Mellenova, Inquisitor's Private Quarters

Holo-picts, each one glowing inside a gold-filigreed frame, lined the walls of the Inquisitor's bedchamber. Eighteen youths, bulked up in body armour and bearing lasguns, faced the photographer. Paint smeared their dour faces. The plaque beneath it read Gorgo Platoon, Typhon Company. Standing third from the right was the young Zeleska, jaw set, beret shadowing his right eye.

Beside the platoon pict, an older Zeleska, dressed in his crisp No.1 uniform, held his bent forearm horizontally across the pole of an unfurled banner. Cadet Captain Zeleska.

He bore the platoon banner during his passing-out parade. My eyes roved across to physical certificates contained in transparent cases. Luthar VII Schola Progenium, Master of Arts, Doctorate in Imperial Theory. Medals sat on turquoise cloth sheets trapped inside a glass cabinet. Good conduct medal, expert pistol and rifleman's marksman awards, Infantryman's Close Combat Shield, Wounded Lion, Imperial Guardsman's Commendation Medal, Macharian Cross. My eyes fell on a set of captain's pips. A captain… I ran my hand up in to my hair. Of infantry too. Hairs on my arms stood erect. What made you jump ship?

"Lilli, everything you have on Osvat Radu Zeleska—run me off paper copies."

"My memory banks contain only partial data on that individual, James."

"Birth to death, Lilli."

"I have no record of that individual's birth, only his orphaned status."

He was Richard Sorge's sister's boy. Nothing on the father then… I played my palm down the silk drapes bound around the wooden post rising above Zeleska's four-poster. "Military career through to his induction to the Inquisition, then. Everything up to Cadia, too."

"Yes, James. I will run the data off in the Operations Centre."

"My quarters, not Ops." The fluff on my slippers whispered around the foot of the four-poster.

"Very well."

"Something on your mind?" I leaned over a gun cabinet housing a collection of antique wheel guns and automatics held upright in transparent stands. A hammerless Volg .38 – its finish worn away to the bare metal beneath – stood on a stand beneath its larger, hammered brother in .45. "Well, Lilli? Spit it out." My fingernails slid in to the edge of the glass and pried the cabinet door open.

"I am unable to action your request, James."

"Okay." I picked the .38 out and popped the magazine. "Know where the brass is?" I moved over to an adjacent cabinet housing cartridge-based sporting pieces. A twelve-bore double rifle, inlaid with brass, sat on a stand. A name was engraved in it – Bylor Zeleska.

"You upset Lusia."

"I hereby tender the sincerest of apologies for the unwarranted display of my watch and chain on the bridge, Captain." I dropped the Volg in my pocket. "I pledge these breeches will remain buttoned."

"Your sarcasm can go where your xenos went. A cold, airless void."

"Hur-hur—you're learning." I left the cabinets and trotted over to the stairs leading up to the main chamber. Door halves spiralled inwards and sealed in front of me. "You know, when Lusia finds my asphyxiated corpse, she'll be even more upset." I stuck my hands in my pockets and threw a glance at the ceiling.

"The moment you put on the uniform—"

"—We'd be floating in a cold, airless void, courtesy of those meatheads had I not. They showed us their dick, we unbuttoned in return. We're still allies at the end of the day—there's no arguing with that."

"I carry an arsenal capable of rendering their arguments null."

"No, we are not declaring war on the Adeptus Astartes." I balled my fist and thumped it on the sealed door. "Let's have this open—lively, now."

"Make amends with my mistress."

"I'll stop by the dorsal hangar."

"My mistress is not there."

"…Okay. If I agree to fix things with Lusia, will you tell me where the brass is?"

Thick, heavy air poured from a dilating bulkhead hatch. I clawed at the clasps holding my tall collar tightly to my throat and parted them. God-Emperor, is she hiding in a steam room? Spikey, sagging plants sprouted from troughs lining shelves set up on rotating platforms in a long, narrow chamber—bright white, like the medical bay. Droplets shone on the deep, brown earth filling the troughs. The rotating mechanism lowered the nearest shelf and replaced it with a trough holding drier earth. Clever thing. I ran my fingers through the buttons on my jerkin and flapped the open halves. "Lusia?"

"Doesn't seem so large this ship, all of a sudden, does it?" Lusia's voice rolled through the heavy air. "Are you bearing down on me clothed?"

"Aye." I headed along the troughs throwing looks along the short passages connecting the rows. "Clothed and armed."

"Sober?"

"Regrettably so."

A t-shirt and apron-clad Lusia balanced on a collapsible stool beside a row of blue flowers. Water poured from a long-necked can in her arms. A thick band held her hair back.

"Still playing with a dead man's things?"

"Hm." A grin took hold of my lips. I leaned my shoulder against a nearby corner and crossed my ankles.

"You're committed now—you know that?" Lusia stepped down from the stool and moved it along the row.

"Only in death does duty end." I wandered after Lusia. "True, 'til today. Even in death, Osvat Radu Zeleska can still serve."

"Now, he wears your face…" Lusia wobbled on the stool and leaned over the flowers.

"I wear his. He does not wear mine." I reached for a thorny stem and pinched it between my fingers. Rounded petals, like the mountain flower.

"The moment you adopted the fraudulent mantle, his spectre returned."

"Then let it be a force for good. If fear wins us safe passage to Eldar space, we use fear. Threats, intimidation, dick-waving, we use all of it against those knuckleheads calling themselves Absolvers."

"There's a seduction to it, isn't there? Irresponsible, little men with big power casting their influence over the way of things. You'll lose yourself to it if you keep playing Pretend."

"I wouldn't say little men. It's any men with power over others. Zeleska, Sorge and Barakat all lost themselves to the command authority bestowed upon them. They didn't begin their lives corrupt, petty or power-hungry—their titles, their commissions murdered their morals and turned their ideals black in the name of the Imperium." I plucked a blue flower from the soil and put it to my nose. "Speaking of losing oneself…"

"I told you, merging with Lilli grants me omniscience. I can be on every deck, in every passage, every vent aboard Mellenova all at once."

"It's hurting you every time you merge. That big brain of yours cannot handle that nexus Lilli manages."

"It can handle it just fine." Lusia got down and moved her stool along the row. "Let me take care of AdMech business, you can do the rest." Stool legs struck the deck.

"I can talk to you whenever, can't I?"

"Mm-hm, yep."

"Okay, so you can talk to me too. Tell me what's going on inside."

Lusia's watering can clunked on the side of the trough. Her deck shoes slapped upon the floor. "We're talking about a fucking dead man, here…" Lusia's fingers dug in to the knot binding the apron around her waist. I reached in and picked at the bound cords. "—Get off." Lusia's hands slapped at mine though her feet remained rooted.

"You know, this is all automated, right?" I lifted the loop over Lusia's head. "You don't have to water anything."

Lusia snatched the apron and carried it with the watering can along the row. "D'you ever feel like doing something just for the sake of doing it? A practical task, one involving hands? Helps take the mind off bullshit." Lusia broke her stride and swung around to face me. Her eyes dropped to the flower in my hand. "I doubt she'd remember the Inquisitor favourably either. There'll be another Lutufeyo if she sees you in those clothes." Lusia spun and marched out of the garden. My shoulders slumped and I wandered back along to the row of blue flowers.

I cannot keep clean hands around Izuru Numerial, Lusia. That is how it's always been. One crisis after another. One death after another every time we meet. I picked a second flower from the patch, then a third. Once she has you in her eye there is no respite, no escape.

A dozen of the blue flowers bustled inside brown paper clustered beneath my arm. A transparent vase nestled beneath my other arm. Motion sensors triggered inside the medical bay and the overhead lighting snapped on at intervals. The chair I had sat in for two days straight remained beside Izuru's pod. Flower stems landed at the bottom of the vase until all but one of the dozen crowded it. Water dribbled inside.

One leg extended, I sprawled on the chair, arms spread wide, my knee jiggling, a flower pinched between my fingers. My eyes dug in to the smooth, white skin on Izuru's cheek. I have tasted your poison, sunk my teeth in to your apple, listened to the honey pouring in my ears in the wee hours.

"This rope has bound us for too long." I balanced the flower on the arm of my chair, laid my forearm on Izuru's pod and leaned over it. "Still, I am drawn to you." My palm touched the canopy. "There'll be another. One you can learn from, laugh and grow with." My palm slid downward. "Grow."

A hand banged against the canopy. I toppled back from the pod and the convulsing Izuru within. "LILLI! LILLI!"

"James, I—"

"Sedative!" I flew at the pod's display. A flat, green line on the screen squiggled in to jagged teeth.

"I just did—"

"—AGAIN!" My fingers dug in to the corners of the monitor. 195 BPM, 200, 205, 210. "Lilli, for fuck's sake!"

A sweaty hand smeared the canopy. Mouth agape beneath her mask, Izuru tore herself free from the gel and arched her back. Shiny froth seeped from the sides of her mask.

"Two shots."

"Again." I tore my eyes from Izuru and fixed them on her monitor. "Do it."

"Three shots."

Fog spread across the canopy. The flailing body inside relaxed and settled back in to the gel. 195, 190, 185, 180.

"Has this happened before?"

"Never. I am sorry, James. For a thousandth of a second, I did not know what to do."

"Any more attacks, pump her full of sedative. That's all we can do for her."

"Xenos cardiac arrest must be different to a human's. My banks contain no data on the former's biology."

"…No, it's that psyker's mind of hers." I collapsed in to my chair and gathered a clump of beard in my fingers. "All Eldar have some form of psychic presence manifesting itself in the Warp—comes with the baggage of attracting all the nasties lurking there." My fingers steepled. "Six years ago, she told me something had followed her back from beyond the veil." Fingernails dug in to my chin.

"Veil?"

"Eldar afterlife… I dunno. I was so certain this was some past trauma. I didn't understand it back then—still don't now."

"Is she sick?"

"Sick…?" I gnawed on my thumbnail. "Nothing anti-depressants and sleeping tablets could cure, at least. I am starting to believe her condition is of the mind. We may not have seen the thing that left its mark in Orsolya and the processor."

"I am aware of the split personality condition in humans but not in xenos."

"No… this thing she spoke of must make a puppet out of her—probably left hours—days—of her memory blank. After the airlock, I reckon it's losing interest in pulling the strings. Caused enough chaos over the years, now it wants a new host."

"Are we in danger?"

"Death surrounds Izuru Numerial—yes, possessed or not, we are very much in danger of her."

"Can she be helped?"

I stretched out my legs and raised my arms above my head. "…Oooh—helped? Best help we can give her is the drop-off at the nearest Eldar fleet."

"But a more immediate solution…"

"Temporary."

"Your pulse and body temperature have risen, along with your voice during periods of high stress involving her. Those flowers signify affection too. The chosen colour matches well with her hair and facial complexion. They radiate positive energy."

"Hah!Got an eye for fashion now, have we?"

"Like you have an eye for her."

"Ohh, that tongue's sharpening up nicely."

"I'm a swift learner."

"I'm a bad influence. Dangerous elements, those."

"Not as dangerous as the xenos inside that pod should she escape."

"She escapes, I'll be there."

"With positive energy? A little bit of affection can go a long way."

"You've a sweet nature, Lilli." I dug my feet in to my slippers and stood up. "And you're not wrong but I would rather fight fire with fire."

"Fire with fire…"

"Now, I'm gonna need you to keep a secret for me, Lilli. Can you keep a secret?"

"I am bound by my secondary directive never to tell a lie to a human."

"Good, I'm not asking you to lie." I buttoned my jerkin, slipped the flower in my breast pocket, and headed for the door. "I'm asking your silence."

Cages swallowed firearms buried in racks stretching away from me. A long table running the length of the low chamber stood in the centre. I laid my thumb on the sensor pad in the nearest rack and tapped a combination in to the keypad. Rattling bars slid sideways. I reached in and picked up a large, stockless, pump-action shotgun and snapped the square slide back. Lot of space in that chamber. Probably got a kick to her. I laid the shotgun on the table and picked out a further four of the stockless weapons, checked their chambers, and set them beside their brother.

"Ammunition, Lilli."

"I have unlocked the ammunition cages for you, James. You'll find them around the corner to your left."

"Body armour, hard cover, ear protection, non-lethal grenades and hand weaponry."

"How much of this do you need, if I may ask?"

"All of it."

Ceramite hard covers, plated riot vests, respirators, earbuds, ear defenders, motion scanners, shotguns, lasguns, flashbangs, CS grenades and ammunition boxes piled upon the table. I patted a hand axe, held in a plastic sheath, in my palm. "Mobility."

"Would wheeled utility bins help?"

"Aye, that'd do about right."

"And the army you're planning on raising is…?"

"No need for an army…" I turned a shotgun upside down and fed a plastic, 6-bore shell through the loading gate. "Just me."

Arsenal packing out a square bin, I wheeled it aboard the tram and stopped off at Mellenova's primary stations—Engineering, Medical, Recreation, Habitation, Gunnery, and Operations—depositing arms, armour, ammunition, and equipment inside air ducts, vents, cubbyholes, behind doors and beneath steps.

Two and a half hours later, I abandoned the empty bin outside my quarters and retreated inside. On my crumpled bedcovers I laid a rifle-stocked shotgun, a bandolier, the hand axe, a motion scanner, two boxes of cartridges, some gun oil and a rag. Bedsprings creaked beneath my backside. My bare feet left my slippers and I reached for the shotgun and balanced it across my knees. Tiny, blocky letters, engraved in the underside of the receiver beside the trigger-guard, read Tocha. I squeezed the lever behind the Tocha's trigger-guard, racked the thick slide and thumbed the crossbolt safety. One ear against the receiver, I eased my forefinger around the trigger and squeezed until I heard a click. No mush there. Nice and snappy. I pulled the slide rearward and peered in to the breech. Probably never been discharged. Is that grease in there? I carried the Tocha and the rag over to the table and set them down beneath the lamp.

Oiled and free of bore grease, the Tocha sat on my knees. The two cartridge boxes lay open beside me. One read 3-inch Slug, the other Non-lethal Riot Cartridges. My eyes jumped between boxes. I picked out a red 3-inch cartridge and turned it over in my fingers. A solid piece of metal nestled inside the case.

You are the root of all my happiness.

My eyes flickered over to the lonely flower listing inside an empty glass on the table. My head tipped in to my hand. Air hissed from my puckered lips. Fingernails scraped down my forehead and my warm hand closed around the cartridge and tapped it against my chin. Was I, even when we were killing Imperial soldiers? I plunged the cartridge on to the Tocha's loading gate and slid it inside. Two more cartridges packed out the Tocha's magazine. I racked the slide then fed a fourth cartridge into the magazine. If four of those monsters can't stop her, there's not a lot else I can do. My hand strayed to the axe and removed it from its sheath. A fingertip played along the bright edge.

In darkness I waited, Tocha in my lap aimed at the door, scanner active beside me. Ears. I dug my off hand in my jerkin's breast pocket and fed buds in my ears. "Lilli? Lilli!" I leaned over to the lamp and tapped the sensor. Blackout. I looked up at the cabin's ceiling. Mellenova's low hum had died away entirely. Can't be good for the reactor, these snap restarts. I stretched my free hand out and held it beneath a dead air vent. A blip appeared on the scanner.

Distant booms reached my ears. I hunched my shoulders and curled my toes. Taps rang on the bulkhead outside the cabin. I laid my finger on the Tocha's safety and clicked it across. A whirring came from the other side of the door and a gap appeared between the parting halves. I braced the Tocha's stock in my shoulder and squeezed the slack from the trigger. Glinting eyes appeared between the door halves.

"James, lower that weapon!" Estoc fell away from the opening. "You hear me?"

"Estoc…?" I tipped the bore up and set the Tocha's safety. "Where's Izuru?"

"Zipped up in the ICU—it's a local outage. Just this deck."

"Oh…"

"Where's that weapon pointing?"

"It's…" I laid the Tocha down on my bunk and shifted the muzzle away from the door. "…On the bunk, facing away from you."

"Okay, gimme a sec—" The whirring resumed. "Our friend Captain Sivitus left a request for the inquisitor, just now."

"Requesting my presence aboard his ship?" I stuffed my feet in to my slippers. "The same meathead threatening to break my spine across his knee?"

Estoc's arm thrust through the gap in the door. A shoulder squeezed after it. "You gonna hide in your bunk all day or throw more insults at a Space Marine's manhood?" Estoc's paw patted the alloy. "Thinking about it, I really enjoyed the whole thing. Seeing you lay in to that him like that. There's a pair of very solid ball-bearings hanging beneath that massive, massive yard of yours."

"Yeah… I'm not so sure." Shoulder set in the gap, I bent my knee and heaved the door open wide enough for Estoc to sidestep through. A dog-leg crank hung from his hand.

"An axe?" Estoc scooped up the axe and fitted it back in the sheath. "Bloody hell, James. And what happened there?" He flicked the thin haft at the pile of broken glass in the corner.

"Estoc, listen to me. Everything we know about Izuru Numerial—everything—forget it, it's all wrong. Lutufeyo, the processor, the massacres, all of it." I picked up a slug and slotted in to the bandolier loops. "Something found her beyond the veil, wormed its way in to her mind, strung her up like a puppet and fed off her rage. All her life the stigma of her ancestry's clung to her like corpse stench and she's never been allowed to forget it." Nylon loops stretched around the cartridges. "This urge to punish her race for her treatment invigorated the thing in her mind and brought blood to Orsolya's streets and the processor. Call me daft, but it's the only explanation—logic be damned. Nothing I do makes sense to me anymore—" A cartridge fell from my fingers and hit the deck. I shoved the half-full bandolier aside and stumbled over to the desk and swiped a bottle of Old Navy. "You—you're lucky, you can still find purpose by the Emperor's Regs." I wrenched the cork free and slugged the rum by the neck.

Estoc, silent, kneeled and picked the cartridge up and stood it up on the table. "Our audience awaits, Inquisitor. Bring the rum, leave the artillery—okay?"

"…Ahh." Lines cut across my nose. Sneering, I set the rum down and planted both hands on the desk. The lonely flower caught my eye. Nothing I do makes sense anymore. Nothing I did around Izuru Numerial ever made sense.

Rough leather gouged marks in to my ankles and the tops of my feet. Clamped in to the small of my back, my fist opened and closed. Ghostly light from the swirling holo-projector stung my eyes.

"Okay, James." Estoc stooped over a cogitator, his fingers on the keypad. "Standing by."

"Yeah, just a…" My fingers rose to the flower sitting in my jerkin's breast pocket and lifted it out by the stem. Soft petals tickled my nose. What became of my parting gift, the Aletheia? Warmth tickled my ears. Those petals on your skin, your lips, your breasts.

"James?"

"Yeah, go ahead." I slipped the flower back in my breast pocket. The hulking shape of Brother Captain Sivitus materialised.

"A man of the soil?" Hairless brows furrowed and scar tissue stretched around the Absolver's mouth. "Or are you a flower behind closed doors?"

My hands locked behind my back. Face rigid, I stared up at the Space Marine. "I have often wondered about you super-soldiers, wondered whether you liked blondes, redheads, or maybe you don't like women at all. You are more than welcome to sit down with me over a pint and talk about the things you do like—food, drink, sports. Trade stories men of action like ourselves share."

"And what stories would a short-lived runt share with a Son of the Emperor?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I t—"

"—Why are you in our territory? Answer me! We catch you sneaking through the system like scavvers, no escort, no hail to our picquets."

"That's Ordo Xenos business—"

"—What is your name?"

"Inquisitors do not answer to—"

"ANSWER MY QUESTION!"

"Osvat Radu Zeleska."

"Where are you from, Osvat Radu?"

"Luthar Seven. Now, I want to speak to your fleet commander about your antagonism, Brother Captain. Military protocol permits the shadowing of my vessel by your own but a remote interrogation of an Inquisitor violates Ordo Xenos holy scripture paragraph 534, section six—no officer of the Inquisitorial Courts shall stand answerable to the Adeptus Astartes, Arbites, Imperial naval or ground personnel, officer or enlisted. They are a cadre above all else, and by their eyes they shall judge thee innocent or guilty. We wouldn't want to find a fine brother captain guilty, would we?"

Sivitus's clenched fist tapped the arm of his throne. "Hove-to for inspection." His image dissolved.

"Inspection—what does he mean inspection?" I flung a look over at Estoc. "Can he do that?"

"It's Absolver's territory, he can damn well do what he likes."

"Lilli, lemme know what comes up on our augurs. I want to know exactly what they're doing."

"Can I speak aloud, now?" Lilli's voice echoed around the bridge.

"Yeah, go ahead." I parted the clasps throttling the collar around my throat. The heavy air pressed against my jerkin and left dark patches beneath my armpits.

"The Gladii remain on our port quarter, on an identical plane and heading to us. Their silo hatches are sealed."

"Velocity?"

"Matching ours."

"Okay…" I tapped a knuckle on my lower lip. "Kill our velocity, quick as you can."

"We're acceding?"

"Musclebrains is playing it by the book—he's legally in the right to request we hove-to."

"What's that about no Inquisitors standing answerable to Adeptus Astartes?" Estoc's steel breastplate halves clunked on the deck. "God-Emperor, how dripping am I?" Estoc flapped a cloth loose and dabbed at his crown.

"Yeah—Lilli, let's shift this fog, like." I hopped on one foot and twisted the Inquisitor's boot off. "Keep that tinplate handy too, Estoc."

"Uh-huh—you rolling out the red carpet in your slippers, then…?" Estoc brought the armour halves together and clutched them beneath his arm.

"Ohh, I plan to do as little walking as possible in these." I heaved the other boot off. "If I asked you to carry me, would you?"

"If the Absolver asks you to kneel, would you?" Estoc stumped past me over to the bulkhead door.

Lilli spoke. "You do not intend to admit the Astartes aboard, do you? I have no wish to witness the lows humans can sink to over insignificant slights."

"Should violence break out, remember we have the home advantage…" Steel teeth parted and screeched outwards, freeing the humid, stifling air clouding the bridge. "…They will be trapped with us."

Revolving brackets, sunken in the bulkhead walls of Mellenova's most forward hangar bay, clutched hunch-backed power-loaders stacked on top of one another. Taut chains stretched from deck to ceiling. Snarling skulls and sharp-edged inquisition sigils loomed over the empty deck.

Brown rings wet the top of the switch console my Inquisition mug sat on. Row upon row of switches and dials filled the grid, their functions described by single, double and hyphenated letters only. CB, AP-R, B-SI, G-R… I scratched at the smooth, hairless skin on my jaw.

"You'll only make it sore if you scratch." Estoc pored over another console on the other side of the control tower. His fingers tracked across the banks of switches similarly and incomprehensibly labelled. "Depressurise, Lilli."

"…Feel naked." I lunged at my mug and swivelled the black letter I to face away from me.

"Officers—anyone with authority in the Imperium—presents himself shaven—did you hear me, construct?"

"Nrgh…" My nails grated through the shaven-down sides of my head up to the thicker hair on my crown. "Lilli, depressurise, please."

"Yes, James." Orange emergency lighting spiralled around the hangar.

"She…" Estoc swung upright and threw a glare at the ceiling, his fists digging in to his hips. "I asked her to—"

"—Ooh, seems she doesn't like the Imperial Navy stealing her thunder." I brought my mug to my lips and planted my socks on the switch-bank.

"Thirty seconds, James."

"…Fucking redundant." Estoc threw up his hands. "Fine, let the machine do all the work—what are articulated thumbs for anyway?"

"Lilli's hospitality not worth your time, uh?" I picked my lit cigarette out from behind my ear.

"Free-thinking constructs accompany strong consequences, James—ah, put that fag out!"

"Done with it anyway…" I wheeled my chair over to a disposal chute and dropped the limp end down it.

"Depressurising in twenty seconds."

"There was a war, James, a war very long ago between us and them. It's the reason for—what d'you call it—scrapcode?"

"Well, maybe this'll be the start of something new…" I spun my chair around.

"Safeguards exist for good reason so something like this doesn't happen again."

"Old boy, my thoughts are on the incoming meat parade—as yours should be."

"You should be thinking about Izuru Numerial, and the danger you place her in by admitting Space Marines aboard."

"I think of Izuru Numerial like the drinker does the bottle or the gambler the dice. There's mortal danger in just being around her—that's not even getting to her little problem."

"Depressurising in five."

"Will you be there when she wakes up?"

"I will do what I must." My empty mug left a fresh ring on the console. At the far end of the hangar, a crack appeared between the parting doors. "Landing lights, Lilli." Tiny bulbs, embedded in the deck, formed a runway leading up to a circular pad. "Tell us what's out there."

"I am detecting an incoming vessel—IFF registers it as Absolver's Thunderhawk 405."

"Aye, I see something out there." I leaned over the switch-bank and pressed my hand against the viewport. Two tiny lights out in the darkness beyond the hangar grew brighter. "Lifeforms aboard?"

"I am blind to the occupants of that ship, James."

"What could it hold?"

"Up to a platoon of Space Marines."

"Could be up to thirty guys aboard." Estoc heaved his breastplate halves over his chest and fastened the straps. Bright beams swung across the tower, blinding us. Shutters descended and display screens fed a live image of a long, blocky ship with lowered landing skids coasting in to the hangar. Air gushed from directional thrusters and the ship's skids touched down in the centre of the pad. Behind the stationary ship, the bay doors slid towards one another.

"Give 'em five minutes before you repressurise, Lilli." I wiggled the Inquisitor's boots on. "Soon as we're ready, we'll let you know."

"Sword." Estoc pushed a sheathed sword at me. Another hung from a belt around his waist.

"You're the bodyguard."

"Nuh-uh—any officer, commissar, inquisitor caught without his sword on formal occasion shall invite immediate dismissal from his respective service." Estoc leaned the unguarded hilt against the console.

"What para is that…?" Cobbled heels met the deck. I reached for the sword and unwound the belt encircling the scabbard.

"Heh—" Craggy teeth showed. "I made that one up." Estoc reached for one end of the belt and wound it around my waist. "You're a leftie, aren't you?"

"Zeleska weren't." I raised my arms above my head.

"They don't know that."

"Just—just put it on my left."

"Suit yourself." A thick, silver buckle clacked in to place above my navel.

"I've never held a sword in my life."

"And God-Emperor, I hope you never have to." Estoc shortened the leather straps holding the sword up to the belt. "There's a strapping fellow—looks every inch the inquisitor!"

"Hmm…" My eyes caught the gold letter I fitted to the chain around my neck. An ache arose from my gurgling gut.

A pulsating, spiralling bulb, trapped in a bracket above the hangar's pressure door, screeched. The red glow bathing Estoc and me turned green. A blue-eyed servo skull roved over my shoulder.

"I must see these mechanical-men for myself."

"Aye, you'll have to keep quiet though. I'm not sure regular servo skulls are quite as sparky as you." Lilli's eyes flashed green. "Let's have this bulkhead open, now."

Cold, dry air seeping through the gap in the rising pressure door stung my eyes. Illumination in the deck and ceiling flickered on.

"Their vessel appears dormant. A trick, you think?"

"Ahh, they're sizing us up. Making us come to them and whatnot. Hush now, my friend. Stay at my shoulder."

Estoc and Lilli at either shoulder, I approached the silent Thunderhawk, one hand resting on the sword hilt bouncing against my left hip. Clipped wings stuck out of the boxy fuselage and a colossal gun tube fitted a square turret mounted aft. A wide hatch in the Thunderhawk's chin remained sealed.

"Might be best taking a humble tone, James," Estoc muttered. "Best not to regard them as fellow men. They'll be of a similar mind."

"Their armour is weak at the neck, inside the elbow, and above the belt buckle." I clasped my hands over my own belt buckle.

"I knew you were a pretend-inquisitor—I didn't know you were a pretend-expert on the Astartes too."

"Fifty calibre ball can suppress, twenty-mil solid shot can kill."

"…Right. You have done this?"

"Izuru Numerial and I have done this. She at Cadia, me at Nemesis Tessera— that self-destructive nineteen-year-old on top of that burning tank."

"What would the twenty-eight-year-old say to the nineteen-year-old, then?"

"Stay the fuck away from Izuru Numerial."

"Hrgh—she's something of a legend to you, isn't she?"

"She brought the very best and worst out in me."

Air spat from the Thunderhawk's chin. Seals parted and the ramp swung downward. It'll be a whole platoon, all with their dicks swinging. I brought my chin up and glared at the flat-nosed ship. Let us cross swords. The first to blood, the victor.

A growl tore from the Thunderhawk's guts. Guttural revs surged from the ship. Blazing headlights leaped at us. I twisted my head away and brought a hand over my face. Rattling tracks carried an enormous armoured vehicle down the Thunderhawk's ramp. Grinding steel crashed on to the deck sending vibrations through it. Fingers jammed in his ears, Estoc belted out a single syllable as the turretless beast drove in a tight circle around us. Teeth rattling, I kept my fingers out of my ears despite the din and fixed my eyes on the towering, helmetless Absolver riding high in the vehicle's cupola brandishing a short staff tipped with a gold skull – Sivitus.

Red eye lenses glinted inside the Thunderhawk's shadowed cargo bay. Armed, helmeted Space Marines in armour the colour of dark rust marched down the ramp in a double-column and spread out in to a single rank before the circling armour. Spiked boots spread wide. Thick gauntlets gripped bolters. Fingers wrapped around triggers.

Oily track marks stained the deck surrounding Estoc, Lilli and I. Sivitus's mount spun its righthand track and pivoted to face us. One last growl escaped the engine. Smoke spat from the exhausts and the noise died away. Sivitus hoisted his armoured body out of the cupola, stepped over a forward-facing battery, and dropped to the deck.

A boom rang throughout the hangar. Shivers shot up my legs. The bright eyes in Lilli's servo skull faded to white. The seven-and-a-half-foot Space Marine raised his staff then tilted the skull down at the deck. Black eyes, buried in a neckless, wrinkled head, locked with mine. "Kneel." Gravel grated in my ears.

My right hand settled on the pommel of my sword. "My best against yours. First to blood."

Scar tissue discolouring Sivitus's cheek twitched. "Brother Gallos!" Spittle flew in the direction of the silent platoon. A single Astartes took a step forward and slammed his boots together. "Decouple!"

Four other Absolvers closed in on Gallos. Helmet, shoulder pauldrons, chest-pieces, greaves, and gauntlets thudded upon the deck. Grey stubble ran in two strips across Gallos's pallid crown. Bulging muscles stretched a black undersuit. A sword housed in a red leather scabbard was lowered from the armoured vehicle and handed to him.

"I must know the stakes, Brother Captain." Gallos fastened the belt around his tree-trunk waist. "Whether wager or whimsy—what do we have to gain?"

Sivitus's hairless brows edged over his eyes. "The respect of one far exceeding his boundaries."

"I stand for you, my lord," Estoc murmured.

"The first to blood kneels." I signalled Estoc away. "And finds himself in servitude to the other."

"The boy has spoken." Sivitus planted both gauntlets on Gallos's shoulders. "Bleed him. My knee will do the rest."

Estoc and Lilli retreated. Absolvers formed a wide circle with me at one end and Gallos at the other. Sivitus climbed atop his vehicle and picked up his staff. "On the raising of the skull – not before – will the combatant stand by his weapon and salute his opposite number. When the skull points to the deck – not before – will the combatants enter a state of armed combat. Should the blood of the combatant wet his opposite's sword, the cry of 'CEASE' shall be uttered. Both combatants' weapons will rise in salute before sheathing, ending the state of armed combat. Are these steps understood?"

"I am your sword, Brother Captain." Gallos turned his back on me and kneeled before Sivitus's vehicle. "Command me."

"Face your opponent."

"May I turn my back?"

"You may."

My left hand slipped in to my jerkin's hip pocket. I met Sivitus's eye and nodded. Sivitus held his staff aloft. Gallos's blade whispered from its scabbard and he brought it flat to his chest, elbow facing out. Mine grated from its own scabbard and wavered before my eyes. The skull tipping the staff drooped and swung downward. Gallos brought a foot forward.

Sharp claps tore from my hip pocket and echoed around the hangar. Ears numb, I lowered my sword. Gallos's blade tipped down and the point cracked against the deck. Bright red liquid seeped through six tiny holes in his undersuit. Gallos fell to one knee. His sword clanged on the deck beside him. The white-faced Sivitus's jaw trembled. His head snapped up and found me.

"First to blood." Wispy propellant rose from the hole in my jerkin pocket. Clammy hand gripping wood, I drew a Volg .38 automatic and held it, bore-down, by my side. My sword rose to my eyes in salute. Gallos's fingers scrabbled for his sword, scooped it up, and he rose and met my salute.

"You underhanded swine." Sivitus's boots boomed upon the deck. "MEDIC!"

An Absolver bearing a bulging satchel rushed at the bleeding Gallos and aimed a stubby gun at the half-dozen bullet holes in his chest. Grey foam staunched the bleeding and solidified in to crusts.

"I thank thee, Brother Captain." Gallos unfastened his sword belt, wrapped the ends up and kneeled before Sivitus. "My gratitude for bearing this holy weapon in your name." Head bowed, Gallos held the sword out, pommel first.

Sivitus accepted the sword. "Fall out. Double away."

Gallos rose, slammed his heels together, gathered up his armour, and jogged back to the Thunderhawk. Sivitus swivelled the sword around and tucked it beneath his arm as if it was a swagger stick and thudded towards me. I slid my sword in to the scabbard and eased the Volg's slide back. A single cartridge edged from the chamber. Absolvers surrounded me. Estoc and Lilli remained on the outside of the circle.

A huge shadow fell across me. "I did not feel the need to bring a gun to a duel." Sivitus flourished the sheathed sword and stood it point-down on the deck. "You bring shame upon the Ordo Xenos—why?"

"You did it in pursuit of some misguided sense of honour—I did it to win the game." I pocketed the Volg and brought my flask out and tipped rum down my throat. "Cross swords with a Space Marine—you think I'm out of my fucking mind…?" I thumbed the cap back on.

"This is a theatre of war, boy—"

"—And we're brawling like weans in the schoolyard. My augur array detected you squatting in an asteroid field, lights off, power down, afraid of being detected—unbecoming of Space Marines and unworthy as sons of the Emperor!"

"TREASON! YOU'RE TALKING TREASON!"

"My word reaches the very highest authority—one capable of breaking men and the chapters they serve. You can hide from the enemy 'til the end of time or you can join me and continue practising your trade. SPACE MARINES, WHAT IS YOUR TRADE?"

"DEATH!" The roar bounced around the hangar.

Sivitus's nostrils flared. His lips whitened and his jaw locked. I spun and marched at the Absolvers separating me from Estoc and Lilli. "We'll discuss our respective missions in private, Captain. Follow me, if you would."

Absolvers parted before me. A sweaty-faced Estoc fell in at one shoulder and Lilli at the other.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Estoc murmured.

"Balls and brute force—it's the only way to get through to these bloodhounds," I muttered back. Loud thuds brought up the rear. "If not his respect, we at least have his attention."

A pulsing beam zig-zagged its way across the star systems between Caira's Rift and the Granada system – breaks displayed where every Warp jump had occurred. The tiny blip of Mellenova and the scattered fragments of the Absolver fleet held high orbit around the dead world Gaulak. My laser pointer swirled around the planet.

"There is little evidence to suggest a xenos fleet passed through this sector, contrary to sigint reports." I killed the laser. "Now, with the trail cold, our only heading is all ahead full."

"A host of xenos, you say?" Brother Captain Sivitus scowled at me through the holo-projection.

"Aye, calling themselves the Ynnari."

"Assassins and witch-doctors—never where you expect them to be."

"You've a keen interest."

"And a keener blade. We put an enclave to the sword not eleven of the Emperor's days ago—young, old, infirm, all outside military age. Their phalanxes have fled elsewhere with their slant-eared tails between their legs—back to this Ynnari circus you speak of."

"Any of them squawk?"

"SQUAWK?"

"My lord enquires after knowledge divulged by the xenos before their liquidation," Estoc said.

Sivitus aimed his staff at Estoc. "What is your name?"

"Wojminek—bodyguard, warrant officer, naval commander."

"I did not ask for a report…" Sivitus rounded the map table. "I asked your name."

"Speak to me, Brother Captain," I growled. "Dialogue happens between you and I—"

"—NO, THIS IS ABSOLVER TERRITORY! I AM ITS EXECUTOR!" Sivitus's staff rose above his head. "I SAY, I TALK TO HIM NOW!" The skull whooshed downward, cutting between Estoc and I.

"The Absolver's executor, you say—well, I am his," Estoc's hands sat on his sword's curving guard. "An arbitrator of the Emperor's justice. We'll leave the practise of death in your hands."

Sivitus's stomping boots carried him around the map tables. "Why so few of you aboard—ANSWER ME!"

"We are a skeleton crew—myself, my bodyguard and my chief enginseer."

"And you're hunting a fleet of thousands. What are you—assassins?"

"Couriers."

"PARGH!" Spittle leapt through the grey-brown sphere that was Gaulak. "A shroud of deception darkens these seedy halls. Music and merriment, if not pride and purpose should fill their eaves. What do you hide from us?"

"Much. Our cards stay close to our chest—closer than lovers. Secrets and subtlety, our mission."

A metallic click flew at us. Estoc shoved my shoulder. A hammer banged in my ears. Estoc's breastplate caved inwards. "…Ugh—uhh." Fingers digging in to my sleeve, Estoc collapsed to his knees. Grey smoke rose from a four-inch-wide hole in the centre of the plate. Blackened edges curled inwards. Estoc's trembling head tilted sideways. I flung my arms around Estoc's breastplate and caught him mid-fall. Thuds approached.

"For your insolence." A bolt pistol pointed at me. "Since our discourse began, my men have seized all vital areas of your ship. Once stripped of provision and when armament is neutered, we shall escort you to the edge of our territory. Any aggressive action, any movement, any word from you or your acolytes against us, my knee will find your spine." A gaping muzzle filled my vision. Convulsion's seized Estoc's chest. I laid Estoc on his side and plucked at the straps holding his breastplate halves together. Hang on, pal. The loose halves hit the deck, baring a bright red tattoo gently oozing blood down Estoc's shirt.

"…Fuck." Built-up spittle rasped in Estoc's throat.

"Alright, alright, alright." I tore at pouches fitted to Estoc's belt and bit the plastic packet from a compression bandage and pushed it in to the wound.

"God-Emperor…" Estoc's fingernails cut in to the back of my neck. "Mm—mmm-mmm." Bright spots seeped down his cheeks.

"What is your mission?" Sivitus perched on the edge of the map table and balanced his bolt pistol on his knee. "You will crawl from bows to stern, cross broken glass, disrobed, dishonoured. I will have my answer."

Estoc's hand clamped down hard on the bandage. His eyes locked with mine and his head bobbed up and down. "My mission…" I swivelled to face Sivitus. "I was… I was ordered to…"

A crack whipped through the room. Map tables fizzled out and the overhead lighting faded. "TREACHERY!" Sivitus lurched from the table. I dragged the .38 from my pocket and pointed it at Sivitus. "INQUSITION TREACHERY—ARGH!" Blood spurted from Sivitus's eye. His head lolled and he stumbled sideways.

"Run, James!" Lilli's voice reached my ears. My hands dove beneath Estoc's body and scooped him up in to my arms. Thick, choking air hissed from vents in the floor and ceiling. Sirens shrieked.

"You BASTARD!" Bolts pinged around the room. Screens shattered and glass flew outwards. Blood filling my head, I heaved Estoc up the stairs and through to the bridge. Thuds reverberated through the deck behind me. The sealing bulkhead cut off a guttural roar.

Fire flew up my spine. I tottered over to a sloping wall just inside the bridge and dropped. My knees thudded upon the deck. A murmur escaped Estoc's grey lips. "Made that bullet count."

"Aye…" I sat Estoc against the wall, undid my jerkin and laid it over him. "Last one." I drew the Volg's slide slid backwards, revealing an empty chamber. "Could've done with one more. Put that bastard's eyes out for good." I brought my hand around to my twinging spine and dug my fingers in to the channel. Distant bangs sounded on the bridge door.

Imperial Navy TDD. Dust coated the fat, egg-shaped object Lusia pushed before her. Attached to her shoulder brace, the servo skull cast faint light along the tunnel.

"Lusia, you there?" A voice crackled from the skull's vocaliser.

"Fucking idiot—chhh!" Lusia clamped her nostrils shut. "Eurgh—pfft!" She dragged the back of her oily hand beneath her nose. "Are you alright?"

"They shot him… shot Estoc."

"Oh—" Lusia inhaled and clamped her mouth shut. Her teeth chattered together and her eyes closed. "James, I don't—I—I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Where are you?"

"In an airduct between deck three and four, heading away from the aft hangar. They didn't see me."

"Have they found the Zurvan?"

"They will have by now."

"Lusia, if that ordnance falls in to their hands—"

"—Don't worry about it." Lusia shoved the bomb around a corner and contorted her body after it. "Ahh, 'bout the only thing I've got on me. Are you safe?"

"Sealed up on the bridge. The neighbours are making a racket outside. Not sure there's a whole lot I can do with an empty sidearm. Lilli can direct you to an arms cache if you need brass."

A grate drew level with Lusia's chin. Heavy-set shadows pounded by below. "What sort of arms?" Lusia whispered, her eyes against the angled slats.

"6-bore shotguns, las weapons systems, flashes, plate and ceramite cover—everything from the armoury."

"Everything they're carrying out." A wheeled trolley laden with shotguns, body armour, helmets, and ammunition boxes rolled beneath the slats then a second trolley burdened by frozen goods followed. "Angels of Death… nothing but organised banditry." Lusia eased the bomb over the slats and crawled on.

"Ahh, I hoped I'd hidden them better."

"Maybe a little bit too overprepared for this."

"Overprepared? That is not a term I'd consider when making house with Izuru Numerial. Lilli, the Absolvers do not breach that medbay—is that understood?"

"Understood, James," Lilli's voice replied. "Astartes boots have tread the medical wing but none have tried forcing entry to the ward holding the xenos. Their focus at this time is on arms, built-in hardware, and provisions."

Rungs extended from a service shaft climbing between decks. Dust clung to the air. One arm cradling the bomb, Lusia climbed one-handed up to deck four. "You still there?"

"Yeah." Lusia worked the fingers on her left hand – the arm holding the bomb – through the rung and brought her aching right arm away and flapped it. "Ugh, climbing one-handed…"

"Up to deck four?"

"Mm-hm."

"Once you're on four, I need you to work your way along the ship's spine to the dignitary suites, find the one with the serpent outside and sweep it for the third piece of the puzzle."

"The override card?"

"If we complete the puzzle, we can bring some sunshine to the Absolver fleet—a little supernova to speed us on our way."

Lusia heaved the bomb over the top of the ladder and clambered up in to a three-way junction tall enough to sit upright in. "Omnissiah…" A bladed fan made a gentle whump-whump-whump above Lusia's head. She brought her right elbow up and winced at the crack in her shoulder. "Ahh…" Cross-legged, Lusia tilted her head back against the wall. "We are not making war with the Adeptus Astartes—that is an order, Lilli. Whatever James tells you to do, run by me first."

"If I ordered Lilli to fire every last missile at the Absolver fleet right now…"

"Don't."

"It's an option."

"Oh, you arrogant prick. See what that uniform's done to you! Listen to yourself!"

"If I hadn't, there'd be an entire fleet coming down on a stolen Inquisition warship—did you forget that? What else you gonna call me—c'mon, get it over with! I want to know how you'd play your hand."

Lusia swept loose, brown strands out of her eyes. "How I'd play my hand…"

"Lilli, Space Marine plate is rated for anything up to twenty-mil solid shot, yeah?"

"Official protection ratings are unavailable, James."

"So, their suits can survive up to light autocannon fire—survive in space too, yes?"

"Fully pressurised and magnetised…" Lusia pinched a frayed hole in the knee of her dirt-smeared overalls. Her eyes fell to the blank screen embedded in the bomb's casing.

"Toxins?"

"I can dispel a non-lethal gas on all decks as I did in the operations chamber," Lilli said. "I do not carry any harmful compounds for dispersal, though."

Lusia lifted her hairband free and blew hair from her eyes. "James, you served on a warship—how do you get the crew to drop everything and abandon ship?"

"We cause a reactor incident—you get radiation leaking from that, it's all hands to the life-craft. Lilli, you've been running that reactor ragged. How about we push it a little further in to the red, sound some alarms, make like there's an impending overload—leak some rads out too."

"I don't know if their armour can withstand radiation." Lusia gathered the bomb beneath her arm and crawled on her knees away from the service shaft. "It doesn't seem like it's insulated against it—just a pressurised suit beneath the ballistic plates."

"Unless you have a better idea, we shall action this at once. I need you to—"

A groan, far beneath Lusia, echoed throughout the ship. The beams flying from the sockets in Lilli's servo skull faded. Blackout. Thumping arose in Lusia's ears. Her deck shoes squeaked on the tunnel floor. Her shoulders scraped along the ceiling. Arm stretched out in front of her, Lusia inched her way forwards.

Booming footsteps shook the vent. Bright red eyes lenses hoved past an open hatch. Lusia crawled to the mouth and peered out at the hulking shadow stomping away from her. Which way? Lusia's brought her shoes down on the floor and slid her backside out of the hatch. Cradling the bomb in her arms, she crept through Mellenova's silent corridors. Far-off thuds and bangs sounded. God-Emperor, they're shooting now!

A low hum whizzed through the corridor. Lights in the walls and ceiling blinked on and grew to a bright white. "God-Emperor..." Lusia covered her eyes and hunched her shoulders. "Damn it, Lilli!"

The umbilical mating Lilli's servo skull to Lusia's shoulder-brace detached. Orbs blazed in the eye sockets. "I have increased reactor output to 103 per cent—"

"—Trigger every alarm you can and send out a ship-wide announcement—critical radiation leak!" Lusia picked up her pace. The lighting dimmed around her. "What the hell was that?"

"It's fighting back against me."

"How?"

"I'm pushing the reactor past its safety limiters—the ship is trying to reset it. I'm afraid it might cause a critical meltdown without human input."

"You're afraid…?"

"For me, for you, for James." A rumble shook the ship. "Hurry, Lusia!" Holographic markers sprang up on the walls. "Follow my signs."

"Tram can't be far."

"Those armoured brigands have it."

"You think I'm walking to the reactor? It's miles!"

"Five-hundred and forty-eight yards—I believe in you."

"Oh, for fu—" Lusia transferred the bomb to her other arm and set off at a jog. Far away, sirens began to screech.

Dried tear tracts ran down waxy skin. Buried beneath my jerkin, Estoc sat against the bridge bulkhead, mouth open, head lolling. "Lusia?" I got down on one knee next to Estoc and laid two fingers on his neck. A faint thump pulsated against my fingertips. Wavering above my shoulder, the servo skull transmitting to Lusia remained silent. "You still there?"

Cogitator screens began vibrating. An Inquisition mug shook itself across a console and toppled on to the deck. The bridge lights flared and flickered on and off. Holo-displays fuzzed and distorted. "Sorry, James. Reactor trouble—"

"—How far is Lilli pushing it?" I rushed to the central displays and pulled up a string of error messages.

"We're at 103 per cent."

"Ahh, every station aft of Medical has radiation alarms going off. Push it to 104 per cent—let's put the whole ship in the red."

"James, too high, we risk triggering a full meltdown. Mellenova is fighting against Lilli to reset the reactor. That's where these power surges are coming from. There needs to be an enginseer down there to stabilise."

"Fuck that. Too much radiation—let Lilli handle it."

"It won't work without human input!"

"If you do it, can you guarantee me 104 on the reactor?"

"I'll do what I must."

"Okay, do it but do it safely, okay? Be smart."

"Be smart! There's some rousing motivation…"

"Look, bring it up over dinner, embarrass me then—never let me forget!"

"I'm never letting you forget this fucking mess you've made. All because of a dead man's clothes!"

I swallowed on a rising lump and threw a glance over at Estoc. No turning back now. Bangs shook the bridge doors. "Lilli, CS!" I rushed around to a tri-display hanging on articulated arms. "What happened to the cameras?"

"They shot them out. The compound isn't having any effect! James, they've sliced the hangar bay doors."

"Are they leaving?"

"They're trying to run another Thunderhawk in."

"Fuck." My hands slammed down on one of the control pads encircling the displays. Red and green lights danced around the dozens of buttons and switches. "They want the ship."

"The Absolver captain is slicing the communication hub down in Operations…"

"Put him through. Audio only." I parted the buttons holding my cuffs in place and rolled my sleeves up to the elbow. White noise screeched through the bridge.

"Inquisitor Zeleska! Your chief enginseer has been captured. All vital stations are now under the control of the Absolvers chapter. Shock troops are deploying in your hangar bay. Sally forth and meet me in direct combat. Die with honour!"

"He's lying, James. All of his forces are concentrated around the foremost hangar bay. Solitary patrols have reached as far aft as the executive suites. My mistress is out of their reach, for now."

"Aye, not about the shock troops, though…" I paced in a wide circle, my fist clenching and unclenching. "Open channel to Ops."

"Opening channel."

"Brother Captain, I must inquire after my chief enginseer."

"Alive, unharmed," Sivitus replied. "Whether that remains so is entirely in your hands, Inquisitor. Come down. Cross your sword with mine or stay and remain the coward."

"Prove that he's still alive and I will come forth." I waited for the reply, eyes roving across the bridge's ceiling. "You try my patience, Space Marine. You've made merry around my vessel, now is the time to draw your horns in or suffer the crux of my contempt." Another bang shot through the bridge door. Hurry, Lusia, hurry!

Narrow walkways, no more than two feet wide and devoid of railings or guards, stretched away from the bulbous observation dome jutting out in to a cavernous chamber dominated by a spiked orb housed in the centre. A dosimeter bolted to Lusia's sagging suit crackled in her ears. Boots – several sizes too big for her – shuffled along the walkway towards Mellenova's reactor.

"Lusia, I'm gonna need a—" James's voice grated from Lilli's servo-skull. "—you hear me?"

"In the reactor, now. Proceeding to the control station." Lusia crouched at a drop-off above a long, narrow platform encircling the reactor and let herself down. "Lilli, lights."

"Non-functioning."

"Something, anything." Lusia brushed dust from a flat, grey panel housing six sunken handles. "Is this the manual override for the reset function?"

"I can input the command line. You must perform the combination."

"Check—what about the cooling rods?"

"You need to insert them sequentially."

"Okay, give me 105 per cent."

"Initiating." The reactor's throbbing hum beat Lusia's ears. Light flashed beneath trembling segments surrounding the core. A handle twisted clockwise and slid inwards. "There, keep those handles from moving!"

"Got it." Lusia plunged her hand down the tube the handle had sunken in to and pulled it back up. "Is there a way to lock these?" No sooner had Lusia let go when two more spun and dropped.

"No manual lock—sorry!"

"Warning…" A sharply-intoned voice echoed inside the chamber. "…Radiation hazard detected. Evacuate this area immediately."

"That's more like it." Lusia heaved a handle upward and tilted her dosimeter towards her. The tiny needle bobbed on the edge of the green and yellow-marked zones. "Ring every alarm on the ship, Lilli—give these pillagers the fright of their lives."

"Ship-wide, aye."

"Aye…?" Lusia planted a boot on the edge of the console and heaved a handle up. "Has James been talking to you?"

"Crassness, bluntness and arrogance."

"Oh, so much…"

"A poet too."

"Yeah, I know."

"Lusia, the rods!"

Lusia let go of a handle and rushed around to a square bulge in the core covered in circular hatches. "Where are they?"

"You'll need to reach through and push them inward."

"Which one—which one do I use?"

"The one on the left—second left."

Lusia plunged her glove through thick, rubber flaps. "Got it." Her hand closed around the end of a metal rod. "Mmm—c'mon." Her soles dug in to the deck. Inch by inch, the rod moved inwards.

"Warning, radiation hazard detected." A sharp crackling arose in Lusia's ears. The needle in her dosimeter flicked towards the red. Noise blasted from the servo-skull.

"—Cutting their way through the door. Make it fast!"

"Lusia, I can feel buildups of energy all over the ship. I'm not sure how much longer I can keep the reactor at 105 per cent."

"Just, err…" Lightheaded, Lusia fell against the console and scrabbled at the sunken handles. A frazzling noise drowned out all other sound. "Shuddup." Lusia killed the dosimeter's audio. The needle wavered dead centre in the red.

"Another rod."

"Okay." Lusia tottered back to the rods and drove her arm through a hatch. "I can feel it."

"Radiation is spreading all over the ship now."

"—Get these bastards off Mellenova." The rod ground inward. Jagged cracks curled through the plating protecting the core.

"Warning, radiation hazard detected."

"Lusia, the plating is coming loose! It's too much—I have to reduce reactor output!"

"Jump us." Lusia's stomach pressed in to the edge of the board. Her fingers gripped the edges. "Jump us!"

"There are still Astartes aboard!"

"For fuck's sake—that energy's got to go somewhere!"

"A blind jump…?"

"Dump it—dump it all in to the Warp drive!" Lusia's hand swiped the servo-skull. "James…"

"…Can't hear you—speak up!"

"Gonna try something… trust me…"

"Lusia, I'm hearing radiation alarms on my end."

"Lilli, put us in the Warp."

"The Warp—?"

"We're out of options—Lilli, spool it up!" Bright shafts peered through cracks in the core's plating.

"Lusia!" James's voice began to fade.

"It's beautiful." Lusia straightened up and stared at the electric blue miasma pulsating beneath the splintering shell. "James…"

"Get the fuck out of there!" The lights in the servo-skull's eye sockets died. Bone hit the board and thudded on the deck. Body numb, Lusia stumbled away from the core and hauled herself up on to the platform. Fog clouded the inside of her mask. Steam rose from her trembling hands. Her knees buckled and she toppled forwards. Bile surged up her throat, splattered her mask, and oozed down her chin. Lusia lifted herself up and crawled on her elbows and knees. Thick spots spread over her eyes. Blind, suit scraping along the platform, she dragged her body towards the distant pressure door.