In his name... Act 1.1 [Dark Heresy - For the Emperor!]

[Crocodile]

Tricorn Palace


The Tricorn is perhaps the most dreaded structure within the Calixis Sector for those who know what it is. The Inquisition has owned and operated the massive structure for ages, the stronghold of the Left Hand of the Emperor. It has stood as a firm reminder to the powers of the Sector that their loyalty lies with the Master of Mankind. It also serves as a private city for the many Inquisitors who operate within the region, the center of Inquisitorial intrigues and politics.


Currently the acolytes have been summoned to the chambers of their master, Inquisitor Grigori Thorn. Thorn was a well known though softly spoken Amalathian who hated anything that might disrupt the order of the Imperium. He also never spoke directly to acolytes unless it was important. He generally handed the group off to one of his more trusted agents. All that is known is that the summons had come and Inquisitor Thorn was waiting.

 

[Ebon_Arbiter]

Torrian "Thor" Severus


A hard day's work...a meeting with various people of even more varied morals. Then back to base of operations, shifting through endless stacks of data, searching continuously for clues, signs, patterns...And then the cold of the night, out in the balcony, a glass of amasec and the wind, cold against his skin...Hours pass...


"...and also on today's news...by the Governor was issued a command to...due to excessive crime...caused instability...and..."


The pict-screen flashed and beeped loudly.


"Damn those wake up calls, damn them for depriving me even of this little rest".





Torrian gets up, goes to the bathroom and then returns to check the message.


"Emperor's mercy, it is a summons to the Palace by my Lord himself. That doesn't sound good, must be truly serious , else he wouldn't take the risk to address us personally. Better get there as soon as possible."


Then like a well drilled soldier, or better like the exemplar arbitrator he once was, Torrian wears his uniform and vest, puts on his greatcoat and hat, secures his weapons on their holsters and heads out.


"The Emperor knows, the Emperor is watching", he murmurs as he passes near a shrine.


Let's not leave my Lord wait".

 

[Norts]

**Incoming Transmission**


Pausing in her prayers, Flavia stands. She steps over to the message console, and activates it.


To Flavia Kalta, Novice of the Adeptas Sororitas:


You are to report immediately to the offices of Inquisitor Grigori Thorn. This is not to be publicly acknowledged. You have one hour.


The Emperor's Grace with you.


Deactivating the console, Flavia quickly arms herself. As she exits her room, she says under her breath, "The Emperor's will be done." With that, she begins her passage to the Inquisitor's office.

 

[Khadavla]

To see the young damsel, hair shining from an elaborate brushing, face equisittie from subtle makeup emphesising natural beauty, one would be hard pressed to imagine the dangerous stretches and grueling excercises that had consumed her flife for the hours before, contorting her body, soaking her hair and skin with sweat, here face a rictus of self imposed agony as she strove for physical perfection.


Now wide eyes and an inocent smile made the slender girl seem a quarter meter shorter. Sometimes men visibly double taked when she passed something or some one that put her height into perspective, such as when she fell into step beside a sister of battle on the way too answer the Inquisitors summons. Nearly as tall as the more obviously fit and powerful sister of battle--a sort of woman whom men always saw, if anything, as larger than life itself, much less themselves.

 

[Norts]

Nodding without turning her head, Flavia acknowledged Devi's presence. "Acolyte. You also received the summons then? Excellent. Your skills will be very valuable, I am sure."

 

[Khadavla]

"I'm looking forewards too working with you, sister," the young woman replied, stopping at the Inquisitors office and making a gesture of great respect as she entered.

 

[Crocodile]

Inquisitor Thorn's Chamber


The chamber was dark, dimly lit by glow globes floating throughout the chamber. The wood paneled walls were carefully crafted and refined. Each panel accented by silver patterns. At the center of each wood panel was an Imperial aquila, a sign of the devotion of Inquisitor Thorn to the Imperium. The floor was made of polished black marble which reflected your images back up at you if you looked down at you. Admittedly there was also silver patterns and images carved into it all as well.


Inquisitor Grigori Thorn sat at a large desk at the front of which was a large silver emblem of the Inquisition on it. Some music drifts off through the chamber, an orchestral piece by the sound of it. The rooms seemed to have perfect acoustics as you could here it throughout the entire room. Inquisitor Thorn seemed to be humming to the music as he looks up at you.


Inquisitor Thorn looked to be in his mid-40s, though one could hardly say that was his real age. The miracle of juvenate treatments of the most premium variety were available to the Inquisition. It was only fitting the that shadowy guardians of the Imperium be able to live long to continue defending it. Thorn has a scar down the side of his face, the back of his head was entirely covered by cranial plating. He currently wore a dark green silk vest with a white dress shirt beneath that now. He reaches over and turns a dial, the music in the chamber decreases now.


"Ah good, I see you've arrived. Please be seated. What I have to say is important."

 

[Norts]

Flavia respectfully bows to the Inquisitor, then seats herself immediately. Straightening her robes she says, "I am ready to serve, Inquisitor. What must be done in the Emperor's name?"

 

[Ebon_Arbiter]

Torrian "Thor" Severus


Torrian enters the room, makes the aquila sign and bows slightly towards the Inquisitor and the other acolytes, then proceeds to sit.


"The Emperor protects my Lord. By His eternal grace I am here to serve as well".

 

[Khadavla]

Devi quietly hooked her thubs together and spread her fingers in the image of the Aquila over her heart, then bowed in quite reverance before taking a seat.

 

[Crocodile]

Thorn looks at those who had come and smiles some. He reaches into his desk and pulls out a small box from it. He taps a button on the small box and then leans back in his chair. He pulls out a pipe from a pocket and starts stuffing thoughtfully as he begins to speak.


"Now then, I'm glad you made it. I have a special assignment I need taken care of in Hive Tarsus. The reason I've chosen you is because you have all only been working for me for a short time. This means it is highly likely no one is aware of your employment with me."


Thorn pauses to put the pipe in his mouth and lights a match. He puffs several times to get it lit. He sends out a small puff of smoke before starting to speaking again, clutching the pipe in his hand, aiming its tip at the group of acolytes.


"There is some suspicious merchant activity going on in the Golden Hand. I want you to investigate it. You'll be reporting to my Interrogator, Finis Oltho. He'll meet you once you arrive there. This is to be a covert investigation as long as possible. I don't want those we're after to become aware that the Inquisition has some hint of their activity. How you go about procuring the information is not important so long as it is with faith in the Emperor. Do you have any questions?"


Thorn puffed on his pipe as he looked on at his acolytes, ready to give them what data he could for their assignment.

 

[Norts]

"I assume I must disguise my faith in my Emperor? A shameful act, but if it is necessary, then I must comply, Inquisitor."

 

[Ebon_Arbiter]

Torrian "Thor" Severus


The young arbitrator leans a bit forward and speaks.


"My Lord, if i may ask, who do you suspect that we should be after and who should we investigate - at least to begin with - in the vastness of the Goldenhand market? Is there a certain merchant or group of merchants that has drawn the Inquisition's attention in there? Was there any word from the Administratum adepts who keep a strict eye on the transactions or any other hint of warning that we should pay special heed to?


I only ask since the amount of mercantile trasactions taking place in Golden Hand are too numerous to keep an exact track of and we might be able to investigate more efficiently in case additional intel was available. Of course it'd be perfectly understandable if we were the ones to procure that intel on the first place in which case please forgive me for pestering you with all these questions.


Regarding going undercover, it shouldn't be much of a problem for me. Used to it from my days in the Adeptus Arbites and the more recent ones in Divisio Immoralis and i must say that it sure is a fruitful tactic in many cases. Emperor willing we may be able to dig up some useful clues regarding the situation you mentioned.


Finally, any code word or other identification procedure for our meeting with your interrogator?"

 

[Khadavla]

Devi steepled her fingers and listened, wanting too hear the answer to this before she asked questions of her own.

 

[Crocodile]

"On the contrary, faith is a good thing in this case. However I must ask you hide your connection to the Sisterhood. If our target gets even a sniff of Soroitas activity things could get very ugly," Thorn noted in reply to Flavia.


He then listened to Torrian's questions and comments, puffing on his pipe some. He then nodded some after considering what information to give out.


"Yes, you'll be going after a Factor of the Machenko Dynasty. He goes by the name Zerek Nalbom. Mister Nalbom it seems has a bad habit of turning up right before certain members of the clergy suffer sudden and unexpected deaths. Some look like accidents, others not so much. What is clear though is that Zerek Nalbom has always been on world each time a death has occurred."


Inquisitor Thorn tapped a button on his desk to activate the holoprojector mounted in the ceiling. A life-sized hologram of Zerek Nalbom is displayed, moving in occasional jerks of motion to demonstrate what ticks and tendencies has has. Inquisitor Thorn was up now, walking over to the projection.


"This fellow and his whole rotten dynasty have alway had some dark history. But now I fear he may be part of something much more deeply rooted and dangerous. Tell me, are any of you familiar with the phrase 'Tending towards the Temple?'"

 

[Norts]

Bowing her head, Flavia says to the Inquisitor, "As always, you are correct sir. I will let my faith in the Emperor armor me against iniquity."

 

[Ebon_Arbiter]

Torrian "Thor" Severus


Torrian listens intently to the Inquisitor , studies the picture of the suspect and then thinks a bit on that phrase he mentioned.


Perhaps a phrase common among criminals, members of the local Underworld or merely a saying of the common folk. In any case, he couldn't recall it in his memory.


"No sir. I can't say that I am. Regarding your suspicions though on the Machenko Dynasty, i can't help but remember the dynasty's troubled past. After their founder was accused and executed for heresy, witchcraft and impiety and burned at the stake, the shadow of taint hangs heavy over their shoulders and maybe more than just blood runs in their family lineage".

 

[Khadavla]

"I'm not familiar with the phrase either, sir."


Devi wasn't skilled with writing, or she would take notes. Instead, she listened intently and actively processed the information to memorize it as best as she could.

 

[Crocodile]

"It is a phrase with certain dangerous connotations. It means that something seems a bit too close to the Temple of the Saviour Emperor. The Imperium has seen religious schism on a level that almost destroyed it once. But born out of it was the Ordo Hereticus and the Adepta Sororitas," Thorn replied as he nodded towards Flavia.


"The Ecclesiarchy we know today was born out of the Reformation of Sebastian Thor. It operates under Thor's teachings. The last Ecclesiarch of the Temple of the Saviour Emperor was Goge Vandire, the man responsible for the Age of Apostasy and the infamous Reign of Blood. The Ecclesiarchy of that time was bloated with power and then it fell into the hands of that maniac, Vandire. The Imperium was almost torn asunder by that. We were shown that no single Imperial organization could ever be allowed to have such power and influence again," Thorn replied with cold determination.


"The Temple of the Saviour Emperor is heresy. It challenges the edicts and authority not only of the Ecclesiarchy but also the Imperium. It would see the Temple rise again to dominate us all. I fear this merchant may have links to an organization bent on the resurrection of the Temple. But we need more proof and more to the point, we need to stop these killings."

 

[Ebon_Arbiter]

Torrian "Thor" Severus


"This is a grave danger indeed my Lord. All I can promise is that i'll do my duty to the Emperor, the Holy Ordos and you, and hopefully, alongside the esteemed companions that are present here, we'll manage to find some hard evidence that will lead to the purging of these heretics once and for all. Would you like us to exercise additional caution or special investigation methods given the fact we'll be investigating the dealings of a powerful noble house's scion?"

 

[Crocodile]

Inquisitor Thorn


"I can only caution you to move carefully. The Machenko Dynasty is very powerful in their own right. The people involved in this even more so. Subtlety is the key here, aside from that I will leave it up you how to precisely acquire the information. We must finds leads to pursue this more deeply."

 

[Ebon_Arbiter]

Torrian "Thor" Severus


"Understood my Lord. I also suppose that assuming my Arbites identity would be out of the question since it would alert them that the authorities are investigating them, although i intend to use this ID to try and see if i can learn something from my old arbitrator colleagues.


Aside from that and given the fact that we'll probably have to move and act incognito, i'll probably pose as an off worlder merchant's liaison and confidant, who would like to assess the general situation in the Golden Hand before moving in to invest. Hopefully i might learn more information this way, as well as get close to the killing sites and combining that with my Arbites contacts i might be able to see the bodies, recognize a pattern and move on from there.


So, when do we leave for our destination?"

 

[Norts]

"An excellent idea, Torrian. Perhaps then I could pose as a personal bodyguard? Devi would easily pose as, say, a hired assassin, or problem-solver." Flavia cants her head as she finishes, awaiting his reply.

 

[Ebon_Arbiter]

Torrian "Thor" Severus


"Thank you for the appreciation sister Flavia. It is truly an honour to be given the chance to cooperate with one such as you, touched by the Emperor's grace and having unwielding faith to our Emperor. And with you as well *he turns towards Devi* my lady. It is true that the Emperor wills all things, even death and some deaths He wills faster than others. You are executing His divine will just as i uphold His law and justice".


*Turns again to sister Flavia* "might i also add that your proposition is exactly to the point. From what i've heard from my old colleagues, the best way to move unhindered inside the Golden Hand marketplace is to have, and demonstrate that you have, adequate personal security. As such i don't think that the confidant of a wealthy merchant accompanied by his capable bodyguards and looking to his patron's best interests will cause any suspicions".

 

[Crocodile]

"Well then since you have the details and you seem to be ready to set things in motion, I will leave you to it. You will leave tomorrow for Hive Tarsus. My Interrogator will meet you at the spaceport and greet you with a special data chip. You will have the datapad that will decode it. If it doesn't decode, its not him and you be wary."


Thorn offers a supportive smile.


"This is a dangerous mission but I put my faith in the Emperor and your abilities that this will turn out well. The Emperor protects," Thorn says, forming an aquila with his hands now.