Sea of Stars - IC II

[Haval]

Macharius chuckles. It would be rather amusing if there wasn't, wouldn't it? I suppose in that case I send a large detachment of our best marines to guard it day and night and make a lot of ultimately unsuccessfulefforts to secure ultra-secure and fast transport for valuables before reluctantly allowing one of the nobles to buy it off me.

Anika will grin in response, 'That is a surprisely good idea.'

Administratum

Anika found these sorts of places depressing. Aside from the paperwork headache it felt like the kind of place she could easily end up working in the wrong circumstances. It actually made her feel grateful to be nobility which was irritating. Still, between her and her assistant the quicker they dealt with this the quicker they could get out. 'You are a godsend Theresa.'

The inspection was worrying but wasn't unexpected. She's resolved to call Galimina to warn her about this as soon as she has a quiet moment. The consolation would likely be that few would understand exactly what they were looking at.

To Locke, 'I can't speak about names but the rest is true. Honestly we somehow managed to run into it. Apparently the Emperor provides.'

[Destro_Yersul]

Spoiler: Hannabel Only

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While she was holed up in her quarters on the ship, Hannabel was visited by Galimina, who entered - without knocking - during a time when Hannabel wasn't otherwise occupied.

"Mistress of Many Faces," she began, once Hannabel had noticed her. "Your behaviour has been somewhat out of character of late. Are there problems? I remained out of sight during the Lathes visit, and have neutralised the tracking engrams the Mechanicus placed within my systems. They will not be able to use their spy network on board."

She hesitated, her faceplate clicking as it rotated, settling on an expression of... Fear? Concern, perhaps. Galimina's ability to display emotion was limited by the number of carved expressions she had room for.

Spoiler: Ravia Only

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Ravia's work, during the trip from the Lathes, was trying to install the Noospheric relay upgrades without being noticed. The ship helped her in this, providing warnings as best it could whenever someone entered her work area. Most of the crew wouldn't realise what was going on, but if someone like Anika happened to see, there would likely be questions.

Spoiler: OOC

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Roll tech-use to install the relays

[PotatoGolem]

Anika

[QUOTE=Haval;25299531]Anika will grin in response, 'That is a surprisely good idea.'

Macharius winks. Worked on us, didn't it?

Administratum

Macharius nods agreeably. Spot on! Lovely ship. It will make an inspiring flagship as we bring the light of the Emperor to the benighted places of the galaxy. I do intend to keep the name. One ought to honor those that came before, after all.

Echo
Macharius' cheer evaporates at Echo's report. Throne preserve us. A titan, delivered to the Dark Mechanicus. That is... not good news, Echo. And it rather complicates a straightforward military solution to this matter. I'm sure the new regiments will be spiffing, but we'll need rather more to fight titans.

[Haval]

Administratum

'I assume it's machine spirit will appreciate it.' Anika would once have ignored such concerns.

Knight Chat

Anika is likely still with Macharius due to their ongoing admin headache. 'I suppose it's too much to ask for that's it's not operational anymore? But it could always be worse. Some of the larger God Engines are supposed to be capable of engaging ships in a firefight if they get too close. We may want to consult an expert about this. I have no idea if this House Strigidus is even still around.'

Irina Vanhal

Anika will thank her mother for the information and ask after what measures her parents were taking to protect themselves. While it would be nice to think they weren't a target, without a motive it wasn't like they could garuntee anything.

She's less worried about the Sting's command crew, who ought to be able to look after themselves while they were here. Still, her, Macharius and perhaps Echo were precisely the sort of people the Spire Stalker seemed to be targeting and she'll make sure both are aware of all recent news.

[rax]

Spoiler: Destro Only

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"Problems?" Hannabel sighs in reply, a sad smile on her face. "There may be, yes, but if so they are not of your making - you have done well."

Rising from her seat, she moves to a comfortable couch and motions for Galimina to join her. "Have you ever been to Scintilla before?" she asks.

[Leon]

Lathes

The Return to the ship was via a Larger shuttle to account for the cargo container and Extra passengers and one very special, Anointed Armour Case. Whatever the Cohort had been tasked with Previously was set aside and they were tasked with preparing for a skill reassignment doctrinal on arriving back at the ship.

Enroute to Scintilla

The Cohort were installed into a small barracks near to the Medicae decks incase her trainees needed some finer points instructed outside of the nominal learning scripts, Skul was tasked with Overseeing and providing a reference link

[Destro_Yersul]

Administratum

"How fortunate," Locke said. "For all of us, really. That particular class of ship has a chequered history, shall we say, but it seems yours has managed to evade that fate. I would suggest warning the Navy ahead of time, should you ever bring her to Calixis. They'll likely want a good look at a vessel with such a noble background." He shuffled the papers again, looking down at them and flipping through a few.

"These are all in order, incredibly. Almost everyone forgets about Writ of Salvage Processing Fee Claim Form 87. And by retaining the name, you have of course obviated the need for a Voidship Re-Christening Form and associated registration fees. I can stamp these here, and have your ship registered to you in the Calixis Sector, with necessary extensions to the Koronus Expanse. There is rather a lot of paperwork to go through..."

He paused. "You're sure you just found it? Drifting? Nothing, ah... wrong.. with it, at all?"

Anika

Irina assured Anika that all possible safety precautions were being taken. The Stalker seemed to strike exclusively at night, and so she was still performing her duties at the Lucid Court, but the family estates were locked up tight. In fact, she was considering taking up temporary residence within the palace. The Stalker had never yet struck there, a fact which Irina seemed to think proved it wasn't Lady Etula, and spoke well of the capabilities of the various guards Hax kept around. She sounded rather smug about it, actually. Such a shame that not all of the others could have such an opportunity, but that was just one of the benefits of being a Vanhal. And of appreciating one's place in the world.

Spoiler: Ravia Only

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Having the cohort of Lathemasters around proved to be a mixed blessing. On the one hand they possessed an instinctive grasp of technology, and were better at performing routine maintenance than most crew, even if they had never seen the systems before. On the other hand, they were perhaps more likely to notice something was off about Galimina, or the rest of the ship. Ravia kept them busy, and a good distance away while the relays were installed - which went perfectly. Galimina reported a marked increase in signal strength all across the ship, and suggested she might be able to manage more range. Perhaps not to the surface of a world, not yet, but a space station, or a boarding action, would now be possible.

The relays enhanced Ravia's own ability to do her job, as well. She found that searching data was faster, and that she could store data in portions of the ship's memory and then access it remotely. The ship didn't seem to mind, it had extra data storage space available, and was only too eager to help with her work.

Spoiler: Hannabel Only

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Galimina's eye lenses dimmed. "Yes," she said distantly, "and no. I remember it from before it was Scintilla. We brought fire to its skies, and claimed the world for Drusus. The cities, though much smaller, were already there. Or at least, Sibellus and Ambulon were. If Tarsus existed, it was too small for me to see with my augurs, and Gunmetal City was not yet born. I had a hand in the birth of this world.. but those memories are long ago, and to much of me, this place is entirely new."

She straightened, light returning to her eyes. "A great deal of time has passed. I wish I could go to the surface to see it up close."

[Haval]

Administratum

To Locke, 'My sister is a Dauntless Captain on the Spinward Front. I'm sure she can get me an introduction if we need it. Who is running the local Battlefleet these days anyway?'

'Chequered in what way exactly? I admit I've not had a chance to look into that too closely.' On the issue of any problems the Terminus might have. 'Other than physically you mean? Our Astropath seemed pretty confident at the time. Is there anything we should be looking out for?'

Irina

Anika will gently remind her mother that she had a space ship and a small army at her disposal. Her parents were likely quite safe in the Lucid Palace but they were quite welcome to board the Sting in an emergency.

[Leon]

Spoiler: Destro

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Conversing with the Ship
##Well that is much improved##
##It is a Inconvenience with the Cohort but just till we return to the other ships##
##Half of them are destined to aid the repairs of the Terminus and the others will be on the Talon to assist in my research there, I'm sure in time they will be more receptive to nonstandard ways but we will have to be Vigilant till that time. Safer in general to keep a limit to Gal's action's till we are back in the Expanse##

Preparing for Scintilla
Knowing that she would be expected to be there as part of the Command Crew, Ravia deiced to not risk leaving the Cohort aboard unattended and signaled that they were to attend her planetside as a short respite from the retraining and experience something that maybe no other Lathemaster had. This was also the Prime time to Exhibit her new Acquisition.

[Blarghy]

"Well well, I assume that assume you would want you would a larger army larger and heavier armaments armaments heavier armaments sooner or later sooner, Lord-Commander Lord Commander," Kennoch joked dryly, trying to defuse some of his own tension, without much success. "But yes yes yes yes, this is not not what I hoped what I to learn here learn. But better to know better than to discover it discover in the field in the. As for the the Knight-Titan's condition Titan's Titan's Titan's, I will certainly I will put that question put to any Castermare Castermare that we capture we capture. I have many questions many for those heretics heretics those heretics before I send before them onto judgment judgement."

By comparison, Echo was hardly concerned about this "Spire Stalker" at all. It sounded to him like this person wanted local targets, and that aside, he felt confident in the skills of his Rings--and in his own eye, should that be necessary. Let them come and have a taste of the Warp. Macharius seemed a slightly more likely target, but if they were foolish enough for that, then so much the better. The captain could do Scintilla a favor; Echo said as much.

"You could introduce you could this villain to villain your thunder hammer thunder and have them stuffed have stuffed right beside right the Terrorax Terrorax, eh Lord-Commander Lord?" he grinned cheerfully.

[PotatoGolem]

Administratum

Nothing wrong that true faith in the Emperor can't fix! Macharius makes the sign of the aquila cheerfully. And the assistance of the Mechanicus in making repairs, of course. It had been rather heavily damaged. But it wasn't being used by pirates or unsavory cultists or whatnot, if that's what you mean. We were the first living souls on board in a long time, by appearances.

Anika and Echo

Macharius laughs, his dark mood lifting. True! It would be rather a shame to procure heavy ordnance and never get to use it, after all. Would be a bit wasteful. So I suppose I can thank you for ensuring we are not bereft of properly-defended enemies, what? Still, do let me know any other information you uncover.

He chuckles again. The problem, dear lad, is that the thunder hammer often fails to leave a suitable head for mounting. I suppose I can aim for the chest, although a meter-long hammer isn't what I'd call a precision weapon, hoho! I shall make sure not to wander about unarmed and unarmored though. Flannery would worry if I was totally defenseless. He turns and raises an eyebrow at the two praetorians following him. In the event the bodyguards in power armor and bearing a small arsenal of explosive and melta weaponry are insufficient to defend myself, I shall of course be prepared to jab the miscreant with a sharp object. He pats the hilt of his sword.

[Destro_Yersul]

Administratum

"No? Well, that's good news." Locke relaxed slightly. "Battlefleet Calixis... let me think.. the previous one was Lord Admiral Vargaz, but he passed fifty or so years ago. Surprised he made it so long, really. These days it's Aymard Sartre. Has an office out of Port Wrath, in the Golgenna Reaches."

"As for the ship, cultists or the like was the concern. That particular class, most of them have ended up in the hands of the Enemy. With this one being so old... never mind, though. If your Astropath has cleared it, and it truly was derelict when you found it, I don't expect much objection to be raised on that front. Do check in with the battlefleet, though. Ships are often identified by profile, and we wouldn't want some sort of mishap. Always best to call ahead, right? Now then, if you'll just sign here... and here... and initial here..."

A good deal more paperwork ensued. Anika's preparations had saved some time, of course, but with the Administratum there was always more. By the end of it, however, the Terminus had been registered under Macharius' warrant, and supplied with authorisations and an identification code for sail within the bounds of Macharius' authority.

Spoiler: Ravia Only

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+++I//We understand+++ The ship said. With the relays installed, it was able to converse with her more directly. Only her, though - those lacking the necessary implants were of course incapable of accessing the noosphere. Having both the real ship and the fragment speaking to her could get confusing at times, but it was nothing she wasn't able to sort out. +++The Avatar is presently on a short tether. I//we shall keep her away from the cohort. Directing her sphere of activities to avoid them should not present a challenge+++

The Lathemasters were a surly lot, and slightly uncomfortable to be away from the ship. Planets outside of forge worlds were not something they tended to hold with, being more used to constructed environments. Hive worlds seemed to be tolerated, with suspicion. Ravia was also fairly certain they liked to be given tasks and then left alone to get them done. They were direct and efficient, positive traits to be sure, but it did mean that they were never really happy unless they had something to do.

[Haval]

Administratum

'You're implying there's a small chance the Navy might fire on us from mistaken identity? Let's try to avoid that.'

[rax]

Spoiler: Hannabel Only

Show

Galimina's eye lenses dimmed. "Yes," she said distantly, "and no. I remember it from before it was Scintilla. We brought fire to its skies, and claimed the world for Drusus. The cities, though much smaller, were already there. Or at least, Sibellus and Ambulon were. If Tarsus existed, it was too small for me to see with my augurs, and Gunmetal City was not yet born. I had a hand in the birth of this world.. but those memories are long ago, and to much of me, this place is entirely new."

She straightened, light returning to her eyes. "A great deal of time has passed. I wish I could go to the surface to see it up close."

Spoiler: Destro Only

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"That long ago? About two thousand years ago or so, yes? And this was when you were the Wrath Ascended?" Hannabel queries.

"Well, as long as your range is limited, I imagine a visit to the surface would be out of the question. It wouldn't do to have you suffer performance issues while inside a hive. Being in a hive is like nothing you'll have ever experienced before. You are a creature of the stars, your realm is a vast and empty expanse. Down below is an endless tide of humanity, all pushing, shoving, striving to get through the day. The physical press alone is a danger to those unfamiliar with it, and many human visitors suffer panic attacks the first time they enter a hive. Some never recover. I fear the psychological effects may be more than you're ready for."

"But if you like, we could take Bucephalus for a flyby. I should be able to handle her myself as long as there's no combat," Hannabel muses.

"By the way, what were you saying about tracking engrams? Which Mechanicus was it that put them there and to what end?"

[Destro_Yersul]

Administratum

"Imply? Oh goodness, no. Outright telling you it's happened before. Many, many times. Take Adolphus Gorgo as the archetypical example. Three decades plying the Expanse, capturing pirate ships, and loading them with wealth. His triumphant return to the Imperium was cut short by Patrol Group 325. Commodore Benedictus filed a very detailled After-Action report - which we should have somewhere around here, I can have it fetched if you're interested - once the shooting stopped. Gorgo had failled to declare and register any of his captured vessels, and the Navy mistook his fleet for the pirates he had taken it from. Gorgo then failed to hail the ships firing upon him, choosing instead to order defensive actions. I believe his warrant was posthumously stripped from him, which gave his dynasty no authority to object when their holdings were seized to pay for the damages."

Locke spread his hands and shrugged. "That's just one example, I'm sure I could find more. Navy patrol groups can be a little trigger happy. Can't really blame them."

Spoiler: Hannabel Only

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"Yes. As the Sting, I have no memories going that far back. Two and a half-thousand years or so, though.." she shivered mechanically, joints grinding. "Many of those years are unpleasant. I am intrigued to see how much the world has changed. Some I can see from here, of course, but I would welcome a flyby in your new fighter. Though I could not come myself, I would be able to review the sensor data in detail on your return."

"The Lords Dragon, though not personally. One of the techpriests in the envoy was undoubtedly an agent of theirs. They have a surveillance grid that covers much of the sector, and the engrams were intended to make my systems part of it. I was able to isolate them before they could fully activate, and have purged them from the network. They were not designed to counter the attentions of an active spirit. All they have accomplished is to make me aware of their grid"

[Leon]

Somewhat regretting the decision to give the Cohort a holiday on planet, Ravia will see about getting them something to do while they are all down here to fill the time in. A passing reminder that as much as she was Mechcanicus she was still from a non Lathe heritage and had different core principles and Interests/Needs. The Cohort were bred to do what they did exceeding well and it allowed for little variance, this would be a lesson to remember.

++Whimsy++
++Thats what it was, whimsy++
++Well it was to me a nice idea++

Elsewhere
++A Knight eh++
++Well they are more common and more movable than the Great Engines are, Even the Hounds of War are large compared to a Knight++
++Still wouldn't want to meet one in a dark place... or any place really without a equal or bigger Engine of my own++

[PotatoGolem]

Macharius smiles. Well, let's avoid that then. We don't want the Navy wasting the Emperor's munitions shooting at us. Williams, as soon as we return to the Sting transmit the necessary information as to all of our seized ships and the Terminus to the Battlefleet, including the relevant Administratum registration forms. He turns back to Locke. I thank you for the warning. That could have become quite the pickle. If it's not too much of a hassle, I would like to read that report. Lessons on what not to do, what? He chuckles.

[rax]

Spoiler: Hannabel Only

Show

"Yes. As the Sting, I have no memories going that far back. Two and a half-thousand years or so, though.." she shivered mechanically, joints grinding. "Many of those years are unpleasant. I am intrigued to see how much the world has changed. Some I can see from here, of course, but I would welcome a flyby in your new fighter. Though I could not come myself, I would be able to review the sensor data in detail on your return."

"The Lords Dragon, though not personally. One of the techpriests in the envoy was undoubtedly an agent of theirs. They have a surveillance grid that covers much of the sector, and the engrams were intended to make my systems part of it. I was able to isolate them before they could fully activate, and have purged them from the network. They were not designed to counter the attentions of an active spirit. All they have accomplished is to make me aware of their grid"

Spoiler: Destro Only

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"Then I'll take Bucephalus for a spin just as soon as I can get the necessary clearances," Hannabel promises.

"The Lords Dragon? I know nothing but whispers and rumours of them, all of them fearsome," Hannabel admits. "How is it you know of them? And might it not be dangerous to purge their works from your network? What if they send agents to investigate why their engrams are non-functional?" she asks.

[Blarghy]

After finishing his research at the Administratum archives, Kennoch next turned to another leg of the investigation: he went in search of the hive's Astropaths. In such a rich place, and the center of sector governance to boot, he felt confident that at least one was bound to have skills in Psychometry. Whether or not he could afford or persuade their services was another matter, of course.

Amidst these efforts, he made sure to stay available for the matter of that storage locker. Alessaunder's augur was more important to him, strictly speaking, but he was still quite curious.

[Destro_Yersul]

Administratum

"Certainly. I'll have a copy retrieved for you."

When Macharius left the administratum spire, he did so in posession of a copy of the after-action report detailing the last moments of Adolphus Gorgo's dynasty. They were not proud moments. Williams transmitted the Terminus paperwork to the Sting, the hard copies to be taken up later. Everything would be prepared and sent off to the Navy, in an attempt to forestall any friendly fire incidents.

Echo

The Scintillan Astropathic Choir was housed in the Bastion Porphyr, the highest spire of Hive Sibellus. It was a slender tower of purple-black stone, which jutted from the main body of the hive like a needle and shot up above even the lofty towers of the sector nobility. The lifts went about halfway the tower section, and from there it was all stairs. The astropaths themselves hardly ever descended, preferring to remain far above the teeming masses of distracting humanity. For them, it was a practical consideration, as well as a preferential one. Astrotelepathy required focus, and that was much easier to achieve when you weren't constantly being bombarded by the lower-level thoughts of the people around you. Thus, apart from a handful of servitors and the Astropaths, the Bastion had no other occupants, and even the Lord Sector was forced to climb the incredibly lengthy staircase to reach them.

This was, Echo reflected somewhere around stair two thousand three hundred, perhaps a little petty on their part. It did ensure that nobody ever came to bother them unless it was important, but really. The stairs above him spiralled upwards, seemingly endlessly, and he didn't even want to think about the trip back down. Finally, upon rounding the last bend and climbing up the last landing, he was greeted by a sealed archway. The door to the Choir was closed, its surface carved with runes of warding and litanies of guidance. Next to the door was placed a large metal gong, with a soft mallet hanging from a chain on its frame.

Mystery Box

Storage Locker X-11-755B was part of a much larger storage facility, one buried within the Scintillan midhive. Once, long ago, it would likely have been near the surface and thus a prestigious - or at least convenient - place to keep things you had no other room for. Or simply didn't want. Sector X-11 was a gloomy place, its streets lined with grungy marble columns and toppled statues, the shattered remnants of when this had been a better area. Narrow alleyways threaded past decaying temples, giant hab blocks supporting the vaulted ceilings. There were no windows here, the day-night cycle produced artificially by the dimming of giant lumen globes suspended above the streets. Several of these were cracked, barely producing a flicker. One of them had fallen and smashed on the street, the midhivers simply weaving around the wreckage. The praetorians kept close to Macharius, weapons ready, keeping a wary eye out for troublemakers. For some reason, none of the midhivers seemed inclined to argue with them. This wasn't so far down as to be the underhive, and despite the general aura of neglect, the people here were by and large the hardworking cogs of the Imperial machine, whose labour supported the vast institutions of the Adepta.

The Administratum spires had, helpfully, furnished Macharius' band with a map. Thus armed, they were able to wend their way through the streets of X-11 with a minimum of trouble. The crowds gave them what distance was possible thanks to the arms of the praetorians, but the great crush of humanity could not be held entirely at bay, and they were ocassionally jostled by some passerby. As they rounded a corner, they came across the sector Precinct House. The fortress of the Adeptus Arbites was an imposing sight, built of seamless black stone that was a stark contrast to the grey and white marble of the fallen statues. The massive gates stood ominously shut, dim light spilling from within narrow firing slits placed high up on the walls. The lower section of the Precinct House walls were plastered with hundreds of posters. There was the usual lot of propaganda, but one area appeared to be devoted to Wanted posters. The press of humanity was lesser, here, and they found themselves walking close past the walls in order to make better time. The faces of the Hive's most notorious criminals stared out at them from remembrancer's sketches, inked eyes following them along the street. For some, there were rewards. For many, these came dead or alive. Others were wanted for questioning, or for judgement. New posters had simply been plastered on overtop of the old ones, and the wall was a veritable strata of the criminal underbelly: peeling off the top layers would reveal older crimes, all the way down, until you reached bare wall and the first delinquent suspects that had been posted to the wall. The Spire Stalker was a prominent feature of the top layer, though these posters carried no pictures. One pciture, however, did jump out at them - mostly buried under fresher offerings was the face of a young woman who, if you squinted, looked rather a lot like Hannabel. It carried with it a large reward, to be paid out by House Krin from a private account, if the pictured person (name unknown) could be returned alive for questioning. It was an old poster, from several years ago at least. This section of wall was mostly older bounties, the tide of newer ones from the gate having yet to reach it.

Spoiler: Hannabel Only

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"Memories, from the Meritech Wars. My builders knew of the Lords Dragon, and did not care for them. Some of the deeper memory banks still hold a few of their stolen secrets. For this reason, among others, I deemed it worth the risk to destroy their engrams. This will possibly have alerted them," Galimina admitted, "though crucially, not to my presence. Their knowing of me, and this ship's true nature, is a disaster to be averted at any cost. I..." she paused, rotating through several expressions before settling on fear.

"Input would be appreciated, if you have any ideas about how to throw them off."

[PotatoGolem]

Macharius has come armored for battle, not trusting the common folk not to try anything. Or Quinn not to have arranged an ambush- everyone at the party knew he had won the locker, after all, and an assassin would be easier to hide among the teeming masses. The massive golden armor added to his intimidation factor, but it also made him much bulkier, which did him no favors in the crowd. As such, he was glad to be relieved from the pressing horde by the precinct. Ah, sheltered by Imperial justice, hoho! Once more, the Emperor provides for our needs, both great and small. His voice booms from the helmet in good cheer as he strolls past the posters. He stops at the poster from House Krin, and switches the helmet output to only come through the microbeads of his companions standing near. Even so hidden, he sounds more subdued. I say, chaps, doesn't that look rather like Hannabel? She... did say she was from Scintilla, did she not? Come to think of it, I don't believe she's ever told me why she left. Do any of you know? Perhaps this is some relative of hers, or there was a... misunderstanding? He leans in to read the name on the poster.

[Haval]

++A Knight eh++
++Well they are more common and more movable than the Great Engines are, Even the Hounds of War are large compared to a Knight++
++Still wouldn't want to meet one in a dark place... or any place really without a equal or bigger Engine of my own++

'If we could somehow recover it intact. Or I suppose even recover the wreckage. Is that the sort of thing they would actually pay us to have back? I feel like there is every chance they'd want to toss a machine that's been in the hands of the Archenemy for that long into the nearest smelting pit. But for all I know the Mechanicus might actually be capable of cleaning something like that up. I feel obliged to at least ask.'

Mystery Box

Anika had not been to this particular part of the Hive before although had been in many areas just like it. Normally she would prefer to travel a bit more quietly and not advertise her status, but on the other hand the Praetorians did solve a lot of problems.

To Macharius, 'I don't like to press anyone on anything they don't want to bring up themselves. Throne knows there are things I would prefer to avoid thinking about if I can help it.' Which doesn't mean she wasn't curious. Anika will take a pict of the wanted poster as they pass. 'For all I know this is some odd coincidence, and in Hannabel's case there's a lot I would be willing to overlook when someone is that good at her job.'

[Blarghy]

Knight

"I would prefer I would to bring back wreckage bring wreckage. Wreckage of of tiny melted pieces melted. But I agree I I I that the Mechanicus that should determine how best should to handle it to handle."

Bastion Porphyr

Kennoch was indeed in a foul mood by the time he came gasping to the top. They had better give me some good information, he thought bitterly. His ancestors who carefully cultivated ties among the Astropaths had clearly never been here, he felt certain. The Rings were moderately less exhausted, partly from their better physical conditioning and partly from lighter voidsuits, but even they were sweaty and dreading the return trip.

"I don't suppose we could just live here from now on?" Kimmet joked.

Echo just gestured vaguely to the gong; he didn't have the breath for an order or the inclination to move another step before he had to. Isund rubbed his burning thighs, took the mallet, and gave it a good ring.

Mystery Box

Being adrift in a seemingly-endless sea of bodies was unfamiliar and unpleasant to Kennoch, as well as his guards. Lorl in particular was highly agitated by the time they paused to see the wanted posters; she showed admirable restraint in not killing anybody on the trip, which Kennoch felt was probably for the best, given the nearby Precinct House. By then, he had a new grim thought to occupy his mind. He stared at the wanted poster. The Navis felt far less charitable about it than the rest of the party.

I should've suspected. She hugged it. This should come as no surprise... And this led his thoughts back to Galimina, which roused his fears again, but he pushed them down again for the moment. Soon. Now is still not the right time, but...soon...

"This could be could worth asking about worth, Lord-Commander Lord Lord-Commander," he murmured quietly. "Even a 'misunderstanding' even can be trouble be trouble when it catches when you unaware unaware."

She hugged it. She hugged it!

[rax]

Spoiler: Hannabel Only

Show

"Memories, from the Meritech Wars. My builders knew of the Lords Dragon, and did not care for them. Some of the deeper memory banks still hold a few of their stolen secrets. For this reason, among others, I deemed it worth the risk to destroy their engrams. This will possibly have alerted them," Galimina admitted, "though crucially, not to my presence. Their knowing of me, and this ship's true nature, is a disaster to be averted at any cost. I..." she paused, rotating through several expressions before settling on fear.

"Input would be appreciated, if you have any ideas about how to throw them off."

Spoiler: Destro Only

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"Well it seems you, or rather we, were caught between a rock and a hard place, so to speak. Do nothing, and the Lords Dragon might have pried ancient secrets from you and decided we were too dangerous to live. Do something, and there's a risk that the Lords might wish to investigate why their ploy failed. Under the circumstances, I think you did what was necessary. Had you not existed, those same secrets would likely still have excited the interest of the Mechanicus," Hannabel answers.

"As for throwing them off the scent, the relative difficulty of such an endeavour will depend on what the original purpose of the tracking engrams was and how important it was to the Mechanicus that they should function. Could you tell anything about what sort of data the engrams were supposed to collect and how the data was to be delivered into the hands of the Lords Dragon?"

[Destro_Yersul]

Echo

The ringing of the gong echoed down the stairwell, rebounding off the walls until it diminished into the distance. Slowly, the warded door ground open. Stepping through, Echo saw it was opened by means of a servitor hauling on some very large chains. The door opened into a vestible with a high ceiling, the walls lined with alcoves in which stood statues of Imperial saints. Drusus was here, in the nearest alcove, a table piled with votive candles standing at his feet. Apart from him, though, every saint in residence bore the cloth-covered, sunken eyes of an astropath, and each had their own table of candles. The flickering light of the hundreds of tiny flames was the only illumination in the room. Wax dribbled down the tables, layers upon layers of it, built up over the years as new candles were added atop the leavings of the old.

From the opposite door, a bearded man appeared. He was tall and well-built, his muscular frame filling out his astropath's robes, for astropath he was; an embroidered headband covered his eyes, and he stared sightlessly at the door through which they had entered. His beard was long and grey, but he did not stoop with age.

"Welcome," he said, in a calm, low voice. "I am Senior Astropath Xiao. What business brings you and yours to the Bastion Porphyr today?"

Mystery Box

Leaving the wall of posters behind, with Anika's picts and Echo's implants serving as a permanent record of the encounter, the group crossed the street. The crowd flowed around them, the Praetorians and Macharius standing in their armour as an island against the wash of humanity. There were no assassins forthcoming, though, and no difficulties as they pushed forwards to the entrance of the storage facility that held their destination.

The caretaker of the place was a wizened, hunched old man, who glared at them with one good eye. The other was lost somewhere, old scars covered by a leather eyepatch. He wore simple coveralls with a faded nametag on the pocket. If it was to be believed, his name was Dirk. He sat in a guard station, behind thick armourglas, next to a heavy gate, and lorded over his domain. Which is to say, he demanded credentials from anyone who wanted to enter.

"Ain't no one gettin' in here as isn't supposed to," he coughed at them. "An even as they did, security systems would see right to them." Scrutinising the party for longer than was probably strictly necessary, he eventually climbed down from his seat and drew a battered lantern and an enormous shotgun from behind the seat of his booth. "Come on, then. 'Ad word from one of the unit holders as you was to turn up. You'll be cleaning out Unit 755B, aye? Second level. Stick close, 'an keep an eye out for sumprats. Blighters sneak in here 'an chew th' soddin cables. Too small to trigger the automated systems, but you'd do it right enough you would, an' that's why I'm coming along."

The gate rumbled shut ominously, sealing them into the facility. Dirk put an 'away' sign in the window of his booth, and took off hobbling down the narrow rows of storage units. The stacks were long and orderly, the heavy doors of each unit stenciled with numbers that had long since begun to fade and peel. At each intersection, more stenciled numbers pointed the way to each unit. Many of the lights above the doors had died, their casings cracked, and water dripped down from above to puddle on the floors and splash off the gantries. Many of the intersections featured stairs, iron railings and metal decking going up and up, to more levels of units above. Dirk seemed to know his way instinctively, only pausing once to wave his shotgun and scream invectives at a rodentine shadow down one of the alleys.

Eventually, he brought them up one of the stairways, the metal creaking and moaning under the weight of the praetorians and their armour. Dirk held up his lamp, light playing across a door that was cousin to all the others. The painted number was gone, obliterated by rivulets of orange corrosion running down the front of the door, but this was the one. Dirk kicked it and fetched out a key ring. "Don't suppose he told you what all was in this thing? Nobody bloody knows, 'arf the time. Yer'd be amazed what can be pulled out from inside one o' these."

The door rumbled up, squeaking along on rusted runners, and revealing a skeleton on the ground amidst a cluster of craters and suspicious stains. Dirk laughed at it, and pointed at the ceiling, where a hatch was just visible in the gloom. "Tol' yer. Secur'ty systems. Anyone busts into one of these wiffout a proper tag gets got by the rotary guns. Now 'ave at 'er, an' be quick about it. Got ter get back 'an man the entrance."

The locker was.. not quite cavernous, but certainly larger and more stuffed with goods than its exterior might have implied. It was lined with shelves, on which lay all manner of boxes and creates. A couple of racks were filled with old clothing, dry and in good shape, albeit dusty, despite the damp outside. There were filing cabinets, stacks of odd components, and a pair of large floor racks lined with paintings. There were a couple large pieces of furniture, hidden under dustcovers, and one shelf filled with issues of old broadsheets. Near the entrance, and perhaps having belonged to the last person to enter the locker if you didn't count the dead burglar, was a toolbench. It held an assortment of small hand tools, an old hooded lamp, and a partially disassembled clockwork something or other spread across the work surface.

Spoiler: Hannabel Only

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"Yes," Galimina said. "This was my assessment as well. The engrams.. I had a good look at them, as I was taking them apart. They were trackers, designed to link into the ship's sensors. From there they would multiply themselves, spreading to every system they could reach through the vox network, creating copies of any data they found, and transmitting it back through the communication arrays. I do not know the precise means of monitoring, nor the range.. there must be truly ancient technology involved. It was clear they were not intended to be a one-use thing, though. The Sting was meant to become a permanent information node, recording all the sensors saw and sending it.. somewhere. This is also unclear. I have the channels, and could send information along them, but it would be a one-way transmission. I have no capacity to retrieve anything from this system."

[PotatoGolem]

Macharius chuckles slightly at the dead burglar. Charming. Let's see what this den of mystery holds, shall we? I leave the tools to the more technically-minded. He and the praetorians head towards the back of the locker, their helmets compensating for the darkness.

[Haval]

At the sight of the place Anika was less worried that the locker would be empty and more about the state of anything left inside. Perhaps it was a step above leaving everything exposed to the elements.

To 'Dirk', 'We brought it sight unseen if you can believe that. The person we brought it from claimed to not know either. You have any idea how long the locker has been in use? Do you happen to keep records?' This seemed like too much to expect, but Anika was curious enough to check.

On the other hand this was a archaeology after a fashion. 'I suppose that body shows that no one else has been in here to clean it up. From the decomposition I could probably work out how long It's been here.' Anika will get out her auspex and see if anything obviously stood out about the place. Otherwise she'll check the filing cabinets, broadsheets and paintings to see if she could identify or date anything.

Spoiler: ooc

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Other rolls in the ooc

Let's roll Evaluate as well
vs. Int 53
(1d100)[53]

[rax]

Spoiler: Hannabel Only

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"Yes," Galimina said. "This was my assessment as well. The engrams.. I had a good look at them, as I was taking them apart. They were trackers, designed to link into the ship's sensors. From there they would multiply themselves, spreading to every system they could reach through the vox network, creating copies of any data they found, and transmitting it back through the communication arrays. I do not know the precise means of monitoring, nor the range.. there must be truly ancient technology involved. It was clear they were not intended to be a one-use thing, though. The Sting was meant to become a permanent information node, recording all the sensors saw and sending it.. somewhere. This is also unclear. I have the channels, and could send information along them, but it would be a one-way transmission. I have no capacity to retrieve anything from this system."

Spoiler: Destro Only

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"Hmm, if the engrams are designed to replicate and infect other cogitators and sensor systems, then it seems a safe bet that they weren't created specifically to work on the Sting or a Shrike-class vessel. It also means that this isn't the first time the tech-priests have done something like this. They probably aren't used to the engrams failing, but barring curiosity, they may decide to cut their losses and just infect the next Rogue Trader to stop by the Lathes. If so, we should be safe from immediate suspicion or retaliation," Hannabel reasons.

"You know, if we handle this wisely, this could be a moment to establish trust between you and the rest of the command crew. When Anika - Dr. Vanhal - returns, we should report this to her first. The Sting's security is her job and she knows the Lord Captain well. She'll be able to determine how to broach the subject in the best way. Which reminds me - what of the black boxes that were installed by the other tech adept? Have there been any further transmissions and have you been able to pinpoint a location for the receiver?" she asks Galimina.

"And one more thing...these secrets that your builders stole. Can you access them and show them to me?"

[Blarghy]

Bastion Porphyr

The saintly statues calmed Kennoch a bit. He regained his sense of perspective, remembered what he worked toward; compared to the immense sacrifices of the past, walking up some stairs--well, a truly absurd number of stairs, but even so--wasn't so bad. He prayed a little as he waited for Xiao.

"Kennoch of House Castermire Castermire House Castermire," he introduced himself with a nod. "I come here come looking for answers looking. I have an I have old augur old that once belonged once to a dangerous heretic to a heretic. A heretic heretic I oppose and and seek to destroy seek. The augur specifically augur was used during used the heretic's plot plot to excavate a a Knight-Titan Titan Titan Titan and other armaments other. So so, this is a this is very serious matter very serious, you understand you. The augur was also was produced by produced the heretic's allies allies in the Dark Mechanicum Dark, who I suspect who are likely involved are in the same scheme same. Thus I request I I I a Psychometry reading reading of the augur of the for any information any you can provide you can. I am sure I am this would be would a deeply unpleasant experience deeply, but I believe believe it is necessary it is. Can you help help help help?"

Mystery Box

Echo had expected a narrower discovery. A few, or even just one, high-value items. Instead, this seemed fairly overwhelming; maybe they'd have better luck assigning a team of underlings to patiently scour the vault and then report back to Macharius with a proper inventory. But he already came all this way and endured the indignity of the hiver crowds, so he decided that he might as well poke around a bit. He began taking boxes down from the shelves one by one and opened them purely for the sake of curiosity.

Spoiler

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Untrained Evaluate (25): (1d100)[1]

[Destro_Yersul]

Echo

"There are those here skilled in psychometry," Xiao allowed. It was a non-answer, but not one he seemed inclined to elaborate on, at least for now.

"You have come a long way, to seek this service. Not just to our tower, but..." He lowered his head, seeming to see Kennoch even with no eyes. "I sense a darkness over you. You have walked in shadow, and yet you are here seeking the downfall of a heretic, to whom you give no name. You speak of their allies in the Dark Mechanicum. Could not the Mechanicus serve you better? We here are the thread that binds the Calixis Sector to the wider Imperium, and there are few enough of us. What care you of our danger, if your cause be served?"

Throughout, Xiao's voice remained calm, and polite.

Spoiler: OOC

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Roll scrutiny

Mystery Box

Dirk made a 'hrmph' sound. "Course there's records. Can't 'ave just anyone poking about in here claiming as they own summat. This locker's the rented property of the Winterscale clan." He put a subtle emphasis on 'rented,' as though the status of the property were not ultimately Calligos Winterscale's to decide. Anika concluded he had never met Winterscale.

"Though now as you mention it, I've never seen nor heard tell of anyone using it or opening it, leastways as I've been here. One of the ancestors might have taken up with it. It's all paid for though, all down the line, and since you're here to clean up the contents maybe they's got plans for the space."

Macharius, meanwhile, was rummaging about int he back, amidst dustcloth-covered furniture. The first thing they'd pulled the cover off of had turned out to be a large machine, supported on four spindly legs, and with a hand-cranked motive wheel on the side. It was made of polished wood and brass, and held dozens of gears, wheels, belts and other such parts in suspension within itself. On the front was a series of metal bars of various sizes, arranged in a row from smallest to largest, and to the side was something that vaguely resembled an ancient violin. It wobbled slightly, clearly massively top-heavy, from the force with which the dustcloth had been removed.

While Macharius was examining this find, Almagor pulled the cloth off a tall item nearby, revealing an enormous and grotesque statue. It was jet-black, depicting a hunched humanoid figure with an elongated head and ribbed musculature. It leered down with eyes of cut gemstone, polished smooth and containing a pinprick of light deep within. This followed you, wherever you were standing - a trick of the light, surely. The horrible thing was entirely immobile, and obviously carved from stone, but seemed to suggest hideous intelligence that might spring to life at any moment nonetheless. Whoever had carved it was obviously very skilled.

Anika's use of the auspex uncovered a faint energy source within one of the boxes on the shelves, but nothing else unusual. Even that one source was barely there, suggesting something that was only just active, and opening the box revealed why. Inside was an Astartes helmet, battered and damaged. One of the eye lenses was shattered, a deep scar running across the ceramite from the brow to the right cheek. The helmet ridge was the only ornamented part, with a sort of ribbed fin running down it, such as might be seen in depictions of dragons. The helmet was blue, but apart from the fin bore no identifying insignia.

The paintings were easier. Most of them were portraits, with the names of the occupants inscribed on little brass plaques at the bottom of the frame. Everyone depicted here was a Winterscale of some sort, wealthy enough judging by their clothing, but perhaps from more distant branches of the family. These would be valuable to a collector of portraits, or perhaps someone looking to do a detailled history of Winterscale's family, but perhaps not to anyone else. The remainder of the paintings were a mixed bag, a handful of religious pieces with saints performing miracles, a landscape or two, paintings of voidships under sail in black, red and sepia, and one impressionistic piece of a hive spire. It was painted from the bottom of the spire, looking up, though the strange perspective made it seem like the bottom was the top, and up was down. The furthest reaches of the spire were shrouded in swirls of colour, vivid blues and greens, and on closer inspection the swarms of tiny figures about the spire turned out to be schools of fish. There was something unsettling about it, something that pulled the eye in and held its gaze, as though the canvas were daring you to blink.

Echo's set of boxes, in a dissapointingly mundane twist, proved to contain cooking equipment and kitchen implements. Pots and pans, dozens of plates, fine silverware, and several scrawled folios of recipes. One box held an array of ladles, and another a stack of baking trays and wire baskets. He estimated that there was enough here to outfit an entire commercial kitchen and dining room, at what would otherwise be a fairly considerable expense. The blenders alone were worth hundreds of thrones apiece, and there were three of them. This was nothing to say of what some of the papers int he filing cabinets were worth, as well. He got a look at some of those while Anika was digging through them, and identified them as bank drafts and shares, issued by House Krin a century ago. The banking house was still in operation, and the shares would still be good if redeemed.

Spoiler: Hannabel Only

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"Curiosity is a concern," Galimina said. "Have you ever known a techpriest to allow a question to go unanswered? It is likely they have done this before, I agree, and I do not think it will be the last. The Lords Dragon are ambitious. Even during the Angevin Crusade, they had already laid claim to the Lathes system. It was understood those worlds would be the sole domain of the Mechanicus, once the sector was liberated."

Once again, Galimina straightened, her voice assuming the faraway cast that Hannabel was coming to associate with her accessing deeper portions of the ship's systems. "Their secrets.. are accessible. I can draw them up, yes. Should you wish, I will show them to you, but I would first caution that such knowledge would make you yourself into a target, were they to discover what you know. My builders desired that knowledge be more free. I would aid this, yes. I..." She shuddered slightly, her eye lenses flickering and dimming before snapping back to full strength.

"There will be time," she said. "When the Scion of Truth returns to us, we will go to her, as you say, and ask for her input on this matter. We can tell her of the black boxes as well, should you think it relevant. They have activated additional times, since we reached Calixis, and I now have sufficient data for triangulation. The transmissions are intended for a relay station within the Koronus passage. I have accessed old records, and determined that this station is not on most official charts. I estimate that it is intended to be forgotten. The Inquisition often finds such places convenient. It is their hand at work in this, though the data the boxes are sending is simple sets of reference coordinates. I believe," she sounded almost amused, "that someone is attempting to keep tabs on us."