Dark Heresy: Cell Achates

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Elleantra was pleased to see her flamer in its proper condition, and entered the pod after Larl. She picked up the weapon, looking it over and seeing if anything was out of place. She turns the weapon over, running her fingers across the Fleur-de-Lis that was on the side, the familiar holy metal putting her mind at ease. She straps the weapon to herself under her cloak, giving a sharp nod before leaving the pod. "Once you all have your weapons, we should make haste towards our objective." She keeps her words vague in case anyone else might have been listening, before she steps back from the pod, allowing others some entrance.
 
Wilhelm entered next, taking the case containing his sniper rifle, snapping open the catches long enough to inspect the weapon before sealing it away, he didn't need the local yokels knowing what he was toting, having done that he strapped to his back and examined the Veloxic running his hands over it like an old friend. Debating whether to take it with them, or leave it with the pod. Finally he slipped out of the pod as that damnable pen-pusher entered taking the exotic webber from its niche.
 
Merrez followed the others into the container, hoping there'd be enough room for them all. He walked over to where his things were, quickly swung on his backpack, glad that he hadn't had to carry it by himself until now. Then he picked his lasrifle and a power-pack from the wall, and slid the pack home, only to hear the familiar, and satisfying buzz from the weapon. He firmly believed it to be it's machine spirit enjoying a good meal. He clicked the safety on, swung it onto his back, and started picking down power-packs to put in his vest, quickly filling many of the pockets. He took a deep drag of his stick, before heading out of the container with a small grin, glad to finally be armed again.
 
The chipper scribe smile widened at Larl's comment. "Aww, thanks!" The other scribes nearby rolled their eyes. One groaned audibly, though the chipper scribe either failed to notice or ignored it. "I'm quite unaugmented," she said, turning her head, showing off her ponytail and lack of cybernetics. "I've never really needed them, and I'm rather proud that." She beamed for a moment before realizing she may have inadvertently insulted the techpriest. "N-not that I don't want them, it's just that I don't need them, and I can't exactly afford them right now, and- oh I'm rambling, sorry." She blushed, embarrassed.

Once everyone had retrieved their equipment from the cargo pod, the scribe who found it latched it shut and left it, presumably until a sentinel could come by and bring it back. As they headed off to the spaceport hub, the cheery scribe said, "Have an Emperor blessed day!"

Once they arrived, it only took them a moment to spot the Chimera idling nearby. This tank still had its weapons, unlike the salamander they had seen Sergeant Vinker on. Two Gendarmes with lascarbines waited by the open back hatch of the tank, along with two more sitting on veloxic bikes, painted the same beige, light gray and red of their armor.
 
Canto had missed most of the encounter with the scribe, given that he had nothing to keep in the cargo pod. It was a little comforting to always have everything he needed on his person, regardless of what vulnerability might come with not packing heavier weaponry. Not that it mattered much, however; his fellow Acolytes had more than enough.

Upon reaching the location of the Chimera, Canto called out towards the Gendarmes,

"We have returned. Where is Sergeant Vinker?"
 
"He's out performing his patrols." One of the gendarmes said, saluting. Another gendarme emerged from the tank, saluting as well and introducing himself. "Arbitrators, I'm Corporal Kelick. Sergeant Vinker has assigned us to be your guides and escorts."
 
Iudex sat there for the entirety of the scribe's ramble on the bureaucracy that kept the Empire running at the snail's pace that it did. He had heard similar speeches thousands of times and had learned to almost completely tune them out. When the pod finally arrived, Iudex waited a moment for the others to grab their kit before gleefully reuniting himself with his rifle and his shotgun. He quickly loaded their magazines, but did not chamber either of the weapons. He had grown accustom to instead of using the safety, to chamber a round before engaging in combat. With his rifle in hand, and his shotgun attached to his back, he approached the Chimera.

"Send the Sergeant our thanks, Corporal." Now with his weapons in hand, Iudex stood with a touch more confidence speaking to the gendarmes. "I'd ask you and your men to keep the matters of our investigation as private as possible. This discretion will help us to work as quickly as possible in our investigation. The quicker we finish, the sooner we leave the system and allow you to get back to doing what you need to, instead of driving us around." He let out a bit of a friendly smile, trying to convey some sympathy as the man no doubt rather be doing just about anything other than taxiing Iudex and his team around.
 
"Of course, Arbitrator. I'll be sure to pass along your thanks." Corporal Kelick nodded. "So, where to? The Halls of Justice? Bastion Primis? The Precinct Fortress?"
 
The Sororitas gives a slight sigh, before walking up to the side of the APC. "We need to visit a merchant. One Lucian Fantz. We were told he has information for us. So that is where we will be headed, Corporal Kelick. I hope that is not too much trouble?" She straps the flamer to her chest so she doesn't have to carry it during the trip to the merchant towers. She gave the Chimera a look over, raising an eyebrow. She wasn't much of a fan of the transport, usually preferring Rhino transports, though she did not disrespect the vehicle. It was, after all, a solid choice in vehicles.
 
Phillipe consulted his dataslate, unfortunately that really was all they had on the contact, fortunately this was not a hive world, so the chances of there being a million people with the same name combination was pretty slim, least of all that many in the trade industries, "I could also use access to the planetary census database, along with any missing persons records you happen to possess, a cross-correlation of records might turn up additional information missed by others. Build up a record of missing persons, cross-reference their weight, height, gender, places of work, married or unmarried, age, childbearing status, known relatives...." he considered further, "additionally I require access to immigration and visitation records for the past twelve months terran sidereal calendar, focus on those who have not left the planet as well as starship traffic records for the same period, especial notice to be given towards vessels whose visits were unscheduled and those operating under Rogue Trader warrants." Phillipe paused for breath and to consider if anything further was required.

He thought about it....

"Oh, and copies of any missing persons reports along with the particulars of people who have filed them." He snapped his fingers.
 
"Lucius Fantz? Yeah, he's pretty well known, though I'd hardly call him just a 'merchant'. Merchant Prince, more like." One of the gendarmes muttered something under his breath.

"Uh, right, hold on a second." Corporal Kelick pulled out a pen and paper and tried to get down all of Phillipe's requests. "...Okay. Think I got it all. For that information, we'd need to head to the Hall of Justice, and that may take some time. However, if you're going to see Master Fantz, he has a bit of pull around here, so he might be able to pull some strings for you, make your requests move faster, assuming your meeting with him goes well, I guess."
 
The gendarme muttered sarcastically, "Robber Baron, more like."
 
Larl felt a slight hinge of disappointment when he heard that she was excessively proud of not needing any technology to aid her. Perhaps it was due to his own urge of replacing his own flesh with technology, or just being able to speak with someone else having cybernetics had been denied. None the less, he was glad for her. "No need to worry, I took no offense. And perhaps you have no need for cybernetics, then. You should be proud of that, you're perfect enough just as the Emperor created you, so that you might not need any cybernetics in the future. Otherwise, you can always improve on things with cybernetics."

Just when he got the all-clear talk to move out, and her blessings, he walked away, but stopped slightly. He gave the Scribe a smirk, before raising his right mechadendrite at her, doing a waving motion with it. "May the Emperor protect you."

When he well came upon the Corporal, his suspicions immediately skyrocketed. Earlier he may have ignored his usual thought-patterns with a new team, a new planet and all that, but a suspicious mind is a healthy mind. And now, he thought it was a good time to be suspicious. Perhaps they only thought about the Arbitrators, perhaps there was someone else pulling the strings... Maybe this entire planet needed an Exterminatus upon it. Only time and the investigation could tell. In the meantime, he kept his eyes (and Optical mechadendrite) moving as much as they could in order to scout the area.

"Right. We probably want to head for Lucas Fantz. Perhaps have some of us... moving elsewhere." He looked over at the Corporal for a second, before proceeding to investigating the environment with his eyes.
 
Tessera had kept quiet for the most part of the journey to Scaeveola Prime, and she had stayed that way when the Acolytes made their way planetside. Once on the planet, she was happy to be reunited with her shotgun, cradling it gently in her lower arms while her upper arms held her chainaxe. It wasn't the most sophisticated weapon, but it was her weapon, and that was all that mattered in her mind. Following along with the rest of the group, she made sure to keep her distance from the accursed Blank, just to be safe. While she didn't intend to use her gifts just yet, she still felt uneasy being near a Blank, even if he was a fellow Acolyte.

As a few of the other Acolytes conversed with Corporal Kelick about Lucius Fantz, Tessera merely stood nearby, thinking about how her life had been changed thanks to the generosity of Inquisitor Case. She'd been an abomination and a witch before, but now she was an Acolyte of the Inquisition. It seemed the Emperor truly did provide for the devoted after all, even if the devoted were mutants such as herself. She would prove herself worthy of Inquisitor Case's generosity, for now though, the Acolytes would need to meet with Lucius Fantz, and so she waited for the group to begin moving again.
 
"Alright, let's get moving." Corporal Kelick said, boarding the chimera and gesturing for the acolytes to follow. Once they entered, the two gendarmes standing guard boarded and closed the ramp. Corporal Kelick moved towards the front and gave the driver their destination. The chimera lurched forward and they were on their way. The acolytes couldn't see much through the gun slits of the APC, but they did see plenty of buildings passing by, along with plenty of civilian traffic. Going by their lack of stops, it seemed like they had their own private lane of traffic.

"Sorry for the light protection detail," Kelick said, poking his head back into the passenger compartment. "Most of the Monument Gandarmerie has been mopping up a rankless riot that started two days ago. The rest are guarding state interests and making sure that the rankless gangs that stirred up trouble aren't trying anything else."
 
Hearing about this, Canto would ponder for a moment. These riots were new information, and depending on their relevance and pull, might interfere with their investigation. From the back of the Chimera, where he'd chosen to reside, he shifted a little so that he could look at the corporal, and clearing his throat a bit to call Kelick's attention, he asked, softly but loud enough to be heard,

"Corporal, these riots you mention, elaborate on them, if you will. Has the Adeptus Arbites been notified of these developments? Please enlighten us as to your Gendarmerie too, Corporal. Part of the P.D.F.?"
 
"Of course." Corporal Kelick pulled out a dataslate and began reading a situation report.

"Two days ago, at roughly 11:00 hours, an unlawful assembly of rankless was detected moving from the slums towards the city center, supposedly in protest of the new Votive Offerings Tax. The Monument Riot Gendarmes were dispatched to halt their progress and disperse the crowd, blockading the Jormagundran Way. The protesters encountered the MRG there at approximately 11:45 hours. The protesters began hurling rocks and debris at the MRG, but soon escalated to firebombs. Once that happened, at 12:10 hours the MRG engaged the protesters, chasing them back into the slums. Unfortunately, once they entered the slums at 12:55 hours, they were ambushed by rankless gangs, and the protest erupted into a full blown riot. At 13:15 hours, the Monument Gendarmerie was deployed en mass into the slums to quell the riot and assist the MRG. The Arbites deployed in support at 14:00 hours, and by 18:00 hours, Bastion Primis declared the situation fully under control. The Gendarmes have been engaging in crackdowns on the gangs involved for the past two days, supervised by the Arbites. We're still on heightened alert and likely will be for the next week, possibly longer, depending on how the situation develops."

"Also, the Gendarmes are a branch of the PDF. We receive different training and equipment, but we all trained at the P/SDF Academy on Dextra, one of our moons. The best of the PDF go on to the Guard Academy on our other moon, Sinestra."
 
Elleantra raises an eyebrow at the rather detailed report. Usually, in her experience, details are lost on the way up the beurocratic ranks, but it seems that this one had no such meddling. Perhaps it was a direct report? Regardless, she leaned forward, resting her flamer across her lap, before adressing the corporal. "Was there anything unusual about the riot, or the events leading up to it? It seems a bit much to riot over a taxation. And the way they lured the GRM into the slums... That seems a bit too organized for a simple protest and subsequent riot. Do you have any suspects of worthy note, currently detained or otherwise?" She lists off some questions, feeling that there was more to this than a simple protest.
 
Iudex chuckled when Elleantra questioned the motives of the riot. "Oh, wouldn't you look at that? The the Ecclesiarchy once again doubts how far lawless scum fucks will go for a bit of money." Iudex lit another of his lho-sticks and took a drag before continuing. "I've been an Arbitrator for years, and you know one thing I've learned in those years? Its that those that have no wish to follow the Emperor's laws have a special distaste for his taxes. The number of times I've been called in to act as a tax collector is insane. Now, stop me if I start to get heretical, but I grew up poor. Absolutely god damn broke, and in a world full of people that would rob you just as soon as say hello just because they wanted a little more money. That's all it was about, money. But then I joined the Arbites, and guess what I saw? That even old, rich, slimy pieces of scum, would willingly harm their Empire to make a little more money. So yeah sister, believe the man when he tells you the scum of the world rioted over a new tax."
 
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