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Karian Icefang     Fenris is finally shifting into it's summer months, with volcano's erupting and giving birth to new landforms. Though one couldn't tell around the Asaheim, and the Fang. But today, Karian had a plan. Today, he wished to impart knowledge upon his friends and allies upon other aspects of the Imperium, such as their military, administration, and other chapters of the Astartes.
Tomoe Tomoe had taken the invite well she had given her word she'd helped but she wondered would she be a burnt-out husk of a person when she was done? Yet she was still more hopeful for what could be done here than upon other worlds she'd meddled in she's in casual local clothing of all things she tablet in hand to take notes on as she would enter waving to the towering Karian Icefang.

For once she's the shorter one when it comes to him, given her height of six three doesn't come close to the towering angel of death.

"So this is summer here, huh? Anyway I'm here and read when you are."
Sarracenia      After a bit of research and some radio chatter, Sarracenia decides to bring only herself and her wooden VTOL - the Dyna - to the meeting. If not for being made of wooden logs, the airship might even look like a modern Harrier. And when she exits, Sarracenia is wrapped in probably the thickest artic jacket and dress that has ever been seen. She makes her way inside and to the meeting area, figuring she counts as an ally after the fight against that really gross eyeball snake.

     She nods a greeting to just about every soldier she meets, and when she finally finds Karian she curtseys politely. "G-greetings. Is this where the Imp-p-perium briefing is taking place?" she asks, teeth chattering a bit from the cold despite her clothing. She comes from a tropical rain forest after all. She blinks when she notices Tomoe, then smiles and offers a wave. "Hello T-tomoe!"
Leyanne Leyanne approaches the Fang at ground level, making herself more obvious than she might need to by carving across the snow. Whether that's for fun or as a 'hey, I'm approaching' it's not clear, but she kicks up some pretty big waves of snow as she slides her bike sideways, back and forth, towards the nearest loading bay, a trailer full of big gun swinging around behind the bike pendulously.
Staren     Staren beams down in a form-fitting spacesuit. He can fly if the wind's not too bad, fortunately. Once he's inside the fortress, Staren's spacesuit... retracts from his body like it's a liquid, into an orange-sized lump which he puts in his bag. He's wearing a bodysuit underneath, but that in turn sort of becomes a cloud of threads and then reshapes into his normal outfit. Staren initially glares back at anyone who makes a fuss about his ears and tail, then decides to act like it's no big deal instead. Let THEM look the fool.

    "Good to see you, Karian." How warm the greeting is depends on how any guards he passed treated him. "So, let's get started, shall we?"
Karian Icefang     Karian smirks as he hears of tiny's arrival, and his men likewise offer nods and bang their chests in salute to everyone. A few servitors zip over to help Leyanne unload anything. "I'm glad you were all able to come. Let's get inside." He says, leading all towards the Fang's feasting hall. Once inside, a vast array of food and drink was set out, with the alcholic drinks marked out. "I felt it best to go over who serves as the 'good guys' of the Imperium of Man, so that we are all on the same page. I will start with the Administratum once everyone is comfortable."
Leyanne Leyanne pulls her bike up to the servitors and steps off, instructing them what fuel it needs and where to put it. Then, after looking around a moment, the Megamouse decides that her M134 minigun is the best one to personal carry, hooking the gun onto her back, with its big ammo pack and belt. All in, because of its lack of ceramite and ultra-advanced materials, the weapon weighs pretty similar to the Space Marines' own heavy weapons. It's not quite got the punch of a heavy bolter, although it does have a much higher rate of fire.

She hesitates a little before pulling her helmet off, shaking out her long blue hair and putting her beret on. Staren, and anyone else she knows, gets a fistbump of greeting before the Astartes-sised mouse adopts an 'at ease' posture to listen to the briefing.
Staren     These guys are respectful and not just tolerating xenos because Karian told them to? Staren's smiling as he greets Karian. Once they're at the table he gets himself a plate of seafood if there is any. "Sure. Let's see what we've got to work with. I've been wondering who actually runs the empire."
Leyanne Leyanne picks up few tankards and sniffs them, her antennae curving to wave over them too before she puts a few of them down, eventually settling for something non-alcoholic, but very strongly flavoured. "There's more than alcohol in some of these." she observes. When Staren comments, she nods.
Sarracenia      Sarracenia takes a spot, then waits for a few moments. When she is not immediately served by one of the soldiers her eyes narrow and she looks to the nearest one. "Excuse me...is this one of those 'self-serve' catering events?" she asks. Whatever the response, she makes her way over to collect her own food and drink with a bit of a huff.

     She then takes up the chair nearst to the throne. "Honestly...who invites royal dignitaries to a briefing and does not provide proper waitstaff?" she mutters to herself. And of course her selection of drink was champaigne if they have it and wine if they don't.

     She spares a moment to curtsey to Leyanne and Staren when she happens to pass by them. "Miss Tiny! It is good to see you again!" she says diplomatically. Their only other meeting that she remembers didn't really go that well.
Karian Icefang     Karian nods. "Right, The Adeptus Administratum, or Administratum. This is essentially the beurocratic and administrative 'head' of the Imperium. Their role is to manage every level of the Imperium, from levying taxes to assembling war fleets. It stands as the single largest entity, and I do not exaggerate when I say it employs billions just on Terra alone. But this size it it's major weakness. One mis-filed document leads to an entire planet being erased from records, or requests for reinforcements to be filled years too late, and some parts are wholely outdated."
    The soldier Sarracenia addressed simply looks at her, then goes back to his little 'corner'. A servitor darts over to the queen, offering her a glass of wine.
Tomoe Tomoe says "So it's more the ones more willing to reason and acting in the name of mankind's survival rather than personal interests?" Tomoe asks she's being a bit blunt about this but hey better to be open about it from teh start she knows she's going into a snake's nest here after all. If there's oen thing though the food is amazing and she ill very much enjhoy the food as she takes her place.

"It sounds like it's a Fudal systerm with people answering to the person above them and the Imperium only cares if the taxes are paid and they ain't courint herasay." She takes some notes as she listens she also looks to Sarra for a moment and smiles at her, then at Tiny

"Didn't expect to see you two here also hello ... Staren."
Staren     Staren eats as Karian talks. Once he's done, Staren chews and swallows and then asks, "I take it that you can't use computers to ease the burden because of the machine spirits. What if we worked on /that/? Computers that work, and can check for some errors, and add redundancies so someone's more likely to spot a missing file?"
Leyanne Leyanne looks over at Sarracenia, and hears a distinct lack of the R-word. She smiles "Sarracenia, sup?" She says cheerfully, chuckling. "These guys adhere to a Norse culture. Uh... don't worry about eating too neatly either. If you're familiar with how to quaff properly, that'll help too."

She listens to Karian,, thoughtfully. "It sounds like a bureaucratic nightmare."
Staren     Staren looks at Tomoe. "And what's with that pause?"

    He then takes a long, refreshing drink of something non-alchoholic, when news comes in over the radio. He doesn't spit-take. He chokes on his drink and starts coughing as it runs down his chin and chest.
Staren     After Staren's coughed up his drink, he adds, "*coughcough* tell me about *cough* Amistel Majoris *cough cough*" he thumps his chest, "I'm good, I'm okay *hack*"
Sarracenia      Sarracenia is pleasantly surprised when Leyanne seems to hold no ill-will toward her and smiles back. "I hope the cap I had delivered to you provided a bit of entertainment." she says, then blinks. "Qu-...quaff?" she says in a dubious tone. She is familiar with the concept but a princess of proper Mario-world manners would never quaff!

     "What of magic computers? It is my understanding that some worlds contain computers that contain no machine at all." she offers. Whatever made Staren choke on his drink apparently doesn't reach Sarracenia. Though she does hmph a bit at the exchange and burbles jealously into her wine while taking a sip.
Karian Icefang     Karian nods towards Staren. "I think that would be a good place to start, yes. It would help to keep things running orderly." He also nods towards Tomoe, Sarracenia, and Tiny's assumptions. "It is all of those rolled into one. But their leader sits among the 'High Lords of Terra', a ruling council if you will. Within it are the 12 highest ranked members of the Adepta's of the Imperium..." He started, only to tilt his head curiously at Staren. "Amistel Majoris? It was assaulted by Plague Marines of the Death Guard and reduced to a pestilent necropolis of decaying corpses. Suffice to say, it is in a state of Anarchy. Why do you ask?"
Staren     After another cough and a deep breath Staren somewhat regains composure. He wipes off his shirt with a napkin. The synthetic material already drying. "Plague Marines? Death Guard? What sort of hazards do I... does someone need to be on the lookout for while fixing it? And what happens if it stops paying its tithe?"
Leyanne Leyanne nods to Sarracenia, stuffing her face. "Uh-huh. Big thing in Norse cultures." She says. "Good manners, by local custom." she says.

When Staren chokes, the mouse's big radar ear pivots his way a moment before the mouse looks over to listen. "Plague Marines sound unpleasant..."
Karian Icefang     "Followers of Nurgle, the lord of Plague and disease." Karian responds. He sips some of his own ale before proceeding. "As for failure to pay the tithe....it usually involves some form of military response. Often debt collectors at base, ramping up to a potential invasion force if the planet has gone into open rebellion."
Tomoe Tomoe thinks for a moment on what her friends have said so far "Likely the army gets sent in or someone in power gets a bullet in their head and replaced." That's Tomoe's best guess after seeing Imperial Comissars in action. She iwll happily take a mug of ale but she's going to sip at it slowly given this is stuff Space Marines like? She could be floored from a full tankard of it. She's also going for the food too.

"You know there's an old earth god by that name even on my world. No one I know of worshipers them anymore."
Sarracenia      If it is good manners Sarra can't really refuse. She takes her admittedly meager drink and downs it in as few gulps as possible, then makes sure to put the glass down with enough force to make an at least audible thud. And of course the servitor receives no thanks for bringing said drink. After that, Sarracenia mostly just listens. She knows almost nothing about Karian's world or universe, and her suggestion was apparently glossed over.
Staren     Staren listens, his own ears rotated forward at Karian. "I see. I'd like...information on how the Imperium contains the kind of threats that may lie dormant in crashed Plague Marine vessels, as well as hostile machine spirits, sent to me. I'm going to need to do some research on managing these threats, but refusing entirely to introduce new technology is not an option. Um... carry on. About the administratum and how planets are run."

    Then Staren comments matter-of-factly to Tomoe, "That's Nergal, Babylonian god of war. Although I'm not certain he's entirely unassociated with plague."
Karian Icefang     The soldier looks towards Sarra, as another glass of wine was brought over. "You drink good." He says simply. Karian, meanwhile, nods. "That was pretty much all for the Administratum. The next subject will be one of interest to you, Staren. The Collegia Titanica are those who oversee and operate Titans, the Imperial war machines and our most powerful weapons."
Staren     Staren takes another drink of something cold and non-alchoholic. Then leans over the table with his elbows on the table and hands clasped together. "I'm listening."
Tomoe Tomoe says "At least we know mankind still loves giant robots in this world so there's still some hope, right?" She grins at this and goes for some meat while sipping at her drink some more. "Though I been thinking It might be better to use my SAO apperance after all pointy ears and people will think i'm a lying Eldar Witch."
Leyanne Leyanne chuckles "I get you, yeah." she says, looking over at Karian. "Though I do have a related concern. If aliens are that hostile out there that people are shit-scared of them... how likely is this to freak people out?"
Sarracenia      Sarracenia blinks in surprise at the compliment, as much because of the terrible grammar as the actual compliment. But, she smiles. "Thank you!" She is brought another drink, and...she seems uncertain. Does she have to quaff this one, too? She looks around for some cues. She doesn't want to quaff too much, since she isn't really a drinker. But without anything to really draw on except Leyanne's words and the compliment...she quaffs this drink as well before continuing to listen from her chair near the throne.
Karian Icefang     "Well, as long as you stand with us, I can smooth things over. Standing with a loyal Astartes has it's perks." Karian says. He then makes a few gestures and a large pictslate is brought forward, depicting a Titan. "On the battlefield, not even we space marines may give orders to the Titans, only their commanding Princeps. They wield weapons potent enough to level entire cities from miles away." He explains.
Rean Schwarzer Rean's Here! Rean's Late! He quietly enters the room, doing his best not to interrupt the current conversation.
Kirito     "Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm." A thoughtful young man's querying tone makes its way to the table as Kirito steps out from behind some sort of large... decoration? Food cart? Anything nearby big enough to hide behind. By appearances though he'd just been eavesdropping with his arms folded and pondering what he's hearing though. But now he's chosen to step into view.

    "That's only going to get you so far though, Karian. I get the feeling things are going to get crazy soon. You'd better be ready for the worst. You may even need to choose between supporting the Imperium itself and its cause. /If/ that happens I won't judge whichever one you make."
Tomoe Tomoe says "Like topping the time I was /eaten/ by a Titan-sized Tyranid? You know I hate to say it but you are likely right Also stop spying and start eating Kirito!" She gives him a face, that's almost annoyed big sister like.
Staren     Staren's ears and tail flick at the 'stand with us' comment. He does in /spirit/, somewhat, but he's not sure if what's just happened is going to obligate Karian to fight him in the near future. His eyes widen slightly at a military actually fielding machines with city-destroyng weapons. "Princeps. Is that the pilot, or a special type of military commander ordering the pilot or crew?"
Karian Icefang     "Essentially the pilot. I do not know full details, but they are trained specifically to pilot the war machines. I have heard that if they pilot for too long, they...'become' the Titan." Karian explains, to the best of his ability. In reality, he knew very little about the titans aside from what was on the tin. "Next, we have the Astra Militarum. Something you are all already aware of and need no introduction. Their more common name is the Imperial Guard. Broken up into individual battalions and divisions, each one specializing in something unique. Seige warfare, guerilla tactics, urban warfare. Their strength is numbers, mostly. Any man or woman who is able to hold a lazgun may join the guard."
Leyanne Leyanne listens The PBIs." She says, blinking "oh, I mean Poor Bloody Infantry." she says. "When I was active moto-cavalry we did a lot of supportwork for the infantry."
Staren     Staren nods. "So... even normal humans are able to fight the threats assembled against humanity in some capacity? Imagine how much better they could do with better tools..."
Leyanne Leyanne looks thoughtful. "Interesting." She says thoughtfully. "But something aboutthe way you talk about this Chaos stuff suggests killing you isn't the only danger..."
Karian Icefang     Karian nods. "Aye. But often due to the threats we face, we have used what can be mass produced at speed." Then, he finally rises up from his own throne and steps down. He also nods towards Tiny. "Aye...that is only the beginning of the hell that awaits." He says ominously. He then looks to his fellow marines. "Lastly, you have us. The Adeptus Astartes, the Space Marines. The Genetically Augmented Super Soldiers. We come in various Chapters, each with affect our beliefs, combat doctines, organization and how we prefer to fight. Some, like we Space Wolves, prefer fighting in melee. Others, such as the Salamanders, prefer to utilize fire weaponry."
Kirito     "I wouldn't call the weapons that Karian's folk use 'insufficient.'" Kirito nitpicks Staren's way as he reluctantly approaches. If anyone knows Kirito, they'd know he probably just stayed away from giant noisy gathering due to social anxiety and other stresses. "Other things, though... it sounds like a mess."

    Of course when Leyanne talks about Chaos, he speaks up. "All you need to hear about that's already been said. Plague Marines? It sounds like corruption and treachery at work."
Staren     Staren nods to Karian. "Of course. I recognize the problem of doing /anything/ at the scale the Imperium does." But he just has to make it work for a single planet, and a depopulated one at that. "I see. You said before you couldn't command a Titan. Who does, and how much authority DO the Adeptus Astartes have?"
Karian Icefang     "Upon the battlefield, the Princeps hold control. Only the Inquisition may overrule a Princeps. Astartes, on the other hand, have ABSOLUTE battlefield control over ground, air, vehicle and orbital forces. We are the Will of the Emperor made manifest." He says, quoting briefly. "For example, if an order was given for a group of guardsmen to charge a position, a Space Marine may countermand that order. A bombing run can be cancelled by an Astartes." He explains.
Staren     Staren nods, recording all this. "What next?"
Kirito     "Then that brings us to the next question. Who supervises and holds accountable any Astartes of questionable character?" Kirito asks, albeit in a tired and 'it has to be asked' tone full of some sympathy for Karian.
Leyanne Leyanne blinks a bit and listens. "You can... but can't... overrule a princeps? I bet that's led to some problems in the past."
Tomoe Tomoe now asks a question that ha been on her mind "How fast and reliable is the Imperium's communication network is there anything we can do to improve it but it might involve pulling in outside technology somehow."

She'll then grab a haunch of mean and she's one inch away from having anime stary eyes as she looks at the food.
Leyanne Leyanne listens to the comms "I don't normally approve of criminal activity... well... I kind of do but don't... but... well. I'm kinda tempted to suggest running a raid on these Concord guys just to stick it to them."
Leyanne Leyanne adds, disgustedly "Calls for umility, from Priscilla. Fucking cheek of her." the mouse looks like she's smelled something particularly unpleasant.
Staren     Staren looks at Leyanne in astonishment when she suggests raiding the Concord. "If we succeed at this where the Imperium has failed all this time? We've earned it. If you really want to help, how about you raid a planet that's fallen to chaos cults or something, instead of people who are trying to help also?"
Leyanne Leyanne sighs "Sorry, I didn't mean you I meant Lezard and Pris." She says. "You listen, you're actually looking at the problem, not coming in like Clive chasing a tyre."
Kirito     "So what chance do we have acting on our own of reinforcing this Cadia? What is Cadia? We need details, Wolf Lord." Kirito is sharper now, turning to stare at Karian a bit more pressingly.
Rean Schwarzer Rean finally speaks up, picking up another cup of non-alcoholic beverage up. "As annoying as it is to listen to it, he's right. If nothing's changing with the current setup, it might be better to change tacts. Though, I'm not really sure that's the right way to go at this."

He then nods at Kirito's comment. "Right. What can /we/ do to help with this?"
Karian Icefang     Karian is quiet for a long moment, trying to form his thoughts. "She does not understand...Cadia MUST stand. There is no arguement. If not just from a strategic standpoint, then a morale one. Cadia, held only by the guard, has withstood everything chaos has thrown at it." He then looks to Tomoe first. "Instant via the Astropaths. Comms are as quick as thought." then to Kirito. "Cadia is a planet held by the guard as the only point into and out of the Eye of Terror, the wound upon real space. If Cadia is assaulted, ALL Imperial forces will move at speed to hold Cadia...to whatever end."
Staren
    Staren sort of half-eyerolls at Leyanne's clarification. "I appreciate the recognition, I really do, but think carefully first about whether it would /really/ be the best way to help. Also remember that Priscilla just hired The Janitor to stop anyone who interferes with this, so you won't just be up against the Concord, but also somebody with a talent for space operations and a penchant for mass destruction."

    Staren looks to Karian. "She understands all too well. It's as Gilgamesh said, by becoming Cadia's new supply line, we force the Imperium to negotiate with us. When they accept our help, and recieve soldiers better equipped and educated from healthy worlds, we'll be heroes, saviors. If the Imperium takes a hard line against extraversal interference even to its own detriment... it wasn't going to stand anyway. If it falls, we'll have to pick up the pieces. I really hope it doesn't come to that, though." He hoenstly does.
Leyanne Leyanne sighs "You're right, it's probably not the best way to help." She says, sighing a little. "I disagree with Pris's methods... I dislike her on a personal level... and I think she should've left you in charge. Even if you did the exact same ting, you'd do it in a much better way than a slap to the face and a dildo up the arse they way they seem to want to." Such a wonderful way with languge...
Karian Icefang     Karian simply looks to Staren. "The Imperium will deploy the other Chapters and the Imperial guard to secure both the planet and supply lines. I do not think the Imperium will negotiate, especially after she has taken Imperial planets. They will sooner send a Liberation fleet."
Rean Schwarzer "...So if comms are that fast, they'll know something happened instantly?" Rean says. "They- Pricilla, Gilgamesh and Lezard - would need to act fast and convince them not to attack. Or have back up, it sounds like."
Staren     Staren shrugs. "If they truly are so opposed to salvation... then their fate was always sealed, wasn't it?" He sighs. "I don't mean to sound so cavalier about it. I recognize that what will happen if we won't cooperate is horrible, and billions, trillions, more will die... but that was going to happen anyway if we did nothing. It can happen now, and we can pick up the pieces... would you really prefer that we wait to see how many more tens of millenia the Imperium can languish on in this state, slowly getting worse, with so many people dying or living lives nasty, brutish, and short?"
Tomoe Tomoe thinks for a moment on what Karian has said, she's got her answer there it seems that is not needed in the end. She listens to Staren's words and now geta an idea of the plan they are doing it's a pretty good one if it can work, she doesn't know what else to say but she looks to Staren. "I'm going to help where I can but in the end, I'm a sword arm at best and worse as Gilgamesh might put it more a clay doll than any of the rest of you at this table are." She's just now staring into her drink for a moment.
Karian Icefang     Karian turns and takes his seat once more. In his one eye, it would be clear his inner turmoil. On the one hand, he could see this plan working. The Imperium had, for too long, simply sat idle, terrified to move lest it fall. But on the other hand, his indoctrination rears it's ugly head. The Imperium was all, IS all. It is his duty, his obligation to stand and die for it, no matter what it's enemy was. No words come from the Wolf Lord, as he was lost deeply in his own mind, torn between friendship and loyalty, faith in the future or acceptance of the now.
Rean Schwarzer Rean nods. "...Same as Tomoe, here. You all have been at this Multiverse thing way longer than I have, and this is way out of the scope of what I know how to handle. I might be able to learn eventually, but for now I'm still just a student who wants to help."
Leyanne Leyanne sighs softly. "What a shitshow." declares gunnery-sergeant understatement, resting her head in her hands. "this whole place is experiencing a complete shitshow."
Kirito     Between everything he's hearing from the radio... Kirito's expression is turning ugly. He's starting to sweat as the anxiety builds and a dozen scenarios run through his head. It's exactly the same sort of gloomy, moody look he frequently wore before Floor Boss battles in Sword Art Online.
Leyanne Leyanne looks to Tomoe "Gilgamesh is a toss-pot." she says, softly. "I don't think you're, as he would put it, a 'clay doll'. You're an Elite, same as the rest of us. You're a sword-arm... I'm a heavy gun."
Staren     Staren shakes his head. "You're not a clay doll. You have a passion for VRMMOs that has resulted in helping save worlds -- including Priscilla's. Look... Gilgamesh is frustrated, but despite all he's said, he doesn't actually go around killing massive numbers of unarmed civilians, does he? It's just... I think maybe it's his version of when someone says 'Oh god people are stupid we should just take the warning labels off everything and let the problem sort itself out.' When someone says that, they don't /really/ wish harm on all the innocent children who'll drink things under the sink, you know?"