...Message Begins... Transmitted: Port Wander Received: Fortress of Judgement, Phrenn Recipient: Lord Inquisitor Varius Date: 7.549.932.M41 Astropathic Duct: Zina Title: Interview Record Six on the Fate of House Mojaro Code Level: Vermillion Thought for the Day: Not Even the Dead Know the End of War My Lord, as requested this is the sixth transcript record of our interviewing of the subject. I must ask you for forgiveness for parts were lost due to the capricious nature of the Machine Spirits. Rest assured the main part of the interview still exists. You may find some parts very interesting in our ongoing investigation. +++ Extract Begins +++ Martinez Dalvaro: ‘A place to call home’, that’s what Zak said after we arrived. Of course, a deathworlder like him would have said that. Show them a jungle or forest and they’d never want to leave. (Subject pauses and coughs) Inquisitor Falvern: Continue. (Sound of subject tapping on the table with a fingernail) MD: So erm, as you probably know we were surveying the planet... IF: Designated X-45.L6-R by the Administratum. MD: Yes. I served with the trading House Mojaro. My lord Trader Horatio Mojaro had bartered the rights to settle a colony on the planet provided it was habitable and bountiful. Initial scans by Magos Xi-Frist were promising, stable atmosphere, temperate climate, lush ecosytems... IF: I have read the Magos’ reports, I’m surprised none of you were more suspicious. As far as the Magos’ report went, the planet seemed perfect, too perfect. MD: I queried Horatio, at least I think I did...my memories sometime splinter after it...it... IF: Mr Dalvaro? MD: Mmm? IF: You are shaking again. MD: Oh...i’m sorry, where was I? IF: What you found on the planet, tell me of that. MD: Yes, yes of course. (Sound of subject sipping water before continuing) MD: The planet had several varied biomes that intial scans indicated would be perfectly habitable and likely rich in organic potential resources. Estimations from the Magos pointed to there being a rich source of mineral wealth within the planet. However, we were unable to scan a large region of jungle around the planet’s equator, despite the Magos’ attempts to appease the Machine Spirits. IF: What about using a Chiropteren scout craft? Your ship contained two according to the records. MD: The Lord Trader wished a more hands on approach. IF: Yes, very typical of their kind. Please continue. MD: A dozen armsmen, the Magos, Zak, our Astropath Luci, myself, and the Lord Trader descended onto the planet and entered the jungle. The place was swarming with varied base lifeforms, Zak as I’ve said felt very much at home. Luci seemed on edge, complaining of ancient warp echoes, I wish we had listened to her more than we did. (Sound of subject tapping a fingernail upon the table) It was on the third hour we found the ruins. IF: Aeldari perhaps? Like these? (Hum of a holoslate being activated) MD: No no, nothing like those. Many seemed to be made of stone, either as obelisks or as we later discovered pyramid structures. IF: Like these? (Hum as the holoslate cycles to new images) MD: No, there were no lines of green light. I...please turn off that image. I...please... IF: As you wish. (Hum cuts out) MD: I...I... (coughs) It was as we approached the first pyramid structure that we were attacked. Darts flew from the trees and struck several armsmen, who collapsed frothing as toxins entered their blood. Jak was quick to reply and shredded the nearest trees with a spray of heavy stub rounds. The rain of darts had barely halted when a band of large lizard xenos lifeforms charged from undergrowth. IF: For the record, Mr Delvaro, did they look like this? (Hum as the holoslate is activated and cycles to several images) These are known as the Loxatl, most commonly reported in the Sabbat Worlds but some have been sighted even as far as the Screaming Vortex. Their presence can often be detected by a distinctive smell of rancid milk and crushed mint. They exclusively use a xenos weapon called a Flechette Blaster, like this. MD: No, these creatures walked liked men, they carried spears and clubs and were adorned with trinkets of gold. Most were taller than a man and heavily built, others were tiny in comparison and darted around with spears and blowpipes. Our lasfire took down several of them as we retreated back, but they just kept on coming. It was only when Xi-Frist activated his flamer mechadendrite that the lizard xenos withdrew. The Magos scoffed at our attackers, ‘primitives with primitive tools’ he intoned, one of the few times he truly seemed to ever show emotion. Until one of the smaller lizard xenos wearing a cloak of strange coloured feathers raised a stave of shimmering gold on which tiny gold rings spun and rotated. A beam of light shot from this stave through the Magos’ force field and through the Magos himself. It was like a las weapon with the power of a melta or plasma cannon and yet from such a thin and small stave. (Hum of the holoslate cuts out) IF: Possibly a warp based weapon, though clearly some sign of xenos technology in its application. Tell me, Mr Dalvaro...what was your astropath doing during this? MD: I...I think she...oh Imperator... IF: Speak. Go on. MD: She was screaming, clawing at the sockets where her eyes once were. Something...something about ‘the gaze of the ancient lords’ and the ‘priest comes’. IF: And then? MD: ...We ran...we left her and ran...blindly and in fear...Only a few of us made it to the shuttle. Just as we were about to take of...it appeared above the treelines... IF: It? MD: It...it looked like an amphibian of sorts, sat cross-legged upon a throne of stone that soared above the ground. It seemed to stare with ancient eyes into our very souls even as our shuttle roared away back to the ship. IF: Curious. Do you think it was a leader of the xenos? MD: It...it felt...I don’t know...it scared me... IF: Take another drink. MD: Yes... (Sound of subject taking a drink) I do not know...something seemed so vast about it that it made us feel so very small. As if this was a being that walked the stars before mankind even looked up at the night sky. Any...anyway...we made it back to the ship, Horatio was barking orders as he strode onto the bridge. But it was too late. From where we had found the jungle pyramid our energy sensors suddenly went off the charts, a beam of light more potent than any lance weapon I had ever seen flew from the planet and struck the ship. I...I cannot remember much else... IF: Your vessel was found hulked by our patrol ship, you were the only survivor whose mind was left relatively intact. MD: Th...there's something else. In the darkness, I think that ancient xenos spoke into my mind. I saw things. I saw stars roar into being and die within moments, I saw the great plan of something, no...there were more than one...but I think I saw their plan, their ideal. I screamed. It was too much, colours and sounds and senses and thoughts...beyond anything. Beyond...anything... It all made sense but it hurt...God Emperor...it burned like an inferno it gnawed like a blizzard...Creation was theirs’ to command. I beheld the dreams of ancients and emptiness when they were lost. Of a war that made all wars seem...so insignificant. (Sound of Inquisitor Falvern tapping on the table, a pause and then more tapping) IF: An intriguing account which doubtless raises more questions than it likely answers. Before we finish, for my colleague observing informs me we are close to your mind becoming unresponsive, there is something that you need to know. There was no Martinez Dalvaro. There is not even any record of such a person serving on a House Mojaro ship in this sector. MD: But...I... IF: You are shaking again. Look at me...Look at me! (Sound of Inquisitor Falvern rising) IF: You have been interviewed by two other Interrogators as well as myself on five other previous occasions. Not one of which you seem capable of remembering. No, do not speak. Listen...Good. Parts of your story...change with each telling and yet to you every time it has been the unequivocal truth, even when we have had sanctioned telepaths as unseen witnesses, not one of them could detect the hint of a lie. Keep seated. Yes, I know this is hard for you to hear. Your mind has been altered by something of at least Alpha Grade Psyker potential. MD: Can...can I be fixed? IF: X-45.L6-R was given the designation of a forbidden world by the Ordo Xenos. We have lost good people trying to plumb its secrets and its guardians. And yet, here you are a survivor with some fragments of the truth. Even if it is but a tiny grain, what you truly experienced on that world is valuable to our efforts. MD: But can I be fixed? (Sound of subject rising) IF: No, that is beyond any of our abilities. Horatio Mojaro, your very identity has been removed. Your crimes against the God Emperor of Man are many, but you have some measure of redemption through what you can give to our Ordo. MD: No! I can’t live like this! Fix me...please... IF: Guards, detain ‘Mr Dalvaro.’ (Sounds of struggle and subject’s cries) +++ Transcript ends +++ This was the first interview that revealed the description of the possible spiritual leader of these lizard xenos, likely the being that rewrote the subject’s mind. Given the subject’s genuine horror (though what man would not be turned to disgust and fear by such xenos?) by the images of the Necrontyr structures captured by the Iron Hands during the Battle of Shemnoch in 900.M41, this having occurred on all previous interviews, I wonder if there is a connection between them and the xenos the subject encountered on X-45.L6-R. I have ordered another sanctioned light cruiser take up vigil nearby to X-45.L6-R to make sure no other treasure seekers or would be colonists descend upon the planet. The current sentry ship in the system is also under investigation for their lapse in duty. It concerns me that there are those perhaps in the Administratum that unaware of the sanctions upon the planet are all too willing to help finance the establishment of a colony, we may need to consider more strongly dissuading the Ordo from continuing such plans. As for X-45.L6-R, we shall continue to try and ascertain the true nature of these xenos through further interview, interrogation, and auto-séance. I am yet unwilling to request aid from the Deathwatch unless we can deem this world a threat to the wider Imperium. Your servant in the God Emperor’s name, Falvern. ≡][≡ --------------------------------------- So then. I've been running a Rogue Trader rpg for a while and this is the result. The following is a list of some of the many many references I made throughout. References mentioned: Port Wander - Located within the Calixis Sector bordering the largely unexplored space of the Koronus Expanse. The Port is the last bastion of Imperial rule before the Halo Stars, and often the increasing haunt of Inquisitors. Lord Inquisitor Varius - A somewhat radical Lord Inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos who has been involved with combatting the Tyranid threat. 7.549.932.M41 - I actually looked up a guide to writing dates in the 40k universe, I forget what that exact date was, but it should be accurate and correct. Vermillion - So technically I put aside realism to make what I thought was an obvious reference to Gaunt's Ghosts with the mythical level of code encryption clearance. In reality it is very very rare for a regular Inquisitor to get access to this code clearance let alone use it. Normally they would use Magenta...however, Falvern could have been given clearance by his superior Varius, though one would question Falvern's use of it for interrogation extracts. Thought for the Day: Not Even the Dead Know the End of War - One of the classic Thoughts for the Day, I actually used a random generator for this one and I think this was the second or third result. House Mojaro - Not an in canon house as far as I know. But clearly and later mentioned to be a Rogue Trading House. Rogue Traders are given a warrant of trade which gives them immunity to all Imperial law and authority (up to that of the Emperor of Mankind) whilst outside Imperial space and within Imperial space they are still up there with authority figures as Chapter Masters, Arch-Magi, or Inquisitors. Magos Xi-Frist - This was an injoke. One of my npc Tech-Priests from an Only War rpg adventure was called Ar-Thrid Alpha, which was a silly joke on the Adeptus Mechanicus' knowledge being so warped from the 10,000+ years that Third becomes Thrid and First becomes Frist. This isn't actually canon, just me poking fun. The planet seemed perfect, too perfect. - This is referring to the world potentially being an Eldar/Aeldari Maiden world, a world constructed by Dark Age of Technology man (of which there is rumoured one such example in the Koronus Expanse), or a world crafted by god-like beings (aka the Old Ones.) Chiropteren scout craft - Probably the best scout craft available to Imperial servants, it is normally unarmed and is packed with high powered engines and sensors galore. Of course, any Rogue Trader worth his name would have thrown caution to the wind and would have personally led an expedition instead, as seen with Horatio. The ruins - So, given the potential of this being a maiden or artificial world, Falvern would immediately assume the ruins will be Aeldari/Eldar in nature (in fact we know by the end that he's been through this song and dance before and already likely knows the answers, he's just making sure in case of any nuggets of truth slipping through the cracks.) When it does not prove to be Wraithbone structures but instead obelisks and pyramids, the natural conclusion would be Necrontyr/Necrons (technically Falvern is incorrect in using the term Necrontyr, but as the Necron threat by the date of this extract had only been around for a few centuries or so, I think he can be forgiven the mistake.) Given that the Necrons and their Star God masters fought a galaxy ruining war against the Old Ones in the 40k universe (known as the War in Heaven), the subject's Slann touched mind perhaps feels aversion to images of their structures. Loxatl - Lizard-like xenos mercenaries that appear in the Gaunt's Ghosts novels, there were probably another three xenos breeds I could have used instead that are reptile-like without being Lizardmen, but I went for the more recognisable. Sabbat Worlds - Location of the Gaunt's Ghosts novels. The Screaming Vortex - Nearby to the Calixis Sector, this is a turbulent and daemon infest area of space where Chaos Warbands are fairly active. Loxatl whilst mercenaries often seem to work for agents of the Ruinous Powers and have been confirmed as sighted within easy warp travel to where Horatio encountered these lizard-xenos. Creation was theirs’ to command. I beheld the dreams of ancients and emptiness when they were lost. Of a war that made all wars seem...so insignificant. - In the 40k universe, the Old Ones created many races and built many marvels of technology that still endure to the present future (like the webway used by the Eldar.) However, a race known as the Necrontyr grew jealous of the Old Ones and began the War in Heaven that left the galaxy in such a state it is still pretty wrecked 60 million or so years later. In the end the Old Ones were all but wiped out by the C'tan as well as several of their own creations. Battle of Shemnoch - One of the few early Imperial victories over the Necrons on their own turf, given the Iron Hands Space Marine Chapter are most likely to make pict records and submit them to higher authorities, it made sense to use this battle as a source for Falvern's images. The Fall of Damnos would have been better but occurred after the date i'd chosen for this extract. Auto-séance - The process of sifting through the memories of a corpse often via psyker ability. This is often very dangerous as the one undertaking the auto-séance can easily lose their own identity as well as suffer mental and physical trauma connected with what killed the subject. This is naturally not done lightly. Deathwatch - A chapter of sorts of Space Marines from many different Chapters. These warriors combat alien threats across the Imperium, often in hopeless and near on suicidal missions. The Ordo Xenos branch of the Inquisition often work with them, though getting them involved usually means it is a very dire threat that could decide the fate of a sector...or worse. So why Lizardmen in a 40k setting? I will be honest that I did not see @Krai'kotak's work on Lizardmen in the 40k universe prior to writing this piece. Apologies if i've stood on your tail or anything. Lizardmen are actually canon of sort in the 40k universe as in the old old Necron codex there were rules (not great ones) for fielding them in 40k games. Afterall the Old Ones were present in this universe and would have likely created Lizardmen here. I fancied turning the theme on its head and subverting any expectations (regardless of any backfire) and was in the process of creating solar systems for my Rogue Trader campaign (and I kept rolling Xenos ruins...) So it felt like a fun challenge.
Reviews and Replies Thank you kindly. So the Inquisitor's tapping was actually him effectively sending a morse coded message to one of the hidden observors, it was fun to put in so many layers in the transcript that one can debate and judge what is really going on. And yes, Slann would be terrifyingly potent psykers. Transcript of a recording, i'd treat it like reading a play. Also as I mentioned above, technically base form Lizardmen exist in the 40k universe, as for more technologically advanced versions? Well, the galaxy is a big place. You got me, me. Though my true blackened ratty heart belongs with the Fantasy World, I do enjoy the vastness and complexity of the 40k one. And don't worry Cymbry, if the party actually use you more you might get to do some mind rewriting! I guess it didn't massively, but oh well. And I guess Rogue Traders are the exception to the no-hope and being easily forgotten trope, which makes it even more tragic when the grim-darkness does grab them! Agh...I knew I should have made who Dalvaro was and who he thought he was a bit more obvious. It was meant to be heavily hinted that Dalvaro identified himself as one of the aides to the Rogue Trader, more specifically the Trader's Seneschal (I guess think of a mix of a Star Trek Ferengi, a butler, and Indiana Jones who might also be an underworld mob boss at the same time.) However, in reality, 'Dalvaro' was actually Horatio Mojaro, the Rogue Trader himself. Since either of those two roles have significant authority in themselves, technically the Inquisitor was interviewing someone of near equal authority to his own, so a little polite decorum was possibly in order. Or more likely it was Falvern being a mocking git. So, that Skink Priest did take down the Tech-Priest Magos pretty effortlessly. Given the Magos was the only thing that had turned back the Lizardmen attack, having him taken out would shatter the Imperials' morale (not to mention the astropath going into fits beside them.) Perhaps I could have had Zak take the little guy out... Lastly, I left it open as to why the Slann 'spoke' to Mojaro. Nonetheless, I figured that human minds would be often far too weak in scope to survive such knowledge intact hence how fractured and rewritten Mojaro's mind was. Was it intentional or not? Who knows? I was actually worried no one had actually read any of those books and that most of my references had fallen completely flat! Not sure i'd continue this theme more as i'm not certain where I would go from here. Probably will recycle Falvern into my rpg campaign though, he was fun to write. Alas, I probably did overdo it a bit, sorry about that. Glad you did enjoy the form though. Anyway, thank you all for your kind and informative reviews!