Sea of Stars - IC II

[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.'

Spoiler

Show

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
(1d100)[16]

Has Anika heard of the Blood Reaper. Forbidden Lore (Pirates) or (Heresy) as appropriate
vs. Int 53
(1d100)[37]

[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.'

Spoiler

Show

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)
(1d100)[13]

[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.

Spoiler

Show

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?)
(1d100)[18]

[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.

Spoiler: @Destro

Show

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.

Spoiler: Hannabel Only

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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]

Spoiler: Destro_Yersul only

Show

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."

Spoiler: Hannabel Only

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"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]

Spoiler: Destro_Yersul

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"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..."

Spoiler: Leon and Destro_Yersul

Show

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.'

Spoiler: ooc

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Scrutiny to judge his motives
vs. Per 43
(1d100)[60]