Herald of the Stars: Chapter Three Hundred and Fifteen

Raphael’s hands pause for the briefest moment as he screws the lid back on the bruise cream. His breath hitches slightly and his heart rate accelerates for two beats, then steadies. A normal Human would not have noticed, but I am Machine, not Man.

“I am disappointed in you, Raphael,” I say. “I asked a question, but the answer matters little. Either you let someone hit you with your gun to make your little story seem more convincing, or you were disarmed and pistol whipped with your own gun by your so-called peers. Perhaps you’ll dare tell me the fortress was infiltrated and you were attacked within its halls? None of this inspires me with confidence.

“Next we have your framing of the problem. It does not matter to me who protects Saint Petrus, only that they are safe. That this causes unrest is irrelevant. You downplayed the importance of a Genestealer and Pleasure Cults. These matter to me. They are relevant to my bargain with the Barghests.

“I do not know what game you are playing here, nor do I care for it. What’s more, we made this long and expensive journey just for you. You are my Master of Whispers, not my handler, as much as that would please the Inquisition. Now, before I make my judgement, did you actually get the information I asked you to gather, or is that too, being held on condition of my cooperation?”

“The latter, Magos,” says Raphael, his tone curt.

“Now, without the attempt at manipulating me through my daughter, or threatening me with a decaying tithe fleet that is slower than my own ships and isn’t even in the system, why do you need me to negotiate the release of Saint Petrus?”

“Giving the Saint to a neutral third party, such as Governor Hax, will remove the reason for the conflict and free the Inquisition to deal with the illegal cults. This would earn me the favour I need to trade for the information you want from Governor Hax.”

“Then why in the Emperor’s name didn’t you just say that?” I exclaim. “This is not the first time we have had this conversation, Inquisitor! If you want help, you must ask for it. Like a normal person!”

“I don’t know.”

“Well I do. It is surprisingly difficult to ask for help. It means admitting that one has failed and cannot complete a task alone. For men like you and I, asking for help is humiliating.”

Raphael starts tapping his finger against his thigh, “If you say so.”

“I do and I have. I am no longer convinced that you are a good fit for the Stellar Fleet, Inquisitor Horthstein. You’ve had more than enough time to adjust yet stubbornly refuse to do so. I opened my ships to the Inquisition to foster cooperation and to prevent the wild card tendencies of your order from seeing enemies where there are none. 

“Inquisitor Lyre continuously poked at my tolerances to understand what sort of man I am. He ran off at the first excuse before he had to face the consequences of his greed when he inevitably pushed too far by pointing a gun at my daughter. That Lyre was incapable of killing her is besides the point.

“You, Inquisitor Horthstein, were to be the moderating hand. I would get access to the Inquisition’s information network and you would be allowed to openly spy on me so that those with itchy trigger fingers would not spray and pray in the Emperor’s name.

“In pursuit of this understanding, I have offered you a ship of your own in time and personally tutored you in the higher mysteries of the Mechanicus. However, the first time I actually ask you to do the job I have hired you for, not only did you fail to get the information, you tried to threaten me to perform actions that would benefit the Inquisition first and the Stellar Fleet second. 

“I commend you for your loyalty. I admire your duplicity. I despise your callous disregard for the fate of Hive Sibellus and Scintilla and your utter contempt towards upholding your own word. Do you have anything you wish to add to this analysis?”

The near silence stretches for a minute as the quiet hum of fans blowing sterile air into the cockpit. Raphael gaze drops to his feet as he thinks, then he looks up, his face passive, and stares me in the eyes.

“I do not.”

I say, “Then here is my judgement. Your attempt at manipulation, either as your own idea or that of Inquisitor Aegult Caidin, was wholly unnecessary. I would have helped anyway to uphold my deal with the Barghests to aid their hunt of Xenos and Chaos Cultists. 

“During our conversation I have already deployed the Barghests. They will purge the Hive and then the world of its corruption. The Inquisition will not be needed and can stew in the problems of their own making. The new Barghests will get the trial of fire they require to solidify their skills.

“The Stellar Fleet will remain in system until the purge is complete, and then we will depart. You have until the Barghests are done to help Seraphine Lebarcham complete the trades I require and get the information I want. This could be a week or a year, so don’t dally. 

Neither you, nor I, are going to stick our noses in the local conflict between the Ministorum and the Inquisition. At best, I will offer a moderating word if the opportunity presents itself. Killovie Signi will be working for me during this time, so don’t expect her help.

“If you fail to get me the resources I require for any reason other than they don’t exist in the system, I will leave you behind and the Inquisition’s cooperation with the Stellar Fleet will be at an end. 

“Now, just in case you think you can trick me, let me remind you that I could tell you were hit by your own gun, not because it was your blood, but because your bruise matches the miniscule imperfections in the metalwork of the grip. I already know that everything I want is within this system. I have the money, so if you have to resort to violence to get what I want, I will consider your task a failure and you will be left behind.

“A final warning, if the Inquisition, either you or a member of your order acting within this system causes me undue trouble, you will have failed in one of your primary roles and I will leave you behind. To reiterate, they are your peers, not mine, and I am cooperating with you to keep them out of my business. Do you have any questions or doubts about the orders I have given?”

“No, Magos Issengrund. You have made your stance quite clear. For the record, I was hit because I refused to disclose your secrets when questioned. My fellow Inquisitors made sure it was as humiliating as possible. I acknowledge I could have handled this issue better.”

“It is not your failure that angers me, Inquisitor Horthstein, it was the deception. It is a Fleet Command officer’s duty to report the truth, no matter how unwelcome. I have put a lot of effort into working with you. If I actually wanted you gone, I would not be giving you an opportunity to correct your mistake. I am also willing to cut my losses if pushed any further. Get me the results I want and we can both forget this conversation ever happened. You might even get your chance at a little payback.”

“The Inquisition cannot be seen to fight among themselves.”

“Evidently. Do not follow Lyre’s example. Do not expect a third chance.”

“Yes, Magos.”

“Good talk. I’ll be working with JK-404 if you need to locate me.”

“Acknowledged.”

I leave the cockpit, the faint stirrings of anger I nurtured already leaving my mind. Though I said otherwise to his face, I do not fear the Inquisition as I once did; if Raphael must leave, it will be a minor inconvenience, at best. If anything, I’m actually rather pleased to have an excuse to remove a foreign influence from my fleet.

I contact Killoive and give her her orders, then send a message to Fleet Command so that they know what orders I have given to Raphael and Odhran. After that, I throw myself into my research, keen to get my most powerful abilities back and find a way to restore my dulled emotions.

With the deployment of the Barghests, all but my fiercest detractors cease their prattling as half a legion of Astartes tear through the planet like wildfire. Within two weeks I get my first client, Consul Sevavin himself, turning him back into a twenty-five year old and installing enough implants in him to provide four more centuries of life.

With his endorsement, the offers to Seraphine keep coming. I don’t even have to deal with them all myself as a handful of my Psy-Errants are good enough at biomancy to deal with most cases. For those with even fewer funds, Torchbearer’s Medicae Deck has all the tools, cybernetics, and bionics to fix millennia of medical malpractice. This, in turn, quickly dries up support for the Pleasure Cult as they have fewer knobs to twist to entice people to their side. 

The accumulated wealth in the system is absurd, but more so are the contacts that these ancient families can call upon. I completely underestimated how badly all these rich people don’t want to die, or be relieved of the pain caused by implants centuries older than they are. Families with officers in my fleet rise in popularity and influence which, in turn, grants me more business.

Stellar Fleet SOL expands far beyond my original goals. I gain three Goliaths, two Carracks, one Turbulent, four Cobras, four Gladius, a Viper, and a Secutor. I still don’t get a Star Clipper though. Not even death can get a noble family or trade syndicate to give up one of these rare ships.

After trading for sixteen new vessels I have to stop as I just don’t have enough officers. Mundane crews are of no issue as everyone is rushing to show their piety and contribute resources to the fleet of an Imperial Saint. The new crews aren’t up to standard, but they will be, and those who stray join the Penal regiments and are sent to supplement the Barghests. We have no trouble maintaining the numbers or training of our troops.

Ignotus quells the riots after I fix up some of his relatives towards the end of our first year, leaving the Inquisitors free to pursue their business, which mostly involves getting in the way of the Bargests and getting sent home after a beating.

As for news of the Lathes, my trades and Astartes, not Raphael, get me a meeting with Marius Hax a month after I arrive and the meticulous governor is happy to tell me that all contact has been lost due to a Warp storm and it’s been that way for six months. 

This reinforces my opinion to be ready for anything and we delay our departure, leaving the Barghests free to run amok on the planet for five years.

Yes, I know I said I was in a rush back at Footfall, but now that I have more information, sprinting into danger that I know is there will mean I never arrive at all if I do not prepare properly for it. I refuse to pilot my new ships through a Warp storm without at least three layers of Gellar Fields!

Rather than accept more void ships, I purchase a failing shipyard, and use all the resources thrown at me to refit my purchased ships, as well as finish off the last few changes I had to make to Torchbearer and replenish my Strike-Craft. That includes removing the old thrusters from Torchbearer and replacing them with the more powerful and space efficient designs cribbed from Iron Crane. 

The Cobras are rebuilt into Adders and placed under the command of the Secutor in my order of battle. A Secutor is the combat version of the Lathe Class. It’s a bit bigger, better armoured, has more guns, and is two gravities slower. It is intended for war, not exploration. With these additions, Stellar Fleet SOL is now stronger than it was before it split from MANI.

The Carracks join my other two transports. One is assigned to the Penitents and the other to the Sororitas. The two Vagabond Class Merchant Traders and the Jericho Class Pilgrim vessels are ditched. 

The Jericho does not resume its pilgrimage and might still try to follow but it won’t do them any good. They’re far slower than us and I always disguise the passage of my fleet through the Warp.

The Vagabonds’ captains are more practical and sell out to Scintilla nobles, not trusting to keep their commissions after they deviated so far from their original routes. The Vagabonds will no doubt be recorded as ‘lost’, then refitted to disguise their origins. It is open theft, but it's also not my problem.

Drawing on the Ministorum forces to aid in training, the Sororitas expand, reaching their maximum limit of our agreement at 10,000. I don’t even have to pay for it as Cardinal Ignotus is keen to show he is doing his part after losing custody of Saint Petrus.

Even with ten thousand sisters and their supporting vehicles, there is plenty of room left on their Carrack so I fill it with two regiments of Automata Auxilia, a reserve of robotic troops that I can draw from to supplement my other regiments as needed. 

The Automata Auxilia are not the same as a Battle Automata regiment as the Auxilia are mechanical troops kept in storage, not a regiment dedicated to working with robots, even if the squads are structured in the same way as all my other forces.

Their primary role is to act as decoys and breachers for my more valuable troops. I can’t use Penitents or Penal Regiments as decoys as that would mean giving and training people in my best gear who cannot be trusted with it, just to have them shot at. 

Servitors can use Herald equipment without issue. The Janus design is far smarter and more competent than the average Imperial Guard, though I know that the Guard would object to such a comparison.

The Penitents are not expanded, I will not allow it, but I do replenish their numbers up to what they were before Footfall. Most of them are clergy and other ministorum people with no hope of promotion, but plenty of useful skills. Somehow their numbers go beyond my limits anyway and the Penitent’s new ship gets overcrowded immediately. 

So long as the Penitents stay on their void ship and don’t break Stellar Fleet regulations, I turn a blind eye to their self-imposed discomfort. It’s not like the Stellar Fleet will ever be short of universal rations or soylent viridans. 

The Penitents are drilled relentlessly to keep them out of trouble and the best of them filter into the Heralds and Stellar Fleet crews, filling my new void ships. I still don’t give the Penitents any implants or anything beyond the equipment I did previously. At Brigid and Herald Primarus Domhnall Noake’s urging I do authorise a proper uniform and regimental standards for the Penitents to give the Penitents an identity to rally behind beyond ‘For Saint Alpia and the Emperor’.

The Gladius vessels are donated to the Barghests, giving Odhran and Leith Madara a full light cruiser strike group to work with. It also reduces the strain on my officers and gives the Barghest’s crew positions to fill that they can leverage for more support. 

Serving with the Emperor’s Angels is a privilege to be bought, not earned. It’s not like the Barghests will give those resources back if the incompetent officers are pressured until they run back home, and if they don’t? Chances are they’ll make something of themselves in the process. 

Anything that the Barghests get through this process are resources that I don’t have to spend and Odhran is a decent enough chap to pass those saving on to the Stellar Fleet, even though our agreement does not require it. That, or he remembers how pissed I was at stretching the boundaries of our last agreement with the creation of new Astartes and does not want to push his luck. Perhaps he had a chat with Raphael? I do not care enough to check.

The Turbulent and Viper do not fit within my Order of Battle. I authorised the exchange so that my people could dissect the ships, add them to our knowledge base, and have a platform to experiment on with redesigns that we can later forward to Stellar Fleet MANI. I have been in need of a heavy frigate and scout ship and I am satisfied to get my mechadendrites on them. Once they are upgraded, I place them with the support ships under Alpia’s command.

The Inquisition, once freed from the riots, purge the upper hive and spire, thinning the blue bloods, focusing most of their investigations on anyone who dares step into my surgical suite or aboard my vessels. 

I almost feel bad for Raphael as it looks more haggard every time I see him. Our previous conversation has apparently gotten through to him. However, he is young and all his deeds were achieved under mine or Lyre’s name. The other Inquisitors do not respect him. Raphael is likely a dead man if I leave him behind but I refuse to spend more resources on dead weight. 

As I am trying not to be a complete arsehole, even if Raphael does not pull off a miracle and achieve cooperation with his peers, I am going to suggest that he keeps his shuttle and purchases a passenger berth on a ship heading back to the Koronus Expanse. 

His return might put Raphael back on track to inherit Lyre’s ships if he can pry them from Calligos. Assuming that Lyre did not survive my assasination. I have heard from neither Lyre or Calligos as to their state of ambulation or of their success in hunting Karad Vall. If Lyre is dead, and one squints, they could even say that I will have my word to Raphael to give him a ship if gets Lyre’s!

Despite the growing political pressure, the Inquisition do not return Saint Petrus to Cardinal Ignotus. It isn’t me who loses patience first though, but Alpia. With her training as my heiress complete, I realise far too late that Alpia was keen to prove all her efforts were worth the trouble and that she can act outside of my shadow.

At the end of our fifth year orbiting Scintila, like the lance of titans that guard the planet, Alpia goes for a ‘walk’.