Malechta's Treatise upon the Line of Saro.

Malechta's Treatise upon the Line of Saro.

Fifty Third Volume, Chapter Twenty Seven

In the previous chapter I showed the truth of the Officers meeting with the great and powerful of the factions of the Fall of Dorn. Plans had been set in motion and many pieces of information had been gained. In particular Bosphorus the Grand Architect High Magos of the Tick-Tock men had told them of the Lighteyes faction, who he suggested might be able to help them locate a vessel within the Graveswarm that they could move to and repair.

Upon returning to the Seleucaemi Treasurer Macharius relayed all that had happened to his Lord, who determined that the most important thing was to locate a vessel as soon as possible. Once a way out of the Graveswarm was in their possession their negotiating position would be immeasurably improved and this would give them far more leverage over the factions of the Fall of Dorn. Added to this the fact that in three days the Lighteyes would be revealing the impending collision with the Space Hulk, meeting with them before that would be best. With that in mind they had asked Bosphorus to organise a meeting, and within a few hours he contacted them once more, telling them that he had managed to secure a meeting with them.

Pleased that his plans were moving forward Talis Saro determined to go to visit them in person. Bosphorus had arranged for them to be met in the Market by one of his Acolytes, but he told them that they would need to bring some form of trade goods with them, not only to trade with the Lighteyes but to ensure their passage to their territory.

As Macharius had already determined to provide the great factions with five tons of Corpse-starch they arranged to have a lighter loaded with this, and some additional items. These additional items were to form the trade goods to trade both with the Lighteyes and any factions with whom they had to travel through the territories of. With the practiced eye of a master trader Saro chose items that he knew would have great worth to the people of the Fall of Dorn. As such the bulk of the goods were food or medical supplies, but to add to them, he chose items that would have great worth to the Lighteyes themselves. These included an Air purifier, some common quality electronic components, and finally one of the true wonders of the Ommnissiah, a vial of his Sacred Machine Oil. Carrying such riches, and with the knowledge that the lighter they travelled to the Dorn in would also be a great prize to anyone who could take it, they took a heavy guard with them. Taking twenty of the Doughty Armsmen of Treasurer with them, half were to stay with the lighter and the other half would form an honour guard for their Lord.

As is only proper when the lighter landed in the market of the Fall of Dorn they were greeted by Jalasas himself, who greeted them and was introduced to Talis Saro himself. This meeting has been immortalised in Van Drecht's Tryptych “The Dorn's Steel” which hangs in the Cathedral of Dretch. Although no doubt there were less Seraphim in attendance, and fewer halos of glowing light, the general feeling of these two giants of men meeting however is preserved. Such giants of men make an impression on the worlds on which they stand, and the people present spoke afterwards of the feeling of being in the presence of two such men. That all people of the Imperium could be so lucky, no doubt the Imperium would be improved immeasurably.

Jalasas as was always his wont kept to business, informing the Rogue Trader that Von Hells was waiting impatiently for his ton of Corpse-starch. Talis having expected this called for it to be carried from the lighter. Jalasas informed him that he intended to place his share of the bounty in the Markets for trade, but that he did not know what the other factions would do with their shares. Talis however was not forced to wait for too long before Von Hells answered at least for the Hull Rats, as he appeared with unlikely haste to claim his ton of the supplies. Seizing upon the first ton of food to be taken from the lighter he instructed eight of his men to lift it to their shoulders and bear it away. He told them that he would see that it was given to the poor and downtrodden of the Lower Bilges. This however was no doubt for the ears of Jalasas who ignored him, as was no doubt the display of his men's physical strength. Jalasas however continued busying himself instead with setting a heavy guard of his own men around the lighter, including several heavy stubbers.

After a very few minutes one of the Tick-Tock men approached the Trader and his officers, greeting them and introducing himself as Aescepulas. As with all Tick-Tock men his implants and prosthetics were made from pieces of the ship, reclaimed for the purpose. In the case of the Adept Aescepulas, he had a few of the more basic Mechadendrites (which were to have a bearing on later events), and walked on two huge steam powered legs similar to the legs of one of the Emperors Imperial Guard Sentinels. His vox unit however seemed to have been substandard, being very variable in tone and cadence, making it sometimes hard to follow his speech. When it became particularly problematic he had a tendency to remove it and attempt to repair it.

Swaying alarmingly he approached the group introducing himself directly to Luna and Ishigo. Ishigo realising that he had not been informed that the Rogue Trader himself would be present. Aescepulas realising his mistake bowed and began making his apologies but was hindered once more by his voicebox which he was forced to repair. Apologising once more that his voice box had been malfunctioning for the past few months, but that if they were ready he could begin leading them to their destination. As they were indeed ready they assented and he lead them through the market. While they walked a group of red robed tick-tock men appeared from the market and gathered to them acting as Aescepulas' guards.

The market of the Fall of Dorn was a haphazard and unusual affair, with shanty like structures leading against each other to keep upright. Everywhere were members of the various great and small factions calling out their wares and services for sale, and everywhere members of the Greenshots keeping the peace. However there were also large numbers of the Hull Rats here and there like Imperial City Bravos standing on the street corners of a hive. Indeed the Market was effectively like any Market on a normal imperial planet, although constrained by the confines of the bay.

Finally they passed through the gates of the Market and out into the ship itself, passing through the Greenshots defences. These consisted of Flakboard barricades manned by troopers carrying jury rigged three barrelled shotguns and other such short ranged weaponry. Although no doubt acceptable given the resources available to the Greenshots, the short range of their weapons meant that they would not be able to gain the full benefit of the barricades that they had. Noting this Ichigo began to plan how he would improve these defences, to keep the markets in the hands of the Greenshots until the transfer was completed.

They moved first through the more affluent sections of the ship, the rich locations kept rich by their proximity to the Markets. However they were travelling to a location far removed from these rarefied locations, and as they passed the holdings of the Megiddo with their Macrocannon shell barricades, and a small number of Hull rats outside, Aescepulas explained their route to the Lighteyes. It would take them to the centre of the ship and then up to the top of the vessel where one of the sensoriums was located. However to reach there they would have to pass through some of the other factions holdings, and for that he warned them they might be required to pay a toll. The territories however were constantly in flux as factions were destroyed or weakened and other factions moved in. Understanding the lie of the land Talis agreed that they would be willing to undertake such transactions, but that they would deal with each case as they came to it.

Come to it they soon did, when as they approached a cargo elevator they were stopped by a group of three men claiming to be from a new faction known as the lifters. They were however very well armed carrying rifles and wearing some form of primitive armour. Faced with such a heavy group as Talis Saro's guards and the forces of the tick-tock men they refrained from making threats instead politely requesting a toll, as they held the lift codes. Talis handed them enough food for the men there, but they responded that they would need more as there were a number of them, and also needed to trade for batteries. Their bargaining position seemed strong, but was weakened a great deal when Aescepulas noted that the elevator had usually been guarded by the Fuellers who required it to allow their goods to travel to the market. Oddly the men seemed disconcerted by his knowledge of this fact, and settled for one box of Corpse-starch rations. Having agreed to this deal the officers and the rest of their group were allowed to enter the cargo elevator and were taken to the upper floor. Once they reached it however the men very quickly gathered their trade items, and fled. Aescepulas had obviously been correct in the assumption that they were trespassers in the territory of another faction.

The next toll they were forced to pay however was certainly in the territory of the owners however. By this time they had passed through several territories, but due to the size of the party and the fact one of the Tick-tock men was with them, most just waved them through unhindered. That was until they came to a bulkhead welded across the corridor. However Aescepulas had obviously expected it as he stepped forward and rapped smartly on the door stepping smartly aside to allow the Rogue Trader to take his place. Before him a small window opened in the door allowing him to see just a pair of eyes looking at him. The man (for man it was) greeted him and welcomed him to the realm of the Stronghold.

Tallis using all of the courtiers skills he had gained over the years and his trading instincts, greeted the man as if he was a member of one of the Great trading houses. The man was obviously impressed as he responded just as politely, asking them how many of them there were and what they wanted. However when Talis told him there were about 20 of them transporting trade goods the man informed them that the toll would be 10% of those goods. Obviously such a hefty price could not be paid especially as this would no doubt have included the Sacred Machine oil. Talis retreated to the rest of the group and they spent a few moments determining what to offer the man.

Knowing that the 10% quoted was no doubt the standard price, and that the man would no doubt not be expecting trade goods of such worth they might be able to give him a smaller amount, and yet still reach the required amount. Taking some of the food and medical supplies he once again approached the door, and greeting the man explained to him that in the interest of fostering closer relations with their faction he had determined to grant them a greater amount of goods than they had actually requested. Although this was not exactly true, the quality of the goods more than made up for the discrepancy in amount. The man seemed well pleased with the offer of medical supplies in particular. Such things had been exceedingly rare on the Fall Of Dorn since it fell through the Tempest of Graves, and as such was a fine trade for the man to make. Another slot on the door was opened to allow the trade goods to be passed through, after which the door opened.

There was some surprise when they found only an empty corridor, until they realised that on the left hand side of the corridor were more of the bulkheads, and the man had seemingly retreated through one of these, and was once more watching them through a slot. Greeting him as they passed they continued further on into the vessel.

Eventually they made their way to holdings of the Lighteyes. Reaching the outskirts of the Auger sections Talis Saro called his group to a halt about eighty metres from a group of the Lighteyes guards. These warriors looked somewhat like the guards of the Tick-Tock men in their red robes, and with their implanted Mechadendrites, however to these implants they added a set of goggles complete with large green glass lenses that seemed to glow in the gloom of the corridor, with lenses that were kept constantly in motion focusing and refocusing. They all seemed to be heavily armed carrying boarding shields and some form of Las weapons, each man holding either a las pistol or rifle.

Aescepulas greeted them, informing them of who their visitors were and that they wished an audience with someone to whom he referred to as the Sensanarion, which the officers presumed was the title or name of the leaders of their faction. The Guards of the Lighteyes were noticeably reticent to allow such a large and well armed group into their holdings however, insisting that they divest themselves of their weapons. The line of Saro had nothing to fear however for although their guards were required to give up their shotguns, they were allowed to keep their shockstaves, something which would not have happened had the Lighteyes known of their proficiency with them. Added to this was the assurance of Aescepulas that if worst came to the worst his guards alone would prove enough to defend them. Meekly therefore the Scion of the House of Saro and his officers relinquished their largest weapons, safe in the knowledge that they could easily outmatch anything set against them.

The Hall of the Lighteyes was not a standard Sensor Auger bay, at some point it had been open to space however it had been repaired this time with a mighty pane of transparent plasteel. For the first time Talis Saro looked out upon the roiling chaos that made up the Graveswarm. All about above him wheeled huge chunks of ships only dimly illuminated by the light of the distant blue star around which they found themselves. If the place had not been so dangerous the endless ballet of the wreckage could have been beautiful, but the Scion of the House of Saro had no time to admire it lest it become his grave in truth.

The hall of the Lighteyes was kept dim, no doubt so that they could see the endless rows of sensor monitors more easily. The glow from these monitors illuminated the rows of Techadepts in a green crepuscular light, making them seem like row upon row of gargoyles. At the end of each row was a huge glowing battery providing power to the repeaters. Further into the room beneath the huge window, someone had placed a series of habitation modules and beyond those was the massive edifice of the Auger engine, and visible above it on the outside of the ship was a huge dish shaped antenna. It was in the lee of this mighty miracle of the Machine-Gods ways that they met with the Sensanarion.

The Sensanarion was a very tall man with a number of Mechadendrites visible under his Techpriests red robe, however he also had the green lenses that typified his faction, although in his case they were grafted to his face. He also had implants in place of his ears, and over one of his shoulders a large servo arm was arced. It seemed that the Sensanarion was most likely of almost the same rank as Bosphorus when the ship fell through the tempest. The meeting with the Sensanarion was actually recorded although Talis Saro did not know this at the time, and a few scholars have presented the text, however as with the meeting with Jalasas they tend to overlook the import of this meeting, the nuances of what was actually said have a direct bearing on what followed and as such I will present them as they occurred.

After the greetings were made, the Sensanarion led the Scion, his officers and Aescepulas to the main pulpit of the Auger. He immediately reattached himself to the machine and began to speak.

“So much like our esteemed colleague Bosphorus” he began, only to be interrupted by Aescepulas

“You mean Grand Architech High Magos Bosphorus surely?” asked the Tick-Tock Man.

“Indeed, so much like our esteemed colleague 'Grand Architect High Magos' Bosphorus I do not like to mix my words preferring instead to speak plainly.” the Sensanarion's feelings with regards to the leader of the Tick-Tock Men's assumption of his title was evident in his tone, “As such I should inform you that when we impacted upon your vessel I ordered a sensor sweep performed. I am aware that we have been moved off course and will soon impact on the Space Hulk”

Talis was unsurprised to hear this, responding only that he understood.

“So how can the Light Eyes help you?” continued the Sensanarion.

Seeing that plain speaking was the order of the day the Rogue Trader responded directly, “Basically we are looking to find a new ship to which we can move, and therefore escape.”

“I see, where would you like us to look. Surely the Greenshots have told you that we have checked all of the close by vessels and none have been found to be operational.” replied the Sensanarion.

“We were under the impression”, continued Talis “that it was likely that your sensors would be more powerful than our own, and there might possibly be ships further out than the Greenshots can travel to.”

“How do you intend to use this information?”

“We would basically use the capabilities we have left to us, and the capabilities of the factions of this vessel to attempt to make the vessel viable again. At which point anyone who wants to come with us would be welcome.” Talis no doubt saw that his words were having an effect, as the Sensanarion continued in a much more friendly tone.

“So you would prefer for the factions to help with the repairs, but even if they do not they will still be able to leave on the vessels?” he asked.

“Indeed” responded Talis allowing the techpriest to lead into his next question.

“In which case I have another question, somewhat difficult to bring up. What would be the new command structure of this new vessel be?”

Talis responded swiftly, “I would still be in charge but there will obviously be places in the new hierarchy for people of influence shall we say”

The Sensanarion no doubt caught his meaning continuing with “So more along the lines of a normal ship?”

“That is the intention”, said Talis “although there would be the possibility for discussion on that front”.

“Indeed, well as you obviously realise the Lighteyes are effectively a business, there are only a few of us and we must purchase the batteries from the Fuellers to power our equipment, and we must also subcontract out to the Tick-tock men for any repairs we cannot make ourselves. Many of the sensor repairs we can perform ourselves, however with the loss of Bosphorus we have lost some expertise.”

Talis and the other officers shared a look at the tone of the Sensanarion's voice, obviously Bosphorus was not as well loved by the Lighteyes as he suspected. Wishing to test this supposition, Talis pressed him on it.

“Bosphorus used to be part of the Sensorium?” he asked although he already knew this from Macharius' skilled briefing.

“Indeed Bosphorus did indeed used to be a member of the Sensorium.”

Here they were interrupted by Aescepulas who responded in an tone the equal in coldness of the Sensanarion, “Indeed Grand Architect High Magos Bosphorus was called to lead the Majority of the Priesthood on the vessels.”

The Sensanarion rejoined with, “Yes and when he left the Sensorium was largely ignored, which is why we are only a small faction as opposed to being a full part of the Tick-Tock men”

No doubt worrying that the diplomacy was getting away from him, Aescepulas was quick to stress that they still enjoyed exceedingly close relations.

“We do indeed have, cordial, relations.” seeking to change the subject the Sensanarion returned to the previous subject,”So as I was saying we are effectively a business. In the recent past however I have run some detailed scans and therefore can see that my own self-interest and that of my people would be greatly aided by our relocation to a new vessel. However there are some questions that need to be answered with regards to how our relationship would continue.”

Once more the Trader felt the conversation turning to his advantage, but decided to play it carefully, as an angler plays a scarfish on the line.

“In the immediate future? Or the longer term?” he asked.

“Both” responded the Sensanarion, “as in the immediate future you are asking me to run deep scans using the sensors, which will be costly in terms of power and wear on the components. Also in three days time I will be revealing our impending impact to the rest of the ship.”

“Indeed” continued Talis, “We did in fact wish to speak with you on that subject.”

“I do not believe you will actually be able to pay us enough to prevent that” said the Sensanarion, obviously unaware of the true worth of the Line of Saro even in their new straightened state.

Talis probed him on who actually paid for his information.

“Pretty much everyone on the ship. Hence not telling them that in one month the ship will smash face first into a space hulk will likely cause a problem. I suspect that the ships will not be able to weather the impact.”

Talis realising that as yet the Sensanarion did not know that the impact would trigger the treasurers Warp Engines to overload weighed up his options. Anything he told the Sensanarion he realised would reach everyone else on the ship but he determined to risk this on the hopes that the knowledge would make other factions more likely to cooperate in helping him to ready the new vessel. Having told the Sensanarion they turned back to talk of the cost of running the scans, although with a greater incentive to agree. The Sensanarion was unimpressed with the offer of corpse-starch, but was noticeably more interested in the electronic components, and the Air scrubber. However upon the offer of a vial of Sacred Machine oil the Sensanarion ordered his acolytes to begin the rituals to perform the scans.

Soon the great disk above them began to move and the eye of the

Omnissiah began to look out into the graveswarm. For three hours it worked ceaselessly, and the priests of the Lighteyes rushed hither and thither easing the spirit of the Great machine. Soon the Sensanarion returned and informed the Rogue Trader that he believed that he had located the answer to their prayers. A ship had been found, seemingly parked in a stable orbit, just outside the Graveswarm. The ship itself was ancient, having been lost in the warp from the Segmentum Obscura thousands of years before. There were no signs of life on the vessel and also no signs of major damage. However there was an issue.

The Sensanarion would not release the coordinates to them until he had discussed with them the long term plans for the Lighteyes. The Sensanarion wished that in the new ship he and his men would be placed in charge of the sensors of the new vessel. Talis was aware that this was the position that Bosphorus had requested, so he requested to be allowed to speak with his officers.

They discussed the possibilities, and given that they needed the coordinates from the Sensanarion, and that they had not confirmed to Bosphorus that they would definitely grant him the position they did not have any other choice. In place of this they determined to sponsor Bosphorus to become a true Magos once they located a forge world, and also to place him in a higher position of the Priesthood in the new vessel. It was at this point however that the Sensanarion told them that although they thought their conversation was private, he and indeed all of the priests with sensor mechadendrites could hear them perfectly. Such tricks are usual amongst the great houses, so no doubt Talis Saro had intended for his words with regards to Bosphorus to be overheard, and he was unflustered as he approached them and offered his terms.

Aescepulas was obviously unhappy with the sudden alteration of the deal his master had so recently agreed to.

“I must protest” the Tick-tock man said, “ I believe this position has been offered to Magos Bosphorus”

“Without more detailed scans of the Graveswarm, and the exact coordinates of the ship, I think you will find it hard to make any progress. Sorry to press this but I do feel very strongly on this subject” with that the Sensanarion sat back confident in the fact that his current position effectively ensured his bargaining position.

The officers of the treasurer however had long been used to dealing with the priests of the Omnissiah due to the line of Saro's connection to the priesthood. Such knowledge is useful, and was proved when Omar the Astropath asked his next question.

“What would be the most logical way of dealing with this impasse?”

The priests of the Omnissiah pride themselves on their logic, but it was Luna who answered.

“I believe that as he has been working with the sensors for the past ten years the Sensanarion would be the best choice for the position. However for Bosphorus, in addition to attempting to sponsor him to Magos, we could also find him a position of high prestige upon our vessel.”

Aescepulas continued to look unhappy as they discussed this but eventually Talis declared that he had determined the way forward.

“The Sensanarion will indeed get the position that he requests, as we need his information. However it is my intent to make Bosphorus Luna's second, placing him above all the other techpriests of the ship.”

“I will relay this information to Bosphorus, I an unsure how he will take this information. However I am sure he will be unhappy that you are changing a deal so soon after it was made.” responded Aescepulas ever loyal to his leader.

The Sensanarion also had misgivings, “Making Bosphorus a Magos in truth is acceptable, if I am honest he should have been one in truth years ago. However the Lighteyes I am afraid will not work under Bosphorus. I will have no problem working with him, but to place myself under him would be unacceptable.

Aesepulas look sour at this but Talis realised that he had no choice except to agree to this request. The Sensanarion however emboldend by this turn of events continued.

“I must also suggest that you do not attempt to change the deal you have struck with us. We are not a large military force but no doubt if we were driven to it we could use our sensors to locate a weak point in your vessel. We are not military but the application of our knowledge could be used for military means.”

Very few people in the Imperium have ever spoken to a member of the Line of Saro in this fashion without later suffering a terrible reckoning. While this threat was no doubt recorded for later, Talis was far too skilled a negotiator to allow this to bother him. Instead he turned the conversation to other matters, with the Sensanarion strongly suggesting that they tell the other factions of the impact before the Lighteyes were forced to. Eventually the meeting was completed and the Sensanarion provided them with the information they required and they returned to the Treasurer.

There they immediately made plans to visit this vessel, and what they found there will be discussed in the next chapter.