Jae"Wake up, Torra! Come on, you bloody kaskha, wake up!" Jae shakes the surviving twin by the shoulders.
Torra"Jeh? Jeh, geb oubba here! Ibs a trap! He wohb web you go!" The bruised and bloodied face with swollen eyes is hard to recognise as the once radiant visage of Torra the twin.
Jae"By the Exalted One, what's that ashmag done to your poor face, light of my soul?" Jae gently strokes the girl's swollen cheek and then turns to you. "He will die here, like the scum that he is, shereen. It's what he deserves." She does not seem to be asking you a question.
YOU"Do it, Jae."
JaeWithout another word, the Cold Trader draws her weapon and carries out your sentence.
Torra"Thabs for my brother, you piece of shib..." A few scant tears trickle from Torra's watery eyes.
JaeThe rest of the gang are huddled together. Despite their pitiful physical condition, they greet you with satisfied smirks, and they continually shoot delighted glances at you and Jae.
Jae"Well, shereen, from now on Footfall can sleep soundly — the foulest wart on its rusted body has finally been burnt off by none other than Jae Heydari! And her wonderful patron, of course." Jae winks at you and her face breaks into the most genuine smile you have ever seen from her. "I'll admit, I'm still struggling to wrap my head around what's happened. I need to go over things with my guys, I'm sure I'll have advice and instructions to hand out. As for our little adventure... let's talk about it back on the ship, in a more private setting."
end of branch
YOU"Let's block off all the entrances to the sewers — let them suffer a slow, painful death down here."
Jae"I'd rather drown him in sewage myself... But your suggestion will do, shereen. A stinking death for a stinking rat!"
Torra"Waib, holb on a secomb..." Torra leans over Falco and punches him with all her might. "Fub you! I wab hobing thab the lasb thing heb see woub be my beaten fabe..."
JaeThe rest of the gang are huddled together. Despite their pitiful physical condition, they greet you with satisfied smirks, and they continually shoot delighted glances at you and Jae.continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Let's not descend into anarchy, Jae. You got what you wanted — he'll go to Chorda now."
Jae"I wonder what you're thinking of, shereen. Mercy? The Imperium? Or how to make this ashmag suffer most?" Jae smiles like a venomous snake. "All of them suit me, because everyone on Footfall knows that you'd be better off strung up on a live wire than in an interrogation room with Incendia's hounds."
Torra"A fibbing death for a piece of shib like you, Falco." Torra spits yet another tooth out of her bloodied mouth straight into the sleeping face of her tormentor.
JaeThe rest of the gang are huddled together. Despite their pitiful physical condition, they greet you with satisfied smirks, and they continually shoot delighted glances at you and Jae.continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Do what you want, but make it quick. The sewer stench is turning my stomach!"
Jae(sequence)
Abelard"I couldn't have put it better myself, Lord Captain. We could all do with some fresh air, away from the stench... and the locals too."
end of branch
JaeWithout another word, the Cold Trader draws her weapon and carries out your sentence.continues where this line first appears above
Jae(sequence)
Marazhai"'Die'? You would be satisfied with the mundane, swift death of your worst enemy without even adorning it with hours of artfully crafted anguish?"
Jae"I might like to, but hanging around here any longer than necessary—" Jae shudders and makes the sign of the Aquila. "Exalted One save me, did I just agree with you?"
end of branch
Entry point 2 of 3
JaeBowing over the pile of bodies, Jae brings her hands together in a praying gesture and then tightly grips the Aquila, her fingers turning white. A small, unintelligible murmur comes from behind the curtain of her jet-black hair.
YOU"Jae, are you... praying?"
Jae"No, shereen, I'm cursing. I'm cursing the one who killed them. The one who failed to stop it. And the ones who didn't care." Her words are interrupted by a smothered sob, and Jae guiltily hangs her head. "Sorry, shereen. I've never... What is this? Grief? Ha, I'd forgotten..."
Jae"Well, there's nothing more for us to do here. I suggest we get out of this kingdom of stink and gut-smeared floors and go back to the perfumed chambers of your ship, shereen. And... yes, I'm fine, in case you were wondering. But even if you're not, I still have a lot I need to think about... We will talk about what happened later."
JaeJae casts one last look at the bodies and adds quietly, "And just so we're clear... They died because of your pride and unwillingness to act cautiously. I could see why a Rogue Trader wouldn't care about the lives of some wretched smuggler gang... but these smugglers were my family. And their souls won't forgive me if I keep sleeping with the one who condemned them to death. I wouldn't forgive myself either."
end of branch
YOU"Very well, I'll wait. It is not as though this place stinks of sewage and other people's retchings."
Jae"You don't have to subject yourself to this horror, shereen." Jae offers a cheery smile, but her reddened eyes look almost dead.
JaeJae casts one last look at the bodies and adds quietly, "And just so we're clear... They died because of your pride and unwillingness to act cautiously. I could see why a Rogue Trader wouldn't care about the lives of some wretched smuggler gang... but these smugglers were my family. And their souls won't forgive me if I keep sleeping with the one who condemned them to death. I wouldn't forgive myself either."continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Pray for the souls of the deceased]
JaeDeafening silence reigns for several minutes. Jae does not say another word, but her quivering shoulders speak volumes. At last, she straightens. "The Exalted One has blessed me with an understanding companion, shereen. Sometimes silence says more about us than an ocean of spilt words."
JaeJae casts one last look at the bodies and adds quietly, "And just so we're clear... They died because of your pride and unwillingness to act cautiously. I could see why a Rogue Trader wouldn't care about the lives of some wretched smuggler gang... but these smugglers were my family. And their souls won't forgive me if I keep sleeping with the one who condemned them to death. I wouldn't forgive myself either."continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Say nothing]
JaeDeafening silence reigns for several minutes. Jae does not say another word, but her quivering shoulders speak volumes. At last, she straightens. "The Exalted One has blessed me with an understanding companion, shereen. Sometimes silence says more about us than an ocean of spilt words."continues where this line first appears above
Jae(sequence)
ArgentaArgenta makes the sign of the Aquila and whispers a quiet prayer without taking her eyes off the dead.
end of branch
Entry point 3 of 3
JaeJae stands over the bodies of her underlings — many of them have been mutilated beyond recognition, as though a troop of expert torturers had worked on them for many station cycles. Jae grips the Mercatum Tabula Officiale in her right hand and the parchment crunches in protest. "It was the right thing to do... Wasn't it?" You cannot tell if Jae is asking herself or you.
YOU"You acted as a true servant of the Imperium ought. You can be proud of yourself."
Jae"I know, shereen. I know... But why then does the taste of victory turn to rot in my mouth and send a chill through my limbs? Is this what it means to serve the greater good of the Imperium?" Jae's gaze is focused on a single point — the disfigured face of Torra, last of the twins, her faithful right hand.
JaeFinally, she sighs wearily, carefully straightens the certificate between her hands and places it in a special container with a code lock. "I would like to reflect on all this in privacy, shereen. Thank you for not leaving me in that situation. If I had been in your place... I don't know if I would have left you."
end of branch
YOU"What can be right about failing to protect the people who need you?"
JaeJae doubles over sharply, her face contorted, as if she has been whipped. "Weren't you the one talking about my great responsibility, shereen? Waxing lyrical about my obligations to the Imperium?" The blade of rage is on the verge of being drawn from the sheath of Jae's good sense, but she manages to stay it. "Well, if those are the rules in the Exalted One's intimate circles... I'll learn to play by them."
JaeFinally, she sighs wearily, carefully straightens the certificate between her hands and places it in a special container with a code lock. "I would like to reflect on all this in privacy, shereen. Thank you for not leaving me in that situation. If I had been in your place... I don't know if I would have left you."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Don't torment yourself. You had no choice."
Jae"You of all people should know that life is a series of decisions. Some great and some not so great. Simple, everyday decisions... and decisions that change people's lives. Sometimes it might be the life of a single gang, and sometimes the lives of millions." Jae gives a lifeless shrug, even as she attempts a smile.
JaeFinally, she sighs wearily, carefully straightens the certificate between her hands and places it in a special container with a code lock. "I would like to reflect on all this in privacy, shereen. Thank you for not leaving me in that situation. If I had been in your place... I don't know if I would have left you."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"I'm sorry about your gang, but everyone is replaceable."
Jae"An interesting observation, shereen. Does that mean that one day you will replace me, like a rusty nail? Or like a worn-out boot?" Jae's eyes narrow and you do not recognise the shuttered expression that comes over her face. "No, don't answer! Today I don't want to know the truth. I'd rather stay blind — sometimes it's the wiser path."
JaeFinally, she sighs wearily, carefully straightens the certificate between her hands and places it in a special container with a code lock. "I would like to reflect on all this in privacy, shereen. Thank you for not leaving me in that situation. If I had been in your place... I don't know if I would have left you."continues where this line first appears above
Jae(sequence)
ArgentaArgenta makes the sign of the Aquila and whispers a quiet prayer without taking her eyes off the dead.