I glance around at the table with Lord Drakios, Master Doll, the Governor, and his wife. It's only been a few days since the ball but apparently there was an issue to settle. "Matriarch Cavalerio," Lord Drakios says, giving me a small nod. "We are here to discuss the offenses you suffered at the ball and what should be done with House Blunderstead." The governor bowed deeply "We will oblige with whatever decision you come to. Lord Drakios, Lady Cavalerio." "A majority of their house perished at the event, how many are left?" I ask tentatively. "Three from the main family." The governor explains. "Normally the duels would be the end of it but these are extenuating circumstances. Which allows for you to decide the fate of the house." "I see." I purse my lips but Drakios is looking at me expectantly with a small smile. Master Doll is also waiting for my decision and politely rebuffs my noosphere request for consultation. "The main house is to be exterminated. The side branches stripped of their titles and holdings. Their land and resources are to be confiscated. Actually… Would it be possible to use the confiscated funds and the value of their estate and put it towards the Gellar Field project?" The table seems taken aback by the question. "How altruistic of you, Lady Cavalerio," Lord Drakios says, stroking his chin. "I suppose there is little in their listed holdings that would interest you besides the raw value. It would certainly help fund the Gellar Field project." "We will see it done, Lady Cavalerio." The governor's wife is beaming, it's clear she is relieved and extremely happy with my decision. "That is acceptable. What cannot be sold and remains after your generous donation will be transferred to the Argent Drake." Doll explains. "I will take care of purging their House," Drakios says casually as he sends a message to his house guard, and less than a minute later a dozen armed landing craft dart past the window outside the spire. "Of course, by your will Lord Drakios." The Governor says before getting nudged by his wife, Rhonda. "I will inform the other houses of your and Lady Cavalerio's judgment. As we leave the Governor's office Drakios speaks up "That was generous of you, Nicole." "I don't want the property and I like the idea of using the funds from the irresponsible noble family to help the entire hive." I admit with a shrug as our guards walk over. "Lael, you can have the day off to go visit the Sisters. I think we own a Speeder Carriage now, so you can take that and a few guards." I tell her. I plan to spend the day relaxing in the Governor's library. "Alright, I will do so. Thank you, My Lady." Lael says respectfully. —-------------------------------------------------------- Lael felt strange being the one with guards, as required by her new position. She had been studying the duties of her new role but until Nicole started to grow her House's forces there wasn't much she needed to worry about. Lael could recruit but much like Drakios House she preferred the mindset of quality over quantity. "Cannoness Pyre" Lael said as she got out of the luxury hover car and stood before the ornate cathedral that housed the Sister. "Lady Lael, thank you for coming to visit, and thank you for your donation." "Donation?" Lael asked. "The one from Lady Cavalerio, your name was listed on it? The equipment will be put to good use." The Cannoness said with a smile. Together they made their way inside. Lael looked around at the various murals, golden statues, and lines of scripture dotting the walls. Candles burning everywhere along with the faint smell of incense. "I will admit this idea of all of this, it is very foreign to me. The Emperor being worshiped that is. Ten Millennia ago such a thing was forbidden." Lael chuckled wryly. "Really?" The Cannoness asked softly. "Yes, Lady Cavalerio has drudged up some records from that age. She had a more extreme reaction when learning of the Ecclesiarchy." Lael said wistfully. "However, I can understand it. Given all that he was and is." Cannoness Pyre hesitated for a moment before she whispered. "Because you remember Him?" Lael nodded as they stopped before the main altar. "Would you be willing to grace us with the retelling, Lady Lael?" The Cannoness asked and several of the nearby sisters seemed to hold their breath. Lael snorted at the title but as she looked around at all the eager white-haired ladies that were loitering around them she chuckled. "Sure, it's not exactly the longest story." She warned as glanced at the Cannoness who quickly directed the sisters present to sit and sent word to the others. Lael looked around as the entire hall was filled with eager ears and eyes. Lael stood awkwardly and shot a questioning look at the Cannoness who nodded. "Alright, well…" Lael closed her eyes and immersed herself in the memory. "We were miserable. It was cold, wet, and the ground was rocky and flat. The enemy had been making a final concentrated effort to push us hard. We were told to expect reinforcements. It was a single shuttle that landed at the front of our formation. HE stepped out glowing with a golden aura, it was like staring at the sun, four of his custodians went with him. He rallied us, and before we realized it we were behind him charging into the thick of it pushing the enemy back. All that stood before him were left broken and scattered. It was glorious, HE was glorious. He led us to victory. We were merely his instrument." Lael did her best to elaborate on what little she remembered, by the time she opened her eyes the first thing she realized was the front row of sisters were on their knees and openly weeping. The shrine behind her was glowing with a faint light outlining her figure. "Cannoness?" Lael asked not daring to turn around even as the light faded. "I could see HIM… Thank You." The Cannoness whispered as she made the sign of the Aquila and bowed her head. Lael waited awkwardly looking around at the sisters who seemed to be suffering various degrees of euphoria or joy. "Lady Lael… I believe we need to discuss this." The Cannoness said as she recovered. "It's just a story and a memory." Lael said defensively. The Cannoness let out a short laugh "It's so much more than that, you… we need to discuss your status as a minor saint and assign you an escort." Lael in an attempt to add a bit of levity to the situation saluted "The Emperor Protects." She did not anticipate the room to stand as one, salute, and yell back "THE EMPEROR PROTECTS!" Their eyes all burned with fervor and certainty. —---------------------------------------------------------- POV: Governor Cornelius As he sat at his desk Cornelius looked over at his wife. "This is going too well." He said softly as he sipped his recaf. "You think so?" Rhonda asked. "The Blundersteaad House was purged, the Princeps was not offended and d most of the fallen house's funds to help the city. The auction preparations are going well. The Inquisitor has been silent. I feel… uneasy." He admitted with a frown. There was a knock before Bethany entered looking a little flustered "My Lord, My Lady I have news… The Blunderstead branch families have been destroyed." "What? Why would Lord Drakios do that?" Rhonda asked. "It wasn't Lord Drakios." Bethany squeaked out as she passed Cornelius a document. As he read his eyes widened and then he passed the document to his wife. "Lady Lael, the guard who championed for Lady Cavalerio has been declared a minor saint by the Sororitas. They heard about the duels and took it upon themselves to ensure there would be no retribution." "At least they have no reason to be upset with us." His wife said as she set the notice down and rubbed the side of her head. "We also lost all contact with Cycladon" Bethany informed the pair. "Ugh, probably the Inquisitor enforcing a blackout again. Have the shipments of materials from Cycladon continued at least?" He asked tentatively. "For now, My Lord." Bethany replied. "That's good, Zeta-9 is still cross with me, though I did speak to him yesterday about the Gellar project. He also mentioned Lord Drakios is considering buying the clipper that is nearly finished. Though Zeta was oddly distracted with a side project." Cornelius muttered. "Considering the individuals who ordered it are late and the state of the warp that would be a blessing. The hauler with our best wine should be here in time for the auction." Rhonda responded. "I'm glad the Princeps was not offended. I've learned a few concerning things about her and our guests while talking with the staff." Bethany added, sounding relieved. "What sort of things?" Rhonda asked as she leaned forward. "Well… the Astartes have four Dreadnoughts on board the Argent Drake and Lady Cavalerio is their chosen head caretaker. She also has a Knight but not her Titan onboard. The rest is mostly gossip but she's supposedly ten thousand years old!" Bethany whispered. "No, that's confirmed. Her guard Lael, the new minor saint, IS a former Solar Auxilia. Not her family, or ancestors. She fought in the Crusades alongside The Emperor once according to the Sororitas." Rhonda said as she poured herself a stiff drink and after thinking poured one for her husband and a small one for Bethany. "Anything else Bethany?" Cornelius asked as he sipped the drink and sighed. "Well… according to Millie, Lady Cavalerio found the secret emergency elevator in the library, the ancient broken one, and fixed it. She also debugged the entire library. Also, there was an assassination attempt by one of the remaining Death Cult assassins that the Astartes foiled pretty much immediately." Bethany stepped up, grabbed the shot that had been poured for her and downed it before giving a little bow and stepping back. "I'm going to grow grey hair at this rate." Cornelius groaned. "Wigs don't grow grey hairs dear." Rhonda corrected him. "At least we can relax at the auction. We'll just avoid bidding against Lord Drakios, Lady Cavalerio. The Archmagos…" Cornelius trailed off realizing there were a lot of individuals he didn't want to offend at the auction. "We're also due for a Tithe in the next few months." Bethany reminded them "However with the recent rise of incidents we have met if not exceeded quota." "This is fine, thank you, Bethany." Cornelius told them as much as he was telling himself. —--------------------------------------------------- After selling most of the estate and donating a portion of their armory to the Sororitas, I glare at the list of items I still own. "Why did we keep my body weight in illicit substances? Can't we just… throw them out or destroy them?" I ask the Drakios servant. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. "That seems like a waste, Lady Cavalerio." He replies politely. "Ugh, What am I going to do with twenty kilos of Obscura!? Send the Raenka brandy to Lord Drakios please, I'll keep the Blush I suppose, and give a bottle to Arianwyn. I don't need all these combat stims and drugs. Send them to the Skitarii." I squint at the list. "Bring me vial forty-one." I tell the servant firmly. When they bring me the vial I stare at it for a minute. "This is an order. Send all information on where this was purchased and who they got it from to Magos Xor." The servant hesitates and gulps. "Yes ma'am. May I know why?" "This is not a drug, it's a poison, one that is banned by every forge world in Calixis. So… he'll have fun with that." I say as I put the vial in a secure case and pass it to Delta-A3. "What else was left over?" I ask aloud as I go back to the list. "A hundred silk pillows, a regicide table with wood chairs, a collection of bejeweled hairpins… ok those sound alright, the hover car, consecrated votive candles… keep those, a privacy field generator, a salvation auger, and lastly a vox-thief device because of course, they had one." I turn to the servant "Send it all up to the Drake, leave the car, and not the Obscura!" "Yes, My Lady" The servant bows and gets immediately to work. I check my schedule and wince. I need to go meet with Lael and her two new guards before I head to the auction. —----------------------------------------------------- ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ NoveI(F)ire.net Lael looked behind her as she waited for Nicole to arrive, the two Sisters standing behind her in full armor. Lael by some miracle had negotiated down to just a pair of sisters, negotiating the Cannonness had felt like what she imagined trying to make a trade deal with Lord Drakios did. The lucky duo she had now was Sister Mina Lilly and Sister Palmea Lash. "Sister Lash, Sister Lilly. Your enthusiasm for my protection is commendable, but you need to understand the protection of the Matriarch is paramount." Lael stressed to the duo. "Saint Zyne" Lael glared at Lash who corrected herself "Saint Lael we understand your role as a protector as a noble one but comparing your value as a saint to another individual is difficult for us." Sister Lash said boldly as she shared a glance with Lilly. Lael sighed "Let me put it this way. You wanted to give me a full squad of sisters for protection, yes?" Getting nods from the pair Lael continued "The Archmagos has a similar if not slightly higher number of Skitarii guards and Lord Drakios has his House Troopers." Getting another nod Lael smiles "I want you to consider the composition and number of guards assigned to protect, My Lady." "Well… there's yourself. A Solar Axulilia. According to the comms network you added us to there is, Delta-A3, a Skitarii." Sister Lilly mumbled demurely. "Delta-A3 is not just a baseline Skitarii. Delta-A3 is receiving ongoing upgrades to reach Skitarii-Alpha status and will progress to Praetorian after that." Lael points out. "After that, there are the Thallax which are some form of potent ancient Skitarii. There are six of those. Then the four automata." Sister Lilly said softly. "Scyllax Guardian-Automata" Lael corrects. "Which are often used as guards for individuals of Magos rank or higher. Which the Princeps qualifies for." Sister Lash countered. "Then please consider the last guardian." Lael said as she crossed her arms. "There is no other house guardian listed on the docket." Sister Lash said with a frown. "Because they are not part of our House," Lael said as she gestured to the entrance. Nicole entered along with Delta-A3, the Thallax, and the Scyllax but when Brother Silverwalker strode through the entrance and scanned the room both Sisters Stiffened. "Why is the Lord Astartes here?!" Lilly whispered as she fidgeted. "Go ask him yourself" Lael invited them "Go ahead. I will catch up with Nicole." Lael walked off letting the pair approach Silverwalker. "Lord Astartes, I am Sister Lash, this is Sister Lilly we have been assigned to help protect Lady Lael. Could you please explain your presence here?" She asked respectfully. Brother Silverwalker turned "Well met sisters. I am here to protect Princeps Cavalerio. My chapter has marked her as an asset of critical importance. My sole presence is considered adequate when her other guardians are present in non-combat situations." "I understand her importance to the Mechanicus but why would your Captain assign her such a status?" Sister Lash asked. Silverwalker chuckled "My captain was not the one to assign her that status, he merely confirmed it. It was assigned by the only individual in our company with a rank that supersedes his. Our Venerable Ancient." Both sisters turned to look over at the petite silver-haired child as Lael spoke with her. "Oh… I assume asking why is a moot point?." Lilly asked gently. Silverwalker merely nodded "We must all simply do our duty to ensure our charge's protection. Don't expect things to remain calm, our little Princeps seems to attract trouble like a magnet." "Surely you jest, Lord Silverwalker" Sister Lash said wearily. "Tyranids a few weeks ago, a Heretek cult shortly after we arrived, I crushed a noble's skull at the Ball and Captain Bolaar killed an assassin just a few days ago." Silverwalker spoke with no hint of jest. "The Emperor Protects Sisters." Silverwalker used an armored hand to tap his chest Aquila but doing so showed off the trio of scratches across his pauldron left by one of the genestealers. He had allowed the marks to remain since they managed to avoid marring the chapter symbol and had not compromised the pauldron. "You will likely learn many secrets the longer you remain a part of this detail. I trust you both know to keep them to yourselves." Silverwalker said pointedly. "Yes, Lord Silverwalker," Lash said as she saluted, Lilly followed suit a moment later. "Hi! Nice to meet you both! You seem nice, your armor and gun spirits are happy." Nicole said as she scampered over to the trio. "Sorry we can talk later, the auction preview starts soon, go go go!" she announced as she led everyone towards the long ostentatious hover car. "Ugh, Lael please remind me we need to repaint this thing. At least we all fit." "Of course, My Lady" Lael said as she cast an amused glance at the pair of Sororitas who both blinked owlishly from their brief interaction with Nicole. —----------------------------------------------------- POV: Inquisitor Radic Dhamne Radic ran a hand over his face and itched at his neck as he crumpled up the transcribed message he held in his offhand before tossing it into the burning brazier. "I… I don't understand." The Astropath whispered bleeding from the empty sockets of their eyes, nose, and ears before Radic shot them in the head. "Observation: You. Emotion: highly perturbed. Inquisitor" ZR-999 wheezed. "Our original timetable is fragged. We still don't have the artifact. Things are escalating too quickly. Some of them have already escaped the hive and we aren't getting any help!" He kicked the corpse in front of him, sending it rolling. "Possible artifact locations, Status: Diminishing. Suggestion: Withdraw, Current Location: unstable. Event: Auction. Location: Halo Alphos. Subject: Item of interest." ZR-999 stated. "What kind of item?" Radic asked as he holstered his pistol and turned around. "Unknown, estimated chance object is heretical or restricted 54.7%" ZR-999 mentioned as they twitched. "Alright. Torch this place." Radic told his team. "Sir?" One of them asked. "One more fire won't do anything. We need to get out of here before the mob catches up." Radic pulled out a lho stick, lighting it up as his team tossed several jugs of promethium over the floor and walls. They hastily left the spire as flames rapidly consumed the room behind them. —----------------------------------------------------- We arrive at the auction just before the initial introduction. Luckily the venue wasn't too far from where I picked up Lael and her two lovely power-armored guardians. I spot Master Doll's tall figure as we enter the hall and slowly make my way through the crowd towards him, my guards parting the crowds of nobles like an icebreaker, many of them whispering as they cast me curious but wary looks. "Hi, Master Doll, have Lord Drakios and Arianwyn arrived?" I asked as I try to look around but with my stature, I have to rely on the bubble of awareness from my auspex instead. "They have. They are currently speaking with the Governor and his wife. We can join them after the announcement." Doll informs me, gesturing at the raised platform. I turn just in time for Captain Cook to appear. "Your attention, please! Thank you, Lords and Ladies of Ur-Haven for coming to this private auction, a special welcome to the esteemed houses of Drakios and Cavalerio, Archmagos Akellonon Doll, and Astartes from the Star Dragons! I am your humble host for the evening Captain Cook of the Enduring Deal. This auction will be held in stages." Spreading his arms and flashing the crowd a wry smile. "The majority of tonight's items have been arranged and displayed in the main hall for your perusal and inspection. Please refrain from opening the cases but feel free to inquire if something catches your eye. Small digital and physical displays will provide some information on the history, origin, and use of each item." Captain Cook paused before clapping his hands and grinning. "I have a special treat following the viewing and before the main event! As a well-traveled trader from time to time, I come across secure vaults that cannot be opened for a variety of reasons. As a habit I inherited from my father and him from my grandfather even when I cannot discern the contents I purchase these containers, everything from ones you can hold in your hand to massive shipping containers! I collect them until I have a suitable stockpile and when I encounter a Forge world or an individual capable of opening the containers we auction them off! We call this event our mystery box offering! Your crate could be empty or full of rare treasure! We have no idea! Test your luck but know all sales are final! At the very least you are buying a secure container sealed against scanning and well locked!" Cook looks right at Master Doll. "I must ask for the assistance of the skilled and esteemed Archmagos in opening these sealed items. If I am to host this part of the event, there are locks amongst my hoard that some Mechanicus Magi have failed to wrest open!" Cook says but Master Doll just turns to look down at me. I perk up as he privately asks if I would like to try my hand at cracking the cases before he replies "I will gladly offer my services in the opening of any cases that my apprentice is unable to crack." "Thank you, Archmagos! In that case I must also extend my thanks to the Emperor for the assistance of Matriarch Cavalerio, our visiting Princeps!" Cook bows towards me and signs the Aquila. "With that matter settled we can start the viewing! Oh! One last thing! We possess two particularly rare items which have been withheld from the viewing, they will be revealed and auctioned off last!" He said with a flourish as the large double doors on either side of him slowly opened up to reveal the hall which had been filled with evenly spaced cases each holding an item of various sizes.