Sea of Stars - IC

[Haval]

Felidae ponders the cobbled-together and possibly booby trapped contraption: Say .. is there any sort of authentification on that signal? Any ident codes, indications of rank or unit, anything to suggest it wasn't placed here as bait?

'Maybe. Or the signal was a rush job and they didn't bother to follow procedure. The thing is, if someone really wanted to booby trap this place they could always leave a little surprise in the buildings. Maybe we wouldn't even see that one. But it does seem a little psychotic to try and blow up anyone who happens to come along. It's never going to be enough to cover up what happened here.' Which doesn't mean it wasn't a trap. 'If we're going to be that careful we can at least do it properly. Maybe I can find another way to get it open.' Anika will fish in her coat for an appropriate tool, and beckon one of the marines over. 'Corporal, did we bring anyone who knows about explosives? I'd always rather have someone who knows what they're doing on hand. And just in case we're not paranoid, watch where you step Macharius.'

'As for the possibility of survivors hiding somewhere. We could always try the vox. Just send out something innocuous in binary and see if we get a response.'

Spoiler

Show

Going to have a go at opening the footlocker without just standing in front of it to open the door. Not going to make a NPC do it, but it seems worth asking if we brought a marine with demolitions.

Awareness to notice anything suspicious while I'm fiddling with the footlooker.
vs. Per 43
(1d100)[59]

Tech-Use to look for a panel on the footlocker to unscrew
vs. Int 53 (Assist Bonus?)
(1d100)[83]

Rerolled in the ooc

[Destro_Yersul]

There weren't any removable panels on the footlocker, but the hinges on the lid were external. By removing those, it became possible to lift the lid straight up instead of opening it normally. The footlocker proved to contain a dataslate and pict-capture device glued to the inside of the lid, and a pair of directional explosive mines in the bottom, pointed forwards. The video screen snapped on when the lid was removed.

+++Hello?+++ A crackly voice said, the image on the slate badly distorted. +++I can't see anybody. Virgil, why did the picter activate when there's nobody in front of the screen?+++

Meanwhile, Macharius and the Praetorians opened up the lab. The airlock cycled them through, and they found that the two prefab buildings were almost entirely empty. There was lots of space for equipment, and indeed signs that things had previously occupied the space, but all of it had been removed. The small quarters off the second lab building contained living arrangements for four people - one larger room probably assigned to the Magos, and three smaller rooms for his underlings. These contained a variety of personal effects, but had clearly been rifled through.

[Leon]

Ravia will take the lid from whoever has it and get a good angle of herself with the pic capture.

++We received the distress beacon and investigated since we were expecting a operational expedition here, not a ravaged cruiser and a abandoned base++

[Haval]

Anika exhales slowly when she sees the mines. 'Justifiable paranoia then.'

There was always the chance that the voice was a Mechanicus survivor, so better to let Ravia do most of the talking. She will ask from offscreen, 'Excuse me, who are you and are these mines your doing?'

[Destro_Yersul]

+++Ah, rescuers, then?+++ There was a burst of static, and the screen resolved itself somewhat. Ravia found herself looking at a cowled face made of gleaming bronze, each eye replaced with a trio of glowing lenses. The lenses clicked and rotated, the face leaning in closer to the screen. +++Fellow Mechanicus. You will pardon the mines. We put them there in case the raiders came back.+++

The face leaned back, turning away. The hood it was wearing was red, with a white cogtooth pattern around the opening. Cables sprouted from the back of the techpriest's head, running somewhere offscreen. He was speaking, but whatever he said was obliterated by interference. The reception on the screen was terrible, the techpriest sliding in and out of focus.

+++How many in your party?+++

[rax]

"Somewhere between one and lots, metalhead. We're here to rescue you, why is it relevant how many we are?" Hannabel sniffs suspiciously.

[Destro_Yersul]

+++To see if you would lie about it+++

There was a lengthy pause while the techpriest conversed with someone offscreen. The picture cleared a little, and it was possible to make out some background detail. It looked as though the techpriest was standing in a cave, which would help explain the terrible reception. It was poorly lit, only a handful of luminators strung on cables along the rough stone of the walls. The image started moving, brown blurring into green as the techpriest picked up the screen on his end and moved it out of the cave. The picture got a lot better as he did so, details of his augmetics now visible.

+++Much improved+++ He said, returning to the center of the screen. +++What little we managed to salvage is with us at our present location. Are you mobile, or should we begin transporting it back to the command module?+++

[Leon]

++We have transport if it will accelerate the process++
++Pending Landing space at your location++

[Haval]

+++To see if you would lie about it+++

Anika mutters, 'Well I thought about it.' To the others, 'Not the most trusting bunch are they.'

[Leon]

Away from camera, ++Given what has transpired, i m not surprised++

[Destro_Yersul]

The Magos gave them a set of coordinates, and Ravia entered them into the Aquila's cogitators. It wasn't a long distance from the facility, and the shuttle ride to get there was short. There wasn't much room to land the shuttle, though, a small clearing in front of the cave representing the only open space. Hannabel made the landing, but it was a tight fit, and the Aquila scraped against several trees on the way down, snapping branches as it went.

There were four Skitarii standing in the cave mouth when they disembarked. Their implanted weapons were held ready, and they watched Macharius and his crew with what they could only assume was suspicion - it was hard to tell, through the blank-eyed rebreather masks. They appeared more or less identical at first, but if one looked long enough there were differences in their augmetics, in their posture. Ravia knew she would be able to tell them apart without difficulty, if necessary.

+++Commence loading+++ The techpriest they had spoken to over the vidlink stepped up behind the Skitarii. He swept his gaze back and forth over the small group, eye lenses rotating. His face, and many of his visible augmetics, were made of bronze. He had several mechadendrites, most of which ended in dextrous manipulators. Clouds of condensation vented constantly from stacks on his back, the product of an advanced coolant system. He had probably overclocked several of his cognitive processors.

The Skitarii broke at once, hurrying to obey his orders. A few small storage crates and a handful of cogitators and dataslates were stacked by the cave entrance, and these were picked up and carried towards the Aquila. The techpriest watched them for a moment, and then spoke, his voice amplified to carry over the sound of metal feet striking the stone floor.

+++It is good you have come. We feared we might be waiting a long time. I am Magos Zurin. I have with me Genetors Venture and Ska+++ One of his mechadendrites twitched towards the cave, and two other techpriests shuffled forwards, out of the shadows. One was quite tall, augmetic legs extending from the bottom of his robes to end in large clawed feet. He had four arms, two natural and two augmetic, and an array of optical and sensory equipment protruding from his left shoulder. The other was shorter and minimally augmented, his pale face bearing only a single blue-lensed bionic eye. A forest of spindly mechandendrites sprouted from his back, tiny graspers opening and closing sporadically.

[Kaptin Keen]

Felidae isn't convinced this situation is what it seems. Of course Felidae isn't generally trusting of anything or anyone, so it's not exactly uniquely surprising.

She will beam a big, bright smile at the mechanicus, and say: Hey, don't worry about it - you're more than welcome .... oh, sorry, you didn't thank us for the extremely unlikely rescue. Well, I'm sure you meant to.

Mind if I take a quick look around? I have a particular interest in caves.

Without waiting for a response, she'll stomp towards the cave, to see what's in there.

[Destro_Yersul]

"You don't look much like a geologis," The shorter genetor commented as Felidae brushed past him.

Stomping into the cave, Felidae nearly collided with two others; one, a beige-robed woman clutching a leather case, the other a techpriest wearing a Perinetus-pattern servo-harness. The techpriest was kneeling, head down, and working on disassembling a large generator. The woman jumped back to avoid being run over by Felidae, emitting a startled squeak.

"You're one of the rescuers?" She asked, voice quiet. "Sorry, stupid question."

[Kaptin Keen]

"You don't look much like a geologis," The shorter genetor commented as Felidae brushed past him.

Frankly, I don't know what a 'geologis' is - but I do know what a cave is. For what it's worth, you have a nice one here. Small, but homey.

Why here, precisely, if you don't mind my asking?

"You're one of the rescuers?" She asked, voice quiet. "Sorry, stupid question."

.. I am - or, Macharius gives the orders, you know? And I mostly do what he says - well, sometimes, anyways. Who are you? Maybe more importantly, why does no one seem thrilled to see us? Despite the really nice cave, I'm thinking even the mechanicus would take a good long time to build their own transportation off this rock.

This really isn't Felidae's strong suit, and the power armor isn't likely to make it any easier, but she tries to be as friendly as possible - to inspire some trust, maybe.

[rax]

"Now hang on one Throne-cursed minute!" Hannabel growls, one hand reaching for her bolt pistol. "No one is loading anything onto my shuttle until I know exactly what's going on here. What were you doing on this rock, what's in the crates, who attacked you, and how did you get away when they smoked your fecking cruiser!?"

[Haval]

Anika is going to pass on the coordinates to the Sting. Better to prepare for trouble in advance.

"You don't look much like a geologis,"

Anika will try and distract Zurin while Felidae investigates. 'And what does a geologis look like?' She'll offer to shake the man's hand although who could say how a Magos would react to things like that. 'Doctor Vanhal, archaeologist. We're here with the Navy.' Not technically a lie, and perhaps it would be better to point out that they had allies in orbit.

After Hannabel's interjection. 'Well quite. I think we're all better off knowing who attacked you and whether there's any chance they're still around. Presumably anything capable of taking out your cruiser is a threat worth taking seriously.'

Spoiler

Show

Charm test for the hell of it
vs. Fel 47 (Etiquette +10?)

Ugh, no dice code - see ooc

[PotatoGolem]

Before

Men, search this building! I want it probed top to bottom. Macharius joins the Praetorians in combing the building for clues.

----------------------
Now

Now, now, Hannabel, no need to resort to violence. I'm sure the Magi will be entirely cooperative. That said, my dear Magos, I would like to know what's in those crates. I wouldn't dream of intruding on the Mechanicus, but Magos Ravia can take a look before they're loaded. And I would like to know what happened to the base and cruiser. My fleet can, as Doctor Vanhal said, likely handle it, but I'd prefer they not go in blind.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Praetorians Scrutiny: [/roll]1d100[/roll] vs 60 (50+10 Macharius)
Edit: 4 DoS

Macharius Charm: [/roll]1d100[/roll] vs 92
Edit: with Fate, 8 DoS

[Destro_Yersul]

The techpriest with the servo harness finished what he was doing with the generator and straightened. "You'll have to forgive Indris," he said. "She's a little jumpy after the attack. I think we all are, truth be told. I'm Engineseer Virgil, by the way."

He turned, took one look at Felidae, and his eyes went wide. "Omnissiah! Ignatus armour? Where on Mars did you find that? Very pleased to meet you, of course." Virgil would have had a pleasant face - the top half of it was still human - but the lower half had been replaced with an osmotic gill. It lent his voice a metallic quality, but there was still something of a lilt to it. "By 'here', do you mean the world, or the cave? The world is because of the ruins, the cave is because it was close by and defensible, in case anybody decided to chase us. Fortunately, they did not. I don't think they were interested in running down panicked survivors."

Magos Zurin carefully extended a bronze-plated hand to take Anika's. It was smooth and cold, with none of the warmth of a normal handshake. +++Most Geologis have one or two servo arms and an exploration mechadendrite, often with additional sample capsules. I have limited understanding of the field, but there are two or three different types of stone in the cave, so I suppose it would be of interest+++

The Magos waved at the Skitarii to allow Ravia to inspect the crates before they were loaded. Each proved to contain an eclectic mix of survey and research equipment, alongside a good number of samples of smooth, multicoloured gemstones and ivory-like material. The collection was haphazard, with little thought for organization, and probably consisted of whatever had been close at hand and moderately portable.

+++I will be as helpful as I can,+++ Zurin said. +++But I'm not actually sure what happened to the cruiser. The attack came late during local night-cycle, and the first indication we had was the shuttles reaching low enough to fire on the compound. The automated defenses did not activate, nor was there warning from orbit+++

Spoiler: Macharius

Show

"Sir," Flannery whispered, edging up to Macharius, "There are nine survivors here. Should be more. Five unaccounted for, by my estimate."

[rax]

Hannabel watches carefully as Ravia inspects the crates, still keeping her hand on her pistol.

"A whole cruiser gone with you none the wiser and your ground-based defences shut down when the landing party comes swooping in? Sounds like sabotage to me, Magos," she says when Zurin finishes speaking. "Were there any other survivors than the ones with you here?"

[Kaptin Keen]

I ... uh, stutters Felidae, unsure how to respond, Ignatus, you say? I'm afraid I don't rightly know. When I was assigned to the admiral, he just told the quartermaster gear her up proper, will ya - I can't have my adjudant looking like some second rate PDF recruit.

Say, maybe you can help me. It's supposed to have one of those ... like, a really nice spirit machine thing, and top of the line sensors, um, like an auspexy ... thing is, I never had the opportunity to learn everything, can you maybe help me with that?

Felidae is deliberately playing it down a little, appearing more ignorant that she really is - although not by a lot. She's trying to appear nicely non-threatening and safe. Also, she hopes it will annoy the mechanicus she's wearing something akin to an archeotech marvel, and is totally and blissfully unaware of it's value.

[Haval]

'Most unfortunate.' Anika will watch them to see if anyone looks like they're being evasive. 'I suppose if I were an Arbitrator this would be where I'd ask you if you had any enemies. Although I suppose there's no shortage of those in the Expanse.'

'Perhaps you just have the worst luck, or perhaps it has something to do with what you were doing out here. May I ask what you're on this planet? Whoever it was I'd imagine they didn't take their decision to attack the Mechanicus lightly.'

[Destro_Yersul]

+++Sabotage would be unthinkable to a true servant of the Omnissiah+++ Somehow, Magos Zurin managed to inject indignance into his mechanical voice, drawing himself up and staring at Hannabel. +++I am aware of no other survivors. This is - was - a research and development expedition. We were studying the local ruins. They are Eldar in origin, and quite ancient. You are an archaeologist, Dr. Vanhal?+++

This new train of thought sparked something in the Magos, all indignance forgotten. +++The ruins here are extensive, and many have been colonised by local wildlife. We were looking at points of intersection and adaptation, to see if there was significant variance between those species which colonised the ruins and those which did not. The Eldar left much behind when they abandoned this world, and we were also collecting as much of it as we could. You saw the spires when you flew in, of course. There is an unusual amount of natural stonework incorporated into the Eldar ruins, and I believe it is possible they were actually built on top of the ruins of an older society. I have been working on a thesis for presentation to the Calixian Acquisitus Cognitio Conference, if you're interested...+++

It sounded as though the Magos would be quite capable of going on about his research for hours, if he wasn't stopped.

Engineseer Virgil just nodded, stepping over to Felidae and inspecting one of the suit's gauntlet seals. "Oh, yes. Definitely Ignatus pattern. They don't make them like this anymore. Crusade era, most of these, and hardly something I would expect any quartermasters to have access to. Adjutant to an Admiral, though... well, the Navy does have a lot of resources. I suppose they could have dug something up somewhere, and kept it. Obviously they did, since you're wearing it. Nobody trained you on its usage, though?" He glanced up, seeking confirmation. "Might I see the helmet?"

[rax]

Hannabel raises a single sceptical eyebrow in response to Magos Zurin's indignation. "Yeah, well what about untrue servants of the Omnissiah? Did any of you get a good look at the raiders? Any identifying iconography? And what did they take from the station? You've obviously grabbed some stuff you felt was important, but what did you have to leave behind?"

Spoiler: Hannabel is sceptical...

Show

Scrutiny check (1d100)[74] vs. Per 37
Spend FP on re-roll if test if failed: (1d100)[59]

[Kaptin Keen]

My helmet? Why, yes of course - although, if I find you tampering with it, we'll have to see how well your augmented flesh resists this stormbolter, eh? She says this with a big smile, joke-joke, ha-ha. Since she doesn't trust him, it's not a joke.

[Leon]

++I would be interested in a copy. While not my area of expertise the Eldar do have a high skill with warp-craft and means to manipulate things related to it++

[Haval]

+++ You are an archaeologist, Dr. Vanhal?+++

Anika is interested. 'Formerly of the Hetaireia Lexis. I thought those spires looked familiar. Until now I've only had the chance to see them in pictures. I don't suppose I could take a look?' Some things were important. 'As for an older civilisation, that does seem rather unlike the Eldar. I wonder what they were so interested in to bother keeping the remnants of anyone else around? I admit I'll a little out of practice at giving papers, but I'll certainly take a look at your thesis.'

[Kaptin Keen]

Spoiler: Oh - oops

Show

I totally missed the guy's question =)

Actually, I never knew Felidae was this chatty. Maybe she's just unfamiliar with not knowing whether to trust these guys, or shoot them. 'OMG OMG, I dunno what to do -- AARGH! I'm babbling like a loon, why is no one stopping me!' =)

As she releases her helmet and hands it to the mechanicus, she replies: No, I mean ... sure, I got some basic training, but ... well, as you can clearly see, I'm not serving as adjudant to an admiral anymore. There was a battle, massive loss of hands, ship down, admiral down ... and ten thousand years later, it feels like, I'm assigned to this new captain.

The point is I never got truly familiarized with the .. interface. Thing. I've always felt that basic training might include, like, a quick introductory course on tech use, you know? It seems a little silly to have this excellent armor, equipped with a whole slew of features I don't know how to work. Right? For all I know, it could have jump packs - no, I'm just kidding, Macharius has jump packs, I can tell this suit doesn't.

[Destro_Yersul]

+++No, unfortunately. It was dark. They took everything we left behind, almost+++ The Magos stopped the Skitarii, who were in the process of loading one of the crates, and opened it. He dug around for a moment before producing a dataslate. This he passed to Hannabel and Ravia. It was a large, bulky model, with extended memory and power capacity. The Magos thesis was quite long, several hundred pages, and would take time to read thoroughly.

Virgil took the helmet, examining the front and flipping it over to peer in at the user interface. "Well, the systems in here are rather more advanced than most, looks like. Not the sort of thing that'd wind up being covered in basic. If you've got the time I could always give you a crash course in the fundamentals, though don't tell Genetor Ska. He's a bit of a traditionalist, very big on holy technology and the mysteries of the Omnissiah. I think a little practical knowledge never hurt anybody. Likely the opposite, actually."

[PotatoGolem]

You say your automated defenses did not fire? That does support the idea of sabotage. None are immune from the blandishments of heresy, unfortunately. Were your skitarii able to bring down any of the attackers? How were you able to flee?

Macharius is suspicious of the group's good fortune. While the tech-priests are distracted, he strides over to Hanabelle. Miss Shanx! Your uniform is completely askew. Just because we're on a backwater doesn't give you an excuse to look like a barbarian. Did I grant you shore leave at some point? I didn't think so! Button your damned coat. And would it kill you to straighten your lapels? He grabs the lapels of her shirt and leans in close enough for her to hear his hurried whisper.

Spoiler: Hannabel

Show

By Flannery's count, from what we saw at the base there should be five more people here. Something's not right. They're not telling us everything. Keep your guard up and stick close together. Keep pushing them for answers. Good enforcer, bad enforcer, what?

He pushes her away dismissively. Your next pay is docked, Miss Shanx. Show some pride in your work.

He turns back to the Magi. Terribly sorry, chaps. Sometimes I envy you your servitor crews- I'd wager you don't have these sorts of issues. Let's get all this loaded up.

[Destro_Yersul]

"Chance alone saved us," Genetor Venture said, speaking for the first time. "I was active late, engaged in a research project when the attack came. I alerted the others. We grabbed whatever we could and fled through one side of the lab. Indris was with me. Engineseer Virgil and the Skitarii escaped separately. I believe Virgil had been working as well, repairing one of the speeders. I know the Skitarii managed to fell some attackers, but when we returned the bodies had been taken."

+++Which could be a means of telling who attacked us+++ the Magos added. +++If you have the equipment, we may be able to retrieve some of the Skitarii memory cores+++