Only war! HUH! What is it good for? [IC]

[Aneurin]

Antarael

At the Myra's reaction, Antarael's head swings sharply and locks on to the Codicier. One hand comes to rest on the hilt of his blessed power sword, one of the Deathwatch's own blades that is granted in sacred trust to one of their Champions, as the other is placed upon the Astropath's narrow shoulders - a gesture that is necessarily well-considered in order not to accidentally crush her with his immense strength and armoured bulk.

"What do you see, Lady Astropath?" he asks, without looking away from Thracian. "Our end, or our salvation?"

[TERRORGOAT]

Myra drops into a reflexive telepathic state, her mind questing out in search of Antarael's and Andrew's.

It's - it's not a harbinger - no daemons on the bridge, if that's what you're worried about, I don't think - would know if it was ...

She squirms out of Antarael's grasp, and begins tapping out a few queries into one of the brainpods that make up the ship's cogitator systems, suddenly all professionalism again.

No ... no, passive Gellar projectors register no intrusive warp presence aboard ship. He didn't get possessed, if that's what you're worrying - I'd almost say the opposite. He flickered, bilocating slightly, almost as if he projected off the ship slightly. Either he's an untapped α+ level psyker, or he just tuned into something very major. Didn't catch much - something about a door, and chandeliers? - I think you'd need to ask him, though, especially for any interpretation of the vision.

She gestures weakly at Thracian.

Thracian

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The Blood Ravens Codicier does not feel particularly shocked by the vision, nor does he feel soiled or corrupted by this warp contact, the metaphors and symbols having combined with his own inner strength to have torn this message from the Warp. It felt vaguely like a normal augury, but much more intense, and it's mysteriously left his Blood Raven 'searching for secrets' instincts powerfully satisfied. Have a go rolling some interpretation based skills, whatever - just remember that different skills will give you different answers.

[CalebRoberts]

Codicer Thracian nods in an almost absent minded way at the cries of concern.

"I am whole but I need a moment of silence, please. I must think before anything is forgotten."

Instead of standing up from one knee he lowers the other and kneels on the captain's dais. He closes his eyes and searches his memetic memories, allowing connections to form and relevance to flow. He taps back into the imeterium, siphoning off small amounts of energies to power revelation.

The force staff sparks again, on and off. Clearly Thracian is channeling again.

OOC: He will remain in the meditative state for as long as it takes.


Activate Truth Seeker

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Focus Power (Fettered) (1d100)[11] vs 92
• Add 15 to all Intelligence based tests while power is active.

Various Tests

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Forbidden Lore:

Demonology - (1d100)[95] vs 79
Psykers - (1d100)[77] vs 89
The Warp - (1d100)[87] vs 89

Scholastic Lore:

Legend - (1d100)[69] vs 96
Occult - (1d100)[85] vs 86

[MasonDon]

Allowing himself a slight robotic grin at the Enginseer's enthusiasm, he says "But of course, I have a feeling it will do just fine. As for your armory duties, we shall see once we arrive. If the Omnissiah's wisdom does truly flow through you, then it may be good to allow you to help."

Returning her curtsy with a nod, he nearly turns to return to his fellow Brothers before the Enginseer moves back, he folds his arms and listens to her plea.

"You ask for much. I make no promises, and that is all i will speak about the subject."

[bluntpencil]

Thracian can hear a voice in his head. It is telepathically broadcast, somewhat gently, realising that he may have gone through extreme stress, so he could likely shut it out if he wished to.

"Two minds are better than one, Blood Raven. Show me what you saw."

[TERRORGOAT]

Everyone

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Sorry for the slightly leisurely and non-combative start to the game, everyone - I've just really enjoyed getting to know a bit about the Kill-Team and seeding things for later use.

I assure you that traditional bolter and power-weapon based Kill-Team activities will begin very shortly.

Courras

'I only ask that I may be helpful to you, m'lord - the Omnissiah grants me what I have to work with aboard vessel, and that is more than enough, anything more would simply be an additional opportunity to help. Many thanks to you, Master Courras.'

She scuttles off heading back in the direction of the ship's Enginarium.

Thracian's lore-rolls

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Demonology - (1d100)[95] vs 79 -
Forbidden lore - demonology - it certainly came from the warp. Does that necessarily make it a daemon?

Psykers - (1d100)[77] vs 89 - Thracian's training has made him dimly familiar that there's some sort of extremely rare but extremely dangerous xenos parasite that takes over minds (particularly psychic ones) and does reform them into some sort of warp-gate, but they've not been seen in great numbers for millennia. They were drawn to strong mortal warp signatures, dominating them and using their own strength to carve a warp-reality link to allow them to physically manifest. As a result, they led to particularly disastrous results when allowed to infect and enslave large numbers of weak-minded mortal psykers, where they could use the gestalt mental powers of the group to forge a path that allowed them into the real world.

The Warp - (1d100)[87] vs 89 - depending on how literally Thracian interprets his vision and augury, he's likely to note that it'd be incredibly hard for a warp entity sustain a warp breach like that from their side. This, combined with the sensation of 'drawing back the veil' and the very physical and material nature of the gate, suggests that he's looking at something being called into real space, rather than breaking through under its own power, if that makes sense.

Scholastic Lore:
Legend - (1d100)[69] vs 96 - some of these successes fed into the FL:Psykers result above. The rest helped jog Thracian's memory with reference to the chunks of rock and the ships he saw - there are a number of Space Hulks known to drift through the Jericho Reach. While many are fairly well-mapped, others - such as the Crimson Harvest, Mortis Thule, and Damnatio Magellus - are much more mysterious, though what's known about them would seem to fit with what he has he saw.

Occult - (1d100)[85] vs 86 - nothing seems to present itself on the occult level - while there's a lot of interesting symbology in the vision (the candles probably represent a pattern of stars, for example), the complete lack of occult symbology or human mysticism makes it difficult to say anything.

[CalebRoberts]

"Two minds are better than one, Blood Raven. Show me what you saw."

In reply to the Storm Warden, Thracian speaks out loud after a considerable amount of time. "My talents do not lie in the Telepathic. I will tell you all of my experience and what I believe I have seen.

This was no typical Augury. Usually it is brief images, sounds, actions, then the spell is over. I was there. I was looking through the eyes of creature of the Warp. Something that must use a living being, an uncontrolled psyker, as a gate to our reality. Yet I am sure this being was coaxed through by a force already present outside the Warp.

Something is coming that will enslave a great many souls and become more powerful as each mind is added.

There is another portion to my Augury, more mysterious to me. Before this being was reviled to me it seemed as if my consciousness was adrift in a symbolism suggesting the Void. Candles danced near and far, as numerous as the stars. In front of the candles and shadowed from full view were what I have come to recognize as Space Hulks. Due to my constant research I belive them to be the lesser known conglomerations known as the Crimson Harvest, Mortis Thule, and Damnatio Magellus. The other thing of note is that I am unsure how the Hulks and the Warp entity are related. This was not shown to me clearly.

Since Captain Pecos was my focus I can only infer that these visions may come to pass where she shall be."

Thracian rises and faces Captain Pecos.
"Captain, I remember the star patterns associated with the Hulks, though I am not an Astrologer. Perhaps there is one aboard who can collaborate with me in placing the location of these hulks?"

[Major Kiaslu]

"Well, so much for my theory of Tyranids, Brothers. Dasin grinned self-deprecatingly as she lowered her power-axe, leaning on it as she glanced about the group. "The Hive Fleet might eat everything it comes across, but I've never before heard of it devouring the soul itself, let alone acting through psykers in that way. It sounds like we have a more... traditional threat to deal with."

The forces of the Warp didn't need their names spoken aloud. Forgemaster Shao learned that on Khazant. All that did was give them power. They just needed to be killed, like any other threat. She nodded towards the Librarian. "If it comes to Captain Pecos, it will come to us, Brother Thracian. And I think we all know how the Deathwatch greets entities like that. Am I right, Captain?"

Smiling a little, Shao stepped away towards the Storm Warden, tone growing slightly quieter. "Brother, my own tasks are done for the moment. I am... ready for that augury, if you are willing, and believe it could be useful." She tried to conceal her feelings, but it was obvious enough to Andrew that the techmarine was uneasy about this matter now. Her occasional glances back towards Thracian do not help with that.

[CalebRoberts]

"If it comes to Captain Pecos, it will come to us, Brother Thracian."

"hmm...do not be so sure Brother. Augury is imprecise in the best of circumstances. I make no assumptions, I make many plans. Perhaps your reading will be more enlightening."

[bluntpencil]

Andrew sighs and raises a hand to his face. This was bad. Very bad.

"Watch-Captain? Is the Inquisitor a psyker? This is of the utmost importance."

He then pauses a little, and asks a question. If he knew fear, he would sound worried. Indeed, he almost does.

"Do we have weaponry capable of Exterminatus? We face Enslavers, Psyrens, the Krell... the Warp-spawn Xenos-filth that emerged on top after the so-called War in Heaven."

He then goes on to issue a warning.

"If you are unaware, as part of their attempts to cross over into the Materium, they attempt to control psykers first - similar to Daemonic possession.

Sanctioned psykers are somewhat resistant to their control, thank the Throne, so myself, Codicier Thracian and our Astropath should be able to resist their attempts at telepathic domination...

...for a time.

The Emperor knows how long they have had to attack the mental defences of the Inquisitor and her retinue."

The previously expressionless Librarian is now pacing back and forward, his power armoured footfalls thundering ominously.

[MasonDon]

Courras nods once more to the retreating Enginseer, turning his attention back to his Brothers as he moves to rejoin the group.

"I apologize for the distraction, Brothers, but I may have secured a rather useful tool. It seems as though that can wait until later, you all seem rather ominous. What did I miss?"

[Major Kiaslu]

Dasin looks more than a little perturbed in turn by Andrew's reaction. She turns towards Courras as he approaches, nodding swiftly to her brother Techmarine and smiling a slightly roguish smile that she didn't entirely feel. "It seems that the warp jump to come might prove to be... eventful, Brother."

The Forgemaster considered briefly, before nodding to Courras: her mind made up as she asks for assistance of her squadmate. "Would you be willing to personally see to the integrity of the Gellar Field during our trip? I'd rest more easily having one of the kill-team on hand, given the threat our Librarians seem to believe is coming."

[TERRORGOAT]

'Ah can sure put yer in touch with our local astronomical experts - our very own gunnery sergeant was always pretty good with star charts, weren't you, Garran. Ah ain't got the first clue where the Space Hulks you were talkin' about actually are - and neither does anyone else, the problem with Hulks bein' their tendency to jump in and outta warpspace at unexpected intervals. That said, maybe yer vision might help fix where exactly the Hulks - whichever they might be - will be?'

If Thracian puts his head together with Garran Skiniker, the Master of Ordnance, for twenty minutes or so, he'll find that the stars Thracian saw roughly correspond with a point near Antael's system, but not actually in the system. It's a point roughly one warp jump away from your current location, though you weren't planning on taking that route.

Elsewhere, the conversation turns to matters of Enslavers, of Deathwatch hospitality, and what exactly the Kill Team is going to do. There's no one moment at which the bridge crew move to begin preparing action stations - the unspoken order that pervades the ship's crew acts subtly across the whole vessel. Pecos - listening to the Kill Team all the while - gives a slight incline of her head to Skiniker, and before long, everyone's at battle stations.

As Andrew looks more worried, and begins to consider the possibility of Exterminatus-capable warships, Pecos' smile broadens. High explosives seem to have that effect on her - until her face falls in gentle anguish.

'Aw, man, y'know, you picked a bad time to ask. We sure did have a complement of world-burners, but, uh, they all got used up. For a good cause, though. But it sure'd be possible to just bombard whatever you're thinkin' of targetin', though - you'd be likely to make a planet pretty uninhabitable to complex life after a little while, but it'd not be enough to clear entrenched organisms like enslavers off of it. That said, if you just blew up their 'food supply', they'd have a hard time getting of world, and soon'd starve if cut off from the warp … hmm. Ah'd have ter think about gettin' th'Inquisitor off world first. She's not a psyker herself, but she's got about, what, ten, in her personal entourage - ah see what you'd be worrying' about. So - do y'all have anything along the lines of a plan of attack, then?'

[CalebRoberts]

Thracian does just that and presents Captain Pecos with the coordinantes. "This location means something, but I am not sure what. It could be the current or future location of one or more space hulks, It could be empty space?

I leave the decision to you captain wether you wish to take this route or not."

[MasonDon]

A slight grimace flashes across his face for the briefest of moments as Dasin gives him the news, his mind flashing back to Shardenus, where he saw so many of his Brothers fall and he himself had a hand in closing the rift. It was also where he earned many of his current bionics, as very few had come out unscathed. While unafraid of fighting those warpspawn, he knew how difficult they could be to smite, and therefore did not relish the thought of fighting them again.

"Of course, Brother. But how eventful, exactly? I wish to be fully prepared in case of the worst." he says, giving a slight bow.

[Major Kiaslu]

Dasin met the Techmarine's gaze. She was still dehelmed, and thus her emotions were easier to read, disgust tinged with the worry of a veteran who'd fought the forces of Chaos for years, and was finding this scenario all too similar. "The species targeting the Inquisitor is warp-based. If they are aware of our advance, they could swarm against us whilst we travel, to say nothing of attracting daemons to our location through their activity. The field is the Omnissiah's blessing, and could easily withstand a few prowling menaces but even the mightiest machine may be tested beyond its limits."

Courras' task entrusted to him, Dasin turned back to Captain Pecos, frowning and slowly nodding. "The battle plan depends on where the battle will be joined. We do not yet know if Ansar-Saussure's ship will have proven secure, or if she attempted to make her last stand at the dig site proper. Either way, securing the ship should prove to be a matter of priority in my mind. It will give us data about the current situation, and the Novus Ordo's guns can support us more directly if need be. If nothing else, the presence of space hulks and unknown levels of warp activity demand we secure that most wonderful of the Emperor's gifts."

The forgemaster grinned about the gathering, her spirits rallying a little. "Overwhelming Firepower, Brothers. A beautiful thing, is it not?"

[Aneurin]

Antarael

"'Assume you know your foe, and assume defeat'," Antarael's voice rings out sternly. "Until we have proof of Enslaver infestation we should not assume such. Probability is not proof, and we should be prepared to face any form of the Enemy - Within, Without and Beyond,"
He clumps across the deck, each step of his power armour causing the metal of the deck to ring out.

"Brother-Codicier," Antarael adds, turning to face Thracian. "You said you are certain that these beings are called and controlled by a being in our reality; the most vile Traitor Legions, Eldar, Tyranids and many more Xenos have the ability to manipulate the Immaterium and its denizens - and any of these could be our true foe, their presence masked behind a Warp-born smokescreen.

Do not think I question your knowledge, Brothers, only that I counsel against rashness of thought and action - mere moments ago you were certain that the enemy we face are the Necrontyr, and yet now you are equally certain that they are Warp-spawn.

The Lady Astropath is plagued by visions of death and destruction for this mission; I counsel patience, Brothers. We must assess this threat before we draw our conclusions and take action. Continue with your Auguries, and let us see what else may lie before us,"

[CalebRoberts]

"Brother-Codicier," Antarael adds, turning to face Thracian. "You said you are certain that these beings are called and controlled by a being in our reality"

"I am certain of nothing Brother, and I share your sentiment that assumptions only weaken our position. I shall say that I experienced a strong impression that these beings were, at the least, being aided into our reality. By whom or what I cannot say. Perhaps this is or will occur within the Hulks shown to me, perhaps not."

[bluntpencil]

"Please do not place words in another's mouth, Black Shield:

No-one claimed certainty of Necron involvement. I, personally, stated an 84 percent chance of their, possibly indirect, involvement, based on the information available.

With the additional intelligence provided, that likelihood has decreased to 37 percent, which is still a considerable likelihood. The possibility of Enslaver involvement, however, has risen from a negligible figure, to..."

The Storm Warden Librarian pauses, after his slow explanation, and counts some figures in his head,

"...99.7 percent, which is almost certain."

He stops again, and says,

"However, you are correct, in one regard: we should continue with the consultation of the Emperor's Tarot. That they are being aided into the Materium is of little surprise to me.

They are known to dominate human psykers and force them to assist in their invasions. There are no records, however, of summoning..."

He pauses, and looks at the Watch-Captain, speaking to her silently through the Aether,

"What was the Inquisitor doing? An Inquisitor, possibly our contact, possibly a rival, or a renegade servant, may have been attempting to study the Enslavers and summon them into reality."

He then looks back to the others, after only a brief instant, and continues,

"...but that does not mean that it is not theoretically possible."

He then carefully reveals his deck of Tarot cards to the Forgemaster, slowly shuffling the oversized cards in his power-armoured gauntlets. He makes a point of allowing her the opportunity to pick their question, as she was selected to lead.

"Now, Forgemaster, what do we wish to know?"

[Major Kiaslu]

Forgemaster Shao had not expected the burden of command, but she felt a prickle of pride at Antarael's words. Perhaps because they reminded her too closely of her mentors within the Chapter. She could have accepted such advice in that context, the words were wise but she had not advocated over-rapid preparation, merely to take basic account of what information they had. And that was too much for the apothecary?

Still, she remained calm, shaking her head. "I can appreciate the value of care when preparing, Brother, and to not make assumptions on unproven data. Believe me. I'm aware of how little we know. However, all I suggested was for Brother Courras to stand ready to defend or repair the Gellar Field. A precaution I would have recommended anyway given the history of navigation and warp dangers in this area of space. The only alternative I would suggest would be to monitor the field myself"

She didn't need to say the word Hadex. Saying the name gave it power. Dasin instead met the Black Shield's gaze with one as cold as Yashan's snows. "Unless you are saying that maintaining the Gellar Field is a matter of low priority, Brother, I would call re-enforcing it a valuable usage of time. Arguably more valuable than debating tactics for a warzone we have minimal intelligence on as of yet."

That conversation done with, at least from the Forgemaster's perspective, she turned back to Andrew, bowing her head, the pride of before vanishing swiftly. Dasin did not understand what was being asked of her here, and she knew it. The Librarium was not something she was skilled in dealing with. But a Squad Leader should not show uncertianty, or indecision. Taking a breath, the Techmarine placed her left hand down upon the deck: her still human hand, focusing on her chosen question in her mind. "What prize do our foes on Antael fight for?"

[bluntpencil]

The Librarian slows his shuffling,

"I would rephrase that, Forgemaster. I mean no disrespect, but the likelihood of them seeking a safe entrance from the Warp into the physical universe is high enough that one does not need to be psychic to know that.

However, I understand that few fully understand a Psyker's so-called gifts of foresight, and must say that your intent is very wise, if we were to be more specific..."

He gestures that the Forgemaster should take a seat, and then continues to speak, very carefully, as he draws the cards...

"Whom or what do this mission's foes plan on taking control of, in order to strike the Imperium, in the near future?"

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Okay, casting Augury at Fettered level (Psy Rating 3).

Basically, until I succeed, we will draw cards.

(1d100)[26] TN 75
(1d100)[88] TN 75
(1d100)[72] TN 75
(1d100)[35] TN 75

[Major Kiaslu]

Perhaps surprisingly, the Forgemaster shakes her head at the Librarian's questioning of her phrasing. "Brother Antarael believes that we may not face Enslavers at all, good Warden. And whilst I do not fully agree with him, there is one point that intrigues me"

Beneath her helmet, Dasin actually smiled just a little as she begun. The Rime Drake always enjoyed dissecting a mystery, and one had occured to her about the Enslaver theory her Brother had advanced. "There are countless psykers in the Imperium, and generally they can be found in higher concentrations than ten Sanctionates in a retinue. Astropathic Choirs, Telepathica forces sent on Guard detachment, even covens of unsanctioned Wyrdlings out in the darkness. The Enslavers have the entire galaxy to choose from, and many targets easier than an Inquisitor accompanied by Stormtroopers and Guardsmen."

"And yet, Inquisitor Saussure believed that not only had they targeted her, they were following her. Chasing her through the Warp, and would hunt her down upon the surface of the world we travel to, even once her ship had left the warp."

Dasin met Andrew's gaze, not reproachful, but looking for comprehension in the Librarian's stance. "You may phrase that question however you wish, Brother, but do you now begin to grasp my intent? Why do the Inquisitor's foes pursue her so?" The Forgemaster gestured to either side of her in turn. "If they are Enslavers, there may be something we are missing in this scenario that has driven them to such lengths. If they are not, the reading might help to confirm that uncertainty, and set us on a firmer course."

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Terrogoat: The original doc, sent to Pecos, reffed Guard and Inq forces accompanying Saussure. If that's wrong, or shouldn't be known IC, I'll edit, but Dasin's point stands.

Also, wouldn't that question just return the names of the Psykers in the retinue, should they be Enslavers? It's confirmation though, so still....

[TERRORGOAT]

While plotting in a few details into the navigational computer, Pecos mulls over the Blood Raven's words.

'Thracian - y'see, that's just the darnedest thing. We weren't even planning to go that way at all. Ah can't say ah'm all that clued up with divinatory procedures, but it said somethin's gonna threaten my - our - lives there, at some point in the near future. That was the case when we were plannin' on taking our original route, with no diversions. If we change our plan to deliberately to go to this place, will that change matters? Personally, ah think we should stick to the old route, but any advice'd be welcome!'

Dasein

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Correct. Ansar-Saussure's on the planet with a pretty considerable group of Inquisitorial Stormtroopers, guard units, and support staff. Dasein's familiarity with siegeworks would suggest that you'd need a large team of people to be involved in excavating/digging out a large earthwork, and that things would probably be the same for a large archaeological dig.

Andrew

Andrew takes a deep breath, centres his mind - no, his entire being - astride the Astronomican, and lets himself flow into the Rime Drake's question. His hands are no longer his own, and, shaking slightly as the galactic background radiation interferes with the divinatory signal, he reaches for the cards.

He draws five cards.

Discordia, inverted. Discordia is the sign of Chaos, of witches, mutants, and heretics in their capacity to foil the plans and order of the Emperor. Inversion means something running counter to this, opposing it.

Adeptio, inverted. Adeptio is the sign of the Imperium, of order and the calm that comes under good governance. In Deathwatch usage, it's also been used to denote the Necron threat, although this is an unorthodox reading. Inversion means something running counter to this, opposing it.

The Rising Star. The Star is the symbol of opportunity, new growth, and bright, explosive vigour and power. It usually carries connotations of something pre-existent being restored or renewed, rather than of fresh creation.

The Galactic Lens. The Lens is a symbol of scope. No great surprises here - whatever the mystery xenos are looking for, they're aiming high. It also has links with the Dark Age of Technology, when all the Milky Way was focused under the dread arcane might of humanity.

The Shattered World. inverted. The Shattered World represents devastation on a colossal scale - the ultimate sanction and the genocide of billions. It's a surprisingly good omen for the Imperium, though, signifying righteous judgement. Inversion means something running counter to this, opposing and reversing it on both meanings.

The five cards lie in a neat row on the table between Andrew and Dasein. They both regard them with studious expressions.

The hairs on the back of Andrew's neck prickle, and for a second he gets an oddly voyeuristic feeling, as if he's stepped in on something he shouldn't - a strange sense of sympathetic intimate embarrassment that is practically unknowable to the inhuman Astartes. It's not what he's looking at that's given him this feeling - he's conducted hundreds of divinations in his time, and knows that they're just a vision of a potential future, and - barring the more powerful Daemons of Tzeentch and Slaanesh - the subjects of his divinations can't look back at him, or know what cards denote their beings and actions. Rather, he feels like he's snuck up behind someone else, who was blindly reaching out to look at the same thing. His blood roars savagely in his ears, nearly jolting him out of the vision, and as his eyes flicker over the cards, Dasein can't help but catch a swiftly vanishing emerald gleam in his eye. After a short pause to catch his breath, though, he looks more normal again, and appears to have fallen back into the divinatory trance.

Andrew's vision

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The five cards, read together, might be read as the re-emergence of some sort of anti-Imperial, anti-Chaos force, likely Xenos, on a vast scale. The creature's you're pursuing - be they Enslavers, Necrons, or something else entirely - seem to be trying to join with it, and enforce some sort of unwholesome unity … on what? Themselves? The sector? The galaxy? Hard to tell - this is just one of many possible readings.

His Tarot is bolstered somewhat by a vision. Due to his differing divinatory style, it is distinctly rougher and less detailed than Thracian's more artistic approach, but might hold a few hints as to the Kill-Team's future, and his rather good focus power test shows him much more than he'd otherwise get.

Standing on mountaintop. Flesh, metal, warp gates in front of him, all around. Hooded stocky figure by his side - not Astartes? Not ally, but comrade. Beings of light spill from gates. They stumble and sicken as they reach the mountaintop. Their luminous blood runs down rough-hewn channels to a sacrificial altar. On the altar, an egg. Ancient shell. Cracked meteor-rock and the ghost of iron. The light laps at the egg, cracking it open. It slides into itself, opens like a flower. Inside is a beast. Bulbous eyes that see everything unmist and comprehend all worlds. Claws and teeth unfurl - not daemonic, maybe, but certainly daemonic. It roars, calling an end to the world - and the curtain drops.

Dasein won't have witnessed quite the same slack-jawed catatonia as Thracian experienced earlier, but Andrew looks a little pained for a few moments, then snaps out of it with a grunt of pain.

Everyone

Midway through the Kill-Team's conversations, a loud alarm blares for a few seconds, red and blue lights strobing the deck. Just as quickly as it began, it stops. Pecos gives the pilot a rather dry look at the interruption.

'Gonna have to find out how to turn down the damn volume on that thing. OK, folks - that there was the 'ready for warp translation' alarm. No hurry, of course - if y'all want to keep the ship here for a bit and think it'd help the mission, ah'm fine with a bit more plannin'. But we're at the jump point, and in about half an hour we'll be in Warp. We'll have one more realspace stop before we get to Antael, but otherwise, ah'd like to be gettin' on.'

The rest of the bridge crew complete their preparations for jump prep. A few dozen extra human crew - a not-inconsiderable fraction of the sapient beings aboard the ship - dribble onto the bridge, adding additional redundancy to the delicate procedure of translating to the warp. Translation is a rather unpleasant experience, even for veteran crew members, and there's a palpable sense of crawling dread among the crew as they set about their duties. It's common for Astartes to remain on the bridge during the translation, perhaps manning various important systems or duties themselves (Courras looking after the Gellar field calibration, for example, or the Librarians taking warp readings). Alternatively, it wouldn't be a dishonour to retreat to your quarters during this stage of the voyage - it's safe, you're not needed on the bridge, and if anything does happen, you'll be safest, and in a good position to respond. What does the Kill-Team want to do?

[CalebRoberts]

'Thracian - y'see, that's just the darnedest thing. We weren't even planning to go that way at all. Ah can't say ah'm all that clued up with divinatory procedures, but it said somethin's gonna threaten my - our - lives there, at some point in the near future. That was the case when we were plannin' on taking our original route, with no diversions. If we change our plan to deliberately to go to this place, will that change matters? Personally, ah think we should stick to the old route, but any advice'd be welcome!'

"Captain, there are too many possibilities to inform a change in course of action at this juncture. My advice to to continue with your planned course yet be ready for immediate action. With these Divinations I would not be surprised if we encountered difficulties in the Warp. I will be ready to combat any incursion as needed. I do have one request. Do your onboard armories posses a Psychic Hood of which I might use temporarily? If Warp beings enter the ship I may be able to prevent much damage with access to such a tool."

[bluntpencil]

"Far be it from me to make such a request, but there is certainly wisdom in it."

The Storm Warden offers support for Thracian's request, but not particularly strongly.

He offers both the Forgemaster and Captain Pecos a little insight from his vision, telepathically,

"We shall encounter a force, likely Xenos and likely ancient, opposed to both the Imperium and the forces of Chaos. More information would be mere supposition until we learn more."

He then moves to the Navigator's tower, and awaits an invitation to enter. If there is a bell or similar, he will ring it. He will not use telepathic communication, so as not to affect any navigation.

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Some lore checks:

Forbidden Lore (Xenos) (1d100)[9] TN 100 Anything of note, regarding alien species picked up on from the vision. Particularly focusing on Eldar and Enslavers. Nine degrees of success.

Forbidden Lore (Archaeotech) (1d100)[67] TN 90 Anything of note in the vision, relating to the Galactic Lens card. Two degrees of success.

Forbidden Lore (Deathwatch) (1d100)[85] TN 100 Regarding previous Deathwatch prophecies, or secrets revealed by the Omega Vault. Also, links to the Dark Pattern. One degree of success.

Forbidden Lore (Necrons) (1d100)[69] TN 90 Anything relating to, perhaps, Necron sigils and similar. Two degrees of success.

Forbidden Lore (Daemonology or Warp) (1d100)[76] TN 90 The vision seemed to imply a summoning of sorts. Details? One degree of success.

[MasonDon]

Nodding at the Watch-Captain's words, the techmarine moves to head towards the Enginarium and see to the Gellar Fields.

"I will make sure the fields stay sound, Brothers."

[Aneurin]

Antarael

He silently accepts the Squad Leader's rebuke - his comments had not been directed at the Forgemaster, but it appeared she had taken them to heart, at least. As for the others... well, so be it.

"I will stand guard over the Master Cogitator. If the enemy is already aware of our intents, then disabling the Gellar Field during Warp travel is the most sure way of delaying or destroying us," he says solemnly, as he walks away from the bridge towards the ancient Machine Spirit's resting place at the heart of the ship's labyrinthine passageways.

[Major Kiaslu]

That augury was.... somewhat vague to Dasin, and the Warden's commentary didn't help. It suggested the Enslaver assumption was indeed wrong, as a warp born species would be unlikely to oppose Chaos, but did not rule it out entirely. Xenos were ultimately unknowable, strange and insane creatures by reason of their being.

But the question remains: why is this force targeting the Inquisitor? The augury did not show that infomation, unless....

Dasin tapped three of the cards, the Lense, the Star, and the Shattered World committing the images one by one to memory. She was not an expert on the tarot, but had learned the basic meaning of the cards from her own chapter, and could at least draw one possible interpretation from them. One that would answer several questions, were it to be correct.

A little lost in reflection, she rose to her feet as the others begun to exit, bowing to Captain Pecos. "Watch Captain, I thank you for your patience. If I am needed, I will be within my cell, studying the maps you provided of the dig site, trying to hypothesis lines of attack for various potential scenarios once we reach our destination. If you have plans of Inquisitor Saussure's ship, I would appreciate access. Just in case storming it becomes necessary."

Her plans for the moment shared, Dasin withdraws from the room in turn, sighing a little internally. That had been an interesting briefing session. If the daemons break in, call for me. Otherwise, leave me in peace. Please.

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Trying to wrap this up before turning in, but putting some rolls down here.

Tactics, Siege Tactics, (1d100)[5] TN 68 on the excavation works: likely points of fortification, possible weak spots, optimal placement of a lance strike... de regeur.
Forbidden Lore Xenos, (1d100)[68] and Forbidden Lore Archaeotech (1d100)[9] TN 78 on possible target devices for the Enslavers? Dasin's basic approach is to think back over known relics and supposed archaeotech, and to try and fit any possibilities in with what she knows of Enslavers. If they were after archaeotech, what would they be going for?

[TERRORGOAT]

Everyone

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OK, so jumping shortly. You probably have time for one last test, action, or whatnot before the jump, or that you'll be carrying out as you enter the warp.

Dasin

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Will get back to you! I'll have maps and such. The answers to Dasin's study are unlikely to be immediately relevant, but those are some good check results, and you'll certainly get some use out of them.

Antarael and Courras

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The Black Shield and the Iron Hand set out together, making their way against a desultory trickle of crew en route their way to the bridge. The men and women of the crew cast their eyes away from the Astartes and flatten themselves against the walls to let the pair past. It's not entirely clear that they're only doing this out of respect or awe - they wince as the two marines pass them, and take pains not to let themselves or their clothing brush against any ceramite plate. It seems like the Astropath's fear of a curse on the Astartes has spread. The crew thin out, and the pair walk in silence for a few minutes before reaching the heart of the ship.

Antarael's quest is somewhat in vain, for he is as a man who misses the forest for the trees. The core cogitator system of the Novus Ordo is the Novus Ordo itself, its Machine Spirit distributed through ten thousand redundant servitor minds and threading through the entire vessel. But the Apothecary's not without purpose here, as even a distributed system has nodes and centres of power and control, and the omnipresent ship's spirit is particularly strong here. His training may not exactly have given him the training to quickly diagnose the health of what is essentially a collections of brains in glass jars, but subtle cues of physiology and preservative concentration allow him to readily guess the ship's health at a glance. He takes up position at one of the regularly spaced interface panels just outside the Gellar field chamber, and begins to assess the ship's condition. All systems seem optimal. He has a clear line of fire down the corridor, and only the field controls behind him - sure, he's cornered, but when did that ever discourage a Space Marine?

The Gellar field is no less strange than the ship's cogitators. Its machine interface is standard pattern, a bulky slab of blackened metal, worm-eaten with a thousand odd sockets and plugs, some of seem designed to allow for easy MIU linkage, but some of which are utterly mysterious in function and origin. There are all the normal cables, wires, vacuum tubes, metronomic pendulums, and finely engineered clockwork assemblies that make up any state-of-the-art piece of Imperial technology. But the actual visualisation of the Gellar field - and the generator itself, it seems - is something else altogether. A square of cloth-of-gold, it hangs perfectly flat against one wall, its fractal fibres gleaming with light that's not of this world. As the Ordo translates into the warp, this manifested abstraction of the ship's gellar field will billow and fill with energy, catching Empyreal currents like a sail to propel the ship safely through the warp. If carefully managed by pilot and Navigator, it will remain intact, keeping the ship from being torn apart by the wrath of the Chaos Gods. If not carefully managed, the weft and weave of its infinitesimally fine threads will begin to unravel, become threadbare, and develop holes. As it does so, the Gellar field will fade in sympathy with it - you don't want to know what happens when it stars developing holes. It'll fall to Courras to keep it patched - a needle and spool of golden thread lies on a small table next to the field-cloth. The warp is a place of metaphor, imagery, and symbolism - it shouldn't be surprising that technologies exist that can take advantage of that, drawing upon humanity's ancestral mythology of weavers and fates to draw strength in the madness of the warp.

As the two stand at their positions, one of the servitor-brains twitches, and the Gellar curtain wafts slightly in an unfelt breeze. A warp jump is imminent.

Andrew and Thracian

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'Sure - we'll continue as planned, but ah'd like you to keep lookin' to the warp, if that's OK with y'all - at least that way if somethin' happens, then we'll be aware of it even if there's precious little we can do about it. As to hoods 'fraid not, folks - we've got a pretty tiny armoury aboard ship, and though there might be something in there that'd serve, it'd take a fair bit of rootin' about to find it. If you stand by the Navigatorium -'

She doesn't quite manage warn Andrew before he knocks on the door of the Navigator's cubicle - and grimaces when a deluge of furious splashing and bubbling sounds from within. Some liquid slops under the door - thicker than water, almost jelly-like, it oozes into a wide puddle before the constraints of mundane space cause it to vanish in a fog of nooconductive vapour.

'… eh. Anyhow, standin' next to the Navigatorium oughta help to stabilise your brain-waves or whatever psychic stabilisation y'all need to defend the bridge. If not -'

She draws the meltarevolver, and blows imaginary smoke off the barrel.

'Then we'll defend the ship together. Lone Stars may not be great psykers, but we make for great support, and ah'll see to it that you can manifest unimpeded by any encounters we might have. Anyhow, crew - STATUS REPORT!'

A scattershot chorus of yells goes up from the bridge crew, and she seems to register and file every single one in its proper place in her mind. The bridge begins to pulse and thrum as power builds, and the air roils and distorts as the ship's warp core becomes gravid and bloated with empyreal energy. Neither Astartes seems to feel it, though, despite their finely honed psychic senses - standing next to the heavily warded Navigator's cubicle seems to protect them from such interference. A warp jump is imminent.

Andrew's lore

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Forbidden Lore (Xenos) (1d100)[9] TN 100 Anything of note, regarding alien species picked up on from the vision. Particularly focusing on Eldar and Enslavers. Nine degrees of success: Strangely enough, forbidden lore (Xenos) doesn't tell Andrew an awful lot about the vision. It was rough, crudely hewn from the fabric of his unconscious, and just like the dreams he left behind so long ago, doesn't stay in his mind for long. It never happened, and so he can't remember it.

The sight of the flesh-gates in the vision helps to confirm his earlier suppositions about Enslavers, and the gate of the warp seems to vaguely resemble the vaulted warp-gates that the Eldar are known to maintain on worlds across the galaxy, although they're recognisably different in a number of details that its maddeningly difficult to place. The metal gate was blurry, and continues to elude Andrew's scrutiny.

The one thing he does realise, after a few moments' meditative concentration, is that the hooded figure standing next to him had the simian shoulders and long corded arms of an Ork. Quite what an Ork was doing wearing Astartes ceremonial raiment, and what it was doing in his vision, escapes even nine degrees of success on a forbidden lore (xenos) check, though.

Forbidden Lore (Archaeotech) (1d100)[67] TN 90 Anything of note in the vision, relating to the Galactic Lens card. Two degrees of success.: weirdly enough, the Galactic Lens card was the one card that didn't seem to appear explicitly in the vision - there was nothing obviously corresponding to technological power or mastery over forces, except maybe what was coming out of the egg.

Forbidden Lore (Deathwatch) (1d100)[85] TN 100 Regarding previous Deathwatch prophecies, or secrets revealed by the Omega Vault. Also, links to the Dark Pattern. One degree of success.: There's no record of anything that has emerged from the Omega vault so far that might shed light on this, and there's nothing specific that would link these phenomena to the Dark Pattern other than 'ancient stirring presence from before the dawn of humanity', which is hardly a rare phenomenon in the 41st millennium. They might well have some links to the Dark Pattern, but none that you are aware of at the moment.

Forbidden Lore (Necrons) (1d100)[69] TN 90 Anything relating to, perhaps, Necron sigils and similar. Two degrees of success: nothing presents itself regarding Necrons at this point - at least nothing related to the traditional hieratic Necrontyr script that Andrew is familiar with.

Forbidden Lore (Daemonology or Warp) (1d100)[76] TN 90 The vision seemed to imply a summoning of sorts. Details? One degree of success:: all but the most pitiful summonings require a sacrifice of some sort, although it's a subject of debate among heretical scholars whether it's a matter of Newtonian action and reaction, some cosmic balancing of the scales, an occult pact with the powers beyond, or all of the above. What you saw in your vision is probably a sacrifice of some sort, although you can't tell much more beyond that.

[bluntpencil]

Andrew is particularly intrigued by the potential Ork involvement. Were they potential... tools?

The thought repulsed him, but there has been precedent in the past for delaying attacks until enemies were weakened by a third party of mutual enemies. It was logical, but his train of thought was, admittedly, taken from mere guess-work.

He saw no point on wasting his time pondering on it, however. More would be revealed later, after dealing with the Navigator.

"Ahem," he said, clearing his throat very loudly, as hje knocked again.

"I believe I can be of some, admittedly limited, assistance in Aether-gazing."

He didn't need to shout. Being an eight-foot tall superhuman was enough to make his voice heard, even if he wasn't a particularly personable type.

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Okay, so rolling Psyniscience in advance, to assist our Navigator...

(1d100)[48] TN 45

Edit: That just failed, unless there are any circumstance or equipment bonuses (I believe a Navigator tower may make the check easier, for instance.).