Sechste Sitzung

Astropathic Intake: 955.295.M41

Sol System Communication Check: Class 3: Indirect

Encryption Class: Omega-Theta Crimson

Priority: Extremis Minor, Nobleborn

Sending Astropath: ID-No.: 8955/Rho-7, Marik Vahne

Recipient: Hiveworld Khalax, private Astropathic Choir, House Coalblack, Subdivision Eisenmüller

My beloved and ever cherished, Itta, sister in blood, in heart and in mind,

I do hope this message finds you in good fortune and health, for I find myself in the utmost privileged position of delivering good news, as the Emperor, blessed be His name, grants his favour to those of good faith. Though the Emperor's ways are not for us to comprehend, I feel we are continuing on his righteous path, for Lord Haarlock finds himself blessed still, landing squarely on his feet after the loss of his old ship. Being only a flawed human, I must confess, I am at times looking with jealousy upon his good fortune and luck, though I bury these illgotten thoughts quickly in the depth of my soul, underneath prayer and faithfulness. We have finally arrived on our new home, a splendid Dauntless-Class light cruiser, though we still have to settle in. It may have suffered from its owning dynasty's previous quarrels, but it is still a magnificent ship, needing only minor overhauls. All in all, it is a faithful soul, carrying the untoldth generation of its crew securely through the stars and Immaterium.

From the earliest moment, it seems, Lord Schwarmbeck took a shining to our magnificent Lord Haarlock and more often than not, he whispers honeyed words into our good Lord's ear, as our parents were want to do, when they were still younger.

The compatriot that worries me most, as you rightly foretold he would be, is our Ratling Arch-Militant. Being no longer the only ranking member amongst the ship's forces, having to share that duty with the somewhat boastful Arch-Militant ap Horneff, he has taken to some excentricity. He constantly butters our troops with lavish rations, gifts and leisure time, as though he has to proof himself Horneff's better in front of our men. He has even employed the strongest and biggest soldier in our pay, a Gunnery Sergeant named Horker, as his personal bodyguard, showpiece and occasional mount.

Our Magos Explorator meanwhile seems to have some trouble acclimatizing to his new surroundings. Upon first entering the bridge, he stood there for hours, oogling the impossibly old craftsmanship that it seems to be made out of. Being overwhelmed by such height of technology, he, for a few hours, believed it to be of Eldar origin, such was its splendour. This, of course, caused quite a ruckuss among the ship's crew, immediately searching for Xenos corruption among the vessel's components, before the Magos saw the error of his ways. Having caused quite a scene aboard, he was contacted by the cruiser's Enginseer Prime, Magos Anne, to have a chat about his escapades. She did not take lightly to accusations of Tech-Heresy aboard, but one of her subordinates reacted even more upset than she. Being set aback by the subordinates reaction, he quickly discovered that, against all odds, there was a Heretek aboard, though not in the form of Magos Anne. Unfortunately, he was quickly overwhelmed, before he could share this information with the rest of our household. But more on that later. Say what you will about the Explorator's lack of empathy and social skills, he does get results, having uncovered Heresy aboard within two days!

My friend Lester on the other hand seemed to fit right in, from the very first day. Being our Voidsmaster, he quickly acclimatized to his new surroundings, spending much time on the bridge, with his counterpart Alonsus of House Schwarmbeck, and inspecting the hangar decks and their flight crafts. He even got into a little fisticuffs with the deck-chief of the bomber hangar, letting off some pent-up steam. He now seems the most at ease of all my compatriots, even calling the deck-chief by first name. If I were to speculate, I would say Lester will be the on to fit in with the ship's crew best.

Our Bishop Tiberius in the meantime was appaled by the lack of worship aboard. The Arch-Militant ap Horneff converted the vessel's cathedral to the God-Emperor into a military checkpoint some years ago, for the sake of separating his troops and the ship's officers from the common rabble aboard. Not one to let such faithlessness slide, Tiberius, immediately and against all resistance, sanctified the disgraced cathedral and restarted daily prayer and mass. Such is his faith and conviction that ap Horneff had no choice, but to begrudgingly accept the reopening of the cathedral. Having reinstated the Ecclesiarchy and its rites aboard, he now seeks to visit the lower decks and bring spiritual guidance to all the ship's inhabitants. A quest I am more than interested in accompanying and for that reason I took the liberty of recruiting a personal guard, two men strong for each of us, from our Ratling's soldiers.

As for what I myself have gotten into, let us say it is both more leisurely and more aggravating than my compatriots' activities at the same time. You see, as Seneshal of House Haarlock, it is my solemn duty to inspect every last endeavour and business expense that our Lord partakes in... and for that reason, I find myself in the uncomfortable presence of Schwarmbeck's Seneshal, more than anyone else of our household. A fat swine with the body odour of a dozen deceased cats and an appetite to rival our uncle, there is no friendlier way of putting it. And I even owe him a favour already, as it was the only way of circumventing a disadvantageous contract between our two houses! I am disgusted.

So much for our personal situations aboard. What turbulent adventures awaited us in our first days on the ship, I shall recount in my next letter.

Dearfully yours, forever only apart in space, yet never in thought,

Horatio