In reply to Zethina Calder (msg # 69):

"Fair enough. A retrospective should provide more information about the crash itself. What is our cover?"

"That unfortunately depends on if the site is still under any active investigation by local authorities... We can pose as local affiliates of the planet level law enforcement but it'd be easier for me to present as an Arbite. The issue therein is I lack the identifications to line up with the local precinct fortress but swift enough 'authority' would be enough to get most low level opinions swept aside. If we wish to divorce ourselves of any aegis of officialism... Street toughs or mercenaries looking to figure out who hit our own as the public excuse. This is a double edged sword though as may present a red flag and tip our own hand... Or, if our unknown enemy is sufficiently blinded, may merely make us out to appear as nothing more than an unforeseen development. I'm not inclined to assume stupidity to be one of the many sins, however, of those we presently oppose." Zethina offered after some further consideration on the matter. The options with the state of their group were not open or varied. They tread quite heavy as one of the drill abbots might put it.

Jaxom snorted amusement. "Yeah, you don't exactly look like adepts. Hmm, I would suggest covering as illegal or at least no-questions-asked Medicae. A lucrative but risky business that provides a reason for all the muscle and an excuse for asking nosy questions regarding battles. If we need to go legal we may, but that risks alerting our enemy." He shrugged. "No way to tell until we get there. Do we have transport?"

"Yea jussignore me then."
Sparrow shrugged and walked back upstairs unless someone stopped him.

Descending past Sparrow as he ascends the stairs she makes her way to the newcomer, weapon still in hand and says "If we go with the medicae and muscle route we will need to make a functional facility area and waiting bay. We will need crete sheet boards, plyboard, plastic sheeting and tubing, sterilisation materials, shelves, sinks. And we have no credits."

Jaxom made the hand-tilting gesture that substituted for a shrug in armor. "No real hurry actually. Sooner we are properly set up the sooner we have patients hanging around who might see or hear something that they shouldn't. As to that though..."
He stabbed one finger out at Sparrow as he walked up the stairs. "Hold it right there Sparrow. Tell me, what would you say if I asked you if you had special instructions for Petition?"
Sparrow straightened up, changing abruptly from wise-cracking scum to a man who had survived the uncertain life of an Inquisition asset for long enough to be classified as a 'trusted agent'. "I would say Throne bless. I have been dropping hints, but all they did was tell me how broke they are. What would you be looking for?"
"Well, operational funds, transport..." Jaxom broke off, looking round the rest of the cell. "Special skills. Medicae, stealth, sniping, ground vehicles, air vehicles, interrogation, enquiry, night ops, water ops, scouting etc, etc, trot them out. If you have them and have gear already trot them out anyway and say so so the rest of us know. To start, I claim stealth and scouting with gear."

Morrison cracked a smile at the question of skills "Well I'd be your Medicae and your Interrogator, I'm not just mindless muscle you see." He said as he reached behind his back and unhooked the medical bag he secured there holding it up "I'm the one that will make sure you don't go dieing any time soon and thats a promise."

Zethina spared Sparrow a glance that gave nothing but a slight shift in her consideration of his place in the present order of things before she turned her attention towards what was on the table. Internally, she felt nothing but great deal of annoyance even as she acknowledged that their ways were just and wise. Transparency gave wise to weakness as their ways and methods become known to the enemy. For not the first time she found herself missing the safety of the Schola or her earliest dispatches within the Precinct Fortress.

"My specific inclinations are inquiry and ranged combat. I have some aptitude for close range engagements but it's hardly my favourite means of approach a violent offender."

Morrigan looked at the newcomer and quietly says "I can provide close ranged fire support mainly and can help against other threats I have been told" She seems immensely shy about the second of her talents and didn't look like she was going to elaborate on it further.

Jaxom's armor shook as a laugh burst out from his visor. "Ha! Hoist by my own petard! Okay, non-dumb muscle, I stand corrected. Pleased to be wrong if it gets us medicae."

He nodded satisfaction when Zethina spoke up. "Inquiry is good. See about getting you some lubricants if you need them. Lhosticks, booze, the usual stuff. Is that a need, or do you already have?"

Jaxom could feel Morrigan from here, but running away shrieking like a little girl probably wouldn't help. Instead he simply asked her "You qualified with long guns? Sniping? These guys have at least one long-range weapon, the one that they used on the shuttle. Counter to that would be nice else our tactical options are very limited."

"As most of you seen there is a long range vox up there. You need to hail listening station UVB-76 for any requests. Anything you want you talk to the Voice. I'm not talking to it again."
Sparrow -visibly irritated- said this in a voice completely lacking his lower hive accent while pointing up the flight of stairs he almost climbed a minute ago.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:12, Thu 17 Sept 2020.

"No, I'm decent with a lasgun if I had one, but I'm better with these" she says moving her arm to indicate small arms "The Duskite are generally better in closer confines. A few specialise in sniping but I'm better up closer where I've been told my talents are most useful."

Zethina considered that for a moment with arms crossing over her chest after returning the shotgun to it's holster sometime ago. It was a short list of things when it came to what she had on hand and not more than enough for one or two such... lubrications. "I've enough amasec to glide my way through one or two discussions and a small share of stimms on hand so a little more wouldn't hurt and I've no lhosticks. Not a habit I ever picked up despite the stereotypes of the Adeptus Arbites that float around the serials." she offered concisely and precisely as she glanced towards the window and continued to fight the instinctual revulsion that rolled over her every time Morrigan spoke and drew at all close to her.

"Roger that. Okay, transport, cover materials, buy-drinks-money and food. We should get that no problem." Jax pulled out his dataslate and began drafting a petition as he moved up the stairs to the vox. Pausing as he passed Sparrow he asked him "You good with sourcing this stuff for us? For a cut natch."

"You have to ask the Voice for specific items yourself. No idea what they do or don't have. If you ask for money and you do get it I can help with the sourcing, no issues."
Sparrow replied with a shrug.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:02, Sat 26 Sept 2020.

Jax nodded reply, moving up the stairs to the vox. Some people, he knew, made almost an art form out of their petitions, but that was for those who wanted more or better, and he contented himself with a simple request.

++My lord, I request 300T in operational funds for the cell. Jaxom, Tdy Cell 114++

Running it through the encoder he sent, waiting patiently for a reply.

Jaxom sits at the vox the others presumably behind. He hails the vox channel. A slow eerie mechanical voice answers seemingly without acknowledging Jaxom's request. It could equally be a person with low quality or very old vox augments or a servitor.

+++Aleksey. Boris. Delta. Ghanima. This is listening station UVB-76. In the name of the Emperor state requested items, purpose of items and purpose of requested funds. Over.+++

++Authentication Aleksey. Boris. Delta. Ghanima. not known to this operator.
No items. Funds 300 thrones. Purpose- local purchase of transport, inquiry lubricants, cover supplies, food.++

Zethina kept her silence for the time being as she continued to piece details together since information was flowing freely enough in the moment that there was no need to indulge in questions. Plus, it was an unseemly thing to do given that instinct gave the impression of positions above her own in both cases. Still, if on one stopped her, she followed after Jaxom to this voice. The stairs hardly a bother in her present kit when she was used to the bulk and weight of enforcer carapace, riot shields, and sundry other blessed trappings of the Arbitrator's office.

+++ Aleksey. Boris. Delta. Ghanima. Funds only deliverable overtly. Commence to location? Over. +++
This message was last edited by the player at 15:59, Tue 29 Sept 2020.

Jaxom sat back a moment, thinking. He did not like the overt requirement. Shrugging, he turned to those behind him. "Overt only. I don't like it. This is going to be difficult enough without rumor warning the perps to flee. I suppose we can work without it however I do dislike the idea of the perps merrily driving away because it took to long for us to walk to their location. What do you think?"

"No possibility of a dead drop?" Zethina asked after a moment's consideration. She did not like an overt delivery at this point for whatever definition of overt the Holy Ordos might utilize in the moment... Which was concerning given what overt operations meant for them as a whole. It was unlikely that they could change the location of the drop now that she considered their verbiage.

"It is probably a draw on an Inquisition account at a banker or moneylender." He shrugged. "We can probably work without it, push the cover, get funds from that. Slow though. Otherwise, anybody got a map-slate? How far are we from the crash-site? Can we walk there in a reasonable time?"

"The site is around an hour away with car. I've a couple of map slates from the neighborhood but they're shite. The ninkers always modify everything way down 'ere." Sparrow added. "An' we have that small buggy downstairs that can fit the four of us uncomfortably. '
Sparrow throws the keys next to the vox and puts a couple of map-slates on the table as well. Much more carefully than the keys of course: Technology is valuable even mere slates.

Jaxom shrugged again. He seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. "Fine then, not worth an overt. We do what we can with what we have, and look to out cover for the rest."

He turned back to the vox- ++Cancel request++ then got up. "Might as well be about it then" he said, scooping up the keys and dataslates. "Day isn't getting any younger. Anybody a combat driver?"