2 Chapter: 1.2
Chapter: The Gauntlet
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Part: 2
Departmento Munitorum: Imperial Transport 'Gauntlet'
En Route to Accazius II
Sallur System
Sinaxria Sector
Segmentum Tempestus
"I want her dead."
"She wasted a perfect bottle of Amasec on your head?"
The Navigator repeated while his raised eyebrows rose higher, clearly surprised, but also intrigued and maybe even amused.
"Care to elaborate? I haven't been keeping up with this situation, but I'm suddenly very intrigued."
Calenharn gave him a strange look before speaking,
"Do you know why the Inquisitor threw a bottle of Amasec at your head?"
The captain remained silent for a good ten seconds, her face blank and emotionless. She simply stared at the murals as the two men waited for her to answer. Eventually, she spoke up again.
"No."
The Captain spoke that single word with such certainty that it made both the Navigator and Calenharn raise their eyebrows. Quite certain that their captain was, in fact, lying to them.
"What was it that drove the Inquisitor to throw a bottle of Amasec at your head?"
The Navigator asked, and the Captain's lips tightened into a thin line, and she continued to stare at the murals, not even a flicker of an eyebrow could be detected on her unusually stoic face.
Calenharn sighed,
"The Inquisitor must have had her reasons to do that."
The Captain tilted her head, her lips twisting into a scornful smile,
"Reasons?"
Her voice was still monotone and devoid of emotion, yet a sense of anger and resentment hung heavily in the atmosphere around her like a shroud.
"I was under the impression that the Inquisitor believed I couldn't handle my own ship, and thus sent me a little gift to remind me of my place."
"I see."
Calenharn paused and before he could continue with his inquiry, the Captain's words sounded again,
"Enough about the Throne damned Inquisitor. I need the ship's status report ASAP."
Usually, it was the ship's vice-captain's duty to keep track of the ship's functions. But the 'Gauntlet's' Vice Captain experienced a little... misfortune, in their last Wrap Jump.
Still, the Navigator nodded at the Captain's command and scrolled through the command panel's data screen, the status report appeared in the form of a Holographical design of the Transporter, most of it highlighted in green except for some slightly olive shades.
"The ship's main reactors are at 83% charge and are still maintaining their integrity, but the engines are at 87% and I suspect they won't last long if we continue to strain them like last time. The Gellar Fields are stable at around 75% and would be recharged in under two hours. The hull is mostly intact with the exception of some minor damage to the starboard aft-section. Weapons are within efficiency standards."
The Captain remained silent for a moment, her eyes flicking around the interior of the bridge, finally, she spoke again, this time her tone shifting from lifeless and monotone to slightly annoyed,
"Casualties? Warp taint?"
The Navigator's gaze shifted downward as he read the casualty report. The numbers flashed into his eyes and burned into his memory.
"We've lost 6% of the ship's crew and another 4% of the troopers, all those who were confirmed to be corrupted have been granted the Emperor's mercy by the commissars. Suspected tainted personnel have been quarantined and a Sanctioned Psyker should be finished with their search in another two hours."
The Captain's eyes flickered, a murky mixture of weariness, frustration, and anger was brewing in her mind. The cost of traversing through the Warp was never gentle, in fact, this might have been the minimum damage her crew suffered in the past few months.
"And the Regiments?"
She asked, her voice reaming firm, betraying no hint of sentimentality while her gaze never left the murals,
"The regiments are recovering from the disorientation caused by the warp jump. They'll be combat-ready within the hour. The commissars are overseeing their recuperation and preparing for the next deployment. Scans confirm that 95% of the Mechanized Infantry Regiment and 98% of the Light Infantry Regiment survived the Warp Jump. pretty impressive if I say so myself."
The Captain nodded, seemingly satisfied with the update.
"As for the Inquisitor, we need her on the same page. Discord among the leadership endangers us all,"
Calenharn interjected, attempting to steer the conversation away from the usual topics to something that might result in some progress.
The Captain's expression remained stoic, her thoughts veiled behind those hollow eyes that seemed to deepen with every minute.
"Discord is inevitable with those Inquisition bastards,"
she replied, her voice low and measured.
"But we need to be on level grounds before reaching our destination. It is imperative that we unite to complete this objective assigned to us by the Sector Command."
Calenharn nodded in agreement, his lips curling in what might have been a genuine smile. Their mission was a rather obscure one, they were to send the Inquisitor down to the planet along with the two regiments and wait for her to do her magic before picking her up and getting the hell out of this System.
But then again, with the Inquisition's luck, their ship was likely to sink mid-way through the operation.
"Understood, Captain. I'll extend an olive branch to the Inquisitor. Let's hope she's receptive."
The Captain's gaze shifted from the murals to the viewport, where the endless darkness of the warp loomed. The ship had just sailed out of the chaotic currents of the Immaterium, a tiny vessel sneaking past the daemon's nest.
"As for you, Navigator, keep your third eye vigilant. We tread where the Imperium's light flickers, and the shadows hunger for our souls."
The Navigator nodded in acknowledgment, his third eye stayed shut, for there were as many unforeseen dangers in the material world as there were in the Immaterium.
"We are but travelers in the Warp, Captain. May the Emperor guide us through the storm."
With one last salute to both the Navigator and the Captain, Calenharn made his way out of the Bridge, praying to the Empress so that the stubborn Inquisitor might listen to his request.
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Onboard Departmento Munitorum: Imperial Transport 'Gauntlet'
Inquisitor's Quarters
The Inquisitor was easy to find, after all, she had been staying in her quarters for the past few days. She wouldn't be doing anything particular, not with the amount of freedom and information she had on her hands. Perhaps gazing up at her metal ceiling, there was no way that a ship that frequently sailed through the warp would have a window, that was straight-up suicide.
Calenharn stood outside the door of the Inquisitor's quarters, knocking twice on the door, waiting and hoping for her to let him in or at least talk to him so that he could deliver the Captain's olive branch.
As he waited, his eyes couldn't help but wander around the corridor, questioning the glaring lack of servitors. Not that it was an insult or anything, but almost all the Inquisitors he had encountered in his life had one... or half a dozen, at their disposal.
The door slid open, revealing the dimly lit interior of the Inquisitor's quarters. The room seemed almost austere, with minimal furnishings and a faint scent of incense hanging in the air.
If Calenharn had expected the Inquisitor to be in front of a large desk with various dataslates sprawled around it, he was mistaken. Instead, the Inquisitor, Seraphia Credelle Greybrand, sat on her bed, clad in the somber black and silver robes of her office, leaning forward with a small dataslate propped on her legs.
Her form was mostly concealed by the darkness of the room, but she seemed to be scrolling through some sort of report while muttering something to herself. The Inquisitor didn't seem to have even noticed Calenharn's presence yet, she didn't even look at him until another moment had passed.
"Calenharn,"
She acknowledged with a curt nod, gesturing for him to take a seat,
"What is it?"
"Captain Hox sent me,"
Calenharn began, choosing his words carefully.
"She wants to ensure a unified front as we approach our destination. Discord among our ranks is not something we can afford."
Inquisitor Greybrand's eyes, sharp and hollow, bore into Calenharn. She remained silent for a moment, allowing the weight of her decision to settle in, and when she finally spoke, her voice was cold with a steely edge to it,
"Captain Hox should concern herself with the ship, and I shall concern myself with matters of the Inquisition,"
Calenharn sighed inwardly, he had anticipated this much resistance or else it wouldn't have been an Inquisitor he was dealing with,
"Inquisitor, we,"
He stopped as the woman glared at him, her olive eyes boring into his head.
"I meant you and the Captain, share a common objective. The success of this mission relies on cooperation. We need to put aside personal differences for the greater good."
At his last words, the Inquisitor's gaze hardened, and before Calenharn could react, the Inquisitor was already pointing her bolter pistol at his head,
"Did you just say 'For the greater good,' Handler?"
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