Chapter Twenty-eight

Janey watched the small shuttle as it came into dock. She was waiting at the top of the bow ramp for the Navigator. A Navigator! She'd heard of them of course, powerful psykers who could guide a ship through the warp using the Emperor's Astronomicon as a beacon, but she'd never met one. The Blood Angels either had been guided by a brother-Librarian, or had used one of their own Navigators while she and her mother had been confined to quarters. Janey suspected the latter, though she'd not been allowed on the bridge to find out. Still, it was important to make a good impression, so she was in uniform, or close to it; a similar jacket and trousers to her mother's dress outfit, with her combat blade on her forearm and a standard issue bolt pistol on her hip, and a formal Emperor's Children over-robe, which she doubted anyone would recognise.

The INS shuttle settled quietly onto the landing platform at the rogue trader's docking berth. Senior Navigator Mijal Edsel straightened his formal robes and unbelted himself. His chosen aides, Flionn Tehmet and Jiord Efril from the Administratum, and junior navigator under instruction Astrid Lyognet stood and followed the two naval orderlies to the wide and empty metal deck. Edsel walked slowly – he never liked to hurry – towards the long metal ramp. Only one slight figure, black-clad and visibly armed under a richly decorated over-robe, stood in wait; a girl-child, perhaps fourteen, bareheaded to show shoulder-length hair of a dark enough colour to verge on black.

Edsel wasn't certain whether to be insulted by the paucity of the greeting, or relieved. His position as a senior Navigator – indeed the senior Navigator of an Imperial Navy squadron – would normally mean a formal greeting party headed by the ship's most senior officers. Such formalities tended to be wearing, and Edsel had never been one to stand on ceremony, but still. He waited until the shuttle crew had taken formal guard positions before gesturing his aides to precede him down the ramp.

Janey stepped forward, towards the tall robed man with the golden cloth across his forehead. She wasn't sure what all the symbols on his heavy dark green robes meant, but since that was likely the case in reverse it made no difference. He did wear the symbols of the Navis Nobilite, and the given that he was one clearly the senior of the two people with forehead coverings, he had to be Edsel. One of the (obvious) aides attempted to intercept her and she stopped with a cold stare, then continued at a gesture from the Navigator. She gave him a small formal bow, which was returned with the briefest of nods.

"Senior Navigator Edsel? I'm Jane Tarken. My mother regrets that she can't leave the bridge in the middle of unloading, and has asked me to see you and your staff to suitable accommodations." She paused, then went on with the obvious question. "We were expecting twenty, Navigator."

The man glanced at one of his aides, who spoke quickly. "Lord Edsel decided otherwise. His abilities are quite sufficient."

Janey met the cool formality with a polite smile. "Of course." She tapped her dataslate to order a servitor and transport trolley over.

"If you would care to follow me, we have opened the Navigator quarters at the bow for you. I have a personnel transport trolley waiting as it is still a fair walk." She gave a second polite smile and led the small group up the gangway to the bow doors. Behind her the Navigator made an impatient gesture to his robed aides to follow before they reluctantly started to move.

It was, thought Edsel, an interesting experience. The ship's processional – which had to be what they were traversing – was broad, gleaming, and empty. No crew shared the wide passageway; not even another servitor. He sat with his aides on the small transporter as it trundled along; the girl walking easily alongside. Reaching out with his senses he searched for other presences. Barring his present company, there were only two that he could detect, which made him less than happy. After several minutes of futility, he spoke.

"Sera, where are the rest of your crew?"

She smiled slightly. "We have a very small crew, Navigator. As I believe you were informed, this ship is home to some unusual technology which automates most functions. The control systems on the main bridge allow us to handle the ship and to interact with Phoenix's machine spirit where necessary."

"Indeed?" Edsel paused for a few moments, trying again to reach out with his mind. He got an impression of some vast presence which had to be the aforementioned machine spirit. Edsel was reluctantly impressed; it was very rare to be able to sense a starship's machine spirit without the Navigator interface. He looked forward to interacting with such an entity.

The girl seemed unfazed. She merely answered, "Indeed, Navigator. Perhaps you will take the time to let us show you round once we are finished with this assignment."

Edsel gave a polite nod. "I shall look forward to it. Tell, me, what is the meaning of the symbols between the Emperor's aquila?"

"This was originally a space marine vessel, Navigator. That is the codex symbol of the ship's original owners."

"Ah. She is salvage then? I am surprised that the original chapter did not take her back."

"Yes. Lord Calgar confirmed my mother's title to her a few years ago."

Edsel blinked. "Lord Marneus Calgar? Of the Ultramarines?" She nodded. "I see." He did not, but he wasn't going to say so. "And you have been travelling the warp without a Navigator?"

Another nod. "For around seven years now. We've found that there is a limit of around four days in warp for safe transit. It was higher, but a few years ago we made a high-speed warp transit which," she hesitated for a few moments, "drew some unwanted attention."

Edsel felt himself blanche; a Senior Navigator for fifty years, he knew all too well what 'unwanted attention' could mean in the warp.

"You take considerable risks." He managed to keep his voice calm and level.

She appeared unconcerned. "Phoenix keeps us safe; the Geller fields are strong." A brief chuckle, remarkably adult for such youth. "And brother-sergeant Sedreth is pretty good in a fight."

Edsel said nothing as they entered a large personnel lift, the servitor following with the baggage-laden trolley. The young Tarken pressed a recessed button and they rose rapidly, the doors opening on to a short corridor with numerous entrances on each side. Several of the doorways had markings of aquilas above them, together with faded spaces which had clearly once been the sites for Navis Nobilite coats of arms.

"These were the original Navigator quarters; they've been unused for centuries, at least, as far as we know. Sedreth and I went through them a couple of years ago when we were exploring this area of the ship and cleared out what little we found. Since then they've been kept clean by servitors, and only visited on inspections. I hope you'll find them satisfactory."

Edsel glanced at her, seeking untruths. She was not lying as far as he could tell – and his 'cept was usually good enough to tell. He nodded briefly. "I am sure they shall suffice." He gestured to his aides who split off to check each door.

After a few quick checks, Lyognet looked back. "Here, lord. The main Navigation chamber and interface."

Edsel walked swiftly through the gold-edged doorway into a well-appointed but functional chamber with several monitoring stations. A Chair, gilded with very old and very traditional symbols of the Navis Nobilite, sat alone in its own, clearly sealable, separate room. He nodded approvingly. An old-model set-up, but perfectly satisfactory.

"This will be acceptable, sera Tarken."

She smiled briefly. "Then I shall leave you and your people to settle yourselves. If you need anything, the intercom will contact the bridge directly."

She gave a short bow and withdrew, leaving the servitor and baggage transport as she walked swiftly towards the stern. Edsel glanced at his staff, indicating that they should take up the offered quarters, and moved to inspect the interface more closely.

Janey walked onto the bridge where her mother was running nav calculations. "Mummy, Navigator Edsel and his staff are getting settled in."

Sara turned in her chair. "Good. Thanks, Janey. The naval crew and marines are due in about twenty minutes. Morgan is supervising some of the servitors in unloading supplies. Can you go down to the main hangar and help? I'd like to ensure we're ready to go without any issues. Once we have everything aboard, we can organise it en route; we'll be a few days in warp, at least."

She nodded. "Okay. What are we doing about meals? Are the navy people going to be eating with us?"

Sara frowned in thought. "I'm not certain of naval protocols, so for the moment assume not. The soldiers can set up their own commissary on deck five, where they're billeted."

Janey smiled an acknowledgement. She liked the comfortable mealtimes they'd grown into, just the three of them. "I better go down, then." She grinned and left.

Sara watched the empty doorway for a few moments, wondering sadly when her little girl had grown up, then sighed and turned back to her screens.

The Navy shuttles landed in sequenced precision, ten of them, and disgorged uniformed men and women in a flood of grey-green, followed almost immediately by a dozen in dark blue. She walked over, leaving Mr Morgan to control the two dozen servitors still stacking supply boxes and containers as they'd agreed. A test, of sorts.

One of the blue uniformed women bore rank badges she recognised as a Lieutenant, with the additional thinner ring that indicated more than five years' service at that rank. Janey smiled a greeting and offered her hand.

"Lieutenant Loville? I'm Jane Tarken, captain Tarken's daughter. Welcome aboard. My mother asked me to show you and your people to your quarters."

The dark-skinned woman blinked slightly, then accepted the handshake. She had a firm grip though lacking in strength compared to mummy or, of course, Mr Morgan. Her voice was pleasant and light, but the tone certain. To her credit, she ignored the massive armoured figure across the hangar. "Thankyou, sera. We will try not to interfere too much with your crew operations. The captain said something about non-standard boards?"

Janey nodded. "Phoenix is rather more automated than most vessels. If you can get yourselves billeted as quickly as possible, we can give you a tour of the bridge and control stations so that you can get up to speed before we leave the system."

Loville nodded thoughtfully. "Yes. We're light; just uniforms, side-arms and a reader each for off-duty. My orders were that we would share the troop commissary?"

"That should be fine," Janey replied leading the little group to the main lifts. "We've put you on deck ten of the command tower so that you're closer to the bridge. The troops will be on deck six amidships. My mother said they're to have the half-deck if they need it; that includes a galley, quarters for up to four hundred, a combat and firing range we don't use, an empty armoury and a chapel on deck seven. Once you're settled and organised to your satisfaction, we'll be ready to go."

She pressed the button and they followed her through the gleaming doors.

Back in the hangar, Troop Major Harvey looked questioningly at his companion. Apart from the armoured space marine busily engaged with several servitors, the only non-naval entity in the great hangar was a small shuttle with a golden winged talon on its nose.

The black-clad man returned the enquiring gaze with a cold expression, and his knuckles tightened on the book he gripped. Commissar Peiper said nothing, but his lips had thinned in anger. He was a man unused to being ignored, and, despite his relative youth, was famed both for his ruthlessness and his courage under fire. He was not however famed for his stupidity, so he merely said, "Unload your equipment, Major. I am certain that we will be shown to a billet shortly."

Harvey saluted and moved to instruct his men. Several orderly piles started to grow close to the now locked-down transports.

Sedreth watched the troopers as they unloaded their gear. Efficient, at least. It was to be hoped they would be equally well-trained in combat, but since they were Navy rather than Guard, he did not expect them to have seen much action. He glanced at his readouts. That would do. Turning, he walked easily across the deck to the black-coated Commissar and his officer companion.

"Commissar, Major. Welcome aboard. I am brother-sergeant Sedreth. You and your men have been assigned quarters on deck six amidships. If you will follow me I will show where the facilities are."

Not perhaps as polite as he would normally be, but Commissars tended to annoy him. He swung away, walking swiftly towards the lifts. Behind him the troop major gave orders before following.

Both Commissar and Major joined him as the doors opened, accompanied by a slender dark-skinned woman in her thirties with the flashes of a sergeant. No-one spoke as they rose to the middle decks. He led the three out and past the port side gun-decks, then down a cross corridor to the old support troop quarters, where regular infantry support regiments had been billeted on the few occasions they had been carried during the Crusade. They had used these over the past couple of years for the few refugee passengers they had taken on board, and had outfitted them with very basic furniture and bedding for the purpose. Probably better, truth be told, than most military barracks; the Imperium did not spend a fortune on its cannon fodder.

"I trust these will be suitable for your troopers, Major?" he said, as they walked through the area.

The man, Harvey his name was, nodded. "Quite satisfactory, and better than I expected. The drill areas are more than adequate for the men I have with me."

"Indeed. But what of their religious needs, astartes?" put in the Commissar. "I have seen no chapel thus far."

Sedreth simply glanced at the irritating man. "There is no chapel on this deck, Commissar. However there is one on deck seven which we have set aside for your requirements and those of the INS personnel aboard."

"And your own crew?" The tone was polite, if the question was suspicious.

"Captain Tarken and her crew, and I, use the astartes remembrance chapel on the main processional, Commissar."

The man looked intrigued. "I see."

He clearly didn't see, but no point in continuing the conversation. Sedreth nodded briefly instead, and continued to address Harvey. "Once you and your men are settled, Major, I will require mess details; you will be messing with the INS personnel only as the Navigator and his people have their own facilities. I will also require any training schedules. Without wishing to cause offence, I will be much more comfortable once I have watched your people at work. I will, of course, make myself available for any assistance you may require in that respect."

The man blinked once in surprise then nodded. "We will be most honoured."

"Excellent. Then if you will excuse me, I do have other duties on the bridge. I will leave you and your men to quarter yourselves, and once we have left the system we can discuss exactly what arrangements we need to make for refugees. For anything else, if you contact the bridge I am sure that sera Tarken will be able to provide answers to your enquiries."

"You mean, captain Tarken?" asked the man.

"Her daughter Jane. Who is also the ship's tacscan and senior communications officer. You saw her earlier."

"The girl? She cannot be more than fourteen." Peiper's face was a picture.

Sedreth nodded. "Thirteen. But yes, her. She is intelligent and highly competent." He knew his smile was wintry and didn't care. "Until later, gentlemen, sergeant." He turned and walked swiftly towards the bridge lift, leaving them, somewhat bemused, to their own devices.

The chapel was plain, but functional. Peiper approved. The icons and sacred paintings were well cared-for, holy unguents sealed in blessed containers, everything in its place and a place for everything. Beside him, Harvey touched his blessed prayerbook to his lips, murmuring a swift prayer to the God-Emperor of Mankind, and rose slowly from his knees, head bowed in the approved position of humility. The Commissar nodded in acknowledgement of his companion's piety.

"This place is not well-used."

"The astartes said that he and the crew have a separate facility, Commissar."

Peiper inclined his head briefly. So they did. He would have to arrange an inspection of it. "Indeed he did. The space marines revere the God-Emperor as a father, or so I have been told. However that is irrelevant. You and your men will assemble for daily prayer here at 0500. I will lead the service, of course."

Harvey smiled slightly. "Of course. It would not do for us to be less than true to the Emperor before a space marine."

"I see you understand. How are the facilities?"

"The commissary is set up. Likewise the quarters we have been given include both a firing range and combat practice gymnasium. There is no room for complaint on that score."

"But?"

"Commissar, may I speak plainly?"

"You are a true son of the Emperor, Major. You need have no fear of plain speaking."

"I am disturbed. This vessel, it has almost no crew that I have seen. The naval crew assigned to the ship's bridge inform me that the ship is automated far beyond anything they have seen before. I am no tech-adept, just a simple soldier, but I confess to feeling uncomfortable. Such a warship should have a crew of ten thousand or more. Instead we have seen no more than three."

Peiper nodded slowly. He too felt it. "We are here by order of the admiral. Our orders are to see to the ordering of the several thousand refugees this ship will take on in the Nalen system. If captain Tarken and her crew fail to follow the admiral's orders in this regard, we shall be ready to take action. Until that time, whatever strangeness we encounter shall not shake our faith in the almighty Emperor."

Astrid Lyognet, third daughter to the second cousin once removed of Novator Abdin of House Sierin, and therefore a minor cog in a very minor (she refused to use the word Shrouded, still less Beggar) Navigator House, watched her senior at work. Lord Edsel (second son to the Heir of Magisterial House Eborac and therefore a Navigator of considerable personal influence and importance whose generosity in instruction she was barely fit to be grateful for) appeared quietly and unusually pleased with himself and she could not entirely understand why. Assuredly, the ship they were currently on, Eyes of the Phoenix, was an ancient one, with appropriately ancient interface technologies which were naturally of keen interest to an historian like Edsel, but in the eleven years she had been 'prenticed she had never seen him look quite so smug as he did at this moment. She watched closely, attentive to each nuance of Edsel's pallid long-fingered hands as he carefully readied the Navigator Chair to his own comfort.

A gentle chime came from the ship's intercom and Edsel glanced impatiently at her. Astrid took the two steps to the comm unit and spoke. "Navigator Throne." Only Navigators were permitted to call it a Chair. "Junior Lyognet speaking."

A deep baritone spoke. "Junior Navigator Lyognet, this is brother-sergeant Sedreth. Kindly inform Navigator Edsel that we have received a readiness status request from fleet command. I would appreciate confirmation if possible on time to warp ready."

She glanced across. Edsel had taken his place in the Chair and nodded almost, for him, affably. He had clearly heard every word. "I am interfacing with the ship's machine spirit now. Inform sergeant Sedreth that I will require a few minutes to acclimatise myself and the vessel to each other, and that we should be ready to go to warp in thirty minutes."

The marine's voice came across the comms before she could speak. "Acknowledged, Navigator. Thirty minutes. I shall so inform the admiral." The connection cut off.

Edsel raised a thick eyebrow. She inclined her head submissively, and hurried across to the support monitors, feeling as she did a soft thrum of power.

She averted her gaze as Edsel closed both his eyes and opened his Warp Eye; to face him, even though as a Navigator herself she was one of the few who could without dying instantly, would be construed as challenge by Navis Nobilite law.

"Ah," he sighed. After a few moments of silence he spoke again, his voice barely a whisper, as if he thought aloud. "So strong and fierce. I greet thee, ancient. It has been long indeed since you have known the touch of a Navigator. Yes. We shall Travel, you and I."