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With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

Quitting should be lowercase
Can't should be lowercase
No, those are new sentences.
desperately need
an open travel visa
Thank you, corrected.
Thank you, corrected.
I thought he was the ruler.
He couldn't rule his way out of a paper bag.
And we've got hard numbers on just how powerful Homo Magi are compared to normal humans, at least in terms of raw power manipulation. This is a cool update!
That's a best estimate based on a small sample, not a hard number.
 
He couldn't rule his way out of a paper bag.
I think that in the chapter that he was introduced in it was mentioned that he was able to take over his world with a single spell.

Granted, being magically powerful doesn't mean you know how to run things.

Though being incompetent at something has never stopped people from getting the job.
 
I think that in the chapter that he was introduced in it was mentioned that he was able to take over his world with a single spell.

Granted, being magically powerful doesn't mean you know how to run things.

Though being incompetent at something has never stopped people from getting the job.
In the comic, he was able to:
grow magical creatures using a kit he bought from a catalogue,
open a portal to Earth to steal a magic book,
Using the knowledge and power of the book:
teleport a mass driver to his planet,
block the queen's magic
teleport himself to safety.

He can probably do other stuff as well, but he's very far from top tier.
 
As Darko noted, he's the one who made the lesser transformation a thing in the first place.

Also, we've already seen him (in the Renegade timeline) slaughter the Un-men for the crime of being ugly and using techniques he considers 'his,' murdering William Knightly for taking inspiration from his name, and trying to drown the surface world.

I find his genuine benevolence to be… unlikely. And he'll probably be stronger, having only partially raised Atlantis, without drowning the world or using the Dream to control minds on a massive scale.
in my defense, i did not read the "renegade timeline" (sorry but when i started reading this fic, QQ already had the 3° "chunk" of story
 
Supnautica (part 9) New
5th May 2013
10:04 GMT


I wait slightly awkwardly for the Marrack family to leave the church. Joking aside, I don't actually catch fire if I step foot on holy ground, and I'm not sure if this… Village hall of a church is properly sanctified anyway. Having St. Mary's as my village church growing up gave me unrealistic expectations of what a place of worship should look like.

I was a little surprised that Robert goes to church. He knows for a fact that his soul can't go to Heaven or Hell, and that the deities who have authority over him don't care for good Christian conduct, so… Why bother? I suppose 'to keep my mother happy' is a reasonable enough reason on a practical level, but it's not a particularly good one objectively.

And there's the woman now, his sisters, his uncle -looking as well as I've seen him- and… Robert himself. I raise my right hand to wave to him. He spots me, then turns and looks behind him to try and work out who the stranger in the crowd is waving to.

I keep waving and take my glasses off.

He turns back around and gets a clear view of my face. His eyes widen, and then he turns to his mother to make his excuses. I turn away, taking a seat on the short wall running around the edge of the car park and returning the glasses to my nose.

"Er."

"Good morning, Robert."

"Morning… Paul." He sits down next to me. "Do you need me for something? 'cause the coast is still a bit of a mess, and it's… Sunday."

"No, I just… I realised that I hadn't seen you for a while." He regards me sceptically. "Which is why I'm here in person, but I also need to know what happened to the Fearsome Fish-Eaters for an actual mission."

"They've been keeping their noses clean." He shrugs. "Haven't seen much of 'em since they got back from Atlantis." He frowns. "They aren't involved in… In it coming up, are they? That's sort of thing takes a lot more power than they've got."

"No, no, don't worry about that. I'm just hoping that they're still in contact with people in Atlantis."

His concern appears to be growing. "What's..? Going on?"

"We're not sure. Which is why I want to talk to some people who are more used to living in Atlantis than I am."

"What about Kaldur?"

"He… May have been affected. Garth and Tula too."

He frowns. "And you think those prats aren't?"

"I'd like to eliminate them from my enquiries. Or retain their services to poke around."

"Mate…" He shakes his head. "That needs brains."

"I think they can probably handle 'go talk to some people and then come back, I'll pay you'."

"If you're sure. Ah, I know where Jim lives. He got a job as a binman. I don't know about the other two. They don't have parole officers 'cause they're not on parole."

"Gainful employment! Progress!" I smile. "I like hearing about things like that."

I stand-.

"I think… Maybe… Don't just turn up at his house?"

"I could walk slowly down the street if you think it would help?"

"How about you phone him?"

"Isn't that a bit impersonal?"

"Ah… Sometimes… Impersonal isn't… Bad."

I raise my eyebrows slightly. "To keep things professional?"

"Yeah." He nods. "Yeah, that's why. I haven't got his number-."

I raise my right hand to my ear. "Ring, phone James… Cottridge?"

"Compliance."


Robert raises his eyebrows. "You remembered his name?"

"I remember everything."

I hear the phone be picked up. "Yeah?"

"Mister Cottridge. Orange Lantern. I'm glad to-."

"The fuck do you want?"

"To congratulate you on reforming. I appreciate that it's not easy to change your accustomed behaviour, but you pulled it off. Well done."

I hear him sigh.

"Yeah, thanks. What d'you actually want?"

"I want someone to talk to the Nanauvians and find out how they feel about current events. I am happy to pay you for your work."

"Is this..? Like, entrapment?"

"No, Catherine Zeta-Jones is far more attractive than you, and I'm not Scottish."

"Whut-? Oh, the f-. Heh! Okay. Okay. Yeah, she probably is and all. How much?"

"I haven't kept track of the value of the pound, but I've got five Justice League medallions-."

"Sold. But I've got work tomorrow. I kinda need this job. I can't afford to just not turn up."

"I can speak with your line manager. People don't usually question 'urgent Justice League business'."

"Great. Do you want me to get Stevie and Richie?"

"If you can, that would be helpful. I'll pay them too, naturally."

"Sweet. So just..? Ask around?"

"See if you notice anything different. No rush."

"So… Just a day, or..?"

"If nothing seems out of place by the end of tomorrow, come back. Come back sooner if something does. Don't endanger yourself; that's my job."

"Right. See you when I see you, then."

"Best of luck."

I hang up the call, lowering my hand.

"He seems in good spirits."

"That's a lot of money for two days' work." Robert looks away, thinking it over. "And I think… I think he liked it there? But he's got family here and he can't just vanish."

"And emigrating is a big step, when there's not set exchange rate." I nod. "Well, if he does a good job I'll see about sorting something out for him. Nice seeing you again."
 
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Joking aside, I don't actually catch fire if I step foot on holy ground

Though maybe it's good that you keep away.

That angel king may still have allies in Heaven.

I was a little surprised that Robert goes to church. He knows for a fact that his soul can't go to Heaven or Hell, and that the deities who have authority over him don't care for good Christian conduct, so… Why bother? I suppose 'to keep my mother happy' is a reasonable enough reason on a practical level, but it's not a particularly good one objectively

People don't always go to church for religious reasons.

Places of worship can also serve as centers of the community.

And there's the woman now, his sisters, his uncle -looking as well as I've seen him- and… Robert himself. I raise my right hand to wave to him. He spots me, then turns and looks behind him to try and work out who the stranger in the crowd is waving to.

I keep waving and take my glasses off.

And you criticize Clark.

Mate…" He shakes his head. "That needs brains."

Yeah, those guys just seemed like thugs.

"I think… Maybe… Don't just turn up at his house?"

"I could walk slowly down the street if you think it would help?"

"How about you phone him?"

"Isn't that a bit impersonal?"

"Ah… Sometimes… Impersonal isn't… Bad

Yeah, they don't necessarily like you and seeing you would just bring up bad memories.
 
5th May 2013
10:04 GMT


I wait slightly awkwardly for the Marrack family to leave the church. Joking aside, I don't actually catch fire if I step foot on holy ground, and I'm not sure if this… Village hall of a church is properly sanctified anyway. Having St. Mary's as my village church growing up gave me unrealistic expectations of what a place of worship should look like.
Quite a bit more impressive than most churches these days, yes. And knowing it's been around for a good thousand years probably adds to that weight of 'Church'-ness. Still, such a place can be a little intimidating for most people...

I was a little surprised that Robert goes to church. He knows for a fact that his soul can't go to Heaven or Hell, and that the deities who have authority over him don't care for good Christian conduct, so… Why bother? I suppose 'to keep my mother happy' is a reasonable enough reason on a practical level, but it's not a particularly good one objectively.
Not always about faith. Sometimes it's family, and not ticking off his ma is a good reason.

And there's the woman now, his sisters, his uncle -looking as well as I've seen him- and… Robert himself. I raise my right hand to wave to him. He spots me, then turns and looks behind him to try and work out who the stranger in the crowd is waving to.

I keep waving and take my glasses off.
Maybe it has been a little too long since you last saw him...

He turns back around and gets a clear view of my face. His eyes widen, and then he turns to his mother to make his excuses. I turn away, taking a seat on the short wall running around the edge of the car park and returning the glasses to my nose.

"Er."
I expect OL's at least wearing reasonably normal clothes, at least. Grey suit, I suspect.

"Good morning, Robert."

"Morning… Paul." He sits down next to me. "Do you need me for something? 'cause the coast is still a bit of a mess, and it's… Sunday."
Good to hear he's still active around the place, even if it's disaster cleanup.

"No, I just… I realised that I hadn't seen you for a while." He regards me sceptically. "Which is why I'm here in person, but I also need to know what happened to the Fearsome Fish-Eaters for an actual mission."

"They've been keeping their noses clean." He shrugs. "Haven't seen much of 'em since they got back from Atlantis." He frowns. "They aren't involved in… In it coming up, are they? That's sort of thing takes a lot more power than they've got."
A bit of a longshot, but given OL's circles... A reasonable question.

"No, no, don't worry about that. I'm just hoping that they're still in contact with people in Atlantis."

His concern appears to be growing. "What's..? Going on?"
Well, Atlantis rising, for a start. Kind of a big thing, needs investigating. They don't know this Ahri'ahn fellow from Adam, even if he's kind of a famous in Atlantis.

"We're not sure. Which is why I want to talk to some people who are more used to living in Atlantis than I am."

"What about Kaldur?"
Possible bad news on that front. Or at least suspicions.

"He… May have been affected. Garth and Tula too."

He frowns. "And you think those prats aren't?"
At this point, it looks like nearly every citizen of Atlantis could be considered a victim of mind control. Not that they can confirm or disprove it, what with the risk of checking involving burning eyeballs.

"I'd like to eliminate them from my enquiries. Or retain their services to poke around."

"Mate…" He shakes his head. "That needs brains."
...He has a point, the fish-eaters... They met while the guys were raiding a supermarket for fish to eat, back during the Split, if I remember right.

"I think they can probably handle 'go talk to some people and then come back, I'll pay you'."

"If you're sure. Ah, I know where Jim lives. He got a job as a binman. I don't know about the other two. They don't have parole officers 'cause they're not on parole."
The ringleader, I take it? Been a long time since we saw them, after all.

"Gainful employment! Progress!" I smile. "I like hearing about things like that."

I stand-.

"I think… Maybe… Don't just turn up at his house?"
Yeah, most people can't just up-end their lives for the sake of a superhero thing. Never mind how he'd react to OL showing up out of nowhere.

"I could walk slowly down the street if you think it would help?"

"How about you phone him?"
OL really doesn't do the mundane thing much anymore, does he?

"Isn't that a bit impersonal?"

"Ah… Sometimes… Impersonal isn't… Bad."
...True, OL is kind of disconnected from regular human experiences these days.

I raise my eyebrows slightly. "To keep things professional?"

"Yeah." He nods. "Yeah, that's why. I haven't got his number-."
Not unexpected, he isn't the guy's parole officer, if he has one. Probably only knows about Jim by word of mouth, perhaps.

I raise my right hand to my ear. "Ring, phone James… Cottridge?"

"Compliance."
Presumably the Ring recognises the context and intent, so no need to append 'the Fish-Eater' or anything like that.

Robert raises his eyebrows. "You remembered his name?"

"I remember everything."
Sometimes in excruciating or embarrassing detail. I have to wonder how detailed his reports really are.

I hear the phone be picked up. "Yeah?"

"Mister Cottridge. Orange Lantern. I'm glad to-."

"The fuck do you want?"
Language, mate. I understand a bit of hard feelings, but he did get you a holiday in Atlantis.

"To congratulate you on reforming. I appreciate that it's not easy to change your accustomed behaviour, but you pulled it off. Well done."

I hear him sigh.

"Yeah, thanks. What d'you actually want?"
Ah, cutting right through the the bullshit (as he sees it, sine he's probably sick of hearing that sort of comment.)

"I want someone to talk to the Nanauvians and find out how they feel about current events. I am happy to pay you for your work."

"Is this..? Like, entrapment?"
...No? You're being hired as... 'Consultants' by a League affiliate. You're kind of legally in the right here, unless you play up in Atlantis.

"No, Catherine Zeta-Jones is far more attractive than you, and I'm not Scottish."

"Whut-? Oh, the f-. Heh! Okay. Okay. Yeah, she probably is and all. How much?"
I mean, she is quite the attractive lady, and most men should aspire to be as Scottish as Connery. Especially in his Bond days.

"I haven't kept track of the value of the pound, but I've got five Justice League medallions-."

"Sold. But I've got work tomorrow. I kinda need this job. I can't afford to just not turn up."
Unless you're gonna be the only bloke on the shit, I think working for the League is a good excuse to call off.

"I can speak with your line manager. People don't usually question 'urgent Justice League business'."

"Great. Do you want me to get Stevie and Richie?"
...Well, ask yourself: Would this task be made easier with their inclusion... Or harder?

"If you can, that would be helpful. I'll pay them too, naturally."

"Sweet. So just..? Ask around?"
Discreetly. Well, as discreetly as three shark-folk with British accents can be in the city of sharks.

"See if you notice anything different. No rush."

"So… Just a day, or..?"
That depends. Will you boys be swimming all the way there, or would you like a ride to somewhere nearby?

"If nothing seems out of place by the end of tomorrow, come back. Come back sooner if something does. Don't endanger yourself; that's my job."

"Right. See you when I see you, then."
Let's hope all goes well for them...

"Best of luck."

I hand up the call, lowering my hand.
Every time he does that, I can't help but picture Inspector Gadget's hand-phone.

"He seems in good spirits."

"That's a lot of money for two days' work." Robert looks away, thinking it over. "And I think… I think he liked it there? But he's got family here and he can't just vanish."

"And emigrating is a big step, when there's not set exchange rate." I nod. "Well, if he does a good job I'll see about sorting something out for him. Nice seeing you again."
Hopefully after this is all sorted out. And depending on whether or not Atlantis remains above the waves...

So, consultants sorted once OL squares it with their employer. I expect he'll be pursuing other routes of investigation while they go poke around. Could be tricky, especially if Ahri'ahn has spells watching the borders. Best hope if they get caught is to claim to be outcasts or refugees returning in hope of asylum or something. I can't imagine there weren't Atlanteans caught outside the borders by the shields.
 
I was a little surprised that Robert goes to church. He knows for a fact that his soul can't go to Heaven or Hell, and that the deities who have authority over him don't care for good Christian conduct, so… Why bother? I suppose 'to keep my mother happy' is a reasonable enough reason on a practical level, but it's not a particularly good one objectively.
He does not in fact know for a fact his soul can't go to Heaven or Hell.
 
Not always about faith. Sometimes it's family, and not ticking off his ma is a good reason.

Even Superman bows to his mother.

OL really doesn't do the mundane thing much anymore, does he?

He bakes.

...

...that's it...

Not unexpected, he isn't the guy's parole officer, if he has one. Probably only knows about Jim by word of mouth, perhaps.

You tend to remember the name of the guy that tried to eat you.

Language, mate. I understand a bit of hard feelings, but he did get you a holiday in Atlantis.

If you were given a vacation to Hawaii, but were forced to wear handcuffs and were watched 24/7, then you would be displeased.

Unless it's like a sex thing.
 
5th May 2013
10:04 GMT



And there's the woman now, his sisters, his uncle -looking as well as I've seen him- and… Robert himself. I raise my right hand to wave to him. He spots me, then turns and looks behind him to try and work out who the stranger in the crowd is waving to.

I keep waving and take my glasses off.

He turns back around and gets a clear view of my face. His eyes widen, and then he turns to his mother to make his excuses. I turn away, taking a seat on the short wall running around the edge of the car park and returning the glasses to my nose.

Did Paul seriously pull a Clark Kent?
 
It's too bad the SI isn't working with Luthor. I'm sure Lex has at least a couple of informants in the Atlantean cities who could supply this level of feedback. (That is, what does the common citizen know.)
 
How much is a Justice League medallion worth?
The fact that five of them were enough for someone gainfully employed as a binman to take a mission from a JL-affiliated hero suggests that one of them can buy a decent amount, so my immediate guess is about ten pre-Anti-life British pounds sterling, or twenty pre-Anti-life American dollars. Mr Zoat, am I even close to the real answer, and if not, what is it?
 
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Spacenautica (part 1) New
6 981 941.M41

And there we go.

A swarm of ships of various classifications erupt from the mining stations and floating shipyards, the brood brothers of the Cult of Destined Stars coming into the open in a frantic attempt to prevent Inquisitor Vail's ship warning nearby Imperial worlds.

Naturally she wouldn't warn T'au Empire worlds, despite the obvious increase in efficiency that would cause. So if the envoy of self-proclaimed 'downtrodden masses' we received hadn't been spotted by our improved detection protocols, this could have ended up being jolly awkward.

Externus Exterminatus is officially listed as a 'yacht'. What that means is that it's between a frigate and a light cruiser in size, has its own navigators and astropaths and a… Decent gunnery. The ships attacking it vary from heavy freighters down to personal mining scouts that are trying to get inside the yacht's void shield envelope so that they can use their melta cutters on the turrets-.

Yep, that one just managed it, and now more are swarming the opening.

Odd, really. I'd expect an Ordo Xenos Inquisitor to have upgraded her ship's weapons with alien technology. Tau turrets would significantly outperform what she's currently using, but I suppose that's what being a puritan means.

I transition forwards, right up to the hull of the heavily armoured cargo freighter currently trying to ram the Inquisitor. Her ship is trying to evade, but ships in the 41st millennium aren't the most agile and the cargo ship has had extra manoeuvring thrusters added to help if dodge asteroid clumps. Manoeuvring thrusters whose outlets I could stand inside without my head touching the upper interior surface, so… Tiny by Imperial standards.

And out come the melta bombs. I flitter around, planting them on anything that looks exposed and important to the task of ramming the Externus Exterminatus. Nothing the locals can't fix, but this whole place is going to get annihilated by the Imperial Navy in a day or two so I doubt that matters. Punching through the hull would take more time than I want to spend, and… The sheer size of these ships makes actually doing enough damage to kill them frustratingly difficult.

There. Done. Now transition onto the bow of the Externus Exterminatus and detonate.

Can't see a darn thing from here. That ship is trying to collide with the one I'm standing on and I can barely see it. But my scans show that most of the melta bombs did the trick and the freighter's manoeuvring capacities have dropped right off.

I generate a railgun turret and start shooting the tiny mining scouts still trying to swarm the yacht. And the funny thing is that there's a good chance that the pilot and the Inquisitor have no idea that I'm here. Not like these things have much in the way of external cameras.

Ring, contact the ship.

Ave, Lanterna.

"This is the Externus Exterminatus, ship of His Most Holy Majesty's Inquisition. All servants of the throne are ordered to lend all possible aid. If you're the one who just-."

"The problem there is that I'm not a 'servant of the throne'. I'm Orange Lantern, and I need a word with Inquisitor Vail. Can that be arranged?"

"Stand by."

I scan the exterior of the ship. A few long-ranged shots are causing the void shields to flare prettily, but they're not exactly overstressing them. The rule with Imperial ships is that two ships of the same class can usually batter down each others' shields, but won't be able to inflict significant hull damage before the shields reset. The few remaining scouts… They're hiding from the orange glow. I've got a null rod in subspace, but it doesn't have the range to try and disrupt them. I move the turret further away from the ship, giving it a better angle.

"This is Inquisitor Vail. What is an agent of the Tau Empire doing here?"

"The cultists were trying to convince us that they were totally on our side, and that they'd love it if we'd annex the system. We're not that gullible." Anymore. "Look, do you mind if I come inside? Your way to the Mandeville Point is clear and last time I rode a ship through the warp it got some unwanted attention. I was fine, the ship less so."

There's a brief delay.

"The closest maintenance hatch is unlocked."

"Ta everso."

I fly up off the hull and around the crenellations and other gothic splurges until I find… The doorway wide enough for an entire maintenance team to leave simultaneously. And this isn't even one of the big doors. Those, you can drive tanks through three abreast.

Interface and open.

The doors open, and I disable the internal weapons before flying inside and closing the door behind me. The air starts cycling a moment later, and then the internal doors open with a quiet hiss of equalising pressure.

It leads out into a room containing lockers and spacesuits and some sort of manoeuvring frames. There's only one door leading into the ship's interior proper, so I head towards-.

A squad of armsmen enter, shotguns levelled. I take an instant to observe their discipline and professionalism, nod, and transition to… A heavy bulkhead door.

This could take a while.

After scanning, transitioning and poking holes in a few walls, I finally arrive in the bridge briefing room and raise my right hand in greeting to Inquisitor Vail herself as I shield, scan and set alerts for when they take a crack at me. A few more armsmen level a few more guns at me, and the techpriest-. Is that a Mark I plasma pistol? I've only seen them used by the traitor legions…

I point at the tactical plot of the… Shuddering green hologram projector on the table. Far worse than the tau version, which has colours and anti-aliasing. It's showing local space and-.

"Yeah, don't worry about that one. I wrecked its thrusters. Just alter course a little and you'll be fine."

She looks up at one of the armsmen and nods, and he leaves the briefing room at a jog. I track him heading for the pilot's station, which… Isn't as insanely gothic as it might have been, but makes up for it in fortifications.

"Why are you here?"

"I had some good fortune recently, and I thought that I'd share." The data storage device which isn't built into a skull but should still be compatible with most imperial cogitators appears from subspace, and the techpriest starts furtively fiddling with something under his robes.

Hopefully, it's a scanner. I'm a married man after all.

I hold it out to the Inquisitor, but her eyes flick and an armsman comes forward to take it from me instead.

"What is it?"

"The birthright of all humans everywhere." I shrug. "I found a historical database on a derelict ship recently." True, though it was walking around at the time. "I… Don't think you'd be much interested in some of it… Certainly not in the catalogue of pre-Ecclesiarchy human religions and their beliefs for example, but the music should pass a purity screening. Some of it is recognisably the original inspiration for certain popular hymnals. I've already started distributing it amongst the human population of the Tau Empire and I can think of no one better than you to introduce it to the Imperium."

"I'm a little busy with Genestealer Cults at the moment. Based on the information you provided, they've been prioritised."

"And I'm glad to hear it." I nod, genuinely pleased. The Imperium, prioritising properly? But then I suppose that if 'they're coming for the Emperor' didn't make that happen then nothing would. "We've dealt with all of ours, tau and otherwise. But…" I raise my right hand in a placatory fashion. "We're dealing with a far smaller area."

And dealing with them using an efficient police state, rather than the inefficient one she's got to deal with.

"Are you prepared to share the details?"

"But of course! Tyranids are everyone's problem."

She looks past me. "Pelton, take him to the drawing room on kappa deck and make him comfortable. I will join you once we've transitioned to the warp."
 
The fact that five of them were enough for someone gainfully employed as a binman to take a mission from a JL-affiliated hero suggests that one of them can buy a decent amount, so my immediate guess is about ten pre-Anti-life British pounds sterling, or twenty pre-Anti-life American dollars. Mr Zoat, am I even close to the real answer, and if not, what is it?
No, it's quite a lot more than that.
 
"The cultists were trying to convince us that they were totally on our side, and that they'd love it if we'd annex the system. We're not that gullible." Anymore. "Look, do you mind if I come inside? Your way to the Mandeville Point is clear and last time I rode a ship through the warp it got some unwanted attention. I was fine, the ship less so."
What happens when this SI rides a ship through the warp?

"The birthright of all humans everywhere." I shrug. "I found a historical database on a derelict ship recently." True, though it was walking around at the time. "I… Don't think you'd be much interested in some of it… Certainly not in the catalogue of pre-Ecclesiarchy human religions and their beliefs for example, but the music should pass a purity screening. Some of it is recognisably the original inspiration for certain popular hymnals. I've already started distributing it amongst the human population of the Tau Empire and I can think of no one better than you to introduce it to the Imperium."
So this SI found some data about how life was like when it sucked less. I'm doubtful most people will even look it up.
 
Odd, really. I'd expect an Ordo Xenos Inquisitor to have upgraded her ship's weapons with alien technology. Tau turrets would significantly outperform what she's currently using, but I suppose that's what being a puritan means.

Not just a puritan. Just an imperium agent in general.

Unless you're a radical, or Cawl, but that's pretty much the same, then no alien tech for you.
 
"I found a historical database on a derelict ship recently." True, though it was walking around at the time.
Possibly some kind of hostile robot or AI. And hacked it for everything it had.

"I'm a little busy with Genestealer Cults at the moment. Based on the information you provided, they've been prioritised."

"And I'm glad to hear it." I nod, genuinely pleased. The Imperium, prioritising properly? But then I suppose that if 'they're coming for the Emperor'
Yeah, that's one of the things that they need to prioritize highly. If they know in advance how large the Tyrannid fleets are and that they're eventually going to turn towards Terra more out of an attraction to bright lights than any actual strategy to break the imperium, but still break the imperium in the process nonetheless.

----
Also, I think I've mentioned this elsewhere, but I'm not seeing it in this thread when I search:
The Startide Nexus, it's a phenomenon in a class that the Imperium has seen exist in other places, in some cases clearly artificial, in some cases either natural or just not obviously artificial. Called a Warp Gate. There's another cannon example in the connection between the Calixis Sector and the Jericho reach that supplies the Achillus crusade that goes on to fight Tau in that area(about 200 years ago if calixis is using the same version of the calendar as OL is, and they might be using completely separate versions of the imperial calendar, supposedly disorganization between multiple agencies has created multiple disagreements on the current date).

But unlike the Tau after the formation of the Startide Nexus, the Imperium doesn't seem to have observed the formation of a warp gate in their past.
If the Tau could replicate the process, opening up holes in space that allow instant transit to other set points in space without warp or webway transit, or whatever the Necrons do, they could make their empire a hub of communication and trade for a large number of other alien and separatist groups opposed to the Imperium, and graduate into being a proper galactic power like all of the other playable factions.
 
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