You glance up and down the corridor before answering. "I think I might know why the Eldar are sticking their nose in. Have you found anything about Kamas the Technomancer?"

Olaf frowns at the non sequitur, "nothing. Not even rumors or whispers."

"Alright, here's what I have then. Kamas and its Sister were after something aboard Gibli, probably brought there by the Adeptus Mechanicus. Kamas went into the shipyard, the Sister into the Terra Incarnadine. Something went wrong, and they both went into stasis, along with all of Kamas' subordinates. When Jace reactivated the Terra Incarnadine’s sensors, it woke at least Kamas and her subordinates up. The Damocles strike and the resulting detonation destroyed all of Kamas' subordinates.

"The next time I encountered Kamas again was back on Vrenna. I was investigating a disruption of the Outbound trade route when Kamas ambushed my party. Yasha went down, and I lost my right leg at the knee. Kamas left a letter of sorts on my body. When I woke up in the Aegis' medbay, I had an Eldar sitting next to my bed. No idea how she got there, or how she had avoided detection. First thing she asks is what the heck Kamas wanted with me. I gave her the short version. She demanded the letter, I told her to get lost. She did, but not before saying that she would see me aboard the Terra Incarnadine."

Olaf nods slowly, "this may play to our advantage then. If Rubicon tells the Dark Angels that we are here chasing Kamas, they may chose to stand with us against the Xenos."

You give Olaf a lopsided grin, "I wish him luck in his endeavors then."

Several hours later...

You are on the bridge of the Aegis when the Dark Angels' reply comes in. Rubicon decodes it and grunts in satisfaction. "They have agreed to at least coordinate investigations. No mention of anything else, but at least we won't be shooting at each other."

You feel your eyebrows rise, "Is this usual for Dark Angels?"

Rubicon shrugs, his pauldrons whining as they try to approximate the motion. "Hostility towards the Inquisition? I can't say. Reluctance to work with other Imperial forces, yes. I'd guess that they are looking for Chapter Relics, and will be taking any the find with them when they leave."

You shrug, "so long as the Terra Incarnadine is still mine at the end of the day, I've no objections then."

Rubicon's pauldrons whine again. "Which will last until the Adeptus Mechanicus secure a claim on her. Which will happen when she docks at a shipyard for repairs."

You grin, "It's a good thing that I'm having the repairs done 'in house' then isn't it?"

Rubicon chuckles, and the Aegis lines up to make her transition to the Warp, bound for Dagda.

Two Days Later…

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The Warp transit from Viking to Dagda is quick and quiet. Yasha's growing proficiency pleases you on multiple levels. Personally as a demonstration of her renewed health. And professionally, as further justification of you decision to hire her, and to have Ariavari heal her.

You get you first look at the Terra Incarnadine in quite some time, and the first thought that comes to your mind is 'what the hell have you been up to Jace?' The entire ship is surrounded in the kind of scaffolding you associate with terrestrial construction, and a steady stream of mining craft are buzzing back and forth between her and the local Asteroid belt. The superstructure itself is nearly complete, though the broadside weapons bays are empty caverns, and the prow looks like a skull missing the jaw. The spine has a large flat section, with the stump of three turret mountings growing out of it.

The Seraph thunders back into reality to your starboard side. Not even two minutes later, Sargent Danus is hailing the Aegis, asking for a parking orbit and shuttle approach vector to the Terra Incarnadine.

Rubicon looks at you and cocks his head, inviting an answer. "Tell the Sargent that they are free to use whatever parking orbit they see fit, so long as they stay out of the current shuttle traffic. Safer for everyone that way. As for a shuttle approach vector, that will depend on what parking orbit they desire, and what shuttle bays are operational aboard the Terra Incarnadine. Obviously the Mining Bay is operational, but I don't think that makes for a good landing zone for a thunderhawk."

Five Hours Later...

Jace is waiting to greet you as you disembark from the Swallow with Yasha, Elena, Adam, and Simo following behind. Inquisitor Ironsides, Lord Pyrus, and Rubicon disembark from their black thunderhawk, and both groups turn to watch the ramp on Sargent Danus' dark green thunderhawk lower.

Sargent Danus disembarks, a power sword and plasma pistol at his hip, his dark green power armor covered by a cream robe. Five more Space Marines follow him down the ramp. Three are armed with bolters, their armor bedecked with purity seals and honor-markings. The fourth is in white power armor, with the caduceus symbol of a medic on his pauldron. The last is armored in red, with a robotic arm mounted on his back and the cog-and-skull of the Mechanicus on his pauldron.

Jace speaks first, "Sergeant Danus? I presume that you are here to investigate the First Legion markings located in the Main Plasma Drive and aft enginseering spaces, and wish to begin immediately?"

The Sargent simply nods in acknowledgement, "I will lead you there myself momentarily." Jace bows and summons a elegant guide servitor. "Inquisitor Ironsides, Master Von Sebastion, Anai here will show you to your quarters. I will proceed on the assumption that everyone present is familiar with standard Imperial hazard signs. Please pay heed to them, as sections of the Terra Incarnadine are still under construction."

Jace leads the Dark Angels off, and everyone else follows Anai towards what you presume to be the officers quarters. As you follow along, you notice that Anai isn't leaking oil, stumbling, or expressing one of the dozens of other quirks you expect of Imperial servitors. Indeed, Anai's bronze plated exterior seems more humanoid than robotic.

You are the last person to find your quarters, and Anai follows you into the office, closing the door behind itself. It then simply stands by the office doorway, awaiting further instructions.

You stand and study her for a moment, wondering where Jace found such a servitor. The familiar feeling of ghostly fingertips on your shoulder causes you to turn in time to see Ariavari step through the bedroom doorway to join you in studying Anai.

"I presume you know to avoid the Dark Angels, given that you tipped me off to their interest?"

The fingertips pause. "You figured it out. Well done. Have you any idea where to start looking for the Shard?"

You shake your head. "The Sister. Perhaps she knows where the Shard might be."

Anai speaks, the rolling baritone of the Terra Incarnadine emerging from her mouth, "Enginseer Primus Echo has surveyed ninety eight point two nine seven percent of the Terra Incarnadine, and has found no non-human items."

Ariavari stares hard at Anai, and the fingertips vanish from your shoulder. "I think we found the Sister, but not her mind."