deluded servant of the Mechanicus, while Alaric attempted unsuccessfully to flank it through the air ducts. Fortunately, we were able to defeat it quickly, and press on.

            As we  continued to leave the base, we encountered PDF forces moving in; apparently at the moment of the Gang leader's defeat, the Gangers fled the scene, taking their dead with them. With the area under PDF control, we were able to leave without further incident. We returned to central command, with the objective firmly in our possession.

Personal Expenditure

            17 Shotgun shells

            1 Frag Grenade

Kill-team Formation

            PDF Trooper Tauron Leonidas

            PDF Trooper Solon Gerdt

            Arbitrator Trooper Joshua Titus

            Ecclesiarchy Cleric Alaric

            Hive-ganger Akantha

Notes

[1]    The Ecclesiarchy radical organization mentioned is a dangerous organisation. Although apparently an Emperor worshiping force, they are illegally operating machines without the permission, oversight or aid of the Adaptus Mechanicus. Even disregarding the potentially heretical implications of their intrusion into the realms of the Machine God, their actions are illegal and in definite breach of the Treaty of Mars. At the same time, their actions within the region appear to be beneficial to the Emperor and his subjects. I recommend that the Arbites either contact this organization and provide Arbites and Mechanicus support, or else arrest and purge the entire force. Either way, I recommend that a Cleric be present to smooth the resulting actions.

[2]    The Ecclesiarchy radical organization mentioned provided information upon an unknown, but apparently potent threat within a nearby region; a large entity either a animal, mutant or Xenos apparently actively hunting the local populous. I recommend a Kill-Team be dispatched to neutralize this threat.

[3]    During the mission, I located the bodies of a ten-man Arbites team, and I was able to recover four dogtags. The names are as follows;

    Enforcer Mallear

    Trooper Quint

    Trooper Silon

    Trooper Xerxes

    The other six bodies are unidentified at the present time.

[4]    Numerous encounters, i.e. the scrawled text, the psyker Cult leader and the unidentified mutant, etc. are exceedingly disturbing. It indicates either the presence of an unusually well organized and armed gang with potent mutants amongst its number or worse, the presence of a Xenos or, Emperor forbid, a corruptive moral taint. I recommend an immediate and full purge of the region.

[5]    Despite her position (or more accurately, lack of one) within society, Akantha actually proved to be an reasonably effective guide. She also proved to have reasonable combat skills and was semi-reliable. Despite my personal history with such characters, I recommend that she be brought closer to the Arbites as an informer. If she is, however, then she will require a bit of training to more effectively work in a team. The final decision of her future, however, is up to wiser and more knowledgeable heads then mine.

Mission 2: DELIVERY SERVICE

The Players

Medusa as Akantha (Thorn)    Scum

Elmin as Alaric    Cleric

Sparten197 as Solon Gerdt    Arbitrator

The Impaler as Joshua Titus    PDF Trooper (Guardsman)

            Marvelling at their fates the Team jumped aboard their ship for their first inter-planetary journey, a trip which first promised great excitement but then turned into mindless tedium. Days passed and locked in their spacious but ill-appointed cabin they had little to do but bicker with each other. Only daily meals and a gradual acquaintance with one of the ships Enginseers helped pass the time. On the 20^th day of their journey the Enginseer with whom they were talking (who seemed to know a little of the adventures the characters had thus-far encountered) gave them a chance to leave their confines and to wander around the ship.

            Unfortunately the Universe is made of many who would turn away from the Emperors Divine Light for their own selfish desires and the Enginseer proved to be one such person. He had led the Team into a trap and all in the name of the Omnissiah! This fool was brought to a halt, though not without blood being shed on both sides of the conflict, when Alaric pull the pin on Frag Grenade he had retrieved from the unconscious (and gravely wounded) Solon. Pressing the now-active Frag Nade up against the device the heretics were willing to kill for the combat quickly drew to a halt. Words were exchanged and minutes passed before the ships Skitari Guard, the Officer of the Watch and the man named 'Vast' arrived to place the heretics in custody.

            Vast moved the players up to suites of relative luxury for the final days of the journey and explained how they were fortunate enough to be allowed to act as a lure to draw these false worshippers of the Machine-God out into the open.

            Arriving on Belacane (a desolate lump rich in Ore, but blessed with freezing temperatures and bugger-all atmosphere) all were met with pomp and ceremony. The object the players had recovered proved to be a lost Mind-Link of quite some importance. The Machine-Cult expressed their gratitude and Vast was also revealed as a member of the Emperors Holy Inquisition (a fact that scared the hell out of most of the Team but seemed to provide some solace to Alaric).

            Importantly, the Mind-Link's recovery has raised some tough questions for both the Machine Cult and the Inquisition. The ship on which it was transported (11 standard years ago) also carried an Arch-Magos named Velos Sequator. A.M. Velos was a divisive figure in the Tech-Priesthood as well as a concern to the Inquisition. Since this Mind-Link has somehow survived a ship which was assumed lost, does this mean that Velos has survived too?

            Acolyte Vast and the Machine Cult have agreed that a combined Inquisition and Tech Priest operation to uncover the fate of 'The Lathe IV' and A.M. Velos is of the highest importance. Because the players have proved their worth (and expendability) they are the ones that have been chosen to follow-up the scant leads available. Some of those leads have been provided by Vast himself from sources which might be better left unknown.

            Here is a copy of the information provided by Vast:

The Players

Medusa as Akantha (Thorn)    Scum

Elmin as Alaric    Cleric

Sparten197 as Eli Vern    Tech-Priest

Dale as Tauron Leonidas    PDF Trooper (Guardsman)

             The 'Combat Team' departed for the Rogue Traders paradise known as 41 Pry. This is an old but extensive space station split into 4 discrete 'Zones of Control'. Without too many clues for them to follow they still managed to pick the right area on their first attempt, this was the hab-zone controlled by the 'Cold Cartel'. After bumbling around in their usual violent and un-structured way the team isolated two important pieces of information. 1. A Capacitor taken from The Lathe IV had certainly been passed through 41 Pry.

2. Crewmembers who had taken part in on the operation which stole the Capacitor from Velos's transport ship had disembarked on 41 Pry.

            Since one of the crew members from The Emperor's Reaver (the attacking pirate ship) was no longer on the space-station, and was almost certainly criminally insane by all accounts, the players decided to try to hunt down a fellow by the name of Liam Smyth. Liam was a member of the intergalactic crime syndicate known as the 'Cold Cartel'. While there is some evidence of the Cartel working for the Tech-Priesthood and the Inquisition in the past it seems that Liam was not in the mood to introduce himself straight out. For this reason the Team decided to penetrate the interior of the station to see if they might catch up with him for a friendly chat.

            As it turns out it was the characters turned from the hunters to the hunted as their bumbling around had left their intentions pretty-much exposed and their passage through the station was turned into a free-for all bounty game. To the amusement of the inhabitants of the Cold Zone not only were sizable bets placed on the abilities of the players to survive the journey but the players themselves placed bets on their own success!

            After numerous fights, close-calls with snipers (and character-sheets being drowned in watery flash-floods) the players caught up with the most friendly Liam. Through his desire to appease the anger of the Machine-God for his crimes Liam was not only happy to assist in their understanding of the events leading to the destruction of The Lathe IV but also offered a member of the Cold Cartel as a team-mate to replace Akantha who was sent to Bront to pass on the information gained in this merry romp.

            Liam was part of the crew who attacked Velos Sequator's ship, though at the time of the attack it was apparent that Velos and friends were no longer on board and had thus disappeared somewhere between Luggnum and the point of the attack. It appears that many subterfuges were used to not only assist the attackers but also to ensure that none of those who attacked The Lathe IV lived to tell the tale. It appears that Arch-Magos Velos is really not a very nice machine/person at all.

            A report on the action can be accessed through the Tech-Priesthood records on Belacane: