The Inquisitor kept his silence while the trip went on, the various retinue members interacting with each other to some small degree or another, while he took the time to rest and meditate, since the opportunity for such moments of peaceful clarity would be unavailable for some time to come. Of course, while Sister Mary's interruption was a slight annoyance, he still resumed a feint smile as he listened to her words and suggestions, the smile fading into thought while the Interrogator responded in her own special way, and after a few moments, nodded in agreement. [b]"Interrogator Cassius is correct, our job is not to slaughter those still loyal to the Emperor, even in the dens of Chaos corruption such as this. If sincere, it is a testament to their willpower. You may go and collect this information, but leave them alive. If we come back this way again, having underworld contacts will be useful."[/b] Xersus was not one to disregard information, and he had indeed taken into account the misgivings and comments given by the others prior to their embarkment, but the tunnels were the fastest option available to them at the moment.

With the surface of the world being fought over by Imperial and Chaos fighters, the ground forces stuck in trench warfare in many places, sieges being waged both directions, the surface and air were far more dangerous than the underground was, as risky as it was. As if the thoughts triggered it, the tunnel shook, the thunder of tanks moving across the field of battle, the distinct rumble of Battle Cannons indicating the likely hood of Lemen Russ Battle Tanks having been deployed was apparent to those familiar with the sound. The noise of dirt and stone falling on the roof of the Chimera, in small amounts, was unnerving but the tunnels had sustained far worse in the field of punishment, and held up readily enough despite this. A feint, reassuring smile was directed at the retinue by the Inquisitor, who rose to a half standing, half crouching posture, instinctively knowing through his senses that they were approaching their drop off point. [b]"The Chimera can't safely take us much farther, we will be walking into a warzone, and the Chimera's are needed to move troops around the tunnels more than ferry us an extra five minutes walking into the fray. Make sure you have your gear, odds are you won't be seeing this Chimera again."[/b]

Sure enough, the Chimera halted, and the hatch dropped down, disgorging the Inquisitor and his retinue, while he dispatched orders, sending his senses out to detect the situation, while patching the Retinue, and himself, into the Guard communication network. Motioning for them not to broadcast, he spoke orders directly into their minds, all except the Interrogator's, for obvious reasons. [b][i]"Alright, Atellus, Sten, Constantine, you are going to take the left flank, the Guardsmen there sound like they need some help. Sisters, Mary you do what you need to, Yoheved will go with Cassius and take the right flank."[/i][/b] Turning to the Interrogator, he spoke her orders directly to her, making sure he wasn't broadcasting on the Guard channels, just listening. [b]"Interrogator, take the Medicae and head to the center of the Guard positions, there are wounded that need his aid, and you will be free to disable your limiter at that point and clean up as you see fit. All of you, be wary for lesser Daemons that might have manifested, this raiding band bears the markings of Khorne specifically, from the Guard chatter, but anything is possible. Emperor Protect all of you. Regroup on me at the command squad's location, once I find them."[/b]

The Inquisitor drew his force blade, the masterfully built weapon glowing with the power of the Immaterium, channeled through the will of the Inquisitor's own powers, and he turned and led them towards the tunnel exit, the glow of the blade casting away the shadows that normally lurked outside the spotlights of the Guard vehicles. The Guard chatter was not good, to say the least, they had been pushed back to the tunnel entrance, and were in danger of being pushed back into the tunnels, which was not going to help the Inquisitor's goals in the slightest. So it was in his interest to save this Guard vanguard, and he broke into a jog as the dirty light of the hive broke ahead of them, the sounds of battle clear, moving steadily faster, power armor enhancing his speed, and he hadn't even tapped into the warp yet, and gave one last order before they reached the Guard position. [b]"Other than avoiding friendly fire, do what you see fit in securing this beachhead."[/b] And not a word was spoken, but he gave a very specific order to the Callidus assassin alone through a mental thought. [b][i]"Follow Sister Mary, and ensure that she follows my orders. Inform me if she doesn't, if you would be so kind."[/i][/b]

The tunnel gave way to a courtyard, littered with smoking and ruined vehicles, both Imperial Guard and Chaos marked, several toppled Sentinels and blasted Chimeras providing cover for the Guardsmen. To the right was a host of chaos cultists trying to get close enough to slaughter the Guard in hand to hand, barely held back by flamers and heavy bolter fire, while the right flank bore hostile heavy weapons firing down on the Guardsmen there, who were attempting to hold back that assault. The battlelines to the front were the most severe, several Khornate Bloodletters were present amidst the more experienced traitors amongst them, although none would be ready for the assault from a Blank. A rise in the center of the Guard position was the Command Post for the Hive operations, a battle worn banner still flying proud in the fight, weapons firing down from this position as well while the surviving Captain dispatched orders and desperate requests for aid.

Inquisitor Xersus stormed up the rise, raising a barrier of energy in time to absorb several missile strikes, the weapons detonating several feet from the command post. The sudden intervention shocked them, only to see a fully Armored Inquisitor of the Ordo Malleus stride past them, eyes literally ablaze with fury, and with a gesture of his force blade, sent several blasts of raw power into the enemy ranks, lashing through their armor and blasting them alive, a demonstration of what the Inquisitor was indeed capable of when roused to war. He did not descend into the melee, standing atop the hill, lashing out with psychic lashes of power against targets of note, leaving the Daemons to the Interrogator, while trusting his retinue to act as needed while executing their orders.