Sarvus re-emerges from the lift. The Skitarri cease their chatter and speak to him:
"A record of your access will be delivered to the chief Magos at sunrise. You are required to meet with him 24 hours after that time to review your downloads. Failure to do so will be reported to the Mechanicus authorities within the Imperium."
Data extracted, you both exit the palace the way you came. As you loop back to the plaza you see a veritable regiment of guardsmen re-entering the palace now that the gala is over. You both know the skitarri will not report your visit to the palace guards - you have been in an out without the knowledge of anyone but the Mechanicus.
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Congratualtions. You have successfully won over every member of the defence council.
Once you conclude your business at the gala you return to the mansion provided to you without incident.
Well done, Lord-Captain, I believe we have them all. How did the conversation with Lady Orleans go, Jarvis? Seemed like it ended well enough.
Iacton remains silent but does allow himself to wear a slightly pleased expression, which looks out of place on his normally stoic face.
It is now time to move on to the planning and co-ordinating of forces, we have much to do and little time to do it in I suspect.
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Finally back at the Mansion, Tristan swiftly attempts to organise some celebratory drinks and waits for the return of his command crew. Once everyone has gathered, he eagerly awaits the Enginseer's report on their progress. Almost as an afterthought, he asks the sharp-eyed Eli to check the room for listening devices; he wants the discussion to be for his command crew'sears and no other.
"Lord Captain: success:: Imperial-pattern transport ship: identification Spectre: exited the warp three months ago: anchor for one week:: One ship passed within hailing range: 010000110110111101101101011011010110000101101110011001000110010101110010001 000000101001001100101011110010110111001101111011011000110010000100111011100 11 flagship defence monitor:: No change of course: did not hail: within detection range::"
Listening the Enginseer's report, Lucius adds his own assessment of how the infiltration went. "There was one unfortunate casualty, but with the exception of the unlucky Private Calith, infiltration and extraction went smoothly."
"It seems you were successful Lord-captain, and the information On this ship might prove useful. A ship does not just randomly arrive in system and then just leave. Maybe we should send a crew to investigate the area"
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"It seems you were successful Lord-captain, and the information On this ship might prove useful. A ship does not just randomly arrive in system and then just leave. Maybe we should send a crew to investigate the area"
Tristan frowns a little upon hearing of a casualty.
I suppose it was a risk of the operation; it can't be traced back to us I hope? Your right Jarrion, it is most likely significant. What are the implications of the event? Suggestions please gentlemen, bearing in mind that it was obviously met by Commander Reynolds vessel...
"It is possible that the ship might remain within range of the planet." He says starring out the window at the lights, as they spread across the landscape like stars upon the ground.
"I could return to the ship, Start a search of the area and try to find out just what it was doing out there. I am useless upon this rock, and something such as the hunt for this ship should not be left to underlings." He says turning away from the window
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something such as the hunt for this ship should not be left to underlings." He says turning away from the window
Agreed, but I wish to consider the implications further. It may not be the ship itself that is important. Is it possible that Commander Reynolds is holding back knowledge from us, or knew of the attack before the rest of Damaris? Perhaps cargo was sent from one ship to another via a shuttle? What was said between the two ships? These are the things we must consider, among other possibilities I am hoping you will all think of. It may be that the answers truly lie aboard Reynold's vessel, rather than in the void.
We can come up with theories all night long, but at the end we'll know nothing more than we know now about Commander Reynolds. Which is nothing.
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Hrmmm... It may be our best option nevertheless. I'm just thinking out loud here, working out the possibilities. I believe that this hidden information may be the key to some greater edge in our fight for Damaris. Thus we should divide our efforts. Myself and Commander Kage will be needed at the Defence Council and I hope you will add your expertise to ours, Master-At-Arms Azrael.
Tristan helped himself to some more fine wine, taking a relaxed sip before continuing.
The rest of you- you should decide for yourselves where you believe your efforts will be most useful, at the Defence Council or investigating this strange occurance. Jarrion, you could use your talents in space on pretence of a patrol for the Ork vanguard.
"I must report to the Magos:: Will inquire into disposition of Tech::"
Analysis of liquid suggests 'alcohol': a substance used by officials to influence policy and young people to procreate:: Unnecessary chemical: rejected for system use::
Sarvus will quietly stand to the side after having given his report. Seeing the informal air of the discussion but aware of the Captain's stern tendencies, he awaits a break in the conversation.
"Permission to leave: Captain::"
I require protein::
"That was my thoughts as well Lord-Captain, with your leave I shall return to the Steadfast at once." Jarrion says, eager to be off this rock and back into the void, back to doing something useful.
Sarvus, you meet with the cheif magos at some point over the course of the day. You outline your falsified queries and watch as he begins to check over the data core presented to him by the Skitarri. Your fleshy components become increasingly nervous as he navigates into deep and deeper layers of storage strata. You realize he's going to find the sub-archive where you redirected the edit logs...your ruse is about to fail...then the emotionless voice of the cogenitor-servitor rings out:
"Requested portion requires higher resolution probe...please install correct apparatus"
The chief magos emits the binary tone for agitation
"Unnessicary...core has been analysed to an acceptable level. Data transaction approved. May the omnissiah guide your efforts, Explorator."
Your final line of defence was enough
Commander Kage prepares himself for the Defense Council meeting.
Iacton thinks long and hard, either prospect seems as good. On one hand he should be at his captain’s side to record the events of the council, on the other hand, recording the findings there is also important.
Unable to come to a conclusion on his own he decides to let fate guide him and flips a coin.
As the coin toss is resolved, Iacton nods to himself.
Duty before all.
"Of course Captain, I would be glad to accompany you to the Defense Council meeting. And there should be no links to between the casualty and ourselves, but to make sure I will thoroughly sterilize and clean my weapons tonight."
Rising early to run through his PT for the day, Lucius garbs himself in his dress uniform, any and all sources of metal cleaned and polished to a bright gleam for the upcoming meeting.
Council Delegation
Damaris city is pulsing with life as your ground car glides along the overpasses that are closed for it's use. You can see traffic pressed into the streets below you and hear the faint sounds of frantic industry through the tinted windows. It seems the legions of foremen and administrators are preparing adequately even though their lords are not. Of course, today you are going to change that.
Even though you have set eyes on the palace several times now you are still stirred slightly by it's grandeur, made all the more spectacular by the knowledge that it exists within the wilderness of the Expanse. You enter the same doors and pass the same guards, but the atmosphere has changed. In the council chamber the sense is stronger still. Fear has been replaced by hope, and frustration by determination.
Unlike last time, the throne-like chairs arrayed around the hololith projector are quiet. The council members all look to you as you enter. They are expectant.
A map is projected onto the hololith before you. A 3D image of the cityscape you just passed over is picked out in red light and rotates slowly
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The red hologram of the city fades to the smoke-shrouded view of it from the window of a shuttlecraft
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Exploration Team
You surge back up through the atmosphere. Despite your wealth, there is still no way of making a launch into orbit comfortable. The g-forces finally slack off and the grav plates at your free ease into life. The Steadfast is where you left her. Defence monitors drift too and from the Bulwark that she is moored to. She is fully half the size of the mighty station. In accordance with your commands, her mighty engines have been coaxed into life as, once again, she is readied for a mission she's not strictly speaking designed for.
Your shuttle docks, and you make your way through the gold-line commander's byways to the bridge, surverying you space-born empire as you go. When you finally do reach the bridge, there is a pause.
The captain's throne stands before you expectantly. The ship cannot get underway until someone occupies it.
Once back abord the ship Jarrion orders his underlings to plot a coarse to the area the ship was last seen.
"Enginseer Prime Sarvus" He says "You are the Ranking Officer,the Throne is yours. With your leave I shall start scanning the area" He says and makes his way to his own throne, once seated he orders his underlings to obey the Enginseer Prime's orders and closes his eyes as he looks into the void with eyes mere humans could never understand.
Per 41, Range 4'000 km
Enginseer Prime Sarvus moves to the command throne and hesitates before it's bulk. With a quick bob of the hood the Tech-Priest ascends to the command throne and allows a heretical thought to cross the remains of his flesh and blood brain.
If I believe in dying gods I would wonder at the parallels::
"What is the current disposition of ships in the system:: Plot a course towards the following coordinates::"
Iacton busies himself with accepting various reports, compiling them and jotting down the information on a data slate for easy perusal.
"All systems are working within acceptable parameters Acting Captain Sarvus, all stations are checking in."
The Steadfast makes her stately way into the void. As is always the case, no-one but the birdge crew have any idea where the ship is headed. You travel for three days without incident, until you reach the point the flagship and the spectre made their rendevous.
The Steadfast begins scanning
"Nothing on Augers, sir"
"Direct scans on nearby asteroids are all negative"
"Detecting no warp drive residue or spatial anomalies"
The sensors officer turns from his workstation and addresses Sarvus
"I'm sorry, lord, there's nothing here"
As the crew tend to their machines and scrutinize their signals, Jarrion stands quietly and stares out of the ship's diamond windows. As the ship vainly spews out active auspex emissions, he pulls back his headband and simply...notices.
Rogue Trader Assets
2 companies of house troops (on par with infantry)
4 companies of mustered armsmen (weaker than house troops)
Paramilitary Assets
2 Magistratum Enforcer Cadres (riot police)
1 Magistrum Suppression Cadre (heavy riot police)
2 Skitarii Cohorts (fairly weak, but fearless)
Military Assets
8 infantry battalions
2 tank companies
2 artillary companies
Orbital Assets
The Starweaver - Orleans' frigate
The Ordained Destiny - Blitz' cruiser
The Aegis - Locke's light cruiser
4 system defence vessels
The Bulwark
Taking a moment to collect his thoughts, he steps forward confidently, now knowing that this battle is not going to be won in the void, but rather dirtside, which is where Lucius knows how to fight. Cutting through the formalities, he begins to outline a basic plan, going off of the idea that a simple plan that utilizes every single available resource, should be the most effective given the lack of time to prepare.
As I am sure that you are all aware of, our defense shall begin with the eradication of the Ork's air superiority. By using the Steadfast as bait, we will draw away the Ork warlords, and their associated raiding squadrons, that think to to gain greater glory for themselves by destroying or capturing what will likely appear to be a ship filled with refugees. The Steadfast and the Aegis will then proceed to destroy these opportunists with their combined firepower. Meanwhile, the remaining ships in orbit will concentrate their fire on the troop transports that will be dropping to the surface, hammering them from above, while the Anti-Air batteries and the interceptors that we have available to us will act as the anvil to that hammer. We may not be able to prevent the Orks from making landfall, but once they have ground beneath their feet and are facing our infantry, they will be far harder to eradicate than while they are vulnerable during their descent. Once they have a sizable force on the ground our tactics must change. As we have no bombers available to us, our ships ought to concentrate their fire on any remaining ships and leave their ground forces to our armor and artillery. But I will get to that in a moment.
Once again, they have the advantage of numbers, but fortunately the builders of this city were wise and built it to be easily defended. We can help alleviate this advantage some by utilizing the civilian population. While they should not be manning the walls, as without the appropriate training they will be as a much a liability to us as they are an asset, if not more so. What they can do is act as support; I suggest that any able-bodied men and women be allowed to volunteer to act as support for the military forces in whatever manner they can. Essential personnel, such as doctors, medics, nurses, engineers, etc should be encouraged to volunteer to help support the war effort. Ideally, we should get a large number of these essential personnel to aid in the defense, as this is their home too, but if there is some reason that we are lacking in the required numbers, I suggest imposing some manner of conscription, stressing the fact that these Orks will not leave a single man, woman or child alive should they succeed, and that the fate of Damaris could easily hinge on the efforts of a single soul, be he a soldier, a doctor, or just an average citizen helping as best he can.
As for the actual military defenses, once more we should rely upon our superior technological advantage. By using our artillery to smash them to pieces before they can get too close to the city, and then using the tank divisions to meet them outside of the city, where the armor will have the greatest mobility and effectiveness, and hopefully break their forces there. The majority of the infantry, the house troops, and the armsmen from the Steadfast should man the walls and prevent the Orks from entering the city proper at any cost. The remaining infantry and the Magistratum forces should be distributed within the city proper, as they will know the terrain of the city and can use it to its maximum effectiveness. As for the Skitarri forces, I am afraid that I am unfamiliar with their capabilities, but assuming that they will be effective as light infantry, they should be among the first defenders for the city itself, as their fearlessness ought to help keep the other troops from breaking. With the Emperor's blessing, this strategy of relentless assault with ship, artillery, and armor followed by withdrawing and letting them break themselves on our walls should prove highly effective.
From his own throne, Jarrion opens his human eyes as the glow from his third eye is fading. "Enginseer Prime Sarvus, I have found something" He announces. "A corpse floats not a little over 3'ooo Kilometers off the ships port side. We should send someone to retrieve it. Do you not agree?'
"You are correct 010011100110000101110110011010010110011101100001011101000110111101110010001 000000100111001101111011100110111010001110010011000010111011001101001:: Launch a shuttle to recover the corpse:: Are you able to ascertain the race of the corpse 010011100110000101110110011010010110011101100001011101000110111101110010: will we need containment measures::"
Something has come up, now we will see if this trip was worth it.
"Acting-captain, this corpse might be the remains of a space battle, if so, the survivors might still be in the vicinity, hidden and ready to strike from an ambush."
Within the confines of his hood Sarvus examines the Seneschal. If he still had a mouth it would be curled in a sneer, but the vox-grill in it's place betrays no such thought.
Such is my purpose in sending expendable crewmen instead of the whole ship::
"Our scanners would have found such:: We will exercise full caution however: I have no need for the Captain's wrath::"
"Due dilligence is the shield that guard us from the enemies of man, you are wise Acting Captain."
He almost sneers at Havelocks words. Like he could not have sensed the remains of a battle. He instead responds to Saevus. "At such a distance, No Enginseer Prime Sarvus. We should however send someone to run tests upon the corpse wile well away from the ship. In case it needs destroyed from a distance."
"Agreed and so ordered 010011100110000101110110011010010110011101100001011101000110111101110010::"