Evayne Winterscale was sent to medical care as soon as they went back to the flagship, after arranging the matter of his future rendez-vous with his pilot. Elena ordered to return to the capital, as surely the governor must have seen the preparations of the Triumph through by now.
Elena took time to check on Cassia's health. The Navigator was busy reading in the huge library adjacent to the main bridge. The library always was bustling with passerbys, Tech-Priests, administrators, high-ranking officers, priests, studying silently under the watchful gaze of the God-Emperor, whose painting stood over them all from the ceiling.
Elena knew exactly where Cassia was located, but any hope she might have had at approaching quietly died as the usual procession of salutes, bows and cries to her glory followed her around the ship. It has only been a few days but she found she already managed to treat this as a vague background noise.
The Navigator stood as she entered her reading area. Her servants, silent as ever, had ushered the closest readers off, to secure a quiet perimeter for her. Alone amongst the bookshelves, Cassia stood tall, her face showing a flash of interest as Elena grew near. The crude splint Abelard had built for her was gone, but she was still bearing her weight on her left leg.
" Rogue Trader ! To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit ?" she asked.
" Lady Cassia. I wanted to check on you, after our latest adventure. And apologize for letting you get hurt while under my watch."
Cassia smiled, her talon-hands joined together. " You don't have to apologize for that, Rogue Trader. Your life is a dangerous one, and I am well aware of the risks when I choose to accompany you. If anything - the constant danger is a credit to your newfound status."
" Still. I have offered you my protection, Lady Cassia, and you are no soldier. This shouldn't happen."
" I fear it is wishful thinking, but I thank you nonetheless for your courtesy."
Elena examined the table, glancing at the book Cassia was reading. " Is the library to your liking ?"
" Lady Theodora's augurs had kept a precise journal of the data on most of their travels. It has proven to be an educational reading, mainly in underlining flaws of various logs entries. As for the rest of the collection - I do not wish to speak badly of your glorious predecessor, Elena, but there is no outstanding work of art nor rare masterpiece in this. I suppose it will do for now, but I have made a request to the High Factorum Janrus to order for more interesting books in the future. He told me Dargonus would prove to suit my tastes more."
Elena hid a smile and raised a delicate eyebrow. " That was a quite lengthy description of the qualities and flaws of the library, which, I am told, contains approximately 30 000 books. Am I to understand none amongst them is unique enough to catch your attention ?"
Cassia sighed. " Unfortunately, I already read most of the work available here. If this makes me appear pompous to your eyes, I would understand. But the circumstances of my education led me to study in-depth all of the classics of Navigation, warp travels, exploration of planets, linguistics, philosophy, and theological debates. I sometimes hope for something less...expected."
Boring, you mean, thought Elena. She was completely in awe with the level of education of Cassia.
" But let's not talk about me anymore ! What about you, Rogue Trader ? Have you got a favorite book, perhaps, that could lift my spirits ?"
Elena had to stop herself from laughing at that. She looked at Cassia kindly. She could tell, from the way the younger woman looked at her with beaming eyes, that she was expecting nothing less than extraordinary from her. Cassia had never met any stranger before in her life after all - Elena was aware that she was the first person to have broken into her gilded cage and got her out. She wasn't that bad at social cues not to guess where this could lead at. However, she knew she was going to prove a disappointment to the Navigator. Firstly, because she was not the idealized version of a Rogue Trader Cassia had in mind.
" Lady Cassia, my personal tastes in reading would certainly prove a disappointment to your refined tastes, and I dare not share them for fear of exposing my lack of culture to you. But, if you really want to know, that would be Tales of the void. "
Cassia seemed to think about this, muttering to herself : ' Tales of the void, tales of the void…"
" It was a popular comic strip when I was in the Imperial Guard", said Elena. " It was quite…explicit, which was the reason why it was so popular. It would be completely foolish in your eyes, I gather. But, as you might have noticed, my education pales compared to yours."
Cassia looked at her, and seemingly suddenly remembered Elena's conditions. She put one of her talons over her cheeks, mimicking embarrassment. " Of course. I should have thought about this before asking you." A shadow of disappointment fell upon her eyes.
" Maybe we could consider this subject the other way. Surely there is one book amongst the thousands here that would prove educational to me, and I am yearning to overcome my poor-illed education. What is your personal recommendation ?"
The shadow of disappointment passed, replaced by a gleam of surprise and pleasure. " Pick only one ! That is an extraordinary feat you're asking of me. An historic book about the exploits of your dynasty, perhaps ? It would prove useful to know more about your ancestors after all. Or maybe one of the latest trends in novel writing, in order to discuss it with the most highborns of your servants ? You don't strike me as the sort to read novel, though. Poetry, perhaps ? Or a more scientific treaty ? Erling Roven has made some rather daring and interesting points in archeo technology lately…"
Elena coughed politely. " Take you time, Lady Cassia. And when your choice is done, just have it sent to my office."
She got up off her chair, as Cassia did the same, to indicate the end of the conversation.
" Rogue Trader, there is another thing on my mind", said Cassia sharply, fluttering, as Elena started heading out. " Why are you being so kind to me ? You've shown me nothing but utmost courtesy, even accepting my servants on board, and indulging me in whatever demands I made to you. When I see you, I see your benevolence and patience, shining a pale, golden yellow around you. And yet there is something darker, a purple fire whose cinders are never really completely extinguished..."
Elena tensed at the words. A fire. How specific. So, that is what it feels like to be read by someone else. Unpleasant enough.
" We all have darkness hidden within, Lady Cassia ; what matters is not that our souls are cursed with it, but that we decide not to let it win over us", replied Elena sternly.
A sentence that was…very borderline to say out loud, and one that Elena would not have shared with anybody else on the ship, for fear of misunderstandings. There was no escaping Cassia's third eye and keen intelligence anyway.
At least, Cassia will know where she stood on this matter from now on, and maybe understand why Elena didn't treat like a monster, even though Cassia had exhibited unexpected cruelty before. Elena wasn't even sure that the Navigator understood what she did to those around her on Eurac. There will be a time when they would need to talk about it, but not today.
Her tenseness and gravity had not eluded Cassia, whose face mirrored her own gravity. " I… see." The Navigator was smart enough to not dwell upon the topic.
" As for the reason for my sympathy to you, Lady Cassia, it is quite simple. You have lived a lonely and secluded life, burdened with powers that were your responsibility to hone and control. It is a weakness to admit, but…in some way, I can relate to that."
Cassia nodded slowly, grasping her hands together. " I understand." She flashed her a curious smile. " It is good we have met, then. "
" Indeed " , said Elena, turning away.
Elena made her way back to the bridge, lost in her thoughts, only to be met with the vision of a furious Abelard towering above a quivering but resolved soldier holding her own against him.
What in the Throne is going on ? she wondered, as all the ruckus snapped her out of her mind.
Though all the nearby officers did their best at pretending they were both blind and deaf, she could tell by the way they were slightly slower in their movements that they were trying to eavesdrop on whatever conversation the Seneschal was having right now, and it didn't look like a happy one at all.
The Vox-Master Sigdis, upon seeing her, rushed to her side, and bowed respectfully. " Lord Captain ! I was going to reach you. It is pandemonium here. Lieutenant Avrilla Vent is…unapproving of some of the Seneschal's decision."
" And she's still alive ?" asked Elena coldly.
" She says she's trying to prevent a slaughter. I thought you would like to decide for yourself what to do with her."
Elena sighed, feeling weary and tired. But from Sigvis's tone, this was important enough to be worthy of her time and attention. The Rogue Trader headed toward Abelard, head up high. Her appearance made the lieutenant back away and bow to her.
" Lord Captain", saluted Abelard stiffly. " I know the Voxmaster's intentions are in a good place, but this - " he glared so grimly at the lieutenant that Elena was surprised Avrilla didn't die on the spot - " is unworthy of your time !"
Elena remembered her last conversation with Idira, and her talk with Abelard about Argenta. There were a lot of things that the Seneschal may deem too vulgar for her, but she was going to have a look at it anyway.
" I'll be the one to decide that for myself", she replied icily. Her reply was like a slap to Abelard's face, as he stiffened even more, trying not to publicly show any sign of the anger that rebuke must inspire him.
Elena turned towards the lieutenant. She was a young woman, with short red hair, and warden armor. Her brown eyes showed resolve, even if she was trying to hide the shiver in her hands. Tilting her head to seize her up, Elena took a look at her aura in the warp. She saw the sharp shape of someone dedicated to their cause, and no evidence of traces of corruption.
" Speak."
" Your Ladyship ! I would not have dared come here if this was not a matter of importance. There is a strike ongoing on deck 4. It has been so for a while now."
Abelard scoffed in contempt behind her back and gritted his teeth. " To bother the Rogue Trader with issues of strikes…baseless !"
Unwavering, and clenching her jaws as she ignored the insult, lieutenant Avrilla went on : " The strikers have been contained and the dock is secured. However, they wish to talk. They said the enforcers are killing their children, exerting unnecessary cruelty towards their clans, hassling them enough to provent them from working. And now, the assault team has decided to take the matter in their own hands - trying to bypass my supervision and against better judgment.."
At this point, Elena was pretty sure that Rogue Traders didn't bother to manage such trivial issues. Wasn't it just the ordinary life on lower decks after all ?
" Clans", repeated Abelard, disgust and contempt dripping from his voice.
The scorn in her Seneschal's voice did something to her, though. She turned her head towards him, eyeing him. Something in her mutated, big dark eyes suddenly struck the Seneschal as he blemished slightly.
" Lieutenant, I'd like to see the situation for myself. We'll meet you in Depot 4."
Abelard inhaled sharply, pretending to keep his composure.
" As you wish, Lord Captain."
" Thank you, Lord Captain."
If looks could have killed, Avrilla Vent would be long dead by now.
Elena took the main elevator towards Depot 4, Abelard by her side. The Seneschal was fuming, but his well-maintained etiquette prevented him from snapping out at her. They didn't say a word to each other as the elevator, whirring and humming, descended into the darkness of the ship.
Her vox crackled. " Rogue Trader." That was Heinrix's voice. It kind of ruined the brooding moment she was having.
She smacked her lips unhappily, forcing herself to hide her current displeasure. " I'm listening", she replied neutrally.
Abelard crossed his arms and glared at the vox.
" As we'll soon be reaching the capital and then Footfall, I was expecting to see you for a moment. There is something I ought to give you, that was intended for your esteemed predecessor. Privately."
That caught Abelard's attention, as he glared even harder at the vox.
" This is not a good time, Master van Calox. I'll send for you when I'm ready."
" At your service."
She put the vox back to her belt and cleared her throat. Abelard pursed his lips disapprovingly even more so.
The elevator came to a halt. They exited on the lower decks. The place was unnaturally cold, Elena reflected, to the point she shivered from it. The lights were dimmed and the narrow hallways were dark. A scent of misery, hopelessness and resolve struck her as she brushed back the deck. It felt just like home. Everything was clean, ordered, working tools neatly arranged, everything nailed down to the walls. Depictions of the God Emperor, made crudely out of tinkering tools or chalks drawing, decorated the dark hallways. When you had nothing but dignity, you held on as hard as you could onto it. She remembered that nothing was ever dirty or messy when she was a child. People didn't have a bathroom, let alone regular access to water, but fingernails would always be clean and hair neatly put. They didn't have art, but they'd made up their own songs and music to honor the God Emperor and the Motive Force all the same. They didn't have beautiful fabrics, but they had scraps and tools you could bend, glass that could be twisted in jewelries, inks you could use for tattoos. That was the good side of it anyway.
They headed up towards Lieutenant Avrilla, who was in a heated conversation with a warden enforcer, heavily armored and armed.
" I have my orders. To put an end to the unrest and purge this sector", said the warden.
" You can take your orders and shove them ! This is my deck, my sector. There are only three people that can just waltz in here without my express permission - the first officer, the Rogue Trader and the Emperor himself !"
The lieutenant certainly had spirits, and at least that provided Elena with a theatrical entrance.
" So, not all my lessons fall on deaf ears", mused Abelard.
The sound of his voice snapped the two junior officers out of their fight, and they saluted, standing to attention.
" What's the situation ?" asked Elena.
" The rebels have gathered in the depot", said the warden.
" They're getting desperate. Seeing the assault team come here has set them off", said the lieutenant;
Elena repressed a sigh, and, without further ado, quickly slipped past the two officers and entered the depot.
Her appearance made quite the impression. A dozen pairs of eyes stared back at her. They were ordinary people from the lower-decks - crude, simple, easily impressed, tall and skinny, with various signs of mutations, from the most discreet to the grotesque. Nearly half of them had the same unusually large dark eyes she was born with. Probably they'd never seen a Rogue Trader before in the flesh. And obviously, not one who would look like them.
A whisper passed amongst the crowd, a mixture of fear, astonishment, and joy. Three people advanced towards her and bowed clumsily.
The Depot 4 leaders told her that they were honest workers and servants, unfairly harassed by the enforcers, who had orders to look for pirates amongst them. The root of the problem was a cultist amulet the enforcers had found over a dead body - one the workers claimed was stolen by the dead man during Voigtvir's mutiny. In retribution, the Seneschal had given latitude to the enforcers to root out any heretics - and their chase has brought the enforcers to cut off the heat of the lower deck and seal the inhabitants in the now very cold bay, to die, or confess. Now one of the leaders asked for weapons, fantasizing about having their own militia to rein in order. As if a Rogue Trader would ever let something like that happen !
Elena crossed her arms unhappily. Of course, the hypothetical presence of cultists would require investigation and elimination. And surely lower-deck rabble was perfectly expendable. Still, it was easy to see how the enforcers had gotten…carried away in their orders.
Elena seized up the leaders coldly. " Spreading anarchy on the ship is the first step towards embracing Chaos. Putting weapons into untrained hands would be even worse. What's more, the enforcers are needed to maintain oversight and order. Withdraw those demands and we will consider the rest."
The three leaders squabble between themselves, but agreed to her terms with gratitude, which was a relief. Elena would not have stood down to their demands.
" As for you" she said, addressing the wardens, " persecution is over. The clans shall assist you in locating any remaining amulets or weapons left by the pirates."
As she ruled her decision, she could tell she had disappointed both Abelard and the wardens. The leaders disassembled, returning to their duties, as the warden sourly put the heat back on.
No one is happy, everyone resents me. Well, that's what I call a compromise , she thought to herself.
They exited the Depot. At every one of her steps, she felt Abelard's gaze bore heavier and heavier into her skull, until it was impossible to ignore the Seneschal any more, for fear he might boil up and explode if she continued to apply the silent treatment to him.
She checked to see if they were alone, and stopped dead in her tracks.
" Abelard. Say what you have to say."
Her Seneschal looked back at her, all traces of restraints now vanishing from his face. To him, this must have been humiliating to live. " Well, are you happy with your 'investigation', Lord Captain ? Is that how you see your future at the helm of the von Valancius protectorate ? "
That felt like a slap to her face. She slowly turned back to her Seneschal, clenching her jaws angrily. She needed that man's absolute fealty - and she could tell she hasn't exactly won his respect yet. He didn't see her, he only saw the dynasty through her. But she was only a shadow of Theodora in his eyes.
" Why don't we talk about your role in this matter instead ?" she said slowly. " You allowed this revolt to happen and your actions guaranteed it would go sour."
Abelard straightened. " I would have handled the matter myself, had you not decided to intervene", he said irascibly. " Remember Lord Captain Theodora. Do you think she ever set one foot on the lower decks ? Such matters were left to myself and the juniors officers while she dedicated herself to her grand designs - as any true strategist Rogue Trader would."
She glared daggers at her Seneschal. She hated to be compared with Theodora. She didn't even like the woman, for the very little she's seen about her. She replied harshly : " Maybe if Theodora had spent more time on trifling matters, as you said, she wouldn't have wound up dead. There is a new Lord Captain aboard this ship now, and I will not repeat her mistakes."
At that, Abelard paled. He replied slowly : " That tone…that boldness, impatience. You are more alike to her than you would like to think." He paused, and continued, every word now coming with difficulty to him. " The prosperity of the von Valancius protectorate is not just an empty phrase to me. I left the Imperial Navy for the chance to see it flourish. I did it because I saw in lord Captain Theodora's deeds the sign of true greatness. Rogue Traders do not simply forge new routes and capture worlds - they create order out of anarchy. That creative impulse was entirely lacking during my time in the military."
However difficult it proved for Abelard to open up to her, it completely unsettled Elena, as her anger flared down. There was something in her Seneschal's words - a force, a motive, that resonated with her. She hadn't truly taken time to reflect on her new role, on the duties that came with the title. Life had been…mostly a fight for survival these last few days.
" And then suddenly, everything that had been built over years and years began to quake. One of the senior officers betrayed us all, the Rogue Trader was killed, and who knows what is happening on the planets. All this has come as a grievous blow to me. I cannot allow myself to grieve or panick, for I am duty-bound to aid the new Rogue Trader - to aid you - to find your footings as quickly as possible. And to do that, I must insulate you from problems that in the past have been dealt with by tried and tested procedures set out in the ship's regulations", finished Abelard.
Silence fell as the Rogue Trader shifted awkwardly, unsure of what to say. Abelard's words had really carry home. She would have to think upon this. Elena somewhat softened on the outside, though her words remained sharp.
" Theodora trusted in established procedures - and she died. I won't make the same mistake. If you want to build the future of the von Valancius protectorate with me - stop living in the past. "
Abelard solemnly inclined his head. " Yes, Lord Captain;" After a moment of silence, he added, looking at her with newfound interest : " Your resolve is admirable and demonstrates strong leadership. I shall remember this moment, should my old habits ever begin to creep back in. Now, let us leave the lower decks."
Chapter Management