Alexei nods as she takes over from Searlait, just being a presence on the bridge. The crew mostly managed itself, she just stood there to enforce a level of discipline and to issue commands if the situation warranted it.

Wordlessly, Sabrynn followed in Searlait's wake. An attempt had already been made on the Rogue Trader's life this day. It was no paranoia to stick to her closer than usual, as any competent operator would have redundancies in place in case their initial attempt failed.

At least, that is how Sabrynn would operate if she were given the mission to assassinate someone of importance. In fact, thinking on the matter, she would create a distraction to distract any security measures, and in the confusion, make a direct assault with her Sisters. Most likely the Repentia, as they were tough, and would make the attempt no matter the casualties. Then bring in a squad of Seraphim to hit the target from an unexpected angle, should a distraction and zealous fury fail. And should that three pronged plan fail, a twin blitz by a wing of Avenger Strike Fighters and heavy artillery bombardment by Exorcists.

It was a good thing Sabrynn was on the Rogue Trader's side. Not only was she martially skilled, and utterly loyal, she could imagine all the tactics and plans of a seasoned force commander.

Despite the stories about the void being deathly cold, the insides of Gregory's void armor are hot. Stiflingly hot, in fact, and he feels like there's an ocean sloshing around inside his magboots whenever he shifts.

On the plus side, watching the voidsmen and techpriests clear the mines is very educational, and seeing big explosions always warms the heart. Slab would probably have enjoyed this, but Slab hates getting into small places and Gregory doesn't have the heart to make him do it unless it's necessary.

Once the work is done, he returns to the to the vessel to see if any other business needs to be taken care of.

The Navis Primaris had long since turned her attentions to the next stage of their shared journey as they drew closer and closer to the Mandeville Point. The potent chymical cocktails required to weather the worst of warp navigation having already metabolized and left her without much in the way of mortal sensation. She remained aware in that defuse way that allowed her to focus more pointedly upon what lay beyond the thin veneers of reality as interpreted by the minds of those not blessed by the Navigator Gene or psychic potentiality. This was not to say she was beyond reach as the microbead remained in place as she reclined upon the Navigator's Throne but no longer was the world of flesh and blood the focus of her prodigious mind as hands played without sensation over the leather bound cover of her Navis Prima.

It was, unsurprisingly, in this state that she felt the most able, the most alive as no longer did the fickleness of her construction impede her in the fulfillment of her duties. It was only the work of the mind, the spirit, and the will that mattered now as she counted each breath and second that passed. The subtle clicks, chirps, and hum of arcane edifice and technology that surrounded her the steady counterpoint to her heartbeat and as familiar as the star-borne halls of her ancestral home. Time continued onward for her as it always did so dependably before the plunge into the depths of the Endless Sea and all she could do was wait for the command to come.

In the interim, she did as ritual had taught and tested the connection between herself and the mighty spirit of the Pious Lament. It's vast presence pressing down upon her mind through the cybernetic systems that bridged the gap between herself, the Navigator's throne, and cogitators upon the bridge. As the connection stabilized with whispered prayers to the Omnissiah, she tested her connection and provided sample instructions to the principle helm terminal and awaited confirmation from the present watch that it was received.

Alexei made herself comfortable to an extent as she observed the procedure of the mine removal simply by looking on the holo screen that displayed where they where attached. "I wonder.. Who is targetting us.. It could be any number of people targeting me.. Or maybe the Lady Captain.. Or perhaps its simply a skirmish of the Inquisition and we are merely caught in the crossfire." She mused out in a soft voice, voicing what weighed on her helped Alexei put things aside and just mull over them a bit more easily.

"Hardly an auspicious beginning, eh, ma'am?" Gregory muses as he returns to the bridge and hands her a cup of recaf. "At least the Lady's safe, thank the Emperor for that. Won't have many people messing with her considering the kind of guards she has."

Alexei shrugged a little "Crudely put, there will be many more attempts that her bodyguard will be ill suited to shield her against. Though her presence will help in keeping the overt ones at bay at least." She gave a soft smile as she took the recaf. "And I have had better maiden voyages, that is certain."

"That worries me too, ma'am," Gregory says as he sips his recaf. "Like, if you want overt warfare, me and the lads are as good as you can get. If we can see it, we can shoot it, and if it bleeds, we can kill it. But we're not good for the sneaky stuff. I mean, I've had some history on that side of things, but I can't speak for everyone. And then there's the... witchy stuff. Maybe the Choirmistress can handle herself there, but we're just babes in the creches against them for the most part."

He takes another sip.

"Still, no reason to stop fighting. The Lady's a good one, and so are the rest of the people. Can't do everything, but I gotta do whatever I can do."

Alexei nodded a bit "Bridge, ready the ship for Warp Translation on our honoured Guide her command." She briefly turned to issue the standard order and then turned to Gregory again. "I simply hope our good Lady is capable to keep her cool when confronted by those who would seek to ensnare her politically speaking.. An asassination attempt can be cleverly disquised with a duel to first blood as well. Or the duel is used to separate her from her bodyguard."

After guiding the uninitiated through the steps to securely remove the mines through great appeasement of their murderous spirits before removing them, Explorator Arius allowed himself a brief moment of introspection to give thanks to the Omnissiah.

Then he departed for Deck 3, senior visitor quarters to see to the Lord-Captain's guests..

At 15.07 there is a disturbance in the warp, the navigators aboard sense just a moment of squiggly alien-ness and if they look there is nothing to see, the prisoners in the warded confines of the black cells squirm and cry out from their drug induced sleep, it is the astropaths who feel it most intensely as painful alien twisting within their minds. Scarlet and Veronica are disturbed and sickened, Meredith shakes it off easily, Judith Rosha, the new girls from Stone’s Throw, screams and faints but Joko Myanna, the girl who jumped ship from the Emperor’s Glory, just shudders and shakes her head, it seems like it’s not a new thing for her.

Moments later and many thousands of miles away, the Emperor’s Glory transitions into the warp, the nixie displays are reading 1 hour, 3 minuets and 17 . . 16 . . 15 seconds, about time for all concerned to return to the bridge ready for the Pious Lament’s own transition.

.

Alexei opted to just extend her shift a bit, an hour longer didn't quite matter much if her plan was to try and rest up a bit after the transition or well as well she could manage with her tendency to sleep far to light at times. "Commence preperations for warp translation, seal all outward view ports." Was the order she issued with a calm and commanding voice.

Scarlet grunts and clutches her head for a moment as the cry from the warp rips over her, making her clench her teeth for a moment before just shaking it off, giving a soft huff of annoyance. What was that? She sighs softly as the feeling subsides, she was certainly strong enough to get through a little warp interference, but she was suddenly thankful for all the endurance training she had been put through, to harden her body almost as much as her mind. With the feeling subsided, and her choir most obviously in disarray, she called for them to return to their quarters, no good things came from trying to communicate while in the warp anyway, their job was done, for now.

Once she had carried Judith to her quarters and made sure the others were comfortable in their rooms, fussing over her girls a likr a mother might after such a traumatic experience, she goes to seek out Anastasia, the old choir mistress had a stronger mind than most, but her body was starting to degrade, as was the fate of all astropaths, she was worried the alien signal had adversely affected the poor woman.

++Acknowledged, Madame Talionis... Do remember your prayers and wardings.++ the Navigator replied to the spoken command, a subtle flick of thought and instinct silencing the vox link as she allowed her real hand to search along the arm and ceramic clad fingers to curl around the neatly arranged form of the Emperor's Tarot...The hungry, eager presence of the Pious Lament lurking ever at the edges of her mind. The ancient machine spirit, no doubt, well aware of what was to come and sensing something of the potentiality in it... It's many cogitators churning in instinctive preparation for what was to come and what might await them based on the blessed data housed therein.

Her mortal eyes closed then as her third opened and she began to gently shuffle the Emperor's tarot. Her fingers never quite feeling the psycho-active wafers as she worked, her clan's rituals of augury coming to her like second nature as she began to sing of journeys and places past, of dangers witnessed, evaded, or conquered with nothing but skill and will. As momentum grew within her, Cennet began to gently deal out the cards upon the back of her Navis Prima. It's many charts, tables, and references useless for the journey to come and wounding her pride with the acknowledgement of such a reality.

The Great Eye, The God Emperor, The Supplicant...

On and on it went as she drew each new card, each foretelling of what may come at each stage of the journey and focusing her mind and her eye for what was to come. Finally, when the last card was dealt and the last song and legend had been sung... The vox link engaged once more from the Navigator's Throne to the Bridge.

++The Omens are auspicious, Madame Talionis. Please proceed when all preparations are complete.++

There was a confidence in the Navigatrix's voice that could not be missed nor could one miss that distinct energy of one excited for what came next... Of one driven to moments like these. After all, it was for this that she was crafted and molded and for all that her peers may find wanting in her... She would never be found wanting in this most indispensable of duties. Her pride, her sense of self, and all that she hung upon mind, soul, and genetics would not allow it.


18:14, Today: Cennet Melek Shiraishi rolled 27 -- 4 degrees of success using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 75.  Stage 1: Divining the Auguries (Psynicience (+10%) + Rituals).

Additionally, warding against ill tidings/what have you is largely just a declaration of what rituals or preparations we take for the sake of the crew like blasting scripture through the ship voxs, prayer services, etc etc.

This message was last edited by the player at 23:58, Thu 12 Jan 2023.

With just under an hour to warp breach Searlait returns to the bridge, a small entourage with her in the form of Orlaith, Sabrynn, several aids, one carrying her shield and another her lance while she herself comes in with Shireen at her side, the young woman is in a lightly decorated but exquisite ocean blue dress that goes to her ankles.

They make their way to the command pulpit and somewhat amusing to some the young girl takes to the throne confidently and pushes herself back as far as she can in the comically oversized chair and looks almost like this was her spot regardless of the reality.

"Status report Talionis?" she asks XO.

Alexei looked up briefly before returned her focus back towards the task at hand, whilst finishing the last of her recaf. "We're on final preperations to prep for Warp translation."

She turned to the ship's comms officer "Send the message out, all crew ready for Warp transit. Make sure everything and everyone is secured.. I doubt this will be a smooth one." She grimaced a bit as she sat herself down in her chair and secured herself in it and then she took the comms herself, letting her voice be transmitted across the ship.

++All hands prepare for Warp transit, I repeat. Prepare for Warp transit.++ After that she simply looked at her station for a moment as she could feel the massive ship lingering on in the back of her mind before she disconnected her MIU from her station.

Scarlet returned to the bridge with enough time to find her seat, relaxing, though without most of her choir, she would be using her own Psychic might to send any emergency messages that may be required. She never liked sending messages while immersed in the warp; they always garbled from the roiling chaos around them, but she knew that her services would undoubtedly be necessary for a pinch.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 04:12, Fri 13 Jan 2023.

Searlait looks about the bridge and her smile momentarily fades to a slightly angered grimace as she listens to something, looks over the bridge and taps her microbead

As before, Gregory's hand tightens around his stormbolter. Reports come in from the various subordinate officers, which he forwards to Alexei with his free hand even as he surveys the bridge, which is now sealed off by the massive transit shutters.

He glances over at the L-C's entourage as she brings them in; more targets to defend, but at least defending them will be honest work. He barely manages to suppress a snort of amusement as Shireen takes the Captain's throne, then squeezes his eyes shut; he will NOT look bad in front of his boss' daughter, who probably weighs less than the arms-coffer loaded with guns and ammo that he's got beside him.

He takes a deep breath, and exhales.

Then his eyes snap open and his face turns grave. He rises to his feet, nods to Alexei and Searlait, then quickly excuses himself.



As he enters the nearby turbolift down to the main ops center, he begins sending a rapid stream of microbead messages to his team and the duty watch.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:58, Fri 13 Jan 2023.

Alexei noted the activity but thought nothing of it for now, if her attention was required on it the Captain would let her know. When the last of the stations signalled ready to jump she turned to the Captain. "Ready to make the transit Captain, on you're word." She gave Shireen a friendly smile as she had to supress her own chuckle at seeing the girl in the command chair.

Scarlet grimaces as she gets out of her seat, having hoped to start the transit in relaxation, but it appears that wasn't possible. She walked over to the Turbofan lift and headed for deck 10, gripping the railing as she grimaces.

Sabrynn followed behind Searlait's entorage, as was her sacred position. The good Captain had made it clear where Sabrynn's priorities lay should there come a conflict. When Searlait listened to her vox-bead, it was clear that she was displeased by something. Unconsciously, the Celestian Sacresant's fingers twitched toward her savage weapon, but held herself in check for now. She had no desire to cause anyone any distress.

The captain watched the Master at Arms leave she opened the vox once more

"Looking to her bodyguard she softly whispers

Gregory nods as he receives the Lady-Captain's directives. Live captures... he's not sure what their stock of less-lethal stuff is like. Sounds like a job for the High Factotum.

Sabrynn gave the slightest of nods to her mistress, before taking a subtle but significant step closer. A few glances around the shadows in the cathedral ceilings of the bridge, and she was back to her usual intense scowl at everyone and everything that wasn't the perfection of the Emperor.