Haarlock's Wake: Sons of the Traveler IC [Rogue Trader]

[Kiranvonstrom]

Haarlock's Wake: Sons of the Traveler
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Profit, Doom, and Blood Amongst The Stars

Warp travel through a turbulent, uncharted area is, upon reflection, not something you want to ever spend another three weeks doing again. But, if this pans out, it will all be worth it. The Haarlock Dynasty has holdings all over the Calixis Sector, and nearly endless wealth in such diverse things as serf rights on Sepheris Segundus, a massive manse on the paridise world of Quaddis, and technological wonders from the lost past of the Imperium and Xenos races alike. And all of it will be yours, once you claim it.
For the last hour, the crew has been rushing around the ship, preforming last minute checks on the innumerable systems keeping the warp at bay, preparing to drop into realspace. You can almost taste reality, and the prizes that lie there.
In complete silence, the Nidhoggr bleeds back into space, at the edge of what you believe to be the edge of the system. There is a situation that you will never get used to. It's like being pushed out of a strainer made out of knives, and, yes, that analogy makes no sense.
There is an air of white-knuckled anticipation, as seemingly everyone on the bridge anticipates all the things that could possibly happen. Everyone is silent for a second.
And you're through, the translation to realspace going without a hitch.
You have a second to survey where you have come out, and, to be frank it is rather dissapointing. Okay, that's an understatement. You were at least hoping for as star. Or a planet. Or something on the auspex at the very least. Quite simply, there is nothing there. And yet, there is nothing that can fool a locus caller. The warrant is certainly here. Surely they didn't just dump it in the voi-
Before you can finish the thought, though, a shock courses through the ship, knocking you off your feet. The ship begins to spin, gradually picking up speed. Klaxons blare.
"Decks 5 through 9 depressurized and venting!" Someone shouts, apparently having the presence of mind to check his console.
"Void shields at 14%!" Another petty officer shouts.
"I repeat, Decks 5 through 9 are depressurized and venting! Evacuation is already underway!"
"Fires are reported on decks 4 and 10!"
The may be problems in your search for the warrant, but, at the moment, there are more important things to worry about.

OOC
Okay, I will determine damage as soon as I have the chance on the OOC thread. The fire in the crew decks is mostly under control, I'm not cruel enough to throw a shipboard fire at you on the first post.

[canjowolf]

The sudden lurching of the ship causes the behemoth of an explorator to tip over and topple to the deck. Calling upon his subordinates to help him rise, Avner pushes himself to his feet and strides over to the nearest machine interface panel as the sound of steam hisses from his machinator array. Avner wastes no time plugging himself into the Nidhogger and begins the process of soothing the machine spirit and determining what is paining the ancient vessel while simultaneously jacking in to the shipboard vox system so that he can issue orders to the repair crews throughout the ship. Once again he wishes that pict recorder technology were still used in Imperial vessels.

[Wabbajack]

Unfazed by the sudden lurch Aherox easily balances on his feet.
"I hate it when this happens. Let's see if I can find out what did it."
Mumbling these words to himself the Kroot rushes over to an auger screen and tries to find whatever is in the void.

((Active Augury: [roll0] Scrutiny+Detection (97 and check is one step easier; 107 if Heightened Sense: Seeing or Hearing applies) to find anything that could have hit us.))

[rb780nm]

"All watches, SitRep! Are we under attack?" Hawker calls into a comm channel, speaking directly into the ears of his shipboard defense teams from his place on the bridge.

Anticipating the worst, he grabs his psycannon from it's place on the wall behind him and belts it into place.

[Dvil]

Aubray moves to lift Xanatov to his feet and steady him.

"Are you hurt, captain? What are your orders?"

[WhiteKnight777]

Isengrim

The Navigator rose to his full height, sliding up from the floor with a disturbing, arachnid sort of grace. He stood a little apart from the rest of the crew - more for their benefit than for his. He smiled slightly, his tone calm as he spoke. "I do not believe it was anything from the warp - I should have felt the disturbance. Unless it was better at hiding than I was at looking." He said serenely, as if unaware that this was not a comforting idea.

[bazzgh!]

After falling into his captains chair, Cpt. Rook gets up and shouts at one of the petty officers "What the hell just hit us?" Quickly recovering from the shock he tells Aubray he is fine and yells into the over ship com "Everyone on decks 5-9 work on sealing and stopping the depressurization. Decks 4 and 10 get the fires out immediately! Everyone else man your battle stations." He removes a telescope from his jacket and peers throughout across the bridge windows before yelling at another officer "Someone please find out what the hell hit us. And I mean now!"

[Kiranvonstrom]

The retros of the ship fire, steadying it to the point where the rest of the universe seems to only be spinning slowly. The commotion on the bridge, though, doesn't seem to be following the same trend, with petty officers shouting out the status of the rest of the ship as soon as they got the reports.
"Void shields are rising, Enginseer Varys says he'll have it up at full in a minute,"
"Fire teams Theta and Alpha have the fire on deck 10 under control," Another ensign shouts, "We are still waiting on reports from Teams Omega and Delta on deck 4,"
"Engines are undamaged," A third anounces.
"Macrobatteries are loaded and ready to fire," A junior munitions officer says, "Gun decks are cleared and ready for action,"


Aherox
The auspex is completely blank, registering as though the Nidhoggr was complely alone in the void.

Isengrim
The warp, as much as one might expect it to be troubled on a ship in the middle of a seeming attack, is completely calm, even unnaturally so. Normally, the outburst of emotion and the brief soul-flares of the dying would have registered, but, the Immaterium is as incongrously serene as the navigator himself is.
The beacon of the Astronomicon is still present, although obsured by the distant, swirling mists of the Rifts of Hecaton.
The sensation is troubling, to say the least. Not to mention, of course, that you are only beginning to notice the calmness now, rather than when you had dropped out of the warp.

[Wabbajack]

"I cannot see anything out there, boss. Must be hidden, or maybe it was destroyed when it hit us."

[WhiteKnight777]

Isengrim

The Navigator looked... not troubled, precisely - he never really got troubled, not in years - but there was something perturbed in his features. "The Immaterium is calm. Even placid. This is unusual - There is a silence, a stillness in the Beyond that I have not seen before. It gathers about us, this dissonant serenity, like a mist in the supernal. I mistrust it."

[Dvil]

Aubray scans the room for anything that seems out of the ordinary, anything his Arbites-trained subconscious might pick up on that he didn't notice.
Meanwhile, he approaches the closest vox-caster and begins speaking to the ship's crew "Attention crew. This is your Chief Bosun speaking. Be aware that we are now at a mid- to low-level alert. Keep discipline and control at all times. I want all Gunnery crews to identify any potential target, and only fire on either a direct command from a senior officer or a hostile action by said target. Priority now is damage control. Repeat, damage control."

[rb780nm]

++All shipboard defense parties, prepare to repel boarders.++

[WhiteKnight777]

Isengrim

Isengrim, as always, looked serene. The slight unease was still there, of course, but like most of his emotions it was a distant thing, like the sounds of the sea heard from far away. There were certain advantages to being harrowed in the Warp - very little could frighten you once you'd seen reality with its skin peeled off and its guts on full display. He did, however, reach up and make sure that the heavy hood and scarf that covered his warp eye from accidental revelation were ready to be pulled back at the slightest warning.

[Dvil]

Aubray reaches to the small of his back, hands gripping his two pistols holstered there.
He mumbles under his breath "Why do I never bring more than two? Why do I never learn?"

[bazzgh!]

What are the reports on deck 4? Have teams Omega and Delta reported yet? Someone give me answers. Cpt Rook says in a commanding voice to the bridge. He then asks Isengrim quietlyDo you have any clue as to what hit us?

[Kiranvonstrom]

With the captains announcement, the bridge falls mostly silent. You couldn't have heard a pin drop, but it was clear that all attention was on the captain.(and, by extention, his retinue)

Then someone breaks the silence.

"Sir, we have a report from team delta on deck 4...I- I think you might want to see this..." one of the officers says, eyes wide. A bead of sweat drips down the side of his face.

[Dvil]

Aubray sets to work on the wall-mounted vox-caster again, this time keying in the specific team's vox-frequency. "Team Delta, this is Chief Bosun Lok. We are currently appraising your situation. Keep discipline, and stand by for orders and guidance. The Emperor protects."
Making sure to disengage the speaker and close the channel, the wiry ex-Arbite snaps his manic gaze to the unfortunate rating who made the announcement. "What the hell is going on out there? Exactly how dead are we all?"

[Wabbajack]

Aherox leaves the auger screen and asks the officer:
"Are there any invaders on our vessel?"
Then he turns to Rook.
"Should I maybe check out deck 4 myself, do some scouting and all that, boss?"

[rb780nm]

"Sitrep, Mr Lok? What's going on with delta team?" Master-at-arms Hawker asks.

[Kiranvonstrom]

"I'll just pull it up, sir," The officer says, still white in the face.

An image fills the bottom left hand side of the bridges viweport, projected by the Nidhoggr's ancient cognitor and hololith systems. It is briefly filled with static before the screen focuses enough to stream the video.

On the screen is one of the most surreally terrifying sights you have ever seen. Apparently, whatever hit them hadn't been a projectile of the conventional sort. Unless, of course, your average macrobattery shell was larger than a macrobattery (gun and service deck), with a door on it. That could survive impact.

So not a projectile, probably.

Embedded in the crumpled roof of the chamber was a door, apparently one attached (and still sealed to) the chamber's new fifth wall. (the side of the projectile) It was an ordinary, standard imperial bulkhead, illuminated by the deck's emmergency lighting and a shaky beam of light from one of Team Delta's helmets.

That is not the part that has the officer sweating, though.

On the front of the bulkhead, slightly weathered from years in the volitile void of the Rifts is printed a single word.

'Rook'

[WhiteKnight777]

Isengrim

The Warp Guide meditated on the possibilities. A null? A group of them? That might explain the calm in the Warp... but no. Nulls were blank - they did not calm the Empyrian, they were merely holes in it. Most perturbing.

"I reccomend not investigating until one of the senior command reports to it." He paused, then said aside, so that only the command staff could here. "Unless you are concerned about what might be within to the degree that a nonessential probe is required, of course."

[Dvil]

"I agree with Isengrim; we should send a senior officer to investigate. Aherox, if you're still willing to scout it out, I'll go with you. Might be useful to have someone watching your back. What do you think, captain?"

[rb780nm]

"A shell with a door in it, sir? Looks like a boarding attempt to me. I would like to join the party to investigate."

Hawker shifts the hulking psycannon upon its suspensors minutely for emphasis/

[canjowolf]

After discovering the cause of the disturbance to the Nidhogger and calming the machine spirit, Avner ran a quick diagnostic check to determine if any of the ship's vital components were damaged by this merger. After running the quick check and partitioning off a portion of his mind to calculate remedies to any situations requiring his attention, Avner made a through search of the area around the foreign object to determine if chaos was infiltrating the ship's systems.

Avner knew that space hulks were often begun when two vessels collided and merged in the warp. This ship was too ancient and too sacred to be allowed to fall to such a fate, not while Avner of the Mechanicus could help it.

While these thoughts were ongoing, Avner simultaneously activated his microbead to ask captain Rook "Captain Rook, do you require my presence or assistance at this time?".

[Kiranvonstrom]

OOC

Has Bazzagh! gone missing? Calling three day rule on him. The game must go on.

"I think investigating might be a good idea. Aherox, Aubray, Hawker, I'll join you. Avner, Isengrim, your assistance would be nice," The captain says.

[rb780nm]

"On my way - should I mobilize any extra shipboard defense troops to meet us there?" Hawker asks.

[Dvil]

Aubray keys the vox-caster once more "Team Delta, stand by. We're coming down there ourselves. Please do not interfere with the new object until given permission to by myself or anyone of higher authority than me. Are Team Omega with you? How many crew are present in the immediate area?"

Lok turns to the command staff once more. "The only weapons I'm carrying are my twin pistols. Should I get some more from my quarters?"

[Wabbajack]

"You can get your hunting tools. I wanted to scout ahead either way. And I will contact you if I find anything."
With these words Aherox steps back, melds into the background and starts going on ahead.
((Preemptive Concealment and Silent Move rolls))

Concealment: [roll0] against 123 (+50 and one step easier), +2 extra successes
Silent Move: [roll1] against 103 (+30 and one step easier), +2 extra successes

[canjowolf]

Avner tapped into the ship's vox system and called out "Team Red 3 prepare the containment facility. Team Gold 2 prepare the laboratory. All other teams return to your respective duties and watch for the spider in the web".

After unplugging himself from the Nidhogger Avner activated his micro-bead to inform his shipmates that he would attend, and asked where they would like to meet up before exploring the abnormal object. As he habitually waltzed around in his power armor with his weapons and bionics in place, he marched towards the designated meeting point with his gigantic steps.

[Dvil]

Aubray makes sure his micro-bead is active, before striding towards the door.
"Let me know if anything new comes up," He calls over his shoulder, beginning the stroll to his quarters.

[rb780nm]

Hawker forgoes trying to rush into his power armor and accompanies the investigation party in the carapace armor he habitually wears when on ship.


I'm not carrying the PF or PA, but I'e got my pistols, squigtooth and the psycannon.

[Kiranvonstrom]

Aherox


Team Delta doesn't seem to notice you until you arrive at the scene, even then their eyes seem to just move right over you. Stealth isn't difficult in unpowered areas...

There is something about this place that just strikes you as off, like there is a sort of emphereal suction coming from the door. The shapers from your youth would have hated this place. 'Bad Medicine', you think, was the term.

OOC: Feel free to read the other spoiler.

Hawker, Aubray and Avner (and Rook, with Isengrim on autofollow)

The lights of deck 4 are off, with only emergency lighting showing the way. Shadows seem longer now, and almost alive. It's an eerie feeling, really.

That feeling only increases as you get closer to the door, as though there was some invisible vacuum attached to your soul.

"Oh, thank the God-Emperor you're here, sir," the apparent leader of Team Delta says. The whole team seems to have taken positions as far away from the door as possible.

Isengrim:
The warp...is still silent.

[rb780nm]

"Smythe, spread your men around the opening. Anything comes out that's not one of us, you shoot them. Shoot them a lot."

Hawker readies his boltpistols and moves to take point. He slings his psycannon over his shoulder.

[canjowolf]

Avner looks around for a jack in point or any servant in the red robes of the machine cult. He was not about to disrespect his captain by being the first to interact with his subordinates.

[Dvil]

"Team Delta! You have kept your discipline and handled this situation well, in keeping with the God-Emperor's wishes. You have my thanks, and you will be justly rewarded."

Aubray lifts his Arbites-issue hellgun, training it on the door.

"Captain, orders?"

[Kiranvonstrom]

Team Delta hastens to take defensive positions as far away from the door as they could without losing fire lanes. Standard-issue Ironclaw shotguns are trained on the door with intent to cause as much damage as possible to any poor sod who tries to come out.

Techpriests appear to be somewhat absent. It would seem that not everyone is as fast as the Power-armored Enginseer.

Rook sighs. "Open it up,"

OOC:

BAZZAGH! WHITEKNIGHT777! Check the darn thread already!

Ahem.

The door opens with a hissing of pistons, revealing one of the most disturbing sights you have ever seen.

Leading out from the doorway is an apparently endless hall, leading off into darkness far into the distance. But that can't be right. The ship isn't as long as that hallway...

The feeling that there is something sucking, even feeding on your soul. It's like you are on the edge of a very high cliff, with a very strong wind trying its best to push you off.

The enterance to the hallway is even more disturbing, though. It's like the first four meters of hall had been soaked in a thick, red paint. The end of the hall, you realize, is painted in fresh blood.

Behind you, you can hear a couple of the members of team delta 'fill-the-helmet', a delightful expression you heard somewhere on the lower decks. (Delightful...*Cough* *Cough*)

Isengrim

The warp is no longer silent. in fact, the warp is stronger than average here, like it was trying to suck you in, down the hall, like so much water down a drain.

It changed so suddenly, too, just as the door opened...

[Dvil]

Lok steps back, visibly turning pale. He takes a second to steady his voice.
"Any crew who feel they are incapable of continuing should leave the room. This doesn't look like it's getting any more pleasant."

He looks around the senior staff assembled in the room.
"Any volunteers to go in first?"

[Wabbajack]

Completely astonished by the sight Aherox looks far into the depths of the hallway.
"Well, that's something new."
He takes the smoke grenade he has on his belt but doesn't pull the pin...
"Let's see what happens."
...and tries to throw it as far as possible into the hallway.
I'm gonna assume that's a strength check: [roll0], strength is 36 with Unnatural Strength

[rb780nm]

After visually confirming the readiness of the flame charges mounted under the barrels of his bolt pistols, Hawker steps into the bloody hallway that is rapidly filling with smoke from Aherox's grenade. He speaks slowly and quietly into his microbead.

++Delta, maintain defensive posture. Exploratory team, follow me. Leave a few seconds space between us. Aherox, keep a close eye on the Lord-Captain, if you please.++

[Kiranvonstrom]

At Lok's words, half of Team Delta scatters, and the rest remain firmly in their place. The leader, one of the few that didn't bolt, speaks up;

"With due respect, sir, I ain't goin' into that hold, sir. Bad things happen to them that muddles with things best left alone in the void," the man says, and ducks back behind the bulkhead he had been using as cover.

Aherox's grenade bounces down the hall, rolling to a rest just at the end of the bloodstain. It does not, however, do anything else.

[canjowolf]

Avner calls out to the investigative crew members "Give me a moment to commune with the machine god for guidance", closes his eyes, extends his hands, and activates his auger array to see what is within the hallway.

Rolls

Awareness Roll 1: [roll0] (64)
Awareness Roll 2: [roll1] (64)
Tech Use Roll 1: [roll2] (90)

Edit: He's scanning across as many spectra as he can.

[Kiranvonstrom]

Avner

The air inside is fresh, in fact, almost identical to the exact chemical composition of the air on Holy Terra itself. Curious...

Otherwise, for thermals, lifesigns, etc. nothing comes up except for your little party.

As you make your way down the hallway, you find it increasingly difficult to stop walking, as though something was reeling you in, like a fish on a hook. The door steadily vanishes into the darkness behind you as you leave it behind. You must have been walking longer than the length of the ship by know...

Then you are in a massive, vaulted chamber, with no clue as to how you got there. You could have sworn that there was just more of the passage up ahead, seemingly unending. And, yet, behind you, you can see the passage you came in from, although it seems a great deal shorter, as though it were only a hundred meters long.

And what a chamber it was, too. The ceiling seemed to be open to the void, yet you could still breathe. Above, stars you don't recognize wheel at inconsistant speeds across the sky, which is dominated by a black sun burning with pale fire. What seems to be easily a thousand passageways lead to the chamber, all of them identical, right down to the dancing lights of delta team just outside the exits.

The floor is a huge mosaic, depicting a golden spider, clutching an Imperial acquilla, poised to strike at the bird's head.

At the center of the mosaic stands a man, his back to you. His hair is long and shaggy, and he wears a dark blue coat, of the sort that was fashionable long ago.

"Well, then. It would seem you have finally arrived," He says, still not turning towards you.


Strange is the night when black stars rise
and strange moons circle through the skies...

You all gain
[roll0] Corruption and [roll1] Insanity, from the strange light of the tyrant star.

[Dvil]

Lok's mouth transfigures into a snarl as he growls the word "Chaos".

He grips his Hellgun tighter, steadying his breathing as he begins to mutter the Prayer of Safe Return, a ritual which served him well throughout the cult-wars that were his first sight of combat back on Port Wander.

"O eternal Emperor, who alone watches us, and rules the tides and storms..."

[canjowolf]

Avner took a sample of the air for later study once he was back in realspace and had access to the ship's facilities. Who knew what secrets the warp-tainted air might hold. He took note of their close proximity to the tyrant star, but found it curious that it almost seemed as if the star was closer in time and mind rather than closer in 3 dimensional space. Regardless, the effect on the soul was the same.

The blasphemy of the spider mosaic likely did not affect Avner as much as it might affect a good and pious imperial servant, but he did recognize the symbolism of the defeat of the Imperium, and had he thought to bring explosives with him he might have been tempted to destroy the heretical and blasphemous depiction. Instead he reached out with his (very minor) ferro-magnetic powers and attempted to rearrange the image into a cyber-aquila supported by the great gear of Mars crushing a spider in it's talons. The eagle need never fly alone.

After making his attempt to alter the mosaic, whether it was successful or not, Avner looked upon the deamon in man's clothes and said "The Omnissiah protects. What purpose do you give to this meeting child of the warp? The Immaterium is no place for mortals to linger, lest they become debased and vile".

Though he had both his power axe and his bolt gun on his person, Avner made no move to draw either. He found the prospect of attacking what might be a powerful deamon in the Immaterium foolish at best and suicidal at worst. As he could not count the steps back in this place, he determined that the most logical means of escape would be to hear the deamon's words and convince it to release the party quickly. If that failed, the sacred bolter was a default backup plan.

OOC
If you want me to make a roll or something for the metallurgy attempt let me know and I'll do it OOC. I was thinking that his magnetic talents would just be how he rationalized manipulating the setting and fabric of the warp, but if the mosaic is fixed and immutable that is fine too.

[Wabbajack]

Aherox takes his pulse rifle from his back with his right hand and uses his left hand to aim his pict recorder at the stranger while simultaneously activating it.
"That will be some interesting movie."

[Kiranvonstrom]

"Lok, dear boy, this is not chaos. For a given value of 'not chaos', of course," The man says, and turns around.

He is, somewhat surprisingly, a human. Tall and gaunt, his features might have been considered handsome, in an avian sort of way. One eye is an augmetic, and the other is largely black, hardly showing anything but the pupil. His natural eye bears a scar, like a bird had attacked him, that ran down most of his face. One hand rests gently on a power sword, with the other hand folded on top of it. He smiles. like some cheshire cat, as though he new something you didn't, and was enjoying not telling you.

"Child of the warp? Why must you sling insults like this? You are as much a child of the warp as I am, or have you forgotten?" The man's gaze lingers for a long time on the navigator, as if that comment were more aimed at him than the techpriest, "And why would I hold this most important meeting in the Immaterium. I'd like you responsive, not a mess of gibbering tentacles on the floor that I will have to clean up later,"

As the mosaic starts to shift, the man stretches out a leg and steps on one of the moving parts, which promptly stops.

"Please," he says, "That's the family heraldry,"

He pauses for a second,

"Ah, but I forget myself!" he offers out a hand, "I'm Erasmus Haarlock, Last of his line, known to some as Kin-slayer,"

"I'm also dead," his smile seems to get even wider.

[Dvil]

Aubray releases his Hellgun, allowing it to hang from its shoulder strap and leaving his hands free.

"How is this possible? How are you here?"

[canjowolf]

Though Avner did not say anything in reply, he did think 'Strange that your family heraldry places the Aquila in an unfavorable position. And the endless hallway pulling at our souls is most definitely of the Warp. Shearing mind reading deamons.
01010100011010000110111101110101011001110110100000 10000001001001001000000111011101100001011011000110 10110010000001101001011011100010000001110100011010 00011001010010000001100100011000010111001001101011 01101110011001010111001101110011001000000110111101 10011000100000011010010110011101101110011011110111 00100110000101101110011000110110010100101100001000 00011101000110100001100101001000000100111101101101 01101110011010010111001101110011011010010110000101 10100000100000011010010111001100100000011000010110 11000111011101100001011110010111001100100000011101 00011010000110010101110010011001010010000001110100 01101111001000000110110001101001011001110110100001 11010000100000011101000110100001100101001000000111 01110110000101111001001011100010000000100000010101 00011010000110111101110101011001110110100000100000 01001001001000000110010101101110011000110110111101 11010101101110011101000110010101110010001000000110 11010110000101100100011011100110010101110011011100 11001000000110000101101110011001000010000001101001 01101110011100110110000101101110011010010111010001 11100100101100001000000111010001101000011001010010 00000100111101101101011011100110100101110011011100 11011010010110000101101000001000000110011101110010 01100001011011100111010001110011001000000110110101 10010100100000011101000110100001100101001000000110 11000110111101100111011010010110001100100000011000 01011011100110010000100000011101110110100101101100 01101100001000000111010001101111001000000110100101 10011101101110011011110111001001100101001000000110 10010111010000101110001000000010000001000001011100 11001000000100100100100000011101000111001001100001 01110110011001010110110000100000011101000110100001 11001001101111011101010110011101101000001000000111 01000110100001100101001000000111010001110111011010 01011100110111010001101001011011100110011100100000 01110000011000010111010001101000001011000010000001 00100100100000011000110110000101101100011011000010 00000111010101110000011011110110111000100000011101 00011010000110010100100000010011110110111001101101 01101001011100110111001101101001011000010110100000 10000001110111011010000110111100100000011011010110 00010110101101100101011100110010000001100001011011 00011011000010000001110010011011110110000101100100 01110011001000000111001101110100011100100110000101 1010010111010000101110...
The beginnings of a short hymn, in ASCII. While I personally prefer unicode for this as it takes up much less space, it doesn't have quite the same feel and ASCII binary.

OOC

I didn't actually make the binary mean anything due to lack of time. If the story is going slowly I might go back and alter the string to make more sense. At the end there Avner is basically trying to cover his deeper thoughts with a series of prayers for protection directed at the Machine God. Also, I don't know for certain why that split into two spoilers.

[WhiteKnight777]

Isengrim

The Warp Guide was serene. He usually was. He felt the ripple pass through his flesh - but flesh was unimportant. The Mechanicus knew that, in their fumbling way, even though they were still dreadfully focused on physical augmentation to replace frail meat and bone. The Navigator looked the thing claiming to be Harlock up and down.

"There are a number of possibilites." He said, as if he were a scholar lecturing a bunch of first-year juvies rather than being confronted with something out of nightmare. "Possibly it is a demon seeking to beguile us for its own reasons - There is certainly a hunger in the warp, although it does not quite..." He groped, gesturing with one hand. "The warp-blind have no word for it. 'taste' is as close as I can come. It does not quite taste like any demon I have encountered, nor is it the hunger of the Shadow." He shuddered momentarily. "But the immaterium holds more than demons. There are... impressions. Remnants. Something like souls, but less - or sometimes just different. Ghosts, perhaps?"

He looked placidly at the manifestation, smiling pleasantly. If it was trying to disturb him, it would have to do better. One of the benefits of passing beyond the pale was that sanity was a concern for other people. "I think the bigger question is what you want. This seems to unlikely to be a chance encounter, though whether it is one of your design is something I have yet to see."

He stared hard at the creature, Isengrim's own eyes as black as deep void and just as unreadable. "I would guess, however, that you were sealed here, somehow - the change in the warp accompanied the opening of the door, indicated that whatever phenomenon we now stand in was being contained by an outside force. Again, it is a question of motivations."

[Kiranvonstrom]

"I'm sorry Avner, but this was something of a neccesity. You understand, of course," Haarlock nods amiably, and winks at Aubray.

"I think I had 'Death is but a door' written on my tomb. That's one of the Ecclesaichy's sayings, is it not? Nothing is impossible given enough time, and time is one thing I will never run out of,"

He then adressesses Isengrim, "Quite right. I only wish someone else had not already claimed you, you would make a good navigator..." he trails off, apparently lost in thought, "I'm not a ghost, either. Very much alive, thank you very much. You're quite right, though. I do want something of you,"

He pulls a scroll of paper out of his jacket, shakes it a little to get the dust off, and holds it out to you. The room suddenly seems a lot smaller, as though Haarlock had suddenly been shifted to within arms reach.

"This is yours. And I'd reccomend Quaddis. It's nice this time of year," He walks past you as he says it, stuffing the scroll into one of your hands as he makes his way to one of the innumerable exits.

Your audience with the Traveler has ended.

[WhiteKnight777]

Isengrim

Isengrim looked curiously at the document. "Curious." He commented mildly, but his feet were already moving towards the door with that uncanny speed he sometimes displayed. "But I recommend we leave. There's no way to guarantee the stability of this anomaly, especially with the entity gone." Following his own advice, Isengrim quickly made his way out the passageway they would come in, hoping that it would return them to the same point from which they had entered. He felt trying to survive in open void might be mildly problematic.

[Dvil]

Shaking his head at what had just happened, almost as if he didn't believe it were real, Aubray followed Isengrim closely. After all, if anyone knew the best course of action in this thrice-cursed place it was probably the navigator.

[canjowolf]

Avner followed as well, continuing his silent binary litany to the Machine God.

[rb780nm]

Hawker allowed the others to pass infront of him. He slowly backed down the hallway behind them, covering the rear.

[Kiranvonstrom]

The return back to deck 4, and possibly back to the Nidhoggr, took a curiously short amount of time. Perhaps, of course, that was just what Haarlock had wanted you to do.

There was, of course, still the question of what exactly he wanted. And, more importanly, why he had left so suddenly.

When you return, you are greeted by a conspicuosly happy Delta Team, seemingly far less jumpy about warp ghosts. Odd, considering they could have just seen them.

"Anything else in that salvation pod, sir? Don't look like much to cause this much of a fuss, do it?" the leader of the squad grins, blithely unconcerned about what just transpired. If anything, his previous nervousness seems to have evaporated.

"Good salvage, though. We might be able to turn it to a profit, eh?" He jerks his thumb at a small pile of objects to the side of the passage. You don't immediately recognize any of them, though.

Behind you, the hallway seems to have vanished, replaced by a salvation pod, apparently empty.


Ho, hum. This roll means nothing.

[roll0]

Oh, and if any of you have a lore that might possibly concern Erasmus Haarlock, now might be a good time to roll for it. Just sayin'.

[Wabbajack]

"I'm going into my quarters to inspect the recording I took. Maybe I will find something interesting."
After these words Aherox once again vanished into the background.
I'm not gonna roll a concealment check because I'm not really hiding from anyone.
In my quarters I will try to learn mimicking Haarlock's voice with the help of the recording using the Mimic talent.
After that I will inspect the recording in detail.
One scrutiny test to inspect: [roll0]
And another one to assess Haarlock and what he said: [roll1]
Perception is 57 (Unnatural), Scrutiny is +20 and one or both of the checks could be aided by Heightened Sense (Sight) and/or (Hearing).

[Dvil]

Aubray steals a glance at Delta Team, who are apparently oblivious to what just happened, and leans in to speak quietly with Isengrim.

"What exactly was the nature of that, ah, trinket you found in the salvation pod? I'm rather curious as to why it would have been there."

[canjowolf]

Avner listened in, awaiting Isengrim's response.

[Kiranvonstrom]

Isengrim

The scroll is ancient, but still mostly intact, probably kept in a stasis field for thousands of years. It's parchment, the very expensive kind used only in the most important of documents.

More importantly, you have seen something like this before. This is a warrant, written in immagulate High Gothic, if rather antiquated.

You read quickly:

With the consent of the High Lords of Terra, Masters of the Imperium, Second only to the God-Emperor, with all due investitudes, etc. the position of Rogue Trader, and all its attendant obligations privalages and sundry, to Mordecai Haarlock, and all others of his line, in recognition of his great services to the Imperium of Man. With this will come...

The warrant drags on, detailing obligations and privaleges associated with being a Rogue Trader, as well as giving is bearer the ability to requisition what seems to be any number of members of the Imperial Guard, The Astartes and almost any other organization save the vaunted Adeptus Custodes themselves, with no prior notice for an infinite amount of time, as long as it is obsensively for the good of the Imperium. In essence, the warrant holds the key to the ability to carve out a sector in your own name, to put armies under your banner. Not to mention, of course, that it would also place you (well, the captain) as the head of the (until-recently) destoyed house of Haarlock.

This does beg the question, however, of why a Haarlock, for all his seeming warp-powers, would give this to you...

Avner

Haarlock was known as Kin-slayer for a reason. Apparently in his quest for the warrant (in order to take it from another member of the dynasty) he had every other member of the line killed, so that none could possess it but him.

Some might say that there was a deeper motive, however...

Aherox

The video opens with a shot of Haarlock's face, apparently staring straight at you, smiling like a $%^& cat. You're pretty certain you didn't catch him from that angle, though, and that background, that of a ruined city burning under the light of a black sun, you definitely don't recognize.

"Aherox, dear boy, wait until after the fracas on Quaddis before watching the rest," Haarlock winks.

[rb780nm]

Hawker remains on guard near the pod with the stalwarts of Delta team.

++I will vox if anything changes here. Keep me in the loop up there.++

[Dvil]

Aubray, looking and reading over Isengrim's shoulder, gasps.

"Can we be sure it's real? How do we check?"

[Kiranvonstrom]

Aherox

"...Although I'd reccomend checking out the spoils from the pod first, though..." Haarlock continues, "Now please shut off the video, or I won't continue when you'll need me,"

[canjowolf]

Avner opens the salvation pod and quickly takes an air sample and reading.

[WhiteKnight777]

Isengrim

The Navigator mused over the various questions buzzing in his skull for some time. After a moment, he spoke.

"As far as I can tell, the warrant is genuine. Such documents are holy relics, particularly to members of the Bereaucracy, who in my experience are extremely impressed by overly ornate pieces of script. But in this case, I must share their reverence. The power contained herein is almost beyond calcuation - the power to set whole sectors aflame. There are several factors, however, that merit consideration.

First and foremost is Haarlocks' decision to bequeath it to us. He went to considerable trouble and spilled a great deal of blood to obtain it. That he would dispose of it so suggests that it serves his personal interests more than anything else. There could be any number of reasons for him to do so, I suppose - perhaps he desires veneration, perhaps it is the key to restoring him to life, if he has somehow been trapped in the warp. Perhaps there is some more sinister purpose. Or perhaps he merely wishes to assist us." Isengrim said with a wry smile.

"Second... what we do with this is the axis upon which our future turns. The authority granted by this document is so vast as to dwarf the single ship we now command - but authority is rarely heeded without the power to back it up. If we intend to make use of this document's powers of requisition and conquest, we had best have a void-proof plan of action before we embark upon such an endeavor."

[Wabbajack]

"I hate the warp..."
Aherox shuts the recording off, stores it in one of his pockets and puts a new empty recording into his recorder.
Afterwards he returns to the pod while contacting his companions on the vox.
++I'm returning again to help checking out our "spoils". Does the name "Quaddis" tell anyone of you something?++

[Kiranvonstrom]

Isengrim, Aubray and Hawker

Quaddis...Doesn't ring any bells.


Avner

78.09% Nitrogen, 20.95% Oxygen, 0.93% Argon, 0.039% Carbon Dioxide, The rest being water or smaller trace gasses. It's almost identical to the atmosphere of Holy Terra, actually. It's safe to breathe, certainly.

The 'Spoils'

The salvage is either a load of junk or possibly gelt waiting to be made, depending on what some of the stuff actually is. It seems to consist of several chairs, a cognitor bank (still sparking), a little black stone statue of a human heart, a key, and what appears to be a star map.

[canjowolf]

Avner, having completed his air sampling and ready to look at the loot, notices both the broken cogitator and the star chart. He decides to let the others fight over the star chart while he analyzes the cogitator to determine what ails it and if it might be possible to repair the machine.

Speaking to the assembled looters and his fellow ship mates Avner states "A warrent of trade is a very powerful item, and should not be taken lightly. It is true however that authority requires the threat of force or it will never be properly heeded. I propose that someone take this star chart and the warrent and secure them in a void safe of some sort. If the star chart looks genuine it might be worth our while to study it for clues as to where we should go next. I need to commune with the ship, and I will see what I can do with this damaged cogitator, but if you need my council or advice simply call my name".

[rb780nm]

Hawker remains by the pod until the repair crews have had time to arrive and begin breaking it down. Once he is sure that there is no present danger from the pod, he returns to his quarters and begins the laborious process of swapping his carapace armor for his stronger power armor.

++This area of space appears to be more dangerous than we first thought. I suggest everyone take extra precautions.++

Hawker also grabs a box of plasma grenades from his personal supply with the intention of distributing them among the more militant members of the senior staff for emergencies.

[Dvil]

Aubray picks up the heart statue and the key.

"The cogitator is standard issue among many styles of salvation pod. Haarlock mentioned while we were in... wherever we were that we ought to head to Quaddis. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the star map has Quaddis clearly displayed, just to help us along. But these two items here confuse me. Maybe the key unlocks something that he thinks we'll need access to? But who could possibly predict something that precisely? And why? The heart, I have no idea about. Isengrim, would you mind holding these and trying to pick up some clue as to the intentions of whoever put them here, and maybe their identity? I realise you'd need a full auto-seance for a detailed reading, but we need to figure out what's going on as soon as possible."

[canjowolf]

The very large explorator swivels to face the arch-militant saying "Every cogitator is sacred. Every cogitator is great. If a cogitator is wasted, the Omnissiah gets quite irate".

[WhiteKnight777]

Isengrim

Isengrim nodded absently at the captain's request, his hands running over the star charts almost lovingly. Knowledge was precious. Knowledge was power. Knowledge was a good, and knowledge was a drug.

"I will certainly attempt to divine these items as best I can. If they are related to pysniscience or the Warp, I will do my best to discover it. I would also like to examine the charts and add them to my own records. The more I know, the better a course I can plot."

[Kiranvonstrom]

Isengrim

There is an air to the warp about the heart statutte, but when you try to pin it down, it seems to be gone. Something about it strikes you as ancient, though, possibly predating mankind.

This, of course, begs the question of why it appears as a human heart, though...

The key is completely different, however. Just looking at it with your warp eye seems to make you feel drowsy.

Nothing else seems to dirupt the warp at all, however.

Star Charts

Yup, Quaddis is on here. Apparently it's a pleasure world in the Calixis Sector, for all that information gives you. It wouldn't be too slow to get there, either, probably only about three weeks, given the end of the Expanse you're in.

[rb780nm]

Fully armored, with servomotors buzzing as they amplified his movements, Hawker strode back onto the bridge. Opening a vox channel to the other senior staff:

++Anyone make any headway on the strange hints we recieved?++

OOC: In the absence of our leader, I'm staging a mutiny ;)

[Kiranvonstrom]

OOC:

Fine by me. The game must go on!

[WhiteKnight777]

Isengrim

The Warp Guide made no comment on the seeming breach in the chain of command. The captain was apparently incapacitated by the shock of his encounter with his ancestor, and Isengrim's loyalty was to the crew and the ship as a whole. He relayed the information he had divined to the senior crew, adding some commentary of his own.

"In the absence of other options, I am plotting a course for Quaddis. I have a suspicion we are being led, but without more information about these artifacts I cannot say in what direction."

[canjowolf]

Avner decided not to interfere with the imperial servant's chain of command, but readied his own forces to be prepared for a change in leadership and the turmoil that it might bring.

On a more personal note, Avner had the damaged cogitator transported to his own personal workshop and began the daunting task of repairing it. He also ordered a full scale diagnostic scan of the ship by his subordinates to cleanse any taint of chaos that might have crept in during the ship's contact with the warp entity.

[rb780nm]

"Very good, Mr Isengrim. Unless anyone has an objection, we will make all speed to Quaddis. Emperor willing, the Lord-Captain will be back on the bridge by the time we exit the immaterium," Hawker says.

[Kiranvonstrom]

Avener (OOC)

Could I get a Trade (Technomat) Test? (Unless I'm mixing systems again, and they don't have that in Rogue Trader, at which point that would be a Tech-Use test.

Avner

Apparently, despite your contact with the warp, and an itch that is beginning to bother you just below your eye*, the ship has come up clean of any taint.

*Including Vox-Grille, oddly enough...

On the bridge

"Right away, sir," the Chief Officer of the bridge, a man by the name of Nicodemus, says, "May I ask, did you find what you wanted, sir?"

[rb780nm]

"That's for Rook to say, Nico - not my place."

Hawker follows this up with a wink that tells Nicodemus that the crew is now serving a warranted trader.

[Dvil]

Aubray follows Hawker onto the bridge, a scowl set heavily into his face.

"Sounds to me like we're headed directly into the serpents' lair, while our captain is quite possibly injured by causes unknown! I don't trust this Haarlock, and I disagree with the decision to follow his advice.
That said, in the absence of our Captain's opinion it is best for the senior crew to keep a united mind. I will accept your judgement on this matter."

[rb780nm]

"This is Lord-Captain Rook's wish, Aubray. As far as I can tell, anyway." Hawker allows his voice to drop into a low whisper and he runs his hand through his close cropped and thinning hair in a display of tension that he tries to keep hidden from the rank and file.

[Kiranvonstrom]

The Bridge


Nicodemus, aware of his rather junior position, is doing his best to distract himself during your whispered discussion, so as not to hear you. You must admit, though, it takes a certain kind of person to actually manage to avoid hearing a conversation when he is right next to those involved.

As soon as you are finished, he speaks up, "Well, then, Sir. Where to?"

[Dvil]

Aubray turns, a startled look in his eye as he notices the Chief Officer standing so near. Composing his features, he lays a hand on the crewman's shoulder.

"Nico! I didn't see you there. I'm sorry you had to overhear that - it's been a rather stressful hour. The damage control crews are only just starting to bring Decks 4 through 10 to anything resembling normal operating standard, and you know how it grieves me when any harm befalls our beloved Nidhoggr. Isengrim is already setting course for a planet called Quaddis. If you require any further information about our course, contact him."
Aubray pauses for just a second, a wry smile appearing on his face. "Or don't. He's a scary guy."

Lok delivers a wink very reminiscent of the one Hawker had given the crewman moments before, and then turns to give a significant glance to Hawker before moving to fidget with one of the monitors along the larboard side of the bridge.

[Kiranvonstrom]

Bridge

Nicodemus smiles, "Agreed,"

Cognitor

The cognitor is almost completely lacking in data, the solid-state shrine at its core apparently wiped almost clean. Almost.

Beyond the standard hardware-prayers embedded within the drives, the sole contents of the Cognitor appaers to be a heavily-encrypted file, using protective measures that most people would find unneccessary.

Within half an hour, the ship has dropped back into the warp, klaxons have blared, and course back to civilization is already being tread. Truely, it's a shame your prize had to come with 50 foot long strings as wide as your head attached. On the other hand, of course, you have a warrant now, and, having missed your disturbing experience alltogether, the crew seems to be in high spririts.

Beyond your unsettling encounter with a genocidal maniac supposedly dead many years before you were born, something else is beginning to bother you. There's an itch, right below your right eye, that seems to carry on into augmetics and things, like teeth and berhaps even high collars that you can't seem to shake.

It's probably nothing.

OOC:

Sorry for taking ages to update... :smalleek:

[rb780nm]

Later, in a private room, Hawker calls in all the senior crew.


I mean all the PCs, and any NPCs Kiran wants to play. Feel free to join us by vox if you don't think your character would leave their posts.

"Firstly, I want to assure everyone that I haven't staged a coup. Rook is alive, but he has not been coherent since the encounter with the warp artefact. I took command because we were floundering in potentially hostile space - I assume that no-one else was aware of the lord-captain dispostion, or someone else would have probably made the same move.

"Secondly, we are bound for Quaddis, because that is the hint the creature we met in the tube gave us. It's not clear who's agenda we are furthering by going there, but Rook didn't leave me any standing orders for this situation. My feeling is that, what ever the warp entity has planned on Quaddis, we are in the best position to deal with it, and to profit from that. If it really is Harlock and he might want the best for Rook - a chance at redeming his warrant's lineage and all that.... If he has some sort of malign plan, then we;ve just accepted his warrant and we'll be damned as heretical traitors if we turn our backs on what ever he might be trying to do...

"I'm sorry, I'm rambling. The real reason for this meeting is that I want to turn command over to the person most able to keep the ship afloat. I know a lot about killing, but sod-all about sailing."

[canjowolf]

Avner, who has been spending most of his time recently in his workshop, has decided to attend this meeting personally. "Master Seneschal" he begins, "are there any other Patronius family members on record that we could contact and bring on board as a temporary reinforcement for Lord Rook? If no suitable Patronius can be found, then we may need to call upon someone else as none of us are truly fit to run a ship this size full of homo-sapiens. I can continue to manage the servants of the Omnissiah aboard, but I have not designed myself to look after those who reject the logical path set down by the Machine God".

[Dvil]

Aubray, his Hellgun and sword once more secured in his bunk, is also in attendance at the meeting. He raises his head slightly, a pensive look in his furrowed brow.

"Firstly, before I say what I have to say on this matter, I would like to apologise if I come across as arrogant or assuming. It is not my intention, I assure you.
That out of the way, I will volunteer to act as a temporary replacement for our dear captain if that is the wish of those present here. I fully agree with Enginseer Kosphecolous, that we should ideally locate a dedicated pilot reasonably soon, but in the meantime one of us needs to take charge and I feel I am qualified.
I have small amounts of experience piloting spacecraft and reading star-graphs, I have learned from two separate captains the art of commanding and inspiring troops, I've learned to instinctively know the feelings of a ship I'm on, and over the last few years I've come to know Rook's mind quite well. Plus, I'm lucky.
Anyone who feels they would be better suited to lead the crew, or disagrees with my opinion that we need someone to at all is welcome to speak up. Emperor knows I don't relish the idea of having that much responsibility unless I really am the best man for the job."

Suddenly looking self-conscious, Aubray shuffles backward a step or two.

[Wabbajack]

Arms crossed Aherox joins the conversation.
"As long as I get payed and not burned at a stake I don't particularly care who's our captain.
Do we have any informations on Quaddis? What kind of world it is or something similar?"

[canjowolf]

Avner nods and replies "I will council the other servants of the Omnissiah not to interfere with your command. We will stand with you for as long as you prove fit to lead".

[Kiranvonstrom]

Nicodemus, who seems to have taken the role of speaking for the rest of the officers, shrugs. "As long as we're still flying, I don't think the crew really cares who's doing it. I don't know much about any other members of Rook's family, but I'll see what I can dig up. Don't know much about Quaddis, either, come to that,"

[WhiteKnight777]

Isengrim

The Navigator spoke up, serene as always. "I have no objections to this shift in leadership. I myself am not qualified to lead - and I would be ill-suited for anything other than command by fear. Most of the crew find me quite unnerving - which, while occasionally useful, would not serve our long-term prospects very well.

That aside, I agree that our best course of action is to continue our investigations on Quaddis. We know next to nothing about the warp entity, and they are unpredictable at the best of times."

[Dvil]

I.. excellent! Thank you.

Aubray seems surprised by the response, as though he never really expected to be accepted as stand-in captain.

Well, first things first I guess. Isengrim, how long do you estimate until we arrive at Quaddis? I want us to be thoroughly prepared when we arrive.

[rb780nm]

"I am glad that is sorted out," says Hawker.

[WhiteKnight777]

Isengrim

The navigator nodded. "A unified command structure is essential to the smooth running of the ship." He said in a dry, sober voice. "That settled, do we have a destination planetside? Searching the entirety of the planet would require time and resources that are currently in short supply."

[Dvil]

"I have never encountered Quaddis, personally. Nico, could you please make enquiries and see what you can find out about it? Any records we have, perhaps some crew members who have visited in the past... Before we leave Warp I would like to have at least a rough idea of where the major cities are. I apologise for burdening you with this added work."

[Kiranvonstrom]

"I'll try my best, sir," Nicodemus bows and leaves the room.

OOC:

Anything else you wanted to get done during the meeting, or should I just finish the voyage, bring you all to Quaddis at the speed of plot (I.e. the speed it would require for you to get to the Calixis Sector at the same time the other three adventures start?

Actually, just post the rest of the meeting in spoiler tags, and I can gloss over the rest of the voyage and we can make up for the momentum I lost us. Sorry about that.

The rest of the voyage passes quite smoothly, although the itch that has been bothering you since your encounter with Haarlock has been getting steadily worse. It's probably nothing. More disturbing, however, is the grafitii. It's everywhere, and nobody remembers putting it there, however hard you try to dig. It's the same message, everywhere, written in the captain's log, tattooed on crew-member's skin, on the side of the ship, on the walls, everywhere.

Twilight Servant

The journey back was fast, even by the rather exacting standards imposed by the Nidhoggr for faster than normal. After a brief stopover in Port Suffering, for fuel and 'repairs', although the repairmen had trouble finding something to repair, much less the hole in the side of the ship that you could have sworn had been there earlier.

Only a short warp jump later, you are in orbit around Quaddis, a world that looks inviting even from the void. The void around the planet is practically filled with upscale docking facilities and small moons, although none of them seem to be open. Or, for that matter, responding to vox hailing. Or giving off any signals at all, really.

After around an hour of searching for a docking place, a frigate, large for its size, with a huge, stylized 'I' painted on the front, glides out from behind a particularly thick clutch of asteroids. It doesn't take a magos to recognize an inquisitorial ship, and you're certain you're staring at one.

"Captain," the crew had taken to the new leadership quite quickly, "Someone's attempting to hail us on the vox,"

Quaddis (Dataslate)

Planetary Data:
Population: Unknown/Variable (Resident population estimated to be under 5 million)
Tithe Grade: Colonial Exemption (Planet not developed to point of tithing)
Climate/Geography/Biosphere: Abundant flora, ideal life sustaining conditions, few hazardous life-forms other than those introduced from off-world. Extensive tropical equatorial region, with wild, uncultivated temperate zones and aline seas covering the majority of the surface. Ice-bound polar regions. Only major settlement is in the northern polar region. (Xicarph- colonial center of governance)
Governmental authority: Colonial administration- Central Authority Indefinitely Suspended
Planetary Governor: None (Last Colonial Governor Regent-Thaddeus Haarlock circa 457-690.M41)
Adept Presence: Minor Adeptus Administratum and Adeptus Ministorum presence. note that due to its unique history, Quaddis is adjudged to not be fully part of the Imperium of Man nor subject to full weight of its law.
Military: None, except private vassals of fief owners
Trade/Economy: None; Quaddis has no industry, has nothing to trade, and has no basis for any economy other than the intrisic wealth of its masters.

Sadly, this was all Nicodemus could find.

OOC:
Credit to Tattered Fates for planetary data.

[Dvil]

"Curious. It gives information, but so many questions still unanswered. I have a bad feeling about this place, it's not quite right."

The temporary captain, still not entirely confident in his new rank, is thumbing through the data-slate when the announcement is made. Glancing up at the view-screens on the bridge, he pales significantly upon seeing the Capital letter I.

"Open the channel and greet them. No point in looking like we're hiding anything."

Aubray grips his two pistols tightly, something he does when his hands start to shake.

"Aherox. Believe me, I mean no offence, but might it be prudent for you to retire to your bunk until our.. negotiations with our new friends are concluded? I have no wish to alarm them unduly."

At these words, Aubray's eyes flick to the words Twilight Servant above the door, words he couldn't remember seeing before.

[canjowolf]

Avner - Through the Cogitator Darkly

Throughout much of the journey through the warp Avner continues to work on the puzzle of the coded cogitator, trying to decipher its coded software after successfully repairing its damaged hardware. While he still gives his orders to direct his portion of the ship, he spends very little of his mental resources attempting to discover more efficient ways of repairing the ship and cuts his personal repairs and inspections down to bare-bones aside from the gellar field and warp engines. When they finally arrive, Avner is still hard at work trying to crack the cogitator's secrets, confident that he will be called if the rest of the crew desire his advice or council.

[Wabbajack]

"As you wish, captain." With these words Aherox vanishes from sight.

((For DM sight only! [If he ever returns here...]))
Aherox will not leave the room but hide in a corner.
Concealment: [roll0] vs 123, +2 successes
Silent Move: [roll1] vs 103, +2 successes