– Present –
Warp-travel -After using her psychometry talent over the strange remnant artifact that had intrigued Yrliet so much, Elena went to sit by her bed, contemplating the ceiling. She kind of wanted to lay to sleep, but also, the kaleidoscope of visions, feelings, and sense of utter doom that was storming inside her mind made it impossible for her to rest.
It was difficult to classify all the ideas that were running wild into her mind right now. Patiently, as a surgeon would cut open a patient, she focused on each thread of the vision, meditating over it in silence, until the messed-up bubble of saturated emotional and cognitive information turned into something that a human brain could actually proceed and make sense of.
The attack on Yrliet's craftworld had been violent enough to imprint on the remnant of its architecture, and the Aeldari's distress and anger at finding the fragment in the Rogue Trader's exhibition room sufficient to pierce through her intentions. After all, what would you expect a xenos to do, if one had every reason to believe you were connected to the demise of their homeworld ? She could guess from the fluttering vision that an embryo of betrayal was forming inside Yrliet's soul, shattering her own future. It tasted like ash and cinder over her tongue - with a bitter and painful aftertaste. It was still hard to say what would be the triggering element of it - but she could feel its dire consequences in her bones and flesh, as parts of her primordial brain quivered into her skull with fear. Yet, still…the diviner had the distinct feeling that the sequence of events was unshakeable, meant to be - like a path one needed to walk to overcome many graver threats ahead.
Elena put her palms over her face, laying down on her back in a sigh of exasperation. Why ? Why did she have to handle this kind of nonsense ? Ignorance was indeed bliss.
She had to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. She felt it at the corner of her mind, from the depth of her soul. She was getting closer to actually making an important breakthrough. But still the threads that linked it all together eluded her. Would studying these patterns bring her to understanding or madness ? They said curiosity kills the cat in the end, and Elena felt a certain sympathy for this feline metaphor.
Such was her state of mind when she ordered for warp translation, as the off-shore time on the snow planet was coming to an end. She had forgotten about it all, the plans shared with Abelard, the intimacy exchanged with Heinrix, the feeling of beauty and peace over the icy snow planet - all washed away in an instant, because of these visions and what they meant.
Yrliet had ruined all the fun.
Again. Now she wasn't going to be able to focus on anything else.
Well, she hadn't slept for a while and she had just spent hours wandering into her own mind to make sense of that vision. Might as well get some sleep - what was the saying again ? It will get better in the morning, or some nonsense like that ?
Elena opened up her eyes and knew instantly that something was wrong. For some reason, the sheet covering her bed was not the same color as the one she had fallen asleep in.
Also, her tuning to the Immaterium was flashing so many alarms in her psychic senses that she felt the creeping headache of "something's not right" erupt brutally.
" Ugh", she groaned, getting up to her feet. What was going on again ? Apparently, there were no immediate demons, assassins or visions haunting her at proximity.
But there was a lingering sense of eeriness encasing her. She raised her hands up - and it did seem to her that her flesh was more transparent than it was supposed to be.
" A living dream", she murmured to herself. Those sort of things happened with diviners and oneiromancy, both cases that she unfortunately ticked. That's when she, and by she she meant her body, usually ended up sleepwalking or talking gibberish in her sleep. People usually didn't like that. She found it embarrassing.
She was on her ship, she was sure of it. But also, there were…differences…around her. For instance, her pillow was a huge silky blue one. She poked at it, making a face.
" Hideous."
Also, her clothes, suspended on the side by her servants, were actually not her clothings. Elena examined the pieces of fabric critically. Pretty fitting actually. Yup, that was definitely a Rogue Trader's outfit, no doubt about it. But whom exactly, considering it was obviously not hers ?
Unsettling.
She stepped out of the bedroom and into her office.
She was greeted by a soft crackling of electricity making her hair rise over her arms, as a strikingly beautiful woman lifted her eyes up from her desk to seize her up. Psyker, then. Blue eyes, raven hair, beautiful skin, refined tastes, definitely planet-born. Elena remained unfazed, arching a delicate eyebrow at the person sitting at her office. She had a feeling that if the unidentified woman wanted to roast her to death, she would have already. The other psyker had that glint in her eyes.
" And who the heck would you be ? I have been visited by many things during my time on board, mostly unpleasant ones. Never before had someone had the nerve to appear out of thin air off my own private chamber", began the other woman. Her voice had a strange, mechanical timbre - the one created by vox ambient electricity grew heavier.
Elena stared flatly at the intruse, a cold, ironic smile tugging at her lips. " I guess there's a start for everything. Now, who are you, and what are you doing at my desk ? "
The other woman chuckled and it felt like the air in the room vibrated as the undertones of ambient electricity intensified. " You are oddly talkative, for a warp trickery apparition." Her fingernail tapped over her desk - but Elena understood that the woman was distracting her while discreetly rushing for her vox.
" You stand in the presence of Elena von Valancius, bearer of the Holy Warrant of Trade", replied Elena with a hint of annoyance, using up her formal voice. " I fear that, indeed, I am suffering from some sort of warp-induced dream. You act as if you own the place. Which makes you…?"
The other psyker had paused at that, with a fleeting glint of astonishment in her dark eyes. " I am Elena von Valancius, bearer of the Holy Warrant of Trade", she replied flatly. " I don't act as if I own the place. I own it. Now, I'll admit I'm intrigued. I should have reduced you to dust on the spot, warp-impostor, but…you do seem so unlike any other ghosts I've seen. There's something strange about you."
" Yes, yes, I get that all the time. Just a minute, if you don't mind…"
Elena (the first one. Or the second one. It was getting hard to follow) narrowed her eyes as she switched to witch-sight, scanning her impostor's aura.
The other woman's projection in the Immaterium was stormy and vivid, impossible to ignore. Her psykana colored her projection in blue-like waves, controlled and mastered. Her superficial emotions were manifesting in her aura - curiosity, annoyance, surprise. Her imprint was harder to read, guarded, defensive - but still, Elena found out what she was searching for ; a certain inflexion in the twist of her past and future, a commonly shared thread of destiny and fate. The other woman wasn't merely a warp apparition ; she was truly a Rogue Trader, occupying her exact spot and place…in another life, another dimension of time.
Such things were technically impossible, but she had read up on some similar theories in Scholastia Psykana. Obviously, such readings were frowned upon. No one wanted to actually think that multiple dimensions were possible. That induced too many questions.
Now scanning that aura only made her headache worse. She raised a hand to her temple in pain, wincing.
" Oh", reacted the other woman. " You're a psyker too ! My, my, that's quite a lot of coincidences for the day, Elena. "
" Touché ", replied Elena. She paused. " I know this is going to sound crazy, but…I think there is a sane explanation to this. You are…like me…in the sense that you are not me, but also, you fill the same role as me in the scheme of destiny. It's like…you have the place I am supposed to have, but in an alternate timeline. "
The other Elena frowned. " You and I have very different definitions of sanity, but…fine." Elena (the brunette) got up on her feet and stepped towards what seemed to be a bar. " Do you want something to drink ?" she offered pleasantly.
Elena (the blonde) considered her gravely. " You're taking this remarkably well, considering how insane it sounds. Also, why do you have a bar in your office ? I feel concerned. "
Elena (the other one) shrugged. " I mean, it does sound stupid that I randomly meet another Elena von Valancius out in the warp in my own office, but also, it is not the weirdest thing that has happened to me lately. And why wouldn't I have a bar for myself ? If I'm going to spend days lost in the warp, I might as well spend them comfortably ."
It could make sense, she supposed.
" I'll have something without any alcohol in it, then, thank you." Elena (the other one) looked critically at the amount of decorations in her alter ego's office. The voidborn reflected that she looked like a complete austere monk compared to her alter ego's refined tastes.
" So…" began Elena (the barmaid one), as she started pulling out strange bottles of various colors and mixing things together with an air of dedication. "...what kind of psyker are you ? I'd bet on a scryer, from that strange look on your face. You were poking at my aura, weren't you ? And sanctioned, obviously. You look very controlled. "
Elena (the austere one) started relaxing slightly, directing herself towards the nearest sofa. It troubled her that it was not in the right place. " Correct. I have also been known to set things on fire when I'm tired of playing nice , " she replied matter-of-factly.
" Oh, pyro ! I had a thing for a pyro once." The other Elena vanished for a second behind the counter, supposedly grabbing some spices.
" Looking at you, I'd bet you have a thing for dangerous people generally speaking…" Elena mused with irony. " Anyway, what would be your domains ?" she asked, changing the topic.
" Biomancer, as you can guess."
" Hmm-mmm", commented the other Elena neutrally. Biomancers sure liked their lightning. " Unsubtle, but ever so useful."
" And I dabble in telepathy as well."
Elena grimaced. " Ugh", she groaned. " Telepaths are the worst ."
The other woman chuckled. " Yes, I often get that too. Don't worry, I'm not gonna poke around in your mind."
Another grimace. " You'd better not. You wouldn't believe the things going on in my mind right now."
The other Elena finished up preparing a sophisticated-looking mocktail and smugly slid it over to her alter-ego, who caught it up with uncanny accuracy.
" Try me."
" Fine. I think someone is going to betray me, but also I think that this betrayal might trigger a sequence of events that is needed in order to achieve something vital, and also I cannot discern a clear pattern or path to limit…collateral damage, shall I say. "
The raven-haired Elena tilted her head on the side, considering that. " Uh-uh. Why don't you just get rid of that someone ?"
" She might redeem herself later."
" And what would be this person's name, I wonder ?"
Elena took a sip at her mocktail. One of the most delicious ones she'd tasted. She eyed her alter ego from the side.
" Pretty face, silver tongue, psyker staff, educated, gets people to talk easily. I guess your, shall I say 'inquisitiveness', comes from your previous affectation before becoming a Rogue Trader…?"
The other Elena gave her a sweet smile. " Don't need to guess. I could have told you myself. Anyway, considering your own appearance and gifts, I presume it's pretty much the same for you."
" Pretty much the same", Elena said, without elaborating.
" We're so alike and yet so different. It's unsettling. " The current Elena leant back over the counter and sipped at her glass.
" I am so curious. How do you handle becoming a Rogue Trader ?"
" Pretty well, considering the amount of mess Theodora had left behind for me to fix", grumbled the other Elena.
Elena raised her glass at that. " On that, I can relate, alter-ego of mine."
Elena mimicked her and they cheered over the scourge of their common legacy.
" Imagine what Abelard's reaction would be if he met me", said Elena (the blonde) with a hint of mischievousness. " Two von Valancius Rogue Trader for the price of one. That would cheer the old man up."
Elena (the brunette) chuckled. " I can just imagine. I'm tempted to show you around my ship, but I fear my crew's reaction to Elena-from-the-warp might not be just as civilized as mine. "
" Yes, I can presume not everyone would like this. And I'm not sure my crew would believe me if I told them what's just happening either. "
" That's too bad. I sure could use the help of someone like you. Well, like me," she pointed at herself " but like you", and then pointed at her.
" I sure trust no one else more than myself, myself. The Throne preserves me, this is really weird. " She sure hadn't been expecting something like that to happen.
" But fun too, for once, don't you think ?"
" I wouldn't know. I don't do …'fun .' " She slid over her empty glass. " Those sure are good. I'll have another one, if you don't mind."
" Of course I don't, Elena. Elena. Uh. So strange to say that out loud ! " While she was pouring her another drink, the brunette added : " Should we call each other Elena 1 and Elena 2 ? I feel it would make things easier. Obviously I should be Elena 1. You're the one visiting my ship after all."
Elena 2 chuckled at that. " You can be number one if you'd like. Being, obviously, the most mature of us two, I'll settle for Elena 2."
Elena 1 smiled at that. " Now that it's settled…I have so many questions to ask !"
But, as she turned around to slide the glass over the counter once more, the warp apparition was gone.
Elena opened her eyes back up in another antechamber. She found herself, for some reason, facing a corner of the room that she'd been staring at intensely for an indefinite amount of time.
" Lord Captain, you're back !" Idira's voice.
Idira's slightly concerned voice.
It was never good to hear that vibrato in the troubled psyker's tone.
Elena 2 (or 1. 1 surely ? She was pretty sure she was back in her ship) wiped her forehead pensively. " Damnit ! I was just going to warn her about that very important thing !" she mumbled to herself in frustration.
" Is everything going well, shereen ?" Ah, and Jae was here, too.
Elena took a second to put on the mask of the Rogue Trader, before turning to face her two officers. Idira was studying her with a flicker of concern in her brown eyes. Jae, on the other hand, looked both uneasy and curious.
" I'm fine", she lied.
" That's good to hear", replied Jae politely, not buying it at all.
" I hypothesize that I've been experimenting with a vivid warp-induced dream. I suppose it has led to some uncomfortable sleepwalking. It's quite common with people like me. You need not worry about it. "
" Uh, yes ?" hazarded Jae, out-of-her-depth, glancing at Idira for help. The psyker nodded along, apparently understanding the concept.
" Did I say anything out loud ? And where are my wardens ?"
Idira cleared her throat, gesturing for Jae to stay quiet. " You mumbled things in old voidborn clanic language. We didn't understand a thing, to be honest. Last time, it looked like you were insulting Kunrad…today, it mostly looked like you were talking to yourself. "
Which was, in some sense, what she had indeed been doing. Funny enough, that she unconsciously resorted to her native dialect when going into a trance.
" Actually, maybe I could speak with you alone for a while ?" Idira suggested.
Jae took the cue and quietly left the room, looking relieved. Elena moved at her desk, sitting in her rightful chair. The cushions perfectly encompassed her shape. Definitely hers. She felt a pang of satisfaction at finding everything was in its rightful place and all was tidied up to her obsessive and maniacal liking - her things forming geometrical patterns and strange spirals that no one ever truly noticed, but that made sense to her.
Spirals upon spirals casting unto themselves.
" Do you think I should change the decoration, Tlass ?" she asked out of nowhere, tapping her fingernails nervously across the wooden desk.
Idira scratched her head at that. " Well, you made quite some changes already, haven't you ? It is for sure far more austere than when Lady Theodora was there."
Elena said nothing at that. Her stoic expression made it hard to know what she was thinking about. Furniture, apparently. When a Rogue Trader was silently considering redecorating their ship, an officer knew trouble was soon to follow.
" Elena", added Idira, coming closer to her, " these episodes of sleepwalking are getting more numerous and harder to cover. Jae is your new Mistress of Whispers, she does a fine job at hiding it all under the carpet, and your personal wardens warned us as soon as it began. We've trained them all right and they haven't said a word to anyone. Still…I realize there is a certain irony in the fact that I, unsanctioned as I am, am worried for you…but surely these oneiro-experiments can't be good to you. We won't be able to hide this away from the Seneschal for long. He's been wondering where you were for the last hour and Jae had to make up a lie involving you praying in the Holy Warrant Anteroom." Idira sighed, waiting for her reply.
But something remained off with Elena. There was a glassy distance in her eyes. A change in her composure. Idira didn't like this. Elena had been so confident and so sure of herself when they first met, certain of her superiority and acting smug at her unsanctioned condition. She had changed since then, demonstrating more patience than Idira first would have thought. Yet, her inner certainty seemed to peel at every balbutiating effort she made at expanding her divination abilities farther and farther away. Idira was glad that finally someone else shared her doubts and troubles, but unsettled that it was emanating from the one that was supposed to lead them.
Elena fell silent for a very long time, long enough that Idira started whispering : " Lord Captain, are you still there ?"
Finally, the Rogue Trader lifted up her dark, unreadable eyes to her officer's face. " I am doing perfectly fine, Tlass. I know with every lucid dream, I'm getting closer to the answer. I just need to have more time and privacy. I'll resume the experiment once we get rid of these drukharis. "
That didn't seem to comfort Idira very much. She cast a skeptical look.
" Elena, if you were to learn something important during these episodes, would you tell me ? Tell us ?" asked Idira prudently, as if fearing the Rogue Trader would lash out at her.
Elena leant back confidently on her chair, a thin smile on her lips. " Of course, Tlass", she lied without missing a beat.
Idira didn't believe her, but wasn't exactly in a position to question a Rogue Trader's sincerity either.
Lie about Yrliet's future betrayal ? Sure, check.
Lie about Theodora's true murderer ? Check.
Lie about what was truly lurking inside her ship ? Check.
Lie about a huge daemon thingy in her head ? Check.
Lie about experimenting with divination abilities way more than she ought to ? Check.
And she was only getting started.
" Now, please, don't let me detain you. You said the Seneschal wanted to see me", added Elena in a pleasant tone.
" Uh, yes. I'll tell him you've returned from the Holy Warrant Anteroom. "
Idira left the room, her preoccupation clearly not appeased by Elena's strange behavior. It wasn't long until her vox crackled with Vigdis's voice, branching her out to Abelard.
" Lord Captain", he said, " Scalander sent us new coordinates. He seems to think there is a raid due to happen soon on Grantis." The Seneschal paused, then added with a hint of satisfaction : " Luckily for us, we're already standing nearby the system. We should be able to make for realspace there and investigate the situation quickly."
Luckily for us indeed, thought Elena ironically. People really didn't have the slightest idea of all the work she was doing for them. She massaged her temples, soothing away the headache.
" Then let's make for realspace. I have a feeling we are expected…. and I wouldn't want to disappoint."
Notes:
For context, the artist Skolas-Aditya, who owns Elena von Valancius (the brunette one), had recently put up an artwork of her character online and we ended up discovering that we had created very similar characters, down to their exact names xD So this chapter is a wink to that event, celebrating all the Elenas von Valancius :)