Sea of Stars - IC

[Haval]

Spoiler: Destro

Show

Anika is sad but won't argue. As reality seems to be breaking down around her she'll go stand on the platform. Even if she is wrong and ends up on another ship it might be dangerous to remain here for much longer.

'Admiral, we'll make sure it was worth it.' The log suggested that someone had tried to preserve the ship in spite of everything. The least she could do would be to ensure that their efforts were worthwhile.

[Leon]

Spoiler: Not Anika

Show

++Interesting, much to be gained from the insight of then versus now. so much has been lost that any little data nugget is of use. Even language has changed greatly++

[PotatoGolem]

Spoiler: Not Anika

Show

Macharius arches an eyebrow at the incoherent woman, staring her down silently. When he speaks, his tone is cold and measured. The last time the crew heard him speak like this, he was ordering the death of the captured bridge crew for piracy and heresy.

Spoiler: High Gothic

Show

Gross insubordination towards a commanding officer. Attempted assassination of a commanding officer. And... numerous uniform violations, shall we say. I should have you executed on the spot.

He pauses, staring her down. After long moments, he chuckles, his tone more normal.

Spoiler: High Gothic

Show

But I suppose we will make some allowances for ten thousand years of cryosleep and the rather stressful events preceding it. You certainly have good fighting spirit. Maybe we can find a use for you yet. What is your name and rank?

He turns and addresses all the awakened crew

Spoiler: High Gothic

Show

I am indeed a Rogue Trader. And this ship has been out of commission almost ten thousand years, by our estimation. We are in the waning years of the 41st milennium. What is the latest you all remember happening? Why were you put into hibernation?

He turns back to Hanabelle and Ravia. They were apparently put into cryo well before the battle- they don;t recall any battle happening.

[Kaptin Keen]

Spoiler: Not-Anika, then

Show

The naked lady doesn't appear impressed with Macharius. With a look of disgust, she discards the malfunctional sidearm, and begins looking around for her gear - which presumably is nearby. Meanwhile, she replies over her shoulder:

You are not any commanding officer of any ship I serve on, and thus are not my superior officer, Macharius - was that the name? I am Felidae, Adjudant to the Admiral, and in his absence I likely outrank you on this ship we're actually currently on. I will bow to your authority if and when I find myself on a ship you are in command of.

Also, when last I was conscious, we were fighting traitor marines, and I had no way of knowing who'd opened our pods. I do appologize for my momentary confusion.

[Destro_Yersul]

Spoiler: Anika Only

Show

"Give them hell, Vanhal." Admiral Davis flipped a switch, and pushed a button. There was a brilliant flash of multi-hued light, and reality shattered into a thousand glittering pieces.

On the deck behind Macharius, Anika woke with a start. The captain was addressing a number of men and women in very old uniforms, and one woman who wasn't wearing anything at all. The walls were lined with cryo-pods, some still closed, some open. It looked like they were all in the crew quarters, and all awake. There was a general sort of awed murmuring amongst the newly awakened crew. More talking in high gothic, and the speaker pointed at Ravia.

Spoiler: High Gothic

Show

"We were reserve crew. We were meant to replace losses suffered in battle, keep the ship going at top condition for as long as possible. If they didn't wake us up, that means we lost badly, or quickly, or both." There was a brief pause. "Everyone's gone, then. Really gone. Has the Imperium survived? She looks like a techpriest. Mars must have lasted this long, at least."

Ravia, for her part, noticed that some of the crew were starting to look rather pale. The air here wasn't very good, and none of them had yet thought to put on void suits. If any of the spare void suits even worked properly.

[Leon]

++Tell them to get void-suits on and if those suits are damaged i can try to patch them, far enough to get out of here at any rate. Dead flesh rarely tells you anything of note++
Ravia begins to get put her rolls of tape and the other simple tools she brought along for repair tasks

[Haval]

Although Anika had been hoping for this it was still jarring to find herself waking up. She will check to see that everything seems normal and that she still was wearing the voidsuit. 'Did it work?' she will mutter to herself. Hopefully she could stay in the present day for the moment.

Taking in all the new faces as she got up, she could guess where they had come from. 'These are the survivours of the crew? The code worked then.'

Ravia was right. Shame for anyone to come this far and die for lack of air. She will haltingly address the lot of them as she looks for the right words.

Spoiler: High Gothic

Show

'The Imperium and Mars are still here, although doubtless have changed since you were awake. I would suggest you all find voidsuits. The ship survived the battle but it's not exactly safe here.'

[rax]

"Worked like charm, yer ladyship. Good job on getting the code out of the admiral before you woke up. Ship's still dead though, so I'm guessing you weren't able to turn the tables on history?" Hannabel responds to Anika.

"I'm not liking that one's tone, though," she continues, indicating the naked woman speaking to Macharius. "Is she going to be a problem, Lord Commander? You want me to put her down?"

[PotatoGolem]

Most likely yes, I'm afraid. Let's put off on killing her just yet, though. The Most Holy Ordos should be informed of this ship- it is most unusual, and its links to the Heresy are troubling. The Inquisitors may wish to speak to her, but we can always space her if they don't want her. For now, she can cool her head in the brig. If you see her pull a weapon or indicate that she intends to take hostile action, however, please do "put her down" as you say.

[Haval]

"Worked like charm, yer ladyship. Good job on getting the code out of the admiral before you woke up. Ship's still dead though, so I'm guessing you weren't able to turn the tables on history?" Hannabel responds to Anika.

Anika looks sad. 'I don't think I was ever really there. Not physically at least. I suppose if the bridge is suddenly in ruins we'll know for sure.' She would have to write this down soon while the memory of it was still fresh. 'I'm not sure anyone could have changed that history.'

Hannabel draws Anika's attention to the naked woman. Although in truth she could hardly miss her. She will try to address her in High Gothic first.

Spoiler: High Gothic

Show

'We can probably find you some clothes if you want.'

[Kaptin Keen]

Felidae whistles, and snaps Rufio! A hand? One of the reserve crew jumps to assist her, as she starts dragging a very impressive suit of power armor out of an adjoining store room. And along with it, a storm bolter and a long las. And an insultingly oversized chain blade. Rufio the deck hand obediently begins helping her get into gear.

To Anika she replies: I'll be back in uniform in a moment - but thanks.

[Destro_Yersul]

Apart from the one assisting Felidae, the crew jumped to follow Ravia's instructions. They evidently knew where things were, or at least where they were supposed to be. It took a few tries and a few empty lockers before they managed to locate enough voidsuits for everyone. Felidae's ancient power armour would suffice as a suit itself, and looked to be in remarkably good condition. It was a testament to how well things had been constructed, back in the day. Ravia helped patch the holes in the other suits, and checked to make sure the rebreather canisters were all functioning properly.

Spoiler: Anika Only

Show

Anika remembered, vaguely, seeing that suit of power armour before. Someone had been wearing it on the bridge, in the dream. Standing off to the side. It hadn't seemed unusual to her at the time - a borrowed memory, perhaps. Some thought that the person in armour was supposed to be there, and therefore was overlooked. She'd lost track of them after the impact with the traitor ship, and hadn't seen them again.

[Haval]

To Anika she replies: I'll be back in uniform in a moment - but thanks.

Some sort of soldier then. 'I think I saw someone wearing that armour on the bridge. What regiment were you with?'

[Kaptin Keen]

What do you mean, what regiment? If an admiral was my commanding officer, I'm not a mudkicker, I'm Imperial Navy, right? So, I was with this one. Am with this one.

.. unsure. Does 441st still exist?

This last seems unsettling to Felidae, who one might conclude is comfortable with easy answers and foregone conclusions.

[Destro_Yersul]

With the newly awakened crew all suited up, it was time to head back. The group took a brief detour to the teleportarium, retrieving an also awake, and somewhat confused, salvage team member. From there, they returned to the Manticore's Sting, and set about taking care of business. Anika retrieved several volumes of history from the Talon's vaults, and with the help of a translation skull set about teaching the new crew history and some modern gothic. Hannabel started organising search parties to send into the wreck to look for examples of portable archeotech.

While all this was going on, the crew at the augurs reported another ship arriving from warp a short distance away. Moments later, the Mailed Fist dropped into the area, Captain Jonell hailing them upon his arrival.

"Captain Absalom! Sorry I'm a bit tardy, the warp currents around here are a tad churned up, or so the navigator tells me. What've you found?"

[Leon]

++In so far as you exist. My limited understanding of Naval procedure is that the Defense forces are tied to the ships. The Captain and Lady Anika maybe able to tell you more given their experiences with a warp induced anomaly that had them living the last moments of the ship again.++

Makes note on a data slate to cross reference what the crew from the other ship experienced with what ever the Captain and Anika have

[Kaptin Keen]

So I'm all that remains? The traitors won, and every one of us was killed. Except me.

Well, so be it. If there is traitor blood enough in the galaxy, I swear by the God-Emperor I will redeem myself or die trying.

There is a scary intensity in Felidae's voice when she speaks of the degenerate servants of the ruinous powers. It's the sort of fiery eyed hatred one might expect from a zealous madman wearing an improvised explosive device for an overcoat.

[Leon]

++In so far as the number of traitors, you assuredly will die before they are all gone. You and your fellow crew are a extreme rarity ~ ships lost adrift and surviving the Empyrean are rare enough but for one to have survived from the Hersey is astounding and that it cam through with its gellar intact even more so. The Mechanicus would do well to study that generator to see what made it so well lasting++

[Haval]

Does 441st still exist?

Anika grins, 'Sorry. I come from a long line of 'mudkickers' and my mind tends to go there.' She has heard that kind of response before and is hardly offended by it.

After listening to Ravia she looks more serious. 'When I was there the Terminus took heavy damage from the traitor fleet, but I was able to persuade the Admiral not to enter the warp. The traitors would have only come with us and finished the job of wiping out the crew. We blew up the bridge and evacuated everyone we could through the teleportarium that Macharius so ably defended.'

'I'd like to think that some of your people made it out of there, but I have no idea if any of it was real.' Anika has read the odd lurid story of what the warp might be capable of and is at least open to possibilities. 'One thing that is true. Without the Admiral, we could never have woke you up. They haven't won while you lot are still alive.'

[PotatoGolem]

With the clearing of the echoes, the Sting can send shuttles of crew to assist with the search. Macharius, once again flanked by three of his Praetorians, takes a team to search the Teleportarium. He's unusually tight-lipped about it, not explaining why they're searching for remnants of a squad called the "Lightning Lancers." Afterwards, he takes them on a sweep of the Admiral's quarters. While the man was long dead, anything relating to him would be of immense historical and inspirational value. Finally, he sits on the command throne once again, trying to communicate once more with the ancient machine spirit.

When Jonell arrives, Macharius is ready. Captain Jonell! Good to see you alive and well- the warp can be a bit of a bother, what? Found a quite ancient ship. The Holy Ordos may want to take a look at it. We also found a very interesting item back on the colony, as you expected. We'd be honored to host you for dinner and show you in person. Has to be seen to be believed, if I do say so myself.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Already did the Telportarium roll OOC. For the Admiral's quarters: (1d100)[88] vs 70

[Kaptin Keen]

Anika grins, 'Sorry. I come from a long line of 'mudkickers' and my mind tends to go there.' She has heard that kind of response before and is hardly offended by it.

After listening to Ravia she looks more serious. 'When I was there the Terminus took heavy damage from the traitor fleet, but I was able to persuade the Admiral not to enter the warp. The traitors would have only come with us and finished the job of wiping out the crew. We blew up the bridge and evacuated everyone we could through the teleportarium that Macharius so ably defended.'

'I'd like to think that some of your people made it out of there, but I have no idea if any of it was real.' Anika has read the odd lurid story of what the warp might be capable of and is at least open to possibilities. 'One thing that is true. Without the Admiral, we could never have woke you up. They haven't won while you lot are still alive.'

Mudkickers are some of the finest people in the God-Emprah creation - second only to the glorious Imperial Navy personnel.

I have to admit .. I have no idea what you're on about with that warp anomaly. Isn't it more likely you were simply hallucinating? Although, if any of my friends did survive through your actions, you have my undying gratitude. Well, for that, and for saving my own hide, too.

[Leon]

++With the Empyrean anything is theoretically possible. The override of the cold deck alone puts it above just a hallucination. We could have broken it without that code but its highly likely that you and or any of the others might not be here at all.++

[rax]

"What the Magos means is that you'd all have been corpsicles when we found you," Hannabel interjects helpfully.

[Kaptin Keen]

Unwilling to let go of a perfectly (ir)rational explanation without a fight, Felidae mumbles: Well - it could have been a profetic hallucination. I mean, ok, I don't know why the God-Emprah would send a vision of the code to override the cryo pods. Maybe he was just feeling generous?

[rax]

"Well, sister, if the code came to her ladyship from Him On Earth, then I guess he felt it was important that you and your mates should rise to fight again - and since we're the ones what found you, he must have felt it was important that you should serve him by serving Lord Commander Absalom. Think you can live with that?"

[Destro_Yersul]

Macharius' search of the Teleportarium didn't turn up much, but the continued existence of the bridge despite Anika's actions in the past, as well as a number of other things that hadn't changed, meant that Macharius had perhaps never ordered them there in the first place. On the way to the Admiral's quarters, they stopped in a couple of other places; the bay the Lancers had been stationed in before Macharius' change of orders was blown open to the void, anything that wasn't nailed down long lost when the grav-plating failed. Searching a little further down the corridor, as well as the ready room, bore results. The poster was long gone, along with everything else organic, but Macharius recovered dog tags for every member of the squad, a number of personal effects, and the plasma gun Albertus had borrowed from supply before the battle kicked off. The gun wasn't quite in working order, but its fine craftsmanship meant it had suffered only slightly from the ravages of time, and could likely be brought back to top condition with minimal work. The Admiral's quarters were almost a letdown after that, a few tarnished awards and a scale model of the Terminus all that remained worth finding.

---

Hannabel's search parties had similar luck, finding little of use across most of the ship. Arms and armour remained aplenty, but most was damaged beyond repair or similar to what the Sting already had available. The parties were methodical, and did turn up another four dead Iron Warriors, bringing the total up to five. The enemy losses had not been heavy, at least in terms of the superhuman Astartes. Only once they reached the bridge, giving it a thorough going-over, did they turn up anything of worth, and then only because Hannabel happened to be leading that party. In the security station near the bridge doors, Hannabel noticed the door to a small locker room behind a tangle of fallen power cabling. The damage had prevented the ship's former occupants from getting inside. Once it was opened, by application of lascutter, it was found to be packed with emergency supplies and a number of weapons. Most of these were combat shotguns, but they were still a decent find. There was also an entire crate of Terminus stamped naval sidearms, similar to the Admiral's, that must have been shoved back here and forgotten. Those would be extremely valuable as collector's items, if nothing else.

---

Repair work on Torgan's Pride was completed shortly after the arrival of the Mailed Fist. Before he departed, Captain Rickard sent over his thanks, for both his rescue and the repair work on his ship, along with a bottle of amasec that - while not top quality - was probably the best he could reasonably afford. He said that the experience aboard the wreck had been somewhat harrowing for him, and he'd be only too happy for Macharius to claim all the salvage rights because he frankly wanted nothing further to do with the whole mess. He did leave contact details though, and promised that he owed them all a favour for the timely assistance. If ever they needed the services of a good salvage crew, they knew how to find him.

That left them alone with Jonell, who gladly accepted Macharius' invitation to dinner. He arrived with his regular retinue in tow, dressed much the same as when they had last seen him and exuding his characteristic enthusiasm.

"I'll say that ship's ancient," he said, pumping all their hands in greeting, "had a look at her on the augurs. Quite fortuitous, to happen upon it drifting like that. I'll want the whole story, of course. Damnably good luck. Good fortune along this whole run, and that's a good sign that we're on the right path, eh? I noticed you'd made off with one of old Quinn's ships, too. Teach him a lesson and no mistake. Very excited to hear all about your discoveries."

[Kaptin Keen]

"Well, sister, if the code came to her ladyship from Him On Earth, then I guess he felt it was important that you and your mates should rise to fight again - and since we're the ones what found you, he must have felt it was important that you should serve him by serving Lord Commander Absalom. Think you can live with that?"

As things stand, I don't think I could go back to the navy - like nothing happened. I've been transported ten thousand years into the future, and that has to be for reason. So I'll serve your Lord Macharius, if he'll have me.

We'll see in time what the God-Emperor has in store for us.

[Haval]

Anika has been spending time with the survivors of the Terminus trying to get them up to speed as much as that's possible with 10,000 years of history to cover. Much of the historical record after the Scouring remains vague even to her (The Howling?) or else is not important enough to bother with. Instead she'll focus on personal matters such as whether records remain of each survivor's homeworld and will try to answer any questions they might have. She will try to explain the formation of the Ecclesiarchy and the widespread adoption of the Imperial Creed, if only so that the survivors can blend in if they need to. She will probably make a lot of notes.

At the dinner she will skate over the details of their trick with the lure, mentioning only her low opinion of Quinn's officers, but will go through everything they found on Jonnell's colony. It was his map after all. Anika was only interested in being allowed to study it. Given where they had left the colony, she will ask if Jonnell has heard anything from them, whether good or bad.

On their recent encounter Anika will offer the basics, leaving room for others to elaborate. 'That Captain, is the Terminus Omni. A battleship lost to the Archenemy themselves during the Scouring. It's a bit banged up but nothing that the Mechanicus won't fix eventually.' Anika sounds oddly proud.

[PotatoGolem]

Back on the Sting, Macharius walks back into his chambers. In a small side room he's created a chapel, lined and covered with mementos of those killed in the bloody war between Absalom and Tremayne. Dog tags and armor scraps from the original Praetorian Guard. Broken weapons, failed force field emitters, bloodstained medals from family members slain in battle or through treachery. He places Albertus' plasma gun on a shelf, and hangs the other Lancers' dog tags over it. In one sense, he'd only known them for a few hours. And yet he couldn't quite shake the memory of them, the feeling of serving with them through the long years of the Heresy. They were his men, as surely as the fallen Praetorians. At least they died fighting for the Emperor; surely they rested at His side.

---

At dinner, Macharius regales their guests with tales of their cunning and success in defeating Jonell's blockade. It's an intricate, thrilling tale, and Macharius is a master orator, keeping the audience at the edge of their seats until the final, triumphant moment when the blockade crumbled. He lavishes praise on his officers, emphasizing their skill, wit, and cunning. He confirms that Jonell's men were little better than baseborn pirates, raiding the colony and terrorizing the colonists.

He's a little more circumspect when it comes to the great voidship, mentioning that it appeared to have been through great battles and fought against the Enemy after the Heresy. There's some warp irregularities and corpses of boarders from the Enemy, may they be forever cast beyond His light, which is why I think the Most Holy Ordos should have the opportunity to examine it. Wouldn't want to pass up the chance for them to recover knowledge that might help humanity in our great struggle, what? By the by, you wouldn't happen to have any contacts among them, would you? Knowing who to notify in this wilderness is a bit of a tangle if I do say so myself.

After they've recovered what they need in their great work, Anika's right that the old girl should be fixed up and sent back into the thick of it. It'd be a travesty to keep a mighty war-spirit like that out of the fight, eh!

[Leon]

Since the return to the ships Ravia had been ensconced in her rooms sorting data from the ship and referencing notes compiled from the survivors and Skulls pict logs of the whole expedition. Some important lessons had been learned and while not actually needed then the lack of capability to transfer her energy to other machines was lacking and yet easily within her grasp with the boosted coil she had. There had also been the joyful re-connection to her Mechadendrites, dearly missed on the ship. One day the need for a restrictive voidsuit would be gone but not for many more upgrade cycles.

Ravia attended the dinner out of respect for parties involved but didn't particularly want to be there beyond that and really only answered anything technical tat was asked.