>After much hard fighting, the boarding team has returned from the space hulk having successfully recovered many wondrous items from the Dark Age of Technology: power swords with blade of pure energy, hand held teleporters and power cells of unheard of energy density.
>The accompanying Tech-Priest of the mission seems to have some special interest for a dataslate, although he's doing his best to disguise his interest. As the team's techmarine you suspect that this dataslate with unusual interface ports could in fact be an intact STC database.
>"Dataslates unfortunately do not take kindly to unprotected trips through the warp", says the Tech-Priest with his mechadendrite reaching towards the dataslate "the Mechanicus will do its best to recover the data within, but I suspect we will not learn much about the hulk from this".
>Your captain and the rest of the boarding team does not seem to object, the Tech-Priest glance sideways at you as if waiting for your reaction
What do you do?
>>46369256
"It is good then that we are not making an unprotected trip through the warp, as any trip through the warp without a gellerfield risks the loss of everyone involved."
>>46369677
Which is just a small price to pay for the success of the mission, lead by I, Cato Sicarius
>>46369256
Given that I am a techmarine, i'm basically a tech priest space marine and hand it over. There's no reason not to.
>>46369256
You also find one of pic related, which the tech priest speculates is an ancient torture device used on female prisoners.
>>46369256
I move casually, but with the deceptive quickness of a space marine. My voice is firm, but calm.
"All the recovered plunder will be kept in the Strike Cruiser's vault pending our arrival. Possess yourself of patience."
>>46369256
I ask if we can both study the slate before departure together to ensure that we can backup any data before it has a chance to corrupt during Warp transit.
At that point I either squee with joy in private with my admech buddy at a frigging STC recovery and wonder just how much goodwill I can cash in on for this, and/or ask him pointed questions on why he didn't just admit that it was an STC. After all why hide it? There isn't a person present who wouldn't risk life and limb to deliver such a prize to the Forges of Mars, either on principle or for the reward.
>>46369722
Given that you're a techmarine, you're basically a space marine. And you spend far more time among your battle brothers, even if they no longer totally trust you. As for your own relationship with the AdMech, what's some tech priest ever going to give you? Certainly no concessions you'd ever care about. When you get where you're going, you'll probably never see them again.
Smarter to leave the distribution of loot to your chapter master. No doubt this WILL go to the Adeptus. Who else could use it? But if they get it now the chapter gets nothing, whereas if it's traded upon arrival to the Mechanicum, then you can squeeze some concessions out of them.
The smart play is to politely forestall him. He's clearly signalling that he doesn't expect his gambit to work. Tech Priests aren't all that good at socializing. Fortunately, they're not all that emotional, either, so you can't bank on them harboring gratitude or grudges the way Space Marines do.
>>46371832
>There isn't a person present who wouldn't risk life and limb to deliver such a prize to the Forges of Mars, either on principle or for the reward
I wouldn't be so sure about that. Recovering an intact STC would basically allow which ever faction within the Imperium to overcome everyone else and reshape it to their image.
>>46371832
>to ensure that we can backup any data before it has a chance to corrupt during Warp transit
It was found on a space hulk. If it's an STC, it's been marinading in the Immaterium for the better part of fifteen thousand years.
And remember, "corrupted" doesn't mean scrambled. It means tainted with falsehoods and blasphemies tailored to cozen even the most cautious Tech Priest out of his soul. It may be valuable-looking data, and it may seem safe and untouched, but it'll start you down a long, dark, hard road that leads to blood, sorcery, plague, or penises.
>>46371854
This Even if it really is untouched after all this time (unlikely), it's immensely dangerous in terms of what it might manipulate people into doing. Such an artifact would turn anyone who finds it into a potential new Emperor if he's patient and clever about how he uses it.
It's like in that doctor who when the scavenger's machine spits out a value for the TARDIS as being infinite: the value of the artifacts in this vessel exceed the total value of the universe. And for the same reason: any human artifact you can imagine that might be more valuable, isn't, because you can use the STC to build that and still have the STC left to build whatever else you want.
>>46371995
The backup data is a plausible enough sounding excuse to get alone with the techpriest to confront him or discuss plans.
Or y'know, bash his head in if he starts gibbering about eyes within wheels culminating in secret plans coming to fruition or whatnot after reading it.
Chuck it in the "gift" vault along with the tech priest.
