NPCNo one on deck was in any doubt that navigating inside the wrecked ship would be difficult. The units would be separated by kilometres of twisted metal, dead modules devoid of atmosphere, collapsed passageways, and hull breaches the size of a house. The only thing connecting the brave teams would be the delicate thread of a vox-link.
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Entry point 2 of 74
NPC...Like a dead whale cast ashore by the inexorable force of the swell, the wrecked vessel was a confronting sight for its unwitting visitors. Some bays still retained an atmosphere, but there was no life anywhere. The ship was dead, its machine spirits dissipated in the darkness of space. It was just the husk left, and the Rogue Trader's crew were to become scavengers swarming the carcass of a fallen leviathan.
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Entry point 3 of 74
NPCOur Lord Captain oversaw the expedition personally. He/She decided...
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Entry point 4 of 74
NPCThe Lord Captain had to decide which of the three teams he/she would lead, and which two would be entrusted to their officers. Let here be known the names of those honest people who stood before our Rogue Trader in that moment:
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Entry point 5 of 74
NPCWith hostile eyes upon her, Idira sank into a trance. When she resurfaced, she reported that the ship had been a victim of the warp. The bridge had suffered worst of all — it was the section that provoked the greatest anxiety and trepidation in the psyker. The service bay was the least damaged section, though Idira spoke of it with no particular interest.
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Entry point 6 of 74
NPCAfter exchanging a series of trills and warbles in their mysterious and ancient language, the Tech-Priests responsible for the augurs reported to the Lord Captain that they had glimpsed signs of valuable components in operation in the service bay.
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Entry point 7 of 74
NPCCaptain Vesti, whose jokes will be remembered by everyone on decks 3 to 5.
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Entry point 8 of 74
NPCCaptain Mattina, the senior officer of the third unit, known to many as Grey Mattina — she had been leading units back when the current crop of scouts were snot-nosed kids.
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Entry point 9 of 74
NPCThe only thing was that the Lord Captain stood entirely alone.
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Entry point 10 of 74
NPCWhere simple mortals would already be trembling and weeping, the Rogue Trader only gritted his/her teeth. Shrieks and moans could be heard close by — others were gripped by the illusion too. Young-ho Sohn, the unit captain, barked out orders. His team held back their comrades who had fallen victim to the uncanny terror and who were struggling to break free and run deeper into the cursed ship. A few minutes passed, and the unit, though scared senseless, was ready to continue.
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Entry point 11 of 74
NPCEvery minute spent on board threatened to end in disaster. The ship's days, or even hours, of existence were numbered. From all sides came the sounds of distant crumblings, the floor underfoot trembled every now and then. The Lord Captain hurriedly moved deeper into the compartment when he/she suddenly felt the slightest puff of air brush against his/her neck, followed by a soft sigh. Almost as if someone had leaned in close, opened their mouth to whisper a dark, tantalising secret... and then fallen silent.
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Entry point 12 of 74
NPCThe shuttles started up one after another and dispersed, each heading for its selected target. An hour spent on cutting through the hull in the freezing vacuum of space, a fussy boarding — and then, finally, the Rogue Trader stepped onto the cold, dark deck of the dead ship. The light of the torches revealed a sign in the gloom — "Fireborn." After a minute-long exchange with the Vox Master, who quickly checked the archives, it was established that the dead vessel was that of Captain Nova van Dayne, registered at Kiava Gamma port.
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Entry point 13 of 74
NPCGrey Mattina said a prayer appropriate to the situation. Then she looked expectantly at the Lord Captain, waiting for orders.
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Entry point 14 of 74
NPCThe recording ended. There was nothing left to do on the cursed deck — it was time to return to the shuttle.
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Entry point 15 of 74
NPCIt was impossible to stay on the bridge after that. Any longer and the sighs would have driven the team insane. The Lord Captain gave the order to retreat to the shuttle.
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Entry point 16 of 74
NPC"Kiava Gamma has fallen. The Fireborn broke orbit under fire from an unknown enemy and left the system," said Captain van Dayne on the recording, with the tone of an officer reporting to her superiors. "We encountered pathological warp activity. The crew is reporting failures in the Geller field system. The ship is doomed. Whoever finds this recording, I ask you to hold a prayer service for our souls. I also ask you to take the family relics of the van Dayne line from Kiava Gamma. The relics are stored..." The captain then specified the location of her family vault and the access code.
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Entry point 17 of 74
NPCThe Lord Captain's assessment proved to be correct — after a thorough search (as all searches conducted by Grey Mattina were), the scouts found undamaged components and marked them for later dismantling.
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Entry point 18 of 74
NPCAfter two hours of searching, the team had nothing to show for their efforts — the Fireborn's components were either damaged or unsuitable for dismantling and transportation back to the Rogue Trader's vessel.
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Entry point 19 of 74
NPCAfter returning to the shuttle, [Name] received reports about Fireborn's status. The Tech-Priests who relentlessly pierced the wreckage with the augur's gaze insisted on curtailing the operation as soon as possible, fearing imminent destruction. There were also reports from the other two units.
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Entry point 20 of 74
NPCThe second unit had succeeded in moving through the danger zone and had returned to the shuttle with a valuable payload taken from the dead ship's stores.
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Entry point 21 of 74
NPCThe second unit had suffered serious losses when a large bundle of electrified cables had fallen on top of them. The group had retreated, unable to retrieve the bodies of their comrades or any kind of valuable haul from the ship. When reporting on the situation, Captain Vesti didn't crack a single joke, which was very out of character.
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Entry point 22 of 74
NPCGrey Mattina's unit had explored the service bay without incident and, not wasting any time, had marked valuable components for later disassembly and transfer to the Rogue Trader's ship.
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Entry point 23 of 74
NPCGrey Mattina's unit had suffered no losses, but it also had failed to find anything of value aboard the ship.
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Entry point 24 of 74
NPCAugurs and the vox-system proved equally useless — the first unit, which had been exploring the bridge, had vanished without a trace, almost as if the dead ship had swallowed them whole. The scouts and their commander, Young-ho Sohn, had simply disappeared, joining the thousands of crew members lost aboard the Fireborn.
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Entry point 25 of 74
NPCFortune smiled on the unit this time. Grey Mattina, having trusted her instinct and experience, chose to return to the shuttle via an alternate route. In one of the dark branching passageways, the team discovered a modest but untouched trove of cargo from Kiava Gamma.
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Entry point 26 of 74
NPCSound suddenly blared from the vox, which was tuned to the second unit's frequency. The words sounded muffled, as though the person on the other end wasn't speaking directly into the vox, but desperately pressing the transmit button while occupied with something else. "Never seen anything like it... It's beautiful! Hold on... wait... is it — is it moving?"
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Entry point 27 of 74
NPCYoung-ho Sohn listened to the transmission and the final rasp with a surprisingly calm expression, then pressed the vox button and in a similarly calm voice let loose a stream of florid swearing, which centred on casting aspersions on his interlocutor's intellectual capabilities. Turning to the Rogue Trader, he remarked, "Apologies, Lord Captain. Captain Vesti from the second unit is well known for his pranks."
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Entry point 28 of 74
NPCThe voice of Young-ho Sohn reached the Lord Captain's ears once again. The first unit's captain soberly reported that his people were proceeding to the bridge.
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Entry point 29 of 74
NPCThe ensuing deathly silence alerted the Lord Captain that something was wrong. Following the gazes of his team, he/she saw that the unit's dispatcher, who was carrying the large vox-caster with the antennae and transmitter, was lagging far behind the rest of the group. And the transmission indicator was dark — there were no incoming messages. Even if there had been, Sohn's voice couldn't have sounded so close, as if the dispatcher — or Sohn himself — were standing right next to the Rogue Trader...
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Entry point 30 of 74
NPCSound crackled from the vox-speakers and a light on the casing switched on, signalling a message coming in on the first unit's frequency. Commander Young-ho Sohn calmly reported that his unit was making satisfactory progress toward the ship's bridge.
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Entry point 31 of 74
NPCThis was followed by a message from the second unit, which was on the crew deck. The vox-speakers crackled, preparing to connect with the unit's commander, Captain Vesti. The words that came through sounded muffled, as though the person on the other end wasn't speaking directly into the vox, but accidentally pressing the transmit button while occupied with something else. "Never seen anything like it... It's beautiful! Hold on... wait... is it — is it moving?"
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Entry point 32 of 74
NPC"Crap, the Lord Captain's with you?" comes Vesti's voice from the speakers, followed immediately by, "M-my sincere apologies, Your Lordship/Ladyship! I just wanted to spook the guys a little!"
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Entry point 33 of 74
NPC"Sohn here. Unit 1 proceeding to the bridge," said the voice again. Now it seemed to be coming from all sides, drawing in from the left and the right, from under the deck and even from somewhere among the mess of cables overhead.
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Entry point 34 of 74
NPCAfter several hours spent exploring the ship, the Lord Captain's unit came up against an obstacle. The middle deck's arsenal and storage depot were somewhere nearby, but this section of the ship had suffered serious damage — fragments of cables were sparking everywhere, clearly still electrified. Moving any further could be very dangerous. The Lord Captain decided to...
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Entry point 35 of 74
NPCThe augurs' keen eyes scanned the eerie vessel, identifying that the voidship was gravely damaged and was in the process of final erosion. There was very little time to explore it. Three sectors seemed the least damaged: the bridge, the middle crew deck, and the service bay.
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Entry point 36 of 74
NPCThe shuttles started up one after another and dispersed, each heading for its selected target. An hour spent on cutting through the hull in the freezing vacuum of space, a fussy boarding — and then, finally, the Rogue Trader stepped onto the cold, dark deck of the dead ship. The light of the torches revealed a sign in the gloom — "Fireborn." After a minute-long exchange with the Vox Master, who quickly checked the archives, it was established that the dead vessel was that of Captain Nova van Dayne, registered at Kiava Gamma port.
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Entry point 37 of 74
NPCA message came in from the unit led by the seasoned, unflappable Grey Mattina. The captain methodically reported on all the service bay sections her team had already examined. They had found nothing of value. They had found no bodies. There had been no incidents, and the search was proceeding as normal. The unit was waiting for further instructions from the Lord Captain.
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Entry point 38 of 74
NPCAfter spending several hours wandering down the dead passageways, Young-ho Sohn's unit and the Rogue Trader reached the bridge of the Fireborn. The oppressive feeling had not dissipated — it was as though the bulkheads of the ship were steeped in the terror and pain of the people who had vanished without a trace from those decks. On their way there, the unit had found no signs of a struggle, or bodies of the crew — and that served only to deepen their unease...
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Entry point 39 of 74
NPCAfter examining the bridge, the scout unit discovered that the captain's principal cogitator was still functional. The final log entry was identified — a damaged pict recording that no one in the unit was eager to view. Proximity to the cogitator alone was unsettling enough, and with each passing second, remaining on the bridge was becoming more and more difficult.
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Entry point 40 of 74
NPCThose little things — the feel of a stranger's breath, the sound of a sigh — they were simply the result of nerves, surely? No doubt that is how the Lord Captain saw it, but then he/she noticed he/she was being held tightly in the grip of his companions and Young-ho Sohn. Terror had almost driven the Rogue Trader to run blindly into the perilous heart of the ship, but the others had done their duty and protected their master/mistress.
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Entry point 41 of 74
NPCBut not everyone in the unit was so lucky — several foolish crew members bolted down the dark passageway... right into the waiting maw of a twisted vertical shaft. Their screams continued to echo for a full minute after death had claimed them.
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Entry point 42 of 74
NPCThe recording contained a message from Captain Nova van Dayne. It was almost impossible to make anything out in the pict — only the captain's hand gripping the edge of the table, and flashes of iridescent light. The captain was speaking crisply, almost calmly... but there were also short, almost inaudible, breaths — exactly what the Rogue Trader's team had encountered when they had first boarded the ship. And it even seemed that those sounds were coming not from the recording, but from the gloom-drenched corners of the bridge itself...
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Entry point 43 of 74
NPCThe Lord Captain's assessment was proved entirely justified — with difficulty but no adverse incidents, the unit crossed the dangerous section. Their visit to the storage depot was just as fortuitous — it was full of cargo. Captain Vesti's satisfied smile made it clear he believe this result was down to his prayer.
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Entry point 44 of 74
NPCThe Lord Captain's endeavour should have succeeded, but fate had different plans. The onerous screech of metal overhead spelled trouble, and trouble there was — a mass of weighty melted cables came crashing down on the terrified scouts. The screams reverberated off the bulkheads, like the thrumming wings of a bird in panicked flight. The only passable route was turned into a morass of coiling black cables, broken bones, and gore. The unit beat a terrified retreat, leaving their comrades' bodies and their hopes of reaching the storage depot behind them.
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Entry point 45 of 74
NPCThe Lord Captain managed not only to maintain his/her self-control, but also to keep the terrified unit from veering into outright panic. Led by the Rogue Trader, the scouts hurriedly retreated to the shuttle, pursued by their comrade's disembodied voice, which continued to repeat the same brief message.
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Entry point 46 of 74
NPCTerror flooded the Lord Captain's mind, and the rest of the unit fell victim as well. Unable to master their fear, the team fled, pursued by the echo of that familiar voice. The hasty retreat only stopped when they approached the shuttle, where the unsettling, monotonous words, "Proceeding to the bridge," could no longer be heard.
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Entry point 47 of 74
NPCRegion: Cinerus Maleficum Location: Agathus Archides Material: Extract from unofficial news sheet "Window on the Bridge," distributed on the middle decks Recorded by: Unknown. Note: the veracity of the recounted events is questionable.
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Entry point 48 of 74
NPCThe Lord Captain's next step was...
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Entry point 49 of 74
NPCAnd so, after weighing up the options, the Lord Captain chose to go with...
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Entry point 50 of 74
NPCThe pale-faced Captain Mattina barked out a stream of orders, telling the unit to close ranks around the Rogue Trader and prepare for trouble — but then the yelling from the vox turned to laughter.
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Entry point 51 of 74
NPC"Ha ha, I got you, old girl!" boomed a voice from the speaker. It belonged to Captain Vesti, the commander of the unit exploring the middle deck. "Don't panic, we're all good here, not a thing to report! I hope where you are is just as uneventful!"
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Entry point 52 of 74
NPCWhite with anger, Mattina turned to the Rogue Trader. "Captain Vesti has a unique sense of humour! I strongly suggest that Your Lordship/Ladyship take him in hand!"
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Entry point 53 of 74
NPCThe taciturn and grave Young-ho Sohn, whose word was as firm as his handshake.
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Entry point 54 of 74
NPCThe words are cut off by a strangled wheeze, followed by static...
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Entry point 55 of 74
NPCThe second unit suffered serious losses when a large bundle of electrified cables fell on top of them. Vesti, the group's former leader who had been stripped of his position by the Rogue Trader for flippancy, was among those who died. The team retreated, unable to retrieve the bodies of their comrades or any kind of valuable haul from the ship.
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Entry point 56 of 74
NPCLed by Sister Argenta, the scouts built the funeral pyres. Old metal barrels and small shipping containers served as temple braziers. In the wavering but warm light illuminating their faces, the scouts listened as the sister sang a prayer for the departed. Little by little, the listeners' terrified, weary gazes brightened. As they heard the sister's words, understanding dawned on the survivors — death dogged the footsteps of everyone, but there is a destiny higher than death. They should always remember that. That is the reason to keep going.
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Entry point 57 of 74
NPCAfter offering up a brisk prayer for the dead, the scouts piled into the shuttle. But the words brought little comfort, for the only thing the living wanted was to depart the terrifying ship as fast as possible.
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Entry point 58 of 74
NPCSo let's have a tale about the Lord Captain, by the will of the Emperor the guardian and commander of every good and honest soul upon this voidship, and the time he/she boarded a vessel named the Fireborn.
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Entry point 59 of 74
NPCThe last request of the fallen captain had been fulfilled. The improvised funeral began with a brief military salute, and the Rogue Trader himself/herself recited a prayer for the souls of the Fireborn. Just as any honest servant of the Emperor who has dedicated their life to voyaging through the darkness would honour their fellows and mourn their deaths.
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Entry point 60 of 74
NPCSo many had perished, and it was sorrowful indeed. But it was a shallow grief compared to the anguish felt at the demise of a machine as magnificent as the Fireborn. The Tech-Priest said the prayer, lamenting the dead ship and beseeching the Omnissiah not to turn His back on Humankind, though they sometimes failed to safeguard His wondrous gifts.
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Entry point 61 of 74
NPC...after returning to the bridge of his/her ship, the Rogue Trader cast a final glance at the endless blackness and the shell of the Fireborn that lurked within it. In that moment, the ship's weapons batteries roared into life, lighting up the darkness with a barrage of fire. And the sad cursed vessel was soon turned into a brilliant mass of molten metal and plasma. For that which was born in fire should also perish in fire...
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Entry point 62 of 74
NPCTime was up. The scouting party returned to their ship. With one last look at the Fireborn, the Rogue Trader...
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Entry point 63 of 74
NPC...we who walk down the same passageways in the same bays day after day, we who are born, live, and die to the hum of the ship's machines, we forever hunger for the smallest glimpse of another life... and for a chance to see the heroes who tirelessly fight for us and for the glory of the Imperium.
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Entry point 64 of 74
NPCFrom here on, we will relate the events based on what we have learned from witnesses — the people who accompanied the Lord Captain on the tour of the dread ship.
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Entry point 65 of 74
NPCFrom here on, we will relate the events based on what we have learned from witnesses — the people who accompanied the Lord Captain on the tour of the dread ship.
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Entry point 66 of 74
NPCFrom here on, we will relate the events based on what we have learned from witnesses — the people who accompanied the Lord Captain on the tour of the dread ship.
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Entry point 67 of 74
NPC"Emperor's mercy, do not forsake your loyal servants now!" Van Calox's voice cut sharply through the panic that had descended upon the brave scouts like a net cast by an unseen hand. The psyker's eyes gleamed softly in the gloom — the touch of his sorcery drove the taint of weakness from the scouts' souls, and the sinister voice vanished as if it had never been there. After regrouping, the team retreated to the shuttle.
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Entry point 68 of 74
NPCThe human mind is helpless in the face of horrors beyond comprehension. A many-voiced moan of despair rippled through the team, which was now in full thrall to the otherworldly terror...
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Entry point 69 of 74
NPCThe units assembled at the shuttles and the Lord Captain gave the final order of this grim expedition:
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Entry point 70 of 74
NPCCaptain Vesti reported that his unit's foray had so far proceeded without incident, mystical or otherwise. They had found no survivors from the ship's crew. Or bodies, for that matter. However, the unit had encountered a problem — the passage leading to the deck section with the arsenal and storage depot was seriously damaged, especially the power cables. Proceeding further could be dangerous.
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Entry point 71 of 74
NPCThe irrepressible Captain Vesti offered up a brief prayer for a favourable outcome to the expedition: "May we leave this place a little richer than when we arrived! For rich men are joyous men, and an honest man's joy makes heretics and Chaos cultists weep!"
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Entry point 72 of 74
NPCThe shuttles started up one after another and dispersed, each heading for its selected target. An hour spent on cutting through the hull in the freezing vacuum of space, a fussy boarding — and then, finally, the Rogue Trader stepped onto the cold, dark deck of the dead ship. The light of the torches revealed a sign in the gloom — "Fireborn." After a minute-long exchange with the Vox Master, who quickly checked the archives, it was established that the dead vessel was that of Captain Nova van Dayne, registered at Kiava Gamma port.
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Entry point 73 of 74
NPCWith the assistance of Abelard Werserian, who was familiar with the configuration of many Imperial ships, the Lord Captain devised a route around the dangerous section. The detour added two hours to their journey, but it was worth the effort — the storage depot, when the scouts finally reached it, was full of intact cargo.
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Entry point 74 of 74
NPCVesti's unit headed off to carry out their orders, while the Rogue Trader and his/her team continued on...