Mellenova, Leisure Deck

Water surged around my head. Arms slicing forwards, I kicked my legs and struck towards the far end of the pool. Green-blue light wavered across the pale-grey walls and low ceiling. Circular lenses, embedded in the pool floor, flung shafts of light upward. My head broke the surface and I gulped down air. Feet from the pool's edge, I flattened my hands and gripped the rough stone.

Face streaming, I leaped from the water and hopped on to the edge. "Ugh…" My pattering hands found my towel and drove it in to my eyes. "How many's that now—fifty lengths?"

"Twenty-eight, James."

Water flew from my lips and spattered the ripple-covered pool. I draped my towel over my shoulder and lunged for the chrono lying atop a pair of baggy shorts and loose-fitting t-shirt piled on some slip-on sports shoes. I squeezed the shoulder buttons, illuminating the digits steadily ticking down.

"Four and a half hours to go…" I tossed the chrono on to my clothes. "Thought those hours would fly by." I swirled my submerged feet. "Estoc?"

"In accommodation adjacent the xenos. He makes notes in a ledger. I am unable to discern his handwriting."

A full report to Barakat about the AI flying the ship, in all likelihood. I whizzed the towel through my hair. "Lusia?"

"Unrecognisable."

"Eh-heh—is that how she is?What about where she is?"

"Engrossed in the reconstruction of her fighter. I have taken all measures to ensure the probability of failure falls to an acceptable percentage—by way of my mechs, I mean."

"Wish it was hers." My feet drew circles in the water. "Our guest?"

"The xenos remains on a couch. She has not moved in some time. Open capsules containing pills are on the table."

"Oh, fuck me…" My hands dug in to the edge of the pool. Head drooping, I hunched my shoulders. "I didn't tell Estoc not to let her sleep during Warp transit." My teeth scraped across each other. A burble arose in my gut. "What sorta pills?"

"Anti-depressants and sleeping pills."

"Err, okay…" I drove sodden strands of hair up my forehead and back over my crown. "She'll be out for the count, then. Let Estoc know to tell her when she awakens."

"Let Estoc know not the sleep during Warp transit?"

"Ah, no-no, let Estoc know to tell the xenos she is not to sleep during Warp transit—err, give her a chrono too and sync up. Got it?"

"Got it."

Human medication. I pulled my feet from the pool and scooped up my clothes. Would it even work on her?

Slouched beneath a gushing head, I worked a soap brick in to my armpits. Feel like some lab rat, here.

"James, can you turn around for me?"

"Hah! Knew you were only after me for my looks." I wiggled the brick in to the dip in my spine. "I'm not easy, y'know."

"Easy?"

"Whoa—" The brick slipped from my fingers and landed at my feet. I stooped and picked it off the square drainage cover. The hiss above my head died. Darkness fell upon the block. "Ah-hahaha…" I dropped the brick in a tray bolted to the wall, placed my hands on my head, and spun. "How's that for a yard?"

Soap plastering my body, I leaned out of the unit and peered at the unlit block stretching away from me. Beneath my feet, the drain gurgled. That's not just the pumps and the lights, that's the whole deck. Drops fell from the head and pattered the floor. "Lilli?"

"—felt an intimate study of human physiology would broaden my knowledge of humans in general." Water poured from the head and light returned to the block.

"Lilli…?" I ducked back under the downpour. "Lost you for a moment there, lovely."

"Ooh, no-one's ever called my lovely before."

"Yeah. Be a darling and recount these past twenty-five seconds to me."

"In pursuit of my pre-programmed goal, I asked you to turn around."

"Lilli, how long have these blackouts been occurring?"

"I… I do not know the answer to that. My memory banks do not recall any blackouts during active runtime."

"I was wondering…" I bound a towel around my waist and stepped out of the fresher. "Lights went off for about twenty-five seconds. Lost the water pumps too. Reckon the whole deck went dark. Guess it weren't a jibe, then."

"Jibe?"

"Lilli, if we lose power during a jump, the ship's as good as gone. I wouldn't mind a system diagnostic." I reached a series of lockers and benches and pulled on my shorts. "C'mon, let's nip this in the bud. If we found the source of the problem before Lusia cottons on, it'll really impress her if we fix it."

"Nip this in the bud…"

"Aye." My t-shirt slipped over my sodden hair.

"Done. I have a solution."

"Quick thinker." I bent over a fountain and sucked on the cool jet. "How come you didn't think of this before?"

"No-one was around to tell me of these… blackouts."

"Ah, of course."

"These feelings I am unfamiliar with. Loneliness is one of them."

"Aye, I know so." I wiggled my bare feet in to my shoes. "You'll be one of us in no time."

"Do you suppose the xenos feels the same emotions?"

"Oh, yes." I stuffed my towel in a locker and headed over to the exit. "I do suppose—I know suppose." Rings rotated around a skull embedded in the door and the halves parted. "Anger, loneliness, depression…" I paused in the corridor outside. "You're watching the xenos at all times, aren't ya?"

"Yes, James. Should she become a threat to the ship's company, I shall implement preventative measures."

"It's not us I'm worried about…" I turned a full circle. My fingertips scraped over my damp crown. "Do you understand the concept of suicide-watch?"

"Suicide-watch—the business of observing a person in danger of committing suicide."

"Yeah, exactly what it says on the tin—monitor the quantity of pills the xenos consumes and alert Estoc if she's downing the whole bottle. If you can't reach Estoc, find me."

"Very well, James."

I reached a skull-faced bulkhead door and jabbed my thumb at the sensor. The skull rotated and the doors parted. "Not letting her take the easy way out." I stamped in to a turbolift and tapped the control panel. "Much as she'd like to play the renegade—come on!" I drove the button for Deck 3 inward. "Much as she'd like to play the renegade, I know she has two responsibilities out there—two little boys aged six or seven I've not seen since I was eighteen. They'll not have aged a day, same as her. She's still twenty-six, twenty-seven or summat." I linked my fingers behind my head and tilted it back. A dome-shaped bulb, embedded in the ceiling, seared my eyes shut. "There is… a bond between Izuru Numerial and me. As unequal, as poisonous our involvement was, I feel compelled to see her family safe. She might not be the best thing for Ilic and Korsarro but she is all they have."

The lift's hum died away. Darkness swallowed the lift. "Lilli?" My finger skipped across the dead buttons. "LILLI!" I slammed my palm against the panel. "…Manual release." I hooked my fingers in to a triangular-shaped recess beneath the panel and wrenched a striped handle upward and outward. Crank? I heaved the handle downward and wound it. A crack appeared between the lift doors and grew wider. "Ah, for fuck's sake…" A solid wall faced me. I heaved the crank around until the doors reached their limit. Shoulders burning, I jumped at a gap near the ceiling and hauled my body up through an open door.

"Lilli?" My soles swished on soft carpets. Fat urns on square pedestals dotted a chamber filled with narrow pillars. Giant creatures—hairy, scaly, clawed, winged, fanged—reared on raised dais. Gold? My fingers slid across a golden doorframe leading in to a chamber with a barren firepit in the centre. Books lined floor-to-ceiling shelves in one corner. Models of ancient ships belonging to the wet navy occupied glass cases in another. I wandered over to a giant set of hanging chimes and played my fingertip along them. Soft tinkles rang through the chamber.

A high-backed chair, resplendent with gold filagree, stood behind a deep oaken table in a raised area beyond the firepit. Oil paintings and busts lined the walls. An unlit chandelier spread spindly arms over my head. A gigantic letter I dominated the back wall beneath an imperial aquila. Soft cushions squished beneath me. I laid my hands flat on the smooth, polished wood.

"You call that rabble family. Claim they made a man out of you."

"The 'Neks did more for me than you ever did."

"I made you the man you are. I made you, gave you that commission, guided you, stood up for you when no-one else would."

"There is nothing you can do that hasn't already been done to me. There is nothing you can do that hasn't already been done to me." I closed my eyes and began repeating it, over and over.

"I made you." A hand settled on my shoulder. "Inquisitor."

Paper stuck to my face. I lurched upwards, tearing my squished cheek away from the damp page of my notebook. "Lilli?" I slapped a palm over my thudding heart. Soft, blue light filled a mid-ranking officer's cabin bare of anything but a single bed, a desk, and built-in fresher. An inquisitorial seal covered the door as well as the space at the head of the bed.

"Hello, James. I hope you slept well."

"Lilli…" I caught my sagging head in my hand and dragged my warm palm through my hair. "I told you, no sleeping during Warp transit."

"My memory banks contain no such record of that conversation, James."

My sight blurred. Standing beside my open notebook were two glasses marked with a letter I and a tall-necked bottle covered in a white label. 70 Proof. I took the half-full glass and held it to my eye. Old Navy Rum. Where did this come from? I twisted, gripped the back of my chair and rose. "I was swimming. Then, the power…"

"You have been offline for sixty-four minutes and eighteen point four seconds, James."

"I…" The deck skewed sideways. I toppled with it and hit the bedcovers. "I—I fell asleep." I rolled upright and laid my feet on the deck. "Too busy worrying about the xenos…" I pinched my tear ducts and shook my head. "Damned thing's Estoc's responsibility. Where is he, anyway?"

"Estoc is—"

"—Wait, I…" I dug my fingers in to the bedcovers. "I know."

"My mistress is working on her ship—"

"—I know that too." I brought my fingertips to my temples and pressed. "You told me in a dream."

"I am unable to simulate an equivalent mental state."

"Neither am I." I pushed away from the bed and scooped up my chrono from the desk where it lay next to my sweat-stained poetry. "Three hours left."

"Affirmative. Mellenova's Gellar Field is holding fast at ninety-nine point nine per cent integrity."

"Ninety-nine point nine per cent recurring…?"

"That is correct."

"Didn't think it was completely airtight." I peeled my t-shirt away from my back and flapped the loose cotton. "That's the Warp for you. As unpredictable as the oceans of old." Lukewarm water, sitting at the bottom of an Inquisition-branded glass, ran down my throat. I smoothed out the crinkles on my open page. Sweat had rendered everything I had written unreadable. "You ever heard of the Wet Navy, Lilli?" The dark brown rum flowed in to an empty glass.

Blackness surrounded me. The ever-present humming of the ship's engines faded. "Lilli?" I thrust my arm at the desk and set the glass and the bottle down. The glass's base wobbled and the thing toppled over and rolled over the edge of the desk. Wet fragments exploded at my feet. Blood rushed to my ears. Are those the engines? It can't be the whole ship... My eyes fell to the deck. I raised my feet and edged away from the glinting pile. A shard scraped beneath my damp sock. Lilli, what the fuck are you doing? I fell backwards on to the bed and lifted my feet clear. Bringing my knees together, I clamped my arms around them and rocked. Deep shadows surrounded the bed.

"There is nothing you can do that hasn't already been done to me. There is nothing you can do that hasn't already been done to me." I screwed my eyes shut.

Light returned to the cabin, along with the hum of the engines. I unlocked my fingers and slid over to the edge of the bed. Sharp fragments surrounded the broken glass. I nudged the pieces in to a pile and swept them in to a corner. "Lilli, talk to me."

"I am unsure the term 'Wet' Navy."

"Never mind. You blacked out for twenty or so seconds. Light and power fell to nothing." I tightened my chrono's strap around my wrist and took my intact glass and the rum outside. "Guess that part of the dream was real too…"

The tram brought me across to the fancier suites reserved for Inquisition personnel and visiting dignitaries. Blood-red carpets covered the corridors and every suite door – a gold-filigreed affair – possessed unique beast sculptures flanking it.

"Estoc, Lilli."

"The Ambull Suite, James, on the left, five doors down from here."

"All teeth and muscles… fitting." I stuck my pipe in my mouth and wandered past the statues. "Sewer-rat suite, for me."

"You place yourself far below your own standing, there."

"Ohh, see a rat can survive where many other things cannot. Used to be part of a very large group of 'em. Only me left, now."

"Not much of a survivor, then. I like you as hound—a Fenrir Hound."

"A dog?" My eyebrows shot up. Glass clinked together. "Loyal, defensive, a companion for another…"

"The Fenrir Suite is unoccupied…"

"I must keep my distance." I thumbed the sensor outside the Ambull Suite. "This is a professional courtesy. No fooling around."

"Come in, James." Estoc's voice buzzed over the intercom.

Red and gold colours shouted at me from everywhere in the suite. A long dining table, a four-poster, sunken bathtub, leather armchairs and even an artificial, brick chimney hung over a fireplace.

"There's a word for this…" Estoc, in his undershirt, sat down in one of the armchairs arranged around the fireplace. A stylus lay next to an open journal. "Lap of luxury."

"Several…" I laid the rum and my glass on a low table between the armchairs. "I never had any use for such amenities. Shower a man in sugar and silk, he forgets his place, forgets where he came from. A lowly farmer without ambition."

"A commissioned officer in His Imperial Majesty's Navy." Estoc's stylus wiggled. "And officially a gentleman."

"Bollocks. You know just as well as I do, that posting aboard a combat vessel was to shut me up after Orsolya." I tipped rum in to my glass. "I never earned it, nor the Crotch commission Sorge served me up after Cadia—again to shut me up after the business with his nephew."

"How lucky you were he found you, then." Estoc dabbed his stylus in an ink bottle. "Me, I began at the very bottom, same as you. Boxer, bodyguard, bouncer, pimp, conscript, invalid."

"Pimp?" I threw my glass back, downing it in one.

"My twenties were one of my worser decades. I have never forgotten where I came from, James. I assure you I am just as uncomfortable wearing pips as you were. The lowborn stench others smell on you never, never leaves."

"Let it be a ward against all tyrants. Let our class be our weapon. Biting bollocks below the belt—"

"Haha!" Estoc tossed his head back. "I like where that mind of yours is going." He palmed his journal shut. "Your motto?"

My nose wrinkled. "Why bother biting at all when you can just use a gun?"

"Well, as you'll find out, not every problem can be solved with guns or teeth." Estoc clamped his journal beneath his arm and climbed up to the raised four-poster. A sliding drawer in a bedside cabinet took the journal. Estoc twisted an iron key and pocketed it. The lights snapped off.

"Aw, fuck me…" I refilled my glass. Estoc's shadow rolled over. He leaned down and laid something square on the table.

"Wondered whether Lilli could fill in the blanks for us…" Estoc's bulk slid in to his own armchair.

Rum enflamed my throat. "About twenty or so seconds of black then she picks up right where she left off. No memory."

"No memory? We have a ship under the control of an AI – yes, I am aware – and it goes dark during Warp transit."

"Well, you're not a raving madman yet." More rum landed in my glass. "I am content with the madman's lot." I threw my head back and downed the rum. The lights flickered back on. "We may have problems with containing our guest."

"Speaking of..." Estoc pushed a leatherbound book marked with gold letters across to me.

"No, that comes from you." I sneered at Calixor Hereditus Grome. "I keep a professional distance from our passenger; a decision I stand by."

"The only thing keeping her flying off the handle and taking more human lives is you."

"Like you give a shit—"

"—Human lives, James! Perhaps you'll see clearer free of the bottle."

"That—that gives me clarity." I waved a finger at my rum. "There's nothing 'ere but bad memories and repressed guilt."

"Every possible measure will be taken to ensure the xenos's comfort on this mission. That was what you agreed to. These blackouts won't do her the least bit of good. We need to look her in the eye and reassure her."

I set both glass and bottle down and slid the book over and opened it on my knee. "I have been castrated by your rules for so long, I am lost at the notion of free will—free to go where I please, as I please…"

"My rules…? James, I am not this monolithic, bureaucratic institution—"

"—oh, but your boss is—has become what Sorge was—even just an impotent shadow of him." I thumbed through the pages. "Humanity's drowning itself in bureaucracy. We're boring ourselves to death and no-one's realised it."

"So, make something of it, citizen."

"I'll make it without a pointy-eared shadow."

"You know, I stuck my head in earlier. She knocked herself out on sleeping tablets. Seems they do work on xenos."

I pinched my nostrils and sniffed. "You need to remind the xenos not to sleep during Warp transit. Stuff I was dreaming about earlier came true—some of it."

"You need to lay these demons to rest. Let go of this fearful spectre possessing your mind."

I flipped the book cover shut. "You know, I had something to say to her if I ever found the courage. Spectres and memories… Eurgh…" My hand strayed towards the rum. "There's nothing that can test a man in life quite like a woman—nothing in my life that's ever tested me so much as Izuru Numerial has. "My hand began trembling." I quail at her memory." Rum tinkled in my glass.

"What would you say to her?"

"Oh… I'd have no real dialogue. A few lines I laid to paper. This humble farmer likens himself to a poet, and not a good one at that."

"Yeah? Throw a few at me."

"I'd rather a mute audience."

"Try the Serpent Suite." Estoc heaved himself from his chair and headed up to his drawer. "Ugh, still two and a half hours to go. Should've brought a book along…"

Coiled serpents with split jaws reared on either side of the portal door to the suite. Parted from my rum, my warm fists opened and closed. A knuckle cracked. I plucked my unlit pipe from my mouth and dabbed my palm at my damp forehead. The children's book bulged beneath my arm.

Nothing's ever tested me as much as you have. Nor will ever. My fingernails rubbed through my t-shirt, scratching at the scar tissue on my chest left by the bullet that had struck me outside the Hotel Vekaria. No-one's ever hurt me as much as you did. I reached over to the door's sensor pad and laid my palm on it.

Square couches made of grey leather ringed a low, glass table. An electric blue orb, half-embedded in the surface, cast soft shadows across the suite's built-in units; all unused. A slim body in a grey tank top lay on its side on a couch. Thick, brown hair covered a white cheek. A bare arm hung over the edge. A thumb and forefinger ended in short stumps.

Book clamped beneath my arm, I hung over Izuru Numerial, a tightness swelling in my throat. Still a card. I laid the book near the edge of the table. Two open containers filled with pills stood on the glass beside a half-full Inquisition-marked mug. I picked one up and turned it in to the light. Propranolol? I crept around to the opposite couch and backed on to the cushions. Leather creaked beneath me. Anti-depressants and sleeping tablets. I put the container back beside its brother and draped my hands over my knees. God, you really miss them, don't you? I brought my pipe out and eyed the empty bowl. Estranged from your own blood.

"Your body slumbers but you are here in spirit." My fingers tightened around the pipe's bowl. "Beyond the fields, the mountains, to the edge of light, will I find you waiting? Together, we march hand in hand through the wastes, condemned, enemy to all but each other. You, my second shadow, my spectre, my soulmate. Will you go with me in to the night?"

A chrono's soft ticking reached my ears. Mellenova hummed around me. Izuru's shoulder rose and fell. Chin in my fist, I cast eyes around the suite. A cushion lay by itself on the floor. I scooped it up and tiptoed around to Izuru. At journey's end, there'll be a gentle, patient Eldar – a being of understanding and empathy – waiting for you. I slipped my fingers beneath Izuru's head and slid the cushion beneath it. When I have the courage, I may chance an approach. When I have the courage.

Perched on the other couch, I pinched my chrono's shoulder buttons – 02:16:02. The colour stayed sharp for a few seconds before fading. I lifted my knees up and wrapped my arms around them. My gaze settled on Izuru's face.

Raindrops glinted on iron spikes sticking up from cracked tiles. Dim streetlights glowed in the green fog clinging to Orsolya's streets. Far above them, a hunched-over shadow squatted on a ledge. Maimed fingers stretched a thin, papery mask over its head. Water soaked through the rags the thing wore and wet dirty skin. Yellow nails protruded over callused toes. White clouds snorted from slits in the mask.

Black feet carried the thing across the rooftops in great bounds. It hopped over chimneys and swung across pipes and beneath elevated rail-lines. Drops flew from wet fur hugging the thing's shoulders. It slammed hands down upon glass shards embedded in a stone wall and vaulted over, leaving tiny crystals glimmering on the shards.

Rasps rolled from the thing's mask. Crouched upon a cluster of pipes, it glided along the peeling, rusted-tainted iron, its eyes fixed on a hooded human down on street-level. Bare toes – two of them reduced to black stumps, curled around a rough, stone nub on the corner of a covered path. Footsteps scurried beneath it then a hood appeared. The thing dropped. Its feet slammed in to the human's shoulders, bowling it forwards. A skull cracked upon the ferrocrete. The thing clawed a respirator free from the human's mouth, dug its fingers in to the mouth, and wrenched the jaw apart.

"—NO!" Izuru's head whipped up. Her arms hugged her thudding chest. Bells jangled in her ears. "I'm—I'm—I'm…" Air forced its way through her contracting throat. "I'm sorry." Screwing her eyes up, Izuru pressed the back of her hand to her trembling lips. Her sweaty palm came down on a squished cushion lying against the arm of the couch. She squeezed the warm cotton and brought it to her nose. It's you. Izuru set the cushion aside and laid her feet on the floor. Calixor. Her palm left a dark print on the leather.

"James". Izuru's eyes roved the darkened suite. "I know your voice. I know your scent." Arms clamped to her sides, Izuru took tiny steps across the floor. Her thumbs worked in and out of her curled fingers. "One last favour. My people honour the life-debt above all else, for there is no greater honour than risking yours in preservation of another." Izuru's eyebrows steepled. Lines cut across her forehead. "If not of love but duty. See me home to my sons. In glory or in chains, I would look upon them and know their paths are safe."

A chrono ticked. Izuru turned her gaze to the sealed portal. Walls and doors will keep me, no longer. She strode at the portal. The thick letter I emblazoned on the seal parted before her and cool air flowed in from the corridor outside. Barefoot, Izuru leaned past the serpentine creatures flanking the portal. A slit eye dilated. Izuru leaped away from the serpent's gaze, spun, and backed off. Gods. Warmth stung her cheeks. Her ears twitched.

A blur moved in the corner of Izuru's eye. A slight figure at the far end of the long corridor, its face shadowed, stepped around the corner. "James." Izuru headed after the figure. "James, I…" Her pace rose to a trot. "…So much I have to tell you." Izuru's feet slapped the cold floor. "I was not myself aboard the human ship." Izuru rounded the turn in the corridor. "I was—"

Water leaped up her trouserlegs and stole between her toes. Izuru's feet froze on the very edge of a pool filling the corridor. James? Her mouth fell open. What in the…? Droplets peeled away from the surface and fell upwards in to darkness. The water nipped at Izuru's ankles, rose up her legs and soaked through her trousers. She thrust her arms forward, pushing her knees against the dark mass. Pitch black surrounded her, Izuru craned her neck, her teeth locked together against the water splashing at her chin. Her feet left the bottom. She gulped in air, cut through the surface, and dived.

Blind, her lungs burning, Izuru's arms scythed downward. Her fingers broke the water beneath her. Her stomach dropped and her body plummeted out of the pool. Deck rushed up to her face. "Agh!" Izuru's knees smacked the floor. "…Ohhh." She flopped on her back. A rippling pool glimmered above her. Wait, I'm dry. Izuru's patted her chest and ran her hands down her trousers.

A rumble arose above Izuru's head. A thick drop spattered the floor beside her; bright red. Another hit Izuru's arm. She bucked her shoulder and swiped at the thick, sticky liquid. Her head snapped up. No! Izuru catapulted herself forward. A roaring mass walloped her head and flung her over and over. Sour liquid clogged her throat and stung her eyes. An iron railing slammed in to her shoulders. Pinned in place, her eyes screwed shut, Izuru spat out blood. The railing groaned, buckled beneath her, and gave way. Carried downward in the torrent, Izuru's arms flailed. Jangling chains hit her fingers. Slick metal slipped through her hands. Whirled around, Izuru pinched the chain between her knees and wrapped her legs around it.

The roaring receded in her ears. Hugging the chain, Izuru worked her jaw up and down until her ears popped. Her gummed-up eyelids peeled apart. Fog filled the abyss she hung over. Pipes, vents and tiny ledges dotted the sheer walls. Bright light shone on her from above. Two little heads peered over the edge.

"My… My sons…" Izuru's jaw quivered. The heads whipped out of sight. "Ilic!" Izuru's arm shot up and gripped the chain above her head. "Korsarro!" She heaved her body towards the ledge. Her feet slipped free of the chain and dangled. Knees bent, Izuru hauled herself upward. Sore, reddened fingers grasped the ledge. Gasping, Izuru swung the chain over and brought her knees up. She toppled on to the ledge and fell on her side. "I'm here." The rasp bubbled in her throat. "I'm coming…" Izuru shuffled forwards on her hands and knees. "I'm coming home."

Little feet pitter-pattered just ahead of Izuru. Slathered head to toe in human blood, Izuru trudged through the dark corridors, her head drooping, her hand pressed against her ribs. "I'm coming home." Children's cries drew her onward. "…Be there soon." Sealed bulkheads forced her in to a passageway shaped like a tube. "Wait for me." Light streamed through a rectangular slit in a pressurised door blocking Izuru's way. "Ilic! Korsarro!" Izuru fell against the door. Leaves whipped across green grass, shaded by blossoming trees spreading their bows over the forest floor. Two dark-haired, pale-skinned children tumbled after one another, their backs to Izuru. Izuru's eyelids fluttered over wet eyes. Oh, I've missed you so much.

Iron teeth clanged together. Izuru whipped round. A figure faced her from the other side of a bulkhead sealing her in to the passage. "James… AGH!" Izuru's hands flew to her ears. Her teeth ground together. Her guts squirmed.

"Warning: depressurisation in-progress."

"No—" The figure moved over to a handle on the bulkhead and pulled it downward.

"Depressurisation in-progress."

"No-no-no-no-no—" Izuru flew at the bulkhead. A colossal whoomph boxed her ears. Thrown off her feet, Izuru's belly smacked the floor and she slid backwards, nails dragging at the smooth surface. Air sucked the scream from her lungs.

Earlier…

Blue light stung my eyes. My hand shot out and seized a servo-skull hovering over my bunk.

"Agh!" Lusia's voice buzzed from the skull's vocaliser. "James!"

"Lusia…?" I let go of the skull and slapped a sensor above my head. Light flooded the cabin. "Where's Lilli?" One eye tight shut, I propped myself up on one elbow.

"We have a containment breach—"

"—Estoc, now!" I flung the sheet back and swiped a t-shirt from a hook on the wall. "Where is she, Lusia?" I hauled the t-shirt over my head. "Where's the xenos?!"

"Deck Seven, aft of Medical. Estoc knows."

"Box her in." I dragged a pair of shorts on and ran barefoot out of the cabin. Lusia's servo-skull whizzed after me.

"I can't! Lilli hasn't responded to me since before the blackout."

"How long ago?"

"Maybe twenty minutes. I've just wired myself in to the ship. Omnissiah, it's a fucking mess! Lilli's ridden the reactor in the ground. We're drifting on the fringes of the Granada System."

"Okay, guide me to Estoc—gimme a rendezvous!" I rushed up to the tram station and on to the platform. "Send a car my way. I'm on Deck Three, Station B2—Bravo Two."

Minutes later, I squeezed through the parting car doors and hopped on to a platform three decks beneath Medical. "How long were we black for?"

"Six minutes, fifteen seconds." Lusia's skull followed at my shoulder. "Visual indicators on deck." Long arrows guiding me towards turbolifts solidified above the deck. "Estoc is on his way. He'll meet you in the waiting lounge near the turbolifts."

"Right." I banged my hand on the turbolift's sensor pad. "Lilli, you've got a lot to answer for…"

"Don't worry, she's in line for the flaying of her life." Lusia's skull zipped in to the turbolift after me. "Endangering her programmer violates her primary directive."

Doors rolled open on a chamber filled with long benches and square plant pots. Estoc, vest and shorts-clad, paced in a circle, hands on hips. "How the hell did she get out the room?" I barrelled at Estoc. Estoc whirled on me, a thunderous glare on his face.

"Well, shortlist of people to see her total one—you, laddie! Let her out for a midnight stroll, did you?"

"Did I, fuck!"

"James!" Lusia's skull flew between us, eye-sockets blazing. A jolt snapped my hand.

"AGH!" I flapped my tingling hand.

"Skull, guide us to the xenos—OW!" Estoc flapped his hand.

"Don't ever speak to me again like that." Lusia's skull swooped around Estoc's head. "James, directions on deck."

I sucked my hand and followed the holographic signs through the chamber. Spiky leaves pricked my arms. "Come on, Estoc!"

"James?" Lusia's skull trailed me through the dim corridors. "James, she's heading to an airlock."

"ESTOC, MOVE!" Estoc's prosthetics clanged behind me. I tore around a corner and glimpsed a red hue pouring from an open airlock. Sharp teeth lining a hatch spiralled inward and sealed the airlock off. I rushed at the hatch and banged my hands on it. Bathed in swirling light, Izuru faced the outer hatch, her hands flat on the square viewport. I slammed my fist against the inner hatch's viewport.

"Warning: depressurisation in-progress."

"LUSIA, ABORT THE COUNTDOWN!" I wrenched the hatch release lever down.

"I can't—she's tripped the outer hatch!"

"Fuck…" My hands slid down the hatch. A pit opened up in my stomach. "…Suit."

"What?"

"I need a suit—nearest airlock!"

Directions appeared above the deck. "Airlock Twelve—GO!"

"What the hell are you doing, Sub-lieutenant?" Estoc pounded after me.

"Lusia, tell me exactly when that hatch opens." I wound around a corner to a storage chamber filled with racks of pressure suits covered in bronze scales. "Gimme a hand, here."

"Doesn't warrant my official endorsement, this escapade." Estoc gripped my armpits, lifted me off my feet, and dumped me in to an open suit. "Raise your arms!"

"Now you're bottling it…?" Zips and clasps slipped in to place. Scales clinked together. "After all we've done?"

"James, ten seconds!"

"Fuck off, Estoc!" I thudded over to the airlock's outer hatch.

"Whoa—helmet!" Estoc rammed a helmet over my head and fastened it.

"Am I good?" I tapped a needle gauge in my suit's forearm.

"You're good." Estoc pulled the hatch release. "There's a winch on your suit—find a hold and clip on. You can pull yourself back in if you overshoot."

"Only got the one chance." I threw Estoc a thumbs-up and ducked through the hatch. "Right, seal it!"

"Airlock Thirteen is open, James." Lusia's skull hovered beside the closing outer hatch.

"When this closes, blow the hatch."

"The ship won't—"

"—JUST DO IT!" I tugged a D-ring attached to the end of the winch free and clipped it to a set of ladder rungs sunken in the deck. Clouds blasted out of the parting hatch. Magnets in my boots held me in place. I flicked shutters away from a headlamp and the white beam leapt towards a brilliant, gold nebula. I took a step forwards, killed the magnets, and lunged.

Free-floating, I swung my headlamp swung across showers of tiny rocks, no larger than my fingertips. Ice? Frozen drops vibrated against my visor. A shadow flew over me. Oh, shit! I felt a jerk on the cable. I halted the winch and rolled backwards to face Mellenova. The cable snagged Izuru by the belly. Her arms and legs stretched out in front of her. The winch rotated and pulled me inward. Come on, come on, come on. My arms wrapped around Izuru's body. Her floating hair spread over my visor. Taut cable inched us back towards Mellenova. Its velocity swung us at the hull just down from the airlock. I kicked my boots out. My shoulder banged against the hull. "AGH, FUCK!" Scraped along, I hauled on the cable, my boots skidding over the smooth surface. "COME ONNN!"

Light filled the airlock. I hopped around the opening and wrenched the hatch control lever down. My boots gave a dull clung on meeting the deck. "Izuru?" Izuru's eyes had rolled upwards. Blue lips were frozen open. "Please don't die." Air gushed in to the airlock. "Don't leave them orphans."

The inner hatch unsealed and Estoc thundered in. Thick blankets trailed at his feet. "Lay her down." Estoc spread a blanket on the deck. I fell to my knees and laid Izuru on the blanket. Estoc smothered her in a second blanket and rubbed his hands in to it. "How long was she out there for?"

"She's…" I swayed on my knees.

"How long?"

"She's…" My gloves fumbled at my helmet's rim. Seals peeled free and the helmet thunked on the deck. "She's been out there…" I toppled forwards on to my hands. "…Half a minute."

"Still a chance." Estoc gathered the blanket-swathed Izuru in his arms. Fingers protruded from between the blankets. "Well done, laddie. I'll take it from here."

Lungs heaving, I swung upright. Cold fingers brushed my glove. Estoc swung Izuru's body around and carried her away.

Two days later…

Seventy-nine empty containment pods faced one another in two rows inside Mellenova's medical bay. Izuru Numerial lay inside the eightieth, her body embedded in a gel layer. A clear mask covered her mouth and nose. Needles peppered her arms. Back rigid, hands grasping the arms of a chair, I kept my gaze on Izuru. Soreness ringed my eyes. Leather soured my dry throat. Cramps took my stomach. A whiff clung to the inside of my pressure suit.

Soft deck shoes pattered in my ear. Smudges darkened a baggy, grey boilersuit clinging to Lusia. Wide shoulders sagged. Oily, greasy fingers settled on my shoulder. I twitched and jerked my head around. Liquid sloshed inside a large, silver capsule Lusia held. White crinkles appeared in the blackened skin stretching away from her eyes. "Tell me what's going on inside." Lusia popped a cup free from the top of the capsule and poured liquid in.

"I have not yet come to terms with the past seventy-two hours," I murmured. "Give me two days and strong rum, I'll tell you whatever you want to hear."

"Tell me what you want to say." Lusia passed the cup to me. A rich, nutty taste warmed my throat.

"Get James Larn." My fingers enclosed the cup. "She called for me—no other being crossed her mind."

"She trusts you—knows you better than any other human, probably."

My chest heaved. "I am torn between wishing our paths remained separate and longing for a future of our own making." I tipped the cup back and swallowed. "There is a rope binding us. I couldn't see it, couldn't feel it until that night we spent together six years ago. I said things no twenty-two-year-old had any business saying to a woman, let alone a half-breed Eldar many hundreds of years my senior. That was my mistake…" I laid my elbow on the arm of my chair and dug my thumb and forefinger in to my tear ducts. "The morning after, a mob ambushed me outside the hotel. Forced my vehicle off the road. Caught a beasting from them—feet and fists aplenty. Izuru came after me, got me on my feet…" My hand strayed to the breastplate on my suit, above where the scar marked my chest. "A sniper found me."

"Oh, James." Lusia's hand remained firm on my shoulder.

"It wasn't the mob laying in to me or even the bullet itself—I felt no pain." My fingers curled in to a fist. "Until Izuru screamed." My stomach clenched. "That scream hurt me more than any boot or bullet could." I laid my hand over my ballooning cheeks and swallowed the upcoming heave. "That scream…" I twisted my head away from Lusia. "…Was her heart breaking." Mucus wheezed in my nostrils. Shivers wracked my chest. I closed my eyes and gulped in air. "I told her I was not that man—the man for her. I have tortured, mutilated and crippled men, murdered, lied, and cheated these past two years since I left the Service—that's not even getting to Cadia. You know what we did."

"I know, James, I know."

"Have you come to terms with that—what we did?"

Bright eyes in Lusia's grubby face fell. "I believe…" Lusia's eyebrows edged closer together. White lines broke through the grime. "I believe all beings—human or otherwise—are destined for a higher purpose. Call it fate or destiny, we each have our role to play in our deity's plan—Emperor, Omnissiah, Eldar gods. We can no more control our fates than we can the currents of the Warp. That's setting the galactic stage for this millennium even as we speak."

"So, mine's to bury myself in smoke at the bottom of a bottle, then? No chance I'm climbing outta that one if the Emperor wants me there. I'm not that man. Not then, not now, not ever." My nose wrinkled. I tilted the cup and frowned at the contents. "What is this stuff?"

Lusia swooped down to me. "Be that man." Her lips warmed my cheek. "You've more than proved yourself."

"Oh, you think kissing it better works?" I clipped the cup back on to the capsule.

"I don't feel like shouting." Lusia picked the capsule from my hand and straightened up. "Come on. You're getting outta that suit and under a fresher."

I thrust my arms at Lusia and remained in the chair. "Or would you rather watch my old man act?"

"Get up, you dog." A twitch jumped in the corner of Lusia's mouth.

"Fifty hours, going on…" I lifted my body out of the chair. "Ahh…" Stooped, pins and needles flowing through my feet, I stumbled after Lusia. "This higher purpose you're waxing—what's it got in store for you?"

"I'll let the Omnissiah figure that one out for me." Lusia reached the medbay door and relayed a code in to the lock. My gaze strayed back to Izuru's pod.

"I don't like leaving her be."

"Lilli has her under surveillance. I've modified her base code, a little. Any movement from the xenos, she'll let us know."

"If we lose power…?"

"Then it's down to you and Estoc." Lusia laid her palm on a sensor and spread her fingers. "Make yourself known to her as soon as she's awake." A circular section in the bulkhead rotated and parted for us. "Hopefully, she'll consider a suit next time she treads vacuum."

"Hm." Chin sunken, head listing, I trailed Lusia out of the medbay. Shapes formed in my peripheral vision, and spots crawled over my eyes.

Naked, sheets clinging to me, I sat with my back to my bed inside the cabin, a bottle of rum beside to me. My head lay on the mattress. Dried spittle clung to my chin.

"Rum makes poor decisions of men—heh-heh." I fumbled for the bottle and tipped it up by the neck above my open mouth. "…Fuck." A tiny drop landed on my tongue.

"Hullo, James…?" Lilli's voice rang over the intercom. "Are you awake?"

"Awake and bare-bollocks." I picked myself up and toppled against the locker holding my clothes. "How's our guest?" I jiggled the catch and wrenched the sliding hatch upward.

"Unconscious, stable but unconscious."

"Thought she could take the easy way out…" I stumbled in to a pair of baggy sports shorts. "I am taking her back to her family, bound, gagged, and kicking if needs be. She'll make it up with her cunt husband and be the mother—the mentor—her sons need." A plain, white t-shirt slid over my head.

"I do not like seeing you in this state, James. Hearing these foul words. You are not yourself. I may not possess the ability to smell but Lusia does. She despises the manner substance brings about in you."

"She can tell me herself." A match head scratched in to flame. I clamped my pipe between my lips and stumped out of the cabin.

"My mistress has a great deal of admiration for you. She does not wish to sour your relationship."

"Ohh, sourness came with our fumble on the factory floor—a great bitterness at the love we could not make. I am ashamed of the push I made with our boundaries. We are and will remain great friends." Puffing on my pipe, I made my way to the tram and rode it over to the Operations Centre.

Lusia and Estoc faced one another across one of the holo-tables. Two steaming mugs sat on the raised lip by their elbows. Hullo, have we called a truce? I approached Lusia from behind, reached around her shoulder, and tapped.

"Oh—" Lusia's head snapped around to the right then whipped back at me. "James!" She slapped the back of her hand against my chest. "You're so quiet."

"I'm a shapeshifter."

"Shifted yourself out of your bunk then?" Estoc's head leaned around a planet. "You'll want to see this." Estoc clicked a laser pointer and shone it on the nearest planet in the Granada System. Wrecks clogged a belt ringing the planet. Beyond it, around the planet's curvature, many pinprick-sized signatures clustered inside the belt.

"When the fuck were you gonna tell me Zeke was in the system?"

"When you've sobered and cleaned up." Estoc rounded the corner of the holo-table. "He stinks, doesn't he?" His eyes fell on Lusia. "See that on his neck? That's rum. He's sweating it."

Lilli's skull hummed up Lusia's arm and attached herself to a brace Lusia wore on her shoulders. Two pairs of eyes, brown and blue, met Estoc's. "Gonna reprimand me too?" Lusia plucked my pipe from my fingers, stuck it between her lips, and shot smoke at Estoc. A cough surfaced.

"I'm addressing my subordinate, Madam Enginseer. This is a Navy matter."

"This is not a Navy vessel." Lusia passed my pipe back. "You are not in command." Lilli's eyes flared.

"Para 527, Section 8…" I chewed dead skin on my fingertip. "An officer will not reprove a fellow officer in sight or hearing of civilians."

"You know the Emperor's Regulations…" Estoc prowled around the holo-table to face me. "You're breaking every rule in there. Slouching, drunken misbehaviour, unwashed, half-dressed… AGH!" Estoc flapped his hand and shot a foul look at Lilli's skull. Wild hairs stuck out from behind Lusia's ears.

"I think we both know who's in command, here." I hopped down from the holo-table. "Lilli, what's your assessment?"

"Twenty-eight vessels of Imperial origin are using the planet CB-823's asteroid belt to screen their presence. Our Augur infrastructure detected their signatures, the moment I regained full functionality. I am sorry for losing myself."

"No problem. Any signs of a return signal?"

"No, James. They appear to be in hiding."

"Or adopting ambush posture," Estoc said.

"At twenty-eight thousand klicks, we are invisible but may lose our anonymity should I re-engage propulsion."

"We're still drifting? Well, let's get underway. We're Inquisition-owned—we answer the fuck to them." My eyes lingered on Lilli's servo-skull. "Let's have one-third propulsion. Nice and gentle, now. If they hail us, we say we're Inquisition." I looked to Estoc. "The Navy won't have access to their databases—that's if they bother to even check. They're so frightened of the Inquisition's shadow, they'll swallow anything we feed them."

"Okay." Lusia bucked the shoulder Lilli sat on. "Lilli, do as the gentleman says."

"Yes, Mistress."

Estoc wagged a finger at me. Around the other side of the holo-table, Estoc's voice dropped to a murmur. "Your face will be the first thing Izuru Numerial sees when she awakens. Let's see how heavy the chains of responsibility weigh on you with her by your side, you mutinous, alcoholic cunt."

The smirk on my lips split in to a grin. Creases spread up Estoc's nose. His lips folded inwards and his nostrils flared.

"James, passive lock!"

"Fuck's sake!" I darted away from Estoc and around to Lusia. Her irises had rolled upward, leaving her eyes milky white. "They were just waiting us out."

"Rising heat signatures from two escorts—heavy frigates, Gladius Class. Their IFF does not correspond to AdMech serials."

"Not AdMech, no…" I paced around the statuesque Lusia, hands on hips. "Our friends in grey."

"Both vessels at full burn, now."

"Standby." My teeth dug in to my pipe's stem. The glowering Estoc deflected my glance. They'll open a channel, find out who we are before engaging. They have to confirm identification before engaging, surely.

Lusia grunted. Her irises rolled down. "Active lock from both vessels." Her hand shot out and she tipped against the holo-table. Lilli's skull swayed with her.

"Are their silo hatches open?"

"I dunno." Lusia swiped wild strands back over her crown. "What do you want to do?"

I picked my pipe from my mouth. "Stay on-course, one-third velocity…" I began pacing around the holo-table. "Full inventory—no, gimme a tally of our ship-to-ship capabilities."

"I do not understand your words, James," Lilli said.

"What do we have that can strike back?"

"Checking… Eighteen Laser Mastodons, Seventy-six Augur-guided Plasmaheads, 368 Kharnage cluster missiles."

I brought a knuckle to my lips. "Arm a Mastodon. Keep the silo closed."

"Er, just a minute." Estoc rounded the holo-table and swiped a hand across his chest. "Belay that, Lilli. Let them come to us and declare themselves. Let them do the work."

"…No." I bit on my lower lip. "I don't like waiting."

"If we appear on the defensive, things might escalate." Lusia drained an Inquisition-branded mug and turned the thick, letter I towards me. "Like you said, they fear the shadow of the Inquisition—even the mention of the name."

My eyes fell on the black I on the white background then rose to meet Lusia's. She gave me a tiny, encouraging nod. "Standby," I muttered. My fingertips shone bright red around my pipe.

"Might we route comms down from the bridge?" Estoc said.

"Lilli?" I chewed a fingernail.

"The handset above you."

I threw a look up at a console hanging three feet above the holo-table. A thick receiver attached to a coiled cable nestled in a bracket. "Tell me the second the frigates are within effective firing range."

"They already are."

"Okay…" I dabbed the base of my palm at my forehead.

Lilli's eyes brightened. "Incoming traffic!"

"Can you play it through your skull's vocaliser first?" Estoc and I edged nearer to Lusia.

"Decrypting…" Lusia's lips moved in unison with Lilli's voice. Her eyes rolled upwards. White noise screeched from the skull's vocaliser before softening.

"…relay your vessel's holy name, pennant number, and chartered course. The Emperor Protects the honest and the devout."

"Is that it?" Estoc and I looked at one another. "Can you play the whole thing?"

Lusia's jawed slackened. A tiny line of saliva inched down her chin. "Attention, attention, black vessel. Your presence violates our sovereign territory. Curtail your present speed and hove your vessel to for inspection. Be prepared to present your vessel's holy name, pennant number, and chartered course. The Emperor Protects the honest and the devout."

I darted towards Lusia. Her head tilted back and her body swayed against the holo-table. "Oh—" I slipped my hands around Lusia's back and lowered her head in to my lap. "Can you hear me?"

Lusia's irises reappeared. "Eurgh…" She swiped the spittle from her chin. "They're not Navy either."

"Okay." I eased Lusia up in to a sitting position. "Lusia, what happens when your eyes go… like that."

"Clarity." Lusia thrust her elbows out and sprang up. "It's nothing to worry about."

Behind me, Estoc scribbled on the back of a creased receipt. "Here's your reply…" He thrust the receipt to me.

"…No." My fist closed around the receipt. "No, we're not explaining ourselves. We're not complying with their demands…" I rose and bounced the crushed receipt in my palm. "We retaliate. Take this message and relay it back to them, Lilli. You ready?"

"Ready, James."

"Inquisitorial Cruiser Zarkaniy to unidentified Gladius heavy frigate. You are trespassing on affairs of the Ordo Xenos. Check your present heading and relinquish your active lock. I have Mastodon LGMs in-silo and ready to unleash should you encroach our airspace. This is your one and only warning. Present official credentials. By His light, we judge thee."

Eyes wide, Lusia covered her mouth with her fingers. "Omnissiah, James."

"Down the slippery slope…" Estoc muttered.

"Message sent. Let me know when you wish to fire."

"Lilli!" Lusia's shoulder squirmed. "Never in a million years."

"Let 'em see our teeth." I shook my pipe at Estoc. "If we go anything but balls-out, they'll atomise us."

The handset above my head rumbled. I plucked it from its bracket and tucked it against my ear. A male voice squawked. "Inquisitorial cruiser from Absolvers Frigate 239 Heavy, our methods are routine. By the God-Emperor, please tender your mission and the name of the official Ordo representative aboard. We await your reply."

I tapped the handset on my shoulder. Estoc's, Lusia's, and Lilli's eyes were glued to me. "Absolvers, Lilli."

"My banks describe them as a Third-Founding chapter of the Adeptus Astartes, James."

"Right, that's bought us some time." I clipped the handset back in to place and rubbed my warm palms together. "Let's make 'em wait—say twenty minutes or so."

"Where you going?"

"Shower and sober up—I'm borderline alcoholic, remember?"

Cold water dribbled through my hair and clung to my beard. Hunched over in a fresher unit, I dragged my fingers through my beard and pinched the hairs curling on my chin. "If only I could make the dead rise…"

Towel bound around my waist, I opened a locker and retrieved my clothes. "What are our friends doing, Lilli?" The neck of my t-shirt ploughed through my damp hair.

"Both frigates are holding at a distance of seventeen klicks. Neither vessel holds us in active lock; they remain passive."

"You know what…" My fingers drummed on my bare knees. "It's a miracle, Lilli."

"A miracle?"

"A man has just risen from the dead."

"I thought the fresher was supposed to flush the alcohol from your system. Are you sobered now?"

"Aye, to my great dismay things do seem a little sharper, now." I dragged my shorts on. "I want Estoc and Lusia to meet me outside the Inquisitor's chambers in three minutes."

"Very well, James. Three minutes."

Located on Deck 6, a large, carpeted chamber held statues of alien creatures arranged in rows before the golden double doors leading in to the Inquisitor's chambers.

"This better be good, James. The Astartes aren't known for their patience around humans." Estoc strode up to me. "What even is this place?"

"OH!" Lusia, a little behind Estoc, raised her hand over her face and turned her head away from a statue. "Ugh, can't look at that. Too many legs."

"I know—I know what's inside too." I spread my arms and plunged my hands in to the double doors.

"You've been here before?"

"I dreamed it." Hinges squeaked and the doors swung inward. "Ohh, this is exactly how I remember."

"You dreamed it…?" Lusia wandered in after me.

"Aye. Warp-induced, rum-induced—bit o' both."

"What is it we're looking for?" Estoc crossed to the edge of the firepit.

"Lilli, little more light, please."

"Yes, James."

Flames sprang up inside clear, bulbous lamps hanging from winding arms protruding from the walls and ceiling. I trotted past the Inquisitor's desk and the chair I had sat at and the colossal Aquila and the Inquisitorial seal above it and down a staircase in to the sleeping quarters. Detached from Lusia, Lilli's servo-skull soared ahead of me and flung light over a gigantic four-poster surrounded by sheer, floor-to-ceiling veils. In a smaller side-chamber, I flung open doors set in a tall cabinet and ran my fingers along the suits hanging inside.

"This… charade you're plotting, James…"

"Uh?" I lifted a blue jerkin from the cabinet and clamped the collar between my chin and breast. "Wha' you think—Casual Zeleska?"

"Z—Zeleska…?" Estoc and Lusia caught one another's eye.

"Osvat Radu Zeleska had this ship before it was Mellenova. She was Zarkaniy before. And she survived him."

"He's right," Lusia murmured. "Like Zarkaniy, the man is long gone."

"Only this time…" I unbuttoned the jerkin and ran my arms through the sleeve openings. "I'm the one calling the shots." I fed buttons through slits and smoothed the face down. "Estoc, you're my bodyguard. Lusia, my chief enginseer—come on, find yourself some clobber!" I plucked breeches and a pair of leather boots from a shelf.

Toes sore, heels reddened and aching, I shuffled back in to the Operation Centre with footwear a size and a half too big and breeches sagging in the crotch. Silken, puffy cuffs on the shirt I wore beneath the jerkin hung over my hands. Estoc and Lusia awaited me. Plate armour bulked up Estoc and a bug-eyed mask and triangular grill gave Lusia the look of an ordinary techpriest. A sheathed sword hung from a belt around Estoc's waist. Chunky Inquisition sigils, fastened to a chain, rode his breastplate.

"How the hell do you…?" I stooped and rubbed my heel. "…Walk in these things. Bloody slippery soles…" Estoc lifted a pair of slippers covered in fur up from behind the holo-table.

"You sure they won't find that odd?" I hobbled around to Estoc and Lusia.

"Oh, for walking around." Estoc jerked the slippers out of my reach. "As long you stand still, you'll be fine."

"…Right." I folded the sharp edges of a stick-up collar away from my neck. "If we're ready… Lilli, permission to enter the bridge?"

Bulkhead doors groaned apart. Faint ridges distorted the alloy along the edges, as if something hot had touched it. Someone's been at this with a welding torch. I cast a glance at Lusia's mask. Lilli's servo-skull nestled on her shoulder.

Thick, humid fog filled the bridge. Muggy air irritated my skin and tickled behind my ears. Pools of water throttled a pathway circling a vast holo-projector built over a wide basin. Is that coolant? I stared down at the man in the Inquisitor's clothes.

"Hey." Lusia's hand brushed my shoulder. "Are you ready to transmit?"

"Yeah, go ahead." I tore my eyes from the Inquisitor looking up at me. "Where's the Navigator?"

"Where's the bloody light switch?" Estoc hitched up his belt and scabbard. "Phew." His brow shone.

"James, James—" Lusia's hands closed around my waist and guided me to a spot before the holo-projector. "Can you…?"

"—Here?"

"Just there." Lusia went over to one of the dozens of consoles ringing the projector and rolled up the sleeves on her robes. Cables dug in to the ports on her arms. Many more—hundreds—gathering in huge clumps coiled upward and away from the projector. "Just hailing the Absolvers now. Standby."

Leather creaked beside me. Estoc's balled fist rested on the pommel of his sword. "Last chance. Izuru's safety may be—"

"—Just stand there and look like the slab you're s'posed to be." Bright green light exploded from the basin. A fuzzy shape sharpened in to a monstrous human ensconced on a throne. Thick fingers gripped bull heads engraved in to the arms of the throne. Spiked greaves rose up knees, spread wide. A bull's heads covered both of them. Puffy scar tissue split the skin on a square head devoid of any hair. Rivets rose up the human's temple. Dead skin surrounded black eyes.

"You don't take a knee, human?" Thunder rumbled in my ears. A prickle travelled down my spine. "Perhaps my Falx will change your mind."

"By all means, send the women over. We're short a few of the fairer sex over here."

"HAH!" A gauntlet rose and formed a fist. "They come in salvos."

"I've only ever handled one at a time. Two comes after the fifth drink."

"HAH-HAH!" The audio broke in to static before softening. "Tell me your name, human."

"Osvat Radu Zeleska," I said, a grin warming my face. "Inquisitor, Ordo Xenos. To my right is—"

"—Inquisitor." Scarred lips twisted. "Ordo. Xenos."

"Xenos are my trade, as death is yours, Space Marine. Tell me your name."

A lopsided sneer contorted the Marine's face. "Paal Lystro Sivitus, Brother Captain, Absolver's Chapter. Kneel, Inquisitor."

Warmth surged through my cheeks. Dark eyes bored in to mine. I raised my chin and stuck it out. "Who do you think you are?"

A vein pulsed in Sivitus's brow. "You've a youthful insolence, Inquisitor. Kneel."

"You hailed me, Brother Captain, I did not hail you. My mission requires me to not break silence."

"First, Inquisitor, my Falx salvoes will break your ship. Then my knee will break your spine. You will lie prostate before the Adeptus Astartes; your betters."

"My lord, active lock from both vessels!" Lusia cried. "Their silo hatches are opening."

I wagged a finger at Estoc and leaned in. "He's showing us his dick."

"What are you thinking?" Estoc's glove was tight around his sword's pommel.

"Let's show him ours." I snapped fingers at Lusia. "Enginseer, arm two of our Mastodons and target the main fleet."

"Fire away, boy. Our fleet's point defence will disable your missiles long before they pose any threat to us."

"Plasmaheads, Enginseer! Every single one of them targets the Absolver's Fleet. The Mastodons launch eight seconds after the plasmaheads. Let a thermobaric package help them along to the Throne." I met Sivitus's eye. "You'll have a healthy glow about you when you meet the Emperor, Brother Captain. You'll be the one kneeling then."

"INSOLENCE!" Sivitus flew from his throne. His height cut his head off in the projection, leaving a headless torso standing there with clenched fists. "ABSOLVERS, DROWN THEE IN HOLY FIRE!"

"Right…" My fingers undid the buttons on my breeches. "Come on then, get your dick out, Space Marine!" I brought my penis out and shook it at Sivitus. "There's gotta be something stuffed away in that codpiece!"

"Ugh!" Lusia's hands flew over her mask. A white-faced Estoc gawked at me.

"Or maybe you've been hiding it all this time. Maybe there's naut but the wind flowing between your legs."

Thunder rumbled around the bridge. Sivitus's head came back in to view and he sat down on his throne. His grinning face faded.

"Did I…? Was that…?" My head snapped between Estoc and Lusia. Estoc ambled over and muttered in my ear.

"Think you've proved your point, James."

"Err… yeah." I buttoned up and tucked my shirt back in. "What's he doing, Lusia?"

"Frigates are holding at seventeen klicks. Neither maintain their lock on us. Their brethren remain in orbit around the planet." Lusia had put her back to me. "Seems he got the message."

"Hey…" I reached for Lusia's shoulder. Lusia bucked it and edged away from me. "Give it ten minutes then ease us back to one-third. I'm going for a lie down."

"Right."

A pair of furry slippers slapped the deck at Estoc's feet. "C'mon, Inquisitor, you've earned 'em."

"Aww, don't call me that." I hopped on one foot and twisted and pulled a boot off. "…Agh." Beneath my socks, my ankles and toes shone bright red. Bow-legged, I shuffled off the bridge and down in to the cool air in the Operations Centre.

Three empty bottles lay on their side on the floor beneath my bed. Bare-chested, I rested a forearm over my eyes. The Inquisitor's uniform hung from a hook on the wall. I rolled on my side and propped my body up on my elbow. Tiny gold letter Is glinted on the jerkin's collar. I made you, Inquisitor. My lip curled in to a smirk.