Game Transcript

[Genisisect]

IN THE GRIM DARKNESS OF THE FAR FUTURE THERE IS ONLY WAR

It is the 41st Millennium. For more than a hundred centuries the Emperor of Mankind has sat immobile on the Golden Throne of Earth. He is the master of mankind by the will of the gods and master of a million worlds by the might of his inexhaustible armies. He is a rotting carcass writhing invisibly with power from the Dark Age of Technology. He is the Carrion Lord of the vast Imperium of Man for whom a thousand souls are sacrificed every day so that he may never truly die.Yet even in his deathless state, the Emperor continues his eternal vigilance. Mighty battlefleets cross the daemon-infested miasma of the Warp, the only route between distant stars, their way lit by the Astronomican, the psychic manifestation of the Emperor's will. Vast armies give battle in His name on uncounted worlds. Greatest amongst his soldiers are the Adeptus Astartes, the Space Marines, bio-engineered super-warriors. Their comrades in arms are legion: the Imperial Guard and countless planetary defence forces, the ever-vigilant Inquisition and the tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus to name only a few. But for all their multitudes, they are barely enough to hold off the ever-present threat to humanity from aliens, heretics, mutants -- and far, far worse. To be a man in such times is to be one amongst untold billions. It is to live in the cruelest and most bloody regime imaginable. These are the tales of those times. Forget the power of technology and science, for so much has been forgotten, never to be relearned. Forget the promise of progress and understanding, for in the grim dark future there is only war. There is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter of thirsting gods.

[Tharivol Liadon]

Summoned to the inquisitor's office, the seven Acolytes of the Inquisition wait in a large waiting room on an Apocalypse-Class Battleship. The walls are gilded and ornately decorated. The doors to the office are solid gold, and huge, at least ten metres tall. The secretary, a space marine, enters the room through the gold doors. "The Inquisitor will see you now."

We enter the office. The Inquisitor is an imposing man, very tall, sitting at a desk with many computers. He tells us that he is dispatching us to Agrious 5, a rogue planet. The government there has failed to pay its imperial tithe, being involved in an ongoing civil revolt. We are going to be given a Terran week to establish order; after that, the planet will be destroyed.

The planet is traditionally a monarchy, but the last few generations, over about two-hundred and ten years, have been increasingly hopeless. A Constitutional Monarchy was established recently, under the King. The nobles, peasants and parliament have all been fighting. The Imperium does not have detailed records of the noble families.

We leave the battleship and approach the planet on a shuttle. We can see out the windows that the planet is a low-density industrial world. We exit at the spaceport, taking our VOX unit: our means of communication with the ship.

We arrive at the local cantina, and the scum Hack Sham approaches an attractive-looking woman, and successfully charms her for information. She leads the group to the citadel, and they enter the King's palace. Hack Sham takes the girl's number, and winks as she leaves.

The planetary defence force is guarding the gates. As we reach the top of the stairs, Hack Sham tries to charm the guards, but they do not fall for his act. He tries to tell them he is an Imperial Soldier in disguise. Lupa steps forward and instead tells them that we are Acolytes, so the guards let us in immediately.

We enter, and there is an adept manning a desk. We ask to talk to the King. He is free in thirty minutes, so we decide to visit the Archives instead. We are led upstairs to level 56 in elevator 7. We enter a gigantic room, the size of a warehouse with huge wooden shelves from floor to ceiling.

We browse the shelves for useful books. Hack Sham picks up a book called Agricultural Records M40 192-193. It is very dusty, but Hack Sham is illiterate so he just looks at the pictures. Lupa shouts out into the room that we need assistance. An adept rolls up, asking what we need. We ask for information on the noble families and the warring factions over the past two centuries.

The adept leads us to the sections with records about the noble houses. Our own adept, Octus, decides to inspect the records, so the rest of us head off to visit King Naro III. We enter his reception chambers, and can see the king seated on a golden throne. Guarded by ten soldiers on either side, and accompanied by his advisor, who is wearing black robes with silver trimming. We explain our purpose, but the king is extremely bored.

His advisor, Christopher Lee, is concerned however, and he takes us up to his chambers. There we explain the situation about the planet. Hack Sham flatters the advisor about his age, saying he doesn't look a day over eighty (he is one hundred and fifty). We ask about the noble families, and he lists the main ones: the Traditional Monarchists, the Republic of Workers, the Democratic Republic, the Theocracy, the six major noble houses vying for the kingship, and a large business corporation. The king, being only twenty-seven, does not currently have an heir. Christopher Lee has been weathering the storm, waiting for the right king to come along.

He doesn't want a succession crisis, however he doesn't like any of the other noble candidates. Either the other houses are broke, or reportedly involved in nefarious dealings. House Claudia for example, is rumoured to have joined the Slaaneshi Cultists. Slaanesh is the Chaos go who feeds on the emotions of pride and indulgence. At the moment, Christopher Lee is basically running the planet. The King controls half the defence force, but an upstart general called General Vespasian has taken the other half, and their main base as well. There is currently an unstable peace between the houses, but eventually the general will want to take over the planet. At the moment he is consolidating territory.

Having finished talking to Christopher Lee, we head back to the library. Octus is still reading, but hasn't read anything significant. We decide to visit another location in the meantime. Both the High Temple of the Holy Emperor and the Hyperium Corporation (who develop weapons, medicine and ships) are nearby. We split into two groups: Lupa will go to the temple, while the rest of us go to the Mega-corporation. First, Hack Sham calls up his new girlfriend, and learns her name is Ophelia Kalta. She meets us outside the citadel and leads us to the Hyperium Corporation.
The building is very tall, and lit up with a large neon sign. We are led inside, and we tell the secretary who we are. She immediately sends us into the elevator. There are no buttons inside, it just moves upwards by itself.

We reach the top floor, level 293. The entire floor is a single office. There are water features, busts, statues, expensive paintings, and a huge mahogany desk. A man is sitting on a velvet chair, with his feet up on the desk. He introduces himself as Jack, the CEO. He looks over the party, and says that we look woefully-equipped. He chucks Hack Sham a Bolt Pistol. He says he knows why we are here, and asks for our co-operation. Hack Sham asks about the situation on the planet, but Jack waves the question away. He says he just needs us to take out Christopher Lee, who is stopping Jack from buying out all the warring factions in order to restore peace. We say that we will consider it, but have to talk to other people first. He asks us to keep this a secret, and we leave via the elevator.

Meanwhile, at the High Temple, Lupa approaches the staff and asks to discuss some matters with their highest-ranking cleric. They grant her permission to speak with the Heirophant Herod. She waits about two hours, and finally she is shown to the Heirophant in his quarters. He is writing at his desk, and tells Lupa to be quick as he is very busy. She asks what matters have been taken by the Temple to help the civil unrest on Agrious 5. Herod explains that the cult has been trying to secure stability by taking control of the government system, to turn it into a Theocracy. There has been much resistance from the nobles and the general populace.

Lupa heads back to the archives, and meets up with the others, as well as Octus. It turns out the adept has not found anything useful. He has found the names of the six noble houses though: the Julians, the Claudians, Octavians, the Datlof, Scipii, and the Brutii. The current ruling house is House Ceasar. We leave him to find more information, and decide to visit all the important leaders of the factions before acting.

We go to visit House Octavian first. We approach their magnificent palace. Above the gates is their motto: "Family is Forever". The house itself is a bit run-down. The nobles there, however, seem very well-fed, being mostly overweight. We ask to speak to their leader, Augustus, and we are led to his offices. He is extremely obese, and asks us what business we have here. We explain our purpose, and ask his view on the situation. He explains that his house was once glorious, and that he should be in power.

We then visit the House of Scipii. They have a white wolf on a blue banner outside their palace. The patriarch there, Cornelius Scipio, finds us immediately, and asks what we want. We explain, and ask his view. He explains they are one of the older and nobler houses. Recently, they have brought in some fresh, merchant blood, to strengthen their house and put an end to the tyranny of the Caesars, and bring an age of prosperous commerce to the planet.

We do the same for House Datlof. They have a red banner with a green star. Their motto is "Remember Datlof". Their leader Ginley Datlof, leads us inside and gives us tea. He assures us that the glasses are immaculately clean. He tells us that House Datlof has always been a house for the people. They used to be very large and military, but they were nearly wiped out by Houses Caesar, Brutus and Claudia. He says his aims are to grow their power and take the throne for the sake of the people. He wants to remove all industry, and return the planet to its agrarian roots, so he can grow lots of tea, potatoes and juniper berries for gin.

We go to House Brutus, led by Marcus Brutus. Their symbol is a yellow dagger surrounded by lightning, on a green banner. Marcus is a scholar and a poet. He meets us in his library, and is particularly interested in Ferrus, saying he is intrigued by Psykers. He asks if he is an Astropath, as the planet needs more of those, but Ferrus says he isn't. They don't have any ambitions at the moment, and are trying to establish a schooling organisation to promote more learning.

We visit House Julius, whose red banner features a black laurel wreath. Before we enter, some clerics leave through the front door. We speak to their patriarch, Constantine. His house remains loyal to the current monarchy, and controls a large portion of the army. When quizzed by Lupa, he says that his people remain faithful to the temple.

Lastly, we visit House Claudia. Their matriarch is Julia Claudia. Her house is quite wealthy. She tells us that House Claudia is old and prestigious, with strong ties to House Caesar. They have been successful in commercial ventures recently, and they are also supporters of the Constitutional Monarchy, with several members in the government. She suggests that the rumours about their supposed cult were started by the king's advisor, since their presence in the Senate has provoked the ire of the king. She tells us that Marcus Brutus is also a republican. They don't like House Octavian, or House Julius.

We return to the archives, and meet the adept.

[Tharivol Liadon]

After some discussion about who we should speak to next, Ferrus, Octus, Lucius and Khan visit the Tech-Priests. The others go shopping. We are taken to Archmagus Hephaestus. Khan reveals the situation to him, and asks what he will do about the instability. They are currently shutting down their manufactoriums, and preparing to leave the now-unprofitable planet. Christopher Lee has frozen their assets though, so they cannot continue. Khan says he will negotiate with Christopher Lee. They say they are still going to leave even if they can't sell off their wares, as the planet is doomed. The interested buyers are the Hyperium Corporation.

Hack Sham, Mortdecai and Lupa go shopping. Hack Sham fails to barter for rounds for his shotgun, but only raises the price. Lupa manages to barter for hand-flamers. After spending over an hour bartering, Hack Sham finally gets 40 shotgun bullets.

We meet up again, and head to the docks. Ferrus points to a random ship, but it's not heading to the right location. No-one we find is willing to take us to our destination. Lupa talks to someone, who points out a pilot we could use to take us to Hadrian, the city where Vespasian is based. There is a human sitting across from him, with a gun drawn. Suddenly, the pilot reveals a gun from under the table, and blasts the man across from him. We approach, the smoking corpse still slumped over the table. Hack Sham pushes the corpse out of the way, and we tell him we've been told we should ask him for a ride to Hadrian. He introduces himself as Greedo, and takes us to see his ship.

The ship is not in the best condition, but it looks stable. It has been spray-painted black, showing silver in some areas, and "The Rogue Shadow" is written  on the side of the hull. Greedo assures us that the ship is fast and reliable, and can get us to Hadrian in six hours. We offers a round trip for 250 gelt, which we accept. We pay 100 gelt now, and we'll pay the 150 gelt on the second trip. We board the ship, and he warns us not to touch the shield containers in the back.

We fly through the night, and arrive six hours later. We land at Hadrian, which is a walled city in the middle of a barren desert. He says he has some business to attend to, and starts moving his containers out. We go to help him, but he tells us to go away. We ask why he shot the man before, and he says his name was Jar Jar, and he was an idiot, so he killed him.

We approach the gate about an hour before midday, and the soldier's shout down to us "Halt! Who approaches Hadrian's wall?". Octus introduces us as Acolytes, and explains that we want to talk to Vespasian. He opens the doors for us, and we are led to Vespasian. He arrives in his office. He is clad in military gear, with a bolt gun and a chain axe on his belt. He asks us what we want in a gruff voice. We tell him the bad news, and he storms out, barking orders. We follow him, and ask if he'd be willing to negotiate with Jack, of the Hyperium Corporation, but he tells us there is no way he'll join with any of the other faction leaders. We orders us out, and we quickly make our way back to the Rogue Shadow. We are met by Greedo, who tells us we must leave immediately, but doesn't tell us why. We notice there are no longer any crates inside.

We arrive at the Capital six hours later, and famished, we go to a street-side store, and have some flatbread with tomato sauce and assorted toppings. Hack Sham buys a meal for Ophelia, who runs off and grabs some fortified wine, Amasec, for them to share as well, after giving Hack Sham a peck on the cheek.

Ophelia leads us to the Republic of Workers factory. There is a delegation of workers having a meeting on the ground floor. We enter, and they fall silent, looking at us expectantly. They are unco-operative, so we leave, deciding to investigate the cults on the planet. Ophelia tells us some rumours, that Vespasian is rumoured to be following a cult, Houses Scipii, Claudia, Caesar and Brutus are cultists. The workers party and appears to be safe, but parliament seems cultish.

It's late now, so we go to find a place to sleep. Hack Sham goes with Ophelia back to her house, for a romantic evening. Everyone else goes back to the Imperial Palace, and ask to speak to Christopher Lee. We take the elevator upwards, and he asks how our investigations are going. We tell him our attempts to stabilise the planet have been progressing. We ask for a place to stay, and two servants show us to some sleeping chambers. At about midnight, we hear sirens, announcing an air attack.
The sky outside is filled with the lights of attacking ships. At Ophelia's, Hack Sham is outside on the balcony, smoking a Lho Stick. He looks up and can see the ships. After he puts some more clothes on... he takes Ophelia and heads to the citadel.

The rest of the party take the lift from their chambers on level 178, to the ground floor. It is absolute pandemonium down there. Lucius talks to the nearest soldier, who tells him that Vespasian's forces are attacking, mainly targeting the military, industrial and political buildings. We ask the clerk where Christopher Lee is, and he tells us he's on the top floor with King Naro, so we head up the lift again. We arrive, and Constantine Julius is there with Christopher Lee, Naro (looking very bored), an admiral and a general from the Planetary Defence Force, and Ginley Datlof. They are all peering over a map of the town. There are also some guards present. Christopher Lee tells us that Vespasian's air strikes have caused massive collateral damage, but they have managed to get some airships into the air, and are holding the attack back. The Hyperium building was targeted, but their weapons and their private army held them off.

Hack Sham arrives, and asks the clerk where the Acolytes are. The clerk sends him and Ophelia up to the Council Chambers. He is in a loving embrace with Ophelia as the doors open at the top floor.  Christopher Lee reveals that we haven't lost too much, only a few defence vessels. Christopher Lee is opposed to Jack's help. Lucius asks if they think they can win without the help of Hyperium, and Constantine says they can, as they serve the Emperor, so they will win the war with excessive force, and they will win because the emperor is on their side. Lucius replies that "Faith alone won't save you from a laser blast to the face." Ginley replies that "It is not by technology we will succeed, it is by the strength of our spirit!".

We leave the chambers, and go back to the Hyperium building. We meet Jack at his desk in his office. Khan compliments him on his technological prowess. We is ecstatic that the current plan is for the palace to send their forces to Hadrian. He plans to seize the opportunity and send his own forces in to take over the palace when the military is at Hadrian. We tell Jack that we'd be willing to assassinate the ruling council after they have sent the troops to Hadrian. We go to the medical bay and rest for the rest of the night, and into the day. By evening, we are ready. Jack has several trolleys brought down to us, with lots of useful gear, including suits of Stormtrooper Carapace Armour (AP6 all-round) for everyone to wear.

[Tharivol Liadon]

Khan checks the armour to make sure it is safe, and we go to the citadel. We talk to the clerk, and he tells us the council is still up in the top chambers. We arrive at the top, and the council is poring over a map of the city. Christopher Lee looks up at us, and sees our new gear, looking suspicious. Hack Sham tries to tell him that we bullied Jack into giving us weapons, but Christopher Lee is unconvinced, and orders the seven guards in the room to seize us. Ophelia reacts, throwing grenade, blasting those around the table. Mortdecai aims for King Naro's head with his rifle, but misses, vaporising a pot plant in the corner. Octus fires his sub-machine gun, and hits the general.

Naro begins shouting profanities, and a guard fires at Hack Sham, missing. Christopher Lee shoots a firebolt at Ferrus, who catches on fire. Suddenly, Christopher Lee and Lupa's bodies shiver violently: they have switched bodies; Lupa's mind now inhabits Christopher Lee's body, who now inhabits Lupa's body. Lupa, as Christopher Lee, is now loudly shouting prayers to the emperor. Confused, Khan shoots at Ginley with his portable Laser Cannon. He misses, and the laserball passes through one of the glass windows, creating an optical illusion. Constantine attacks Mortdecai, hitting her, and a guard attacks Khan, who manages to dodge. Lucius fires a laserbolt at Constantine, and it goes straight through his armour, killing him. An imperial guard shoots back at Lucius, hitting him.

Ginley throws a grenade, and it envelopes the room in a ball of flame. Ferrus and Mortdecai are immediately rendered blackened corpses. The gun Mortdecai was holding explodes, and the blast hits the rest of the party, who are severely burnt from Ginley's grenade, and stunned. The entire party is dead.

The party all simultaneously jolt awake, in vats of liquid. Handsome Jack approaches, saying "I was hoping I wouldn't have to use the New-U system on you losers. Did you at least manage to kill Christopher Lee?". We tell him we did, and he explains that our bodies have been reconstructed from our DNA that he retrieved during the night before, when he implanted the chips. We spend two days recovering in the medical bay. Over these two days, Jack destroys the royal palace, locks down the capital and flies off to take out Vespasian. He has given us duffle bags of civilian clothes, and tickets to leave the planet. We instead wander around the city, looking for things to do.

We find a shop in the underhive, and haggle for some weapons. We manage to get some discounted Stub Revolvers. Lucius and Ferrus head to the ruins of the palace to see what we can find. They uncover some imperial guard armour, some laser guns, ammo packs and a shard of steel glass, to replace his Psyker's dagger. Mortdecai wanders the streets attempting to seduce men to kill and steal from them, but he fails to charm anyone.

The others visit the remaining noble houses. Cornelius Scipio is extremely happy with the situation, as his house had invested in Hyperium. They are definitely supporting him, expecting returns from their investments. We visit House Brutus, who, as republicans, are unhappy with the new situation. Marcus Brutus plans to leave the planet with his house, and go somewhere quiet where he can finish his book. The party then visits House Octavian. At the house, there is a dank smell of death, and no-one is to be seen. They check for traps, and then enter a door on the left. They find the eating area, where there is no food. The kitchen is empty, and the pantry is closed. Lupa forces the door open with a broom on the floor, and they are confronted with piles of rotten foodstuffs. They go to the right side of the house, and find some business documents dated as recently as yesterday, written on very old paper.

The party goes into the next room, the library. Several shelves have missing books. They find a bedroom in the back area. Dark green ichor is dripping from the roof, forming a pool on the floor. Lupa, fuming with rage at this sign of heresy, charges up the stair, shouting "FOR THE EMPEROR-GOD!". The group follows. In the first chamber upstairs, sitting on a decrepit three-legged stool, is Augustus Octavian, who is slumped over, oozing slimy ichor. Written on the walls are heretical writings, and he is surrounded by sacrificed bodies, clearly former members of his house. He is ready for the party however, and mutters an incantation as soon as they enter, causing the bodies in the room to explode violently.

Ophelia acts first, and fires her gun at Augustus. Hack Sham shoots too. Octus retreats down the hall, and Khan shoots Augustus too. "DIE, HERETIC SCUM!" shouts Lupa fires her gun. Augustus fires a psychic blast, and the party is severely injured. The spell didn't work as it was supposed to however, and he is left lying on the ground, smoking, and without his clothes. As the wave washes over Hack Sham, his skin turns black and peels from his body, while body fat seeps from his clothing. He falls to the ground, unconscious and dying. The intense power boils Khan's organs, and knocks the air from Lupa.

Ophelia shoots again, hitting. Lupa, the only other person who is conscious, misses. Ophelia fires at Augustus again, and his head bursts, spraying brain and bone everywhere. Some of it enters Lupa's eyes, who is overjoyed at the death of the heretic. Ophelia calls Octus back, and then rushes to weep over Hack Sham's burnt body. Ophelia, Octus and Lupa drag the unconscious bodies of Hack Sham and Khan outside, and then set fire to the house.

Lupa goes to the clerics. The rest proceed to the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Tech-Priests, again. They ask for new respiratory systems. Hack Sham will also need new limbs. It will cost a lot of money, however, so Khan tries to influence them by explaining the party's role in killing Christopher Lee and unfreezing the Tech-Priests' assets. Ophelia helps in the convincing, and they are successful. The Tech-Priests install them with new bionic systems, but they will be in hospital for ten days. Hack Sham also gets new limbs, and a new face. He gets an attractive metal mask, and cybernetic eyes.

At the clerics', and explains that the Inquisition has located and destroyed House Octavian, a chaos cult. Hierophant Herod congratulates her. Lupa argues with Herod, saying they haven't been doing their job, and then leaves. She meets with Octus, Mortdecai, Lucius and Ferrus at sunset, at the site of the citadel. We decide to eat and sleep. We go to House Scipii, and ask for accomodation. They are having a huge party, and we are invited in as guests of honour. Mortdecai drinks a bit too much, and makes a fool of herself. We ask why they are celebrating, and he tells us that Handsome Jack has crushed all opposition, and won the war. He has already returned to the capital, so we decide to visit him and see if he'll pay the taxes to the empire.

We reach the Hyperium Corporation, and ask the front desk where he is. She says he is upstairs, and she calls him up to say we are here. We go up the lift, and Jack is there, sitting with his feet up, smoking a cigar. "The Imperium congratulates you on your success" says Lucius. Jack assures us that he will pay the taxes, and we contact the Imperium ship, to tell them the news.

A shuttle is sent down, and we return to the Battleship, which stays in orbit for several weeks to make sure all the paperwork comes through. Khan and Hack Sham return to the ship once they have recovered. The party receives their payment for the week. Ferrus receives 17g. Ophelia accompanies Hack Sham to the ship, and also receives some money for her role.

Epilogue

After a year of leadership under Handsome Jack, the planet descends into chaos again. He converts the planet's denizens into servators, and continues to manufacture arms for the Imperium, as two remaining cults continue to cause trouble for the planet.

[JohnTheRanger]

We stagger into the Grand Manufactorium of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Ophelia carries the blackened and feebly twitching form of Hack Sham in her arms, her face tear-streaked as she mutters sweet nothings to her fallen lover. Octus supports the half-conscious Khan. Lupa has long since abandoned the group in favour of triumphantly reporting to the Church. The wounded Tech-Priest's laboured breathing is grotesquely amplified by his voice synthesiser, an electronic echo of every wheeze and gurgle filling the hall. His tattered shirt fails utterly to conceal the horrific sight of his scorched organs held in only by the metal cage of his mechanicus implants.

The red robed Tech-Priests stop to stare, shining eyes flickering beneath shadowed cowls, mechandrites twitching with curiosity. Ophelia approaches them, explaining the situation, and identifies us as the inquisitors from earlier. Khan feebly draws back his shirt to further bare his chest, his implants clear evidence of his identity as a Tech-Priest.

We explain that we are in desperate need to cybernetic repairs such as only the Adeptus Mechanicus can provide. Such things are expensive, though, and we have barely six gelt all together, the last of Ophelia's life savings. The Tech-Priests are reluctant to assist. Ophelia and Khan entreat them and try to persuade them as best they can.

Khan, wheezing and stuttering with tortured lungs, his voice synthesiser buzzing harshly, haltingly declares:

"I am one of you. Everything I have done on this world, I have done for the good of the Order and the Empire. So did my colleague. We slew Christopher Lee, unfreezing your assets. For the Order. We were destroyed then, but the machine spirits brought us back. We backed Hyperium Corp, so that they could make the best use of this planet for the glory of the machine spirits. For the Order. We have just now slain a chaos cultist, heretic and enemy of the Emperor and the Order, and are grievously wounded. The Omnissiah saw fit to spare us then, but only you can save us now, brothers."

"Please. For all we have done for you. For all you and I share. I am one of you. Please. Help us."

Exhausted by the effort of agonising speech, straining his ruined throat and airways in desperation, Khan collapses against Octus and awaits the Tech-Priests decision on the edge of unconsciousness.

PS: Presumably Ophelia puts in some good words for Hack Sham as well. *grins* This is just a take on something Khan might have said and I would have liked to have tried to say, if I were more articulate around the game table in the last session. Also I love the picture of Ophelia carrying Hack Sham in her arms, like the action heroes in movies do with the girl they're trying to save.

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