[Rogue Trader] Into the Void (IC)

[Yarn]

Spoiler: Dekana

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Alexandra cursed under her breath. Fear of xenos or the workforce kept security tight. Not that she had supposed it would be easy. At least she was rid of her shadow. Or maybe she was now graced with a more subtle and competent adversary, whispered a tiny voice in the back of her head. She gradually slowed down her pace as she took a more direct and open route towards the large hab with guards posted outside. Well, bolters, armor and turrets were useless against the bane of all security measures. The human error. She added some swagger to her gait and assumed a slightly bored expression. Finally she let the twitch mask alter her face just a fraction - her features looked mostly the same, if a bit more feminine. “Hello soldiers.” She pulled a lazy salutation with an ironic smile on her lips. “Is the red robe inside?”

[Dekana]

OOC: Sorry for the delay, everyone. I've been reaaally distracted these last few days.

As you climb down the gantries into the pit, you one of the xenoarchaelogists hard at work slowly walking in circles and staring at a dataslate. She is a middle aged woman who might appear attractive if she paid any attention to her appearance, which she doesn't. Her short-cropped hair and multi-lense auto-spectacles make her look more like an Administratum clerk than a field-researcher.

[Anyone going into the bottom of the pit with Ruth, make an Awareness test.]

Spoiler: Sha'draig

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The guard is now looking around from side to side - having lost sight of Alexandra - and is not concentrating very much on what you are saying. "Rumors are enough for me. You want to know more, talk to the Overseer. Excuse me."

He starts walking toward the broken down chimera.

Spoiler: Diana

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The miner who spoke out to you raises both hands up when he sees you touch the bolt pistol. "We don't mean ya any harm, miss. Nothing like that." His unkempt, unshaved appearance doesn't exactly lend him an aura of trust, but he's at least not acting overtly aggressive.

"Thing is, us three have had enough of this damn planet. Hell, lots of the men have. It was bad enough when it was just digging under the beating sun two shifts a day, but after all the recent disappearances, Leerus and the mercs have been treating us worse than dogs. And uh, we heard him say you're working with a Rogue Trader, so we thought maybe your Lady-Captain could give take us with you when you go?"

The other two miners nod in support as the third talks. Occasionally, they look around to make sure no one is watching in.

Spoiler: Alexandra

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One of the guards, wearing a helmet with a large visor, looks you up and down. "Hello back, Ma'am. Yeah, the techies are both inside. I'm guessing you're here on a supply run though? You'll want to talk to Klistus if it's about the gear stores - he's inside too. The tech-priests don't say anything. I guess it's your first time here if you don't know."

Looks like word about who Lady-Captain Vess is hasn't spread around the camp yet. To be fair, it's only been a few minutes since you touched down in the shuttle.

[blacklight101]

Spoiler: Dekana

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"Disappearances? A little more info on that and I might be able to get a little pull with my boss. If your story is good, it might mean something down the line. Bird on the pad isfull, but the Lady-Captain may feel some mercies for you and call for another. Never know with her." Diana takes her hand away from her pistol as she starts talking. Maybe a little verbal bribery would get a story out of them with a few little embellishments. Might not make her look like an ass for coming back with nothing from her little 'tidying up' trip. It would be up to the Lady-Captain in any case, so best to hear them out and tell her what's happening down here.

[Donan]

Spoiler: Dekana and Alexandra

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Sha'draig lets him move away, then taps his vox link. ++Mistress of Whispers, I've lost the guard. Your time's limited before they try to find you.++ He muses, then lets his steps direct him towards the city gate. He doesn't plan to enter, but he wants to move into a good angle to get an impression of the internal architecture.

[Yarn]

Spoiler: Dekana

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Alexandra looked at the man with an expression of mild surprise on her face. “Right you are, on all accounts. You sure are attentive.” She let out a small sight and returned to her slightly sardonic way. “Or maybe I’m just that obvious” She continued into the hab (unless the guard stop her).

Her reaction inside depends on what she see. If possible, she attempts to avoid detection/people simply by not moving in their vicinity. If the area is open and someone sees her, she simply continues forward on her quest to meet master Klistus. She doesn’t actively hide as in crouch beneath the desk or crawl in the air vents, she rather circumvents or stay out of sight by not walk around corners where the are people and such. She is mostly scanning the area for other people now, rather than what's inside the hab.

Spoiler: The rolls of the not so epic infiltration!

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Here are some rolls if needed. If you care to to keep out of sight and detect people before they notice her.

Concealment/silent move: (1d100)[24] TN 47 (77/57 with the cloak and synskin)
Perception: (1d100)[96] TN 37 (she is untrained in awareness though, so that would be 18).

[Cilvyn]

Ruth Vess

"No offworld shipments..." She recited Alarics words. She understood that it was strange for a place where they mined for materials but seemingly not shipped them offworld. Although the fact that they didn't find much would explain it. She thinks for a moment and answers "We will discuss this later, There are some things I'd like to discuss with just us."

Ruth climed down the pit with who was left of the crew, Savonarole, Alaric and Calvun and the six guards. Something made her think that Leerus was someone who could not be trusted. Not that he was scheming agaisnt her or something, but the idea that things didn't work out here and that this situation was aparently going on for a year now and they just called for help now, seemed odd. The city was surely something that needed to be investigated, since it was clear there was something there that was dangerous. From Ruth's experience the hgihest risks often gives the highest rewards, so the city was definatly a place she wanted to go, or at least let someone go who would be maybe more expendable than herself.

"Overseer Leerus. I understand the city is a dangerous place. I would very much like to see anything you have on that place. Scans, expedition reports, whatever is usefull."


She smiles at Savonarole. His devotion to the God Emperor was admirable. A Mass would be nice, certainly good for the workers as well. not only for their inner wellbeing, but also their morale and it might make them more accepting towards the upcoming changes in this place, because there would be some changes, that was for sure. If they wanted to book better results they wouldn't have to just dig deeper, other things would be needed. Things that were not the normal daily routine of digging in the three pits.

"Thank you Overseer Leerus for giving Father Savonarole the oppertunity to bring the light of the Emperor even to the darker places in the universe. These might indeed be the places where He is most needed."

As said earlier is Ruth not a religious person, but insinuating she was, which would actually be logical rather than strange, would maybe suggest a strong connection to the Imperium as a whole. She nods encouraging at Savonarole.

Ruth notices the middleaged woman. When they are close to her she makes a bold move and steps forward away form the protective group around her.

"Hello there, My name is Lady Ruth Vess." She makes a small refined bow as would be expected from a noble woman in an occasion much different than she is in now."Knowing Diana, Ruth is not judgemental when it comes to appearance. Even people who do not spend extented time to make sure they look presentable, do have alot to offer sometimes. "Me and my crew are here to help the Mission get better results. I hope to find out how to get the results that makes us all happy and it would help to get some insight in what you do." Ruth's voice is friendly and charming, there is no need to be commanding in this situation. She has the feeling this woman would be much happier to show her around when approached with kindness.

[Dekana]

"Overseer Leerus. I understand the city is a dangerous place. I would very much like to see anything you have on that place. Scans, expedition reports, whatever is usefull."

Overseer Leerus nods at Ruth's request for the scans. "I won't have much to give you, on account of people dying when they go inside instead of coming back with reports, but I will dig through my records."

Spoiler: Diana

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"Ya haven't heard? I mean, yeah, I'll tell you what I can if it means getting off this rock," the unshaved miner replies. "It started, oh, about 6 months ago. Us miners started going missing - nobody would see nothin', and there was no sign of fights or anything at all. Just 'poof,' one day they're gone. First it was Stahk, then Veltan, then Darius after that - and that was just the start."

One of the other three workers, this one with a cybernetic leg, pipes in: "Right, the count is in the tens now. At first, we all figured the missing men had had enough of this place and tried to escape somehow, to who knows where. But last month one of the guards up and vanished too, and that really drove the Overseer over the edge. The bastard thinks we had something to do with it, and he's kicked up security so this place is like a prison camp now."

The last miner miner adds, "That grox'll get what's comin' to him if this keeps up. We're men, not servitors with pickaxes!"

The unshaved man continues: "Yeah, and whatever's behind the missing men, it ain't us. If ya ask me, some Imperial assassin got in the camp and is pickin' us off one by one."

The man with the cybernetic leg looks to his buddy. "I'm telling you, it's those tech-priests. Can't trust those lot as far as you can throw them; they don't even believe in the Emperor, not really. I say they're taking the men as spare parts for the servitors."

Finally, the last miner adds in his theory. "Ya'll are nuts. We're right next to a haunted city, and you think a man is the culprit? It's gotta be a xeno monster or something, hiding out in the city and taking the men for its meal."

Spoiler: Sha'draig

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The initial corridor in the maze-city gives you a sense of insignificance. The passageway rears a hundred meters and more into the air, intersecting with other corridors at sharp angles. The walls also have small openings that you would have to stoop down to get through, but you can't see where they lead without actually going into the city. The walls themselves appear to be glowing slightly to give off light.

Spoiler: Alexandra

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As you step into the hab shelter, you immediately realize that the structure is being used as a warehouse and garage. Large crates line the walls, and a central area contains equipment for vehicle repairs. About 15 men are inside, along with several servitors and the 2 tech priests. You are able to avoid notice for the moment as you step behind a row of crates along the wall.

The men are at work on various tasks throughout the building. Most of them are working on a Sentinel Power Lifter, effecting repairs by the looks of it.

You also notice an area sectioned off by a chain-link fence in the back of the shelter. Inside are ammo drums.

[blacklight101]

Spoiler: Dekana

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"Well, then... I'll thank you for the information and I'll tell my Captain as much as you've told me. We'll see if your situation changes by the end of our little visit. Keep faith in the Emperor and it may well." With that, Diana walks off to see Ruth and tell her the news. She just hoped it wasn't some xenos beast or some sort of hunter or assassin. Time would tell. She lights up a lho stick and thinks about what she just heard on her way back.

[Dekana]

Spoiler: Diana

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The unshaved man says almost sadly, "I guess you can't promise nothing, eh? Well, I hope you can get your captain to agree. We'll work as hard on yer ship as down here in the dirt."

It looks like the Ruth and most (?) of the explorers have moved down into the deepest level of the pit. You walk down the gantries to join them.

[You can make an Awareness test.]

[Donan]

Spoiler: Dekana

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Alright, enough curiosity slaking.

For the next little while, the Tau ambled through the camp on apparently random courses, looking to various buildings, groups of people and the pits they were digging in as he estimated rough numbers of the number of troops they had to hand, their leadership and how professional their troops were, sophisticated equipment not withstanding.

[Dekana]

The xenoarchaeologist jumps when Ruth addresses her, nearly dropping the datapad. "Heavens, you startled me." That's almost an achievement considering the size of the group that approached her. She waits for Ruth to finish her introduction before replying.

"Well, Lady Ruth Vess, I'm Selene Zpha. A pleasure to meet you." She bows politely. "To put it simply, I'm a member of the research team. I catalog any artifacts and appraise them for the Overseer. He keeps the finds, and I keep the data - a more than fair arrangement. Although I'd say my team is rather getting the better side of the bargain at present: everything that's been dug up so far has been worthless junk. The only artifacts even worth mentioning are these" - she extracts a white shard from her pocket (incidentally, there's an image on her datapad showing the same thing). "It's a material not recorded in any Imperial archives, and it appears that the maze-city is constructed from it. These shards have some property to absorb light, but otherwise they're merely curiosities barely worth anything."

"Still, the shards..." Zpha's expression suddenly darkens. She looks around as if to take stock of her surroundings, her gaze lingering on another nearby archaeologist - a gaunt, skeletal man with thinning hair and squinting eyes. "It's... nothing. They're just curious rocks."

(OOC: Zpha happens to be a noble, although she doesn't much look the part in this enviroment. Peer (Nobility) applies to social checks with her.)

Spoiler: Sha'draig

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During your inspection of the camp's security, you find yourself walking the perimeter defenses. Even from your vantage point on the wall, the low-level haze of red dust makes it hard to see into the distance.

One guard in particular catches your eye - or more accurately, your ear. You pass by him in one of the gun nests as he watches into the distance with a set of magnoculars. He has a lighter build than most of the other men, and he's muttering to himself spookily. "Won't get me... they're out there - in here... voices in the dust..." Even his mate manning the heavy bolter emplacement seems unnerved. He gives the muttering man a disapproving glance, but he says nothing.

Spoiler: Calvun

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[Make a Very Hard (-30) Psyniscience test!]

[Donan]

Spoiler: Dekana

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The Tau stops at that, the Fire Warrior's head canting in troubled thought. If either man truly believed there was a threat in the distance, they'd be reacting differently. A soldier might be on edge in a strange environment, but it would be very rare for him to voice that out loud in such a fashion. Not unless morale was troubling low or something else was out of place.

He stepped their way, falling back into some of the steps he'd used once, long ago no. His measure of command was rusted, but he'd been that once and his voice spoke up clearly. "If you plan to start firing that, some notice would be welcomed." His helmeted head swings between them. "What's the trouble?" That gaze fixes on the muttering man. It depends how long they've worked together, but it would be fairly normal for the second man to cover for his rambling partner if he can. Annoying at times, but the practice also shows a good deal of mutual trust.

[Yarn]

Spoiler: Dekana

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It seemed she had been right again. If things were ever easy or obvious, it usually wasn’t worth much. She gave a brief pause. Yes, she was usually right. And that meant raising the bids would usually pay off. Alexandra walked out from her hiding place and headed towards the closest mechanic. Her movements and expression once again at ease and slightly bored. “You there. I’m looking for a master Klistus. He’s around?”

[Cilvyn]

Ruth Vess

Pleasure Miss Zpha.
Seems like a fair bargain indeed, considering the value of the artifacts.

Ruth smirks.
An unknown material can be quite valuable, or am I mistaken? depending of course on the usage of the material. Can you say anything about that, I am sure there is something it is good for?

So how is life aruond here? I assume it is hard but getting at least some results make it alright? I would like to give you more interresting results for your research. Help me to help you so to say.

Spoiler: OOC

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Ruth just wants information and uses smalltalk to obtain it, although she is seriously interrested in what Selene has to say, it is not a show she puts up.

Charm - (1d100)[70] vs 60 (FEL 50 Peer Nobility)

[Dekana]

Zpha makes frequent motions with her hands as she talks, waving them to express surprise, acquiescence, disgust, and so forth.

"You might think an unknown substance would be valuable, but to who? The Imperial bureaucracy has no need for it - the recipes for lasguns and flak armor are well settled. Research of the unknown could easily be called heresy by the small-minded. Luckily, I have a mind and the ability to question, so I can tell you at least a little about the material. First, it is relatively hard - enough so to construct the maze city out of. It is also fragile enough to shatter on impact. I would liken it to a weak concrete that shatters like crystal. Ah, and the interaction with light is interesting. The material absorbs light over the day, storing it like a lasgun charge pack, and then emitting the light over time. It makes for a natural glow-globe... well, heh, if natural is the right word. I've no idea how the shards are constructed."

In response to Ruth's second question: "It's as easy living in a camp full of sweaty workers and over-bearing meat-heads a zillion light years from the Imperium as you'd imagine. I'd love to see some real artifacts, if you have any ideas to make that happen. We've... dug up enough of these shards already." She looks at the one in her hand with disdain.

Spoiler: Sha'draig

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The man who was muttering to himself jerks around suddenly to face you. He looks half-surprised and half-afraid of your presence.

"Emperor... oh, Emperor, deliver us. He'll watch over us - He watches over us always, even in this place. No voices, no ghosts will take me. I am ready, and the Emperor is with me!"

It seems the man is either crazy or filled with a stronger than usual dose of religious fervor (or both).

(OOC: You can try a Very Hard (-30) Charm or Command Test to calm him down enough to talk to him.)

The crazy man's mate speaks up. "Don't mind Jacob. The sun may have cooked his brain, but he still knows who to aim his rifle at."

Jacob retorts, "I am ready whenever they come. Pray with me brothers, and the Emperor will aid you as well."

Spoiler: Alexandra

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The mechanic you approach is about to answer, but he is cut off by another man a few meters away from the sentinel.

"I am Klistus. What business do you have in my gear store? Approach with your requisition or work orders in triplicate."

Klistus speaks in a mechanically-augmented voice similar to that of a tech-priest, although he is missing the other numerous cybernetics and red robes of the Mechanicus Adept.

[Donan]

Spoiler: Dekana

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"Then I'll, leave him in your hands." Sha'draig nods quietly, stepping away and letting both men be as he finds a relatively quiet spot of earth to open his comn.

Savonarole's vox registers a message from Sha'dreig. +Confessor. If you have time to spare, I could use your help.+

[Cilvyn]

Ruth Vess

Ruth frowns trying to hide her disgust when hearing Zpha has to work around sweaty workers all day. It wouldn't be anything she would want. Raised as the highest of higest nobles it is something her mind cannot stand.

Good question. How will we do that, is what we am trying to find out. The maze city sounds interresting, altough I heard it is pretty dangerous there, to say the least.

Ruth looks at the others.

Before we question some of the workers, although hearing miss Zpha I doubt it will give us much new information, I would like to speak the crew and also establish our quarters here. she looks at overseer Leerus I assume we have some accomodation here?

Without really waiting for an answer she opens the vox channel to all

+ Please all report to the main building in about 15 minutes, unless you really need more time, for whatever you are doing, just let me know. + She says it faced away from the rest so the message is as privat as possible. Not in a secret manner, but it's not like you can just hear everything she says.