I hope she gets well soon. We're not going at the fastest pace anyway.
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"This will have to do." Xipil embarks into the vehicle. He prepares to keep track of the settlement and the route as they travel.
Xipil moves towards the autocarriages. Before entering he pauses looking the vehicle over- likely with some dismay- but makes sure to check and see if the vehicle is meant to contain people carried in the rear.
A shudder went through Xipil... after seeing the boat he was loathe to see the neglect the autocarriage would have undergone. He had to resolve to restrain himself, once the larger problem was dealt with order could be restructured here. The machine spirits of this world had suffered greatly due to the incompetence of the locals. It was subpar even by the standards of the uninitiated of the Imperium.
[b]"We will go over everything and clarify where the fault lies. Engaging in combat now could lead to the loss of useful data. We should identify the core of the problem and eliminate that wherever that may be."[/v]
We could pretend we're new and say the boss didn't tell us. Xipil is quite bad at Deceive. I am hoping Ven and smooth it over and milk them for information.
"I could fifteen tithe guard in poor quality flak armour with mauls and bolas. The others have at best concealed weapons of a small nature." Xipil added as an afterthought while the noise of the ramp whiring downwards would make him impossible to hear from those outside. As he advanced down the ramp Tech Priest Xipil's torquise robes rippled in the wind, a black cog rimmed hemlines showed his loyalty to the Machine Cult. His judgemental gaze held very real disdain. Whether working for a smuggler or for official business his thoughts of the locals were the same, unimpressed. He turned back towards the with a look that spoke volumes but mostly You better speak with them or they'll get offended.
"Shall we engage in subterfuge?" From inside his robe Xipil produces a hand cannon and checks it over.
Xipil momentarily pauses in his ministrations to the machine spirit before continuing and stating. "The name Peyton likely refers to Wyler 'Reaper' Peyton. I read a erport on him, he is an independent operator running his vessel as undisputed captain. His main area of income is piracy in the Thule and Rubicon sub-sectors but he is no stranger to smuggling mundane items and has been known to trade in Xenos objects."
Intelligence +5 250xp
Congratulations. My posting will be near non existent from the 29th til the 3rd, just a heads up.
I assumed we were just representatives rather than having the Captain with boots on the ground. Perhaps the quartermaster would be more believable... enough influence to turn heads but gives a reason why the ship isn't visible as it's off dealing with other matters.
"Firstly the planet may have limited means. The sole tech priest may yet live. I could produce a krak missile with the materials on this world but it would be... painstaking and very slow. They may also have limited supply. Either way it would be no small investment and a new means of supply will likely interest them, in this you are correct." Taking note of recompense he adds "Even with their incompetence they need more storage room... clearly any off world contacts are not often here."
"So someone who has access to anti armour weaponry timed their attack around when a storm hit. Either they are extremely familiar with reading this worlds data patterns or they had access to machine spirits that aren't common on this world I'd suspect. If a vessel sank in the middle of a storm who would question it." "From what we have seen there seems to have been a sustained effort resulting in the marked reduction of productivity of this worlds main purpose. These Kathrinkas seem to be involved though they may not be the masters of this conspiracy."
"A pervasive system of policies and procedures to hinder harvesting combined with targeting groups who are performing too well? A bit blatant." Xipil turns towards the crew. "We have saved you and now I have tended to the machine spirits here. You should refrain from mentioning us in any way, failure to do so will end in harsh and permanent consequences." He considered if that might be too subtle considering the world. "For example we might flay you slowly."
"Are you aware of any Kathrinkas personal lodgings outside of Recompense such as an estate?"
"Efficient food production leads to more frequent misfortune... how have your hauls been of late?" Looking at the sorry state of repair of the machines Xipil can not stand by. Shaking his head in dismay he begins a few basic rites to assuage the machine spirits.
"To your knowledge when was the last time the tithe was collected? An event of some note to your world?" Xipil held back any threats of dire retribution if they spoke of their intervention... for now. "Have you heard of any other vessels being lost at sea or having accidents of late?" Xipil began to look around to assess the level of technology the ship had, particularly if they had a vox system, what kind of engine the vessel had... battery fueled, internal combustion engine, a furnace or even more depressingly using sails or oars
"We have saved you from great peril, we do not know the Kathrinkas and therefore owe them no fealty. Therefore we will not seek to do you harm for speaking freely about them regardless of any negative comment. It is a logical conclusion."
"My colleague was inquiring as to whether this is an area you normally harvest. Is it part of your normal routine for your ship?" "Are the Kathrinkas of Recompense members of the Faithful or part of the Sodality. Or perhaps external to both those groups. Clarification on the chain of command and how tithes are managed would be useful." Xipil left out his suspicions were probably an example of surplus hereditary populous.
Xipil motions the others to the side leaving the abomination to distract the fishermen. "The damage was caused by an implosion, by it's size most likely a krak missile fired from a launcher. They're heavy but man portable, Imperial Guard forces usually have a secondary crewman to carry munitions and aid the gunner. The technology has considerable range for a man portable weapon and is not overly rare on the battlefield but I find it unusual to observe evidence of it here." He turns to the fishermen and speaks. "I seek further information. You, your vessel and your masters, additional data is required on these and particularly any enemies you and your masters have. Is there a trade war under way for example?"
Xipil considers whether the damage was caused by the wrath of the machine spirit, a genuine accident or sabotage.
Anneka cast blessing of fervor. Pure, unending, senseless fear washed over Drazh. Over, that was, due to a helpful halfling’s helpful song. Instead of fleeing he charged forward and slammed his hammer into the wendigo. There were no battlecries, but rather a cold seething hatred that crept into his heart. Both for what it had done to the dwarves in the cabin, but also for how close it had come to embarrassing him! Creydon grits his teeth against the awful din and his resolve holds - if barely! Seeing Azalia already struggling, Creydon calls and signs rapidly. "Kill it quick!", he urges, adding more of his perfomance-channelled magic! "Oh, don't be so dramatic," Marten says in response to the wendigo's howl, it not having affected him in the slightest. He mentally directs his giant hand and sword of force towards the creature.
The hand just can't seem to grasp the monstrous form and the sword of force doesn't connect. Azalia commences cowering with fear. She looks forward to the oncoming panic, and after that will simply be shaken for the rest of the hour. Quite uncharacteristically, Ferocia cowers in terror, right alongside Azalia. The towering form of the wendigo focuses it's attacks on Drazh.
Anneka -Cast blessing of fervor
It would be unfortunate to waste the mutants life so early in the mission... later would be more optimal. "They should have sturdy lines. They will need to be retrieved." "Once the line is secured I will operate as co pilot, it will require some precise manouevering." The Tech Priest gets ready to secure the line once it has been brought up to them.
Xipil examines the fishing vessel considering it's size and weight could they tug it towards the shore (he assumed they would have sufficient moorings) or is allowing the fishermen to board the only way forward... certainly they had the capacity and it was the easier option but saving the men's lives and their livelyhood would not doubt leave them firmly obligated to the group.
"We can land somewhere suitable and wait it out. Alternatively we can attempt to save some of the inhabitants of the wet navy vessel. They could be provide useful data for our ongoing investigation."
Xipil starts heading back towards the shuttle.
"While I still doubt the locals could cajole the machine spirit to allow access to the vehicle redeployment could be possible. Waiting until well after dark would reduce unwanted scrutiny. Such a caravan will likely stop over in a settlement or make camp with a significant number of fires." His eyes went back to the labourers pulling the wagons. "Overtaking them should not take long at their current pace."
Xipil listened to Daxio and had to focus. "We certainly got far closer to the local trade route than we expected, redeployment of assets is worth considering though if the incompetence of their agricultural skill is any indication they are quite secure." This man is intolerably difficult to understand, if I have to choose between saving him and another member of the group I will have to pick them- unless it's the abomination.
Xipil attempts to discern from this distance if the vehicles in the caravan are mobilised by machine spirits or inferior beasts of burden.
Xipil held back rather than close in. "You will not stand out as much as it but for now I should still maintain my distance. I will observe from here."
Xipil scowled at the farmer who had moved the cart laden down with plant matter they had mistaken for a natural occurance. Our cover has been thwarted by the incompetence of the locals pruning their art. Omnissiah preserve me. He did not approach.
I'm not sure why we're standing off nearby, I think the plan was for us to let the more discrete characters go first while we wait well away from the locals. I was examining the flaura and fauna to at least attempt to be useful. I probably should have raised this concern a while back.
Xipil made sure to keep his mechandrites still and retracted them under his robe... not that his other augmentations weren't telling but shouldn't be spotted at a distance. His bright blue robes hardly blended in with the crops. "Lets not get much closer. If the locals become hostile we can still render assistance, if they want our help they can signal us. They are the more discrete group."
"Please note as already detailed the blessings and processing leads to large amounts of spoilage. So a fraction of the potential yields compounded by ineffectual processing means the Imperium is being cheated by incompetence. I have seen the hubris of the surplus social class but even to me this is surprisingly irresponsible."
"Potentially for artistic or religious reasons the locals have arranged mixed crops in the fields to fashion huge Imperial symbols of Aquila and Adeptus Ministorum." He holds up his optical mechadendrite if anyone looks like they are about to interject at this point. "Why did we not notice them while landing you are thinking. The crops are ill suited to the local conditions using inferior techniques... The yields are a fraction of what they could be. This discovery alone is worth our trip, yields could be increased significantly and aid with the planets tithe to the Imperium as well as facilitate increased nutritional intake by the locals promoting growth in the population and increased productivity." "Additionally I deduce from this that the advice of the Priest of Mars to this world is likely being ignored or they are dead."
"This is intriguing..."
"I would suggest that with suitable padding the armour could be disguised as obesity. However given the local nutritional intake you would not pass for labourers."
"I would request you acquire a backpack for me. The most obvious part of my appearance is my mechandrites, if I can obfuscate them then at least without close scrutiny then I could theoretically pass unnoticed." "While you perform social reconnaisance I can make an examination of some of the local flaura and fauna. They might prove useful in construction material, sustenance or as assets such as poisons or medicines. If we have to remove an obstacle who would expect off worlders to use local poisons after all?"
...worth a shot. No harm done. If anyone wants to get parts for a gun or armour Xipil might be able to put it together for you. The parts are one step easier than that the item itself.
"I would suggest we set down in one of the isolated wooded areas and from there traverse the terrain before meeting up with one of the caravans. The travellers might prove to be talkative and let us gather some information before encountering anyone in an official capacity... though a small settlement would limit the spread of information regarding us."
I'm good to go. I'm going to conceal the hand cannon to some degree with the silencer on it inside his robes... they've probably never seen a tech priest so they hopefully wont find the bulge suspicious. He'll have the stub revolver on his hip... since he's clearly an off worlder then they're probably expecting him to have a weapon, best to conceal strength.
"I take it the shuttle has standard Imperial Navy markings? Would it be agreeable with the correct supplications to change it's heraldry temporarily."
"Agreed, my presence alone would be of note. However if we identify as Free Traders they will wonder where our ship is. We could inform people we are labourers but upon dedicated inquiry state that we're representatives from a free Captain who has sent us to look for opportunities as he is looking to alter his or her trade route. Far less attention than a Rogue Trader or agents of the Inquisition. We can be tight lipped about when we will be picked up and make vague allusions to our discrete trade mission having a medium length period of a few months." Turning back to the naval officer he adds. "A pilot would be unnecessary. I have conducted operations with the Imperial Navy and am a certified support craft pilot. I would not test my skills in a dogfight against an Imperial Navy pilot but I can set an Arvus Lighter down in a suitable area. An isolated location where it can lay unseen while we trek towards habitable areas might be best."
Actually an important question on how my quarantine worlder special rule works with us getting gear. Does it reduce the loss by two (to a minimum of one) once per item (this was my initial impression as each is an incident of renown loss) or will it happen just impact once per shopping trip. Secretive by Nature: Those who manage to leave a quarantine world learn how to keep secrets. Whenever the warband’s Subtlety would decrease, it decreases by 2 less (to a minimum reduction of 1). My impression is it affects once by each incident (in this case item) but it's not 100% clear. Per item is better in the long term as higher rarity items become needed but short term the reduction to to the shopping trip is better. ...I'm sure what my interpretation would be but since we can lose points without us being alerted to the fact I wanted to take the opportunity to highlight I have this ability.
"Understood. It would seem likely that vox technology would be extremely rare on this planet, consequently it would be more efficient if we were loaned a vox as well as times you would be in range. Failing this at least a frequency to contact you on as well as setting up certain code phrases to identify changes in operational status." "If we openly land on the planet that will attract no small amount of notice and questions regarding us. Would you have a means of deployment onto the planet without making this obvious?"
"I have several inquiries. Firstly. Will others be going down to the planet? Has contact been made by astropath or vox transmission to the planet? At what point will we be or are we currently in system/orbit?"
Lets pay the iron price! |