[b]Vael![/b]

"Empty?" cackled the Formless One. "Who said anything about [i]empty[/i]?" (It had, a moment ago. Didn't it? Memories were so very unreliable -) "Does this look like a world with an [i]empty [/i]throne? No, the Bastion has found its Master. The Great Lord of the Thirteenth sits atop his throne, crowned and anointed, with a rotting perch and a flaming sword across his lap. That is why you have come, is it not? To rouse him from his slumber? To measure his soul, to test his sword arm, to bring his psychology into compliance, to take every precaution and make this wretched world sing the words [i]loyal, loyal, loyal!?[/i] What could a humble storyteller ask from you that the lord Warmaster has not?"

Another silence, colder than the last. Your breathing feels so loud. So wet.

[b]Leruc![/b]

The Navigator placed a gentle hand on your shoulder, giving the smallest of shakes as though to rouse you. You can feel the damp chill of it as her skin melts slightly, like a frost in the dawn. The personal refrigeration harness she wears increases its volume a notch.

"My sweet lord, perhaps you were dreaming just now?" said Mme. Dizzy. "Please bestir yourself. You may be many things - stylish and sweet not least amongst them - but I do not think your bones would hold up any better under a drop pod impact than mine would."
"You want to fly a [i]shuttle [/i]through that nightmare?" snorted the Captain darkly. "Be my guest."
"Surely we must have some dashing pilot capable of braving the danger," said Mme. Dizzy as one of her handmaidens filled Leruc's glass. "Or some dashing captain?"
"Out of the question. We'd have to perform high energy maneuvers, and that would light us up for anything else lurking in orbit. There's something out there. I can feel it." 

[b]Hagar![/b]

"Why do you bother?" snapped Other Blue as Blue immediately collects the Lion from the pile. "It's like playing cards with an ogryn!"
"Hey, easy there -" Scar was saying, but Other Blue's fire was up. She had chewed her lip, the mutant blood blackening her teeth, her eyes having that look to them again.
"An ogryn would be better! They look [i]disappointed [/i]when they lose. They understand the concept. It's like there's a fucking tree planted in our game and whoever sits to its right gets to walk away with the whole thing! What the fuck is [i]in it[/i] for you?"
Everyone shifts uneasily. Scar very clearly wants to say 'calm down, take it easy' - but he also remembers what happened the last time someone said that to Other Blue when she got like this. So he's subtly reaching for a heavy bottle instead.

She doesn't care. It's all happening again. You can see the bloody stains where a sense of patience has been gnawed away. This trip has not been kind to her.

"Is this what you're going to do when we win?" she spits. "Sit on the ashes of the Throne and toss cards on the pile?"