... "shiiffle"...

Now look what you've made me do, I've gone and got my keyboard all wet.

...sniff....

The late great enginseer will be missed by many I'm sure. What a way to go. My thanks for sharing his journey. That's all I've got right now...

Didn't I tell you nothing would be the same again?

It was a truly epic climax, and Nikander's sacrifice was a shock to both me and poor Kilgrim. He's lost the only person aboard ship he considered his friend (and no, we're not going to do "Rogue Trader III : The Search For Hak"!)

I'm not sure the write-up sufficiently captures how bleak that final battle felt. Some of us were genuinely and sincerely talking about what game we'd be doing the following week after the inevitable TPK. I'd recently picked up some advances to turn Kilgrim into a bit of a slice & dice machine to give him a reasonable chance one-on-one against the Warboss, but that went horribly wrong when (a) the Warboss just happened to have the perfect set of talents to counter him and (b) I suffered the worst run of bad dice luck I have ever had in 25 years of gaming. Seriously, with three or four attacks per round at about a 50% hit chance and one free reroll per turn, I managed to miss 12 times on the trot. If it hadn't been for the Housecarls and Ivanov joining him and taking hits, Kilgrim was dead meat, and I genuinely thought that it was the end of the campaign right up until the one round where all four attacks hit doing serious damage and setting up the killing blow for Ivanov.

And then to get back to the ship only to discover that Nikander was sacrificing himself... Man what an emotional rollercoaster!

We managed to play the first session of Volume 2* before Marvin left for his holiday, which I'm sure will be posted once he gets back. We meet some old friends once again, and things take a distinctly piratical turn...

(* Though I'm trying to convince Lord Spatula that Volume 1 should have ended with the battle on Sapphirus 1-1S2M3, the rest of the game so far being Volume 2 and post-Damaris should be Volume 3)

Hi all and thanks to DrV for his post,

Im now back from my hols so the write ups should begin to filter in regularly-ish.

Segment taken from the official history of the Dureen Rogue Trader Dynasty

CURRENT LOCATION: DYNASTY HEADQUARTERS, ASTEROID BASE ALPHA, FOOTFALL SYSTEM, THE CAULDRON

Preliminary note: It has been my honour to be appointed the official historian of the Dureen Rogue Trader Dynasty, and in this role the generous and kindly Rogue Trader Hartek has given me complete access to the House records. Additionally I have been presented with the personal records of a now deceased Enginseer Nicander Hak to enable me to gain context for some of the events that occurred prior to my recruitment into the Dynasty. Finally, I have found that on occasion I am visited by a strange cherubim construct that stays long enough to download information packages into a dataslate before disappearing from my chambers. The intelligence it brings me proves very helpful to my record keeping, so although the creature is somewhat discomforting I am loathe to discourage the visits.

Glory be to the God-Emperor of the Imperium of Mankind, and to House Dureen. My Lords, I am in perpetuity your faithful servant. Adept Michaelus Helix

The Furnace of Redemption returned to Footfall after Hartek's great victory on Damaris, and although suffering some damage to the barracks deck while travelling through the warp anomaly, made it safely back to the Asteroid Base headquarters in short order.

On the journey from the outer system, Hartek contacted Mistress Salvatore, his Seneschal and base commander, and was quickly brought up to date with the events that had occurred while he had been away. There had been a number of significant changes, and he absorbed the intelligence report, planning his next actions.

The summary could be broken into five main categories;

The trade war between the Winterscales and Chorda Dynasties had been continuing apace, although neither Rogue Trader had gained the upper hand, and the conflict had been kept relatively low key with both sides relying on proxies rather than being directly involved.

Baron Djanko Scourge, the Rogue Trader who had attacked Orrema had remained in Footfall repairing his vessel and attempting to put as much as a positive spin on the events as possible. His boasts of conquering Orrema had be proved somewhat misleading after the reports filtered back from Colonel Senf of the Dureen Dynasty that Scourge had bombarded two of the floating cities from orbit, destroying the home city of the Valo Contract, a faction known to be virulently opposed to off world interference, and damaging the city that housed the seat of the ally of House Dureen, Viscount Spry. Shortly after these attacks, his ship was hit by a planetary launched nuclear warhead that originated from within the installations of the Coam Federation, forcing the man to flee. Senf reported that he and his men had been attempting to aid the locals in the aftermath of the unprovoked and dastardly attacks, thus securing themselves the thanks of a grateful planet. Hartek seemed somewhat satisfied by this, although was still swearing vengeance.

Hadarak Fel had returned to Footfall after spending a large amount of time in the Expanse; indeed, he was still present finalising the sales of the xenos artefacts he had obtained on his journeys. It appeared that he had not returned to Orrema, nor been involved in any of the conflict that had blighted that world over recent months.

A kroot Warsphere was present in Footfall, it was huge, almost nine kilometres in diameter, and seemed to be taking on supplies, although any other reason for their presence was unclear.

Finally, reports had come in from Imperial space; a number of small planetary settlements on the very edge of the Imperium had fallen silent, and on investigation, it was found that they had be scoured clean of all life. Although no evidence was included with the reports, that would confirm the assumptions being made by the command staff of the Dynasty, it seemed certain that these events were connected with the reasons that lay at the heart of the genesis of House Dureen; the tyranids were on the move. It should be noted that outside of the limited number of the command staff, this knowledge was declared forbidden, and this was probably just as well as it was clear that panic would be widespread should it become know to the wider populace.

Hartek, Ivanov, and the returning crew of the Furnace of Redemption came aboard the Asteroid Base to great fanfare, as befitted returning heroes. The ship itself was handed over to the repair crews who swarmed over her, repairing, refitting and rearming the venerable vessel. Alongside the Asteroid Base lay the newly refurbished grand cruiser, His Undying Will, which the Seneschal reported was ready for deployment; she was just awaiting her crew. She had kept that information to herself when initially contacted by Hartek, wanting to see his reaction in person; she was not disappointed, the Rogue Trader was pleased with her efforts.

Within the reception hall an honour guard had been formed, and from the sidelines I was able to get my first glimpse of the Rogue Trader, as he and his First Officer strode forward. The two men were striking, and both had the bearing of the heroes they undoubtedly were, but what surprised me was the warmth in their smiles as they greeted those who waited; the seemed to have a genuine affection for those that served the Dynasty, and this seemed to be returned in equal measure by the people they led. I have served as Adept-Scribe to a number of different organisations, and know that this is rare, although I should not really have been surprised, all the rumours, information, and intelligence I had gleaned before accepting this post suggested that this Rogue Trader was unusual, even by the standards of Rogue Traders.

Hartek himself seemed to have saved a large amount of affection for a tall rangy man standing alongside the Seneschal. This man, I was to discover was Antonio Fenducci; he had previously served as Hartek's aide, and had remained behind for "special training" under the direction of Sergeant Talon, a muscled and scarred veteran who stood a metre behind the pair. My initial confusion was understandable; Fenducci and been described as skinny street-youth, but the lean, hard, and dangerous looking individual that he had become was very different. It appeared that Talon had been very effective with his training regime.

Once the speeches were over the command staff withdrew to the briefing room to plan, and, surprisingly enough, my presence was requested. As Hartek phrased it, "If you're to report the history, you need to be there to see it!"

Hartek had been developing a cadre of covert operations specialists, and their training had been completed, as had their initial field testing. He received the reports from the Seneschal with a blank expression on his face; I believe that he had already plans in mind for these men and women.

In addition, the Rogue Trader met with his new commander of the 7th Cohort, his motorbike reconnaissance unit, and was forced to assert command in the old fashioned way, with a good solid punch to the jaw. This was the Hartek I had heard so much about; the more I see the more I know that I will enjoy this job, the Rogue Trader is a conundrum, and we are at the frontier of Imperial influence, where he makes the law - I know that I will be able to write a history that will become read far and wide!

The niceties of dealing with command and personnel dealt with, priority lay with recruiting the crew required for the grand cruiser, and to replace the losses that had been sustained since the last layoff at Footfall. The reputation of House Dureen had been growing, so there were no shortages of volunteers, and quickly the fighting troops and crew shortages were replaced, and within three months we had sourced over forty percent of the requirements for His Undying Will.

While this recruiting process was underway, a Dauntless class Light Cruiser, named the Hammer of Truth returned to Footfall, and immediately got the attention of Hartek as this was the ship captained by Djanko Scourge and had attacked Orrema. The Rogue Trader sent communications demanding reparations for the damage done to the holdings on this world, however, the response that was received was terse, effectively stating that there was nothing of value on the planet to pay compensation for, and he would not continue the pointless conversation further. A deep scowl creased Hartek’s face, and I knew that this would not be the end of the matter.

Hartek ordered further investigations into the man and his ship, and the intelligence reports revealed that the holds of the Hammer of Truth were full of slaves from a recent conquest, a trade that it was well documented that the Rogue Trader disapproved of. All in all, it was obvious that it would only be a matter of time before there was a confrontation between the two leaders.

A few days later, Jeremiah Blitz and his ship, the Ordained Destiny arrived in Footfall, carrying the recruits that the Dynsty had gained in Damaris, and to further strengthen the ties between the two Rogue Traders that had been forged in battle at Damaris, he was offered the use of the facilities on the Asteroid Base to repair his ship and rest his crew, something that was gratefully accepted.

Having read through the previous history of the Dynasty in the data I had been presented on my arrival, I knew that House Dureen had links with several influential arms of the Imperium having worked with representatives of the Holy Inquisition, and more surprisingly taken to the battlefield alongside the super-human warriors of the Adeptus Astartes. However, the next arrival shocked me to the core. Reading about such things is one thing, but actually encountering them is something else completely.

I was interviewing Hartek with regard to some inconsequential matter when a pale faced Fenducci knocked on the door of, and then entered his office and announced to the Rogue Trader that a visitor had arrived for him, but refused to be drawn any further, insisting that Hartek should see for himself. Personally I thought that this was a strange thing to say until the door to the briefing room opened. A hooded and robed, figure entered, and it took me a second to register the size of the man who presented himself; he was huge, yet he moved with an ease and grace that I have rarely seen.

Hartek smiled; "Well met Space Marine!"

At this simple statement I sat up straighter; I had never encountered a member of the Adeptus Astartes before, and was unsure what the presence of one here might mean. I have often heard it said that the Space Marines can spell doom and redemption in equal measure.

He spoke in a deep, rumbling voice. "Rogue Trader Hartek. I have been instructed by my Watch Commander to attach myself to your House."

"We are glad to have you with us!" Came Hartek’s easy reply "We could have done with your skills on Damaris. And Saphirus, for that matter..."

"So I am given to understand. I have instructed me to support you in any way I can. Particularly as the xenos threat seems to be increasing… Orks on the warpath here, and... other creatures on the move elsewhere..."

The Rogue Trader nodded. "Let me show you around, and introduce you to our troops. How do you feel about greenskins?"

"I have fought them on many occasions." Came the calm reply "And have conversed with them from time to time, where necessary..."

Hartek chuckled, almost to himself, before speaking again to the impassive Astartes. "I can see that you're going to be very useful here, Brother Castagir!"

He stood, and ordered one of the guards at the door to show the Battle-Brother to his quarters, and arranged for them to rendezvous for a tour of the Asteroid Base and the vessels at rest in the docks within the hour.

When I next saw Castagir, he was wearing his power armour, which made him appear even more impressive than before. He was not wearing his helm, however, his head was still shrouded in a hood, leaving his face in shadow, giving him an unnerving appearance. Nonetheless, I followed the giant, and the Squat on their tour to record the events for posterity. The troops of House Dureen met him with a mix of awe, fear, and studied nonchalance, but the most interesting moment was when he met Kernal Shakgul, the ork who commanded the “Tenf Cohort”.

The ork settlement within Hold 51 had grown from its original size, expanded into a neighbouring hold. Interestingly, the development included leisure facilities such as a race track and a fighting pit.

On entering the ork’s domain, Castagir paused before turned to Hartek and spoke; "Interesting crew you have Rogue Trader..."

I am sure the Squat looked slightly embarrassed before he replied; "They fight better than they smell!"

Before he could say anything else, Kernal Shakgul walked over from his Headquarters building and greeted his visitors; "Oi!"

"Oi!" Hartek responded

"Where's our fightin'?" the ork demanded, then he paused and looked over at Brother Castagir. "He's a biggun, ain't he? He's one of them humie marines ain’t he?" His gaze fell to the helmet attached at the waist of the Astartes power armour. "I've always wanted one o' them!"

Hartek grunted. "Kernal, may I introduce Brother Castagir Arl..."

The Astartes and the Ork studied each other, then the Space Marine shocked everyone by speaking in Orkish, of all languages; "Kernal." He nodded. "If you want one of these you would do well to look elsewhere..."

The Kernal smiled a toothy grin. "We'll see!"

"We will indeed!" Castagir replied, impassively.

The discussions progressed, with the ork demanding some fighting, and Hartek shuffling self-consciously, before promising some fighting - very, very soon. A slightly mollified ork returned to his headquarters muttering under his breath...

The remainder of the tour continued without incident and Castagir headed to his quarters leaving the remaining Command Staff to return to the meeting room to finalise plans for the next move.

During the strategising session Hartek conceived a plan to combine the twin needs for revenge on Scourge, and getting Shakgul the fight he desired.

Through intermediaries, Hartek arranged for the purchase of all of Scourges slaves, and immediately freed them, offering a place with in the Dynasty, which the majority gratefully accepted, and then with little to keep the man in port, he began to make plans to leave again. This was exactly what Hartek had expected, so when Scourge finished his business in Footfall and headed to the edge of the system to make his jump into the warp he was being shadowed by the Furnace of Redemption.

The wily Hartek suggested that a ghost ship, savaged by orks would be fair salvage by any ship fortunate enough to stumble across it, and who knows what other rewards such heroes could reap...

Castagir raised objections to such blatant acts of piracy, but Hartek and Ivanov described the act as righteous retribution, describing the dastardly and unprovoked attacks on Orrema by Baron Scourge, and the devastation left in his wake. I am uncertain whether the Marine was convinced by the argument, but he did not voice any further concerns to the plans.

A week later, two few days inside the safe jump point of the Footfall system Hartek prepared to strike; waiting for the most opportune moment, the weapons batteries were armed and the orks standing by in the teleportarium chamber and in the guncutters, preparing to transfer to the unfortunate Hammer of Truth.

End of Segment

Another week, another great writeup by LordSpatula, enjoy!!!

Segment taken from the official history of the Dureen Rogue Trader Dynasty

CURRENT LOCATION: THE FURNACE OF REDEMPTION, OUTSKIRTS OF THE FOOTFALL SYSTEM, THE CAULDRON

Preliminary note: The following information has been attained by a combination of first hand observation, after action reports and official intelligence sources. It is my honour to record the following events for the official record of House Dureen.

Glory be to the God-Emperor of the Imperium of Mankind, and to House Dureen. My Lords, I am in perpetuity your faithful servant. Adept Michaelus Helix

As Baron Scourge and the Hammer of Truth passed into the forward arc of the Furnace of Redemption's weapon systems, Rogue Trader Hartek sprung his trap; he ordered all systems out of silent running and hailed the enemy ship.

"Attention Baron Djanko Scourge and the vessel the Hammer of Truth be warned, this is your last chance to make reparations for the attack on the civilian population and House Dureen holdings on the planet of Orrema. How do you respond?"

The foul mouthed torrent of abuse that was heard over the vox channel does not bear reporting, but let it be recorded that Scourge did not reply in the manner of a gentleman and rejected the overtures for a peaceful solution that Rogue Trader Hartek had offered, so with a heavy heart our leader gave the order to open fire.

The skill, dedication, and righteousness of our cause were obvious, as over the next hour and a half the Furnace of Redemption battered the Hammer of Truth and did not take any damage in return. It was noticeable that as the battle went on Scourge spent less and less time hurling insults over the vox channel, as he realised the peril he was in. Rogue Trader Hartek kept his word to Kernal Shakgul and his orks, giving them the fighting they desired as they were repeatedly transported by teleportarium and guncutter onto the enemy ship. House Dureen tactics were highly successful as the rapid redeployment of the orks kept the enemy confused and unable to mount a co-ordinated defence.

At several points throughout the space battle Hartek called for Scourge to stand down to preserve the lives of his crew, but was rebuffed with torrents of abuse, and the phrases "honourless dog", and "black-hearted midget" featured quite regularly in Scourge’s diatribes, which stuck all who heard as ironic, considering this was a man that had bombarded a defenceless planet from orbit.

During the final conversation, Hartek proved his genius at reading people, and having gained no sensible conversation from the Baron announced over the connection "One-hundred thousands thrones for the man that brings me the head of Baron Scourge!"

Even on the holo-display it was comical to see the Scourge’s eyes widen in shock, and then the rapid scrabbling as he rushed to cut the connection. It was clear that the man did not have complete confidence in his crew, which probably should not be a surprise when taking into consideration the stories about the man and his petty and small minded cruelty.

Soon it seemed that the Hammer of Truth was on the verge of destruction, and her crew in complete disarray, so Rogue Trader Hartek led a small strike team onto the enemy ship. The assault troops were made of Ivanovs newly reconstituted ship fighting specialists, Kilgrim's Killers, Navigator Patronius who had decided to venture out from the warp navigation bubble for the first time in several weeks, and the Astartes, Castagir, who seemed to be relishing the thought of the upcoming conflict.

The teleportarium beams deposited the Dureen force several hundred metres from the bridge, but the enemy were still in disarray and unable to offer any serious resistance, and Hartek quickly found himself at the bridge doors. The demolitions specialists within Kilgrim's Killers quickly placed melta-charges, and blasted their way through the armoured doors, and then the lead troops pushed through the breach. Although the first few troopers through the doors were cut down, the momentum of the assault carried those following through, and they quickly engaged Scourge's people on the ruined, body-strewn bridge. Next through the breach was Castagir, who used his power and bulk to carve a path towards the command throne, allowing Hartek a clear run at Scourge himself.

As Scourge, his Navigator, and two huge ogryn bodyguards stood, preparing to meet the attacks, the sheer ferociousness of the assault kept the enemy in disarray, and many, recognising the righteousness of the cause of House Dureen began to throw down their weapons and surrender.

Hartek closed on Baron Scourge, and Navigator Patronius focussed his attention on his counterpart, and as Castagir surveyed the battlefield, a figure clad in Guard flak armour flung himself at the huge Marine. Almost absentmindedly the Astartes stepped into the attack and with a single blow shattered his opponent’s chainsword into a whirling ruin of shatter cogs and teeth. As the man staggered backwards his helm fell off and he raised a shaky hand holding a bolt pistol, but strangely the Marine stayed his attack and spoke instead.

"Gruber?" He paused, and then growled; "I would suggest that you surrender. Now."

Shocked, the man in front of the Astartes nodded, and dropped the bolt-pistol; it appeared that these two had encountered each other previously.

Hartek raised his war-axe and charged at Scourge, shouting a war-cry and challenge as he closed on his enemy, who bellowed epithets in return and pulled a grenade from his belt. Hartek brought his huge axe into a crashing arc, and even though Scourge tried to block the blow, his defence was completely ineffective and he was forced backwards, bleeding from a deep wound. Baron Scourge triggered the grenade in his hand, and a network of coruscating blue sparks roiled over Hartek’s figure as the haywire payload triggered. The Rogue Trader was frozen in place for several long seconds, allowing the injured Scourge to further back away, and then turn and run like the coward we knew him to be.

Navigator Patronius continued his charge into the bridge, but began to fade from sight, before suddenly appearing behind Scourge and the Baron's Navigator; he drew his pistol and fired at his counterpart missing, but distracting the man from his own psychic attack on Hartek. The enemy Navigator spun round, and raised his hands as the rounds flashed past him, shouting "There's no need for this! We're the same kind!" Patronius smiled a feral smile, and raised his pistol and prepared to shoot again. The enemy psyker attempted to use his powers against Patronius, however, his attempts failed as the diamond hard mind of the Navigator repelled the attacks.

Seeing Scourge making good his escape, Patronius opened his warp eye in the direction of the Baron, and all around men fell screaming to the deck, blood pouring from every orifice. Scourge clutched at his face, and staggered to his knees as ceiling plates and heavy girders collapsed on top of him. It appeared that the enemy commander had fallen to House Dureen's glorious forces, so Patronius turned his attention back to Scourges Navigator, who redoubled his attempts to surrender, which he finally accepting, taking him into his custody.

Castagir stepped closer to the man he had addressed as Gruber, and the man shrank back from him.

"You know my name... Who... Who are you?" Gruber spoke in a shocked and shaky voice.

"Have you encountered so many Astartes that you forget us so easily?" There was a trace of amusement in Castagir's voice.

Gruber looked confused; "I have only met one before my Lord, and that was many years ago, half a sector away... I… I was honoured to call him my friend."

Castagir spoke one word; "Perinictus"

The colour drained from Gruber’s face, and he reached, almost involuntarily for his cybernetic leg.

"My armour was a different colour then, but we stood shoulder to shoulder then. I now serve the Deathwatch." The Marine removed his helmet.

Gruber gasped, suddenly recognising the giant warrior, who continued to speak.

"Your career has changed somewhat since then. I am disappointed to find you in the company of slavers..."

The man nodded sadly, before speaking again. "I waited on Malfi for over a year, Inquisitor Atellus left me there, to recover from my injuries, but he seemed to forget me, so I left to search for him. It was a lucky choice, I heard that rivals of his attacked his mansion, and many there died. I could not go back, and found myself forced to take this service... I didn't realise what I was getting into..."

"We all mistakes, I am not blameless myself in that way." Castagir offered his hand and the two men grasped forearms in a warrior handshake. "It would honour me if you would join me in my new service. I know you to be an honourable and loyal man."

Gruber smiled widely. "Thank you my Lord! It would be an honour!"

With the fall of Baron Scourge all resistance ceased, and as the blue field discharged the last of its energy Hartek was able to move once more. A man stepped forward, identifying himself as the First Officer, Commander Jean Claude, and formally surrendered the Hammer of Truth to Rogue Trader Hartek. It appeared that a large number of the crew, and command staff, did not approve of Scourge's methods, or think highly of the man himself; indeed, a minor mutiny had already been underway, using the attack as a distraction.

Hartek picked up on this, and turned to the First Officer; "Tell me, have you ever considered a career outside of the Scourge Dynasty...?"

The hard-eyed man paused for a few seconds before replying. "Well, I am seriously considering it now...!"

Hartek laughed, and then requested a ship-wide vox channel. He broadcast an appeal to all aboard to cease fighting, and welcomed those who had previously served Scourge to their new lives in House Dureen, should they wish to join the Dynasty; they would be paid a fair wage for a hard days work. The vast majority of the crew saw the offer as fair, and indeed, far better than their current terms of service. Those few that disagreed were quickly purged by their erstwhile comrades.

Hartek then ordered House Dureen troops were then shipped over from the Furnace of Redemption to help look after the injured, and support damage control parties as well as keep order on board the captured ship.

Commander Claude turned to Hartek, and spoke; "Sir! We have a fire aboard. It is raging out of control..."

"Where is it?" Was the simply reply

"The barracks, Sir"

Hartek nodded. "Seal the area and vent it to the void. We can't let it spread more widely!"

The First Officer nodded his approval and ordered it done.

A search of the bridge revealed no sign of Scourge, and the floor beneath the collapsed girders had also collapsed, seemingly allowing an escape route. Search teams were immediately dispatched, but it seems certain that a cowardly man like Scourge would have had a plan to ensure his own survival, even if it cost him his entire crew.

Hartek began to think of the future, and ordered the technical support vessel, The Anvil out to a rendezvous point away from the normal space lanes to begin repairs and refits on the Hammer of Truth, while the crew were transferred to Asteroid Base Alpha, and then stationed on the Grand Cruiser, His Undying Will." Some effort would be made to disguise the origins of the light cruiser, and she was renamed, at Castagir's suggestion, as the Scourge of Tyrants, a name that Hartek liked, feeling it was both apt, and would rub the Baron's nose in his humiliating defeat.

After a private discussion, it was announced to the Dynasty that Commander Jean Claude was to be promoted to Captain and given command of the Scourge of Tyrants, and assigned a command staff consisting of a mix of survivors of the original staff, and long serving members of the Dureen Dynasty. He seemed very pleased with his new position of responsibility, perhaps realising that the Rogue Trader rewarded competence well.

The captured Navigator, who identified himself as Ser Marius Marcellus requested that he be released and left at Footfall, Hartek negotiated a commercial contract with him, ensuring his silence with regard to the events on Scourges vessel. The Marcellus clan would provide additional Navigators as requested by House Dureen and any vessels contracted by the Dynasty, and Ser Marius himself agreed never to leave his family holdings again, he ruefully stated that his lust for adventure had severely waned, largely as a result of recent events. All parties were left happy with the outcome of the negotiations, and Clan Marcellus found its fortunes linked to those of House Dureen. None the less, Hartek ordered the Seneschal to despatch intelligence teams to carefully watch the manoeuvrings of Ser Marius, as I am sure that the man himself would expect.

Once the immediate concerns of crew deployment and repairs to the new vessel had been dealt with, Brother Castagir received a request to visit Rogue Trader Hartek in his private offices. The Battle Brother appeared at the appointed time to find Hartek, and his aide, Antonio Fenducci waiting for him. As Castagir entered the chambers, Hartek nodded to him and wordlessly offered him the scroll that he was holding.

Castagir took it and read it through; it was a warrant authorising him to take on the role of Warmaster of House Dureen, giving him responsibility for leading the military forces of the Dynasty, and being responsible for the training and deployment of those forces.

He paused, and then looked at Hartek who spoke to him; "I find I can no longer divide my responsibilities between dual roles of leading the troops, and leading the house as a whole. I am sure there are precedents for Astartes on attachment, such as yourself, taking on roles such as this for the duration of the emergency or that attachment?"

"I understand the honour you offer me Rogue Trader" Castagir spoke surprisingly quietly, "And my orders when despatched to aid you and this Dynasty were to offer as much aid and support as possible in our overall mission of building a force that will stand against the coming xenos horror. If you wish me to lead your troops I will do so, and I will prepare them as best I can to face the coming darkness, however, I cannot accept the title you offer. My first loyalty lies with the Chapter I now serve, and will always do so, and you must understand that the title of "Warmaster" does not sit easily with an Astartes; I cannot set myself above others, I live and will die as a Battle Brother, and will not allow myself the vanity of thinking myself anything else."

The Rogue Trader grunted thoughtfully, then grabbed another scroll, and hastily wrote on it. He read aloud; "In the matter of the deployment, development, and training of all military forces of House Dureen, let it be known that the bearer of this bond speaks with my voice. Signed Rogue Trader Kilgrim Hartek, blah blah… Fenducci, you know the drill fill in the rest of it!"

Fenducci smiled and took the scroll from Hartek.

Castagir nodded gravely; "This is agreeable Rogue Trader. I understand the difficulty you have in making such an offer, and the trust, and sacrifice, you show is appreciated. I cannot allow myself to fall to the vanity of titles; I miss the simplicity of the battlefield, and I am sure that is something you understand."

Hartek nodded, and sighed. "You cannot allow yourself to fall to vanity, yet for me it seems to be a requirement for the job..." He turned to stare at a panoramic artwork of a strange world with a burning red sun that covered one wall of his chambers, and the Astartes took his cue to leave.

As this meeting was going on, Lieutenant Commander Ivanov had finished his duty shift and returned to his quarters. As he entered he sensed something out of place and turned to see a wiry, well dressed man with slicked back dark hair and pale skin, wearing a smart suit and polished shoes, sitting on one of his chairs.

The man looked up, smiled and spoke; "What do you want Mister Ivanov?"

End of Segment

Segment taken from the official history of the Dureen Rogue Trader Dynasty

CURRENT LOCATION: THE FOOTFALL SYSTEM, THE CAULDRON

Preliminary note: The following information has been attained by a combination of first hand observation, after action reports and official intelligence sources. It is my honour to record the following events for the official record of House Dureen.

Glory be to the God-Emperor of the Imperium of Mankind, and to House Dureen. My Lords, I am in perpetuity your faithful servant. Adept Michaelus Helix

Lieutenant Commander Ivanov paused, as he regarded the man asking him the seemingly innocuous question, and then replied in a quiet, measured voice; "I want you off this ship. You cause chaos and dissention wherever you go. Get off this ship, or next time I see you I'll have you spaced!"

Mister Blake took a deep breath before replying. "Ahh... That's rather disappointing, Mister Ivanov. I thought we might have been able to work something out..."

Ivanov walked past him, into the ablutions chamber ignoring the man, and began to wash his face. The seconds ticked by, until Mister Blake stood and looked at Ivanov, then nodded his farewell and left the cabin. Ivanov resolved to put out a general order to shipboard security authorising a "kill on sight" approach to Mister Blake, and to apprise Rogue Trader Hartek of his actions.

The recruitment process continued apace, and thousands of voidsmen and women flocked to the House Dureen flag, keen to join the up and coming Dynasty, and throughout the month supplies and the new personnel flocked to Asteroid Base Alpha. Although not up to complete capacity, the extra hands meant that the His Undying Will had sufficient strength to begin her posrt-refit maiden flight, and Hartek made the decision to transfer the flag from the Furnace of Redemption to the Grand Cruiser, and promoted the current Officer of the Watch, Orbest Dray to the a new role as Captain of the venerable Frigate, with Lieutenant Anastasia Valentinova as his First Officer.

Navigator Proscesu had used the time in Footfall to reconnect with several Navigators of his own clan, and of others allied to his own family, and although most rumours had been suppressed, the major topic of conversation was of strange organic vessels that were being encountered on the edge of Imperial space, heading towards the Malfian Sub-sector of the Calixis Sector. This confirmed the intelligence that House Dureen had been developing, and the urgency of their prime mission to support the Sector in its time of crisis. Battlefleet Calixis was reported as being at its highest state of readiness since an ill-fated attempt to overthrow the Sub-sector Governor five standard years previously.

The Seneschal, Mistress Salvatore reported that a number of small Rogue Trader Houses had been drawn into the snowballing conflict between the Chorda and Winterscales Dynasties, and although the main protagonists had not directly come into conflict, shots had been exchanged by their proxies. Both Houses had sent representatives to speak to Mistress Salvatore, who had listened to both sides, but committed to neither. She had discovered however, that Lady Captain Aspyce Chorda was currently at Footfall, and a discreet meeting could be arranged. After some thought Hartek agreed to listen to what the head of the Chorda Dynasty had to say, and an abandoned moonlet was earmarked as a suitable location.

Showing justifiable confidence in himself, Hartek took only one companion, his trusted aide Antonio Fenducci, to the meeting. Fenducci was employed carrying a table, a bottle of amasec of good vintage, and a pair of the finest crystal glasses. Lady Chorda had provided protection, and her security troops were present in small numbers marking the route from the landing site to the meeting room, where the Rogue Trader herself was waiting. She had the paleness of someone who had spent a lifetime in the void, and was taller than average, but had an intense and merciless bearing.

Hartek doffed his cap and bowed; "My Lady Captain!" He greeted her.

She nodded politely, before speaking; "Rogue Trader"

"I prefer the title "Trader Regent", I'm merely keeping the seat warm until the proper Dynasty can be restored..." the Rogue Trader Regent smiled.

It appeared Lady Chorda had a sense of humour, as she too smiled; "If you say so!"

Hartek waved a hand at the glasses on the table, indicated that she should pick one, and then the two leaders took a drink, Lady Chorda waiting for Hartek to drink first.

"To our mutual success!" Hartek toasted.

"So, down to business, Rogue Trader... Regent..." Lady Chorda smiled again.

Kilgrim nodded. "You do seem to be embroiled in a little... What's the word...? Contretemps, with Winterscale?"

Lady Chorda's smile turned predatory. "Fantastic isn't it? It's about time he and his line were pushed out of this part of the galaxy. His family and his name are relics of the past. It's time for new blood to take the lead; upcoming, dynamic, and ambitious, like - well, ourselves!"

"You might say that!" The Rogue Trader Regent responded, neutrally. "Speaking as one who has made a lifetime career out of picking fights with those larger than myself..." Lady Chorda smiled at this, "You have taken on yourself rather a hefty task!"

"The dolt that is Winterscale will eventually be brought down. He may have more military power than I, but it's what you do with it, not the size that counts!" She smiled again, and Kilgrim raised an eyebrow. "Oh, and I see you've managed to acquire yourself a new vessel..."

Hartek, unsure whether Lady Chorda was referring to the newly refitted Grand Cruiser, or to the recently captured ship that had belonged to the unfortunate Baron Scourge, replied neutrally again; "Oh, just something I found lying around..."

Seeming to make her mind up about Rogue Trader Regent Hartek, Lady Chorda became more direct. "So, what say you?"

"Oh, I have business to which I must attend; I must undo the damage that Scourge wrought on Orrema..." Hartek spoke as though musing aloud.

Lady Chorda seemed to share our opinion of the Baron. "Yes. The buffoon Scourge..."

Hartek smiled; "Do you really wish to slander buffoons?"

This elicited a small, appreciative laugh from Chorda, before she spoke again. "It would be in your interest to get involved in this conflict. Obviously, once I've won, the spoils would be divided equally amongst those who contributed."

"Actually," Hartek mused again, "It may well be in my House's best interest to remain aloof and pick over the bones of the participants after they've removed themselves from contention..."

"Maybe. Maybe..." Lady Chorda agreed. "But I don't plan to smash myself against the anvil of Winterscale..."

"Indeed. That's what you need us other Houses' for, isn't it?" Hartek asked directly.

She nodded. "Some... Some... But some of us need to do the real work of winning. And that is why I would need individuals of ability and ambition to make it through to the other side with me. The chaff we can drop along the way, but those of us with the killer instinct, we can profit greatly."

Hartek nodded. "Yes... While I would be happy to align myself with the winning side of this little conflict, I do find myself rather disadvantaged at the moment..."

"In what way?" Lady Chorda asked.

"I have a ship that I can't yet sail as I am suffering from a crew shortage." Kilgrim looked directly at her and spoke bluntly.

She nodded. "I do have certain channels, and there are individuals that I do know. But obviously I could only do this for an ally..."

The Rogue Trader Regent paused as though weighing up his options. "I do have some business to take care of first; however, I think we could do business, My Lady Captain..."

"How long would this business take?" Lady Chorda asked.

"Oh, I would estimate three months to put everything in order and to return to Footfall..."

She nodded. "I also have business to attend to. Let's say that we will meet again to conclude this agreement on your return. If needs be I will leave a representative behind to make good the arrangements."

Hartek raised his glass again; "To mutual benefit, and the advancement of our houses!"

"And to the domination of the Koronus Expanse!" Lady Chorda added.

Their business concluded, Lady Captain Chorda and her retinue watched as Kilgrim indicated to Fenducci that he clear up any evidence of the clandestine meeting, and left the moonlet in the same direction that they arrived.

The following day His Undying Will and the Furnace of Redemption slipped anchor and powered away from Footfall towards the jump point at the edge of the system. Hartek checked in with heads of department, and his military leaders as the journey progressed, but as usual, his most interesting encounter was with Kernal Shakgul and the orks. The greenskins were very appreciative of the combat that the Rogue Trader had provided for them, and despite their noticeable losses, were already looking forwards to the next fight! Hartek did notice that the surviving orks seemed larger on average than they had been previously.

When he brought this up in a planning meeting, The Astartes, Castagir spoke up. "Orks get bigger, and more deadly with every victory. That is what an ork Warboss is as large as it is; they evolve to suit the biggest threat that is present. The more fighting you give your orks, the more changes you will see in them and a big ork has earned his size the hard way. This is something you need to be aware of if you intend to keep using them as your allies..."

Hartek and Ivanov looked at each other, obviously sharing the same thoughts. Hartek finally spoke up; "We need contingencies to deal with them if necessary, Mister Ivanov."

Ivanov smiled. "Already in place Sir. Assault plans are in place, and we would make extensive use of the Hellhounds, and flamer equipped troops... If necessary of course!"

Excellent." Hartek nodded. "I believe Enginseer Hak had a plan to open Hold 51 to the void if necessary. Perhaps you can speak to his successor Enginseer Marcellus, and see if he left that plan in his records..."

Ivanov nodded. "Yes Sir! I'll do so, it could save some lives if it comes to it..."

As the ships were preparing to make the jump into the warp, an astropathic message was delivered to the Rogue Trader; some of the trading settlements on Dropas had come under attack. Immediately, the route was changed and the ships made to jump there instead. It seemed that a ship had appeared in orbit, and dropped shuttles which had raided the settlements, captured settlers and locals, and raided stockpiles of the harvested gemstones and Hartek fruit. The perpetrators of the raid appeared to want the Dynasty to know who they were; a symbol of the ruinous powers was burned into the ground in the centre of the compound, and many workers were hung on metal spikes. There was a single survivor, who described a tall figure with sickly pale flesh, and a gore covered void suit, with dark veins worming and writhing through rents.

Hartek spat on the deck, recognising the description of the captain of the Chaos Cruiser, the Promise of Sedition Sendak Voltrasse, with whom he had exchanged fire while supporting the Grey Knights in the Saphirus System the previous year.

The journey through the warp was fortunately uneventful, and as soon as the ships dropped back into real space Hartek ordered Navigator Proscesu to try and track the Chaos vessel, however, he was unable to do so, suggesting that this meant that the Promise of Sedition was long gone. There appeared to be little that could be done on Dropas itself, so orders were relayed to burn the foul marks of chaos away with plasma, and to rebuild, doing as much for the survivors as was possible, and the two ships of House Dureen moved to jump back into the warp en route to Orrema.

As the vessels moved into formation for the jump, Captain Orbest Dray contacted His Undying Will and reported to Lieutenant Commander Ivanov that security teams had captured a man calling himself Mister Blake, who matched the "kill order" that had been put in place. Before it had been enacted, however, Blake had insisted that if he were harmed, the ship's safety would be compromised, hence the need to contact the command team.

Hartek ordered Blake to be transferred to the Grand Cruiser, and sent Ivanov, Proscesu and a security team to meet him. Castagir, showed the professional interest of his Deathwatch calling, had read the earlier reports of contact with the man, and knew of the potential xenos involvement, decided to shadow them from a distance and observe, before joining the group within Hartek's private meeting room.

Blake looked at Kilgrim, who was sitting in a relaxed pose behind his desk, smiled an oily smile, and asked, "What do you want Rogue Trader Regent?"

"You should have come to ask me that first!" the squat replied, and snap drew one of his bolt pistols, shooting Blake in the head. The round exploded, showering Ivanov and Proscesu with gore, and Blake's headless corpse fell to the deck.

Castagir unsheathed his lightning claws and leapt forward, as unmasked by Blake's demise, three figures shimmered and flickered. The outlines were hazy, but the figures stood about half the size of an average human, they were topped by large round heads, and had wings that protruded from their shoulders. They were tripod in form, with three strangely jointed legs, and had two upper limbs that seemed to correspond to arms, with an additional pair of tentacle-like growths. The creatures quickly glanced round, and appeared surprised to be seen.

Castagir's blades seemed to pass through the creatures, and as Ivanov opened fire, his rounds passed through them too, again with no discernable effect, impacting on the far wall of the cabin. The strange xenos figures faded from sight once more.

Hartek stalked from behind his desk, and squatted next to the fresh corpse of Blake. "Ah. You see we could've done business, you and I, but when you want to deal with house Dureen, you come to me. You don't interfere with my people!" He stood. "Mister Ivanov, escort our visitor to the nearest exit please."

Ivanov nodded, and then spoke, musingly; "I've heard rumours of an ancient race of xenos that evolved beyond their physical bonds, and through some act of technology, or sorcery, managed to devastate their home world. They managed to become creatures both of the warp, and of the physical realm, trapped in a limbo between the two. These creatures seemed to match the descriptions I've heard..."

Castagir turned to the Rogue Trader Regent; "It may be possible to track the xenos; if they are based in energy, it is possible that the Enginseer could scan for unusual power signatures, and it could be that they are of the warp, so the Astropath may be able to do the same..."

Hartek ordered Castagir's suggestion be followed, however, although some anomalies were present, there was nothing distinct, or viable enough to get a solid, positive trace on.

Meanwhile, Ivanov ordered the corpse thrown out of an airlock, and as he watched the body tumble away he waved, and with a satisfied smile said "Goodbye Mister Blake!"

The distraction dealt with, the Furnace of Redemption and His Undying Will made the jump into the warp, and Hartek retired to his private chambers, and with a shaky hand helped himself to a large cocktail of alcohol and Hartek fruit. He sat back, considering the events of the day, before turning his attention to the ever present mound of administration work that was waiting for him to deal with.

Suddenly, a strange sensation passed through him, as though something was there, yet not quite there at the same time. He looked up and saw one of the strange xenos creatures standing in the room, simply watching him.

Surprised, he sat bolt upright and scrabbled for one of his bolt pistols, before relaxing a little. Then he asked; "What do you want?"

The creature tilted its head slightly, and then in an oddly modulated, sharp edged voice it spoke. "Very primitive. Very aggressive. Its fear and anger control its emotions. Strange. Why did you shoot the messenger?"

"Because I wanted to speak to whoever was sending the message." Came the simple answer

The xenos creature paused, and then asked "And that is how you do that, is it?"

Hartek smiled. "Well, you're here now, aren't you?"

"I suppose your barbaric ways may work at times, but they very nearly didn't. I would have hated to have to destroy the other vessel..."

"So I say again, what do you want?" Hartek asked suddenly less jovial, acknowledging the threat to his ship.

The creature seemed not to notice. "We are travellers, but we tire of the travelling, and we need time to rest. We would want a place to stay, a place to call home for a while; you have some places. We want one."

"And what would your requirements be? What do you need?" The Rogue Trader asked.

"We need a world with creatures that are more sensitive to us."

"And why would you need those creatures?" Hartek pressed.

"To restore ourselves."

Hartek nodded, almost to himself. You mean food?"

"Essence." The creature insisted. Then after a pause, it continued; "Strange. You are happy to kill your own, yet you seem concerned..."

"How many of your people are there?" Hartek asked

"Many. We do not know exactly, we are scattered, we will call the others to us when we are settled. We need bright minds, not dull ones. Like you, now..." A tentacle began to move towards Hartek, who casually aimed his pistol at the creature.

"You cannot harm us with those." It stated, but withdrew the tentacle anyway.

"Hmmmm... You see the problem is if you cannot give us an idea of how many of there are, we cannot know if we have somewhere for you to settle. In that case I would have to say we cannot help you! However, we too are travellers, and we may find somewhere that would suit your people. In that instance we would contact you..."

The creature turned away and faded from sight.

Hartek turned to look at the Cherubim that had been discreetly hovering nearby and smiled. "I'll take that as a maybe then." Then he grunted, "Hope you got all that!"

Several hours later, Ivanov was midway through his duty watch on the bridge when a shocked officer turned to him; "Sir, you need to see this! I've spotted something strange in the warp"

Puzzled, he ordered "On screen then!"

The stunned bridge crew watched as a holographic representation of the Furnace of Redemption lurched off course, barely under control as gouts of flame erupted from her flank...

End of Segment

Segment taken from the official history of the Dureen Rogue Trader Dynasty

CURRENT LOCATION: HIS UNDYING WILL, EN ROUTE TO ORREMA, THE CAULDRON

Preliminary note: The following information has been attained by a combination of first hand observation, after action reports and official intelligence sources. It is my honour to record the following events for the official record of House Dureen.

Glory be to the God-Emperor of the Imperium of Mankind, and to House Dureen. My Lords, I am in perpetuity your faithful servant. Adept Michaelus Helix

As bodies tumbled out of the rents in the hull of the Furnace of Redemption the Navigators on board His Undying Will looked on with horror from their bubble as creatures spawned from the warp, like fish snatching helpless prey from the waters around them. Navigator Proscesu and his cousin took the unprecedented step of leaving their sealed bubble, and ran from the bridge, shouting to the First Officer that they were on their way to the Rogue Traders' chambers.

Lieutenant Commander Ivanov nodded his acknowledgement, and began to bark orders at the stunned crew. He stopped his efforts to hail the Furnace of Redemption and stepped closer to the helmsman’s station as the grand cruiser altered her heading, hoping to come alongside and encompass the damaged frigate with His Undying Will's own Geller field to help protect the stricken ship; a manoeuvre as dangerous as it was daring. He notified the Rogue Trader of his intentions, and cut the link to allow him to focus on the job in hand. The crew of the grand cruiser quickly overcame their shock, and performed magnificently, however, just as it seemed the manoeuvre would be successful, the Furnace of Redemption shuddered along its length and a crewman on the sensorium systems shouted a warning;

"Sir! There's a build up of power! The Furnace of Redemption is trying to drop out of the warp!"

There was a gasp from damage control and sirens blared; "Their jump has overloaded our Gellar Field, Sir!

"Follow her!" Ivanov ordered. "Move into real-space, now!"

There was another, sudden lurch, and His Undying Will tore open a hole in the immaterium, and made an emergency transition from the warp travel into real-space.

Navigator Proscesu met Hartek in the corridor outside his quarters; he was still getting dressed into his uniform, and intent on reaching the bridge as quickly as possible.

Hartek glanced up; "Report, Mister Proscesu!"

A look of worry flickered across Proscesu's face for a brief second, and then he spoke. "I think I know who's behind this. Remove them from the ship and we'll be able to save her..."

As they rushed down the corridor, they were flung to the floor as the crash-transition was made, then the hull began to groan as tremendous strains were placed on it. The emergency transition had left His Undying Will caught in a gravitational anomaly. Had it not been for the excellent piloting skills of Ivanov, the helmsman, and his team, the ship would have suffered far more damage than the failed energy shield and structural damage around the port launch bays, and some cracks to internal bulkheads.

After twenty minutes of sheer terror and chaos, the ship, and her crew began to take stock and settle into the normal routine. Proscesu named the people he said needed to be removed to make the Furnace of Redemption safe, and damage control teams roamed the vessel, ensuring that anything to preserve her structural integrity was done, and the command staff met to plan the next moves.

The first priority was to locate the crippled Furnace of Redemption, and Ivanov supervised the sensorium crew as they searched for the missing frigate, and Brother Castagir suggested that Navigator Proscesu use his abilities to attempt to track the warp-trail of the ship. Quite quickly she was located a days real-space flying time distant, and a course was laid into the cogitators to bring His Undying Will to the aid of the Furnace of Redemption.

Once again, Hartek called the command staff together. He turned to the Navigator, and spoke clearly, and slowly; So. Patronius Proscesu, I suggest you make the following explanation phenomenally good..." He absent-mindedly rested his hand on the butts of his bolt-pistols.

Hartek, Lieutenant Commander Ivanov, and Brother Castagir listened intently as initially, Proscesu spoke haltingly, but as his story progressed, he became more confident; "This was actually brought to my attention by my colleague and good friend Aurelius, here." He indicated his cousin and fellow Navigator before continuing. "It appears that without either of us realising it, a certain Mister Blake had some sort of control over our minds over the last few weeks. This may go some way to explain my inability to consistently find the Astronomicon recently, and it was only when you... disposed of him... that it became clear that this was no longer the case..."

Hartek sighed. "I see. That almost makes sense..."

The Navigator nodded. "Aurelius seems to believe that those xenos creatures who were with Blake needed a host to exert their powers, and once you removed that host, they became unable to control our minds. However, Mister Blake had us install the people I named in key positions, communications, weapons, and damage control, on the Furnace of Redemption and from there they could work their mischief. I think you will find that they are the ones now being controlled."

"That makes sense!" Hartek nodded. "Question is, are they the only ones...?"

"They were the ones installed in the last few weeks, after the appearance of Mister Blake." Proscesu confirmed.

Those present seemed to accept the Navigator's explanation at face value, although Hartek looked thoughtful, and seemed to think there were holes in the story as he considered the worried looking man.

"What did you say you wanted?" Ivanov finally asked.

"I can't remember... I can remember the question, but I can't remember the answer..." Was all that Proscesu could offer in response.

Hartek frowned. "Well, I hope it was worth it, because you may have just killed all of us!"

Proscesu lowered his head a little, and spoke again. "May I recommend that Aurelius takes on the lead Navigator role on the Furnace of Redemption when - "

Ivanov cut him off coldly. "I believe that would be the Rogue Traders decision. Not yours."

"If we still have a Furnace of Redemption, of course..." added Hartek.

The Furnace of Redemption was found where the scans predicted it would be. Heavy damage was evident along her port side and power signatures were fluctuating, although life support was active in most areas. She did not respond to hails, and appeared to be travelling with her plasma drives burning on low power.

A boarding party was quickly assembled; Brother Castagir would lead; Navigator Proscesu, Lieutenant Commander Ivanov, and his assault troops, "Kilgrim's Killers" would accompany him. A group of gun-cutters transported them across, escorted by a squadron of interceptors, and they made unopposed entry into the Furnace of Redemption's landing bays; aside from the occasional body, and minor signs of damage, they bays were deserted.

Ivanov detailed two squads of the "Killers" to escort a group of Tech-Priests to investigate the engineerium, while Castagir led the rest of the assault group to the bridge. Some areas of the ship were powered, whilst in others, doors needed to be forced open manually, and once again, there was little sign of major damage, and only a few bodies scattered around, however, when they reached the bridge, the doors were ajar and scorched.

Brother Castagir paused and inspected the area. He mused aloud that not all the damage looked to be the result of human weaponry. Ivanov grunted, and flipped one of the bodies over; a huge chunk of flesh was missing and teeth marks were evident. Proscesu drew attention to another corpse, this one flame burned, and worryingly, it seemed to have grown an extra arm and showed other signs of mutation.

"I have fought warp incursions on ships before..." Castagir warned. "Be wary, and watch every arc; the creatures of the immaterium can appear from anywhere..."

The troops shared nervous looks, but scanned their fire arcs with renewed focus.

The scene on the bridge was one of carnage. Bodies and body parts were scattered all over, and strange sigils that hurt to look at were daubed in blood on the bulkheads, people were impaled on spikes of hung from the ceiling, and at the centre a metallic, barbed cross had been constructed, and the unfortunate Captain Dray had been hung from it. A number of "Kilgrim's Killers" vomited inside their void-suits.

"This will not go unpunished!" Castagir growled.

Ivanov nodded, and opened a vox channel to the other troops, warning of what had been found and ordering extreme caution when interacting with any living person they encountered. He then turned his attention to clearing the bridge of the bodies; quickly the Medicae-Techs began to remove them although all were beyond help now. Any area daubed with the strange sigils was flamed with a cleansing gout of burning promethium. The remaining Tech-Priests began to work getting as many systems back online as they could.

Brother Castagir turned to the senior Tech-Priest and requested that he begin a search for areas of unusual power, or life signs of crew, and the man, muttering under his breath about the hurts the machine spirit of the Furnace of Redemption had suffered, however he announced that he would be able to get systems up in "Approximately 197 minutes and 32 seconds". Castagir thanked him for his help.

Over the vox, the troops from the engineerium chamber reported a similar scene to that that had been encountered on the bridge. Listening to the distorted and crackling message, Castagir cut into the conversation;

"Withdraw to a perimeter and hold."

There was a pause, before the speaker responded; "Sir?"

In a tone that brooked no argument the Astartes repeated "Withdraw to a perimeter and hold."

"Y-yes my lord!" came the stammered response. In the background a sergeant could be heard barking "Don't nobody touch nothin'!"

Castagir turned to Ivanov; "I believe my abilities will be of more use with the detached squads."

"I will leave a guard for the techs here, and the remainder of the troops and I will join you." Ivanov agreed. "Navigator?" he prompted.

Proscesu weighed his options for a moment, before accompanying the others as they left the bridge.

Brother Castagir led the small force as it advanced, but less than fifteen standard minutes after leaving the bridge, they stopped; both Ivanov and Proscesu had heard sounds from a side chamber. He signalled for troops to take up defensive positions, and walked slowly to the door; from behind he could hear the faint noises of people shuffling uneasily, and quiet sobbing. He inspected the door, and seeing it locked, extended his lightning claws, and in a quick flick of his wrist cut the lock free before using his strength and weight to smash the door down. The metal bent and buckled, and he started to register hits on his armour from small arms. He glanced up, his bulk blocking the doorway and protecting those behind from the gunfire, and took in the scene. A score of dishevelled and frightened figures, wearing the uniform of the crew were huddled in the small room, some were screaming in fear, and three were holding weapons in shaky hands.

As another shot stuck him, Castagir spoke; "In the Emperor's name hold your fire!" His voice boomed from the external speakers of his armour. "Stop wasting your ammunition. Save it for those who stand against us! Report!"

Cries of "Have mercy!", and "Please don't kill us!" spring from the lips of the terrified people, and the Astartes stepped to one side, before turning to Ivanov. "Lieutenant Commander, speak to your people."

"Senior officer, report!" Ivanov demanded.

A young, skinny man with closely cropped hair stepped forward. "Sir, I'm not the senior man per se, but I think I'm in charge..."

"You are now!" Ivanov interjected.

The young man paused, nodded, and spoke again. "We've been hiding since it all began, since the accident in the warp! Then there was murdering and killing and screaming and dying. And things... We're not soldiers, so we hid to wait for help. We're just technicians..."

Ivanov smiled "You've done a good job. You've kept your people alive. Nobody could ask for more, well done sailor."

"Thank you sir! Are you here to save us?" The man asked.

Ivanov nodded again. "The Rogue Trader sent us to aid you. You have not been forgotten!"

For the first time, the people in the chamber began to relax and smile, and their leader spoke again, more businesslike. "Be careful sir, the creatures they're not natural sir!"

Castagir, back out in the corridor spoke again. "This room is no longer secure..." He indicated the door he had smashed through. "These people will need relocating."

Ivanov nodded slowly. "We will escort them to the bridge, and they can be protected there."

As the figures left their home of the last two days, they voiced their thanks to Ivanov, and several reached out tentative hands and touched Castagir's armour. All the time the space Marine recited a Litany of Protection and offered the people the comfort of the words of his Primarch, and his words had the effect of steadying the resolve of the traumatised group.

As they arrived back on the bridge, the Tech-Priest reported that he had managed to isolate a series of conversations on the Dynasty's emergency channel; the hub appeared to be centred on the barracks. It seemed that the experienced and disciplined troops of the 46th cohort under Colonel Zim was still functioning, patrolling the ship and doing their best to win back sections of the Furnace of Redemption from the invaders. The decision was made to advance to the barracks to link up with these forces.

En route, the relief force picked up several additional groups of survivors, and their numbers had swelled significantly when Castagir, leading the column was challenged; "Halt!"

He halted, and fifty metres further down the corridor he could see a group of figures in House Dureen military uniform taking cover behind a makeshift barricade. He signalled to those behind him to hold their ground, turned his attention back to the soldiers in front of him. "I intend to step forward to allow us to parley." He announced.

The heavy stubber on the barricade swivelled on its mount, tracking him as he moved, until he stopped, five metres short of the position. A shocked looking soldier stood, his rifle hanging loosely from his hand; "Corporal!" the man exclaimed, "It's that Astartes, the one that we heard about..."

Another man spoke; "Shut it, Brown! Get back to your position!" Sheepishly, the standing man ducked back down.

Despite himself, Castagir seemed amused, and he paused to allow the man he assumed to be Brown take his position, before he spoke; "I am Brother Castagir of the Deathwatch. Identify yourselves."

There was a stunned silence, until the man with the two chevrons on his arm was pushed forwards. "Err, Cor... Corporal Lee! Sir. Err, I mean My Lord! Err, I think you might want to see the Colonel!" He stammered.

The armoured Marine spoke again. "We tracked the vox traffic to the barracks, is that the location of the Colonel?"

Corporal Lee nodded. "Yes Sir! Colonel Zim's there! I'll radio in and tell them that you're coming forwards." The Corporal immediately made the call, and Castagir called the soldiers of his column to advance.

As they cautiously moved forwards, Castagir turned back to Corporal Lee. "You and your men have done well for holding as long as you have." Then the Marine saluted the stunned Corporal before moving on.

A tired looking Colonel Zim was sitting in the centre of a hive of activity, as troops bustled around, cleaning weapons, shifting stores, and moving to their posts. He stood as the new arrivals entered, and strode over, his Adjutant in tow. Zim saluted, and Castagir returned the salute, before reaching out and shaking the Colonel by his hand.

"I have fought against incursions such as these before; it is no easy thing to do. You and your men have done well holding out against these enemies. Status report please, Colonel."

Zim smiled, and looked visibly proud to have received the compliment, before beginning his report. He indicated a map, detailing known enemy positions and indications of numbers, and although the situation had settled down over the last few hours, even though he had kept his men patrolling, contacts with the enemy had reduced. He paused, and then spoke again;

"Most disturbingly, more so than the reports of the warp creatures, I have had numerous reports that Rico Dureen has been seen..."

Castagir nodded. "Visions of the past are not uncommon on warp incursions such as this."

"This was after we left the warp!"

"Warp spawn can take on the form of familiar memories, and have an essence that can stay beyond an exit from the immaterium..." He turned to the Navigator. "You have a better understanding of such things than I, but I believe that is the case, is it not?"

Proscesu nodded in agreement; "I believe that that is the simplest way to explain it, Brother."

"Thank you Navigator Proscesu." He turned back to Colonel Zim. "Have the sightings been most evident in a single section of the ship, Colonel? Have they persisted since you left the warp? Have you been meeting more resistance than normal anywhere?"

Colonel Zim sighed. "I think you'd better listen to this."

He reached over to a small portable vox receiver and began to fiddle with the dials, and suddenly a strident voice cut through the static and white noise. "...now let the righteous stand up, and cast down the unfaithful! Let them join up with Rico Dureen, the true leader of the Dynasty, unlawfully discarded by Kilgrim Hartek! Let those true believers, and those who want to bring the line back to the greatness where it belongs, and those who want to drag it from the depths to where it has settles, let them come down deck thirty-two and bring yourself under his leadership..."

Castagir spoke quietly; "I would suggest your tech-adepts jam that signal. It has all the hallmarks of the temptations that the warp-spawned use to trap the unwary..." He looked around the others. "We need to visit the Engineerium, but after that, perhaps I need to visit the creature who makes us these promises..."

Colonel Zim smiled, but that quickly faded. "You know the Captain's dead?"

"Aye Colonel. We've been to the bridge. He did not go easily..."

"It's a shame. He was a brave man, he held the bridge long enough to allow the ship to jump back to real-space..."

Castagir nodded. "His memory will be honoured. On that you have my word."

Zim smiled briefly again. "We have had no word of the First Officer though. We believe she was sent to the Engineerium to hold the Gellar Field generators."

Ivanov contacted Rogue Trader Hartek and outlined the circumstances as they had been described, and Hartek announced that he would take a shuttle over from His Undying Will, and meet Ivanov at the nearest airlock to the Engineerium.

The troops passed through the cordon that the two squads of "Kilgrim's Killers" had setup, and entered the Engineerium chamber. They were greeted with a similar sight to the scene they had encountered on the bridge; immediately the Tech-Priests began the clear-up, and Ivanov stumbled over the identification tags of the First Officer; the remains they were attached to were unrecognisable as her, or even anything human, but sadly it seemed that Lieutenant Valentinova had perished in the battle to hold the position.

Seeing little to detain them here, Ivanov ordered a protective detail of troops and took the last two squads of "Kilgrim's Killers" with the group as they met the Rogue Trader at the airlock, and made towards deck thirty-two, and confrontation with the voice on the vox.

Deck thirty-two was in the bowels of the ship, and other than housing some of the waste channels, suffered no real purpose. There were no real signs of life however, the Navigator seemed to detect some strange energies, and pointed out an access that seemed to be shielded by psychic wards; suddenly, concentrating on the area, Hartek too could see an obvious, large doorway. Surrounding this entry point were markings bearing the unmistakable signs of the ruinous powers. These were disrupted, and all present could suddenly see the once-shielded entry.

The doors were forced open, and Castagir stalked through them on alert, followed by the others; the chamber was large, and in the centre was a strange vortex-like portal of rapidly changing lights, beyond this, on a raised dais stood a figure. It was strange, with a crescent shaped head, and wearing brightly coloured clothes, and with a hooked weapon in one hand. It was flanked by a number of small daemons, and there were others scattered around the chamber. They were a mix of colours, constantly changing from pinks to blues to yellows, and only a metre and a half in height, with massive round heads and huge toothy maws. They had long, spindly limbs, and they constantly morphed their shape as they moved, growing limbs and absorbing them again. Interspersed were groups of people, some dressed in cloaks, others in the tattered remnants of crew uniform.

Hartek immediately called on the vox for all available units to converge on his current location, and began to register confirmations as the loyal troops began to move; they were still several minutes away.

All eyes turned on the intruders, and the crescent headed figure spoke in a scratchy, unearthly voice; "At last! The actors are here for the final dance!" It motioned Hartek and the rest of the new arrivals forward.

Brother Castagir activated his lightning claws, and now ready for combat stalked towards one of the daemons, which strangely gave ground as he advanced. He used that knowledge to push closer to the crescent headed figure, closing ground as much as he could. As he reduced the distance to half the initial range, two daemons suddenly closed ranks in front of him to block his approach.

The others advance too, down the other side of the room, and Hartek spoke up, his voice amplified through the speakers in his armour. "Well, if you're arranging a dance...!

At this point, each person present was struck by a vision; it was unclear at the time what was going on, and according to chrono readings they seemed to take less than a second to unfold, yet the after action reports detailed individual visions different for each person in the chamber.

The years were weighing heavily on the shoulders of Rogue Trader Hartek, there was grey in his beard, and he was seated on a huge golden throne. Surrounding the throne were piles of treasure and there were images of glory on the walls. Behind him was a hanging, perhaps twenty metres from top to bottom depicting him standing proud on a desert world with a red sun on the horizon. The room itself seemed to be dusty, and slightly worn and in need of repair. Suddenly there was a large explosion, and the doors to the chamber blew inwards, tumbling end of end, and striding through the doors came a huge, bulky, and massively armoured figure. Hartek, on his throne sighed a little, almost in resignation, as the Deathwatch Dreadnought closed. From the external speakers a metallic voice rang out; "You will pay for your crimes, oath-breaker! Castagir the Bold comes to claim his vengeance!" Each step cracked the ground as the metal monster approached...

Brother Castagir found himself standing on a pleasant and temperate world, a huge walled city behind him, and green pastures spread around him in all other directions. As he looked up, the sky was dark, and huge organic vessels hung in orbit. Around him men and women, supported by Astartes in the colour of the "Hell Bringers" Chapter were pouring fire into hordes of tyrannid creatures as they advanced over the open ground. A huge warrior creature bounded forwards, and he neatly sidestepped its attack before cutting it in two with a deft slice of his lightning claw. He glanced to one side and saw a Battle Brother fall beneath a wave of chitinous creatures, and then detected a shadow above, and saw a huge creature the size of a Titan step forward, and everything went black...

Ivanov, perhaps twenty or thirty years beyond his current age, was standing on the bridge of His Undying Will, he handed over command to the duty officer, and returned to his room. As he turned into a deserted corridor, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye, and turned fully to face it. A black clad figure moving with impossible grace bounded down the corridor at him drawing blades. With horror, he recognised the assassin in the employment of Inquisitor Atellus, and the lithe figure closed, and in a flurry of slashing and stabbing, drove him to the ground. As his sight faded, he heard whispered words; "This is for the deaths of billions! You allowed them to die...!" Ivanov twitched as he knew it to be true.

Navigator Proscesu was working in his bubble, it had been a long run and he was tired, and forced to take nutrients intravenously. He connected the latest nutrient bag, and turned to focus on the journey, when he felt a strange spasm. His body went rigid, and pain flashed through every nerve ending, and he realised with horror that his cousin, Aurelius had handed him the nutrient bag. He turned to shout his accusations, but as his strength left him was unable to speak, and as he passed into death saw a faint smile cross Aurelius's face.

Each person snapped back to reality, and Castagir shouted "If you have nothing new to taunt me with creature, do not waste your time!"

"Oh, there are many visions..." The crescent headed figure replied. "These are just the most fun!"

"Remember these are only potential futures! I have spoken of my visions before; one was averted on the tomb world, you were there!" Castagir shouted to his comrades.

Hartek shook his head, and considered the Marines words, and seemed about to speak when the voice of the crescent headed creature rang out; "At last! It's a shame we couldn't meet on better terms!"

"I don't think we've been introduced." Hartek said, pointedly. Seeing the Rogue Trader's steadfast example, the troops in the room held their ground in the midst of all the supernatural horror, although understandably they were not comfortable with the circumstances.

The creature smiled, slyly. "You can call me Rico..."

"I like what you've done with your face!" Hartek laughed.

The creature cackled too... "You know Rico wasn't quite gone, there was a little bit of him left hanging out, crying for mercy..."

"Yes, I saw a little bit of him hanging out, when I found him in his quarters!" The Rogue Trader laughed again.

"You have so much potential...!" The crescent headed creature offered.

Hartek's smile disappeared. "From you, that means absolutely nothing!"

"What do you mean? There are many voices in the warp that cry out your name in anguish." A melange of screaming faces morphed in the vortex in the centre of the room, some familiar to Hartek, others not.

"They should not have stood against me!" Hartek countered.

The creature cackled again. "That's the attitude we like! So much potential..."

"Well then." Hartek looked the creature in the eyes. "You'd best get the hell off my **** ship!"

It smiled back; "Bend your knee to the real power and I will give you gifts the like of you could not imagine!"

"I don't know, I'm pretty imaginative when it comes to gifts!" Hartek pointed out quickly.

"Swear your allegiance and we will provide you with anything you want!"

Hartek smiled. "Anything?"

The creature amended its earlier statement. "Nearly anything. So what say you?"

Hartek snorted and the change in the words, then spoke again. "I would say that this is your last chance to get the hell off my ship before I knock your smiley moon-faced ass off this plane of existence..."

It cackled. "In that case, I must say diiiieeeeeeeee!"

It pointed at Brother Castagir, and a beam of rapidly changing pink-blue light pulsed towards the Marine, who twisted out of the way, but the attack seemed to lose power and faded as it struck his armour. The daemons hissed at him and shouting litanies to the Emperor he punched down with his lightning claws tearing through the form of the nearest one which burst, and faded from existence. He spun to face the next one as it began to cartwheel towards him. Stirred into action, a mob of the humans that had fallen under the sway of the crescent faced creature began to run to intercept him too, and rain blows down onto his armoured form, several of which managed to penetrate his defences. He cut several down in return, and tore a hole in the unnatural flesh of the demon that snapped at his legs.

Another group of traitorous humans began to exchange fire with the disciplined squads of "Kilgrim's Killers", who cut swathes through the rabble, however, were not unscathed themselves and a number of women fell to the deck. Ivanov did his best to support them with accurately aimed gunfire, and drew another attacking daemon away from them, which he blasted in the chest with his pistol, knocking it backwards. The wounded creature cautiously scrambled to its feet, and began to stalk him once again.

The Rogue Trader faced two daemons, and initially was forced on the back foot as they morphed forwards but he quickly found his fighting style and wiped first one, and then the other from existence with blows from his squat war-axe.

Navigator Proscesu attempted to hold the daemons in place using his powers, but one broke free, and enraged leapt on him tearing at his flesh and pinning him to the floor. The unfortunate man was bleeding heavily from his wounds and drifted in and out of consciousness for a few seconds before using his staff to lever the daemon from his chest and scramble clear.

As reinforcements arrived, and poured fire into the heretics, the chamber was filled with the laughter of the crescent headed creature.

End of Segment

AHHHH My fix! YES I luz U!

Cheers for the shout out crisaron!!! Its good to know we are not alone

Also, we just ran through the Black Crusade pre-release adventure and we are going to upload it to the BC forum.

Segment taken from the official history of the Dureen Rogue Trader Dynasty

CURRENT LOCATION: HIS UNDYING WILL, EN ROUTE TO ORREMA, THE CAULDRON

Preliminary note: The following information has been attained by a combination of first hand observation, after action reports and official intelligence sources. It is my honour to record the following events for the official record of House Dureen.

Glory be to the God-Emperor of the Imperium of Mankind, and to House Dureen. My Lords, I am in perpetuity your faithful servant. Adept Michaelus Helix

Even as it was throwing its strangely shaped head back and roaring with a malevolent laughter the sorcerer that had instigated the warp incursion on the Furnace of Redemption pointed at the Rogue Trader Regent again, and fired another bolt of swirling colour. Hartek flung himself clear of the warp energy, rolling to his feet before turning and charging into the mass of heretics that were facing "Kilgrims Killers". Where the bolt of energy struck, the deck seemed to melt, change and squirm into unnatural shapes, before reforming in its original configuration. Caught between the dual pressures of Hartek’s swinging axe and the disciplined attacks of the "Killers", the mob of poorly organised traitors were quickly dispatched.

On the left flank Castagir had settled into his battle routine, and with a huge, smashing blow he crushed the daemon snapping at his ankles; it popped from existence leaving no sign that it had ever been there. His swirling attacks took him into the middle of the group of traitors that had been swarming over him, and as he chanted litanies to the Emperor, he crushed and cut their fragile bodies apart, leaving his armour coated in the gore of his victims. Although the Astartes suffered some minor wounds in return, he seemed not to notice his hurts, shrugging them off with the ease typical of his kind.

Ivanov, split his attention between controlling the two squads of "Kilgrims Killers", co-ordinating their attacks to the best effect, and picking off targets of opportunity around the chamber. Before the combined storm of fire and blade attacks, the heretics were soon little more than bloody rags on the floor. He was forced to evade the strange bolts of warp power aimed in his direction from the crescent headed sorcerer on more than one occasion, seemingly drawing its ire, simply by surviving. The Lieutenant Commander’s well aimed attacks seemed perfectly timed, weakening the enemy mobs at precisely the right moment, allowing his comrades to drive home their assaults and slaughter the traitors.

Navigator Proscesu, still severely wounded and bleeding heavily, scrambled away from the daemon that had hurt him so badly, and as it stalked after him, slashing and snapping at his rapidly crawling form, a new figure appeared in the door to the hold. The woman was dressed as though she worked in the chapel, but under her robes a set of flak armour more commonly seen on an Imperial Guard soldier was visible. In her arms she cradled a Blackhammer shotgun, across her back was strapped a riot shield, and at her hip an exquisitely crafted scabbard and sword. As she stepped into the chamber she stopped short, seemingly taken aback by the scene of abomination, horror and carnage before her. Then with a look of grim determination, she swung her shotgun up, and blasted the daemon stalking the Navigator into oblivion. She clipped the weapon onto its tether, and with a shrug brought the shield round onto her left arm, drew her blade, and charged into the mass of heretics finding herself back to back with Hartek.

The Rogue Trader Regent looked with surprise at the new arrival, but refused to allow himself to be distracted; one of the traitors raised his weapon high, and shouted "Stand fast for Rico Dureen - " but a sweeping blow from Hartek removed his head before he could complete his traitorous sentence.

He found his own attacks complemented by his new companion as she killed their enemies, and Hartek found himself smiling as he admired her efficient fighting style, noting that it seemed more suited to an Arbites unit than a servant of the Ecclesiarchy; she used her riot shield to smash targets away, before she finished them with controlled thrusts of her blade.

Hartek nodded at the newcomer, before speaking; "Well… Preacher… Shall we deliver a benediction to our crescent headed friend up there?"

"I think we need to return them to the Emperor's light." The woman responded, before adding "With extreme prejudice!"

Hartek gave a barking laugh, before calling the squad of "Kilgrims Killers" to his side, and avoiding another of the coloured bolts of warp power, the group moved along the right flank at some speed. As they picked their way through the detritus of battle and towards the sorcerer, they carefully avoided the vortex in the middle of the room, and Hartek's rallying cry hung in the air;

"For House Dureen! For the Emperor! Forwaaaard!"

Brother Castagir cut through the last of the heretics that stood against him, and then turned with remarkable speed and charged towards the daemons flanking the sorcerer. With a huge blow from his lightning claws he reduced one to a rapidly fading pool of slime and gore, before neatly side-stepping another beam of warp energy from the sorcerer. A second daemon turned towards the Marine and Ivanov blasted it, forcing it back on its heels, before the squad of "Kilgrims Killers" that had followed Ivanov, closed on it and finished off.

Hartek and the newcomer closed on the final pair of daemons, and after a brief fight dispatched both. The last group of traitors, that the sorcerer had held back, were ordered forward, and screaming their devotion to the crescent headed creature, swarmed towards the two attackers. The squad of "Killers" flanking the Rogue Trader intercepted them, forcing them back, and the opening that they had forced, Hartek stepped in and swung a huge blow at the sorcerer who desperately blocked the blow with his staff, before cackling into the Rogue Trader Regents face.

"Finish him!" Hartek shouted, and the woman thrust her blade through the sorcerers’ open guard finding her target, and piercing the unnatural flesh, yet it seemed to not even register the wound it had taken.

After a brief struggle "Kilgrims Killers" cut down the last of the sorcerers followers, leaving the way open for Castagir to step into the battle, but before anyone could act, the creature turned to Hartek and cackled;

"We could have made a deal! You could have had power and fortune! Instead, you will simply die and become dust once more!"

Then it began to chant to its dark gods, and the smell of ozone permeated the chamber. For a few long seconds all tech-based equipment failed. Those in power armour were locked in place, and weapons jammed or fell inactive. The laughter of the sorcerer increased in volume and echoed around the chamber, and a malevolent grin crossed its face. Fortunately for the forces of House Dureen, Ivanov was able to order "Kilgrims Killers" to support the attacks of the newcomer, who in her flak armour was unaffected and between them they were able to pin the creature in place, preventing it from breaking free.

As quickly as it had failed, the equipment of the forces of House Dureen whirred back to life, and Ivanov gunned down the last remaining cultist. Hartek smashed his axe at the sorcerer, who managed to evade the deadly swing, but timing her attacks to complement those of the Rogue Trader Regent, the newcomer used the opportunity to land another blow, and a strange ichor oozed from the wound.

The servant of chaos bellowed in pain, then began to laugh its insane laugh again, shouting into the face of Hartek; "No matter what happen here I will see this Dynasty fall! I live forever!"

His armour working properly again, Brother Castagir bellowed his anger that his gear had been profaned by the power of the enemy; "I think not! You cannot stand before the fury of the Emperor, warp-spawn!"

He put all his strength into a single, devastating, attack that sheered through the sorcerer’s defences and sliced into his body, and then he twisted his lightning claws free. As the bloody, ruined corpse fell to the floor it flickered and changed, and the visage of the sorcerer twitched and held for a brief period before it faded and, on the charred and mutated body, the features of the long dead Rico Dureen became clearly visible once more.

The vortex at the centre of the chamber made a high pitched whining zipping noise and collapsed on itself, and suddenly the room was empty of the corrupting powers of the warp, and silence fell. Hartek stepped forward, and used the hand flamer built into his cybernetic arm to incinerate the corrupted remains. Castagir watched with satisfaction, then turned away, and began to check the fallen of House Dureen, calling for medicae aid for those that needed it; the newcomer stepped forward to do what she could, giving the Emperors Peace to those beyond help.

Additional troops sent by Colonel Zim arrived, and looked round at the carnage. They were quickly but to work as Hartek ordered a thorough cleansing of the chamber, and the corruption was burned out with flamer and the blessings of the Emperor. The immediate concerns taken care of, the Rogue Trader Regent took stock. Suddenly, he turned to Ivanov;

"Mister Ivanov!" He indicated the newcomer. "Is she one of yours?"

"Perhaps..." Was the First Officers enigmatic answer. "She's new. I thought she might do as a platoon leader, or perhaps as the overall commander of the “Killers”, Sir."

"Have her scrubbed and brought to my office then. We need to talk!"

Leaving the crew, and several cohorts of troops in support to mop up, and make repairs on the Furnace of Redemption, the assault group returned to the flag-ship. Hartek began to run through the reports, and was able to calculate the costs of the last few days. Over six thousand crew, including Captain Dray and his First Officer, had died aboard the Furnace of Redemption, and the ship had suffered damage to her melta-cannon battery, her auger array, and her plasma drives, all of which seemed to be as a result of sabotage, as well as some serious hull damage. However, the physical damage could be repaired, and considering what could have happened the Rogue Trader considered himself lucky that that was all that they had suffered.

Of the assault group, Navigator Proscesu was seriously wounded, and twenty of "Kilgrims Killers" had fallen, but the decisive boarding action and the intervention of the newcomer had prevented the butcher’s bill from being far worse than it had been. The decision was made to continue the mission to Orrema, and His Divine Will taking the Furnace of Redemption under tow.

Hartek, Brother Castagir and Lieutenant Commander Ivanov, were running through the after action reports when their discussions were interrupted by a knock on the door to the private office. The Rogue Trader Regent paused before grunting permission to enter, and the newcomer stepped into the office.

Hartek looked her up and down, before speaking. "So what's your name, Priest... Soldier...? Whatever you are!"

"A soldier for the God-Emperor Sir! Iaris Kimenth."

"That was some pretty impressive sword work I saw earlier! Where'd you pick that up?" Hartek asked pointedly

Iaris responded immediately; "To be strong for the God-Emperor you must be strong in yourself. You must be able to defend worlds, and purge them of those that go against his will."

Hartek noticed Castagir watching her with a steady, impassive gaze from beneath his hooded robe, as he weighed her words, and having come to his own conclusions he turned his attention back to Iaris; "Bollocks. You're a fighter."

Taken aback, and obviously not having expected the meeting she was currently in, never mind such a plain speaking Rogue Trader, Iaris took a defensive tone. "You can be a soldier and still serve the Emperor!"

Hartek smiled. "It so happens I have use for one more than another... Brother Castagir has the Emperor serving bit covered! What I need is someone who will soldier for House Dureen. Do you think you can do that?"

After a slight pause Iaris spoke; "It would be an honour, Sir, to serve, and be held under the protection of your House."

"Good!" Hartek nodded, and drew one of his pistols, handing it butt first to Iaris. "First job then. Mister Ivanov has been slacking in his duties. Would you retire him for me please?"

A shocked "OK!" sprang, almost unbidden from Iaris's lips. She turned to Ivanov; "Errr... Apologies Sir, but an order is an order...!"

Ivanov, slightly paler than normal simply said "Aye. Make it quick then."

Slowly Iaris raised the bolt-pistol, aimed it at the head of Ivanov, and squeezed the trigger.

The silence in the room was split with a hollow click, but a bolt did not fire from the weapon in her hand.

Relieved, Iaris spoke again. "This weapon seems defective, Sir!" She paused. "Would you like him dispatched in another manner?"

Hartek smiled "I think we can dispense with that... Major Kimenth." He held his hand out and the newly created major handed the pistol back to him.

"Thank you, Sir!" Ivanov hid the tremor in his voice well.

The Rogue Trader Regent looked directly at Iaris. "That's the sort of obedience I demand in House Dureen, Major." Then he turned his attention to his First Officer. "Mister Ivanov, are you quite well?"

"I'm fine Sir. I trust you, Sir!" came the simple reply.

"Excellent!" Hartek smiled. "Well, I think we should be about our duties. Major Kimenth, go and introduce yourself to the "Killers" as their new Commanding Officer."

As the office emptied, Iaris turned to Ivanov; "I feel I must apologise... I was hoping the gun was rigged... I hope you don't take it too personally Sir!"

The Lieutenant Commander attempted to reassure her with a smile. "Not at all! Nothing to apologise for, Major!"

Several days later the ships jumped out of the warp on the outskirts of the Orrema system and laid in a course for the central planet. Shortly after entering real-space the sensorium officer reported to Ivanov.

"Sir! We're picking up a return. It looks like a frigate; we've identified her as the Fel Hand, Sir!"

Ivanov thanked the officer, and ordered fighters from their hangers to fly a combat air patrol, before requesting the presence of the Rogue Trader Regent on the bridge. Once Ivanov had explained why, Hartek hurried from his quarters and ordered all ships to battle stations, and sat back in his command throne to contemplate his next move.

A hail was received, but Hartek ordered the crew to ignore it, before finally answering a couple of minutes later; the image of Hadarek Fel appeared in the holo-tank in the centre of the bridge.

"Finally! You know Rogue Trader, these games are hilarious!" Fel did not seem pleased.

Hartek smiled broadly. "Well, they amuse me! Anything I can do for you Mister Fel?"

"Oh no, we're just leaving the system, I was simply sending my greetings!" A wide grin was plastered on Fel's face too. "I would like to thank you for the message you sent me from Damaris too..."

"Well, with the threat of all intelligent life being wiped out on Damaris, I do wish you'd been with us." Then, theatrically, and almost as though he was speaking to himself Hartek added; "But with the threat only being to intelligent life, you'd've probably been safe!"

Fel scowled. "Always the same. I see your maturity matches your height; not very high..."

"A height joke! My, what a pinnacle of wit, urbane humour, and bon mot! I've never heard that before!"

Fel made a play of looking around, as though Hartek could not be seen; "Who's saying that? I hear a voice, but can't see anyone..." Then he settled back again. "Anyway, enough with the festivities and greetings. I would just like to congratulate you on the mess you have managed to create on the planet behind us, and I hope you can find some profit in there, because I believe I have just bled it of anything of value there..."

"Really?" Hartek raised an eyebrow. "And how did you do that exactly?"

Fel ignored the question and continued to talk; "One of my Captains reported that you'd been here before. I hear you roused trouble on the planet, and nearly started a civil war. Then that fool Scourge turned up and decided to destroy some cities from orbit after they defied him..."

Hartek sighed. "Yes, I heard he did that too..."

"So one Rogue Trader to another, I thought I would be quite clear and tell you that I have no interest in this world any more. I believe there is minimal profit left down there..."

Hartek smiled widely; "Well, I am obviously a newcomer to the cut and thrust of profit making, but I'm sure I'll be able to rustle up something down there, even though you've failed..."

Fel rolled his eyes. "Well, good luck to you. Oh, and good luck repairing your ships too!"

If possible, it seemed that Hartek's grin got even wider. "Thank you Mister Fel. And good luck to you too. I'll be sure to repay you for the service you did me..."

"Oh... I'm certain that that debt has been repaid with the service you did me!" Fel said pointedly.

"Not hardly!" Hartek snapped, and cut the connection.

Throughout the conversation, Ivanov had been scanning the Fel Hand. Little had changed since servants of the Dynasty had last encountered her, however, this time radiological emissions were detected. Fel had obviously converted the atomics he had gained and they were ready for use. Ivanov ensured that the cogitators were updated with the latest information, and the ships continued their run to Orrema to see what state Fel had left the world in.

End of Segment

Segment taken from the official history of the Dureen Rogue Trader Dynasty

CURRENT LOCATION: HIS UNDYING WILL, THE ORREMA SYSTEM, THE CAULDRON

Preliminary note: The following information has been attained by a combination of first hand observation, after action reports and official intelligence sources. It is my honour to record the following events for the official record of House Dureen.

Glory be to the God-Emperor of the Imperium of Mankind, and to House Dureen. My Lords, I am in perpetuity your faithful servant. Adept Michaelus Helix

Both Dureen vessels made orbit of the world without further issue, and on the approach Rogue Trader Regent Hartek order an encrypted vid-channel link be setup to House Dureen forces on the planet. Within a few minutes the holo-tank in the middle of the bridge sprang to life with an image of Colonel Senf, commander of the 11th Cohort, and Viscount Spry of the Koho Republic, or what little was left of it, flanked him.

Colonel Senf nodded; "It's good to see you, Sir!" He looked relieved.

"And you Colonel!" Hartek smiled. "Report please!"

Viscount Spry seemed somewhat nervous as the Colonel took a deep breath and started to speak. "Sir, you know about Rogue Trader Scourge? We had an acknowledgement of our message to you..." He paused, and Hartek nodded, so he continued. "He came to the planet and hailed all the cities, telling them they had been liberated to the glory of the Emperor, and they were immediately to stop all alliances and allegiances with anyone else. A number of factions disagreed with this pronouncement and the good Viscount here..." He nodded at Spry before continuing. "...told him that House Dureen had the rightful claim to the world, but Scourge ignored him. One of the minor factions - the troublemakers - The Valo Contract, were more vocal. Sir Premis called upon his brothers to cast off all the off-worlders, so Scourge decided to make an example of him and used his city for target practice, eventually hitting it with a barrage of macro-cannon shots. Thousands died, Sir. This shocked everyone, understandably, and Viscount Spry attempted to unite the different factions in opposition, but a number of them refused, including President Swartz of the Coam Federation, you remember Sir, that's the man who had made an agreement with Fel. Scourge then invaded, and hit Viscount Spry's cities, and killed a most of the population. Fortunately I was able to lead some strike teams and extract him and some others. We were able to setup a secret meet of the other cities, but Scourge simply gave another ultimatum, saying he would destroy another city unless his demands weren't met. It seemed that this was enough to make the Coam Federation into action, and they launched atomics at Scourge from some hidden missile silos in the sea. They managed to get some close hits on his vessel and forced him away from the planet."

He paused, and looked like he had more to so, but his expression changed to show some nervousness. Guessing what the Colonel was going to say, the Rogue Trader Regent prompted him to go on, and after another deep breath Colonel Senf continued.

"You remember we were based in the city of the Merchel Trading family? Well, shortly after Scourge was driven away, we had an incident with a number of the soldiers form the 11th. They changed, Sir. They rebelled... It's hard to explain... They became creatures of foul corruption; they were damned near unstoppable! I was lucky, they tried to convert me, they tried to infect me, but I escaped, and rallied the good men of the 11th, but they slaughtered us. We were forced to abandon the city, and keep it quarantined from the rest of the world. It seems like the city has slipped into madness, so we evacuated everyone we could, roughly half of the population, a hundred and fifty thousand civilians, and re-based in some of the Viscount's old holdings."

Again, Hartek nodded. "What's the situation with the remaining power blocks?"

Viscount Spry stepped forward. "Well, Sir, Lord Wentzelan of the Berg Freehold, he has been uniting the minor cities. They have stated an opposition to being ruled to off-worlders, but my spies have reported that another off-worlder came, Captain Fel, it seemed he wasn't happy with the events, and had recently traded a lot of equipment with the Berg Freehold..."

"Hmmm..." Hartek mused. "I thought he was in with the Coam Federation!"

"Yes, yes!" Spry agreed. "So did they. They were quite unhappy with the arrangement. It seems he sold a lot of modern weapons, equipment, and supplies - and for quite a high price I believe, and then he just left. My spies tell me that he has no intention to return, hence his high prices and his carelessness about offending the other factions..."

The Rogue Trader Regent looked thoughtful, and then spoke; "Thank you Colonel, Viscount. I have a lot to consider... I will send a gun-cutter to collect you."

He cut the connection and called a meeting of the command staff.

Hartek recapped all he had just learned, and tied that with the intelligence already in House Dureen's possession, then he asked for suggestions. Surprisingly, it was the Astartes, Castagir that spoke first.

"These people have been betrayed by Fel, and bombarded by Scourge; I believe that an opportunity presents itself here for House Dureen to do some good for this world." He paused, glancing around the table, smiled tightly, and added; "If handled correctly it will generate much profit for this House..." Hearing no objection, he continued. "If you were to make a point of ignoring factional divisions, and simply deploy all your resources to an aid effort, rebuilding infrastructure, giving shelter to those whose homes have been destroyed, and giving anything else that the population need to quickly get back on their feet. Ask for nothing in return; simply give this aid to everyone equally. Of course, you document this, and both the people and the leadership will see you as a straight-forward and honest man. You will win the hearts and minds of the people, and that will leave you in a position of strength in the future. "

The room stayed quiet for a while, as people digested the words before a decision was made, and the Rogue Trader Regent smiled. "It will be expensive, but it is an investment. And no matter what Fel says, I see a future for this world!"

Castagir turned his attention to the problem of the corrupted soldiers that had occupied the ruins of the Merchel city. He questioned the Colonel, attempting to get details of the number of affected troops, the degree of mutation, and the estimated numbers of survivors within the city. It was estimated that only twenty-five to thirty-five soldiers had been infected, but that several months had passed since this initial figure had been calculated. The Colonel then attached a data-slate to the holo-tank in the briefing room.

"I think you need to see this..." Was his explanation as he began the playback.

A grainy image sprang up in the middle of the room, taken from a point-of-view camera, obviously attached to the helmet of a soldier. A platoon of troops could be seen advancing into the ruined city, when suddenly the lead troops began to fall, people began to scream, and the camera began to shake. A panicked face loomed large in the screen, and then passed by, and then the lens was filled with a huge brute, standing at least eight feet tall. It strode forward, and although difficult to make out clearly it appeared to be a construct of both organic and metallic elements, however, both elements appeared to have grown; it looked wrong, positively unnatural. The camera focussed, and in the sharper image it could be seen that the figures arms seemed to have changed into the barrels of weapons, which suddenly burst into action, and the fusillade of gunfire cut down the camera wearer, and the troops around him. As the image shook and distorted, return fire could be seen impacting the figure, which seemed to shrug it off with contemptuous ease. The image finally failed when the creature stepped forward, and stamped down onto the fallen soldier, and the camera he was wearing.

"There were a hundred and fifty thousand people rescued from there?" Hartek mused, and Colonel Senf nodded. "That means that the same number were trapped. Given even a ten percent infection rate, that's thousands of those things. Military intervention does not seem practical."

After a pause Castagir agreed, and spoke one word. "Exterminatus."

Several around the table gasped in shock, so he spoke again. "Not of the world. We cleanse the city. From orbit."

"Agreed." Hartek spoke again. "We are lucky that the geography here has isolated the city; the oceans have kept it separate from the wider population. Perhaps we can use the atomics that this world possesses to be sure of the cleansing; we need to get a consensus on this from the leaders of the factions, as they will not take kindly to another off-worlder bombarding them again... It is sad, though that this infection of our troops, and the innocent people of that city coincided with Scourges attack. Obviously with his attack on our House the man cared little for the effect it would have on the innocents. Really, the man knew no moral decency, and it is our duty to help."

Those around the table who knew the origin of the infection could not help but admire the neat way that Hartek had found to contrast the aid that the Dynasty would give, with the morally repugnant behaviour of the other Rogue Traders, and carefully deflect any notion of wrong-doing from House Dureen itself.

"Let's move on then." Hartek instructed. "Lord Wentzelan and the Berg Freehold. Can we discredit him as a lackey of Fel? Is he arguing against all off-world interference, or just that of House Dureen?"

Viscount Spry looked up, and obviously did not really like what he was about to say, but seemed keen to help, obviously realising that his own position was precarious now that Scourge had effectively removed him as a key personality on Orrema. "He is a popular leader, and his people like him. He is speaking against all off-worlders, not just you."

"I think I need to arrange a meeting with Lord Wentzelan, and the other leaders." Hartek decided. "Let's be about our work, people!"

Over the following days and weeks, House Dureen Intelligence teams began to draw detailed information on all the faction heads, and the repair crews in orbit started their work on the damaged ships, using the manufactorium on His Undying Will to support the work, and as the days progressed, the Furnace of Redemption began to look like her old self again, although to enact lasting repairs, she would need a short period in an advanced repair dock to replace critical components. Behind the scenes, those Orremnians recruited to House Dureen began to arrive for further training, and eventual deployment aboard ship or in other facilities.

Hartek delegated the relief effort to Lieutenant Commander Ivanov and Major Iaris Kimenth, and gun-cutters and transport vessels made repeated runs to and from the cities dotted around the oceans, but quickly the efforts of the Dynasty began to take effect, with the local population beginning to find their feet once more. Kilgrim was seen on local vid-newscasts in some of the more damaged areas, leading from the front.

During one of the missions, Major Kimenth found herself working as liaison officer with Lord Wentzelan. She was somewhat surprised, having expected a minor administrative role, but accepted her new responsibly with reasonably good grace. She was greeted in the same manner as a visiting Ambassador by Lord Wentzelan himself; he was a tall, lean man, in his mid forties, and wearing a military uniform. He bowed to the surprised woman as she disembarked from the gun-cutter, and somewhat non-plussed she mumbled "Greetings from House Dureen!"

Smiling widely, Lord Wentzelan replied; "Greetings, and welcome to the Berg Freehold, Emissary! You are most welcome as a guest, and as a friend. Shall we walk?"

"Of course! And thank you for your hospitality." Iaris returned his smile, nervously, as they walked towards the group of people and vehicles waiting at the edge of the landing zone.

She was shown into Lord Wentzelan's personal conveyance, and he joined her there, closing the door behind him, excluding everyone else.

Lord Wentzelan spoke; "Not that I don't appreciate your efforts, but why does House Dureen give us this aid?"

"For the mutual benefit of both parties!" Iaris smiled. "If you prosper now, it improves the likelihood of successful future trading between us!"

"Ah! So it's a sweetener before other deals then?"

"It's to help with our business and trade, yes..." the Major admitted, and then continued, smirking somewhat. "But it is also something we do from the kindness of our hearts!"

The Orremnian Lord chuckled, and nodded. "Well, your honesty is refreshing..."

"I have found deception in these situations is generally not beneficial"

"I would agree. It saves a lot of time if we just get everything out in the open." Wentzelan turned an appraising gaze on Major Kimenth. "I can see that this could be a very fruitful visit..."

Iaris nodded. "If you can think of anything more that you require, please, let me know and I will take your request to the Rogue Trader!"

"Thank you Major. I would say however, that since the arrival of you off-worlders things have not gone well for this world and our people. There has been destruction and pain such that we haven't known for a long time."

"I cannot argue with you my Lord, but just as there are differences between the peoples of your cities, there are differences between us "off-worlders". We would hope that our actions prove that we are different from the others that have visited your world, and that our future behaviour will also do so..."

Lord Wentzelan nodded thoughtfully as he considered her words, and the rest of the visit passed in a friendly and convivial atmosphere.

The remaining local leaders agreed to meet the Rogue Trader Regent and although Pricep Goss of the Handrayana Combine, declared that his people had been spared the worst of the chaos and conflict as they were the most pure, at which Kilgrim expressed his admiration of the man's faith, and declared himself inspired. The other Orremnians were more grounded, and although somewhat shaken by the events of the last few months, and still suspicious of outsiders, they were not overtly hostile, probably as a result of the investment and relief effort that House Dureen was pouring into the planet. The regular meetings and the Rogue Trader Regent's personal and open approach won him many admirers, and even some new friends.

It seemed that Major Kimenth's visit to the Berg Freehold had left a favourable impression as the messages emanating from that city modified themselves from rejecting any contact with the outsiders, to suggesting that any contact should be undertaken on the basis that Orremnians were the equal of any other people. This softening of the official line of that faction appeared to lead to Lord Wentzelan gaining support with the other leaders; although he could at times appear quite arrogant, he was known to be an open-minded and would listen to the opinions of others, no matter who they were. He seemed to lead by example, and was a fair man who genuinely believed that he led for the people, rather than for the ruling classes. Kilgrim, and the others who met him began to like the man, and he seemed to like them too, sharing the appreciation of his people for the lengths that House Dureen was going to help the world. Even though there were differences between the ultimate aims of both parties, because of that genuine friendliness, it did seem possible that an accord could be reached.

Castagir focussed on the probable military action that would be taken against the quarantined Merchel city, and its mutated inhabitants. He arranged for reconnaissance over flights, and read the reports from those that had escaped the city, and even initiated some probing covert missions into the outskirts himself. He learned that not everyone had fallen; there appeared to be two strongholds where a total of almost two thousand people had managed to hold out, mainly because the creatures seemed not to care about them. Of those creatures, not much was seen, although he caught glimpses of the huge, monstrous humanoids from time to time. Not all of the mutated people had degenerated that far though, and these were by far in the minority, although it did look like everyone left alive outside of the enclaves had succumbed to the infection.

The Space Marine began to outline rescue missions for those trapped to Colonel Senf, who seemed non-committal when the idea was proposed, and although polite, he finally stated that until the Rogue Trader told him that these missions were to be undertaken, he would not commit any resources. The Astartes did not argue, but noted that although the Colonel stuck to the correct military protocols there was an air of disrespect towards him from the man. He took no offence, and enjoyed the frank exchanges, but resolved to uncover the reasons behind the unusual behaviour.

Finally, Colonel Senf requested, and received, a meeting with the Rogue Trader Regent, and Brother Castagir attended at the invitation of both men. Discussions focused on military situation within the quarantined area, and Castagir sat back and let Colonel Senf take the lead, and report the situation has he saw it; after outlining the intelligence that had be gain, he seemed to shuffle in his chair slightly before pausing, then he spoke again.

"Sir, the Astartes talks of conducting rescue missions to retrieve the survivors -"

Hartek interrupted the Colonel mid-sentence. "And how did they go Colonel?"

"Pardon Sir?" Colonel Senf paused, and then cleared his throat before continuing. "It was deemed too dangerous. I deemed it too risky to retrieve anyone that could be contaminated."

The Rogue Trader Regent raised his eyebrows. "You deemed it too dangerous?"

"When you weren't here I had to make the decisions, Sir." Senf pointed out.

"And you did well. But it was the Astartes..." Hartek nodded at the silent Brother Castagir. "...who proposed them?"

"Recently? Yes, he did. I am still unsure, and I wanted to bring it to your attention, Sir."

Hartek's eyebrows climbed higher up his forehead. He raised his right arm, and asked, "What's that Colonel?"

Puzzled, the Colonel paused before answering. "It's your cybernetic arm, Sir!"

"It is my right hand." Hartek said clearly. "And Brother Castagir, he is my other right hand. He speaks with my voice as far as the military aspects of this House are concerned. I expect the rescue missions to begin immediately."

Senf bowed his head. "Apologies my Lord. I did not realise that the Astartes spoke with your authority!"

"You have been away from us a while Colonel, and that is why I'm inclined to be understanding." Hartek smiled a predatory smile.

"And I thank you for that, my Lord." Colonel Senf's voice was cautiously neutral. He paused and looked towards the Space Marine. "Brother Castagir?"

"Colonel." Castagir spoke for the first time.

"Let us plan these missions of yours..."

The two stood, and left the room, all three men fully aware of the careful choice of words that Colonel Senf had used, laying responsibility for the disputed missions at the Marine's door.

Brother Castagir and Colonel Senf walked in silence, however, as they entered the planning room the Astartes spoke; "Colonel. You have served this Dynasty far longer than I have been attached to it. You have survived a place where lesser men would have fallen, either in battle or to the ruinous powers. I have no intention of undermining your command; all I look to do is rescue potential citizens of the wider Imperium generally, and of House Dureen specifically. I do not intend to put your men at risk, however, if there is a possibility to rescue some of these civilians, then it is our duty to do so. I am not in the habit of second guessing field commanders, I have served on the frontlines far too many times myself. If the rescue commander decides that it is not possible for him to complete his mission, he will have my backing."

Senf sat back in his chair, a look of surprise on his face. "Unusual. I haven't seen such understanding, and - what's the word - humility, in an Astartes before..."

"You have served with Space Marines before?" Castagir asked.

"Unfortunately, some..."

Castagir paused, appearing to weigh his words carefully. "Not all Chapters are the same. Each has a different focus or methodology. My own Chapter, before I served the Deathwatch, always had the belief that it was the normal soldier who served the Emperor in a far braver way than we Astartes. After all we have the benefit of the Emperors gene-science, our bodies and minds are enhanced, and we are given the best equipment the Imperium's Forge Worlds can produce. A human soldier has no such benefits. We believe that we are in service to the people of the Imperium, not as liege lords over them, and it is for that reason that I proposed these missions. However, an Astartes Chapter, while powerful is not inexhaustible and we martial our resources carefully; we do not waste men on pointless missions."

"It is a shame more Astartes do not feel the same way..." Colonel Senf looked suitably thoughtful.

"If all of us were identical, humanity would be a poorer place. It is the diversity of skills that makes the armies of the Emperor effective forces. With that in mind, I intend to run training workshops, both physical, and intellectual, to try to impart some of my knowledge and experience to the soldiers of this House. It will be for all ranks, and all will be treated equally."

Again, the Colonel looked surprised. "That sounds interesting. I will ensure that word is passed around." and the two warriors focussed on their mission planning.

(Authors side note: What Brother Castagir said intrigued me, and this Adept has checked through the records of this dynasty, this exchanged represented the longest anyone had ever heard Brother Castagir speak on a single subject up to this point. MH)

As intelligence gathering missions continued, and plans were put into action, it became clear that the aircraft that attacked the gun-cutter during House Dureen's previous sojourn on Orrema could not have originated from the Coam Federation; they simply did not have the range. There were a number of smaller city states that the attack could have originated from, including three within the Berg Freehold, and others who were part of the Merchel Trading House, who initial evidence had implicated. Ivanov dispatched a number of small teams to investigate further.

As the teams reported back over the week, it was clear that the information, if it was available, was buried deep. However, one pair did report that they thought they'd found something, and were going to investigate further. Unfortunately, shortly after checking in, the two men disappeared and all contact attempts with them failed. Concerned about the missing men, Ivanov began to focus on their investigation, as it seemed to lead somewhere, and he hoped, would also lead to the men themselves.

The injured Navigator, Patronius Proscesu had spent much of his time recovering from the wounds he had suffered under the talons of the daemon during the journey to Orrema, but once he was recovered enough to venture from his quarters, he began to research and plan routes to the strange world that orbited the orange sun that Hartek had shown so much interest in. Having spoken to the Rogue Trader Regent, he made the decision to pool his knowledge with Aurelias, his cousin, now based on the Furnace of Redemption. The meeting was reasonably constructive, and given the in-fighting that had been ongoing within their Clan, more cordial than recent encounters had been, possibly because they each knew things about the other that could be used against them should the conflict reignite. Satisfied Patronius returned to His Undying Will to calculate the route.

As he was working in the Navigator's bubble he suddenly realised that he could no longer see the warp tides properly. With a great sense of urgency Patronius ran from the bubble to a vox-terminal, and contact Aurelius on the Furnace of Redemption. His transmission was picked up almost instantly, and a worried sounding Aurelius spoke; "Did you see that?"

"I was just about to ask you the same thing. So I guess that answers both our questions!" A slight panic infused the Navigator's tone.

Aurelius was far less calm. "It's like when we were on Damaris!"

"Stay calm cousin! I am going to see the Rogue Trader..." Patronius paused before cautioning "Don't let the others see..."

"It's too late! I was running a training session - they all saw it!" Aurelius was speaking quickly, and his breathing was short and sharp.

Patronius could understand the panic, but forced himself to speak slowly; "Calm down cousin! You need to look after the others, and keep them calm too - you're a senior member of this family now, you must look after those more junior!"

There was a pause, and Aurelius spoke again, sounding more in control of himself; "Thank-you cousin. I will do my duty"

Patronius cut the connection, and returned to the Navigators bubble to instruct the duty Navigator to carefully watch the warp for change. The man nodded, then suddenly exclaimed, relief evident in his voice; "Sir! It's back! The light's back!"

Navigator Proscesu left the bridge, deep in thought, almost running to the Rogue Trader's quarters.

Rogue Trader Regent was working, and enjoying a Hartek Fruit laced cocktail when the Navigator arrived. Patronius blurted out what had just happened.

"I was planning the warp routes, Rogue Trader, when the warp went dark again... It has now returned, but we may have a problem - or visitors. It feels the same as Damaris... The Promise of Sedition may be near, or may be attempting something, but I do not know for sure."

Hartek opened a vox link to the bridge, and ordered the ships into the posture of tactical defence, ordering the critical crews to step up their alert levels. Sensorium sweeps from both ships revealed nothing unusual, however the crews remained alert.

After receiving a briefing from Lieutenant Commander Ivanov and Major Kimenth, the Rogue Trader Regent arranged for a formal meeting with Lord Wentzelan, inviting him to His Undying Will.

He was accompanied by a small party of advisors and guards, and was greeted by a full honour guard, as well as the Rogue Trader Regent himself. Wentzelan looked around the landing bay with interest, before walking over to Hartek and clicked his heels together and bowed by way of greeting.

"Ah! My Lord Wentzelan! Welcome aboard His Undying Will!"

"Lord Hartek! Fantastic vessel!" The Orremnian Lord seemed genuinely enthusiastic. "Truly marvellous! So, to business?"

Hartek paused. "I thought I would give you a tour first, if you would like one? I assume you've never been aboard a ship like this?"

"No, not like this. I visited Fel's ship, but it was smaller, and he had someone else show me a few areas, but they didn't seem too interested..." Wentzelan smiled.

The tour took in the key areas of His Undying Will, and because of her size took several hours, however Lord Wentzelan showed great interest, and it was clear to those around him that it was unfeigned. Eventually they came to Hartek's private dining chamber, and settled down to a business dinner, and as they sat, Wentzelan raised his glass in a toast.

"To the future of the people of Orrema, and our friends from off-world!"

Hartek joined him in drinking, before the Lord spoke again.

"I had the pleasure of meeting your Emissary - the interesting young lady."

Hartek paused, and then smiled. "Ah, yes, Major Kimenth."

"Ah! I didn't realise she was a Major!"

"I try to reward competence where I find it, and she has proved herself more than competent in recent times..." Hartek spoke clearly.

Lord Wentzelan nodded. "A good approach. So, why is it you have invited me here?"

"Well, I have been deeply saddened by you speaking out against off-world contact. I would have thought that you of all people would see the benefit of good links with people off world..." Hartek pointed out, obviously referring to Wentzelan's dealings with Rogue Trader Fel.

The Orremnian nodded. "I believe you are overstating things slightly when you say that I was speaking out against all off world contact. I was simply trying to stress that should we have such contact, it needs to be done as equals, and off-world influence isn't always for the good off Orrema or her peoples."

"Certainly, not all off-worlders would have the best interests of Orrema in mind, as evidenced by the late Trader Captain Scourge..." Hartek agreed.

Wentzelan frowned at Scourges name. "Ah. The fiend who destroyed some of the precious cities..."

"Yes. He will trouble this world no more." Hartek met Wentzelan eye's to be sure that he got the message.

"Good. Justice is served."

"However, that simply demonstrates that this galaxy is a dangerous place, and the best defence a small world could have is powerful friends. Powerful friends who will not wash their hands of a world when it needs their help. Powerful friends who will not turn their back when they feel they have stripped the world of everything they need, like a certain Trader Captain named Fel. I believe he used the phrase "taken it for all it was worth...""

Wentzelan snorted. "That does not surprise me, the man's a rogue. He made it quite clear he would not be back."

Suddenly very serious, Hartek spoke again; "Let me be clear Lord Wentzelan, there are things that exist that make men like Fel and Scourge seem insignificant. These are things that Orrema and her people would not survive without powerful friends."

"I understand that. And I understand that off-worlders will not suddenly forget we are here now we have been discovered, but..." Lord Wentzelan met Hartek's gaze; "That relationship cannot be one of master and slave. It needs to more equal than that..."

Hartek sighed, and smiled. "Realistically you know that that would be impossible. You could not be equal; however, you could be first amongst those on this world who would be part of something greater - House Dureen. Someone must lead, others must follow. As a man recently said to me Lord Wentzelan, what do you want?"

"What do I want?" He looked surprised by the question. "I want security, prosperity, and a secure future for my people, as any good leader would."

"And I want to give those things to your people, as subjects of House Dureen." The Rogue Trader pointed out.

Wentzelan shook his head slightly. "It is that word, "subjects"..."

"Clients if you will then... They're just words..."

"How about the word "partnership" then?" asked the Orremnian.

"I already have a partner. You do know that this is going to be the best offer you're likely to get..."

"From you!" Lord Wentzelan pointed out.

Hartek laughed. "From anyone. You've already met other Rogue Traders. Who has been most reasonable? You've seen what they've had to offered, and can judge by their actions and by mine..."

It was clear that the two men liked each other, and obviously wanted to work together, however, it was equally clear that Lord Wentzelan did not want to sign away the freedom of his people, so they conversation turned away from business as they finished their meal. They did however arrange to meet again, and further discuss the opportunities that the future held.

As the Rogue Trader Regent and Lord Wentzelan were finishing their meal, Brother Castagir was leading the first of the rescue missions into the quarantine zone. Contact had been established with one of the enclaves of survivors, less than an hour prior to launching the mission, and slightly more than two hundred dishevelled, tired and frightened people were hurried onto the shuttle craft, before being quarantined, in comfort this time, and inoculated in dedicated, secure medicae facilities in a remote location.

There were fewer than expected, as more people had been hunted by the mutated creatures, and others had simply refused to leave their perceived safe havens. A second mission was ordered, and was successful, but this time the rescue troops came under sporadic heavy weapons fire. Again, almost two-hundred people were retrieved, and having spoken to the Officers and NCO's who led the second mission, Castagir decided that no real benefit would be gained by risking a third. Still, House Dureen had rescued four hundred people from certain death, and although they would require several weeks of quarantine and medicae treatment, they would be safe.

Brother Castagir recommended to the Rogue Trader that the city now be destroyed from orbit, as as much help that could be given, had been. He did, as had been recently discussed, caution the Rogue Trader speak to the Orremnian leaders, explaining the situation, as another bombardment of the world by outsiders would be unlikely to win him any friends. Hartek agreed, and asked Lord Wentzelan to host a grand conference to discuss the situation. Hartek and Castagir briefed the man in advance to leave him in no doubt of the danger which his world faced from the disease.

Hartek could not hide the smile when Lord Wentzelan first encountered the Space Marine, and was amused further by the look of panic on the face of his bodyguards, however to his credit, the Lord quickly focussed on the threat to his world.

Behind the scenes, Ivanov and Kimenth continued their investigations into the missing men, and discovered that they had been last seen talking to some people at the main docks. Ivanov was warned that the area was known to be dangerous, but at least one of the men was still alive. When he persisted with his investigations he was given the information that the warehouses in Dock 7D would be a helpful place for him to continue looking; this was an area that was a well known gang headquarters. Armed, for the first time, with solid information Ivanov prepared to rescue his man.

End of Segment

Maore! Need MAORE!!!!

Your wish is my command

Segment taken from the official history of the Dureen Rogue Trader Dynasty

CURRENT LOCATION: HIS UNDYING WILL, THE ORREMA SYSTEM, THE CAULDRON

Preliminary note: The following information has been attained by a combination of first hand observation, after action reports and official intelligence sources. It is my honour to record the following events for the official record of House Dureen.

Glory be to the God-Emperor of the Imperium of Mankind, and to House Dureen. My Lords, I am in perpetuity your faithful servant. Adept Michaelus Helix

Lieutenant Commander Ivanov rejected an out and out military solution when looking to retrieve his missing men, reasoning that an extra set of allies on the world be of more benefit than another pile of corpses, as satisfying as that may ultimately be. As a result he arranged a meet in the docks area with a representative of the gang; of course, he had three squads of soldiers standing by in gun-cutters, less than sixty seconds from deployment, just in case things got out of hand.

Ivanov, accompanied by Major Kimenth, met the gang members under an arched bridge on the outskirts of the main docks; they had already spotted the lookouts as they approached, as they had a number of other "heavies" who were present. Waiting at the centre of the activity was a tall wiry man of middle age in a cheap suit, obviously the man in charge. The gang members were armed with a mish-mash of weapons, all of which looked to be old or improvised in nature, but even so, the men looked like they knew how to use them.

The wiry man spoke; "Welcome, travellers!"

Ivanov nodded, and greeted him cheerily. "Good evening. A pleasure to meet you. I hope that we can conduct our business successfully, and in a manner profitable to both of us..."

"Oh, I'm sure that we can come to some sort of arrangement." The wiry man smiled widely. "I believe we have found an item that you wish returning?"

Ivanov grinned back. "I believe so. And also some information - actually, in a lot of ways, the information is more valuable."

The wiry man looked surprised, but turned his attention to the negotiations which then began in earnest.

The House Dureen representatives secured the release of the captured man and the repatriation of the body of his comrade and in return supplied a crate of fifteen lasguns, fifteen las-pistols, a reasonable number of reloads, and thirty sets of flak armour were also provided. Ivanov promised the same again, should the docks gang manage to identify the source of the air attack that was launched against the Dureen gun-cutter all those months ago, and more importantly find the evidence to prove it. The wiry man and Ivanov shook hands, and waited for a gun-cutter to deploy from orbit to deliver the weapons and armour and the then the two groups went their separate ways.

The following day was the date of the conclave of leaders, and the great and the good of Orrema gathered at Lord Wentzelan's estate to listen to the words of Rogue Trader Regent Hartek. He was accompanied by Brother Castagir, who opted to wear his full battle plate, and cut an imposing figure particularly as the majority present had no concept of what a Space Marine was, however, he was there to do more than to create an impression; it was his role to give the military briefing on the situation in the quarantined Merchel city.

All the leaders of the surviving major factions were there, including the previously hostile President Swartz of the Coam Federation, as were the majority of the leaders of the minor factions. They had gathered in the main hall of Lord Wentzelan's mansion, and were sitting around a huge, polished, wood table, an item of great value on a world that had little land, the gentle hubbub of voices filled the air, as people discussed and argued the various viewpoints.

As Rogue Trader Hartek entered the room, the voices died away, to be replaced by gasps of shock as Brother Castagir followed him in, his armour gleaming, and unusually, he was helmetless, giving those present a view of his scarred face. Hartek was offered the seat of honour at the head of the table, and there was some consternation when it was realised that there was nothing that would support the bulk or weight of the Astartes, however he waved the worried people away, and simply stood, still as a statue, taking in the assembled dignitaries with unblinking eyes.

Hartek stood, and spoke, eloquently expressing his pleasure at being back on Orrema, and his hopes that there would be a future of mutual profitability for both House Dureen and Orrema, with both working together towards a common goal of prosperity. His words met with approval, and he smiled, before turning to weightier matters; that of the plague that was afflicting the quarantined city. He outlined the effects of the foul infection, and its virulence, warning that it could doom the world as a whole. In the background, the vid-captures of 11th Cohorts ill-fated initial incursion into the city were playing on a large display screen, along with footage of the rescue missions that had been recently undertaken. The fact that rescue missions had been attempted at all met with approval from most of those present, but the images of what the infection actually meant shocked most into silence.

"Obviously" Hartek paused to make sure all were hearing his words clearly, "It is to my great sorrow that such a vile contagion was unleashed on your world by enemies of House Dureen, who used it in such a cowardly attack, careless of the consequences. However, I make this pledge to you now; House Dureen will not shirk its' duties. We will be at the forefront of the efforts to clean up this mess, and secure a future for your world."

Although impressed by his words, it was clear that the behaviour of Fel and Scourge had left a number of the Orremnians deeply suspicious about the intentions of House Dureen.

Eventually, Lord Wentzelan spoke. "So, Rogue Trader, what is it exactly you propose?"

Hartek nodded, and outlined his plan. "To specifically deal with the infection of the Merchel city, we believe the only way to completely remove the threat to Orrema is to completely purge the infection site."

"How would you do this" Wentzelan pressed.

"With fire." Was Hartek's simple response. "How else do you cauterise a wound?"

Wentzelan met Hartek's gaze. "You would remove the limb, and burn it! To protect the body as a whole..."

"That is exactly what I propose to do." The Rogue Trader Regent nodded.

After another pause Wentzelan continued. "And you bring this to us?"

"I bring it to you as a courtesy, to explain our actions, and to hear your thoughts on the matter, dear friends of Orrema." Hartek looked around, attempting to lock eyes with each person present, individually.

The suggestion drew a mixed response, mainly due to shock, and a hubbub filled the chamber again. Finally a minor Lord called out. "Surely there is another way?"

Hartek smiled a thin smile. "There is another way, thank-you my friend. A way that would be called upon if I were to report this infection to the wider authorities. Can I teach you a new word my friends? The word is "exterminatus"." He turned to the standing Astartes and continued. "Brother Castagir, you have witnessed exterminatus in your duties, have you not?"

The huge figure stepped forward, and nodded once, again looking over the assembled nobles before speaking in a measured tone. "I have witnessed exterminatus, and I have called exterminatus on worlds as my duty has demanded." He paused to let the words sink in, before going on to explain. "It is necessary where an infection has taken hold, whether of xenos origin, or from sources elsewhere. If the infection has spread so widely that the cost to liberate the world, to reclaim it and make it safe, is greater than the benefit of saving the world itself then it would be better to sacrifice the thousands, millions, or even billions who inhabit the planet than risk the contagion spreading further to **** a sub-sector, or more. As you say Lord Wentzelan, "remove the limb and burn it". I have seen worlds with far greater populations than this burn under exterminatus, and no doubt I will see it again in my lifetime. It is the only way to be sure, and preserve humanity as a whole."

The screen in the room was now showing a vid-capture, seemingly from the perspective of a ship in orbit, of a world undergoing exterminatus, and as the unnamed planet burned, Hartek turned to the now silent assembly once more, and shrugged his shoulders. "Does that sound better?" He asked.

Castagir spoke once again. "Please understand, this is not a threat. I do not demand things of you, and if you refuse my demands I will order this out of spite. It is always with a heavy heart, and as an act of last resort that exterminatus is enacted; it is a sign of failure. I simply explain what a similar failure to deal with this infection will mean; it must be purged to save the world."

"Cut off the limb, and burn it..." Hartek echoed Wentzelan's words.

Those in the audience that had been most vocally protesting any plan to destroy the infected city had silenced their protests, and agreement was quickly reached that the Rogue Trader Regent's plan would be approved. Hartek established a vox link to His Undying Will, and ordered the infected city bombarded. The ship manoeuvred itself into position, and half an hour later as the assembled nobility watched, the multiple batteries of Sunsear lasers bombarded the quarantine zone. The sea around it boiled and vaporised as the city platform was cut to pieces and a further half hour later there was no remaining sign that the structure had ever existed. Gun-cutter reconnaissance flights revealed that there was no indication of survivors of any kind.

The Orremnian leaders looked shocked by the firepower on display; of course they had heard of the damage cause in previous attacks, but never actually witnessed an orbital bombardment, even one as limited as this. However, relief soon became the primary emotion as they realised that the successful attack had preserved their world. One foolish man even began to clap, but was silenced by the glares of his compatriots.

Lord Wentzelan spoke, voicing the feelings of many present; "A sombre moment indeed."

Hartek nodded. "Perhaps we should move on and discuss something of more benefit to Orrema?"

There was initial puzzlement at the Rogue Trader Regent's statement, but the assembly agreed, and Hartek began to outline the benefits of Orrema agreeing to join the worlds that found themselves under the House Dureen umbrella. He found himself reiterating many of the arguments he had presented to Lord Wentzelan during their private meeting aboard the Grand Cruiser, but critically, had made a number of minor modifications in an attempt to sway opinion.

He offered a deal that would give House Dureen an exclusive trading partnership with Orrema, linked with basing rights on the world, and a seat on a planetary government, alongside the current leadership. In return, Orrema would continue to receive the aid that the Rogue Trader Regent had been providing, and would receive help in raising the level of the technology base of the world. Furthermore, orbital docks and defences would be constructed, and the depopulated cities would be refurbished and marketed off world as resort locations for the wealthy, bringing a new revenue stream to Orrema, and House Dureen.

The proposal was met favourably; however, the sticking point seemed to be that Orrema would need to declare allegiance to House Dureen. As Lord Wentzelan re-stated, a faint smile on his face, "A master-slave relationship, then?"

Brother Castagir, who had remained silent throughout the negotiations finally made his voice heard. "Lord Wentzelan, that is like saying that you have a master-slave relationship with the people who inhabit your cities. I believe that this is inaccurate. It seems to me that you care deeply about the wellbeing of your people, as a good leader should, and you see your role as standing for them, and giving them the best that you possibly can. I stand outside of House Dureen, and have only been attached to the House for a short while, however, I know of several other worlds where such agreements have been signed. Certainly in those cases, the relationship is not one of master and slave, each world has agreed to be a member of a greater alliance, a federation of equals, with the Rogue Trader doing his best for each of those planets individually."

Wentzelan paused, and seemed to consider the Astarte's words. "Perhaps master and slave are too strong words then, but it seems that we are to pledge our allegiance, and have no recourse to reverse any actions we may not agree with. What would happen should we wish to withdraw from such a "federation"? What could we do?"

Hartek smiled. "I would say that that would mean that you had taken leave of your senses, given the benefit that the relationship would bring you!"

President Swartz slapped the flat of his hand on the table, and once everyone's attention was on him, spoke. "We know that you from off world would wish to use us for your own ends, and we have already suffered from your kind. It seems you come to the world with promises, but ultimately you are here for what you can get. How do we know you are different from the others?"

"Because unlike the other Rogue Traders you may have had dealings with, I came back to this world" Hartek spoke in a level voice. "I came bringing supplies and relief from the hardships you've suffered at the hands of my counterparts. I came bringing much. However, I will not lie to you President Swartz, my overwhelming concern is the betterment of House Dureen and the accumulation of profit and resources, and the strengthening of our forces. I would like for Orrema to be part of that, to be part of our House, so strengthening House Dureen would strengthen Orrema. I am also offering to give back to this world, not to simply take, take, take. There, Mister President is the difference."

Several of the leaders around the chamber were nodding their heads in approval, but Wentzelan spoke up again. "Interesting words, Rogue Trader. I believe that this is something that we all need to discuss carefully, however, as I assume that this would be a joint answer that you would require?"

"It would be better. A unified Orrema would certainly stand strongest." Hartek agreed. He paused and continued; "If you need me, you know where to find me!" and then pointed towards the ceiling.

The same foolish man who had applauded the destruction of the city glanced upwards, before quickly looking away to hide his embarrassment as Lord Wentzelan shook his head, and the meeting broke up.

As the leaders continued their discussions, House Dureen continued to win the general populace over by continuing their aid efforts, and broadcasting information about the House, highlighting the benefits of joining. Several of the broadcasts included footage of the defence of Damaris, and the sacrifices that were made by the forces of House Dureen to protect the world even before agreements were made to bring them into alliance with the Dynasty, and certainly it seemed that ordinary Orremnians saw the Rogue Trader in a positive light.

As the discussions progressed on the planet, the work crews finished the repairs on the ships in orbit, and Major Kimenth continued her training programmes for the troops she had taken command of. She was through, unforgiving and effective, and the new crowd control techniques she taught seemingly would be of great benefit in dealing with civil disobedience effectively. Brother Castagir made good on his promises to Colonel Senf, and began his own training regime, aimed at improving the physical conditioning of the line troops, and imparting his hard gained experience, and as word passed among the ranks, attendance increased. Lieutenant Commander Ivanov was running drills too, aimed at improving the effectiveness of the ships crews, and to get both vessels used to working together as well as individually. Fortunately, in the down time, it was not all hard work, and groups of crew were given time off and allowed runs ashore, to allow them to blow off steam and clear their minds of the events of the previous few weeks, and an underlying tension that had been there seemed to melt away as each group relaxed.

At the end of the week, Hartek was contacted by Lord Wentzelan, who asked him to join him in his city. The Lord was waiting on the outskirts, and when the Rogue Trader Regent arrived was leaning on a railing and gazing out to sea. He registered the arrival of Hartek, and turned to face him, before speaking.

"Provisionally, we would like to accept the offer of your Dynasty." He smiled.

Hartek prompted him; "Provisionally?"

Wentzelan nodded. "Some of us are nervous about committing to something with no chance of removal. We agree in principle with everything you have to say, but this pledging to your house worries us. Are we pledging for our children? Their children?"

"If there is a House Dureen by the time they come of age, then yes..." Hartek stated, bluntly.

There was a pause as Wentzelan weighed his words. "This makes it more difficult. What we would like to suggest is that we agree to this, and our friendship grows, but, let’s say every decade we revisit the agreement to see if it is still just and fair for both parties."

The Rogue Trader Regent made a counter offer. "Let's make it every twenty years, so that each new generation can make its own decision."

"That sounds fair, Rogue Trader!" Lord Wentzelan agreed, and the two men shook hands.

Hartek met Lord Wentzelan’s eyes, and spoke; "To the future of Orrema, and House Dureen!"

Discussions as to the formation of the government followed, and it was decided that the leaders of the different factions would form a council, with Lord Wentzelan at the head. Hartek appointed the ex-Governor of Damaris, Belkan Kapak as his Pro-Consul, to represent House Dureen on the council, and to act as his voice on the world. He would be supported by a staff selected from the ranks of the talented Adepts within the Dynasty, and militarily by Colonel Senf, and the remains of the 11th Cohort. The Colonel had also been given the authority to bring up to establishment by recruiting from the world. In addition, Hartek detached a Tattooed Man from his covert operatives group, trained by the Black Dragon Society in Footfall, to make himself available to "retire" any person that caused problems for House Dureen. He was given additional instructions to keep a close eye on both the Pro-Consul and the Colonel, and ensure that they remained loyal. Their headquarters would be on the rebuilt city state that had once housed the followers of Viscount Spry.

As the preparations were being made to depart Orrema, and continue on the journey towards the system with the orange star that Rogue Trader Regent Hartek was so interested in, Lieutenant Commander Ivanov received a message from the planet; it appeared that his new gang sources had some information for him.

A meet was arranged in the same place as the previous one, and the following day, with the usual precautions in place, Ivanov and a reluctant Major Kimenth arrived in the designated location. The man in the cheap suit was waiting for them, taking shelter against the heavy rain that was falling from the dark skies, but even so he greeted the two cheerily. He announced that he had found a lead relating to the location of aircraft that had attacked the gun-cutter on the previous visit; they had been stored in a warehouse not far from the docks, and although, obviously they had not returned, someone had attempted to clean up any evidence that they had been there in the first place. In addition, a substantial sum of money had changed hands. He explained that they had been able to track down the financial records, and from those had been able to identify the person who had received the payment. More impressively, they had the man himself in "custody", and were willing to hand him over to Lieutenant Commander Ivanov.

Unfortunately, the man was not in much of a position to talk, as his questioning had not been gentle, but he had given up a key piece of information; the man paying the bills had been Viscount Spry.

Ivanov ordered the promised equipment be delivered to the gang, and had secured the agreement of a long running relationship, where they would provide the Dynasty with information from channels outside of the officials of the planet, tempered with the opinions of the normal inhabitants of the world. After shaking hands with the man in the cheap suit, Ivanov gave him a personal gift; a chromed handcannon which was accepted with genuine pleasure, then he took the battered man back to the ship in orbit, where he was immediately sent to the medicae chambers.

It is fair to say that Rogue Trader Regent Hartek was not pleased to hear the news, and to see the evidence of Viscount Spry's perfidy, and technicians were called to the bridge to replace an instrument panel that had somehow found a Squat Waraxe embedded in it, however, after several hours of thought he simply invited the Viscount aboard the Grand Cruiser for a meal.

Unusually, the table was located in an airlock near the Hartek's ready room, and was only set for two people. An already nervous Viscount Spry looked even more worried when he saw the layout, particularly when his eyes caught sight of a fully armoured Brother Castagir standing silently on one side of the airlock chamber. Hartek calmly took his seat, and indicated the Viscount should take the other one available.

"Viscount Spry! How pleasant it is to see you again!" Hartek smiled the smile of a predator.

Spry shuffled nervously in his chair. "Yes. Yes, it is! And this is a fantastic spread, Rogue Trader!"

Hartek smiled even more widely. "Yes, well, you know what they say, "The condemned man ate a hearty meal", don't they?"

Spry looked up sharply. "What?"

"Nothing..." Kilgrim met his eye. "I just said that it's always good to eat a hearty meal!"

"Oh. Yes, I completely agree..." He looked around. "So is it just the two of us?"

"Yes." Hartek confirmed. "We seem to have been successful in our mission to unify the world under a single council, and bring them into our federation. When I made the proposal, I was terribly afraid that it was going to be, uh, shot down."

Spry again looked up sharply. "Oh!" He paused. "Yes! I'm very glad that it happened, and am just honoured that I could provide help to aid in the process, to put my full backing behind your proposals!"

"I do appreciate it." Hartek reassured the man, before adding "Especially as I've recently come across some financial records that show a number of other expenditures you've recently had to make. Upkeep on airpower for example. It must have been a frightfully expensive day for you when we shot those aircraft down..." His eyes had remained focussed on Sprys’ face as he spoke.

"I... Errr... I... I don't know what you're talking about!" The Viscount protested, and then he crumbled as Kilgrim continued to fix him in a steely glare. "The plan was never to hurt any of you. I just knew that it was in the best interest for both of us if you brought your support down! I mean, look how it's worked out - it's worked out for the best, hasn't it?"

Kilgrim leaned back. "Absolutely. Absolutely. Except..." He leaned forwards again. "Some of my men died in that attack. Good men. They were almost like family to me. Tell me Viscount Spry, do you have family?"

"Not any more. Not since the attacks by Scourge." Spry sighed.

"Well, we wouldn't want your holdings to go to waste once you pass away would we? They would need to go to someone who would care for them, wouldn't they?" The Rogue Trader Regent suggested.

Spry nodded mutely.

"We have been using your old city as a base. I believe that it should become House Dureen's administrative centre on Orrema. It would make it easier for us all..." Hartek watched him closely.

Again, Spry nodded.

The Rogue Trader continued. "Well, in that case I believe that you should cede your ancestral holdings to House Dureen, on the event of your death, of course..."

"On the event of my death...?" Spry managed.

"Oh yes." Hartek smiled. "A long time from now, after all you support us and have our protection..."

"Well, I don't see why that couldn't be arranged!" Spry spoke quickly. "I mean, with no-one left to take over, as you say, we wouldn't want them to pass on to just anyone, would we?"

"Absolutely not!" Hartek agreed. "And you could retain your influence on the new council, and live your life in comfort, confident in the protection of House Dureen..."

The Rogue Trader Regent summoned a scrivener with the relevant documents, which were signed and then removed for safe keeping, with copies provided for the Viscount.

"It is fortuitous that House Dureen has already based themselves in your city. I believe 11th Cohort have already familiarised themselves with the terrain..." Hartek said pleasantly.

Spry smiled weakly. "Indeed, I feel much safer with them all there...!"

"Excellent!" Hartek took a moment to eat a mouthful of roast squig before continuing. "Trust me, as long as House Dureen has an interest on Orrema, there will be someone to watch over you."

The two men continued to talk for several more minutes, before Spry made a show of looking at his chrono, and thanking his host for the wonderful meal, made his excuses and left.

Hartek amended the orders of the Tattooed Man, to include keeping a close eye on Viscount Spry, and authorising his removal if necessary; "The first time he votes in council against House Dureen will be the last vote Viscount Spry takes!"

That final piece of business completed, the Rogue Trader Regent bade farewell to Orrema, and broke orbit. As they travelled to the jump point, Hartek announced to a delighted Lieutenant Commander Ivanov that he was handing command of the Furnace of Redemption to him.

"I am more a Fleet Commodore now", he explained, "And although my flag will be based on His Undying Will, and I can keep an eye on things here, recent events have shown me that I need a trusted man to keep a close eye on the Furnace too."

Ivanov wasted no time in transferring himself to his new command, and settled into the routine of commanding the Frigate. A previous comrade of the Lieutenant Commander, and another experienced ex-Imperial Navy officer, Lieutenant Lenora Montoya was promoted to the role of First Officer aboard the Grand Cruiser, much to her surprise.

As the Rogue Trader Regent often said, "I reward competence!"

Rather than undertaking a long warp jump into the unknown, it was decided that an attempt would made to map a faster route from Orrema to Dropas, as this was a trade route that would see increasing use, and Navigator Proscesu was able to find a path through the immaterium that knocked over forty-five percent of the time from current journey times. From the outskirts of the Dropas system, the first jump into the unknown would be made, taking the two warships to a small system partway between Dropas and the target system with the orange sun. The journey was mostly uneventful, although the ships had to manoeuvre round a warp shoal, before they emerged once again into real-space eight days later in the unknown intermediary system.

End of Segment

Gosh Darn those Rogue traders are slippery customers. Excellent as always Marvin.

Thanks Zakalwe!! Although im just the GM, Lord Spatula writes it up.

Segment taken from the official history of the Dureen Rogue Trader Dynasty

CURRENT LOCATION: HIS UNDYING WILL, EN ROUTE TO UNIDENTIFIED SYSTEM, THE CAULDRON

Preliminary note: The following information has been attained by a combination of first hand observation, after action reports and official intelligence sources. It is my honour to record the following events for the official record of House Dureen.

Glory be to the God-Emperor of the Imperium of Mankind, and to House Dureen. My Lords, I am in perpetuity your faithful servant. Adept Michaelus Helix

The system the two ships appeared in was virtually empty; aside from the star at the centre the only other celestial bodies were vast numbers of asteroids held into a vast belt by the forces of gravity. After some basic scans it seemed that there may well be mineral resources that could be exploited, and as there was little else that would be of interest to other Rogue Traders, the Rogue Trader Regent decided to dispatch survey teams to look for a suitable candidate amongst the asteroids to use as the basis for another asteroid base. He reasoned that the system was ideally located for further exploration of the Expanse, and would be a perfect covert base location. Survey teams, protections forces, and a flight of five gun-cutters were left in the system with orders to make the necessary preparations for construction, and to look for larger concentrations of mineral rich asteroids.

Navigator Proscesu calculated the route required to make the journey to the target system with the orange-red star, and the two ships of House Dureen jumped back into the warp, their goal firmly in sight. The route seemed clear and stable to the Navigator who estimated that thanks to this clarity, and the fact that the warp engines on His Undying Will were very effective, the warp journey would take less than half a day, however, as events were to prove, the immaterium is fickle and deceptive.

Two days into the journey, it was clear that something strange was happening; although the ships were getting closer to their destination, they were still a long way away, and the jump had already taken many times longer than had been calculated. Rogue Trader Hartek contacted the Navigator to question this, but the only thing that Navigator Proscesu could tell him was that although for some unknown reason forward momentum was massively reduced, the route remained clear, and the ships were travelling along it perfectly; the situation was unusual, but warp travel was somewhat erratic at the best of times. He was able to confirm however, that no ship had travelled through this region of the immaterium for several months at a minimum. Hartek shrugged, ordered some Tech-Adepts to run diagnostics of the ships systems and returned to dealing with the minutiae of running a Rogue Trader enterprise.

Later that day, the Enginseer Prime reported that the machine spirits were strong and happy, and all of the Holy technology was functioning correctly and well within parameters. He stated categorically that any problem lay with the immaterium, and not the machinery.

Making good use of the unexpected travel time, Brother Castagir divided his attention between running his training evolutions for the military, seeing to his devotions in the Chapel, running through his own conditioning techniques and combat moves in the gymnasium, and speaking to the House troops in an attempt to understand them and help them understand him, and finally, and potentially most importantly, keep them distracted from the strangeness of the journey. He approached each task with his usual thoroughness and focus.

Major Kimenth had instigated a policy where she would randomly attack members of her 13th Cohort, "Kilgrim's Killers", as they went about their duties with the aim of keeping the soldiers alert and on their toes at all times, a situation which she hoped would soon become second nature. It is unclear what the troopers thought of her unusual approach. She too spent time running through her fighting drills in the gymnasium, and fulfilling her duties to the God-Emperor in the Chapel assisting the Archbishop.

Lieutenant Commander Ivanov, happily now in command of the Furnace of Redemption, spent the majority of the time enjoying being in command of the vessel, drilling his crew, and maintaining a careful watch on the systems that had been damaged and hastily repaired at Orrema.

Continuing to be puzzled by the lack of progress, Patronius Proscesu requested a link be setup between His Undying Will and the Furnace of Redemption, and arranged a conference between himself, his cousin Aurelius, and Rogue Trader Hartek. Although all three were concerned by the strange events, nobody could find an explanation for them, other than "The warp is odd!" They were unable to even accurately predict the time it would now take to complete the jump.

After further discussions the decision was made to drop both ships into real-space pause and regroup for a while, before attempting to jump back to the immaterium and continue the journey. Even the initial departure from the warp nearly proved disastrous as the Furnace of Redemption almost collided with His Undying Will. The two ships closed to within a kilometre of each other before rapid and violent manoeuvring gave them enough separation that the two vessels avoided each other.

Hartek opened a vox channel to Ivanov; "Mister Ivanov. If you're going to get that close again I want dinner and a show first..." The humour did not quite hide the tension in his voice, nor the fact that all weapons batteries had locked onto the Furnace of Redemption as she closed.

"Message received and understood Rogue Trader...!" Ivanov sounded relieved.

The communication channel was cut and Ivanov turned to a junior Officer on the bridge; "Please dispatch some flowers and a bottle of wine to the Rogue Trader at your first opportunity!"

Fighting a smile the young officer acknowledged the order.

The two Navigator cousins spent some time scanning the immaterium, and discovered a small, but powerful warp storm building, and moving in the direction of the ships current location. Some thought was given to reversing the course, and running ahead of it, however, it was soon realised that the ships would be running in the same direction that the storm was travelling. By far the most efficient and least risky route would be to continue on, and breach the storm at its narrowest point. The decision made, the ships continued their journey, and with clever piloting and good navigation the storm was traversed with minimal impact over the period of a day. Once clear of the storm the route to the target system became obvious once more, and the Navigator was able to get a clearer idea of the remaining journey time, estimating that it would require another two weeks to reach the destination.

As time passed, more and more of the crew of His Undying Will began to suffer from broken sleep patterns, and nightmares, and often arrived on duty already looking tired as they had been unable to rest. Later still, it was reported that some crew missed their duty rotas, and that people had began to see things, strange things around the corridors of the ship. During one of the weekly meetings, as the status reports came in from department heads, Hartek noticed one young officer who seemed to be holding back. He fixed his glare on the unfortunate man, until he felt uncomfortable enough to speak.

"Sir... Uh... I've been getting strange reports from my team..." He paused, so Kilgrim prompted him to continue. He laughed, nervously and spoke again; "They reported that they've seen ghosts, sir!"

"Ghosts?" Hartek asked.

"Yes sir!"

Hartek nodded. "I suppose visions of ghosts are not unusual, particularly in the warp..."

No Sir!" The young man agreed. "They reported that they were wearing the uniform of Imperial sailors sir! They seemed to be running from something in terror."

"Hmmm. Which direction were the running? For'ard or Aft?" Hartek prompted.

"For'ard, Sir!"

The Rogue Trader nodded. "I suggest you tell your people to pay these apparitions no mind. Focus on their duties!"

"I already have, sir!" The man confirmed.

Shortly after the meeting broke up, and Hartek was called to the bridge by Navigator Proscesu; even though the ships had been making steady head way, it appeared that they had suddenly slipped back to the point in the journey that they had been a week earlier. It was as though the closer the ships got to their target, the more difficult it became to finally reach there, and the system itself was moving away. Hartek was somewhat less than impressed by the news, and even less impressed that the journey be broken off, simply stating in a gruff voice that "You have your orders, Mister Proscesu. Keep us on track."

The ships crews were suffering, and tiredness was obvious; reports of medical problems increased, as did reports of strange encounters and sightings in the corridors and chambers of His Undying Will. As the uneasiness continued, one of the mess decks on the Grand Cruiser erupted into a mass brawl, and a number of people were injured, although fortunately there were no fatalities. The senior officers were not exempt from the strange events either; the Rogue Trader Regent was walking along a deserted corridor from the bridge to his private quarters when suddenly, two figures came barrelling round the corner at the end of the corridor. They were running flat out, with a focus that is often present in people showing a grim determination to escape something bad. Behind them were two other figures, also running.

"Hold it!" Hartek barked. "Where's the fire?"

The first two figures dodged past him and kept running, but one of the slower figures was forced to stop by the Rogue Trader Regent. He was of average build and had cropped blond hair, and had a look of utter panic and terror on his face.

"Run! Run you fool!" He screamed at Hartek. "They're coming!"

The Rogue Trader Regent reached out and grabbed the man who struggled to break free, almost sobbing; "Nooo! No! Let me go! Let me go! Please let me go!"

Another figure ran past the two men, and suddenly Hartek realised that the uniforms were not those of House Dureen, instead they were the grey jumpsuits of the Imperial Navy, an Aquila on the left of the chest.

Stunned, he asked "What're you running away from?"

As he spoke another grey clad sailor, armed with a shotgun, ran into the corridor. He spun round, facing the way he had just come, and fired several shots from the weapon and the smell of cordite filled the air. Suddenly he seemed to be snatched in to the air by a great unseen hand, and he dropped the shotgun, and the coppery smell of blood flooded Hartek's nostrils as the sailor was torn in two, leaving the walls, ceiling and deck splashed with gore. As Hartek watched, it seemed as though the unfortunate sailor had his head bitten off by his unseen killer. Shocked, Hartek released his grip on the man he had been holding, who wasted no time in resuming his pell-mell run for safety, and began to reach for a weapon. Suddenly, the lower half of the body was hurled down the corridor, and crashed into Hartek with a meaty thud. The compact figure of the Rogue Trader Regent was flung backwards, impacting a wall, before he slid to the deck unconscious.

A short while later Hartek came to his senses; he was still in the corridor, and ached badly. He checked his chrono and saw that perhaps ten minutes had passed, but the corridor was clear; there was no sign of running sailors, no shotgun on the floor, no blood or gore, and no body. It was as though it never happened, and had it not been for his aches Kilgrim might have been able to convince himself that this was the case. As it was he continued on to his quarters, deep in thought.

Several more days passed by, and the ships seemed to be closer to their destination, the Navigators estimated that they were three quarters of the way there. The crews continued to struggle, and the problems they had been suffering seemed to be slowly escalating, and tempers were more frayed, but Hartek demanded that the journey be continued. Brother Castagir spent more time speaking to the combat troops, doing what he could to keep them focussed and strengthening their resolve, and that meant that the unrest and sporadic fighting that was evident in the crew generally fortunately did not spread to the military forces. Major Kimenth was equally focussed on "Kilgrim's Killers", pushing them through their tough training regime, and was authorised by the Rogue Trader to involve other members of the crew who had been disciplined, or were performing badly in their roles. These unfortunates played the roles of recalcitrant and rebellious civilians in the exercises. Word soon spread both of the tough approach that the "Killers" used on any that stood before them, and that the best way to avoid playing the enemy role in the exercises was to stay out of trouble and perform well in any assigned job.

At the Command Staff briefing the next day, Iaris was missed, and Hartek ordered a search for her. It emerged that her last known location was with the Rogue Trader Regent when they had discussed the training regime for the "Killers", so Brother Castagir, accompanied by the Hartek, began to track her movement from that meeting place.

Hartek warned "Be advised, Brother Castagir, there are things afoot on this vessel at the moment..."

Castagir actually laughed, before answering. "Rogue Trader, just about every non-Astartes vessel I have ever journeyed on has had things afoot at one time or another!"

The Rogue Trader nodded, and attempted to hide his own smile.

The Battle-Brother successfully managed to find subtle evidence of the Major's passing, and he soon found the data-slate she had been carrying near a ladder leading down to the storage holds. He handed his find to the Rogue Trader, reasoning that it was Dynasty property, and squeezed his armoured form through the access point, and descended the ladder.

He was able to track movement both into and out of the holds, and saw damage to the door controls of the chamber, as though it had been struck with the force of someone in a real hurry to get clear of the room. Glancing around he saw that an access point into one of the elevator shafts was open, and he peered into the gloom. In the darkness his enhanced vision was able to make out the shape of a suspended figure, seemingly clamped onto something at the side of the shaft. He focussed his vision, and confirmed the figure was that of the Major.

Hartek led as the two hurried down to the point where the Major Kimenth was suspended, and within a few a minutes, Castagir effortlessly dragged her from her resting place. He picked her up, and the two men hurried to the medicae chambers.

Castagir turned to the Rogue Trader Regent and spoke. "There is a story behind this, and one I think we should hear..." and then ordered the medicae staff to alert either him, the Rogue Trader or the first officer once Major Kimenth regained consciousness. He detailed a squad of 13th Cohort "Kilgrim's Killers" troops to protect her until the reason for her disappearance and injuries had been uncovered.

It was only slightly over a day later Brother Castagir received a message from the Chirurgeons reporting that although she was seriously injured and suffering from internal damage and broken bones, Major Kimenth had woken up, so he went to the Rogue Trader to inform him of the news, and both of them visited the injured officer. Before they were allowed access to her, the Chief Chirurgeon pulled them to one side.

"Excuse me Sirs, I think you need to know something!" He said. "When we were treating the Major, we noticed something on her arm."

"Go on...!" Hartek prompted.

He pulled out a data-slate and showed them an image; it was a close up of a name tag attached to the back of her cybernetic arm, and the tag read "Phoebea Kelter".

"I'm not sure what it means, but I thought you should know..." The Chirurgeon shrugged, before continuing; "You can see her now."

Castagir turned to Kilgrim. "Perhaps some further background checks are required, Rogue Trader! And perhaps we should address her as "Major Kelter" when we speak to her?"

Hartek chuckled, "Who says Astartes don't have a sense of humour?" Then he turned and cautioned the Chirurgeon not to mention his discovery to anyone. He turned his attention back to the Space Marine before speaking thoughtfully; "I'm not inclined to make too much of a fuss over this."

The Astartes nodded. "We all have pasts..." He paused "But her past may have a bearing on what happened here, and if it does it means that someone, or something tracked her onto this ship, and that could put the ship at risk. It would be foolish to ignore that possibility."

"Fair point, Brother Castagir." He turned. "Let's go and see Miss Kelter then..."

The two of them entered the ward where the injured woman was being treated and dismissed the "Killers" who were guarding her. She rolled over, saw them and tried to sit up, before giving up and remained laying flat. She attempted a smile, and spoke; "Would anyone be able to go to the lower decks and find my sword please? And where'd that psycho-***** with the axe go?"

"Excuse me?" Hartek asked

"Errr, weird woman, covered in blood, really freaky, tried to kill me..." She helpfully pointed out.

Castagir spoke up. "Other than a damaged door control, there was no sign of any struggle, or another person near where we found you. There have been numerous reports of strange occurrences on board however. Perhaps this is another function of this strange warp jump we are currently on."

The Major nodded. "Well, the last time I was in the warp and it was as rough as this... Well, no, I don't want to talk about that..."

There was a brief silence which was broken by the rumbling voice of Brother Castagir. "Major Kelter. You had something to say?"

"****." The Major closed her eyes briefly, before opening them and looking at the two men. "Phoebea Kelter is dead."

"Really?" Castagir pressed. "It is my belief that we rescued her alive, but seriously injured, in an elevator shaft, and in circumstances that can only be described as unexplained..."

"Phoebea Kelter is dead." The Major repeated. "I made very sure of that..."

"In that case I would suggest that you remove the name from your cybernetic arm." Castagir nodded his head in the direction of the limb in question.

"If I do that, I'll forget who she was." The Major spoke, a sad tone to her voice. "It is important to remember. She was very close to me. We were almost the same person. Like sisters."

Castagir nodded. "One might go so far as to say twin-sisters?"

The Major smiled. "One might. But she is definitely dead."

"Should anybody ask!" Castagir finished for her.

"Oh, I doubt anyone will. We made very sure she was dead!"

"We?" The Astartes prompted.

The Major closed her eyes again, briefly. "****. " There was a long pause. "Yes. We."

Kilgrim interrupted. "Well, assuming you injuries have nothing to do with your background, I don't think we need say any more about this..."

Major Kimenth nodded, and then reported what had happened; it was a strange story.

She had been returning to her quarters after an update meeting where she had reported the progress of this new training approach to the Rogue Trader. She had been absorbed in some information about the personnel under her command stored on the data-slate she was holding, but something caused her to look up, and standing silently ten metres in front of her she saw Navigator Proscesu.

"Notch?" She questioned, puzzled. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be guiding the ship?"

"You've got to see this! Follow me!" Proscesu turned on his heel and set off at a run.

After a second pausing, Iaris followed, finding herself behind by some distance, but strangely, just close enough to see the direction the Navigator turned at every junction. The path twisted, and moved up and down decks, until finally she saw him run into a storage hold. Cautiously, she followed him into chamber, drawing her sword and eyeing the gaps between the storage chambers suspiciously.

As she advanced, towards the centre of the hold she found Notch standing in a small cleared space, back towards her and his head slightly bowed. Behind her, unseen the doors to the hold closed although there did not seem to be anyone there to close them.

Notch seemed to be muttering something, but Iaris was unable to make out the words.

"Navigator...?" She prompted. "What did you bring me here to see?"

Proscesu continued to mutter and whisper, so she edged closer until finally she could hear what was being said;

"One, two, he's coming for you! Three, four, you better lock your door! Five, six, grab your crucifix! Seven, eight, better stay up late! Nine, ten, you'll never sleep again!"

Suddenly the figure in front of her twisted round, and glared at her with blazing red eyes. Instantly on guard Iaris raised her sword and prepared to strike, but one after another the lights in the hold flickered and went out, and from behind her, Major Kimenth could hear the scraping and clanking noise of metal on metal as though something metallic was being dragged, occasionally knocking against another object.

Immediately Iaris leapt to one side, placing the solidity of a storage container to her back, and in the flickering light she could see that the Navigator, or whatever it was that looked like the Navigator, was no longer there. Cautiously, she began to edge around the containers, and head back towards the door, and was almost halfway there when all light sources failed, and she was plunged into pitch blackness. Carefully, using her hands to guide her, she felt her way along the wall still aiming to reach the door. Suddenly she could hear the scraping noise again; it seemed to be heading directly towards her, and as it got closer she could hear a heavy laboured breathing.

Keeping her wits about her, Major Kimenth moved as quietly as she could, edging ever closer to the exit, when all of a sudden the scraping and heavy breathing noises closed to within a couple of metres of her position, before going silent. She took another carefully shuffled step towards the door when the silence was split by a high pitched keening shriek, and as the lights suddenly burned brightly again she could see a female humanoid figure, covered in blood and dressed in ragged clothes; it was leaping towards her, swinging a fire-axe at her head. Desperately Major Kimenth thrust her lathe blade up, and deflected the force of the attack and the axe head crashed into the wall behind her. She gasped with shock at the power of the blow, but then she counter-attacked hoping to buy some time, but her blade simply cut through the air. The lights dimmed and flickered again, but she was able to spot the figure as it dashed forward swinging the axe again, and once more, a desperate defence deflected the powerful blow.

Realising that she was unlikely to win such a fight, Major Kimenth blindly reach out for the controls of the door to the hold, somehow finding them. She hit them with the pommel of her sword and as the doors opened she dived through, rolled, and hit the control panel to seal the hold behind her. Breathing a sigh of relief she turned, just in time to see the blood soaked figure swinging the axe at her from the darkened corridor she had just stepped into. Shocked, she flung herself clear once again, and the axe-head bit deeply into the deck plates where she had been standing a split second earlier.

"You've got to be kidding me!" She muttered to herself, unable to understand how her attacker had followed her into the corridor.

Behind the figure she could see the ladder and shaft she had descended only a few minutes earlier, a ladder that could lead her to safety, and again she began to edge towards it, still muttering to herself.

"I thought all this was over... I saw a planet get sucked into the warp... I saw daemons jumping around and slaughtering people. And now the daemons are following me. It. Just. Isn't. Fair!"

She saw the figure stalking her once again, and felt the ladder at her back. The lights went out again, and she grabbed for the ladder, missed her grip, and toppled out into the darkness. As she fell Major Kimenth looked back up the shaft; the lights had come back on in the rooms above, and she could see the strange blood soaked figure peering down at her. In desperation she flung out her arm, and the cybernetics whined and whirred as her hand locked onto a metal rail built into the shaft wall. She had fallen three levels, so her momentum forced her into an arc pivoting from the grip of her hand, smashing her torso into the wall. Her cybernetic limb locked into position, Major Kimenth lost consciousness, her last sight being her precious Lathe blade tumbling end over end into the darkness below.

Having listened to the story Hartek dispatched a squad of the "Killers" to retrieve the fallen blade, and at the bottom of the shaft they also discovered the remains of a dozen other people, who had obviously suffered the same fate that nearly befell Major Kimenth. He ordered the sword be returned to him in his office, where he inspected it, looking for distinctive markings, but although he could see that it was of superb quality like all Lathe blades, there was nothing that would give him any idea of the history of the weapon, and so ordered it returned to the Major in the Medicae chamber.

The grind of the journey continued, and the strange distance dilation seemed to be continuing as did the suffering of the crews. The Furnace of Redemption was ordered to take the lead so that the pressure on the Navigators could be shared, but even so, the severity and consequences of the fighting escalated, and the first fatalities as a direct result of disputes were reported. On the Furnace of Redemption Ivanov received a report of man who had sealed himself into his work area in Block 4A of Section, 7C on Deck 34. The Petty Officer in charge reported that the man appeared to be repeating his normal work routine, but without break, which meant that the plasma banks were in danger of overloading and that this would lead to a devastating chain reaction. Ivanov immediately ordered the Enginseer Prime to assess the potential damage and he quickly agreed with the Petty Officers assessment; it would not destroy the ship, but would blow a significant hole in the hull, and thousands of crew would die.

"Enginseer, it is it possible to isolate the power to that area?" Ivanov asked.

"It is sir, but it would have to be that section and the neighbouring sections, and it is inevitable that some people cannot leave their stations and will not survive... We have perhaps ten minutes." The Enginseer replied.

Ivanov paused for a few seconds, and then spoke his commands into the vox. "Enginseer begin to plan for that, but do not execute until ordered. Petty Officer, get cutting gear to that door, and evacuate all none essential personnel from you section and all surrounding sections. Ensure everyone is wearing a void suit."

The two men acknowledged their orders, and began to execute them, and although the cutting crew were not able to breach the door, the power was cut off in time to prevent disaster. Because of the timely intervention and evacuation, casualties were remarkably light with a dozen brave souls sacrificing their lives for the benefit of the wider crew. Ivanov immediately promoted the surprised Petty Officer as a reward for his decisive and crucial actions.

This event appeared to be the final straw for Hartek, and he ordered both ships jump to real space, planning to spend a full week there to give the crews chance to recover from the stress of the time spent in the warp, and allow the completion of any repairs that needed to be done. He also called a meeting of the command staff to discuss the strange behaviour on the warp jump so far, and some thought was given to jumping to an alternative system and attempting to approach the target system on a different route. Finally, one of the Navigators spoke up.

"It seems strange that the harder we chase this system, the more difficult it is to reach it. We have been in the warp for thirty days, on a jump that was originally plotted to take twelve hours, perhaps if we reverse our route, we will close faster..."

This seemed to cause confusion, and the only explanation that could be given was that the warp was "fickle and strange. " Although it was obvious that Hartek did not particularly like this answer, and grumbled somewhat about it, he accepted the suggested course reversal as the only potential solution to the interminable journey.

His Undying Will and the Furnace of Redemption jumped back into the warp and reversed their course; within three hours they found themselves at their target system and they thundered into real space once more. The helmsman checked the ships chrono, and announced that even though the crew had experience more than thirty five days since the first jump, only three days had passed relatively.

Both ships immediately scanned the system; as expected it was centred on an orange star. Orbiting this was a small barren planet with a moon, further from the centre was an asteroid field, and then in the habitable zone was another planet orbited by a moon, and communications traffic could be detected from that world. In the outer system ware two gas giants, one with a moon, the other circled by ice rings, more remotely located were a number of barren rocky and icy planets with moons.

The ships shared their scan results to get a more complete picture of the system, and Ivanov managed to intercept some of the radio traffic which looked to be being passed between ships in orbit. As the command staff gathered in the briefing room to discuss how best to approach the inhabited world the intercepted signals were played into the briefing room; a bestial voice burst from the speakers "The assault continues my lord! We will soon have the last stronghold. All praise to Khorne!"

A shocked silence fell over the room, and Brother Castagir clenched his fists tightly before relaxing, a grim look on his face.

A full data analysis revealed that the habitable planet was under full assault from external forces, and by further breaking down the sources of the messages it was possible to discern that the attacking forces had a number of ships at their disposal. In orbit around the world were a Hellbringer class planetary assault light cruiser, a Devastation class cruiser and three Infidel class raiders. Patrolling further out in the system were four more Infidel class raiders. Immediately discussions began to decide how to best use the two ships of House Dureen to combat the attacking fleet.

Suddenly a breathless communications officer burst into the room; "Rogue Trader! Sir! We've intercepted this message from the ships around the planet."

Hartek looked up. "Yes? On screen."

The holo-tank flickered to life and displayed in the flickering grainy image were a group of short stocky figures with beards, of a similar stature to the Rogue Trader Regent. They were being herded at gunpoint by a group of men wearing tattered uniforms of an unusual type and colour. A voice could be heard; "My lord. We have captured more prisoners, we will transport them up soon."

The camera panned round and streams of the short squat humanoids could be seen being forced onto transport ships.

Hartek punched the table, a grim look on his face. "I will not have my people degraded by this traitorous filth!"

End of Segment

If I where to play your game, I would play a femalle tech priest and make you a cherubi!

Wahoo, smash some Khornies to save some Stumpies, time for a little of the old BURN THE HERETIC! PURGE THE UNCLEAN! IGNORE THE RETCON! then aye;

Bring it on.

(please)

p.s. If I may be so bold:

Hartek stares at the vid screen astonished at the sight of other stumpies. A 'stocky-yet-svelte' figure is roughly pushed to the ground, who slowly picks her head up to look stright at the camera as if looking into the soul of the Rogue Trader; her bloody slpit lip bringing an ounce of colour to the frightened but otherwise noble face of an attractive female squat...

Probably about time the old warhorse got some loving.

p.p.s Then many thanks to both yourself and Lord Spatula. (Lord Spatula?! lol)

crisaron, Its bad luck to have a woman on board the ship! (Just kidding)

Zakalwe, what everone doesnt know is that the fleet has been sent by GW HQ (Based in the eye of terror) to finish off the squats. That was a good writeup, the saucy old devil (RT) has previously tried to sire a heir with a 'NORMAL' female but it didnt produce anything (Is he firing blanks?). You would have to ask Lord Spatula why

MARVIN THE ARVN said:

the saucy old devil (RT) has previously tried to sire a heir with a 'NORMAL' female but it didnt produce anything (Is he firing blanks?). You would have to ask Lord Spatula why

I seem to recall it as a discreet enquiry as to whether squats and Imperial humans could interbreed, to which our glorious GM said no. Kiilgrim hasn't had any action, whether human, mutant or xeno, since he signed on with House Dureen. Which is probably why his battleaxe is so well polished.

DrVesuvius said:

Polishing his battleaxe, eh? So that's what the kids are calling it nowadays!

DrVesuvius said:

MARVIN THE ARVN said:

the saucy old devil (RT) has previously tried to sire a heir with a 'NORMAL' female but it didnt produce anything (Is he firing blanks?). You would have to ask Lord Spatula why

I seem to recall it as a discreet enquiry as to whether squats and Imperial humans could interbreed, to which our glorious GM said no. Kiilgrim hasn't had any action, whether human, mutant or xeno, since he signed on with House Dureen. Which is probably why his battleaxe is so well polished.

Never let the truth get in the way of a good story!!

MILLANDSON said:

Between raidng foot locker and phones for u

Zakalwe, the group liked your paragraph of Hartek's next victim so much Lord Spatula is going to modify his writeup to include it. Have a benny, ops wrong game

www.mangafox.com/manga/chninkel/c003/7.html

Something like this? Except I expect spatula to be a bit more impressive then J'on

crisaron said:

Now that's something I'll never be able to unsee. Where's me brain bleach...

Oh and in case you're getting us confused Lord Spatula played Enginseer Nikander Hak and now plays Brother Castagir, our resident Deathwatch Astartes. I'm playing Kilgrim Hartek, and can confirm he is just a mite beefier than that manga dwarf. He was originally styled after Brian Blessed, but since seeing Game Of Thrones I'm now seeing him played by Mark Addy. Oh and he's hung like an ogryn. Fact. It's on my character sheet so it must be true.

And in case it's not clear from the write-ups, recently added characters LIeutenant Ivanov and Major Iaris Kimenth are players. Navigator Patronius "Notch" Prosescu is also a PC, but his player is only making about half the sessions - when he's acting like an arrogant git, that normally means he's being NPC'd by our glorious GM (all hail to him)

That storie is "The Chninkle", it is worth the read. And I tough it would represent the action well! Just make the evil guys Chaos Squat!

MARVIN THE ARVN said:

That's awesome, I glad you all like the idea. I'll take the benny, I don't know what it is, but I'm sure it will be good washed down with beer.

Next Victim? Now that doesn't sound like a profit obsessed Rogue Trader Regent at all. What about feelings of tenderness and protectiveness? A mad desire to stock up on nappies and paint the nursery? Deep and meaingful pillow conversations? How about shopping for a stupid sized SUV to 'protect the kids'? Longing glances across the bridge.... .. .I'm talking true romance here man!

Hung Like an Ogryn? (zip..thump!) If it says so on the char sheet it must be true. My Feral World Assassin character sheet just has "Jungo like huntin, fightin, and wimmin" on it so that's what he's into.

crisaron - Im just gald that the game isnt live action Chaos Squats

Zakalw - A benny is used in a game called savage worlds.

Segment taken from the official history of the Dureen Rogue Trader Dynasty

CURRENT LOCATION: HIS UNDYING WILL, UNIDENTIFIED SYSTEM, THE CAULDRON

Preliminary note: The following information has been attained by a combination of first hand observation, after action reports and official intelligence sources. It is my honour to record the following events for the official record of House Dureen.

Glory be to the God-Emperor of the Imperium of Mankind, and to House Dureen. My Lords, I am in perpetuity your faithful servant. Adept Michaelus Helix

The Furnace of Redemption and His Undying Will moved cautiously into the system, and after analysing the flight tracks of the detected enemy ships arced out towards an ice planet intending to use the world and its rings of rock and ice as cover. The Furnace of Redemption concealed itself in the debris, but the machine spirits of the Grand Cruiser refused to hide themselves, and engines blazing His Undying Will proudly advanced.

Rogue Trader Regent Hartek decided to use the non-subtle footprint of the Grand Cruiser to his advantage, and as two of the patrolling raiders, tentatively tagged as the Striding of Soul and the Fallen of Dark by the ships tactical cogitators, changed course, heading in the direction of the Grand Cruiser to investigate the energy signature they had obviously detected, Hartek ordered the crew to pilot the vessel as though the enemy had not been detected, seemingly focussing their attention on scanning the planet for exploitable resources. This ploy seemed to work, and the two Chaos vessels approached cautiously, and were drawn past the hidden Furnace of Redemption.

As the enemy Raiders slowly approached His Undying Will it was clear that their Captains knew what she was, and all for all their madness that was evident in their fall to the ruinous powers, they were not stupid enough to rush headlong into combat with such a powerful vessel, however, they were also fixated on their target, so when the Furnace of Redemption slipped from her hiding place like some prehistoric predator the first they knew about a second House Dureen ship was when macrocannon rounds bracketed the Striding of Soul and her hull was pierced by fingers of coherent light as the lance battery unleashed its energies.

Shocked into action, both ships turned to face their attacker, gouts of flame bursting through the rents in the hull of the Striding of Soul, however, the return fire was largely ineffective, with the Furnace of Redemption's armour absorbing any of the damage that penetrated her void shield. Initially it seemed that the enemy were going to push the attack, and the commander of the sensorium teams reported to Lieutenant Commander Ivanov; "We've detecting an energy spike indicating torpedo tubes being loaded on the Striding of Soul, Sir!"

Ivanov, remembering the devastating salvos of torpedoes that Cobra Class Destroyers used to unleash on their enemies from his years of Naval service, ordered the weapons batteries to open fire once more; again, the lances struck true, blowing chunks of hull from the unfortunate raider, setting sections of the ship on fire again. The Lieutenant Commander then ordered the Furnace of Redemption into evasive manoeuvring to spoil the return fire of the Chaos ships.

Suddenly a voice called out from the communicatorium terminal; "Sir, they're trying to open communications with us!"

"Anything they have to say, I don't need to hear!" Ivanov grunted, "Keep the link closed!"

With a smile the officer blocked the communication attempt.

Over the next hour the battle raged; the Captain of the Striding of Soul decided that his ship was too damaged to continue the fight, and broke away from the combat and started to run, leaving the Furnace of Redemption evading and manoeuvring to get the best firing solution on the remaining Raider, the Fallen of Dark. The two ships exchanged fire, with the Furnace having to avoid incoming torpedoes, but being unable to strike back in return, and a stalemate seemed to develop with neither ship managing to land a telling blow. Then, through some clever positioning, and using the superior abilities of the crew, the Dureen Ship managed to close into the rear arc of the Raider.

Seeing that Lieutenant Commander Ivanov had things well in hand, Rogue Trader Regent Hartek ordered His Undying Will to set off in pursuit of the fleeing Raider; even though logic suggested that it would be unlikely that a Grand Cruiser would be able to overhaul a much faster Raider, Hartek had faith in his crew, and slowly the huge ship began to close on her smaller prey.

Ivanov noted the departure of His Undying Will, grunted in satisfaction, and turned his attention back to the more pressing matter of destroying the last of the enemy. He ordered the weapons to open fire again, and a salvo of melta-cannon shells broke through the shields, and blew large chunks of superstructure clear, but more importantly, set fire to the torpedo bays on the Fallen of Dark rendering them useless for the foreseeable future; the fire seemed to take hold, and began to spread quickly throughout the enemy ship.

Ivanov watched the representation of the burning Raider in the holo-tank, and muttered under his breath, "Kill the filth, and cleanse them with fire. At least that gives them the chance to return to the side of the Emperor and righteousness!"

Those bridge crew around him echoed his words, a grim satisfaction on their faces as the Chaos Raider began to run for safety.

Lieutenant Commander Ivanov was not feeling merciful, and kept close in on the fleeing enemy repeatedly hitting the heretics with lance and melta-cannon fire until the battered ship began to tumble, and finally broke apart. The bride crew cheered, and the unscathed Furnace of Redemption altered her course, and set off in the wake of His Undying Will.

Thanks to clever course plotting, the boosting of power to her engines, and the leadership of the Rogue Trader Regent, and Brother Castagir who had taken a prominent place on the bridge, His Undying Will slowly closed on the fleeing Raider, finally overhauling her target eighteen hours after the chase began. As the enemy realised he was going to be caught, he reversed his course and in desperation began a full speed attack run towards the Grand Cruiser. Smiling that feral smile of his Hartek ordered all four Starhawk bomber squadrons to launch and intercept the doomed ship.

As soon as the Raider passed into the range of starboard Sunsear laser batteries, Brother Castagir fired a barrage of beams at the enemy, punching through the void shields and armour causing more internal damage. The enemy ship barrelled forward, leaving a trail of debris and bodies in its wake, as more and more of the hull was opened to the void. It fired a wild salvo of macro-cannon shells at His Undying Will, missing by hundreds of kilometres, and as they huge shells arced away the forty Starhawk bombers took the opportunity to start their attack run on the Striding of Soul weaving in and out of the streams of mega-bolter rounds that streamed out from the Chaos vessel.

Fire rolled down the length of the ship as the bombs detonated, and the Dureen attack craft powered away, jinking around the debris and the continued defensive fire, before all returned safely to the Grand Cruiser. As they cleared the vicinity of the Raider, Castagir provided additional covering fire from the Sunsear batteries, and as the beams of energy struck home, the raider seemed to swell and burst as her plasma drive detonated ripping the hull to pieces.

As the bridge crew celebrated the Grand Cruisers first kill in House Dureen colours, the Furnace of Redemption arrived and formed up on her flank.

Castagir stood, nodded to the crew and spoke, "You have done the impossible and gave us the chance to destroy these traitors. You should be proud; in your actions, the Emperor was with us today..."

End of Segment