Chapter 1: Blood on the streets (IC)

Adelaide was on a mission. The contact had been clear. So, she proceeded forward as though she had every right in the galaxy to be exactly where she was.

Gabriel is silent throughout the train journey, maintaining the previously engineered facade and keeping a watchful and wary eye on the other passengers and his surroundings.

"Not long now, Sister" he murmours under his breath as he catches sight of Radomil's bulky form up ahead and strides with practiced certainty toward the station's exit.

As you walk forward towards the exit, each of you is aware of the eyes examining you from either booth. For Radomil, Adelaide and Octavius, this experience is brief, the gaze of those in blue and green uniforms spending a couple of seconds on them before moving on. It is a different situation for Gabriel and Cassandra. As it was in the train, the two manacled acolytes quickly monopolise the attention of those in the booths. Feet away from the exit there is suddenly movement from either side. Doors open and uniformed men and women exit the booths. Sharp green and immaculate on the left, and shabby dull blue on the right. For the briefest moment both sides seem to pause, before the left stride forward and the right remain where they are, watching.

The two in green move quickly to intercept Gabriel and Cassandra. The first,a ghostly pale male with burnished red hair cut close, and a thin moustache quickly outstrips them and stops directly in front of them, the exit directly behind him. He has a pair of pistols, on either hip.
The second, a tall female, her bald head exquisitely marked with scars, and whose uniform was pressed tight around well developed forearms and thighs, strides up to stand behind the two. A shotgun was strapped to one leg, and a shock maul already hanging from her right hand.

The man looked from Cassandra to Gabriel, his flinty green eyes and closed face giving little away. He looked young, only briefly into adulthood, his moustache light and soft and slim as a whippet. Despite his forced empty expression, both could sense an excited energy coming from the man. He was keen.
"Papers," he said brusquely.
"And an explanation why you are manacled."

[As with before you can attempt to Intimidate at -20 or Deceive at 0. There will be consequences to either a fail or a success. Or you can attempt to talk and try and RP your way out of this.]

Gabriel silently curses as the two green-clad figures zoom like emerald wasps from their hive, leaving their stations to flank the two intruders.

From shark to fellow hound, Gabriel's stance changes almost imperceptibly. A professional familiarity now favouring his posture.

"At ease officers." he intones smoothly and calmly, with a respectful nod in their direction. "I will supply my credentials."

With this, he sets down the case and reaches slowly into his jacket pocket, producing his wallet and the badge identifying him as a member and detective grade of the Adeptus Arbites. Offering the document he jerks a thumb in Cassandra's direction.

"I'm taking this one straight through to holding and custody prior to transit off-planet. You pulling a long shift today?" he adds casually, offering the comment as a friendly aside while loosening his tie.

The pale man with the thin red moustache took the papers and examined them carefully, holding them up to the light, checking for any creases or smudges in the official print. He glanced momentarily at Gabriel when he asked him about his shift.
"We are the shield...."
He paused for a long moment, letting the silence hang as if waiting for a response. Taking a final look at the identification, he handed them back.

"Detective Kantor, have you been in contact with the Commissariat to arrange holding? Which officer have you been dealing with?"

The woman remained in the same position as before, directly behind the two. The men in blue had also remained where they were, about fifteen meters away and watching the scene with interest.
In contrast, none of the other people paid much interest, beyond giving the group a wide berth as they moved through the exit.

Adelaide, ahead of the others, doesn't seem to notice what is happening as she makes her way to the Admin Building.

Gabriel thanks the man and places his identification carefully back inside his jacket pocket.

"No officer. This apprehension has been strictly off record. I've spent the last few months undercover while in pursuit of this fugitive. I intend to see her safely back to my planet of origin to face summary judgement. I have only the good will of my commanding officer and the duty invested in my rank and authority as an arbitrator of the Emperor's Law. If you could direct me to the precinct house I will attempt to expediate our passage as promptly as I can."

Without waiting for a response Gabriel calmly reaches down for the weapons case, trying to ignore the alarm bells ringing inside his head.

The pale man watched Gabriel reach down for the weapons case, and gave his head a little shake. His thin lips attempted a brief smile, but it was dead on arrival.

"You will have no need for weapons Detective. We will provide your escort to the Directorate."

His thin face, which had been as opaque as congealed eggs showed emotion for the first time. It was a look a thirsty sailor might give to a hidden store of amasac three months into a dry voyage.
Reaching down he withdrew a silver whistle from his top shirt pocket and gave two sharp blasts. Moments later and with the resounding thump of their boots on the tiled surface, two figures emerged from the booth on the left. Clad in thick black armour, their faces hidden by visors and weapons held ready, they march quickly over to Gabriel, Cassandra and the officers in green, taking up a position on either side of the acolytes.

The man's eyes had never left Gabriel.
"Agat Tha is not what it was. Death has come even to the highest in Planetfall. We will ensure that you will arrive at the Directorate unmolested."
Turning on his heels with a sharp clip he moved purposely from the station into the square. The armoured figures to the sides of Gabriel and Cassandra take hold of their free arms firmly and move quickly after him, giving the acolytes little choice but to move along with them. The large woman follows closely behind.

The crowds in the square moved seamlessly out of their way. As with before, there was a mix of reactions from them. While most averted their eyes, or stared pointedly away, some watched the group with pointed curiosity, and even fewer with a little hostility. None stayed in position to block their progress however. Rather than follow Adelaide in a straight line towards the Administratum building, the pale man led them in a curved line to the right, evidently aiming to curve around the tall tower block built to the side of the curved moon shape of the Admin building.


[If Cassandra or Gabriel wish to resist or attempt to break free, this will be treated as a Grapple and we will need to roll for a combat situation.
For Radomil and Urist, you will need to decide if you want to follow Adelaide or this group. If the latter you will need to hurry. If the former I'll move Cassandra and Gabriel to a separate thread to continue their story separately and continue with the three of you in the Administratum.]

Radomil looks back over his shoulder as the whistle blows and watched the scene unfold.

"Fucking typical. Keep moving, keep your head down. If you start shooting now we're all cooked. Heh fuck it, 50% losses ain't so bad for an insertion anyway."

He sees Adelaide enter the building, and makes eye contact with Octavius through the crowd. He gives the tech-priest a pointed look as if to say "leave them be" and proceeds into the building.

Octavius used his mechandrite to subtly monitor the exchange between Gabriel and the officer. He assessed there was not much they could do. At least without blowing their cover.He followed Adelaide and hoped the opportunity would arise to reunite with his fellow Acolytes.

And that they would not compromise the mission. A old proverb came to his mind, and he hoped they would also remember it.

It is better to die for the Emperor then to live for yourself.

As Octavius and Radomil turned to follow the progress of Adelaide they quickly lost sight of Cassandra, Gabriel and their attendant group of Commissariat officers who had moved around the corner of the tower block. They could only hope this would not be the last time they would see them.

Instead now they had a chance to fully examine the massive building in front of them. The central building was roughly shaped like half a circle, the curved circumference facing you. Roughly it looked about thirty to forty stories high, and as wide as it was tall. Constructed of a faded red rock, there was a heavy solidity to its construction that suggested great age. For the vast majority of its floors the only windows that seemed to exist were narrow arrow slits, though there were a number of larger windows near the roof. Beyond the windows, the walls were curiously stark and bare- the only flourishes a pair of stone gargoyles on each of the buildings top corners and atop the tall entrance doors. The roof of the building was flat, and there seemed to be some small structures built there. Behind it rose a taller rectangular building for another ten stories, its walls so dark they appeared black.
Immediately to the right and left of this main building rose two tower blocks, rising tall above either of the other two but with about a third of its width and constructed of the same dull red stone of the main building. Neither appeared to have their own entrance, but were connected to the main building with a connecting covered bridge a story or two above the entrance doors.

Leading up to the wide entrance doors were a wide series of stairs, at the bottom almost as wide as the building itself, but narrowing until they reached the top. As you climb them, you notice a small number of others coming up with you- it does not appear to be an especially busy time. Finally reaching the top you can see that the wooden doors are both latched open. elegantly carved and large enough to let two Adeptus Astartes enter comfortably side by side. Both of the Gargoyles above the doors appear to have something in their mouths, the same thing that the skulls had back in the station and the dock. Much closer now, Octavius is able to recognise them as recording equipment. Closer inspection of the edges of the gargantuan doors show him that the carved wood overlay hides a much stronger core.

Inside the doors, the main entrance of the Administraturm, resembles that of Planetfall station. The back wall is given over to a massive relief. One giant figure, his furious features burnished by a shining halo, appears to be floating down towards the ground, a burning sword in his hand. Beneath him, lie the countless number of prostrate bodies. Behind him stretched the great panoply of Imperial forces. The Astartes, the Guard, the Titans of Mars, the Battleships of the Navy, the Inquisition, the Arbites, the Ecclesiarchy, the Mechanicus are all prominent, but there many others stretching to the edge of the mural, who are less easy to identify. Beneath the relief is a wide curving reception desk, which is manned by four in crisp grey robes. To the left of this desk is an entrance to an antechamber of some kind which seemed to be filled with green metallic filing cabinets. To the right of the desk are three metal gates, each manned by men in blue uniforms, and then after a little gap, a further three gates similarly occupied. Though almost identical in appearance to each-other, you quickly notice a distinction between the two sets of gates. For the three closer to the desk, each of the men in blue appears to search the body of the person intending to pass through, occasionally removing an item from their person. The three blue officers further away instead merely appear to check an identification pass held up before allowing people to pass through. There are a number of skulls attached to the ceiling and corners of this room, pointed prominently towards the entrance doors, the reception desk and both sets of guarded gates.

As the three of you take your time observing this room properly, you notice that there are a number of others who aren't queuing for the gates. Between the entrance and the reception desk there is an expansive waiting area with many chairs of some dark animal skin and tables. At one of these sit a group of four, sitting in an oddly rigid manner. The smallest and most relaxed of the group, is a blond pale female and sits in the centre, with three men, curved around. Of these one is tall, thin and also pale, with short cropped dark hair and a self satisfied smirk. The other two are more solidly built, one heavily tanned, bald and with tattoos over his face and forearms and with an annoyed scowl. The last is darker, with a thick crop of curly black hair and a relaxed smile. All four are wearing casual looking robes of different hues, but despite this, there is a similarity to their clothes.
Perched on the edge of their seats, a little away from these four are two small children, each dirty faced and barefoot, somewhere between six and ten and of indistinct gender. Each of them has their back to the reception desk and appears to be slouching down in the chairs, as if to try and hide themselves from sight. The final person in the seating area is an old man, hunched deep over a table in matted brown robes, with lank grey hair and a thick curly beard. In one hand he is holding a thick carved stick, and on the table in front of him is a book of some kind with curling pages.

If you choose to move up to the reception desk, you are met by a tanned smiling female in her middle age with curly black hair specked with white and in grey robes.
"Welcome to the Administatum. How can I help you?"

Radomil approaches the group of four and sits down, just slightly closer than polite. He nods to them. "Gents. Ma'am. Don't s'pose you lot are from around here, are ya?"

The pale man with the cropped hair turned quickly to look at Radomil. His smirk quickly transformed to a look of distaste.
"You S'pose? Oh I'm glad. I'm not sure I can fathom what your mother might have slept with to produce you. Some manner of limbless pestilence crawling about in its own slime."
The bald tattooed man's head immediately whipped around to glare at his companion.
"Just fething call it a slug."
"You'd know...."
"Iason, Erasmus, behave."
The third voice came from the small female.There was an arch, amused look to her features as she replied back to Radomil.
"Pericles" she indicated the third man who was yet to speak with her head "and I are natives to this city. Iason is colonies naturally. I'd guess you are much further afield than even that though?"

Radomil takes the sudden insult in a stride, he'd been called plenty worse in the guard.  "Don't be getting to excited there Bones, my morning shit's sturdier than you," he retorts.

Turning back to to the women he continues, "Pleasure to be 'quainting with you ma'am. Aye, I've been to plenty other rocks in the Guard. Just arrived on world this morning, felt I should be asking some locals for directions. Are the lot of you clerics, or somethin else? Those ain't pilgrim robes I wager.

The man Radomil had termed 'Bones', and the woman Iason stared back, his pale blue eyes unflinching.
"That so? I'll enjoy feeding it back to you then."

The woman rolled her eyes before leaning forward, her hands clasped, elbows on her knees.
"Part of the Guard? Or rather were part I'd wager. The 'Fancies' don't get many transferring in."
The tattooed man snorted beside her but she ignored him.
"What are you looking for traveller? We could probably point an ex-squady in the direction of most things he'd be looking for, both on and off the maps. What regiment were you by the way?"

The man with curly black hair broke out laughing when Radomil mentioned clerics, and had to turn away, attempting to pretend he was coughing. The woman pursed her lips and shook her head at Radomil.
"Can't take them anywhere can I? And no, we aren't pilgrims or clerics."
She was quiet for a moment, giving Radomil a calculating look before casting her eyes over Octavius standing some way back.
Carefully, and clearly considering her words she continued.
"Best way you'd describe us is 'investigators'. We are in the market for information and there is a lot going on in this city. Some of it would be valuable to us."

"Praise be to the Commissars. And perhaps yes, it pays to have contacts in this city. Information needs to pass both ways however."
Her green eyes scanned over him again, taking in the weapons and the heavy looking bag over his shoulder. She was curious about something and it looked like she was weighing something up in her mind. After a moment or two more she continued.
"There's a couple. Varying levels of expectation and reward of course. Top of the heap are 'Liberatore Julia' quite exclusive, mainly deal in assassinations. No one really knows where they operate from though, more of a case of them finding you if interested. Middle level and fully Arbites monitored and sanctioned are the D.F.A- the Department for Freelance Adventurers. You can ask for them at the reception desk. A lot of their work is basic bag carrying and protection duty but it is reputed to get quite interesting 'wet' work the higher you go.
And then there are the borderline groups who straddle that sanctioned line. Biggest belong to the 'Red Beards', they operate out of Olafur's Axe- a seedy gambling den near station 4. Also say you can pick up individual jobs from the Plugged Socket near station 7."

Adélaïde was all business as usual. She had a mission here, and couldn't let her cover be blown. She barely notices who followers her in, though she takes a moment to look around the expansive building long enough to see exactly who.

Radomil and Octavius. That must mean the others had gotten separated or...

Doesn't matter...

She approached one of the grey-robes, sat her duffel down and nodded slightly. "I'm lookin' for the 'Office of the Ordinate of Weather Fluctuation.' She kept a steady face, waiting and watching the person before her carefully, peripheral vision keeping watch on those guards in blue.

Radomil gives a toothy grin "That's just what I was wanting to hear, thank ya ma'am."

He notices Adelaide speaking to the receptionist and starts to get up. "You've been powerful helpful and I'm glad to be acquainting you, stranger. I'd best be moving, but could be we'd be of some use to each other in these parts. Don't believe I ever caught your name."

Radomil noticed the woman's eyes flick over to Adelaide at the main desk before returning back to him. She gave him a caustic smile.
"I don't believe I got yours either. The name's Pherein, Pherein Nikē. I hope you'll find what I was able to pass on useful. If you ever feel like returning the favour you'll find us quite generous depending on the quality of what you know. We aren't too hard to find."


The older woman in the grey robe nodded back at Adelaide, the professional smile remaining on her face.
"Let me check that for you now, Compatriot."
She looked down to her desk and Adelaide could see that she was examining a thick leaved book. Lifting a thick clump of pages she returned to almost the start of the book, and started to trace her finger down a long table of writing. She had to repeat this action for a couple of pages before she obviously found what she was looking for. Moving forward now to somewhere deep in the middle she started flicking through pages before stopping and examining a page.
Looking up at Adelaide she started to speak again. Adelaide got the impression that she had no particular interest in what she was saying- it sounded like words by rote.

"That should be no problem Compatriot. The Office of the Ordinate of Weather Fluctuation currently has no meetings scheduled so you are free to go up. You will find the Office on the 26th floor, room 42. The lifts are immediately past the security check point, though you can also use the stairs which are situated beside the lifts. Before you pass through the checkpoint you should avail yourself of our security lockers situated on your left. Available lockers have locks and keys attached so you may leave your items there safely. We do not allow any Compatriots without a security pass to carry any weapons or items beyond this point unless they are essential to preserving life.  If you have an item like this you can discuss it with security personnel at the checkpoint. Please use one of the checkpoints closer to this desk."

She nodded her head and then looked up at Adelaide again.
"Is there anything else I can help you with?"

[SORRY for AGAIN delaying shit - new job is really killing my RPG time. I should quit ]

"No ma'am, you been mighty helpful."

Adélaïde nodded and made her way to the security lockers. Her light blue robes fluttered loosely at her thighs - never too tight as that would have impeded her range of motion. She put everything inside. If she had to, she would kill with her bare hands or whatever implements a building such as this might have lying around.

Doubt that'll be the case. We all 'compatriots' here after all, right?

She mused over the odd term the woman had used and began moving to the security checkpoint. She made sure Radomil saw her next to the security lockers before she walked on - a clear indication that that was how you got through security without getting your head bashed in.

She wondered briefly if he would follow or keep security watch down here. Didn't matter. She moved to security.

+++ Assuming all goes well +++

She moved to the stairs. Lifts were all good and well, but being trapped in a box, regardless of the ease of movement, was not something that came natural to her. The stairs, even 26 floors of them, provided freedom - and she desperately needed to get blood pumping to her muscles. So, it was at an even pace that she ascended.

Room 42....

The woman, Pherein Nikē watched as Radomil moved from her group. Making eyes with the thin man with the cropped hair, she tilted her head to one side and shrugged. They remained in their seats, watching all those who entered and left the building.
Radomil moved purposely forward, his eyes on the locker area he had seen Adelaide disappear into. On his way he passed the still figure of Octavius, who had remained close to the entrance door. There was no acknowledgement between the two but after ten seconds the man of the cult Mechanicus moved to follow him. To enter the the locker area, the acolytes had to move past two blocking walls. This meant that though the area was not sealed off from the rest of the entrance hall, the walls provided a little privacy, hiding its occupants.

Past the walls 396 steel green lockers stood against the walls in rows of two. The odd numbered lockers were on top and the even below. As Radomil and Octavius entered, they found Adelaide in  front of locker 242 bending down to carefully place her backpack and duffel bag inside. She then bent down on her haunches fully blocking the ladder. If the other two acolytes looked carefully, it appeared like she was removing something from beneath her blue robes, but it would be impossible to tell exactly what without moving closer. The rest of the area was empty besides a bent figure in rough brown robes in the opposite corner, slowly and carefully repacking his tattered backpack with dusty and dirty relics. Despite their appearance, he was treating them as if they were very valuable.
With another present, none of the three acolytes said a word and instead filled their lockers. Octavius placed his handcannon with reverence into locker 101 before laying his auspex and sacred vials. Radomil had chosen locker 345 and had his arms stretched above him as he stacked Gabriel's chest-plate and shotgun, and the rest of his items into the locker. When the three were finished they locked the lockers and put the numbered keys into the their pockets.

As she had arrived first, Adelaide was the first to leave, but the other two followed behind, keeping a distance but close enough to see where she was going. Without any weapons or items on them, progression through the security checkpoint was easy. The blue uniformed men patted them down before waving them through. Up close it was easy to compare and contrast them with the green uniformed officers at the port checkpoint. While the green jackets and trousers had clearly been a high quality animal product of some kind, thick and bright, those in blue had a cheaper, more processed appearance. While not quite the heavy duty boiler suits of the factory workers, it wasn't much better. Their buttons were also distinctly less shiny and the badges on their chests dull. In one way though they were similar. Their weapons were clearly well maintained and gave the comfortable appearance of getting regular use.

As the three acolytes climbed the 26 flights of stairs, the distance to which they had separated themselves slowly disappeared until the three were moving up in a group. Whether this was due to the natural clumping that humans make as they trek upwards, or due to a realisation that if they met anyone, it would be pretty clear that they were all together and to try and hide this would be more suspicious, it was unclear. They met very few people on their climb, only the occasional robed adept hurrying down, their arms filled with rolls of parchment. Eventually the three reached the floor they were looking for and moved out to the corridor slowly, their feet almost searching for a step- as if they had forgotten how to walk on flat land. Despite their easy pace and relative fitness, all three acolytes were short of breath following their extended effort. The corridor they found themselves in was fairly nondescript. Its walls were chalk white, and stretched straight to their left and right with wooden doors. Outside some of these were piles of dusty parchment. There were very few people on this particular corridor, only the occasional adept. Immediately outside the lift a small sign had indicated that the room they were looking for was located to their left. Moving along, they counted down, as they passed Office 166 located just beside the lifts and from within which they could hear raised voices. Faintly they overheard the words, 'parking permission'. The further they moved from the lifts, the quieter it became. As they passed Office 60, they started to notice that a number of them seemed abandoned, dust thick on the tables, chairs and thick rolls of parchment. Finally they came to what they were looking for. A plain wooden door, with a simple brass label, Office of the Ordinate of Weather Fluctuation. Beside it a white card read: Office 42. Adelaide reached out and gave the door a knock before opening the door and entering.

The centre of the room was taken up mainly by a long wooden desk. It had clearly been covered by a variety of dusty papers and instruments, but these had been cleared to the side to create a space in the middle. Directly behind this sat the bald man from earlier. The travelling cloak was draped over the back of his chair and he was wearing an expensive looking suit. His hands were together, clasped and still on the space he had made on the desk, but nothing else, no papers of his own. He was watching the acolytes as they entered, his face contained and still. Five chairs, sat in front of the desk. Around the side of the room, there were a number of bookshelves and wooden cabinets, some closed, and some which spilled their dusty contents free.

The man waited until the door was closed behind Octavius, before indicating that they should take the seats in front of the desk. Regardless of whether they do or not, he begins to speak.
"Greetings my fellow Inquisitorial Acolytes and welcome to Agat Tha. I am Master Blacklock, Master 2nd class of the Estate Imperium."
His voice was deep and had the relaxed authority of someone who was used to giving orders and using his words as a weapon. However even with these short sentences, they could clearly hear tension. Whether or not any of the acolytes react to his opening words, he gives a quick humourless smile.
"We can speak safely here. I sweep it prior to every meeting I hold and there has never been a bug. Since the death of the last Ordinate there has been a dispute over the naming of a successor. A dispute that has lasted twenty years, and as so, the Office has remained empty. It is a useful place to hold meetings that we don't want overheard here rather than in my own office."

He cast his eyes carefully over the three of them before speaking again.
"I was informed that there would be five of you? Did something happen to the other two or are they waiting elsewhere? I am relieved at least that you were all intelligent enough not to climb into that car with the Inquisitorial markings. That is an obvious worry. Someone has evidently learned that the Inquisition was sending reinforcements here, though it is probable that they don't know your identities yet. I myself was only provided with the description of one of you.
In any case, it is important that you have arrived now. Things have been moving fast in the capitol and I need you to begin your work immediately. Last night my immediate superior 'Ackroidus Roget' Master 1st class, was murdered outside a shady gambling establishment. While on the surface it appears merely unfortunate there are a number of details about the case that I find suspicious. I may add also, that as the Master 1st class, he had a special mandate to investigate the upcoming election, alongside an officer of the Commissariat. I suspect that he might have uncovered something and thus might have become expedient. You will need to move carefully but also quickly. The Investigation will close tonight and once that occurs it will be more difficult to dig up clues."

He looked from each of the three faces in front of him.
"Despite our need for haste I am sure that you some questions."

Radomil keeps his eyes forward the whole way up. He's uncomfortable parting with his weapons, but places them all in a locker. He's never done much of this sort of covert work, but he knows when to keep his head down and follow orders well enough.

Inside the office, Radomil takes a seat when offered. "Were five of us, Slick and Cass got nabbed by a pair of inbred green-shirts on the way in. Took them throne knows where. Now I've left men behind before, but given our lack of reinforcements, might be helpful to have every breathing body we can get. Don't suppose you've got pull with the local law?"

"Only other question I have is where to begin? The list of suspects included some mighty honorable gentlemen and ladies it seemed. A couple of offworld nobodies with shoddy documents are liable to attract some attention if we start asking questions around HQ. Any idea where the decoy car came from? We could tail it.

A slight frown crossed Blacklocks face when Radomil mentioned the green shirts and though his hands remained still on the table, a muscle twitched in his cheek.
"They've been taken in by the Commissariat? If they lifted them in this city, they have most likely been taken into the Meshchansky. On the surface it acts as their headquarters but also doubles as a miniature prison and their base for intensive interrogation. Very few have ever leave with either of their bodies or brains intact. Your friends have barely been an hour on Agat Tha though, so they can't have broken too many laws. I have some contacts over there and I'll try and get them extricated before they dig too deep into them."

He gave the three acolytes a long hard look.
"This may sound strange to you, from a member of the Inquisition but I am not enamoured with the Commissariat. If we were able to act openly and have authority over them it might be a different, but as we don't, we have to navigate them as best we can. They are very effective at what they do, which makes them extremely dangerous for us, acting as we do from the shadows. In a normal situation I would advise you to avoid them as much as you can. However for the present moment you will be working alongside them. Trust me when I tell you to be careful around them, and do not underestimate them even if you do consider them inbred."

He leaned back from the table and reached into his suit jacket and removed a small leather notebook, which he opened at a bookmarked page.
"Moving on. As you say, the list of potential suspects in the case include all those involved in the coming election, almost all of which you would have severe difficulty gaining access to. My recommendation would be to investigate the murder directly. As acting Master 1st class, I am officially appointing you as Estate Ordinates with a minor mandate for investigation."

He laid five embossed blue cards on the desk before him. Each had their new title and the acolytes name beneath it.
"This will gain you some access to most Imperial buildings here, including this one, without being parted from your weapons and should avoid you from being casually picked up by either the Commissariat or the U-Paets. It wont help you though, if you are discovered breaking any law or give you any authority over citizens.
The most effective thing it will do though, is allow you to work alongside the Commissariat as my representatives in this Investigation. Major Belgei Elzele is leading it up. You will meet up with her directly after this. She has said that she will provide you with some limited power to look into this matter. Despite pressure from above, I get the impression that she also isn't happy with the accepted narrative of this case.

She will be able to provide you with more detail, but these are the general facts. Video pict shows him leaving here at 20.05 and then getting off at station 4 at 20.35. Station 4 is very close to Olafur's Axe, a seedy bar and gambling den run by the 'Red Beards'. Roget lived at station 1, which is between here and station 4. His body was discovered outside Olafur's Axe sometime this morning though it appears he was not killed at the spot. His flat also appears to have been ransacked."

He leaned forward, his face a bit more animated than prior.
"I don't know Roget as a gambler, or as a drinker. Its possible though, that he may have been either and this could just be an unfortunate event. There is one fact though which makes me very suspicious. In each of the Masters offices we have a safe in which we keep our most valuable information. It is locked with a 12 digit combination and any attempt to force the safe, will result in its contents being destroyed. Each Master has memorised their own code but to prevent the loss of information in the case of unexpected death, a second copy is held within this building, care of Commissar Needham. Yesterday evening Roget called with him, and claimed to have forgotten his code and withdrew the copy. He did not return it and it was not found on his body and his safe remains locked. I believe there to be important information in that safe but without the code, there is no way to access it. If possible I would like you to recover this code and open his safe.

As I mentioned prior, due to pressure from above the Investigation is to close tonight. As part of this, his flat will be cleared at 16.00 hours today and his office at 22.00 hours tonight. If his safe hasn't been opened by this point, it will be forced and the contents destroyed. Until these times, Major  Elzele will give you access to both his flat and his office which have been sealed. Olafur's Axe is a public venue which you will also be able to visit. I would recommend investigating all three of these. In addition, if Major Elzele does provide you with some limited power, the city and this building will become more relatively open to you. You might wish to talk to Commissar Needham or check out the video picts for yourself or look into the car. It looked very similar to the official vehicles housed in the basement of this building. I am leaving how you investigate this up to you. Keep aware of the time and be careful. It is currently 11.55. Your meeting will be in the cafeteria on the 3rd floor at 12.15, so we still have a few minutes before you should progress to that. Do you have any further questions?"

Radomil picks up his badge and inspects it as he listens to the rest of the briefing. "No sir, no questions. Well, one question, 'spose. How'd Master Roget meet his end?

"Indeed," Master Blacklock, leaned back in his chair and brought the fingertips of his hands together, resting lightly on the desk. His face, was tense with seriousness, and his watchful eyes moved across each of the faces before him.

"I am no expert in murder, but cutting the body up like this isn't typical of any of the gangs that I know of. The same could be said of hit-men or assassins. I'm not sure what it signifies if anything."

Adelaide had been quiet and thoughtful as the conversation played out. Truthfully, Radomill had asked the exact questions she was going to ask.

One thing had given her pause. "Major Belgei Elzele, she is Commissariat. But from what you say, seems as though she may have a radical streak in her, not bein' OK with the pressure from above to wrap up. She on a list of potential assets for us? More inclined to go outside thuh box than your standard Commissariat boot licker?"

For the first time since they had met him, there was a shift in Master Blacklocks serious expression. One of his eyebrows rose slightly, and he looked intrigued.
"What you propose could have severe consequences, but that is the nature of our goal here on this planet. That was sharp reasoning Adelaide. Within the Commissariat, she would be considered to have radical views, and thus despite her talents tends to get shifted out to more unpopular positions, such as working alongside the Master 1st class. From what I understand these radical views consist of a precise following of the rule of law and an incredibly stubborn insistence on achieving the Emperor's justice rather than listening to what her superiors order. Major Elzele has burned a number of bridges in the past ensuring that those guilty of crimes get punished. For instance despite orders limiting the time and scope of the investigation into Major Roget, she has agreed to provide you with powers to enable you to do so instead.

Keep this in mind, I would not mention breaking the law in front of her, unless it was utterly essential to providing the evidence so that punishment could be wrought. If used in the right way, she could be a powerful asset indeed. If possible I would also suggest you build a varied catalogue of contacts and assets. Information can breed here."

Master Blacklock reached down to his waistcoat and withdrew a chrono from a small pocket and checked it before placing it back and and withdrawing a key with a red label from inside his jacket which he handed over to Radomil.
"Our time is up and we will have to move. That key is for your accommodation within the city. It is for flat 33, second floor of the Kuntsevo Mansions of Urbane Prosperity, next to Station 5. Basic amenities are provided plus a week's worth of provisions. You will have access to the flat as long as you need. I selected the key at random from those provided to short term Administratum adepts, so it is quite unlikely to be bugged, but I was not able to check myself before. Agat Tha does not operate an official curfew but after midnight anyone on the street tends to receive a lot of attention within Planetfall hinterland. Outside those you'll find government forces far more reduced. My office is on floor 32, along with the other high level masters. If the matter is urgent, send a message through to it with a time and I'll meet you here. If it is an emergency, come straight to the office. And when I say emergency I mean it. If the sanctity of the planet itself is not at risk do not blow me."

There was no threat in these last words, just a shared understanding that if they allowed their only contact to the Inquisition to be lost, that they would be entirely without resources. He then turned to look at Octavius.
"Octavius, I will need you to remain behind, we have received some disquieting news which I need to brief you in particular on."
He looked over at Adelaide and Radomil.
"I would suggest you meet with Major Elzele now in the Cafeteria on the third floor. If possible I will arrange for you other colleagues to join you there."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adelaide and Radomil's progress to the third floor was uneventful, meeting very few others. Emerging from the stairway access door they found themselves in a long wide corridor. In front of them was a wide opening from which they could see some empty tables and chairs and smell the clear scent of cooking. Halfway along the corridor to the left was a section with slats of metal, open to the outside, evidently the crosswalk to one of the buildings alongside. A number of people in different clothes were gathered here, either smoking or in conversation. Some were in white aprons covered in food stains, while others were in a light grey robes. To their right was a similar crosswalk section, but no one was standing casually here. Instead men in Imperial Guard fatigues walked quickly alongside tech priests, hurrying either towards the lifts, or further along the corridor.

When the two acolytes entered the opening in front of them they found a wide circular room. A number of white aproned staff stood behind a variety of different food items raised up along a long series of metal tables. Behind them the acolytes could hear the busy sizzling sounds of a busy kitchen. It was evidently too early for the lunchtime meal, as the vast majority of the assembled tables were empty. There was a table of Guard officers sitting opposite a group in suits, who were responsible for most of the noise in the room. Their table was the only one which appeared to mostly consist of drinks. A handful of adepts sat on their own, rhythmically spooning food into their mouths, while their eyes tracked along the scrolls in front of them. A young pair in richly patterned robes, sat opposite a woman in well tailored suit. An grey haired man in brown woollen robes sat on his own, leaning back in his chair, with his arms folded across his chest, below which was an embalm of the Ecclesiarchy. And also on her own, at the back of the room was a small woman in the green uniform of the Commissariat. She was somewhere in her middle age, her black hair only starting to grey, and styled in a precise short that stopped on the nape of her neck. Two bangs framed her face, curled into ringlets and reaching as far as her chin, noticeably longer than the rest of her hair. She was sitting at one end of a wide table that could seat six, beneath which the acolytes could see that both her legs were bionic. Noticeably stout, a single slice of cake sat in front of her, alongside a datapad, and a glass of a dark green liquid. As the acolytes entered, she was raising a fork with a section of the cake to her mouth.

Radomil scanned the cafeteria apprehensively. Not nearly as secure a briefing area as the office had been. Best keep things quick and quiet. He made his way directly to the woman in the green uniform and sits down with his back as close to the wall as possible. "How's the food here then, Major? That dessert certainly looks tasty. I've barely had time to eat since getting here."

Major Elzele chewed her portion slowly, her grey eyes watching Radomil as he approached, before casually flickering over the others in the room. Delicately, she placed her fork back on the plate with the remains of her cake. There was no sound as she completed this gesture.
"Its passable Compatriot, certainly for Planetfall. You need to visit the outer districts to experience any real flavour and even those pale when compared to the Colonies. If you are eating here, I'd advise the stew. Thin soup it might be, but at least its nutritious."

Her voice had a noticeable husky accent, quite distinct from the rather clipped voices, the acolytes had heard on the planet so far. Its volume dropped as she continued, clear enough for anyone at the table to hear, but a meaningless buzz for anyone further away.

"I assume you and your companion have come from the Estates Imperium? If you would care to slide your identification across the table we can proceed on to the facts of the case as presently known. We don't have much time."

In response to the Major's review of the food, Radomil remarks,"That's a damn shame, I was hoping to find some quality vittles. But all of us have a busy evening ahead, is my understanding. I'll sample the local cuisine some other time."

He slides his ID across the table upon request. "There's a couple more of us, they just got held up with something, you understand. Maybe they'll be joining us later, but oftentimes better to leave a few men behind is my belief. So whaddya hear, Major? Briefing upstairs made it sound like a quick recon operation. Any talk of hard resistance?"

Major Elzele extended her right hand and carefully flipped the identification so that she could read it. After a moment or two, she slid it back across the table to him. Her face looked relaxed and there was a glint of humour in her eyes as she replied.
"You speak like a man of the military. Its not the most common avenue for jobs like this, but in the right cases it can be effective."

She lifted the glass of green liquid and blew on it and took a small sip before continuing.
"As undoubtedly Master Blacklock informed you, I am in charge of the investigation into the death of the former Master Ackroidus Roget. However beyond the personnel keeping his office and home secure for the time being, my resources are limited. His unfortunate passing is not considered a priority."

While her final line was delivered with a smile, the rest of her expression was much more serious.
"You could consider it a recon operation. I wish you to investigate all the sites related to this murder and gather all the evidence you can in the required time limit. As the facts pertain there should be no resistance to your investigation. I will grant upon you the power to question the majority of our Compatriots, which include the common processing staff within this building. Both his office and apartment are open for you. The establishment where we found his body, Olafur's Axe, may has some who may seek to obstruct you but the Urbanue Praetorianae are currently in charge of the scene and will assist you if they seek to violate the law. As the facts currently are, you should receive no real resistance."

She took another small sip and gave Radomil a half smile.
"However as you know, both Master Blacklock and myself suspect there is more to this case than its facts currently show. If those responsible for Ackroidus Roget's death are not to be found in Olafur's Axe and there were reasons for his death beyond a petty gambling debt, then it is reasonable to believe that those who murdered him may try and prevent you from getting too close to the truth. It's quite possible that there is a political aspect to his death. Each of the major factions have agents active within Agat Tha and they are all undoubtedly interested in this investigation. For instance 'Father Fergal', the old man in brown on his own behind you is here, clearly keen to find out more for the Church. His interest isn't proof of Church involvement, as I say though, as all the factions have actors in the field. You might find them aggravating or useful but unless they are involved they shouldn't provide any real resistance.
Finally, the power I will provide you with should prevent any problems you should have with my fellows in the Commissariat, the green jackets."

She brought both her hands together on the table, palms together.
"I'll move on now to the facts of the case as they stand. Video pict shows him leaving this building via the main entrance at 20.05. The next image we have is him leaving station 4 at 20.35. The time between these is reasonable for the journey. At 02.15 this morning the Urbanae Preatorianae were alerted. They discovered his dissected body outside Olafur's Axe. As he was a person of importance we were contacted and officers immediately made their way to his apartment and office. The former was found in a condition suggesting it had been broken into and the latter contained gambling chips. According to his neighbours they heard a disturbance in his room but the members of the Urbanae Preatorianae only arrived after our officer. Both were sealed at this point, and no one has entered either since. After an immediate consideration of the data it was decided that he been murdered over a gambling debt and that the Urbanae Preatorianae could discover who. I was unhappy with this and insisted on the rest of the day before our investigation could close. His apartment will remain sealed until 16.00 and his office until 22.00."

Major Elzele reached over to her datapad and moved it to the right. Underneath were a three dark green cards. She pushed these over the table towards Radomil.
"These are cards of Commissariat temporary power and remain active for the next twelve hours. For this time they provide the authority similar to a Lieutenant. Using these you will be free to question staff in this building, up to the level of the Masters as well as any of the common Compatriots outside here. Commissariat personnel below officer level will answer questions and will follow limited orders if it is legal. Urbanae Praetorianae personnel will provide limited assistance. They do not provide power for you to injure any Compatriots without cause and if you are caught breaking any major law they will not save you. If you believe you have detained those responsible you can hold them and ask the nearest Commissariat to alert me. You will need evidence to back this up though. Otherwise I would appreciate it if you could brief me on your findings, either when you make a major discovery or at the end of the day. If you ask for me at the entrance desk I can meet you here, or at a location of your choice."

She reached out to the glass of green liquid and took a longer drink.
"Is there anything you would like to know before you begin?"

Radomil takes a not-too-subtle look over his shoulder at Father Fergal and makes a mental note of his face.

He chuckles at the when the Major finishes speaking."Throne, they never gave us half as good a briefing in the guard. Sounds straight forward enough though. Grab the intel, don't shoot anyone unless they're asking for it. Seems to me his office is the proper place to start since its close by, then onto his residence. Will anyone care if we take some of the Majors belongings off the premises?

The Major raised a thoughtful eyebrow at Radomil.
"The Guard does teach the power in simplicity, focusing one's mind and not burdening it with extraneous weight. Civilian life is a much more delicate spiders web."
Her head gave a brief nod as he continued, her grey eyes watching intently, not seeming to blink.
"It sounds like you have a good grasp of the situation. They are definitely the places to start, but if I would advise I'd say to keep your perspective open when it comes to area's where you might pick up a thread. The officers who attended both found nothing of importance, so feel free to take anything you wish. Any information of importance though of course, should make its way back to me by tomorrow."

Moving her hand over to the data pad, she depressed a icon on the screen and then lifted it, so Radomil could see the picture clearly.
"This is an image of Major Roget, in case you do decide to check out the video picts. Not many in this building still wear hats, and yet he wore his and that grey coat every day without fail."

Radomil looks over the image for a moment. "Fair enough, at least we know what the man looks like now. I've heard he's none too recognizable in his current condition." He looks over at Adelaide. "No sense in burning daylight Chief, whatsay we move out? Office first?"

Unless Adelaide has questions or objections, Radomil gathers up his belongings and heads to the Major's office.

Major Elzele nodded her head in response to Radomil and then reached out to take another slice of her cake. Midway through this process she paused suddenly and looked up curiously. The cause of her interest was clear for everyone in the room to hear. The loud staccato thump of boots on the tile outside. If the acolytes turned around they could see a young clean shaven woman in the green Commissariat uniform holding a black box and leading three figures into the canteen. The two on the side were large men in the same green uniform. Between them they were holding the body of the third with a hood over his head. From the rest of his clothes, Radomil and Gabriel were fairly certain that this was Gabriel.

The three marched over to where the group was sitting before coming to attention before Major Elzele. The shaven headed woman placed a hand over her heart before bowing her head for a few seconds. The Major did not acknowledge this gesture but climbed to her feet, the gentle whirr of machinery from her legs.
"Lieutenant Yagoda, you'd better have a reasonable explanation for this."
She moved over to the other, her face thin lipped and angry. They had a brief conversation, following which the woman removed the hood from Gabriel and the two men lowered him to his feet.

Major Elzele turned to look at Radomil.
"It appears that your colleague was picked up by an over zealous officer and taken in for questioning. The officer did not realise that you were here on official business and once alerted they released him immediately. They did not of course need to go about the release in such an exaggerated fashion. This will need to be looked into."
Her voice was hard as she said this last line.

She then turned to look at Gabriel.
"Detective Kantor, the prisoner you had with you is being deported immediately back to your home Arbites force. Lieutenant Yagoda will leave your items down at the front desk of this building to collect when you leave after which she will meet me in my office. I am sure your colleges will brief you further on what we have been discussing. I would advise you to move fast."

She lifted her plate and her data pad from the table and then walked out of the cafeteria, followed by the three in green. Most of the other heads which had been trained deliberately away from their direction turned now to look at them curiously.

"Good of you to join us, Slick," says Radomil. "We're moving out, I can brief you on the way. Think we should grab the shit we stashed downstairs first though."

As the black cloth is lifted from his head, and he is deposited back on his feet, Gabriel stumbles slightly, looking around and squinting at his new surroundings.
Perhaps, for the first time, his companions notice another man residing beneath the veneer of unflappable cool and charm. His complexion is haggard, tense, and his eyes show a brief glimpse of something that, to the trained observer, could not be mistaken for anything other than fear.

Gabriel shakes his head, scratching at the five o'clock shadow beginning to line his jaw, and looks towards Radomil and Adelaide; the fear replaced by something more akin to recognition and, quite possibly, relief.

Addressing Radomil, "I never thought I'd say this gunny, but are you ever a sight for sore eyes." He lets out a long breath and shakes his head, brushing back his hair, straightening his tie and smoothing the creases from his rumpled shirt.

Turning, he watches as the green uniforms march away, his eyes betraying him once more as they burn with a discernible intent and he begins to, with a mantra-like coolness and precision, recite a litany of felonies.
"Unlawful arrest of an arbites officer, assault, torture..."

Broken from his reverie by Radomil's voice, he reaches out and slaps the big man on the shoulder in a friendly gesture, his hand resting there momentarily, almost as if he is trying to wake himself from a nightmare. "Cassandra's gone. Alive but... It was my fault."

He swears bitterly under his breath. "Those fucks."

Radomil feels that familiar pang of loss upon hearing that Cass is gone. He's no stranger to losing companions of course, but this one feels different. He must have thought things would be different in the Inquisition. He'll carry Cass's name with him too, he resolves. He sees the look of guilt in Gabriel's eyes, and knows all too well what he's feeling. But he has no words of wisdom to offer him.

"Well... at least she alive. We should move out."

Gabriel holds Radomil's gaze for a moment longer before letting his hand drop from the guardsman's shoulder.

"You're right. Let's walk and talk. Damn, I could use a wash, some decent chow and eight hours of shut-eye in a warm bed."

Scratching absently at the stubble on his face he looks around. "Where's Octavius?"

Adelaide nodded to Blacklock as he gave the last of his info, turned, and made her way to the Cafeteria with Radomil. She paid no mind to the Tech Priest staying behind; chances were his expertise would be well suited to the buildings here than the boots-on-the-ground approach they were going to need to take.

She didn't like the scene of the Cafeteria at all, but the plentiful amount of exits, cover, and areas to move between put her slightly at ease.

Exit. Exit. Potential cover. Bodies to hide behind - cooks - officers if need be; also most likely place to find a weapon. Check.

She followed Radomil in, this time letting him do most of the talking. As she listened to the exchange, she took mental notes.

Recon of the areas of interest; gather evidence. Power to question.

A question formed when the Major mentioned "Urbanue Praetorianae."

"This Urbaan Prehtorinee, they goin' jump in should we find uhselves in trouble on account of its they job to do so, or on account of they havin' ties to you? You say they give no 'real' assistance, but how much could we lean on 'em if need be?"

She waited for an answer and continued, "Has the officers who firs' responded to his home n' office been questioned privately already? First ones in is important."

After Radomil asks his questions, Adelaide adds, "These cards allow us to carry weaponry inside secure areas? Might be important given the circumstances. If not, can you get us that clearance?"

+++

When Radomil again addresses Adelaide as "Chief," she sighed and nodded. It was not her liking to be in charge of anything, but somehow that was how it had fallen. She would take it, if only because it increased her personal chances of survival.

Gabriel's presence was less of a shock than the fact that somehow Cass had been deported. Already the team was dropping like flies and they had only just arrived. Perhaps the chaff was being separated.

Only the strong survived, after all.

"The weak always go firs', Gabriel. Not your fault, jus' the way it is. We can update you on everything on the way."

She turns, nods at the major, and then makes ready to leave.

Gabriel ponders Adelaide's words for a moment before turning to leave.

"Alright, let's go."

Prior to arrival of Gabriel
Major Elzele looked over at  Adélaïde as she spoke for the first time, and a smile crossed her lips.
"The Urbanae Praetorianae are responsible for general law and order in Agat Tha. If there is a disturbance or laws are being broken they will seek to arrest those responsible. The Commissariat has powers to investigate everyone, and they are not excluded from this. It is understood that they will not inhibit our investigations and aid us if we are in real need of their support. However with the recent disturbances in the city, they are stretched very thin. Those passes will allow you to avoid their attention and perhaps to commandeer a handful of low level patrol men if you really needed it for a short amount of time. However anything greater would require me or an officer of my standing or more to contact their HQ and order it. U-Paet officers would not be obliged to follow orders from you but they should share information."

She eyed both of them before she continued.
"I would advise being tactful when working alongside U-Paet officers. If they examine these cards they will see the time limit marked and if you annoy them they may delay until the investigation is over. I would only sanction sending in Commissariat forces to seize this data if it was certain that it was vital. There is already considerable tension between the two of us."

Lifting her glass to take another drink, Major Elzele then continued to answer the rest of Adelaide's questions.
"The Officers who reported first to his office and flat are both still in location, standing guard. I talked to them briefly by radio but you can ask them any questions you wish. Those passes will allow you to carry items into all but the most high security area's of Agat Tha. Those not included, are the Directorate, certain locations in the Courts of Justice, the Prefect's office and the Governors office. If you find that your investigations lead you to any of these locations I would ask you to contact me immediately as it would mean that the situation had become very serious."

Major Elzele appeared to be quite sincere when she spoke these last words. It was hard to tell though, if it was due to a suspicion or due to the implications if any of these actors were involved.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Deciding that you would visit the murdered mans office, before calling down to retrieve your items, you all make your way out of the cafeteria and back into the main walkway. Deciding to take the lift, rather than climb another 29 floors, you luckily find one ready and waiting. As you enter and press the button for the 32nd floor,  Adelaide and Radomil notice the old man in brown robes, identified as Father Fergal, moving quickly after you. However the lift doors close before he gets close enough, and with a whirr of machinery you are lifted up.
Exiting the lift, you find yourself in another corridor, similar in basic shape to floor 26, however this one is much brighter, cleaner, and there is a rich looking carpet along the floor. The corridor here is also much shorter and appears to only contain five offices. The one closest to you has a silver name plate on it which reads, Master 1st Class Roget. A young woman with long blond hair tied in a simple ponytail, and clothed in the familiar Commissariat green uniform stands in front of this door, her hands by her side, where two guns are holstered. Her blue eyes are on you as you as you leave the lift, clearly checking if you represent a threat. Gabriel would recognise this tension as one found in those who had only recently joined the Arbites.

Beyond the woman you can see the next room about fifteen paces on is marked Master 2nd Class Blacklock, and the ones beyond you guess are probably marked 3rd, 4th and 5th.

Adélaïde nodded at Major Elzele's response to her question, a well as her warning regarding the U-Paet officers.

When they got to the elevator bank, Adélaïde  did not take it. She told her compatriots that she would see them on the 29th floor and once again took the stairs. Being caught in a lift would only suit her if there was no other option available and her life depended on it.

Spoiler:

She arrives some time after the lift, and is breathing rather hard, although she isn't sweating too much - a testament to how in shape she was. Cardio was key to survival, after all. She knew that all too well. However, she was slightly annoyed at how hard those stairs had been; she blamed the recent space travel.

Adélaïde approaches the young woman, her ID card already in hand.

"We here on behalf uh Major Elzele," she says showing the card. "Need to take a look inside."

EDITED to denote fatigue

Radomil gives a sideways glance at Gabriel as the elevator doors close. "Major El said that old bastard's name is Father Fergal, spy for the Ministorum. We should probably put a bullet in him sometime."

The young woman checked the ID Adelaide holds out, before clicking her heels together and moving sharply to stand to the side of the door.
"You may proceed. It is unlocked."
While the pitch of her voice is high, the tone of her accent is harsh and a little guttural. You haven't heard this one yet so far.

Proceeding through the door, the three of you find yourselves in a wide and spacious room, about twice the size of the office you had visited below and much less cluttered. The floor is made up of panels of a delicate soft coloured wood, and in the centre of the room is a large panelled desk, made of a much darker substance, possibly a relative of mahogany. The surface of it is covered in scrolls and papers and on either side of a comfortable chair are three drawers. To the right of the desk is a black square safe, about five feet in each direction. The centre of the panel facing you has a handle above which are twelve numbered digits. Behind the safe and against the blank right hand wall, is a small bookshelf where three books are stacked.
The wall to the left of the desk is indented along its entire length with a series of circular holes. From most of these, protrude circular rolled scrolls. The wall behind the desk is blank. There are no windows in this room, and compared to most of the offices you've seen, it is particularly spartan.

[I'm just going to go through now how I'll do you looking for clues. You can attempt any normal physical action, such as pulling back the chair or checking the titles of the books without having to make a roll.

Anything though that will require you looking for something that is not immediately apparent, I'll need you to make checks, from which you'll get more detailed information. If for instance you want to check the contents of the scrolls or the books, it will take a scrutiny test at +0
Checking for more physical clues will take an awareness check at +0 and depending on success you will learn more.

However you can help this by being more specific in your requests. If you limit your search to one area, the desk, the scroll holes, the bookshelf or the floor you can test at +20.

I'm going to allow you all to make two tests in this room. You don't have to roll these both at the same time- you can hold one back to make a more detailed check on something you find. Also I'm going to keep scrutiny and awareness separate. For instance if you make an awareness test on the bookshelf it will tell you all the general physical information about that area, the condition of the books but nothing particular about its contents other than it has words, or pictures.]

Moving deeper into the room, the three of you split apart to investigate different parts of it. Radomil moves to take a closer look at its central feature, the dark panelled desk. At first he attempted to look through the assorted papers and scrolls on its surface, but lifting these he finds himself quickly bewildered by cramped and detailed script. Though he can read the words themselves, he cannot discern what it is trying to explain. After attempting to read the same sentence four times, he drops the scroll back to the desk with disgust and moves around the back, to take a closer look at the desk itself.

He begins his investigation here by opening each of the drawers, starting with those on the left. The top drawer is filled with plain parchment, the second with a selection of rulers and drawing apparatus and the third a selection of quills and ink pots. Moving over to the three on the right, he opens the top drawer to find something he wasn't expecting. Mounted into the wood, is a gun. And not a standard gun either. Leaning closer to examine it Radomil can see that it is a Xenos pistol, a Shruiken weapon of some kind. The mount is a swivel and he can see that it would be able to shoot at anything in front of the desk, but once anyone came alongside, it would be useless. Lightly glowing bars up the grip indicate that three of its fifty shots have been fired.
In the drawer immediately below this, there are three books; Occupational Mathematics, A history of Sewer Management, and 'The Golden Rule'- Commisarial Jurisprudence. The last drawer is empty.

As he steps back from the desk, Radomil, suddenly catches sight of a flash of white under the seat. Bending down he can see that it is a damp looking handkerchief.

[If you want to examine any of these things any further, describe your actions in the IC and I'll let you know what you can see.]

Adelaide moves over to look at the bookshelf but finds nothing of interest with any of the books sitting on it.

Radomil whistles as he inspects the gun mount. "Looks like something the commissar's would shoot ya just for holding. Looks like our lad's fond of xenos guns." Radomil notes the glowing bars on the grip, and looks for holes in the desk or far wall that could resemble bullet holes, laser burns, or other signs of the gun behind fired.