Rogue Trader: Session 4 – Halcyon Rising

Personal Log: Epistor Pacheco
Subject: Bringing Days Home
Function: Chronicler of his Lord-Captain Gabriel Gideon Pikkofule Arcadia LXIX

Notes: Still requires censorship before adding to the Dynasties Librarium with command approval.

Ah, I remember when I was asked me to perform my main function aboard the Halcyon Blade, journey into the stars with my new Lord-Captain, under the tempting allure of high adventure, I was giddy as a new lover at the prospect of chronicling such a quest.

But enough about me, my Lord has many stories, one of them about the End of Days, no reader, not the end times, but a ship, now… it was a day like any other…

Lord Captain Arcadia had grown tired of waiting for his wounds to heal, he wanted to explore the hulked ship, the treasured contained in the hold would be worth the effort, at least this is what Navigator Prime Visscher kept telling the Lord-Captain, what bounties, what treasures! The gleam in both their eyes paled in comparison to the Lord-Captains brother Lucius Arcadia.

They all had faced many a travail to reach this point, but the word-bind contract between our Lord and that of the Barathon Dynasty was forged and it would be fulfilled, a deal brokered, everything within the ship is theirs but the ship, the ship is to be returned.

Our brave commander and his navigator journeyed with a C.Veche, Enginseer Secondus, this was to be their first meeting, alas Grymm Byrke proved distracted by the unknowable feat of towing such a vessel, much larger than the Halcyon Blade, tricky no doubt, but I digress, the commander also brought a single member of the S.A.S, the Arcadias elite, and a number of servitors under the thrall of Veche, the fellowship assembled they made landing upon the Spire of Navigators, this is where they begin the journey to fortune.

A Rogue Trader can smell profit, this much must be true for the Lord-Captain broke into the Barracks and Armories of the Navigator House in search for riches, finding a number of staggeringly complex and refined weapons, amongst them a Plasma Pistol and no less than ten hellguns, no doubt valued beyond counting, marked with a Giant Wolf, this is where Visscher proved his ability, naming these Artefacts of House Belisarius, a great house, with close ties to the Angels of Death themselves, the Space Wolves, no doubt explaining its quality.

With guile and Veche’s machine touch they gained entry into the inner sanctum of the Navigator Spire, with the mind of taking the knowledge within, but power was being diverted, supplying what could be described as a panic room, surely they jest for nobility does not cower, but still they found a great gilded and solid gate, immovable for within lays stasis, a place where time has no meaning, impregnable to all but Belisarius, unshaken the Lords continued their search, travelling to the cargo-bays, the clink of thrones ever ringing in their ears.

Boarding the rendered and blackened ship they delve into the great holds of this war ship, containing naught but misery within the holds, thousands upon thousands of the faithful, with no life-sustainers not even their great faith is enough to save them, amid the dead lay a smattering of the enemy, Reavers, the story of the dead would remain untold.

This is when our Lords met Rigg Clane, a lone survivor within the bowels of the Defiant-Class Light cruiser, amid the dead of both enemy and ally he challenged the Lords, daring to fire his weapons at them, but ever knowledgeable and wise he was not fired upon in turn, instead wisdom and charm wins the day, convincing this wayward armsmen that they are indeed, help, but it is he who rendered assistance most great, guiding my Lords to riches, to the Guardsmen Barracks, showering the Arcadia Dynasty with arms and war-vehicles, as any commander knows, equipment for an army is always the most expensive part.

Tanks, ordnance, chainblades, bolpistols, common for Rogue Traders but in the numbers aboard the End of Days a most useful commodity, happy with their success thus far our Lords continues onwards, but the ship revealed it still had fangs, upon what would later be found to be the Reclamation Bay, a place where the Mechanicus perform their art of resurrecting the dying to usefulhood, Servitorise them, give them purpose.

But at the time, unaware of the dangers our Lords continued their voyage through the ship, unfortunately Mannie, the brave S.A.S soul, was captured by the ensnaring devices of the mechanicus and was cut into with great precision and augmented with bionics, not even his newly acquired Hellgun could aid him but our brave Lords stopping the heartless device before it finished him off, leaving the ship to the sanctum that is Halcyon Blade.

The crew would later rescue the survivors, total of 50, mostly Mechanicus Engineseers and their Congregator, aswell as the ship Missionary Darrius Orphesiun, one of the Days commanders, his troope consisting of the ‘Red Hand’ a divergence of the Emperors Creed, but alas details of their cult is not within my grasp.

The salvaged ship sustained us, gave its food and water supplies to us so we may bring it home, home to Footfall and its master, a safe journey of two months warp-side, this Navigator proving once more his usefulness and skill.

Signed

Chronicler Epistor Pacheco

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Brother of Mine, I have received this transmission from our Chronicler pending our approval, it lacks the finer details, thankfully.

I was most impressed with yours and Visscher’s interrogation of Missionary Darrius Orphesiun, the details he divulged and ‘didn’t divulged informing us greatly beyond what even my spies could muster, I will remember that line of inquiry for later.

No wonder none of us trusted this Druce Barathon, and why our new Flight Marshal despite being in Barathon employ has never heard of him, but an Inquisitor, I dearly wished you pressed him but understand why you did not, not to mention Silence, his Sister Sororitas wearing Victors power armour, must have compensated him admirably.

Does this mean we are salvaging the ship for our use and making a possible enemy of its previous owner, a Matriarch Aethyta Barathon I believe, because I could do with more responsibility within the Dynasty, and more firepower and it is such a fine vessel.

L