41K RPG : Into the Eye.

[Josh]

"Indeed," he replied, answering the non sequitur with a neutral reply.

Jolan was right. Something was going on with Novum.

[The Necrontyr Messenger]

Lena finally spoke up, "I feel confident in pointing out that I can get an effectively infinite amount of lasgun fodder."

[Josh]

He nodded at Lena. Of all of them present, lasgun fodder were of course his specialty.

[Cynical Cat]

Jolan spoke up. "You are not the only ones capable of providing troopers. If need be I can convince several senior Navy and Guard officers to lend us support. I would also like to suggest that we all put our affairs in order and pass over any long term projects to competent assistants. It is likely that the Tyranids and the Eye will take their toll on our numbers, even in we are successful."

[Pcm979]

Your pal's become a master of the obvious, I see. Byron tight-beamed to Pater.

"Unfortunately, my resources are somewhat depleted at this point." Pater said, not acknowledging the little robot. It didn't occur to him that it was precisely the sort of thing he'd have subvocalised to Kruger, in his youth.

"My campaign against the Splinter Fleets has taken a heavy toll on manpower and equipment, and my holdings in the Eastern Rim are occupied replacing those assets. However, my ship has an Adraxian-Pattern fabricator on board. If supplied with sufficient materials, it can construct anything from a Thunderhawk in a matter of hours, to several thousand Bolter shells in minutes."

[Josh]

My holdings.

A very interesting choice of words.

They were indeed becoming warlords, shadow Warmasters.

[Cynical Cat]

My resources implied direct control and direct control meant their was evidence of the links. Perhaps that explained Pater's behavior. Other inquisitors would start looking very hard at him if he the knowlege that he possessed resources of the scale he implied slipped out. Pater may have merely developed an severe case of normal inquistorial paranoia.

[Pcm979]

Implications? Pater would have laughed, if he had heard Jolan think. Or indeed, if he laughed. Mincing words was not his style: Whether he had control over his resources with an iron fist or a delicate series of proxies, they were his. In his mind, it was as simple as that.

[Josh]

"A battle on the scale we're discussing will be decided by far greater resources than such quantities of ammunition and material. We will need sufficient quantities of Guardsman as to keep the xenos occupied, and sufficient quantities of special units to make the necessary captures. The Guardsmen of course we can procure in sufficient quantity to stage a multi-battle campaign. I would recommend utilization of the old-style regiments wheresoever possible, those not earmarked for upgrading over the mid-course term of our modernization program."

He stared at the map for a long moment. "This will require an extensive campaign beyond the initial capture and testing. I will begin the construction of campaign plans, and work to the secure the necessary cooperation of the Astartes."

He looked to the other two. "It would seem to me that Inquisitor Novum would be best qualified to manage the near-term battle to acquire the initial batch of Lictors."

Leaving Gix to do what he did best, be the wild card with the propensity for showing up in the right place at the right time.

[Pcm979]

"Indeed, my personal flotilla is geared towards small-scale strikes." He said, answering Prius's statement about his resources being below par and his statement about his projected role at the same time.

[Cynical Cat]

"I will certainly defer to the Tyranid experts on the question of capture," said Gix. "It seems we will be relying on Inquisitor Ristani to gain access to the required ground forces, Inquisitor Novum to provide specialty equipment, and our former Admiral to provide naval assets. Are there any other issues that need to be addressed?"

[Pcm979]

"Not on this topic." Pater said, glancing at Prius for confirmation. "But I would like to bring up the subject of the Eldar."

[Josh]

The barest of nods of assent to Pater's unspoken question, then he awaited what the senior inquisitor had to say on the matter of the Eldar.

[Pcm979]

"The Eldar have a stake in this, that is certain. What is also certain is that whatever the Eldar have a stake in is critical in some way or another. They play a long game against the forces of Chaos, a game that has lasted longer than the Imperium itself. I believe it vital to discover precisely what their stake in this affair is."

He produced a holochip and passed it along the table to be inserted in the machine. When that was done, a highly-detailed hologram of the pylon they had encountered earlier appeared.

"To begin with the artifact. It is a wraithgate, constructed fairly recently. A superficial psychic examination leads me to believe it is not the only one on the planet. Unfortunately, I have not been able to isolate it's Craftworld of origin."

[Josh]

"Neither has my savant," he said. "As for their motivations, Eldar are often inscrutable, but when viewed on the long term, their motivations are consistantly concerned with preservation of their dwindling numbers. If we are fortunate, we will find a direct link between our current plans and some portion of their species. We are not likely to be so fortunate, however."

[Pcm979]

"Unfortunately, you are correct. I do, however, believe that it is safe to draw the conclusion that their goals and ours oppose. Their psyker did, after all, make an attempt on one, if not all of our lives earlier today." He glanced at the Saint to indicate the person he believed to be the prime target.

"On the subject of the Psyker. I was able to discern that it was a female, and a powerful one. She only showed signs of breaking when Inquisitor Gix joined the fray." He turned to the Inquisitor in question.

"Do you have any insights into the Psyker, Jolan?" He asked politely.

[Cynical Cat]

"My only previous contact with the Eldar has been with the so-called "Dark Eldar", the murderous pirate renegades. I have made certain investigations into the powers of their farseers, but I managed to do nothing more than craft an attack sending against the psyker's mind. I had no direct contact."

[Pcm979]

"A shame. Your insight would have been valuable." He turned to the Saint and her pet Inquisitor.

"I presume a forensic investigation will have been conducted by now. Does it contain any useful information?"

[The Necrontyr Messenger]

"Nothing much," Lena said, "Light evidence of Xenos prescence, possibly two or three, the remains of the portal, traces of a shophisticated explosive compound, and so on."

[Pcm979]

"Unsurprising. I have no further questions." He nodded to the Saint respectfully and sat back in his chair again, all signs of life leaving him once more.

[Josh]

"And what was the explosive compound?" he inquired.

[The Necrontyr Messenger]

"And what was the explosive compound?" he inquired.

"Some technical name. You want me to repeat it?" she said... "I think you'd be better off asking a tech-priest for that one. I'll just end up telling you the chemical name of some kind of piping cleaner..."

[Josh]

He reminded himself that Lena was indeed a Saint of the Emperor, even if on rare occasions such as this she rather sounded somewhat dingy. He nodded. "If the appropriate information could be forwarded along to my savant, I would appreciate it."

[The Necrontyr Messenger]

Jaenta nodded, "It shall be done I'm sure."

[Josh]

"Now, what constitutes 'light evidence of xenos presence'?" he continued.