|
'Gamma' Gamma smiles coyly - or what she would like to think is coy, to anyone else she just looks vaguely gassy. "Fairly standard interrogation technique. Others will play soft card, be 'friends' with subject. Not my field. We have another possible source for information on Omphalos if you want to come with me." She re-holsters and safes her pistol before continuing. "Probably no threat, just a loremancer with an interest in local legend. Rough neighborhood only difficulty."
|
#
?
Sep 21, 2017 11:17
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 24, 2024 00:29 |
|
|
Barry "The Bull" Bulworth Extraction The Guilded Thorn Port Remonstrance "No, you don't get to ask any more questions. Not when you are dodging mine." I say, standing up, turning around, and taking a few steps away from him for dramatic effect. "This is not a friendly chat. Tell me where Gaius is or I'll have Epsilon go in there and take it from you." I look back over my shoulder at him and tap on my forehead. 'If you thought having a bolt pistol leveled in your face was unnerving, wait until you feel a trained psyker rooting around in you brain and your soul, looking for all your secrets. ---------- DJF, I noticed in your last update that you conveniently left out any response about 'how we get hold of Gaius' so I'm going to interpret that as him holding out on us. This is now no longer a gentle questioning and I'm going to treat him as hostile. If the next words out of his mouth aren't telling us how to get to Gaius, I'm kicking his chair out from underneath him, putting a boot on his neck, and letting Gamma off the leash to get what we want by force.
|
|
#
?
Sep 21, 2017 15:08
|
|
|
Lucia Outside the Port Remonstrance "I'll take you up on that offer, I do love meeting the provencials." See looks back at the wine cellar. "Thing we've been gone long enough for our little thing to look legit? I'm beginning to see this cell flies by the seat of its pants so to speak. Gets results but ah, a little unorthodox. I don't think we should keep our guest waiting."
|
|
#
?
Sep 23, 2017 03:58
|
|
|
'Gamma' Shrugging, the psyker replies: "You go back in. I'll wait out here until our guest needs more encouragement."
|
|
#
?
Sep 23, 2017 04:11
|
|
|
Voluble, cont. The Guilded Thorn Port Remonstrance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8o_Po5hslk Quintus appears a little put out by Bulworth's outright refusal to countenance any sharing of information. "Look, we already had th' bad-cop walk out. I'm sure you've done one of these before but this is the bit where the good cop establishes trust by sharin' a bit o' information. Given what I've seen of you headcases so far, I don't know that y' won't go barrelling into th' bosses place, firing wildly in all directions." He clinks his manacled wrists. "So I'm sure y'can understand why I'm a bit reluctant to divulge his location." He clinks again, to Bulworth's back. "Are y' even listening to me?" Bulworth crosses the darkened cellar again in a few short steps, breaks a back leg of the chair with a sideways stomp, and hurls the man to the floor; the crack is just about audible through the thick plastic of the door. Carapace armour is about the heaviest protection an unaugmented human can comfortably wear without needing an external power source. It consists of heavy ceramite and armaplas plates; very durable, very rigid, very solid. It adds considerable weight to the Arbite's message as he kneels on Quintus' sternum with one armoured knee. The man gasps desperately for breath, and begins to mewl in pain as his as-yet-untended wound is further aggravated. He is quickly rendered insensate. A few minutes later, punctuated by agonised cursing, he is in a condition to speak coherently again - still flat on his back. "gently caress. gently caress.", he spits. "I know nothin' about where the Spook stuff came from. You'll have to speak t'the boss on that." He manages a tortured gargle that could, charitably, be construed as a scornful laugh. "'E's in with the Arbite Corps. Good fuckin' luck getting to him, assholes." A little more prompting elicits further details. The Arbite Corps - the disciplined and capable force that operates directly under the actual Arbite adepts on Ourybia - had a number of promising applicants over the years following the Luciferous Refulgence's initial visit. A handful of the Rogue Trader cell ascended the ranks of the Corps, while their counterparts spread their network through the Remonstrance underworld. There's surprisingly little crossover, and almost no collusion - the Arbites, after all, don't care about petty criminality, and the underworld group have done their damnedest to stay off the Arbite radar. For the most part. One arrangement that evolved over the years, though, was that of an emergency escape plan for Gaius should things in his line of work get particularly hot - arrest and incarceration by a higher power. The head of the Remonstrance Spook network now sits in a cell in the Remonstance Arbite precinct-fortress, presumably convalescing under a Suspected Intent or Failure to Confess charge against a false identity. Once things simmer down, said identity will be summarily executed, and Gaius will return to the Port anew, to rebuild. ---- bad cop/bad cop, an extremely powerful technique. we're going with "no, gently caress off" as the answer to the other two of quintus' questions, and events transpire as laid out in deathsandwich's post. i have moved the boot from neck to chest. i hope that is alright. i was gonna go "well, let's see if he passes a toughness test otherwise he gets a level of fatigue" but then realised that, well, this is basically an unarmed attack. i'm not rolling for damage because the aim isn't to kill, but he does take the fatigue - quintus passes out for 10 - TB minutes, and awakens at WPB levels of fatigue. so, quintus ain't got a clue re: precursor. gaius is chilling in a cell somewhere in an arbite compound and most of them don't know who he is. yoinks! food chain is real ourybian arbites -> external arbites -> arbite corps (stormtrooper-esque) -> enforcers (PDF-esque). the arbite corpsmembers with RT affiliations are not dirty cops in the traditional sense - they ain't nicolas-cage-seeing-lizards levels of corrupt, they're generally model corpsmembers, and it's unknown whether they actually know that gaius is indeed the spookman. they may just think that some rival gang put a hit on him. or they could be completely in cahoots! quintus does not know this level of detail. there is zero chance that the fullblown arbites know who gaius is or what he's up to, otherwise he and his contacts would be lashed to a stake and they'd be piling up firewood right about now
|
|
#
?
Sep 23, 2017 21:41
|
|
|
Lucia Back inside the actual, legit, confirmed Torture room Port Remonstrance Lucia saunters back in, "And while we're at it-...THRONE drat IT. Did you kill him? I thought we were making progress without that..." The hillbilly enforcer had probably made it unlikely they'd get much more out of him. Unless they had some secret they weren't telling her. There was a degree of trust that was not present here; between the impromptu firefight, leaving their comrade behind, and now this, a mad quest that was going to eventually lead to a leviathan infested underwater fortress filled with psychic mutants and a tech priest with who-knows-what, she was beginning to wonder if she had doomed herself. Ronwayne fucked around with this message at 00:09 on Sep 24, 2017 |
|
#
?
Sep 23, 2017 23:54
|
|
|
Ignatius Malbau The Guilded Thorn Port Remonstrance "No, not dead," Ignatius interrupts. But getting there, if Bulworth wasn't careful. "You're in luck, Quintus. We've decided you're still potentially useful! So you get to live, for now. Encouraging, yes?" Working with his auspex and medical kit, Ignatius gives their captive some long, long-overdue "first" aid, looking to stop the bleeding and make sure the man's vitals are stable. This party was over, for now, he judged. Best get the man well enough that they can sneak him out of the Thorn without too much ruckus. Medicae.
|
|
#
?
Sep 24, 2017 00:25
|
|
|
extremely good medicae roll of 8, giving 5 DoS - Int Bonus + 5 wounds healed means 8 wounds healed on quintus. he is not fully up to scratch, but you won't kill him easily. still one question going free from the second interrogation roll. first come first served, and i'm not taking "encouraging, yes?" as a question because, y'know
|
|
#
?
Sep 24, 2017 11:26
|
|
|
Lucia Back inside the actual, legit, confirmed Torture room Port Remonstrance Once/before (not sure where on the timeline I asked this) the guy has been returned to the land of the living, Lucia pops her own question. "Hey, out of curiosity, why would a bunch of presumably giant peaceful leviathans want to eat metal fish, and why were there so many just congregated there? They probably need to eat a lot and are spread out. What about this place was like dropping chum in the water?"
|
|
#
?
Sep 24, 2017 16:36
|
|
|
Voluble, cont. The Guilded Thorn Port Remonstrance  The attentions of Ignatius' medkit are gratefully received, but Quintus is nevertheless a little put out by the change in topic. "Fftt. gently caress. What? How the hell should I know?" He grits his teeth and bites off words as his flesh is stapled back into place. "Ng. It probably isn't food-related. Ourybian Leviathans are. Big bastards. But filter feeders. Mostly. Don't think they care if you interrupt. Otherwise no trawlers. Follow?" A second blast of anaesthetic spray allows the man back into the world of full sentences. "Agh. If food's out, maybe it's their breedin' grounds. Protectin' eggs or something. I dunno. Ask a Biologis." The final bit of stitching is put into place; Quintus wipes a froth of blood from his lips onto his good shoulder, and responds to Ignatius, eyeing the room warily. "What now, then?" ---- noted exobiologist and criminal mastermind. the "breeding grounds" hypothesis seems plausible but you've got no actual evidence for it at the moment. you don't know how leviathans actually work; whether they give live birth like whales, or whether it's a roe situation. you've made the biologis somewhat angry by wrecking their lab, incidentally. you may need to look for e.g. noble hobbyists if you want further info on this what now? Inexplicable Humblebrag fucked around with this message at 17:24 on Sep 24, 2017 |
|
#
?
Sep 24, 2017 17:02
|
|
|
Aperta Ignavus Port Remonstrance The Pelicanus - Outside the Gilded Thorn His self-repairs finished for the time being, it will take quite some time for his ministrations to actually set and take appreciable effect, Aperta dresses himself and focuses his concentration on listening to the ongoing interrogation over the comms, as he had previously instructed his comrades to do for just this reason. The discussion of the breeding patterns of the Ourybian Leviathans piques the priest's interests, and he searches his internal memory archives for any information regarding the topic. Sadly, he finds nothing of value. _____________ I had established that I'd listen to the interrogation over the vox. Technically nobody said they kept their commbeads on, but I don't know why they wouldn't. I tried a Scholastic Lore [Xenobiology] but I rolled a big fat 90. So nothing useful to add.
|
|
#
?
Sep 26, 2017 19:57
|
|
|
Barry "The Bull" Bulworth Extraction The Guilded Thorn Port Remonstrance I smile as Quintus finally spits out the details on his boss. "Great!" I say enthusiastically, tapping him a couple of times on the shoulder, "It'll be easier than I thought to arrange a meeting with your boss then. You've done good Quintus, and I'll see to it that you get a cot and a latrine bucket to use. When we have any more questions, we'll have another sitdown. Until then, rest up. You should eat up and gather your strength back up in the meantime though, you're looking a bit anemic.", I stand up and gingerly scoop up the photos and dog tags and tuck them all back into the envelopes from which they came before leading the others back out the door and setting the lock bolts back into place. ---------- Reconvene The Pelicanus I insist upon taking the boat out to sea a ways before we continue to discuss what we had discovered in the interrogation. "I don't know about you guys, but if Gaius is already disarmed and in a cell, at least we know we don't have to fight through another drug den in order to get to him. If he's with the arbites, I would bet that Iseppo could get us a one on one with a high ranking Arbite Marshal. If we can get both Iseppo and the Marshal in the same room together and lay our cards out on the table, I would bet we could garner co-operation from them. I think that's our best bet for our next big move." I turn on my heels and face out to the bobbing ocean waves, "I thought I remembered hearing something about the Arbite involvement with the spook crackdown by the by. I think the guy running the show on that is...." ---------- Ahhhahahah gently caress, 96 for my Common Lore (adeptus arbites) to remember who we're dealing with in character. In any case, bringing the interrogation scene to a close and moving on so we can follow other leads.
|
|
#
?
Sep 27, 2017 21:00
|
|
|
are you leaving him manacled but able to move around, in order to use said bucket and cot? 'cause i guess that takes your manacles out of action if so
|
|
#
?
Sep 27, 2017 23:35
|
|
|
DOWN JACKET FETISH posted:are you leaving him manacled but able to move around, in order to use said bucket and cot? 'cause i guess that takes your manacles out of action if so Yeah, I'll strike them from my character sheet.
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2017 04:46
|
|
|
'Gamma' Gamma scratches at her face and grimaces at the thought of having to deal with more than her usual allotment of trigger-happy enforcers during the weeks before a psyker tithe. "I'd rather not visit the Arbites office with anything less than an airtight cover. They'll have a twist-catcher or witchfinder on standby for sure, and all the correct paperwork in the world won't keep me out of a cell if they think I'm up to something. Which I would be." Having secured the interrogation record in a sealed tube she starts jotting down a few more notes as aids to thought, her handwriting only slightly worse for the movement of the boat. "We still have a few leads to chase up in the meantime. We can cross-reference people killed by the mutants with the spook client list, and establish surveillance on those people more generally. We can go through whatever data is on those cranial implants...well, Aperta can. Maybe we can find out if anyone with similar implants is still alive? We can do some more digging into legends about Omphalos and the leviathans. Anything else spring to mind?" Looking down at the dark canal she can't help but think about what it was like for the poor voidsmen in those submarines - to face death in the cold and dark would have been nothing new for them, but meeting their end crushed by water and giant fangs would still have been grim. Worse, she can't shake the certain feeling that she will need to follow in their wake sooner rather than later.
|
|
#
?
Oct 5, 2017 15:25
|
|
|
Ignatius Malbau The boat Port Remonstrance "Yes," Ignatius adds, as Gamma lays out the agenda for the coming days' work. "It will be very difficult, but I fear we must attempt it anyway: we should seek access to a submersible, from any source. I do not relish the prospect of going down there, but more and more, the evidence is leading us towards the location of the sunken ship."
|
|
#
?
Oct 5, 2017 16:35
|
|
|
Lucia the boat Port Remonstrance "I am fully in favor of finding out more about the giant people eating monsters that lurk there and try to get some sort of anti-chum to drive them away or something. Gamma, you said you had a lead on that? We'll also need some more gear to prevent that fiasco back at the warehouse from happening again. At the very least each one of us should have a set of manacles and a stun grenade." Ronwayne fucked around with this message at 01:05 on Oct 6, 2017 |
|
#
?
Oct 6, 2017 01:02
|
|
|
Articulable The Guilded Thorn Port Remonstrance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebP_ehR6oLE The thick rockcrete bolts of the locking mechanism slide home. Quintus's damaged face is a mask of incredulity, visible through the thick perspex circular window as the wine cellar door slams in his face. His interrogators have been remarkably blasé about dealing with Arbites; perhaps they're not quite so extrajudicial as he first thought. A few minutes later the key snaps into the lock again, and the door cracks open once more; a pile of stained, wine-ruined cushions from the remnants upstairs and a plastic bucket are tossed into the makeshift cell, and a small wooden tub of water set down near the door. The restraints binding him to his armchair are removed, and although he remains cuffed, he is able to move freely within the small wine cellar. It appears his captors are as good as their word; with this small trust established, the Acolytes may find it easier in future to extract information from their captive. --- Articulable, cont. Remonstrance Waterways Port Remonstrance  "...uh, quite big into trick-shooting." Bulworth is aware of the somewhat lukewarm reception this nugget of information receives from the rest of the cell, and continues. "Look, I know it isn't much, but it does give us a start on finding him." The Pelicanus chugs along through Rookery watercourses, pumping out biodiesel fumes into the muggy afternoon. Aperta is grateful for the distraction, as a minute or two ago a glitch in Cogitatio's knowledge database led to the skull vocalising his discoveries on the Ourybian Leviathans to the entire group. Unfortunately, it was taken from a rather old Scholam text designed for very young neophytes, and the accidental assertion that "Ourybian Leviathans are very big. Bigger than a ship. Bigger than a cathedral!" was less helpful than he might have hoped. The cell consider their next moves as they head for the open sea, occasionally wrinkling their noses as the sewage smell overpowers the salt. Gamma squints at her notes, reviewing them; the people slain by mutants are probably all involved in guarding the psyker tithe, as per Iseppo's disclosures the other week following the discover of Cizneros's corpse. There might be some crossover between them and the main Spook distributors, but odds are the distributors are those able to move freely in noble circles, and a grim-faced witch-guard does not normally fit that profile. The implants may indeed warrant investigation, but there's no guarantee they'll hold any actual memory - they might just operate as signal-boosters, allowing the owner to think faster, clearer, and grander. The datadump taken from Cizneros' computer may contain more information about them, and on why a bunch of brain-obsessed squid creatures might want them - and possibly information on the Omphalos itself, if Barbarigo's assessment of Cizneros' interest in mythology is to be believed. The scrivener himself may also be a useful source. A scuffling, yelling pair of street urchins plop into the canal, causing Ignatius to think on submersibles. As most of them were wiped out during the first, abortive attempt at gaining access to the Omphalos, they're in rather short supply. Gamma recalls a naval lieutenant informing her that the PDF simply don't have any. The first step would be finding out which nobles do have some, before attempting to borrow or acquire them. Straight-up commandeering them with Inquisitorial authority is an option, although an incredibly loud one; rental would be somewhat on the difficult side, and would doubtless not allow the cell free rein; outright theft is an option, but the most subtle approach is probably straight-up coercion. Either persuasion, intimidation or blackmail. Successful operation of a submersible does, however, require crew - it is highly unlikely that the cell will obtain a vehicle able to be operated by two or three people. The Acolytes ponder their options on obtaining the services of the requisite technomats - there's also the option of bringing along some hired guns, in case the Omphalos holds more than secrets, or other specialists, to cover other skills gaps. However, as Lucia points out, there is also a need to ensure that any submarine obtained is not simply rent to pieces by the thrashings of undersea colossi - if they want to plumb the briny depths, the cell need to find out why the Leviathans cluster around the Omphalos, and whether they can gain safe passage. Noble savants may be an option, or they could speak to the trawler crews currently engaged in macrobutchery and perhaps actually get a guided tour of one of these massive creatures. They could also attempt to repair relations with the Biologis, or they could play politics - it might be possible to find another faction of the Mechanicus that is happy to see the Biologis in trouble, or get embroiled with a relatively junior member with something to gain. They also need to work out where the Omphalos actually is. They have enough information to begin digging - they're after a spot that could conceivably be the source of the currents that bring spook precursor barrels to the pickup point, and that also throngs with leviathans. It's the mid-afternoon shift-change, and mask-wearing factorum workers flood the streets, visible as little coloured dots as the Pelicanus emerges out into the harbour under the starport and begins a long, chugging turn. For now, the cell could perhaps do with a little more downtime and a beaker or two of something cold. Interrogations are always stressful, regardless of which side of the table you are sat, and there remains equipment to obtain. There is another meeting scheduled with Iseppo midweek, in a couple of days' time, and perhaps some prepwork for that should be done. On the other hand, the cell could quite easily blow him off and ignore him with no loss of face or relationship - he doubtless has his hands full with the recent Spook-related revelations, and the less he has to think about his architectural commitments the better. ---- welp aperta and bulworth roll bad; gamma has a look at her notes, ignatius and lucia have a ponder. none of her scholastic/forbidden lores indicate any knowledge of implants allowing external memory storage. they're Best Quality cerebral implants and there's unlikely to be more than a couple instances in the entire subsector; odds are there's no-one on Ourybia with a similar set. you can do requisitions for the rest of today if you have no plans. in terms of timelines, this is the middle of the day. it is the day after the psychic relay on the Hepaticon tower was destroyed and you all went and trashed a warehouse.
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2017 18:12
|
|
|
Lucia Remonstrance Waterways Port Remonstrance "Who wants to tour the slaughterhouse for one of these things? I sure as hell don't but it seems to be one of the best ways to figure out how they tick, unless Gamma's lead has something better. Or ideally, both. Maybe talking to the local savants as well..." "On a side note, you DO have showers in the residence, yes?" Lucia makes a note to figure out what things they need to make the place half-habitable before she herself ends up covered in gore, wounded or worse. Ronwayne fucked around with this message at 04:50 on Oct 9, 2017 |
|
#
?
Oct 9, 2017 04:43
|
|
|
Ignatius Malbau The boat Port Remonstrance "There are some basic facilities," Ignatius replies to Lucia. "Very basic, but... functional. Most of us spend nights away from the warehouse, though - there are better accommodations to be found not too far away... I can help you find something, if you prefer." A man like Ignatius knows how to find decent lodging in any port - as a teenaged steward aboard his family ship, he often was charged with making sure various important and wealthy through-passengers had a place to stay, conveniently located for various vices to be indulged, but discreet and comfortable enough not to offend the tastes of the privileged and noble. "On the subject of accommodation - I'd prefer not to leave Quintus at the Thorn for too long. We do not have exclusive access to the building - we should not trust he will remain undiscovered indefinitely. Perhaps if we intend to hold him for more than a day or so, we should prepare a secure cell at the Warehouse, or even aboard the Pelicanus?"
|
|
#
?
Oct 9, 2017 06:25
|
|
|
Lucia Remonstrance Waterways Port Remonstrance "Hmm, I like that offer. As to our prisoner, there's a downside to taking him to our safehouse but I think a worse one imprisoning him aboard a means of escape. I'm trying to imagine explaining that to the big boss. 'We tied him up and left him on the boat and then the boat sailed away'." Ronwayne fucked around with this message at 03:31 on Oct 10, 2017 |
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2017 02:10
|
|
|
'Gamma' "A separate cell within the warehouse is probably ideal. The Thorn is, as you say, not exclusive to us. I'll do some groundwork for a tour of the leviathan corpse, and then I have some errands to run for the afternoon, shall we reconvene after dark? Or in the morning?" After Gamma detaches from the rest of the cell, she visits the shopping precinct by the spaceport to see a tailor specializing in in ceramite and flakweave rather than silk or linen, and then tracks back to the harbour in search of a fisherman eager to brag about the sea monsters he slays and sell the tools of his trade under the counter. Her visit to a PDF supply depot is complicated by the items she requests being badly out of stock due to the ongoing crackdown on drug gangs. Perhaps the others will have better luck finding means to secure prisoners. SHOPPING SUBJECT TO OPPOSED ROLLS BY GM! Finding a supplier for Light Carapace Armour: Enrique's Offworld Fashions (+0) Commerce vs Supplier: Commerce TN 50: 1d100 21 Requisition Roll: Influence 40 -20 Rare item +40 DoS on Commerce roll = TN 60 2 Finding a supplier for Hunting Lance: Bosun Ishmael of factory ship P.Q340D (+0) Commerce vs Supplier: Commerce TN 50: 1d100 12 Requisition Roll: Influence 40 -10 Scarce Item +50 DoS on Commerce Roll = TN 80 19 Using existing PDF/Munitorium contacts for Flak Armour/Combat Vest and Manacles Commerce vs Supplier: Commerce TN 50: 2#1d100 95 83 Requisition Roll: Influence 40 -10 Scarce Item -10 Failed Commerce Roll = TN 20 27 Requisition Roll: Influence 40 + 20 Plentiful Item -10 Failed Commerce Roll = TN 50 67 Requistion (Carapace, Lance, Flack/Vest, Manacles): 4#1d100 2 19 27 67 thatbastardken fucked around with this message at 06:43 on Oct 12, 2017 |
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2017 04:51
|
|
|
Barry "The Bull" Bulworth The Boat Port Remonstrance "I think I may have an idea for suitable containment, but I'll probably need some liquid assets. I noticed Max still had that briefcase with all the gambling winnings stashed back at the warehouse, I'm going to pick that up because sometimes you can't beat the buying power of cash in hand. Especially for something you want to keep off the books." I lean against the side of the boat and light up a lho, flicking the ash into the cold grey water below our feet. "I'm out on the slaughterhouse. I don't have the mind for marine biology nor the stomach to see 'how the sausage is made' if you don't mind the old saying. I'm going to do some shopping and then revisit the scrivener's shop, see if I can get copies of Cizneros' research. She might have done some of this biological footwork for us. ----- White Squall Port Remonstrance Music Maggie gave me an incredulous look. I'm gathering it's not often her more secretive customers ask for a bulk transport sized shipping bin but she was my best lead on getting a couple two or three shipped over to the warehouse. I told her I had the spirit of entrepreneurship in me and I was starting a new business, but I needed some storage containers to make it work.The fact that I didn't see any in her scrap piles in the back doesn't necessarily mean that she either can't get some or knows a person who can supply them without asking too many questions. I figure she's my best bet to point me in the right direction..... She ponders to herself a moment before answering... ---------- Running an inquiry check to get a lead on the sort of polycarbon shipping container like what we were talking about in OOC. Since I'm not sure this sort if thing runs in her wheelhouse I'm mostly just seeing if she can get me a contact that can supply more along the lines of industrial goods. I figure she can probably give me the contact information and then I can go chase that down for the req check. Inquiry: 75 so unless I can dig up a +45 circumstance bonus somewhere that's probably not successful. I guess if you rule that she can indeed source these herself then the roll is probably irrelevant. I'll add the rest of my generic shopping list stuff when I have some time to think about it, probably going small scale since I have a pilfered red-dot and potentially a bolt pistol back at the warehouse. Work's been kind of weirdly busy this week.
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2017 20:56
|
|
|
Available Starport Environs Port Remonstrance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7V3rrRyUmc "If Madam would raise her left arm... good." Gamma submits to the measurements stoically, as her moustachioed dataslate-wielding assailant directs the pair of servo skulls whizzing around her with laser rangefinders. Enrique's is a high-end boutique outfitters in the lee of the Remonstrance starport, normally aimed at young roistering nobles who're after protective gear for whatever gallivanting they get up to. Possessing of a working lathe, an annealing microforge and contacts amount the Chartist captains plying the subsector, Enrique is able to adapt form-fitting carapace to suit, on spec. Boots squeak on the marbled floor as the psyker adjusts her posture. Normally, showing up at Enrique's door would see Gamma swiftly ejected - it is a rather select establishment - but some fast-talking has indicated that she's here as a body double for a wealthy benefactress who does not have the time or inclination to be measured and prodded for several hours. A handful of anonymous bonds from the parcel of Gilded Thorn gambling winnings seals the deal; most of the carapace suit is off-the-shelf, with only a few custom parts requiring fabrication, and so arrangements are made for delivery of the armour for tomorrow. Brief chit-chat with Enqirue reveals he is fairly phlegmatic about the whole "recent massacre" thing, seeing it as a tragedy, but one likely to pay dividends for his business. He is much more interested in the upcoming visit from the Black Fleet in a couple of weeks, expecting the fleet troopers to have a lucrative influence on Remonstrance fashion. Later that afternoon, just as the heat swells to a crescendo, a sailor who's been drinking most of the day lets a box of explosive spearheads go for the price he should have charged for a single one. Gamma hurries off before he can change his mind, but his head currently rests snoring on his tattooed arms, so it seems unlikely to be a problem. Things seem to be going her way, and it is only when she reaches the PDF supply depot that her streak is broken. Perhaps she was too forceful in her demands for combat gear, because there's a few off-duty PDF troopers hanging around, and they've been attracted by the raised voices. She extricates herself without much difficulty, but still. Too noisy. --- Bulworth, by contrast, is somehow unable to buy a shipping container in a busy port town. "Kind of out o' luck on the big bulk containers at the moment, dearie.", says Maggie, hauling a dripping graphite electrode out of its acid tank. Whirring fills the air, along with the stench of burning horn, as its coating of electrum is flensed off with stiff baleen brushes. "That big bastard they're cuttin' up at the docks has laid claim to most of the containers I could lay hands on at short notice - if you don't mind waitin' a week or two I could sort ye out, but as it stands..." ---- gamma finds the least mercantile merchants in Remonstrance - only the first merchant manages even a bare success on the opposed roll, and the middle guy barely knows what money is. 2 Subtlety loss on the carapace, 1 on the hunting lance heads, 1 from the attempt at flak armour = 4 total. no temp INF loss, but a little further subtlety loss from really screwing up that commerce attempt. enrique is a high-tech armour supplier that gives no bonus to req rolls, but means you can find high-spec armour in a matter of hours rather than days. ishmael is a drunken sailor that gives +10 to small-scale ship equipment; haven't really gone into detail on him, oh well. bulworth fucks up the inquiry roll for finding a better place to buy containers, meaning maggie's the source. req roll of 89 is a failure; no penalties, but no shipping container. someone else can try or you can give it a go next time. others, please do something or work out your next moves.
|
|
#
?
Oct 15, 2017 18:12
|
|
|
Lucia Remonstrance Waterways Port Remonstrance Lucia takes some time to visit the cell's contacts and introduce herself. There's time spent that the munitorum collecting some goods to avoid a repeat of the warehouse mess. Offing common scum shouldn't have bothered her but the necessity cracking their necks like that annoyed her on some level. What if they had been an important capture target? Oh well, nothing to do but live and learn. After acquiring what she could, Lucia spends time carefully asking around for a noble who's hobby was the collection of knowledge (preferably nautical), as compared to the usual gambling and whoring, or in her case, picking fights and hurting people. She needed to know more about the leviathans and hopefully someone existed out there with knowledge of their biology, or at least could point her to someone that could. Attempting to get: Stun Grenades, Manacles, Custom Grip, Pict Caster.[success at first two, failure for latter two]. I think that's 4 stun grenades, not sure if manacles get the multi-item bonus applied to them or not, in which case it would be 5. Inquiry tn 45 base vs [11] for 3 or 4 dos, not sure how DH2 counts those. Ronwayne fucked around with this message at 13:29 on Oct 16, 2017 |
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2017 04:15
|
|
|
Available, cont. Rookery Port Remonstrance  Shopping complete, Lucia leaves the depot in a hurry - perhaps trying to buy the manacles and the pict recorder at the same time was a bad idea, because she might want to visit that outfitter's again, and she's not sure the clerk's wrist was a clean break. Thankfully, it's the Rookery, and a few screams and broken bones barely warrants mention. Head and shoulders above most of the crowd, she pushes through onto a different watercourse and ducks past a snoozing bouncer into a bar festooned with stuffed fish, shark heads, and a vast sea-eagle arching resplendent over the doorway. A second head has been crudely stitched onto its neck, evoking the Imperial Aquila - presumably there's more than one noble who's deceived a spouse by informing them "I'm just off to the Temple". What was intended as a convenient hidey-hole to wait out any pursuit over a couple of drinks swiftly turns out to be an insultingly easy attainment of Lucia's next objective - Bianca, the proprietress, appears to be hosting a social for one of Remonstrance's more genteel hunting lodges. Dark panelled walls are mostly obscured by drawings and bits of animal nailed to trophy racks; white beards are in evidence - on some of the men, too - and the group, overstuffed on fish and fowl, are more than willing to swill amasec with a friendly, youthful face. Many of the "hunters" are simply enthusiasts, who spend more time in study and scholarship than they do in actually finding things to kill, and round about the fourth paragraph of detail on the mating habits of the Ourybian sea-shrike Lucia finally gets a word in edgeways about the colossal Leviathans that seem to populate the abyssal depths. The table hushes, all at once, before one of their number speaks. "Oh no, young lady", slapping his hand down on a baleen-ivory side-table to punctuate his remarks. "Everyone knows they don't exist." Elderly guffaws cut through the lho smoke. Evidently this isn't the first time they've done this little routine, but the sandy-haired, portly, clerky gentleman at the end of the table doesn't seem to find it particularly amusing. Unfortunately, he's a little younger than the rest of the group, meaning harumphing is out of the question - he just simmers slightly instead. "No, no," the speaker continues, gesturing and sloshing liquor onto the tiled floor. "Bastion there would be your man for that." ---- -2 subtlety for the custom grip approach, but no INF loss. 4 stun 'nades, 4DoS on Inquiry, got a person to talk to!!
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2017 19:26
|
|
|
Lucia Rookery Port Remonstrance "Well then, hello there Bastion, it seems you're the man of the hour." Lucia smiles with a mouth full of expensive dental work.* "I hope you're willing to answer my questions. It seems I've come across a predicament involving said leviathans, and I wanted to know a little more about them..." *as nobility, she was a member of the elite 30+ teeth club Basic -What do they typically eat? -What are their social organizations? -What repels them? Potentially thorny -What would compel them to attack a ship, especially a submersible? -What would compel them to congregate in huge numbers, over a long period of time? Rolled a [36] on a tn 45 charm check, so that's 2 dos? Ronwayne fucked around with this message at 01:41 on Oct 19, 2017 |
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2017 03:32
|
|
|
post questions now - innocuous basic ones just get answers, thorny ones e.g. 'why is everyone laughing at you' get a social test and successes translate to answers. personality don't matter, it's just skill at the mo
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2017 09:57
|
|
|
Barry "The Bull" Bulworth White Squall Port Remonstrance I guess it just wasn't my day. I thank Maggie for her time and move on; I've requested a lot out of her recently and it's probably best to keep my head down for the time being, less she start getting the wrong kind of attention from authority figures trying to track down missing munitorium stun grenades and high powered rifles. I make a mental note to myself to let the others know we'll need to find alternate means of getting a shipping crate. Interstitial Alleyways Port Remonstrance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQmHlQ3ZEys While I was already nearby, I decided to take another pass through Barbagio's shop. Hopefully today with less heat on his shop and another day out from my mug being on all the enforcer's hitlists I'd be able to stay longer and get a chance to look at the notes he has. The alleys are mildly familiar now that I've been through here a number of times in the past few days, it doesn't take long to pick out the shop again and make my approach... ---------- I am going to opt against any further personal requisitons, we have enough people tanking our subtlety as is and I mostly have everything I could possibly hope for at the moment without going into the obnoxiously obscure or easy to track back to us. The only thing I could really want for atm is a Synskin and that's probably not happening with Maggie's gear. Maybe some lighter armor since I'm really edging against the max agi bonus, but I may be able to use Gamma's new carapace tailor friend to make some modifications to my existing suit down the line to get it up to good quality. But I digress, going to Barbagio's shop and going to see if I can pull Cizneros' research notes. Ideally I'd like to be able to check it out or get a copy that I can take back to the nerds, but if that's not possible I can try and look it over myself and see if I can discern anything of importance. I'm not sure if you want to phrase it as a influence check or what. I'm not going to post anything about the status of the shop or Barbagio himself in case I walk in on a murder scene or something.
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2017 21:04
|
|
|
Available, cont. Rookery Environs Port Remonstrance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYR3zNn9fb0 Bastion's a bit of a sullen individual - not that surprising, as an unimportant noble scion whose academic interests are belittled by his elders - but after a bit of prying from Lucia and assurances that no, this isn't the buildup to a prank, he becomes a bit more forthcoming. Things are made easier when he discovers Lucia is an offworlder - he has almost as many questions concerning outsystem megafauna as she does on the Leviathans, which she answers (or makes up) to the best of her ability. Eau de vie forgotten, Bastion's hands become animated as he describes the great beasts. They're solitary, placid krill-feeders for the most part, that filter enormous quantities of seawater through vast, interlocking baleen plate complexes - the only time Ourybians normally encounter them is when they die and float to the surface. They don't have social groupings like whales or dolphins - they're more like tales of the Fenrisian kraken, only considerably less bloodthirsty. They must come together to mate, of course, and they must have some way of finding another Leviathan to do so, but they don't seem to make any whalesong-esque noise or emit any specific pheromone, in the manner of other, lesser beasts. Bastion's personal theory is that maybe they're just big enough that they can sense each other through the Ourybian oceans - some kind of electrical sense. Or maybe there's just some place they know they need to go, some place they're drawn to. Lucia, privately, is more inclined towards the latter - presumably Ourybians have chopped up a load of these things, and the concept of electro-sensing organs would presumably have come up by now if they actually existed. The rest of the party appear immersed in some long and rambling tale about an inland hunt on one of the southern islands, so Lucia continues questioning. In terms of what could repel the creatures, the nobleman shrugs. Torpedos, probably. It's never really come up. They normally steer away from the coastal shelves unless they're young and stupid or old and hungry, and any krill trawler encountering one on the surface normally stays at a safe distance. They also stay at a convenient distance - should a leviathan up and die on them, it's an immediate payday if they can get the beast back to port for butchery. Bastion is a little confused by the idea of them attacking ships. It would be like one of the Remonstrance islands rising from the sea and scraping off its dwellers. Leviathans can presumably detect human-scale objects, in much the way that humans can detect gnats or flies, but much like humans with gnats or flies, there's just no real reason for a Leviathan to care. Presumably something's making them care - some external force maddening them, like a chemical spill? Or perhaps the ships got close to something they feel protective about? As for large congregations of the creatures, that just seems outright crazy. The beasts are kilometres long, and require vast amounts of nutrition. For one of them to stay in one place for any length of time, let alone many of them... well, the place would have to be almost indecently fecund. ---- Flammable Remonstrance Alleys Port Remonstrance  Once again, the crowds are suspiciously thick as Bulworth gets near to Barbarigo's shop, but this time it's the sulphurous scent of paper ash in the air that gives him pause. People aren't pushing past him in any particular hurry, so there's clearly no current danger, but... Rounding the corner, the Arbite swears inwardly. If he's any judge, a crude incendiary's been lobbed through the window in broad daylight, and the scrivener had a lot of paper piled up in there - Barbarigo sits on a nearby doorstep, rocking back and forth and clutching at his beard, as a nearby shopowner attempts to give what cold comfort she can. The superstructure of the shop is mostly intact, but the front display - most of the good stock, and probably a fair chunk of the scrivener's net worth - is completely ruined, both from the initial attack and from firefighting efforts. A team of Enforcers is attempting to keep a lid on things; one of whom is talking to amateur firefighters and some battered citizens, two of whom are keeping order with the crowd, and two of whom have a pair of burly and bleeding individuals pinned to the ground. Bulworth recognises these as the men who were menacing Barbarigo on their first encounter - presumably the idiots are back for whatever petty revenge they could mete out, and are likely to receive a pretty unpleasant fate for their troubles. The Arbite leans back around the corner with casual ease, not drawing attention to himself. The sixth member of the Enforcer squad has hung back from the rest and is scanning the crowd; whether they'll recognise him is up in the air, but it's a question of whether he should chance things any further. The back entrance to the shop is an option - Barbarigo's personal records are in the back, well away from the molotov's reach, and the scrivener himself is certainly not in any position to refuse access. But if anyone should spot him prowling around the scene of a crime, Bulworth could be looking at some pretty searching questions... ----- Disclosable Warehouse Environs Port Remonstrance  Killing a few minutes on his way back from one of his errands, Ignatius browses his dataslate, and stops cold. He successfully masks his irritation at the public record item in front of him - one of Iseppo's staff appears to have entered his upcoming meeting with a "naval delegation" into a public schedule. Intentional or not, the Deculon is well within his rights to do this - it's just that if there's anyone in Remonstrance paying attention to a certain "naval delegation", then they've just been informed where the cell will be in two days' time. And where they won't be... --- no subtlety impact from lucia discussing offworld things, it's just i had very little to work with for this conversation so i made poo poo up. leviathans generally don't give a poo poo about people, they'd only smash ships up if they were in a mindless rage or if they were protecting something. bulworth can sneak into the shop to pilfer stuff (stealth test, +10 due to noise and hubbub mitigated by alert watchers), or try something else; six enforcers, usual enforcer garb of armour + shotguns others, do things please or we'll move this along to whatever the hell it is you want to do with iseppo, as time ticks on, the black fleet gets closer, and the squid do squid things
|
|
#
?
Oct 26, 2017 23:29
|
|
|
'Gamma' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf_D3pK6LVI Gamma finds herself with a fair amount of legwork to take care of. Reviewing the list of Spook addicts/blackmail victims comes first. She's looking for specific names - Deculon, Hepaticon, and Pallyrion. She then needs to cross reference any hits with the peerage lists to find the kind of target she has in mind. Lesser scions, the sort that would be taking care of administrative work like overseeing tithe prisons. The guards they autopsied - was it only a few days ago? - had been working in those prisons, and she could use the threat of uncovering their secret to get access to their records and find out exactly how many wyrds and witches have gone missing over the last months. As for confronting them, she might have to take some help for that. Speaking of help... "Aperta, can I beg your assistance with a small matter? I need the red-dot sight from this stub rifle transferred to your old long las, if it's not too much trouble. And can you retrofit these bolt shells with the anti mutant toxin? Don't let it get between you and deciphering Cizneros's logs, but when you get some time..." Logic TN 50: 1d100 18 to follow a paper trail and find useful targets for further monstering.
|
|
#
?
Oct 27, 2017 14:16
|
|
|
Barry "The Bull" Bulworth Cremation White Squall Port Remonstrance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6kXb0NL1PE Poor dumb bastards. All of em. Apparently the thugs weren't as cowed by the threats of being added to the penal legions as I had thought and will now probably go there for real, another casualty in a galactic war they had no intention of being in. With any luck, Barbagio kept some level of insurance on his shop, but it also makes my goals that much harder. I hang back at the corner of the ally, smoking a lho and peering into the chaos, charred bits of paper and ash dancing past in the breeze. The local enforcers are going to be more concerned with getting the perps into a cell and keep more violence from breaking out, I take a guess they they aren't going to be paying much attention to the rubberneckers aside from keeping more violence from breaking out and aren't going to be especially vigilant in scanning for someone vaguely described in wanted posters from the earlier biologos incident. I tip my wide brimmed hat further down over my face and scan the alley, trying to get a feel for how much gear the enforcers brought. I don't want to make a move into a place that is under camera and servo-skull surveillance for obvious reasons. I circle around to the alley I left Barbagio's shop from during my last visit. I hope that if all the attention is at the front then I may be able to slip in the back. I take one more scan of the alley for Port Authority sensors and scanners as I turn the strummer over in my coat pocket, ready to flip the switch. ---------- Running Awareness or Scrutiny (I have both trained at +0, so it rolls out the same either way) to see if I can work out if Johnny Law has cameras set up or servo skulls or auspex scanners surveying the crime scene or whatnot. 37 vs 38 is tentatively 1 degree of success before any difficulty modifiers are factored in. If the building is under significant electronic surveillance and/or the back door is being covered by the enforcers then I'm going to abort a back door infiltration and return back to our hideout, full stop. If not, I'm going to flip on the strummer and go in and do a quick rummage through Barbagio's office. If that means that I'm not going to be as thorough in collecting all relevant notes/books then so be it. My top priority is to be gone before anyone knows what's up. The strummer plus that +10 circumstance bonus should give me a pretty reasonable chance of success, but if my helldice come back in style, I'll go ahead and risk a fate point to reroll.
|
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2017 16:57
|
|
|
Ignatius Malbau Out and About Port Remonstrance Ignatius makes a note to follow up with the Deculons. It would be necessary to check with the team again - should they cancel their appointment, or fill it? - and then resumes his errands. The general area of the warehouse, situated among the docks, made the aquisition of the basic materials he wanted seem a fairly simple task; his primary aim was to remain low-key, while ensuring various supplies would be delivered to the warehouse within hours, rather than days or weeks. Regardless of the others' apathy towards the situation, Ignatius was determined to bring their captive more firmly under their direct and ongoing supervision, and that meant constructing a makeshift cell within the warehouse itself. After an hour or three haggling with portside suppliers for empty krill barrels, thick plasticrete slabs, etc. etc., Ignatius heads out to the now increasingly-familiar residential/commercial warrens of the Rookerie, inland of the docks, on the assumption that the sorts of equipment popular among well-armed bodyguards, thugs, enforcers, and the like would be easier to secure there. He plies his older contacts sparingly, but takes the opportunity to find one or two new fences and shady-dealers; it's good to have a reliable vendor for these things, but it's also good not to make too many visits to them within the space of a week. They tend to get nervous. Returning to the warehouse in midafternoon, Ignatius hopes to recruit two or three of his companions to various tasks, and check on the progress of Aperta's medical treatments. The fellow's skills were unimpeachable, but he might have to be encouraged to take it easy so the wounds would not be re-opened. "Let's get our captive back here by tonight if we can, I don't want him left at the Thorn any longer than we have to. Someone's bound to find him sooner or later. And hey, Aperta, have you had a chance to look through Cizneros' cogitator data-dump yet? If not, perhaps I can help with that?" Ignatius does stuff! -Going shopping for materials suitable for assembling a secure holding cell at the warehouse. Needs to be reasonably secure: locked entrance/exit, solid walls/ceiling, etc., but not necessarily permanent. Could be made of shipping crates too big/heavy to move without a forklift, maybe layers of plastic glued together, maybe multiple industrial-sized spools of krill netting, whatever a man would have no hope of getting through without tools should do. -Going shopping for kit: a helmet, a sniper rifle, Toxin rounds to be modified for use in Bulworth's bolt pistol, Ignatius' pistol, the sniper rifle if I can find one, and the combat shotguns, autopistols, and stub rifles we recently acquired; any special ammo shells he can find for all of the above (surprise me, he's just seeing what's out there he can lay hands on); and good quality manacles, ideally at least six pair. -Returning to the warehouse: let's do a follow-up Medicae on Aperta if that is useful, start assembling a cell from materials if he could get them, start assembling toxin shells with the anti-squidbeast stuff if he can get them, and try to get his companions to come up with anything resembling a plan, if they're around.
|
|
#
?
Nov 3, 2017 01:26
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 24, 2024 00:29 |
|
|
Aperta Ignavus Port Remonstrance The Warehouse After the team leaves the Gilded Thorn and returns to the sage house, Aperta sequesters himself away in his personal corner of the first floor, which is rapidly growing by the day as the priest brings in more materials and machines to help in his work. The first task is to test a new cogitator program routine that would allow him greater, but still limited, access to the planet's vox, cogitative, and noospheric datanet. He uses this new access to begin to track down information regarding the cell on the datanet and begin to erase it from existence. Without notice orders from administrators that do not exist broadcasting from empty terminals to transfers files to a thousand different channels a thousand times and back again, erasing it's tracks as it goes and becoming more and more corrupted with each subsequent transfer. And not just for the Acolytes, but for countless other files and programs as well, although none nearly as important. It is an imperfect process, however, the files can never truly be deleted, some data can always be recovered if a party is interested and tenacious enough. And the Magos cannot tarry overlong on the datawebs lest security servitors monitoring activity become too aware of his presence. But it will at the very least make keeping tabs on the acolytes that much more difficult. And it is not without cost, either. Each time Aperta wishes new access to these shadow administrator rights he must deal with the info brokers on the shadownet, borderline hereteks that the tech-priest would normally send Skitarii to arrest than curry favor with. But needs must, and Aperta sells several bits of planetary secrets he finds during his data-crawls to the brokers to meet his own needs. Nothing directly or even indirectly relevant to the cell's mission, but far from worthless either. One bit of information catches Aperta's eye, however, as he starts the process on the first day. Ourybia had once been considered for the site of a Schola Progenium training facility for the use of teaching underwater tactics to Tempestus Scions, the Storm Troopers of the Astra Militarum. It had never been fully completed when several Scions were killed during the initial trial period. Coupled with a general lack of demand for deep-sea expertise in local operations. But in typical Departmento Munitorum efficiency the dead Scions' gear was listed as Destroyed in Field when in fact much of it had been recovered. The inventory discrepancy was obvious, but was such low priority that it would be decades, perhaps generations before it would be addressed. It took some time, but with another few choice bits of information exchanged for remote access rights Aperta was able to remove the discrepancy from the Munitorum's archives as well as send a priority movement order to have the item delivered to a dummy location where Aperta was able to pick it up shortly thereafter. The next day Aperta appears to be ever so slightly bulkier, his armor more solid and angular under his voluminous robes, as he walks confidently through the safe house wearing new Tempestus carapace armor. The rest of Aperta's time is spent sifting through the ongoing data-dumps from Cizneros' cerebral implants. The work is slow and tedious, and takes up the majority of the Magos' time when he isn't tasked with other duties by his colleagues. _____________ I'm going to first and foremost use my Cover-Up talent every day until we meet with the Deculons, unless something insanely dire comes up to stop me. So spending 3 Inf to gain 9 Subtelty. Next I'll permanently burn 3 Inf to buy out a set of Tempestus Carpace armor. I'll take the Red-Dot sight off of Gamma's gun, TN 60, Rolled 43. And put it back on the Long-Las, TN 50, rolled 31. I forget what I'm doing to make toxic shells, so I won't roll for that. Finally I'll do a Tech-Use and Logic tests to see what info can be found on the implants. Tech-Use TN 70: 95, which I'll fate Reroll to a 66 so it doesn't explode. Logic TN 60: 77. Jesus Christ... Who What Now fucked around with this message at 00:16 on Nov 10, 2017 |
|
#
?
Nov 9, 2017 21:22
|
|