You hardly have to think about Mu’randa’s offer, “of course I’d be more than happy to accept your services. The only open position at the moment is that of the Communications Officer aboard the Aegis, which would require you to learn some basic weapon handling skills.”

At Mu’randa’s raised eyebrow, you explain, “the Aegis will be operating in less than friendly territory on a regular basis, so every crew member is expected to be able to defend themselves. We’ll be at anchor here at Dagda until we can get a new Astropath and Bosun, so Morrigan may be able to help train you.”

Mu’randa nods in understanding, “That offer sounds more than generous. I accept.”

You shake her hand, “Welcome aboard. Now, doubling back to Zheeves’ other two points.” You turn in your chair to face Zheeves more squarely, “Time to give Mu’randa the framework for the other two points, and why we’re hesitant to jump on the proffered opportunity?”

Zheeves’ furrows his brow for a moment, ordering his thoughts, “may I presume that you are familiar with the basic structure of Imperial Government Mu’randa?”

Mu’randa nods, “Planetary governors get to rule their worlds as they see fit so long as they pay their taxes and follow instructions from Sub-Sector, Sector, and Segmentum Commands.”

Zheeves nods, “local customs vary, but that is the broad stroke of things. There are two other groups that are important in this case however: the High Lords of Terra, who issue the orders to the Segmentum Commands, and the Imperial Organizations who only answer to the High Lords.”

Mu’randa is clearly taking mental notes, “these other Imperial Organizations operate outside of the usual chain of command?”

Zheeves grins, “yes, and that includes both House Von Sebastion, as we are a Rogue Trader House, and our ‘less visible contacts’. Our job is to explore around the edges of the Imperium, pushing her borders. In exchange for more-or-less complete autonomy to do so, we have to pay our own way, hence the offices on Viking and Dagda, among others. Our ‘less visible contact’ in this case is one Inquisitor Olaf Ironsides of the Ordo Xenos. The Inquisition basically is there to make sure everyone is doing their jobs properly, but they usually only deal with particularly egregious cases, and point the local authorities at the rest. They are rather secretive, but the general gist is that there are broken down into several sub-divisions, called Ordos, each one specializing in a particular kind of problem.”

Mu’randa’s brow furrows, “and this Inquisitor Ironsides is why you refused help from the Tau Empire on the Outbound Run?”

Zheeves nods somberly, “yes. The Ordo Xenos typically deals with problems relating to non-human races infiltrating Imperial space or subverting Imperial authority.”

You interject, “I take it that Inquisitor Ironsides is Lord Pyrus’ handler?”

Zheeves shrugs, “according to the messages left in the Viking dead-drop under Lord Pyrus’ signature, yes.”

You sit upright, taking command of the meeting again, “We’ll take that as writ until Lord Pyrus or another Inquisitor tells us otherwise. Back to the prospective ship and shipmaster for the Outbound Run. Who is he, and why does he carry Inquisitor Ironsides’ recommendation?”

Zheeves consults his dataslate, “one Mira Steele, commanding the Leaf, a Longstop-class transporter. Details on Ms. Steele are scant, aside from the notation that she has served Inquisitor Ironsides with distinction and discretion for quite some time. As to the Leaf itself, it’s a fairly typical for a Longstop; five hundred tons of cargo capacity across fifty compartmentalized cargo bays, one main battery turret for self-defense, and heavy Void Shields.

“The biggest risk in this case is that Ms. Steele would simply vanish with a particularly valuable or important cargo, which would leave House Von Sebastion holding the bag as far as the Tau Empire is concerned.”

Mu’randa speaks up, “rather less so that you might think. They offered the Aegis the run both because they figured a human ship would draw less attention, but also because it would eliminate the risk of losing a Tau ship should anything happen. Ergo, any blame can be deflected to ‘causes unknown’, so long as the first few runs go off properly.”

You scratch your chin for a moment, “She’ll do. Same communications channels, or will she have her own separate ones?”

Zheeves shrugs, “the Leaf will have its own Astropath, so she will probably have her own, But I’ll check anyway.” He ticks off something on his dataslate, “and that brings us to the potential new contract. Inquisitor Ironsides wants to meet us on Viking, to discuss the possibility of inserting a team onto the HJG-1034 station.”

You look to Mu’randa, “I’m inclined to go for it, but Zheeves is probably against it, being his usual cautious self. So, your opinion?”

Mu’randa thinks hard for a long moment, “I’m inclined to say accept the contract, but mostly because the Inquisition sounds like a bad organization to vex unduly.”

Zheeves nods, “which is why we’ll be heading out to Viking as soon as we have the needed officers. Any preferences on where to recruit them from sir?”