The tempest class strike frigate known as the , prestigious flagship and greatest prize of the Demetrius Dynasty- sailed quietly through the Warp, guided by the subtle instructions over microbead of Senior Navigator Lion Rogal Guilliman Benetek and the steady hands of Voidsmaster Jerol Seoul. The pair were somewhat exhausted after a recent encounter with a sudden, previously unknown warp storm- but now the Warp was still, or at least appeared to be... Junior pilots watched the expert pilot handle the smooth frigate effortlessly with the sleekness of a raider vessel, desperately trying to pick up some pointers for when Jerol slept and they took over the ship. Of late, their skills had improved a little, but they were still not permitted to attempt a landing after the near-disaster landing of Tyron 4. A pair of junior navigators watched their master patiently, far more stoic than the nervous and jittery pilots despite their exposure to the Warp, ready to take over once Lion tired.
The flagship had recently secured another lucrative trade agreement for supplying Halo Artefacts discreetly to a leading noble family in the Calixis segmentum; the family had been working through intermediaries in order to protect their reputation of course, but the financial success of the venture was almost guaranteed. The Void Wold now travelled through the Warp towards the Koronus Passage- the only gap in a massive wall of warp storms between the Calixis segmentum and the Koronus segmentum- and as far as any know, the only access to it.
The Void Wolf is scheduled to resupply at Port Wander, the only official Imperial presence in the entire Koronus Expanse- although Rogue Traders often formed small mining or trade colonies deeper into the Expanse, Imperial jurisdiction officially stops at Port Wander, as do the Imperial Navy's patrols. Should a Xenos threat ever be truly stirred up from the Koronus Expanse, Port Wander would be the first line of defence for the Calixis segmentum.
The master of the Demetrius Dynasty is currently residing within his private chambers- more lavish and extravagant than most minor noble's mansions look. His faithful bodyguard Minerva stands to attention nearby, ever vigilant, and continually twirling her pistols expertly.
At the God-Emperor's shrine, Missionary Praetia leads a sermon to the Emperor, and in the faces of the thousands of undercrew members solemnly assembled before her, she finds comfort even in the uncomfortable nature of Warp travel and the xenos technology that powers the ship. Most of the ships crew are void-born- living and dying on the vessel, only seeing planetside when on shore leave. To know that they are part of a Rogue Trader Dynasty- the hand of the Emperor himself beyond the reaches of the Imperium; it brings many of them hope to their otherwise miserable lives.
Further below deck, Havelock the Explorator supervises a regular maintenance team, frustrated at the incompetent crew's failure to grasp the most simple of repairs to the somewhat strange machinery spread through the ship. Finishing the repair himself, Havelock finds himself wondering, not for the first time, what on earth actually powers the Shard Cannons the Void Wolf depends upon in combat...
As the maintenance crew once more bungles what should be a routine repair job Havelock decides that enough is enough and steps in.
"Enough, the machine spirit groans in protest, you must learn to treat the Omnisiahs bounty with the respect that is due and proper!"
Havelock turns to the leader of the team, one Jactor, and orders him to redo the maintenance of Shard cannons another time, wanting to make sure the crew knows at least the basics of how to treat them.
"This is vital, you cannot always depend upon me being here, and this is exactly why you must learn to repair and maintain them to avoid any failure."
As always when agitated, the mechandrite on his back whirs and clicks in responds, eager to hide his irritation, Havelock walks further into the corridors of the Wolf's underbelly, wanting a moment to himself.
*** Grumble, grumble, grumble ***
*** Grumble, grumble, grumble ***
Lion stood erect and proper like millennium of Beneteks.
His was a noble line that could trace his line back to the start of the Imperium unlike most of the mud that passed as Navigators on the ship. He made sure to smile graciously as it was always important to appear to be friendly.
Friendly people revealed faults in their nature which made it easier to silence them later when they reached beyond their station.
It was an important lesson that Lion had learned. The navigator standing beside you or in front of you wanted your job. Not only did they want your job but they were willing to work with 'others' to get it.
Lion kept his Bodyguard standing behind him in case one of the Navigators around him should attempt to make a move on his station. Scum, he was born to rule and to navigate the warp.
A disturbing sign in having the warp storm appear where it was not indicated on the charts. Lion did not like such things and figured it was one of the younger Navigators losing track that had led to the ship going off course.
He would have to remember to speak to Missionary Praetia to schedule extra lessons in faith for his fellow Navigators. It would keep them from scheming against him and improve their need to pay attention when facing the rigors of the Warp.
Given the current state of the crew it was never to early to start to search out the weak links and have them purged. It was too bad they didn't have a reclamation centre because the purged crew could have been put back to service. The loss of crew would be regretful but save the ship from future problems.
"Honest, I love the Captain. It was Mikka that said he didn't. It wasn't me. Oh, God, no, no."
Minerva stood motionless at the door to her master's chambers. Within, the Rogue Trader himself was attending to personal business. Even here on the Void Wolf, the place where she felt most secure in all the galaxy, Minerva was not relaxed. Instead she waited, poised and ready for any threat to her master's life, a threat that could come at any time and in any place.
During your hunt for sedition, you begin to pick up subtle rumours and information concerning the underdecks. While you find nothing concrete, it seems some kind of minority movement is present among the underdecks, to what end you can not yet tell, but you've heard whispers that certain crew members are more in awe of the Xenotech aboard the Void Wolf than of the Omnissiah's blessed works...
Jerol leant back, he was tired. No he was VERY tired.
He looked around at the navigators and obviously rolled his eyes. He had always been very open about his opinions and he wasn't about to change that now.
He blamed the younger navigators entirely for the unmapped warpstorm. They should have seen it, its their job. He looked at lion and gave a slight nod, he couldn't have asked for a better head navigator. Looking at the rest of the crew however, he felt angry. He loved flying, he loved his job, he loved the ship! But the rest of the useless crew seemed to only be there because they had no where else to be, they had no passion for what they did.
They were only a few hours from port, he decided that he should take a quick nap before landing the ship, all the junior pilots had to do was fly it in a straight line, they couldn't screw that up could they?
As Havelock walked through the twisting bowels of the Void wolf he marveled at the interplay between manmade and xeno made craft, most would say that to utilize xeno tech was an affront to the emperor, let alone the Omnisiah, but as ever before, he saw no proof of that.
In his own mind, the Void wolf was a true example of what humanity could achieve if they but worked to understand the deeper truths of the universe.
"The void wolf is superior to many other vessels because of this..." He muttered to himself.
Stopping for a moment to engage his mechandrite, he performed some routine maintenance in one area before moving on, his walk more or less a pilgrimage now.
This was after all his home, and he knew it's working better than anybody.
"The machines of the xeno are children of the Omnisiah, but the heathen xeno do not realize the Omnisiahs blessings, they abuse and misuse what they cannot understand, as his chosen people, we must liberate the machine spirits that labour for those fools..."
Hand dropped a small pouch on the desk.
Lion looked at Hand but he remained silent. He rarely spoke more than a dozen words in a day.
His physical actions spoke volumes.
Lion opened the pouch and found several charms in the pouch.
Charms were to be expected as they were the only way to protect a soul when traveling the rigors of the warp. Instinctively Lion fingered his own charm that hung around his neck.
The charm was a bolter casing recovered from earth and filled with holy scrip. The shell had been kept in the presence of the God-Emperor and prayed over for one hundred days before being carried on a pilgrimage through the Imperium to the resting place of each of the known Primarchs.
It was said that there was no where in the Imperium or beyond that the shell having been exposed to the holy aura of the God-Emperor could not find it's way back to him.
The charms in the pouch were different.
Lion gathered up the pouch of charms and headed for the door. Hand followed behind silently glaring at any who would dare approach to close to Lion.
Lion headed through the Void Wolf to the holy temple of the God-Emperor. He went looking for Missionary Praetia.
He did not hurry. A Benetek never hurried. Forty Millium Benetek had sailed the Emperor's ships and they were still here. Benetek even takes time to do the observance of the stations of temple.
When the common voidsmen saw a primary of the crew doing the observances it strengthened their own calling. Strong dutiful spirits protected a ship from the warp as the crew learned to trust the servants of the God-Emperor.
Finding Missionary Praetia, Lion said, "We have things to discuss. But not here. I would not wish to desecrate his holy presence with this business."
Praetia hastily stows the scroll the was reading from as she sees Lion enter the shrine. Looking back to the pious crewmen left in attendance, she closes with "While the Emperor doth protect, that protection is His conscious decision, go now and be worthy of it."
"Lion, it must be an urgent matter that brings you here. I already received your message about the "scheming" crewmen. Perhaps if you trained your navigators better, I wouldn't have so many of them scratching at the walls, Emperor protect us. What do you have there?"
Jerol has dozed off for a time in the cockpit, but he finds himself being woken up by one of the junior pilots, a man named Sarvus.
Excuse me Voidsmaster, but the junior navigators are preparing to take the ship out of the warp and into local space to travel through a sub-system. It is the last scheduled real space stop before the Koronus Passage, in case you do not recall...
'Hmmph...I know full well the failings of the Navigators that I have been given and the dark leanings of their covetous hearts. I, too, did my duty studying the holy writs though my calling was in different form of service.'
'Maybe, though, you should attend more attention to your own priest's lack of attention to the devotion of the voidsmen's faith and I wouldn't have to trouble you at this hour.'
'Come, let us discuss this not in the holy shrine but in your office. The light should not be tarnished with these mutterings.'
Lion heads toward Praetia's office without checking to see if she was coming. Lion had been raised to give orders and expect obedience even among his peers. Hand follows along watching for any motion of trouble.
Reaching Praetia's office, he pauses to give her an opportunity to recompose herself and assert her 'control' of the situation. It was a standard tactic taught in negotiations. Show strength and then give apology. The dance of peers.
Prepare for local space re-entry... an automated voice blurts out across the ship. Many of the Void Wolf's crew sigh in relief, the eerie nature of Warp Travel being something they never quite come to be comfortable with.
Guided by a junior navigator, the ship exits the Warp smoothly into an almost derelict system- a lone star with a single, water-based planet orbiting it. System Omega Beta 12- a system rarely travelled, and already fully explored by the Imperium. Jerol could probably afford to fly across this sector with his eyes shut, so sparse and devoid of celestial phenomena. Frowning, one of the bridge crew junior officers calls over to the pilot-
Voidmaster- We're picking up some kind of weak distress beacon from somewhere in the system. Its not encoded in any way though...
Jerol woke up. He wondered what the pilots had woken him up for, the system was so empty that even a novice would have a hard time crashing the ship. Then again, he thought, best not to underestimate their uselessness.
Hearing the junior officer call him, he turned and listened to what he had to say.
A distress beacon you say? And its not encoded? They must be in real trouble. Patch it up to the captain, see what he wants to do about it.
Ye... Yes sir. the officer stammers. We'll need to hear it here before we can vox it to the captain anyway Voidmaster... Its pre-recorded, on some kind of loop. he mutters, justifying his action as he allows the beacon to transmit to the Void Wolf. An distinguished sounding voice is speaking in Low Gothic, but shouting and general chaos can be heard in the background.
This is Tristan Casmirre, last scion of the Casmirre Rogue Trader Dynasty sending a general distress signal from the cruiser Casmirre's Pride. Returning from doing the Emperor's bidding in the Koronus Expanse, we were ambushed by ships of the Dark Mechanicus. We don't know how they evaded our sensors, or the Imperial Navy's ships in the passage. Our Astropaths have been slain and our Navigator has fallen to heresy, along with much of the underdeck crew. Even now, we are fighting for our ship against Chaos worshippers and mutants in the upper decks, falling back towards the bridge. Our ship has suffered catastrophic damage from macrocannon batteries and we've lost our engines. In the name of the Holy Emperor and the High Lords of Terra, please render what assistance you can muster!
As the ship leaves warp space behind, Havelock leaves the bowels of the ship to make his way towards the bridge, he is always eager to see different planets from the view of space, imagining what treasures of forgotten tech might lurk just under the surface of even the most unappealing dirtballs.
As he passes by the maintenance crew he pulls Jactor aside. "I am leaving the last touches to you, do well for the Omnisiah watches us as we go about his holy work, to make the machine spirits work well and without complain."
He then heads towards the bridge, to get the best possible view of the planet below.
Praetia walks out of the shrine, whispering a prayer to the Lord-Emperor as she shuts the doors. Calm down, save your wrath for the true enemies of the empire. For now, we'll let the mutant have his fun...
Without a word, she side-steps Lion in the hallway and opens the door to her office. Well-appointed without being gaudy, modest without being austere. Praetia sits at her desk, and leans back to regard Lion, still standing smugly in the doorway. She motions to a padded chair opposite the desk.
'So, what do you wish to discuss? Please leave your 'friend' in the hall, you have nothing to fear here. One of my acolytes recently chased out all the stray shiprats from this sector.'
Lion heard the announcement of the ship leaving the Warp. He cursed silently to himself. It was ahead of schedule again. The damn ship had a mind of it's own in the warp. Hard enough to guide a ship when it followed the path laid for it but this ship constantly chose to go as it willed on personal 'short cuts' through the warp.
He couldn't be in two places at the same time and the battle for the soul of the ship was more important if they were to travel further through the warp.
Lion noded to Hand and then moved to sit down. He shifted his full robes to make it possible to sit comfortably without sliding out of the seat. There was a fair art to the matter of looking dignified when wearing the seven robes of office that protected the wearer from the warp and signified the wearer's station.
Lion took the bag of charms and emptied the three charms on Praetia's desk.
'While conducting a routine inquiry to make sure that the crew's morale had not suffered greatly to the rigors of the warp from the last warp storm, my people came across crew with these items.'
'I think that you can clearly see on the one charm that if you look at the underside that the fool has painted on the symbol they found on one of those Xeno-tech pieces.'
'The second clearly looks to have been made from some brick or brac that they found. I don't know what that Xeno-tech guns are made from but it is isn't sanctified steel. To have a charm invoking the Emperor's blessing made from such an item is perfidy that I don't have to describe to you.'
'Then there is the last charm with some sort of drawing of the holy beacon of the Emperor sharing the same light with some sort of smiling Xeno.'
'I tell you there is a cult of Xeno worshiping heretics forming under the decks because your priests aren't doing their job of properly leading. These voidsmen are simple creatures and they need good leadership.'
'"Spare not the bolter shell less the heretic fall into eternal damnation of the warp" is that not how the holy writ goes?'
'I don't have to remind you how dangerous these heretical shrines can be. It is difficult enough sailing a ship through the warp when the crew are of one desire. These small Xeno cults and their shrines can have the navigation disrupted sending us weeks off our proper course.'
'"Loose heretics sink ships," and you need to get on top of this with your priests. Purify a few souls with fire if you have to but get those cursed shrines found and off this ship before the next time we need to transition to warp.'
Jerol looked at the monitor, he shook his head and looked up at the junior officer.
They sound like they are in pretty bad shape. Being muddled up with all those chaos worshippers as well? Not good. Not, good.
He secretly hoped that the captain would decide against aiding the ship. He definitely wanted to avoid getting mixed up with a bunch of chaos worshippers as much as possible. Then again, he had a chance to kill some mutants. That could hardly be passed up.
Praetia slips on a glove and picks up one of the xeno-charms, examining it from arms length while Lion finishes with his show. 'Thank you for bringing these to my attention. Where did your 'friend' find these?'
She drops the charm like it were a piece of offal and leans back in her chair. 'I'll begin looking into it presently.'
Feeling the ship drop out of the warp and into real space with a barely audible groan and a distinct shudder, Minerva tenses slightly, it seems too soon to be leaving the strangeness of warp-space, and surprises were rarely pleasent in her, admittedly limited experience. Suspecting that her master would soon be leaving his quaters to deal with whatever emegency had pulled the Wolf out of the warp so soon, she examined the corridor in both directions. True, she had been on guard the whole time they had been here, but there was always the chance...
Havelock finally enters the bridge, nodding to Jerol as he spots him, taking a position out of the way he slowly folds his mechandrite back in resting position, clasping his hands behind his back and quietly observe the goings on, looking at unguarded monitors to get a good look at the planet.
As he notice the planet appears to be sea based he curses softly under his breath, knowing that it would be next to impossible to either find not salvage any tech from such a place.
Praetia slips on a glove and picks up one of the xeno-charms, examining it from arms length while Lion finishes with his show. 'Thank you for bringing these to my attention. Where did your 'friend' find these?'
She drops the charm like it were a piece of offal and leans back in her chair. 'I'll begin looking into it presently.'
'They were found in the underdecks. I don't know the specific location as it isn't a place where I'd venture unless I needed to. There are other people for that such work.'
'I will see that the files of the investigation are transferred on to you and anyone that I found suspicious in my inquiry is sent to the temple here for training and education.'
'Now, as you've heard, we've dropped out of warp and I should head to the bridge and see to it that the genetic offal passing as Navigators these days doesn't drive us straight into an asteroid.'
'Do you wish to accompany me to the bridge or will you make your way there on your own time?'
'They were found in the underdecks. I don't know the specific location as it isn't a place where I'd venture unless I needed to. There are other people for that such work.'
'I will see that the files of the investigation are transferred on to you and anyone that I found suspicious in my inquiry is sent to the temple here for training and education.'
'Now, as you've heard, we've dropped out of warp and I should head to the bridge and see to it that the genetic offal passing as Navigators these days doesn't drive us straight into an asteroid.'
'Do you wish to accompany me to the bridge or will you make your way there on your own time?'
Praetia drops the charms back into the bag with her gloved hand and stashes the bundle in a desk drawer, locking it shut with a small key. 'I'll make my way up there shortly. First, I must inform my acolytes of the situation and tell them to be more observant. After all, "Vigilance is your shield." Once things are settled with the bridge, I'll lead a team belowdecks.
Lion bows to Praetia making the formal signs to receive the Emperor's Blessing and then excuses himself from the office.
He then heads to the Bridge to check the ship's position to make sure the fools haven't placed the ship too far off it's proper course and to make sure that the Void-Master has the proper aid for steerage of the ship.
Lion takes his position at the top of the Bridge and the brilliance of the Imperium's beacon is almost blinding in his third eye. He can feel as if he is almost standing in the presence of the Emperor and he can look across the breadth of the Imperium to see where the Emperor is located and where the Void Wolf currently hangs in space.
There is an absolute certainty in Lion of where he is and when he is in this moment.
Returning to the bridge, both Havelock and Lion become aware of the looped transmission playing out loud in the bridge.
As he hears the transmission, Havelocks somewhat metalic voice rings out in aggitation. "Hrm...The forces of chaos? They warp everything they touch, we cannot let the Omnisiahs bounty fall into the hands of heretics who would use it against the faithful!"
Havelock looks around at the people there.
"Has the master been informer? Tis' his decision after all, but I believe my own standpoint has been made clear."
As always when agitated, the mechandrite falls back over Havelcoks shoulders, the mono blade on the utility one ejecting and gleaming in the light of the bridge.
Lion did not understand the word 'Chaos' but he did understand mutants and it was clear by the message that some sort of pirate force was attacking an trade vessel.
Heresy was another word that Lion knew only too well. It was a word that had driven him far from the inner warmth of the God-Emperor to these far reaches. Even now, he could only guess what was written in certain files with his name.
The line of the Beneteks resting upon his shoulders to again take the reigns of the Imperium and be restored to greatness.
Lion listened to the recording but he did not hear the Holy Anthem of Imperial Readiness.
Lion debated for a moment waiting for the Captain to give the order but it was the job of each Imperial Officer to make their own choices. If this had been a proper vessel of the Imperial Navy, the Hymn would already have been sung.
Lion knew that ordering the Hymn sung with such an incompetent crew would likely have a dozen bodies ending up in the medicae for treatment. This close to the Koronus Expanse they should be singing the Hymn twice a day anyways to make this crew learn it till they could sing every bar in their sleep.
Even if this message proved to be nothing more than an ancient bit of text lost in the winds of the warp it was far better for the crew to get used to the singing of the Holy Anthem of Imperial Readiness.
"Sing the Anthem of Imperial Readiness. Keep track of how many bars before each station reports they are singing. The last station to join the Anthem report to the Void-Master for future practice."
Lion debated using the Augury to check the surrounding space but he needed to learn from the Void-Master his intentions first. An active Augury was like a miner's helmet giving a clear beacon of where a ship lay as well as revealing the surroundings.
"Void-Master Soeul, will you be rigging for silent running or for active battle?"
A door behind Minerva silently opens and a tall figure in black and silver uniform exits the room. Handsome man is holding his head as in pain and with blood-shot eyes stares at scarfaced woman. "Minerva, what is this Emperor-damned racket?" a smooth voice barely louder than whisper asks of her.
A door behind Minerva silently opens and a tall figure in black and silver uniform exits the room. Handsome man is holding his head as in pain and with blood-shot eyes stares at scarfaced woman. "Minerva, what is this Emperor-damned racket?" a smooth voice barely louder than whisper asks of her.
Without turning to face the Rogue Trader who looms a full foot-and-a-half over her, minerva replies, scanning the corridor as she does so.
"We've dropped out of the warp milord, for what reason i know not."
"Just a thing to make my headache even worse." Constantine buckles a wolf-buckled belt holding his power sword and plasma pistol before pressing a genetic lock to close the door to his chambers. "All right, Minerva, let's go to the bridge."
His long legs quickly take him to the Void Wolf's bridge. For a moment he is satisfied to stand in the shadows and survey the situation, taking note of the new navigator and his actions. "I will have to be careful with that one", he mutters to himself while letting Minerva satisfy herself that the bridge is secure. Only then, forcing himself to eradicate all traces of pain caused by the headache from his voice, he commands: "Report!"
'The Beacon is strong and I hear the Emperor's Call', Lion responded to the challenge to report as millennium of Beneteks had responded to their captains.
It didn't matter that the captain's gene pool was as pure as the slime found between Lion's toes and his warrant was so fresh that it would take another couple of decades to be filed into the archives on Terra. The captain was still the master of the ship and Lion owed him service.
It galled him that his family had sunk so low that he should have to work in such a field instead of be a proper master of a household with hundred's of navigators serving him while he dined with the Lords of the Imperium.
'We have come out of warp near Omega Beta-12.' A gibberish of words likely to the Captain but the forms needed to be followed.
'We have a distress call and the Anthem of Imperial Readiness is being sung in preparation of your interpretation of the Emperor's Divine will in this situation.'
Lion could have added his opinion on to the hearing of distress call but that wasn't what was called for with reports. Provide the facts and the Captain will call for opinions if he needs them. There was also no need to say what the message of the distress call might be as the Captain had ears to clearly hear the message.
Constantine cocks an eyebrow listening to the navigator. "Indeed", he replies. "You have done well, Benetek. Good boy." Not waiting for the navigator's indignant gasp that is sure to follow, Demetrius turns to Havelock. "Dark Mechanicus... this calls for your opinion, methinks. Present the plan of action!"
"And where in the Void are the rest of my staff? And cut that racket down! I can't hear myself thinking!" barks the captain.
Havelock did not have the same respect for protocol as the navigator, nor was he shy about expressing his opinion.
"Captain, I hear the machine spirits voice, it cries out in pain at the desecration of its blessed flesh at the hands of heretics and unworthy fools, The Omnisiah cannot abide such a thing, will you serve as his righteous hand?"
Havelock clams down with a visible effort, his mechandrite folding back behind him once again as he takes control of himself once more.
"One of the Omnisiash ships are under attack by heretics and chaos fools, they ask for help from those that stands for the light."
He explains with a voice that sounds even more artificial for his attempt to keep it steady.
"We should attempt to establish if this is an old distress signal or if we are in time to attempt to help them captain."
Edit: "If some of the blessed metal can be saved we should atempt to do so, and if we can destroy some of those that dare call themself dark mechanics we shall have done a good thing for the galaxy and for the Omnisiah. However my captain, thosr with the knowledge to corrupt the work of the Omnisiah must not be underestimated, if this is an old distress beacon it may be a trap to draw new prey to their ever hungry maw."
"Navigator, do you concur?"
Lion thought for a moment.
'I currently can not re-call which Navigator is assigned to the Casmirre's Pride and it is not a ship that I am familiar with. I might discover more if I had some of the other Navigators check the holy lists of Imperial Registry to determine if the Casmirre's Pride is known to be serving in this sector. This might help determine if the message was a fake.'
'Officially, we do owe a duty to all citizens of the Imperium to offer assistance where we can. Not being a ship of war that duty needs be no more than to report the message we received at the nearest naval base which would be Port Wander.'
'Explorator Iacton is not fully correct. We can claim profit in offering assistance to the Casmirre's Pride if it is there but not by salvaging her planks. Imperial Law would not rule the ship a derelict with no clear title to ownership. We would be able to charge the Captain or the Casmirre Dynasty for the cost of towing the ship to port and passage provided to any of her crew and passengers. Still a tidy sum as we will be able to dictate the rate instead of bid for the contract.'
'I regret that I have not heard of this clan of pirates mentioned in the message. The 'Chaos' pirates of the 'Dark Mechanus' but that is hardly unusual as various clans of pirates are unfortunately a problem this far from the Imperium's Glorious Light.'
'The message did mention mutants; so, I would like to take time to consult the Imperial Tarot before giving any further advice on this matter.'
You detect no psychic phenomena in your immediate vicinity, but your innate ability to sense other Psykers and disturbances is limited. You would have to be aboard the ship in question to have any chance of detecting entities.
VS 29, Fail
Minerva falls into place precicely 1.5 yards behind and to the left of the Rogue Trader, despite the length of his stride she nevertheless manages to keep pace with him without seeming to hurry, prowling sinuously in his wake.
Each time they pass a member of crew she tenses slightly, moving to the balls of her feet in case quick action is required. As the two figures approach the bridge Minerva slips in front of her master, and moving into the shadows, scans the bridge for any potential signs of trouble, Once she's satisfied she gives him a barely perceptable nod, this done she moves back to accustomed place at her master's back.
Lion studies the Imperial Tarot and says, 'The tarot is both a cautionary tale and a tale of inner growth. The Seven of Fleets and the Five of Fleets along with the Lovers shows Enthusiam, Struggle, and a bonding of Fates. This is very auspicious for a ship facing a test as it shows that the ship will gain from whatever decision is made.'
'The other cards of the Assassin and of the Tower are significant of change through strife. Good may come of your decision this day but it will not be bloodless. Someone must feed the Assassin's blade.'
"The blood of the faithfull is the only thing that can wash away the taint of corruption..."
While consulting with her two most trusted and pious Acolytes, Praetia receives the call to readiness on her microbread. 'This can wait till later, for now be alert and make a note of any questionable behavior.'
She quickly leaves her office and heads up to the bridge. On the way, she utters a litany to the God-Emperor in time with her quick pace. Upon entering the bridge, she is slightly taken aback by the assemblage and the distress call still looping on the vox. Her blood boils at the mention of Chaos forces. Instictively, she grasps the phylactery on her left arm. 'Emporer preserve us! Though I fear it is too late, we should investigate. If the crew is forfeit, we should destroy the ship, lest the taint spread!'
Lion heard the words of the Missionary and cringed at the significance.
Destruction? There is no profit in destruction.
But what could be so bad with a bunch of pirates? They were almost as common as flies circling a carcass out here on the edge of the Imperium.
If they had there barracks filled with proper troops then they could make a fair living just preying on pirates. The Admiralty paid well for each confirmed kill of a pirate vessel and the hull could be seized for prize with few of the entanglements that were associated with random salvage rights.
This wasn't a war ship or a ship belonging to some crazed heretics flinging their bodies at a world of Xenos. This was a merchant vessel with profit the prime goal.
While consulting with her two most trusted and pious Acolytes, Praetia receives the call to readiness on her microbread. 'This can wait till later, for now be alert and make a note of any questionable behavior.'
She quickly leaves her office and heads up to the bridge. On the way, she utters a litany to the God-Emperor in time with her quick pace. Upon entering the bridge, she is slightly taken aback by the assemblage and the distress call still looping on the vox. Her blood boils at the mention of Chaos forces. Instictively, she grasps the phylactery on her left arm. 'Emporer preserve us! Though I fear it is too late, we should investigate. If the crew is forfeit, we should destroy the ship, lest the taint spread!'