Rogue Trader: All Those Far Stars (IC)

[Retrokinesis]

Above the teeming masses of the Imperium of Man are those rare few chosen for something greater. Given sanction by a Warrant of Trade to explore and plunder new worlds in the name of the God-Emperor of Mankind, these Rogue Traders and their entourages have seen and done more than entire planets of lesser humans combined.

Port Wander: Imperial Navy space station and gateway to the Koronus Expanse, beyond the furthest edge of the Calixis Sector. The station itself hangs massive and silent in the baleful light of Rubycon II, surrounded by the shattered remnants of ancient asteroids and serviced by a flotilla of Imperial vessels. As the enormous cruiser Gate of Doom glides silently through the void to dock at the station those on board prepare themselves. The Tech-Priest tends to the vessel's sacred machinery, including the most holy Teleportarium. The Ork surrounds himself in far newer machinery, parts ready for the peculiar "science" of the greenskins. The Sniper tends to her instruments, an artist in the field of war waiting for her cue. The Preacher walks the halls of the vessel, eyes and ears ever-watchful for heresy. The Helmsmistress guides the massive ship into its temporary berth, one of the few capable of commanding its proud machine spirit. And the Rogue Trader himself stands on the bridge, ready for another expedition for profit and glory.

Upon your arrival you are greeted by several formal envoys from both the Imperial Authority and several other Rogue Traders, welcoming the dynasty to port and honoring your right to passage. This kind of reception is one you have grown used to and is no less than you would expect. However, one vox message stands out. Recorded in the dynasty's personal cipher, the message is from a man calling himself Orbest Dray. He says he has been waiting a long time for a member of the family line to return and holds both a message and a gift from Raphael's great-grandfather. He would meet with you at your earliest convience at a location in the Court of the Dead, Port Wander's vast markets. It is a matter, he says, that promises great glory...

[Lycan 01]

Imperial representatives, holders of planetary offices, rival Rogue Traders trying to save face, young upstarts trying to gain favor, it was all the same old song and dance... Which is exactly why Raphael's interest is piqued when he receives the encrypted message from a supposed contact of the family line.

Pleasantries at the port are cut short as politely as possible, and the Rogue Trader quickly makes his way back to his personal quarters. "This is your Captain speaking," Raphael jovially proclaims through his vox-bead, hailing each of his advisors on an encrypted channel reserved for just their use. "There is a slight situation developing, and I would like the advise of my retinue on such matters before I proceed. Would you kindly make your way to the bridge at your nearest convenience, please." The request is polite; there's no hidden threat of anger or annoyance should someone dally.

Once Raphael reaches the bridge, he ascends to the command deck that overlooks the helm and various control panels and cogitator banks that puppet the ship. He leans against the gilded railing, gloved hands propping him up as he works his jaw thoughtfully and ponders how he should approach this potential stroke of luck or threat of misfortune...

[Seanfall]

Grimlug's eyes were covered with goggles as he went threw the heap of tech he was surrounded with. "Dat's good, dat's not, Oh what this?" He holds up an old power core, it's casing loose. As he looks it over, his finger slips past the loose casing and a bolt of energy sends him hurtling across the room. "GAHAHAHAHAHA! YAH dot one gonna be GOOD!" Smoking slightly, yet smiling Grimlug pulls himself up just as the Captains voice speaks into his ear.

After cleaning himself up, sorta, Grimlug takes a lift up to the bridge, as the door opens he greets the staff in his usual way.
"WAAAAAGH!" Grimlug runs out of the lift Choppa in hand giving the bridge staff a good scare. "Haha! got ya humies, dat makes..." He holds up his fingers counting for a bit. "A lot."

[Retrokinesis]

Octavia hated pulling into port. Nothing but useless sycophants and pathetic bureaucrats for miles. Still, she wasn't going to leave the captain undefended on so dangerous a port. She had just returned to her stateroom and begun cleaning her long-las when his message came through. She places her finger up to the micro-bead and responds, "Acknowledged. En route now".

She makes good time; The Gate of Doom was built as a luxury vessel and had wider hallways than your standard Navy cruiser. That and the common crew tended to stay out of the way of the scary woman in power armor. It and the pistol at her belt were both worth more than most of their lives and they knew it. The long-las slung over her shoulder, while nowhere near as ancient, had several marks scratched into the side. She discontinued that practice after leaving the Guard, though. There simply wasn't enough space on the weapon.

The ork is already on the bridge when she arrives, no doubt terrifying the staff. She walks through the door and salutes. "Captain. What's the situation?"

[cybric]

The teleportarium. Malakai surveyed the acrheotech with his bionics making sure that all was well. He would lead his fellow techpriests in the rites of maintenance as was only good and holy. Malakai venerated all machines as they were due but while Malakai was on the path to enlightenment through machine perfection there were parts of him that were decidedly and unfortunately still human. As a result he tended to play favorites with the machines and the teleportarium was his. His fellow techpriest annointed him in the ceremonial oils that would allow him to perform the rites. He was preparing to recite the machine cant that would begin the ritual. Oil gleaming off of his light power armor and the skull shaped rebreather mask he wore. He hears the captain. His logic implant calculates that should he ignore the captain and begin the ritual that there was a 73.559% chance of team coherence dropping which would effect work schedules and productivity of his work crews.

Malakai voxs his acknowlegdement of the summons and makes for the bridge. As Malakai moves through the ship he notices the typical responses that the crew gives him. He hears the husted tones as rumors spread. "There's ol'Malakai. I hear he turns malcontents into his servitors" or one of 27 other equally illogical variants.

When Malakai enters the bridge Grimlock is laughing most likely after another show of primal intimidation inflicted on the bridge crew.

His words are flat and metallic as he speaks.
"Correction crewman Grimlug. This will mark your 43 outburst in as many days. Sound the incident rate continue I forecast a 47.35% probability of a 10.21% drop in productivity in the bridge crew. While this is below threshold limits for vessel operations in the short term long term effects are unknown. Once productivity drops by 7.9326% your behavior will need to be corrected" Malakai's eye begins to glow red as he speaks the last sentence of this analysis. A unconscious act of activating his las implant when agitated. Even after being blessed with a logis implant he still felt. How unseemly.

Taking up position next to Octavia he addresses the Captain
"Reporting Captain. How may I assist?

[Lycan 01]

Raphael can't hide a ghost of a smile as the Ork scares his bridge crew once again. As bothersome it can be at times, he can't help but appreciate the Ork's gregarious humor and down-to-earth attitudes compares to the rest of his crew and advisers. Sure, working with a Xeno was strange at first, but Raphael had quickly grown accustomed to his presence and his input.

Granted, he was still having a bit of trouble teaching Grimlug the fine skill of Regicide...

Octavia and Malakai quickly arrive in short order; Octavia seems ready for anything, much to her credit, while Malakai is as logical and methodical as ever, even when it comes to analysis of Grimlug's antics.

Raphael smiles warmly at the advisers on deck. He leans back against the gilded railing of his observation platform, and claps his gloved hands together. "Grimlug, Octavia, Malakai. I am pleased to see you all her in such short order. I presume the others are indisposed for the time being. Hm, no matter," he muses with an aloof shrug. "Moving on..."

"The situation boils down to this - someone has claimed to be a lost contact of my dynasty, and they wish to meet me for an exchange of some sort. He says he has a message and a gift from my great-grandfather. I would simply like your thoughts and feedback on the situation, and I would like one or two of you to accompany me. Grimlug," he nods to the Ork, "I'm afraid you'll likely cause too much of a scene if you accompany us, so you'll have to stay aboard the ship for the time being. I'd like you to stay on vox contact with us, though, and help monitor the situation from here. You shall by my 'eye in the sky,' as it were."

He then turns to Octavia and Malakai. "As for you two, I'd like both of you to join me for the meeting, should I go to it. Octavia, I'll need you to be prepared for any sort of traps or trickery; your tactical knowledge and martial prowess will be invaluable. Malakai, I'd like your professional analysis of whatever this 'gift' may be, should it wind up being some sort of weapon, technology, or artifact."

The Rogue Trader smirks. "Well? Please, speak freely..."

[Seanfall]

"Coud be a trap boss." Grimlug stands leaning on the handle of his choppa, he spoke after casting a dirty look to the Mechanius cyborg. "Som odder humie tryin ta draw ya in da open."

[Retrokinesis]

Octavia frowns. "That's certainly possible, maybe even likely". She turns back to the captain, "Did you know your grandfather, sir? I assume he was a rogue trader as well... if so, this could be genuine. If not, it's a breach of the dynasty's security. I feel we should investigate either way".

[cybric]

"I am in agreement Captain. Data regarding this third party is significantly lacking and therefore analysis is difficult. However the opportunity this contact represents necessitates further aggressive investigation. I would recommend making the third party aware of how much damage we can inflict should anything happen to us via our nova cannon. Final recommendation: mission approval "

[Lycan 01]

"I'm well aware that it may be a trap. Hence why I wish for some of you to accompany me, as a show of power and force. I myself will likely be wearing my full armor; my current regalia may be fancy, but it doesn't quite exude the proper image of 'don't tread on me,' as it were," Raphael says with a smile.

"My great-grandfather wasn't too noteworthy, in the grand scheme of things. A little eccentric, with a fascination for small equines. But he was quite capable as a businessman and tactician. He helped assist in several Guard campaigns, ferrying troops and supplies between planets. Supposedly he did a little work for the Inquisition as well, but," Raphael waves a hand, "That's just rumor and speculation, which he never quite confirmed before he died. Met his fate aboard a Space Hulk. Quite nasty, from what I heard..." he muses.

The Rogue Trader then turns to smirk at Malakai. "I'd rather not threaten them with the nova cannon while we're groundside. I don't think it's accurate enough to differentiate between friend and foe in a crowded market place, especially if Grimlug is the one calling the shots while we're away," he quips with a playful smirk. "No, I think the three of us should suffice. We could perhaps bring some crew along, but I think we may come off as more capable and intimidating if it's simply us by ourselves."

[cybric]

"Without mutually assured destruction strategic projects fall by 23.5%. However this value is still within operational limits. Mechanicus representative Malakai will accompany the rogue trader as knowledge resource and weapons support asset." [COLOR]. Malakai looks to Octavia. [COLOR="DarkRed"]"I look forward to collaborating with you once more Octavia. Your efficiency and efficacy will be most helpful and strategically advantageous"

[Seanfall]

Grim watches and listens as the Mechanius speaks again. "Woud ya jus speak like a normal humie?" Grim looks around and back to his captain."Aye'll do likes ya says capie and ztay on board da zhip, butt aye don like dis. Aye zhould be going wit ya, iffen dose odder humies decide ta kill ya de'd tink twice, maybe even thrids iffen aye waz dere."

[Retrokinesis]

"Likewise, Sir Malakai". She turns back to the captain. "You said the meeting would be in a crowded market place, captain? Poor lines of sight, too many witnesses, dense crowds. It's a terrible place for an ambush if that's what this man has planned. Regardless, I am more than capable of defending you if that turns out to be wrong. I agree it's too good of an opportunity to ignore".

[Lycan 01]

Raphael nods along, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "The problem, Grimlug, is that you attract too much attention. At best, the market would go into a panic and hundreds of civilians would trample each other or rush to play hero against the 'vile Xeno' that dares to invade their home. At worse... we have gung ho PDF and Arbites responding to reports of an Ork invasion," he grumbles, slapping his palm against his forehead at the thought of such a fiasco.

The Rogue Trader gives a shake of his head. "So no, you will have to remain aboard for the time being. Don't worry, though," he says, his lips curling into a playfully crooked grin, "I'll bring you back a souvenir."

Raphael then turns back to Malakai and Octavia. "Go gather whatever gear you think you may need. I want you both fully presentable, but still fully combat capable. If the two are mutually exclusive, go with combat capability. If this turns into a quagmire, I want us to be able to gun our way out of it as quickly and cleanly as possible."

"Anything else?" he asks, shifting his gaze around his currently present advisors. "If not, then get moving. We're on the clock."

[Retrokinesis]

The Court of the Dead, the rather macabre-sounding grand marketplace of Port Wander spacestation, is teeming with the masses of humanity. Your party couldn't disguise its presence if you tried; a single piece of your gear is worth more than all their lives. None of the common thugs seem quite suicidal enough to attempt accosting you.

At the coordinates Raphael received sits a withered old man. At first he appears to be no more than a common scavenger, all tattered clothing and shattered trinkets. Closer inspection, however, reveals his well-kept muscles and steely gaze. He waves you over and waits for you to sit down.

"Lord-Captain, sir!" He produces the seal of the Krovus dynasty from a pocket. "Orbest Dray, officer of the Emperor's Testament, reporting! I've been waiting a long time for a Krovus... "

[Lycan 01]

Raphael Krovus strides proudly through the market. His armor looks like an advanced, personal set of Enforcer Light Carapace Armor, jet black in color with gold inlay and filigree all along its surface. A cloak of white fur with black spots, the hide of some predatory xeno, billows in his wake, and two weapons of great power and worth hang at his side. A power sword designed to emulate the elegant form and effectiveness of a fencing blade, and a brass-hued plasma pistol with a power coil giving off a cold, neon blue glow. The ancient seal of the Krovus family hangs from his neck, the gilded medallion inspiring awe and fear into those who would recognize its meaning.

When he encounters the old man and sees the Krovus sigil, Raphael raises his gauntlet-shod hands to disengage his helmet. He removes the helm and slips it under the crook of his left arm, revealing his sharp features, short-cropped hair, and fearless gaze. "Your wait is at an end," he states factually, power and authority in his tone. "I am Captain Raphael Krovus. What do you have to offer me, Mister Dray?"

[Retrokinesis]

He bow several times. "Thank you so much for answering my message, sir. You won't regret it. Please, where are my manners! Sit down!" He waits for everyone to either sit or make it clear they'll remain standing before continuing. You can practically see the excitement in his eyes; he's been waiting a very long time to tell this story.

"Years ago, I served as a deck officer on board the Emperor's Testament, part of your grandfather's fleet. We had just finished picking-up some strange creatures of his when a terrible Warp storm struck the fleet. We were blown off course and ended up in an uncharted system and separated from the rest of the fleet. Our Astropath heard an Imperial distress message... an 'echo in the Warp' he called it. Said it was maybe thousands of years old. It was the Righteous Path, sir".

He says that last name like it should mean something to you...
If anyone has Common Lore (Koronus Expanse) or Scholastic Lore (Legend), it does. I believe that's only Tera so this might be a good time for her to vox them and paraphrase the following story: The story of the Righteous Path begins over two and a half thousand years ago, during the epoch of the Angevin Crusade, the first conquest of the Calixis Sector from its pre-Imperium inhabitants. The stalwart forces of the Imperium were sweeping across the sector, pushing the enemies of the God-Emperor before them and bringing light to worlds lost for centuries to darkness. Among the crusaders was Lorcanus Ryn, a great warlord and free captain. Ryn was filled with bloodlust and greed--but also an unwavering faith to his Warmaster and his Emperor. At the helm of his grand-cruiser, the Righteous Path, he was the scourge of a hundred worlds, carving out a bloody path before him as the crusade conquered world after world.

One such world was Krystallian. Recorded as the 73rd world brought to light of the Emperor by the crusade, it was (so the story goes) an ancient colony of man which had long ago fallen to the heretical worship of false gods and the teachings of treacherous prophets known as the Talisar. Covered in glittering cloud temples, raised by the Talisar to the glory of the Myriad of Faces, it was a world of immense wealth and blasphemous grandeur. It was, however, no match for the might of the Imperial armies led by Lorcanus Ryn. The warlord descended on Krystallian, filled with the righteous wrath of the Emperor, sweeping away a thousand years of civilization in three days of fire and blood. When the killing was done, and the corpse counters began gathering up the detritus of war, Lorcanus Ryn marveled at the riches he had won. Never before had he seen such naked wealth; temples packed high with artifacts of rare and wondrous make, statues gilt with gems and glittering with gold, and shadowed vaults of forgotten and forbidden archaeotech.

Here the story varies from teller to teller. Some say the wealth of Krystallian was more than rare metals and precious stones, bu that its people were also a prize; bred from a stock of pure genetic material and spared from centuries of warp-taint, they were bundled into stasis coffins and taken away to be trained as elite warriors or highborn servants. Others whisper that Krystallian was settled during the Dark Age of Technology and still harbored devices from that time within its cities and temples--secrets worth more than the raw mineral wealth or combined populations of a hundred worlds.

Whatever the form of Krystallian's wealth, Lorcanus was not content merely to sample it, nor did he trust his fellow crusaders to carry it away. He set about filling the Righteous Path from stern to ram. He tore out gun decks and launch bays, marooned thousands of his crew, and stripped away the vessel's innards until she was bursting with plunder. The warlord then vanished into the warp and from the pages of history.

Over the centuries there have been many expeditions to find the Righteous Path. At the time of its disappearance, members of the crusade quested after the lost vessel. Later, free-traders, adventurers, and Imperial servants have all tried to find its resting place. Many believe that the vessel is lost forever, sunken beneath the tides of the warp or smashed into pieces and scattered across space and time. Krystallian, however, is rumored to have once existed on the trailing edge of what is now the Calixis Sector only a short span of light-years from the Maw. This has led some old void-farers to speculate that Lorcanus Ryn and his ship were caught in the tides of the storms that plague the Koronus Passage and dragged out deep into the Expanse. Many believe it to be lost forever...

[Seanfall]

Grimlug was currently sitting in front of an active vox, open and fully functional. Waiting, nah almost HOPING for something to go down. It had been almost a month since his last good fight and he was starting to feel a little pent-up. Oh sure he could get into a punch up with some of the crew members but it's just not the same....and the captain had asked him to refrain from fighting on the ship unless it was against invaders.

As it was he was sitting near his vox, polishing his choppa and had disassembled his shoota to clean and oil it. It kept him calm and gave him something to focus on.

[Retrokinesis]

Since none of the explorers apparently knew the tale, the old man takes a swig of something cheap and begins to speak: "They say it's just an old voidfarer's tale. Used to believe 'em myself. The Righteous Path belonged to a captain named Lorcanus Ryn back during the Angevin Crusade. They say he conquered one planet so wealthy he had to strip his colossal ship bare - guns, machinery, crew - to hold all the treasure. He up and vanished before getting it back to civilization, though, lost in the Warp forever". He coughs a bit from the effort and takes another swig.

"Sorry milord, my health just ain't what it used to be. I know what you're thinking: no way the Path actually exists. Well it does, I tell you. We found it that day. The cap'm, loyal to your great-grandfather as he was, recorded the location and ordered us back to port. Wasn't for us to plunder without Lord Krovus. Some of the men mighta mutinied if not for that mini horse deal and how Lord Krovus saved us all there".

Dray shudders at what is clearly an unpleasant memory. "We waited for months but he never came back. Cap'm Karlorn decided to take the Testament back into the Expanse to look for him but he left me here in case he never came back either. With this... "

Reaching into his grubby jacket, the old scavenger produces a small stasis casket. He offers it to Raphael and, as though sensing its masters presence, it opens. Inside is a smooth, black rock.
Tera and Raphael both recognize it: an astropathic mnemolith, likely containing the signal Dray spoke of. A navigator or astropath could decipher it to trace the source of the message.

[Lycan 01]

Raphael sits and listens, his expression neutral and his gauntlet-clad hands folded together in front of his face as the old man tells his tale.

He raises a curious eyebrow at the stasis cabinet, before looking back up at the old voidfarer. "I see..."

After a moment's thought, the Krovus heir gives a nod of his head. "My great-grandfather met his unfortunate fate aboard a Space Hulk, though I understand he left quite the legacy; several cavalry regiments in the Guard were named in his honor, from what I've heard. Alas, the Krovus Dynasty has severed a great many losses over the last few generations since his death, actually. Our influence has greatly waned, and our ventures have suffered. But this..."

He eyes the small but potentially priceless object.

"...could be quite a boon to the Krovus Dynasty. Provided, of course, it is still reliable. We both know the void is fickle, particularly when the Warp is involved. The derelict may have drifted to new coordinates, or be part of some Emperor-forsaken Space Hulk by now. Or..."

A wry smirk flickers across Raphael's lips.

"Maybe some Orks got their hands on it, and have 'improved' it in the time since."

The Rogue Trader then claps his hands together. "But regardless! This is something that certainly must be investigated. Pray tell, is their any further information you can provide? Do you have any recollection of what hazards or threats may be encountered at or near those coordinates? What condition was the wreckage in? Could it perhaps be repaired and piloted by a skeleton crew?" he asks.

There's a spark in Raphael's eyes. Is it brilliance, or madness?

[SlyJohnny]

((Quick question- the guy offered us a seat, yet I thought we were meeting in a middle of a bustling marketplace? What do our surroundings look like?))

The tall, skinny frame of the navigator pushes his way forward towards the exchange and then cranes down to inspect the contents of the pod, his large red hood partially concealing his intense, curious frown. The swollen, stretched eyelid covering his third eye flickers behind the thin red veil that covers it, as it is wont to do when he is concentrating. Sellius is a lanky, bald, pale-skinned man with no eyebrows; coupled with his dirty yet still ostentatious Navis robes, he stands out like a sore thumb, even amoungst the wealthy members of the Lord Captain's retinue.

He begins to speaks quietly, and his jaw moves unnaturally as he does so, the front and back of it shifting separately from each other in segmented pieces.

"It's definitely a mnemolith. If this man does seek to defraud you, Krovus, he's at least done his legwork and sought out a genuine prop for his con." he grunts to Raphael. "But don't pay him a damned throne until I've had a chance to extract the source coordinates from it and check they're genuine, I don't care how prettily he bows and scrapes."

He reaches out, grasping the small rock in a gloved hand, and turning it this way and that, scrutinizing it.

[Glarx]

Vivienne walked on the bridge, stifling a yawn. She saw the familiar form of Grimlug, her master's pet, performing weapon maintenance. On the bridge. She raised an eyebrow and approached the ork, although not getting too close. Vivienne put a finger to her ear, activating the micro-bead and reaching out to the captain.

"Lord-captain, my apologies for taking so long to speak with you. I have been indisposed, but it is unforgivable. May I inquire as to how your trip to Port Wander is currently faring? Had I realized we were already here, already voidsmen would be resupply the Gate."

[Lycan 01]

Raphael nods to the Navigator, listening to his guidance. He then tilts his head a bit, and raises a finger to his ear to key his comm-link. "I am in the middle of a business meeting, I'm afraid. Speak with the current officer on deck; they'll fill you in."

The current officer on deck? Grimlug.

Raphael smirks faintly. That should be enough punishment for Vivienne's tardiness...

[Glarx]

"As you say, Lord-Captain."

Vivienne looked at the ork. "Officer Grimlug, the Lord-Captain wishes for me to receive the information I seek from you. Can you tell me how the Lord-Captain's journey to Port Wander has gone thus far?"

[Seanfall]

Grimlug looked over his large scarred shoulder. "Zo far, zo gud." Grim smirked and chuckled in a bit, while wiping a smudge of...something off the barrel to his Shoota before reconnecting it with the other bits.

[Glarx]

She nodded to the ork. "Thank you. That was refreshingly succinct." Vivienne considered Port Wander. Restocking wouldn't be too difficult, there were thrones enough in the accounts for that at least. She also considered the state of the accounting equipment on board the Gate of Doom, wondering whether she could obtain a calculance array in the various markets of the space station.

She also wished to make inquiries about particular items of interest -- personal armor, exotic weaponry, xenostech. She doubted Port Wander would have many of the items she was interested in looking for, but Vivienne had found stranger things in stranger areas.

The Lord-Captain was in a meeting, so she wouldn't bother him for the time being. Instead, she would send out the voidsmen to resupply the ship and make inquiries into the various items on her list. Once the Lord-Captain was out of his meeting, she would see what items he might have in mind for purchase or barter while they were at this stop. One never knew where one would be the next day, not when on a Rogue Trader's vessel. Resupplying was vital.

Moving to one of the vox officers, Vivienne asked that she be informed once the Lord-Captain sent another message to the ship such that she would know he was no longer indisposed, and then made use of her micro-bead to contact her men throughout the ship to collect their boys and head out to resupply.

Finally, she smiled at Grimlug. "I will be scouring the station for a variety of items, Officer Grimlug. If you would like me to, I can add your personal items of interest to my search. It would be no trouble."

[Seanfall]

Grim raised an eyebrow at her words, a heavy thick black furred eyebrow. "Vell...ok... anyding dat lookz ike Xeno thingies, or any Orkie tech. Umm...here." Grimlug stood up, looked around suspiciously, and reached into his pocket and pulled out a few teefs, one a large tusk he held it out to Vivienne. "Take dis et legal." he assured her.

[Glarx]

She looked at his outstretched hand. "...you should save those, in case we meet... anyone who would care to barter for such things." Vivienne wasn't wearing gloves, and handling teeth...

"I will be on the lookout for any such technology. If I see something you might like -- well, if I see something I imagine you might like -- I'll attempt to procure it for you."

[Retrokinesis]

SlyJohnny: It's an open-air bar/cafe in the market.
As soon as Sellius touches the rock his eyes (all three of them) clasp shut in pain. He sees a vision: a flickering star surrounded by a nebula and vast stretches of void, circled by a dust world and a frozen halo. He staggers back to the present, the image burned into his brain.

Dray nods at the display, "I told ya milord, the Righteous Path. As fer the wreck itself... we never actually saw it ourselves. We found the signal floating in the Warp and recorded it, but didn't have time to follow it".

The bustle of the market continues unabated and unaware of the priceless knowledge contained only a few feet away. The noise is nearly deafening and you struggle to hear the old man over it.
Everyone make a Difficult (-10) Perception test. Sellius or anyone he describes the vision to can make a Difficult (-10) Common Lore (Koronus Expanse) test to try and identify the system shown.

Octavia's Perception test: [roll0] v. 35

[SlyJohnny]

Sellius nods slowly. He attempts to close the case the rock came in and then take it, unless the scavenger is reluctant to turn it over to anyone that isn't the captain. "Good enough to work from. And you, Mister Dray. Is it your wish to accompany us?" He decides not to describe the sytem he saw right now; no telling who's listening in the market, and there'll be time enough for that later.

Perception TN 38 (or 48, if this is an Awareness test) (1d100)[5]

[Lycan 01]

Raphael turns his head a bit, glance around at the surrounding marketplace to ensure there are no eavesdroppers or signs of trouble. He then leans a bit towards the Astropath, his face grave. "Are you unwell, Sellius?" he asks, his voice low. His tone is serious, though also tinged with concern.

He makes no comment in regard to Dray accompanying them. Raphael is more concerned with his Navigator's well-being, and possible issues that may have been found or felt from the psy-artifact.

[Seanfall]

She looked at his outstretched hand. "...you should save those, in case we meet... anyone who would care to barter for such things." Vivienne wasn't wearing gloves, and handling teeth...

"I will be on the lookout for any such technology. If I see something you might like -- well, if I see something I imagine you might like -- I'll attempt to procure it for you."

Grimlug shrugs and puts the teefs back into his pocket. "Oh well, aye dank u den en advance."

[Glarx]

Giving the strange ork a smile, Vivienne went to don her synskin and xenomesh armor before heading out into Port Wander's various marketplaces. She caught small glimpses of the men from the Gate, securing rations and bartering vigorously for extra filters. Stretching the budget to maintain the ship wasn't an easy task, but it was essential. Until the Krovus Dynasty was back in the black, it was Vivienne's responsibility -- and, in part, the responsibility of those who reported to her -- to make sure the Lord-captain could do what he desired and that the supplies be sufficient to allow for it.

While she moved around the marketplaces, observing the vendors, she searched specifically for a calculance array. The merchant who had one for sale had driven a hard bargain, and it was more than she had budgeted. As Vivienne began to walk away, the merchant, persuaded by a desire for gelt or perhaps her pretty face, lowered his own price. This allowed the negotiations to commence, and soon the calculance array was being taken back to the Gate of Doom.

She also found, by happenstance, a most remarkable pair of items. The vendor sold them for next to nothing, having no idea what the items were. A pair of Eldar devices... she marveled at her luck.

[cybric]

Perception check [roll0] vs 40

[Retrokinesis]

The old man looks as if he's about to burst into tears. "Would... would you do me that honor, sir? Give this old voidfarer the chance the sail the stars once more? I'd be in your debt forever, sir!"

Before you can answer, a thunderous roar breaks over the noise of the market. Turning, you see four men in gilt carapace breastplates firing autopistols into the air. They charge through the now-fleeing crowd of civilians and merchants and turn their autopistols on the group, red laser sights closing-in.

From the rafters, an obviously-mechanical bird of prey swoops down. It wraps its talons around the precious mnemolith but Sellius manages to keep a grip on it. The bird screeches and flies away as the gunmen begin to spray bullets at the party.

With reflexes quicker than his age would suggest, Orbest flips the plasteel table over and takes cover behind it. "Guessing they're not with you, cap'm?"
Four targets, Gunman A through D, all identical. They are approximately 30 meters away and not behind cover yet. Dray is unarmed and will not be participating in combat but his flipping of the table means the party starts in cover. There are market stalls you could move behind if you wanted to get closer or flank but that would require pushing through the panicking crowd.

Roll initiative!
Gunman A: [roll0]
Gunman B: [roll1]
Gunman C: [roll2]
Gunman D: [roll3]
Octavia: [roll4]

[Lycan 01]

Raphael quickly throws himself down behind the overturned table. He may be brave, but he's not stupid. He needs time to put on his helmet and ready his weapon. "No, not mine," he hisses to Dray as he quickly puts his helmet back on and locks it into place. "Though I intend to find out whose they are-" The plasma pistol hums to life as he draws it and flicks the safety system off. "-Presuming we leave any of them alive."

He nods to his advisers. "Fire for effect, and avoid collateral damage. I want at least one left alive, or at least alive long enough to interrogate!" he barks.



Initiative: [roll0]

Half Action: Put helmet back on
Half Action: Draw plasma pistol

[SlyJohnny]

Sellius narrows his eyes at the old voidsman as the man thanks him. "I would. But not for your happiness. I require you close by, in case this is a trap, and I find myself wanting to burn your soul out from your body." He snarls, his third eyelid flickering as he finishes the threat, nearly twitching open.

He stares at the Lord-Captain as the man inquires about his health. If he had eyebrows, they'd be raised in surprise. He doesn't seem quite sure how to react to this courtesy. "Well? ...Yes. Communing with a mnemolith is... disorientating, but the feeling has already-" His eyes go wide as he spots movement in the crowd. "GET DOWN!"

He ducks, hurriedly concealing the container against his chest, shielding it with his body as his other hand reaches underneath his cloak for his sidearm.

He produces a hell-pistol in a shaky hand, narrowly avoiding getting his arm tangled around the power cable tether, and snaps off a wild shot up into the air at the fleeing avian.

Initiative: [roll0]
Ducking fully behind the table.
Half Action, Ready Weapon (Hellpistol)
Half Action, taking a shot at the bird: [roll1] vs BS 30, minus whatever modifiers for size and distance

[cybric]

Malakai dives into cover on hearing Sellius's warning. His mechanicus training instinctual activating combat subroutines and accessing combat software. His eye implant starts to build up power readying itself to fire and gives his skull mask a even more sinister look. He ready's his hellgun mounted to his forearm. Sights the attackers and fires off a round towards them while offering a screeching burst of prayer in technoligue to the Omnissiah to bless his hellgun and make its aim true.



Single shot hellgun attack 1d10+4 pen 7

[roll0] vs 50 to hit
[roll1] if hit

initiative [roll2]



After firing his weapon he ducks back behind cover and informs the ship of thier situation.
Command and Control. Ground party under fire. Four Contacts. Armaments: carapace suits and auto pistols. Request for support and reinforcement submitted. Please confirm. Malakai speaks to the captain next with his cold calculating and mechanical voice. Captain. The Gate has been updated regarding combat situation. Request updated orders and personal damage report. Have you sustained injury?

[Retrokinesis]

Malakai's hellgun blast strikes one of the advancing shooters directly in the head. Octavia takes careful aim at the wounded opponent through her long las' scope and fires a carefully-aimed shot. "Everyone alright? Stay in cover and keep your heads down!"

Half-action: aim with long las
Half-action: single shot at Guman B v. 100 [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

Possible extra damage from Accurate: [roll2], [roll3]

[Retrokinesis]

Octavia's pinpoint las blast smashes into the gunman's chest and, although his armor absorbs the brunt of it, he is clearly hurting.
Gunman B has taken 13 damage at this point. Sellius' turn!

[SlyJohnny]

Sellius huddles behind cover, trying to puzzle out who in the world these people are as he grips his hellpistol tightly.

"They're after the mnemolith, the bird dived straight for it. That and the carapace implies both wealth and foreknowledge." he says, his normally calm voice becoming rapid and on edge. He glances at the Engiseer. "Malakai, that bird was a machine, any idea what it was or how nearby it's controller would have to be?"

He grins, distractedly, enjoying himself despite his fear. "I love it when you treat us to lunch, Krovus. You always find the most interesting places." he drawls.

Sellius pops up from the side of the table and snaps off a couple of rapid shots at one of his assailants before ducking back down, the snap and hiss of the energy bolts as they scorch through the air comforting him.

Common Lore (Tech) to try to identify pertinent information about the mechanical bird [roll0] vs base TN 45
Common Lore (Underworld) to try to peg these guys as members of any criminal organization [roll1] vs base TN 45

Full action, semi-auto fire at Gunman D : [roll2] vs TN 40, extra shot damage at 20 or lower.

[roll3] first shot, [roll4] second shot, Penetration 7

[Glarx]

Meanwhile, in a different marketplace altogether, Vivienne haggled for a beautiful, not-too-new assault stubber with a supply of backpack rounds. As part of the agreement, she had the thing shipped to the Gate. At nearly fifty kilos, Vivienne did not have the strength (or desire) to move it around casually. It was something Malakai had requested, and she was happy to see a deal could be arranged.

[cybric]

[roll0] vs 73 common lore (tech) to know what the bird is

If I know ill probably see if there's a way to trace back the signal using the gate or our navigator

[cybric]

Malakai tilts his head as he hears the navigator after hitting his mark. looking back towards the avian he quickly assesses his data stacks searching for matches. There is a audible clicking and whirling as his system makes the match.

"Match found. Designation: psyber bird. The primary function of this tool is reconnaissance. The user through the Devine blessings of the omnissaiah is a me to see as the bird sees. The effective range of feedback is relatively short should we finish here soon we could catch the user".

While Malakai peeks out of cover to line up his next shot he portions off a section of his logis routines and puts it to the task of divining a way to track the user



Trying to see if there is a way to trace the user of the bird or give some indication of his location

[roll0] vs 53 common lore (tech)

[roll1] vs 53 forbidden lore tech in case it might help but not sure what governs this

[Lycan 01]

Raphael growls in anger and frustration as his plasma pistol warms up, building up the charge needed to fire. At Malakai's inquiry, the Rogue Trader's face is obscured behind the black-tinted glass visor of his carapace helmet. But even so, the Techpriest can likely sense or otherwise "see" the look of extreme anger and frustration on Raphael's face.

"Orders? My orders are to take one of these fools alive, kill the rest, and get what we can from the survivor. Even if it means we have to take him aboard with us, and blast him out an airlock later!" he snaps. "Threats aside, we must move quickly, and get back to the ship! Shall we blaze our way back to the stellar warfs, or simply call in a Guncutter?" he asks, looking back and forth between Malakai and Octavia. "Tactical assessment?" he asks them both, seeking their guidance before ordering for action or evac.

The Rogue Trader turns to the Navigator to say something, but before he can provide a witty retort, the plasma pistol in his hand begins to hum, the blue power coil along its spine growing brightly. "Aha! One moment, please," he nods to the Navigator, before sitting up, training his plasma pistol on one of the armored attackers, and flinging a miniature azure sun in his direction.

As steam vents from the recharging weapon in his hand, Raphael sits back down and turns his attention back to Sellius. The Rogue Trader chuckles behind his visor. "Well of course I pick interesting places," he quips. "It just isn't a proper lunchtime affair without threats upon my life and business, now is it?" The Psyker doesn't need three eyes to know Raphael is flashing a snarky smirk inside that black and gold helm.



Half Action: Aim
Half Action: Fire Plasma Pistol


Attack: [roll0] vs 40
Damage: [roll1] Pen 8

Hah hah, wow, that suck. Not even gonna bother with a reroll on the attack; that damage value suuuuucks. :smallannoyed:

[Retrokinesis]

One of the mercenaries, heavily wounded by the combined fire of the party, ducks into cover and begins firing at the explorers wildly. His shots hit nothing but the sheer volume of fire poses a threat regardless. The other three move forward to cover him; two fire randomly into the air in an attempt to clear the crowd and the third takes aim at Raphael, missing by a mile.
Gunman B is now in cover and suppressing everyone behind the table. That means you have to make a -20 WP test; failure means you're limited to one half action per turn, can't leave the cover, and take -20 to BS tests.

No one takes any damage, though, as they all missed horribly.

[Glarx]

Elsewhere, Vivienne continued to buy things, having them delivered to the ship. She secured a deal for a supply of advanced medkits, a refractor shield for the Lord-Captain (to keep him safe when she or the ork could not), gastral bionics, muscle grafts, a skinplant for a chrono and identification in her wrist, a Nomad rifle for Octavia (Vivienne had overhead Octavia mention it offhandedly and had been searching for such a thing for a while), a plasma gun for Malakai, and finally...

A small bracelet of curved metal that seemed to vibrate very gently. It had taken a great deal of haggling, for the vendor obviously knew it was old and had some great value, but as Chance would have it, he finally did part with the small trinket for a bag of gelt.

Despite all the failed negotiations -- even when she had the upper hand in the haggling, she could not secure the deal on many of the day's trades! -- she had obtained several fun things for the group. She left for the Gate, content that she had obtained at least enough for the various officers to be pleased. Sadly, nothing for the ork.

Vivienne smiled as she flipped the bracelet over in her hands, noting the size and realizing it was more accurately described as an arm band. She slipped it up on to her bicep, and felt a low tremor throughout her body for a few moments before she became acclimated to it. Whatever it was, it was certainly worth what she'd paid for.

[Lycan 01]

Raphael peeks up to gauge where his enemies are, before he ducks and curses under his breath, just as a hard round splinters the edge of the table, just above his head. As his plasma pistol continues to vent steam, he looks over at the Explorator. "Malakai, my friend? Could you do me a favor? Would you kindly kill the fool trying to pin us down?" he dryly asks, sounding more than a little annoyed.


Pinned.

Half-Action: Aiming

Free Action: Exceptional Leader - Giving Malakai +10 on his Pinning Test

[Retrokinesis]

"Allow me, Captain... " Octavia knows she won't have time to aim properly with all the bullets flying around. Still, the merc keeping them pinned had taken a few hits already - one good shot would probably take him down. She takes a deep breath, grips her long las tightly, and pokes out of cover just long enough to snap a shot off.
Pinned
Half-action: Single shot, [roll0] v. 60
Damage if hit: [roll1] Pen 1

[Retrokinesis]

The shooter providing suppressing fire is obviously hit, judging by his horrid scream and the smell of burning flesh. His left arm is scorched and useless... which is the least of his problems. He drops to the ground, dead and smoking.
Gunman B is now dead; the party is no longer pinned.

EDIT: In case it matters 8 damage got through, leaving him with 3 critical damage. Since he's a nameless thug, sudden death critical damage applies and kills him.

[cybric]

Malakai surveys situation before offering his tactical assessment. The attackers were armed well enough, had the disipline to frighten the crowd to clear fire lanes. Once he sees how the attackers are behaving under fire he makes his suggestion to the captain. His voice rings with the metallic tones as he speaks.

"tactical assessment. Contacts possess superior weight of fire. They will attempt to pin us while they advance by numbers and surround our centralized firing position. Once surrounded they will rush us to finish us off. Suggest dispersement of firing positions and application of accurate intense fire. Redeployment of team members while require a window of 5-12 seconds plus-minus 2.54 seconds. We will need to distract them so that the team may eliminate them with greatest efficiency. Allow me to draw their fire captain. You and the rest of the team will then have the opportunity you require. " Malakai readies himself and gazes around seeing where the nearest best cover is. He moves to fire his hellgun but a round whizz bangs near his head and forces him back into cover. He utters a burst of binary. The equivalent of a swear for being pushed back. He was a priest of mars and had been on his way to joining one of the order militant cults. Malakai ran through his routines to calm the perverse human emotions he was feeling. Still his baleful eye ever betrayed his feelings as it blazed crimson red under his hood. Octavia, when I move please do what you do best"

[SlyJohnny]

Sellius nods. "The coghead's right. I'm not going to die cowering behind a table. Going to get a closer look at the shooters. See if we can't work something out."

He hands off the mnemolith to the Captain, and waits until the sniper has made her shot. He grins appreciatively as the sniper takes out the man laying down the suppressing fire. "You're a hell of a lady, Ms Octavia." he remarks. He rolls out from behind the table and then takes off a dead run, sprinting towards the cover nearest to them, his head bowed low. He winces at the time spent in the open, and time seems to stretch until the moment he comes to a relieved, skidding halt behind a solid counter.

Postponing my action until Octavia shoots, then taking a Run action. Not sure what the terrain looks like, but I'm moving 18 metres, and in order of priority I want to end up within 15 metres or less of all the gunmen, behind cover, and as away from the fleeing civilians as possible.

[Seanfall]

Grim sat there after the Priest's Vox message had made it to him. He sat for a moment tapping his large green fingers against the nearest flat surface. After a moment of hesitation he called out to the bridge crew. "
Alright boyz! Our capn's en trouble! Zend a armed team to da airlockz und wait fore me!" Grimlug grabbed up his choppa and made a call back over the Vox to the Tech-Priest.

"Oi dere gear gutz Aye gotz zome boyz on da way comin in for da fight!"

[Retrokinesis]

Sellius' hellpistol shots hit one of the shooters firing into the crowd, piercing straight through his carapace chestplate and killing him instantaneously. He hits the ground dead without so much as a whimper, a look of absolute shock on his face.

The sniper grins at the navigator, "You're not half bad yourself, Sir Sellius". She turns to Krovus and nods, "Two shooters down, Captain. Any ideas on how to take one alive?"

The remaining two immediately begin advancing on the table, firing their autopistols on full auto as they walk. Neither of them manage to hit anything except for the market stall behind you.
Gunman D is now also dead. Technically, he's just at 0 Wounds but he's a nameless thug so to hell with him. A and C walked 3 meters closer to the party and missed with their attacks. Again.

[SlyJohnny]

Sellius taps his voxbead, and murmurs, "Everyone stay down, shield your eyes, and do not look up no matter what sounds you hear."

He then shouts out to the gunmen, "Listen! Half your team is dead, things aren't looking so good for you. Let's talk about this. I'm standing up, hold your fire."

He rises, putting his back firmly to his team, and as he does so he tears away the red veil from his face. He angles his gaze so that he can see the two gunmen but is looking away from any civilians who havn't cleared out yet, and then his third eye peels open, some kind of pus or effluence seeping from it for a brief moment before it suddenly seems to be wrenched back into the eye itself. He peers at his assailants, allowing the impossible roiling chaos from his gaze to wash over them and wrack their minds and bodies.

"I knew you'd come to see things my way." he whispers, softly.

Lidless Stare, Opposed Willpower: [roll0] vs TN 71
If this fails outright, or if I don't win against at least one of the gunmen, I'll spend a fate point to reroll: [roll1] vs TN 71

Gunman A: if he fails the opposed test, [roll2] energy damage, not reduced by armor or toughness, Stunned for [roll3] rounds, [roll4] insanity points.
Gunman C: if he fails the opposed test, [roll5] energy damage, not reduced by armor or toughness, Stunned for [roll6] rounds, [roll7] insanity points.

Sellius gains one level of fatigue.

[Lycan 01]

Raphael hunkers down, closing his eyes tightly as the Navigator stands. He knows better than to be in the line of sight for what's coming.

Once the Navigator has concluded his business, Raphael finally stands up from behind the table, plasma-pistol held aloft as he scans for further threats. "Looks like that's all of them," he mutters. The Rogue Trader turns a bit towards Sellius, and gives a shake of his helmet-clad head. "Sellius, would you kindly check with me first before doing that again? At the very least, give us better warning. I wanted them alive, not soul-seared..." he muses with a bit of annoyance any his tone. "At least one seems to still be alive."

He looks at the rest of his team, and gives a wave of his pistol. "Come on! We need to get moving! Grab the survivor, and let's get back to the ship! Come on, old man," he grunts at Orbest, "I may have need of your services, as long as you don't slow us down."

The Rogue Trader vaults the overturned table, and begins to stride back towards the ship, keying his vox as he goes.

First, Grimlug's channel. "GRIMLUG! Drop whatever you're doing as long as its not volatile please don't blow up my bridge and get the ship ready to disembark NOW! We need to set off as soon as we're back aboard, no delays! I want those engines prepped and ready to lift off the moment my boots are on the boarding ramp!"

After Grimlug replies, he checks Vivienne's channel. "Vivienne? Are you shipboard? Or have you and your men left for the market?" he asks, his voice terse and audibly stressed. "I need you to help Grimlug get the ship and crew ready to lift off ASAP! We need to set sail as soon as I'm back aboard!"

[Seanfall]

Grimlug was about to disembark with the other gunmen, when the Vox came through. Grim growled then turned to the team of guards he'd gathered. "Ya heard da cap'n boyz belay mah lazt order und git ready ta shove off! IF DIS SHIP AIN'T READY TA ZAIL BY DA TIME DA CAP'N GITS BACK IMMA HAFF YA ALL FORE DINNER!" The Ork shouted out and the crew rushed to start getting the ship ready for take off. Grimlug growled again and got back on the Vox making a call to all the other crewmen who were off the ship. "Ta all crewmen, return Cap'n's orderz UND BE QUICK BOUT ET!"

[Glarx]

Vivienne pressed a finger to her microbead as the Lord-Captain spoke to her, raising a finger to the man she had been conversing with. "I will be on board the Gate within two minutes, Lord-Captain. We have been in the market, and I have had some success in obtaining various gifts for yourself and the officers. The Gate will be ready to launch within eight minutes."

Then Grimlug shouted into her ear. Still, it was the sort of unambiguous announcement that an ork was perfectly suited for. Thanking the vendor she had been skinning for the last few minutes, Vivienne left for the Gate immediately. She confirmed a few payments via vox for those stewards who had gone into excess for certain ration packs and high provender on the way. An army of scuttling stewards and ratings shifted untold tons of cargo into the mighty cruiser, topping off the fuel reserves, the food, water, air reserves, everything that mattered.

She saw the various items she had procured for the Lord-Captain's entourage in one of the cargo bays and was pleased by it. Always nice to see merchants who delivered what they promised.

Vivienne ascended to the bridge to await the return of her Lord-Captain and his retinue, making sure her estimate on time would be adhered to.

What? I didn't initially forget to reply to the Lord-Captain because I was super tired. That would be insanity.

*shifty eyes*

[SlyJohnny]

Sellius sags, a little deflated. Opening the eye seems to take a lot out of him. "What can I say, Krovus. I got caught up in the moment."

He hurriedly pats down one of the corpses, relieving the dead man of his autopistol and magazines.

"And we needed to end this quickly. That bird is some damned psyker's creature, and it touched the mnemolith. Whoever the psyker is, they got the same image I did. They'll be racing to claim what's yours before you do."

He taps his vox bead. "Gate, this is Sellius. Have the Master of Augurs log the names and details of all nearby vessels that transition into warpspace, starting now."

[Retrokinesis]

The voice of the ship's pilot, Darivus Jericho, responds across the micro-bead channel as promptly as ever, "Acknowledged, Navigator Sellius. Auspex crew is now tracking multiple vessels preparing to leave station orbit. Bringing Milosav Engine to full power and awaiting course input".

Tavi reaches for the limp survivor's shoulders, her power armor's servos aiding her. She turns to Dray, "If you want to be useful, start with helping me carry this fool please". The old man simply nods and grabs the merc by the legs.

As they follow after Raphael, a voice catches your attention from the crowd. "Captain! Captain Krovus!" A middle-aged man wearing the garb of a scribe pushes his way through the masses with great effort and makes a beeline for the party. He attempts to sink into a bow and follow after you at the same time, nearly causing him to trip. "My lo-AH! Excuse me! I represent Master Scrivener Journ, the cartographer. I could not help but notice your astropathic mnemolith and took the liberty of contacting my master on your behalf. He would be most honored to assist you in locating your destination and providing the highest-quality charts to aid your journey - as well as keeping it perfectly confidential, per his reputation - if you would be willing to entertain a business proposition of his".

[Lycan 01]

Captain Raphael turns on his heel, faces the scribe, and though he does not level his plasma pistol with the man's face like he wants to, he is polite enough to just keep it held aloft at the ready. The ancient weapon's power coil glows brightly, the relic primed to fire if needed; it seems the Rogue Trader doesn't have much trust to spare right now. "Speak," he spits tersely from behind the black visor of his helm. "And make it quick."

[Retrokinesis]

The man looks as if he wants nothing more than to turn tail and run but manages to choke some words out. "Yes, of course! My master has a small but valuable cargo he needs delivered and would prefer not to trust it to the likes of a chartrist merchant or other such ruffian. It would be entirely at your convenience, of course, as a captain of your caliber no doubt has many matters to handle. It could be loaded onto your vessel immediately, if you wished, and my master would send you the appropriate charts just as swiftly if you provided me with a description of the vision. He prides himself on providing strict confidentiality to all of his clients, of course".

[Lycan 01]

Raphael's right eye twitches behind the visor. "We don't have time for this," he grunts, before turning to keep striding. "Walk with us," he growls to the scholar, before turning to Sellius. "What is your input, Navigator? Would these star charts assist you, or do you have no need of them?" he asks curtly. The Rogue Trader is audible perturbed by all this mess, particularly the random scholar offering a potentially-too-good-to-be-true exchange of favors.

[SlyJohnny]

Sellius grimaces, his pale lips twisting as if he's swallowed something bad. He taps his vox bead, whispering quietly so the scribe can't hear, but the captain can, "The mnemolith doesn't contain coordinates, only an image of a flickering star surrounded by a nebula, circled by a dust world and a frozen halo. I do not recognize this system. This posting is the first time I've been assigned to the expanse, Lord-Captain. The charts aboard the Gate are inadequate; they'll likely get us through the Maw, but beyond that, we'll be flying blind until I can create my own."

He considers. "Unless one of your crew has better first-hand knowledge about the astrography of the Expanse... or unless one of the departing ships we're tracking now turns out to be headed to a system that matches the one I saw... it could take me days to trawl through the archives to find a system that matches the one I see in the mnemolith."

He looks very unhappy about this, the grudging admission seeming to fill him with shame.

[Lycan 01]

Captain Raphael turns towards Sellius for a moment, studying him through the expressionless visor of his helm. The Rogue Trader then gives a nod. "I have faith in your abilities. But I think it would be prudent and wise to obtain these charts, as they will no doubt give us the edge we need. Besides, they may prove to be a potential investment for future endeavors."

He turns his head back towards the scribe. "How many charts is your Master willing to provide us in exchange for our transportation of his cargo? We are doing him a great favor, and if word were to spread that we found fortune and glory while using your Master's star-charts, then it would no doubt be of great benefit for him and his reputation. We are doing him several favors, really," Raphael muses as he strides along. "So it seems like he should equally return these boons."

Raphael keys his vox as he waits for the scribe to respond.

"Vivienne?" he whispers. "I am working out a deal to obtain star-charts to assist us in this quest. Part of the deal involves carrying and delivering some cargo for the stellar cartographer. It should be taken aboard soon; I want you to examine it. Take a team of armsmen and cogboys down to meet the delivery, and do whatever sort of scans and test you need to do in order to determine it's no trap or trick. Though, be careful not to harm the cargo or its value, of course."

He goes to kill the feed, before pausing and asking in bemusement: "You got us gifts? Now I have even more reason to hurry back."

[Glarx]

"As you say, Lord-Captain. I will requisition the appropriate members of the crew to see to your orders." She sent out voxes to the tech-priests, armsmen and some of her underscribes to head to the main loading bay to await whatever mysterious item Raphael was bringing aboard the Gate. If it was being brought aboard for the sake of a stellar cartographer, it could be any number of things. That it was being moved by means of a Rogue Trader's vessel could indicate that it was some sort of contraband. The Lord-Captain was wise to have someone investigate it, although she was worried that she wasn't the appropriate individual to perform the task.

Still, she had some knowledge of the underworld and archeotech. And the various priests would be able to assist her in determining what the contents of the package were.

[Seanfall]

Grimlug was going about his duties on the ship as the other Officers began to send orders through the vox mostly to other sections of the ship. Grim meanwhile meant to met the Captain and those that went with him when they came back on board the ship.

[cybric]

"Captain, once we have secured the charts I would like to exam this cargo myself. I trust Vivene but she is has not communed with the omnissaiah as I have and received its blessings. Mankinds past hold many dark and sinful technologies that a lay person might not recognize. Danger could follow. But then again that has not stopped us before under your leadership"

[Lycan 01]

Raphael gives a nod. "Right, I have no lack of faith in your knowledge or abilities. But Vivienne is aboard the ship; we are not," he quietly voxes to his cybernetic companion. "I simply needed a cursory inspection as soon as possible. Once we're aboard the ship, I trust you to undertake a more accurate and extensive examination of this mystery cargo," he muses. "If it turns out to be a problem, we shall simply space it."

Raphael gives a furtive glance back at the scholar, before quietly voxing: "And him too, if need be."

[Retrokinesis]

The scholar, who seems to have been speaking into his micro-bead during your conversation, tilts his head. "I'm afraid that is simply unacceptable. My master's reputation is already well-established and, if you are unaware of that, perhaps you are not who we are looking for after all The Koronus Expanse is contains hundreds of barely-charted systems and my master was being exceedingly generous in offering even one for such a trivial task".

He gives a rather curt bow and spins on his heels, beginning to walk away...

[SlyJohnny]

Sellius calls out to the scribe as he leaves. "A moment! We will carefully consider your master's kind offer, and send word to him shortly. Does he have a shop or office where we can contact him directly? Where is it?"

[Retrokinesis]

The man stops and turns back to the group. "Of course, my apologies for forgetting to mention that! My master is located in the Chambers of Gold, should you change your mind... "

[Lycan 01]

Raphael growls in frustration, and wheels about. He points at the Krovus icon hanging from his armor. "We do not have time for this! I am Raphael Krovus, scion of the Krovus Dynasty and bearer of its Black Charter! Your master desires the cargo be transported in exchange for the single star chart which we need? Fine!" he snarls, his helmet thankfully hiding the mask of rage his face is contorted in right now. Telling Raphael to his face that he's obviously not the representative of the Krovus line? That was most unwise. "We are in a rush, though, so tell him the deal is on and keep pace with us, scribe!"

And with that, the Rogue Trader wheels about, and begins to stride quickly back towards the ship. Woe unto anyone who irritates or obstructs him right now...

[Retrokinesis]

The scribe continues to follow at the group's heels, pushing through the crowd to keep up. "Excellent! Now, the cargo needs to be delivered to the port at Footfall. It's nothing illegal, I assure you. Not that I am implying a Lord-Captain of your status would consider such activity, of course. As for your chart... what can you tell me about the stellar landmarks in the area?"

[Glarx]

On the bridge, Vivienne received information concerning the restocking of the ship, with various rare items being loaded safely. Pleased, she left for the loading bay she'd directed the various armsmen and tech-priests to earlier. It was time to await the package the Lord-Captain had mentioned in his previous vox.

On the way she considered the ship and its ancient halls. The steel sounded with each heeled footstep, the uncovered floor speaking to the ancient origins of the vessel. All around, the hum of power surging through the conduits could be felt -- raw power, barely contained and eager to start once more into the void. The music of the melodium echoed through this corridor, the pipes having not reached into this particular area of the vessel. So few ever moved through this path. It would have been a waste to wire it into the great music machine.

Down an elevator, the cloying scent of grease and sacred unguent filling the confined space. Beautiful brass covered the interior, a moment of excess within the mighty cruiser. The gleam was held back by the dimness of the light within, the filament old and corroded. Light leaked from the grimy glass cover, providing enough light to show the aged carpet within the enclosed space. This small part of the gigantic ship hinted towards the sheer age the ship had seen during its expansive life. Vivienne placed a hand on a patina-speckled wall and felt the motion vibrating through the walls.

An etched spiderweb would make this wall extraordinary, she thought with a little smile. Then she wondered whether the Adeptus Mechanicus could make a spider servitor out of two corpses. With that happy thought, Vivienne felt the motion slow and cease before the doors opened to another poorly lit corridor. Humming along to the plaintive echoes of the melodium, Vivienne continued on her path.

The loading bay was a cacophony of motion. Servitors aided ratings in unloading huge pallets of foodstuff, manning vehicles to wheel ten thousand liter barrels of water down to the pantry warehouses. 208 liter barrels of promethium were carried either on vast pallets or individually by loading servitors towards the enginarium, to be added to the lakes of subwarp fuel. Private boxes for the officers arrived, fulfilling the various trade agreements currently on record -- boxes of rare ammunitions, expensive amasec, high provender, the usual. Various lower stewards approached her as Vivienne walked across the loading floor, confirming their orders and reporting any errors in the manifests or crates received.

The cadre of staff she had requested were gathered in a small group amidst the ocean of actions. She nodded to herself, answering questions, providing the gene-prints required for certain manifests, generally performing her duties. Once the package arrived, she'd be ready to fulfill the Lord-Captain's orders.

[SlyJohnny]

Sellius glances around, as if he expects spies from every corner. "Not here. We will carry the information to Master Journ in person and in private, after we have returned to our vessel and tended to our wounds. You seem to feel you have a very comfortable bargaining position. Why do you suppose we need a chart to verify the coordinates contained with the mnemolith?"

Sellius watches the man's reaction closely.

[Seanfall]

Grimlug was beginning to walk in circles while he waited for the Captain and his entourage to return. Getting tired of just waiting there he made his way back down to the loading bay shouting at anyone that got in his way. It was a ways away from the airlock he was waiting by but it would at least give him something to do while he awaited his Captain's return. He shouted at a bridge hand to alert him when the Captain returned.

[Retrokinesis]

The mystery package arrives in the Gate's cargo bay, carried by several rating dockworkers. It is a rectangle of matte black plasteel, roughly five feet long and one foot long, sealed with an electronic lock. The small screen currently lists unloading and delivery instructions for a numbered warehouse in Footfall. Actually opening it seems to require a gene lock. One of the stewards approaches Vivienne, "Lady Vivienne, this latest package requests your personal authorization and confirmation of delivery. Sender unknown, destination Footfall".

Back on the station, the scribe blanches. "In... person? I'm not certain you have time for that. I was under the impression you were in quite the hurry. Besides, Master Journ is quite busy. I could put you towards the top of the list but it would still be several days before he was able to meet you... "

[Glarx]

Vivienne nodded and motioned for the appropriate dataslate to provide her authorization. "Thank you, steward." She turned to the priests. "Can you find out what's inside of this package without damaging it? It is critical we take nothing volatile or dangerous with us through the Immaterium. I cannot fathom the damage an explosion en route could visit upon us, nor do I wish to acquire this insight. Armsmen, if you'll ensure nothing bursts from the package?"

Common Lore: Underworld, in case I recognize the container. Y'never know. [roll0] TN 48

Or Forbidden Lore: Archeotech. Using the same roll if CL:U wouldn't apply. If they both apply, then [roll1] TN 48.

[Lycan 01]

Raphael narrows his eyes. Something about this doesn't feel right.


Scrutiny! [roll0] vs 15

Also, using my special Rogue Trader trait thingy to give Sellius +10 on his own Scrutiny Test, since nobody has it trained and he has the highest Perception.

[SlyJohnny]

Scrutiny test: [roll0] vs 34

[Retrokinesis]

Vivienne doesn't recognize anything about the container except that it's more secure than your standard cargo crate. They don't tend to have gene locks, if they even have locks at all. There are no markings or other identification other than the delivery address. One of the stewards scrolls through a dataslate and nods to her, "We ran it through the cargo auspex, as always, my lady. It appears to be shielded from direct scans entirely. It's quite heavy and not just because of the contents; that's armored plasteel. And did you see the lock? Whatever it is, they've gone through substantial expense to ensure no one except its intended recipient opens it".

As for the scribe, he remains inscrutable to everyone in the shore party. He may be telling the truth or he may just have a very good poker face. Either way, you get nothing from your observations.

[cybric]

Malakai

Malakai processed all this scribe had said. ive never been good at faces. ++activate logic check protocol beta 997 in the name of the omnissaiah++ while Malakai had never been good with facial recognition the omnissaiah had seen fit to bless him with the gift of logis implants. He partitions off part of his processing power to run all the data available to him through his logis implant.



[roll0] vs 53 logic test

to see if Malakai can find any holes his the logic of his requests and stories. Shooting in the dark on this one but you never know!

[Glarx]

"Clearly. Which indicates that it's something that the Imperium might be interested in. I have no doubt the magos of Mars would be more than capable of ripping this thing apart without damaging the contents -- perhaps the security of this package indicates the contents." Vivienne pressed her microbead and paged the Lord-Captain, waiting for him to reply before launching into her theory concerning the package. She had told him before that she would be essentially useless in analyzing the package, and she awaited the report from the tech-priests. They might have some better idea of what was inside.

I think the scribe y'all're talking to IS the astral cartographer.

[Retrokinesis]

Sellius takes another long look at the scribe...

He remains inscrutable to everyone in the shore party Sellius. He may be telling the truth or he may just have a very good poker face. Either way, you get nothing from your observations.

[SlyJohnny]

Sellius wrinkles his brow, thinking. "I understand a man as important as your master must be busy, so forgive me for dragging this out. He is too busy to meet us- and yet he is presently aware we require this chart, which suggests this matter currently occupies his attention. You apparently work for him, though as I cannot speak with him and you have produced neither seal nor writ and haven't given us your name, we have no way of verifying this fact. If we are not able to meet him in person even to collect the chart from his offices, or have it delivered by a courier we can verify, how will we know it is even his work?"

[Retrokinesis]

The scribe glares at Sellius for a few moments. He reaches into his coat and withdraws a datachip. Running it through a thin dataslate mounted on his wrist produces an image of a flickering star. Sellius will recognize it as the same system from the vision.

"I take it this counts as sufficient evidence of my status? See, people take notice when a Rogue Trader shows up on Port Wander. Two, though? That always means trouble. We've had you observed since you arrived... and Hadarak Fel too. He came to Journ with a psychic impression from an astropathic mnemolith and wanted it identified. Sound familiar?"
You can make a test to see what you know about this Hadarak Fel if you like; Common Lore (Koronous Expanse, Rogue Traders) or Scholastic Lore (Imperial Warrants) would all work.

[SlyJohnny]

Sellius visibly relaxes, in that his hand drifts away from where it was hovering near the holster concealed under his robes, and that his third eyelid stops twitching. He turns to Dray. "Hadarak Fel. Do you know this name? Was he an enemy of your former captains? Do you know what ships he has?" he whispers.

He listens to the man's reply, then turns back to the scribe.

"That explains it. I knew you weren't telling us something, but you merely want to get paid twice for the same information, without violating your first client's confidentiality. Commendable initiative." He smiles warmly at the scribe. "As you've been honest with us, I no longer have reservations about performing this favor for your master, quickly and discreetly. Except for one thing... how long ago were you approached by Hadarak Fel with this impression?"

[Retrokinesis]

"Minutes ago. I ran out to find you the moment he left. It's unlikely his ship has departed yet".

He smiles at you coldly. "Does that mean we have a deal?"

[Lycan 01]

Captain Raphael turns and strides up towards the scholar, his every step deliberate and purposeful. He stops in front of the man, studying him for a moment from behind his impassive visor.

The Rogue Trader holsters his plasma pistol, and extends his right hand. "The cargo for the charts. We have a deal," he states, his tone less angry and much more factual and business-like.

"Having you aboard may prove to be rather interesting, actually," Raphael muses. "You seem to be quite the shrewd negotiator. We may have much to learn from each other."

It seems the Cartographer's gambit has payed off...

[Retrokinesis]

The scholar returns Raphael's handshake and nods. "Looking forward to it, Captain. Your reputation precedes you. As does that of your ship and... rather colorful crew. I'm called Nestor Storm, by the way".

He opens his coat, revealing what looks like a bolt pistol with a needle jutting-out from under the barrel, and takes the datachip from a pouch. "I won't get in your way, I assure you. Take this. Your destination is the Magoros system past the Koronus Passage and in Winterscale's Realm. Survey reports list it as being 'uninteresting' so I hope you know something I don't... "

[Lycan 01]

Raphael lets out a low chuckle. "Oh, I've heard a little tale or two. I can assure you, if it's enough to get two Rogue Traders into a lethal race to get there, then clearly there's something of note at stake."

The Rogue Trader hands the chip-pouch to Selius. "As soon as we're aboard, I want us underway. Unless of course our acquaintance Captain Fel is still stardocked, or preparing to jump out of the system."

Raphael begins to stride away, heading back towards the ship. "Because if he's still here, then I think we can spare a bit of time to smite him from the stars," he growls in grim determination, looking forward to an opportunity to repay the attempt upon his life.

[Retrokinesis]

Back at the Gate, the loading crews seem to have finished their work and are clearing out. Your own crew is shuffling back onto the vessel amidst the hustle and bustle of launch preparations.

The explorers work their way back through the gilded halls and back to the bridge. Chief Helmsman Jericho turns and salutes as you enter, "Captain on the bridge!" He is slight-framed and dark-skinned, crisp black hair cut short under the Imperial Navy flak uniform hat. His uniform is impeccably maintained, although you doubt he was ever actually a Commodore given his age.

"Sir. Welcome back. All cargo is secured, all hands reporting, and engine charge reading green. We're prepared to depart on your order, assuming you have a destination in mind. No ships have attempted to leave port but- ".

His speech is interrupted by several warning klaxons beginning to flash. "Hold that thought. Firestorm-class frigate designation Fell Hand attempting to set sail... "

[Glarx]

The seneschal returned the bridge only moments after the Lord-Captain did. She waited to see who the new individuals were before speaking, wanting to make sure the Lord-Captain wasn't being coerced, and then the klaxons began to sound. As soon as Helmsman Jericho mentioned the model of the ship, she looked to the Lord-Captain.

"Shall we scan the ship to determine ownership, observe the layout of the ship, and perhaps send in a strike team, Lord-Captain?" Discussions of gifts could wait until after the pressing issues were complete. She'd also be able to check and see how the away mission went.

Some part of Vivienne was a little sad the Captain hadn't taken her vox, but it wasn't an issue. There were a thousand extenuating circumstances that could have caused it, least of all being that he was still miffed at her for her earlier tardiness.

[Seanfall]

Grimlug had made it about halfway to the cargo station when he got word that the Captain was back on board the ship. Cussing in the harsh guttural tongue of the Orks he turned back around again, and proceeded to run as fast as he could back to the bridge of the ship Cussing all the way.

When he finally makes it back to the bridge he stops just outside the door breathing heavily and half dragging his body. Just as his hand was reaching for the button he fell face down. "Oi...am hy outta zhape." After a few moments he stood up and walked back onto the bridge, thankfully (for the bridge crew) he had neither the strength nor the desire to try to frighten them this time. And simply shooed the closest person out of their seat before collapsing into it. He raised his choppa as a salute to the Captain, "wel...*huff*...come back on board..Capn."

[Lycan 01]

"Yes, yes, Captain on deck," Raphael mutters dismissively as he strides back onto the bridge, hurriedly trying to remove his helmet. "Excellent work, Jericho. Prepare the ship for departure. I want-"

And then Grimlug shows up. Raphael flashes a weak smile. "Thank you, Grimlug." He turns to Orbest and Storm, tilting his head over towards the Ork. "Do not mind him, he's one of my advisers, and the Administratum is currently processing his sanctioning paperwork," he explains factually, before turning back to Jericho. "Now, as I was saying-"

Cue warning klaxons!

Raphael scowls as he's informed of the new development, and he turns to Vivienne as she makes her proposal. He nods to her, before striding up to his command post, looking out over the bridge. The helm, the cogitators, the sensors, the weapons consoles, all the information and opportunity presented before him, awaiting the orders to be used...

And used they shall be.

"ALRIGHT LISTEN UP!!" the Rogue Trader bellows with a commanding tone that would put even an Ork Nob to shame. "Some Warp-spawned fool has seen fit to make an attempt upon the lives of myself and my crew, to dare steal away the fortunes and glory rightfully ours to claim, and to dishonor the noble title of Rogue Trader! Shall we allow them to commit these wrongs without justice? In the name of the Emperor, I say nay!!" he snarls, raising a defiant fist as he tries to drum up the spirits and zeal of the bridge crew. "All crew to their stations! All weapon batteries at the ready! Get us star-borne, and interceded between the Fell Hand and its intended destination!"

He looks back over at Sellius. "Navigator, I want a full scan of that vessel on the double! I want every scrap of information we can find on it! Once that is complete, prepare the ship for Warp Transit! Examine the star charts and plot us a course for our destination as quickly as you can! I don't know how much longer we'll be in the Materium, especially if they attempt to Warp Jump rather than face us! Make me proud, Sellius!" he commands with a crooked grin.

Raphael then turns back to Grimlug and Octavia. "Make your way to the Teleportarium," he orders them with narrowing eyes. "I do not know yet if boarding will be necessary, but if it comes to it, I think an angry Ork and a veteran warrior in power armor should clearly send the message of why they shouldn't slight a Krovus and his crew," he growls.

He then looks to Malakai and Vivienne, nodding to them with a stern expression. "Provide whatever guidance and aid you can in this endeavor. Assist the crew, aid the vessel's machine spirit, whatever you feel would contribute best."

The Rogue Trader then returns his attention to Jericho. "Helmsman, if we can depart before the Fell Hand, I want all our port batteries to bear on them. If they have the lead, then I want you to pursue them to the best of your abilities, affording a clear shot with the forward cannon if possible. May the Emperor guide your hand," he nods.

Raphael then assumes a proper, straight posture, and folds his hands behind his back.

"Hail them," he growls, his voice low with seething anger, eyes burning with slighted fury. "I wish to have a word with the Captain of that vessel, whether he is that Fel bastard or not."




So here's da plan! :smallbiggrin:

I want us setting sail ASAP, and ready to either chase these bastards down, or stop 'em in their tracks if they take off after us.

I want Sellius to do the Focused Augery check, since I think he gets a bonus to it, plus his Perception is the highest, IIRC. Also, I'm giving him my Lord-Captain +10 bonus for this round.

If we're gonna board 'em, seems like Grim and Tavi could do some real damage, especially if we can teleport them directly into a sensitive area.

And I want to hail them, so Raph can have a chance to interact with their Captain and see if they're involved in all this mess, or if they just picked a really bad time to take off. :smalltongue:



If anyone has any suggestions, disagreements, or other things to say/add, please do so. :smallsmile:

[Glarx]

Vivienne moved beside her captain, whispering in his ear before slipping something into his hand. Then she stepped back and bowed to the Lord-Captain. "I believe my talents are best served organizing and corralling the strike team, Lord-Captain. It is something of a passion of mine, logistics. Be it the prices of grains from Holy Terra to Port Wander, or the beautiful dagger-fingers of the murder-servitors sweeping through the necks of your foes... it all comes down to logistics. If you will allow me, I will accompany Officers Aubrean and Grimlug on to the enemy ship." She looked at the other two officers before observing the men who had been brought aboard, sizing up the elderly man before moving on to the less-elderly man.

Her cybernetically-enhanced mind was aflame with possibilities and optimized strategies for the proper command and utilization of the cruiser. Raphael's desire to speak to the commander of the other voidship was an excellent move, and part of her -- a very substantial minority, overruled only by the Obedience To Command bloc -- wished to see what her Lord-Captain said. Still, she needed to fit the holosuit beneath her xeno-mesh armor if Raphael allowed her to head over to the opposition's vessel. There was too much to do to stand by and observe Lord Krovus' adroit handling of the situation.

And besides, she'd be able to listen in via the micro-bead.

Whispers!

"A gift, Lord-Captain. A refractor field. It will serve to protect you when I am not capable of being at your side."

[Seanfall]

Grimlug almost hopped out of his seat as he smiled a big green grin. "hee hee, YEZ ET'S TIME TA FIGHT!!" He ran out of the bridge, to his quarters, where he grabbed the gear he'd need for a fight. Ammo, his tools etc etc. Then he made his way to the Teleportarium, "WAAAAAGH!"

[SlyJohnny]

Sellius bites his lip. He prefers peering into the void with his warp eye to performing passive scans, and isn't as well-drilled on focused auguries and the operation of augur arrays in general as he would like, but he's damned if he's going to admit that openly on the bridge. Tceh. Pride. It is at the bottom of all great mistakes. he scolds himself internally, but he still nods to the Captain, and then turns to the ensign manning the auspex and waves him out of the way. "Auspex crew, give me two targetting pulses, standard bands, coordinates to follow... Aleph-Kryter 2BD-2BZ, repeat, Aleph-Kryter 2BD to 2BZ... but do not wait to analyse, feed the full spectrum readouts to this terminal as soon as they come back." he orders over the vox.

Focused Augury [roll0] vs TN 47 (24+10 RT bonus+13 detection)

[cybric]

"aye captain I shall comply and aid the machine spirit of the ship. The omnissaiah protects"

[Lycan 01]

Captain Raphael raises an eyebrow as Vivienne approaches. When she hands him the small artifact, he looks down at it in surprise, and continues to stare at it in wonder as she makes her proposal. He turns the item over in his hand a few times... before looking up at Vivienne with a serious, set expression, and offering the ancient protection device back to her.

"You'll need this. Go join up with Grimlug. Tell the Ork you're leading the assault, even if he's got the bigger axe," he tells her with a wry smile. "May the Emperor guide you."

He then turns to look at Octavia. "Belay my prior order for you. I think your skills and tactical knowledge would be best put to use on the gunnery crews. Should it come down to an exchange of broadsides, you're knowledge of firing arcs and weapon calibrations will prove invaluable."

He then resumes his stern, proper posture, and waits to see if the rival vessel responds to his attempted hails... or attempted scans, if they're detectable.



Alrighty, Vivienne is First Officer, and she'll be leading the charge IF we do a boarding assault.

And Octavia will be on the ships guns with her crazy BS. :smalltongue:


Alright, let's do some Hailing! :smallbiggrin:

[Glarx]

With a shake of her head, Vivienne leapt back perhaps six meters. "There are other gifts for the crew, but I believe those will wait until after the situation at hand is resolved. I must retreat to my quarters momentarily -- if you need aid in speaking with the cretin on board that ship, do let me know, Lord-Captain. I live to serve." Turning on her heel, the seneschal retreated to her room.

Within the beautiful room, with purple velvet drapes and fine red tapestries on the walls, she disrobed and quickly donned her synskin. Overtop went her harlequin suit, and then the xeno-mesh armour. Thereafter, she refastened the eldar belt around her waist and made sure the other baubles she had obtained during her time in the market were secured. Checking to make sure the little gun was loaded, she placed her inferno pistol in a holster on the belt and attached the hellgun's battery to her back. Then the cameleoline cloak for good measure, and she darted off for the teleportarium. It had taken perhaps ten minutes, and she moved through the halls with technologically-assisted grace and speed.

The whole while she had her microbead on, listening to the bridge and waiting to see if she was needed.

[Retrokinesis]

Octavia simply nods and relieves the gunner, taking a place at the gunnery command terminal. She cracks her fingers and runs them across the console as if preparing to play a harpsichord tune.

Your hail is answered with the sneering grin of a man on the main vidscreen. His weathered skin and iron-gray hair hint at his true age but the way he carries himself indicates he had lost none of his youthful vigor. The red and gold carapace armor is draped under a billowing velvet cape, attached with the same sigil as the armsmen who attacked the party earlier.

"Captain Krovus! I'm told we owe you thanks for acquiring the astropathic image for us. I knew that old man had something interesting but I might've written him off if you hadn't answered his call. Tell me, how did my men do distracting you while my psyker got into position? Would you recommend I hire from the same company again? Now, I am a magnanimous victor so I am going to offer you the exceedingly-generous opportunity to walk away from this with no love lost between us".

A messages flashes across all stations for the party to see, originating from Jericho's console: Target preparing for warp jump. Unlikely to close to optimal battery range before completed. Within range of nova cannon. Collateral damage to station possible.

The man on-screen reclines in his command throne and puts a hand up to his chin as if in thought. "Honestly? I'd be very disappointed if you did. Your grandfather certainly wouldn't have. My honest condolences on that, by the way. Since we both have the same goal, what say you we make this a bit more interesting?"

[SlyJohnny]

Sellius shakes his head as the numbers stream back to his console. Useless gibberish. Unintelligible noise. Dammit, he might not get another chance to get this intelligence before the enemy vessel leaves.

"Auspex crew. Continue scan. Set augur pulses for wide band, full spectrum, we will compensate for predicted irrelevent background interference based on statistical models... Aleph-Kryter 2B all." he mutters over the vox, concentrating.

Focused Augury [roll0] vs TN 37 (24+13 detection, possible modifiers from Aid the Machine Spirit or captain's bonus)

[Lycan 01]

Raphael, to his credit, does not blow up in a fit of fiery rage. In fact, his lips curl into a charming smirk. "Ah, such cordiality. It is pleasant to see my newest rival is not a disappointment," he remarks with what sounds like bemusement.

"Actually, I think you may want to think twice before hiring them again," the Rogue Trader shrugs. "They didn't really put up much of a fight. I was expecting more delays on the way back to the ship, honestly. Oh, and your condolences are appreciated," he says with a wry smile.

Raphael takes a moment to turn and give a small shake his head to Jericho; opening fire now would be too risky, as much as he'd like to smite Fel from the sky. He also nods to Sellius off-screen, and then gives a tilt of his head towards the Navigational chambers, trying to non-verbally command the Navigator to go get them underway ASAP.

He then turns his attention back to the pict-feed, and flashes a friendly grin. "Now, what was that about making things more interesting? Do you have a wager you'd like to place, perhaps?"


That's a no-go on shooting; let's get Warp-bound ASAP.

Meanwhile, Raphael is trying to use Charm on Fel to maybe respect Captain Krovus a bit more and perhaps get him to lower his guard a bit. :smallbiggrin:

[roll0] vs 65 (Fel 50 +10 (Ancestral Seal) +5 (Etiquette))

[Retrokinesis]

The gaudy rogue trader beams at Captain Krovus. "Indeed. We're both businessmen, yes? We both want the treasure of the Righteous Path. We also know only one of us is getting our hands on it. So why don't we spice things up a bit? I'll wager you a dozen crates of xenos artifacts that my men set foot on the Path's bridge before yours. Unless you're not a betting man, of course. Your father wasn't. Grandfather, though... the man would storm the Screaming Vortex solo if you bet him a good drink he couldn't pull it off. And he'd do it too".
This is a mechanic I made up. Basically, you wager profit factor. You can put up anywhere from 1 to 5 PF and, if you succeed at the bet, you get whatever you bet as a permanent bonus to your PF.

Of course, if you lose, you get nothing and lose however much you bet as well. These are both irrespective of succeeding at the endeavor so you could technically fail the mission and end up with more PF than you would've gotten anyway.

In this case, said crates of xenos artifacts may or may not contain randomly-generated gear you could keep as well :smallbiggrin:.

[SlyJohnny]

Sellius nods, slipping out of the bridge the long way, avoiding the view-screen. He mounts the stairs leading to the risen Oculus.

At the top of the stairs, he nods to the household guards on duty, who do not respond, eyes fixed ahead. He enters the chamber, swinging the huge door closed behind him and turns the valve to seal himself inside.

He walks towards his seat, his feet scuffing along the thick red shag carpet installed by the vessel's last Navigator. He loathes the damn carpet, but hasn't quite got around to burning it and having it replaced yet. The filmy eyelid of his warp eye begins to lift, and he rotates slowly, his feet shuffling on the carpet as he tries to locate the burning light of the Astronomicon.

Awareness [roll0] vs TN 68 to Locate Astronomicon, every degree of success/failure giving a +/- 10 modifier on the following tests

Not there, that's the warpshadow of a distant sun. He must- there! There it is! Above and due starboard. He kneels to a small wooden table near his chair, opening the small wooden box that sits upon it, and removes an object that looks like a series of ben wa balls linked to an iron bar by small metal chains. He clicks a button at the base of this apparatus, and it springs to life, a hololith of exquisite detail and granularity. He pulls spheres this way and that, comparing the data in the Almanac Astra Divinitus with those on the charts he was provided. He attempts to reconcile the small discrepancies of the two sets of data, nervously peering out at the roiling warp of the Maw passage and attempting for foresee any hazards the ship might soon encounter.

Navigation: Warp [roll1] vs TN 85 to chart course; success gives +20 in Encounters check

This done, he sighs in anticipation as he sits in the armored seat, staring up at the stained glass viewports around the rim of the room. Those, he likes; they're not the usual chapel-like scenes of the Emperor Merciful being attended to by his angelic Primarch progeny, they are instead wild depictions of far off places and nonsensical creatures, viewed through the lens of madness. He enjoys them, though he can't quite articulate why. He's never managed to find out who designed them, or even which Navigator had them installed. He likes to think they've always been there.

He nestles himself into the armored chair, trying to get comfortable. He slips the plug in the rear of the seat into the cyberport installed in to the back of his neck since he was a teenager, and struggles to focus on the present even as his coherent thoughts feel like they're being washed away by a fire hose.

"I am Sellius. Navigator Cell-eye-us. Aboard the cruiser Gate of Doom, Captain Raphael Krovus commanding. Raphael Krovus knows not the number of his days. This is not then, this is now. Pre-transition. Pre-transition. Do not believe the warp-shades if they say we are already emerged. They lie. We are pre-transition."

He reaches out with a violently shaking finger, tapping the vox-transmit button on his armored chair. He knows he will soon become completely incoherent, and that the only way the Bridge crew will be able to interpret his orders will be through the translation provided by his link to the main cogitators.

"At. Tssch. Attention, all hands. We are transitioning to Warp space. Raise the Geller Field. Transition is imminent. It is... we are not yet post-transition. Raise the Geller Field and all crew prepare for Warp jump. Warp drive engaging. I make a journey. You make a journey. We make a journey, together." he says, struggling to keep his voice level.

Navigation: Warp [roll2] vs TN 75 to steer vessel; unsure of difficulty modifier

He raises his shaking hand away from the transmit button, and instead grips the armrest of his seat. A thin trail of saliva runs down from his mouth, which is still moving, silently mouthing the words that he just said.

Unsure how long the journey will take, so will leave any necessary rolls for Warp Encounters to you. Once we do transition and do a jump cut, here is my

Navigation: Warp [roll3] vs TN 55 to Exit the Warp on target.

A lot of this depends on us using the core rules rather than the ones in Navis Primer. If not, I have to change things around :) Let me know if I screwed anything up.

[Glarx]

Vivienne pressed a finger to her microbead, still getting dressed at this point. Her communication would go straight to Raphael's earpiece, such that the other Rogue Trader wouldn't be able to hear it. "Lord-Captain, this is obviously a ruse to get you to commit to something that only favors Trader Fel. He has seen our ship, and has seen how much larger our ship is. There is no way to enforce the bet, nor can we be paid if Fel is dead. He seeks to ensure his own survival by means of this paltry 'wager' system, and he intends to invoke your grandfather's name as a means of cajoling you into it. Furthermore, should we win there is no way to obtain our payment.

"The situation is this: we can either accept this man's foolish bet, and in the process push our ship to the limit, cut corners in order to win, clear out whatever defenses exist around the Righteous Path, whatever that is, and then race to the bridge without any consideration for safety -- and then we can't kill Fel, or else we'll lose out on the payoff. Or we can decline it, lose face to a man who isn't long for this universe, take our time, be cautious, obliterate his ship once we get to the destination, and kill him for trying to harm you and your retinue.

"Personally, I favor caution, Lord-Captain Krovus, but it is your decision."

[Lycan 01]

Raphael keeps a pleasant smile on his face as Fel makes his offer, and as Vivienne makes her suggestions.

After a long moment of thought, Raphael clicks his tongue. "I am afraid that I am going to have to decline accepting that wager. For you see, while my grandfather was quite the betting man, he also knew never to wager anything you were not willing to lose. He was also smart enough to know when an offer was too good to be true."

Raphael smirks slightly. "The only way one of us is getting to the bridge of the Path is if the other has been, one way or another, removed from the equation, which would no doubt make the collection of any wager from the other quite difficult. Though, I'll keep those crates of Xenos artifacts in mind, on the off chance we are presented with the opportunity to make some sort of exchange at some point," he muses aloofly.

Raphael then turns his head towards Jericho. "Move us into position for Warp Transit, Helmsman," he crisply orders.

As Sellius' warnings and preparations are broadcast through the ship and echo on the bridge, Raphael turns back to the pict-feed and smiles pleasantly. "Well, Captain Fel, I think this is where we say our goodbyes for now. Hopefully you'll put up a good race, and when it inevitably comes down to it, a good fight."

The Rogue Trader narrows his eyes a bit.

"Until next time, Captain Fel."

And with that, he kills the feed, and turns to grin roguishly at his deck crew and advisers. "Now then, who's ready for an adventure? For Glory and the Emperor, we sail!" he loudly declares, raising a gauntlet-shod fist to the air. "Make ready!"

[Seanfall]

Grimlug was halfway to the teleportium when word came over that their was not going to be a boarding action. He stood stock still for a moment before sighing and turning around walking back to the bridge, kicking at the floor. "Why grimlug get no fight today?"

[cybric]

Malakai

The humming beat of his power armor quickened as Malakai heard the captains orders. Conflict, competiton, these conditions were ideal for new discovers and strides for humanity. Something that his colleagues had been hesitant to see and quick to condemn.

"In the omnissaiahs name captain the ships tech priests are at your command as always." Malakai clicks over to the mechanicus comm channel that all tech priests on the ship shared. "Followers of the omnissaiah ready yourself to serve and tend to you ministrations. Cast your prayers and aid the machine spirit. The omnissaiah protects".

[Glarx]

Dressed in a peculiar mix of xenomesh, harlequin gear and synskin, Vivienne was a strange sight to behold. Images of her danced behind, some in front, some to the left or right. They all appeared blurry, too, as if it was difficult to get a look at any one in particular. Once she stopped moving, the images stopped as well and, in conjunction with her cloak, she seemed to fade out of sight completely. "I'll be changed back into my appropriate attire momentarily, Lord-Captain. I merely wished to see if there was anything else you required before I did so. My stewards are moving the other gifts to the retinue's private quarters as we speak. And if I may comment, Lord-Captain, you made the correct choice."

[Retrokinesis]

The first sign of the Warp transition is the faint coolness of the Geller field enveloping you. As Sellius rambles over the vox, the Helmsman disengages the sublight engines and raises his watch. "Transliminal passage imminent... all hands brace for Warp jump!"

The Gate of Doom shunts itself into the Immaterium with a screeching noise. Several long moments pass... evidently, the Geller field is holding since you haven't been skinned alive yet.

Octavia gets up from the gunnery station and walks over to the captain. "Personally, I would've taken him up on that one, sir. We could use the extra resources and caution doesn't exactly serve us here. Keeping the nova cannon loaded isn't exactly cheap. What's our plan for finding the Path?"

Vivienne's doing, most likely. Oh well. "I had the surviving mercenary taken to the brig. What do you want to do with him?"
Part 1 complete! An Exploration objective worth 500 achievement points. I forgot if we have a thing that increases Exploration points or not :P.

[Lycan 01]

Raphael stands tall by the helm as they enter Warp-space, his posture rigid with his hands folded behind his back, while his face is set in stern seriousness. He turns and surveys Vivienne and Octavia as they approach him and make their observations. "My plan, at the moment, hinges on where the Warp spits us out. Once we hit realspace, I'll need Sellius to study the maps and trying to determine the location of the wreckage. In the meantime, I'll need everyone on board to be prepared for combat at a moment's notice. There's no telling where or when we'll run into Fel again, but if we get to the Path before him, I think we may need to set up a bit of a welcome party for when he does get around to arriving," the Rogue Trader smirks.

"As for the prisoner, I want him alive and well. We may be able to get some information out of him, and at the very least, he may make for a useful bargaining chip with whoever his employers are. After all, it's doubtful they'd like to lose an operative so easily... or allow word of their operations to become public."

[Glarx]

"As you say, Lord-Captain. The mercenary may not be of a high enough calibre to matter, however. If his entire crew was dispatched so easily during your business trip, it may simply be that the man is a common thug who had the misfortune of recently placing a uniform on. Perhaps Grimlug would be an appropriate interrogator, however... and a useful gauge. If the mercenary seems out of his mind with terror, then he's probably not a hardened, seasoned veteran of the void. Either way he might be willing to offer information after we've shown him the pet greenskin." Vivienne smiled at Raphael before turning to Octavia, keeping the smile where it was.

"Of course, Officer Aubrean, the nova cannon isn't cheap. But at the same time, if we had taken the bet we would have had to have thrown caution to the wind and race forth without any consideration of our personal safety. Even so, after we had battled our way to the bridge, what force would have seen to it Trader Fel lived up to his side of the bargain? And that also would have required us to allow the man to live past our encounter. One shouldn't allow potential enemies to live after they've attempted to take your life from you. The man is a poisonous snake with, no doubt, ample holdings. We may be in position to acquire many of his trade routes pending his demise -- or we may be able to coerce him into handing such routes over himself, once we've proven we're in an undeniable position of power.

"But I contest that caution does not serve us here. Carelessly squandering what is left of the Krovus Dynasty's assets on what amounts to a bar-room gamble is not a method for making long-term investments. If we should lose this bet -- presume, for a moment's hypothetical, that we had accepted but wagered nothing, since currently we are racing after the Righteous Path -- then we have lost nothing substantial except for time. So long as we do not fire the nova cannon, the macrocannons are simple enough to resupply without cause for concern. Therefore, we are at an operation cost of essentially zero.

"If we succeed at winning the wager, then we are receiving complete profit. The dynasty flourishes. But if we do not, then the Dynasty will not wilt -- as it may have, if the terms of the wager had been monumental. I've no doubt Lord-Captain Krovus would have honored his side of the bargain, although I can make no such claims for Trader Fel. And with respect to caution, putting the Lord-Captain's safety on the line so that he might run through a derelict ship -- which could be covered in genestealers for all we know -- in order to be first to the bridge would be a flagrant violation of our duties to the Krovus Dynasty. I'd much rather have a steady, if slow, reconstitution of the Krovus Dynasty than gamble with his life.

"Furthermore, whosoever reaches the bridge first may not be the individual who claims the ship for himself. If the Fel Hand is left outside the Righteous Path while Lord Fel investigates the vessel, we can lead surgical strikes against his crew with our murder-servitors and teleportation, taking his ship for ourselves and leaving him with an ancient, potentially destroyed ship. Which we can then board at our leisure to purge the man from it."

Vivienne laughed and pushed her hair back. "Forgive me -- you know how I am, very wordy sometimes. I merely feel quite strongly on this matter and felt it best to explain the advice I gave the Lord-Captain. You're right, we are in dire straits, but I fear we would be in a worse position if we had gambled carelessly with our remaining funds." She offered Octavia an apologetic grin. "And by the way -- thank you for your help in keeping the Lord-Captain safe during his business trip, Officer Aubrean. I obtained a gift for you -- it should be in your personal quarters. If you're familiar with it -- it's called a Nomad Hunting Rifle?" The seneschal's apologetic grin turned into a bemused one.

"Hopefully that will suffice as payment for my rambling?"

Is Officer Aubrean the proper address to Tavi? I'm not sure if she's still a Second Lieutenant, or if she's Master of Gunnery, or what her title is. I'll edit it if Officer doesn't suffice. :smallredface:

[Retrokinesis]

That seems to elicit genuine surprise from Octavia. "That... must not have been cheap, Seneschal. You have my thanks". She bows politely, a habit ingrained from her upbringing."I'll take you at your word regarding the state of our finances. I'm a soldier, not a financier". She was giddy as a hive noble sampling some rare treat; the Nomad was one of - if not the - finest rifles manufactured in Imperium space. She'd only seen one once, in the hands of a Lord-General who treated war like a hunting expedition. He'd managed to bag a Tyranid with it too.

She turns back to the captain. "I'd agree with Lady Vivenne, Cap'm. Their equipment and tactics were no where near up to snuff for taking down a rogue trader and half his retinue. Further, they took the time to clear civilians out and didn't employ grenades or heavy weapons. Could've sprayed us with a heavy stubber instead of strolling up like idiots. I would guess they were sent to delay, rather than eliminate, us".

Still... "We might be able to get something out of him, though. If nothing else it would keep Grim occupied". She was rather fond of the ork in spite of herself. He was good at working with what he had and his open bloodlust was a good counter to her cold, precise hate.

[Lycan 01]

Captain Raphael crosses his arms and leans back a bit, frowning as he ponders over the women's words and the situation. "Hm. See what information we can get out of the bastard. Who he works for, why they didn't attack us directly, where they got their gear, so on and so forth. Feel free to use Grim to spook him, but do try to keep the fellow alive and in one piece. Physically, at least," he muses.

He then scowls. "Now, as for this Fel individual, I'd personally prefer to simply blast the bastard out of the void the first chance we get. Or tele-strike a boarding party aboard his bridge, no doubt with Grimlug exuberantly leading the charge. However, if you or another other members of the crew have any better ideas or suggestions, I'd be delighted to hear them..."

[cybric]

Malakai

"Captain I believe the tele-strike to be the recommended course of action in this case. If the ship can be taken with as little damage as possible not only are we strengthened but we would surely earn the blessing of the omnissaiah

In addition I believe that I should accompany the interrogator as my medicae knowledge and skill will help to ensure that any "passionate" questioning of the prisoner does not result in a fatal"