LogYuriRT1-2010/09/30-Jason-1

Game log for the 2010/09/30 session of Rogue Trader: After the Gold Rush, as taken by Jason

Pulling in, we see Port Wander full of ships, as per usual. They send out a tug to pull us in to a mooring slip, and we put together our shore party to negotiate dry dock and other requirements. Lord Captain Machariel trys to talk someone into taking us straight to dry dock, but station control rebuffs his initial inquiries. Jahazer Simoom calls some of his Navy contacts and helps expedite our movement to dry dock, saving quite a bit of time. The Lord Captain then sends Seneschal Corvus to negotiate the actual costs of our repairs.

The Captain also asks Astropath Holt to send a report of our journey back to Machariel Base. He gets an acknowledgement back within ten minutes, but no further instructions.

Victrus and Bosun Horrellian make a roster for shore leave. Victrus also decides to attempt to do some recruiting while ashore.

Jotham dons his raiment in preparation for preaching on the station. Sadly he decides to preach outside the beer halls. He chooses the wrong location and starts a riot. Apparently Port Wander does not boast a real pious flock.

Seneschal Corvus shuttles to the repair yard to discuss fees with the Dockmaster(s). Navigator Simoon goes with, and does a fine job of drawing attention away from our ship spy. Still, she notices that a not-unhandsome young man keeps checking her out. She commits his face to memory but chooses not to engage him in conversation. After a wait of about 45 minutes, she finally meets with a dock official. He asks her name and knows Jahazer's name just from hearing the name of the Solo Drakban, so he clearly knows the ships in his yard quite well. Sadly he cannot offer anything better than weeks in drydock to fully repair the ship.

Lord Captain Machariel and Bors Tovon go clothes shopping. Well, the Lord Captain goes shopping, and Bors and his buddies go along. His regular clothier, Henrietta Volt, a woman whose bizarre life extension habit has allowed her to push three centuries, still looks in her prime. He asks her to update his uniform in the interests of recruiting. It's purely about business, seriously. He also asks for similarily updated uniforms for all ship's officers. She expresses some concern about the prospect of outfitting Bors, but Marneus assures he he's not an officer. Oh, but surely he'll need proper garb for his honor guard... and sure enough, Marneus can't say no to pretties. He wastes all sorts of time talking about hats, sashes, buttons, etc, etc, and the honor guard just have to sit there watching the Captain spend money. Eventually they come up with a new honor guard uniform which looks impressive as can be, though perhaps a little uncomfortable, and Marneus orders a set for the full honor guard. Bors presents a little more challenge, but Marneus Machariel's chosen couture advisor can handle any challenge. It's going to be expensive, but for the Lord Captain, it's worth it.

Opiter goes ashore with some armsmen and some Tech-Priests, looking to meet with Magos Seniores Esteban Matthias. Judging by his workshop, the Magos Seniores seems to work mostly on cybernetics. Matthias has many years and many tendrils, and as he regards Opiter, our ship's cyborg can almost feel himself being scanned. He briefly examines the data slate Opiter hands him, and then things really begin to happen. He asks what Opiter makes of the device, and Opiter explains his theory about it being an archaeotech Orthoproxy. The Magos Seniores appears not to agree and asks what Opiter knows of "Orchestrions" or "thumpers." He also compares it to a music box. They're deployed as warning devices. Opiter gives them the coordinates to the station where we found it - the traitorous bastard. Matthias then asks who Opiter truly serves. Opiter assures him he serves the Omnissiah. Matthias shrugs that off as an evasion and demands that Opiter tell the Mechanicus everything he learns about the station, getting them the message however he can. On a different note, he asks whether Opiter knows Engineer Taber, and when Opiter confirms, he asks about Solo's modified drives. Opiter, in turn, brings up our need for more crew. Matthias offers assistance but requires the opportunity for the Mechanicus crew to study the ship fully. He also requires that the Orchestrion remain.

Marneus then goes to see his Imperial Customs Agent contact. The Captain wants a nice plasma pistol. His friend cannot locate such a thing. Suspensors he can get. Now Bors will have a heavy bolter that doesn't need to be braced on anything. Carnage will surely ensue. Then, for the sake of asking, Marneus asks for some tasty new macrobatteries. Ha hah hah. No.

Lucius finds himself with nothing he needs to be doing and a whole station to loiter in. He goes looking for a hive of astropathic scum and villainy, or failing that, someplace reminiscent of his horrible, filthy, degenerate, hive world home. He finds "The Wormhole." Perfect! A Warrant Officer of Lucius' acquaintance owns the place now, and keeps it at an appropriate level of dissolution. Many current and former crew of the Royca drink there.

When Marneus returns to Drakban, he receives an invitation from Lidiah Yefremova to dine with her and her associates at a private supper club, in a week's time.

After a couple days, one of Victrus' watch leaders reports that there have been desertions, including one entire watch crew. Victrus reasons that an entire watch crew would not desert all at once. He goes to Bors, who calls his buddy Solonius Hubb. Bors introduces Victrus, and explains our problem. Solonius has seen our (highly distinctive) uniforms before... and he thinks the missing men were pressed by the Navy. Nothing we can do about that.

Bors and Victrus go looking for crew from the Medway. Victrus finds a gun crew he used to lead, just hanging around, drinking in a bar. They welcome him to their drinking crew, and catch up on recent changes. He finds out that one of the old watch officers from Medway now works in the recruiting centers on the station.

Bors, sadly, runs into Bosun Jerren, an old unfriend from the Medway. The Bosun, though taken aback by Bors' presence, manages to be civil, and tells Bors where to find some officers. Sadly the officers aren't former shipmates, so Bors goes to the impressment center.

After the riot, the Arbiters take Jotham aside and give him a talking to. He advises the preacher to move to the midscale merchandizing areas. Jotham moves to a nicer part of the station, and from then on he brings deacons along to enforce the Emperor's Will. When crewmen from a rival ship try to give them some static, a melee breaks out, and Jotham ends up cutting off someone's leg.

Later on, the Arbiters contact the Lord Captain and asks him to reel in the preacher, who seems to start a riot wherever he goes. Marneus contemplates telling them to solve it themselves, but opts not to.

Bors and Victrus go to talk to Lt Hull in the recruiting office. He sort of remembers them from the Medway days, and offers them enlistment. They decline and ask about the pressed men. Oh yeah, they're pressed, and we're not getting them back. Bors and Victrus try to lean on him a little bit, reminding him of old times and how Bors saved his life, but it's a hard slog. Eventually he slides them a data slate with a message on it, while telling them out loud that he can't help them. The data slate lists the favorite locations for the press gangs to go, which we immediately make off limits to the crew. The slate also has a name and a phone number on it, presumably a recruiting contact.

Seneschal Corvus, temporarily played by Marc, suggests that recruiting could be much improved by advancing prize money to the crew. If Drakban crew roam the station spending money like water, people will be scrambling to join up and share our good fortune. The problem is that we also need money to repair the ship. Marneus puts the decision off.

Livienne and Opiter review the haul of dataslates we captures. One of them contains Mechanicus encryption, but we can't crack it. Opiter puts the ship's cogitators on it.

Marneus calls a staff meeting. We discuss the crew issue, and Marneus approves early distribution of prize money. We've had no new word from home. The Captain discusses the warning from the Arbiters with preacher Jotham; Jotham announces his intention to ask the station Ecclesiarchy to overrule the Arbiters. Opiter explains that he cannot determine the exact nature of the litany or what it warns against. Jotham offers to research that litany and see if it has any specific connotations that might be helpful. Marneus reminds all senior staff that everyone but Opiter must be at the dinner at Yefremova's supper club.