Sea of Stars - IC

[Destro_Yersul]

"Magos Zurin's group is set up just past the third patrol marker. If you need to talk with the Mechanicus, they're probably the closest anyways," said Commander Tam. "We're going to check in with them when we pass by."

---

For the transit back to the Manticore's Sting, Macharius' Aquila was accompanied by a sleek black gun cutter, its hull bearing no markings to give it away as an Inquisitor's vehicle. One the front, just under the nose, were a pair of autocannon muzzles. The stubby wings bore no obvious weaponry, but Felidae spotted a pair of hatches on the underside that looked like they might conceal deployable guns. The rear hatch slid smoothly open on oiled hydraulics, and the occupants filed out. There were four men in matte black carapace armour, each armed with an Angelus battle halberd and carrying a holstered bolt pistol as a sidearm. Their faces were hidden behind glossy black face plates. Kohl stepped down behind them, a stack of dataslates and parchment tubes tucked under his arms, neck craned up to look around at the landing bay. With him was a woman in the red robes of a Mechanicus adept, who carried a staff topped with the cogwheel emblem of her order. She walked slowly, humming softly along to a tune only she could hear, and broke with the rest at the bottom of the ramp to tend to the needs of the ship. She trailed a mechadendrite behind her, which twitched and clicked in time with her humming. Mathius, still wearing his finely-wrought power armour, disembarked last, leaving the pilot inside.

Once a suitable space was located for the Inquisitor to conduct interviews, they began the process of tracking down the men they'd taken from the Terminus. There weren't many compared to the broader population, but there were still plenty, and the Inquisitor wanted to see all of them. As the interviews proceeded, the Sting pulled away from the Navy ships, and their small battlegroup once again set sail, heading for the warp jump point to the next marker.

Spoiler: Anika and Felidae

Show

Anika took a seat in the corner of the room, which had been outfitted with a desk and three chairs. A big one, specially chosen to support the extra weight of power armour, was used by Mathius. Kohl sat at his right hand, tapping away on his dataslates. Every crewman was asked the same set of questions, with the scribe dutifully recording their answers.

"Did you ever see the Emperor? What do you remember of him?"

"Tell me about the primarchs."

"Did you enjoy serving in the Navy?" The first time he asked this question, the crewman nervously corrected him, saying that back then it had all been the Imperial Army, and the Navy was only formed after the Heresy. The Terminus had been given the new Navy markings, but many of the men on her remembered her as an Army vessel. Kohl made a note, and the question was amended for every crew member afterwards.

"Describe the Imperium. How did you see Xenos races? How does this match up with the Imperium of today?"

"Do you recall any sort of technological knowledge? Anything you notice that we no longer have, that used to be widespread?"

"What do you know about the traitor legions?"

"How are you adjusting to your new life?"

"Did you venerate the Emperor as the God of Mankind?"

"Do you believe there is anything worth learning from Xenos?"

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Both of you, roll scrutiny. Anika gets +10 on her test, since she's sitting in on all the interviews. Felidae needs to answer the questions.

[Kaptin Keen]

Spoiler: OOC - questions

Show

Scrutiny: [roll0] Felidae has no such skill, so I assume it's vs INT, which is 32 I think. Wait, does rolling fail if I preview the post? Oh goddam! What? It still failed? Oh for the love of god!!

"Did you ever see the Emperor? What do you remember of him?"
It's a big galaxy. No, I never saw the Emperor, but ... he was no where and everywhere, you know? One man, holding together the entirety of a galactic Imperium. Words cannot describe him. I can tell you all about it - how everyone trusted that one man to take care of everything. And he never failed at that. But that doesn't convey it, not really.

He was the Imperium.

"Tell me about the primarchs."

Um. They led the Space Marines. I don't know much more, frankly. I just happen to be quite good with a rifle. Otherwise, I'd be a turnip farmer on a frontier world.

"Did you enjoy serving in the Navy?"

Sure? I mean, it beats farming turnips.

No, le me be more specific. I had a lot of crap jobs in the Imperial Guard. But I somehow managed to earn distinction, and got better jobs, until I became the personal adjudant of a navy admiral. I could have gone further, I feel - but then we got killed. Basically.

"Describe the Imperium. How did you see Xenos races? How does this match up with the Imperium of today?"

The Imperium is the project of the Emperor to create a safe stable space for all mankind.

I do not see xenos. What I mean is, there is no single way in which I see all aliens. I hate the orcs, and I hate the eldar. For different reasons. The orcs are vermin with half a brain, destructive and unproductive. The eldar .. meddle. You know what I mean? They'd happily sacrifice every last human for some contrieved plan of theirs. And they'd never tell us the trust. Just because. They could - they just wont.

Today? I don't even know about today. Ask me in ten years. But like I said: There's no doubt in my mind the Imperium has forgotten what it is. The Imperium of Man is the single most powerful force in the galaxy - we do not need to fear every little thing. We are strong, and the emperor guides us!

"Do you recall any sort of technological knowledge? Anything you notice that we no longer have, that used to be widespread?"

No, I'm not a tech person. I ... I'm just good with a rifle.

"What do you know about the traitor legions?"

Zip, I'm afraid. Nothing at all.

"How are you adjusting to your new life?"

Pretty well. I woke up, and I'm still good with a rifle. So I just ... went on like the whole thing never happened.

"Did you venerate the Emperor as the God of Mankind?"

You do realise he specifically told us not to, right? Then .. well, yea? Kinda. He was substantially larger than life, whether he wanted us to acknowledge it or not.

"Do you believe there is anything worth learning from Xenos?"

Duh! Obviously - yes. I just ... it's so dumb. Say these fish guys have some clever way of working with genes, right? It seems that might actually be the case. So - just because it's xenos - we burn it!

And then, somewhere in the galaxy, in a hundred years, some lucky cog dude comes up with the same idea - only someone figures out that's what the fish guys did, so it's HERESY. And so we burn it - again!

Felidae is silent for a good long while. Long enough for Mathius to harumph and indicate that the interview is now over - but then she asks:

Say - you seem like someone with a good deal of knowledge and influence. So riddle me this: So the Emperor gets offed, and the Mechanicus drops him in stasis so he's not really dead, but definitely not alive either. And everyone just decides that yep, that's fine. We'll just keep him like this forever.

Is that about right? Ten thousand years. And no one came up with a better solution?

[rax]

"If you're concerned about immediate money for the recovered artifacts, I can always arrange for the Ordo Xenos to take the lot." Mathias said. "I've got significant credit available. The issue with me going somewhere else on the Sting is that 'where I need to be' happens to be pirate hunting, as you put it. I can't discuss why." He was looking at Kohl as he said this, and the scribe nodded.

As they head back to the Sting, Hannabel turns over the controls to the co-pilot and moves to the passenger compartment to speak to the rest of the command crew. "So, did anyone else think it's strange that the Lord Inquisitor needed to check with his scribe about his credit rating and whether or not he can discuss why he needs to be out hunting pirates? Think those two are pulling a bait and switch? That maybe the one who says he's an Inquisitor...isn't."

[Leon]

++Misdirection is a big part of how they operate sometimes++

[Haval]

'So the man that might as well look like the image of the Inquisitor from the Emperor's Tarot is just a front man? Do we let them know we suspect?'

Spoiler: Questions

Show

Perhaps Hannabel had a point. Kohl's interest didn't necessarily mean anything. He was obviously here because of the things that he knew. On the same basis there were a lot of things Anika would expect to be more interested in then Macharius. But she would have expected Mathias to be more invested in this. Between taking notes she will continue to watch Kohl.

On the Xenos question she will speak up since they were talking about it. 'They are all the worst in their own way? I mean, I don't disagree, but it's a little philosophically advanced for anyone who has been taught the simpler version their entire life.'

[rax]

'So the man that might as well look like the image of the Inquisitor from the Emperor's Tarot is just a front man? Do we let them know we suspect?'

"It's not my place to say, and it's just a feeling so far, but we don't want to be messing with the Inquisition just for the sake of it. Maybe just keep an eye on them for now and make sure they don't stick their noses too far into our business?"

[Destro_Yersul]

Spoiler: questions

Show

"Did you ever see the Emperor? What do you remember of him?"
It's a big galaxy. No, I never saw the Emperor, but ... he was no where and everywhere, you know? One man, holding together the entirety of a galactic Imperium. Words cannot describe him. I can tell you all about it - how everyone trusted that one man to take care of everything. And he never failed at that. But that doesn't convey it, not really.

He was the Imperium.

"That fits with what we know of Him," Mathias said. "Things would have been quite different, had the Great Betrayer not turned his back on the Imperium."

"Describe the Imperium. How did you see Xenos races? How does this match up with the Imperium of today?"

The Imperium is the project of the Emperor to create a safe stable space for all mankind.

I do not see xenos. What I mean is, there is no single way in which I see all aliens. I hate the orcs, and I hate the eldar. For different reasons. The orcs are vermin with half a brain, destructive and unproductive. The eldar .. meddle. You know what I mean? They'd happily sacrifice every last human for some contrieved plan of theirs. And they'd never tell us the trust. Just because. They could - they just wont.

Today? I don't even know about today. Ask me in ten years. But like I said: There's no doubt in my mind the Imperium has forgotten what it is. The Imperium of Man is the single most powerful force in the galaxy - we do not need to fear every little thing. We are strong, and the emperor guides us!

"I do know, believe me. There are some things worth fearing, and some worth hating. For the most part, though, I think we can agree. Thank you for your candor."

"Did you venerate the Emperor as the God of Mankind?"

You do realise he specifically told us not to, right? Then .. well, yea? Kinda. He was substantially larger than life, whether he wanted us to acknowledge it or not.

At this, Kohl looked up suddenly. "Really? Don't tell any Ecclesiarchs that. It's a central tenet of the Imperial Creed that the Emperor rewards those with faith in him. Though, you probably know that by now. It seems the sort of thing the good Lord Captain would have mentioned. There's a lot of interesting philosophical discussion to be had on the subject of what to do when God tells you He isn't a god, and not to worship Him. Very surprising, though. I wonder if there are any sources to corroborate that, other than the remaining crew..." The scribe lapsed into silence, staring at the wall. Felidae could almost see the wheels in his head ticking over. "On the balance of it, the Ecclesiarchy is good for the IMperium. Still. Very interesting. Best if you keep it to yourselves."

He paused for a moment, making a note on his slate. "Mind-wipes can be arranged, you know, and the clerics are always happy with a few more heretics to burn."

"Do you believe there is anything worth learning from Xenos?"

Duh! Obviously - yes. I just ... it's so dumb. Say these fish guys have some clever way of working with genes, right? It seems that might actually be the case. So - just because it's xenos - we burn it!

And then, somewhere in the galaxy, in a hundred years, some lucky cog dude comes up with the same idea - only someone figures out that's what the fish guys did, so it's HERESY. And so we burn it - again!

"Another central tenet of the Imperial Faith is that tampering with the divine human form is one of the worst sorts of sacrilege. I can think of only two organisations which get around that. For one, it's allowed because the Astartes were creations of the Emperor in the first place, and are frankly required to keep the Imperium safe. For the other... well, cybernetics are medically useful, and technically the replacement of biological parts with mechanical ones doesn't involve any genetic manipulation."

"As long as it wasn't used on humans, though, I see no problems. Developing more efficient crops for agri-worlds is an entirely worthy endeavour." Kohl makes another few notes as he says this. "Was any of this in that information package your Magos put together?"

Say - you seem like someone with a good deal of knowledge and influence. So riddle me this: So the Emperor gets offed, and the Mechanicus drops him in stasis so he's not really dead, but definitely not alive either. And everyone just decides that yep, that's fine. We'll just keep him like this forever.

Is that about right? Ten thousand years. And no one came up with a better solution?

"The Ecclesiarchy teaches that he is still alive. It is his mental power which provides the Astronomicon. Without the Emperor on teh Golden Throne, Warp Travel would be impossible, and the Imperium would fragment. You would need a psyker of an equal capability to power the Astronomicon in His stead," Kohl said. "Thus, I answer your question with one of my own. What alternative Emperor-level psyker do you suggest we use instead?"

Perhaps Hannabel had a point. Kohl's interest didn't necessarily mean anything. He was obviously here because of the things that he knew. On the same basis there were a lot of things Anika would expect to be more interested in then Macharius. But she would have expected Mathias to be more invested in this. Between taking notes she will continue to watch Kohl.

The more Anika watched Kohl, the more she became convinced that the scribe was hiding something. He was very good at it, acting the perfect subservient, but there was something in his bearing that she had often seen in department heads during her Lexica days. Subtle hints of tone and inflection that he probably wasn't aware of, but which led her to conclude that he at least outranked Mathias. She sat in on all of the interviews, as much as she could, and it was always there.

The other crew gave similar answers to Felidae; none had ever personally met the Emperor, though a few had witnessed a Primarch in action. One man claimed to have met Vulkan, providing an accurate description of the Primarch of the 18th legion, and describing him as a compassionate commander who genuinely cared for the people of the Imperium. Their views on Xenos echoed Felidae's; humans were obviously meant to govern the galaxy, and were superior to all Xenos, but coexistence was possible. There had been a civilization called the Interex, an enemy of the Imperium, but one in which humans and aliens had peacefully coexisted. They were destroyed by Horus before his betrayal of the Imperium. None of the crew were sure whether this had been an initial act of betrayal by Horus, striking against a dedicated enemy of Chaos, a righteous battle against an enemy of the Imperium, or a tragic misunderstanding. By the end of the interview process, Kohl was forced to admit that there might not be enough surviving information to know the truth for sure.

As the interviews were nearing completion, the Manticore's Sting exited warp just behind the Navy frigates. They had reached the third marker with no signs of pirate activity, but the Navy insisted on maintaining alertness. The two Swords had taken point on every occassion, requiring Macharius' ships to provide backup. They did the same here, powering in from the jump point towards the marker. This particular waypoint was near an uninhabited star system, and was where they were supposed to find the Mechanicus. Commander Tam had been reluctant to provide much detail on Magos Zurin, only saying that he was doing some research or other on the native lifeforms of this particular world. While it was possible that the Navy didn't know what the Magos was up to, many of the Sting's crew had quietly expressed the opinion that the Navy did know, and simply didn't want to share the knowledge with them.

As the planet came within range of the auspex, the officers ordered a sensor sweep. The Sting and the Talon reached out into the void, powerful augurs sweeping space. There were no signs of any active ships, which was strange. One of the few details that Tam had shared was that the Mechanicus contingent was supposed to have a light cruiser on support duty.

[Kaptin Keen]

"Was any of this in that information package your Magos put together?"

What alternative Emperor-level psyker do you suggest we use instead?"

Spoiler: Answers

Show

I .. don't generally pay much attention when the cog boys start babbling - it's all gibberish to me anyways. But I can only assume everything was included. And while I'm aware the manipulation of human genetics is heresy, I'm sure genetic research as such isn't. Better crops, fuel, fibres and so on could all be useful.

I'm pretty sure warp travel is possible without the astronomican. Harder, but not impossible. After all, xenos manage it, so surely humans could too?But could the Imperium be held together without it? Doubtful.

I don't know what 'Emperor-level psyker' means. I'm reasonably sure no other mind like His exists, but .. maybe that's not needed? What if, instead of a single astronomican on Terra, there were several smaller ones, distributed across space?

Frankly I don't know anything about it. It just seems that - if the Emperor can light up the galaxy, then maybe thousands of lesser psykers could light up, together? Would that be too risky, perhaps? They're always going on about how psykers can come under influence of the warp, so maybe that's a really awful idea.

Felidae laughs at her own sillyness. She literally doesn't know the first thing about psykers.

It's propably just in the planet's shadow, right? Says Felidae with a smile to indicate her personal conviction that's not where it is.

[PotatoGolem]

Spoiler: Destro

Show

Macharius watched the interviews with interest. The heresy shocked him at first, but he trusted the Inquisitor to root it out. Still, it couldn't hurt to be cautious. He had his spymaster assign men to watch the popsicles, making sure they did nothing untoward. As for Felidae, she tended to follow him anyway, and had no command role. All that was needed was to tell the purser that all her purchases needed to be routed to Macharius for approval and make it clear to lower-ranking officers that she did not have any command authority.

When the last interviewee left, he turned to the Inquisitor. Inquisitor, I apologize for the presumption, but I must ask: why do you tolerate such heretical thought? Many of the views expressed are punishable by excruciation and immolation. I would condemn them to death as heretics, but for the fact that they may have use to you. Are they corrupted by some enemy? What is to be done?

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

Stay alert, crew. Make sure our shields are up, and begin warming the weapons. This seems suspicious.

He voxes the other ships. Commander Tam, we're picking up no signs of the Mechanicus vessels. My ships are entering combat readiness. This may be a trap.

[rax]

"Sir, the Sting and the Talon won't do well on the receiving end of an ambush. We should go dark and break formation. That way we can scout the system without those two Navy scows getting in our way. Plus, if there are hostiles out there, then the frigates will be the only visible targets until we spring our counter ambush. But we should probably let Commander Tam now what we're about first...she seems like the suspicious type."

[PotatoGolem]

An excellent idea, Hannabel's. Let us do so.

[rax]

"You heard the Lord Commander, men. Start shutting down systems for silent running and send word to Astropath Pythonissam. He's to order the Talon to do the same and then let Commander Tam know what we're about."

[Destro_Yersul]

Spoiler: Macharius

Show

Macharius watched the interviews with interest. The heresy shocked him at first, but he trusted the Inquisitor to root it out. Still, it couldn't hurt to be cautious. He had his spymaster assign men to watch the popsicles, making sure they did nothing untoward. As for Felidae, she tended to follow him anyway, and had no command role. All that was needed was to tell the purser that all her purchases needed to be routed to Macharius for approval and make it clear to lower-ranking officers that she did not have any command authority.

When the last interviewee left, he turned to the Inquisitor. Inquisitor, I apologize for the presumption, but I must ask: why do you tolerate such heretical thought? Many of the views expressed are punishable by excruciation and immolation. I would condemn them to death as heretics, but for the fact that they may have use to you. Are they corrupted by some enemy? What is to be done?

"A worthy question, Lord-Captain!" Mathius boomed, leaning back in his chair. The metal creaked under his weight, but didn't give. "There are a few reasons, and I think you deserve to know them. The foremost one is simply that allowances must be made for humans coming from a culture far removed from our own. These are men and women of the Imperium, it is true, but the Imperium of ten-thousand years ago. Those men have tread the same ground as our legends, and seen things we could only imagine. One of the take-aways from these interviews is a glimpse at just how much the Imperium has changed. So that's one." He raised a massive hand, counting down on his fingers. "Two is closely related. They have knowledge that can never be replaced, a wealth of historical information about the daily life of our distant ancestors. To quote the motto of one of the Astartes chapters, 'Knowledge is power, guard it well.' This sort of knowledge is worth preserving, if we can. Three... I'm not the Hereticus. I don't have the luxury of seeing in black and white. My Ordo studies the Xenos, though such knowledge is forbidden to most."

"A scenario, Macharius, to illustrate." Kohl said, suddenly. The scribe had stood up, and was packing his auto-quills and dataslates away into a shoulder bag. "You are on an alien world. You have been cut off from your transport by hostile xenos. You have killed most, but now you are out of ammunition. On the ground is a xenos pistol, dropped by a fallen enemy. Do you take it up and kill the last few, thus preserving your life for future service to the Emperor, or do you die with honour, because to use Xenos technology is heresy?" He finished sweeping the last few slates into the bag and straightened, turning to face Macharius. "Another scenario. You have encountered a human culture on a world that has never known Imperial contact. You ask them if they venerate the God-Emperor, and of course they do not. Do you burn them as heretics, or do you call for missionaries, and reach out to them with the truth of the Imperial Creed?"

"To answer your other questions, I don't think they're corrupted," Mathias said. "There are tests for that, should you wish to implement one. No, I think that they simply don't know better. They have had less than a year to process a truly vast paradigm shift. They are loyal servants of the Imperium. I believe they'll come around, given time. I understand, however, if you don't want them in your crew. Answer honestly; would you prefer that the Inquisition take them?"

"Copy, Sting. Nothing over here either." There was a pause, the vox crackling into the silence. "I don't like this."

Macharius' two ships fell back, drifting on minimal power. Systems went dark across the board, everything non-essential shutting down. The lights fell, replaced by the dim red glow of the emergency luminators. The distant hum of the drives quieted, the two ships a silent void in space. The Sting's augur arrays, constructed for just such purpose, continued to run, searching the void for any signs of other ships. The officer in charge of the auspex station flicked through different bands, waiting and listening, watching the readouts.

"Lord-Captain!" Inquisitor Mathias joined them on the bridge, crossing the distance from the doors in great strides. None of his retinue were with him, save two of the silent bodyguards in black carapace. "What's the situation? Are we evading?"

"Got something, sir!" The auspex officer reported. "Debris field in low orbit. Metals, mostly. Some pretty big chunks in there."

[Haval]

Spoiler: Macharius

Show

Anika will make a point of speaking to Macharius in private at some point. 'You see the way Kohl was acting? It's not as if we have any way to check but I'll wager he's the one whose actually in charge. Hannabel was right.'

'So, someone got ambushed. If it's wreckage from one of the Mechanicus vessels are there any signs of survivors?'

Spoiler: ooc

Show

Maybe there's escape pods or vox signals

Augury vs. Per 43 (+20 Detection)
(1d100)[9]

[rax]

"Not evading exactly, just having a quiet looksee and making sure we ain't a target if there is something out there," Hannabel replies offhandedly to Mathias. "Which, from the looks of things, there is...or maybe was. Lord Commander, you want we should go have a closer look?"

Spoiler: Pilot test if necessary

Show

Pilot (Spacecraft) (1d100)[14] vs. 98 (53 Ag +25 Man +10 Difficulty +10 Reaver) or 108 (+10 Macharius)

[Kaptin Keen]

Felidae, feeling a little left out, interjects: I'm all but useless until there's a landing party of a boarding action. I'll go join the marines, keep them on their feet in case we get busy.

[Leon]

++If it was the Mechcanicus ship that was destroyed, then it was a sizable threat to take a light Cruiser down, all the more reason to be cautious++

[PotatoGolem]

Spoiler: Destro

Show

Macharius is silent for a time, considering the "scribe"'s words. Finally, he bows his head. I... see, yes. Perhaps I have been too rash, too quick to jump to conclusions. Too fast to discard what may be useful, to my dynasty and more so to the Imperium. He looks back up at the two men. I thank you for your wisdom, Inquisitor. And for your indulgence in answering my questions. My disquiet at having the old crew aboard ship is much eased. What little threat they may pose to the piety of their peers may be explained away as mind-sickness from isolation. I will not take up more of your valuable time. You have blessed me with much to think on.

Spoiler: Anika

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Interesting. It makes sense for the Inquisitor to cloak his true identity- after all, we may not be entirely trustworthy. Thank you for informing me.

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

Yes and no, Inquisitor. It appears that the Mechanicus may have been ambushed by an unknown foe. Our ships are running silently, the better to elude any of them that remain until we can see who they are.

Yes, Hannabel. Get us as much information as possible. Magos, can you assist with the auspex sensorium?

He looks at Felidae as she speaks, seeming to be lost in thought for a moment. He snaps to. Indeed. Go to the central docking bay- the marines will be preparing for offensive boarding actions, and you're our best close-quarter combatant. If we get boarded ourselves, we'll vox you directly where to reinforce. The central bay is close enough to the rest of the ship.

And Felidae- do try to use weapons that will limit damage to our ship, please. While venting the hold to space would increase your impressive lethality, the rest of the crew might take it poorly, what? He chuckles to himself.

[Kaptin Keen]

Felidae gives Macharius a salute - a quick, careless one, but an actual salute none the less - and stomps off to join the marines. She does call over her shoulder: I was in the Imperial Navy, boss. I'll try to keep our hulls intact, don't worry.

[Destro_Yersul]

Anika took command of the auspex station, sweeping for any vox signals. Escape pods would be equipped with beacons, and there might be something on the planet as well. While she was looking, she also get a better picture of the debris field. It had been a starship, once. Massive chunks of hull pinwheeled through space, drifting in lazy orbit around the planet. The ship had been shot to pieces, burns and impact marks cratering the larger fragments, twisted spires and glittering clouds of pulverised glass littering the area around it. There were no vox signals near the ship's remains, none of the escape pods active. There were signals coming from the planet, however, growing stronger as they moved in closer.

[Leon]

++Blessed Augurs, divine the unseen and bring light to the shadows++

[Haval]

'Signals coming from the planet. Maybe survivors made it to the surface. I assume there's not supposed to be anyone living down there?'

[rax]

"Hey, Lord Inquisitor, sir? You wouldn't happen to have any information on what Magos Zurin was doing out here?" Hannabel asks, even as her eyes stay glued to the nav screens.

[Leon]

++Unmistakable returns on sensorium, that is the wreckage of a Lathe class light cruiser++

[Destro_Yersul]

"Xenobiology research expedition," Mathias said. "It's probably his team on the planet. This world has no permanent inhabitants as far as I'm aware."

[rax]

"I hope so, 'cos if we go into orbit and there's hostiles dirtside, we'll be sitting ducks. Lord Commander - suggest that we have Pythonissam try and contact whoever's down there and confirm their identity before we move in. If we vox 'em, we'll be an easy target if anyone's out there listening."

[Haval]

'Assuming they have an Astropath. If there's anyone out there likely to jump on a vox signal do we want to try our trick with the beacon again?' Anika chooses not to mention the Rak'gol in front of the Inquisitor.

[Destro_Yersul]

"What's the range on your scanners? If there is anything out there, it'd have to be distant enough that the auspex couldn't pick it up." Mathias had walked over to the auspex station, standing behind Anika and scanning the readouts. "I see your other ship and the two Navy boats. Probably nobody else in range for a vox-thief, unless they're still on the planet. If you're concerned, though, you could try a narrow band tight-beam transmission. Would have to be pretty accurate to actually hit one of their receivers, but it's worth a shot. While you're in close, you could also scan for ground-based defensive platforms. Though, I doubt they have any. If they did, their ship might not have been reduced to scrap."

[rax]

"I'm not expecting the cogboys to answer, yer ladyship," Hannabel answers Anika. "But Pytho didn't need another astropath to talk to you and the Lord Commander back when we met Bolterface, so I figured he could at least reach out and say hello, see if the people down their feel suitably...mechanical, y'know?"

"I ain't worried about the Magos having ground-based defences, Lord Inquisitor, I'm worried that there's something down there that turned his ship into a cloud of metal..."

[Destro_Yersul]

"In that case, I suggest we take a closer look at the cloud of metal. You have void suits, right? My armour will suffice for me. There may be physical evidence not obvious to the auspex."

On the auspex, Anika noticed the two Navy ships had already drawn close to the planet, and were pinging space trying to find them. The Sting was still running dark, and the frigates had lost track of her as easily as any enemy might have done.