The Empherian, an Inquisitorial Black Ship granted by the Inquisition to Celestian Superior Andromedai Morgenstern to serve as her personal vessel. While she had been put in command of star-ships in the past, the unique honor of being in command of such was not lost upon the Celestian. Standing at the bridge of the rarely seen and less welcomed strike cruiser, the imposing figure glanced over numerous panels that were being fed seemingly endless amounts of information about their current location, much of which passed by so quickly that she had little time to catch it. "Navigator, what is our current estimated time of arrival to the Hyperion System?" inquired Celestian Andromedai, her focus now turning away from the endless steams of information, and to the Imperial-sanctioned human mutant who ensured that they would not end up lost within the Warp.

"We are one hour out from our destination, Celestian Superior Andromedai." said the man in a dead, toneless voice. Clearly, his focus was upon ensuring that they would arrive at the destination, but knew that not responding to the question could also prove problematic, somewhere in the future. "An hour." repeated Andromedai under her breath, "That will suffice." Turning away from the man, The Celestian Superior swiftly made her way from the bridge and into the corridors of her ship, passing by other Imperial and Inquisitorial members who had chosen or had been chosen to accompany her and the rest of her retinue on their highly important mission.

Without having to make any physical contact with the com-system built into the helmet of her Sororitas power armor, Andromedai contacted every member of her retinue as a whole. Regardless of what they were currently doing at the moment, they would hear the message loud and clear, as if the Celestian Superior had confronted them in person. "This is Celestian Superior Andromedai Morgenstern, to the members of my retinue, you are to finish your current actions, gather your equipment for the mission at hand, and meet me in hanger bay Four-Two-Seven-Three-Three for final mission briefing and departure, that is all." the com would then cut itself off, being followed by silence.

The hanger that Celestian Andromedai had designated for their meeting was in fact where her personal gunship, the Typhon, was currently being prepared for departure. While she wished the Empherian could bring them to their first destination, Erathell, having the Black Ship suddenly appear or even be visible from the planet or orbital stations would undoubtedly draw unwanted attention, and easily give away the fact that the Inquisition was now within the system, something she wanted to keep secret, and would do so at high cost, if it came to that.

The door to hanger bay Four-Two-Seven-Three-Three opened to reveal that her personal gunship was nearly finished being prepped for departure, the Tech-Priests who still remained where finalizing the requested additions to the Typhon. It had taken her quite a while to get approval to have these customization's, some saw them as excessive, though with her position within the Imperium of Man, the others say head little power. This sleek and bizarre aircraft looked out of place among the other Gothic designs that were so common around them. It had proven itself time and time again in a large number of conflicts that ranged from space combat, to air combat, and of course air to ground combat, showing that the custom design and excessive firepower was being put to great use.

Andromedai approached the Typon and ran her left hand upon the black aircraft's outer right wing affectionately, observing the changes that had been made to it. "Celestian Andromedai." A male Tech-Priest approached her slowly while she was still in thought, "We have finished your requests upon the Typhon, and we shall be taking our leave now. I do hope that the additions are to your expectations." Andromedai would merely nod her head at the mans words. With nothing else to say, the remaining Tech-Priests left the hanger bay, leaving Celestian Superior Andromedai to stand at the side of the Typhon and await her retinues arrival.

Alexei Stukov was doing rounds on the Black Ship, mostly to ease his own nerves. Warp Travel didn't sit too well with him any more, though he didn't speak on that matter much. So he did the rounds, patrolling even though he was under no obligation to, assisting the voidsmen assigned to the ship with his experience and extra hands, keeping himself busy whenever he wasn't tasked with formal duties as part of the Celestian's retinue. He was pretty much waiting for the call to arms, as it were, as they had to be approaching their destination soon. He doubted they would just careen the Black Ship right into view of anyone who would want to know the Inquisition had arrived, and sure enough, his waiting would be rewarded as the microbead buzzed and the Celestian's orders came over the comm. Finally, even though that meant he had to go have his feet on solid ground again, something he liked even less.

Turning on heel, Stukov took off at a brisk stride, stopping by his quarters on the way towards the named hanger bay. Entering, he grabbed his shotgun and stuffed his pockets with as much ammo as he could carry, including a pocket on the inside of his coat for the specialized ammo he carried. Never knew when you'd have some warp spawned horror barreling down on you and some Emperor blessed munitions wouldn't hurt to keep on hand. Along with some slugs, he could always requisition more specific munitions if the need arose. Checking his belt, the Chain-Cutlass rested securely, a familiar weight, and checking ensured his Naval pistol was in the holster under his left arm. Spare mags for that as well, and the grenades on his belt, also concealed by the great coat he was wearing. Making sure his other tools, data slate, grapnel launcher, and re-breather, were all in their places, he exited his quarters, locking them on the way out.

It wouldn't take him too long to reach the hanger bay, and he passed the cog boys who were leaving, probably finished up whatever Morgenstern had cooked up for them. If the Black Ship was impressive, and it was, that gun cutter of hers was even more specialized. It'd be a lot of lost resources if it got lost or shot down, but if he had to choose any small craft to get to the surface in, well, he could do a damn sight worse than that. He offered a brief nod to the Celestian as he approached, hands in his pockets as he found himself a spot to keep an eye on the doorway in while still mostly facing Morgenstern. "Got the call Celeste, have my kit sorted and ready to go stomping around on the surface chasing what's got your ire this time."

Stukov had changed his kit after assignment to the retinue, mostly in terms of coloration. The greatcoat and mix of carapace and flak were the biggest signs of that, the coloration nothing like a Voidsman would really prefer anymore, mostly picked for personal preferences at this point. Shotgun slung over his shoulder, chain-cutlass on his hip, and other toys hidden out of sight, the senior armsman was ready and able for the mission that Morgenstern had in mind. He also referred to her by one of two nicknames for her, and the less confusing of the two for those not familiar with his dealings with others, and beyond that he kept an eye on the entryway, listening to Morgenstern while keeping an eye out for the next folks to come answering the call.

Adrianne stood alone on the observation deck, the normally grim and dark interior around her lit up by the mesmerizing pink and yellow light of the warp outside the viewing ports. She was not wearing her helmet, her pale skin glowing in reflection to the unearthly light; whilst her snow white hair hung in a long ponytail that ran down to her back.

She was not sure why she had come. Perhaps it was simply to get away from the rest of the blunt crew. Perhaps it was to give that poor navigator some room. Or perhaps it was just her own curiosity.

Whatever subconscious reason might have drawn her to this deck, Adrianne let her violet eyes run across the fortified glass panels, where the currents of the warp lapped against the forms of the gellar field outside. Most of the shapes were little more than vague drifting mists or sparks of energy, but Adrianne could occasionally see small humanoid or bestial shapes; their distorted forms briefly appearing as they seemed to crawl over the ship, before vanishing as soon as they had appeared.

"It's a whole universe out there, living parallel to our own. So close, yet so distant." Adrianne muttered in her own private reflections, leaning against her staff-blade; the purple currents of the warp gleaming against the burnished gold of the eagle head decorating the hilt emblazoned with an open eye.

"Perhaps closer than you think." Another voice suddenly spoke in Adrianne's mind.

That was when all of the tiny figures crawling across the surface of the glass suddenly vanished simultaneously. Adrianne raised an eyebrow, but she had not heard that they were making ready to leave the warp.

She took a step forward, and just as she did; she could see another shape come into vision outside of the ship. Its distorted form was massive, with a vaguely human shape. What might have been its mist-wreathed head gazed down towards her window, extending a single clawed digit that rested harmlessly against the gellar-field. Adrianne tilted her head. She had seen many strange things whilst observing the warp, some greater and more majestic than this entity. But they had all been singular and isolated events.

She had seen this entity multiple times however. A fact that disturbed something at the core of Adrianne's being, and caused the psyker to produce a scowl.

"What... exciting places... going... now?"

The voice asked again in Adrianne's head, but it was distorted and fractured; presumably an effect of the gellar field.

"Why would you want to know? You can't come with us anyway~" Adrianne teased in her own voice, whether or not the entity would even be able to hear her. She thought to continue, when suddeny the chime from her wrist mounted computer warned her of an incoming message.

"This is Celestian Superior Andromedai Morgenstern, to the members of my retinue, you are to finish your current actions, gather your equipment for the mission at hand, and meet me in hanger bay Four-Two-Seven-Three-Three for final mission briefing and departure, that is all."

"So much for peace and quiet." Adrianne mused, before turning to look back up at the observation deck glass. But the entity outside the glass was gone, leaving only the roiling clouds of the warp. With violet eyes narrowing into a suspicious frown, the psyker studied the glass for a moment. Possibilities swirled around in her head, but she pushed them down; if only because some of them were too terrible to contemplate. By Terra's golden gates, she was an accomplished psyker; not a novice!

"I am on my way." Adrianne replied as she turned on her heels and marched off, using her vox bead instead of her telepathy so as to not unnecessarily vex her commander; who was at the end of the day a sister of battle! On her way to the hangar bay, she veered off the most direct path; taking instead a longer detour that would keep her a good distance away from the bridge. The reason for this detour was because of a certain navigator living on the bridge. While all psykers were sensitive to the warp, the sensitivity of navigators was on a whole different level to Adrianne's own class. But it was not always a blessing. In her previous encounters with the navigator, he had complained ceaselessly about her own aura being like a noisy storm that blocked his vision. While she had her pride, Adrianne had from there on decided to keep her distance from her fellow mutant; if not because she felt some sympathy to the man, but also just as importantly because she had no desire to strand them in the warp!

Having come close enough to the hangar bay, Adrianne decided to speed up her path. Channeling her powers, her body would suddenly vanish in a sparkle of violet energy. To Stukov who had been observing the doorway, he would suddenly see a flash of violet flame in the side of his vision as Adrianne appeared perpendicular to him and Andromedai.

"Celestian." Adrianne nodded towards Andromedai as she sauntered over, her violet eyes passing to Stukov.

"Stukov... how come you always beat me to these me to these meetings?" She inquired with a small smirk, peering around the mostly empty hangar bay.
"Or the rest of the team for that matter!"

With the room was filled with the whirl of machinery as a single figure moved left and right across a big table. Arms holding outlandish tools were moving both at the same time as limbs of metal attached the the figure's back moved on their own, each holding their own unique implement of creation. The light was focused on the table as the hooded figure continued it's wild dance, shower of sparks covering the rest of the room as a loud synthetic noise filled the room, deafening even the sound of machinery.

The figure was rather lithe looked objectively, clearly a female as she continud to act in her own unique manner, as all of her limbs moved and performed their different tasks. The synthetic noise gradually shifted, progressively resembling human speech until it turned into a maniacal laughter as suddenly all of the limbs stopped moving." IT HAS BEEN COMPLETED!" A loud most proud voice proclaimed as the woman took her new creation, leaving all the tools on the table next to it. In the next moment she raised it high in a showing stance. A silvery metal box shaped object with two openings on the top and a small lever on the side stood in her arms as a head flew over and made a shutter sound as a picture was taken with her proud new creation.

Medaira grinned, looking at her flying servo skull that was more of a servohead honestly since it was practically a copy of her own head, down to the graying hair and color of her eyes. She was proud of that one. Walking over to a power socket on the wall she powered it and taking her test samples from the nearby table, she placed the two pastrie slices into the metal object. After what appeared to be half a minute two most perfectly burned to charcoal slices of bread flew off the metal object 2 feet into the air before falling back down." HHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEE~" Medaira started laughing. IT WAS PERFECT!!!! Now she just needed to replace the one in the mess hall." Hehhee.."

Her joyous laughter was suddenly rendered completely silent by the comms blaring to life with a rather unfortunate message." ... well... bentcogwheels..." She cursed, eyerolling. Of course it had to happen when she had perfected the toast coaler mark IV. The tech priestess switched to loud binary at her irritation, placing the 'toaster' very carefully on the table before walking over to the massive mechanical...thing at one corner of the room. From it she pulled her usual gear as it directly switched the attachements to her mechadendrites. Then with a massive power axe she used, she left her room as the usual bulkhead was clearly replaced with way more advanced alternative that required a eye scan of some kind and also had 3 different door layers.

Walking away with the power axe almost as a staff, her steps made metal clanking sounds, many made her way as she walked by for reason of their own, maybe it was the fact she was a Mechanicus Magos or maybe it was the fact they just didn't want to mess with the scary ultra heavy girl with all the metal bits that could probably punch them through the wall with her metal arms. Only they could answer that question, she didn't really care.

"Greetings, I answering the call, Celestian~" Medaira greeted with happy chirpy almost childish voice when she arrived at hanger bay Four-Two-Seven-Three-Three in full gear as her servo head flew by her and making a round of the place with some speed, making the hair it had flutter behind it as it moved. Looked straight out of an old holo movie or something about ghostly heads." I will fulfill my duties to the Omnisiah."

She then looked at Adrianne and Stukov. She tilted head head as she looked at them, eyes looking innocently from underneath the hood." Prank Victim 1 and Prank Victim 2, I am glad to meet you two, hope you've had advantageous statistical probabilities so far." She smiled to them sweetly." Would you require emergency modifications~ I've acquired brand new... ideas that would be of use~."

Titus awoke with a start, his body drenched in cold sweat and a face pale as the very sheets he lay upon. Shakily, Titus pulled himself from his bunk, groggily stumbling his way to the nearest showers to clean himself off. He'd never really enjoyed living on a voidship, the recycled atmosphere always felt 'stuffy' to him, let alone the fact that nigh every narrow corridor looked almost identical to the next one save for signs left here or there. Despite this-- Titus had grown used to it during his years of living under the inquisition, and by now considered it a minor annoyance... Warp travel, however, was another beast entirely. It didn't seem to matter how high he cranked his collar; the nightmares always came when traversing the warp . Every night he closed his eyes, he was plunged back into that hellscape. His only respite was his waking hours, when he was free from whatever abominable force saw fit to torment him.

Upon finishing his shower, Titus immediately hustled back to his quarters to get his equipment on; today was a big day after all, and he wanted to be sure he didn't leave anything behind! If his hunch was correct, today was the day he'd finally be elevated to being the direct assistant of one of the senior scribes! Truly, today will be a day to remember!

---

"You've been reassigned" spoke the head scribe in a dull tone; not even bothering to look away from his work. "W-wha-what?" Titus stuttered as his heart sank, he'd been working for this promotion ever since he was transferred onto this Emperor-damned ship! "B-but by who's orders? And why?"
The head scribe slowly set his spectacles to the side as he leveled an apathetic glare at the boy, "It was somebody higher than me kid, that's all that matters. Now you'd best get your ass moving to hangar Four-Two-Seven-Three-Three... The last thing you want is to piss off your new supervisor by being late." Titus gulped as he heeded the Head Scribe's command, rushing out the door and down the corridors as fast as his legs could take him.

---

Titus knew in his gut that he was already late for whatever meeting he was supposed to be attending as he approached the hanger door. Wiping the sweat from his brow as best he could before entering the chamber, Titus tried in vain to make himself as presentable as he could for his new supervisor. Taking a deep breath, he stepped into the hanger, only to have all the blood drain from his reddened face. His new boss was none other than the Celestian Superior herself! "Uh-" Titus gulped as he took his place amongst the gathering of individuals before introducing himself with a short bow, "Scribe Titus Ramsay, at your service Celestian."

For a moment, Celestian Superior Andromedai Morgenstern stood alone in hanger Four-Two-Seven-Three-Three along side her ship. The lack of any conversation or there of was filled by the Empherian's soft ambient hum, one that she had found strangely comforting after spending many years aboard such starships. Even though Andromedai was currently alone, she was not idol. The Celestian looked over the data-pad that was built into the left forearm of her armor, enabling to her to draw information from almost anything around her at a whim. While the HUD built into her helmet could do the same, doing so at this moment was unnecessary. Currently, the data-pad displayed information about the changes made upon the Typhon, and other crucial details. There would be no second chances, and no returning to the Empherian for an unknown amount of time, and thus all systems and equipment being brought along was double or even triple checked.

Celestian Superior Andromedai was still looking over the information of her ship and its equipment when the first member of the retinue arrived rather promptly. "Alexei Stukov, prompt and professional as usual." said Celestian Andromedai with a slight nod of her head. "I expect the others to arrive shortly, once they do, we will head out immediately."The next to arrive was their sanctioned Psyker, Adrianne. The rather tall woman would receive the same greeting that Stukov had, "Welcome Adrianne, I was just informing Stukov that once the other members of the retinue arrive, we will board the Typhon and depart for Erathell." Celestian Andromedai turned to face the Typhon as she queued a command for the ships airlock to open for them.

The arrival of Tech-Priestess could be easily heard before she was even seen, "Tech-Priestess Medaira, you are the final member of the retinue to arrive." said Celestian Andromedai with a nod of her head in acknowledgement to the woman. "I do believe that all members of the retinue are currently present, let us... before Celestian Andromedai could finish her sentence, another arrival entered the hanger, one that Celestian Andromedai had not been expecting. This new arrival appeared to be a Scribe, yet Andromedai had not requested one. Once the man had introduced himself, Celestian Andromedai would approach him and merely observe the new addition silently before speaking. Scribe Titus, I did not request one of your kind to accompany me on this mission." The Celestian looked over her information for the mission and saw that there had been a last minute change, the addition of this Scribe. Apparently, you have been assigned to my retinue, though for what reason is beyond my current understanding. Follow the rest of the retinue Titus. Celestian Andromedai would turn her back to the unexpected arrival before walking up the ramp and into the Typhons airlock.

The Typhon was a custom ship designed and produced specifically for Celestian Andromedai. Unlike other starships, this craft was sleek and luxurious, both on the exterior and interior, a far cry from other ships in the Imperium of man. Along side the obvious cockpit, the interior of the Typhon had an armory, a living quarters installed with a kitchen, personal and enclosed bunks, two shower and bathroom stalls, a medical bay, engineering bay, a command room, and other essential areas. Once Andromedai had entered the cockpit, she would take the pilots seat and secure herself into it before speaking. "Psyker Adrianne, take the co-pilot seat with me, controls are free to use if you sense any disturbances." There would be no time wasted, once everyone had sat down and secured themselves in their seats, Andromedai would quickly but skillfully enable the starships systems before gracefully maneuvering it out of hangar Four-Two-Seven-Three-Three and towards the now rapidly approaching Erathell.

"I have already briefed all of you, expect Scribe Titus, on the situation at hand." began Celestian Andromedai. "Though for the sake of the mission and all of your lives, I will repeat it. Two weeks ago, the head planetary Governor for Erathell sent an encrypted message to the Inquisition, this message informed us that he suspects that Chaos forces have infiltrated the Hyperion system. After providing us with sufficient evidence, it has been decided that these chaos infiltrators are most likely part of Slaanesh or Tzeentch, though I suspect both of them are playing their hand here. I was also informed that it is possible that these agents of Chaos have also replaced high ranking, important figures. The planetary Governor, who we refer to as Nickoli, has requested our discrete presence upon Erathell and others within Hyperion to root out the chaos infiltrators before they can cause irreparable harm. A short and simple explanation, I know, though nothing more needs to be added at this time. I am, however, allowing any questions that the retinue may have to be asked."

In the distance, Erathell could now be seen, a small ball of blue light that was growing in shape and size as they neared their first destination.

Stukov had gotten used to Smiles and her manner of simply warping into places, as was her method arrival and moving around the place. He'd wonder how much that grated on the Navigator, but he typically left the mutant to his own devices. He had a job to do, and an armsman pestering him wouldn't do that any favors at all. Still, he gave the psyker a nod and a smirk as she commented on his apparent ability to arrive promptly before anyone else in the retinue typically. Producing the data slate and waggling it briefly, he made a deadpan remark and letting it hang just long enough to sound serious before shaking his head. He had no means of teleporting, and probably didn't want any either, he'd spent enough time in the warp to last him several lifetimes. "Teleportation, rigged to key locations. Joking, let's just say there probably isn't too many other people who could traverse this ship conventionally as fast as I can. Experience has its perks Smiles."

Returning the data-slate to his coat, Stukov noted as the tech priestess wandered in. She was trouble, he figured, you didn't see her kind wandering all on their own very often, least from what he'd heard and seen. Still, she was part of the retinue, and as she babbled on about being prank victims and asking after their 'advantageous statistical probabilities' and the idea of emergency modifications. Nah, he was mostly intact, last thing he needed was to willingly go lopping off limbs and body parts for augmentations of dubious origins. So watching her wander in, he chimed in idly to her remarks and considered the situation, was polite enough by most accounts. "Alive and well enough Cogs, I'll pass on the modifications. Save those for when something nasty enough to get a limb or three off me manages to do just that. Then we can talk modifications."

Celeste chimed back in, seemed since they were all here, they were ready to go. Looking back as a younger kid came up, stating that he was a scribe and was assigned to the retinue. Since when? And Celeste didn't go asking either? That was strange, one could almost consider concerning given that sort of last minute change was somewhat unusual. Still, he gave the kid a look over. Typical inquisitorial style coat, free of ornamentation fortunately, ceramite of some sort underneath, least he wasn't going to get perforated by a stiff breeze. Fancy looking sword on the hip, wonder if he knew his way around that kind of weapon or not. Regardless, seems he got stuck with this more than volunteered if he had to hazard the guess. "Welcome to the club, Kid. Keep your head down, and nerves steady, and you'll be alright. Eh, probably. Maybe. Nah, definitely probably. Throne willing."

Shrugging, mostly to himself, the armsman turned to follow the rest of the retinue into Celeste's personal little toy. He could make all sorts of jokes about that, really, but he saved those for another time. Settling into a seat and locking in, he seemed fairly comfortable hurtling through space, more comfortable than he would be on the ground to be quite frank. Still, he listened again as Celeste ran through the mission brief again. Local governor sent a call for help to the Inquisition, which still set off all sorts of red flags. Most sane folk don't go calling to the Inquisition for help, though he kept that to himself until at least the re-brief was done. Slaaneshi or Tzeentch forces, possibly working together. He wasn't sure which he hated more, though it didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. Both needed forcefully and thoroughly ground back into the warp, the more stunning their failures the better. Still, as the simple and brief, well, briefing wrapped up and the option for questions was given, Stukov chimed in.

"How much is the betting pool at that this 'Nickoli' is as corrupt as the rest, just not as bright and trying to make a name for himself? That aside, if things are that deeply corrupt, not sure I'd consider our informant, high up as he is, to be even remotely reliable, Throne forbid trustworthy. As for discreet, well, least we're subtler than an Astartes kill team." Smiles was...not what anyone would consider discreet, in form and function, and he doubted Cogs was much better, given her name for the others, himself included, was Prank Victim number. As for the Kid, well, at least he looked unassuming for the most part, but that didn't mean a thing in this line of work. He could pass as a merc or a body guard easily enough, the coat and non standard armor worked wonders there. Still, they'd no doubt see how long discreet lasted before things broke down into an open war.

Medaira let out a happy sound of some kind, weirdly distorted at the greeting from the Celestian, her eyes narrowing in a happy smiling expression as her lower face was hidden beneath a breather looking device that she rarely took off. Ohh she could take it off at will, she didn’t really need it, but it was useful for all manner of things!

She made a happy amused chirping almost sound as her head tilted at Stukov with innocent expression underneath the crimson mechanicus cowl.”I WILL hold you to these words, Prank Victim 2~ I will reserve the best replacements as to complete your glorious potential to the Omnisiah~!” She added in a singing almost voice and then just to make it disturbing she added a childlike giggle.

Her head slowly turned around as a new voice entered the scene. Her eyes locked on the man… no a kid. Well in this world of theirs you either grew up sooner or died, but still compared to them he was so young~ A kiddo~ She made happy chirpy sounds at him with narrowed predatory eyes for a moment as endless possibilities raced through her brain for a moment before she switched to innocent expression once more.” Nice to meet your mortal flesh, Prank Victim 3! May the Statistical probabilities ever be in your favor~” She added with a whistle in a really round about way of giving the kid her wishes of good luck upon him.

With that said she followed their glorious leader into the vessel and sat down in her seat, strapping herself in with happy chirpy sounds, noting the marvelous ship! Yes this was a ship! And yes she liked it~! And the mechanicus conservatives knew nothing about how it should be for all she cared. She was a magos of her own right, there were people above her on the ladder, but for all intensive purposes she was part of the progressive faction~ Also… she was withing the INQUISITION. Ahh, all the loopholes and roundabout ways she got to accomplish her duties now. It was great~ Near zero accountability ruled.

Listening to the briefing she was nodding, making happy approval sounds and doing calculations in her head for a various honestly not important for the moment things such as how much feathers would be needed to cover a human who was soaked in tar or any kind of viscous liquid. She looked at Stukov again.” Discreet~ is not the word to use for a Celestian,Psyker, Magos and an… accountant? I withdraw my point, his ordinarity would offset our quirky nature in the eyes of outsiders~” She whistled jokingly, making up a new word because why not if it got the meaning across!

“As for the planet, with two seeming cults present, chances are the others will pop up before long if they haven't in secret already.” Medaira stated her additional mechanical limbs moving around her in some weird attempt to prove her point by gesturing.” And the Governor should be the first person we run a check on. I bet his wife is the leader of the Cult of Pleasure on this world~ I’ve always wanted to say ‘the wife did it!’, I’m sure this will by my chance.” She added, seemingly really convinced of her opinion on the matter and as joking as she was, she was in agreement with Stukov that their ‘contact’ should be the first person they ensure is not on the chaos shenanigans, otherwise the whole op would go to the Eye of Terror before they even start to do anything serious!

"I believe the appropriate throne-sanctioned term is 'tunnel rat', Stukov." Adrianne mused with a sly smile as she tilted her head, eying the stoic armsman.

That was when her attention was drawn to their resident tech priestess; violet eyes zeroing in on the bizarre woman. Of course, as far as the mechanicus was concerned; bizarre was par for the course. But this particular half-human-half-machine was a different level entirely, and a brief scan of the surface of the mind made Medaira out to be just as strange if not stranger than some of the things she had seen in the immaterium.

"Throne's blood. Where did you even find this tech priestess, Celestian?!"

Adrianne glanced at Andromedai with a look that verged on disbelief, yet she managed to keep her thoughts for herself. Andromedai was by far one of the most radical and open-minded sisters of battle Adrianne had ever seen. Not that it meant that much given the average level of stuck-up in the Orders Militant, but Adrianne knew to appreciate it about her superior.

Plus, anyone willing to let a psyker ride shotcut outside of a navigation throne would instantly end up on Adrianne's good side!

... and it was aaaaaaalmost enough to counteract the mental groan that echoed through her mind and likely the warp as well when she heard about the suspected cult affiliations.

"Tzeentch and Slaanesh... why can't it ever be just regular khornates for a change?" Adrianne groaned, though straightened up.

Whilst the followers of Khorna had a fetish for indiscriminate orbital bombardment, nigh-ork levels of firepower and a particular love for all things axes and chainswords; and especially chainaxes; their lack of tact made them predictable. And most importantly, Adrianne had a fair suspicion whatever warp entity she had been sensing recently was not affiliated with the blood god!

She turned sharply and marched towards the ship; staff in hand. Had her recent 'visits' been purely coincidental, or was there something more about it? First they had grown in frequency, and now they were tracking down a chaos cult associated with tzeentch or slaanesh. Sure, working with the inquisition had a tendency to increase your likelyhood of you running into trouble; especially the chaotic kind of trouble. But even within the inquisition, this coincidence seemed a bit _too_ coincidental!

So caught was she in her consternations that she completely failed to notice the smaller, unassuming scribe; the taller psyker walking right into Titus and only stopping when she felt her breastplate crash into something.

"Oh... " Her violet eyes opened; awakening from her reverie to; before narrowing to peer down on Titus.
"What,- who are you... ?"

She asked, her senses honing in on the aura of the scribe's soul.

Titus gulped at the Celestian's response. If she hadn't been the person to reassign him.... Then who had? Unfortunately, before he could give it any real thought, the other members of the team saw fit to give him a few words. The first to welcome him was a rather 'normal' looking man. Based on his equipment, Titus figured him an armsman of sorts-- though the clearly salvaged patchwork of carapace and flak armor was unlike anything the young scribe had ever seen. "Er... Thanks for the reassurance?" Titus responded with a nervous smile as he scratched his head absentmindedly. Whether the armsman's words were supposed to be encouraging or some form of foreboding, Titus preferred to assume the former. It would be much easier to get along with his new teammates that way.

Not wishing to keep the Celestian waiting for departure, Titus stepped forward to board the ship, only to find himself uncomfortably close to a cheerfully chirping mass of bionics. Cogheads had always rubbed Titus the wrong way, between the constant disregard for non-mechanicus humans, their incessant tech-fetishism, and the fact that so many had tried to get their oily little mechadendrites his null-collar was reason enough to typically ignore or avoid them. This one however, seemed particularly disturbed. The gaze with which she regarded him could've been likened to that of a feral grox, perhaps even more unsettling was the fact that her servo skull was an exact replica of her own head. How he'd failed to notice such a disturbing device when he'd first arrived was beyond Titus, but it was more than likely due to his rushed entrance to the briefing. He could barely manage a grimace and nod as he backed several steps from the entrance of the ship. If Titus could help it, he'd be certain to sit as far away from that woman as possible.

While he was allowing the crazed magos to board ahead of him, it seemed that Titus was not yet done with the secondary introductions, as a solid thump struck him from behind. "My apologies, I didn't mean to stand in your-" Titus began to instinctively apologize, "way..." The young scibe's voice trailed off as he turned to face whoever had run into him. Before him stood the largest non-augmented psyker he'd ever seen. Between her well kempt, snow white hair, pale skin, and impressively developed yet still feminine physique, Titus could've almost considered her quite beautiful... But she was a mutant and a witch; sanctioned or not. Such mutants were a deviation of the human form, this one had simply been fashioned into a tool of the emperor's will, and Titus would do well to remember that. Even through the protection of his collar, Titus could feel those violet eyes of hers drilling into his soul. "As I said psyker," Titus quietly spoke as his hand gently pulled back the high collar of his coat, "My name is Titus Ramsay, and I am but a scribe." Exposing the null-device for a brief moment, Titus turned it's setting two clicks higher before discreetly concealing it once more. "If you were expecting something more... Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you."

And with that, Titus quietly took his place upon the Typhon, ensuring he was as far from the Magos girl as humanly possible.

"Knowing Planetary Governors and the way they think, I would place a rather high stake on that bet, Stukov." said Andromedai as she reached above her head with her right hand and flipped a few switches. There was a slight effect upon the interior pressure of the Typhon, as well as its temperature which was now chilly but still comfortable. Andromedai had caught the look that Adrianne had sent her way, she returned it with a slight smirk spread across her face that could have been considered sly. "Khornates are boring, just shoot them and move along, these other two Chaos factions are much more challenging, something I greatly welcome next to the boring rabble we mostly end up dealing with. As for you Medaira, you may get your chance on saying that, but let us not jump to any conclusions until we have solid evidence, then we can issue out summary executions. Anyway, I would not be surprised if Nickoli turns out to be one of the supposed Chaos infiltrators. It would make sense if he was though, from what I know of how some Chaos gods try to eclipse or out right dispose each-other. Both Slaanesh and Tzeentch are exceedingly cunning, the former more so than the ladder, so assume everything we are being told is a lie, use your inquisitorial training for the rest." Andromedai pulled back on the Typhons throttle, at a rather disturbingly close distance to the planet. It was clear that she was very familiar with her ship, and very confident in controlling all aspects of it.

Almost immediately once arriving at Erathell, the Typhon would be contacted by the Orbital defense stations commander, "Running system check on IS signal, you are all clear to enter the Erathellian atmosphere." Andromedai did not reply, there was no reason to, she merely made a few adjustments to the Typhons systems before entering the planets atmosphere. As the Typhon broke through the Exosphere and entered the into the stratosphere, a vapor cone forming on the front of the spacecraft and vanishing after a few short seconds. Anyone on the outside of the aircraft and within a set distance would hear a loud explosion, which was actually the Typhon rapidly decelerating. Those inside of the Typhon though, would notice nothing at all, not even turbulence. "Here we are, the planet Erathell, somewhere down below the forces of Chaos have infiltrated this important world, and it is our responsibility to burn them out." said Andromedai as the sprawling city landscape that acted as the heart of Erathell appeared before them.

Two Thunderbolt Fighters suddenly appeared on either side of the Typhon, then fell back twenty meters, falling into an escort formation. At the same time, part of the cocking controls in front of Andromedai, someone was trying to contact them via a secure coms channel. Flipping a switch in front of her with her right hand, Andromedai opened the coms channel, and was quickly greeted by the rough sounding voice of a man clearly in his older years. "Celestian Andromedai and the rest of her retinue, I am Planetary Governor Nickolai for Erathell. It is my honor to have all of you within my system this morning." There was a short pause before the man continued. I have sent Thunderbolt Fighters to escort you to my facility. While it is very unlikely anyone would try anything, I rather not leave any chances. I am sure I will see all of you shortly, untill then I will eagerly await your arrival." Andromedai closed the com channel then sighed lightly, almost inaudibly. "Heavily armed escorts always make me wonder who is actually being protected, the planet or the actual escort?" said Andromedai as she adjusted her course towards the new marker that had been placed upon the Typhons built in HUD.

The large towering building of Imperial Gothic architecture stood out among all others in the area, it was obvious this is where the Planetary Governor resided. "Is he trying to make himself stand out amongst the rest of the planet, or is he just flaunting his position of power?" said Andromedai, mostly to herself as they approached the landing pad they had been silently assigned to. Even before they had landed, Andromedai could see that an armed escort was waiting for them at the two large metallic door that lead into the facility.

Once they were close enough to the landing pad and the Typhon had engaged its landing sequence, the two Thunderbolt Fighters broke off from the Typhon then regrouped further out, before vanishing into the distance. Andromedai watched this unfold in real time through cameras installed around the aircraft, deciding to not comment on their departure. Instead, she focused on bringing the Typhon down carefully and gently onto the landing platform before giving new orders to her retinue. "This may be needless, but I require all of you to act professional and to the standards that are expected from us." Andromedai would unstrap herself from her seat and stand up, narrowing her eyes at Medaira is irritation. "Medaira, you will no longer refer to anyone during the length of this mission as a prank victim, call them by name. You are in the company of the Inquisition, you need to act accordingly." Andromedai would then move to the back of the ship and open the airlock giving her final orders "Remember what I said about the Chaos infiltrators, treat everyone normally but do not give away our knowledge of their potentially being any. You are allowed to ask questions and make comments, but use common sense. let us move out, and stay close to me."

Celestian Superior Andromedai was the first to leave the Typhon, and would allow everyone to depart, but would step rather aggressively in front of Scribe Titus before he got to far. "I do not appreciate the way you flaunt that null collar, especially how you passive aggressively did so to our Psyker, Adrianne. A single Psyker is worth fifty thousand Scribes at least, it would do you well to remember that. While I myself own a device of such, be weary of where and how you use such, I do not want it interfering with Adrianne's abilities. You are new among my retinue, and you must learn your place if you wish to be counted as an equal.

Andromedai would turn her back to Scribe Titus, then move forward towards the two heavily and well equipped Imperial guardsmen who were waiting for them. They saluted Andromedai and her retinue before speaking, "Celestian Superior Andromedai and the Inquisitorial Retinue are requested to follow us to Planetary Govanor Nickoli's quarters for more a full beefing, please follow us." said the higher ranking Guardsmen before turning to open the door for the retinue and stepping inside. Andromedai would be the first to enter alongside the higher ranking Guardsmen, while the lower ranking would follow behind the group. Within a few short moments of walking through Imperial Goth architecture filled corridors that were a bit to brightly illuminated for Andromedais taste, they arrived at Nickoli's quarters. The two Guardsmen opened the doors that lead into the quarters and would then close them behind the retinue once they had all entered. Instead of departing though, the two Guardsmen now stood outside of the doors, guarding the only way in or out.

Nickoli was a tall man, almost reaching Adriannes height, though this was not known until the older man stood from the lavish chair behind the antique desk he had been positioned at. Instead of wearing robes or some other form of formal clothing, the man wore what appeared to be a type of Guardsmen armor that not even Andromedai had seen before. It was heavy decorated with war medals and other signs that the man had not only seen but taken part in many wars over his lifetime. "I wish to thank all of you for responding to my message so swiftly, the situation within Hyperion has not changed for the most part, one could be thankful for that, and another could see it as a concern. I am sure you all have been briefed on the situation so I will not waste my time repeating any of it. What I will say is that we have pinpointed where most of these reports are coming from. I will pass the appropriate information to you, Andromedai. The man would return to his lavishly decorated chair and take a seat once more, "I am a busy man, this planet does not run itself and I must return to my current duties. I have a safe house in the city where all of you may reside comfortably, should you chose to do so. I have no doubt that you will find the source of the Chaos infestation and burn it out.

"My lord, what foetid corner of the Imperium breeds these fawning idiots? That is all he is going to say?" Thought Andromedai to herself before speaking, "The daemonic are without number, and their legions span the galaxy. But faith does not tire. Should it take us an eternity, the Inqusition will find and exterminate them all, I swear to you this. As for the safe house, we are thankful of the offer but I have my own somewhere on the planet that is used by other members of the Inquisition, this is where we will reside while upon Erathell." Nickolai nodded his head, "If that is what you wish, then so be it. I must ask though, are there any questions any of the retinue has before you are dismissed to do as you see fit upon my wonderful world?

"Remember I said after any delimbing incidents, Cogs. Throne willing, that won't be an issue anytime soon." Stukov very much preferred himself intact, he wasn't some fanatical zealot like Celeste, or those dour sodding Kriegsman, or the Cogboys and girls of the Mechanicus in their zealotry for the Omnissiah. Regardless of that, he had to mentally note that Cogs was probably the most unstable out of all of them, and that was saying something. Regardless, the remark on sanctioned terms of his like got a snort of amusement from the armsman. Tunnel rats, maintenance roaches, plenty of terms one could call those who were more familiar with tight, enclosed spaces than broad, open skies. Reminded him that he'd never be totally comfortable with boots on the literal ground, but that was a bridge to burn once they reached it, should it need burned.

"That's probably the most diplomatic term I've heard in quite some time, Smiles, though flattery will get you no where. Well, nowhere terribly interesting." Smirking to himself, Stukov considered the response to the array of trouble. Tzeentch wasn't one he had much dealings with, not to his knowledge at any rate. Khornate and Slaaneshi cultists and daemons were the ones he'd run afoul of before in his rather...turbulent career. Still, nothing a judicious application of force couldn't sort out once tracked down, though Khornate would have been by and far the most simplistic and easy to deal with. Meanwhile the Kid was having his own shock at meeting Smiles. Not too surprising, given her...unique stature, but as the Armsman was settling into a seat, roughly even distance between the Kid and Cogs, he chimed in after Celeste remarked on Khornate being boring.

"Good thing I don't knowingly take bets I'll lose, then. And I wouldn't call Bloodthirsters ripping through a bulkhead 'boring' by any stretch Celeste. Still, daemons are daemons, and those stupid enough to side with them need sorted out just the same." Stukov closed his eyes, seeming to relax and enjoy the trip in the transport, mentally bracing himself for the trouble to come planetside. He could feel their entry into atmosphere, subtle little things that larger ships would never experience. Well, not under any normal circumstances, and as the vessel settled down he kept resting his eyes, nothing he did would have any impact currently. The sound of additional engines, distinct to those of the transport, coming near before fading had the armsman opening his eyes again. Thunderbolts, he knew those engines anywhere. They weren't proper Fury interceptors, but he had to give begrudging credit. When it came to atmospheric operation, he'd prefer Thunderbolts holding the skies over the Lightnings any day of the week.

"Standard low count escort patterns usually put them behind the escortee. Nominally, this is to be able to either peel off or launch forward to intercept trouble. Of course, its also a prime place to be if the escort needs an unfortunate accident to occur. Unfortunately they aren't Lightnings, you could almost ignore them with the right atmospheric craft." Stukov spent enough of his life on Imperial Naval vessels to know his stuff when it came to commonly employed craft, and he'd brushed up on stuff that hadn't been available to him after his formal assignment to a retinue. He was no officer, mind, but knowing a Thunderbolt from a Lightning, from a Fury, was always useful. It gave him something else to consider as they diverted and touched down to deal with this Planetary Governor. Celeste was all business now, and Stukov was on his feet, smirk fading to his usual resting neutral expression. The Kid got a dressing down, which Stukov suppressed a chuckle at. Time and place for everything, he could rib the Kid later for that.

Following Celeste out of the transport, Stukov made a quick mental headcount of the well armed 'escort' present. Outnumbered, though he couldn't say outgunned given the nasty tricks they had, but the show of force was duly noted. Not as a concern, but what to expect should the Planetary Governor indeed prove corrupt, and his subordinates equally so. In due time they were admitted to the Governor's quarters, and Stukov found himself scanning the man intently. Armored, though it was of foreign make and model to him, and festooned with medals and commendations. Either had actually spent some time in service, or wanted to make a show of it. Still, the man was abnormally tall, which was discreet until he, of course, stood up and began babbling. Quarters were offered, lavish nonsense, and fortunately Celeste turned him down. She'd already arranged that, thank the Throne, and Stukov found himself reminded why senior officers and officials were avoided. Still, the question posed got a curt shake of the head.

"None here, the sooner we root out the heretic, the sooner they can be put to the torch." Stukov could have come up with various questions, mind, but he was focused on analyzing the varied medals and insignia on the armor, as well as the armor itself, seeing if he couldn't drudge up any sort of recollection of any of it. Asking after the man's 'glory days' would not have had any direct impact, perhaps he could do some digging later through records on the man, should they have time to do so. The attitude was, well, not surprising but not welcome, and he doubted this world was all that wonderful. That, however, would remain to be seen.

Adrianne paused, tilting her head slightly as she eyed the curious scribe for a moment as he hurried away and into the shop as quick as decorumly-possible.

"What a strange one... "

She thought to herself as she watched Titus go, making a mental note of keeping a close eye; not to mention safe distance; from the peculiar scribe. As well as requesting a file on the scribe from Andromedai. One of the key ingredients of being a succesful psyker was to have a healthy level of scepticism to all people, whether they be from the materium or the immaterium.

She heard Stukov's reply, tilting her head to face the shorter armsman and smirked.

"You are a far too reliable teammate for me to need to coddle you, Stukov. But if you are requesting me to come up with some more interesting names, then I'm sure I'll be able to oblige." Adrianne replied with a mischiveous smile, before she turned and walked into their waiting ship.

Sauntering inside, Adrianne nestled herself into one of the slightly-undersized co-pilot chairs; leaving the routine flying to the rest. She had a different job in mind. As they began to soar down through the planet's atmoshpere, Adrianne leaned back in her restraint harness; letting her eyelids droop as she focused outside of herself, touching her mind to the energies that surrounded this new planet.

She could sense the currents flowing from the immaterium, with two main tides being represented. They both converged on the planet like a roiling storm around a single isolated lighthouse. Although the planet itself might have looked peaceful, the warp was in turmoil; and Adrianne could sense the distant eyes of countless spectactors watching the planet from the other side with keen interest; eager to see what the next step would be in a show that had started long before Adrianne and her team had even known about the planet.

She opened her violet eyes again, and let out a sigh; biting her lower lip. She did not wish to stay on the planet, even before they had even set a foot on it.

"A bit too late for that now I suppose... not that the inquisition has ever cared too much about personal preference."

She thought, mentally resigning herself to their current situation and mentally reciting a small prayer to the emperor that she was just being too skeptical in her assessment of the planet.

*

As they entered the governor's quarters, Adrianne was still in her almost dream like state; her eyes looking everywhere and nowhere at the same time. She was aware of the grandiose architecture all around her, but it all paled in ocmparison to many of the sights she had seen back on Terra.

The planetary governor was an interesting character. He lived in a den of opulence, yet he was surrounded by and carried himself much like a guardsman would.

"How long has he been the governor of this planet?" Adrianne whispered quietly to Medaira, leaning towards the unstable tech-priestess; too consumed by her questions to care about the mental state of their hybrid-technological companion, and hoping that she could dredge up the information from some cogitator bank somewhere in her cranial compartment.

"If that is what you wish, then so be it. I must ask though, are there any questions any of the retinue has before you are dismissed to do as you see fit upon my wonderful world?"

"Actually... " Adrianne started, whilst focusing in on the aura of the man; with the result that her violet eyes seemed to be halfway on him, and halfway peering right through him.
"Governor Nickolai, I would like to meet your chief astropath. Are they available?"

Medaira surprisingly kept her outward silence as they were 'escorted' around under 'protection'. Yeah let's call it that if it makes the people involve sleep better at night, she whistled amused. Ahh a governator palace, a rather technicolor amusement of a location, so filled with umbribled corruption and backroom dealings! And ohh don't even talk about the favors! She was happy, this place was fun, if only you could spend the odd afternoon just tapping into all of the surveilance that was scattered throughout the whole place and even the individual rooms! The lovely pieces of info and gossip you'd get. She could just imagine the countless pranks she could pull off with the right data. An odd scandal here, an angry wife finding you with the mistress there, fun for everybody everywhere!

Medaira was grinning underneaht the breather like device as her servo... head was flying around her happily and grinning as well. It was a full copy of her own head after all, she made sure to keep technological additions to the outward appearance to a minimum for maximum effect.

As soon as they had settled in the room, Medaira began to do techie things and get her metaphorical hands all over everything, in other words she was accesing any data feeds and databanks she could reach without making it obvious. For example the surveilance around, it wasn't tapped. Sure somebody was likely watching from somewhere but there wasn't an external break in for the looks of it. SO at least htey weren't under... DOUBLE SURVEILANCE! She tilted her head and looked at Adriana who asked her a question. She made a quiet beep sound followed by a tiny barely perceptable whistle." 1010..." She let out a series of synth noises." 10~ " She repeated in common gothic.

Finally she turned her attention proper to the Governor Nickolai and looked at him with the mild gaze." I'd like to ask how has the local assigned planetary members of the Cult Mechanicus been performing their duties~" She chirped a question." Any major delays, malfunctions, sudden defficiency in supplies and of course lack of servitors~?" She asked with her almost childish voice. While in the meantime she was making SURE to hack the air conditioning units of the man's office. He was going to find it fluctuating up and down, keeping it uncomfortable withotu actually being too obvious. It would be glorious whenever somebody realizes it after a good while.

Titus nervously fidgeted with his equipment as they approached Erathell; ensuring his pistol, eyepiece, and cogitator were all functioning at peak performance. The prospect of being sent on a bona fide covert op was equal parts exciting and terrifying, and quite frankly, he hadn't the slightest clue as to what his own role in the retinue would end up being. From what he could tell, they seemed to have every base covered, and his rather lackluster addition didn't even seem necessary. For what reason was he sent to join them? Who would've ordered such a change?

The boy's fingers pressed firmly into his eyes as he listened to the expanded briefing. Sure the generalized explanation of the operation's scope were useful, but Titus was a scribe; not a psyker-- he needed fine details in order to know where he'd need to focus the few skills he had. A paper trial couldn't be pulled from thin air after all! He needed cabinets, and files, and transcripts, and documents if he hoped to be of any use!

Having remained lost in his own thoughts whilst in transit, Titus found a wide, enthusiastic grin creeping across his face as the Typhon entered the Stratosphere. He couldn't remember how many years it had been since he'd gotten to walk planetside, and it was a welcome change to the stuffy, recycled air of a void ship. The moment the ship landed, Titus wasted no time gunning for the door; excited to breath some fresh air, only to nearly collide with a very angry Celestian. The young scribe's entire body seemed to shrink as he was reprimanded; his very bones cowed by the Celestian's fury. "I... I Understand Celestian Andromedai." he whimpered in response; his face devoid of the excitement he had shown just moments before, "It shall not happen again."

Heeding the Sister's words, Titus took a moment to lower the setting of his collar to three, hoping to avoid causing any more trouble for the retinue, or himself.

He could only hope for the best.

---

Though he had been following orders, Titus could already tell that turning down the collar was a mistake. A slight prickling sensation danced across his skin every so often; the sensation like an icy static. It was without a doubt a bad omen. Nonetheless, Titus had a job to do-- and his primary concern at the moment was ensuring that the main contingent of chaos devotees in the hive weren't able to get a proper warning of the Inquisition's arrival. Depending on how far the corruption had spread, Titus suspected there was going to be a mole carefully kept in the Planetary Governor's company as a form of insurance. "Governor Nickolai, if possible, I'd like a digital map of your estate, as well as a roster of those that work within it' wall." Titus spoke, having waited until after the others had asked their own questions.

Once Governor Nickolai had taken his seat, he raised his feet and rested them upon the ornate wooden desk in front of him, while at the same time crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back in the chair. Clearly, the man preferred comfort over presentation at the moment, and was not worried about letting those currently present in front of him know that. When the members of the retinue asked their own personal questions, Nickolai was sure to quickly respond, doing what he could to answer each of the inquiries to the best of his ability.

"I do believe I can set up a meeting between you and my chief astropath, Adrianne. Though currently they are preoccupied with another task at the moment. I will inform her that you wish to speak with her, and I assure you she will get back to you as soon as possible." said Governor Nickolai before taking a small sip of whatever amber colored liquid was in the glass next to his right hand. Andromedai had some guesses, but was not about to inquire upon it.

The question that Tech-Priestess Medaira asked was a rather peculiar one, and Nickolai thought on it for a few short seconds before responding. "The Cult Mechanicus has been performing their duties swiftly and to the letter, no delays, no malfunctions, no sudden deficiency in supplies and lack of servitors, in fact there are no complaints from me on their current performance." Nickolai crossed his left leg over his right to make himself more comfortable before responding to the last question.

"That is a rather interesting question, Titus. Unfortunately, I am unable to disclose that information to you, it would be a breach of protocol and my own rules. Perhaps at a later date I can hand over some of the requested information but at the moment, as I said before, is going to have to be denied. Now, I have another meeting set up that has arrived, they are currently waiting outside the doors to my office, and with that I bid you all a fond farewell. If you need anything else, please feel free to reach out to me."

Nickolai raised his left hand and waved it lightly in the air in a dismissive manor, informing them they had permission to leave his office now. It was at this moment, that the Planetary Governor noticed that his room had grown slightly cooler, and the temperature was still dropping. This occurrence currently had no explanation, and was baffling him.

"We have been waiting to do so." said Celestian Andromedai as she turned her back on the planetary governor, then left his office with her retinue following close behind. On their way out, they would pass a group of Skitarii Rangers who eyed them curiously before entering the office with the doors shutting behind them. "I do not believe the man to be a Chaos infiltrator, at this time at least." said Andromedai into her helmets com after she had placed it back onto her head and secured it into place. "Let us return to the Typhon, from there we will fly to the Inquisition safe house." The Celestian superior picked up the pace slightly, wanting to leave their current surroundings.

Andromedai was first on board, and first to take a seat, motioning for their local and friendly Psyker to take the co-pilot seat once more. "I would like to warn all of you." began Andromedai, "That the Inquisitorial safe house may be slightly uncomfortable at first, it is much different than most other buildings anywhere in the Imperium. After a while, I am sure you will become accustomed to it. by the time Andromedai had finished speaking, they would already be airborne.

The Typhon did not climb high into the atmosphere as would have been expected, instead the craft remained rather low to the ground, using the natural storm that had now moved into the area to mask its movement. They would first pass through a snow capped mountain range, passing by seemingly untouched nature, its type rarely even seen on Garden worlds. Then, approached a coastline, where the Typhon made a sharp but still smooth turn to the left, curving along the base of the mountain range before gaining altitude. The sensors of the Typhon would inform them multiple times through the flight that Andromedai was coming a bit to close to the ground or other hazards that could end their journey. Though now, those sensors informed them that they were coming up upon the Inquisitorial safe house, and would arrive shortly.

At first, they would see nothing, but then the greatly unique looking building that stood out in contrast to all other Imperial buildings would come into view. It had been partly built into the hill that it stood upon, hiding how large the actual building was from view. The Typhon would decelerate before the cloud of moisture that had been forming on the front of it dissipated. Without having to bank forward or backward, the aircraft would position itself above an area of the safe house. Two large metal doors slid open below them as the Typhon lowered itself into the hidden hanger, before they would close above it, cutting off all sunlight, leaving only the artificial light that had been installed around them.

Once the Typhon had landed, Andromedai powered down the craft and unstrapped herself, "Let's get everyone situated and familiar with the safe house." said Andromedai as she moved to the airlock and once more opened it for her retinue, though this time she was the first to leave. Stepping down the ramp, the first thing they would notice was that the landing pad was surrounded with lights that shined down from the ceiling, creating small spots of light in a perfectly shaped circle around the edges of the landing platform. The walls of the hanger were of smooth beige colored stone, below the landing platform was a body of natural cave water. Near them, at the end of the landing platform was a metal path that lead into the safe house, at the end of it was a door made out of polished steel, and a small glass slit built into it.

Walking towards the door, it would automatically open for her, and would remain open while anyone was near it. As soon as she had stepped inside, a short but thorough decontamination system would begin as they walked down the whitewashed hallway that lead into the actual safe house. Like its exterior, the interior could be considered smooth, ultra-modern, clean, and well lit but not to overly illuminated. The secondary entryway they had just arrived in was tastefully decorated with a few real plants and pieces of art that Andromedai had confiscated from important figures within the Imperium of man and even beyond.

At first, it seemed as if they were the only ones there, but another Sister of Battle quickly rounded the corner to meet them as they entered the large and spacious living room that had a sunk in couch and full sized coffee table in the middle of it. This woman looked a bit like Andromedai, though was apparently younger, and her hair was a dark black that made the rest of her attractive features stand out. Next to her was a Servo-Skull, though this Servo-Skull was apparently made from a dead commissar's Skull, and held a muzzle in its mouth as if it was a cigar. Its piercing red eyes scanned the group as the two of them stood before each other in silence for the briefest of moments.

"Celestian Superior Andromedai" said the woman in normal gothic before saluting her superior. "Took you long enough." she smiled slyly before Andromedai responded. "Sister Celestian Aviza, I'm glad to see that the safe house is still in one piece with you in command of it." Andromedai did not smile at the woman, but her voice had relaxed quite a bit in tone.

"I was unsure when you and your retinue were going to arrive, but I have prepared a lunch for anyone who may be interested." Aviza would pause and look over the retinue before speaking once more, "Stukov and Adrianne, I am glad to see you two are both still alive and healthy. It has been many years since I have seen you two, but it is always a welcome sight. Your two new members though, a Tech-Priestess who is named Medaira and a Scribe named Titus, new additions. What happened to that mercenary and the Space Marine that would always accompany the retinue? Wait, I rather not know in all honesty." Aviza shrugged slightly, it was better to not ask to many questions. "Follow me, if you would be so kind." As Aviza lead them through the safe house, it was clear a lot of credits had been spent to make it, and a lot of time and effort had been put into not only its design but also acquiring everything that filled its halls.

When they arrived in the kitchen, Aviza moved behind a bar counter top, that was made out of some sort of stone, that glowed a amber white. The mineral had actually been hallowed out and had lights installed into it, creating the soft and comfortable glow. At the counter top was a set of backless bar stools, neatly pushed in and lined up, awaiting use.

As soon a the retinue had entered the kitchen, their senses would be graced with the smell of freshly and exquisitely prepared meals. "I was unsure what each personal taste was so I went with something simple for the moment." What was presented was nothing simple, it was clear that this Sister of Battle had quite the talent when it came to not only killing heretics but also creating meals fitting of the Inquisition. the meal was a Turkey and Bacon Club Sandwich with sweet potato french fries and fresh fruit, though none of what was presented was fake, everything was real meat, real fruit, real vegetables, and all of it was extremely expensive to acquire.

"I can also make any drink of your choice, we have quite the stock saved up, just name it and I will present it to you." said Aviza with a small but genuine smile across her face. Andromedai took a seat and removed her helmet, setting it on the counter next to her before requesting her own drink. "Mint Julep ice tea, as always after a flight through the warp, please and thank you." said Andromedai, scooting her bar stool in a bit closer to her seat, then looking at the rest of her retinue expectantly. "Of course, anyone else?" inquired Aviza, already working on the drink that Celestian Andromedai had requested.

It was at that moment, that Andromedai noticed that some sort of music that she had not heard in many years was playing, something she had acquired a personal taste in.

Stukov kept himself quiet, observing the man while continuing to run through his mental knowledge of the varying medals and uniform that the man was wearing. There were other negotiations and discussions going on, but the armsman kept his silence until it was time to depart, falling in step alongside the Celestian. She seemed certain he was no heretic, at least for now, and while he lacked the insight into others that she seemed to have, he would take her word for it for now. Which also meant keeping his peace, though the warning on the fact the safe house was different from most places among the vast Imperium. "Can't say I am surprised you have such a place funded and built up for yourself, and the Inquisition of course."

The armsman kept his peace otherwise, riding the shuttle and mostly resting. He may not have been a Guardsman, but he certainly adopted the approach that many of their veterans had of resting damn near anytime they had the opportunity to. Be it in a shuttle, transport, or otherwise having no control over a situation that he could reasonably exert. Of course, some could poke fun at him being the 'old man' of the group sleeping all the time, but constant time spent in warp transit had that effect at times. In time they would touch down at the safehouse, noting that they had traveled a fair distance to get here by how long they had remained airborne. It was...quite unlike anything the armsman could put to words or describe, very much an anomaly in the Imperial approach to construction and building. Maybe it was a style sufficiently rich planet dwellers favored when space was not at a premium?

"No wonder you saw fit to give us a warning..." It was all very strange, design wise, and he wasn't entirely sure whether he approved or not. Not that it mattered, mind, but it was still a consideration as they went through a decontamination type chamber and into the safehouse proper. Rather large and sprawling, the design continuing to prove to be very foreign to him, and not just because it was needlessly fancy and expensive looking to maintain. Not that such things mattered to the Inquisition, they simply made things happen as they saw fit, for better or worse. Either way the place seemed right up the alley, comfort wise, for damn near any nobility or high end agents that would be using the place. Not his cup of tea, mind, he preferred his quarters a bit more utilitarian, but he wasn't going to turn his nose up at any of it. Especially since this was their berthing for the foreseeable future.

Imagine his surprise though, concealed as it was, when a certain someone rounded the corner, and Stukov gave her a casual grin. Well that was a sight for sore eyes, he hadn't seen Aviza in quite a few years. He'd been rotated out to do a lot of work on void operations for the Inquisition, leading teams that were better trained, and nominally equipped, for those kind of unique circumstances. Now that he had been rotated back in, well, of course there was Smiles and now Sis, at least the one that normally got called Sis. "Been keeping myself busy Sis. Not surprised to see your still around causing trouble for anything with the slightest whiff of heretic."

Stukov would follow along with the rest of the retinue as they made their way to the kitchen, cocking an eyebrow at the lunch provided. Nothing like the paste served to the rank and file, even on Inquisitorial vessels. No cost spared in providing in this particular safe house. He wasn't picky, considering the mention of personal taste and preparing drinks. He considered it, there was an acquired taste he had picked up after dealings with Valhallans nearly twenty years ago. "Foods warm, and isn't some sort of recycled paste. That's enough for me, and got any Tanna brewing? Haven't had a good cup of that in years..."

Adrianne was unable to entirely hide her smirk as she watched the governor politely shuffle them out of his office as fast as decently possible. She had a feeling that the man had not quite been expecting the whole crew to take him up on his offer of aid so eagerly.

"He may be a shy man, but that is hardly an indication of heresy. In most cases at least."

She reflected, following the rest of the retinue as they boarded the Typhoon and began their journey to the safehouse, which Andromedai had already managed to generate quite a bit of hype for.

*

"Emperor be praised!"

Adrianne thought as she breathed out a sigh of relief behind her skull faced helmet, just as a sudden decomination shower sprouted from the walls around them, along with an unhealthy dose of holy incense being released somewhere. Only her supernatural prominition had warned her to put on her helmet in time to avoid being dashed by the stuff in the face.

"Perhaps Andromedai wasn't exaggeratin,- ohh. Actually, I _could_ get used to this."

The Psyker's train of negativity abruptly stopped when she entered the main room and got a proper sight of the strange yet comfortable looking decoration of their safehouse. It certainly had a lavish flair to it, but it was different from most imperial interior design. In fact, it almost made Adrianne think of Tau design in some places. The thought made her instinctively peer towards their resident tech priestess Medaira out of fear she might explode into accusations of tech-heresy, but then Adrianne remembered that their particular tech priestess had about as many loose bolts in her noggin as an ork flying machine.

"Aviza. I am glad to see that you are still alive, and looking well even." Adrianne said with a nod of her head, looking even a little impressed as she smiled sheepishly; removing her skull faced helmet with a hydraulic click and hiss.

But the surprises wouldn't end there. Once Adrianne was introduced to the food waiting for them, she almost fell sideways in surprise. But then quickly righted herself again. Of course, she should have remembered Aviza's less-than-ascetic tastes when it come to life in general. And she certainly wasn't going to object to such a treatment.

"What a lovely taste. Perhaps we have more in common than you know."A voice like poisoned honey seeped into the back Adrianne's head.

"Yes, you wouldn't have the slightest... wait." Adrianne spoke, before abruptly pausing and waving a hand in front of her; as if trying to chase away a fly.
"That's a wonderful meal you have prepared. While Stukov may enjoy his cup of stoic Tannan suffering, I think I will just take some wine myself."

Medaira made a happy approving sound and a nod as she received the information about the Mechanicus' state as of late. This spoke well, as much as chaos infiltrators liked to be sneaky and infiltrating especially when dealing with the forces of the 'smart' one, in the productions there would always be traces to show up, no matter how tiny. Of course it was possible that such traces were just never made present to this governor, but it was nice to hear. It would require personal touch of an investigation by herself to confirm if the Mechanicus is operating fine, but for hte time being Medaira reasoned they could be left to the lower priority with a reminder to keep an eye out.

Her servo skull... head made a chirpy sound as they left, following their glorious leader. One of htese days she needed to get a second one done, 3's the charm and all that. On that note though, before leaving, Medaira made sure to confirm the changes to the palace's systems. In the Governor's rooms, she made it so the Air Conditionings would always be wrong. Whenever turned on, randomly it woudl select more or less than the chosen temperatures within a reasonable margin and then keep that. So he will NEVER be just right! It would always be just a tad too could or a touch too warm! 'GLORIOUS~!' Medaira thought as they were leaving. It was one of those small things in life she could enjoy. It hurt nobody and it was hell of a prank, especially given how unlikely it was to be discovered anytime soon. As Andromedai Superior had stated, they had to behave Inquisitionary.' Maintaining street cred is so hard~!' She thought and sighed inwardly as they were getting back onto the ship.

The arrival at the not so perfectly hidden hideout was rather uneventful. She almost wanted to enter into the comm systems to start playing music, but didn't. She was saving that one for later, maybe when they were in a combat scenario! That would be nice, though she looked at her servo head and made a thinking face. Did she need to use the comms when she could just use the head to play the music? It would certainly make battles more entertaining! Why weren't there specialized battle musicians to boost morale? They needed to train those guys as a specialized army!

She was pulled out of her battle musician scenario planning as the ship landed and they made their way out. Such a shame, she actually saw a lot of potential in the idea. Maybe she should try pitching it somewhere. Those thoughts aside, she let out a very happy chirp now that they were inside the base." Well secured, great structural integrity, natural defenses. I designate this great work of architecture a great thing! We need to hollow out more mountains~!" Medaira whistled as they walked, getting familiar with the place. Until they met another Celestian of lower rank than their own gloorious leader. This one made a reference to members of the retinue from times past. The mention of the Mercenary, brought Medaira's attention to the Sister of Battle. She wanted to meet the Mercenary. Maybe she was alive still, maybe eventually! She had some records and reports of the non mechanicus woman who had displayed great profficiency with doing mechanicus things and creating technological marvels! Medaira would LOVE the idea to join hands~ Ohh the miracles they could create! She felt giddy just at the thought of it.

Finally being brought to the kitchen with the enticing armoa of food in the air, Medaira smiled at the sight." This is a marvelous display of skill." She stated as she finally reached to her face with her metal arm and lightly grasped her breather like device. After a moment and a metal click, she took it off and she stored it on her robes, taking a breath of non filtered air." My gratitude and I'm not picky about food." She replied, her voice lacking the usual synthetic notes to it from whever she was speaking through the breather.

With that she finally slowly took a seat. Her sitting posture was actually rather prim and propper all things considered. She took off her hood, letting her short white hair free." I would love some coffee if possible." The techpriestess said with a smile as her servo head flew over and hovered by her shoulder, making it appear almost like she had two identical heads.

"Stoic Tannan suffering..." said Celestian Aviza under her breath with a slight laugh, "I do indeed have some Tannan leaves stored away for an occasion such as this, I'll brew some up for you shortly, Stukov." Moving to the next person upon her left, Aviza would listen intently and take their drink request. "I should have guessed you would have chosen wine, Adrianne. If I am not mistaken, I should have some Synod Ministra vintage here. Now standing in front of the Tech-Priestess, Celestian Aviza eyed the woman with curiosity, though still listening closely. "Coffee is simple enough, I will brew that along side the Tannan suffering." Thankfully, Celestian Aviza had quite the stock pile of supplies readied for the safe house before arriving, and was thankful to the Emperor that she was able to fulfill everyone's requests.

Quickly setting to work, Aviza would prepare the tea first, using an old fashioned and extremely rare kettle to brew Tannan leaves. She would then rummage through the wine cellar not far from the squad and retrieve the very expensive bottle of wine for Adrianne, pouring its contents into a crystal glass and handing it over to the Psyker with great care. The coffee would come next, easily being set up next to the tea kettle that was brewing Stukov's Tannan tea. All of this would occur within a very short amount of time, and the Celestian would carry out each action with grace and skill while doing so.

While all of this was happening, Celestian Andromedai had already begun to enjoy the meal that had been prepared for each of them, taking a small sip of the contents from the metallic cup now sitting to the left of her plate. "After we all enjoy our lunch, I will show you around the safe house, from there you can pick your own room and will have three hours to do as you see fit before we head out on our first mission. Andromedai paused for a moment to take another bite from her sandwich before continuing to speak. "For now, relax and enjoy your free time, there may not be much of it once we begin."

By now, Aviza had handed out the requested drink to each member of the retinue. Stukov with with Tannan suffering in a bowl, Adrianne with her wine in a crystal glass, Medaira with her coffee inside a rather large metallic mug, and Andromedai with her Mint Julep ice tea inside of a frosted glass. Aviza, had taken a seat next to Andromedai once she was finished with the orders and started to enjoy her own lunch, the same everyone else was eating, though her drink of choice appeared to be some sort of carbonated confection smelling of Smokey vanilla, caramel, licorice root, sarsaparilla root, molasses, and cinnamon.