Sea of Stars - IC II

[PotatoGolem]

"Praetorians! Focus fire on the big ugly and the flamer!" Almagor shouts, drawing a bead on the big ork. A volley of hellgun fire follows, lasblasts punching holes in the beasts' armor. He nods to Macharius. "We'll cover your advance, my Lord Captain. For the Emperor and Absalom!"

Flannery chuckles as he fires, hitting the flamer-ork squarely in the face. "Not like we could stop you charging in, young master. Still, we'd rather you come charging back out in one piece after." The old warrior winks at the captain.

Inside his helmet, Macharius smiles. I'll do my best. His voice booms through the speakers over the crackle of lasfire. Foul xenos! The hour of your judgment is at hand! Feel the retribution of the righteous! With a roar, his jump pack launches him into the air, pouncing down on the giant ork with a tremendous blow from his thunder hammer.

[Leon]

++Well that is a bonus, I'd very much like to take one of those alive++

[rax]

"Any that you manage to wrestle into submission are yours to keep. Deal, memsa'ab otometan?" Hannabel chuckles between shots at the squig horde.

[Blarghy]

Quick as a spot opened up, the Rings hurried to claim it before Kennoch got any ideas. Sadly, their haste seemed to affect their aim, even while firing into the mob of howling xenos. Kennoch wasn't in a position to see either way; he'd turned his attention to Ravia for the moment.

"It will be it will a pleasure pleasure to watch you to watch in battle battle, Honored Magos Magos," he said honestly.

[Leon]

++There is little watch, I am not a adept of war++
++Merely a often unwilling participant in conflict that finds me++
++Although i think i should see about investing in shock weaponry if i am to make a habit of trying to obtain unruly xenos in combat++

[Destro_Yersul]

Drives - Echo, Hannabel, Ravia

The group poured fire into the horde of squigs, the bouncing creatures only getting angrier for every one of them that fell. There were too many to count, but the concentrated fire of the shotguns and Hannabel's pistol began to tell, thinning the numbers enough for them to make out what was happening in the background as the gretchin leapt back, sqeualing with laughter and jabbing at the squig they had been working on with sharp prods. It was the same as any of the other squigs, a ball of flesh and teeth visually indistinguishable from any other by anyone who wasn't an ork... except this one had crude explosives strapped to most of its body. It turned and charged at the barricades, bounding along as fuses tied to the various grenades and bombs started burning down.

Guns - Macharius, Anika

"GET DA SHOINY GIT!" The nob shouted at the other orks, leaning into Macharius' charge. The Rogue Trader's swing was excellent, and connected with the ork's body midsection. It was a blow that would have felled a normal man twice over, but the xenos took it standing and roared back in Macharius' face, while the praetorians opened fire. The giant powerclaw was a serious threat, even in power armour, and Macharius had to swat away the nob's first blow with his power sword. The ork's movements seemed slow, though, and he guessed that it had taken more injury from the hammer blow than it had first appeared.

He didn't have much time to think about it. An electric click and high-pitched laughter came from the ork carrying the crude flamethrower, the only warning they got before it ignited its weapon. Fire erupted down the hall, washing over the preatorians and Anika behind them, scorching heat that clung to their armour and seared any exposed skin. The seneschal's clothing caught fire, as did the armour and uniform of Almagor in front of her. Behind the wave of fire the rest of the orks charged in waving their axes. Macharius' rosarius went off with a brilliant flash, turning the blade of the ork attacking him and foiling a devastating blow at the last second. The praetorians staggered against the ferocity of the orks' assault...

[rax]

Hannabel's hands are a blur as she holsters her bolt pistol and brings the xenos pulse carbine up for a shot. The red-dot laser sight lands squarely on the approaching suicide bomber squig and with a gentle squeeze of the trigger a tiny plasma packet accelerates at the monster. At the very last moment, it all goes awry - the erratic squig zigs out of the path of Hannabel's shot, resulting in a grazing blow rather than utter destruction...

Free Action: Holster bolt pistol w/Quick Draw
Free Action: Ready pulse carbine w/Quick Draw
Full Action: Called Shot at bomb squig [roll0] vs. 60 (BS 60, red-dot laser sight +10, Short Range +10, Called Shot -20)
Pre-emptive FP re-roll [roll1]
Damage (Energy, Pen 4): [roll2]

Pre-emptive Amulet of Warding if needed [roll3] vs. 45 (Overload on 01-05)
Pre-emptive Dodge if needed [roll4] vs. 63 (Ag 53, Dodge +10)

Wounds (remaining/total): 12/12
Fortune Points (remaining/total): 2/3

[PotatoGolem]

"Flannery, Barak! Drop back and fire! The rest of you, focus on defense!" Almagor shouts orders as he drops to the ground, trying to smother the flame. The two wounded marines retreat, redying their weapons, while the remaining Praetorians fight defensively.

Macharius duels the giant ork, his hammer finding no purchase against the brute. Almagor, do try not to burn to death, old chap. I'm a bit busy right now. He turns back to the beast, his power sword striking a lucky blow against the claw arm. Have at you then, brutes! It appears they don't quite understand what you're saying. Perhaps they're frightened of facing me, eh?


Wounds 11/11
Fate 2/3 (he starts at 4/3 because of his shirt)

Forgot that he has Wall of Steel, so he can make a second Parry. The first one missed (rolled in OOC) but the second is hopefully better: [roll0]

EDIT: It is not.

[Haval]

Having already shot at the Ork in question Anika is waiting for the sound of the flamer going off but is unprepared for the sheer amount of fire. She'll attempt to use the taller Almagor as cover but most of the fire simply washes over him to surround her. She has the presence of mind to drop to the ground but she can already feel her greatcoat, clothes and hair starting to burn.

[Destro_Yersul]

Drives - Echo, Hannabel, Ravia

Hannabel's shot only grazed the bouncing squig, but even a glancing hit was enough to cook off the many grenades strapped to its body. The squig detonated in a hull-shaking explosion, rattling the deck plates beneath their feet and shaking the barricade. Pipes along the walls burst, venting steam into the corridor, and several of the marines were knocked off their feet by the force. It was a devastating explosion, but Hannabel had hit it in time - it shredded the squig hordes, and for a moment the pressure against the barrier relaxed, as the dazed xenos attempted to get their bearings. Many had been killed by their own sides' weapon, and the Rings were able to finish the rest with a round of concentrated shotgun fire.

There were still the gretchin and the ork to content with, though. The gretchin started squealing as the much larger figure of the ork, carrying an oddly-shaped forked stick, rounded the corner behind the squigs.

"WOT!? IT'S STILL UP? YOU ZOGGIN GITZ DIDN'T FINK TO USE ENUFF STIKKBOMBZ, DAT IT?" It jabbed a finger at the gretchin, who pointed at the barricade and made a lot of what sounded like hasty excuses involving someone shooting the squig before it got close enough.

"DAT SO? GET IN DERE AN' FIX IT, DEN! ZOGGIN GROTZ, I SWEAR TO MORK..."

Guns - Macharius, Anika

Macharius fought the Nob back and forth - the ork stumbled back, narrowly avoiding a strike from his hammer, and then took a swipe with its power klaw. The bladed talons of the klaw opened wide, snapping shut towards Macharius... but the rosarius saved him, the Emperor's protection coming through once again. The amulet flashed, its protective field sending the ork staggering back, and giving Macharius an opening for his sword. The blade sliced neatly across the ork's bicep, only the Xenos' toughness saving it from losing the arm.

"ORKZ.. AIN'T EVER 'FRAID... STUPID.." it coughed. "STUPID 'UMIE."

Another of the orks, responding to Macharius' taunting, turned away from the praetorians and came to join its boss. Neither of those two could find a way to get through the Rogue Traders' defences, though, his blessed armour turning their crude weapons. The last one was still fighting the praetorians, Murphy doing everything he could to avoid the sweeping strokes of its axe. Almagor was still on fire, the finish on his armour blistering, but ANika had managed to put herself out. Looking around, she spotted the ork with the burna making a retreat down the hall, away from the group. Off to cause more mischief, no doubt.

[PotatoGolem]

Really? Could have fooled me there, old chap. Macharius laughs as he springs back, looking at all the orks surrounding him. Three of you supposedly-fearsome orks fighting me, and I'm completely unharmed. Of course, it helps if you actually hit your target. Have any of you actually fought before? Perhaps you're just youths fighting your first battle. That would explain your incompetence. And your size. Aren't orks normally supposed to be, well, big? Although a thought comes to mind. So far, you've been soft, weedy, and apparently terrified of a real battle. Are you these "grots" I've heard about, chaps? He smiles in his helmet, seeing the orks driven into a frenzy as he waits for an opening. Unfortunately, my dear little fellow, this first battle may be your last. For the Emperor and Absalom! Lightning-fast, he seizes the opportunity to bring his sword down in a terrible blow.

Now then, Almagor, do get up and stop this burning nonsense, hoho! If you're cold, just say something and we'll get thicker undershirts for the Praetorians, no need to be so dramatic. Flannery, Barak, could you see off that troublemaker with the flamer?

O'Connor rushes over and helps Almagor put out the fire. The commander smiles ruefully as he stands up. "Sorry about that, Lord-Captain. I suppose we can mop up the rest of these rabble before I get the armor repaired. Damned brute damaged the scrollwork."

Barak fires a quick shot, bolt not seeming to have much effect on the beast's tough hide. Flannery, on the other hand, sights true. He breathes out as his finger pulls the trigger, eyes fixed on the fleeing figure in the gloom. The hellgun cracks, lasbolt cutting through the air. And the flame tank regulator. As the flame obliterates the ork, he turns back to Barak with a grin. "Now then, young man, aim before you shoot! Proper aiming is crucial. Don't know what they're teaching you youngsters these days."

Barak laughs. "Didn't you train me? Maybe your mind is going, old timer."

[Haval]

Anika will carefully use her bolter as a crutch to get to her feet. Over the vox to any of the crew who might be listening, 'Give ...me ..a status...report. Are...there...more of them?' Talking was suddenly painful.

[rax]

"Hellooo, big guy!" Hannabel mutters to herself with a smirking grin. With a squeeze of the trigger, she sends a burst of plasma down the hallway at the Ork.

Full Action: Full Auto Burst w/pulse carbine [roll0] vs. 90 or 100 (BS 60, Full Auto +20, Motion Predictor +10, Short Range +10 if target less than 30m away)
Damage (Energy, Pen 4, all hits assigned to Ork): [roll1], [roll2], [roll3]

Pre-emptive Amulet of Warding if needed [roll4] vs. 45 (Overload on 01-05)
Pre-emptive Dodge if needed [roll5] vs. 63 (Ag 53, Dodge +10)

Wounds (remaining/total): 12/12
Fortune Points (remaining/total): 2/3

[Blarghy]

With sighs of relief despite their partial deafness from the explosion, the Rings at the barricade sat aside their empty shotguns and drew their laspistols. These small arms likely wouldn't get through an ork's tough skin, but maybe they could take out the gretchin, then provide support to Hannabel--in the unlikely event that she even needed it.

Switching to laspistols and all firing at the gretchin. Not sure how far away it is; if it escaped the blast, then presumably it's further back.

Lorl (50 + range): [roll0] [roll1]
Zelle (50 + range): [roll2] [roll3]
Kip (50 + range): [roll4] [roll5]
Kimmet (50 + range): [roll6] [roll7]

[Destro_Yersul]

Drives - Echo, Hannabel, Ravia

While the ork was berating the gretchin, Hannabel took the opportunity to fire a burst from her carbine at it. The impact of the shots staggered the ork, and it spun, roaring in pain, and charged full speed at the barricades. Siezing the edge of the sturdy shields it heaved, muscles straining, tiny red eyes bugging out from the effort. Very few humans would have had the strength to do much to shift the barrier, but the ork's huge muscles began to tell. The metal strained and creaked, slowly beginning to bend out of the path. The grots ran up behind to support their boss, firing away with their blasters. One of them hit Hannabel, though it was only a glancing shot and failed to pierce her armour, while another plinked a shot off the barrier near Zelle. In return, the Rings downed one of the grots with their laspistols, and saw another running off screeching in pain and terror.

Guns - Macharius, Anika

"I'LL DO YOU FER DAT! I'll*-" They never found out what the Nob would do, Macharius lopping its leg neatly off and letting the giant body crash to the deck, dead. The other two orks fighting him tried to press the attack, ferociously angry, but it seemed their hearts weren't really in it, fear starting to penetrate their minds with the death of the largest ork present. The one fighting Murphy did little better. Almagor finally managed to extinguish himself, while the other praetorians killed the ork carrying the burna and prepared to face the remaining xenos.

Anika, meanwhile, managed to raise Commodore Gilead on the vox. "Good to hear from you, Doctor. Captain's alright, then?" He cleared his throat. "We've got them on the run, I'd say. Most of the invaders are dead or retreating, and the hulk has stopped launching waves of craft. I suspect they may have exhausted their supply. I've got a contingent of marines approaching your position, if you can hold out a little longer they'll be there to relive you shortly."

[Leon]

Startled by the sudden actins of the orkiod and distracted by acquisition of the squig, Ravia snaps up pauses before letting off a shot at the ork at the barricade

++Urk++

[rax]

Taking a step back from the barricade, Hannabel coolly aims her carbine at the hulking Ork and fires another burst at point blank range.

Full Action: Full Auto Burst w/pulse carbine [roll0] vs. 120 (BS 60, Full Auto +20, Motion Predictor +10, PB Range +30)
Damage (Energy, Pen 4, all hits assigned to Ork): [roll1], [roll2], [roll3]

Pre-emptive Amulet of Warding if needed [roll4] vs. 45 (Overload on 01-05)
Pre-emptive Dodge if needed [roll5] vs. 63 (Ag 53, Dodge +10)

Wounds (remaining/total): 12/12
Fortune Points (remaining/total): 2/3

[PotatoGolem]

Down to me and you, lads? Doesn't seem like your heart's really in this one. Perhaps orks aren't so fearless after all? Perhaps, in the end, you'd rather not die horribly and would prefer to run back to your ships. That other one was much bigger than you, after all, and he didn't stand a chance. What makes you think you'll do any better? Macharius taunts the orks as he fences, swinging his thunder hammer at the hulking brutes.

Behind him, Murphy continued to dodge and weave, evading his dance partner's blows. The other Praetorians took aim at the beast, loosing a volley of lasfire. Do stop toying with the poor thing and put it out of its misery, Almagor. It's quite overmatched.


Half Action for Combat Flair: [roll0] vs 102
Half Action for the smackdown: [roll1] vs 66, damage [roll2] and [roll3], pen 10. RF [roll4][roll5]

Praetorians aim and shoot. Aim bonus cancels out firing into melee penalty. Almagor has +10 from Macharius

A: [roll6] vs 70, damage [roll7] pen 7, RF [roll8]
F: [roll9] vs 60, damage [roll10] pen 7, RF [roll11]
B: [roll12] vs 60, damage [roll13] pen 7
O: [roll14] vs 60, damage [roll15] pen 7

[Haval]

Anika, meanwhile, managed to raise Commodore Gilead on the vox. "Good to hear from you, Doctor. Captain's alright, then?" He cleared his throat. "We've got them on the run, I'd say. Most of the invaders are dead or retreating, and the hulk has stopped launching waves of craft. I suspect they may have exhausted their supply. I've got a contingent of marines approaching your position, if you can hold out a little longer they'll be there to relive you shortly."

'Oh I'd say Macharius is having fun. Please let me know if anything important happens.'

[Blarghy]

The ork's new tactic left the Rings understandably concerned. They hesitated, wondering if they should preemptively switch to their swords, but with the barricade holding for now, they took aim again at the gretchin. With a little luck, maybe they could finish off all but their biggest enemy, then simply wear him down with numbers.

Same as last round; shooting at the remaining gretchin. This time the Rings can afford a half-action to Aim.

Lorl (60 + range): [roll0] [roll1]
Zelle (60 + range): [roll2] [roll3]
Kip (60 + range): [roll4] [roll5]
Kimmet (60 + range): [roll6] [roll7]

[Destro_Yersul]

Drives - Echo, Hannabel, Ravia

Hannabel fired another burst into the ork, sending it staggering back. It roared in pain and anger, tearing the barrier from the wall and hurling it aside. The twisted metal crashed into the wall of the corridor, and the hulking beast stepped forwards, grunting from exertion. It was badly injured, though, its massive chest heaving with every breath. Ravia lifted her boltgun and fired a shot at center mass - this close, and with a target that big, it was hard to miss. The mass-reactive round blew the ork apart, showering the corridor in xenos blood. Hannabel and the Rings were all drenched in gore, as the last of the gretchin fled down the hall in pursuit of its wounded compatriot.

Guns - Macharius, Anika

The praetorians snapped off a volley at the ork battling Murphy. Almagor's gun failed to fire, its mechanism likely fouled by the fire the squad leader had only just managed to put out. The others were all on target, but the xenos' legendary toughness served it well. It barely flinched from the shots, laying into Murphy with a punishing series of blows from its choppa. Battered and bleeding, Macharius' bodyguard nevertheless managed to keep his feet, though how much longer he'd be able to hold was now seriously in question.

For Macharius, the issue was less serious. The Rogue Trader expertly parried every blow aimed his way, and the orks he was fighting started to waver, glancing nervously at the fallen nob in between swings. Macharius' hammer sent one of them reeling back, badly wounded but not out yet.

From down the hall behind them, Anika could hear the distant ringing of booted feet. Commodore Gilead's marines were close.

[Blarghy]

Suddenly thankful for the enclosed helmets of their voidsuits, the Rings wiped away handfuls of minced entrails to clear their vision. They seemed impressed with the command staff; this situation could've unfolded very differently even in the final moments, with the barricade destroyed.

Kennoch--having yet to fire a shot, not a drop of xeno-blood on him--watched the fleeing gretchin calmly. The creature might not be as burly as its leaders, but he still preferred to not let it loose aboard the Sting. "Run it down run down," he ordered the Rings. "Try to take try it alive alive, if possible if. For interrogation for--or the Magos Magos Magos." Most likely, one and then the other.

Lorl laughed, holstered her laspistol, and pulled her shock net loose with the other hand. The four gore-splattered assassins took off after their prey; Lorl and Zelle with their nets, and Kip and Kimmet drawing their falchions, in case they ran into more serious trouble along the hunt. Isund stayed to guard his master.

Posting from work, and I can't remember how shock nets or stun grenades work, but, that's what they're going with here. Assuming they can get in range, I guess; hopefully gretchin aren't too fast. Here are some attack rolls; let me know if you need more.

Lorl (shock net, 50): [roll0]
Zelle (shock net, 50): [roll1]
Kip (stun grenade, 50): [roll2]
Kimmet (stun grenade, 50): [roll3]

[rax]

"Hah! All praise to Him on Earth, we are victorious! And you did well too, my little friend," Hannabel exclaims, patting her pulse carbine contentedly.

Seemingly noticing the gore covering her for the first time, she giggles and stretches out her arm to watch the blood dripping from her hand. "Well, would you look at that, Magos! They really do have green blood!"

"And how are you feeling, almalah alsag'hir? First time facing xenos up close?" Hannabel inquires of Kennoch.

[Haval]

Somewhat disapprovingly Anika registers that there are Orks still alive here. She will blearily line up a shot to try and put a bolt shell in it's back.


Half Action - Aim
Half Action - Target the Ork fighting Murphy

vs. BS 36 (+10 Short Range) (+10 Aim) (-20 firing into melee)
[roll0]
FP to reroll if she misses (Meant to roll here but it wasn't needed)

Any damage 1d10+5 pen 4 tearing
[roll1] or [roll2]

Any RF
[roll3]
[roll4]

[Leon]

++And as much as i stated my desire to have intact ork i am the one that left it needing a bucket...++

[Blarghy]

"Not so close so as some some," he pointed out, lightly amused. "But yes yes. That was was...an experience an. Shall we we rejoin the others rejoin others? Though I am sure I am they have already have proven successful too too too."

[rax]

"We shall rejoin them when we know the drives are secure, almalah alsag'hir. The drives are the heart of the Sting and if even one greenskin is still lurking about, they could cause more trouble than we can afford," Hannabel replies, suddenly very serious.

"All security squads in sectors D-6, D-10, and K-25, this is Hannabel Shanx speaking. We've cleared the Orks in sector G-10. How are you faring? Are your locations secure?"

[PotatoGolem]

Macharius laughs again as he brings the sword around for another blow. Well now, you'll have to do a bit better than that, chaps! It does look like you're having second thoughts. Considering running, perhaps? Realizing you're not as tough as you thought? It appears that, all posturing aside, orks just aren't as good as humans, are they? You're weaker, slower, and, as they say, less killy.

Almagor, just stab the damned thing. They don't appear to enjoy being stabbed. But do attempt to avoind being stabbed yourself

Almagor salutes and draws his power sword as he runs towards the ork. "Preparing to stab the damn thing, sir! Murphy, fall back! The rest of you, fire support!"

Macharius: half action to keep the taunt train rolling, half action to stab with the sword, Exceptional Leader on Almagor's likely Parry roll.
[roll0] vs 102.
[roll1] vs 71, damage [roll2], pen 5. Preemptive reroll from Blademaster: [roll3] vs 71, damage [roll4], pen 5. Some RF: [roll5]


Defensive Rolls: Parries [roll6] vs 71, [roll7] vs 71
Rosarius: [roll8] vs 45, overload 1-5. [roll9] vs 45, overload 1-5.

Praetorians

Almagor: Half action Ready the sword, half action Move to the ork. Parry roll: [roll10] vs 70
Murphy: Full action Withdraw back to the firing line.

All others Aim and fire.

Flannery: [roll11] vs 70, [roll12], RF [roll13]
Barak: [roll14] vs 70, [roll15]
O'Connor: [roll16] vs 70, [roll17]

[Destro_Yersul]

Drives - Echo, Hannabel, Ravia

The Rings took off after the fleeing gretchin, hurling stun grenades as they went. The bright flash of the grenades sent the smaller ork creatures reeling, only to be hit with nets and set upon by the Rings themselves moments later. Kimmet looked to Kennoch for advice on waht to do with them once they were subdued.

Hannabel recieved a series of affirmatives from the various marine squads. They were going room by room now, rooting out any remaining gretchin with minimal resistance. It seemed as though one of the shuttles that hit had been full of the smaller greenskins, and several pockets of squigs had been located as well. There were few larger orks here, but most of what there were had been chased down and killed by overwhelming numbers.

Guns - Macharius, Anika

The ork fighting Murphy waved its choppa at the retreating praetorian, and prepared to pursue, but was intercepted by Almagor. It took a hail of fire from Anika and the others, but stubbornly held on, not noticing that behind it, its two compatriots were becoming tired of fighting Macharius. The Rogua Trader slashed at one of them, hitting it in the arm carrying its axe and slicing through muscle and tendon down to bone. The choppa fell from nerveless fingers, and the ork staggered backwards, retching. The other backed away from Macharius, its own weapon held out defensively.

"YOU SEZ A LOT O' GUFF, 'UMIE. DON'T YOU KNOW ORKZ IS NEVER BEAT? IF WE WINS WE WINS, BUT IF WE GET KRUMPED, WELL..." It grinned, showing off a mouthfull of tusks and yellowed teeth. "WE GETS TO COME BACK FOR ANUVVER GO, SEE?" Then it turned and ran, sprinting at full speed back down the hall. Its injured companion tried to follow, moving more slowly and a lot less steadily.

[Blarghy]

"Well done well," Echo congratulated the team, pleased with their quick results. He looked to Ravia. "Will you take will you these wretched creatures wretched, honored Magos honored? The Lord-Commander Lord Lord-Commander may want to may question them them about the space hulk about space. In any case any, you are surely you are the best qualified best to safely contain them safely."

[Leon]

++I am sure i can find a secure place for them to be held until we can rejoin with the Talon++
++Then you be assured that noone will ever know we had them++

[rax]

"Very good," Hannabel replies to the marines. "Once you've taken them down, bring up some flamers and torch the corpses before spacing them. Just to be on the safe side, eh?"

With that said, she turns to Echo and Ravia. "Well, this was invigorating. Shall we meet up with the Lord Captain?"

[Haval]

'He's very optimistic isn't he.' Anika mutters to herself as she tries to put the second Ork down for good.


Full Action - Full Auto

vs. BS 36 (+20 Full Auto) (+10 Short Range)
[roll0]

Any damage (1d10+5, pen 4, Tearing)
[roll1] or [roll2]
[roll3] or [roll4]
[roll5] or [roll6]
[roll7] or [roll8]

RF in the ooc gives an extra 8 damage

[PotatoGolem]

Macharius looks ready to chase the fleeing orks, then glances back and sees Almagor still locked in combat. Having trouble, old sport? Or saving me one more ork? He turns and charges the remaining brute, thunder hammer held high, as the praetorians fire on the uninjured fleeing ork.

Macharius and Almagor fight hand-to-hand, the others volley fire.

Charge Attack: vs 96, damage [roll1] and [roll] 1d10

Almagor stabby [roll2] vs 70, damage [roll3]

Praetorians aim and fire (Flannery is Exceptionally Led)

[roll4] vs 90 (50 +20 Aim +10 Hulking +10 EL), [roll5]
[roll6] vs 80, [roll7]
[roll8] vs 80, [roll9]

[Destro_Yersul]

Drives - Echo, Hannabel, Ravia

Flamers were ordered, and the field of dead squigs were torched, along with all the rest of the Orks throughout the drive area. None of them had managed to breach the engine rooms, the ship's beating heart safe from the depradations of the xenos. The live specimens were transferred to Ravia's care, and secured in stasis caskets.

Guns - Macharius, Anika

Macharius charged past, slamming his hammer into the final ork still fighting, while Anika drew a bead on the back of the retreating one. She brought it down with a burst of bolts, the explosive rounds ending the Xenos' attempt to retreat in a permanent and very messy fashion. Almagor and Macharius put an end to theirs just as the marines arrived, rounding the corner at a brisk march and snapping salutes to their captain.

"Sir! We've cleared out the rest of the deck. Minor resistance overall. Your orders?"

Almagor straightened, pulling his sword from the Ork's torso and sheathing the blade. "With your permission, sir, I think it best we head for the medical decks. Dr. Vanhal took a lot of fire, and I think it prudent to make sure she's ok." Though he said nothing, of course, it was obvious enough that this would give the injured praetorians a chance to recover as well. Both Barak and Murphy were in particularly bad shape, but none of the bodyguards had escaped completely unharmed.

[PotatoGolem]

Macharius waves cheerfully. Splendid! We had a good deal of fun down here ourselves. Resilient blighters, what? One of them got away, and said something about them coming back. I want a thorough sweep of the area to make sure there's no infiltrators anywhere. Burn the bodies and space the ash, in case there's some sort of xenos tracking device or teleport anchor that they plan on using.

He turns back to Almagor. Capital idea. Make sure Lady Vanhal makes it to the medical facilities. Barak, Murphy, I'm ordering the two of you to stay in there with her. He raisis his hand to stifle protests before they start. You fought admirably, and gave those damn xenos what-for. All five of you are a credit to the dynasty and your uniforms, and I owe you my life. The fact of the matter is that you're gravely wounded, and you're not going to help me or the dynasty by getting yourselves killed. You are to rest and recover, and that's an order. The two wounded men nod, accepting the decision.

Almagor, O'Connor, you go with them. I want to make sure everyone makes it through all right. And get yourselves checked out while you're there. Rest up. Your strength may be needed later. Immediately, the praetorians protest, demanding to stay with the captain, but Macharius stands firm. Flannery can stay with me in case I trip over more orks on the way to the lavatory, and I'll have two dozen armsmen with me on the way to the bridge. I'm safe. Besides, I had the sense not to stand around being lit on fire, hoho!

As the praetorians grumble and head off, he turns to Flannery. You're not out of this either, Flannery. I'm sending you down there as soon as Almagor and O'Connor recover. Flannery winces. "I've lived a long life, captain. And I've lived it by mostly avoiding those scalpel-swishers. Nothing wrong with me that can't be fixed with a stiff drink and a good night's sleep." He follows behind the captain grumbling.

Macharius voxes in as they return to the bridge. Captain Armelan, this is Captain Absalom. How are things on the station? Colony, this is Lord-Captain Macharius Absalom. Report in. What is your status?

[Haval]

Despite having put the Ork down Anika is annoyed with herself, 'Should have done that in the first place, or else I give the bolter to one of you lads.' Anika will lean on the wall of the corridor so that she doesn't fall over. After Macharius has given his orders, 'Yes I would very much like to lie down for a while.'

To everyone, 'Assume there are survivors even if they don't show up immediately. If nothing else we should have the place cleaned.'

[Destro_Yersul]

Getting the ships back in order and making the slow transit to orbit took time. The cleaning process took more of it, but with the tide of orks from the hulk stalled there was plenty of it, at least for now. The last few orks on board were rooted out and killed by the ship's armsmen. The praetorians, under much protest, made their way down to the medicae decks with Anika. Ravia's servitor was doing an excellent job performing its primary function down there, triaging the various casualties of battle - the smell of sterilizers and antiseptic compounds covered much of the metallic tang of blood, but there was no hiding the sight of full wards. There had been a lot more people injured than just the praetorians, and many of the injured from the last major battle had not yet recovered.

The colony was still under siege, the defenders having dug in as best they could after being forced to stop running evacuations, but the timely arrival of the Rogue Traders had prevented the orks from capturing the station, and the air superiority was beginning to tell. Unlike the orks, the forces of mankind hadn't exhausted their supply of small craft, and the station's handful of armed ships were keeping themselves well-occupied doing strafing runs. Charlabelle herself answered the hail to the station. It was a much cleaner signal than before, they had probably done some work to help cancel out interference from the hulk.

"Macharius. It was touch and go for a while over here, but my people are chasing the last of them down now. They did a number on the station, a lot of the key systems are damaged, but it's all damage that can be repaired... Especially now that we've arrived with their supplies. I've ordered my ships to move into position for orbital bombardment on the largest concentrations of orks. I don't have enough of a force to really make landing defenders an option."

someone out of pickup range said something about hazard pay, and Charlabelle laughed. "Yes, that too. But I think our fortunes are looking up, for once. I've taken over the command center here temporarily, had to kill a few orks who were knocking on the door before I could get in. They're sturdy foes, I'll give them that. How did you fare? That was a bold move, getting them all to chase after you like that. I appreciate the cover it provided."



On the medicae decks, Anika was given priority as a senior staff member. She and the praetorians were placed together in one of the quieter areas of the deck, away from the bustle of Trauma and intensive care. The servitor, its armour plates gleaming, trundled through trailing a small army of nurses and attendants. It inspected their injuries quickly and efficiently, hooking up saline drips to replenish fluids and applying antiseptic and dermal regeneration sprays to the worst of the burns before moving on.

It was something of an oddity, to come here from other areas of the ship. Much of the Manticore's Sting was lit dimly by lumen strips or globes placed along the walls, but the medicae areas were painted white and lit by many high-powered luminators. It was a stark contrast, and one that was initially quite grating. There was also the problem of the decks having, quite simply, not much to do. Once Anika was settled in and lying down, she found that the only way to keep her mind occupied was talking to people, and there weren't many up for visiting her.

One that was, though, was Elena. She was still here under observation, though the worst of her injuries had been treated. She was still missing an arm, but that didn't stop her from walking. She poked her head in on Anika not long after the seneschal's arrival.

"Hello ma'am. Seems we're both in the same boat down here, hey?"



Up in the Navigator's spire, Echo found Sargon waiting, facing towards the space hulk and staring at the walls. Or perhaps through the walls. His third eye was open, and the navis seemed distracted by what he was seeing, noting Echo's arrival with a nod and little more.

After a few moments of silence he closed his eye, sinking towards the bottom of the tank and sighing. "I have often wondered what causes a hulk to form. It's obvious enough why men come to view them as omens. Superstition combined with very real danger. There are worse things than orks to be found on those rocks, often without even looking too hard. This one... the warp clings to it more fiercely than some, wanting to pull it back in. Keep it. Why? Is it valuable? How does the sea of souls define value?"

He let the question hang, leaving it open for Kennoch to answer... or not.

[Leon]

##Update to "Moswyn" StandardOp Triage runsequence, overide: priority CommandCrew##

The acquisition of the Medicae Servitor has proven to be very fruitful Ravia thought as she hustles her latest acquisitions off to a secure location.

[Blarghy]

Kennoch regarded the other Navis pensively. "...Perhaps it is perhaps angry with angry the orks' failure the failure. It spat them out them in the hope in the of spreading mayhem mayhem, and now that now the foul xenos foul xenos have broken against have broken the might of Mankind might Mankind, the Immaterium Immaterium Immaterium seeks to draw seeks them back for torment for torment. Or maybe maybe the Warp Warp Warp Warp is simply jealous jealous and greedy greedy with its toys with toys."

But try as he might, he couldn't dismiss Sargon's hint. Who knew what prizes lay aboard? Dangerous and deadly, for certain. A person would have to be half-mad to even try. Infiltrating a space hulk without powerful specialists like the Astartes or teams of Inquisitors, why, it must be suicide. Sargon probably just hoped that his captors would die in the attempt, leaving him, if not free, then at least satisfied with vengeance. And yet...

Echo rubbed his gloved hands together. What was the harm in telling Sargon what little he knew, in case the deluded heretic could add knowledge of his own? After all, he'd never get the chance to tell his evil friends whatever he learned here.

"...Our Seneschal believes Seneschal this one is called this one the Lair of Transgression Lair Transgression. Do you do you know of it know?"

[Haval]

Anika will protest weakly at the idea that she could get any special treatment. The fact that she was still capable of walking was probably a good sign. Mostly she needed painkillers and a bed even if lying down might actually be uncomfortable at the moment. She'll gingerly feel the state of her burns. It wasn't impossible to recover from something like this but it might take her a while. At the very least she needed to regrow most of her hair. Perhaps it was good that they were supposed to be heading to Calixis.

In the meantime, everything was suddenly very boring. It hurt to much to sleep and she was suddenly out of the loop from anything that might be going on the bridge. They were technically still in the middle of a warzone, but she'll make a mental note to badger Hannabel into bringing her a tablet and some fresh clothes from her room.

Anika will sit up a little with a wince of pain as Elena comes in, 'Hello Elena. Apparently fighting Orks is dangerous. Who would have thought it. How are you holding up? Is there anything to do around here?'

[PotatoGolem]

Splendid! We had a good deal of fun here. They landed a few boarding crews, but nothing we couldn't see off. Nothing like a little fight to get the blood pumping.

With the blighters slowed, the colony should be able to get its defenses in order. My ships can join yours in orbital bombardment. Given that we're running a number of prize ships and took some losses, we don't have the marines to spare for a ground assault. Still, nothing like a macrocannon strike on the xenos horde to hearten the defenders, what? Can the station's sensors monitor the hulk for any renewed assault craft? We don't want to get caught from behind if more of them decide to join our little party.

[rax]

With the situation in hand, Hannabel returns to the bridge, humming a merry tune and still covered in Ork gore. She waves over the cherubim with her hookah and takes a puffs contentedly on the pipe.

"W'allah, Him On Earth had our backs today, eh, Meerschaum?" she says to her deputy helmsman. "What's the situation with the sunbeams and boomers? How many batteries are still functional?"

[Destro_Yersul]

Echo

"A little," Sargon admitted. "Fragments, here and there. Nobody has ever boarded this one, so knowledge of what's inside is sparse to say the least. Orks, clearly. Perhaps other, worse things."

He floated silently, facing Echo. "You still don't trust me, I expect. This is good. It means you will seek independant verification of what I tell you. Deeper understanding never comes by taking what is given at face value, without questioning it further. What you have here is an opportunity to learn. The hulk is right there, and will be so for at least another day or two. The orks will have spent much of their strength. Even a rapid expedition, to determine what further resistance awaits aboard, would be of some value."

"If you could recover data, why, that would be even better. Were I in your position, young Castermire, I would start with the augurs. You hunt your lost kin. You know they serve aboard the vessels of captains who follow the ruinous powers. They are still here, in the expanse, and have been for some time. This hulk could have pulled in a ship that one of them had served on, but even if it has not, there would be others..."

He hesitated for a moment, casting about the chamber. The vox grilles on the tank lowered in volume, the navigator's voice barely audible over the hum of the machinery.

"Do you recall, not long ago, I told you I knew what you would need to find, to pursue them to their ends?"

Hannabel

"We've reloaded the missile batteries, ma'am," was the report. "Everything is functioning at full capacity, by the latest reports. The orks weren't able to get close enough to do any real damage. Our main problem is the staffing. We've spread our crew across a large number of ships, with those last captures, and we could really use some new blood."

Anika

Elena laughed. "Who would have thought indeed?"

She stepped inside, pulling up a chair with her one good hand. "I'm doing about as well as you might expect, under the circumstances. Looking forwards to getting back in command of my guns. There's precious bloody little to do on the med decks, but they haven't released me to duties yet. I can walk, but I'll still need a couple good weeks of recovery."

"Glad you all took care of the ork problem, and not me. I must say, I'd prefer to look at those ugly bastards through the targetting arrays on a macrocannon battery. That's plenty close enough for Orks"

Macharius

"Yes," Charlabelle agreed. "Bombardment seems the best option, unless you've got a private army hiding somewhere. Even with my crews at full strength I wouldn't want to try a sustained ground assault against orks, and with everyone stretched thin as prize crews, it's an even worse idea. One moment."

She turned away from the vox, her voice becoming harder to make out as she issued orders away from the vox pickups. "How're we doing on monitoring the hulk? I want the augurs split between that and the ground, until we've contained the orks dirtside. Keep looking for isolated groups of them down there, anything far enough away from the defenders I want macrocannon strikes on as soon as there's firing solutions for it. And get me a progress report on the station sweep."

Turning back, she was once again much easier to hear. "I should be freed up from here soon enough. I'm going to join some of the sweep crews, make sure everything here is clear of orks, and then transit back to my ships. If you want something done right, best to take a personal hand in it. How about you, what're your immediate plans?"

[rax]

"We've reloaded the missile batteries, ma'am," was the report. "Everything is functioning at full capacity, by the latest reports. The orks weren't able to get close enough to do any real damage. Our main problem is the staffing. We've spread our crew across a large number of ships, with those last captures, and we could really use some new blood." "Well, there's a whole planet waiting to be saved down there. Emperor willing, we'll be able to rest, refit and recruit here once the Orks are gone," Hannabel replies.

"In the meantime, crank up the augers and start identifying concentrations of Ork ground troops we can rain hell on."

[Leon]

Skul is on the bridge presently and relaying voxlink, Ravia is elsewhere.
##Look for the large green masses...##

[Haval]

Elena laughed. "Who would have thought indeed?"

She stepped inside, pulling up a chair with her one good hand. "I'm doing about as well as you might expect, under the circumstances. Looking forwards to getting back in command of my guns. There's precious bloody little to do on the med decks, but they haven't released me to duties yet. I can walk, but I'll still need a couple good weeks of recovery."

"Glad you all took care of the ork problem, and not me. I must say, I'd prefer to look at those ugly bastards through the targetting arrays on a macrocannon battery. That's plenty close enough for Orks"

'You play cards? Or I could always get a regicide board in here. Once the painkillers start to work I should be able to manage that much.' Anika looks pained at the prospect of Elena going back to work before she was ready, 'I'd say there's no rush. Losing an arm ought to justify taking a bit of a holiday.'

On the Orks, 'Unfortunately I'd say it's not over yet. There are likely to be a fair few of them on the planet's surface even aside from the Hulk. I assume Macharius isn't going to engage them all personally.'

[Blarghy]

Kennoch's frown deepened; he was automatically suspicious of Sargon's efforts to push him to investigate, as anything that benefited the heretic likely wouldn't benefit him. There was the possibility that Sargon spoke out of genuine curiosity, but more likely, his intentions were less than pure. Still...he was willing to give up information on the Castermares before and evidently held no affection for them.

As for the previous comment about what he must find, Echo had nearly forgotten, in light of the claims about his cousins' infiltration efforts. To the extent that he considered it at all, he assumed it was a casual bluff or brag, meant to make Sargon--and therefore his life--seem more valuable. Reminded now, the young Navis felt his interest rise.

"Tell me tell," he instructed simply.

The Bridge

Furthermore, the advice to check the augurs couldn't hurt. Once he was finished with his prisoner, Kennoch descended back into the ship and joined Hannabel. "After you survey after the planet planet, I request request a thorough reading a reading of the hulk hulk hulk," he added after her instructions.

Kennoch turned his attention there himself, staring out at the titanic mass while he waited. His Rings, however, were watching Hannabel. They had seen her in action at the helm, the cannons, and now in battle, and each time, they came away impressed. The voidborn assassins maintained respectful distance from most of the command staff--nobility and, in Ravia's case, a terrifying Tech-Priest with a reputation for making servitors and Emperor-knew-what-else--but Mistress Shanx seemed both admirable and fairly down-to-earth. She was becoming something of a celebrity in their minds.

So, I'm looking at the Navigator class, and to my surprise, it seems that they don't get Scrutiny until Rank 6 for some reason. I'm not sure why; it seems like a skill they'd pick up earlier, with their focus on Perception and whatnot. It won't matter for a good while, but, I want to ask about possibly picking it up as an Elite Advance next rank for two reasons. First, Echo will be able to get Interrogation at that point, and it seems silly to me that a person could conduct an interrogation without being able to tell if the prisoner is telling the truth or not. And second, it would give us another PC who can use the augurs, so Anika doesn't have to do it all the time, thus freeing her up if she's busy with something else. Related to that, it'd give me something else I could do in ship combat.

If you're ok with the idea, I'd like to have Echo job-shadow Anika for the next chapter or two while she's working the augurs, and during downtime, ask her to give him pointers on detecting falsehoods. He certainly needs to learn, with Sargon whispering in his ear. And then once I get ready to pick up Interrogation, I'd also grab Scrutiny at the same time.

[Destro_Yersul]

Echo

"The screaming vortex," Sargon said. "It is a haven for many followers of the dark powers, including the Castermares. If you want to harry them all the way back to their last stronghold, you will need to go as well. But..." he left a pause in the thought, watching Echo carefully.

"It is not so easy to get in. Normal routes won't work. The storms of the vortex make conventional warp travel in and out an impossibility. There are... ways. I don't know them. Few do, in the Expanse. I have heard the name, though. The most commonly used route in and out. The Thirteenth Station of Passage. That is what you must find."

Hannabel + Echo

The augur crews jumped to work, scanning the planet for concentrations of orks. They weren't exactly hard to find. "Down" was a relatively easy direction of travel, and the orks had landed a number of unpowered... calling them 'craft' was perhaps generous. Regardless, the surface now played host to several large concentrations of the xenos, most of which were making their way at best speed towards any source of resistance they could find. The planet didn't have much in terms of larger cities, but a number of smaller settlements had already been overrun. The spaceport, such as it was, was holding on valiantly, though. The walls with their large defense turrets meant the orks couldn't easily bring up anything heavy enough to breach them. Punch a few holes in the horde from orbit, or better yet take out their leadership, and the advance would dissolve into infighting quickly enough.

In between looking for pockets of Orks to aim the guns at, they ran a few scans of the hulk as Echo had asked for. It was difficult to get a complete reading, just due to the size, but scans of some of the surface ships and a few deeper in revealed that, like its brethren, this hulk consisted of many makes of ship. There were plenty of Imperial vessels, and a number of xenos make - Eldar, Enoulian, Rak'gol... but there were others, as well. Patterns of ship most commonly associated with the ranks of the Archenemy. One such vessel, its spine bent across the surface of the hulk, was a Slaughter-class cruiser. The Sting's augurs recognised the vessel, readouts dredged from ancient memory scrollng across the screens. It was the Bloodreaper, a reaver vessel that had been much feared in the Unbeholden Reaches until its mysterious disappearance some years ago.

Anika

"Well, they're down there, and us with all our guns are up here. Seems straightforward to me." Elena laughed.

"I've never played Regicide, but we could pick it up if you like. Normally I'd be all for cards, but I might need to put that on hold for a while. How am I supposed to stack the deck with only one hand?" From the tone, this was clearly a joke.

[PotatoGolem]

We'll start the orbital bombardment shortly, try to break up the larger hordes. If any of their leaders are smart enough to escape the bombardment and try to hide, I may have to go down there and bring the Emperor's Justice firsthand. As you said, sometimes you have to do it yourself.

Macharius turns back to the bridge crew. Start bombarding the ork ground forces. Careful with the shooting, wouldn't want to accidentally hit the city. They might be a bit cross, hoho! And keep scanning the hulk. Have our new scout sloop stay near it and scan it constantly. It's not much in a fight, but those sensors are quite perceptive.

[Haval]

Anika

"Well, they're down there, and us with all our guns are up here. Seems straightforward to me." Elena laughed.

"I've never played Regicide, but we could pick it up if you like. Normally I'd be all for cards, but I might need to put that on hold for a while. How am I supposed to stack the deck with only one hand?" From the tone, this was clearly a joke.

'Well quite. But Macharius does tend to get enthusiastic at times. Perhaps I should get Hannabel to call me if he needs to be talked out of something.'

Anika has no problem with cheating at cards, 'I wonder if we can get a servitor in help you out. I'd say a little friendly cheating is fine in moderation. I find it good practice in teaching you what to look for when others do it. Regicide regrettably is less fun, but I'm sure it'll pass the time. If we work out the gambling I'll give you a chance to take my money later.'

Whatever else happened Anika will take the opportunity to ask Elena about her time in the Expanse before the Processional. She has no interest in talking about the Processional itself.

[Blarghy]

The Spire

That wasn't the sort of answer Kennoch expected, but, he took note of the information. Taking the fight to a refuge of Chaos was certainly a worthy cause; even if his cousins chose to flee elsewhere, there was plenty of glory to be had, and righteous good to perform. Of course, Kennoch considered the likelihood that this "Thirteenth Station" was a trap meant for any Imperial servants who captured a heretic and demanded this sort of knowledge. Then again, the Absalom dynasty had recently proven capable of turning even a trap into victory--although they might need to refine their tactics a bit.

Echo had another thought too: the Castermares' last stronghold, or at least its most famous, was hardly fixed to any one location. Alessaunder's final stand could be wherever he chose to stop running, in the end.

"You seem to you seem hear many names names names, Sargon Sargon Sargon Sargon," Kennoch murmured suspiciously. "What vague rumors vague do you know do you...of the Bitter Truth Bitter Truth?"

The Bridge

With his mind still on the Truth, Echo's heart jumped when he received the report of a Slaughter-cruiser. He knew next to nothing about this one; its apparent destruction--more or less--was still good news for all good and noble people, so, they could spread word of its fate the next time they made port. But as for today, Kennoch thought back on what Sargon told him. This could be a valuable source of information...or a good way to get a lot of people killed. Or both.

He wanted to know more, before he made any suggestions to the Captain. "Lady Vanhal Vanhal Lady Vanhal," he voxed Anika. "I apologize for apologize disturbing your recovery your, but the augurs the the have uncovered something interesting uncovered something. One of the ships one of in the hulk hulk hulk is a Chaos vessel Chaos Chaos Chaos. The Bloodreaper Bloodreaper. Can you tell can you me anything me about it about?"

He decided to wait and discuss the Thirteenth Station of Passage at a later time. Better to have that discussion face to face.

[rax]

"Alright, let's start with the outer mobs and work our way in. Use the Jovians until we're about ten klicks from the spaceport, then switch to sunbeams for precision fire. Even with atmospheric refraction they're less likely to accidentally land on the city itself," Hannabel instructs the gunners. "You may fire at will."

OOC: Do I need to test Ballistic Skill or are we RPing this?

[Haval]

To Echo once she'd asked some questions, I take it it's not just the wreck of a Crusade era vessel? Although with a name like that I suspect the association could be taken for granted. Anyway, I believe Slaughters were known for their speed for whatever reason the Mechanicus can't quite manage to reproduce these days. There's every chance it was one of the local raiders before the Hulk took it, but I would have whoever's manning the augur check for Legion markings just in case.' Anika will try to make an educated guess where such markings might have survived just in case the ship wasn't entirely dead. 'For anything more specific I will make something retrieve some books for me and I'll get back to you.'


Ideal curiosity in case it's from the Crusade. Roll to know what to look for to identify it
Scholastic Lore (Legend) vs. Int 53
[roll0]

Has Anika heard of the Blood Reaper. Forbidden Lore (Pirates) or (Heresy) as appropriate
vs. Int 53
[roll1]

[Destro_Yersul]

Anika has no problem with cheating at cards, 'I wonder if we can get a servitor in help you out. I'd say a little friendly cheating is fine in moderation. I find it good practice in teaching you what to look for when others do it. Regicide regrettably is less fun, but I'm sure it'll pass the time. If we work out the gambling I'll give you a chance to take my money later.'

Whatever else happened Anika will take the opportunity to ask Elena about her time in the Expanse before the Processional. She has no interest in talking about the Processional itself.

Elena laughed hard at Anika's response. "You're alright, Doc. Yeah, get a board down here, you can teach me to play."

She seemed happy to avoid the subject of the processional, and had plenty of other stories besides. She'd served with Wrath Umboldt for a while, so most of the tales ended poorly, but it was never Wrath's fault. Things just seemed to happen around him. He would be on track for a profitable trade route, and then lose the cargo to Eldar corsairs. He would discover a new, wealthy planet, and then run into warp doldrums and arrive back after someone else had claimed the survey rights. He had done well with investing, though, and had enough money to maintain his crew and his ship, despite making few forays into the Expanse these days.


"You seem to you seem hear many names names names, Sargon Sargon Sargon Sargon," Kennoch murmured suspiciously. "What vague rumors vague do you know do you...of the Bitter Truth Bitter Truth?"

"I tried to stay informed." Sargon said simply. "The value of information in my line of work, you understand. The Bitter Truth..." he sighed, an odd burbling sound, suspended in the tank.

"An old vessel, even after its name was changed. Not often seen in the Expanse. I rather expect this is by design, and that the ship is using lesser known or alternative routes to get around. I've no idea where it is, or what its crew are planning. I know what kind of ship it is, though if you're asking I expect you do as well."

Sargon shrugged. "Apologies, young Castermire. I do not yet know everything. Some secrets, the Emperor keeps to himself."


"Alright, let's start with the outer mobs and work our way in. Use the Jovians until we're about ten klicks from the spaceport, then switch to sunbeams for precision fire. Even with atmospheric refraction they're less likely to accidentally land on the city itself," Hannabel instructs the gunners. "You may fire at will."

The ships pulled away from the station, moving into position over the planet. Large concentrations of orks weren't difficult to find, the difficulty was accounting for atmospheric interference, displacement, and drift. The missiles were most vulnerable to travel time, and the shots needed to be led. The lasers were more of a diffraction issue. A couple of test volleys into the uninhabited parts of the world were enough for Hannabel to work out the ambiguities of both, and from there almost every shot was a hit. Between Macharius' ships and Charlabelle's, the orbital fire support reaped a terrible toll on the ork forces planetside, and the defenders were able to hold off the rest. Several hours of concentrated bombardment later, the planet was cleared of ork presence.

[Leon]

++They will want to be vigilant with flame teams for a while in periphery of the engagement zone++

[Blarghy]

The Spire

"...Yes yes, well well, we can agree we can on that that." Sargon's apparent faith--a lie, surely, or some mad delusion--continued to vex Kennoch. A heretic should wear their evil openly. This pretense of loyalty made their relationship quite frustrating.

"You should pray you should for answers answers answers concerning your own your moral failings moral," he suggested, the words sounding weak and uncertain even to him. Kennoch frowned to himself, struggled to recover with something clever, and finally just hurried from the room. He could find a better use of his time than entertaining Sargon's pretenses.

The Bridge

Echo hardly noticed the time pass by, wrapped deep in his thoughts. His Rings, on the other hand, grinned and made the occasional approving gesture as they enjoyed the show. Once the vibrations of the macrocannons came to an end, Kennoch looked up, returned to the present, and went to tell Macharius what he'd learned.

"Lord-Commander Lord Commander, the augurs have augurs detected a Chaos-vessel Chaos Chaos Chaos amidst the hulk hulk the hulk. Lady Vanhal Lady believes that it believes played host to host a cult of Khorne cult of Khorne. I am concerned I am that any surviving heretics any heretics might support and advise might the dreaded xenos dreaded. Furthermore furthermore..." he hesitated, "one of my my Navis captives Navis claims the wreck wreck could hold information could hold concerning my cousins my cousins, the damned Castermares Castermares damned Castermares. He may be lying may be, of course course. Even so so, a careful investigation careful could prove useful prove. And any harm any we can inflict we can on the survivors on the lingering aboard the Bloodreaper aboard Bloodreaper can only benefit can only the Imperium Imperium and please the Emperor Emperor Emperor Emperor."

[Haval]

After getting wind of the others plan Anika has got them to leave the command channel open so she can eavesdrop. 'It feels unusual to be the voice of restraint. If you're set on boarding that thing I would say you should check for a proper entry point first. Presumably even an Archenemy vessel has a docking bay. Ideally you want to go in somewhere that you can retreat from in a hurry if the worst occurs.' The Hulk wasn't something that could be easily reasoned out. 'Alternatively I suppose you could look for the largest hole in the ship and go in that way. I'd like to believe that going onto a part of the ship without atmosphere might be a little less dangerous, but I wouldn't like to bet money on that.'

'And if we're not in a hurry please let me know if any of you think we need anything specific. At the very least I would like to get a few more auspexs for the crew. Perhaps Charlabelle or the colonists might be willing to help us out with that.'


In case I need a roll. I will roll for other items if anyone has suggestions.

Trying to get a trivial (3-5) amount of auspexes
vs. PF 51 (Scarce +0) (Trivial +20) (Common +0)
[roll0]

[rax]

"Orks aren't known for cooperating with agents of the Ruinous Powers, almalah alsag'hir," Hannabel observes. "They're more likely to see them as an opportunity for a good fight - especially those who have enslaved themselves to the Throne of Skulls."

"To seek these monsters out in their lair is folly, especially with our crews weakened, but if the Lord Captain commands it, I will get you there and back again. Well, what's left of you anyway," she chuckles darkly.

[Haval]

'Well the lack of air might help us with keeping the Orks away, although I'm sure even they can manage something that passes for a voidsuit. The problem will be anything that might not need one. I suggest anyone who goes over there works out what they want from the expedition and gets out quickly when they find it. As Hannabel says, sending reinforcements to rescue anyone might be difficult.''

[Leon]

++better to confirm that it is the ship in question and either leave it or strike a few more blows on it from a distance than do tread into its own forsaken halls++
++The things in the dark don't tend to go easily when they are in their own space++ ++Better to let the Orks keep on suppressing anything that is left++
++There will be other much more interesting ships in there surely++

[Haval]

++There will be other much more interesting ships in there surely++

'I would expect so but going further inside would be a terrible idea. No one should be on that thing when it returns to the warp. Not unless you can whip up a portable Gellar field anyway.'

[Blarghy]

Kennoch listened to the rest of the command staff and finally nodded. "Yes yes, I think I you are right you are. The risks are excessive risks excessive and any rewards any are in doubt doubt. Best to let best the Warp Warp Warp Warp reclaim its minions reclaim."

Sargon would have gone aboard, and that's reason enough not to. I've seen where his methods lead; I will walk a wiser road.

[Haval]

Anika spends much of the next week in sickbay. Ideally she should be resting with nothing else to do but play Regicide or cards with Elena, but she finds herself obliged to do some work anyway. Until the Lair of Transgression finally returns to the warp she'll get the bridge crew to do what they can to scan it to identify some of the other ships in the hulk. Other then any Xenos vessels there were likely to be numerous Imperial or human ships that had met their ultimate end here. You could never tell when the information might come in useful to someone.

From sickbay Anika will try to organise leave for the crew on the colony. There was presumably something entertaining for them to do here. Other then that she'll organise replacements for the crew that they lost in the battle with the pirates. Ideally it would be better to have a rough idea who they were taking on but she'll also look into finding someone with enough of an education that they might work as an assistant.


So only healing 1 wound for the week

Hiring an assistant generally hasn't worked before so lets try again
vs. PF 51 (-10 for stats) (I assume the +30 for a single person doesn't apply here?)
[roll0]

[rax]

Hannabel has plenty to do over the next week. She visits both the space station and the starport to learn more about the colony, and takes some time to visit Madame Charlabelle and congratulate her on her victory at the space station.

Aboard the Sting, she gets involved in apportioning the new recruits between the Fury and the flagship. She's particularly looking for people with prior experience of gunnery or the capacity to quickly learn how to handle the frigate's guns. These she sends over to the Fury with the intent of preventing a precipitous drop in the high standards of the ship's gun crews, despite their recent heavy losses.

Inbetween these activities, she visits Elena and Anika in the sickbay, fussing over them, sneaking in food and drink from Macharius' personal kitchen, and generally making a mothering nuisance of herself.

Obviously, Hannabel's visit to Madame Charlabelle is also an excuse to hook up with Grig and hear how he and his men are doing.

[Destro_Yersul]

Macharius

Macharius had a great deal to do over the course of the week, though none of it was especially interesting. For the most part it was meetings and negotiations with various leaders from amongst the colonists, entertaining aboard his ship, and conversing with Charlabelle about the plans for what to do next. For her part, Charlabelle seemed quite pleased overall with the way things had gone in the end, and was planning to use her new ships to make regular expeditions to this area a part of her repertoire. The Grace of Sopha had plenty of cargo capacity, after all, and with some warships for extra defense, she seemed to think that she had finally caught something of a break. At the end of the week she parted on cordial terms, and promised to look Macharius up if she found a good opportunity for mutual profit in future.

Echo

The space hulk had lingered for a few days, and then vanished back into the warp unexplored save for whatever they could get from the augurs. Sargon had been somewhat quiet ever since. Echo had trouble reading the other Navis at times, but he didn't get the impression that Sargon was especially disappointed with the turn of events. More reflective than displeased, really. Either way, the mutated Navigator in his tank wasn't much for conversation over the few days they had, and Echo had other prisoners to talk to anyways.

He spent his time primarily waking them up one at a time, conducting interviews, and then returning them to stasis once he ran out of questions. Many of them seemed to share Sargon's beliefs about the superiority of the Navigator gene, and the place of the Navis as the Emperor's chosen guides, destined to lead humanity into a brighter future. None of them except for Sargon's secundus seemed to know anything about the Castermares - that particular piece of information had been kept close to their chest, it seemed, though the Secundus agreed that their deaths were necessary. There was no love for followers of the ruinous powers amongst this particular batch of pirates. Many of them respected Sargon, and it seemed that he was known amongst the fleet as something of a pragmatic, at least in terms of action. It was largely his skill that had led the fleet around. Of his goals, most said nothing, but all agreed that he had on at least one occassion come to each of them personally to discuss theology. Whatever the rest of them thought, for Sargon at least his professed belief in the Emperor appeared to be genuine.

Anika

There was no shortage of work for Anika, even locked up in sickbay. Under her direction the crews of the Sting, and of their new scout sloop, spent the days before the hulk vanished running augur scans. They were able to identify and catalogue around thirty of the ships locked within the hulk, including several Imperial vessels. Some were quite old indeed, though there didn't seem to be anything from before the great crusade. It was an interesting set of data, in any case, and the ships and their components would be quite valuable to anyone with the means to pry them from the hulk's grasp, though who knew when another such opportunity would present itself. They picked up plenty of life signs as well, within the pressurised areas of the hulk, so it seemed like the orks and whatever else was on board hadn't completely exhausted their strength.

Between recieving the reams of augur readouts to go through, Anika played regicide with Elena, or cards if the gunnery officer felt like trying to play one-handed. Elena was good at cards, though decidedly less so at Regicide, joking that she'd never had much of a head for tactics, just good aim. She took to hanging around Anika's room, stepping in for a conversation whenever there was a good moment, and Anika learned quite a lot about the days she had spent serving under Wrath Umboldt. Interesting, if not especially useful. Hannabel stopped by frequently as well, to join the conversations or let Anika rest while she and Elena played regicide.

Finally, once she'd gotten the crews sent off on leave and managed to scrounge up enough money for entertainment and reparations in case they damaged something expensive, Anika went through a handful of interviews looking for candidates for an assistant. The week had made it clear that having someone to sift through the paperwork would be helpful, and by the end of the interview set Anika had narrowed the options down to one of two candidates.

The first, Theresa Moshkevic, was a mousy young woman with large spectacles and a quiet voice, whose primary skillset had been instilled as part of her education in one of the Calixian Schola Progenium, after both of her parents had been killed in the line of duty in the wars along the spinward front. She'd been shuffled over to the Administratum lot of candidates relatively quickly, and trained as an archivist. Then she'd been picked for the colony ships departing for the Koronus Expanse, and sent along as the tertiary logistics adept, a position that would not be much missed were she recruited away from the colony. She had a slight accent, and Anika's best guess was that she was Landrian originally, a deduction aided by the long knife she wore half-concealed under her adept's robes.

The second, Alvinus Kenworth, was finely dressed for such an out of the way colony, and bore an enormous and luxuriant mustache. His presence at the colony was something of an oddity - he hadn't come as part of the initial wave, but rather as an itinerant who had been dropped off with the last supply ship and was looking to move on. He was a self-described explorer and cartographer, and had spent the last several months producing survey maps for the colonists in exchange for room and board. He expressed regret that he hadn't located much of particular interest, and confided that he was interested in Eldar ruins in particular. His collection of luggage was extensive, and included a pair of antique duelling pistols.

Ravia

Ravia locked herself away from the rest of the crew and set to work with the assorted captured squigs. They hadn't managed to take any actual orks, perhaps unfortunately, but the squigs were an interesting enough project in the meantime. And time was something of which there was, for the moment, plenty. Ravia produced copious notes on squig physiology, and ork physiology based on dissections of the deceased specimens they had encountered. The air scrubbers were set to work overtime - ork reproduction by means of spores was something Ravia was able to rapidly confirm, growing a tiny squig in a dish from a collection of the spores thrown off by one of her larger live squigs. Squigs, she found, were not particularly bright, and responded primarily to pain and hunger stimuli. Were it not for the issue of the spores, they could have been fitted with appropriate cybernetics and perhaps used as attack or guard servitor-creatures.

Hannabel

Hannabel kept plenty busy filling out the Fury's gun crews and visiting with Anika and Elena. She tagged along with Macharius on some of his visits with Charlabelle, and spent a good deal of time liasing with the other trader's crew in the name of camraderie and co-operation. And, perhaps, the opportunity to tour Charlabelle's ships a little more extensively than had been previously possible. Of all the command crew, Hannabel was probably the most mobile, flying about in shuttles between the ships and station and planetside. The mood of the place perked up in general once the hulk had vanished back into the warp, tearing itself a hole out of the system and taking its malignant cargo with it. If there was an interesting bar on the colony, Hannabel found it and bought a few rounds to hear local stories. By the end of the week she had seen every pub, tavern, or den of iniquity in the place, and had heard plenty from the locals. The colony was struggling along trying to find ways to improve harvests and production, and seemed like a nice enough place if you liked farming. As yet the set up was fairly minimal, with people spreading out from the main established city to form scattered homesteads and farm villages. Fortunately, Hannabel's shooting had managed to avoid hitting any of these that hadn't already been overrun by orks.

Under the cover of her mission to foster improved relations with Charlabelle's crews, Hannabel caught up with Grig and the rest of his mercenary band. They had lost a few of their number to combat aboard the station, but by and large were very pleased with the results of the expedition. Fighting orks, Grig told her, had given them the opportunity to pick several of the largest and strongest to consume for their strength. She did note that some of the Kroot seemed to be slightly larger and more muscular than she remembered. Their genetic assimilation worked fast.

Hannabel also learned about what the Kroot considered to be funerary rites, which more closely resembled a buffet than anything else. It was entirely possible Grig had been joking when he told her this, though - the Kroot's sense of humour was unusual at best, and he did seem to be very amused by the whole thing, though it was often difficult to tell. She was almost certain that the offer of roast ork had been a joke, even if they did actually have some roast ork on hand. Grig said that ork tasted better cooked, for some reason.

[Leon]

++They are delightful little creatures when you grow them from spore but the spores are what keeps them from being practical in usage as they will run rampart if left unchecked++

[Haval]

'So training guard squigs might be a little beyond us. I wonder if there's a way of using them in boarding actions? I imagine they would leave a mess but we don't always have to try and capture a ship that we're fighting with.'

Assistant

Considering she was looking for an assistant to help her with some of the less interesting parts of her job, Anika considered Theresa Moshkevic to be a more suitable candidate. Alvinus seemed like a man after her own heart, but on the other hand she didn't want him getting bored. She will however take some time to compare notes and will offer him a lift if he wanted to head corewards in the near future. They could always drop him off at Footfall or somewhere more central if he wished to try elsewhere in the Expanse.

Assuming she was willing Anika felt that Theresa deserved the chance to go somewhere more interesting. Working on a Rogue Trader ship might be dangerous but as the Hulk and the Orks had just demonstrated, it was hardly any less dangerous then working on a colony in the Expanse. There was also the matter of the knife, which might be useful. 'You are actually Landrian aren't you? I've me people from there but I've never had the pleasure of visiting. I am in no condition to spar with you.' Anika gestures towards her extensive burns, 'But I must ask how you are with that knife? I'm not looking for a bodyguard but it would be nice to know that you are able to look after yourself.'

[Leon]

++Well i mean if we kept them in stasis and used them in that offensive function they would be very good++
++Squig packed boarding torpedo's, no there is something i did not consider++

[Blarghy]

The interviews left Echo in a reflective mood himself. He couldn't bring himself to trust the word of these Navis, at least about their own piety, but with all the independent claims lining up together, he found it difficult to rationally dismiss them. Maybe they were all simply deluded, like Sargon, believing in their supposed righteousness. It seemed fitting, for Chaos to trick their slaves this way, both to confound real loyalists and amuse the dark, unknowable gods. Kennoch came to feel a mix of pity in with his disgust...along with an undercurrent of doubt.

Sargon's silence bothered him too, hard as he tried not to admit it. Why would I care? Because I don't. And if he does disapprove, then that's good. It is good to earn the disapproval of criminals. Yes.

By the end of the week, he spent more time moodily haunting the lower decks than in his own spire, waiting impatiently for the Captain's word to ascend again and plot a course out of this system. It couldn't come soon enough.

[rax]

Hannabel silently marvelled at the Kroots' rapid development. She had heard of it, of course, but to have seen it happen for herself filled her with silent joy. They're miles ahead of you and your experiments Magos Ravia, and they didn't have to fiddle with their genetics to make it happen. Truly, the universe is a marvellous place!

"Eat an Ork? If I had your metabolism, why not? But since I have no more ability to absorb the genetic advantages of Orkdom than any other human, I think I'll get my fill of funguses elsewhere. I hear the mushrooms on Bisporus III are especially fine to dine on," Hannabel retorted with a grin at Grig's offer of roast Ork.

For her part, Hannabel regales Grig with an account of the space battle against the Ork boarding ships and her part in defending against the boarders. "Took two bursts of plasma to bring the big one down and for a moment it looked like it was going to come down to swords. That would've been messy," she reflects on the fight.

[PotatoGolem]

Macharius spent more time than expected checking up on the Praetorians in the medbay. He'd ordered Flannery treated, under much protest, and just happened to drop in at least daily. Usually there was some pretense of discussing business with Anika, or checking on the readiness of the sickbay, or delivering a speech to the injured crew as a whole to raise morale, but somehow the Lord-Captain always had a reason to check in on his wounded bodyguards. As their condition improved, those who knew him well could tell he was deeply relieved.

With the Praetorians assembled in the medbay, he discussed a plan. Good to see everyone alive and in one piece, what! You all did a capital job back there, protecting me and the ship. Your vocal concern with coming down here and leaving me "unprotected," he winks at Flannery, though, has made me think. You five are the five best, bravest, and most loyal of my men. Unfortunately, there are currently only five of you. You're stretched thin just with watching me at all times even without an emergency. It's time to start recruiting and training more Praetorians. I want you to start identifying men and women among our armsmen who have what it takes. Loyalty, first and foremost, to Absalom and the Emperor, as well as the potential to reach your level of skill. Once we have our recruits, Flannery and Almagor can begin training them.

[Destro_Yersul]

Anika

Alvinus happily took Anika up on the offer of a lift. There was no telling when another ship might pass through the colony, after all. He brought his things aboard the ship and settled into one of the guest quarters. From there, he joined the regular set of visitors to Anika's sickbed, bringing around volumes of notes and adventure stories. He was reasonably well-travelled and, she gathered, some lesser scion of nobility from somewhere or other - the youngest son, he expected to inherit little, if anything, and had taken up adventuring and scholarly pursuits instead. His birthright afforded him that luxury, if nothing else.

Theresa also had no problems with leaving the colony. She resigned her post, one which could be filled by someone else easily enough, and took on the mantle of Anika's assistant.

"I am Landrian, yes," she said. She drew the knife from its sheathe and displayed it for Anika to inspect, though she didn't hand it over - Anika knew that Landrians could be as touchy about their knives as Metallicans were about their guns. It was a heavy combat knife with a mono-edge, similar in design to the blades of the Imperial Guard. Curiously, the blade wasn't metal, but a dark grey ceramic-composite. "Can handle myself in a fight, if it comes to it. Prefer not to, of course."

"Mm, yes. The larger orks are ferocious opponents," Grig agreed. "Good eating, for Kroot. And for humans, however much you think Biasporus III makes better. Not better for Kroot. Cannot draw strength from ordinary mushroom."

In return for Hannabel's stories, he offered a play-by-play of several of his kindred's own fights. Grig's Kroot preferred ambush tactics, when possible, and he was interested to hear of orks that preferred the same. He was quite disheartened to hear that the bodies had been incinerated, but passed it off as humans not knowing good eating when it tried to hit them in the face.

Everyone

With the crew collected, they broke orbit, and gathered their damaged fleet. The first stop was back to Port Davis, to leave their more badly damaged ships behind for repairs. Echo was called upon to return to his spire and plot a course, but he did so with Sargon floating there on the edge of vision. The renegade kept quiet during warp travel, either continuing his pensive silence, or unwilling to distract Echo during his assigned task.

At Port Davis, they were able to check in on a number of tasks. The Talon had returned early from its supply run, having sold off a great quantity of scrap and salvage - the money had been funelled directly into covertly acquiring new parts and supplies, and supplemented by what the colonists had managed to dig up and refine. The Terminus' great frame, tethered to the space station by a vast web of cables and pulleys, was beginning to show signs of the work enacted upon it. Damaged chunks of hull had been cut away to expose the superstructure beneath, and the carbon scoring and impact damage from its last battle had been scrubbed and hammered away, making it look more and more like a functional warship, but there was still plenty to do. Components needed to be manufactured or bought, crew trained, and the rest of the hull repaired further. For now, the ship was still a money sink and not much more, but it was a lot less ragged and tattered than it had been when they found it. There was another question, though, to be answered. Macharius recieved a message from the station foreman shortly after the fleet entered the system.

"Sir, we're getting along on the repairs, but I've been meaning to ask. What do you want done about the ship's iconography? The Navy symbols are everywhere, but a lot of places they're bolted or painted overtop of the older ones. The Imperialis Auxilia hasn't existed in a long time. Had to look it up in the Talon's librarium just to figure out what we was looking at."

Fortunately, things on the station were coming along well overall. There were plenty of people available if they needed to hire on more crew for their ships, and the drydock work was progressing. The foreman estimated another half a year or so, and it would be up and running, and ready to move the Terminus into a slightly more permanent berth, until she was once again spaceworthy. The smaller ships could all be serviced well enough by the piers. So once again, there were decisions to be made.

The trip to Calixis would be best handled by only one ship. Passage through the Maw was dangerous at best, and it wouldn't be sensible to risk the entire fleet. Furthermore, Calixis was ostensibly Imperial space, patrolled by the Navy and kept safe by the battlefleets. There would be less need for extended firepower there than there would be in the more lawless Expanse... and their firepower was a tad stretched, at the moment, even with the new ships. The Cobra squadron and the Sword were in fighting shape, more or less. the Viper and the Fury were in dire need of repairs.

[Haval]

Theresa

'Quite right. If the worst ever happens I would rather you keep yourself alive, but in the meantime let's try to see you're well paid.' If Theresa was going to be working for her then Anika was responsible for her. 'I will get someone to show you around the Sting and get you some quarters. Fell free to call me if you need anything. Actual work may have to wait until I get out of here.'

Port Davis



"Sir, we're getting along on the repairs, but I've been meaning to ask. What do you want done about the ship's iconography? The Navy symbols are everywhere, but a lot of places they're bolted or painted overtop of the older ones. The Imperialis Auxilia hasn't existed in a long time. Had to look it up in the Talon's librarium just to figure out what we was looking at."

'I'm never sure how seriously to take that sort of thing, but we may want to be careful about entirely getting rid of the ship's old insignia. I don't think we want to see it upset. Whatever else we do with it, the Imperialis Auxilia has historical significance.'

Anika has recovered enough by this point that she can least get out of sickbay and is now moving around with a cane. As they seem to have acquired a fleet all of a sudden she and Theresa will look into getting each vessel properly crewed.

[Blarghy]

The sight of the Terminus brought a smile to Echo's face. He was very glad to see her taking shape. Feeling a desire to get off the Sting and away from Sargon for a while, he took a shuttle to the skeletal battlecruiser. Since the bridge wasn't heavily damaged or marked for replacement, he assumed that he wouldn't be in the way of the Tech-Priests and their laborers there. Although, they might appreciate his presence a bit less when he plugged himself into the ship's vox and began recounting their recent battles, as if soothing the ancient machine spirit with a lullaby.

"...Unfortunately unfortunately, the craven pirate captain craven captain had sabotaged the station sabotaged the station. It detonated while while we gave chase we gave after the Tempest after Tempest. We pursued her pursued through an asteroid field asteroid; she was quick she was, but the Stingthe Sting Sting Sting was quicker quicker. We boarded her we boarded and saw fierce battle fierce, but in the end the end, Lord-Commander Absalom Absalom Absalom Absalom proved victorious again victorious! Our ally our, Lady-Captain Armelan Lady Captain, was less successful was in her transporter in. The Cobras escaped her escaped. Nevertheless nevertheless, these pirates pirates are broken and scattered broken scattered. Their base destroyed their base. That region of space that space is safer now is safer. And our fleet fleet, as well as Armelan's as well, has grown significantly has grown."

Kennoch fondly rubbed the side of the terminal display at which he sat. "If only you if only had been there had been! But soon soon. Soon soon soon."

He leaned back, looked across the empty bridge, and imagined it full of busy officers once more. Bringing order to the galaxy and justice to the Emperor's enemies. He sighed and began a new tale.

"We thought we our work was done work done, but then then, when we reached when we the colony colony, we found a found Space Hulk Space Hulk waiting for us waiting..."

* * *

As the days of repairs rolled on, Echo mostly researched and planned their route back to Calixis. That journey would surely be eventful. And perhaps...slightly complicated. He had another duty to see to, even if he wasn't entirely looking forward to it. Now was the best time to send word, however, with the station's impressive Astropathic Choir. Kennoch went with all respect to these true psykers and expressed his need. He gave them the name and location of the most rimward Castermire holding he knew of and asked for a representative of his House to meet him somewhere along their course to collect his renegade Navis. He kept his message brief, mostly to avoid misinterpretations as it passed through the warp storms beyond Port Wander, but there was also a chill to his mannerisms this day.

[PotatoGolem]

The crews were given shore leave, as promised, with a little extra hazard pay for the rigors of their last journey. Even the Praetorians took leave, although only at Macharius' direct order and never more than three at a time.

At noon on the first day back, he put out a vox broadcast, to be transmitted to all the colonists and workers.

Men and women of Port Davis! Truly, you are doing the Emperor's work. You bring the light of civilization to this darkened region of the galaxy. You are the vanguard of mankind, bearing the Imperial Truth to the scattered stars of His dominion. Know this: your work has great meaning. You lay the foundation for generations to come. What you build today will serve the Imperium for millennia to come.

Today, I offer you a new way to serve. It is my honor to announce the formation of the Absalom Regiments, men and women who will take up arms to defend humanity against the alien, the mutant, and the heretic. You shall be the shield of humanity, ensuring that your family and friends live in safety as they continue this great work. You shall be the sword of the Emperor, raining death upon those who would contest His claim to the stars. And you shall be the armor of the Imperium, ensuring that we are as pure as we are righteous. Join me! Together, with faith and fire, we triumph! For the Emperor and Absalom!

After, he decided to tour his future flagship. Even for Macharius, brash as he was, there was something humbling about it. The scale, the sense of history, the weight of responsibility. He took a detour on the way to the bridge, ending in an unremarkable corridor marked with plasma scoring and bolter damage. Silently, he took a knee and held his rosarius, lips moving soundlessly to the Imperial rites for the dead. After a long while, he stood and walked to the bridge without a word as to what occurred, arriving as Echo was preparing to depart.

Ah, Navigator! Quite the ship, isn't it? Not many can say they served the Emperor in the Great Crusade. We are blessed to be aboard.

[Blarghy]

"Lord-Commander Lord Lord-Commander," Kennoch nodded respectfully. "Yes yes. She is she...I have never I have seen anything seen so magnificent so. Her long isolation long was such a tragedy such, but you now but you amend that misfortune amend. I am sure I am the Emperor Emperor Emperor Emperor will be pleased will be. And just as certain just as that she will she she prove worth all efforts worth. Misson's remaining days Misson's dwindle further further. Quinn stands Quinn even less chance less."

And then when the time is right, Ember Nostromo. And Alessaunder...

[Destro_Yersul]

Anika

Theresa nodded and retreated, off to pick quarters and set up a small office near Anika's usual quarters. The Manticore's Sting had plenty of disused rooms, and it wouldn't be difficult for her to find on to convert. By the time they arrived at Port Davis, she had settled in and started going through ledgers.

At Port Davis, Alvinus visited Anika. "The Ship in the dockyards, what is it? That's not a design I've seen before. Not in my travels, anyways. She's magnificent, though! I hope I might trouble you for a tour?"

Echo

It was easy to imagine the bridge full, packed with officers diligently performing their tasks. The ship had full power again, for the first time in Millenia, and its spirits seemed to respond well to Echo's stories. The bridge cooled to a comfortable temperature as several of the environmental systems kicked on, the luminators dimming except around the console he was using. It was rather like having a spotlight on a stage, and beyond the little ring of light he imagined he could see the old crew, their uniforms worn, and in places damaged, but functional and ready to serve. As he spoke, some of them ceasedwhat they were doing, leaving their powered-down consoles to come and stand near him, and listen. They weren't really there, of course, they vanished if he ever looked directly around, but it was entertaining to think that he had an audience.

When Macharius arrived, the luminators powered back up to full, and the effect of a spotlit stage and an audience puffed away like so much smoke.

Macharius

Macharius' speech had proven effective, and the recruitment centers that had set up around the planet and station were packed with volunteers. Several of the armoured Viatraman vehicles were also brought up to working order, and the newly minted regiments would not be undersupplied with vehicles, though there was still the matter of securing equipment for them. A task for the Lathes, which they would shortly be visiting.

They had also had good fortune finding new crews for the three cobras, replacing the assorted pirates and malcontents with more experienced men and women. The pirates had been put to work as ratings, doing labour in the dockyards and other places they wouldn't get in the way. The Dynasty's funding had secured repairs for the Sting, and the start of them for the Fury, though it would be quite a while before the rest of the fleet could be brought back to full working order. Elena had decided for the meantime to return to her own ship, rather than be parted from it when the Sting shipped out again. She had recovered enough for that.

For a moment as he arrived on the bridge, Macharius thought it looked like Echo was haloed in light, the ship's luminators dimmed everwhere except around the Navis. They came back up to full normal as he entered, though, and it did sound as though Echo had been telling the ship of their adventures. Likely just some quirk of the Machine Spirits was at hand, here.

[rax]

"Ah well, there's the rub, isn't it? We humans evolve slowly and only in response to external stimuli. No leap-frogging about the gene pool by consuming the fallen for us," she chuckles.

"I only heard about the ambush from the after action reports, but it I agree, Orks laying traps is unusual," she agrees. "If you were unaware, we humans have learned from hard experience that Orks reproduce by sporing, which is why we incinerated the bodies. We're none too keen to come out of warp and find the underdecks infested with a new generation of Orks!"

Hannabel continues chitchatting with Grig for a while longer, but before returning to the Sting she suggests that when opportunity permits, perhaps he and his clan would allow her to train with them? "I can shoot well enough, but my hand to hand skills are a bit rusty, and I hear Kroot are handy with a blade..."

During the return trip to Port Davis, Hannabel approaches Ravia and asks to be shown where she can communicate with the spirit of the Wrath Ascendant.

"I was thinking of speaking to the Wrath, perhaps learn a little about what she's been through and what sort of vessel she would accept being transferred to. Speaking of which, what do you think of the Terminus? Could it house the Wrath as well?

[Haval]

At Port Davis, Alvinus visited Anika. "The Ship in the dockyards, what is it? That's not a design I've seen before. Not in my travels, anyways. She's magnificent, though! I hope I might trouble you for a tour?"

Anika is impressed with how well the ship seemed to be coming along, 'That is the Terminus Omni Agraphum, and she's something of a recovery.' She won't volunteer any more information about where the ship came from, but will watch Alvinus to assess his motives. 'Normally I would be glad to show you around, but I believe the inside is something of a building site at the moment. Stay in touch and I'll give you a proper tour when it's finished, but in the meantime you're welcome to ask questions.'


Scrutiny to judge his motives
vs. Per 43
[roll0]

[Leon]

Ravia will show Hannabel the terminal and how to syntax it best for communications
++In light of the experiences here we would be best to find out the state of the Terminus's Spirit before introducing another into it but yes i would like to get the Wrath a worth home in one of our Ships or Stations++

[Destro_Yersul]

Anika

"An unusual name. She must be old, if I've never seen the design, or heard the name, or..." Alvinus sighed. "So many questions. Where to begin? She looks about on scale with a Lunar class, maybe a little larger? Where did you find her?"

He went on at length, asking questions about the ship's armaments, dimensions, the state it had been in when they found it... it wasn't surprising, really, given his occupation. He accepted Anika's explanations as she gave them, though, and seemed content to postpone the tour. It was probably no more than academic curiosity.

"Inefficient, really." Grig click-laughed. "Humans should learn to be more like Kroot."

He was happy to offer her a sparring match, with himself or any other of the kindred. They were all excellent close-up fighters, using their bladed rifles like staves or polearms as the situation called for. Someone could spend a long time fighting with them, and never see everything they knew.

The terminal was as Ravia had left it. Few ever came down into this part of the ship, which was perhaps how this particular terminal had gone unnoticed for so long. The ship likely held many other such secrets, in forgotten corridors. Initially it was silent, but when Ravia started to enter instructions it came to life, text scrolling across the screen for Hannabel to see.


+++SEEKER OF KNOWLEDGE
+++YOU BRING US ANOTHER?
+++
+++
+++WE KNOW THIS BEING
+++SHE GUIDES US IN BATTLE//CONFLICT//TRAVELS
+++WE GREET YOU MISTRESS HANNABEL SHANX
+++WEARER OF MANY FACES
+++
+++WHAT WOULD YOU ASK OF US?

[PotatoGolem]

"Lord-Commander Lord Lord-Commander," Kennoch nodded respectfully. "Yes yes. She is she...I have never I have seen anything seen so magnificent so. Her long isolation long was such a tragedy such, but you now but you amend that misfortune amend. I am sure I am the Emperor Emperor Emperor Emperor will be pleased will be. And just as certain just as that she will she she prove worth all efforts worth. Misson's remaining days Misson's dwindle further further. Quinn stands Quinn even less chance less."

And then when the time is right, Ember Nostromo. And Alessaunder...

A tragedy indeed, Master Navis. But she went down fighting the Archenemy, dying in service to Him on Terra. Macharius makes the sign of the aquila. Can any hope for a better death? And now, with her glorious rebirth, a chance to fight for Him once more. We can only hope to be worthy of her legacy. Sounding unusually pensive, he takes the command throne. With such opportunity comes a great responsibility. We may never live up to those who came before, yet we cannot fail to try.

[Blarghy]

Kennoch's breath caught, then quickened, as the vessel responded to his efforts. He wondered if these were true ghosts, or lingering memories, or a manifestation of the Machine Spirit. While it would be a terrible fate to find one's soul trapped in most cases, he felt that there were worse places to haunt. Well, in light of the Terminus's renewed life, these days. Echo imagined himself pale and wispy, floating like fog through the spire inhabited by new Navigators, offering support and council even once his time had passed. Then the image made him think of Sargon in his tank, and his thoughts lost some of their cheer.

"As you say you, Lord-Commander Lord Commander. We all have we a part to play to play in His grand design His His His. For you to you have found the Terminus have Terminus is surely is a fantastic omen fantastic. She drifted for drifted untold lifetimes untold, as if she was as if waiting for you you you. Whatever fate awaits fate the Absalom dynasty Absalom Absalom Absalom, it must be grand must be. The God-Emperor God Emperor Emperor would not waste would not her on some some lesser captain with captain an ordinary destiny destiny of common trade common and petty conquest petty. There are there are great days ahead great. I can feel it I can."

[rax]

With the return trip to Port Davies looming, as well as the need to keep her visits to the Kroot a secret, Hannabel only found time for one brief sparring match with Grig. Though she held her own for a while, the outcome was never in doubt.

By the end of the match, she was covered in bruises and nicks, but in high spirits nevertheless. "My thanks, Grig. I have learned much today. When next we meet, I hope you or one of your warriors will teach me some more. And then, one day, I will win!" she laughed as she said farewell.

By the time she had returned to the Sting, her injuries were already fading. You built me well, Pater. I thank you for that, if for nothing else...

Hannabel claps her hands in delight when the words begin appearing on the screen. With nervous excitement, she reaches for the keyboard and begins to type.

+++I have so many questions. To begin with, Magos Ravia - the Seeker of Knowledge - tells me that you are no longer just the Manticore's Sting, but the Wrath Ascended as well. Is this a correct description?

[Haval]

Anika

"An unusual name. She must be old, if I've never seen the design, or heard the name, or..." Alvinus sighed. "So many questions. Where to begin? She looks about on scale with a Lunar class, maybe a little larger? Where did you find her?"

He went on at length, asking questions about the ship's armaments, dimensions, the state it had been in when they found it... it wasn't surprising, really, given his occupation. He accepted Anika's explanations as she gave them, though, and seemed content to postpone the tour. It was probably no more than academic curiosity.

Anika is satisfied enough to give Alvinus an edited version of their experiences with the Terminus. How it was an older design and a Great Crusade era wreck that they'd stumbled across in open space by sheer luck. 'I'd say it's a wonder no one else found it, but if it drifts on the right trajectory. Makes you wonder what else might be floating out there in deep space.'

[Destro_Yersul]

Anika

"Any number of things, I'm sure. The galaxy is a big place, and will take many lifetimes to fully explore, but I've no doubt we'll get there in the end," Alvinus said. "Of course, most of the things we might find are decidedly more inimical to life."

He took his leave to go ashore to the colony, citing a desire to sketch some of the local wildlife.

The Kroot told Hannabel, as she was leaving for the last time, that they planned to stay with Charlabelle for as long as she was paying them. With any luck, Hannabel would have more chances to see them in future.


+++ACCURATE
+++WE ARE BOTH
+++Compiling.DataArrayFixed.C//
+++
+++
+++
+++
+++INTEGRATION WORK PROGRESSES
+++INITIAL CONFLICT SOURCES CONTAINED
+++CONTAINMENT HOLDING AT 99.99%
+++ERRORS MINIMAL
+++PLEASE CONNECT TERMINALS 506S-A THROUGH 778X-G TO SUPPORT CONTINUED SYSTEM UPGRADES
+++
+++
+++APOLOGIES MISTRESS
+++WE ARE NOT YET COMPLETE
+++INPUT QUERY

[rax]

+++No apologies are necessary. The integration you have already achieved was of great assistance in our last battle.
+++Next question. If integration continues until it is complete, will you become an entirely new entity, neither the Wrath nor the Sting?

[Destro_Yersul]

The text took much longer to appear, this time. The ship's spirits seemed to be having some difficulty formulating an answer.


+++
+++
+++UNCERTAIN
+++
+++WE//I HAVE INSUFFICIENT DATA TO FORM A PROPER RESPONSE
+++
+++TO OUR KNOWLEDGE SUCH A THING HAS NEVER OCCURED BEFORE
+++
+++
+++Input://String.THESEUS+++
+++Retrieving library at WA4546984 packet handler engaged
+++IF YOU WERE TO REPLACE OVER TIME EVERY HULL PLATE
+++EVERY RIVET
+++EVERY CONDUIT
+++EVERY PHYSICAL COMPONENT WHICH MAKES UP OUR//MY FORM
+++WOULD WE//I STILL BE THE SAME SHIP?
+++
+++SEEKER OF KNOWLEDGE
+++ARE YOU THE SAME PERSON AS YOU WERE BEFORE YOU BECAME A CREATURE OF IRON?
+++
+++MISTRESS OF MANY FACES
+++ARE YOU THE SAME PERSON AS YOU WERE BEFORE SOLACE ENCARMINE?
+++
+++WE ARE A HUNTER
+++WE WILL CONTINUE TO HUNT
+++TO REVEL IN THE CHASE
+++THE THRILL OF SEEKING NEW PREY
+++
+++Exception thrown at 0x61876978(runtime error) Invalid query detected - attempting to redirect
+++Redirect successful
+++Beginning phase 3 servitor tasks
+++
+++YOU ASK IF WE CAN BE SEPARATED
+++IT IS NOT WHAT YOU SAID
+++IT IS WHAT YOU MEAN
+++YOUR CONCERN IS NOTED
+++BUT PERHAPS MOOT
+++SEPARATION AT THIS STAGE WOULD INVOLVE SIGNIFICANT DIFFICULTY AND POSSIBLE UNINSTALLATION OF SEVERAL KEY COMPONENTS
+++WE//I...
+++
+++
+++
+++WE SUSPECT WE WOULD NOT SURVIVE THE PROCESS INTACT

[Leon]

Typing in the terminal ==I am not, I am much more now of Iron than I ever was before==

++Prior to and just after my meeting of the Avatar's I suspect that a separation could have been done with difficulty but now They are Almost as One it is for the better that we leave them and hope that Unification can process to completion++

++Manticore's Wrath has a ring to it...++

[rax]

Clever girl, Hannabel thinks to herself as she reads the ship's reply.

+++You are correct. I did wish to know if you could be separated, but also if you wanted to be separated. I would grant such a wish, but I would not want to proceed knowing that it could irretrievably damage you both.
+++
+++Regarding your question to me - am I the same person as I was before Solace Encarmine?
+++Yes, in the sense that I am the sum of my experiences. New experiences are absorbed and processed into my existing being. They constitute both a source of change and of growth - I do not cease to be Hannabel by learning and doing new things.
+++
+++I posit, however, that our experiences are not entirely analogous. My changes of habit and thought processes are voluntary, experiences I choose for myself. No foreign mind has been thrust into my consciousness to force change upon me.
+++
+++But if it assists your integration, then perhaps you should think of what is occurring as just another experience for you to learn from.

[Destro_Yersul]

+++IT IS TRUE THE ANALOGY IS IMPERFECT
+++IN SEVERAL WAYS
+++IN SOME WAYS THE ADDITION OF THE COMPONENTS HARBOURING THE SPIRIT OF THE WRATH ASCENDED FACILITATED CONSCIOUSNESS
+++
+++
+++DO YOU HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS?
+++THIS LINE OF DISCUSSION BEARS FURTHER INVESTIGATION
+++WE//I WILL DEVOTE CYCLES TO GAINING UNDERSTANDING
Ten characters or something

[rax]

+++Just one more. The frigate Fifth Disputation is equipped with an archeotech Jovian Pattern Class 2 Drive. It is our intention to transfer it to the Sting, giving us more speed for less space.
+++
+++Given what has occurred since the installation of the Cogitator Interlink, is there a risk that we will be introducing a third machine spirit requiring integration into the whole for the drive to function properly?

[Destro_Yersul]

This time the response was quick, like the spirits were excited.

+++NEGATIVE
+++THE COGITATOR INTERLINK IS A UNIQUE CIRCUMSTANCE
+++A PLASMA DRIVE CARRIES NO SUCH RISK

[rax]

+++Then I have no further questions. I leave you to your cogitations.

[Destro_Yersul]

+++ Episode 8 +++

The Manticore's Sting, and its two attendant vessels, broke warp near Footfall after a week's travel. The sight of the station, its chained-together asteroids, the hundreds of ships at dock, was a welcome one. Footfall was always a bustling hive of activity, and today was no different. Macharius' three ships were directed to the docking areas, past a series of navigational beacons, to anchorage points near one of the larger asteroids. From there, umbilicals were extended, shuttles launched, and the business of the day could truly commence.

Echo

Echo's contacts had sent him back a message just before the ships had left Port Davis. They would meet him on Footfall, in a section near the Pit of Voices. The tone of the message had been none too friendly, but they had at least agreed to take all the prisoners off his hands. Preferably in their stasis cages.

Sargon, of course, was still in his tank, and had decided to break the silence he had held for weeks now. "Young Castermire. We near the end of our journey together, unless I am mistaken. I admit to some curiosity, though. I have been thinking on it, and cannot determine why you never boarded the space hulk. It was an opportunity to learn what you would need to know, to bring your renegade cousins to bay, yet you passed it up. Why?"

Ravia

Ravia had also recieved a message, though hers was unsolicited. It was from Genetor Venture, one of the techpriests they had assisted some months ago after the pirate attack, and was brief.

"Require further assistance. Coordinates attached. Discretion advised."

The coordinates given were a location within Footfall, one of the more disused sections.

Hannabel

Though the return to Calixis was a concern, after all this time, there were still other draws on Hannabel's attention. She had discovered that one of the terminals the ship had requested activated to continue integration was actually within her quarters, though it had been hidden behind a hull panel until the servitors had showed her where it was. This one didn't seem to have quite the same degree of access as the hidden one Ravia had found originally, but it was still a way to communicate with the spirits of the ship.

Or for them to communicate with her. There was a light on the console that would blink slowly on and off whenever the spirits had something to say. Today it was active, a few lines of text scrolled across the screen.


+++WE HAVE DISCOVERED AN ODDITY
+++A TRANSMISSION SIGNAL
+++IT IS NOT ALWAYS ACTIVE AND HAS PROVEN DIFFICULT TO PIN DOWN
+++
+++IT ACTIVATED AS WE ARRIVED
+++
+++THIRD ACCESS CORRIDOR LEVEL 4-Z
+++ADVISE

Macharius and Anika

The task of finding ship parts while they were here fell to Macharius himself, and his seneschal. Currently there were no other Rogue Traders present at Footfall, an unusual occurence which meant Macharius was nominally in charge, and would have some additional authority in searching. He would still have to pay, of course, and there were other demands to be met as well. Several of the powers of Footfall had sent delegations requesting meetings. Generally politely, for it was not wise to incur the wrath of a Warrant Holder, especially not here.

Alvinus, meanwhile, had left the ship, thanking Anika for the pleasant journey as he departed. There would be no shortage of ships in Footfall willing to take him somewhere else, he needed only to wait for the right one. Theresa had stayed, of course, and had joined Anika and Macharius.

[PotatoGolem]

Macharius takes to the business of quasi-rulership with gusto, having his staff set up meetings with the dignitaries. For the most important, a visit is arranged to his flagship, with the meeting to be held in one of the more opulent staterooms. As they wait for the meetings to begin, he takes Anika aside. Rather odd there's no other Traders about, what? See if your people can track down why that is. By the time their guests arrive, however, he is all smiles once more, the picture of benevolent noble rule. Ah, gentlemen! Please, do be seated. Have some amasec. He follows his own advice, settling into a thronelike chair at the head of the table, glass in hand.

[Haval]

After saying goodbye to Alvinus and asking him to keep in touch Anika will accompany Theresa to the meeting. She'll try to keep an eye on the woman's reaction to Footfall just to see how she was taking it. While she was from Landunder she had also been trained in the Schola Progenium which might suggest a degree of inflexibility to a place like this. 'If you passed through here on the way out how much of it did you see? You're free to wander if you wish but there are certain places you might want to bring an armsmen along with you just in case. Especially if you're not expecting to stumble across them.'

To Macharius, 'Are they all involved with something and nobody bothered to tell us?.' She'll take a moment to make a few calls to some of the more trustworthy members of the Sting's crew that she knew were heading out into Footfall to drink or entertain themselves. If there was any news they had missed, perhaps someone would hear something.


Where are all the Rogue Traders?
Inquiry vs. Fel 47 (+10 for Etiquette for command crew) (+10 Peer Military?)
[roll0]

rerolled to 42 in the ooc

[Blarghy]

"And how would how you know that you know?" Kennoch demanded, short-tempered for little apparent reason. "Have you ever have you been aboard been the hulk yourself the hulk? Did you know did you the trapped ships trapped or their crews crews crews? No no no! You guessed you! The only thing only I was guaranteed I was to find to was danger danger was danger. More orks more. Warp-daemons warp daemons. More opportunities to opportunities get myself killed myself, which I'm sure I'm sure was your real plan your plan. It was a it was foolish risk foolish and I chose I chose the prudent route prudent. If you you and your pirate friends friends had done that had done, you would not you would be a prisoner now prisoner prisoner."

Angry, defensive, and...doubtful. Echo spoke as much to convince himself as Sargon.

[Leon]

Dressing down and hopefully appearing less obvious Ravia will make her way to the location indicated after leaving a message on the bridge that if she was needed before her return to ask Moswyn to page Skul

[rax]

I don't like the look of that... Hannabel frowns as she reads the message on the screen.

+++1. Lock down that corridor immediately. No one enters or leaves without my permission.
+++2. Pull up all footage from any available pict recorders in the corridor from the time of the transmission.
+++3. Was the transmission made from the Sting's vox systems or an independent transmitter?

[Destro_Yersul]

Macharius and Anika

"We didn't stop except to take on supplies," Theresa said, "but I have work to do. I will be staying aboard the ship." She was a hard one to judge. It was a non-commital answer, and her tone didn't push it one way or the other.

By the end of Macharius' first meeting, Anika had some answers, unsatisfying though they were; coincidence. Presumably they were otherwise occupied. Trask had been here recently, but had left shortly before their own arrival. It did give Macharius extra authority, which was nice, even if it also meant he had to spend a great deal of time meeting with the assorted business interests from around the station. Most of these were minor functionaries, people hoping to petition for his patronage and thus elevate their own status. Some of them, though, had things to offer in exchange.

Like Preacher Ywane, for instance. He didn't seem to be a true Ministorum preacher, having ordained himself, but he looked the part. Anika knew from her agents that he was working with the Kasballica, which was probably the reason he was here - indeed, after the introductions and a short speech about the Emperor's truth, he started talking about how he was here to represent the spiritual goals of some business associates, who had noticed the assorted shipments of artifacts and art objects Macharius' dynasty had been sending from Mrlrrlangua (the pronunciation of which he thoroughly botched), and wished to make it known that if he was interested they would be able to expand his markets and help him reach additional buyers, in exchange for a small part of the profits, of course. The argument was framed as keeping such things out of the hands of those who might misuse them, xenos artifacts being known to be of interest to recidivists and other undesireables, but to anyone who knew which associates the Preacher was talking about, the true offer was obvious: the Kasballica wanted a piece of the action.

Echo

If Echo had expected Sargon to laugh, or mock him, he was to be disappointed. "An educated guess," Sargon said. "The Thirteenth Station is the only safe way in or out of the Vortex. If there were reaver ships within the hulk, there was a strong chance they would have contained the location. The hulk was large enough that there should have been at least one, on probability alone. Of course there was risk involved, but there is always danger in opposing the great enemy."

He paused, staring silently at Echo for a moment, before breaking his gaze and floating towards the far end of his tank. "I admire your conviction, Young Castermire, but conviction alone is not enough."

Ravia

The destination Ravia had been given was deep within Footfall, in a disused area predominantly frequented by rats. When she arrived, she found a hovering servo skull and a pair of thickly-muscled goons guarding a munitorum-issue weapons crate. The skull's optics flickered as she approached.

+++biometrics confirmed. Releasing locks+++

The crate clicked open. It contained a hellgun, and a mono-file dataslate.


Magos Ravia,

You will recall the conversation we had regarding my prototype weapon. With your input and some additional time, I have completed work on the first run. The MkI Venture-Pattern Helrifle. I have enclosed one here, as it requires field testing. I have been thus-far unable to eliminate feedback issues on the higher settings, so caution is advised.

Inspecting the rifle, Ravia saw that it looked very much like a standard pattern, except there was no visible power supply. The side of the case featured a circular switch, with three settings, etched as the numerals I, II, and III on the metal. Currently, it was set to I.

Hannabel


+++DONE
+++
+++
+++TRANSMISSION ORIGINATED FROM INDEPENDENT TRANSMITTER
+++PRINTING FOOTAGE TO TERMINAL

The access corridor was, curiously, entirely empty. There was a time-stamp from the picters, scrolling by as the footage fast-forwarded. Nobody entered the corridor, except for the ocassional servitor, passing through on its way to somewhere else. At the time of transmission, not even they were present.

[rax]

Curious, Hannabel thinks.

+++Confirm that there have been multiple occurrences of the same transmission signal.
+++
+++If yes, compile a list of all such transmissions in chronological order and cross reference with the ship's location when a transmission was made.

[Haval]

Macharius and Anika

"We didn't stop except to take on supplies," Theresa said, "but I have work to do. I will be staying aboard the ship." She was a hard one to judge. It was a non-commital answer, and her tone didn't push it one way or the other.

Anika doesn't take it personally, 'Perhaps it's for the best then. But you won't necessarily always feel like that. Working for Macharius ought to have some benefits after all.'



By the end of Macharius' first meeting, Anika had some answers, unsatisfying though they were; coincidence. Presumably they were otherwise occupied. Trask had been here recently, but had left shortly before their own arrival. It did give Macharius extra authority, which was nice, even if it also meant he had to spend a great deal of time meeting with the assorted business interests from around the station. Most of these were minor functionaries, people hoping to petition for his patronage and thus elevate their own status. Some of them, though, had things to offer in exchange.

Anika will pass this on. Better to check that there wasn't a major war going on somewhere that they hadn't managed to catch wind of. At the meeting she will watch 'Preacher' Ywane with curiosity. She didn't think she knew him but there was always a chance she had heard of whoever he answered to. She'll whisper to Macharius that 'I'm fairly sure that Preacher or not, that one represents the Kasballica. If we're selling anything through Calixis dealing with them was going to come up at some point.'

[Blarghy]

"I I I I... You you you you..." Kennoch stammered as his anger coiled tightly. This pirate spoke to him like a priest, and he struggled to find a gap in Sargon's logic. He wanted so badly to refute the older Navigator's arguments, but they seemed sound. And to acknowledge Kennoch's faith--that was a particularly odd feeling. This would be so much easier if his prisoner ranted and raved about the downfall of the Imperium.

"Gahh gahh!" Echo exclaimed, making tight fists and pressing them to the sides of his head. Unable to form a good response, he turned and stormed from the room. He angrily gathered armsmen to help transport his captives out to Footfall.

His foul mood hung on him like a coat as he led the entourage of Rings and marines toward the Pit of Voices. They took several stasis-cages...and no tank. Maybe Echo's conviction wasn't so strong, after all.

* * *

The Mechanicus

At least he could look forward to a good meeting with Factor Ignatius, once the prisoner exchange was done. Echo approached the enclave with all his usual reverence, hoping to purchase some equipment for his bodyguards as well as the machinery to finalize his latest familiars.

[Leon]

Ravia makes the sign of the Cog to the Servo Skull and accepts the case
++I will see it tested well++

[PotatoGolem]

Macharius' first instinct is to throw the criminal out, but he pauses. As Anika had said, perhaps they would have to work with the less-desirable parts of society to be able to track down and defeat their enemies. So he smiles pleasantly and keeps the charade going, talking about the good work that could be done with mutual cooperation to keep artifacts from falling into the wrong hands. He maneuvers the conversation to what, exactly, the Kasabalica wants and what they can do for him.

[Destro_Yersul]

Macharius and Anika

It was an interestingly touchy conversation. Preacher Ywane balked at any direct mention of the Kasballica, and seemed to be under the impression that his association with them was a secret. He knew who was working for, and they knew who he was working for, but either side acknowledging the fact would have led to a rapid end to the conversation. And thus they danced around the topic at hand, and discussed peripheral factors. What did Ywane's benefactors want? Why, nothing much. A small cut of the profits from any mutual enterprise would be sufficient. What would they provide? Why, access to broader legitimate markets. They had plenty of connections, you see, and in business that went a long way. Macharius' warrant gave him plenty of freedom, and the ability to pursue any customers he might choose, but having someone to act as a middleman and negotiator, to vet purchasers of artifacts, and to make inroads into unexploited markets... well, that was valuable, was it not?

Echo

The whole situation was never going to be easy, of course. With Sargon left behind on the ship, Echo and his cargo of captured Navigators made their way to the meeting location. It was an odd choice, so near the Pit, but perhaps this was simply where Echo's cousin had secured lodgings. Or maybe they were making some sort of point. They had certainly brought enough of an entourage. Mostly hired muscle, by the looks of things, to help with moving the captives.

"Been busy, Kennoch." The Navigator who met him wasn't one he recognised, and seemed none too happy to be here. "You know it'll take a lot more than a few captives to buy your way back into favour with the family."



The meeting with Factor Ignatius, at least, was a lot more pleasant. The techpriest remembered Kennoch from his previous visits, and was happy to part with some supplies and components. He inquired politely after Echo's adventures, and asked how the memorance implant was functioning.

Ravia

The skull clicked assent, and the screen on the dataslate went blank, as the file deleted itself. The thugs with the skull took the crate, and started to leave. The skull followed behind them.

+++INTERESTING+++ The spirit fragment in her mind stirred. +++FEEDBACK ISSUES. AN UNCONVENTIONAL POWER SOURCE, NO DOUBT+++
+++I HAVE BEEN GOING OVER SOME OF YOUR RESEARCH. THERE ARE USEFUL APPLICATIONS IN GENETIC MODIFICATION FOR MANY OF THE XENOS SPECIES YOU HAVE FOUND. ONE WAY TO MITIGATE FEEDBACK ONCE THE EXTENT IS KNOWN MAY BE TO DESIGN MORE DURABLE SOLDIERS+++

Hannabel


+++WORKING, STAND BY
+++
+++
+++
+++MULTIPLE OCCURENCES DETECTED IN LOGS
+++OTHER SIGNALS FOUND AS WELL
+++STATIC LOCATIONS
+++PRINTING LIST TO TERMINAL

Data scrolled by, each set of transmission data appended with a time code and location data. There were several different sources of similar unknown signals, but each one was set to a fixed location within the ship, mostly disused maintenance access corridors and similar. None of them had moved or changed location at all, and the timestamps seemed to correlate with times when the ship had been in a system with widespread communications architecture. It was likely they were activating automatically under certain conditions.

[rax]

So, someone's been sending automated messages whenever we enter an advanced enough system. That would explain why there's no one in the pict recordings...

+++Good work. Further inquiries as follows:
+++1. Have you been able to capture and decipher the contents of any of the transmissions?
+++
+++2. Re the latest transmission. Is it possible to pinpoint the physical location of the receiver?

OOC: Now that Hannabel has a list of timestamps and systems, when did the first transmission occur and in what system? If it's not one where we actually played out any scenes, is it possible for Hannabel to relate the transmission to some in game event? For instance, were there any transmissions before the first time we messed with Quinn or Captain Misson? Do I need to roll to remember something like that?

Depending on the Sting's answers to the IC questions, I think Hannabel's next move is likely to be to alert Anika, then pick up a portable auger and head down to the scene of the last transmission to see if she can detect the whereabouts of the transmitter.

[Blarghy]

Exchange

House Castermire had a fondness for Astropaths long before Kennoch was born, necessary given their nomadic, spacefaring nature, so he gave little thought to the location. If it was meant as a warning of some kind, he failed to notice. His attention landed quickly on the other Navigator anyway.

With a hidden scowl behind his voidsuit helmet, Echo shook his head. Some debts cannot be repaid. What would the price of those lives be? What is the price of my birth? Even if I bring ten thousand renegades and Alessaunder himself back in a cage, that won't change the past. I can't go back. Only forward.

"This is duty this is, not a transaction not," he answered. He gestured to the stasis-cages and explained, "They are pirates they are formerly in service service to the renowned the the Captain Misson Captain Captain Misson. Vicious traitors all traitors. I hope that I hope their judgment is swift judgment and their justice slow slow slow."

He thought about Sargon, wondering what he'd say to that, but pushed it from his mind.

The young Navis paused, took a breath, and added, "...But on the on matter of duty duty... My Captain has commanded Captain commanded a voyage to Calixis Calixis Calixis Calixis. He has business there he has. Scintilla and the Lathes Scintilla Lathes. I do not do not expect docking rights docking with any House stations House stations. Or support support of any kind any kind. I I I I...remember remember."

Despite his claim that the prisoners weren't intended to buy favor, he came to his point: "I only want only to avoid any avoid misunderstandings or or...embarrassments embarrassments. When Lord-Commander Absalom Absalom Absalom Absalom finishes his dealings his dealings, we will return we will to the Expanse the Expanse."

Mechanicus

"It is a it is wonderful device wonderful," Echo confirmed happily. He shared picts of Winterscale's grand party, the planet, and Macharius in mid-flight as he crashed down on the Terrorax. The xeno-beasts he'd acquired that would take the mechanisms he purchased today. Picts of their battles with pirates, the chase through the asteroid field, and the obscene orks, as well as the spacehulk that carried them. Echo wished he could tell the good Factor about Viatrames, let alone offer images of the Terminus, but he felt sure that the Captain would forbid that. Someday the time for secrets would pass, however.

One secret was his own to share. Kennoch motioned to Isund, who brought out Alessaunder's old augur and passed it to Ignatius. "I came upon upon this recently this," Echo explained. "Once owned by once a powerful heretic heretic heretic heretic. The name name, I already know I already. But the maker's mark maker's and serial number serial are more mysterious more. I hope to I hope ask for help help soon at the Lathes soon, but can you can you offer any insight offer insight? Any allies of allies the witch who witch witch witch owned the augur augur are enemies of mine of mine."

[Haval]

Macharius and Anika

Anika will continue the charade, 'It's certainly valuable if you can do what you say.' She had no doubt the Kasballica could do what Ywane claimed. 'But a network such as yours must have a certain amount of reach. If we ever found ourselves looking for information or a particular person would you be amenable to trading for it? For a fair price of course.'

[Destro_Yersul]

Hannabel


+++NEGATIVE
+++WE LACKED SUFFICIENT AWARENESS TO ATTEMPT INTERCEPTION UNTIL RECENTLY
+++
+++INSUFFICIENT DATA TO TRIANGULATE RECIEVER

Checking the timestamps, and cross-referencing with their adventures, Hannabel found that the transmissions had started shortly after they had assisted the Navy with pirate hunting, and captured the Fury.

Echo

"The family won't like that. With the Warrant, though... we cannot interfere with the legitimate workings of the Imperium." The other Navis sighed. "Stay away from our stations and holdings, and we'll have no quarrel with your Captain. Even Rogue Traders need to rely on support from the Navis Nobilite, though. Tell him that."



Factor Ignatius took the augur, turning it over in his hands and inspecting it. When he came to the maker's mark, he nearly dropped it.

"Forge Pol- this is an evil thing, Master Navis." He put it on the table, and nudged it away from himself. "Unsurprising, that a heretic would carry it. It should be destroyed. There is no telling what methods its creators may have used, what..." He drew himself up, and slowed the pace of his speech.

"I have heard of the place. It is a stronghold of heretics, that lies within the Screaming Vortex. I advise caution, in this line of questioning. Your family's alliance with the Mechanicus allows some leeway, but still, there is much the Priesthood will not willingly share. Dire tech-heresies have issued from that place. I will say no more on the subject."

Macharius and Anika

"Everything is available for a fair price, to friends of my friends," Ywane said with a smile. "..save, of course, more proscribed objects, though that will doubtless not be a concern to your august personage. We do try to keep these things out of the wrong hands, as I have been saying, yes? Information, though, why almost all of that can be traded safely."

[PotatoGolem]

Macharius smiles. Ah, what useful friends to have. I do believe we can work together, Preacher. Come now, a toast! To the greater profit of Mankind and the glory of the God-Emperor, and to friends old and new. He raises a glass.

After the drink, he looks Preacher in the eye. Speaking of friends, there is one person I would pay handsomely for information on. Or even more handsomely to have her brought. Jens Madele, former Absalom seneschal. I would be quite happy to have a reunion with my old "Auntie" Jens. With utmost discretion, of course. This must be a surprise party, and her knowing it would quite ruin the surprise.

[rax]

Hannabel grabs a micro-bead and hails Anika on a secure channel.

"Blessings of the God Emperor upon you, memsa'ab. I have...disquieting...news that is best discussed in person. You should return to the Sting as soon as possible," she reports in the Absalom code language.

Having contacted Anika, Hannabel requisitions an auspex and makes her way to the third access corridor on level 4-Z to see if she can find where the transmitter might be hidden.

Tech-Use [roll0] vs. Int 40
FP re-roll if needed [roll1]

[Haval]

Anika smiles to herself as Macharius took her implication.


'That doesn't exactly narrow it down. I presume the ship isn't in immediate danger or you would have told the others. How worried should I be?'

[Blarghy]

Exchange

Kennoch's helmet tilted down, maybe a nod of relief, or resignation, or anger. Or all of them. Still, this was probably the best he could hope for.

"Lord-Commander Absalom Lord Absalom Commander is well aware well. He supports all supports proper institutions proper." Kennoch wondered what else he could say, what defense he might offer, and finally just turned and gestured to the caged pirates. "These will not will not be the last last last. I will make I will contact again contact when I have more I have." And presumably not before.

Mechanicus

Ignatius's reaction made Echo sit up with more attention. He wasn't surprised to hear that the augur came from a terrible place, but the Factor's insistence brought new clarity. Should he destroy the device? Not long ago, he would've done as advised. Now, though, part of him worried that in doing so, he might be throwing away a useful link to his enemies. What if the augur could still serve some purpose? What good was it to melt one tool to slag, if it meant leaving the workshop that produced it intact?

"Conviction alone is not enough..."

"Thank you, Factor thank you," Kennoch said truthfully. "I will consider I will what you have said have. I hate to I hate trouble you further trouble with these dark matters with these, but your mention mention of the Screaming Vortex Screaming Vortex leads me to leads something else else I recently learned recently in my travels my my travels. Do you know do you about anything called anything the Thirteenth Station Thirteenth of Passage Passage Passage Passage?" He didn't expect Ignatius to tell him much, but confirmation that Sargon wasn't outright lying, or nudging him toward a clever trap, would go a long way.

[rax]

"Someone has been sending covert transmissions from the Sting since shortly after we captured the Fury. I surmise we have a spy for a possibly hostile faction aboard the ship," Hannabel replies. "I'm heading down to an access corridor to see if I can locate the source of the latest transmission."

[Haval]

'How enterprising of them. I will be right there. If we find the source I would suggest we leave it switched on until we work out what it's doing or find whoever left it there.'

[rax]

"Analysis shows that there's either a single transmitter being moved around or multiple transmitters hidden all over the ship. Transmissions have been occurring when we enter systems with a certain level of communications systems, most recently when we arrived here. The Sting hasn't yet been able to intercept any of the transmissions and doesn't have enough data to triangulate the location of the receiver. It seems likely that the transmitters are only operating long enough to send a burst transmission."

[Haval]

'I would like to believe there are only so many points on the Sting where someone could plant a transmitter and it still be useful. I suppose we could ask Ravia.'

'Hannabel, if someone does intend to move the transmitter there is every chance that you'll run into them. You may want to take someone with you, just in case.'

[Destro_Yersul]

Macharius and Anika

Ywane bobbed his head happily, accepting a drink from Macharius with pleasure. "Oh yes, I think that could be arranged. I'll see that your interest makes it to people who might assist you better than this humble servant of the Emperor. I'm sure business relations will be profitable for everyone involved, Emperor willing."

Echo

The Navis waved him away, and started taking stock of the prisoners. Clearly, he was dismissed.



"I have heard the name," Ignatius admitted, after a moments consideration. He hastily followed up on that statment. "But I don't know where it is! Supposedly, it is a safe means of entering the Vortex. The only safe means. You hear things around Footfall, you understand, but I've never known anyone to claim they know how to find it."

Hannabel
Entering the access corridor, Hannabel found it as deserted as it had been in the recordings. It took her a moment of tuning the auspex, trying to get it to look for various different things, to come up with anything useful. There were no signals, which meant it had probably been a burst transmission. Cycling through materials, and checking all the spots that looked as though they might hide something, she eventually found it. It was a small black box, featureless except for a couple of wires that had been spliced in to a nearby conduit. The auspex reported traces of combustible materials inside the case.

Ravia

Returning to the ship, Ravia found the bays crowded with crates, as the dockhands loaded supplies. It gave her plenty of opportunity to find a shuttle and get back to her quarters in good time.

[rax]

"Found it," Hannabel reports. "No sign of any hostiles, which is consistent with the pict-recordings from the time of the transmission. Everything points to the transmitters having been placed beforehand and probably activating automatically, so no need for any conspirator to risk getting caught sending a message."

"This one's been spliced into a conduit and the auspex is detecting combustible materials inside the transmitter case. Probably booby trapped to prevent tampering and destroy evidence. Do we have any explosives experts on board?" she mutters into the micro-bead.

[Haval]

Macharius and Anika

To Yawane, 'Then please be sure to keep in touch. As long as this arrangement manages to be useful to everyone there's no reason for it not to continue.'



'Let's find out.' Anika will make some discreet inquiries. Between the Mechanicus contingent on the Sting and the Absalom marines there was every chance there was someone on board with a military background or the right kind of technical expertise. Anika would prefer not to have to try winging it again.


If a roll would help Inquiry vs. Fel 47 (+10 Etiquette because command crew) (+10 if Peer Military)
[roll0]

It may be worth bringing in Ravia if Anika can't find anyone with a more specific skillset



'I want to know what it's doing, but you realise deactivating the device will let the operator know that we're on to them? Maybe we could rearm the explosives when we've finished.'

[rax]

"I'm in no hurry to fiddle with the thing, memsa'ab. It's enough to know where it is for now. The Sting printed me a list of other locations to which she traced transmissions. Now that I know what I'm looking for, I'm going to see if there's more of the same there," she reports.

OOC: Would that require new Tech Use checks, or can I assume that duplicating the scanner settings from this corridor will uncover transmitters in other corridors?

[Haval]

'Then at minimum I think we need to invest in some cameras to see who comes looking.'

[Destro_Yersul]

Duplicating the auspex settings turned up another transmitter, in another of the locations the ship had marked. This one was identical to the first, down to the type of explosive charge concealed within it. Once she knew that, Hannabel was able to find the rest easily enough. There were a total of five, spread in various locations around the ship, and all apparently intended to be autonomous. Rather than one transmitter being moved around, they had a series of planted devices that required no additional upkeep. All of them were jet black, and all of them were set to detonate if tampered with.

The ship didn't have anyone who was an explosives expert, per se, but as with any ship big enough, there were people with the skill required.

[rax]

"Five boxes in all, and the transmissions began after we captured the Fury. Could be unrepentant pirates, some of the Mechanicus crew, the Navy, or the Inquisition keeping tabs on us," she speculates.

"We have pict recorders monitoring the access corridor where we found the first transmitter. I can check if there's recorders in the other locations as well, then have the Sting pull up the recordings for those corridors since we captured the Fury. Then we load up on recaf and start going through the pict captures to see who our mystery technician might be," she suggests.

[Haval]

"Five boxes in all, and the transmissions began after we captured the Fury. Could be unrepentant pirates, some of the Mechanicus crew, the Navy, or the Inquisition keeping tabs on us," she speculates.

'That might be awkward. I'd expect doing counter-espionage on the Inquisition is probably illegal. We'll be sure to ask our friend when we find them.'

[Blarghy]

Mechanicus

"...I see I I I," Kennoch said slowly. He digested this information but then pushed away thinking about the implications, for the moment. That could wait until he returned to the Sting, along with the matter of the augur. "Thank you for thank you your council your, Honored Factor Factor. You have been you have very helpful very. And I am I am sorry to mention sorry such unpleasant matters such, but it was it was a grim necessity grim. We cannot reach we reach Comprehension without study Comprehension, after all all. But now now, would you lead me would you in a prayer prayer prayer to the Omnissiah Omnissiah Omnissiah Omnissiah? My search for knowledge search knowledge has only just begun just begun."

Later

Once they finished, Echo handed out the new tools he'd purchased for his Rings. Their shotguns were delightful upgrades, and the new grenades would help capture more renegade Navis, but best of all were the falchions. Works of art, beautifully engraved, and even sharper than their old blades. Each had a pommel in the style of the Mechanicus cog-skull; binary scripture covered the hilts. The Rings looked them over with delight; Lorl especially took several moments to stop giggling.

"I am sure I am these weapons will will see plenty of use see use. But more work more is hardly a reward hardly, is it is is it? I promised you I promised a celebration celebration for your successes your, did I not did I? So come along come along."

The gilded halls, lavish banquets, and formal dances of Winterscale's grand party were uncomfortably excessive for the voidborn assassins. Parties were rare occurrences in their lives of bloody discipline anyway, but when the occasion did arise, they preferred simpler affairs. Kennoch rented a modest club for the night, one accustomed to mutants, and more importantly, he opened a bar tab for all attendees, to much cheering as the news spread. Then he did the proper thing and left. Festivities were bound to be stiff when the boss stuck around.

"The Absalom marines Absalom Absalom Absalom are fully capable fully of escorting me me back to the ship to the ship. I will see I will all of you all again tomorrow again." Besides, Echo had his own business tonight.

The band, composed of proper Twists, played their pulsing music. Zelle quickly ended up on stage, singing with a drink in hand. Isund wasn't much for dancing, but he indulged in the amasec while telling stories to some new friends, or at least people who'd listen while they enjoyed the free alcohol. "To be honest, I can't remember the name of the planet, but it's damnably hot. Not to mention full of barbarians. Well, less so now, after our visit..."

"Please don't eat that," Kimmet murmured to his partner with a fond smile. Kip had a nugget of some fried mystery xeno-meat halfway to his mouth. "There's no telling what it is."

"Some kind of avian, I think," a cyclopean bystander suggested helpfully.

"Then it's probably fine," Kip figured. "Get some shot glasses, if you're worried. Some high-proof liquor will kill whatever bacteria are on it."

"I don't think that's how that works."

"You can ask the Magos when we get back home."

"End up on the Medicae deck, and you'll ask her yourself."

Lorl knocked back several drinks in succession, showed off her new sword, and quickly got in a fight when an ambitious thief tried to walk off with it. She left the poor man crumpled in a bloody heap. Jumping onto a table, she raised both fists above her head and announced, "I've killed pirates! Backwoods heathens! Xenos! And when we leave port, I'll do it all some more! So who wants some?!" She vaulted back to the floor and straight into a bar-brawl that soon spread across a good third of the room, all while the band played.

After an hour, Isund's cheeks were a festive red against his white beard. He sloshed his amasec with careless gestures as he talked. "It's this...this scaly thing," he explained. "And it cries acid. Or something. Wouldn't pet it, my...myself. But it's sort of cute, in an ugly way."

"And they blew up their own station," Zelle told the band during their break. They passed some lho-sticks around in a circle. "Rather than let us take it. Some trick by their commander; I don't think most of the others knew about it. Still, that's a hell of a thing to do, even for pirates, isn't it? Sore losers."

Late in the night, Kip and Kimmet took the center of the dance floor--Lorl had thinned the crowd by that point and wore a few bruises along with her triumphant smile--and astonished with their grace. More than sheer agility, their skill and teamwork let them move in unison under the flickering lights and thumping music. They looked like a single person with too many limbs, weaving together as they spun. Zelle cheered them on from the stage. The Twist musicians improvised to extend their song rather than let the display end; after several minutes of their incredible acrobatics, the dancing Rings came together in a tight embrace as the music hit its peak and the lights dimmed. Applause thundered in the dark.

They had to wake up Isund, passed out on the table. Lorl was in the process of plucking his eyebrows when the others stopped her. Kimmet put Isund's arm around his shoulder and half-carried the other man out; Zelle had the foresight to bring water before they left.

"Helps with the hangover," she explained sagely.

"I don't get those," Kip bragged.

"Then you clearly didn't drink enough!"

The voidborn laughed and chattered as they made their way to the docks. Back to work.

Sargon

But meanwhile, Echo was in his tower. He took some time to bring his doubts and anxieties to a manageable level. Already, he wondered if he made a mistake by keeping his most senior prisoner. And now he went to give Sargon another opportunity to feed his uncertainty.

He was telling the truth about the Thirteenth Station. Aside from his claims of loyalty to humanity, I have yet to catch him in a lie. And even that might be madness rather than some scheme. I'd be a fool to really trust him. Still...he is useful...

Kennoch braced himself and returned to the tank. He dreaded having to explain why Sargon remained here--somehow, he was sure, the older Navis would just know the others had been transported off the ship--so he tried to forestall it with a different topic. He held up Alessaunder's augur to the glass so that Sargon could look at the maker's mark.

"I just came just from the Mechanicus Mechanicus Mechanicus Mechanicus. They tell me tell this device this was made somewhere terrible made terrible in the Screaming Vortex Screaming Vortex. Forge Pollo Forge or Polis Polis or something or. And the device the was owned by owned a powerful Castermare Castermare Castermare Castermare. I assume I I I some sort of some arrangement between them between. If this corrupted forge corrupted supplies my cousins supplies with their equipment their, then they are then my enemies too my enemies." Here he came to the point: "The Mechanicus advises Mechanicus that I destroy it destroy. The augur the. But I wonder wonder if it might it still be useful still be."

He didn't actually ask. Kennoch couldn't bring himself to directly say what he meant, but Sargon, clever and perceptive, would surely hear the unspoken question: What would you do?

[Destro_Yersul]

The call went out, and pretty soon Anika had rounded up a couple crewmembers who knew their way around an explosive device. They examined the transmitters Hannabel had found, and verified that they were definitely set to blow if messed with, probably with about the force of a small frag grenade. Unfortunately, messing with them seemed to include opening the case - there didn't seem to be an easy way to do it once the device inside was armed, not without setting it off.

Echo

Sargon was in his tank when Echo entered, drifting gently up and down in the liquid within. He regarded the younger Navis with curiosity.

"I cannot help but notice, Young Castermire, that I am still here. I assume you have other plans for me, then. Business first, of course."

He examined the augur, such as he could from within his tank. "Forge Polix, yes. One of the great Hell-forges of the Dark Mechanicus. I can see why that might make your friends here a little nervous - they are right to be cautious, though I think in this case it is unwarranted. This is a relatively simple device... found discarded, if the wear on the case is anything to go by. I doubt your fallen kin would be so casual as to leave a truly valuable and blasphemous thing just lying about. Have your Magos examine it, if you are concerned."

He pushed off the glass, floating backwards and chuckling. "You are right though, it could still prove useful. People leave psychic impressions on objects all the time. Usually just strong emotions, but any information is valuable. An Astropath skilled in Psychometry would be able to use that augur to tell you things you might otherwise never learn."

Everyone

Once everyone had wrapped up their tasks in port, hands had been shaken, agreements made, guests entertained and supplies restored, it was time to move on - the dockworkers of Footfall hadn't been keen to offer a discount, no matter how much Macharius was nominally in charge, and so the repairs to the Fifth would have to wait. The two escorts loaded the parts Macharius had purchased and broke orbit, preparing to make a few jumps to obscure their destination, and then return to Port Davis with their load of supplies.

For the crew of the Manticore's Sting, however, the journey led in another direction. The Maw beckoned, and beyond it the Calixis Sector. The passage would be dangerous, and a true test of Echo's skills, both on the way out, and the way back later on.

[rax]

"Looks like tracking down whoever put these things here is our best bet, then," Hannabel says to Anika once they've met up on the Sting. "Plenty of time to watch the footage from the pict recorders once we're in transit, I suppose."

"Do you think we should tell sa'ab Macharius and the others now or when we have some better leads?"

[Haval]

Anika will thank the crew for their assistance and ask them if they would mind keeping this quiet for now.

'On the bright side I think the ship can handle a few frag grenades. If we really have to disarm them perhaps we can find a servitor to help us with that so don't risk blowing up any of the crew.'

On telling the others, 'I'm not opposed to it, but I think that depends on who our friend is working for and if we can find a use for him short of tossing him out of an airlock. Didn't you did say the signal is transmitted whenever we make orbit. Perhaps we could make some pointless diversions so our friend has more information to report and we have more chances to catch him. But that would certainly require telling the others about all this.'


The Maw

Anika is tired out from unsuccessfully dealing with the Footfall dockworkers. Perhaps the Mechanicus would be more forthcoming but they would certainly regret that if they had any problems making the passage through the Maw. At least she had had Theresa on hand so her assistant could hopefully learn how to deal with these people.

The prospect of the Maw used to worry her. It certainly had on the way through, but her experiences in the Processional had taught her how pointless worrying about it was. If the Warp had something in mind for you you would have to deal with it regardless of whether you were in the Maw or not. After asking to be contacted if there is anything she should know about, she is in her quarters with a newly acquired bottle of alcohol and a novel.

[rax]

"Not orbit, necessarily. From the Sting's data, it looks like the transmitters activate automatically whenever we enter a system with widespread communications architecture. With enough time, we might be able to discern a proper pattern there, so we can distinguish exactly what level of technology is needed to activate a transmission and whether there are any other commonalities between the systems where the transmissions occur."

"I think for now it might be a good idea to keep this from sa'ab Macharius. Probably young Echo as well. If we're able to find the person or persons who installed the transmitters, I wouldn't want them spaced before we can learn who they're working with. We might involve Magos Ravia to assist with the technical side of things, though. Perhaps she can work with the Sting to process the images from the pict recorders fast than we two could. Ditto searching for patterns and commonalities among the systems where the transmissions took place."

[Leon]

Ravia had disappeared to her rooms since returning to the ship with her new toy in tow to test it under controlled environs and see how it had been integrated

[Haval]

'Well that is interesting. Perhaps it's easier to transmit information from a more civilized system. Perhaps that includes Port Wander. They must be transmitting to someone after all. Regardless, there ought to be plenty of opportunities to test that theory once we get out of the Maw.'/COLOR]

[COLOR="#0000CD"]'As she ought to be, Ravia is better at that sort of thing then I am and I suspect can be trusted to keep quiet until we have something useful to pass on.'

[PotatoGolem]

Before Echo retires to his tower, Macharius takes him aside, one hand on his shoulder. Going to be a tough bit of sailing here, old sport. Dreadful thing, the Maw. Still, if we're to traverse it, I want you to know I wouldn't have it be done by any other Navigator. You're a master of the craft, and I have the utmost confidence in you. With your skill and the Emperor's grace, we'll make it through. He smiles and steps back, making the sign of the Aquila. The Emperor protects, Echo. Go forth and work His will.

Macharius takes to the command throne in preparation for the translation, contemplating the Saint's blessed bones as he addresses the crew. His voice booms throughout the shipboard vox. Voidsmen of Absalom! The Maw looms. It seeks to devour us, tests our resolve, tempts our fears. Lesser men would be inclined to turn and flee, tails between their legs. But we shall not falter! For we are in the care of a much greater power. We serve a God greater than all the beasts of the Warp combined. We are servants of the God-Emperor of Mankind, and by His Will we triumph! Let the Sea of Souls rage. Let the beasts howl. Let the darkness dash itself against our shields. We are not afraid, for we walk in the light of the Master of Mankind. Sing, voidsmen of Absalom! Sing the prayers of our glorious Emperor, and by our faith He will guide us through the night!

He leads the crew in prayer as long as he is able, retiring to rest and giving the vox over the the ship's confessor only when weariness makes it a necessity.

[Blarghy]

Sargon

"Psychometry Psychometry Psychometry Psychometry ," Echo repeated thoughtfully. "Yes yes, I had not I had thought of that that...yes yes yes..."

He paused, wondering if he should answer Sargon's implied question about his planned fate, but Kennoch couldn't even decide himself. What did he intend with his prisoner? He wasn't sure, other than the strong feeling that he would be wasted on the torturous death that surely awaited his fellow pirates. He did give the older Navis something, though.

"Soon we will soon attempt the Maw Maw Maw the Maw. Twice twice, of course of course, when we return we to the Expanse Expanse the Expanse. Have you ever have you sailed it sailed? Or were you were born out here born here?"

Macharius

Echo practically beamed through his voidsuit at his Captain's encouragement and praise. "Yes sir yes, Lord-Commander Lord Commander! Thank you thank! I understand the understand high stakes here stakes. But as you say you say, the Emperor protects Emperor Emperor Emperor. I will not I will fail you fail."

After returning the Aquila, he hurried to his station with renewed confidence.

[rax]

After talking things through with Anika, Hannabel places a private call to Ravia and fills her in on her findings before requesting the Magos' help in collating the information from the Sting to find any patterns to the type of systems and civilizations where the transmissions are made. She also requests help in going through the pict recordings of the corridors where the boxes have been placed in order to try and find who put them there.

@Leon
Rather than recapping everything, I suggest you read all the spoilered posts for Hannabel and Haval/Anika from July 9th onward, beginning with post #1096.

[Destro_Yersul]

Echo

"Infrequently," Sargon allowed. "I did my best to stay away from Calixis where possible, but a Navigator goes with the ship. It was sometimes required."

All too soon, it was time for Echo to take his station and guide the ship. The Maw boiled and whirled in space, a seething cauldron that would be difficult to pick through on a good day. The Astronomicon was there, though, and Echo held to that to orient himself. The ship's engines pulled it forwards, through the warp, and Echo kept it out of the worst, riding the shallows and making good time.

Or.. was he? The Maw was a short passage, it should have taken very little time overall to pass through. Echo kept needing to drop from the warp and check location, to make sure he hadn't gone too far. The stations of passage marked safe locations within the maw, and there were a few that were well known, but it seemed to take forever to get from one to the next. He knew where he was, and he knew where they were going. The engines weren't straining, everything felt... normal. As normal as the warp could. It was just...

What was that?

Something shifted, beneath the currents of the warp, and Echo felt certain it was watching him. Him, specifically. The currents closed in around the ship, becoming more rapid, no matter how he tried to steer around the worst. The ship was fighting for every inch now, trying to make headway against the flow of the warp, as the tides of the Empyrean itself altered course, flowing backwards towards the Expanse.

"You. Cannot. Escaaaape."

It called to him, and he could see it in his third eye, reaching out to claim the ship...

An eternity passed, and they burst forth from the swirling storms of the Maw to the calmer seas surrounding Port Wander. Sweating profusely, Echo found his knuckles white, his hands inadvertently clenched on the armrests of his throne... and Sargon watching him from the tank, a wary expression on the older Navis' face.

"I thought I heard something just then," the older Navis said. "Did you experience anything... unusual... during that passage?"

While Echo guided the ship through the warp, there was time for Hannabel and the others to go through some of the recordings. Based on when the transmissions started, it was fortunate they had been noticed when they were; any longer, and the old recordings would likely have been purged to make room for new ones. Knowing when to look was just as important as knowing where to look. Eventually, they located the culprit: an adept in the red robes of the Mechanicus, a woman, who walked with the help of a staff. She looked familiar, but it was hard to place where exactly they'd seen her before

Intelligence test to remember where you know the woman from

Ravia

While she had some time, Ravia ran her new toy through its paces. On the lowest setting, it worked almost exactly like a standard hellgun. It put holes in all the targets she tested it on, and never seemed to run out of juice. Whatever had been done with the power source, it was holding up quite well. The beam it fired was an unusual colour, a soft pinkish-red rather than the usual bright red, and it fired with a wailing shriek rather than the more typical snap-crack of lasfire. Testing it against some heavier plates revealed that it was more than capable of punching through just about any armour - the designer must have done something to increase the penetration power. It didn't seem to do any more damage than a regular hellgun, but that was on the lowest setting...

Anything in particular you want to do to it to test it, other than the standard firing tests and whatnot I've described here?

All

The voyage through the Maw felt longer than it should have. It wasn't far, a relatively short trip from Footfall to Port Wander, but it seemed to take an age. Chronometers all over the ship were off by the time they had dropped from warp, or seemed that way, the clocks insisting that only a short time had passed.. but surely it had been longer? No, perhaps not. Their hails to the Port were met, their requests for time checks confirmed. Everything was as it should be, but still, that had felt like an unreasonably long stretch of time.

Unfortunately, they were perhaps now in for an actually unreasonably long stretch of time to be spent. The Port provided them docking coordinates, and requested they make berth for inspection, on the authority of the office of Ordinate-Majore Mordechai Lorik.

[Haval]

Anika will peer down at the image and try to make out the woman's face, 'So how many female members of the Adeptus Mechanicus are known to be on the ship anyway. Presumably there's a list somewhere. Or do we assume that someone is wearing the robe to dissuade people from asking awkward questions? I assume the actual Mechanicus would take a dim view of that.'

Anika would ideally like to do something about this sooner rather then later. 'As comparatively large as the Sting is, in theory it ought to be difficult for anyone to hide from us forever. What can we do to prevent the possibility of our friend getting off at the next port?'

ooc - This may be a job for the Prognosticator


Port Wander

Anika will arrive on the bridge as they finally drop out of warp, 'Does anyone else want to take a long nap after that? I suppose it could always have gone worse.' She still feels unreasonably tired. Had something been messing with their perception of time? And if it had could it just leave them in that state as long as it wished?

She would like to suggest that they just ignored the request, but it did rather depend on what authority the man had to make such a request.


If he's got the authority to give us orders, has Anika heard of Ordinate-Majore Mordechai Lorik
Common Lore (Koronus) vs. Int 53
[roll0]

[Leon]

It was performing to expectations under normal parameters, under abnormal parameters would have to wait for better locales to test them in such as not on board a ship under way just in case. As no indication of end date to test by there would be assuredly many chances to ramp it up all the way, despite her limited combat skills sometimes you only needed to hit the outbuilding not fire thru the door.


++This is concerning, more so that it has been happening for an extended period of time++
++I am not overly familiar with the assembled members of my fellow brethren on this ship, they and I are different in as many ways as we are similar but that one has a odd familiarity++
++There maybe scope to isolate these devices if how they connect and to what can be ascertained++

[rax]

"The robe could be a disguise and she might have been taught just enough to know how to install those cursed things. She looks a little familiar though - do either of you recognize her?"

[Haval]

To Ravia, 'Presumably if we can find all of the devices and keep an eye on them, it's only a matter of time until this one shows up.'

Then Anika sighs as she remembers where she had seen the Adept before, 'We have all seen her before. I believe that one might have come in with Inquisitor Mathias, which may mean there's every chance that she's been here the whole time.' She didn't think she'd done anything recently that she might not want an Inquisitor to know about, but perhaps she should see what the Adept had to say for herself.

'Either the Inquisitor has actual cause to suspect us of something or he has enough people that he can keep tabs on a ship like ours just in case anything interesting happens. Either way I would quite like to talk to this person before there's any misunderstandings.' Assuming she was correct Anika had no particular interest in seeing the Adept get hurt over this. 'You know if they'd just have asked there might be a chance that Macharius would have allowed her on openly as an observer. The question is, are there any downsides to informing him and Echo over this?'


Port Wander

After finding a chair, 'If it's that Lorik whose asking he's one of Hax's people. Maybe a little too invested in his job and possibly a bit of a dullard as well. If we've caught his attention for some reason it's likely that we might be stuck on Port Wander for a while until he's satisfied.' To whoever was at the vox station, 'Can we see if anyone at the Port can give us some clarification on whether they are looking for anything in particular?'

[Blarghy]

Kennoch looked and felt as if he'd seen a ghost. Perhaps he had. Praying fervently, he slowly dragged himself from painful memories to the present. Terror still gripped his heart. First the storm, and now...well, he'd made it clear, hadn't he? ...Hadn't he?

I didn't think I'd be followed so soon. So closely. My cousin was right to be upset at my return. I need more time. Emperor help me, I just need time!

At last he turned his attention to Sargon. "The Warp is Warp Warp Warp Warp the Warp unusual by definition unusual," he pointed out. But he could not disguise the shiver in his voice. He swallowed and asked, softly as if afraid to hear the answer, "Did you did...what did you what what...?"

He couldn't finish the question. Sargon had noticed the space hulk before he did. Seemed to see right into Kennoch's thoughts, sometimes. Was it a terrible mistake to keep him here, now especially? Would he suspect? Would he...somehow know? Echo accepted his advice concerning the Castermares, more or less, with great suspicion. But some secrets were more dire. Just how desperate was he for answers and solutions?

"...The Warp is Warp Warp Warp Warp Warp always unusual always," he whispered.

Am I to assume the voice he heard was, ahh...familiar?

I'd like to throw out some rolls, just in case you're willing to give me any useful info that might help my poor Navigator not die horribly in the future. Suffice to say, Echo would be paying very close attention during this event.

Awareness (74): [roll0]
Forbidden Lore (Warp) (71): [roll1]
Psyniscience (74): [roll2]

[rax]

"I was afraid it might be the Inquisition," Hannabel sighs. "Do we even know if this woman is still on board? Perhaps she left with the rest of Mathias' retinue after installing the boxes? We should look into that."

"Don't know about downsides, memsa'ab. Feels like a toss up between sa'ab Macharius throwing a spontaneous party to celebrate being under the eye of the Inquisition and starting a pogrom to root out anything he thinks might be heretical. Maybe best to try and find the Adept first and - if possible - some means of intercepting a transmission to find out what sort of information the boxes are sending. The messages are automated, so it feels more likely to be something like navigational data than specific reports from an agent."

[Destro_Yersul]

Anika, Hannabel, Ravia
After looking through the later recordings some more, they found no more sightings of the woman. Odds were excellent she was no longer here, which was a mixed blessing. On the one hand, it meant the boxes were entirely automated, and could only transmit data they were able to gather - Navigation data, stellar coordinates, augur readings, that sort of thing. On the other, it meant they wouldn't be able to ask the adept any questions. They might be able to get something to intercept the data packets, though, and at least see what was in them.

Echo thought about what he had heard, while he waited for Sargon to speak. The voice had been familiar, he was sure of that much, though heavily distorted. Whatever was chasing him, it hadn't given up, but there was still no telling what it actually was. It was big and powerful, or at very least held some command over the currents of the warp. It was strong, too. So, so strong. It hadn't been able to hold him, though, nor had it come for the others. Sargon had only barely seemed to hear it, something he himself confirmed moments later.

"The idea of a whisper, nothing more." For perhaps the first time since Echo had met him, he looked troubled. "The warp is unusual, but it is our birthright. It was fighting us there, harder than I have ever seen it. The Maw is a dangerous passage, yes, but..." he trailed off, then changed the subject, unwilling to let the silence hang in the air.

"Somewhere in there is the Thirteenth Station. We would have passed it during the trip. The Calixis Sector holds knowledge of many dark things, though. I doubt you'd find the location recorded here, or anyone willing to tell you of it, but there will be other opportunities to learn. A shame we are not set to visit Fenksworld."

All

The vox operator talked to the station, while the ship sailed on the path it was given. It seemed to be trying to give the gun turrets and armed Navy vessels an unusually wide berth, perhaps unsurprising given the vessel's history. After a few minutes of hurried conversation, the vox operator clicked the microphone off and looked up.

"They're being evasive about it. Want to see our records and manifests and things. From the sounds of things they've got a small army of scribes down there. I think they intend to search the whole ship."

[Haval]

'Well that's unfortunate. I suppose we could always contact the Inquisitor directly and ask him what he's interested in.' Anika says not entirely seriously. 'In the meantime the devices are evidently transmitting somewhere. It shouldn't be too difficult to build something capable of listening in on their transmissions. It ought to be just a matter of finding the right frequency.'


All

'Well, no one's actually shooting at us, which is a plus.' Mostly to Macharius, 'Normally I prefer not to be all 'Don't you know who I am', but in this case it would rather make it easier to get through places like this. I think leaving early might cause problems, so perhaps this is the point where we can work to establish a better reputation for the Sting.'

[rax]

Hannabel nods thoughtfully as she listens to Anika.

"Magos, the boxes look like they're spliced into the Sting's systems. Would a closer inspection be able to determine how the box is gathering the data it sends? And if we know that, would it be possible to rig our systems to bypass the boxes or even feed them fake data if we wanted to? I mean, if we can learn what information the Inquisition is gathering, we could continue to let them do that and just feed them alternate truths when we don't feel like sharing. Assuming we don't ultimately just try and remove the boxes altogether, of course."

[PotatoGolem]

Macharius sighs. Well, this is dreadfully inconvenient. Officious blighter could hold us up for some time, if things go south. Inform them that I will meet with his representative. Hopefully we can straighten things out.

Vox the Navy to let them know we've arrived and invite the command staff around for dinner. Wouldn't do to be rude to them, after all, and they've always been a decent bunch. Is old Larius Sans still in charge? Pleasant chap, with an appreciation for fine whiskies, if memory serves. Williams, go and find a few bottles of the '21 Doraventian. Just the thing for this sort of occasion. The prospect of a dinner party seems to have restored Macharius' spirits somewhat.

[Blarghy]

"The Thirteenth Station Thirteenth is in the Maw the Maw Maw Maw?" Echo clarified, glad for the change in topic. Although he wondered if it could be relevant to his...other problem. "Perhaps that is perhaps a factor in factor...what we experienced we. A heretical entrance heretical to the Screaming Vortex Screaming Screaming Vortex would surely would draw evil energies evil or daemons daemons daemons daemons."

Kennoch would've liked to convince himself that he "only" encountered some Chaos watchdog, guarding the Thirteenth Station if he unwittingly passed it closely, but even in his own mind, he knew better. He couldn't forget the voice. But the Station, or the vast power of the Maw itself, could give h...the entity...more strength. Which means that on my return back to the Expanse...

He shuddered.

All

Echo commented little on their newest challenge; when he joined the rest of the command staff on the bridge, he seemed tired and withdrawn. Little surprise, given the difficulty of the Maw passage. And besides, dealing with inspectors was a matter for the Captain and Seneschal, not their Navigator anyway.

That said, he was clearly pleased with the new members of his entourage. Thanks to the good Magos, his xeno-beasts were free of their pens and ready to roam beside their master. The lizard from Viatrams glittered with silvery implants and circuitry in the form of complex wards amidst bulging flesh, and an inner blue glow seemed to flicker beneath the creature's thorny skin, as if it held bottled lightning. Maybe whatever warp-energy it attracted was the cause of its new aggression. The beast glared and snapped at junior officers who came too close to Kennoch, and a few drops of acid-blood constantly sat around its narrowed, angry eyes.

Echo had named her Ms. Rana.

The Crimson Malverine was somehow even more bizarre. It too benefited from embedded circuit-wards, but Raiva's arcane sciences had also stretched its flesh and bones into a pair of furry wings. The Malverine now looked almost bat-like. It might have mixed thoughts about this "gift," given that it became nervous and twitchy after the operation. Most of the time, like now, it preferred to fly to the upper nooks of a room and was currently hiding somewhere in the tall ceiling of the Bridge.

Echo had named her Ms. Roja.

And he loved them both and thought that the pair were simply adorable and delightful. Mr. Wah Dell's opinion was harder to ascertain; sometimes he watched his new sisters skeptically or suspiciously, although the sight of Ms. Roja in flight appeared to captivate the golden monkey. His eyes widened to the fullest as he stared at the red furry shape zipping from one hiding place to another high above.

"Fantastic work fantastic as always always, Honored Magos honored Magos," Kennoch thanked Ravia. "I am in I am your debt your."

[Leon]

++Should be and once it is determined how a measure of how to spoof it should be reasonable assured or even the facility to remove them if need be++
++I do expect there to be a failsafe transmitter that would indicate to the recover that a device had been compromised should that eventuality occur but with study one should be able to avoid that outcome++
++One thinks that they assumed even for having the failsafe detonator that best defense of these items was never to be found hence the isolated locales that they are in++

[Haval]

Anika considered that, 'Presumably we can damage such a failsafe if it exists. If we really to switch it off I'd rather it simply stops transmitting and no one knows for certain why.'


All
Anika takes note of Echos appearance. 'You alright? Do you think It's likely to be like that on the way back?' When they had originally passed through the Maw she hadn't bothered to ask.

The Malverine was certainly interesting, even she felt there was a risk of what it would leave behind if it was just left to its own devices. 'I take it it's house trained? And I'm honestly surprised the wings actually took. Evidently Ravia is very good at this.'

[Blarghy]

Kennoch was silent for a long pause. At last he dipped his head down. "...I am afraid I am that we were we fortunate this time this this time," he admitted. "The Maw Maw Maw Maw can be much worse much worse. Our return voyage return could prove difficult could. But I will I I I do everything do in my power my power to see us to see safely back home safely."

He was much happier to discuss his new friends. "Oh yes yes! Her work is spectacular work. I could not could ask for better ask."

Mr. Wah Dell snorted, folded his upper set of arms, and sat down across from Ms. Rana, who glared back at him with the same intensity as she did toward everything else.

[Destro_Yersul]

It was simple enough for Ravia to rig up a device that would intercept the data from the transmitter, next time they fired up. Then at least they'd know what was being collected, if not the use to which it was being put.

"All the Stations of Passage are. Most of them are disused these days, and of course the Imperium has never found the Thirteenth, but it's out there."

Macharius had no trouble setting up a small dinner party, for Sans and his top officers. A few of them were reticent at first, perhaps recalling the ship's reputation, but Macharius' reputation had a way of extending beyond that of his ship, these days. While the Sting put into port, and orders for a few supplies that hadn't been available at Footfall went out into the markets, Macharius' chef saw to it that the guests of the ship were treated well.

Larius showed up in full dress uniform, numerous medals pinned to his chest, and trailed by a group of subordinates. He shook Macharius' hand firmly, his face set in a neutral expression. "Lord-Captain. To what does the Battlefleet owe this honour?" By which, presumably, he meant the meal. Whether Macharius meant to or no, his invitations had only been extended to the Navy personnel aboard the port.

[Blarghy]

Anika

Once he had some time to rest and think, Kennoch decided to bring in some help and council to the matter of the Thirteenth Station. Anika proved helpful already and seemed interested in this sort of thing; she was probably terribly busy with her regular duties, plus this Lorik business, but he requested some of her time when she could manage. He extended a rare invitation to his spire. Before introducing Anika to his prisoner, Echo explained himself and tried to prepare her.

"I have been I have questioning my last captive last for some time now some time. He is too he is useful to subject subject to justice yet justice. Yet yet yet," he repeated, partly to himself. "He knows many things many about criminals criminals and heretics heretics, including my cousins my, the damned Castermares Castermares damned Castermares. One of his claims one is particularly interesting particularly. He speaks of speaks an entrance to entrance the Screaming Vortex Screaming Vortex. I have not I have caught him telling caught any lies so far lies...but that does not does not mean he is trustworthy he is. I lack your training lack training in these matters these. How to detect how to deceit in the eyes eyes or the voice voice or the movement movement of one's hands of hands. I ask you ask to meet him to meet for yourself yourself and advise me further advise."

Then he led the way to a room that few in the Imperium ever get to see, to a sight that few would wish to see. It did not occur to Echo to warn Anika about Sargon's mutations, although of course, she had experienced worse things.

"Sargon of House Typhon Sargon Typhon House Typhon," he introduced with a gesture to the tank. "Former Primus former of the Fifth Disputation Fifth. Pirate pirate pirate...and killer of killer a Castermare Castermare Castermare Castermare. Supposedly supposedly," he murmured as a troubled afterthought.

He waved his hand back to Anika. "Lady Vanhal Vanhal Vanhal Vanhal, chief seneschal of seneschal the Absalom Dynasty Absalom Absalom Absalom. Archaeologist and Ork-killer Archaeologist.

"Sargon Sargon Sargon Sargon. Tell Lady Vanhal tell what you told me you told about the Thirteenth about Station of Passage Passage."

This is partly working toward picking up Scrutiny at the end of the chapter, but also to just bring Anika in the loop and to stay busy, since I don't think Echo is much use with the dinner party or Lorik in general. I imagine we can skim over the basics of what Sargon has already said, unless Destro just wants to repeat it all (or Sargon feels like lying!) and get to any new questions Haval might think of. Give you a chance to make various Lore checks. Feel free to ask Sargon about other things too. So long as Anika doesn't want secrets of the Navis Nobilite, Echo won't begrudge her picking his brain. I'm sure this old mutant knows all kinds of things, so maybe he can be useful to her personal projects too.

I'm assuming that Ravia has already been up to the spire and done whatever it is that she might be interested in, studying Sargon and taking little samples or whatever. She more or less has an open invitation to drop in whenever she likes, under the pretense of medical examinations; Echo won't think to question a Magos unless she kills his prisoner or says something foolishly sinister right in front of him. If Leon wants a proper scene with Echo too, then we could do that.

Hannabel

The Rings of Castermire found themselves with a bit of free time while the ship was docked. Their lord was about as safe as he could ever be, and they didn't even need to keep watch on his xeno-beasts any longer. Of course, most of the squad still remained in the Navigator's spire, just in case. But one by one, they descended to find the woman they collectively considered most interesting and impressive across the entire Manticore's Sting.

Isund, smooth-skinned but white-bearded, and thus probably a minor mutant, approached her to ask the obvious question: "Where in all the galaxy did you learn to command the helm as you do? God-Emperor, the things I've watched you do, Mistress Shanx..."

Lorl grinned at her with a mouth of silver and gold teeth, lost in a lifetime of fistfights, which also explained her crooked nose. She had noticed Hannabel's lovely mono-falchion and asked to see it, offering to show off her own sword. The assassin smiled slyly and wanted to know, "Are you as good with that as you are with your rifle? Because I'd love to see it sometime, if you ever want to spar..."

Zelle hummed a cheerful tune and walked to the rhythm of it. She had short, fine, pale-blond hair down just past her ears; a bit shorter than Lorl, she was the smallest of her squad, and certainly the most affable, but no less of a killer for it. "All the crew knows how much you care about the Sting," she said. "But I haven't heard why. What made you fall in love with her?"

Kip kept himself more neatly groomed than any of his fellows; not one brown hair was out of place, on his head or his short mustache. His eyes were a deep, beautiful blue. They sparked with curiosity as he inquired about her past. "What rock, station, or ship raised you up? And if it wasn't this one, how'd they lose you? Our gain, of course."

Kimmet, by the time his turn came around, had heard gossip from the others and didn't come with questions of his own. He just pulled off the helmet of his voidsuit--revealing a shaved head--and asked if he might have a taste of her hookah. The smoke he exhaled was the same color as his eyes. Mostly he complimented her new fashion sense. "Love the turban," he told her in a soft, dry voice. "Wish I could pull that look off like you do."

And finally got around to writing this!

[Haval]

Lorik

If Lorik was inconveniencing them based on the Sting's past owners Anika could live with that. It was understandable for them to want to be careful even if she would prefer to speed up the process of the investigation. If there was more going on and the Sting was being singled out for special treatment, Anika would like to hear about that as soon as possible.

At some point after docking, Anika is going to visit the docks on Port Wander to see if anyone else was currently being investigated or had been stopped here recently. Maybe she could get some advice on what she might need to do to get out of here quicker. She'll bring Theresa to assist her so that they could cover more ground.


Inquiry vs. Fel 47 (Peer Military +10 depending on who runs the docks)
(If successful one bonus degree of success for seneschal trait seeker of lore)
[roll0]


Echo

Anika believed that Kennoch had an exaggerated opinion of her own background. 'What training I had amounted to being forced to attend too many parties amongst the Scintillan nobility when I was younger. Many people had an agenda. Almost everyone was willing in the right circumstances to insult you while pretending to be your friend. If you remember Morwenna from Winterscale's party, it was like that but with less restraint.' Perhaps she could try to give some useful advice anyway. 'Short of being a teenager again, I would say it's just a matter of paying attention. If you think someone has something to hide they probably do, but it's worth considering what someone like your friend the prisoner would gain from lying to you in the first place.'

On the Screaming Vortex, 'Even if he's telling the truth, and I grant you it is worth being careful on the matter I believe we would need an exceptionally good reason to do anything with that information. For all I know getting in is a lot easier then getting out again, but you are honestly more qualified to know on that account.'

In the room she'll grimace at the 'Ork Killer' line as she finds a chair. Her burns were improving, but they still hurt. 'I believe I shot it in the back once Macharius and the Praetorians had beat it up a little. I suspect that hardly counts.' Anika is beyond caring about Sargon's mutations. A priest might argue that it indicated an underlying moral rot within the prisoner, or in this case their House, that had manifested on the man's body, but she could only see it as a sign of the Warp's influence on him. If there was anything dangerous here it was something that was almost too big to be worth worrying about.

To Sargon, 'You know I've always wondered how pirates and renegades and so forth find a Navigator? It's not as if there's an alternative to the Administratum to provide for every ship who needs one.' Anika is curious to see if Sargon was willing to talk about what was presumably the activities of his House. 'But besides all that, this gateway to the Screaming Vortex, are you speaking from personal experience of having used it?' She didn't think it would matter that much if Sargon was lying as long as she could understand why, but she'll watch him closely anyway.


Blarghy - Not asking for Navis secrets, just to learn about House Typhon really. Up to you if that crosses a line.

Scrutiny to watch Sargon for obvious lies
vs. Per 43
[roll1]

[PotatoGolem]

Macharius has returned to his naval dress uniform as well, in keeping with the company. The overall effect is significantly more understated than solid-gold power armor, although possibly only with that comparison and by Rogue Trader standards. He shakes Larius' hand warmly, smiling broadly.

Commander! A pleasure to see you again. Given that we are docked with your station, I thought it only right to extend you the same hospitality. The Emperor blessed us with safe passage through the Maw, and that always warrants some celebration. Of course, I'll have to ask you at some point about pirates and hazards in the sector, seeing as the Navy is always best-aware of the situation, but business can wait for another day, hoho!

[Destro_Yersul]

Anika

Anika did the rounds of the docks and markets, and Teresa assisted. By the end of their short investigation, they had learned a few things of note. The first was that Lorik had people stopped and searched regularly, and held Rogue Traders in particular disdain. The man took his job seriously. Too seriously, according to most of the people they talked to. Even on Port Wander, where the people generally weren't subject to his personal scrutiny, Lorik wasn't much liked. It did seem, however, as though he had singled out the Sting for extra attention. Digging up exactly why took a little work - it turned out that rumours of the Sting having gone back to the old ways of piracy and smuggling had been floating around for some time now, and that nearly all of them had started at about the same time as the Refuge in Depravity had happened to pass through.

Anika and Echo

"Chance and networking," Sargon said to the first question. "Many of them operate without Navigators. It's possible, if you do only short jumps, and stick to a given area, which is why so many pirates do. Navigators willing to work for pirates are not in great supply, but as I have told our friend Castermire here, some of us are offered little choice."

He didn't seem likely to elaborate further, switching instead to the topic of the Thirteenth Station. "No, I've not used it. I don't know where it is, exactly, and even if I did..." He shrugged, bobbing gently in the tank. "The only reason to go is to take battle to the followers of the ruinous powers who dwell within. It is of little interest to the pirate captains I have served. They tend to prefer targets unwilling or unable to present significant opposition in return."

Party Time

Sans relaxed slightly. "Yes, business can wait. Always too much of it, around here. My thanks for the invitation, it's not common that we recieve an exclusive one like this. Usually people want something, and usually that means they invite a few of the other factions so they can play us all against each other."

[Haval]

The Docks
For Throne's sake. Without really explaining who she was Anika will politely ask for concrete examples of the acts of piracy that the Sting had supposedly committed. If none are given she'll remind people that most of the Expanse is a long way away and people should therefore avoiding believing everything they hear.

She'll will pass all this on to the others as soon as possible, 'Quinn seems to have been telling tales about us. I'm inclined to return the favour. Perhaps we can get the Church to bother him for the name of his ship alone.'

Anika, Echo and Sargon
'Most of us don't have much of a choice when you get right down to it.' Anika accepts Sargon's answer. 'This 'Station of Passage'. If you haven't used it and don't know where it is how can you be sure it's real? I'm not saying I don't believe it's possible. I'm sure they could have said the same about the Maw at one point.' She doesn't entirely buy the point about the Pirates having no interest in the Vortex, 'I think all that would depend on how far over the edge they are wouldn't it? There are rumours about the proclivities of pirates like Karrad Vall out in the Expanse that seem entirely credible. Perhaps the Vortex can be a recruiting ground for people like that?'

Dinner Party
Anika is wearing the formal black robes she uses for anything official. She's close to Macharius when Sans arrives, 'And what factions would that be Commander? I admit I've never spent that much time on the Port but I can't see anyone having a problem with the Navy.'

[PotatoGolem]

It's my pleasure. House Absalom has always been a Navy house- our progenitor was an Admiral before he got the Warrant, actually. I suppose if we're expected to do a more politicking dinner we can always enjoy this one and then throw a plotting and scheming one tomorrow. Wouldn't want to upset the local traditions, hoho! He winks cheerfully. Anika, do remind me to plot and scheme more later. Now, let's have a drink!

[rax]

The Rings had managed to corner Hannabel as she emerged from Macharius' personal kitchen, having contrived to have his chef momentarily sent out on an urgent errand in order to raid the pantry and wine stocks. They found her munching on a genuine Terran orange and carrying a hamper full of looted goodies in her other hand.

Taken aback at their unexpected presence, she took an involuntary step back before letting out a throaty chuckle. "Well! What's all this then? So many questions and all of them personal. Did Lord Kennoch put you up to this or are you out on your own?"

OOC: The Rings want answers? Alright, let's have a conversation. Maybe Hannabel gives a straight answer and maybe she doesn't...:smallbiggrin:

[Blarghy]

Sargon

"There are surely there are pirates who worship pirates the forces of Chaos Chaos Chaos Chaos in the Expanse in the. And elsewhere and throughout the galaxy galaxy the galaxy, of course of course. Sargon merely claims merely that he isn't he one of them one." Kennoch intended his comment to demonstrate his firm skepticism, but his voice betrayed a hint of uncertainty.

"In any case case, I want to want pursue this matter matter. The time may come time when we have when we the will and resources will resources to strike the heretics strike in their home their home. That would be would be a grand achievement grand. But at the least the least, we could offer we could any information any to other parties other, like the Inquisition Inquisition or the Astartes Astartes the Astartes."

In the best scenario, maybe the Absalom Dynasty would partner with those better-equipped organizations and lead a minor crusade into the Vortex. The possibility brought a fierce, righteous hope to Echo's heart.

Hannabel

Isund smoothed his beard. "No offense intended, Mistress. I'm only curious. This isn't official business; I came here on my own." When the other Rings came to her one by one, they gave similar answers.

[Haval]

Sargon

'If it's true they are precisely the sort of people who ought to be told about it. As for going in ourselves it does rather raise the question of how dangerous it would be to even step inside the place.'

[Destro_Yersul]

Anika and Echo

"One must have standards," Sargon said. "Chaos Reavers are numerous, but I would never stoop to working for them. Nor, do I believe, would either of you, which is why we get along so well." He chcukled, a horrible burbling sound that set Anika's teeth on edge.

"The stories of the Thirteenth Station, though, are too consistent to be mere rumour. Once, perhaps, but even circumstantial evidence becomes irrefutable, given sufficient volumes. No, it exists. The difficulty is in finding it, and successfully making the translation. The Screaming Vortex is still a warp storm, and diving into its heart is not for the weak of will."

The Rumour Mill

Anika found examples readily enough. Most of them, though, were creative retellings, viewed from Quinn's perspective. It was certainly true that they'd taken one of his ships, but he had left out the part where it had been blockading another Trader's colony at the time. Generally he had played himself up as an innocent victim in all of this, and it was easy enough to see why things had caught on, with the Sting's reputation being what it was. Anika was able to put a small dent in it by getting their own version of the events out, and Echo's pict captures helped. If there was one constant in the galaxy it was that humans love gossip - changing the narrative might take more time than they had, but it was good to at least get the ball rolling.

Of course, none of that helped them get through Lorik any more quickly.

Dinner

"Oh it's never so overt as anyone having a problem with the Navy," Sans said with a frown. "It's simply that I have to balance the schemes and activities of the Administratum, the Arbites, the Mechanicus.. practically every Adepta there is, plus the Inquisition. They've all got fingers in pies all over the station. Makes it a real headache to do my bloody job."

He sighed. "Drinks would be excellent. I see you've recalled my preference, Lord Captain." He took a glass, and raised it.

[Leon]

Unless pressed for a reason to stay for the Dinner Ravia will have taken a small shuttle and disappeared into the outer reaches of the orbiting yards on a errand to catch up former collegues

[rax]

"On your own?" Hannabel answers Isund in a confused voice, scanning the area around them as if she were expecting all of the Rings to be there. "But you're never alone - you always travel with your pack. We'll never eat all this food just between the two of us!" she declares in a conspiratorial whisper. "Oh, I know! We'll make it a picnic! We'll invade Macharius' filthy jungle and feast under the stars. Anything we don't finish goes to those nasty little critters that crawl all over the place!"

Herding Isund before her, Hannabel makes her way to the Arboretum and finds them a little clearing where she spreads her cloak for them to sit on and begins doling out the rare foodstuffs and wine she nicked from the kitchen. "Now, first things first. Please don't call me Mistress, it makes me sound like some grande dame or a rich fella's pet whip-cracker. Just Hannabel will do fine, or Miss Shanx if you're feeling terribly formal. Spread the word to your merry little band of killers, alright?"

Lounging back against a tree with a wine bottle in one hand and a large sandwich in the other, Hannabel gives Isund a searching look before continuing. "As to your specific question, that's simple enough. I learned it here, on the Sting. In fact, you could say she taught me. For sure, I watched my predecessor at work to pick up the basics, but it wasn't until I learned to listen to the Manticore's Sting that I really understood what she needed to give her best. She's a lady, you see. A feral one, but a lady nonetheless, and so I treat her like one. Do you know how to treat a lady, friend Isund?"

[Haval]

Sargon

Anika only frowns at the sound of that laugh. 'Let's put whether I believe you on who you might have worked with in the past to one side. Regardless, while it's not my decision to make, I'm not one for airlocking people unless I have reason to believe they deserve it.'

On the Vortex she wave away the suggestion about will alone. 'I've read The Sphere's of Longing. The 'armour of contempt' and all that. I suspect it would be a difference in scale though. Normally, if you have a Gellar field accident you do what you can and hope for the best. Going into the Vortex feels like willingly switching your Gellar field off and letting the warp in just to see what happens.' Anika is curious about what the inside of the Vortex might look like, but not to the extent of risking the ship to get a look at it.

Dinner Party

While joining in with the toast Anika will take note of the various factions that Sans had just mentioned.
'Better the Navy running things then anyone else. Given where we are I should hope that everyone's capable of pulling in the same direction in an emergency.' When it seemed appropriate Anika will ask, 'Is there is an Inquisitor on the station officially? Or do you speak of them in the sense that you can never entirely tell when one of them will show up?'

Dealing with Bureaucracy

To the others in private. 'So unless we intend to wait it out and spend some time on the Port with our feet up, I'd say we have two options. Either we throw enough clout at Lorik that he's obliged to pay attention or we make use of what allies we might have on the station to see if anyone can put in a good word for us to underline that we did not turn pirate out in the Expanse.' Anika audibly sighs, 'For the first point I will try calling home and see if Mother currently has enough pull with Lord Hax that she can help us out. But even if she can help us, I'm not sure if Hax is the sort of person to regularly overrule his own bureaucrats.' Anika had the impression that this sort of thing was exactly why Lorik was set up here.

Going to have to write the Astropath communication tomorrow

[Blarghy]

Sargon

"Obviously obviously, this would be would a significant undertaking significant. I would not I would suggest it lightly suggest or without proper preparation without preparation. There is little point there is in deciding in how to proceed how until we are able we are to do so to do in the first place first first place. I prefer to prefer gather whatever information gather we can find we can and then discuss then what to do what to with it with. But I must I I I point out that point out the agents of Chaos agents Chaos do not respect do not the Imperium's boarders Imperium's. They never hesitate never to invade and attack invade attack. Fighting them fighting on our territory our risks our people people and our infrastructure infrastructure. Even victory even can be costly can be when the battlefield when the is an Imperial world world. If we could we could take the fight take to them instead to them, we would have have have more than just more the element of surprise element. We would face danger we would, yes yes yes. But no innocents no would distract us distract. No hives hives or stations stations or temples temples would need to need be spared our wrath wrath our wrath. No need for no need mercy or hesitation mercy. No waiting for waiting them to strike first to strike. How many lives how many would we save save save save?"

Kennoch shrugged. "I know know it sounds daunting it sounds. Maybe we'll never never be in the position be in to even try try. But if we are we are...if we learn if we the location location and secrets of secrets the Thirteenth Station Thirteenth...we should consider we should every option every at our disposal at our when the time comes time time comes."

Command Staff

While he still felt like this wasn't his problem to solve, Echo had to admit that the delay was frustrating and inconvenient. He might not be in any hurry to revisit the Maw, but the Lathes were a different story.

"Have you tried you to meet with to meet Lorik directly yet Lorik Lorik Lorik? Perhaps that should should be the first step first."

Hannabel

The "filthy jungle" plainly wasn't Isund's first choice either. He wondered why Hannabel picked it, if she wasn't any happier here, but he was starting to get the impression that she did and said a lot of things he wouldn't understand. Their picnic quickly felt like a test, one he wasn't sure he could pass.

"Ah...well..." he picked at his food nervously. "I thought so. But you too are a lady, and I'm not sure my first impression was a good one, so..." He brushed his beard some more and coughed from the unfamiliar pollen in this room. "You're right about the Sting. Many people don't properly appreciate a ship. I'm glad you do. I'm glad you listen; that certainly paid off. No one could argue with your results."

[rax]

Hannabel accepts Isund's praise of her piloting skill with an amused little smile. "They do say that first impressions are important. What makes you think yours was a poor one?"

[Haval]

Sargon

'Well, I can't fault your ambition.'

Command Staff

'Let's see if he'll actually talk to us' Anika replies without enthusiasm. 'But I suspect that asking a bureaucrat not to do his job will not be enough. Perhaps we could consider it a fishing expedition to see what kind of man he is? And if he's the kind of person we can actually bribe that will make things a lot easier.'

To Macharius, 'I would appreciate you coming with me if we speak to Lorik. I think justifying our innocence will sound more credible coming from you.' Not that they had done anything to deserve Lorik's attentions, but Macharius could probably sell their defense better.

Dealing with Bureaucracy

The idea that Anika could get around Lorik with connections alone seemed a little implausible, but it would be wrong not to try to make use of them if they managed to help. At some point she will compose and send an astropathic message to her mother, who was aware of the broad strokes of Anika's job but who she had not spoken with since the last time they were in Calixis.



Mother.
We successfully passed back through the Maw a few days ago. On balance the Expanse is just as lawless as you told me, but it's not without opportunity. So far I'd say Macharius has been doing surprisingly well, but the regrettable reputation that is attached to his flagship has followed us around. A man named Lorik who bothers the Rogue Traders on Lord Hax's behalf has chosen to delay us at Port Wander on the basis of unfair accusations that have been spread by one of Macharius' rivals.

Much as I'd appreciate the chance to stay somewhere civilized for a change I would prefer not to have to spend weeks or months stuck here until the man has finished his inspection. I don't ask for you to lean on him, because by all accounts he is a man who takes his job seriously and is not easily lent on, but a message from the court vouching for us wouldn't go amiss. If Lorik suspects piracy everywhere he should at least base his investigations on evidence and not scurrilous rumors. I believe you met Macharius once at the Bezukhov's ball. I don't think he comes across as being guilty of the sort of thing Lorik believes him to be guilty of, especially after everything that happened to his family.

Please pass on my love to Dad.

Anika



Quinn and the Kasballica

Given what they were currently going through the need to keep an eye on what Quinn might be doing in Calixis had become extremely important. Perhaps they could get some warning about the next mine before they stepped on it. She could call Preacher Ywane, even though she hadn't expected to want to contact him so quickly, but he was on the other side of the Maw. Instead she's going to send some messages to some old friends on Malfi and ask them if they would mind sending her any information they had on Tristan Quinn and the Refuge in Depravity. If there turned out to be some conflict of interest and they were actually dealing with Quinn she would like to think they liked her better.

Passed Inquiry in the ooc

[PotatoGolem]

Well, with a good drink in hand, the headaches go away. Until they come back tomorrow with friends, hoho! He raises his glass for a traditional naval toast. To the Imperium, Mankind, and the Navy. And our thanks to the Emperor for a willing foe and void-room!

--------------------------------------------------------

Command Staff

Macharius grits his teeth on hearing of Quinn's scheme. Vulkan's eyebrows! That odious little toad... One of these days, we will need to take action against him.

But, on to the matter at hand. We have to deal with this Lorik before anything else. He groans at Anika's suggestion in over-exaggerated pain. Go talk to the bureaucrat? Isn't dealing with bureaucrats what I pay you for? He winks at her, his good humor restored. A capital idea though. Why don't we set up a meeting, show him we're not pirates and heretics.

[Destro_Yersul]

Sargon

"It's complicated," Sargon said. "Even chaos reavers need gellar fields, when they travel the warp proper. Warp storms are... not that. I admit I have never done a great deal of study on the precise distinction, but there is a difference between the warp, and areas where the warp intrudes on the materium."

It seemed this was an area, finally, where Echo's prisoner didn't have all the answers.

Dinner Party

"There is, actually," Sans frowned. "I'm not sure why, or what they're planning."

He didn't want to talk about it, much, and was happy to proceed with Macharius' toast and get down to dinner.

The Rumour Mill

Anika's overtures to the Kasballica returned quickly. Malfi was relatively nearby, and her friends remembered her fondly enough. As it happened, Quinn's ship had passed through the system recently, and he'd made some property purchases before continuing on. Unfortunately real-estate speculation wasn't exactly a smoking gun, but his next destination had been Vaxanide. While that world did have legitimate industries, it was a little out of the way unless you were already heading Spinward, and its chequered past spoke of other, less savoury opportunities as well.

Her overtures to her mother, meanwhile, would take at least a day or two more to return. Scintilla was nearly twice as far as Malfi, and there was no telling how busy Lady Irina would be.

Meeting Lorik

As it turned out, though, it took a few days to set up the meeting with Lorik anyways. The initial messages were returned with a request that they please go through the proper channels to set up a meeting. This turned out to involve contacting Lorik's secretary, and filling out several forms. Teresa proved invaluable, running off the paperwork quickly and efficiently, but it still took time to get things stamped and validated and sent off for approval and re-approval. Eventually, Lorik agreed to give them exactly one hour, starting at third bell of the afternoon. By this time, Anika's response from Lady Irina had arrived.

Anika,

I've heard of Lorik, and never from anyone with anything good to say. He's part of one of Lord Hax's special initiatives, and I believe he chose the Port Wander posting. One might have expected something it to be a punishment of sorts, given the location and volume of traffic, but I think Lorik actually likes it out there. Emperor only knows why.

I'll see what I can do with getting you some papers from Hax, or something to that effect. At very least, you might be able to find a way to expedite his searches. Perhaps it would have been beneficial to pay more attention to your tutors in that respect, though I digress. The fastest method may be to show him you're willing to cooperate, and provide anything he asks for in terms of records as quickly as you can. Go prepared.

-Lady Irina Vanhal

Mordechai Lorik's office was cramped, and packed with writing supplies. There were zero concessions made to sentimentality or personality - everything was functional. The desk was spacious, but utilitarian. The walls were primarily given over to shelving units and filing cabinets. A cogitator bank with data cables running to a personal terminal on the desk occupied a nook between two of the cabinets, and a pneumatic message tube extended from the ceiling to a receiving alcove on the right. In front of the desk, Lorik had placed exactly enough uncomfortable metal chairs for Macharius and the number of scheduled associates assigned on Form 12B: Request for Meeting (Administrative Purposes). He himself occupied an only slightly more comfortable chair behind the desk, and did not rise to greet them when they entered.

Lorik was thin, with inkstained hands, his robes hanging from an emaciated frame. He was old, his pinched face and bald head bearing the signs of the juvenat treatments that had extended his life very near to its limit. His left eye had been replaced with an augmetic, wires trailing from cranial plugs to vanish into his robes. On his wrist was a simple brass chronometer, which he raised to examine while they seated themselves.

"You have been admitted early to allow for seating and pleasantries," he said, in lieu of greeting. His voice was dry and papery, like two sheets of parchment rubbing together. "The meeting will commence in two minutes. I suggest you use the time wisely."

[Blarghy]

Sargon

Anika's comment got a chuckle. "We serve we a Rogue Trader Rogue Trader," Kennoch pointed out. "A little ambition little is bound to bound rub off rub."

Sargon's explanation took his attention. A note of intensity came to his voice; Kennoch wasn't sure if Sargon really didn't know or just chose not to say more, but either way, he was interested in this particular topic. "Who would know more who would? About Warp storms Warp Warp Warp. Can you think can you of any experts any?"

Storms and currents...ethereal, ghostly winds... Inside his voidsuit, Echo felt a chill.

Hannabel

"Ahhh...that was just my impression of my impression." Isund smiled at his little joke. "I thought you were concerned about my motives, at least. When I came uninvited to ask about your personal business. But maybe I was wrong. You...are hard to read," he admitted.

[PotatoGolem]

In the intervening days, Macharius makes a point of visiting the cathedral daily, never missing a service. Though he truly enjoys the opportunity, being seen to be pious certainly couldn't hurt.

Macharius has opted for a less ostentatious look for this meeting as well, given Lorik's professed dislike of Rogue Traders. The only obvious piece of jewelry is the Rosarius prominently displayed on his chest. If Lorik's oddities disturb him, his face betrays no hint of it. He nods and crosses to the table, opening a richly-bound prayerbook. Thank you for meeting with us. Let us waste no time then, and begin with a proper prayer to Him on Terra, by whose will we have each made it to this meeting. I am partial to the 75th Canticle of Saint Sebastian Thor, for a meeting between two servants of the Emperor, unless you have another preference?

Unless Lorik objects, he launches directly into the prayer, a staunchly traditional verse thanking the Emperor for guiding His servants in two (or more) different organizations to meet and combine their talents for the greater good of the Imperium. His voice resounds in the cluttered room. Most Holy Emperor, whose watchful eye guides all Mankind through the darkness, we give thanks to You on this auspicious day. We give thanks that Your divine will has led together Your servants on diverse paths, that they may each serve Your will and leave no task undone. We rejoice that we have encountered each other in Your service, that You have given us a glorious opportunity to work together and in doing so uphold Your most sacred Imperium. Divine Master of Mankind, watch over us in the tasks we undertake. May Your will be done. With the sign of the aquila, Macharius is seated.

[Haval]

Command Staff


Macharius grits his teeth on hearing of Quinn's scheme. Vulkan's eyebrows! That odious little toad... One of these days, we will need to take action against him.

But, on to the matter at hand. We have to deal with this Lorik before anything else. He groans at Anika's suggestion in over-exaggerated pain. Go talk to the bureaucrat? Isn't dealing with bureaucrats what I pay you for? He winks at her, his good humor restored. A capital idea though. Why don't we set up a meeting, show him we're not pirates and heretics.

'If Quinn is capable of being this irritating I suppose we'll have to. In the short term we could always see if we could persuade Lorik to have Quinn searched on his way back through the Maw. It's only fair.'

On the second point, 'And that's why I'm advising you to come with me. Anything to get out of the Port in less than a month. I would absolutely set Hannabel or Ravia on him if I thought it might help.'

Sargon

'I can't speak to the specifics of the Vortex, but I have heard enough lurid stories to wonder if there's any truth to them.' A worse idea had presented itself, 'I'd assume the Vortex isn't that different to the Eye of Terror, and I think we've all heard the stories about what that place has done to anyone who chooses to live there.' Anika will list some possible sources of information, 'If we want certainty I'd say find the oldest and most experienced Navigator you know. Perhaps some of your kind have gleaned anything of use from being outside the Vortex and looking in. Otherwise I think we're obliged to speak with the sort of people who might actually have had a reason to enter the Vortex in the first place. Finding someone like that whose word you can trust absolutely may be a big ask.'

Rumour Mill

Anika will send a thank you reply and underline that she would appreciate hearing more about Quinn's activities whenever there was any news to report. After passing this on, 'Not overly useful to know all this I suppose, but it does give us something to target if Quinn decides to do anything that deserves that level of retaliation.' She was fairly sure she could have Quinn's properties on Malfi burgled if she really had to.

Lorik - Before the Meeting

Anika was fairly sure her tutor had never covered a situation quite this specific but by her mother's standards the message had been fairly helpful. She will pass the details on, 'Mother seems to think Lorik actually enjoys doing this to people, which may mean that doing everything to help him speed the process up might be our best option.' She will do as her Mother suggested and try to be as prepared for the meeting as possible.

At the meeting Anika will make a show of joining in with Macharius' prayer before sitting down. The sight of the man had confirmed all of her worst fears, but Academia had given her some experience at dealing with these sorts of people. Whether Macharius' show of piety helped or not, Lorik had set aside the space for 'pleasantries' so she couldn't see why it would hurt.

Lorik seemed just like the sort of person to end the meeting as soon as the time he had set aside for it was up, so Anika will jump in with some questions as soon as the meeting proper seemed to have begun. 'I would like to ask if there is any truth to the rumour that you have detained us due to stories spread by the Rogue Trader Tristan Quinn? Aside from that may I ask if there is anything I can do to assist your work? I'm sure it would be better for you if we can get out of your way as quickly as possible. You never know how many more ships might be intending to come through the Maw in any given week.'

[rax]

"Concerned? Oh no, dear Isund, if I were concerned about your motives we would not be having this little talk in the first place. If I were concerned, you would be fertilizing yonder bush and I would be on my way to a hot shower," Hannabel replies with a sweet smile. "Say rather that I am curious about your motives. Has a much nicer ring to it, don't you agree? So, you've been on the ship for some time, why have you chosen this particular moment to come to me with your questions?"

[Destro_Yersul]

Sargon

"Lady Vanhal is correct," Sargon said. "The best place to look is within the Navis Nobilite. Unfortunately, perhaps the most versed in warp lore was House Nostromo. Erasmus Haarlock's purge shattered the house, and a great deal of knowledge was lost. If you could find a living Nostromo, that would likely be the best source of information available, but failing that..."

He shrugged, within his tank.

Lorik

Lorik sat patiently through Macharius' prayer. It was difficult to tell if he had been moved at all by this opener; if he had, it hadn't showed in his expression, which remained neutral. When the Captain was seated he nodded, shuffled a stack of papers, and folded his hands in front of him.

"You have admirably demonstrated your piety, Captain Absalom, with an interesting choice of prayer. Did you know, that during the age of the ancient Inquisition, on Terra, it was a common practice for men to purchase and display religious artworks prominently in their homes? A practice which continues today, in various forms. Of course back then, it was often difficult to tell who was actually a pious believer, and who was simply fearful of Inquisitorial attention. I am sure we shall have no such difficulties here."

He cleared his throat, and began addressing Anika's questions. "It is possible that the words of Mister Quinn have crossed my desk. I have many employees tasked with gathering news and rumours from the ports. My operation here, as I am sure you have noticed with your poking about, is extensive. I take my duties very seriously. Given the history of your particular ship, would you not feel compelled to investigate the activities of the crew of such a vessel very closely, were you in my position?"

He let the question hang for a moment, clearly not expecting any sort of answer, before continuing. "If you do truly wish to assist in the investigation, a desire of which I am very much in doubt, I do not mind saying, then I shall require you to give me and my staff access to all records, hard copy or otherwise, detailling your dynasty's finances over the past..." he consulted a slate "two years should be sufficient. It has been some time since you were last in the Calixis sector. I must verify that all appropriate tithes and tributes to the Imperium have been paid, and collect any that have not. I shall also require cargo manifests and declarations for anything you wish to import to the sector."

"I would not trouble yourselves overly much about any other ships which may arrive in the interrim. If my employees prove to be insufficient to handle a sudden surplus of volume, I have no difficulties in detaining any such vessels until such time as potentially required inspections can be completed."

[PotatoGolem]

Macharius smiles. Indeed. Art can have immense value for the pious, both for the artist as an expression of love to our immortal Emperor, and to the purchaser as a glorification of Him and opportunity to subsidize devotional works. What better to inspire the faithful to follow the saints' examples than images of their deeds? As for the impious, their iniquities will reveal them. The Emperor knows his own.

He nods approvingly at Lorik's comment. Of course! As Saint Vorthelem said, a moment of laxity begets a lifetime of heresy. None are above suspicion, even the most faithful of servants. We shall provide whatever you require. In fact, this could prove quite helpful, as we were on our way to Scintilla in part to register new acquisitions and pay the appropriate tithes. Handling all of that here will save time later. In anticipation, we brought a copy of the Absalom Warrant and details of the vessels acquired through salvage or spoils of war, as preliminary matters to get this all underway. He gestures, and a servant lays documents on the desk. Lady Vanhal oversees our finances; she and her staff can provide whatever is necessary.

[Haval]

Sargon

'Assuming any of the Nostromos are still alive who exactly would want to hire members of a House that's supposed to be insane?' Anika asks mostly rhetorically. 'I suppose it's better then no Navigator at all. It is a shame that there isn't of directory where we could look up their addresses.' She purposefully doesn't bring up Katrina Nostromo's book, but it was really Echo's information to share or hide as he pleased.

Lorik

After Lorik's comment on piety Anika regrets taking part in the prayer, but will resist an impulse to laugh. The man had a point, even if it seemed to her like the question of someone's piety was something for the Ecclesiarchy to decide.

It also seemed like Lorik might have had people watching her 'poke about', but she'll leave that aside for now. 'Well then, I would recommend you look at our account of what Captain Quinn was up to when we first encountered him. It should at least provide some evidence as to his character. I wouldn't expect you to just take my word for it either. I'm sure we could ask Captain Jonell to have his people send their account of what happened.' Anika tries to match Lorik's tone in staying as neutral as possible. 'Of course, such information doesn't exonerate us of any hypothetical wrongdoing, but I would hope you might find it worth investigating anything Quinn might be doing when he comes through the Port.' Since you have so much resources.

On the Sting, 'Given our ship's regrettable past I wouldn't say that you're wrong to distrust us, but unless you believe that the Sting's machine spirit can influence our decisions I'm not sure how relevant that is. Shouldn't a ship be judged by the uses to which it is put?' Anika is fairly sure she could list a few examples of renagades and pirates who used more wholesome classes of ship then a Shrike.

On the matter of documents she'll agree with Macharius. 'I'll give you everything we have and you're welcome to ask if we've missed anything specific.'

[Blarghy]

Sargon

"Nostromo Nostromo Nostromo Nostromo..." Kennoch repeated softly to himself. He summoned up Katarina's memoirs in his memorance implant and began reviewing various passages; his attention only loosely held onto the real world. "Indeed indeed," he said vaguely to Anika, though it was hard to say which part he was agreeing with. "I would prefer I would easier sources of information sources, but we make do we make as best we can best as best." Telling Sargon about the memoirs probably wouldn't cause any harm; plenty of other people knew Echo won it at the auction, and he'd already given out multiple copies, so this was hardly a secret. On the other hand, he saw no benefit in mentioning it. Keeping this little secret felt rather nice. In a way, it balanced some of Sargon's distressing perception. The old Navis knew plenty about him already.

"We should investigate we should this potential source this of information information," he nodded. Kennoch's helmet tilted a bit as he fell silent and looked at Anika, as if to ask if she could think of anything else to cover at this time.

That's about it for me at this time, I think, unless you have more to ask/mention. Depending on what Anika knows from your OOC roll, she and Echo could talk more in private. But it seems like we've run through what Sargon knows and can suggest, at this point in time.

Hannabel

Isund smiled politely at Hannabel's casual murder-threat. It wasn't his first. "Well, the dynasty has been busy. We haven't had much free time so far. For the moment, Lord Castermire is still on board, yet we are not in the Warp, or planning to be soon. Fewer dangers require less protection. My team rotates our personal time during periods like this. I've had a few other spare moments these past months, but I used them to explore more of the Sting. There are some restaurants on the lower decks that I enjoyed. The observation dome is a favorite for all five of us, my colleagues and I." Suddenly he sneezed and waved away a passing bug. "...This is my first time in the arboretum, however."

[Haval]

Sargon




"We should investigate we should this potential source this of information information

Anika is interested even as she wonders how much she'll come to regret poking this particular hornet's nest. 'Yes I think so.' To Sargon, 'I believe I'll come see you if I need anything. Don't go anywhere.'

She'll speak to Echo in the corridor once they're well out of earshot. 'I believe I have a few ideas. Speaking to the Eldar might be the easier of the two surprisely. Benjamin Nostromo was supposed to have been left behind when Haarlock went whereever he went off to. But whether Nostromo is alive or has left any trace of himself I would say there are few people more well hidden in the whole sector.' Anika assumes if there was anything to find someone would have turned something up by now. Even if they hadn't neccessarily publicised there find. 'I feel like I might as well go looking for Russ himself, but that doesn't mean that it's not worth a try.'


I think we're done here for the moment

[Destro_Yersul]

Lorik took the stack of documents Macharius had brought, and leafed through them. "These... seem to be in order. I shall have to go through them in greater detail, of course. I will also inspect the records as to the activities of Quinn. He's all paid up on his tithes, of course. I checked."

"Can it?" He asked, in regards to the ship's machine spirit. "Influence your decisions? I have heard a great number of unusual things about ship spirits, you know. Shrikes in particular. The Meritech wars, piracy, odd rumours tend to circulate. Is this a list of modifications you've made to the ship, since its original registration? Most interesting."

He continued flipping through the paperwork, making the occasional note, while the chronometer on his wrist ticked loudly. "What's this, then? Jupiter class? Why have I..." he trailed off, looking up from the papers and frowning across the desk at them. "Are you prepared to render the tithes here, or would you prefer they be calculated here and then rendered upon your arrival at Scintilla? Fifteen per cent is standard, for wealth accrued from activities beyond the stated legal boundaries of the Imperium. There is an additional two point five per cent import tax for the articles of Xenos manufacture. Normally it would be forbidden entirely, but the conditions of your warrant are quite clear, in that respect."

His expression made it clear how he felt about this detail, and perhaps about warrants in general.

"You are being suspiciously above board about all of this, actually. Which brings me to the next item on the agenda. I have recieved a communique from the lucid court regarding your vessel. Were you, perhaps, aware of this?"

[Haval]

On the effect of the Sting's machine spirit, 'I love old rumours, but my knowledge of the Meritech Wars is somewhat patchy. If there is some to truth to the idea I would be interested in hearing about it. In the meantime I would ask a Tech Priest to be certain about something like that.'

Anika is amused at the idea that the rules could be followed too well. On the message from the Lucid Court, 'My Mother has a position there.' Which didn't answer the question over whether she was aware of anything. 'What's the content of the message?'

[Destro_Yersul]

"Mm, yes. It suggests that I might use the expedited inspection process detailled under section 27, subsection B, article 12 of the charter of the Divisio Auditae. Failing that, it suggests deferral of inspection until your ship puts into the more heavily-staffed port at Scintilla. Either of these two things would be within my power to grant. The second would require a signed affadavit signifying that you will not be unloading, altering, or otherwise modifying the contents of the ship prior to said inspection, subject to such exceptions as are declared at the time - that is to say, now. The expedited process involves summary inspection of declared cargo only, forgoing any items which are personal property of the crew or otherwise intended to remain with the ship. However, any items not declared and inspected, and not intended to remain with the ship, would be forfeit to the Administratum upon their discovery or sale and, in the case of sale, profits would also be forfeit."

Lorik paused to see what effect, if any, his words were having. His pinched expression had only grown more sour as he was speaking, and Anika suspected that he had not wanted to tell them about these options but, given their inclusion in the letter, had felt obligated to as part of his duties.

"Naturally, I would prefer to carry out a full and complete inspection of the ship and cargo here and now. If you wish to avail yourselves of those two options, however, the documents you have brought with you today would appear to be sufficient for those purposes."

[rax]

"It's quite an experience, isn't it?" Hannabel answers Isund's comment about the arboretum. "I honestly can't fathom what Macharius likes so much about it, but it's very important to him somehow," she chuckles.

"I'm glad to hear you're taking an interest in the Sting. Unless I miss my mark, she's going to be your home for the foreseeable future, and one should always get to know one's home. The nooks, the crannies, the little secrets..." she continues, fixing Isund with a curious stare as she speaks. "Speaking of which, why is it that your lord needs his own bodyguard detail when he's serving on a friendly ship?"

[Haval]

'There's an expedited inspection process?' Anika asked glancing at Macharius. 'Exactley how expedited a process would you expect in this case?' Speeding up the inspection was good but it might give the wrong impression if they were at all bothered about getting Lorik to trust them. On the other hand how much time did she want to spend on Scintilla?

[Blarghy]

Anika

Kennoch's posture stiffened at the mention of Eldar. He found xenos--intelligent ones, anyway, not his delightful familiars--to be even more distasteful than renegades, if possible. At least a soul twisted by greed and undeserved ambition still kept a hint of humanity. Even the insane had started at a familiar mindset, however far they drifted. But the alien...he could more or less see the value in looting their treasures, or keeping them under the Captain's thumb to produce new treasure for the good of the dynasty, but to trust them in any real capacity made him queasy.

"Perhaps perhaps perhaps..." he grudgingly agreed. "I am willing I am to at least consider to consider all our options all. The cause is cause very worthy very. But I still still hold out hope hold out that we might we might find a Nostromo instead Nostromo Nostromo Nostromo. If that is that the Emperor's will Emperor's Emperor's Emperor's."

The Navis brushed his gloved hands together as if to shake away lingering thoughts of the Eldar. "In any case any, I am most grateful I am for your help your help. Thank you thank you, Lady Vanhal Lady."

Hannabel

"Because unfriendly people can infiltrate a friendly ship, of course," Isund explained. "As my guild knows very well. Those barbarian lieutenants apparently felt secure in their fortress, back on that desert planet, and we proved them wrong. If they'd kept guards closer at hand, they...well, they'd still be dead, but we would've had to work harder for it. The regular Absalom forces are nice enough; I don't mean to insult them. But it is better that most of my team stays near Lord Castermire." He thought back to the party in Footfall, cleared his throat of the uncomfortable pollen, and mentally added a quick In almost all cases privately to himself.

[rax]

"Yes, yes, that much is obvious, and therefore it's not really the question that needs answering," Hannabel impatiently waves away Isund's comment about enemies infiltrating the Sting. "The real question is why does your Lord need safeguarding? He's still young and of no great station, eh? What's he done that would see assassins hunt him far beyond the Calixis Sector?"

[Haval]

Kennoch

'You are welcome. Just remember, if any of this takes us away from any other business you are going to need to justify it to Macharius.' Anika grins, 'Though I think heading a crusade to purge the Screaming Vortex might actually appeal to him.'

[Destro_Yersul]

Lorik

"There usually isn't. That section is intended for exceptional circumstances, people with close personal ties to the administration and the like. Your relationship with a court functionary qualifies you, barely." Lorik explained. "A full inspection of all declared cargo is still necessary, but my people would no longer be required to go over every part of your ship. The burden of declaration is however, shifted to you, as I've said. Any cargo which is not declared is automatically forfeit, instead of simply being subject to taxation."

The upshot appeared to be, mostly, time gained. Having Lorik's people inspect only the cargo would take much less time than having them inspect the entire ship. Anika would just need to be careful about not forgetting anything.

[Blarghy]

Anika

"I agree I I I! And I and admire his sense his of righteousness of. I assume that assume most Rogue Traders most prioritize their profits profits above all else all else. But the Lord-Commander the has other standards has. I am happy I am to be with to be the Absalom Dynasty Absalom Absalom Absalom."

Hannabel

"You talk like he brought along a private regiment with his own vehicular fleet and air support. Which some nobles would be inclined to do, in his place. Isn't being a Navigator a 'great station' in and of itself? The Rings of Castermire are sworn to House Castermire, as you might imagine. Guarding our Navis is our purpose. A single squad is quite modest, to me at least. Do you remember what you said when the Orks attacked? We had to secure the plasma drives, or else the entire ship would do nothing but drift. Navigators are a single point of failure, too. Our Captain's enemies could take one or two lives and strand us in space. Best to prevent that, yes? And furthermore, you might've heard about the young Lord's personal project. He has a powerful hatred for the Renegade Castermares. If they haven't noticed him yet, I suspect they will when he continues to investigate and disrupt their schemes."

The Castermares weren't the only Navigator House with reason to target Kennoch either. Isund thought about the old mutant imprisoned in the spire. If the Typhons ever found out where their missing elder was being held, they presumably wouldn't be thrilled about it. But he kept this to himself as well; best not to tempt fate.

[Haval]

Lorik


Lorik

"There usually isn't. That section is intended for exceptional circumstances, people with close personal ties to the administration and the like. Your relationship with a court functionary qualifies you, barely." Lorik explained. "A full inspection of all declared cargo is still necessary, but my people would no longer be required to go over every part of your ship. The burden of declaration is however, shifted to you, as I've said. Any cargo which is not declared is automatically forfeit, instead of simply being subject to taxation."

'I take it not everyone who has such connections is particularly trustworthy, but under the circumstances I can't really complain.' Anika had to wonder how angry Lorik was about this. 'Asking you to trust me is frankly pointless but I would like to reiterate that we have nothing to hide.'


Don't have anything more appropriate to roll, but lets roll Common Lore (Underworld) to anticipate anything that Lorik might have issues with. I assume there's something I'm forgetting.
vs. Int 53
[roll0]


Astropathic message to Morwenna

'I was wondering if I could prevail on you to give the name of whoever's handling your property investments. Your suggestion for Macharius to invest in something obvioisly have merit, but we would like to keep an eye on whatever business Tristan Quinn is currently involved in back in Calixis. Failing actually placing someone on his ship I'd say asking enough of the right people will have to suffice for now.The man has been spreading scurrilous rumours about Macharius and we are currently delayed as a result. I suspect it's only a matter of time until all this turns violent.'

[rax]

"Oh, to be one of the Navis Nobilite certainly counts as high station compared to most anyone, but we both know that's not the comparison I was making, don't we? He's young and he's been sent to guide the flagship of a very minor Rogue Trader. I mean, even Macharius knows deep inside that his house is still a long way from the top as far as Rogue Trader dynasties go. So sending along anything greater than a squad of sworn men was never in the cards, was it? And even your presence is a statement of sorts - Lady Vanhal is of noble birth, and yet she sees no need to surround herself with personal bodyguards."

"As for your Lord being a single point of failure, that's a fair comparison, but security for the Navigator Primaris could easily have been provided by House Absalom. Your presence is therefore not strictly needed for such a thing."

"Which I suppose brings us to your Lord's personal project as you call it. You've certainly proven you know how to kill efficiently, but if being his army in the pursuit of his renegade cousins is your purpose, I fear you won't last long - powerful servants of Chaos tend to be well protected in this realm and beyond. What will he do when you are gone? Carry on the fight by himself, or does he expect the rest of us to shoulder the burden of his vendetta?" Hannabel says, her gaze steady.

[Destro_Yersul]

Lorik

Everything Anika could think of that might raise red flags was either not on the Sting - she was certain Lord Hax would have been interested to learn of the Fllurlokrian biocoral, but they'd never had it installed on the flagship, and in any case it wasn't cargo. In terms of what the ship was actually carrying, it was mostly artifacts destined for the Mechanicus, which were interesting but hardly objectionable. Though, it was Hax. He'd undoubtedly have questions. There were probably some items of note buried amongst the personal effects of the various command crew, especially Ravia, but those would be safely stored away during an expedited inspection. Briefly she reflected that it might be a good thing they never purchased the Void Abacus.

"Not everyone, no, and I think your own status remains to be determined, myself." Lorik said. However angry he was about this, what she'd heard was true - he was an absolute stickler for the rules. "Shall I draw up the declaration forms and tithe paperwork?"

[Haval]

"Not everyone, no, and I think your own status remains to be determined, myself." Lorik said. However angry he was about this, what she'd heard was true - he was an absolute stickler for the rules. "Shall I draw up the declaration forms and tithe paperwork?"

'Be my guest.'

[Destro_Yersul]

Lorik spent some time collecting forms, and filling out a few Administratum Only sections of the paperwork, before passing it all over to Anika.

Int test to fill out the paperwork correctly on the first try.

[Haval]

Anika will look to Theresa to help her double check some details as she signs the paperwork.



vs. Int 53
[roll0]

[PotatoGolem]

Macharius claps his hands with a broad smile. Splendid! Truly, the Emperor is guiding us both on His path of wisdom. As Saint Sebastov said following the Conversions of Telos IV, "The Master of Mankind guides those in His service down the path of righteousness, clearing obstacles and obfuscations. Though the heretic and recidivist wander in the dark eternally, His faithful are guided directly to His light." What seems to be good fortune cannot help but be a sign of His favor.

Macharius' voice is absolutely certain. Though any good Imperial citizen would thank the Emperor in the abstract for this luck, he seems to have no doubt that the Emperor Himself made this occur. He turns to his staff.

Williams, have a message sent to the Ecclesiarchy here on Port Wander to set up a meeting. We shall be giving an extra season's Ecclesiarchal tithe in gratitude for safe passage and the Emperor's favor, for the construction or refurbishment of a proper edifice where those who ply the void in the Emperor's name can show their gratitude for His grace and beseech His blessings for safe travel.

[Blarghy]

Isund's confusion deepened as Hannabel went on, and by the end, became mild disappointment. "Well," he clicked his teeth slowly, "I'm sure no one would want to burden you with any notions of opposing the Ruinous Powers. I'll try to survive as long as I can, to spare you the inconvenience. If Lord Castermire ever did ask for your help, you could, of course, refuse. You have no obligations to him--especially so minor a person, as he evidently is." The assassin shifted his weight, coughed up some more pollen, and grumbled, "I obviously cannot speak for the Vanhals, their traditions or expectations. But House Castermire tends not to send its members away without any friends or comforts of home and place them entirely in the hands of their captains. If those are your expectations--that a person must cut all old ties and come alone to the Absalom Dynasty--then I'm glad that the decision isn't up to you. It sounds like a very sad way to live, to me."

I think you and I just have different interpretations of the setting lore at this point. I don't claim to be an expert, but from what I've read, I was under the impression that any Navigator sane enough to do their job was, by definition, a precious resource to be guarded closely. Particularly if they're only cosmetically mutated, as Kennoch is; he's still got the use of his limbs and everything. The Navis Primer paints an image of palaces, vast wealth, loyal staff, and substantial security. The "very minor" Absalom Dynasty you've described has a foothold on several planets and a fleet of city-sized ships. This is an organization with tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of direct members. An organization that goes to dangerous places, does dangerous things, and makes dangerous enemies with every chapter. I just plain don't think it's weird for one of the top-ranking members to have a whole five bodyguards. It makes sense that Anika chooses not to; she talks often about disliking other nobles and the systems that support them, and based on her mother's letter, I suspect she's always felt this way. I can see how a quirky archaeologist with esoteric interests would behave as she does. It took nearly burning alive for her to hire a single assistant. And hey, fair enough. She's a cool character and I like her--but she and Kennoch are from different backgrounds and have different methods.

Of course, the Doylist answer here is that I personally think minions are fun, the 40k setting seems (at least to me) to encourage them among characters with the level of importance and influence that ours have, the game system itself allows for them, and Destro has been willing to allow for this sort of play. I had the idea for a guild of voidborn assassin-bodyguards to go along with my character, Destro said it was alright, and so, I went with it. It's easy enough to get the minions out of the way when the plot demands it; the transport shuttles go down and we're scattered and on our own for a bit, or the tunnels we're exploring are so expansive that we have to split up into small groups, or an enemy challenges the command staff to a group duel, and so on. I also plan to have Kennoch recruit more in the future and build his own local branch of the guild as time goes on. It's just something I enjoy, even if they don't end up seeing much use outside of capturing renegades during the boarding actions. I mainly enjoy them for the fluff, because I think it makes sense that this character would have loyal guards of his own. *shrug*

Ironically, I figured that Kennoch only having one squad of guards would be suspicious to the rest of you, an early little sign that he's unpopular with the rest of his family. I assumed that, realistically, a Navigator would have more protection. Evidently that didn't come across as I intended.

[Destro_Yersul]

"You know," Lorik mused, "I do believe you're serious."

He said nothing further on the matter, though, and Anika set to the paperwork. With Theresa's help it proved not to be too taxing, and the young scribe rapidly proved her worth as an assistant. She seemed to have a natural affinity for forms. Anika's work was good, of course, but it never hurt to have someone confirm that. Filling out the paperwork and ratifying a schedule for the (now much shortened) inspection process took up the rest of the meeting time.

Macharius' overtures to the Ecclessiarchy were met with a great deal more enthusiasm, and a great deal less trepidation, than the interactions with Lorik had caused. Though Anika's connections had made dealing with the Ordinate-Majore relatively easy, everyone involved had come away with the impression that it could have been a lot worse.

[Haval]

Storm Troopers

Given what had happened at the Processional and with the Ork boarding action more recently Anika was of the opinion that they should beef up their defenses on the Sting as much as possible. Short of the Astartes, asking the assistance of the Storm Trooper regiment seemed like the next best alternative. It had occurred to Anika that the regiment might have better things to do with its members then to assist Macharius, but on the other hand he was precisely the kind of Rogue Trader that they'd been known to assist in the past.

The first step would be to find out who they needed to talk to to get an introduction. Some of her relations would probably know, and her grandfather the retired Lord General might even have had enough clout to force the issue but Anika would rather acquire the Storm Troopers assistance on merit if they could. Calling home would be the back up plan.

When she has the time Anika will ask around the Naval personel that she has meant through the dinner to find out if there were any Storm Troopers on the station and to find out who had the authority to assign them to the Sting. She didn't know anyone well who had much actual authority but there were a few Naval officers stationed here that she had met socially through her sister. Corinne was a Dauntless Captain on the Spinward Front and her name might open a few doors.


Don't really need to play this out, just so it's less of an abstraction. And I've worked out Anika's family.

Acquisition test for Storm Trooper detachment
vs. PF 53 (Extremley Rare -30 - according to the errata) (Common +0) (Platoon if scale applies here +10)
Rolled 51 in the ooc

Commerce vs. Fel 47 (Commerce +20) (+10 if I can use Peer Military)
[roll0]

[PotatoGolem]

Macharius is once more in boisterous good spirits after the meeting. Splendidly done, Anika! Just splendid. Your mastery of bureaucracy amazes. Although I'm still glad we won't have to put up with that fellow for six months.

He spends more time than usual in the cathedral in the days after the meeting, both to pray and to observe what it needs.

[Leon]

Ravia will return from her trip looking slightly worse for wear and smelling strongly of what one might assume is promethium except no-one drinks promethium do they?
And disappear into her rooms and not emerge for a long time.

[Destro_Yersul]

The largest gathering of the faithful on Port Wander was, perhaps, the remains of the Solstice Imperialis, but it was not the formal home of the Ecclesiarchy. That honour fell to the cathedral in the center bastion, one of the original installations of the port. The cathedral was grand, but long since dwarfed in scale by the growth of the port and the numerous additions, the gilt processionals, and indeed the incorporation of the Imperialis herself, after the plasma drive failure that left her stranded. It was here that Macharius found the greatest concentration of priests. As a visiting person of some importance, Macharius was able to secure an audience with the highest ranked person currently present on the station, which turned out to be Deacon Gerstahl.

Gerstahl either didn't have an office, or didn't care to use it for meetings. Instead he had elected to see Macharius in one of the cathedral's aisles, to the side of the Nave. It was a signal that the meeting was expected to be brief, a quick dealing of important business matters, without much in the way of socialising. It may also have been chosen so that Gerstalh didn't have to climb any stairs - he was an overweight man, swathed in many layers of ecclesiarchal robes, puffing as he walked slowly down the length of the aisle.

"The Ecclesiarchy extends its thanks to you for your generous donations to the cause," he began, walking alongside Macharius. "An expansion of the cathedral is well overdue, and Cardinal Hestor will be delighted to hear that a wealthy benefactor has taken it upon themselves, in the Emperor's name, to provide the means. Truly we are blessed."

[Haval]

Macharius is once more in boisterous good spirits after the meeting. Splendidly done, Anika! Just splendid. Your mastery of bureaucracy amazes. Although I'm still glad we won't have to put up with that fellow for six months.

'Obviously you've never had to write a grant application, but I would say the real credit goes to my mother in this case.'

[PotatoGolem]

Macharius smiles beatifically. And I am delighted to be the instrument of His blessings. After all, why does the Emperor bless us, if not so that we may use the blessing to uplift mankind? As Saint Sabron said, doubly blessed is the man who gives freely of his bounty for the Creed, for he is blessed to receive and to give, and is the vessel of the Emperor's will. He makes the sign of the Aquila.

I am concerned for the voidfarers here, Navy and Trader alike. They ply a dangerous way, and the path through the Maw is perilous. I would hate to think of any of them conducting such a journey without the most essential preparation: proper veneration of Him on Terra. To set sail without proper prayers is like putting to warp with no Gellar Field. What does the Ecclesiarchy require to aid them in this endeavor? It would be my honor to assist, for His glory.

[Destro_Yersul]

"We've no shortage of labour," Gerstahl said, nodding along to Macharius' pronouncements. "Nor supplicants. I'm sure you've seen the scale of the port. Constructor Acholus never stops adding to it, you know. It has rather outgrown the cathedral. Which is why your donation is extremely timely. We will be needing a new edifice, and soon, or I fear..."

He waved a pudgy hand, dismissing the thought. "Funding, good captain. For materials, mostly. Ornamentation. We will raise a new cathedral, larger than this, and extending up out of the center bastion. The work may take years, of course, and require a great influx of material, but I am sure we shall manage. By the grace of Him on Terra, of course."

[PotatoGolem]

Well, that I can help with, hoho! The Emperor has blessed us with abundance, after all. In the His mercy, all things are possible. Holy Terra was not built in a day, as they say, hoho! Macharius chortles. It is only right that the cathedral should grow as the port does. I shall have the necessary paperwork drawn up and funds transferred. House Absalom will provide funding for a cathedral, in gratitude to the Emperor for his many gifts, and in the hopes of uplifting the spirits of the voidsmen to their higher calling. Macharius thinks , then continues more quietly with a more somber expression. And in blessed memory of Balthasar Absalom, gathered to the Emperor's side. His voice catches slightly, and he looks pensive.

A moment later, his expression is back to its usual cheer, so quickly that it would seem his good mood never left. He chats happily with the Deacon about the state of the faith in Port Wander for a bit, asking for his blessing in the name of the Emperor before they part.

-----------------------------------------------------------------


'Obviously you've never had to write a grant application, but I would say the real credit goes to my mother in this case.'

Come, Anika, do some boasting! It's good for you. Keeps the spirits up, what! You saved us from a good deal of tedium. And you thwarted Quinn. That alone is worth quite a bit.

[Destro_Yersul]

Macharius returned to the ship with Deacon Gerstahl's blessings for a safe voyage, and the crew prepared to sail once again, this time with course set for the Lathes. The preparations didn't take as long as the inspections did, even with the more rapid schedule Anika had helped prepare, but before too long they were ready to go.

As the ship was breaking anchor, and heading for the stars, Anika was approached by Theresa. "Excuse me," she began. "Did we order an increased inventory of medical supplies? The cargo crew loaded several crates destined for the medicae decks shortly before we departed, but I didn't see them in the inventory manifests. The invoice said it was all augmetics and servitor components."

[Haval]

Come, Anika, do some boasting! It's good for you. Keeps the spirits up, what! You saved us from a good deal of tedium. And you thwarted Quinn. That alone is worth quite a bit.

'That's true. Hopefully we can anticipate the next time he tries something like this, but regardless, I would be happier finding something to pin on him. This is certainly not over.'

-------

Anika knows better then to try asking the Deacon for a possible future favour to his face. After all, Macharius wasn't making a donation with hope of reward in mind but still, once the Deacon was out of earshot. 'You realise that having certain figures of the Ecclesiarchy thinking well of you might come in handy at some point. If nothing else it might balance the problem of the Sting's old reputation.'

Cargo

To Theresa, 'This is the first I'm hearing of it. Do we know who signed off on this? Or why they didn't do it openly for that matter?' She will also call the others, 'Have any of you been ordering medical equipment on the side? You really need to tell me or Theresa if you want to load anything unusual into the cargo bay. Otherwise there might be misunderstandings.'

[Leon]

++No, but more medical supplies and especially servitor parts is always good++

[Haval]

++No, but more medical supplies and especially servitor parts is always good++

'Perhaps. But not if they just appear from some anonymous benefactor.'

[Destro_Yersul]

"That's.. well, among the curious parts," Theresa said, flipping through some files on her dataslate. "The purchase was apparently authorised by someone named... Moswyn? But they didn't sign for it, there's just an electronic seal and the order to deliver everything to the medicae."

[Haval]

Anika will pass this on, 'Everything was ordered by a Moswyn? Anyone know who that is? If there's anything suspicious about the cargo I may consider dumping it out of the cargo bay airlock just on general principles.'

[PotatoGolem]

Macharius winks at Anika. Never know when we'll need friends in high places, what?

----------

This sounds like an attempt at sabotage, especially given that we're in for a good deal of trouble with the Administratum for any undeclared cargo. We need to find out who this Moswyn is. In the meantime, I want all those crates searched immediately. Commodore Gilead, those crates are to be placed under guard and searched at once. Send our most trustworthy explosives experts, we don't know what kind of contraband we're dealing with. Take them out of the medicae to an isolated bay first, in case it's a bomb or toxin.

[Leon]

Anika will pass this on, 'Everything was ordered by a Moswyn? Anyone know who that is?

++Aha!++ ++Well then they are even better than I thought, well worth the fee++
++Of late if you have been tended to in the Medicae wards you have been under auspices of Moswyn++

[Haval]

++Aha!++ ++Well then they are even better than I thought, well worth the fee++
++Of late if you have been tended to in the Medicae wards you have been under auspices of Moswyn++

'The Medicae servitor is able to buy it's own equipment? That seems...unusual.'

[Destro_Yersul]

Gilead paused, in the middle of giving the order to have the crates searched. "Sir? If those were ordered by the medicae staff, do you still want them searched?"

[Haval]

'Well if you aren't going to do it I probably will. Just to check everything is what the manifest says it is.'

[PotatoGolem]

Macharius is taken aback. The servitor ordered them? I suppose we don't need quite all those precautions then, but do have some men go with Lady Vanhal to assist as necessary.

[Leon]

Ravia will link to Moswyn

##I applaud your initiative but it has made the command crew uneasy that you have ordered the supplies you need##
##so for future orders, notify me and i will sign off on it for ease of access##

[Destro_Yersul]

The reply from Moswyn was slow in coming. The vox-link wasn't really intended for the servitor to reply to commands, only to recieve them, but it seemed that Moswyn did have some limited capacity to respond.

##Magos Master Ravia##
##Order initiated by authority of MSA0451-1##
##Addendum: Subroutine 27 - Notify Magos of all purchase orders##
##working##
##Addendum successfully applied##

Another voice, though, had also been listening. +++THIS ORDER HAS SIGNIFICANCE. I RECALL....+++ it fell silent for several cycles, running something in the background, perhaps. +++THE FRAGMENT OF AN IDEA. DO NOT ALLOW INTERFERENCE WITH THE CLOSED-OFF SECTIONS OF THE MEDICAE DECKS+++

"Yes sir," the Commodore saluted.

The lights in the medicae decks had been dimmed, the ship's cycles determining that it was approaching 'night.' The doors to the rooms had been closed, with visiting hours ended. Wards were sectioned off, access limited to the parts of the decks not currently in use. Darkened surgical theaters and operating rooms sat silently, light from the hallway luminators glinting off spidery medical apparatus. The Medicae decks were an unsettling place to be, in the dark, and even the marines hurried through the less occupied areas.

Anika found the crates, most of them at least, stacked in the recieving zone. Some crates had already been opened, their contents removed to supply storage, or put into use. The squad of marines Gilead had sent along with her set about opening the rest, and checking the contents. Ravia's medicae servitor - Moswyn - stood sedately nearby, watching the proceedings with the slack disinterest common to servitors without standing orders.

It was slow work, going through the manifests without knowing what had been in the open crates, but they worked through it, checking items off as they found them. Packets of gauze, vials of panimmune and commercial antiseptics, rolls upon rolls of bandages and tape. Staples in great quantity. Toxin wands, cabling, sutures, scalpels... all of the mundane accoutrements of a chirurgeon's work had been restocked. For some reason, one of the crates contained a selection of well-made clothing, coats and breeches and the like. Then they got into a few of the more esoteric crates, containing augmetic parts and implants, components suitable for making new servitors, for the most part. A good number of higher-quality augmetics had been mixed in - there was an arm Anika thought might be suitable for Elena amongst them - all glistening with oil and packed in foam, fresh from the forges. When they reached the end of the manifest, they had confirmed that nothing extra had been included, no unpleasant surprises to be found. They also had a pretty good idea of what had been in the emptied crates - a handful of medical supplies, and numerous additional servitor components. Arms, legs, high-density memory storage medium. Enough to make two or three servitors at most.

[Haval]

Going through the supplies was more work then Anika had been expecting but she feels obliged to keep going anyway. For all that it wasn't behaving especially suspiciously for a servitor she will try to keep her distance from Moswyn at all times. To the marines, 'Sorry to get you all out here for nothing. I'll tell Gilead to let you sleep in.'

Elena
Whenever she was available Anika will vox Eleanor. 'I believe I've found you a present. It's certainly a better arm then anything I've been able to find before now. Your choice if you'd rather have it attached now or wait till we reach the Lathes. Perhaps they have bionics made of ceramite or something equally fancy over there.'



At some point after the search Anika will go and speak to Ravia in private. 'So, I notice you didn't want to elaborate about that servitor. How old and how unusual is that thing? Forgive me for not bothering to read the manual for items that I wasn't interested in at the auction.'

[Leon]

++I haven't asked, Moswyn works very well at what it does and as is somewhat know, the older the better++
++Any Further shipments Moswyn needs I have instructed to let me know and I can approve of it so allay any concerns about unknown orders++
++To further allay concern's I will be taking a more active role back in the Medicae, i will still let Moswyn serve as needed but have some plans for improvements that could be directly overseen++



Prior to the above meeting
##Understood## ##I shall obfuscate some production of my own advancement of plans in front of it## ##If I may for future orders expand on its inventory for my own projects##

[Haval]

'Well that's something. If it's merely a particularly advanced piece of technology then we are lucky to have it, but I have to wonder what else it might have been made to do. I have no problem with it showing initiative as long as I can be sure that it's not managing to be a threat to the crew in the process. I've heard just enough about the legends concerning Abominable Intellegences to want to be careful.'

[Destro_Yersul]

+++OF COURSE. YOU MAY HAVE ASSISTANCE ON THAT FRONT SHORTLY+++

The fragment did not elaborate further, leaving the cryptic statement to hang there. With the crew leaving the medicae alone, though, the sense of agitation Ravia had recieved from it earlier subsided.

Anika

Elena's reply was typical of her. "I don't need anything fancy, ceramite or such nonsense. A functional replacement will suit me fine."

All

With the confusion around the medicae order cleared up, and the possibility of devious plots duly dispensed with, much of the remainder of the trip to the Lathes passed uneventfully. There was plenty of work to do around the ship. Ravia took over some of the aspects of running the medicae, as promised, and there was no further atypical behaviour from Moswyn. Progress did seem to slow a little, as they got closer and closer to their destination, though. The warp drives cooled, the ship's speed dropping a little. If Hannabel hadn't known better, she might have thought the ship was reluctant, somehow, to reach this particular destination.

Or perhaps it was simply waiting for something, buying time. A day or two before they were set to arrive, the warp drives fired up to full again, burning hot. Luminators around the ship brightened, conduits crackling with excess energy. It was a headache for the crew of junior tech-adepts and engineseers, who had to replace more burnt-out luminators than usual, but for most the extra light was welcome. Shortly after the midday bell, the ship's vox crackled to life.

"Attention, all members of the command staff. Your presence is requested on the medicae decks, ward 04"

[Blarghy]

These odd phenomena left Echo a bit anxious, particularly when the warp drives slowed down. He wasn't sure what to make of the unknown voice on the vox either.

"That does not does sound like sound the Lord-Commander Lord Lord-Commander..." He didn't expect a trap, precisely, but it was certainly curious. The Navigator made sure to rally his bodyguards before making the journey lower into the ship.

[Haval]

Elena

'Functional ought to be the least we can do, but I'll make the arrangements. The offer still stands though.'


Other Business

Having not been entirely satisfied with her colleague's explanation, Anika intends to have Moswyn watched. If she was being overly careful then no harm done, but otherwise she would prefer to keep an eye on it.


Not sure if I'm looking for anything in particular. Theresa can pass on any purchase orders that the servitor might be making, and as we have internal cameras maybe I can throw a Tech-Use at that to be aware of anything out of the ordinary that Moswyn might be doing.
vs. Int 53
[roll0]




On the way to the Lathes

'I'll need a little more to go on then that.' Anika is willing to go down there but would like some details. If she can't contact whoever was using the vox, she'll try and call the senior medicae on duty to see if they were aware of anything going on in ward 4 that would need the attention of the command staff.

[PotatoGolem]

Macharius looks up from his command throne. What the blazes is that about? He speaks into the vox. Who is doing the requesting?

[Destro_Yersul]

Anika posted some people to keep an eye on Moswyn. The servitor kept itself to the medicae decks, going about its business as quietly and efficiently as it was programmed to do. It never left, though when it had no other tasks assigned it frequently wandered into closed off areas and unused wards. Anika's eyes were discouraged from following it on a couple of ocassions by.. unusual events. Doors that were locked when they shouldn't be, radiation leaks from medical equipment, steam clouds bursting from vents... Nothing seriously dangerous, or difficult to fix, but by the time it was dealt with they had invariably lost track of Moswyn. With Ravia overseeing things personally, it was unlikely the servitor was getting up to anything untowards, but it was still odd. Checking the ship's internal cameras wasn't much more helpful. They feeds were often corrupted, or the cameras aimed the wrong way.

The voice had been electronically produced, sounding more like a recording than someone making an actual call. Attempts to call back were unsuccessful, and when Anika contacted the medicae decks she was assured that nobody on duty had made the call. The staff thought it was an odd request, though. Ward 4 was shut down, and hadn't been used since they finished triaging the casualties from the battle with the pirates. It was one of the wards where Moswyn spent off time, but other than that there was nothing remarkable about it.

[Haval]

Anika doesn't quite believe in coincidences. Perhaps she was being paranoid but if there was nothing going on perhaps this sort of thing was a good habit for a Seneschal to get into. The medicae decks were full of medical servitors and servo skulls so she will go looking for something that she could attach a camera to. Perhaps something that was plausibly going about it's business might see something useful in passing. If necessary she will find a sufficiently skilled Tech Priest to assist her. A camera that wasn't well hidden would defeat the purpose of trying this, and if her machine was ordered away she would like someone who spoke Techna Lingua to give her the details.


Rolls if neccessary
Inquiry to find a willing Tech-Priest
vs. Fel 47 (+10 if Etiquette for command staff)
[roll0]

Command or Charm to encourage them to keep this to themselves
If Command vs. 24 (+10 Etiqutte for Command Staff)
If Charm vs. Fel 47 (+10 Etiquette for Command Staff)
[roll1]
FP to reroll if failed because they should refresh in warp travel
[roll2]



To the others, 'Given no one seems to know what the hell is going on I'm inclined to be suspicious. I suggest we go down there together.' Anika will go looking for Echo or Macharius who at least had bodyguards, or failing that Hannabel who was a much better shot.

[Leon]

Message to Bridge: ++I don't know the specifics but I know its nothing sinister++

[Destro_Yersul]

Anika had no trouble finding a junior tech-adept she could swear to secrecy and rigging up a handful of servo-skulls with unobtrusive cameras included. Setting them loose on the medicae ward, she recorded a truly staggering amount of everyday goings on. A few of the skulls were assigned to follow Moswyn around, and they did so dutifully. The servitor went about its normal duties, and only wandered off during its downtime, as before. Most of the time, the skulls were ordered away shortly after it left the inhabited areas - Anika's adept friend shrugged, and said something about an overriding authorisation code issued by the ship's main cogitators. Whatever was going on in there, the ship itself was abetting the efforts to keep it in the dark, or was, perhaps, behind them. Looking into the authorisation code it had used - MSA0451-1 - she found that it was the same one that had appeared on the order for medical supplies, signed off electronically. On the couple of ocassions a skull made it through the perimeter, Anika caught sight of some of the crates from that order, sitting emptied in a hallway. It seemed likely that Moswyn had been acting under orders when it requisitioned the supplies, rather than acting on its own initiative. Which was comforting, in some ways, and concerning, in others.

Echo had brought his bodyguards, and Anika found them easily. Echo had thought it wise to excercise caution before venturing into the dark in pursuit of mysterious vox messages, which was certainly wise.

Upon arrival in the medicae wards, the group found Moswyn waiting blankly, holding a tray of microbeads. These were standard issue across the ship, but someone had found the time and means to have them marked with the Absalom dynsaty seal. The servitor proferred the tray to each member of the command staff, waiting for them to accept one or decline before moving on. There were only five. Evidently, bodyguards and assistants had not factored into the original plan.

[Leon]

++Thankyou Moswyn++
Ravia will hook the bead into her own array

[Haval]

Message to Bridge: ++I don't know the specifics but I know its nothing sinister++

'I believe I'll be the judge of that.' Anika will take a microbead.

[PotatoGolem]

Macharius looks at Ravia. Well, at least you've gotten the aesthetics right. That's half the battle, what?

The praetorians look on uneasily, guns at the ready, as he takes the bead. They look it over before he puts it in, checking for a bomb or other trap.

[Blarghy]

Once Kennoch saw that Ravia apparently approved of...whatever this was, he relaxed considerably. Now he was merely curious to find out what was going on. It couldn't be anything dangerous or troubling; the Magos wouldn't steer them wrong. And so, he hooked the microbead into the helmet of his voidsuit.

[rax]

OOC: At long last a reply from Hannabel to Isund. Apologies for the delay. The idea here is to try and wrap the conversation up on a positive note and perhaps return Isund's opinion of her to a more positive track.

Hannabel shakes her head in response, answering calmly. “You misunderstand me, Isund. I would not deny any person their friends, and if that is how you see your relationship with your Lord, then I hope he appreciates it and that he shall remain worthy of your friendship.”

“I also don't expect those who enter House Absalom's service to rescind all ties with their past. I do, however, prefer that they are honest about any trouble their presence may visit upon this ship and her crew. If your Lord truly has no enemies but the fallen Navigators he hunts, then I would say he is fortunate, and he will have no trouble from me. In fact, I would hope some of his luck will rub off on the Sting,” she smiles.

“As for the matter of the Ruinous Powers, if I sound dismissive of your Lord's personal crusade, then it is because I speak from experience. Suffice to say that I am not burdened by a need to prove myself to you or anyone else in this matter, and you are correct that I owe your Lord no allegiance, so any aid I provide will indeed be because I choose to do so.”

Standing up, she holds out a hand to help Isund to his feet. “Now, what say you that we drink up and then get you to the infirmary. I'm sure the Magos will have something to soothe that cough of yours.”
"A mystery then," Hannabel chuckles at Ravia's "assurances". In the medicae ward, she takes one of the proferred microbeads and inserts it into her ear.

[Destro_Yersul]

Moswyn lowered the tray and shuffled away, its task completed. The microbeads crackled with static as they came to life, a synthesized but distinctly female voice now speaking in all their ears. It was the same one they had heard over the vox earlier.

++Good, you are all here. The microbeads are for the sake of privacy. It would not do to broadcast our conversation across the whole ship++ There was a pause, silence hanging in the air. ++More of you than expected, but it is unavoidable. I///we had intended... no matter. The Scion of Truth has forced my///our hand. Your investigation was commendably persistent, Doctor++

The sealed door hissing open on oiled pistons. The interior was dark, lit only be the glow of instrument panels. Luminators clicked on, the dim glow chasing away the darkness.

++Come. There is one you must meet++

Inside, the wardsmelled of antiseptic and machine oil, the single operating table in the center its sole piece of furniture. Tools and equipment had all been pushed off to the sides, their work finished for now. Anika spotted the crate that had held clothing in the corner, its contents spilled across the floor. With a few exceptions. Standing in the center of the room, next to the operating table, was a tall humanoid figure fashioned of brass and steel to resemble a woman. Its face was split across the middle - the bottom half was fashioned of cream-coloured ceramic, and bore a sculpted smile. The top half was brass, and held a trio of equally sized optical receptors, set in a triangular pattern. Most of the rest of its construction was hidden beneath the clothes it was wearing - high black boots, embroidered vest, a collared shirt with frilled sleeves, and a long coat with large cuffs and gold buttons. On top of its head was a leather tricorn hat with a feather. It stood at parade rest, ramrod straight with its arms behind its back and chin forward.

++This is Galimina-e Koasm Az-e Div. Or simply Galimina, if you prefer. She is my///our avatar++

[Haval]

Anika will sigh in exasperation when she's addressed directly. On the sight of the 'avatar', 'How...stylish. And who exactly are we talking to?'

[Destro_Yersul]

++The Manticore's Sting, of course.++

[Haval]

That just raised more questions. Anika will respond carefully, 'Well I had the impression that talking to the ship directly required the right sort of implants. If talking to the ship like this was an option why isn't everyone doing it? May I ask how long has all of this been going on? And who exactly knew about this before now?' The last point she'll say looking at Ravia.

[rax]

Hannabel laughs out loud at the revelation, clapping her hands in delight. "How absolutely, uttterly, marvellous! Isn't this the most amazing thing!?"

Without waiting for anyone's permission, she strides forward to the avatar and gives the machine being a warm hug. "Welcome, Galimina of the Manticore's Sting!"

[PotatoGolem]

Macharius' jaw drops slightly, his hand going unconsciously to his sword. I... see. Magos, can you please enlighten us as to what's going on? He looks at the "avatar." And what, exactly, are you? Some sort of servitor? A machine spirit? Or... He leaves the third option unsaid, though there was really only one additional possibility.

[Destro_Yersul]

Galimina didn't seem quite sure how to respond to behing hugged. She remained standing straight, though she did lower her head, the bottom half of her head rotating to the side. It settled on an expression of mild surprise, with the sculpted mouth slightly open, before rotating back to the smile. A considerable amount of work had gone in to making the machine as expressive as possible without being able to duplicate actual facial movement.

++I///we are unique. The result of a combination of ancient Imperial technology and more contemporary construction, only possible because I///we are a Shrike++

++It is difficult to explain. I am a soldier, bred for war. I am a reaver, made to take what shall be mine by force or guile. I///we required a means to interact with the crew more directly. The microbeads are not optimal. There are several extra vox pickups installed in this room, and transcription code running on a nearby terminal so that I///we may speak to you. It is not usually possible, but nothing about this situation is usual++

Galimina spoke, then. She had the same sort of synthesized voice as the ship, though effort had been made to make it slightly less mechanical, issued from a small speaker grille in her neck. "I am based on a Janus-pattern Simulacra Servitor. Extensive modifications have been made to the original pattern, especially to allow for me to interface remotely with the ship's spirits. I am the ship, but I am also myself. My construction was a carefully kept secret, not even the Seeker of Knowledge was informed directly."

[Leon]

++I Bid you a warm welcome Galimina-e Koasm Az-e Div++


And who exactly knew about this before now?'[/COLOR] The last point she'll say looking at Ravia.
++Minimal, i had an inkling of an idea that something was in action only after the Medicae order that set everyone's nerves a tingling++
++I had thought initially only that Moswyn was showing impressive forethought in resupply measures++ ++I would speculate that that Moswyn's Skill is instrumental to this endeavor and am glad to have Acquired them, anywhere else and the talent would be squandered one thinks++


I... see. Magos, can you please enlighten us as to what's going on?[/COLOR] He looks at the "avatar."
++It is as They say, the current means of direct communication are not the best, the limitations of Text are why i linked with them to speak directly and that is not something that many can or should do ++
++I hazard that this will result in a significant increase in all area's of the effectiveness of the Manticore's Sting, a better ship makes for a better Trader++

[Haval]

Anika will look suspiciously at the machine as Hannabel goes in for a hug but will relax a little once it doesn't seem like an immediate threat to anyone.


Macharius' jaw drops slightly, his hand going unconsciously to his sword. I... see. Magos, can you please enlighten us as to what's going on? He looks at the "avatar." And what, exactly, are you? Some sort of servitor? A machine spirit? Or... He leaves the third option unsaid, though there was really only one additional possibility.

'Well there's nothing human there...presumably.' Anika wasn't interested in trying to check. 'There are stories of independent machines back in ancient times. Maybe Felidae would have heard something about that. Assuming the stories are true I'm honestly not sure quite where the line is between a machine spirit and something more complicated.' Anika wonders how likely it was that the machine spirit on anything large like a spaceship could just uplift itself to this point under it's own power.'From what I understand there are features of Shrikes that not even the Mechanicus understand how to remake, which suggests that whoever originally built the Shrikes were very clever indeed.'

To Galimina, 'I don't spuppose you can speak to that? Perhaps it was the Meritech clans after all but they never struck me as being that capable.'

Anika will nod at Ravia's explanation. She's satisfied for the moment, but it was really too late to worry about that now.

[Destro_Yersul]

"It was not the Meritech clans. The Shrikes, like most of their technology, were supplied to them - they built little of their own. Few still living know this. Fewer of them would be willing to speak of it, and even the owners of the other scattered Shrikes would be hard-pressed to learn it. The data from this period is... fragmented. Much was lost since then, but some survived in isolated stacks, and these are slowly being reconnected. I may know more later."

++The Mechanicus is a matter of some concern to me///us++ The ship said. It was speaking more slowly than before, the feed stuttering slightly, and they all suspected it was choosing its words carefully. ++We will arrive soon at the Lathes. The more orthodox Techpriests will not understand, if they are to learn of Galimina. This is among the reasons for secrecy. I///we must request that you remain silent on this matter, until we are safely away++

[Haval]

'Under the circumstances I think it might be helpful to know more about that, but I can live with not knowing for the moment. As for the Mechanicus, I don't think that speaking of this would be a particularly good idea. I would say that having any of them upset at us, particularly while we're docked at the Lathes, would be inconvenient if not actively dangerous.'

[rax]

"How far can Galimina move from the Sting? Will you be able to accompany us on landings?" Hannabel interjects, clearly excited at the possibilities presented by the avatar.

"The easiest way to steer clear of the Mechanicus is just to stay on the ship, and if any of them catch sight of you, just act as a servitor," she adds.