'You believe Luneberg is a rebel?
'Indeed I do, Lord Gerrit, indeed I do. His policies, and those of many generations of his line prior to him, have plunged this sector into isolation from Terra. He believes himself above the Pax Imperialis. We must bring him into line, or there will be a terrible price to pay. For us all'
Korvane's instincts sensed an opening. 'I see, and how may I be of assistance in averting such a disaster?
Droon bowed, turning as he did so and indicating with another expansive sweep of his long arms an archway, beyond which a side chamber was visible. 'Please, let us retire to discuss the details'
'You realise. said Zachary Droon, 'that your name will be spoken in awe by generations to come'
Korvane stood beside Droon, atop a craggy promontory, watching as the legions of the Epsilon Planetary Defence Force marched by in perfect formation. They filed onto two waiting transports, which would take them to orbit. From there they would be packed onto the Rosetta, and, Korvane hoped, and had promised, onto the Oceanid and the Fairlight, as soon as they arrived.
You flatter me, my Lord Droon' Korvane replied, not taking his eyes from the spectacle below. 'I wish only to serve'
Droon chuckled at this, but did Korvane the kindness of not commenting further. The two had come to a deal. A far better deal, Korvane believed, than his father had attempted to enter into with that madman Luneberg. He was sure that he had secured the immediate future of the Arcadius, by pledging the three vessels to aid Droon in his righteous war against the recidivist Luneberg. To start with, all they need do was transport Droon's Planetary Defence Force troops to Mundus Chasmata, where they would launch a devastating and entirely unforeseen assault on Luneberg's centres of power. The world would fall in short order, of that Korvane was positive, and the Arcadius would reap the rewards of their loyal service to the forces of law and order.
Korvane smiled to himself as he watched the troops parading by. His day had finally arrived. His father would cede control to him, and force his bitch of a stepsister to tow the line or leave.
Oh yes, he thought, his time was coming.
CHAPTER TEN
The Oceanid's warp drive howled a plaintive wail, disturbingly human in tone, as the vessel crashed through the non-existent barrier between the real world and the empyrean. Lucian opened his eyes, mouthing a prayer to the almighty God-Emperor, a prayer of thanks that his vessel was delivered once more to the physical universe.
The warp drive continued its screaming, the terrible, soul-wrenching sound audible even on the Oceanid's bridge, hundreds of metres fore of the drive section. Lucian knew it indicated that something had come very close to going incredibly wrong whilst they were within the warp, but knew better than to dwell on what disaster might have been close to befalling his vessel. Instead, he resolved to seek his Navigator's counsel on the matter as soon as the adept had been given time to recover from the voyage.
Lucian looked to the head of his bridge, seeing nothing of note or out of the ordinary through the wide viewing port that dominated it, 'Helm, situation report if you will'
Helmsman Raldi consulted the constellation of blinking lights, glass dials and scrolling readouts clustered around his station before replying.
'We're within point five A.U.s of the marker, sir'
'Stress points?
'Yes sir, several. I couldn't say for sure, but I think that jump might have taken its toll'
'My thoughts too, Mister Raldi. Station ten? A rating at one of the deck stations stood to attention. 'Do we have a reference?
Though he was unsure as to its nature, Lucian's experience told him that all was not well with the warp jump. He was relieved in the extreme that the Oceanid was in more or less the correct position, she was where she should be. Next, he needed to ascertain that his vessel was when she should be. The warp was capable of playing some extreme and cruel tricks with relative time, particularly when conditions within it were rough.
The rating bent over his station, feverishly working the dials and levers, before turning back to Lucian. 'Astrographicus indicates we have arrived ahead of schedule sir. Transient conditions within the warp, I would surmise'
'Early? Doubt gripped Lucian's heart. 'How early?
'Only point zero five sir, we're-
'Good. interrupted Lucian. It was a fact that the warp did odd things to time and space and his ilk had to live with that. The consequences of some particularly extreme distortions however were scarcely worth considering.
'Station three. Scan for the Fairlight and Rosetta
The servitor hard-wired to the instruments at station three gave forth its electronic contralto, a disturbing mixture of human and machine generated sound. This continued for several minutes, Lucian feeling more unsettled as time dragged on.
'Holo' he ordered, the holograph display resolving before him. At first grainy and blurred, the image became more detailed as the augurs gathered more and more information on the area of space immediately surrounding the Oceanid. Lucian cursed as one third of the image remained empty — the result of losing a scanner tower in the confrontation with the Chasmata orbital.
'Station three, no luck?
The servitor at the communications station ceased its machine gibberish, shaking its head in a motion that Lucian might have taken for sadness in a fully human crewman.
'Well enough' If the Oceanid's jump had been affected by adverse conditions within the warp, it stood to reason that the other vessels might have been too. However, given the circumstances of the jump, Lucian was determined to be sure.
'Mister Raldi? The helmsman turned. 'I'm going to speak with Master Karisan. You have the bridge'
'Aye sir' Lucian heard the helmsman reply as he stalked from the bridge. If conventional, machine-guided communications could offer no clue, perhaps the ship's astropath might have more luck, he thought.
The astropath's chamber was situated amidships, on the lowest deck. Lucian's journey took him through an area of his vessel that had taken damage during the skirmish with the Chasmata orbital, and he was forced to double back on himself several times to avoid areas made inaccessible. Work gangs and H-grade servitors packed the gloomy companionways, their junior officers working them around the clock to get the damage repaired, or at least contained.
As Lucian walked, he cast his mind back over the confrontation, and subsequent emergency jump into warp space. He could feel a pattern emerging, fragments of an overall picture that was not yet ready to reveal itself to him. Luneberg had concealed the true nature of the deal he had sought to negotiate, that much was obvious. Lucian suspected that the Imperial Commander had sought to tie him down on some point of contract, but that, for some reason or other he had changed his mind. Brielle had certainly had some part to play in that, for she had apparently sabotaged the talks quite deliberately. He would find out why, when he found out where she was.
He recalled the flight from Luneberg's palace. The man had truly cracked when Brielle had burst in on their final negotiations, and the rogue traders had only barely escaped with their lives. When the orbital had opened fire on them with a weapon that Lucian knew was of alien origin, things had begun to make more sense to him. The weapon, what Lucian took to be some manner of ultra-high velocity mass driver, took its toll on the Oceanid, although she had suffered far worse in her time. The question that begged to be answered, was just where Luneberg had acquired the weapon. He had all but admitted that, at the very least, his world was estranged from the mainstream of the Imperium. Lucian suspected that the Imperial Commander had wavered on the threshold of heresy for some time, and the fact that he had obtained, and used, xenos weaponry suggested that he had decided to take that final step.