Fellowship of the Dice

The skull drone flies away vanishing off into the darkness of the passage. A moment of building confidence, and Haxtes then returns to his bunk in the barracks where those of the order of his rank live. Tomorrow will come quickly, and he will be ready...

*** The Next Day ***

The appointed hour nears, and Haxtes the Technographer has made his way to the location scribbled on the paper. It is a section of the higher-mid hive of Sibellus, and while not far above the sky might be visible from those hab block, here, deep in the city there is no sun, no stars, no moon, only the weight of the city pressing down on one. The trip has been uneventfull, a few transit changes, and the Tech Priest stands double checking his direction, the numbers on the side of the metal alloy buildings count out various number: HR45-IJ78 heading north, and GG45-01 heading south, while five more similarly labeled tunnels through the Hive 'claerly' mark the hub that Haxtes stands in. Several of the passages are blocked by heavy iron portcullis, with Imperial Guard standing watch behind them. Others lead into rubble or ruin, but the pass the Tech Priest requires heads north and is open to travel.

Haxtes idly wonders about the Acolytes. Undoubtedly he will be destroying mutants and rooting out Chaos. It is strange. He wonders if there will be any time to find the Machine Souls and study them. The Techrographer fingers his laspistol beneath his robe, having long understood the soul of his weapons. It is in their nature to wish to kill and protect. Undoubtedly they will finally get their chance. He is happy for them.

Without further delay, Haxes continues along the passage north toward the assigned meeting place.

At the appointed hour, Haxtes has made his way through the bustling faceless masses of the Administratum quarter to an unmarked service elevator platform set in the rear of a vast and imposing building covered in bas-reliefs of skulls, half draped urns and other symbols of death, crowned by an immense statue of a weeping saint. It appears that you are expected; the wizened face of the platform's inbuilt servitor studies you and pronounces "Pass" as you climb on board. As your superiors implied, you are not the only person called to task here, and you must wait for the others to arrive, as several thongs of passerbys travel the streets here ignoring you and leaving you to stand in silence on the platform.

The doors on the lift open, the echo of the servitor on the outside are heard in muffled voice through the doors. "Pass". The doors open and a woman stands there, the first of the others have arrived....

The door to the platfom frames a tall, athletically built woman. Her pressed uniform, riot helmet and badge mark her as an Adeptus Arbite. Her grey eyes scan the area, resting on the Priest for a moment, and then contiune on. An over/under shotgun, with bayonet, is slung across her back, the sling holding numerous shells. On her belt hangs a baton, with an autosnub holstered on the other side. Long, raven black hair is held in a ponytail and snakes out from beneath her helmet. One of the most striking features about her, is the angular tatoos that run from her left forehead, down the side of her face and neck, disappearing under her collar. She is an attractive woman, but a hardness about her makes her features somewhat sharp. With a measured step, she walks to the side of the man here and slips her thumbs behind her belt. Watching him from the corner of her eye, "Greetings Priest of the Mechanicus. I am Trooper Solaria Limentus of the South Precinct, Level 13. Am I to understand we are here under the orders of the Inquisition?" Her tone is mellow and open, showing years of talking and dealing with people.

The red robes of the Tech-Priest covers much of his body, and likely biotics. Unlike many Tech-Priests, this one has minimal implants that can be seen by the Arbite. He has a respirator covering his nose and mouth, and two thick tubes at the back of the base of his head. His head is shaven bald, exposing the pale features of one that is removed from the bright lights of the clear sky. He might have been handsome, once, or maybe he still is, but the mask covering a portion of his face makes it difficult to tell.

"I am under the orders of only Mechanicus," the man answers, his voice sounding robotic through the respirator unit. "I come to aid the Inquisition, however, so your logic is only flawed by forty-five percent."

"I see. I have a feeling that our destinies are intertwined, none-the-less. It is a pleasure to serve the Imperium's Justice with one of the Mechanicus. Tell, me... From where do you hail?" The tall woman looks over to the Priest, now, taking him in. There is no change in face at the sight of tubes and face pieces. She had long ago learned to accept people for their appearances.

The strange voice replies, though everything else about his body is very still. His fingers do not twitch, his eyes do not blink, and if he has lips, they are concealed beneath his mask.

"No world of import. Destroyed, for the most part, years ago. I have not been informed of any recolonization plans. I have not sought such information as it is not useful and a mere sentiment of emotion which clouds the mind of logical interpretation and calculation."

He does not share any feelings of destiny or pleasure. Nor does the Tech-Priest ask any personal details of the woman at all.

The Arbite continues to study the priest a moment longer before settling back to waiting. A quiet man, but then again, quiet men have their uses. She fingers the metal hoop on the butt of her pistol. Normally their would be a loop of cord connecting that to her epaulette's, but Solaria long since fell out of that habit. Having had someone try to choke you with it, more than once, will change you mind often enough. Now, it's just a twitch. One she performs when she let's her nerves get the better of her....

While the woman is speaking to the Tech-Preist, the door to the lift opens once again. The muffled voice of the inbuilt servitor can be heard, "Pass". There standing in the doorway is an unknown man, Jericus is his name. Inside the lift stand the two, a woman and a man. Apparently the Inquisition is gathering several folks together, this the staging area.