[Rogue Trader PbP] The Heir Apparent Act I

[Uthic]

Mordekai nods at Thraxus, snorting at his parting words - "As if I go anywhere unarmed" he mutters, patting one of his bolt pistols,

He briskly marches off to the lift and his quarters. Once there he stops briefly to grab the arms coffer bearing his plasma gun, his kit and ammunition. On his way to the hangar to meet up with the rest of the shore party, he gives parting instructions to the security teams to maintain vigilance while at port.

 

[jammastaj]

As Zander moves about his quarters gathering his weapons and equipment he intones a prayer to the Omnissiah, asking for success and safety in the tasks ahead.

"I wonder if the Mechanicus here have better data stores regarding the perils of the Expanse," Zander ponders to himself as he finishes his preparations.

"If they do, you may prove useful today Brother Jorald."

At the sound of his name the servo-skull powers to life and floats to Zander's side. The soft hum of the anti-grav motors surround the two as they move off to meet the others in the Hangar.

 

[Kaelan]

Macharius takes the lift to his private apartments in preparation for the trip station side. The lift doors open and several attendants from house Tersum anticipating Macharius' movements supply him with his trusty Hellpistol and Metal staff.

Macharius points at two servants "You two, while we're on station I want you to acquire some of the finest aged Amasec liquor, who knows how long our voyage will last and my stocks are running low."

Macharius double checks his weapons, and equipment as he heads to meet the other Officers in the Hangar.

 

[The Bashar]

The Rogue Trader and his retinue descend down the gangplank down onto the hangar floor. The ship’s crew are unloading cargo from the stern hatch, while the station’s staff are directing them where to take it. Bromidus is speaking to a group of twenty people, at the head of which is an older man. He is wearing the clothes of a scribe or an adept, he has jet black hair which has a few prominent streaks of silver shot through it. A hellgun sits on his hip while a data slate is in his hand. He occasionally looks at it and gives orders to the people standing around him. When he looks up from the data slate this time he notices Thraxus and smiles. He waves him over.

“M’Lord Thraxus, you look quite well.”

He takes a deep bow.

“You’ve quite the group of associates there. A Navigator none the less. I am Dallion, servant of House Vespus.”

He motions to the short woman to his right.

“This is Muriel. I’ve hired her as an assistant. She’s lived in Port Wander her whole life and has been a tremendous asset.”

Muriel executes a clumsy curtsy and her pale void born skin blushes a deep crimson. She is dressed plainly in a grey robe cinched with a simple belt. On the belt she has a simple Las Pistol and some tiny pouches. You do notice a few wires and ports on the side of her skull, indicating she’s had some cybernetic augmentations.

“A pleasure to be working for your Dynasty, M’Lord.”

Dallion smirks at her shyness in the presence of Thraxus and his party.

“Muriel, I’m going to take the Lord and his party back to the apartments. Work with Bromidus to off load the cargo and transport it to the office in the trade district. Come join us when that is completed.”

Dallion motions towards the door.

"When you're ready M'Lord."

 

[Gregor]

Thraxus shakes the hand of Dallion. "You're a sight old friend," says Thraxus with a smile. Without releasing his hand, he turns and grins at Muriel. "My lady ... it is an absolute pleasure to meet you."

He then clasps Dallion on the shoulder and begins to walk with him back to the apartments. With the party following, Thraxus leans into Dallion's ear and very quietly says: "We can discuss business at the apartments, but tell me everything you know of House Azymus' presence here."

 

[The Bashar]

Dallion smiles at the warm reception. Dallion looks Thraxus up and down.

“You’re quite the sight as well! You look every bit the Rogue Trader. Even your father would have been impressed.”

He leada Thraxus and his party out of the Hangar. Half of the guards follow them out. Outside the hangar you see rows of similar buildings across the circumference of the station. Above you notice the edge of the giant hab dome coming down to the edge of the station. Macharius, however can make out the curve as it goes up towards the center of the station. The area around the hangar is illuminated by electric lights, while the rest of the area is in shadowy darkness. A few people are moving about in this area, most seem preoccupied with their own business and offer only a momentary glance towards the party. Dallion gestures toward what appears to be three train cars. Two of which are large dull grey cars. They appear to have little in terms of interior. The car at the front, however, is smaller and is painted a deep crimson with gold etchings across the side. It has a well illuminated interior with the amenities of a small apartment. Plush seating, what appears to be a cabinet stocked with liqueurs, a large cogitator screen which is currently showing a map of some sort.

“Your chariot awaits, M’Lord. The station has a large monorail system for transportation. The other two cars are for cargo and personnel transport. Talus and Balin come with us in the Lord’s car. The rest of you secure the area and wait for everything and everyone to be loaded.”

Dallion walks to the front car and activates the side door and waves the group in. He settles himself down and activates a small vox.

“Samuel, take us to the apartments in the Administration District.”

Dallion sits back and folds his hands in his lap. The two guards take up positions at the front and back of the car as is begins to accelerate.

"As I said in the message, we have noticed that we are being watched. The Azymus ship the came into Port Wander has since left, but I do know it was moored at Dock Eta 54. It left 2 months ago, but maybe some of the personnel may know something. They do not rent or own any real estate that I could find, but they could be using a false name. They haven't made any moves yet, but with you here that may change."

 

[Gregor]

Thraxus thinks as he watches various parts of the station pass across the window of the monorail. "Any idea if it was their Rogue Trader vessel?" he asks.

 

[The Bashar]

Dallion's eyes flick down to his dataslate as he consults it.

"No it wasn't. The Faithful Steed was a Vagabond-class merchant trader registered in their name. Their flag ship is The Heir of Secundus, a Hazeroth-class privateer."

 

[Gregor]

"Interesting, I suppose the Trader vessel is skulking around the Kronus Expanse. I'm sure we'll encounter her soon enough." Thraxus turns to face Dallion. "Regardless, I don't like the idea that they may have agents here watching us. Please ensure that our operations here are always and to be extremely vigilant - no unauthorized accesses, suspicious persons interrogated and so forth ... you know what you're doing Dallion. I won't micromanage you."

Thraxus examines the liquor cabinet and selects the finest whiskey he can find - ideally single malt. He pours a few fingers into two glasses and hands one to Dallion. He reclines and watches the progress on the cogitator map. Taking a sip he continues to speak. "On to business I suppose. What responsibilities need attending to while we are docked and what mission leads do you have? I would like to be away in the morning if possible."

 

[The Bashar]

Dallion looks back down to his dataslate.

“Thank you for your confidence, I’ve been as vigilant as I can be.

Anyways, I would strongly suggest you accept the dinner invitation from the head administrator of the station. His name is Kraal Farellus. There will probably be at least a few dignitaries there for you to meet and make possible connections with.”

He presses a few more buttons on the data slate.

“There have been a few parties that have approached me personally. A group of Tech Priests from the planet Palagius’ Landing brought forth an interesting proposal. They were a part of some research group studying the gas of some space anomaly. However, Palagius’ Landing was over run Orks three years ago and they had to abandon their research. They want someone with a warp capable ship to take them back so that they can salvage their work.”

Dallion’s eyes leave the data pad and makes eye contact with Thraxus.

“I asked the two obvious questions: One, how will this benefit us? And two, how do you expect to get past a planet full of Orks? Apparently a few months back a merchant vessel made an emergency exit from the warp and ended up near the planet. It was completely deserted. No sign of Ork vessels or activity on the planet at all. As to our benefit from this endeavour, the Tech Priests have offered a hefty sum of thrones and depending on the state of the research some additional business opportunities.”

As your car continues toward the center of the station you notice it is getting brighter as the buildings are getting taller. Dallion readjusts himself in the seat.

“The other party was a group of traders who said they found some interesting artifacts on a planet they were doing some business on. They believe that they could be valuable. They did not give any more information. I have the contact information for one Paulus Serger if you are interested in following up on this lead. The lack of information may suggest that what they found is less than legal.”