Between a Rock and a Vast Space -- RT IC

[ArcturusV]

Rumors of a new territory and a newly conquered world have been spreading throughout the area. Tales of bold martyrs and savage enemies, war and heroics, wonders beyond the ken of most Men, and more. It's hard to say what particular stories have brought you here, only that you are not alone, one of many in the vast movement of men and material through the Immaterium to the world of Richelieu's Rock, seeking fame, fortune, glory, secrets, or something else entirely.

Richelieu's Rock is a newly conquered world, added to the Imperium of Man by the holy and righteous might of his Inexhaustible Armies, declared "Pacified" for just 3 scant Terran Years now. The Crusade that liberated Richelieu's Rock is hardly over, the bulk of the armies moving on to new battlegrounds, new worlds to liberate, leaving only a token garrison of hardened Imperial Guardsmen who have earned their Right of Settlement behind.

A dry, arid world Richelieu's Rock, on first scan, seems to hold little of interest. A few natural springs and lakes in the high mountains, some snow capped peaks, frozen water at the poles. There's a surprisingly odd lack of metallic ores on the world, it seems to be a dirtball of little use, other than the fact that the warp route to get here is fairly stable and calm, and could be used as a gateway to new worlds and new territories.

Most of the native population, humans, live in small mountain villages high in the peeks where the climate is a bit cooler, water is more abundant. They seem to live simple agrarian lives, dirt villages that tend to small little farms and ranches in sheltered valleys and terraced mountain sides. Weird, considering that the stories say it took 31 years to pacify the planet.

But that's probably not what you're interested in, or maybe it is.

Richelieu's Rock is named after the former Lord Marshal Lukas Richelieu, the former leader of the Malacai Crusade that came to this Emperor Blighted Rock, and had spent 31 years hammering at the locals. After the victory here, he joined in with the 510th Soldevi Light Infantry Regiment in settling this world. Sparsely populated, there are only two major Imperial Settlements on this planet.

The first is "Port Victory", near the southern polar ice cap. It's a bitter, cold, hard place, the original staging place on this planet for the armies of the Imperium. It still has that simple, industrial feel to it. Rockrete barriers and bunkers, Mechanicus workshops, simple pre-fabbed Habs for barracks. The Fort is less of a Fort now, serving as a small space port and trading hub for the world. Most of the "Fort" is abandoned, with only a population of about 2,000 souls still living in Port Victory.

The second, and much larger settlement is built upon the lowlands of the Northern Hemisphere. Governor Lukas Richelieu has claimed the site of an ancient, ruined city upon the lowlands (One of many, no one knows why he picked that particular city over any other), and is slowly starting to build it up, naming it "Eagle's Bastion". For the moment it looks more like a Shanty Town than anything else, made of pre-fabbed Habs among the rubble, still showing marked signs of ancient ruins that are slowly being cleared and cataloged by the Cult Mechanicus and Ministorium. The hard men of the 510th live here, along with a newly arrived army of Administratum Adepts, Ecclessiarchy, and Cult Mechanicus, trying to get the city (And the world) up to and touching for Imperial Standards.

The one great landmark and feature (Such as you can call it) to the shanty town that is intended to be the capital of this world, is the foundations being poured for what Governor Richelieu has named "The Palace of the Righteous". Most of the population is working in some regard on it's building, or clearing the site for it. No one knows what it will end up looking like, as the plans keep changing almost every month. Some consider it a sign of the Governor's Madness, some consider it a beacon of the Governor's piety. All most can tell is at least from the foundation laid so far, it's set to be a palace that would rival the largest excesses of the Arch-Bishops and their domains. Where he is getting the wealth to foot the bill for it? Anyone who knows isn't saying.

And now, the Star Sapphire finds itself coming out of the Immaterium, in orbit over Richelieu's Rock. There's endless possibilities, the sector around you practically uncharted and untouched by Imperial Hands, as far as anyone knows. Money, glory, power, fame, it's all up for grabs here on the frontier.


Ships in Orbit around Richelieu's Rock:
1 x Jericho Class Pilgrim Vessel.
1 x Vagabond Class Merchant Trader. YR-8135, Charterist Captain: Magos Moren of the Adeptus Mechancius.
1 x Sword Class Frigate.


Now, bold Rogue Traders, it begins.

[Col.Straken]

Khyber was woken up by the re-materialization alarms blaring, he had fallen unconscious again, an empty tube lay just out of reach of his hands where he must have dropped it during his delirium. he rubbed his eyes, they always ached after he used so much glimmer, the dullness of the lights seemed to press in on him souring his mood. Rolling out of his bed he moved over to the basin within his quarters washing away the grime that had gathered on his face, he had no idea how long he had been out this time. He stared into the mirror and squinted at the gaunt and pale face the stared back, his eyes were ringed by black where it looked like he hadn't slept for a year, his black hair was a mess sticking up at awkward angles and poking into his eyes. Brushing it down as best he could with water from his hands he got changed and sat back down on the end of the bed. His hands had began to start shaking, such a short time he thought to himself, the shakes are getting worse. He steadied his hands as best as he could and pulled out a Lho-stick, lighting it up and taking a deep breath inhaling its sweet calming properties. "Frak that's better." he said to himself, and sat for a while, thinking that he should go see where they have ended up, but not really wanting to move from his new found peace.

[dupersudi]

As soon as the re-materialization alarms begin going off, Randal snaps awake. He quickly dons his Flak Armor and puts his uniform on over it. He smooths out the lumps and ensures he looks presentable before rushing to the bridge. Arriving there before the klaxons stop he begins ordering the bridge crew into shape, ensuring everyone is at there post and ready before sitting at the helm. As soon as they re-materialize he orders a auspex sweep of the system. He opens up a vox to Captain Passeridae's quarters. "My Lord, we have arrived and await your command. What are your orders?"

[Mekboy]

A combination of the changes in the current of the warp and the slight juddering feeling of the engine's preparations warned Piety of the jump to realspace a few seconds before it began. Sliding a bookmark into her flimsy paperback novel she muttered the Prayer of the Void to herself as the ship left the Warp and reentered reality. Any second now... The alarm outside her quarters screeched into life halfway through the thought. It was a wonder why they bothered near the astropaths' quarters - anyone there would need no warning. Levering herself from the chair with the aid of her staff, she dropped the novel on her desk with half a dozen similarly unfinished others and wandered out of the room, Brutus floating leisurably behind her. Time to head to the observation bay. She wanted to see how close they were to the planet the Captain would be spreading the Emperor's Light to.

[radmelon]

Explorator Vendigroth, monitoring the gellar field and enginatorium for signs of trouble, finishes the rituals for the translation back to realspace, making sure everything goes smoothly. When it is clear that the machines spirits and enginseers have the matters under their control, the tech-priest takes the elevators to the bridge, knowing that the captain would be giving the important officers a speech or declaration regarding their latest endeavors. Without fanfare, Vendigroth enters the bridge, his servo skull floating behind him. He quickly inspects the work of some of the bridge crew, who try not to cower under the gaze of his mounted hellgun. Satisfied that the ship is in good hands for now, he takes his place to the side of the room, and waits.

[Destro_Yersul]

Lord Captain Iocobus Albus Passeridae, "Jack" to his friends and the crew, "That bastard" to his enemies, sat in a chair in his quarters, his feet rested on the desk in front of him. His shoulder-length black hair hung down from underneath his tricorn hat, that hat itself perched at what the Captain no doubt had decided was the jauntiest of all possible angles. He was reading a history of the world they were about to arrive at, such as it was - 31 years of war made for a lot of tedious minutiae involving troop movements. He tossed it aside when the alarms went off, pushing the button on his personal vox to let the Bridge know he was on his way, and went to get his coat. A quick check to ensure that all his effects were in order confirmed that they were, and he ambled off at a leisurely pace towards the bridge. The crew would want a speech of some sort.

He gave them the usual, about being thankful to the Emperor for a safe passage through the warp. That one always went over reasonably well. Then, it was down to the actual business of what to do on the world.

"You there. Draft a communique to the captain of that merchant vessel. Ask him if he's heard of any opportunities to open up a tidy side business or the like. WHile you're at it, inform the Governor that I've arrived, and see if you can get us invited to dinner. Or lunch. What time is it, locally?" The captain checked his chrono, squinting at the antique timepiece suspiciously. It was probably calibrated all wrong for this world. He'd have to fix that.

"Once that's done, find the nearest set of large ruins that nobody's got their claws into yet, and scan it for anything that looks interesting. World's only been pacified for three years, apparently. Got to be something the footsloggers forgot to loot."

[Kaynebot]

When the re-materialization alarms went off, Nawkau was already up and about. Continuing his next piece of business, he moved to have a conversation with one of the ship's officers. Moving swiftly down the hall, shrouded in his cloak and sticking to the side, as much into the shadows as he could. Figuring after this he'd need to have a talk with the captain. New planets meant new opportunities and ships to infiltrate. Reaching the door, of Khyber's room, he gives a rough double tap on the door before entering and calling out in gothic, "Khyber". Then stand waiting arms folded, off to the side.


Um.....I added the liberty of moving through the door, because I figured it'd speed up the meeting. Now if you'd like the otherway, we could do that. Nawkau would just be standing on the other side of door from where he knocked.

[Col.Straken]

Khyber almost dropped his Lho-stick when he heard the knocks on the door, he was halfway through kicking used vials and injectors under his bunk when the Xeno walked in. "Frakking Parrot, ever heard of waiting." he was on edge now, his heart pounding and sweat rolling down his neck. Putting his Lho-stick back into his mouth he tried to smarten himself up and pretend that everything was fine in the world. "We should head up to the bridge, tell me what you were after on our way." he said around the stick clenched between his lips, without waiting he grabbed another pack and stuffed it into his pocket before slipping his Inferno Pistol from under his pillow and setting off down the maze of corridors.

[Kaynebot]

Nawkau walked beside him, slowing his own pace down to match the humans. His footsteps were virtually silent, something he had made into a habit a long time ago. Speaking quietly almost in a whisper, so that only his intended target could hear what he was going to say. "That drug use is going to kill you someday. Regardless, not why I contacted you. More interesting, is your position aboard this ship. Depending on what errands the Captain wishes, this world has a few secrets, that I wouldn't mind knowing."

[Col.Straken]

Khyber looked sideways as the Kroot, "What do you know, you eat dead people." he shrugged and waved the comment away, "Every world has it's secrets. That's why Captain has us, his eyes and ears." Throwing the stub of his now used us Lho-Stick he grabbed another and stuffed it into his mouth, lighting it before continuing. "What have you heard about this place? All I know is there is a Gov'nor and a small town. Could be able to make a few low level contacts in the town but it doesn't sound too promising."

[Kaynebot]

"I know that with any world you humans conquer that was previously inhabited, there are many secrets waiting to be discovered if they haven't been covered with tons of imperial structuring." Nawkau said what he needed, and planted the idea. Being done, he slips away at the next intersection in the maze, without a sound or goodbye. Heading for the bridge just in a different direction, he opens his stride up, walking faster and with purpose. Entering the bride, he skirts around the edges of busy human activity. Reaching the captain, he greets him, "Lord Captain, I see we have arrived. I am at your service."

[Col.Straken]

"What are you? The damned riddlebird? You talk less sense than a frakking El..." he stopped as he turn round realizing the Kroot had already disappeared. "Odd thing that Xeno is." he said to himself.

Continuing to the Bridge Khyber put out his Lho-Stick, and walked in. He nodded to a few of the crew as he walked past them, it was always good to have a few friends. He saw Nawkau already at the captains side and shook his head before following suit and heading up towards the Command Throne.

[ArcturusV]

As the Lord-Captain gave his orders, the bridge crew snapping to and looking like they were trying to be productive, slowly people started coming in, his senior officers/department heads, and a trickle of information as the responses he was looking for where added.

"Sir, local time set to Eagle's Bastion, current standard is 1022, in contact with the Governor's staffers now. Merchant vessel has the designation YR-8135, Charterist Captain is reported as Magos Moren of the Adeptus Mechancius. Augurs fully awake and scanning per your orders Lord Captain."




OOC Notes:
Feel free for someone to grab an NPC, or do it yourself personally, to set up just what exactly and how exactly you're setting up your meeting with the Governor or contacting the Charterist Vessel. Include Dice Rolls as needed for skills, presume the crew is at Normal Quality if you use an NPC crewman to do it.

Throwing the Augur scan dice, no worries, you'll find something, impossible not to given all the time in the world to do it more or less. Just a question of finding what and how long.

[roll0]

[Mekboy]

After a few minutes in the observation chamber, Piety grew restless. Yes, the view of the void and Richelieu's Rock was a spectacular one, but the looks from the various off-duty ratings milling around was distracting and the sudden transation to realspace had given her sensitive mind a headache. Limping out of the wide, domed room Piety decided to head to the bridge. After all, it was entirely possible the captain would need her aid. Best to be on hand just in case.

Trailing into the bridge with Brutus bobbing dutifully behind, Piety headed straight for the Captain, ignoring that the other officers filtering in seemed somewhat reluctant to come near her. Eventually she reached his side. "Captain. Have you need of my services?" she said, with a polite nod of greeting.

[Cogsrow]

-Draka grunts dragging the body of the hullghast towards the brig- Grr, ope we get sum Real foightin, deez little puny gits ain't nuttin ta me -he tromps and stomps towards the bridge to tell the captain he's handled the problem...he thinks...wasn't his fault he couln't fit in the vents to get to the nest....not but a few minutes later he kicks open the door- OI Boss I brought proof dis time of da gitz dat be eaten me gretchin.

[Destro_Yersul]

"1022? Lunch, then." Iocobus fiddled with his chrono, setting it to show local time. "Let me know what comes up on the augurs. I'll talk to the governor."

He started walking towards the comm station, then looked somewhat confused to see most of his senior staff still apparently waiting for orders.

"Yes. Right." Holding up both hands, he pointed at each of them in turn. "Piety. See if you can raise the chartist vessel. They're Mechanicus, it seems. Ask them why they're here. Talk to their astropath, maybe? I'm sure they'll be more forthcoming than the captain about that. Have the Explorator help you." This with a glance at Vendigroth.

Then there were the Xenos. Nawkau and the ork, whose name he couldn't pronounce. Jack had never bothered to learn the ork language, which seemed largely to consist of hitting things and shouting, but he couldn't say that the huge green Xenos wasn't effective. "Mutants. Lovely. Did you manage to destroy the nest? We're just deciding what to do on this planet, I was thinking that you and Nawkau might handle the ruins. Stealth and strength, couldn't think of a better combination for the job. And you never know, there might be something down there that needs, ah, 'krumpin,' as you so succinctly put it."

Those orders issued, the Captain spun on his heel and continued towards communications. "Khyber, you'll be with me today. Might have need of your memory. Now then!" He pushed the button to talk to the governor's staffers. "Good morning, my name is Lord Captain Passeridae. I understand you work for Governor Richelieu? I'd hoped the decorated war hero might have time in his busy schedule to arrange for a meeting with myself and a few of my senior staff. Lunch? Maybe? I do hope there's a good cook somewhere inside that very impressive palace he's building."

Rolling Charm to talk to the staffers: [roll0]

EDIT: I think I pass.

[Col.Straken]

"Captain, I was coming to ask to scout Port Victory. I am sure you can handle the Governor, and I was hoping to secure some... Lower level contacts among the people." his hands had begun to shake but he simple clenched them together behind his back in a military fashion.

[Cogsrow]

-Draka'daka snorts and a big glob of...something flies out onto the floor- Not sure if'n I found da nest, de gitz just stopped comin after a while tough. as fer goin to som ruins, will dere be foightin? ain't interested if der ain't foightin

[dupersudi]

The Helmsman take control of the bridge, ordering the comm crews to contact the ship the Lord Captain indicated, the governors palace, and the local air command posts to identify the ship as friendly. Randal then steers the ship towards the planet, putting it in a stable orbit while personally activating the scan devices to thoroughly scan for large artificial structures that predate the current Imperial settlement effort. "My lord your orders are being completed, are there any more?"


So fairly certain that no pilot test is required to stick the ship in orbit.
But rolls for augur use are needed.
[roll0] 47 TN 32 perception plus the 15 from the ship. Not sure if any other modifiers apply.

[radmelon]

Vendigroth nods in response to the captain's order. "I shall contact the magos. Perhaps our interests shall prove to coincide." With the curt response, the explorator jacks into a com array and opens communications with the AdMech ship.

"Rogue Trader vessle Star Sapphire to Adeptus Mechanicus vessle YR-8135 with cooperative intent.

[ArcturusV]

With the Governor's Staffer

The response that the Lord-Captain seemed to get was a weathered old man over the Vox. There was a weariness to his voice that made him sound far, far too old to be a staffer of an enthusiastic, and driven officer like the retired Lord Marshal, Governor of the planet. But still it was the right frequency, or at least so the Vox Tech confirmed and it seemed to be someone who the signal had been passed off to as the Lord-Captain's underlings looked for an appropriate contact.

"My my, aren't you a silver tongued man," the voice seemed mildly amused at this, even giving a soft chuckle that carried over. "Lord Captain you say.... you must be that new ship in-system, right?" there was a sound of him clicking through the interface on a nearby... something. Data-slate perhaps? "Well the governor's time is quite busy and precious. So much to do, getting this world up to specs, the grand works of the Emperor and all. I don't know if I can fit you in..." His voice seemed to trail off, leaving an obvious prompt for the Lord Captain to interject.

Vessel YR-8315

There was a delay before someone responded to Explorator Vendigroth, and even when that happened there was something strange about it. The voice on the other end was not the well modulated binary static hiss of the Mechanicus, but instead someone who spoke broken Low Gothic, understandable but hardly Mechanicus Trained Schooling with its rigid formality and excellence expected of its students.

"Oi. This here is the Yuri... YR-8315," the voice seemed a bit rough, male, maybe middle aged. "Ain't no Mecha here. Cap is, sure as sailin' tha stars. But we all just fellas here. What's yer name boy? Ya gots somethin' ya lookin' ta buy? Or sellin' off?"

Randal's Auguring of Augury

It didn't take you too long to find what looked like a suitable location in the southern hemisphere. It seemed to have suffered minimal-ish damage. It was still a ruin, but didn't show the signs of heavy blasting that some in the north had, or the rebuilding that occurred in the wake of the Imperial war machine using some of the cities as they were on Eagle's Bastion. The scanners can't pick up much, no biologicals that you can detect, it seems uninhabited, but there is one thing. Large deposits of metallic objects.

This is unusual in so far as metal seems rare on this world. Outside of Eagle's Bastion and Port Victory there isn't much. Even the ruined cities themselves seem mostly constructed of rockrete, armaplas, and synthetic materials as opposed to tooled and refined ores. The local villages are devoid of metals as you can pick it up. But this city is the first you scanned that had signs of an abundance source of metal on your augur array. You can't make out more than that due to the finicky nature of the Machine Spirits and their dislike of dealing with large masses of stone, earth, rubble, etc.

Meaning, in the short term, if you really want to know, someone has to go down there for a more personal scan.

[dupersudi]

Noting the location and readout of the ruins located, Randal moves to inform the Lord Captain. "My Lord, the Augurs have picked up a fairly intact ruin. No major blast damage, no signs of Imperial settlement or excavation, and unusually high amounts of metal in the area for this planet. I would recommend sending in a recon team in close to scan more thoroughly."

[radmelon]

Fortunately, tech-priests have great poker faces. "Apologies. Information was faulty, was told that ship was commanded by a Magos. However, irrelevant. Purpose of contact is possible interest in trade."

[Destro_Yersul]

"Aye, the Star Sapphire." Iocobus considered the implications of the voice. An old man. He'd never met the Governor himself, it was possible that he had this fellow on staff to put one over on people. It was something that Jack himself might have done - in his experience older people were the absolute champions of obfustication. "I'll admit, this is not merely a social call. I had hoped to discuss some matters of business with the governor. If you can manage a couple hours for me to speak with him, I'm sure we could arrive at an arrangement profitable for both of us."

While he waited for a response, Jack muted his own side of the conversation so the staffer wouldn't hear him. "Consider that recon team authorised, Randal. You can be in charge of that one, if you like. Keep me appraised of their progress, hm? First sign of trouble, I want Drak to go in and smash whatever the trouble is caused by. Unless it's valuable. In that case I merely want it subdued. Savvy?"

Then, Khyber. "Well, you're welcome to try and make some new friends on the planet, though I'm not sure how much of an underground they'll have just yet. I want you along for the meeting with the governor, though. Shouldn't take long."

[Mekboy]

"Will do so, Captain." Piety stepped to one side, eyeing the ork warily. Despite its holy service to humanity (or, to be more precise, Captain Iacobus), long years of religious upbringing still made her decidedly distrustful of the xenos. Still, if it could see the light of the Emperor (personified again by Captain Iacobus), then there was some hope.

Dragging her mind away from that matter, Piety focused on the task at hand. Explorator Vendigroth seemed to be contacting them via the comms array. It would be best to leave him to his work. Muttering a few exerpts from the Hymns of Saint Drusus under her breath, she opened her mind to the Warp, allowed her powers to resonate with the handful of xenos-artifacts housed within Brutus before releasing a fraction of that power to transfer the message towards the Chartist vessel.

The message read "The Star Sapphire sends its greetings. I am Choir-Mistress Piety Keel, servant of Lord Captain Iacobus Albus Passeridae, inquiring of your purpose in this area, and as to the possibility of our mutual cooperation."

Target = 71 (Base WP) + 20 (Distance) + 10 (effective psy rating) = 101.

Failure on a 100.
[roll0]

[Col.Straken]

Khyber gives a half hearted salute, "I was counting on there being a minimal unground. I was hoping to find the kingpins before they get buried under their underlings cover. Perhaps even start our own. But, as you wish Captain, I shall make myself presentable."

It was at that point when he was about to leave that he overheard the message to and from the merchant vessel. "Something's wrong, the Cogs don't use normal humans, they prefer Serv's." he looks around at the rest of the bridge staff, "Anyone know any other names for that ship? Any records where it has docked or announced itself as another Ident. Something starting with Yuri from the sounds of it."

Looking back to Vendigroth "You might have stumbled onto some pirates... Or I'm paranoid." he smiles at that last part, a crooked nervous smile.

[dupersudi]

"Yes my Lord, I will prepare a shuttle and away party immediately." He quickly voxes a replacement helmsman and gives the helm over before beginning arrangements. He orders an Aquila Lander prepared for launch, as well as a Tech-Priest and squad of Armsmen. He then switches to the command crew's frequency on his micro-bead. "I am forming an away party to investigate ruins on the surface. Is anyone interested?" As soon as Randal reaches the hangar he orders the Tech-Priest and Armsmen aboard and begins a quick examination of the craft and starts his pre flight checks.

[Cogsrow]

-The Ork was already at the lander fixing his fancy hat- Der better be some foightin umie cause I ez getten bored of foighten dem stupid gets in da lower holds -he snorts and stomps his foot, shaking the floor-

[Kaynebot]

Nawkau nods to the Lord, his mind moving on to the ruins. Then back to Khyber when he speaks up. Deciding upon a course of action he slips by Khyber whispering as he passes, "Should you need help, just call." Nawkau heads for the hangar. Reaching it slightly behind the voidmaster. Walking up to him, "I'll be accompaniment. Once in the ruins, I'll runa few paces ahead"

[ArcturusV]

Vox Tag with "The Yuri":

The voice on the other end of Vendigroth's comms said "Yeah, sure it's a Magos. What that gotta do with anythin'?" But it seemed that the Explorator didn't seem to care either, moving along. There was a bit of a sigh, "Nothin' much. Long haul, cargo. Tradin' with the Boss down there or somethin'. Parts and such. Not much to talk about but it keeps the Machine Spirits charged ya know? Been running this route all since the war. Probably can get some skimmed off for a price, you got somethin' worth carryin'?"

With the Governor's Staffer:

"A few hours?" the voice sounded a little surprised at that. There was a loud squeak that sounded like the man was leaning back in his chair. "You must have some pretty big, important plans then right? I can just imagine if you're planning on taking up that much of a very valuable man's time." He let out a low whistle as if imagining some vast grand Treaty or Accords.

"Well I suppose for someone of such Importance that I can probably arrange something. It'll be tough, such short notice after all. Lots of important business in taming a new world as I'm sure you can understand. He can't dedicate his time to everyone that comes hat in hand with grand visions..."

Astropath to Astropathic Choir:

Piety was able to make fairly clear communications through the immaterium to the ship that was at least fairly close in warp/astronomic scales. The response she got was not from a single Astropath, but the clamoring of many voices speaking with a single purpose, lesser Psykers than herself working together for the same effect.

"Greetings Mistress, greetings mistress, greetings mistress..." the voices echoed at her through the warp, "Purpose? Purpose? We serve. We send messages. Quiet voices. Yours is so loud. Not like the ones below."

Their voices seemed oddly unfocused.

[Destro_Yersul]

"Of course, I wouldn't expect him to. It's just that not everyone with grand visions has grand resources to back them up." With a smile on his face that the staffer couldn't see, the Lord Captain sat back in his chair. "I look forward to meeting him."

[Col.Straken]

Khyber looked around, clearly everyone was ignoring him, or they has no information on the "Yuri". He rolled his eyes and grabbed the Vox, "Yuri, you say you been running the route since the fightin' ended. What you been running? Meds and the like, big money in the little stuff on a new world eh?" he started to get a little giddy, if these guys were legit, it could be that the Magos was a Biologis. "Dependin' on what's you got, I'm sure we could work somethin' out in return." he started to take on the mans accent, nothing perfect, but it always helped if you pretended to have something in common.

[Mekboy]

Leaning heavily on her staff Piety considered the response. Something felt a touch off. A congregation of lower powered psykers was a little unusual. During her time serving the Mechanicus, there had been several more powerful psykers to direct the voices. And this group seemed to be acting rather obtusely. "And what is your masters' purpose here? And whose are the voices below?" It was perfectly likely that they were referring to the dirtside Astropaths that most colonies had to call for aid. Still, it was important to check. If something was wrong here, the Captain would need to know.

[roll0]

[ArcturusV]

Vox Tag with "The Yuri":

For their part, the crew didn't seem to have any more detailed information on the vessel in question. You were new to the area after all.

"Ah ya know, a little bit o' this, little bit o' that," the voice replied to Khyber, "Those ground pounders down there are all about the basics. But someone gotta give the stuff that makes life worth livin', ya know?" There was a chuckle on the other end, "Same sorta things ya probably miss, all cooped up on yer little ship there, ya know? Probably been a while since ya seen the shore and gotta taste of everythin' life has ta offer."

With the Governor's Staff:

"Well then, I'll pencil you in, if you want to meet at the Palace in say.... 3 hours?" the man seemed to be punching something in, sounding a bit distracted as if he was reading something rather than focusing on the call. He kept the channel open for a moment, waiting to see if the Lord Captain would add anything else.

Astropath to Astropathic Choir:

The voices answered in that same strange echo of many voices working together, coming in a little fainter this time.

"Below... upon the void stones... so many voices, calling out into the dark. They call, they call and we answer... but they call again and again." There was a hint of sadness at this fact or at least it felt like that in the voices.

[Mekboy]

Piety nodded thoughtfully. Void stones? Perhaps some manner of xenos-artefact? No doubt the captain would be interested in them. Even foul xenotech could be pressed into the service of the Holy Imperium. Her own familiar was testament to that.

"What are the void stones you speak of? How do they call to you?"

[radmelon]

Explorator Vendigroth tenses at being knocked away from the vox systems, but aside from a jerk from his hellgun MIU, he seems otherwise unphased. Judging that the seneschal's got the matter under control, the explorator returns to the side of the room and makes his way over to Randal Gumbrai. "I shall be accompanying you on this expedition. Should anything of import be found I am hesitant to leave it to a lesser priest."

This took far too long to put up, sorry.

[dupersudi]

Randal looks at the motley bunch who'll be joining him. "Alright, get your carcasses on the lander then." He finalizes his flight checks and launches into the void.


Alright, like I said I would like if grunts would join us, as many as I can squeeze in around my compatriots
Also some flyer rolls, take off, flying down, and landing, including re-rolls from the Void Master Special Ability just in case, so rolling them in pairs
[roll0] TN 89. 63 Ag +10 Flyer +15 Maneuverability
[roll1] TN 89. 63 Ag +10 Flyer +15 Maneuverability

[roll2] TN 89. 63 Ag +10 Flyer +15 Maneuverability
[roll3] TN 89. 63 Ag +10 Flyer +15 Maneuverability

[roll4] TN 89. 63 Ag +10 Flyer +15 Maneuverability
[roll5] TN 89. 63 Ag +10 Flyer +15 Maneuverability

[Cogsrow]

-the massive ork heaves himself into the lander and stands there leaning against a wall, looking at all the ummies, heh they'd be a good snack if he got hungry down there- Roight, s what we'z doin down on dat dere planet?

[Col.Straken]

Khybe smiled, these were the sort of people he could deal with. "Well lads, I'm sure we can find somethin' to trade. But I got to go see the boss on the ground, how long are you planning to stay in system. I wouldn't mind shippin' over with some of my goods."

[Destro_Yersul]

"3 hours, aye. I'll be groundside by then."

Admittedly, it would be cutting it a little close. Iocobus would have to get to the shuttles as soon as he could.

[ArcturusV]

Vox Tag with "The Yuri":

"Aye lad... we's gots a bit to unload... oh... four er five local cycles? Maybe bit less, bit faster. Never know with those types down there. Sometimes the dirt boys work fast, sometimes ya wonder why they ain't all servitors. Don'tcha know?"

A Rogue, a Governor, and His Staffer:

With that the transmission was cut, the business considered more or less concluded until the good Captain Iocabus could get dirtside along with whatever functionary/cohort/body that he felt like dragging along to it.

Astropath to Astropathic Choir:

The "voice" seemed to waiver a bit as the warp roiled in its unpredictable manner, losing that connection between your will and theirs. When it came back the voices were more disjointed and more unorganized. It seemed like 5 people all talking at once, about roughly the same thing, but with just slightly different words and intents that made the thing sound like more of a jumble than anything recognizable as a message.

However one concept came through that mess fairly simple. That the "voices" she had asked about were not something that these Astropaths liked dealing with. Sensations of Fear, Disgust, Hatred, and more were common among the transmission. No one liked it, but how and why seemed as varied as the many souls of man among the Immaterium.

Down to the Planet:

The trip down to the world was uneventful for Randal and his passengers. Those who had eyes on the Auspexes or any viewports could see the world itself was hardly what one would consider a "Jewel" in the Imperial Crown. A harsh, blighted world that was frankly looking too hot and too dry for human habitation in most places. Up in the mountains snow did cover the highest peaks the sole obvious sign of water and source of life on the planet. The large ruins along the lowlands might have made the more curious of you wonder just what this planet must have been like long ago to warrant such a build up of these massive cities and their ruins, and if it might have once been a lush world.

Randal manages to find a nice, clear spot near the outskirts of the city to land in. Open ground which would make it easier to take off/land, less likely to be ambushed right as you get off the lander. The ruins were to your west, half a mile out across hard packed sand and dirt. A large mountain chain going North to South was to the east of the landing site, the first foothills of it 2 miles from your position. It was a hot day out, the sun was pounding down, and the small breeze coming across was a warm sirocco that promised to provide more misery than relief as you tromped through the heat.

[Col.Straken]

"True 'nough, looks like I gotta go with Captain dirtside myself. Might see some of your lads 'round, either way will bring some goods for a swaps' when we get back in the black." Khyber said before cutting the link. He had a feeling that the Yuri could be quite a lucrative opportunity, they either have supplies that a settlement would need. Perhaps he was too quick to judge them pirates, but even if they are, no reason that should turn the deal sour.

[Destro_Yersul]

"Should have brought a groundcar," The Captain remarks, once they've set foot on the planet. "I don't think they've sent anyone to meet us. Bit lax of them, don't you think?"

If they had to walk to the palace, or whatever it was, it would waste a good chunk of time.