"Littleflame, go get started with Monat, perhaps you can compare notes before we begin?"

"Yes Sho'kara Dannan." It heads off, its sandals slapping on the deck.

You wait until he closes the door before you say anything. "So what's got you wound tighter than a Warp Storm Aunt Yasha? Any way I can help?"

Aunt Yasha drops her head into her hands. "A big risk, but a possible massive reward. After the mauling that Tristan gave the Chaos fleet, we didn't expect to find any survivors, much less any untainted ones. We did, and it's a thornier problem than I've ever tangled with before."

You squat down so that you are at her eye-level. "Alright, I can see that whatever it is has you running in mental circles. Stuffed Grox problem solving time, walk me through it and see what kicks loose?"

Aunt Yasha lets out a whistle of air and stares at the ceiling. "Can't hurt, but you can't tell anyone. This has the potential to turn into an absolute dogfight, politically speaking. I'll make any announcements that need making."

"Ok, start at the beginning."

"Well, alright then. We, meaning House Von Sebastion, found a survivor from the Chaos fleet. Not tainted, as far as our astropaths and resident priest can tell us. Ex-slave, found catatonic next to its former master. Near as we can tell, the slave cut her throat before the lifepod even hit Vrenna."

"I'm with you so far."

"This is where things get complicated. The slave is, or was, a Navigator. Haven't been able to test, as it's still near catatonic and unresponsive. The obvious solution would be to turn it over to the Ordo Xenos for evaluation and employment. The catch is we, meaning house Dannan have a stake in the matter."

"What stake? The only Dannans are you, me, and my father and mother since my brothers were shipped off to Terra. Unless..."

Aunt Yasha looks you dead in the eyes. "Got it in one. Tattoos on the Slave's body match my long-missing relative Stiehr Saurlance. With house Saurlance dissolved and house Dannan taking its place, he would have the choice of joining House Dannan and giving our ranks a much needed boost. Thus the conflict. With Stiehr catatonic, I can't ask him, and the Deathwatch or the Ordo Xenos is all too likely to just grab Stiehr off without letting him wake up."

You think about it for a moment. "I'm missing something here. Why would Stiehr not join House Dannan?"

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Aunt Yasha shakes her head. "Old history. Stiehr didn't like your father very much, and he's now the Patriarch of house Dannan. Also, there is the matter of the mutations..."

You shake your head. "Take it piece by piece. First off, you need to keep Stiehr from being grabbed off before he wakes up. Once he does wake up, you need to ask him if he wants to join house Dannan. If not, problem solved, he goes off to serve the Ordo Xenos."

"If he ever wakes up at all. But you do have the first step right. get Stiehr the medical help he needs until he wakes up, then go from there. Head on in to work with Monat, I need to make some arrangements. And thank you."

You rise. "Glad to be of help." You head through the door the Littleflame went through and stop dead in your tracks as you find yourself nose-to-beak with an avian creature. It has quills for hair, and is dressed in hides instead of cloth. You are unarmed, but instinctively your tendril whips defensively about your throat and you bare your fangs.

Before you can speak, Monat does. "Why have you brought this... tube-born here?" He almost spits the words, irritated or angry at something.

You are thrown off balance by the question, but know what Monat must be talking about. "So Littleflame is not naturally born? I never knew that. And I brought it here because it is my personal medicae, now that the human one aboard the Ignis refuses to work on me should I need it.”

Monat blinks, cocks its head, and steps back, giving you space to enter the room. "I do not like working with others."

You step close in to Moant's face and lock eyes with it. "Well that's just too bad, because you are stuck aboard the Terra Incarnadine, but Littleflame is going back to the Ignis with me. That means Littleflame needs to know everything we learn here, so that he can treat me properly if I get hurt in the future. If you are not willing to do that, then I guess we are done here."

Monat takes another step back and raises its four-clawed hands. "Peace Sho'kara. I will work with it and you. I did not believe everything Littleflame said about you."

You roll your shoulders. "And I don't know it all myself, so let's get down to the learning."

Monat gestures the the middle of the room, where a space has been cleared in the middle of the rug. "I understand that you are adept at melee combat, but are left weaponless until you have a new one made?"

You follow Monat into the middle of the cleared area. "Yes, though I never got any training in hand-to-hand combat."

Monat shakes its head, quills clacking, "not what I am searching for Sho'kara. Littleflame already knows much of your body, but does not know how to check for other things, such as using both hands at once. That I do know how to check for. Let's begin."

An hour later, you have learned a few new things about yourself. You can use both hands equally well, a skill that should extend to your pistols as well. You are no stronger or weaker than you were before, despite your increased size and mass. However, you are far tougher than you used to be. You can't even feel it when Monat nicks the back of one arm to examine your blood. The little cut scabs and scars over in moments, leaving a tiny wire of blacked chrome wire along your arm. You are just pulling your robe back on when Aunt Yasha bursts in.

"Ethna, come quickly, Stiehr is starting to wake up!"