“Unfortunately, dear, I don’t think any of us can navigate some of these gifts,” says Brigid. “Nevertheless, let’s start with the least troublesome and go from there, otherwise we’ll never be able to concentrate on the rest. First are some xenos artefacts, an Eldar Force Shield and Runes of Witnessing.

“An Eldar Force Shield is a personal energy shield similar to a conversion field, only fifty percent stronger and a fifth of the weight. Like all Eldar technology it is arcanotech and draws on the mind of the user to power it. A normal Human would likely be rendered unconscious if the shield breaks. A psyker of moderate power, let alone a navigator, will have no trouble with it.

“Runes of Witnessing are a rare tool, usually restricted to Farseers. They allow one to chart a path to avoid an unpleasant fate, though whether that will save everyone alongside you is another matter entirely. They are not dissimilar to a Rune Caster used for navigating the Warp, only far less powerful as they are focused on an individual, rather than a void ship. Now, if that individual was piloting that vessel, it would shake off that weakness rather spectacularly.

“So long as you are working for House Issengrund, our Rogue Trader status lets you use these items legally, so long as one is discreet. Our concern is that these objects are likely the personal possessions of a Farseer and the Eldar will want them back. Should we use our contact, Warlock Ylien, to return these items before they cause trouble, or should we keep them?”

“Keep them,” says Quaani. “The Eldar won’t appreciate us returning their relics or using them, so we might as well keep them. Also, we have a favour with the Harlequins to use if it gets out of hand, though that would be a terrible use of it. Either way, we currently have a one hundred year ceasefire between the Stellar Fleet and the Eldar enforced by their Laughing God.”

“I’m fine with that,” I say. “Annette should use them and keep them on her at all times. It’s her dowry. I may ask to study them at one point, but it’s not a priority.”

“Well, if you think that’s the best path,” says Annette, “I will accept this burden.”

Brigid looks around the table and no one else offers up an opinion, “Excellent, let’s move on. Next up are some Whisper Boots, and a supply of Geist. Whisper Boots let you move unheard. It is an odd gift for a navigator who spends their time in a chair. Is there any hidden meaning or tradition related to this gift, Annette?”

Annette bites her lip, “That one is an insult. Children should be seen and not heard. Someone in my family is jealous and believes I am not worthy, so they sent it to let everyone know about it. Other than that it’s, as the Heralds say, ‘a good bit of kit’.”

“Do you want to use them anyway?” says Quaani.

Annette shakes her head, “I’ll give them to Commissar Luthor Merryweather. He’ll make the best use of them.”

Thorfinn blinks rapidly, “We have who now?”

“Might as well cover that next,” says Brigid. “House Ortelius sent two regiments of house troops, each fifty thousand strong, equipped for void combat. There are two squads of Ogryn bodyguards, sixteen total, and their babysitter is Commissar Luthor Merryweather. Not only that, we were provided with two Carrack-Class transports, which have some unusual equipment. This strikes me as excessive. We’re not in a position to turn them down, but Aldrich and I want to know if they come with any strings attached.”

“I think, in this case, my dowry was just an excuse to lavish Aldrich with gifts,” says Annette. “It’s a goodwill gesture with the implication House Ortelius will be most upset if you were to refuse any reasonable offers that come after.”

Brigid groans, “I thought as much. It did come with a letter. One addressed to the ‘Master of the Astronomicon’ which is rather odd. First though, the transports. They’re the closest thing the Imperium has to an automated vessel with Servitor crews, navy officers, and some two thousand Tech-Priests on board. The house troops are kept in suspension chambers onboard these two vessels. Not only that, but the transports are fitted with Cybra-Pattern Drives, Albanov-Pattern Warp Engines, and Warp Abacuses.”

“That sounds cool and all, but what does that mean for us?” says Thorfinn.

“They’re standard House Ortelius transports,” says Annette. “Cybra-Pattern Drives produce less power, but are about fifteen to thirty percent more difficult to detect. Carracks aren’t as fast as Clippers, so being able to pass unseen, or slip away from combat more easily is a real boon for an armed merchantman.

“Albanov-Pattern Warp Engines are half the speed of a Strelov, the standard Imperial Warp Drive. While you spend more time in the Warp, you’re approximately twenty percent less likely to run into trouble and incidents are typically less severe by a similar amount. The slower speed, and thus more time in the Warp for something to go wrong, can be offset by a good connection to the Astronomicon and a Warpsbane hull, so it’s a good trade off on established routes. For a ship without a navigator though, it’s an absolute lifesaver.

“A Warp Abacus is an advanced cogitator that can fill in for a navigator and these are automated vessels. A normal void ship can manage jumps of up to five days, or four to ten light years, without a navigator. A Warp Abacus extends that to up to sixty days, though thirty days is more typical, which is enough to cross a whole sector, like Calixis.

“Navigator Houses frequently seize ships with Warp Abacuses as it impacts on their monopoly. The truth however, is that it’s far cheaper to use a Warp Abacus, and potentially safer if the navigator is of poor skill. Most vessels don’t make grand journeys.

“By using a Warp Abacus for their automated vessels, navigator houses can provide a safe-ish space for their navigators to train while making money and it frees up more navigators whose services they can sell, rather than have them dedicated to their own fleets.”

“That makes sense,” mutters Thorfinn. “Giving us automated transports is a big commitment for them. I doubt they have that many. I’m not sure how compatible they’ll be with our Origami-Pattern Gellar Fields though. They’re similar in effect to the Albinov Drive though the method is different. Our Gellar Fields let us avoid trouble by diving deep to where the demons fear to tread.

“Yes it makes our journey’s longer and almost guarantees instant death if there’s a breach, rather than providing a chance to fight or shrug off a shoal, reef, or storm, but that’s why we use a Warpsbane Hull and Origami Gellar Field constantly, with a Mezoa Gellar Void Integrant for backup. That’s before you consider the Warp Antenna and Warp Sextant on each vessel and all the practice our navigators have had. There’s a reason why we haven’t had much trouble so far.

“We won’t be able to do that if we travel with these Carracks and all our production capacity is tied up in other projects that we really can’t afford to divert. Alpia’s presence is potentially a problem as well.”

Brigid smiles, “Then you will be pleased to hear that House Ortelius has provided a solution for syncing up vessels in the Warp and improving the perception of our navigators.”

“What’s the catch?” says Owen.

“We’ve been given a Novis Coven Link,” says Brigid. “It allows a single navigator to enslave all other navigators within their telepathic range to a single throne into a gestalt. It’s similar to the gestalt that some Tech-Priests form within the noosphere when working closely with each other.

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“Unlike the noosphere link, the Novis Coven Link is far less friendly because so long as the prime navigator is strong enough, the other navigators can’t refuse the link. This has its own risks because the more dissenting voices there are in the coven the faster the madness and corruption it causes will spread. Fatigue will also accumulate more rapidly. It’s really not meant to be used in an offensive manner.

“On the plus side it makes each navigator function like a part of a large array telescope. Not only will the whole fleet be more aware of any Warp hazards, but they will have a far easier time locating and maintaining sight of the Astronomicon. The downside is that navigators have to swap out more frequently, so you need at least four navigators per vessel, rather than two, for long journeys. Linked vessels will all travel at the same speed and the navigators can share their powers, fortifying each other’s Gellar Fields if necessary.”

Owen says, “Madness and corruption? I imagine the navigators need more downtime between journeys as well for quiet prayer and meditation too. That is quite the catch, but not insurmountable.”

“No, no,” says Annette. “House Ortelius only has one Novis Coven Link. It is the foundation of the house and used to train new navigators. What have they done?”

Brigid grimaces, “After Aldrich healed the twelve navigators and their good health, and our new genetic line was confirmed by House Ortelius’s primary Genetor, who’s also been given to us, a further twelve boys and twelve girls between the ages of six and fourteen were handed over to us for education.”

“What do they think we are, a finishing school?” says Thorfinn.

Annette turns white, “They didn’t, did they?”

“The way it was phrased within the letter,” says Brigid, her papers crumpling in her hands, “implied that these children were handed over for pleasure. Not breeding. Not lessons. Training.”

A sudden, loud crack pulses through the room and I look down at my clenched fists. I slowly open them and the splintered dust of my plasteel chair rains onto the carpet. Frost pools by my feet.

“Aldrich?” says Brigid.

“I am so furious I do not know what to do with myself,” I say. “I think it best if I do not speak lest I commit us to a task that will ruin us.”

Owen looks over to Annette, “Is this...common practice? How should we view such a cursed offer, and what should we do about it?”

“As I have explained before,” Annette says, her voice quiet and trembling, “House Ortelius requires each female to birth five healthy children before they can be married or join a void ship crew. They are fathered by retired navigators. I was spared from this duty by Inquisitor Lyre’s busy schedule, a blessing I am most grateful for.

“Young males are also required to father as many children with retired female navigators. This is less successful, but with sufficient hormone treatments, there are enough births that the House considers the policy worthwhile.

“This breeding program typically occurs between the ages of seventeen and twenty-five. At least it used to. With so many Ortelius navigators coming out as twisted, infertile abominations, this age has steadily fallen. Navigators need to have a lot of children to actually meet their quota.

“While the genetors do not match anyone younger than fourteen, there is a lot of pressure for children to volunteer to create offspring as soon as they are physically able to do so.”

As Annette speaks, everyone around the table becomes increasingly still, their expressions set with the grim expression of Imperial Hero ferrocrete statues.

Annette continues, “Pregnancy is never carried to term, but completed in a vitae womb, or terminated if excessively corrupt, with the foetus extracted between four and five months old so that a new baby can be created as soon as possible. Any earlier and the failure rate increases exponentially.

“This is linked to another navigator quirk: artificial insemination rarely works with navigators; it’s believed to be an inbuilt defence against corruption as the joining of bodies during conception has an element of ritual to it.

“Cloning is particularly hazardous. This was likely done to make it more difficult to steal the genetics of other houses. As such, intercourse, voluntary or not, is required to maintain the Imperium’s Battle Fleets and Merchant Navy.”

Brigid says, “That is a spectacularly disgusting practice.”

“No one knows how to make a Void Abacus,” says Annette, her voice firm. “Warp witches are unreliable and often Chaos worshipers. Klenova Class M Warp Engines are practically a death sentence with five times as many warp incidents as other drives, even if they don’t need a navigator. A Prognosticator is a heretek device prone to corruption. There’s a rumour of the Immaterios Novis, a device created by the Xenos Hybris faction of the Inquisition, but they’re not sharing and I’ve no idea what happened to the prototype.

“The bitter truth is that the Imperium only exists because it considers child abuse a necessary sacrifice. Most houses do not require it, not yet at least, but with no fresh genetics to flow into a stagnant pool and the constant erosion of the Empyrean, navigator genetics are deteriorating. Within another three thousand years, House Ortelius’ troubles will likely be standard practice, according to our Genetor at least.

“House Ortelius has given you their children and the Coven Link so that future generations will be better off, no matter what you may or may not do to these ones. They’re desperate. They’re hiding it, and dressing it up as they’ve learned to do, possibly unaware that what they are presenting is repulsive, or abuse at all. They didn’t state when they expect these kids to start reproducing. They’re just throwing people at you to see what gets you to move and the direction you take.

“At their core, a navigator is, at best, an indentured labourer, a slave at worst, and this is what they have given you. To navigator houses, it does not matter what age they are sold at, or what you do with them, only that you have paid. You forget that almost every member of the house are victims, ones that perpetuate the crimes done upon them and have done so for centuries.”

“I feel like a fool,” says Brigid. “Aldrich. You’re not giving a box of samples to Lyre, or anyone from the Inquisition. There will be no volunteers, regardless of age. Nevertheless, I am going to change my stance and you are too. These practices must stop. We will send a box of fresh seed to each House. Artificial pregnancies might have a low chance of success, but when you can stick millions in a teaspoon, the odds matter less.”

I slowly nod, clenching and unclenching my hands as I take deep and steady breaths. “Yes. If there is something I can do to stop this, even if it means I will never raise the little blighters, I will take that option. I will also hand over the means to create new navigators to the Imperium when we reach Mars.”

“You have that!” shouts Annette.

Thorfinn and Owen’s postures turn rigid. Brigid turns her head towards me slowly, her eyes so wide it looks like they’re about to pop from their fittings.

“You’ve been letting out a lot more secrets recently. Even I didn’t know that.”

“It’s because we’re more likely to run into trouble. If I give one of you a dataslate and tell you to run with it to Mars, I want you to know what is at stake without having to explain it in the heat of the moment. Either way, don’t tell anyone else.”

“No shit!” says Thorfinn. “We’ve got your back.”

I smile at Thorfinn.

“What does it take to make a new navigator?” says Annette.

“It is a galactic scale project in terms of resources, most of which are psykers and currently used to power the Astronomicon. I do not know if the Imperium can pull off such a big project. I wanted to give it to Guiliman, but I don’t know if he has been revived or not, or if he ever will be. One of the three Primarchs that were should have the clout to push the project though.

“The question is if they will go for it. It would be far cheaper for me to continue the repair rituals on navigators. The Primarchs will be focused on the six Black Crusades coming, rather than navigator genetics.

“I am a single point of failure though as the ritual makes every navigator I perform it on related to me. It’s ok for, say, twenty thousand of them, but after that, the ritual could potentially make the situation even worse. Sharing my genetics with so many Houses potentially gives me claims to them all as well, which could cause all sorts of problems. I have no issue with renouncing them, but that won’t stop other people from rallying behind me for their own agendas. The last thing I want is to be stuck on Terra competing in a locked room for the position of Pater Nova.”

“We can’t worry about that now,” says Owen. “We need to decide what to do with kids. We can’t be certain what we thought we would use them for, but I’ll be damned before we give them back. I am disgusted that we must continue working with them but needs must while there are demons nipping at our heels. We can’t just keep taking House Ortelius’ stuff. Also, what is Geist?”

Brigid clears her throat, “Well, about that.”