Editing Between the Darkness/Session 01 (section)

==Mercutio Hastus' Introduction==

Tylorva: It's been a normal kind of day-cycle down in the underhives.  It's dark, it's grim, you've stumbled across multiple corpses and have shot a couple of mutants.  Corpse starch stew for dinner.  Suddenly, one of the gang members - a young kid named Rafe comes hurrying in.  "There's a bust coming!" he says, pretty much out of breath.  "And it's a bad one!"

Mercution_Hastus: Hastus straightens up, all attention. "How do you know? Are those Enforcers? Looking for something specific?"

Tylorva: "Not enforcers..." he says, shuddering.  "I... don't know what they are.  Want to come see?"

Mercution_Hastus: Mercution frowns, looking unsure for the moment. "Lead." he finally utters, making sure all the 'ware on him and loaded.

Tylorva: Rafe leads you into the warrenous tunnels of the underhive and to a known vantage point.  There's a huge amount of noise ahead - shouting, shooting, screams.  "That way..." says Rafe.

Mercution_Hastus: Making sure, that the guy follows - and always stays in sight - Hastus proceeded carefully, trying to stay out of sight and with potential cover at the arms length - if not hugging it tightly.

Tylorva: You shuffle as close as you dare to see what is going on.  And peer over the edge.  A large number of a heavily armoured troops seem to be rounding people up, led by a tall man in carapace armour.  All of them have a symbol on their armour: =I=

Mercution_Hastus: The reaction is immediate. Whomever you may be, wherever you grew up, it was not difficult to recognize the symbol. (At least, I assume it to be so) Hastus feels his falm and forehead  starting to sweat. Brushed with death every day and night, as hard as it to distinguish between those in the depths of the underhive, would never make a man prepared to see the most ominous of sights.

Tylorva: Rafe doesn't seem to know what it means.  "Who are they?  What do they want?"

Mercution_Hastus: "Be silent - and get down." older hiver hisses. For that's exactly, what he is trying to determine. He continues to watch.

Tylorva: The troopers correl the hapless underhivers into one space and the leaders stalks past, his arms tucked behind his back.  "Why are you shielding Kirian?" he asks.  "To do so is to bring down your own doom as co-conspirators."  You've heard of Kirian.  He's a member of your gang, an unsanctioned psyker.  But a good man, one devoted to the cause.

Mercution_Hastus: Kirian. All of this - for one wyrd? Hastus didn't know, if it was common for Inquisition to arrange such a show for a single psyker - how would anyone know at all such a thing? He tried to remember anything else about Kriran, what could possibly be of interest to the Emperor's Left Hand.

Mercution_Hastus: (That is, what do I know about this one? Was he born there? Escaped from up-hive? Evaded Black Ships intentionaly?)

Mercution_Hastus: (And, last but no least, where he is currently?)

Tylorva: (( You know he ran away, evading the Black Ships.  He's always refused to speak of his past though, but he speaks with a fairly posh accent.  And he's currently back with the rest of your gang. ))

Tylorva: Eventually one of the terrified underhivers points in the location of Mercution's gang hideout.

Mercution_Hastus: "Oh, frak." Hastus backs down from his hiding place. "Run forward" he grabs the kid by the arm. "Make everyone dissapear. Cavern half-way to the Bulge, with the scaly sceleton. Understood?" 

Tylorva: Rafe looks up with wide eyes, but seems to understand the severity of the thrat if not the threat itself.  He turns without a word and hurries off to carry out the order.  Meanwhile the Inquisition force start gunning down the correlled underhivers.

Mercution_Hastus: Hastus looks over his shoulder, his eyes wide. "He... He frakking told them! The hell they didn't like?!" he shouted - or he would, if he wasn't afraid of discovery or simply too shocked at the sudden turn of events. It came out barely audible. Spitting on the ground, he darts off to make sure the passages to the meeting place are safe - from mutants or other gangers. 

Tylorva: (( Give me a Silent Move roll with +20 ))

Mercution_Hastus: (Considering, I don't have Silent Move and it's Basic, I'll be doing with a 38 target number)

Tylorva: (( Go for it. ))

Tylorva: (( You were good.  They were better. ;) ))

Mercution_Hastus: ((Well, they ARE Inquisition))

Tylorva: Mercution slips away silently, but the leader's head suddenly flips around.  "Movement!" he yells.  "Track them down!"  Suddenly, you have several heavily armed Inquisition troops on your tail...

Mercution_Hastus: (Well, time for a route change. Can he remember any of the latter mutie activity in the vicinity? Routes frequented by them, to lead pursuers into them? Or just to try and evade them in the caverns? Something to roll for Navigation (Surface) most likely.)

Tylorva: (( Make a roll.  You can have +20 as you known the area. ))

Tylorva: (( Ok, now give me an opposed agility roll.  You can have +20 due to the succeeded navigation. ))

Tylorva: You dart into the tunnels trying desperately to lose your pursuers.  You use all your area knowledge to try and surprised them, but it's fruitless.  For a moment you think you have shaken them, only to come out of a tunnel straight into a group of them pointing guns at you.  "Surrender in the name of the Inquisition."

Mercution_Hastus: Hastus stops suddenly, but instead of dropping the weapon or raising hands or any other of the usual acts, demonstrating surrender, he frantically and fearfully looks around - at the dark corners, over his shoulder, twisting as if every shadow is out to get him. 

Mercution_Hastus: "You don't understand! Mutants are crawling out, twists are following me! They used the chaos to infiltrate the town, surround the commune - all the old tunnels are opened!" 

Mercution_Hastus: ((Something like Blather test? Or Deceive?)) 

Tylorva: (( Either works.  Go with what you are best at. ))

Tylorva: Several of the troopers seem to fall for it, but the tall man's stony gaze does not break.  "Do not try and lie to me," he says.  "I am Interrogator Reinhardt.  You are under arrest."

Mercution_Hastus: Mercution meets the agent's gaze and, after a moment, drops the act. His shotgun falls down, he doesn't bother with autopistol - reaching for it might as well provoke them. Collected and silent, he lifts his hands in the air. 

Tylorva: You are quickly shackled up and dragged away for questioning.  Several hours later you find yourself in the Tricorn Palace itself.  You are dragged into an interrogation room and chained down into a chair.  Interrogator Reinhardt appears soon after.  He peers at you.  "Name?"

Mercution_Hastus: No reason to lie by now. "Mercution Hastus".

Tylorva: "What is your connection to the heretic known as Kirian?"

Mercution_Hastus: "To the _ganger_ known as Kirian - he was a mutant killer. Like me." Pitiful words-juggling on his part. Hard to drop the habit. 

Tylorva: "What do you know of his past?"

Mercution_Hastus: "Up-hiver? Strange accent." he presumed and explained. 

Tylorva: "Why did you protect him?"

Mercution_Hastus: "Underhive. Unless it's a turf war or dire resource shortage, better to rely on people around. And as far as culling twists go, he pulled his weight." 

Mercution_Hastus: "More than that. Was the only one who could kill twist-wyrds."

Tylorva: "He is a wanted heretic.  Each psyker he killed contributed to his unholy goals."

Mercution_Hastus: "Lack of knowledge is no excuse" repeated, somewhat awkwardly and in his own words, but just a bit to eagerly Mercution.  "But had this acutally reached the Underhive, someone would've got him. We have bounty hunters down there."

Tylorva: "We have been tracking him for some time.  Unfortunately, your efforts caused him to go into hiding, delaying us significantly.  He is still on the loose as we speak.  And you are correct.  Innocence proves nothing.  You are guilty of aiding and abetting a wanted heretic."

Mercution_Hastus: Hastus clutched his face and fallen silent. It was, again, pretty much inconsequential, whether he believed the Interrogator or not. There was an ingrained, even in one such as him, an underhiver, idea, that Ordos are without fault, inscrutable and immaculate. Almost omniscient. 

Mercution_Hastus: But just recently he saw their forces gunning down the whole population of a small town, the same  "disproportional" retaliation. 
Tylorva: "However, in light of your record, my mistress has felt beneficent."

Mercution_Hastus: So, it didn't matter that much, whether that one, Kirian, was such innocent or guilty. In a way, Hastus betrayed his own logic on an impulse. 
Mercution_Hastus: Hastus remained silent, just his hands on his skull now threatened to squeeze the brains out. 

Tylorva: "You are to be given the chance to clean up the mess you have caused.  Bring Kirian to us, and you sins will be considered cleansed."

Mercution_Hastus: "I..." his voice was rasp. He coughed. "I will do as ordered." He straightened up with a crack and looked clear before him. 

Tylorva: "Good.  You will be working with others.  They have their own task to complete.  Assist them with theirs and they will assist you with yours.  Perform well and your future will be a good one.  Fail, and your mind will be repurposed for good.  Do you understand?"

Mercution_Hastus: "Clearly." He said plainly, supressing the ridiculous "my lord". Quite possibly, the man before him ould read his face as a book - or his mind, as the case may be. He still tried not to show anything, if only for his own comfort.