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Green Intern
Dec 29, 2008

Loon, Crazy and Laughable

Well there's always the risk of coming out into real space in a horrible position, light years away from inhabited space, or some other horrible circumstance due to the unintended and unknown location of the ship currently. Better to do it in a controlled manner though.

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Beer4TheBeerGod
Aug 23, 2004
Exciting Lemon

Wentley posted:

Sorry, that's what I was getting at. Tell them that if we are right, we are saved from disaster, and if we are wrong, there is no danger.

Unless I am misunderstanding exiting the warp. Which I may be.

An emergency drop is not something to be taken lightly. The forces acting on a ship thousands of meters in length require careful analytics and calculations, not to mention the risk of appearing in a planet or arriving inside the event horizon of a black hole. You will be asking them to do something which takes tens of hours and telling them to do it immediately.

Outrail
Jan 4, 2009

www.sapphicrobotica.com
:roboluv: :love: :roboluv:
The likelihood of appearing even a few light years from a small piece of space junk, much less near a system or black hole or whatever is so small it's not even worth thinking about. Like one in billions.

Flying blind into an Asteroid field has a one in millions chance of hitting something.

Drop out asap.

Green Intern
Dec 29, 2008

Loon, Crazy and Laughable

Never tell me the odds.

Hexenritter
May 20, 2001


Here in the Warp, we're adrift and at the mercy of our Gellar fields and reality itself trying to force The Worst poo poo™ into being. Probability alone dictates that dropping into realspace is the safer option.

Beer4TheBeerGod
Aug 23, 2004
Exciting Lemon

Hexenritter posted:

Here in the Warp, we're adrift and at the mercy of our Gellar fields and reality itself trying to force The Worst poo poo™ into being. Probability alone dictates that dropping into realspace is the safer option.

The question is how do you convince the Navigators to do that? You're convinced that Imminent Doom is at hand, but you haven't come up with a compelling approach for them.

If you guys need some more guidance I can provide a few options. Stuff like "Use Logic" or "The Direct Approach" or even "Bypass Everyone and Do It Yourself Before You All Die".

Nothingtoseehere
Nov 11, 2010


Beer4TheBeerGod posted:

The question is how do you convince the Navigators to do that? You're convinced that Imminent Doom is at hand, but you haven't come up with a compelling approach for them.

If you guys need some more guidance I can provide a few options. Stuff like "Use Logic" or "The Direct Approach" or even "Bypass Everyone and Do It Yourself Before You All Die".

I was trying something along the former lines: something like "I have, 10 minutes ago, been released from being held in a status field for the last year: Once I had left the field, I headed directly towards to the navigator chamber: ignoring everything else along the way: If I had anything but utmost conviction that I had seen something that would endanger the ship: would I be so insistent that you pull out the Warp now?

Hexenritter
May 20, 2001


Beer4TheBeerGod posted:

The question is how do you convince the Navigators to do that? You're convinced that Imminent Doom is at hand, but you haven't come up with a compelling approach for them.

If you guys need some more guidance I can provide a few options. Stuff like "Use Logic" or "The Direct Approach" or even "Bypass Everyone and Do It Yourself Before You All Die".

How about the diplomatic approach?

"I am the Lord-Sire and Master of this vessel and all aboard it, but I would rather not march down here issuing demands and proclamations. Instead I come to you as a friend, absent station or expectation and would consider it a personal favour if you would indulge me on this occasion due to the dire and imminent threat I believe awaits us here in the Warp. I would also owe you a personal favour to be claimed at a future date.'

Beer4TheBeerGod
Aug 23, 2004
Exciting Lemon

nothing to seehere posted:

I was trying something along the former lines: something like "I have, 10 minutes ago, been released from being held in a status field for the last year: Once I had left the field, I headed directly towards to the navigator chamber: ignoring everything else along the way: If I had anything but utmost conviction that I had seen something that would endanger the ship: would I be so insistent that you pull out the Warp now?

Ah, that makes more sense.

Hexenritter posted:

How about the diplomatic approach?

"I am the Lord-Sire and Master of this vessel and all aboard it, but I would rather not march down here issuing demands and proclamations. I would instead consider it a personal favour if you would indulge me on this occasion due to the dire and imminent threat I believe awaits us here in the Warp. I would also owe you a personal favour to be claimed at a future date.'

The Adeptus Mechanicus might have a problem with you declaring yourself Master of their vessel, but I like the idea.

poor life choice
Jul 21, 2006

Beer4TheBeerGod posted:


The Navigators were at least amusing. Mutants blessed with the ability to see through the warp, the noble members of the Navis Nobilite are responsible for guiding the ships of the Imperium across the void. As befitting such a prestigious position Navigators were also invariably polished conversationalists. Clad in robes of crimson and blue, the Navigators of House Visscher were not well known outside the Navis Nobilite in spite of their ancient lineage. You recall from what you gathered during your time with the Inquisition that House Visscher was notorious for their acquisition of knowledge, whether by virtue of being aboard a vessel of note or through agents gathering what they could. Years ago they had a very public falling out with the Winterscale Rogue Trader Dynasty after a Visscher agent was found accessing a sacred data vault. In spite of this they are considered one of the best in the Koronus Expanse, and it’s no wonder an Explorator Vessel would carry them aboard.

You sit down at the table, admiring once again the perfect inlay of platinum and some kind of ancient ebony plant material that created the symbol of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Around the cog the other parties sit. You nod to Mesaz Larg, the pale faced master of the Astropath choir, and are unsurprised when he looks in your directly blankly. Across the table a trio of Visscher Navigators chatter. The elder Navigator, Visum, acknowledges you respectfully before returning his attention to his peers Videre and Ocul. Rast sits next to you, already consuming some type of animal leg with reckless abandon, while Cornelius sits next to him. The atmosphere is one of comfortable exchange and within minutes the conversation started by the Navigators extends to the entirety of the table.

“Emperor’s Grace, I have never seen it outside like this,” says Visum, “the Astronomicon is barely visible from the raging storms surrounding us.”

Videre and Ocul nod, clearly the only ones capable of following. Ocul replies in a low baritone, saying “I don’t like it. Every time we contemplate dropping out to catch our bearings, the Warp gives us a glimpse of the Light of Holy Terra. Just enough to keep going.”

You cut into your meal, careful to skewer the carefully prepared morsel with your fork so that it doesn’t try to escape the knife. Havaartian shrimp were a delicacy when prepared raw with a light seasoning, but presented a challenge if you weren’t prepared. The screams were slightly disconcerting but nobody paid them any mind; if they were dumb enough to be caught then they deserved to be eaten. You silence yours with the flat of your knife and continue the conversation. “Is this sort of thing common?”

All three Navigators shake their head. Videre attacks her shrimp with slightly less skill than you, but still manages to capture it before it escapes off her plate. “The Warp is often unpredictable,” she before taking a bite, “but this route is known. The phenomena is recent and incredibly localized, essentially a microburst to use a meteorological term.” Cornelius takes a moment to explain the concept of a sudden burst of water coming from the sky. You had heard of rain but it still seemed impossible.

Ocul shakes his head. “Microbursts don’t follow you or push you along. This is intelligence. The work of the Enemy,” he says before making a sign of the Aquila.

Videre smirks. “God-Emperor be praised then for His harnessing of the works of Chaos, for we are making excellent time. If there is intelligence, it is to our benefit. I say it’s the Emperor’s Blessing, a sign that He favors us and wishes to speed us along our journey.”

The next voice shocks you. “Be careful of what you say, dear Navigator, for there is nothing Holy about that which pursues us.” Mesaz’s voice is dry, like sun-scorched sand rustling down a dune, and that was the most he had spoken since introductions had been made weeks ago. The others in the room look equally shocked as he continued. “I may not see the Warp as you do, but I know the presence of evil. At best we can pray that the expediency is an unanticipated benefit. At worse we are being hastened to our doom.”

For them this was ages ago, but to us it was yesterday. I think we should appeal to the line of thought about this being a trap, or at the least something malevolent, dangerous and unpredictable. Frame it around our unique experience if they're so knowledge-thirsty.

Would offering them work with our resurgent*, unstoppable* and hilariously wealthy* Rogue Trader family be incentive enough to pull the emergency break when going 80 on the highway? We'll need Navigators anyway, yeah?

*results not guaranteed

Outrail
Jan 4, 2009

www.sapphicrobotica.com
:roboluv: :love: :roboluv:
That's a pretty good one in my books.

I think calling in the favor and asking, as someone who is certain that doom is imminent as a product of being held for a year in the warp and managed to gain some fairly unique insight into the situation, that we drop the gently caress out of the Warp right the gently caress now for fucks sake. If it turns out the threat was real, I would consider that I am still owed a favor as I just saved your shiny metal assholes from a warp wave colonic irrigation of epic proportions.

Outrail fucked around with this message at 01:18 on Feb 22, 2016

Kai Tave
Jul 2, 2012
Fallen Rib
"If I'm right you can take all the credit for it. If I'm wrong then I'll take all the blame. Deal?"

Hexenritter
May 20, 2001


Beer4TheBeerGod posted:

Ah, that makes more sense.


The Adeptus Mechanicus might have a problem with you declaring yourself Master of their vessel, but I like the idea.

typical Rogue Trader arrogance or typist slip, you decide!



poor life choice posted:

For them this was ages ago, but to us it was yesterday. I think we should appeal to the line of thought about this being a trap, or at the least something malevolent, dangerous and unpredictable. Frame it around our unique experience if they're so knowledge-thirsty.

Definitely this, too. Explain the concept of frogs in hot water and the peril of becoming complacent regarding your surroundings.

Hexenritter fucked around with this message at 01:27 on Feb 22, 2016

Hexenritter
May 20, 2001


edit: double.

Blasphemaster
Jul 10, 2008

Headbutt the big red BACK TO REALITY button totally by accident.

Beer4TheBeerGod
Aug 23, 2004
Exciting Lemon

Blasphemaster posted:

Headbutt the big red BACK TO REALITY button totally by accident.

Fun fact; every Ork vessel has a very large red button located on the bridge. It is wired directly into the main drive core, and it exclusively exists so that the vessel can GO FASTA when the Kaptain makes it so by punching said button very hard.

Loel
Jun 4, 2012

"For the Emperor."

There was a terrible noise.
There was a terrible silence.



##Vote
1. Plan Hexen

Beer4TheBeerGod
Aug 23, 2004
Exciting Lemon
2-10: Motivation via Desperation
Navigatoreum, Machina Scientia

“Because I’m here instead of taking a long shower after spending the better part of a year staring into the maw of a being of unspeakable horror, that’s why!”

The aggressive approach works. Visum’s façade, normally a combination of bemusement and superiority (being essentially untouchable while aboard a starship will do that) transitions into a shock of fear as he takes a step back. The Navis House guards tighten their grips on their weapons; yours do not. You press in the attack and follow up with a shot from a different vector.

“You feel it, don’t you? The same onset of evil we talked about at the last meal we had together. That pervasive threat stalking us from behind the shadows.” You stare down the Navigator. “Well it’s real. That threat is out there. I cannot explain the logic or physics of it, but it’s as real as I am.”

Visum blanches, but remains unconvinced. “Prosper I cannot convey to you the magnitude of what you demand. This is not your ship, yet you are asking me to risk the lives of tens of thousands on your word alone. We could arrive in an asteroid field, or Emperor forbid the heart of a star itself. The Warp does not play nice on the best of days, and this is turning in to one of the worst.”

The last piece falls into place. Your eyes shoot wide. “The Astronomicon is missing, isn’t it Visum?”

Visum nods, solemnly.

“Are we moving?”

He shakes his head. “We remain becalmed, yet the Warp rages around us to an extent I’ve never seen. Still we remain unaffected.”

“We are safe now only because the Warp has not reached us yet! Don’t you see? Mesaz and the astropaths cannot communicate because they are shouting in a vacuum. The Astronomicon is gone because we are no longer protected and the Empyrean is rushing back. The Sea of Souls will crush us!”

“Prosper, that’s simply an absu-“

“Visum I swear on the wealth of the Prosper Dynasty that we will all die if you do not get us out right this instant.”

The Navigator swallows, hard, and bows his head. “Very well.” You watch him grasp an amulet around his neck, an image of the Eye of the House Navis Nobilite onset against the Aquila of the Imperium, and press directly on the eyeball.

The most horrific sound you have ever heard fills your ears. The ship, a vessel kilometers long and weighing millions of tons, shudders like the plaything of a child. You see Visum collapse onto one knee and look up at you, a mixture of shock and terror on his face. He stands and rushes back into the sanctum of the Navigators. Without thinking you follow him in. The House guards are too startled to respond and you rush past a hallway lined with bulkhead after bulkhead until you reach the inner chamber.

You watch as Visum joins Videre and Ocul, all three surrounding a glowing sphere displaying a constantly shifting array of figures and shapes. Above them hovers the ghostly outline of the Machina Scientia, divided into numerous segments that you guess represent areas where the Gellar fields are stronger or weaker. You note with some thankfulness that your current location is by far the most heavily protected. Suddenly the areas near the fore and aft of the ship go red. Ocul glances up and presses on the sphere to manipulate it in some way. Visum ignores her, staring intently at a portion of the sphere that seems to be getting brighter.

“Dumping emergency reserves,” says Ocul tersely. The others are so focused that they don’t even nod in acknowledgement. The previously red areas flicker blue briefly, then flash again to red. “Reserves drained. Failure imminent.”

Visum shakes his head. “The reserves were dumped into the Warp Engine.”

You say a prayer to the Emperor and hope you aren’t too late. You see several of the segments at the very edges of the ship go black. One, then two, then several at once. In the distance you know bulkheads are slamming shut, crushing those unlucky enough to be in the way in a paltry attempt to preserve the rest of the ship. The remaining Gellar fields reform, yet more fields collapse.

Visum shouts “Engine charged!” before slamming his fist into a portion of the sphere. The universe goes sideways for a moment as the Machina Scientia rips itself out of the Warp and back into reality. The jolt is sudden enough to make you stumble, and you grimace as you see Videre land hard and her arm bend the wrong way. The others remain upright and a medicae is quickly summoned.

You look up again at the display of the Scientia. Several regions remain red, their contents having been exposed to the raw Warp and likely requiring months of purging and cleansing. Most of the damage is in the plasma drives and stores to the fore, but you note with relief that your own holdings remain clear. You turn back to the others to see Visum staring at you.

“I thank the Emperor for your expediency, Prosper, and curse my own foolish head for not responding quicker. Had we waited any longer the reserves that charged the Warp Engine would have instead been diverted to reinforcing the Gellar fields.” The consequence of such an event were obvious.

You nod and suddenly discover just how exhausted you truly are. “I had to convince my own men first, Visum. There is no fault here. We’re alive, praise the Emperor, and clearly not inside a sun.”

Visum forces a laugh, but you can tell the last few moments have taken their toll on him as well. He sighs and turns back to the control sphere. “I suppose I should find out where we are…” he says before pausing.

You glance at him. “Yes?”

“Well you don’t need my help to know where you are. Don’t you recognize your own star?”

Visum waves his hand and the walls surrounding the sanctum turns translucent, revealing the glorious darkness of space beyond. You quickly realize that what you are seeing is not the actual space, as the Navigatoreum is located deep within the ship, but likely remote images. Still the view is impressive, especially the bright star in the distance. A halo of asteroids surrounds it and you see light gleaming off of countless specks.

You gasp, the familiar image coming back from childhood. You’ve been here before.

“Welcome home, Lord Prosper.”

Visum manipulates the sphere and the view among the walls shifts, racing across space to come into orbit of a planet. You see the red seas and golden shores of Prosperity’s Reach, the last major holding of your dynasty and the key to your redemption. Your eyes search for the colony itself but after a few minutes you realize that it’s on the other side of the planet. You grit your teeth in frustration but will the emotion away. You’ve waited quite some time, a few more hours won’t matter.

“Is the colony okay? Anything to report?”

Visum shrugs. He’s a Navigator of one of the greatest Houses in the Navis Nobilite, not a secretary, and you quickly realize that your welcome has indeed been worn out. You nod, receiving one in return from the others, and walk out the armored hallway to return to your retinue. A mutual sense of relief pervades the air and you find yourself sharing the experience. You find Cornelius with Rast, floating with Crispy.

You look at your seneschal.

“Well?”

Cornelius nods and begins to talk. “The most immediate information is that we’re here, the colony is fine, the exhumation is proceeding as planned, and you remain in control of untold levels of wealth. Locally the Machina Scientia has suffered significant damage to the fore and aft sections of the ship and purging operations will likely take months.”

“How does that affect our timeline?”

“Not significantly. The Mechanicus are extremely efficient at removing corruption from within their hallowed halls, and the plasma scoops are located amidships. The loss of a year in stasis is likely more of an issue, particularly given that we’ve been out of communication for the entire time, but the holdings of the Dynasty are… condensed to put it nicely and our institution is well versed in surviving extended periods of time independently.”

“That reminds me, any messages for me?”

Cornelius chuckles. “None that require your attention before you get some rest. In fact there’s only one matter which I would like to address. Wrath Incarnate remains aboard this vessel, and the Magos has offered to keep it safe while we launch. He is concerned that the massive vibrations and power surges stemming from wresting a battlecruiser from the planet’s gravity well could damage the weapon.”

“Do we have to make this decision now?”

Your seneschal shakes his head. “No, it can wait. But preparing such a device for transport and installation will require a significant amount of time, and I would rather not keep the Machina Scientia in orbit when they could be gathering plasma.”

What is your response?

A. “The weapon is ours and it will come with us. Terra’s Resurrection is already woefully undergunned and I would see that remedied as quickly as possible.”
B. “Allow the Adeptus to watch over it. An installation outside of gravity’s grasp will be safer anyway.”
C. “This is something that can wait until we have a better understanding of the situation.”
D. Something else?

sullat
Jan 9, 2012
B . "Ha, he wants to study it longer, does he? Perhaps he can unlock its secrets, use them for his own advancement? Was an additional year not enough? Very well, he may continue to study it, but when our ship reaches orbit, he can oversee its installation personally."

Outrail
Jan 4, 2009

www.sapphicrobotica.com
:roboluv: :love: :roboluv:

sullat posted:

B . "Ha, he wants to study it longer, does he? Perhaps he can unlock its secrets, use them for his own advancement? Was an additional year not enough? Very well, he may continue to study it, but when our ship reaches orbit, he can oversee its installation personally."

Yeah this. Make it clear that we have no problem letting him study it, and if he wants to give us a pet cogboy station a few tech priests with our ship to further study the weapon and assist in it's function for a mutually beneficial relationship that would be acceptable.

JT Jag
Aug 30, 2009

#1 Jaguars Sunk Cost Fallacy-Haver

sullat posted:

B . "Ha, he wants to study it longer, does he? Perhaps he can unlock its secrets, use them for his own advancement? Was an additional year not enough? Very well, he may continue to study it, but when our ship reaches orbit, he can oversee its installation personally."
This.

Hexenritter
May 20, 2001


Toot toot, all aboard Plan sullat

Blasphemaster
Jul 10, 2008

Jumping on the Plan Sullat :bandwagon:.

poor life choice
Jul 21, 2006
Would they have to hop back into the Warp to get wherever they would gather the ship's fuel? I'd feel better about it if they didn't.

They've been good to us but I don't know that I trust the Mechanicus to return it. We are dangling powerful archaotech right in front of their mechadendrites and asking the amoral robomen to give it back.

Protest vote of A

Beer4TheBeerGod
Aug 23, 2004
Exciting Lemon

poor life choice posted:

Would they have to hop back into the Warp to get wherever they would gather the ship's fuel? I'd feel better about it if they didn't.

They've been good to us but I don't know that I trust the Mechanicus to return it. We are dangling powerful archaotech right in front of their mechadendrites and asking the amoral robomen to give it back.

Protest vote of A

The plasma scoops basically harvest the appropriate resources from a nearby gas giant. Fortunately there's a viable one within the system.

And yes, there is a risk that the Mechanicus could justify keeping it. After all the Resurrection is woefully undergunned.

Green Intern
Dec 29, 2008

Loon, Crazy and Laughable

Prosper did just save the entire ship's bacon, so I would hope that gives enough leverage for an honest arrangement. At the very least, they won't willfully sabotage the lance. They can consider the extra time to study it as a bonus/favor.

B

Beer4TheBeerGod
Aug 23, 2004
Exciting Lemon

Green Intern posted:

Prosper did just save the entire ship's bacon, so I would hope that gives enough leverage for an honest arrangement. At the very least, they won't willfully sabotage the lance. They can consider the extra time to study it as a bonus/favor.

B

You are 100% certain that the Adeptus would rather die than sabotage such a perfect embodiment of the Omnissiah.

The Lone Badger
Sep 24, 2007

We've had good relations so far. Let's continue to trust them act as if we trust them for now. B

frogge
Apr 7, 2006


B Let them study it. For now.

Loel
Jun 4, 2012

"For the Emperor."

There was a terrible noise.
There was a terrible silence.



Good stuff :3:

Kira Akashiya
Feb 2, 2013
B

dont be mean to me
May 2, 2007

I'm interplanetary, bitch
Let's go to Mars


sullat posted:

B . "Ha, he wants to study it longer, does he? Perhaps he can unlock its secrets, use them for his own advancement? Was an additional year not enough? Very well, he may continue to study it, but when our ship reaches orbit, he can oversee its installation personally."

Verbatim, why not.

Beer4TheBeerGod
Aug 23, 2004
Exciting Lemon
2-11: Instruments
Personal Quarters, Machina Scientia

“Ha, he wants to study it longer, does he? Perhaps he can unlock its secrets, use them for his own advancement? Was an additional year not enough? Very well, he may continue to study it, but when our ship reaches orbit, he can oversee its installation personally."

Cornelius nods. “Of course, my Lord, I’m sure he will find those terms more than agreeable.” With that your seneschal and the remainder of your party leaves, leaving you finally alone to your thoughts, a shower, and a much needed rest. You realize with bemusement that it’s been nearly a year since the last time you indulged in either and you decide that both shall be relished. It would be months before the Machina Scientia was repaired and in position to obtain the necessary plasma, and months more before the Resurrection had a chance of being exhumed. A few hours to yourself wouldn’t be out of the question.

Naturally an indicator light chooses this time to blink on your comm. You consider ignoring it but select the activation rune anyway; anyone who had access to your personal communications knew well enough not to disturb you. Cornelius appears on the screen, looking no different from when he left your quarters a few minutes ago. “What?” you say with a hint of irritation.

“Begging your pardon, Lord Prosper, but I would never forgive myself for letting this opportunity pass. I understand you are tired and worn and would not normally bother you.”

“Then out with it, Cornelius, in the name of the Emperor and all that blocks me and rest” you snap.

“Of course. Please open your shutters.”

You manipulate the controls and watch as the heavy shields protecting your quarters retract from a massive viewport into the void. In the distance you see Prosperity’s Reach and your exhaustion is momentarily abated as the golden light of the star, your star, rises over your planet. The glass instantly darkens to protect your eyes and you recognize landmarks you vaguely remember in dreams and the tomes of your history. You grab the controls and the window shifts, the form of the glass itself altering to create perfect optics that allow you to focus on what you know to be there. The colony comes into view and you find your jaw agape as you see it’s real.



Terra’s Resurrection lays on the ground, covered in scaffolds and cranes. Titan-sized constructors, visible even this distance far from orbit, tread with unnatural grace as they carry panels and equipment. Elsewhere in the shadows of the ships kilometer-long hull you glimpse flashes of light, arcs of incandescent brilliance that could be plasma welders. And overhead a flight of lighters cuts through the air in a precise formation. It was real, all of it.

It dawns on you that, in spite of all the work you’ve done to get here, the actual mechanics of exhuming a megaton warship were something you hadn’t actually questioned. You start to look around the ship, wondering if retro-thrusters or some kind of contragravity device would be used, but the lines of the ship looked unchanged save for all of the construction equipment and overhead cranes. Four crane lines look particularly high; two in the front and two in the rear. You notice they go outside of your field of view and are absolutely massive, with interlocking links larger than a gun cutter. You shift the focus higher, following the chains.

You keep going.

You pull back and finally see it. The chains don’t end at a crane, but a station in geosynchronous orbit. Thousands of plasma thrusters keep the impossibly huge construct in perfect alignment while battleship-sized drive engines stand idle. The intent is clear, and you stand once again in awe at the ambition of your forebearer. You gape at the cost. The links of chain alone would likely bankrupt a planet. Or a Rogue Trader Dynasty.

“You’ve been keeping something from me, haven’t you Cornelius” you say with a combination of bemusement and irritation. At some point enough was enough.

“You’ll have to excuse me, Lord Prosper, but I was under a mandate to keep the nature of this effort under the strictest of secrecy. Even from you, until you had arrived. Our fear was that should an enemy learn the existence of the Instrument they would sabotage it or take it for themselves. We considered the Inquisition to be among that number, and we were unsure of their influence on you.”

You sigh, and realize just how exhausted you were. “We’ll discuss this later, seneschal. For now I’m going to rest.” You kill the comm before Cornelius has a chance to reply, mute it, and collapse in your bed. The sheets, spun from the silk of an extinct xeno found only on a world that you couldn’t remember the name of if you cared to try, feel amazing on your face. You close your eyes and sleeps take you without hesitation.

You dream of your past, of the last time you were here. Your predecessor stands over you and you feel very small, barely a child. He wears a crown of alien metal, a crown you now realize he never took off. You blink, asleep and yet aware. How can you be having this dream? The Inquisition spent decades scouring your mind. They purged every memory they could find. What was left?

You look up and realize now matter your efforts you cannot see his face. One moment it’s wreathed in blinding light, another it’s blurry and indistinct, yet another it’s a void of pure darkness. You close your eyes and hold them shut, afraid of what you see. Your memories as a youth conflict with your experience as an adult. For a moment you don’t know what’s real.

“Open your eyes, Sebastian,” a familiar yet wholly alien voice speaks. “See the world that may yet one day be yours.” You force them open and look around. Golden skies shine over a sea of blood and crimson. “This world represents the origin of our Dynasty, my son, and you must come to respect and love it. The colors of the House come from its sky and seas.”

“What of our wealth?” you hear yourself say with a voice that has not yet seen puberty.

Your father laughs, and your hairs stand on edge. A man stands you before him, at least a man on the outside, but the core is not. As a child you had no understanding of this, your innocence a shield against the heresy of the xenos, but as an adult you find yourself beset with terror. “This planet held the secret to that as well. A secret you too shall now share. Our power, Sebastian, comes from the gift of this world. A gift I discovered when Terra’s Resurrection crashed upon the surface and exposed that which had been sealed for millennia. A gift I now give to you.”

He takes your hand. Inside your mind screams with horror, but the child you stands with curiosity. Your father produces a small ring made of the same metal as his crown and place it around your finger. In spite of the dull sheen it feels organic and oily, like the skin of a fire jelly you once picked up before the poison taught you to never touch such things again. This time there is no pain, just a sensation of things not being right.

The ring recoils from your flesh and leaps to the ground.

Your father picks up the ring and touches your skin with it. The metal warps, crushing itself to avoid the contact, and you feel confusion from your father. Suddenly confusion to turns to rage. Panic overwhelms you and you flee, praying to the God-Emperor himself for deliverance as the alien being that was once your father pursues you. You glance behind and see limbs contort to inhuman angles, a monster of rage and incomprehensible instincts, and you know your end is near. A bright light washes over you and you scream.

You bolt upright, covered in sweat. Your head aches, dull throbs interlaced with sharp lances of pain that replicate the worst of your sessions under the care of the Inquisition. Your surroundings are once again your quarters. The sheets remain the same exotic silk as before, the view outside the shutters shows the same glorious sun and golden planet as before, and you realize you never even took off your armor or weapons before collapsing into bed. It’s only when you roll over and sit up that you notice Inquisitor Lord Aestaban Gant standing at the foot of your bed.

“Welcome back, Lord Prosper.”

How do you react?

A. Shoot him.
B. Provide a witty quip while searching for the nearest bottle containing an alcoholic liquid.
C. Call security.
D. Something else?

dont be mean to me
May 2, 2007

I'm interplanetary, bitch
Let's go to Mars


Sigh. "Either I'm utterly delusional and my brain has chosen to express it in nearly the most frustrating manner possible, or you actually managed to survive being quite literally claimed by the Warp, waited out the year, infiltrated the Cult Mechanicus, and are actually standing at the foot of my bed. I wouldn't expect you to leave now, and I have the same question for both cases.

What.

Do.

You want."

Volmarias
Dec 31, 2002

EMAIL... THE INTERNET... SEARCH ENGINES...
There's no way A or C would work, best to do B unless someone gives a good write in.

(I'm so glad this thread isn't dead!)

JT Jag
Aug 30, 2009

#1 Jaguars Sunk Cost Fallacy-Haver
Stare at him blearily, grope for the nearest bottle of booze we can grab, and mumble feverishly, "Where are you, when am I, what is this?"

Beer4TheBeerGod
Aug 23, 2004
Exciting Lemon

Volmarias posted:

There's no way A or C would work, best to do B unless someone gives a good write in.

(I'm so glad this thread isn't dead!)

Every now and then I get inspired.

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

There's no way A is going to work so I want to see Prosper try it and Ghost!Gant can give him his best "in my head I'm laughing my rear end off at you" look.

If he devolves into actual laughter at poor Prosper's expense all the better.

dont be mean to me
May 2, 2007

I'm interplanetary, bitch
Let's go to Mars


T.G. Xarbala posted:

There's no way A is going to work so I want to see Prosper try it and Ghost!Gant can give him his best "in my head I'm laughing my rear end off at you" look.

If he devolves into actual laughter at poor Prosper's expense all the better.

We're on pretty decent terms with the AM and we need their help getting the thing that gives our warrant of trade meaning up from the surface of the planet. I don't know about anyone else but I'd rather not piss them off without cause.

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Runa
Feb 13, 2011

I also made that vote with the assumption that the reasonable choice will win.

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