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aussiegrif · 4 months

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Ratthew: A Rogue Trader Story Ep. 02 - Navigating for a Navigator

Even though Ratthew is now the head of the Valancius Rogue Trader Dynasty, his troubles had only just started and he had a long way to go before they could even leave their current system. Both the Master Engineseer and their Navigator had perished in the mutiny and each would have to have a replacement found before they could even attempt any form of warp travel. Adding to that; there were many artisans and labourers lost during the fighting that, whilst not as critical, should be replaced ASAP as well.

Musing where to start, Ratthew was about to give the order to travel to Rykad Minoris and make contact with the Planetary Governor there when an icewater sensation gripped his brain and soul. He saw his retinue land amongst a hail of gunfire and as they took up defensive positions; they were overrun by heretics and a particularly nasty Blue Horror of the Archenemy.

Before his mind was rent asunder by the prophesy of their demises, a voice called out to him. A soft and melodious voice, calling him to Eurac V; the Navis Nobilite station they had pinned for the most likely place to be able to recruit a new Navigator for their ship. Whilst Ratthew was weary of the influence of the Bringer of the Dawn and it’s mention of his destiny, he felt a pure, almost holy tone to the plea that still rung in his head and before he fully comprehended the situation, they were already plotting a course for Eurac V.

***

Arriving at a station falling apart and no one answering the Vox transmissions, Ratthew and his retinue stepped foot into yet another apparent insurrection-turned-massacre. Not wanting to jump to conclusions, Ratthew met with a rather desperate member of the Navis Nobilite; a man named Felek Orsellio who claimed to be one of the Keepers of the Station. He claimed to be betrayed by the other Keeper and was seeking to rescue the Lady Cassia Orsellio, the leader of the station. Whilst Ratthew was far from convinced with Felek’s explanation, and wary of more deceit, knew he needed to act quickly and offered to help.

Through their exploration of the station to get the main cogitators back online to run the lifts so that they could confront the supposed traitor Theobald, they uncover numerous pieces of evidence that things were not as clear cut as Felek would have wanted them to believe. The crippled and rapidly deteriorating nature of the station was far from an accident, and it could only have been done by one of the two Keepers.

Once they had returned, Ratthew decided it was time for answers. He was pretty sure that Felek was the true traitor here and applied the screws to Felek. He was less than impressed with the Keeper’s response to the thinly veiled allegations, but decided he would play along; at least until he was able to speak with the other Keeper and hopefully Lady Cassia herself. Nothing could have prepared him from what encountered.

Upon getting to the floor which housed the supposed rogue Keeper and his charge, Ratthew and his retinue were assaulted by psionic forces that none of them had ever experienced before. Waves of negative emotions that were not their own forced their way into their heads as the people around Cassia wail and moan in horror. A plea for calm and an offer to help rang out from Ratthew as he addressed Lady Cassia.

Whether it was Ratthew’s charming and charismatic nature, Cassia being desperate for help, or Divine Intervention by Him on Earth, his words got through to the Lady Navigator and the psychic assault abated. Now that Ratthew was able to think properly once more, it was time to finally get some answers. The answers were about what he expected too. Felek tried to take over and kidnap Lady Cassia and destroy the station to cover his tracks, and Theobald the other Keeper is on deaths door from their battle.

Seeing an opportunity present itself, but not wanting to be so callous in their time of need (especially because the Navis Nobilite are considered in many ways high nobility in the Imperium) Ratthew offered Lady Cassia and all loyal to her safe passage onto his ship to eventually meet up with other members of the Orsellio Dynasty, in exchange for their help in the meantime. Whilst this only truly helped Ratthew and the ship in the short term, being shown to be an ally to the Orsellio Dynasty and should grease the wheels regarding securing a more long-term navigator for the ship. Lady Cassia was clearly exceptionally powerful as a Navigator; all he really needed was someone good enough to get the job done, and he felt he could do without the psychic assaults her moods wings impart on everyone around her. He couldn’t deny there was something captivating about her grace and unearthly beauty. She was striking, and for a noble like Ratthew; who had seen many forms of beauty in his previous life of luxury; Cassia was exotic and novel.

With no better option, Theobald and Cassia agree to Ratthew’s offer. Dying from immaterial attack from his fellow keeper, Theobald tells Ratthew that he is dying and there is no way to heal him. He promised to fight until the end and asks Ratthew to protect Cassia once he’s gone.

How do I refuse a noble man’s noble dying request? Drek it.

The final standoff had come to pass. Words were meaningless at this point and Ratthew took his chance and ordered his retinue to kill Felek.

Things started off well, with Abelard leading as a one-man vanguard as per normal, however things quickly took a turn. Felek was the mastermind of this entire sordid affair and Ratthew was a fool to expect Felek to go down easily. His troopers had the entrance surrounded and the retinue quickly found themselves encircled. Thankfully, Theobald and Cassia were far from defenseless and helped to tip the balance back in Ratthews favour.

With the battle over and Felek dead, Theobald and Cassia say their goodbyes and Theobald finally succumbs to the wounds from his back-to-back battles. It was at this point Ratthew could almost feel the paths of fate before him. He could use this; Cassias moment of weakness and sorrow and coerce her fealty to the Valancius Dynasty. It would grant the dynasty and himself much power.

But no. He would not. He refused to stoop to the levels he had seen time and time again in the ‘noble’ courts of Imperium. He was better than that. The holy duty he had now, as a loyal servant of the God Emperor was to use his opportunities to further the Imperium. Power and profit would come later, not at the expense of his fellow servants of Him on Earth.

He once again offered safety to Lady Cassia and all whom could still be saved of her servants. It was an offer she could not refuse and was seemingly thankful for Ratthew offering shelter for her people too; obviously expecting the worst of the new Rogue Trader.

***

With all whom could be saved off Eurac V, the station was stripped of all it’s remaining value. Spoils of the victor Ratthew thought. And better he use the profits he would gain than to leave it for less scrupulous scavengers or pirates. If Lady Cassia disapproved or even knew about his actions she did not mention it to him, and they got to work on integrating her Navigator’s consciousness to the ship’s holy machine spirit. It was an unpleasant task and he had never witnessed it before now and tried quite hard to not pay attention.

With all that unpleasantness out of the way, and the human sacrifices carted away, they were one step closer to being back to full functionality for the vessel. They still required a Master Engineseer and many skilled artisans and general labourers. Pushing the still clawing memories of his vision of the massacre of him and his people on Rykad Minoris out of his mind, he HAD to go there and commanded the crew to get him there. As the ship was underway, Ratthew received news that Lady Cassia was out on the ships decks and were scaring many of the ships staff whom were unprepared for her unusual countenance. Ratthew’s curiosity as to what brought her out of her chambers would not be left unsated and he made his way to her.

He found the Navigator relaxing in one of the quiet reading chambers that flanked the great stairs. They talked for a long time about literature and how Cassia was adapting to life away from her sheltered existence on Eurac V. Ratthew was enraptured by her and the way that she expressed the life and colour of the world in a way that he could never truly experience without the holy third eye that makes members of the Navis Nobilite so unique. She thanked him, for rescuing her, for not manipulating and taking advantage of her position he found her in, and even for taking her servants onboard and looking after him.

It was as if a spark inside him ignited, and he had changed. When he first laid eyes on her, he saw a potentially warp-corrupted monster but now when he looked at her, he saw such a vibrant, beautiful and multi-faceted person. A charming word here and a compliment there and he could tell she was interested in him too; if for nothing more than the novelty of affections of someone so different from what she was used to. He thought about trying to bed her, but she was a noble and aside from that, she deserved far better than that.

The darker side of him thought about how seducing a member of a powerful Navis Nobilite dynasty was a risky but potentially very powerful and profitable endeavour, but he could tell that was just him trying to cynically dampen how enraptured he was with her.

Before he was able to get caught up his own head however, she excused herself and went back to her chambers. As she left he saw that she had left a book in clear view of him so that if he was truly interested in her reading he couldn’t miss it.

It was a book about how to romance a noble woman. With a smirk to himself, he pocketed the book and made his way back to the deck as there was still much work to be done.

#warhammer 40k #rpg #rogue trader

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aussiegrif · 4 months

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Ratthew: A Rogue Trader Story Ep: 01

As Ratthew stood on the balcony, observing the peons below his thoughts returned to his home. Leaving his easy life of a lower noble was difficult, however one does not simply refuse the summons of a Rogue Trader. After a brief introduction from the ships Masters of Whispers, he went to seek the audience of the one whom summoned him.

Things immediately took an unexpected turn as the servitors nearby went haywire and attacked the crew. His trusty stub revolver in hand, Ratthew helped to put down the automota and they continued their approach to the ships master. A growing sense of unease fell over Ratthew though, as he feared the machinations of an unseen force at work.

The Rogue Trader: Theodora Von Valancius was an imposing and terrifyingly curt individual. The sort of presence that would make even the highest nobles of his homeworld cower in fear. And worst of all, she seemed completely immune to his good humours and charming words. He did not have long to consider how best to approach currying favour with such a powerful person; as armed insurgents breached the meeting room they were in.

Once again, Ratthew took up arms; although his help was even less required this time as the ships Seneschal, a grisled gentleman by the name of Abelard, tore them to pieces with his chainsword. This secondary attack all but confirmed an enemy afoot; just as Ratthew feared.

It wasn't all bad however as Lady Theodora seemed remarkably pleased with Ratthew's lack of hesitation in engaging the enemy.

After a brief discussion, the Master of Whispers, Kunrad asked Ratthew to accompany him in helping to get the ship under control at the behest of the Lady Captain.

A quick flash of a taser and the searing pain of electrocution followed as Kunrad showed his true colours the moment they were alone. The treasonous cur had become a minion of the Archenemy and was planning to defile the Holy Warrant of Trade.

He would have succeeded too, if it wasnt for the blessed machine spirits of the Guardian that protected the Warrant of Trade, whom assisted Ratthew in defying the influence of the Archenemy and torched Kunrads guards (although the traitorous little grox-fondler was able to escape using warp sorcereries).

Meeting up with Abelard they fought their way to the Lady Captains chambers, picking up both the Rogue Traders personal psyker and a member of the Adeptus Soriritas along the way. It wasn't all good news however as they were to find a most horrifying sight. The Lady Captain and her Arch-Militant both lay dead in her chambers.

After a moment of mourning, they returned to the tasks at hand. There was a heretical mutany at hand, a ship to save and traitors to kill. The ships Navigator was willing to sacrifice himself to bring the ship safely out of the warp, however they would need to retake the bridge and quickly lest everyone be lost to the immaterium.

On the Officers Deck, Kunrad and his followers were there, sacrificing the ships crew to fuel a profane ritual. The other Rogue Trader Successor candidate, Ratthew didn't remember the snivelling weasels name, was there too but had been corrupted by the Archenemy against his will. In a final show of defiance, he threw himself at Kunrad in the hopes of stopping the ritual. Much like every other encounter he had with the man, it was disappointing as he didnt even make it to Kunrad before the warp took over his body and he turned into a spawn of evil before them all.

A desperate firefight ensued with both Abelard and the Sister of Battle proving themselves once more to be exceptional in the art of combat.

Once the battle was over, it was clear that Kunrad had slipped through their fingers once more. That wasn't a pressing concern as they had to bring the ship back to realspace immediately. On the steps of the Captains throne, Ratthew saw the visige of the Archenemy. A servant of Chaos calling themselves the Bringer of Daybreak told him that his destiny was to prove a crucial part in the coming events, before returning to the hellscape of the Warp once more.

Banishing the dread that gripped him, Ratthew took his seat on the Bridge and they were able to bring the ship back to realspace, at the cost of the Navigators life.

As the last remaining true member of the Von Valancius line, Ratthew had become to new head of the Valancius Rogue Trader Dynasty. The perils he faced were far from over though, and the coming trials would either temper him, or break him to dust.

*** Note from the Author: Hey I hope everyone enjoyed this read. I'm hoping to make things a little more concise in the future episodes, however this one took place irl weeks ago so I'm working off foggy memories at this point and there was a lot of world building in the Rogue Trader prologue.

These episodes follow the story we follow on my twitch playthrough of Rogue Trader and I seek to expand upon the personality of Ratthew through these plot synopsis to help guide how he as a character thinks and behaves. I'm a strong believer that RPGs should be approached with a personality in mind and playing the character honestly is much more enjoyable than the min-max way.

Anyway, thanks for reading all this and I hope to get Episode 2 out soon.*** - Aussiegrif

#warhammer 40k #rogue trader #rpg #lets play

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