Warhammer 40K: The Interex Valhalla

[Protagonist]

Life goes by as normal in the Valhalla. The people do commerce and build things. The people go about their business under the watchful eyes of security cameras and combat drones.


Screens pervade the ship. Many are playing a speech given by Apollo. He speaks with a monotone voice. He's saying something pseudo-intellectual about the dangers of altruism making the beneficiaries weak. It's essentially white noise to most here.


Apollo is sitting in his office, looking out a window over his ship. He likes to watch his crew this way. They're like an ant farm, but much bigger and with more personality. The office itself is a nice place. It has a coffee maker, a minibar, and an arcade machine. There's a large, holographic projector in the center.


He swivels in his chair to face a large blue glowing light-a camera of Kara, the ship's computer. He tells her "Kara. It is time. Send me three explorers with attitude".


Kara responds in feminine voice: "No, not explorers!" She sighs and then responds "Fine, I'll do it".


Over the intercom, Kara's voice is heard.


"Apharius. Carth. Naomi. Please head up to the Captain's office".

 

[Eplov]

Having only just gotten aboard and settled her things, Naomi is equal parts shocked and excited by the Captain's summons. Hoping to make a good first impression she straightens her clothes, ensures that her mechadendrites are wrapped around her and as unobtrusively as possible, and lets out a shrill whistle.


"Come on, Snuffles." She says, beckoning her cyber-hound.


Setting out into the corridors with her data-slate in hand (ship's internal maps already downloaded) she's off to the Captain's office with the accompanying click of metallic feet.

 

[Nexus Placater]

Apharius was busy charting another route that he remember when he heard the sound of the Apollo calling for him. Finishing with his chart, he quickly got up and made his way over to the office, making sure to keep his head down and his eyes covered, just in case any of the crew decided to freak at his completely dark eyes and mechanical shutter that sat on his forehead. "Let's hope that we have something new. I need to make my house proud." He mumbled as he quickly traversed the halls, making sure to not bump into too many people.

 

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

Carth held his favourite bolt shell between his thumb and forefinger, thinking back to his time aboard that accursed ship which had consumed nine years of his life. He'd never had a peaceful life, but that ship was the worst thing that had happened to him, although some would argue that it was the best. His rebuttal to these people would be a round through the skull.


The call over the intercom shook him out of his thoughts, and he quickly pocketed his memory, gathered his gear, and made his way to Apollo's office. Most of the crew tried to pretend he wasn't there as he moved, and he returned the favour. They could think of him what they wanted; as long as none of them tried to gut him in the night, he was content. As he walked, he instinctively held one hand touching the grip of his naval pistol.


As he arrived, he noted the presence of three others. One he recognised, both by name and appearance, as the ship's Navigator, Apharius Diverianos. Another, a woman, had various mechanical implants on her person. The third, who he assumed was connected to the woman, was a cyber-hound of some kind. His hand unconsciously wrapped itself a little closer around the grip of his pistol.

 

[Eplov]

Naomi, new to shipboard life as of that very day, was unsure whether to knock, announce her presence, or wait to be noticed. So sure of her map and ability to just plain get there, she forgot to plan out what came next. She didn't know anyone here except her sister and Snuffles, and while her sister was good at this sort of thing, she generally made a terrible first impression. Maybe Snuffles could introduce her?

Spoiler

[dice]22003[/dice]


Two degrees of failure, ouch!


She stands outside the door for about five minutes, getting more and more anxious with each passing second. Her anxiety finally getting the best of her, she enters in a rush and trips over her own feet at the door. Mechadendrites and limbs flailing, Naomi crashes into the arcade machine, rebounds off and hits the floor with a very heavy thud.


Snuffles, assuming they are under attack, begins to growl menacingly and looks for the invisible foe who must have tripped Naomi.

 

[Protagonist]

Apollo watches as Naomi enters and hits an arcade machine. He snickers and then looks towards the Kara console, and then looks back. He quickly gets up and asks her "Are you ok, ma'am?". He offers a hand to help her up. Hopefully, she won't do that in a critical moment.

 

[Eplov]

After her spectacular entrance her normally pale skin flames red. Rather than accept the proffered hand her mechadendrites anchor her and raise her to her feet. She reaches out to sooth the cyber-hound, then says, "I'm fine, thank you." Now that she is vertical and in the room, she takes a moment to survey the splendor of the office. She winces a bit at the dent in the arcade machine, but hopes Apollo won't notice.

 

[Nexus Placater]

Apharius moves into the room, making sure that he appears in the office as quickly as he can, hoping to meet the Rogue Trader that had presented him with the chance to prove that he can rebuild his house. As soon as he arrived at the office, he found himself staring at a young woman on the floor with a small cybernetic hound.

Spoiler

[dice]22005[/dice] Nuffle doesn't want me to be nice, does he?

Before he realised it, he was stood staring at the confrontation for a good 5 seconds. When he did realise it, they probably had noticed. He stumbled multiple times before he was able to come up with a coherent sentence. "Nice to meet you. I am Apharius. Who might you be?" he said in Low Gothic, just to make sure that she understood. As he said this, he realised that he was staring at her with his completely black eyes. He quickly turned before he scared her.

 

[Eplov]

Hoping to salvage the situation, Naomi makes eye contact (ish?) with both men, clears her throat, and gruffly announces, "I am Naomi Rook, and this" she adds, stroking the hound with a sinuous mechadendrite, "is Snuffles."


By this time Snuffles has realized that, either the threat has fled, or his master has somehow vanquished it. He sits down at Naomi's side and yawns hugely, displaying an array of metallic teeth.

 

[Protagonist]

Apollo returns to his desk as he sees that Naomi can take care of herself. He pulls out a bottle and a few wine glasses.


"Champagne, anyone?" he asks as he pours himself a glass. "We have much to discuss".


He takes a sip and then says "I've called you here for an important offer. According to research-mostly done by Kara, mind you-that says you're especially qualified for a new position I'm opening up. I'm assembling a team for...special operations, and I'm offering you jobs. You'll be apart of my "Inner Circle" on board the ship-advisers and body guards. You'll also be sent on the most important missions on the ground-overseen directly by me".


He steeples his fingers. "You'll be rewarded with vastly increased payment, and other privileges aboard my vessel". He raises an eybrow "Does any of this...sound appealing to you?"

 

[Eplov]

"Sold!" barks out Naomi, almost before Apollo has finished speaking, all reticence gone. The idea of real wealth is so real she can almost touch it. "When do we start?" She adds as she pours herself a glass of champagne, not yet willing to allow these virtual strangers access to her drink.

 

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

Carth stepped carefully into the room where everyone else had made their entrance. Some more successful than others. He narrowed his eyes at the woman. Naomi, if he remembered correctly. He exhaled slightly at her incompetence, hoping that it was more nerves than actual clumsiness. After a moment he looked up at Apollo and gave him a nod of approval. It was almost unnecessary that he was asked, for his oath was binding. Any service he could render Apollo, he would.

 

[Nexus Placater]

Apharius nods as Carth entered the Office. Apharius had known about him for quite a while, so much so that they respected each other for their roles on the ship. After his nod of greetings to Carth, Apharius turned to Apollo, and then replied to his proposition. "I have guided this ship for five years now under your instruction. It will do me no good if I were to turn back now. You have my loyalty." With that, Apharius stood ready to leave, knowing that very soon, he will have to navigate the currents of the treacherous warp.

 

[Eplov]

"It's decided then!" chirps Naomi excitedly. She begins energetically pacing back and forth, champagne glass forgotten in her hand. Muttering to herself, she says, "With a substantial income, and it will be very substantial, I can finally finish upgrading Snuffles! And after that, I can..."


Annoyed by the Naomi shaped debt in her new captain's arcade machine, her utility mechadendrite snakes out and expertly pulls it out, smooths the damage to invisibility, and starts to polish the surface to a mirror shine. During this time she has never stopped pacing, or listing off the many many "toys" she will purchase with her new windfall.

 

[Protagonist]

Apollo says "Very well. Set a course for Yovido". He's reffering to a planet near the Maw, about a day or two away from where we're at now. "We have a contact there-originally from the same world as Naomi-who might be interested in a deal regarding some important salvage". He slinks back in his chair. "I'm going to want your three with me as I meet with him, and then help me retrieve the salvage".


He then raises a hand and says "You're dismissed, thank you. You should return to your normal posts. Meet me towards the shuttle bay tomorrow at 1:00".

 

[Nexus Placater]

Apharius hurries off to the bridge and his usual navigator seat. As he sits down, he begins to calm himself so that he can view the surroundings that lie in the Immaterium. With one last breath, he shut his normal eyes and after a few seconds he opens his third eye to the warp.

Spoiler

[dice]22019[/dice]Bad estimate


Don't have awareness, just using perception.





[dice]22020[/dice]Just passed this one





[dice]22022[/dice]Still making it!





[dice]22023[/dice]Well, we are late





[dice]22024[/dice]Well, we are probably going to crash on something.


Apharius was incredibly distracted during most of the navigating, the only things he was focused on were the location of the god emperor's light and his charting of the course. As he exits the warp, he new very well something bad was going to happen.

 

[Eplov]

Before their dismissal, and all through Apollo's briefing, Naomi had been keying a shopping list into her data slate, then modifying said lists, sorting them, and starting over. "Yup," she said, "tomorrow at one. "never once looking up. Naomi wandered out of Apollo's office eyes still glued to her screen, Snuffles dutifully trailing along behind her.


Later that night she had orientation, where she would be shown the ropes of being a tech genius on such a glorious ship. She was looking forward to a long and beautiful friendship between her, the Interex, and the piles of wealth they would earn together.

 

[Protagonist]

Apollo sleeps for a few hours. He has a nightmare about that fateful day, when Interex fought the Adeptus Astartes.


He's woken up by an alarm. Not a clock, but a red alert.


The warp is not a safe place. Perhaps the Navigator should not blame himself, but the fact that we're so close to the Maw. Hopefully, nobody's blamed for what's about to happen.


Apollo, still in his pajamas, runs to a screen. He sees the object we're in front of.


The ship is heading straight for a very small asteroid.


A red alert comes across the ship. "Hello" says Kara. "We are currently heading towards an asteroid. So please, sit down, buckle your seatbelt straps, and remember-the computer is your friend!"


The Asteroid collides with our ship.


[dice]22026[/dice]


[We take 6 damage to our hull!]


Luckily, it was a small asteroid. Injuries occur, but most of them weren't that serious. Unless you count that one poor guy who got filled with pieces of the wall during the asteroid collision-he got messed up pretty good. But he'll live, he's just going to have to be turned into a Servitor. Life happens, y'know? It's a good thing he doesn't have any family on board this ship.


But what happens next is not good.


Apollo's voice is heard again over the intercom "Intruder alert! We have an Ork Raiding party on board the ship! All security forces, head to the Tenebro Maze! Prepare to repel boarders!"


[dice]22028[/dice]


[Fail]


[dice]22029[/dice]


[dice]22030[/dice]


Many people and Servitors (but mostly Servitors) arrive in the Tenebro Maze to fight off the Orks-only two or three of them managed to get on board. The Orks declare "Freebootaz are gunna Freeboot!" While the Security Servitors declare "EXTERMINATE!" and start shooting at each other.


The gunsmoke settles, and Apollo's voice is heard over the intercom.


"Crew. We have been raided by Orks. We have successfully repelled them. Unfortunately, 1 security servitor and one crewmember-Daniel Webb-were killed. 20 crewmembers were hospiltalized. 6 Crewmembers are currently being reclaimed. To express condolences, I'm offering the families of those people paid leave if they so desire. I'm sorry."


It's not much longer, though, when we arrive at our contact's ship. It's a small, tiny craft, designed to hold one person.


"Naomi. Carth. Meet me and Apharius on the bridge. There's been a last minute change of plans due to...recent events".


The Bridge is elevated above the rest of the ship. It has a glass dome window that looks across the void, and a holographic projector. The whole room is mostly black colored. The captain enters it, and sits down in his captain chair, clearly distressed by the event. He awaits the rest of his crew to arrive.


He turns to Apharius and tells him "I take full responsibility for this. I shouldn't have given the order to get so close to the Maw. Don't blame yourself. That's an order."

 

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

Carth nodded again at Apollo's dismissal, giving his other two 'comrades' a mild glare, before leaving quickly to return to his previous activities.


---


Carth is shaken awake by the first hints of trouble, a red alert. Instantly, a switch flips and he goes from asleep to alert and awake. His first thought is to gear up, just in case anything required it. A minute and a third later, he was fully prepared. He'd had plenty of practise at quickly getting himself ready from his life, and it always paid off. He immediately rushes with the flow of armsmen, winding around and around the maze-like corridors. Eventually he peeled off and made for the bridge, just in time to hear Apollo's voice over the intercoms making an announcement, ending with summoning him and Naomi to the bridge, where he was already heading.


Twenty seconds later, Carth strides onto the bridge, fully armed and armoured, ready for combat. His eyes lock on the form on Apollo. Carth immediately marches up to the Captain from the side and salutes rigidly, awaiting commands. He is entirely uncaring of the possible surprise from his swift appearance so soon after the announcement.

 

[Protagonist]

Apollo jumps as Carth walks in. Sometimes, things get by even him. He was not expecting Carth to come here so fast.


Apollo recomposes and says "Oh, you startled me. At ease, soldier. We've defeated the Orks, though the shuttle bay was damaged. Since we're running late as-is, we're simply going to hail our contact and would like you to be present in case he says anything important."

 

[Eplov]

The red alert was new to Naomi, and its unfamiliarity along with her new cozy (cramped by her standards) living space cost her in response time. Worse still, Snuffles had no clue what was happening, and wound around the cabin anxiously, constantly in the way. Apparently these cabins weren't designed with half-ton cybernetic hounds in mind.


Naomi rushed into the hall still bolter in hand and Snuffles at her heel, when she heard the captain's summons. Thankful for the foresight to familiarize herself with the ships major areas of importance, Naomi headed for the bridge at a run.


Two minutes later she runs onto the bridge, breathing easy despite the exertion, bare feet slapping on the deck plates. The oversized tee shirt she had worn to bed strikes an odd contrast with her bolter.


Looking at Apollo she asks, "What can I do to help?"

 

[Protagonist]

Apollo sees the cyborg walk in. He says to Naomi "At ease. The emergency is over. Now that we have the Ork threat dealt with, I'm about to hail a contact originally from your homeworld about an important salvage-a broken down Imperial Vessel. I thought someone from his homeworld might be helpful for striking a deal with him. I'd also like you to accompany the team when we get on board the derelict ship. He might have important technical information for us".

 

[Eplov]

"When it comes to tech, I'm your girl." Naomi responds confidently. Then, a bit less so, she adds, "Talking to people, not so much." After a moments deliberation she says, "My sister um, knew a lot of people back on Delta Carina II, so there's a good chance she'll know this contact of yours. Even if they haven't met before she's got a gift when it comes to that sort of thing. Should I vox her and ask her to join us?"

 

[Protagonist]

Apollo hms and puts his hand on his chin. Some people just aren't people people, and these people must occasionally rely on other people who are people people when dealing with people.


He says "Well, I don't see what harm it could do".


He motions towards a button and asks "Would you like to call her up?"

 

[Eplov]

"Gladly," Naomi replies. She then strides forward and reaches out to rest a hand gently on the console, admiring the quality craftsmanship.

Spoiler

[dice]22068[/dice]


Easy check, so just made it. That could've been embarrassing.


A brief glimmer of light can be seen where her hand and the console interface, and the chime of an outgoing vox can be heard.


"Yes?" answers a sultry female voice.


"Nieli, it's me. Come meet me at the bridge please." replies Naomi. "It seems that team I was telling you about just gained one more Rook sister, if you're interested."


"You've gotten my attention, little sister. I'll be there shortly." Nieli says, then cuts the line.


Naomi rolls her eyes and mutters under her breath, "she's like five minutes older..." then removes her hand from the console.