First thing I noticed in the frozen frigate, my old lover Ezu_Ghraile and her entourage of useful people like Lexmechanics, Sages and hired killers. Running away to bravely call for reinforcements.

I brought her out and into my lap, for old times' sake. "Ezu, my dear! What do you know about this Tyranid Hive Fleet?" I asked politely while fondling her boob with my free hand.

"Pef! You've changed? I mean, you've grown quite a lot!" she observed cogently, while avoiding my question.

"You can taste the lance later, my dear Inquisitor. The Tyranids?" I continued in a slightly harsher voice, and pushing the Blank aura a bit.

"...It was an accident? The Violet bio-samples breakout has nothing to with me!" she defended herself in a rather specific way. I didn't even know of any breakout.

"I see...nothing to do all? Were you failing to find any support against the Tyranid threat, so you decided to show them?" I mused to myself, not that it was a huge stretch to make.

The woman stared blankly at the screen, as we approached the Tyranid Fleet at best speed. "... Maybe?" she muttered a minute later.

I drew back the aura and sighed. And to think this was one of the stable Inquisitors! I saw far worse, but this came close too.

"We'll talk later. Take station on that chair and log the engagement for further analysis. Lady Vail had to return to Terra for urgent matters." I said in a level voice, and pushed her away.

Canis stood up and poked his nose at the fearless Inquisitor, who absently petted the wolf and sat on the empty chair.

"Entering visual range, my Lord. Calculating enemy numbers." the auspex station officer declared while busy imputing auspex data into the Machine Spirit.

My tesseract was already in range, and showed us a losing battle. Although the Watch Station was an upgraded Ramilles Star Fort, with enough macro-batteries to shatter a battleship if they hit...the Tyranids had brought far more than a single bioship.

"Nova Cannon strike, on my mark!" I ordered while sending targeting data to the fleet, using my own Mind Impulse Unit and the las-comm data-links. We were close enough to use light-speed comms, and had little chance of being jammed by a technological enemy.

While the long-range targeting was being processed, I also primed a hundred Nova Mines in the tesseract, as cover for my next action.

"Mark!" I ordered on the data-link, and the Heavy Cruisers fired a rolling barrage of wide-area Nova explosions on top of the Tyranids, while my mines detonated inside the largest bioships I could find.

A million escort-sized bioships were simply pulverized by the massed explosions, so I used the blinding glare of Nova explosions to expel even more bioships into the Sun, while also extracting some powerful Tyrants and other biotitans for my own Xeno Auxilia. I was getting a bit low on expendable munitions, so I had to replace them with screeching, clawing, walking ones.

While the cruisers reloaded their Nova Cannons, I began to use the Immaterium Beam to snuff out the largest bioships, and fired the Black Lament's own Nova Cannons at any decent concentration of bioships still left alive.

And if each of my shots vaporized thousands of enemy bioships, it was simply luck. Not that I would cheat and send them to burn into the Sun, right?

Damn Tyranids! The more I killed, the more they sent.

It might even work against regular Navy ships, or even Deathwatch ships.

Not against me though. Already the shock of synapse loss sent the Tyranids into hibernation, so I gave the go ahead for Lance battery engagement, while our escort carriers began to unload their escort craft.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"Librarian Menelau, you have fleet command!" I spoke clearly so everyone on the bridge would hear this.

Then I stood up and walked towards my room, while a subdued Inquisitor followed me.

"Yes, Chapter Master." Menelau answered in a dutiful tone as he sat down in the command throne.

Lash glanced at me, then decided to remain on his comfortable blackstone dais, and keep an eye on Menelau, for his own sake.

Canis just growled once and followed me, likely warning Lash to behave.

'Quite a feast for my soul here.' Lash sent on my implant as I left the bridge.

'I know. I am a good provider, aren't I?' I quipped back, as I made way for Canis to pass me and enter my bedroom first.

It may have been a callous, heretical deal with a foul xenos, but as long as Lash consumed Tyranid souls I didn't mind. It might even weaken the Hive Mind.

The energy could never be destroyed only transferred. Perhaps even more so with souls.

No wonder all gods in this universe battled fiercely for more souls. The C'tan were no different, and perhaps even worse in some ways.

"Stand guard outside, Brother. The Inquisitor has too many secrets." I asked my White Scars bodyguard.

"...Dangerous as well." he warned me with a wary glance at the frail looking woman.

I just slammed the door in his face.

"So? Make up sex now or after?" I asked as I retrieved a bottle of expensive Demmasec.

"I'm so fucked..." the woman muttered as she grabbed the bottle and took a long swig.

"...Not yet. But yes. The Deathwatch will find out, once they have time to investigate. What were you thinking?" I grumbled and sat on my adamantium chair, which groaned under the Terminator's plate weight.

"I was thinking, it would be a glorious sacrifice. I may become a martyr, and force them to admit the Tyranids are the greatest threat to humanity!" Ezu exclaimed in a loud voice, and sat on the floor to drink even more.

"...An Inquisitor Martyr. Hah!" I laughed out loud. I even played the game!

"You also reek of xenos tech, Pef Lancefire. When they catch you..." she growled at me with red eyes. Must have been crying lately.

"I am not the one in trouble, dear Ezu. Plus I have a Warrant, signed by the Emperor's hand. I can do whatever I want, and is not only lawful but divinely ordained." I declared with fake pride, even waving my golden glowing scroll in her face.

"Wait! You can make this go away! If you use this..." she realized with a hopeful voice.

I nodded patiently. It was far better to be begged. "And why would I do that?"

"...I will do anything you ask of me! Anything at all!" she pleaded with tears in her eyes. I think she means kinky sex, but I wanted far more.

Hmmm. I could use someone this desperate. Not for long, as the crisis will pass, but right here was the right place indeed. Ordo Xenos did have a huge influence with the Deathwatch.

"Get me to the Omega Vault." I asked in a soft voice.

Her blurry eyes focused in a second, regaining her steel. "That's a lot to ask for! It would burn all my Deathwatch favors." she spoke in a steely voice.

"I think the vault will open for me. And, you will lose those favors anyways. Better to gain something from the loss." I countered with a shrug. Truth would come out.

"You think it will open?" she asked with wondering eyes.

I grabbed her bottle and took a long gulp as well. "Almost certain. There is something there waiting for me, and me alone."

"By the Emperor! If you do enter the Omega Vault..." she realized with a start.

I just smiled. A Rogue Trader needed valuable things to trade.