[M] Penitence

[Azazeal849]

Rated M for violence and distressing themes.
Potential strong language and drug references

LINK TO IC


All credit for this banner goes to F.O.E

Spoiler: Prologue 

+++EXCERPTED FROM EVIDENCE FILE 8219775-A224+++
+++INVESTIGATION: INCIDENT ON SAROS STATION, SOL SYSTEM+++
+++SUBJECTS: ACCUSED HERETICS KALLY SONDER, VINCENT NYL, MARCUS BLACK, KELLY BLACK, GAVIN JENKINS AND ELLA SEREN

<EXCERPT FROM INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT SAROS-116>
M BLACK: Vorhees blew up Narlow because he had stumbled across part of the Rainbow's plan. Trouble was, it drew the Gnosis Guard to the area right as we went in to capture her. We were hemmed in, until Jansen flew down in the Bliss and picked us up. We managed to evade pursuit by setting off the sleeper programs that Censor and I had planted in the machine temple.
INTERROGATOR: It was you who was responsible for attempting to compromise the station's machine spirit?
M BLACK: Not exactly. If the hack succeeded it would only have knocked out the lights. If the security djinns stopped it they'd raise the alarm. We just wanted a distraction.
INTERROGATOR: Were you responsible - answer yes or no.
M BLACK: Yes.
INTERROGATOR: You confess to deliberately tampering with the machine spirit on a restricted Imperial facility?
M BLACK: (Pause) Yes.

<EXCERPT FROM VOX RECORD SAROS-254, RECOVERED FROM WRECKAGE OF SHUTTLE BLISKIRINER>
<SUBJECT SEREN IDENTIFIES VOICE AS SHUTTLE PILOT JANSEN SAVS (DEC.)>
VOICE: I'm telling you, Ella, that's it. I'm done. I didn't sign up for this kind of gak.
SEREN: You can't just leave now! Have you forgotten what we're trying to stop? This is our duty!
VOICE: If this is duty then Lawrence fething Van Der Mir can take it and shove it up his arse.
SEREN: What ab...(pause)...What about your sister? What would she say?
VOICE: (Pause) That's not fair.
SEREN: Neither's you abandoning us.
VOICE: (Pause) Alright, Ella girl. But I'm not doing this for Van Der Mir.
SEREN: Don't worry. I'm not either.

<EXCERPT FROM MACHINE TEMPLE SECURITY VID SAROS-055>
<SUBJECTS POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED AS AD MECH SECUTOR OCTAVUS DELAZ (DEC.) AND SKITARIUS K-23-09-G8 DESIG "BALDUR" (DEC.)>
(Subjects enter temple. Several Gnosis Guard approach and surround them)
GUARD CAPTAIN: Secutor Delaz, by the authority of the holy mechanicus I am arresting you for the murder of magos Benedict Carmine.
DELAZ: Magos Carmine was a heretek and part of an archenemy conspiracy. Contact your superiors - I have sent multiple reports to several senior magi explaining my actions.
(The GUARD CAPTAIN approaches Delaz to whisper in his ear)
GUARD CAPTAIN: And what if I was to tell you that this conspiracy intercepted and destroyed every one of your transmissions? (He steps back) You are a heretek, Octavus Delaz. And you will die as one.
(The Gnosis Guard open fire)

<EXCERPT FROM SHUTTLE BAY VOX RECORD SAROS-399, RECOVERED FROM IMPOUNDED VESSEL MOONCALF>
<VOICES POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED AS LAWRENCE VAN DER MIR (DEC.), WALTER BRENNER (DEC.), EILEEN RYOBI (DEC.) AND SUBJECT K BLACK>
VAN DER MIR: Where the hell are the people from Carbon and Quasar?
BRENNER: Still tied up with the mechanicus boarding parties. They're not going to make it in time.
K BLACK: Kenzie says there's still chaos on the station because of the security breaches and the automatic lockdown Marc tripped, but it won't last. We need to go now.
RYOBI: What do you want me to do, dad?
BRENNER: We need someone we can trust to keep a handle on things here. Make sure we have a ship to come back to.
RYOBI: I'll take care of it. Make sure you come back.
BRENNER: Tell your mother...well, tell her something suitable.
VAN DER MIR: What about you?
K BLACK: My brother's down there. I'm coming with you.

<EXCERPT FROM BRIG SECURITY VID SAROS-190, RECOVERED FROM IMPOUNDED VESSEL MOONCALF>
<PRISONER POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED AS EMILE EMERALD (DEC.)>
(Ship's brig, cell 25 - PRISONER is huddled in the corner. Door opens and an UNIDENTIFIED figure steps in, but is only visible for a moment before vid feed suddenly dissolves into static)
UNIDENTIFIED: I assume you know who I am, Emile?
PRISONER: In...inquisitor? Look, I can explain, I can explain everything!
UNIDENTIFIED: Guess again Emile. I feel bad for leaving you so suddenly; I wanted to make sure there were no hard feelings.
PRISONER: No...no! Not you!
UNIDENTIFIED: You will always be my pawn, Emile. It is your fate.
PRISONER: No! I...don't...deserve this...!
(Audio feed also dissolves into static)

<EXCERPT FROM INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT SAROS-163>
INTERROGATOR: What happened then?
NYL: Sidonis arrived early and surprise-fokked us all. Blitzed the Mooncalf, killed damn near everyone aboard. It pretty much killed Walt when he found out about his folks. Sidonis tried to mind-fok Emerald into telling Fennec and Vorhees that the plan was go, but when he found out we had already captured 'em he blew off their heads - pop! Just like that, from half a light second away. Then he sent his mind-controlled marines after us. (Subject chuckles) That's when things really went to gak.

<EXCERPT FROM INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT SAROS-119>
<SUBJECT SONDER is being shown STATION SECURITY VID SAROS-070, detailing combat between subjects and astartes from the Sons of Plutarch chapter (note: formerly attached to LORD INQUISITOR IMMANUEL SIDONIS (DEC.))>
(Video shows subjects in full retreat. Subject BRENNER is providing cover fire. He stands up with a dispairing shout and opens fire on the marines - he is almost immediately torn apart by return fire. One of the subjects (undetermined) yells his name. Subject VAN DER MIR shouts "Get the warp-damned doors!" Subjects GHAST and M BLACK, who are crouching either side of the bulkhead, manage to override the blast door and seal it. A last burst of fire hits subject JUNO, who falls and is caught by subject SONDER. Subject JUNO is heard to whisper "Thank you...for caring.")
INTERROGATOR: What did he mean by that?
SONDER: (No response)
INTERROGATOR: Who was the xenos creature really?
SONDER: (No response)
INTERROGATOR: Explicator, you may proceed.

<EXCERPT FROM INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT SAROS-125>
M BLACK: Four of us headed for the vox tower, to try and raise help from Titan.
INTERROGATOR: Which four?
M BLACK: Gavin, Zerlinda, Kelly and Van Der Mir.
INTERROGATOR: And then?
M BLACK: Arcolin somehow ran into Irons (note - Lucinda Irons, Rainbow codename "Metal") and led us to her. She said she wanted nothing more to do with Emerald after he sacrificed her men on Epsilon 27, and wanted to help us stop him.
INTERROGATOR: What was Irons' role in the plan?
M BLACK: She was going to be Emerald's battering ram. Somehow he'd recovered Pembroke's C'tan shard from Solomon and put it in her.
INTERROGATOR: How did Emerald get hold of the shard?
M BLACK: I don't know.
INTERROGATOR: He was your prisoner for two weeks, you must have questioned him. How did he get it?
M BLACK: I told you, I don't frakking know!

<EXCERPT FROM STATION SECURITY VID SAROS-513>
<SUBJECT 1 POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED AS LUCINDA IRONS (DEC.), SUBJECT 2 SPECULATED TO BE HER BLANK ATTENDANT (DEC.)>
(Video shows subjects standing in conversation with SUBJECTS 1 and 2)
JENKINS: Would it be possible, that is to say acceptable, for your friend to please turn his limiter on?
SUBJECT 1: I'm sorry. I need to make sure that Green and Purple can't listen in on us.
SONDER: You still haven't told us why we should trust you.
(SUBJECT 1 reaches out and touches SONDER, who goes rigid. Other subjects draw weapons.)
M BLACK: Let her go, Irons!
SUBJECT 1: (Releases SONDER, who staggers back a pace) I'm done.
M BLACK: What the Horus did you just do?
SUBJECT 1: I just cleared her body of plague phages.
SUBJECT 2: We've also got these. (Holds up a handful of hexagrammic warding pendants) You'll need them to stop Purple taking control of you.

<EXCERPT FROM INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT SAROS-119>
SONDER: The Sons found us again. Censor and Stavra were killed. I lost it and charged them. My...aura must have cut Sidonis' psychic control over them and snapped them out of it.
INTERROGATOR: Your aura? You mean your Blank aura?
SONDER: I just said that, didn't I? The Sons were able to contact some of their still-uncorrupted brothers back on the Bane, and it kicked off a full scale civil war. But Sidonis escaped somehow...

<EXCERPT FROM INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT SAROS-184>
K BLACK: We managed to get hold of the Grey Knights on Titan, but the Gnosis Guard caught up with us pretty soon after that. Jansen was on his way with Marc and Ella to pick us up, but the Bliss got shot down. Gavin and me got separated from Zerlinda and Van Der Mir. Marc and Ella found us, but we couldn't get through to the other two. We could hear them on the vox though. Van Der Mir said that he was letting Zerlinda go, and that he'd cover her escape.
INTERROGATOR: Why did he do that?
K BLACK: He said, "A deal's a deal."
INTERROGATOR: How did the rest of you escape?
K BLACK: Ella had Suffolk's (note - inquisitor Nigel Suffolk, dec.) force sword. She used it to hold off the Guard.
INTERROGATOR: (Pause) Explicator, return the subject to her cell and bring in subject Seren.

<EXCERPT FROM INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT SAROS-782>
SONDER: It was just Vince and me left. Gene was dead, the other blank was dead, and after Sidonis ripped Lucinda's head off the C'tan shard took full control of her body. The two of them were destroying...everything. The daemon won. It obliterated the C'tan and half the hanger with it. I don't know how, but I managed to use the distraction to get close...cut off its powers. (Subject goes quiet and shakes head) I ended it.
INTERROGATOR Was that right before the Grey Knights arrived?
(Subject is shown STATION SECURITY VID SAROS-010, which begins with static but clears up to show subject SONDER slumped next to a pool of silver liquid. A Grey Knight terminator squad teleports in 13 seconds later. Ignoring SONDER, the justicar scoops the silver liquid into a warded cylinder)
SONDER: Yes, that's what happened.

<EXCERPT FROM INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT SAROS-226>
INTERROGATOR: There are still four subjects unaccounted for - Ghast, Tarran, DeRei and the abhuman Skip. Where are they?
M BLACK: I don't know.
INTERROGATOR: Explicator...
M BLACK: Wait, wait! I didn't talk much with Zerlinda, and Skip didn't talk much with anybody, not after Darl was killed. He kept talking about taking her sword back to her temple though.
INTERROGATOR: What about Tarran?
M BLACK: Alley took off after Arcolin, same time as Kepler. Maybe telling her was a mistake.
INTERROGATOR: Telling her what?
M BLACK: That he was responsible for her family being killed on Marioch.
INTERROGATOR: Kepler went with her, you said? What did she want with DeRei?
M BLACK: She found out that he was the one who killed Kadath. (note - Kadath Al-Omar, Task Force Carbon commander, dec.)
INTERROGATOR: Kepler was found dead, with a broken-off 'flect shard in the wound. But there was no trace of Tarran or DeRei. Where did they go?
M BLACK: (Subject becomes visibly agitated) I don't know. I don't know where Arcolin is. But if you do you'd better tell me. If I'm going to hell, that bastard's coming with me.

Hi everybody! This is the long-awaited sequel to SandQueen's Sidonis series, picking up shortly after the incomplete Kaleidoscope (whose ending is detailed in the prologue above). Please don't let the fact that this is a sequel put you off, as this RP kicks off a new arc with new characters and so will be accessible to new players as well as old ones.

RULES

As well as the standard RPA rules, I'd like to add a couple of my own. These are mostly just to help the readability of the IC thread:

• Please write all IC posts in third person past tense. That is, "John stood up", never "John stands up" or "I stood up".
• Please don't use quote boxes in the IC. If you're reproducing another player's text to help put your own post into context, please indicate the copied text with a different colour. Ideally, please use the colours that I have highlighted for each player in the Team Roster section below.
• To save confusion with the above, please do not use a different coloured text just to indicate that a character is speaking.
• It goes without saying that you can resign from the RP at any time, but if so please have the courtesy to leave some sort of message in the OOC so other players aren't left waiting around for you.

RP BACKGROUND

Inquisitor lord Sidonis is dead, along with many of his senior operatives, but the demon Malfallax's plan to clone the Emperor has been thwarted. Nevertheless, such an incident so close to Holy Terra - together with the loss of one of the Northern Arm's most senior inquisitors - has shaken the Inquisition to its core. All the survivors of the incident who could be found were swiftly quarantined for interrogation, and six of Sidonis' former agents remain on trial for heresy. Three months after the incident on Saros Station, the trial is nearing its conclusion. Inquisitor Alia Machairi, Sidonis' only known surviving protégé, has been recalled from her investigations on Marioch to witness the verdict and the division of her dead benefactor's assets. Sensing something bigger than a simple executor's meeting, Machairi has brought her close-knit retinue with her to the Sol system.

All new characters will be members of inquisitor Machairi's staff (returning characters will, of course, fit in wherever is most appropriate). Inquisitor Machairi manages a small but diverse group of agents from a wide range of sources. She is relatively tolerant of psykers (and, on occasion, other types of abhuman) though she does not work with xenos. To keep the RP manageable, all players are limited to a single character unless ALL of the characters you intend to write are returning characters.

Spoiler: Suggested character profile 

As always, this is a guideline rather than something to be rigidly adhered to. Modify as desired to suit your character.

Name: Self explanatory.
Age: If in local units, please provide a Terran standard conversion.
Position / rank: What their job is on Machairi's staff.
Appearance: Pictures and / or written descriptions are acceptable. I strongly encourage you to include a physical description of the character in their first IC post, as this will help establish the character in the other players' minds.
Personality: A few points is fine. This is mostly something for you (or me, if the character becomes inactive and I need to NPC them for a bit) to refer back to and help you stay in character while writing.
Weapons: If carried.
Other: Equipment, armour, psyker powers etc.
Background: Doesn't have to be extensive. However, anything written here should get at least a passing mention in the IC.

If you have ideas for subplots that you would like to be included in the story, please do not hesitate to PM me. Also, as a general rule, I will not kill active characters without first consulting the player (although I may knock them about a fair bit). Inactive characters, however, are fair game.

TEAM ROSTER

The Penitents

• Kally Sonder (Dakkagor)
• Gavin Jenkins (PaintSerf)
• Vincent Nyl
• Marcus Black
• Kelly Black
• Tech-assassin Vizkop (Atrum Daemon)

Inquisitor Machairi's Retinue

• Inquisitor Alia Machairi
• Bodyguard Tomas Prinzel (Dakkagor)
• Investigator Glabrio Hybrida (Jarms48)
• Confessor Solvan Belannor (Thrannix)
• Sister Sapphira (PaintSerf)
• Major Martin Crenshaw, AAT (PaintSerf)
• Arbiter Josiah Wuziarch (Cfavano)

Allies

• Adrantis liaison Trist Maximillium (Imperial1917)
• Sister Kiana
• Magos Jazmin Ankari
• Ocularis Nikolai Oppen (Dakkagor)
• Ocularis Raechel Kuscelian
• Captain Elspeth von Scharn
• Commander Banastre Thurlow

Enemies

• Heretic Arcolin DeRei
• Alicia Tarran, aka rogue trader Theodosia Prince (Kardar)
• Rogue astropath Ella Seren
• Merle Carson (PaintSerf)

Recruitment is now closed.

[Kiki]

Always so beautiful and fully detailed, Az. I commend you on your excellent GM abilities and the write-up of this intro post! Good luck recruiting!

In the meantime, might I offer some friendly suggestions to help you on your way?

Take a look at the Roleplay of the Week thread! If you need a banner for a submission for RP of the Week, then check out the Banner Shop!

You can also look at the Roleplaying Games Directory to advertise your RP. Staff would be happy to help you advertise your Roleplay both here and in the RPA Tribune.

Any questions, feel free to PM!

[Azazeal849]

Thanks Kiki!

CHARACTER ROSTER

A quick summary of all the major NPC characters. For links to PC profiles, see "Team Roster" in the first post.

Spoiler: Inquisitor Alia Machairi 

Age: 42 Terran standard
Rank: Inquisitor
Profile: Alia is a driven and ambitious woman, with a carefully cultivated network of contacts within both the ordo xenos and the ordo hereticus. A competent investigator, she values diplomacy both towards outsiders and within her own team - although it has to be said that she rarely gets on well with people who she perceives as challenging her authority. She has always preferred a small but close-knit retinue, and invests personal time in agents that impress her. However, she remains an inquisitor first and foremost, and in extremis she is willing to make the sacrifices that the rank sometimes demands. She was elevated by lord Sidonis four years ago, and has since transferred from the Ordo Xenos to the Ordo Hereticus. For the last year she has been working on Marioch in the Adrantis sub-sector, attempting to unravel the connection between a recent Chaos incursion and the late rogue trader Melredius Nibenay.

Spoiler: Penitent Marcus Black 

Age: 7 Solomon years, 31 Terran standard
Rank: Former inquisitorial agent (investigator)
Profile: As an agent, Marc was intelligent, loyal to a fault towards those he considered family, and occasionally quite ruthless. Shaped by his baptism of fire on Solomon, he has no tolerance for traitors or cop killers of any kind, and has borne a bitter hatred towards Arcolin DeRei ever since the Pembroke incident which destroyed his home hive. When fate forced Arcolin together with the fugitive agents to defeat Malfallax, Marc was the most openly in favour of simply having Arcolin executed instead of working with him.

Spoiler: Penitent Kelly Black 

Age: 7 Solomon years, 30 Terran standard
Rank: Former inquisitorial agent (verispex)
Profile: Objective but empathetic, Kelly was an effective asset in lord Sidonis' retinue. She voluntarily discontinued field work after the Hercynia Purge, but was forced back into it following events on Taleostei. Like the other survivors she is still coming to terms with what happened on Saros, but is trying to provide support for her friend Kally, and perhaps most importantly for her brother Marc, who seems balanced on a knife edge since Arcolin's escape.

Spoiler: Penitent Ella Seren 

Age: 22 Terran standard
Rank: Former inquisitorial psyker (astropath)
Profile: The soul-binding often instils a greater sense of dedication in those that survive it, but Ella has a two-edged habit of pushing herself past normal limits. It is likely this that has allowed her to tap into abilities which are usually above and beyond the range of a simple astropath, such as the use of a force gladius gifted to her by the late interrogator Van Der Mir. As a person, Ella is reserved but amiable - or at least she was before the near-disaster on Saros Station.

Spoiler: Penitent Vincent Nyl 

Age: 92 Delphic, 62 Terran standard
Rank: Former inquisitorial agent (soldier)
Profile: Vincent was an effective but troubled soldier, suffering from an on-off addiction to alcohol and grinweed prior to the Saros Station incident and his subsequent arrest. To most people he is a supremely cynical figure; taciturn, and occasionally violent. After a lifetime of Imperial Guard horror, bounty hunting and occasionally reluctant inquisitorial service, it would surprise many that Vincent still has the capacity to care at all, but nevertheless he shares a close friendship with his fellow penitent Kally Sonder, and to a lesser extent with Marc and Kelly Black. They are some of the only people who can still coax out glimpses of his more human side.

Spoiler: Sister Kiana 

Age: 43 Coseflame years (54 Terran standard)
Rank: Canoness
Profile: Sister Kiana is the canoness of the Order of the Silent Vigil, a sororitas order based on the feudal planet of Coseflame in the Adrantis subsector. Founded based on strategic prognostication of a grave future threat to the sector, it was quickly realised that maintaining a full order under arms without a concrete threat to face was not strategically or economically viable. The Order have therefore adapted, and operate as a highly efficient covert spy network throughout the Adrantis sub, watching and waiting for the prophesised threat. Inquisitor Machairi established ties with the Order not long after her promotion, and they have proven an invaluable resource to her investigations on several occasions.

Spoiler: Magos Jasmin Ankari 

Age: No data available
Rank: Weaponsmith
Profile: Jasmin Ankari is a highly influential magos on the Adrantis forge world of Perinetus, second only to the reclusive archmagos Lazarine Krupp. She is a fearsome and enigmatic figure, managing the output of the forge world's armament factories with uncompromising efficiency. As well as frequent liaisons with the Imperial Navy who berth in the shipyards above Perinetus, she has also insinuated herself with the shadowy Lords Dragon who police the mechanicus from within. She has a long-standing working relationship with secutor Vizkop, although that relationship is not always harmonious.

Spoiler: Ocularis Raechel Kuscelian 

Age: 14 Vostian (29 Terran standard)
Rank: Lords Dragon Ocularis
Profile: Raechel is a spy for the Lords Dragon, the shadowy mechanicus secret police whom most in the Imperium believe to be just a myth. While her partner Nikolai specialises in data acquisition and system subversion, she focuses on MIU to physical assets, be that commandeering machinery or providing the muscle for their operations through a retinue of servitors. The two were dispatched to investigate the legality of the Adrantis Nebula programme - an objective that initially put them at odds with inquisitor Machairi's team, but they found common ground in the threat posed by Arcolin DeRei.

Spoiler: Captain Elspeth Von Scharn 

Age: 57 Ichabarr, 40 Terran standard
Rank: Captain, HDMS Impiger
Profile: Eppie von Scharn commands with a carefully affected air of indifference, no matter how dire the situation; an attitude perhaps best evoked by her signature 'victory lho'. Formerly the commander of the 5th cruiser squadron, she was demoted and replaced by commodore Tehrani following the debacle of the Coreltis crusade - a debacle which she lays squarely on the shoulders of the deceased inquisitor Drake. She does not make a secret of her continuing animosity towards the inquisition, although whatever views she holds of her own situation are kept carefully private.

Spoiler: Commander Banastre Thurlow 

Age: 29 Axinite, 35 Terran standard
Rank: Executive officer, HDMS Impiger
Profile: Born on the pleasure world of Axinite and with the somewhat carefree attitude and flamboyant mannerisms of such people, Thurlow is an easy man to underestimate. However, he has proved both talented and enthusiastic in a command role, and has turned the Impiger's marine complement in particular into a ruthless, well-drilled force.

[dakkagor]

For the penitents, how much of our gear has been destroyed or confiscated?

[Azazeal849]

I'll leave it up to you to judge what has been destroyed either on Saros or by the inquisition. Machairi should be able to get at least some of their gear released, assuming they are found not guilty...

[PaintSerf]

I'll leave it up to you to judge what has been destroyed either on Saros or by the inquisition. Machairi should be able to get at least some of their gear released, assuming they are found not guilty...

I for one hope that the Lathe blade made it.

[dakkagor]

"Its not that I don't believe in the Emperor. I just don't think he believes in me."

Name: Kally Sonder

Age: 38

Occupation: +UNDER INQUSITORIAL SCRUTINY+ Previously Psyker Counter measure and CQC specialist with secondary investigative role.

Personality: Kally swings from 'fully functional' to 'wreck' depending on the pressures on her. Under pressure, she is an ideal combatant, thriving in almost any adverse condition. Adaptable, highly trained, with a diverse portfolio of skills, and nearly invincible morale in the field, she has tempered her lone wolf behavior into being a highly adaptable team player, while still retaining the ability to be a deadly single operative. However, her dark past tends to over shadow her off time, leaving her melancholy when alone and unable to relax effectively without friends or alcohol, with the first being complicated by her Pariah aura. Over the course of Inquisitorial service she developed an addiction to Stimms. Over the course of the Wash of Black and Kaleidoscope she has started to kick this habit. More than anything, Kally is defined by her determination. There is no challenge she will back down from, and no fight she will turn away from. In fact she has proved especially dangerous at her lowest ebb, when she is willing to do anything to succeed at her mission or ensure the survival of herself and those she considers her friends.

Appearance: Kally is still an athletic 5ft 6 inches with a hivers palour, with dark brown eyes. Her old dyed hair is completely gone, her hair is now a pale sandy colour, and she wears it long in a pony tail. She has a scar running round her left eye too her cheek from a glancing sword blow, and a few more on her body that aren't readily visible.

Powers: Omega Rated Psychic Null, capable with concentration and focus of achieving Omega Minus through breathing exercises and equipment support for short bursts. As a native underhiver, she also benefits from the underhivers unique 'sixth sense', a form of spatial awareness of artificial environments that makes it difficult to ambush the subject.

Equipment:

+CURRENTLY IN INQUISITORIAL CUSTODY PENDING JUDGEMENT+

+ Scourge Pattern Boltgun: a heavily modified Boltgun with a 3 clip fire selector, scope, and integral retractable bayonet. Its generally loaded with stalker sniper rounds (low velocity penetrators designed for quiet firing) hellfire rounds and Kraken rounds. A heavy, nasty, maintenance intensive brute of a weapon, the only reason Kally carries it is its raw stopping power, excellent accuracy over long distances and formidable profile: few people want to mess with someone carrying one of these.

+ Stormtrooper Carapace armour. Thanks to training with Task Force Carbon, Kally is grav chute certified with this armour, and familiar with its maintenance and function.

+ Lathe Blade. Previously the favored weapon of Interrogator Schafer, this fine sabre is formed of an ultra-dense alloy forged in the unique gravitational surges of the Calixian Lathes. Micro-etched with pentagrammic wards, and augmented with a powerfield, this weapon is deadly and effective. Kally took it as a trophy after the incident on Hercynia.

+Two paired ‘steel burner’ laspistols, two cadian short combat knives.

+Three frag grenades and three krak grenades.

+Underhive survival kit
Consisting of flugs, photovisor contacts, grapnel and carbon-line, grip gloves, glow sticks, rad patch and a few doses of stimms, detox, Kalma and common antivenoms.


Background:
++SEALED PENDING JUDGEMENT++

Spoiler: ++INQUISITORIAL CODE ACCEPTED++ 

Agent Sonder was previously a bounty hunter in the Makitan Underhives, with expansive urban combat experience thanks to running with several gangs. After being picked up in a Black Ship sweep, and due to an error on the behalf of the recruiters, being let go again, she parlayed her unique abilities into a career hunting and killing rogue witches. After being swept up into the hunt for Lucius Pembroke, Kally was at ground zero for the destruction of Makita hive. After being interrogated and tortured by agents of Sidonis, she was recruited into his organisation, and proved herself in several cases. Examination of files and orders issued by Sidonis indicates that he wished to dispose of Sonder without alienating the other Makita survivors, possibly due to distaste at her Pariah nature. Several plans failed, and a final one was to be put into motion before the events that led up to Saros Station, and the death of Lord Inquisitor Sidonis. The Tribunal has not ruled out that these plans may have been put into play not by Sidonis, but by Explicator Nathaniel Strelilov (DEC) due to his hatred of Agent Sonder.

Currently, Kally Sonder is bound for judgement by a Tribunal of Inquisitors, and is to be held under maximum security conditions.

Noted skill sets (recovered from True Bane personnel files)
Urban Tracker
CQC Expert
Crack shot at short ranges
Acceptable shot at long ranges (noted that this 'could use some work')
Acceptable skill with demolitions, technomat, and medicae.
Poor interpersonal skills except for interrogation and intimidation work.
Acceptable skill with a sword (noted as 'should be issued a power axe, not a masterwork sword she uses like a power axe')
Reading level of 13 year old (Due to illiteracy in early life)

[dakkagor]

"Drop your weapons and pray for Mercy! You are bound for Judgement by Inquisitor Alia Machairi!

Name: Tomas Prinzel

Age: 48

Position / rank: Armsman and Bodyguard to Inquisitor Alia Machairi.

Appearance: Tomas has dark brown eyes and a mop of black hair turned to grey, with a strong nose that has been broken more than once and a strong angular jaw. Even clean shaven his face is darkened with stubble, and he maintains a short black beard.
During the fighting on Casteria, his right eye was ripped out with a chunk of his face by a genestealer cultist. While the face healed, his eye has been replaced with a functional augmetic that is rugged, but not elegant and obviously artificial. More recently, he took a bullet meant for Inquisitor Machairi, and had to have his left lung and heart rebuilt with augmetics.

Personality: Tomas is a surprisingly affable soldier, with a mordant wit and love of good cigars, good amsec and fine reading material. Tested in the fires of war, he has emerged with a strong faith in the Emperor and the Inquisition, and is loyal to his team to the point of death. Possessed of a keen mind, he spends much of his off time in scholary pursuits, and enjoys discussing Imperial philosphy and doctrine, Ecclesiarchical dogma and Imperial History. In those narrow fields he fancies himself a bit of an expert, but he can come off as boorish.

Equipment:

Cinder Crag 'Mauler' Bolt pistol

Power Bastard Sword (Casteria Patern)

Storm shield

Three Frag Grenades

Three Krak Grenades

Other:
High Capacity Data slate, equipped with data jacks and various device readers.

A surprisingly large collection of texts, including a variety of books by Gideon Ravenor and other Imperial luminaries.

Food Wand Sensor for the detection of poisons

Auspex.

Flak armour, styled as a medieval buff coat, with mesh reinforcement and solid carapace pauldrons, bracers and greaves.

Background:

Tomas was born on Casteria III, a feudal world that orbited a pale yellow star on the edge of the Ixianad sector. A well governed world by Imperial standards, Tomas parents where merchants by trade and travelled the world extensively. The third son of the family, when he showed an aptitude for maths and reading at a young age, his parents hoped he would join one of the Adepta and bring honour to their family through service to the Emperor as he stood to inherit little from his family.
However, when he was 16 his family visited the capital of Casteria III, where the grand muster of the Imperial Guard was taking place. Tanks from a nearby forgeworld painted in Casterias royal colours rolled down the streets of the city of Hyrix, with thousands of loyal Casteria Guardsmen, bound for the starport. From that day forward, he wanted to be in the Imperial guard, and a year later he joined the Casteria Royal Infantry, hoping to make the grade for the Imperial Guard during the next grand muster.
Tomas was quickly singled out for officer training, as he was of sufficient social class and possessed of some intelligence. He served faithfully in the Royal Infantry for three years before the Imperium required another regiment of Casterian Infantry. He was an obvious candidate for the newly formed regiment, and was assigned as a sergeant to an Armoured Fist unit, a prestigious posting for a merchants son. He bid his mother and father good bye, and as is the tradition in Casteria, swore an oath on his and his families honour to his monarch, Good King Edvund the XXI, that he would uphold the honour and reputation of Casteria in the wider Imperium.

The regiment, the 256th Casterian Infantry, was then shipped to the Margin Crusade, and five years of hell fighting chaos renegades under the light of the Hadex anomaly. During this time Tomas served with distinction and honour, leading his unit through thick and thin before being promoted to the rank of Lieutenant when his platoon leader was killed by a rampaging Defiler. After the bitter campaign, the regiment was cycled out and combined with the 255th Casterian Infantry, which had similarly been ripped to bits, and was unceremoniously shipped back to the Calixis sector to join the sectors war reserves.

Here his fortunes would take a change for the bizarre. Interrogator Alia Machairi was assigned to investigate a cult that had taken root amongst the various guilds of his home world of Casteria. While they where assigned to a tour on the planet Tranch, rooting out mutant subversives. Alia approached the regiments commanders and requested a squad of Guardsmen, lead by an officer 'of distinction and letters, not some common lout'. The regiments commanders immediately assigned Tomas, and a squad of his men.

On arrival on Casteria, it was obvious the situation had changed. A full scale civil revolt was in full swing, and the King was dead, his royal family in hiding. Interrogator Machairi immediately set to work and with the help and expertise of the local soldiers, quickly revealed that a genestealer cult had suborned several guilds and noble families. Summoning aid from the Deathwatch, the team retreated to Castle Hyrix and summoned reinforcements, while rallying the local noble court.

It was now that the cultists struck. Having tunnelled into the Castle dungeons, genestealer hybrids, and a few deadly purestrains, struck the court in an attempt to kill the Interrogator and her allies. The fighting was nightmarish and bloody, and Tomas was the only survivor from his squad, but through their sacrifice Interrogator Machairi survived to meet the Deathwatch reinforcements. With Machairis hard won intelligence, the Deathwatch where quickly able to purge the Genestealer infestation and free Casteria from the grip of civil war.

Tomas, for his service to the Inquisition, was offered the chance to stay on his homeworld. Indeed the royal family promised him a significant position as General of the Royal Infantry if he should chose to stay, along with noble titles and gifts of land. Staying only long enough to transfer that gift to his surviving family, he left with Interrogator Machairi, slowly becoming one of her chief agents and her primary bodyguard. Tomas has dutifully followed Machairi to the rarefied heights of power, and still serves as her body guard. He will gladly lay down his life to protect Inquisitor Alia Machairi.

[Atrum Daemon]

Name: Vizeriousyl Kopollanzitra; Always goes by Vizkop
Age: 80 standard Terran; 47 Xanith years (though he looks younger thanks to augments and juvie treatments)
Position/Rank: Mechanicus Covert/Special Operations Specialist

Spoiler: Appearance: 

Personality: Amiable, clear-headed, cool under pressure. Just a few things to describe Vizkop.

Weapons:
Custom designed pistol with integrated silencer and a grip molded for his hand.
Salusian-pattern cyber-hunter - Heavy revolver designed to take down cyborgs and other heavily-armored targets.
Twin integrated blades - Paired swords fitted into his cyberarms that can be extended and retracted at will. The blades were previously pointed tipped, but have recently been replaced with square-tipped blades. The augment also contains an integrated power field for each blade.
Xanith-pattern cyborg hunter rifle – A surprisingly elegant weapon despite the brutal purpose it is built to perform, this large caliber hunting rifle can host a suite of attachments including a tripod brace, flash suppressor, telescopic sight, etc. The weapon is designed to take down heavily-armored or cybered-up targets, but can readily be used on other targets.

Other:
Under his robes, he wears an armored body glove for protection.

In addition to standard Mechanicus implants, both Vizkop's arms are bionic as are his legs, ribs, and spine. His hearing and sight have also been enhanced through cybernetics. He has also been fitted with subdermal armour lacing for added protection.

Military-Grade Machine Empath – Vizkop is fitted with several implants to enable close communion with a machine spirit. The most recent implant being a Mind Impulse Unit to allow a more direct and faster link and better maneuvering once he has communed within the machine.

Various utility implants to aid in his missions such as noise dampeners for his legs, shielding for his eyes, and multi-spectrum vision.

High capacity data slate and auspex. One file on the data slate reads “necks broken” while another reads “colons perforated.”

Background: It has been a good five years since Vizkop last had direct contact with the Inquisition. His last direct dealing with the Inquisition was working under Interrogator Alia Machairi on Hycernia. But he never broke contact with Alia completely. Before he left Vizkop gave Alia a direct communication line to him, something he would only give to a person he invested a good measure of trust in.

The next five years he spent chasing ghosts. Ghosts that left cybernetic abominations in their wake. Ghosts with names like Oswin. From the middle of apocalyptic warzones to neck-deep in a galactic treasure hunt, Vizkop followed dead leads and a trail of corpses and false names to track down Oswin. A few conspiracies and a mound of bodies later, Vizkop was no closer to catching Oswin than when he left Hycernia.

Every so often, he checks his private communication line. As though silently hoping some form of communique will come through from the leader of a team he considered friends.

[Azazeal849]

Mr Dakkagor, first again - all kinds of accepted!

Mr AD, great to see Vizkop returning - accepted. Though a file that tallies "necks broken" seems so out of character for Vizkop that I wonder what he's really hiding in there...