Rogue Trader: The Kincaid Saga [IC] [Archive] - Giant in the Playground Forums

LeSwordfish

2014-06-29, 04:51 AM

The Kincaid Saga

"Gold, that I should become Judas?"
"Peace is made in such ways."
"Slaves are made in such ways."
-William Wallace

"The Emperor tells me he can get me out of this mess, but he's pretty sure you're ****ed."

Chapter One: Two Inevitabilities // 001/846.M41

The celebrations for the end of the year had run long into the night last night, and this morning cleaning servitors were tracking the streets of Calder with wide brooms buzzing, clearing the litter and detritus of the year before into tall piles at the corners of the boulevards. The piles were then ignited, and the servitors chanted catechisms of protection from decay over them in tuneless voices as they burned. The cold blue lights of the morning threw long shadows through the morning frost, but when the black ships swept over, between Lomond and the star, the firelight was alone to paint the streets orange.

At the holding facility in the icy north, the transfer of the unsanctioned psykers- only a dozen or so this year, minor wyrdlings to a man- was underway, but the black ships had brought a pair of other passengers to Lomond, and now they were pacing down the boulevard, accompanied by their ceremonial bodyguard. Cardinal Illyrio, one of the higher religious authorities in the expanse, was borne on a litter carried by clanking gold-faced servitors, surrounded by robed men with long stave-flamers. Tithemaster Gideon Orichae Balthasar Baruch, First Paymaster, Koronus Lord Tax Primaris, instead had a bodyguard of thirty red-armoured stormtroopers, marching in neat step behind the tithemaster's long strides. His long cloak swept the last bits of debris from the streets, and his thin face was pinched with distaste.

The boulevard ended where the steps up to the castle began, and here the Donnedach dynasty had chosen to greet their guests. In a ragged group, they waited.

The tithesmaster stopped in front of them, his entourage snapping to attention. Tall, thin, black-robed, he surveyed the group with a curled lip.

"Lord Murtagh." he said. "I expect the past year has been kind to you? For a man whose tithe payments are so sparse, you seem to have celebrated well."

OOC
One IC question that I left up to you guys to resolve is what Evarvae is doing. Technically, out here in the expanse, there's no law against having an eldar openly in your retinue, but you know both Baruch and Illyrio well enough to know that they both strongly disapprove. What you don't know is, do they already know you're consorting with aliens? She can join the retinue now if she wishes, hang around in the background, or be off doing something else.

Same goes for anyone actually- if you'd rather be somewhere else than with the tithesmaster, just say. It would be the height of rudeness for Gavin and Trenth not to both attend though.

dupersudi

2014-06-29, 06:49 PM

Resplendent in masterfully crafted Carapace armor, albeit without a helmet, and with the hide of a vicious xeno predator draped across his shoulders, the tall figure of Gavin Murtagh strides forwards to meet his guests. Addressing the talkative Tithemaster first he makes a small bow.

"Tithemaster Baruch, how wonderful of you to come all this way! And aboard the Black Ships no less! The year has been quite well, adjusting to the power and responsibilities of a warrant has been more difficult than I imagined, why I do not believe I have left my holdings since my mother's disappearance." Gavin pauses momentarily before continuing. "The last I checked the tithes for the last year were sent to the Administratum in full. I must confess I leave such matters to my Seneschal, Professor Trenth." Gavin gestures to the Professor. "In any case, I, and my forebears have found it most profitable to keep the populace happy. And the commoners do enjoy festivals. We spare little expense during such events, and the commoners have always appreciated that. We can discuss such things more soon however."

Gavin then turns towards the Cardinal and makes the sign of the Aquila. "Cardinal, it is not often my realm receives a visit from such an illustrious member of the Ecclesiarchy. To what do I owe this Emperor granted pleasure?"

Okay so Smarmy Charm rolls coming up, I'll roll twice, once for each. Don't know if Baruch is Nobility or an Academic, I have those peers. But it definitely seems like my bonus to high authority figures will factor in.
[roll0] Threshold of 99? 69 base, +20 charm +10 High Authority bonus +any other modifiers I missed
[roll1] Threshold of 99? 69 base, +20 charm +10 High Authority bonus +any other modifiers I missed

Also the Tithe thing I have no idea about. So now It's Donan's problem. Look at me exercising my authority. #1 rule, make someone else do it :smallbiggrin:

Rhazbis

2014-06-30, 02:00 AM

Xenrex stood apart from the Captain, never comfortable in such formal occasions and feeling withdrawal from his lack of direct interface with his servitors and systems. Draped in a fine navy silk robe with a golden trimming, his face plating shinning and his augemetics hidden away from sight to avoid the discomfort of guests, he looked as close to the part of noble honour guard as his nature would allow. The only thing out of place was the hunched humanoid shape to his side, his personal servitor completely concealed underneath a black robe that flowed over the thing and across the floor around it. Occasionally it mewled and shifted awkwardly, to which Xenrex would gently caress it, uttering coded litanies to soothe it.

Such ceremonies as this unfortunately called for his token appearance, even though his direct intervention was unlikely to be called for. His augar and sensor systems soaked in the surroundings, data pouring through his sensory feeds, recording and processing the inputs for later analysis if required, occasionally tapping into the local vox and security feeds to add further layers of analysis to the outputs. Even as he processed this data, his logic implants continued to the compute the streams of real time data from from The Wallace's systems as they fed into his vox, never one to let such trivialities as this interfere with the duties at hand.

Not that I'm looking for anything specific other than to take in the surroundings at this stage:
Awareness [roll0]

Given that its unlikely I'll be called to interact much, can it be taken that I'll be simply be observing in Awareness mode, soaking in the vox traffic and surroundings unless I say otherwise? Cybernetic eyes plus Augar systems as well.

Donan

2014-06-30, 02:18 AM

The Professor nodded keenly, offering a wide smile. "I stand by our payments, my Lord. The reason for the distance between them is one based in taxation and funding. In essence, if we made the payments at more regular intervals, we would meet them, but not exceed them overall. By leaving more space, I can assure you that we will not just meet our quota, we will exceed it."

Manticorkscrew

2014-06-30, 11:54 AM

Evarvae was at the castle as well, but she was staying out of sight, out of the way and out of range. She knew that the Imperial authorities would not tolerate her presence there if she was anything more than a rumour. She still remembered a conversation with her former ally and uncertain friend, Jericus Karpelson, decades before...

'You can't judge me. Just the fact that you exist makes you a thousand times more sinful than me.'

But he was dead now. Decades dead.

'Don't worry about it, princess. It's not your fault that you were born.'

'And yet, in the eyes of those who follow the Imperial Creed, being a xenos is one of the worse crimes I could possibly commit.'

'Yeah. I'm glad you understand.'

She had never followed the Path of the Dreamer. She did not know her true self as they did. She could not vividly dream, walk through memories, as they did. But she remembered well enough.

She just hoped that Baruch and Illyrio would come and go without incident. Well, what else could she do?

DrK

2014-06-30, 12:55 PM

Connor stood to attention behind Lord Murtagh. He felt uncomfortable in the dress uniform, a gaudy bright green colour replete with the medals and the campaign medals that marked his time in the Alba 88th. The sleeves marked with his eventual rank of veteran Sgt. and his jump wings. His normally heavy bushy mat of hair pulled down in a ponytail but his scarred and tattooed face still betraying his near feral origins amongst the toxic swamps of the Kincaid Cluster.

At least he had the heavy power blade by his side and his pistol on the other hip. It wasn't that he didn't trust the Tithemaster and the Cardinal, more that his long years in the regiment had left with a wary and harsh view of the adminstratum. One of the many reasons he was happy to be working for the young Lord. The other being the Tau Pulse carbine that he held carefully in his hands.

As he stood behind the Lord he eyeballed the red uniformed storm troopers accompanying the Tithemaster seeking to catch a glimpse of the regimental markings or an inkling if they were ceremonial pretty boys from the noble families of some rotting Hive World or actual combat veterans.

Awareness [roll0] TN 57
C.Lore (War or Tactica Imperialis) [roll1] TN 34

LeSwordfish

2014-06-30, 01:40 PM

Illyrio leaned forward on his litter with interest. "Rumors abound, Lord Murtach. The light of the emperor grows dim this far from terra. Travellers tell tales of negligence, of a lack of respect for his name and his creed. I intend to investigate these tales. To walk amongst your people and see this sin for myself." He was eyeing the pulse carbine as he said "Sin".

OOC
Illyrio has a point. There's very little active heresy out here, but very few citizens pay more than lip service to the emperor, even by the standards of the expanse. In fact, the Kincaid cluster has earned a reputation in certain circles as the place to go for free-thinkers of the sort that, if not chaotic, could be considered heretical.

As for your own personal affairs, the line is fairly vague but you should be on the safe side of it. If Illyrio were to deem you heretical, though

"Paid in full, and on time?" Baruch arched an eyebrow. "Lord Murtach, there has been some clear miscommunication. The administratum has recieved less than two-thirds of your yearly appointed tithe. An occurence we eagerly await you correcting."

One of the Administratum guards in the front row sniggered behind his mask, and Connor turned to glower at him. The stormtroopers were dressed in the coal-black of a ceremonial retinue, rather than the sensible matte of a true combat force, but Connor was well aware that the Administratum drew bodyguards and soldiers from the Militarum Tempestus, and he doubted they'd be anything but strong combat threats. As they watched, a small crowd had gathered- a child ran up to tug on an ecclesiarchy bodyguard's robe, and the man sent him away with a slap to the cheek.

dupersudi

2014-06-30, 02:44 PM

Responding to the Cardinal first. "Will you require any aid in your investigation Cardinal? Of course you will house yourself in my castle, we lack a basilica of the stature you are used to, the Ecclesiarchy does not have as much presence out here as I would like. And whatever you have need for I will arrange. I do my best to educate my colonists on the glories of the God-Emperor even though we are so far from Holy Terra. Even if some of them take pleasure in bringing the Emperor's enemies to their knees with their own weaponry." He looks pointedly at Connor.

Gavin shows a look of surprise. "Well we certainly were not aware that the tithes have fallen short. We must discuss this at much greater lengths to see how we have failed the Imperium."

Gavin makes a large invitational gesture towards the castle. "Please my lords, join me inside, it would not do for you or your entourage to catch cold."

As his guests pass him and enter the castle, he surreptitiously activates his Micro-Bead and mutters orders. "Prepare the main hall, I want it heated and food and drink available. Make sure some religious iconography is up." He then switches over to Connor's private channel. "Damnit Nekhar, why did you bring the Xeno weapon to a meeting with officials? Can I have a minimum of heresy going on while they are here? Also, the Administratum guard who sniggered. He doesn't make it off the planet. Make it look like an accident. If you need assistance keep it in the command crew."

Gavin then pulls the Professor aside. "Professor, ensure those two don't have anyone else who left the ships in a more clandestine fashion and make sure access to Astropathic communication is restricted. My authority only."

He then falls into step behind his guests, re activating his micro bead and sending a short message to Xenrex. "Monitor their communications."

DrK

2014-06-30, 04:00 PM

Connor inclines his head in a silent apology to his Lord, still clutching the carbine. At mention of the guard he replies with a curt As you say my Lord. A dangerous glint in his eye.

Where are the troopers staying?
Was the cad a senior trooper.

Falling in behind the guards he beads the house guards. Double the guard in the main hall. Strengthen the guard on the spaceport and keep a weapon subtly trained on their lander.

Load the guns on the Wallace but don't power them up.

What type of ship is present in orbit

LeSwordfish

2014-06-30, 04:41 PM

"Very well." Baruch gave a small shiver, the first sign of humanity they'd seen since his arrival. "Let us retire to a more salubrious location."

As the column of guards began to move up, and a chorus of "Aye"'s sounded in his microbead, Connor kept his eyes on the guard who had laughed. Only the bottom half of the stormtrooper's faces were visible, but this one looked a little younger than most, his chin neatly shaven, one cheek split by a raw pink scar.

OOC
Accommodation for the troopers has been provided in the east wing- It's common for visitors to bring a retinue, so Baruch and Illyrio's very fancy rooms are close to some rather more sparse servants quarters.

The Wallace is in direct orbit over Calder, with a single Cobra accompanying it. A Sword is overseeing the psyker transfer at the north pole, a second is waiting in low orbit near the uninhabited south.

Rhazbis

2014-06-30, 05:40 PM

As the procession marched forward, Xenrex & his ward slinked away, his orders received and thankful to have been relieved. Retreating to the castle's main security centre, he shooed away the attending staff, his cloaked servitor in tow providing the added incentive for the security personnel to scatter. Settling in before the main console, his coiled black mechadendrites extended from the back of his robes and plugged into the various ports and sockets. He immediately began interfacing with the various master security systems that feed into the planetary databases, codifiers and infastructure. His Sigma level access codes, (not to mention backdoors and bypasses he had been building into the systems in case of emergency), allowed him almost instant access to the entire world's systems.

Raw data poured through him. Ship traffic reports, trade manifests, weather patterns, troop movements, the ideal chatter of lonely salesman to his partner.... As he focused his mind into the security nets, the data became clearer, patterns & linkages began to appear. All over the vox, he could sense the PDF deploying to secure the spaceport. A heavy handed move, one that would no doubt be detected by the Black Ship and anyone who had a basic understanding of security protocols.

Now fully immersed he began data mining all past communications since all the non-ships arrived in system, factoring in any margins of error and potential warp disturbances. Adjusting and recalibrating the Castle's augar systems, he began for unusual ciphers, code words, unauthorised transmissions, starting from within the Castle itself and working outwards, homing in on any ship to surface vox signals. His logic systems scored the information, allowing priortisation of anything flagged red, whilst filing away any irregularities for later analysis. Whilst he was patched into the vox systems for current transmissions, the communications logs were processed for anything that gave a hint to the guest's arrival and purpose.

As he worked, he slaved some of his processors to establishing an uplink with the Wallace and triggered the basic start up routines for the Castle's security servitors and systems. Something about unexpected meetings made Xenrex uneasy. A more thorough security sweep might be in order....

As initial outputs began to form, in a cracked hissing voice over the vox, "Lord, I am in position. I have begun the Communications sweep. I suggest I assist the Professor on the security detail."

Just in case anything is out there:
Tech Use: [roll0]
Security:[roll1]

EDIT: A 100 followed by a 1, I guess I get these out of the way quick!)

Donan

2014-07-01, 12:50 AM

"Professor, if you please, my Lord." The man bowed elegantly, untroubled by the implications of falling short on the payment, though he did give the sniggering guard a curious look before returning attention to his master. "I'll have to consult our scribes on that, if that's the case. This is not the most stable part of the Imperium, after all, and any number of fates might have befallen shipments."

He nodded at the Captain's quiet commands. "But could you excuse me? I need to oversee the servants and their duties." With another bow he withdrew, contacting the Astropathic chamber once out of sight to give the orders for restriction. If anyone approached, they were to be politely stalled and the Professor sent for.

He also bought in some of his 'little birds', men and women who faded into the crew around the procession and kept out of sight, but watched for any int he entourage who might try slipping away.

DrK

2014-07-01, 03:07 PM

Connor happy followed the party to the main hall making sure to keep close to Lord Murtagh. Not happy with the collection of imperials so close to the planet. He does however watch the troopers carefully. Eyes fixed on the young one with the scar that had been so insulting. Every move that he made was followed by the slightly mad stare from the bodyguard...

Just trying to stare down that guard [roll0] TN 74

Manticorkscrew

2014-07-02, 05:19 PM

Evarvae was in the private bedroom that was set aside for her alone, trying on a selection of 'human' disguises. Padded and weighted clothes she could wear to restrict her movements, make her heavier, more ungainly and less graceful. Ways she could style her hair to hide her ears and make her face seem... asymmetrical. Yes, asymmetrical. That was probably the correct word for it. Humans all were asymmetrical. Powder and paint for the same reason: to mask her face rather than enhance it.

When she was done, she stared at herself in the mirror and glumly knew that it wasn't enough. How was it that humans always knew? They could always see when one among them was not quite right.

She could not go out. She could not be seen. The representatives of the Imperial authorities, this Baruch and Illyrio and their minions, could not be allowed to see her. If they did, the consequences could be disastrous, for the eldar and the Donnchadh dynasty both. Every mistake she made, every bad decision... It all reflected back on her kin. More deaths. More desperate last stands. Dwindling and dying for so long... She wanted to feed the dying embers, fan them into flames, not blow them out completely!

She was painfully aware of the fact that if the Imperium decided to crush the eldar finally and utterly, they could do it. Choke every craftworld with billions of men. Drown the eldar in blood and bury them under the bodies of those they'd been forced to kill. And that was if the Imperial forces didn't even bother to fight! If it came to a fight, the eldar would die even more quickly and painfully! They'd be exterminated, brutally crushed, like so many other "xenos" races before them. So very, very many dead in the Corpse-Emperor's name...

It was at times like this when she wondered if any of her efforts made any difference. Or was she like a human child standing by the sea and trying to hold back the tide with only a bucket and spade and a handful of sand? Was it worth it?

Why do I do this to myself? Why have I lowered myself to serve a human, to do his bidding like his faithful hound? Ohh... Sometimes I am rewarded for my work: when I am a good dog, they sometimes throw me a bone. Gazing at her own reflection in the mirror, she stared sadly into her own eyes for a few moments. Then she began wiping off her makeup, letting her hair down and undressing. And then she'd begin the whole process again. Again.

It still wouldn't be enough.

OOC note:
Here I'm rolling a Disguise check. Evarvae's Fellowship is 33 +10 from Skill Mastery bonus +20 from disguise kit -30 from the Alien Appearance trait.

Dice roll: [roll0] vs 33

Donan

2014-07-03, 12:31 AM

"Hmph." The Professor leaned back after having gone through his thoughts and records in his private study. Nothing on the Cardinal whatsoever, and contacting the Ecclesshiary wouldn't serve him well at ll. He simply lacked what he needed to draw information out of them.

As for Bartuch.. He muttered tom himself, drumming the polished oak of his desk. "No one's that clean. Even I take some amasec from time to time, when maybe I shouldn't.."

Perhaps it was time to step up the game some. He reached for his micro bead, setting it to a set channel as he contacted the most unusual member of the crew in her own language and cast it in formal language to show respect. He needed her help, after all, and her kind were typically as proud as it was possible to be.

"Lady Ranger Uldanthyr, of the Path of the Seer. This humble one requests some of your time, if you have it to give. You have assurances it's for important reasons."

Manticorkscrew

2014-07-03, 03:11 PM

Eventually, Evarvae hit upon a disguise she was somewhat satisfied with. She felt reasonably confident that, in this guise, most humans would think she was human, so long as they didn't look at her too closely. It should allow her to blend in with a crowd, at least. As long as no one paid attention to her, she would be safe.

She was about to sneak off to the kitchens to rustle up something to eat, but then the micro-bead in her ear started buzzing.

He reached for his micro bead, setting it to a set channel as he contacted the most unusual member of the crew in her own language and cast it in formal language to show respect. He needed her help, after all, and her kind were typically as proud as it was possible to be.

"Lady Ranger Uldanthyr, of the Path of the Seer. This humble one requests some of your time, if you have it to give. You have assurances it's for important reasons."

Evarvae winced. She didn't like to be reminded of the fact that she had walked the Path of the Seer for a while. A reminder of failure, of soaring ambitions that had came to nothing. She had been forced from her ideals, forced to wander alone...

Also, her surname reminded her of her father. She'd inherited it from him, after all. Her feelings towards him were confused, ambivalent, somewhat resentful... She didn't like to be reminded of him.

Of course, Professor Trenth could not know that, simply by greeting her in what he no doubt thought was a polite and formal manner, he had invoked memories of guilt, pain and bitterness; emotions that Evarvae was always trying to keep buried under the surface, though she didn't always succeed. He wasn't to know.

It took her a moment to reply. 'Professor Trenth. As always, I am at your service,' she said with calculated irony. 'What is it you want of me?'

LeSwordfish

2014-07-03, 03:26 PM

The stormtrooper seemed unpeturbed by Connor's stare. Connor felt that it hadn't been his best anyway.

Xerex's communications sweep was frustratingly fruitless. The Ecclesiarcy troops seemed not to be using their voxes, as technophobic as they tended to be, and the Administratum stormtroopers seemed to be maintaining strict vox discipline, minor chatter regarding ship location, the psyker transfer, and disposition on-planet all he could discern.

OOC
Is there anything else from anyone else before I move the scene inside? That'll probably be a big IC update plus a lot of OOC figuring, so i'm saving it for the weekend.

Donan

2014-07-03, 03:29 PM

Manticorkscrew

2014-07-03, 03:42 PM

He nodded, though she couldn't see him, a light smile forming as he checked his data slates. "My little birds keep busy, milady, but none of them can compare to yourself. I've found a distressingly small amount of information on our current guests and I hoped I might prevail upon you to assist me in that area.

The First Paymaster is a highly talented man within our Administratium, but no man can operate as an island. He will no doubt be in possession of information, information that may concern us directly.

I hoped to discuss the best way to glean that information, without making him aware of our unfortunately shady activities."

'I am willing to discuss it, certainly. Do you have an idea of where the First Paymaster is keeping this information? How do you suggest I might help you obtain it?'

Evarvae frowned thoughtfully. 'By now, you know my skills,' she said simply. 'And some of my weaknesses. For example, human technology is not one of my areas of expertise. Thus, the extent to which I can assist you will depend on how the First Paymaster is guarding his secret information.'

Donan

2014-07-03, 03:49 PM

Manticorkscrew

2014-07-03, 04:14 PM

"You speak truly, yes. For now, knowing you are offering your support to this endeavor is all I can ask for. I've many expected reasons to speak to the man, so I'll engage him in conversation when it seems natural and glean what I can.

He is very intelligent however, hm.. how to explain? Ah! A pane of glass's natural state is to be slightly grimy, and I've found most are this way. But with effort, a pane of glass can be made to shine and demonstrate perfection, though its perfection is n oddity and has the ring of something false.

To me, the Paymaster is like that pane of glass."

'As you say,' said Evarvae in a non-committal tone. She didn't bother to examine the Professor's "pane of glass" metaphor in detail, to poke and prod at it as was her natural inclination. She knew most metaphors didn't stand up to close scrutiny. 'Contact me when you have "gleaned" what you can from him. I will wait.'

Some might wonder why she was willing to follow orders given to her by a human. The answer was simple, really: did she want to maintain her alliance with Gavin Murtagh and the Donnchadh rogue trader dynasty or not? For now, she did.

LeSwordfish

2014-07-06, 12:48 PM

The master of the halls, Burns, had done an excellent job on the decorations in the time it had taken for them to walk up to the palace. Before he entered the main hall, Gavin had been expecting some incredible show of glory and force, with saints hanging from every rafter, and the windows replaced with gaudy stained-glass, but instead a trio of aquila banners had been hung from the hall's end wall, and a statue of Saint Drusus stood next to the statue of Gavin's great-to-the-power-twelve-grandfather, on a pedestal that you would have to inspect quite hard to see that it had been placed there in the last few minutes. A rosary had been placed casually by Gavin's place at the head table, as if he had been absent-mindedly toying with it while he heard petitioners. A fire burned in each of the grates, and from the kitchen the smell of roasting grox was drifting.

Baruch's men began spreading out immediately, checking windows and doors, and sweeping with scanner wands. The scarred-chin one who had laughed followed one of the scanners, muttering to him in a low voice. Illyrio's soldiers seemed far more casual- once the servitors had set the litter down, they seemed content to spread out around the room and collapse heavily into other people's chairs. Accompanied by two of them, Illyrio began to pace the room, fingering the hangings and muttering to himself. He seemed grudgingly satisfied.

Baruch took in the room with his habitual distaste. "Lord Murtach, Professor Trenth, perhaps we should retire to a more private location for financial discussion?"

Gavin's Office
Up in Gavin's office, Baruch took the offered seat, and clicked his fingers. Two of his bodyguards had accompanied them to the room, now one stepped forward and passed him a data-slate and a sheaf of papers.

"As you can see, Professor, the tithing contract states that you deliver six shipments yearly to the domain of Calligos Winterscale, who carries them onwards to the greater imperium. Our agents on Winterscale's worlds report that the deliveries they have recieved have been quite considerably reduced compared to what they were expecting. I believe Captain... Diamond? Captain Diamond was in charge of those deliveries."

He paused to cough, and indicated the papers in front of him- signed dockets for tens of thousands of tons of minerals and mining equipment.

"Can you prove that the amounts you gave to the Captain were what was demanded by your duty to the emperor? What papers can you produce to evidence this? What information on the captain can you provide us?"

OOC
Captain Elizabeth Diamond is one of the most trusted people in your wider service. She's not in your regular retinue like Trenth and such are, but she's as close outside it as anyone is. However, she's got a distinctly shady past, most of the details of which she refuses to share, and while you've long suspected her of skimming a little off the top, this is a massive undertaking that, while it may or may not be morally beyond her, is quite possibly logistically beyond her. Normally she pilots her own vessel, the "Halo's Jewel", a Defiant-Class Light Cruiser, backed up by one or other of the cluster's raiders.

DrK

2014-07-06, 04:13 PM

Connor follows his lord and the other heading to the chambers, a slight pause upon entering at seeing all of the Imperial Regalia now suddenly present. He walks into the room and follows the scarred guard. Can we help you trooper. Are you looking for anything in particular?

When the officials go to move into the back office Connor watches until it becomes apparent that the envoy is taking two guards at which point Connor falls in behind Lord Murtagh and watches the two enemy guards carefully as well as the envoy.

Rhazbis

2014-07-07, 02:56 AM

Xenrex let out an involuntary hiss of frustration through his speaker systems. Accessing the military communications network had been child's play with regards to his skills, yet they had proved to be of little worth. No cyphers, code words, or even vox use. Organics were such simple, uncomplicated, beings.

Opening his secure vox link to Gavin, "My Lord, the communications sweep revealed nothing except the usual inane chatter of guardsman, however now I have full access to their local communications network. If necessary, we will be able to override them. I'll continue to monitor remotely and await your further instructions. Xenrex out."

As the Arch Militant and self appointed Chief of Security, he would have to deal the savage Nekhar. Little more than the brute application of force, he had little time for such a creature, yet protocol occasionally demanded it. Switching vox links,

"Nekhar: I have the Honour Guard's communications. I'm uploading the data directly to your security teams and will give them direct access to my feeds. Do not squander this intelligence. I am also sending my servo-Skull direct to your location. If you plan to do anything....rash, I advise you inform me in advance."

Switching frequencies once more, he issued a line of binary code to his Servitor Skull:

"//:Unit code 711189. #Activation: BX19NM-9:

>#Orders: (Move to Sector H8, designation the Lord's Hall)

>#Operation: (Reconnaissance & observation)
(Standby for further instructions)

[END]"

The skull would act as his direct link to the developing situation. Though he so despised the petty politics of lesser beings, he would not trust such events purely to his organic counter parts.

In the meantime, he began to developing programme kill codes that would shut down and isolate the Honour guards communications network, with the added surprise of a blistering feedback loop that would deliver static to the ears of anyone unfortunate enough to be plugged into the system directly at the time. No doubt it would prove a minor distraction and cause little more than a few broken ear drums, such a move could prove decisive in creating an opening to exploit.

All the whilst, the communications chatter continued to pour through his processors.....

dupersudi

2014-07-09, 04:25 PM

Glancing at the documents on the table Gavin doesn't even attempt to read them thoroughly. His focus is instead on this representative.

"Let us be clear Tithemaster, I pay my dues to the Imperium, and I am certain that there exists more than enough documentation to back it up. This issue you bring to me does not stem from my end. I intend investigate this matter thoroughly. The first step will be rendezvousing with Captain Diamond and seeing if she can shed any light on the matter. She is currently on assignment guarding against pirate raiders, if you wish to join me by all means do so, but I don't intend to pay the same tithe again until I discover who is responsible, and whether or not I can retrieve the lost goods."

Gavin pauses for a moment activates his micro-bead and orders Amasec be brought in. Turning back towards Baruch he continues.

"I fully intend to work with you to locate the missing tithe, and I hope you are willing to work with me. Tell me Tithemaster what exactly is your role in this investigation? Are you simply looking for the full tithe to be paid? Or do you wish to find out what happened?"

So Charm rolls, either to improve his disposition, or convince him to wait for the investigation
[roll0] Target of 89

LeSwordfish

2014-07-15, 02:59 PM

Timesplit
"Regular security scans." The trooper looked Connor up and down, and turned away. "Shouldn't take long."

Gavin's Office
"While a certain part of my role could be considered... troubleshooting, fundamentally my role here is to ensure payment. The emperor cares not why you are found lacking." He said it like a quote. "The administratum cares only so much as to ensure it does not happen again."

The door bumped open, and Xenrex's servo-skull hovered in, taking up a position in the corner. Gavin had never figured out how it operated the doorknobs.

Baruch steepled his fingers neatly. "Unfortunately, Lord Murdoch, the tithes must be paid. The Imperium shall have it's due, whether or not you can keep your..." -he looked as if he was discarding the word "rabble" - "...associates in check. A thirty-first grade tithesmaster would not accept "I lost it" from a hab guilder, and I shall not accept it from you. These are your taxes, and the payment of them is your responsibility. This is the law of the imperium."

A thin smile tugged the corners of his lips. "Consider it an incentive to have this Captain Diamond suitably chastised."

Xenrex
As Xenrex worked on his surprise, the chatter continued.

"Team two, sweeping the tithemaster's room."

"Team three, checking the kitchens, interviewing the staff.

"Team four, just broke a chair."

Another voice cut in. "Chatter down, team four. And hide it in a wardrobe or something."

OOC: Through your servo-skull, you can also see the "Gavin's Office" spoiler.

dupersudi

2014-07-18, 11:49 AM

Gavin lets out a long sight. "Very well, I will of course pay my tithe to the Imperium. Will the Administratum provide transportation for the tithe, or will I need to arrange it? And I trust you will keep me informed if the Administratum discovers what happened to the initial tithe, I would be most interested in its whereabouts of those responsible. I will of course investigate myself, but the Administratum's resources reach much further."

Rhazbis

2014-07-22, 01:43 AM

Xenrex prioritised the new transmissions coming through. This was a little more intriguing than watching his Lord being officially chastised. His thoughts glided through the system, activating new subroutines and interfacing with the Castle's state of the art the security systems. Infra red, wave scanners, listening devices, sweepers, all the data poured through him as he narrowed the search criteria to the transmission area. He fully intended to conduct a full spectral analysis before alerting Conner to what potentially could be a stash of skin mags.

Assuming another tech roll, same gazillion modifiers: Tech Use (Int69)[roll0]

LeSwordfish

2014-07-24, 02:03 PM

Gavin's office
"Of course you'll be kept abreast of any discoveries." Baruch said, a note of dismissiveness in his voice. "As for transport... that's your responsibility. Perhaps sending more frequent shipments via the usual routes. Should you require ...assistance, you can request it."

"Assistance" was a phrase Gavin had come to dread over the past year. If the imperium thought you couldn't control your desmenes, it would take control of them for you, and the finest way to get an imperial audit team poking around was to ask for assistance with paying your tithes. You didn't "ask" for things from the imperium.