After leaving Argenta, the Rogue Trader went back to the bridge as the flagship roared to life, heading towards the prison planetoid. It would be a day or so before reaching the objective, so Elena busied herself with consulting data reports alongside Sidgis, and, when the words started getting blurry and meaningless, decided it best to get some rest.
She was awakened by nightmares once more in the late of the night. Unable to find sleep again, Elena got equipped and started visiting her own ship. She did not need much sleep anyway. A few years in the Imperial Guard did that to everyone.
A ship never slept at all. It was always bustling with life. She found herself heading back to the temple on residential deck-18, where she had conversed with Kunrad Voigtvir, just before meeting with Theodora for the first time. The temple was occupied by hundreds of servants and ordinary workers of the ship, offering their prayers to the God-Emperor just before their shifts. She paused to give the usual prayer on entrance, then headed toward the platform towering above the crowd, to the sound of passersby saluting her with utmost respect and freeing the place for her own comfort.
She was surprised to find Heinrix van Calox standing on the platform. That he stood exactly where she herself had contemplated the temple when Kunrad had come for her was not lost on her. With all the ruckus her appearance had caused, he must have noticed her arrival from afar.
" Master van Calox", she greeted.
" Rogue Trader."
She advanced towards the railing, getting in the view, as Heinrix quietly moved to leave her some space.
" I trust you are satisfied with your accommodation ?" she asked.
" I have nothing to complain about", he said.
" It is good we meet", Heinrix continued, changing the subject. " I have had some questions on my mind lately, concerning your…inheritance."
Of course you would , she thought. She raised an eyebrow, looking over to the Interrogator, waiting for him to begin.
She was, after all, used to this.
*** Glimpse of the past
– Black Ship, unknown system, childhood –
The child entered the grey cell uneasily, looking around her, as her warden gestured for her to go forward.
In the room was a desk, grey as well, neatly ordered. Behind the desk was a middle-aged woman. Elena had never seen anyone quite like her before. She had chestnut hair, a small and sturdy figure, tanned, brown skin. Everyone looked so small but so strong too, and they had strange eyes, unfit for the darkness of a ship. The woman's lips were wrinkled from being pursed sternly for so long. She wore a complicated breastplate, and a shiny, golden necklace around her neck, in the form of a massive "I." She was the most pretty female she'd ever set eyes upon.
The room was suffocating. Was it the fear, the aftershock of what had happened with her father, or simply hunger that made her mind so empty ? Elena could not recall the last time she was given something to eat, after days waiting in a lonely cell, to finally be brought here, in the new ship.
The new ship was both familiar, because it was dark and noisy, and she liked that ; and surprising, because no one really did any work in there, and it was full of waiting cells. There, she'd been shoved around by various guards, and asked to wait in a room. Sometimes, she'd feel so strange, like something had just been erased from her completely. It made her amorphous, docile. It doused her spirit. She did not know how long she had been left waiting there, but finally she was allowed to go through the door to the desk.
The woman was busy looking at some papers in front of her. That was another thing Elena had never seen, except maybe in the small church of her deck. Papers. Books. Writings. They might as well have been archeotech to her.
" Sit down, child", said the woman. Her voice was soft, soothing, and yet commanding. Elena knew instinctively that this woman would now rule over her whole life. Or what was left of it. Voidborns were taught from a young age about death and Elena was aware that her own existence could fade in an instant.
The pretty woman didn't even bother looking at her. To the warden : " This one doesn't look sick and seems to have adapted quickly", she noted.
" Indeed, Mistress Maria. For voidrats, Black Ships are palaces. She should last a while."
" We'll see. She's very young. You can leave us." The warden bowed, both in fear and respect, and left the cell. Elena remained motionless, her big eyes captivated by the prettiness of the woman and her shiny clothings.
" So. What is your name, child ?" finally asked the woman when she was done with her papers. At least, the woman glanced up from her documentation, seizing her up from toes to the head.
Having a stranger look at her with so much intent made Elena's heart beat faster. No one usually paid attention to her. The analysis was cold, but intimate in a way. No one had ever truly looked at the child before.
" Elena Martyr", she squeaked.
" How old are you, Elena ?"
" Five."
The woman hummed negatively. " You are very young, but I have seen worse. Your youth could prove to be a blessing for you."
She pushed back her files, and looked beyond Elena's shoulders. " Elena, please let me introduce to you Sister Erin. The Sister does not talk much, but she would be keeping an eye over your deck area. You may see her from times to times. Maybe. "
Elena looked back, and, with the utmost difficulty, managed to guess a silhouette, sitting on a chair behind her. It could be that of a woman. Or a shadow. The more she tried to focus on it, the more it eluded her.
She turned back to the Mistress, forgetting the other presence in the room just as quickly as she'd been told about it. A Sister in here ? No, there was nobody. The space was desperetaly blank.
" Yes, Your Ladyship", she whispered.
" Do you know why you're here, Elena ?" asked the woman, cusping her hands together and putting her delicate chin upon it.
"... Because the priest told me to ?"
" No, child, is it not for that, though the man did well to put you in our care. Care to try once more ?"
Elena's intuitions were stone dead, the child had no visions to hold on to, to understand what she was supposed to say. But something in the sweet voice was so imperious, so dangerous that she understood on her own that there would be no try at a third answer.
Elena licked her lips uncomfortably.
" Because I made my father shoot himself ?"
" That's better. Thank you. I'd rather you use your brains and be honest when speaking to me, child. I do not like my time to be wasted. Youth is no excuse for imbecility. "
Elena wondered how someone so calm could prove to be so threatening.
" Now. You need to rest, I am sure, and meet your new…kin. We'll be speaking again very soon, if you're lucky. We'll talk more about what happened to your father. "
The woman smiled, but there was no warmth in her eyes. It seemed Elena had suddenly lost all interest to her. The child saw her note down a few things on a file, but could not understand the High Gothic writings.
" Warden ! This one goes through the right door. And shove in the next one, " she ordered loudly. In an instant, the warden swooped into the office smoothly. Elena was smart enough to get up before being forced to, and, not knowing what she was supposed to do, tried to bow her head the way she'd seen the warden do just before.
The pretty woman didn't even look up. She didn't care at all.
The child was rushed into the room by another door that the one she'd been sent in. On the walls, there were symbols of a sort of shower, and a humanoid with shaven hair and implants under it. In Low Gothic, at the bottom of the wall, she read : " Sanitization." As the warden gripped her arm tightly, to usher her around a long, dark corridor, she felt her head grew clearer and clearer by the minute, as the strange feeling of blankness dissolved away. She felt better already. Maybe there will be a meal in her near-future. That was all a voidgirl could ask for.
Still, she wondered, what happened to those that went by the left door ? ****
Heinrix's voice brought her to the present, as he began his interrogation.
" You have told me about your esteemed predecessor's demise, but circumstances did not allow for much development. However, now that we have time, I wonder, what were the circumstances of Lady Theodora's death ?", he asked.
" Kunrad Voigtvir, the Master of Whisper of Theodora, organized a mutiny against her. In the midst of the fight, Theodora returned to her chamber alongside her defender, Mort." She paused, remembering the scene once more. " When we arrived, we found her dead body. What surprised me was that she appeared to have been killed by someone she knew."
She pointedly didn't look at the man as she felt his eyes watching her closely. " Interesting," he mused. " And how did you come to this conclusion ?"
" Her defender didn't even lift the security of his weapon ; and I doubt she would have just let anyone enter her cabin. She looked oddly surprised. An autopistol shot killed them both in the end. She did not look like an easy target to me. I suspect Mort was killed first and her next. " She proceeded to describe to him the various details of the scene, keeping silent for now the fact that Theodora had searched her office for an unidentified artifact, or the fact that she'd found out the letter of the Lord Inquisitor there. There was a connection in between those two, but it was best for now not to mention it, until she got a better comprehension of Heinrix's goals at least.
In the dim-lights of the platform, it was hard to make out the expressions of the Interrogator, but she could tell he frowned slightly.
" Your description is…certainly not lacking in accuracy", he commented. If he was wary of her precision and thinking that she was covering up something, she could not tell from his tone, ever polite, but never friendly either.
" Eidetic memory", she sighed. " It's pretty common amongst diviners, as you would know. "
That gave him pause. " A useful gift, though there are some that would see it as a curse", he said, with a hint of curiosity.
At that, Elena didn't know what to reply. She shifted uneasily. She felt the sentence had another meaning that she didn't grasp. Noticing her silence, Heinrix added, in a softer tone :
" Of course, that would explain why you're up in the middle of the night, I presume. Do these eidetic memories have caused you many nightmares lately ?" he asked.
His voice may have softened up, but his questioning certainly didn't. Elena glared back at him. Touché.
" Considering your presence here, I daresay that would make two of us, don't you think ?" she replied, a bit more harshly that she'd have liked to.
At that, Heinrix remained pointedly silent, though his gaze had grown heavier. Elena didn't back away from eye contact. She had a history of unnerving people by just looking at them and found that none could stand her gaze for long. " Let's go back to your accusation of murder. You said that Lady Theodora was killed by someone she trusted. But didn't she know by then that Voigtvir was a traitor ?"
" I don't think Voigtvir did it. He was surprised when he learnt of her demise. Shocked, even, in a way. Whatever his plan was, she was not supposed to end like this." She absent-mindedly leant back on the railing of the platform.
" I would agree this is…intriguing and worrisome. Do you have any ideas what his plan might have been ?" The man was completely unfazed by the eye contact contest.
" It has something to do with the Holy Warrant and the ship. Your guess on what he planned to do with it is as good as mine. Though from what we've learnt, he's part of the cult of the Final Dawn and goes by the nickname "Brother Twilight". He seemed to have left the system already ", Elena replied.
Heinrix kept quiet, pondering what she told him. She could see the calculations in his mind behind his eyes. She wondered to what extent the Lord Inquisitor and Lady Theodora were close, and just how much about the ship and its secrets he might know. She knew there was no point in asking Heinrix for his information ; he would never share what he knew or thought with her. She wasn't even sure the Interrogator knew that much to begin with, but the endgame here was his master.
" Is this somehow related to you coming specifically here ?" asked Heinrix. His tone was different now, less formal maybe. It might look like the interrogation is over, but it never is. He shifted his weight, breaking eye contact first.
Elena frowned.
" Actually, yes, it is. Kunrad spoke to me in this exact spot, prior to trying to murder me, of course." Her hands switched, to the exact position she had hold the rail when Kunrad had come to talk to her.
" Praise be to the God-Emperor that he obviously failed ", commented Heinrix. " I wonder, would your presence here be explained by your hopes that your psychic abilities will pick up on his scent somehow ? "
Touché again. She couldn't quite hide her grimace.
" You're an awfully sharp man, Master van Calox, even for this time of night ", she commented.
" Would you rather have me be incompetent, Lord Captain ?" he asked back without missing a beat, his politeness barely masking his irony. The spark of irony made him look more alive, more present, she noted.
That man is a living trap. You can't lay a finger in a conversation with him without getting caught in his gears.
She resisted the urge to sigh or show any personal reaction to that. Obviously he was just rattling on her nerves to see what would come of it. She considered the Interrogator patiently : " Master van Calox, in the brief time we have passed together, I have seen nothing but utter competence from you. Far be it from me to even question this. In fact, I envy the Lord Inquisitor for possessing someone of your quality in his retinue. It must be a credit to his own abilities. I hope my hospitality to you reflects that ", she answered.
Strangely enough, the polite compliment she had intended seemed to surprise and unsettle Heinrix far more than anything she'd said before. His gaze shifted before regaining focus. " Of course, Lord Captain. " The sentence meant nothing. Elena had no idea if she'd managed to convey her respect or somehow made the situation worse.
Heinrix straightened, as another flock of faithful entered the temple. All this talking had taken up quite some time. " You've given me much to think about. There is still something I don't understand, if you have time for another question ?"
" Just ask away."
" Why would Lady Theodora, in the middle of a mutiny, retreat back to her chamber ? From what I have heard about Her Ladyship, she wasn't the kind of Rogue Trader to hide from a fight. With your gift of eidetic memory, surely you must have noticed something ? ."
Elena made an effort not to show any emotions. She'd rather not bring up the subject of the artifact for now. After all, she knew too little about the Interrogator and his master. It wasn't completely unlikely though that the Lord Inquisitor might have more information about the shard Theodora had so badly wished to retrieve before her demise. That was…one possible lead, at least, though a risky one.
Choosing her words carefully, so as not to lie but neither tell the whole story, she went with : " Lady Theodora felt it was important to retrieve a personal object. It must have been of significant value for her, or something she deemed too important to fall upon Kunrad's hands. Unfortunately, the reason behind her actions is still a mystery to me. I believe she was assassinated in the midst of her search and we could not uncover the purpose of her action. I hope to find some answers in the future.``
Heinrix nodded. She eyed him closely for any reaction, but she wasn't going to outplay an Interrogator at his own game. However, she had a feeling in the way he was so pensive that he wouldn't know either about the shard. She could be wrong.
" Thank you for your forwardness in this matter, Rogue Trader. It is not often that people come willingly to me", he noted with a polite smile, though there was no warmth in his eyes.
I'd rather have an idea of what you're going to tell the Lord Inquisitor instead of letting you poke around on your own while I'm kept in the dark.
Elena smiled back.
" Of course, Interrogator."
Heinrix tilted his head with his usual courtesy. " I'll leave you to your thoughts." With that, he was gone.
Elena waited for a few minutes, to be sure the man was away, and walked a few steps towards the right, and somewhat to the left, reaching a nook intended for quiet prayers and meditations. There was no incense burning.
" Tlass. You can come out now", said Elena sharply.
In the shadows, the silhouette of the psyker jumped. " Damn, you're good !" said Idira between her teeth. Her eyes were too wide for her face.
" He's already gone. He didn't notice you. This time ", said Elena, losing patience.
" Just checking…but yes, you're right." Idira's eyes turned back to normal, and she raised up her opened hands. " I swear, Lord Captain, I wasn't prying."
" I certainly hope so, Idira ", replied Elena, her voice cold as ice.
What was it with Idira that unnerved her ? Ah, yes. The sense of inexorable doom mixed up with despaired fake cheeriness. Awful.
" You have nothing to worry about. I wouldn't even dare. Especially since apparently you can see me through walls now."
" I can sense everyone of you and I always know where you're nearby, yes. ." Elena frowned. " Idira, were you spying on Heinrix ?"
" Err…well, this is awkward to say but…I didn't exactly intend to spy on the man. I was…around, when I saw him entering the temple and talking to a priest. I knew he hadn't noticed me, and Abelard asked me to keep my keen eyes on him, so I just…sort of lingered around."
" Abelard did what ?" said Elena in disbelief.
Idira winced. " van Calox is dangerous, Lord Captain ! Have you seen his aura ? He's a wolf in disguise ! So the Seneschal and I thought it best to get a look at who is speaking with who. You know. The Inquisition always pries around, but this is a Rogue Trader's ship. I can't wait for us to reach Footfall and be rid of him. "
Elena paused, thinking. Her Seneschal's initiative was smart, after all ; she understood how Abelard would want to protect what he legitimately saw as the private turf of the dynasty, and keep an eye over what people would tell the Inquisition about. But overall, she disliked the idea of having Idira trailing behind Heinrix to spy on him. The diviner was just too unpredictable.
" Let me handle the petty problems", Abelard told me. Well, I guess I will have to put my nose in his business to check what he's really doing behind my back , she thought sourly.
" Idira, I'll talk to Abelard. But forget this task and stop spying on van Calox. Nothing good will come out of it."
" As you wish, Lord Captain". Idira seemed relieved and she relaxed in the darkness. Whatever the voices told her about Heinrix, it looked pretty bad to unhinge the unsanctioned psyker in this way. After a pause, Idira added : " What did you two talk about anyway ?"
" Theodora's death", she said.
Idira fell silent. When she spoke up again, her voice had grown quieter. " You know, it's funny you would talk about that. I was here because I wanted to try again. To look at what happened, I mean."
Elena sighed, finally giving in to her temptation to rub her temple. Managing two sneaky psykers was giving her headaches. " Strangely enough, I came here for the exact same reason", she finally admitted.
" Actually, the traitor's room is just nearby. Kunrad used to have his cabin over there, just after the engine shop. That's where I was going before coming across van Calox. Abelard had the place sealed, just in case…for my investigation. But we could go together. "
Elena nodded. " I'd like to see that. Lead the way."
Idira led her to another hallway, and then to a residential area. Two men stood guard in the corridor, trying to look discreet, but failing at it. They saluted her as she came by and quickly opened the door.
Upon entering Kunrad's room, Idira sighed. " I can't believe Voigtvir betrayed us. I have memories of playing cards with him right here. To think that all the while, he was plotting away against Theodora !" she spat on the ground.
Elena reflected that Idira seemed to have trouble overcoming her grief. Her affection for Theodora had turned into some sort of strange devotion. Maybe that's why the Rogue Trader had kept the psyker around, no matter how dangerous she was ; Idira would have done anything for Theodora.
Kunrad's room was neatly ordered. Elena knew as soon as she got in that they would find nothing of value or significance inside. There was nothing personal in it. It looked as if it had been cleaned up. Only basic, daily items remained. A glass of water, over the desk. Piles of reports and papers, but nothing concerning his work as Master of Whispers. Religious books, but those were customary in any bedroom. Idira and Elena started rummaging around, in search of anything interesting.
Well, it turned out Kunrad had great fashion taste and kept a private selection of fine armasec in one of the closets. He'd also left his rifle and chest armor by his stand of armory. He probably felt the strange knife he had wielded in the end was sufficient enough for him. He may not have expected much resistance at all. Idira stopped by the light armor flask, putting her hands upon it.
" Nothing," she said after a while, shaking her head. " The damned man even made his bed right before trying to murder us all. Do you get anything ?"
" I'll need to focus on that. My gift is not as…spontaneous as yours", Elena said cautiously.
" I have wondered", Idira mused, now sorting through the files upon the desk. " How does it work for you ? You don't seem to hear voices, but sometimes you get those glassy eyes. Is it more visual than auditory then ?"
" It's more like a feeling. Intuitions. Flashes of knowledge. Dreams. Then I can focus on them and…shape them, or experience them. Voices don't speak to me." And I would be really worried if they were, Elena thought to herself.
" Must be nice," whispered Idira with a hint of sadness.
"If I truly wish to foresee the future…I mean, the faraway future…then I need time. It is more of a ritual and it's exhausting. And, contrarily to you", Elena glanced at Idira, " I can't augur someone's fate without one's willing consent. All these things the voices tell you…it doesn't happen to me."
Idira nodded. " I never met another diviner before. It is curious. Still, I'm glad we don't work the same way. I get to keep my signature move. "
Elena stayed silent. She still wasn't sure if Idira's usefulness and power outweighs the risks of keeping her around. At least, her way of speaking was…refreshing, she supposed.
" Sister Argenta and you", Elena said, changing the topic. " It looks to be a complicated relationship."
Idira snorted, laughing. " That's a tactful way of putting it. Argenta is a hypocrite. She can be all holier-than-thou to everyone on the ship, but I see her for who she truly is. That's why she hates me. That, and she's scared of the witch, of course." Idira got up from her rummaging, shaking her head sadly at the uselessness of their discoveries. Kunrad had truly left nothing of value behind him. " Of course, you being sanctioned and bearer of the Holy Warrant makes you untouchable…but deep down, you must know she'll never approve of who you truly are either."
Elena put back Kunrad's books on the shelves. She knew Idira was right, even if she didn't quite like the thought. Everyone was like that around psykers. You were fine when you could blend in, until you did something that reminded everyone that you were apart. Then they kept you at arm's length.
" Anyway, I feel sorry for her", Idira said. Elena crossed her arms, watching her fidgeting. " She has multiple paths in front of her…and a star is leading her. But there is a shadow walking in her steps, a burden she may not even know of."
Oddly enough, Idira's tone carried a hint of compassion and pity. This drew Elena's attention. Argenta would not even blink if an opportunity was given to her to end Idira's life, Elena was certain of it. Yet the diviner was able to show some form of empathy towards the Sister's fate, even knowing how deeply Argenta despised her.
For the second time, Elena felt a pang of pity for Idira's own fate. How must it be, to live with all this knowledge, and never to be taken seriously ? To have so much power and know that it could erase you and everyone around you in a blink ? And yet, for every little spark of pity she could muster in herself, there was also the disgust she felt at being in the presence of an unsanctioned psyker. When would this bomb tick off ?
" Lord Captain ?" That was her vox, snapping her out of her thoughts. Helmsman Ravor's voice cut in : " We've arrived. Shuttle is ready for transport."
Elena nodded, straightening up. " Let's go, Tlass."