Rosenkrantz 39

	Rosenkrantz_GM	IT IS THE 41ST MILLENNIUM...
	Rosenkrantz_GM	Inside the librarium vault of the Sacred Heart, penitents barely able to see past four meters in front of them search through the maze-like collection of tomes and parchment for their master. The House Guard stands watch in key locations, providing protection for Lady Vivian and their Lord-Captain. The only sources of light being those you have brought with you, it is easy to let one's
	Rosenkrantz_GM	mind play tricks. Nonetheless you stay focused on the task at hand, for surely this vault contains ancient knowledge.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	The party, however, that has broken off to find the bridge now navigates the cloister-passageways.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	The corridors are tight, the way littered with debris of all sorts, including the remains of statues.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	Along the walls, stories of imperial saints are told in relief, cracked and worn.
	Vivian	quietly scoops up the thrown glow-stick, giving it a good shake to see if she could get it to glow brighter.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	The passageways have breaches from above and below, some fluids no doubt radiation-filled. To the experienced voidsmen, however, traversing this is no more challenging than making their way through the lower decks onboard the Consequence.
	Makh_Chomun	"Fun." Makh comments idly to Mort as he weaves his way through the different obstacles.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	Like any vessel transporting tens of thousands of human beings across vast gulfs of space, the Sacred Heart required enormous stocks of every type of supply imaginable, and soon you find yourselves inside one of these provender chambers.
	Baine_Mort	"Yep, seems like this ship really broke down, could of been from the impact or what ever caused it to crash."
	Josef	"The impact is the cause. What caused it to crash is still a mystery."
	Rosenkrantz_GM	You soon notice, however, that the inside of these cavernous storage bays contain the remains of hundreds of thousands of tonnes of candles, incense, pre-blessed holy water, altar cloths, rosaries, sacred unguents, and innumerable other examples of holy ephemera characteristic of the Imperial Cult' with a surprising lack of more everyday supplies, especially those relating to personal
	Rosenkrantz_GM	comfort.
	Josef	"Interesting."
	Baine_Mort	"Same, seems they really went all out with the religious part."
	Makh_Chomun	"I wonder if we could re-purpose all of this?"
	Josef	"With enough labor, the items could be scanned, categorized, and shipped unto our vessel."
	Josef	examines a mysterious canister and it erupts acidic mist into his face. Josef's mechanical lungs clog and he begins to cough.
	Baine_Mort	pats Josef on the back, "You ok my mechanical friend?"
	Josef	pushes Mort away. He says "It's Acid *cough* stay away."
	Baine_Mort	takes a few steps back
	Josef	move and stands eerily still. He starts chanting in binary.
	Calvin_Colonel	looks around the text and nods slightly as he follows the passages
	Rosenkrantz_GM	After a few minutes of this meditation, the Genetor's internal systems begin to heal the damage taken from the noxious acid.
	Vivian	looked towards Friedrich, then Calvin before she'd speak up. "We've probably spent enough time here. Shall we regroup?"
	Friedrich_Rosenkrantz	"Indeed, that seems like a good plan."
	Vivian	+Gentlemen, we're done in the library. We're heading your way, now. How is everyone holding up?+
	Baine_Mort	+Copy that, Josef took in a bunch of acid here but he is ok, also watch out for the radiation leak on the way here, see you guys soon, Mort Out.+
	Vivian	flinched at the mention of acid and radiation, before frowning. Gathering up what she can- she'd snatch up a few books to add to the Labor Servitor's carry load. She wanted books to read, for later. Gathering everyone up, she'd lead the way back to the rest of the group.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	The penitents carry with them writings selected by their master on their way to the provender chamber.
	Baine_Mort	takes a look around the room but is unable to find anything really of interest.
	Josef	joins Mort in investigating the storage area, but is unable to find anything new.
	Makh_Chomun	has a look around himself.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	Soon, you are reunited inside the vast storage chamber.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	+Could have sworn I saw something out there, sir+
	Rosenkrantz_GM	A couple of the House Guard appear to be discussing something just by the entrance.
	Makh_Chomun	+Report.+
	Rosenkrantz_GM	+A shape, sir. A movement. Something agile.+
	Makh_Chomun	+Head's on a swivel, we knew we would run into schlag down here.+
	Baine_Mort	readies his shotgun.
	Vivian	frowns, bringing her hand up to grasp her needle pistol before speaking up. +We're being stalked. Something *very* fast. I can't tell for sure what it was- but it was about as big as a man, maybe slightly bigger.+
	Makh_Chomun	whistles over the comm link. +I just found something amazing.+ His voice is dripping with awe as he pulls out a dented, but otherwise fancy looking metal case. Inside is a thunder-hammer made in the image of Cognatious' own weapon.
	Calvin_Colonel	beckons to Vivian
	Calvin_Colonel	[High Gothic]: "My penitents are discussing something. Would you care to eavesdrop on them? I am rather... Visible."
	Vivian	[High Gothic] "A..Alright. But keep a sharp eye out- I don't know what was watching us, but we are not alone."
	Josef	equips his bolt-gun and  Eviscerator
	Vivian	frowns, quietly drawing the hood of her cloak up before silently stepping away- heading towards the penitents to eavesdrop on what they might be talking about.
	Makh_Chomun	throws the empty case to one of the House Guard to carry back to the ship on the way out. For now Makh wields the mighty Thunderhammer he just found.
	Vivian	quietly removes her hood, then moves on in behind the few that were speaking. Bringing her hands up to rest on their shoulders, she'd give a gentle squeeze of reassurance as she'd lean in and whisper softly, low enough for them to hear. "I assure you.. Father Colonel is a strong, and resounding leader of faith. He would not bring you here to die- otherwise the house guard would not be here....
	Vivian	...No? We need you here. All of you. We will all die if your hearts waiver and doubt arises. Steel yourselves and have faith. We are here on a higher purpose, after all."
	Josef	examines the Thunder Hammer and says "Interesting..."
	Calvin_Colonel	"We have not come here to die. We have come to pursue the Emperor's work. If He desired your death, you would be facing His judgement by now."
	Makh_Chomun	"What about it has caught your eye?" He asks after giving it a practice swing.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	In the span of a second your senses take in three things. One: two House Guard on the entrance to the passageways are launched several meters back. Two: flashes of light as a response from the House Guard open fire. Three: several figures materializing inside the room, one pouncing directly on the Lord-Protector.
	Josef	"I'll tell you later, Lord Chomun. We have bigger problems."
	Makh_Chomun	"Really?" He grunts. "I hadn't guessed."
	Rosenkrantz_GM	A second of the abominations attacks the Lord-Protector, who is able to move out of the way in the last moment. Yet a third of the creatures charges Lady Vivian, clawing at her in a passing charge.
	Makh_Chomun	The Lord Protector puts it down to inexperience with such a new weapon, but he misses his swing against the thing that leapt on him...completely. He curses many times in his native language.
	Vivian	flinched and even gave up a sharp cry in pain, getting a rather annoyingly painful scratch as a result.
	Baine_Mort	opens fire with his shot gun at the nearest mutant, hitting it with all three shots hitting it everywhere at point blank range, the shots rip through the monstrous creature killing it instantly.
	Vivian	took up her chainsword, revving it up before she gave an angry shout. "You call that a scratch?! THIS IS A SCRATCH." Then she'd dig her chain sword into the mutant's form- nearly cutting off its right arm. Though it did end up a bit..Stuck. Giving a heavy tug afterwards, she'd barely be able to remove her precious weapon.
	Josef	tries to charge one of the best on Lord Chomun and misses.
	Makh_Chomun	Makh prepares himself for the next barrage to only watch amusingly as the first monster slips on some viscera and misses Makh entirely. The second thing comes much closer however as it barrels right at Makh, but misses due to Makh's superior Acrobatics. Seeing the first monster is still having a trouble getting back to it's feet, Makh winds up his Thunderhammer, arcs of lightning flashing...
	Makh_Chomun	...from the head, and swings it with all the force his body can put behind it into the thing's head. Whatever face the thing had is now nothing more than a paste of gore and bone as it's head ceases to exist.
	Baine_Mort	One of the mutants charges Calvin who is able to dodge the mutant's charge, Mort then opens fire with his shotgun again, hitting the creature with all three shots, killing it and making it his second kill.
	Vivian	frowns in disgust at the creature before her. Angry still at how it dared to lay its filthy, heretical claws on her. With a rather large hint of malice, she'd bring her chainsword up once more- this time removing the foul mutant's left arm. Bringing her leg up, she'd plant her foot right against its chest before giving a hard push to have the corpse fall away from her and the penitents. With...
	Vivian	...a heavy sigh afterwards, she'd give a sharp swing of her arm- flicking the blood off her precious, yet very useful relic. "Damned things."
	Josef	screams in binary and tears into the Mutant's right arm. He kills it in one fatal hit.
	Baine_Mort	lowers his shotgun, "Well that was fun, I'm starting to get the feeling we aren't wanted here." Mort comments.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	+We have one fatality, one critical injury+
	Makh_Chomun	+Get 'em out of here. We need anything else in this place?+ He asks to the rest of the party.
	Vivian	quietly wanders over towards the cloths, picking one up to tear it into strips. Soon after, she'd wrap it around her leg, where the scratch was. Mumbling something about stopping the bleeding, and getting it treated later.
	Josef	runs towards the mauled House Guard.
	Vivian	also grabs up some candles.. Handing them out to the penitents. With that being said, she'd also gather some holy water, pocketing it for later. Who knows when it might come in handy.
	Makh_Chomun	After giving the order Makh examines his new hammer again. Looking closely at the inscriptions and decorations along the head and shaft, some of it now anointed with that spawns blood. "It feels amazing in my hands." He comments to himself.
	Josef	treats the injured House Guard. He disinfects the cut along the torso and snitches the wound close. Josef applies some temporary synth skin.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	"Now that's a weapon, sir" one of the House Guards comments looking at the hammer.
	Makh_Chomun	"No kidding, a practical miracle I found it in this ruinous ship. Perhaps it's a sign?"
	Makh_Chomun	clears his throat. "If we're done here perhaps we should continue to the bridge?"
	Rosenkrantz_GM	The trooper makes the sign of the aquila.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	Like all Warp-capable voidships, the Sacred Heart once relied on a Navigator and his staff to carry it thgouth the unreal dimension that is the Warp. On many ships, the Navigator is a figure of superstition and dread amongst the ratings. Even educated and experienced officers are usually none too keen to interact with them. The passengers and crew of the Sacred Heart held to the doctrines
	Rosenkrantz_GM	of the Imperial Creed far more literally than most -- the mutant is a blasphemy against the perfect form as evidenced in the body of the Emperor, and therefore damned by his very existence. The Navigator's tabernacle -- the sealed section in which the Navigator and his attendants lived and worked is evidence to the superstitious caution the crew held for those carrying the navigator gene.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	It was entirely sealed off from the remainder of the vessel, for the benefit of the crew, the passengers, and the Navigator and his support staff themselves.
	Makh_Chomun	"Think it's worth having a look?" He addresses the party.
	Baine_Mort	"Maybe, I could try to cut through it with my powersword."
	Josef	"Potentially."
	Vivian	"As a last resort, we have explosives."
	Makh_Chomun	"I don't think our explosives are gonna put a dent into a bulkhead like this." He taps the seal with his thunder hammer, sending little bits of electricity across it.
	Baine_Mort	draws his powersword goes up to the door to trust it in.
	Baine_Mort	trust the powersword into the door, it goes in but not all the way and gets stuck.
	Baine_Mort	"A little help here guys?"
	Makh_Chomun	With help from everyone Makh pulls out the sword.
	Makh_Chomun	"I think we should just press on. We're on a timer here."
	Baine_Mort	"Yea, to bad that didn't work as well as I though." Mort puts away his powersword.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	You proceed through another of the cloister passageways, filled with regalia of the Imperial Creed.
	Calvin_Colonel	"Ave Drusus, Gratia Plena, Imperator Tecum."
	Vivian	flinched lightly, bringing her hand up to cup over her ear. +By the Emperor.. How many are there..?+ A mutter at first. Then she'd calm down and speak up. +The ducts. I hear a high pitched screeching and scratching in the ducts. Weapons ready. We might have more mutants coming, or worse.+
	Baine_Mort	readies his shotgun.
	Makh_Chomun	the thunder hammer in his hands, letting the head crackle and spit lightning.
	Makh_Chomun	twists*
	Rosenkrantz_GM	In front of the group, a single small creature leaps from a duct landing a few meters in front of Makh.
	Makh_Chomun	"Threat spotted."
	Rosenkrantz_GM	A frog-like creature with jagged grinning teeth. Instead of joined limbs, it sports numerous tentacles lined with suckers.
	Baine_Mort	aims his shotgun toward the frog-like creature.
	Makh_Chomun	The Arch-Militant winds up his hammer and brings it crashing down on the creature...he however misjuedged and instead put a new thick dent into the floor. "Oh Emperor's mercy."
	Rosenkrantz_GM	It leaps to one side to avoid Chomun's attack, and extends its razor tongue out for a moment before bringing it back into its mouth, and making a high pitched noise with its throat, staring at the Lord-Protector.
	Calvin_Colonel	"Why do all these bestial creatures seem to know who is in charge here?!"
	Makh_Chomun	"Ugly bastard."
	Rosenkrantz_GM	Another one of these then falls from a duct, onto Josef's shoulder.
	Josef	"Greeting, little xenos."
	Vivian	stared at the creature.. Only to turn her head as one landed on Josef's shoulder. "..I.. Don't.. Think.. they're.. aggressive..?" She doesn't really know what to think now. Only unease is what she is feeling.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	It blinks; its eyes retreating into its skull and popping back out again.
	Baine_Mort	"I got a bad feeling about this guys."
	Rosenkrantz_GM	A third, fourth, and fifth, emerge from yet another duct.
	Josef	"We should move."
	Makh_Chomun	"Agreed," Makh says before moving forward.
	Baine_Mort	"I second that notion."
	Vivian	"Y.. Yes. I think if we refrain from attacking- maybe. Just maybe.. We'll be okay. I uh.." She'd then shudder as she'd carefully draw her hood up and follow after Makh.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	As soon as you start moving, they begin to call. One, then another. All of them screeching loudly, in an ear-piercing high pitched tone.
	Vivian	flinched, bringing her hands up to her ears to try to block the noise.
	Josef	"Think this is a territorial call or to scary off predators?"
	Calvin_Colonel	"Suffer not the xenos to live."
	Rosenkrantz_GM	The missionary's flamer cooks the native vermin in an instant. Those that remain alive, are silent.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	Then, it's as though a water tap is opened. They flood out from the ducts. Hundreds of them pouring onto the deckplate as one single mass.
	Baine_Mort	"Ah Shit, Run?"
	Rosenkrantz_GM	The noise they make is truly deafening. A sound that is surely heard even in the deepest sections of the ship.
	Vivian	could not be heard over the screeching. Instead, she'd raise her hand up to signal to 'Run'.
	Makh_Chomun	"Run!" Makh starts hauling ass.
	Calvin_Colonel	takes in a breath to make a speech, then notices everyone running and follows suit
	Baine_Mort	hauls ass behind chomun.
	Josef	starts to pick up the pace.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	The growing swarm pursues. They don't let up for a moment, like an inexhaustible blob creature slowly crawling through the passageways.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	In front of you, another swarm slowly emerges into your view from the darkness...
	Rosenkrantz_GM	But it is different.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	These are larger creatures. Mammalian.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	Rats that surely arrived on this planet along with humanity, now mutated into larger creatures.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	The amphibians behind you, however, come to a halt.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	Both swarms now face eachother. Your group in between them.
	Baine_Mort	+Well this is just great." Mort looks for a way out of there.
	Vivian	looked back over her shoulder. Seeing the initial swarm halt, she'd then look forward before she'd immediately press to the side-pressing up against a wall, trying to get out the way as far as possible.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	The rats slowly move forward, toward you and the xenos swarm.
	Baine_Mort	+Well good news, the rats eat the fog creatures, we should get out of the way.+ Mort says as he point out a rat eating a dead amphibian on top of one of the near by statues.
	Vivian	+Press to the walls! Get out of the way and do not make another sound or movement!+
	Baine_Mort	presses up against the wall.
	Makh_Chomun	shrugs internally and gives it a try.
	Josef	presses up against the wall.
	Calvin_Colonel	presses up against the wall
	Calvin_Colonel	shuts his flamer's pilot light off, as if that would make a difference when he's covered in glowing armor
	Rosenkrantz_GM	The rats charge forth, eager to secure a meal.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	They pour past you, at first.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	But soon it is unavoidable. They run through your legs and feet.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	The penitents writhe and squirm, unable to keep their discipline at the jarring experience - several them are barefoot, to add to it all.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	"Get... Get them off!"
	Rosenkrantz_GM	"Off!"
	Makh_Chomun	Over the comms Makh's voice drips with malice. +Plant yourselves as firm as marble. Showcase your faith now, because as the God-Emperor as my witness if you don't make yourself immobile and quiet I will send you to the Emperor to answer for your lack of faith!+
	Rosenkrantz_GM	The penitents struggle, but keep their composure sufficiently to be ignored by the hungry mutant rats.
	Vivian	+One of the penitents got scratched. They'll smell the blood. We'll have to run, and treat that cut for possible infection.+ She'd whisper in a very, very soft tone.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	+With all due respect, leave the penitent behind.+
	Baine_Mort	+What ever we do, lets do it now and get moving.+ Mort coments
	Vivian	+We do not leave our own behind. If they think we are a meal, the swarm will come for us. Move.+ She would respond in a rather deathly icy tone.
	Makh_Chomun	+You heard the lady.+
	Rosenkrantz_GM	The swarm passes through, and for a moment you can swear you hear a scream from far in the direction from whence you came.
	Baine_Mort	follows Chomun.
	Vivian	+Not our own. We're all accounted for. MOVE.+
	Rosenkrantz_GM	You move on forth, for some time. Passing along the passageways leading to the bridge you find the deck beneath your feet suddenly becoming steep, the angle sharp enough that progress becomes a climb.
	Makh_Chomun	"Been a while since I've had to swim through a swarm of vermin."
	Baine_Mort	"When was the last time?"
	Makh_Chomun	"Back when I was still a pit-fighter. Imagine an elevated platform surrounded by a literal lake of vermin."
	Baine_Mort	"Interesting, must of been one hell of a fight."
	Rosenkrantz_GM	The deeper you travel into this area, the more the extent of the damage wrought upon this section becomes evident. The passageways are scorched and blackened. Experienced voidfarers among you have little difficulty identifying why.
	Josef	looks at the penitent's foot and disinfects and treats the wound with a bandage.
	Makh_Chomun	"It was a brawl alright."
	Baine_Mort	help his guards man who is carrying his additional equipment up the incline. "I'm guessing you were the victor in that fight."
	Rosenkrantz_GM	At some point in its descent to the surface, the Sacred Heart's outer hull was pierced with such force that the vessel's damage control doctrines were unable to compensate. The searing fires of ren-entry surged through the entire area before eventually being cut off by sealed bulkheads, but the damage was done and the entire command cadre was burned to ashes. The closer to the outer hull
	Rosenkrantz_GM	sections you travel, the greater the damage, until eventually you are passing through tunnels burned entirely black by the flames of the vessel's fall to the surface.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	After the struggle through the blackened passagways leading to the command deck, the once-majestic bridge of the Sacred Heart extends into the distance. A vast, long space, the vista panels on three sides must have been blown in during the ship's death, the atmosphere of the entire deck compromised and the entire senior command cadre slain in an instant. The site is tragic for any who
	Rosenkrantz_GM	knows the power the crew here once commanded - a sad reminder of the manner in which even the most experienced voidsmen can end their careers and their lives.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	The view through the shattered vista panels is obscured by banks of drifting, coiling mist but the peaks of dozens of boulder-islands are nonetheless visible as they recede into ther pale distance. The interior of the bridge has clearly been exposed to the elements for countless centuries, every metal component streaked in garish rust. To the rear of the bridge stands the captain's command
	Rosenkrantz_GM	throne - its five meter tall back, rearing high overhead. One patch of the decayed upholstery is untouched by the ruination inflicted upon the rest of the area. That patch is the shape of a seated man, the rest of the once plush upholstery burned black. This can mean only one thing. The unnamed ship's master performed his duty unto death as a true servant of the God-Emperor of Mankind.
	Makh_Chomun	makes the sign of the aquila.
	Vivian	looked towards Chomun, before looking back towards the seat. Staying quiet for now, she'd instead quietly scan her surroundings.
	Baine_Mort	takes a look around the bridge.
	Josef	makes the sign of the Omnissiah and walks around the room slowly. He is observing the room.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	It's a daunting sight. The bridge is not unlike that of the Consequence. The thought of what the command cadre of this crew went through is hard to shake, seeing the destruction around you. It is not unthinkable that such a fate might strike even you.
	Makh_Chomun	"Emperor preserve us." He says simply.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	One of the side-passages leading to what was once a comm-link chamber is visible from where you stand. At first it's hard to be sure, but you realize there are people inside, shyly looking back. Some wear tattered rags reminiscent of monastic robes, some even keep their hair in a severe tonsure. They adorn themselves with tokens of their faith.
	Calvin_Colonel	"By the Emperor, the faithful endure!"
	Calvin_Colonel	smiles at them and displays his Rosarius
	Calvin_Colonel	"Rejoice, brothers, for help has arrived!"
	Baine_Mort	"Yea, there are people here."
	Rosenkrantz_GM	They slowly, shyly approach. The sight of Calvin is, to them, a deliverance that they even come to mistrust. Could it be? For generations they have lived in misery, as prey.
	Vivian	was rather stunned, her eyes only widening, just before she'd turn her head and motion for a few of the house guard. "Bring out some food and water- but be gentle- we don't know how long they've been stranded like this."
	Makh_Chomun	"Them surviving this whole time, speaks of their tenacity and faith."
	Baine_Mort	"They have to be descendants of the crew of this ship."
	Rosenkrantz_GM	"Angel of Cognatious..." one says, falling to his knees.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	"Angel of Cognatious!" another repeats.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	Soon, it's a chant.
	Calvin_Colonel	"Ave Imperator."
	Rosenkrantz_GM	"Ave!"
	Rosenkrantz_GM	"Ave, Ave!"
	Vivian	brought her hands up, a bit apprehensive at first. She didn't want to stop them, but safety concerns were her priority. "Shhh- We barely managed to pass by a swarm of giant rats and foul.. frog things.. Not too much noise, now. Please."
	Rosenkrantz_GM	The centuries have not been kind to these much devolved descendants of the original pilgrims who survived the disaster. But they are near fanatical in the awe they display for the missionary.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	One of them removes an aquila pendant from around his neck and meekly approaches Calvin, laying it at his feet.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	No doubt his most prized possession.
	Calvin_Colonel	bows and takes it, giving the man the golden aquilla he normally wears
	Makh_Chomun	+If we can let's gather up the survivors and get them off this ship. They must know others, yes?+
	Rosenkrantz_GM	The man hold it with both hands, and kisses it. He turns to his fellow survivors and holds it up.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	It's as though they've just been given a token of the Emperor's love.
	Vivian	sighs out softly, crossing her arms before she would slowly start to relax. +It's going to be a hell of a shock, to say the least.. But at least with Father Colonel, they'll be at ease and maybe willing to open up to us.+
	Rosenkrantz_GM	"Guide us," an older man says in what is almost a whisper.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	Like before, it starts a chant all its own. "Guide us!"
	Calvin_Colonel	"So we shall, in the Emperor's name. But speak softly."
	Calvin_Colonel	"Now, tell us what you know of this place."
	Rosenkrantz_GM	They speak to the missionary. They receive the food and the water. With the House Guard providing a secure perimeter, the "Children of the Sacred Flesh" begin to tell their tale.
	Josef	"Sacred Flesh? Interesting."
	Rosenkrantz_GM	While they maintain something of their forebear's dogma and some of their practices, they have fallen impossibly far from grace - a reality Calvin must deeply consider.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	In the absence of the guiding light of the Imperium, for every Aquila pendant worn around the neck of a savage, another wears a necklace made of finger bones or other vile trophies. Their physical form is far from that of their noble ancestors, but you soon learn that the changes run much deeper.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	The practices of the Cult of Saint Cognatious became so perverted in the aftermath of the vessel's destruction that cannibalism ran rife. What served as tragic necessity soon merged with religious allegory and became central to the survivor's faith.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	Over the subsequent generations, the descendants regressed in body, mind, and soul. Now, centuries later, they bellow religious invective like rabid confessors, yet can barely string a coherent new sentence together from these words they know by rote.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	You learn that they band together into family groups, often rivaling one another for survival. They launch hunting parties into the lands all about in the hope of catching one of the slimy tentacled frogs that dwell in the swamps but it is the meat of their rival dwellers they savor the most. It is rare these days for any individual to be caught unawares and dragged back to a rival group's
	Rosenkrantz_GM	territory, but on occasions when this does come about, Calvin is told of the unspeakable ritual celebration they call the "Red Mass".
	Josef	[Rogue Cant] "New subjects for my experimentation?"
	Vivian	[RC]
	Baine_Mort	{Rouge Cant] "Really now?"
	Vivian	[RC]"Gods, Josef. They've suffered enough, wouldn't you think? Please."
	Josef	[Rogue Cant] "If they have eaten flesh, they are regressing into mutants Lady Vivian. Might as well put them to use for the Machine God."
	Baine_Mort	[Rouge Cant] "Unless the good Priest can save them from their Heresy."
	Calvin_Colonel	gazes sternly at the survivors "Ye have fallen from grace, and must repent. To consume the flesh of your fellow man is abomination. Follow me to your salvation."
	Josef	[Rouge Cant] "Master Mort, we have seen and killed their other brethren. It might be too late."
	Baine_Mort	[Rouge Cant] "True, but I still want to see if Calvin can actually save them. Who knows ,maybe the Emperors light will shine down upon them and turn them from there path."
	Rosenkrantz_GM	"Abomination..."
	Rosenkrantz_GM	"Abomination!"
	Rosenkrantz_GM	"Orphans of the Flesh!"
	Vivian	facepalms. "..We do not have time for this.."
	Rosenkrantz_GM	Some of the "Children" begin to wail and cry.
	Josef	[Rouge Cant] "Someone relay this discussion to our Confessor. On second thought based on this chanting, we have other problems."
	Calvin_Colonel	"Orphans ye are, yet ye may still be saved, but only if you follow us!"
	Calvin_Colonel	gestures to the one wearing his aquilla necklace "You, what is your name?"
	Rosenkrantz_GM	His eyes open wide.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	"Name me, Master," he falls to his knees.
	Calvin_Colonel	"You are Nico."
	Rosenkrantz_GM	"Nico! Nico!" the others chant and applaud.
	Baine_Mort	[Rouge Cant] "I have this sudden urge to as him to go bowling."
	Rosenkrantz_GM	"Thankful. Master."
	Rosenkrantz_GM	He looks up to the missionary.
	Vivian	[RC]"...What's bowling?"
	Calvin_Colonel	"I may only guide your people, and pass judgement. You must *lead* them in matters material. Relay any orders my fellows give you to them."
	Josef	[Rouge Cant] "It's a sport involving wooden bottles and a large heavy ball thrown at high speeds for entertainment."
	Calvin_Colonel	"Now, gather your weapons! Make ready, for now commences your Exodus!"
	Rosenkrantz_GM	"The other Children. Master. Unite!"
	Rosenkrantz_GM	"Unite! Exodus! Exodus!"
	Rosenkrantz_GM	They bring with them metal spears.
	Calvin_Colonel	raises his chainsaw and revs it
	Baine_Mort	[Rouge Cant] "So I guess we got what we came for then?"
	Rosenkrantz_GM	They are filled with such fervour as to be frightening.
	Calvin_Colonel	points it at Makh "The Savage shall crush the foes of the Emperor!"
	Rosenkrantz_GM	"Savage!"
	Rosenkrantz_GM	"Savage!"
	Rosenkrantz_GM	"Savage!"
	Makh_Chomun	plays along, lifting the hammer up high.
	Calvin_Colonel	points the chainsword at the Lord Captain "The Lord Captain is our leader in matters material. Heed his commands as though they were those of the Emperor Himself!"
	Rosenkrantz_GM	"Voice of the Emperor!"
	Rosenkrantz_GM	"His Voice!"
	Rosenkrantz_GM	"His Voice!"
	Calvin_Colonel	waits for a bit, then turns to the other officers
	Calvin_Colonel	"Alright, what in tarnation were you talking about?"
	Baine_Mort	srugs.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	"Master speaks!"
	Rosenkrantz_GM	The Children all fall silent.
	Josef	"Dissection."
	Rosenkrantz_GM	"Dissection" one repeats under his breath, listening intently.
	Baine_Mort	"And Bowling."
	Vivian	"..Would they happen to know what's in that sealed bulkhead?"
	Rosenkrantz_GM	"The Seal!"
	Rosenkrantz_GM	"The Seal!"
	Josef	looks at the 'recruit' who repeated his word. He says "interesting."
	Calvin_Colonel	"Only for the ones that are truly beyond salvation, Magos. That is the fate of the irredeemable."
	Vivian	"The seal?" She'd muse quietly.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	"Master. The Seal," Nico approaches, using the tip of his spear to 'draw' on the thick layers of dust on the ground.
	Calvin_Colonel	"Yes. What lies beyond it?"
	Rosenkrantz_GM	He stops drawing, and looks up.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	"Witch."
	Vivian	immediately paused. A brow raising high. "A witch..? Can you explain..?"
	Calvin_Colonel	"Could be an Astropath. Probably best to leave it be."
	Josef	"Probably has information, Confessor Colonel."
	Rosenkrantz_GM	"Master. The sleeping Father." Nico lays back on the deckplate, arms on his chest.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	"Sleeping father, 'HE SHALL BRING PEACE ONLY DEATH TO HIS SERVANTS'!"
	Calvin_Colonel	glances at Magos
	Rosenkrantz_GM	He quotes scripture... from an old ecclesiastical funerary mass.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	ONLY IN DEATH*
	Calvin_Colonel	"Only in Death does Duty end."
	Rosenkrantz_GM	They all make the sign of the aquila.
	Josef	makes the sign of the Omnissiah.
	Vivian	"Cardinal Faelwin.. Wasn't it?" She'd muse softly, closing her eyes as she thought to herself.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	Through some effort, they communicate that the walls speak to them. That they tell the stories they know and repeat. They thank the Sleeping Father for it all. Some resting figure somewhere on the ship.
	Rosenkrantz_GM	"Follow the Sleeping Father's story!"
	Calvin_Colonel	"They mean this literally. Walk along the walls with reliefs of the saints."
	Rosenkrantz_GM	"Follow! Follow the Sleeping Father's story!"