thewizardguy

The Gregorian - Imperium (Warhammer 50K RP, The Shape of the Nightmare to Come)

<Snipped quote by Dannyrulx>

... as in you'll shoot yourself in the face? Or the inquisitor?

... or you'll hit him in the face c with a gun?

@agentmanatee

Pretty sure that would be a solid case of 'all of the above', and considering she's Slaaneshi, 'all of the above while in a drug-fuelled frenzy'.

Multiverse Rising: Reborn

- Imperial Facility -

@supertinyking@Wraithblade6

As Mithias was dragged from to his cell he was pulled through multiple portals, Martin allowed to follow behind but unable to track where they were going. Their eventual destination was deep underground, and no conventional means would allow the small drone to track down this particular location. The cell was, in essence, a large steel box seperated by the rest of the facility by a power field. It appeared they were treating Mithias as a first-degree prisoner. The only entrance was a teleportation device which could only be activated from the outside, making breaking out practically impossible and disrupting any and all communications devices. Martin's little bot was also pushed into the cell, forcing Suzzi to make do with what intelligence was stored on the bot itself, unable to communicate with the space station on which it's main intelligence was stored.

Meanwhile, data sent to the Rock revealed the previous location of Martin's space station. By intercepting and tracing the live connection that had allowed first Martin, and then Suzy, to interact with Martin, the advanced sensory systems of the Rock were easily able to divine the point of transmission. Of course the kill squad sent to that location would find nothing there, Martin had done well to move his base of operations away. But the secondary team, consisting of servitors and techmarines, would be searching the air for the 'tracks' left by a vehicle of that size. Being mere minutes behind they were able to pick up some traces, and began the arduous search for a trail. The forces of the Imperium were well aware of Martin's involvement in this, and they intended to secure him once and for all. If he wasn't theirs to use, then he was a potential threats. And all potential threats were neutralised.

The Gregorian - Imperium (Warhammer 50K RP, The Shape of the Nightmare to Come)

- K'Vari, Saint's Chariot -

As the tension in the room shot up, K'Vari was seemingly the only one to maintain a cheerful disposition, although few of the others could have been counted cheerful when the meeting begun. As opinions were flung here and there he simply sat back and smiled. For one who counted knowledge as at least as valuable as any material gain, such a heated debate was like Christmas. There were few ways to measure humans as well as by how they conducted themselves in a crisis, and K'Vari committed to memory the acts and words of those gathered here. Overall this simply reinforced his previously held beliefs, although some small things did stand out. The assassin was dangerously perceptive, but he demonstrated the Eldar folly of arrogance, somehow believing he could take on six elite Space Marines wielding some of the most dangerous weapons in the galaxy. The Relictors Captain was stunningly blunt and, while loyal, also rather sensible, a trait rarely found in the super soldiers of the Imperium. He would definitely need to look into that. The canoness was predictable as always, immediately leaping aboard the heresy train without rhyme or reason. If not kept in check she would indeed destroy this imperium. And the black-armoured Space Marine seemed more tolerant than he had previously believed, very level-headed. A useful trait. Most notable was the Inquisitor, Alexius.

Over the years K'Vari had dealt with many people claiming to be a part of the long dead Inquisitorial orders, often fools and fanatics but occasionally shrewd men. They were above all else united in their sense of self-importance and their devout hatred, a trait inherited from their predecessors. But this figure, who according to rumour truly came from the time before the New Devourer and the Fall of the Imperium, was of a completely different stock. If the Inquisitors of the long-dead Imperium had truly been such people, then that might have been the only thing keeping it's rotting carcass from collapsing in on itself for all those years. For in Alexius K'Vari recognized a very dangerous fellow, a man who was planning far ahead, easily dropping self-importance and zeal as obstacles to whatever course he had set. He could very well be K'Vari's most dangerous adversary in this game. The thought brought a smile to his face, for this would not be the first high stakes game he had won, and he'd been courting danger for all of his long life.

But, all hesitation aside, it was time to make his move. In the silence left by Captain Tyros he stepped forward, calmly marching to the middle of the room flanked by his two immense homegrown bodyguards. He ignored those in the room as inconsequential for the moment, and instead of encouraging the little feud that appeared to be developing in this fledgeling little nation addressed Gregori himself. For now his business was only with the leader - his minions could be talked to later, in more privacy. Gathering the attention yo himself, K'Vari began his little presentation, knowing that by the end he would have played his trump card, and he would need to either ally or kill every person in this room.

"Honoured biped Gregori Amastov. This discussion of divinity is of no importance. It is not gods who decide the fate of your empire, but it is those within this room, and the weapons they wield. We are here to discuss our assistance to you in expanding your empire, not to debate theology, and while I may not be one of your commanders I believe I can be of some assistance on that front." With a smile the Stryxis trader bowed. "The ambition of my race is to gather both knowledge and technology, to hoard the secrets and valuables of the world, and to trade them for ever greater treasure troves. Even as the ambition of you honoured bipeds carried you across the stars and allowed you to take a billion-and-one worlds, the ambition of my own people allowed us to speak to all who would listen, and to exchange goods with races your own Imperium never once encountered, much less learned from. My honoured biped trading partner, I wish to extend an offer that none of my race have ever extended before, to the Imperium I see fit to receive it." Reaching up with one grubby hand, K'Vari snapped his fingers.

At first, nothing seemed to happen. The diminutive figure scanned the expectant faces of those surrounding him, awaiting with anticipation the storm to come. Then, like a wave, alarms and flashing red lights slammed into the room. Navigators, secondary commanders and simple messengers burst into the room as Gregori's vox-caster was suddenly nearly overloaded with messenges. The topic was simple. Out of nowhere, three immense voidships had popped into existence less than a hundred meters away from the Saint's Chariot, flanking it. And while they could be seen with the naked eye and the cameras clearly detected them, even the most powerful of augers found nothing but void when they attempted to scan these ships. It was as if they weren't truly there. The only thing that had stopped them from being immediately fired upon was their careful positioning away from the weapon's batteries, and the fact that all of their weaponry was disabled and powered down, most of it in fact dismantled for the demonstration. Two of the ships once more disappeared as the third remained, taking some more distance as it once again floated away from this impossible display.

When K'Vari was certain that Gregori had been fully informed, he continued. "Allow me to introduce one such secret that we have sequestered away for centuries. You may consider it a far more advanced version of the Eldar Holofield, capable of making entire vessels impossible to detect by any known means. Merely two years ago I used it to escape an Eldar Farseer, and merely a few months ago it saved my life when we were ambushed by a fleet of Chaos vessels. This is a tool my people have never granted to outsiders, but I believe that we might make a deal for it. After all, if you were to recreate the Imperium, I am certain I would stand to benefit greatly." Smiling smugly, the little xenos bowed once again. He knew that if he had pulled such a stunt without reason that he would have been hanged, but the power of the weapon he now offered was too great to ignore. And he judged Gregori an intelligent man. "Others may offer you strength of arms and loyalty, I offer you the simple chance to use my ambition to fuel your own, that we might both grow rich together. And with my ambition I offer many secrets, just one of which would make you the unchallenged ruler of an entire sector. So should you resolve this little squabble between your subordinates, I would proceed to matters of business."

K'Vari looked the human straight in the eye, and there was no fear in his disgusting little face. There was no loyalty. There was no evil, nor good. Only an insurmountable greed, and excitement at the prospect of the deal ahead. "I offer you the galaxy in the palm of my hand, Emperor Gregori Astamov. What are you willing to pay for it?"

The Gregorian - Imperium (Warhammer 50K RP, The Shape of the Nightmare to Come)

- Unknown, Ordo Chronos Fleet -

Hundreds of civilians and soldiers were shipped to and fro between Arexia Prime and the Ordo Chronos battlefleet. Those who had up until this point been protected only by the inquisitors were absorbed by the general mass of Gregori's populace, some upon this world and many upon others, even as Inquisitor Commenus refilled his troop supply from the planet's standard garrison. In normal circumstances it would have been near to impossible to infiltrate the Inquisitor's fleet, even in the state of disarray and confusion that had struck them after being dropped in the middle of the 51st millenium, but necessity had broken apart almost every barrier. With this many people moving around it was easy to slip aboard one of the ships heading up to the briefing, another face in the crowd. It was similarly easy to become detached from the crew he had been assigned to amidst the twisting corridors of the strike cruiser's lower decks. Moving from place to place the stranger employed an age-old trick - if you looked like you knew what you were doing, few question you.

While a green-looking infantryman had disappeared from his squad, a veteran Inquisitor strode into the nearby docking bay, unhesitatingly commanding that one of the small vessels be dispatched with him on board to one of the other nearby vessels. He gave neither name nor rank, simply declared that it was important, and those attending the docking bay had best see that it happened soon. Knowing from the man's manner that he was a man who expected to be obeyed without question the servants and soldiers soon had a small ship ready and the inquisitor went about his mysterious business, shooting off into the other ship.

A dutiful Servitor strode monotonely through the halls, it's mild inspection of the engines and other features considered standard. It went unnoticed by the soldiers and inquisitors that marched through on important business, who treated the servo-slaved zombies as nothing more than an elaborate piece of furniture. Unnoticed, he made his way through a great deal of places, noting everything he saw with impeccable memory even as he memorized the basic layout of the ship. While lacking the technical knowledge of the slave he mimicked he knew enough to grab the general gist of it, and others would be able to glean more information from these findings should he detail what he had discovered to them. After a few hours had passed this strange figure could be seen leaving for the docking areas.

The overseer of this particular docking area gave the order to prepare a ship, as he needed to be on urgent business. His subordinates hurried to do as he requested, knowing their boss for an impatient man even in the best of times. The chubby imperial huffed and puffed at every slight delay, and all were relieved when he was on his way. So busy had they been that they had forgotten to ask for his destination, and their relief would flee at the discovery of a corpse that stunningly resembled their overseer hidden away in the space between decks. But only fate would decree whether he would be found in hours, days, or never. Meanwhile their supposed overseer shuttled off towards another ship, where the cycle repeated itself.

For numerous days the Ordo Chronos were busy loading and unloading passengers, such was their need for conscripts and their fill of innocents, and the mountains of paperwork involved in such an act slowed these events to a crawl, every misplaced letter spreading disarray and confusion. And among the teeming masses of normal imperial civilians several decidedly odd figures milled about. Indeed in these days it is said that a number of quite important people aboard the ship made some stunningly odd decisions and appearances, although not a one of them would recall making any such decisions. In fact a few of them couldn't recall much of anything. And records would later show that some of those people had accessed equally important records, many of which pertained to the ships' defensive capabilities but equally many pertaining to the detailed files on the crew and leaders of the Ordo Chronos fleet. Nothing as obvious as an information download, but it was clear that data had been accessed, and perhaps used. Of course, in the confusion caused by such an immense evacuation, it might be days before anyone noticed anything was amiss at all.

A grinning civilian strode back onto land, stretching tired limbs as he glanced around. Then he set off purposefully into the poor quarters of the nearest city, using his contacts and skills to make his way back to his employer.

The Gregorian - Imperium (Warhammer 50K RP, The Shape of the Nightmare to Come)

- K'Vari, Saint's Chapel Battleship -

K'Vari had, quite plainly, bought his way on board the ship. His ships brought with them secrets, techniques and weapons that were vital to the survival of the Gregori Imperium, and that had bought him a place with Gregori's council. Although K'Vari tended to be an apolitical fellow he would be forced by circumstance to remain here for quite some time, and he wished to have his hands at the ready in both the highest and lowest strata of society. He brooked no surprises, nor betrayals, and already he was investing heavily into his influence in this little corner of the galaxy. In fact he might just turn accident into fortune and make this a permanent base of operations, a little safe haven from which he could conduct business all over the galaxy. Although Gregori would no doubt dislike him dealing with what the simpleminded human would consider rivals or enemies K'Vari had planned for such things, and once he was done here the 'Emperor' would be of no consequence. As always, anything opposing his plans was to be wiped aside without mercy. And as always, they would never see it coming.

As the diminutive figure strode into the conference room he turned a number of heads. He was clad only in a ragged brown robe which hid most of his features, and held a long twisted staff which twitched as though alive. The creature shuffled forward, and although at first glance it appeared like something of a beggar, a second glance would identify many of the small trinkets hanging from his cloaks as priceless artifacts. Fuel cells for plasma weapons hung alongside ancient digital weapons and shards of ceramite armour. His face was only glimpsed, but it was repulsive to say the least, pale wet skin glistening as two beady black eyes eagerly examined all that the room had to offer, paying as much attention to the furnishings as the people.

More imposing were the two creatures who followed quickly behind. In stature and musculature these creatures were similar to one of the Adeptus Astartes, but none would confuse them for such. A mask of flesh without features sat where the face would be, and the creatures bore no distinguishing marks whatsoever, like a mannequin formed from flesh. These were Vat-Brutes, living war machines developed by the Stryxis as both guards and product, and previously illegal across the Imperium. Each clasped a long machete-like blade of gleaming silver, the grace of it's design suggesting a nearly monomolecular edge. Such a weapon would make short work of the carapace armour that protected most of the attendants, and might make its way through even the tough Power Armour worn by Space Marines when combined with the inhuman strength of their wielders. It was clear that K'Vari would not be threatened here, although the relaxed stance of his bodyguards indicated he was not expecting a fight.

Looking around at those attendant the tiny trader judged each of them in turn.

The mercenary woman sat relaxed, but with the telltale slightly twitchy stance of someone using some form of drug. K'Vari had spent too long among the drug-addled lords of the southern Imperiums to whom he had marketed his own wide assortment of narcotics to miss the little signals that marked an addict. It appeared his informants had been correct. More importantly that her being a potential client, however, was her stance, the underlying tenseness of the seemingly relaxed pose. This was a warrior, no doubt, but beyond that it was someone who loved war. An obsessive student of combat, much like the twisted Space Marine troupes who even now either sold their services or simply took what they needed from the worlds they came across. This woman harboured no loyalty to Gregori, or at least no greater than the loyalty of an addict to the supplier. And drugs were not her only addiction, judging from the reports he had received of her exploits in various combat scenarios. She was a soldier of the highest calibre, but no threat. A tool, to be used by the most capable employer, and even now he considered how he would purchase her loyalty.

The Inquisitor was an oddity indeed. According to the stories his men told they had emerged from some sort of temporal anomaly, transported from a period long before the failing of the Golden Throne and subsequent destruction of the Imperium. Thus he had expected a figure similar to the Inquisitors of legend, a xenophobic and paranoid murderer, whom's trigger-happiness was outdone only by their blind devotion to their Emperor. Instead this figure appeared oddly accepting of other races, and instead wished only for a title and a service. He did not know what this strange figure's plan was, but anything he did not understand was a threat. He would need to keep his eye on this human, although already his servants were gathering more information.

Considering that the Gregori Empirium had displayed itself a rarity in terms of tolerance it was no surprise to see a xenos in attendance, although he had not expected an Eldar. No knowledge of such an individual existed within his database, and there was no doubt that this figure's existence was a closely guarded secret. Anyone who had managed to keep their presence a secret from K'Vari's investigation was a threat, and his surprising species made him doubly so. The Eldar K'Vari had met on his treck across the galaxy had universally despised the Imperium, willing to deal with him only because of necessity, and because of his neutrality in such matters. Both the outcasts and the insane followers of Biel'Tan slaughtered humans almost as a matter of principle, and it would be an interesting tale indeed that had brought this individual to Gregori's service.

The Sister of Battle formed no surprise. A most zealous woman, as all of the order were, this creature would be no exception to the hundreds he had already spotted across the galaxy. If he intended to move against Gregori directly he would need to do so over this woman's corpse, which was one of the main reasons he had decided to work in the shadows. Should the 'Emperor' move against him he would need plans in place, but for the moment he would need to placate figures such as this woman. He would be the Xenos trader, the greedy but mostly harmless figure that many had mistaken him for. Until the very moment he was certain of how to deal with this woman and her sizeable combat forces he would need to act the part of a meek businessman with no ambition. Not that this would give him much trouble. Although it might also be interesting to see if some conflict could be sowed between the Cannoness and the others, perhaps the mercenary woman, or the Eldar operative. It would prove most advantageous if he could weaken Gregori's defences, not enough that this little Imperium would fall, but enough that the human would come to rely more on vat-grown reinforcements. And thereby grow more reliant on K'Vari.

The Gregorian - Imperium (Warhammer 50K RP, The Shape of the Nightmare to Come)

Will the first IC post be going up today?

*Is eagerly anticipating*

Multiverse Rising: Reborn

@Wraithblade6@supertinyking
((Mother of all way-too-late posts. I apologize profusely to everyone involved))

The Space Marines step forward, their leader nodding briefly as an Apothecary in the white armour of his craft applied an odd device to Mithias' wrist. A small needle took a blood sample which was drawn into the centre of the device and thoroughly scanned. As the device emits a low buzzing noise the Apothecary carefully measures the readings, displayed in a series of symbols whom's meaning was lost on those not trained in the device's use. While the apothecary did not give the order to shoot, neither did he gesture for his companions to lower the weapons pointed at Mithias. Instead he simply seemed to offer a small prayer over the device and try again, this time spending significantly longer to study the results. From the brief sideways glance shared between two of the Salamanders battle brothers it was clear that this was not a usual occurence - Astartes were not given to much nonverbal communication.

As Mithias waited to hear his fate a strange type of Marine stepped forth from the small bunker. He wore the same muted green as the others, but a series of large mechanical arms extended from his back, tools mounted on their ends. Several such tools also looked like they might be repurposed as weapons, laser cutters and large mechanical vises. He moved towards Martin's robotic avatar and seemed to perform a short prayer-like ceremony, before waving an odd device at the robot. Seemingly mollified by whatever result this yielded the Techmarine nodded to the luitenant and returned to the bunker, presumably teleported out to see to other duties. Perhaps he had been brought here to ascertain the robot was not, in fact, a walking bomb. After all, there were plenty of non-Tyranid forces who would benefit should the Empire suffer, and even the New Empire had inherited some of the paranoia of it's older incarnation.

The Apothecary seemed to grunt in exasperation as he scanned through the readouts once more - a grand gesture for a Space Marine. The first test had already confirmed that this stranger contained no Tyranid DNA, and he had been about to allow them to pass, when he had more closely examined the DNA code. The DNA readout seemed to be similar to what would be expected of an Adeptus Astartes, and more extensive probing had shown that it appeared to be a heavily warped Salamanders geneseed. But this figure was clearly not an Astartes, with his small build and yellow, reptilian eyes. So he had taken a second reading to confirm, and this second reading had been yet more confusing. For it was completely and utterly different, instead indicating that this stranger was some kind of immense monstrous xenos, a combination that was utterly alien to the Apothecary. The third reading had yielded similarly dissimilar results, against all likelihood indicating that he was now testing a squirrel of some sort. He had checked the device for malfunction but it had proven to be completely functioning, instead indicating that this being's DNA was highly anomalous.

Walking back to meet with his commander, the Salamanders briefly discussed the situation. Then two of them marched forward to grab Mithias by the arms, dragging him forward in their steel grip. The luitenant briefly explained the situation, his voice deep and mechanical through the filter of his helmet. "You are being taken to a holding cell for further testing until we can ascertain what method was used to manipulate your DNA results. If you do not attempt to escape you will not be killed, unless we find Genestealer contamination." With these brief words Mithias would be dragged off towards the bunker, and the portal that would take him to some heavily guarded facility. Martin's drone was not given any specific commands, but the stance of the Marine who still stood watching him - weapon relaxed now - indicated that he was free to follow, if he wished. But he had been relegated to secondary importance.

The Gregorian - Imperium (Warhammer 50K RP, The Shape of the Nightmare to Come)

@agentmanatee
Wait, in 50K Ynead is born within the Soulstone circuits of the Craftworlds. This requires the Eldar to be dead, down to every single individual. Only the Dark Eldar might remain, logically speaking. I like the idea of an Eldar character but according to the lore of 50K they've all been wiped out, and are an extinct race.

The Gregorian - Imperium (Warhammer 50K RP, The Shape of the Nightmare to Come)

I eagerly await the creation of the IC.

The Gregorian - Imperium (Warhammer 50K RP, The Shape of the Nightmare to Come)

Name: K'Vari

Race: Stryxis

Appearance:
Among his own species, K'Vari would be considered passably handsome. Humans would be hard-pressed to tell the difference, however, as all Stryxis are disgusting to their perceptions. He is short, standing at but 1.4 m, and his skin is pale and membranous. His face is like that of a pug, with an upturned nose reminiscent of a pitbull and beady black eyes. His teeth are thick, blunt and yellowed, making grins disconcerting. He has no ears, merely small holes in the side of his head covered by a thin membrance for hearing. Usually K'Vari can be seen covered in a long brown robe from which he hangs trinkets, ranging from Eldar statuettes to a Space Marine bolt shell, an odd habit which to the Stryxis seems to indicate wealth.

Personality:
Everybody has a need for something, and K'Vari has something for everybody. He is an eager but cautious trader, knowing that while chaos and hopelessness often bring great chances for trade, they also bring great risk. The harsh circumstances of the galaxy at the moment have forced a certain ruthlessness that was previously rare among his species, but this is just one of the traits that makes K'Vari one of the only among his species still willing to interact with the shambles of the Imperium. Second among such traits is his ambition, as he plans to take all he can from this world like a vulture, and maybe retire by taking over some small mini-Imperium in a relatively quiet corner of this warring galaxy.

Bio:
After the Imperium began to dissolve the Stryxis saw opportunity. They moved in and traded with the suddenly desperate border worlds, granting them what they needed to become independent of outside produce at great cost, and great profit. But as the years went by profit was overshadowed by risk as new forces came into play. Dozens of small xenos empires began dividing up and conquering the Imperium, and worse the Imperium began killing itself from the inside. The parts that weren't being slaughtered by Chaos or devoured by the Tyrannid swarm, that is. Most of the Stryxis moved away from the Imperium, trading with other species along the Galaxy's border. K'Vari is now perhaps the last of his species within what was once Imperium space.

He leads a group known only as the Caravan, a trading caravan of well-protected ships who move from system to system, trading goods with the many warring factions of the Imperium. At full force they could easily ward off the many dangers of the chaotic fallen Imperium, but they were eventually caught by a host of Black Templar crusaders. The battle was great but eventually the Caravan was victorious, although at immense losses. Even after scavenging all that could be taken from the Imperial Battle Barge and the remains of the Imperial Escort Ships they lacked the power to properly continue their journey without worrying for their safety. Encountering a group of Daemon, Chaos Marines or Pirates could wipe out their remaining force.

Calling upon his knowledge of the feuding factions within this particular area of space K'Vari made his way over to Gregori's little empire, offering trade and dealings. While it was possible Gregori might simply have ransacked the Caravan for all it had he lacked the overwhelming power to do so with impunity, and K'Vari would have destroyed anything of value long before he got to it. As such the Caravan became a semi-permanent fixture within Gregori's domain, trading and dealing with the locals as K'Vari sought to rebuild his forces.

Forces:
In this age hired muscle is easy to come across, and K'Vari isn't picky. He does, however, have a certain eye for talent, which has contributed to his survival up until now. While he doesn't broadcast the number and quality of his troops it's no secret that he has a decent number of (ab)human mercenaries, with simple armour and las weaponry. More imposing are the large and featureless Vat-Brutes, homebuilt killing machines without conscience and unswerving in their loyalty. Rumour also has it that K'Vari employs a variety of specialists to deal with trouble makers, although their exact form is unknown. But there have been rumours of monsters devouring those who get on the bad side of this cunning trader.

Allegiance to Gregori: Trade partner

Personal equipment:
Certainly K'Kari avoids personally getting involved in conflict whenever possible, but in case it cannot be avoided he wields an odd scepter topped by writhing biomechanical tentacles. Merely pointing at someone with this and activating it in some way causes a beam of green energy to shoot out and engulf the target, usually disintegrating them. Only quite powerful armour can halt this lethal beam. He also carries an Eather Blade, a small dagger of transparent material possessing the ability to pass through armour without touching or disturbing it, and yet cut the person underneath. He is however an unaccomplished fighter, lacking the skills to put such weapons to proper use, and usually relies on a personal forcefield similar to that projected by a Rosarius or Iron Halo.