In the security of their own chambers, Jeb is finding himself busy rifling through his misbegotten gains - taken from the dead. Coins are stacked in a small pile on the table in front of him, next to some wrinkled candywrappings and a few odd pieces of naval lint. The ex-merc is holding the ID-card of the Abbots man in one hand, scratching at the stubble on his chin with the other. "Off-worlder" he comments, tossing the ID-card on the table. "It seems that most of the Abbots men where." He rolls his shoulders, trying to get the stiffness out of his muscles. "I found Abbot Tames in his quarters. Or the rest of him anyway. He was torn open from the inside out, like his guts just decided to shed the skin like a set of clothes, and go for a brisk walk throughout the ship." He gives a light shudder. "I'm telling you - a man of the Abbot's size? Fellow has a lot of skin to shed." Sighing, he gets up to stretch his legs. "There's so many loose ends and unanswered questions here... For example that Octavia lass and that fellow with the twin monoblades she tags along. They are just a tad too... competent... for my liking."

Haxtes takes Venus aside into hes private rooms. "Venus will you make sure that we can't be bugged? This is for our ears only." After Venus has activated jamming Haxtes continues. "Venus we need to get two messages out via our astropath. Number one is to our mistress; informing her of recent events and stating that I will keep on this mission. Number two is to Ordo Malleus, informing them of a daemon incursion on this planet and this ship. You see the Abbot was a host for a daemon - the same one that I stopped in the cathedral. I made him leave once more, but I think it will be back and this time it will be angry, but hey, a man is judged by the enemies he makes and I seem too draw the finest crowd. By the way, the second message will include info on Octavia and her use of heretek, naming her as the possible source. If we don't get her, well then the Malleus surely will. (Haxtes smiles a cruel smile) If something happens to me you will need to send the message - and Venus - not a word to the others. Thank you. Please send Maxi inn on your way out."

After Venus has passed the summoning. Maxi goes inn and stays until further notice at standing attention in front of the R-T.

"Good Maximilian - a fast response. I'll keep this nice and short, as I'm sure you have other things on your plate. The last few days have been entertaining for you I'm sure, well we have had our differences when it comes to orders and how they are carried out. You take every order up for discussion or you willfully sabotage them by doing the opposite. Now don't misunderstand - you helping the captain was not wrong, but you don't think beyond your own lust for glory, you took everyone out, everyone Maximilian Dante, not a soul left to keep our covers intact. I WAS OUT SAVING ONE OF US AND YOU LEAVE ME DEFENSELESS - I came back hurt and I trusted you to have some protection there...that's mutiny Dante, pure and simple mutiny. I don't think this will ever end with you so I have taken the following steps: 1. At the earliest convenience for the mission you will be transferred back to base for reassignment. 2. You will not speak on my behalf, if that is to be done it will go through Venus if I'm not there. To make the chain of command clear to you Dante: It's me, Venus, Azmuth and then finally you. If you have no questions then you may leave and do your own thing.

"Understood." Maxi answers shortly not to provoke any further retribution from Haxtes and after acknowledging the R-T's dismissal, Maxi leaves the room.

After those very good conversations Haxtes goes to his astropath and sends the two coded messages if the astropath feels that he can get them out safely.

"Jeb take Azmuth and two guards and go back to the Abbots rooms search them good and proper, and then find some excuse to burn them or seal them off semi-permanent."

"Explicator," Jeb begins, his voice held in a neutral tone. "You are too harsh on Maximillian. And too harsh on us. You stated to us, that you where off to kill the Abbot, who was last sighted heading to his chamber, yet without leaving us a word head into the belly of the ship instead on a completely different errand - and almost died there. And you have the nerve to berate us of our actions in preventing us all from crashing down? If you had listened to me, when I made a friendly suggestion, instead of giving orders like some parade lieutenant, this would *NEVER* have happened in the first place. So suck up your wounded pride, and take heart in the fact that everyone lives." He pauses. "I went to look for you, after the bridge was secured, yet there where no sign of you in the Abbots chambers, and you had left no word as to where you where, before Venus got your message. What if you had died, Haxtes? What if the guards of the ship had found you in your weird armor, lying below? You jeopardized this mission several times over, just by going like you did, and doing it alone, so do not berate Maximillian for doing his best, while actually doing more to keep our cover intact than you have done yourself! I like you, Haxtes. You seem a nice sort, and you are certainly dedicated to our line of work - but you need to consider the merits of team-work a bit better... just because you have a nice little symbol with the word "I" on it, doesn't mean you need take that as a hint that you have to work alone." Jeb pauses. He is angry, that much is certain. "Besides, from what I understand from Parsifal, he saved your ass as much as you saved him - and that will be going in my report to Inquisitor Globus."

He takes a deep breath and steadies himself. "Come along Azhmut - we have work to do."

"I'm impressed with you Jeb, you talked to Pars who is in coma??? Well, you are a special sort. If you are going to lie please work harder on hit, don't make it so easy." "You had no business to look for me you simpleton. I traced the trail of my target. I don't go to a room with a skinned Abbot and wait for it - I hunt it down."

Jeb snorts. "I'm a veteran of many battles, Haxtes. I can read wounds as well as any." He turns to fetch his gear. "My point exactly, Haxtes. You trailed *your* target - not *our* target. That is the gist of it. You do not consider the team when you work - do not take us into considerations or inform us, if you make alterations in your actions or plans. Brilliant, that. Sure signs of a leader of men."

"Read wounds? On who? Not on me, not on my target, so you read that from the broken body of Pars? You are a good oracle are you not; you speak to the comatose, you know what path I took in the ship to end up were I ended up, you know details of what happened there, you know what is spoken behind closed doors. And you have the notion that my target has something to do with our mission. If that is the gist of it for you, then I'm sorry for you, for there is a lot going on here that you will never know of, so suck it up! You surly are wasted here - you should be serving near the Throne, to inform the High Lords of hidden events..."

"No - I do not know everything, Haxtes. But I know enough to make conjunctures, and to see faults. I'm also pretty good at guessing, unless the fact that I guessed where the mob was heading before it got there slipped you by - and you do look like shit, by the way. So it isn't hard to see you have been in a scrap. I can see the fresh synthflesh from miles away." He shakes his head, extending his arm to envelop the room. "This... is about teamwork, Haxtes. That is what I'm trying to say. You going about on your own errands is more likely to cause us all harm than good. Especially since we cannot know your intentions if you do not speak them to us."

"He he, well you are wrong in your conjunctures: - guessing there was a scrap - yes - talking to Parsifal - no - knowing events - no - feeling a bit down because you don't get informed about every thing - oh yes - throwing a tantrum over that - yes You know what you need to know. Accept that and move on, if you can't do that, then say so. This is the Ordos not a debate club, I don't discus our orders with the Inquisitor and they sure as warp don't discuss the orders from Terra, to do so is treason and heresy and the Ordos don't like that do they?" Haxtes shakes is head and looks at Jeb. "I understand that you think that team work is a squad of brothers from the line - we are not a combat squad in the trenches were the survival off all as you say are something to celebrate. Now don't get me wrong if we all live that's good but all that matters to the Ordos is our mission - if we live or die they don't care."

The good captain would of course not interrupt the R-T chastising his headstrong henchmen, but it is nevertheless made clear to you that something is happening: One of the heavy stubber nests are located not far from Jax' viewport - it now opens up. Several short bursts, followed by a longer one. Then the gun either runs out of targets, crew, ammo or jams, because there is no more gunfire from it. But you can hear the weaker noises of gunfire further away. You don't have to be Inquisitors to understand that you are under attack by Wreckers.

"Jeb, Azmuth you will take two guards and take care of the Abbots rooms, before you do anything else, after that keep Azmuth safe wile he helps keep this junk barrel a float and at speed. You do not want to question these orders Jeb, take them as coming from the Throne - is that clear?" "Three guards remain here to guard the astropath and Parsifal." "Venus and Maxi, escort me to the bride, we will form up there and then see if we need to move."

Maxi confirms with a nod and takes vanguard for the R-T and his Vallet.

Jebediah's eyes narrow. "That is dangerously close to heresy, Haxtes." He finishes equipping his gear, shaking his head and mumbling under his breath, and once more looks to Azhmut. "Well, you have your orders, Azhmut. From the throne too, it seems, so let us go."

"Well, your mutinous behavior is a heresy too, but as you are Globus' man I will let him decide upon that, as for me my record as a agent speaks for it self, no hold your tongue and do your job or face the consequence right now - your call." (mind link to Venus: ready drone)

Maxi swiftly draws Sweetness pointing her at Jebediah face waiting. "Throne - Inquisitor - Interrogator - Explicator - Agent. Chain of command, Agent. Obey it!"

Maxi sheets sweetness. Turns around and awaits for the R-T to go for the bridge. "Order established R-T, I believe you wanted to go meet the captain."

"Throne help me, it's amateur night!" Jeb exclaims, as he stalks out of the room, Azhmut and the appointed men in tow.

In amateur night terms it actually goes down fairly well: Azhmut makes his way to the Abbot's quarters, competently escorted by amateur Jeg and two amateur guardsmen. En route Azhmut makes some snide remarks about his old Drill Sergeant - seems he has this ability to fault others while honestly believing himself to be invincible in every sense of the word. "I still have a soft spot in my mechanical heart for that bastard - we hated him dearly of course, but the enemy hated him more. By Imperial standards that made the man a real hero, no?" The offensive suit of Abbot-skin is disposed of using a makeshift incinerator unit that Azhmut has cobbled together from an empty barrel lined with some nonflammable material and a promethium burner. A few prayers to the Emperor and the Deus Mechanicus helps speed the process along. After leaving you lock the door semi-permanently by welding it to the doorframe. Gunfire can be heard from time to time. Nothing heavier than heavy stubbers. If the enemy has more powerful guns he's not using them - indicating a willingness to board perhaps? On the bridge Haxtes' finds the captain directing the defense of his vessel. Three wrecker vessels, not unlike this one, only they are cobbled together from odd bits and pieces of metal and working tech, are attacking you. They are staying clear of your rear arch where you have a twin autocannon armed and manned - instead they are working their way around to the front, trying to land a boarding party there (the front autocannon battery is malfunctioning, probably because of icing). The Martyr is firing back with its heavy stubbers, and the Wreckers are shooting back. So far you've held them of, but the stubber crews are protected only by simple gun shields and won't last forever (besides, due to the Abbot incident the Martyr is short on qualified gunners).

Telepathic message from your astropath: "Unable to bridge interstellar distances due to warp turbulence - aftereffects from the storm. Messages delivered to Maiden section of choir - but they are unable to transmit directly to Scintilla without my presence. Messages must either be relayed or wait for final transmission until we reach orbit. Messages have standard low-key Imperial encryption protocols that can be deciphered by any sanctioned astropath. Mean the only meaningful security is the internal code-wording; adequate for the Haegum address, weak for the Tricorn Malleus address. Please advice."

"If you can relay with somewhere secure then - go for it, if not then we hold for now."

Messinus, your astropath, would rather hold the transmission for the Malleus; the lack of encryption is one thing, keeping up appearances another. If you send it by way of the Chancellery Court or any commercial astropathic choir, then there might be questions - why would Rogue Trader send a message to the Tricorn? The Haegum message is safer - its a trading house with known connections to the Maiden.

Captain Elias Shadrack: "Rogue Trader Jax, I am reluctant to ask for your aid once more, but it seems trouble has found us yet again. Wrecker attacks are always a danger to lone vessels, that is true, but as I said - the storm has driven us far to the southern icelands, right where I believe the Wreckers to have their hideout. Our stubber nests are sufficiently powerful to deter boarding for the moment, but lack the punch needed to take out those sky-ships. And they are staying clear for the prow autocannon. So it is only a matter of time before they take out enough stubbers or gun crews to affect a boarding action."

"I would be delighted to help you my dear captain, what do you and your fine ship of the sky need?"

After the initial entrance Maxi stays by the entrance door to the bridge/cabin.

Captain Elias Shadrack: "Unless you can miraculously cure the nonfunctional cannon battery I would greatly appreciate any help repelling boarders. Either by manning the stubbers or actually fighting them once they get on board. Since we cannot outrun them with all this icing we can only hope they will give up if we bleed them good. Unfortunately they will probably just shoot us down if they cannot take us whole."

Azhmut to Jeb: "We have received a new assignment. We are to make our way to the aft section of the vessel and see if we can get the autocannons there into working order. They are needed if we are to survive this fight."

"Acknowledge that, Azhmut. We'll be going aft... that's back, right?" Jebediah rubs his sore shoulder. "You're the techie, Azhmut. Lead the way, and I'll tag along to make sure there's none of the Abbot's freaks left, waiting in surprise."

I'll just wrap up this encounter I think, since it's been so long since it started - all suspense gone I suppose :( One of the wrecker vessels manages, after their companions have taken out a few stubber nests, to land boarders aboard the Cygnan Martyr. What they lack in equipment and sophistication they make up for with ferocity and numbers. The crew and passengers defend as well as they are able, backed up by Octavia's adept/assassin. Venus has penetrated the adept's technoarcane mental interface, through which Octavia is sending him commands (the heretek comm chatter you heard earlier). His mobility and fighting skills enable him to back up the scattered defensive positions most amicably. That is, until he is killed! And the reason Venus had to seize control, rather than let the adept defend as before? An intercepted transmission from the Lady to the wreckers, offering to pay good ransom money for herself. So no help would have been forthcoming. Not exactly heresy...but Haxtes feels quite good about having turned her in to the Ordos (or more specifically, the Ordo you really don't want to come pick you up). Haxtes, who has remained stationary due to his injuries, helps take out the last wreckers, those that make it all the way to the command deck. After that Azhmut and Jeb make it to the autocannon battery, fix it (Azhmut fixes it, Jeb just looks out for attackers). When the job is done Jeb gets the honor of blowing the next wrecker vessel that approaches out of the sky. Well, maybe not blow it out of the sky, but after putting half a hundred shells into it the vessel slowly plunges down towards the black ocean, trailing foul smoke. The wreckers give you a few parting shots from their heavier ordnance, but their souls are not in it (and why waste ammo on you now?) and the Martyr is a tough ship, so you pull through. After that its jut a question of keeping the Martyr running, getting of more ice and heading for the House of Dust and Ash. You reach it with only a few hours left to spare before the main session of the auction - the lesser objects have already been taken care of.