ServantHearing your footsteps, the elderly servant grabs an injector and stabs it into his arm. The area around the needle immediately starts turning black. "You're too late, Vyatt's dogs! I'm the master of my own fate!" But when he gets a better look at you, the man drops the injector in astonishment, and seems poised to prostrate himself on the floor before you. "It's you! Your Lordship/Ladyship! The God-Emperor must have brought you here! I beg you, help the rebels and save Janus!"
ServantHe doubles up, hugging himself, and is wracked by coughing that leaves his lips wet with blood. "...Forgive me, Your Lordship/Ladyship. If only I'd known it was you. My eyes deceived me! We have little time now, but I swear I'll tell you everything!"
YOU"Say whatever it is you want to say. And be quick about it."
Servant"In the name of the Golden Throne, Your Lordship/Ladyship, show mercy on the humble workers, the salt of Janus — save them! Vistenza Vyatt, the untouchable governor and leader of the nobility, is creating something monstrous behind closed doors. She uses the Imperium's interests as a smokescreen and purports to be a scholar, but her actions... her actions are poisoning our planet!"
Servant"Did you know that the settlements that fail to pay their due tithes on time have been allowed to pay with people instead? They even deliver them to order — sometimes old folks, sometimes children..." He lowers his voice to a whisper and leans toward you. "I've seen those people. I've seen them being delivered to the estate... and then they're never seen or heard from again. They go into the secret rooms and they don't come out again, Your Lordship/Ladyship. Ever."
YOU"No! I have not asked all my questions!"
Servant"Please, save us... save... Janus..." The servant rasps violently and collapses on his side, wracked with convulsions.
end of branch
YOU"I will keep your secret."
Servant"Please, save us... save... Janus..." The servant rasps violently and collapses on his side, wracked with convulsions.continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Your accomplices will answer for your treachery in your place."
Servant"Please, save us... save... Janus..." The servant rasps violently and collapses on his side, wracked with convulsions.continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You accuse the governor, with only conjecture and rumour to back up your words? How dare you!"
Servant"Your Lordship/Ladyship, I'm prepared to swear on my life and soul, may the light of the Emperor preserve it, that it is not conjecture. We have been living under Vyatt's rule for decades now, and things have gotten worse and worse with every passing year... The people can no longer tolerate the nightmare that lurks within the walls of this estate!"
YOU"No! I have not asked all my questions!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"I will keep your secret."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Your accomplices will answer for your treachery in your place."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You accuse the governor, with only conjecture and rumour to back up your words? How dare you!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What secret rooms?"
Servant"Hidden chambers deep within the palace. I've never been inside... thankfully. The servants who are allowed in, the ones the governor trusts... they change. She changes them. Pretties them up. Defiles them."
YOU"No! I have not asked all my questions!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"I will keep your secret."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Your accomplices will answer for your treachery in your place."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You accuse the governor, with only conjecture and rumour to back up your words? How dare you!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What secret rooms?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What else is going on in the settlements?"
Servant"I'll tell you exactly what I was told by the people who contacted me. These tithes... some settlements have already switched to paying with people. They say that amenable settlements get special treatment from the governor's dogs. They arrange for medicine to be supplied to the settlement. Then security. And then they completely isolate them — all contact between those inside the settlement and the outside world is cut off!"
Servant"One lad managed to get out — he's the one who told me all this... that the people are rotting alive in there! Strange growths, yellow eyes, stinking like dead bodies... The worst-looking ones are rounded up and taken away... The fellow who escaped, he seemed fine, but within a couple of days of the rebels picking him up, he started seeing monsters instead of people. They had to lock him up away from other folks, the poor sod, and then he... his wrists..."
YOU"No! I have not asked all my questions!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"I will keep your secret."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Your accomplices will answer for your treachery in your place."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You accuse the governor, with only conjecture and rumour to back up your words? How dare you!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What secret rooms?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What else is going on in the settlements?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You can still be saved..."
Servant"No! Don't waste your time on somebody who's as good as dead already... I'll depart this world happily knowing that I'm free from the clutches of that monster sitting on the governor's throne..."
YOU"No! I have not asked all my questions!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"I will keep your secret."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Your accomplices will answer for your treachery in your place."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You accuse the governor, with only conjecture and rumour to back up your words? How dare you!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What secret rooms?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What else is going on in the settlements?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You can still be saved..."continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Execute the servant] "Death to traitors of the Imperium."
ServantThe old man drops to the floor like a lead weight. Blood dribbles from his mouth onto his chin, an expression of surprise frozen in his glazed eyes.
end of branch
Servant(sequence)
Yrliet"I see no shadows of deceit behind your words, and even so... I would have noticed. I know I would have noticed the signs of which you..." Yrliet's face tenses like a taut string, and doubt creeps into her expression. "Except, whenever Vistenza hosts one of her dances at the palace, she sends me away to search for the rebels. Into the forests, far from human settlements."
end of branch
Argenta"You accuse the Rogue Trader's appointed governor of heresy. If your words are false, they themselves are tantamount to heresy. But if what you say is true... if it's true, then your sacrifice will be to your credit, my good man!" Argenta utters these last words with impassioned conviction.
Servant"I swear I'm not lying! Pray for me, holy sister... for me and for Janus!"
end of branch
ServantThe old man starts to convulse, indicating that he is close to death. He raises his already unseeing eyes to you. "Your Lordship/Ladyship... if you'll permit a dying man to make one last request... Don't tell anyone that I was the one who unlocked the doors... If you do... they'll... they'll go after my family... my home..."
end of branch
ServantThe servant shakes and coughs violently. "I'm... not sure I'll last long enough to answer all your questions..."
end of branch
YOU[Execute the servant] "Death to traitors of the Imperium."continues where this line first appears above
Servant(sequence)continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You can still be saved..."continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Execute the servant] "Death to traitors of the Imperium."continues where this line first appears above
Servant(sequence)continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What else is going on in the settlements?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You can still be saved..."continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Execute the servant] "Death to traitors of the Imperium."continues where this line first appears above
Servant(sequence)continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What secret rooms?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What else is going on in the settlements?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You can still be saved..."continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Execute the servant] "Death to traitors of the Imperium."continues where this line first appears above
Servant(sequence)
Idira"Fresh meat to entertain the nobility... some things never change, whether you're on my planet, or anywhere in the righteous Imperium."
end of branch
Cassia"Peasants who were taken to Eurac V to serve House Orsellio were never seen or heard from again either. They became loyal servants and toiled for the good of a great dynasty — why should they ever return to their filthy, squalid abodes?"
end of branch
Solomorne"The aristocracy is known for its countless reprehensible inclinations. However, unless these foibles give reason to doubt the planet's loyalty to the Imperium, they do not warrant a death sentence."
end of branch
ServantThe old man starts to convulse, indicating that he is close to death. He raises his already unseeing eyes to you. "Your Lordship/Ladyship... if you'll permit a dying man to make one last request... Don't tell anyone that I was the one who unlocked the doors... If you do... they'll... they'll go after my family... my home..."
end of branch
ServantThe old servant lets out a moan. The dark stain on his arm seems to creep through his veins until his arms and neck are a latticework of black. The servant's breath quickens and becomes irregular.
end of branch
ServantThe servant shakes and coughs violently. "I'm... not sure I'll last long enough to answer all your questions..."
end of branch
YOU"You helped the rebels gain access to the estate!"
Servant"Your Lordship/Ladyship, could I have done otherwise? No, I could not... not after everything I've seen in the palace! People being shipped in and tortured. Servants being driven mad. For a long time I thought it was only going on inside the estate... but when I was contacted by people on the outside, I learned that all of Janus is under threat! Only your mercy and the light of the God-Emperor can save us!"
YOU"Say whatever it is you want to say. And be quick about it."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You helped the rebels gain access to the estate!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What did you inject yourself with?"
Servant"Deliverance... from what Vyatt's dogs would do to me if they caught me." He forces a smile onto his face. "I was given the vial along with the instructions about when to let our liberators into the estate."
YOU"Say whatever it is you want to say. And be quick about it."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You helped the rebels gain access to the estate!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What did you inject yourself with?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Execute the servant] "Death to traitors of the Imperium."continues where this line first appears above
Servant(sequence)
ServantThe old servant lets out a moan. The dark stain on his arm seems to creep through his veins until his arms and neck are a latticework of black. The servant's breath quickens and becomes irregular.
end of branch
ServantThe servant shakes and coughs violently. "I'm... not sure I'll last long enough to answer all your questions..."
end of branch
Heinrix"Don't waste time asking obvious questions, [Name]! He won't last long — make your questions count!"
end of branch
YOU[Execute the servant] "Death to traitors of the Imperium."continues where this line first appears above
Servant(sequence)continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What did you inject yourself with?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Execute the servant] "Death to traitors of the Imperium."continues where this line first appears above
Servant(sequence)
PasqalLooking closely at the old man, the Tech-Priest utters, "Nerve toxin. The inevitable cessation of vital functions is expected in no more than sixty seconds." Silent clicks emitted by the visor indicate an ongoing pict-recording.
end of branch
Jae"Throne damn you, old man, where did you get this stuff? Poison capsules of this sort are a popular choice among desperate ashmags who are done with being tortured by mad fanatics or worse. Here on Janus, though... there's no antidote."
end of branch
KibellahKibellah picks up a drop of poison from the needle with her claw and carefully puts it on her tongue. She makes an approving sound. "A strong toxin. We apply something similar to the lips of new initiates of the Bloodspun Web. It kills minor nerves and purges one's sensitivity to pain. For this layman, though, it is a certain and violent death."
end of branch
EogunnEogunn picks up the injector with his mechadendrite and expels the remnants into the alembic on his shoulder, as the liquid inside instantly turns a sombre black. "A nerve agent of peripheral action. Neutralisation is impossible outside the ship's infirmary. Estimated time until death... is a matter of minutes. I am sorry."