OOC This thread if for Vormav, Gregory, Garu, Faith and anyone else who wants to join in. I am not sure how you want to proceed with the interrogation of the unregistered who fell under the influence of the Eldar. I have added a description of the interrogation room to the Pious Lament thread and assume that the interview takes place in Interrogation room 1, one person at a time, but feel free to play it as you wish or discus it here or in the OOC thread. Some of the Inquisition team have asked to observe.
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Faith looks around the interrogation rooms as she enters, noting the various implements of pain and wincing as she imagines how they must feel. Nevertheless, she is fully focused on her task, and before the first prisoner is brought in, she addresses the others.

"I wish to make one thing clear; while I was educated in the Discipline of Telepathy like most Astropaths, I am not what the underdecks crew might call a mindbender; I cannot compel or coerce behavior from anyone; not yet, at least, and while I am confident of being able to eventually probe the depths of any given mind, that process will require a lot of time and concentration. Given we have so many people to go through, having me attempt to read all their minds will be very tedious, tiring and court the perils of the Warp."

She turns to Vormav and Garu. "Therefore, I believe the Discipline of Divination will be more helpful here. It would be best if each of you asked me one specific question about this group, and I consulted the Emperor's Tarot for guidance. Of course, if you have other ideas on how to employ my abilities, if you wish to do so at all, you have but to say so."

If there are any Inquisition personnel present, she will ask them if they have any experience or suggestions in how to rapidly vet and clear a large quantity of loyalty-suspect people. She is, after all, merely a glorified Magnavox...

OOC: I want to try and use Divining The Future to speed the process up. Basically it works on them asking a question, and Faith can use the Augury/DtF power to see how much info they get.


Faith will be Fettering herself for this, so her effective PR is 2. She does NOT want to risk a warp outbreak at any point.

The alternative is rolling Focus Power Tests however many dozen or hundred times it takes for her to fully Mind Scan everyone :)
This message was last edited by the player at 15:40, Wed 03 May 2023.

Vormav frowns at this news "Why don't you start with one and see what you can see? If you can't find some sort of general flaw to streamline the process then we can rely on your reading of the Emperor's will."

He looks up and down the crowded holding area "If you insist the I suppose I would ask 'if the taint of the xenos will return to haunt us if we put these people to good use?'"

Faith nods.

"Then I shall begin with the first of them."

The first subject is brought into Interrogation Room 1 and strapped into his seat, but Faith does not sit opposite him. Instead, she stands behind the one-way wall, just within range of her mental reach but not actually within the room itself. After a quick glance (both physically and psychically) to make sure there's nothing suspicious about the man, she begins the probe.

A golden glow kindles in her eye-sockets as she draws on the Warp, tempered by the light the Emperor that is always with her. The transparisteel bulkhead loses meaning as the world fades to black, and now it is only her flame, the flames of the others in the room with her, and the flame of the man in the room. She tenses, and her flame flares as it reaches out across the Immaterium to him.

Faith addresseth the Penitent; who art thou?

Her flame pulses in time with her words, and the psychic force of her probing demand makes the subject's flame follow suit. Having had similar powers used on her in the past during her internment aboard the Black Ships, Faith knows what it must feel like; a thundering, irresistible demand that feels like it's pulling the hemispheres of her brain apart.

OOC:

Awareness roll and Psyniscience roll to see if there is anything fishy about him, then a mind probe roll.

08:25, Today: Faith rolled 64 -- 2 degrees of failure using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 41.  Awareness.

08:26, Today: Faith rolled 60 -- a simple failure using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 51.  Psyniscience.

08:26, Today: Faith rolled 60 -- 1 degree of success using the Warhammer Test system with a target number of 71.  Fettered Focus Power: Mind Probe (WP + PRx5).

Note: Mind Probe is an OPPOSED WP check, so the guy has to roll his own WP and compare DoS to Faith to see if it works. After that, she has to maintain focus for 5 rounds to fully read him. Also, it is not a gentle process; the guy knows he's being read.


This message was last edited by the player at 01:06, Fri 05 May 2023.

The subject is a small thin man in his forties, like all the others he is contrite and silently follows instructions as he’s strapped to the chair. He makes no attempt to block the mind probe and Faith quickly gathers all the information she needs.

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Once the mental contact is broken, Faith takes a deep breath and pauses to compose her thoughts before informing the others about what she saw.

"To my knowledge, this man, known as Engic, was an average underdecks worker with family aboard the vessel. He was taken in by a man offering food and medicae treatment. Said food seems to have been laced with some kind of psychoactive chemical, because I saw that he was later brought into a large white hall where others had gathered. Once there, his memories are distorted, but he was given weapons and taught how to use them before being returned to the Lament to defend it against intruders. I cannot detect any lingering signs of influence on him and his feelings of guilt and contrition are genuine. He also fully expects a painful death followed by servitorization.

Faith attempts to draw the white hall and the man in question; perhaps Garu and Vormav will be able to do something with this information.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:15, Thu 11 May 2023.

"If you are willing then perhaps we can grab someone who is a bit more troublesome to cross reference? I expect the white hall is either the background being wiped from their memories or is simply a Xenos vessel."

He looks up and down at the rows of prisoners, "If they seem consistent then we can try the divination trick. If their only crime is that they were taught to use a weapon then I don't see a reason not to give your little 'penal legion' experiment a go Mr.Asgard. Though I still want to acquire specialized equipment for them and I continue to doubt the economics."

All of the prisoners are quiet and compliant and several others are tested, each with very similar and constant results.

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"Well, there are many tasks they can be used for which won't involve them being armed. Bomb collars are a luxury for minefield clearers, just saying. I'm of the opinion that if they're sincere about atoning for their sins, we should give them a fair shake; and if the Emperor sees fit to protect them then we can accept them into the crew. Sounds fair to you, Garu, Vormav?"
This message was last edited by the player at 07:20, Thu 11 May 2023.

Faith continues examining several other prisoners at random, with similar results. While she would not dare clear all of them at once, she is of the opinion that the Master at Arms has a point.

"Mr. Asgard has a point. There are always unpleasant jobs that must be done aboard a vessel, ones which would not allow them to cause much harm even if they were to be mentally compromised. We could assign them a probation period of about six months to a year, and if they survive, they can be properly integrated into the crew."

Vormav looks at the other officers askance "It's already common practice to come into dock, send troops into a hive, and drag new crew back kicking and screaming. Mr. Church is no doubt doing just that in the lower decks as we speak. If his yield is sub-par in the coming days then I may pull from the prisoners. But otherwise I thought YOU wanted them for YOUR department. My opinion there are too many undocumented derelicts on board as it is. Round up the ones we need, Send these to the cogs to get turned to servitors, purge as many of the remainder as we can. We all just saw the damage an unknown quantity of manpower can do aboard a vessel I won't have it happen again on my watch."

Gregory glances over to Faith, and then to Vormav.

"I'll take responsibility for anyone in the penal squads," he says. He seems absolutely serious about it. "Faith, my question is: How can we get the best value out of these men without endangering the Lady-Captain?"

The Astropath Secundus is silent for a long time as she quickly lays out the Emperor's Tarot on the table in the control room, quickly consulting the signs and omens for both Vormav and Gregory's questions...

OOC:
Using Augury twice at Fettered power.

Faith shuffles her cards and lays five of them in the aquila pattern, all who watch can immediately see the ‘Emperor of Mankind’, dominating the middle of the layout, never the less she studies them for a good twenty-five minutes before coming to any conclusions.

The cards are carefully gathered in, reshuffled and laid out for a second time but on this occasion, even after an hour of study, the Emperor’s will remains obscured.

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After going over the results one last time, Faith turns to Vormav.

"With regard to your question of "Will the taint of the xenos return to haunt us if we put these people to good use..." The first card is The Ecclesiarch reversed, implying heterodoxy and subversion. However, it is followed immediately by the Battle-Tank, which alters the meaning; these people represent a new approach and will allow for new strategies if properly managed. The third card, the Emperor of Mankind, is face-up, indicating a generally favorable outcome. There is no nuance to the card, and thus we must look to the fourth for elucidation; the High-Lord, representing authority and control. All will go well provided these men are properly managed. The final card is the Penitent, representing martyrdom and the triumph of the will. From all this, I can say that there is little risk associated with using these men."

Then, she turns to Gregory.

"Unfortunately, the Emperor has not made his will manifest to me regarding your question."

OOC: Sorry, thought I'd replied to this.