Rogue trader

Ulsheki flopped into the old Eldar Chair, the decadence was quite exquisite , agile dancers
pirouetted in a frenzy of light, whilst the servants offered up large ripe fruits. A rainow of colours
edazzled his eyes , had he to wait any longer in the ancient craftworld , he was sure he would have
een sick . A willowy !an who"s eyes etrayed his youthful visage sat down apposite , clasping his
ni!le fingers over Ulshekis , calloused hands.
#Ulsheki , $hank you for the %ifts , $he elders were getting quite upset at the thought of going
without again. And $ial sends her regards , and apologisers for not greeting you herself.. &olitics' (t
see!s that your ,..i!perial friends are causing so!e consternation within the council.)
Ulsheki # *erray it see!s ( have less friends every ti!e ( visit , and although ( !iss the ountiful
delights of $ial , ( a! here on usiness after all. #
*erray # of course ...then lets not dally. +ean forward child and let !e tell you a story....
,y people are ancient ut , so!e things are even older than us. (n the ti!e efore !an and efore
the gods you now know , the galaxy was in har!ony. -ne race ruled all as a steward. .e know
the! as the -ld ones. $ruly ancient and powerful, their technology so advanced it was sorcery. /ut
they were not alone in the galaxy , other races crawled through the dirt and dust of creation,
a!ongst the! , the 0ecrontyr, an i!patient race , who sold all in return for a pro!ise only partially
fulfilled . $heir dying sun pro!pted an hasty pact with !alignant god so powerful it consu!ed stars
as food. a terrile price was paid for their short sightedness , oth god and 0ecrontyr now encased
in living !etal skins, one ound to to do the others idding for an eternity. $heir soulless lood1lust
tied inexoraly to the whi!s of a few discontent eings . $hey would have etrayed all living things
were it not for the enslavers. /uts another story... $he -ld ones grew fearful of this new threat to the
galaxy , and created four races to fight for the! , !y people were one and another were the -ld
*lann, a race so powerful they could create life fro! the void. $hese reptilian !asters , are long lost
in ti!e , ut their work lives on. 2ro! ti!e to ti!e !y people discover things , things etter left
undiscovered , so!e things etter left ignored , ut this is not one. 2ar out in the eastern ri! lays a
planet untouched y your (!periu! , its secrets lay dor!ant for a !illennia. .e have reason to
elieve that , within it lays a race egot y the -ld *lann , a race that could provide valuale
infor!ation to our cause. /ut you !ay ask , if its so valuale why not go yourself, right3 .ell
unfortunately we have pressing usiness elsewhere , and we do not want any dalliance with your
i!periu!"s attle cruisers at this ti!e. /etter an inqusitive soul such as yourself , tell us whats their.
Ulsheki # what !akes you think ( want anything to do with this planet , ( have !y own agendas to
settle *erray , ( cant elieve you rought !e here thinking ( would e your fetching oy. %o get
another sap to do your dirty work ( a! outta here..)
*erray # you !ean to tell !e that an undiscovered race laying in your charters re!it does not
interest you3 All the possiilities that it entails.. glory fro! your eloved (!periu! , or !aye 4ust
plunder that could e sold on the lack !arket... 5o !ay kid yourself Ulsheki , ut ( have een
around longer than you care to i!!agine , the details are already on your data slate, all we ask is to
report your findings to us first , then do as you please. $his after all what your race does est , a! (
right3
Ulsheki hated the *erray so!eti!es , he knew his !ind etter than he did hi!self, proaly ecause
he was reading it whilst he ate that gruua fruit ' /ut he was right of course , privateering was a
shot in the dark at est , one world in one hundred had anything worth the fuel visiting.
/ut a new species, sentient , that !eans !oney and lots of it. 6e could of course 4ust go their and
not report ack to the Eldar , after all they were xeno"s and ene!ies of i!periu! . .ell thats what
the inquisition would have you elieve , he new in reality things were not that si!ple. $hey had
een good to Ulsheki when ti!es had een ad , when the i!periu! was not the friend it was to
hi! now. 6e owed the! a det and they knew it. /esides he also had een around longer than he
looked , and the Eldar , would not send hi! their without a real reason , sentient species were not
ten a penny ut they were not all that rare in his line of work , in fact he replaced his navigator with
one a few years ack , their was so!ething eles on that planet , and for what ever reason the Eldar
didn"t want to face it first, this would !ake !ost !en , wet their pants and run ho!e to !o!!a ,
ut Ulsheki was not !ost !en , he was a captain of !en , a rogue trader ', with his own ship and a
cargo ay full of ass kicking, if their was so!ething on that planet the eldar wants , he was gonna
get it first. And no pansy frog eyed species was gonna stand in his way.
Captains log star1date ,78 Ulsheki"s Rogue trader ship the diligent wo! in stale geostationary
orit. Aove unknown planet Eastern Ri!
&reli!inary scans show a reptilian species in retrograde , the species now living in a !artial warfare
state had once held significant power on this planet. (n depth analysis shows that the species was on
the rink of interstellar travel over ten !illennia ago, when for so!e unknown reason the
civilisation i!ploded into infighting and savagery . cities were aandoned and the population
declined to the few rudi!entary tries they are now.
-f note however is the fact that all sentient species on the planet have positioned the!selves around
key regions in dense 4ungle. *pectral results show a high concentration in xenon and gauss
fluctuations.
*hould ( asse!le an away tea! sir 3 ,issionary %er9ni!o de Aguilar has asked if he can ring the
devine light of the i!periu! to the natives, should he e told to asse!le his retinue3 And finally
the Chronus class dropship the 6opeful hand is prepped and ready for drop.
Ulsheki felt his sto!ach rise as the air whsitled pass the dropships cargo door. 6is world span as he
held down his lunch :. *ire we have !ultiple scans at location drop site , shall we aort..3
0o' we are well prepared for anything the natives can chuck at us , ' Ulsheki looked around at his
chosen away tea! , all experts in their craft, the constant preaching y Aguiler was starting to
annoy hi! , ut at least it took away the noise of the whirring engines. 6e had to e strong any sign
of weakness could doo! an away tea! , so he swallowed hard , and sucked in recycled air. 6is !en
all veterans in their chosen field sat easy in the seats, 4ust another drop , one !ore in a long line of
expeditions he thought., his senachal clicked at the data slate, no dout filing so!e secret away for a
rainy day his ornate duelling pistols fastened eneath his long 4acket was a reassuring sight, he was
!ore than 4ust crew , he was the only friend Ulsheki could really depend upon , and the longest
serving or should that e surviving !e!er of the captains circle. 6e was a dead hand with those
relics and 4ust knowing he was here !ade Ulsheki feel !ore relaxed. $he rest of his officers
checked weapons and data slates , trying to avoid direct eye contact with Ulsheki, 6!!f ( still have
it he thought to hi!self. *ire +anding in ;...7...<...=...8....weapons ready...airlock :..disengaged :.
Ulsheki # alright you raggedy Anne unch of aies , lets find so!e thing worth dying for :
,ove it..'
,aye this ti!e ,the thought snuck (n as the war! hu!id air washed over his face..