GuardThe young man in a planetary guard uniform looks very pale. There is a feverish gleam in his eyes. "Your Lord/Ladyship? At last! Private Camille Regias at your command! I—" He hesitates. "I was in the convoy the governor sent out to meet you. The convoy was ambushed by rebels! I'm the only survivor. Nevertheless, I'm ready to show you the way to the command centre where the governor is awaiting you!"
YOU"What is it, soldier? Why are you so nervous?"
GuardThe soldier grows paler still. "Please forgive me, Your Lord/Ladyship! I... was left all alone... and it's been scary, waiting for you. That's why..."
YOU"What is it, soldier? Why are you so nervous?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Your uniform looks odd on you, soldier. As if it belongs to someone else."
Guard"Apologies, Your Lord/Ladyship!" The soldier draws himself up and goes to adjust his gear. "It's a new uniform. The guards are in a difficult situation right now, so we often get issued whatever's left... and it isn't always the right size."
YOU"What is it, soldier? Why are you so nervous?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Your uniform looks odd on you, soldier. As if it belongs to someone else."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"How did you make it out alive if your entire convoy perished?"
Guard"I don't know, I just... did somehow? There was an ambush, everything was going boom and bang around me, and I kept firing back till I saw our commander lying there with a hole in his head, and everybody else, too... I was alive, and the enemy had retreated."
YOU"What is it, soldier? Why are you so nervous?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Your uniform looks odd on you, soldier. As if it belongs to someone else."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"How did you make it out alive if your entire convoy perished?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What can you tell me about the insurgency?"
Guard"There's not a lot to tell... We were taught that the ungrateful rabble often rebels against the lawful authorities," comes Camille's rote answer. But then he continues in a slightly different tone. "For the past couple of years, we... er... haven't been doing very well."
Guard"Two major earthquakes in both hemispheres, with lots of casualties and destruction. Then the Tech-Priests tinkered with something they shouldn't have, and we had lives lost to a series of substation explosions. Then, on top of all that, there were the new taxes. The governor needed to be able to report to His Lordship Calligos that the army's numbers and equipment supplies had increased as planned..." The young man falls silent and looks at you with apprehension.
YOU"Do not dare badmouth your lawful governor, let alone justify the rebellion, in the presence of a Rogue Trader."
GuardThe soldier sinks his head into his shoulders. "Understood, Your Lord/Ladyship! Apologies, sir/ma'am!"
Guard"So, about the rebellion — where was I... well, there were rumours that it was all happening for a reason. The earthquakes, the red robes' problems... And then there were those weird prophets. No eyes — scratched them out themselves, by the looks of it — and they kept going on about the Final Dawn. You know, the end of the world is near, repent or you'll be doomed, that sort of thing."
Guard"I don't know when they first began to appear but they've definitely been out there for at least a year. Some got caught and burned, of course. But heretic burnings aren't exactly rare. They catch someone every month. That's why nobody noticed the new ones for a while. But as soon as the rebellion started, there were hundreds of them coming out of the woodwork. Wandering about, muttering away... and none of them had eyes. You'll see for yourself, there's plenty of them on this highway. So that's that. You can't tell anymore if the rebellion's just because of the taxes and the disasters or... if the end of the world really is coming."
YOU"What is it, soldier? Why are you so nervous?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Your uniform looks odd on you, soldier. As if it belongs to someone else."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"How did you make it out alive if your entire convoy perished?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What can you tell me about the insurgency?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Enough talking. Let's go to the command centre."
Guard"Yes, Your Lord/Ladyship! The command centre is a straight walk from the starport. It's at the end of the Upperway, not too far from here. But we must proceed carefully. Emperor forbid we get ambushed again..."
end of branch
Guard"Yes, Your Lord/Ladyship. We have to take this avenue: it leads from the starport right to the command centre. It's a short walk!"
end of branch
YOU"Are you implying that it is the governor's fault and he has been failing in his duties?"
Guard"I beg of you, Your Lord/Ladyship, I'm not implying anything! Why would I? I'm just... telling you what's been happening."
Guard"So, about the rebellion — where was I... well, there were rumours that it was all happening for a reason. The earthquakes, the red robes' problems... And then there were those weird prophets. No eyes — scratched them out themselves, by the looks of it — and they kept going on about the Final Dawn. You know, the end of the world is near, repent or you'll be doomed, that sort of thing."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Has the governor tried negotiating with the insurgents? Offering them aid? Tax relief?"
Guard"Ha! When has any noble ever tried negotiating with riffraff?" The soldier bites his tongue. "Which is to say no, he hasn't. And to tell you the truth... I don't think it would've helped. There's more to this rebellion than meets the eye..."
Guard"So, about the rebellion — where was I... well, there were rumours that it was all happening for a reason. The earthquakes, the red robes' problems... And then there were those weird prophets. No eyes — scratched them out themselves, by the looks of it — and they kept going on about the Final Dawn. You know, the end of the world is near, repent or you'll be doomed, that sort of thing."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What is it, soldier? Why are you so nervous?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Your uniform looks odd on you, soldier. As if it belongs to someone else."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"How did you make it out alive if your entire convoy perished?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What can you tell me about the insurgency?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Enough talking. Let's go to the command centre."continues where this line first appears above
Guard"The ungrateful rabble rose in rebellion against the planet's lawful governor and His Lordship Calligos Winterscale, our ruler by the will of the Emperor! They are all heretics deserving of a most terrible death. Order will be restored. The guilty will be punished!"
YOU"What is it, soldier? Why are you so nervous?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Your uniform looks odd on you, soldier. As if it belongs to someone else."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"How did you make it out alive if your entire convoy perished?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What can you tell me about the insurgency?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Enough talking. Let's go to the command centre."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Enough talking. Let's go to the command centre."continues where this line first appears above
Guard"The Emperor protected me!" the soldier replies with confidence. "I didn't run, Your Lord/Ladyship, if that's what you're thinking! I was by my commander's side until the very end. I shot the last rebel from the gang that attacked us. But alas... the captain succumbed to his wounds, and the others had already died. The Emperor rest their souls!"
YOU"What is it, soldier? Why are you so nervous?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Your uniform looks odd on you, soldier. As if it belongs to someone else."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"How did you make it out alive if your entire convoy perished?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What can you tell me about the insurgency?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Enough talking. Let's go to the command centre."continues where this line first appears above
Guard(sequence)
Cassia"Your mouth is full of mud, soldier. You are hiding something behind beaming hues of faith and loyalty... What is it?"
GuardThe soldier gulps nervously under the stern gaze of Cassia's ruby eyes. "F-fear, I guess? In times like these, if you give in to weakness, you're done for. And I'm not done with life just yet."
end of branch
IdiraIdira winces, glances at you, then shakes her head.
end of branch
YOU"What can you tell me about the insurgency?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Enough talking. Let's go to the command centre."continues where this line first appears above
Guard(sequence)continues where this line first appears above
YOU"How did you make it out alive if your entire convoy perished?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What can you tell me about the insurgency?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Enough talking. Let's go to the command centre."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Your uniform looks odd on you, soldier. As if it belongs to someone else."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"How did you make it out alive if your entire convoy perished?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What can you tell me about the insurgency?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Enough talking. Let's go to the command centre."continues where this line first appears above
Guard(sequence)
Pasqal"The success-to-failure ratio of combat objectives completion for this world's military speaks to its subpar efficiency. I will advise the local ruler to seek my fraternity's aid in upgrading their troops to servitor maniples."
GuardThe Tech-Priest's words make Private Regias grow pale and instinctively pull his helmet down tighter.
end of branch
Entry point 2 of 2
GuardA young man in a planetary guard uniform salutes you. "Your Lord/Ladyship! Private Camille Regias, ready to escort you to the command centre for your meeting with the governor! I regret to say that the convoy sent to meet you was ambushed and took critical losses in heavy fighting against the rebels. In other words, I'm the only survivor. However, the rebel force was destroyed as well. We can set out for the command centre!"
YOU"What is it, soldier? Why are you so nervous?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Your uniform looks odd on you, soldier. As if it belongs to someone else."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"How did you make it out alive if your entire convoy perished?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What can you tell me about the insurgency?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Enough talking. Let's go to the command centre."continues where this line first appears above
Guard(sequence)continues where this line first appears above