Gregory raises an eyebrow. Looks like the Lady-Captain is marking her territory.

"Clear as a bell, ma'am," he smiles. Then he turns to Ravandio. "I believe getting us away with it is Mr. Rathnyr's job."

 Jak manages to dress for the occasion, the usual scorch marks and oil-spatter visible on the edges of his robes replaced by fine-woven new garments of deep Adeptus Mechanicus Red and he's even buffed his augmetics for the occasion - something which his particular aesthetic taste for a refractory alloy that's a deep bronze goes especially well with. The fact that the impressive metal talons on his augmetic feet have a tendency to draw curls from the oaken flooring is unfortunate of course, but when you're a bloody great cybernetic Explorator a certain amount of eccentricity is probably to be expected.

 What is likely less expected is for him to signify regretful rejection of the order in descending binaric tones, explaining (for those of the crew not packed with micro-cogitators and artificial neural tissue) "Unfortunately, this request is not within your authority to make, Lady Captain. Archmagos Dorth has the final decision upon the identity of the Magos who will serve the Pious Lament, in keeping with the treaties between your Dynasty and the Adeptus Mechanicus. At the current time, the position of Engineseer Prime has been assigned to Magos Harrow of Laith, under the request of Lord Cormac Saoirse but this is by no means finalised and ultimately the decision rests with the Archmagos who is, in the aftermath of our recovery of the Manufactorum, well-disposed towards this crew. Whether this is sufficient to sway his final decision has yet to be determined."*

 ---

 * Because I'm waiting on a GM reply. ^_^

The tension of the situation was hardly lost on Cennet as power plays like this were not uncommon among the scions of her own house when it came to the coveted positions and titles of any Navigator family. All of which were things she had once aspired to but since tempered her ambitions with the perceived loss of her perfection of form. What remained, as a consequence of such a blow to pride and vanity, was an intensely dutiful nature and as the Lady Captain had proven herself capable against these unknowns... and was still in command of the vessel that she presently resided upon... There were a few avenues of persuasion that could be explored.

"It would be... untoward for my peers and I to become directly involved but as our reputation and prosperity has flourished under your command there are some subtler leverages we might be able to apply as representatives of the Navis Nobilis. Such a change, after all, could provoke re-negotiations of the agreements already established between House Shiraishi and House Saoirse. There is an accounting under way in either case with the presence of the Clan's Auditor." the Navigatrix offered politely from her seated place at the table. The staff held in hand and her attendants, out of respect, left to wait beyond the chamber doors. Records of such conversations complicated things and whilst she trusted Master Grund implicitly... It was a kindness to shield him from such as this.

"Best to ensure there is a shuttle attached to the airlock for now, depending on how the next few days and weeks turn out we may advance to pointed sticks and empty airlocks."

"As for hostages, I will not be ransoming my father's people back to him and hope to maintain at least cordial relations with the Velspar's. If we need to keep them under arms then we do it in a better situation then most."

"I am aware of the warring politics within the various separate entities within the Imperium, whether its the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Navis Nobilite and that I have not direct control over either organization's deployments of personnel, but as stated I would prefer to keep personnel assignments if not completely by my sole choice, then at least those I know will be loyal to this vessel and its crew. If we have any sympathy from the Archmagos for our actions I would prefer you as this vessel's Magos."

"As well Navigatrix Shiraishi, should you wish to remain I will endorse any efforts you may make to ensure as smooth a transition of this time as we can. Any pressures that could ensure mutually beneficial relations as we can would be greatly appreciated."

 "As would I Lady Captain, I have certain obligations here in addition to my hope for the opportunity to spend the next eighty-four years restoring the Pious Lament. Let it suffice to say that what can be done is being done, at least upon my part but that I am confident of the capabilities of Magos Harrow of Laith should the worst come to pass." Jak answers calmly - demonstrating not for the first time the sheer freedom from emotionality which lies at the core of the thought-processes of someone as heavily augmented as the Explorator - while nodding to both Cenet and Gregory in the process, seemingly indicating that some part of his obligations takes in them as well.

"I'm rather familiar with the great spirit of the vessel and don't care to perform the rituals of attunement again so soon, Lady Captain. I'll speak with my peers as to what might be done to ensure the continuation of our arrangement." the Navigatrix offered politely whilst ignoring those parts of her mind that would question what influence she might even command in the face of her elders. It was a problem for later and she would do as she said in either case. Her talents, regardless, were better served aboard a vessel like this than the stale and well worn routes of the major lanes of the Imperium.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:03, Sat 20 Jan.

"Excellent, I am happy to know that you wish to maintain your posts as they currently stand and that you will support me in this. I unfortunately must report that our Master of Whispers will be departing as his current oaths are not breakable and he must remain in the employ of House Velspar. His replacement is Hadrian Herric" she says pointing to a figure at the back of the room who had yet to introduce himself. "If there are any questions to be asked, please state them now to whomever you have them for."

When Hadrian was introduced he gave a small bow from the back. He was dressed well enough to be presentable but not well enough it wouldn't pass for common staff if he had to get overlooked. He looked even more the part of the staff as he had been deep diving through a data slate trying to play catch up with all the data, and passenger logs, There was an ocean of text to dig through and he had a row boat.

He still smiled, "Hadrian Herric, it is my hope that outside of a good glass of liquor with a comrade, you barely know I am around. Though it seems like excitement is the order of the day."

The Navigatrix turned with an meticulous and precise care of someone whose body has long betrayed them. The familiar agonies running up through back and spine as withered muscles sought to move her frame. Her weight made not inconsiderable by the steps taken to preserve vanity and maintain the appearances of her vaunted station. Her head tilted delicately then in acknowledgement of the new master of whispers. A position and title that seemed to come with shocking volatility in recent memory.

"A pleasure to make the acquaintance, Master Herric. More excitement than one can typically foretell, if we're to be honest." the doll-like Navigatrix agreed with a touch of pointed irony given the nature of some of her gifts and abilities. The immediate future was but a concerted effort of will away... and then all was left to chance by how fickle those observations and echoes of possibility might have truly been.

With no questions or comments forthcoming Searlait says "Mistress Shiraishi, Magos Tesla, please advise your superiors of my preference of yourselves remaining in your respective positions ongoing and apply as much pressure as you feel comfortable."

"Mistress Faith, if the choir could attempt to screen messages going on in the system to determine any information being sent, Yorick, do the same with the vox system. Paklor Ank keep the auspex active and track any launches that launch and give us warning of any movement towards the ship. Mister Rathnyr keep two fighters on launch alert at all times. Vormav continue resupply going as if everything is normal. Asgard, heighten security and train trusted crew as secondary combatants in case someone tries to take the ship by force. Confessor try to glean the crews temperament about the whole ordeal."

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Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
OOC: if I missed anyone please let me know

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With the plan set Harmonia gets going on her part of the plan, starting off on her way to the depths of the ship, the most ignored part, the places with the members of the crew least likely to have had interaction with anyone else in this meeting.  From there she can start to collect entirely new information about what they have experienced and if possible provide them some comfort in what are no doubt the more dismal parts of the ship.

Faith had not really been expecting to be called out directly, so she has a bit of a deer-in-headlights expression when Searlait addresses her. Fortunately, she recovers quickly enough and nods in response.

"Will do, ma'am," she says.

Once that's done, she heads over to the astropathic cloister, where she quickly briefs her brethren on the task assigned to them. "It seems the Lady-Captain wants to monitor any transmissiosn coming in and out for funny business because of politics."
This message was last updated by the player at 21:11, Wed 31 Jan.

Fortunately, the Lament has plenty of secondary combatants as it is, but Gregory notes the part about "taking the ship by force" and spends the better part of a week discussing how to properly secure the various critical parts of the vessel against hostile takeover and sabotage. There is also a brief exchange with Magos Tesla about the proper procedure for securing the Enginarium, which largely amounts to "the armsmen only enter in when you want them to and under your supervision", though Gregory does try to figure out who among the Tech-Guard will be liaison points during an emergency.

The men are already on high alert from the volatile security situation on the Lament, so having them walk extra, shorter patrols isn't a big hardship.

 The instruction earns the Lady Captain a small bow of the head, although since the matter is already - he hopes - in hand there is little else to report, which leaves Jak free to return to his duties, most of which involve ensuring continuity of repairs should he be replaced, tapping the other Magos's expertise while he can should he not* and working with Archmilitant Asgard (amongst others) on matters of organisation.

 The ships security forces are of course, outnumbered by the Cult Mechanicus... But they in turn massively outnumber that part of the Cult which is actually martial in duty, and - with due consideration and consultation, training routines are implemented which allow groups such as the Cult Militia (basically a slightly better armed than average 'home guard' led by the Magos Lachrimallus) and the Cult Guard (the equivalent of his own security forces but only a few hundred strong, led by the Magos Malagra) to work with patrols from the far larger forces of the Archmilitant on patrols, drills and training exercises - looking to reduce potential causes of friction and difficulty while the chance exists. They allude to a superior - other than Jak - but they're not generally spoken of and there's little mention of the tiny force of Hypaspists and Classiarii whose duties will always involve defence of the most sanctified spaces.

 ---

 * Much in keeping with his established goals, Jak approaches Harrow of Laith with the simple proposition that - during the functional interregnum caused by the politics of less enlightened minds - there is absolutely no reason that the sudden and unlooked-for boon of two fully qualified Exploritors being available to The Pious Lament should not be exploited and proposes a division of labour on the ongoing refit and repair efforts, with each contributing to the best of their ability to honour the ancient and mighty shrine-ship, who should of course come before them both.

The Navigatrix inclined her own head in a stately gesture towards the Lady Captain. The motion simple but suffused with an impression of deliberate consideration, calculation and conservation of her always taxed and waning strength. With the meeting concluded, there was now also the task of rising to her feet to depart towards the intended errand which brought with it yet more reminders of the wretched and wasted nature of her physical condition. The rich stellar cartography of her robes and the various adornments of her station doing little to mask that all encompassing betrayal of her once proclaimed perfect genetics. She leaned heavily then on her staff as she departed at that same stately, calculated pace. The familiar agony rising up through hips, spine, neck and crawling around to her temples as wretched, wasting musculature continued to torment her but there was a solution on the horizon for that and her will and ability to act would never be found wanting.

It was such duty in mind that saw her approach her cousins in the Navigator's sanctum and then the most honored representatives of her clan with the Lady Captain's request and some consideration for the now presented charts that she had so meticulously crafted. After all, this representative of the dynasty had already proven herself bold and shrewd in equal measure and with such came the opportunity for yet more knowledge of the ways between to be committed to sacred charts and enshrined within the most enviable cartographical vaults aboard crown jewel of their migrant fleet, The Empyrean Wanderer. If nothing else, the 'failed' experiment that was her previously vaunted genetic stability... continued to provide most valuable data points so far from the beacon of His Light upon Holy Terra. Allowing the most esteemed Magos of the Clan's home fleet to continue to build upon the experimentations enacted and pursued by her father. One more duty by which to prove she was not the failure that her treacherous flash had made her in the eyes of blood kin.

A missive is published by Archmagos Dorth and disseminated to all of ‘rank and influence’ whether they are interested parties or not, it is a long document, the majority of which would only be understood by others in the cult or those versed in higher mathematics but the piece is summed up in the final paragraph. Basically, he has calculated that the Pious Lament would be best served by keeping it’s incumbent Enginseer, the rest of the document is just his’ workings out’.

There is a footnote here, the essence of which is that he understands there are political interests in this placement, but he doesn’t give a monkey’s.
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In about a weeks’ time there is to be a grand ceremony in the hall of St Gothren during which the ownership of the Pious Lament will be transferred and fresh oaths sworn to the new captain, hundreds of VIPs will be in attendance the event will be broadcast to the rest of the ship, all the ships in orbit and the planet below.

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 The overwhelming majority of the members of the Cult Mechanicus on-board ship are of course, fully utilising the apparently happy services of Harrow of Laith, who while not in command of them and not a member of the crew, has nonetheless been roundly embraced for his profound skills and given every possible courtesy as the work of restoring the great old shrine-vessel continues... But the Hall of St Gothren is nonetheless swarmed by low-ranking technomats and domestic Servitors who spend several days oiling the bearings on folding seats, replacing lumen tubes, checking and updating purity seals and generally giving the entire vast space a thorough-going techno-renovation (actually cleaning up after them is a job for housekeeping of course, but at least no-one ought to be embarrassed by a failed pict-repeater or a malfunctioning camera-skull.

Archmagos Dorth arrives on the Pious Lament in a small lander with a large bulbus nose that seemed to be made of mostly brass, tubes, pipes and beams pierced with large holes run along the outside for no discernible reason and the large, curved fins on the back seemed out of place on a vestal that otherwise lacked streamlining. The nose is dominated by a Cog Mechanicus though, so all of that must have meaning to the Omnissiah.

The Archmagos descends from the vestal on a platform that is lowered from its belly, he is seated in what appears to be a command chair and quite alone. He stands looks round at the assembled honour guards from at least four different factions aboard the ship, he moves forward with a pronounced limp towards the Lord Captain and the gathering senior officers and says, ”hello, if I’d known this was a formal occasion I would have put on my best robe.”

Archmagos Dorth still retains his humanoid form though how much of it remains flesh is hard to decern under his trailing red robe. There is a large pack on his back on top of which is a glowing blue energy coil of some sort and from it hang a score or more of assorted cables and pipes, his head is entirely brass with two lenses and a grill where eyes and a mouth should be, but occasional puffs of vapour seem to suggest he is breathing from his neck somewhere.

”Captain, you honour me with this reception but I had just hoped to take a look at this fine vestal of your and not intended any disruption.”

” Jak Tesla, I have something for you here,” an elaborate looking brass cylinder had floated out of the ship on its anti grav, field generator, it hangs vertically in the air about three foot tall and eighteen inches in radius, it is widest at the bottom end and flat underneath while the top is an elaborate cone with a complex curved shape and pointed finial. The upper half of this cylinder has six long, oval windows and a soft white light emanates from them, also illuminating the tiny, sixty day old fetus, floating in the clear fluids within and attached to somewhere below by an umbilical cord. ”Your daughter, though goodness knows what you want with it.”
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Gregory's eyes go wide, but he politely says nothing.

"The arrival of such an esteemed member of the Adeptus Mechanicus as yourself deserves at least an honour guard Archmagos" She says making the cog mechanicus by intermeshing her knuckles. "Please inspect the vessel, Magos Tesla I'm sure has already designated work crews enough for the visit." she adds and as the Archmagos brought out the artificial womb she stands agog, she always assumed the Mechanicus just took promising individuals they came across not cultured up babies to grow up.

 "This was taken into consideration." Explorator Tesla states with binaric threaded through his speech indicative of cost-benefit calculation and personnel requirements, making it plain that this guard force was carefully selected to balance a minimum of disruption to shipboard affairs while also providing a respectable honour guard to the Archmagos.

 Under that relatively surface level of assessment there are of course deeper currents - indications of threat-assessment routines which postulate political moves by assorted local factions figuring in to the force on-hand, far less than an accusation of any sort but assurance of a kind that the gesture is not an empty one.

 And then the artificial womb is decanted and for a moment, even Jak seems startled but he rallies rapidly and moves forward to perform basic safety-tests on the floating cannister, making several small gestures of biomedical blessing and gene-assurance in the process as he explains "Unusually for one of the Adeptus Mechanicus of my station, I am the product of unmonitored reproduction rather than carefully cultivated genetic assessment and recombination. My genetic lineage hails from the fabrication halls of Vaxanide and there is a small, but non-zero possibility that it will be of utility should my talents prove hereditary. You have my appreciation and thanks, Archmagos. I shall endeavour to see the biological specimen properly trained when it is ready to be decanted."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:45, Mon 04 Mar.

The announcement of children in such a fashion was... Perhaps... not so outlandish a thing to Cennet's own experiences and cultural norms but whether she was surprised or not would have been difficult to determine through the aegis of her ever present mask and the not inconsiderable social conditioning she had been through to date. Still, she couldn't help but feel a kinship of sorts with the child in the womb. It was not a hard leap of imagination to contemplate the same circumstances surrounding her own birth; surrounded by magos and the elders of the clan learned in the arts of genetic manipulation from decades of experience guiding the bloodlines of the Shiraishi.

Her own greeting was an unspoken one punctuated by a deep and gracious bow by any measure that one might have held the stately Navigatrix to. There was no lack of respect or regard in the gesture but with the focus of the conversation, it had felt far too rude to intervene.

Archmagos Dorth, having been suitably honoured and having spent a suitable amount of time thanking those who so honoured him, departs with Jak and the Mechanicus contingent for his inspection of the ship. Jak’s daughter, or at least the ornate brass cylinder that contains her, seems to have imprinted on Jak and it purrs happily as it floats along behind him.

Meanwhile everybody else goes about their business, which for the most part is preparing the ship for the arrival of Marious Hax, the sector governor.

If you don’t hear from me directly, please remind me of what your character is up to.
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Eventually, Marious Hax, the sector governor arrives accompanied by a large retinue, and a large military guard and there is celebration and feasting on the Pious Lament, some of the other ships in orbit, on the planet below and even on the manufactorum.

In the Hall of St Gotheren there is a great ceremony to formalises all that has previously been put in place which all goes very smoothly, Lady Marilyn Velspar hands the ship and all it’s remaining contents over to Searlait Saoirse, declares the new treaty between the new Captain and house Velspar and transfers all oaths and allegiances from her house to Arch Bishop Charleteros in person while Lord Cormac Saoirse, sits in the corner quietly fuming. The ceremony ends with Arch Bishop Charleteros, who is visiting with the Governor, leading the entire ships crew in swearing a new oath to the Rogue Trader Lady Searlait Saoirse, everybody cheers and two days of partying ensue.

Eventually things quieten down, visitors leave orbit one by one, or in small convoys, the Imperial Navy leaves with the Governor to escort him back to Scintilla, the Grand Magos departs and a quiet descends on the Pious Lament, she is fully provisioned, has recruited fresh crew to replace those lost in the recent fighting and is ready go.

There are still some unfinished events but I’ll deal with those off in private. I’ll be posting a new thread for Chapter 8 later today.
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