Pasqal"In the cycles of the foreordained... there lurks a flaw... of worship..." The Tech-Priest's body convulses. Pained, plaintive creaks of binharic prayers come from his vox. As moments pass, the signal becomes less and less clear, as if something twisted and wrong were being added to it.
PasqalPasqal studies the Tech-Priest's face carefully. His vox-system moans in a tragic vibrato: "Subject unidentified. This is not the blessed Amarnat. Stranger, I request your name. How do you know my mentor's motto?"
YOU"Who are you, servant of the Omnissiah?"
Pasqal"The fire of the hearth... sent forth sparks. The name... of this spark is... Abel... Haneumann."
PasqalThe Tech-Priest looks over at Pasqal. For a brief moment, his speech becomes clear: "The echo of my call has reached you. Good. The iteration is at its end. The design is fulfilled."
Pasqal"What design? Why are you calling yourself by my name? Was it you who summoned me to Rykad Minoris? What for? I categorically demand an answer!" Pasqal's voice rises to an intimidating howl, but the delirious Tech-Priest does not seem to understand what he is saying.
YOU"What design?"
Pasqal"An intention both bold and honourable — to open new gates for the waters of Knowledge and Comprehension. A plan written so that the righteous may follow..."
Pasqal"...and trust in the great pattern of revelation and uniform progression toward it." Pasqal's voice is trembling with... elation? "Those are his words. I have not heard them in so very long."
YOU"What design?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Ask him about Amarnat. You came here because of him, after all."
Pasqal"No." The Tech-Priest's weak voice grows stronger. "He came because of himself."
Pasqal"Myself? To redeem myself... To correct a mistake... Possibly. But how do you...?"
PasqalThere is a look of gentle condescension in Abel's eyes — strange, given the circumstances. "The hubris of the mind spurs him to build monuments to himself. Do not regret, for all is predetermined by the iteration—" A devastating coughing fit cuts him off, and you hear a clang of tearing metal from inside his chest.
YOU"What design?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Ask him about Amarnat. You came here because of him, after all."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You can talk once we get him out of here."
Pasqal"A cold premonition... rakes the heart... The probabilities are dark and frightening... Brother, I do not wish to gaze into them."
Pasqal"We are the flame of Knowledge that drives the darkness away." Pasqal is quickly inspecting Abel's wounds, paying no mind to the blood and sacred unguents staining his sleeves. His vox rasps soothingly, "Do not fear what is to come, brother. We are already here."
YOU"Who are you, servant of the Omnissiah?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Examine the Tech-Priest]
PasqalThere are deep burns all over his flesh, and the skin around his augmetics is charred. Blasphemous spells have been carved into his sacred iron, forming unholy litanies of scrap-code. It is amazing how robust this Tech-Priest's life support systems have proven to be in maintaining the spark of life in his grievously wounded body.
YOU"Who are you, servant of the Omnissiah?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Examine the Tech-Priest]continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Do you know him, Pasqal?"
Pasqal"The subject has not been identified and has no record in my catalogue. Interrogation is impossible due to the subject's evident affective state of clouded consciousness."
YOU"Who are you, servant of the Omnissiah?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Examine the Tech-Priest]continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Do you know him, Pasqal?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"How did you kill those heretics? What technology did you use?"
Pasqal"Existence... has worn thin and threadbare. Eschatos... has discontinued the Cycle."
Pasqal"Eschatos. This word does not appear in my catalogue. But I am aware of its existence. Perhaps it sounded in the blessed Amarnat's sermons. I must consult my notes."
YOU"Who are you, servant of the Omnissiah?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Examine the Tech-Priest]continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Do you know him, Pasqal?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"How did you kill those heretics? What technology did you use?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Try to take down the Tech-Priest crucified on the machine]
PasqalAs soon as you touch the Tech-Priest's battered flesh, he shifts his gaze to you and says, with sudden clarity, "Many sparks have gone out... but not all. The electric shepherds are alive. In the darkness... I heard their prayers. Find them. Save them. Recite the hymn... of contact circuit restoration, so that you may behold... what is hidden."
PasqalA blast of the Motive Force runs down the Tech-Priest's body, and his face contorts in a mocking grimace. Malformed binharic code, repulsively jarring on the ears, pours out of his vox.
Pasqal"Information archived to the effect that the circuit restoration hymn is the entrance password to the Electro-Priests' hiding-place." Pasqal responds with the dour rhythms of a containment aria. "I note with great sorrow that the cultists' ritual has been partially successful. My tech-brother has been tainted by corruption. He is in the grip of a schismatical, an unholy imitation of a machine spirit. I request immediate activation of the techsorcism protocol."
YOU"What is a schismatical?"
Pasqal"An ugly mockery of a noble machine spirit, created by the warp. Sometimes a few lines of despicable scrap-code or a small clump of the Motive Force falls under the Archenemy's influence and degenerates into an abomination of this sort: one whose very existence is an insult to the Omnissiah's wisdom."
YOU"What is a schismatical?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"I shall help save him."
PasqalThe possessed man responds with a burst of repulsive laughter. Every now and then, a word or two of Gothic finds its way into the binharic obscenities pouring out of his vox, in what seem to be the schismatical's tentative forays into a language that is alien to it.
PasqalHis body convulses. His joints twist at unnatural angles with the sound of bursting steel couplings. As the possessed man thrashes about, his internal augmetics emerge gradually through the hanging tatters of his flesh, as though an iron homunculus hidden inside the Tech-Priest were trying to cast off the meat cocoon it no longer needed.
PasqalPasqal's mechadendrite extends a thin drilling needle. Sacred unguent glistens on it. A code purification aria is heard as the needle sinks into the possessed Tech-Priest's skull and touches his neural augmetic, forming an electric circuit with it. Extreme strain is visible on his face. Furious litanies pour out of his vox. "Result: failure. Requesting assistance."
YOU[Send a purifying charge of the Motive Force into the possessed man's body] "May the Machine God heal you."
YOU[Recite a prayer to the Emperor] "Deliver us from the evil that has come for our souls from the abyss of the Immaterium..."
YOU"What now, Pasqal?"
PasqalWith a jerk, the drill leaves the possessed man's skull. Pasqal's vox says, in a gloomy, hoarse voice interspersed with static, "There is no hope. We have done our best. Initiating merciful deactivation protocol."
PasqalAs mangled as it is, the Tech-Priest's body still clings to life. It takes several blows to end his corruption-tainted existence. But even after that, a repulsive giggle is heard over the static from his vox.
PasqalPasqal's mechadendrite touches the dead man's head carefully, grips his neural augmetic in its claw, and extracts it from its socket with the utmost care. The skull bone cracks dryly, and brain matter taints the sacred metal. "Rest in purity, tech-brother. The Knowledge you have attained through your efforts will be preserved and purified."
Pasqal"Lord Captain, the Omnissiah commands a pious mind to strive toward uncovering the truth. Therefore I will not stop until I find my mentor and understand his connection to this servant of the Machine God. I request the privilege of joining your retinue as a rightful companion. I can offer to fulfil the duties of an Enginseer on your ship in exchange for the right to follow you and conduct my own investigation."
end of branch
YOU[Grant the Emperor's Peace to the Tech-Priest] "Enough. He is beyond saving."
PasqalAs mangled as it is, the Tech-Priest's body still clings to life. It takes several blows to end his corruption-tainted existence. But even after that, a repulsive giggle is heard over the static from his vox.continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Grant the Emperor's Peace to the Tech-Priest] "Let the tainted be eradicated."
PasqalAs mangled as it is, the Tech-Priest's body still clings to life. It takes several blows to end his corruption-tainted existence. But even after that, a repulsive giggle is heard over the static from his vox.continues where this line first appears above
YOU"I would rather leave him as he is. There must be a purpose to whatever ritual he has taken part in..."
Pasqal"Request denied. If we are not granting him salvation, let us at least grant him a merciful deactivation."
PasqalAs mangled as it is, the Tech-Priest's body still clings to life. It takes several blows to end his corruption-tainted existence. But even after that, a repulsive giggle is heard over the static from his vox.continues where this line first appears above
YOU"I shall help save him."continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Grant the Emperor's Peace to the Tech-Priest] "Let the tainted be eradicated."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"I would rather leave him as he is. There must be a purpose to whatever ritual he has taken part in..."continues where this line first appears above
Pasqal(sequence)
PasqalKibellah gives Pasqal a long look, her eyebrow raised in a silent question. Pasqal responds with an equally long silence, then creaks, "Thank you for your cooperation. Request denied. The Catechism demands that this act be performed by an authorised unit."
end of branch
YOU[Try to take down the Tech-Priest crucified on the machine]continues where this line first appears above
YOU"How did you kill those heretics? What technology did you use?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Try to take down the Tech-Priest crucified on the machine]continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Do you know him, Pasqal?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"How did you kill those heretics? What technology did you use?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Try to take down the Tech-Priest crucified on the machine]continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You can talk once we get him out of here."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Ask him about Amarnat. You came here because of him, after all."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You can talk once we get him out of here."continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Examine the Tech-Priest]continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Do you know him, Pasqal?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"How did you kill those heretics? What technology did you use?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Try to take down the Tech-Priest crucified on the machine]continues where this line first appears above
Entry point 2 of 5
PasqalUndaunted, you grab one of the severed cables and press it into the Tech-Priest's body, and a shock of formidable power shakes the possessed man. Machine oil gushes out of his mouth. His vox hisses deafeningly as the flow of the Motive Force burns the corruption in his sacred iron. The overload destroys some of the circuit boards of his neural augmetic, resets his code, and erases the schismatical from existence.
PasqalThe Tech-Priest's eyes roll up, and he loses consciousness: crushed, yet still alive and no longer in the thrall of corruption. With the utmost care, Pasqal takes his body down from the mechanism and lays it on the floor. His stirring litanies of gratitude to the Omnissiah echo through the hall.
Pasqal"Rest, tech-brother. We will come back for you when we have done our duty to the Miraculous Fusion Reactor."
Pasqal"Lord Captain, the Omnissiah commands a pious mind to strive toward uncovering the truth. Therefore I will not stop until I find my mentor and understand his connection to this servant of the Machine God. I request the privilege of joining your retinue as a rightful companion. I can offer to fulfil the duties of an Enginseer on your ship in exchange for the right to follow you and conduct my own investigation."continues where this line first appears above
Entry point 3 of 5
PasqalUndaunted, you grab one of the severed cables and press it into the Tech-Priest's body. A shock of formidable power stuns you, the possessed man, and Pasqal. The schismatical's mocking voice grows louder and more malicious. The augmetics under the Tech-Priest's skin become so hot they burn right through it, and blasphemous symbols appear upon his pale flesh.
YOU[Send a purifying charge of the Motive Force into the possessed man's body] "May the Machine God heal you."continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Recite a prayer to the Emperor] "Deliver us from the evil that has come for our souls from the abyss of the Immaterium..."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What now, Pasqal?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Grant the Emperor's Peace to the Tech-Priest] "Enough. He is beyond saving."continues where this line first appears above
Entry point 4 of 5
PasqalThe sacred words cause the possessed man to convulse, but the strength of your faith prevails over the unholy spirit's power. Boiling machine oil streams down from the Tech-Priest's ears and his breathing mask. Word after word, you push the abomination out of his innocent flesh and back into the warp's oblivion.
PasqalThe Tech-Priest's eyes roll up, and he loses consciousness: crushed, yet still alive and no longer in the thrall of corruption. With the utmost care, Pasqal takes his body down from the mechanism and lays it on the floor. His stirring litanies of gratitude to the Omnissiah echo through the hall.continues where this line first appears above
Entry point 5 of 5
PasqalThe possessed man's vox takes to echoing back the words you say, but distorting their sound in foul mockery. The synthetic muscles tense up, arching the body. You could swear you hear the unfortunate man's stretched tendons snap with a quiet, revolting screech.
YOU[Send a purifying charge of the Motive Force into the possessed man's body] "May the Machine God heal you."continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Recite a prayer to the Emperor] "Deliver us from the evil that has come for our souls from the abyss of the Immaterium..."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What now, Pasqal?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Grant the Emperor's Peace to the Tech-Priest] "Enough. He is beyond saving."continues where this line first appears above