You decide to check in with Inquisitor Ironsides and see what you new responsibilities will entail. Mu'randa has gone ahead and assigned him a stateroom one deck down from yours, with a fantastic view of the arboretum deck in all its artificial natural beauty.

You find him staring out across the treetops listening to the sound to the birds. You stand next to him and take in the scenery for a while.

"A wonderful ship you have here Shipmaster Von Sebastion.”

"Thank you Inquisitor.”

"I Imagine you have questions?"

"Of course. And I know that there is far more information out there that you can't or won't tell me for whatever reason. I accept that, and I won't pry, but I do expect to be told what I need to know."

"A reasonable assumption and request. Very well, ask away. I will answer if I can."

"Mostly, what will my new duties entail? How closely do you intend to bind House Von Sebastion to your own work or that of the Ordos?"

"In large part, you will keep doing what you are already doing. Your Oath was mostly a formality, though it does open up several doors a crack. The Ordos will have missions for you from time to time, and we do intend to keep close track on the Terra Incarnadine. In exchange, you can count on a certain level of financial compensation, technical support, and logistical backing."

"In layman's terms, I'm to keep doing what I'm already doing, perform particular tasks from time to time, and I can expect the support of the Ordo Xenos in the doing?"

"Yes, to a degree. Cross too many lines, or flaunt your new affiliation too openly, and you can expect that support to be withdrawn."

"Right. Then you should know that, as of now, House Von Sebastion lacks an heir."

"Oh? how is that my concern?"

"For your information, not action. I intend to rectify that situation, but may need to pry into area outside of the Imperium to do so. I figured you'd find out anyway, so I decided to tell you first."

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"How so?"

"The probable Ms. Von Sebastion is barren, and I'm not sure that any Imperial tech can fix it. I was planning on poking around to see if Tau medical tech was any better in that regard, but I don't have much hope."

"I could arrange for an Imperial facility..."

"The problem is that her half of the 'equation' is either missing or damaged beyond 'normal' functionality."

"Ah."

"Precisely. I don't expect to find anything of use to my ends, but whatever I do find I will of course pass on."

The Next Morning…

All of the officers are standing about a holotable debating over what to do about the Malignus Maximus. Simo, Frank, and Yasha are all in favor of simply bombarding the hulk until is ceases to exist. Jace, Rex, and the Force Commander (who you still don't have a name for) vehemently oppose that plan, as they say it would result in the loss of irreplaceable knowledge.

You eye Kudo and Inquisitor Ironsides and shake your head. You take a large swallow of tea before putting your own plan forward. "Gentlemen, and ladies, what we have here is a lack of information. We have a name: the Malignus Maximus. What we don't have is any kind of recent scans of its interior, or locations of possible inhabitants, or data-caches. While I may agree that the risks of boarding a space hulk are ridiculously high, so are the potential rewards.

"I'm no military expert, nor a master of technology. But even I can see that we need to get that information before we can make a final decision on what to do about her. Phase one of our plans therefore should therefore be to get as much of the information we need about the hulk. External scans, focused deep scans, and hull maps first. Unless those reveal overwhelming opposition or hazards, we can then find a suitable landing zone.

"Phase two gets a little more variable. We will need to land and secure a beachhead from which to operate deeper into the hulk. Or to fall back upon if needed. Securing that beachhead will likely have to be done in vacuum, so the Deathwatch will almost certainly have to lead. Follow up waves of Armsmen can fortify that beachhead while the Deathwatch stands down to reload and rearm. Once the beachhead is secured and fortified, the third wave of tech specialists can follow on. CATs and scouts can push forward into the hulk for more information. The Phase One scans may have targets for them already, or they may have to operate totally blind.

"Phase three is the most nebulous, as it will depend on what the CATs and scouts find. We may need to evacuate the hulk and commence bombardment operations if we find overwhelming opposition or hazards. We may find that the opposition is nominal, and undertake operations to eliminate it. Or we may find that we can secure the data-caches we need without even engaging any possible opposition."

Mabis and the Force Commander are looking at you with respect, as are Jace and Rex. Simo and Frank are more Dubious, but Yasha is slowly nodding as she mulls over your sketched out plan.

Olaf grins at you. "The question now Shipmaster Von Sebastion is weather or not you will be joining our little expedition."