"Iron rusts. Flesh falters. Deeds Endure."
- Common Serrato motto

CALIGO GAMUT SECTOR
PORT KOSHIBA, PLANETSIDE STARPORT
DRYDOCK GAMMA-12 (OCCUPIED: CRUISER-CLASS WARSHIP "KAAL-KAAZ")

Begin a Session Begin a Session(87)Peril lies ahead or lurks just out of view Tybalt held his head high as he suffered nobly through the unrelenting mockery of his Serrato kinfolk (of both the Kaal-Kaaz and Clarion Call), the latest blow being Jeek-Harper sharing his real-time monitoring of Koshiban social media after he betrayed his Reaver-Chief by sharing a personally edited clip of the former's appearance on official news channels, where Tybalt's voice was auto-tuned for comical effect. The great warrior mastered himself as the laughter on the comms redoubled when the public's comments on it passed a thousand within the last hour. He had already dispensed monetary compensation, billed to his family holdings via the Courier Guild and thus honour was satisfied for the mess he had made, but there yet remained the taunting judgement of his peers.

He would most certainly dispense harsh punishments for this betrayal, because he definitely wasn't laughing with them, Epathus included. Likely(47)Yes Develop Your Relationship Find where he stands with Epathus +1 (3/10)

But there yet remained the matter of their prisoner, whom he and Paxel were dragging back to the Kaal-Kaaz for interrogation.

Was this attack ordered by an important local? Likely(6)Yes

Did the local law enforcement (A rabble of Audun-born musclemen and two-credit mercenaries hiding from the consequences of past deeds in Terminus, who primarily exist to protect the interests of their disparate patrons) try to stop them, presumably to stop Tybalt from finding out some inconvenient truth?

Yes.

Compel(Iron)—9 vs 6|7 But were they paid enough to tell a Serrato Bannersworn in full warplate that he couldn’t do what he wanted?

No.

But once they were within the ship, Paxel (who was the one dragging the body, leaving Tybalt to be the one doing any potential fighting) stops in his tracks, and feels for a pulse.

“What the-” He starts in confusion, because prior examination showed no signs of (lethal) internal damage, before rapidly shifting to crisis response “Tybalt, get the sawbones, prick just stopped breathing!”

Just as Tybalt was about to turn and do so, he sees Paxel jump away from the body he was setting down to try and resuscitate. And before the two men the assassin rights himself in all the wrong ways. Straightening not like a man trying to regain his footing, but a marionette on strings, twisting and turning in ways that human muscles do not enable lest they damage themselves in the exertion, all without even a single breath save for a death rattle. For example, by the time Paxel levels his mag-rifle at the body, it elicits sickening cracks from its own spine from trying to far quicker than its lower half could keep up.

And right then, Tybalt puts a hand on the barrel and forces it down, and the lizard mutant realises that his bloodthirsty superior somehow wasn’t flying off the handle at it.

“Tybalt, what are doing?! Rip this thing apart, it’s-“

“A medium of communication, at present.” Tybalt interrupts, even if his voice is rich with discomfort, before turning to the risen corpse. “What do you seek from Household Serrato, that you would call upon the services of a First Light corpse-witch?”

Descriptor(131)Exotic The jerkiness begins to recede, and the corpse more readily assumes the straight-backed posture of a Terminus socialite as it removed its mask, to show that the dead man’s dusky features wore another person’s smile.

“Only to help, Tybalt-Yhen.” Said the stranger with all the glee of a shameless liar “We have a common enemy at the moment, who has taken umbrage with your questions.” As if to clarify, they gestures loosely at the body they had puppeted.

Is it part of the Risen Union? 50/50(43)Yes
Character Goal(197)Action + Theme, Establish reputation Action + Theme(41)Journey Debt Type(250)▶Data Harvesters - Keepers of knowledge Data Harvesters Role(86)Surveillance experts

"Have you noticed the Risen Union showing up more and more lately? There's nothing special at first glance, just another conglomerate charging whole limbs for their goods, in their case mass-produced goods. Even having whole production lines of gunpowder munitions fit only for hardscrabble colonist militias.

This, of course, is a farce. The real heart of the group, whether it was always there or just hollowed out an existing group fit for purpose, are infobrokers. Spies and the like, who seem very good at their job. Why, they've managed the good fortune of steering clear of any sort of trouble from the Ascendancy, and so their star is in ascendance here in Port Koshiba and beyond. This one was merely a chess piece moved by their hand, who got his ambitions stoked by a sizeable payout and the potential fame of taking the head of a Serrato House-Brother.”

“And we're supposed to just believe you?" Paxel interjects, waving his gun at the reanimated corpse in flagrant violation of gun safety, and Tybalt nods in the scavenger's direction

"And that is just the most relevant thing. Why should I care what skeletons the Risen Union keep in their closet? Knowledge is power in the Forge, of course it is hoarded. Why should they distract from my Iron Vow?"

Has the Risen Union done anything that affected Household Serrato? 50/50(50)Yes

The corpse makes Tybalt want to bisect it by dramatically feigning shock for its puppeteer. “Oh my Stars! And here I thought the Serrato prized family?”

In the blink of an eye, the persona of an irritating trust-fundee gives way to the cold glare of a blood-drenched spymaster, as he coldly dispels Tybalt’s confusion.

“What if your father's corpse was in that closet? Literally, not merely in metaphor.”

A minute of stunned silence passes before either responds. “Bullshit” Tybalt tries to declare, horrified by how weak he sounded. “He was fighting near the e-drive of the Hermes when it self-destructed. The battle-reports confirm it.”

“They confirm his warplate was detected the e-drive. But can you say he was seen alive and fighting, or was it simply hacked to declare as much?” The corpse suggests.

“But to what end?” Tybalt asks in a low growl, confusion fermenting into blood-red fury in his breast as the concept took root in his mind.

The corpse shrugs. “That remains to be discovered. This isn’t a holodrama, Tybalt-Yhen, I do not inexplicably have all the answers for you. What I can tell you is that the trail leads to the Risen Union’s planetary holdings on Audun.”

“How convenient.” Paxel comments dryly, his obvious disbelief pulling Tybalt out of his singular train of thought. “”OooOh, there’s good stuff right here, just over this ledge, go on take a look.” You think I haven’t pulled that trick on someone? Maybe put something on the line that actually means something, if you’re not just trying to get us to wipe out your competition free of charge.”

Determine if the Ascendancy attacked Helia-36, and destroy them if they did +1 (1/10) Swear an Iron Vow(Heart)—3 vs 3|9 bonds +1 (1/10) Momentum:2 → 4

Annoyance was writ clear upon the stolen face of their guest, but he ultimately sighs and gestures to Shattersky. Understanding the implication, Tybalt holds out the axe to him, black iron head first, which he lays a stolen hand on.

“Though it serves my purposes that you follow my suggestion, I swear to you, On Iron, that what I have said about your father’s fate, and the involvement of the Risen Union, is true. Let this axe taste my lifesblood if I have spoken false.”

Through all this, Tybalt and Paxel search for any trace of falsehood in the vow…and finds none.
Raze the RU Offices in Port Koshiba to the ground

“How much is there to kill?” Tybalt says at last. Gather Information(Wits)—3 vs 5|5match

Without prompting, data filters onto his HUD, and though he expects little will come of it Tybalt makes a mental note to overhaul his armor’s digital defences “They’ve a factory in the underground sections, but leaving that intact to be taken over by their rivals will make it easier for you to leave Port Koshiba unchallenged.

No, the greater issue for you is that the administrative centre of the RU is in the Oldtown district: The original settlement before they had to expand. Luxurious apartments, garden-domes, regular patrols of law enforcement, it is Audun’s little slice of Sirona. Which is to say, barging in with mag-cannons firing will alienate all those who matter in Port Koshiba.”

As if sensing that Tybalt’s current solution to this conundrum was “Not Caring”, he then adds “And to cause the havoc that comes with a full assault would be disruptive to Port Koshiba, and would harm the interests of the Circle of the Elder Stars. And the Serrato are loyal to the Circle and Conclave, are they not?“

Many commanders from other houses (and in fact many from House Serrato as well) would rage and rail at the insinuation, whether true or otherwise. Tybalt recoiled as if physically struck.

“You do not need to lecture me like some unruly cargo-loader. If the Conclave wishes the indolence of Port Koshiba’s highest undisturbed, then none will note my passage. Will we meet again, after they are dealt with?”

Make a Connection(Heart)—5 vs 1|1match Does the new contact reside on Reck? 50/50(9)Yes Callsign(126)Darkwing Role(98)Scientist, Action + Theme Action(233)Expose Theme(49)Knowledge Revealed Character Aspect(131)Dynamic Rank(84)Extreme NPC:Telrai Telemachon First Look(176)Prim Dr. Telrai's Bizarre Company

“No.” He says with the surety of one saying that water is wet. “But now that I have your measure…I think there is someone you should meet.”

This time, the data-pad folded at Paxel’s hip, linked to the cruiser’s memory banks was what chimed, and he grudgingly opens it up. And mere moments later he is removing his helmet and leaning in as if to take a closer look at whatever he was seeing.

As Tybalt leaned over to check, he was unsurprised to see it was a pretty woman, dressed for some high-society gathering on Sirona. Black hair worn impractically long and loose to frame a face of such fair proportions that it could only be achieved through image-editing or genetic tampering. Same with the lustre of her lips set in an impish smile beneath mismatched irises of blue and green (also of unnatural colouration)

“I…is this image correct? I only see a daughter of the high spires, flaunting the vanity of the gene-tailoring her parents afforded her in conception.” Tybalt asks, feeling offended again at the apparent rugpull.

“The next file.”

Tybalt asserts his right of command to move to the next file despite Paxel’s complaints, and he had to concede that his misgivings disappeared at once.

The grainy video-feed is cast in darkness and strobing red as it depicted the POV of some security camera watching a battle. Armoured enforcers attempted to gun down a darting black blur flitting between them with cackling laughter. Every time it draws near to one, body parts go flying: A hand here, a head there, and as a result the gunfire diminishes by process of elimination. The video ends with the murderous shape of dark fabric landing among the remaining four men, and decapitating them all with a slashing piroutte of her black iron sword, for now the figure remained still enough that at the video’s end to show the face of that vain noble’s daughter, frozen in gleeful exultation.

Tybalt was…not sure how to feel. So like some ancient wayfarer seeking to find the cardinal directions by the position of the stars, he attempts to orient himself by measuring against Paxel.

Sure enough, the mutant was mostly mortified by the display of violence.

A comparison point found, Tybalt could more easily come to a conclusion.

He was besotted.

“What was the cause of that incident?”

“Ah yes, she had decided that a good use of her time was to reveal how to jailbreak the operating systems of agricultural equipment in an entire sector, and so she needed to get a look at their most guarded data.”

“...Whose daughter is she?” Is all Tybalt asks in response to that. Because what was just said would be deemed reasonable cause by a Terminus corporation to raze a planet to the bedrock if it would preserve their control over their secrets. The only thing that could stop them being the absolute backing of someone vastly more powerful.

“A beloved one. Her eccentricities are indulged for excelling in the sciences.”

“Those being?”

The corpse smiles, and answers without the slightest shred of humour. “All of them. She was made to take well to the teaching-machines.”

Paxel, at this moment finally releases a horrified breath at seeing a female version of his boss to look at said man, and so he sees Tybalt just as flabbergasted as when he heard his father’s corpse might have been stolen.

“You are telling me the heir of a sitting Councilor of the Conclave is slumming it in the Expanse? And...do you suspect the pirates know?”

"Shall I monitor the situation to find out for certain?" Is the rhetorical answer to Tybalt's question. "No, I shall be comfortable with killing them before they can think of doing so. She is, of course, guarded already, but what is forming in Devil's Chain is no mere scrap-bandit coalition. And-" The face of the corpse slackens strangely, and the following words grow garbled until the end is little more than the death rattle of a corpse. "Our time runs short. Decimate the Risen Union presence here then make for Reck without delayyyy-"

When the body collapses dead, and moves no longer. Paxel is the one to break the new silence with his characteristic 'eloquence'. "Tybalt, what in my fucking ass warts was that? That was a dead body and someone was tal-talking through-"

"The Ironhome of Lost Light offers the services of those that can manipulate the dead to those whose coin is most handsome, but I don't try to learn more. It does bother me too." Tybalt answers as he reorients his thoughts back to war. "But we must not tarry any longer, it seems there is vengeance I am long overdue in exacting."

KAAL-KAAZ
ARMORY

Compel(Heart)—5 vs 1|5 "What do you mean you are marching into the Oldtown?" Epathus' voice was laced with static from the interference of Audun's perennial static-storms, but his annoyance shone through. "If this is a vengeance raid for that attempt on your life I understand, those silken sots were already annoying. but you yourself have acknowledged that we must hurry before the trail goes cold. And the ships have been tuned-up, we can leave now."

"I-" Tybalt begins awkwardly, struggling to think of what to say about his recent encounter without being declared a lunatic. "So all your men are assembled?"

"Obviously. Dal-Karus of all souls surprised me with his diligence, he was already present at the starport when I checked in the morning. He should be..." Epathus' voice trails off, for far longer than it should take him to skim through his roster of bannersworn. Then came a sigh of long suffering.

"Epathus?"

"His current location is a gnat of a ship broadcasting Courier Guild markers, which I am currently watching ascend to orbit from where I saw him in the morning. I think his warplate is stowed in its storage bay, judging by where his locator blip is on that ship. We saw him leave the cantina with some woman" Tybalt hears the words through gritted teeth

"Dal-Karus. Seducing a woman. Dal-Karus." Tybalt enunciated to emphasize his disbelief.

"The other way around."

"Did she...look like a masochist?"

"Tybalt, how are you supposed to 'look' like a masochist?" Paxel chimed in unhelpfully

"I suspect she was already drunk as he was by the time she started propositioning him."

"Dal-Karus input aside, why did you let him traipse off with her?"

"We...thought it would improve his attitude."

"Was she hot?"

"Shut up, Paxel"
"Shut up, Paxel"