Sea of Stars - OOC III

[Destro_Yersul]

Just a joke. The chaos symbol is commonly described as an eight-pointed star, while what you're describing is a compass rose. It's completely different, it's just the choice of wording. Feel free to change it, though.

[rax]

Yees…completely different. No resemblance at all, no siree.

[Destro_Yersul]

Well, ok, there's resemblance. It's just unintenional resemblance. Now, will that matter to an overzealous Witch Hunter? Probably not. But I get what you were going for.

[Haval]

Didn't realise it was a Michael Moorcock thing first, but I suppose it makes sense

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbol_of_Chaos

[rax]

In the early days, Chaos and Law were co-equal forces and the entire setup pretty much a carbon copy of Moorcock's ideas.

[Blarghy]

I decided to change the tattoo to a scar; I figure that it's pretty unlikely someone in this setting would get that kind of mark, so. If it was only a reference to some criminal or anarchy group within the Imperium, I'd roll with it, but even a vague resemblance to Chaos symbols is probably inappropriate. On the other hand, I've learned that a compass rose is an actual thing. Before, I just thought it was a nifty design, but nope, apparently there's history and philosophy buried in there. Pretty cool.

I'm also gonna reroll that Int check, which should drop me down to one Fate Point left this day.

FP Intelligence: (1d100)[11]

[Blarghy]

Hm, quick thing, since this only now occurred to me.

'Fine' Anika assents to being guarded.

I'm not sure if Anika (or Haval) is annoyed here, but to clarify, I didn't mean to be pushy in the previous post. I imagine that any security person would cringe at hearing their client say the phrase "I can normally look after myself," and the Rings are learning policies meant for protecting Navigators, who're rare and squishy. Kennoch in particular is less independent than Anika. I also don't want to get in the way of her doing cool and exciting things, in or out of combat. These NPCs will act as she instructs, even if she wants them to stand aside while she does something they think is dangerously unwise.

Maybe she could order them to only jump in front of her if somebody pulls out a flamethrower.

[Leon]

Navigators, who're rare and squishy.

Sargon is ahead of the curve here, coming prepacked in a nice safe display tank

[Haval]

I'm fine with it. Anika objects to having her independence undermined and because having bodyguards makes her feel like an actual noble. Plus, she does not trust them Them being worried about her response would only be appropriate.

Out of character she is probably more squishy then most of the rest of the party so this isn't the worst idea. I don't think Destro would try to kill her on purpose, but we can let someone with better armour go first.

[Blarghy]

Sargon is ahead of the curve here, coming prepacked in a nice safe display tank

It's part of his charm, and a good thing for him too, because Echo's other guestroom is a stasis cage.

Plus, she does not trust them

I'd be insulted otherwise. That's cool for the time being; there's friction in the command staff itself too, so, it stands to reason. But in the future, when Kennoch is better-integrated and stops being so salty about Galimina, I'm hoping things will settle down and the Rings can become more of a communal resource. My plan is to eventually split them up into smaller guildhalls on our ships and waystations and use them for sneaky background endeavors, when they're not actively capturing Renegade Navis for Kennoch. Anika doesn't seem all that interested in building a spy network for herself, but if she ever changes her mind, or needs to do that sort of thing temporarily, then I'd be happy to share.

[Destro_Yersul]

It's part of his charm, and a good thing for him too, because Echo's other guestroom is a stasis cage.

I'm not ashamed to admit that Sargon is in a tank at least partly because you have stasis cages

[Haval]

Not in public anyway.

[Destro_Yersul]

mostly done with Echo's bit, for now. Still a lot of conversation to get through, though, I think.

[rax]

A Jokaero, eh? The prospect of meeting one of them might just be enough to draw Hannabel out from her safe place...

[Destro_Yersul]

Anika doesn't know a ton about Jokaero, beyond the obvious. They're Xenos, so around the Imperium they're not common, but they're extremely useful and relatively harmless so the Imperium hasn't invested a ton into getting rid of them. On a planet like Scintilla they'd be very hard to come by. Maybe there's a few sequestered somewhere in the Tricorn palace, maybe one hiding out in the underhive somewhere, but they'd be really hard to find. They're also really hard to keep contained, as they tend to invent their way out of cages. Examples of their work are easier to come by, for certain definitions of easier, but very expensive. The Kasballica would probably be able to scrounge it up for her, or someone else with an interest in the Cold Trade.

[Haval]

I'm assuming it might be more of a partnership. As in, 'stay here and build things and I'll feed and pay you.' Or if not, we have to find out if any of them speak Gothic or keep records of anyone they might have built for.

Does Anika know anyone that might have brought live xenos to Scintilla
Forbidden Lore vs. Int 53 (+10 Talented FL Xenos)
(1d100)[66]

Edit - maybe passed if Ravia is assisting

I'm thinking that either the Stalker has a Jokaero somewhere in which case they may have got it through the Cold Trade or the Jokaero does work for people in the know and it's still worth looking at Cold Traders.

[Leon]

Sure will assist.
Would love to meet a Jokero

[PotatoGolem]

Maybas well see is Macharius knows anything about Jokaero. FL Xenos vs 48 (1d100)[15]

Edit: 3 degrees of success! I guess the dynasty had one, or someone he grew up with did?

[Blarghy]

Hmmm.

Party

The signals weren't any sort of reading Anika recognised, which ruled out almost all of the more common exotic xenos pets, and a lot of the uncommon ones. This was something else, something new or at least very rare, and it was... strange, to say the least. There would have been trouble enough pinpointing it with thick walls and all manner of electrical wiring around, some of it very old, but on top of that there seemed to be something about the signal that Anika couldn't quite compensate for. Sometimes, the auspex would spit out an error message and just stop seeing it... whatever it was. Anika was out of time, though. Another guest had started knocking on the door insistently.

I'm just gonna leave this here.

[Haval]

Well that's awkward

[rax]

Clearly, Anika needs to stop by and ask to use the bathroom again.

[Destro_Yersul]

Maybas well see is Macharius knows anything about Jokaero. FL Xenos vs 48 [roll0]

Edit: 3 degrees of success! I guess the dynasty had one, or someone he grew up with did?

Possibly, as an extremely useful Xenos species for a Rogue Trader to know about, Jokaero were included in his education? Whatever the case, Macharius knows a lot about them. They're similar in appearance to orangutans, and possess an innate understanding of technology. They may have been created by the Old Ones, though arguments as to their origin dominate a lot of the discourse about them. Given that their capabilities with tech are instinctive, and the tendency to make strange or seemingly random modifications instead of what might be actually useful, there's also debate as to what level of intelligence they possess. That's all academic.

Macharius also knows they can build spaceships, and that these spaceships work unlike most, altering their position in space by altering the physical shape of the polyhedral vessel. Despite this, and their genius for weaponry, they don't seem to have any goals beyond survival. They travel in large family groups, taking whatever they might need and then running away. They don't like combat, and if they have to fight, prefer ranged attacks. They can build their way out of nearly any situation, given a few supplies, and so capturing them is often a fool's errand - they'll build what they need to escape, rather than whatever you want. That said, they have been known to trade with the Imperium, and if you can keep one happy it will cheerfully stick around making all kinds of modifications to things you give it. The Inquisition has been known to keep Jokaero in this way.

[Haval]

Clearly, Anika needs to stop by and ask to use the bathroom again.

Obviously she left her phone in there.

I suppose I could have a moment of realisation and ask to see the Jokaero just to see what happens.

Otherwise what do I need to roll to talk to a Cold Trader? Can continue meeting with Hereteks anyway but the Jokaero must have got here somehow. I'd prefer to talk to someone about it who won't lie to Anika's face. Otherwise, I suppose there's using the Rings to break in and check but that's a last resort.

[Leon]

Away till the weekend

[Destro_Yersul]

She? Macharius raises an eyebrow. Do you have an indication that the Stalker is a woman?

Everyone does. Unless I forgot to tell you that? In every picture, grainy and indistinct though they may be, the Stalker is a specifically feminine shape. It's why Etula Hax, a woman, was suspect numero uno in the opinions of many.

[PotatoGolem]

Ah, maybe I forgot then. I'll delete the response

[Haval]

Macharius has a jump pack doesn't he?

I don't know if even using it here is a good idea. Maybe he's just crash into the walls.

[rax]

Would he have been wandering around the hive with the jump pack on? They're kinda monstrously bulky and conspicuous...

[Haval]

That's true. It might attract attention. Anika has a clip harness but I'd say it's not a fool proof solution if you don't have the climb skill.

Maybe this is something that can be operated by utility servo skull.

[Leon]

When you find the Jokero get it to make you a compact Jumppack