[IC] Warhammer 40k: Enigmas of the Warp

[Eisenhorn]

"Necessary actions due to the universe we deal with. But for the sake of present company, yourself excluded, I won't continue. And as I said, Morgenstern, I will follow your orders regardless of personal beliefs in regards to your companion." Stukov did not like entertaining the idea of allowing a xeno into the group, let alone actually going through with it. That being said, he had explicit orders to behave and tolerate the xeno, so he would begrudgingly do so. Cogs outbursts and general demeanor were, well, jarring as usual and her suggestion towards alcohol, while sorely tempting, would have to be turned down. "Cogs, as tempting as it is, I don't drink on duty. Not a gamble I'm willing to take for when things go sideways to be drunk. And the odds of that happening, Smiles, are slim to none given current circumstances."

Frankly, Stukov wasn't a heavy drinker to begin with, given he'd seen what that particular coping mechanism did to some people. So he stuck to his less damaging vices, like a certain bitter stoicism distilled into a drink, and went about his business being the only sane person around in this retinue apparently. Cogs taking this all in stride was, well, not surprising in and of itself given she had to be missing a few gears up in that brainpan of hers. Smiles...had been off for awhile now, he wanted to blame the strange warp occurances going on for that, but those Throne forsaken eyes during the little trip through the warp lingered in his memories, though he kept those thoughts securely buried under quite a number of layers of nonsense and mental static. No need to make that read easy. Morgenstern had clearly lost it, buddying up to an Eldar Farseer of all things, but there really was little to be done for it right now, even as food was brought to the others, he ignored the meals. The mention of needing uplifted spirits got a snort from the man.

"Look Cogs, given current circumstances you'll be lucky to get civil out of me. And that was because I was ordered to be." Regardless it seemed they were determined to try and make fast friends with the xeno, and Stukov made no movement towards the food. Even if he was hungry, which he wasn't, there wasn't a chance that he would have the palette to even begin attempting to appreciate it, let alone completely do so. If he needed to, he could always wolf down a ration later, and he focused his attention on the plan for the rest of the evening. Wander the streets, indulge in the celebrations, head to this shop, and return to base. Great, he thought sarcastically, more nonsense while trouble remained on the ship. Still, he was not in much of a position to do anything about it so he would have to grit his teeth and make do.

"Wander like needlessly well armed tourists, visit some shop that, if we're lucky, is a front operation, and finally complete our objective. Sooner we get started, sooner we can be done with it." Stukov knew damn well he was stuck no matter what he did, short of painting the surrounding area with his blood and grey matter with a well placed shotgun shell, but he wasn't about to give the xeno the satisfaction of that particular outcome either. So he was stuck waiting for this night to be over with, even if something came up to interrupt things from going according to plan. He would be as ready as he could be, even with a broken pistol and limited remaining supply of blessed buckshot and regular shot as well for that matter. He still had a chainsword and knife beyond that, at least, so he wasn't completely out of tricks yet.

[WardenCelestine]

"Believe it or not, I actually agree with that statement Stukov, some actions are necessary due to the universe that we deal with. Perhaps we could continue this conversation at a later time, when or if your xenophobia for myself passes." said Maya before she shrugged lightly, returning her attention to the meal before her. The thought of the two of them having a deep and meaningful conversation about how each of their societies worked and the way they viewed their existence caused a small smirk to spread across the Eldar's face. That would indeed be a very interesting, and educational conversation for the both of them. Though she knew the chance of that happening within the next century was slime to none, so Maya decided not to hold her breath. Instead, she turned her thoughts and attention back to the current situation at hand. She had been offered the chance to assist Celestian Superior Andromedai and her retinue with anything they may need, on top of whatever else may occur while being present. Only a short while ago, something like this would have appeared impossible, but apparently times were indeed changing.

"As I have said before, the thought of a drinking contest between the retinue, however amusing it would be, will not be happening while I still draw breath. You may partake in the drinks of your choice, but I expect you all do to responsibly, keep that in mind." said Celestian Andromedai, breaking the awkward air that had formed between Maya and Stukov. The Sister of Battles eyes looked around the table to ensure everyone was paying attention to what she had said, though trying to find out what was going through Medaira's head at any point in time was truly, an impossibility. Without saying another word for the moment, she turned her focus back to her food, enjoying a fantastic meal of the sorts she very rarely had the opportunity to have.

While all of this was unfolding though, Solares had been eyeing Stukov's Viper-Ale Chili. The guardsmen had left it untouched, and from the looks of it, he apparently had no interest in eating any of the meal before him. So, taking a chance, Solares reached over to the bowl of chili and grabbed onto it, holding eye contact with Stukov before the meal was placed in front of her. Quickly, without waiting for a reply, she grabbed onto her spoon and began taking small bites of its contents. From the slightly pained look that was now upon her face, Solares had not expected the Viper-Chili to be so spicy. This did not deter her from the meal though, in fact, it only resulted in her enjoying the chili even more. The coughing fit that had begun though, may have concerned the rest of the retinue at the table.

Andromedai took the last bite of her food, then placed her utensils upon the plate in front of her, clearly satisfied. "Is everyone else finished with their meals? I would like to start moving around the city before it becomes a bit to chaotic out on the streets." The Celestian looked over to Solares who now had a slight tinge of red across her face, still coughing every few moments after taking a large bite of the Viper-Ale Chili. "Are you alright Solares? Do you need some milk?" asked Andromedai, slightly concerned. Solares shook her head and gave a thumbs up before continuing with the meal before her.

[Eisenhorn]

"Only a phobia if it isn't justified or rational, which it most certainly is." Stukov was not interested in trading barbs with some xeno, no matter how determined it was to convince them that it was anything more than looking for the real reason it was here, and spend their lives to see it happen. Whatever higher machinations it had in mind, the armsman knew for fact, would not find an ally in him. The only thing that stayed his hand was Morgenstern's orders to the contrary, and the fact they had bigger problems to sort out. The open warp anomalies and cult presence were both equally concerning, as was the hazardous objective they had located. But no, they were going to be gallivanting about instead of securing the object and investigating the leads they had. Of course, Morgenstern put her foot down on not overdoing it, despite any amusement she may have found in such a contest. Fortunate indeed he was not feeling particularly festive nor competitive at this point at time.

"Duly noted." Stukov wasn't wasting his breath on stating the obvious, given the clearly untouched items in front of him. If he needed food, he had rations he could wolf down between firefights, and that would suffice. Solares' reaching for "his" food elicited no reaction from the Armsman as he instead referred to his dataslate, reviewing the situation and conditions they would be dealing with while on the planet. He would at least be as prepared as he could be, despite recent damaging of his equipment and the mild fact he was, by all accounts, critically under armed compared to the rest of the retinue. He had some ideas to rectify the situation, of course, but that wasn't going to happen in some needlessly fancy restaurant. Rather, he would need to get back to the base armory, restock, rearm, and if need be requisition the equipment he had in mind. Maybe have his arm replaced as well, given it was tainted by the xeno trickery, but he would have to burn that bridge when he came to it. The tech priestess, mad as she was, would no doubt be all too willing to hack his arm off if it meant 'upgrading' him, something to keep in mind. At the mention of being ready to move out, Stukov nodded briskly.

"Sooner we get moving the better. Let's get this done with." If he had any say in the matter, Stukov would have been up and on his feet right now, heading off for the transport to get their objective back to base. But it wasn't his say, and he wasn't going to just run off because he didn't like the orders or plan that was given. Better or worse, he was one to follow orders. At least rational ones, and while he firmly believed the current ones stretched that definition, well, that wasn't grounds enough to consider them unlawful. Not yet, at any rate.

[rivaan]

"Ahhh so... unamusing. This is sad, we could have had a greaaaaaaaaat time~! Maybe next time. Yes indeed!" Medaira chirpped when the idea for a drinking contest was all but shot down by everybody for one reason or another. These people, this group was so not fun rightnow. She was going to have her work cut out for her to slowly show them the error of their non having fun ways and get them to live a bit. All the while killing evil xenos( possibly elder farseers present not included),traitors and evil warpy boys and girls. Ohh well, she swirled her drink again. Eventually they were going to appreciate it.

"Finished!" She replied after a while and their leader asked if htey were ready with the food. She wasn't not completely, but she had eaten what she wanted to eat, enjoyed it and drank as much booze as she wanted for the moment. There would be time for more. Possibly snacks while watching a compilation of hereteks exploding. Or maybe chaos worshippers getting turned to mush via giant titans. She was going to have to check the archives for any recordings worth watching for entertainment.

"I am REAAAAAADY to serve!" Medaira exclaimed as she stood up and saluted with a white metal hand to her chest." Aftera moment..." she quickly added, put her breather device back on, readjusted her hood, looked at it in a small ahnd mirror, nodded and then saluted again." Now I am ready to serve at prime pranking parameters and capabilities!" Medaira was ready and excited to get to work again. Her entertainment of a drinking contest might be gone, but there were more excitement to be had! Maybe she'd get to prank some people soon! That or she'd wait to return to base to ebgin the pranking again. Stukov could very well use a paintjob. Maybe bright pink in his hair cleaning agents would brighten him up! Also some color in his toothpaste! To mach the hair on their absolutely L0V31y eldar companion.