POV: Nicole

I follow Master Doll as we enter the hall, first along with the other VIPs and our guards. I give Arianwyn a little wave as everyone spreads out to peruse the displays.

I examine the closest one to me, holding a partial suit of Light Power Armor. Interesting but nothing I need. I do a quick lap around the venue just to get a peek at most of the items while the other nobles trickle in. Some of the nobles break into small animated discussions over certain displays with their peers some vouching for or against the items.

Lord Drakios seems to have taken an interest in a rare bottle of alcohol wrapped in gold leaf, and next to him, Doll was studying a worn weapons case of some sort.

I make my way over toward the display Arianwyn is examining. Looking around as I pass a few displays on the way.

"See anything you like yet?" I ask Arianwyn softly once I'm close enough.

"There's a nice piece of art over there but I'm more interested in that rare vase. It's listed as being made in M34. I absolutely love the patterning." I look over and spot the vase in question the base of the vase is blue and the top white with the colors swirling and mixing in between, it reminds me of a hurricane and looks quite fetching. "What about you? Did you see the pistol over there?" Arianwyn asks me teasingly.

"Pistol?! I hadn't yet but I've only skimmed two-thirds of the cases." I say excitedly as I look in the direction she indicated. I gracefully scurry over and peer down at the firearm in question. It looks almost like an old Earth flintlock. The display simply reads 'Relic Dueling Pistol, Source: Segmentum Solar'.

I let out a happy squeak that draws the attention of both Arianwyn and Lael. "I take it you know what that is?" She asks.

"It's an Archeo Duelling Pistol, I want this." I whisper "It will make a fine addition to my collection."

Arianwyn giggles and nods, then using her dataslate she marks the item as one of interest. I just make a digital file and record the lot number and item description. "Good news, it shouldn't be too pricey. Most people are more interested in the other rare guns." She says as she looks around.

"Yeah, I saw the plasma and Melta weapons over there but my personal gear is of higher quality. Not that those are bad, they're just average or good quality. Kind of like the armor sets on display. The ancient shiny plate armor over there is cool but aside from a display piece it's not going to be used. If I want high-quality gear for myself or my guards I can just make it myself." I pause and turn to look over at Lael and the sisters examining their weapons with a critical eye. Their gear is all well made and I find no faults from the equipment itself, just the ammo loadout they're using. We have all the fancy bolter ammo back on the ship that they should use instead.

While I am musing over how to upgrade my newest guards I catch sight of Brother Cogmane wandering around with Brother Gelis. They give me a nod as they pass which I return. This content belongs to noveⅼfire.net

The next section is all melee weapons and sets of armor. There are a plethora of blades from ornate mono swords to chain and power weapons, even a neat-looking power pickaxe. I almost walk past the bodysuit before I do a double take and make a beeline for the display case. Its description is fairly bare bones: Protective dermal body suit with refractor field. "I want this." I speak firmly.

"What is it?" Arianwyn asks me as she comes over to look at it with me.

"They're known as Draconic Scales. It's a rare example of refractor field tech, rather than one large field the draconic scales work by incorporating dozens of tiny energy fields like scales. This is normally worn under armor to help block penetrating shots but I think if I study this I could mesh it with the Mechanicus Dragon Scale power armor." I mutter as I mark down the lot number.

"Nicole, do you see any more exotic weapons or Xenos items?" Arianwyn asks me and I hum softly as I look around.

"There's a Kroot rifle over there, a Needle rifle, and that whip over there is fairly exotic I think that's it though." I say as we draw closer to the end of the hall. "A shame they don't have much in the way of rare parts or modifications."

"Well, what do you think of the digital weapon that's being crowded over there?" She asks me and I shrug waving a hand dismissively.

"Eh, it was alright. Typical Digi-melta, it only had one reload and finding more of those is a pain. Did you see the hand fan over there? It's actually got a poison dart launcher hidden inside that's all the way from Necromunda, I think they call it a barbed flabellum."

"What? That thing was also a weapon?" Arianwyn perks up as she mutters, "My mom would love that." I nod and gesture to the next case which holds a polish sphere of some sort.

"I'm 92% certain that the item in that case over there is just a hunk of metal. However, that rough-looking one that most people are ignoring is actually made of a rare adamantine composite." I whisper.

I spot a crowd around an ornate-looking rifle and nod approvingly "What is worth fawning over is that case over there with a crowd. Fykos Forge "Nomad" Hunting Rifle is an exquisite rifle. They make at most ten a year and usually customize them to the owner. Given the tweaks made to it, I think whoever ordered it was left-handed and had large hands. That Kraken Tooth Dagger just behind you looks to be the real thing." I tell Arianwyn.

"Pssh, yeah right it's just a tooth of some big monster. Not one of Grandpa's bedtime stories." she says dismissively.

"Arianwyn, the Void Kraken is a confirmed species. They eat asteroids, ships, and small planetoids." I say curtly as Arianwyn stares at me for a long moment. "It's said daggers made from the leftover teeth make good luck charms." Arianwyn considers it for a moment and then adds the dagger to her 'maybe' purchase list.

"Okay, anything else kinda weird you noticed?" Arianwyn asks me.

"Well, two of these items are misidentified as Imperial. That visor with all the sensors is Votan and that tube-like weapon over there is a Stryxis laser weapon. Oh, and that ugly thing in the corner was clearly made by an Ork though it looks like they used Imperial gun bits." I state as I point the displays out.

"I think that Shield might be an Astartes Combat Shield, just heavily damaged and not an Ogryn shield as it suggests. I should let Brother Cogfist know." I send Brother Cogfist a notification and watch as he makes his way over to examine the item in question.

It seems to me like Captain Cook focused on smaller rare items with high value for most of the displays. "Hey, Arianwyn, they have a Targeting Monocle, I can't tell what sight it's using but those are fairly popular for Rogue Traders." I say as I continue meandering. What few cybernetics are present on display are no where near a match for my DAoT ones and not close to what Master Doll can make.

"Cameleoline cloak, not as good as mine, fancy pocket chrono, couple of different auto-quills, a psy-focus crystal, that Tome of Imperial Saints might be a good read for you, Lael." I say with a small giggle.

I go to pass another display holding a small smooth metal disk. The description of the device is quite lacking just saying it's some kind of archeotech that charges and can be used once a day "I might bid on this, I think it might be an Eclipse Pulsator." With that last item of note I am pretty much done looking around and I realize that Master Doll has gone over to speak with Cook. "I think Master Doll found a restricted item… Ahh a Haywire Rifle. That'd do it." I mutter as I make my way over and only catch the end of the conversation.

"Thank you for pointing out the error, Archmagos, I would be more than happy to turn the item over to you." Captain Cook says as he bows.

"It is a minor matter. You have accrued a diverse collection that has been well-tailored to your current clientele. There are several pieces of interest to me. The mystery containers are also stimulating." Doll said as he passes the weapon off to one of his guards.

"Thank you! It takes years to slowly accrue items like this. Sometimes I only pick up one or two when I visit a planet. The crates take longer to build up. Lady Cavalerio! I take it you have finished your perusal?" Cook says acknowledging me as I move to stand near Doll.

"I am done. There are two items I want for certain and others I will likely bid on." I admit with a small smile.

"Well, I hope you are ready. My crew should have the various crates arranged in the side hall for the mystery box event. We'll want some guards on hand… Never mind you seem to have that covered. I wasn't lying when I said we don't know the contents. I've had all sorts of things pop out of these things, ha!" Cook said with a hearty chuckle.

"I am quite ready." I say as I adjust my grip on my Axe. "Am I prohibited from bidding on a box?" I ask, making Cook stroke his chin.

"We normally try to only sell one mystery box to each person, share the fun and truly test people's luck. I don't see a reason you can't buy one, though given you're the one who is taking the first crack at opening them some might wonder if you might be able to access the logs of some of the crates. I humbly ask you to try to limit yourself to one." He says with a bow.

"That is acceptable." I say with a polite smile.

Cook claps his hands loudly, "Attention guests! The Mystery Box event is about to begin! Those looking to participate please join me in the secondary hall!"

—----------------------------------------------------------------

POV: Venerable Baldos

"My toes. Itch."

"I beg your pardon, Venerable One. Your biometrics indicate you do not possess toes." The Tech Priest that was standing nearby stated in confusion.

"Bah! Where is that whelp Astrovas?"

"I believe he is still studying chapter records, Venerable." The Tech Priest said softly.

Baldos grumbled as he accessed the vox network, he isolated Astrovas's vox channel "Whelp! Come here! I want you to read me a card!"

"Baldos!? You… I… fine. I'm coming." Astrovas said with resignation.

Astrovas walked into the bay half an hour later. "Was this truly so pressing, Venerable Baldos?"

"My. Toes. Itch. You'll understand after your fifth millennium, whelp. I want to know the near future." Baldos growled.

"Fine." Astrovas pulled out his Emperor's Tarot deck and sat on the deck directly in front of Baldos.

"The Space Marine. The Executioner. The Warped Renegade." Astrovas stared at the trio of cards.

"HA AHAH HAHAHA!" Baldos's cackling echoed through the entire space drawing the attention of the other Star Dragons and Tech Priests.

"Venerable? Does this mean something to you?" Astrovas asked hesitantly.

"It means I was right! It's always the same two cards followed by our foes!"

"Wait, how many times have you seen these car-" Astrovas was cut off as Baldos barked.

"Ready my drop pod! There's a war coming! The littlest one is coaxing out more foes for us to reap!"

"Venerable, have the cards ever been wrong?" Astrovas asked as the rest of the Tech Priests and nearby Astartes immediately began doing as Baldos ordered.

"Never, whelp. Not once." Baldos said with an adamantine conviction.

—----------------------------------------------------

POV: Nicole

I stand near Captain Cook in the side hall looking at the plethora of containers arrayed around us.

There are two massive shipping containers of different styles that could house all manner of materials, vehicles, or other oddities. From there the crates thankfully do get smaller but are still large enough for a small vehicle or a pile of items - all the way down to a trio of small containers, one the size of a shoebox, one the size of a typical weapon's crate and the last is about the size of my vault.

"Welcome everyone! This event works uniquely! Someone bold may place an opening bid on a container they pick the container and then we bid on that one specifically! Once bidding concludes we will attempt to open it! Would anyone like to bid first?" Cook Speaks with excitement, clearly intentionally tempting the crowd.

"I would like to bid fifty thousand thrones on the largest container." Lord Drakios said from the front row.

"Lord Drakios! Starting off strong and going for the largest of our lot!" Cook looked around and he could tell that no one planned to try and outbid the Rogue Trader.

"Going once, twice, sold! Let's see what you've bought yourself aside from this nice container!" Cook nodded to me and I walked over.

The lock on this crate was thorough but leaned more into the tricky side of locks rather than some of the other crates. Using my dendrites and my multikey I opened it in just a few seconds.

I cracked the door and used my Auspex to scan the interior before opening the door fully. "A large safe." I say as I step to the side to let the crowd see the large industrial safe. "Should I open that as well?"

"Lord Drakios?" Cook asks Drakios who nods, "Let's see what's inside!"

It takes me a minute to open the safe and reset the settings so Lord Drakios can program it later. I open the large door to reveal the inside of the safe which holds "Another, locked container?" I ask with mild confusion.

The container turns out to be a matryoshka doll. We go through seven layers of safes, secure containers, and vaults before we are left with a small palm-sized box which I pass to Lord Drakios.

Drakios opens the case slowly to reveal a worn dented coin with a bit of metal sticking out of it and a small roll of vellum.

"To whom so ever finds this. I bequeath you my luckiest coin. May it serve you as well as it did me. Signed The Great Pirate King Blackbeard III. Dated M34." Lord Drakios slowly cracked a smile. "A single worn silver piece, with a bullet still in it."

Cook started clapping and soon the crowd joined in "Talk about a one-of-a-kind piece of treasure!" Lord Drakios carefully returns the velum to the small case and pockets the peculiar relic.

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Looking at the other large container I prod the lock and find it's far more secure than the rest. I recognize some of the security codes and discreetly I ping Brother Cogfist.

Having been emboldened one of the miscellaneous nobles jumps in on one of the mid-sized crates next. The lock on this one is jammed rather than extra secure. I warn off my allies from bidding on this one since it gives me odd vibes.

Another noble ends up with the crate and as I finally manage to open it I wince. Inside are about two dozen human skeletons and the crate itself is not rated for human transport.

"Oh! Just like that, we have our first unfortunate crate. Looks like someone was transporting slaves. Looks like luck wasn't on your side today." Cook says giving the noble in question a look of pity.

Master Doll surprises me by bidding on a mid-sized crate that turns out to be filled with various metal ingots.

Another noble gets a crate filled with Merovech Pattern Assault Lasguns, and another noble gets an ornate wooden desk.

When someone finally bids on the second largest container Cook speaks up "This container has the most difficult lock of all the containers! It's made it through multiple events without getting cracked!"

"I will bid thirty thousand." Brother Cogmane says loudly with his arms crossed. None of the local nobles dare bid after the Astartes.

"Lord Astartes has won the crate! Can the Princeps manage the lock?" Cook looks over at me, the panel on the container has a blinking red light indicating its locked status.

I look at the lock and then up at Cook and smile. I lift my Axe and gently tap it twice on the floor, "Open please." I say as I carefully coax the machine spirit of the lock into opening. Cook and some of the audience laugh for a moment until there is a mechanical thunk and the light on the console turns green without me having touched it.

Cook and most of the crowd are staring at me confused as I turn and walk up to the door and nudge it open.

"Oh my!" I say as I peek inside, "A pair of Astartes Javelin Attack Speeders!" I announce as I reveal the vehicle sitting inside.

Captain Cook nearly chokes in surprise as his eyes go wide and he adjusts his collar before he coughs and continues, "A fantastic find, and who better to receive them than our Lord Astartes!"

I pointedly close the crate before anyone can notice the color scheme or the Death Guard Insignia on the vehicles. I quickly relay that information to my allies. Brother Cogmane is already calling down a lifter to take the crate back to the Argent Drake. Unfortunately, the shock of that find has made the crowd hesitant to continue bidding.

"I will bid on the smallest box." I say as I pick up the shoebox and frown as I feel several objects rolling around inside. Something about my frowning expression as I stare down at the box and gently shake it a little must have scared most of the others off as I only raise my bid twice.

When I bypass the lock and open the box I find eight objects. "Eight. Xenos. Filament Grenades." I say pointedly as I close the lid and pass the box to Delta-A3.

Captain Cook looks at me and shrugs, "Don't look at me I had no idea! I swear on the Golden Throne!" I am inclined to believe Cook all his biometrics and behavior support his claim and the box had been able to avoid even my scans until I opened it, though the odd little box in question seemed to be one use as the scan blocking effect hadn't resumed after I closed it again.

"Let it be known we of the Mechanicus do not find fault in Trader Cook who unknowingly traded in Xenos contraband. Luckily, none of the local nobility were the ones to acquire these items." I say politely.

Compared to the drama around the other crates the last one is a bit of a dull affair. Inside the third largest crate are multiple large convex slabs of clear material that I doubt anyone besides myself and Master Doll recognize. Master Doll approaches the Governor who had picked up the crate to negotiate the purchase of the lance battery focal lenses.

"With that, I am out of containers! I must thank Princeps Cavalerio for her wonderful work unsealing the containers! I do hope you all enjoyed the show! It is now time to begin the auction proper!" Cook declares gesturing for everyone to make their way inside.

"Lord Drakios, Archmagos, Lord Astartes, Princeps, Governor, we have arranged the best seating for you and your groups in the upper balcony." Cook says as we make our way inside.

After we get settled in I look down watching as the seats below ours steadily fill up. Only once they are full does Cook appear on stage with a few pretty assistants.

We have all been given fairly simple datapads that we use to manage our bids. He explains the increments that are allowed for raising bids and other basic rules of conduct. Payment is due immediately after the auction when the item is delivered.

The first few items are flashy but not big ticket items which spurs minor bidding wars from the lower nobles.

I snag the Archeo Dueling Pistol during this initial warm-up period for a decent price. My sudden participation draws a good number of the higher nobles' attention back to the event.

As the lots progress the items get more expensive, esoteric, and rare. Master Doll purchases the Trazior Pattern Sentry Gun. Lord Drakios grabs several bottles of fine Alcohol and the pocket watch. Arianwyn gets her ornate vase but she has to fight a few other nobles for it.

A few of the lots have shockingly few bids, one of which lets me snatch up the Eclipse Pulsator.

I pay a premium for the Draconic Scales but I do end up winning the bid, I participate initially in a lot of the weapon and armor bids only to bow out which lets the nobles below think they got something nice. There are a few that have been discreetly bidding against Arianwyn whenever she bids.

"Participate more in the first few rounds even if it's a few things you don't care for. That'll help get the price gougers to back off." I whisper as I nudge Arianwyn to make her at least participate in the bidding for both the Monocle and the Kraken Dagger. She only ends up winning the dagger.

Somehow despite me only tossing out a single lowball bid, I end up the new owner of the Power Pickaxe.

Lord Drakios picks up the Barbed Flabellum and Arianwyn smiles "It's a gift for my mom. She likes those kinds of things."

"Maybe you should get her that Mariette Cylinder Pistol, it's a compact pistol made without metal. Popular with assassins and noble ladies who can keep it in their cleavage or tucked into a garter." I explain.

Arianwyn turns to stare at me for a moment "How do you even know that?" She asks incredulously.

"Don't look at me like that. It's in the weapon's entry on the Noosphere." I say defensively with a faint blush.

Arianwyn does end up bidding and picking up the item.

The bidding for the digital weapon gets extremely heated despite most of the VIPs not participating. A three-way bidding war between some of the nobles kept going until they were going way beyond what I thought was reasonable.

"Whoever wins is going to regret this." I mutter as Arianwyn hums. "Maybe, but the prestige of winning over their contemporaries carries its own value. For planetary nobles like this, this might be the closest they come to conflict in a while with the winner having bragging rights for some time."

The last few bids I sit out and just watch the sparks fly.

It's only once the dust settles that Captain Cook appears once again.

"Well, I do hope everyone has enjoyed themselves. We have our final two lots for this evening coming up. The first of which has been generously provided by House Drakios! A full gene-tailored Rejuvenate treatment!"

To say that the room erupted into a frenzy would be an understatement. The Governor and his wife were both staring down surprised but also calculating the potential costs involved. Captain Cook handled the bids himself and the price rapidly blew past eye-watering to amounts the lower nobles couldn't even hope to compete with, and that was without Lord Drakios, Master Doll, Arianwyn or I fanning the flames.

Lord Drakios was paying close attention and seemed to relax once the cost passed a certain threshold.

"Well, that certainly got heated! I want to thank everyone who has participated tonight and show you our last item." Captain Cook said as he held up a small box "I have in here a Vortex Grenade!"

However, as most of us leaned forward a voice said "I think I will be taking that."

Captain Cook stiffened and looked off to the side as the individual wearing a hat and cloak walked up towards the stage.

"So that's the Inquisitor?" Arianwyn mutters.

I squint. The individual in question has an imperious air and I sense the spirit of his Rosette but it's a little wonky and I can't quite sense it clearly at a distance with all the wards he has active.

For seeing my first Inquisitor I kind of expected him to be… more. He gives me Interrogator vibes, but perhaps he was only recently promoted.

Captain Cook reluctantly hands over the grenade, the trader looks disappointed but I think overall even with this interruption the event was likely a big win for him.

Once the Inquisitor pockets the grenade he turns to scan the crowd and after spotting the governor he speaks. "I need to announce that the city of Cycladon, despite my effective efforts in dealing with a majority of their leadership, has rebelled."

"What?! Rebellion? Lord Sorb would never!" The Governor sputters.

"Most of the ruling nobility from Cycladon have gone into hiding or perished." Having said his piece he tips his hat, "Archmagos, Lord Rogue Trader."

"Inquisitor." Lord Drakios replies calmly.

Master Doll peers down at the Inquisitor scrutinizing him much as I am, "A command assembly shall be organized. A submission of your intelligence and after-action reports is requested." Master Doll's tone did not make that sound like a request.

The Inquisitor nods, "I will have them prepared. Now if you excuse me." The man spins on his heel and saunters off.

Only once he was fully out of the room with the door closed behind him did Captain Cook speak, "Ah well, that seems to be all for this auction. Unfortunately, the final item has been requisitioned. My staff will help organize and distribute your purchases. Given the news I assume many of you are eager to return home!"

"Nicole, what was your opinion of the Inquisitor?" Master Doll asks me as we wait in our seats.

"He wasn't nearly as imposing as I imagined. I think I'd like to see his Rosette up close if possible. He has several strange objects and protections on his person that make inspecting him difficult. I am surprised Captain Cook took that well. I would be very… upset if he tried to requisition any of my things." I admit with a shrug.

Master Doll chuckles, "We will ensure that does not happen. We have dealt with Inquisitors before. Arken and I know several Lord Inquisitors, as a Master Fabricator I myself have participated in making and updating a few of their Rosettes. We will be sure to verify his credentials thoroughly should he ask anything of us."

A few members of the auction staff arrived. "Archmagos, Princeps, Lady Lael, Lady Arianwyn your purchases have been prepared for you." The lead staff member said politely bowing deeply as we each got up and followed a servant to our things that had been neatly packaged.

I use my account to pay for the items. My personal funds have been mostly wiped out by my spending, though I could probably earn them back with a commission or two, but I managed to avoid borrowing funds from anyone. I direct the Scyllax to scoop up the pair of crates before making my way out towards the landing pads.

Just ahead of me, I see Lord Drakios telling Doll and The Governor. "The Argent Drake's sensors indicate several of the upper spires are on fire in Cycladon. The city's a mess. There are large groups of people moving about in clusters. Attempts to communicate with the city have failed."

I shake my head as some of the shuttles land, get loaded up, and then shoot off. Some of them headed straight for the ship with cargo while some of the smaller items we can simply take back to the guest spire.

"Brother Silverwalker, did you know that the Xenos grenades I picked up have a close Imperial equivalent? I believe they're called Monoball grenades, primarily only used by individuals in the Deathwatch. I wonder if I can figure out how to make them." I muse.

"I believe I have heard the term once or twice, Princeps." He replies curtly. "I have a question of my own. Brother Cogfist indicated you encouraged him to purchase the large crate. Were you aware of the contents?"

"Nope, but the two machine spirits within were old and strong, and the lock was Astartes grade so I had a good hunch. We'll need to purify and repaint those two lovely Heresy Era Attack Speeders." I say with a smile.

"Lael, you got your book and a Melta pistol, you know, you could have just asked me to make you one." I say as I look down at my largest case. "Is it bad I have no idea what I'm going to do with this Power Pickaxe? I just thought it was neat."

"I liked the design and aesthetics on this one, My Lady." Lael replies as she pulls the pistol out of its case to show it to me.

"Yeah, I guess it has the pretty 'old flintlock pistol' look, all it's missing is a basket and some bits…" I immediately notice that there are some additional bits not currently on the weapon in the case with it. "You found an antique. Lael, I think you somehow found and just bought a Hellax Infernus Pistol or its very close cousin. Spicy." I say with a whistle.

"It'll need to be put together and needs some proper maintenance but that might be the perfect gun for your new status!" I say as it becomes our turn to load up.

Once we are squared away and en route back to the spire I glance out the window and frown as I spot a flash on the edge of the hive city. "Oh dear… I think the city is under attack."