14Nov[17:15:32] <Gryph> ULTRAMARINES
14Nov[17:15:33] <Gryph> Chapter 4
14Nov[17:15:35] <Gryph> The Great Enemy
14Nov[17:17:13] * VE is now known as Phaedrus
14Nov[17:27:22] <Gryph> Months passed on frigid Circe III.  The Scouts lives were hard, often painful, sometimes violent - and always filled with learning, for Sergeant Telion spares not a single opportunity for those who have the privilege to learn from his wisdom.  Under his tutelage, they learned the arts of stealth, the ways of war, the silent kill and the long shot.  They learned new meanings for old passages...
14Nov[17:27:23] <Gryph> ...in the Codex Astartes, and gained new appreciations for what it means to strive to become a Space Marine... a living weapon of the God Emperor; and Angel of Death.
14Nov[17:27:25] <Gryph> Slowly but surely, the fortress at the pass was rebuilt, and the blue banner of Ultramar flew high above its stone walls.  Often away on missions and training, the Scouts saw little of it.  So too, they saw little of their friend and servant Valentina.  After some time, she began to fall in love with one of the guardsmen stationed there - although, were the truth to be spoken, it was one of...
14Nov[17:27:27] <Gryph> ...the scouts whose heart she wished could be hers.  But still, for a time, on this frozen moon, she was happy, young, and in love.
14Nov[17:27:28] <Gryph> It was five months to the day from the deadly battle with the Tyranid horde when a message from the fortress spelled the end of the Scouts time on Circe III.  And the end, too soon, of what innocence of the galaxy still remained upon their battle-destined souls.  For the nature of things is to end.  And the nature of Chaos is to destroy.
14Nov[17:27:32] <Gryph> +++
14Nov[17:28:29] <Gryph> 973.M41.  The Third Moon of Circe.  Tantalus Plain.  Nightfall.
14Nov[17:33:46] <Gryph> You have marched across this lifeless, frozen wasteland for thirty-seven days.  Learning austerity, survival, inner peace in the face of endless suffering.  The sun is setting on another long day, and you have constructed another hidden half-shelter to protect you from the worst of the night winds without giving away your position to a hypothetical enemy force.  Another blizzard has blown...
14Nov[17:33:49] <Gryph> ...up, and the air is thick with snow.  Telion is kneeling, silent and almost motionless, in the shadow of the hidden structure, watching you make the final preparations for the night once again.  When, all of a sudden, the small green light on your vox indicating an incoming message begins to flash.
14Nov[17:33:49] <Gryph> ---
14Nov[17:37:58] * Aquila turns back into the shelter, opening his vox. "This is Aquila; what is it?"
14Nov[17:39:58] <Gryph> "Aquila, it is me, Valentina.  The Thunderhawk is on its way to retrieve you and will need you to mark your position with flares so he can find you in the storm.  There's been a find..."
14Nov[17:40:19] <Gryph> There is the sound of rustling parchment, and then Valentina begins quoting from a written text.
14Nov[17:45:53] <Gryph> "'16:55.  Sensor focus on deep space object 631-M41-XG440-Ultra identifies object as starship.  Object is on 500-year unpowered path carrying it through deep space, which passes once every cycle through Ultramar system.  Previously believed to be a comet. Object reclassified as a space hulk of unknown, possibly pre-Imperial, origin.  Nearest Space Marine force to be deployed for preliminary...
14Nov[17:45:53] <Gryph> ...investigation.'"
14Nov[17:47:10] <Aquila> "And we're going on it first?"
14Nov[17:47:13] <Gryph> "That's you," she says, back in her normal voice.  "You're being sent to perform a preliminary investigation to see if it's a threat or opportunity that merits deploying a starship to seize it."
14Nov[17:48:25] <Aquila> "Got it.  We'll be ready when the Thunderhawk lands."
14Nov[17:49:11] * Phaedrus listens in as he works on the shelter, "Pre-Imperial, hm..."
14Nov[17:50:45] <@Ezekiel> "Sounds exciting. I don't think we've done any zero gravity training."
14Nov[17:51:10] <Gryph> "That's all I'm needed to tell you.  But Aquila, I - I don't like this.  I have a... premonition.  When I look at the pictures, the whole world feels -wrong-."
14Nov[17:51:16] * Martinus sits in meditation, focusing his mind on the possibilities of may come when investigating a possibly pre-imperial space hulk.
14Nov[17:51:46] <Gryph> Valentina: "Is that you, Phaedrus?  Ezekiel?"  Menelaus speaks up: "And me, Menelaus."
14Nov[17:52:18] <Gryph> Valentina: "Be careful.  Please.  And good luck."
14Nov[17:52:30] <@Ezekiel> "We'll be careful, Valentina."
14Nov[17:52:34] <Aquila> "Thanks for the heads up, Val."
14Nov[17:53:00] <Phaedrus> "Even within the bowels of that Hulk, the Emperor will protect."
14Nov[17:53:48] * @Ezekiel will break out the flares and deploy them around their shelter.
14Nov[17:58:15] <Gryph> Telion nods after the radio communication ends.  "We will be careful, as she says... but do not let your caution keep you from action, when action is needed."  He smiles.  "I haven't cleared a space hulk since 704... it will be just like old times."
14Nov[17:58:42] <Gryph> *904, not 704
14Nov[18:02:05] <@Ezekiel> "What lives in a space hulk?"
14Nov[18:02:19] <Aquila> "We'll be learning, you'll be keeping the rust off.  We're all coming out ahead, I think."
14Nov[18:06:33] <Gryph> Telion: "Sometimes Tyranids... I would not be surprised to encounter some of their beasts.  Sometimes orks.  Sometimes nothing... sometimes, even the spawn of the Ruinous Powers."
14Nov[18:07:10] <Gryph> Soon the howl of the wind grows into the roar of jet engines, and the aquila descends out of the storm.  A serf-pilot stands inside the lowered hatch and waves you onboard.
14Nov[18:07:24] <Gryph> *Thunderhawk, not Aquila
14Nov[18:08:12] <@Ezekiel> "How do they survive?
14Nov[18:08:14] <@Ezekiel> "
14Nov[18:10:52] <Gryph> Telion: "Void-ships are designed to be self sufficient, and their power sources can last for thousands of years.  Pockets of atmosphere persist in even the most desolate hulk, and water.  Sludge from the hydroponics bay can escape and form the basis for an ecosystem, living off waste heat and growing in the ruins of corridors and plasma generators..."
14Nov[18:11:33] <Gryph> Pilot: "Armored void-suits in that hatch, my lords.  Tools and weapons in this one."
14Nov[18:12:16] <Phaedrus> "So then a human vessel, even one lost for centuries..."
14Nov[18:13:10] <Gryph> The pilot bows and returns to the cockpit.  The hatch closes, and warmth begins to seep back into your flesh, opening passages of pain in numb skin and joints.  The Thunderhawk lifts off and boosts away, making for deep orbit where it will intercept the passing space hulk.
14Nov[18:15:58] * Aquila goes about preparing for the journey into the derelict vessel, lost in thought a bit as he goes about.
14Nov[18:16:18] <Gryph> Telion: "It is most unusual for a hulk to be found which does not also travel in the Empyrean.  Usually they drift on the strange currents of the Warp, occasionally entering reality before being reclaimed again.  But this one was thought to be a mere comet, a deep space object on a rational and projectable course..."
14Nov[18:17:44] <@Ezekiel> "How many times has this 'comet' made its circuit?"
14Nov[18:22:12] <Gryph> "Its name indicates that it was discovered in 631, a century and a half ago.  So this is its first known pass through the sector - although it may have passed through here dozens of times over the past centuries, without anyone knowing.  Even a large object like a starship is tiny compared to the Void."
14Nov[18:23:46] <Aquila> "It must be easy to lose sight of something so small with so many big things looming at every turn."
14Nov[18:26:05] <Gryph> Telion smiles knowingly, but does not reply.
14Nov[18:27:40] <Gryph> ---
14Nov[18:27:42] <Gryph> Hours pass.  You get some sleep, for it has been a long day.  Four hours later, refreshed, you don your armored void-suits and make ready your tools .  Shortly thereafter, the pilot calls you into the cockpit to see the ship as you approach it.
14Nov[18:27:43] <Gryph> ---
14Nov[18:28:38] * Aquila checks his suit over one last time before making his way to the cockpit.
14Nov[18:30:06] * Martinus locks the armored void suit into place, stepping into the cockpit.
14Nov[18:30:42] <Gryph> Visible through the armor-glass of the cockpit is a strange vessel - obviously artificial, but totally unlike the starships you are accustomed to.
14Nov[18:31:00] * @Ezekiel eagerly enters the cockpit.
14Nov[18:33:50] <Gryph> It is composed of a single sphere, joined by a short set of spars cable to a conical shield of some transparent material, and then by a very long, thin set of cables to a blocky drive system of some sort festooned with radiator fins and spikes, with a blunt shield in the front of it.
14Nov[18:34:31] <Gryph> The rockets are long dark, and there are impact marks on the drive system and the tranparent shield, but the sphere section looks relatively undamaged.
14Nov[18:35:08] <Gryph> Telion frowns.  "Pre-Imperial indeed... or not even human at all..."
14Nov[18:35:09] * Phaedrus looks for any visible emblems or iconography on the hull.
14Nov[18:35:36] <Aquila> "I was going to say... this is a human design?"
14Nov[18:35:50] <Gryph> None are visible at this distance.
14Nov[18:35:56] <@Ezekiel> "Why are we going to clear this out, instead of obliterating it from here?"
14Nov[18:39:09] <Gryph> "Humanity stands on the brink of oblivion.  If this /is/ a pre-Imperial starship, who knows what treasures it might hold.  What knowledge, since lost to mankind..."
14Nov[18:40:05] <Aquila> "It's playing it safe on that path, but this way we allow ourselves the opportunity to benefit ourselves and the Imperium if there's anything useful there."
14Nov[18:41:00] <Gryph> "Your old friend the Consul of Konor, for instance, will certainly want a look at any Dark Age relics that might be reclaimed."
14Nov[18:42:26] <Gryph> Pilot: "I've located a hatch.  Bringing us in... and there's writing."
14Nov[18:43:23] <Gryph> He adjusts a dial and mutters a prayer to the hololith-circuit, and a hologram of an airlock on the side of the sphere appears.  Around it are various safety signs and labels.  They are clearly written in some form of proto-gothic lettering.
14Nov[18:46:03] * Aquila watches intently, the craft having piqued his interest.
14Nov[18:54:11] <Gryph> The pilot guides the craft closer and extends docking clamps, eventually sealing the gunship over the airlock.
14Nov[18:54:18] * Phaedrus leans forward, scrutinizing the hololith, "Parts of the script seem rooted in gothic."
14Nov[18:54:48] <Aquila> "Hm?  What's it say?"
14Nov[18:54:52] <Gryph> Telion shakes his head.  "More likely, Gothic is rooted in whatever language they spoke when this ship was launched."
14Nov[18:55:33] <Phaedrus> "It must be human in origin then. Perhaps an ancient colony vessel?"
14Nov[18:57:29] <Gryph> "Perhaps."
14Nov[18:58:45] <Gryph> With a hiss, the Thunderhawk's own airlock cycles to make ready to join with that of the vessel.  You can enter the airlock when ready.
14Nov[18:59:18] * Phaedrus points to the lettering, "It's a warning, although I'm afraid only against the mundane sort. Boarding safety procedures I believe."
14Nov[19:01:41] <Aquila> "Well, we'll have to do this safely then."
14Nov[19:01:56] * Aquila flashes a grin before moving into the airlock.
14Nov[19:16:29] <Gryph> The airlock cycles, pumping out air.  There are a series of wheels and latches which must be undone, and then you are within the airlock of the ancient ship.  There is a big green-painted lever on the far side of the airlock.  Next to it are two guages.  One reads zero; the other has its needle within a green section on the dial, although you don't know what units the numbers represent.
14Nov[19:17:37] * Phaedrus checks his balance, specifically if there is gravity.
14Nov[19:17:42] <@Ezekiel> "So, it has atmosphere?"
14Nov[19:18:35] <Aquila> "Maybe.  I wouldn't go breathing it either way."
14Nov[19:20:18] * Aquila gives the green-painted lever a pull.
14Nov[19:23:45] <Gryph> The hatch cycles closed behind you and the zero dial begins to rise.  Soon the airlock is at the same pressure as the other dial.  A green light goes on in the center of the interior hatch.
14Nov[19:23:58] <Gryph> You are floating in zero-gravity.
14Nov[19:24:25] <Phaedrus> "The systems were built to last."
14Nov[19:25:08] <Martinus> "Wonderful news for those who might want this vessel."
14Nov[19:26:26] <Aquila> "Like us?"
14Nov[19:26:39] * Aquila pokes around for a button to open the door.
14Nov[19:28:37] <Martinus> "Aside from us."
14Nov[19:28:45] <Gryph> You find a mechanical latch in short order, which opens the hatch.  Your helmets report an external temperature and atmosphere mix that, while thinner and colder than normal, is within the tolerances of humans.
14Nov[19:29:03] <Gryph> The temperature is just above the freezing point of water.
14Nov[19:31:46] <Phaedrus> "Sergeant Telion, permission to unseal helmet?"
14Nov[19:31:47] * @Ezekiel pushes himself through the hatch.
14Nov[19:31:49] <Gryph> Opening the hatch opens you into a dimly lit tube a few meters wide, which seems to go on forever.  After a few dozen meters, the first doors begin to appear.
14Nov[19:32:07] <Gryph> "Permission granted."  Telion removes his own.
14Nov[19:32:52] * Phaedrus unseals his helmet, taking a deep breath of the atmosphere as he steps through the hatch.
14Nov[19:33:22] * Aquila looks about the doors, not removing his helmet.
14Nov[19:33:26] <Gryph> Menelaus: "Still active... still functioning.  And do you hear that?  Sounds of machinery, through the walls."
14Nov[19:33:42] * @Ezekiel leaves his helmet sealed.
14Nov[19:34:16] * Martinus steps through the airlock, wary and ready for action.
14Nov[19:35:57] <Phaedrus> "Any chance the vessel's machine spirit is still active?"
14Nov[19:38:49] <Gryph> Telion: "They must be.  This doesn't have the feel of an abandoned ecosystem.  The life support spirits, at least..."
14Nov[19:39:49] <Gryph> Telion pushes himself off down the hall and catches himself on one of the doorframes.  Holding his bolter one-handed, he opens it.  "Interesting..."
14Nov[19:41:15] * Phaedrus pushes himself after the sergeant, rotating in the air as he looks over his surroundings, "Brothers, I'm no void scholar but it's possible the bridge will give us an accounting of the overall vessel."
14Nov[19:42:57] <Aquila> "Hm.  Makes sense to me."
14Nov[19:42:59] <Gryph> Within the hatch the sergeant opened is a circular chamber.  Nets on padded poles protrude up from the floor - which is rotating in a circle with the central tube as its axis.
14Nov[19:43:55] <@Ezekiel> "Bizarre."
14Nov[19:44:30] <Phaedrus> "Hammocks? Perhaps the crew slept here."
14Nov[19:44:36] <Gryph> Telion: "Primitive artificial gravity.  A centrifuge.  And look: doors.  Perhaps they lead to higher-gravity chambers, where the hull is wider."
14Nov[19:48:56] * @Ezekiel would make his way towards the doors, dodging around the nets and poles.
14Nov[19:52:11] <Gryph> Because of the rotation of the room, your dodging of the nets and poles makes the doors to be moving around you in a circle while you float above them.
14Nov[19:53:58] <Gryph> Telion drops down into the room and allows himself to catch in one of the nets.  He bounces off and drifts down until he is standing on the rotating floor as if under gravity, moving in circles around you with the floor, with a smile on his lips.
14Nov[19:57:39] * Phaedrus inspects the doors for markings after he moves to the side of the chamber, anchoring himself to them through the room's artificial gravity.
14Nov[20:03:09] <Gryph> As you join with the rotation of the room, you quickly gain the illusion of gravity - very faint, but enough so that you can keep your feet on the ground if you walk with exaggerated caution.
14Nov[20:03:56] <Gryph> There are four doors, evenly spaced around the room.  They are unmarked except for a simple letter A in an archaic but recognizable block print.
14Nov[20:05:44] <Gryph> The light levels in the room are very low, akin to that of starlight on a clear night with no moon.
14Nov[20:06:30] * Aquila launches himself lightly into the tube, working with the "gravity" to make it through one of the doors.
14Nov[20:06:41] * Phaedrus keeps a hand on grip of his slung shotgun and attempts to use one of the nearest doors.
14Nov[20:12:54] <Gryph> You quickly come to reorient yourselves, with the floor being "down" and the tube through which you entered the room now appearing to be rotating in place above your heads.
14Nov[20:13:13] <Gryph> The doors lead "forwards" towards the front of the ship.
14Nov[20:14:14] <Gryph> Through the door, you come into the next chamber, which begins with a ramp down.  As you step down, you find gravity increasing slightly, although still nowhere near a normal level.  This room is lined with what appear at first to be coffins.
14Nov[20:20:03] <@Ezekiel> "Looks like they might be their version of drop pods."
14Nov[20:20:30] * Aquila gives one a closer inspection. "Looks like it, maybe."
14Nov[20:20:32] * Phaedrus nods, "Like our Chapter's launch-coffins."
14Nov[20:21:28] * Martinus (Easymode@sux-6C5F9F3F.hsd1.mi.comcast.net) Quit (Quit: Martinus)
14Nov[20:24:00] <Gryph> Telion: "This is too easy... doors unlocked, everything clean and empty..."
14Nov[20:24:49] <Phaedrus> "I have not seen any servitors but perhaps they still maintain the ship?"
14Nov[20:25:24] <Aquila> "Considering how old the ship is... would they even have had any to begin with?"
14Nov[20:25:39] <@Ezekiel> "Perhaps it has already been looted."
14Nov[20:26:47] * Martinus (Easymode@sux-6C5F9F3F.hsd1.mi.comcast.net) has joined #ultramarines
14Nov[20:27:22] <Gryph> Abruptly, there is a lifeless, disembodied voice from your vox units.  <Not looted.  But invaded.  Waiting.  In need of help.>
14Nov[20:29:17] <Gryph> Another voice, this one human-sounding.  "Don't listen to her.  It's a trap.  It's - I must flee!"
14Nov[20:29:42] <Aquila> "Who is this?  Who's talking?"  Was that... the machine spirit?
14Nov[20:30:01] * Phaedrus braces his shotgun against his shoulder, aiming down a hallway.
14Nov[20:30:19] <Gryph> (The second voice also came from your vox.)
14Nov[20:31:29] <Martinus> "I don't like the sound of this."
14Nov[20:31:57] <Gryph> The first: <Learns fast.  Language complex.  Additional samples needed.  Beware The Voice.  The Voice deceives.>
14Nov[20:32:37] <@Ezekiel> "Switch to hand signals."
14Nov[20:33:04] * Martinus nods.
14Nov[20:33:48] * Aquila nods in acknowledgement and begins continuing towards the front of the ship.
14Nov[20:34:10] <Gryph> <This is Daedalus.  Daedalus is talking.  The Voice is talking: "Don't listen to her.  It's a trap.  It's - I must flee!"  Beware The Voice.>
14Nov[20:34:29] <Gryph> "She lies!  She's lying, don't trust her!"
14Nov[20:36:32] <Gryph> <Ring 1B.  Survivors confirm claims.  Daedalus protects.>
14Nov[20:39:07] * Phaedrus taps his vox, while he scans for '1B', "Both of you will identify yourselves, clearly and beyond names."
14Nov[20:39:31] <Gryph> "Ignore 1B.  It's a trap, skip straight to the forward decks.  Use quadrant 3 to pass through 1B."
14Nov[20:42:33] <Gryph> <Self is Daedalus.  Self is ship.  Ship is Daedalus.  Self protects Crew.  Self derives language from audio samples and context.  Language similar to known.  Additional samples needed for computation.>
14Nov[20:43:49] <Gryph> "I'm - I'm Martin.  I was one of the ship's crew.  Now she's killing us all.  Don't listen to her!"
14Nov[20:45:17] * Phaedrus turns to the others, uncertainty creeping onto his face, "You are one of the crew?"
14Nov[20:45:29] * Aquila stops himself and looks back, making a circle with his fingers.
14Nov[20:45:30] <Gryph> <Martin died: timestamp: 403 years 77 days 9 hours 23 minutes.  He is The Voice.  Beware The Voice.>
14Nov[20:46:01] <Gryph> "Of course I'm alive.  She's lying.  Just do what I say, I'll keep her from killing you."
14Nov[20:47:59] <Gryph> Telion makes hand signals: 'Advance.  We need more information.'
14Nov[20:49:02] * Aquila pushes forward past the room with the coffin-pods.
14Nov[20:49:32] * Phaedrus follows.
14Nov[20:51:37] <Gryph> The next room is large and humming with machinery.  It smells faintly of plant life, and the oxygen mix is higher here than elsewhere.  Again, there are steps down into a higher gravity.
14Nov[20:52:14] <Gryph> There are countless shadows and nooks where something might be hiding, but nothing attacks you as Telion leads the way onward.
14Nov[20:54:08] * Aquila follows close behind, chainsword at the ready.
14Nov[20:54:51] <Gryph> You pass through many more rooms, growing larger both in diameter and in width as you progress.  Soon you come to rooms where the ceiling is only eight feet above the floor, rather than reaching up all the way to the central tube.  Presumably the extra space is used for storage or the machinery that powers this ancient place.  And ancient it is.  Plastics are cracked and pale with age,...
14Nov[20:54:52] <Gryph> ...despite their protection from light and heat; lights have burned out in many places, and those that remain are on their lowest setting.
14Nov[20:55:23] <Gryph> Each one is labeled consecutively by the letters on the door: B, C, D...
14Nov[20:56:31] * Aquila looks around for what is/might be "Ring 1B".
14Nov[20:56:34] <Gryph> At X, you encounter the first dead body.  It is long dead, but still surprisingly recent - there is still dried skin clinging to the mummified remains.
14Nov[20:58:07] <Gryph> It is wearing a uniform that seems to be made of some variety of synthetic fur.  It is clearly human.  The cause of death is vividly abundant: it was torn limb from limb.
14Nov[21:00:29] * Phaedrus inspects the body, "Not weapons fire, from the looks of it."
14Nov[21:02:49] <Gryph> The body appears to be around twenty years old, given the dry, cold, sterile climate of the ship.
14Nov[21:03:27] * Gryph (chatzilla@sux-95590CAA.dyn.optonline.net) Quit (Connection reset by peer)
14Nov[21:03:57] * Gryph (chatzilla@sux-95590CAA.dyn.optonline.net) has joined #ultramarines
14Nov[21:05:57] * Ezekiel is now known as ALT-F4
-
21Nov[17:01:52] * Now talking in #ultramarines
21Nov[17:05:22] * Gryph (chatzilla@sux-95590CAA.dyn.optonline.net) has joined #ultramarines
21Nov[17:07:01] * VE (a@sux-3616F110.res.cmu.edu) has joined #ultramarines
21Nov[17:07:12] * VE is now known as Phaedrus
21Nov[17:07:45] * Martinus (Easymode@sux-6C5F9F3F.hsd1.mi.comcast.net) has joined #ultramarines
21Nov[17:16:45] <Gryph> As you descend deeper into the vessel, the Voice continues to wheedle with you.  "Daedalus is the ship's computer," he says.  "Or she was... until she went mad.  Started killing us.  Terrible ways..."  Daedalus: "No.  I protect crew.  Killing is of unknown cause.  Complicity of the Voice is assumed."
21Nov[17:21:01] <Phaedrus> "This vessel is old, so old that the exterior markings were almost foreign. And yet, your speeches are immediately recognizable."
21Nov[17:21:55] <@Ezekiel> "Martin, what is your location?"
21Nov[17:24:59] <Gryph> "I can't tell you.  Not over the radio.  Not while she's listening."
21Nov[17:26:17] <Gryph> Telion says quietly: "Menelaus, Aquila, fall back to our entry point.  Make sure it's clear for our departure if we need to fight our way out."
21Nov[17:26:25] <Gryph> They do so.
21Nov[17:27:43] * @Ezekiel would speak into his vox using the chapter's private language. <Martin, can you understand me?>
21Nov[17:28:37] <Gryph> Martin: "Of course."
21Nov[17:28:44] * Phaedrus speaks out loud as the others deliberate quietly, "No answer? How is it that you both are fluent in Gothic?"
21Nov[17:28:54] <Gryph> Daedalus: "New language detected.  Computing syntax."
21Nov[17:29:14] <@Ezekiel> <Quickly, tell us where you are.>
21Nov[17:30:19] <Gryph> Martin: <I can't.  I just told you, I can't.  She'll hear.>
21Nov[17:31:36] * @Ezekiel shrugs, unsure of what to do next.
21Nov[17:33:39] <Phaedrus> "To whom do you swear your allegiance Martin? And you, Daedalus?"
21Nov[17:35:49] <Gryph> Almost in concert, they reply: "To the ship."
21Nov[17:37:01] <Gryph> Telion uses hand signals to direct you onward, on your guard, covering one another.
21Nov[17:37:21] * Phaedrus falls in, continuing the conversation, "And the ship belongs to who?"
21Nov[17:38:38] <Gryph> As you proceed deeper, the gravity increases until it is a full gravity, and the curvature of the floor is small enough that you can almost imagine that you are standing on flat ground.
21Nov[17:40:48] <Gryph> Daedalus: "Exodus Colony NNTX-402.  Launched by the Colonial Authority."
21Nov[17:42:48] <Gryph> The letters continue on.  You pass through vacant living and recreation quarters and supply rooms, where gravity-sensitive supplies are stored.  At letter X, you notice a subtle shift in the air, a sense that something is moving beyond where you can see.
21Nov[17:45:36] <Gryph> Daedalus: "Entering containment zone.  Executing stored command 4489: Waking crew member: DA HA NA AVAY."
21Nov[17:46:13] <Martinus> "I don't like the sounds of that, brothers."
21Nov[17:46:32] <Gryph> Over the vox, you hear a hissing sound.
21Nov[17:47:01] <Phaedrus> "Daedalus, explain."
21Nov[17:47:55] <Gryph> Martin/the Voice: "Oh, Mother Night!  Hurry!  You aren't far now, two more letters to 1A, then two more rings to 1C.  Run.  RUN.  Take quadrant 3 through 1B.  It's the only place she doesn't control."
21Nov[17:49:54] <Gryph> Daedalus: "I am commanded to wake crew member if entities enter containment zone."
21Nov[17:54:02] <Gryph> Telion: "Hold... proceed steady..."
21Nov[17:54:05] <@Ezekiel> "I think we should follow Martin's advice."
21Nov[17:54:12] <Martinus> "Agreed."
21Nov[17:59:28] <Gryph> Telion: "To 1B, full speed.  We will evaluate our options there."
21Nov[17:59:56] <Phaedrus> <Sergeant Telion. I'm...I'm not sure what it is but something's wrong. I do not think we should rush forward.>
21Nov[18:00:13] <Gryph> "I have felt it, too."
21Nov[18:00:16] <@Ezekiel> "I agree. Something seems... off."
21Nov[18:01:02] <Gryph> The hissing sound ends.  A woman's voice, thick and slurred with sleep, begins speaking in a language that you can tell bears superficial resemblance to Gothic, but cannot understand.
21Nov[18:06:12] <Gryph> Telion gestures towards the next room.  "Onward.  We are Ultramarines, and we know no fear."  He sets off at an easy run, weapon at the ready.
21Nov[18:06:31] * @Ezekiel follows behind him, keeping the pace he sets.
21Nov[18:06:50] * Phaedrus frowns but follows, "Daedalus, who has just been awoken?"
21Nov[18:06:58] * Martinus follows along at a similar speed.
21Nov[18:08:51] <Gryph> "Crewmember DA HA NA AVAY."  A pause.  The woman's voice, inquiring something.  Daedalus: "Do you comprehend her?"
21Nov[18:10:50] <Gryph> Martin abruptly begins speaking in the same language as the woman.  You catch a snatch of language - her name.
21Nov[18:11:12] <Phaedrus> "She sounds distressed."
21Nov[18:11:29] <Martinus> "Agreed."
21Nov[18:12:04] <@Ezekiel> "Maybe she isn't a morning person."
21Nov[18:13:24] <Gryph> Ring Y.  Past a bank of humming, buzzing machines, many of them broken and disfunctional.  The feeling of unease grows to a clear sensation.  You begin to stumble, despite your best efforts and years of brutal training - the floor simply is not where your mind tells you that it is.  You begin to half-imagine the sound of voices just outside of hearing.
21Nov[18:13:58] <Gryph> Daedalus: "Providing translation."  There is the sound of a person typing.
21Nov[18:14:19] <Gryph> Martin: "Don't wait.  Don't /listen/.  It's all lies.  You don't have much time.  /Hurry./"
21Nov[18:17:03] * Martinus soldiers on through.
21Nov[18:17:53] <Gryph> Daedalus: "'Na Avay name my is.  Da-ha of TRANSLATION ERROR of the Daedalus am I.  Daedalus using am I to translate language yours into.'"
21Nov[18:18:17] <Gryph> Daedalus: "ADJUSTING."
21Nov[18:18:38] <Gryph> Martin: "Shut up, shut up, shut up!"
21Nov[18:20:23] <Gryph> Ring Z.  Somewhere, someone laughs, thick, dark, mocking.  Light rises and fades, shifting through spectra, and the ship hums and whispers.
21Nov[18:20:43] <Gryph> Ahead, on the next door, is stenciled: 1A
21Nov[18:21:10] <@Ezekiel> "Door after next."
21Nov[18:21:46] <Gryph> Telion: "This is warpcraft.  I am certain of it.  The only question that remains... are the people aboard in need of rescue, or execution?"
21Nov[18:22:37] <@Ezekiel> "I cannot answer until I have laid eyes on them."
21Nov[18:24:04] <Gryph> Ring 1A.  Air rushes in after you as you enter, following Telion.  The air is thin here, with little oxygen.  Black ash coats the floor and walls.  What machinery and furniture was here is wrecked and broken, and the acidic taste of a lingering chemical stings your throat.  There are no lights.  The whole ship seems to move and sway, although that is obviously impossible.  The sound of...
21Nov[18:24:06] <Gryph> ...whispering voices rises and falls around you.
21Nov[18:25:06] <Gryph> Through it all, Martin's voice cuts in, clear and urgent.  "The quadrant labels are at the bottoms of the door.  Remember, quadrant THREE."
21Nov[18:25:22] <@Ezekiel> "Three, right."
21Nov[18:25:24] <Gryph> Daedalus: "'No!  No no no no no!"
21Nov[18:25:53] <Gryph> * "'No!  No no no no no!'"
21Nov[18:26:51] <Gryph> Daedalus: "'I do not know who you are, but don't go that way.  Please.  Nobody ever comes back.'"
21Nov[18:28:52] <Gryph> Telion: "My instinct says to press on as deep as we can.  But I have no evidence to support it.  What say you, Scouts?"
21Nov[18:29:26] <@Ezekiel> "We're Ultramarines. Its our business to go places where no one ever comes back."
21Nov[18:30:48] * Phaedrus pauses, "Is this Na Avay speaking?"
21Nov[18:32:55] <@Ezekiel> "I can go ahead and see if it's safe."
21Nov[18:39:22] <Gryph> Daedalus: "Yes."
21Nov[18:40:36] <Phaedrus> "You are a crewmember? What happened here? You will explain and do so clearly."
21Nov[18:49:39] <Gryph> "'We launched with a colony of five thousand.  Something was tearing our world apart.  Some Thing.  It must have followed us onboard.  We tried to fight it.  Tried to run.  This was - 3.5 times ten to the 11th heartbeats - ago."
21Nov[18:50:21] <Gryph> You estimate that that would be something around 11,000 sidreal years.
21Nov[18:52:44] <Gryph> "'It's still aboard.  Daedalus managed to set up some kind of resonance field around the cryostasis chambers in 1B that block it out, and shield most of the aft of the sphere.'"
21Nov[18:53:42] <Gryph> Martin: "Lies!  Daedalus brought it with her in herself.  That's why she won't let you speak to the actual Na Avay."
21Nov[19:01:34] <Phaedrus> "Very well. Na Avay, Martin will not tell us his location for fear of Daedalus. Are you likewise unwilling?"
21Nov[19:02:18] <Gryph> Daedalus: "I am in 1B.  Quadrant 1, farthest away from the Lost Quadrant 3."
21Nov[19:03:40] <Gryph> "The resonance field should protect all four quadrants, but... we sent out two different missions, the last time we were awake all together.  Once they were past the doorway, we never heard from either of them again."
21Nov[19:04:36] <Gryph> Martin: "No!  3 is the only safe path."
21Nov[19:12:37] * Phaedrus turns to the others, "According to what we've been told, we will reach Daedalus or this crewmember's location before we reach where Martin is directing us. We lose nothing by investigating the former first."
21Nov[19:16:30] <Gryph> Martin: "No!  Take 3!  You must take 3!"
21Nov[19:18:03] * Glodrhun (Glodrhum@sux-CC21EEE3.dhcp.mdsn.wi.charter.com) has joined #ultramarines
21Nov[19:18:09] * Glodrhun is now known as Aquila
21Nov[19:23:33] <Martinus> "Agreed. We find the crewmember and Daedalus first. Martin if we can help it."
21Nov[19:26:16] * Phaedrus turns to Telion, "Sergeant, do you agree with this suggested course of action?"
21Nov[19:28:13] <Gryph> He nods.  "Yes.  It should be easy enough to deduce if they are telling the truth about their anti-warp field, at least."
21Nov[19:28:51] <Gryph> Telion moves quickly to the door labeled for quadrant 1, on the opposite edge of the ring from quadrant 3 and opens it.
21Nov[19:29:23] <Gryph> There is a faint crackling sound, almost like fire, or radio static.  A strange pressure pushes at you from the door.
21Nov[19:29:43] <Gryph> Telion braces himself and pushes through to the other side.
21Nov[19:33:33] * Phaedrus follows after the sergeant.
21Nov[19:34:48] * @Ezekiel goes with him.
21Nov[19:37:32] * Martinus moves along, like a good little soldier.
21Nov[19:42:19] <Gryph> Passing through the doorway feels like stepping through a wall of warm water.  On the other side, the dimensions of the world snap back to their proper shapes.  The lights, though still dim, are constant.  The sound of half-imagined voices is gone.
21Nov[19:42:33] <Gryph> Telion closes and latches the door behind you.
21Nov[19:43:54] <Gryph> You are in a small room, an airlock separating this section of the ship from the rest.  It must be here to protect the crew's cryostasis chambers in the event that the rest of the ship is damaged.
21Nov[19:44:02] <Gryph> The far door cycles open on its own accord.
21Nov[19:45:01] <Gryph> Daedalus: "'Come in, quick.  I'll close the airlock behind you.  Now that you're here, Daedalus should be able to lock out the Voice's influence, if you wish it.'"
21Nov[19:45:56] * Phaedrus takes a deep breath, then steps through if the Sergeant does.
21Nov[19:51:11] <Gryph> Telion leads on inside.  After you are all within, the door cycles shut behind you.
21Nov[19:52:53] <Gryph> Telion: "Do it."
21Nov[19:53:26] <Gryph> Daedalus: "'There.  He should not be able to hear us, either... I hope.'"
21Nov[19:54:13] <Gryph> Telion, in linguis Ultra: <A null field... big enough to fill the entire ring.  This alone would be a relic worthy of our journey.>
21Nov[19:55:28] <Phaedrus> <A relic, indeed. You heard her speak earlier? 11,000 sidereal years..."
21Nov[19:58:16] <Gryph> Telion: <Pre-Imperial indeed... and this event that destroyed their world.  The opening of the Eye of Terror?>
21Nov[19:59:16] <Gryph> Vox to Aquila: <Aquila, this is Sergeant Telion.  We've reached 1B and it appears to be under the protection of some form of null field.  Chaos has infested the forward decks of the starship.>
21Nov[20:00:16] <Gryph> Daedalus: "'Now that you're here... who are you?  Daedalus detects a gas giant nearby.  Is that your colony world?'"
21Nov[20:01:22] * Aquila looks over to Menelaus, tapping his vox. <Got it. Are we to remain here or move to you?>
21Nov[20:02:53] <Gryph> Vox: <Move up.  Push quickly through the later rings and enter via the door for quadrant 1.  Be prepared against the influence of the Warp in the last rings.>
21Nov[20:03:37] <Aquila> <Understood.>
21Nov[20:04:06] * Aquila checks with Menelaus to make sure he got all that.
21Nov[20:04:37] <Gryph> Telion, quietly: <This is grim.  This hulk has not been in the Warp.  From its construction, it isn't even Warp-capable.  And yet Chaos is here.  A powerful daemon, or a cult, or both, must be responsible.>
21Nov[20:04:54] <Gryph> Menelaus nods.  "Courage and honor."
21Nov[20:05:38] * Aquila nods back, then takes off to regroup with the others on board.
21Nov[20:06:44] <Phaedrus> "We've come far, likely farther than you know."
21Nov[20:13:45] <Gryph> "One of the inner planets, then?  Your interceptor couldn't possibly have enough fuel to have reached us from another star."
21Nov[20:15:20] <Phaedrus> "Many stars away. We made our way by the light of the Astranomicon but that is not important. We must deal with the presence on this ship."
21Nov[20:20:09] <Gryph> "Do you have the means to rescue us?  Is there a human civilization somewhere where the Things do not rule and twist it?"
21Nov[20:22:57] <Phaedrus> "There is a great human civilization, unmatched in might and glory, which daily does battle with entities more terrible than the one on this ship."
21Nov[20:27:18] <Gryph> "'Then you are worth the risk.  We were without hope.'"
21Nov[20:27:28] <Gryph> At this point Aquila and Menelaus arrive, and are let in.
21Nov[20:29:33] <Gryph> Daedalus: "Entering voice translation mode.  Crewmember: DA HA NA AVAY no longer providing direct text input."
21Nov[20:29:58] <Aquila> <We're here, safe and sound.  What's the situation?>
21Nov[20:33:54] <Phaedrus> "Warp entity has taken control of sectors of this vessel, pre-Imperial colony ship, by the sound of it. It seems this area is protected by a null field."
21Nov[20:38:07] <Gryph> A minute later, a door opens ahead of you.  A woman in a black synthetic-fur uniform is standing in the doorway.  She is unarmed and has her hands partially raised to demonstrate her non-hostile intent.  She looks normally human, excepting two facts - first, that her skin is a pale bluish tone; second, that her eyes are unusually large.  On the whole, she falls well within the range of...
21Nov[20:38:10] <Gryph> ...variation for humanity, or at least stable abhumanity.
21Nov[20:40:55] * Aquila trains his weaspons on the new entrant. "Who... what?"
21Nov[20:41:21] <@Ezekiel> "Da Ha Na Avay?"
21Nov[20:42:43] <Gryph> She nods quickly, frightened of the weapon pointing at her.
21Nov[20:43:44] <@Ezekiel> "Do you understand Gothic?"
21Nov[20:44:27] * Aquila lowers his weapons slightly, though still has them ready.
21Nov[20:44:48] <Gryph> Daedalus says something in the woman's language.  The woman shakes her head.
21Nov[20:44:56] <Aquila> "She was using the translator right?  I doubt she does.  Daedalus, can you translate for-"
21Nov[20:45:01] <Aquila> "Never mind."
21Nov[20:46:55] <Gryph> The woman speaks and Daedalus translates: "Please don't hurt me.  I'm unarmed."
21Nov[20:47:06] <Gryph> She looks to be about 30 years old.
21Nov[20:47:30] <@Ezekiel> "We won't hurt you."
21Nov[20:47:45] <Gryph> She has some sort of symbol dyed into the fur over her left shoulder - perhaps her rank?
21Nov[20:50:07] <Gryph> Translation: "I am Na Avay.  Da Ha is my rank.  I was in charge of the [untranslatable] - the directing of the [untranslatable] - the collectors of space gasses for fuel."
21Nov[20:51:30] <@Ezekiel> "Ramscoop director?"
21Nov[20:51:57] * Gryph (chatzilla@sux-95590CAA.dyn.optonline.net) Quit (Connection reset by peer)
21Nov[20:52:47] * Gryph (chatzilla@sux-95590CAA.dyn.optonline.net) has joined #ultramarines
21Nov[20:52:56] <Phaedrus> "I am Phaedrus Nykto, of the Ultramarines. This is our revered Brother-Sergeant Torias Telion and my Brothers Aquila, Ezekiel and Martinus."
21Nov[20:53:34] * Aquila nods at his name's mention.
21Nov[20:54:10] <Aquila> "How many of you are there left?"
21Nov[20:55:53] <Gryph> "Counting me - 953."
21Nov[20:56:54] <Gryph> "There... there are only 1000 cryo-pods in ring 1B."
21Nov[20:57:18] <Aquila> "953 in the whole ship or is that just in this ring?"
21Nov[20:57:53] <Gryph> "Just here.  The others are all still frozen.  While we're frozen, the Voice can't get at us..."
21Nov[20:58:19] <Gryph> "The rest of us abandoned ship... in deep space, with a week's provisions.  It was better than staying here, awake."
21Nov[20:59:50] <Gryph> "I think I have a day, maybe two, before the Voice finds its way into my mind.  Then another day before I have to eject myself.  Before He can take over."
21Nov[21:00:12] * Aquila turns to Telion. "Whatever's on this ship... how are we going to deal with it?"
21Nov[21:00:20] <Phaedrus> "And this is something you have witnessed before?"
21Nov[21:05:02] <Gryph> "46 got woken up before me.  Most of them cycled themselves out of the airlock.  A few didn't, and Daedalus managed to kill them or drive them out."
21Nov[21:06:04] <Gryph> "The machines are too worn out to trigger the freezing process again.  It would be too slow.  Ice would form in our bodies.  Our cells would burst, and we would freeze to death instead of being preserved."
21Nov[21:06:18] <Gryph> "Now that I'm awake, I can't go back."
21Nov[21:07:03] <@Ezekiel> "So, we must follow Martin's directions and defeat what awaits us there."
21Nov[21:08:08] <Aquila> "The difference between you and those who awoke before is that we're here, so there's a solution.  That's our job, after all, solving the problems the enemies of Man cause."
21Nov[21:08:19] <Gryph> She shakes her head.  "No.  Please, no!  Just send rescue ships... get us out.  You don't want to go out there.  Mother Night, it's /hell/."
21Nov[21:09:32] <Aquila> "Telion, are we well enough to do this ourselves?  Or should we return with more equipment and reinforcements?"
21Nov[21:12:12] <Gryph> Telion: <We have enough information to return.  The ship must be purged, and its treasures captured for the Imperium.>
21Nov[21:12:36] <Gryph> <...But it may be that we should execute them all, first.  They have witnessed Chaos.  They do not know the Emperor.>
21Nov[21:13:16] <Gryph> <Chaos is subtle.  These thousand might spawn a thousand cults of the Dark Gods...>
21Nov[21:13:42] <@Ezekiel> <Could they not be kept in quarantine and observed?>
21Nov[21:14:25] <Gryph> <Defeating the daemons that lurk beyond this field is work for Terminators, regardless.  I would be remiss to attempt it in Scout Carapace, with you students with me.>
21Nov[21:16:37] * Martinus (Easymode@sux-6C5F9F3F.hsd1.mi.comcast.net) Quit (Ping timeout)
21Nov[21:16:49] <Aquila> <...can Chaos touch the frozen minds?>
21Nov[21:16:53] <@Ezekiel> <At the very least, their knowledge of how to construct such null fields as this would be invaluable.>
21Nov[21:17:52] <Gryph> <I doubt it, Aquila.  But they must already have been touched when they committed themselves to the frozen sleep.>
21Nov[21:19:08] <Gryph> Translation: "What - what are you saying?  Daedalus is only translating bits and pieces."
21Nov[21:20:28] <@Ezekiel> "We are deciding our next course of action, Na Avay. We use our own language, it is a shorthand that allows us to communicate faster."
21Nov[21:23:07] <Phaedrus> <Sergeant Telion, if I may. Roboute Guilliman divided the great Legions of old in order that a single crack would not shatter an entire pillar of the Imperium. As such, perhaps we should not commit a similar mistake here and consign a thousand human souls to a fate perhaps only one deserves.>
21Nov[21:23:40] <@Ezekiel> <Sergeant, I believe it would be a mistake to kill the sleepers out of hand. I also think we should take Na Avay with us so that she is not exposed to any more corruption than she has been.>
21Nov[21:27:05] <Gryph> He nods.