Roleplay - The Empire's Future...

The High Factorum calls a meeting of the Bridge officers and hopefully Mihail Atreides to discuss the situations afflicting the Atreides Empire:

Deep within the bowls of the Forward unto Dawn a meeting is convened, Andrea Chan-Gauthier is nervous, she has been instrumental in managing the Atreides Empire behind the scenes, but things have gotten out of hand, after two years she can no longer act alone.  Eldar Corsairs attack the salvaging operations on Dross and the Bounty of Scintillia is at risk.  The slave routes run by the Kasballica Mission to Vaporius have come under threat from Battlefleet Koronus and leaked reports of a Kasballica operative being taken could spell doom for the good name of house Atreides if the Ordos Xenos get hold of them.

Andrea Chan-Gauthier stokes her face nervously , the massive cosmetic augmentations irritating her skin, her cybernetic eyes glinting in the flickering lights aboard the vessel, one thing augmentations could not do was replicate her eyes and she felt the loss keenly, for what was a person without windows to the soul...

She viewed the data slate and manuscripts before her, there was more...
Murders, horrific ones in the lower decks, the clans were getting nervous.  Then there was the salvage of the battlegrounds in the Maw of the Expanse, Lucius Blackhand had ordered the re-positioning of the Bounty of Scintilla to Dross, but this left vital contracts unfulfilled due to promise of salvage and goods still to be claimed from the ship they had found and worst of all, no measure had been taken to supply the crew that had volunteered to stay behind on that cursed ship or the crew they had found aboard there... this did not play well with the crew, morale was dropping.

The door hissed open and a servo skull floated into the room manuscripts covered in the quotations and cogitations of omnissiah floating below it, it scanned the room and seemed to wait a moment before a hooded Tech Priest entered.

Andrea Chan-Gauthier shuddered, she felt unsure around these zealots, there nature made her uneasy and despite her dealings with them she could not get away from a great sense of unease when dealing with them as they whispered behind her back in some bizarre binary code.

The Tech priest merely nodded and waited, she knew why he was here.  The Probe...  She did not wish to think about the device that had sat within there hold for over a year, the reports she got about it were... disturbing to say the least. She absently went to the reports of the probe then pushed it away and thought best not to bring this up until her fellow bridge officers arrived.

She glanced at the Tech-Priest, it could be any number of there order, only Lucius she knew on sight he was different from the rest a malice hung around him and she could almost sense it before he arrived at times, thankfully he had not arrived as yet.
Sighing  to herself she waited... they bridge officers had been summoned, a request for Lord Atreides has been issued, she wondered if anyone would come...

Prolx Tor entered the room with Marla Vehle they were arguing.

"I'm telling you they wont show... in the last two years they have merely bickered amongst themselves and herded the ship and crew into great danger time and time again." Prolx Tor growled.

I got a good feeling about today, perhaps the rumors of the cults in the lower decks will bring out Mihail from those... women he obtained" Marhla Vehle could barely conceal her disgust at the mention of the women Lord Atreides had acquired from Footfall from the sinister group known as the Red Schola.

They glanced across the room spotting Andrea Chan-Gauthier and the Tech Priest and became silent ordering drinks from a servitor hidden in the darkness of the room.

Praetus was next poking his head around the doorway.

"Dont suppose they showed up this time?" he grinned through a cloud of cigar smoke. Sighing he walked in all dressed up as some sort of commissar, his cap concealing his third eye. A hand always ready upon his sidearm as if waiting for the excuse to execute someone, a pose he loved to use to intimidate the crew.

Preatus marched across to the table putting his feet up on them and reclining puffed cigar smoke across the table in one of the chairs. He looked around the room at all the somber faces and chuckled to himself a little.

The door hisses open and Xero enters the room.

"I believe a meeting has been called?" he says as he enters.

"Before I start I'd like to apologise in advance should my commanding officers not arrive, but please do brief me on what seems to be the issue."

Orbest Dray, Brother Detronimus and Sterr entered just behind Xero.

Orbest Dray slapped Xero on the back "Good to see your duties have allowed you time to include yourself in the High Factorum's meeting" his grin was genuine and they all seated themselves and looked towards Andrea Chan-Gauthier.

Colonel Eyre merely glared at Xero across the room and folded his arms.

Lord Atriedes strides confidently into the room flanked by his beautiful female bodyguards, who are never far from his side as he travels through the myriad corridors and halls of the Forward unto Dawn.  Also accompanying him is the strange cat whose eyes now match those of Lord Commander.  Having two sets of those charcoal dark eyes gaze upon you is unnerving to say the least.

As he enters there is an almost imperceptible intake of breath, in person Mhael Atriedes air of authority is impossible to miss and just as difficult to ignore.  

Taking his throne like seat at the head of the table he speaks, "well, lady Gaulthier?"

There is indeed an audible gasp as the Lord Atreides enters, perhaps it is a combination of his personal presence in such close proximity along with the alien cat that is never far away from his side and off course the sinister sisters of the Red Schola that shadow his every move aboard the ship.

Lady Andrea Chan-Gauthier eyes would sparkle as he takes his seat if she had eyes at all, she hopes her other augmented features make up for this and she smiles deeply with crimson lips.

"Lord Atreides, assembled bridge officers, there are a number of issues that need careful consideration lest they spiral out of control and disrupt our... blossoming empire"

She pours swiftly through the scrolls and data slates before her, her cybernetics gathering all the information she needs in a matter of seconds.

"First on the list is the Bounty of Scintillia, it is requesting aid in regards to escalating engagements with Xenos vessels, they have indicated them to be the treacherous Eldar. While the planet Dross is sheilded from these predators the Free Captian of the Bounty of Scintillia believes this situation will continue to get worse as they attempt salvage runs between Dross and Footfall.  Apparently all attempts to communicate with the eldar vessels have failed."

"Secondly our front for the Vaporius slave trade and distribution of the Waters of said world to the Calixis and Koronus expanse have come under threat.  I have managed to intercept an internal message from the Kasballica Mission. It indicated a slave barge had been captured by the imperial navy. This minor setback would be of no real concern to us however the Kasballica seem somewhat alarmed by the prospect that a senior agent of their organisation was on the vessel and had been taken for questioning." she pauses and looks the room over.
"If this high ranking agent of the kasballica is more forthcoming than we would like, this individual could indicate House Atreides in both slavery and drug trafficking across the expanse and the entirelty of the Calixis sector."

There are murmurs of discontent from the assembled Officers except for the tech-priest who stands in the corner of the room.

"Third is that there have been some reports of mangled and eviscerated crew members found in the Lower decks of the ships, small at first in such that they were simply cataloged as general death toll aboard the Forward unto Dawn... however these have increased of late."  Andrea Chan-Gauthier scans the officers and licks her lips nervously."

"This was also found on the last body found by the Armsmen under Chief Bosuns Martok"

She stands and holds up a piece of cloth, words are splashed across it in some sort of red dye, you wonder if its blood...

"It reads, The harsh treatment of the crew and the blind ventures that this new Lord Atreides follows has caused nothing but suffering to the crew of the Forward unto Dawn, unless Lord Atreides and his officers give the crew one months shore leave and restocks on provisions and increases the pay of the crew we will continue to strike from the shadows" Andrea pauses and continues. "it is then simply signed with the symbol of a snake" Andrea Chan-Gauthier rolls up the offensive cloth and places it amongst her scrolls and data-slates.

"The final report i have to offer you is the Salvage rights claimed by Lord Atreides within the battlegrounds within the Maw of the Expanse, if everyone remembers... 2 years ago we came across a vessel that with a special writ we were given sole rights to as our Dynasty set foot upon it first, we discovered an ancient Cruiser inhabitated by a vile Halo Artifact 'The Worm'."

There are a number of gasps from the assembled officers and Brother Detronimus intones a prayer to the God-Emperor to ease the minds of those assembled. Lady Chan-Gaulthier take this moment of silence to continue.

"We have extensive trade agreements with Footfall and Port Wander in regards to stripping this vessel, it has proved to be the backbone of our Dynasty's wealth to date including the wealth we plundered from the Dread Pearl, however with the repositioning of the Bounty of Scintillia from the battlegrounds to the planet of Dross with no command to see to the welfare of the volunteers we left there or that of the original crew we discovered within the said vessel, there fate is unknown. Creditors and merchants have been sending weekly communications for promised salvage and goods, and the crew... they have been expressing slight concerns over the fate of the volunteers that Lucius Blackhand personal orders left aboard that vessel."

Praetus blow a long plume of cigar smoke out under his commissar hat.

"well I'm particularly concerned about the Vaporius trade route, word gets out our Dynasty is dabbling in Slaves and some sort of Xenos drug and we will find ourselves standing before the Admirals of Battlefleet Koronus trying to explain why we have signed documents with the Kasballica Mission for such an endeavor,

Brother Detronimus pipes up pointing his finger on his one good hand at Preatus "What would you have us do Praetus, sanction a hit upon this agent of the Kasballica Mission?  Perhaps Lord Atreides and his favored away team think it prudent to cut down the very Navy that protects the worlds of mankind so they can save there own hide? I have greater faith than to believe that Lord Atreides would do such a thing in person..." his words trail away with meaning.

Colonel Eyre slams his fist on the table "WHAT!!! The Lord-Captain would never sanction such a thing, as a long standing officer and Colonel of a bomber squadron in the Imperial..."

"oh shut up Eyre!" mutters Orbest Dray loud enough to be heard across the room. "Remember your allegiance is to the Lord Captain and the House of Atreides, we but advise nothing more." Praetus in the background relights his cigar his face broken in a grin as the conversation around the table becomes more heated.

Snarling Colonel Eyre puts his hand to his blade and tries to stand up and face Orbest Dray, but Andrea Chan Goulthier stays his hand with a nod towards a drawn weapon you cannot see but sense beneath the table. "Please sit Colonel" she says in a calm tone.

Growling Colonel Eyre he slumps back down in the chair and mutters under his breath.

Orbest Dray merely gives a knowing smile at the Colonel and then Proxl Tor motions amidst the growing choas.  "Well I for one believe a strike team should be sent in to eliminate the agent of the Kasballica, we all knew the cost of joining in such an endevour with a crime syndicate, if they cannot clean up there own mess then its up to us!!" his gaze is a steely one as if daring anyone to challenge his word.

Praetus grins seeing the chaos beginning to form around him, "Perhaps we should go in guns blazing with the Forward unto Dawn Commander Tor?  We could have Xeal Master at Arms give you pointers on how best to order your crew around"

His face red with rage Proxl Tor growls "why you mutated son of a bitc...."

Chaos erupts in the meeting.

The arguing intensifies and Andrea Chan-Goulthier sheathes her pistol and gives a withering gaze to Praetus and places her face in her hands "Every time..." she mutters in resignation.

Praetus merely tips his hat to Andrea Chan-Goulthier and puffs more vigorously on his cigar watching the events unfold.

Lord Atriedes rubs his head in his hands, it is well known through the command staff that his abilities as a warrior and a leader are almost without peer, at least upon The Forward unto Dawn.  But his distaste for politic's is a general concern.  Orbest helps him where he can, even now only a marginally exaggerated story of how he faced an Ork war boss, cleaved his weapons and pulled off one of his arms is spreading like wildfire through the crew.

His strange cat mounts the table hisses in anger, somewhat aimed at Praetus, just as his bodyguard clack their stub guns against their chests in a demand for order.

Mhael speaks," I understand your concerns and I also feel perturbed by these revelations, in fact I am disgusted, I am no lover of slavery and I would not have house Atriedes linked with such a practice despite it being common within the empire and without.

My agreement with the Shola was for penitents and penitents only, once a man is bound by law his future is no longer his own, what I have done will lessen the burden of the prison planets, whilst opening a trade in a substance that could prove invaluable to the empire.  Imagine Guardsmen with no fear.  The use of combat drugs is nothing new within the empire, so for this I suggest you contact the Kasbalica mission and tell them exactly what we have done for the benefit of the Empire.

Meanwhile contact Shola and tell them to keep there house in order, I do not need these petty concerns distracting the mission of Atriedes, I pay them for a reason and that reason is, once a deal is made it is stuck to, if they cant up hold their end of the bargain then I will remove them from the supply," Rubbing his shoulder as he often does when he has born his powerfist for any length of time, he sits back in his chair.

Praetus raises a hand at the pet of Atreides and grins "More astute than it seems is it not Lord-Captain, forgive my games." He continues puffing on his slowly dwindling cigar.

Andrea Chan-Goulthier stands visibly impressed at the order restored within the room. "Lord Captain, It is the Kasballica Mission, a syndicate of... less than reputable corporations that handle our distribution, handling and trade of the Waters of Vaporius in fact they cotrol all aspects now and our part is mainly a large cut of the profits, as for theThe Red Schola as far as we are aware have no part to play in the our affairs concerning this, they merely supply reprogrammed slaves for any purposes to those with the Thrones to afford them."

She looks visibly nervous as she continues.

"The deal we brokered with the Kasballica Mission mentioned nothing of the nature of the slaves or were they are acquired that they offer as exchange for the waters from Vaporius.

Some of the Bridge Officers start to show signs of concern and Andrea continues flawlessly to counter the growing concern she sees around her. "They did however mention that they would try and take them from prison colonies but no direct mention of this was signed within the documents we have with them. Perhaps i should have brought this to your attention sooner my Lord and for this I believe all blame should be placed squarely on my shoulders"

The concerned Bridge Officers, probably only Brother Detronimus and Marla Vehle showing concerns visibly seem to relax.

Andrea continues "It is also now known that the Waters of Vaporius have an addictive quality my Lord, one which Xero and Lucius know only too well. I did mention this to them but they merely said it was beneath your concern..." She looks apologeticly at Xero and you see her glance at the door thankful that Lucius Blackhand is not present.

"This means that the Imperial Guard and the Imperium would have no use for this substance and in fact it is now classed as..." she shuffles through some parchments reading out the following. "Yes it has been classed as a Xeno contagion by the Imperium's BTA or Biological threat Administratum, a parasitical drug that makes one fearless and gives the illusion of Euphoria while subjecting the addicted subjects to a form of mind control when used over an extended period, which can be triggered by the correct level of symbiotic mutant to the 'Waters' or V as it has become known throughout the Calixis sector and the Koronus Expanse. The BTA a sub section of the Ordo Xenos as far as i'm able to discern have thankfully been unable to link the rapid spread of the V with Vaporius, ourselves or the Kasballica Mission at this time"

Licking her lips nervously.

"I mean no offense by this Lord Captain, but with the supposed capture of a high ranking Kasballica Agent aboard the slave transport they may be able to extract this information away from the subject, should the individual be question by the roving eye of the Inquisition. Of course they may not be privy to our Dynasty being involved."

Brother Detronimus muses "So your saying that we can leave this to the Kasballica Mission to sort out, we can cut ties to Kasballica Mission regarding our envolement and profit we are making from it or we can go in as proxl Tor has suggested and see if we can clean up the mess ourselves?"

Praetus intervenes "Forgive me Brother Detronimus for a moment if I may... Andrea, what sort of hit are we talking about if we cut ties to the kasballica on this?"

Andrea Chan-Goulthier already seems to have prepared the answer, she begins reeling of vast amounts of income and how that affects creditors we currently have.

(OOC; The value as it stands now if you cut all ties with vaporius and the Kasballica Mission is PF -3)

There are a few audible groans from a small number of the Bridge Officers and Andrea Chan-Goulthier sits down.

The air shimmers and Xeal emerges from the dimly lit corners of the room, he nods towards the Lord Captain. How long had he been there?  He walks up to the Lady Andrea Chan-Gauthier and takes the blood stained cloth from the table studying it.  He looks back to Mihael.

"My lord, with your permission, I shall deal with this incident personally."

Xeal studies the room and those assembled before taking a seat between Orbus Dray & Colonel Eyre.

"To the waters of Vaporius. It is my opinion that we cannot decide on what course to take regarding the 'V' until we know more regarding these long term affects you describe, this mind control you describe raises security concerns"

Is there more information available? Xeal looks towards Lady Andrea Chan-Gauthier awaiting a response.

Mhael smiles ruefully," Grim tidings indeed, how stand our current finances?"

As Xeal steps from the shadows there are a number of shocked cries from the assembled bridge officers, but one figure seems to look directly at Xeal and had been doing for some time without the others realizing, Sterr.

Looking to Xeal "I only have what my agent was able to bring to me, intercepting data within the Ordos Xenos is a risky one.

The data merely indicates that this V has properties that can be used by high functioning mutants that have a symbiotic relation with it, while it is unclear how they have attained this information it is acknowledged within the data to be something this arm of the inquisition are sure off. There is a side note made by an unknown author stating that the symbiotic relation could possibly be found at the source of the V and that every attempt should be made to find and eliminate it source..." She trails of slighty.

If i may be so bold commanders we have 3 optons unless you have another, we can cut ties with the Kasballica and take the hit too our Dynasty, there may be reprecussion from the kasballica due to this but it would disolve our affiliation with V and the Kasballica. Or we could let the Kasballica handle this themselves, we would surely take a hit on our resources due to my efforts and resources being used to cover our envolvement as best I can while maintining the agreement with the kasballica. Or we could either deal with the situation ourselves, a possible extraction or assassination using mercenaries funded by ourselves against the Kasballica agentthat has been taken by the Navy, that is unless the Lord-Captain believes this is a venture that he would like to undertake himself?"

As for our finances I am currently accessing our holdings with current market fluctuations and will have that information shortly" Her hands are a blur as they cross reference data on her pad while speaking at the same time.

The Bridge Officers begin discussing matters aboard the ship as your High factorum does the calculations and within moments she stands.

"Putting aside the spiraling costs of the events draining house resources of trade routes, holdings, merchant and salvage agreements and the recent successes on Damaris the Dynasties wealth is measured as" The next few words are a staggering amount of Thrones and the Bridge Officers begin cheering and slapping each other on the back.

(OOC: Potential Profit factor now 60)

This is a 11.1% increase from our last audit my Lords. However the spiraling myriad of misfortunes show a potential loss on this projected value to be currently at 8.3% and rising unless we move to rectify them in some way.

(OOC: Current Profit factor with misfortunes taken into account: 55)

Sometimes Andrea Chan Gaukthier hated her job as the cheering became groans and Praetus simply chuckled.

Xeal nods as Lady Andrea details the houses value.  

Our fortunes and house are clearly on the rise, a very significant rise in the 2 years since Lord Captain Mihael has taken command.  Impressive considering the (Xeal's voice takes on that of 'Proxl Tors' almost perfectly) 'bridge officers merely bicker amongst themselves and herd the ship and crew into great danger time and time again' wouldn't you say Proxl?

Xeal smiles at the master of ordnance.

As for the waters of Vaporius, I do not advise our further involvement in this endeavour unless we 'remove the head' at the source of the waters.  In addition we should ensure that house Atreidies involvement is not revealed by this captured agent, be it extraction or assassination, something should be done.

Proxl Tor gives Xeal a crooked smile. "If it were not for your exemplary record with the Armsmen and the trust the Great Teach Atreides put in you, i would have had you hog tied and thrown from an airlock long ago Master at Arms. Besides have you listened to nothing Andrea has said, this is just one disaster among many, we both know how Iron Jaw would have viewed these events and this enitre meeting. "
Proxl Tor sighs.

Bother Detronimus pipes up as a long silence settles upon the assembled bridge Officers. "Proxl Tor is right, We have alot to discuss, this is the first subject of many that Andrea has brought before us.... can we not come to a consensus on what to do?"  Brother Detronimus looks around and shakes his head "Where is Lucius Blackhand, surely he should be here as well?" He points a finger at Xero on his one good hand "Have you nothing to input?" There is a slight air of dispair as he waits for a response.

Praetus gets up as he looks around tips his hat to the bridge officers."Well im going, Ive got important Navigator duties to attend too, you know, fighting the warp..., keeping the ship safe from the forces of Immaterium..." His pose is one of someone play acting guarding for danger as he speaks, his hand on his pistol sheath as if ready to draw. he winks to the crowd and straightens and begins to walk away.

The assembled seem to begin chatting amongst themselves except Sterr who merely stares at Xeal following his every move. The Bridge Officers seem disillusioned, they had hoped with the almost all Bridge Officers in attendance something could be done. It was a sad state of affairs when all Bridge officers could not be present at an official meeting or could not participate. It reflected badly upon the Lord-Captains authority and the crew could feel it, morale was steadily dropping...

Mhael smiles at Proxl without humour.

Proxl, you are a brave man indeed or a fool.  Have you forgotten that before Xeal joined the House of Atriedes he was one of the most dangerous men within the Calixis expanse.  If I were you I would think twice before antagonising a genius with a penchant for death.

Turning to Andrea Chan Gaulthier.

Lady Gaulthier you have brought me much to dwell on and now I believe a plan of action is required, if any one here disagrees with what I have to suggest then I am open to advice and constructive criticism.  I will tolerate no more sniping and the next man to compare me against my father will regret it.

One of his bodyguards drops down to one knee and proffers the Atriedes powersword, the Lord commander ignores her action but she remains his weapon at the ready.

 Teach Atriedes was a great man and I feel his loss more keenly than any man here.  But it is time to move on and we have, the Atriedes star is rising and only a blind man could fail to see it.  We have done great things and we are hopefully all richer and wiser because of this.

Here is what I suggest, recall the Bounty of Scintillia to its former position in the Battlegrounds salvage, ensure it is fully stored with quality provisions and rum.  With orders to give the salvage crew rotational time in port.

Once the Forward unto dawn is at full battle readiness we will head to Dross ourselves to see if we cannot dissuade these corsairs.  Mean while Lady Gaulthier I need you to sound out the purchase of two ships, find me a combat ready frigate and a reliable transport ship.

Lord Xeal I require you to work directly with Lady Gaulthier in fathoming the perpetrators of these murders within our vessel.  We need to know who uses the symbol of a snake.  I cannot give in to blackmail, I will be giving a ship wide speech soon on this matter, I hope it will aid you in your endeavour.

As to the Vaporius problem, I believe we cannto act until we have more information, Im afraid Andrea,

Mhael gives her a warm look.

I must call upon you once again, You must contact the Kasballica mission and find out everything they know about this situation.  We need to know what their agent knows as well as his location and what they intend to do, to protect their own interests and ours.

Any questions?

"My Apologies Lord-Captain" Proxl Tor inclines his head in a submissive nod.

Andrea Chan-Gaulthier perks up as the Rogue Trader flies into action issuing orders and reprimanding the bridge Officers were necessary.

Ill have the Bounty of Scintillia contacted by our Astropathic Choir and your orders followed at once." She hands a data slate to Sterr who gazes upon it through his mask as if it were not a problem that his eyes had been scorched from his head.

Looking to the Lord-Captain once more "Ill have a profile of all known ship dealers within the Koronus Expanse with you as swiftly as I can and I will glean what information i can from the Kasballica"

Their is a binary clicking for a moment and the Tech-Priest that has remained unnoticed since the beginning steps forward "If I may..." the words are surrounded by distortion and an underlying binary code barely susceptible to the human ear

He drifts forward "We desire authority to contact the Lathe Worlds within the Calixis Expanse, we believe this would be the most efficient way to question them as to the origin and mystery surrounding the probe we discovered. There are a few more binary clicks and he waits.

Thank you Andrea, your importance to the continued rise of house Atriedes fortunes can not be overstated, we applaud the work that you do.

Mhael turns his gaze toward the Tech priest his expression unreadable.  Only those trained in such things would spot his distate.

Do we think it is possible that those left from the shard would be able to help us in this matter.  I had been hoping that Lucius could do more but if all other avenues are exhausted.  You have the authority to do what you must.

The unknown Tech Priest merely nods and motions to the door. The Servo Skull that had originally followed him in darts out of the room with all haste and the Tech Priest leaves.

Xeal glances at Proxl Tor but does not speak.

He then nods to Lord Atriedes.  

Of course Lord Captain, I will begin investigations once this meeting is concluded.

Andrea gives a nod to the Master at Arms knowing they have been ordered to seek out the source of mutiny within the ship and finishes her computations. She continues addressing the Captain and crew.

"Here we are Lord-Captain, it appears at this time there is a Shipwright that is willing to deal with us at this time.  One Cyrus veld a Naval Administrator of Port Wander within the Maw or gateway to the Expanse, last reports had him Offering the hulls and essential components for a Jericho-Class pilgrim Vessel named the 'Malfi Asendant', he is also in possession of a Raider class Hazeroth-Class Privateer named the 'Bright Son'

She pauses for a moment and drums her finger. There also seems to be a another vessel on hold for the House of Bastille the Seventh, one 'Comet of Faith' a Sword class Frigate.

Andrea chan-Gaulthier looks up her cybernetic eyes scanning the room.

If we are to purchase any of these vessels we will need to go to Port Wander.

(OOC: make sure you have seen the House Rule on Acquisition and buying ships)

Orbest Dray motions for his voice to be heard and rubbing his balding and withered head he speaks, his voice weathered and cracked with age.

I know of these vessels My Lords, both sound and sturdy, a fine prize for the house of Atreides, however we would take hits to our Dynasties wealth if we purchase them in the standard fashion...

A strange gleam comes to his eye as he continues.

If we were to... commandeer these vessels by other means... we could sail right out of Port Wander if we have the nerve and audacity to do so? Back in my day we managed too...

Colonel Eyre groans and sits back stopping the First Officer in his tracks "Your not seriously considering that are we, are we swashbuckling pirates now? Why we may as well simply ply the warp lanes and take whatever ship crosses..."

Orbest Dray grins and counters the Colonel "Why yes Colonel!  An old and forgotten Atreides saying there is - Take what you can, Give nothing back! - His voice a growl as he speaks the words of old with a mischievous glint to his eye Orbest Dray chuckles and seems to rub his chin and his eyes glaze over slightly as if reminiscing of old glory days.

There are a few grins and nods from the assembled Bridge Officers and small 'Yarrr' sounds begin to echo around the table.

GM Options of Note:

1 - Head to Port Wander and see about purchasing said vessels.

2 - Head to port Wander and see about a Criminal Endevour and commandeering a vessel from Drydock.

3 - Head to Footfall and see about a criminal Endevour - tracking ship movements through the Koronus expanse for the aim of taking a ship by force.

4 - Head to Dross to confront the Eldar Corsairs in a possible Military endeavor.

5 - Other