The lift shuddered to a halt, and its doors opened into a darkened hallway. Tazi drew her laspistol with practiced ease, and it responded by thrumming comfortingly to life. She had found herself in the midst of a pack of Carrigan’s undesirables – none of whom she had even begun to trust. But her faithful ‘Fury’ laspistol was something that had never let her down.

“Sure, whatever,” Tazi remarked as the one called Mkoll suggested they split up and investigate the left and right corridor.

“Just don’t get yourself killed. I hear even the servitor’s get cranky about cleaning up blood stains,” she added with a wink.

The lift shuddered to a halt as it hit deck 29. Solanis took a solid look around his surroundings, knowing full well where they were. He often walked these corridors, reminding himself the fine line he had walked that could have easily seen him caged and tortured amongst those within these unhallowed halls; and not serving the universe for a greater cause.

Two stepped out before him, one, a take charge kinda guy, fine, he hadn't mentioned his name and it weas probably for the better, Daggerfall didn't often play well with others.

The other on the other hand, Battle Sister Tazi, he had played with on occasion to quite the enjoyable effect. There was no chance in hell you could call what they had anything remotely close to a relationship, just the occassional mutual desire to remind each other they were human, and still alive out here in the cold of the black.

In a world where each day quite literally could be your last, it was fortunate to have that small luxury available on this floating cesspool.

Daggerfall stuck to the back of the group as the moaning sounds came to his ears, hefting his scoped laser sighted rifle to arms. He let the zoom function drift over the stained floor up the back of a reinforced boot, toned legs, curvacious ass where he lingered just a moment, before moving it to eye level and falling in behind Tazi.

Wherever they went, he'd have their back, it was what he was born and bred to do.

Ghustel rode the lift down silently, the buzzing and shaking of the lift making him sway slightly. As they hit the level they were meant to get off on and the doors opened, he seen a few others go out before him. Mkoll said he should go left as he himself headed up right with his auto gun. Ghustel drew his massive sword, its blade enhanced to be able to cut through any armour, modern or primitive, with ease. He stepped slowly out, holding it in two hands, the hilt near his face and blade straight into the air. He made his way to the edge of the hall way, and stayed left. He looked to make sure everything was clear and then turned towards the moaning noise, tightening his grip on the handle. He walked slowly towards the sound, cautiously taking his time.

Fried. Wasted. Will be recycled.
Arcturius looked over the lobotomised cranium of the servitor. This was far beyond his ability to repair at this point. He would return to the upper decks and mark it for reuse. Its parts could be used to create a functional and more perfect creature.

Arcturius stepped back mechanically, his work done. The previous command had told him to continue his work, and his work was done. He would now return to his quarters awaiting his next assignment once the lockdown was disengaged.

He stood silently for a moment, his sensors picking up the sheer sparcity of his surroundings. There was no one here besides the disabled servitor. Not that this was a problem, other people did not understand Arcturius's single minded-devotion to perfection.

His pondering was interrupted however by a noise emanating from the corridor to his left. Some sort of low moaning, like a creature on its deathbed. He had no orders to investigate such activity however, so he remained still, his sensors checking the area continuously.

Another noise, this time to the right. A slow banging in the ceiling of the adjoining hallway. Something malfunctioning no doubt, he would have to fix it, he was afterall sent to this deck for repairs-, and thats what he'd do.

((OOC: Going to check out banging))

Mkoll and Ghustal strolled forward. They had quite a bit of ground left to cover. It took them roughly half a minute to carefully make it to the break. A quick plan was made, and Tazi and Daggerfall took positions to cover the pointmen.

On the other side of the Deck, Arcturious decided to find whatever imperfection was making all that banging sounds. As he ventured down the hallway, he could hear very faint footsteps from the other end.

It was Mkoll who first turned the corner and glanced down the rather long hallway. It was a man… at least it looked like one… lying on the ground. The wall beside him was blown out, as was the ceiling above him. He was moaning in pain… obviously wounded. An escaped psyker?

Ghustal’s passage was perfectly clear. He could see all the way to the other end.

Both passageways have breaks about halfway down… probably a connecting hallway.

Arcturious walked carefully, monitoring the banging sounds. They were directly above him now… it sounded like someone was walking above, but suddenly stopped. It was deathly silent except for the moaning.

**CRASH**

As if out of nowhere, the ceiling above the Tech-Priest gave way, causing him to jump back, startled. A strange beast was standing in the crawlspace above. He looked sort of human, but it was dark. It locked eyes with Arcturious and leapt down from above. It was a grotesque beast, completely white and hairy, and had a third arm sticking out from his back.

His body is entirely scaly beneath the hair. This mutant was a freak of nature. It had no place in Imperial space… the only problem is it was powerful enough to completely blast through the ceiling. This was not good.

Ghustal can see debris from the “explosion” spray around the corner at the end of the hallway. Everyone can hear it. The man is still moaning.

(OOC: You’re now in initiative. I’d like to try and go two or three rounds at a time, beings we’re not quite in “combat” yet, so let’s get those actions in! Combat is going to go with shorter, more frequent posts to keep the action level high!)

Tazi raised a hand to the back of her neck to gently coax some life into her stiff and sore muscles. It wasn’t that she was out of shape. If anything she had been more physically active since joining Carrigan’s troupe than she had been on Ophelia VII. It just wasn’t the kind of activity she was supposed to be indulging in.

Tazi turned to look at Daggerfall just as he turned to look away. The fact that she had caught him looking at her brought an amused smile to her lips.

“Still not tired after…?” she began, before a sudden crash stole her attention.

“Frack,” she swore simply, as she cocked her pistol. “Well at least we know that wasn’t Mkoll. He would have been screaming like a girl first. Oh…and whoever kills this fracker gets to go on top.”

Tazi winked suggestively as she started down the left hand corridor, laspistol at the ready.

Tazi turned to look at Daggerfall just as he turned to look away. The fact that she had caught him looking at her brought an amused smile to her lips.

“Still not tired after…?” she began, before a sudden crash stole her attention.

“Frack,” she swore simply, as she cocked her pistol. “Well at least we know that wasn’t Mkoll. He would have been screaming like a girl first. Oh…and whoever kills this fracker gets to go on top.”

Tazi winked suggestively as she started down the left hand corridor, laspistol at the ready.

Daggerfalls almost black pupil’s widened at Tazi’s interrupted reference to their last little ‘life remembrance session’, but as the crash filtered to his ears his rifle was up in an instant, and his blackened body-suited frame stood in the dim corridor like another shadow fading in and out of existence as the light’s flickered. “Either way, it’s a win win situation” he said in his deep husky voice. “But seeing as you rode the elevator from basement to top repeatedly last time, this bastard’s mine, it’s my time for a little authority.” As the dull click of his safety was switched off, and he moved behind Tazi, his rifle aimed just over her shoulder, silencer at the ready and laser sight activated, he chuckled just loud enough for her to hear. “Oh, and if it’s a head shot, be sure you wear that little thing I love.”

Daggerfall falls in aside/behind Tazi, along the left hand corridor to provide support for Ghustel, hoping for a clear shot at the creature’s head when it comes into view.

Mkoll, his hearing sharp as befitted his status as an elite scout, the advantage of metal walls, and Tazi’s loud normal voice allowed him to hear her speak but not to discern the actual words but being no stranger to her or her 'relationships' he could guess. The Tanith scout smiled at thought of what she had told her for the moment lover and then dismissed it, as it was just the Sister of Battles way, and continued towards the squirming body before him. Having first turned down the hallway he had immediately seen what had appeared to be a man lying on the ground, the cell wall behind him blown out.

Clear to Mkoll was the fact that whoever it was was wounded, but not a very trusting soul to begin with and thanks to his days on Gereon, the scout chose not to take any chances. With a carefully aimed shot he placed a round into the man’s upper left thigh to restrict his movements even more. With the auto gun’s sights set on the man’s head Mkoll moved forward to closer investigate the scene before him.....

OOC: Post edited per DM)

The sudden appearance of the mutant shocked Arcturius, a mutant had escaped and now stood before him, having avoided both the security systems and the currently fried servitor. The creature had found a flaw in the system, and was an imperfection, it would have to be removed. He had been sent to complete repairs to Deck 29, and the removal of this deviation would restore the deck to its pristine state.

Arcturius smoothly drew his laspistol from its holster beneath his robe and lined up a shot at the mutant.

As his pistol cracked off a shot his internal vox caster connected to the decks speakers, sending his call across the whole deck.

"Mutant located in proximity to maintenance lift. Assistance required for destruction."

Ghustal was the first to act, springing into action, knowing he has a good twenty meters to clear before engaging in combat, but he was determined to see blood. It had been a while since he had actual combat, and a mutant was perfect practice. Not too tough, not too wimpy. The warrior sprang into full stride, charging with all his muscles. He cleared enough of the distance to line up a charge, and took a brief second to line up his motion before attacking. He was already locked in melee with another… a Tech Priest?! Good Lord they can’t fight worth a damn. Ghustal had to save him.

The intercom cracked to life as the robotic voice of Arcturious – doubtlessly unknown to most of the strike team, but the intonations of a tech-priest were unmistakable. If they didn’t know who he was, they knew what he was – a valuable member of the Inquisition and one of the few capable of keeping their machines (especially their firearms) functioning. He had to be helped… now. But thankfully, he wasn’t all incapable in combat. Quite the contrary – either that or the Omnissiah was looking favorably upon him and his mission of perfection. The tech-priest grabbed his pistol, and with pristine accuracy planted a shot right into the beast’s eye. It retched back in pain, and hesitated a bit before lining up its attack.

Solanis and Tazi reacted nearly simultaneously, their training together apparently attuning them to each other’s reflexes. Though Tazi jumped first, it was Solanis’s natural reflexes that kicked in and evened the score. The two were able to catch a view of the grotesque being down the hall… it was threatening something around the corner. They had only moments before it attacked what or whoever was in its sights, and before Ghustal blocked their shots by engaging it. They each nodded and fired as quickly as they could into the thing, each getting a single shot off.

Tazi’s shot flies true enough… but comes up just shy of the target. Her laspistol just doesn’t have the range to be accurate at the distance at which she’s fighting. Solanis, on the other hand, armed with a sniper rifle, easily plucks the beast into his sight and rings true, nailing the creature right on its back.

Mkoll was the next to act, his quick reflexes pulling the trigger to lay into the moaning man. Unfortunately – or in this case fortunately, his accuracy was far off and his shots plunked harmlessly into the ground 5 feet in front of the man. Taking a moment to reflect on the miss as he strolled forward cautiously… Mkoll focused on his target – noticing he was wearing the uniform of an Imperial Arbeit.

It must be the guard for this deck! If there was ever a time to miss a shot – this was the time.

Finally, the mutation acts on its threat, Arcturious. Unfortunately that horrible sting from his back had stunned his spine, rendering him unable to move. In fact, it could do no more than fall flat on its face, no longer moving.

Ghustal is now face to face with Arcturious, with a limp mutant body between them. Mkoll is within about 10 meters of the Arbeit, and Tazi and Daggerfall are at the end of Ghustal's hallway.

(OOC: Grugg rolled a critical hit, bringing almost dead. Kaelyn finished it off. Gina would have hit were it not for range penalties. I’ll explain death and injury in the Q&A. You’re out of initiative. I really expected that to last more than a round and at least get off one psychic power…)

Tazi smiled ruefully as she briefly examined the muzzle of her gun. It was a large weapon for a pistol, designed to bury the foes of the Imperium under a hail of bullets at close range. But even still, she hadn’t expected for it to fail her when attempting a shot that required more finesse.

“I don’t suppose you fancy on going double or quits, on the next one?” she quipped at Daggerfall, with only a hint of disappointment at having lost her bet.

Tazi turned her attention to the Tech Priest that had faced the mutant before Daggerfall’s shot had found its mark. The few members of the Adeptus Mechanicus that she had seen before, had always disturbed her. Sawing off portions of her flesh and replacing it with whirling cogs, was not Tazi’s idea of a good time.

‘Plus how fun can it be frackin’ a machine?’ she thought soberly.

“You alright?” she asked, before firing a few rounds into the mutant to make sure it was dead.

Ghustel ran down the hallway with his sword drawn, hoping to slice into this mutant of a creature and rid it from this world. He could hear the ringing of gun fire around him, and before he could actually do anything, he watched the creature fall limp on the ground. A few precise shots had claimed its life already, and he was surprised that one of them came from the tech priest. He stood now, in front of the tech priest, and sheathed his sword.

" Everyone alright? No stray bullets hit anyone? Good."

He looked to the man in front of him, and looked him over. He seemed alright, maybe only a little shaken.

" You ok?" He spoke out to the tech priest, wondering about his condition.

Mkoll, could not believe he had missed at what could only be a little over point blank range and was about to trigger a second round when he finally caught sight of the uniform the man was clothed in.
As the scout walked up to the man he could hear the brief rattle of gunfire coming from the second hallway and gave it no mind. He knew that the others could handle themselves without his help and if not, oh well, he had no real love for any of them anyway.

Stopping at the now known Imperial Arbeit body he reached down to check for a pulse and finding one he leaned back on his haunches and could not help wonder yet again at his miss. Speaking to the man before him he let his feelings show

“You might want to praise the God Emperor for my miss, as I rarely do”

As Mkoll was not the units leader he would watch the man, the Arbeit, until the rest arrived to tell their story and then go from there.........

The Tech priest who came into view let a auto round blast into the mutant, shuddering him with each impact. The mutant bastard lurched in pain, but seemed ready to leap in a defiant last offensive. Tazi’s laspistol rang short of its goal, and Daggerfall knew his opportunity to shine had arrived. As soon as his target fell into the view of his scope, the slightest twitch of his finger sent forth a blast that would render its spine useless, and it crumpled to the feet of those gathered there, Ghustel looking dismayed at having nothing to hack with his blade. Tazi shot it again to ensure its demise, and Solanis couldn’t help but grin as Tazi mentioned a recount. Not that win or lose in this matter wouldn’t prove equally beneficial to those involved in this game they loved to play, but he enjoyed knowing tonight at least, missions or order’s pending, he’d be the one working the field.

As those around asked questions, and inquired as to the Tech-priest’s well being, Daggerfall gave Tazi’s waist a little squeeze and a smirk before slipping away back around the corner, wanting to check in on the Sergeant. As soon as he and the imperial officer came into view, he lurked back, letting his enhanced hearing pick up what tidbits of conversation he could, without interfering.

Arcturius looked at the deviant closely. It showed no sign of cerebral mutation, on the surface at least. He thought over any info he had recieved previous to this encounter. The mutant's head showed no clear signs of deviation, so it could be assumed it functioned as a normal, purer, human head. In 99.73% of such cases, trauma to or the removal of the brain would cause death. Arcturius laspistol let off a quick crack, the bolt striking directly between the eyes of the creature. It groaned lightly, and following a flurry of fire from new entrants, it fell to the ground, not to rise again.

"You ok?" said the first of the new group to reach him. Clearly a guardsman, someone of lesser status and possible imperfection. He would have no need to talk with him.

Arcturius swept past the guard, scarcely giving him heed as he passed.

"Malfunctioning servitor present on deck." he intoned, his voice thick with the metallic ting of his implants. "Advise immediate recycling and requisitioning of additional security."
He had been sent to this deck to fix the imperfections. He had done so admirably. Now his job was done, and he would return to his quarters. Praised be the Omnissah.