Deathwatch: Murderers in Black (OOC Thread)

[Lysimachus]

Some very nice posts, all.

 

So, I think everyone has twigged that the body must be the real Aarval Skaayn… and the guy you've encountered previously must therefore be ‘Orochi’.

 

The next questions are reasonably ‘Who is Orochi?’ and ‘What is he after?’

 

What Kal'li-nath said:

Quote

“I have known Orochi for several millennia. He is a thief, a liar, a saboteur, an assassin. He serves no master, has no purpose except to build his own wealth and power.”

“He last came to the Bazaar perhaps three of your ‘years’ ago. There was something he was seeking. An… artefact… of some sort, that he had been… contracted… to retrieve. He had traced this item as far as a specific world. A world controlled by your Imperium. Tightly guarded, utterly inaccessible. Far better protected than the feeble defences of most of your planets. He needed a way in, in order to perform reconnaissance, find the artefact. All our actions on both Correllageon and Dorghra provided him with that way in."

 

 

So Orochi is a mercenary and a thief, purely out for his own benefit… and he is being paid to find something (but Kal'li-nath doesn't know what). And clearly he's still an Astartes, that's obvious. Bear in mind that when I make up Aeldari words, my usual trick is to use either Celtic/Gaelic or Japanese - who would Kal'li-nath give such a name to? Also, who are known in the Imperium's past for imitating Raven Guard types to a point where they were practically undetectable?

 

Second, why did Orochi do all of this? What exceptionally well-guarded Imperial world could Kal'li-nath have been talking about? How could the Eldar's actions on Correllageon* and then Dorghra VII° have helped Orochi to successfully infiltrate that particular world?

 

Thoughts to ponder!

 

 

 

 

*which you found out resulted in someone messing with Inquisitor Kine's mind.

 

°that resulted in the deaths of some of the previous Kill-Team Lucifer who served beside the real Skaayn.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 16 by Lysimachus

[Trokair]

35 minutes ago, Lysimachus said:

So Orochi is a mercenary and a thief, purely out for his own benefit… and he is being paid to find something (but Kal'li-nath doesn't know what). And clearly he's still an Astartes, that's obvious. Bear in mind that when I make up Aeldari words, my usual trick is to use either Celtic/Gaelic or Japanese - who would Kal'li-nath give such a name to? Also, who are known in the Imperium's past for imitating Raven Guard types to a point where they were practically undetectable?

 

An actual, honest to the Omnissiah, Alpha Legionair? 

 

I know we all quip Alpharious* whenever anything could even remotly be tangetiliy realtedted to infiltration, imposters and the entire Hydra Hat, so an actual Hydra infultration, never... LOL

 

35 minutes ago, Lysimachus said:

What exceptionally well-guarded Imperial world could Kal'li-nath have been talking about?

Bastion I'd assume. 

 

 

*Or Omegon, choice as to personal taste

 

 

[Mazer Rackham]

Orochi: The eight-tailed and and headed dragon of Japanese folklore.

 

In Greek mythology: The Learnaean Hydra.

 

Which would be recognised by Azadth as either Tiamat (Parthian/Babylonian) or, more likely, Kāliya - or a Naga, a half man, half serpent demigod. I suppose this means we're dealng with Severus Snake....Interestingly, Naga is the name of the male serpent in Rikki-Tiiki Tavi...

 

Azadth be mongoose, Orochi be slither-biscuit, and boi got dem munchies, bro.

 

Edited March 17 by Mazer Rackham

[Trokair]

7 hours ago, Lysimachus said:

The next questions are reasonably ‘Who is Orochi?’ and ‘What is he after?’

 

I keep on circiling back to that Grey Knight that is somewhere in the depths of the Bastion, and now that there is a 'Chaos' connection to the main plot driver (instead of a Xenos one) that seems lees like some fluff to round out a bit of story and more as of a foreshadowing oportunity.  

[Lysimachus]

2 hours ago, Trokair said:

 

I keep on circiling back to that Grey Knight that is somewhere in the depths of the Bastion, and now that there is a 'Chaos' connection to the main plot driver (instead of a Xenos one) that seems lees like some fluff to round out a bit of story and more as of a foreshadowing oportunity.  

 

 

It's good thinking, Tro… after all, why would a Grey Knight, of the single rarest and most specialised military formation known to the Imperium, be assigned to permanent guard duty on a single planet, and be honour-bound to stay put regardless of what else is happening? Even to assign just 1 GK to such duty is a massive commitment of resources. Why would the Chapter and/or the Ordo Malleus do that?

 

 

Remember the very last thing Kine said when he had his little breakdown…?

 

 

 

As a side point, all this also gives some answers about why Dendinius was targeted as soon as he arrived.

 

 

Remember that ‘Skaayn’ was a bit surprised/annoyed when Dendinius arrived? A sign, perhaps, that some part of Kine was resisting, trying to put a spanner in the works by bringing the Librarian in. Being both a psyker and a RG descendant (Black Guard), Dendinius would have been in a good place to figure out and reveal that something about Skaayn wasn't right.

Why kill him with the drug? Well, if a full-on warp breach won't pull a GK away from his guard duty, what will? Two birds with one stone! That bit didn't work, of course, so he had to continue looking for another way, but it was worth a try!

 

 

 

And that's whereabouts we are at…

 

 

...except, perhaps to say to remember that Skaayn/Orochi left Dorghra at the same time as you did, and so would have arrived back at the Bulwark at around the same time as you arrived at the Bazaar, two weeks later. However, that means you are now around four weeks travel back to Alucar and he is already there…
 

 

Edited March 17 by Lysimachus

[Mike Zulu]

I think "exceptionally well-guarded" threw me off. I suspect we are not talking conventional defences here?

 

Do we know what the "nearest Watch-Station" is (that Bekkar would have been sent to?)

 

 

[Lysimachus]

26 minutes ago, Mike Zulu said:

Do we know what the "nearest Watch-Station" is (that Bekkar would have been sent to?)

 

 

I'm not 100% on all the official GW Watch-Fortesses, but the first post of the game shows Alucar's location as along the border between the Segmenta Pacificus and Obscurus.

 

Doing a little research, I'd guess that the parent Watch-Fortress might be Haltmoat, and thankfully there is very little detail about that one for me to worry about! 

 

Side point - do you think 'Skaayn' actually sent Bekkar on to the Watch-Fortress, or maybe just... dropped him off... somewhere convenient...?

 

Edit: I'm not saying he's definitely, absolutely dead, as I wouldn't want to do that to someone's PC without any warning, but I've not heard from Sobek in ages and I can't imagine he's going to be coming back to the game...

 

 

 

Edited March 17 by Lysimachus

[Necronaut]

@Mike Zulu excellent refresher/compilation post with the various clues surrounding "Skaayn!" There were a number of details in there that I had missed or forgotten on our first go-around. I should have made the time to go back and re-read the entire thread from the top as you clearly have done.

[Machine God]

13 hours ago, Mazer Rackham said:

Orochi: The eight-tailed and and headed dragon of Japanese folklore.

 

In Greek mythology: The Learnaean Hydra.

 

Which would be recognised by Azadth as either Tiamat (Parthian/Babylonian) or, more likely, Kāliya - or a Naga, a half man, half serpent demigod. I suppose this means we're dealng with Severus Snake....Interestingly, Naga is the name of the male serpent in Rikki-Tiiki Tavi...

 

Azadth be mongoose, Orochi be slither-biscuit, and boi got dem munchies, bro.

 

Asterius be a Black Shield. (Remnant of a lost chapter. Chimera. Mazes & Monsters) 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 17 by Machine God
As if I hadn't laid on the clues too thickly.

[Mazer Rackham]

1 hour ago, Machine God said:

Asterius be a Black Shield. (Remnant of a lost chapter. Chimera. Mazes & Monsters) 

 

As a Player, yup, I certainly got clued in!

 

Can't say for anyone else, but unfortunately IC Azadth wouldn't have a scooby about Asterius though, since the Bull-man doesn't feature at all in any mythology he draws from. The closest he gets is the Bull of Heaven, but that is definitely more an Astral Claws thing.

 

Given the Mantis Warriors' isolation, he thinks you're probably a Flesh Tearer (2nd Founding fame, chainswords, propensity to go tonto, etc).

[Trokair]

I think as a team we need to asume that Bekkar either never made it, or made it with missinformation that is not going to save us in the present from Orrochi. 

 

 

If we need a deus ex machina Lys can always have Bekkar come with reinforcment or some such despite any 'interferiance' from the Hydra plant. 

 

[Trokair]

@Lysimachus

1. Is there any gene seed to recover from Skaayn body?
2. What tests/action do you require for Alda to attempt if there is?
3. I presume I can use the equipment Amaras has for extraction and storage (the name escapes me at the moment, nath...soemthing or other).

Dose anybody have any objections to Mazer's suggested course of action with the deception? 

[Lysimachus]

Hmm, geneseed in the chest cavity is probably still whole, the one in the throat could still be salvageable but it would probably be a harder test...?

 

Yes, Alda can use Amaras' equipment for the test.

 

I'm not sure why you need to remove it right now though... If it's survived for 2.5 - 3 years in the freezer, why not wait and have someone do it aboard the Supremacy in the Apothecarion there? 

 

I'm not 100% on what @Mazer Rackham's plan is, either. Who are you trying to deceive and why?

 

 

 

 

[Mazer Rackham]

I want the supremacy to blow the snot out of this place and report back we're all dead, and use the Eldar webway portal I assume (possibly wrongly, and I can go back and change it if preferred) to get out of dodge, and kill all our IFF's, comms and everything else.

 

We can trust no-one. And maybe even Alda even less :p

 

I want Orochi comfortable, off-guard and ready for my Kukri to take his head off. When the crew from the Supremacy scan, they'll find scattered Astartes remains, since no-one knows Skaayn is here, and the fragments of DW Armour will confirm it was the team. Everything else will be buried among wierdo artefacts and dead knife-ears.

 

'They expect one of us in the wreckage, brother.'

 

Just as planned.

Edited March 20 by Mazer Rackham

[Trokair]

5 minutes ago, Mazer Rackham said:

And maybe even Alda even less :p

You wound me good Sir.

 

:P

[Mazer Rackham]

5 minutes ago, Trokair said:

You wound me good Sir.

 

:P

 

Sorry, you'll need an appointment for that.

 

[Mike Zulu]

1 hour ago, Lysimachus said:

I'm not sure why you need to remove it right now though... If it's survived for 2.5 - 3 years in the freezer, why not wait and have someone do it aboard the Supremacy in the Apothecarion there? 

A mass like that would take a day to thaw in ambient temperature (applying IRL physics).

 

34 minutes ago, Mazer Rackham said:

I want the supremacy to blow the snot out of this place and report back we're all dead, and use the Eldar webway portal I assume (possibly wrongly, and I can go back and change it if preferred) to get out of dodge, and kill all our IFF's, comms and everything else.

I’m not sure we need to go to that length of deception? The Supremacy went as far as to deploy us on this world after Skaayn/Orochi departed without killing us or abandoning us (on last report at least). Simply having us out of the way was probably enough for Skaayn/Orochi; he probably wouldn’t have needed to complicate matters by issuing secret heretical orders to the Supremacy’s crew/officers. And his pet assassin appears to have been killed for us already (for all we know he had a second mission to finish us off as well).

 

Nevertheless, let us hear what the eldar has to offer (or not… then we can kill him). But I think faking our death at this point will only locks us in to one potential way back…

 

I’m happy to debate this further…

[Mazer Rackham]

5 minutes ago, Mike Zulu said:

I’m not sure we need to go to that length of deception?

 

I can see where you're coming from. No worries, if KISS works, and we keep our options open, fine by me. 

 

5 minutes ago, Mike Zulu said:

Nevertheless, let us hear what the eldar has to offer (or not… then we can kill him). But I think faking our death at this point will only locks us in to one potential way back…

 

I can dig that. In the end it may all be moot anyway with what Pointy-ears comes out with.

 

I'll finagle my post to draw it back a bit to just the funeral rites and we can go from there.

[Lysimachus]

@Mazer Rackham it's a fair point that Orochi and Aykawa could have someone else on board the Supremacy, but I'm pretty sure that Ibrym's time as Commander pre-dates the last 3 years. It's not impossible that they got to him (or another officer) in the same way they got to Kine, though...?

 

It's a risk, of course, so it's totally up to you guys how you handle it.

 

But I should say if you duck out now without making any contact, there won't be the opportunity to rejig your Requisition that I promised you'd get at the start of the Act?

 

 

[Trokair]

I think we need our friday update to see what the Eldar upstairs has to say before we cna really make a choice one way or the other.

 

So he better not be the ususal criptic.  

Edited March 20 by Trokair

[Necronaut]

1 hour ago, Trokair said:

I think we need our friday update to see what the Eldar upstairs has to say before we cna really make a choice one way or the other.

 

So he better not be the ususal criptic.  

 

He can go for another round in the octagon with Gerhardt if he isn't forthcoming with information.

[Necronaut]

Also, not to be a stick in the mud, but how is Alda supposed to use an Astartes-sized narthecium? Based off of her rough physical description, I am imagining she could fit both of her hands and wrists through the gauntlet, whether it is the type that simply fits over a power armour vambrace or replaces it entirely, not to mention I'm pretty sure the chain-drive and drill draw their power directly from the apothecary's power pack so they can have sufficient cutting power to get through ceramite to get at the progenoids, when combined with an Astartes's considerable armoured strength. I know that there are human-sized nartheciums used by IG medics, but this ain't one of those.

 

Considering he's already sans armour, maybe it would just make sense to have one of us do field surgery with a combat knife or similar to hack his neck or chest cavity open, perhaps guided by Alda with an appropriate medicae test followed by a WS or agility test or something to go to work with a machete-pattern scalpel.

 

That or I'm just overthinking the whole thing and it's a non-issue, in which case please disregard with abundant apologies. The thought of Alda using a heavy industrial-grade surgery tool the approximate size of a chainsaw is just throwing me for a loop (and maybe making me laugh a bit too much at the mental image).

Edited March 21 by Necronaut

[Trokair]

6 hours ago, Necronaut said:

Also, not to be a stick in the mud, but how is Alda supposed to use an Astartes-sized narthecium? Based off of her rough physical description, I am imagining she could fit both of her hands and wrists through the gauntlet, whether it is the type that simply fits over a power armour vambrace or replaces it entirely, not to mention I'm pretty sure the chain-drive and drill draw their power directly from the apothecary's power pack so they can have sufficient cutting power to get through ceramite to get at the progenoids, when combined with an Astartes's considerable armoured strength. I know that there are human-sized nartheciums used by IG medics, but this ain't one of those.

 

Considering he's already sans armour, maybe it would just make sense to have one of us do field surgery with a combat knife or similar to hack his neck or chest cavity open, perhaps guided by Alda with an appropriate medicae test followed by a WS or agility test or something to go to work with a machete-pattern scalpel.

 

That or I'm just overthinking the whole thing and it's a non-issue, in which case please disregard with abundant apologies. The thought of Alda using a heavy industrial-grade surgery tool the approximate size of a chainsaw is just throwing me for a loop (and maybe making me laugh a bit too much at the mental image).

 

I was actually thinking similar, and if it had come to it I would have had Alda try, realise that this isn’t going to work then have one of the others assist while she directs and or dose the more precession work. 

 

As for just using a knife, doubt that would work well. As Mike Zule mentioned the corpse is frozen, so even without armour the more heavy duty gear is going to be needed.

 

 

[Mazer Rackham]

6 hours ago, Necronaut said:

That or I'm just overthinking the whole thing and it's a non-issue, in which case please disregard with abundant apologies. The thought of Alda using a heavy industrial-grade surgery tool the approximate size of a chainsaw is just throwing me for a loop (and maybe making me laugh a bit too much at the mental image).

 

Really all she has to do is hold it, (or get one of us to hold it) tap a button, and make the medicae test. The Reductor will do the rest, and store the geneseed safely, after which it can be examined to prove the origin and we aren't being triple-double bluffed by the wily GM.

 

22 minutes ago, Trokair said:

As for just using a knife, doubt that would work well. As Mike Zule mentioned the corpse is frozen, so even without armour the more heavy duty

 

*Azadth pulls Kukri, allows the light to slide up the smile of the blade.*

 

'You rang?' 

Honestly, though, if the reductor can't get through frozen meat, it might as well be made of chocolate.

[Machine God]

45 minutes ago, Mazer Rackham said:

 

 

Honestly, though, if the reductor can't get through frozen meat, it might as well be made of chocolate.

 

It's designed to go through Power Armour and TDA, a bit of frozen flesh wouldn't be a problem.