Solonius shakes his head and looks sour, more so than usual that is.
"Frankly, Lord Captain Militant, the fact that the Lord Mayor gave us these coordinates more or less rules them out as a likely hiding place at all.
After all, they are KNOWN locations, and a group such as the "Freedom Brigade" seems to rely on secrecy to survive."
Then, as if the admission pains him about as much as removing a tooth he admits.
"But, I suppose they could be hiding there BECAUSE it's a known location and thus most people wouldn't bother to look for them there.
Hiding in plain sight."
Do we have any resources or ability beyond what's the locals have to locate them?
Heinrich follows the exchange with the expression of a man quite out of his comfort zone and takes his time to add his opinion.
"I think we don't have a strong clue about those raiders yet", he clearly isn't fond of calling them freedom fighters or whatever they stylize themselves, "but between the prisoner and all the sensor logs and registration forms of the spaceport, I think we have a decent chance at figuring out some clues. But that will take time. Time, we could use well, chasing after one of the other prime targets denoted by the Mayor. And considering this planet shrouded in tumultuous warp storms is actually calling out for us... Even if the how, why and even the what remains a mystery - at least for me... I feel like we should try and find some answers to the many questions surrounding it."
Iota nods at Heinrichs suggestion
"I'd also suggest we take a path that will lead to clear rewards while being ready if those raiders turn up. Our best advantage is that we have a fast ship so we can likely intercept them if they do turn up.
If we get access to fast in-system ships then we could also lay a trap while we're away. Have a sizable force stationed on our newest asset, making it look like we're completly out of system. Then ambush them if the occasion arises."
Sounds like a plan to me. Let's make it happen. Is there anything else?
If not, Archibald dismisses the meeting. He trusts his crew to do what is needed. He plans on getting on Vox with the Lord Mayor and seeing if there are any ships as fast as his in system he can use for interception craft like Iota suggested.
Nobody else seems to have anything to add, so the meeting winds down, and everyone leaves, now with a clear purpose in mind.
Soon, activity begins on all decks, as the ship makes preparations for a new journey.
The fact that thanks to the richness of the world you are currently at, provisions are likely to be of better quality than most, leaves the majority of the crew in high spirits.
A small disappointment is that no ships are available for you to use, as the majority of ships are either stationed in Defense of the world, or patrolling, to keep any further strikes from the "Brotherhood" away.
It looks like an equal sided triangle, pointing downwards, then, from the inside, starting from the downwards pointing bit upwards so it sticks out from the triangle, about twice as long as the triangle, and with another smaller line crossing it about two thirds of the way up.
You're pretty sure you've seen it before, but you can't quite remember where...
It looks like an equal sided triangle, pointing downwards, then, from the inside, starting from the downwards pointing bit upwards so it sticks out from the triangle, about twice as long as the triangle, and with another smaller line crossing it about two thirds of the way up.
You're pretty sure you've seen it before, but you can't quite remember where...
It looks like an equal sided triangle, pointing downwards, then, from the inside, starting from the downwards pointing bit upwards so it sticks out from the triangle, about twice as long as the triangle, and with another smaller line crossing it about two thirds of the way up.
You're pretty sure you've seen it before, but you can't quite remember where...
Until your logical mind, with it's near perfect recall, aided by your internal cogitators, remind you that it was in fact seen on the side of the rifle in the dream.
Ya, writing something on anything unbidden is a little unnerving, but it's not exactly mind blowing. He just had the same warp-dream as two other people. Things are bound to get funky. He does purpose to tell the others as soon as he sees them though. No use in keeping secrets.
Setting a ship into flight is no small task, even on a ship with a well trained crew.
It's something akin to a massive behemoth of a beast, slowly waking from a long slumber.
However, between the skills of various officers and under officers, this task is still accomplished within the set time limits.
Amazingly enough, it's done with pretty much no crew being "lost" either.
You've lost less than 50 crewmembers to desertion, which is practically the same as none at all.
Moral is high, stocks are plenty full, spirits are high, and adventure (and profit) is afoot.
In short, you've set out on your journey with the best possible start, which certainly lends a sense of auspicious air to your journey.
"All hands to your stations, we're about to traverse from real space to warp space.
Prepare for warp! Prepare for warp!"
"Gellar field is up and at one hundred percent."
"I want those readings gone over immediately, double check and report back to me!"
A long wailing siren sounds on all decks and a solemn bell rings as the ship approaches the Mandeville point for translation. The crew intones together without missing a beat, Praise to the machine Spirits enduring the strain put upon them and shielding our bodies.
Archibald arrives on the deck. He is proud of his crew this day. They're almost as good as a navy crew. No doubt the kinks will be ironed out soon enough. He takes his place standing in front of the command throne as thick metal shades slide into place over the bridge widows.
As is his custom, assuming no more pressing matters are denying it, Heinrich returns together with the last fighters mere minutes before the jump, ensuring that the Sun is not surprised in such a vulnerable stage. The Red Hawk clamps down last of course and Heinrich is hitting the hangar floor with barely 30 seconds to jump, already reciting along with the crew - while keeping atop the routine checks and double checks via his combed.
"Praise the Gellar field for protecting the souls of the crew from the beyond."
<< All fighters aboard and docked.
We are free, nothing within 6AU.
All flight personnel accounted for and on station. >>
Let's find out what in the name of the Throne is calling us so vehemently...]
"Lord Captain, all parameters are within acceptable levels. We've successfully transitioned into the warp once more."
The young and eager junior officer reports, clearly in high spirits.
She is also quite pretty, it's just a shame you can't remember her name.
Thankfully, Solonius is nearby and whispers a muted, "Lt Sonia Marbreg", for your benefit.
"According to the lady navigator, we're about one week out from the safest and nearest place to transition back."
Archibald nods as the last peals of the bells vibrate in the walls. Very good... Lt. Marbreg... no need to take risks. Keep us on the Lady's course.
He sits in his command throne and sighs. The problem with sailing into the unknown, Master at Arms, is that One hardly knows how to prepare.
After the travel time estimation was announced, Heinrich relays an order to the deck crew for a five day maintenance cycle followed by a two day rest and recuperation time.
He then will politely withdraw from the bridge and starts a personal preparation schedule, after recent events.
The first one being the attempts on the Lord Trader's life - in which he felt quite out of his depth.
The latter of course being the weird dreams and daemon appearing in it as well as the very recent ... moment of warp-induced doodling.
To deal with the first issue, he throws himself into training with what the officers have started ('preemptively' by Solonius' reckoning) to call the Thunderguard. After the latest assassination attempts, Solonius' and Heinrich have devised a very challenging rotation to kick everyone into motion. The guard was split in two fire teams. They would take turns following and guarding Lord Thunderblossom wherever he goes. Each such rotation is three shipboard day-night cycles and designated "blue team". Now to spice things up, the nominal "off duty" team would become the "red team", which is tasked with devising and performing mock assassination or kidnapping attempts. After each rotation, the teams would change their assignments.
As for the second, Heinrich will spent several hours each daycycle with father Julian in prayer and contemplation of the warp and the various ways of guarding your soul against malign influence. He will also talk to him about the disturbing doodling.
In paralell he also starts investigating this symbol in all data storages available to him. That is of course on the ship but also in all the datacaches on the planet to which he gets access. He is not that secretive about it. He does _not_ make a public anouncement about what he seeks but he is quite open to ask data clerks to look for it for him.
On the journey proper there is not yet anything out of the ordinary for Iota to do. He keeps up with his shiftly tasks as enginseer prime and when not busy with that then he's all over his experiments. The warp is not the prime location for most experiments but his current endevour to produce a geller field "gun" can be done here without problems.
At the third day of travel, Ionus receives a short intercom message from Heinrich, asking for a brief meeting at his convenience.
Heinrich arrives at (presumably the Magos' study) with a data slate tucked unter an arm.
"Magos! Thank you for your time. I will try to make it short as I know you for a very busy person."
He takes a deep breath, assumes a upright stance and starts a quick report, only occasionally glancing at the data slate in his hand.
"I have compiled a list of three ... items that I believe will improve this crew's performance in different, crucial aspects. I ordered them by my personal estimation of urgency and also by scale, from small to major.
First: powerful, encrypted, personal vox beacons for personal use by all high ranking officers and the Thunderguard. Intended use: Identification Friend or Foe during close range ground fights, enabling danger-close air strikes as well as VIP recovery. For the latter functionality, I would envision an incorporated medical diagnostic augur able to detect animal readings and subsequent activation of the beacon.
Second: extended fuel capacity and life support for our fighter screen, allowing a further spread of the CVP screen. Secondary motivation: the Rising Sun is able to out-run all attack craft by a significant margin. A considerably longer life support will allow precious crew to survive longer and allow for higher tactical flexibility without concern for stranded pilots and craft.
Third: building a compartment mirroring the bridge with advanced cogitator-controlled simulations. Intended primary use: crew training. Secondary use: potentially misdirecting enemy augury into believing this to be the real thing and target it instead. Tertiary use: potential to relocate the bridge functions after catastrophic damage."
After that he quickly hands over the data slate.
The chamber is quite opulent, but practical. Nothing strikes one as lacking a purpose on being unneeded.
At the same time, everything is made of the finest material, carefully crafted and maintained.
In the middle of the room is a couch, seemingly made from lovingly tanned hide of some sort.
And on it lies a...man? At first it seems like the couch might be a novelty item, as it is much too small for the man, until one compares it to the surrounding, and realise the man is in fact so tall, he'd have to look down on an Ogryn.
In addition, the man's skin is unnaturally pale, and almost translucent.
On his chest rest an ashtray, and above it hovers a hand, which is seemingly idly holding a Lho stick, quietly smouldering.
On occasion, the man takes a drag and sends a wisp of smoke towards the ceiling.
The rest of the time he appears to just gaze at the ceiling in quiet contemplation.
Then there is a knock on the door.
bigger]"Come."[/bigger]
The voice is deep, a trembling bass that seemingly sends shock waves through the entire room with it's force.
The door opens, and a figure steps just inside the room.
It is dressed in a pitch black storm coat, open, revealing a form fitting equally black body stocking, tucked into black leather boots.
Obscuring the face is a featureless white masks.
"They have succeeded."
The voice is carefully modulated to give no clue as to the gender of the speaker.
There is an almost undetectable trace of surprise in the deep bass voice.
The tall man strokes his nose a few times with his free hand, before smiling.
The dream shatters...
The chamber is quite opulent, but practical. Nothing strikes one as lacking a purpose on being unneeded.
At the same time, everything is made of the finest material, carefully crafted and maintained.
In the middle of the room is a couch, seemingly made from lovingly tanned hide of some sort.
And on it lies a...man? At first it seems like the couch might be a novelty item, as it is much too small for the man, until one compares it to the surrounding, and realise the man is in fact so tall, he'd have to look down on an Ogryn.
In addition, poking through the mans receding hair, are numerous small thorn looking protrusions.
On his chest rest an ashtray, and above it hovers a hand, which is seemingly idly holding a Lho stick, quietly smouldering.
On occasion, the man takes a drag and sends a wisp of smoke towards the ceiling.
The rest of the time he appears to just gaze at the ceiling in quiet contemplation.
Then there is a knock on the door.
bigger]"Come."[/bigger]
The voice is deep, a trembling bass that seemingly sends shock waves through the entire room with it's force.
The door opens, and a figure steps just inside the room.
It is dressed in a dark blue storm coat, open, revealing a form fitting equally blue body stocking, tucked into blue leather boots.
Obscuring the face is a mask in the shape of a leering clowns face.
"They have succeeded."
The voice is carefully modulated to give no clue as to the gender of the speaker.
There is an almost undetectable trace of mirth in the deep bass voice.
The tall man strokes his nose a few times with his free hand, before smiling.
The dream shatters...
The chamber is quite opulent, but practical. Nothing strikes one as lacking a purpose on being unneeded.
At the same time, everything is made of the finest material, carefully crafted and maintained.
In the middle of the room is a couch, seemingly made from lovingly tanned hide of some sort.
And on it lies a...man? At first it seems like the couch might be a novelty item, as it is much too small for the man, until one compares it to the surrounding, and realise the man is in fact so tall, he'd have to look down on an Ogryn.
In addition, the man's legs appears to bend backwards.
On his chest rest an ashtray, and above it hovers a hand, which is seemingly idly holding a Lho stick, quietly smouldering.
On occasion, the man takes a drag and sends a wisp of smoke towards the ceiling.
The rest of the time he appears to just gaze at the ceiling in quiet contemplation.
Then there is a knock on the door.
bigger]"Come."[/bigger]
The voice is deep, a trembling bass that seemingly sends shock waves through the entire room with it's force.
The door opens, and a figure steps just inside the room.
It is dressed in a maroon storm coat, open, revealing a form fitting equally maroon body stocking, tucked into maroon leather boots.
Obscuring the face is a golden mask, it's features bringing to mind an imperial saint.
"They have succeeded."
The voice is carefully modulated to give no clue as to the gender of the speaker.
There is an almost undetectable trace of satisfaction in the deep bass voice.
The tall man strokes his nose a few times with his free hand, before smiling.
The dream shatters...
Iota actually takes the time to meet with Heinrich in a proper meeting room, since the presentational hardware there is much better suited for discussions than the research oriented gear situated in his room.
Since this is not a big meeting a cup of recaf is prepared at two adjacent chairs on one side of the table. Iota motions Heinrich to sit, then listens to his ideas silently, sometimes nodding, sometimes scratching his chin. He takes the data slate at the end and studies it for a bit before sighing and thumping on a holo projector in the table. Then hitting the table with quite a bit more force, putting the image of the projector into focus for three thirds of the time.
"Well Heinrich, let's go over this one at a time. So the friend or foe beacon is basically already available. The combeads in use by all our squads CAN very much do that."
The projector switches to an image of a combead, with various power statistics next to it
Except they don't broadcast all the time because to conserve power. And the range is limited. The problem here is conveing that information back to the squad on the ground. They generally don't have the augmetics to display them as is, so we'd have to make a helmet capable of a heads up display standard gear. And we should probably think about a backup in case helmets get damaged. The signal itself can be boosted by the squads com specialist, but they'd be back to their smaller range if the coms specialist or his coms gear gets taken out.
Anyway: slave a hud capable helmet to the combead and slave the combeads to the coms gear of the specialist and we'll be in business. But the soldiers WILL have to recharge their combeads more often. Probably double as often as without the system. So you might want them to switch the system off unless in an active combat situation."
Then the projector switches over to an auspex.
"The same principals apply here, add a regular Auspex to the gear and slave it to the combead, takes power but when in need it will provide the information you're looking for. Not sure why you'd want to trigger an alarm animal readings thought?"
The projector then switches to an image of an active fighter craft
"As of your second suggestion... I fear I have much less to offer you with this. As you can see here" he points towards the image "The overall performance of the craft is in balance. The engine thrust provides the nimble flexibility you have probably come to expect from it because its power is enough to propel the craft that way. If we add more fuel, or live support" Iota presses a few buttons, highlighting the fuel and power reserves, and the live support system based on the power.
"If we increase these capabilities then naturally the weight will increase and the in-fight flexibility will suffer." this is underlined by the graph showing the weight of craft in the projector going up, and the craft in the projector performing the simulated manouvers more slugish, taking slightly wider turns, accelerating a little slower than before. "So while I can give you that I am not sure you would want the tradeoff. I'd rather suggest we hold off on this suggestion until we uncover suitable technology which straight up improves applicable stat or until we make a breakthrough ourselves"
The projector then switches over to an image of the ship, with its various comparments highlighted
"As for the training bridge... I see the worth in it. But frankly if we had the space on the ship the i'd call dibs on that to have an actual proper laboratory for my research. Of course traing the crew is important and maybe getting hit at a less important part of the ship while in combat would be a great boon I'd argue that the ongoing improvements I could make with a proper lab would outweight the training, which can be done in a lesser scale 'hands on' on the actual bridge" and the theoretical bonus of the enemy making a mistake. Anyway we don't have the space for either so it's a moot point for now. That is not to say it can't be done - but enlarging the ship with new comparments is be a substantial investment and I believe Archibald will want to increase our profits before investing more into the ship"
Heinrich looks a bit confused at the first talking point, then, as Iota concludes, adds:
"I may have failed to get my primary objective of those devices across - although your interpretation about how to make them useable by each member sounds highly useful too.
I expect us to have air superiority during most planetary expeditions due to our void fighter complement.
With that thought in mind, I was proposing the beacon to be boosted and made available for our fighter and bomber crews to allow pinpoint precision air strikes. Well, or at least air strikes that won't inflict friendly fire. Or more likey air strikes that get aborted because of potential friendly fire."
During the second topic regarding the strike craft, he is very keenly following the explanations, showing great interest and (potentially surprising) understanding of the blueprints, cross-cuts and schematics of the fighter craft.
"Indeed, I would not want to compromise the maneuverability of the fighters."
Heinrich folds his hands and contemplates their discussion for a moment then an idea seem to struck.
"Orphelia-Seven! The stratosphere war.
Magis!
What about the bombers?!
CVP has the goal of in-sxstem scouting and intercepting torpedo strikes and other attack craft. Thus it is performed by fighters. Bombers would be kept idle until a proper engagement is upon us.
Do you see a possibility for bombers to be temporarily be repurposed to carry fuel and air tanks as well as some kind of connection system allowing for in-flight refuelling and restoring life support? This could easily double the flight time and covering area of our CVPs!
I have read accounts of Orphelia-Seven in the academy. A gas giant with floating gas procession plants. A civil war erupted and the primary warfare was conducted by air. They used massive floating, gas filled airships to carry, maintain and rearm the locally produced, rather primitive atmospheric craft. As the war dragged on, they developed an in-flight refuelling system to enable long range strikes that were impossible otherwise. Maybe the mechanicus has filed away details of this system we could use as a baseline?"
Iota probably has never seen Heinrich this fired up before.
A (probably considerable ) time later, they get to the third point. And Heinrich looks at Iota in bewilderment.
"Have you ever been to the under decks, Magos? The Suns lower decks have at least a dozen practically empty holds. Entire decks were emptied - not to say gutted - by the Navy before handing it to the Thunderblossoms. Emperor knows what they originally were used for.
Anyway, I fully.support your point about a proper research facility. Considering that we already found several mysteries and are about to delve head first into another Big one, you, that is to say we need it. But I think the Sun has more than enough room yet to gain more aces."
Suddenly, there is a loud noise all throughout the ship.
It takes a moment to realise it's the alarm for an emergency transition from warp space to real space.
These are of course quite dangerous and only attempted when no other choice is available.
In addition, by all calculations, you are at least two days, if not more, out from your destination.
Archibald, who just happened to be walking near the bridge at the time, seemingly teleports onto the bridge. REPORT he bellows. This was the second unexpected translation in as many jumps. Combined with weird warp dreams and mysterious symbols, he was rapidly approaching his capacity for surprises. He didn't like to rule with an iron fist. The tighter you squeeze the less you hold, after all. But if this error was the fault of deficiency in the crew someone was going to get it.
There is a scramble amongst the bridge crew, seemingly trying to sort out a seniority as to whom is going to answer the captain.
Whether it is establish who has the honor of the adress, or trying to push the responsibility onto someone else is hard to say however.
Finally, one of them begins to speak.
"My lord captain, I..., but before she can begin an explanation another voice cuts in, Imagine, lord, that the empyrean is a vast ocean, and this mighty vessel is traversing it like a nautical ship would."
As Archibald turns towards the voice, he sees one of the ships Astropaths, but not one he knows personally.
It must be one of the lesser members of the choir, one he has had no interaction with before.
This one is unnaturally long, limbs thin and spindly, and his skull encased in metal.
"Imagine, oh lord, that another ship passes by, one dwarfing us in size.
And it does so at speed, creating powerful waves that knocks us off course.
These waves are powerful enough to in fact knock us off course so badly we've been run aground."
Finally, the Astropath turns to face Archibald, having previously stood at an angle, seemingly starting into space.
His eye less, empty eye sockets seem to stare straight into your soul as he does so.
His voice is deep, but curiously flat and inflection less.
"We've been caught in the waves of an entity several magnitudes greater than us, it is forcing us from the empyrean, and most likely, it is not even aware that we were in it's path at all."
The scramble on the bridge brings a scowl to Archibald's face. Was the chain of command not clear? Even if several chains existed, answering should have happened immediately. This would be corrected.
Archibald mentally shakes off the shiver that was threatening his spine at the sight of the sightless man. His frustration made it easy. Control. Will. These were his hallmarks.
Can we ride the wake? Can we use it instead of letting it Force us to ground? he asks, clearly expecting a yes or no answer.
The Astropath shakes his head slowly and sadly.
"No, oh lord, we are already run aground.
At this point, re-entry into the materium is already assured.
And as the entity passes, it will be some time before a return is possible."
Archibald notices that the voice is less flat now, it sounds...strained.
Perhaps of greater note however, are the slowly seeping tears of blood running down the man's cheeks.
Whatever is happening at the moment, it is clearly having a negative effect.
Alright then. If there is anyone not already prepping for Translation, get them on it now! Ring the Bells. Set Condition Two and get all Damage Control teams to their stations. Let's MOVE! He claps for emphasis, MOVE! MOVE!
The first peal of the Translation Bells ripples through the ship.
As Archibald gives the orders, some instinct then makes him turn back towards the Astropath.
The man is now down on his knees, and for a moment one can almost imagine a mighty, transparent foot pressing down on his back.
Then, it seems he finally loses the battle against whatever force is affecting him.
With a soft, dry rasping breath, he collapses at your feet.
"Between...the...second...and...third...finger..."
Archibald reacts immediately, Medicae, to me!
Message the Lady, "Between the second and third finger". Maybe she can make sense of it.
Two medicae are quickly on the scene and begin to treat the Astropath.
"Pressure on the front lobes, we have to release it!"
"Yes, but we can't get through the reinforced skull!"
"We don't have a choice! If we don't release some pressure now it's going to be too late!"
"Well we could..."
"What?"
"Well, he doesn't have eyes does he? We could go in through the sockets..."
Do what you must, but make sure he lives! Archibald commands.
He then turns to the intra-ship com and contacts Iota. Magos, if there is a way to speed our translation, please do it!
The second bell peals, Praise to the Gellar Field for protection of the souls of the crew from the Beyond
Iota looks up from his work and acknowledges Archibalds request in a terse but perfectly calm tone:
"Emergency translation protocols have been initiated. According to protocol Engineering crew on standby will reinforce the active shift in approximately 23 seconds for the first wave of speedup. Engineering crew on rest schedule will arrive within a timeframe of 10 to 20 minutes for either more speedup and stabilisation or post-translation repairs."
Seeing as how the laws of the physical realm are already breaking it would be best to overcharge the gellerfield generator at this point... but making the modifications to enable it is not feasible in the given timeframe. I will have to work on creating this possibility for future use
Then he switches communication channels:
"Magos Signus to bridge engineering staff: Switch to complete logging. I want ALL the data on how this happened, not just the usual level."
"Lord Captain, we're about to transfer into real space, everything looks adequate.
Systems are green, values are stabilising after the initial shock.
Transition in, 5...4...3...2...1...Transition!"
Reality seems to shock itself into place.
A wave goes through the ship, where times seems to slow down or even stop for a moment, everything turns into shades of grey, and a loud noise, a "doooooo-ooooom" sound echoes in your ears for a moment.
Then, everything snaps back as your senses adjust to the transition.
"Aaaaand, We're safe!
Transition successful, and everything is green across the board."
There is a palpable sense of relief all over the bridge, only for it to be undercut by a sunden loud "Squirt" noise, and a gush of arterial spray as one of the medicae withdraws a large needle from the eye socket of the Astropath.
"Oh emperor, it worked! The pressure is dropping, we might be able to save him yet."
--------------------------------------------------------
Iota receives a sign of acknowledgement from the Engineering staff, and he can almost sense the sudden spike in data being collected and recorded.
Of course, as the highest onboard enginseer, he is then targeted with a large number of reports pertaining to the status of the ship post transition.
Overall, the reports paint a surprisingly positive picture of the event.
Clearly the training and repairs to the ship have had an effect.
Of course, it would have been impossible to accurately predict this ahead of time, as only empirical field testing can give reliable data.
Heinrich was off duty when the alert hit and had a troubled sleep in his secret place of anti- insomnia: the cockpit of his trusty lightning attack craft.
As he alarm bells start blaring and jerks awake, he is deciding to stay put and call his crew to the craft instead of rushing to the bridge.
By the time he would get there, everything would be either over or beyond salvaging anyway.
Praying to the bells of translation he perform preflight checks and brings the 1st and 3rd attack squadron up to speed and ready for immediate take off after retranslation.
As the translation happens at last, Heinrich slams down on the maglev catapult safety switch with a prayer to the machine spirits throwing arm pressed through closed lips. Massive acceleration hits his fundament for the 9336th time in his career and he along with his crew and craft is ejected out the starport launch bay, the rest of 1st Squadron behind him.
The launch was so fast, that Heinrich gets to witness the slivers of raw warp stuff, which the Sun is shedding like an uncomfortable skin and the closing, ragged tear in realty in the wake of the Cruiser's passing.
Tearing himself off the spectacle, Heinrich immediately powers up the augurs to maximum power and starts a quick sweep of the immediate surrounding...
Archibald breathes a hesitant of sigh of relief. That was two unexpected translations in a row. I really don't want to keep rolling those dice
He keeps his voice firm, strong, and relaxed. If you want your crew to act like professionals then you need to act like one first. Astrogation, position report. Auspex, full sweep. Let's see where we are, people. It's likely we already have birds out there knowing Commander Bastillion, so make sure you patch their sweets in too.
Medicae, do full sweep of the astropathic choir and check in on the Lady. Any psykers on board for whom that was debilitating are too either report to the infirmary or be taken there.
Iota takes a look at the damage reports, then sends a quick report to the bridge: "Damages minimal, ship operations can continue as normal"
Still - a warp translation is a warp translation and stuff breaks when it happens. Nothing bad enough that Iota has to intervene personally so he sends the list on to his second in command:
"Emergency repair status down from vermillion to yellow. Damage report attached. Keep emergency shift on standby for another 30 minutes we don't know if hostiles are about to engage"
With that done he can finally take his time to parse the sensor logs. Increased logging was only activated very briefly before the jump happened but there should still be some information in there on the 'thing' that rammed them out of the warp.
________________________
Heinrich
________________________
As Heinrich flies outside the ship, he witnesses the fact that along the "spine", the entire area is completely black.
Though thankfully, his scanners indicate that the damage is merely cosmetic.
It looks like the area is covered with soot, like the ship had passed in the area of a sun or something of a similar temperature.
Aside from that, it looks like there are no threats or even points of interest within the area of his auspexes.
...
Wait, that's not entirely true, there IS a faint signal, just at the very edge of his systems.
So faint that only luck, instinct or the emperor's blessing could explain how it was caught at all.
Whatever it is, is seems to be slowly drifting, juuuust close enough to be detectable.
_______________________________
Archibald
_______________________________
The majority of the crew immediately jump to follow the commands given, though there is a small throng of people that are gathering together for some other purpose.
Just as Archiblad is about to comment, he realizes it must be the ceremonial crew, preparing the "Mug-lug".
All the ships that has ever been part of the dynasty have their own traditions, and this one has the Mug-Lug.
A small, burnished bronze bottle, filled to the brim with alcohol.
Nobody has ever had a drink of Mug-Lug, since it's ceremonial.
In reality the Mug_lug is unlikely to ever be the same between ceremonies, as it is in fact a decoct made out of leftover alcohol, only the strongest spirits.
______________________________
Iota
______________________________
The amount of raw data to process is truly staggering, enough so that one COULD almost regret asking for it.
A lot of the data is corrupted, of course, and some of it looks...dangerous, fit only for purging and the system responsible going over with extra sacred unguents.
There are however a few nuggets that looks particularly valuable, though studying them is a long term endeavour.
Archibald doesn't interrupt. Sailors have always been a superstitious lot, why should this be any different? Instead he occupies himself with supervising and making sure everything post transition is going well. Really he's waiting for the Lady. She should know more about whatever almost got the ship.
"Fire Hawk to Hawk-One. Combat Formation, Triple-Chevron-Alpha. Follow my lead, I've got a contact."
He banks hard and sends an excited spike boa the MIU link to the engine, causing a massive acceleration boost to push him hard into his seat.
As the acceleration lessens due to reaching maximum speed, he opens a vox link back to the Rising Sun's Bridge.
<<I got a weak contact at about 87-23-09.
Taking Hawk-One for a closer look.
Might just be a piece of debris.
Or some would-be silent runner.>>
<<Loud and Clear, Hawk-One. Bringing sensors to bear.>> Archibals replies.
He then turns to the bridge's Auspex stations. Retrieve sensor orientations from Hawk-One and train our scopes on his target.
"Yes lord captain, aligning sensors now and..."
With some oath in an unknown tongue the operator gets to his feet, ripping his headphones off and rubbing his ears.
After a moment to recompose himself, he turns to Archibald and salutes.
"Beg pardon lord captain, but as soon as our sensors brushed against the object, it lit up like a Sanguinala tree."
Another operator, eyes glued to a screen pipes in.
"He's right lord captain, something big is powering up out there, an unknown signal...no, more like, a whole slew of smaller signals jammed so tightly together it looks like a single object."
Continuous scan. Get me everything you can. he responds.
He faces the front. Set Condition 2 throughout the ship. Helm, get us within support range of the fighters. No sudden moves though. Let's not look threatening until we have to.
Then he keys his comm for the Magos, Iota, I have some data up here you might want to parse in person, at your convenience, of course.
Then the patrol, <<We're getting returns off multiple closely grouped contacts, Heinrich. Be careful. We're coming up behind you.>>
"Can this be right...?
Retrying scan...
Hang on lord captain...
...
Ok, so...I've scanned three times now. Unless our instruments are faulty somehow after the unplanned jump, I'm reading several signals literally overlapping eachother.
That shouldn't be possible unless they are...fused together?"
Following the vox communication, Heinrich lets out a groaning sound, only audible to his copilot.
His voice is tense as he keys in an officers-only channel.
"What do you think captain, a space hulk?"
Going back to his squadron's channel:
<<Wide formation, prepare for hard-burn evasion. We have confirmed contacts ahead. We go in for visual confirmation only, then retreat to CVP station. Follow my lead!>>
It's a distinct possibility, and a dangerous one. Keep your eyes sharp and your auspex scans sharper.
Since the signature was quite far away, it takes some time until the fighter squadron finally makes visual contact, however, it does not disappoint, in as much as it confirms some suspicions.
It looks like a free floating spaceship graveyard, hundreds of different ships, fused together over time into a large jagged blob of metal.
What is commonly known throughout the Imperium as a Space Hulk.
By now, the main bridge have also got the Hulk in question well on instruments, though ti seems to raise more questions, as they cannot find the signature of this Hulk in the database.
It IS of course possible that the hands of a Magos is needed to find the illusive piece of information, but it might also mean it is a hitherto unknown Hulk, which of course would give the Lord Captain the naming rights, as long as he steps aboard and documents the event.
Archibald nearly starts shaking in excitement. The possibility of a brand new space hulk AND a new planetoid AND possible control over a very productive system were all laid across his path. He had only reach out. And reach he would.
<<Magos Iota would you please report to the bridge. What we have up here WILL interest you, I promise.>> he messages.
With a deep breath he takes the first steps to defining his destiny yet further, Find me someplace stable to land on that thing, and preferably distinct. I don't want this discovery questioned when the evidence is interrogated. And summon the Master at Arms to the shuttle bay. Until I know that this thing is claimed I'm going to proceed like it's not.
He then leaves the bridge to change. Claiming an entire space hulk in a bog standard uniform just won't do.
Iota is still sifting through the data collected just before the warp translation when Archibalds message finds him. This of course means he is connected to the ships data store and not far from the sensor data to take a look himself. A few thousand pages of data and several seconds later he confirms Archibalds message: "Acknowledged. I have seen the data my physical presence on the bridge is not necessary. I will take all necesssary steps for a mechanicus presence in a boarding party."
With that done he sighs a little but puts the analysis of the translation data onto a background coprocessor - but not before feeding it the new data about the space hulk for comparison. He then write several iterations of possible maintenance schedules for his subordinates to pick from as appropriate while he is away. Finally he calls over two of his favorite heavy duty servitors, with melta and cutting equipment, and a few of his most trusted subordinates which are not currently essential to ship maintenance and orders them to prepare for hulk boarding. He himself does not take very long. His weapons and armor are on him, he mostly needs a voidsuit if live support over there goes bad but those are stored close to the embarkation deck for obvious reasons.
Archibald is quick in his choice of attire. His overall look is largely the same. Gleaming boots, Lion cape, banner in hand. What has changed is that instead of a standard uniform, he wears an armored void suit with clear rank insight typically used during ship incursions or catastrophic environmental failure. He strides into the shuttle bay deck where his personal shuttle waits, red and gleaming.
The shuttle is already prepped and loaded. Solenius is there with his newly training elites and their upgraded weapons. He approaches the grumpy old officer somewhat more meekly than he entered.
Master at Arms, I would like to put proof to my previous statements that I've learned my lesson and value you and your role in safeguarding those under your care. Including me. When I disembark first, I swear to you that I shall only go as far as necessary to satisfy my peers and those who may steal this prize from us. When that is done, I shall retreat back into the shuttle and await your clearance to proceed. This venture, as far as our own men are concerned, is yours to command.
Muttering a benediction of protection from that which is touched by the warp, Heinrich opens a close-range broadcast to his fighter pilots.
<< That is right lads: a proper, ugly space hulk. Stay sharp and spread out. Be ready for immediate evasive maneuvers. You can never know what kind of automated defense systems a place like that is running.
Hawk-2: return to the Sun, link up with Hawk-3 and escort the Lord Captain's Shuttle over.
Hawk-1 and I wiill have a closer look, then link up with you as well.>>
He then switches channels to the heavily encrypted, officer-only band.
<< Heinrich to Captain: Permission to perform close reconnaisance to check for hostile activity. There may be automated close-proximity turrets still active on one of the parts.
Have you decided on a landing spot yet? Then I can do a low and fast fly-by. Otherwise I'll look for a good spot for you to touch down. >>
Archibald's gets the message after his chat with Solenius. <<Permission granted. No landing site yet, so find me something grand and, more importantly, unmistakable, will you?>>
<< Copy that, Captain. Begin sweep. >>