The 23rd Hammer.

[Inquisitor Cade]

"There was a time before this, my children, when the holy, immortal, god emperor, may the golden throne never lose power, walked among the mortals. Not only did he, in his brilliance, walk, my children, he, in his brilliance, also lead humanity, his eternal servants, to the eternal reaches of the stars. Many worlds bowed to him, who is above all else, but many others resisted his coming. He, in his brilliance, fought and conquered, unyielding and invincible at war, merciful and wise in peace, such were his infallible ways. Some times he, in his brilliance, secured victory eternal by single combat, besting the best of the planet in his magnanimous might. Occasionally he, in his brilliance, fought with weapons native to the planet, with swords, axes, spears and knives did he, in his brilliance, reclaim the lost and the weak into his fold, and with the hammer. Twenty three times, no more, no less, did he, in his brilliance, wield a native hammer in single combat against the misguided champion. Twenty three times, no more, no less,  did he, in his brilliance smite his foe with a native hammer. Twenty three times, no more, no less,  did he conquer for his everlasting, perfect imperium, with a native hammer.

And before me now, I see the iron head of the twenty third hammer. Emperor be praised. All glory to him on earth."

+++recovered from the ruins of Jerimurds VIX+++
+++beleived to be the writings of [unknown]+++
+++dating indicates 663 years since penning+++

[Inquisitor Cade]

Aldros Drahlan had been living on this backwards sewer for three months, lying low, biding his time, whatever you want to call it, hiding out. His fortune was decreasing steadily, and he had no prospects of income any time soon. He had been about to cut it off, to go back into the galaxy and reclaim a position that was his worth. To be in politics again, to dance the only dance he knew, but that he danced so well, weaving around the blood of his adversaries as it fell, with great decorum, to the floor. Oh to return to that life. Oh to return to life at all, for what he 'lived' here certainly didn't quality. He had been about to cut it off, to go back into the galaxy but then, his patience paid of, in a most unexpected way.

Rayne had returned from his daily trip to the market stands with news, he could tell from the study from the sound of the wych crossing the hall. Had he been alone with this abhuman for so long that he could tell his mood from his pace, oh for to return to life. But the warp cursed cur had news, and shared it eagerly, of speak of a relic. Pausing only to don his coat and top hat, curse the fashion of this miserable rock, he proceeded as fast as dignity would allow to the tavern Sladin had suggested and immediately recognised the huddle of conspiracy around the only occupied booth, predictably bathed in shadows. They had been reluctant to share at first. But when the most aggressive of them spasmed and withered, unable to lift his muscles or to breath, until he lay still, they spilled their guts. He'd left them with a round, the local poison, brewed from hops, and spiced up with a little of world poison of his own.

Now he stood, overlooking the temple ruins, his top hat replaced with his helm, and his coat hiding his armour. The wych was with him, where else, and they would return soon. With a relic such as this was supposed to be, he could win a sector. Sector governor Drahlan of the hammer, he liked the sound of that. Bless this quaint planet; for all it's shortcomings, the luck it had awarded him now was worth it all.

He would rise again.

<<<probe 77b online - optical signature distortion active - transmitting>>>
Subject 77b Alpha 996 and Subject 77b Alpha 998 on ridge - position 46830.74899 - angle 587.789.006 - time 43:18


Subject 77b Alpha 996 and Subject 77b Alpha 998 on ridge - position 46842.74397 - angle 985.839.997 - time 43:22

<<<probe 77b online - optical signature distortion active - transmission cease>>>

[Inquisitor Cade]

Rastgnac scowled around him, through his mask and hood, as he disembarked the shuttle. He strode through the arrival checkpoint, his foul mood almost visible in the air around him. The security staff wisely chose not to impede him. He stopped outside to scan the horizon, he needed to be in the mountains, and shortly settled on the best course. There was a stand, nearby, with passenger carts, each drawn by a local in a small, two wheels motorised cabin. He stepped into the first, glared at the pilot, who was looking back at him expectantly, and deigned to speak the name of his desired location.
'Aye sire, are ya'lone?'
A second of withering silence, and a nod.
'My lord?' it was his follower, in uncleaned robes, carrying what little baggage there was. He has somehow taken to following back on Sernin, and had followed him here. Merlack his name was, or so Rastgnac thought, but his uncertainty didn't worry him. The man was loyal, which was rare in itself but weather he was useful was another matter.
'Get in'

The carriage rattled off, through the city, mostly over dirt roads, and out onto a paved highway that had fallen into disrepair. The carriage shook from the irregular impacts with the uneven ground as the highway led of for miles into the foothill, but discomfort meant even less to Rastgnac than the pain that perpetually flooded his insides, and that was to him a focus, to keep his mind on his holy work.
He had crossed three sectors numerous times to get here, tonight. His long years of investigation and he had finally tracked it down. The 23rd hammer was here on Dommelline, the least likely of planets. In the catacombs of the no longer standing chapel of Saint Adriaen, the only significant structure to ever grace the rightfully humble planet he would find it. Touched by the Emperor himself, weilded by him against the unworthy, surely it was a relic of relics. It's lightest touch would doubtless sear the guilty with holy heat. With this instrument, passed down from him on earth to Rastgnacs own hand, he would purge the Inquisition of the heretic wytches that infested it's ranks.

<<<probe 77b online - optical signature distortion active - transmitting>>>
Subject 77b Beta 009 and Subject 77b Beta 013 arriving at shuttle bay [non-subjects Tau and Omnicron also visible]- position 41123.73946 - angle 550.102.003 - time 42:02

<<<probe 77b online - optical signature distortion active - transmission cease>>>

[Inquisitor Cade]

"This had better be good Gamn," Omoyes reiterated, as if his aide had made the decision to make this treck.
"I know not master." He replied, distractedly peering down the barrel of his revolver, and blowing through it, not that there was any dust in the immaculately clean weapon. "I just had the feeling, you know me master, always getting feeling."
"Yes yes," Omoyes dissmissed he had learned to trust Gamn's hunches, especially concerning psykers and had no intension of letting this one pass. He knew he was just snapping at his subordinate to pass the time, and work out his frustration of not being back in the void of space, the only home he knew.
"Why did you have to get this now?" he demanded, entirely unfairly. "Just when we were finished on this planet. I finally found proof that the Smythes were not involved with the Xylous cult, and so that we'd wasted two weeks here, and you invent another excuse for us to stay."
"Throne above, may it be always golden, knows that I have no wish to remain here milord, came the frustratingly rational reply, now from behind the two separate parts of a laspistol, how could he dismantle weapons whilst walking. "Would you rather we turn back master?"
"No, no. You've always been right before, it would be dereliction of duty not to investigate this too. I have no anger at you, tis fate that earns my wrath."
"Quite so, milord." Polishing a focusing crystal.

"Nickol, down." Omoyes hurled myself down, Gamn following suit a second later. The pair were on the ridge below them, stationary and looking down at a ruin, clearly of a chapel.
"That him master, the one with the pointed stick."
"Looks like a force staff, that fits, and you think he is a psyker."
"That isn't for me to say I'm sure milord, I just have this funny feeling about him. Smells like trouble, so to speak."
"That's good enough for me. That other guy looks important, so he's probably legit, still odd for a sanctioned to be out here with only one minder though. What's say we go down there and inquire as to their business."
The two of them stepped to their feet, Omoyes somehow contriving to make the manoeuvre look dignified.
"Come."

But as they were still some distance off, the observed figures drew pistols. Omoyes and Gamn were down and armed in a spilt second, but they observed the two merely check and ready their respective weapons, and replace them in holsters. They moved off, towards the ruin. Omoyes gestured to Gamn and they followed more discreetly this time. They lost them in the ruins, but soon found the tunnels the must have taken. Omoyes cocked his autogun and flicked it to full auto for close quarters fighting. "I smell conspiracy, the stench of heretics. It would seem our work here is just beginning."

<<<probe 77b online - optical signature distortion active - transmitting>>>
Subject 77b Alpha 987 and Subject 77b Alpha 988 in ruins of ex-structure Eagle 1- position 47445.73121 - angle 045.285.005 - time 44:64

<<<probe 77b online - optical signature distortion active - transmission cease>>>

[Inquisitor Cade]

Drahlan lead the more timid Rayne down the tunnel, using their lume packs to see. Up ahead the passageway widened it to two, and faint light showed from both. The larger path lead ahead, into a chamber, if the cave deserved so neat a name, that was sporadically lit by holes in the ceiling. The second path, to his left was narrower and promiced less light. It didn't take him long to come up with a course of action.

"This had better be worth it." Drahlan snarled, to no one in particular, "I've had it up to here with crawling round this stinking cave."
The route that his unwilling contacts had indicated had led nowhere, he had begun to worry that there was nothing down here at all. He turned back to Rayne and tipped his cane towards the minor tunnel.
"It doesn't look like anyone is down here. We shall split up, but take care all the same Go down that passage." He stepped close to the other man, and gripped him by the collar. He growled into his ear: "If you find it, don't touch it. It's mine. You hear me?"
"Alright, alright," Sladin weasled back, "What would I want with it anyway."

Drahlan released him with a shove, and strode to the end of the tunnel. He passed a crack in the wall to his right and stopped short of where the passage opened up. He reached to the panel on his helm, and keyed the motion detector on, before leaning out to scan the chamber.

[Inquisitor Cade]

Rastgnac too was approaching the cavern, though through a different tunnel. He'd done his reserch and had followed the path he had learned of is a sure, if not direct, route. He observed before him a minor tunnel branching off to the left. Ahead, a larger branch went right, and just after that, it opened up into the chamber he'd been expecting. The pair of chasms that crossed in the entrance were a surprise though. They looked at least a yard across, and though he couldn't tell their depth from where he was he doubted they were shallow. He stopped to consider his next move, having to remember to take the cultist, who had evidently managed to keep up, into account too.

He turned to Marleck, giving him a sharp stare to emphasize his earlier warning for constant vigilence and stealth, then inspected the passages more carefully. A step into the one to his left showed it to be very narrow. He would probably make it, but Marleck with his rifle might not. Closer to, he found that the chasm was indeed at least a yard accross at it's norrowest, and that was further complecated by the second crevice that crossed it. In the near darknss, a crossing would be unecessarily dangerous, and more importantly would not be quiet. While there was no reason for him to suspect anyone else was down there with them, experiance had taught him that the one commodity one could always find, were enemies.

He chose the third option. He could see from here that the tunnel to the right appeared to curve back to the left, so was reletively sure that this would take him where he wanted to go. Just a few yards in, a fissue cut halfway accross the, tunnel floor, he surmised that it was the other end of the same one that had blocked him before. He smartly stepped by it, and continued down the passage, scanning the path ahead carefully as he went.

[Inquisitor Cade]

Omoyes had lost his quarry, they had left no trail in the solid rock of the caverns that had quickely replaced the dug out catacombs. Neither was he sure of the way out. A glimps of light had lead him up the tunnel he was now in, and sure enough it opened up just ahead into a cavernous chamber, minimally lit by sunlight through faults in the roof.
'This,' he though, 'was likely the destination of the unknown psyker. Maybe he could coverty acertain his purpose down here, and hence his loyalties.' He had an idea...

"come on Nickol," he whispered to Gamn with a jerk of his head towards the lit chamber, then with a gesture to the left, "you take that side." He kept his autogun tight under his arm, the stock pressed securely between his bicep and his side, and his thumbhovering over the safty catch, and stepped in  to follw the right hand wall, keeping as flush with it, without brushing against the irregular surface. He moved slowly, but silently, taking care with each step not to slap against the rock or dislodge any loose stones.

The wall quickely gave way to a chamber, but was continued by a waist high pile of rock, evidently from a minor cave in; there was a simerlerly sized indent in the roof above it. It lead to a crude pillar of stone. He bent his knees to get low behind the debris, and glanced over the top as he passed. There was another wall just beyound it, with a chasm at it's base, and a passage, albeit a narrow one, heading back in the same direction that they had come from. He reached the pillar and and straighted, pauseing to take a more dedicated look around the chamber from his new vantage point within it.

[Inquisitor Cade]

Sladen Rayne stumbled back a step from Drahlans' shove, and shot a filthy look at his back, before turning to the dark passage he had assigned him too.

He stepped into it carefully, hefting his polearm and loosening his pistol in it's holster. Some yards in, the path forked, an off shoot heading left. He peered down each, taking his time. The offshoot appeared to have a pile of rocks, fallen from the roof, blocking the way, whereas the right hand path had some sort of creviss cutting accross it. He was going to have to climb or jump, or go back, but he doubted weather Drahlan would be impressed if he did.
"Well, I was told to go down here, so I'll stay the way I'm going. Even with that crack. Don't like the look of those cave-ins  too much anyway..." He noticed he was talking to himself, again, but saw no particular need to stop, he'd been doing it more and more since that badly failed channeling eighteen months ago.

He stepped off again, to get a better look at the gap.

[Inquisitor Cade]

Rastgnac has gone on without giving Marleck any instructions or indications of what he wanted him to do. Time to use his initiative and to prove his worth to the mightly Inquisitor. Being very carful not to let Rastgnac down by making any noise, Marleck followed him down his chosen path.

[Inquisitor Cade]

Gamn wiped a last peice of imaginary dirt from Faith's handle and replaced the gun and the sanctified cleaning cloth away, it was time to work.
He checked the polished buckle secureing Charity, and tied the drawstring on Faith's holster before following Omoyes. He too crouched to pass behind the debris, though instead of glancing over it he kept a vigil on the left hand side. Omoyes stopped just past the waist high cover, and Gamn stopped too, remaining on his knee. He took the oppotunity to study his arc in more detail. Directly opposite him was a boulder, jutting out from a wall that continued another five yards before opening into the chamber proper. A crack ran through it a yard or two from the end, and there was something protruding from around the end. Gamn saw the glint of light off metal.

[Inquisitor Cade]

A burst of movement, as if by a bird, but with no sound, was detected and displayed by Drahlans motion detector, eminating from deep within the chamber. Nothing appeared to be there though, either by visual or repeated motion scensing, so he attributed it to ghost images. He continued to scan, from left to right and, as he had hoped, continued to see only cold, still rock.
But then, to the far right of his field of view a soft glow on his visor indicated movement. Not much, but more that inanimate objects regularly demonstrated. He held his head as still as possible as the image focused, revealing the forms of two men (he assumed they were men), one of whom was leading with a rifle, and the other of whom had an impressive sword strapped to his back, and was looking his way.
He ducked back, they didn't seem to have seen him. 'Who were they' he wondered, 'and would he have to fight them.'
He stepped backwards, a few yard slightly paniced by the unexpected apperance of well equipped military unknowns. His right hand went to his needle pistol, deftly unclicking the holster fastening and sliding the pistol into a ready position, while his left went to the com control on his helm. Depressing the sent key, he said to Rayne:
""Rayne, company. Two men, heavily armed." And as an afterthought, "Keep going, but keep your eyes well open."
He flicked a release on the needler, and a long thin cylinder, about 1' by 4', clicked out at an angle. Withdrawing it he inspected the six needles that protruded just slightly fron the frount end. He'd kept them well coated with his supply of Hynilan Iodic aciditate, anyone hit by this would feel it's full effects. He threaded  the cylinder, the fragile needles first, back into the slot on the weapon and pushed it back into place with a click. He raised it, and watched the opening to the chamber along the ornate sights, the rear ones made to look like cherubs, the frount one a bared sword, and depressed the button under his thumb. A tiny green light on the back indicated it was armed.

[Inquisitor Cade]

Rastgnac knew nothing of any of this as he strode meaning fully but quietly trough the tunnel. It started to curve back to the left, and just there, in the left hand wall, was a smaller tunnel, barely more than a crawl space, that had light coming through. Behind him Marleck was following.
He stopped to review the situation.

[Inquisitor Cade]

Omoyes saw nothing remarkable as he scanned around the corner, but as his view settled ahead of the tunnel he saw some sort of pedestal at the far side of the cavern.

It was definately out of place amongst the jagged rocks of the cavern. There was, he reasoned a good chance that it was related to whatever his quarry were down here for. Scanning swiftly from side to side he, he dodged forward, bent double to take advantage of the waist hight cover that was sporadicaly to either side of him, and moved quickly for the other side of the room. He covered the six yard dash in seconds, coming to a short jutting spur. To the left was the pedestal, with a small object atop it, but he stepped to his right, into a small natural alcove.
Omoyes glanced back the way he had come, to check on Gamn, then focused on his weapons. He loosened his force hammer, Glaudrung, in it's loop at his belt, and then pulled the bolt of his autogun bach halfway, until he could see a chambered round within. Finaly he checked the safty catch, flicking it off, then back on, to ensure it wasn't stuck. Confident he was ready, he started edging back towards the corner of the spur.

[Inquisitor Cade]

Rayne had gauged that the canyon was a good yard and a half across, and deeper than his eyes could see, which admittedly, wasn't very far, when he recieved the message from Drahlan.
"As you say", he acknowledged, taking a few steps back. With the short run up he easily cleared the chasm, though he landed awkwardly, the crash carrying in the ominous silence. For a few seconds he froze, listening for any reaction, but when he heard nothing he progressed on, keeping his pace down so as not to betray his position.

[Inquisitor Cade]

Up ahead Marleck observed Inquisitor Rastgnac halt. He knew from his short time serving the Inquisitor that he often didn't waste time instructing underlings, whom he mostly saw as irritating rather than useful, to his divine purpose. He would be expecting Marleck to do the right thing by himself. It was time to decide his course of action.