WH40K Rogue Trader: Blood and Bolters, IC Thread: Chapter 1 Reclaiming What is Ours Options

[Drace]

"Well it looks like you got yourself a challenge then Magos. A find like this has to be full of information and possibly lost tech.". Turning away from the magos for a second, hoping that the promise of potential knowledge and techno-arcana will easily keep the Magos too occupied to decide to 'deal' with this heresy any time soon. Now I just have to worry about the priest.... I hope he is of a similiar mindset.... He thinks to himself as he looks at the corpse of the Voorhes ancestor on the chair.

"Do we simply unplug him then?".

[LurkerOutThere]

"Less of a threat...i'm a warship I am threat personified although I suppose to me me as an intelligence." It's difficult to tell given the mechanical nature of the vox but you can almost detect a certain level of hurt resignation. "I agree however good magos, besides the body has declined beyond my ability to sustaining it, while it is technically not a corpse just yet it will be in a few moments at most. I'd been keeping it in cold storage for a special occasion prior to your arrival once It's health started to really fail. Unfortunately cryo seemed to have some less then positive affects on its' appearance. The teleportium is still charging so I cannot simply remove it off the bridge that way but I should be able to get some servitors in here to remove it to back to the cryovaults until my late Captain can be given a burial more deserving of his stature and sacrifice"

"To the first question, yes captain absolutely I can direct human crew members in repairs that would put shipyards to shame in speed and qulity, my only limitations up to this point has been manpower and the need for secrecy, as well as some tasks that are outside my scope of expertise or will require onsite yes and hands such as your wise Magos.. With your authority to act on the crew need not even know their taking their direction from the me. To answer your second question captain from a logical standpoint I understand the benefits of discretion. However I have a motivational imperative to spread the Imperial Truth as it was codified by the emperor, to teach and to spread the master of mankind's word. And frnakly given the state the Imperium is in it seems to sorely need it. I did some very hard math during the time I waited and I have come to the conclusion if the Imperium continues down it's current path it's spiral will be uncorrectable within the next millenium leading to humanities fall as the galaxy's supreme lifeforms within the next three to four and likely extermination shortly thereafter. So i am bound by my programing to spread the word of the Emperor. However there is an exception. As my captain if you were pledge yourself to that task taking the same oath my first captain did I would be relieved of the details of the duty in favor of your discretion. Otherwise you may want to destroy my cogitator assembly, however you would loose the benefit fo having me direct the crew in day to day tasks as well as the Teleportarium whoese circuitry and mine are very deeply intertwined."

"As to what you can learn from me lord Magos, my purpose is to teach I would be honored and pleased to educate you as I can."

[PBTHHHHT]

Cornelius starts laughing, not a polite chuckle, but an deep, roar as if he heard the most funniest joke in his life that shook the deepest of his soul. He gasps for air and after some moments his laughter subsides, tears streaming out of his eyes.

"My Lord... this is one of the most interesting things that this endeavor... my, I think the Emperor is looking to test me..." Cornelius composes his words and explains his outburst. "I believe this is an interesting mission on my part", he looks at Lucius seriously. "I believe I know my duty in this endeavor and that is to keep you, the officers, and any of the bridge crew to stay on the path of the Light of the Emperor, though I am also practical to know what is beneficial to our mission and that the cogitator and the access to the teleportarium is crucial for our work in getting this ship back to ready status."

[Drace]

Letting out a silent sigh, Lucius smiles grimly looking away from the rest of the crew.

"Well I don't think you will have too much of a problem there my good preacher. Who knows, maybe you can even one day convert this ship to the Emperors 'TRUE' light. " A small wink is given out towards the cogitator machine's frontal systems, and turning back to the rest of the crew.

"So it looks like there is no demon or beast to worry about here. Now what should we do with the Mercenaries and the..... " he looks over at Makken questionably, "the old astropath I think right?".

[agustaaquila]

"Well, with us seeing signs of xenos on our trip up here we also should see if there are any more Orks on board. Those could cause a problem if we were to run into them.

I think we need to go have a conversation with the astropath, and see where his loyalties lie. He certainly should not be allowed on the bridge."

Turning to the screen, "Well, I assume that you have played some part in keeping the old psyker off this bridge?"

[LurkerOutThere]

"I would like to say that I had nothing to do with his paranoid delusions and belief in demons aboard the ship but my creator didn't bother including circuitry allowing me to lie. Hindsite being perfect It would have saved a lot of trouble if he had. Please understand, It was not entirely intentional in my less aware state I was driven to both try and bring him around to the Truth as well as destroy any shrines or edificies he set up. I preyed on his mental instability, far too common to his kind, to further my goals." The ship responds matter of factly.

"Additional to the matter of the Astropathic Choir chambers and their residents there still is the matter of the mercenaries. Herr Mekkan has delightfully treacherously had the outer hull there only partially repaired and had his workmen secret a fairly impressive satchel charge amongst the external plating. My tactical circuits quiver a bit at the thought of it. I have taken the liberty of cracking the vox codes? Shall i detonate it? From what I've picked up on the Vox chatter over the years, and several attempts to dislodge them from their position the local outfit is not very well liked especially amongst the legal powers of the port. The decision is yours of course. There is I suppose an argument for talking to them first but I find a certain neat appeal to spacing them. It could because of my now decreased brain function, I suppose next I'll want to watch grot fighting or some such."

Two labor servitors enter and begin to unsteadily wrap the former captain's body in a white linen sheet.

[Drace]

"Do you know any thing more about the mercenaries? And more specific than the legal powers don't like them. And make sure to keep the charges on standby. Spacing them could be more efficient than rooting them out.".

With a sigh, Lucius rubs the bridge of his nose slightly. Why not just space them if they refuse to leave and pay a fee for the space they took up. Or if they don't bend under the Voorhes heel. he thinks to himself glummly.

[LurkerOutThere]

The DI Helpfully data dumps for you. With the corpse of Julius disconnected and packed away it is thankfully free of that same echoing quality: "They refer to themselves as the thousand blades in Vox communications and other chatter. The group on the ship represents the headquarters and leadership divisiona s well as the primary training facilities. Their membership sector wide likely approaches somewhere in the five--thousand range although their current rolecall aboard ship runs to 1789 whit an additional 1012 other non member support staff joinging them, cooks, armorers, whores, and the like. Their numbers have swelled as high as three thousand on board the ship just after major contracts expire. They make their living working for the various non military equipped houses through the sector as well as recruiting for and training for other planetary groups. By reading between the lines on their manifests one can also see that their hiring marine forces out to various pirate companies in the area for a share in their plunder. These activities have made them unpopular with everyone but their clients and there would be many groups that would destroy them if they didn't have their base of operations here protected by the imperial navy and the Vorhees claim. Their commander Omoi is a former imperial guardsman who has grown the company over the last sixty years. He is also helpfully literate and a great fan of using cogitators on the ship to organize his endeavor. This has made them considerably more successful and as a happy side effect those cogitators are part of me. If you so chose to use it you have more then enough evidence to take the to the arbites or the navy, of course doing so through proper channels would involve bringing said forces onto me which would be time consuming. You could perhaps use it as blackmail if you meet with Omoi, or merely to justify the previously mentioned spacing."

OOC: From the review of data if you did manage to recruit them in addition to just filling out the barracks they would likely represent a good or best quality storm trooper detachment. Downside is their somewhat less then savory representation plus the difficulty of actually recruiting them.

[Tanegar]

"Lord-captain, it seems to-to me that these 'Thousand Blades' come with more than their-their share of problems. By recruiting them, we run the-the risk of making their enemies our enemies, which in my esti-timation we can ill afford at this delicate juncture; and frankly, their loyal-alty would always be suspect at best. That-that said, perhaps we could round up the leadership for execu-cution, and install your own officers in their place."

[agustaaquila]

"Bleh, these Blades seem rotten to the core. You can cut the head off, but the body is still rotten. I say space them all now, and while the pirates may weep over their deaths those who we should be looking to recruit, those who can make us and House Vorhees strong, will not care or even celebrate with their deaths. We should send them all to the void."

"And if there is an inquiry, I believe that the proper inquiry would be if my Lord was Lord-Captian of the ship, and that is all. Its not as if these people are Arbites or any that we should worry about. And there are too many for us to kill them all."

[LurkerOutThere]

I have a loose tactical plan ready for your review should you choose to impliment spacing. Simultanious to our treachery you should give the order for the gun crews to target the Thousand Blades craft in formation. Swatting gun cutters with sunsear batteries is difficult and overkill but it will add to the shock value. I will deploy the cold men to the barracks area to wiper up anyone not caught by the initial spacing. This will consume many of them but they will no longer be able to be on active service with my cognitive functions reduced anyway. You have no idea how taxing it was keeping them from obeying their primary programing of "kill everyone". Simultaniously your party should take commander Mekkan shipboard security detail and attack the launch bay to prevent as many Blades craft as possible from leaving. All in all a combination of suprise and show of force should allow maximum enemy neutralizationw hile preventing as much damage to me as possible.

[Drace]

Looking around, Luciun finishes scanning the plans and information gathered. "It looks like we should definatly kill off a good chunk of the officer classes. Leave the squad and company command in place, but the upper echelons need to be 'wiped' if we are to do anything with them.".

He then looks over and smiles. "The blades are just that, a blade. A weapon. Aslong as it isnt corrupted, it is just a tool in the hands of it's master, and with the corrupt and violent master gone we will be the just and respected new masters." With that he nods his head. "So I say we use the information we gained to get a hold of the group, do a cleanse, and then set them up both in the ship and without, using them to broaden our reach and make us profit until we are ready to launch out to the Expanse.".

Turning towards both his cousin and then to master-at-arms Granx he smiles. "I think we have a good pair of leaders here to help run the mercenaries with the soon to be compliant Mr. Omoi, and to decide who to liquidate and who to promote." A viscous smile crosses his lips. "And if they decide they don't want to play ball, we simply kill them all, take what prisoners we can to sell as labour, and kill those that may be a threat. The information on the cogitators could be good all on its own.".

[agustaaquila]

"Well, Luciun, it is your choice. I just think that it is a poor idea. However, I seem to be on the outside, and so I will join in the group in removing the officers of the group."

"I propose we go and deal with the mercs now, then come back to the bridge and deal with the astropath. Hopefully he won't have sent message to anyone accusing us of heretical activities."

[LurkerOutThere]

Mekkan addresses the party. "I can arrange a meeting with Omoi readily enough although given the message we're trying to convey I think it might be easiest just to use the Ship's comms to summon him to the bridge. If i may captain, you stated your aim is to bring Omoi to heel and then subordinate his fighting men to our cause. I think this is a good plan but I would ask what the end game so I might better prepare. We can find soldiers of various qualities onboard Port Wander and mercs too. People hire the baldes because they want shipboard fighters with a fearsome reputation. I'll be honest I'm happy that your willing to at least talk to them for even if it was my hand that had the charges placed I'd never meant to murder them in cold blood but as an insurance against treachery. I'm simply trying to point out that you may want a clear picture of where you want to go and what you want to outline for the company when you meet with Omoi. Are you offering him employment or threatening him with death? What about the same for his company.

[Drace]

Lucius looks over to Mekkan and smiles. "Why both. We will help run the blades, with a stake in their profits. For them, they get access to material they may not already have access to, and steady work. I'm just trying to decide if we should find them a new base, or keep them operating from the Divine Inspiration.".

"We could even assist them in recruiting and start sending them out to fulfill contracts like they already do. That way we get a good crew of ship-trained marines, and the income of having a mercenary company flowing into our coffers.". With a heavy sigh, he shrugs. "Maybe over time we can have our own marines and troops that aren't tied to such a ill-reputed group. But for now, they are a resource I only want to throw away as a last resort.".

[agustaaquila]

Well my lord, shall we summon this Omoi to the bridge, for the longer we sit here the more chance that we will be detected, and the Blades draw unwanted conclusions about our plans for them. Sitting around makes me ancy, I long to bring the blades to heel, be it through words, bullets, or blades.

[LurkerOutThere]

The summons goes out and after the comm officer takes the call for the blades is convinced you are not in fact kidding you are told that Commander Omoi will attend you shortly. Soon the DI's sensors track the movement of a small mass of troops through it's twisting corridors. It guides the oncomers on after confirming that while they are armed they number only eight are dressed in the formal imperial guard dress of at least three seperate worlds. It's easy to see who is in charge as they approach the command bridge. Omoi is a great bear of a man, on height alone he might be confused for an young Astartes standing right around seven feet. That illusion is quickly dispelled by his prodigious belly that his formal dress uniform has been let out several times to allow for. At the same time there is a strength to his limbs and beneath his bald scalp a keen intelligence dances in his eyes. He leaves his retune outside the bridge in the gathering haul bringing only soldiers hauling a large chest between the,. He clears his throat as he enters the bridge and looks around. His eyes settle on Lucius. "Hmmmm permision to come aboard?" He rumbles out in a deep baritone.

[Drace]

Looking at the bear of a man and smiling, Lucius nods his head. "Of course Commander Omoi, it would be a pleasure to have you come aboard.". He says as he walks up to the hulking man non-chalantly. He extends his hand towards the commander and smiles. "I would also like to extend House Voorhes' thanks for your selfless work, 'protecting' house voorhes' assets. We are not one to forget those who are our friends.".

He pointedly puts emphasis on thanks.

"I was hoping we could have a little discussion about our mutual..... situation."

[LurkerOutThere]

Omoi shakes hands with Lucius his grip is actually a bit on the tepid side, almost as if he's compensating for his size. The emphasis is not lost on him. "No thanks necissary Captain, truth be told my brotherhood has benefited beyond just the lodging I originally negotiated with Mr. Dray's father. Now when I made such arrangements i was negotiating with a second mate upon a striken hulk who needed someone to fill the hull and bring in food and keep out the riffraff, now I'd imagine I'm negotiating with a Captain and a representative of the Vorhees as well as his esteemed entourage." He gestures to his companions who bring glasses to the tactical table and begin pouring amasec. "Forgive me for being forward but I thought I would provide refreshment as I know the ship's larders are in dire state and since you managed to slip aboard I doubt you brought much kit." He gestures to the remaining container. "I also come bearing the balance of what I owe the Vorhees family, I've brought it on throne gelt rather then ration packs I hope you won't object."

Just from the size and weight of the box, that's a lot of throne gelt.

"I find it best to balance the scales before engaging in negotiations."

[agustaaquila]

Mordechai looks at the chest.

"It is good to bring what is due to others, and places future bargaining in a positive light, as one will be sure that the other party will adhere to the agreement. AS to what our relationship will be moving forward, I will leave that to one better trained in words than I."

[LurkerOutThere]

Omoi quirks an eyebrow. "Yes so many questions about how to proceed and the nature of negotiations. I am painfully aware that the presence of my group has been merely tolerated because the rightful masters of this place were long absent. Ours was always a marriage of convenience based on the thousand blades greater strength. I presume your group thinks that situation has changed?"

[Drace]

A strong, hearty chuckle emanates from Lucius as he digests what commander Omoi says.

"While normally whatever arraignments were made by a mere mate on a ship would be considered void and made unlawfully by one in my position, I haven't risen this far by being a starched ass nob who looks down on those in my employ."

"But with that, it is true we may have to make a new arraignment for this situation. And while it is quite obvious that the thousand blades have more physical presence on this ship than that of me and mine, it is a precarious position. For if these talks of ours don't go positivly for both of us, it really doesn't look good for both parties, since by the end, neither of us would have the safety and benefits of harbour in this ship.".

With this he takes a couple of steps to the view screen to the fore, and turns back to face Omoi.

"You see, I don't mean to make this sound like a threat or anything of the sort to be taken badly, but unless we work together and aid one another, both of us lose. If you were to leverage your 'greater strength' as you put it, you could easily overpower us, and kill us all, along with the majority of the crew who would die for the prospect of never getting to see the stars and the possible fate of the ship. And we couldn't just evict you, since like you said, you have been necessary to keep out the riffraff and protect the Voorhes' assets. And I couldn't treat you so myself, since truth be told you have done me more than a favour by doing what you have. And the sad fact is, that even if these negotiations take a turn for the very worst possiblity, and there is bloodshed. It would be no more than a few months before the Voorhes send out more of their assets to take this ship, meaning you would only have a month or two to keep the ship and delete all the incriminating evidence stored in the cogitators before they, and the arbites and forces under Sector Lord Hax, who has helped sponsor this, come to take what is theirs before the salvage rights are enacted and there is a free for all to take anything and everything from the ship."

He starts to walk back to the table and smiles. "So now that we got all the worst possible scenarios taken care of, lets us sit and discuss the best possible ones? The Win-Win ones people like to talk about.".

[PBTHHHHT]

Cornelius remains silent during the proceedings. Making note of the mercenaries and the progress of the talks. Hopefully things will work out and there'll be many more soldiers to bring back to the light of the Emperor.

[LurkerOutThere]

Omoi laughs an open and hearty sound. "Now here is a captain i can deal with." He takes up a glass poured by one of the accompanying soldiers who then brings some around for the rest of the company as well as Granx and his soldiers. "Have no fear Captain, I have no interest in harming you are your valliant crew. The Divine has been a nice place to set up shop, but I have no desire to become a pirate. Stick with what you know my dear mum always said and the running of a ship is a mystery to me. If we can't come to some accord that allows my men and I to stay on we'll leave peacefully so long as we're allowed to do so."

He moves to sit down at the table the chair creaking a bit beneath him. "Now I sees you have a priest of Mars." he nods to Hakkonen. So i presume you know all the dirty little secrets I put into them there cogitators. I always knew that was bad idea but they make figurin' and payroll a breeze. If you were to agree to not go to the arbites I could provide you some information that might be of interest to you."

"Likewise if you've been reading my files you know we're not too popular around here, so with our refuge leaving the area it might be best to go with it so i'm inclined to offer you cut rate deal on our services. Allying ourselves with the house of Vorhees seems like good sense to me."

He lifts his glass. "Now you have been remarkably candid with me Captain and I appreciate that. You have layed out the worst case scenario should i turn against you, allow me to dot he same. Anything happens to me or my men today the explosives that the Dray's put in the barracks won't be the only ones that go off savy? I appreciate why the gesture was made, and don't hold no ill will because of it. But I figure as long as we're laying cards on the table I figure I should let everyone know that this old soldier is no fool."

[agustaaquila]

"Now the scales are balanced, I think that we both see that it would be advantageous to figure out something that would work for both of us. I'm sure that there is room for yours to stay on the ship, and take what work you may. However, that is simply what I am assuming you want.
I guess now that we have laid out the worse case scenario, what would you like to see come out of these talks."