Inactive Inquisition Quest: Mysteries of Brocante

[Gondolin]

baud, can Telemacus determine whether or not we can do this, given the situation?

Inquiring heads want to know, eh?

 

[baud]

You can see on his bald skull the bionic implant used to interface directly with cogitators, like the one Telemacus is sporting

Then how about a compromise? He has cogitator interfaces, which means we don't need him, just his head.

baud, can Telemacus determine whether or not we can do this, given the situation?

I don't think brain-hacking works in 40k, the way I see it a cogitator interface is just a way for the user to send command to the cogitator, not read memories. Still it was a good idea.

Regarding your cover, your were explicitly recognized as agents of the Department of Health & Mores and there are no other agents in the area, as far as you know. So you won't be able to use it anymore, but you're not identified yet.

 

[ChumBucket]

I was hoping he had additional mind bionics but that stuff is probably reserved for ad. Mech. Damn.
Oh well I stand by my stance on killing him based of this:

Regarding your cover, your were explicitly recognized as agents of the Department of Health & Mores and there are no other agents in the area, as far as you know. So you won't be able to use it anymore, but you're not identified yet.

 

[ChumBucket]

I would also like to remind everyone that we just beat the shit out of a high level bureaucrat. Someone who easily has the power to send out an all points bulletin through the astropath guild to be on the lookout for a group matching our description, or even summon arbite death squads to hunt us down. Us being an inquisitor is not some special shield that will protect us from bolter rounds when this happens, and due to the dysfunctional nature of the Imperium it could take weeks to sort the confusion of a misfiled report. He is an animal backed in to the corner, we should not toy with him.

 

[Baltika9]

Again, good point. I think that our HQ team should have the capacity to mitigate and delay, but not outright stop, any such response. As far as I'm aware, Inquisitorial Interrogators don't have even a fraction of an Inquisitor's influence, so we're definitely taking a huge risk by leaving Basam alive, extraction or not, and we should be prepared to deal with the consequences. If he gets a chance to phone in, that is.

 

[ChumBucket]

There is also the fact his fear suggests he was coerced to the point of being terrified of them, which means he is probably a low level lackey in this act of subversion to of the emperor's will. I mean pretty much all of us agree we don't trust him, do you think his handlers would feel any different? If that is the case, he might not know much more about their operation and only give us a few names of those he knows is involved in the plot. If we had not obtained a lead to follow, I would be alright with arranging a pick up. If we had walked away without mangling him, again, I would be ok with an extraction. But leaving him alive amounts to nothing more than picking "what's in the box" from Lets Make a Deal, and the potential for mayhem he is capable of is not worth a bunch of maybes. That includes if he is innocent. He at least will serve as a martyr to the cause of protecting the empire if that is the case.
We are also making an assumption that all of these plans we are making will not be negatively impacted by our enemies in some way. In a universe where literally everyone and and everything is out to kill you I don't want to count on our superiors magically cleaning up this mess for us. We will at least know if we kill him that there will be an investigation into his death, which gives us time to do what we need elsewhere. Whether it be smoothing things over with the local government or rushing to the warehouse.
As far as I am concerned, when we interrogated him we crossed the Rubicon, and that means the time for gathering intel is over. We committed to action, and we cannot assume our enemies won't be doing the same.
I know we are talking in circles at this point So I will leave you with this quote:
“There is no greater danger than underestimating your opponent.”
― Lao Tzu

P.S. Not getting butthurt or anything, actually enjoy the mental exercise.

 

[CappenVarra]

the best option would to convince the dudes at the door that ze Emprah wills them all to spill the beans...

uhm, actually, they're bean-counters, let's not ask that or we'll get flooded with useless beans that grow no climbable beanstalks...

so, convince them that all is right and ze Emprah is being served and do they have a mop by any chance?

however, i lack the Speech skill to come up with the [Persuade] dialogue option, so fuck it - shoot, don't shoot - just get the hell outta dodge

 

[baud]

So to sum up the votes:

[X] Flee by the window, you should be able to reach the parking on the other side of the building
-[X] You leave him here
-[X] You ask headquarters to pick this man up from the hospital and have him interrogated further.
Baltika9, CappenVarra, Gondolin, Nevill


A - Flee by the window, you should be able to reach the parking on the other side of the building
D - Execute him
ChumBucket, Kz3r0

I'll lock the vote tomorrow, if you want to switch your vote

 

[Endemic]

[X] Flee by the window, you should be able to reach the parking on the other side of the building
-[X] You leave him hereI'll lock the vote tomorrow, if you want to switch your vote
-[X] You ask headquarters to pick this man up from the hospital and have him interrogated further.

I'll go with this.

 

[Azira]

Flee by the window, but not before killing him. Seriously, he knows too much about us. And he's a filthy traitor who needs to die.

 

[Nevill]

Hrm. One flop can decide the vote.

[x] Flee by the window, you should be able to reach the parking on the other side of the building
[x] Execute him

Fine, I guess. That puts us on a timer, but on the other hand the situation in the storehouse might require swift action anyway.

 

[baud]

Hrm. One flop can decide the vote.

Did I miss a vote? With yours I arrive to a tie

[X] Flee by the window, you should be able to reach the parking on the other side of the building
-[X] You leave him here
-[X] You ask headquarters to pick this man up from the hospital and have him interrogated further.
Baltika9, CappenVarra, Gondolin, Endemic


A - Flee by the window, you should be able to reach the parking on the other side of the building
D - Execute him
ChumBucket, Kz3r0, Nevill, Azira

 

[baud]

Hrm. One flop can decide the vote.

Did I miss a vote? With yours I arrive to a tie

-[X] You ask headquarters to pick this man up from the hospital and have him interrogated further.
Baltika9, CappenVarra, Gondolin, Endemic


A - Flee by the window, you should be able to reach the parking on the other side of the building
D - Execute him
ChumBucket, Kz3r0, Nevill, Azira

Oops, I had missed that CappenVarra wasn't voting for either option, so currently shooting Basam wins. So unless there's more vote/flops, I'll go with this.

 

[CappenVarra]

Hrm. One flop can decide the vote.

Did I miss a vote? With yours I arrive to a tie

-[X] You ask headquarters to pick this man up from the hospital and have him interrogated further.
Baltika9, CappenVarra, Gondolin, Endemic


A - Flee by the window, you should be able to reach the parking on the other side of the building
D - Execute him
ChumBucket, Kz3r0, Nevill, Azira

Oops, I had missed that CappenVarra wasn't voting for either option, so currently shooting Basam wins. So unless there's more vote/flops, I'll go with this.

say what mate? how was i not voting? do i need to cross the Xs and stuffies? i was voting for it, let me assure you

 

[CappenVarra]

damn bean counters everywhere, here you go:

[X] Flee by the window, you should be able to reach the parking on the other side of the building
-[X] You leave him here
-[X] You ask headquarters to pick this man up from the hospital and have him interrogated further

 

[CappenVarra]

dont go all administrivium on me here, or risk me unholstering the master blaster
[Force Persuade] you do not want that

EDIT: so if i'm being lazy i can't just quote another vote and say "+1, i endorse this message" but have to copy the vote for the tally software to pick it up?

i understand the corruptions of chaos are compelling
and mere mortal man is
darn definitely doomed
unless under umbrage
he submits his forms in holy triplicate (pierce be unto him, hollowed be his point, his metal jacket overfloweth with fullness)

so my vote is:

[X] Flee by the window, you should be able to reach the parking on the other side of the building
-[X] You leave him here
-[X] You ask headquarters to pick this man up from the hospital and have him interrogated further

[X] Flee by the window, you should be able to reach the parking on the other side of the building
-[X] You leave him here
-[X] You ask headquarters to pick this man up from the hospital and have him interrogated further

[X] Flee by the window, you should be able to reach the parking on the other side of the building
-[X] You leave him here
-[X] You ask headquarters to pick this man up from the hospital and have him interrogated further

glad we cleared that up :D

 

[baud]

Sorry, CappenVarra, I was confused by your last message ( "so fuck it - shoot, don't shoot - just get the hell outta dodge" ) and Nevill saying that there wasn't a tie with his vote.

So we have a tie, if that doesn't change I'll roll a die.

 

[ChumBucket]

So we have a tie, if that doesn't change I'll roll a die.

Tzeentch will be pleased by this develpment.

 

[baud]

Rolling. 1 for leaving him alive and trying to have him picked up and 2 for BLAM

Edit: look like you're BLAMing Basam Damdu

 

[CappenVarra]

a week with no updates? well bumpity bump or chaos takes a dump

 

[baud]

a week with no updates? well bumpity bump or chaos takes a dump

It's in progress and nearly done. I had wanted to finish it this week-end, but spent a bit too much time partying yesterday for that.

Edit: Should be up tomorrow.

 

[baud]

​

Part 11: To Kaesong district

"Telemacus, do what you can to block the door, I'm in no hurry to get into a confrontation with the rest of the office. Electryos, your carabine. And get that window open, we'll leave this way."

As Telemacus is dragging a shelf across the door, Electryos digs from the depths of his robe his lascarbine with the stock folded, handing it to you while muttering the prayer of quick activation. With a weapon slightly less loud than the slug-throwing weapons Telemacus and you are carrying, you turn to Basam Bamdu, who had been watching you with mounting dread.

"The reward for treachery is retribution." you say, leveling your borrowed weapon at the terrified face of Basam Damdu.

"No... I am a loyal servant of the Empe..."

His plea is cut by the sharp crack of the weapon, vaporizing a good half of his face, scattering half-cooked brain matter, bionic fragments and bone chips over the rich carpet.

"The lies of traitors will try to lead the faithfuls astray, but the Emperor is our light." dispense Telemacus, who has finished his task by the door, while you blink a few times, waiting for the flash of the weapon to dissipate from your retinas.

The knocks on the door and voices from the corridor becoming more insistent, you then quickly move with Telemacus toward the window, where Electryos's tools has made quick work of the lock: the arched window swings open on a grassy slope above the river. Telemacus moves out first, while Electryos puts away his weapon before following him. You give one last look at the crumpled form of Basam Bamdu before you finally join your acolytes outside, leaving behind the smell of burned flesh and body fluids.

You make your way along the building, taking care of not being seen through the windows facing the river, easily reaching the parking on the other side of the building. You quickly enter your car and drive away.

---

A few moments later, out of sight of the building, you stop in an empty street.

"The local enforcers are going to be on the lookout for members of the Health & Mores department after what we've done, so I don't think we'll be able to use that cover to move around. Remove the emblems from the car, at least enforcers won't pull us over that. And stow the sashes as well."

"What should we do at checkpoints? Our authorization papers explicitly mention the department."

"I think we should be able to reach Kaesong District without having to cross any of them." answers Telemacus to Electryos, unfolding a city map. "We are on the right side of the river and we can go there via mostly uninhabited areas."

"Not the most direct route, but that'll do.", you add, looking at the map. "After, I think we'll have to bribe our way through. It's risky, but I don't think we have any other option if we need to move around."

"Interrogator Vince might be able to get us new papers. But we'll have to either go back to the Health and Mores Department office or find another long-range communicator." adds Telemacus, mindful of the difficulties of communicating with your superior half a continent away, all the while keeping your activities covert.

"Not ideal, but for now we have a lead to follow", you conclude, before driving away.

---

Following Telemacus' directions, you reach Kaesong District easily, only seeing a few workers and orderlies on your way there and thankfully no enforcers. As expected the district is nearly deserted, you only spot a few workers taking a break in front of what must the only functioning factory in the city.

You park the car some distance away from your destination, before approaching on foot. Staying hidden behind a rusty steel tank, you take a look at your target: the storehouse, like most of the buildings in the district, is a square construction of stamped steel, with little in the way of aesthetics, except for 'Storehouse XI', in Gothic lettering above the gate. But unlike the others, the truck loading docks are not visible from the street, but hidden away in a yard closed by a heavy gate. From where you are, you can't discern any activity, even if you spot two trucks parked in the yard.

"Storehouse n°11. Now we'll have..." you starts, before being cut by Electryos.

"Servitor conversion plant... This can't right."

"What do you mean? Where did you get that from?" you ask

"It's written under 'Storehouse XI', but in the tech-cant of the Mechanicus, it just looks like random dots to the uninitiated." he answer as a matter of explanation "But why would there be a such an installation in Hubei? This city isn't large enough to supply a sufficient number of criminals for conversion and Brocante is too backward to have access to clone-vats."

"So there wouldn't be enough bodies here to make a servitor conversion plant worthwhile?"

"Not bodies, you need living humans for this process to work..."

"The comatose patients? You mean they were brought here to be transformed into servitors? This is preposterous! We must put a stop to this at once!" calls Telemacus, before starting to move toward the building.

"Wait!" You stop him by grabbing his shoulder, before turning to Electryos. "Electryos, would it work? Could comatose humans be converted in servitors?"

"Servitors fabrication is not a skill which I have studied much, just the very basics." he answers, sighing "From what I know, it should be possible, as servitor are usually built using vat-grown clone-stock, without higher brain functions. But I can't discern how the Pelforth virus might impact the process, maybe if they have a cure it could work? I don't know."

"Either way, using innocents from the Emperor's flock in this manner is heinous. We have to investigate and bring the culprits to justice." you conclude.

How do you approach the warehouse?

-Guns blazing - Shoot first and ask question later (or search the bodies)
-Try to ask questions, to see the manager, using violence only when attacked/on last resort
-Infiltrate, trying to reach the control room of the plant
-If infiltrating, do you ask Electryos to attempt to hack the security system?
--Yes
--No
-Write-in...

If you have to invoke an authority, which one are you going to use?
-The Inquisition (keep in mind you don't have a rosette or anything to prove you are actually a member)
-The Board of Health & Mores (keep in mind that it's not a police force)
-Write-in...

Enter:
-via the main gate
-search for a side entrance/back door
-Write-in...

Spoiler

The vote is how you want to approach the situation. I'll count the option together like last time.

If you have questions, don't hesitate, I'll be back in a few hours.

 

[Azira]

I so wanna press the button and go blazing. But there's only three of us vs who knows how many. Might be chock-full of combat servitors.

Going to wait a bit and see what other people vote/suggest.

 

[CappenVarra]

Interrogator Vince, now that has a certain ring to it

right now is the only time we can possibly surprise whoever and whatever is inside
pretty soon - if there's active opposition - they will be informed about the recent incident and prepare for nosy visitors
considering the odds, our blaze of glory might produce better results away from the main entrance; backstab multiplier?

How do you approach the warehouse?
- Guns blazing - Shoot first and ask question later (or search the bodies)

If you have to invoke an authority, which one are you going to use?
- Will of the Emperor

Enter:
- Search for a side entrance/back door

 

[ChumBucket]

-Write-in...

Baud, how feasible would it be for Electryos to hack their Security system and give us access to any layouts, camera feeds, or in the event this place is packing, defense turrets? Also does he have any servo sculls that could do reconnaissance?

Try to ask questions, to see the manager

This strikes me as the "Karen" option... and we don't have the haircut to pull that off.

I will reserve my vote until those questions are answered.