NavLog03

Following the exploration of the Xenos ruins, I aided Gears in the analysis of the fallen automata that we destroyed.

He was able to identify what appeared to be some manner of central control and/or power source that appeared to be the heart of the being. However when he showed it to our esteemed Navigator Patronius Fox was mortified and declared it to be taint incarnate, advising that we should flush it from the airlock. Instead I informed the Lord Captain and we handed it over to the Inquisitorial Acolytes of Evgeny Valentin. It was clear however that Gears was frustrated by his inability to decipher the nature of the remains, finding nothing resembling circuitry or chips.

By the time the Xenos Automata remains had been fully investigated the planetside constructions had been completed. We went back down to traverse the Warp Gate. The Colonel went first to ensure the area was safe. The Lord Captain objected wanting to go first, but by the time the Lord Captain had his gear together she was already through.

The Chamber we entered powered up as soon as we arrived. The lights came from no discernable source, but it revealed an almost bare hexagonal chamber with simulated gravity.

Inside there was nothing beyond the black shadow-sphere of the Warp Gate from which we emerged and a second elegant arch of Eldar design. This portal was of an entirely different type, a shimmering and translucent field, rather than an inky blackness. There were still signs of the blood from Captain North's wounds which entered the second portal that the books referred to as an "Eldar Webway". Outside the windows was a great Red Giant Star, which had long ago blown away or swallowed any planets it may have had. Among Voidsmen it was informally known as the Great Red Eye. A terrible omen of misfortune located Rimward of the Undred-Undred Teef in the Accursed Demense.

I tentatively explored the portal, tied to Colonel Walker by a rope. the portal was a tunnel with a soft spongy surface and an unusual type of gravity that showed no signs of mass nearby. Experimenting with the gravity, I discovered that it was unusual, with any part of the soft spongy tunnel pulling you down. I ended up walking on the ceiling for much of the way as the others joined me. We asked Patronius where we were and he advised that we stood inside the immaterium its self. Protected only by the thinnest barrier of xenos witchery.

However we eventually emerged rattled but otherwise unscathed onto the surface of a lush world with the otherwise welcome and surprising appearance of a hay-wagon just a short distance away.

The humans seemed genial but spoke a strange dialect that I could not fully comprehend. The Lord Captain was able to converse however and though they disliked the offer of Lho Sticks and ration bars, the Amasec was more warmly received. They took us to the nearby town, which appeared to be a capital of the continent. The world appeared to be a near-feudal society with primitive single-shot stub guns.

There was a moment of hostility at the gate, where the captain met with the high Inquisitor of the city, who initially suspected us, but was reassured by our devotion to the Emperor and by the purity seals on the Lord Captains Chainsword. Captain North had been detained as a Heretic for his devotion to the Omnisiah and was scheduled to be executed. The locals also held to strange ideas about the Emperor, insisting that he was indeed present in that very town and seated upon a version of the Golden Throne. We decided not to press either matter too far.

We were welcomed in but had to leave our firearms under lock and key at some sort of armoury and were shown to rooms where we could rest. Foolishly I had not packed a dress uniform and upon hearing that Colonel Walker was wearing a corsetted gown, I decided that I may as well play the part as well. The costume I was given seemed somewhat absurd and made me look like I had swallowed a plate sideways, with terrible pointed shoes, but I felt the good will of the gesture was worth a little discomfort.

The locals seemed disdainful of the Colonel due to her gender and was surprised when I insisted that she was our master of arms. We neatly demonstrated the superiority of both our training and equipment when the Colonel casually sundered the sword of one senior official and then bested another with his own blade in a friendly duel.

We received invitations for a hunt the following day where we would be pursuing a xenos species that bore a superficial similarity to Orks.

After a good feast and relaxing night we finally knew were we were, a world called New Terra not far from the Red Giant.

Gears went off to visit their Tech Priest, whilst we enjoyed the hunt. As expected it was something of a slaughter, both the natives and the Xenos were awestruck by power weapons, las pistols and semi-automatic bolter fire. However once I got close enough to examine one of the Xenos I noticed the significant differences between them and Orks. These creatures appeared to have some manner of craftsmanship and took care with minor details like stitching, a trait as uncommon in Orks as hygiene.

With this information and the locals sufficiently awed, the Captain began to negotiate terms of trade. A unique opportunity to supply small arms, minor treasures of technology such as vox in exchange for the material, agricultural and alcoholic wealth of the world.