IX Foundation: Leaving Vinh

Vinh City, Biana’s Coil (Tier 1, 3rd Landing)
Midian and Maya decide they’ve become a little too recognisable on Vinh, so make preparations to leave. Midian wants to head for Blemish, so Maya Zin finds a ship headed there. Only one – the Basis of Faith – has logged it as a destination within the next few days, so she arranges a meet with the ship’s owner, a merchant called Arturo Blanc, at Biana’s Coil (a bar frequented by transient Voidsmen).
Maya, being the cautious sort, insists they arrive early. Unfortunately, Biana’s Coil is the very same bar where her lover, the Shadow House’d Kith Conran, was hacked to pieces by members of the Ecclesiarchy. With one of the gifts bestowed by the ritual, she “remembers” the fight, witnessing his death. Her ability to blend with the crowd of boisterous voidsmen fails her as she is overcome with loss.
Thus distracted, she doesn’t notice what Midian sees – they are being watched.

Jacen Cutter

Cutter is an honest voidsman. He’s served aboard many a ship and seen many a port within the Koronus Expanse, so he isn’t surprised when he looks around the room and sees some people he’s sure he recognises. He sees a table where an attractive girl sits with her mistress (an elderly Navigator with little-to-no signs of genetic degradation) and their beat-up Flight Servitor (something he could out-pilot on his worst day). The only thing that niggles at him is that once he notices them, he can’t ignore them. His attention is constantly drawn back to them. Eventually he is forced to approach.

Maya is initially distant, consumed as she is by grief, so her mistress, “Maria Masifeckt”, is left to do most of the talking. Cutter enquires after where they’ve been, what ships they’ve served on, trying to work out where he’s seen them before, but finds no common link (unsurprising, given “Maria Masifeckt” doesn’t exist). Midian is also curious, though suspects some kind of connection to the ritual, given the “Déjà Vu” blessing it bestowed. Following the same thread, Maya asks when Cutter arrived – his ship suffered Geller failure at the exact moment the ritual climaxed, forcing it out of the Warp dangerously close to Vinh.

While Cutter gets drinks, Maya and Midian consider what this means. Maya is cautious – if something draws Cutter’s attention to them, who else will be similarly affected? If an investigator of some kind became similarly “facinated”, it could affect her – and Midian’s – chances of survival. Midian is less worried – he wants Cutter around because of simple curiosity.

Arturo Blanc arrives and given how quickly “Maria” wants to leave Vinh, concludes that she’s either in danger or could bring danger down upon him. He is willing to accept paying passengers, however; especially one that could aid the training of his own contracted Navigator. He’s even willing to overlook the fact that she lacks Navigational Charter documentation (as does Midian).

--x--

The trip out of Vinh is uneventful. The translation to the warp is flawless and – with Maria’s guidance – the trip to Blemish takes only a fifth of the time Arturo expected. The merchant invites the passengers to dine with the command crew by way of a thankyou.
Maria spends the meal speaking to Navigator Novitiate Alessaunder de Gama. Playing the role of mentor, she encourages him to experience everything the universe holds. To not be afraid of the unknown – especially with regards to the warp – as trailblazing is one of the most important responsibilites the Navigator Houses have to the Imperium of Man.

Dinner is interrupted when first the Voidmaster, then Arturo himself leave. Maya and Cutter follow. They are not stopped when they walk onto the bridge (something Cutter isn’t surprised by because they’re “a buncha cunts”). Their ship has been “pinged” (scanned with active Augury, Cutter explains to Maya) by another vessel. While they fly above the system’s asteroid belt, the vessel hails them, identifying itself as the Schwartzkrieg and demanding tribute. Arturo declines, stating that he flies under the protection of Ridgefort’s Reavers. Upon hearing this, the Schwartzkrieg opens fire. The first strike down’s shields and damages the bridge – falling wreckage knocking the Voidmaster out. The crew panic and freeze, until Maya and Cutter start barking orders at them.
Maya: “Don’t just stand there – RETURN FIRE!”

Initially, they try to flee, but the heavy transport has neither the thrust nor the maneuverability to evade the destroyer, with it’s raider hull, for very long. There seems little choice but to fight.
Initially, fate conspires against them and macrocannon fire takes it’s toll on the hull and crew. But strike after strike of their own lands home. Eventually, a particularly accurate Lance strike by Cutter threaten’s to burn the Schwartzkrieg from stem to stern – and the pirates turn tail and flee!

In the aftermath, Midian and Cutter consider leading a mutiny… but this isn’t the kind of vessel Cutter wants, and the crew aren’t worth his time. The voidsmen have lost enough that a mutiny is threatened though – forcing Arturo to promise them much to retain control.

Click here for the Rogue Trader posts on Blemish.