I don't really like the fact that we have to account the whole cannon crew for the actions of few. Plus, if we kill them all, we no longer have a cannon crew. And it would certainly spread distrust throughout the ship. However do we have many other options? These cults can be very destructive, but would it be more detrimental to have no cannon crew? Perhaps we could find a way of infiltrating the cult, with some of the new mercs that we hired. We can find out how big the cult is, and take out key members, leaving the rest too scared to act. We wouldn't have to risk killing most of our defences then.
'We don't have to send them all to their demise. The idea is that the threat of death by the void will prompt the rest of the crew to expose the cultists. Those of pure faith will be released.'
Lion dresses in his quarters and prepares to play the role of the Navigator on the ship.
Dressed and prepared, he goes to meet his detail and join them at the hanger.
"Indeed brother Jerol, a unit of infiltration and assassination experts would strengthen us immensely, since the captain gave us free reign to assign the squad as we please I say we go with that. In the future we may be able to acquire more equipment for them as well, telescopic sights for one.
As for the plan to root out the traitors, luckily we have some time to discuss our strategy and come up with a plan that make us all happy and will preserve the loyalty of the crew while at the same time roots out the traitors and heretics."
After the talks, Havelock will head to the hangar as well, this is meant to be just a routine inspection, but if something more happens he wants to be there to observe it.
"Indeed brother Jerol, a unit of infiltration and assassination experts would strengthen us immensely, since the captain gave us free reign to assign the squad as we please I say we go with that. In the future we may be able to acquire more equipment for them as well, telescopic sights for one.
As for the plan to root out the traitors, luckily we have some time to discuss our strategy and come up with a plan that make us all happy and will preserve the loyalty of the crew while at the same time roots out the traitors and heretics."After the talks, Havelock will head to the hangar as well, this is meant to be just a routine inspection, but if something more happens he wants to be there to observe it.
Acknowledgement is sent, and preparations are made to receive a boarding party in the hangar. A small Aquila shuttle swiftly lands in your hangar, dispatched from a void unit away by an Imperial Navy sword-class frigate. A small platoon of Imperial Navy Armsmen armed with Hellguns swiftly disembark, forming a small procession line between them, weapons held up against their shoulders and eyes straight ahead. A somewhat hunched procession of scribes follows, led by a middle-aged man wearing the symbols of the Administratum. He nods approvingly at your reception.
Captain Demetrius? he asks slowly, his gaze passing over you all slowly and carefully; clearly comitting you to memory.
'The Captain sends his apologies and best regards. Apparently, service on the Fringe of the Imperium has left our Captain, ill. I'm sure it is a twenty-four hour thing. When he is able to walk, I'm sure that he will make himself presentable to your offices'
While Lion says those words with his right hand he mimes the drinking of some alcohol beverage. It was a common problem among nobles and 'captains' to drink too much and spend most of their lives, ill.
Sure, it was a lie, but Lion knew it was a lie that society choose not to explore. The excuse of an alcoholic 'captain' could be covering for a dozen other moral failings of the captain along with alcoholism. A fully sober captain was actually more the rarity this far from the civilization of the Imperium.
Lion, himself, rarely let a lunch go by without at least one glass of wine. A day with no alcohol would be the hallmark of disaster to his refined breeding.
-------------------
Jerol, so, what is it that we are supposed to be transporting to Footfall for this Garin?
No, strike that. I don't want to know. If I know then I might have to say at some future trial that I knew what is in the crates and lied to officials on the contents. I can truthfully say that I thought they were the personal belongings of Garin and leave it at that. I can even say that I suspected that I was being lied to but the important fact is that I didn't know.
What I do need to know is which hold to store the items and roughly how much space. I also need to have you or Garin work on redistributing the contents maybe into some of the boxes that you are removing cloaks or stubbers from. If I lead a tour of the ship then I need to have an idea on where I'm leading inspectors and the paper work has to match up.
If the manifest says a hundred crates in hold A and there are a hundred and nine then there are going to be problems. And don't get smart with welding any new plates on the wall. Nothing like fresh welds to send up flags or fresh metal filings from where you had to scrape the metal before welding.
The ship has a full set of cargo and barracked with all their items. There are plenty of places to mix a few extra contents into another box and not have any problems with the manifest.
Havelock clears what remains of his throat and nods. He gives Lion a look as he makes the captain out to be drunk, but he does see the value of the deception rather than going into a more through explanation and thus says nothing to contradict.
"You are welcome to the Void Wolf. We apologise that the captain is unavailable. In the meantime, any questions you have can be entrusted to the honourable navigator Lion Rogal Guilliman of the house of Benetek."
To avoid any mistakes, Havelock indicates Lion as the makes the introductions.
"In the meantime, perhaps we might know your name as well master?"
All in all, Havelock would rather see the whole thing over and done with, but he was determined to play the game, there were many things he would prefer to do instead, but subjecting himself to this was after all due to not wanting to miss any possible excitement.
Jerol nodded as he listened to Lions instructions. It would make sense just to spread out the cargo they were smuggling into other crates. After all, there was no way the officials could hope to search even a quarter of the crates in such a large ship. And even if they did find illegal cargo in one of the crates, it would be much easier to convince the officials to turn a blind eye to a few smuggled pistols rather than a few crates worth.
Alright, Ill get on that right away Lion. We'll have to write down what we put in which crates though, or we'll never find all the cargo again. Ill keep a data pad with the information on it. Ill keep it on myself though so you dont have to worry about the officials finding it.
Shouldn't take us more than a few hours to separate the cargo. We'll have it done by the time the officials get here.
The Administratum officer keeps a straight, stern face as Lion mimes the Captain's alleged drinking habit.
My name is irrelevant- but thank you for the welcome. I'm aware these inspections are often seen as overbearing, so we'll endeavour to be as quick as possible. Please provide me with a cargo manifesto. Men, select two crates each and report your findings to the scribes.
The armsmen begin their inspection, the many scribes hovering and scribbling away furiously on data pads...
Now- whats your business in Footfall, if you please. No, I wouldn't dream of impeding your passage; but indulge my curiousity if you will.
'Well, after a stupendous if I do not say possibly legendary passage of the Maw that my ancestor Benetek discovered. I do hope you'll not the time stamps in the log from the beacon of when we left Port Wanderer and arrived in Footfall. I'm sure it will in time bear out to be one of the fastest passages of any merchant vessel of our class, to have made such a trip.'
'Well, after such a passage, the whole sector is filled with possibilities for trade and commerce. Our Rogue Trader may not have much of a head for business but I have a pretty good nose. I can smell a bargain from a quadrant away they say. And Footfall is the best place to sniff out the bargains.'
'People and merchants from across the quadrant stop here to exchange information and resources. I've cloaks, guns, troops, and alcohol enough to stop a war or start one. The real question is trying to decide who can match my price.'
A little bragging of personal skill was expected in any sales pitch. It also followed the teaching, "Show the flaw to hide the crack".
All people were bargain hunters in the Wise Merchant's teachings. There was quite a bit of philosophical argument on this but merchants that followed the teachings as a guide book believed that everything was a buyer. It really was a question of what they were interested in purchasing and what you could convince them to give you in return.
Part of the philosophy that everyone was a bargain hunter was that people were always looking to outsmart the merchant. A merchant with a flaw was seen as 'prey' to the 'smart' shopper that would look to bargain the merchant for every drop of coin in the till. A merchant that was perfectly organized and appeared to be playing a game of strategy was naturally avoided for the customer sensed that they would be getting the worse of any deal they made.
Showing the 'flaw' was the way a merchant appeared to have a problem like pride or a stupid personality that made them gullible to the wiles of the customer. The customer than could be sold anything including cracked goods under the impression that they were out witting the merchant in the value of the goods purchased.
Lion's bit of personal bravado and ability to smell a bargain would soon do the rounds and have buyers looking for what ever crud they could sell or items they could lift from foolish fingers. The inspector, too, would rate Lion as another harmless merchant with bigger dreams and minnow tossed in a pool of sharks when her landed on Footfall. A problem that would sort its self out without interference from the law.
Jerol shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, he always felt uncomfortable around authority. The data pad pressed against his chest felt much larger than it actually was. He moved his arm so it was in front of it, trying to hide the bulge. Realising how ridiculous he was acting he immediately stopped it.
He couldn't help his feelings about large bodies of authority, after all he was still wanted for execution by his own planet.
He relaxed slightly as Lion started playing his mind games with the officer, clearly doing his best to put the man off guard. This took attention off him and that was always good.
Realising his hand was resting on his shot pistol, he moved it away. No fighting was going to break out, it was fine, he was just nervous as he always was around such people. He instead busied himself with playing with the hem of his coat.
Noticing the two crates that the official had picked out, he hoped that the ones that they picked hadn't been the one they packed the illegal pistols in. Still, even if they were, they wouldn't find more than a hand full of the contraband. Hardly enough to spark an investigation, he could only hope...
Havelock shook his head a little at Lions verbose and somewhat flowery speech. Despite not being the first time he had seen Lion perform this way, he was still amazed that he had enough breath in his body to pull it off, granted, Lion was not exactly willowy, but still...
Regardless, the thing that surprised him most as always was that no matter what Lion said or how ridiculous it sounded, he was always able to put enough conviction and self assurance in his speech to come off as completely serious.
Of course, knowing Lion it was just as likely he believed every word he said...
On the other hand, Havelock did have a certain confidence in Lions abilities, even IF the officer were able to detect anything amiss, Lion would no doubt already have a reasonable explanation at the ready.
The crates chosen are given a detailed inspection, and apparently they didn't manage to select any crates with the smuggled goods inside. Goods are checked against logs, while the conversation between Lion and the administrator continues.
Congratulations on your expeditious passage, Lord Benetek. the official says smoothly. I would ask you to be careful NOT to start any wars in Footfall, things are tense enough with the huge surge of gang warfare in the colony lately. Even a small amount of troops or munitions could tip the balance in one of their favour, and frankly Footfall's better off when they are fighting a stalemate.
You notice something strange- one of the men searching the crate spent a long time with his hands inside, almost as though rummaging through or looking for something in particular.
Your sure he wasn't actually rummaging, he simply made as if he was. You think you saw him slip something into the crate...
Your keen eyes miss little- he dropped a small metal device inside the crate before quickly shutting it again and finishing the inspection.
As Jerol looks around, he thinks he sees a man doing something odd with a crate out the corner of his eye. By the time he looks however, nothing is amiss. He dismisses it as him still being nervous and continues to look around the hold.
Minerva seethes internally as Lion implies that her master is some kind of drunkard, but still, she had been ordered to obey his commands as if he were the trader himself. The Arragant fop deseved a slap in the face for his words but she would show control, she was better than a common guardsman...
Lion was familiar with the normal operation of Customs and their many 'tricks'. The family libraries were filled with the stories of the troubles his ancestors had to suffer through and some of the things they had tried to deal with the troubles.
'Personally, I love stalemates. They are one of the most profitable markets as each side is in a seller mood to try and purchase the 'winning' advantage. I've sold more worthless good to primitives in the midst of civil wars then to any governor that has been sitting on his rump for a thousand years.'
'And the best thing to sell in a stalemate is alcohol. Everyone has a reason to drink. No one expects to live so no one wants to save money. It is buy buy buy until the tap is dry. And I just happen to have gallons of the stuff to sell.'
'You see, I told I've a nose for this sort of thing and you've brought me profit already.'
The only thing government agents hated more than idiots were happy idiots. To people that spent their days in dreary cubicles it was like turning the light on in a bathroom. The bright light of happiness would soon send the cockroaches scurrying for their landing craft.
When the officials had left, Lion would make a point of mentioning to Havelock and Jerol to have the crate and every crate touched by the customs people searched carefully. He would also ask Minerva to have her arms people fill out a full detail of every place the customs people had access to and to list any cases of agents having been reminded that 'exploring' was forbidden on the ship.
A ship always had a few rats on board. You couldn't avoid it with picking up new crew in a dozen different ports across the stars. There were always a few dozen serving someone other than the Captain.
Official rats were dangerous as they often were on the leashes of larger hyenas with hungry gullets that were more than willing to subvert the laws in the name of their personal pocket book.
If Lion didn't admire them so much he would be offended by the custom officials and their unknown master. Lion would have loved to have the 'official' power to pull such a 'trick' himself. Instead, he was the lowly merchant that would be 'sacrificed' for the great 'good' if he didn't figure out this current game. Of course, with this sort of thing, it was always better to play the fool for the first couple of rounds and let the home team keep doubling the stakes. You didn't want to show a winning hand too soon or you might miss the next attempt to plant foreign materials on the ship.
Very well, we see nothing amiss. Good luck in your endeavours, Lord Benetek. the Administratum official says simply, before concluding his business. His men swiftly embark onto the Aquila, and you are permitted to dock at Footfall.
Lion waits till the Customs people are off the ship and the officers are in a room outside of the crate that was tampered with.
'Pfaa. Good riddance to bad company. Havelock and Jerol, I don't know if you noticed but I'm certain one of them customs people was doing something with that crate over there.'
Lion will point out the crate and provide more details to make sure they know of the crate he is speaking of.
'I'm not sure if they were pulling something out or tossing something in. Best to run a scanner team over it and make sure we know what we're dealing with.'
'Don't go damaging or destroying anything yet. If we do that then whoever was behind this customs work will just be trying again and from a different direction. Better to know the spy in your midst then to have the spy unknown.'
Minerva, take a moment to go over the visit with your arms people. Check to see if they lost sight of any of the customs people and do a count to see that all that came off the ships and got off the ships were the same people and the same number. I'd hate to have stowaways or traitors. I also would like to know where they all went. This customs inspection might have been a cover for some other plan. Until we figure out the threads we won't know the weave of the tapestry.'
'Now that I think of it, Havelock and Jerol, it is best that you have your scanner teams go over any of the crates the inspection people may have touched. I know its extra work but better a little work now then a major repair later.'
--------------------------
Jerol acknowledged Lions orders and smiled to himself a little. If anyone was going to notice any foul play, it would definitely be Lion. He felt slightly ashamed of himself however, half the point of him being there was to be on the look out for shifty activity, instead he was overcome by his nervousness. He decided he would try to pay extra attention next time to make up for it.
As he made his way over to the crate, he could see nothing amiss, clearly if any tampering was done, it was done very discreetly.
Despite lengthy searching, Jerol finds nothing. He continues to look but remains pessimistic.
"If he removed something then I can only think it was something small, but if he added something then I am confused, I cannot find anything that sticks out or looks out of place. Since they do not know were we are going exactly, the most logical option might be some kind of homing beacon, but what reason could they have for wanting to track us? Have we made some enemies in Footfall already?"
'The Imperium is a large place and many enemies have fingers in a dozen worlds or more. We could have trouble from prior to getting Port Wanderer or someone could have sent a telepathica ahead of us. We're carrying troops, guns, and alcohol the triumvirate of any good war or revolution. I'd be greatly surprised if the Administatum, Inquisition, Adeptus Arbatites, several governors, and several rogue traders were not keeping tabs or wanting to keep tabs on where we were and where we might be headed.'
'I thank-you for your efforts in assuring an over active imagination. There was probably nothing to it and I'm just thinking there is trouble when there isn't.'
Lion headed to his duties to prepare the ship for warp.
He hadn't told the two his full thoughts. He knew that he was paranoid and suspicious of people. It was quite clearly possible hadn't 'found' anything on purpose. They might be working for groups off the ship or with the Rogue Trader himself in this matter.
They may want the later glory of the 'discovery' or they could be being paid to keep the 'discovery' secret to allow others their agenda to succeed.
Either of those were dangerous possibilities and if revealed might require the beaching of them if they proved too dangerous.
The other possibility was they weren't competent in their jobs. That too was dangerous as it left holes in Lion's security. Another reason to beach the pair and find someone competent to fill their shoes.
It was always a delicate balance of loyal incompetents verses disloyal competent that he had to choose from. Was it too hard in this great galaxy to ask for both?
Speaking of which, he had to go and check on the midi-naviates and their instruction of the warp. Maybe there was some hope in home grown talent.
Lion predicts the journey will take just over 40 days in the Warp- longer than normal for such a distance but taking into account vast warp storms and other phenomena.
Fail, 2 degrees
Havelock gazes after Lion as he retreats back to take care of some other business, slowly tapping his faceplate, he wonders quietly if Lion did not drop this a little too fast? Navigators were a distrustful lot, and Lion had always seemed a bit more paranoid than most. He must have decided something already.
An idea strikes him; a way to reassure himself that there really is nothing dangerous hidden in the box, and something that can also be used in the plan to root out the Xeno cult.
All he needs to do is to confer with Praetia and Jerol as to when they will put the plan in action. By making sure that most of the other crew is occupied there will be less chance for them to talk out of hand, so he decides to set his own maintenance crew on scouring the box, they will be out of the way, and if they find nothing then there must be nothing to find.
Havelock rubs his hands together, pleased with his way of thinking.
Havelock heads to the shrine, looking in to see if Praetia is there?
Havelock enters the temple while Praetia is in the middle of a particularly fiery sermon on the dangers of heresy. He can infer several parallels between their plan to root out the heretics and the sermon; phrases like "cold void of damnation" and "a vacuum in your soul." Once Praetia is done and the crew clear out of the shrine, she approaches Havelock.
'So, Lion estimates 40 days? Let us do this sooner than later, will everything be ready tomorrow morning? After the first mess, tell the gunnery crews that they all need to report for recurrent training in one of the exterior chambers. I will be waiting for them there. Have Jerol get his brute squad ready in case there is trouble. I will wear my void suit under my vestments should we need to vent the entire chamber in an emergency.'
'I shall spend the rest of the day in prayer to the Emperor, so that the crew may turn from the false path and avoid a terrible fate.'
Havelock nods his silent ascent to Praetias plan; it is a good one, the sooner the better. Caution is a good watchword, but when dealing with heresy, fire and speed must be used so the heresy does not find fertile soil.
Havelock then goes to find Jerol, while he does so he begins to hand out orders to various crewmembers for the morrow using his micro bead.
"Jactor? You are to assemble the support crew bright and early tomorrow and report to the cargo bay, I have an assignment for them to do, in the meanwhile meet up with me in my quarters in one hour, we have a special assignment that needs to be performed beforehand."
Havelock approaches Jerols quarters and knocks on the door.
Jerol was sat in his room, making sure his gun was in full working order. He took off the barrel, made sure it was free of dust, dismantled the part where the power pack was kept, made sure all the parts that should connect were connected and vice versa.
He put his gun back together, the craftsmanship of his long las was very good, he could have left it and would never have to worry about it jamming. Still, he liked to make sure it was in good working order whenever he had the chance, he didn't want to take the chance.
As he finished putting the last component back in place, he picked up a few power packs. He arranged them around the gun, there was clearly enough space for 3 of them to fit in there, it would be heavy but it would work. A future customisation he felt.
Just as he was doing this, he heard a knock on the door. He put his long las back on his gun rack and made his way over to the door and opened it. It was Havelock.
Havelock rarely made social visits so Jerol assumed it would have something to do with the plan they were planning to pull. He looked around, making sure that no-one had followed Havelock.
He invited Havelock into his quaters.
"Thank you brother Soeul." Havelock gave Jerol a slight bow before entering, his attempts at civilized behaviour a little at odds with his flat metallic voice.
Havelock finds a suitable seat, sits down and folds the mechandrite down behind the back of the chair.
"Sister Praetia wants us to prepare everything necessary to put the plan in motion tomorrow. I am going to rig up a recording device in the chamber so it can be broadcasted to the rest of the crew, she wants you to prepare a "brute squad" in case some of the gunnery crew does not comply or try to break and run for it."
Havelock felt himself relax a little, Jerol might not be a follower of the Omnisiah, but at least he saw fit to treat his bounty with respect and care, that would have made Havelock smile if he was still capable, but area around his eyes still crinkled with good humour.
"I am pleased to see you take such good care of your long-las, I grew somewhat familiar with those weapons during my time with the Imperial guards, I helped modify a few of them for some of the regimental snipers, most of them did the work themselves, but they generally left the installing of new sights and such to tech priests like me."
Jerol spent a few seconds trying to figure out what emotion Havelock was trying to convey with his crinkled eyes. It was very difficult to tell, as he was almost more machine than man now. In any case, what Havelock had said was much more important than his odd facial expressions.
Alright, Ill talk to Garin. I'm sure his soldiers would more than be up to the task. I think a few of the crew find them fairly intimidating as it is, so that'll work to our advantage.
He then listened as Havelock talked about modifying various long las's during his time in the imperial guard. Havelock always got this glazed look when he was talking about machinery, like there was nothing more he would like to talk about or do, other than work with machines.
Well, one of the main things I was taught was that a faulty gun is a useless gun. If you take care of it, it'll take care of you. Still, there are a couple of modifications I would like to make to this gun, could make it far more effective.
Jerol then went on to propose his idea about installing effectively a shot selector on the gun. He even positioned the 3 power packs around the gun to illustrate his point. If anyone could help him achieve this, it would be Havelock, he was almost as good with machines as Jerol was at piloting....almost...
Havelock looks at the longlas as Jerol explains his desires. It makes sense, in battle, having three power packs preloaded makes things much easier, and one of those power packs could be a hot shot for extra power.
Gently Havelock runs his hand over the rifle, muttering a short prayer to the Omnisiah. He can sense the machine spirit; it seems willing, almost eager, and thirsty for a chance to slay more enemies.
"The machine spirit is willing; I think we can enhance it to better serve, and in turn allow itself to be served."
Here he pauses for a moment before speaking again, this time much more hesitantly.
"Sister Praetia...she is rather remarkable wouldn't you say, in the battle against the mutants, she never hesitated or showed fear, she seemed to be fighting with the emperors hand on her shoulder."
Havelock tactfully doesn't mention that he himself was also unaffected by fear, nor pointing out the rather shoddy performance by the Rouge Trader.
Havelock get's a faraway look in his eyes, and mutters, seemingly to himself. "Truly, her flesh was no weakness..."
He turns back to Jerol. "I will begin to pray for the Omnisiash blessing and help your weapon achieve it's true potential as soon as the plan for the heretics have been done with, with 40 days to spare I will have plenty of time before we reach our destination."
First 5
Second 5
Third 5
Lion settled into the Navigator's post and signaled the start of the liturgy. He knew forty days seemed long for the distance but he didn't care. He could feel the presence of the Emperor in his mind. If his estimate of the length of the journey was a bit long then he would seem that much more the legendary navigator for having managed to cut the length of the journey.
If the length of the journey ended up being close to the forty days then people wouldn't care.
Always add a factor and a factor again when judging your estimates was his mentor's teaching. A weather man that predicts sun and ends up with rain is the worse of men while a weather man that predicts rain and ends up with sun is soon forgiven and hailed a hero.
The journey was not routine and there were many dangers that Lion could perceive on the edge of his awareness but the Void Wolf seemed to have a feel for the warp that even he could not match and it found currents and avoided eddies before he could spot them.
Maybe the estimate of forty days had been a bit long.
The gun crew are assembled under the watchful eyes of Garin and his men, and stand nervously in an exterior chamber. Many of them seem to be clutching objects in their pockets, and they look extremely nervous...
Havelock gently puts the long las down on a worktable made from old wood, it was one of his "quirks" that led him to become an Explorator, and he always preferred to work on a surface of wood when he could.
Removing his shoes Havelock kneeled in front of the table and slowly begun to recite the eight laws of craftsmanship, followed by a prayer to the Omnisiah to guide his hands.
After he felt sufficiently in tune with the machine spirit the blessed it with a puff of incense from his utility mechandrite and picked up his tools...
Lion had started to realize there was a problem with the estimation of sixty days for the current leg of the journey and had called a 'Navigator's Meeting' to discuss this problem.
'Which one of you was eating Strawberry preserves in the holy chart room? Confess now your sins or I'll have you all up doing confessions before the Missionary and the priests and priestess in the temple. Come now and confess to me and save yourself a few hours of pain and duress that will come as you sit several vigils in prayer to our God Emperor in repentance for your crime.'
Theodore and Solar glanced briefly at each other. They both knew it was useless to bring up the fact that no one but the Scion Lion and the Rogue Trader could afford a luxury like real Strawberry preserves. The daily officer mess issued better food then the crew in the bottom decks received but it was still a daily bet as to how close a quadrant the food stuff had been produced and what type of plant was being used to masquerade under the name of 'May Contain Non-Terrestrial Plant Material'.
A point of logic like that would only lead to accusations of theft and a worse punishment for the person offered up for guilt.
Instead, Theodore checked the edge of his cuff sleave where he kept the daily list of the 'loser' in the junior midshipmen lottery. A junior midshipmen was a useful target for such things and the whole thing would be a toughening up experience.
'I believe it was Taylor, Lion. I saw the junior midshipman headed that way with his breakfast two five day ago.'
'Well, Taylor, I suppose you were rushing to your duties because you'd been late getting out of your bunk.'
'Sir, it wasn't I' disputed Taylor not realizing what was going on.
'Talking back to a superior officer, Taylor! Why you stupid snotty, I should leave you marooned on a rock for the blunder and damage you've done to the image of this department.'
'No Sir. I mean, yes sir. I mean, no sir.'
Solar could see Lion was ready to explode and deep six Taylor to a fate so bad even space rats wouldn't venture to look for the corpse.
'My apologies Lion. I've been to lax with the boy. He seemed so promising. I'm sure that with some instruction in the temple that he'll learn to keep his place. I'll see that he gets up an hour extra early and does extra shifts doing cleaning to remember that food has no place in the chart room.'
Lion glared at Taylor daring him to speak further but a quick elbow from a fellow midshipman and a few quick kicks had taken the desire out of him.
'Well, I suppose that I can forgive the boy...provided he does the extra work and gets up early for the next...' Lion looked at Solar and Theodore for a suitable amount of time.
'A month' supplied Solar testing the waters.
'A month!', Taylor cried.
'Correction, I better make it two unless Taylor here feels that he is being hard done by and I choose to make it six,' said Solar.
Taylor slumped his shoulders and accepted his fate.
'Good, that's settled. Let's have tea.' said Lion looking forward to what Kilbert might have for him.
On the morning of the plans implementation, Havelock had the maintenance crew assembled by Jactor in the cargo hold, beforehand he had made sure the cargo master had marked each crate that was checked by the port authorities.
"Time for you lot to get to work, and this time I want to see you do your absolute best. I've told you all time and time again that we have to prove our worth on this ship, and it is not a task we can complete just once and rest on our laurels."
Havelock swept over the cargo with one hand.
"See this? The more perceptive of you have noted that some of the cargo is marked, good, that shows you are paying attention."
Havelock took a moment to see if any of the crew seemed pleased, or shamefaced, those would be marked down by Jactor, to be commended or reprimanded at a later date.
"Our task today is to go through the crates, looking for anything out of place, one crate, and I will not tell you which, may have been tampered with. You are going to make sure that this is untrue, and if it is true you will secure the crate and report at ONCE!"
By not telling them which crate, Havelock hopes to make sure that each member will work their hardest at all time, not just on that one crate.
At this point Jactor steps forward, swells his chest and bellows.
"You maggots got your assignments, what are you waiting for? A sign from the Omnisiah himself? Get to it!"
Leaving the crew under the supervision of Jactor, Havelock heads to the bridge, he wants to see Praetia in action. He instructs Jactor to contact him at once should the crew find something in the cargo hold.
Jerol rose from bed. It was the morning of the plan, he had to go and assume his role in the cockpit.
As he made his way up, he got his usual tingles. It didn't matter how many times he did it, he just loved flying. You couldn't beat the feeling of pure freedom, at least the closest anyone in the imperium came to it anyway.
As he arrived in the cockpit, he relieved a tired looking Arean of his duties. Arean's normal nervousness was no longer there, instead replaced by pure exhaustion. He knew that feeling well. Being completely drained, he even felt sympathy for him.
Still, he would have to reprimand him for his mistakes later. He had left the reverse thrusters on slightly, reducing their speed. He'd also directed the engines thrusters downwards slightly so they were not travelling at the optimal angle. Not to mention his disregard for the small adjustments to the side thrusters which, by the looks of the switches, he had given up doing hours ago.
As he settled into the pilots seat, he felt instantly at home, it took him about 5 seconds to rearrange the flaps into the optimal positions and he was ready. He just had to wait untill Preatia and Havelock were ready, and he would give the ship a bit of a jiggle.
He was sure Garin, Havelock and Preatia would be able to handle any trouble that the Xenos cult may give them. It would be fine.
Praetia walks into the chamber, flanked by her acoltyes, stopping to make sure she was in a good spot for the cameras. She wore her full vestments for this occasion to impress the proper gravitas, also because they were bulky enough to cover her void suit.
'I appreciate everyone attending this morning, I trust you all slept soundly? Well, I did not. Last night, I received a dream from the Emperor. In it, he told me that some of the crew aboard this ship have turned from His light. This pains; as I care deeply about each crewmember aboard this ship. As does the Emperor. He protects each of you, and the Void Wolf, as we go out and do His work. Surely, the Emperor hath provided safe passage and prosperity for us all?'
She pauses, to let her words sink in.
'Show the Emperor your love for Him, as He does for you. Who among your lot have turned from His grace? Come forth, you will not be harmed.'
The two hundred or so members of the gun crew stand looking extremely uncomfortable throughout the speech, particularily casting glances at Garin's heavily armed mercenaries. As Praetia finishes her speech, a somewhat underwhelming cheer for the Emperor is cried through the group. Praetia's request at the end foes unanswered, although there is a great deal of murmuring and whispers between the group. Eventually, a grizzled looking member of the gun crew steps forward, clearly a hive worlder-
Mish'nary Praetia- Not one of the lads would turn away from the Emperor. Do you believe... that there is Chaos among us?
An audible whimper passes through the group. Many among them are aware of the deadly implications of the accusation...
Mish'nary Praetia- Not one of the lads would turn away from the Emperor. Do you believe... that there is Chaos among us?
Praetia's face hardens as she adresses the man, 'I do.' She turns to Magdela, takes a small sack from her Acolyte and tosses the contents on the floor. The Xenos-charms land on the steel deck with a harsh *clank*. 'And there is the proof! Our Navigator's man found these among the gunnery crews belongings during the last sweep. These blasphemous articles are an affront to the Emperor and endanger us all! Who here knows of these charms or their makers? WHO?'
"This time there will be no chance to protest innocence, the proof is presented, now the righteous must step forward and help to cut the cancer free, or sacrifice themselves to save the unworthy."
Even had Havelocks voice been completely organic, it could not have been more flat or emotionless as it rings out across the bridge after Praetias statement.
The meaning of his statement clear, more than a few bridge personnel casts glances at the immobile Explorator, and more than a few look a little nervous, everyman has a shadow somewhere in their minds after all.
"Let this be a lesson to all, the safety of this ships is paramount, none that threaten her purity can be allowed to remain, all heretics will be found and cut out of the ships flesh, just as it should be."