Rogue Trader - Footfall

Moderator: Goatkiller666

Locked
User avatar
Drak-Kung
Ramen
Posts: 95
Joined: Tue Nov 03, 2009 6:33 pm

Post by Drak-Kung »

Drak-Kun wanders the halls of the Invictus, leaving word with the various clans that he wishes to speak to the Elders, concerning organizing a search as soon as possible for missing children who had been serving as emergency messengers.
User avatar
Montresor
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 2647
Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2007 2:07 am

Post by Montresor »

Arranging a meeting with the clan heads is unorthodox, and takes some time. The subject matter of Drak-Kung's meeting is what ensures that he is indulged. Nevertheless, the meeting is an informal affair, held in a central hall in the Hab-Decks.

Roughly two-dozen clan and gang leaders are seated at a long table, positioned in the middle of a long hall. Habitation rooms line the hall, and the ceiling is several levels up, so that more habitation decks can be clearly seen - each looking down from a long balcony - from the table. Drak-Kung sits at the head of the table, and the leaders wait for him to initiate the meeting. Scores of people line the balconies, watching the conference.
"For the love of God, Montresor!"
"Yes," I said, "for the love of God!" - Edgar Allan Poe, The Cask of Amontillado.

Image
User avatar
Drak-Kung
Ramen
Posts: 95
Joined: Tue Nov 03, 2009 6:33 pm

Post by Drak-Kung »

"I am not gifted with words,so I will keep this simple. I am seeking the missing children. As you live in various areas of the ship, I'm certain your clans know far more about the layout and hiding spaces, and perils, than I do. I would like to send pairs of armsmen with one or two of your people to search for the missing ones. Ideally, your searchers will be ones well-known to the missing ones. My armsmen will maintain constant contact, and I will personally lead the response team should anything dangerous be discovered. On the response team, any of your people who can demonstrate some proficiency in combat will be welcome, as long as the numbers are kept reasonable."

a pause, to survey the attendees....

"Of course, if your knowledge of the vessel indicates some parts of my plan are unworkable, please tell me, and we can figure out the best solution."
User avatar
Montresor
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 2647
Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2007 2:07 am

Post by Montresor »

As Drak-Kung scans the leaders and the crowd assembled to watch, he notices the man who sought for a purge of the Lowers.

One of the lesser gang leaders, a man in a stark, crimson painted void-suit answers first: 'You'll have our help. An' I know where t' look. Deep down. In the cursed lower decks. Ghosts'.

Enginseer Adjent raises his mechadendrite to gain Drak-Kung's attention. His mechanical voice booms. 'We do not know this. People are missing from all over the ship'.

'It's the Warp that took 'em!' one woman cries from a level above.

Lady Kahrmyna waves a hand in the air to make sure people remain silent. 'We will all help with what we have, Master-at-arms. Most of those who are still missing vanished somewhere near the forward prow, close to the Mazeworks. It is a black place. The souls of the dead are trapped there, and they exact their price. But none of this would have happened if that Storm had been avoided. Tell us what you need'.

Murmurs and procalamtions of assent immediately follow, and men start declaring that they'll join the search.
"For the love of God, Montresor!"
"Yes," I said, "for the love of God!" - Edgar Allan Poe, The Cask of Amontillado.

Image
User avatar
Drak-Kung
Ramen
Posts: 95
Joined: Tue Nov 03, 2009 6:33 pm

Post by Drak-Kung »

"What I need most are people who know the area. Given what you say of the reputation of this are, I realize knowledgeable guides may be very few. Also people who are well-known by the missing. And, again, those who can demonstrate combat skills. I do not discount the Emperor's favor, those who have a proven record of luck, and surviving desperate straits, would be welcome."
User avatar
Montresor
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 2647
Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2007 2:07 am

Post by Montresor »

The enthusiasm for Drak-Kung's plan is tempered slightly by the general fear for the region of the ship to be explored. Nonetheless, within half an hour, there are about one hundred volunteers. The Arch-Militant and his men begin informal interviews and questions to see which candidates are more suitable, revealing that there only about two dozen profess even a basic knowledge of the forward prow.

[If I could a general description of how your teams approach the Forward Prow, that would be great. Things to consider would be - how many men in total do you employ? What kind of armaments do you permit? And in what fashion do they navigate the area? From what you know of the Mazeworks and surrounding areas, they are frought with life-support problems, some areas of zero-gravity, incomplete structures, and a confusing layout]
"For the love of God, Montresor!"
"Yes," I said, "for the love of God!" - Edgar Allan Poe, The Cask of Amontillado.

Image
User avatar
Drak-Kung
Ramen
Posts: 95
Joined: Tue Nov 03, 2009 6:33 pm

Post by Drak-Kung »

...2 dozen teams. Each team is 3 of my folks, one person who has some knowledge of the area, one who shows skill with weapons (las, slugthrower, whatever), and one who is well-known to as many of the missing as possible.

OOC--PM for other part of prep...not sure how to phrase in 40k terminology...
User avatar
Montresor
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 2647
Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2007 2:07 am

Post by Montresor »

Organising men and women into small search squads and readying the teams for the investigation takes some time. Enginseer Adjent agrees to do what he can to assist the monitoring of the area, however, he informs Drak-Kung that there simply are no known pict-devices in the Mazeworks. The teams, instead, will have to rely upon their micro-beads for communication. Adjent garuntees that he will liase with Vehle to keep the signal strong enough to Micro-Beads to function at their best.

Hours later, Drak-Kung has taken his teams to the periphery of the Mazeworks. Establishing a central chamber as his base of operations, the Arch-Militant and his response team wait patiently for teams to assemble at their launching points. At this forward position on the Invictus, even the steady hum of the Plasma Drives seems remote. Heating is minimul, and an eerir silence pervades.

Sergeant Markus waits with Drak-Kung and the remainder of the response team. A rating by the name of Pold waits with his partner, Kelty, and theylisten intently to their own micro-beads.

Markus turns to Drak-Kung. 'The teams are all in position, sir. They await the order to set off. Some of the squad commanders are asking for clearance to fire upon anything that appears suspicious'.
"For the love of God, Montresor!"
"Yes," I said, "for the love of God!" - Edgar Allan Poe, The Cask of Amontillado.

Image
User avatar
Drak-Kung
Ramen
Posts: 95
Joined: Tue Nov 03, 2009 6:33 pm

Post by Drak-Kung »

"I cannot allow the mere appearance of suspicion to open fire. Consider...if a child is hiding, cowering under a scrap of blanket...the moving mass might well seem suspicious, and then we will have killed those we seek to rescue. Attempt to ascertain if it is a threat or not...but one warning is sufficient before opening fire."
User avatar
Montresor
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 2647
Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2007 2:07 am

Post by Montresor »

The teams wander into the hazardous depths of the Mazeworks, relaying information as they navigate the hold.

[The series of 'dialogues' below represent communications via Micro-bead sent to Drak-Kung. They don't happen all at once, and you should respond to each differently. The communications occur over a period of ten minutes, with none for the first five. Depending on your responses, the search will meet with difficulty or ease. They are represented in different colours so that you know they are from different squads]

### Hector here. Reached Access Lock A-34. Cold. It's very cold here. Trying Lock . . . Nothing . . . We . . . copy . . . Lock . . . Sir, do you copy? Hector here. Central access point on this level is sealed and the controls do not respond. What are your directions, sir? ###

### Atamiel reporting in. There's no light source down here at all. Just flickering globes at a far junction. The grates here are unsteady. Some are rusted. Bad-shape. We thought we heard something down here when we were exploring the level above. Sounded like more than one perosn. Maybe another squad . . . No-one's responding on Micro-bead from ahead. How do we procceed? ###

### Sir? Do you copy this? This is Hurtegen reporting, sir. We are approaching the lower level, just beyond the lance generator. It's all just ladders and scaffolds here. There's very little solid ground. Doesn't look safe at all. But there's good life-support, that's for sure. Ventillators are running clear and crisp. Don't know if anyone but an acrobat would come down here but. requesting permission to turn back. Hurtegen out. ###
Last edited by Montresor on Wed Apr 28, 2010 12:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"For the love of God, Montresor!"
"Yes," I said, "for the love of God!" - Edgar Allan Poe, The Cask of Amontillado.

Image
User avatar
Drak-Kung
Ramen
Posts: 95
Joined: Tue Nov 03, 2009 6:33 pm

Post by Drak-Kung »

"Hector, wait one. I will confer with the enginseers as to how we may be able to open the lock"....bead call....

"Atamiel, carry on. If whatever is moving is not responding aloud to the clansfolk calling for the children, then you may fire upon it...."

"Huertegen, children often do passably as acrobats. Wait there, calling aloud for the children for ten mintues. Ifthey're there, if they respond, press on. If not, then you can return."
User avatar
Montresor
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 2647
Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2007 2:07 am

Post by Montresor »

Drak-Kung wrote: "Hector, wait one. I will confer with the enginseers as to how we may be able to open the lock"....bead call....
Drak-Kung confers with the enginseers, via Adjent to see if there is some means of opening the lock. The tech-priests communicate directly with Hector's squad, attempting to use various Rites of Opening and Activation upon the vault. After several minutes of discussion, the lock does not respond to anything the Mechanicus try.

Hector re-confers with Drak-Kung.

###Sir, Hector in. The lock won't budge. One of the tech-priests wants to come and try to open it directly. I don't know, sir. We're wasting time on this. I'd rather turn back and find another access point. Hector out.###
Drak-Kung wrote: "Atamiel, carry on. If whatever is moving is not responding aloud to the clansfolk calling for the children, then you may fire upon it...."
###Copy that, sir. Will procceed.###
Drak-Kung wrote: "Huertegen, children often do passably as acrobats. Wait there, calling aloud for the children for ten mintues. Ifthey're there, if they respond, press on. If not, then you can return."
Hurtegen follows your instructions. More than ten minutes pass before Hurtegen re-opens the micro-bead channel.

###Hurtegen reporting. We called out. A lot. No-one answered. I don't like it down here. The men are spooked. I don't know if it's the girders buckling and shifting, the ship, or what...there's a lot of noise down here that sounds like creeping through the metal. We're holding, sir. Waiting for instructions. Hurtegen out.###

.... .... .... ....

Half an hour has passed since the teams set off into the Mazeworks. Two teams have thus far turned back, justifying their decisions as resulting from having reached dead-ends, though their squad leaders sound on-edge. Several teams reported sighting shadowy figures in the darkness which were later confirmed to be other squads. So far, no shots or concrete sightings of the missing have been reported.

One more report comes in. The signal through the micro-bead is poor, likely interfered with by the dense metals and cabling of the area itself. It is unclear who is making the report, as the voice sounds tinny through the bead.

### Ga...cha-....in. Conf....sight...all kinds of noise....constru...chan...sounds as....have become los...omnissiah....###
"For the love of God, Montresor!"
"Yes," I said, "for the love of God!" - Edgar Allan Poe, The Cask of Amontillado.

Image
User avatar
Drak-Kung
Ramen
Posts: 95
Joined: Tue Nov 03, 2009 6:33 pm

Post by Drak-Kung »

"Hector, await the tech-priest."

"Huertegen, since there's no response, return."

When the broken transmission comes in, confer with Adjent to determine which team it is (by check-in with everyone), and WHERE they last were...then lead Reaction Group to their aid.
User avatar
Montresor
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 2647
Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2007 2:07 am

Post by Montresor »

Enginseer Adjent spends minutes attempting to pin-point the precise location of the signal, with little definite success. Narrowing the likely projection point down to a wide area in the central Mazeworks, Adjent gives rough directions to Drak-Kung and his team. Drak-Kung plunges into the forward prow of the Invictus.

As the Arch-Militant navigates the treacherous series of half-built decks, tunnels, and rooms, he continues to receive updates via micro-bead from the other teams. Another six teams have had to turn back to avoid pressing on weakened structures, or areas with zero-gravity. Several teams have also merged with one another, to avoid confusion.

More messages come in:

###Do you read, chief? This is Gorn. We've had an incident. Corproal Darris is out, chief. There was a major gas leak here - it's all through Sub-Section 44 . . . It looks pretty bad. His skin is peeling . . . all blistered. Request permission for immediate evacuation. Gorn out.###

###-arm. I say again - have found torn and bloody overals down here. Tunics, void-suits, helmets. Cannot tell the age. Blood is dry. No other remains. Some personal effects and things. I think you should take a look at this, chief. Do you copy? This is Corporal Greder. We are along the lowest reachable level. No light down here. Colder than the void. Request assistance. Greder out.###

[Greder's likely position would be about 30 levels down from where Drak Kung is heading]
"For the love of God, Montresor!"
"Yes," I said, "for the love of God!" - Edgar Allan Poe, The Cask of Amontillado.

Image
User avatar
Drak-Kung
Ramen
Posts: 95
Joined: Tue Nov 03, 2009 6:33 pm

Post by Drak-Kung »

"Gorn, permission granted."

"Greeder, I will be there shortly. There is a missing team in some trouble, lost communication. I will need to resolve that situation first. For now, get all the information you can on the bodies there....names, clans, everything."
User avatar
Montresor
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 2647
Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2007 2:07 am

Post by Montresor »

Drak-Kung wrote: "Greeder, I will be there shortly. There is a missing team in some trouble, lost communication. I will need to resolve that situation first. For now, get all the information you can on the bodies there....names, clans, everything."
###Understood, chief. Cha- . . . no bodily remains here fsst - . . . -orting them. There must be dozens of scraps. Some kind of charnel cloak room. Greder out.###

The Mazeworks are smothered in an eerie silence, punctuated only by the creaking of metal, and the sounds of Drak-Kung and his team navigating the forgotten decks. Lights flicker erratically, while others surge with excessive power; but the deeper Drak-Kung travels, the rarer lumen globes become.

Foul smells and coolant fluid permeate several decks, though the fluid has become ichrous and stagnant with lack of circulation. Drak-Kung's in-built Auger Array bionic sends clicking impulses to his brain, warning him that radiation levels are rising in his area. The further he travels, the higher the rad-reading.

All ahead is darkness. Only the hand-held lights of the men cast away the shadows, revealing dust swimming in the darkness. Girders, cables, and grates pierce at odd angles, exposing holes in the walls from which vile drafts waft. The sounds of movement are detected in the darkness ahead. At least two people are somewhere in the gloom, possibly on a higher deck, but certainly heading in Drak-Kung's direction.
"For the love of God, Montresor!"
"Yes," I said, "for the love of God!" - Edgar Allan Poe, The Cask of Amontillado.

Image
User avatar
Drak-Kung
Ramen
Posts: 95
Joined: Tue Nov 03, 2009 6:33 pm

Post by Drak-Kung »

Awaiting the oncoming people...bolt-pistols ready....indicate to my squad to take cover, be ready to fire when I do, no sooner.
User avatar
Montresor
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 2647
Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2007 2:07 am

Post by Montresor »

Drak-Kung's in-built Auger Array fixes on to movement, though it does not appear to be coming from the same direction as the sound. The sounds of movement die down to a faint scratching before becoming complete silence, somewhere just out of view. On the other hand, the Auger Array detects what is most likely one person, wandering through a parralell corridor to Drak-Kung and his team. The movement blips faintly, erratically, as if the person or thing is pausing constantly.

As Drak-Kung waits, he receives another transmission from his micro-bead.

### Hector reporting in. There's an enginseer and an adept here, sir. They're getting the door open [the sound of metallic scraping can be heard over the vox]. It's coming. It's . . . there's . . . looks like . . . -nother door. Do you read, chief? The door is giving way. Some kind of false door with another one behind. It's . . . Emperor's mercy . . . Chief? Chief? We've got to get out of here . . . it's . . . Glyphs . . . sss . . . fsst . . . don't touch it . . . unholy marks . . . ###

The vox crackles, and goes silent.
"For the love of God, Montresor!"
"Yes," I said, "for the love of God!" - Edgar Allan Poe, The Cask of Amontillado.

Image
User avatar
Drak-Kung
Ramen
Posts: 95
Joined: Tue Nov 03, 2009 6:33 pm

Post by Drak-Kung »

whispering on the bead, "Follow the enginseer and adepts lead until I can get there"

Quickly moving, tracking in on the movement my Array detected.
User avatar
Montresor
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 2647
Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2007 2:07 am

Post by Montresor »

Nothing but static answers on the Vox, and the Master-at-arms doubts his message reached Hector's squad at all. With no other choice, Drak-Kung leads his men as stealthily as he is able through the darkened halls of the Maze Works.

.... .... .... ....

Minutes later, Drak-Kung is shadowing a figure in the darkness. The form appears humanoid, and holds something in each hand. One appears burdened with a rifle of some sort, and the other with a strip of dark cloth or material. As the distance between the two closes, it becomes obvious that the man is a stray armsman, who is wandering in a daze, like a fitfull sleep or waking nightmare.

Turning, as he senses his commanding officer drawing near, the armsman begins to slowly scream, a tortured and scratched vocalisation of horror. Fear gives over to forlorn relief, and the man's legs collapse under him. Drak-Kung sees that he is covered in specks of blood. In his left hand is the flayed upper-skin and face of one of the missing children.
"For the love of God, Montresor!"
"Yes," I said, "for the love of God!" - Edgar Allan Poe, The Cask of Amontillado.

Image
Locked

Return to “Rogue Trader”