/* Moving is good, no objections on my end. */

"Understood. As a precaution, I can trust you with my effects?" Oliver slipped out of his trusted carapace and freed up his shock maul, replacing his utility vest when finished. "I have all I need with me; this other equipment would be a liability. Come, Harlocke. We will meet you back here once we have more information." The disarmed Arbitrator marched onward with renewed purpose.

/* As a general reminder, Oliver's sporting a fitted long-sleeved shirt, black, over khakis and leather boots. Long red hair, beady blue eyes, greyish skin, and markedly tall. No gloves or other visible accessories apart from his well-stocked vest, though he will likely don his Photo-visor (fluffed as bulky glasses) before making contact with the crowd. Somewhat casual, but may still be out of place given the environment. That being said, do the pistols we were given have pertinent combat profiles that we should worry about? Not that Oliver has the desire or training to use them that way. */

Jaspar nodded as Dracon suggested he find some food and lodging for them, though it had not occured to him until just now that they did not have any local currency, only the thrones that remained to him from bribing his way onto the surface. He made his way towards the commotion, his eyebrows furrowed as it came into sight and he kept himself to the edge of what was going on, hoping to find some sign of a local market or a food stall.

{Awareness test to see/hear/smell some kind of food outlet nearby. Per:30(-20) Roll:41 3DoF}

Shoulders jostling him as people moved through the space around him, and the raised voices restricted his ability to sense some kind of food outlet to smell, but the ever present dust that coated everything around had coated his nostrils and he could not finding anything nearby. Changing tactics, he began to look for some kind of raised stairway or platform he could get up on and get a better view of what was happening around them.

{Perception test. Per:30 Roll:65 3DoF.}

Stumped, Jaspar frustratedly began instead to look for signs of his allies, hoping to find them and that they had more luck than he at their tasks.

Throne curse these dice! Time for some new ones I think. Also, Jaspar has long, scruffy black hair and green (right) and yellow(left) eyes and fair, though dirty skin. 213 is tattooed over his left eye, covering roughly quarter of his face, and he is simply wearing his Guard issue Uniform with his regimental insignia removed. His uniform is green and light grey camo pattern cargo pants, with pockets at each hip and on each thigh, a grey t shirt, green and light grey camo pattern jacket, with pockets at his hips, chest and inside the lining. He is also clad in black Grox-hide combat boots, Guard Issue Flak armour, a combat harness for hanging his auspex, grapple and line and magnoculars off and an Ork toof necklace.

(Sorry guys, but work is once again kicking my keister, and this time I think it's playing for keeps. I'm not going to be able to commit to regular posting with you guys anymore. Sorry for making you work to get me in, only to have me bail out on you, but I have to prioritize this. I don't know if I'll be able to come back anytime soon, but I can't ask you to keep waiting for me. The most I can ask is that my character simply tags along with you to help you out. Once again, I'm sorry!)

Seeing as we just arrived, and Harlocke hasn't actually done anything, we can always have him go back to his shop on the other side of the forge. That way we have a local NPC we can call on in dire times, and also if Sukrai ever has chance/desire to return, his character is still handy provided we don't end up off planet. Sorry to see you go man.

No worries Sukrai, we'll keep the options open for you if you wish to join us again in the future.

To the rest of you, I apologize for my own delay, bad weather and extenuating circumstances have made it difficult this week for me to post. Let's get on with it.

Rounding the outlying structures, you find an open square, prefab buildings on all sides. The general appearance of the place is what you would expect from a Mechanicus mining facility, square corners, exposed fasteners, mono-tone industrial beige paint intended for corrosion prevention more than any sense of style. Over it all is a coating of the ubiquitous red dust courtesy of the mining equipment arrayed in ranks in the center of the square. A large crowd has gathered, men, women and children alike, most probably the entire population of this community minus the current shift guaranteed to be in the depths. The people have found perches amongst the industrial equipment hoping to get a better look at the center. Towards the front they stand pressed together in a great mass.

As you approach, you begin to get an idea of what this is, for you catch the odd word raised in prayer to the Emperor, the fiery oration a familiar thing to each of you having been raised in the Imperial Truth. You work your way through the crowd, on the lookout for food and unsupervised affects, finding a comfortable position from which to observe the service.

At the very front, a priest rails from a makeshift pulpit, his paunch barely concealed beneath ostentatious robes. In one chubby fist he carries a staff, its entire upper surface plastered in prayer notes. On the other side, a massive chain sword rests across his hip, its gilt edges glinting in the fire light of gas torches spread around the base of the massive statue that looms behind the man.

The statue itself catches your eye, for it seems familiar, but different. After a moment you connect the symbolism, Dracon recognizing it as resembling the pendant given to you in the refinery. The Emperor, wrought from dark metal, stands 3 meters tall behind the priest. His face is cast in smooth slabs of metal, devoid of detail as is so common of artwork of the Emperor. In his right hand, a sword, tip down in the earth, in his left a shield. Across his broad, armoured chest is the Imperial Aquila, containing the same odd fire motif to be found on the pendant. In this case though, the fire is very much real. Pouring forth from the Emperor's chest in great gouts, the flames rising and falling to punctuate the words of the sermon. The priest continues, the heat not seeming to bother him at all despite his proximity to the flames, and the obvious discomfort of his nearby menials.

"So I say to you again my children, FEAR NOT! Reach deep into your hearts and feel the fury of the Emperor burning in your chest! Fan the flames of your faith and trust in him! We have suffered the loss of a great man, an honourable man, an example to us all, but his loss will not go unanswered! We seek justice for him, for the miners, for all the men and women toiling for the Mechanicum! We are the righteous, and we will make use of whatever means necessary to expose the TRUTH!"

With this exclamation a great burst of flame erupts from the statue, escaping through hitherto unseen vents in the neck and shoulders of the form. The crowd cries out, ecstatic at the words. Robed acolytes, their faces obscured by solid rebreathers, move forward into the press carrying glowing brands kept hot from braziers rigged on their backs. The crowd parts for each acolyte, but as they pass hands reach out to grasp the hot metal, coming away with a fresh brand. Each of the newly marked is quickly overcome by the pain, and others of the crowd support them as fresh devotees surge forward into the openings.

Sorry for the long wait guys, had a bit more going on this last week than expected and I didn't find the time to properly compose a post. I'm back now and rearing to go.

Dracon stowed Oliver's gear in the Hauler, yanking the activator key out of its slot and activated the crude security measures the vehicle employed. Hopping down into the dust, he moved away from the vehicle and towards the commotion in what he could assume was the town square, but rather than moving out into the open, he stuck close to the buildings, slipping into the shadows between the prefab blocks.

{Perception test to locate suitable disguises / new outfits: (39) roll: 24}

A grin split his face as he spotted a small pile of clothing stacked neatly to one side on a balcony one level up. He leapt up and gripped his finger around the edge of the platform, straining to drag his body up and over the railing.

{Agility (33) and Strength (30) rolls to climb up. Assumed difficulty at -10. Rolls: Ag (17)[pass] S (22)[fail]}

He pulled himself up, swinging a foot up beside him and he reached up for the railing, but his other hand gave way and he fell, slamming to the ground. [1d10 fall damage: 6+2 (+1 per meter fallen)] Gasping, Dracon wheezed as his own weight forced the air out of his lungs and he felt something crunch. Struggling to his feet, he looked up at the clothes again and sighed.

/* Contentless post, apologies in advance. Following Dracon's pursuits, how much of the world are we allowed to "define" as players? This concept is what trips me up most; I am most comfortable responding to what already the GM already stated to "exist". Small background details such as street trash or purchases in walls may be harmless enough, but what of finding NPCs to talk to or other complicated matters?

As an aside, I have been digging ditches and whatnot for the past couple days, and will probably do so for a few days more. Responses might be on the slower side, though I do read frequently enough. */

I would suggest caution on what you all create, as Asymptomatic has a point. By generating it yourselves, you limit what I can provide in terms of assistance. There are also cases where a success on your dice roll may not in any situation be a success. Attempting to procure a Nova Cannon on Rhodin IV for instance. you might roll a 1, meaning automatic success, but seriously, there aren't any Nova Cannons to be had on the planet.

I enjoy and encourage the small things, as most of you have done so far. Small details make for a better story, and your input is welcome. If you feel like it matter though, you should state what you are testing and roll. Leave the rest up to me.

Also, Dracon would be testing Athletics as opposed to Agility and Strength. Climbing is a core feature of the Athletics skill, which I have down as an untrained skill for Dracon, so an automatic -20.

Nothing you all have done so far has been particularly crucial to your success or failure in this venture, and you all have role played it admirably. I haven't felt the need to override you, but be cautious with critical events.

Apologies if I overstepped any boundaries with my post, I didn't think it was worth delaying the whole thing again to wait for a response to see where I found the uniform seeing as I passed the test, and I came up with the balcony bit to make it a little more of a challenge than just 'oh lookie what I found!' In future I'll make sure to end my post after any rolls, to ensure I never accidentally screw something up you had planned.

Also, the Climbing / Str-Ag test was simply me not reading the rules as thoroughly as I should. I'll make sure any subsequent specific actions are checked against the skills list or jjjetplane to see what test I should make .

/* Just wanted to pop in to say I am still alive. Looks like my workload is tapering off tomorrow, so I will definitely squeeze in a post then. While I am here, how should the group regard Harlocke? Will he be an allied NPC, retconned, or something else perhaps? Following the flow of events, Oliver and Harlocke were heading towards the sermon-like meeting while Dracon and Jaspar did other things. Just wondering if I should mention Harlocke in my post or not.*/