The wall lights within Aviza's personal quarters that were positioned above her twin size bed were now slightly dimmed, filling the room with a soft warm glow. Sitting in the left hand corner of the room at her desk, Celestian Superior Aviza was reading over the message Canoness Andromedai Morgenstern had sent her for the third time. The two of them had planned to take part in the Erathellian campaign together, but this changed everything. Of course, she could handle the Erathellian campaign with the support of her retinue but having her older sister by her side had a certain mental effect upon her. Standing up and pushing the chair she had been sitting on back to its proper position under her desk, Aviza turned to leave, switching off the lights within her room as she did. There was no time to waste, heading down to the docking bay to meet with the rest of her retinue was at the top of her to do list.

Upon entering docking bay AS-383 where Aviza's personal and heavily customized gunship was being prepped for its departure, the Sister of Battle noticed that she was the first to arrive. This would give her time to give orders to the Tech-priests who were already insuring everything would run smoothly for her and her retinue. Adding additional weapons for close air support as well as additional heavy weaponry was ordered, and would be swiftly followed. Not wanting to take any chances, Aviza made sure that her ship would be prepared for any threats they may come across while within the Erathellian system.

Having her back turned to the entrance of docking bay AS-383, Celestian Superior Aviza would not be able to notice anyone arrive. For the moment, she was to focused upon the Typhon as its systems and weaponry were being upgraded. Her eyes would travel from the small data-pad she held in her right hand, then to the Typhon, and then back again. The data-pad showed a live-feed of important information for all systems of the gunship, and the Sister of Battle would only accept perfect readings coming from each area of the ship before departing.

"Ah!" Vala suddenly jolted to a sitting position from as she woke up from her nightmares. She was breathing heavily as she regained her bearings and looked around her room. It was the same as she had left it when she went to sleep. The door was still secured tightly by a magnetic lock she put together just to secure it, because she trusted those buckets of bolts that called themselves techpriests about as much as she'd trust a daemon or rather she might trust the daemon more... It hadn't been once or twice her defenses caught someone trying to get inside the room and she did have a bug or two on occasion in hte past. Techpriests hated her guts and to most of them she was ready to return in kind. She was just as worthy to tinker and deal with technology as any of them!

She moved her feet off the side of the bed and sat properly, rubbing her face with her hands. Bare skin revealed from her sleepware, feeling the coolness of the air. It's been quite a bit of time already since she entered the services of the inquisition... how long was it? A few years now? She still had nightmares. The initiation into the inquisition wasn't the nicest thing ever, especially since they found her so near chaos vessels. She was proved, studied, interrogated in many ways until she was deemed safe from chaotic corruption. And she suspected she was not exectured on the spot simply because of luck back then. Anyways it didn't matter anymore, but honestly those 'studies' left a huge scar on her, nto so much physical as mental. And she was fine physically only because they did a good job.

Taking a deep breath, she walked into the shower unit, and took a breif shower before she moved over to her usual equipment for a mission and changed into it. With the suit and armored secured, she got her weapons in place and no one could call her unprepared. She had a lot of weapons on herself. Better be safe than sorry, was her motto and she was still alive because of it.

As she opened the door of her room, she saw a servitor 'innocently' milling about with some tasks. She narrowed her eyes, sighed and then did an eyeroll. No doubt it was placed here to keep an eye on her or something else. She was going to have to do a sweep of her room when they return later... If they dared mess with ehr stuff while she was gone, she was going to show them what she thought of their tech heresies opinions and this time with 50% more explosions...

She closed the door of her room behind herself and proceeded to attach the magnetic lock on it for good measure, before pulling a pen and a note from ehr pockets, scribbling.' It explodes if tempered. Try unlocking this one.' And attached it to the device before heading off to the hangar where they were to meet up for the upcoming mission. Needless to say it was likely her 'owner' would recieve a very disgruntled message from teh tech priests of the place at a later date... as usual. But no matter what, she WAS in service of the fucking inquisition, so the bags of bolts couldn't touch her none of her devices had proved any of hteir claims for heresy so far and they wouldn't.

As she entered the hanger she spotted her Celestian Superior Aviza, doing some preparations about hte mission of her own. Vala, made a note to step heavier to signal her arrival as she walked to a nearby crate that she decided to use as improvised table and started going through her gear there. Mostly confirming there wasn't any issue with the cells for the sniper. A while back one was defective and she nearly ended blowing off both her hands. Somehow a recharged by fire cell ended up in her supply. Vala was sure it was teh techies, hadn't had a proof though.

The sharp click of metal heels and the slight grinding of the dark brown jumpsuit beneath a set of silver ceramite half-plate armor were the first cues of the psyker as she entered into the hangar shortly after the mercenary.

Moving like snakes around her would be a pair of servo skulls with long, black metal spines that flowed through the air akin to eels in water. The psyker in question was tall; a pure, white ponytail jutted out from the back of her full helmet and down past her tattered blue cloak to her lower back. A skull adorned the front of her helmet, with a red imperial V printed at the center of the skull, just above a pair of black eye sockets where the ghostly blue lumen light shone from a pair of optic sensors within the helmet. She was well built, a bit more narrow shoulders but wider and powerful hips. Scrolls and papers hung from rings to her armor and cloak, inscribed with various written wards and rites of banishment. A heavy, iron-bound grimoire sat on her hip; hung by a belt that ran across her torso; and in her right hand, she carried a slightly bent dark wood psyker staff; a unique conglomeration of simple wood adorned with multiple wires and small devices beneath a small figurine representing a watchful, open eye.

As she stepped into the hangar area, her two servo-skulls split up, fanning out on either side of her and scanning her surroundings. Adrianne too spared a glance around herself, just in case so no truck driven by an idiot servitor would 'accidentally' run her over. Alas, the notion of safety regulations seemed a foreign concept to the tech priests of Mars so well as the average imperial facility.

Having reassured herself there were no wild servitor-trucks or other pieces of heavy machinery running amok, Adrianne eventually turned her attention to the over-equipped mercenary sitting by one of the crates.

"Tech-heretek-" Adrianne's voice distorted by the metallic echo of her mask as she gave a nod towards the mercenary.

Vala was a curious case, the Psyker thought. Why Inquisition had chosen to take her on baffled the Psyker's sensibilities. While Vala certainly had the same enthusiasm for technology as any tech priest; the fact remained she was not a tech priest; her ratio of technical knowledge versus cybernetic implants and body modifications was disproportionate by any Mechanicus standards. A thought crossed Adrianne's mind that perhaps the reason the Inquisition had chosen her was because they wanted to reduce the Priesthood of Mars's influence on their operation as much as possible, but the fact that they would potentially have to leave their equipment maintenance in the hands of a heretek did not inspire much confidence in Adrianne regardless.

"Celestian Superior Aviza, I, Psyker Adrianne, have arrived." Adrianne announced, instead turned her attention towards the sister of battle currently consumed by her preparations.

"She will fall,-"

A whispering voice like broken glass coated with sugar slithered through Adrianne's mind when her gaze fell on Aviza, yet the Psyker only tilted her head slightly, ignoring it.

Something about the Sisters of Battle always unnerved the Psyker. While they may appear good hearted and even naive when you talked to them, they also had a tendency to be aloof and melodramatic. It was possible to have a perfectly good working relationship with a member of their order, only for them to suddenly turn around and run off because of some 'omen' or 'prophecy'. Beyond the extreme inconvenience such almost random behaviour might create, it was also incredibly irksome to Adrianne, because unlike some regular guardsman, Adrianne was the only one among these blunts who might credibly be able to read the future! ... at least to a certain degree.

Within the rather spartan quarters of the resident Krieg Engineer, Ansgar Staudinger sat at a work bench that he had requested to expediate efforts on maintaining his various equipment. Mainly explosives, but whatever tools he might be tasked with using would see maintenance here. Currently, he was ensuring his shotgun was in as well maintained of a working order as possible. They had notorious failures in their mechanical action, hence the near religious attention that was paid to ensuring it was in smooth working order whenever possible. Even if that was quickly thrown out the window whenever knee deep in the muck of a trench or wading through a half collapsed underground network of saps and tunnels. Rare for a Kriegsman, he was currently not wearing either helmet or rebreather, the latter hanging about his neck while the helmet rested on the workbench corner. The room was secured, so it was a rare case of being able to let the mask down and work without the obstruction of viewing through the rebreather.

After reassembling the shotgun, the Kriegsman checked the time. He was due to report to the hanger for the next mission, and he took a breath before donning the trademark rebreather and helmet of the Death Korp, going from an individual to another masked, faceless soul of the Death Korp in two smooth, practiced movements. Next came his kit, a duffel bag full of explosives, including several demolition charges, frags, and krak grenades, being slung over a shoulder to rest on his right hip. The bayonet, and entrenching tool, were already resting in their positions on his left hip. Before the shotgun, Ansgar grabbed a pick axe that had served him well during entrenching and sapping operations and slung it into the loop on the left side of his back. Lastly was the Mark 22c he had finished doing maintenance on, slinging it over his right shoulder. At this point, barring the backpack that would carry various miscellaneous items that, for most missions, was left in his quarters these days, there was nothing indicating that this empty room was lived in.

Departing the room and sealing it behind him, the Kriegsman marched down from the living quarters to the hanger where it seemed several members of the retinue had already arrived. First to be noted was their resident psyker, an unnaturally tall Adrianne Valenthin. Sanctioned psykers were a rarity among the regiments of Krieg, mainly since actually assigning an external individual outside the standard Commissars was not only extraordinarily rare, but a rather cruel act even by Imperial standards, so he had limited dealings with those mutants that could wield the powers of the warp. So long as it remained in the Emperor's service, however, the Kriegsman would brook no complaints nor arguments. His greetings were muffled and professional, the former due to the rebreather, the latter out of habit. "Ma'am."

Stepping past her, next was the tech heretek. Ansgar was not a fan of her, less so than he was of the psyker, since at least the psyker was a part of official doctrine. The mercenary was being used to fill the same role as the Tech Priests would, something that invited a great deal of trouble should they find themselves in the company of actual Mechanicus forces. Orders were orders, however, and as long as they remained in line with the needs of the Imperium, it would be a presence he would stomach with no resistance. He would maintain his own equipment still, however, that much was certain. Much like before, the greeting was almost a carbon copy of the one aimed at the psyker from before. Almost, since there was slightly more chill in the word than with the psyker. "Ma'am."

Lastly, but by far from the least, was the leader of their retinue and a welcome sight as far as the Kriegsman was concerned. Celestian Superior Aviza Morgenstern, a Sister of Battle and a senior in rank one at that, would likely prove to be an anchor point in any combat line they formed. Power armor helped, but force of presence had equal play in that as well. A pious sister of battle, powerful and unrelenting, often tempted and cowed the common heretic in equal measures, to prove themselves in felling such a warrior, or left them quivering in the face of the Emperor's wrath. He'd served alongside her kind before, though he was sworn into secrecy over all but the vaguest statements, not that he was ever comfortable discussing what had happened during that campaign. It would be telling that when Tyranids were the least of the threats present, the system had been in dire straits indeed. Mentally shaking those thoughts from his head, he saluted the Celestian Superior, being the only actual superior present despite referring to the other two as ma'am as well. "Ma'am, Trooper 17431, Ansgar Staudinger, reporting for duty."

"Celestian Superior Aviza Morgenstern, we have finished installing the modifications upon the Typhon that you requested. We will now be taking our leave to return to our normal duties." One of the four Tech-Priests who remained within docking bay AS-383 had approached Aviza, his crimson red robes flowing behind him as he moved across the metallic floor. Without waiting for a reply, the Tech-Priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus swiftly took their leave from the hanger, leaving Celestian Superior Aviza Morgenstern alone with her retinue.

With her back still turned to her squad, Aviza would finely acknowledge their presence. "There are only four of us this time around, I may have to request additional support. Then again, I have seen each of you in combat and have come to trust in your abilities." The Celestian kept her back turned, walking forward a couple of steps, trying to get a better look at her gunship and it's new modifications. "As I am sure you noticed, my gunship has had custom modifications installed into it for this mission. These include more than just weapons though, as you will see soon enough." The data-pad that Aviza had been using to review all of the Typhons internal and external systems, was placed back inside of its compartment upon her armor before she motioned with her right hand for the retinue to follow her onto her custom gunship.

The Typhon, was a Thunderhawk that had been stripped of most of its parts and completely redesigned to Aviza Morgensterns specifications. Unlike normal Thunderhawks, this redesign had a much more sleek look to it, and was quite a bit larger. Almost all of its systems had been greatly upgraded, allowing it to outperform most other ships. Along side these changes, the interior had a much more clean and comfortable look to it, a farcry from other ships in the Imperium of man.

Stepping to the right side of the Typhon would reveal its entrance, a small door that when closed, could not be seen from the exterior. Aviza was the first to step inside, being very careful to not disturb any of the doors mechanisms as she did. Once inside, she would make her way to the cockpit, quickly taking a seat and strapping herself in. The seating within the gunships cockpit would consist of three rows of two seats. The first two were for the pilot and co-pilot, while the other four were for the passengers.

The Typhon remained stationary for the moment, though the cockpit was now illuminated with a dull azure blue, giving Aviza Morgenstern and whoever had decided to take co-pilot the time to run a full pre-flight check. "I do hope you all have what belongings you wish to bring with you upon this mission, for we won't be returning for quite a while." said Aviza, while checking that the Typhons life support systems were fully functional.

Vala had just finished cleaning focusing lenses on the heavy las sniper when she spotted the psyker appear. Vala looked indifferent, but was frowning on the inside for a moment, before the frankly abnormal woman gave her a nod. The former mercenary returned a nod moments later as she could at least return the same courtesy." Psyker..." She added in the same way the other woman spoke to her. She was really wondering exactly what the genetic makeup of that woman was, she exceeded average height by a lot. Like stupid lot, it was an abnormality honestly. It was either a genetic random quirk or it was artificially induced and with the woman being a psyker it was hard to say which was the case. Never the less as long as she didn't suffer a case of psyker schenanigans and kill half their team for random reason of losing control of herself, she was fine enough. Albeit a lil annoying at times.

Finally after that came the Kreigsman. Now that was someone Vala understood even less that the psyker. It wasn't the way he looked or acted that she didn't understand. What she had trouble figuring was why he was here. Like what manner of situation led him from dying in teh trenches with a gasmask on, to entering the service of the inquisition. There was surely a story there and she really wanted to know it, but it was clear he wasn't fancying being firnds with her. Since that was the case, she was keeping all the best stuff to herself... in other words all the good booze she bought/requisitioned/other activities to gain alcohol. She also knew how to quick make a moonshine stills.

As their leader led them into the ship, Vala studied it's exterior and interior in quite the detail." Why even call it thunderhawk anymore..." She mumbled with a sigh at the Imperium's continued desire to stagnate. The ship might have started as a Thunderhawk once way upon the past, but now with all the modification it had underwent, it no longer was such. Even it's basic frame was altered and made bigger. HGonestly this ship should be given a classification, class designation and be put into larger use by more teams in the galaxy. The way things were kept as 'traditional' as possible was a huge hurdle, it was also one of hte reason she disliekd the Mechanicus. Heck, she was amazed they even made this thing, by their own classification, just creating this ship and it's modifications would be akin to Tech heresy. Actually she decided to ask that." Celestian Aviza, a question if you will... how did you get the cult mechanicus to actually make this thing? It usually takes centuries for them to agree to alter a minor detail such as changing a window for a new type of glass."

"Yeah, got everything." She replied and tapped the instruments case she was carrying. With it, she could more or less fix anything she ever came across barring stuff that required heavy machinery to actually move like some components for Titans. Like giant bolts and nuts that require cranes to lift. Basically this little case of hers was the equivalent of all those needless cybernetics a priest of the mechanicus cult uses to work on stuff.

"I do hope you all have what belongings you wish to bring with you upon this mission, for we won't be returning for quite a while."

"Do not worry, Celestian. I have brought all the essentials I need." Adrianne said in a reassuring voice through her steel mask, as the Psyker gestured towards the entrance where a series of heavy, metallic steps would sound. Stepping out of the entryway behind her would be the short and stocky semi-human figure of a servitor as it trundled towards the gunship on cybernetic steel legs, carrying a heavily reinforced, sealed metal casket adorned with protective warding runes and scrolls of protection and banishment. Given its size and the way it required an industrial class servitor to carry it, the box must have weighed more than half a ton or more!

With a click followed by the hiss of air, Adrianne removed her skull helmet; revealing her smooth face, her pale, white skin and snow-white hair that flowed in a long ponytail. With a gesture of her head, she instructed the servitor to load the heavy crate onto the gunship, and it trundled obediently along with only a whirring of cogs and beeps being emitted from its mostly mechanical face.

That was when Adrianne tilted her head slightly to the side, peering over her shoulder down towards the shorter Krieger.

Adrianne had seen many depictions of the Death Korps of Krieg, some of them artful illustrations on walls, murals and books; others as videos and recordings of epic battlefield deeds, marching in rank beneath a hellish rain of artillery fire; their gray, dark uniforms and gas masks making them look dark, brooding and dangerous.

This, however, was not the case with Ansger.

Standing alone in the flight bay, the krieger almost looked lost! Not at all as omineous or imposing as the depictions of the Death Korps had been! Adrianne wondered just why Aviza had decided to bring a Krieger for the mission. From what she understood, the kriegers were stout and loyal, but they were not known for possessing the level of creativity, self initiative and individual decision making that typically characterized inquisitorial agents. She could have understood it if it had been a bunch of kriegers, in which case they could make a sort of protection detail, although just one krieger?

"Krieger." Adrianne nodded towards the Krieger and smiled, and said nothing more; mostly because she was not sure what to say around the guardsman! Turning around, her violet eyes returned to gaze at the oversized gunship.

Moments later, however, her curiosity would get the better of her in the end, and the Psyker peered again back down towards the krieger after a pause.

" ... just... how did you end up here?" She asked quietly, leaning slightly down towards the Krieger and trying to keep her voice as free of judgement as she could!

"I do hope you all have what belongings you wish to bring with you upon this mission, for we won't be returning for quite a while."

"All necessary items and equipment are on hand, ma'am." Ansgar responded to the warning as he deemed necessary, the tone of voice and any sort of facial expressions or reactions mercifully hidden by the rebreather mask that was the face of the Death Korp. He could feel the eyes on him, sideways as the glances had been, and knew his presence was being questioned. This was fair, most who had no dealings with the sons and daughters of Krieg assumed them to be unthinking servitors, powered on and sent marching to die for the Emperor. For most, this was good enough, as they would see the paintings, the pict recordings, watching faceless masses charge and fight in conditions that most would consider impossible, and sustain losses that even draconian guard commanders of less stalwart regiments would balk at. Fighting and dying for the Emperor, in repentence for the sins of the father, was all ingrained into the psyche of a Kriegsman. Among themselves, or trusted allies, one would find them still perfectly human, though understandably many were dour and solemn at best.

What most of these recordings, memorials, and stories failed to ever mention was the day to day life. Sitting in a trench, alongside the rest of a section, as time continued to pass away during the steady, slow grind of siege warfare. The glorious charges, pitched trench fighting, hunkered down during the deafening barrage of Imperial artillery, was a small fraction of the typical life of a Krieger in a trench. It was preparation, and waiting, and being able to survive the violent bursts of trench life took a unique mentality. The lack of fearing for their lives and desire to earn redemption, often seen as just glorified suicidal behavior, helped, but if they all just wanted to die, charging fortifications with bayonets fixed would do just that. It would not accomplish the goals and needs of the Imperium, however, and this was why the Commissars were assigned to Death Korp regiments. Not to ensure proper levels of zeal and piety, but to act as liaisons and reign in the Death Korp when operating in joint theaters.

Lost in his thoughts as he was, secured in his seat on the transport, that he blinked in mild surprise that the psyker had even asked him how he even ended up here. "How did a Kriegsman end up in a position requiring more than being a glorified combat servitor, you mean?" He suspected he knew where that question was aimed, it didn't take a psyker to realize that, and it fell in with his thoughts prior to them being disrupted. "I have been cursed with the worst fate a Kriegsman can suffer. Being a survivor." The delivery was deadpan and he let it hover for just a second longer than one might consider as jesting, especially given the somber and serious methodologies of Krieg, but survivors were either promoted into Officers, or reassigned to the Grenadiers. Should the Ordos Malleus not have reassigned him to Inquisitorial duties, he would likely have either been an officer or Grenadier in a new Krieg regiment.

"The personal recommendation of an Ordo Malleus Inquisitor, in light of service that I am not at liberty to discuss the details of currently, is the more serious answer. Tyranid, followed by traitor forces, requiring atypical tactics and methods for Death Korp forces. Surviving all that was recommendation enough for the Inquisitor in question. Add in the additional training Engineers receive, and it was an ideal recruitment, though not for her retinue." Ansgar was rather plain in tone, either not offended by the implications behind the question, or having considered the fact such a question was inevitable that he had been prepared for it. The mention of tyranid was a grim reminder of what the xenos were capable of, and that had been the splintered remains of a larger hive fleet, and all present need not guess at the dangers Traitor forces would pose. The perfect storm of both in a system had necessitated the intervention of the Ordo Malleus Inquisitor and all the resources that would bring.

This whole time the Kriegsman had to effectively crane his head backwards to meet the gaze of the psyker, the difference in height between them comical at best, and the lenses of the rebreather mask made it hard to make out any details beyond the fact he indeed had two organic eyes still, that looked green, though the tinting of the lenses made it hard to confirm. His tone remained hard to read, the muffled voice as steady as usual, used to having to speak clearly enough to be heard plainly through the muffling of the rebreather, and whether he was poking fun at the sheer difference in their heights, or not, was up to interpretation as he was deadpan still. "Does that satisfy your curiosity for now, ma'am? My neck is getting stiff."

"Not all Techpriests follow the Mechanicus's directives to the letter. Some follow more after Belisarius Cawl, he is what you would consider very much more the inventive type, after all. Regardless, the Mechanicus owes a number of favors to the Inquisition. The finer details are nothing for you to be concerned about. Turn your focus upon the mission, where it should have been in the first place." Vala should have been thanking the emperor that Celestian Superior Aviza had even responded to her question. In truth, the knowledge that everyone in the aircraft now knew, could place them in a very difficult situation if they went around talking about it. Hopefully Aviza's reply would staisfy the Tech-heretics curiosity and there would be no more comments or questions in regards to the Typhon.

"Typhon of docking bay AS-383, you are clear to depart." The computerized voice that came from the com built into the Typhons cockpit could easily be heard over all of the electronic and mechanical background noise that surrounded them. Aviza had already prepped the Typhon for departure before hand, allowing the ship to gently but swiftly depart from Ramilies Class Star-fort Hydra. As they ventured out into the empty and seemingly infinite vastness of space, the Typhons artificial gravity enablers would instantly switch on, allowing for a much for comfortable ride. They all knew that comfort was very rarely found within the daily lives of those who fought for the Imperium of man. There were much more important areas for those resources to be spent on.

"Our estimated time of arrival is in ten minutes, which gives me plenty of time to give all of you more information about the situation at hand. As I am sure you already know from the basic mission briefing, we are the head forces for the Erathellian campaign, within the Sopron Solar System. What you were not informed about is the fact that we will be rooting out Chaos infiltrators that have taken root someone upon the Capital Planet Erebus. This planet serves as the hub of the system, has a number of important locations, and houses a number of very high ranking officials within the Imperium of Man. If these members of Chaos should sucsesfully infiltrate the system and carry out what we expect to be a setting stone for a full invasion from within, the repercussions could ripple through the Imperium of man, in many severe and untold ways. We must act very cautiously from here on out, letting the local population know or even think we were here for more than the false flag story that was set up, will jeopardize the whole mission."

Celestian Superior Aviza would pause for a short moment, her hands interacting with a number of controls throughout the cockpit before speaking once more. "I am sure there are questions, feel free to ask what you will." Those paying enough attention would now notice that the Sopron Solar System, which had been a minuscule dot of light in the distance a short while ago had now fully engulfed the Typhon. Their first objective could now be seen, as the space ship greatly decreased its speed, heading towards the capital planet of Erebus. In a few minutes, they would break atmosphere and their place within the Erathellian campaign would begin.

Vala nodded at the Celestian's reply to her question. This was a weirdly long and detailed in explanation reply, especially weird for it to come out of their glorious leader here. Vala was under the impression that she wasn't used to speaking unless it was truly important. Thus this was a pleasant surprise quite indeed. She had thought about it, the shism in the Cult Mechanicus was it. THat was a possibility that deserved to be explored more in full at a later date should the situation allow for it. Her coming in contact with some of htose more liberal and inventive Priests of the Mechanicus could be the way to introduce some damn innovations within this imperium or at least within their lil corner of the Inquisition that they were occupying right now. She made a mental note to explore that possibility later within reasonable situations of course. Least any crazy tech priests show up.

The mission details were revealed better now and Vala frowned as she thought about it." If we are uprooting Chaos, do we have a timeline of the emergence of said Chaos elements upon the planet?" She asked, wondering how detailed the supposed intelligence they had was." I mean, do we have potential estimates of the degree of infiltration or should we proceed by the usual 'all are guilty until proven otherwise' course of action here?" This was a rather big thing to know, Vala thought. The inquisition had the freedom to request god damned orbital bombardment with ordinance that can wipe the planet clean. She knew that some of the inquisition agents in charge weren't as gun ho about exterminatus, but others would have the planet bombed before anyone could said: interrogate.

"Does that satisfy your curiosity for now, ma'am? My neck is getting stiff."

That last comment made Adrianne raise an eyebrow and tilt her neck slightly as she looked down at the shorter krieg guardsman, before throwing a more amused smile and nodding.

"That it does, Krieger." She said. The mention of tyranids did not have much of an impact on Adrianne, as it was a threat she had fortunately never had to deal with herself. Nor did she envy those who actually had seen them. As the rumors went, to be put against the tyranids meant almost certain death to any warrior, whether guardsman or adeptus astartes alike.

That being said, she was not sure what else to ask the Krieger. He certainly did not seem to be the talkative type; rather, the reputation of the Death Korps of Krieg was the polar opposite of chatty. Perhaps she might learn a thing or two about the tyranids from him. Knowledge was power, after all; a lesson that Adrianne as a psyker had learned well. And knowledge could sometimes be found in the unlikeliest of places, whether from a hive world urchin from the dark underworld or the mind of a guardsman who had survived through multiple campaigns. And, although not as impressive and seemingly mundane for a person of Adrianne's supernatural powers; she knew that a simple conversation was often the safest source of information, as opposed to other means that might be available to a Psyker like her.

"I am certainly intrigued by your experiences. I may probe you for stories in the future, to share what's not too heavily classified." Adrianne said with a soft smile, before turning around to enter the Typhon.

*

"What you were not informed about is the fact that we will be rooting out Chaos infiltrators that have taken root someone upon the Capital Planet Erebus."

The tall Psyker peered out from her seat; Adrianne's violet eyes fixing on Celestian Superior Aviza as she spoke.

"Chaos infiltration on a rich, wealthy world of system aristocrats, high military officials and merchant lords? My guess would be either the agents of the changer, or perhaps even the debauched servants of She who thirsts."

Adrianne took the information in, chewing on it. She was no stranger to the servants of the ruinous powers, she had faced them before on different worlds; each god's minions unique in the ways they preferred to work and spread their mad gospel. She had opposed them all; all except the minions of the changer. To be fair, Adrianne privately hoped it would be the minions of the changer they would find on the world. She knew that they could be particularly difficult to catch, being masters of guile, cunning, plots and schemes; even moreso than the servants of the three other gods. This was mostly due to her curiosity; she had faced the minions of the other three, it'd be fitting she finally got a chance to face the servants of the fourth.
But there were more selfish reasons why she hoped it was not the servants of She Who Thirsts, and that was because she had had a bad run in with those before. Having been part of an inquisitorially lead effort to dispatch one of their cults, she had come into contact with one of their daemonic patrons. Whatever the daemon was, it had been powerful; and not only had it been strangely nonplussed about having its local cult destroyed; but also displayed an uncomfortable level of curiosity towards Adrianne through the veil.

Whoever you were, gaining the attention of a powerful daemon was bad. And the fact that the daemon hadn't even been angry, but pleased to meet her made her fell all the more worse for it!

The thought of getting into contact with that daemon again through whatever mortal servants might be operating on the world did not reassure Adrianne in the slightest. She did not need to use her powers to scrye through the veil to get the distinct feeling she was being followed somehow.

And then, lastly; there was the idea that there might be servants of BOTH chaos gods on the planet. Which, at the very least, might be a small boon given how awful the chaotic forces of the different gods were to cooperative.

" I mean, do we have potential estimates of the degree of infiltration or should we proceed by the usual 'all are guilty until proven otherwise' course of action here?"

It was the heretech's words that finally snapped the Psyker out of her deep thoughts, causing her to blink and peer towards the shorter woman with a coy smile.

"Oh, I would not worry too much." Adrianne said with a nod towards Vala.
"The servants of chaos are marked by the foul powers which they serve, and the more important they are; the bigger the mark. If there truly is a significant chaos element on the planet, I should be able to find its rough source with relative ease."

Adrianne explained, her gloved hands resting around her staff as she spoke. That was one of the benefits of being a psyker; she was very sensitive to the touch of chaos on a level the normal blunts in the ship could never comprehend. Granted, that 'blessing' was also a double-edged sword, given that Adrianne suspected none of the blunts around her had to worry about becoming the object of curiosity for powerful daemons.

"By all means ma'am. I've no problem talking about anything I'm not forbidden from speaking of. I may probe you for information as well, if the situation warrants it." Ansgar returned the soft smile with a brief, polite nod before returning to a neutral, and more comfortable, seating position. It left him staring at the opposing bulkhead, mulling over the fact that he hated flying. Every descent, atmospherically, had ended with the craft in question being in no condition to return back to its hanger. Be it from anti air fire, or the sheer stress of entering into the atmosphere of the planet as it was twisted and tortured by the forces of Chaos. Her lack of reaction to the tyranids told him enough, she had never faced them, and he considered her blessed in that regard. He'd been informed that the lack of sanctioned psykers, upon the arrival of his regiment, had been because most had gone mad and required summary execution for their own safety shortly after the splinter fleet arrival. Something about a shadow that the tyranid cast over the sector. A high cost campaign, given the tyranids were the least of the problems, but that was considerations for another day, for now, further briefing was being given.

The briefing raised all sorts of red flags in the Krieger's head when considering the situation at hand. Likely infiltration by the forces of Chaos in the various echelons of the government. After action reports had indicated, before his reassignment to this retinue, that it had been internal infiltration and corruption, like a cancer, and then it erupted into the system wide conflict that drew in the Ordos Malleus. A slowly tightening grip on his shotgun was the only betrayal of his inner thoughts to those perceptive enough to notice the subtle tightening of a grip, and the sound of his gloves over their entry into the planet's atmosphere and descent. Using a central point of power in the system as a spring board to corrupt and invade the rest, this time to include the Imperium farther abroad? All the signs pointed to another retreading of his not so distant past.

"Ma'am, how much singular power does the planetary governor still hold? Coupled with that, how steadfast are the local guard and arbites forces? PDF should be written off if we suspect infiltrators have already arrived. If the planetary governor relies on a network of individuals of note, we have to identify the most vital to planetary operation and security and ensure they remain loyal." The krieger was already mentally planning a worse case scenario. Guard and Arbite forces, proper Guard, not PDF, could provide instrumental manpower in a worse case scenario where martial law and lockdowns would need to be implemented. Which was where the Arbites came in then as well, as they would be able to utilize the Guard manpower in forming effective cordons and lock downs. Coupled with having to look into ganger and other activity, and evaluate whether they were corrupted by Chaos, or simply criminals that could be employed as irregulars. Facing against the tyranids had forced the Guard commanders to employ irregular forces, who were more than happy to do so once it was apparent the tyranid wouldn't be taking prisoners.

"Also, we are not exactly equipped for subtle, undercover activities ma'am. I pray you have a plan to address that, or the sight of a Sister of Battle, mercenary, the tallest psyker in the sector, and the shortest krieger in the sector is going to rumble things rather quickly."

"Also, we are not exactly equipped for subtle, undercover activities ma'am. I pray you have a plan to address that, or the sight of a Sister of Battle, mercenary, the tallest psyker in the sector, and the shortest krieger in the sector is going to rumble things rather quickly."

"I'm not _that_ tall." Adrianne interjected, peering over to look past her ornately decorated shoulderpad and down at the krieger.

The krieger was indeed very short, now that she thought about it.

"That being said," Adrianne would continue however, shifting her violet eyes towards their superior.
"He does raise a mostly valid point, especially if we are going to do most of the legwork as well. Not that some renown isn't something we can use... "

Adrianne paused for a moment, as if thinking for a moment, running a pair of gauntleted fingers up to her chin while she tilted her head slightly; her long ponytail bobbing behind her head.

"I agree on his suggestion about securing whoever is responsible for the planetary security first. Once we know we have their backing, it should be easier for us to go about our business. Not to mention they may have information for us." Adrianne said, not hiding some growing enthusiasm.
"Once we have done that, I would recommend we go to whatever place; preferably high profile; where we suspect the corruption to be the most present, and investigate. If the stench of chaos exists there, I can find it, and likely track it down to whatever the source is. If worst comes to worst, we will at least take down some heretics and get some prisoners for questioning in the process."

Adrianne nodded, feeling confident about her plan. Sure it was simple, but that made it easy to follow; and they could deal with the details whenever they arose.

Not to mention she had a feeling the group in question would be better suited for whatever direct approach they could find. Plus, kicking down doors and apprehending the lesser minions of chaos might be a great warm up and ice breaker exercise for their new group!

“In all honesty, the invasion of the Erathellian Solar system is much more complicated than it may appear. The Planetary Governor of Erebus holds absolute power over all forces. We assume that this powerful figure has been replaced by a figure of Chaos, making the whole situation adequately more treacherous. If our information is correct, then it is quite possible that we could be up against a large hostile force, trying to mislead and eliminate us at every turn."

"We will have to rely upon each other and the Inquisition members upon the planet to root out this infestation. Depending on our findings, Canoness Andromedai Morgenstern and her forces will be at the ready to assist us within the system if needed. I rather it not come to that though, as a full appearance of the Inquisition will only cause more issues. Doing so may even push the forces of Chaos and their agenda forward.”

“As for subtly, I realize that remaining out of the public eye could prove a great challenge for us. If it comes to it, remaining undercover will be waved. I am sure that the forces of Chaos already know that they have been discovered, so it will most likely make very little difference in the long run.”

As the Typhon broke the Erebus atmosphere, the gunships exterior heat-shielding activated itself. A faint blue hexagonal pattern of light seemed to cover the outside of the ship mere seconds before the cockpits windows were engulfed in flame. The ships internal sensors allowed Aviza to pilot the Typhon blind, before entering the stratosphere. They now had a clear view of Erebus below them, sprawling cities filled with every type of facility and complex that could be imagined. This went on for as far as the eye could see, seemingly endless.

Leveling out the Typhon, Aviza pulled the gunship out of its alarmingly steep dive and depressurized the interior of the cockpit to match the exterior. From behind, two Vulture gunships tailed the Typhon before the voice of the Planetary Governor could be heard coming through the Typhons coms. "Welcome to the Erathellian Solar System and Planet Erebus, it is an honor to have the Inquisition upon my planet. Please, come to me and we will talk. Oh and, do not mind the escort, they are just there for show."

The Typhon was forwarded coordinates and Aviza would adjust her course. "For show, right." said Aviza, "This should be very interesting. Everyone act calm and collected, we do not know if the Governor is corrupted or not, yet." Aviza honestly felt as if the Vultures were a threat to them, and she knew her ship could take them down with ease if they tried anything but the planetary defenses on the other hand would make very short work of them.

In the distance, the Planetary Governors "headquarters" could be seen, a massive building of Imperial Gothic architecture that dwarfed everything else around it. "Think about a close quarters fight inside of that, it would be undoubtedly a great time all around." said Aviza, with a hint of excitement.

The Typon approached the Planetary Governors "headquarters" docking bay, and swiftly landed. As soon as they touched down, the two Vultures broke off and vanished into the distance. "Look who is already waiting for us." Aviza pointed at the Planetary Governor who was waiting for them near the docking bays entrance. The man, who was known simply as Atticus, stood up straight with a military posture. Two very heavily armed Adeptus Arbites stood on either side of him, their faces emotionless and dead.

As soon as Aviza had opened the Typhons doors and the squad had started to exit, the Planetary Governor would welcome them. "Welcome to Erebus! If you all would be so kind to follow me, we have much to talk about, away from prying eyes and wanting minds." The two Adeptus Arbites would open the massive metal doors that lead into the "headquarters" and would hold them open for the retinue.

Ansgar kept his silence when the planetary governor made the 'show of force' by sending escorts to guide the gunship into the atmosphere and towards the planetary governor's personal headquarters, a massive complex of classic Imperial Gothic design. That was something that the Kreiger never truly understood was why there was such an obsession with building higher and higher into a planet's atmosphere. They were massive, easy targets, that would draw attention from any sort of planetary invader. The mention of close quarters fighting potential got a brief nod from the Krieger. Between the heavy duty shotgun he carried, various close quarters kit, and carapace, he was very well equipped for close quarters fighting. "If they intended to intelligently eliminate us, it would have been a strike before we landed. If they try to do it once we're landed, they are being 'subtle' at the expense of success."

Once the shuttle was landed, Ansgar rose from his seat and unslung the shotgun, he always carried the weapon even in 'safe' areas. Natural state of affairs, and he would be choosing to follow the party, likely positioning himself alongside whoever took the lead. Likely the Sister of Battle, but he would not judge all the same. The planetary governor greeted them as locally posted Arbites were tending the gates. That was a concerning development, having them personally posted instead of private guards was an indication the Arbites were possibly already under the personal thumb of the Governor. He had nothing to say to the man, as he was not the one personally dealing with him outside of necessity, he would leave the talking to the more socially adept among the retinue. Unless the governor wanted to discuss how much of a target he made his personal headquarters into. Maybe.

Vala was really carefully observing everythign as they got close to the headquarters of this place. Supposed headquarters anyway. She was sure that they had probably a secret hideout where they were gathering or doing all their evil schemes at. How certain she was? As certain as the fact that the Emperor of Mankind was on Holy Terra.

As they landed and saw the greeting they were given, she kept a poker face as the mand arbites with him to greem them and invite them into the building. She looked at both of them, then at the man. He didn't look like that much a danger, a single good shot from her pistol seemed like it would be enough to off him good, under the presumption he wasn't a deamon in disguise or had something else like personal shielding device of some kind. In that case a pistol shot might not be enough to off with his head, a shot from the sniper cannon would be neeed instead. Her eyes were narrowing as she looked at the heavy metal doors they were required to pass through. Should they enter, leaving might be really had to do should the base gets into a lock down. Not that they wouldn't be able to breach through such a bulkhead or gate, they could, would just be noisy, take time and attract a lot of attention to their location.

After making a double count on the possible enemies present, she rested her hands by her sides in what would be a casual relaxed manner, but on the right tight she had her pistol strapped and her left hand was still holding the pretty spiffy breifcase like case she carried her tools in. It was metal and actually armored enough. She could use it to block regular shots and also to bash someone's skull in case she had to. That and she had her grenades at easy access on the belt. She was ready, her weapons were actually all set up to be ready to fire at a moment's notice.

If the retinue was shot while htey were arriving, it would arouse suspcions and probably directly earn an exterminatus as far as Vala was concerned. No, in her mind, getting them to land and then finish them off within the headquarters while making it seem like they vanished somewhere later would be better. That or attept to kill them after they leave here which would be another good choice. Yeah, she walked at the back of the group right now, keeping an eye out behind them as she did so.

"Welcome to Erebus! If you all would be so kind to follow me, we have much to talk about, away from prying eyes and wanting minds."

It was easily more than one thing that made sounded off about those words, and Adrianne felt an immediate tingle of unease.

Still, that being said; the fact that they were greeted by the very planetary governor spoke leagues about how serious the local authorities took their visit and Aviza's mission. Furthermore, if the local authorities were indeed influenced by the darker forces on the planet, she highly doubted they would try and immediate ploys or trickery anytime soon. At least not until the planetary governor had managed to get a few dozen kilometers away from them.

That, of course, assuming this was indeed the actual planetary governor. Adrianne had little actual familiarity with the planet.

One thing was sure however, the 'building' in question was absolutely monolithic; considered large even by imperial scale, it was like a massive fortress that loomed to dizzying heights above them. Its insides were sure to be a mix of both the grandiose and endless, maze like corridors for servants and secret passageways.

As they walked inside, Adrianne quietened her mind instead, allowing herself to open up to her ethereal surroundings as the psyker made a quiet attempt to gauge the spirit of the place; her body automatically following the group whilst her mind expanded across the room inside.