Then... how did the ship come to arrive here?'

Kaustus worked his jaw, tusks circulating below his eyes. 'My logi have hypothesised it was lost in the warp,’ he said, dismissively, 'and has only recently exited,’ He fixed her with a glare, all traces of congeniality gone. 'In any case, it's beyond our remit. We are here to investigate xenophile cults, if you remember, not to ponder upon the complexities of the warp. The retinue found nothing untoward in the wreck. Let that be an end to it,’

Mita recalled the psychic terror incumbent within every joist of the vessel's structure, stabbing at her mind like fire. There was something dark to it, she knew, some echo of past horrors that clung to its hull like an aura.

Despite the discomfort she said nothing to Kaustus, aware that his newfound tolerance could end at any moment, and suppressed her internal shudder.

'I have informed the Adeptus Mechanicus of its arrival,’ Kaustus grunted, returning his attention to the paperwork. 'I dare say they'll send salvage crews. It matters little,’

'Yes, my lord,’ Inside, she screamed: No, my lord! Something has arrived!

"Which brings me to my point,’ Kaustus lifted a parchment, narrowing his eyes. 'It seems this dreary world is fated to present me with as many distractions as it can.' He shook his head, black hair teetering above his scalp. 'I have decided to give you a commission, interrogator,’

Mita's heart stopped. 'My lord?'

'My investigation is bearing fruit. The governor has opened his records and I suspect the presence of a xenophile enclave in the midhive. I wish to concentrate my resources on locating and purging it,’

'O-of course,’

'Of course. So when I received yet another damnable request for assistance, this time from the vindictors, of all people - and after all the fuss they made when we joined their little crash site excursion - I naturally thought ofyou,’

Mita wasn't sure whether this was a compliment or an insult, so she nodded discreetly and stayed quiet.

'It seems their commander has a problem in the underhive. Quite what he expects me to do about it I don't know, but I'll be damned if I waste another second on the inconsequential internal affairs of this world,’

Mita had a bad feeling about where this was going. "You'd like me to assist him in your stead...' she said, filled with gloomy resignation, inwardly appalled at the ignominy of such a mission. The underhive, warp dammit!

Kaustus regarded her with a grin, needle-like tusks bisecting his face.

'Congratulations, interrogator,’

* * *

A short while later, when the indignity of the commission was beginning to sink in, when her master had provided her with all the documents of authority that she needed, and when she was dismissed with no more than a 'that will be all,’ she paused at the exit to Kaus-tus's suite and cleared her throat.

'Yes, interrogator?' Kaustus sighed.

'My lord, you... you said the name of the vessel had been... "revealing"...?'