“Thalk, You are placing me in a tricky position here,” I say. “I am grateful that you are putting forth a decent effort in fulfilling your end of the bargain, even adding a personal touch. This is a significant personal favour. What, precisely, are you after, Vice-Admiral Styrvold?” “Ah, back to formalities so soon? Here, take a look at this.” Thalk hands me three, palm sized scroll cases, machined from adamantium and decorated in red and gold. The colouring hides machine code. There’s also a data chip buried in the case and, I know this because I wrote them out myself, another in the wax purity seal attached to the actual scroll within. “How curious,” I say. Playing up the moment a little, my snakes pick up the scrolls in their jaws and one snake drops a single case into my open hand. I send power into the case along with a code and the end pops open. I upend the case and tap the end with my finger, forcing out the small scroll of Imperial vellum. I carefully undo the red ribbon wrapped around the scroll’s clasps then unfurl the scroll. “One Stellar Requisition Credit, issued to Captain Agustius Kurg in exchange for his decommissioned trade vessel, Jerome’s Guts. A crude reference to Saint Jerome the Pure, no doubt, who was forced to watch his fellows be eviscerated by Chaos forces in M.33.” Thalk says, “Such an inauspicious name! No wonder it was overrun with Plague Zombies.” “It is best not to tempt fate when naming one’s void ships,” I nod. “Still, what exactly are you doing with this SRC and what do you expect me to do with it?” “Oh! I traded some favours for it. I was hoping to cash it in along with the other two.” “That will not be possible. You are not Captain Agusius Kurg.” “Nonsense, Magos. What good is a currency that you cannot exchange?” I sigh, “This is a document worth as much as a Sword Class frigate. Do you think it could be swapped without some measure of security? It requires the physical presence of all three parties to do so. In this case that would be you, Captain Kurg, and myself. You could have also brought this to my heir, factotum, or purser. These measures are in place to prevent theft.” “Those terms aren’t on the document!” “An abbreviated version is embedded into the dot matrix that makes up the finely printed letters in machine code. It can’t be seen with a standard Human eye. The full terms are on a data chip in the lid of the scroll case. Most Tech-Priests could have told you this. How you would even believe that the terms are not on the document when this is the first time the case has been opened is beyond me. If you want me to transfer ownership, you will need to set up a meeting that includes Captain Kurg.” Thalk clears his throat, “There’s a small problem with that. Captain Kurg and his fellows are missing, including all records of their existence. I’ve never seen anything like it in all my days.” “How shocking,” I say, my tone turning level and digitised. “Now look here, Magos. It wasn’t me. These terms of transfer are far too strict. What if there is a sudden death, or someone wants to pass on an SRC to their heir? How is the Imperial Navy supposed to cash these in if it’s limited to a single name on a document?” “Ask for more names when it is issued,” I say, “or request that it be valid for all officers above a specific rank. Again. When it is issued.” “These SRC are signed by you, Magos Issengrund. Surely there is some administrative magic you could pull off to make these documents valid. I would hate to be forced to push the issue and put in a more traditional requisition request. We’d both be mired in Administratum and Munitorum documents for decades.” “That would be regrettable. For you at least. I doubt you’d get one of my ships. I suspect that such an order would end up in the hands of Battlefleet Obscurus and you’d get a few cast offs. Why not try to buy my void ships like everyone else, with broken vessels?” “Magos, a single Adder-Class vessel would drastically alter the engagement doctrine of Battlefleet Koronus. We’d be able to subdue rebellious elements with far fewer resources and bring you back many more hulls. What must be done to make this possible?” A Servitor approaches with a document binder. I take it from their hands and present it to Thalk. “Read this. Immediately.” Thalk frowns and yanks the binder from my hand. He flicks through the pages quickly at first, then starts to slow, going over them more carefully as his hands begin to shake. “You’ve been spying on me!” “No, Vice-Admiral. The Inquisition has been monitoring you. There was nothing that required them to take action, but they did pass on information related to my sons. The rest remains confidential and I have not seen it.” “You can’t blackmail me with this. It is within my right and remit to conduct internal investigations. If your boy had shot that man he would have been let off.” “I know. However, there’s also a chance he would have been immediately executed so that the perpetrators could cover up their crime, or at least go down in the most bitter way possible. Just because they would have almost certainly failed to kill Fial matters little. This is not the agreement we came to, Vice-Admiral Styrvold. Teaching my sons fleet politics would have been enough if you hadn’t let the plot go through for iron cast proof. “You could have also asked my boys for their cooperation, then it would be upon their heads, as well as yours, and I would have likely let this go. In the end, you risked their lives to imprison individuals who are worthless for the chance to get three SRC out of me, hoping to bluster your way through the small print. I am not impressed.” “The disappearance of three Merchant Navy Captains on your flagship does not inspire me with confidence.” Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. “I am going to give you two options. First, is that I will trade you those three SRC for two Adder-Class vessels. They would be transferred immediately to you without their crews. Until the end of the Millenium, the Imperial Navy will only receive fifteen percent of the value of a vessel when scrapped, rather than twenty-five percent. Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn novel•fire.net “I also won’t sell you any more vessels for fifty years and you will find that vessels who visit SR-651 will pay a premium for supplies, nor will there be any more small favours. Fleet command will be informed of your choice. “Three squads of power armoured Herald Acolytes and two Battle Smiths will be given quarters at your expense to oversee the protection of my children. They will not assist your fleet with their expertise.” “And the actual offer?” says Thalk. “One Adder-Class vessel will attach itself to your flagship and follow wherever my sons go. The vessel and its crew will fulfill reasonable requests so long as they are paid for their time. That includes manufacturing and consulting their crew on technological matters. “The vessel will hold three companies of elite Heralds. That means Warforged and Battlesmiths for officers, Vanguard Armour for the special weapons teams, and everyone else in power armour. They will come with their own vehicles and shuttles. The vessel, crew, and Heralds will supply themselves. “The three Herald companies will have free access to your vessel to guard my sons and investigate plots against them. The Heralds will remain as unobtrusive as possible and will contribute to the defense of your flagship. They will assist in a crisis at their own discretion. At the end of the twenty-five years, the vessel and my Heralds will depart with my sons. “There will be no price hikes or devaluing of scrap. The three SRC that you have will be handed over to me for destruction. The Imperial Navy will be able to requisition vessels through SRC and resource exchange as normal. I’ll even let you pre-order now. I will not inform Fleet Command of this diplomatic incident.” Thalk’s face flushes red, “Magos, that is an incredibly insulting offer. You are demanding that an Imperial officer give up a portion of their authority on their own vessel. Quite frankly, neither offer is worth it. I have plenty of favours and it matters little to me whether or not you contact Fleet High Command. They do not know who you are and would care little.” I raise an eyebrow. “You begged me for a single ship. I offer it to you in exchange for a small concession, taking on all expenses, and you claim it is not worth it? Please, Vice-Admiral. Did you not say we are above such games? Why back out now just because you were caught? My sons are yet to be sworn in. I can still pull them out and back another senior officer.” Thalk is a good actor, though he can’t hide how much that last remark really gets to him. He knows how much good will he can get by securing my cooperation. Apparently threatening his advancement holds more weight than making the whole of Battlefleet Koronus pay more for ships and supplies for over a century, despite his claims that they are: ‘a junk fleet that is horribly over stretched and under funded’. It could be that Thalk just doesn’t care about money that isn’t his. That strikes me as a little foolish for a senior officer as this would impact his budget, likely for the entirety of his career. Even if there are other places he can resupply, or requisition new vessels, mine are the best and would likely save him money in the long run. The other option is that he’s stealing from the Imperial Navy, or perhaps a group that he is a part of is. The first option assumes that Thalk is incompetent, despite his position, or perhaps that he is selfish and callous. The second assumes that Thalk is corrupt. Knowing what the Imperium is like, I am at a loss as to where I’d put my Bytes on that bet. I suppose it is also possible for someone else in the chain, perhaps at Port Wander, screwing them over to divert resources into Battlefleet Calixis. Thalk was remarkably quick to defend me, and particularly Alpia, against Lyre. Perhaps he has contacts with the Ministorum, or they have something over him and he wants to buy back their favour. Either way, Thalk’s reaction is suspicious and I immediately flag the conversation for Raphael and prepare an information packet. No matter what he is up to, he is not pleased about the constant scrutiny I am pushing him to accept as he’s clasping his hands behind his back so tightly I can see the stress it’s putting on his shoulders and neck. Thalk turns away from me and stares out into the void for several minutes. I care little about the truth here, or what troubles he has. What matters is if I get him to accept a minder. My vessel and its crew will not only protect my kids but also give me an excuse to shamelessly gather data on Battlefleet Koronus, the systems they visit and the enemies that they face. I’ll be able to get regular updates via my own astropathic servitors and stay in contact with my boys too. The crew will also gather far more personal connections than my kids could ever hope to make. In some ways I am actually pleased that Thalk tried to pull a fast one on me. If I’d actually set up this scheme I would be terribly smug right now. There’s no way I would have offered him all that stuff if I didn’t think I could gain substantially from it. This also has the added benefit of fulfilling the terms of my warrant to supply Imperial forces without actually giving away that I am required to support him when requested when he pays for it. I doubt the Emperor would care much for the technicalities of SRC. “The second offer is acceptable with a few caveats,” Thalk says, finally breaking his silence. He turns back to face me and tries to stare me down. His measly height and weak position makes that quite impossible. Thalk continues, “Two squads and two officers, no more than thirty Heralds total, may be present on my flagship at any one time. A maximum of six Tech-Priests, or their lesser brethren, and seventy-two Servitors may visit simultaneously. Anything more will require my direct permission, either from myself or one of my three adjutants.” I frown, that’s not ideal, but I don’t think I should push him here. It would put his whole ship at risk were he to permit me to undermine his authority too much and that in turn would endanger Dareaca, Luan, and Fial. “All investigations will require a chaperon from my own staff and all findings must be shared. During Fleet engagements, the attached Adder-Class vessel will remain in the shadow of my Flagship and take no actions beyond using its point defence without my orders.” I’m glad that Thalk suggested that rather than me as I would have pushed for non-interference anyway. I nod, “So long as your orders do not put my vessel at unnecessary risk, thus compromising their mission to oversee the careers of my children, I will order them to cooperate during fleet engagements.” “So long as they do not flee with your kids at the first sign of trouble, I believe we can maintain our arrangement,” Thalk says. “They’ll be on your flagship, Vice-Admiral. I am quite certain that they’ll be the last to run.” Thalk sighs and relaxes slightly, “This is an unprecedented arrangement. I’ve had plenty of parents buy commissions for their kids with menials, supplies, new ship components, or even an expedited word to a governor. I’ve never permitted someone to attach an auxiliary force. I do hope you remember my generosity.” By the Throne! Does Thalk have no shame whatsoever? “The political lessons will continue and the schemes will stop?” “I won’t coddle them that much! You want them to make careers for themselves, yes? I won’t include them in my schemes and I will deflect inquiries from senior offices of my rank or above. For anything else I’ll talk them through it if they bring it to my attention.” “That is acceptable. I will have something for us both to sign before you leave for your voidship.” “Good. I am pleased we can put this unpleasantness behind us.” Thalk thrusts his hand out and I give it a firm shake. I say, “Likewise, Vice-Admiral. Do enjoy the rest of the celebrations.”