Reconnaissance In Force (Imperium)

“Domination this is El Dorado, you’re breaking up, repeat!” Cassim tries adjusting the vox to improve the signal for only a moment before giving up. Something fishy is going on, and it’s making him very antsy.

[4df+2] Roll: [ , -, -, -] Result: -1 [Quick]

If the gunners on Domination saw something, perhaps he can too. The Sergeant quickly glances around him, but it feels more like he’s jumping at shadows rather than seeing anything of importance. After a moment or two he realizes he’s wasting time. Instead he flips the vox on, “Command squad, this is El Dorado. Dominion has possible sightings. Cannot confirm. Again possible sighting. Seems like something is disrupting our communications.”

Without waiting for a response he swaps back over to Domination, “Domination it’s El Dorado. If you can still hear me, describe what you saw. I’ll run the message to Command if I have to.”

"you're the boss." hawke replied in affirmation to Caerricks decision, she was about to head off when the other kasrkin decided to chip in with his two thrones worth, with that she found herself in a predicament, initially she felt as though her credibility was being questioned, and it raised her ire more than what she'd care to admit, but with that said, what could she say? he was a kasrkin after all, one who's had more than one tour on his belt, he does raise a valid point that it's possible all the xenotech had already been moved. thinking on that for a moment hawke took a  moment to scan her surroundings, as her gaze went to the mess tent she saw a gruff looking old man poke his head out through the flap with what looked like a kid doing the same a few moments later, noting that the kid in question looked terrified and appeared to be holding...something...she couldn't exactly tell what but judging from pairs expressions hawke figured it involved what they were sent here to find.

well shit. she thought to herself as she went to hit the microbead only to get static from her helmets earpiece, that immediately raised her suspicion, the way everything was going she could feel something was definitely up and that they were neck deep in it now, her eyes then went to the other pair standing nearby, they didn't look like refugees but they did at least look local to the planet at the very least, that one of them turned and approached the pair at the tent entrance only served to get the hairs on the back of her neck standing up.
diverting her attention back to the kasrkin she resolved to get back to her job and get it done, quickly, sooner they found whatever and were out of here the better

"just a passing observation" she began at hoyt "but uh, if there's nothing here why is the karking vox acting up all of a sudden? again just my two thrones." with that she turned and walked away, casually going past the mess tent entrance, and keeping just enough distance to get a closer look with a glace or two without being so close as to give away that she was onto them. once she had passed by she carefully looped her way towards the patrol Savin was leading


"hey there" she whispered after ducking down and giving the ratling a tap on the shoulder "small galaxy huh? don't recall seeing you at this mornings muster" with she got to her feet and circled around so savin could see her face "you got a minute?"

[blinddeadmcjones Request: [4df+3] Roll: [+, +, , ] Result: 5][sneaky roll
sly walking past the mess tent to get a sneaky look closer without tipping anyone off]

if hawke did notice that savin only addressed the second point, she didn't show it, yet..."about six or so years, give or take, anyway lets take a walk" with that she led the way taking a slow meandering path towards the chimeras

"the short version is we're in a bind, one that requires our very specific set of skills" hawke began "looking for guns, of the xenos variety, command thinks that they're being sold here and sent us in to find them, naturally if we did that in the usual guard fashion you know how that would end normally, so krast wants us to try this a bit more delicately..." she paused when it looked like some civies were getting too close, before continuing as they walked away "i want to stress that we're only after those guns and tech relating to them, they ain't interested in any of the other goods being hustled here, we just have to find and mark them for later retrieval, and try to avoid a shootout or riling anyone up. this is where you come in. outside of one or two people i don't know who to trust, who to butter up and who to lean on, also this may be a good opportunity to get some more contacts and i'm sure some of the stall owners here wouldn't object to expanding their clientele." when she came to a halt hawke was now inside one of the chimeras "so, think you can help a girl out?"

The Mess Tent

The small girl looks up at Clacky, with Yul standing just a step or two further away. Fear fills her eyes, exhaustion covering her skin with a greying tone. She should be too young to deal with things like this, and it seems most of the people in the camp treat her as little more than an annoyance. To have someone, anyone, talk to her as Clacky has done . . .it seems to take her by pleasant surprise. She breaths out, "It's Xenos tech." She whispers furtively. "I was going to take it away from the camp. It's bliiinking." she elongates the last word and her voice trembles.

The man next to her is rougher, more violent in his response. He snatches the bag from the girl's grasp and pushes it into Clacky. A small sack, maybe the size of a particularly large loaf of bread. "Get the damn thing out of here." He hisses, nodding towards the Guard coming ever closer, and then staring pointedly at both Clacky and Yul. "do this and the girl's mother will be grateful. If the Nurse is grateful to you, that likely means Alvira is too."


For the passing Hawke, she is able to catch snippets of the conversation, though Yul Altanbaatar's frame blocks view. The Guardswoman is able to catch the last few words, specifically that Alvira will be grateful.


The Market

Elsewhere in the camp, Krast catches sight of a stern woman stalking away from a Centaur, followed by a group of hangers-on and lackies. If further confirmation of her status is needed, he can see Maddie run up to her, the younger woman's eyes frantic. Even from several dozen feet away, Krast can hear the conversation that takes place.

"Have you seen Beth? I can't find her." Maddie's voice is calm. Or rather, that careful calm that a parent projects when they are on the verge of panic.

Contrasting the Nurse, the older woman snaps back a reply. "I don't know, Maddie. But the Vox is acting up and I need to get the camp in order for the Guard to 'inspect'. Ask Pavel to help you find her, quietly. And the other kids too, if things get bad I want them ready to run." It's at this moment the woman meets Krast's eyes. She clearly takes a breath to decide what to do, though if she guesses to his actual rank is unsure. But something in her eyes spark when she takes in his gear. "Maddie, get gone. I've got to talk to a man about a market." And with that, she approaches the Lieutenant, jaw set in a fierce line.


For Savin, Hoyt, Caerrick, Hawke and the small squad that Savin commandeered, the situation is becoming more frantic. They are faced with a bustling and increasingly nervous market, matched by increasing glares and frustrated glances from the locals. Something, something more than the guard's arrival, is starting to spook people. A portable and much-in-need of repair vox unit on a table nearby squeals in annoyance, interference squawking out.


The Convoy


Lourn performs the basics rights of repair, ensuring the vox is functioning as intended and adjusts for new interference. After a moment a tinny voice comes through. "Reconnaissance convoy, this is Glory of Sol in high orbit. Repeating command to reply, we are losing visual to cloudcover and auspex is returning null scans. Respond with your status. This message will repeat." The message is audible, though even from the vessel in orbit it seems to be having some difficulty reaching the primary vox unit.



Quarry Edge

For Cassim and the isolated Domination at the top of the quarry, things grow silent. Domination's turret tracks cautiously around the surrounding landscape, hunting for a threat. The Hatch opens for a moment, and a young woman scrambles out, squeezing and wriggling to get past the tank commander. The grizzle man who serves as Domination's commander pokes his head up after her and points at his headset, trying to catch Cassim's attention. It seems he has entirely lost vox connection and is sending the sponson gunner to relay directly to the sentinel. Freckle-faced and with engine grease covering half her face, the small woman dashes for the scout vehicle, shouting as she comes. As she does, a gust of wind sweeps away her words, carrying them far from El Dorado's ability to hear.


((No specific rolls required at the moment))

Clacky listens to the child's explanation, and nods, "Alright, Miss. We'll move it away from here-" they're almost caught off balance as the sack is thrust at them, but they recover, wrapping whatever the thing is up tighter.
Glancing over their shoulder for a moment, the psyker tries to take a read of the market.

[[ Clever to assess: `[4df + 3]` Roll: `[+, -, -, -]` Result: `1`]

The general flow of people has become far harder to follow, and as the guard spreads out, their direction is also much less distinct. Unable to pinpoint a centre of the stress, Clacky can only guess it's focused on the guard. But the ambient tension is rising rapidly, and voices are raising on both sides.

Unable to shake the sinking sensation that something truly dangerous is brewing, far more so than before, Clacky quickly drops down to speak to the child eye to eye, resting a hand on her shoulder. Their expression is kind, but concerned, "You're not in any trouble... But I really think you should try and hide now, Miss. Maybe over with your mother if you know where she is." they glance back again, looking concerned, "Those guardsmen are likely to start crashing about and shouting at each other pretty soon, if they don't find what they want. You really don't deserve to be caught up in that." Clacky glances up at the dour man beside the girl, "..Either of you."

The psyker straightens up, and hastily stows whatever it is that they were handed into their satchel. The bag barely fastens over the shape, but it's at least less conspicuous than openly carrying a sack.

"C'mon." they pat the side of Yul's shoulder, "Stay close." and without waiting around, Clacky steps away from the tent, letting the flow of the thinning crowd move them naturally away from the doorway, and ducking quickly behind a nearby stall once the pair pass a convenient gap in the boards.

Leaning back, Clacky keeps a close eye on anyone in uniform who may be heading towards the mess tent, or worse, actively looking for the pair. They didn't have long, given how the crowd was thinning.
"Now what? We try and fence this back to the Guard? Throw it in the reservoir?" their shoulders shake as they laugh, "Assuming it's even real! That poor kid was terrified, whatever it is."

[[ Sneaky + Just passing through to hide with Yul behind a cart - for now.
`[4df + 4]` Roll: `[+, +, -, -]` Result: `4` ]