Chapter 2.1: Re-Engage the Fear Machine (IC)

In the quiet proceeding Kanna's outburst, Ur'Na heard a faint thumping. The noise, resonating quietly in Ur'Na's helmet, seemed to come from all directions. Pausing briefly, Ur'Na felt the now familiar rise of panic, necessitating action. Ur'Na pressed herself into one of the doorframe's coming off the hallway, closed door at her back, and pulse blaster poking around the reinforced frame.

"Possible contact" she whispered.

Taro does much the same at Ur'na's words, making himself as small a target as possible against the side of the hallway. He aimed his pulse rifle down the hallway, trying to get a read on anything that might be coming for them.

The memory of the past skirmish caught in his mind like a fly caught in a web. The fear much the same as the fly. Would they encounter more flesh eaters? Dismemberers? Or some new beast entirely? The cursed ship knew how to chew them up. But hopefully it wouldn't spit them out like it had so many others. Tauva willing, he hoped they'd get out of this mess.

The limbs swing gently in the lightest breeze caused by the life support systems running. No sounds come from any of the rooms and the hallway is dim and deep. The minimaly powered lights cast ominous shadows over the floor. The limbs can almost be mistaken as tree branches swaying if one kept their eyes on the floor and never looked up. But such was their number and length of the hall that it was nigh impossible once one knew they were there.

A few moments pass. Perhaps Ur'na was simply spooked as no one hears anything out of the ordinary. Or at the very least speaks on it.

Not until it was too late.

One of the ventilation ducts to the right of the room explodes outward. The ferocity of the flying grill scythes down at least three of the limbs which tumble down among you. A blur of movement comes flying out. It drops the four meters to the ground in a full run, slamming into High Tower with the force of a skimmer. The demirug's pulse carbine flies out of his hands as he is lifted off of his feet. Both the creature and High Tower disappear through one of the open officer's doors.

"Oooof!!! Argh... gah... fuc... sgot me! It's crushin..." Cries High Tower over the comms.

Instructions:

Arlene sighed inaudibly at Kanna's short response. This wasn't the first time he showed his discomfort for the warp. She tried to act calmer in order to ease the tension, and began to focus more on moving through the ship to Reaper One as safely as possible.

She moved with the rest of the team calmly, trying to perceive any possible threat. To her dismay, she was rewarded. She motioned for the team to stop.

Too little too late. The creature plowed into High Tower and took off with him. She yelled out, but it was nearly inaudible by a quick pulse from her R'sum. In the heat of it all, the shot went far too high, plowing into one of the many appendages dangling from above. "Damn! Don't lose him!" She cries out before chasing off after the creature. For a few loops and turns she thought she could've actually kept up, but the beast soon got away from her, and she was left out of breath, and one team mate fewer. "Bentu'sin... Balai'sin."


R'sum: Lit. 'Long Bullet', prefix of R'sum Kabusaro (longshot pulse rifle)
Bentu'sin: Lit. 'wise-gifted one' Demiurge
Balai'sin: lit. 'stupid one' idiot

Harriet turned from the Fourth Tau to look curiously at Kanna's helmet. He sounded angry. The limbs hanging above them seemed to have effected the Tau more than she would have expected. The fourth Tau and Taro had both sounded odd too. Arlene though sounded similar to how she did before, calm and in control. Acts like this might be uncommon for the others. Thinking back, she looked through her own experiences to see if any of that data could help. While part of the Spinoza cartel she had been with different crew members when they had killed others, or when they had come across their own dead crew. None of their feelings had ever seemed as heightened as those here. Then again they had been whole bodies rather than limbs. The Tau's words also seemed to indicate that they did believe this was influenced by Daemonology, despite what she had said. Perhaps that was fair though, she hadn't been able to speak definitely- only that she couldn't prove a positive link.
She wondered how Kor'arx felt about it. As a Kroot he might have another different viewpoint. She would have liked to have asked him but Kanna's orders had been clear. She was not to speak until a later date. Taro had also confirmed his earlier suggestion. She was to kill cultists with his gun. Gripping the gun at her side, she waited to see if any would appear.

The fourth Tau moved into position inside a doorway and whispered about contact. Harriet looked carefully from left to right listening hard but she couldn't discern anything. This Tau's hearing must be keen indeed. She was staring up ahead when suddenly there was an explosion of noise behind her. Turning her head to look behind her she just caught sight of a blur propelling the Angry Dwarf through an open doorway. That was odd, she thought. A moment later the data made sense in her mind. He must have been attacked.

Kanna quickly moves in. The handing limbs seemed to reach out for him, but he was easily able to bypass them and move towards HT.

Whatever this room was, it was a something made from pure terror.

"This whole ship ought to be razed to dust." he says as he moves towards HT's voice.

As the thashing limbs falling from the roof, combined with the assault on Hightower, startled Ur'Na. Firing on instinct, the pulse blaster shots slammed into the wall behind the... thing that was dragging Hightower away. As the two moved from sight, Ur'Na pushed off the door behind her, intent on chasing down the beast that had, assuredly taken Reaper Two from her. Despite a near fall, floor slick with blood dripping from above, Ur'Na's breacher training proved beneficial as she moves quickly into the hallways of the ship.

Only Ur'na and Arlene were aware enough to get shots off, but both proved to be well off the mark. As the creature burst through the door, Kanna was already moving.

Inside the room, there is a hole i one of the walls. He can make out shapes moving within, so he follows without hesitation. The hole, made by the hand of the beast no doubt, broke into a series of internal maintenance corridors. They were cramped and hot, with cabling snaking everywhere. Still, the beast moved with an incredible agility.

Finally Kanna comes to another broken section of wall. From the sounds within, that is where High Tower and whatever took him await. Footsteps behind and a quick glance show that only Ur'na, the breacher, has kept pace with him...

IC CLOSED - ROLL INITIATIVE

Round 1

Ur"na pauses as she sees the broken section of wall. Entering without support or information would be dangerous. She shrugs, Kanna is here, and it's not like me to wait.

Kanna headed through the breach. He had no time to think or question the actions of he wanted to save HT, and he planned to.

He steps through the shattered bulkhead, Not sure what he would find but only knowing HT's cries from help were within.

The impromptu room was in actuality an artery where piping and various liquid conveyance tubes met before running out to various other parts of the ship. Piping as big as Kanna was wide snaked in clusters from the ceiling and splayed around the room at crisp right angles. Beyond a cluster some ten meters away you could spy the slumped and prone body of High Tower. From your helmet's HUD you could still hear his labored breathing and his vitals showed as weak.

Of the creature responsible, you see no sign...

Round 2

The absence of the beast frustrated Ur'Na, with nothing to fight there was nothing to do.

Kanna sweeps the room, it was a strange bio-pumping station of sorts.
His stab light spots HT slumped on the opposite wall. He wanted nothing more than to rush to his aid, but the abruptness felt off.

"Careful," he warns Ur'na, "This feels like a trap."

He looks towards every nook and cranny for whatever did this to HT. "Hold fast" he tells HT, "We will be with you shortly."

High Tower attempts to respond, but only labored breathing and gurgling comes back.

From the darkness of a broken wall grate, a flash of movement is the only warning of any impending attack. Even had the two tau been looking in that direction, it was unlikely the eye could have followed such fast violence of action.

The same pale bluish blur as before rushes forth and crashed into Ur'na. The breacher had no idea she was under attack until she felt a crushing blow in her left leg. Luckily for her, tau armor was made of sturdy stuff.

***
Ur'na 14 [Pulse Carbine] 1 Damage - Guarded action; in close combat with enemy.
Arlene 13 [Longshot Pulse Rifle]  - (At the fight on Round 3)
Kanna 12 [Pulse Carbine] - Full round awareness.
Unknown 11 - in CC w/Ur'na
Ta'ro 5 - (At the fight on Round 3)
Harriet 4 - (At the fight on Round 6 w/Kor'arx)

Round 3

As the creature slammed ineffectually into her leg, Ur'Na instinctively kicked and scrambled back half a pace. One arm slung the pulse blaster over her shoulder, unwieldy and ineffectual in hand to hand fighting, while the other flicked the pistol out of her holster. Acting on instinct, the pistol fired...

...and the shot went wide in the struggle.

Arlene ran up to the room, gripping her weapon tightly. When she made it to the entry. she hesitated for just a moment on seeking cover at the entry or heading in. After hearing the commotion, she quickly moved into the room, dropped to one knee as soon as she had contact with the enemy and let loose a round from her longshot...

...it moved far quicker than she realized. The pulse round burned into one of the cables with a hiss of pressure.

Kanna raises his pulse carbine, ready to fire.
The carbine hovered as the creature and Ur'na struggled, Ur'na was attempting a rip'yka maneuver.

"Back off and Ill gun him down!" he tells his un-bonded brother.

He awaits the opportunity to fire without the threat of friendly fire.

The creature, who Ur'na can now see seems to have no eyes but a series of holes in its face that sniff the air, swings at her head. The blow goes high, but she can feel the might with which it was swung pass over her.

Taro knew Hightower needed aid and fast. He shuffles his way into the room, doing his best to ignore the creature they had engaged, solely putting his focus on the task at hand. He reaches the downed demiurg and immediately sets to work trying to undo the damage that had been wrought on him. He starts with a body scan to assess the damage and then immediately gets into his tools and gets to work.


***
Ur'na 14 [Pulse Carbine] 1 Damage - in close combat with enemy.
Arlene 13 [Longshot Pulse Rifle]  - (At the fight on Round 3)
Kanna 12 [Pulse Carbine] -1 FP, -1 Reload - Full round awareness.
Unknown 11 - in CC w/Ur'na
Ta'ro 5 - With High Tower.
Harriet 4 - (At the fight on Round 6 w/Kor'arx)

Round 4

Ur'na disengages, following Kanna's orders. As soon as she does so, Kanna acts. He saw his moment and hosed the offending party in a shower of blue plas-fire. At least, he would have had his weapon not chose that exact moment to malfunction.

Kanna telling Ur'na to back off from the creature made Arlene let out a sigh of relief. She was sure her last shot was going to hit Ur'na, and the thought of harming an ally put her on edge. She breathed deeply, relaxed, and lined up another shot, letting loose a flash of bright blue pulse fire on the daemon.

Kanna couldn't believe his bad luck as the mechanism froze.
He lets out the obligatory curse, "Orokos!" and finds the stud to reset the componets.

He watches helplessly as Ur'na still had to defend against the freak of nature.

The creature seems to grow enraged. It's many nostril openings huff and puff as it sucks massive amounts of oxygen in. It's lanky, light blue body tightens and loosens, the corded muscle beneath the flesh flexing like hardened steel. It roars in fury, spittle flying from a mouth of thick, sharp teeth.

Once Ta'ro has made sure that High Tower is stable, he raises his pulse rifle and takes aim at the creature.

***
Ur'na 14 [Pulse Carbine] 1 Damage - in close combat with enemy.
Arlene 13 [Longshot Pulse Rifle]  -
Kanna 12 [Pulse Carbine] -1 FP, -1 Reload - Needs to unjam.
Unknown 11 Frenzied (+10 WS) - 5m from Ur'na
Ta'ro 5 - With High Tower.
Harriet 4 - (At the fight on Round 6 w/Kor'arx)

Round 5

Ur'na stows her pulse pistol and quickly takes out her heavier pulse blaster. Holding it in both hands, she lines up a shot and squeezes the trigger. The complex weapon internally breaks apart a concentrated pulse particle, spreading it over a wider area at the cost of range. It was devastating in close quarters. The creature must have smelt the build up in power as it tried to get out of the way, but it wasn't quick enough. It takes the brunt of the shot in its neck and head... Its left ear is blown off, burning up in a splash of fire and gore.

Arlene watches as the creature enrages itself, momentarily afraid of the implications if it fought without fear for its own health. She was reminded of its mortality at the sight of Ur'na blasting it's 'ear' off. She spoke as she sighted another shot, "Press the attack, carefully. Finish it before this escalates further." She said as she squeezed the trigger, launching another bright blue pulse round toward the creature.

Kanna could only watch as the digital readout on the weapon case was checking for critical failure cause.

10%.....20%......40%

He looks back up to see Ur'na fire at the thing. He wasn't sure what it was doing, but it was standing still and breathing heavily.
"By the ethereals, were just ticking it off. Keep your distance."

50%.....60%

He looks back to see where the others were, they were struggling with the dangling appendages, they sure could use Arelene's long rifle about now.

The carbine chimed suddenly. There was no explanation for the sudden, inexplicable failure of the weapon. But at least it would work now....

***
Ur'na 14 [Pulse Carbine] - in close combat with enemy. 1 Damage
Arlene 13 [Longshot Pulse Rifle]  -
Kanna 12 [Pulse Carbine] -1 FP, -1 Reload - 10m away from creature.
Creature 11 Frenzied (+10 WS/S/T/WP; Immune Fear/Pin/Stun/Fatigue) - DEAD[/b]
Ta'ro 5 - With High Tower.
Harriet 4 - (At the fight on Round 6 w/Kor'arx)

The creature's leg explodes in a backward blowing umbrella of fire and gristle. Arlene's shot had been low, but it had been exceptionally deadly. It writhes on the ground for a few moments. It must have been in agony, but it only grunted and roared in rage-fueled defiance before lying very still.


Harriet and Korarx arrive just as the creature stops moving.

Kanna keeps a bead on the creature, even after it was obvious it was dead.

He looks back to HT and moves in.
"How bad is it?" he asks.

He wanted a response more than a detailed prognosis.

Harriet entered the room with a jump, coming to a stop with both hands wrapped around the butt of the Tau weapon. She had witnessed a basic breaching drill back on the 'Rosa Lux' and though she hadn't been able to take part, she had memorised the movements. Once you were in the room you had to scan the area and differentiate between allies and friends. Taking her time she started in the far left of the room moving her gun slowly as she discounted each area. She had been ordered to kill cultists with this weapon and if there were any present then she would shoot them.

The smell of burnt ozone was particularly strong in this confined space, and she assumed that the Tau had been firing their weapons, though they were no longer doing so. The next moment she saw the two slumped figures, the first 'The angry midget' and the second, something very different. Discounting her immediate thought to check on the status of her items, she finished her scan of the room and finding no cultists, stuck the Tau weapon into the holster at her side and went straight over to the creature that the Tau had been fighting.

Hunkering down about an arms length from the body, just on the edge of its blood circle, she examined it carefully. Unconsciously she had put both of her hands together, index fingers touching her chin, but in all other respects she was completely still. After about a minute of this, she returned to her feet and slowly moved around the body, often leaning forward to look at something a little more clearly. Once back at her starting point, she hunkered down again, and removing an empty food tube from one of her hanging bags, dipped it in the creatures blood and brought it up close to face. First she simply stared, before giving the blood an interested sniff. When she had a free moment, she would note down what she had learned into her datapad. In truth she would have preferred to do this immediately but experience had taught her that those she belonged to, wanted any information immediately.

The creature was sprawled out before Harriet, one leg gone at the waist. From head to toe it was well taller than a tau, and it even had a standard human by a few inches. Its body went in at the waist, but not in an emaciated fashion. It was all muscle. Wide shoulders and back with long arms, it's entire body seemed to be made of corded muscle. It took Harriet a moment, the knowledge flowing through her brain almost like a machine finally cross-referenced some things that seemed to be a match.

She knew exactly what this was.


+++

Kor'arx looked to the creature and grunted. "That's the bottom feeder. Good kill, Cunningham," he said clearly recognizing the killing blow.

High Tower wheezed into his vox system, but eventually gave Kanna a firm thumbs up. "I'll live. Ta'ro took care of the worst of it. Thank you, brother. Bastard hit me like a TX4 at full speed; it was so strong. Damn near squeezed the life out of me. I blacked out somewhere on the journey and woke up here. Looks like using me as bait didn't work out so well for it." He pulled off his helmet and spit bloody saliva through hardened, bloody lips.

Harriet stared at the dead body for a few moments more, memorising the final details, before carefully placing the bloodied food tube back inside her bag, and stood up again.

Turning to face Arlene, she began to speak in a measured and collected tone, and loud enough to be heard by the others in the room.
"This creature is a Xenos known in the Imperium as an Ur-Ghul. In many ways its physiognomy is similar to that of a Gue'la, with some notable differences. As far as studies have been able to ascertain it is unable to see, but instead has highly developed sensory organs and is able to track scents, and the heat signatures of those it is hunting. Some believe it can also track it prey via the disturbance they leave in the warp. It is known as a highly efficient and effective hunter, able to track others and move quickly over large distances. In combat, it is even faster and its skin is hard to injure and reports show that it will fight to death. Generally it hunts as part of a pack, along with other members of its species. It is commonly believed that it originated on the Ragged Worlds, though it has also been firmly documented on a number of different worlds in different regions."

She paused for a moment and her expression shifted from its normal closed appearance. Momentary she appeared hesitant, teeth biting into her lip and her eyes losing focus. A second or two later she seemed to regain herself and her face returned to normal, though she seemed amused by something.

"So much is widely accepted and supported by extensive documentation in the Imperial record. However there are other reports. These have little in the way of evidence to support them but they are particularly numerous. They say that the Ur-Ghul have a close relationship with the Var'sin'da and that they are used by them as a tracking hound and that they are often included in their raids. Most Gue'la evidence points to the Ur-Ghul simply acting as pack hunters, wild beasts who cannot be tamed, but these reports suggest that some at least follow orders of the Var'sin'da which if true would increase the level of threat that they pose. It may be a coincidence but when I first entered this ship I saw some writing in the Ar'cea script as well as that of a Chaos cult."

She waited patiently in case any of the others wished to ask further questions. However for once she was not concentrating on the moment and was instead reliving her past experiences with the Eldar. While for the most part she was hoping that they might meet some of them as they ventured further, a small part of her was retracting back, nervous and unsure. It was rare for her to feel like this and she didn't like it. Unbidden she saw again the eyes of Warlock Isenmyna, eyes that saw everything and took far too much notice of her. Down at her side her right hand started to shake and it took a couple of seconds before she was able to quell the motion.

[Var'sin'da- Dark Eldar]
[Ar'cea- General term for all Eldar]

Arlene breathed a sigh of relief as the creature fell. Under her lead, the team had come closer than ever to losing a member, and almost lost two in one fight. The stress of being in a chaos warped ship housing cultists and Daemons was enough to make her collapse, but her desire to uphold her responsibility as leader allowed her to quell those fears. Still, the more they ventured into the heart of the vessel, the more her nerves showed. She pulled her imperial knife from the sheath on her lower back and etched another notch in the vellum on the side of her R'sum.

She smiled to Kor'arx, fairly certain this was the first time the kroot had praised her, certainly unexpected, considering his history with the Imperium. She smiled, though her helmet hid the emotion, and gave a nod to the kroot before standing from her kneel.

"Glad you're still alive HT, let's keep it that way. If there's nothing left for us in this room, let's move to first. Ta'ro, HT, I'm relying on you two to set the pace, no sense having you reopen any freshly sealed wounds." She says, checking her weapon while she listened to Harriet's very in-depth explanation of the creature she just killed.

"Thank you, Harriet, for the riveting description of the Ur'gul. In the future, we can probably keep it restricted to more pertinent information. That being said, the Dark Eldar are an interesting mix, I don't expect even chaos worshipers to side with xenos. Truth be told, I don't know much about any of the Eldar. Why would they be here?" She speaks, wanting to have a full grasp of the situation, but knowing she would receive more than she wanted to hear.

Ur'Na hovered briefly over the dead body, waiting for some sign of life. With none incoming, Ur'Na moves to slowly cover the room, making sure that there was no further signs of life. Harriet's efforts, alongside her own, elicits a nod of approval.

As room is cleared, Ur'Na moved back the corpse of the disgusting... thing on the ground. She stared impassively at the monster as Harriet provides unnecessary exposition. As Harriet finishes her spiel, Ur'Na takes a step forward, raised the pulse blaster, and fires. The sound of plasma cracking in the atmosphere echoed loudly in the confined room.

"Vengeance for Reaper Two" She whispers. Without another word, she turns and walks back the way they came, pushing past the other members of Reaper four.

Taro continues his check of Hightower, making sure he had done all he could for their team member for the time being. Satisfied with that, he turns his attention to Harriet as she begins to speak, giving them all sorts of good information. While the others grumbled at the amount of information, Taro was absolutely appreciative of it. It always paid off to know ones' enemy. However, Dark Eldar? He'd heard of them sure...but had never even dreamed of encountering them, especially so soon after joining the Reapers.

"Thank you Harriet, it is always good to know as much as possible. Is there any way we might be able to know if this one is indeed being controlled? Or if it is just acting alone? Of course, it would seem that with all that has happened...and what we've seen...that something is working in the shadows...working to undermine our mission..."

There was nothing they could do for HT anymore. He needed to be in a facility for better care.

This was what he was afraid of. By leavin the secure bridge on a semi-wild goose chase, they were being cut down.
But, he would have made the same decision as Arlene so he couldn't complain too much. What else could he do?

He pats HT on the shoulder, the one without blood on it.
"We still got a mission. You able to walk?"

The Ur-ghul explodes from the upper chest in a spray of gore. Its arms continue to twitch, but of its face and head nothing remains. The loud blast, which had just followed a swift silence post battle, cut through the atmosphere like a knife. As it died down, the eerie silence of a dead ship returned.

Test opportunity:

High Tower returned the gesture to Kanna. He liked the grizzled veteran and was thankful for his swiftness and fury in battle.

"I'm good to go. We ready then?"

Harriet looked at Arlene with a little confusion. She had mentioned that her description was riveting but also expressed a desire for it to be pertinent. This latter complaint had been a common one for her but one she always had difficultly with. All information was interesting for her and she generally gave equal weight to different fields. However those that owned her  tended to have very specific desires as to how they wanted information disseminated and yet had difficultly expressly explaining what this was. It generally took a painful process of trial and error to discover how she should speak. Captain Noiree for instance was always more interested in gossip and spurned all but the most basic of technical information, whereas Arch-militant Soppall wanted brevity- details presented staccato and often without full sentences.
In the present case she was unsure how to adapt her style. What was pertinent and not? She would try again and judge from there. She was asking specifically for information about the Eldar so Harriet would keep to this.

She was just opening her mouth when the Fourth Tau came over and shot an explosive round into the still body of the Ur'gul. She started at the Tau curiously, before the former turned and stalked out of the room. What to judge of such an act? Surely she couldn't believe that it was still alive? So long after the battle and with no movement it was surely unfeasible. She had witnessed many warriors shooting bodies immediately after a battle, with their blood still heated but some time had passed since the Ur'gul had fallen. Perhaps the fourth Tau delighted in destroying things? Perhaps she routinely attempted to eradicate the bodies of her enemies? However she had done nothing to the earlier cultists. That theory would not hold. She might have something personal against the Ur'gul? That was possible, but in that case why was she not supplying additional information? She would need to ask the Fourth Tau.

Waiting until Taro had finished, she started again looking back at Arlene.
"Imperial tactical theory posits it as a general rule that the desires of the Ar'cea are unfathomable and it can be difficult to understand what their overall goals are. However between the three recognised groupings of Eldar in both the Tau and Gue'la tongues there are some recognised behaviours or goals.
Ol'cea'sin tend to act in a military capacity, either to eliminate future threats, provoke others into conflict or to defend the sites of their relics. Ol'yi'sin or Corsair's mostly act with profit in mind, though it is generally suspected that they do not take this very seriously and frequently break their bonds and act in a contradictory manner. They sometimes take interests in things totally unconnected with profit which...."
She stopped for a second and there was a trace of a flush across her face, while her fists clenched before relaxing again.

"Finally the Var'sin'da. Their actions are perhaps the most obvious though the ultimate reason why is more difficult. Their goals seem to be to collect prisoners, to raid and to pillage. Few who have been captured have ever returned but the few who have speak of a city of torture, that the Var'sin'da's desires may be to cause pain and suffering. If they were on this ship it is likely they would be using it as a way to get or house or to torture prisoners. None were ever in the vicinity of the bridge so if they are present here it is unlikely they are after information."

She then turned to Taro. He had indicated that he approved of general information sharing- she could do this a little more naturally.
"The reports which suggested the Ur'gul worked alongside the Var'sin'da are more patchy in nature and lack evidence beyond their own first hand account. From what I have read though, there was nothing to suggest that they were controlled by anything mechanical. It was surmised that it might be through pheromones, other mental stimulus or that simply they had discovered a way to train them. In any case I don't believe there is anyway we could test for these at the moment.
It is possible that it may have been acting alone, but they are generally a pack animal. Unless they have already been killed it is likely a number of others will be nearby."

As she finished, she cocked her head to the side. She was sure she had just heard something.

[Ar'cea- General term for all Eldar]
[Ol'cea'sin- Craftworld Eldar]
[Ol'yi'sin- Exodite Eldar]
[Var'sin'da- Dark Eldar]

Whatever she had heard, it didn't quite connect to anything in her head yet. She decided to leave it for the time being. At some point she would hopefully fit the sound to something she recognised in her mind and then she would tell the Tau about it. Until she knew more, there was little efficacy in speaking about it now.

She turned her head to look between Arlene and Taro. It was difficult to guess what was happening when both were wearing their helmets, but it didn't appear that they were going to ask her any follow up questions. They might be communicating privately. If that was the case, there was nothing in the room of any interest to her. They were only going to return back to where they'd come from and a Tau had already taken point.

Turning on the spot, she followed the path of the Fourth Tau and exited the room after her. She didn't even bother to check if Kor'arx was accompanying her. At this point she assumed that he would be. The kroot was like a shadow to her now, his scent and the feel of him next to her was something she was used to. It was likely that the others would be there too and she would be moved back to her normal position but she would wait until that time came.

Moving quickly she soon caught up with the Fourth Tau and fell into step beside her, her head turned looking into the side of the helmet.
"I would like to ask you some questions." Her tone was neutral, and while her face was largely impassive, there was a definite look of curiosity there.
"What is your given name? And why did you shoot the Ur'Gul after it was clearly dead?"

Kanna checked his pulse carbine again. Its sudden failure put him on edge, and he didnt like it.

He knew from cursory studies that humans worshiped technology as a deity. As bizarre as that was to begin with, he wondered if they could affect technology the way they affected realspace with the pskery stuff? The greatest weapon of the greater good was its ideology and its advanced tech.
If the humans had the ability to think the weapons down, it would be a hard pressed fight.
It was a fight he would gladly sell his life to win.

He helps HT to his feet as much as he would let him.

"We have no time left. Team 1 still needs our help. Ill take point. Keep your eyes sharp, don't get tunnel vision."

The group sets out with Kanna on point. He finds his way back to the officer's quarters. Severed limbs still hung from the ceiling. Kanna ignored them and carried on. He moved ahead, referring to the detailed information Harriet had given them and the holographic map on his HUD that Ta'ro had provided the team. The map was based on preliminary scans and intelligence collected before the mission. As such, it couldn't be trusted as a true map, but a best guesstimation.

Harriet's Details:

He and High Tower reached a large set of blast doors, just as Harriet said they would. The doors were closed, but not locked. High Tower looked to Kanna and then radioed back.

"At the blast doors now."

Ur'Na paused as the Gue'La chased after her, asking more pointless questions. Luckily, her helmet hid the blatantly annoyed look on Ur'Na's face, although she wasn't sure the Gue'La would be able read Tau facial expressions. Still, her voice couldn't hide her frustration.

"Ur'Na. Vengeance. No more questions. It's time for action." Come the staccato answers. She turns as Kanna and the rest of Reaper four follow in her tracks.

"About time. let's move on."

First thing was first, Kanna inspected the door:

Was it locked? If so then how could it be bypassed?
Was it trapped? If so then could it be disarmed safely?
What was on the other side? Friend or foe?
If friend, what would their state be in?
If foe, what would put them down?

++Prepare for anything.++ he says via comms.

Harriet nodded back at Ur'Na with a thoughtful look in her eyes.
"Understood."

She moved to the side as the others joined them. While she mentally replaced the name of the Tau for her previous sobriquet, she considered that word, 'vengeance'. It didn't definitely mean that Ur'Na had prior experience with the Ur'Gul but there was a strong suggestion for it. The acts of the Ur'Gul they had met didn't seem to be enough for a Tau to take vengeance. And again she hadn't acted in the same way against the Cultists, which indicated against a general vendetta to those who dwelt on the ship. The most probable understanding of that word was that she had indeed met these creatures before. And yet she had not volunteered any information about them.

Harriet frowned slightly and then relaxed again. She would have questioned Ur'Na further about it, but the command had been clear. She could no longer ask questions for the present moment. The query would just have to be added to her records for Ur'Na.

There was little else to distract her as they continued on their way, in what was starting to feel like her normal position, with the ever present Kor'arx beside her. As they reached the blast doors, she waited until Kanna had finished his inspection before relaying what she had heard earlier.

"Back in the room where the Ur'Gul was dispatched I heard a sound after Ur'Na made her final shot. It was the faint echo of an animal growl, most likely from the vents. I mention this now, as I progressed this way via the vents beside the blast door rather than through it as the walkway beyond had no available cover at the time."

Her tone was measured and the volume was low as she spoke, recalling past commands to speak quietly. As soon as she finished, she reached down and withdrew the Tau weapon from its holster.

The Gue'La was still talking about something. A noise, but from a previous room? It seemed everyone was being slow, taking vast amounts of time to think and talk everything over. A horrible way to deal with time sensitive situations like this one.

"You're taking too long. Trust your training. Follow me." Ur'na pushed past Kanna, opened the door, and stalked through with her Pulse Blaster at the ready.

To the left of the door, a few meters up, was the ventilation duct that Harriet had used on her way to the bridge. The option still available should anyone choose to take it. It would be easy enough for everyone save perhaps Kor'arx.

It was apparent that Ur'na would have none of that, however. The blast doors slide apart with a less-than-well-oiled hiss. The impatient breacher moved forward with grace and skill, pulse blaster up and ready for action. Su'saum was right next to her, having made it a habit of staying close, quiet, and tight.

Ahead was the walkway Harriet had described. It stretched for about two hundred meters to another set of blast doors. Below was a heavily industrialized area, but Harriet could now see that it was not, in fact, a gun port. The purpose of such large, heavy machinery, was lost on you all lest you wanted to take a much closer look. Given the experiences you've had on the ship so far, however, it was probably used for a less-than-savory task.

A small set of stairs roughly twenty five meters in elevated the walkway about 8 feet. As soon as Ur'na ascends the stairs she sees a problem. Some distance ahead, there is a wide gap in the walkway itself. The steel flooring has largely disappeared in the middle for about 20 meters. Whether this was the result of battle, age, or both, remains unclear. One could attempt crossing by holding onto the railing and shuffling across the distance, but the fall would send anyone unlucky enough not to hold on plummeting.

Kanna was on the heels of Ur'na.

"Appreciated Snae'ta. Next time be more forthcoming with that kind of information."
He was annoyed that she had withheld that information until now.
"Any idea what this place is? Or shall we wait until something blows up before we find that out? he adds.
He didnt mean to mock her, but he was on edge, the ship set his nerves alight in all the wrong ways.

As Ur'Na crested the top of the stairs, she cursed under her breath before communicating with the rest of the team.

"This ship hates us. Any other way to get across?" She asks. While waiting for a response, she moves closer to the hole in the walkway. Seemingly ignoring any response, she then says; "No time... No time... Cover me."

Stowing her weapons, Ur'Na hesitates a moment, and attempts to quickly cross the railing.

"Kayoun." Kanna warns Ur'na.

His mont'ka bordered on sheer reckless.
"I understand your haste, but there is no need to rush danger." he quoted some ancient Kayoun philosopher.

He covers her as she begins to cross the gap. This was dangerous and he knew it.

The young tau'va were always the ones to take the most extreme risks.

Harriet looked over at Kanna as he spoke.
"Understood. I will put a higher priority on relating auditory information."

She was unconcerned by his use of the derogatory term. From a young age, those in command of her had routinely found cause to shout or punish her for a variety of reasons. If he wished her to supply him with additional details on what she heard, she would do so.
His last question though was quite confusing for her. He seemed to be asking her opinion on his request while at the same time assuming that something would blow up. So far nothing had blown up, nor had it looked likely to. Perhaps he had seen something she had had not, and there was a likelihood that the area below them might explode. If so, she would have to move with haste.

"I will take a closer look and see if I can discover what it is. It would be better to discover what it is before it blows up."

She moved through the two blast doors and then up the stairs, following the two Tau. Reaching the edge of the walkway, she hunkered down and stared through the gap at the heavily industrialised area below them. As she examined the various large scale tech below, she compared what she saw to various diagrams and images in her head. She had been attached in her time to various engineers within the Spinoza cartel and in order to aid their work, she had been required to memorise vast swathes of information on ship design, adaptation and customisation.

Her eyes glinted as she finally recognised it for what it was. Looking back up, she prepared to explain when she saw Ur'na clinging to the railing as she made herself across the gap. It looked like a difficult procedure. She would struggle to replicate it herself.

Ur'na moves like an expert in the acrobatic arts. She makes her way across the chasm slowly but skillfully. If she looks down at all during the crossing, she sees a very realistically fatal fall distance, but that clearly doesn't dissuade her or halt her stride.

Once she crosses Su'saum gets ready to do the same...

"Careful" Kanna warns, "There's no need to rush the task."
His words sounded hollow in his ears, of course they were in a hurry. He prepares himself to make the same trek.

Harriet watched as Ur'na made it safely to the other side. She was impressively athletic. Probabilities being what they were, she couldn't be certain, but she felt it was likely that most of the warriors she had been with prior would have struggled to make it across the gap. It was an important addendum to make to her information about Ur'na.

Still hunched over the edge of the walkway she looked over at Kanna and began to relay what she had put together about the area below them.

"My initial supposition that it was a gun port was incorrect. The machines down there are heavy construction engines, used to haul and stack tonnes of material. From here I can see many such tall stacks of loose material seemingly dotted over the relatively large area below us. Based on this I would assume that those in charge of this ship have been engaged in a large scale rebuilding or digging project. The fall from this walkway is at least 30 meters to the tallest structure below. I cannot discern anything at present that looks likely to blow up down there but it is a particularly vast space and I cannot see all of it."

Her voice was calm and delivered in the same unwavering tone. She had looked with particular attention for anything that might explode as Kanna had mentioned it as a specific risk but she had seen nothing that looked probable.

Finished with her analysis of the area below them, she stood back to her feet, before moving back to stand beside the Tau. Cocking her head to the side, she stared at the railing contemplatively for a number of seconds, following it along until it met the pathway on the other side. For the first time since the Tau had walked into the Bridge, she felt unsure, uneasy and decidedly uncomfortable. They were not feelings she was used to and she felt her face colour as she continued to stare at the gap. Back on the bridge she had chosen to make contact with the Tau which while not breaching her specific orders, was going against the general intent of her mission.

Here she was faced with a different situation but the same dilemma. Arlene and the Tau had been clear that she was to follow them wherever they went. And they were clearly going to climb across the gap. Based on her best estimation though, she had an extremely low chance of making it across without falling. And if she fell, it was likely that she would die. She did not want to die, or to fall that distance. It still felt wrong though to suggest an alternative when it was clear that she should attempt the climb with the others.

Harriet twisted her neck to turn back to Kanna. Instead of her normally impassive expression, her eyebrows were drawn together, wrinkling her forehead and there were two bright red spots on her cheeks.
"Kanna, this is not a question but a suggestion. My calculations suggest that I am unlikely to be able to repeat Ur'na's athletics. I could though instead make my way over to the other side via use of the ventilation ducts."

She looked across at the helmeted figure before her and waited.

Arlene followed behind, keeping her gun raised and her eyes moving. She wasn't about to lower her guard after the last incursion, and especially not after the analysis given by Harriet. Instead, she rathered a constant state of paranoia, keeping her mind alert, albeit jumpy.

Constantly, she checked ventilation shafts, corners, edges of panels. Constantly, she feared walls giving way to enemies, monsters falling from the ducts and claiming another one of her squad mates. When they finally got to the break in the catwalk, she breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't wait a second, nodding to Ur'na as she skipped along the railing. "Let's go, through the vents if you aren't comfy with the railing. Double time, Korst'la Dor is waiting." She said the last part with a slight stumble, knowing full well that reaper one may be long since dead, given all their hang ups. Still, she pressed on, hoping for confirmation or closure. She gripped the rails after Su'saum, shimmying her way across the divide.

If Ur'Na moved gracefully across the railings, Sa'Saum almost danced. Having taken care to check where Ur"na had struggled, and where her feet had found solid holds, Sa'Saum quickly crossed,

Ur'Na, safe across the other side, comned back to Kanna.

"Oh, so you've read the old teachings? Then you would have heard of Aun'Vre Vior'la Shi? I quote: 'When the battlefield demands action, a victorious commander does not waste his time waiting.' So, those who can, get across. Those who can't should find another way of getting across."

Taro knew he lacked the physical finesse and strength required to make the jump. He had already calculated the odds of succeeding against his own measurements of his strength and agility...and the results were not promising. The best medic was an alive medic.

"I shall accompany our new friend through the ventilation system...assuming I am not needed for any emergency care in the next few moments..."

He says all of this right after Ur'Na successfully jumps across...

Harriet felt herself relax as Arlene spoke and the heat retreated from her face. Her path was clear again and she could continue as normal. Or was it exactly like normal? There was a feeling of lightness within her, another uncommon feeling. Was this simply a result of the earlier tension having subsided or was it more? Her decision to speak had not effected her negatively. She would perhaps think of this more later, Arlene's orders had been clear about moving quickly.

She turned and found the rest of their group had joined them on the walkway, Taro indicating that he would join her too. Nodding at both Arlene and Taro, she spoke,
"Understood. I will make my way to the vents with haste."

Ignoring the gap behind her, she moved through the Tau and down the stairs, descending quickly. As she passed through the open blast doors, she was aware of someone following her, but it wasn't the normal presence of the Kroot. Instead it was the laboured breathing of 'The angry midget'. Interesting she thought, as she unsecured the opening of the vent, this was the first time it had left her side since the cafeteria. Why was Kor'arx no longer following her? Had its orders changed? Were they expecting battle on the other side? Or, she thought as she stared through the opening, was it altogether more simple? While the size of the vent made passage simple for her, the Kroot was much larger and would have difficulty. The angry midget was better suited to such an action.

She paused outside the opening of the vent and flipped her goggles down over her eyes again to stare better into the darkness, trying to see if she could sense anything moving. Taro's words had been unclear if he wanted to take the lead or follow her. She would wait a few seconds for him, and if he did not venture before her, she would make the move herself.

Kanna prepared himself to climp across the gap. Unlike the others, he entrusted his safety to his physical strength rather than his balance. Years of PT and constant warfare have honed him to be a fire warrior ideal.
He stowed his gear and grabbed on to the bar.

He takes in a deep breath to calm his nerves and moves out.
One hard grips the makeshift handholds one after the other as he begins to cross the gap.....

Taro leads the way to the vents, knowing that he should probably be the one to lead them through. Hightower was injured and needed to avoid combat as much as possible. And he was beginning to trust Harriet, but putting her between the two of them was probably for the best. Taro wasn't quite sure of her combat abilities.

Once at the vents, Taro looks to the others and asks for confirmation.

"Are we ready?"

[Vent Team]

Ta'ro takes point with Harriet far enough behind to not be uncomfortable. High Tower brings up the rear as a practical measure - Harriet was still an outside and potential enemy after all, and he was the only other trained warfighter of the trio. Harriet doesn't spy or hear anything before Ta'ro heads in.

The vent itself is large enough to carry atmosphere through various sections of a ship this size, but not large enough to stand comfortably. A low crouch for a human might be plausible, much more so for a tau or demiurg. Even still, the most comfortable way to move was in the prone position.

The vent ran the same length as the walkway and then some. Roughly where the gauge in the walkway existed there is what looks like a a breakway vent that went left (a T-intersection if you guys are starting at the small horizontal portion of the T rather than the long vertical).

[Walkway Team]

Kanna, followed closely by team leader Arlene, begin the precipitous crossing. The tear in the grate was ragged behind them as they held onto the side railing. It seemed as though where they had a strong grip, they had weak footing and vice versa. They were roughly halfway across with a few meters of space between them when Kanna's hoof broke through the lower railing. The veteran felt the world disappear beneath him. He reached out, quickly grabbing onto something - anything - and felt hard, sharp steel meet his armored gloves. He holds tightly knowing that his only salvation would be to keep moving. He reached forward, intent on getting across, but before he could ove a meter the punctured fabric covering his hand tore and he plummeted to his death...

Almost simultaneously, with her attention focused on Kanna, Arlene slipped. She flung her arms wildly to grab something, but nothing but air greeted her. In the span of only a few seconds, Reaper team 4 had lost two members, including its team leader.

Those who remained on the walkway could peer down in desperation, but such was the distance and mess on the ground it was hard to make out anything...

Harriet moved through the vent on her hands and knees, moving at the same pace as the armoured Tar'ro in front of her. She couldn't see much in front of her as the Tau blocked most of the available space, so she concentrated instead on her ears and the various sounds coming through to them in the vent. Beyond the noise they were making though, she couldn't discern anything else of interest. After a short amount of movement they came to a stop and she saw there was a breakaway vent leading to the left.

She looked down it with some interest and a little puzzlement. It been a number of days since she had traversed this way but she didn't particularly remember this side vent. She felt heat on her neck and cheeks again. Why would she have forgot such potentially important data? She did not forget, and to fail to notice such a thing while moving slowly through a vent was inexcusable. She couldn't even be sure which way she had come. It did not make any sense. Unaware, her hands formed fists on the cold metal.

Her mind had been busy as she made the reverse journey, as it commonly was. However, and she started slightly as she recalled it, she had not been analysing her surroundings or her situation in general alone on the ship. She had been recalling her former team and particularly the leader of that team, Eliza Markham. The last time she had seen her, the formidable warrior had part pleaded and part ordered Harriet to kill her. The image of that single grey eye staring through her, amidst the gloom and filth of the Cultist prison, was burned into her brain. She could smell the blood, hear the whimpered moans of Rodolfus and almost feel the fear coming off the older woman, chained and helpless against the wall.

Suddenly looking down Harriet noticed that her arms were shaking. Concentrating hard she managed to stop their movement, but she couldn't slow the thump of her heart. That memory was affecting her in a very real physical way and she didn't understand why. It was easier to understand now though why she had been distracted before. It was still there on the edge of her mind, attempting to steal her focus again. Distractedly she stared up both possible paths in question but couldn't see or hear anything of interest.

"I made my way through this vent on the reverse journey but I cannot recall which pathway I took. I cannot help with the choice."
Her voice sounded a little uncertain. She had no problem admitting that she had not come across a particular piece of data before, but to not be able recall an actual experience she had herself was very uncomfortable for her.

Kanna floated, or at least he felt like it.

There was a large crowd he was floating over.
No....that wasnt correct; it was a cadre of fire warriors, arrayed in perfect lines. Not a single one moved....

He looks towards the setting sun, there was a platform at the head of the cadre. Beyond the mustering grounds was a sea of dunes, tinted purple by the setting sun. The platform was flanked by 2 xv8 crisis suits, in traditional markings he remembered but couldn't place.

When Aun'Vi'a'Sho stepped to the platform, sudden realization dawned on Kanna.

This was Sa'cea, his homeworld, and he was watching his graduation ceremony from his fire warrior academy days.

Soon, faces spark old recognitions. Even his own, youthful and full of life, was seen among the faces. But with them were many, many other faces of his young brethren, long gone and dead.
He realized that his face was the only one he could recognize that was still alive.

Even in the dense crowd, he was alone......

Ur'Na gasped as both Kanna and Arlene fell from the walkway.

"Idiots! Damn it!" She swore, before attempting to peer down in to the dark recesses of the room. Even with the enhanced vision from her helmet, she couldn't make out the bodies of her recent team-mates.

"Reaper four, we've lost Gue'vesa'ui Arlene Cunningham and Kanna. This ship takes more lives from the service to the Greater Good. We shall mourn later, we need to achieve your task and then evacuate this horrible place." Ur'Na looks at Su'Saum briefly, then across the walkway to Kor'ax.

"Kor'arx, there is no sense in losing another. Return to the bridge, and await our return, or alternatively, evacuate now. For the Greater Good!"

Taro wasn't sure. He knew they needed to be heading in the right direction, that the team needed them all to come together to be an effective fighting force. Making the wrong decision could have dire consequences in the current circumstances. He listens intently, doing his best to discern anything that might point them in the right direction...

But then, the news comes in and it throws his mind into a jumble. Kanna? Arlene? Down and out? They'd been with them scant moments before and everything had been fine...

"Ur'Na, repeat last transmission."

It couldn't be true...nope. Must have been something glitchy. After Ur'Na repeats, Taro's stomach sinks.

"Report. What happened Ur'Na? Do you have visual on them? How could this have happened?"

His vision began to blur a bit at the thought of losing his bonded brother and his friend. And to what? What in the name of the Greater Good had happened to them?