The Hecate Agenda

CELL STATUS REPORT M41.907 - 912

  • Gallus Dolor: After his ascension to the rank of Interrogator and due in no small part to Inquisitor Vulpus' disdain for paperwork Gallus was assigned to oversee the mass interrogations and executions of the populace of Fervious. Hundreds of confessors of the church descended on Fervious to free it from it's sins, compiling reports of its populace, whilst trained Inquisitorial interrogators questioned the higher ranking members of the Fervious conspiracy. Gallus was assigned to collate and sort this information, making summary judgements about lower ranking indiscretions and forwarding his reports to the Inquisitor, now off-world once again. For these years he was also tasked with maintaining a watch over the Fervious Longblades, the newly formed Imperial Guard regiment that form part of Fervious' tithe in the future. To this end he enlisted the help of Dalton Greaves, whose weekly reports were added to the consistent pile of Gallus' desk. In M41.911 he was called back to the Tricorn to undertake the official Interrogator initiation protocols and give his final report on Fervious, now a semi-functional agricultural and military tithe world. It was here that he received word from Talley and boarded a sprint freighter for Tanstar 88.
  • Icharus Ventium: Icharus used his vast networks of connections to establish an Arbites Precinct on Fervious, gaining the role of Inquisitorial representative to the Fervious Precinct and gifting an old Arbite ally the position of head judge, a large promotion for the man. With this new contact in place he assisted Gallus with the interrogation of the populace, serving as Arbites official in the interrogations. Despite his constant double guessing of the Inquisitor's choice of Gallus as his Interrogator the trials went well and Icharus was released from service on Fervious in M41.910. He is thought to have returned to his noble house and served there for some time, mingling with the Scintillan elite and manoeuvring for his future. When his father died in 912 Icharus' older brother took over the house, scorning his younger brother and mocking his achievements. With his place on Scintilla no longer assured Icharus returned to Inquisitor Vulpus' service once again.
  • Dalton Greaves: After his treatment at the hands of the Sororitas Greaves spent much of the pacification of Fervious in a hospital. He awoke under guard, Inquisitor Vulpus deeply suspicious of him for serving "that bitch". Gallus however understood Dalton's usefulness as a throne agent, and given his relatively little contact with his old Inquisitor convinced Vulpus to allow him to test his loyalty. The standard Inquisitorial interrogations for acolyte's were administered before Gallus assigned Greaves to the Fervious Longblades, at this stage a fledgling regiment. Dalton was to integrate himself with the regiment and make observations as to the loyalty and purity of its' commanders. He did this for many years, working himself into the specialist scout squad where he sat silently ever watching, sending weekly reports to Gallus on the goings on of the regiment. When Gallus was reassigned Dalton also left the Longblades, returning home to Scintilla for the first time in years. He took a leave of absence in his old home for over a year before being sworn in for the second time as a throne agent.
  • Romulus: After the events on Kreutz I, and in particular the apparent corruption of the Mechanicus on the moon, a task force was formed to oversee the investigation and purification of the Mechanicus forces there. Task force 451.9 was overseen by Tarsis Kovenicus, a throne agent who had helped investigate Kreutz, and consisted of a number of Skitarii and Frumentarii elements. Romulus was one such asset, specialising in the infiltration and assassination of seemingly corrupted Mechanicus forces. He stayed here for many years after the Kreutz incident until when in M41.907 he was requested for another task force on Fervious. After assisting on the autopsy of the capture Arcoform he served as an Adeptus Mechanicus representative at the mass interrogations of the Fervious Mechanicus. Romulus also ran side investigations of his own into corrupted Mechanicus officials, feeding this information to Interrogator Dolor and greatly assisting in the arrest and execution of a number of Cult of Misrule followers. After the pacification was complete Dolor requested Romulus' services within the Inquisition and was granted them by his superior, who had previously served under Inquisitor Vulpus. Romulus was assigned to investigate rogue elements and searched for Misrule influence amongst the Mechanicus for many years before he was once again reassigned to form Throne Agent Cell Bashere, on the trail of the renowned heretic Graff Priori.

Status assessment: Einsatzbereit


OPERATION BRIEFING AND INTELLIGENCE REPORT

MISSION:
1) To apprehend or destroy the heretics known as the Cult of Misrule and Graff Priori; and
2) To identify, disrupt and avert his agenda in the Calixis Sector.

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I:SAPPHIRE
[Junk World] Continental scrap-fields, arid climate, toxic oceans
CAPITAL: Port Carnedine
PROFILE: Population ~ 2.2 billion Tithe Status: Moderate output - machine/repair parts,  scrap/rare metals.

Relevant Intelligence

  • Rumours of an Omnissiahn "prophet" have drawn large numbers of Mechanicus pilgrims, especially from the militaristic 'Divine Light of Sollex' subgroup 
  •  Tension between the Mechanicus and the Naval Wrecking Yards have caused skirmishes/political maneuvering that suggest a slide towards war. 

II: FOUNDRY IV
[Fortress World] Polluted/rainy climate, extreme industrialisation, mega-hives
CAPITAL: Corespur
PROFILE:Population ~ 11 billion, Tithe Status - Extreme output - munitions, military hardware, guardsmen.

Relevant Intelligence:

  • Clashes and ill-discipline amid stationed units, including Fervious III and IX Longblades. 
  • Lord Militant campaigning for increased resources to construct orbital defense grid against Ork migrations. Has recently seized assets from private interests and Mechanicus towards that purpose. 

III: PERSEUS
[Imperial World] // Cool, rainy. Dense, scattered cities cities, forest wilderness// 
CAPITAL: Ziggurat
PROFILE: Population: ~ 6 billion Tithe Output: High - energy, agriculture, education, workforces. 

Relevant Intelligence

  • House Krin - key noble/banking interest involved in the Kreutz matter - have sponsored classified military projects over the objections of the Mechanicus. 
  • Population of Ziggurat and Karkosa - the planet's twin Hives - have complained of nightmares/sleeplessness.  

IV: QUINOTAUR PRIME
[Shrine World] Mediterranean, mountainous w/ autonoumous church-cities
CAPITAL: Necropolis
PROFILE: Population ~3.5 billion, Tithe Status: Moderate output - missionaries, education, agriculture. 

Relevant Intelligence

  • Newly raised Prelate of the Ordinariat has begun strengthening the church's military at the expense of the Imperial Kingship and against a ban imposed in the Age of Apostasy. 
  • A popular movement  (outcasts, peasants, natives, mutants) threatens the king's peace. 

V: FRACTION
[Frontier system] grey gas giant, iceworld,  asteroid field, blue gas giant 
PROFILE: Population ~ 35, 000, Tithe status: Minimal - raw resources, energy. 
Fraction (ice world) hosts water mining operations and research/listening station. Asteroids/ cpouds are mineral rich and host mining platforms.

Relevant Intelligence:

  •  Trade vessels report mysterious "radar ghosts and echoes" consistent with Stryxis activity. Captains report scouting ships have disappeared. Light Raider "Vex" reported missing while on station. 
  •  House Mouri - a key noble/merchant interests transacting with Taijing prior to the Fervious Misrule Event - have established a storage facility and mining operation on the asteroid platform. 

Gallus Dolor Mission Log.

Entry 1:
+The sprint freighter that brought Dalton Greaves and myself from Scintilla pulls up alongside the Tanstar 88 station with practiced ease. The station itself is vast and surrounded by the characteristic flame and dust of the area. Tanstar 88 began it’s life as a Imperial Navy refitting yard and still serves that purpose, although now most of it’s sprawling mass is used by civilians for refuel and trading. We are led to a private quarters in the stations accommodation wing, where our possessions have already been delivered. I greet Icharus Ventium warmly, having not seen him since the Fervious matter, and introduce myself to our new addition, Romulus. The awkwardness of Romulus’ typically tech-priest demeanour is cut short when a few moments after entering the empty room a data-slate on the central table produces a flickering hologram into the air above it that forms into the familiar form of Lord Talley, Inquisitor Vulpus’ chief of staff. Hair cut trim and wearing the naval uniform of is previous employment Talley is brief and curt as always, relaying to us our purpose in the region. We are on the trail of Graff Priori once again, the Inquisitor’s scribes having noticed patterns of suspicion in a number of areas of this region. Alongside the basic information about our destinations we are given reports of the activities the scribes found to be suspicious.

+The Inquisitor pays the room we currently inhabit for a year in advance and we waste no time having our possessions delivered and settling in. Romulus comments on the extravagant waste of space by allocating us beds but the rest of us are glad of the relative comfort of the chambers. Once settled the group regroups at the central table and begins to look over the information the Inquisitor has collated for us. Romulus speaks first and loudly in opposition to seizure of Mechanicus property on Foundry Four, calling it an “outrage” and demanding retribution. He and I launch into an hour-long conversation about the Imperium’s successful use of Mechanicus assets in the past as Dalton strips and cleans his weapons. His imput on the matter of Foundry Four is that it is not uncommon for Feral Guard units to clash with others, although the Fervious Longblades had shown uncharacteristic decorum to be designated as such. Romulus and I also have opposing views on the prioritisation of our investigation, with his focus on the Mechanicus pilgrimage to Sapphire built I suspect on a covetous desire for the technology such a world might contain. Likewise my own concern at the raising of an army on Quinotaur Prime is influenced by my Progenium background, learning of the vast heresies of the Age of Apostasy birthed in such actions. Eventually though it is Perseus’ similarity to past events that we all agree warrants the most attention.

+A sprint-freighter leaves Tanstar 88 for Perseus in 10 days and we make use of our remaining time aboard the space station. Romulus gains access to the local Imperial Frigate “Ardent Spear” and with a remote hack gives me all of their information on the planets. The cell having decided to focus our attention on Perseus for now I similarly focus my research, reading through the recent history, customs, traditions and such of Perseus and it’s people. I also look in detail at the Inquisitor’s reports on the area and make several leaps of logic. Firstly that the nightmares present on Perseus are linked to Brintholium, sharing many similar symptoms to those experienced on Fervious. This must mean that the harvest from Fervious has spread this far already, a dangerous prospect. This would explain the presence of Stryxis in Fraction, their characteristic cloaking devices no doubt the reason for the augur interruption exhibited there. Secondly with the nightmares previously had always gone an Archoform, and with the Kreutz Archoform slain on Fervious this can only mean another Archoform has been created.

+As I spend time researching Dalton and Romulus get restless, as Icharus secures us passage on the “Lucky Strike”, a merchant vessel headed for Perseus. He also returns to me with a set of Perseus ID cards that I remake into compatible fake cogemon’s for us. We board the Lucky Strike some days later revitalised and ready to take the fight to Priori once and for all. On route Icharus books ahead for accommodation for the group and a plan is formulated. We have chased this conspiracy for years and I can see in my companions faces we are all glad to finally be on the offensive.


Entry 2:
+The Lucky Strike powers through to Perseus in 5 days with a calm warp and no ill events. We are hidden amongst the some 2000 passengers on board, the vast majority refugees come to the growing Perseus in look of work. The world itself is a blue-grey sphere covered in clouds and we make high orbit as shuttles and landers descend to the surface. Icharus passes on a personal shuttle with our equipment, secure in the knowledge that a nobles shuttle is less likely to be questioned. Dalton goes with him as a bodyguard whilst Romulus and myself pose as refugees and take a mass lander down to the capital. Icharus reports no problems passing through with our weapons and armour in crates and is dropped off by personal shuttle in the middle district of the burgeoning hive. On the other hand Romulus and I are searched thoroughly and left outside the Perseus’ primary city, Ziggurat.
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[[Servo-Skull Pict-Cap Romulus approaches the Persean capital.]]

+We meet up at the predetermined location and make to our accommodation, a middling bunkhouse where we quickly stow our gear. As Dalton and Icharus travel to a nearby gun dealer to purchase us hidden weapon licenses, Romulus and I set up his servo-skull to monitor the room, conscious of security with only a flimsy wooden door to protect our identities. While he links this to my spare data-slate I hollow out one of our beds and hide the device within set to record, alongside our false documents.

+As per our existing plan we split on our first day in Ziggurat City, Dalton and Icharus heading out to canvass the locals whilst Romulus and I intend to discover what House Krin was researching on Perseus that raised the Mechanicus’ ire so. Clad in Administratum attire and fitted with newly made Administratum ID cards, we make towards the Administratum quarter. Statues of saints surround the ‘People's Square’, at the centre at which sits a symbol of Drusus' reincarnation. We pass through into the grey stone admin building within which are high halls of black and white marble, the wealth and power of the Imperium well and truly on show. Romulus is disarmed by the outer guards but manages to spin a convincing lie that lets us pass further without question. Reaching the front desk of the storage area we pose as members of the Investigator General’s office conducting a random review of legal files, a lie the adept in charge seems to be willing to accept. We are led by cherubim to the document storage area and upon entry begin to analyse the relevant files.

Investigation:
Resarch: Gallus Dolor and Romulus: Administratum Legal Records
Imperial Square, Ziggurat City, Perseus

  • The defendant of the case is one ‘House Alexandria’, a sponsee of House Krin on Perseus.
  • House Alexandria are famous for producing scholars and leaders of note and hold an almost monopoly of power of Perseus.
  • Have made research that when manufactured infringed on Mechanicus intellectual property.
  • Technology is remote energy transmission. Servo-assisted suits.

+Dalton and Icharus find the locals to be private and standoffish people, characterised by a 'wilful blindness' to uncomfortable truths like the existence of mutants. Icharus reports that most people know there are problems with dreambuses refuse to talk about it. Remembering the brain-dead workers on Fervious, he visits the city's mental hospital, Alexandria Asylum. There he learns the insomnia is widespread in the city but seems easily treatable with sleep medication. A ruse involving a psychological assessment of Dalton is involved, but surprisingly and fortunately he passes and is not committed. Whilst at the asylum they also learn that a wing of the asylum burnt down 6 months ago, killing many patients. Could this fire have been Misrule covering their tracks, as they have so often in the past?

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[[Servo-Skull Pict-Cap The bustling pre-hive city of Ziggurat]]

+That night, our first on Perseus, Dalton and I visit the bars and kaf houses of the Ziggurat in search of more information from the common people. As Icharus found many are scandalised that I would even bring up the dream problem, and theorising that offworlders may be more open, Dalton heads to the lower districts to a military bar, “The Rusty Bayonet”. There he befriends a member of an offworld unit, learning that in the past 6 months the nightmares have been getting worse but that they have always been present on Perseus. The sale of sleep medication opens the guardsman’s tongue further and he speaks of the “Ziggurat Witch Trials” that occurred some years previously. He also speaks in hushed tones of shared dreams, although his own feature primarily events from his service days.

+These witch trials have piqued my interest, removed as they are by 50 years from the current events. To this end I travel by mag-rail to the cathedral of Perseus, a giant golden resplendent building the size of a city district. The cathedral is self-contained, with food, workers, Fraternis Militia and even power held and maintained within its giant shining walls. Within I walk through the bustling halls and verdant gardens filled with effigies of Imperial saints and past Cardinals before finding a priest and being given access to the history texts of the cathedral. Posing as a Scholarium student writing a dissertation of ‘Witch Trial Procedure on Pre-Hive Imperial Worlds’ I am allowed full access to the appropriate history book and even manage to organise a meeting with the author of said book. Within the text I find only a very edited version of the history:

  • Witch Finder Rhykus, well-known hunter famous for piety. M41.857. Recent trails were considered a continuation of this.
  • Trials considered a success by the church. 4000 psykers claimed to be slain.
  • Significant heretic Nephretes was burnt.

The Bishop is welcoming of a scholar and greets me in his private meeting quarters. We speak at length about the trials but despite his openness the only further information I discern is that Nephretes was an organiser and nascent psyker. She was apparently inciting mass rebellion in the outer city of Karkosa. The Bishop also spoke of Rhykus’ charisma and force of will and although I could tell he was holding something back I was unable to solicit it from him.

+Meanwhile Romulus has more success back in the Ziggurat city, gaining access to the offices of the Magos-Counsel in charge of the House Alexandria court case. He meets with the Magos’ second in command, Vice-Counsel Artos. I am unaware of the exact nature of the conversation merely that Romulus informed us later that the Vice-Counsel was on side and that we may have to do him a favour at a later date. He also managed to gleam that the technological advances Alexandria are pursuing are usually the realm of the Adeptus Sororitas or Adeptus Asartes. Although unsure what this may refer to our suspicions are nevertheless heightened by this new information.

+Sure that the witch trials of 857 cannot be a coincidence the group decides to travel to Karkosa, the apparent source of this mass heresy. It is a 12 hour trip by mag-rail and we pass the energy harnessing and processing plants that make up the most of Perseus’ tithe. Arriving in Karkosa we find a stark contrast to the beautiful wilderness around it. The buildings here are run down if not partially destroyed, the Perseus architecture worn with disrepair and covered in gang markings. The inhabitants of Karkosa seem to linger on the streets, gambling or inhaling fumes from small incense burners. Here and there a munitorum official walks the streets, hand on service pistol and eyes wary, but neither they nor the locals pay each other any mind. Our hired vehicle blurs past most of the troubles of Karkosa towards the city centre, where we find an Imperial style hall of justice. Surrounded by overgrown gardens even here gangers linger under the lazy eyes of the munitorum guards surrounding the hall. They pass us through with one look at my high quality Administratum robes and we are greeted at the front desk by a Lexographer on decrepit but once-fine augmented legs. Engaging this man in conversation he casually implies the politicians in the central city were to blame for the fall of Karkosa and passes us through to the Prefect, announcing us as members of the Committee for the Rebuilding of Karkosa.

+The Prefect is a world-weary old man with a large number of augmentations, rusted into disrepair like his assistant’s. He seems tense at first but upon my telling him we are here to actually find out what happened here, not simply to white wash it, he opens up greatly. He seems relieved at our presence at the prospect of support from the capital, sharing with us an honest history of the Ziggurat witch trials. The Prefect claims the trails were mainly due with a competition between Ziggurat and Karkosa, at that stage challenging Ziggurat to be the primary city of Perseus. He puts the entire thing down to Lord Governor Alexandria, who he claims was jealous of the culture and power of Karkosa. Of the trials themselves the Prefect claims the arrival of the witch-finder caused more chaos than it solved, inciting the people to violence and causing the mass disruptions. He pauses to ask if we are off the record and I assure him we are before he talks of Nephretes. She was by his account an inspired leader who dabbled in philanthropy, politics and theology. He does not know if she was truly a psyker or not but believes she was targeted by House Alexandria for competing with them. She was also a patron of science, leading a Mechanicus temple in the city that had since fallen into ruin.

+The Prefect kindly offers us board and we settle into the once fine and but now dishevelled accommodations of the hall. Accessing the cogitator in my room with my Rosette I download the redacted Administratum report on the witch trials and am shocked by what I find:

  • Witchfinder Rhykuss reported to have been overzealous, with the threat of censure on the table had he not captured an actual psyker.
  • The Scholastika Psykana estimated 2 psykers of any strength were killed, of the 4096 who were put to the torch.
  • Upon interrogation Nephretes was heard to have uttered haunting words, mirrored by other accused during their interrogations at the exact time of Nephretes utterence.

"The doors are locked, but unguarded. The watchers are lax in the tower, and the keeper has forgotten his keys. From beyond that vast and echoing place I shall return, and the sons and daughters shall inherit the lesser Kingdom".

+Nephretes’ research before her nascency seem to be the reason for her execution by Witchfinder, the subtle manipulation of Imperial organisations now no surprise to us after so long on the trail of the Cult of Misrule. Our next goal is to uncover the now abandoned Mechanicus Temple where Nephretes did her research, hoping to uncover what secrets she held there.


Entry 3:
+Our interest piqued by Nephretes’ research facility, we hurry to organise transport there. We are informed it is within the burnt-down part of Karkosa, rife with gangs and lowlife criminals since the purges of the 850s. With this in mind, we borrow a Ministorum armoured personelle carrier for the trip, replete with pilot servitor, hoping to hide in plain sight. For a Ministorum raid need not be anything more than that. Icharus borrows the set of Imperial Guard flak armour I acquired on Fervious and poses as a second bodyguard, a role he surprisingly does not resent me for. All loaded up, we drive steadily through the ruined parts of Karkosa, civilians averting their eyes as we pass or in some cases shouting jeers, before finally reaching the decayed majesty of Nephretes College.
Nephrates%20Manor.jpg
[[Enforcer Rhino Vid Feed Greaves before the outer bulwark of Nephrates Scholarum]]

+The facility is more akin to a Scholarum than the research base it was described to us as, the vast gothic gates proof enough of the wealth that used to inhabit the city. We park the vehicle outside and set it to protect itself from would-be attackers. Not the most subtle option, but better than the vehicle being damaged and in line with our cover. As we wait by the entrance Dalton scouts ahead, slinking off into the shadows as the rest of us take cover in the overgrown and neglected gardens of the College. Nephretes College looms above us, foreboding and impressive despite its many burnt-out buildings and overgrown gardens. As we receive consistent reports from Dalton’s scouting, we spot two local youths entering the facility, having avoided the servitor’s kill-zone. We capture them and lock them in the APC, but not before gleaning some information about the College. Apparently a mutant known colloquially as “The Sandman” operates a drug ring out of the ruined buildings, selling special drugs to citizens unable to sleep.

+Dalton had spotted some figures moving around within the buildings we opt for an assault as the best course of action. Dalton has spotted a hunched figure rifling through the abandoned labs, and prepares to fire through the rear windows to draw this "Sandman's" attention while we sneak up to the front of our building. We will then assault the front gate, working our way back to meet up with him. We begin to creep towards the front building, but a sharp-eyed ganger on the upper floor spots Romulus and opens fire. Sprinting through the hailstorm of bullets, Romulus bursts through the front door, voxing to Dalton to start suppressing the far buildings. Now under fire from within the building, Icharus and I return fire and down most of the gang members with our hotshot las weapons. Romulus dashes past us and bludgeons the rest into bloody pulps. After a minute or so the crack of gunfire abates and we are met by eerie silence.
Contact Report

  • Enemy Forces: Gang forces numbering 10, 2 combat servitors [7 miscellaneous small arms, 2 heavy autoguns, 1 flamer]
  • 10 Enemy Deceased. Combat servitor location unknown.
  • Ammunition expenditure: [Low]
  • Casualties: Icharus, Romulus lightly wounded.

Dalton reports having downed a target during his suppression, but has been forced to retreat as two heavy combat servitors hunted him in the overgrowth. It seems that their handler was among the slain, as shorn from his remote commands, they now wander dumbly in the gardens. I hastily treat the group's wounds and we press on in our search of the buildings.

+Through a door shredded by Icharus' lasfire, we find a corpse better-dressed than the others. Although he displays no obvious mutations, I assume him to be the Sandman and search him. He carries an unregistered cred-stick, betting stubs from a speedway, a flask of expensive spirits, a vial of fluid containing a strange acorn-like object and a common data-slate. Oddly, he also wears a chrono that registers only 11 hours, the hand apparently stopped at 10:55. We meet up with Dalton at a sealed chamber containing dozens of motionless figures. Romulus inputs with the lock and overrides it, opening the heavy glass doors and assaulting our senses with a wave of nausea. Based on the stink of bedsores and excrement, the sleeping people within had been bedridden for weeks if not months. They are nonresponsive and we take a sample of their IV drip to test later. We find another area with a similar set up, the people here still slightly responsive and with far less signs of a long stay. Nearby amongst the wreckage we find a bruised and bloodied old man, collapsed with a nosebleed in the ruined remains of the building. He rambles in an unknown language and I sedate him, Dalton carrying him back to the vehicle as we continue our search.

+We finish our search and begin to cover our tracks, dumping 6 of the bodies off the nearby cliff to fit. The Prefect might expect our guards to be able to deal with 4 gangers but 10 might raise suspicions. We are on our way back to the vehicle when we realise we are missing something, a crumbling College church almost slipping our notice after the firefight. Searching the church we find the pews had been smashed aside, the cloister removed and the space where it sat now excavated. Within the hole we find a staircase of ancient stone bearing signs from a firefight that must have occurred during the witch hunts. Below the staircase lies an ancient mausoleum made of the same aged stone, ransacked and burned long ago. Corpses have been ripped from their sarcophagi and lie haphazardly across the floor of the crypt. Romulus’ initial assessments have the bodies at ranging from between 50-100 years old, although he reports difficulty in predictions due to advanced mummification techniques. Based on the rumours of Nephretes experimenting with immortality and necromancy I find this place most unsettling. Amongst the ruins we spot a small book, revealed to be a diary written in a strange cipher. Pocketing it we head back to the vehicle, wary of having lingered here too long.

+We hide our faces on the way back into the vehicle as a small crowd had now gathered to see what the noise was all about. A few had gotten too close to the vehicle and were gunned down by its automated defences; A sad but acceptable loss. Halfway back to the Prefect’s Hall we let the two young vagabonds out, satisfied that they had learnt their lesson. We drop Romulus, Dalton and the old man outside the Hall with a promise from them they would get him through “as subtly as possible”. Icharus and I report a conflict with 4 gangers and sign the appropriate paperwork, hiding the incident impossible it was preferable to try and keep our cover as Administratum officers. That cover that is becoming increasingly untenable, as concern and confusion breaks out among the Prefecture when my comrades walk through the gates with our captive, who is affected by both powerful sedatives and stimulants and soaked in his own blood and regurgitat.

+As we settle back into the quarters the Prefect assigned to us Romulus receives a call on his personal vox, returning some minutes later and simply stating that he “may have more work for us here”. When the old man regains coherency, I try to communicate with him while Icharus puts his Arbites code breaking skills to use on the ciphered book. Eventually, after failing to grasp the odd Voidship dialect he speaks, in I call for a translation servo skull from the Lexographer, though reluctant to ask much more of our hosts. Now able to communicate, I question him:

Person of Interest: Oolon Daeker Perseus, Karkosa city

  • Claims to not remember the last year. Last memory is of serving on a ship and being given medication to deal with sleeplessness. Described symptoms match those experienced on Kreutz and now on Perseus.
  • Served as a "mirror" on an Astra Telepathica vessel. [Explains the strange dialect, some crewmen are born and raised on board ships and never experience the wider Imperium]

The initial implications of this information are troubling. Firstly it is possible the Archoform travelled aboard secretly, causing the noted insomnia and nightmares. Secondly if this man is a psychic mirror there are any number of things the Cult of Misrule could have used him for in the past year. Hopefully in time his memory will return, he has shown himself to be compliant enough when fed and treated kindly.

+Meanwhile Icharus finishes decoding the book, revealed to be the journal of the alleged witch Nephretes detailing the life of her ancestor, the founder of House Alexandria.

Investigation:
Icharus Ventium, Journal on the Life of Jeremiah Krin
Prefects Hall, Karkosa, Perseus

  • The book is Nephretes’ journal of her investigation into the doings and history of Jeremiah Krin, founder of House Alexandria and apparently her ancestor.
  • Acts of Jeremiah Krin include establishment of Nephretes College, areas of research into remote charging of power cells and bionics.
  • He was also heavily involved in the planning of Perseus' development, deciding the final positioning of all of it's major cities.
  • As the journal starts to describe the end of his life it becomes less and less specific. Merely dictating locations visited rather than actual research.
  • Jeremiah Krin is reported to have died of organ failure

+On another note during his nightly vox -thief scans Romulus picked up a communique full of red-flag terms. It is most troubling, and a reminder of our enemy's resourcefulness….

+[ALERT] Vox Leech Online; Declared account active
+Intercepting…
+Decrypting…
+Key Terms Flagged.
+Signal obtained.
Communique: [Doc Attached] Fwd: Incident Report 6243 M41/912 -Karkosa Magistratum Enforcer Division
Recipient -

There are a couple of characters being hosted by the Prefect that you may wish to look into. As requested, I have forwarded you any incident reports that concern the Collegium or other flagged sites. It seems the Enforcer vehicle was lent to 4 members of the Reconstruction Committee, but no such dispatch has been logged by the Ziggurat Quorum. Two local junkies were apparently released by the group after the event at Nephrates'. All efforts are being turned to their capture but details are scant. The site is being cleaned, and has been scanned; our experts report that he was likely present, but appears to have escaped. It is not clear which party/s these operatives represent, but they have been disruptive


Entry 4:
+As the storm winds whip against the faded stained glass of the Prefect’s palace we watch our prisoner tossing in his sleep and contemplate the situation we find ourselves in. As Romulus hacks into the data-slate we recovered from the finely dressed man at the College I use my rosette to access the Magistratum files on this ‘Sandman’. Within he finds a manifest of the ‘sleepers’ at the College, referred to by the author as “crops”. Descriptions are given in lieu of names and the two groups are rates as ‘moderate to high’ in the case of the longer sleeping group and ‘low to moderate’ in the case of the more recent group. What this means we do not know. Meanwhile Dalton wakes the nightmare prone Oolon and induces a coma with the captured drug, referred to by the psyker as “fugue”. I give him stern words on the unknown elements of the drug whilst Romulus instructs him on proper medical practice but he cares nothing for our lectures.

Investigation:
Gallus Dolor, Magistratum case files, Reference "Sandman"
Prefects Hall, Karkosa, Perseus

  • Crimes:
    • Data theft and illegal access [Adeptus Mechanicus, Imperial Guard, Ziggurat Medicae]
    • Theft of Imperial Guard munitions
  • Reportedly a mutant who commonly employs other mutants. (Although no reported sightings).
  • Detective in charge of case speculates that the Sandman is in conflict with another force although his suspicions have not been confirmed.

+Romulus is called away on Mechanicus business and takes Dalton with him. They also took our hired vehicle, leaving Icharus and myself to continue investigations here. They report back in a few hours later, having arrived in the Ziggurat city and discovered a vox-ghost on the surveillance we left on our city hideout. They report tracking the ghost to the nearby burnt down asylum wing but find nothing in the source location but a busted vox unit. The site does seem however to be the source of the fire that destroyed the wing. Hours after this report I receive a strange pict-cap from Romulus of a mathematical symbol. I recognise it from the Witch Trial records as a “sign of the inheritors” and inform Romulus as such although he does not grace me with the details of it’s relevance.

+Icharus and I work through the night in the absence of the others, charting and collating the locations visited by Jeremiah Krin towards the end of his life. Most seem to be reasonably mundane research laboratories or libraries but given their links to Krin we can be none too careful. I map the locations on the large wall but can see no obvious symbol malign shape in their groupings. As the early morning approaches Icharus and I put out our Lho and decide to get a few hours sleep before we resume our investigations.
Alexandria%20Library.jpg
[Municipal CCTV; Left, the Alexandria Library. Centre - The Spire of Ziggurat]

+I am woken early by the Lexographer and told a member of the Quorum is here to meet me. Wary of the vox-thief transmission from the previous day I go into the meeting armed and with Icharus on constant micro-bead contact. The Quorum member is an older man with green and brown mismatched eyes and seems to be waiting patiently in the meeting room, sipping on a small glass of wine. I join him in drinking and light my lho, engaging in polite but guarded conversation about Alexandria and Perseus. Predictably he inquires as to our business in Karkosa and seems disarmed but not convinced by my account of our purpose here. Quickly our conversation changes to the matter of dreams and Alexandria’s denial of what he calls “the curse of Perseus”. He seems to have some disdain for House Alexandria and shares with me a detailed history of Jeremiah Krin, whom he refers to as “the first genius of Alexandria”. I am obviously suspicious of him but he seems so far removed from the normal bureaucratic nonsense that I continue our discussion. We discuss at length the folklore surrounding Jeremiah Krin that speaks of his journey into the land of dreams. It is said he travelled into a world hidden beyond our own and cast down a king, bringing back with him an uncanny knowledge. The Quorum member asks me of this world of dreams and I give him the common assessment of the immaterium that an Administratum member of his rank would have access to.

+Our conversation then turns to the Sandman and his “mission” in Karkosa. I use that word “mission” as the Quorum member used it, the man showing uncommonly positive regard of this criminal. He even goes as far as to suggest the Sandman is helping the population by stopping the nightmares and sleeplessness. As he continues talking I come to the conclusion that this man IS the sandman, his boldness in actually infiltrating the Prefect’s Hall surprising despite his reputation. I ponder this as I blather about the cities architecture and the Sandman reaches for his kaf. He brings the wine to his lips as the moonlight outside breaches the curtains and adds to the dim brazier light overhead. He puts down his kaf next to my own steaming cup, untouched despite our hours here. I look around the room analysing every stone and shimmer of moonlight. Lighting my lho with merely a thought I leap to my feet, flipping the table with a gesture and throwing the old man back against the wall.

+Oolon flinches as I rise from my bed, his eyes now brown and green where they were once blue. He smiles at me as I draw my weapon, noting that not many people notice the differences between reality and dreams. It would appear the Sandman had be controlling Oolon and using his natural mirroring attributes to infiltrate my dreams. Intrigued at least by his desperation to contact us I indulge him and listen to his theory about Perseus. He explains that every few generations a singular genius is born into house Alexandria. These geniuses share characteristics and personality traits of pride, recklessness and arrogance beyond that of their parents or siblings. I voice my suspicions of immortality and the Sandman reveals he shares them, showing particular interest in the concept of a soul being passed between bodies. As I refuse to answer his questions on them matter he reveals that he is worried about House Alexandria tracking him down. He suggests that the places visited Jeremiah Krin towards the end of his life are watched by House Alexandria and that if our group and his were present the House would be forced to act. Taking this into account I promise to contact him again and end Oolon’s possession with a fugue counteracting stimulant.

+As I contemplate the mornings strangeness Romulus and Dalton return from the capital. Romulus informs me that they infiltrated House Alexandria and passes me a stack of legal documents stolen from their vaults, Dalton simply nodding and keeping silent. It would seem the guardsman’s loyalty is not without it’s inconveniences. I do not inform them of my experiences with the Sandman but suggest we scout the locations mentioned in Jeremiah Krin’s final days. Dalton puts in a request with Icharus to find him a sniper weapon and takes a combat nap before boarding another mag-rail back to the Ziggurat. Meanwhile I shake off my fatigue and begin to analyse the legal case against Alexandria and Icharus goes out into town to acquire weapons.

+I pass the documents back to Romulus by the end of the day with a number of addendums in the Mechanicus’ legal case. I am not sure what use this is beyond assisting Romulus’ masters but I willingly hand over the information nevertheless. Romulus thanks me as he attaches the suppressors to the solid projectile weapons Icharus had a acquired for us from a local black market dealer, unable however to find Dalton’s long las. The guardsman himself reports back in on his observation of the Alexandria Library location, spotting Mechanicus Skitarii also observing the location. He claims to have been spotted by the figures, who Romulus identifies as enforcers from the Divine Light of Sollex Mechanicus sub-cult.
Sollex%20Patrol.jpg
[Bionic-Capture Figures thought to be Sollex Cult saboteurs, surveying a site connected to House Krin.]

+We are woken that night by a panicked Oolong, whispering franticly about pains in his stomach. Assuming it to be another nightmare or illusion we are slow to react until to our horror the man bends over and begins to vomit up spouts of blood. The blood glints in the light as it is revealed to be brimming with razor sharp needles and rusty nails, inexplicably tearing flesh from Oolong’s throat as they make their way out of him. I panic and try to remember my teachings long ago on the matter of sorcerous rituals that can inflict such wounds but the ever clear headed Romulus intervenes and takes Oolong to the local medical facility. Day long surgery and the man is saved, the medicae baffled at why any man would swallow this many sharp objects. He speaks of another similar event over at Ziggurat that was being investigated by the planet’s Astra Telepathica office. As Oolong lies recovering in the hospital bed Icharus rightly points out that our business is Heresy and that unless we find some solid evidence soon we should be gone from here. I implore him to open his eyes, as Perseus is corrupted to the core.


Entry 5:
+Incoming…

Sandman.jpg
[For your interest, Inquisitor, I had this image of 'the Sandman' telepathically retrieved]autopsy.jpg
[Vision from the autopsy of "the sons and daughters"; the creatures that emerged from the Bore]

Summary - large central device incorporating dreamer skulls and brintholeum canisters. Referred to in Napoleon's data slate as 'The Bore', a means of breaching the Portals of Sleep in order to gain access to something called "Axis Mundi". The bore was destabilized by the Sollex Cults laser-bombs , with the Razor Ring trapped as the unknown creatures erupted steadily from the rift.

The hooded figures are revealed as alien beings known as Q'uorl. Communicate using scent rather than sound, require environment suits to survive on human worlds. They are enigmatic and usually care little for humanity, they are supposed to have an empire out in the halo stars somewhere but has never been located by the imperium. Pic included.

A large device is conspicuously missing from the research floor, thought to be the machine through which the wireless reloading of the brintholeum batteries was accomplished. Seems likely to have been stolen by the Solex Cult. The batteries in evidence have apparently been successfully charged in some way by the sleepers alone, but without the interface, seems impossible any more.

Several bulky, awkward suits of "power armour" have been fabricated, but appear still to be in testing phase.

On the topmost floor, a revolting and pitiful thing that may be an Archoform fetus is discovered, dead amid the shards of its shattered containment tank. No combat- form, it appears to have been cultivated purely for it's apparent side-effect of causing horrible nightmares. It has clearly been neglected, forgotten in its container, rather than allowed to develop to maturity.

from Napoleon's dataslate, the creatures within the Bore are apparently called ' the sons and daughters," and resist analysis. When slain they quickly disintegrate into a blue-grey sludge we first mistook for Spilled brintholeum. They have rubbery flesh, not unlike the mottled, cuttlefish skin of the slain mercenaries. They are not daemons, but neither are they mere xenos.

In the wake of the outbreak, the sons and daughters run rampant in Perseus and only an uneasy peace is restored after many deaths. The footmen of the three major families apart from Alexandria exploit their weakeness, with LOrd Governor Alexandria losing their position of preeminence on the planet, and being forced to conduct a harsh purge on his own family. The Research Ministry which came out with the projects are abolished, most of their staff put to the firing squad. Continual unrest is allowed to fester on Perseus, as the Adeptus Arbite mercilessly dismantle the House's control of the planet and the Astropath Primus is unable to call for reinforcements to quell the violence between the Houses.

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