Captain Lazarus of the Imperial Navy, commander of the Emperors Justice, was not happy. He had just finished an eight hour watch, and had finally been relieved by another officer to get some very much needed sleep when he had been roused over the intercom by a quavering ensign telling him that he was needed once more. Lazarus exclaimed using every curse he knew, pulled on his boots once more and rammed his cap onto his head. He was smoothing out his coat as he strode angrily onto the bridge.
"What is the meaning of my rude awakening?"
The Emperors Justice was a Dictator class Cruiser, and the bridge was filled with walls of terminals and equipment; navigation systems, outer-hull sensors to search the eternal blackness outside for threats, weapon controls, communications for both within the ship and for communicating with planets and other ships. Servitors were plugged into the machines at regular points, and their blank mechanical voices droned their set prayer to the Omnissiah in a low mumble. Officers and ensigns hurried from one machine to another, comparing information, arguing or pressing buttons rapidly. All this movement stopped when the Captain called out, and an eerie silence fell upon the usually bustling place. A single ensign stood up from his post in front of the primary sensors-station, and nervously raised his hand. He swallowed.
"Um…I found something on the sensors, sir…a-and I thought that you would want to see it."
"Well? Out with it man, what am I here to look at?" Lazarus pushed his way through the crowd to the ensign, as they resumed their noisy work.
"Some form of illegal vessel sir" The Captain's eyes widened.
"Are you sure?"
The nervous ensign sitting in front of him nodded and swallowed nervously. The screen in front of him showed the reception from the ship's prow. On the edge of the top of the screen, almost not within range of detection was a single green dot, flashing regularly. The ensign tapped several buttons, and the image of a flashing green dot on radar was replaced with a wall of text, and a computer-generated image of a ship.
"It's definitely a Dauntless class Light Cruiser sir, but there are no such ships registered to be in this system, and they won't reply to our hails."
Lazarus stood up and looked out of the window in front of him, where a million-million stars looked back. One of those blinks of light wasn't a star however, but the engines of a ship that shouldn't be there. Captain Lazarus narrowed his eyes.
"Pirates". The ensign swallowed.
"P-pirates?"
"Or smugglers, it makes no difference." He grabbed a random officer out of the crowd. "Alert all crew: battle-stations, prepare to board an enemy vessel." The officer nodded, and ran off yelling orders.
Captain Lazarus shoved an ensign out of his way, and arrived at the communications hub, where the constant background noise of static grated across his hearing, making him grind his teeth. The officer had obviously followed his orders to a tee, as the artificial lights turned to a tinge of red, and an automated voice began calling out over the intercom.
"BATTLE STATIONS. REPEAT: BATTLE STATIONS. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. ALL PILOTS REPORT TO THE HANGAR BAYS, ALL TROOPS PREPARE TO BOARD. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. BATTLE STATIONS."
Lazarus nodded his head grimly, and grabbed the shoulder of an officer ordering the Navy ratings at the comms-stations around.
"Get me a direct line with the ship"
"Aye sir"
The Captain ordered for silence, and once again the only sound in the bridge where the clicking and whirring of machines, and the ever-present servitors lost in their own mechanical hells. Lazarus leant on the desk in front of him and spoke in a tone that dripped authority.
"Unknown vessel, you have been sighted on our sensors. Change your course and dock with us in preparation for boarding and inspection, or we will attack, cripple and board your ship anyway. Please respond."
The voice that came back was polite, but somehow portrayed that it had something up its sleeve.
"And what authority do you order this?"
Lazarus bristled.
"My authority as a Captain of the Imperial Navy, and the Emperor himself."
"And to whom am I speaking?"
"Captain Lazarus Cheval, Commander of the Dictator class Cruiser, Emperor's Justice. Who are you?"
"Captain Seth Hausier, Commander of the Dauntless class Light Cruiser, Bell's Wrath."
"By what authority do you command?"
"My authority as a Rogue Trader"
Lazarus swore. Rogue Traders were always trouble, they believed their licences allowed them to do whatever they want and be entirely above the law, and many of them were no more than pirates or smugglers, foregoing their duty to the Emperor in preference of personal gain. They were scum in Lazarus' eyes, and he took a great deal of pleasure from boarding them, and confiscating their ships and cargo. His mouth became a thin line, scrunched in anger.
"Rogue Trader or no, you will submit to inspection or we will open fire"
"Very well Captain, we are turning around"
"Do not try to avoid your judgement, sir"
"Of course not Captain, I give you my word I shall not 'try anything'".
The Rogue Trader cut the connection, and Lazarus waited on the ensign watching the green blip on the screen as if his life depended on it, sweat trickling down his brow. He suddenly looked up.
"They are changing course sir! Moving into docking position with us!"
The next few minutes were some of Captain Lazarus' most tense in his life, watching the small ship millions of miles away steadily turn around and scoot slowly but steadily towards the Emperor's Justice. Lazarus waited for the Rogue Trader to try something, wishing for the bastard to try something so he could open fire and remove one more of the Emperor's enemies.
As the Light Cruiser came closer, the details of its hull became more apparent to the Captains scrutiny. Near to the front of the ship, Lazarus noticed a painting of a scantily dressed red-headed woman throwing back her head and laughing, next to her head; written in garish blue paint were the words Bell's Wrath. The ship's hull itself bore the usual pocks and scars from asteroids and flotsam crashing into it during space travel. The hull itself was the usual Imperial colours of dark green and gold, but stripes of dark, blood-like scarlet paint covered the main batteries and prow. Lazarus' knuckled went white as he grabbed the desk in front of him.
"These damn Rogue Traders. How dare they deface an Imperial vessel in this way! And what sort of a name is Bells Wrath? I am certain no priest of the Ecclesiarchy blessed this ship!" Lazarus fumed.
The enemy ship was almost in line to dock with the Emperor's Justice, Captain Lazarus was about to leave the bridge to lead the investigation himself, when the Navy rating in front of the communications caught his arm.
"What is it?" Lazarus was impatient, and touching a commanding officer was a breach of Navy protocols.
"Sir, the pirate Sir, h-he's requesting a direct line"
Lazarus paused. The Emperor-damned Trader may be attempting a last-minute reprieve, possibly striving to strike up a deal, or even try to bribe Lazarus. Captain Lazarus thoroughly enjoyed shooting down any hopes Pirates had of getting away free, just before he clapped them in irons.
"Put him through"
The Rouge Trader, Captain Hausier sounded if anything even more relaxed than previously.
"Hello Captain Lazarus"
"What do you want Pirate?"
"Who says I am a pirate?"
"I do"
"Well, if you must know I'm more of a smuggler. It's not that I haven't stolen ships, you are in fact looking at my most recent conquest, but I've always found weapon smuggling to be less risk-filled and even more profitable in the long run."
"I do not care what pitiful name you give yourself, you are the scum of Imperial space, and I will bring you down. Now hurry up and dock, so you can submit to the Emperor's Justice" Lazarus snarled.
"Now who says I won't just run away? You and I both know that my ship is far more agile than yours. I can be in the next system by the time you've turned around". Hausier replied conversationally.
Lazarus blanched. "You gave me your word Hausier!"
The Rogue Trader's reply was shouted over the sudden deep rumbling coming from outside of the Emperor's Justice.
"Never trust a smuggler Captain!" A novice stood up from his post and screamed over the sound.
"They have started up their plasma drives Sir!"
Captain Lazarus charged across the bridge to the sensors and watched, completely helpless as the self-accused smuggler sped away from the Emperor's Justice. Lazarus punched the screen in front of him in a rage, smashing the glass and cutting his knuckles badly. He roared at the officer at the navigation system.
"Follow that bloody Pirate! I will have his head!"