Fuck That, I'm Going To Be A Rogue Trader: Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The silence that descended upon the room soon after his reveal was deafening. They must have thought he had gone insane, and how could he blame them? For all her faults, his dear old sister had been nothing but a saint, an exemplar of nobility and grace to everyone outside the family. She was the perfect, and yet now he accused her of the highest of treasons; Heresy.

If he had merely accused his brothers, hell, even just the lower nobility then he might have gotten milder reactions, but how could he omit such facts after what she did. He knew what he saw and knew what he felt. Livia wasn't his sister anymore, but a monster in the guise of an innocent girl.

Hands clenched, he gritted his teeth refusing to back down as his companions gave him questioning looks. Stare as they like, yet his answer remains the same. Tension would soon rise, growing palpable as the seconds passed. Something had to give, but it wasn't his resolve as a look of realization slowly dawned on his brother-in-law's face.

"You're serious, you're absolutely serious," The man replied, his voice laced with a hysteric lilt as he leaned back against his seat, "Livia's corrupted. Your sister's corrupted…"
Nodding gravely, he answered, "She is." Even now, the pain of her betrayal weighed heavily on him. How could he have let this happen, how could she have failed her?

They might have their differences, but she was his sister. He did the best he could, even giving her a path to the Sororitas so she could forge her own path, yet she had chosen to forsake not just her family, but her soul. She now threads a path much darker, one that might very well doom them all.

"She had gone mad and it is by her hands," He thought to himself as he felt his blood boil, "She deserves neither my pity nor my mercy. This is her choice."

Despite Garathos's stormy gaze, his uncle's look of calm rage as well as the other reluctant acceptance, however, Oriane still remained unconvinced. Letting out a nervous chuckle, she replied, "N-now now, let's not be hasty on such accusations!"

"Livia might not have been the best amongst us, but surely she would fall to such lows!" She reasoned as she forced a smile on her lips. Still, she couldn't hide the uncertainty in her eyes as doubt started to creep in.

Gazing up to her tiredly, he called out, "Oriane."

He understood her reluctance to accept his words and the hurt behind her eyes, but this was the truth. Still, she denies it, clinging tightly to the faith she had on his sister as she shot up from her seat and cried out, "No! She can't!"

With her breathing growing frantic, she shouted, "She's studying in a convent! She's on path to becoming a Sororitas. She was my friend-!"

Unable to take it any longer, he slammed his hands on the table as he shouted, "Oriane, listen to me!" Taking a moment to gather himself, he stared wearily up to his bride who stared up now teary eyed, "Livia has fallen." Deny it as she might, but that was the truth

"I'm not sure when or how, but she has fallen and she has taken a life, my father's life," He gritted, forcing himself to meet his lover gaze as she choked back tears, "She's not the girl we knew… or perhaps we never know who she was in the first place…"

As the girl brushed away her tears, struggling to keep herself in check, he reached out to the seat beside him, pulling her close to comfort her. It hurts, he knew it well enough, but she needed to know. Hiding it would just be cruel at best, and dangerous at worst.

Sobbing lightly on his shoulder, she choked, "Please tell me that this is some kind of a jest, that this is nothing more than a cruel joke…"

While he would have given his lover the very stars themselves, this was one such request he couldn't bring himself to give her. With a deep, weary sigh, he shook his head as he held her tighter, "I wish it was, Oriane. I wish it was…"

Comforting his lover in his arms, he gazed out towards his uncle who had been quite aside from his brief remark and he remained so as he stared back with those steely eyes.

Sweat dripping, Octavian waited with bathed breath before the man finally spoke up. "That is quite the heavy accusation you're making, my boy, and to your own family no less." Eyes narrowed, he reminded him, "You understand that such accusations would have repercussions."

Despite remaining unspoken, his threat was clear enough, one that Amelia would take offence to. "L-lord Captain!" She bristled visibly as she slammed her hands on the table and got up, her tail whipping around in agitation, "It's his sister-!"

"Be as it may, but in the eyes of the Inquisition, to have one of your lines fall is to taint the whole tree!" The man snapped, cutting her off.

She tried to argue, but whatever words she might have had would quickly die in her mouth as the scarred man gave her a scolding glare. Unable to hold her gaze, she backed down with her ears flattened against her.

"I know it is, but it's not fair," She whispered, earning a look of sympathy from the man and himself.

"It truly is, but corruption is far more so, caring not between man and machine. It merely takes and twists to its heart's desire," The man whispered gravely before turning to him turning towards him, eyes cold and devoid of emotion, "And, I as a Lord Captain to the Imperialis Navis would be obligated to deal with such matters at my discretion or worse…" Pausing briefly, he grimaced as the tip of his Lho stick burnt brighter, "At the orders of his majesty's Agents."

"They will know no mercy, my boy" He warned him, his eyes pleading him to recant his statement, "They will have your head and those you hold dear if they so much as deem it a necessity to purge every last bit of taint in this sector." Leaning closer, he asked once more, "Do you understand?"

"I do," He breathed out shakily as he held Oriane just a bit tighter, "But I can't turn away from all of this and let her madness go unanswered," He knew damn well what the risk was, but if he merely ran away and let her go, who knows what she could do.

Having lurked in the shadows, they no doubt have plans and machinations just waiting to be put into motion. He did his best to give himself space and think, but now he needs to act. He needed to do this even if the hangman's not tightened around his neck.

Slowly, he pulled away from Oriane, letting her take his seat as he walked over to the man. Meeting the man's gaze, he swallowed. He could see the concern in his eyes, but he also saw the calculating menace of a protector.

It was dangerous, stupidly so to pull his uncle into this plot, but he needed him. If there was one man who had seen the cruelties of corruption and knew how to deal with it, it would be him. He had seen more of the galaxy than any of them combined, and more importantly, in his hands lay the key to solving this very incident.

With his hands shaking, he knelt down before the man as he continued, "And that is why I chose to come clean to you, Un-! No, Lord Captain." Giving the man of his station the respect as he bowed his head, he begged him, "So please, Lord Captain. Help me against my sister. Help me stop her machination and deliver justice upon her."

"I could have you killed right here and right now, you know?" He reminded him, "Cut you like the dog you are and glass the planet below to save us all the trouble of having to deal with the Inquisition itself."

"And lose any intel on the enemy as well as a planet when it can still be dealt with?" He fired back, his heart racing as he flashed the man a cocky grin, "Surely, you're not mad enough to deal with the Ministorum after all this is said and done."

For a brief moment, he thought he miscalculated as the man reached for his coat pocket before he cracked out laughing. "Hah!" The man shouted as he pulled out a pack of Lho-sticks, "You truly have the makings of a Rogue Trader in you."

"I try," He replied, as he and the rest of the occupant of the room breathed out in relief. He had truly feared for his life, but thankfully the worse didn't come to pass. Smiling wryly, he added, "How else could I keep those who I love safe?"

Just like that, the tension in the air melted Amelia shot up to her feet once again. Stomping her foot in indignation, Amelia protested, "Father! You promised the Medicae!"

The man, however, remained unrepentant as he shrugged, "What? Can't a man going to war have his vices?" Slipping a slender stick between his lips, he reached in his pockets once again before pulling out a lighter.

"I know this thing's shaving of years from my life every time I relapse, but fuck it," The man grunted as he shielder the small flickering flame and held it up against the tip, lighting the mix of herbs with a puff of acrid smoke, "There's a chance that those Star Fuckers would kill me in this firefight so might as well enjoy it."

Chuckling at the sight of the felinid's petulant pout, he glanced towards a box in the shelves, "Aren't there some Romulan vintages around here?" His family did dabble with cash crops, and the herbs needed for Lho-sticks grew plenty in the sunlit regions.

Such luxuries were quickly rebuffed as the man fired back, "And waste a perfectly good smoke after the campaign?" Shaking his head, the man sighed, "But in all seriousness, this isn't just any accusation you can merely level especially with as she is a ward of the Soriritas."

Getting back to his feet, Octavian sighed before nodding. She was no longer just a noble after all, but an aspirant to the most fanatical and devoted servants to the Emperor. "To level an accusation on her is to question the purity of her convent," He grimaced and wasn't that quite the accusation.

The Sororitas were pure, there was no doubt about it. The fact that only one ever did was proof enough of their faith so how in the hell did his sister subsume an order?

Sure it's only their training grounds, but a veteran Sororitas was responsible for the trainees' education. She should have seen her heresy, but she of all people missed it and even allowed the Cult to spread out from the chapter's monastery.

Letting out a puff of smoke, the man frowned, "You better have some solid proof to back your claims or she could simply feign ignorance, or worse, have you branded as a heretic."
"I was afraid you'd say that," He muttered as he walked towards the shelves where a lone chest sat before brushing his hands against its chains.

While bare of ornamentations, it was heavily built and made from the toughest of adamantine. Heavy and cumbersome, it was an unwieldy thing, but a necessity given its contents. Turning back to his uncle, he asked, "Would a book dedicated to their patron be enough?"

"You'd can't be serious!?" The man choked, sputtering as he and the "An artifact of the Ruinous Power's in here? Have you gone mad!"

Grinning wryly, he replied "There's a reason why I filled the room with holy relics." Admittedly, it was his brightest of ideas, but this was the best he could do at the moment. He neither had the influence in the local Ecclisiarchy nor a friend who had joined the Emperor's priesthood to provide him with blessings against such cursed items so he did the next best thing.

Even if some were forgeries, or merely third class relics, the number should have an effect. "This should dull their powers or at least I hope it does?" He asked before wincing at the sound of their palm meeting his forehead.

Rubbing his forehead, the man muttered, "Sometimes, I wonder if the Emperor himself is personally smiling upon your soul for there are hundreds of ways this could have gone terribly wrong." Eyeing the shadows, he added, "But seeing how none of us had gone gibbering mad, there is a method to your madness."

Sighing, he asked, "Speaking of this artifact, where did you come across it? Surely your sister would have hidden such a book."

"True," He nodded as he grabbed the box and heaved, nearly tripping over at the weight, "But she's not as careful as she thinks she is!" With gritted teeth and shaking knees, he hauled the heavy chest over the group before dropping it unceremoniously atop the table. "In fact, she had hidden one such artifact inside this very ship.."

"I honestly should have seen the signs, but I was too absorbed in my project," He grimaced as he glared at the box. To think that she had hidden this for so long. She must have thought that they were all idiots, but now wasn't the time for such thoughts.

Now, he needed to prepare himself for its presence once more. As he pulled out a key, he warned them, "Now if you fear for your soul, I advise you to turn away." He could not afford to lose any of them. Turning to his lover, he commanded, "Oriane, if you will."

His lover, however, remained defiant as she kept her gaze on the box. "I need to see this," She gritted, "If Livia is corrupted, I needed to know how far she had fallen so I could meet justice worthy of her crime." No longer was she conflicted as her eyes burnt with righteous anger.

Nodding back, he turned back to the chest and unlocked it. With a click and thud, the lock fell down on the chair as the heavy chains slipped off its surface and almost immediately, he felt it. He could hear the clawing and whispering echoes once more.

"Begone you foul monsters," He gritted out, refusing to heed their call, "The Emperor protects!"

Bracing himself, he pulled the lid open revealing the foul artifact within, nearly doubling over as bile forced itself up to his throat. Despite having dragged the twisted artifact out of his sister's room, his stomach turned.

It was not, however, the blackened leather bound cover in the shape of a screaming face which revolted him, nor was it the mold and fungi that grew around the margins, but the symbol etched upon it.

Made from brass and jagged iron, the shape was unmistakable. There was only one such symbol in this galaxy that made his very eyes bleed. "The eight pointed star…" He gritted out as he wiped his eyes, but found nothing. He needed to seal it back.

With a grunt, he covered it once more and almost immediately, he felt the weight lift off his shoulder along with everyone else in the air. Gasping for air, Oriane whispered in horror, "Dear Emperor…"

Amelia wasn't looking so hot herself, having turned away and wretched, while Garathos was sweating. His Uncle on the other hand, looked worse off, having dropped his cigarette and now all pale face and shaky.

Shaking his head, his uncle muttered.. "I've only seen such markings a few times before, but never have I seen something so foul." Reaching inside his coat, he pulled out his Aquila and whispered a quick prayer.

"Emperor damn her," Amelia gritted out as she gathered her wits. "If this was something she could afford to leave behind, I fear what she now possessed."

"Indeed," He nodded with a grimace, "While I do not have solid evidence for their connection, I believe that she is affiliated with the Cult of the Stars and is using them to spread her corruption." Even now as they speak, her influence spreads.

Frowning, Garathos whispered,"If the Cult of the Stars is corrupted, then I fear that their hold is deeper than you believe. Some of my friends have ascribed to the teachings of the Cult and so do some of our own priests."

"And some of my fellow officers as well," Amelia added, making Octavian's frown deep. Turning, she asked, "Fa-Lord Captain Scipio, surely the other captains aren't compromised, right?"

All eyes turned to the man as he let out a deep shuddering sigh and answered, "Fortunately, all of my captains are of sound mind and loyal to a fault. They might not be the most devout, but they are good men, every last one of them." Grimacing, he noted, "Their officers though? Those I could not vouch."

With a sigh, he nodded. Despite the grim news, this was a far better outcome. He had gambled on his Uncle running a tight ship and it paid off. So long as his men could keep control of their ships, his Uncle could keep control of the sky.

"Still, could they keep their men in check?" He thought to himself. Such was the nature of Chaos and their ilk. Each and every move he made against them had him in doubt as they could so easily turn those close to him against him.

His thoughts, however, would come to a screeching halt as the shiver of dread ran down his spine and a foul rotting stench filled the air. "Octavian, the book!" Oriane screamed as curses filled the room.

Without a second thought, Octavian launched himself at the opened chest where a foul tentacle had reached out from under its lid. It burnt and trashed about, but it was not dying fast enough. Ripping the Aquila hanging from his neck, he wrapped its chains around his fist before opening the chest, revealing the foul bloated creature within.

"In the name of the Emperor, begone!" He shouted as he rained blows, never once letting up, "Return to ether from when you can and never return!" He could give them no mercy, not when they could utterly ruin him if he ever so much as listened.

Any sound they made or any word they uttered were nothing more than foul imitations to lower his guard. Their cries might be pitiful, and their face contorting in pain as golden fire burst under every blow, but they do not feel or think the way a sapient being does. They were daemons and he treated them as such.

Only when they were nothing more than dust did he finally stop, and even he wasn't sure he did enough. Shoulder hunched and panting, he stared at the ruined pages of the book and the blackened ashes drifting off in the unseen wind. "I think they're gone," He coughed before clutching his aching fist.

Punching adamantine with his bare hands was not exactly the most sound minded of ideas. "Damn it, I should have used a shroud." He hissed in pain. Some wrapping would have done him some good, but he could deal with a bit of pain when his loved ones were safe. Shaking his fist, he turned to his wide eyed companions and asked, "Is everyone alright?"

While they each had their weapons out, they looked unharmed. A bit shaken and pale, but nothing outwardly wrong. Still, he couldn't be so sure as Chaos attacks not just the mind and body, but the soul as well.

Sheathing her combat knife, Oriane nodded shakily, being the first to gather her wits, "Y-yes. A bit shaken, but nothing bad." With a shaky laugh, she noted, "And here I thought I'd be ready to face the real thing and such vileness." Shuddering, she turned away, before her eyes caught sight of his fist.

"Your hands!" She cried out as she grabbed his wrist and cradled his bleeding hands, "Octavian, we need to get you to the Medicae right away."

As she tugged along, he quickly rebuffed her and flashed her a smile. "I'm fine." While he was bleeding, it was nothing more than the skin breaking. "I just need some alcohol and a bit of prayer to fix this up." Hopefully, the fires dealt with any nastiness he might have gotten.

Turning away from his pouting lover, he gestured towards the chest. "Now as you can see, we're not merely dealing with the start of a cult, but a full blown one in action." The fact that a small daemon managed to slip in was a concern, but one he pushed back for now. "They have power and influence on the other side, something they have no doubt used before."

"Thankfully, the root seems to have started from the top," He noted as he grabbed the reports his informants had compiled for him before handing it to his uncle. "From the rumors I could gather from my soup kitchens, it's the nobility that the Cult is most interested in." A personal touch by his brother, Tiberius, no doubt. "The masses are merely an after thought to them…"

As he returned to his seat, the grizzled veteran read the reports. "Quite the insidious approach given how most would cave in once those they serve aspires to the cults teachings… especially with the power they hold on families," He noted with a grimace, eyes sparking with recognition at some of the names listed.

"Indeed," He nodded. The power a patron has over the servants and vassals can not be understated. In fact, spreading downwards was far easier than spreading upwards given the vast reach and influence nobles have. "The palace was lucky with how tightly my Father, Marley and I ran a tight ship on staff, else we would have been infiltrated by one of their agents…"

"Unfortunately, I couldn't stop all of them," He sighed, shaking his head. The one agent he couldn't stop was the one closest to them all.

"Your father didn't die of old age, did he?" His Uncle asked as he shakily placed the documents down and clenched his fist till his knuckles turned white.

"No," He nodded, confirming the man's suspicion, "It was from a corrupted amulet, one my sister herself gave my father." As he felt the mark of the aquila burnt upon his palm, he grimaced, "As useful as evidence as it would be, keeping it close to my person was not an option."

"I disposed of the void shields protecting the palace as soon as I could," He told them, earning him a sympathetic nod from his uncle.

"I can't blame you for doing such," The man replied as he leaned back against his seat, his shoulder sagging as an air of weariness settled around him, "Emperor knows how your father suffered under that thing's curse all without him knowing about it."

"But now that we know that they are corrupted, we must fight them and root them out!" Oriane butted in as she rose from her seat, planting her foot upon the table. "We should strike them down now while we still have the element of surprise," She grinned as she turned.

As he glanced away, unable to meet her eyes, she questioned him, "We will fight them, right Octavian?"

"I'm not sure we could," He whispered as he felt his throat clench up, "As we are right now, we are outmatched." For the vaunted and powerful Imperial Knight house and how the Imperial Navy rule the void, that would matter little if they want to root out the corruption hidden amongst the population.

"And even if we could… I'm not going to fight," He added, feeling shame fill his heart at the betrayed look that his beloved sported.

He could fight, he could still lead this rebellion, but as he forced himself to look back at Oriane and knowing how he could lose her so easily, he knew he didn't have the heart for this. He didn't want to lose her even if it meant hurting her in the process.

"Octavian," She whispered as she gave him a horrified look, "You're not suggesting with abandon our people… that we… that we…"

"Run and leave it all behind?" he asked as he scowled, "Yes, I'm suggesting we run." He was not a hero, nor was he a great warrior just like her. He was just himself, a man doing his best in this galaxy and now he is faced with an unreasonable scenario.

"The moment I knew of that cult, we were already too late," He whispered as he looked up to her eyes, meeting them and refusing to back down, "It has a firm grip on the nobility and do you know what that means?"

Frustration quickly welled up as she screamed back at him, "So what if they have all the wealth! They are men and women just like us! They can bleed." Hands clenched, she shouted, "Once the people know, they will know justice. The people-!"

"Will be gunned down if they fight back," He shouted back, cutting her off. Shoulders sagging, he whispered, "They don't hold just all the wealth Oriane…" If it was all that they have, it would have been easy, but they held far more than that.

"They hold power and influence, Oriane," He explained, "And most importantly, they have guns, Oriane. Lots of guns." With a grim look on his face, he looked down, already seeing the vast swathes of the dead that would litter the street.

The situation as it stands was simply untenable, as even Garathos and Amelia remained quiet, but Oriane was not one to give up so easily. She was always the shining example amongst them. With righteous fury, she hissed back, "So you're just going to give up? You're just going to run away while your sister corrupts the very planet your ancestors ruled for countless ages?!"

"If it means that those I love get to live another day?" He asked, his heart now set in stone on that matter, "Then yes, I will run away."

Tearing away at her, she turned to the others. "Uncle Scipio!" She begged them, eyes teary as she glanced at Octavian in pain and anguish, "Talk some sense into him! Please!"

With the man's eyes on him, Octavian turned, meeting the man's soft gaze. "Is this really what you want, Octavian?" He asked, his tone weary and saddened, "You understand that your family would lose the sector if you run away?"

"I know, but I didn't really want to rule anyways," He replied, flashing the man a wry grin. While he had helped the masses, ruling them was never the thing he craved in this life. "Uncle, I know I shame my family for not fighting, but I can't lose her, not when I have a way out," He whispered, unable to bear the loss of the one thing that made things in this galaxy worth living for.

"Then I won't hold it to you," The man nodded, "An unwilling soldier is not one I wish to be with in battle." Turning to the Felinid, he commanded, "Amelia, I trust that you will take Octavian as far as you can from here."

As conflicted as the woman was, her loyalties won out. "... Yes father," She nodded and one by one, those in the meeting would relent to his point. Jacques and Marley were far too loyal to him to say otherwise.

Turning to her brother, Oriane whispered, "Garathos, please, not you too…"

"I'm sorry Oriane, but this is for your own god," The man replied with a wry grin, "Us older brothers have to die first you know?" Shaking his head, the man turned to him, his eyes devoid of mirth, "Take care of my sister out there, will you? This isn't a fight I want her to be in."

"I will," He nodded, accepting what might be his brother in law's last request. He was going to run along with those that they care for, while they fight. That was the faith which he would leave them to, and that was one Oriane couldn't accept.

With tears streaming from her eyes, she bolted for the door. "Oriane!" He shouted, trying to reason with her, but it was far too late. Before he could get up, she was already gone. "Damn it," He whispered as he turned around and found his uncle's stern look.

"Go!" He commanded, "Talk to her lad. Don't let her do something she'd regret!"

Nodding, he ran after her, hoping for the best. He wasn't sure if he could bear losing her after everything that he had done.

A/N:

Sorry it took me a bit. Had a bad case of stomach flu earlier today. Puking was not fun. Thankfully recovered quick enough to finish this. Hope you guys like it! Now, I'll try to squeeze out one chapter of profiteering while we do votes tommorow.