Knock knock
Hans, still facing the smooth steel door, looked left and right, the corridor dim in a soft light emanated by the glass and brass electric candelabrum, carved wood pilaster strips embellishing the otherwise brutal metallic walls and the smoothness of the polished plain gray ceramic floor tiles occasionally broken by the lone carved ones, engraved in minuscole letters with obscure Administratum prescriptions.
He wasn't sure what was previously there and what was added with the officer quarters refurbushment, pretty damn sure the Administratum tiles were there from before.
SWoosh.
The door slid open.
At the entrance, a woman in a short white tank-top, carved abs, carved deltoids, carved biceps and triceps, at the end of the arm a lasgun, competently aimed at him.
She lowered it in a fraction of second, the hint of a smile, arching one angle of the lips and narrowing her almost oriental eyes.
"Captain, didn't expect ya." She nodded.
Trying not to stare too much at the pointy white sharp shapes made by her nipples pressing against the white fabric, he cleared his throat.
"May I come in?"
Caldan gestured him to enter.
As Hans entered, she press the button and the door slides close.
He gazed around. It was the first time he was in the private space of his archmilitant and he was quite curious: the antechamber was giving space to a spacious living room, complete with a fake glass window, beyond which a surprisingly well painted tropical garden, with palms and all the rest.
He was quite sure that element of extravagance was due to the previous occupant of the room, as Caldan had eliminated from her lodging most of the baroque furniture that was stuffing the rest of the officer quarters: even the smooth-looking table, a reflective polished five-hundred kilogram pink marble slab on thin, arcuate serpentine looking metal legs, had been pushed against a wall, creating space for a simple gym: a red punch bag, a barbell with some metallic disks, a pull-ups rack with a few cables and a few other things Hans couldn't recognize.
The only mirror in the room was simple, just a thin brass plain framework.
The luxurious gilded sofa was also leaned seating against the wall, almost like the flat's occupant had decided once and for all to never rest on something soft and complacent.
"Captain, ready't your orders!"
He smiled to her.
"Just wanted to check out on you. Ask you how have you been down in Volcano. I believe you came back on board last night."
"Correct, sir. Found out most of my fam. Thought it to be a fast blitz, but took a bit longer than planned. Came back asap, sir!"
"How so? I mean, was it difficult to find them?"
She whistled.
"Twenty years'a long tim'in thy Hive, thy'd been moved from thy old manufactorum e grew up, into anothyr one, moved in bulk when a big boss purchased in block thy workers, then moved again, deep in thy Hive's belly, where thy magma's spit out in thy foundries. E thought I had it hard in the steel pressing assembly line, but deep there is really thy Hell." A shadow passed in her eyes "They've been there for three years, they hadn't it left for long, ain't taken them out!"
"Very glad you could save them! Who were you able to retrieve and how are they?"
"Mea brother Alon is well and good, strong as a bull and even his brain problems look better now. He says the molten eron had made him strong. This seems like something thy old Alon would say, but really he seems stronger."
"Glad to hear it."
"Me sister, Anita, had eight children in these years, five are with the Emperor now, only three alive."
"Oh, that's terrible!"
Caldan shrugged.
"Not many infants make it in thy low hive. Me niece Galina had five children of her own, two survived. She is twenty-two now"
"Five children at twenty-two?" Hans interrupted her stupefied "how is that even possible!?"
"She got stuffed first at seventeen. Then, once per year." Caldan answered plainly.
"Recovered also my nephew Jordan, nineteen, with his girlfriend Curva, two years younger. Took the liberty to take in even Curva's parents, and her little sister. Last me younger niece, Aman, she's seventeen" Caldan smiled "Reminds me a bit of myself when e was
young'n stubborn an e decided to leave the Hive."
"Liberty. Don't even say that! I'm happy you did that. How are they?"
"All live and kicking. Only one I'm really worried about's Galina. She'd been spitting blood like alleluiah an seems like she's blood poisoning."
"As soon as I leave this room I will instruct my personal medicus to treat like if she was myself, spare no expenses."
"Thanks." She looked him in the eyes.
"If they are deer to you they are deer to me."
She kept looking in his eyes, intensely.
"As members of your family they will be housed here in the officers quarters. They will need time to recover, after that, the young ones will get instruction from in our schola and for the older ones we will find a befitting occupation here on board. So you brought on board eleven people?"
"Bit more. In thy old manifactorum e grew up e found Marjia, me old teenage friend an her partner. Brought them on thy merry boat."
"Well, they are not strictly speaking your family, but, as your friend, she and her man, will be housed in the officer quarters too, maybe in a small cabin."
Caldan nodded
"She an' her woman."
"Whatever. Anyone else?"
"A boy who helped me navigate thy low Hive e: promised him bring him up."
"Well, a promise is a promise. Since he's not related to you, he could go as a menial."
"Actually, he wanna train as a trooper."
"Well, if he wanna train as a trooper, that's your competence. We are ninety-seven short, without considering the injured ones. That's the second reason I came to you. While you were away I considered your proposal to recruite old guard veterans stranded on the planet since after the Armageddon War: we can definitely have use for those old bears."
"It's thy right move, sir. Old they are, but old'n strong!"
"Sure thing, it's what I'm counting on! I'll have Jalna preparing an employment contract. Since they are old and they have already been forced to serve forty years in the guard, the contract will be only two years, extendable for a third. No upfront payment, unlike we did with the troopers in Necromunda, they will have accommodation and board for the whole duration of the contract and, since we are planning to visit a non-imperial feudal world next, enough land to retire comfortably, from the wild lands we will tame or conquer."
"Looks a good deal thy old guards and for us. Many will think it's better than drinking to death in thy Hive taverns with thy astra-mil retirement check."
"Agreed then. Take some troopers with you on the Arvus, feel free to start from whatever hive you prefer. If you have enough success to recruit in the hundreds or in the thousands we'll send the Heavy Lifter."
"Copy that, sir!"
"Ah, another thing. In hive Helsreach I picked up a servant girl, her name's Lia. She is a generational slave, all her family is owned by a Prometheum salesman. She asked me to recover her stepmother, her stepsister and her two natural sister. I will give you the address of the man and the details of the woman. Purchase them if possible, threaten the man if necessary. We still have to pay him a big commission. That should be enough. Last resort, remind him what crossing a rogue trader means."
She grinned.
"Consider it done, sir."
————-
In the barren, darkened plains below him, Hive Aquila gleamed like a shiny cluster of towering needles.
Aquila Hive was a small one. Small in the category of hives, of course. Less than one fifth the height, length and width, a hundredth of the population of the Great Hives of the planet, like Tempestora, Helsreach or Deathmire; and less than one thousandth of the population of Mega Hives, like Necromunda's Hive Palatine. Yet, the shadow of Aquila Hive was longer than the height of its spires, as people in Armageddon used to say: Aquila hive was small, it wasn't extracting raw material like Hive Volcano, nor producing industrial commodities like Hive Helsreach, nor it was a manufacturing hub like Hive Tempestora, the formal capital of the planet; in fact, it was producing nothing notable. The hive was also brand new, by imperial standards: after the Armageddon Plague wiped out completely the population, five hundreds years before, the Administratum had Aquila Hive built as an administration center from which coordinate the massive logistic efforts to repopulate and bring back into operation all the planet's industries. Basically the hive was built as a huge office center. Nowadays the hive housed many services industry, like banking, insurance, trade and finance, many merchant houses and what, back in Han's time, would have been called the public sector: despite the Administratum had at least one spire in all the major hives of Armageddon, it still retained major archives and offices in Aquila Hive and, for this reason, it was heavily guarded by the Astra Militaris. Aquila Hive was hardly a military target (sometimes unmentioned by official maps) and had been substantially spared by the Greenskin rampage.
No need to say, it was small by Hive standards, but it still had three times the population of Tokyo.
The Aquila Lander continued the descending trajectory, directed towards the tip of a gleaming spire.
The whole spire was owned by a family, the Septis Familia, lead by the man Hans was up to meet, Lord Marcus Septis, one of the most powerful people, not to say one of the richest, in the entirety of Armageddon.
The Aquila folded its wings and performed a vertical landing on the private craft port at the top of the small spire: a seven hundreds meter tall metallic tower, shining under the synthetic orange polluted sky. Servitor-controlled las turrets and voidshields, was the comment of the pilot. Top notch private defense. The Aquila's propellers gradually decreased their violet stream of plasma, and the pilots killed the engines.
The wind was fierce, fortunately the respiration masks was keeping the violent air outside and a tall circular barrier was blocking part of the airstream and preventing them to be blown out of the spire-top. A guard of honor, in double line, was awaiting them, at least 20 soldiers in a deep crimson armor, faces covered by respiration masks and impassible to the wind. They presented their arms as a salute, but none of them spoke.
Hans and his small group walked to the entrance to the big glass-like dome in front of them.
As they entered and the door closed, the wind stopped. They were in a circular space, at least 200 metered of diameter. Under the equally tall 200 meters dome, a lush garden: a rainbow of violet, red, yellow, orange, indaco flowers, most of which clearly alien in nature, none of them Hans could have named. More impressively still, tall, centenary trees: some resembled oaks or pine trees; other were more exotic, one kind had such symmetric trunk branches and leaves that seemed almost an architectural element, one tree was huge and serpentine, with maculated leaves, and different ones had blue or even black leaves, they were coming in a variety of shapes, with scaly black barks, with empty cubic cavities in their trunks, with gluey-phosphorescent resin or other alien features. The architecture itself was rich of details, but less heavy in baroque, more like a fusion of Victorian and neoclassic, marble and steel.
Greeting them, a group of nine beautiful man and nine beautiful women. Both groups almost naked, wearing only lingerie, weird but alluring made of shimmering pearls and raw gems strips. All of them were tall, and all were perfect in everything, almost like directly out of a Playboy cover.
"Greetings, Lord Rogue trader." Said a beautiful women with a dark chocolate skin. She was tall and thin, yet gifted with graceful curves, She had curly hair and high cheekbones that framed almond-shaped eyes, deep eyes with a golden color, and full lips, parted in a faint smile.
She seemingly had no cybernetic implant, which was weird in that world.
"The air here is safe to breathe, if you fancy removing the filtration mask."
Hans removed the mask.
For the first time since he found himself in Necromunda, almost five months before, he could smell flower, and vegetation, and oxigen (well oxigen doesn't have a smell, but he could feel it).
He breathed, a deep breath.
"If you were so gracious to follow us, lord Marcus is waiting for you."
Hans nodded and followed her.
As he followed her across the garden, a beautiful swedish-looking blonde woman, and another one east-asian looking, moved at his sides, and he noticed two beautiful woman moving close to each of his male troopers and two beautiful man moving close to each of his female one.
The black super model was telling him of all the vegetal variety of the garden, but his attention was definitely somewhere else. If this was a tactic to throw off-guard lord Marcus guests, it definitely worked.
They took some regal looking crimson marble stairs and walked to the lower floors, high ceiling and grandiose marble coated surfaces, green marble, blue marble, red marble, even violet and black with gold veins were there, a mineral garden as colorful as the vegetable garden above.
Hans was starting to understand what wealth could command in the Imperium, and was starting to feel poor.
After walking for a while those grand halls, they arrived in front of what seemed like solid adamantium doors, inlaid with a natural size naked man in chiastic pose holding a flame. Two guards in red power armor moved aside.
The black woman smiled.
"My friends will take care of your companions while I will leave you to discuss with lord Marcus." again off-guard, he nodded like an idiot.
"Was a pleasure to meet you, lord Hans. I hope my lord will allow us to spend other time together." Hans nodded again, staring at her tits like an idiot.
The woman smiled as the door closed behind her.
"Not too ugly, I hope" Said a firm, male voice behind him, strong with authority.
"Oh no, she is beautiful…"
"I meant my palace. But glad you appreciated the maîtres. The flower of youth is not cheap to come by."
Hans turned around.
The room was cozy. A sharp contrast with the grand marble halls: wooden floor, two wooden walls, a few paintings on them -mostly depicting imperial saints or, other stark contrast, women depicted in what could only be defined as pornographic acts. The third wall was covered by a library and in the forth a chimney with lively flames, that gave the room cottage vibes.
Sitting on an armchair, a man, well shaved, with intelligent grey eyes, blonde hair and the apparent age of fifty to sixty.
"Oh, your palace is great, Lord Marcus, I presume, certainly the emperors of Rome didn't have such nice ones!"
"Thanks for your compliment. Hoping that you intended as a compliment the comparison with the lords of this Heretic Roman kingdom that dare to call themselves Emperors in their petty domains, undoubtedly in a forgotten region like the Halo or the Ghoul Stars."
"Oh, no, my lord. I'm referring to the ancient Terran history, well before humans conquered the stars."
"Ahh, the heathen kingdoms of the Age of Terra! How fascinating! I thought you to be a parvenûe, one that forged his name via the violence of the sword, or, perhaps, the persuasion of Gelt, which is no small feat in itself, given how difficult it is to elevate a new Rogue Trader Dynasty. But, apparently, I have an erudite as guest in my palace. Visne semocinari in Alto Gothico?"
Best of Hans' understanding, high Gothic was basically Latin (how weird that Latin survived to 41st millennia when was already almost dying in the third!). He was pretty good at Latin in his high school time. That said, he couldn't speak Latin fluently to converse in it, but maybe enough to save the face.
"Possumusne loqui in lingua Lat… in Alto Gothico, mi amice, et de gloribus generis humani, de multis victoriis et multis tragicis quas passa est, conversari?"
his Latin sucked, he better start quoting…"Aedificia tua tamquam montes aeterna; ibi gloria, ibi mulieres pulchrae, ibi historia ipsius hominis scribitur."
The Hive Lord smiled with a knowing glint in his eye, his words flowing in High Gothic with an elegance honed over years of courtly life:
"Ita, Dominus Mercator, aedes istae sunt ut figmenta aeternitatis, ut testificatio humanitatis nostrae ex ipsis fundamentis elevatae. Scilicet, pulchritudo et historia in nobis residet, in illis qui ad sidera ascendere ausi sunt—et, forsitan, qui nimis in somniis audaciae suae confidunt."
The cadence of his words was fluid, almost melodic, leaving Hans straining to catch every nuance. Hans narrowed his eyes, concentrated to translate. He stopped himself just in time from moving his lips. He understood something.
Hans took a slight breath, his memory reaching for some fragment of ancient text that might steer the conversation back to familiar ground. With a faint smile, he began, blending Latin with hints of his native German:
"Ah, sed… ut aiunt, 'sunt quaedam humilia quae… humilibus sermonibus tractanda sunt.' Certe, linguae simpliciores quando ad negotia descendimus saepe sunt aptiores."
Lord Marcus nodded: ""Altum Gothicum pro his quae animam alunt; Humilis Gothicum pro his quae pecuniae prosunt," intoned the Hive Lord, with a faint smile and an elegance borne of years in the Imperial courts and philosophy.
Hans nodded.
"Where are you from?" Asked Marcus, sitting and inviting Hans to sit in front of him.
"From a place called Deutschland, Germania, in Altum Gothicum. By Imperial standards it would be, it is classified as a Civilized World."
"Never heard of it. Plures sunt mundi in Imperio quam scelesti in Urbe Rachialium."
Hans eyes got lost in the starry myriad of the Imperial worlds, that Marcus was describing as more numerous than the criminals in a hive city.
"I thought it to be a fun joke, but, apparently, I called your mind to the distance shore of thought. You seem a man guided by the wisdom of experience. Are you in your second youth?"
"I underwent a rejuv treatment if that's what you are asking."
Hans asked himself why such a wealthy man like Marcus Septis, who could afford plenty of rejuv still looked sixty. Maybe there was a limit to what could be achieved with that technology and he was older than it seemed.
"What about you, my Lord?"
The man smiled.
"I'm entering in the second half of my second century" Jesus fucking Christ, more than 200 years old! Was that possible for him too? "My grandfather Verus Septis was among the first wave of colonists sent to repopulate Armageddon from the Great Plague, five hundreds years ago. We ail from a noble Pyran dynasty, but what we built here, what me and my father before me built, is well beyond the modest wealth our small noble house had in Pyran back then." Half cough-half laugh "Now I could buy three times over the Royal House of Pyran." He smiled "ahhhh, the benefits of economy of scale. Mundi Rachiales, quamvis deformes, abundant opportunitatibus!"
His eyes gleamed "which leads us my business propositions to you, Lord Zimmerman."
————
Proposal:
Lord Marcus Septis, a wealthy financier from Aquila Hive, presents a suite of high-profit ventures to Lord Hans Zimmerman.
Option 1: Black Tithe Cargo Partnership
Marcus proposes using Hans' Warrant to export "Black Tithe" cargo—excess goods produced beyond Administratum quotas and undeclared to evade tithes. Local demand is high, but off-world markets yield far higher returns. As a Rogue Trader, Hans bypasses customs, a privilege denied to standard chartist captains.
• Pros: High profits; Marcus opens a credit line, assuming the risk. Hans keeps 50% of the profits after reimbursing manufactorum owners.
• Cons: Risk of discovery by Inquisition or Administratum, given Thelkar's vigilance.
• Unique Opportunity: Marcus offers discreet backing from Aquila officials to support shipments, but Hans must use his own ship.
• Practical Effect: Each time one of Hans' ships docks at Armageddon (up to four ships), it can collect 2d4x10K ATC worth of goods. Hans incurs no upfront cost but must repay the merchandise's value and 50% profit. An accountant from the merchant conglomerate will board as observer. Chance of discovery each trip: 2%. Hans manages the cash flow during transit.
Option 2: Challenge Thelkar's Financial Monopoly
Each Armageddon hive has its own currency, with exchange rates controlled by Thelkar's monopoly bank, which skims a cut from all sector-wide currency trades (excluding Imperial currencies like ATC). Marcus already runs a shadow bank for foreign exchange, bypassing Thelkar's monopoly. With Hans' Warrant, he could establish a formal bank, independent of Thelkar's oversight.
• Pros: Massive profit potential and control over Armageddon's financial flows. Hans gains significant financial influence.
• Cons: Likely retaliation from Thelkar, including audits and potential military response if the bank's reach expands.
• Unique Opportunity: Marcus offers Hans access to Armageddon's financial networks and proposes a 70/30 profit split in Marcus' favor, boosting Hans' reserves.
• Practical Effect: Each year (≈12 turns), Hans receives 1d4x50K ATC, in varied segment currencies. To collect, Hans must physically visit Armageddon or send a trusted agent; no interstellar transfers exist.
Option 3: Defense Pact with Governor Thelkar
Marcus proposes an indirect alliance with Thelkar, where Hans would broker a formal planetary defense contract. As a Rogue Trader, Hans could legally escort high-value cargo between hives and neighboring systems. Marcus would support Hans' entry into Thelkar's circle as a silent partner.
• Pros: Legitimacy and steady income through defense contracts funded by the Administratum; secure position in Armageddon.
• Cons: Marcus remains a silent partner, risking hidden tensions with Thelkar.
• Unique Opportunity: Marcus can supply intelligence on key trade routes, increasing Hans' profits and presence among Administratum and officials.
• Practical Effect: Access to Thelkar's inner circle, securing government contracts and market-price deals with Marcus' support.
Option 4: Ork Salvage Operation in War Zones
Marcus offers funding for salvage in Ork-infested areas, rich with abandoned tech and raw material. Hans' Warrant could grant legitimate salvage rights for off-world resale. Marcus covers mercenaries, logistics, and bribes, while Hans supplies transport.
• Pros: High returns on salvaged Ork materials, with Marcus assuming most costs. Hans controls resale to black-market buyers.
• Cons: Extremely dangerous; risk of Inquisition attention and conflict with Thelkar, who opposes unsanctioned salvage.
• Unique Opportunity: 60/40 profit split favoring Hans, elevating his reputation as a resourceful trader.
• Practical Effect: Each turn orbiting Armageddon, Hans receives 1d4x10K ATC worth of Ork war material. Hans incurs no upfront cost but owes the merchandise's value and 50% profit on return. An observer-accountant from Marcus' proxies will board. 2% chance of discovery.
Option 5: High Trade Alliance with Armageddon Merchant Houses
Marcus brokers a consortium of merchant houses seeking to avoid Thelkar's tariffs through Hans' Warrant. Hans' ship would legitimize exports, bypassing Thelkar's control entirely.
• Pros: High returns with minimal setup costs; tariff-free trade increases profits and secures connections among merchants.
• Cons: Direct challenge to Thelkar's economic authority; potential retaliatory tariffs or embargoes.
• Unique Opportunity: Three Carrack Class ships will operate under Hans' Warrant, with him as lead operator, giving him a 10% cut on all their profits, payable every 5 years.
• Practical Effect: Ships pay a 10% profit cut to Hans, held in Marcus' shadow bank until collected in person. Hans may place one accountant per ship as observer. Ship conglomerate retains ownership and operational freedom over the ships, but vassalage obligations apply, requiring mutual support in emergencies and Hans responsibility in case they break imperial piracy laws. Hans risks direct opposition from Thelkar.
Option 6: Refuse All Offers, Open a Shadow Bank Account
Hans may decline Marcus' propositions, opting for a simpler arrangement—a 50% discount on currency conversions through Marcus' shadow bank, saving on exchange rates without political entanglements.
• Pros: Avoids risky alliances, preserving independence; entry into Armageddon's shadow economy.
• Cons: Misses larger profits and influence.
• Practical Effect: Reduced 2.5% fee for local currency conversions and 7% for Imperial-wide currencies.
Vote Options:
[X] Black Tithe Cargo Partnership
[X] Challenge Thelkar's Financial Monopoly
[X] Defense Pact with Governor Thelkar
[X] Salvage Operation in War Zones
[X] High Trade Alliance with Armageddon Merchant Houses
[X]Refuse All Offers, Open a Shadow Bank Account
Notes: All options except Option 6 require an additional month on Armageddon. Option 2 offers passive income unless returning to confront Thelkar. Options 1 and 5 differ in legality—Option 1 is covertly illegal, while Option 5 openly challenges Thelkar directly.
——
Memo Prepared by Jalna Massai
Subject: Meeting with Admiral Karras – Anti-Piracy Engagement Opportunity
Hans,
I attended the meeting with Admiral Karras, and it's clear that the Navy is keen for our involvement in addressing piracy issues in sectors they cannot effectively patrol. They view us as a prime candidate to assist in eradicating key threats, particularly those beyond their current reach.
The immediate concern is the pirate vessel known as the Black Boa, which has been a menace in both the Armageddon and Gothic sectors for over 70 years. This pirate ship is responsible for the destruction of at least 10 non-warp capable merchant vessels and the raiding of three Imperial feudal worlds, where they have taken both slaves and resources. The Navy has been chasing rumors of the Black Boa's location for years, but with little success—until now.
The breakthrough came from the Dante Monitoring Station, situated at the edge of the Armageddon system. This station is one of the Mechanicus' most advanced creations, directly produced on Mars, and it has been intercepting unencrypted transmissions from a primitive Xenos species -barely capable of intra-system spaceflight- located 58 light years away from the Armageddon system. Six months ago, during routine monitoring, the station intercepted a transmission that included images of the Black Boa.
Although the transmission is 58 years old due to the distance, the intercepted data suggests that the Black Boa pirates were not just attacking the Xenos species but had also established a base on the third moon of their planet and were extorting resources from the Xenos. The planet itself is a massive oceanic world inhabited by a fishlike Xenos species, deemed non-threatening and not worth a military expedition. The moon, described as a swampy jungle with shallow oceans, seems to have been colonized by the Xenos one or two centuries ago.
The Admiral believes the pirates may still be using the moon as a base. Given the relative lack of surveillance in the region, the Navy sees this as an ideal opportunity to eliminate a long-standing threat.
Proposal from the Admiral:
If we accept the mission to eliminate the Black Boa, the Admiral has outlined the following compensation:
• 70,000 kilotons of Prometheum Grade C, which will triple our current supply, providing fuel autonomy for several years.
• 1,900 kilotons of iron ore from Hive Volcano.
• 5,000,000 Aquilae
• We are allowed to keep any spoils from the engagement.
• Furthermore, we are free to engage with the Xenos as we see fit, and if we wish to claim territory or resources in the system, the Navy will not interfere.
This mission is of great interest to the Navy, and they are prepared to support us with these substantial resources in exchange for eradicating the Black Boa. Let me know your thoughts on proceeding with this.
Respectfully,
Jalna Massai
Seneschal
———-
[X] Accept
(If we accept we don't have a deadline to complete the mission, but the Admiral will expect us to bring us news of our efforts next time we go into Armageddon, barring that we will loose the face with the sector's Navy)
[X] Refute
———
Note: Hans never saw or can't properly imagine the target system
[X] proposal to name it
As so, he can't use the multiversal warp drive. Will need to use calculated jumps (circa 10), with multiple rolls.
