Your heartbeat slows back down to something a tad more normal as the fight winds down, "Frank, put us between the Mavros and the Golden Butterfly. Simo, lock up the Golden Butterfly and take some shots at her, keep her running. Vir, open a channel to the Mavros. Ask them if they require any additional assistance."

Simo strips the shields of the Golden Butterfly even as you finish speaking, and Vir gets busy with the communications controls, "Aegis to Mavros, do you read?" A moment later, his eyebrows all but merge with his hairline, "Pyrus, is that you? Of course, we will stand by to receive a shuttle! Ventral Docking Bay, two hours, I'll see you then." He looks over to you, "well, that was certainly unexpected."

One of your eyebrows rises, "I take it you knew someone on the Mavros?"

"You could say that sir. They've requested to send a shuttle over, apparently they have some information that they don't want to send over a com link. I accepted, of course. One doesn't tell Pyrus no without a damn good reason."

Your other eyebrow rises up to join its twin. This Pyrus must have a rather large reputation that you are unaware of, and major players in the proverbial shadows make you twitchy. "Vir, would you know this Pyrus from the Kania incursion?"

Vir nods, "yes Sir, he was there."

"Very well then, you and your sister are joining me in the reception crew. Zheeves, you have the bridge." As you turn to leave, Simo reports losing target lock as the Golden Butterfly enters the Warp.

Two hours later…

You are standing near the airlock to Ventral Docking Bay Two, waiting for they bay to re-pressurize. You are turned out in your usual noble clothes and full weapons array at Vir's suggestion. Vir himself is in full regalia as well, with robes and staff as well as his usual House Saurlance headscarf. Yasha is much the same, however your eyes flick back and forth between their throats as you notice that they are wearing matching charms: bolter shells carved with images of lizards and flames. There is something to that, but you will have to look into it later as the shuttle from the Mavros has landed and the airlock chimes. It is time to meet your guests.

You work the airlock and stride into the hanger, Vir on your left and Yasha on your right, and almost stop dead in your tracks as you get the first good look at the shuttle. Instead of the simple personnel transport you were expecting, a void-black gunship sits before you. Its blunt wings mark it as atmospheric-capable, just as the massive cannon on its top and quartet of heavy bolters under the wings mark it as being able to handle damn near anything the void can throw at it. before you can ask Vir or Yasha any questions, the slab-fronted prow below the cockpit lowers into a boarding ramp, and a single massive figure stands at its head. As he steps forward and descends the boarding ramp, you get a better look at him.

He stands easily two and a half meters high, though you suspect some of that is from the finely-wrought Power Armor that encases his entire form. As the shuttle, it is void-black from head to toe with only two exceptions; the left arm from pauldron down is bright chrome, that same pauldron bearing a triple-barred I, and the right pauldron bears the same lizard-and-flames motif that adorns Yasha and Vir's charms, though his is flanked by the embedded claws of some dead alien. One of the finest bolters you have ever seen is holstered along his right thigh, and an equally fine bolt pistol rides his left hip. A Power sword rides his right hip, and although you can not see the blade, the hilt is easily the work of a master craftsman. He holds a power staff of only slightly less impressive quality, but the runes and carvings all along its length that mark him out as a psyker. Vir gives you a small mental nudge, and you remember your duty as a captain and host.

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"Pyrus, I presume? Rogue trader Tristan Von Sebastion of House Von Sebastion, Shipmaster and Commander of the Aegis. Welcome aboard. I Take it that you have met Vir and Yasha Saurlance in the past?"

The figure nods slowly before speaking a a resonating bass voice, "Pyrus of the Salamanders, on secondment to the Deathwatch. Indeed I have. I thank you for your assistance Master Von Sebastion, for the Mavros would have been hard-pressed to deal with either the Zlatna Peperuda or that Pirate, much less both together. I must ask, what brought you to the Procyon system? And why risk your ship hunting Pirates?"

You have to make an effort to prevent your jaw from hitting the deckplate. Pyrus is a Space Marine, a warrior beyond compare, and one you had never thought to see outside of stories and legends, "I had accepted a contract to swat a void pirate harassing this system, as the Imperial Navy was unable to find the hulls to deal with the issue. If I may dare ask, what brings a Space Marine on some sort of special mission to this same system, and why would the Zlatna Peperuda, also known as the Golden Butterfly, attack his ship?"

Pyrus shakes his head slowly, "that information is not mine to reveal. But it is good to know that there is more information to be had about the Zlatna Peperuda. She has been harassing the Mavros for nearly a month now. Enginseer, would you happen to know more?"

You turn and spot Jace over by a fuel bowser, stunned at being singled out, "err, yes Lord. Though much of it is dated, almost two decades old." He launches into the summary version of what he told you, though it is obvious that much of it means more to Pyrus than it did to you.

Pyrus gives a slow, thoughtful nod, "if this is already known to you, then I can shed at least some light on the situation. It is some small thanks for saving the Mavros, at least. The 'triple-barred I insignia' is the sigil of the Inquisition, so this Magos Rex must have gone astray at some point. Now, I must ask for your discretion as to my and the Mavros' presence in this system. Once my current mission is over, I may require your further services sometime in the future."

You may not know this 'Deathwatch', but you have heard of the Inquisition. An Imperial Organization dedicated to doing the dirty work of keeping the Imperium together. Pissing them off or drawing their ire is a surefire way to wind up dead, or worse. "Of course Lord Pyrus. We will be on-station here for another week or so, to make sure that that Pirate Raider didn't have any friends. Afterwards, I'm due to escort a Colony ship to the Outbound system. I take it as a given that you have a method of contacting my Astropath directly?"

Pyrus cocks his head and hoarfrost forms around his fingertips, "now I do. Go with the Emperor Tristan Von Sebastion." With that, he turns and re-boards his shuttle.

One week later...

You begin preparations to return to Viking, still somewhat shaken. Vir obviously set you up for Pyrus to blindside at the meeting, but the Mavros vanished back into the Warp just over five days ago without another word. You figure that you are in the clear, but finding yourself face-to-face with what has to be one of the Inquisition's most powerful minions is still deeply disturbing. You've told Zheeves to knock off looking for more information about ships bearing the Inquisition's sigil, as they can only bring bad news and worse complications. Taking a sip of wine, you debate what to do when you return to Viking.