NPCThe refugees from Kiava Gamma are looking at you, some with apprehensive frowns, some with unconcealed gratitude.
YOU"I need information. What happened on Kiava Gamma and how did you end up here?"
NPC"We told you everything back in the square... Things are rough on Kiava Gamma. Maybe there isn't even a Kiava Gamma anymore. The planet was attacked by a horde of heretics — they shouted unholy prayers and cut down people left and right. We heard everything from orbit, listening to one vox-cast after another. We realised there wasn't anyone left to save, so we thought we'd run... but then it was like our crew went mad somehow. The captain smashed his own head against a cogitator, and so did half of the officers. Everyone who survived did their best to steer the ship into the warp and here we are..."
NPC"Only three ships made it out alive, ours being one of them. We don't know what happened to the other two, they never made it to Footfall. Maybe they disappeared in the warp, or maybe something else happened to them..."
YOU"I need information. What happened on Kiava Gamma and how did you end up here?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What became of the ship that you used to get here? It is the property of the von Valancius dynasty."
NPC"Apologies... we couldn't save it. The ship was damaged during the escape — we're lucky it got us all the way to Footfall. It's at the far docks, but there isn't much use for it anymore — it doesn't look like it's going to fly anywhere, and the local recolligers have already removed some of the valuable parts. You can send your people to take apart whatever is left, scavenge some components."
YOU"I need information. What happened on Kiava Gamma and how did you end up here?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What became of the ship that you used to get here? It is the property of the von Valancius dynasty."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You were hurling accusations at your masters. That is a sign of treason, and it must be punished accordingly. Do you realise this?"
NPCOne by one, the refugees fall to their knees. "Please, have mercy! A few idiots shouted some things, that's all! We shut them up ourselves already. It was their grief and fear talking... Please don't punish the rest of us for it!"
YOU"I'm giving you one hour to hand the ones shouting profanities over to the enforcers on my ship. They will be executed. The rest of you are free to go."
NPCThe refugees bow deeply and obsequiously. "It will be done! We'll do just as you say!"
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YOU"All those who shouted profanities are to be handed over to the enforcers on my ship — they will be executed. The rest may join my ship's crew."
NPCThe refugees offer deep bows, stuttering over their expressions of gratitude. "It will be done! We'll do as you say..."
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YOU"You are pardoned. You may board my ship and continue to serve the von Valancius dynasty."
NPCTheir eyes beam. "Praise be to the Emperor! We're saved and pardoned! We'll do as we're told, we won't say another word..." Bowing hastily, the refugees back away from you.
end of branch
YOU"Get out of my sight, all of you."
NPCThe refugees grab their meagre possessions and all but run away.
end of branch
NPC(sequence)
PasqalPasqal's voice sounds impassive and cold: "Vituperation directed at the Adeptus Mechanicus was likewise registered. Denial is meaningless."
end of branch
Jae"Come now, shereen, relent. What can an illustrious Rogue Trader expect from wretches in rags whose weak spirit could not withstand a single blow of fate?"
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YOU[Attack] "For insulting the rulers whose reign has been blessed by the Golden Throne, I sentence you to death!"
end of branch
YOU[Leave]
end of branch
NPC(sequence)
Cassia"The map of the Expanse was revealed to me before the Sea of Souls roiled and tangled the paths. How did you, desperate ones, reach Footfall all the way from the Cranach System without a Navigator?"
NPCFrightened by Cassia's appearance, the refugee covers his face with his hands, trembling violently. "P-please forgive my w-worthless words... We were feeling our way in the dark, you c-could say — all we had is some old maps. We prayed to the God-Emperor day and night while our helmsman plotted the course. A m-miracle, it must have been, Your Lordship/Ladyship!"
end of branch
YOU"You were hurling accusations at your masters. That is a sign of treason, and it must be punished accordingly. Do you realise this?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Attack] "For insulting the rulers whose reign has been blessed by the Golden Throne, I sentence you to death!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Leave]continues where this line first appears above
NPC(sequence)
HeinrixHeinrix looks at the man closely, then at you. "Corrupted vox-casts... A special breed of heresy that requires knowledge of unholy arts. Kiava Gamma could have fallen under the influence of twisted Tech-Priests — having once succumbed to corruption, they forget all limitations imposed by faith and delve into unbridled and dangerous research."
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IdiraIdira freezes, listening to something. Then she blurts out in a changed voice, "The first beast, its body wounded, crawled into a hole under the palace of an eminent lord. The second beast, its skin in ulcers, perished in an asteroid grave. The third beast, its essence cursed, is curled up in the glow of a yellow sun..."
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Eogunn"Induced insanity..." Eogunn shifts his gaze from one refugee to another with interest. "Could a mere sequence of transmission waves have so cruelly crippled the minds of these people? I doubt it. The source of such a destructive vox-signal merits thorough investigation, and this is an incontrovertible fact."
Pasqal"Detecting a critically incorrect selection of a flesh-tongue lexeme by Genetor Eogunn Februs. 'Eradication' is the correct term for manipulations involving the described source."
end of branch
YOU"What became of the ship that you used to get here? It is the property of the von Valancius dynasty."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You were hurling accusations at your masters. That is a sign of treason, and it must be punished accordingly. Do you realise this?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Attack] "For insulting the rulers whose reign has been blessed by the Golden Throne, I sentence you to death!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Leave]continues where this line first appears above
NPC"Your Lordship/Ladyship!" comes the discordant chorus of voices.
YOU"I need information. What happened on Kiava Gamma and how did you end up here?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"What became of the ship that you used to get here? It is the property of the von Valancius dynasty."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You were hurling accusations at your masters. That is a sign of treason, and it must be punished accordingly. Do you realise this?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Attack] "For insulting the rulers whose reign has been blessed by the Golden Throne, I sentence you to death!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Leave]continues where this line first appears above